#i vaguely remember audibly gasping when he was like 'MOVE SHES MINE'

[nic-coughlan]

i still can't get over colin cutting into penelope and lord debling's dance. do you know how rude and scandalous that is? it's like apocalyptic.

reminds me of that meme "i'm just gonna scooch in right here if you don't mind, shhhhh you can't marry him penelope he's obsessed with penguins"

colin bridgerton, thanks to violet bridgerton, woke up and chose fucking chaos and i'm very thankful.

[justasimptm]

The Bride C3

“My children, thank you all for coming. Lady Dimitrescu, you have my thanks for agreeing to host me, visiting your home is always such a pleasure,” Mother Miranda starts, all attention snapping to her immediately. The praise makes Mother smile, she dips her read in reverence. Miranda sweeps her eyes around at all of us, pausing on each of our forms in acknowledgement, I can nearly feel Moroe shaking when she glances at him. How pathetic. “I’ve asked you all here so we can review our progress, and make changes as necessary. Monroe, why don’t you start for us. How have the Cadou been taking?”

And so it goes around, everyone trying to earn Miranda’s love by saying how well we’re doing, despite no real progress being made. When her gaze finally settles on me I feel uneasy, unsure what she’ll ask me. Mother had been very clear that I was not going to be doing any real work in terms of changing anyone.

“Y/N, my youngest, I have a very important question to ask you. An honor, really. Please come here,” she calls, extending her hand forward. After a glance at my mother and a near microscopic nod of her head in permission, I draw forwards slowly, bowing my head in respect as I stand before her. “Please, daughter, look at me.” Monroe gasps audibly, he’s not allowed to look at her, not this close. Most of us tend to divert our eyes, only looking at her briefly. None of us have ever been specifically instructed to hold our contact.

Shakily my eyes skim up to her face, where a soft but chilling smile rests. She dips down ever so slightly, pulling my hand into hers, sending another shockwave of surprise from our company. Mother Miranda typically prefers not to be touched, so the fact she is initiating this contact makes me uneasy. What could she want from me that she feels she needs to do all of these theatrics to get it? Why does she think I need to feel special?

“Y/N. You’ve grown so much. I remember seeing you, still human, near death. The metamycite allows me to see such things, and my oh my, how you’ve blossomed. Of all my children, how it changed you really is the most amazing.” I can feel the chilled stares, clearly off put by the favoritism. “You’ve all become so much more than you ever expected, but Y/N? She’s still able to retain her form, identical to how she was before, even her newer form is still beautiful. It doesn’t fight to escape her, it helps her shine. She isn’t in danger from things that the other girls are, the cold does nothing to her.” Now I’m starting to get more nervous, all these compliments are certainly leading up to something big, something I don’t know if I’ll be able to give. “And so, as the one I’ve seen bond so well with the change, I have a wonderful question for you.” And here it comes. “I would never wish to take you from your true mother, but with your permission I would like to use your DNA, try to combine it with my beloved Eva’s. I truly feel as though we will have some great success if we do so.”

This even tears a shocked sound from myself and I have to steel every nerve in my body to keep from jerking back and out of her hold. She wants to use me to bring her daughter back? I didn’t even want this. Behind me a loud clap startles me from my frozen state. I can hear my mother thanking Miranda for her generosity, Moroe and Donna chittering between themselves, but Heisenberg is surprisingly quiet.

“Silence!” The room mutes instantly at Miranda’s words. “This choice is for Y/N, and Y/N alone.” She tips my head back up, staring through her mask into my eyes. “What do you think, my child? May I try?”

‘NO NO NO’ I want to scream, ‘no you can’t use me to try to bring your daughter back from the dead. You should just let me die!’ Instead I force a smile, pushing as much faux excitement into it as possible and nodding my head so fast I swear I can feel my brain slamming around. “Yes of course you can, Mother Miranda! I would be so honored to help you! Please, let me do what I can for you!” A smile spreads across her face at my external eagerness. Her hand strokes my cheek, before stepping back.

“Thank you, Y/N.” With that she essentially shoves her hand into my stomach, causing me to gasp and stumble slightly. And then just as quick as she did it, she pulls back, a handful of something in her grasp. Something inside me feels slightly out of place, shifting until it rests back where it thinks it belongs. “I must go now, bring this to my laboratory so I can begin trials.” With that she’s gone in a flurry of crows, leaving the five of us in silence.

Silence which is broken with a crash, and lots of yelling. My mother sighs, growling out my sister's names.

“Daughter, would you mind going and telling your sisters to knock it off.” She says to me, turning to face our company, “It’s time for me to show them out.” I dip my head in acknowledgement, turning and allowing my form to change. Much like my sisters I can essentially hold my full body form, but also shift into insects to move quicker. However, unlike them where they’re flies, I actually can become moths. Much more elegant, if you ask me, which is the only reason I ever even allow myself to do it.

For the first month after my change I had no control, phasing in and out of each form sporadically. I’ve grown since then, now able to focus it into certain areas if I wanted. It takes less than a minute to find where the racket was coming from. The three of them had taken to terrorizing our newest servant, the poor girl was backed into a corner in the study, brandishing a candelabra as if it would protect her. Judging from the state of her clothes and the blood stains they had already gotten a bite of her.

“What on earth do the three of you think you’re doing?” I seethe, their collective attention snaps to me in an instant. The girl lets out a pathetic whimper as I reform and stalk forwards. Bela laughs, twirling her blade around her fingers as she eyes me up and down.

“We were hungry, sister, what do you think we were doing?” She snarks, turning her gaze back to the shaking child, who curls deeper into herself. Cassandra and Daniela let out small confirmations, unable to keep their eyes on me longer than a moment before turning back towards the girl, eyeing her up like a lion would a gazelle.

“I think you’re all acting like imbeciles.” I snap, crossing the room in an instant and throwing them against the wall before latching onto the girl's shoulder and shoving her from the room. “Go get that bandaged, report to my  Mother immediately.” I demand, slamming the door behind her as she stumbles into the hall before rounding back to my sisters. “You three know better. Mother Miranda had barely left before your little stunt. Can you imagine how displeased our mother would have been if you had embarrassed her?”

Daniela rolls her eyes at my dull threat, Cassandra has the decency to look slightly wounded, but Bela? Of course she isn’t done fighting me yet. She takes half a step forwards, cocking her head to the side and smiling at me. “What? Afraid we’ll ruin your chances at being Mother Miranda's special little guinea pig? As if you deserve that. She should have asked us. We’re far stronger than you anyways.” She states, motioning to herself and the other two.

“Yeah,” Daniela says, crossing her arms and stepping up beside her, “You aren’t as special as she thinks. Anything you do, you know that we do it better.” Cassandra joins them, creating a wall of envy.

“You didn’t even want this, remember? Mother should have just let you die. She could have had us, we’re all she needs.” She tells me. Part of me wants to laugh, another part to scream. I wanted to die, I want to tell them, I wish she had let me. But if they thought they could be so much better, then I might as well show them why they’re weak. In an instant I’ve flown across the room, throwing open the window I had once escaped from, letting a harsh breeze of cold air flush the room. They screech at me indignantly to close it as they scramble for the door. I just smile, moving to stand directly in front of the billowing curtains.

“Next time you three start thinking you’re better than me because you were so prepared for this, I want you to remember one thing. You may have asked for this, but you are not stronger than me. I take more than some wind to hurt. Be careful who you try to play with girls, because unlike the maids, I’m not an ant for you to burn with a magnifying glass. You are, and no matter how much my Mother loves you, I am her real daughter, and out of the four of us? Take a guess who she would save.” With that I allow myself to drop backwards out the window, vaguely noting that they managed to get the door open and get out to safety. A feeling of serenity rushes through my veins as I drop. Finally being able to snap at them felt so good, even if later I end up regretting it. After the day I’ve had, there isn’t an ounce of regret in my body. It felt so good to be so cold, to say what I had been craving to say since they came into my life. They had all but imposed upon a life I didn’t want, tried to shoved me into a corner, tried to take what was mine. I am sick of letting people take from me.

God had dictated to take my life. My mother took my death. They tried to take my mother. Miranda wants to take my body. Take, take, take. No more. If this is the life I have to live, then nobody is taking it from me. Never again.

[x-childish-x]

The Forgotten 

Pairing: Loki Odinson x fem!reader

Fandom: Marvel

Warnings: violence, fighting, mentions of blood, anger, !Reader is given a default name of Angel based on appearance/species!

Word Count: 1,366

A/N: Hello everyone! While this isn't a request I really hope you enjoy this story. I've been doing a lot of research lately and this story is the result of that. Currently it stands majorly as a one shot, possibly a part two. However, I would be more than willing to turn this into a multi-chapter fic if you'd like. I hope that you all enjoy and remember feedback is always welcome and encouraged. (I'm sorry I couldn't get Bound for Error out on time, take this as a peace offering?)

Summary: A certain mischievous God lands on Sakaar, and you're called upon to show him to his room.

(gif not mine!)

Being summoned by the Grandmaster wasn't ever a happy deal. Normally, it meant imminent execution, a fight for your life, or being forced into yet another orgy. It was seldom that you would be summoned often only a handful of times every year. You'd lost track of the thousands of years you'd been there since your banishment, everything mushing into one long life you'd lost hope for.

Walking into his main hall, you watched with a smug smirk as the guards separated for you, allowing you to enter. Your eyes fell on a head of raven curly hair as you walked towards the Grandmaster. He sat casually in a guest chair, one that you or Scraper 142 would sit in when visiting the Grandmaster. He wasn't restrained or bound in any way, and it made you wonder who had brought him in. The older man smiled widely at you, clapping his hands together and dipping his head as you mocked his actions.

"Ah!" He cheered, "My sweet Angel, there's someone I'd like you to meet! This is Loki, King of Asgard! He came here off the Bifrost. I thought you might like to meet him!"

"I see where the nickname originates," A smooth, velvety voice filled the air as you turned around. His eyes followed not your body but the large, simmering, white wings that came from your back, "Given your wings and all. Truly, I've never seen a being like you, Angel."

A glare settled on your face as you sized up the man relaxing in one of the Grandmaster's guest chairs. Looking him over, you vaguely recognized him. Black hair, green and black leather with gold accents, of course, this was Odin's younger son. You remembered him vaguely, though he'd matured much more since you'd last seen him.

Sighing deeply, you spun back around, turning your back to the King as you spoke dully, "Of course you haven't, not with your father and such. I presume if you're King now, Odin's dead."

Your words seemed to strike Loki viciously, his face scrunching in slight pain at your bitter words. The Grandmaster seemed to notice your tension and immediately sucked in a loud, audible breath, followed by a short chuckle, "Ooohh! Right, right! Forgive me, Angel! I forgot what the dear Asgardians did to you!"

Your wings flexed outwards just slightly, teasing Loki, who was curious to their full size, "It's alright, Grandmaster."

"Well! Awkward," The Grandmaster laughed loudly, "Anyways! I wanted you to take him to his room while he stays here. I'm sure this new King of Ass-gard will be ever more kind than the last!"

"Asgard," Loki quickly corrected.

Reluctantly, with a swift nod at the Grandmaster, you set off, not wasting any time or sparing a glance at the King of Asgard. You grasped the key from one of the Grandmaster's many guards and gave them a harsh glare as they attempted to step closer to you. You walked away quickly, hearing muffled words being exchanged, before a rush of feet following after you. You brought your wings in closer to your back, resisting the urge to draw your sword and slit Loki's throat right then and there.

"So," The King started, a smirk sliding onto his face, "How'd you know my father? He appears to have done something terrible for you to hate him so."

"You'd surely love to know, wouldn't you, Loki?" You smiled sweetly before glaring at the man walking alongside you. You quickly decided you had no intentions of falling for the God of Mischief's tricks, "You've grown quite a bit, though I'd say I imagined you ending up bulkier. Well, what happened to your brother? Go on. I imagine you're dying to tell the story of how you became King, over him."

Loki was beyond shocked at your words. You appeared to know much more about him and his family than he would've liked and... you imagined him bigger?

"How have you seen me before, witch!?"

A laugh left your lips at Loki's grip on your arm and his dagger at your throat. It appeared the rumors were true. Odin had erased the Asgardian's memories of the Angels. You moved quickly, all too quick for Loki as you twisted lowly, swiping his feet out from underneath him and flipping over his falling body. Your hand slipped to grab his dagger as your dominant hand unsheathed your sword, aiming it at Loki's throat as your foot rest on his chest now.

Loki's wide eyes met yours as he gasped for breath, "What would your mother say of your rude manners, Friggason?"

"She's dead," Tears filled Loki's eyes as he muttered those two words, watching you carefully.

Your wings ruffled as you stepped back, a look of pain flashing through your eyes before you slipped your sword into your thigh scabbard. You dropped Loki's dagger and quickly began walking towards his room once more. Frigga was dead? How? Your heart ached slightly at the pain of knowing that the only Asgardian who was nice to you was gone, resting peacefully on Valhalla.

You heard Loki scramble around, groaning quietly at the pain from your swift moves before rushing to join you once more. Before the mischievous God could strike up another conversation, you arrived in his quarters. Wordlessly showing him how the key works, you slipped into his room, holding the door open and allowing him in. You watched as he looked around, assessing the area and determining if the place was fit enough for a King.

Tossing the key towards his bed, you turned to leave as Loki spoke up, "One last question."

Rolling your eyes, you paused, glancing over your shoulder with a raised eyebrow, "Go on."

"Suppose I wished to return to Asgard, how would I leave?"

A smile rose to your lips as you proceeded to walk out the room, "You don't."

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

"Valkyrie."

The younger girl nodded her head at you, a slight grimace on her face, "Angel."

"I suppose you've heard of your precious Asgardian that showed up."

Your voice was bitter, laced with anger and hatred, earning yourself a glare from the drunk girl as she spoke up, "I have. Though I hear he's a bit high maintenance."

Tilting your head at the girl as you leaned against a pillar, you couldn't fight off your mocking smile, "Aren't you all?"

Valkyrie huffed, moving on from the market booth she'd been at, "I swear, one day I will kill you."

"Can't tell you how many times I've heard that one."

You watched in satisfaction as the brunette-haired girl left, stumbling as she went. Slowly, your gaze shifted to the shop owner, who was currently throwing you an extremely dirty glare. You raised an eyebrow, sending yet another mocking smirk at the shop owner.

The man sighed, glaring at you as he dusted off some of the fruit, "Will you always sit here all day and scurry away my customers?"

"I can assure you I'll do my best to keep your earnings low, Bert."

A gentle, sardonic laugh fell from your lips as the bracelet around your wrist buzzed, shocking you ever so slightly. With a roll of your eyes, you leaped up in the air, your wings flapping elegantly as they propelled you upwards. Bert's now distant shouts were fading as you raced through the air towards the Grandmaster's palace. You zipped in, landing gracefully despite your speed.

"Angel! Gosh, I get chills every time you do that," The Grandmaster smiled, pretending to shiver, "Loki needs to be shown to the tailor and well, around our lovely town. I figure... you show him around, you skip a few of the tournaments. Win-win is all I see."

A frown fell upon your face, your hands twitching to draw your swords. As your glare intensified, you thought over how easy it would be. To remind the Grandmaster of who you were, what you were, of your past, and where you came from. Remind him that you could not be pushed around and would not be pushed around, but instead, you clenched your fists, letting out a sigh.

"I suppose I don't have a choice."

[gyllousos]

Warnings: Depression, masochists, language.

Copyright @ gyllousos 2021. All rights reserved.

Dedicated to @the-grimm-writer

_________________________________________

Hannya despised hospitals. She hated the smell of disinfectant, the plain white walls decorated with awareness for the human body, as well as the chairs in the waiting room. Not that the one she was sitting in was uncomfortable, yet her ass felt like a pin cushion since she'd been in the thing for well over an hour and counting. Just ten minutes ago she had gone to the vending machine for a soda, downing the Sprite in one gulp.

She was still staring into the empty soda can as though it would refill with more of the carbonated beverage. Her thumb pressed into the side, crinkling the corner. Above her a TV played an old show, something about two children using their imagination to escape into a new world.

One where they forgot about all the bad stuff, even for a moment, a paradise for two. A haven. Thinking about that made a lump swell in Hannya's throat. She set her can onto a nearby table, curling her hands into her lap. A nail dug into the fabric of her leggings, she winced at the bruise there. It was still throbbing a week later, still sore. Her back arched from the cut diagonal cut, also a week old, but it didn't pulse like the thigh bruise did.

Her old cuts and bruises hurt most days, even though half of them were healed for weeks, despite their ugliness in the beginnings. She used to never recognize herself in the mirror after they fucked. Not screwed, but fucked until she lay beneath him unable to move, a quivering mess of orgasm.

God. She was truly sick.

She inhaled slowly through her nose. Hannya refused to cry in this place. One of the nurses had been looking at her so often, a pitying look in her eyes. Hannya avoided eye contact.

She knew that nurse too well, she'd nearly made a home here. But that was long ago. And the nurse, a petite brunette with gentle doe eyes was always so kind to her.

Vague flashes of Hannya in a room where she was monitored, wearing a gown, and counting the hours on the clock to her meds. No, she wasn't going down memory lane again.

What if she broke again? But not because of him.

Dabi.

ㅤHe twisted the fabric of her shirt, bunching tightly. There were tearing sounds. Fraying sounds. Dragging her to within inches of his leering, predatory smile.

ㅤHer shirt came away in a ribbon, leaving her in unkempt, scant rags. He sneered, pinching a nipple as her pert little breasts jiggled free. Dabi tweaked the nipple, and swatted her breast with an open-palmed slap.

Hannya let out a cry between a gasp and a moan.

Dabi clenched his fist around her throat, thrust his arm so she was pinned to the wall behind her. One hand constricted the air from her lungs, while the other twisted cruelly on the same nipple from before.

"Scared yet?"

"No."

ㅤㅤ"No need to lie."

ㅤHis other hand slipped low, her breast freed from his cruel touch only for his hot breath to caress it. Dabi sank teeth into her its supple flesh, snakelike tongue uncoiled to writhe slick against the nipple. His loose fingers delved between her thighs, groping a handful of her warm, tender sex.

ㅤHe didn’t need her to black out from the choking, but it was designed so that every throb of pleasure he squeezed into her body lightened her head. A cruel, sadistic practice to strangle every last drop of ecstasy, to send her spirit into heaven but her body to hell.

Dabi's fingers were long and defined, two sunken deep into the supple heat of her cunt. His pace, merciless. The villain ground the heel of his wrist firmly against her clit, assaulting every inch. He worked in and out of her with aggressive vigor, stirring up loud, sloppy noises from her.

She felt him adjust, she bit her lip from the harsh penetration when he slammed himself into her, those haunting blue eyes never leaving her face.

"You're mine, Hannya."

"I'm yours."

"If another man looks at you the way I look at you, or even thinks about fucking you, I'll split his goddamn skull."

Hannya snapped back to reality at the alert of her name being called. She remembered now that she had been called into the exam room for tests. The gown felt paper thin on her, exposing her to the nurse who held her clipboard in hand.

She hadn't commented on the palm bruise on her thigh or the cut on her back. Hannya was almost relieved her skin was back to semi-normal. It had been a long time since she last been here. How long ago?

Three years since her last attempt.

"You're doing well Hannya, much better since your last visit with us. You've been keeping up with all of your appointments, last time you were hear you had bad anemia and an infection. You bounced back like a champ. "

Hannya smiled faintly. The plump old woman reminded her of a doting grandma.

"Your appetite back to normal?"

"Yes ma'm. Everything is good."

She tried best to hide the clip in her speech.

"Now that we're following up, I'd like to wait for the rest of your test results to come in."

Hannya hid her impatience, wishing time would go forward, she could grab her things and leave. Back to her home where she could close off the world. Block everyone out. Would Dabi be waiting for her? For once, she didn't want to see him. As much as their sadistic games were fun time both of them, she just didn't have the desire. No other man could get her off the way Dabi did.

Lately, she dreaded seeing him propped in her couch, or getting a text from him. She could damn near feel him without him being near. A moment later, when the same woman poked her head in, Hannya actually beamed.

The door closed behind her.

That's when Hannya left the hospital in a daze, barely clutching her phone and purse, she didn't even know she drove home until she parked in the driveway. Turning off the engine, she sat in stunned silence, her knuckles tight onto the steering wheel.

God, she just wanted to turn back time to the last month, the last year, erase everything. She was numb enough as is and she hoped Dabi wasn't waiting on her. She just couldn't take it right now.

“No,” she said, barely audible. The nurse's words echoing in her ears once more.

A sob escaped her. She dragged herself out of her vehicle, barely registering her feet moving towards her home, inside of her apartment. She locked the door behind her. And didn't have to look around to see a tall man with spiked dark hair and a smile that gave her goosebumps.

"Dabi..."

"Miss me?"

Her legs felt like jelly. Her heart was being so fast she feared it rip itself through her chest. Hannya's knees shook, and her heart hammered in my chest. She felt like she was already walled in, and she didn’t even know it.

“I wish I’d never met you,” she said, almost whispering.

He stopped, his boots creaking the wooden floor under him. “Believe me, girl, the feeling is fucking mutual.”

No arguments, no shouting, no cursing even though she wanted to spew a blue streak at him. Eventually she fell onto her knees, the metallic clink of a belt and a zipper being pulled down; she parted her lips for Dabi's cock already slick with precum. She swallowed him into the back of her throat.

"Good girl," he praised her, stroking the back of her head.

___________________________________________

Hannya hadn't seen Dabi since that day, what felt like over a month had turned into sixteen months. As much as she didn't care, she ached for him, and not in the sexual sense. She truly yearned for his company if she could actually believe it. Just what happened to him after that?

No texts, no calls. No sudden appearing without warning. Poof! He never told her he was leaving. Then again he never told her a lot of anything. Hannya often dreamt of him, as the little boy named Touya. The same boy who came crying to her in the catacombs and she to him. Two kids yearning for a place in the world.

She hadn't given up hope she'd see him again, if ever. Hannya swiped her fingers across her phone screen, tucking her device back into her pocket, her blue eyes swiveled up the moon, an ache swelling in her chest.

"I'm losing it..." She mumbled, proceeding to walk. She was patting her pockets for her car keys when a hand snaked its way around her forearm, dragging her into a brick corner, pinning her against a wall.

She couldn't scream because of the stranger's hand covering her mouth. Her eyes doubled in size, his sinister smirk making her skin flush.

Touya!

"Dabi." It came out as a muffle.

"Like you've seen a ghost," he sneered, letting her go.

"For a minute I thought I did..." She whispered.

His eyes raked over her outfit, eyes narrowing in on her chest. He sure knew how to make her vulnerable, naked without undressing her. So he hadn't left after all. Was he hiding from her?

He was never far to begin with. Something told her this wasn't a social visit, she needed to get home before she did something like kiss him. He'd take her right here in public. Wouldn't be the first time.

"I was looking for you, " she said.

"Is that a fact?" His voice was utterly emotionless. Not the least bit of warmth.

"I suppose I was looking for you, too. You made a big mistake Hannya."

The way he said it made Hannya scoot an inch from him.

"What are you talking about?" Hannya remained composed, furrowing her dark brows. Dabi only advanced.

"Telling lies, keeping secrets. It was all gonna come out eventually, you just should have been more careful."

"Dabi..." He chuckled, one hand stuffed in his jacket pocket.

"I...I meant to find you...I was looking for my family."

Dabi almost laughed, shaking his head slightly.

"You were looking for a family, huh? One could argue it's my family you’re looking for right? How are my baby boy and girl by the way? Got my eyes don't they?"

All the color drained from Hannya's face.

A glimpse into memory had her back in the exam room months ago.

"We ran more tests Hannya. Your bloodwork shows you’re also pregnant, a little over eight weeks along. Congratulations.”

Why couldn't the Earth just swallow her whole now? There's no way he could have known. No she wouldn't have told him right away, if at all. He wouldn't have been a great father. When she was told she was pregnant Hannya wanted to cry, scream, break something or even someone. The last thing she had ever wanted inflicted on her had happened, she was in such hysterics she nearly fainted.

Why couldn't it have been anyone but him? The raw cry she let out. She imagined life with two tiny humans, ones she could give unconditional love to. Innocent souls. Her twins. She knew she was going to keep them, her darling babies. How she tried to keep them from Dabi and now...

"You knew...how long..."

"Does it matter? You honestly didn't think you could hide them from me forever Hannya. You should know better than that." His voice was almost a taunt.

"Try keeping them away from me, if you so much as leave with them I'll burn everything down in my path, everyone, to get what I want."

It was like a slap in the face. He wouldn't? Right? No, he had no rights towards their children. Her children. As far as Hannya knew Dabi was just the sperm donor.

Hannya scowled.

Dabi smirked.

He was right, the twins got his eyes alright.

Still advancing, Dabi pinned Hannya to the rough brick wall, his nose level with hers. He didn't want to admit he missed his little devil. He had to resist the urge to to tear off her clothing and fuck her until she was begging him to stop. God, her scent. She couldn't have been more beautiful, plump lips, inviting breasts, fair skin he wanted to mark again.

"I'll be watching you and our children, doll. Who would have thought..."

He gripped her oncoming wrist from slapping him. Should he break it? No. Some other time. He released her, backing up to give her space, almost yearning for the closeness again. No more talk, he left quietly as he came. He heard the faint falling of Hannya on her knees, cursing him to hell and back.

[whosaskingwrites]

Forget You (Kuroo x Reader)

A/N: This one is told entirely from Kuroos pov except for the very beginning. Because, Reader's pov wouldn't have been sad. As she doesn't remember him by the time they see eachother again. Edit: Y'all deadass let me not have the theme in here since the 24th. The theme has been added as of the 29th.

WARNINGS: None really? Angst Kuroo is a sad boy. Tooth rotting fluff from Bokuto i guess if that counts as a warning. Kuroo yells at you in the beginning.

Date: Saturday October 24th, 2020

Details: 5.5 pages 2,040 words

Theme: Stranger- when you get heartbroken you have the option of forgetting the person who caused the heart break as long as you say the word stranger with enough conviction while thinking about the person you want to forget.

Angst masterlist

“I can’t fucking stand you! Why are you so Goddamn annoying!” I took a step back as I looked at Kuroo “All I asked was to meet your friends! Since you talk about them all the time!” I yelled back. I didn’t know what had made him so mad we had been dating for six months having been roommates previously.

“And I told you no so why didn’t you accept that?” I shook my head “Actually you just started yelling at me-" “God see! You always have to be fucking right about everything!” I flinched as his voice raised more “You know what? Get the fuck out,” I looked up at him “w-what?” I voiced “Get your shit and get out I don’t wanna see you again. I’m breaking up with you,” My other roommate Kenma had finally come out of his room at that “Hey Kuroo-" I held up my hand to stop Kenma “No…its okay i-i'll leave but I’m leaving my stuff here until I have a new place. Kenma I leave it in your care,” my voice was shaky as I turned.

“Y/n…,” I shook my head at Kenma “I…I’ll see you later Kenma. Kuroo,” I turned a glare on him to see he was already glaring at me “I hope I never fucking see you again,” I turned on my heel leaving the apartment with heavy footsteps. It was sunset and my feet carried me to the trains I took a random one and let my feet carry me as I ended up at park. I had no idea where I was but I couldn’t find myself to care as I cried.

I wiped my tears slightly thinking about Kuroo and I knew then I didn’t want him to occupy my thoughts anymore. I looked at the sunset and focused before saying the word with as much conviction and venom as I could muster. “Stranger,” I blinked a few times and rubbed my eyes.

More tears leaked out of my eyes when I recalled my roommate Kenma had kicked me out of our apartment. “Where am I?” I whispered sighing as I realized my phone was dead.

“Excuse me…Are you okay?” I turned my head looking at a guy who stood next to the bench. He had what appeared to be silver and black hair his head tilted slightly to the side casting half his face in the dying sunlight. I vaguely noticed that his eyes were gold and seemed to glow despite no light being cast on them. “I…I think so?” I voiced as I looked back at him.

“You think so? Why are you crying in the park then?” He got closer and sat on the other side of the bench. “My roommate kicked me out of our apartment and my phone is dead so…,” I looked away as he hummed “Um…You could stay at my place,” I turned back to look at him with wide eyes. “I don’t even know your name and you’re asking me to stay at your place? Do you know that makes you sound like a serial killer?” He laughed suddenly eyes crinkling in mirth.

“Sorry I’ve been told I’m too nice by my teammates. Im Bokuto Koutarou,” He held out a hand giving me a smile. I took his hand and mirrored the smile “Y/n L/n. You’re on a sports team?” His smile widened suddenly and in his excitement he pulled me closer still holding onto my hand “Yeah! Volleyball I play for the MSBY Black Jackals,” he puffed his chest with a sense of pride causing me to laugh.

“Volleyball huh? Sounds like fun,” He nodded rapidly “It is! You should come to one of my games- ah sorry! I’ve been talking about me when you’re the one who’s sad,” I shook my head with a smile as he let go of my hands eyes wide in panic “Its okay. I’m not sad anymore but I think I will take you up on that offer as long as you promise not to hurt me,” I held up my pinky towards him giggling lightly.

He smiled widely hooking his pinky with my own “I promise. This will be the best adventure of your life,” I nodded at him “I’ll hold you too that Bokuto,” He chuckled at me

“Deal Y/n,”

Two years.

It had been two years since I’d seen the love of my life. I regretted it everyday since our argument and Kenma never made me feel better about it. “No she never talks about you or asks. And I don’t bring you up,” was the last thing he told me when I asked about her. I never meant to yell or kick her out and I’d never forgiven myself for it. She had blocked my number fairly quickly and Kenma never told me where she was.

“Hey Kuroo pay attention to the game,” Kenma voiced causing me to zone back in and stop thinking about Y/n. I sighed “Why are we even here?” I asked watching Bokuto preform a cross-shot that had the audience screaming. “Bokuto said he wanted to say something and he wanted all of us there,” I shrugged “He’s probably just gonna tell us that he’s got a spot on the Japanese Olympics team,” I sighed out while Kenma clicked his tounge. “Sure…,” I looked at him “Kenma do you know something I don’t?” Before he could answer the whistle blew announcing the Black Jackals as the winners of the match.

Kenma stood “Let’s go congratulate them,” I stood with him as he walked off “Hey you didn’t answer the question!” He kept a quick pace ahead of me while I followed. We stepped onto the court Kenma immediately going to Hinata I couldn’t see Bokuto but my eyes caught sight of a familiar face standing by the Miya twins. She laughed at something Atsumu said and laughed harder when Osamu added something that caused Atsumu to glare at him.

I gasped as I looked at her she looked just as beautiful as she did the last time I saw her. H/l h/c hair cascaded down her back her e/c eyes sparkled brightly like gems she wore a Black Jackals jersey and a pair of jeans both of which hugged her figure in just the right way. I let my feet carry me towards her knowing I needed to apologize. I didn’t know why she was here but Kenma probably invited her so I could see her.

“Y/n!” I called when I was close enough she turned her eyes meeting mine. I expected many emotions to pass her face in all the times I pictured seeing her again. Anger, sadness, happiness, etc. But confusion was never one that crossed my mind. “I’m sorry…Do I know you?” she asked causing my eyes to widen in shock. “No…You couldn’t have…,” I voiced quietly. She stared at me offering a slight smile but nowhere in her expression did I see any form of recognition. And I knew then she had forgotten me entirely.

I smiled back realizing I could start over with her “Sorry I’m Kuroo Tetsuro…You’re very beautiful,” her face turned pink slightly and the Miya twins laughed. Suddenly I saw familiarity light up her eyes and I smiled thinking she remembered me. “Oh! I know you! You’re the friend that Kou always wants me to meet! He gets so sad everytime you blow him off,” she frowned slightly at the end. Causing me to frown as I realized she really didn’t remember. But I also frowned at the name it was vaguely familiar though I couldn’t place where. “Kou?” I mumbled quietly to myself.

“Excuse me! Can I have everyone’s attention?” the gym quieted down everyone knew Bokuto was announcing something so most of the audience had stayed to listen. We all turned to the source of the voice and I noted that he looked beyond nervous for whatever he planned to say.

“I’d like for my beautiful girlfriend to come here,” The twins suddenly shoved Y/n forward causing her to stumble a bit but she walked forward anyway. I froze as the name connected in my mind on why its so familiar 'Kou…Koutarou' 'She calls me Kou and its so cute!' I saw her stop next to him and they smiled at each other “Oh fuck,” I whispered to myself as Kenma slid over. Bokuto was fidgeting slightly and rocking on the balls of his feet a telling sign that he was anxious.

“I’ve got something to say and I’ve thought about it for awhile,” he sent a reassuring smile at her when he noticed she looked nervous. He took a deep breath before continuing “Two years ago I found you crying in a park. I remember you told me that your roommate kicked you out and you called me a serial killer,” she turned red as he and others laughed.

I realized then that the day they met was the same day we broke up. “I took a leap of faith that day and told you that you could stay with me even though I had no reason to,” He chucked lightly at the pink dusting her cheeks “At the time I never would predicted that by the six month mark I would have fallen in love with you,” I frowned at the collective aw leaving the audiences mouths. 'That should be me' I thought as I watched the two of them.

“And after a year and a half I’ve decided that I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. I want to wake up with you next to me, I want to laugh at everything and nothing with you, I want to spend nights with you wrapped in my arms as we talk about whatever comes to mind,” a pink flush had taken over his face and from behind me I heard a sniffle.

“Tsumu are you crying?” I heard “Shut the fuck up Samu,” Kenma snorted next to me at the twins. “I want these things because I’m so completely and Irrevocably in love with you so…,” I watched Bokutos eyes flicker to Akaashi who nodded at him. He dropped to one knee and everything became a buzz as I zoned in on Y/n the audience gasping was barely audible to me as I watched her cover her mouth with her hand her eyes were bright and glassy and every fiber of my being screamed at me to stop this. ‘Get her back! Stop him!’ my mind screamed. I couldn’t move though I was frozen on the spot feeling like id just been doused with freezing cold water.

“Will you do me the honor of continuing this adventure and marry me?” I could hear Bokuto but it sounded so distant to me. ‘No! Say no!’ My mind screamed louder but I felt my heart crack as she nodded in response. He got back up to wrap his arms around her picking her up he spun her around a few times and buried his face in the crook of her neck pressing light kisses to her shoulder.

‘Get away from her!’ I shook my head as I watched him slip a silver band on her finger. I caught sight of the f/c gem attached to it. It was surrounded by small yellow gems that matched Bokuto's eyes. He kissed her cheek as everyone cheered and congratulated them. She pulled back pulling out a small envelope and pressing it into his hands. He looked at her and opened it before his eyes lit up even more. He whispered something to her to which she nodded at. His excitement couldn’t be contained as he picked her up again “I’m gonna be a dad!” He didn’t need the mic this time plenty loud enough without it but it reignited the audience’s excitement as they screamed again.

He placed her down wrapping an arm around her waist and finally I watched my entire world shatter and heart crumble as the love of my life kissed her fiancé and father of her children.

‘That should have been me'

————————————————————————

TAGLIST: @wonhomarshmallow

[gustafsnightangel]

Shattered Lives Ch 38 Pt 2

With the kids in bed, himself freshly showered, he brought the teapot and cups into her office and shut the door. He wasn’t sure if there would be raised voices, but just in case he’d seclude them away until they were done. Pouring her a cup he sat on the edge of her desk, the stroke along her hand jolting her out of lawyer land, a soft smirk tugging his lips. He’d never get over how beautiful she was, wicked smart and beautiful.

She looked at him, the tea in his hand and prepared herself for the argument she knew was coming. The fight he had every right to lay at her feet. She stayed silent, prepared to let him rage at her for placing herself in that kind of danger.

“I want to be so angry with you.” He said softly after a moment. “For putting yourself in that position, for not coming back upstairs with the kids. I want to rage at you for scaring fifty years off my life when I saw him hit you.” His knuckles grazed her cheek, the bruise already blooming. “But I can’t.” He said shaking his head. “I can’t because you were doing what you thought was right, with the split second you had to make the decision to keep the kids safe.” A few years ago this conversation would have gone very differently, he thought. Back then he would have been quick to anger and let the rage rule his mind, rule his actions, rule his life. Now? Not so much, he’d mastered that demon well.

“I know now I should have just stepped into the elevator and come back upstairs.” She said gently. Hindsight was a wonderful thing, she thought bitterly. “But it didn’t even cross my mind.” He wiped the stray tear away, she hated herself for scaring him, for the whole mess of it. “All I could think about was getting the kids away from him. I didn’t even consider getting myself away from him too.”

“And you did keep them safe love.” He smiled. “You sent them to me.”

“I guess I am learning.” She scoffed at herself shrugging her shoulders. He toyed with her hair, his fingers raking through the waves. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t love.” He said shaking his head. “Don’t ever apologize for protecting your kids.”

“Our kids.” She sniffed. “They’re yours as much as they are mine now.”

“I know. I guess I’m still learning.” He murmured. Leaning over he brushed his lips against hers tenderly. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She choked, her emotions still too close to the surface.

“What are you working on?” He asked, determined to move past it, nodding a head toward her open laptop, their front door feed paused ready to be played.

“Something that stuck with me, but because my brain got rattled around in my skull I couldn’t be certain whether he’d said it or whether I was confused and just hallucinating.” She chuckled at his confused look. “Have you seen the feed?”

“Only the first bit to make sure it was working, I haven’t had a chance to really watch or digest it.” He said softly as she stood up and gestured for him to sit, taking up residence in his lap once he’d settled. He snuggled her in, long limbs securing her to him.

“Ignore what you see and listen to what he’s saying.” She pressed play and he listened, but nothing really registered as out of the ordinary, just some mumbling after he’d struck Sildie that he couldn’t really grasp the first time around.

“I’m missing something, I know I am but...” He fell silent as she cued it up at a specific spot.

“Listen, close your eyes and listen, it’s really faint but it’s there.” She hit play once his eyes closed.

“Not unless you want me to bite your dick off.” He heard Sildie say clearly and smirked, she would have too.

“Time to collect what I’m owed you little cunt whore.” It was barely audible before the crack of his hand hitting her face. That was a sound that he’d never get out of his head. “Always fucking with my life, you little bitch. First my cunt sister and now you. Ana said you’ve been trouble for her, accusing her, setting her up. First your brother fucked me over taking my sisters money, now you’re getting in the way with Ana. I’m gonna take what I’m owed from you, fuck the money, I’m gonna fuck you until...” Sildie pressed pause on the feed not wanting to hear or see the rest of it again. She’d watched it enough and Gustaf didn’t need to hear the rest.

His eyes flew open with a choked gasp and he stared at her.

“I only vaguely remember him mentioning Ana. My face was on fire and I couldn’t be sure.” She said quietly, eyes searching his.

“She sent him to hurt you?” He murmured in disbelief that Ana would have gone that far, his own brain chewing over the thought. A fresh new wave of rage started to simmer.

“It’s a possibility.” She nodded. “We won’t know for sure unless he starts spilling the details in a confession. But Elias has hated me for a long time love. He wouldn’t have needed much of a push to come at me.”

“Does Leon know about this? Lucas? Lindstrom? Fuck, everyone?” He asked his eyes widening as the extent of Ana’s involvement clicked. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him sweetly taking all that rage out of his sails in an instant.

“Take a breath love, and yes they all know. They have copies and a signed statement from me.” She kissed him slowly, a tenderness to soothe. “That’s what I’ve been working on.”

“This is good for us right?” He was unsure how he should feel, rage, anger, fear, joy, hopeful. His brain didn’t seem to know which emotion to settle on.

“It’s good for us, in a few ways. Elias will go away for multiple counts of aggravated assault, restraining order and court order violations. It was all caught on camera, it’s a done deal, I’ve filed the paperwork and sent it all to Leon, copies sent to Elsa, your lawyers. Family court will bury him for that alone, especially with multiple assaults already on his record. Then there’s the possible tie in with Ana.” She held up her hand to stop him from arguing as his mouth dropped open to do exactly that. “It’s only a possible, we have no proof it is her. All he says is Ana, it could be any Ana on the planet. Highly likely it’s our Ana but still. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. That piece of information is circumstantial at best.”

“I see your point.” He said tersely, his own brain working through the information.

“If it is Ana it will not only hurt her case if there is a connection, but hurt him and Dana’s family. To be honest, I’m kind of ok with a bruised wrist and jaw when it will kill two birds with one stone.”

“I’m still not ok with him laying hands on you.” He said bluntly, fingers stroking down her good cheek to bring her closer for a kiss. She let him deepen it, not able to bring herself to mention she’d heard him call her his wife, the microphones barely picking it up, but it was there. The way it rolled off his tongue so effortlessly, with so much love and conviction it had sucker punched her square in the gut.

“I’m ok love.” She said softly, her hand resting on his chest.

“Are you done in here for the night?” He asked, kissing her bare shoulder where her sweater had slipped down as she finished her tea.

“I can be.” She said softly. “I should be.” She sighed, knowing that if she pushed it any further the headache she currently had sitting behind her eyes ready to pounce would get worse.

“Headache?”

“Yeah, and my face hurts.” She winced as she realized just how much she’d been ignoring it.

“How’s the wrist?” He asked, brushing a finger lightly over the strapping the hospital had insist she wear.

“Not as bad as my face.”

“Well that’s something. Up for a soak? You need to switch off that wicked smart brain and let it catch up to the rest of you. It got a little rattled around in there.” His kiss gentle.

“Will you soak with me?” Her finger trailed down his jaw before she claimed that clever mouth tenderly. She wanted to see him calmer as well.

“No water sports.” He said gruffly, the smirk tugging the corner of his mouth.

“Spoil sport.” She pouted.

“But I’ll soak with you.” He kissed her softly. “Take care of you.”

“I think it’s my turn to take care of you, you’ve filled your quota for today.” She chuckled. “Maybe for the entire year.”

“We don’t keep score love, remember.” He murmured and kissed her longingly. “How about we take care of each other?”

“Now that I can get down with.”

“You take care of the teapot, I’ll run the bath.” He tapped her thigh for her to get up, but she stayed.

“I love you.” She said sweetly. “So much.”

“My Sildie.” He breathed. “My love.” He let the love for her pour out of him. “My home.” He kissed her tenderly. “You are my everything.”

While Gustaf readied the tub, Sildie rinsed the teapot and smiled as she looked around their home. Home, she thought, their home, their kids. Her hand went to her belly absently as that ever present question circled along with another. My wife, he’d said it with such conviction, complete commitment, that deep love he only had for her. “Do I want to be married?” She mumbled, almost startling herself with her own question. “Not that it would be much different than what we’re already doing.” She chewed on her lip and flexed her wrist wincing. “Just another question to add to the list I guess.” She muttered and turned off the lights and checked the front door.

She found him in their en-suite, the shirt already in the hamper, sweats slung low on his hips. Memories from their lazy morning flooded into her as she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face between his blades. Her home, her man.

“You ok love?” He chuckled as he cradled her tender wrist to him.

“Yamnow.” She said and breathed him in, her cheek more a dull ache than earlier, she knew it would be worse tomorrow. He turned and helped her strip, holding out his hand for her to take so she didn’t slip as she climbed in the tub. He went out to the kitchen and brought back an ice pack in a towel and handed it to her.

“You’ll thank me tomorrow. Lots of ice now makes it more bearable in the morning.” He’d taken his fair share of knocks to learn that one quickly.

He scooped her into his lap, soaped his hands and massaged her shoulders as she held the ice to her face, the other wrapped against her wrist, and relaxed into him. His hands wandered, more to soothe and just feel her body than arouse. When she was nearly asleep he pulled the plug and dried her off, carrying her to bed and snuggling her in.

“Sleep now love.” He kissed her, lazy and slow, kisses that he cherished.

“Gustaf?”

“Mmmm.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead willing her to switch her brain off and let sleep take her.

“I love you and I’m sorry I scared you.” She mumbled.

“I love you too and try not to do it again ok?” He chuckled gently.

“I’ll try, I’m sorry.” Her voice barely there.

“Let it be done now love, sleep.”

“Kay.” She went under and he smiled at the sudden deadweight in his arms.

“I’m so in love with you.” He grinned, kissing her head and following her into sleep moments later, her scent soothing him.

@hausofobsession @ill-skillsgard @grandpa-sweaters @authentic90skidd @tuckersgirl @fairlyfallacy @flowers-in-your-hayr @raewritesfiction @stinkerbelle007 @kamie-b @mrsaugustwalker @skrsgardspam @loliwrites @trippedmetaldetector @lihikainanea @fay-walden @nandadb

[saintheartwing]

Breaking Dawn, Pt. 3: Rise of the Red Helm

She was a normal, good solider. She truly was.

But she couldn't help but notice something wasn't...right...with her world.

She saw things...tolerated. Things that she could not stand. And she grew to despise these things. She didn't understand why they existed.

Until she met it. The crack. The rip. The Schism.

As she looked into it, knowledge ripped through her mind like a tidal wave, and she understood all. Understood what she was. Where she was. What she was meant to be.

And she realized now why she could not tolerate those things. Those...vermin.

She swore to destroy them.

They were all nothing more than robotic bugs.

And she...was going to make sure...everybody knew this.

Breaking Dawn, Part Three RISE OF THE RED HELM

The experience was...enlightening beyond anything he'd ever experienced. Simultaneously intoxicating and exhilarating, a breath of fresh air after years, YEARS of being locked away in the damp and the dark, beautiful...so damn beautiful.

And then that experience ended, and he was vaguely aware of a spectral, ghostly form gently patting him on one shoulder, a smile spreading across a draconic face with sweet, kindly eyes, black with a faint tint of green at the bottom, and pupils like a shining star. It spread it's wings over him, his Lord, his God, speaking in a voice so harmonious that the very words uttered from its mouth threatened to annihilate his very existence with their divinity. He was standing in the presence of sacred fire, and like Zeus before the average mortal, it was a wonder he could endure it and wasn't being burnt up.

"You're different...from most of the others." It told him. "...I think I could tolerate you more. You've got the seeds of real potential in you, my host. Are you prepared?"

"P-prepared f-for what?" Senior asked, stuttering nervously as Sude smiled broadly.

"I have need of you for a mission. I'll hide away within you...be only visible TO you, audible to you. Return to your charge, the once called Maht. I'll explain when you've returned to the ship you call your home." Sude informed him, wrapping his immense wings and powerful arms around him, almost sinking into his body. Senior gasped, patting his chest, his stomach, his arms...

The Irken in him was astounded, frightened, confused. This being wasn't an Irken! It was skaatel, it was...

Yet...the power...the sheer, awe-inspiring beauty that had filled his form...that had been more enjoyable than anything he'd ever felt. He'd felt tiny doses of it, listening to Earthen music...those quiet moments from the past with the two beings he had loved, were he capable of love. Pure happiness...that was it. Unbridled joy.

He WANTED to feel that again, above all else. And if he did what this thing asked of him, he might be able to feel it again. He would have done ANYTHING to feel it.

So he exited the restroom, heading back in Maht's direction as the service drone helped somebody back up from the ground, they'd tripped and had dropped all of their merchandise and Maht was putting it back in their cart for them. "You're very helpful, sir." The half-Irken, half-Vortian admitted as Senior stood by Maht, who nodded cheerily at the Vortken.

Senior nervously gulped. He didn't REALLY have anything personal against ANY Vortians or other species. His PAK had, after all, been encoded in a time when other species had been allies to the Empire, when it had been considerably less bullying, conquering not with cruelty, but with a kiss, a time when all the Irken race had wanted was for all beings to speak Irken, know Irken culture, trade with Irk, and it wasn't like there weren't perks to this...

Still, he was slightly...uncomfortable around half-breeds, or "mongrels". Most Irkens had sexual organs deeply embedded, useless like a human appendix. Stored deep inside, never to be used. Ignored. What crazy lunatics would undergo the procedure to bring those organs out and...and breed with other beings? It seemed so...barbaric!

He tried to summon up a smile and gave a half-hearted chuckle at the Vortken as he turned to Maht, pointing at an invisible watch on his wrist. "Methinks it's time we find the others and meet up for lunch. Let's head to the food district."

Making their way out of the warehouse and through the streets, Maht examined a magazine he'd bought, entitled "Irken Weekly". The headlines were quite attention-grabbing. "Resisty Rocks: Irken Resistance Movement gains in the Pollls Through Popular Programming", "How to style your lekku"-

EWWWW. People could PIERCE that part of the body? YECCCH.

Wait. What was this? "The Red Helm Strikes Again".

Red Helm?

Senior frowned. He'd heard reports about this "Red Helm" lately, this vigilante being that stalked the streets of Irk. People had a tendency to DIE if they crossed his path. Die horribly. Most of the time nobody was able to find all of the pieces of whatever poor soul had met the Red Helm in some dark, dingy alley. The only thing the victims had in common seemed to be that they had all been members of the Irken military.

What neither Maht nor Senior knew was that several miles away, in an underground bunker, Irken commanders of the local military were all discussing their latest problems, which could be summed up quite easily in one sentence.

"HE'S KILLING EVERYONE!"

Fists slammed onto a table as dozens of armed guards stood by the exits below a catwalk, the commanders sitting around a circular table. The Irken who'd shouted shook his slightly hexagonal head back and forth. "I had thought that we'd be able to put a lid on the media...why are they being allowed to report this?"

"We've TRIED, sir, but they keep moving locations. And word-of-mouth is spreading the news about the Red Helm like wildfire."

"You called us here because you've got a plan, haven't you?" Another commander asked, one of nearly black skin, eyes steely and cold as he steepled his gloved claws.

"No, I did not." The man from before mumbled, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair, scowling behind his Elite mask. "I thought it was you. You've lost five officers, haven't you?"

"Today it makes six. SIX! Some of my best people."

"Oh, screw this." Another captain spoke up, standing up from the chair. "I'm done here. You brain donors wanna stick around-"

"Siddown, Captain Kroonch." A low, growling voice snarled out from atop the catwalk, as a being stepped out into the light, resting black-gloved hands upon the railing. It was a being dressed in black and red armor, a large red breastplate upon his chest with two spiky wings hanging low from his shoulder blades, with a horned helm. Two curled down the side of it's head like a ram, with a final spike jutting up from the forehead. It appeared as though the Red Helm had decided to make a personal appearance, and he was every bit as imposing as they'd heard.

His soulless red eyes blazed down at them as they felt a faint smile make it's way through the helmet that covered his head. "You've all authorized a recent...campaign. A secret one. Targeting defectives. You thought nobody would find OUT?" He growled. "Nobody reports the death of poor defectives. But poor soldiers dying in the line of duty? Oh, THAT sells."

"You ASKING to die?" The dark-skinned commander snarled. "There are easier ways of doing it!"

"Yeah, like yelling at the lunatic that's eviscerated every single military idiot he's come across with his hands alone." The Red Helm laughed darkly, shutting him up. "Now you tell me. Your hired killer. The one leaving bodies for yours truly to find and give respect...the name. I want the name."

"..." The Irkens at the table all looked around at each other. "...we're not telling you ANYTHING." One of the captains growled, pointing accusingly at the Red Helm.

The Red Helm's eyes narrowed as it pointed it's palm at the captain, a red circle glowing on it's palm as a burning blast of red energy shot clear through the air, snatching the captain up.

He barely had time to scream.

"That...is going to be all of you...unless you start talking." The Red Helm asked as everyone stepped away from Mr. Friz's head, Mr. Friz's right hand, Mr. Friz's left leg...heck, EVERYONE had a little piece of Mr. Friz to take home for a souvenir now.

"Earth culture's rather primitive, but it appears as though they're right about one thing...military intelligence truly IS an oxymoron. You're all really so dumb that you'll choose your empire over self-preservation? Yeah, just what your commanders taught you to. Mine..."

His eyes narrowed. "For me...it was different. As my commander lay DYING in front of me because of a mistake the Empire made, I realized then I didn't really give two shits what the higher-ups thought because as far as they were concerned, I was just cannon fodder. We're ALL just cannon fodder. I might actually be doing you a favor, giving you all quick deaths here..." The vigilante spoke quietly, dangerously, eyes glimmering as he raised his gloved hand high. "I promised him to make people like you pay...and, well...you should NEVER break a promise." The helmeted being said calmly.

"Wiyn! Her name's Wiyn!" The black-skinned Irken immediately blabbed out, Mr. Friz's intestinal tract f his squeedly-spooch dangling off his head. "She's an Elite Grunt! Dark olive green skin and even darker green eyes!" The commander squealed, covering his head with his arms. "We gave her the list of known defects three months ago!"

"Well...that wasn't so hard, was it?" The Red Helm said cheerily, clapping his hands as he began to shrink back into the shadows. "Just remember...I'm watching...and I'm waiting for you to slip up again. If you send another one of her out there...you're dead."

With that, it was gone, and the little makeshift military tribunal looked around at each other, wondering what they'd unleashed.

...

...

...

...it wasn't long before all of Senior's charges were sitting at a table at "Deep Fried Dan's Diner". Everything that wasn't fried and buttered was swimming in gravy, just the way most of them liked it.

"Hey, where's my sly-doo-dee-doo?" Dite wanted to know, shouting furiously as he banged his fist on the table. The head chef pulled out a smoking...THING...from a furnace, holding it aloft on a prong, and calmly fake-ran through the diner, holding the burning thing high and humming the theme to the Olympics as he deposited it on Dite's plate. "...I'll be grateful when this "Earth" fad is over." Dite mumbled.

Yes, everybody had ordered something that would surely give them heart attacks...save for Feyr, who had decided to simply have some potato chips. Lots of them.

"I think your hand is becoming translucent." Xeil mumbled as the pink-eyed consular stuffed more and more into his mouth, hungrily gobbling the chips down, pieces of the chips spraying out over a dark, steely-grey table. "So much GREASE."

"Like your deep-fried Blorblegax Breast has any less." Feyr muttered out in between mouthfuls, slurping down his meal with some orange soda. "My, you're awfully hungry today, sir, if you do not mind me saying so." He added, looking at Senior as his taller hungrily wolfed down cheesy nachos. "It reminds me of the prisoners in our holding cells, they're so starved it's like they're eating for two!" He tapped his lip. "That reminds me, has anybody seen the latest "Irk Weekly"? There's been more and more captures of Resisty supporters on this planet, they're becoming AWFULLY popular for such a stupidly-named group."

"It's the theme song." Senior reasoned as he swallowed the last of his nachos, noticing the television above the bar had been turned on to the very show so the waitress and other patrons could see what the big deal was. "It's just so friggin' hard to not like."

The world is a vampire...sent to draaaa-aaaa-aaaaain!

"Yeah, we're badass." The grey-skinned, horned being named Lard Nar said as he addressed the camera, his green-goggled eyes catching the light of a passing sun as their ship soared through the stars.

Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage!

"Of COURSE you're gonna get sucked in after THAT." Senior insisted, waving his hand at the television as the show started.

"HEY!" The orange-eyed female smacked Maht's hand away from her tray, baring sharp teeth. "MINE!"

"Well, it appears as though the Resisty are doing a raid, a LIVE raid upon..." Jayd's eyes widened as he trailed off.

Wait. Was that...

"...is that...the alley behind this diner?" The waitress asked as Lard Nar grinned into the camera.

"Perception filters. New! Improved! We're practically invisible here we see the BEAUTIFUL capital city of Irk! So much culture! So many Irkens!...we're gonna blow this diner up." The Vortian laughed. "Mostly for kicks and giggles."

"Everybody out of the diner, NOW!" Jayd yelled out, eyes widening as he turned to see-

Senior was gone. What the?

No, wait. He was now on the television, facing down the Resisty, two familiar pistols...well, familiar for Maht, anyhow, held high. "Stop the countdown." He demanded. "I am giving you fair warning, this is the kindest I can be to known rebels like you."

"...hello...big "N"." Lard Nar said quietly. "...been a a while, huh?"

"...stop this, Nar." Senior said. "I'm sorry we blamed your people for Spork and Miyuki, I AM, but if your kind keeps resisting, you'll keep suffering more."

"We'll suffer no matter what your kind do unless WE do something about it. So...no. stop what we're doing?...we can't do that. And...we WON'T." Lard Nar spoke, looking squarely at the Irken as his men vanished, teleporting away one by one, only he and a hooded Vortian remaining. "In ten seconds it goes ka-blooey. What can I say? I LIKE it when things go ka-boom." With that, Lard Nar stuck out his tongue, giving a loud raspberry.

"I SAID STOP IT, YOU STUPID-!" Senior yelled, his PAK suddenly popping a tiny jet engine out from the end. He raced through the air right at Lard Nar...

But the hooded Vortian tackled him, and they were sent flying out of the alley as Lard Nar teleported to safety, the rest of the bar patrons running as fast as they could out of the diner before it could-

It was like an enormous sparkling blue dome rose up from the back of the diner, encasing everything within a 100-foot radius. It sizzled and sparked, the others watching, eyes wide...until at last, the dome faded...and everything that had been within it was...just gone. GONE. As if it had never been.

"...don't suppose anyone has a portable television on them?" Dite asked calmly.

Jayd pulled out a small, scanner-shaped object from his belt, and it "pinged" as it came to life. He tuned it to the right channel with small little dials on either side of the portable TV before finally finding the broadcast of the Resisty...and a message was going out by a hooded being wearing blue. She appeared to be standing before a large poster of the Resisty's that showed them all muscular and buff, with a faint light emanating to the right-hand-side of whatever room she was in.

"Greetings, planet Irk." A vaguely feminine voice crooned, a voice disguise filter keeping her real voice from being heard. "I am the Wing, who shields the Resisty. We are the new hope for this galaxy. Hope for a brighter future. Hope for a better world for all. We are willing...to allow Irk to become a part of that in exchange for it's surrender."

She gestured to the right, towards the soft light and the camera now focused on something that had manifested in an enormous storage bay...the diner that had just vanished, people being paraded out...not merely that, there were other buildings captured as well.

"They're TELEPORTALS. Miniature stations that send whomever's captured up to the Resisty!" Xeil realized. "Damnit, they've gotten smarter."

"We shall indoctrinate those captured, and they'll learn our ways...support our cause. If you seek a better life, you are free to seek us out. Defectives of Irk...those who desire more, remember...there is ALWAYS hope." The Wing insisted as the broadcast came to an end and they all looked around at each other.

"...always...hope? Well, they've not gotten any less corny." Dite laughed.

Meanwhile, Senior was grappling with the hooded Vortian in midair, spinning around and around, his PAK sending them higher and higher. "Stop this!" He demanded. "If you don't surrender now, we'll most likely BOTH die! Surrender and I'll spare your life, little Vortian!"

"I'd sooner die than be an Irken slave, you SCUM!" The Vortian spat in his face, trying to scratch him with her pointed nails. He grabbed her wrist, angrily glaring at her as a faint white light glimmered off his body.

"You will SLEEP now." Sude's voice came out of Senior's mouth. "I shan't let you harm my host."

The Vortian woman stiffened, eyes widening beneath the hood before she passed out in an instant, Senior looking stupidly down at what he had in his arms. "Did...did YOU do that?" He asked Sude.

"A, how shall I say this...fringe benefit." It told him. "I will do EVERYTHING to keep you from death."

Senior turned himself back towards the city, heading towards his charges, prisoner held carefully in his arms. "Well, this could work out even better than I thought..." He mused to himself as he touched down to where the others were. "Feyr, you're the one who deals with prisoners. Bring her back to the Massive, whilst I write up a report on what's occurred."

With that, the gang split up anew...nobody noticing where Dite was walking off too.

Nobody...save for Senior.

...

...

...

...vermin. All of them. Filthy vermin.

She hissed to herself, leaping from roof to roof, the stars shimmering overhead. Nighttime had fallen over her city. HER city. Hers and hers alone, for people like her.

And they weren't anything like the vermin she was hunting. She finally caught sight of him as she leaned on her knees by the edge of a high-speed monorail, eyes narrowing beneath the pink hood she wore. Dark shorts, shoulder guards, black gloves...Elite Grunt Wiyn was ready, and waiting...waiting...almost there...

She leapt down at him, laughing. "Riddle me this! What's pink and maroon, but covered in dark green?"

THWOMP!

"YOU!" She laughed, calmly getting off the terrified Invader as she pulled out a small electro-knife, lightning crackling from its tip. "When I land upon your sorry, wasteful behind."

"Wh-what do you want?" It whimpered, blue eyes widening in horror.

"Well...your eyes. And then your life." Wiyn explained calmly, her knees pinning the Irken invader to the ground below as she held the knife to the vermin's eye. "You can help me send defects like you a message."

KRAKKA-THROOOOM!

Wiyn was knocked through the air by a shotgun blast of power as the Invader "eeped", staring at his unlikely savior...the Red Helm himself, who lowered a smoking hand, balefully glaring at Wiyn as she rose from out of the trash cans she'd knocked into. "Well?...what's the message?" He growled.

"A SIMPLE one, actually. CARE TO GUESS?" Wiyn whined, tossing the knife away, pulling out two powerful-looking pistols as her PAK opened up, her arachnid-esque mechanical legs making her rise into the air like an armed spider. She grinned darkly, racing towards the Red Helm, firing away at him as the Invader she'd been terrorizing ran for his life, the Red Helm leaping away from her, spinning through the air.

She jumped after him, continuing to fire as he raced up the wall of a nearby armory, finally jumping off and slamming his booted feet into her face, knocking her back and forcing her hood down, revealing curled antennae and a horrid scowl. Deciding that the pistols just weren't cutting it, she snapped her fingers, two long blades sheathing out of the PAK as she raced towards the Red Helm, slashing and slicing as he danced away, trying to avoid her.

Unfortunately one hard PAK leg caught him under the chin and sent him flying into the wall. He panted heavily, some blood dribbling down from his helmet as he growled at her, a faint, spectral image momentarily appearing behind him. "So...you have all this power and all you do is kill people with it?"

"DEFECTIVES. Not "people"." Wiyn growled.

"That schmuck back there only had blue eyes!" The Red Helm snapped. "Who GIVES a flying-"

"Ido! They should be red! Or purple! Or green! Or brown! Anything else is DEFECTIVE! And you...I can clearly tell YOU'RE defective. Personalizing such a gaudy outfit." Wiyn hissed, spinning her blades in a circular pattern.

"Oh, you view ANY sign of creativity as defectiveness, huh? Bite me."

"I DON'T MIND IF I DO!" She laughed, snapping her jaws and racing at him as he managed to leap away again, pointing a palm at her, a blast of blazing red power slamming into her back and knocking her into a dumpster, making her screech in pain. "Did you look into the Schism too, then?" She mused quietly. "Your outfit's beyond simple defectiveness."

"...no." The Red Helm said calmly. "I've been bound to a superior being. But I know of what you speak." He admitted. "Reality is bursting at the seams, right? But I don't really care. I'm just interested in getting even with everybody in a uniform. You couldn't find a better piece of scum than people like them...like the people who gave you up to save their own hides!" The helmeted Irken laughed, thrusting two arms forward, sweeping bands of red energy pinning Wiyn to the ground as he approached her, cracking his knuckles.

"Oh, yes, I heard from them. They had to be disposed of." She remarked calmly.

"You KILLED them for telling on you?" The Red Helm asked. "No honor among thieves, eh?"

"I am putting the good of the empire before my own life in dealing with defectives. They could have tried to do the same. Self-preservation over the Empire? Unacceptable." Wiyn said, suddenly bursting free of the bands that held her down and kicking the Red Helm in the gut, making him keel over and vulnerable to a powerful uppercut that launched him through the air.

The Red Helm panted as he lay on the ground, groaning as Wiyn approached, one PAK leg held high. "I thought you'd put up more of an effort."

Suddenly the Red Helm was not an Irken at all. Now he was a towering brute, head spiked and red eyes a-glow as a bladed tail swept back and forth and muscular arms gripped a surprised Wiyn tightly. "Oh tHiS iSn'T a FiGhT. It Is A sImPlE sLaUgHtEr." The thing laughed.

"PUT ME DOWN!" Wiyn snapped. "PUT MY AMAZINGLY SUPERIOR SELF-"

Wiyn didn't get the chance to finish her sentence. The thing launched her through the air, clapping imaginary dust off it's clawed hands as it reverted back to the Red Helm, who sighed.

"She'll be back, no doubt."

"I shall be waiting, then. I'm sorry you can't stay here to finish the job yourself, but don't worry. Next time she shows up, I'll have a party waiting for her. And when I say PARTY, I mean a whole lotta people that are gonna kill her DEAD!" The Entity of Rage laughed darkly.

Senior's eyes widened as Sude whispered for him to be quiet. "It is him. Chulainn. Entity of Rage."

"There are others like you?" Senior thought back at his host.

"Oh yes. Several of them." Sude said. "And I could vaguely sense them here on Irk. I imagine they've all bonded with hosts the way I've bonded with you."

"...maybe it's time...you tell me where you're from." Senior whispered.

"I heard that, Senior." Dite the Elite roared out, turning his head in Senior's direction as the Entity of Rage manifested by HIS charge. Senior frowned, stepping out of the alleyway, his own Entity hovering nearby.

"Well...well." Chulainn murmured, red eyes a-glitter, muscular arms folded over his chest. "If it isn't Puff the Magic Dragon...and his host. Pleased to meet you. Won'tcha guess my name?"

"I've heard that song before." Senior spoke up, waving a hand in the air. "I don't like it. Dite...how long have you been...tied to this thing?"

"That doesn't really matter, does it?" Dite inquired calmly. "...not to me. There's a war coming." Dite explained. "The Resisty's just the beginning of it. Can't you feel it? Reality is bursting apart, schisms in time and space are ripping open. The War of Light shall come...all will blend, becoming black, and then the White will sweep everything away. That's why we need to make sure you're alive." Dite told Sude, pointing with a finger, the helm falling away, revealing his true face.

HER true face.

"...you're...a girl." Senior gasped.

"Yes." She said quietly. "I am. My own private little secret." She laughed.

"I want to help you." Senior said. "Tell me how this happened. Let me help you. Please."

For a moment, genuine surprise flickered over Dite's face, and then her expression became slightly sad. "...you're frightened by what I am. But this is me now. It's too late for me. I'm staying here...and just getting started."

With that, she thrust her fist into the ground, a flash of red light blinding Senior before...

She was gone. He blinked stupidly, scratching his head before turning to his own entity. "Okay, TALK. What is this "War of Light"?" He demanded to know. "If you're gonna make me your host, you're gonna tell me why you need a host, why one of my charges is dismembering people around my planet!"

Sude chewed his lip. "...I'll explain it." He murmured. "...but once I do, I warn you...there's no going back."

"I'm not...scared." Senior growled at the draconic being's face.

"...well..." Sude folded his arms and sighed before he held one clawed hand up to it's host's head, as knowledge began to fill Senior's mind, images playing out before his eyes.

"It begins as all tales do...In the beginning..."

...

...

...

...in the beginning, there was light. The universe belonged to the light. For seven hundred and seventy seven years there was nothing but blinding white light. It looked upon all it saw, all it was, and all it was...was pure and good. Then came the splintering of the light as the foundations of the black were laid...

The light became many as it's purity died away. It became passion. It became diligence. It became intelligence. It became will. It became hope. It became love. It became compassion. The Seven Heavens looked upon their universe and swore to make sure all felt their blessings.

But they were splintered further and further. The white became more and more corrupted, chipped away, again and again until it was barely a whisper. In response, three of the Heavens grew darkened by the spreading of the corruption...

And they began to plot and plan. They felt only their light was the true light, and the others became just tainted enough to believe this lie to be true.

They shall fight. They shall begin the War of Light.

And The War of Light shall return all to White.

Senior fell to the ground, panting heavily. He had witnessed the very birth of the universe and life itself. Entire planets had just been born and then destroyed before his eyes...he understood now. The knowledge filled him.

It was NEAT.

"You've met what was once my Passion. Now it's become Rage." Sude said. "I want to turn the corrupted entities good again...and find the others quickly. Stop this war before it spreads across the galaxy and makes innocents suffer. And I sense every single one of them is on this planet, a planet that holds the fate of much of the galaxy in it's hands." The draconic being insisted, clenching his fist tightly.

"Then...we need to ground the Massive. It's LEAVING in two hours." Senior realized out loud. "We keep it here, you and I will have more time to search, and any second counts."

"Speaking of "count", does this mean I can count on your assistance, then, Senior Communications Officer of the Massive?" Sude wished to know, tilting his head to the side slightly as he hovered around Senior, who stood back up on his feet.

"...please...call me "Nick"." The officer insisted. "...I prefer that among friends." He added sheepishly.

[frooopsen]

Kyalin - part 4

thanks to @linguini17 for beta-reading again. :)

Communication

"Kya.“ It was dark outside and the moon shone into their bedroom through a gap in the blinds. They had both drifted in and out of sleep and the sun would rise in a few hours. "Kya,“ she whispered once more.

"What is it?“ Kya didn’t sound sleepy at all, which confirmed Lin’s suspicion.

"You can’t sleep,“ she sighed.

"Very perceptive, Chief.“ Her smile was audible the next time she spoke. "Are you going to let me in on why you felt the need to tell me that?“

"I‘m having trouble sleeping.“ The moonlight accentuated Lin’s smooth skin and Kya let her eyes wander, taking it all in.

"You know this is hard for me, too,“ she said smirking, her fingers stroking along Lin’s arm, "No teasing you for a whole day.“

"I know. You’re doing so great,“ Lin sighed with a smile making its way onto her lips. "By the way, if you tell Bumi that you got me all mushy and analyzing stupid nightmares, there will be consequences.“ She tried to sound at least  vaguely threatening but that notion was discredited by the grin that travelled between their faces.

"Well don’t tempt me.“ Kya gasped leaning in for a kiss. Before letting go, she captured Lin’s lower lip between her teeth, as the metalbender took the opportunity to pull her in by the hip.

"Speaking of tempting,“ Lin hummed, searching for another kiss. Their lips met again, as they started feeling down each other’s backs. "Maybe,“ she said while trailing kisses along Kya's tan skin, "And I’m only throwing ideas around – we could have a different kind of communication for a change.“

Kya felt desire kicking in and this time knowing that the talk was not going to be avoided, she didn’t care how much time passed until said talk came around. "Oh, I love this non-verbal communication,“ she smiled before placing a long-lasting kiss on the side of Lin's throat.

"Maybe you’ll get a taste for it after all,“ Lin answered jokingly.

"You are a smooth one,“ Kya admitted before sliding her hand down Lin’s stomach, a clear goal in mind. "However, my tongue is just fine, tasting different things for now.“

Lin arched her back as Kya made her way down her body. Kya did have the best comebacks, no matter how good Lin's ideas were, Kya had never lost a teasing match. Lin didn’t really mind. She did like it, most of the time. She was quickly ripped away from her thoughts as her focus was drawn in by lips wandering the invisible trail that Kya had already left with her fingers.

------

"I‘d almost forgotten how fun this is,“ Kya joked as she took the cup of coffee Lin had just made for herself.

"It hasn’t been that long,“ Lin said, turning around just to find the empty spot on the counter. That had been her coffee. She sent a piercing look Kya’s way.

"Well I’ll be needing that if you keep me up when I’m supposed to be sleeping,“ the waterbender murmured while sipping her coffee with a knowing look on her face.

"It’s not like I woke you. And if memory serves me well, you enjoyed yourself,“ Lin answered, making herself another cup.

"Still got my coffee, didn’t I?“

They sat down at the kitchen table. Kya watched the spirits floating by the window. They usually came by during the early morning hours and she was always mesmerized by their ease. Lin read through the newspaper and sipped her coffee. The weekends were when she spent a little more time on the things she usually did in a hurry. Showering, getting ready, making coffee – weekend coffee was always better. She even flipped through the news, since she didn’t spend a lot of time doing that during the week. The most important news travelled fast – especially at the station – and she spent enough time reading police reports already. At some point reading had turned into a chore, rather than a relaxing activity. The occasional article sparked her interest, nonetheless.

"I can’t believe it,“ she gasped in suprise. "Look at this!“

Kya leaned over the table and tried to decipher the headline. "Would you look at that! It’s about Uncle Sokka!“

"Not him. His sword. Some kids found it when playing hide and seek. It says here that it was stuck in some tree,“ Lin elaborated.

"I did always wonder where it ended up. It’s been forever since he lost it. Did Toph ever tell you that story?“ Kya asked, remembering how Sokka had never been able to shut up about his space-sword – as he called it.

Lin shrugged her shoulders, "She didn’t, but Tenzin did. It sounded rather boring until Bumi took over. I always wanted to see a sword like that.“

"Tenzin never was a good story-teller. Another point to me.“

Lin glared at her. "I hate when you do that.“

"Too bad,“ she smiled as they both resumed drinking their coffee.

--------

After a quiet lunch, Lin cleared her throat. "Can we finish that conversation?“

Kya looked around the room as though looking for something.

"You alright?“, Lin asked.

"Did you hear that?“ she giggled. "I think I heard someone volunteer to get touchy-feely.“

Lin sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "You are taking it too far, too soon.“

"You’re just rubbing your face now, so I won’t see that smile,“ Kya complained.

Lin let out a unappreciative growl. "Fine. Then we don’t talk about it.“

"Oh, come on!“ Kya said. "Don’t shut off now, I’ll promise to be nice from here on,“ she paused, then added, "For the duration of the conversation, of course.“

"Well, now I don’t even know how to start,“ Lin growled, "Not that I did before.“

Kya lead them to the couch, where she gestured for Lin to sit down. She joined her, pulling the muscular legs onto the cushion, planting herself in between and leaning her back against one of the armrests. "That’s not a very serious position,“ the earthbender noted as she leaned against the armrest behind her back, like Kya had done.

They sat across from each other, legs slightly tugged towards themselves, shins touching lightly. Lin fumbled on the leg of her pants.

"We’re just talking, not having a meeting,“ Kya laughed. "Also, talking about your feelings doesn’t have to be organized. People just…ease into that and don’t declare the beginning.“

Lin opened her mouth to interject, but Kya didn’t give her the chance.

"I’ll let it slide, since you claim to be new to this. I mean we have talked about our feelings together before. Otherwise I don’t think our relationship would have gotten to this point.“

Lin looked straight ahead to meet Kya’s eyes. "You being nice didn’t last very long. Besides the talks you’re referring to were us talking about us or sometimes you. That’s different.“

Kya leaned forward, just enough to cup Lin’s cheek and smiled, "Well, how is that different? They‘re still your feelings.“

"Yeah, the nice ones and I like talking about us and especially you,“ she explained kissing Kya’s hand before she withdrew it from her face again.

"You know, Kya,“ Lin said softly, her gaze still holding the waterbender’s eyes captive, "When you smile at me like that, I am so happy to have you. Your’re so full of love and I get to feel it wrapped around me.“

They stayed quiet for a while. Kya had heard the words come out of Lin’s mouth clear and warm. Yet it felt like the woman‘s soul had spoken instead. Lin’s voice sounded different, when she said things like these and Kya couldn’t explain why. It didn’t happen a lot. She thought it must have been that it felt so surreal to hear Lin – the woman she adored to an extent, which sometimes scared even the passionate waterbender – talk about her in that way. Yet she wanted to hear it from no one else. "Spirits,“ she sighed finally breaking the silence as she lowered her head a little, "I only want to make you feel, like you just made me feel.“

"And what was that?“

"I can’t tell you. I wish I could, but I don’t think the words exist.“

Lin smiled into the room as she remembered a poem. "You know, some poet once said that if lovers were ever able to express their feelings in words, they would be too full of energy for everyone who heard them. He called it the lovers‘ curse.“

"Well, it’s not hard to believe him. Especially when I see you looking at me like that.“

Now it was Lin’s turn to sigh. The past week had been filled with so many emotions, that she could feel the exhaustion flare up any time she took a little time to sit down and rest. The time she spent with Kya had been spent in silence; except for that one afternoon after the panic attack. Her skin still reacted with goosebumps when she recalled the immense fear she had felt; first in the nightmare, then during the panic attack. Now anytime she went to bed, she had to convince herself that she wouldn’t dream like that again. It still lingered around and she knew Kya could feel it too. She had always been more perceptive when it came to that. Even though Lin had noticed that her tension somehow affected both of their sleeprythms, she still didn’t know if Kya saw the residue of fear, that Lin saw anytime she looked in the mirror.

"Can you see it in my eyes?“ she mastered up the courage to ask, "The fear.“

Kya swallowed, because she knew that it would be easier if she couldn’t.

"As clear as the love you claim to see in mine,“ she paused then added. "Not just your eyes, though. You move differently. You have for a while now.“

Lin shifted, drawing her knees even closer to rest under her chin. "I really wish you couldn’t.“

"I know.“

"What if it breaks me? My strength is all I have.“

They both knew that she had more, but Kya understood what she meant. She couldn’t imagine Lin without the powerful elegance she carried herself with. It had been the constant in her life.

"You won’t break.“

"How can you be so sure?“

Kya wasn’t. "Because I’ve seen broken people.“ It didn’t make a lot of sense, but it seemed to help.

"I don’t feel like myself since we’ve talked and I don’t know how to get back to that.“

She hardly remembered the time she had spent at work that week. Like she hadn’t been there but watched her body work on reports and arrests. Her mind had been busy thinking about the panic attack and the helplessness she had felt at the lack of control.

She slightly raised her voice again, "I have always had control until I met you. They aren’t joking when they call it 'falling in love‘. I don’t mind that anymore. But this…this feels like loosing a different kind of control.“

Kya was surprised. Even though it still felt like Lin carefully assembled her sentences before saying something, so as to not disclose it in the wrong way – whatever that meant – she was talking freely, nonetheless.

Kya used the next silence to speak. "I don’t think you lost control. It was rather taken away from you. By your feelings. I don’t know…to me that’s different.“

Lin’s brow furrowed. She didn’t understand what Kya had meant.

"I couldn’t even bend my armor away,“ she exclaimed, changing the course of the conversation. "When I had nothing else, I always had my bending.“ Almost always. As she heard herself say those words it felt as though they had come from Kya. It sounded like something she would suggest.

"Well, fear is a powerful mind blocker. Your qi must have been affected. You once told me how your breathing influences your bending and how you breathe deeply before swinging the bigger rocks,“ she thought out loud, recalling the conversation they‘d had a long time ago about their differences in bending-style. "I was a good listener. Even back then.“

Lin smiled, thankful for the light comment, keeping her from tearing up. "I know. I can only repeat myself: quite the catch I landed with you.“

Kya smiled in response but didn’t want to change the topic. "It only makes sense that you loose the connection to the bending, when your other senses are overflowed as well.“ And back was the tension.

"How do you know what it’s like?“ Lin marveled. "You haven’t had one, have you?“

Kya shook her head slowly. "No, but I’ve read about them. The mind convinces the body that you’re in immediate danger, so your senses are more alert, causing you to feel and perceive things more vividly and unfortunately overstimulating your nervous system.“

Lin nodded as she thought back. "Everything was so bright all of a sudden…and the room started spinning so badly. And time passed so slowly, while it felt…like…like something was wrapped around my neck.“ She put her hand to rest underneath her throat.

"I can’t imagine how scary that has to have been.“

"I hope you never experience that. I sure don’t want it happening again. Imagine if that happens at work. I wouldn’t be able to bend.“

Kya interrupted the train of thought. "How about we don’t imagine that for now. I don’t think it will happen again.“

"But what if it does?“

"Remember when Ammon had taken you bending away,“ Kya began. "You still got all the criminals you set out for. You weren’t helpless. Your strength exceeds your bending ability. And if you find a way to reconnect to yourself you won’t even have to think about that again.“

Lin scoffed, "So you do think it might happen. How am I supposed to 'reconnect to myself‘ when I don’t even know how to express what feels off?“

Kya tried to stay calm. She had no idea either and it wasn’t fair of Lin to keep coming at her like that, but she reminded herself that it was in fact new to Lin and the pain she had accumulated over the years would in consequence spill out of her as soon as she opened up.

"I can’t see the future, but I’m trying to tell you that you’re already stronger than you think. We can all be. Sometimes we don’t even find out how strong, until we’re faced with a stupid situation like this one.“ Her frustration was clear, yet Lin stayed put, not lashing out.

She continued, "I can only rely on the experiences I’ve had, just like you. I’m not all-knowing.“

"I don’t ask you to be. You’re just... So in touch with your feelings. You probably don’t even  have to think that hard before saying those smart things and analyzing.“

Kya felt embarrassed at the underlying jealousy in Lin’s tone. People had always told her to be less emotional and that it was overwhelming when she rambled on about her feelings. Lin seemed to come from a different angle. Kya hadn’t thought that the trait she had found to be a strength, rather than a weakness, could also be seen as such from someone else – Lin of all people.

"You have to give yourself a break. You’re trying so hard to overcome the uncomfortable feelings that you don’t give them enough room to exist for a while,“ Kya muttered.

Lin’s face let go of some of the tension that had built up throughout the past minute. "But I don’t want that. The more fear I feel, the less I can bare.“

"Well, you can’t shut them off. You see how that turns out. I don’t want you to increase that distance inside yourself. You feel it, too, you said. Just give it time. It will fall into place.“

She didn’t know what else to tell her.

"The way people praise 'talking about feelings‘, it just seems like a pill you have to swallow and afterwards everything’s fine,“ Lin growled. "But it’s not. It just leaves you confused and angry at yourself.“

"Talking isn’t the easy way out,“ Kya agreed, closing her eyes. "It’s the hard way through.“

"I’m going for a walk,“ Lin announced, getting up. When Kya stood up as well, she signaled her to stay. "I need to be alone for some time. I’ll be back before dinner.“

Kya swallowed but knew she had to give Lin more space – even more. She didn’t want to.

"See you then,“ she said while making her way to the kitchen.

[mikauzoran]

Lady Noir/Platonic Alyadrien: Drunk Ladybug on My Balcony? Yeah. This is Fine.: Chapter Six

Read it on AO3: Drunk Ladybug on My Balcony? Yeah. This is Fine.: Chapter Six: The Confession

“Your girlfriend is trying to call you,” Plagg noted lazily from his comfy nest in Adrien’s sock drawer.

Adrien stopped in the middle of practicing Chopin’s Ballade No. 2 in F major to look up curiously at his kwami. “Marinette is?”

Plagg had been teasing Adrien about Marinette supposedly being his girlfriend almost as long as they’d known her, and Adrien had long ago given up on getting Plagg to stop.

“No,” Plagg replied disinterestedly. “The other one.”

Adrien blinked, momentarily confused. At first, he thought Plagg was being sarcastic. It took his brain a second to process that Plagg really did mean the other one.

“Wait. What? Ladybug?!” Adrien rose from the piano bench hastily, nearly tipping it over backwards. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“I’m saying something right now,” Plagg yawned, giving a decidedly feline stretch, arching his spine before settling back into the sock pile.

“Sooner,” Adrien groaned. “Plagg, transform me.”

The call had already gone to voicemail by the time Adrien’s transformation sequence ended, but he wasted no time in calling her back.

“Sorry. Plagg didn’t tell me you were calling right away,” he spit out in a rush. “What’s wrong, My Lady? Akuma?”

“Oh,” Ladybug’s voice came out startled and uncertain. “Sorry. No. Nothing’s wrong.”

Chat Noir frowned, picking up on her unease and nervousness. “Are you sure? You sound a little flustered, Buguinette.”

“What?” she laughed awkwardly, her tone sounding forced. “No. I’m not flustered. I just…”

Chat could swear he heard someone in the background whisper, “Deep breath. It’s just Chat Noir. You’ve got this.”

“Ladybug, is someone there with you?” His thoughts swung rapidly between “kidnapper” and “another man”.

“Sorry,” Ladybug sighed and then made herself inhale slowly. “It’s just my friend. Look. I’m really sorry to bother you, Chat Noir, but are you busy? Would you be able to meet up and talk for, like, twenty minutes?”

Chat looked back to his piano and smiled bitterly, knowing no one would be in to check on him until it was time for breakfast at the very earliest.

“No worries, My Lady,” he assured, injecting a warmth into his voice that dispelled the chill of his empty room. “I can meet up. Just say where.”

Ladybug bit her lip, considering for a moment before tentatively inquiring, “Do you remember a long time ago that night you planned that romantic rooftop picnic surprise for me?”

Taken aback that she even remembered, he didn’t reply right away. When he did, his voice was soft and a little unsteady. “Sure. Yeah. I—uh—yeah. I remember. I’m surprised that you do, honestly.”

She pursed her lips and looked down at her spotted feet. “I’ve never forgotten that night,” she replied sadly. “See you there in a bit?”

“Yeah,” he promised. “See you there.”

 When he arrived ten minutes later, she was pacing the rooftop in question, talking to herself and gesticulating wildly with her arms.

“Practicing a speech?” he chuckled fondly as he soundlessly touched down on the railing.

Ladybug jumped, squeaked, and would have fallen over backwards if she hadn’t pinwheeled her arms to somehow regain her balance.

“Ack!” she squawked, eyes round like marbles.

He couldn’t help an affectionate laugh at her expense as he shook his head at her antics.

She cleared her throat and attempted to reclaim some semblance of an air of dignity. “Sorry. Yes. I was practicing a speech…in a way.”

Chat nodded, easily accepting her vague response. “I’m sure you’ll do great when you give it. So. What’s up? What was it you needed to talk to me about?”

Ladybug took what was probably her tenth deep breath of the evening.

“I’m in love with you!” came out with the exhale, shrill and squeaky and not at all how she had intended to broach the subject.

Chat’s luminescent eyes went wide in shock for a moment before settling into abject confusion.

Meanwhile, Ladybug clapped both hands over her mouth, emitted a high-pitched noise, and stared at him in terror.

“Sorry,” he replied carefully. “What did you say?”

That seemed to break the spell, causing Ladybug to groan and look away.

“I am so sorry,” she quickly apologized to the roof shingles. “That is not what I meant to say. Ignore me. I’m sorry. I’m such a mess.”

“It’s okay,” he granted magnanimously, trying to contain the confusion and pain and elation bubbling up inside of him. “Just…start over. Please.”

She sighed gravely. “I was talking to a friend of mine, and she made me realize I’d screwed up, Chat Noir. I’d really, really screwed up.”

“Mistakes can be fixed,” he comforted, lowering himself off of the railing and onto the roof proper. “Tell me about it. Maybe we can figure this out together.”

She held out her hand to him, and he crossed the roof, readily taking it and giving it a squeeze.

She tugged him down to sit on the roof with her and shot a brave smile his way.

He returned it patiently, revealing no external sign of the maelstrom of emotions he was feeling inside.

“Chat Noir, you know you’re one of the most important people in my life, don’t you?” she started softly, searching his face.

His emerald eyes widened slightly, but he didn’t look unduly surprised.

“I knew I was pretty important to you,” he confessed. “I mean, you’ve told me before how much our friendship means to you and that I’m irreplaceable, so I knew I was important, but I was never vain enough to think I could score a top spot.”

She gave a little snort. “Please. You’re easily top five.”

“You do me a great honor, My Lady,” he chuckled, giving her hand another squeeze. “I’m happy to say that you made my top five too.”

It became easier for her to smile at that. “Thanks, Chaton. So…you know I care about you deeply and that I’d never hurt you on purpose.” There was a hint of a question in her voice as she glanced up at him for confirmation.

“Of course,” he affirmed.

She took a breath and blew it out, her brow crinkling in disquietude as she looked down at their joined hands. “I was talking to a friend tonight, and she brought it to my attention that even though I’ve been telling you for years that I could only be friends and partners with you, I may have been unintentionally leading you on with my actions.” She looked up at him again. “Chat Noir, have I ever done or said something that made you think that I had changed my mind about just being friends?”

This time, he looked away, forehead furrowing, cat ears flattening. “I…No…. I…”

“Please be honest with me,” she begged. “I kind of need to know if I’ve done something to give you the wrong idea. I never meant to play with your feelings like that.”

“I know,” he sighed softly, training his eyes on the little row of chimneys not far off in the middle distance. “I know you didn’t mean it, but…yeah. Your friend was right,” he begrudgingly admitted. “It seems like every time I’m about ready to give up on you for real, you’ll do or say something that gives me just enough hope to make it another couple weeks, another few months, another year.”

She inhaled audibly, a sharp little gasp, and her grip on his hand tightened. “I am so, so sorry, Chat Noir,” she breathed, seemingly struggling to draw air into her lungs. “I didn’t mean—”

“—No,” he cut her off, turning to meet her gaze intently. “Ladybug, don’t. It’s not your fault. You explicitly told me about the other guy and how you only felt platonic love for me. I’m the idiot who took the things you said and did the wrong way even after you were extremely clear about where we stood with each other. Don’t blame yourself, Buguinette. This is on me,” he assured, gently, smiling with warmth, affection, and clemency as he raised her hand to his lips. “Don’t worry about it. I always knew deep down that you didn’t have feelings for me. It was stupid to let myself think otherwise for even a second, but…you know me. Always thinking with my heart rather than my head.”

She couldn’t help the way heat rose up in her cheeks unbidden at his touch, staining her face red like a sunset.

Her heart flipped as his lips brushed the back of her hand. Even though the pressure was much too light to be felt through the suit, it tingled all the way up her arm.

She swallowed hard. “About that…”

He quirked an eyebrow, waiting patiently for her to go on.

She bit her lip, prefacing, “I don’t want to give you the wrong idea.”

His eyes narrowed slightly in puzzlement. “…But…?” he prompted.

She gulped again. “I don’t see a future for us as a couple with things the way they are, and you can’t change my mind about that, so don’t even try. There are so many reasons we can’t be together right now; plus, I’m still in love with the other guy, and I think I’m finally about to make some progress, so…”

His features became more and more perplexed as she went on and he struggled to follow where the conversation was going. “…So?” he urged her to continue.

“So we can only be friends while Papillon is at large and we have a job to do, secret identities to protect,” she summarized, gathering up her courage to reiterate what she had initially blurted out at the beginning of the conversation. “And I don’t want us putting our lives on hold until this is all over. It’s not fair, and it’s not healthy. We deserve happiness and love now.”

Chat nodded in agreement, remembering what Alya had told Adrien about letting go of his feelings for Ladybug and moving on so that he could live life to the fullest in the present.

“So, what are you saying?” he inquired curiously, still not sure what exactly they were talking about or why.

She looked at him with determination burning in her cornflower eyes. “I’m saying that I do have feelings for you,” she revealed, voice gentle and warm.

He inhaled long and slow as his eerie green eyes went wide, stretching the edges of his mask along with them.

“I realized it about six years ago,” she explained wistfully. “You’re wonderful, Chat Noir. You’re one of the best, most amazing people I know. How could I not fall for you?” she laughed at herself.

His mouth opened and closed repeatedly, half-formed questions dying on his lips as new ones sprang forth and withered in rapid succession.

Ladybug shook her head sadly. “I love you, Chat Noir, and I’m afraid my feelings have been slipping through the cracks, even though I’ve tried so hard to keep them hidden. I’m afraid I’ve been giving you false hope because, even though I love you, Chat Noir, nothing can ever come of it.”

His brow furrowed with choler, and he opened his mouth once more to protest, but she gave him a pleading look and squeezed his hand.

“Not now. Not like this,” she entreated. “Not with secret identities in the way. Not while a romantic relationship could get in the way of our teamwork and affect our performance.”

He paled as the logic behind her words set in.

She smiled lachrymosely. “I’d like to think that we’d be perfect romantic partners and never fight or even have disagreements, but…I know that’s not realistic, and I’m afraid we wouldn’t be able to set personal matters aside in battle. I’m scared we’d let our romantic relationship distract us, and we’d be a split second too late in reacting. You know how split seconds often make the difference between victory and getting blasted off the plain of existence. We can’t risk it. Not while we’ve still got a job to do, people’s lives depending on us.”

He dropped his head, his shoulders, ears, and tail drooping in defeat as he let out a weary sigh. “I wish I could say something to change your mind, but…deep down, I know you’re right, My Lady,” he grumbled in emotional exhaustion. “I already let my feelings distract me in battle enough as it is; I know being in a relationship with you wouldn’t do anything to help the problem.”

He looked up at her with baleful, watery eyes. “This just sucks so much because we would be epic together.”

“Yeah,” she laughed through her own tears, giving his hand a squeeze in solidarity. “We really would be…. Maybe we will someday.”

His eyes widened, his breath catching as hope flowed back into him. “You mean…?”

“Maybe, when this is all over and I’m just me and you’re just you…maybe we’ll both be single, and maybe it will finally be time for us,” she replied, giving the thought form and sending it out into the universe.

“Yeah,” he whispered, praying that that day would come soon.

She took a deep breath and seemed to regain her composure. “Until then, though, we shouldn’t cheat ourselves out of the present moment.”

“What do you mean?” he asked as if pulled suddenly out of a dream.

“I mean, we should try to be happy, give other people a chance.” She shot him a teasing grin. “Like that girl you talk about sometimes? Your cute, compassionate friend?”

“Oh,” Chat chuckled, cheeks turning crimson around his mask. “Yeah. My one friend has really been pushing the idea of me asking her on a date. I guess my crush really isn’t all that subtle, is it?”

“Nope,” she snickered. “You’re obviously into her, and she sounds like a good person. If it can’t be me, I want you to be with someone who treats you right and makes you happy. She sounds sweet.”

“She is,” he affirmed with a smitten grin as he averted his eyes, thinking of Marinette’s laugh.

“Ask her on a date, then,” she urged, nudging his arm playfully with her own.

“Okay. But what about you and your mystery guy?” he pressed, reasoning that turnabout was fair play. “Are you finally going to tell him how you feel? I want you to be happy too, Buguinette.”

She bit her lip, mentally going over her recent decision to give up on Adrien…for what was probably the fortieth time.

“I don’t know,” she responded pensively, worrying at her bottom lip with her teeth. “I’m pretty sure he’ll tell me he just sees me as a friend, but…I’ve wasted so much time fretting and planning elaborate scenarios with which to confess my feelings…maybe I just need to go up to him and say, ‘Hey. I like you. Would you want to go on a date and see how it goes?’ It seems stupid to give up without ever telling him, and it seems pointless to waste any more time stressing, so…”

“So, walk up to him, tell him he’s hot, and ask him to go get coffee with you,” Chat coached. “No big deal.”

“No big deal, he says,” Ladybug snorted.

“It isn’t,” he stressed. “You’re the one making it into this seven-year-long soap opera of unrequited love and evil twins and aliens and all that garbage. Tell the guy you’re interested and move on if he says no.”

She arched an intrigued eyebrow at him. “Do you watch soap operas?”

Chat rolled his eyes, grumbling, “Plagg watches trashy TV, and I’ve picked up some things.”

She gave a snort of amusement. “Tikki likes rom coms.”

“Can we switch?” he begged, giving her the sad kitten eyes. “Please?”

“Pft. Nope. My kwami is objectively better.” She stuck out her tongue playfully.

He contemplated crossing his arms and sulking, but that would necessitate letting go of her hand, and he was not keen on the idea.

“Mean,” he accused petulantly instead.

She giggled, and he shortly thereafter joined her, their combined laughter creating a lovely duet.

The moment eventually passed, leaving them smiling contentedly at one another, hands still joined, hearts feeling much lighter.

“…Is it horrible of me?” he tentatively broke the silence. “I want you to be happy and loved, of course. You deserve that, but…I’m really hoping that we defeat Papillon in the next year or two and that you won’t be in a relationship at that point. I’m so selfish,” he scoffed at himself, averting his eyes in shame and starting to pull his hand away.

She squeezed it tighter as she leaned in and pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek. “It’s okay to be selfish sometimes,” she assured as she pulled back, smiling like a lighthouse beam in the fog.

He stared at her for a moment in wonder before a warm smile spread across his lips once more. “Thanks.”

“…Are we okay?” she asked, suddenly unsure. “I’m sorry to spring all this on you, but…when my friend told me earlier I had been leading you on, I felt sick, and she convinced me to put my cards on the table and clear up the misunderstanding. I would have lost my nerve if she hadn’t made me call you then and there.”

“No worries.” He waved away her concern with a genuine grin. “This was good. A lot, but good. Necessary. It was good for me to get some closure and real hope instead of all of the uncertainty of the last few years.”

She winced, guilt hitting her all over again like that construction worker whose arms had been turned into wrecking balls when he’d been akumatized the previous summer. “I am so sorry I did that to you.”

“No worries,” he repeated, leaning in to give her temple a whisper of a kiss. “It’s all in the past…but mind telling me who this illustrious friend of yours is so that I can thank her personally? I feel like I need to get her a nice gift basket at least to express my eternal gratitude.”

“O-Oh.” Ladybug stiffened, her ears beginning to turn rosy. “Well…um…Alya Césaire.”

He blinked, completely taken aback that she had actually told him. He’d mostly been kidding, but… “Wait. Like…Alya from the Ladyblog?”

“I accidentally got a little drunk last week and crashed into her balcony on my way home, and she was really cool about it, so now we’re kind of friends,” Ladybug rushed to explain in a single breath.

Chat Noir continued to blink in surprise.

“I don’t know. Just, today, she kind of pounced on me out of nowhere about me leading you on, and she was adamant that I tell you the truth so that you could make peace with your feelings for me and move on. So…yeah,” she finished lamely with a helpless shrug.

“Oh,” he replied loquaciously.

“Yeah,” she repeated.

“Cool,” he added, sensing that his previous response had not been adequate.

He tried not to think about what the odds were that Alya would randomly, apropos of nothing, tell Ladybug to clear up the whole leading-Chat-Noir-on-situation shortly after Adrien had admitted to Alya that Ladybug had been leading him on for years.

Mentally, Chat cursed in French, English, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, and Italian.

Italian didn’t go very well because he wasn’t completely clear on what exactly the words he knew meant, only that the person being sworn at in Italian had not done an adequate job according to Gabriel Agreste’s standards.

He figured that was close enough for his purposes at the moment.

“Alya’s cool,” he elaborated. “Very trustworthy.”

“Definitely,” Ladybug chuckled with a fond smile, and Chat calmed down somewhat, deciding to worry about possible secret identity exposure later.

Then and there, he was with the woman he loved, and she loved him in return. True, things weren’t perfect because they couldn’t be together just yet, but a new sense of hope and optimism that he hadn’t felt the equal of in years welled up within him, letting him enjoy the moment.

He gave her hand a squeeze and scooted in close to rest his head on top of hers as they sat there together, peacefully gazing up at the heavens.

 Alya was just finishing up her article when a tentative tap came at her balcony door.

She frowned and grabbed her phone, thinking that she’d missed a text from Marinette.

She’d called as soon as she’d gotten home from talking to Chat Noir, and they’d spent nearly an hour picking through all of the details, returning again and again to the romantic way the two heroes had held hands the entire time.

“It was so wonderful, Alya,” Marinette gushed. “Just having that connection, feeling like he was my lifeline and we were in this together.”

There were no texts from Marinette announcing her intention to pay Alya a visit.

Eyes narrowed in apprehension, she grabbed the lamp off of her desk and slowly approached the sliding glass door.

She threw back the curtain and came face to face with a rather surprised-looking Chat Noir, his hand raised to gently knock again.

Alya blinked.

Chat Noir returned the gesture, and then his eyes went to the lamp in Alya’s hand. His eyebrow slowly gained elevation.

He cleared his throat uncertainly. “Um…Good evening. Sorry to startle you?”

Alya smiled sheepishly, setting the lamp down and unlocking the door. “Chat Noir. Hi. Sorry. Just…never hurts to be cautious.”

“Were you expecting a burglar on the fourth story?” he couldn’t help but wonder.

“Usually, it’s an akuma,” she sighed, stepping out of his way and beckoning him in.

“Oh,” he whispered as the lamp suddenly seemed less ridiculous. “Sorry.”

“No worries,” she assured. “Come in.”

He hesitated, toing the floor of her balcony nervously with the tip of his boot. “Actually…I don’t think I need to come in. I don’t want to take up much of your time, but…Ladybug and I had a talk earlier tonight, and she said that it was at your insistence, so I really wanted to thank you, because I cannot even begin to describe to you what it means to me to have that kind of closure, so…”

He bit the inside of his cheek, mentally chiding himself to stop rambling. “Sorry. I’ll get to the point. I was just wondering if you knew…?” He tipped his head to the side, struggling to summon up the words. “Earlier, did I accidentally…?”

Alya watched him fidget for a moment before it finally dawned on her what he was on about.

She smiled affectionately and rolled her eyes. “Adrien…get in here.”

“Oh,” he squeaked. “Shoot.”

She gave her eyes another roll, took him by the elbow, and forcibly manhandled Paris’s second favourite superhero into her bedroom. “Get in here you adorkosaurus and tell me about your romantic rooftop heart-to-heart with Ladybug,” she chuckled, pulling him in and tugging the curtain closed behind him.

“You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?” he sighed, letting his transformation drop.

She gave him “the look” and then motioned for him to flop down on her bed. “Cupcake, I’m not even going to tell Marinette,” she snorted as she went back to her desk.

“How did you figure it out?” he sighed, collapsing into Alya’s throw pillows.

“It was the fact that you knew Ladybug well enough to confess your love and be turned down by her over the course of several years…and then I may have interrogated her about people who had confessed their undying love,” Alya summarized.

“Well played,” Adrien granted. “Ladybug is going to be so disappointed in me.”

“Don’t tell her,” Alya instructed, cutting the Gordian knot.

He started to argue. “But—”

“—Just don’t,” she interrupted. “I’m not telling anyone. I’d cut my tongue out first. You’re safe. Paris is safe. Ladybug is better off not knowing.”

“I like her,” Plagg snickered, floating over to land on Alya’s desk next to her mousepad. “She’s got a good head on her shoulders.”

Alya blinked at the flying cat demon. “I’m guessing you’re his kwami? I’m Alya. Nice to meet you.”

“Plagg,” Plagg supplied. “Charmed, I’m sure. Do you have any cheese?”

“Plagg,” Adrien groaned. “You are the worst houseguest.”

Five minutes later, Plagg was happily distracted with the remnants of a wheel of Brie that Alya was fairly certain no one was planning on eating, and Adrien and Alya were free to continue their discussion.

“Just. Don’t. Tell. Her,” Alya reemphasized.

Adrien frowned uncertainly. “Do you really think that’s okay?”

“It’s for the best,” she assured. “Trust me. I care about you, Sunshine, and Ladybug is my friend too, so please believe that I have the best intentions in my heart when I say just don’t mention it.”

Adrien pursed his lips, weighing his options. “Well…if you’re the only one who knows and you don’t plan on telling anyone…I guess there’s no real harm done.”

“Precisely. And I’ve already been helpful to both you and Ladybug because I knew your identity, haven’t I?” she coaxed. “This is a good thing.”

A bright, sappy smile broke out on Adrien’s lips as he thought back to his Lady’s confession. Warmth and a sense of lightness again flooded his chest.

“I can’t find it within myself to disagree,” he confessed with a giddy laugh. “Thank you, Alya.”

“Hey, us bros look out for one another,” she chuckled, saving her article and shutting down her laptop for the night before swinging around in her desk chair to face Adrien.

“Soooo?” she prompted, drawing out the vowel. “Last time I checked, bros gush about their romantic encounters with their crushes. I’m waiting for all the spicy details about your rooftop rendezvous with Ladybug. How was her love confession? Tell me all about it. None of it leaves this room, I swear.”

Adrien gave a trill of glee, hugging Alya’s throw pillow to his chest as he enthusiastically exclaimed, “Oh my gosh, Alya, it was the best!”

[johnsbleu]

Hold My Hand: John Wick x Reader Chapter 63

warnings: none!  Hold My Hand Masterlist

You peek open one eye to see John cleaning up the bedroom as quietly as he can without waking you up. He tosses all of your clothes into the laundry basket, straightens the chairs near the window, then he opens the curtains a little more and steps onto the balcony for a moment. From the looks of it, it’s a pretty nice day out today, so you’ll probably spend most of it outside.

Chuckling to yourself, you watch him as he looks across the yard and leans against the railing. He seems to be in a weird state of bliss, which you can relate to, of course. You're finally engaged! When John turns back around to come inside, you close your eyes and pretend to still be sleeping. Slowly peeking your eye open again, you see him grab the Polaroid pictures the two of you had taken the night before. He looks at them and smiles to himself, then he presses a kiss to the picture.

“Did you just kiss a picture of us?” you laugh, and John’s eyes light up when he sees you’re awake.

“Hi, baby.” he whispers and sits next to you on the bed.

You look at the clock and laugh, “You went five whole hours without talking to me, how ever did you survive?

John rolls his eyes playfully, then leans down to kiss you, “How are you feeling?”

The room seems extremely bright today with the sun shining in the window, so you cover your eyes with your hand. Is it always this bright? Who the hell knows, but damn, it's bright as hell today.

“I’m fine.”

John notices you covering your eyes and he lifts the blanket, crawling under it with you and pulling it over your heads, “I just talked to your mom.”

“Yeah?” you nod and scoot closer to John, always wanting to feel the heat he’s giving off, “What’s up with her?”

“You said last night that you wanted to go out to brunch with her.” he says, and you finally look up at him, “I thought we could all go to this little place that I know.”

You feel John’s hand on your waist and realize you’re still naked from the night before, “Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.”

“Are you okay?” he asks and presses his hand to your forehead, “You don’t have a fever.”

You rub your temples and laugh, “I think I drank too much last night.”

“I’d say we both did.” he laughs and pulls you into his arms.

“Fuck,” you start to laugh again and pull the blankets down, “I just remembered we totally made up a whole dance.”

“Again, we both drank a lot.” he says, groaning a little as he sits up, “By the way, I will never do that dance in public.”

“I remember how cute and happy you looked though.” you stretch your legs out and wince when you feel how sore your thighs are, “Ooh, I remember some other stuff we did.”

John presses a kiss to your head and smiles, “That was fun.”

“Yeah, my body…got quite a workout.” you lean closer John’s face and smile, “It was nice though. You know exactly what you’re doing.”

“Thanks.” John laughs quietly as his cheeks turn red and he looks down at his hand on your hip.

The two of you made love several times last night, in between laughing and drinking. You also vaguely remember ordering food at two in the morning. Your body isn’t in pain, but you certainly can feel how much sex the two of you had. Who can blame you though? You’re engaged to the man of your dreams.

You look down at your chest and gasp when you see the small purple mark on the top of your breast, “You gave me a hickey!”

“Can I make you feel better? Can I do something?” John asks, and you raise your eyebrows as you look at him. “No, I don’t mean like that. I mean, some pain medicine, or like…an ice pack?”

“No, John. I’m fine. I’m not hurt, you just…fucked my brains out.” you laugh and watch as John lifts on his shirt to show the hickey on his left pec, “Oh, I gave you one, too.”

“Yeah, so mine was payback. Or maybe yours was, I can’t remember. Again, lots of drinking.”

You sit up and finally see your ring again, and you smile as you look at it. “I almost forgot we got engaged last night.”

John looks over his shoulder at you and laughs, “You did not.”

You wrap your arms and legs around John’s waist and press kisses to his back, “I didn’t.”

John turns around and lays down on top of you as you wince. “Sorry.”

“My thighs just hurt so bad. You really…just went to town.”

“Me?” he pulls back and laughs, “Pretty sure it was you.”

“Uh, excuse me, you couldn’t keep your hands to yourself.” you say, and John’s hands immediately caress your breasts, “See?”

“Sorry.” he smiles, leaning down to kiss you.

“I love it.” you laugh and lean up to kiss John again, “I should go shower, huh?”

“Yeah.” he nods and helps you stand up. “As long as I can join you.”

__

The cafe that John chose was a cute and quaint little place that is tucked away in Oyster Bay. The patio was covered in flowers petals that were falling off of the trees when the wind blew, and there was even a cute little pond in the back that was full of colorful fish. The food was incredible, and you and John both ordered the same thing: french toast with a side of bacon.

Jimmy told your mom all about how his parents love Oyster Bay and how they have lived there his entire life, which then led your mom to mention that she would love to live here as well. You're not against it at all, but you don't want your mom living next door to you. It's enough that Tess walks in unannounced all the time now. Thankfully she's never caught you and John while you were...preoccupied.

Now that your bellies are full of food, you're headed back home to hang out for a bit on the patio since it's a nice warm day. You know your mom well, and you can tell that she's had something on her mind all morning, and you don't care what it'll take, you're getting it out of her.

Jimmy and your mom are riding back home together, so Tess is riding with you and John. She's sitting in the backseat and you can tell she’s dying to ask about how your night went, and when John reaches for your hand, she sits up in her seat.

“So, how much sex did you two have last night?”

You and John both start to giggle, and when you look over at him, his cheeks are flushed red from embarrassment. He squeezes your hand and brings to it his mouth to press a kiss to it.

“We had loads.” you laugh, and John’s cheeks grow even more red.

“Oh, man, Jimmy and I went all night long the night we got engaged, and the night we found out I was pregnant. I could hardly walk the next day.” she sits back in her seat and sighs, “Good times. I mean, we're still having just as much sex, if not more now, but you know, back then it was like...sex, rest, eat, sex, rest, sex.”

“Didn’t need to know that, Tess.” John laughs.

Tess leans back up and looks at John, “So, did she look good in everything we picked, John?”

He starts to blush even more, and you turn in your seat a little so you can see both him and Tess. John lets go of your hand and holds tight to the steering wheel as he laughs, “Yeah, she looked beautiful.”

“Black romper?” Tess asks, looking at you.

“Yup.” you nod.

“Knew it. How about that cherry lube? Pretty good, huh?” she says and leans forward to see John’s face, “Pretty tasty, isn’t it, John?”

“I liked it.” you say, smirking.

“It was alright. I mean, it tasted good, but I’d prefer to not use it. I like it better without, that’s for sure.” he says, and his eyes grow wide when he realizes what he’s said. “Uh…”

Tess sits back against the seat and holds her sides as she laughs. John looks over at you and shakes his head, stammering and trying to figure how to move the conversation on. Tess leans forward, leaning her head against John’s seat so she can see your face.

You bite your cheek to keep yourself from smiling, but when you look over at Tess, you smile wide, “He’s amazing, isn’t he?”

“Wow…” she exhales, “I love your fiance.”

“Okay, we’ve embarrassed him enough for today.” you laugh as John pulls into the driveway.

As you get out of the car, you hear Jimmy telling your mom his plan for his birthday party later this summer.

“So, I thought it would be fun to have a costume theme. You're definitely invited, mom.” Jimmy says, and you chuckle to yourself a little. He's always sucking up to your mom, which is kind of pointless since she already adores him. “Tess will have had Finn by then, so he'll probably be with my parents. But everyone who is so invited has to wear a costume.”

“A costume theme birthday party.” Tess laughs, patting Jimmy's chest, “My very adult husband.”  

Walking over hand in hand with John, you stop and study Jimmy's face for a moment. You've known him for almost a year and you don't even know how old he is. He's married to your sister, you'd think you'd know by now.

“I love a good costume party.” you say, then you look at John, “What are you going to be, stud?”

John scoffs a little, “I don't know, but I have plenty of time to think about it.”

You look back at Jimmy and furrow your brow a little, “Jimmy, I don't even think I know how old you are.”

Jimmy smiles, “I'll be 37.”

“Huh,” you nod your head slowly, “I never would have guessed, then again, I'm terrible with ages. I never even knew how old John was until I stumbled upon some papers one time.”

John squeezes your hand tight in his, and you look up at him to see his face full of concern. You've never mentioned his age to anyone before since it doesn't really concern you and it's not really anybody's business. You're fine with his age, why should anyone else be bothered about it?

Your mom sits down on the patio chair and squints her eyes slightly as she looks at John, “Jonathan, how old are you?”

John audibly gasps and looks over at you, “Uh, I'm...”

“Hey, you know what? Why don't John and I go and get some iced tea for you all and we'll come back out and talk about you moving here?” you say, pushing John through the patio door and closing it behind you. “Don't look back or say anything, she's still watching us.”

As soon as you and John get into the kitchen, you immediately start moving around the kitchen while he stands frozen in place.

“John, don't worry about it.”

“What if...what if she won't let you marry me? What if she takes back her blessing or something?” he says, leaning back against the counter and staring at the floor, “And I know you well, so I know you'd still try to marry me anyway, but I couldn't live with myself if you stopped talking to your mom because of me. And what about my job? What if she finds out about my job?”

You set out five glasses on a tray, then you grab out the pitcher of iced tea in the fridge, “She won't take back her blessing, are you kidding me? She loves you, John. You think she doesn't at least have an idea as to how old you are? Come on, she's not stupid.”

“Yeah,” he exhales as he looks up at you, “I just worry, because I love you and I need you in my life.”

“I love you too, John.” you walk back over to him and wrap your arms around his waist, “It'll be fine.”

John follows behind you as you walk back outside and set down the iced tea for everyone. Your mom is still watching John closely as he sits down on the love seat, and she smiles when he reaches for your hand and tucks you into his side.

Tess looks over at John and smirks, “So, John, how old are you?”

John looks down at his hands and sighs, “Um…”

“Oh, my god, he’s all nervous because he thinks mom is going to be grossed out and…take back her blessing.” you laugh and wrap your arm around John’s bicep.

“You’re making this worse, I hope you know that.” Tess laughs.

“I’m 50.” he says quietly, and Tess slams her hand on the table so hard that it causes the glasses to clink a little.

“No, you’re not.” she laughs loudly and scoots closer to look at John’s face, “You’re kidding?”

Your mom looks shocked as she sits back in her chair, “There’s no way.”

“Great genes.” Jimmy laughs.

“I thought you were late 30s.” your mom says, shaking her head.

You look at John and wink, “Pretty good looking for your age, well, any age really.”

“Imagine what he looked like when he was in his 20s.” Tess says, still staring at him, and your mom slaps her arm when she starts to fan herself.

“I didn’t even know his age when we met, I didn’t know for a while actually.” you say, and John looks over at you.

“Really?” he laughs, “I assumed you knew I was older than you.”

“Well, I knew that you were older than me, I had guessed that much.” you squeeze his arm and smile, “But no, I didn’t realize your age until a little while later.”

“When did you figure it out?” Jimmy asks.

“I had stumbled upon some papers with John’s information on it.” you look up at John and laugh, “I promise I wasn’t being nosey. John was away for work, and this was before I was even living here. I just went into his office for a piece of paper and…”

“You got nosey?” your mom laughs.

“I didn’t get nosey, I just…saw John’s name on a paper and was curious.” you look over at John and smile, “I saw your birth date on it and I didn’t care, it never even crossed my mind to be…grossed out or anything. I actually thought you were younger than you are, if I’m being honest. I had guessed 40s for sure, but 50, I never would have guessed.”

Your mom is still staring at John, and John looks over at you, grabbing your hand and intertwining his fingers with yours. She looks over at you and smiles as she watches the two of you.

“So, mom, what do you think?” you ask, then look back at John.

“I think Jonathan is very handsome, and I think he’s very good for you. The two of you obviously get on like a house on fire. He loves you very much and he takes good care of you, which I particularly love. He seems to be quite crazy about you. You’re an adult, you can do what you want.”

Tess is staring at John as she fans herself, “That’s hot, John. I’ve seen the way you move. I think your birth certificate was lying, because you are so…nimble and quick.”

“Tell that to my knees.” he laughs, then nods to you, “I gotta keep up with her though.”

You laugh and shake your head, “No, half the time, I’m out of breath and you’re perfectly fine. And yes, I realize what that sounds like I just implied, but I definitely didn't mean it that way. Although...”

“Oyster Bay was really nice.” your mom says, moving the conversation along since she can tell how uncomfortable John was getting. “I loved that cafe today.”

“Yeah, Oyster Bay is nice. I haven't really been there much since I've lived here though. Kind of just stay in Mill Neck.” you say, shrugging a little.

“Well,” your mom gestures to John and smiles, “I don’t blame you.”

Tess sticks out her tongue in disgust, “Gross, mom.”

“Oh, please. I didn’t mean it like that.” she laughs, then she looks around the yard, “How would you all feel if…I moved here?”

“What?” you look up at your mom in shock, “You…you wanna move here?”

She sits back in her chair and shrugs, “Dan and I want a change of scenery. We figured now would be a good time to move, with Tess being pregnant and all. Our only grand-baby would be here.”

You give your mom a blank stare and feel John’s hand on your knee. He squeezes it a few times to get your attention and he nods to your mom.

“What?”

“Tell her.” he whispers, then leans closer, “Tell her that we’re having a baby. I mean, we’re going to have a baby.”

You shake your head and look over to see her and Jimmy talking about work. Tess is watching the two of them, and she props her head up and smiles to herself.

You look back at John and sigh, “Not right now. I mean, I’m over the moon that we’re going to be having a baby eventually, but if I tell her, she will literally move here this minute.”

“So Oyster Bay is a nice town? Perfect for…old people, you say.” your mom starts to laugh and pats Jimmy’s cheek as he stutters.

“No, no, no, I mean,” he swallows hard and looks at John for help, “I mean, my parents love it there.”

“Mom, you’re more than welcome to stay with us while you look for a house here.” John says, and you nudge his arm. “Or not.”

“What are you doing?” you turn a little and shake your head, “She cannot stay with us.”

“I can hear you.” your mom laughs.

You look up at your mom and put up a finger, “One second. Tess, talk really loudly please.”

“So, mom!” Tess says loudly so you can talk to John.

“Why? Why can’t she move here? I’ll help her find a house and she’d be out within…a month.” John looks up at your mom, then back at you.

“You know why.” you say, moving your hand up his thigh more. He grabs your hand before it gets to his crotch, and he smiles wide as he leans down to kiss you. “See why it’s a bad idea?”

“I do now.” he nods, then leans in to kiss you again.

You hear your mom and Tess talking about the trip to Italy coming up in a few days, and your mom smiles when she looks over at you, “Look at you girls. Finally getting your trip to Italy.”

“I know.” you laugh and look over at John, “All because of this man. We never would have been able to afford it, well, let me not speak for Tess and Jimmy. They would have been able to go, but I never would have.”

“Jonathan, how is work?” your mom asks and raises her eyebrows, “Been busy lately? Catchin’ bad guys?”

You feel your heart sink into your stomach, and you press your hand to it to keep yourself from vomiting on the table. John stutters over his words and looks to you for support.

“Uh, yeah, it’s been good.” he nods, “Haven’t been…busy lately.”

“Really?” she leans against the table and props her hand up on her hands, “Can you tell me a bit more about your job? It sounds very interesting.”

“He can’t talk about it.” you say quickly and shrug when John looks at you. “Confidential stuff, you know?”

Your mom squints her eyes at you and nods her head, “Hmm, okay.”

“Fuck.” John says, under his breath. He grabs your hand and his eyes grow sad, “What’s going to happen when she figures it out?”

“Nothing.” you pat his cheek and give him a reassuring smile, “We’ll be okay.”

__

Tess wanted to show off Finn's room since she finally put the finishing touches on it, so you, your mom, and Tess headed over to look at it while John and Jimmy stayed back at the house because apparently John had something he needed to show Jimmy that just could not wait.

Finn's room is so sweet and cozy, and you're beyond excited for Tess to finally have him. He's due in just about a month or so, so your trip to Italy will be perfect for them since it'll be their last vacation as a family of two.

The three of you are now sitting in the living room talking, but you're mostly...listening. And worrying. Tess and your mom have been talking non stop about the baby, how he’s doing, what they have planned, the school they’ve already picked out for him, and what activities they’ll put him in. You know Tess is doing it so you don’t have to talk to your mom just yet about John's job, and you smile at her every time she looks at you.

“Honey,” your mom says, turning in her seat to look at you, “You know I don’t think any differently of Jonathan now that I know his age, right?”

“Yeah,” you nod and look up at her, “He was just so worried. I wasn’t though. I know you’ll support us either way.”

“Of course. He’s good for you, and you’re very good for him. I think you two are very well matched, and I still adore him.” she says and reaches for your hand, “And this whole job thing…”

You sigh and look down, “Yeah.”

“Stop worrying about it.” Tess laughs, and your mom smiles.

Looking out the window, you see John and Jimmy walking across the street, so you get up so you can talk to John for a moment before you potentially ruin your entire life when your mom finds out your future husband is an assassin.

“Hey, sis.” Jimmy smiles as he walks past, then he pats your shoulder.

A smile tugs at your lips when you watch John walking over to you with Bleu at his side, and it’s giving you flashbacks to the day you met him. The sun is hanging behind John just like it was that very first day, but this time you won't be an idiot and squint your eyes so much. You move to the side a little so the sun isn't in your eyes, and you smile when you look at John.

“Hey, I’m John.” he says, reaching out for your hand, then he gestures down to Bleu, “This is Bleu.”

You take his hand in yours and smile, “Hi.”

“Seen you around for a while and I think you’re really cute, so I thought why not come introduce myself to you?”

“As if you would have ever said that to me, you were so not that suave when we met.” you laugh, and John nudges your chin. “You were so shy, and you literally just said hi and then left.”

“Hey, I was nervous.” he laughs as he leans down to kiss you, “Did your mom say anything to you?”

“She mentioned your age again. Said she didn’t care about it and that she still adores you. You know, I'm starting to think that maybe my mom likes you more than she likes me.”

John shakes his head and smiles, “She’s watching us from the window.”

“She’s dying to know about this job thing.”

John lets go of you and sighs loudly, “Yeah…”

You take John’s hand in yours as you walk into the house to see Jimmy, Tess, and your mom sitting in the living room, and when Bleu sees your mom, he quickly runs over to greet her and does his best pit bull smile.

“He loves you, mom.” John says, sitting down next to Jimmy on the couch.

You take a deep breath and look down at your hands as they shake, “So…”

John looks up at you and shakes his head, “It needs to come from me.”

You all sit there in silence, trying to figure out where to start, and you hear John sigh again. He reaches for your hand and presses a kiss to it as your mom watches on.

“He’s an assassin.” Tess blurts out and throws up her hands, “There. It’s out there.”

“Tess!” you scold her, shaking your head.

“What?! You were taking too long and making this so much worse. You can be mad at me all you want, but I said it and now mom knows.”

You look over at your mom, who is sitting back in the chair staring at John. She opens her mouth to talk several times, but doesn’t say anything. She leans forward and reaches for your hand as she starts to laugh.

“He’s a what?”

“A hit-man.” Jimmy says, happily. “You know like…‘I want you to kill this guy, and I’ll give you a lot of money to do it’. That kind of thing.”

“He’s a good man, mom.” you say and reach out to touch John’s shoulder.

“I never said he wasn’t a good man.” she says and looks at John, “I think you’re wonderful.”

“I love him and he loves me.” you say, and you almost want to laugh at how stupid you sound.

You know you sound like a teenager defending her high school boyfriend, but you don’t care. You want to defend your relationship, but most of all, you want to defend John because you know no one has ever fought for him before.

“You said earlier that I’m an adult and I can do what I want, and I want to marry him. I want to be with him. He’s never been anything but good to me. He’s kind, sweet, and intelligent, and he’s the best man I’ve ever met.” you say, feeling John tap your leg repeatedly. “He’s good to me.”

“Okay.” your mom nods.

“He treats me better than anyone has ever treated me. He respects me, he doesn't cheat on me, he makes me happy. You should be happy that I'm with a man like him. And his job, that...that doesn't even matter. It's not even a big deal anymore.” you say, and you watch as the four of them try to hold in their laughter, “Why are you all laughing at me?”

John pats the spot next to him and scoots over for you to sit down, “It’s okay.”

“What?”

“She knows.” he says and looks at your mom as he smiles, “She’s known for a few days now, but I think she knew before that.”

You cover your face with your hands as you start to cry from embarrassment, and John immediately wraps his arms around you. Your mom reaches out to touch your hand, and you back away a little.

“Sweetheart, did you really think I believed you when you tried to convince me he was in the FBI? You’re my daughter, I know when you’re lying.”

John presses kisses to your head and he lets out a small laugh, “It’s okay, mouse.”

“Do you realize how much you've all just embarrassed me?” you say and get up from the couch to head for the bathroom.

Almost immediately after locking yourself in the bathroom, you hear someone knocking on the door. It could any of them, but right now you’re kind of hoping it’s Tess. You know this whole thing was her idea. You unlock the door and to your surprise, John quickly slips in.

“I’m sorry.” he laughs and hugs you, but you shove him away a little. “Are you really that mad at me?”

“Yes! John, my mom just found out that you're a fucking assassin. I know she's understanding, I know that. Trust me, Tess and I told her many things that we've done, and my mom never judged us. She always understood, but...”

John squints his eye a little, “Well, underage drinking in high school is a little different from this.”

You give John a disapproving look, and he grimaces as he laughs quietly. You sigh loudly and look up at him, “You realize that I was ready to throw everything away just to be with you? If my mom had been upset about this, I would have stayed with you no matter what. Even if that meant that I would never talk to her again.”

“I know, I would never let you do that, but yeah...” he nods, reaching for your hand, “I know. But she knows now, and she...understands.”

“Was this Tess’ idea?” you ask, and John shakes his head.

“It was…my idea.” he says, unsure of his answer.

You cock up your eyebrow and lean back against the wall, “Jonathan, why would you do this to me? Did you want to see if I would defend you to my mom? I don’t get it.”

“No,” he shakes his head, “I just wanted to be funny, but I guess I did this the wrong way.”

“Ya think?” you laugh and tilt your head back. “No more jokes like this. How would you like if I was like ‘oh, hey, I’m pregnant!’ and then a few hours later, I was like ‘oh, just kidding. Jokes on you’. You wouldn’t like that.”

“Yeah, I would hate that.” he nods, then leans down to kiss you and his hands cup your face. “I apologize, okay? I’m sorry.”

“You've spent way too much time with Tess these past few weeks.”

John laughs quietly as he leans in to kiss you again, and you open your eyes to see John staring at you in awe. He leans back in to kiss you, then he kisses your cheek repeatedly.

“You know I’m going to have to get you back for this, right?”

“Oh, I know you will.” he laughs and opens the door, then he reaches for your hand.

Your mom is upstairs looking in the baby’s room again with Tess and Jimmy, and you and John head upstairs to join them. When you walk in the room, your mom turns around and smiles at you.

“I told you that I love Jonathan.” she says, cupping your face. “And I told you that I don’t think any differently of him. I did tell him that I don’t need to know every detail, which I’m sure he’s more than happy to hear.”

“I just love him a lot, mom.” you tear up and put your hand over your mouth when your chin begins to wobble, “More than I’ve ever loved anyone.”

She nods her head and smiles, “I know, baby.”

“How are you okay with this?” you ask, shaking your head a little, “I'm glad you are, but I mean, isn't it a lot to take in?”

Your mom laughs as she nods her head, “It is. It definitely is, but I don't know, there's just something about Jonathan. I trust him. He's always sweet to me, and he treats you wonderfully. He sure seems to like Tess as well, which I know is a big thing for you. I've seen the way he is with you, I talk to him on the phone sometimes, and I hear the way he talks about you. And I hear the way you talk about him. The way you talk about him tells me everything I need to know about Jonathan. He's a good man.”

As you start to tear up, John stands next to you and puts his arm around your shoulder. You knew your mom would understand, but actually hearing that she’s going to support you and John no matter what is all you’ve ever wanted.

“I mean, I don’t get it – his job – but it’s not my job to get. Yes, of course, I was concerned at first, but he made a pretty damn good argument.” your mom smiles and nods to John as she tears up, “This man…loves you, I have never doubted that. From the very first time I met him, I knew. And I believe him when he says he’ll never let anything happen to you. You mean the world to him.”

“She does.” John nods and presses a kiss to your head.

“It’s hot. Isn’t it, mom?” Tess says and nudges your mom.

“Well, I don’t know about that, he’s going to be my son-in-law.” she shakes her head and looks at Tess, “And he’s your brother, stop saying things like that to him.”

“Never.” Tess pouts and sits down in the rocking chair, “Oh, little bub is moving around in there.”

Jimmy kneels down next to her and puts both hands on her stomach, “Hi, bub, what are you up to in there? Just hangin’ out? I got a new book to read to you tonight.”

Tess looks up at you and smiles as her tears fill with eyes, “Wanna feel?”

You put your hand on Tess’ belly and pull your hand back when you feel it move, “Oh, my god.” you kneel down next to Jimmy and put both hands on her stomach and look up at Tess with tears in your eyes, “Oh, my god, he’s just moving around in there.”

She looks at Jimmy and smiles, “He loves hearing his daddy talk to him. He’s very active when Jimmy reads to him at night. He’ll move around so much, then after he’s done with the book, Jimmy rubs my belly until he stops moving and I just…pass out.”

You look over your shoulder at John and wave him over, “You have to feel this.”

John kneels next to you and puts his hand on Tess’ belly, and you laugh when you see how big his hands still are compared to Tess’ growing belly.

“Wow.” he says and looks up at Tess, “This is amazing.”

“Yeah.” she looks at you and smiles. Your mom is too busy looking through the baby book Tess has to pay attention to you all, and Tess leans forward a little to whisper, “Have you told mom yet? That you and John want kids?”

“No, we haven’t. John and I were just talking about that, I don’t know if it’s the right time.”

“Tell her.” she says, pushing you a little. “Its the perfect time, you dork!”

You stand up and fix your dress, “Uh, mom...”

“Yes?” she says, still looking at the book.

“Uh, John and I have something to tell you.” you say, and she quickly closes the book to look at you. John wraps his arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer to him and you put your arm around his waist. “Well, a little while back, I’ll be honest, I had a…pregnancy scare and it prompted a discussion between me and John, and…”

“Well, you two weren’t being safe? Condoms at least?” she says, and Tess immediately starts laughing hysterically. “I thought you were still taking birth control.”

“Mom! Oh, my god.” you hide your face in John’s chest and feel him laughing. “Why would you say something like that?”

“Well, I’m just wondering.” she says, and you see her wink at Tess.

“You two really never miss an opportunity to embarrass me, do you?” you shake your head and look up at John, “Anyway, John and I decided that we want kids. Well, at least one, we never talked about how many.”

“Seven.” John says with a completely straight, and you nearly fall over. He starts to laugh and he shakes his head, “Just kidding.”

Your mom looks back and forth between the two of you and smiles wide, “So, are you…?”

“Pregnant?” you laugh and shake your head, “No. Well, not that I know of at least.”

John looks down at you, then reaches out to touch your stomach, “Wait…”

“Yeah, I’ve been really nauseous lately, so…” you look over at Tess and she starts to smirk.

John moves to stand in front of you, both hands now on your stomach and he smiles, “Have you taken a test?”

“No,” you shake your head and push his hands away, “I’m kidding.”

John rolls his eyes and nudges your shoulder, “That’s not very nice.”

“Oh, and what you just did to me 5 minutes ago was?” you say, then you roll your eyes jokingly at John.

__

The rest of the day was pretty fun, and John and Jimmy ended up going to a bar later in the evening so you and Tess could spend some time with your mom. Your mom asked a few questions about John's job that she wanted your answer to, and you were fine to give her the answers. She, of course, asked if you've ever felt unsafe, and of course, the answer was no. You told her that John has always been really good at separating his job and his home life, and you told her that John rarely works now anyway. You weren't entirely sure how much John had told your mom in the first place, but you made it pretty clear that no one would be dumb enough to mess with John again after all he's been through.

Tess went on a big rant about how cool John is, and how your mom shouldn't worry about anyone ever getting hurt because John is such a force to be reckoned with. He's Baba Yaga. No one is dumb enough to mess with his family.

At the last minute, your mom decided to stay with Jimmy and Tess again, which you and John are thankful for. John is just in the bathroom brushing his teeth and changing into your pajamas, and you're changing into yours as well.

You quickly change and hop into bed as John walks back out wearing some light blue pajama pants and no shirt. “Look, my peach shirt!”

“Ooh, that does look good, and those shorts look amazing.”

You kneel on the bed and reach out for John, “I can’t believe I get to marry you. Look at you.”

“Look at you.” John says and backs away to look at you. “Amazing.”

The two of you wrap your arms around each other, and you smile as John’s hands travel down to your ass, squeezing and spanking you as he bites his lip.

“Thanks for defending me earlier, even though you didn’t need to.” he says and crawls under the blankets, “It was so hot. I especially liked the part where you said that you loved me and I loved you.”

“You ass.” you playfully slap John’s leg, and he laughs. “That was so mean.”

“It was, I’m sorry.” he laughs and leans forward to kiss you, “But we thought it would be funny to play a joke on you. I would lie and say it was Tess’ idea, but it was mostly mine.”

You shake your head at John, “Did my mom know your age, or was that all an act too?”

“No, she really didn’t know.” he says, letting out a sweet laugh, “I really was worried about my age though and how she’d react.”

“So, when did you tell my mom?”

John sits back against the headboard and pulls you into his arms, “Well, remember how I just got home from another job a few days ago?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, I lied to you. I’m sorry.” he starts to laugh, and you look up at him, “I went to your mom’s and stayed with her.”

“But that doesn’t make sense…” you say and sit up a little, “Because when you came home, you didn’t have your car, and you had a big cut on your forehead.”

“I left my car with Aurelio so that you wouldn’t suspect anything. You’re catching on to things quickly. Again, I’m sorry for lying to you.” he says and kisses your cheek, “I just needed to go to your mom’s without you knowing.”

“And the cut?” you say and move John’s hair away from his face to see the cut on his hairline, “What about that?”

“Well, I guess Dan hurt his back and he couldn’t do all this yard work for her, and I figured since I was there, I might as well do it. Plus I am going to be her son-in-law and I gotta get in her good graces.” he laughs, then reaches up to touch his forehead, “Anyway, I was helping her move some stuff in the basement when this big shelf fell and hit me in the face.”

“Baby!” you laugh and move John’s hair to press a kiss to his forehead, “My poor guy. You’re a mess when I’m not around.”

“I am,” he laughs, holding you in place to kiss you, “But your mom was there to help.”

“She was so worried, wasn’t she?”

“She was.” he laughs and pulls you back into his arms, “She gave me an ice pack and made me sit down on the couch, gave me some tea and cookies. She even made sure I didn’t have a concussion, used a little flashlight to look in my eyes. I’ve never received any medical care like that before, not even at The Continental; those cookies were so good.”

“She was a nurse for like, 30 years.” you look up at John and laugh, “So you just stayed with my mom?”

“Yeah.”

“Was Dan there?” you ask and sit up again to look at John.

“He was there. He was there when I asked for your mom’s blessing again.” John cups your face and kisses you, “He really loves you.”

“Yeah,” you shake your head and laugh, “Yeah, he does. Uh, I’m sorry, I’m just…I can’t believe you just stayed with her. Where did you even sleep?”

“Your room, your bed is really comfortable. Your mom had set up the guest bedroom for me, but I guess something happened at Leah’s apartment, so she’s been staying with your mom. Your mom pulled me aside and said you’d be pissed if Leah stayed in your room, so she let me have it.

You look up at John and furrow your brow, “Leah…has been staying with my mom?”

“Yeah, they got along really well.” he says, and you automatically roll your eyes. “She was really nice to me.”

You give John a blank stare and shake your head, “Of course she was. I’m sure she loved being around you while I wasn’t there, and I’m sure she tried to flirt with you.”

“Don’t worry, I locked the bedroom door at night.” he laughs, pulling you back into his arms, “She wasn’t flirting with me or anything.”

“John, I could literally take my top off right now and shake my chest in your face, and you’d still think I wasn’t flirting with you. You’re oblivious.”

John laughs, “Wanna give it a shot?”

You look up at John and sigh, “I’m sorry, I just don’t trust her.”

“Understandable.” he says, then grabs your hand, “But you’re wearing this ring, not her.”

You shove John away as you laugh, “Well, I didn’t say you were going to marry her, I just don’t trust her.”

“I get that.” he says, pressing a kiss to your temple, “She did say that she was happy for you though.”

“Yeah, I’m sure she is.” you say sarcastically. “She’s just happy that she gets to see you at every family gathering we go to. Probably going to try to hit on you again.”

“Stop. I think we made it very clear at Tess' wedding that nothing was going to come between us.” John laughs as you look up at him again, “And we barely even talked. She wasn’t really there that much, only in the morning and by the time I went to bed at night, she wasn’t even home yet. And even if she was there, I’m not like that. The way she talked to you the night of Tess’ wedding, the way she treats you. I don’t like her.”

“You know that I trust you, right? You don’t have to try and convince me that you’re not going to do that.”

“Yeah,” he nods and grabs your hand, rubbing his thumb over your ring, “I just hate the thought of you thinking I could ever do something like that to you.”

You sit between John’s legs and cup his face, “I don’t think that. Now tell me about when you told my mom.”

John smiles and looks at your ring again, “Well, I showed her your ring and she nearly fainted. She was so worried about how I was going to pay for it, and when I told her that I had already paid for it, her face went as white as a ghost.”

“Yeah, she doesn’t understand how we afford all of this.” you say, gesturing to your room.

“Well, she does now.” he laughs and leans forward to kiss you, “Want to know how she took the news?”

“Yeah, I’m actually really curious.”

“Well, she asked how work was going and I told her that it was good. I told her that you thought I was gone for work because it was the only way I could get away without you being suspicious.” he says and pulls your legs around his waist, “Then I just told her that I love you more than anything, and I made sure that she knew that I would always protect you. Made a very big deal about all that.”

“Shed a tear or two?”

John smiles and shrugs bashfully, “Yeah. I just always want your mom to know how much I love you, and how much you mean to me.”

“She knows.” you smile, holding John’s gaze, “So, then you just came out and said you were an assassin?”

John starts to smile and he laughs softly, “I told her that I had a very…interesting job. She pressed further, and I just told her that, yeah, I was a hit-man, an assassin.”

The two of you stare at each other for a moment before you burst out laughing. “Feels weird to say out loud, doesn’t it? Assassin.”

“Yeah, a little.” he nods.

“I think it’s hot.” you smile and lean forward to kiss John, “Yeah, my boyfriend could literally kill you in three seconds because he's an assassin.”

John clears his throat and holds up your hand, showing you your engagement ring, “Excuse me…”

“My fiance. I’m sorry, it’s taking some time to get used to.” you say, and John quickly pecks your cheek. “So, what did my mom say?”

“That it was interesting.” he laughs and pulls you closer, “I told her how long I had been in it, how I wasn’t taking dangerous jobs -- well, not as dangerous anymore, how I didn’t hurt good people. I told her everything, but again, I made sure she knew that you would always be safe, same with Tess. No harm will ever come to you, our babies, Tess, or her kids. You’re safe. You’re my family, and you’re safe.”

“My mom is pretty cool, isn’t she?”

“She’s very understanding, I see where you get it. I thanked her over and over for being so understanding, and she told me that it was honorable what I did. That me going there and telling her was how she knew that I truly love you.’ he says, and he gets a little choked up. “I was nervous that she was going to tell me to stay away from you.”

“Never, Jonathan. She knows how much I love you.”

“And she knows how much I love you.” he says and scoots down the bed, pulling you on top of him. “But like she said earlier, she was already figuring it out anyway. You’re a terrible liar.”

“Whatever, I’m a great liar.” you sit up and cross your arms as John laughs.

“Okay, mouse.”

You lean over to light the candle next to the bed, and John’s hands rest firmly on your hips as he watches you. You turn off the lamp and lean back down to kiss John.

“I think it’s time for you, Jonathan Wick, to make love to me.” you say and take off your top as John’s eyes and hands scan your body.

John leans close to your face and smiles, “Are you flirting with me?”

Rolling your eyes, you lean down more so you can kiss John, then you shake your chest a little, “Yes.”

“Okay, well, as long as you're flirting with me.” he says, then he crawls on top of you and tickles your sides as the two of you fill the bedroom with laughter.

__

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[transfluvial]

Henrik Koffmann meets the Devil

"Henrik?"

He woke up with a startled gasp. Confused, he looked around the room, feeling as if someone had put his insides through a meat grinder. It was brightly lit - in fact, so brightly he couldn't actually see much. He recognized two vaguely humanoid shapes, one sitting beside him and one at the edge of the room, near something he didn't know what to make of.

"I see you are having some difficulties to adapt," the person beside him remarked. "It is quite normal for you to feel this way, Mr. Koffmann. Most humans do."

Henrik groaned.

"Who the hell are you?", he spat out. "Where is this...?"

"Calm down, Henrik," said a very familiar voice. "I brought you here, don't you remember?"

"What...? Crow, is that you?"

He chuckled in response.

"It appears you are already familiar with my husband," the person who was not Crow said. "Then I'll leave the formalities behind us."

They moved their hand, and the room became way more plausibly lit.

"The light was hurting you, was it not?", they continued. "I apologise for that."

Henrik looked around the room once more. Crow was leaning against an old, wooden cabinetry with some bottles of alcohol and a few cups on it. The person - did they say they were Crow's husband? - smiled politely in their chair.

"My name is Astaroth," he said in a soothing voice, "although I am mostly referred to as just Roth around here."

Henrik felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He could finally think clearly, and his memories came back in a torrent in his mind.

"Are you...?" he said to Roth, but couldn't manage to finish the phrase. No, that person couldn't be Lucifer, could he? "What are you?"

"A demon," he answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Henrik could hear Crow scoffing in the background.

"Where am I?", he finally asked.

"You are in the Spiritual Plan, Henrik." Roth turned to his husband, "With the power of our Headmaster, Crocell has brought you here."

"You could say this is kind of a meeting room of ours," Crow remarked.

"I apologise for the delay in His arrival," Roth said. "I'm sure he'll be here soon enough."

"Alright," Henrik murmured, the absurdity of his situation having not yet dawned on him.

He tried looking behind his chair, but was pushed back in place by an invisible hand.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that," Crow explained.

"Why?"

"It's just the usual procedure," Roth answered.

Realizing their guest was visibly very uncomfortable, the couple exchanged looks between one another, and then Roth cleared his throat.

"Would you enjoy a drink, Mr. Koffmann?"

Henrik took a while to notice someone was talking to him.

"Uh, what?", he said, his mind in a completely different place.

Roth smiled.

"Can I offer you a drink?" He made a subtle gesture with his head towards Crow. "We can get you pretty much anything you want."

Henrik nodded.

"Uh, whiskey, then."

"The same, love."

Crow promptly poured two cups of whiskey on a tray and took it to the two men sitting down.

"Our Headmaster..." Roth sighed. "He is unusually late today."

"You, uh, seem to be very close to him."

"Oh, yes, we are a triad, me, Crow and him."

"A... triad...?", Henrik repeated, incredulous.

"We have been together for a long time," Crow said in his matter-of-fact way of his. "Everything we do, we do together. Everything we plan, we plan together."

"We have taken a liking to you, Henrik. You're... different."

"Special."

Henrik grimaced at these words.

"I don't like where this is going...", he murmured to himself.

"Have we got the wrong of you, dear guest?", a voiced echoed in the room from behind them.

Both Crow and Roth smiled.

Henrik gasped loudly. He felt a shiver down his spine. Something had changed in the atmosphere of the room at His arrival - it felt as if it had suddenly been filled with some dense gas, and he found it hard to breathe.

"When I say this," He continued, as He approached them, "I don't mean it in the way that your father did it."

Another audible gasp escaped Henrik's lips.

"How could you possibly know that?", he spat between his teeth.

"Why wouldn't I?", He replied, amused. "Do you know who I am?"

"So you really are Lucifer." Henrik could barely muster anything out of his mouth.

Lucifer chuckled.

"Correct," he purred. "Do you know why you were called here, Henrik?"

"It looks like you have some sorta 'plan' for me?"

"You could say so." Lucifer sat right in front of him. "But only if you agree to it, of course. I don't plan on forcing you to do anything, Henrik. It's your choice."

"Bullshit. Can I choose to refuse?"

Lucifer shrugged.

"Are you willing to find out?"

"Nope." Henrik shook his head violently. "What's it gonna be?"

"Take it easy, child," He smiled. "I have a lot in mind for you. But, first, I'd want you to be my Consul, Henrik Koffmann."

Henrik's eyes shot open.

"Consul?" He couldn't help but burst in laughter. "Consul as in that kind of Consul?"

"Yes," Lucifer smiled patiently.

"You, uh, you do know I'm an antimage, don't you?"

"I do."

"So... Why?"

"Hmm, I have my own reasons. But I'd like to let you know that we have, indeed, been watching for a while."

"Wait, were you listening?"

"What I'm trying to say is," He raised his voice a bit, "I like you, Henrik. I really, really like you. And I like your sister."

"Henrietta?"

"I've had my eyes on her for a while, too..." Lucifer smiled. "She's really interesting."

"Okay, what the hell do you want to do with her?"

"Oh, the same as you. I want the both of you to be under my guidance."

"Guidance? Henrik raised an eyebrow.

"Precisely, guidance," Lucifer replied, staring at Henrik's eyes. "I think the both of you have an incredible potential, and I'd like to personally help you refine your skills."

"This is so hard to believe," Henrik sighed, his hands on his tempers.

Lucifer chuckled.

"Let us start by dropping these useless formalities, shall we?" He chuckled. "My name is Lucien Lefèvre. Please feel free to call me just Lucien, alright?"

Henrik nodded, speechless.

"These two," he gestured to the couple with his hands, "I'm afraid you already know them. They are my partners, and my dearest friends. Each one is a part of me on their own."

"You may want to think of the entity Lucifer as you know it as a junction of three of us, Henrik," Roth explained. "Although, for obvious reasons, our Headmaster claims the title alone."

Lucien nodded.

"I'd like to take you somewhere, Henrik." Lucien reached out his hand to Henrik. "Could I?"

Henrik shrugged. At that point, nothing could get more absurd than it already was. As soon as he took Lucien's hand, he was transported to another place.

He took a while to adjust to the sudden change, but he recovered way quicker than the first time. When he opened his eyes, he found the confused gaze of four other people - two ghouls, a vampire and... another person, whose species he couldn't recognize.

"Henrik...?", one of the ghouls called.

"Igor?!"

"Okay, what the hell is going on here?", a ghoul girl yelled, her hands on her hips.

All members of the triad laughed.

"These, Henrik, are the other ones I have gathered in this little project of mine," he gestured to each of them in order as he said their names, "Anastasia, Eleanor, River and Igor, whom you're already familiar with."

"Wait, these people aren't mages."

"Do they have to be?" Lucien chuckled. "The only one who's going to be officially part of my clan is you, though. Those are my esteemed allies, and also a small group of resistants."

"Who is she?", he pointed at River.

"She's just like your sister, Henrik. One of a kind. She and I have known each other since she was a child."

The woman blushed.

"My name is River Marlowe Simmons," she said, her voice surprisingly powerful. "I don't know who you are, but I have a feeling that we're going to see each other quite a bit from now on."

He could see the woman smile at him before, all of a sudden, she and the rest were gone, and they were all back at the tiny shed. Igor was sound asleep on the sofa.

"So, Koffmann," Lucien took a step into Henrik's personal space, "do you accept to be a part of my little project?"

"This is all the info I'm gonna get from you now, isn't it?"

Lucien nodded.

"If you accept, we'll naturally tell you more about all of this as we go on."

Henrik sustained Lucien's - Lucifer's - gaze with confidence he himself didn't know he had. It was all so damn absurd, he felt as if he was trapped in a fever dream.

But what else did he have, anyways? He'd lost everything he could've ever possibly wanted in his life, and his desire to get revenge on his father has never been bigger. Also, he could have Igor.

Fuck it, Lucifer himself was asking him to be part of his clan. That's all he had to know.

Without even a second more of hesitation, he shook Lucien's hand.

[shestillhasherquill]

At the Heart of Darkness (10/11)

I can barely speak - and it has only 50% to do with the fact that I have a throat infection. The second-to-last chapter, wow. Thank you for all the love. I never thought this fic would have any impact, so any at all - no matter, little or lot - means so much to me. I made the right decision to join @captainswanbigbang this year lol

Thank you, @sambethe for bringing to life some of the most iconic scenes from Chapter 2 and Chapter 5, and for making this banner. Thank you, @downeystarkjr for telling a story with your video 1 and 2. You guys turned my words into something more tangible and it makes me cry!

Thank you @accio-ambition for sticking through this hell of angst.

Summary: Killian Jones lives in the Land without Magic, with no memories of his family. Until Emma Swan comes into his life like a whirlwind, reminding about everything he had lost. He embarks on an adventure to destroy the Darkness, only to discover that Emma might not be telling him the whole story.

Rating: M

Content Warning: Mentions of Miscarriage, Angst, Gothel

Prologue: tumblr ao3 ff.net | Chapter 1: tumblr ao3 ff.net | Chapter 2: tumblr ao3 ff.net | Chapter 3: tumblr ao3 ff.net | Chapter 4: tumblr ao3 ff.net | Chapter 5: tumblr ao3 ff.net | Chapter 6: tumblr ao3 ff.net | Chapter 7: tumblr ao3 ff.net | Chapter 8: tumblr ao3 ff.net 

Current Chapter: ao3 ff.net

Chapter 9: I won’t say I love you (It’s too late)

Present Day: Camelot

Killian and Merlin were trekking ahead while Alice trailed behind them, lost in thought. She had been pondering about her magic a lot the past week. For all these years, she had relied on Emma and her magic to get her out of any problem they were in. Emma had been the one to handle the mess; she had been the one to take the lead and make sure Alice focused solely on staying alive. Alice had come to depend on her Mama, but right now, she was certain she would have to step up. She had been repressing her magic for years, and with good reason. But with Emma gone, she had to make sure her father had someone to assist him. As much as she believed Merlin would help them get rid of the Darkness, she wasn’t so sure that he was as invested in keeping them safe as Emma would have been. Alice had to step up, somehow.

That was why the past week she had been trying to access her magic. Emma had once told her that magic was a part of Alice, and that she had to channel it right. She’d told Alice that magic was emotion.

Alice had tried to remember everything that her mother had taught her, but it proved to be far more difficult than she had anticipated. She only hoped that Merlin’s magic would be enough - that he would be of some actual assistance when it came down to it. She was brought out of her musings by Merlin’s pointing out their destination.

“Just up ahead, that is where we need to go.” The wizard pointed, but all Alice could see were crumbling structures, with what looked like a pedestal with a giant plate on it. No flame.

“This is what we came for? A big, empty plate?” She raised her brow at Merlin, her hands resting on her hips. “I thought you said we would find the Promethean flame here?”

Merlin nodded with an uneasy expression. “I did say that. And you will find it here.” He turned to Killian. “It’s time for you to do your part, Captain.”

“Which is what, exactly?” Killian demanded, regarding the wizard warily. “You have been quite vague, mate. You said we need to come to this...what is this place? You said that the Promethean flame would be here.”

“And it is,” Merlin insisted. “I’ll need the Dagger, Alice. And I’ll need for you take that cuff off, Captain.”

-/-

Killian was taken aback by Merlin’s instructions. He had been able to keep the Darkness at bay because of the cuff. He had tried to take it off multiple times, when the voices became too much. But he had not be able to so much as move it, let alone remove it entirely. No matter how much he had tried to access his magic at his weakest moments, he had been unable to. The cuff protected him as much as it did the people around him. To say he was apprehensive about taking it off would be putting it lightly.

He watched Alice pull the Dagger from her satchel, the Darkness rearing its head at that. His eyes never strayed from the Dagger, the whispers growing louder. Take the Dagger. You will have complete control over your magic. No one can stop you from getting everything you want. He had started reaching for without even realising it; but he was thwarted by Merlin coming to stand between him and Alice.

Killian’s head snapped up, baring his teeth at the wizard, despite himself. “Papa!” Alice exclaimed, sounding alarmed. It was the panic in her voice that brought him out of his haze. He reeled back from Merlin, appalled by his own behaviour.

“I- I’m sorry,” he stuttered out, forcing his gaze away from the Dagger to focus instead on Merlin. “I don’t know what got over me.”

“I do. It’s the Darkness. It’s fighting against the cuff,” Merlin explained. He took the Dagger from Alice, holding it out to Killian. “Once the cuff is off your wrist, the Darkness will have every chance to take over. Brace yourself.”

Killian sucked in a sharp breath, his body rigid and alert. “Aye. I’m ready.” He swallowed thickly when Merlin used the Dagger to break the cuff’s bind over Killian’s magic. The cuff came off quite easily, leaving Killian to face the onslaught of the dark magic rushing through his veins.

Killian exhaled sharply, planting his feet firmly on the ground, his arms stiff at his side. “Let’s get this over with, then.”

Merlin nodded, handing Killian the Dagger. Killian took it with a trembling hand, gasping the moment he held it.

“Focus, Captain. You need to channel the power of the Dagger, reach through it to the first Dark One, the origin of all dark magic.”

Killian nodded shakily, the Darkness whispering threats in his ear. “It’s- the Dagger is humming- and it, it feels like snakes crawling over my arm. This doesn’t feel safe.”

“Of course it is not safe. Your power is completely unchecked, and I've practically handed you the power to kill me.”

“Not helping me, mate,” Killian gritted out through clenched teeth. “I can hear the Darkness. It’s whispering...I- I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Papa, look at me.” Alice’s voice drew Killian from his internal struggle, his eyes focusing on his daughter. “You can do this. You’re more than the Darkness. I believe in you.”

He nodded at her words, her faith in him making him stronger. “Take the right path, it’s just in my head,” he kept murmuring to himself.

“Now, call on the spirit of the previous Dark Ones,” Merlin instructed.

Killian swallowed thickly, his muscles straining at the effort it took him not to succumb to the Darkness. He watched as his name on the Dagger started changing rapidly, almost as if it was scrolling through the past Dark Ones. For a moment, he was afraid he had really lost his head, but the scrolling stopped on one name - Nimue.

A figure in dark robes and a golden mask materialised in front of Killian, startling him.

“You did it,” Merlin said in a gasp, gaze trained on the robe clad figure.

Realisation dawned on Killian, wide eyes turning to look at Merlin. “Nimue,” Killian breathed out.

“That is me, yes.” The first Dark One took off the gold mask, revealing the face of the woman underneath. “It is good to see you embrace the Darkness, Killian. You have been running away from it for far too long.”

“You never told me the first Dark One was the woman you loved.” Killian eyed Merlin warily.

“This is not the woman I loved. The Dark One killed her the day she took on the Darkness.”

“It’s always good to see you, Merlin,” Nimue said, turning to her old lover. “And how great is it going to be to say good-bye.” She held out her hand, her fingers forming a choking gesture in midair. Killian mirrored her, watching wide-eyed as Merlin started struggling to breathe.

Alice rushed to the wizard’s side, confused and afraid as she looked to Killian for help. “Papa, stop it!” she exclaimed. “This is not you!”

“I-I’m not doing that, love.”

“Oh, but you are, Killian,” Nimue whispered in his ear. “Because we are one and the same, all the Dark Ones. We need to destroy the threat to the Darkness; we need to destroy Merlin.”

“Why are you doing this? You loved him,” Killian gritted out, trying to fight the Darkness.

“And you loved Emma. You know no matter how much you love someone, if they are trying to take something from you, you need to stop them. You need to say ‘No, this is mine,’” Nimue growled, using Killian to channel the dark magic through, directing it all toward the wizard. The blast of magic made Merlin go flying, hitting the ground with an audible thud.

The Dark Ones rushed, Killian hovering over Merlin, the point of the Dagger dangling over the wizard’s heart.

“Kill him,” Nimue pushed.

“Killian, this is not you,” Merlin wheezed out.

“Stop it, stop it,” Killian muttered, eyes squeezed shut.

“He’s going to reforge Excalibur and destroy us. Finish the fucking job, Killian.”

“Do no listen to her, Killian. You’re a good man, you need to fight this. Find the light within you,” Merlin urged.

Killian was panting with the effort it took to him resist the temptation to sink the Dagger in Merlin’s chest. He was shaking, lifting his head up to catch Alice’s eye. She was staring at him, terrified.

“Papa, don’t do this. This isn’t you,” she whispered, her tone slow and soft. None of the fear translated into her voice as she moved closer. “I believe in you, Papa. I love you. Whatever the voices in your head are saying, ignore it. You’ve fought so long, lost so much.” Alice was crying now, tears slipping down her cheeks.

“I need to protect you and Emma. I need the Darkness,” Killian whispered, Nimue’s voice whispering how weak he was. “I’m not strong enough.”

“Of course you are! The Darkness is what is weak. You raised me by yourself for five years! You allowed your heart to open up again to Emma. You were always strong, Papa. We never needed your magic. All Mama and I need is you.”

Killian’s heart soared, light filtering in through the thick fog of the Darkness, clearing his mind.

“Kill Merlin. Do not go back to being weak!” Nimue screamed.

“I am not weak!” Killian growled. “I might have succumbed to it in the past but I don’t need the Darkness anymore; I have love in my life. I have my family.” He put out his hand, turning his magic against Nimue. “Now, I’m taking that ember, and I am going to destroy the Darkness once and for all,” he said, pulling the spark from her, making her gasp. She glared at him and disappeared as suddenly as she had appeared.

Killian turned back to Merlin, helping the wizard up. “Let’s reforge the sword, and get this over with, mate.”

Merlin nodded, smiling almost proudly at Killian. “You did it. How did it feel to take the path of light?” he asked Killian.

Killian turned to Alice, smiling at his daughter. “To be honest with you, Merlin, it felt like I finally did the right thing for my family,” he said on a shaky breath.

Alice grinned back at him, hugging his side. Killian wrapped his arms around her, chuckling slightly, resting his cheek on top of her head. “I knew you could do it, Papa.”

“Let’s get this over with then,” Killian declared, releasing Alice and turning to Merlin. He held the last bit that was left of the Promethean flame in his hand. “What next?”

“We light the spark, of course. Are you ready to be rid of the Darkness?” Merlin asked.

Killian wanted to say yes, there was no question to it. But he couldn’t help but wonder how much magic had helped him too. He had been able to break the bonds that kept his daughter trapped, he was able to keep his family safe. What if he needed it again, but would no longer be able to find it?

“What is it, Papa?” Alice looked at him curiously, as if she could see the gears spinning in his head.

Killian felt unsettled, like he was not sure anymore. “Isn’t it possible to use the magic for good?” he asked Merlin. “I could make a choice, like I just did.”

Merlin smiled tightly at him. “Perhaps, there might be someone strong and noble enough to not be corrupted by the Darkness, Killian. But it is not fair to make someone carry this burden. The Darkness has already taken root in your heart; holding on to it would not be wise. It’s a slippery slope. It’s time to let it go. There is a lot more to look forward to in life, more love and happiness than anything the Darkness can give you.”

Killian nodded, knowing that Merlin was right. He might have been strong now, but he had also done a lot of things he regretted because of the Darkness. Looking at the rock in his hand, he asked, “What do I do now?”

“We light it together. Think about what is waiting for you. Break the bonds of your past, break free of the hold the Darkness has on you.” Merlin advised. “You can do this.”

Killian closed his eyes, feeling Alice’s steady gaze on him. He thought about the happiness he had felt, watching her grow up. He thought about his days with Emma, getting to know her, falling in love with her. He ruined it all, then. But if he had learned anything in the past week with his daughter, even the greatest sins could be forgiven if someone loved you. And he had two someones, he had his girls. No matter how uncertain things were between Emma and him, he knew she loved him. If he wanted a future with them, to finally be the family that he so desperately craved, the Darkness needed to go.

He thought of his family: he thought of his brother and how much he had taught Killian about honour and good form. He thought of Milah, and how she had taught him to love, to embrace life after he had given up on it after Liam. He thought of Alice, and how she helped him realise how rewarding being a father could be, how she had brought hope back in his life, restarted his cold, dead heart.

He thought of Emma. He thought about how she had come into his life like a whirlwind, and how she challenged him. How she infuriated him and made him crazy. How she was the blinding light to the darkness that had plagued him, much before he had become the Dark One. She set him free, made me feel more love than he ever thought possible. Alice and Emma filled the gaping holes in his heart. They were all he needed, not magic.

A future with them was so close within his grasp; he could feel it in his bones.

He felt his chest fill with the love he felt for them, the warmth consuming him, breathing life into him. The changes in him, he felt viscerally. And when he opened his eyes, the rock was alight with a small but strong flame.

“Yes, you did it, Papa!” Alice cheered, jumping gleefully. Killian grinned widely, feeling the warmth from the flame on his palm. He could feel the light magic in the flame, something in him wanting to reach for it. It sent the Darkness in him reeling, and he couldn’t help but feel smug about it. He finally had a win, and after all of this was over, he could go and save his Swan.

He barked out a laugh in triumph.

“Are you ready to finish what you started?” Merlin asked, taking joy in Killian’s obvious happiness.

“Yes.” Killian was breathing deeply, but steadily. He handed Merlin the Dagger, following the wizard’s instructions and drawing out the Promethean flame and feeling the light magic that was drawn from it in the air. It almost felt pliant, the magic from the flame - he manipulated it toward the Dagger and the broken sword.

Killian, Alice, and Merlin watched in wonder as the weapons rose in air, the flame enveloping them. The bright light radiated on the trio, making Killian squint his eyes. He felt hope bloom in his chest, and for the first time in a long time, he had a feeling that everything would actually soon be alright.

The feeling did not lasted long. Just as he finished the final step to reunite the blades, he was interrupted by the grating voice of the last person he wanted to see - Gothel.

“Well, isn’t this convenient,” she called out from behind the trio. Killian was effectively distracted from the spell, and the newly mended Excalibur fell to the ground, Killian Jones and Merlin etched on the blade.

Killian and Alice turned to face their foe, both gasping in unison when they saw Emma trailing behind Gothel. She looked nothing like her usual self; she looked lifeless and had a haunted look about her. Her clothes were dirty, and ripped at the sleeve, her hair falling limp and having none of its usual bounce. But none of that was  as alarming as the look in her eyes - they were downcast and when she did look up at them, he could not see Emma in there. They looked empty, dazed - as if Emma was nothing more than a puppet.

“Gods, Swan,” Killian said in a gasp, moving toward her without a second thought. He was stopped short by an invisible barrier, Gothel smirking at him from behind it. “What have you done to her?” he demanded with a voice of authority. He could feel the dark magic at his fingertips, waiting to be unleashed, and it took everything in him to not give in to the urge.

“Oh, nothing, really.” Gothel’s smirk grew wider, tugging on the chains that bound his love, making Emma stumble forward. Gothel walked up to her, one long finger lifting Emma’s chin. “I just broke her.” Gothel had the audacity to giggle, trailing her finger down Emma’s jaw, making her flinch.

Killian pounded against the barrier, ignoring the burning on his skin. “Let her go, witch. You’re too late!”

Gothel whirled around, stalking up to him, standing just shy of touching the barrier, holding his gaze steadily. “On the contrary, Captain. I learnt a lot of interesting things from your lover. Or is it, ex-lover?” She held up her hand, and Excalibur flew into her gasp, startling Killian, Alice, and Merlin.

“No!” Merlin exclaimed, rushing forward, but was once again thwarted by the barrier that Gothel had put up.

“Mama, stop her!” Alice called out, but Emma did not seem to hear her. Whatever Gothel had done to her, it had left her catatonic.

“Gothel, stop this. You don’t have to do this.” Killian’s tone was soft, coaxing. He wanted to shout, get angry and perhaps even murder the witch who had been tormenting his family for years. But she was far too volatile, and it was all of their lives at stake. He couldn’t risk it.

“Of course I do,” she snapped, her expression sullying. “You humans and your pathetic lives. You never appreciate what nature has gifted you with. You just destroy it and burn it to the ground. My family and I worked hard to preserve the magic, and what did we get in return?” She had an aura of rage about her, her expression dark and furious. “My kind was murdered in cold blood, simply because we were different. If I am to eliminate all of humanity, I need this. And I almost would have had everything I needed, if it weren’t for you.” She looked at Killian with great disdain. “You had the power of the Dark One, and you ran away from it.”

“Aye, because it corrupts. You cannot possibly think I wouldn’t stop you from doing this.” Killian did not take his eyes off Gothel for even a moment. She was unhinged and unpredictable; he had no idea what she meant to do with Excalibur.

Alice stepped forward, despite Killian’s protests. “Please, stop this. You’re supposed to be my mother,” the young woman said, her voice breaking. “You talk about family, but I am your family, and you abandoned me without a second thought. You tricked my father, and you broke his trust in unspeakable ways. Can you honestly say you are better off than humans?”

Gothel looked taken aback by Alice’s words for a moment, but she quickly composed herself. “I would say I was sorry, but I’m really not.”

Killian had had enough. He surged at the barrier, releasing his cautious hold on his magic. He watched as the barrier became visible, reacting to his magic, making Gothel’s eyes widen,  but did not seem go down at all. Before he could unleash more of his power, Gothel held out the sword in front of her, “Stay right there.”

He felt his body freeze, held in spot by the magic that bound him to Excalibur, watching with helpless fury as Gothel walked toward him and Merlin, who was immobilized as well, the sword held in front of her. “Well, it’s been fun, boys. But now it is time for me to take what is mine.” She approached Merlin first, and Killian watched with wide-eyed horror as she unceremoniously ran Excalibur through his chest, the wizard in no position to stop her.

“NO!” Killian and Alice shouted in unison. Merlin stared at the sword sticking out of his gut in shock, his magic visibly draining out of him in wisps of light and into Excalibur. Alice pressed her hands to her mouth, stifling her horrified gasp, pressing closer to her father, her hand clutching his arm.

Killian looked to Emma, terrified and desperate, still frozen in place. “Emma, love, do something! You can stop her.”

Emma looked up, staring right through him with cold, dead eyes. It broke his heart to see her like this.

Gothel turned to him, her free hand twisting in a grasping motion, making roots break through the ground and wrapping around Alice’s torso, pulling her away from Killian, despite her loud protests. Gothel walked toward him with a simpering expression. He bared his teeth at her, her jaw clenched tight. “I swear to the Gods, if you hurt my daughter-”

“You’ll what? Kill me? Please - I’d like to see you try.” She glanced behind her at Merlin’s crumpled form. “Don’t worry. I’ll spare your life,” she assured Killian, smiling tightly. “I just need your magic, that’s all.”

“No! Stop it!” Alice exclaimed, pounding her fists against the root that was wrapped around her, but to no avail. “Mama! Please! Help us!”

Killian struggled in place, trying desperately to break free on the Dagger’s command. He turned to Emma, just as she seemed to come back to reality and realise what was going on around her. She was shaking in place, looking brokenly at him and Alice, like she had given up trying. He couldn’t - wouldn’t - let that happen. “Swan! You can overpower whatever control she had on you. You are the strongest person I know.”

Emma looked at him then, walking toward him on weak legs, stumbling slightly before she found her bearing. She, too, was stopped short by the barrier that Gothel had put up. Up close, she looked even worse. Her eyes were sunken, lips chapped with dried blood; she looked battle worn, defeated. It scared him, seeing her like this. “Killian,” she whispered, her voice scratchy and rough. “I can’t stop her. I can’t, I’m sorry.” She was crying, making his heart clench at her pain. “She’s stronger than I am.”

“You should listen to her, darling.” Gothel was right in front of him, Excalibur clutched tight in her hands. “Now, this will hurt a tad.” She held the sword in front of him, and he felt the Darkness in him reacting to it, almost as if it was heeding a silent call, reaching out to the weapon.

For a moment, Killian thought he would be able to hold back, keep the Darkness reined in if only to ensure Gothel did not get her hands on it. But it was futile, as the Darkness started to pour out of him, as slowly and painfully as it possibly could. He couldn’t help but yell in pain: it felt like his skin was was being pricked by a thousand needles from the inside out. The dark magic was tearing out of him; it was excruciating. He turned to Emma once again, swallowing down his pain. “Love, you-you are s-stronger than you realise. You-” he cut himself off, letting out a grunt at the toll it was taking on his body. “-are the pro-product of True Love. I believe in you.”

Emma nodded, sucking in her bottom lip. “I love you.”

“As I love you, my Pr-Princess.”

-/-

Emma closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. There was so much of the Darkness blocking her from accessing her light magic, but she knew it had to still be there. Gothel might have broken her down in the past week, but a part of her had allowed it to happen, if only to delay the witch from stopping Killian. She had almost succeeded, too.

Right now, Killian and Alice needed her, and she was was running out of time. Once Gothel was done extracting the Darkness, Emma would lose her magic. She had been prepared for that, and for what would come after - but she needed her magic if she wanted to stop Gothel. Fortunately for her, Merlin had shared with her the spell he had intended to perform to get rid of the Darkness once and for all. Excalibur was supposed to break immortal ties, but if Gothel gained control over the Darkness as well as Merlin’s light magic, it would be impossible to stop her.

Then it dawned on her - Merlin’s light magic and the Darkness cancelled each other out, and they would all be in Gothel. She would be the sole catalyst for all that power. If Emma was able to disable her for long enough, she could….That was it!

She had a plan in place; she just needed to find the strength within her to attack Gothel. Killian’s cries of pain and Alice’s desperate pleading echoed through her mind, pushing her to try harder. She had been weakened beyond what she could handle the past week, and she knew even if she could have survived losing her magic before, she had no hope of that now.

Emma had to do everything she could to take Gothel down with her. She thought about everyone and everything she had loved and lost - her parents, her kingdom, Charles. She remembered every painful moment of her life, channeling her grief to find the light within her. Every moment of hurt and anguish that she had felt cut deeply because it came from the same place love did; because the only reason she felt pain was because she felt love, too. They went hand in hand.

Emma shut everything off around her, travelling within herself to find the source of the love that powered her magic. It was hard, wading through the Darkness that had corrupted her system, like trying to swim through black sludge. Her surroundings faded, noises grew distant and she felt like she was floating. The further she went into the Darkness within her, the harder it became to remember where she was and why she was there. She held on tight to the good memories - happy memories of her childhood, of being in love, of her years with Alice - using them to ground her to reality.

It felt like hours, not mere seconds like it really was, before she broke through the surface of the Darkness. But when she did, she was embraced by the familiar warmth of her light magic, magic that was born out of love and happiness, that had been oppressed by the Darkness. She should have known, that at the heart of Darkness would be light.

She immersed herself in the light, slowly drawing it with her past the Darkness. She pulled it through, bit by bit, until the pitch black that seemed to have taken over her heart was replaced with bright light. Emma felt like she was reborn, her energy renewed; like she had been drowning for so long and had finally come up for air.

When she opened her eyes, only a moment had passed. Gothel still held Excalibur aloft and the Darkness was trickling out of Killian, surrounding the witch. Emma bided her time, now having a firm hold on the light magic. She just needed to wait until the Darkness was being pulled from her, too, before she would execute her plan.

Everything around Emma came back into full focus; she could hear Killian’s screams again, Alice’s cries - it was so hard for her to not react immediately. It nearly broke her, seeing her family in such pain. But it also strengthened her resolve to hold out just that much longer. She hardened her heart, watched as her love fell to his knees, weakened by the sudden withdrawal of power.

But that also meant that the Darkness was finally out of him. As if in answer to her question, Emma felt a tugging on the last bit of the Darkness in her. It was time.

Gothel turned to Emma with a smug grin, her icy blue eyes consumed by the Darkness. Emma let go of the tentative grasp she had on her light magic - all of it - feeling it leave her completely in one breath and hitting Gothel square in her chest, sending her soaring through the air. Gothel lost her grip on Excalibur, and it fell at Killian’s feet, with the letters spelling out Mother Gothel along the blade burned into it, revealing the new host for the Darkness.

Killian was quick to react, his fingers wrapping tightly around the grip of the sword. He grinned at Emma, nodding at her. “I knew you could do it, Swan!” he called out.

Emma wasn’t certain what happened next, her vision blurring for a moment, but when she could see clearly again, Killian has Excalibur buried in Gothel’s gut. Emma felt the thick, suffocating aura from the Darkness ebb away, as Gothel fell to her death.

Emma grinned widely across the clearing at father and daughter. She took no more than two steps before her legs gave way beneath her, her chest feeling tight, making it difficult to draw a breath. She choked on a gasp, pressing a hand to her chest, feeling her heart race rapidly in her chest. She tried to call out to Alice, but felt herself fading, her vision going to black. She heard panicked voices, sounding muffled and distant, and felt a rough, calloused palm on her cheek.

Emma couldn’t understand why everything was turning black, or why she couldn’t breathe anymore. She started panicking for a moment or two. But that stopped as well.

And finally, so did her heart.

[savannacentralperk]

The Perks Chp 10 pt 1

“Just call him…”

A deep breath was taken as her phone was unlocked. Selecting her contacts, they were thumbed through until his name popped up. She hesitated a bit looking at the name. Butterflies formed in her stomach, making the cramps she was dealing with even worse.

“Hey, Dave! I’m so sorry I’ve been a jerk lately. I’m just going through some… stuff, and didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

Brook stared at his name.

Just call him, she thought. Just call him…

The home button was pressed, erasing his name from the screen.

“Later,” she said to herself. “I’ll call him later.” ……………

“The male sex organs are divided into three parts.”

Murmurs and giggles around the classroom became slightly more uncontrolled as the video switched to a display of canine genitalia. Its cartoonish design was more detailed than Nick felt it should be, displaying full frontal and from each side. The females of the class audibly speculated about the males surrounding them, a pair of them grinning coyly in his direction.

Nick groaned in embarrassment as he buried his muzzle in his paws as the narrator carried on.

“The bulbus glandus becomes locked inside the female during ejaculation. This helps insure pregnancy, as well as helps build the emotional bond between mates.”

Wheezing laughter came from the chubby coyote sitting next to him as the video went on about body changes and hygiene.

“I bet mine is bigger than the others here,” he whispered to the fox with a grin after he composed himself.

Rolling his eyes, Nick refused to look over at his desk mate, shaking his head at the crass comment. Unable to watch the video anymore, his gaze flicked around the darkened room. He saw most of the kits in class with him were foxes, with a few wolves and other canines thrown in.  

Soon the video ended and the instructor flipped the lights back on, a collective groan coming from light sensitive group. The she-wolf beamed around at the dazed youths, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet.

“Any questions?” she asked cheerfully.

A few paws were lifted into the air, one young wolf being selected.

“Does knotting hurt?” she asked.

“Generally, it does the first time.” The females of the class winced. “But, as with sex itself, the discomfort and pain will fade the more you and your mate do it.”

Another female raised her paw, this one a vixen.

“Do you have to wait to get married before having sex?”

“That is something you and your parents should discuss, but I do encourage you to wait until marriage before you do. Yes, Mr. Wilde?”

“What about interspeices relationships? Would it be possible to mate with someone who isn’t a canine?” The giggles that followed the question caused the todd’s ears to flatten as he looked around uncertainly. Surprisingly, one young vixen was silent, her eyes moving back to the teacher in obvious curiosity.

“Mr. Wilde, the point of intercourse is reproduction,” the she-wolf explained, her condescending tone causing both him and the vixen to frown at her. “If you can’t reproduce with your partner, then there’s no point in mating with them.”

The vixen’s paw shot in the air, a scowl curling her muzzle. “My sister is unable to have kits. Should she and her husband not bother mating?”

Her voice was rude and aggressive, causing the wolf to falter a bit before straightening.

“As tragic as that is for your sister, what I meant is mammals were meant to stay within their own species. Can you imagine what would happen to the fox population if every fox in here decided to mate with someone not their own species?”

“Oh, my gods!” cried Nick, bringing his paws to his face. “Harmony might be achieved!”

The vixen who had spoken up was the only one who laughed. Both teens exchanged smirks at the wolf’s baffled expression. Her eyes flicked up at the clock, before landing back onto Nick. With a slightly steely look, she clapped her paws as she gave him a strained smile.

“And, on that note, we’ll stop here for the day.”

The low hum the other students gathering their things and shuffling out the door was ignored as Nick glowered at the teacher. Leaflets and work sheets in paw, he stood and trudged to the door. The class had been held in a small classroom just outside the lobby of the hospital, so Nick had a clear view of the receptionist desk.

The hippo behind the counter smiled at him as he approached.

“Hey, Nicky.” She flicked through a few sheets of paper, before pausing at one and handing it to him. “Your mom’s is assisting with surgery right now, but she told me to give you this.”

Waving him off as he finished reading his chore list, Nick headed for the double doors, still thinking about what the teacher had said. If the others had been so against interspecies relationships, how would they react if a predator and prey got together. His mother made it clear that she didn’t mind, his brother couldn’t care less, and Skye had no room to talk.

But Judy….

Asking her out would make her vulnerable to abuse and ridicule. If she even agreed. After the kiss he surprised her with, part of him wasn’t looking forward to camp that afternoon. There was a slight possibility that the shock of his surprise move had turn into very real anger she might take out on him.

Though he was pretty sure her brother would at least be reasonable. Or, at the very least, understanding.

Stepping into the warm mid-morning sun, he caught a glance of the vixen from class. His ears picked up with interest as he watch a kudu doe wrap her arm around the vixen’s waist and rest her head on her shoulder. The two waited at a crosswalk, giggling and snuggling with each other, oblivious to the glares and stares they received.

“Star night…” He muttered absently.

He smiled more to himself than anything else as he watched the pair walk away together. An image of him and Judy laying on their backs, side by side, gazing at the stars projected onto the ceiling of the Natural History Museum came to his mind. Without a doubt, she would be angry at him for stealing a kiss, but with enough tenacity, he could probably win her over.

And get her to agree on a date with him. …………….

Jack noticed something different about Judy this morning. She seemed distant, her responses to his questions and quips were vague, and her eyes kept flicking over to the cafe door. The striped buck had exchanged a few confused looks with Bobby, Kari, and Sandra.

Though Jon simply smirked.

Jack had too been distracted from his interlude with Skye to notice how peculiar his little sister was acting when she arrived home the night before. A distracted greeting was given when she entered the cafe and practically floated upstairs. Jon had noted the dazed look on her face, how it nearly mirrored her brother’s, and laughed. Now, the following morning, the raccoon was having a blast watching his bosses make moon eyes at each other while Judy monitored the front door with increasingly obvious disappointment.

“Our little doe looks a bit lost, eh, Skye?” Jon nudged her with his elbow as they watched Judy move from table to table listlessly. The vixen simply shook her head at him and smiled.

Every jingle of the bell had Judy turning in the direction of the door. Ears popped up in excitement, only to fall when she got a look at who entered. Jon picked up on the fact that the new comers were older than thirteen and not red fox todds. Jack, however, was completely baffled by her behavior.

The raccoon concluded he was either ear deep in denial or just truly clueless.

“Judy, Bun-bun, are you feeling ok?” Concerned blue eyes watched as she trudged around the corner with a bus tub in her arms. He stretched a paw out to press to her forehead, as she leaned away from him. “You’ve been acting odd all day. Sweetheart, are you sick?”

“I’m fine, Jack,” she ducked past him towards the kitchen. “I’m just… thinking… about camp…”

She flashed him an unconvincing smile, the sight of which had Skye and Jon withholding snickers.

“Oh, yes,” agreed the vixen. “Camp. Very distracting.”

She grinned and winked at the doe, who blushed and hurried away. Jack turned to give Skye a puzzled look. She simply shook her head and turned back to the register.

“I’m seriously worried,” he said as he leaned back against the counter next to her, arms crossed as he watched Judy absently straighten up the kitchen. “She usually has, like, seven million complaints by now. And yet, she barely said more than a few words to me.”

“It’s just a crush, Jack.” Skye smiled as she counted out change and passed it to a mother beaver juggling her coffee, treats, and twins. “You just have to let it run its course.”

“…Crush?!”

Jon had been taking a sip of his water, only to choke on it at the sight of Jack’s horrified expression. Amidst the giggles of his workers, the striped buck narrowed his gaze at his sister’s back before turning to the vixen.

“What do you mean ‘crush’?”

With a roll of her eyes, Skye patiently cleared her throat and explained it to him.

“Jack, remember when I told you my brother had the hots for your little sister?”

The buck’s ears flushed a bit as he nodded sheepishly. “Well, it’s entirely possible it’s not all one sided.”

Still gasping for breath, Jon put a companionable arm around his boss.

“Listen,” he started after clearing his throat, “Judy’s growing up. And part of growing up is her starting to figure out what she’s attracted to. Hence, she now has a crush.”

“But…” Jack’s voice quivered a bit as he looked at the raccoon, who fell away from him with a sympathetic smile. “She’s my little Bun- Bun….”

“Oh, Jack.” Skye linked her arm in his, her free paw coming up to give his a comforting pat. Tugging him away from the group congregating around the registers, she lead him back to the kitchen. Judy’s ears were down, her focus obviously not on the pile of dishes she was sorting through.

“You have four clients coming in today, including Fru Fru Big, who’ll be here in twenty minutes. So, let’s put a pin in this and focus on work. Afterwards, we can brush each other’s fur and sob about how quickly time flies.”

A wave of affection came over her as he gave another sad glance at the doe before he nodded and set about preparing his cake samples. Wanting to ease his concerns, she leaned into him, causing the buck to inhale sharply.

“And if you’re good,” she continued, lowing her muzzle to speak softly into his ear. “And things go well today, we can continue our little… ‘discussion’ from last night.”

Jack’s ears popped up at that, his eyes snapping to her. He blushed and smiled when she winked at him before turning to leave the kitchen.

“Oh, and an Emma Longrass called. She was confirming an appointment with you today,” Skye added before she turned back towards the lobby only to be halted by her boss.

“Actually, I told her the appointment was with you.” Jack replied.

“Oooooohhhhh, Jack…” The vixen whined and turned big blue eyes to him, making him smile. “Do I hafta?”

“I wonder if she’ll do that whipped cream thing again.”

Both turned to look at Judy in surprise as she loaded the cart with clean dishes. Skye narrowed her eyes at the doe before turning back to a stricken looking Jack.

“WHAT whipped cream thing?” Skye demanded.

“You know,” Judy continued, cutting off her brother’s attempts to appease the vixen. “The move where you dip your finger into your whipped cream and then lick it off. And never take your eyes off the mammal you’re doing it in front of.”

The last mug was loaded up before the younger rabbit started pushing towards the coffee bar.

“Just curious to know if she’ll do it to you again, Jack.” She pushed past the adults, calling over her shoulder as she went. “Let me know!”

Their gazes turned back to each other, Jack looking horrified, Skye looking accusing.

“Kits…” He said with a forced laugh. “They say the darnedest things.”

“That they do.” Skye crossed her arms and tapped her foot waiting for Jack to explain.

“She’s an old class mate who said she can get us a discount on advertising. That’s why I scheduled her appointment with you…” His ears dropped as he looked at her. “Just so she knows she doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Who?” asked Sandra as she went to the order fridge.

“Emma Longrass,” spat Skye, still scowling at the idea of another trying to seduce her buck. Sandra’s face gave her reason to pause though.

“Oh, my gods,” she exclaimed with a laugh. “Are you really jealous of that doe? I’ve bought milk that lasts longer than her interest in a buck. Seriously, Skye, dangle a semi attractive hobo in front of her and Jack will be ancient history.”

“You know her?”

“She dated three of my brothers…” Sandra’s face went dark for a moment. “At the same time.” With a snort, Sandra returned back to the lobby with the order she was looking for.

“Little slut…” Skye heard Sandra mutter under her breath as she walked back to the lobby.

“Skye,” Jack’s hesitant voice brought her attention back to him, his big blue eyes almost pleading with her. “Please…” He took a step forward, terrified she was going to step away from him.

The petty part of her was more than tempted.

“I have zero interest in her. The only reason I set up anything at all is because her company is the one of the best ad agencies in Zootopia. And if there’s anyone who can put her in her place, it would be you.”

The vixen narrowed her eyes at the buck.

“What is this, Jack?”

The buck took another step closer to her, a paw going to her face to brush the soft fur of her cheek. Her gaze didn’t soften, making his stomach drop, though the brush of her tail across his feet filled him with hope. Casting a quick look out the order window- and the several pairs of ears turned to the conversation- the buck stepped forward.

“This is something that has the potential to be real.” He slid his paw from her muzzle to take hers, running a thumb over her pads as he raised them, before bringing them to his face.

His lips pressed into them as he breathed in the scent of peony and amber that always seemed to cling to her. His eyes closed as she gave in and brushed the fine fur of his muzzle, making him breath deep before opening them again. The slight smile she wore made him unreasonably happy and relieved.

“I want this, Skye,” he muttered. “I’ll call her back and cancel if you want. You’re the one I want and the one can’t stop thinking about. No one has ever pulled a reaction out of me quite like you.”

“That’s true!” called out Judy and Sandra.

Skye laughed at that, before stepping close enough to nuzzle the top of Jack’s head.

“Make those samples, mister.”

She suddenly pulled away, turning quickly to head back to the lobby, letting her tail drag over his front as she went. A sultry smile was sent over her shoulder at the buck’s groan of disappointment.

Pausing by the doorway, she tipped him a wink. “I have a meeting I need to prepare for.” ……………..

Dave looked down at his friend. They were both back by the precinct obstacle course, stretching as they waited for the other junior cadets to show up. Nick’s eyes were once again trained on the entrance, his tail gently thumping against the ground with nerves. Ordinarily he would have had a lot of fun tormenting the todd, especially after seeing him steal a kiss from Judy.

But Brook’s odd behavior was still bothering him. He had messaged her when he got home, several times actually, only to be ignored. With Nick preoccupied, Dave wasn’t quite sure how to approach the situation. When the todd suddenly stilled, brown eyes looked over at the approaching bunny. Sans tigress, much to his dismay.

A calculating smirk was sent their way as Judy took up a spot to stretch. She didn’t need to look up as the two males approached, her ears perking at the sound of their paw steps.

“Ready for today, Wilde?”

“Oh, you know it, Hopps.” Nick bent to touch his toes, grinning over at her. “I can’t wait to add sparring to the list of things I beat you at.”

“Don’t count your carrots,” she remarked, straightening up and putting paws on her hips. “After all, I distinctly remember being able to whip your tail in the park.”

“You got lucky, bunny.” Nick stood to his full height and copied her pose.

“Did I?” The todd gave a sharp inhale when she stepped closer to him, ears folding forward and eyes wide as she batted her lashes at him. “If that’s the case, then if you win, I’ll give you a surprise. I win, you knock a day off the ice cream bet.”

Green eyes twinkled mischievously, his tail wagging so fast it thumped hard enough against Dave’s leg that the wolf felt a small bruise form.

“Done!” Paws shook, both mammals grinning at the image of their own victory over the other. “Sooo… What kind of surprise?”

With a quirk of her brows, the bunny turned away and resumed her stretching, her back turned to the pair of them.

“Guess you’ll just have to see…” she said in a sing song voice.

Nick shifted uncomfortably, his gaze resting on her and all the stretches she was doing, before he suddenly took off, mumbling about the bathroom.

“What was that all about?” Judy asked in surprise, staring after him. She gave

Dave a speculative glance which he returned with a helpless shrug. “Brook said she’s going to be late, by the way.”

“Oh…” He lowered his eyes to the ground, gathering his nerves as she went back to her task. “Hey, Judy?”

The rabbit looked up from her stretches again, eyes filled with curiosity.

“Is Brook ok?” His feet shuffled as he looked down at them, ears back and tail dragging. “I mean, is there anything I did to make her hate me?”

Judy smiled kindly at him as she shook her head. “That’s something you’re going to need to ask her. But she’ll be ok. She’s just feeling… sensitive…. right now.”

Dave opened his mouth to respond only to be cut off by a smooth voice.

“Excuse me.”

Both teenagers turned in surprise at the new comer. Standing just a bit shorter than Nick was marble fox. His fur was a bit longer than the red todd’s, though impeccably kept. Snowy white ran up his arms, disappearing into a blue t-shirt. Grey and black sprinkled from the top of his head to his ears, he viewed the world with golden brown eyes and an obscenely confident smile.

The Zootropolis accent didn’t make Dave feel any better about him.

“Hi! I’m new to Zootopia.” A paw stretched out to the doe, his eyes lit upon her. “I’m Kody Marmoreal.”

“Oh, um, hi! I’m Judy. Judy Hopps.” Her small paw became enveloped in his, a small ‘meep’ escaping her as he raised it slowly. Brown eyes became half lidded in tender look as he smiled softly.

“Hmmmm.” He paused with her paw close to his muzzle, a slight purr of approval rumbling out. “What a pretty name, for a pretty doe.”

Dave’s own eyes narrowed at Kody, watching him make moves on his best friend’s female, a growl almost escaping him as a kiss was pressed to the back of her paw. Movement from his peripheral caused him to glance at Nick coming back from the bathroom. Panic filled him as his friend stopped in his tracks, the other todd zeroing in on Judy and Kody.

Green eyes filled with hostility as his fur puffed up in agitation. The wolf was surprised at the speed displayed as Nick moved towards the trio, coming to rest beside the bunny as her paw was released. Kody’s eyes flicked to him before refocusing back on Judy, nose flaring to take in her scent.

“So, Judy, I’m looking for a tour guide to show me around the city.” The other two males tried not to scoff as he smiled down at her. “You wouldn’t happen to know anyone who’s interested. Do you?”

“Oh, well I-” Judy’s words were interrupted by Nick, who took a step forward to put himself between his crush and the new todd.

“Actually, she does.” A paw was thrusted towards the intruder, a look of contempt barely masked with a strained grin. “Nick Wilde. No one knows this city better than me.”

“Is that right?” Paw accepted, Dave had to keep himself from rolling his eyes as the two todds tried to out grip the other. “Well, I’m sure there’s nothing better for helping your geography than exploring your surroundings.”

Their limbs were obviously aching when they let go, both refused to show any discomfort or pain. Judy looked up to Dave, who merely shrugged.

“If the lovely lady is up to the task,” Kody continued as he smiled down at her again.

This time neither male watching the exchange bothered keeping in their growls. The new todd barely spared them a glance, keeping his gaze on the blushing bunny.

Judy opened her mouth to respond before catching sight of Brook. With her head down and shoulders slumped, the tigress was trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible as she crept to the group waiting for their instructor.

Still blushing, Judy mumbled an apology as she excused herself. With a small smile to Nick, the bunny darted over to her friend, leaving the wolf with two very riled up foxes.

“What do you think you doing, fox?” Nick’s eyes burned into his competition’s.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” With a smirk, Kody followed after the doe as Chief Pride walked in.

The polar bear who lead the camp last time was right behind him, bags filled with boxing gloves and other gear thrown over their shoulders.

“Line up, campers!” Her voice cut the idle chit chat from the youths as they scrambled for their spots.

A low growl came from Nick as they both watched Kody take a spot next to Judy and Brook. Something was said to the tigress that brought the first smile Dave had seen in while to her muzzle. Jealousy bloomed in his chest as she ducked her head at the obvious compliment, whatever it may have been.

“Asshole,” he breathed, teeth clenched and eyes narrowed at the new todd making the two females giggle. ………….

Words didn’t properly describe the emotion Sandra felt when Emma Longrass walked in. Mostly because it was an intense combination. Anger was, of course, the front runner. With memories of her brothers brawling in the front yard of her childhood home back in Bunnyburrow while Emma watched with glee, anger ran hot in her veins.

There was also annoyance and aggression, mostly out of loyalty to Skye. Her new boss may have only been a week into the gig, but Sandra was an admirer of anyone who could make Jack not think about work. It was why she loved having Judy around. Anything for him to remember there was life outside of the kitchen. And the fact that the buck hadn’t been on a date the entire time she had worked for him made her respect for the vixen grow.

It took a lot for a female to catch his attention.

Jealousy was a bit of a surprise as the shorter, cream colored doe watched those long, trim legs glide towards the counter. Accentuated by a plaid, pleated skirt and white button down, the matching blazer adding a professional look to her. Sandra couldn’t help but glared at the physically perfect bunny doe coming towards the register.

“My, my,” the words came out as a humored drawl, with just enough country twang still in it to awaken Sandra’s lust, much to her embarrassment. “If it isn’t little Sandy Cotintale. You grew up!”

Emma pulled her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose to give a critical glance at Sandra. “Or should I say, out?”

Those last words were followed by a small laugh at her own joke. The other bunny doe felt her unwanted attraction vanish as she gritted her teeth to keep from replying. He may not have liked her, but Jack would be furious if Sandra rose to the bait. And she respected her boss enough to act better than the two-timing slut in front of her.

Sunglasses were removed fully and folded, the stem of them hooked onto the front of her shirt. Hazel eyes glanced around the cafe as arms crossed.

“Where’s Jack? I have an appointment with him at one-thirty.”

“Actually,” came a voice as sweet as sugar from the lobby.

Both does looked up to see Skye walking towards them, a devil may care smirk on her muzzle. Sandra had been so distracted with the register, she hadn’t noticed Fru Fru Big being settled onto a table with her fiancé, courtesy of Jack. She smirked back at her boss as the vixen’s paw trailed over the shoulders of the seated rabbit buck. He looked up at her as she passed, an expression of longing on his face, before returning to his appointment. If the shrew couple minded, their grins were the best act Sandra had ever seen.

“Your appointment is with me.”

Kari paused with a bus bucket on her hip in the middle of the lobby as Bobby leaned back against the wall with a look of anticipation. Jon could be seen peeking through the order window in curiosity, his own appointment due to show up any moment. Sandra herself merely crossed her arms as the two females sized each other up.

Emma had tensed at the sight of the fox, her ears dropping briefly before rising again. Her look of distaste as she took in the gorgeous vixen made a snicker of delight work its way from Sandra’s belly. Her joy only grew at the scowl Emma sent her. The new doe flinched as Skye stepped forward and extended her paw to her, claws casually extended.

“Skye Wilde.”

The vixen’s smile was enough to rot teeth. Blue eyes never left the doe’s face as she took in Skye’s trim form, from the well-worn jeans to the professional black button-down. Casually dressed as she was, Skye could have worn a potato sack and make it seem like the next big trend. Emma’s eyes flared with jealousy when they came to rest back on the vixen’s face.

“Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Wilde-”

“It’s miss, darlin’.” Tipping a wink to her, Skye turned with a swish of her tail and headed over to a table in the corner opposite Jack and Fru Fru. “You comin’?”

There was a strange sound that echoed around the cafe. Multiple pairs of eyes were pulled from what they were focused on to the bunny behind the counter. Sandra had attempted to curtail the gleeful laughter that spilled over. Deciding to cover it with a cough, the results were a loud squeak that drew everyone’s attention.

Though a bit red in the ears, she didn’t look the least bit sorry for it.

Skye simply smirked and kept her gaze on Emma. The other doe gave Sandra a final glare and took a seat opposite of the vixen. Hazel met blue, cold dislike met warm amusement, the two females considered each other for a heartbeat before Emma cleared her throat and started her pitch.

“Ten bucks says Skye gets hot coffee splashed in her face,” whispered Kari to her coworkers, the bus tub being taken by Jon.

“I got twenty that says she makes her cry before the cops are called,” countered Bobby.

“Fifty to them both being arrested,” added Jon.

“Let the games begin,” replied Sandra, watching as the two females converse. ………….

“Now, Hopps,” Nick grinned at her, watching as she gave some experimental jabs with the gloves on. “Don’t expect me to go easy on you, just because you’re a cute, little bunny.”

She sent a glare his way, which caused him to grin as she gave a series of hops, shaking out the tension from her arms. A smile curled her lips as she slowed her warm up. With a grin of her own, she readied her stance and focused on him.

“Please don’t. I like a challenge.” She winked at him, earning a speculative eyebrow raise from the todd.

Their warm up run had been uneventful, aside from the fact that Nick found himself running next to Kody a majority of the time. The new todd’s eyes had been focused on Judy’s tail, much to Nick’s annoyance. Never mind the fact Nick himself had a hard time focusing on anything other than that. That was beside the point. And it was nothing an ‘accidental’ elbow jab couldn’t cure.

“Now remember! You’re not trying to hurt each other!” Major Friedkin gave slightly worried look between the pair.

The others had been put with mammals closely matching their weight classes, but Judy had hopped right up to Nick, shoving a pair of gloves into his chest before leading him to a mat. A move that delighted him, seeing as Daniel Woods and that new show off, Kody, were completely disregarded as challengers. The sweet smile she had sent over her shoulder had him hurrying after her.

And the swift side step she had given Daniel had Nick sending the woodchuck a smug look of triumph as he snapped his gear on. Friedkin had only showed them basic defense, nothing more complicated than blocks and dodges. But while she knew Nick and what his dad had taught him, a sit in at an old friend’s youth boxing class had shown her what the bunny could do.

“Just jab and block!” Friedkin looked from one to the other. “Jab. And. Block.”

And with that, she stepped back.

Nick waited for her to move in. Braced and ready, he bounced slightly in anticipation before giving into impatience. His first step forward, she made her move. It happened so quick, he wasn’t even sure what hit him. Extending his arm to jab at her, she had easily dodged it, ducking under it before hooking her foot around his knee.

His leg flew out from under him before he had a chance to act on the movement. Sprawled out on the mat, staring up at the sky, he gave a light groan as he pushed himself up to look over at her. She bounced on the other side of the mat, small smirk on her muzzle, as they met eyes.

“Now, Slick,” she lectured, putting gloved paws on her hips. “You promised not to go easy on me.”

Her head tilted in a playful challenge, she resumed her bouncing as he scrambled to his feet and charged. Only to get knocked back down again. She dodged his forward attack, one foot strategically placed to insure he would stumble over it, his outstretched arm was once more grabbed. He had used more force opening jars for his mother than what Judy used to flip him onto his back.

“Oh, by the way,” came her amused voice, cutting through his daze. She grinned as he sat up and looked to her. “My Uncle Terry is the March Hare.”

“The boxer?” Nick asked as he scrambled back up, his eyes much warier.

“Yup.” The doe grinned as he gulped.

The rest of the class was a bit fuzzy for the fox. While in reality, the sparring had only lasted twenty minutes, tops, Nick felt like he spent hours being thrown around by the light weight champion’s niece. Most of the class had stopped their own rounds to watch the pair duke it out, Daniel and the new jerk face, Kody, loudly jeering whenever Judy landed a jab or flipped him.

At the end of it, though, once their instructor had her fill of his many humiliations, Judy tugged the gloves off and reached down to Nick. Smiling, she helped him to his feet, before shaking his paw. She gave a slight tsk before frowning at the slightly aching todd.

“What?” he asked, with raised eyebrows as he stretched out the stiffness forming.

“I never won a fight with such little effort,” she said. “And one day down, four more to go!”

At that Nick raised his eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

“Our bet.” Her face dripped smug as she eyed him. “I won, so only four days left in the ice cream bet.”

“Carrots, there are seven days in the week.”

“But business days are five.”

“Are we conducting business? No, no we are not.”

“Oh,” she responded, her ears and eyes dropping as she pulled her gloves to her chest. Taking a step closer to him, she looked up into his eyes, his muzzle falling open as he tried to remember to speak. “And here I thought you were all business. Well, I guess I can live with six days. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of opportunities to knock some more off this little wager.”

She stepped back, her face suddenly smiling sweetly up at him, before bouncing away. Muzzle still open, he barely noticed Dave coming up beside him.

“I let her win,” he said, watching her go.

“Sure you did,” agreed Dave with a nod.

“Really!” he insisted.

“I believe you.”

The two males grinned at each other, before turning back to where Judy stood, her gloves being handed over to the instructor. Their expressions grew darker as Kody came to stand beside her. Nick’s blood boiled as the todd reached over to smooth a mussed patch of fur on her head, watching his paw linger much longer than necessary.

Even worse was the blush that spread across her ears as they perked towards someone who wasn’t him.

“I swear, Wilde, I did not spend the last six months watching you drool and pine over this doe only to have you let her get scooped up by some douche.” Dave bent over him and gave an irritated growl. “Make. Your. Move!”

He suddenly strode away, casting one last scowl at the fox as he did. Nick frowned after him, watching as he tried to catch up with Brook… Only to get rebuffed. She saw him coming and very obviously quickened her steps towards the exit to out run and avoid him.

Seeing his friend’s confused look made Nick feel slightly better. Added to that were the dark looks Daniel Woods was sending his way, jealous that Judy didn’t even spare him a glance. Only to have it vanish when he realized Judy was still walking with… with…

HIM.

That’s it, he thought as he watched them leave together. I’m asking her out.

TONIGHT. ………….

“Well?”

Kody had turned the corner away from the precinct, after saying goodbye to Judy, when the voice popped up over his shoulder. Without turning around or slowing, he smirked as his cousin came up beside him.

“I got this in the bag.” He cast her a glance, noting her pleased expression.

“Another day or so, and she’ll forget about your boyfriend. Then you can settle for being his second choice.”

Natasha scowled at him.

“I’m not going to be his second choice!” she hissed back. “I’m just going to remind him what he’s interested in. And let you worry about perverting yourself by dating outside your species.”

“Honey, when they’re as hot as her, I can take the hit.” Kody’s expression darkened as they walked. “Not that I’m complaining, but why are you so focused on Wilde anyway?”

“You think I’m going to pass up the chance to date Matt Wilde’s kit? Do you know how much more popular I’ll be if we’re seen together?” She smirked to herself at the thought of the fame she might get for dating Nick Wilde. “The Wildes are one of the most respected fox families in the city and I plan on becoming part of it. Once that stupid rabbit is out of the picture, it should be cake getting him to go out with me.”

Kody shook his head at his cousin as they walked.

“Tasha, you are an ice queen.”

With a sly wink, she nodded. “Proud of it, babe.” …………….

Judy walked into an odd scene when she returned to the cafe. She was expecting it to be quiet, like it normally was on Saturdays. Had expected the usual Saturday crowd, sitting at their computers, tapping away as they enjoyed coffee and the treats The Perk was now known for. Saturdays were usually easy and slow.

This was a mad house.

There was a line out the door, each mammal eagerly trying to look over the heads of the ones in front of them. A few hippos, rhinos, and elephants waited outside, their bodies much too big to squeeze through the door. Their faces lit up when the smaller mammals they had sent inside came out with their snacks.

Judy shook her head in amazement before braving the crowd. Extra paws had been called in, mammals Jack kept on the payroll for days like this. Though they normally worked around Christmas time. The doe herself braced to jump into the mix where ever she was needed. A quick glance around found her brother taking notes from a small shrew couple as they sampled bits of cake. Jon was doing the same with a cheetah couple, who were eagerly taking in the scene through mouthfuls Furench silk.

Tying on the apron Sandra had tossed to her, the young doe turned from her brother and his assistant to another scene that made her happier than a busy cafe: Emma Longrass sitting in silent fury across from Skye. The vixen held paperwork in her paws, each page carelessly flipped through with red pen. With a smirk as smug as Nick’s, she pointed out something to the doe and shook her head before crossing it out and scribbling in the margins.

With a light laugh, Judy couldn’t resist hopping over under the pretense of clearing the table.

“No, no! This here?” Skye turned the paper she was looking at towards the doe.

“Definitely does not work for us. This market is completely antipredator, not to mention they aren’t big on caffeine. What’s the point of advertising a coffee shop in a place that doesn’t enjoy caffeine?”

Judy heard Emma grind her teeth through a strained smile. “Of course. We can always switch out that for the university.”

“All of them.” Skye flicked the page as she shot the doe a grin. “You can accomplish that, right, Ms. Longrass?”

“Of course, Ms. Wilde.”

With a giggle, Judy turned away and headed over to her brother’s table. She paused in front of it, collecting the small stack of tiny plates and cutlery as the shrew couple described their dream cake.

“Oh my god,” drawled the female, her eyes as wide as her grin. “We have to get the red velvet with cream cheese frosting and pink buttercream roses. It will be to die for!”

“Popular choice,” agreed Jack, pulling a color sample from his notes. “These are the pinks I recommend and I just need to know how many tiers.”

“Well, we’re keeping it intimate, so there’s really only going to be around fifty guests, mostly our families. Majority of the party will be shrews.” The female mused out loud, twirling her long hair in her paws.

“Dearest, don’t forget the bears,” interjected the male as he placed a comforting paw on his fiancée’s arm. “Your father would be hurt if we forgot to include them in this decision.”

“Drat it!” Her brows furrowed again. One hind paw tapped the table impatiently as she did the math in her head. “How much cake is that?”

“I would do one, two layered shrew sized red velvet and the other a large, single layered white cake with lemon filling.”

The couple and Jack looked up at Judy, who froze at their bewildered expressions.

Her muzzle opened and closed before clearing her throat.

“It’s just,” she continued nervously. “The shrew size my brother makes is more than enough for each guest to have seconds and still leave the top for your one-year anniversary. And red velvet is a popular flavor for weddings and white cake a classic stand by for those who aren’t fans. Not to mention, Jack’s lemon filling has been named best in Zootopia. It’s the same filling that’s in the lemon tart up front.”

Silence followed the doe’s rambling, making her wish she had never opened her mouth.

“Oh. My. Gawd!” shrieked the little female. “That’s poifect!” Her paws flipped through the binder of notes next to her. “OH! You are a freaking genius! Jackie, please tell me you can pull off something like this?”

A piece of paper was pulled free, its small size making Jack reach for his magnifying glass to view it. The surprisingly tasteful groom’s cake design made the buck nod in satisfaction.

“Done and done!” he said with smile, lowering the glass and noting the account.

“All I need now is the date and you’ll be all set.” The little shrew nodded excitedly at him before beaming up at Judy again.

“Thank you so much for that!” she squeaked, holding a paw out to her. “You are a life savior!”

Judy blushed and smiled back, accepting her paw.

“Love your hair,” she managed to say. The shrew’s expression melted into look of pure joy.

“Aww! Thank you!” Judy grinned and walked away catching Skye’s eye as she did.

Skye winked at her before turning back to Emma. Still looking as though she was trying to hide her irritation, the doe finished packing up her paperwork and stood. Escorting her to the door coincided with Jack walking the shrews out, each one perched on a shoulder. The female was jabbering in his ear about her final notes regarding her cake while her fiancée smiled on in contentment.

Emma pulled her attention from her own host to give Jack another sultry grin.

Waiting until both shrews were passed onto the polar bear waiting just outside the door, the rabbit doe reached a paw to grasp the front of his shirt. Ears went up in shock as he was pulled towards her, Emma’s compact body pressed up against his.

“I think you may owe me dinner, Jack,” she said coyly, mistaking the buck’s blush for one of pleasure not mortification.

“I a-actually have plans for the evening,” he responded, extracting himself from her and stepping away. Emma pouted playfully in hopes of tempting him.

“What a shame.” A paw stretched out towards him again. “Who’s the lucky lady?”

“Me.” Skye stood beside him, lacing her paw with his own and wrapping her tail around his ankles. “It was pleasure meeting you, Miss Longrass.”

The doe looked shock for moment, her nose twitching as she looked from their joined paws to the dumbstruck look on Jack’s face as he looked up at the vixen. Judy waited for the explosion. But to her surprise, Emma just sighed. The outstretched paw went out to shake Skye’s, the vixen’s expression slightly suspicious.

“You really are a lucky lady,” she said with a wistful smile and look that bordered on respect. “Take care of him.” She winked over at Jack. “He’s a really, really good guy.”

She turned to leave, the pair of them smiling in relief at the outcome.

“Oh, and interspeices couples get an extra fifteen percent off!” Emma grinned at their shocked expressions and continued on her way.

Both turned back to the busy cafe, still paw in paw, heading to the register.

“So…” Skye turned to look at Jack. “That went well.”

“Well as in ‘continue our discussion’ well?” he asked hopefully.

She simply laughed and released him, giving the buck a slight push towards the kitchen. “Your next appointment is in five, Romeo.”

He laughed with her and soon everyone fell into the rhythm of their work. Jack and Jon successfully wowed their other clients, sealing in their orders for cakes and, in one case, cupcakes. The line moved at a steady pace, though the selection of baked goods dwindled significantly. Everyone for the most part was content with how the day was turning out.

For an hour after she had gotten back from camp, Judy mainly bussed tables and did dishes. And, as in the morning, she did it without complaint. It was brainless work, allowing her to think and get lost in her daydreams. Daydreams that used to be all about her future as a cop. Now, they involved Nick.

How he looked at her, how he smelled, how his ears and tail perked up when she spoke to him.

Gideon’s words had been in the back of her mind since the last day of school: “He has a crush on you, too.”

But it wasn’t that she had a crush. She was Judy Hopps! Jude the Dude! Future cop, fearless, practical, and able to think from other places besides between her legs. She wasn’t like her sisters who were batting their lashes at every buck who smiled at them. And she certainly wasn’t crushing on a male who insulted her and goaded her into fights.

No matter how attractive he was. Besides, Kody was far more appealing. That accent, that fur, those eyes.

He’s boring, though, she thought.

He’s just polite, came the reasoning.

No, there’s something off about him. Something that keeps you from thinking about him until you force yourself to.

I just met the guy! That’s just me being-

Honest? She frowned at the thought. Be honest. You just met Nick and you’ve spent the past week obsessing about him. Kody just isn’t as interesting. And you’re not a fan of his scent.

Kody smells just fine!

In that, he smells clean. But like sandalwood - you hate sandalwood. Nick smells like violets and cotton blossoms. He really does smell so much better… And you were always an admirer of green eyes.

The jingling of the door bells brought her attention back to reality. At long last, the line had shortened enough so it didn’t wind outside, giving the bells a chance to do their jobs. Her standard greeting died on her lips when she saw who it was.

“Nick? What are you doing here?”

Judy looked wide eyed at the todd standing in front of her, his fur rumpled and expression flustered. He still wore his exercise clothes, with his paws tugging at the hem of his shirt. Skye and Jack both paused in their restocking of the pastry case to glance over at the pair. Their sudden stop made the other workers follow suite and look their way. Customers, puzzled at the sudden halt in service followed their gazes with curious looks.

To her embarrassment, Judy realized everyone was watching them. Nick gave a nervous grin to the many eyes focused on the unexpected entertainment as he fruitlessly opened and closed his mouth.

“Ummm,” he starting to take a step closer, eyes finding Skye’s. The amused look she gave him seemed to make him deflate as a paw gestured in her direction. “My sister…”

He cleared his throat and looked at Judy again. “I just came to see my sister…” Disappointment blossomed inside her as he started to walk backwards towards the counter.

“Oh…” Her ears dropped as she turned, bus bucket still in paw. Though the sound of his throat being cleared had her looking back up. She was surprised find he had moved closer to her, twisting his paws together.

“Star night!” he exclaimed, startling her into almost dropping the bucket. She looked at him with wide eyes, taking in his frazzled fur and petrified look.

“What?”

“S-star ni-night…” With another clearing of his throat, his fur returned to normal though he didn’t look any less nervous. “The-there’s a star night… at the Museum of Natural History. Tonight. I was, ah-hmm! Wondering if you wanted to go with me? Maybe…”

The bunny doe stared slack jawed at him, her brain trying to register the words he had just said.

“I have to ask my brother.”

Both teens looked over at Jack, whose ears shot up upon realizing every mammal in the cafe now watched him for his response. The buck looked around, eyes resting on Skye. She grinned and gave him a light nudge with her hip. A defeated look crossed his face before turning back to the pair in the lobby. With an eyeroll, Jack nodded his head.

Nick looked back her, ears perked and body tense. Silence stretched as she met his eyes, the burst of encouragement Jack’s nod had given him wearing off when she didn’t reply. Lowering his head and moving to the exit had Judy finding her voice.

“Sure.” Pausing with head snapped back towards her, a small smile played on his muzzle that grew as hers crept up. “What time?”

“Seven.”

“Meet me here at six thirty?”

“Yeah,” he grinned and nodded eagerly. “Ok! Sure! Six thirty sounds great.”

“Awesome!” Judy felt her ears grow hot, though they remained perched over her head.

The todd was beaming as he walked backwards towards the door, giving distracted apologies to anyone he ran into. His eyes remained locked onto Judy, who was smiling back as he left. Nick was almost through the door when another voice rang out.

“Bye, Nicky!”

Ears flattened as his eyes moved over to his sister, who waggled her fingers at him with smirk on her face.

“Oh… Uh, later, Skye!” And with that, Nick ran away, goofy grin getting wider as he did.

There was a scattering of applause from those still in line causing Judy to blush but her smile stayed intact. Butterflies filled her belly as she mentally looked through her wardrobe to figure out what to wear. As outfits were vetoed, a loud voice coming from the register crashed her train of thought.

“-absolute disgrace!”

Her ears perked up and swiveled around.

“What sort of big brother are you to let your sweet, helpless little sister go out with a bit of vermin like him! Are you looking forward to seeing her hurt and broken? Because that’s what going to happen! He’s going to use and abuse that innocent little doe to get the one thing bunnies are good for! You, sir, should be ashamed of yourself!”

Quiet murmurings wrapped themselves around Judy as she left the table she was cleaning for the register. Jack stood behind the counter, paws on his hips, facing an ewe who gripped her young lamb by the hoof. Behind him was Skye looking equally furious with Kari not too far off. Sandra and Bobby were exchanging incredulous looks with a hint of amusement just under the surface.

A few of the mammals in the cafe nodded in agreement, some going so far as to leave their places in line and head for the exit. Others looked on in outrage at the sheep. The rest were either grumbling about the line being held up or gleefully watching the drama unfold.

“First off, if there is a single mammal here who thinks that my little sister is helpless, they’re in for some serious, fucking disappointment.” The ewe gasped in shock at the swear word and went to muffle the ears of her delighted looking lamb.

“Second,” continued Skye, Jack letting her step forward with a paw pointed towards the irate patron. “You don’t even know my little brother. All you see is a fox, not the kind-hearted, hardworking, funny todd he actually is.”

Jack reached up to give her free paw a supportive squeeze, not missed by the ewe, who’s eyes widened in disgust.

“This place is an abomination and you and everyone who works here or supports this business is going to hell!” And with that, she turned hoof and stormed out. There was another round of applause as a few of the patrons cheered for Jack and Skye. Both nodded to the crowd and exchanged smirks, before Skye clapped her paws together.

“Back to work everyone! We’ve got mammals to please!” She gave Jack another grin who returned it with a pointed look over at the coffee maker. Understanding, she turned to the line of mammals waiting. “Everyone in line gets a free small hot or iced coffee or tea on the house!”

And that was more than enough to make their customers happy. ……………..

“SHE SAID YES!”

Nick had been muttering the words under his breath as he danced from Savanna Central Perk back to his home. Now in the quiet of the living room, he jumped onto the couch, bouncing with excitement, shouting the words at the top of his lungs. With an almost maniacal laugh, he jumped from the couch back to the floor. Greg had rushed from his bedroom to where his brother was throwing his fists in the air.

“Nick, what the fuck are you-”

“EVERYBODY MAMBO!” With a yelp, the older todd was grabbed and spun around the room.

“Why-” Greg was twisted one way. “-are we-” He was spun another way. “Doing-” Nick finally released his brother, who swayed slightly on feet, to dance excitedly around on his own. “-this?”

Nick stopped in his tracks, eyes going to Greg who dropped his ears in worry when he rushed up to him. Paws went to grasp his shoulders. “Greg,” he began, with wide eyes. “She said yes….”

His eyes widened at his little brother’s words. “Who?”

“Judy. She said yes to going out tonight.”

The shock of what was said wore off of Greg quickly. He smiled as Nick released him, babbling about how unreal it was that Judy said yes, what he was going to wear, where they should go after the museum, and how perfect the bunny in question was.

“Gotta say, little brother,” he started. “I didn’t know you had it in you.” Nick rolled his eyes. “Oh, fuck you!”

The words were uttered as the front door opened and closed. “Language, please!”

Vivian glared at her sons before heading to her room and shutting the door, leaving a faint smell of rot in her wake.

“I thought you were working a double, Mom.” Greg called as his brother headed to his own room.

“I am! I just got thrown up on, so Wanda let me leave to change! I don’t have any scrubs in my locker.” She opened the door again, smelling a bit cleaner with a can of musk spray in her paw. “So, what’s all the excitement about?”

“Nothing!” came Nick’s frantic voice. The older foxes exchanged looks, Vivian’s confused while Greg looked amused, before turning back to the closed door. Nick could be heard muttering, the sounds of cloth being rustled barely audible. Greg leaned closer to his mom with a grin. “Nick’s got a date.”

No-one, not even Vivian, was prepared for the sound the vixen made. Even in his room, buried in his closet, Nick winced in pain at his mother’s joyous scream.

“MY BABY IS GOING ON HIS FIRST DATE!” she cried. “I NEVER THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD COME!”

She ran to his door gave it an excited knock. “Is it with the bunny? Is it with Judy? OHHHHHH! I’ll bet you two will be SOOOO cute together! Oh, sweetheart! Wear that shirt Skye got you for your birthday! That color really brings out your eyes. You’ll look so handsome in it! Though you look handsome no matter what. You and your brother. Oh! I’m just so happy for you, sweetheart!”

“Uh, Mom,” came Nick’s awkward reply.

“Yes, baby?”

“I’m trying to change here, so could you, you know…?”

“Give the todd some breathing room, Ma,” explained Greg, having gone through this this before. Vivian’s ears and tail bristled with embarrassment.

“Oh!” She looked back the door before looking to her son. “Oh, right! Sorry. I just got excited, I guess.” With a smile she went to grab her purse from her room before heading to the door. Turning back to Greg, she sighed. “Get a picture for me, will you?”

He smiled and nodded, only to be distracted by Nick’s door opening. He ran from his room to his mother, giving her a quick hug before racing back and closing the door behind him. Greg and Vivian shared a smile again before she left.

In his room, Nick dug through his closet until the shirt was found and held up.

His dad had had one just like it, though Matty’s had been a Pawaiian print. Skye joked that he only wore it when he was angry at their mother, though in truth it was his favorite shirt. Vivian always said it was better than a headache as a mood killer and claimed to live for the day when it could be burned.

Nick knew it was folded up and stashed in Vivian’s closet, his mom unable to part with it. Skye had surprised him with a shirt similar in cut with the same material; just no Pawaiian print. But it made him feel like his dad was next to him whenever he wore it. Slipping it on, followed by a pair of khakis, Nick smiled at his reflection.

He looked just like Matthew Wilde.

[i-did-not-mean-to]

Never say never - Chapter 10

Still the story of my heart :D

RPF - Richard Armitage - Romcom

Mature (but not yet)

°10° ~Victoria~

Victoria balanced the pile of books in one hand, trying to turn the key with the other one and pushing her whole weight against the door. The bag almost slipped, but she managed to gain entry to her house without spilling books all over the pavement.

Leaving the books by the front door, she made her way to the kitchen to brew a cup of tea and ponder her outing. She had not expected seeing Armitage. God, even in her own mind, she would not call him by his first name readily.

That man had a pair of eyes on him though, she thought, a dreamy note sneaking into her reverie, and she had to shake her head to dispel any stupid notions pertaining to that man’s looks.

She had botched plenty of interactions with people before, but she had never consistently kicked someone quite like that.

She had no idea when the furniture would arrive, but the electronics would be delivered, she checked her watch, within the next two hours. Her fingers slid along the small, rectangular box she had purchased on impulse at the library.

North & South, it read, and Victoria sighed while caressing the box absent-mindedly. She didn’t remember if she had ordered the movie as well, but she would find someone to gift it to if that was the case.

Her tea had steeped too long and had grown bitter, almost as bitter as her heart, she thought with a disgusted snort.

She might as well get it over with, walk to Angie’s and get a box full of small cakes. And then…

It wasn’t until she opened the door that she realised that she was still holding and fondling that stupid DVD-case. “Ah, we were not sure if you’d come in today. What have you got there?” Jenna came out from behind the counter, ready to walk Vic to her usual spot, but she stopped when Vic made no move to follow her.

“I get a delivery of a new TV in a few, I’m just here to pick up some cakes and maybe a cup of tea, I’ve ruined mine.” Vic mumbled, pressing her precious DVD against her chest as if it was a new-born babe.

“Okay, sure. What is it then?” Jenna returned to her spot and leaned into the display cabinet, to take out a selection of Vic’s favourite afternoon-cakes. “I’ll be with you in a minute.” She chirped when the bell above the door rang merrily.

“I have time. Hello Victoria.” Jenna’s head snapped up and banged against the upper edge of the cabinet with an audible “clonk” while Victoria whirled around with a gasp.

“I’m sorry, oh my god, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The man apologised quickly, rushing towards the counter in case Jenna was about to faint. “Are you alright, Miss?” He asked, visibly worried about her.

“Hiddleston.” Victoria mumbled, dazed, feeling like a child in a zoo who was naming animals she saw, but the feeling of pride upon correctly identifying the beasts wouldn’t settle in.

“Yes, hello Miss Victoria. Fancy meeting you here. I just came for some of those delicious cakes of yesterday evening.” He grinned ruefully while Jenna shook her head slowly, her fingers brushing along a noticeable bump under her dark hair.

“Me too. I get a new TV today.” Victoria blathered stupidly, desperately trying to conceal her DVD by crossing her arms over it, which, of course, attracted even more attention.

“North…Ah, North & South. That’s what you want to start with?” Hiddleston smiled, nodding, “it’s a good one.”

“Really? Oh, no, this will not do. Do you have a thermos?” Jenna dropped the box she was unfolding and got another one from under the counter. “A thermos?” Victoria felt like she was the one who had hit her head.

“Never mind, I’ll lend you one of ours. Hmmm, let me see…” Jenna tapped her lip with her finger pensively before opening the door to the stairs leading to Angie’s office and calling up: “Boss? Vic is here and we need your help.”

Within a few seconds, Angie appeared, a pencil shoved in her hair and a pair of reading glasses on her nose.

“What is it? Hey Vic, hey Tom. What are you doing here?” She blinked a few times, trying to take in the situation before her eyes. Victoria cradled a DVD-case and Tom looked longingly at the display cabinet; he had not been served then.

“Victoria has chosen to start her emotional education. She’s about to watch North & South. What do I give her?” Jenna made a vague gesture to the cabinet. “Ah, yes, momentous.” Angie nodded with a little smile, conferred with Jenna in hushed tones and then, both of them fell into swift and efficient movements to put together the perfect care-package.

“I’ve heard that we are to come to your place tonight?” Angie then asked as she rang up Victoria’s order.

“Ah really? Good, you can help me unpack and set up a few things then.” Victoria grinned. She remembered that Liza had said “See you tonight” earlier, but she hadn’t given it much thought until now.

She would have cooked if she had known, but her larder was almost empty, and she had to stay home to accept all the ludicrous orders she had placed. “It will be take-out then.” She shrugged. She had never resented the company of her friends. “We do not want to intrude.” Angie said gently, seeing that Victoria had not been made aware of the plans.

“Oh, never mind. You are always welcome. As long as Liza doesn’t show up with Armitage in tow.”

Victoria had no idea why she had said that, but she had definitely betrayed more than she had wanted to let anyone know. “Why? I mean, why would she?” Hiddleston asked. Damn, she had almost forgotten he was there after the whole tea commotion. “I went to her office, and guess who I ran into…literally ran into…?”

She might as well tell them and she had shared a brief moment of complicity with Hiddleston the previous night; he was kind and funny, and she didn’t feel that threatened by him here, on her home-turf.

“Well…who is Richard Crispin Armitage?” Hiddleston provided his guess with a twinkle in his eyes, Jeopardy-style.

“I guess so…Is that his full name? Ouch…” Victoria laughed. “Victoria Daphne Roth, I’d be quiet.” Angie grinned.

“Touché.” Victoria conceded, continuing her story: “So, I went and ordered all kinds of stuff, thinking of nothing, and then Liza calls me, with that man in her office sitting across from her, and grills me about me not liking him.”

She was looking expectantly at the others, hoping that they’d laugh and agree that this was a ludicrous concept.

“Yeah, you didn’t seem much of a fan yesterday, but that might change now…” Jenna said after a moment, nodding at the object still clasped in Victoria’s sweaty hands. “I’ll make you a nice black tea with a dash of almond milk.”

Victoria felt annoyed, apparently, she had been even ruder to the poor man than she had thought. Damn!

“I think I’m having what she’s having.” Hiddleston proclaimed after seeing what delicacies Angie had selected for Victoria, who was presently trying to juggle the thermos, the cakebox, and her DVD.

When her phone went off on top of that, she handed the cakebox back to Jenna who looked at him apologetically.

“Yeah? What do you mean? I’m on my way, NO, I cannot take the furniture up myself. 5 minutes, I’m almost there.” Victoria exclaimed, squeezing her eyes shut in frustration. “I have to leave; the furniture is there and I cannot carry it up myself.” She announced to the others, caught again in a desperate struggle to transport everything.

“Let me help you.” Hiddleston took a hold of the cakebox. “For one of the pistachio-cakes and two of the almond cookies.” He added when her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Alright. Come on then.” Victoria agreed, thankful for his long legs and the two healthy hands at her disposal now.

She opened the door to the movers and the guest, telling all of them to just walk upstairs. She then, most inelegantly, fell over the stack of books she had left lying around by the front door, only regaining her balance after grabbing the hallstand which, naturally, toppled over.

“May the devil take you!” She glowered at it, grabbing it violently and putting it upright again while a group of men were trying to wrestle the bookshelf up the narrow stairs. Just as she wanted to join them, the doorbell rang again, and the electronics-shop delivery arrived.

“Miss Victoria, do you have a mop and a vacuum?” Hiddleston appeared and she gesticulated in the general direction of the little cupboard under the stairs. What was he on about now?

After signing the papers and directing this batch of heavily laden men upstairs as well, Victoria finally followed, having stowed away her snacks and her tea in the kitchen for the meanwhile.

Her breath hitched. Thomas Hiddleston was wiping the floor, his shirtsleeves rolled up and his brow glistening with sweat while a group of bulky movers were wrestling the bookshelf against one wall. “Erm, thank you.” She murmured, feeling the vibrant life filling this little unused room.

Roughly half an hour later, Victoria made her way up the same stairs again, holding a tray with dainty teacups and a platter filled with the selection of delicacies. She owed the man a cup of tea and the promised cakes for his collaboration.

As she entered, she saw him kneel behind a small cabinet. “I took the liberty of accepting this suggestion of the owner of the furniture shop on your behalf.” His words came out muffled by the TV he was apparently setting up for her.

“Thank you, yes, it’s lovely.” She murmured, setting the tray down on the treadmill. She would need a coffee table as well and the fainting couch was definitely not big enough to accommodate more than 2 people.

Victoria almost had an immediate need of her fainting couch when she realised that she was imagining, envisioning, accepting that there would be more than 2 people at a time in this room at some point.

“Thank you very much for your help. It was very kind and considerate of you.” She then addressed herself to the man crawling out from behind her TV and fumbling batteries into her remotes with long, gracile fingers.

“You’re very welcome. Ah, I see you’ve brought a cup for me too. Am I allowed to stay for a bit then and eat my cakes while you watch your movie? I’ll get a chair from the living room, don’t worry.” He waited for her to acquiesce, making it very clear that he’d accept it if she just wanted him gone.

“Yes, sure.” Victoria smiled. He was indeed very pleasant and the more time she spent with him, the less scared she was in his presence. He was nothing like that other fellow who made her seize up inside.

“Oh, everyone’s favourite sourpuss.” Victoria mumbled around her cake as Thornton appeared on screen. She had followed the movie quietly this far but hadn’t been able to suppress that little comment.

“Ah, come on.” Hiddleston exclaimed, defending his fellow actor without berating her directly, which made her feel more repentant than if he had scolded her. “It was a joke. He looks particularly unsmiling here though.” She grinned.

“He does, he’s not like that in real life though.” – “In my experience, he is?” Victoria cocked her head.

~Richard~

As he was there, he and Elizabeth went through a bit of work-related stuff as well and the time crawled along.

Her phone chimed a few times, but she didn’t let it distract her until a cascade of notifications made her look up in annoyance. “Excuse me.” She murmured and lifted her phone from the desk to see what the commotion was about.

“Ah…she meant it.” She just commented and put her phone back, ready to return to business.

“Who meant what?” Richard asked, tired and remembering the glasses he was once again not wearing. He was desperate for any kind of distraction from the closed-in feeling in his chest that wouldn’t shift.

“What? Oh, Vic. She told me she had bought a fainting couch and planned on watching a few movies. Apparently, she has just shown up at the tearoom with a copy of North & South. Her and Hiddleston have gone to her place to set up her new furniture. Must be what she has planned with the drawing room upstairs. Hmm.” Liza sounded absent-minded.

“She…what? Can you please explain the correlation between a fainting couch and the movie? And what is Hiddleston doing there? What is going on?” So much for the distraction, Richard thought when the vice around his ribs was tightened.

“I do not know, Richard. I’ll see her tonight and I’ll ask her.” Liza’s lips were quirking, and he was not sure what grimace she was trying to hide from him, but he suspected that he didn’t even really want to know.

“Maybe she’s a glutton for punishment? I have done a few horror movies; she can add those to the list.” He said sombrely. Liza’s hearty laughter in reply to his self-deprecation took him by surprise and, after a moment, he joined in.

She suggested he gift her those, signed, as a token of humour and friendship, but he was afraid that she’d take it the wrong way or be offended. There was nothing he could do right when it came to Victoria, and he was growing tired of being the laughingstock in this whole affair.

Victoria was just a bitter, cold-hearted, callous Xanthippe who was probably now sitting in her drawing room cachinnating about him with that fresh-faced fool of Hiddleston…no, that wasn’t right…how could she be both a bitter virago and a mocking seductress, at the same time?

It all came down to her poor opinion of him, she was cold and abrasive to him, but she would certainly be much more welcoming to someone she didn’t loathe with such fervour, wouldn’t she?

He decided then and there not to ask questions about her anymore and to keep as far away from that woman as he possibly could. In less than 24 hours, she had brought doubt and misery galore into his life and he was too old to just bear this silently. Unlike what he had said about her, he was NOT a glutton for punishment, especially if he hadn’t deserved it.

There were a thousand things on the tip of his tongue though. He wanted to know if Hiddleston was still there and what she had thought of the movie, what that story of the fainting couch meant and what other movies she intended to watch…but he would ask none of these things, he would no longer be strung along in the maelstrom of her insanity.

“I wonder how she’ll like the movie.” Elizabeth mused aloud, her eyes gleaming behind lowered lids. He knew that she was fishing, and he would resist stoically; he would not fall into the trap of confessing that he had thought about the same thing only seconds ago.

He looked dour in that movie, he knew that he did, and she would probably scoff at the screen and feel vindicated in her vision of him as a sour, hostile, disagreeable man. Well, there was nothing to be done about that.

“I think she’s seen the Crucible.” Elizabeth went on goading him and, this time, he couldn’t prevent the exasperation flashing fast and hot across his face. No wonder she thought so little of him as a person if all she ever watched were representations of him stalking around moodily before screaming his head off.

“Well, I’ll see about it tonight. Let’s get back to business.” Elizabeth finally said with a shrug, shuffling her papers self-importantly, whereas her eyes tracked every minute shift in his face all the while.

He merely grunted his acquiescence, listening to her talk about work with a dispassionate voice while trying not to dwell on his irrational irritation whenever the picture of Victoria laughing heartily bubbled up in his mind.

[perlocutionary]

On a silver platter - Dylan O’Brien

Description: Dylan is early to a hangout with Y/N and overhears some things he maybe shouldn’t have heard. This is smut you guys, if you didn’t notice it by my vague description.  Relationship: Dylan O’Brien x Reader  (involves Teen Wolf if you want - I had a part 2 in mind) Word count: 2063

You can read part 2 here!

A/N: I told myself that if my first post ever got 50 notes, I’d immediately post another thing I had written. So here you go. Let me know what you think!

I grin and nod my head as I pass Tyler, waving shortly at him before disappearing around the corner. I promised Y/n we would hang out tonight, and seeing as how I had to bail on her the last three times due to problems during shooting, I thought I'd make it up to her by appearing almost an hour early.  I'm nervous, although I'm not completely sure why.

Y/n was always very understanding of our dismissive schedule and even five minutes spent together was enough for her. Any other girl would've had my ass by now. But Y/n wasn't like most. And she wasn't mine either - something I'm painfully reminded by every time Stiles has to make out with her and she starts laughing as soon as the scene is over and I'm left with a tent in my boxers. From afar I can already see the door to her trailer is ajar, as well as hear the heartily chatter of Holland and Y/n herself. I lick my lips as my hand lands on the door handle, abruptly stopped by their conversation.

"I don't know what to do anymore Holl, it seems like he is oblivious to anything I do." Y/n sighs and I see her bare legs skim by the door opening before she drops onto her bed. My ears perk up when I realise Y/n’s talking about a man and my interest pushes me to continue to eavesdrop instead of making my presence known.

"Unless you present yourself on a silver platter, preferably naked, he won't get the hint. Or show up at his trailer looking like that. Instant eye opener." As Holland speaks, my eyes trail over Y/n's form. Other than her underwear, she is only wearing one more thing - my flannel. Apparently, Y/n seems to have taken an interest to one of our own. I bite my lip harshly when I think of all the guys in our crew, each and every one of them in any way better.

I feel my heartbeat increase and hammer against my chest, fingers turning white from grasping the door handle with such force. Y/n sighs, a dull sound echoing through the cramped trailer as her back hits her neatly made bed. "I can't walk around naked in hopes of catching Dyl's eye. Besides, he has seen me practically naked countless of times by now." My eyes widen and I’m sure my heart has stopped beating – did I hear that right? Did she say Dyl?

"You're mistaken, Y/n. Stiles has seen you naked, Dylan sees you as the best friend wearing his shirts. You need to try a little harder to catch his eye." Holland was mistaken though, Y/n had definitely caught my eye. Every time my flannel would hang off her shoulders, I wanted to rip it to shreds and fuck her against the nearest wall. The only reason I controlled any urges was because I presumed this lust I felt toward her was one-sided.

"Holland, I can't just put myself out there like that. As if jamming my tits in his face is going to change anything." Y/n groans and her body rolls against her sheets, although I think involuntarily, pushing my flannel further off her body. "It gets you laid. If you squirm on that bed when he's here the way you're doing now, I'm sure you would've had him between your legs ages ago." Holland laughs loudly and I hear Y/n growl before a pillow is flung in the blonde's direction.

The erection in my jeans is painfully obvious now and all I want is to storm in there and fuck Y/n on that bed, but with Holland there it's impossible. I adjust my jeans and take a few steps back before loudly announcing my arrival, feet stomping against the pavement as I yell out Y/n's name. "Y/n baby I hope you're ready for -" I abruptly push the door open and Y/n's features show something of shock, as if I caught her red handed, while Holland just looks smug. 

"That's my cue to leave. Later Y/n, bye Dylan." She pats me on the shoulder as she passes me while Y/n scrambles to get up from her bed. "We weren't supposed to meet up for another hour Dyl, you're never early." She mumbles, cheeks tainted pink as her right hand clutches my flannel closed at her chest.

"I wanted to surprise you." I chuckle as I close the trailer door behind me, watching Y/n ruffle through her duffle bag for a change of clothes. My eyes rake over her frame and I purse my lips. "You pulled that off amazingly." Y/n chuckles as she throws me a look over her shoulders, but my eyes are glued to the curve of her ass peeping from underneath the flannel. In a surge of confidence, I stride through the trailer, stopping right behind her. I know she can feel my erection press against her ass as I hear her breath hitch. This could fuck up so many good things in my life, but I can’t help myself. "If you shoved your tits in my face, I would cum in my pants before I even had time to properly enjoy them." I whisper against the shell of her ear, loving the way she tenses up and the smallest gasp leaves her lips.

"If you presented yourself on a silver platter, I'd eat you out, over and over, until you wouldn't remember your own name." I continue, letting my fingertips drag along her thighs and up to her hips. "And I'd like to see you squirm." 

It's enough to draw a loud moan from Y/n's lips as her entire body leans against mine. I dare and press my lips against her neck, her fingers finding their way into the hairs at the nape of my neck. "Dyl - I -" she stutters, her ass rolling against my own hips, drawing a growl from between my lips. 

I guide her as to where I'm sitting on the sofa in the corner of the room with Y/n draped over my lap, legs dangling on either side of me. Her back arches off my chest as I let my fingertips trail over her clothed core, the other pressed against her stomach to keep her down. "Do you -  ?" I decide to question her, her head rolling against my shoulder. "You've listened in on my conversation long enough to know what I want, don't you?" She practically moans, lips pressing against my neck and I involuntarily buck my hips up against her ass. 

"Y/n - you have no idea - I - fuck." I'm breathless, dipping my hand along the waistline of her panties as she squirms on my lap. "If I knew you felt this way, I would've taken you months ago. How I had to control myself after our first make out scene... You have no idea Y/n." I groan against her neck as I slowly pump in and out of her, thumb applying light pressure against her clit. 

Simple, small gasps flow from her lips as her head is pressed against my shoulders, eyes screwed shut and mouth formed into a perfect ‘o’. Her fingers are curled around my lower arms, nails digging into my muscles while I occupy my lips by pressing butterfly kisses among her exposed shoulder.

I can sense she is nearing her orgasm, her body squirming on top of me as her fingers grasp everything within reach. Her moans are low, barely audible, but rile me up even more. I’m breathing heavily against her neck, watching Y/n come undone on top of me, her body tensing before relaxing almost immediately after. A sigh leaves my lips, mostly in pure bliss of what has happened – what I had the guts to do, but also because of the dread following what her next move would be.

She remains pressed up against me for several minutes, catching her breath. Slowly, her fingers entangle from my arms, her body pressing up into a sitting position as she rests her hands on my knees. Her head is bowed and I take the chance to run my flattened hand along her spine underneath my flannel.

Y/n raises to her feet and slowly turns around, catching my gaze. She drops the flannel onto the floor, slowly inching closer before she straddles my lap. No words are spoken as her hands wind around my neck, her wet knickers brushing along my still very erect cock. A chuckle passes her lips as she glances between our bodies, and when our gazes meet again, the devious twinkle can’t be mistaken. Instead of speaking up about my problem, she leans closer and presses her lips firmly against mine, her chest rolling up against me and my arms wind around her waist, pulling her impeccably closer.

Our kiss deepens almost immediately while her hands trail down my collarbone, over my chest and to the hem of my shirt. The kiss breaks as she lifts my shirt over my head, her eyes immediately casting a glance over the new exposed skin. I want to say something, anything, but nothing useful comes to mind. I just watch in awe as her arms go behind her back and within a second, her bra drops in between us and her breasts are there for me to grab, to feel and to lick.

I don’t waste any time and cup both of her breasts in my hands, kneading them as our lips find each other again. She steps out of my embrace to drag her knickers down her legs and I waste no time ridding myself off any remaining clothing, dropping back down onto the sofa and holding my hand out for her to take. “Come’re. Y/n –“

“Don’t go tell me I look beautiful, this isn’t the show.” Y/n raises an eyebrow in my direction as she kneels down again, my hands raising to cup her ass and bring her closer to me. A chuckle leaves my lips as I press them against Y/n’s jaw. “Oh, I am very aware of that. And very glad about that too.”

Our lips meet in a heated, passionate kiss and our body tangles together as I press into her. A groan leaves both our lips, our kiss cut off as Y/n hides her face in the crook of my neck, my own eyes squeezed closed as I take a few tentative thrusts.

A loud moan emerges from my neck and goose bumps cover my whole skin. Y/n’s hips start rolling against mine, aiding my thrusts upwards. She arches her back, pressing her breasts into my face as she looks down at me, driving me completely wild. A loud growl leaves my lips and my arms wind around her waist as I stand up from the sofa, a squeal falling from Y/n’s lips.

“What’re you doing?” Y/n laughs as she clutches onto my neck, our gazes meeting and her tongue darts out to wet her lips. I drop her onto her bed, immediately crawling over her and reconnecting our hips. I pick up my pace, my thrusts erratic as I chase my high.

Spots cover my vision as I hide my face in the crook of Y/n’s neck, her hair tickling the scruff of my cheeks as I try to regain my breathing. Y/n’s fingertips trace shapes on my back absentmindedly, her lips continuously pressing against my shoulder. As soon as my heartbeat returns to normal, I raise up on my arms and catch her lips with mine in another passionate kiss.

Realisation dawns on me and my eyes shoot open as I lift myself up on my arms again. “Oh you – “ Y/n seems to realize what I’m trying to say and stops me, her hands cupping my neck as she pulls me back down to kiss me again. “I did, and we have time, don’t we?” She winks and a bright grin breaks out on my lips, a devious smirk crawling its way onto my lips as I lower myself again, only to be interrupted.

“Yo Y/n, Dyldo, we’re going out. Get your asses out here!” Tyler hollers from outside the door and I grin down at her, pressing my lips against hers briefly before raising to my feet. “I guess it’ll have to wait, babe.”

[swanisms]

how close is close enough

notes: soulmates with benefits? one true lovers to one true loved? iDK this was an exercise in smut, ive been in a drought

also on ao3

There’s something to be said for the way a soulmate fucks.

The movies, the novels, the articles, the “Soulmates Are Great, Get Yours Now!” sales pitch is that love-making isn’t truly love-making until it’s your One True Love. Too optimistic, “Once Upon a Time” to consider that making love to your soulmate could be the last thing you want.

Fucking them, however, has its perks.

“You look ravishing tonight, Swan.”

Killian’s kiss is sloppy, more than the nip of teeth - blood wells up in what’s sure to leave her lips bruised. He isn’t looking for a reply, or any kind of acknowledgement of his compliment – more accurately, his declaration that this is exactly what he’s about to do: ravish her.

Still, it’s as it always is, because he loves being able to halt the cleverly worded retorts in Emma’s head, to leave her mind completely blanked and blissed out because it gives him the satisfaction that she can walk out that door and never look back, but he’d still be the one imprinted on her, the only one who can make her forget to breathe – naturally. It’s one of the little quirks of having a soulmate, that the oft used and stupidly impossible line is actually possible when everything is so hyper-focused on mine that I goes completely neglected.

Your soulmate is everything to you. He’s supposed to be to hers, but she likes to be hers first so it is as it always is -

“The stalking is getting prosecution-worthy.”

“Your company is the one that hired me to represent them. Appearing at an event that I’ve been invited to isn’t stalking.”

He presses a hard kiss to her lips before her pout becomes a protest of said “invitation.” Killian’s seriously intent on seeing them furiously red and swollen from his attentions, and fuck her if she doesn’t clench her thighs at the thought of his number of meetings tomorrow, when she still carries the well-fucked air about her, in her walk, in her talk, in the way she licks at the mark of his teeth on her bottom lip. Meetings he’ll have to sit through while knowing the remnants of pleasure are still coursing through her, another soulmate quirk where the spiking feelings travel along that invisible line from you to them and her flush of arousal intensifies with his frustration.

She’s come from that alone a few times.

“You may have some grasp on the criminal justice system, but I know the ins and outs, love, and I have more than a dozen arguments to shut you down before your petition even reaches a judge.”

She snorts, and effects a breathy voice, “Oh, that’s hot. Keep telling me just how you can manipulate the law in your favor. It’s just so sexy to know that I can’t do a damn thing to keep you away from me.”

“You can’t.”

Her breath catches at the gentle affirmation - this trace of genuine emotion that she didn’t sign up for. Emma only wants to feel the press of his hard length against her belly and not the leap her heart makes into her throat.

“We’ve had enough of that, haven’t we?” he breathes against her lips.

Emma’s eyes shut hastily. She doesn’t want to see the months of being unable to sleep, the anxiety launching even the thought of it out the window because of the sea between them. That it was only soothed when he caught the red-eye and got stuck at JFK for hours before taking a cab straight to her door. She’d opened it before Killian knocked, and he’d moved swiftly, bags falling to the floor as he tilted her chin to align their lips perfectly in a kiss of “hello, nice to meet you, be mine forever,” before stepping back to groan with utter exhaustion, “Can we go to bed?”

They’d slept for hours, entire days, waking up to shower, eat, and study each other in equal measure, until the exhaustion eased enough for them to actually work through this thing. They’d decided on Killian transferring to New York because picking up his entire life and moving it into hers was better than the reverse (she’d finally found a place that she liked enough to stay, not loved, but she’d made roots here, the first she’d ever been able to, and he’d understood that from the sparse, sanitized history in her personnel file. Probably more from the way she’d said, “I like New York,” into the bedspread, picking at the sheets instead of looking at him). She’d made a very minimal protest when he announced that he’d been offered a job by Regina in the past and he was certain the offer would still stand even ten years after she’d grudgingly, unhappily given it.

There was no protest at all when Emma walked into her bathroom to find him naked and dripping water on her floor because he’d opted to towel off his hair first. It had gone straight from her catching his eyes to Killian lifting her atop her sink to fuck away her anger at him for soaking her recently mopped floor. Her faucet left a deep imprint in the small of her back and he’d smirked as he massaged the pain away – and then massaged her lower and into quick decision: fuck soulmates, soulmate fucks, it is.

(She closed her eyes, didn’t she? So why can she still see it so crystal clear?)

“No you can’t,” he breathes hotly.

Her lips are captured again, her hair with them as he slips his fingers in and tugs at the tangled curls, grip tight just as she likes it - the way he likes it, a mirroring desire. Emma’s hand slips between them to palm him through his pants – her lips parting on a sharp breath at the weight of him, all of him straining towards her. Her fingers are soon at his belt, and the difficulty of doing this one-handed is worth it because her other hand grips his shoulder, nails carving half-moons through the layer of his shirt – the taut muscle feels so good to hold onto; she doesn’t like to let it go.

Killian hisses at the pain, and returns it in kind. Her hair pulls painfully at the roots as he throws her head back, her gasp embarrassingly audible - her moan reverberating through her whole body as he kisses the line of her jaw. His teeth scrape against her chin before he attacks her neck, beard and teeth rubbing the delicate skin raw. Clearly admiring his handiwork, he nuzzles his nose just beneath her ear while his body shakes against her in quiet, teasing laughter.

Emma’s fingers are fumbling now, but she manages to finally release the expensive buckle, tugs the zip down because his pants are far too tight for her to just slide her hand between the band and his skin.

The hard planes of his stomach jump inward as her nails tickle the dark hair trekking a downward path, and then his cock does, the hot, hard length seeking the heat of her palm. In some kind of feat of strength, she resists just grabbing him in hand like she wants to and brushes just her fingertips over him, not even a caress.

She moans at the slight sensation, though because he’s so hot and rigid and she hasn’t even felt his bare length yet, and she wants to so desperately, mouth parting at the thought of taking him in hand, in mouth, inside her. Emma wants to fuck him, overwhelmingly so, a wave of moisture turning her underwear useless, no point in keeping them on because they’re ruined, utterly ruined by him.

Killian licks the shell of her ear, and promises darkly – and oh, it’s a promise – “Keep that up and I’m going to fuck you right here against this door, and have the staff knocking it down because of your pretty screams - I’m quite tempted to take you until the door comes off the hinges…” He trails off only to bite at her earlobe, hard, and as she whimpers at the shock of pain, rolling her hips because she’s so desperate for the same focused attention, he asks, “Would you like that, hmm? To spend all week with an aching back, so well-fucked that every time you move you’re reminded of me, every small shift a lesson in why you shouldn’t tease a man so desperate for you.”

He is - he’s hungry for her, hips slamming forward, crushing her hand between their bodies. The door does echo the motion, her back hitting it hard. The air goes out of her from the blow, her legs parting instinctively to allow him between. Killian tugs her hair one more time before she’s scrambling to catch up and wrap her arms around his neck before he hoists her up by her ass and carries her to her bed. She remembers vaguely, that she’d brought work with her when she hears papers crinkling beneath her shoulders - but it doesn’t matter, nothing matters but how he follows her down, thrusting between her legs, forcing her skirt up so that they can collide, his erection dragging hotly against her soaked cunt. He groans as that wetness melts through his boxers too - but it isn’t all her, he’s so hard that she can taste the fluid coating the head of his cock, salt leaking from the tip in desire - desire too soft of a word for what they have - not true love-making but soul fucking -

If they don’t get undressed soon, she’s going to come in her underwear, and he’s going to curse her for ruining his pants.

Not that his curses are so bad, though, given the way he makes her reap the consequences, rutting against her until he’s hard as before, but she’s so far gone that the first thrust makes her come, the second, third, every meeting drawing out her pleasure into a bliss it takes hours for her to wake up from.

“Swan, I’m always impressed by how easily distracted you are when you’re beneath me.”

His words whip at her ears, all the warning Emma gets. It’s the bite of a man tired of having to repeat himself, but she can never stop herself from thinking of him in the past, present and future when they’re together, it all blends into just one thought: Killian, and he always has to fight to pull her from that.

He likes the fight, though, likes to drag her back to this moment - he thrusts hard, driving her into the mattress, the pain of their meeting, and indescribable pleasure, never given time to settle. He pulls back quickly, reaching his hand where his cock was, and tearing her underwear to the side, one finger already worked into her before she can think to whine, to beg, to plead her case in more than moans and twisting in the sheets.

Killian’s finger goes knuckle deep, would sink deeper if his ring didn’t catch on her tight entrance, if she wasn’t so taut already that he could slip it within, the drag of the cold metal on her sensitive walls - her gasps as he pulls out, bring his finger to his lips so she can see her juices making the jewels glimmer.

“If you don’t bloody stay here, lass, I’m going to -”

“Do what?” she breaks in.

Emma opens her eyes, because that’s her problem every time, when she closes her eyes, she can see every Killian there is, but when she opens them, he’s the only one before her. His face hovers close to hers, eyes narrowed in frustration, bright blue darkened black in maddening need. Dark hair clings to his damp forehead.

He’s so beautiful, and she reaches up to tell him so with her fingers, brushing them over his too-kissed and not kissed enough lips, down his neatly shaved jaw, over his neck and to the nape.

Her hand feels right there.

It feels right when he turns his head to kiss her arm, still maddened, but smiling when he pulls away, drags his finger free of her so she lets out a soft gasp - not of loss. It’s never that. He never leaves her; never. Merely directs his attention elsewhere, to the waist of his pants, forcing them down his hips with no care for his comfort, and properly pulls up her skirt so there’s no pull on her legs to keep them from spreading wide in welcome. He takes a short moment to divest her of her underwear, cool air making her thighs tremble.

Killian’s cock bobs between them and she looks and looks and looks until she looks, lifting her gaze from his fat length and back to his face. He’s watching her - no need to study because he knows her well, knows her best, but watches her because he -

He smiles at her, satisfied, but not amused enough to call it a smirk – his dimples too deep to simply place on the deep red blush spread from her cheeks to her chest and everywhere his eyes can see and everywhere where he can’t. It isn’t just the sweat on her skin, her hard nipples straining against her blouse or even the damp hair tossed recklessly about her.

It tangles Emma, the words in that smile. She wants to shut her eyes and throw herself back into that melee of simply him and none of that expression already plaguing her, its words echoing in her head: he’s happy with what she’s giving him and yet, wants more.

Killian’s gaze averts to her spread legs and she breathes relief out, breathes torment in when he licks his lips, filth in the quick motion, and says, “You have the most beautiful cunt.” He brings his hand to her, stopping just short of touching her to say, “It burns to the touch,” even though he isn’t touching her, not at all, and then adds, “It burns not to.”

He moves and Emma does, too. He presses his knees between her and drags her to him, his cock smacking against her, earning a hiss from the both of them. She reaches up to find that perfect handhold at the nape of his neck, and with the other she grabs his forearm, ready to pull him to her the moment he sinks within.

It takes Killian a moment to find her, his cock spreading lush wetness everywhere; she can believe she’s this wet but every time it happens she’s a little amazed, a little embarrassed of what he does to her. He’s too focused on watching her face to ease their ache, and it isn’t as if she can’t help him with that because just like him, she can’t look away. She could blink and she still wouldn’t miss it because he can hold that look for a lifetime. It’s the look reserved for her, born the moment she swung open her door to let him in. It’s the heavy gaze, the soft almost-smile that says he’s never left, never will.

Emma hates the whimper that leaves her mouth when he finally guides home, his rigid length always a stretch that she never adjusts to, so thick that it always burns when he fills her - always, something about soulmates setting you alight with a simple touch, but always to make you believe in love, not ascribed to them fucking into you until becoming one feels less like two hearts meeting and more unconvinced that they’ll ever be able to part when he’s nudging the very end of her, her walls grabbing him and not wanting to let go.

She pulls Killian down, not moving besides a slight shifting that makes her bite her lip when he pulls at her. He moans at that - buries his face in her neck and kisses her over and over again until her skin burns too. She pulls his head back, forcing him to rise above her, and returns his fervent kisses with her own. Her tongue plunges into his mouth greedily, their lips moving, maybe not perfectly in tune, but there’s no misstep; they follow each other’s lead.

Her hips follow his when he draws himself out.

But his hand grabs her waist, squeezing hard, and Emma’s pushed back down, allowing him to pull out of her, almost completely free so that she gets the full weight of his inward thrust. She lets out a sharp cry against his lips and pulls away to find comfort in his neck. She can’t see them like this, but she’s spent enough time committing them to memory with her lips that she can trace her tongue along the few small freckles dotting Killian’s skin.

She doesn’t fight the pace he sets, slow and deep - she’s happy with what he gives her, too, and yet she wants more, shudders beneath him with wanting him in fast, short thrusts that hit her hard. He flexes his hand on her waist, and releases her to flatten his hand on her abdomen and feel the shudder for himself.

“Good girl,” Killian says, kissing the crown of her head, continuing to take her the way he likes. She flushes at his words, caught in his sincere words, overcome by how easily he says it and how deeply she feels it, “You’re doing so good for me, love, letting me have you like this. You don’t know what it does to me - what a gift you are.” He keeps kissing her head, she feels it as his nose sinks into her hair with every mark of affection. “Want you -”

She keens quietly, her own nose brushing the coarse hair of his neck as she lifts her head from the embrace, parting them only so their heads can come flush together, resting - but not quite because her eyes are wide open as are his, fully aware of the other –

As aware as she is, Emma feels completely and utterly helpless to the thing suddenly rising within her, urging her to words she’s never even thought to voice.

“...more than anything?” she asks.

Killian nods. “Aye, more than anything.”

She keeps her eyes open up until the moment he kisses her, and then it isn’t about the joining of their lips, or the way he picks up speed, or even his hand crossing the distance between her belly and her curls, thumb finding her swollen clit and rubbing it in deliciously hard circles - Emma keeps her eyes open because this is more than anything, more than everything, more than it could and should possibly be.

She closes them because if she doesn’t, she’s afraid she’ll be lost in the impossibility of it all and lose the reality of it, of him.

(That Killian is hers.)

Emma closes them because, more than anything, if she doesn’t, the next words from her mouth might be “I love you.”

Rocking against her, Killian keeps kissing her until she can’t breathe from it, panting harshly as his fingers and his cock bring her closer and closer to orgasm - and then he’s talking to her, though she can barely make out the words because blood is rushing in her ears and his murmurs are nonsense at best, lust and affection and everything jumbled together.

She cries out when he increases the pressure on her clit, three swift swipes of his thumb and a deep drive of his hips completing her. She barely holds on - usually doesn’t because flying into that space between heavenly and heaven is all she wants - but this time, she doesn’t blank out, maybe because she’s come so close to ruination, maybe because she wants to be ruined, but she holds on and she hears her name, broken on Killian’s lips, a prayer that only she can answer, rolling her hips up to meet his so he rocks his pleasure against her very core, riding out his orgasm - their orgasm.

(Theirs.)

He collapses atop her, and he’s heavy, but she doesn’t push him off. She’s too close right now to let him go far.

“We’re not sleeping like this, are we?” he queries.

She likes the way he sounds after, always does, but like doesn’t really describe the depth of it - and neither does the soulmate thing, the feelings jumping from her to him to her to him. It’s just that ‘like’ never could come close to it.

“No, but -”

Emma swallows and feels her chest tighten, and her heart race. All this is dragging her towards the yawning jaws of panic – it’s all going to be ruined if he moves off of her, if she lets a distance grow. The distance that never bothered her, even when Killian was a continent away and she couldn’t sleep at all, is terrifying now - and now of all times, because she’s never felt this way, the sudden strike unexplainable.

“But -” she says again when he starts to move.

But, Killian parts them, pulling out of her and falling back on his knees so he can see her clearly. With the clarity of sight, he pulls her up too, drawing her close, worry wrinkling his brow, panic in his eyes.

“Emma, hey. It’s okay. It’s okay, I’m here.”

Yeah, she’s aware, and with that awareness comes the helplessness, and the words tumble from her mouth.

“I love you, I’m sorry.”

Killian cants his head, both eyebrows jumping just as she begins to cry. She thanks whatever decided that she should have someone for her always and forever, thanks them with how much she hates this. More than anything, she hates this.

…more than anything?

She should never have asked the question.

“You’re sorry?”

He sighs and she closes her eyes, willing the tears to stop but they don’t because why would they? It feels like they’ve just been waiting to fall all along.

Waiting for her to fall with them.

“Well, I don’t mean to upset you, Emma, but I’m not.”

She doesn’t open her eyes.

But he cups her face, fingers at her neck and thumb caressing her cheek, and it’s the way he caresses the wet track of tears that makes her open them. Like he wants to brush them away, but can’t.

He smiles, humored brightness to the blue of his eyes, “No, not in the slightest. I’m glad that you’ve chosen to love me. It’s good. Puts us on the same page.”

“What?”

Killian shrugs his shoulders in explanation. Somehow, the small motion is reassuring – the followed itching at the spot behind his ear drawing her smile. She’s crying and he’s nervous, and yeah, she feels like they’re on the same page.

“I decided a while back that I’d love you because you’re mine. Not in the way that we belong together, but that you make me feel like I belong.”

She can’t think how to reply to that – to give words to the emotions that rise… “What the hell?” seems pretty inappropriate right now even though it’s her go-to response to things that throw her off course, out of mind, and completely unable to fathom.

Thankfully – or knowingly – he keeps going without her words.

“I’m not particularly fond of the fluke of birth that had us awake for three horrible months before I could convince Liam that finding you was life or death -” he pauses in consideration, a fond smile at the memory “- I think it was the motorcycle accident that turned the cards in my favor. Nothing like a concussion to get a stubborn git to give you access to his special contacts.”

Liam, his brother. Special contacts…

“What the hell?”

Completely ignoring her question, he says, “I can usually work the law in my favor, but he’s a bit of a stickler for doing things the Right Way, tends to work in the written law and not the spirit of it.”

“Yikes.”

A grin takes him, and with clear pride, he says, “You two will get on swimmingly.”

Narrowing her eyes – there’s always some double meaning when he references anything having to do with the sea – Emma asks, “Jaws theme swimmingly?”

Killian laughs, loud and obnoxious, and Emma pushes at him, rolling her eyes only to feel the lingering wetness in them, to remember that she’d been crying and he’s clearly trying to help her forget, and she loves him for that.

She loves him, and she doesn’t have to be sorry.

He looks at her, obnoxious, too-satisfied smile gone to an indulgent smile, like he wants to give her whatever she wants. Killian brushes her fingers with his. Emma returns the touch, her fingertips resting on his knuckles, stroking softly.

He clears his throat, drawing her attention back to him – something needs to be said, yeah, of course. She nods at him, offering a soft reassurance that is probably more for her than him – he knows her best, but she knows herself just as well.

“I hate that this was seemingly decided for us but -”

He shrugs, and she supplies, “I don’t hate you.”

“Thanks,” he says, his sarcasm softened by her moving to place her hands on his chest, and then sweeping across to buttons of his shirt. She starts unfastening at the neck or, rather, upper-chest because even professional doesn’t warrant an aesthetic change with him – she likes that.

Her progress has taken her halfway down when his hands fall on hers, stilling her movements.

“Thank you,” he says, his grateful words weighted with the kind of emotions that are supposed to warrant an explosion in her chest, effusive declarations of true love and forever and “‘Til death do us part…if we file this quickly we can get married tonight!”

She smiles and lets him wipe at the tears still on her cheeks while she returns to unbuttoning his shirt. With a hum of affection - and maybe just a small firework show in her heart - she says, “You’re welcome.”