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soldmysoultootomeboys · 3 years

Note

Hi! Can I request headcannons for the human brothers accidently summoning an angel mc instead of a demon and the angel mc insisting on sticking around and helping them?

The other brothers: :) Satan: >:)

This has been in the drafts for too long. I really love the absolute mood switch between Lucifers and Mammons. And just Satans in general ig.

Lucifer

After years of religious trauma at the hands of his father Lucifer finally thought he was free of any connection to the church. Summoning a flaming seraphim at 3 in the morning was not a pleasant way to find out that he was wrong.

As for you, being summoned for the first time in your long long life was an unwelcome surprise. You were a seraphim for heaven's sake. The cream of the crop, highest of the high, and that wasn’t pride speaking only facts. You were crucial to running the celestial realm.

But somehow you’re undeniably tied to his human. You could feel where his soul became intermeshed with your very essence. How wrong it felt to be tied to something so mortal, and delicate, and free.

Any attempts to leave would surely be met with disaster.

So you stay. Lucifer is cold. You can’t blame him. Being there reopens old wounds that he’d rather have remained closed. But just ignoring each other isn’t going to work.

He’s not interested in the celestial realm, and despises any blessing you try and give him, but a fresh cup of coffee during an all-nighter seems to make him brighter than any magic you could do and when you run your hands through his hair he looks at you with more fondness than you can comprehend.

You learn to be more human. He learns to let go of the past.

And one day you find that you don’t want to leave anymore.

For celestial sake that thought should as well be treason! But it’s true.

It’s a spring afternoon and Lucifer plays celestial lullabies on his piano and you want nothing more than for the beautiful night to come so you can sweep him in your arms and remind him how he glows.

You don’t know what is right and what is wrong anymore, but you know that this human is yours and you are his. To rip off your wings would be to find solace in his arms. But you can not give him that. This he knows.

So you promise to protect him, in words he can’t hear but he understands. The spread of your wings shield him from the world and you press blessings to his skin in the shape of the crescents in his back and your lips on his neck. If nothing else you’ll keep him safe. When the world seems too big and the stress of his life gets him down you’ll always be here for him to crawl back to. You can give him that much.

Mammon

That was it

You had to have been assigned the stupidest human in the world

When you were promoted to guardian angel you kinda thought it would be more ‘protecting orphans’ and ‘guiding lost puppies back home’ NOT watching a grown man spend his last paycheck on his eighth Nigerian prince scam

Seriously mammon? Did the prophetic dreams you sent mean nothing? The visions of the future he coincidentally had after hitting his head on a light post, only simple illusions? What more could you try beyond simply marching down their and clocking him on the head yourself?

...unless

Raphael would have your wings if you went to the human world. But that would be a lot less painful that having to watch whatever Mammon was going to do with all the rubber cement he just bought.

The next morning you decide to sneak down. The city was amazing, all colored light and fun machines that whizzed by you on the streets

But you had to stay focused

You were an angel on a mission

You made your way towards central park. Mammon went there every morning to swindle tourists out of their wallets. If you were fast you’d get there before the first patrol office started chasing him.

Spotting the albino you marched straight towards him, readied yourself, and smacked him over the head.

Maybe not very angel-like but it worked.

One introduction later and you're officially a guardian angel

Mammon’s actually pretty nice once you get to know him. Sure he may be a bit too obsessed with lining his pockets but for all his talk he never hesitates to try and help you out.

Consistent affection and care is good for him. He never really knows how to react when you wrap your wings around him but even with his tsundere objections it's obvious he’s pleased.

He’ll take whatever scraps of affection you’ll give him and practically beams at every little gesture you do, no matter how small or insignificant.

You do have to be careful though.

At his request you had attempted to bless him with a bit of luck. An easy enough spell for an angel like you (even if you were 90% sure he planned to go gambling after). Whatever scheming he’s doing immediately stops the moment you cup his face. He seems to freeze when you lean in, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek

You were about to congratulate yourself on a spell well done when you noticed the condition he was in. He was like a living statue, a statue with a very very red face

Before you can ask what was wrong he flails pushing you away and darting off to his room

Any attempts to speak to him the rest of the day were met with incoherent shouting.

It might be best to withhold any magic until you can figure out how humans work

Levi

Once again Levi’s dedication to anime gets him into trouble

It started with his most recent obsession, a new anime that follows a group of angels, produced by the famous company, Dove. The plot, the animation, the soundtrack, all of it was amazing so when they came out with a new limited edition item featuring the very symbol that the main character wore he just had to have it

The moment it came he was setting it up on its own altar, a handmade replica just like in the show only for- Oh no

Before his eyes burst a shining visage of light and then you

You blink in surprise, whether it's from taking a human form for the first time in decades or the strange new room you were in, only you know

The scene may be foreign but the guy quivering on the floor was not

BE NOT AFRAID

Your booming voice echoes around the room

For some reason the guy begins to freak out even more

Didn’t he see your halo? You even told him to not be afraid. Were humans really so strange? :(

Oh well. You hum making your aura as comforting as possible and slowly the guy calms down enough for you to coax him into a seat as you begin to explain.

Which might not have been the best move.

The moment it sunk in he was bombarding you with questions

Yes you were an angel, no you didn’t know what anime was, yes you had wings, no you didn’t have any secret ultimate moves...whatever those were

He ranted and raved over this and that and you let him. He seemed like he needed someone to talk to. It also let you piece together what had happened.

He seemed to be a natural sorcerer, and a powerful one at that if he could someone an angel with no training or even knowledge that he could do magic

Just a few minutes in his presence made his self loathing obvious. Mix in a bit of anxiety and envy and you essentially have Levi in a nutshell

So you decide to stay

What kind of angel would you be if you just left him here? Michael would understand.

Or he wouldn't, it didn’t really matter because you already made up your mind.

Living with Levi is an experience for both of you.

He introduces you to so many new things. He had little boxes that could control light and screens containing actual people to talk to. It was all quite fanciful

In return you act as his friend, encouraging him to go out with you and attending cons with him, even if you still weren't exactly sure what cosplaying is

Slowly he begins to open up for you

He’s still nervous to go out in public, and a complete introvert at heart.

But that was fine. You could both figure out this new world together, at your own pace

Satan

Definitely was not trying to summon a demon to lay havoc on his enemies

Nope, not him he says all while trying to casually kick away vials of mysterious fluids

...Right

You’ve been down to the human world enough to know a demon summoner when you see one

Or in this case a failed summoner

He has no excuse for why he called you and instead seems more insistent that you leave

As much as you you might like to return to the celestial realm, you cannot in good conscience leave a man that you know is going to try and raise hell on earth the moment your gone

So you stay, and it's a good thing you do

This man has anger issues like no other

You thought Raphael was bad this guy is like a demon himself

However he seems willing to try and make the best of what he considers a bad situation

He asks you a lot of questions on the celestial realm

For a guy who knows so much about the devildom he seems to really be lacking on any knowledge on the other celestial beings

He mostly asks you questions on the celestial war, which is a touchy topic at best and downright upsetting at worst

He’s very interested in your opinions as your point of view is very different from his own, what with being a different species and everything

You learn things too, mostly about humans and cats but you suppose its a fair trade

Because of this you become close friends

You really win him over when he finds out your calming aura naturally attracts the stray kittens Satan's been trying to pet for the last few months

It’s not uncommon to head out to late night coffee shops and discuss the merits of different aspects of your lives

But maybe you’ve gotten a bit to close when he starts asking you to revise his summoning notes

Asmo

Apparently a lifetime of partying has prepared Asmo for some very weird discoveries

When you're sent down to the human world you have one job, find and keep an eye on the potentially dangerous summoner who's been in contact with multiple high level demons in the past few days.

Instead you end up meeting Asmo

You were prepared for a fight, not to be tackled into a hug the moment you revealed yourself

Asmo on the other hand is squealing with excitement

Sweetie, he's been waiting for this moment! This is his first time meeting an angel after all

He immediately begins talking about everything he wants to do

You quickly find out that he hasn’t made any pacts...yet, if only because he “couldn’t bear to damage his skin with such an ugly mark”

...Well you suppose that's a reason to not sell your soul

Even thoughts he's aware of the three realms it doesn’t make him any less enamoured with you

He’s never met an angel, he’s quick to mention. He’d love to get to know you, if you get what he means ;)

Are all humans so upfront?

If you decline he still wants to see your true form, even after you explain that no, if you transform you will not just be a beautiful angel with wings but instead a glowing mass of eyes and feathers and angelic light that will probably end up blinding him

Blinded because of your beauty ;) ;) ;)

That said he’s easily satisfied when you just bring out your wings.

He loves fussing with them and decorates them with jewelry and roses whenever you leave them out

He even starts an angel trend on insta after posting a photo as if they were coming from his back instead

Claims your glowing aura is great for his skin

You’re not sure if that’s a pick up line or if he’s serious but he definitely basks in your presence

Loves when you talk about the celestial realm, somewhere he desperately wants to go

I mean it's the only place that's fit for a beauty like him right? But of course he can’t die yet, his fans would be sooo upset

You agree to bring him up there one day, even if that sounds a little morbid

Of course he asks you to become his guardian angel

That may not be your actual job but you can’t resist his puppy dog eyes

You and him go pretty much everywhere together, bar some more xxx rated sites

He introduces you to parties and bars, and while you don’t indulge it's enjoyable to see humans in their natural element. They’re so fun and free spirited just like Asmo

Maybe that's what attracted you to him in the first place

He loves life for what it is, something so admirably human

But you don’t slack off either. You take your role as Official Guardian Angel seriously. You guard his drinks when he goes to the bathroom, and hum celestial lullabies when he’s sad and escort him down dark alleys when walking home. He has nothing to fear with you around.

You’ve become very fond of this human. Perhaps you’ll stick around a bit longer than you planned

Beel

It’s rare to be assigned to a human so...mundane

But that’s exactly what Beel is. He goes to the gym in the mornings, works a nine to five, and comes back home to his dog

He even has a good relationship with this family, do you know how hard that is to find in this day and age???

The only thing even slightly abnormal about this guy is his appetite

He could put a gluttony demon to shame with the way he eats

But the point is you really can’t figure out why you’ve been assigned to him or how your supposed to guide him

Eat a little less? Stop stealing your brother's lunch?

It’s the first time in a long while you’ve been so stumped

So you do what any sane angel would, go down to the human world to meet him yourself

He’s a likeable guy and it’s easy to get close to him, more so do to your angelic status

Although it’s surprising how well he takes the whole angel revelation

To be honest your pretty sure he forgets most of the time

He tends to follow you around, especially at night when he insists on walking you to wherever you need to be. It’s sweet even though there's little that can really harm you in the human realm

You quickly realize that he’s the type to have nightmares, usually calling out for one of his brothers or his sister

It’s become habit to wake up and head to his room

Just being there seems to calm him down

The first time he wakes up when your doing this he ends up asking you to stay

Isn’t shy about sharing the bed either.

He’s easy going so goes along with whatever idea you have

Especially when he starts finding snacks in his bag, each one blessed for a good day or to stay full or whatever little thing you thought of that day

Belphegor

Humans can’t see angels. Not unless they want to be seen, you remind yourself for what must be the tenth time.

But you’re almost certain that guy is looking right at you.

Step to the left, his head follows

To the right, his eyes narrow looking at you like your some puzzle he just hasn’t figured out yet

…this was fine

You turn around pretending to just not see him in hope that he’ll get distracted by something else

...you glance back. Why was he still looking at you? What is with this creep?

Enough is enough.

You march over there ready to ask what his problem is. Instead he beats you to it.

Eh? You’re an angel right? He asks before you can say anything.

???? Shouldn’t he sound more shocked.

The guy just sleepily blinks. He doesn’t look like a sorcerer or a witch, in fact you can’t feel any magic from him at all.

You go to ask only to realize he’s sound asleep. It’s not like you could just leave him here. And at the same time a human who can just see angels is an oddity of itself.

You decide to hang around for a while. Belphegor doesn't mind. He only says something about it being "too troublesome to drive you off," and "you'd look like you'd just come back anyways"

Belphie sticks to you like glue, if glue was absolutely insufferable and seemed to enjoy annoying you at every possible moment

You would think this would be easy. I mean he sleeps all day and when he’s not sleeping he’s napping. Simple enough right? Wrong

When he was awake he was committed to pushing every single button you have

If it seemed like it might inconvenience or annoy you he was already doing it. Trying to smack your halo, pounce on you, or even jump off the roof just to see you scramble to catch him. He was like some terrible terrible cat

Luckily he was never energetic for long. When he wore himself out he’d retreat to the roof of his crappy one bedroom and wait for you to join him

He liked to look at the stars and he’d point them out to you. Orion, Polaris, Sirius, he would mutter, bringing you back to the days when Michael, who was once so fond of you, would sneak you down to the human world just to show you the stars and darkness the celestial realm could not offer

When he finally got tired you would take over reciting Celestial names and marking the sky with your finger just to show him where they’d be.

Those times were pleasant. Even if they were brief.

“I’m gonna jump.”

“Do it.”

“You’re an angel. Aren’t you supposed to stop me before I do something stupid?”

“You won't.”

“Aight. Bet.” Belphie pitches forward and you just manage to catch him by the leg before he falls off the roof.

Brat.

Always ruining a good moment.

You can’t even be mad. The moment you pull him up he’s already resting his fluffy head in your lap waiting for you to pet him.

He may be the most troublesome human in the entire three realms, but he’s your human

#obey me #obey me hc #angel au #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me asmo #obey me asmodeus #obey me beel #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me belphie #obey me shall we date #obey me au #angels #obey me angels

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sailtoafarawayland · 4 years

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The Things We Don’t Say (modern AU - Actors)

Summary: No one is perfect, and sometimes, two people are just so perfectly flawed that those pieces fit together and make something beautiful. When sparks fly between two leads of a new hit show, is there a happy ending in sight, or will their own mistakes overshadow any chance they had at something worth fighting for.

Rated: Explicit

Warnings: This is a joyfully Captain Swan story, but there are a few warnings. It does start with Emma/Neal and Killian/Milah. I don't write non-CS, so there won't be any sexual anything happening 'on screen', so to speak, between those couples, but I won't guarantee there may not be a mention. This story contains numerous episodes of cheating. If any of these things make you squick or are not your bag, carry on.

AO3 - FF

- or read below the cut -

As always, let me know if you’d like to be tagged for further updates.

Tag list: @xarandomdreamx @jrob64 @wefoundloveunderthelight @teamhook @tiganasummertree @pirateprincessofpizza @lfh1226-linda @kmomof4

Chapter One

Emma scrolled through the email her manager had sent detailing the new role she was being offered. It was something fresh, something different from what she normally focused on—no hint of a police procedural in sight—and based on the tone, it sounded like they were very interested in getting her signed for one of the leads. She stretched her legs out along the couch, digging her cold toes underneath the pillows in search of some warmth, only to yank them back when she encountered something both crinkly and wet.

“Dammit, Neal! What the hell is this?” she growled, glaring at the brown sludge coating her foot.

She leaned forward, careful to angle her toes away from any other surface, and peeled the throw pillow from the couch. Smeared across the white fabric and the expensive leather was what looked like the remainder of a milky way bar, the wrapper still clinging to the puddle of caramel and chocolate.

“You have got to be kidding me. Neal!”

The only response she got was the sound of something hitting a pan full of oil in the kitchen, the apartment filled with the sizzling hiss of something frying. Dropping her phone and forgetting all about the email she’d just been reading, she hobbled down the hall into the bathroom to clean up, wondering how in the hell to get out a chocolate and caramel stain. Why he couldn’t just learn to clean up after himself was beyond understanding. Sometimes it felt like she was living with a teenager who never wanted to grow up, and she couldn’t help but long for the days when her apartment was clean and didn’t smell like whatever weird odor it was that Neal always brought home—grease and cigarette smoke, maybe.

Her foot finally clean enough to be walked on, she headed into the kitchen to get some paper towels only to be greeted by what looked like every dish she owned spread out on the counters and island. Every surface was dusted in flour and drips of batter, measuring spoons leaving trails of oil and sugar across the floor and counters alike.

“Oh my god,” she cringed, knowing the mess would be left for her. “What are you doing?”

“I was wondering when you’d get off the phone,” Neal poked, giving her a quick glance over his shoulder before motioning proudly over the mess that just seemed to get worse each time she looked at it. “I’m cooking.”

The casual way he always stabbed at her phone use was exactly what she didn’t want to hear right now. Maybe she wouldn’t have to spend so much time working if he bothered looking for something himself. He’d had a recurring role on a family comedy when they met, but he’d been fired not long after, and for the last six months, Emma was pretty sure he hadn’t even gone to any of the auditions she’d mentioned. In fact, she wasn’t even sure if he had an agent anymore.

“When was the last time you had a Milky Way?” she asked, choosing to ignore his snide comment. She just wasn’t in the mood.

“That’s a weird question. I don’t know, maybe last week? You didn’t pick any up the last time you ran to the store.”

Emma nodded, her lips drawn tight as she tore paper towels from the rack and returned to the living room, pulling what she could of the melted mass from the couch and thinking she’d need to resort to Google to get the rest out. Her anger bubbled with every sticky string of caramel that wrapped around her fingers. Why couldn’t he go to the store on his day off? He only had seven of them. She stomped back into the kitchen, hitting the garbage can a little harder than necessary and tossing the mess of chocolate and paper inside.

There was just enough room in the overload sink—what had he used the colander for—that she could wash her hands.

“There’s leftovers in the fridge. What was so important that you had to turn the entire kitchen into a complete disaster?” she questioned, already adding up how much time it would take her to wash and wipe everything down.

She’d be lucky if she was able to get back to her manager before tomorrow as requested.

“You remember that travel show we watched the other night?” he prodded, his eyes glued to the pan as it hissed on the stovetop, a spatula held ready in his hand. “You mentioned you hadn’t had good churros since that trip to Mexico, so I thought maybe I’d make you some.”

The anger that had been just about to boil over slipped away to that place far enough below everything else that she could just go back to ignoring it.

“Neal,” she sighed, suddenly more exhausted than anything else. “Thanks.”

“Of course, Ems—anything for you.”

In the living room her phone blared to life, the dark tones of The Imperial March echoing as it vibrated across the coffee table.

“Work calls,” Neal sniped, a trace of resentment running beneath the pleasant smile he fixed in her direction. “Wouldn’t want to keep Regina waiting.”

It was amazing how quickly that anger came right back to the top of everything, and she found her feet pushing her as far away from Neal as possible, snatching her phone from the table and forgetting entirely about the couch as she stormed into the bedroom.

“What?” she hissed, slamming the door behind her and clenching the cell like it was something she wanted to crush. “What is so important that you couldn’t give me a few more hours, Regina?”

The other end of the line was silent, as if Regina had either hung up, or was waiting for an apology. Well, she wasn’t getting one—not today.

“Is there something you needed, Regina?”

“Are you okay?” Regina asked, not as a friend, but as an employee that was curious to know how soon she would have to contact Emma’s PR team and inform them a mental breakdown was imminent.

“I’m fine. It’s just a bad time. I got the details you sent. I just haven’t read through everything yet.”

“Well, that explains why I haven’t heard from you. Honestly, I thought you cared more about your career than that. I was quite clear this was urgent. Don’t take your time with this one, Miss Swan—they want you, but they can’t wait much longer.”

The line went dead after Regina had delivered her scolding and Emma sighed, dropping to the bed and rolling onto her back as she flicked back into her email and started again from the top. It was an interesting premise with even more depth than she’d originally thought—a new series that centered on the mental health of a man who had developed delusions after a car accident that took his brother, leading him to believe everyone in the hospital was a character from a fairy tale world—but then she got the part that Regina really focused on, the money.

“Holy shit!” Emma gasped, double checking the figures and thinking how she’d never seen such a good offer—not for someone in her bracket. It was unheard of. “I guess they really do want me.”

It wasn’t until she read through the rest of the itinerary and details that she wondered if the big paycheck wasn’t recompense for the filming location and duration—the middle of Nowhere, Maine, as if Maine wasn’t already considered the middle of nowhere.

She read everything twice before she shot Regina a quick text.

E: I’ll take it

The message had only just sent and there were already three ellipses following. Emma could practically hear her manager’s smug response.

R: I knew you would. I’ll be in touch.

There should have been nerves fluttering in her stomach, or at least a solid pit of dread at the prospect of having to walk into the kitchen and tell Neal, but there was nothing. It was a big decision to move across the country for what could be a long-term role, but it was still her decision to make.

Hopefully, he would be happy for her, he would understand that this had the potential of lifting her out of her rut and providing great income for the foreseeable future. There were some great names attached, veterans of the industry that were looking to branch out into a new genre.

She was excited for the first time in a long time.

She didn’t need to feel guilty, at least that was what she told herself as a niggling pang of guilt worked its way into her chest.

It would be good to break it to him gently though, to put a good spin on it.

The minutes ticked by and she finally realizing she couldn’t put it off any longer, she wandered into the kitchen, her arms crossed in front of her as she looked for him, but the apartment was empty. The stove was turned off and a plate, probably the last clean one, was waiting on the counter with a pile of golden churros perched on top of a greasy paper towel.

Next to it was another torn paper towel with a note scratched onto it in sharpie.

The boys called and I’m heading out for a few beers. Don’t wait up. Enjoy the churros.

She waited for the anger to bubble back to the top, but there was nothing—no anger, no guilt, just a deep, hollow nothingness that grew and yawned as she fingered the scrap of a note transparent with oily fingerprints. Feeling like maybe this job had come at the best possible time, she picked up the plate of churros and walked over to the trash, watching them slide in with the rest of the garbage.

#Captain Swan #cs ff #cs fanfic #emma and hook #sailtoafarawayland #modern au #actors #the things we don't say

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writerpeach · 4 years

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Pretty

Loona Olivia Hye/Hyejoo x Male Reader

6771 words

categories: smut, oral, intern!hyejoo

18+

---

Read on AFF

Read on Wattpad

Read on AO3

You took a deep breath as you tried to focus on what giant stack of paperwork to tackle first. Papers piled higher than your head, and the more you worked on them it seemed the taller they got. One of the perks of working at one of the best firms in the country came with high wages and benefits, but also came with a lot of necessary overtime.

You had just hit your third-year milestone at the firm, earning a promotion that gave more money, more respect, and for the first time, you had your own team of interns.

The extra help came at the best possible time. Your team was given a monumental task that needed a month to work on but the bosses only allowed a week of deadline.

You were gracious for each intern, even when they messed up the simplest task you rarely scolded them, you had been in their shoes before and knew the stress and nerves that came with such a thankless position.

Each intern had their strengths, and their weaknesses slowly dissipated every month as they were being shaped with potential full-time contracts to their name.

One intern on your team stood out among the rest, Son Hyejoo. She was a hard worker, even if you found her napping on the couch more times than you would like. One of the youngest of the interns, if you had to admit you found her the prettiest. She had a much more mature aura for someone of her youth but maintained a level of playfulness that betrayed her actual age. Joining the company straight out of college as most did, she was happy just to receive a paycheck and stay out of having to deal with the public, working great in a team setting.

The entire intern team passed their six-month evals with flying colors, each receiving raises and increasing morale all though the higher-ups were intent on increasing stress with every strict deadline that came to pass. Hyejoo quickly became your favorite intern, not just because she was easy on the eyes. She didn't complain much if ever, finishing her work right away if only just to allow herself time to rest.

It was just a bit after 4 PM as you headed back to your office, a trip to the vending machines considered a failure as they were now completely out of your favorite afternoon treat. Granola bars didn't hit the same way.

You opened the door of your office to the pleasant sight of a silhouette of a woman already inside, dressed in a mostly black outfit that showed her curves off well, giving a great view of her wide hips and creamy thighs, and an unforgettable ass that was bending over and depositing another stack of unnecessary paperwork that wasn't going to get started on until next week. The perfect body was unmistakable as the young intern Hyejoo.

"Ah, there you are," she said as she spun around on her heels.

"More bad news from higher-ups?" you asked.

"Afraid so, " she responded.

"Haven't seen you all day. Being kept busy?"

"Always. Been everyone's delivery girl for the past hour."

"Good to see you doing work for once," you teased.

"Hey-" she pouted.

"You do good work around here, Hyejoo. I stepped out for a snack, but they were out of the good stuff."

"Good thing you found me here then," she smiled.

"You can be pretty delicious, Miss Hyejoo."

You kept the door open as you took a seat at your desk, the temptation of an empty office with your intern was too much.

Nobody knew about the rather innocent relationship you had with Hyejoo, granted you didn't reveal much of it at work outside of a few occasions of flirting that were usually kept to one on one occurrences. Your officemates knew of course, but there was an unwritten rule between your team that swore to secrecy, given they probably had their own hidden romances to deal with.

Management wouldn't like it if they found out, but they didn't have to know which is why you had most of your romp sessions at home except the few occasions where Hyejoo wanted to test your boundaries under your desk during important business calls.

"Are we staying late?" Hyejoo asked, pouting, and batting her eyes in an attempt to draw out a response she liked.

"Nah, those assholes leave at five, why should we stay and work extra?"

"Good, I'm ready to leave already."

"One more hour left Hye, you can do it."

Hyejoo frowned. "I'd rather be doing something else," she said, pretending to fix your tie, making her intentions obviously known.

"We can't do it here, especially not when everyone is still around."

"Come on, just once. This desk looks better with me bent over it, you know it does" she smirked, her words and her deadly gaze almost convinced you. You couldn't risk it though.

Hyejoo sighed loudly. "Everyone is leaving for the day anyways. Afraid of getting caught?"

"Hardly," you laughed. "Just don't want the entire floor hearing you scream."

"That goes double for you," she shot back, never one to back down from a challenge.

The hour went by slowly as molasses, trying to find anything to preoccupy your mind off what you wanted to do to your intern who had offered to finish and help out before quitting time finally hit. Every second that went by you felt the urge to lock the door and strip her, give her what she deserved but you kept your pants in check, even as the sexual tension in the room was thick enough to be cut by a knife.

You checked your watch, 5:30 PM. Time to get the hell out of there. "Meet me in the car, don't walk so close to me though. Stay a few steps behind."

"I'm not a puppy you know," she said.

"Are you sure?" you teased. Hyejoo scoffed.

You headed out the building, as expected most people had left and you said your goodbyes to them, some of them were interns you hadn't seen in a while. Hyejoo kept her distance.

Moments after your car door shut the passenger side opened up. Hyejoo got in and tossed her bag in the back.

"Almost everyone knows we're fucking already, we don't have to keep hiding."

"We're not hiding, I just don't want to get a talking-to from our bosses about the dangers of workplace relationships, blah blah. They're already on my ass about a hundred different things.

"Fine, I understand."

"Thank you. It's complicated when your relationship is with somebody underneath you."

"But I like being underneath you though," she giggled. You smiled and floored it the rest of the way to your apartment, forgetting the existence of speed limits and everything else just to get there as soon as possible.

Neither of you talked as you exited the car, grabbing bags and hurriedly making way inside. The door slammed and you locked it tight, both of you kicking shoes into a pile and not a second wasted as you pressed Hyejoo's tight body against the front door, diving into her delicious soft lips and cursing the fact that she still had layers of work clothes on.

"Aggressive aren't we?" Hyejoo said with a teasing smile.

"You started this," you responded as you ran your hands through her clothed body and wanted to rip everything she had off right there.

"I'm innocent," Hyejoo claimed as you felt her warm lips returning a sinful kiss, her mouth sweet and you wanted to devour all of her.

"There's not a single thing innocent about you."

Hyejoo let an obvious fake gasp. "Only because you corrupted me."

"Did not. If anything you were gone already. If I remember correctly you wanted to suck my dick under the desk."

"Only because you looked so fucking hot in that suit. It was your fault."

"That doesn't give you an excuse to seduce your boss, Miss Hyejoo," you smirked and pushed your weight off her, grabbing her wrist and yanking her into the bedroom.

When the lights hit Hyejoo took charge this time as she maneuvered your bodies towards the bed, undoing your tie in the process and tossed it into the air. Her gaze now a mixture of lust and something you weren't quite sure of but were excited nonetheless as she continued to undress you, unbuttoning your shirt and stripping it off your torso as she pushed you against the edge of the bed, making you take a seat.

"Gonna give me a show?" you playfully asked, the entirety of your attention focused on Hyejoo's body.

"Hmph, you wish. Gonna make you wait for not fucking me back at the office."

Hyejoo averted her attention as she turned around with her back to you and slipped her jacket off her shoulders, sliding each arm out of it and tossing it aside. She spun around confidently and began to unbutton her white collared shirt starting at the top of her collar, making sure there was enough distance between when you felt the temptation to touch.

She bit her lip and continued, taking as much time as she needed to draw out your desire even more and more. The more buttons Hyejoo unfastened the more of her bare pale skin became visible to you, untucking her shirt out of her shorts and letting it fall behind her to give you a glance of her sexy toned stomach. Her large full breasts were kept just out of reach, threatening to spill out of her black lace bra and wanting to escape.

Your eyes focused on what parts of Hyejoo were becoming bare, she let you feast your eyes on her for just a moment before turning her backside to you again as her hands slipped inside the waistband of her shorts. Her hips swayed side to side as she began peeling her shorts off her body just enough to let you see that she had a matching black thong underneath.

"Fuck Hyejoo, you're killing me."

"I know."

She laughed and bent her torso down and began to remove her shorts down her slender creamy legs, giving you a full view of that plump ass and the skimpy thong that barely did its job to cover anything up.

Hyejoo shook her tight ass and turned her gaze to you again, removing her work shirt in a flash and leaving her only in the sexiest black lingerie, spreading her legs as she squatted to the ground and came back up. Her hips moved with a mind of their own as she ran her hands through strands of dark hair and lifted it up, letting her hair fall back down as her body danced to a beat only she could hear.

She smirked as her performance winded down and she pulled you off the bed and into her arms, your faces touching and just staring into each other's eyes while daring for each other to make the next move.

If Hyejoo had plans you interrupted them as you let out a sly grin, and without another word you hoisted her up in the air and held her up by her thighs as you planted her against the nearest wall. She gasped and immediately wrapped her legs around your waist.

"Are you going to fuck me against the wall? So we can cross that one off the list?"

"Not a chance," you simply said. Giving in to her that quick would be too easy.

You smiled sinfully as you captured Hyejoo's soft plump lips again in between your own, soft kisses quickly turned into open messy kisses, trying to match Hyejoo's intensity and offering more of your own.

As your lips and tongues wandered each other's mouths you bit down hard on her bottom lip, offering to take control from her and she was happy to relinquish it. You broke the liplock and kept your gaze glued on her as you decided what your plan of action was next.

You let her back down gently, her legs loosening their grip and the moment her bare feet hit the floor you struck like a tiger finding its prey as you buried your lips into her soft sensitive neck and sucked deeply.

She moaned softly and gave into you as you kissed, licked, and suckled at the pale sensitive skin that was yours for the taking, stopping just short of leaving a mark on her pristine pale skin, smiling as Hyejoo whined at the abrupt loss of contact. Any visible marks left on her body wouldn't fade until after the weekend, and as much as you enjoyed the idea of letting everyone know who she belonged to it wasn't the best idea.

Your next move came right away as you grabbed Hyejoo's hips and spun her tight body around and pinned her against the cream-colored wall, her palms flat against its surface as she anticipated each subsequent action.

You ran a hand up and down her tight toned abs, feeling her warm stomach as your teeth grazed the skin of her neck, hearing Hyejoo whimpering with intense need and desire. She was putty in your hands already.

"Fuck me," she demanded as you sunk your teeth in deeper.

"I make the rules around here."

She ignored you as her body tensed up. "Fuck. Me." Her words repeated, more desire and lust in them as you pulled the back strap of her bra, harshly unclasping it. Another gasp escaped her lips.

"You're mine," you growled, reaching towards the front of her torso and cupping her large breasts through her lace bra.

"These are mine too."

"They're all yours," she submitted. "I'm all yours."

You grinned to yourself as you stripped Hyejoo's bra off her chest and grabbed two perfect handfuls of her delicious tits, squeezing them firmly as you felt the softness of her mounds and her nipples hardening against your palms. She whined cutely.

"Now that I have you, what should I do to you?"

"Whatever you want. Ruin me."

Your two favorite words. With Hyejoo's back still to you, you pulled her skimpy lace thong to the side, her pink pussy lips unsurprisingly already glazed with slick.

"Wet already?" you whispered and she whimpered as you ran a finger through her damp folds.

"Y-yes. Touch me. Please."

You weren't one to give in so quickly but something about having Hyejoo at your mercy was almost painfully arousing.

Without any hesitation you gave a quick spank to her ass and brought two fingers deep inside her pussy, filling her to the hilt and thrusting them inside Hyejoo at a reckless pace. She clenched around your digits and it didn't take long until they were drenched with her essence, shrieking as you curled them inside her.

She moaned carelessly as you kept your fingers jammed deep inside her wet cunt, debating on adding a third but holding off as you felt that was too much at this point, your fingers became wetter and wetter with every insertion as you stretched her out little by little. You kept an arm wrapped around her waist, helping her keep upright as her body was quickly morphing into a ball of jelly.

"Is this what you wanted? Turn you into a cute little mess?"

Hyejoo only responded with more moans and whines as you gave her what she wanted, your fingers absolutely soaked as they moved in and out of Hyejoo as fast as they could, the wet squelch leaving behind even more gasps and cries of satisfaction.

It took little time at all before she was gushing all over your fingers as she climaxed without warning, shaking and chasing a second orgasm that you didn't allow her to have as you withdrew your fingers. Hyejoo felt delirious at the feeling of being empty and denied as she faced you with a look of desperation on her pretty eyes.

"Don't be greedy."

She pouted and when you leaned in for one more kiss she avoided it and dropped to her knees, returning the favor in more ways than one, not one to let you have the upper hand for too long.

Hyejoo caressed your thighs through your slacks, sending blood flow to the necessary parts of your body as her devilish lips curled. Her small hands unbuckled your belt and unzipped your pants and tugged them down to the ground, your bulge directly eye level with her and she looked up at approval to continue.

She took a second to tease your constricted cock, blowing on your shaft to make you feel the hot breath on it before pulling it out of your boxers, admiring the hardness of it before giving a quick peck on your swollen tip. Hyejoo forcefully pulled your underwear down and stripped you of the rest of your clothes, proudly staring at every inch of your now naked body as your eyes beckoned for her to continue.

Wetness pooled in between her thighs as she grabbed your shaft by the base with two hands and kissed the tip of your cock again, giving two more right after before moving her mouth down and planting several soft kisses up and down, not leaving a single spot untouched by her beautiful silky red lips.

Hyejoo gave a short flick of her tongue against your tip, giving herself a quick taste of precum eyes looking upwards and awaiting further instructions.

She waited patiently with her hands in her lap, round eyes focused dead ahead and that striking gaze present as always.

You didn't have to think twice about what you wanted her to do.

"Suck my fucking cock, Hyejoo," you demanded, running your hand through the soft raven locks of your kneeling intern.

She looked up obediently, but then changed paths as her head shook defiantly and you shot her a look in return.

"No?"

"No," she repeated. "I have a better idea. Fuck my mouth."

A smirk formed over your lips as you hadn't heard a better set of words all day. If Hyejoo thought you were aggressive before, she was going to really see you be aggressive.

"I really should make you beg for this."

You didn't though, if only because you wanted it just as bad as you slapped your cock on her soft luscious triangle lips, tracing the outline of them as her mouth became smeared with precum.

Her red lips glistened as Hyejoo ran her tongue over them and opened her small mouth wide, an invitation so enticing you couldn't possibly refuse.

You gave her just a sample of your cock, but she was greedy as always and wanted a full course, forcibly grabbed your thighs, and abruptly shoved your cock down her throat. You groaned as you felt the tightness of her throat squeezing around you, feeling breathless as her deadly gaze focused on yours that demanded more.

Hardly any time passed before your shaft was jammed down Hyejoo's warm throat, and you met her needy eyes, holding onto both sides of her head and began thrusting and gagging her with your length.

You really wanted to show Hyejoo what aggressive meant as you slammed your hips towards her pretty face, feeling her tongue wrapping around your hard shaft as you slid it down her tight throat over and over.

It was certainly rough, but hot enough for both of you as you were fucking her mouth just as hard as you had fucked her pussy countless times, but Hyejoo's eyes were nothing but demanding for you to continue your vigorous use of her mouth.

It didn't take long until your shaft was bathed with Hyejoo's saliva, and it took even less time until you were fucking her pretty little mouth roughly at full speed. There was something to stuffing her bratty mouth shut that you could get used to, instead of whining you heard only the sounds of her throat being roughly fucked and her messy lips slurping hungrily on your shaft.

The longer this went on the messier Hyejoo got, the tears in her eyes grew larger and you weren't sure who was getting off on this more.

"Fuck Hyejoo, you just belong on your, knees don't you? You love being used like this?"

There was little point in asking, yet Hyejoo did her best to respond with her preoccupied throat but instead released more gagging sounds than slurred words, holding her head down your base ever so often to let her throat feel every inch of you inside.

Hyejoo obediently kept her mouth open for you and you were encouraged by the needy look in her eyes as you kept her head held in your hands, and she couldn't help but love the throbbing cock being repeatedly forced down her throat as a bounty of saliva dripped down her chin and poured onto her big pale tits.

She almost gushed again with how furiously you used her sexy mouth, letting out a few final series of thrusts, holding Hyejoo against your base as her nose was planted firmly against your stomach.

You released your cock from Hyejoo's mouth a loud pop, leaving a trail of saliva that connected your messy shaft to her wet lips as she let out a huge smile on her drool covered face.

"Good girl," you told her as Hyejoo came up for air, her features stained with messy saliva, and the praise set off something in her core that almost made her climax untouched.

While she caught her breath you admired Hyejoo's bare chest - depending on the day your favorite part of her body, those big saliva-drenched breasts and you both seemed to have the same idea, putting her natural born assets to good use.

Hyejoo smirked, her face still stained with saliva as she stroked your wet cock a half-dozen times and slipped it in between her ample tits, cupping them and trapping your shaft in her delicious cleavage.

"Let me do the work this time," she said with a shy smile as her tits squeezed your cock tight, moving her chest up and down against your pelvis to create friction.

You groaned loudly at the sudden sharp pleasure, watching the look in Hyejoo's beautiful eyes as she pleasured your cock with her tits. She had done this before, but it always felt just as good as the first time.

"Feel good?"

"Feels fucking amazing."

Hyejoo smiled and felt the pressure of her mounds wrapped around your cock grew tighter, the softness and warmth that surrounded your shaft even more intense as her pace sped up. She let just a little more saliva drip out of her mouth, keeping the friction smooth as possible with her already generously lubricated cleavage.

As good as it already felt Hyejoo wanted you to feel better, trying to lick your tip each time it reappeared from her deep cleavage, sending electricity striking up your bones and cutely whining when she failed.

"Fuck...that feels so good."

"I can tell by how much you're moaning," she teased as her smile stayed plastered on her lips as she worked your cock in between her delicious breasts. Her soft flesh kept you inside her breasts, squeezing and massaging your dick and tried to coerce every bit of pleasure out of you, an act so erotic and mindblowing that you thought you might explode at any second.

Hyejoo seemed to read your thoughts as her pace slowed down, letting you savor the soft warmth of her breasts for just a few more strokes before regrettably withdrawing your cock from the comfort of her chest and slowly pumping your cock to keep your pleasure going.

You grabbed her hands and helped her upright, taking a moment, and just looking in her eyes and exploring her gorgeous face.

"You're so sexy," you told her and she blushed immediately. You both kissed one more time as you squeezed her ass to close the distance, bringing your lips to her ear and whispered.

"Come ride my face."

Her cheeks grew even redder, even as you both stood drunk with lust she still felt a hinge of shyness. You lied down on the bed and waited for her arrival and you were not kept waiting long.

Hyejoo slipped her panties off and climbed the bed, crawling slowly and her seductive eyes were laser-focused towards you as she moved inch by inch on all fours. Before you knew it you felt your head being surrounded by her bare milky thighs as she straddled your face.

You rubbed her smooth thighs, feeling their softness as they wrapped around your head and looked up at Hyejoo, forcing a cute giggle out of her before her hips began writhing. You stuck your tongue out and licked up her slit and she moaned instantly, bracing herself by resting one hand on the mattress and the other wrapped around the back of your head.

"Fuck..."

You grabbed two handfuls of her plump ass and brought her forward more, allowing her to put all her weight down as she smothered your face with her wet folds. You could barely breathe but you didn't care, all you wanted to do was bask in the amazing aroma and taste of Hyejoo's scrumptious pussy.

"Do you like how I taste?" she asked, knowing you couldn't easily answer. Hyejoo began rocking her hips harshly, riding your face in a rhythm as she held your head in her small hands, smothering you with her warmth as you ate her sensitive pussy out.

She whined and moaned as her hips rocked back and forth, smearing her delicious juices all over your face as she used you as an outlet for her own sharp pleasure. Hyejoo had given you free rein of using her face, it was only fair that you reciprocated in letting her use yours.

With a hand on each side of your head, Hyejoo dug her nails into your skull as she guided your every movement, rocking back and forth on your face as you used your tongue to fuck her, giving her vigorous use of your face and watching the intense pleasure completely take over her naked writhing body.

"Oh god...it feels so good...oh fuck..."

Your face became wetter by the second, lapping up every drop of Hyejoo's delicious sweet nectar. She turned into a squirming mess of uncontrollable moans and cries of pleasure as she desperately chased her release.

"Fuck, I'm going to cum. All over your fucking face," she moaned as you locked eyes with her, encouraging her every movement as you continued to be suffocated by her wet heat.

Hyejoo easily matched your roughness, grinding away and bouncing against your face to take from you what she deserved, steering herself towards orgasm as her pretty moans grew in volume. Her breathing grew heavier with each flick of your tongue buried inside her pretty pussy, devouring her cunt as if she were the tastiest treat to meet your lips.

You watched Hyejoo hit her peak as she squirmed and came hard, drenching your face like a waterfall and gushing into your lips her thighs shook violently around you. You kept your tongue inside her as she rode out her orgasm, her high not fading for several moments and never wanting to leave her pussy. You kept pressure and contact on her clit, listening to her cute moans turning into squealing as you overstimulated her to tears until she pushed you away.

Once her senses returned she giggled as she looked down between her thighs at the mess she had left stained on your face, rather proud at taking her second orgasm. You felt the comforting warmth of her thighs fading away as she removed them from your face, but not after giving her sensitive flesh a few licks to clean up her juices.

Hyejoo squirmed and ran her hands through your hair, playing with strands of locks as she had a pleading look on her face.

"Now will you fuck me?" she begged and you had no intention to say no to such a beautiful girl.

You gave a nod of approval and she didn't give any time to rest, removing herself from your face and climbing down your body. Hyejoo used the opportunity to keep you warmed up as she knelt between your legs and sucked you off properly, sloppily taking your hard cock into between her pretty triangle lips, head bobbing up and down with speed for just a matter of seconds both to satisfy her hunger.

She let your cock slip from her warm mouth as you switched positions and laid Hyejoo on her back with her legs spread wide, her pink pussy beautiful and the wet flesh in between her spread thighs glistening.

Her needy eyes showed she was ready as you lined yourself up with her tight hole, heat smothering your shaft already as you pushed against her wet entrance. You looked into Hyejoo's lustful eyes, and with a pop of your hips, you parted her folds and entered her, earning a loud desperate moan.

Hyejoo gasped and moaned as you pushed your cock deeper, feeling that intoxicating warmth of her pussy squeezing your cock and refusing to let go, her hot flesh so tight around your shaft that you felt yourself going crazy.

Deeper and deeper you went, denying Hyejoo any chance of adjustment until she was filled to the hilt with your shaft, her mouth kept open before you even moved. Her warmth and tightness hugged your shaft, watching the desperation in her eyes that spoke louder than any of her words could.

You weren't satisfied with the position you had found yourself dozens of times and wanted to mix it up, grabbing Hyejoo's slender waist and lifted her until you were both upright, your knees still pressed on the mattress and hugged Hyejoo's torso.

Hyejoo adjusted naturally to the position and wrapped her arms around the back of your neck, her feet flat on the mattress with her thighs interlocked with yours, she knew just what to do.

With her eyes wide and lust-filled, Hyejoo put her hips to work, with your cock still inside her she began grinding on it, slicking your shaft with her juices as her hips worked back and forth, moaning with each movement she made.

The new position felt so close, so intimate and arousing, especially as Hyejoo's warm soft thighs rubbed against your own as she tried to force you deep into her body, grinding away without a care in the world.

"So tight, so fucking tight," you said as Hyejoo's constant whiny moans filled the room, your bodies a state of constant friction. The new position allowed Hyejoo to do most of the work and had the extra benefit of giving you perfect access to her breasts, and you dove into them right away.

You found what you wanted with ease, teasing Hyejoo's hard sensitive nipples with your tongue, increasing the pleasure in her body as you ran your tongue and flicked against each of her delicate nubs, dousing each in your saliva. Hyejoo's whines and cries only encouraged you as you surrounded each slippery nipple with your lips, suckling harshly and devouring her tits.

"Fuck, that feels so good," Hyejoo cried out, cradling the back of your head as you sucked and feasted on her tits, keeping your lips closed around them and slurping on them with an insatiable hunger.

Your crotches grew wetter as more of Hyejoo's juices flooded out, her hips working nonstop to deliver an equal amount of pleasure to your hungry bodies as she ensured her pussy never let go of your cock.

While Hyejoo went wild on your shaft you kept your lips glued to her delicious tits, never wanted to leave them, never wanted to hear her cute moaning subsiding, wanting to play with and feast on her perfect chest forever.

Hyejoo kept the motion going as she leaned herself back, holding on to your body with one hand and keeping the other on the mattress as she increased the friction and the pleasure being shared between bodies. She moaned as she squirmed and writhed on your cock before pulling herself back up and taking one more kiss from you.

"Take me from behind," she whispered with those insatiable eyes glaring into yours, always wanting more.

You looked at her as if you hadn't heard a word she said, forcing her to repeat herself.

"Fuck me from behind. Don't make me beg."

"I really should one of these days," you said.

"Is that a promise?"

"It is," you said and responded with a quick slap to her rear.

"Let me see this ass bent over."

With another shy smile, she lifted herself off your body and got into position. Hyejoo carefully got on her hands and knees, head tucked down just in front of the pillows, and raised that beautiful plump ass high in the air, letting you see every curve of her naked backside. Her pink pussy lips were dripping wet and splayed open, the perfect invitation to bring you back inside her.

You made sure you spent as little time outside of her pussy as necessary, lining yourself up with her glistening folds and plunged your cock back inside the tight warmth of her opening. Hyejoo felt even better from behind, wetter and tighter as her hot flesh wrapped tightly around your cock and drove you completely overboard with sensations as you began moving inside her again.

"Fuck me hard," she demanded as she looked back and you were nothing but willing to give into her. You placed a hand on each side of her round ass and began slowly thrusting in and out of Hyejoo, feeling the tight grip her wet pussy lips had on your shaft as you pumped inside her, gradually picking up speed.

"Harder," she repeated as she let out a series of soft moans, her juices quickly slathering every inch of your shaft in them as you fucked her from behind, making sure to bottom her out with each thrust.

Your pace grew faster and you pressed your fingers into the pale skin of her plump ass as you sped up, using more force in your thrusts to give her what she wanted. Soon you could both hear the sound of Hyejoo being fucked from behind, her wetness lubricating every thrust and allowing the deepest penetration with ease.

"Harder, I told you to fuck me harder," she demanded, with little care for any more build-up. With firm hands still on her ass, you settled into a rhythm and began to fuck her with harsh strokes, hips smacking against her ass and making her perfect plump buttcheeks bounce.

"Oh fuck, just like that..."

Hyejoo's became satisfied finally as her slick walls clenched every inch of your shaft. You pounded her tight pussy and she moaned loudly with approval, burying your cock deep into her and stretching her hole wide, feeding into Hyejoo's desire to be ruined.

"So fucking tight baby, oh fuck. You like being fucked like this?"

"Yes! You feel so fucking good inside me, you're so fucking deep, don't stop!"

Her pretty moans grew in volume as she formed two fistfuls around the sheets, dropping her face in the pillows as you slid your hands up her body and wrapped them around her hips, making her take all of your cock deep inside her tight little pussy.

"That's it, right fucking there! Fuck me like that!"

Hyejoo's warmth felt so incredible, her pussy so fucking tight and wet and her body drove you insane Your pace was almost unbearable to maintain as you fucked her as fast and hard as your body would let you, the bed creaking and smashing against the wall in time to your thrusts as the sounds of skin slapping against skin filled the room.

"Fuck me, oh my god it feels so good, fuck me!"

The use of Hyejoo's tight body was so intoxicating, you wanted to really give it to her, give her everything you had and much much more. At the apex of a particularly harsh thrust, you pushed her body down until she was flat on her stomach, your knees on the mattress and straddled her warm thighs.

The view was perfect, her naked pale body completely yours for the taking as you pistoned full speed in between her ass, fucking her with such harsh thrusts that you were afraid the bed might collapse at any moment. Every thrust was as deep into her body as physically possible, your hips slapping against her ass every time and making her cheeks bounce as the deafening sounds of your flesh slapping against hers flooded the room.

"Oh god, yes, don't stop! Don't fucking stop!"

She was so fucking wet. Hyejoo's tightness was the only thing that kept you inside her where you belonged, giving her the fucking of a lifetime as she teetered on the edge of a third orgasm.

"I'm gonna cum, I'm gonna cum!" she repeated, again and again, her moans borderline on shrieking as she greedily pulsated around your shaft. The rhythm so wild and harsh, every slam into her drenched pussy made her eyes roll back in the back of her head, giving her the thorough fucking she craved.

She screamed as she came all over your cock, but you didn't let up for a second as you fucked her through her orgasm, preparing yourself in joining her in sweet bliss as that tightness in your stomach flared up.

"Where do you... want my cum, baby?" you tiredly asked, each syllable of your sentence now a struggle.

"Anywhere. Inside me or on me, I just want it. Please..." she begged.

You looked at her and knew exactly where you wanted to cum, pulling out and flipping Hyejoo onto her back and straddling her chest.

"Are you going to paint my face?" Hyejoo asked as you slowly jerked your cock in front of her face, seconds away from orgasm.

"Mmhm. You're gonna look so pretty aren't you?"

"I am. Cum all over my face please," she pleaded as she began massaging and playing with your balls, trying to urge your orgasm out faster than a train out of control.

You felt your breathing becoming heavy and weak the more you stroked, and the pleading look in Hyejoo's eyes was all you needed.

Hyejoo opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, and you groaned loudly as you hit your peak and spilled your thick seed all over her gorgeous face, painting her up and down. She kept a smile etched on her features as you shot long streaks of pearly cum that landed in her hair, splashing her forehead and cheeks and you made sure you saved enough to glaze those triangle lips until they were stained white.

Not a single drop was wasted as you covered Hyejoo in thick semen, as your intense orgasm finished she took your cock from your hand and cleaned off your depleted shaft. She looked up as she sucked your tip with her cum-stained face, proud of making you quiver as your sensitivity hit like a truck as she ran her tongue around every inch and gathered every drop.

As you gathered your senses and caught your breath you stared down at Hyejoo, both of you shared a laugh at the absolute mess you left on her beautiful face. Your thick load was everywhere, and she tried to use her tongue to taste and swallow what she could.

Hyejoo began feeling the weight of it dripping down her face, and couldn't help but keep giggling as she gave your shaft one more final kiss.

"Now get off me so I can clean your filth off, and then you better be ready to fuck me again."

Hyejoo was never satisfied it seemed, and you both shared the same fate of being insatiable. You shifted your weight off her and she headed into the bathroom, your eyes glued to her delicious backside the whole time. You heard the sound of hot water being started, and you knew you didn't have much time to recover.

Only giving yourself a few minutes of rest you headed into the steamy bathroom, looking at the piles of clothes left on the bedroom floor as her silhouette peaked from the other side of the glass door.

it wasn't polite to keep a woman waiting after all.

#kpop smut #loona smut #hyejoo smut #male reader #reader insert #kpop fanfic #kpop fanfiction #hyejoo #loona

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dimitrescus-bitch · 4 years

Text

Secondhand Stress (Sansa Stark x Margaery Tyrell)

smut

Sansa Stark needed a break. She had been studying nonstop for some big exam and Jeyne was honestly tired of seeing Sansa so stressed. That, and Jeyne was starting to get secondhand stress. Jeyne had finished her exams and was just waiting for the results, so she was in absolutely no mood to take on Sansa's extra stress. Now that Sansa had completed her exams, Jeyne was taking her roommate out for the night to a bar so that she could get hit on by some guys that Sansa wouldn't go home with and have some free drinks. All Jeyne had to do was wait for Sansa to get back home from returning her books to the library.

"Finally!" Jeyne exclaimed whenever Sansa stepped into their off-campus apartment. It wasn't too far away and was much closer to the good bars than the on-campus apartments were. Jeyne and Sansa had learned their junior year of college that the good booze was about ten miles away from campus downtown in the city. So, every month or so, they would set aside some money from their paychecks and go out to drink there. Neither of them really minded drinking at the bars on-campus, but they weren't the same. Something about not having to deal with 15 different, yet nearly indifferentiable douchebags hitting on you from all angles didn't make for a fun night out. "Go hurry and get dressed. The Uber is on its way."

"Uber for what?" Sansa asked. Jeyne, ever so helpful, did not answer her question, instead shoved her down the hall to get changed. Sansa saw a dress on her bed, one that hadn't seen the light of day since it arrived the day after Sansa had drunkenly bought it. Jeyne had also taken the liberty of setting out two different pairs of "fuck me pumps" that had also been ordered while intoxicated. Thankfully, Sansa's parents didn't check to see what their kids were ordering on the family's Amazon account.

"You look hot, let's go." Jeyne pulled Sansa out of the door and to the car waiting for them. "I requested a sports car drop us off. That way, we'll definitely get in on."

"What bar are we going to tonight?" Sansa asked Jeyne.

"It's a new one. I drove past it earlier, huge glass windows and a lot of lights going on," Jeyne told Sansa. Sansa sighed, knowing that Jeyne didn't actually know where they were going. Still, Sansa was thankful to be spending a night out on the town after missing their past couple of nights out. Jeyne had been cross with her about it, apparently the rest of their friend group wasn't as fun to drink with as Sansa. That didn't surprise the Stark girl. There was a saying about Westeros and alcohol. Northerners could drink anybody under a table as long as it wasn't a true southerner. It was true enough because even though Winterfell was a bigger city in the north, they hadn't had a whole lot to do during the winter except for drink and play hockey. Sansa hadn't spent a lot of time in the south, but that was wine country and the holiday she had spent with her family there, had proved that they didn't mess around with their wine. However, her father had quite a difficult time finding a good local beer there.

"The Rose Bud," Sansa said as their car pulled up to the bar. It wasn't one that Sansa had seen whenever they'd last scoped out the downtown bar scene. The lights inside were soft and warm colored, which gave it a much more relaxing atmosphere than Sansa expected. They took a seat at a table close to the bar and a waitress brought over a menu for them to look at. "Do you want to get something to eat? I'm starving?"

"Tonight is about getting fucked up and fucked," Jeyne told Sansa. "Personally, I'm thinking tall, dark, and handsome over there."

"Gross, he looks like my brother. You need to get yourself sorted out," Sansa told Jeyne. Jeyne tilted her head so she was looking past Sansa and at the guy who definitely did look like Robb. Sansa rolled her eyes and frowned as she noticed it was mainly just wines. "These are like baby drinks Jeyne."

"These are great drinks, they're just not alcohol cleaner like what you're used to," Jeyne teased. Sansa kicked her under the table and Jeyne grumbled as she walked away. It was almost a record time, Jeyne finding a guy to abandon her at the bar for. Sansa sighed and ended up just ordering the drink with the highest proof available. Sansa was content with her drink, it was sweet and lacked the bite that she had gotten accustomed to whenever she used to steal sips of her parents drinks after dinner, but it was still nice. Sansa was definitely tipsy, which was when someone finally caught her eye.

There were expensive suits all over the bar, but none were as stylish as this one. At first, Sansa had just admired the soft pink coloring of the blazer. Then, she took a closer look and noticed the rose patterning etched into the fabric. Sansa wasn't sure why, but for once in her life, she was going to make the first move. Sansa slid out of her chair and steadied herself. The heels were a bit of a mistake, but Sansa was always up for a challenge. On slightly shaky legs, Sansa walked towards the woman in the suit and sat down next to her.

"What are you drinking?" the woman asked Sansa.

"The strong one," Sansa answered. The woman smirked and waved the bartender over. She pointed at a black bottle with a very pretty golden 'M' on the label.

"Good choice. It's a little strong though, must not be from around here," the woman teased.

"Sansa Stark," Sansa said, assuming that the woman would recognize her name and place her as one of the famous Stark kids. Their family was known throughout Westeros, there was always someone with a story about one of her parents.

"Margaery Tyrell." Sansa shook the woman's hand and noticed how soft, yet strong they were. "Would you like to get out of here?"

"With you?" Sansa asked. She was being hopeful, but Sansa didn't really know who else she was supposed to leave with Jeyne was definitely gonna end up with that guy she saw earlier and it was just the two of them who'd come out.

"Unless you think someone else should join us. I'm fine with the idea, but I was hoping to keep you all to myself for tonight." Margaery was charming the pants off of Sansa.

"Just us, definitely just us tonight," Sansa said and Margaery tugged her along outside. They got in the backseat of a car that looked like it was more than Sansa's rent for an entire year. Margaery opened up the bottle she took from the bar and handed it over to Sansa so she could get a drink. "Thank you. I really need a drink, I've been pretty stressed."

"I can tell. You're sort of wound up still," Margaery said as her hand glided up Sansa's thigh. Sansa choked on air when Margaery's fingers dipped under her dress. Margaery stopped touching Sansa to make sure that she was okay and Sansa decided to take the opportunity to kiss Margaery. Her lips had looked soft in the bar, and they were definitely soft in the car. Sansa felt good about that kiss, but completely melted whenever Margaery kissed her back. Margaery tasted like that vacation to the south that her parents had taken the family on years ago.

The car came to a stop in front of a very nice building and Margaery ushered Sansa out of the car. There was no feeling of giddiness as they made their way up to Margaery's penthouse apartment. Margaery kept her eyes on Sansa, watching her with a concentration Sansa had never experienced in a partner. When the elevator stopped inside of the apartment, Sansa was in awe of how beautiful everything was. Margaery didn't give Sansa much of a chance to really take in the decorum, but Sansa did get a very good look of Margaery's bed.

"Do you know what I want to do to you?" Margaery asked and Sansa shook her head. Margaery began to push Sansa's dress up a little bit, paused, and then looked at Sansa with a predatory smirk. "Do you have any ideas now?"

"Maybe a few," Sansa said weakly. Margaery leaned down and kissed Sansa, tongue gently prodding past Sansa's lips. Sansa welcomed her tongue and a familiar warmth overtook her body again. Margaery broke the kiss to continue to press kisses along Sansa's jaw and then down her neck. Sansa's hips lifted slightly and Margaery took the opportunity to once again push Sansa's dress up her body a bit. Once she got it just above Sansa's waist, Sansa's legs spread. Margaery's hand slipped in between Sansa's legs and over her underwear.

Sansa let out a small gasp at the feeling of Margaery's fingers against her. It had been too long since Sansa could remember being touched by another person. Her nights out with Jeyne often led to drunken masturbating, but this beat it. Sansa would have paid for that overpriced alcohol if it meant she'd get to run into Margaery again and again. Especially because Margaery was touching her like somebody who actually knew how to touch a woman. Sansa thought that was really a rarity, she'd only had a couple of partners who could have done that. And none of them held the same level of attractiveness that Margaery did. Margaery was beautiful yes, but there was also an air of something else that drew Sansa to her.

"Please, inside of me." Sansa began to pant a little bit. Her body was getting hotter and hotter, all waiting for Margaery to give her some release. Margaery, despite her aura of control, gave in to Sansa's request and pushed a finger inside of the Stark woman. Sansa spread her legs a little more and Margaery added another finger. Margaery kept a steady pace and all Sansa could hear were the sounds of Margaery's now soaked finger sliding in and out of her as well as her own moans. It was hot and Sansa didn't want it to end, but it seemed that her body had other plans.

Sansa's body trembled under Margaery's. Sansa's head was spinning and it wasn't until she felt Margaery's tongue inside of her that she was grounded again. Sansa's hands gripped the blankets on top of Margaery's bed as her back arched a bit. Margaery's hands came up to hold Sansa's body against the bed as her tongue slowly circled Sansa's clit. It felt amazing and Sansa could feel herself getting worked up again. Margaery moved down from Sansa's clit and began to lap up at her entrance. It was messy, but it left Sansa dripping all over Margaery's very expensive bed set.

"I think I'm go- oh!" Sansa didn't get to finish her statement. Instead, she came screaming and trashing. Margaery slowly trailed her tongue up Sansa's body as she moved to lay beside the taller woman. Margaery licked any trace of Sansa off of her fingers and then pressed a kiss to Sansa's lips. Sansa kissed back, but couldn't find the energy in herself to move.

"It's okay, if you're here in the morning, I'll show you a thing or two over breakfast," Margaery promised. Sansa nodded and curled up against Margaery. Margaery wasn't normally one to let her one night stands cuddle, or offer them another round in the morning, but there was something different about Sansa that Margaery liked.

#Sansaery #Sansa Stark x Margaery Tyrell #Sansa Stark #Margaery Tyrell #Game of Thrones #game of thrones imagine #game of thrones imagines

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fallen420 · 4 years

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Rebel Spy - Chapter 8: It’s Just Us Now

Description: Auroras life becomes lonely after the war ends but when a familiar Mandalorain needs her help who is she to refuse.

prologue chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5

chapter 6 chapter 7

We walk into the restaurant to watch Cara beat some guys ass. I hold the kid close to me as he giggles at the fight.

"Pay up mudsuckers!" She turns around and spots us.

"Picked up a new friend Mando?"

"Cara this is Aurora."

I smile, "Hi."

"Wait like commander Aurora? Like the rebel spy?"

I laugh a little, "That's the one."

"I've heard a lot of stories about you. You're badass."

"Thanks," I say as we sit down at the table.

Din catches her up on everything Greef said.

"It seems like a straightforward operation. They're providing the plan and firepower. We're the snare."

"With the kid?" She asks.

"That's why we're coming to you," I say as I shake my leg to keep the kid entertained.

"I don't know. I've been advised to lay low. If they run my chain code I'll be stuck in a cell for the rest of my life."

"I thought you were a veteran," Mando says.

"I've been a lot of things since. Most of them carry a life sentence. If I so much book passage on a ship registered to the New Republic, I'm-"

"We have a ship. I can bring you there and back with a handsome reward. You can live free of worry."

"I'm already free of worry, and I'm not in the mood to play soldier anymore. Especially fighting some local warlord."

"He's not a warlord," I say, "He's imperial." Cara is a rebel we both fought a war to get rid of these people I know she'll be willing to do it again.

"I'm in."

Mando and Cara come down from the cockpit. He lets her go through his weapon collection choosing which ones she likes best. I'm refilling our med kit because who knows whats gonna happen. They talk about why are we going back.

"And you're okay with bringing the kid?" She asks.

"No," I say my head still buried in the kit.

"That's why we're bringing you," Din says. The ship starts to shake and I look around for the kid and he's not here. The med kit rolls off the table as we get thrown around the ship.

"You left him up there?!"

I somehow make my way up the ladder only falling once.

The kid has a hold of the joystick.I grab the kid handing him to Din. I sit in the pilots chair pressing a few buttons and then ship goes back to normal.

I look back at Din, "You know the kid has a thing for buttons why leave him up here."

"We need someone to watch that thing," Cara says.

"Aurora's supposed too." There's a hint of playfulness in Din's voice.

"Okay tin can was I or was I not filling your med kit? She's right though we're gonna need some help."

"I think I know somebody."

"It hasn't grown much," the Ugnaught says about the kid. We landed on his farm not to long ago. Wish Din would of told me it was an Ugnaught. Ugnaught's worked for the empire.

"I think it might be a strand-cast," Din says.

"No, it's a Jedi," I say, "Like I told you before."

"Aurora-"

"I've seen it before. Have you?"

"I don't think it was engineered," Kuiil says, "I've seen the gene farms. This one is to evolved. Too ugly. This one, on the other hand," he looks at Cara, "Looks like she was farmed in the Cytocaves of Nora."

"This is Cara Dune," Din says, "She was a shock tropper."

"You were a dropper?"

"Did you serve?"

"On the other side, I'm afraid." He sits down along with the rest of us, "But I'm proud to say that I paid out my clan's debt, and now I serve no one but myself."

An IG-11 walks through the door. All three of us stand up taking out our blasters pointing it at him.

He's holding a tray, "Would anyone care for some tea?"

"Huh?" I look at Din confused.

"Please lower your blasters. He will not harm you," Kuiil says.

"That thing is programmed to kill the baby," Mando reminds him.

"Not anymore."

"You reprogrammed it?" I ask.

"I did." The IG unit places the hot tea on the table.

Kuiil tells us the story of how he found the unit and reconstructed it. How he taught it everything from scratch. About how it developed a personality. By the end of the story we put our blasters away trusting Kuiil.

"Is it still a hunter?" Din asks.

"No. But it will protect."

"Tea?" The IG unit asks and I grab it out of its hands taking a drink feeling the warm tea calm my nerves.

Din and Kuiil are outside talking leaving Cara, the kid, and it inside Kuiil's hut.

"So," Cara says, "Are you and Mando...?

"What?" I feel my face flush I mean yeah we've shared some moments but we're not together or anything...right? "No. No. We're just partners."

"Sure."

"What do you mean sure?"

"Look I know we can't actually see his face but the way he looks at you its not a friendly look."

"Look even if he was looking at me like that. I'm-I'm sure it's against the code."

"And it's not?"

Before I can respond Din walks back in, "You guys ready to go?"

"Uh yeah."

Back on the ship Cara and Din are locked into an intense battle of arm wrestling. The kid and I watch intently.

"My credits are on Cara who you got?" I say to the kid.

"Shut," grunt, "Up," Din says and I can't help but laugh.

"Sounds like you're losing there target practice."

Then Cara stops what she's doing. It looks like he can't breathe. Immediately I turn to see the kid with his hand up and eyes closed. I grab him to stop him from killing her.

"That is not okay!" Cara yells

"He forced chocked her," my mind floods back to the imperial ships. It floods to all the people I watched die due to it.

"Have you seen it before?" Din asks.

I nod my head.

"Where?"

I close my eyes trying to calm the panic that flows through me as I remember, "Imperial ships." my voice comes out quieter than expected, "When I was spying."

"The kid's... evil?"

"No no. I think the kid- he just thought he was protecting you."

The kid and I lay in the cot fast asleep. Well, I was asleep until Din wakes me up.

"Hey," he says in a whisper.

I barely open my eyes, "What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You looked panicked earlier."

"Oh, that."

"Yeah."

"It's just I saw a lot on those ships and it brings up bad stuff. But I'm fine though Din really."

"Okay," he gets up. I was going to ask him to stay again but then I remember about Cara and Kuiil are here and we won't want too, "Good night cyar'ika."

"Night Din."

We land where Greef told us to meet him. He's outside with three other men.

All four of us walk out of the ship on the Mythosaur that Kuiil brought. We are now facing each other with the kid floating in between me and Mando in its new Pod

"Sorry for the remote rendezvous, Mando," Greef says, "But things have gotten complicated since you were last here. It appears that introductions are in order. It seems we've both provided security detail." he points at Cara, "I recommend the shock trooper guards the ship. These lava fields are lousy with Jawas."

"She's coming with me," Din says.

"But the town is now run my ex-Empire. If a Rebel Dropper and a Rebel Commander is with us they'll get their hackles up.

"They're coming."

"Fine. At least cover your tattoo. No need to flaunt it." Greef refers to the tattoo on Caras's arm. "Now, where is the little one?" Din looks at me before touching his vambrace pushing the kid's pod forward. He walks closer to the pod and my hand hovers over my blaster, "So, this little bogwing is what all the fuss was about." He picks up the kid, "What a precious little creature."

"Mando.." I whisper.

"I know."

"I can see why you didn't want to harm a hair on it wrinkled little head." He puts the kid back and Din and I both relax. "Well, I'm glad this matter will be put to rest once and for all." Din closes the pod and brings the kid back to us, "The sun drops fast on Nevarro. We can walk for a spell, camp out at the riverbank, then make our way into town at first light."

At camp, its dark except for the flames except for the orange flames. I sit next to Din with the kid on my lap as I feed him the meat they caught earlier. The kid coos and babbles as I feed him.

"I guess the little bugger's a carnivore," Greef says "Never seen anything like it. They were ready to pay a king's ransom for that thing. Must be for some kind of highfalutin menagerie." He chuckles.

"Let's go over the plan again," Din says.

"We both enter the common house. We show the client the bait. We join him at the table. And you kill him."

"Tell me about his reinforcements."

"They're all ex-empire. As soon as they lose their paycheck, poof, they'll all scatter."

"What if they don't?" I ask.

"They will."

"That's not good enough," Din says.

"If, for argument's sake, a few of them don't realize that I'm their best past to alternative employment and they elect to react impulsively, then these three fine Guild Hunters," Greef points to his men, "along with the battle-hardened commander and shock trooper, will cut down anyone who bucks."

"How many will there be?"

"No more then four," Greef stands up now, "He travels with, at most, a Fire Team. Trust me nothing can go wrong." Greef goes to grab a piece of meat but a vulture of some kind grabs it out of his hand with its claw. It seems to scratch him as he cries out in pain. Everyone stands up and starts shooting at it. I make sure to close the kid's pod.

They fly around us. I take my blaster out to help with the shooting. It's chaotic. There's blast everywhere these things are flying like crazy. One of them takes one of Greef's guild members.

One tries to grab Din making him drop to the floor. I start shooting at it trying to get it to let go of him. After a few shots, it does. With his arms free he points the fire from his vambrace at it. It flies away with its tail on fire. The other one follows it.

"You good?" I ask Din.

"Yeah," he says out of breath, "Thanks." We run back to the kid's pod to check on him. When I open it he just coos.

We hear Greef grunting in pain. I go over and kneel by his side.

"They got you good," I say. He has scratch marks on his arm. His arm is red as the poison spreads through his veins, I open the medkit taking out the bacta shot. Bacta shot are powerful Din and I have yet to use them because we haven't had too bad of injuries yet. "Hold still," I give him the shot without hesitation.

"How bad?" Din asks.

"Bad. The poison is spreading. Fast."

"So this-this is how it happens," Greef says as I begin to wrap his arm with the bandage to try and stop the spreading.

"Don't be so dramatic. Uh, I need another med-pack. Do we have anymore?" I look around and nothing.

"I'm guessing that's a no."

"It's still spreading. It's not working."

I look down and notice the kid next to me putting a hand out to touch Greef, "Get this thing outta here," Cara says.

"Wait." I say, "Let him."

He touches Greefs wound and closes his big little eyes.

"He's trying to eat me."

"Shut up." I watch as the wound mostly closes and the poison leaves his body. The kid sits on the ground probably tired then the wound closes all the way.

After walking for some time Greef stops, "I guess this is it." Greef turns around and shoots. The three of us pull out our blasters waiting to get hit but instead, the two bounty hunters behind us are dead. "There's something you should now." He walks over to the now-dead bounty hunters kicking the bodies to make sure they're dead, "The plane was to kill you and take the kid."

I knew it.

"But after what happened last night, I couldn't go through with it. Go on. You can gun me down here and now and it wouldn't violate the code. But if you do, this child will never be safe."

"We'll take our chances," Cara says.

"The Imperial client is obsessed with obtaining this asset. You tried to run, but where did it get you? Listen, we both need the client to be eliminated. Let me take the child to him and then you three..."

"No," I say, "You don't go near my kid."

"Let's just kill him and get outta here," Cara says.

Din lowers his blaster, "He's right." I lower mine too.

"What are you doing?"

"If the imp lives he'll send hunter after the child," Din says.

"It's a trap."

"Bring me."

"Bring you?" Greef says.

"Tell him you captured me. Get me close to him and I'll kill him."

"No," I say

"That's a good idea give me your blaster," Greef says and Din hands him his blaster.

"Mando what if he kills you?" I ask with fear in my voice.

"He won't."

"But what if."

"Its the only way."

"I'm coming with you."

"No, no-no. That would make them suspicious," Greef says.

"I don't care. I'm coming."

"Tell them she caught me," Din suggests.

"No, they know you have a girlfriend they know she's the Rebel Commander."

Din doesn't correct him when he says girlfriend so neither do I.

"Fine. Then Cara caught us. We all go in there together," I say,

"Okay," Greef says, "Cara can bring the child."

"No," I say, "Kid goes back to the ship."

"But without the child, none of this works!"

"I have a plan. I'm a commander I always have a plan. Kuiil, ride back to the Razor Crest with the kid and no don't come out no matter what. Once you're inside engage in all ground security protocols. Nothing on this planet will breach those doors."

He hands me the comlink, "I will keep the child safe."

"Let's go." Din hands Greef the cuffs and he cuffs the both of us.

We walk up to the entrance of the city. The place if flooded with stormtroopers.

"Chain code?" One asks.

"I have a gift for the boss," Greef says.

"Chain code?" The stormtrooper asks again. Greef hands it to him and he scans it, "I'll give you twenty credits for the helmet."

Greef fakes a laugh, "Not a chance. That's going on my wall."

"Go ahead."

"Here we are." Greef opens the door and Din and I go first. Inside there are four stormtroopers and the Imp sits at the table. He stands up when he sees me and Mando, "Look what I brought you. As promised."

"And the commander too. I'm impressed," the imp says. He looks at Din's armor, "What exquisite craftsmanship. It is amazing how beautiful beskar can be forged be its ancestral artisans." He looks at Greef, "Can I offer you a libation to celebrate the closing of our shared narrative?"

"I would be obliged."

Greef pushes me and Din to sit down at a booth. Greef sits next to us and the imp sits across. The tension in the air rises as two more stormtroopers walk in.

"It is a shame that your people suffered so. Just as in this situation, it was all avoidable. Why did Manalore resist our expansion? The empire improves every system it touches." the anger that goes through me is insane. My jaw clenches and I bite my tongue to stop myself from saying something. Din places his cuffed hands over mine has an attempt to calm me down, "Judge by a metric. Safety, prosperity, trade, opportunity, peace. Compare Imperial rule to what is happening now. Look outside. Is the world more peaceful since the revolution?"

Oh yeah, the world is worse off without the sadistic ruler.

"I see nothing but death and chaos."

That the empire caused.

"I would like to see the baby."

"Uh, Its asleep," Greef says putting his hand out.

"We all will be quiet. Open the pram," but before he can a stormtrooper whispers something into the imps ear. He stands up, "Don't think me to be rude. I must take this call." He stands up and walks over to the bar. Din carefully takes off his and mine and his cuffs slowly. Greef carefully hands us our blasters.

We look over to see what the imp is going. There's a blast. The imp gets shot and I don't really see anymore before Din is pushing me to the ground to take cover.

Once the shooting stops, we get up quietly running taking cover behind the walls as we peak out the now shot in window.

Outside are six shadow troopers.

An imperial ship pulls up and even more, stormtroopers come out of it.

"Kuiil are you back to the ship yet?" I ask into the comlink.

"Not yet."

"Get back to the ship and bail. Get the kid out of here. We're pinned down."

Out of nowhere a tie fighter lands behind the troopers. The hatch on top opens and out walks Moff Gideon.

"You have something I want," he says. I lean back against the wall not being able to look at him the memories of those imperial ships too strong.

"Who's this guy?" Cara asks.

I know the answer but I can't say his name.

"You may think you have some idea of what you are in possession of, but you do not."

"Kuiil are you back to the ship yet? They're onto us," I say into the comlink but there's no answer.

"In a few moments, it will be mine."

"Kuiil come in. Do you copy!"

"It means more to me than you will ever know."

"Kuiil are you there!?"

Din takes the comlink out of my hands and keeps asking the same questions. But its no use. It's just us now.

#pedro pascal #pedro pacal x reader #pedro pascal x oc #the mandalorian #the mandalorian x oc #the mandalorian x reader #din djarin #din djarin x reader #din djarin x oc #paz vizla #baby yoda #mando #mando x reader #mando x oc #fan fic

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anubislover · 4 years

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Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Nami-ya chapter 17: Getting Hands-On

Neither navigator made an effort to hide the despair on their faces as they walked into the infirmary. Why bother? Law would figure out they failed the second he realized they didn’t have the antivenom they’d set out for; just some canned goods and a journal describing the horrors that had taken place on the ship. That, and the bloody scrapes from the vulture’s attack stood out starkly against Bepo’s white fur, so even if they wanted to pretend everything went swimmingly, the doctor would call bullshit in an instant.

The large cat halted in the middle of the room, his pacing disturbed by their entrance. His brow furrowed at the subdued mood and nose twitched at the scent of blood and seawater. He gave a curt, questioning meow as he bounded over, circling the pair as he took in their minor injuries.

“I’m so sorry, Law,” Bepo said despondently, kneeling down so his captain could get a closer look at the shallow cuts across his muzzle. “One of the pirates flew off with the antivenom.”

“The captain’s a vulture in every sense of the word,” Nami sneered, tossing her own bag to the ground as she marched over to the cabinets to grab some antibacterial cream for the bear. She was wet, miserable, and trying to hide her internal panic with anger. “He told Bepo that if we want it, we need to trade the old man for it. But we can’t!”

Law snorted, which Bepo translated to “‘Why not’?”

Tossing Bepo the cream, she glared at his captain’s heartless response. “Law, the man was a prisoner on that ship,” she argued as she pulled out the leather-bound diary from her bag. “I read the captain’s journal—turning him over to those bastards is the last thing he deserves, even if he did attack us.” Flipping to one of the damning entries, she shoved the book under his nose. “They exploited his powers and tortured him. Made him help in what was basically slave trafficking. He had to turn children into animals to be sold as exotic pets or skinned for their pelts. Hell, I can’t blame him for panicking when he saw us—I’d have done the same!” Or worse, she thought to herself, remembering the cages and tools she’d seen in the cargo hold. I’d definitely turn the captain into a bug and squash him.

Yellow eyes darted across the page, taking in the captain’s cruel words before Law let out a few grunts.

Dabbing one of his cuts with the antibacterial cream, Bepo winced at his captain’s harsh retort. “Uh, Law says ‘The old man certainly suffered, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m literally dying because of him’.”

Nami’s heart twisted in her chest. Not just at how callous his words were, but at the fact that he was technically right. It was the doctor’s fault; if he hadn’t turned Law into a leopard, or his former captors into deadly snakes, none of this would be an issue. If they didn’t betray him, the venom would paralyze Law’s lungs and basically suffocate him from the inside. But then again…

Teeth gritting, she bit out, “Fine. If you want a more practical reason not to turn him over, how about the fact that we need him to turn you and the crew back into humans? Did you think about that?!”

Spotted ears flattened against his skull as he growled. “‘Of course I did! We’re in a no-win situation; I’ll either die painfully or spend the rest of my life as a snow leopard’.”

Bepo’s shoulders sagged further as the full weight of their hopeless situation hit him. “And who knows how long it’ll be until you go completely feral? Or the others? And if we can’t get you all human again, we’re stuck on this island forever—Nami and I can’t sail the Tang on our own.”

Tears of frustration welled up in Nami’s eyes at that. Damn it, things really were a mess, weren’t they? Nothing had gone right since the King Game! “It’s not fair! That was supposed to be an easy errand for some barmy old man! Law was supposed to learn a valuable lesson about letting his crew handle things, and the Hearts to not rely on his powers for everything! This was supposed to be a vacation!” she shouted, kicking the examination table in frustration so hard some of the zoology books tumbled to the floor.

“Nami…” Bepo whimpered, worried about his friend, but Law held up a paw to keep him from going to her.

Yanking off her wet boots and throwing them across the infirmary, she continued to vent. “I swear, I should have stayed in Weatheria! Then I wouldn’t have to deal with psychotic poachers or creepy octopus-men or underworld power struggles or any of the other crap I’ve run into since I agreed to this stupid deal! I’d be safe and sound with the Weather Wizards, training to be the best damn navigator Luffy could ask for!”

For a few moments, the only sound that filled the infirmary were Nami’s heaving pants as she caught her breath.

“I’m sorry we’ve caused you so much trouble, Nami,” Bepo finally said, hanging his head in despair. Law said nothing, but he too looked away from her, and the way his brow was scrunched up made it clear he was berating himself for all the danger he’d inadvertently put her in.

Anger spent due to her little temper tantrum, she rubbed her forehead and collapsed into a chair. “No, I’m sorry,” she sighed. “This isn’t your fault; danger’s par for the course when you’re a pirate. I’m just scared. I don’t like being backed into a corner like this. It makes me lash out sometimes. It’s like…it’s like when I first met Luffy. I was given the choice between shooting him with an explosive cannonball, or the pirates I was conning killing me. I didn’t want to die, but I couldn’t kill some helpless idiot in cold blood. There was no way I could win.”

“What happened?”

“One of the pirates decided that maybe I didn’t know how to light a canon, so he took the matches from me, and I…I attacked him. I couldn’t help myself! And then Zoro showed up and saved us both, and I stole the key to Luffy’s cage while we escaped in the confusion.”

“Sounds like your crew really has your captain’s back,” Bepo said, giving Law a sideways glance.

A tiny smile came to her face at the memory. “Heh. We weren’t even a crew then—just a misfit trio. Zoro’d known Luffy for like, a day, and I’d met him that afternoon. But the three of us still managed to save a village from Buggy and his crew and get a map to the Grand Line.”

Law let out a begrudging string of meows, and the corner of Bepo’s mouth lifted a bit. “He says, ‘If Mugiwara-ya was able to trust you and Zoro-ya to save him after just meeting you, I suppose I can show a little more faith in my crew’.”

“I’d be a lot happier to hear that if there was a chance you all could come out of this alive and human,” Nami sighed. “Except we’re still stuck in a no-win situation.”

“Maybe we could fight the pirates for the antivenom?” Bepo asked. “I know Law’s supposed to take it easy and not strain himself, but we’re kind of desperate. Snow leopards are supposed to be great jumpers—maybe he could snatch that vulture out of the air!”

“Or he could miss and it could fly off with the antivenom and drop it into the ocean out of spite while we’re stuck fighting whatever the rest of its crew was turned into.” She shook her head. “We’re at a major disadvantage—we don’t know what they are, their abilities, or even how many of them there are. Hell, we didn’t even think to ask the doctor about any of that—we just assumed none of them would be on the ship.”

Law sighed and grunted a few things, which the Mink translated. “‘It was an oversight on all our parts. We should have pressed the old man for intel before going in. Our desperation made us blind to the obvious pitfalls and our ignorance allowed the enemy to get a leg up on us’.”

Suddenly, his eyes lit up as if he had an epiphany. Putting an enormous paw on Nami’s leg, he gave a few growls before a smirk spread across his muzzle.

Bepo blinked before grinning happily. “He says, ‘Call the doctor, Nami-ya—I have a plan’.”

XXX

One Den Den Mushi call later the trio was back on the beach, waiting anxiously at the destroyed party site. Naturally, they were all cautious and alert, keeping an eye out for venomous snakes, large birds, or other animal attacks that could come charging out of the jungle. After all, the vulture might have demanded a trade, but that didn’t mean he didn’t plan to betray them the moment he got what he wanted.

While Law prowled the jungle perimeter, Bepo built a small fire to keep the evening chill away and provide some extra light.

“Do you smell anything?” Nami asked, shifting her weight from foot-to-foot nervously as she guarded the bags of supplies. She didn’t know all of the details of Law’s plan, but she was positive it would be ruined if the enemy appeared before they could spring the trap.

The two animals shook their heads. “Nothing fresh. I’d recognize the vulture’s scent if it were nearby; he reeked of rotting meat. And Law says he can’t see or smell anything suspicious, either. Seems we’re safe.”

“Well, I don’t trust that to last long. They never gave us a meeting place, so they must be expecting to find us, and this is the most obvious spot.”

There was a curt chuff, which Bepo translated, “‘True, which is why we need to be on our guard and hope the old man doesn’t take too long to get here’.”

She double-checked the bags, which were filled to the brim with supplies. At the top were a pair of Law’s best black leather boots and one of his long coats, reluctantly donated by an extremely grumpy captain. “Is there anything we might be forgetting?”

Law responded with an irritated growl, and Bepo said, “Um, he’s a bit mad that it’s mostly our stuff you’re giving away and none of your own.”

“Well, it’s not like my shoes or clothes would fit him, Law,” she said breezily. “And I doubt he’d be interested in any of my books.”

“He says that everything we need to replace because of this is coming from your paycheck.”

“No, it’s all coming from the money we’ll get from selling the extra antivenom. Do try to keep up with the plan, Law,” she quipped, tossing a smirk over her shoulder.

The tip of his tail flicked back and forth crossly as he growled something under his breath. She noticed Bepo sweating as he busily set about adding more wood to the fire, his fake whistle making it clear he was simply pretending to have not heard whatever was said so he wouldn’t have to translate.

Nami found she didn’t mind that, mainly because arguing with Law just didn’t have the same thrill when he had to speak through a third party. Nor was it as engaging without glaring defiantly up into a pair of smug eyes, watching his mouth twist into a scowl or smirk in response to her verbal barbs. And though they’d never really been shy about fighting in front of other people, having Bepo actually involved felt…wrong. Like he was unwillingly intruding on something intimate.

She shook her head, refusing to dwell on that line of thinking. She needed to focus on the plan and the task at hand, otherwise she might never get to properly fight with Law again, and that would be an absolute tragedy.

The leopard’s ears perked up, and he let out a meow as he loped to Nami’s side, placing his body in front of hers protectively, shoulders tense and ready to pounce should the worst happen. “‘He’s here. I recognize the scent’.”

There was a rustling of leaves, and as predicted, an old man stepped out of the jungle and onto the beach. He was tan, gangly and thin, at least Law’s height, with a tangled white beard that reached his navel. His face was thin and gaunt with prominent wrinkles across his bald head and around his sunken brown eyes. He wore nothing but a pair of tattered trousers and what appeared to be a thin cloak made of woven grass, and while he was muscular from what was likely a physically intensive lifestyle of living in the jungle, Nami could easily count his ribs in the firelight.

She could just as easily count his scars, too—lashes, lacerations, claw marks, and Nami swore she even saw faded evidence of a branding iron. It also appeared that he was missing two of his toes on his left foot, though it was difficult to be sure with the sand and shadows.

Anxiously, he glanced around as if expecting an ambush, though his attention was quickly stolen by Bepo. “I don’t recall turning anyone into a polar bear,” he said suspiciously, stance shifting as if about to bolt back into the jungle, “and where’s that guy I talked to on the phone?”

“Oh, uh, that’s me,” Bepo said, raising his paw helpfully.

He gasped in surprise. “A talking bear?!”

“I’m sorry,” he replied, hanging his head gloomily.

“Wait, bears can’t talk, which means you must be a Mink, yes? I’ve heard about your kind, but I’ve never had the pleasure of encountering one face-to-face!” he said, eyes getting a little starry as he took a few steps closer to get a better look. “Simply magnificent! Look at those claws! And you’ve got actual fingers! Your coat is remarkably glossy, too! Tell me, what’s your daily diet?”

Sweatdrops fell down both Nami’s and Law’s heads at seeing the old man practically fanboy over Bepo. That was…unexpected to say the least. For his part, Bepo was extremely shy and flustered at the sudden positive attention from a stranger.

“Uh, hate to interrupt, but we’re supposed to be having something of a business transaction right now,” Nami said awkwardly.

That seemed to snap the old man out of his fascinated haze and he practically leapt away before coughing into his fist. “Ah, yes, right. Do you have the goods?” he asked, eyeing the bags skeptically. He kept close to the edge of the jungle, one foot back as if he were ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

Treating him like a skittish deer she didn’t want to scare away, Nami carefully began removing items from the satchels, making broad, obvious movements to show she meant no harm. “Most of the stuff on the shipwreck was unusable, so we replaced them with some of our own supplies. We’ve got pots, pans, blankets, canned goods, a can opener, boots…”

Law growled irritably as his clothes were handed over. The old man ignored him, instead admiring the shiny leather in the firelight. “These are high-quality. Normally I’m not fond of wearing animal skin, but beggars can’t be choosers.” He immediately slipped them on, along with the long wool coat, sighing happily as the warmth encased him. “To be honest, I don’t think I’ve worn real shoes in years. The most they ever gave me were sacks to put on my feet, and that was only after I lost a couple little piggies to frostbite,” he said, wiggling his booted toes for emphasis.

Given what she knew of his treatment, it didn’t surprise Nami, though it did further solidify in her mind that those pirates needed a harsher punishment than just being turned into animals.

“We even brought you books from the library!” Bepo said cheerfully, holding up the stack of encyclopedias. “Nami said you were a conservationist, so we thought you’d like these.”

He studied the titles before wrinkling his nose. “Do you have anything else? Maybe a juicy romance novel or historical fiction?”

“What happened to ‘beggars can’t be choosers’?” Nami asked, a little annoyed. If he wanted a specific genre, he should have said something before they’d gone out of their way to haul a pile of thick, heavy books across the water.

Chastised, the old man shrunk back instinctually at her tone. “Ah, I suppose you’re right. It’s just that I simply hate reading my own writing; especially my older works.”

Three jaws dropped as they connected the dots between the ragged man before them and the author of the zoology books they’d spent the evening reading. “Wait, you’re Dr. Monroe?”

“I am indeed, though no one’s called me that in a long time,” he said with a melancholy smile.

Head jerking between the old man and the stack of encyclopedias, Nami found herself both shocked and further infuriated at the pirates on his behalf. He’d been a respected naturalist, someone who’d researched and written detailed books on thousands of animals, and yet he’d been reduced to a prisoner and tool for a monstrous captain’s selfish gain.

Turning the captain into a vulture was an insult to carrion birds.

“I…I’ve got a few novels I could give you, Dr. Monroe,” she said kindly, ignoring the way Law raised his eyebrow at her. She wasn’t sure if it was due to the realization that she might have a juicy romance novel to offer or that she was offering up her own stuff for free. She hoped it was the latter. “I can understand not wanting to reread your old work for the rest of your life. There are plenty of maps I’ve drawn that I just can’t stand to look at anymore.”

“I…well thank you, missy,” Monroe said, genuinely surprised at her generosity.

“Heck, come check out the sub’s library; you can take your pick of anything there!”

Law gave a vicious snarl in response, ears flattening and teeth bared.

“Uh, except for the medical texts,” Bepo explained nervously, making it clear he was giving the significantly more polite version of his captain’s outburst. “Those are off-limits.”

“Oh, don’t worry; medical stuff has never been my cup of tea,” Dr. Monroe assured him, surprisingly less afraid of a large bear or an angry snow leopard than an annoyed young woman. Looking over the bags of supplies, he gave a grateful smile. “Besides, it seems you’ve held up your end of the bargain, and I admit, you’ve gone above and beyond what I expected. Oh! Were you able to find the antivenom?”

Nami’s teeth sunk into her lip as she recalled their failure on the shipwreck. “I’m so sorry,” she said, nails sinking into her palms because of how tightly her fists were clenched. “We had the antivenom, but then this vulture showed up and stole it from us—”

“The captain,” he deduced sadly, visibly deflating. “He gave you an ultimatum, didn’t he? You plan on trading me for it.”

“Sorry,” Bepo answered, hanging his head. “I tried to fight him off, but it was too risky with those glass vials.”

“We don’t want to,” Nami stressed. “I read the captain’s journal. I know what they’ve done to you. But Law’s dying—”

Dr. Monroe held up a trembling hand to silence her. Skinny legs started to tremble while his hands shook, but his eyes were resolute as he looked at the trio. “I understand. I…I guess you have no choice, then. I’ll turn you and your crew human again. A deal’s a deal, and I’d like to have one last moment of moral high ground before those bastards rip me to shreds.”

Quietly prowling forward, a low chuff came from the snow leopard as he looked up at Dr. Monroe with intelligent gold eyes.

Bepo gave a small sigh of relief as he translated, “Law says, ‘It’s good to hear you have a sense of honor. That’s why we’re not handing you over. Turn me human, and we won’t need the antivenom. My powers will take care of it’.”

“You can talk to animals?” Dr. Monroe asked Bepo, shocked and amazed.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry.”

Stars filled his eyes once more as he gazed in awe at the Mink. “Don’t apologize! This is marvelous! Oh, if only I’d had an assistant like you back in my naturalist days—the discoveries you could have helped me make…”

Law took this moment to cough rudely, interrupting the scientist’s daydream.

“Ah, yes, right. Turn you human. Well, if that’ll save your life and keep me from being handed back over to those psychopaths, I’m more than willing to comply.”

With more confidence than Nami would have expected from the old man, Dr. Monroe strode forward, gently placing his hand on Law’s head. There was a shimmer in the air around him, almost like heat in the desert, before the snow leopard began to transform. As his body shifted and changed, Law stood, once again human and on his own two feet.

Human and not wearing a stitch of clothing.

“Oh my god, why are you naked?!” Nami shrieked, hands flying up to cover her eyes as her face turned beet red.

“Because he wasn’t wearing clothes,” Dr. Monroe supplied matter-of-factly.

“Why didn’t you warn us first?!”

“Because on the off-chance that you really do plan to betray me and hand me over to those pirates as a twisted form of revenge, I might as well get the last laugh.”

Scoffing in annoyance, Law said, “Bepo, hand me Kikoku.”

“Shouldn’t you get dressed first?” the Mink asked, though he dutifully retrieved the nodachi from its hiding place behind a tree.

“I’ll take care of it once the venom’s out of my system. See if you can find me something to wear once I’m done.” Nami could practically hear the smirk in his voice as he added, “Don’t worry, Nami-ya; your virgin eyes will be safe soon enough.”

Instinctively she wrenched her hands away to properly glare at him, only for all the color to drain from her face as she witnessed Law’s body parts floating around in the dome of his Room. As they flew about, blood was slowly being drawn out of them, and she could see little particles of what she assumed to be the venom filling the air like a mist.

“I told you not to look, Nami-ya,” he scolded, though humor laced his voice.

She immediately spun around to face the jungle, feeling fairly sick at what she’d just observed. She was suddenly reminded of that time in the alley when he’d drawn the faulty birth control from her bloodstream. Was this what he’d done? She recalled feeling floaty and strange during the procedure. No wonder he’d ordered her to keep her eye closed.

“Monroe-ya,” Law began, unperturbed by his audience, “though I’m not in the habit of helping people who have both massively inconvenienced me and kidnapped my crew, my navigators are sympathetic to your plight. That, and I’m in even less of the habit of giving into the demands of lesser pirates. So, I’m going to take care of your former captors, but I’ll need your expertise to do it.”

“Good god,” Dr. Monroe said, his voice filled with horrified fascination as he unabashedly stared at the unnatural display before him. “What kind of powers do you have?!”

“That of the Ope Ope no Mi. Believe me, you’ll see far more of what I can do before the night’s over. Now, you said the pirates that are still alive are much worse than those we’ve already faced. Tell me what kinds of animals they are.”

He crossed his bony arms, mouth set in a frown that was nearly hidden by his tangled beard. “Besides the Eurasian black vulture, there’s a red spitting cobra, diamondback rattlesnake, hippopotamus, chimpanzee, and wolverine.”

“A cobra?!” Nami shrieked, horrified. She didn’t need one of the zoology books to tell her that was bad news.

Dr. Monroe waved his hand dismissively. “Spitting cobras don’t bite; as the name implies, they spit their venom, which is generally harmless against intact human and mammalian skin. However, you don’t want to get it in your eyes, as if left untreated it may cause chemosis and corneal swelling.”

“Noted. The rattlesnake’s bite is still dangerous though, yes?” Law asked.

“Quite. However, it’s the hippopotamus you should really worry about—naturally aggressive, charges like a tank, thick skin, and powerful jaws. He’s their heavy-hitter. The vulture is their leader and scout, often flying over the island to find me. Meanwhile, the wolverine is extremely ferocious for its size. The chimpanzee’s vicious and crafty, and has the advantage of thumbs, so he’s been able to disassemble several of my traps.”

“It’s a wonder you’re still alive.”

The old doctor shuddered, seemingly recalling the various horrors he’d endured. “I’m sure they’ve been dreaming of ripping me to shreds and feasting on my corpse, but up until now, it’s been too risky. Even if killing me did turn them human again, they’d still be stuck on this island. At least as animals, they didn’t need as much food or shelter. But I knew the moment your submarine showed up in the bay, my days were numbered.”

Nami could now understand why the pirates were so desperate. After all, they were on an island that wasn’t on any map, had a magnetic signal that was too weak to be detected by a log pose, and was basically a death trap for most vessels; this was likely the only chance they’d have to escape before their minds went completely feral. And of course they couldn’t just ask the doctor to turn them back—not after the hell they’d put him through.

Trying to think about anything besides the journal entries, Nami said, “I’m surprised that the snakes and vulture survived considering how little native wildlife there is on the island. You’d think they’d have starved to death after two months.”

Dr. Monroe shook his head. “From what I’ve observed, they’ve been getting by on birds and the rats that escaped the ship, with the occasional baby sea turtle for good measure. And of course, the vulture’s been feasting on the remains of his former companions.”

Once more, she felt ill. She wondered if those rats were the normal kind, or the humans they’d been using for making antivenom. Then again, the journal had said they’d eaten their former cabin boy, so it probably didn’t matter to them.

“What about you?” Law cut in, interrupting Nami’s thoughts. “You’re not as malnourished as I first thought, but you’re still surprisingly skinny considering all the fresh fruit and fish the island provides.”

“The crew goes out of their way to make my life difficult as a petty form of revenge and intimidation tactic,” the old man groused. “I try to fish, but if I stay in one spot for too long, they find me and chase me away. Same with the fruit—the chimpanzee and baboon would steal it for themselves, or otherwise just destroy it to spite me. And of course, whenever I’d make a fire to cook or keep warm, it made finding me so much easier, so they’d typically charge in and destroy my camp.”

“Wait, doesn’t that make having this fire dangerous?” Nami asked, concerned. “They’ll find us in no time!”

“That’s part of the plan, Nami-ya,” Law assured. “They think we’re going to make a trade, so of course they’d expect us to make ourselves easy to find.”

“Here’s a pair of swim trunks, Captain,” Bepo said helpfully, pulling the garment out of the beach bag he’d been rummaging through.

“Thank you,” Law said, and Nami could hear rustling as he slipped into them. “You can look now, Nami-ya, assuming you weren’t already sneaking peeks,” he sniggered.

Despite the glare she threw at him, Nami had to admit it was nice seeing him bipedal and blessedly human again. And though she refused to say it aloud, it was very nice seeing the way the firelight flickered across his taut muscles and reflected in his cunning gold eyes. The shadows cast across his lithe figure made him almost look unreal, and she found herself tempted to touch him to assure herself that her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.

Of course, Nami had the feeling she didn’t have to voice her appreciation. The way Law smirked knowingly at her blatant staring said it all.

“So, that power of yours really pulled out all the venom?” Dr. Monroe asked, full of scientific curiosity.

Law tore his attention from the feisty thief to the inquisitive naturalist. “Most of it, at least. I’ll still want a shot of that antivenom to ensure I’m completely cured, but I should be out of the woods for the time being.”

A sigh of relief left Nami’s chest. She was so glad Law had decided to actually reason with the old doctor instead of selling him out. She was even more grateful for the fact that, despite what he’d been put through, he wasn’t a malicious person—just a scared one. That had been clear enough when he’d told them about the antivenom and had agreed to wait until they’d gotten it to make the trade, but his willingness to help them even when he thought they were giving him up to his tormentors proved he deserved their help. It seemed that, while the pirates had done their best to turn him into a timid slave, they’d failed to rip away his humanity.

It was why she now had faith in Law’s plan; people like the vulture and his crew never expected people to act altruistically. They’d naturally assume that all pirates were as monstrous as them. They’d never expect their enemies to talk things out like civilized people and come to a mutually-beneficial agreement.

Rubbing his chin in thought, Law continued his line of questioning. “You said you can’t always control what kind of animals you turn someone into—that if they have a strong will, they can overcome it. Yet their whole plan was having you turn people into rare animals.”

“Yes. Most of the time they kidnapped civilians, so it was easy to assert my will over theirs. It’s a bit like Conqueror’s Haki, I suppose; it can dominate weaker people, but the strong can resist it and turn into something else.”

“Ah, that makes sense. Out of curiosity, what were you trying to turn me into?”

“Well,” Monroe said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, “I was trying to turn you into a spotted seal. That way, you’d be unlikely to pursue me through the jungle.”

Nami could have laughed at the mental image—Law would have made a very grumpy seal. At least as a snow leopard he was able to maintain some grace and dignity, kitty antics aside. As a seal he’d have to flop around on the beach and make loud barking sounds to communicate.

He seemed to notice the humor on her face as he tossed her a glare before returning his attention to the naturalist. “And you got a snow leopard instead. However, I was able to take out two of your former captors in that form. Which brings me to my plan; did you change any of my crew into creatures that might be good in a fight?”

Dr. Monroe’s eyes lit up in understanding. “Ah, I see; use their transformations to your advantage! Yes, several of them could be quite effective in a fight, but my camp is on the other side of the island—how do you propose we get them before the pirates get us?”

Instead of answering, Law activated his Room, spreading it out across the entire island, eyes closed in concentration. In a blink, the bags and debris left from the party were replaced with an assortment of animals, several looking overjoyed to see their captain again.

Before any of them could raise a ruckus to celebrate their reunion, Law held up his hand for silence. “We don’t have much time; the enemy will be here soon. I was poisoned earlier, and while I’ve removed most of it from my system, they still have the antivenom I need to ensure I’m completely cured. They want us to trade the doctor for it, but as he’s the only one who can turn you all back, we’ve agreed to an alliance.”

Most of the animals appeared concerned at that, but Law continued, “Normally, I’d insist on you all being returned to your human forms first as a precaution, but Dr. Monroe has informed me that several of you have abilities that could be useful. So, I’m going to trust that, no matter what species you are, you’re still my capable, top-notch crew who can handle these beasts. Don’t let me down.”

There was a moment of stunned silence before the crew roared in approval, and Nami found herself smiling at the obvious love and trust they had for their grumpy, morbid captain. Though, honestly, she wasn’t quite certain about this part of the plan—sure, there was a gorilla, what appeared to be a four foot-tall bird, a mongoose, and a bear of some kind, but there were also significantly less-threatening animals like a tapir, a ring-tailed lemur, an armadillo, some kind of weasel, and a walrus.

Turning to the doctor, Law waved him forward. “I need your expertise, Monroe-ya; who should fight, and who should stay back.”

Though he seemed nervous to have the attention of his former hostages suddenly on him, Dr. Monroe looked them over carefully. “Right. Let’s start with the snakes—I’d suggest the mongoose take on the rattlesnake while the secretary bird handles the cobra.”

Looking at the three avians in the group, which included a puffin and a tiny, aggressively-buzzing hummingbird, Bepo pointed at the tall bird with long eyelashes and impressive plumage. “You mean that one?”

“That’s her. Very unique—there’s no other kind of bird like them, so they have their own classification! Most importantly, she’s tall enough to avoid the spitting cobra’s venom, and her stomp is strong enough to snap its spine. She’s like a ninja eagle on stilts!”

The bird puffed up proudly at the description and gave a hoarse croaking sound as she stood beside the mongoose who gave a little salute. Bepo grinned and stated, “Ikkaku says that she and Clione are ready for action!”

Law nodded in approval while Monroe once again looked at the Mink wistfully. “Oh, to have had you as my assistant…”

“Monroe-ya, stop fawning over my navigator,” Law cut in irritably. “We only have so much time to chit-chat. I’m assuming the gorilla will be suitable enough to take on the chimp?”

“Your extremely large friend has the advantage in strength, but that particular chimp is quite clever—he was the crew’s inventor, as it were, which meant he came up with most of their…contraptions,” he said with a shudder. Nami could easily guess he was the one who created the mechanisms used to torture the poor man.

The silverback gorilla grunted something and pointed at a porcupine, who nodded in understanding. “Jean Bart says he’s no idiot himself. In fact, he’s already got an idea for taking him down with Uni’s help.”

“Perfect. Which leaves the wolverine.” A large badger marched forward, glaring up at the doctor. “Hmmm, while a honey badger is remarkably tough, a wolverine is infinitely more aggressive, especially one as hateful as him. I’d suggest you recruit a larger animal for backup.”

Nami pointed to the large bear by the fire. “How about him?”

His wrinkled face twisted in disdain. “Missy, that’s a panda—lazy, stupid, and frankly the bane of my conservation efforts. Every time I requested funding, most it would go to saving them, even though they have absolutely zero survival instincts. I mean, they won’t even mate! Even with a human’s intelligence, I wouldn’t put a single belli on him in a fight.”

“What poor soul got saddled with this pathetic creature?” Law asked, amused when the panda in question scowled at him.

“I believe I heard his companion call him ‘Shachi’.”

Law’s smirk turned absolutely wicked as he approached the bear. “Are you at least still capable of doing kung-fu?”

Stubbornly Shachi tried to strike a fighting stance, only to wobble and fall straight on his ass, unused to his bulk and stubby legs. Pouting at his lack of agility and balance, he crossed his arms and sulkily growled something that could easily be interpreted as “shut up or else.”

The captain’s shit-eating grin showed he was less than impressed. “Oh, how frightening. What are you gonna do, big guy? Sit on me?”

“He says not to tempt him,” Bepo warned, ducking as the hummingbird dive-bombed him furiously. “And Penguin says he hopes you got turned into a sloth or something.”

“My first and second mate are a fat panda and a tiny hummingbird? I’m deeply shamed.”

“Law, for god’s sake, mock them later!” Nami groused, stomping her foot in frustration. She might have faith in his plan, but there wasn’t time to waste on teasing his buddies over their less-than-impressive forms. “We’ve still got a hippo problem!”

Resting his nodachi on his shoulder, he smirked at her over his shoulder. “Relax, Nami-ya. I know exactly which mighty beast in our arsenal can take him out,” he replied, indicating Bepo.

“Who, me?” the Mink asked as he glanced around, certain Law meant someone else.

“While I have no doubt he’s strong, I’m not completely sure a polar bear would win a fight with a hippopotamus,” Dr. Monroe interjected, mouth twisting in concern. “I mean, it’d be fascinating to debate with my old colleagues, but I’d rather not find out first-hand, especially with our lives on the line.”

Smirk widening, Law explained, “Except Bepo’s not some ordinary bear; he’s a Mink. I doubt even a hippo would have much luck against his Electro technique.”

“His what?” Nami asked, eyebrows raising. She knew Bepo was skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but she’d never considered he might have other abilities.

“Electro. It’s a power all Minks are born with,” Bepo explained. “It’s kind of like your Thunderbolt Tempo, except my body generates the electricity. I nearly used it against the vulture when he attacked us, but I couldn’t risk accidentally frying the antivenom. But you’re right, Captain—that hippo won’t stand a chance!” he said excitedly.

She felt a spark of hope. When Law had explained that he had an idea for dealing with the pirates, she’d assumed he’d meant he’d fight them himself. With his powers back he could easily take down the poachers in a second, but instead he was deliberately strategizing around his crew’s new abilities. He was allowing them to feel empowered after what was likely a frightening and frustrating night, while demonstrating his trust in them by letting them handle the situation.

He’d taken her words to heart, and Nami found herself oddly proud of him.

“What about the captain?” Dr. Monroe asked nervously, understandably not sharing her same confidence. “Secretary birds can fly, but she doesn’t have the experience to keep up with him if he tries to flee.”

“Let me worry about the vulture,” Law said dismissively. “I think it’s time we show those third-rate pirates who’s really king of the jungle.”

He turned to the rest of the crew, motioning for them to listen closely. “I know there are several of you who might feel slighted that I’m not requesting you join the battle. I did it not because I don’t have faith in your abilities, but because I have a far more important job for you—protect Nami-ya and the doctor. The enemy will be gunning for him, and if he dies, none of you will ever be changed back. You’re our last line of defense; I’m trusting you to put any grudge aside for the sake of the crew’s wellbeing. And mine.”

Though the leftover crew—which included an otter, raccoon, aye-aye, rabbit, and what appeared to be a deer with fangs—seemed disappointed that they weren’t being called to arms, they immediately perked up at his order. Nami had to admit, it was a good move on Law’s part; it kept the weaker and slower animals from getting hurt without damaging their pride.

Expanding his Room over the island once more, Law stated, “Everyone get in position—I’m bringing the fight to us.”

Nami, Dr. Monroe, and the crew only had a few seconds to comply before a bunch of seashells were replaced with a confused-looking group of animals. Just as the former naturalist had said, there was an enormous hippopotamus, a chimpanzee whose face was crisscrossed with scars, a cobra whose scales were the color of dried blood, and a brown rattlesnake with a striking black diamond pattern on its back. And of course, the black vulture stood at the front, its shoulders hunched as it focused its hateful gaze on Dr. Monroe.

It let out a low hiss as it stepped forward menacingly, only for the Heart crew to gather round their charge, with the walrus in particular using its massive bulk as a shield.

“He says, ‘You know our demands; hand over the doctor and we’ll give you the antivenom’,” Bepo translated helpfully, even as he glared at the angry bird. He wrinkled his snout, the red cut reopening slightly at the movement, the sting serving as a reminder of the last time he’d let the vulture get the drop on them.

With a scoff, Law replied calmly, “I do know your demands. I just don’t give a shit. You attacked my navigator and my cat thief; something I wouldn’t take kindly to, even if you hadn’t stolen the antivenom. I skimmed your journal, too—you’re a real piece of work. I actually have to applaud you for your commitment to being absolute scumbags.” Adjusting his grip on his sword, he gave a slow, mocking clap, his grin turning utterly sadistic as the animals glared daggers at him. “Ah, that feels good. Nothing like clapping your hands to show your contempt. Wings and paws just don’t give the same satisfaction.”

“Law, he’s saying that if you keep doing that, he’s going to peck out the soft flesh of your eyeballs.”

“Is he? Well, guess who has two thumbs and would like to see him try.” He stopped clapping to instead point both his thumbs at himself. “This guy.”

Nami was torn between yelling at Law for his childishness or cheering him on for being just an absolute asshole to a truly deserving piece of shit. She settled on giving an exasperated sigh even as she grinned slightly.

“He’s either extremely arrogant or utterly insane,” Dr. Monroe whispered to her, looking far more worried. Not that she could completely blame him—he didn’t know the Hearts or Law like she did, so this whole affair was much more of a gamble on his part.

Sympathetic, she patted his arm. “Believe me, Doctor, with him there’s no ‘or’,” she stated encouragingly.

Infuriated by Law’s disrespect, the vulture let out another hiss, spreading his wings in a grandiose gesture.

“He says ‘You don’t seem to understand the fact that we’re the ones holding the power. You’ve heard of supply and demand, haven’t you’?”

“As a matter of fact, I have. The thing is, you don’t have the supply.” Law held up the backpack, pulling out one of the vials to further emphasize his point.

Five sets of eyes widened as the pirates looked around, making a series of angry hisses and roars when they realized the same power that had teleported them to the beach had also snatched the knapsack right from their claws.

Realizing that they’d lost their advantage, the hippo gave a loud bellow as it charged forward, aiming straight for the doctor, determined to trample any of the animals that might try to get in its way. It didn’t expect Bepo to jump in the way, though, nor for him to grab it by the snout and release a crackling electric attack, blasting it with enough volts to stop it dead in its tracks.

Chaos swiftly broke out. The two snakes attempted to use the hippo’s distraction to sneak around, but the Hearts were prepared for such a maneuver. Ikkaku darted for the cobra, slamming her foot down on its back over and over, pounding it hard into the sand and ignoring its pained hisses until it was sure its spine was well and truly broken. In contrast, Clione used his agility to avoid the rattlesnake’s swift lunge, sinking his teeth deep into its neck at the base of the skull so it couldn’t fight back, holding on tightly while it writhed and slowly bled out.

In contrast, the chimp didn’t even get that far. Jean Bart grabbed Uni and gently tossed him to the smaller ape, who foolishly reached out to catch him. The porcupine’s sharp, barbed quills pierced the chimp’s hands, and Uni smacked him in the face with his tail for good measure. With his opponent suitably distracted and unable to use his hands, Jean Bart grabbed the chimpanzee and put him in a headlock, his muscular arms easily choking him out.

Meanwhile, the wolverine’s fight with Crozier was much less one-sided. It managed to sink its teeth into Crozier’s skin which, while his thick and loose hide protected him from the powerful jaws, left him pinned. However much to everyone’s surprise, Shachi lumbered over and swiped at the wolverine with his claws. On instinct the smaller mammal released Crozier, who took the opportunity to shuffle back, glancing up at the panda curiously. With a grunt that was likely some clever quip, Shachi turned around and sat down hard onto the wolverine, crushing it beneath his mass.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Law stated, blinking in surprise but sounding mildly impressed at his old friend’s contribution to the fight.

Seeing his comrades get taken down so easily by what should have been lesser animals clearly threw the vulture for a loop. He beat its wings, preparing to take to the air, when something small and quick shot forward. A horrific hiss of agony escaped him as Penguin furiously stabbed him in the eye with his needlelike beak.

Catching the two birds in his Room, Law Shambled Penguin over to his side before drawing Kikoku, vivisecting the vulture.

As the scavenger bird lay on the ground in pieces, showing as much terror as a creature like him could, Law looked at Dr. Monroe over his shoulder. “Considering how he tortured you for, what, two years? I’m open to requests regarding his fate. Shall I throw him into the fire and make roast vulture? Pluck his feathers to make a hideous hat? Feed him to the sharks?”

The naturalist appeared conflicted. His chapped lips were set in a frown while his wrinkled, sunburned brow furrowed. His eyes darted across the fallen forms of his former tormentors, internally mulling over Law’s offer.

“It’s ok if you don’t want to kill him,” Nami assured, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Dr. Monroe gave a little huff before shaking his head. “Oh, no, I want him dead. I want all of them dead. These bastards destroyed my life, killed my friends, and have put me through hell. It’s just…well, I simply hate seeing an animal in pain. I’m starting to regret transforming him. I suppose I’m still a conservationist at heart.”

She blanched, but she supposed she couldn’t blame him. After all, she wouldn’t have complained if Luffy had actually killed Arlong instead of merely defeating him. She just wouldn’t have openly admitted it, either.

“Well, if you don’t have any preferences, I suppose I’ll just help along the Circle of Life,” Law said, expanding the bubble to encase the other fallen animals.

“Tact.”

The former poachers were levitated into the air before being flung out across the cove, beyond the reef and rocks to land with a splash into the ocean. Nami wasn’t sure which would be a kinder fate—drowning or being eaten by sharks.

Either way, the battle had been won.

“We did it, Captain!” Bepo cheered, embracing him tightly. “Your plan worked perfectly!”

“Only because I had a capable crew to execute it,” Law said, smiling faintly as he allowed the happy Mink to cuddle him. The rest of the crew quickly surrounded him, chattering and squawking loudly in celebration.

Dr. Monroe, meanwhile, stood at the edge of the water and stared out at the spot where his former captors had been deposited.

“You ok?” Nami asked, standing beside him.

“Sorry. I suppose I’m just trying to process everything that’s happened. They…they’re really gone, aren’t they?” he asked, voice barely more than a whisper.

“They are. It’ll take some time for that fact to really sink in, but it’ll happen. I’ve got some experience in that department,” she said ruefully.

“Do the nightmares ever go away? The memories of what you’ve done to survive?”

Nami mulled over whether to tell him the truth or comfort him with a lie. Eventually, she settled on saying, “Not completely, but it gets easier. What’s important is that they didn’t completely take away your humanity. And now you’re free to live as you please.”

“You’re right. Thanks, missy,” he replied with a small smile. “And…and I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve put you and your friends through. You’re good folk. Well, your captain’s a little sick in the head, but there aren’t many pirates out there that would help someone like me the way you did.”

“There really aren’t. I don’t blame you for being scared. Hell, it took me way longer to warm up to them. So, what are you going to do now?”

“Stay here and live a peaceful retirement. Study the birds and sea turtles. I figure I’ve only got a few more years left, so why not enjoy it in a tropical paradise where no one can bother me?”

With a wide grin, Nami replied, “Sounds perfect for a guy like you.”

They were interrupted by a low squawk, and the pair turn around to find Ikkaku looking at them inquisitively.

“I’m not gonna lie, Ikkaku, I’m wholly jealous of your eyelashes right now,” Nami said, studying the bird’s face. She got a playful bat of her eyes in response before she jerked her head over at Dr. Monroe, tilting her head in question. “He’s ok. He’s just…got some damn good reasons to mistrust pirates. I’ll fill you in later.”

She nodded before indicating the rest of the group, her question clear; “can we turn back now?”

“Yeah, we should take care of that before something else crazy happens. This has been the worst vacation ever.”

She got a squawk in agreement, to which Dr. Monroe muttered an embarrassed apology. Nami turned towards Law, who was chatting with Shachi and Bepo over by the fire.

“You actually sat on him. I’m not sure if I should be impressed or appalled.”

Bepo frowned as Shachi grunted something. “What do you mean you got the idea from me?! Law’s the one who suggested it!”

The panda let out another grunt, which made Bepo droop. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Uh, guys, can we hurry up and get everyone back to normal before Bepo has to change his job to full-time animal whisperer?” Nami asked, strolling over.

“I suppose it is time for Monroe-ya to make good on his end of the deal,” Law replied.

The doctor grinned. “Absolutely. You kids have done me a huge kindness. If you’d never shown up, I’d still be plagued by those bastards. Now I can hopefully live out my days in peace. I think I’m looking forward to a nice, quiet hermit life.”

“Well, the sooner you change back my crew, the sooner you can get started on that.”

“Gotcha. Though, I gotta say, I kind of envy you—I can’t transform myself, so I’ve never been able to experience what it’s like. And you,” his eyes lit up, “were a snow leopard! One of the most beautiful and mysterious creatures I ever had the privilege to study! I sure as hell wouldn’t have minded trading places with you.”

“It had its pros and cons,” he admitted reluctantly, eyes flicking towards Nami. “Though I’m sure I’d despise it by daybreak—all that fur on a summer island would have been hell.”

Dr. Monroe’s eyes widened in understanding and chagrin. “Ah! I hadn’t even thought of that! You’re right; we should get you all back to your human selves before any of you get heat stroke.” He turned to some of the furrier crewmembers, giving a deep, apologetic bow. “I’m so sorry; I should have turned you all into animals more suited to the climate. I’m also truly sorry for keeping you in cages, and for ruining your vacation.”

Shachi grunted something which made Bepo frown. “Hey, it’s not Law’s fault that he got turned into something cool and you didn’t!”

The panda growled and crossed his arms.

“What’s wrong with being a bear?!”

Another grunt, and Bepo hung his head. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

Watching the exchange, Law frowned at his second mate’s bullying before he got a wicked look in his eye. “Monroe-ya, how many people can you change back at a time?”

The old doctor lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. “As many as I can touch or can touch me. I can probably get your whole crew back to normal in a few rounds.”

He indicated the panda. “Make sure Shachi’s in the first wave, then. I’d hate for him to make good on his threat of sitting on me, after all.”

Bepo nodded in agreement before a thought seemed to strike him as he glanced around at the crew with concern. “Um, Law, shouldn’t we wait—”

He immediately shushed Bepo. “It’s almost morning and they’re all impatient to become human again, right? I’d say we should get a move on.”

Nami sighed. She knew what he was doing, and part of her was tempted to stop him—the crew’d suffered enough that evening—but after everything that had happened throughout the night, she had to admit Law could probably use a laugh. And Shachi definitely deserved this for being mean to Bepo. So, she simply ushered Ikkaku to the side and whispered, “Don’t look—trust me.”

A moment later, about a half-dozen indignant yelps rang out, prompting Nami to chuckle and roll her eyes as Ikkaku looked up at her in confusion.

“I want you to remember the next time you decide you want to pull an embarrassing prank on me that I did not allow you to be seen naked by the rest of your crew.”

Secretary birds couldn’t make much by way of shocked expressions, but Ikkaku’s eyes definitely widened in understanding before nodding emphatically.

XXX

“Please tell me you’re not making coffee.”

Law glanced up at Nami as he reached into the fridge. “Relax; I’m making myself some warm milk to help me sleep. I’ve had an exhausting few days if you recall. So has everyone else, really.”

She couldn’t argue that. After the crew had been returned to their original forms, Nami had expected Law would make them leave right away, but he’d allowed them to spend a few more days on the island. Ostensibly it was so he could recover from the residual effects of the venom and finally collect the aloe he’d been looking for, but she suspected he was giving them all a little more time to relax considering the unexpected direction the trip had gone.

However, several of the crew had used that time to make sure Dr. Monroe was set for his much-desired new life as a free man and hermit. Upon hearing the doctor’s story, Jean Bart had been especially sympathetic and had strong-armed Seiuchi and Malamute into helping build a cozy cabin and permanent campsite. Cousteau had been kind enough to donate some of his fishing equipment and Crozier had given a bunch of tips for surviving in the wilderness, though his experience was admittedly more geared towards arctic survival than jungle.

Surprisingly, the Heart Pirates grew rather fond of their former captor. He and Cousteau had quickly bonded over a mutual love of nature. When he’d seen the greenhouse plans, he’d happily given his input, as he’d worked with many notable horticulturists. By the end of the second night, Penguin was laughing while telling the embarrassing tale of how he’d been trapped under his own hat upon being transformed. Even Law had warmed to him, as they’d conferred over better ways to treat Bepo’s injuries.

When they sailed away, Dr. Monroe had tearfully seen them off, though Shachi had joked that he was just sad he hadn’t managed to recruit Bepo as his new research assistant.

Yes, it had been a busy few days, but instead of being snuggled up in bed, Nami found herself in the galley watching Law pour milk into a saucepan.

“Tch. We’re tragically low on cookware. Ermine must have given the old man more of their stuff. I’m beginning to think recruiting you was a terrible idea—you’re turning my men into a bunch of charitable fools,” he said with a scowl.

Nami rolled her eyes as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. “Oh, hush—he more than paid for their labor with the antivenom.”

“Labor and supplies. He seemed especially happy to raid my library. By the way, were you able to provide him with any ‘juicy romance novels’?”

She attempted to hide her blush behind her glass. “No. Don’t be ridiculous.”

A midnight blue eyebrow raised along with the corner of his mouth. “Then I wonder where that racy paperback I found him gleefully reading on the beach came from?”

Pink deepened to red as she bit her tongue. Law realizing that she read erotic novels was nearly as bad as the fact that she was going to have to buy a third copy of To Catch A Turtle Dove. “It’s a mystery that may never be solved.”

“Pity. I was hoping the owner might be able to give me some advice on seducing you.” He gave a long, appreciative leer at her sleepwear; a pink spaghetti-strap tank top and matching booty shorts that definitely didn’t leave much to the imagination where her curves were concerned. “After all, you’re looking especially tempting tonight.”

“I think I liked it better when you couldn’t talk,” she groused, chugging her juice.

“Well, if it wasn’t the stimulating conversation, what brings you here, Nami-ya?” he asked, critically glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

She tried to give a casual shrug, only to wince as a twinge of pain shot through her back. “I wanted a drink. That, and I couldn’t sleep,” she admitted, rubbing her shoulder. “My back’s sore from when I crashed through the deck of the shipwreck. Add on all the hard work from the past couple days and I’ve gotten kind of stiff.”

“Do you need something for the pain?”

She waved off his concern. “I’m not seriously hurt and Ikkaku already got me a few aspirin; I’m just waiting for them to kick in. Sure wish she hadn’t already fallen asleep, though—I’d kill for another one of her massages,” she laughed. Ikkaku would probably do it, though; upon learning that her modifications to the Clima-Tact had made it harder to control, the mechanic had basically shut herself up for the past few days attempting to fix it. It was clear she felt guilty, even though Nami had assured her that there were no hard feelings.

“She does give exceptionally good ones,” Law stated, reaching into one of the cupboards. While he was distracted, Nami took a moment to cast an admiring glance at his once-more human form. He really was very lithe and muscular, especially when he deigned to wear a tank top instead of his usual sweatshirt. The tattoos decorated his long arms so beautifully, too, the swirls of the hearts in particular drawing her eye. And while his fur had been wonderfully soft, she found she rather preferred the dark blue of his hair and goatee contrasting with his olive skin.

“See something you like, sweetheart?”

Grateful that she’d gotten better at suppressing her blush, she gave a casual shrug. “Just glad you’re human again, though I kinda miss the ears and tail. They were so soft and fluffy,” she cooed, giving an exaggeratedly wistful sigh.

“They would have been hell on my reputation, though,” he said bluntly, taking the milk off the stove. “I’d be mocked or fawned over constantly, so my body count would at least double. And that’s assuming there aren’t any other side-effects to my brief feline phase.”

As he spoke, he carefully poured the steaming milk into a saucer. Nami’s eyes popped as he lifted it to his mouth and, instead of drinking it like a normal person, began lapping it up with his tongue.

Kyaaaaaaa! she mentally shrieked, ready to run to the control room to demand they head back to Cousteau Island—Dr. Monroe had assured everyone that they hadn’t been animals long enough for it to have affected their minds, but clearly Law had sustained some kind of kitty brain damage!

Those fears were immediately quashed when gold eyes flicked up to her, a mischievous smirk curling his lips.

“Oh, you asshole,” she growled, sorely tempted to smack him over the head for his stupid prank. “You’re lucky I don’t have you neutered.”

He let out a little chuckle at her annoyed expression, tipping back the saucer to finish off the last of the milk. “You could try, but I’d easily reattach them. That, and I can assure you, you’ll want those particular…parts of me intact.”

She rolled her eyes at his arrogance but decided this wasn’t an argument worth continuing. Instead she occupied herself with cleaning and putting away her glass, ignoring his expectant look as she refused to take the bait or get embarrassed at his suggestive teasing.

“So, Law, I hope you learned an important lesson from this little adventure?” she asked, rolling her shoulders in hopes of loosening the muscles.

“To appreciate having the use of actual hands. Never again will I take them for granted,” he answered bluntly, admiring his tattooed fingers like they were the most valuable treasure on the Grand Line.

“I was going to say ‘to put trust in your crew’ but I guess that’s true, too,” she replied with a shake of her head. “I get that you’re a control freak, but really, was it so hard to stand back and let someone else fight for you? To trust in someone else’s judgement and abilities?”

“Are you really still lecturing me about this?” he asked, jaw twitching in irritation.

“I’ll stop so long as you get it through your head that you’re not some all-powerful deity that needs to watch over us weak, stupid mortals.”

He chuckled slightly at her description and twirled his finger in a circle, indicating that she turn around. Curious, she obeyed, jumping slightly when she felt his calloused palms gently rest on her bare shoulders. However, any resistance she might have shown was swiftly vanquished when he proceeded to press his fingers into the tense muscles, rubbing small circles against her back to ease the hard knots he found there.

“Ikkaku may be the better masseuse, but she taught me a thing or two,” he murmured as he firmly dragged his thumbs down the length of her spine. “Tell me if anything hurts.”

Nami couldn’t stop herself from arching her back, groaning happily as she felt a satisfying pop. His touch was warm and sure, applying just the right amount of pressure to the points of her back that had grown stiff and sore due to their last adventure. The pads of his fingers worked in tight circles along her rhomboid muscle, easing the tension that had made sleeping so uncomfortable. “Ok, yeah, I’m beginning to appreciate your hands too. Almost makes up for the talking,” she moaned as he switched to long dragging motions downwards.

“I’ll admit, being a snow leopard was a unique experience,” he purred, rubbing his thumbs in small circles along her lower back, gradually increasing the pressure with each rotation to coax her tight muscles to loosen. “Frustrating as the circumstances were, having such heightened senses was a hell of an experience. My eyesight and hearing were keener than you could even imagine but having such a powerful sense of smell was absolutely fascinating.”

“Really? I thought you were annoyed that you couldn’t track scents?” she asked, tilting her head to the side as his skilled fingers began working up her neck, massaging the sensitive flesh at the base of her skull.

“That had to do with my inexperience. But the scents themselves were just so enhanced. It was like I’d gone around wearing a surgical mask my whole life, and I was taking it off for the first time!”

Nami had to smile a bit at his enthusiasm. She supposed it had to do with him being a doctor—having such keen senses for the brief period of time must have shown him just how limited humans were, and he was probably wondering if he could replicate any of it through his medical procedures.

Which, honestly, was pretty creepy, but also kind of charming in its own way.

Hot breath fanned against her ear as he murmured, “And I must say, Nami-ya, you in particular smelled absolutely delicious.”

She blanched, remembering the way he tore into those steaks in the infirmary. “You were thinking about eating me?” she shrieked, trying to jerk away.

He let out a low chuckle as he spun her around, pulling her against him so their chests were pressed flush together as his hands rested on her waist. “Hmmm, not in the way you’re thinking, though it’d be what you deserved after taking such blatant advantage of me.”

She was too flabbergasted to blush. “Excuse me?”

Tongue clucking like he was scolding a naughty child, he explained, “There I was, laying on the examination table, dying from a deadly snake bite, and you simply couldn’t help yourself; you just had to put your hands all over me.”

“I—what—you—you nuzzled me!” she defended, poking him in the sternum.

“I was offering you comfort, and you took that to mean you could fondle me? For shame, Nami-ya.”

She stared at him, flustered and aghast. “Are you seriously complaining? You were practically begging me to touch you!”

“I never gave you any kind of verbal consent, though.”

“The way you were practically melting into my hands said plenty.”

A wicked grin spread across his face, and she intuitively knew she’d walked right into his trap. Before she could attempt to wiggle away, he used the muscular length of his body to pin her against the counter.

“Let me go, Law,” she snapped, though she couldn’t quite hold back a groan as his skillful fingers once more worked at the tight knot of muscles that had formed between her shoulders.

“Mmm, are you seriously complaining? You’re practically begging me to touch you.”

“You’re such an ass.”

“And you’re such a tease,” he whispered, nipping the shell of her ear. “Don’t even try to deny you’re enjoying this; the way you’re practically melting into my hands says plenty.”

Said hands strayed down to cup her rear, giving a playful squeeze before backing up just long enough to hoist her up onto the counter, stepping between her legs so she couldn’t kick out at him. “Consider it positive reinforcement. I did go out of my way to give my crew the chance to save the day, plus I helped an old man who I really should have tossed into the sea along with his captors for daring to attack my crew in the first place.” Pressing his nose to her neck, he inhaled her scent. “You pet me, so I’m petting you. I’m just taking what I’m owed.”

“You—”

“Or I could demand monetary compensation for all the supplies you gave away.”

Her jaw dropped and she angrily smacked him on the head. “The antivenom will pay for those!”

“Yes, but not until we actually sell it,” he growled, grabbing her wrist and pinning it to the counter. “I should really be making you pay in the meantime. Instead, I’m being nice and letting you off the hook in exchange for sitting still while I have some fun.”

The angry retort she intended to make died in her throat as he pulled her flush against him, burying his face against her neck while his hands roamed her sides, grasping and squeezing the soft flesh beneath them. The soft sensation of his warm mouth brushing against her sensitive throat made her shiver, though it turned into a full-bodied jolt when he bit down slightly and massaged the firm meat of her ass.

She prepared to strike him again, but something stayed her hand. Law was groping and mouthing at her skin, but it didn’t feel sexual. Or at least, not nearly as much as it usually did. It wasn’t electric and coaxing, nor was it hot and dominating. It was desperate, but not in a way that said he wanted to ravish her on the counter. It was clingy, needy. Like a freezing man seeking warmth. Or like he had awoken from a vivid nightmare and needed some kind of contact to prove he was back in the real world.

“Law, what’s really on your mind?” she asked, confused and concerned.

“Nothing. I’m just enjoying the chance to feel up a beautiful woman,” he replied bluntly, giving her pale thighs a suggestive squeeze.

Pressing her hands against his chest, she pushed him back enough to get a good look at his face. Brown eyes met gold, and for a moment, his expression wasn’t that of the smug pirate captain, but of a worn-out young man. “Bullshit. I know your style; you like to tease through subtle touches. You’ve only blatantly groped me when you had to put on a show for Drake or Smoker. And since we don’t have an audience, there has to be another reason.”

His face twisted as he internally debated giving her a straight answer versus brushing her off. She could practically see him composing a list of pros and cons. So, Nami sat there quietly, refusing to back down but not pushing.

Finally, he said with a scowl, “Maybe I’m doing it because, powers or not, getting you flustered is something I can control. And maybe I spent an evening dying of snake venom wondering if I’d ever experience human contact again.”

She suddenly remembered how on-edge he’d been during his ordeal as a snow leopard. How he’d been pacing while she and Bepo had been retrieving the antivenom. Nervously checked over their injuries and snapped at them when they pointed out his limitations. How hard he pushed himself making his plans for Atifakuto because he didn’t know what to expect and felt he couldn’t leave anything to chance.

He wasn’t touching her because he wanted to mess with her. He wasn’t even flirting. Law was simply desperate for comfort but was too proud to ask for it. So he went for the next best thing.

“Being a leopard really scared you, didn’t it?” Nami asked softly. The coarse hairs of his sideburns tickled the soft skin of her palm as she cupped his cheek. “I get it; not having your powers must be terrifying. Especially for someone like you Captain Doesn’t-Sleep-for-a-Week-Because-He’s-Obsessively-Planning. But we had your back, didn’t we?”

Despite himself, Law leaned into her touch, all but nuzzling her hand. “…it’s been a long time since I’ve felt that helpless. It was more than not having my powers. I was slowly dying, and yes there was a cure, but the last time someone put their life on the line for me like that, they died, and there was nothing I could do to save him.” He averted his gaze, though she could still see the haunted look in his eyes. “When you and Bepo went to salvage the wreck, all I could think about was all the ways you two could die. If you failed, not only would I die powerless and alone, but the rest of the crew would be doomed. And there was nothing I could do about it.”

Hearing that, Nami found herself feeling much more sympathetic towards the Dark Doctor’s obsessive tendencies. He’d experienced enough pain and hardship to make him paranoid about losing people, and took on so much because when things went wrong, he was far too likely to blame himself.

The soft pad of her thumb rubbed soothingly against his cheekbone, just under the dark bag beneath his eye. “I’m sorry, Law. I still think you’re a massive control freak but…I get it.” She really did. He clung to control as desperately as she clung to freedom and money. He grew up without it, lost someone he cared for because of that, and was loathed to let it go.

Without thinking, she pressed a comforting peck to his forehead before giving him a warm, gently teasing smile. “Next time you’re turned into a snow leopard, I promise to be a bit more considerate.”

That coaxed a wry half-smile from him. “If Monroe-ya ever does that again, I’m demanding he make you one, too. After all, a conservationist like himself could surely see how beneficial it could be to his repopulation efforts—”

“And we’re done,” Nami groaned, pushing him away. It was easily done, too, with Law stepping back with little prompting, making it clear that he would have let her go if she’d shown any real resistance.

Jumping down from the counter, she started towards the door, only to pause at his side. Nimble fingers wrapped around his wrist and gave it a comforting squeeze. “Get some sleep Law, ok? Your capable crew needs their powerful, scheming captain at his best.”

Though there was no smile on his face, his eyes were warmer, and he seemed more at ease. “I suppose they do. You should get some sleep, too; I need my cat thief ready for the job I have in mind.”

“And what job is that?”

“To help me win an auction for a vase laced with one of the deadliest poisons in the world.”

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vibing-and-writing · 5 years

Text

I Need A Hero

A/N: Hi everyone! I hope you’ve had a good Thanksgiving!! Sorry, this fic took longer than I thought it would but I hope you enjoy it!! Your feedback gives me immeasurable amounts of happiness. Song that inspired this fic: “Falling for Ya” by Grace Phipps -link

Summary: Sometimes, you need a hero to save you from yourself.

Bucky X Clumsy!Reader

SATURDAY 11:00 AM

Bucky wasn’t one to judge but this woman had to be a trouble magnet, maybe more than he is. That’s saying a lot considering he’s fought through the war, was a Howling Commando, ex Winter Soldier, and an Avenger.

One could say he has some experience with ‘trouble’ of the highest magnitude.

So how could you, a normal person, not do basic human things like grabbing a mug from a cupboard without something happening to you.

Which is where you both were now, Bucky’s metal arm around your waist, good hand holding your favorite mug, and you pressed against his chest.

All you wanted was a cup of coffee to start off your day. As the mess of a person you were, you couldn’t even do that without somehow nearly falling, and dropping your favorite mug in the process. And this isn’t the first time the unfairly handsome supersoldier had to save you.

“I promise I’m not doing this on purpose,” you said, not bothering to stifle the laugh you let out. Honestly, the fact this is Bucky’s third time saving you made you less embarrassed and more endeared.

“Today was supposed to be my day off Doll,” Bucky said, humor lacing his voice. “But you seem to constantly need saving.” You let out a breathless chuckle, having stayed in his arms longer than necessary. Bucky slowly takes his arm off your waist and hands your mug back, but not without admiring your flustered face.

You and Bucky can’t help but think back to the first time your accident-prone self fell into his arms. Literally.

MONDAY 6:47 PM

You let out a deep sigh as you finally lift yourself out of your desk chair after a long day of sending emails and organizing files. Being Pepper Stark’s assistant was not an easy job, with all the projects and new technology being made every day, it was a lot to manage. That being said, your paycheck is pretty large, so you can’t complain.

As you started to pack up your desk and go home, you realized the normally small stack of papers and binders you have to take home was much larger than normal. Like ‘couldn’t fit it into your purse or briefcase’ large. Realizing your predicament, you slowly grabbed your purse and put it in the curve of your elbow, hauled the mountain of documents into your arms, and somehow manage to place your briefcase on top.

You gave yourself a moment of reprieve before you realized you could barely see over the top of the stack of documents and your briefcase. (What could go wrong?) You slowly kicked the door to your office closed with your foot and made your way down the hallway towards Pepper’s office. Before you could yell a small ‘see you tomorrow’ you noticed a certain blue-eyed super soldier talking with the CEO. ‘Well shit,’ you thought as you felt both of their gazes fall on your struggling form. Pepper wasn’t really the one you were worried about, the formalities have gone by your second day, but it was him. Bucky Barnes had you enamored the moment you saw those blue eyes and you had to admit, the thought of holding his hand made your face flush. But back to the task at hand.

“What’re you still doing here Y/N?” Pepper asked, hands poised over her computer. “I thought you went home already.” You huffed out a laugh from behind your stack, and walked closer to her desk, “With all this work to finish? You underestimate my work ethic Pep—” You felt your foot slide forward in a way it shouldn’t. You felt your body fall backward, and all your papers went tumbling to the ground and you felt strong arms holding you upright by the armpits.

You let out a surprised yelp, eyes wide, face heating up almost immediately.

‘She is too cute,’ Bucky thought, a small chuckle passing his lips.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry!” You scrambled out of his arms, body turning quickly to both Pepper and Bucky. Pepper was already putting her hand on your shoulder, a knowing smile on her lips as she looked between you and Bucky. “Don’t worry ‘bout it Y/N, we’ll help you clean this up,” Pepper said, giving Bucky a look. Bucky sputtered a bit before getting on his knees to help pick all the papers up. You bent down as well, cheeks hot and hands frantically moving to save some of your pride. After a short beat of silence, you spoke up, “Thanks for saving me, that would’ve been a nasty fall.” Bucky gave you a small nod and a shy ‘no problem’.

Papers finally picked up and placed into a large plastic container (courtesy of Pepper), and you’re finally able to look Bucky in his very blue eyes. Your hand went to fiddle with your blouse as you reach your other to shake Bucky’s hand, “I’m Y/N by the way, I don’t think we’ve ever properly met.” Bucky shook your hand gently with his metal hand, the cold sent a small shiver down your spine (the cold, yeah, for sure). “James, but you can call me Bucky.”

God, he was burning.

The smile that spread on your face so stunningly cute, Bucky was having a hard time not turning into a puddle of goo. You finally took your hand out of his, the room suddenly feeling too warm, and you turned to Pepper to start talking about what you were working on. Bucky was struggling to pretend he’s doing anything other than staring at you, shoulders relaxing in a way they hadn't in years; there is something different about you, and Bucky couldn’t wait to find out.

You were so embarrassed, you don’t even know what to do with yourself.

Your face was so warm you could probably cook on it, you could feel every hair on your head that was out of place, you knew your blouse was wrinkled, and you knew you had just shattered any chance with the extremely attractive soldier. After you finished talking to Pepper, you grabbed all your stuff and started making your way out of her office. “I’ll see you tomorrow Pepper,” you said, face still warm from embarrassment. “I hope I get to see you again Bucky. Have a good night!”

Bucky looked at you with a soft smile and gave you a small ‘you too’ before he looked at Pepper.

Pepper’s smile was so knowing it almost made him flinch.

“So…” Pepper drawled, smirk taking its place on her face. “Y/N, huh? Didn't know she was your type, Buck.” Bucky felt his face warm and gave Pepper a non-threatening glare, “I have no idea what you’re talking about…” he led off uncertainty. Pepper sighed and put her hands up in mock surrender, and sat down at her desk to get the files Bucky needed.

Bucky hoped he can see you again, and maybe bask in your light for a little while longer.

WEDNESDAY 1:02 PM

Surprised would be an understatement when you got invited to a meeting with the Avengers from Pepper.

You were her assistant, sure, but you’ve never actually done anything connected to The Avengers, especially since most of their information was classified. But, you guess Pepper thought this meeting wasn’t classified enough to have you come to take the minutes of the meeting.

You walked into the meeting room and realized you were really out of place. Captain America, Black Widow, the Falcon, and Tony looked up from the various papers scattered around the table. And the blue-eyed beauty you’d been thinking about since Monday night was here. Almost instantly, a blush spread across your face, your head bowed slightly in acknowledgment. You extended a hand to each of the Avengers, a shy smile set across your lips. “I’m Y/N, it's nice to meet some of Earth’s best heroes.”

To say Bucky was embarrassed would be an understatement.

By Tuesday morning, it seemed the entire Avenger’s compound knew about his interest in you. Sam and Steve had teased him relentlessly, and when they remembered they had a meeting scheduled with Pepper, they immediately requested to have you be there. The meeting was just going over all the tech they needed for an upcoming mission, but nonetheless, Steve and Sam said it was imperative they have someone take the minutes (they never ask for someone to take the minutes).

So there Bucky was, trying to not let a smile show as he took in your warm face and cute smile.

All the Avenger’s introduced themselves, formalities going away quickly as you started conversing before Pepper started the meeting. You sat next to Bucky and gave him a shy smile. The meeting itself went off without a hitch, everyone had agreed on what and when technology would be shipped, and everything was fine.

Until you decided to get up at the end of the meeting.

The Avengers were talking amongst themselves, papers already filed into binders, and your laptop already put in your case, and you were getting up to give them a goodbye when your equilibrium shifted forward. You had tripped over your own feet, and put your hands in front of you to prepare for an impact that never came. Bucky got out of his seat and managed to catch you at the last second, arm wrapped around your middle.

You let out a surprised yelp, and you felt all eyes on you. You murmured a small curse before getting a hold of yourself and as you gave Bucky an apologetic look. “Thanks for that,” you said, face extremely warm. “Don’t worry about it doll.” Bucky looked at you softly, a small chuckle passing his lips. You looked into each other’s eyes for a second, before you both snapped out of your little bubble when you heard a small cough. Bucky took his arm off your waist as pink dusted his cheeks. Sam, Tony, and Natasha cringed a bit, while Pepper and Steve looked like proud parents. “It was nice meeting you Y/N. I hope we get to see more of you,” Natasha said, filling the silence in the room. “It was nice meeting you too. I’ve already emailed each of you the minutes,” you said, professional persona setting in. A smile crept across your face as you gave the Avengers and Pepper each a goodbye handshake. As you went to shake Bucky’s hand you gave him a bright smile and a wink, mouthing a small ‘thank you’. Briefcase in hand, you headed out of the meeting room and gave them a final wave before disappearing from view.

The second you were out of view, the whole room turned to Bucky, his cheeks turning a shade darker.

Steve raised his brow at him before practically pushing him out of the door of the meeting room. “Go get her, punk.”

Before Bucky knew what was happening, he stood in front of you, hands in his pockets. Bucky looked at you with a desperate expression, his words stuttering while trying to think of something to say. You looked at him with a confused face before your face fell. “I’m sorry if my behavior seemed unprofessional,” you said, sadness lacing your voice. You mumbled a small, ‘I knew the wink was a bad idea’. Bucky paused for a moment (he got his brain working again), before his eyes went wide, his hand reached for yours. “Doll, your behavior was adorable. And that wink wasn’t a bad idea, it was the best thing of the decade,” he said, as eyes looked into yours. You gave him a bewildered look before a fire spread across your cheeks. “Then why did you..” you trailed off, eyes focused on your hand interlocked with his. Bucky’s eyes followed yours, his face set into one of determination.

“I wanted to ask for your number, in case you needed me to save you again,” Bucky said, voice full of humor and charm. You gave Bucky a look of surprise before a smirk set across your face. “You’d never get a day off Barnes. I always need my hero,” you said, a bit of teasing in your voice as you took your hand out of his and snatched his phone out of his pocket. “Hope you don’t forget about me when you’re saving the world.” Bucky gave you laugh, already missing the warmth of your hand, before taking his phone out of your grasp. “Forget about you? Not in a hundred years.”

You started walking towards your office, legs reluctant to walk away as you gave him a flirtatious look. “Talk to you soon hero,” you said, eyes and voice teasing. “See you later doll,” he said, cheeks starting to hurt from his smile.

SATURDAY 11:02 AM (again)

Mug filled with coffee, you make yourself comfortable on the counter as Bucky made breakfast on your stove. You both fell asleep while watching a movie, after your third successful date. Letting the food cook, Bucky stood between your legs, eyes full of affection and happiness. You give him a chaste kiss on the lips before putting your mug down and holding his face in your hands, lips traveling from his nose to his cheeks to his forehead.

Sure, Bucky may be one of Earth’s heroes, but more importantly, he was your hero.

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is0gild · 4 years

Text

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 3

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 5,841

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

I’d done it.

I’d gotten a job.

My very first job.

And I was already regretting it big time.

But really, could you blame me? I’d had to interact with three, count them, three people so far. Would the torture never end? No, because it had only just begun! And those were just my boss and coworkers, I hadn’t even gotten to a customer yet. I was dreading that inevitable moment as it drew ever nearer with each passing second.

Oh, and did I mention the uniform? Because, dear lord, if I’d known this is what I’d be signing up for, I probably never would have applied in the first place. For starters, I had to wear a light blue fitted, long sleeved, off shoulder blouse which, granted, wasn’t that bad. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. It was paired with a black mini skirt that stopped a couple inches short of the knees. Can you believe it? A mini skirt. I didn’t see any of my male coworkers sporting booty shorts, no, they got to be fully covered up in white button ups, blue vests, and black slacks. Talk about sexist!

But a job was a job, and I had to start somewhere.

And that somewhere just so happened to be the Ice Palace - a small ice cream shop located in the food court of a local mall known as Dusk Town Center. The walls of the little parlor were decorated in a jagged, cerulean, semi-transparent plastic, simulating the whole frozen castle vibe. The mascot was Sven the Reindeer, which was actually sort of weird to me. I mean, I get it, reindeers are up where it’s cold and snowy all the time, but weren’t they really more of a Santa thing? I just couldn’t really picture them chilling in a frosty throne room, you know what I mean? But hey, I guess it just gave the marketing team an excuse to sell cute caribou plushies, which were everywhere - dangling from the ceiling, sitting atop the cash registers, filling boxes upon boxes in the back… basically anywhere there wasn’t ice cream, there was a stuffed, huggable, googly eyed little deer.

All in all, not exactly a dream job, but pickers can’t be choosers. Especially when the picker, aka me, had flunked out of twenty-some-odd interviews before finally landing this one. Don’t get me wrong, Rayne and Riku had been great teachers. The problem had been with the pupil. No matter how hard they tried to iron out all my nervous habits and anxiety-induced rambling, a few quirks had still managed to slip through. This had led to no small number of awkward moments and don’t-call-us-we’ll-call-yous. But at last I’d managed to keep it together long enough in one interview to trick someone into hiring the trainwreck that was me.

Just my luck it had to be the frigging food court ice cream place with the stupidly short skirts.

It was my first day on the job. The guy who was training me had left me alone after setting me up with a handful of orientation videos to watch and telling me to come get him when I was done. I was seated in one dark corner of this small room that was part storage space, part break area. Before me was a tiny TV atop a VCR that could only be from the Stone Age. Seriously, I didn’t even know such relics were still in circulation anymore. The videos were just about as dated and mind-numbing as you’d expect. They included one such gem as, now that I was a valued employee of Ice Palace, I wasn’t just a part of team but a family. It also felt the need to cover the obvious, things like don’t be rude, don’t handle the product without washing your hands first, don’t kiss, grope, or otherwise manhandle coworkers or customers, don’t go getting yourself locked in a freezer… you know, things I would never, ever do in the first place, not in a million years.

Suffice it to say, I was bored out of my skull.

That said, this was way better than having to talk to an actual human being. So it probably wasn’t hard to imagine my disappointment when the credits at last rolled on the final tape. Sighing, I rose from my chair and clicked off the ancient television set before turning to face the door across the room. My fellow employee that I needed to check in with now was somewhere on the other side of it.

Where the customers were.

Waiting.

Lurking.

I shuddered.

I then took the opportunity to fidget with my skirt, tugging at the hem a bit.

Note to self: use first paycheck to invest in some tights. This whole bare legs thing just was not working for me.

Ugh, why a mini skirt of all things?! I mean, come on, it was the Ice Palace, shouldn’t we be dressing more the part? I’m thinking Inuit attire, I’m talking fur-lined boots and layers upon layers of thick, fuzzy coats covering me from head to toe. But a skirt? It just wasn’t realistic! If I were in a real castle made entirely of frost, I’d be freezing my rear off right about now!

I then adjusted the black cap with a blue bill atop my head that sported our cursive logo, complete with a teeny doodle of a palace, before tightening my ponytail that stuck out the hole in the back. I’d opted for that over my usual braid. Figured it would make it harder for me to fiddle with my hair when I got anxious.

Unfortunately, I had now run out of trivial (but one hundred percent necessary) ways to procrastinate. Guess there was no putting it off any longer. I slowly approached the door, watching it grow more ominous with every step that brought me closer to it. Halting in front of it, I reached for the knob. But then I stopped, hesitating before retracting my hand and looking back over my shoulder towards a second door on the opposite wall, a green Exit sign glowing over it.

The door to freedom.

Perhaps it wasn’t too late for me to follow my dreams and become a hermit. I could always buy a fake beard. No one would ever know the difference.

My eyes darted back and forth between the two doors, my breath becoming shallow and my heartrate quickening. Then, biting down on my lower lip, I took a step towards that Exit sign and-

“There you are!”

I froze with a wince before turning my back on that tantalizing exit, instead facing my coworker who was now leaning in through the other door. He was tall with brown eyes and his head shaved bald beneath his own cap. A thin, black goatee wrapped around the friendly grin he was shooting my way as he now fully stepped into the room to join me, looking quite dapper in his vest and neatly ironed pants.

I chuckled nervously, clasping my hands behind my back. “Er, yeah… here I am.”

Drat. So close!

“Was wondering if you’d gotten lost, figuring as how you should’ve been long done with those videos by now.”

“Nope, was just… on my way, Lucius.”

“Ah ah!” he chided, waggling a finger in my face before gesturing to his work attire. “When I’m in the uniform, it’s Frozone.”

I blinked. “...Fro...zone?”

He nodded solemnly. “Yup. Because when I’m on the clock, I’m in the zone.” That last word was emphasized with a wide sweep of his outstretched hand before he tacked on dramatically, “The Frozen Zone.”

“...I see.”

He seemed to take great pride in his work.

I wondered if I would ever be that dedicated.

...or if I ever even really wanted to be that dedicated.

“So, um… Mr Frozone… what’s next?”

He jerked a thumb over his shoulder back towards the door he’d come in through. “Figured we could get you up front now, start familiarizing you with the space and equipment.”

“R-really? So soon?” My fingers twitched, reaching for my braid before remembering it wasn’t there. Instead I settled for crossing my arms. “You think I’m ready for that?”

Answer: A big fat no.

“Well, let’s see here.” He started ticking off fingers, “You’ve watched the videos, you’ve had the grand tour, you’ve-”

“No I haven’t!” I said quickly, shaking my head. “Had the grand tour, that is.”

“No? Well alright then.” He stepped past me and further into the room, then stopped and pivoted around to face me, spreading his arms out to either side of him. “Here it is, in all its glory. Just breathe in that majesty.”

This cramped break-slash-storage room was it, apparently. Besides the TV and VCR in one corner, most of it was filled with giant, industrial-grade fridges for housing all the ice cream. Plus a couple of large metal sinks, plus the aforementioned boxes upon boxes of reindeer plushies. Squeezed into one corner was a humble couch that’d seen better days, along with a small table with a couple rickety-looking chairs. A giant bulletin board hanging from one wall completed the look, covered in workplace guidelines, announcements, and different colored flyers.

“Oh.” I pursed my lips to one side. “Very, ah… very majestic.”

“Isn’t it just?” he nodded, hands on his hips as he smiled broadly. “Welp, that’s that. Now let’s get you up to the registers to continue your training.”

I hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe I should watch the videos one more time. Just to make sure, that… uh...”

Reason… reason… dear god, please, come up with a reason, any reason!

“...that I... didn’t... miss anything?”

He laughed. “You’re thorough and detail oriented. I like that.” He planted his hands on my shoulders and steered me towards the door of doom. “Feel free to rewatch those tapes on your own time, but for now, let’s move on.”

“But-”

He gave me a gentle but firm push and I stumbled through the door and straight into my own personal hell.

Alright, fine, maybe I was being a bit over dramatic. There weren’t even any customers in line at the moment. Seemed like it was just after the lunch rush and most of the people had already eaten and cleared out. There were just a couple families left dotting the tables out there in the otherwise empty food court beyond our countertop.

Swallowing my nerves and inhaling deeply to calm myself, I glanced around my more immediate area. I was a bit curious after all, seeing as how this was my first real time on this side of the cash register. But really? There wasn’t much to it. There was a giant frozen display proudly presenting a rainbow of different flavored ice cream. Beneath it behind the counter were some small metal doors that seemed to be some more refrigerated storage space. In one corner was this fancy looking ice cream machine, with stacks on stacks of empty cups and cones beside it. There were some large menus overhead on the back wall and beneath them, a snowman crudely painted onto the door that I had just been so unceremoniously shoved through. Then of course, those plastic “ice” walls and reindeer dolls overflowing from every crook and cranny that they could conceivably be crammed into.

That about summed it up. That, plus the burly blonde guy manning one of the registers that would be my second coworker.

He turned his head, giving me a look that admittedly wasn’t quite a scowl, but wasn’t exactly warm and inviting either.

I gulped and unconsciously took a step back, immediately bumping into something. Looking over my shoulder, that something turned out to be a someone: Lu… erm, I mean, Frozone.

Hand on my shoulder once more, he guided me forward and I took a few reluctant steps closer to the other man. “Elsa, you remember Kristoff from earlier, right?”

I gave a weak nod and raised my hand in a tiny wave. “H-hi again.”

He only continued to fix me with a dull stare.

“Oh yeah, you two are going to be fast friends, I can already tell,” Frozone beamed. “Now Kristoff here is going to be taking over your training and showing you the ropes up here. There’s a new shipment in back that I should get to sorting out, but just give a holler if you need me.”

“Wait!” I snatched at his sleeve as he turned to leave through the back door. My eyes darted from him to Kristoff and back before I whispered, “Do you really have to go?”

I had actually been growing comfortable around him. He seemed nice.

This Kristoff guy on the other hand seemed, erm… how should I put this… shall we say, grumpy?

Frozone chuckled, tugging himself free of my grasp and patting me on the head. “I’m flattered, girl, but I’m a taken man. Honey is the light of my life and trust me, you do not want to get on that woman’s bad side.”

“Wha-?” I blinked a couple times. “No, that’s not what I-”

Annnnnnd there he went, calling a cheerful, “Have fun, you two!” over his shoulder as he disappeared into the back.

Sighing, I turned to face Kristoff and was greeted once more by that same deadpan expression.

Oh yeah. So much fun.

Taking a cautious step towards him, I cleared my throat and rubbed my left elbow. “So… that Frozone… really seems to take his job seriously, huh?”

“...don’t even get me started,” he said flatly.

So he speaks.

Barely.

I tried again. “What do I call you? Kristoff okay? Or just Kris? ...Kristo?” I was met with total silence. “...Oh, maybe that’s already short for something, like… Kristopher? Kristofel? Kris...toforos?” Mayday! Mayday! I was beginning to enter nervous babbling territory. Send help. “Or perhaps, oh! Do we all get theme names? Like Frozone? What would yours be? Are you the, uh… hmm, the, um… the Iceman?”

Face unchanged and dead serious, he said at last, “Oh yeah. That’s me. The Iceman. I love ice. Ice is my life. I eat, drink, and breathe nothing but ice. At night, I go to my ice house, eat my ice dinner, tuck myself into my ice bed, and cuddle with a bag of ice like it’s a teddy bear.”

“...really?”

If possible, his eyelids drooped even further. “No.”

“Oh.”

I knew that.

He heaved a soft, grumbling huff. “Kristoff is fine. Let’s go, new girl.”

He left his station behind the cash register to walk over to the display housing the frozen tubs, slapping a hand down on top of the chilly glass. “Ice cream,” he explained dryly. He then bent down to open one of the metal doors below, pulling out what appeared to be a plastic wrapped, solid bar of sugary sweetness on a stick. “More ice cream.” He tossed it back in with the rest just like it, kicking the door shut. He then picked up a rounded, steel utensil. “Ice cream scoop. You know how to use one, right?”

“Ah,” I brightened. “Yes, of course!”

“Congratz, you’re at least as competent as a four-year-old.”

Hey now, rude.

Returning the scoop to where he’d found it, Kristoff then walked over to the giant machine in the corner. As I approached it as well, I began to appreciate just how much of a monster this thing truly was with all its buttons, switches, levers, and tubes on it. It was actually kind of intimidating. What on earth could they all even possibly do?

“Combo soft serve/milkshake machine,” Kristoff continued on in his bored monotone as he planted an elbow atop the thing, leaning against it. He pointed at a big lever on the left over one tube. “Ice cream.” Next at another big lever, this one on the right over a second tube with some sort of gizmo sticking out of it. “Milkshakes.” His index finger shifted down to three large buttons running down the bottom right corner in front, first indicating the top one. “Turns it on and off.” Then the bottom button. “Flavor swapper.”

“And this one?” My fingers drifted towards the middle button.

“No touchy,” he lightly swatted my hand away. “That one makes it angry. And trust me, you won’t like it when it’s angry.”

I tipped my head to one side. “...why would there even be a button like that?”

He shrugged, intoning airily, “No one knows.”

I quirked an eyebrow at him, then shook my head, my gaze returning to that monstrosity of a machine. “What about all those other levers and switches on the side?”

“Woah, slow down, newbie. You gotta learn to crawl before you can walk. For now, just stick to the basics. Ice cream. Shakes. Off and on. Flavor,” he pointed to each one in turn again as he listed them off before giving me yet another dull look. “Am I going too fast for you? Maybe you should be writing this down.”

It was my turn for some eyelid droopage. “I think I got it.”

“Good. You’re ready for your first customer then. And as luck would have it,” he pointed past me, “here he comes.”

“What?!” I spun around on my heel. Some guy had just entered the food court on the opposite end from the Ice Palace, but was making a beeline straight for us.

Panic mode initiated. Hands? Clammy. Face? Blanched. Heart? Pounding. All systems a go.

“Relax, new girl.” Kristoff slapped me on the back, forcing a tiny oof out of me. “I know this dude, we all do around this place. He and his girlfriend are mallrats that’ll spend hours here, visiting all the stores and making friends with everyone. You should have no problem. Total training wheels.”

His words did nothing to ease my growing nerves and I must have been doing a terrible job of hiding it because he snorted, “You’ll be fine. Just step up to the register.” He waved a hand towards it.

I swallowed hard, then numbly walked over to it.

“Smile,” he pointed to his own grin that he now had plastered on for show, looking remarkably strange on a man I had seen zero emotion from all day. I forced my own smile and he flinched. “Ehh, maybe not so much.” I toned it down a bit. “Better. Now just say, ‘Welcome to Ice Palace, how may I take your order?’ and the rest should be a no brainer.”

Easy for you to say, buddy.

Taking a small shaky breath, I looked away from him and towards the customer once more just as he closed in on the counter. He had bright blue eyes, brown spiky hair, and a huge grin that just about literally split his face in two.

Okay, Elsa, you can do this.

“Welcome to Ice Palace, how…”

Oh fudge, I’d already forgotten the line! My mind was drawing a complete blank. The blankest of blanks.

“...uh…”

Panic, panic, panic!

“...how… you… order?”

Hi, yes, one stammering idiot at your service.

I heard the smack of Kristoff’s facepalm before he whispered under his breath, “Eh, close enough.”

Seemingly unfazed by my mental malfunction, the guy just continued to flash those pearly whites. “Hey there, could I get two bars of the Paopu Paradise ice cream please?”

“Ah… y-yes, right away!” I darted over to the frozen display case, picking up one of the scoops and reaching for the sliding glass door in back. However, I froze when I heard a throat clearing and turned to see Kristoff jerking a thumb towards the freezer space below.

...oh right, bars. He’d said he’d wanted bars of ice cream. Fumbling to put the scoop back, I bent down to open the cold door, located the stack labeled “Paopu Paradise” and snatched two off the top before straightening back up and thrusting them proudly over the counter into the customer’s face.

Another throat clear.

I glanced at Kristoff again, who mouthed the word ‘munny’ at me.

...minor detail.

“Er, yes… that’ll be, uh…” I stared down at one of the plastic-sheathed ice creams, spinning it around by the stick, as if looking for the price tag.

Kristoff groaned before tiredly commanding, “Cash register.” I hastily moved to stand in front of it once more. He pointed to one of the keys. “Push that one.” Done. “Now that one and that one.” Done and done. A munny total appeared on the register’s little black screen and he gestured for me to go on. I read off the amount and the customer, still sunny faced as ever, handed me the munny. To my credit, I only flinched slightly when the cash drawer noisily popped open, allowing the munny to be deposited.

After slamming it back shut, I looked to Kristoff again, worrying my bottom lip between my teeth. “Now?”

He closed his eyes and gave me a solemn nod.

Feeling my muscles relax slightly, I turned back to the customer, offering him his two ice creams once again.

“Thanks!” he chirped, taking them both in one hand and ripping the plastic off one before immediately chomping down hard into the frozen treat, making me wince.

Jeez, this guy must have had the teeth of a viking!

After swallowing the bite, he licked his lips and eyed me curiously. “You’re new, right?”

“Gee, how did you ever guess?” Kristoff deadpanned. I merely turned my head to narrow my eyes up at him.

Ignoring the comment from the peanut gallery, the guy offered his free hand to me. “You’ll probably be seeing me around a lot, so figure I should introduce myself. I’m Sora! Nice to meetcha!”

I hesitated before taking his hand gingerly and shaking it. “...Elsa. A pleasure.”

He froze mid-lick of his ice cream bar, blinking at me. “Elsa?” Lowering his snack a little now, he cocked his head. “Hey, you just moved in with Riku and Ray, didn’t you?”

My head rocked back at that. “How did you-?”

“Stalker,” Kristoff stretched the word out in a low singsong.

Sora’s eyes widened. “Wha? No, no, I know Riku! He’s my cousin and my best bud! He’d mentioned renting out their spare room to an old gal pal of Ray’s and that you were going through a bit of a rough patch, that’s all!” That blinding grin was slowly returning. “Hey, if there’s any way I can help out too, just let me know!”

“Oh.” My brow furrowed. “Uh… thanks…”

...you complete and total stranger.

“Don’t mention it! We’re friends now!”

Ah. My mistake. We were friends.

Apparently.

“Anyway, gotta run,” he waggled the second unopened bar slightly, “Kairi’s waiting for me and she’ll murder me if I let this melt! See ya around!” He waved good-bye to us over his shoulder as he walked off, happily slurping away at his own ice cream. I found myself absently returning the wave, one corner of my lips twitching up.

That guy? Bit of an oddball. But he seemed sweet.

“Not bad, newbie,” I heard Kristoff say as he poked the bill of my Ice Palace cap down, making it cover my eyes.

“Really?” I asked, righting my hat and looking up at him. Surprise of surprises, he was actually smiling.

...okay, it wasn’t so much a smile as it was a faint tightening of the mouth. But hey, I’ll take it.

“Not great, either,” he shrugged. “Not even remotely. But it’s a start. You’ll get better at it as you go. Now let’s cover-”

“Yo, Kristoff!”

Recognizing Frozone’s voice, we turned to see him poking a head out the door to the back. “Could you give me a quick hand with moving a particularly heavy box?”

“Sure thing, be there in just a sec,” Kristoff called. Frozone (gah, it will never not be weird calling him that) nodded before disappearing once more.

My insides shriveled somewhat. “You’re leaving me by myself up here?”

He gave my arm a light, reassuring pat. “I’ll be real quick, promise. It’s dead right now, so you probably won’t even have to deal with a single customer before I get back. If you do, don’t worry, you’re a natural. Just take their order, easy-peasy. And if you need help, tell the customer to wait a moment and come get me.”

I once again was reaching for my braid. It once again was not there. “What if they don’t want to wait a moment?”

“Just tell ‘em we’re out of whatever flavor they want and say ‘Let me see if we have any more in the back.’ Got it?”

“I guess so…”

“Good! Be back before you know it.” He jogged off and out the door, but a second later, he was leaning back through it again. “Remember, you say…” he twirled a finger sideways, prompting me.

“...let me see if we have any more in the back?” I ventured in a tiny voice.

He gave me a thumbs up. “Perfect.” Then he was gone again.

I moved to stand at the counter once more, inhaling and exhaling slowly. “Let me see if we have any more in the back,” I repeated, muttering it softly to myself as I eyed the food court warily.

He was right though, it was basically a ghost town out there. Everyone had already eaten for lunch and had all probably packed themselves back into the various stores by now. Plus it was a weekday. Thank goodness my first day hadn’t been on the weekend, I most certainly was not ready for the stampede of shoppers that would have come with that! As it was right now, there were only a few folks out there milling around for an afternoon snack and luckily none of them seemed to be craving ice cream. So I could maybe relax… at least for the moment.

Today… actually wasn’t going too bad so far. The job itself didn’t seem all that terrible. I was getting along with my coworkers, even that Kristoff fellow. He’d acted all tough at first, but seemed actually somewhat friendly underneath that cool exterior. I’d even helped my first customer! And with minimal mistakes, no less!

Maybe… maybe I could actually do this!

Okay sure, was I still a bit of a tangled ball of anxiety inside? Yes. Would I continue to be with each new customer? Oh, without a doubt. But with time, maybe, hopefully, it would lessen? At least somewhat?

A girl could dream anyway.

Regardless, I was doing it. The whole independence thing. Taking control of my life. I still had a long way to go, but this little ice cream job was the first small step. If I could do this, then maybe, just maybe there wasn’t much I couldn’t do. It wouldn’t be easy, and there was still a lot more for me to figure out. Like, a lot more. But I could and would. I just needed to believe in myself.

Feeling just a bit more on the chipper side now - an emotion that I hadn’t truly felt in a long time - I glanced around the food court again, really taking it all in this time, especially the other brightly colored restaurants that formed our neighbors.

There was The Big Olive, which served greek food. Currently a woman with heavy lavender eyeshadow and thick brown hair tied back into a long ponytail with curly fringe stood behind the register, idly flipping through a magazine. Then there was a chinese place called Mushu’s Kingdom with a cute little red dragon at the tail end of the logo. Next, there was Beast Burgers. I’d thought Kristoff cranky, but the big, hairy guy working there at the moment made Kristoff look like a cuddly puppy. Right beside that was a Cajun/Creole-style restaurant called Frog Legs, followed by a place called Sugar Rush, which looked like it served mostly pastries and any other sweet that wasn’t ice cream. Judging by the several large signs they had up, they seemed particularly proud of their cinnamon buns, which looked to be more frosting than bread.

Then there was a Lucky Cat Café, which was basically a coffee empire that had a shop located practically on every last street corner in the universe. I recalled that’s where Riku had purchased my mocha from the day I had officially moved in with Rayne and him. He’d probably bought it from this exact one that I was looking at right now. The mall was only a couple short blocks away from our apartment after all, which made it extra convenient that I’d managed to get the job here.

At that moment, I could see a woman with shoulder-length blue hair working the register while her coworker, a younger guy with short, messy blonde hair, blended a frothy drink nearby. They both were wearing green visors with felt feline ears sticking out the top. The blonde gave the grey cat with stripes perched atop their muffin display counter a quick pat on the head as he passed it by to reach the awaiting customer. It was only when I saw the creature’s tail twitch that I realized that was an actual living, breathing cat. Huh. A pet? Kept in the food court? How odd. It must have been very well trained. Probably just napped in that single spot all day, every day.

Last but not least, directly across the way from the Ice Palace was a Pizza Planet, its green logo sporting a giant, round pizza pie with a Saturn-like ring wrapped around it. It tied neck-and-neck with our ice cream parlour for most over the top decorations. The interior was designed to look like the inside of a UFO and was littered with toy rocket ships and little green alien squeeze-dolls everywhere. Stationed at the cash register was a girl with short raven hair, clapping and cheering her coworker on.

Said coworker was a tall, lanky guy who, like his fellow employee, was decked out in a dark grey polo with red trimmed sleeves and collar, accompanied by a pair of black fingerless gloves and khakis underneath his black, snuggly-tied full-body apron. His long, wild crimson hair trailed down past the nape of his neck and spilled out in spikes over his open-topped red visor. He was grinning cockily as he spun not one, but two massive discs of pizza dough, one on each index finger.

He tossed one up high into the air before catching it and starting it spinning on his fingertip again. Then he was using some sort of wizardry to send the dough half rolling, half flying across his shoulders as he swapped the other disc to his left hand, freeing up his right to catch the first saucer of dough just in time and keep it whirling, much to his coworker’s delight.

It was as he was giving one of the circular slabs of dough another toss up that he seemed to realize he’d gained a second audience member. His eyes shifted to meet mine and then widened as his whole body locked up. The disc still balanced on his finger spun off and toppled to the ground.

As for its airborne twin?

Splat!

Right on top of his head, covering his whole face.

A very unladylike snort escaped me, followed by a burst of long and uncontrollable laughter that I tried to smother behind my fingers. I was still laughing when he lifted the dough enough to peek one eye at me, expression unreadable as he slowly raised his other hand in a small twitch of a wave.

My giggling, along with my heart, abruptly stopped as I gasped, paled, squeaked and ducked down behind the counter.

...I’d laughed at him.

Oh my god, I can’t believe I’d laughed at him!

Heart thudding in my ears now, I stayed in a low crouch in my hiding spot, trembling hands gripping the edge of the countertop above me as my tongue dried to literal sandpaper.

Had he heard me laughing? Had he seen me laughing? What am I saying, of course he saw! That’s why he’d waved!

Oh dear lord, what did the wave mean? Was it an angry wave? An ‘I see you laughing at me, jerkface’ wave? A ‘How dare you mock me thusly’ wave? A ‘You have besmirched my honor, villain, now we must duel to the death’ wave? No, no, no, I didn’t know how to duel! What kind of duel would it even be? Pistols at dawn? I knew nothing about using a frigging pistol! Or any gun for that matter! I was dead! I was toast! I was-

Wait! No! Stop! Get a hold of yourself, woman! Gah, calm down and stop letting your imagination run wild with completely ridiculous notions!

I screwed my eyes shut, breathing in deep through my nose and holding it as I counted to ten before releasing.

It had probably just been a normal wave. A ‘Hello there, yes, I’m a dork who drops pizza dough on my head’ wave. He probably wasn’t mad, nor did he want to seek vengeance in blood. He was probably now just standing there, confused by the crazy weirdo who’d dived for cover behind her counter like she was in a war zone under enemy fire.

Alright. Time to pull myself back up. This was salvageable. Just stand and… I don’t know… wave back? Yeah, that sounded like a plan. Okay, you got this.

My legs tensed as I prepared to stand once more. In three… two…

What’d I’d failed to consider, as I’d be learning in two frightfully short seconds, was that there was another possibility. Another string of events that could have and, in fact, were set in motion the moment I’d dropped into hiding. That instead of just staying behind his own counter, the redhead had gotten curious about my odd reaction and had decided to take it upon himself to investigate. Therefore, he’d announced to his coworker that he was taking his ten, allowing him to leave his little pizzeria and cross the food court on a course heading straight for the ice cream shop directly across the way.

I have to wonder… and I mean really, really wonder… what were the odds?

The odds that he’d stop in front of the counter right across from where I was concealed.

The odds that he’d be leaning over it to look down at me exactly as I was springing back up to stand.

The odds that his lips were positioned just perfectly for my own to come crashing into his as I looked up.

That’s right.

I’d frigging kissed him.

...Hey, universe? It’s me, Elsa. If you’re listening, now would be a really great time for me to spontaneously develop the ability to rewind time by, say, I don’t know… thirty seconds so I can make completely different life choices.

...No? Not happening?

Well fudge.

Author's note: BEHOLD! There, at long last, having traded his spinning chakrams in for spinning pizzas, is our favorite Fire Boy! Or rather… there his lips are anyway… hehehe… xD Trust me, the fun is only beginning, you're in for one rollercoaster of a ride with this story!

So here we finally get the main setting for a majority of this story - what is basically the universe of KH transformed into a mall xP So many stupid little references will abound in the chapters to come, I'm sure you'll get sick of it! And I know Frozone/Incredibles isn't in KH, but that is a travesty which I had to correct by including him in this fic! I mean, c'mon, he's perfect for working at an ice cream shop alongside Elsa! As for Kristoff, I know he's normally a big ol' softie, but don't forget he had his whole tough guy routine when he first met Anna at the beginning of the movie! And as you can see, he's already starting to warm up to Elsa. And all the food court restaurants and faces (yes, even the cat) this chapter were KH/Disney references, some might be more obvious than others tho… but if any were too vague, Elsa will get to meet a lot of them in the chapters ahead so that should clear 'em all up! Oh, and ice cream flavor names! I'm not gonna miss an opportunity to steal all those ice creams from BBS, but come on, this was Sora, so OF COURSE I had to make up something that was Paopu flavored for him! I imagine the description of the Paopu Paradise flavor on the menu is something like: "Made with real Paopu fruit straight from Destiny Islands with little star sprinkles swirled in! Legend has it if two people share this ice cream, their destinies become intertwined."

In any case, on to the more pressing question… how will our lil ball of nerves Ice Queen handle this mortifying "greeting" with her new redheaded friend that she has yet to even learn the name of? Hope you stay tuned to find out in the next chapter! Thank you so much for reading!

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randombtsprincessa · 5 years

Text

Boketto

[bo-ke-tto] Jap. (v.) act of gazing into the distance without a thought

Author: Randombtsprincessa

Characters: Kim Namjoon x Reader (2nd POV)

Words: 3.9k

Genre: Pure Fluff

Summary: It is the birthday of the love of your life. What do you have planned?

Warning: Nothing! Just a little suggestive ending!

A/N: Happy Birthday, Namjoon! I haven’t forgotten how much I love you! This piece is actually quite private, sitting in my drafts since 2016...I had to shave it down to not let it get away from me!

I love Feedback!

The day was perfect. You knew it was rare; either the sun would be too strong, too much wind or somehow too cool, but today, even the weather seemed to be in tune with your plans. Well, it could be that, or maybe your boyfriend was just that blessed.

You smiled at the soft rays of sunlight that streaked in when you carefully parted the curtains, just a little so as to not disturb the snoozing man still in bed.

Letting the gauzy material slip out of your fingers to return the room to its dusk, you padded to the bathroom first, stretching out sleep stiff muscles, making sure to stay quiet as you brushed your teeth and took a quick shower. You had enough time in hand but he needed his sleep, he deserved it after all the hard work he put in for so many long months, all culminating in exhausting years.

You slipped on a summer dress of soft cloth, letting it brush to your calves as you walked to the living room now, setting the coffee maker to work and checking the duffle bag you’d brought along.

While it had been a couple years that you and he had been dating, there were a few talks you’d always kept closely to yourself, mainly due to the fact that his work never really allowed the time or the headspace for him to actually ponder matters as such. Like the talk about moving in together, had never really been broached, yet you knew it gnawed on him just as it gnawed at you. There were others, like visits at work, taking vacations outside in the public together, all matters that you had personally forbidden to yourself, for the sake of his mental peace.

Like the matter of saying I love you…another topic that you knew bothered him deeply when he had the time to give it thought.

You didn’t look it, but you knew that when your relationship crossed the one year mark, these unsaid conversations were going to be strains – matters that would more likely hurt him or cause him disturbance rather than give him the sense of calm that you wanted to provide.

You saw it in his eyes, when you would get up from his couch to leave for your own home, the bite of his lower lip when he warred with himself to ask if you wouldn’t rather just stay, stay with him to avoid the hassle. You saw it in the furrow of his brow when he came over to find you in the kitchen and instead of greeting him with the emotion you both knew you felt, you would just smile and greet him with a perfunctory welcome. You saw it in the tense shoulders he would carry, when he showed you pictures of his solo adventures, knowing he desperately wanted you with him on one.

So, you had taken up initiative. A smile spread across your chapped lips as you made sure everything was in the duffel bag of supplies. Your boyfriend had been less that surprised when you’d shown up on his doorstep, greeting him with a light peck to his plump lips. His surprise was more towards the number of bags in your hand, a joke falling from those lips that you had already planned to move in before he cut himself off, moving to the kitchen quietly to bring you some water.

Well, he wouldn’t need to cut himself off for much longer…or so you hoped. It all depended on him today.

You felt rather than heard him shuffle around in his bed, getting to your feet and quickly peeking in to see him turn his head to your side of the king size. One arm freed itself from under the pillow, sweeping across the span of where your absence had cooled the sheets. You walked over when you saw him frowning to himself, his sleep lagged brain starting to pull itself towards consciousness.

You scooted into your side, letting his palm find yours, clasping them together as his face smoothed out, eyelids fluttering as you leaned in.

“Happy Birthday, Namjoon.” You whispered to him, plush lips curving upwards slowly as he kept his eyes closed.

“It’s today, isn’t it?” He asked, morning voice all low and grumbles.

“Yep, I wanted to give you all the sleep time you needed.”

“I missed you.” He muttered.

“I wasn’t even gone, I was right here when you woke up.” You reassured, lowering yourself to kiss away the pout already forming on his lips.

“Why are you all dressed? Get back into bed.” He sighed, finally turning around and cracking his eyes open.

“We have plans, baby.”

“We do?”

You hummed, running your fingertips gently across his hairline, his head automatically nuzzling in the comforting touch before you slid off the bed again, much to his displeasure.

“Ok, we have to be up now,” you clapped your hands enthusiastically as Namjoon propped himself up, looking pitifully dazed.

“Five more minutes,” he mustered in the face of your excitement.

You turned from the doorway as you looked at the hunkering frame of your boyfriend, a light sigh escaping you at his cuteness.

“You can sleep in the car.” You answered; his reply an indulgent ‘fine’.

And sleep Namjoon did in the car…

He let you slide into the driver’s side, the sleeveless shirt and shorts you’d put out for him matching his pajamas as he pushed the passenger seat all the way back, spreading out like a buffet.

“So, what’s the plan?” he asked, muffling a yawn.

“You’ll see,” you smiled absently, adjusting the rearview mirror. “You should sleep.”

Namjoon snorted. “Babe, I’ve been awake longer than 25 hours one time, you know.”

All big words, because the moment you turned onto the express way, Namjoon’s head dropped back, mouth open and snores filling the space between you. His sandals came off, then his hat, all tossed into the backseat as he submitted himself to slumber.

You couldn’t help but glance at him fondly, the slight tremble of his nostrils each time a snore passed them oddly endearing.

God, the things you noticed when in love…

And the man you loved was definitely worth noticing, even when he woke up like death as you pulled up in front of the small section of beach where you’d decided to celebrate his birthday.

“Where…are we?” Namjoon questioned dazedly, peering at the smooth white sands leading up to the foaming clear waters.

“The beach,”

“This is not the beach I remember. Did you drive to the northern borders?”

“Not really; they have private sections for people who want to book them.” You told him, docking your car at the small driveway of the cabin adjoining your haven for today.

Namjoon nodded at the explanation, looking somewhat satisfied. The both of you exited the car, you walking over to unlock the door of the cabin.

Inside, it was light and bright, exactly what the brochures had promised and you let out a gentle sigh of relief while your boyfriend set your bags down near the sofa, going straight to the balcony.

You clasped your hands together, moving in the space to make sure everything was the way it should be, the way you paid for them to be. The living room was sparse with bamboo and galvanized chrome furniture, the kitchen clean and stocked; no sea food thankfully, you didn’t want Namjoon to be traumatized realizing he had devoured a precious ‘friend’ on his birthday. You peeked into the bedroom, noting the plush bedding on the metal bed and critically eyed the bathroom.

Toilet, sink, bathtub with shower…all seemed to be in order…you were happy to say.

“Baby,” You turned your head to see Namjoon waiting patiently for you to be done, his own fingers twisting the hem of his shirt, rumpling it further.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, going over to cup his chin. If there was one thing you didn’t want him to do, it was worry about anything.

“I just realized. These things…they cost a lot. Jackson threw a party at a beach like this and it burned a hole through his pocket.”

“Joon, that was because Jackson’s friends turned out to be assholes that nearly destroyed that beach. The poor thing was ranting about never inviting the morons who had no civic or environmental sense. Half that money was for clean up. We won’t be doing anything bad here. We both hate littering, we’re only two people and you are basically a fish.”

Namjoon tilted his head at the consolation, not offended at being compared to a water creature for his love of them.

“I know; but still, how much did you pay?”

You pursed your lips. “Does it matter? It’s your birthday.”

Namjoon shrugged. “I don’t like you spending so much on me. I’d have been glad with take out on my couch and for you to…just stay.”

You gulped. It was too soon. You’d planned all sorts of timings for these conversations.

“You know you spend more on me. I like spoiling you too sometimes.” You whispered. He didn’t look much convinced.

“I’ve been saving for this from the start of the year; I didn’t get too much of a hit on my paychecks darling. Besides, this is a gift for me as much as you. I never get to take you out.”

Namjoon’s pout vanished, his posture straightening as he eyed you with a new zeal. “You’re right. I’m being dumb. I have zero right to do anything but to enjoy our present and bask in all the attention you can give me.” Namjoon pumped his fists lightly in a ‘let’s do this’ movement before gripping your hand tightly.

“Now if you’re done checking for mold or cockroaches, let’s go to the sea; my home in my past life.”

Brittle rock prickled at your soles, the lush waters providing a smoothening feel over the tops of your feet as you stood, absolutely still, reveling in the pure power of nature.

Namjoon and you had walked a little down the shore, leaving footprints that you enjoyed watching being washed away with the currents. Of course, your boyfriend took it upon himself to wax poetic about how this meant that none of you were permanent; just fixtures that could as easily be torn down as you were put up.

You’d shushed him, laughing gently and pointing to the shoals where you were pretty sure Namjoon could crab hunt.

And well…you’d been right.

Within moments, Namjoon was calf deep in the waters, bending over till his face was inches above the surface and hands clasped as if in prayer to find something or the other. You had stayed back, choosing to take some salty deep breaths to rejuvenate yourself.

The stuffy city life was all fine and dandy till the excitement wore away, leaving only a longing for something…green…

Closing your eyes you let your arms loosen up, stretching them away from your body a bit; the skirt of your dress fluttering in the breeze. Maybe you looked silly, but if there was any one you expected to not laugh at you, it would be Namjoon.

Who at that very moment wrapped a muscular arm around your waist, tugging you gently into him, “I’m a little disappointed; no crabs.”

Your eyes popped open, soft and fondly trained on the way Namjoon ducked his head, plump lips jutting out to sulk and the edges of his clothes wet. He looked at you a little sheepishly.

“Sorry, I’m being childish.”

You shook your head immediately, cupping his face and patting those precious dimpled cheeks. “Come on, let’s feed you, you big baby.”

The inside of the cabin, when you tugged him back was warmer than outside, prompting you and Namjoon to open up all the windows and the balcony. Namjoon rummaged through his luggage, pulling out a sheaf of fan mail to read on the deck while you busied yourself in the kitchen.

The sizzle of the pan oil that sautéed the veggies hissed through the air, the scent of honey basted stir fry chicken permeating the small area as you micro waved instant rice. You glanced at the man hunched in thought over at the balcony before noticing the pencil in his hand.

“Yah! Are you writing?” You screeched, the wooden spatula in your hand rising before you could help yourself.

Namjoon flinched, the bunch of papers that you had assumed were letters turning out to be loose papers bound together and a pencil twirling between his dexterous fingers. “I’m just…”

“I thought you promised no work?”

“Yes baby, I was just…struck with a little inspiration.” For his benefit, he did look guilty; knowing that he always being in the ‘work’ mode had been a cause of discomfort more often to him than you. Yet, he never seemed to change…

Well, he wouldn’t be the man you fell for if he did…

You shook your head to yourself, sighing as you pointed to the table. “Ok, come and eat. We can change and sit outside later.” You offered him your hand and Namjoon grasped it quickly, tossing away the writing material on the sofa to join you at the table you’d set.

You’d kept lunch short, sending Namjoon in to shower and change out of his salty wet clothes and changing yourself into another summer dress – this time, a gift from Namjoon. It was blue, hugging at the waist, bought by your boyfriend when he was somewhere near the Caribbean. The small deck at the back of cabin was perfect for watching the sunset and the onset of the thunderstorm, you decided.

Just for the sake of it, you made sure that the contraption was properly nailed down into the fixtures before resting your picnic basket on it, stocked with olives, cherries, a couple strawberries and cheese. You saved the bottle of wine chilling in the fridge for later.

Namjoon soon walked out, a matching blue denim shirt and khaki shorts on with his sleeves rolled up, something he knew you loved on him.

“Hey, we match.” Namjoon beamed at you, the shower having washed away much of the earlier grime from his countenance as he leaned down to kiss you before admiring the small picnic spread on the table. “I know we just ate, but there’s a thunderstorm on the forecast tonight and I thought that we could just sit and watch it begin while having this before heading in for the night?” You ended it as a suggestion, not wanting to sound like you were hijacking the plans for his special day. You totally had planned everything down to a tee but you still wanted Joon to have some say in it.

“I don’t mind; I’d like to see the storm a bit.” Namjoon assured, pulling out a chair for you before plopping down opposite to you, eyes turning once to keenly check the horizon and how bad it could get.

After all, it wouldn’t be Kim Namjoon if he didn’t check things through, no matter how much his girlfriend was always on top of them.

You and Namjoon slowly went through the picnic food while catching up, all your office tales regurgitated for him to comment on or advice upon how to handle while he allowed himself to relax and complain just how overworked he was starting to feel before putting a collective foot down with his members for the break.

You popped a slice of cheese in his mouth. “Good, get angry Kim, you don’t do that enough.”

“I do it a whole lot more than I show babe.”

You smiled at him spewing out further around the mouthful of cheese when you noticed the shadows finally setting in. Almost in synchrony, the both of you turned your heads to look at the sea.

The sun crept towards the horizon, blinking cheekily up at the darkening clouds that loomed overhead. You chewed on your bottom lip, a small trickle of worry trying to worm its way through you. What if you had miscalculated? What if the onslaught of storm was harsher than you had anticipated?

The ocean had picked up its pace, turning a darker, much more intimidating shade compared to the brilliant teal it had been earlier in the day. You turned your head to look at Namjoon, about to voice your concerns and to ask if he wanted to head in sooner rather than later.

Of course, the words stuttered and then died on your lips, your brain too foggy with the image of your awed lover to bring up such trivial matters.

Namjoon had his head craned up at the sky, mouth open slightly as he looked at the clouds with literal heart eyes. His nose was scrunched at the base ever so slightly, making his nostrils flare. His jaw and neck strained, the tight cording in his arms bunching muscles as he hunched over to get a closer look from under the awning. Hair rippled in the quickening wind, lashing against his forehead and flattening it back.

He was beautiful…and you loved him so, so much.

Namjoon’s eyes widened, his head turning to you so fast, he must’ve given himself whiplash. “What did you just say?” He demanded. You blinked, a little slow on the uptake. “What?”

Namjoon stared at you, if possible, much more flabbergasted than he had been at the raging waters. His hands pressed flat to the table, torso nearly bending over it towards you. “What did you just say? I want you to repeat it.”

You gulped; taking a second more to realize that in your stumped wonder, you had accidentally blurted out what you’d been thinking. You had told your boyfriend you loved him, with no consciousness.

Well, there went your first plan.

“Y/N,” Namjoon warned.

“I love you.” You answered meekly. “I love you Kim Namjoon. I love you so much. You are the kindest, gentlest, sweetest man to have graced my life. You are intelligent, understanding, and steady and you have so many ideas I can never keep up with you but I love the chase and I love it when you wait for me to get there. I love how you never make me chase you, just your mind. I love how you’re patient, calm even if you’re a bouncy ball of stress. I love how you could be vibrating but you hold my hand through everything. I love how you sing moonchild to me when I don’t like where I am and I love how you call me your love. I love how you sleep, you big breadcrumb, all over me that I nearly die but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

You had barely finished but Namjoon was already out of his chair, hunkering down to yank you up from yours and to crush you to his chest, big arms wrapped tightly around you as he tried to fit his much larger frame into yours. You cooed over him, brushing through his hair as he literally shook.

“Damn, I’ve wanted to say all of that for so long, but you beat me to it. I don’t know if I should be mad at you or not but this is absolutely the best birthday ever.”

You giggled at him, petting the baby hairs at the back of his neck. “Don’t say that just yet, love. I have one more gift for you.”

Namjoon pulled away, an odd glint reflecting deep within his coffee eyes. “There’s more?” he whispered, the same bouncy energy radiating from him, reminiscent of when Jimin had helped you bake a mega two tier Ryan cake, complete with attached body and a head.

“Yep,” you dipped your hand into the shallow pockets - yes! Your dress had pockets! - Of your dress, watching his eyes drift down to your hands in anticipation. You waited a beat, suddenly uncertain.

Did you really want to do this? Were you even ready? Was he ready?

You sighed when you felt his gaze return to you, excitement softening into concern. No, you could do this. You only had to trust him and that was the easiest thing in the world.

Your fingers surfaced, pinky hooked into the loop of the keychain, one key hanging from it.

You let it dangle in front of a now frowning Namjoon, the key swaying in his sight before he raised his palm, letting you drop it into his cupped hand. “Your key; why are you giving me your apartment key…?”

“Well, that’s the gift, I guess.” You mumbled before looking up at him, squaring your shoulders. “I’m willing to stay. I’m ready to move in with you. I mean, of course, it’s up to you and it’s your house but I’m really just going out on a limb here. You can say no and I would totally understand. I don’t want to put you in a spot, I swear.”

“Stop babbling, sweetheart,” Namjoon cut in.

You stammered before guzzling out, while Namjoon let out a huff, hugging you to him again, just for a split second, a tight embrace that gave you no time to wrap your own arms around him again. He pulled away just as soon, one arm around you, holding you to his side as he stared at the key in his palm.

“Of course I want you to move in, Y/N. How many times have I told you to just stay when you walk to the door? How many times have I told you to sleep in with me when you’re rushing to get home so you could go to work? Oh and by the way, I calculated and the time to get to your office is lesser from my place. I was totally going to hit you with that next time. So, yes, I want you to move in. However, the key is yours.” He returned the key to your pocket, hand splaying against the flesh.

His eyes moved to yours, mirroring the small smile dancing around your lips.

“I want to wake up next to you, all crazy haired and puffy. I want to share showers with you, cook you breakfast and clean up with you. I want to call you when I forget what groceries you needed. I want to walk in to see you in the kitchen or on the sofa or maybe even in the bath. I want to show you my pieces when inspiration strikes at 2 AM. I want to stare at you while you nap so I can dedicate you songs. I want you to rant to me while I’m watching TV. I want you to be there to kiss me to shut up at midnight when I get philosophical. I want all of that with you, at all and any time.”

You weren’t going to cry, you vowed. At least not right now…

You wound your arms around his neck, pulling yourself flush to him as matching grins lit up your faces.

“We’re just two morons who talk too damn much.” You whispered, your lips ghosting against him.

Namjoon opened his mouth to retaliate when an almighty flash of lightening broke across the night sky, signaling the start of the storm.

“Well, I suppose that’s the start of that. I would love to watch this.” He said wistfully before turning playful again. “I can think of a better way to end the day though.”

You laughed, swatting his arm when you felt the hand around your waist, inch closer to the curve of your behind.

“Lead the way, birthday boy.”

#namjoon fanfic #namjoon fluff #namjoon scenarios #bts fanfic #bts fluff #bts scenarios #namjoon #namjoon x reader #kim namjoon #rm #bts rm #bts

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biillyhargroves · 5 years

Note

If you're still taking requests, could we see Billy reunite with his mom? Whether it goes well or not is up to you, but I'd really like to see your interpretation cuz you're currently my favorite fic author xD

oh gosh, you’re the sweetest!! i’m so glad you’ve been enjoying my fics & i really hope you like his one - i find the relationship between billy and his mother to be both heartbreaking and fascinating and i can’t thank you enough for giving me a reason to explore it!!

mama, i’m comin’ home(fic requests open)

First, there were phone calls. They were short and tearful and often left Billy with more questions than answered. He would drop the phone back in its cradle and run - run before his father saw him crying, run until his legs grew too tired to carry him, run until his cheeks were red from heat and sweat instead of heartache.

Next, there came letters. Billy found the first by accident. The thin paper had been torn in half and tossed in the trash, and Billy fished it out and shoved it in his pocket. He carried it to school and then to the beach, where he climbed up the highest rock on the jetty and fit the two crumpled pieces together. It didn’t say much, but he trailed his finger along the familiar loops of her letters and he cried. He kept the letter at the bottom of his backpack and tried to intercept the mail each day when he came home from school.

When the letters stopped, there came cards. Colorful birthday cards and handmade Christmas greetings, always with a different return address. They come twice a year, and they are always the same; a few words of the Hallmark poems are underlined in black ink, the card is dated (1978, 1979, 1980…) and is signed With love, Mom with a hand-drawn heart. Billy has stopped opening them. His father hands them to him without a hard, and Billy shoves them, unopened, in a nightstand drawer. Blue envelope on top of green envelope on top of red envelope and so on, stacked on top of the letter he taped back together and the cards he’d read in more hopeful years.

Starcourt changed things.

The girl, his sister’s friend, El, she changed things. She pulled out memories that Billy had stuffed in jars, dredged up a past buried in sand, and Billy can’t get them out of his head.

“El saw her, didn’t she?” Max had asked him. “She brought you back.”

She brings El to visit him in the hospital, because when she asked Billy if he wanted to see her again Billy didn’t say no. The girls sit with him. They talk about California. They talk about the beach. They talk about his mother. When the conversation turns to her, to the pretty woman in her white dress, Billy gets quiet. When El leaves, he tells Max, “I’ve been thinking.”

“About what?” she asks.

“Going back,” he says. “Going home.”

He tells Max where he stashes his money. There are uncashed paychecks and some crumpled twenties in a shoebox under his bed. Max counts it all up, and while Billy is still under the careful watch of a nurse he unkindly (but deservingly) calls Ratched, she scrounges up whatever cash she can. She digs under couch cushions and breaks open her piggy bank. She mows lawns with Lucas. She talks Steve into checking in on Billy’s car at the mechanic, on making sure it gets fixed.

“It doesn’t have to be perfect,” she says. “It just has to run.”

When Billy is sent home, she tucks an envelope of scavenged money into his jacket pocket. They count it together and, feeling guilty or nervous or something in between, he tries to give it back.

“Half is yours anyway,” Max says.

“You sure you don’t want to come?” Billy asks her. He speaks more quietly now, and Max doesn’t know if it’s because of the physical wounds or the deeper ones in his head.

“Can’t. School. The whole being a minor thing.” Max shrugs. They are sitting on Billy’s bed, and it is late. Their parents are asleep. They speak in whispers so as not to disturb the semi-peaceful silence of the house. “But save a spot for me out there. You know, just in case Hawkins gets too boring.”

“Right,” Billy says. “Listen, if he-”

“I’ve got El on speed dial,” Max says. “Her dad’s chief of police. I’m covered.”

Billy smiles softly, almost sadly, and he says, “Okay.”

He has a bag packed. Steve has parked the Camaro, which Neil had planned to junk, around the corner. Billy sighs and he stands. Wordlessly, he swings his back over his shoulder, and Max jumps up.

“Hold on,” she tells him, and she slips out of his room. He leans toward the doorway and watches her shadow flit about in her own bedroom. She returns with a clunky walkie-talkie, the kind that she and her friends all carry around. She shoves it into his hands. “Just in case,” she says.

“The signal,” Billy points out, and Max waves off his concern.

“I have smart friends,” she says. “It’ll work.”

Billy laughs at this, a short sort of huff that could be mistake for a cough, and he drops the radio into his bag. Max pushes his window open and Billy throws the bag outside first. Then, with some difficulty, he climbs out.

“Bye, shitbird,” he says when he looks up to find Max leaning out the window.

“Get out of here, fuckface,” she tells him. She shuts the window, and Billy sneaks away.

The drive is long and lonely. Billy plays a mixtape he found shoved into a pocket of his backpack, one that Max had made for him when he was in the hospital. He plays it over and over until he can’t stand the songs anymore, then he switches the radio. As he makes his way across the Californian border, he opts for silence.

It takes him time to find her. Home doesn’t look like home, and Billy wanders once-familiar streets reading street signs and store awnings like a foreigner. Some of his old haunts are the same: the surf shop has a new owner, but the same dilapidated storefront; the corner pizzeria is run by the same old Italian man who greets Billy with an abundance of enthusiasm and won’t let him leave without eating something. He asks everyone he recognizes if they’ve seen her, and they all give him the same sad look. He hates them for it. He hates the sympathy that reads like pity and how it follows him around town, he hates how word starts to spread and people start to greet him with sad eyes and heavy hearts.

When he grows tired of hearing the same answers again and again and again, Billy goes to the beach. He sits in the sand and he watches the waves, and as the sun goes down he closes his eyes and breathes in the smell of the salty air.

It is dark when a voice pulls him from his thoughts.

“I thought I’d find you here.”

His heart stalls. His breath does, too. Billy opens his eyes and creases his brow. When he bites his lip it tastes like saltwater. Slowly, he turns his head.

She is older now, and she wears jeans and an embroidered blouse that billows in the wind. Her hair is still long, though it has gone gray at her temples, and the fine lines of her face have deepened. When she smiles, though, she looks the same. She looks like his mother.

Billy stars at her, mouth-open, too stunned to speak. Her eyes mist when they catch his and she holds a hand to her mouth.

“Billy,” she says, and the sound of his name in her voice - the same voice that used to cheer him on and call him home and scare the monsters out of his dreams - shocks him into motion. He rises to his feet and squares his shoulders to face her.

“How-” he starts, and then he clears his throat. “Uh, how did you-”

“Small town,” his mother says. “Short grapevine.”

Billy stares are her silently, and when he realizes it his turns to speak he simply says, “Oh.”

She steps toward and Billy remains still. She lifts her hands, but seems unsure where to touch him. She winces a bit when her eyes land on the tip of scar poking out from beneath Billy’s shirt. Billy looks follows her gaze. He touches the scar lightly. When he looks back at her, he feels his own tears building up.

“You knew?” he asks.

“Your father called me,” she says. “From the hospital.”

“You didn’t come,” Billy says.

“He wouldn’t have let me see you,” she tells him.

“You didn’t try,” Billy says.

“Billy-” she starts, but he shakes his head.

“You never tried,” he says, voice louder than its been in months, so loud it hurts his throat.

“Billy, please.”

“Was I never going to see you again?” Billy asks.

“Billy.”

“If I didn’t come here,” he says, “would you have ever come to find me?” Her silence only angers him more. He feels sick to his stomach, but not quiet in the way he had been months ago under hot fluorescent lights. He feels his heart hammering hard in his chest and he thinks it might jump out of his throat. He swallows it down and with a rogue tear trailing down one cheek he says, “You left me with him.”

“Oh, Billy,” his mother says, and this time when she takes a step toward him he steps away.

“You left me with him,” Billy repeats. “After everything, you-” you abandoned me, you saved yourself, you left me alone, you let him hurt me; I trust you, you were supposed to protect me, you let him take me away. There are too many words clamoring to be said and Billy can’t fit them all in his mouth. His breathing gets heavy and he starts to pace. His mother’s outstretched hands hover in the air, wanting to reach for him but not able to get a grip. “You promise me,” he says suddenly, stopping in his tracks and facing her with red-rimmed eyes. “You promised me we’d get away. You’d promised me you’d leave him, and then you left. You got out. You got out and you left me there!” He is yelling now, and when she flinches it makes his chest ache, but he can’t stop himself. He moves towards her, his chest puffed out, his shoulders back, and she fights to hold her ground. She grabs his shoulders and he feels his resolve crumble. He tries to scream at her, but only chokes out a sob.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles, over and over again as she tangles her arms around his shoulders, wider and broader than they used to be. He towers over her now, and she has to stand on her tip toes to hug him - to hold him. She squeezes him, and Billy stands stiffly in her arms, his head hovering over her shoulder, his tears falling on her sleeve and on her skin. She keeps saying, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Billy, I’m sorry.”

“Stop,” he says, and when she doesn’t hear him he says it louder. “Stop!”

He pushes her away, and she stumbles backwards, stunned but not exactly surprised. Billy shakes his head. He paces one way and then the other. He rubs his chin. He turns away. “I don’t know why I came here,” he says quietly.

The waves lap at the shore, smooth and steady and undisturbed by the scene he’s made. The sea foam fizzles over the sand and when it is gone it leaves the surface smooth, as if no one has ever walked on the beach, as if no one has ever touched it. Billy’s hand finds his scar again, and he feels its ridges as he watches the water crash agains the land.

“I’m sorry sounds shitty right now,” his mother says. “I know that.” Billy doesn’t look at her. He keeps watching the water, watching the gulls dip and dive into the sea. “It’s not enough,” she goes on. “And it’s going to take a long time to explain everything. And I don’t blame you if you don’t want to hear it.” She lets her words linger, and when Billy says nothing- when he doesn’t turn around, when he holds his silence -she asks, “Do you have a place to stay?”

“Motel,” Billy says without looking at her. His voice is still shaky, and he fights hard to steady it. “The one off Bayberry.”

“Right,” his mother says, as if she should have known this. “Well, I’m on Wilmot Street now. Number eleven, the one with the little green shutters. If the motel feels lonely…” She trails off, and Billy finally turns around. “You don’t have to,” she says. “But you’re welcome to stay.”

Billy neither accepts nor rejects her offer. He simply watches her, his eyes still watery and red, his breath still ragged and labored. She drops her gaze to the sand. She sucks in her breath.

“I work at the Sand Bar now,” she says. “You remember it?”

Billy nods his head. The Sand Bar is the little off-the-beach shack where she used to take him for lunch before the beach or dinner, before the drunks took it over for the night.

“I’ll be there at noon tomorrow,” she says, “if you want to stop by. We can talk. Or not talk. It’s up to you.” Billy nods again, and she says, “Okay.” She looks at him, sadness in her eyes, and she sighs deeply and repeats, “Okay.”

She doesn’t say goodbye when she walks away, and as Billy watches her walk back along the sand he finds that he can’t remember if she said goodbye the first time. Her exit had been hasty then, much like his own escape from Hawkins. It had happened so quickly Billy can’t recall the details. He doesn’t remember what she was wearing the last time he saw her or what the last thing she said to him was before she became a crackling voice on the other end of the phone.

But she is here now, and he is, too. And maybe that means something.

#stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fic #billy hargrove #I'M SAD #lex writes fics #anon #answered #this could become it's own huge fic tbh #oh no

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tinytotalitariantortises · 5 years

Text

His Girl

Pairing: 40′s Bucky x Reader

Warnings: ANGST! With a tiny bit of gore.

Word Count: 2372

A/N: Okay so the universe this is in is kind of weird. There’s no Steve and there’s no Hydra.

Summary: Bucky falls in love with the right girl at the wrong time.

He’d just returned from some feral battle - shaken up and jittery, but surprisingly unscathed. Some higher up had insisted he and a platoon advance on enemy territory. So, like any good soldier, he’d done as told.

Only this time, he hadn’t expected it to be so bloody.

Red.

That’s all he recalled.

Pools of red. Mangled flesh. Stray limbs. Uniforms blackened with blood. Disfigured faces.

Every image he’d seen earlier that day had embedded themselves into his mind with no plan of leaving.

His feet had found their way to the far corner of the mess hall, far from his loud companions. He looked down, and a tray of dry chicken and even dryer potatoes had made their way before him. Numbly, he took a bite.

A firm hand had landed itself on his back, causing him to jolt a bit. Turning around, Bucky had immediately noticed the face. It’d been one of the men from the tank. He was surprised he’d made it.

“You alright Barnes?!” The man grinned, breath reeking of liquor. Bucky straightened up a bit and mustered up his signature maverick smirk. He cleared his throat as the clearly intoxicated man plopped down next to him.

“I’m just… fine and dandy. You?”

“Couldn’t be better!” The man’s gaze lowered to Bucky’s crotch. “And… apparently, neither could you.” Bucky looked back at his brother in arms, embarrassed and even more confused. “Romantic dinner with the missus, eh?”

The Sargent tilted his head “what are you -”

Then he looked down in his lap.

“Oh.”

And there you were. Sitting crossed legged on a bench in some place that looked like Central Park. There was a bow in your curled hair. You smiled toothily, shoulder popped, bright-eyed and glossy-lipped, knowing exactly how good you looked. Along the length of your body, ran an expensive looking dress that outlined every dip and curve flawlessly. It’d been satin, he figured, and sleeveless with just the right amount of cleavage showing. You were an image of tantalizing damehood and girlishness, all rolled up in one.

Absolutely breathtaking. He thought.

The only thing was, Bucky had no idea how the bewitching woman ended up in his lap.

“I sure wish I had her to go back home to.” His fellow soldier grumbled, taking a bite of Bucky’s chicken and standing. “You’re a lucky guy, Barnes! Always lucky!”

“Yeah…” He held you between his thumb and forefinger. “I guess I am.”

And with that, the man left. Leaving Bucky and his stranger completely alone.

Bucky squinted at the photo in his hand, attempting to absorb the angel before him. Finally, his eyes landed on the upper right corner of the portrait. Scribbled in wobbly cursive were a Brooklyn address and your name. Silently, he put the name to the beautiful girl and it all made sense. Surely, you were a sign from God. Something to take his mind off of the trepidation he’d endured that day.

There had been no better remedy.

Before Bucky knew it, word spread around the camp like wildfire. Everyone asked to see Bucky’s girl, and he’d show you off willingly. Many men would whistle and make lewd remarks. The more sentimental of the bunch would show him the pictures of their wives and reminisce. Amongst the bickering and scrapping in the camp, there’s one thing everyone could agree on:

Bucky was lucky to have such a knockout of a girl.

He wasn’t exactly sure how you’d slithered your way into his breast pocket, but he wasn’t complaining.

⋆⋆⋆

It’d been a week since the war ended. In a matter of a few days, Bucky had been shipped back home from Europe and he’d made it back to his little corner of Brooklyn. It’d been late afternoon when he’d finally reached. Music flowed into the streets from the apartment windows. Streamers hung in the barber shops and diners and lamp posts. For the first time ever, Bucky had seen a sense of community in his little niche of New York. But amongst all the carousing, nothing was as beautiful as the girl he kept in his breast pocket. As he neared your street, he could hear his heart pounding in your ears.

Would you like him? Would you be just like he imagined?

It was getting dark when he stopped in front of your door. From the outside of the small townhouse, he could see a warm light emitting from behind the flowery curtains. Those curtains emulated you. With a sudden burst of bravery, Bucky stepped forward, knocked and waited.

Needless to say, he wasn’t met with the bright smile he’d been expecting.

Instead, a quivering young woman emerged from behind the door, a patterned shawl thrown around her shoulders. You examined Bucky with furrowed brows and a wary frown. It was clear you’d just woken up.

“Yes?”

You sounded just like he imagined. Silvery and light. He’d practically melted on your doorstep in spite of your cold, guarded demeanor. Even in her semi-conscious state, she was alluring.

“Can I help you?” You asked again, hands tight around the doorknob.

Bucky shifted his weight on his feet. “Uh... yeah. Yeah, you’re Y/N, right?”

You nodded slowly. Once. Then twice.

“Can I come in?” He asked, entirely knowing he was overstepping some boundaries.

You gave Bucky a once over, then nodded again and cracked the door open a bit wider. Bucky stepped into the threshold, clumsily tripping over the copious amount of shoes in front of the door. While you closed the door, the young woman voiced a small apology. If he squinted, he could have sworn he saw the tiniest smirk pull at your lips. Instantly, his ears went warm. “You can sit here.” Bucky shuffled over to the open living room and sat on the velvet couch. You sat across from him in a chair that looked all too uncomfortable. If he stared long enough, (which he did a few times) he would have seen that you mimicked the crossed legged posture of that in his photo only far less glamorous.

Once he took you in a few more times, he glanced around the room.

He was taken back by the look of the place. He expected each windowsill to be brimming with potted plants, the tables to be polished, the floors and counters to be pristine. He expected to be met with the smell of vanilla and clean laundry. Instead, it smelled faintly of cologne and peeling paint. Everything was mostly grey, with the occasional splash of beige, brown, or green. The small living room had been littered with letters, all of which were torn open, some of which were strewn across the dusty floor. Every table and wall was covered with framed pictures of you and another man. One who looked all too familiar. It had taken all of this to make Bucky realize that the world he’d dreamt up for you was one of fallacy. From the looks of the tiny flat, you’d had been a paycheck short of being dirt poor.

“I don’t understand... are you a friend of my husband?” Your small voice snapped him out of his thoughts. You’d been watching him this entire time. Bucky cleared his throat and straightened up. “Yes. No! I mean... I... I found him.”

The memories came flooding back from that July afternoon.

Pools of red. Mangled flesh. Stray limbs. Uniforms blackened with blood. Disfigured faces.

In the heap of bodies stood out one soldier in particular.

A tall man lay in the mud with a particularly peaceful face. His hair was neat under his helmet. His jacket was buttoned all the way to the top. His glasses were fastened ideally on his face.

If one were to ignore the way his torso trailed feet away from his legs, it would almost look as if he were sleeping.

As Bucky inched closer to your husband, he felt a pang of survivors guilt. If there was a man who looked the closest to alive, it was him. If he made it home, Bucky thought, he seems like he would have made a good lawyer or accountant. A good provider.

“He was… waitin’ to be buried. I opened his jacket and there you were…”

Upon further inspection, Bucky could see something sticking out of the front pocket of your husband's breast pocket. Curiously, and knowing he shouldn’t, Bucky pulled out a letter and a portrait. Your portrait.

The look of mistrust on your face was replaced with horror.

“... You took my photo from him?” The crack in your voice made him want to cry. Bucky nodded slowly, internally cringing at how horrible it had sounded in retrospect.

“It was next to the letter.” His leg bounced frantically.

You were sure you’d opened every one of your husband’s letters.

“What letter?”

“His letter back to you. It was like the one that… if I died, I’d want to have mailed home. Not stuck in the ground with me.” Bucky eyed his shoes, afraid his heart would shatter into a million pieces if he looked up at you. “No man wants to think his last words won’t make it home so I told myself I’d take it home” he took a shaky breath “to you.”

“Where is it?”

“Huh?” He looked up and met your unwavering gaze.

“Where’s the letter?” You urged.

Shakily, Bucky reached for the letter in his pocket. You watched his hand with insane precision. Finally, he pulled out the letter. “This was all that was left.” Instantly, you recognized your husband’s penmanship. The bottom half of the paper was completely singed off.

Your bones went stiff.

“No! No! Hey!”

Bucky was no medic, but he could tell when someone was going into shock.

He stepped over the coffee table and caught you just in time with big eyes and strong arms. “There was a fire in the field and I accidentally dropped it!” He lied. “Your husband wasn’t burned! He wasn’t I don’t know how he died, but he wasn’t burned, alright?”

Your breathing calmed as he ran his hand along the expanse of your back.

“Alright, Y/N?”

Had it been under any other circumstances, you would’ve fallen in love with grey-blue eyes. You straightened and nodded curtly, trying not to get too distracted. Bucky helped you back onto your couch and sat next to you. His hand had made its way into yours. The contact felt all too good. It’d been months since you’d been touched by your husband, let alone any man. To have this stranger next to you, holding your hand, face inches from yours, was overwhelming. In the back of your mind, you felt the tiniest urge to kiss him.

Instead, you bolted to the kitchen, discarding your shawl and straightening your blouse on the way there. Bucky followed you like a lost puppy. “You alright, miss?”

“Where are my manners?” You turned and feigned a flimsy smile. “Are you hungry?”

Bucky nodded.“I could eat…”

“Good! I only have crackers and coffee? How does that sound?”

Bucky watched you from the threshold, as you scrambled to find ingredients, frantically yanking open cabinets and slamming drawers closed. You never managed to find the crackers. So you searched the top cabinets for the coffee. As you stood on your toes and reached, the tin of coffee grounds toppled off the shelf and emptied itself all over the kitchen tile. You dropped along with it and began to weep.

Feral. That’s what your wailing sounded like. More like an injured animal than a woman. Again, Bucky’s arms found themselves around your heaving shoulders, almost as if he wanted to squeeze the heartache out of you. He pressed small kisses onto your forehead and hair. He let you cry onto his jacket. It’d been the only way he knew how to help. Once your breathing became even, Bucky lay his chin on your head, inhaled, then began.

“To my dolly Y/N,” he cleared his throat.

Your shoulders tensed.

That was your nickname.

“I cannot tell you where my Earthly body will be as I write you this, but I can tell you where my heart lies. It’s with you at home. You’re reading your book in my chair. I’m returning from the garden with dirt under my nails. We’re meeting for the first time. I hold you in my arms. You’re saying yes to my proposal. We’re walking down to Nathan’s together. Your stomach swells with our children and we’re hand in hand. It’s in all these places where my heart lies. Keep my shoes by the door, keep my coat on the stand. I mean to come home to you. And only death will stop me. In that case, I’ll send you these words. I love you. For always and always. Your guy, Tommy.”

With that, his arms loosened their grip on you. You missed the closeness.

“Sorry…” Bucky scratched his neck. “I didn’t mean to memorize all of that.”

“Thank you.” You turned in his arms and looked up at him, fat tears still running down your face.

“I know - I’m sorry I took you from him... I just... needed to...” I needed you to get me through that. “I needed to get this to you. It’s what he wanted.”

You nodded once. Then twice. Then rose to your feet.

“How about you take a seat out there and I’ll make you some soup?”

“Sounds great.” He said, standing and brushing the grounds off of his trousers.

You smiled. Genuinely this time. Toothy. Just like in the photo.

Satisfied, Bucky made his way back to the living room and sat. He heard you click on the radio.

There was the sound of a broom brushing against the tile. The knife against the chopping board. The bubbling of the pot on the stove. The sounds of home. But not his home.

With one final peek into the kitchen, Bucky slinked to the door and slipped your portrait and the singed letter into a pair of Tommy’s shoes. He was careful not to step on them as he headed outside and into the cool September night.

Not in this lifetime,

He thought.

But maybe in another.

~Fin.

Did you guys like this one? Feel free to reblog and comment!

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paroxysmics-blog · 5 years

Text

❝ you can’t put the ocean in a box. she will shift, change, and retreat at will. ❞

( danielle campbell. 22. she/her. ) we spotted AIDEN QUINN-WRIGHT in the wilds today, just another gear in the machine of the apocalypse. i heard she chose to go ROGUE for the end of the world. i guess it fits, seeing as she is known to be + adaptable & + resourceful, as well as - distracted & - suspicious. they often have supposed by james arthur stuck in their head while they hunt. i wonder if they’re prepared for what’s coming ? ( it’s trashcan faye!! )

tw: parent death

Also, this is a LONG ass bio omg you’ve been warned. I can send basics if you’d rather not read it all!!

before the end of the world,

The Kurtzman family teetered the line between working class and poverty, and bringing a child into the world in such a low-income home wasn’t the brightest idea, but they had always wanted to start a family of their own. Born to a young couple with more love than money to give, from birth to childhood: Elizabeth had always been too much to handle. Too loud, hyperactive, lacking the filter and resolve expected of young ladies raised in the South. Her parents, try as they might, had never been able to understand their daughter’s oddities, but boy did they adore her. Her early life was perfectly normal, perfectly happy, and their family seemed like one straight out of a movie. This changes when she gets sick. She is five and running in her grandparents backyard when the first symptoms show, chest tight and breathing labored. Asthma, the doctors tell her parents. Fairly easy to keep under control provided she had the right materials, inhalers and breathing treatments to keep it under control. That’s fine, they assure themselves. They’re living paycheck to pay check as is, but their child’s health is priority. The Kurtzman’s manage the added cost and life goes on as usual.

Until problems arise at school, which results in her teacher recommending she be taken to a family doctor for evaluation. It’s then that she’s diagnosed with ADHD. Another bill, something else tacked onto the long list of expenses for a family barely managing. Desperate times call for desperate measures and this pushes her parents into making a reckless choice. They decide to rise above and provide for their daughter no matter the cost, involving themselves with very shady people as a means to make extra money. The occasional job turns into unrealistic expectations and eventually debts catch up to them. In over their heads and fearing for their lives, they’re given an ultimatum. They swear they’ll pay them back gradually, they’re good for it, but that isn’t enough. Loud banging startles a sleeping Elizabeth awake. Her mother ushers her to the linen closet at the head of the stairs, and before she shuts the door she tells her to cover her ears and not come out until help arrives. “You’ll know it’s them when you hear the sirens, baby girl. I love you.“ Are the last words she speaks to her as she pulls the door shut and rushes to join her husband downstairs. They’re there to collect money they don’t have. Muffled shouts are heard and she can tell they’re arguing with someone. She moves to peek out the door and then — BANG. BANG.

She screams. Heavy feet shuffle through the house to her hiding place, but she’s already taken off down the stairs. The bodies of her mother and father lay in pools of blood in the hallway, staining her bare feet and trailing in her wake. She stops for one horrific moment to look at their lifeless forms before running…and running… until her lungs give way and her legs can’t carry her any longer. Alone and scared, she takes up residence on a park bench overnight. The next morning she wakes to a pair of middle-aged women surrounding her. One dials a number and not long after the police show up. She doesn’t move or speak beyond telling them her name, she just observes as a deputy talks about her like she isn’t there. They discuss how her parents had been found shot at point-blank range in their home the night before. “Suspected gang activity.” He says, beckoning the child to speak, to share any information she may know. She knows nothing, so she says nothing. Not that she would’ve been able to anyways. Once she’s safely collected by child protective services they placed her in the system until such a time as they found a family willing to take her on. ”It is for your protection.” They tell her on a loop, as if the more times they say it the truer it will become. The rest of her life will be spent looking over her shoulder, watching and waiting for the people who killed her parents to find her and finish the job should she ever decide to testify. It’s one spent on edge, constantly wondering who she can trust and whether their intentions are pure. Elizabeth Kurtzman legally became Aiden Quinn, a new name for a girl looking to start a brand new life.

Her saving grace comes in the form the cop assigned to her case, a family looking to adopt the girl they’d bonded with so effortlessly. The family works hard to gain her trust and she eventually caves; they’re kind, they treat her like one of their own, and eventually she thinks maybe she is. Two years pass and she’s started calling them mom and dad, their kids her siblings. The move to Milam, Texas in the middle of her Freshman year came as a surprise, one that she ultimately struggled with, but the girl had nothing keeping her in Florida beyond sentimentality. Her parents had been dead for years, she wasn’t even allowed to visit their graves – her childhood home had likely been sold to someone new and painted over to hide the death. She wonders whether the new family knows what happened there, or if the house had even been left standing period. This doesn’t matter, she reminds herself, as she worked to adjust to another new home, a new town with people she wasn’t sure would accept her as she came.

The three and a half years spent at Buckholts School passed in a haze of fist fights, detentions, and never quite fitting in. She had friends, a handful of them, but actively ostracized herself from her peers so as to keep a healthy distance between them. To them, she was an enigma; one day she was quiet, and kind, the next she was pinning a bully twice her size up against a locker for picking on a defenseless target. If they wanted to take out their anger on someone, they could take it out on her. Loud, spazzy, and sarcastic didn’t exactly make for the ideal friend, most people finding her to be a bit too much to handle. She was never needlessly rude to the people around her though, they just seldom bothered seeing beyond what she presented at face value. Her tendency to talk in class and scarcely pay attention to what the teachers were actually saying painted a pretty obvious picture: Aiden was not smart, and she certainly was not making good grades. She made it by with relative ease, however her scattered attention span and general disregard of her intelligence level downed her confidence to approach school with nothing but a shrug. Even still, she did will enough to go to college if she really wanted to. The thing was, she wasn’t sure she did.

For the first time since she was a child, there were no limitations. She was free to be as reckless as she wanted, all she had to do was wait for the day she turned eighteen. As graduation came and went in a blur of its own, the girl watched on as all her friends went off to college or settled into cozy desk jobs handed to them by their parents. But that wasn’t the life she wanted for herself. Packing nothing but a duffle bag full of clothes and other basic necessities, the first year after High School is spent traveling the country in her beatup pickup. It felt almost like a rite of passage to her; there were no rules, no expectations, only her and the open road. Other than coming home for the holidays, she saw no point in returning. Eventually her parents begin wondering when she’s going to come home for good, to the place she belongs, so she does. Her decision to enroll in the Fire Academy not long after that was met with hesitation from all sides, each person more against it than the last; but she had finally found something she was passionate about. The next three years are spent working under their Fire Department and attending courses in chemistry, communications, and computer science at the local community college.

the end of the world,

News of the spreading outbreak falls on deaf ears, Aiden’s usual amount of sarcasm painting the situation in a humorous light. For someone who had consumed her fair share of zombie media, it just seemed to be a practical joke. A well thought out, deliberate joke. Her parents play the news on loop in the living room, her siblings share stories passed on by friends from school. Things grow more grim as days pass, but she continues her day-to-day, refusing to allow herself to get swept up into the madness like everyone else. Her first encounter with the undead comes that night at work. It’s the standard fare they’re told, a house fire on third. Suited up and on the way, a new alert comes in on her phone: VIRUS SPREADING. TAKE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS. She never checks it. The woman whose house is on fire is inside, a bite in her neck, the rising flames lapping at her ankles as she reanimates before their eyes. At first they assume she’d passed out from a combination of stress and the fumes, but reality sets in as their questions are answered with groans and a nearly successful attempt at taking a bite out of her colleagues shoulder. The material on their suits is thick enough to keep them from easily being infected, but she doesn’t think twice as she buries the brunt of her axe in the woman’s skull.

It is her refusal to acknowledge that the virus was real that hurt the people she loved the most, the first wave of undead leaving only her, her mother, and two of her siblings in the wake of a disintegrating world. A family of ten turns to a family of four. Aiden’s mother is a proud woman who stops for no one. Before long, word spreads that groups were forming within their general area, survivors coming together to build a better tomorrow — or at the very least to give themselves a better shot at making it that long. Aiden is the first to suggest they go. She doesn’t want to take the chance that they run out of resources, get trapped within the confines of their own house, etc. but her mother is hesitant. It takes time, weeks even, to convince her, and when she finally agrees they end up setting their sights on the Ailton Tower. While not the safest place to take up residence, her siblings would always be entertained and have a better shot at having a somewhat normal childhood, whatever that may be. They make it about halfway when they’re ambushed by a pair of walkers that’d been tailing them through through the forest. Axe in hand and a determination to protect what’s left of her family, the woman steps up, but falls short. Her mother sacrifices herself for her children and she is left with yet another gaping hole in her heart.

Another loss, another family member taken from her. Believing her mother’s initial refusal to join a group to be a sign, Aiden gathers the kids and they return home without a second glance. There’s no grieving, not when you have two people to look after. Bit by bit she reassembles herself though this responsibility, and with that her will to live. Pushing through the pain, she pulls on the denim jacket her father always used to wear and sets to work fortifying their home. Already fenced and two stories, it makes for a decent place to stay. The only way in and out is over, which comes in handy when faced with people looking to loot their already low supplies. The defense on the property is holding up well enough, but only just, and all it would take was a group big enough coming through to crash through their main source of protection. From that, the majority of her days are spent picking the neighborhood clean, going house by house to take whatever she’s able to find. Most of their former occupants are gone, whether by choice to leave or because the dead got them — she suspects the ones that were foolish enough to leave weren’t much better off.

Beyond the typical issues of someone fighting for survival in the midst of the apocalypse, finding the medication she needs has become increasingly difficult. Adderall isn’t a necessity, no, but it does keep her focused. Lacking the resolve to keep her mind and body from being jittery without it, the woman worries for the day she’s no longer able to get her hands on it. Not to mention that being so active means burning through inhalers, which have become as valuable to her as gold in their new world. If she can’t take care of herself, there’s no hope for her siblings. Most pharmacy’s have been picked dry and very little remains from her own visits Because of this, she’s a frequent barterer among the Toledo Bend residents, mostly paying visits to the saints and camp Serotonin, hoping she’ll be able to get her hands on the things she needs. If this means going without food some days so that her siblings are well provided for, that’s a chance she’s willing to take. At the end of the day it’s her and them against the world, no matter the consequences.

misc,

Her bio was honestly too long, so I’m not gonna put too much in here as of right now, but she’s just!!!! my little trash baby and definitely my favorite character I’ve played to date.

MBTI: ENTP(-T)

MORAL ALIGNMENT: neutral

SIN: wrath

CHARACTER INSPO: Nick Miller, Chandler Bing, Rosita Espinosa, April Ludgate,

CHARACTER TROPES: Pint-sized powerhouse, brilliant, but lazy, defrosting ice queen, hidden heart of gold, sugar-and-ice personality, they’re just a handful lmao.

connections,

Uh, LITERALLY ANYTHING, but like here’s a few potential ideas!!

Friends/unlikely friends

Enemies/ex-friends/rivals

Ex(es)

Fwb or a fling

Good influence, lord knows the girl REALLY needs one

Alternately, a bad influence, someone who brings out the worst parts of her

Someone she just generally cares about, even if she won’t readily admit it to anyone but them

And honestly, i’d really love someone she trusts wholeheartedly, which in turn extends to her sharing the whereabouts or her twin brothers in the event that something happens to her ( this is a big, big one !!! )

Just anything, pls!!

#toxinintro #temp about tag.#i'm!!!! sorry for her she's a lot #this intro is too #jfc i tried but i couldn't cut the bio down much at all

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