#i'm usually really good at waiting for chapters. mostly because i have to be. again i don't update for YEARS

[lgbtlunaverse]

when will my beloved husband (fic author i like) come back from the war (fic hasn't updated in 2 short short weeks)

[jazeswhbhaven]

We outside with a Bad Boy~ (Satan Attacker Prologue React Part I)

I would say *spoilers* but this card has been out for a minute now so lol FINALLY, A BIH POSTED THIS

So let me first say, thank you all for sticking around and waiting patiently for my reacts to start up again. Now that I've been getting my sources from the lovely mooties and oomfs with the addition that there's some down time lately for content with PB so now I can hurry up and post some shit before they start hitting us with Belphegor and the next chapter which I assume will be all at once. A simple two-parter! Grab yourself a smol snackie snack and let's gooo~

Belial bae <3 So today is a rare day for Gehenna where the devils don't need to fight any angels and instead, everyone's doing their part and cleaning up and little and the nobles are doing their part as well! As you see Belial/Jjyu here telling everyone to take it easy because it's pretty much a "day off".

So Paimon is strong asf because he picked up a pile of rocks which turned out to be a damn wall lmao Thank you Zagan my babes, <3 that is a wall and he shouldn't pick it up

But nah Paimon can pick my fat ass up with one hand and just hold me up if he can pick up a damn wall.

Lol look at Leraye....being cute as per usual and then we get Astaroth warning everyone to be careful what they wish for when it comes to chaos returning quickly to Gehenna. Like I'm with Ro here...because enjoy your day where you don't have to fight through flying debris, rubble, and having those nice ass homes destroyed in a blink of an eye because Gehenna is literally a fucking war zone 90% of the time. But where there's down time...there's chaos somewhere....

AND that's when we pan over to MC in Satan's palace....btw his conference room looks so official like I love it for Satan.

But we've got our three kings here and they've showed up for some reason. It's funny that we get to see why...

First...MC was asking a question about what's going on in each country as to why they're there at the same time. Levi hit 'em with the "stay out of grown folks business" and I wanted to swing on him immediately because no one asked you to get snarky.

he tests my patience every day i swear

Beel is just speaking plainly but MC brought up a good point where he's never away for a moment his ass is ALWAYS gone lmao

Bael is throwing punches in the air rn if he could hear Beel say this, I know he is sick of him

Yes. That is mine. All of it. Bring it to me.

*Ahem* wait what were we doing? Oh right ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

So Mammon is just confident that his nobles are handling it well while he's gone. I mean in the first couple of chapters we see that it's clearly Eligos and Valefor holding down the fort since Bimet goes everywhere with him.

I love how Sitri is just always annoyed as hell when it comes to people gathering around MC like this. But I mean I don't blame him because why are all of them there?

So Beel just straight up says he came there to go on a date with MC (he's so cute I love him, where we going bae?) and then he proceeds to grab them by their waist (gawdddddd) and then he does his thing where he's sniffin' up on their clothes.

we know damn well he has money he just spends it too much lmao so the buying clothes thing would definitely happen

FORAS BBY HI :D

so he whisks MC over to Levi, and he apologizes for grabbing them so suddenly. like i feel we don't deserve Foras because he's so nice and soft and I just want to squish him.

So Levi wants MC to come to Hades for a serious test reason (as if Levi we're on to you) and Beel is like ah so you wanna go on a date too. (clocked him that's most likely why lmao) and Levi gets irriated but he doesn't hang him.

I have my own theory on why he makes empty threats with the kings, and it's mostly because he likes interacting with them and doesn't really want to hang them unless they really piss him off. So empty threats are his communication with them and that's why they all keep calling him "Levi" for short lmao

So Mammon comes up with his reasons for having MC, and he says he's happy to see everyone get along and wishes the other three were there (so yeah I would assume he gets along with all the kings since he wants to be around them) and he calls Bimet forward. So my boujie noble is here saying that since Mammon is a pacifist he just wants to pay everyone for allowing MC to come to Tartaros since the country is swimming in money and they can afford any price tag. Proceeds to then say low key everybody broke asf so don't even try.

Levi and Foras take that personally as you can see them being irritated. LMAO Bimet is always gonna call someone a broke bitch it's a given.

Beel is so cute I swear because he literally does not care about what's going on with what the other kings said. As far as he's concerned MC is going on a date with him and everyone else has to wait their turn.

"That's fixed"

Damn right it is, like, you tell 'em Beel <3

Okay so Levi got some hands with this clapback because he said that with no remorse and with the quickness.

So imagine how tall Mammon is right, imagine that the room shook when he stood up like that and looked down at Levi.

He's smiling so he's not even being threatening he's just like :D hey Levi real quick...

So Mammon is basically telling him, that he needs to act correctly because MC belongs to Tartaros and therefore he needs to respect their wishes to come with him to spend the day together. Levi of course is irritated again because everyone keeps cockblocking him.

Look at this sneaky little devil, being all like "there's gonna be a war in this room so let's go" as if he didn't cause any of that by agitating Levi in the first place lmao (granted Mammon also has been blocking Levi too)

What's weird is that Mammon and Beel have been blocking Levi but Mammon hasn't really directed any of that energy toward Beel at all so it feels like a strange dogpile on Levi. But honestly it's tension all around this room to where MC is feeling a certain way about it and feels bad that they can't be in multiple places.

I love this banter so far between them because this is truly how they interact when it comes to claiming MC and it's going to be a real treat when the other kings start getting involved.

SO this ends part 1. See you all in part twooooooo <3

[kazoosandfannypacks]

chapter summary: sabine, ezra, chopper, jacen, and hera head to lothal for a celebration in ezra's honor chapter word count: 2K a/n: not the best chapter. later than normal. no beta. i'm starting to understand why i usually write the entire fic before i post chapters. bon apetite. taglist:@laughingphoenixleader@accidental-spice@kanerallels@piraterefrigerator@jedi-nurse@dootchster@lucasbridger@redroverrider@light-umbra@commander-tech {if you’d like to be added to or removed from my Sabezra taglist, let me know!}

also on ao3!

Chapter 4: Dar'tome

 Despite how restlessly she'd slept that night, she still found waking up in the morning to be a miserable and tiresome thing.

 She ought to be used to this by now. How many night's sleep had Sabine already lost because of Ezra, keeping herself up with the thoughts of "where is he now?" and "I could've stopped him?" and "why did he have to do something so kriffing stupid in the first place?" Losing sleep over him was nothing new— but like this?

 Sabine shivered and curled back under her blanket, trying not to remember her warm wakeups from the past few days, or the joy she'd felt in her dreams last night, or the conversation from last night that had her in such a stupid funk.

 Ezra had started talking about his feelings.

 And she had walked out on him.

 Given her experience with people, she knew what would happen next. Once she'd somehow convinced herself to get out of bed, she'd run into Ezra. If she was lucky, they'd awkwardly avoid each other all day. If she was unlucky, there'd be angry glares and a few heated words— and if she was really unlucky, there'd be a conversation about feelings, and if there was one thing she didn't want to talk about right now, it was that.

 So she was surprised when, upon entering the galley and finding Ezra and Jacen laughing over their plates of space waffles, instead of ignoring or snarking at her, Ezra greeted her with a smile, and a "good morning, 'Bine."

 "Morning, Ezra," Sabine said, waiting for it to register in Ezra's mind that he was supposed to be annoyed with her this morning, "morning, Jacen."

 "Morning, aunt 'Bine," Jacen said, "mama left your breakfast on the counter." 

 Sabine rolled her eyes at the dish of space waffles next to the nanowave, wondering when Hera would remember she was old enough to make her own breakfast.

"Did you sleep okay?" Ezra asked, without a touch of irony or insincerity.

 "Yeah," Sabine shrugged, as she poured herself a lukewarm cup of caf, "once I finally got to sleep."

 "Good," Ezra smiled.

 Ezra hadn't said anything rude to her yet, so she figured he wouldn't freak out if she sat next to him, like she had last night.

 "Aunt Sabine," Jacen said, "are you coming to Lothal with us? Mama said there's gonna be a celebration." "Hera said that as soon as Governor Azadi heard I was back in the galaxy, he declared today some kind of planetary holiday," Ezra explained, "something about me being a hero and all that stuff. There's gonna be a parade, and a feast, and a bunch of speeches or something."

 "Can't wait," Sabine rolled her eyes, then smiled at the boys, "I'll be there."

 "Yay!" Jacen pumped his fists in the air "mama said all of Uncle Ezra's old friends are gonna be there!"

 "Then who would I be to miss it?" Sabine smiled.

 "I'm gonna go tell Mama you'll be there," Jacen said. He left his mostly-eaten breakfast on the table and raced off to the cockpit, leaving Ezra and Sabine alone together again.

 "Maybe the only reason he wasn't being weird about last night was because Jacen was here," Sabine thought, "now that the kid's gone, he can talk about it."

 "Did you sleep okay?" Sabine found herself asking, trying to fill the silence before he did.

 "Not really," Ezra said, "were the bunks on The Ghost always so hard and uncomfortable?"

 "I guess," Sabine half-laughed.

 "Yeah," Ezra shrugged.

 After an uncomfortable minute of silence, Ezra spoke up again.

 "Look, Sabine," Ezra said.

 "Here it comes," Sabine thought.

 "Yeah," Sabine sighed, "look, I…"

 "I'm sorry," Ezra said.

 "What?" Sabine asked. If anyone had to be sorry, Sabine would've thought it was her, what with walking away from him after he'd done something so small.

 "I guess I wasn't thinking very clearly last night," Ezra said, "I feel like I might've made you uncomfortable, and I'm sorry."

 This was probably the best possible outcome, right? He didn't ask her to explain herself. She didn't have to worry about him trying to flirt with her again. Everything could go back to the way it was.

 "It's okay," Sabine said.

 So why did her forgiveness feel like a lie?

 "Good," Ezra said, "because you're the best friend I've ever had. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you again."

 Was it because he'd dismissed his affections for her as "not thinking clearly" and simply called her his "friend?"

 But Sabine simply nodded and smiled and tacked on a "yeah," wondering if Ezra knew what she meant— that she never wanted to lose him again either.

 But before she could find the words to say it, Jacen and Chopper came in, and she knew she'd be best to drop the conversation, especially because she might've led herself to say something very stupid.

— — —

Ezra had a good view of Lothal as The Ghost jumped out of hyperspace, and Sabine had a good view of him as he saw his home planet for the first time in a decade. His eyes lit up with their soft blue glow, and his smile parted to make room for half a laugh and a sigh of amazement.

 "Just like you remember it," Sabine asked, leaning on the back of Ezra's seat in the cockpit.

 "Better," Ezra shook his head, and though Sabine could tell he wanted to say more, for once he'd apparently been rendered dumbstruck instead of just dumb.

 Sabine had been on Lothal for a while before she'd found Ezra, but now it seemed to come to life in all kinds of new ways as she watched it come into view over Ezra's shoulder. The closer they got to the planet's surface, the more landmarks he pointed out with amazement and wonder, at how much had changed, and how much was still the same.

 "Look, there's the old comm tower," Ezra pointed out, as they flew past the tower en route to the capital.

 "Yeah," Sabine nodded, trying not to let on that he wasn't the only one who'd taken up residence there.

 Hera brought The Ghost over Lothal City, which was rich with color and a palpable spirit of festivity today, and landed behind the Capitol building.

 "All these people are here to see me?" Ezra asked, noting the large crowd already gathered in their hangar.

 "The whole city's here to see you," Sabine said, "if not most of the planet. You're their hero."

 Ezra smiled, which is almost redundant even to note in light of how much he'd been smiling since they made it out of hyperspace, but this one was somehow different. Instead of just being the smile of a soldier returning home from a long battle, this one was of a soldier realizing his sacrifice mattered, that he'd done something to bring change in the lives of the people he fought for.

 Moments later, Lothal's hero stood before his friends as the ramp onto the ship lowered, Sabine and Chopper at his right, and Hera and Jacen at his left.

 Sabine started recognizing faces even before the ramp was in position— Jai, Ryder, Tseebo, Senator Organa— and wondered if Ezra remembered them— or if they would've recognized him if they hadn't known he was coming. He hardly looked like the same young man who'd left them all those years ago— though his heart had scarcely changed.

 Jai, Ryder, Leia, and a few others with political significance stepped forward to greet him.

 "Welcome home," Jai said, and as he noticed Ezra's confusion as he tried to remember who he was, he gave him a hint by addressing Ezra with a familiar nickname, "Dev Morgan."

 "Jai?" Ezra asked, "Jai Kell?"

 The two boys were about to give each other a hug, when Jai got pushed out of the way by someone with twice his size and massive purple hands.

 "Zeb?" Ezra asked.

 "It really is you," Zeb laughed and picked Ezra up as he gave him a hug— which was something that, ten years ago, Sabine never would've thought she'd see.

 Chopper beeped something at Zeb along the lines of an "I-told-you-so."

 Zeb set Ezra down and addressed the droid.

 "I believed you right away!"

 Chopper beeped back at him.

 "And I did not put a wager on it." Zeb grumbled. "Actually, I'm pretty sure you did."

 They turned to see Kallus walking over to them, through the gap in the crowd that had been caused by Zeb's pushing and shoving to get to his long-lost crewmate.

 "If memory serves," Kallus said, "you owe the droid and I each fifteen credits."

 "Kallus?" Ezra asked, "you gambled on me coming home?"

 "I spent too long trying to get rid of you to think it'd be that easy," Kallus smiled at Ezra, "welcome back, Bridger."

 "You couldn't've waited another two years to come back?" Zeb mumbled at Ezra over his shoulder as he handed some credits to both Kallus and Chopper.

 Ezra laughed, "if you want, I can go missing again for another decade or two." "Don't you ever do that again," Zeb said, the same way he would've told Ezra not to disturb him while he was sleeping in the old days.

 "Yes sir," Ezra said, "but that's hardly a way to talk to someone who saved your life…." "Hey," Zeb said, "I thought we were even!"

 "Well," Ezra smiled, "technically, I also saved your life when I saved the entire planet…"

 "I'm beginning to wonder why we even wanted you back," Zeb said, and he ruffled Ezra's hair like he was still a little kid.

 "Well," Senator Organa said to Ezra, "I suppose that's a warmer welcome than we ever could've offered you. The New Republic owes you a debt of gratitude, Ezra."

 "Thank you, ma'am," Ezra said, "it's good to be back."

 "It's good to have you back," Ryder said, "Lothal welcomes you with open arms."

 "Then let's get this party started," Ezra said.

 Everyone laughed a little, but for Sabine, it was a lot.

 In all of the greetings and reunions, she'd kept a bit of distance, and as he was swept away with the crowd, she fell behind, watching from the outskirts as he followed them onto the festivities.

———

 Sabine had taken her time in getting to the Capitol balcony— she'd seen parades on Lothal; she wasn't missing much. When she finally made it there, she'd expected to see everyone huddled around Ezra, hounding him with questions and support and camaraderie, and for her place to be off to the side, apart from it all.

 Instead, there seemed to be a little space near where Ezra stood. She saw him turn back and smile at her— double-taking as though he hadn't expected to see her, but had hoped to regardless— and nodded at the empty space next to him, gesturing for her to join him.

 "How could I refuse Lothal's hero?" Sabine thought, though she didn't really need an excuse to be close to him anymore.

 "This is strange," Ezra told her, Sabine barely able to hear him over the sound of the parade below.

 "What is?" Sabine asked.

 "Having a parade in my honor," Ezra said, then waved at the people below, "usually we try to stop these things.'

 "A lot has changed," Sabine said, "but I can't say I don't miss adding some fireworks of my own sometimes."

 A firework exploded above them, though it didn't stand out much against the midday sky.

 "Ametuer," Sabine rolled her eyes.

 Ezra smiled a little, and she found herself smiling back.

 Zeb, who was standing at Ezra's other side, started talking to him, and Jacen and Chopper, standing in front of them, joined in, but above the noise around them, she couldn't hear the boys at all.

 But why did that bother her? Why was it so hard to have to share Ezra's attention now?

 She knew the answer to that one— she'd stumbled upon it last night— those kriffing feelings she'd somehow grown for him, the ones that had, against all logic, made her turn away from him last night.

[thisnameisnotspokenfor]

🌵🐝

🌵I don't really have a playlist mostly because I just use whatever youtube throws at me- and youtube doesn't let you save those playlists- but I do like listening to this music:

((Adam Young is Owl City- who also wrote music for Paint the Night Parade- which is another track I like to listen to whenever writing:

🐝- ((I tage people for this one, right?)) *grabs a chair and reading glasses for this* Let me just start off by saying that I appreciate you all for reading/sticking with me through these ahhh- *looks at Asha/Cepheus* strange times I guess! It's crazy to see people reading this story because ngl- when I originally made it, I was super scared because I feel like my Asha is kinda mean and a lot of it strays from being in the original Wish territory. But it's super encouraging to hear from you guys!

((I was SHOOK reading my first comment lol))

I'm sorry if I miss anybody! These are just a few I can think off the top of my head! (I just woke up and I'm not feeling too good.)

@aquamiun - I think you are a fantastic theorist- and I enjoy your theories/questions! You're super funny ((Ceph still hasn't forgotten the things you said about him tho))

@firstdove15 - I appreciate your commentary and perspective on things- especially when you pick up on Cepheus's *ahem* non-human way of thinking! ((You've inspired Asha to werk while suffering- so thank you for that!))

@tiredmiddlechild and @pinkshgumis and @millspyxis are fantastic artists- seeing your illustrations is so unreal to me?! The attention to detail/expressions/colors and everything is so amazing?! Your art gives me strength to drive Asha insane! ((I have more angst I'm waiting to unleash on @millspyxis ))

@guineapigwitch your asha among us powerpoint/slides was amazing- I can't stop laughing at how in character it was! (You also probably predicted how Nachos/Cepheus’s relationship is going to go down in the future)

@musa-style your theories are also amazing ((have you guys seen the pie charts/graphs?!)) I appreciate your comments and your little conspiracy club lol. Also RESPECT TO A FELLOW ATLANTIS LOVER!!!

@bi-pisces07 : lol you are very bad for enabling Ceph's murderous tendencies- but you are definitely one of my funniest readers/followers!

@squiggledude no joke- I feel like you've been with me for the longest (or one of the longest) and I appreciate reading your comments with every chapter (you're super encouraging!)

@iprincezzinuyoukai I appreciate reading your comments as well! You're pretty perceptive when it comes to spotting little things in the lore- that I usually try to hide. ((We'll see how well some of your comments age))

@rylxdreams I had a super good laugh when I read your comment on the noble girls ((yeah they do need water or something-))and the library chapter! ((Funny story- I rewrote that chapter like 3 times- it was KILLING me))

I once again apologize for anyone I missed (I’ll come back and update this if I missed anyone). But I do appreciate you all reading the story on AO3 and here on tumblr! (Especially all my A03 readers who don’t have a tumblr account or I may have not fond you on tumblr!)

You all are amazing! You also are in trouble! (But don’t mind that part! We’ll cross that bridge when we reach it 😌)

[hoedamn-eron]

baby, please - part 6

You meet up with Santi, again, about your news, and it goes much better than last time. Also, your friends are the best people you know.

Warnings: Mentions of being sick, so emetophobia warning. Abortion mentions (I am personally pro-choice). An awful lot of dialogue. Reader refers to her friends as 'guys' and Courtney refers to her as 'dude' at one point, and 'girl'. Swearing. I'm from the UK so I'm not 100% sure what happens in America regarding doctor/midwife appointments, but from what I've researched, it looks a little similar, so I'm going to try and be as accurate as I can moving forward. This hasn't been my favourite chapter so far, it's mostly been just a filler. Slightly proofread. Word count: 2,833 F!Reader, no use of Y/N.

Part 5 ● Series Masterlist ● Part 7

These are your texts. These are your friend's texts. Initials will be at the start of each text in the GC.

You both agreed to meet back at the coffee shop after work. You made the effort to finish at a regular time, that your clients could wait until after the weekend. Nothing huge was coming up for a while, so you had the time to relax, just a bit.

Which reminded you, you needed to organise something with your friends. You haven’t contributed to the group chat for nearly a week, and they’d been texting you separately to see if you were okay, and you’d been overly short with them.

You walked through the door of the coffee shop, looking around before your eyes land on Santi sat in a corner, looking at something on his phone. You take a moment to just check him out.

You’ve said it once, and you’ll say it again (probably forever), he was still so good-looking. Even with the nervous energy he had, he still made your heart skip a beat. He looked like he hadn’t shaved for a few days, his beard matching his mixture of black and salt and pepper curls. He was dressed in a simple t-shirt, and jeans. You didn’t understand how someone who could dress so simply could still look so well put together.

Taking a deep breath, you make your way over to him. He looks up from his phone, his eyes widened as you approached the table. You gave him as small smile as you approached.

“Hey, thanks for meeting me,” Santi greeted you, standing from his seat and motioning to the empty seat opposite him.

“Thanks for reaching out,” you said, sitting down and placing your bag by your feet. He nervously sat back down, wiping his palms on his well-fitted jeans, a cappuccino and an iced latte already in front of him. You melted at the fact that, despite how badly your last meeting ended, he still remembered what drink you had in front of you.

“How are you doing today, are you doing all right?”

You huff out a small laugh. “Well, I threw up about ten times today, I think it might be a new record for me. I’m bloated and constantly hungry…” you bite your lip as you saw him avert his gaze awkwardly, his hands still rubbing against his jeans. You sighed. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to rant. I’m fine.”

Santi nodded. “I’m sorry again about how I reacted on Sunday.”

You shake your head at him. “Really, you don’t have to say you’re sorry – “

“I said some not very nice things and it’s been playing over and over in my head, and it wasn’t right.”

You hesitated for a moment before you nodded. “What you said was kind of uncalled for. But I get it. I just threw this bombshell on you.”

“It doesn’t excuse it. I’d take it back if I could. Or never say it at all, because that’s not what I think of you.”

You nod at him before picking up the iced latte. “You’re forgiven. Let’s just forget it ever happened.”

Santi nodded, his hands finally stilling on his thighs. “Okay. Yeah.”

You take a sip of your coffee. It was a little stronger for what you would order usually, but you appreciated the effort. You take a deep breath and swallow nervously. “I know it's a lot to take in, but I think we need to figure out how we're going to handle this.”

Santi’s shoulders relaxed, and he gave a subtle sigh of relief at you bringing up the elephant in the room. “Yeah, I agree. Have you made any decisions yet?”

You shake your head. “No. Well…I've been doing some research, and I’m leaning towards keeping it. I did look into terminating. But I’m not sure yet.”

Santi gave a single nod. “Okay.” he rubbed the back of his head. “Uh, what role do I play in this? Do you want me to be involved, or what?”

“That's entirely up to you. I don't want to force you into anything you're not comfortable with.”

Santiago went quiet, reaching over for his coffee and taking a sip. You both sat there in silence for a few moments, just drinking your coffees as you take in your situation.

You didn’t want to push him. You really appreciated that he reached out to you to talk to you about this, to get his input. If he wanted to be child free, then you could come up with some sort of agreement, where he wasn’t involved and wouldn’t have to pay child support. He could sign away his parental rights before the baby even arrived.

Or you could terminate, like you had looked into.

You shake the thought from your head. You have your first appointment with your doctor next week, you could explore your options then.

“Have you told anyone you’re pregnant yet?”

You were surprised by the question, merely because you weren’t expecting that to be his next one. You shake your head. “No. Have you?”

“No.” Santi placed his now empty coffee mug on the table. “You’re one hundred percent sure you are?”

You nod. “I took four tests, and they were all positive. I have a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday to confirm, but it’s more of a formality thing. And to get me on the books.”

“Yeah. Okay. Right.” Santi frowns at you. “Do you want me to come with you?”

Your breath hitches at the question as you suddenly felt exposed…stunned, and honestly, you felt a slight lump in your throat. You swallow nervously as you avert your gaze for a moment before you look back up at him. You didn’t think to ask. You assumed he wouldn’t want to go. But, really…you didn’t want to go alone. “If you wanted. You don’t have to decide now. But I would appreciate it if you could be there for emotional support.”

Santiago nodded. “I can do that, I’ll be there.”

“I appreciate that. And we can talk about a DNA test to confirm the paternity, if that’s something you want to do.”

Santi was already shaking his head. “No, I believe you. I don’t…we don’t have to do the paternity test.”

Your breath hitches slightly, tears finally filling your eyes. “Okay. Thank you.” You place your half-drunk coffee on the table before you lean forward. “I know this isn't what either of us planned, but I'm glad we're able to have an open and honest conversation about it.”

“I never thought I would be in the position,” Santi said. “Someone telling me that I’m gonna be a dad.”

“Never pictured yourself settling down?” you asked, sniffing as you wiped at your eyes. You pick up your drink again, finding you needed something to do with your hands, and take a large gulp.

“No. Not with work, or my lifestyle,” Santi replied. “Was never in the cards for me.”

You nod, understanding. “I get it. With my dating life, I didn’t think it would happen with me either.” You both settle into an awkward silence. You finish your drink and place it down on the table before clearing your throat. “So, the doctor’s appointment is after work, at five-thirty, do you want me to text you the address?”

“I can come and get you after work, if you want,” Santi replied.

You weren’t expecting that. “Oh, really, it’s okay. It’s a little out of your way – “

“I don’t mind.”

“I’ll be taking my car to work anyway, so…”

After a few moments, Santiago nodded. “Okay then. I’ll just meet you there.”

You gave him a small smile before grabbing your bag and standing, digging through it for your purse as Santiago quickly after you. “How much do I owe for coffee?”

Santi waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it.”

“But I – “

“I’m sure you paid for mine on Sunday when I stormed out.”

You gave him a look before continuing to dig through your bag. “I insist, Santi.”

“Really, don’t worry about it. I got you pregnant, so the least I can do is get your coffee.”

You look at him, seeing him raise his eyebrow at you and give you a pointed, unamused look. You sigh before closing your bag, giving him a small smirk. “Fine.”

He walks you out and down the block to your car, making small talk about work and how well the launch went, since you mentioned it on your date.

“It went great. I threw up during the big speech. Emily followed me to the bathroom.”

Santi groaned. “She doesn’t know, does she?”

You shake your head. “She hasn’t said anything to me, but I think she knows something is going on.”

“I wouldn’t hear the end of it,” muttered Santi, causing you to giggle as you reach your car.

You turned to Santi, giving him a smile. “Thanks again for…this. I really didn’t know what I was going to do.” You unlock your car before opening the door. You turn to look at him. “See you on Wednesday?”

“See you on Wednesday.”

You don’t hug. You don’t kiss. You don’t even shake hands. You just stare at each other for a moment before you climb into your car, giving him a small wave as you start it and back out of the space, driving away. You watch him for a moment in your rearview mirror, seeing him standing, watching you drive for a few seconds before he turns and walks away.

You let out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding. Why was that so awkward? The guy had seen you naked, had sex with you, and got you pregnant. Surely you were past the awkward stage in your not-relationship? You shake your head, clearing your thoughts. It was probably awkward because you were pregnant with his child. You barely knew each other.

Maybe he just needed a few more days for it to sink in. He hadn’t been around you much, after all, since you announced you were carrying his child.

You arrive back to your apartment, biting your lip as you stare at your phone screen, contemplating telling him you got home okay. Was that a bit forward? He might need just a bit of space after your meeting. You decide against texting him.

You get yourself out of your work clothes and into your comfiest pyjamas, slipping your feet into the fluffiest socks you own. You made your way into your kitchen, intending to heat up some leftovers, not really feeling like cooking much tonight. You turn on your oven, waiting for it to heat up.

You meander out of the kitchen, grabbing your phone from its place still in your bag, seeing that your group chat has been a little active since you left work to meet up with Santi. It wasn’t anything important, just your friends talking about their days. Gabrielle was dealing with two kids with chicken pox, and Beth’s newest client was being a nightmare and difficult. Courtney had offered her usual down to Earth responses, both in support of her friends.

You smiled. You wondered what they would say when they found out you were pregnant.

You. The perpetually single friend.

You type out a quick text, telling them exactly what was happening before you delete it all, and rewrite it. You stood there for a full ten minutes, contemplating letting them know what’s been going on over text. You should tell them in person. These were your girls, your family. They deserved better.

Sorry I have been MIA ladies. Been going through some stuff.

You sigh as you send the message in the group chat. It was simple and kept to the point.

It wasn’t long until you got a response.

B: Jesus, finally. Thought you’d died. You okay?

G: Do you need anything? I can come by tomorrow and drop some stuff off for you.

C: Glad you’re okay.

I’m okay, thanks guys. Is everyone free next weekend? We could have lunch somewhere.

G: I’ll see if I can get a sitter. Matthew is away with his brother for their cousin’s bachelor party.

B: I am free. I have something to ask you guys about the wedding.

G: Bridesmaids!?

B: You’ll just have to wait and see.

C: I’m free after 1pm. Got a work thing.

B: On a Saturday?

C: Rude, not all of us are our own boss.

B: Shut up.

Great, I can book a late lunch on Saturday. 2pm good for everyone? I’ll take a look at what’s available if not.

G: I’ve heard Bella Cucina is good, not sure if they’re open for lunches though.

They’re not, just the evenings. That’s where I went for my date with Santiago.

C: Lol.

You sent a not-very-ladylike emoji to Courtney before telling them you’ll send them lunch details when you can. You snort at Courtney’s not-so-ladylike reply back with a similar emoji before she sent you a message privately.

So, what’s going on? Did you take a pregnancy test?

You bit your lip. You appreciated that she asked you separately from the group chat, but you also wanted everyone to know what you were going through in person. It wasn’t like you didn’t trust her, Courtney wouldn’t breathe a word of it, but you just weren’t sure what was going to happen in the next few weeks. But you know that if you don’t say something now, Courtney will be suspicious. You could lie, but it would seem silly to.

You just had to bite the bullet. With Courtney anyway.

I did.

You immediately put your phone down, the panic rising in your throat. You did it. You were ‘publicly’ acknowledging your pregnancy to someone to wasn’t Santiago. You busied yourself with your almost forgotten leftovers, putting them in the oven and setting a timer. You went to your bathroom, took off the day’s make up, and placed on a face mask. You set up your couch, where you planned to plant yourself and watch Netflix all night, ignoring your phones constant chimes of Courtney’s messages.

You pottered around a bit more, closing your curtains, putting away your clothes, and cleaning up a few dishes you had left out that morning. You removed the face mask and moisturised your skin before finally going back to your phone.

And? Are you pregnant?

Come on, you can’t just throw that on me and disappear.

Seriously. Are you pregnant or not!?

I know you’re doing this on purpose, you haven’t just put your phone down and got distracted by something else!

You’re not subtle.

Girl, if you don’t answer your phone!!!!!

When she sent you your full name in capital letters, you thought it best to reply.

I’m pregnant.

Holy shit. How are you feeling?

Life has been a little upside down. I’ve been dealing with it.

Does Santiago know?

Yeah, it’s why I’ve been MIA. It’s been a challenge.

Fuck, dude, are you okay?

It’s fine. Well, it will be fine. I have an appointment on Wednesday with my OB, Santi will be there. So he says. I won’t blame him if he changes his mind, it’s not exactly an ideal situation.

Are you keeping it?

You hesitated, because you didn’t know how to answer that. You obviously took too long to answer because Courtney rang your phone. You took a few seconds to answer it. “I don’t know if I’m going to keep it.”

“Is it because of Santiago?”

“Well, partly. It’s his foetus too.” You sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose. “And other factors. Obviously. Money. My living situation. Work. It’s all just…overwhelming.”

“You know we won’t judge you for what you choose to do, right?” Courtney said. “Is that what lunch is about next week? You don’t have to say anything to the others if you decide not to keep it, don’t feel pressured to let the others know.”

You try to hold back tears, sucking in your lips and biting down on them before you take a shaky breath. “I know.”

“We’ll be here for you, whatever you need. Do you need me there on Wednesday?”

“No, really, I’ll be okay.”

“Okay…you know Andy is a cop, right, he knows how to hide a body where no-one will find it if Santiago fucks you over.”

You let out a watery laugh, wiping at your eyes. “I know. But Santi’s a good guy.”

“The offer is there.”

Your timer goes off in your ear, causing you to flinch. You turn it off, before finally telling Courtney that you had to go, you were about to have dinner. You told her you would tell her all about the week you’d had another time, and that you would keep her updated on anything regarding the baby, and/or Santiago. She told you that she would always be available for you. You both hang up.

In that moment, you knew you’d be okay. You’d be fine. No matter what happens with the baby and Santi, at least you had your friends. And that was all you needed.

Tagged - @khonsulockley

[arrieebooks]

Precious Weapon (4)

Pairing : Lloyd Hansen x F!OC (Elle) x Sierra Six.

Summary : Six discusses with her about Lloyd. Her very first mission. She disobeys Lloyd's orders and they get into a fight that leads into something else.

Warnings : Lloyd being a rough trainer. Explosions. Injury. Cursing. Mentions of detailed murder. Gore. So much angst. Fighting. Really rough smut. Pain kink. Oral smut. Fingering. Blood kink. Dirty talk. Pure filth at the end. Vague voyeurism. Fluff and comfort.

Word Count : 16.8k words.

Author's note : heyy! I was writing this while also editing chapter 3 during my vacation so that's why I'm posting this part in less than two weeks of the previous chapter. I personally liked this chapter, mostly because there was smut in it and I like writing smut, somehow. Anyhow, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did while writing it!

***

Elle absolutely hates Lloyd's guts with everything in her. 

She wants to kill him so badly if she could. 

He is the worst trainer ever for her.

He's rough. Harsh. Inconsiderate. Always yelling at her. Tiring her out all day. Making her wounded all the time even though it's usually her fault because she was clumsy and he knows she heals in less than seconds but still, he could've at least been a little bit fragile of her. 

It's been one full week of training. Thankfully. 

She's so fucking tired. She hasn't had a second to even rest the whole week. They train all day and only take breaks during breakfast, lunch and dinner. That's it. After that, they train again and again until it's late and it's time for bed. 

Even Six is tired of watching them train all day from the gym's bench. Lloyd doesn't seem to even be tired. He could do that all day and he did. He only let Six train her for one day. He trained her even better than Lloyd since his training was different from him but he's way softer with her. That's the problem. 

He mostly trains her to fight a lot without her powers. She has enhanced strength but didn't know how to use it at all so he taught her. He made her punch a lot of solid objects and she bled a lot. He taught her a little martial arts but he doubts that she needs any of that when she could punch someone and they'd immediately pass out from how strong her punch is. 

He likes that she's strong. That her body could withstand any pain. He doesn't have to hold back with her, not a single bit because he knows she can take it. He can do whatever he wants with her. In which he succeeded. 

With her powers, it's way easier. She's used it her whole life so she knows it well and all the spells she made are in her head already — she doesn't need a stupid spell book. Her reflexes are good, too. She can even catch a bullet or a knife or any weapon thrown at her with her powers. Or with her bare hands if she's lucky enough to catch them in time. 

Today, she can finally relax. Even just for a second. Because today's her first mission. She's a little nervous. Lloyd and Six have given her little hints on what CIA missions would be like. But they left out all the bad and important details, of course.

She's just waiting for Lloyd to tell her about her mission now. He's been on the first floor of the penthouse for hours now, talking to Denny and handling everything. 

Six is right beside her, as always. They're chilling on the couch of the living room, letting the TV on as it plays a movie that she's currently focused on. But he's not.

He's focused on her, only. As always. He'll never get tired of watching her. 

This whole week, they barely touched each other. Only a few kisses here and there but she's been sleeping in her own room because Lloyd has been watching them like a hawk. He even stays up late until she falls asleep in her own room.

He's doing it on purpose so they don't even try to fuck. At all. He didn't say anything about it in particular but he just kept saying that she can't have any "distractions" and they both fully knew what that meant. Six knew it better than she did. 

She just thinks that it's because he cares so much for the mission and for his weapon and that he can't let her get even a tiny bit distracted. 

But Six knows the real reason why — Lloyd wants her too. But he can't let himself have her so he doesn't want anyone else to have her, even Six, the only man he's ever tolerated enough to not kill him. He respects him, too.

"This movie is boring." Elle remarks, glancing at him with a small pout on her lips. Her head is leaned on his shoulder as his hand is around her shoulder. They're comfy and getting cozy now. 

Six chuckles. "You said you wanted to watch it." He reminds her.

She shakes her head. "Not really. I just wanted a distraction from the anxious anticipation of Lloyd's big announcement for my mission. It's been hours."

"He'll be out soon." he assures her.

"That's what you said an hour ago." she reminds him.

He sighs. "I know. I'm sorry. If we go downstairs right now, he'll just yell at us again." 

She breaks into a soft giggle. "Yeah, that seems to be what he does these days. Especially to me. I think he's too tense. He needs to relax." 

Six furrows his eyebrows. "How?" 

Elle shrugs, her fingers toying with his thick fingers. "I don't know. Maybe he needs someone for himself. Someone to lick his wounds and help him calm down. Someone patient enough, of course. But not like a girlfriend, I know he doesn't do that." she says. 

He hums teasingly, moving his mouth closer to her ears. "Sounds like someone I know well." 

She chuckles, feeling ticklish. "Absolutely not. He hates me." 

Six frowns. "No, he doesn't. He's just pretending to." he says, flatly.

Elle lifts her eyebrows in surprise. "Really? But why?" she asks. 

"It's easier that way for him." he slowly says, "You know, because he doesn't want to jeopardize the mission if he gets distracted by…you." 

She scoffs. "You mean, by fucking me?"

"Yeah." 

She grimaces in disbelief. "No. No, that's not—he wants to fuck me? I mean I remembered our night at the bar but that ended already. I thought that he only wanted me that night. Not until now. Because he doesn't do long term shit. He told me." 

"You don't feel the same?" 

"No. I don't feel attracted to him anymore since that night." 

Six straightens up, looking behind him to check the foyer before his eyes meet hers again. He gives her a small thoughtful look that's barely there as his fingers gently brush her hair away from her face and he sighs. "Do you remember last week, when we had to all stay in your house for one night?" he suddenly asks, really quietly.

Elle nods, curious to where he's going with this as she creases her eyebrows. "Yeah. Hard to miss. Why?" she asks.

He exhales softly. "Well, he told me that he walked in on you showering that night and he saw you naked, just your back but, he said that you opened your bathroom door wide. I don't know, it feels like you knew he was going to be there, you know? Because of your hearing. And I'm fine with it—"

Six accusing her? That's new. Certainly not very him. Truth be told, he didn't even want to say anything earlier. Lloyd told him this in a brief and casual conversation last week. He wasn't planning to confront her about it. But he's curious. He wants to know if she's attracted to him that way just the same way he does for her. 

She retreats from him, widening her eyes. "Woah, what the shit! He saw me naked? And didn't say anything?" She raises her voice, filling the empty penthouse.

Six remains calm despite her lashing out. "He didn't want to make it weirder." he simply says.

"I thought you had walked in that time. That's why I kept the door open wide when I heard footsteps approaching." Elle explains to him in a harsh tone. 

Six slowly nods. "Alright, then. Look, he didn't indicate that you did it on purpose. I was the one who assumed that you…well, we haven't really discussed it, right? How it would be with us and him."

She shrugs. "What's there to discuss? He's okay with us." she assumes. 

He scoffs, shaking his head gently. "I mean, is he? You know that he's been trying to keep us apart this whole week, Elle." he reminds her.

"What, you think he doesn't want us to fuck just because he wants to fuck me too?" she scoffs at her own words, "Come on, that's ridiculous. He doesn't want to fuck me, Six. At least not anymore. And that's good. For me. Because I bet he's rough and selfish in bed." 

Six chuckles through his nose. "Not to sound like an asshole but didn't you say you liked it rough better?" he mumbles.

Elle looks at him, shocked but intrigued and possibly a little turned on that he remembered her words and is using it against her. "Oh, yeah, definitely. Just not him." she says, smirking as she slowly crawls onto his lap. 

He leans his head with a hand behind it as his other hand wraps around her waist. "You'd never know if you've never tried." 

She frowns. "You want me to try fucking him?" she accuses and her voice slips out in a different accent. 

Six shakes his head. "No, I mean, try giving him a chance. Just like you said earlier, he could use someone to help him relax." he gently says.

"I don't want to. It's not my job. Just get a nice hooker or something. We'll pay her." She proposes an idea. 

He laughs quietly. "You're serious? Elle, no. He'd hate it. He told me that he didn't want to fuck any hookers in this city. He was a bit paranoid if they're clean enough, you know." 

She snorts. "Okay, fine. Not a hooker then. Well, look, as much as I love helping people, he's not going to want me to do it. I mean, maybe he does want me, like you said but knowing Lloyd, he's probably just going to deny, deny and deny."

"Wait, what about your best friend? Amelia? She seems just as nice as you." he asks.

No. Lloyd wouldn't like her. She's too much of a saint for him. She's not really like Elle, actually. They're very different if anyone had bothered to look close enough. Sure, they both share the same love for science and their style is almost similar but they have a lot of differences that they never really talk about. Elle doesn't mind doing something a little bad to do good. Amelia doesn't. And there's the other fact where Elle fuck whoever she wants because she can but Amelia doesn't want to do that. 

Elle immediately shakes her head. "No, no. Fuck no. Lloyd isn't her type. And neither is she for him. Also, she hates white guys. She knows their only motive for local girls. To fuck them and then leave." 

Six nods. "Right. That's called a one-night stand. And I'm usually grateful that they leave first so it's not going to be awkward."

She giggles out loud. "Yeap. Yes. I agree. That's so true." 

His eyes focus on hers and her little facial features all lighting up as she begins to smile at him. She likes this. It's been a while since they had a moment just for themselves and their little jokes and their loose laughters. His lips slowly tug into a small smile watching her happy like this.

He sighs, his hands moving to cup her face. "Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to accuse you like that. Wasn't my intention." he apologizes softly.

Elle's face relaxes and sighs too. "It's okay," she softens her voice, "Hey, if you do want to share or try to, at least, I'm fine with it. Because to be honest, it did cross my mind a few times last week, what it would be like to have him again. But it was just a quick flash of thought." 

Six's face even looks shocked as he tries to contain himself. He's not used to showing emotions. But he forgot who he's with right now. She's someone he trusts. 

His fingers play with her hair as his other hand touches her cheeks and she leans on his palm. "What'd you think of?" he asks softly, it almost comes out as a whisper. 

She hums, thinking on it and as the thought comes back to her mind, she shifts her body on his lap. "Like, how it would feel like to have his fingers in me again or you know, if I had you both, at the same time—but it's stupid, really. I'm with you already. It's wrong to think like that. And what if he doesn't actually want me that way? It'd be embarrassing to assume so."

"It's not stupid. It's reasonable to have fantasies. I think it's… hot. That you want us both. And, he told me has a hard-on for you. Does that help?" Six slowly asks in a soothing voice for her.

Elle giggles again, scrunching her nose a little. "Yeah, but that doesn't really mean he wants me. Because that could just be a natural reaction from the body. Science is weird, trust me. I'm the living embodiment of it." she says.

Six snorts. "It's not a natural reaction anymore if it happens too often, Elle." he tells her. 

She lifts her eyebrows in surprise and widens her eyes. "Holy fuck, really? How often?" she exclaims.

He shrugs a little. "Once a day, maybe?" 

She widens her eyes even bigger. "What? No way. How? I never even wore anything revealing except for gym clothes." 

Six shakes his head. "You didn't have to. You exist. That's it. And that's his problem, he's making you his own problem because you're making him hard every single day without you even doing it intentionally. He's close to losing his mind, honestly." he admits.

Elle sighs, taking in the information all at once. She can't even believe that she didn't notice it since she's usually sensitive to other people's emotions — on what they feel everytime they're with her and she can feel it because of her powers. That's how she can communicate with Six without talking sometimes, because she's always feeling what he's feeling. She's in his mind and so is he. She chooses who to feel and she chooses him.

And that's when she realized something. She only ever felt what Six felt. Not what Lloyd felt. She never cared enough to do so. She convinced herself that he's too much for her, that if she felt what he felt then she'd get overwhelmed. 

It might be true. Lloyd has a lot of repressed and unsolved bad memories and trauma from his past that he chose to keep hidden so he could go on with his life and his job. But that just made him…worse. It made him angry all the time. He throws tantrums, blames everyone, hurts and kills anyone he looks down on and does whatever he wants whenever he wants without thinking of the consequences ahead (most of the time). 

She might've judged him wrongly. But there's more to him than she knows, than he's allowed her or anyone to know. She can see the real him with her mind, she just isn't sure if she wants to or not because what if the real him isn't so bad and she begins to…like him? That's something she certainly can't afford to do.

"Elle? Hey, are you okay? You're quiet. If there's something wrong, tell me." Six snaps her out of her thoughts and as usual, he noticed that her mind was elsewhere. He always notices. 

She hums, quietly shaking her head as her lips curve into a small smile for him. "No, there's nothing wrong. I was just thinking about things. I mean, are you going to be okay with…sharing?" 

His lips stretch into a light smile as he chuckles through his nose. "Of course, I'm okay with it. I suggested it. And even if I didn't, it's what you want and I will do whatever you want." he tells her, no—he swears to her. He'd do anything for her, more than he should.

"Sounds romantic. You know, you haven't even taken me on a date yet." Elle teases him with a smile, but it's not like there was any time for them to even go out. She was mostly busy and he doesn't go outside without her. 

Six's lips grow into a wider smile that he's never shown anyone else as he comes up to get his face closer to hers and plants a soft kiss on her cheek before his cheek touches her while his mouth is near her ear. "After the mission. You pick the place. Then maybe, if you're still up for it, we could talk to Lloyd about all this." he whispers in her ears in a hoarse voice and gentle tone.

She nods, her smile turning into a small smirk. "Hmm, great plan. And I think we should—" 

Her voice gets cut off by the loud sound of the elevator opening and she doesn't even bother to get off Six's lap as Lloyd walks out of the elevator mindlessly, without even looking at them while he steps into the living room.

He looks tense. Because he is. 

Elle smiles up at him. "Lloyd. We've been waiting for you." she says with excitement as he stops to stand in front of her and behind Six, frowning with confusion and frustration while his eyes examine their position.

Lloyd cocks his head to the side, still frowning. "Get off his lap. Your first mission is here." he orders her.

She rolls her eyes. "I actually like this position very much." she retorts.

"Don't make me get you off myself." he warns her.

"Oh, please. You won't even be able to. I'm stronger than you." Elle taunts him as he rolls his eyes in annoyance.

Six sighs. Sometimes he wishes that they'd fuck each other just to finally stop arguing every single second of the day because it seems to him that the only reason that they fight is because they haven't fucked yet. 

"Guys, come on. Lloyd, what is it?" Six asks, his head turning to him.

Lloyd looks at him, avoiding her gaze. "Her first mission, today. With you. It's simple. Extract data and destroy. That's it." he declares.

She frowns. "What's the data?" she asks, slowly getting off Six's lap and Lloyd finally glances down at her, his eyes boring into hers. He's slightly relieved that she got off his lap because he was…distracted by the view. 

"CIA data," he replies shortly. 

"What kind of data?" she repeats.

"The one that could put all of us in very deep shit. A corporate American building here has data about all of us in Jakarta. They've been spying on us this whole time, everytime we got out of the penthouse. They even have pictures of you and us in your house." Lloyd explains. 

Elle widens her eyes, immediately rising up from the couch. "What? How? Why would they even want it?" she starts to panic.

He sighs, tired of having to explain everything to her. "Because we're CIA. That's it. They'll usually sell the information to people who would actually do something about it." 

She hums confusedly. "Do I kill the person…?" she asks, unsurely. 

She doesn't want to kill anyone if it's not a life or death situation. If it's just for a mission and that person isn't even dangerous to the people or to the city, then she won't do it. She's not ready to just kill and kill aimlessly without even caring who she's killing. She's not an assassin. Even though, deep down inside her, she knows that someday she's going to have to forget who she is and just do the damn job, however brutal it is. 

Lloyd shakes his head. "Unfortunately, no. He's useless. Just a fucking idiot behind a desk. Well, idiots, technically." he replies.

Six simply nods, knowing that these kinds of things happen all the time whenever a CIA agent stays in one country for more than a week. He's had a lot of experience with it and always has had to fix it himself. It's an easy mission if there's no collateral damage or a certain obstacle. 

"When do we go?" he asks him.

"Wheels up at 6pm. It'll close soon at that time. Less workers, less obstacles. Just get in there, pretend to work there. We'll give you their office card with fake names." Lloyd tells them as she nods.

Elle's eyes dart to Six, who is calm and unfazed. Not even a single spike in his heartbeat. It doesn't bother her that he's always so calm, but sometimes she wishes that he'd let himself feel normal feelings once in a while. She knows that it's not exactly his choice, he was trained to be that way. But he still has free will, technically. He just needs to be reminded of that sometimes. 

Six gets up from the couch, "I'm going to start prepping." he simply says, looking into her eyes for approval.

She subtly nods before he plants a soft kiss on her temple and starts walking past her and Lloyd.

"It's chaotic down there. Good luck." Lloyd tells him as a warning. 

Six's lips form a thin line, nodding at him as he walks towards the elevator. 

Lloyd's eyes dart to hers and his gaze darkens. "Hey. You remember your training, right? Or should we do a quick training right now?" he asks her in a serious tone. 

She shakes her head. "No, absolutely not. I need to preserve my powers, anyway."

He frowns. "Oh. Was I too rough with you?" he asks in a serious tone.

Elle gulps. "Uh, yes." she truthfully answers.

Lloyd frowns deeper. "But you could take it." he coldly says as he steps closer to her, "You're strong. You could withstand anything, right?" 

She slowly nods her head, gulping again as she could feel the tension between them getting thick. Her eyes glare up at him and she has to force herself to keep up the eye contact since he's looking at her too intensely. "Yeah. I could. But as you said hundreds of times, I'm only human. I can still get tired." 

"But you have a different stamina than a normal human being—" he states before taking a sharp breath and she could tell that he's annoyed. "Don't fuck with me, Elle. You are strong. You took every punch, every kick, every bullet and every stab like a fucking champ. Now, do you remember what I trained you or do you need some reminder?" Lloyd softens his voice but it's still laced with anger, he's just trying to contain himself.

Elle huffs. "Don't talk to me like that. It's fucking weird. And yes, I do remember. No, I do not need any reminder from you. Now if you'd excuse me, I'm going to…prep for the mission as well. Whatever that means." she says, walking past him. 

He scoffs. She ignores him and walks to the elevator to go to Six. He's her comfort. She doesn't want to handle Lloyd right now. She needs to just focus on the mission. 

***

The mission is simple and easy, Six said. So she believes him. As always. 

She'll believe him, no matter what. Even if what he's saying is a lie or not. Because she trusts him blindly. That's what she does when she cares about someone deeply — she'd do anything for them. She'd even go head first into danger for them. 

"Elle, do you copy?" She hears Lloyd's formal voice through her earpiece as she and Six walk towards the building. 

It's not a big building. It's medium. It only has three floors and their data is on the top floor. They're both wearing professional work clothes. Six is wearing a suit. Elle is wearing a matching blouse and blazer.

She presses her comms and turns it on. "Yes. It's me. I'm here." she responds.

Lloyd leans back on his chair in front of the big monitors, tracking quite literally everything but mostly surveillance cameras that show the outside of the building, the street they're in and inside the building as well. He can see everything from here. Even them. 

"You're supposed to say, "this is Elle, copy", didn't Six tell you this? It's standard protocol." he protests. 

She rolls her eyes. "You know who I am already. I'm not talking to another CIA agent, am I?" she retorts. 

Lloyd huffs. "Can you not? This is a serious mission. Don't talk back right now." 

"I'll be taking this mission seriously when you stop complaining about every single thing I'm doing." Elle says.

"I was correcting you. That's what usually happens when someone makes a fucking mistake." he retorts back.

Six clears his throat as he stops in front of the entrance or the building. "Guys. We're here." he announces.

She nods, standing beside him. "Alright. Now what?" she asks.

"Tell them you forgot something upstairs and that you're new. After that, get to the top floor no matter what." Lloyd tells them through their comms. 

"Alright. I'm hanging up." Elle tells him, her fingers touching the comms on her ear.

"No, you don't hang up on—" Lloyd's voice gets cut off as she turns off her comms but Six still keeps it on. 

"Hey, Six, tell her that she's not supposed to turn off comms during missions." he says through Six's comms.

He looks at her and she shakes her head. "I need to focus." she whispers before walking ahead towards the entrance of the building as he follows her from behind, as usual.

"She needs to focus, Lloyd." Six mutters under his breath as he slightly looks down and he could hear Lloyd grunt in response. 

As they're approaching the entrance, a few security guards open the door for them without any questions asked. 

Once they're in, Six walks beside her and their eyes immediately examine the inside of the building. It's almost an empty lobby with only one receptionist behind the desk and a few people exiting the elevator.

"Keep your head low, Elle. These people can't suspect us right now." Six whispers into her ear as they walk towards one of the elevators. 

She nods subtly while waiting for all of the people to finish walking out of it and when it's all empty, they enter the elevator together and he immediately presses the close button along with the level of the floor they're going to. 

Elle turns her comms on again. "We're almost in. What are we looking for again?" she asks, just to confirm.

Lloyd sighs through their comms. "It's supposed to be a hard drive. That's usually how important data is kept but we could be wrong. It could be anywhere. Look for it and then destroy it, no matter what, okay? Do you understand me, Elle? This is your first mission, anything could go wrong." he tells her.

She rolls her eyes. "Nothing is going to go wrong because it's an easy mission. And yes, I do understand what I have to do." 

"Great. Because if something goes wrong, Denny would want you out of this mission and this country. He'd send you the states, drag you there if he has to and then you'd work for the agency, where you can't do whatever the fuck you want." he warns her.

She gulps, her eyes glancing at Six's eyes and he slowly nods, assuring her that that wouldn't happen, that this mission would be easy like he said earlier. So she trusts him and she goes back to being calm and composed again. 

She clears her throat. "Yeah, okay. I can do this, Lloyd. I understand your orders." 

"Good. That's more like it. I prefer it better when you're obeying me." Lloyd admits. 

She breaks into a soft chuckle. "Yeah. Makes things easier when I don't put up a fight with you, right?" 

He nods to himself. "Exactly." he agrees.

The elevator dings and her eyes are immediately fixed on it as it slowly opens while she lunges forward to it. 

"We're here." Elle announces to him. 

"Okay, talk me into whatever you'll be doing. The cameras won't be working once you get to the storage room. Use the card to get in there." Lloyd orders them.

"Mhm. Got it." she replies quickly before getting out of the elevator with Six behind her. 

***

This office is like a maze for her. And she hates mazes. 

They've been walking around the top floor of this office for almost more than twenty minutes. They had to check every single room to make sure there aren't anyone here anymore and that the data isn't stored anywhere there. 

But after double checking everything, they could finally go to the storage room and destroy the data and get out of here. 

They have a date to go to after this. 

Six always lets her walk in front of him so he could steer clear of her surroundings because the most dangerous threats always come from behind as he's learned that from his own experience. 

As they're walking to the only storage room right in the corner from a narrowed and small hallway, she moves to walk beside him instead and he immediately looks behind them.

"Hey, so I was thinking…we could just stay at the penthouse for our date? I could decorate the living room and order in and then we could watch your favorite movie, whatever it is." Elle suggests with an amused smile on her lips.

Six stops walking because they've arrived in front of the door. He looks at her, regarding with a confused but acceptable look. "Oh. If that's what you want, I'm fine with it. I don't have a favorite movie, though." 

She chuckles. "We'll find you one."

"We?" he asks. 

She nods. "Yeah. Well, if you don't mind, we could do it with Lloyd? So we could talk about the…thing. I just think it'll be way easier. Plus, it's a busy night in Jakarta right now. It'll be impossible to find an empty table in a nice and quiet restaurant."

"Alright, then. We'll do that." he steps closer to her, taking both of her hands in his softly, "Whatever you want, we'll do it. You're the boss." 

She laughs and scrunches her nose, shaking her head. "No, I'm not."

He tries to hide a smile coming off of his lips. "Yes, you are. You're in charge. And even later if we're with Lloyd, you'll be calling the shots when we're together."

Elle scoffs. "Yeah, as if he would ever listen to my orders. He only ever wants to listen to his own orders."

Six quietly snorts. "We'll talk about it later. We got some data to destroy." he tells her.

She smiles up at him. "Yeah, let's just get this over with." 

He steps forward to the door and scans his card against the card reader until it makes an accepting beeping sound as he opens the door wide enough for her to come inside too. 

She steps inside first and then him while he closes the door behind them.

Their eyes wander around the large and spacious room that's stacked with tall racks filled with tons of data of whatever they keep in here. It'd take a lot of time to find their specific wanted data. 

She sighs, turning on her comms. "We're in. But the storage room is really…big. There's way too much data in here. If we go in looking for it, it's going to take hours and maybe until the office closes and locks us in here." 

Lloyd exhales. "Are you fucking kidding me? Right, then, we'll just…wait, hold on a second. I'm communicating with Denny as well on the other comms." he tells her as Six just stands quietly, waiting for his next orders as usual. 

She hums softly in response before looking at him. He seems so calm while she's not. She really doesn't want to spend her entire night here just trying to look for this stupid data for the CIA. She knows this is just the first mission but she was expecting something…heroic. That would mean something to her. Or to anyone, really. Now, it just feels like she's a little  pawn doing the agency's bidding whenever they want her to. 

Six already knows he's their pawn. Ever since they recruited him from prison, he knew. But this was his only way out of jail for the rest of his life, that's why he took it. 

Lloyd clears his throat after a few seconds. "Okay, I've got direct orders from Denny. Elle, blow up the whole floor. Don't leave anything left. You've been cleared for collateral, too. Go loud, he said." 

She swallows thickly. "Oh. The whole floor? A-are you sure? I mean, shouldn't we just like, I don't know—"

He cuts her off. "You have no other choice, Elle. There aren't any. Just do it. Get it over with. Then you could come back here and do whatever you want." he harshly tells her. 

She huffs, her eyes immediately searching for Six's eyes and she's trying to ask for his guidance so he could tell her what to do, the right thing to do. 

Six nods gently at her. "He's right. Do it." He simply says as if he's a machine designed for the CIA and not a human. He switched to it earlier once they entered this room. He needed to be professional and compartmentalize again for work. 

She frowns at him. He's different and she knows it. She never thought that he'd ever change like this. He's…cold and indifferent and it scares her a little bit since she's not used to changes. She knows it's because he's working now that's why he's changing but seeing him like this makes her question him, if it's going to be like this every mission. Because then, who could she depend on when he's uncaring like this even towards her? 

Elle takes a sharp inhale, blinking as she bites her bottom lip anxiously. "Okay, fine. I'll do it." she finally says and she could hear Lloyd's sigh of relief. 

"Good. Let me know when you're done." Lloyd shortly tells her and she hums in response, walking away from the room with Six following her from behind without a word.

They exit the room and he closes the door shut. He lets himself look at her for a brief moment. He can sense that she's disappointed in his change but he can't do anything about it. It's his job. This is how he is every time he's on missions. He can't just change how he is. He'd be fucked and so will the missions. 

"You could've given me a heads-up, you know. If you were going to be so different like this. I deserve a warning." Elle snaps, not even looking back at him as she's fueled with anger and fear. 

She's just scared. Terrified. She thought that she could depend on him on all these missions so she doesn't feel like she's doing it alone because she hates being alone and it scares her. A lot.

Six doesn't even blink or anything. He just continues on walking calmly. In truth, he doesn't know what to say. He doesn't have the right words for her to comfort her or tell her he's sorry. Because he's not. He can't feel that guilt he's supposed to feel. He's just a little upset that it upsets her. He doesn't like seeing her upset, that's it. He wasn't trained to apologize for how he is. He is what he is and he can never change it, no matter what.

"Let's just blow up this building and leave. We could talk about that later." he coldly says. 

She sighs, stopping in front of the boss's office and this is where she's supposed to blow up this whole floor because it's the center of it. But instead of readying her powers, she turns around to him with a scowl on her face. 

"No. We're going to talk about this now," her voice slightly cracks, "Why are you acting so different? I've never seen you like this before. I mean, why? You could even barely look at me." Elle confronts him as she points a finger at him. 

He's looking away from her, trying really hard to stay calm and uncompromised despite her demanding answers from him. "Elle. Just stop. Let's not do this now." Six shortly says.

"Yeah, I agree, guys. You could fight more back in the penthouse. Maybe even in the bedroom, but I could care less about that right now. So, can you just hurry it up and blow up the fucking building?" Lloyd interjects through both of their comms. 

Of course they forgot to turn it off and he's been listening to their conversation this whole time. 

She frowns again and blinks as she clears her throat. "Fine, I was just about to, anyway. Jeez." Elle scoffs before walking ahead of Six and standing in front of him to protect him from the explosion later on. She's creating the fire so it won't affect her at all. 

She raises her hand and slowly inhales her breath, focusing on this building but suddenly her focus drifts. She hears a distinct sound. A really muffled one. But it's there. She focuses on the sound and tries to listen closely to it as she closes her eyes to focus better.

"Mommy? Daddy? Where are you?" She hears a little girl's voice from afar. But she's still on this floor. She's here. They must've missed a spot earlier when they were checking all the offices here.

Elle immediately opens her eyes and widens it. "A child. There's a child here. We need to find her first and get her far away from here." she tells Six and Lloyd.

"No. Absolutely not. We don't have time for that. Elle, you've already been cleared for collateral. So just do your damn job." Lloyd orders.

Like he would ever give a shit about a child. He doesn't even care about anyone that doesn't concern him.

She shakes her head, turning to Six. "I'm not killing a child! I'm not doing it. I didn't sign up for this shit." she raises her voice at him as panic is laced in her tone.

Six hushes her softly, his hand slowly reaching out to her arm before slowly turning off his comms in his ears. "Elle, be quiet. We'll solve this. Together." he whispers.

She sighs in relief as she nods, turning off her comms as well. 

"You want to help? Are you sure?" Elle asks him for reassurance.

Six nods, his facial expressions immediately changing and turning into more relaxed and more of himself now. He's had missions like this before where he has to postpone it for a while just because he sees a child or a civilian around. He does kill people for a living but only the bad ones, the ones who deserve to die and are hurting innocents along the way so there was no point in them living anyway. He's always thought of it like that. He has a complicated moral compass but at least he still has it. Most assassins don't. 

"I am. I'm not going to let a kid die either. So, let's find her first and then get her out of here, okay?" he says to her softly with both of his hands holding her arms.

Elle nods, her lips slowly curving into a small smile. She could tell that something in him switched him back to himself again after hearing that there's a child here and she knows that he doesn't like collateral damage when on missions. He tries his best to always make sure that there's no collateral at all. But sometimes, there will always be, no matter how hard he tries.

Except for this. This is an easy and quiet mission so rescuing the kid shouldn't be hard. But he knows that Lloyd is going to give him and her a really long lecture about disobeying orders, especially from the chief. They're both screwed later but if it means they get to save a child's life, then so be it. 

Besides, Six knows that Lloyd will excuse them just this once and not tell Denny anything about this. It's her first mission and all that. That and the fact that he has a soft spot for her, deep inside. Six sees it. Especially after last week when she got hurt, he could see how he was actually worried but he was trying to hide it as much as he could even though Six could see concern written all over his face since he's good at reading people. 

"I think I hear her footsteps. Let's follow it." she tells him before she takes his hand and guides him to where she hears the little girl's sound. 

***

Lloyd is so fucking pissed right now that he can't even put it into words.

Six turned off his comms. Elle did, too. 

And he hasn't heard anything from the agents nearby the building about any explosions yet, that means they haven't done their job. 

He knows what this is about. She told him that there was a child earlier but he told her that she was clear for collateral. It's not like it was up to him. Lloyd doesn't call the shots. Denny does. And he's the one who doesn't give a damn if a child dies or not. He just thinks it's collateral damage and it happens all the time.

It's true, collateral does happen all the time. But it's not like this is a critical mission. This is just a simple one. It should've been allowed to just save one single child and keep her out of danger. But apparently the CIA's data is much more valuable for him than a child's life.

Sometimes Lloyd wishes that he isn't his friend. But it's too late to undo that. He's already roped into all this shit long ago and he knows there's no going back. 

"Sir, what do you want us to do now?" One of the IT support asks him while he's still sitting on his huge chair in front of all the monitors.

"I don't fucking know! It's been mintues that they've been radio silent and instead of asking me what should you do, maybe try accessing the fucking security cameras on the top floor?" Lloyd snaps.

He nods. "Right. On it, sir." 

He rolls his eyes before downing a glass of his whiskey and placing the now empty glass on a small table beside him. He should've come with them earlier. It won't go sideways like this if he's with them right now.

And now, he just has to wait. The thing he hates the most. But as of right now, it's the only thing he can do. 

He needs to wait for them until she blows up the building and comes back to the penthouse so he could have a talk with her. 

***

"Small creature? Are you there? I'm friendly!" Elle softly tells the child who's hiding behind a chair in one of the offices here. 

They finally found her after searching for a few minutes but Elle told Six that they have to approach her gently since she's scared and alone. 

Slowly, the little girl comes out of her hiding spot and runs to Elle. She's about four or five years old. She almost looks like her. Maybe she's a mixed kid as well. They even have the same hair. Curly and a little brunette.

The girl looks up at Elle while hugging a pink teddy bear tight against her arms. "Do you know where my mommy and daddy are?" she asks.

Elle nods, looking down at her as she smiles. "Yeap. They're right downstairs. Let's go there now." 

Her tiny hands hold Elle's as she looks at Six and quickly hides beside her. "Who is this scary man?" she softly asks. 

The tattoos must've startled her. It does scare some people usually. Or the broad and tall figure of his, as well. 

She chuckles, glancing over at Six as she kneels down to reach her level. "Okay, this is my friend. He's very nice. In fact, he's going to give you some candy if you come with him to go downstairs." she tells the kid, convincingly.

The girl immediately smiles and nods. "Okay!" she exclaims before walking to Six and putting her small hands into his large ones but he's too focused on looking at her, admiring her on how good she is with kids and she can get along with any of them so easily. 

It is a little sad that she could never have her own. 

Elle looks at him, her lips tugging into a small smile before planting a soft kiss on his cheek and leaning closer to his ear. "Bring her down to the lobby and then meet me at the car after I'm done with it, okay?" she whispers in his ears as she rests her palm on his cheek.

Six nods. "Got it. Good luck." he whispers back to her ears and she backs away from him, looking down at the girl and smiling widely at her.

"Be good, okay?" Elle tells her as she quickly nods her small tiny head and pulls his hand to go forward while she chuckles at the kid's action and so does Six. 

He turns around to go in the right direction and the little one just follows him. He steals one last glance to look at Elle for a second before his hand gets pulled again to walk faster.

He's not very good with children, the only close interaction he's ever had with a child is probably with Fitzroy's niece, back in Hong Kong but that was two years ago and he's never seen her again. So this is new for him, especially after seeing Elle being so good with a child and getting along with them easily. He knows that she wants that kind of future where there's children in it but he also knows about her condition that doesn't allow her to have them. She told him last week and he hasn't forgotten about it ever since.

He feels bad for her because she'd make a really good mom. He just knows she would.

Six leads the little girl towards the elevator and presses a button to go downstairs as it immediately opens because this office is nearly empty. He lets her go in first with him following her from behind while the elevator closes behind them once they're fully inside. 

Once Elle hears the elevator closes from afar, she immediately turns on her comms again to communicate with Lloyd again. She just hopes he isn't that mad. 

Elle clears her throat, "Hey. So I'm about to blow up the building and was wondering where to escape? Because I was thinking about jumping off the building but that would take too much energy so if I—"

Lloyd cuts her off. "What the hell have you been doing this whole fucking time? And where's Six?" he asks her, yelling in her ears as she grimaces at the impact of his voice.

"Relax, jeez. I'm literally just about to do it now. And he's downstairs, dropping off the child safely." she responds.

He rolls his eyes. "You dragged him into your mess. Denny has been asking me countless times on why the building hasn't blown up yet. I had to tell him that there's been an interference with our comms. Six has never been known to fail a mission and if he failed this easy one just because of you—"

She frowns. "I haven't failed this mission. I am about to do it, I just postponed it a few seconds." she defends.

Lloyd scoffs. "A few seconds? It's been more than ten minutes. You were supposed to follow your orders immediately. You weren't supposed to postpone it." He scolds her.

She rolls her eyes, sighing. "Fine. You can lecture me about it all you want once we're back home but now, I gotta know where to escape." 

He exhales deeply, his fingers brushing his stache as he looks over at the blueprint map of the office she's in from one of the huge monitors in front of him. "There's an exit back door to your right that leads to some alley. You'll be safe there." Lloyd finally says. 

Elle hums in response, raising her hand again and inhales a sharp breath as she feels all the energy inside the building before chanting a quick spell of her own and it blows up immediately, blasting everything inside as she runs through all the fire as quickly as she could even though everything is dark for her but she's trying to use her heightened senses.

Her hand finally reaches a door handle and quickly opens it as she throws herself inside of it. She coughs a little from the damage and turns on her comms again, if it's working. "Lloyd? Six?" She tries but there's no answer. The signal died the moment the explosion started. She should've known that but this is her first time ever doing this.

She stands up from where she was and looks at everything but it's all dark again. She knows that there are stairs here but she can't see anything. She can't just run down these stairs for four floors blindly. She does have heightened senses but it's literally pitch black and she can't hear anything because of the explosion. 

She lets her hands touch the wall beside her and she immediately gets an idea. It might be a bad one, but it's the only good one to get out of here now.

She clenches her fist and starts hitting the wall with her bare hands as hard as she can and it crumbles with one try. She gasps at that, she's never seen how really strong she could be. 

She punches the wall again until it finally breaks even bigger and it's big enough for her to fit into it. She looks at it and it's pretty high from here to the ground but it's her only choice right now. She knows she'll survive the fall but she's never done this before and she's a little…scared — she's actually scared of heights, it has been like that since she was little. 

"Come on, just do it." Elle mutters to herself, trying to encourage herself to just jump off this fucking building and stop being scared. This is what it takes to be working for the CIA. She knows it. Now she does, at least. 

She closes her eyes shut and takes her feet off of the ledge and just jumps her whole body down. 

She could hear outside now. The cars, the motorcycles, the people. She knows where she'll land now, that alley which Lloyd told her to go to. She just hopes she won't land on someone's car or on someone. She focuses on all the sounds she's hearing 

She can hear everything as her body falls onto the ground, hard. 

She groans, finally opening her eyes and squinting it as she tries to get up but everything hurts now. Her whole body hurts. She's laying down flat on the ground without being able to move at all. She doesn't understand what's happening. She thought she was invincible to everything. Maybe her body isn't used to being thrown to the ground yet. This is all new for her and her body.

"Elle? Are you okay? Can you hear me?" Six's voice appears from behind her and her eyes look up at him, upside down. 

"I didn't know that you'd be here, I thought that…fuck, it hurts." She winces at the pain and he immediately squats down, carrying her in his arms, bridal-style. She leans her head on his chest and breathes deeply. He's carrying her like she's practically nothing. 

"What happened?" he asks her, softly as his eyes look down on hers.

"I miscalculated. I thought that I could just go downstairs after the blast but I blasted too much and it was all dark. I should've just blown it up from here, with my mind. Would've been way easier." Elle explains to him, weakly. 

"Okay. Let's just go back and you'll feel better there. The car's right here." Six tells her, gesturing his head towards the car beside them, the same one that took them here earlier. There's a local driver in it and he was paid to be quiet and not ask questions. 

She nods slowly as he brings them to the car and he gently places her in it as delicately as possible before he gets in the car as well.

***

Lloyd has been eyeing the elevator as it finally opens and Six and Elle walk out of it but she's… hurt. 

They're on the first floor of the penthouse because they knew that he'd still be here. All the field agents and IT support are all in here too, staring at them. 

She has her arm around his shoulder for support and he's got his arm wrapped around her waist as she leans all of her weight against him. 

Lloyd rushes to them immediately and frowns. "What happened? You look like hell." he asks.

Elle sighs. "I made a mistake. I calculated wrong. The blast that I created was too big for me to escape in time. So I had to jump out of the building." she tells him as her eyes dart to his and he's a little worried but he's still angry. Very angry. 

He exhales, trying to contain his anger because he can't just yell at her when she's all hurt, it's like kicking a wounded puppy and even he still has a little bit of empathy left in him. "Jesus. Alright, bring her upstairs to the living room. I'm calling a doctor from the nearest hospital here. You just stay there and don't fucking move." he tells them, walking to the elevator. 

"Okay." she softly says and he almost feels bad for what he's about to say to her after all this but he needs to say what he needs to say. She needs to hear it or she'll never learn, like ever. 

Six and her follow him from behind and they all enter the elevator again as Lloyd presses the up button.

He glances at her from the side and he wishes he could say something now but he knows that he should just keep his mouth shut for now. 

He examines her body closer and it's all dirty and dusty from the explosion but he doesn't see any blood on her or any injury. He's a little bit relieved so at least he doesn't need to spend his time worrying about her just like last week when she was shot and almost kidnapped by some idiots — he handled those idiots already, by himself, but he hasn't told Six or her yet.

The elevator dings and it opens by itself as Lloyd lets her step out of it first with Six still helping her walk. 

She sighs in relief as she steps her foot on the penthouse's floor. She's happy to be back home and safe. 

***

Elle lies down on the couch with a woman doctor sitting beside her, checking all her vitals while she applies an IV on her. 

Lloyd and Six are standing in front of her, both crossing their arms against their chest as they observe her. They've been like this ever since the doctor arrived. 

In truth, they're both equally worried for her well being. They don't like seeing her hurt or vulnerable like this. She's supposed to be strong and powerful and invincible. If she keeps getting hurt like this, then they'd have to worry more about her than about the missions. They always thought that they didn't have to worry about her like this because they always thought that she could take it.

But again, she's still human. She can still get hurt anytime, no matter what. 

"How is she, doctor?" Lloyd asks, concernedly. 

The doctor focuses on her file. "Well, her vitals are completely fine, surprisingly. She just needs a little fluid. Maybe some painkillers for the pain, too. She said she was experiencing some pain but I don't see where it's from. There are no injuries or any wounds. You said she fell, earlier? From where?" She asks back, looking at him.

Elle gulps, looking at Lloyd for help. She doesn't usually lie to doctors. She always tells the truth because she thinks that they'll figure out the truth anyway and it's just impossible to lie to them. 

Lloyd steps forward to the doctor. "Doctor, I'm paying you ten times more than your usual fees so I'd say that's enough for you to not ask questions about anything and just do your job." he tells her. 

The doctor slowly nods, turning to her. "Right. Well, I'm going to give you some painkillers, is that okay?" she asks her.

Elle shakes her head. "No, I'm good. I mean, I'll be fine. I don't think that…I need those pills. I–I can heal naturally, right? Yeah. I don't need those. I'll feel better in a minute." she tells the doctor as she faintly smiles.

She can't get her hands on those pills again. Not again. She'd rather suffer pain than getting addicted to those fucking pills again. Plus, she promised Six. She knows that once she has them again, she won't stop. 

"Okay, then. I'll leave you to rest. Take the IV off when it's finished and contact me if you still feel any pain." The doctor tells her, standing up from the couch as she gets her stuff. 

She nods. "Thank you, doctor." she says politely, giving her a weak smile.

Lloyd walks to her. "Let me escort you out, doctor." he formally says as they both walk out of the living room towards the elevator.

Elle softly groans, leaning her head back onto the couch as she looks over to Six who's still standing still there. "Come here, please," she whispers weakly to him in a pleading tone. 

He immediately walks over to her and sits beside her. "How are you feeling?" he asks her, his hand reaching out to her arm as his eyes search for her and their eyes finally meet. 

She relaxes and smiles up at him. "Better now." she murmurs softly.

"Do you want to take a bath? I can help you with that, if you want." Six offers her as his hand slowly brushes the side of her face while his thumb strokes her cheek. 

Elle pouts a little, scrunching her nose as she shakes her head. "No, I'll just have a shower. I need to try to move my muscles so I can heal quicker. I think my body was just in shock when I fell from that building earlier. It's not used to being thrown that high." she tells him.

"Okay, then. I need to go downstairs to do a little debrief with Denny, as usual."

"Is he going to ask anything about me?"

He frowns. "No, nothing like that. Just a lot of questions after questions and then I'd have to make a quick summary about what the mission was like. But he won't ask anything about you or ask anything to you. It's your first time." Six assures her. 

She sighs in relief. "Great. Okay. That's good. Um, I do need help getting up, though." Elle admits as she gives him an innocent smile.

He chuckles quietly as he nods. "Come here, let me help you," he says softly, holding both of her hands before lifting her upper body up and she sits up from the couch.

They both look into each other's eyes and realize that they're so close, their faces are almost touching and their lips are an inch apart from each other. This has been the closest they've been after this whole week of not touching each other. It's not that they didn't want to because they did, they really did. They have so much desire for each other. It's a lot. And it's undeniable, no matter how hard they try to hide it. 

She swallows thickly. "Hey, so, I know we haven't really slept together this past week because of training but now that that's over, can I sleep in your room tonight?" she asks him.

Six tucks her hair under her ear and nods. "Of course." he softly says as his lips slowly tug into a small smile. 

She smiles again. "Okay. See you in bed then." Elle says, getting excited for tonight and she completely forgot that she was in pain. It's really that easy to distract her. 

They both say nothing as they retreat from each other and he helps her to stand up from the couch, walking her to her room as well. 

***

Finally, she is cleaned up, well rested and fully healed.

She's showered, changed into clean clothes and she's already feeling better due to the IV. 

And now she's extremely starving while looking for food in the fridge that desperately needs to be stocked again. 

She's the only one who does the grocery shopping around here. If she just misses even a day of not doing it, the boys are going to complain to her because of the lack of food. It's not even her job but it has become part of her life now. 

After a few minutes of searching for some food that's quick to eat and doesn't require to be cooked, she takes them with her to the kitchen island as she proceeds to eat her food there. 

She's got strawberry and mango yogurt, some pasta leftovers from domino's, a bowl of watermelon, a bag of cold chips and some leftover pastry from the local coffee shop downstairs. And she's drinking a liter of water. She needs to keep being hydrated so her body stays healthy and healed. 

They order a lot of take outs for most nights and Lloyd usually orders too much of it and it ends up being another leftover in the fridge.

Right now, as she’s eating, she’s too lazy to listen in on everyone downstairs and way too focused on her food. She knows Six is still downstairs doing some stupid debrief that is only wasting his time to rest and clean up. She doesn’t know where Lloyd is though. Probably still downstairs as well, accompanying Six, as usual. Those two have quickly become besties now, always telling each other literally everything.

She wonders how they ever got along, though. Because she knows that they didn’t meet each other up until this mission, only heard stories of each other from other people in the agency. And when they had to do this mission together, they didn’t exactly like each other since they both never had any partners in their line of work. They’ve always worked alone. They weren’t used to partners or even friends.

But this mission has really brought them along and well, her as well. They both have only one thing in common, they both want her and are willing to do for her and her safety.

“Mmm. So good.” She mutters to herself, mouth full with the food as she enjoys it before she has to handle Lloyd. She knows what’s coming. He was just waiting for her to heal and clean up to finally lash his anger out on her.

Ugh. What a headache.

She just wants to lay down and sleep forever. She’s a little tired, she’ll admit. She did just blow up a whole building and jump from the tall building and is still alive until now. She used a lot of her energy. But thanks to food and IV, she’s not that tired anymore.

But thinking of Lloyd about to yell at her face again, she just lost her appetite as she looks down at all her food that’s almost half finished already. She might not have super speed, but she sure does eat really fast. And that way, she gets full way easier.

She hops off the kitchen island stool and begins to throw away all the trash from her food to the garbage can in the kitchen. She walks to the kitchen sink and turns it on with her mind as she lets the water while she washes her hand with the soap.

After she’s done, she dries her hands with the paper towel and just as she was about to walk to the couch to relax and watch some TV, the elevator dings and opens.

Shit. I’m fucked.

Elle sighs as she hears Lloyd’s heavy footsteps coming out of the elevator and stepping in their foyer.

She frowns and sighs loudly. “Look, can we just not do this—” she tries.

He ignores her as he walks into their living room, where she’s standing. “I get it. But we’re all tired, Elle. And you need to learn a fucking lesson.” Lloyd starts.

She snorts. “Please. What am I? A child? What lesson are you trying to teach me here, Lloyd? I understood the orders and I did it. I blew up the fucking building already.” Elle defends herself.

Lloyd scoffs, shaking his head. “But you disobeyed my orders. Don’t you get it? You’re supposed to do as you’re told, no matter what. No questions asked. That’s what we all do.” he lectures her.

“Wow, it’s not like I don’t even have any more free will.” She retorts.

“Well, you asked for this. You wanted this. Don’t fucking complain for something you signed up for.” He harshly says.

She scoffs. “I never signed up to kill an innocent child! What the fuck were you thinking?” Elle raises her voice at him.

Lloyd frowns. “It wasn’t my choice! Did you think that I ever wanted that? It was a clear order. I couldn’t do anything about it.” He raises his voice back at her.

She shakes her head in disbelief. “So you would’ve killed a child anyway?” she says, lowering her voice.

He huffs. “Jesus, Elle. Would you fucking stop? The child’s not dead, right? You saved him or her. But still, you can’t just turn off your comms and ignore me and do whatever the fuck you want. It’s not how this works. You’re lucky that I didn’t tell Denny the truth about you. He’d be pissed. Just like I am with you because following orders is very important. But if he knew, he’d remove you from this mission and drag you to the states and—”

Elle gulps. “Then, why didn’t you?” she weakly asks. She’s scared to ask but she’s curious. He’d snitch on anyone else because he could care less about them but somehow, it’s different with her.

Lloyd lunges forward to her and glares down at her. “I did it for you.” He grits out. He didn’t want to admit that but she asked for it and there’s no point in hiding anything from her anyway, the girl’s a mind reader after all.

She furrows her brows and scoffs gently. “But why? I thought you didn’t care about me or anyone at all.” She asks but it comes out as a whisper because she's still in disbelief.

Lloyd takes another step forward closer to her and now they’re so close to each other as their faces are almost touching. “I do care. For you. I don’t know why but…I just do. You have no idea how much effect you have on me. If you so much as tell me to kill someone right now, I will. I’d do it in a heartbeat. In fact, I have killed for you. Remember those guys who tried to kidnap you and instead shot you and Six last week? I found their bosses and shot them all in the head at their own house, a few days ago. And I didn’t even clean it up. I just left the bodies like that. So they’d know not to mess with us again. Not to hurt you again.” He bluntly confesses.

It’s not like him to just confess what he feels but he’s cornered right now and he has no other choice but to just get it out and finally tell her the truth. She deserves the truth, anyway. Keeping her in the dark forever is just not right and he knows that.

Elle swallows thickly. She is scared but also turned on. She never expected for anyone to do that for her. But she does like it. With all the other guys she’s been with, they were too much of a coward and she’s always wanted them to do more for her. To do anything for her. And she knows it’s fucked up to want him because he killed for her but it’s not like they didn’t deserve it. They were going to kidnap her and sell her as a weapon. But still, he killed for her — not exactly right or justifiable.

“You did that…for me or for Denny? Did he ask you to—” she slowly asks him.

He cuts her off, shaking his head. “No. He didn’t. It was for your safety but…the CIA wouldn’t have sanctioned a mass murder. It was really fucking messy, Elle. There was blood and brain matter all over the place.” Lloyd casually says with a scoff.

Oh.

She gulps again. It’s how he says it so casually while talking about murder. Like he has no remorse or regret and even has a little pride for it, in which he does. He proudly did it for her and he wasn't even planning to tell her but here he is anyway.

She stays quiet, her mind going round and round in circles thinking about why he did all that just for her. She remembered Six’s words about him secretly wanting her but she just thought that meant sexually only and not in a way that he’d do quite literally anything for her. Because this is getting dangerous. He killed someone for her, just like that. She’s scared.

Lloyd sighs softly. “Say something, dammit. Your silence is weirdly scaring me. Are you…scared?” he asks, cautiously.

She looks him in the eyes. “I was just thinking. I mean, why would you do that for me? I didn’t ask for it and yeah, I guess I am a little scared of you. I’ve always been. But…this is different. You killed them for me, just like that. Like their lives didn’t mean shit to you. It does scare me.”

His lips slowly turn into a smirk. “That’s good that you’re scared of me. You should be.” He lowers his voice into a whisper.

She frowns. “Lloyd. You can’t just do that, go out and kill anyone for me. It’s reckless.” She raises her voice a little.

He scoffs. “I can do whatever the fuck I want, sweetheart. Even if I get caught, I have immunity for that because of the agency.” He pauses, staring into her eyes, “You should feel grateful. I don’t just kill for anyone. Well, except for the CIA but, you know, that’s completely different from you. I’m doing it for you because I want to. I need to see you safe and sound. And I don’t fucking know why.” Lloyd admits, truthfully.

Elle sighs softly, looking down to avoid his gaze but his hand lifts her chin up, forcing her to look at him. “What do you want from me?” she softly asks.

Lloyd furrows his brows and cocks his head to the side as he slowly smirks. “Oh, sweetheart. I want everything from you. Anything that I could take from you. Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted you? I’ve wanted you in every way possible. I can’t stop thinking about that night in that dingy, gross bar when I had my fingers in you and when I tasted you…”

She frowns deeper. “Lloyd, if this is one of your sick and twisted games to tease me, you better stop right now.” she warns him.

His smirk turns wider as his hand moves to her lips and his thumb strokes her bottom lips. “I’m not teasing you right now, Elle. But if you want me to…” Lloyd whispers at her face.

She slightly widens her eyes and takes his hand off of her with one try. She shakes her head as she turns around from him and walks further into their living room. “No. We can’t do this. I don’t even know why you want me and care about me so much all of a sudden when you’ve been treating me like shit this whole entire time. I just don’t fucking get it.” Elle snaps, stopping to stand in front of their floor to ceiling window that highlights the whole city of Jakarta as she turns to him.

Lloyd sighs, walking to her. “So you don’t feel the same?” he asks as he stands in front of her, seeing the night view of the city behind her head.

“That’s not what I said. Look, Six and I talked about it and we were about to propose an idea to you about…sharing me. We were about to do it after the mission but—that’s not the point I’m trying to make. It doesn’t matter if I feel the same or not. You killed someone for me, Lloyd. And then you lied about what you feel for me the entire time. That’s…toxic. If we are together, if we do this, then what does that say about us?” she asks, waving her hand between them.

Elle has always been logical with life. What’s wrong is wrong and what’s right is right. She knows killing is wrong but killing for someone else because you care for them, that’s a whole different level of wrong. And yes, it was necessary to kill them for her own safety but he only did that because he cares for her. If he didn’t, they would still be alive. She just doesn’t want to be the reason why someone’s dead. She doesn’t want to be responsible for that because she’s had her own guilt already for actually being responsible for someone’s death and it felt horrible for her. She’ll never forget what she did in that lab.

That doesn’t mean she’s justified her own actions, no. She fully knows that what she did was wrong and she still feels guilty about it but she has a feeling that Lloyd doesn’t feel guilty or thinks it’s wrong which is why it makes this toxic.

Lloyd steps forward to her and stares into her eyes. “I don’t care what it says about us. You want me and I want you. Really badly.”

Elle scoffs at his face. “You’re a sociopath. You won’t feel the same for me anymore after a while. You’ll feel bored and then you’ll forget why you were even obsessed with me in the first place. And if we’re starting it like this, with you killing for me, then I don’t want it. I’m scared. About you and all of this. It’s out of my comfort zone. I can’t do this.” She tells him as her voice slightly cracks.

He knows what he is. A sociopath. A person who doesn’t feel things like any average human being. He’s aware of it. Six and him talk about it a lot. He doesn’t want to be that person who gets bored easily with someone they care about and then just leaves them but in this situation, he can’t leave her because of the mission and all. He’s conscious about it but it doesn’t mean he’s proud of it. He hates it. He hates himself for it. He can’t change who he is but he is trying to be better even if it isn't showing.

At least he can still care about someone and would do anything for them. If he is an actual sociopath, it doesn't mean that there aren't a few people he'd kill for and even die for.

She tries to walk away but he immediately lunges forward to her and cages her in with both of his arms on the window as she’s pressed against it and he presses himself against her body. He leans into her ear, “You can’t run away from us, Elle. It’s too late for that.” Lloyd whispers in her ears.

She scowls. “Let me go.” she hisses as her breath hitches.

He looks back into her eyes. “If you wanted me to, you would’ve already done it yourself. You do want this but you’re trying too hard to avoid it. Stop fucking doing that. I’m right here and it’s only us.” he presses her.

She rolls her eyes before moving her face closer to his, staring down at his lips. “Just shut up. I don’t want to talk anymore,” she breathes out as she smashes her lips against his and kisses him as hard as she could while he deepens the kiss, roughly and she lets out a loud moan against his mouth.

Lloyd cups her face, his teeth harshly biting her bottom lips until it bleeds as she moans again, louder this time. She liked that. She likes it rough and he knows exactly how to fulfill that desire of hers without asking.

“Where do you want it? Right here? On the couch? Or in my bedroom?” he asks against her mouth as his breathing starts to get heavy while her hands move to his hips, getting lower and lower to his crotch.

She whimpers, shaking her head. “Shit. We shouldn’t be doing this. I told Six that we’d do it together—” she whines against his mouth, slowly regretting everything but she can’t say that she’s not enjoying this because she is, she really is. She’s just too ashamed to admit it. It’s her guilty pleasure.

Lloyd cuts her off. “Fuck that. I know him and he’d be okay with this. With us.” He breathes out as he brings down his hand to rest on the side of her neck.

She breathes heavily, “Fine. Fuck me right here, then.” She pants against his mouth as her eyes gesture behind her, to the huge ass window.

His eyes look down to the night view of the whole city through their clear window. Anyone could see them from down there if they fucked right here since their lights are on and the window is huge and wide enough. But it doesn't matter to them right now — nothing does, except for each other and this very moment.

He smirks at her bold response before he pulls away from her lips an inch away. “Kinky. You want to let the whole city know that you’re mine? Is that what you want?” Lloyd whispers.

She nods mindlessly. “Mhm. It is,” she whispers back, her hands moving to the front of his pants before popping open the button easily.

Lloyd grabs her hands and holds them tight between their bodies. “Eager, are we? I haven’t even gotten you ready yet.” He teases her.

She shakes her head. “I don’t need that. I can take it. I can take you.” She insists.

He releases her hands as he grabs a fistful of her hair and grips it tightly as she leans her head against the window, enjoying the pain he’s giving her. It’s not as painful as it should be for her but she can still feel it and for her, it’s more of a pleasure than pain. She’s accepted long ago that she can never feel pain like anyone else so she turned it into something better — she developed a pain kink. It turns her on when he hurts her psychically.

But Lloyd’s the first guy in her life to ever do this to her, he just knew what she wanted without her even asking him to do it and he knows that she could take it. All the other guys were too gentle. She hated it. But not with Six, that’s different. They have something entirely special together and it’s not just about sex for them, not that they’ve ever done it yet.

Lloyd leans into her ear as his free hand moves down from her breast to her stomach until it stops at her cotton shorts and he reaches down to her panties, getting inside as he feels her wet cunt. “I need to taste you, sweetheart — properly taste you. I’ve been dreaming about it ever since we met.” He whispers inside her ears and she gasps softly at the feeling of his hand inside her.

Elle lifts her tank top up and takes it off completely, throwing it onto the floor somewhere. She’s not wearing a bra since she thought that she was going to get ready for bed earlier. So this is the first time Lloyd’s seen her bare tits. Even Six hasn’t seen her fully naked yet.

He lets his eyes wander around her body and takes a second for himself to examine it. Her body is pretty fit since she’s strong and all that. But she doesn’t have abs, just an average flat stomach. She can’t seem to ever gain weight with her condition so her body will look the same all the time, no matter what. She can never grow. His eyes then drift down to her tits. He focuses on them more — her beautiful tits that he’s been fantasizing about it this whole time.

His hand releases her hair and goes down to her breasts, grasping them tightly together as she lets out a soft moan at that. His fingernails digs into her tits until it bleeds and she moans even louder at that. He swipes the blood off of her before her skin heals again and he licks the blood from his fingers while she watches him do that. She’s having a little déjà vu when they were back at that bar and he was licking her cum off of his fingers.

And now she has a blood kink.

“I know that you’ve seen my ass naked. Six told me.” She breathes out. She can barely think right now and this is what comes out of her mouth.

Lloyd’s eyes look up at her. “Really? Well, what can I say? You have an amazing ass and that was a great view…” he comments.

She rolls her eyes, smirking. “Asshole.”

He gets even closer to her face. “But it turns you on anyway. I turn you on, Elle. Remember that.” He retorts as he takes her shorts off, leaving her with only her panties on.

Her smirk turns wider. "And I make you hard every single day, Hansen.” She retorts back as she moves her hands to rest on his chest before she rips his expensive polo shirt off easily with both of her hands, revealing his big and muscular body.

She takes a moment to let her eyes observe his shirtless body. There’s some tattoos on his chest that she certainly wasn’t expecting to see. His six-pact abs are really fucking perfect and she could drool just by the sight of this. She didn’t know that he was so fit under all those ridiculous fancy shirts of his. She forgot that he also had a lot of training and he does missions that requires fighting as well, like Six. She's not exactly surprised, she knew that he was packing underneath, but her hatred for him wanted to make her forget that she finds him sexy.

He’s not even mad that she ruined his $300 polo shirt that he brought from this country, it was way more expensive here because it was imported from the country he used to buy it in, which pissed him off so much . But he just got even more hard. If she was any other girl, he would’ve gotten mad and immediately left her. But she's not any other girl he's been with — she's way more important to him than some stupid shirt that he could buy again and again.

Lloyd scoffs at that, looking down at his ruined shirt before his eyes dart to hers again, his gaze darkens. He holds her neck and grips it harshly as she smirks again. “Guess we both have an addiction for each other, huh?” he whispers.

She nods her head against the window. “Take your pants off, Lloyd. Or else I’ll rip it off too.” She lightly threatens him with that knowing innocent smile of hers.

He shakes his head. "Not yet. I said I wanted to taste you first, right?” He reminds her before covering her mouth with his, kissing her deeper than earlier as his teeth bites into her lower lip again, making it bleed a lot. She moans against his mouth, leaning even closer to him but he pulls away from her, breaking the kiss.

He loves teasing her and he doesn’t think he’ll ever stop. He likes seeing her reaction to it and enjoys it all the time.

She pouts as he predicted and he lets out a soft huff of a laugh. Lloyd slowly gets down on his knees, kneeling in front of her while his eyes stay on her. His fingers toy with the fabric of her panties just to tease her again.

He looks up at her. "I want you to let out those pretty sounds as much as you want, okay? Let all of them hear. I don’t care.” Lloyd tells her, softly.

She nods at him. He smirks at that. “Good girl. I like it when you’re obeying me. Not like what you did today.” He retorts.

She huffs. “I don’t want to talk about today.”

“Good. Me neither.” Lloyd agrees with her before his hands touch her inner thighs, “Spread your legs for me, sweetheart.” He whispers against her skin, sending goosebumps on it.

She does what she’s told, spreading her legs slowly and getting wider a little. He takes her panties off and leaves them down on her ankles. He gets his face closer to it as he swipes his tongue across her wet and glistening cunt. She throws her head back, letting out a soft gasp and moan at the same time.

Lloyd looks up at her again, wanting to see her face. “Eyes on me, Elle. You look away and I’ll stop.” He tells her as she looks down at him, her chest breathing heavily.

“Look at you. All wet just for me.” He taunts her, letting his eyes wander down her mess and she’s dripping around her legs and staining the floor, as well. She’s gonna have to clean that up later.

She lets out a breathy moan as his fingers touch her cunt before he inserts two fingers inside of her at once, making her gasp loudly at that. She could take it. He knows she can.

“You can take it,” Lloyd husks, twisting his fingers in her before adding another finger and she hits her head against the window, letting out another loud moan. “That’s it. Take it like a fucking champ,” he echoes his previous words before to her that he said today before the mission.

Ding.

She was too blind in her own pleasure to even bother to hear anything. It's one of the reasons why she likes sex so much and makes it her coping mechanism, because she could get distracted and forget everything, even if it's just for a while.

The familiar sound of the elevator announcing that it’s about to open immediately startles them. The elevator is at the far side of the living room but anyone could see the whole thing from there.

Six casually walks out of it with his eyes looked down, extremely exhausted after that long debrief with Denny in front of a laptop and then some of the field agents engaging in a conversation with him about fighting techniques and suggested weapons that he so wanted to get out of. He finally got out of it and he was ready to come back home, get ready for bed and sleep in with Elle.

He certainly was not expecting the view right in front of him now when his eyes finally look up.

She’s fully naked and Lloyd’s shirtless with his pants button open and he’s going down on her with his fingers still inside her. This is the first time he’s ever seen her naked and he wasn’t expecting it to go like this.

“Shit…” she mutters under her breath as Lloyd turns around to see Six.

Six is speechless. He’s frozen, standing still in the foyer. He’s not mad or disappointed at the both of them. He’s just really surprised. Shocked. Stunned. And maybe even a little bit turned on.

“Hey, you’re back. How was the debrief?” Lloyd casually asks him as he puts her panties back on and grabs her shorts and tank top from the floor. He helps her put her shorts on first before standing up and putting back her tank top on.

Six finally has the courage to take a step forward and proceed to walk into their living room. “Uhm, it was long and tiring.” He responds.

Elle shoots him an apologetic look as he stands beside Lloyd. “Six, I’m so sorry—”

He frowns. “What are you sorry for? I’m not mad, Elle. You know that we were about to tell him, anyway. I just wasn’t expecting you to do it yourself.” Six softly says in a gentle tone.

“I know, I’m sorry. We promised that we were going to do it together and then I just went and did it behind your back.” She apologizes again.

She has a bad habit of apologizing to people over and over again even though most of the time, it’s not her fault. She just always thinks it is hers.

Lloyd frowns. “Stop apologizing, Elle. I told you he’s okay with it and he is. Right?” he looks back at him for confirmation.

Six nods at him. “Yeah, I am. I’m the one who’s sorry for interrupting you because now it’d be awkward to continue.” He confirms.

She lets out a snort. “Yeap. It would be. Well, now that we’re all here…wanna go watch a movie and make it less awkward for all three of us?” Elle suggests.

They both nod at her. Six’s lips slowly form into a small smile. Lloyd gives her a genuine half smile. They’re both slightly a little bit content, somehow.

***

“I don’t like watching movies. It’s a waste of my time.” Lloyd grumbles as they all sit together in one of their couches, cozily in front of the TV.

She’s in the middle of them, leaning her head on Six’s shoulder and resting her legs on Lloyd’s thighs. She has her blanket from home, spread across all of them. The TV is on as she’s holding the remote control, ready to play her top favorite movie.

She giggles, shaking her head. “Well, it’s a shame. Because I’m going to make you watch my favorite movies, anyway.”

Lloyd huffs frustratedly. “Seriously? We could be doing so many other better things right now.” He continues to complain before he turns to her, slipping his hand under their blanket and placing it on her inner thighs, teasing her.

She frowns at him, but not exactly complaining of his hand placement. “Oh, come on! Just watch the damn movie.” She argues.

Six quietly chuckles, leaning his mouth into her ears. “He’s still frustrated that he didn’t get the chance to fuck you,” he softly jokes but he’s not exactly whispering.

Lloyd immediately looks at him, blinking at him offended. “At least I saw her naked first.” He retorts back, even harsher.

She shakes her head. “Stop, both of you.” She says, turning to look at both of them at once, “Look, I know we haven’t really talked about it yet, but I’m positive that this could work. We could work. I mean, there’ll still be a few things we need to work out, obviously, but we could solve all that tomorrow and the other tomorrow because we’re stuck here all together for a few months. So, let’s all just enjoy this movie and not think about other serious stuff for tonight.” Elle states with a tired smile on her lips.

She’s always been positive about everything. It’s her specialty. Even when she’s pessimistic about something, deep down, she still manages to be positive about it. She’s not actually sure that this will work. She’s even scared that it won’t, but she's tugging away that thought for now to not ruin this moment.

Six nods. Lloyd hums in response.

“We do need to set a schedule, though. About sharing…you.” Lloyd suggests.

She chuckles. “Yeah, right. Not gonna happen.”

Six lets out a soft huff of laughter before planting a long kiss on her cheek. She looks into his eyes and she leans onto him, pressing her lips against his without having to say anything, she already knew what he wanted.

Lloyd stares at them, examining closely how they kiss. Six goes really gentle on her and so does she. There’s still passion in their kiss but it’s just very…vanilla for him. When he and Elle kiss, it’s rough and harsh and kinky as the whole world suddenly stops just for them. It’s so different compared to Six and her. But it’s a good thing, she gets to have two choices. Gentle and rough.

He clears his throat, hoping to stop them from eating each other’s faces out but they’re still kissing. She lazily kisses him as he sets a really slow rhythm that she just gladly follows. They’re kissing like two teenagers who just learned how to kiss so it’s extremely slow.

Lloyd frowns, grabbing her face with both of his hands as they forcefully break their kiss. “We’re still gonna watch the movie or—” he gets cut off by Elle kissing his lips roughly, stealing the oxygen right out of his lungs and he lets out a soft moan before she pulls away from him, breaking the kiss.

Six chuckles at that. “I think we should probably watch the movie or else we’ll spend the whole night trying to steal her for a kiss,” he remarks. He’s not wrong.

She laughs softly, nodding her head. “Yep. I agree. Though, I’d still like that very much. I think it’s hot when you both try to compete to have me. We should use that for our future roleplay.” she teases him.

Lloyd rolls his eyes. “Roleplay is for weirdos,” he states.

“I know. I was joking. But, I thought that you’d be more into that considering how kinky you are.” Elle assumes. She knows he’s rough just by making out with him twice. She can also sense that he enjoys being rough as much as she does.

Six is quiet, paying close attention to this conversation that he just grew interested in. He usually doesn’t really want to hear what they both say have to each other since most of the time, they always bicker and fight and insult each other. He's just glad that he won't have to hear that shit on a daily basis anymore. If they fuck any sooner, their little fights will reduce eventually.

He snorts, squinting his eyes a little. “You think I’m kinky? Why, because of how rough I am with you?” Lloyd asks her, genuinely.

She nods. “Yeah, exactly. But I like it.”

Lloyd smirks at that. “Oh. Guess I’m not the only kinky one here. What about Six? Is he kinky?” he asks, out of pure curiosity.

She giggles, not knowing how to answer his question. Six looks at him weirdly. “Why are you asking?” he asks back.

Lloyd shrugs. “Curiosity.”

“Uhm, I guess? You know that we haven’t…so I wouldn’t really know.” She responds, clearing her throat to change the topic. “But anyway, I think that I should just sleep in my own room tonight until we figure out some things.” Elle declares to them.

He frowns. “We don’t have any problems.”

She raises her brows. “Of course we do? Lloyd, you commited mass murder for me. That’s a fucking problem. We need to talk about that, seriously. Tomorrow. I’m too tired to talk about it now.”

Six frowns confusedly, turning to him. “Wait, you did what?” he asks him.

Lloyd’s lips form a thin line. “Remember those guys who shot you and Elle and then tried to kidnap her as well? I did a bit of digging and found where they lived, a few days ago. I brought some of the agents with me who wouldn’t tell Denny and then we…got rid of them.” He explains.

Six sighs. “Lloyd. You could’ve told me first.” He protests.

He nods, agreeing with him. “I know. I’ll do that next time.” He casually says.

Elle frowns. “What? No. There won’t be a next time because you can’t be doing that anymore. I’m serious.” She scolds him.

Lloyd silently looks at Six. They both know that she hasn’t gotten used to that yet. Murder. Death. It’s not her world yet. But soon enough, it will be, no matter what and none of them can help her. They feel bad for her, though. She doesn’t even know what she’s getting herself into. They can’t tell her or warn her because that’s kind of the first rule in the agency, is that they don’t tell anyone how bad it actually is.

She’s way too naïve. Even innocent, sometimes. She’s lived in a bubble her whole life and she’s gotten out of it the moment she stepped into that bar and met them. That’s right when she got out of her bubble.

Six nods at her. “You’re right. There are a few things that we still need to talk about.”

She smiles faintly. “I’m sorry, I know that I told you that I’m going to sleep in your room tonight…”

“Then, sleep in his room tonight.” Lloyd interjects.

Six shakes his head at him. “No. It’s okay. I think it’s better that you sleep in your own room.” He softly says, pressing a quick kiss on her cheek.

“Hm. Less temptations, right?” Lloyd teases him.

She rolls her eyes playfully, turning to him. “Yes, Lloyd. Because sex doesn’t solve problems. It just distracts us for a while.” Elle says to him.

She’s an expert when it comes to psychology and sex. It’s been a part of her life until now so she wanted to learn about it and she’s mastered it now. She knows that distractions are never the solution to a couple’s problem. It eventually distracts them too much and they never even get to solve the problem. And most of the time, it’ll become a bigger problem when they have unresolved problems.

She doesn’t want to have problems with Lloyd or Six. She wants this to be right and perfect and good. She’s had too many problems with relationships in the past and never got to have a single happy one. Well, it was mostly because she’s damaged. She has had so many issues and trauma that no guy has ever been capable enough to handle it, to handle her. But she knows that they’re both perfectly capable of handling her.

Lloyd’s lips stretched into a smirk, staring down at her soft lips as he remembered how good she tasted like. Now he’s the tempted one. She’s too fucking addicting for him. “It does solve some problems if you’re satisfied after,” he teases her.

She lifts her brows. “Really? Well, we could try that—” she says as his smirk turns into an almost smile and he leans forward onto her. “Later. When we’ve solved our current problems.” She adds.

Lloyd sighs deeply, throwing his head back in disappointment as he groans. “You’re going to give me blue balls, Elle.” He complains.

Six laughs quietly as she giggles out loud. “Then I’ll heal you! It’s kind of my job for the CIA. If you both get hurt, then I have to heal you guys.” She says, practically.

“I think he’d like that very much seeing as you have to touch the wounded body part in order to heal it.” Six teases him, his lips tugging into an easy smile.

Lloyd looks back at her, his eyes lighting up with excitement. “Really? You know what, I think I do need you to heal me.”

Elle laughs again, shaking her head as she slaps his arm. “No, you don’t! You just need a kiss.” She smiles through her words before leaning onto him, cupping his face as she presses a soft kiss on his lips.

His forehead leans onto hers as he sighs softly. “You’re right.” He murmurs, “You always are, sunshine.” Lloyd whispers at her face before pulling away from her so he doesn’t get more tempted to kiss her again.

Her lips stretch into a warm smile. “I know I am.” She says before quickly planting a kiss on his cheek and pulling away from him to lean closer onto Six.

Six is still quietly smiling at them, allowing himself to enjoy this moment for just this one time. He kisses her temple and puts an arm around her. “Let’s watch that movie, baby.” His voice is soft and quiet inside her ears but she heard it. Even Lloyd heard it in the quietness of their living room.

Baby. He called her baby.

It’s rare for him to call anyone a pet name. It’s not usually his type. He doesn’t do lovey dovey stuff with anyone. He doesn’t even have a love language — but that’s what he thinks, he actually does have one and it's psychical touch. He likes being touched a lot and showing his affection by touching too. But, he’s never been with anyone long enough to be affectionate and loving to them. He’s never had a relationship, just like Lloyd. It’s always just been quick fucks in a dark alley and one night stands in a cheap hotel, for Six. There wasn't anything special in his life before her, before them.

The word hangs between them as her lips curve into a soft smile and she buries her face into his neck, kissing him there. Lloyd gently grabs her legs and places them on top of his thighs again, straightening them so she’s comfortable enough. He pulls the blanket to cover her more because he knows that she’s a little cold. His hand is still on her inner thigh as she rests her hand on top of his.

Elle pulls her face away from Six before leaning her head on his shoulder, comfortably. She presses the play button on the remote control of their TV and it starts playing her most favorite movie as the light in the living room starts to get dimmed automatically.

It’s dark and quiet as the movie begins and she shifts closer to Six, cuddling closer to him than she already is.

They’re all three comfortable with this and they think that they could stay here forever, just being cuddled up and holed up in here.

They’re oddly and weirdly… happy. Which is really rare for them. Happiness is a luxury in this cruel world.

[bakerstmel]

Fall Favorite Fic Festival, Entry 5

Remember, winter doesn't officially begin until December 21, she said pedantically.

I've delayed writing this entry because I was trying to define the reason (or reasons) why I love this fic so damn much. I read this fic at least twice a year, usually sometime in February and then again in the fall. It's a sports fic, and while I am not in general a sports person, I do love me some baseball. But the sport isn't the reason I love this fic, and I think I may have figured it out. Stick with me.

I started the link at Chapter 2, because Chapter 1 is a guide to baseball for the uninitiated. Some of it is out of date now, because MLB in its STUPIDITY has messed around with the rules this year because GOD FORBID people have to wait longer than a minute for anything to fucking happen on a sports field, and of course only HITS matter, but it is still fun to read. You don't need it to appreciate the fic, though.

Whilst I was processing this fic, I spent some time thinking about sports fics in general, and that led me to reread a couple of other favorites. One was A Study in Winning, by Jupiter_Ash. I really like that fic as well, even though I know next to nothing about tennis. I like the drama of the story, I like Sherlock faking his nationality just because, and I enjoy John being a petty little bitch to Moriarty there at the end. I feel like there for a while everyone had read or was reading that fic. Another one I went back to was Of Ice and Men, by SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John, which is an OT3 set during the Winter Olympics. That one has John in the Paralympics, which gives the relationships an entirely new dimension. There are other good sports fics - throw your favorite in the comments, if you like. I'm mostly limiting my scope in these musings to Sherlock, as I've said before, but I'll read anything if it's good. Links to these two fics are below.

One of the ways in which sports fics have an advantage is that they have a built in structure. There's a match, or a tournament, or a season, and the relationship drama plays out against that backdrop. Writing classes always talk about the "ticking clock" approach to narrative tension, and almost every sport has some type of literal ticking clock. The Bang and the Clatter plays out over a full baseball season, including Spring Training and the postseason. That's basically a year minus the main American holidays, and EarlGreyTea does a really good job of letting the story play out at an appropriate pace. That's very impressive considering that she was posting this as a WIP over the course of an actual season.

(I need to take a minute to talk about my issues with EGT, and by "issues" I mean "soul churning jealousy." EGT is ridiculously prolific. If you go back into the fandom annals and look at the timing of some of her biggest fics, she was posting what became major reference points for the fandom in tandem, writing multiple fics at the same damn time, while, you know, teaching law or moving cross country. She is the best example I know of the importance of writing regularly. Of course, she's incredibly gifted, highly skilled at plotting, characterization, pacing, and just words. She has a fabulous imagination. Her dialogue rings true, and it's fun. But she can turn really good stuff out relatively quickly because she's limber AF. She writes. Anyone who comes to Word Sprints on Sundays or just hangs with me writing knows I'm not fast. I'm lucky to break 100 words in 15 minutes. Part of that is that I edit as I go, but it's also that I don't write as often as I would like to, so it takes me some time to warm up. I would like to be more like EGT, which probably sounds kind of creepy. I hope she doesn't see this. Anyway, she's written many of my top 20, and she actually finishes her stuff. So, yeah. Issues.)

So here is where I ended up: this is a good AU that takes advantage of the time crunch of the sport in which it is set, but that is not why I read it 2+ times per year. I read it because this is one of my favorite John and Sherlock relationships ever. It feels so in character for the way we see them in the show (at least through S2; this was written in 2013). We see them meet, we feel their attraction, we feel Sherlock's very authentic confusion. We feel their fear at being caught out, at first by each other and then by the world. They earn their angst. The way to my heart is good characterization, and this has that. Alongside the battery, the OCs (especially Sherlock and John's families) are complex and have issues of their own. Moriarty doesn't show up until the All Star Workout, which is halfway through the season for those of you who don't know, but it works because by that point, John and Sherlock have things to lose. Lestrade is the best effing choice for a beleaguered, exasperated baseball manager there ever was. Mycroft saves the day AND fucks it up, which I wish we'd seen more of in those days.

Also, John and Sherlock never get too far away from each other, and when they're separated, it's usually for narrative reasons. I like that in a fic, I've come to realize. I like to watch the characters' interplay. It's hard for Sherlock to keep secrets from John when they work together, commute together, and live together, and John is no fool. Their office isn't 221b Baker Street, it's a stadium in Austin, TX, where shit plays out in front of 30k people. John loves baseball. Sherlock loves John. They fight, they fall in love, they eat Chinese food, and they play baseball. And best of all, they are themselves together.

If you read the parts that EGT wrote after the big story, there's a mention of Sherlock pulling together a pick up game in London made of American ex-pats for John's sake, and I'll tell you what. That really pulls this fic together for me. This Sherlock would do that for this John, and we end up a little on the outside looking in, and it's just charming as fuck.

In conclusion, read this even if you don't know baseball, if you want great characterization, a chance to be reminded of how beautiful John and Sherlock were together back in the golden age. Pay attention to the ticking clocks in your favorite fics; intentional or not, there's almost always some time pressure ginning up the conflict. If you're a writer, the best way to get better is to write more. Feels like bullshit, but it's true. And finally, fuck MLB forever for going the completely wrong way on the DH. Pitchers in both leagues should have to/get to hit, and more to the point, DHs should have to fucking do something when their teams are out in the field. I will die on this mound.

(Also, if I'm being honest, Bull Durham is probably my favorite movie, so maybe I'm more of a baseball fan than I'm letting on. I do generally love baseball in popular media. But I still think it's the characterization.)

[cafeinthemoon]

Feral Heart - Chapter III

Chapter 3/?

Wordcount 2,6k

Title Morning Lessons

Fandom Tenkaichi: Nihon Saikyo Bugeisha Ketteisen

Previous chapters

Prologue . 1 . 2

Symbols ⭕ . ➕ 🖤

Warnings: none except that Yagyu tries to keep the inner shinigami quiet

Tagging ? (If you want to be tagged in any of my stories, just leave a comment on this chapter or send an ask or a message)

N. A.: So I'm really self-conscious about this chapter bc though I've had it in mind for a long time, it ended up looking like a joke that was only funny in my head, mostly bc I struggled to describe y/n-san's strike without knowing the exact word for it, I mean how do you English speakers call it when someone clenches their hand and hits other person's head? I've found some expressions like "noogies" and my friend who's also an English teacher sais it's "deck" (a word she claimed to love btw), but tell me what do you think...

Anyways I hope you enjoy this one :)

The morning when you should gather at the training area to watch Yagyu-sama give you a glimpse of what swordsmanship meant was awaited with great expectation by most of the young women, and they couldn’t refrain their tongues to speak about it the night before. At first, since you had no particular interest in the path of the sword, you only hoped that it didn’t leave you as bored as the day of the first presentations, but as time passed you started to think of it seriously, to the point you allowed yourself some curiosity – after all, an opportunity to see the Peerless Swordsman in action didn’t come every day, and deep inside you were willing to see if he was worthy of such esteem.

When the day came at last, you and the others were led by a palace servant to the designated place, where your master was already waiting for you with his usual, composed manners. You glanced as his hand’s height and noticed two katana… made of wood. Of course, real weapons wouldn’t be used against inexperienced students, but somehow you felt relieved with their sight. You raised your eyes again and suddenly startled when they met with his; overcoming you in self-control, he gave you a gentle smile, which you didn’t reciprocate and looked away. You observed the other girls, but they were too focused on their master to pay attention to anything else. You glanced at him again, and your heart skipped a beat when you saw that the smile disappeared from his lips as he interacted with the others; you hated the warmth that reached your cheeks with the realization.

The air around you were full of whispers and excited chattering, but they ceased once Yagyu raised his hand. You weren’t surprised with that: he would never have a hard time managing the girls’ reactions once he was already popular among them.

His first words were less formal than you expected, yet they emphasized the seriousness of the occasion.

– Good morning, girls. I’ve heard you’ve been expecting this moment with great enthusiasm, so let me say that the same goes for me.

The girls cheered up at those words. He walked toward the center of the area, his hands hidden behind his back.

The lesson started with no ceremonies.

– Developing or sharping your skills with the sword is not the only task that will be assigned to you as Nobunaga-sama’s living weapons, but neither it is less important, and that’s why you will be practicing by this hour everyday from now on.

The word “everyday” was followed by a wave of murmurs that echoed or added exclamations of surprise to it. You were looking directly at his face and saw the grin with which he made the announcement, and it was hard not to twist your lips in response.

Of course, he’s enjoying all of this.

– Some might think that wielding a sword is an act restricted to the physical – Yagyu continued – But this is because they only look at things from the outside. You cannot commit such foolishness, my girls. The path of the sword is a mental, even spiritual one. It can reveal things about yourselves that you’ve never imagined to be there, as well as teach you how to read the secrets of your opponent.

From your spot, you were still able to see him, and that’s how you saw the moment he approached the first row. Tension spread around when he offered his hand to a short girl who didn’t seem to be older than you.

– Now, would you mind serving as my volunteer? – and, when the poor girl accepted the invitation with an unintelligible murmur, – What is your name?

– Akemi… Yagyu-sama.

He nodded and took the girl to the center of the area with him. Letting go of her hand, he took one of the wood swords from his belt and offered it to her.

– Do you know how to hold it?

The girl shook her head in a positive answer and held the sword with reasonable balance, even though it was a bit long for her.

– Very well – Yagyu held his own weapon and started walking around the student as he spoke – Let’s see how many secrets we can unveil.

You saw Akemi’s hands tighten their grip around the sword.

– W-what’s going to happen, Yagyu-sama?

His response was to giggle and to poke both her elbows with the tip of his katana, making her raise them a little.

– Nothing you need to be afraid of. After all – he glanced at the girls – Each of your friends have their own secrets as well.

You lowered your eyes at those words, so that there wouldn’t be a chance for another look exchange between you.

– You might have noticed the little correction I made in Akemi’s posture right now – he continued as if nothing happened – Here we had our first revelation. Nervousness, perhaps from lack of confidence, even when it’s clear that she knows how to hold the weapon – he used his sword to touch hers underneath, making her hold it higher – Another one: uncertainty about the strength necessary to hold it properly – he poked each of her feet in their inner side with the sword, separating them from each other – And, finally, not knowing exactly how to occupy the space around her, in order to stay in the right position.

Silence was still lingering as the girls heard the explanations. Now that Akemi was apparently prepared to whatever might happen now, no one knew exactly what to expect, not even herself. Yagyu raised his sword… and put it back on the belt. The girl, still waiting for a response, didn’t move until he approached her.

– As you can see, all of the imperfections on our friend’s performance were fixed once they were identified – he said to all the presents – This is what you are going to learn. Spotting failures in your adversary’s posture while concealing your own weaknesses is the key to a good result. As you can easily suppose, this lesson applies to many fields apart from swordsmanship, but keep in mind that in this specific case, this will mean the difference between your life and your death.

It didn’t escape you the grin growing on his thin lips as the word death crossed it. But, before its shadow lingered on the minds of the students, Yagyu suddenly softened his manners, turning to Akemi and taking back the katana.

– You made an excellent job, Akemi-san – he patted her hair – You were very brave.

The girl agreed with visible relief, then was sent back to her place among the others. No one dared looking at her direction, even less chattering or mocking her. You looked away, scratching the back of your neck. Part of you was relieved for Akemi, while another one was even happier for not being you in her place...

Such happiness didn’t last long, however.

– Reading your adversary, figuring out their weaknesses and using them to your advantage… – he continued his explanation – All of this seems easy when we speak, but reality always brings surprises. This is your second lesson, and to demonstrate it I’m going to need help from another one of you.

Another murmur spread among the girls, the expectation of being the chosen one passing from heart to heart. You just stood quiet, hoping he didn’t extend this for any longer. And, well, he didn’t… but not like you were imagining.

– Y/n-san, can you come forth?

Yagyu’s voice, though soft, entered your ears and shook everything inside like a thunder. You looked ahead, to make sure you weren’t hearing things, but the quietness with which the other girls opened the way for you, as well as the teacher’s eyes glued on your figure, waiting, wouldn’t let you be deceived. You bit your lip and started walking toward the spot where Akemi once was.

You stopped in front of the group and waited. Yagyu approached and offered you the sword used by the previous girl; you observed it for a moment before extending your hand to grab its base: you somehow were aware of the possibility of your hand touching his, and wanted to avoid it. Then, being successful in this, you nodded and murmured a “Thank you”, but your attempt to keeping a formal distance were frustrated when he dismissed it with that soft, clever smile of his, as well as a verbal provocation.

– Too bad that I’ve already learned your name, isn’t it?

Your eyes widened at those words, but you didn’t say anything in response. He just continued the lesson.

– Please, get in position – he asked while doing that very thing.

You obeyed and posed yourself the same way as Akemi. Fortunately for you, he didn’t need to correct anything… Or perhaps he did, but had no intention of doing it, for the gaps in your guard were going to serve as a precious lesson to the students, as suggested by his next command.

– Now, use what you just learned and show us your defense, y/n-san!

And, before you could think of what was going on, his sword came to clash with yours from all possible sides, and you were forced to follow his movements to not stay behind. Indeed, you weren’t experienced with swords or any weapon that surpassed the size of your arm, but you did your best, not wanting to know what would happen if you were hit with a wooden stick. At the same time, you were able to notice the fluid, free way in which he would wield his weapon, almost like a dance. And you sort of admired that.

He moves around with such balance and grace. No wonder I thought he was a woman.

At some point, you stood face to face, your swords pressed against each other. While you held your breath to contain the fatigue, he showed no signs of struggling. The smile he gave you was tender, but you saw the cunning expression in his eyes.

– Tell me, dear – he whispered – What would you do if I was about to kill you?

It was when you understood it. The lesson about surprises – he was expecting you do to something that the girls couldn’t predict. But what could it be? A sudden change in your fighting style? A low blow? A sign of surrender?

You glanced down at your feet and had an idea.

With your left heel, you hit the inner side of his ankle in an attempt to interfere in his balance: supposing that the probability of him being right-handed were higher than the opposite, he might never expect a strike from the left, which would give you a second to move away from his katana’s reach. In your mind, that was an excellent thing to try… but you hadn’t the necessary experience to make it work, and once he understood your tactic he wouldn’t miss the chance to use it against yourself: moving his foot away from yours, he increased the pressure of his sword and, at the same time, stroke your leg on the spot behind your knee. His superiority in speed and strength resulted in you dropping your sword and falling on your back, your breath suddenly pushed out of your lungs.

If only that was all, you could deal with it, but Yagyu seemed to find it insufficient for the lesson: pressing the “blade” of his sword on your neck, he bent down in front of you, leaning on one knee and giving you no space to move or to escape.

– So, now you’re without your sword, immobilized and at your adversary’s mercy – he commented – Breathe heavier and this might be the last time you do it. What are you planning to do now, y/n-san?

You didn’t say anything in response: your mind was everything but concerned about the task of choosing words when you had him closer than he has ever been.

The strands of his hair are spreading around, tickling my cheeks, and I can hear his breath and the clink of his earring.

Those few seconds you stood like this felt like an entire hour, during which neither of you spoke. You thought of moving one of your feet, but you wouldn’t manage to lift it without being stopped by him; then you considered striking him with your knee, but his own was already being used to trap yours; you even thought of headbutting him, but that would be too painful.

You glanced at your right hand and noticed it was free. You clenched and moved it before anything else...

And hit him on his forehead.

You two stood there, silently staring at each other until the a wave of laughter and mockery raised among the entire group of students. Their fragmented voices reached your ears with comments that would go from mild observations such as “I can’t decide if she’s insane or just incredibly funny!” to not so gentle ones, like “What a stupid thing to do! Doesn’t she take the lessons seriously?!” However, you had neither the time or the energy to give them attention, for what you had in front of you made you totally absorbed: Yagyu didn’t deflect or made anything to stop your hand, and you were surprised to see that it was less because he didn’t see it coming than because of his capacity of doing it; his eyes, widened a bit as much as his lips, let that clear.

He wasn’t expecting this. I really caught him off guard.

Perhaps he sensed this realization from your part, for soon after this thought crossed your mind he acted as if nothing happened: leaning the sword on his shoulder, he moved away and stood up, freeing you from his grip and offering his hand to help you leave the ground. You avoided his gaze while you did, then cleaned your clothes and grabbed your sword, forgotten near your feet. The voices of the girls were a constant murmur by now.

Yagyu was the first to speak.

– It seems that y/n-san has a peculiar concept of self-defense – the girls giggled at that comment; he turned to you, scrubbing his forehead on the spot you hit him – But I don’t think she did that as a joke. So, can you explain to your partners what you meant with that… strike?

Part of you was relieved that he took you seriously, but you were a bit annoyed by the way he touched his forehead as if you’ve put all your strength in that move.

You offered the presents an honest explanation.

– I clenched my hand because I had nothing to hold on to in order to make the strike realistic – you pointed at your own forehead – Of course I wouldn’t hurt you on purpose, Yagyu-sama, and that’s probably why you didn’t stop me, but what I imagined was hitting you with a rock or a small knife that I might’ve hidden in my sleeve.

A strange glimmer appeared in his eyes when he heard that, but it was gone as fast as it came, so that you wondered if you just imagined it.

I’m not really sure if he sensed any hostility from me, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. Maybe he was just a bit shocked that I had the nerve to simulate what I had in mind. Most of the other girls wouldn’t go so far.

The laughter of the said girls turned into whispers of “Ah, now I get it!” and “That makes sense!” and your master seemed satisfied with that. Since the lesson was well assimilated by all of the students, he decided to continue the classes. With a bright smile, he took your sword and sent you back to the group, where you were surrounded by cheerful girls, excited with the possibility of being his next volunteer.

[cutelittleriot]

Chapter 4 the surprise

It's the next morning and Branch can only imagine what part of him is going to transform today. First it was his fur then it was his teeth,King Peppy did say they had claws too so maybe that's next?

Sitting up he takes a look at his hands and his brain takes a full minute to process what he was looking at. "Are those.....pads?" He asks himself becuase right there on the tips of his fingers and the palm of his hand are the beginning of what appear to be pawpads. They aren't fully complete but they were there albeit barely. He could tell cause they were a darker shade of teal than his fur. Also was it him or did his fingers look a bit rounder? He tries wiggling them and they respond easily enough so he let's it go for now.

Luckily this wasn't painful only uncomfortable at most but it was tolerable and he can even ignore it if he wanted to. "Seems like I'm catching a break today" he says with a slight smile hoping he doesn't jinx himself.

He then hears a large growling noise his ears perk up as his fur fluffs out in alarm only to realize its just his stomach since he hadn't eaten anything yesterday due to his fangs growing in. Though he now knows he fluffs up when scared great just great.

Speaking of fangs he runs his tounge over them and he realized they are longer than his other teeth,not by much but still. Luckily they don't stick out of his mouth that wouldn't be pleasant.

Getting up with a yawn he puts on his robe and he begins to make some actual breakfast being some eggs and toast along with a apple. He happily eats his food without any complications the only thing that was off was how easily he could bite into the apple it required very little force in order to do so but other than that everything was good.

It did feel weird to bite into something with fangs but it's something he will have to get used to though.

While he would love to leave right now and go do something he really doesn't want to unless he has no other choice because he wants to wait until this whole transformation thing is over.

He decides he should get back to reorganizing his bunker he wasn't able to continue it before due to obvious reasons but today he can handle it. There's no pain only mild discomfort and that is tolerable. With a grin he cracks his knuckles ready to start when he hears frantic knocking at the entrance.

It might be Poppy again coming to check on him today and he doesn't mind the company at the moment since he is in a pretty ok mood. He peeks through the entrance to see that once again he is correct in that his girlfriend is there.

"Hiya Branch how are you this morning?" She asks happily waving her hand. "Uh good I guess? Today is a mostly ok day transformation wise" He replies and let's her in without her needing to ask.

"So uhm what's transforming today?" She asks shuffling on the heels of her feet. Branch notices something is a bit off with her body language,was it him or was she more fidgety than normal becuase she is moving alot more than she usually is.

"Just these" He says showing her the pads growing on his hands and his fingers that are definately getting a bit rounder he can tell. She gently takes one of his hands "Oh my gosh Branch this is the cutest thing I have ever seen your growing pawpads!" She squeals at the evident cuteness.

Blushing a bit he allows her to gently press her fingers into his pads and it feels weird he has never felt something like this before but it wasn't too bad he can handle it. As she is having fun messing with his pawpads he can see that she is shuffling her shoulders alot more than usual.

The elevator finally reaches the end and Poppy finally let's go of his hand.....paw? He isn't too sure yet what to call it he needs to wait to see the end result before he can determine.

"So uhm Branch there's something I want to ask you" Poppy says putting her hands behind her back. "What?" Branch asks tilting his head.

All of a sudden Poppy begins to scratch herself like crazy "HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THIS ITCHINESS?!" She yells out at she begins to scratch herself. "Poppy?! What happened?! Are you having an allergic reaction? Did you come in contact with a plant that's causing this?" He begins to fire off rapid questions going into both protective boyfriend mode and survival mode.

"No I'm not having a allergic reaction and I didn't touch any plant that caused this though I might have eaten something that is causing this" She says with a sheepish grin.

Branchs mind is going through multiple scenarios as to what she might have eaten but one in particular keeps standing out but he doesn't want it to be true. "Poppy please tell me you didn't eat that fruit" He says putting his hands on her shoulders only to feel certain parts of her fur are indeed a bit longer than usual.

"Uhmm I might have eaten some more of it" She says grinning. Branchs mind seems to freeze at her words. She ate more of it why?! Why did she do it she knows what that fruit does to trolls! I mean look at him right now! He lost 4 of his teeth and is currently growing pawpads out of his hands! She got lucky the first time so why go back for more?!

"Why Poppy? Why did you do that?" He asks his ears lowering in sadness. "Because Branch I felt so bad for you going through this becuase of me. So I decided you shouldn't be alone in this so I ate some more and joined you!" She exclaims happily as if she hasn't just permanently changed her life.

"But- but" He tries to say something but his mind and mouth aren't properly working at the moment. "Branch" She puts a finger to his lips stopping him from saying anything else. "This is my decision I knew what I was getting into. I willingly ate more nobody forced me to this was all me" She says to him gently and he nods and he just hugs her as a way of saying thanks for doing this.

To be honest he probably should have expected this. This seems like something Pippy would do. "So uhm back to what I was asking how do you get rid of the itchiness?" She asks going back to her scratching.

"Well to be honest I don't know much as I might have slept most of it off" He says not wanting to admit he cried himself to sleep like he was a trolling. "Though water can sort of help but it makes your fur very uncomfortable but if your willing to deal with it,it's a temporary solution otherwise you just have to deal with it" He says scratching his cheek a bit emberassed that he has no solution for this but then again it's not everyday your fur is growing due to a very rare exotic fruit.

"I don't care! Just please make it stop!" She almost yells which truly shows how much this is affecting her. He guides her to the bathroom where the shower was and leaves her be for privacy purposes. He decides to go back to reorganizing for the moment as his ears twitch when he hears the sound of the tub running. He thought Poppy would be a shower type of person but he guesses in this case a bath would be better to both relax and stop the itchiness.

He guesses she is in there for a good hour before she leaves the bathroom, happier than when she came in. "Ahhh that felt so much better it took a bit to get comfortable but wow it was worth it. Thanks for the advice Branch" She thanks him as she goes to take a seat on the couch and try to relax and maybe even take a nap. "No problem if you want you can try and take a nap maybe that will help a bit" He suggests since sleeping did help him even if it wasn't a pleasant sleep.

"Good idea a nice warm bath always helps me fall asleep" She says before yawning and turning over on the couch and lays down. In a few minutes his ears twitch as he hears her soft breathing. Another weird thing is that his ears have been twitching and moving more than usual. Must be a new mini transformation, they didn't look any different but they were definitely more reactive than usual so that's a thing.

Looking over at his gf he takes in her appearance. Much like with him her fur is definitely growing although alot of it seems to be around her neck as it's sure fluffy compared his. He can only imagine what it would look like when fully grown.

There are tufts already appearing on her ankles,knees, elbows and wrists. To be honest the longer fur makes her look even more cuter than she already was and he didn't think that was possible before but looks like he was wrong but he was glad he was.

He goes back to reorganizing and he finally manages to finish right around dinner time as Poppy had slept for a good few hours by then. He hopes this won't mess up her sleep schedule though he does have some sleeping medication just in case as he sometimes has trouble sleeping himself.

"Wow that was a good nap" Poppy says as she stretches while waking up. "You slept for a long while it must have been" Branch says with a chuckle. "Yeah I don't usually nap for that long" She says a bit surprised before she groans and gets ready to scratch herself when she is stopped as Branch gently grabs her hands. "I think you shouldn't scratch as usually it just makes it worse" He says being a total hypocrite cause that was all he did when he itched.

"But Branch I don't want to itch anymore its so annoying!" She whines wanting to scratch herself. "Just don't think about it how about we have some dinner maybe that will get your mind off of this" He suggests to which she nods.

Over the few hours that Poppy has been napping his pawpads have grown out some more and his fingers have become more ound almost completely resembling paws but he could move them just fine like they were his normal fingers to which he is glad as he had no idea what he would do if he lost the ability to move his fingers.

He makes a simple dinner for both him and Poppy to which she enjoys but then again she enjoys alot of stuff. "So you might want to head back to your pod it's starting to get dark" He says although he wished she didn't have to leave to which she nods albeit a bit sadly. "Oh before you go here" He says handing her a pill "Its to help you sleep easier for tonight" He says with a smile at wanting to ease his girfriends troubles however he can.

"Thank you so much Branch!" She says before she once again hugs him and heads back to the elevator "See you tomorrow!" She says as she heads up waving him off to which he waves back. He is glad she is coming back tomorrow he loves her company even if sometimes he wishes he could be alone Poppy has learned to respect his wishes to be alone if he has been having a bad day.

He gets read fit bed himself as he does his nightly routine of brushing his teeth along with his new fangs and putting on his sleeper shirt and taking off his pants. It's his bunker he can do whatever he wants to including not wearing pants!

Getting into his bed he lies down as he wants for sleep to claim him "Wonder what's going to happen tomorrow" He says to himself as he takes one last look at his hands now turned paws before he turns over and sleep begins to take him.

Bonus

When Poppy woke up that morning the first thing she was aware of was that she was ITCHY! "Holy sugar this is bad! No wonder Branch was going crazy this is unbearable!" She says scratching herself like crazy but her fingers barely do anything to help. She even gets a backscratcher but that also barely helps any. She knew what she was signing up for when she ate more of the fruit but WOW!

She can't go out scratching herself like crazy the village would definately know something was up and they get a little bit crazy when something is wrong with her. So she has to manage to walk through the village without scratching herself.

"This is going to be harder than I thought" She says outloud before resigning herself to her fate and makes her way to Branch's bunker and she litterally has to hold herself back to not scratch herself so she decides to mover her body as much as she can without attracting attention as it kept her mind off of the itchiness.

She soon makes her way to Branchs bunker and yeah she might have knocked a little more frequently than she normally did but she needs to know what he did to stop this itchiness otherwise she is going to loose her mind.

The elevator scene

Poppy:So cute! *plays with branchs pads*

(*ELEVATOR PLEASE HURRY UP IM GOING TO LOOSE IT!*)

[dvandom]

Isekai I'm not qualified to write

High concept: an entire rehab/support group is portaled to a fantasy world, and if any of them want to get home they need to figure out a way to get to the planet's moon.

So, right off the bat, I am not really qualified to write about a lot of the issues the cast would be dealing with. And this would definitely be on the darker side, since even if they arrive on a world at (relative) peace, the real struggles are internal.

I figure it'd start in a small enough community that the support group would be kinda mixed. Addiction, PTSD, maybe a few other things. If that's implausible (again, I am Not Qualified), perhaps the portal catches the protagonists while one group is finishing up and another is waiting in the hallway. The main idea would be to explore different kinds of problem.

Despite a fairly large cast for an isekai, the focus would mostly be on two of them. One is seeking help, the other has court-mandated treatment. The first few chapters would follow them through mundane life and its struggles. Both would stay on the Good Guy side, but at least one of the group members would heel turn.

Their facilitator would not arrive with them, so no natural leader or professional support. Either the portal missed the facilitator, or spat them out elsewhere, or the facilitator dies in the first volume (only to be revealed to be alive in the grip of a mid-series boss, rescued only after the group has proven they can do this on their own now).

Fairly early on, a magical purgative would be found that could remove the physical addiction from those who were in rehab for that. But it won't be the end of their problems, because addiction isn't just a chemical thing, it's mental. And there is no magical cure for that, any more than there was in the world they left.

The group would have a variety of useful skills (especially any soldiers there for PTSD), but no "the portal process gave you magic" stuff, this is meant to be a struggle. Perhaps some have magic aptitude, but they'd have to learn the hard way.

At least one of the group would flourish. Their addiction was driven by a crappy life in some way that is not an issue in the new world. Now they're getting enrichment, they're away from their stressors and actually like the new stresses. Anyone in this category may not want to go home, which provides a heel turn motive if the group is told that it's all or nothing on the return ticket.

It's very important that most of the characters have well-defined motives for wanting to get back home, even if this new world seems like a better place. Family's the usual hook, and any oaths taken to the military might be a motive as well. The fantasy world is going to be on the dark and scary side in general, so many of them won't want to stick around either. Some may just never get over the culture shock and be homesick.

[nimuetheseawitch]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

Thanks for tagging me @marley-manson!

No pressure tags: @hero-in-waiting, @spurious, @sparrowsarus, @dedkake, @logicgunn, @colonelshepparrrrd and anyone else who wants to do this :)

Everything is under the cut because this is going to be long.

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

36, although one of those is a playlist for the SGA Songfest.

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

76,731

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I have written for Good Omens, MASH, Stargate (SGA and SG-1), Person of Interest, and now Top Gun: Maverick.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

walking alone at 3am (TGM), The McMurdo Chess Club (SGA), Autopilot (SGA), I would never dare (Good Omens), and Class A's (MASH)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I very much try to. I love responding to comments.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Angst-wise, I think it's Dear John (SGA), although it almost doesn't count because I wrote a follow up sequel that fixes the angst. There's no one I would rather be lying beside (SGA/SG-1) is definitely the saddest though.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Oh man, most of them have pretty happy endings. I think maybe my favorite happy ending is You Can't Go Home Again (MASH).

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I haven't. People seem to be pretty friendly.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes. Some of the smut is just incidental to the plot, but I also do a few that are just smut. I guess I tend to write mostly m/m (although I have some f/f and want to write more of that) with a little bit of kink, usually some d/s dynamics and light bondage. I'm trying to get more comfortable with it in general. I keep on meaning to do some kinkmeme fills as practice.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Technically, my SGA/SG-1 fics are crossovers, but I don't think that really counts, since it's very much the same universe. Which makes I've bit my tongue too long to hide the blood I'm covered in (SGA/POI) my only true crossover. And definitely the craziest. Very niche fic that absolutely no one asked for, but I love it.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I'm aware.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Oh, that's so hard to answer. I feel like I have different answers for this depending on the day and the context. But it might be John/Vala (SGA/SG-1).

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

My SGA fic where John dies while Rodney is back on earth with Jennifer and Rodney comes back and slowly starts to lose it, seeing John everywhere. I have so many SGA fics that will take priority over it, and it's just sad, which is harder for me to feel motivated. It was also shaping up to be long, which I struggle with. I also haven't come back to SGA yet - I'm still thoroughly ensared by Top Gun at the moment.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Recently, I've discovered I may actually be good at fluff. Either that, or the TGM fandom is just really, really nice (or both). On the more nuts and bolts of things, I usually only write something when I feel I have a good handle on the character voice, and my grammar is generally really good (although when I'm tired I fuck up tenses and have had to go back and fix that too many times to count). I also think I do a pretty good job with making romance sweet but not over the top.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Comedy. I occasionally write some funny lines, but it's very hard for me to write jokes if I'm intending to do so. Also, as previously mentioned, I will sometimes switch between past and present tense without noticing and have to go back and fix that. And I really struggle with writing long fics (I just run out of steam). Which is why I've mostly moved to writing series of shorter fics instead of multi-chaptered fics.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Depends. Usually, I'm not going to bother. I just put some Hebrew in a fic because a character was celebrating a Jewish holiday, but it wasn't a whole passage, just a phrase that I think can be worked out from context (although I'm going to put in an end note to help give some additional context for anyone who isn't familiar with that particular Jewish holiday). But I'm not going to ever do anything more than that - I think it makes things a little harder to read, and generally, I think that you can say things like 'Radek muttered in Czech' if you want to bring in another language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

First fandom I posted in was Good Omens, but I recently realized that I should count the comic my friend and I made in 6th grade, where we essentially put all of us and our friends into the Sammy Keyes universe (and also, wow, my character went by a man's name and dressed like a guy but still used she/her pronouns but didn't mind he/him and was essentially aromantic, and hindsight is 20/20)

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Again with the hard choices - I love so many of my fics. But right this moment, I think Autopilot (SGA) is my favorite. It's the only one I wrote longhand, and I wrote it because the SGA server was doing a challenge to write a 15-sentence fic. It was super fun to write, and I think it turned out really well.

[mcu-coworkers]

Love?Love.

Summary: You make a decision after coming to a self realization, and it ends up costing you more than you had thought. Meanwhile, Anakin decides to fight for his feelings never expecting to have to use his lightsaber for it.

Pairings: Anakin x Y/N reader.

Word count: 2,876

Warnings: smut (please skip over if you are not 18+), oral, slight violence, very small mention of blood.

A/N: Hello everyone! Before  I   forget, the “...” usually means a switch in POV or scene? if it makes sense  I   noticed  I   never clarified that sorry! I will keep it short  I   hope you guys enjoy and thank you for reading!xx (Also, can we talk about chapter 5 of Kenobi? AMAZING.)

Taglist: @graciexmarvel @ssophiebirkas​ @yesimwriting​

Masterlist

PT.1 PT.2 PT.3 PT.4 PT.6

Anakin made his way down the hallway hoping he’d catch you before it was too late. He walked all the way down and took another right and came to an abrupt halt when he saw you hugging the prince and the end of the hall.

When you two had finally pulled away Anakin quickly hid behind the wall so you wouldn't catch him. Looking again he saw you looking at him and smiling, He’d never thought he’d see you smiling that way for someone else.

Sighing in defeat he turned and leaned on the wall feeling lost and confused, but mostly hurt. Never did he think he’d pushed hard enough to push you into the prince’s arms, he couldnt have.

Taking a deep breathe he stood up straight and decided he was going to confront you and the prince, no way he was letting him have his girl so easily.

Just as he turned into corner he bumped into you almost dropping you on your butt until he caught you in his arms. “Princess.” he said looking down at you frowning with confusion as to how fast you got here.

“Oh, Anakin im sorry  I   must have been walking too fast,  I - sorry.” you said quickly smiling at him, “ I   must speak to my father excuse me.” you said looking at him once more remembering what it felt like to be in his arms before walking off.

Sighing once more Anakin looked back at you watching your figure disappear down the hall and once again feeling someone bump into him again, this time it was the prince.

“My apologies Anakin, It seems  I   should be going.” the prince said quietly. “Going?” Anakin asked, confused.

“Yes, it seems  I   have nothing more to do here.” he  said, revealing a box with the ring still in it. “The princess said no?” Anakin asked, trying not to react in front of the prince. “It seems she is looking for something else, someone else maybe.” he said smiling looking at the ring.

“Well,  I   shall be going  I   have a princess out there waiting for me,  I   hope.” Prince Cal said earning a chuckle from Anakin, maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all.

“Good luck your highness,  I   hope you find her.” Anakin said and with a small nod to each other the prince was also off in the same direction you went in.

Suddenly realizing what just happened , Anakin was once again confused as to why you were so happy and urgent to talk to your father after declining a marriage proposal to the prince?

Erasing that all from his kind he decided to go to your room and wait for you to come back.

…

Meanwhile, you were still in search of your father when suddenly you found Obi-wan instead. “Oh Obi-wan I'm sorry  I  ‘m running around like a headless chicken, have you seen my father?” you asked slightly out of breath from all the speed walking.

“ He’s right out those doors Princess.” he said pointing to yet another corridor. “Wonderfull, thank you!” but just before you could walk off Obi-wan stopped you. “Princess if  I   may.” he said politely.

“Yes?” you asked, “This thing with you and Anakin,” he said and suddenly your stomach dropped not expecting that. “He has really been happy because of it, and i'm happy for you both.” he said quietly, smiling at you.

You smiled feeling sad at Obi-wan's words, “Thank you Obi, but Anakin chose to end things in order to focus on the Jedi order, he's a good man thanks to you.” you said smiling once more before walking away hoping your father was still close.

“Father! Can we have a moment in private please?” you asked, sighing in relief finally finding him. “Ofcourse, excuse me gentlemen, we will continue this soon.” he said walking away from the Jedi and onto a balcony.

“What is troubling you so much my child?” he asked, looking around. You weren't in the most private area possible but it would have to do for now.

“  I   want to renounce my rights to the crown and my future title of queen.” you said confidently but in reality you were hoping he couldn't see how much your hands were shaking from how nervous you were.

Hearing those words almost knocked off his balance making him hold on to the rail of the balcony. “You what?” he said in a whisper. “ I   wa-” you went to say again.

“No,  I   heard what you said and don't ever say it again.” he said, regaining himself and pointing his finger at you. “But father  I  -” you tried again. “No, you were raised in this life and you will see it through, and that is finally my child.” he said heading for the doors.

“ I   will not force you to marry, but  I   will ask you to pick someone soon or else you will be forcing my hand y/n.” he said before walking off leaving you with tears in your eyes and holding back a sob.

Quickly before someone saw you, you composed yourself just enough until you got to your room where no one would be able to see you. Avoiding eye contact, you made your way to your room quietly.

Once youd finally made it you shut the door quickly and leaned your forehead against it and finally allowed yourself to breathe. “Are you alright?” Anakin said, causing you to turn around quickly and covering your mouth, muffling your scream.

Quickly Anakin stood up and walked towards you. “ I  ‘m sorry  I   came after you bumped into me  in the hallway and  I   was hoping we could talk if that's alright with you.” Anakin said realizing your cheeks had tears running down.

“Whats wrong?” he said holding your face and bringing you closer to him.

“Anakin why are you here?” you asked pushing him away. You’d been through enough today you didn't need to be reminded that you’d lost Anakin too.

Taken back by the sudden aggression Anakin didn't hold you back, “ I   wanted to talk, theres something that  I   need to say.” he said walking towards you slowly just incase you had another outburst.

“But  I   can see you’re upset. What's wrong with my love?” he asked making you frown ‘the audacity of this man.’ you thought.

“How dare you?” you asked, “First you tell me you want me, then you tell me its over and now you call me pet names? What's tomorrow looking like?” you asked, scoffing turning away from him.

If you hadn’t loved him so much he would've been out that door already. And suddenly there it was, love. You hadn't realized it until now and at a very terrible moment but you did, love him.

“Look,  I  ‘m sorry for doing what  I   did earlier,  I   wasn't thinking straight and  I   thought it was the right thing to do at the moment but  I   now realize it wasn't and  I  ‘m sorry  I   put you through that.” he said looking at you as you looked anywhere but at him.

“Say something, please.” he said kneeling down in front of you trying to get you to look at him. Another tear ran down your face, “ I   told my father  I  no longer wanted the crown.” you said finally looking at him.

“What did he say?” Anakin whispered his heart skipping a beat at the news. “He said if  I   don't get married soon he’ll pick someone and send me off.” you said another tear running down your face.

Anakin's heart broke at the sight of you crying, he’d do anything to make you smile again. “Sand.” he said abruptly making you look at him extremely confused.

“What?” you said a smile pondering your lips. “ I   hate sand, Our honeymoon could never be on a planet with sand.” he said looking at you. “Because it gets stuck everywhere and after you’ll be seeing it for the next lifetime?” you asked intrigued at his randomness.

Without thinking about it Anakin reached up and kissed you causing you to gasp. “ I -I  ‘m sorry  I   ju-” before he could finish you pulled him back in and went for more. Could anyone blame you? Sure you were angry but there was just something about him.

You moved your hands to the back of his head slightly pulling him down on top of you on the bed. He put one arm above you for support and the other went down massaging your hip and suddenly squeezing it harder than last time making you gasp again.

Chuckling Anakin slipped his tongue in deepening the kiss making his heart beat faster than it ever has in his life. You ran your hands through his hair and pulled on it making him groan in pleasure making shivers go down your spine.

He pulled away quickly, “ I ‘m sorry  I   didn't mean to-” confused as to what he meant

You finally realized what he meant when he guided your eyes down to the tent in his pants.

“Oh” you said shyly, Anakin had been your first in practically everything other than talking to boys because you had to speak to guards and guests that visited the palace.

“We don't have to do anything, it will go away eventually.” he said sitting  down on the bed reaching for a pillow. “Wait.” you said your heart racing thinking about what you were about to do.

You put one leg over him straddling him and feeling his erection on your sensitive area made you gasp slightly, feeling a bit of pleasure at the friction causing Anakin to clench his jaw. “Show me.” you said guiding his hands to your hips.

Slowly he guided you down and started rocking your hips back and forth creating that friction you felt earlier making you grip his shoulders and roll your head back. Anakin could only admire your silent moans and only wanted to  hear them get louder so he started leaving trails of kisses down your neck.

“Anakin.” you said breathlessly looking down at him pulling his hands away and taking over fully gaining enough confidence to do it yourself which only made Anakin even harder and wanting to feel all of you.

Reaching even more you pushed him back on the bed  and began kissing him again as your hand went into his pants massaging his bulge gently while also secretly trying to get a feel of how big he was.

“Oh my-” Anakin pulled away looking down at your hand while switching to wrapping it around him as started pumping his member and feeling something wet which you guessed meant he was close.

“Can  I  ?”  you asked tugging and the waste of his pants. “You don't have to love  I  -” you cut him off by slowly getting down and batting your eyelashes at him. “Please?” you asked politely, making him twitch in your hand.

He could only nod at you and help you pull his pants down and for the first time you actually got a good look at his size and felt slightly panicked by it but before he could notice you took him in your mouth as much as you could fit and the rest of him you pumped with your hands.

You started bobbing your head up and down making sure to lick his tip every so often making Anakin reach for your hair and tugging on it softly making sure to not be too aggressive with you.

“Baby i'm s-so close.” he said encouraging you to go faster which made him subconsciously pull on your hair harder making you moan onto his erection finally sending him into a euphoria full of groans as he released into you.

Panicking you swallowed his seed sucking him off until he was fully done and cleaned off before popping him out of your mouth finally being able to catch your breathe. “You didnt have to- to do that.” he said catching his own breathe.

Giggling you took his hands as he helped you up and sat you on his lap. “So that was your first?” he asked looking at you adoringly. “Yes, actually it was.” you said blushing and leaning into his shoulder to hide your reddened face.

He chuckled and kissed your forehead, “It was the best thing ever.” he said looking down at you. “Oh shut up” you said smacking his arm. “I'm serious,” he said, his smile widening.

“You are the best thing to happen to me, you know that right?” he said, holding you even tighter. You grinned to yourself feeling whole in this moment and you never wanted to leave.

Before you could reply to his loving words a beeping sound  came from the comm on his wrist. Slowly he raised it up to his lips before answering. “Yes, Master?” he said, confused by the sudden interruption.

“Anakin, we’ve been called for an emergency meeting with the council in ten minutes, get down here quickly.” Obi-wan said sternly before you heard a low beeping sound indicating he was gone.

Sighing Anakin turned towards you feeling uneasy, something was off about his master's tone. “I‘ll be back as soon as it is over,  I   promise.” he said, kissing your lips softly, pulling away before he got lost in you again.

Walking him to your door, he checked the hallway making sure it was clear before walking out casually making you giggle to yourself as you walked back to prepare a shower for yourself.

As the water warmed up you thought of the conversation you had with your father earlier, or more like the sentence you managed to get out and him threatening you after. Lost in thought you realized you didn't want to be a queen anymore.

At Least not if it meant you lost the right to love who you did, but then again he was tied to his own code that he had broken as well. Your heart yearned for Anakin, but your mind knew eventually the hiding and the secrets would become too much.

You were pulled out of your thoughts when suddenly you felt the ground beneath you shake and your bedroom window being broken. “Hello Princess.”

…

“Master, what was so urgent that the council called for a meeting at the last minute?” Anakin asked, annoyed by the interruption.

“It seems Master Yoda has sensed something quite serious.” Obi-wan said, taking his seat. Anakin had sensed it as well; his worry only grew knowing he had left you alone.

“The king and princess, in danger they are.” Yoda said, getting straight to it. Anaking sat up straight feeling even more urgency to get back to you.

“What danger might this be?” Master Windu asked but just as he did they were interrupted by Rex, “ I‘m sorry to interrupt but there's been a breach in the temple, it seems they've got the princess and are most likely heading for the king next i've sent a crew to find the king and another for the princess.” he said quickly.

Anakin's heart sank at the news, his anger getting the best of him, “we need to send out more troops, how could someone break into the temple so easily.” he said standing.

“Calm yourself young Skywalker, clear your mind before you make matters worse.” Master Windu advised standing as well.

“I'm sorry master, it's just that we were meant to protect the royal family, now two of them risk losing their lives for coming here.” Anakin said, looking down at the ground.

“Obi-wan, you and Anakin will lead the search for the princess, Kit Fisto, Ploo Koon, you will lead the search for the King. Once found, reunite them with Prince Luke in the Sub levels.” Master Windu said exiting the council room.

“We must check the security cameras and go from there.” Obi-wan said, “You go Master, I'll go to the princess’s room and see if  I   can find anything  helpful.”  Anakin said hopeful he’d agree.

“Fine with me, contact me if you find her and the culprit along the way, contact me first before you do anything Anakin,  I   meant it.” Obi-wan said stern knowing the impulsiveness of his Padawan.

Beginning to walk away, Anakin looked back, “Of course Master.” he said before running off to your room hoping you’d still be there.

To no avail you were gone and glass was shattered everywhere from the broken window. “Damn it!” Anakin said, hitting the door out of anger and running out looking for a trail to follow and luckily he found one.

Blood. Heart racing and tears threatening to fall down his eyes he begins to follow the trail heading to the landing bay with his lightsaber in hand.

Suddenly his comm beeps again, “Anakin it's Ventress, Ventress has both the king and the princess.” He said out of breath he must have been running already.

“ I  ‘m on my way to the landing bay right now master, meet me there.” he said quietly. “Anakin, she's not alone waiting for me and the other Jedi to arrive.” Obi-wan said in a panic.

“ Anakin? Anakin!” Obi-wan screamed but by then it had been too late.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Eye of the World! Chapter 37: The Long Chase

Well folks, it's finally happened, I've reached a point where images are going to be silly and arbitrary because there's no good scans online of the comic (and after this book I don't think there is a comic), the show is too divergent to have anything immediately useful available, and the scene doesn't really attract fan art. That's right, spoilers for this chapter: it's not notable enough to get fan art. If you don't want other Wheel of Time (yes, the whole series) spoilers, go away!

This chapter has the Whitecloak icon because we're raiding the hell out of their camp now as the party takes its first steps towards reuniting after falling apart earlier. That said, they're mostly a distant threat in this chapter because of our POV.

“No need to take it out on you, I suppose,” she whispered, “just because your mistress is a cold-faced—” She strained at the darkness again. What were they doing?

Nynaeve really is such a sweetheart, isn't she? I don't remotely blame her for being frustrated. Moiraine is clearly secret keeping out of habit at this point because there's no reason to withhold this information from Nynaeve. Of course, Moiraine probably fears that Nynaeve would just try to murder all the Whitecloaks herself, but that's still no excuse for not communicating.

Long after the last glow had faded from the coals, Moiraine opened her eyes and looked at her. She could feel the Aes Sedai’s smile even in the dark. “He has regained the coin, Wisdom. All will be well.” She lay down on her blankets with a sigh and almost at once was breathing deep in slumber.

And really this proves that Moiraine can be communicative about her plans and the well-being of everyone, she just doesn't do it when Nynaeve is in a position to do anything.

As soon as the horses were secured, he straightened, grasped her hand, and headed off into the night again.

Lan is of course thinking, "I'm never going to get to hold this awesome woman's hand romantically, so I'm just going to have to settle for the closest thing I can get." If Nynaeve could see his face it would be beet red.

“To help an Emond’s Fielder? Of course! What kind of chance?”

Nynaeve is absolutely ride or die for all four of these kids and it's wonderful to see. Really it makes some of the problems she has about communicating with Rand in the later books all the more "author's thumb on the scales". But we'll get there!

Stalking rabbits was one thing; guards, though, with spears and swords. . . . So he thinks I’m good, does he?

Lan might be secretly all about the physical pleasures, but the number one way to get Nynaeve going is to respect her. She's also blushing right now and just doesn't tell us about it because she's that unreliable.

Now that she was alone in the darkness, she remembered that the wolves that usually ran away from people had been behaving differently in the Two Rivers this winter.

Don't worry Nynaeve, you probably smell enough like Perrin and Egwene that the wolves are quietly clearing a path for you, ripping out Whitecloak throats and then dragging them into bushes so you don't have to be upset by the gore.

Nynaeve waited, counting to herself while they made their circuit twice. Each time they took exactly the same count, and each time they rigidly repeated the same formula, not a word more or less. Neither so much as glanced to one side; they stared straight ahead as they marched up, then marched away. She wondered if they would have noticed her even if she had been standing up.

Thank goodness the Whitecloaks are Assassin's Creed NPCs or Nynaeve could be in real danger! Hopefully these dudes are just idiots who figure that absolutely no one would be sneaking up on them in their current position, which ordinarily wouldn't be a bad assumption.

She could imagine Lan’s eyes when he heard what she had done. There would be no accusation in them; her reasoning was sound, and he would not expect any more of her. She was a Wisdom, not a bloody great invincible Warder who could make himself all but invisible.

Meanwhile of course Lan would just be like, "I mean I knew you were good so I figured you'd get most of the horses, but I didn't think you'd be able to do four out of five under these conditions!" and just be really impressed and flattering. Nynaeve would interpret the whole thing as mockery.

Desperately she wished for Moiraine not to wait on her return. Whatever the Aes Sedai was going to do, let her do it now. Light, make her do it now, before. . . . Abruptly lightning shattered the night overhead, for a moment obliterating darkness.

I really enjoy that unconsciously summoning lightning is apparently just something Rand and Nynaeve have in common. It's also a good way to try and get the ignorant reader to understand that Rand did indeed channel and that he's not just having the world's best luck (that's Mat's thing!).

For an endless minute she hung suspended between the horses, her feet off the ground, her scream flattened by the second crash. Again the lightning struck, and again, and again, in one continuous, raging roar from the heavens.

I also enjoy that since Nynaeve's a little more experienced at denial magic that she can cause the world's most terrifying thunderstorm instead of just a single bolt from the blue. For all the shit I'm going to give Jordan about gender and stuff (the shit I've given him so far is nothing), plenty of writers at the time wouldn't let the girl outshine the boy under any circumstances! Hell, even now some would be shitty about it. And here we have Nynaeve beating Rand at the thing most associated with the Norse god he shares a name with!

Admittedly he's going to outshine her most of the time going forward, but it's nice to see something. Hopefully epic fantasy is getting to the point where women won't just end up with the scraps nowadays.

And on that note, I'm out. This was a shorter chapter after all. Tomorrow we'll get another Perrin POV as the rescue is completed. See ya then!

[silverynight]

Comfort omega

<---Previous

Chapter 9

Eijiro knows his friend is going to snap soon; he can smell it in his scent, he's desperate to be with Midoriya, he can't help it.

"He has it really bad, doesn't he?" Ashido whispers next to his ear, as they walk slowly behind Bakugo; the streets are quiet that day, but they're on a mission and know chaos is gonna unfold soon.

"Yeah, but our dear omega is in heat at the moment and I don't think it's wise for him to go check on him," Eijiro tells her. "I know he's worried, but anything can happen..."

Ashido looks at the way the explosive alpha walks, determined, but slow, almost like he's in pain; he looks quite lost. Then she turns to look at Eijiro again.

"You know what? I think Blasty will be fine; he's clearly worried and loves the green bean so much..." Ashido looks at the grumpy alpha with a smile, even though he's so immersed in his own thoughts to realize his friends are talking about him. "He would never touch him like that, at least not now when he's not sure if Midoriya actually wants this or not. Blasty is a good alpha."

She's right, of course she is; Eijiro visibly relaxes next to her, feeling a lot better now. Because he knows Bakugo is going to snap at any moment and probably run to check on the omega.

Just as he thought, Bakugo stops around to look at them both with the most concerned expression they've ever seen.

"He's not answering my texts..."

"It's okay, Blasty. Maybe he's asleep... You know omegas need to rest more during their heats..."

Bakugo's shoulders fall as he nods; Eijiro knows he's not entirely convinced or feeling better at all, but he's trying to calm his inner alpha down.

"I need to make sure he's alright."

"Why don't you call his friend again?" Eijiro suggests. Sure, even if Bakugo finds himself outside Midoriya's door he's sure he won't lose focus, but there's the possibility of the sweet omega getting angry with him for not staying away like he asked him to. Eijiro knows Bakugo would feel bad later if Midoriya got mad at him.

"Alright," Bakugo mumbles, clearly not satisfied with the answer.

Ashido looks at Eijiro for a moment, before nodding at him and putting one of her hands on the blond alpha's shoulder.

"Why don't you go back to the office so you can call him? We can handle this."

Bakugo is usually very stubborn, he loves to be a pro hero and has always been really professional... He doesn't leave in the middle of a mission, not even if he's seriously hurt, so the fact that Eijiro can see the hesitation in his eyes is proof enough that he's absolutely head over heels in love with Midoriya.

Eijiro tries to hold back a grin.

"Alright," Bakugo finally mumbles. "Call me if you need me. Thank you."

"Don't worry, Blasty," she says, trying not to look too surprised after hearing their friend thanking them.

"I think Bakubro is going to get married soon..."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Kiri," she chuckles.

"I'm going to be best man!"

"Kiri, oh my god..." Ashido laughs again, but looks at him fondly. "Well, maybe... If we're lucky and Blasty doesn't ruin it. Wait, didn't you say comfort omegas can't have mates?"

Yeah, he did. And it's unfortunately true... But maybe the green haired omega can reconsider... Eijiro is sure they'd be really good for each other.

But things are never that easy.

***

For the third time in a couple of minutes, Izuku turns on the couch, feeling cold and restless. The suppressants are strong enough to keep him mostly coherent and not horny all the time, but the omega still feels like something's wrong.

The scent Bakugo left on his couch is almost gone and Izuku is suffering because of it, at least his body is... It's like he can't feel warm anymore no matter how many blankets he uses to cover himself.

He really wants the alpha to come and cuddle him, but he knows it's not possible and it's probably wrong considering they're just friends.

A couple of tears slide from his eyes and Izuku can't stop the sob that escapes from his lips as he wishes everything to be over soon.

Hours pass like a torture, they're slower than usual, but at the same time Izuku is not aware of them; it's like living in a bad dream... But he cannot get himself to sleep.

So far this is his worst heat yet...

Izuku blinks a couple of times and watches as Aoyama opens the door, snaps at someone to stay outside and rushes towards him after closing the door behind himself.

There's a hint of a scent that reaches Izuku's nose and prompts him to sit down in a couple of seconds. Suddenly, Aoyama is leaning in front of him, gently pushing him back down.

"Is Kacchan outside?" He doesn't recognize his own voice for a moment, he sounds like he's in pain.

"Yes, the grumpy alpha is outside," Aoyama sighs. "I only agreed to bring him here because he wouldn't leave me alone; he wanted to make sure you were alright..."

Izuku sobs, feeling a wave of warm emotions through his body.

There's a noise coming from outside, like something heavy is leaning against the door.

The omega can't hold back a needy whine, Aoyama covers his mouth quickly though, rolling his eyes as he does.

"I knew this was a bad idea..." He whispers before turning his head towards the entrance and yelling: "You promised me you'd behave, grumpy boy!"

The silence is his only response; Aoyama sighs, before looking back at his friend.

"You haven't slept at all, have you, mon ami?"

Izuku shakes his head, feeling really tired. Aoyama finally moves his hand away, but strokes the shadows under the omega's eyes a couple of times.

"Listen... You can talk to him... But don't open the door, okay? Maybe listening to him will help you feel better..."

He doesn't hesitate, he rushes towards the entrance and sits on the floor, ear pressing against the wooden door.

"Kacchan?"

"Are you alright, Izuku? Do you need anything? Have you eaten enough?"

A relieved smile curls up the corners of Izuku's mouth. His alpha is here, he worries about him... His alpha wants to make sure he's–

Blushing to the tip of his ears, Izuku stops his train of thought suddenly, scolding himself for letting his inner omega take control of his mind for a moment. Bakugo is his friend, just like Aoyama, of course he's worried about him...

"I'm fine, I have everything I need," he forces himself to say, even though he still wants Bakugo to come inside and cuddle him. But Aoyama is right, that'd only make things more complicated.

"Are you sure?" The alpha insists. "You don't sound good..."

The genuine concern is what makes Izuku lose control for a moment, just for a couple of seconds, but that's enough for him to blurt something stupid out.

"Would you let me borrow a piece of your clothing? Are you wearing a hoodie? Or maybe your t-shirt..."

"Midoriya!" He doesn't blame Aoyama for scolding him, he knows it's wrong because Bakugo is not his alpha.

"I'm sorry–"

"It's okay. You can have my h-hoodie." His voice sounds different for a moment, deeper and a little bit shaky... His scent has grown stronger somehow...

"I'm basically babysitting two idiots..." Aoyama huffs, but he still runs his fingers through Izuku's curls softly before gently pushing him out of the way. "Stay here, I'll go get the hoodie."

Izuku can hear Aoyama arguing with Bakugo at the other side, before the blond omega is back inside.

He hands Izuku a black hoodie that smells absolutely delicious. The omega doesn't hesitate to put it on and purrs in delight when he realizes that Bakugo's scent is all over him... It's like the alpha is giving him a hug.

Izuku feels so much better now.

"Thank you, Kacchan."

"You're welcome, Izuku. Just... don't wash it once you're done with it..."

"What? But..." The omega stops before he actually says it; it'll still smell like him, especially because he plans to wear it until his heat is over.

"Please, Izuku."

"O-Okay."

He talks to Bakugo for a while through the door, it's not the same than having the alpha in front of him, but it's okay for now. Besides, Izuku no longer feels cold anymore... He's warm and completely relaxed. He feels so good he doesn't realize his eyes are closing on their own until Aoyama carries him back to his nest.

"Tell Kacchan I really appreciate this..."

"Sure, mon ami... Now go back to sleep."

***

The grumpy alpha certainly doesn't know how to hide his feelings at all; Yuga can't believe Midoriya hasn't realized what's going on yet.

Bakugo looks at Midoriya's apartment door with something that looks a lot like longing and Yuga has to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Sure, it's cute, but that doesn't mean he'll let the alpha stay.

"He's asleep now. He has everything he needs," he assures the pro hero.

Bakugo nods, even though the worry doesn't vanish from his eyes.

"Come on, we have to go and you know it." After noticing the concern in his scent, he adds: "No one can get inside. Besides, his neighbors are all omegas and betas and they're very fond of him; they won't let anyone with bad intentions roam around the building."

The alpha nods before following Yuga, even though he is not happy at all.

"He's wearing my hoodie," Bakugo mumbles after a while, it's just a whisper... And, for a moment, Yuga thinks he's only talking to himself, until he looks at him. "Do you think this means he..."

He doesn't finish, but the hopeful glimmer in his red eyes says a lot.

"You have to talk to Midoriya about this... Once his heat is over," Yuga finds himself saying. He could've given him an answer, but he knows those two need to have a serious conversation as soon as possible.

Bakugo nods again, although this time he looks and smells absolutely pleased with himself.

He's a good alpha and is more than obvious that he adores Midoriya... But that green haired omega can be really stubborn sometimes and stupid because he usually lets himself believe he doesn't deserve to have good things.

And that's when things get a lot complicated.

***

Next---->

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[okamiwind]

hm here's an update on how i've been doing

i went on a band trip last week that took a lot out of me emotionally, but it was fun also? sometimes life is weird like that. like maybe you had something annoying happen to you but then that annoyance leads to a bitch session that leaves you closer to someone else, maybe in a way that you wouldn't have known before. so idk. good and bad. you're just supposed to have both, i guess.

as i've been away, i haven't been writing much besides paradisium. paradisium, despite only requiring 500 words a day, sometimes feels like a real slog. i dont think i had a super clear idea of the middle of this story, so trying to figure it out is a challenge.

now that i'm thinking about it, a lot of my stories start that way? i have a very clear beginning point, a very clear end point, and the middle is like jeremy bearimy. like how do you unravel a knot that was tied in the fabric of time? you cant, of course. you just try and hack away at it with a butter knife

summer pretty much started for me last week as i don't follow the calendar dates for seasons. seasons should be entirely Vibes based. so anyway summer started last week and i can't wait for it to be over. counting down the days pretty much.

i'm not really looking forward to my birthday, but it will be pretty cool to hopefully be finished paradisium by then. lets all put our hands together in prayer.

oh yeah. i was gonna say... today i started writing iatbye again after an extended absence and tiana happened to catch me with a call in the middle of it (usually i write in blocks of 1k, so i think of .5 as my halfway point). as i was talking to her i was like man, this is a terrible time to talk to me because all my thoughts are completely absurd and strange and weird, like i told her that the horse is a metaphor and she's like yeah of course it is and then i explained the metaphor at her for 5 minutes and then the next 5 minutes i told her about my anxieties about the next two chapters for iatbye and why that's probably contributed to my lack of energy to write it

yeah chapter 12 is like, the climax of this part. the way that chapter 17 and 25 were those big emotional moments for part one, chapter 12 will be the emotional centerpiece of part two. so it's like. you know, i'm sure it will be fine, and truthfully it doesn't matter if it sucks bc im not being graded and its just for fun, whatever whatever, but at the same time, i have these Standards TM for myself that i almost certainly can't live up to. so its worrisome. you can write things a thousand different ways, and i have to try to write it the Right way. so i worry over it.

sidlink is still on the backburner. i know in some way or another what i wanna do with that fic but its just too wide open right now for me. i need to finish an iatbye chapter to like. get back into my groove. get some confidence back or something.

so idk. that's how i am now mostly. i mostly exist in a state of depressed (and i mean that in the squashed sort of depressed way, not big sad kind of depressed way) anxiety. like most of the time i can deal with it but then ill get hit with this wave that just like waterboards me lmao

[not-close-to-straight]

Did you like the new Indiana Jones movie?

Mmmm.....yes. Mostly. Because it's an Indiana Jones movie and it's Harrison Ford and I love it. The theme song plays and I get goose bumps. I love his wit, his intelligence, his bravery, his loyalty, his dedication to preserving history and the way Harrison Ford's eyes have never lost their sparkle. In the beginning flashback scene where he looks young I actually went "Oh my Mr. Ford".

I can't imagine how difficult it is to write the final chapter of a character like Indiana Jones, I mean whether people have watched the movies or not there are some scenes that are so iconic they've made their way into pop culture and into countless other movies and shows and comedy bits-- and tying up that story with a satisfying conclusion and arc, with just enough fan service to make the long time fans feel seen and appreciated but enough modernity to keep the series from wallowing in the 'yeah it's totally fine to slap women when they get on your nerves' dynamic that the earliest ones had, with enough emotion to make it feel properly respectful of the characters legacy but enough action to keep from being boring--

I can't imagine how difficult that project would have been to undertake, and holy shit do I appreciate the effort that went into it.

That being said though-- and with no spoilers-- it was about 90% the story I wanted to see but not the ending I wanted to see at all.

There were some parts that fell really flat in my opinion. There were some opportunities for much deeper emotional arcs that were abandoned entirely in favor of quick jokes or random scenes. Plot points that should have been emphasized but were mentioned in a throw away line at the last minute just to make sense of whatever happened next. I mean at one point its like "OH NO FRAMED FOR MURDER?!" and then it was literally never mentioned again.

One of the best things about the Indiana Jones movies for me (as a huge history nerd) has always been the attention to detail, the tiniest of scraps of knowledge that totally change a plot outcome and that was certainly lacking here. And then on the other hand, especially in the beginning there was way too MUCH detail, it was so muddled up with too many characters (who were ultimately meaningless after the first act) and sort of crazy long actions scenes that meant NOTHING after it was done so it felt like a waste of effort.

The hardest part for me was the supposed climax of the film being... nothing? Like sort of nothing. The action was building and building and it was really intense and I was so sure I knew what was going to happen (in a good way, I was very excited for it) and then when I realized what was ACTUALLY happening I went "wait. seriously?" and then "wait seriously?" a couple more times.

And I understand the lesson they were TRYING to impart on both Indy and the viewers but it wasn't actually the lesson you'd THINK the movie was trying to impart and was actually one that nobody had really brought up at all yet? It was like a surprise lesson.

ALSO it did the "action action action how on earth will we fix it-- fade to black-- its all fixed now" and that always leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Overall, I mean it's an Indiana Jones movie. Of course I love it. I spent my entire childhood watching them on repeat with my older brothers, it never bothered me to be watching "old action movies" they were always the most fun movies I could ever imagine and I'm sure that like, lifelong rewatching nostalgia probably tainted some of my expectations of the new one.

I just feel like there's usually two options for retiring an action hero and it's 1) kill him off in a blaze of glory or 2) make sure the adventure never ends ie: he's always riding off into the sunset chasing another cool thing.

There's Secret Option Number Three which is to have the hero retire peacefully and live out the rest of his life in quiet BUT depending on the hero, that isn't always the most satisfying end.

Like for Tony Stark? I would spill blood to ensure that guy got to retire with Pep and Morgan and live to the ripe old age of 90 before passing peacefully in his sleep.

James Bond? The adventure needed to just go on and on and on.

Um.... Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible? Go out in a blaze of glory.

And I know which of those options I'd prefer for Indiana but (no spoilers) it isn't the one they chose for the movie.

Anyway. I'm rambling so I'll stop.

BUT a week is Standard Non Spoiler Time for my blog, so if you want to talk about it in greater detail next weekend I can word-vomit for days about the movie and character!