#in the end i’m falling right into the hole they’d dug out for me | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

absolutepokemontrash · 3 years

Text

MC’s Date With The Brothers Goes Terribly… Then it Starts to Rain.

Side Characters ver.

Hello my dearest degenerates, there’s nothing I love more than ridiculous crack fics, but I wanted to do some fluff, so here we go!

Lucifer

This just had to happen on Lucifer’s one day off… didn’t it? He had the entire day planned out, his brothers would be out doing their own thing, which left him and MC to have the entire day together.

The two of them would have gone to Ristorante 6, watched a movie, and simply enjoyed each other’s company. But no, Lucifer can’t have nice things.

It certainly started off that way, MC and Lucifer held hands as they made their way over to Ristorante 6, and the Avatar of Pride was reminded for the thousandth time exactly why he adored this human so much.

The human was both one of the most stress inducing parts of his life, and one of the few things that made him feel completely at peace. He would move mountains for them if they asked him too…

While Lucifer was in the middle of staring incredibly lovingly at his beloved MC, the human stopped suddenly and pointed ahead of them.

“I think Ristorante 6 may be… closed today.” “What do you mean, MC- oh.”

Apparently, two demons got into a very nasty fight inside, and one slammed the other through a wall. The restaurant was in the middle of scheduling repairs and would be closed until the hole in the wall was fixed. Lucifer developed the tiniest of tics in his right eye, but all MC had to do was squeeze his hand and give him that perfect smile of theirs… *sigh* they were right… there were other good places to eat.

Well, the cafe they wanted to go to was closed that day and they both walked over there for nothing… the second restaurant they went to was full on account of Ristorante 6 closing earlier…

Finally, the two practically trudged to Hell’s Kitchen, but Beel was there an hour earlier and cleared the entire place out…

Lucifer told MC not to fret, they’d just head to the movies and buy some snacks, sure it wasn’t the fancy dinner they planned but… at least it was food.

Oh… the movie they planned on seeing was… not running that night…

“Did you check online before we left?” “…damn.”

Their date was going decidedly terrible, MC and Lucifer were eating movie theatre popcorn outside, in outfits that were way too formal, and were rapidly becoming more and more convinced that the day was just… cursed.

Then… a crack of lightning, then it began to completely pour.

Lucifer winced the moment he heard the lightning, of course… of course it would start to rain… as the rain began to pour down on the two, he simply stared straight ahead, completely and utterly defeated.

The Morning Star, the right hand to the Crown Prince of The Devildom, The Avatar of Pride himself, was defeated by a simple thunderstorm. He took a deep breath in, prepared to shout, scream, throw a tantrum of the highest degree, then just visibly deflated. He turned to MC, who looked just as defeated and drained.

Lucifer wordlessly used his magic to put up a small shield above them, sheltering the two from the torrential downpour.

“You know,” MC mumbled, resting their head against Lucifer’s arm. “The movies make getting caught in the rain seem much more romantic…”

That comment elicited a quiet chuckle from Lucifer as he pulled MC into a hug. The two were already drenched, what did it matter if Lucifer got cheap popcorn butter all over the front of his outfit? Nothing else mattered when he was with the one person in the world who could make his heart swell with this much love and adoration.

“How about we head home, MC? I think I still have some of Barbatos’ cake hidden in the kitchen, we can enjoy that and listen to some music.”

Lucifer felt MC sigh against his front, then look up with that bright sparkling smile that never failed to make him blush.

“I’d like nothing more.”

Mammon

Okay, Mammon had this whole day planned, by the end of it, his human would be swooning! He had gotten paid big bucks from his latest modelling gigs, and he was going to treat MC to a full day with their first man.

First, they were going to spend the morning shopping, then they were going to eat lunch at this new restaurant that had just opened up, after lunch they were going to just kill time until dinner, then eat dinner at Hell’s Kitchen, then they were going to go home, get changed, then head out to The Fall, party, then head home again where MC would most definitely shower the Great Mammon with all the praise and affection he deserved!

Of course, MC would be given all the love and adoration they deserved and more! Mammon’s human was the best, and they deserved the best! The Avatar of Greed was ready!

Or so he thought. The day began with Mammon deciding that he was going to make himself and MC breakfast. It was going fine until Mammon got lost in an intense daydream and by the time he snapped out of it, Beel had eaten the pancake batter and there was no time to make anything else.

Mammon’s surprise breakfast ended up being toast and cut up fruit. It wasn’t so bad, but everyone knows that fruit is very unreliable. Sometimes it’s good… sometimes it’s squishy and unappetizing…

The morning shopping trip was ruined when Mammon went to withdraw money from his account and it turned out that the money from his shoot wasn’t in the account.

Apparently his paycheque was being held back because one of the modelling agencies was being sued.

“…MC?” “Come here, silly.”

After having his face peppered with kisses, Mammon was completely rejuvenated. His human had magic kisses, after all! They never failed to make him feel better!

The two decided that instead of a shopping spree they’d spend a couple hours of window shopping, after that when the two stopped for lunch at the new restaurant. Twenty minutes after eating there, Mammon was dry heaving over a trashcan while MC chugged a bottle of water to try and settle the awful nausea that had completely taken over. Perhaps a bad review would be necessary…

The time that was meant to be spent just wandering around the Devildom was completely ruined when those damn witches showed up! Mammon was not about to forfeit his time with MC to play servant to those three, so he grabbed his human and sprinted away.

That cat and mouse game with the witches lasted for literal hours and ended with Mammon and MC hiding behind a random alley dumpster…

Finally, Hell’s Kitchen, it turned out that they didn’t take too kindly to dine and dashers, so Mammon ended up spending the time he was supposed to be spending eating with MC waiting tables to pay off his tab.

After that, Mammon was too exhausted to even think about partying, so MC suggested that they just head home and watch some fun action movies.

The moment they began their walk home however…

A single drop of water tapped against Mammon’s sunglasses, he looked up and pointed a finger at the sky.

“No.”

Another drop of water hit the rim of his sunglasses.

“No!”

I’m a matter of seconds, it had begun to completely pour, Mammon dug his hands into his hair and shouted in frustration.

“NO! NO! NO! WHY RIGHT NOW?! Why… why right now..?” His outburst had quickly petered out into Mammon physically drooping and quietly taking off his jacket. He held it over MC so they would be spared the brunt of the rain and looked down at his now soaked shoes. “I… I’m sorry… MC…”

“Mammon, what are you sorry for?” MC said gently, lacing their fingers with his.

What kind of a question was that? Mammon had fucked up the date he had planned and made himself look like a complete idiot in front of the one person who showed him any amount of love and affection.

His heart sank as he managed to drag his gaze over to MC. They were worried about an idiot like him… maybe they’d be better off without needing to constantly babysit him…

“Today… everything… I dunno…” Mammon mumbled, MC looped their arms around him, being careful not to drop his jacket onto the wet ground.

“Are you kidding? You planned this entire nice day for the two of us,” when Mammon didn’t respond, MC took on a more firm tone. “Listen, sometimes dates don’t turn out good, that doesn’t mean you have to mope in the rain. Let’s go home, order some food, and watch a movie or some dumb show, whatever makes you happy.”

Though the constant patter of the rain made it difficult to hear, Mammon sniffled and finally returned the hug. His human really was the best.

“You’re too nice to me… ya know that?” Mammon whispered.

MC pressed a soft kiss to his lips and smiled. “Get used to it, because I don’t plan on stopping.”

Leviathan

Levi had to psyche himself up for months in order to do this… he had seen and swooned over cliche TV show dates thousands of times and now, he wanted to take MC on one.

Simply asking them was a Herculean task all on its own… Levi tried to kabedon them, and failed miserably and ended up head butting MC by accident. The Avatar of Envy could have shrivelled up and died of embarrassment right then and there, but MC let out the sweet laugh that never failed to make Levi’s heart swell. They accepted the date request.

When the day came, the two left the HOL, and Levi began his checklist of things that needed to happen to make this a perfect date. First! Dinner!

Dinner… did not pan out well to say the least. The place they had decided to go to was incredibly crowded and the two of them got seated in just the worst spot. They ended up needing to end their meal early and eat outside because Levi was getting hit with a bad case of sensory overload.

Eating outside wouldn’t have been so bad if it weren’t for the fact that it was cold and windy as hell… Levi was cold blooded… not figuratively, but mostly literally, he did not do well in overly cold environments. He ended up cuddling closer to MC, which would have been really romantic if he hadn’t accidentally spilled their drink all over them.

Okay… that didn’t turn out good… well, after dinner they were supposed to go do some karaoke! Levi loved karaoke! He could sing something cute and sappy for MC, that was a romance staple!

And the karaoke place was closed for renovations… ugh…

Levi wanted to just go home and abandon the whole date idea, but MC looped their arm around him and pulled him away from the closed karaoke place.

“Remember the arcade we went to a few months ago? I saw it on the way here, let’s go there instead.” “Are you sure you want to keep this date with me going..?” “Positive.”

The arcade was fun until Levi spotted the DDR (Devil Dance Revolution) game that he and MC got the high score on last time. Levi wanted to see what other noobs had tried and failed to beat him and MC.

It turned out… someone beat them…

It seemed like Baphomet and Azazel made a good DDR team because they had managed to knock Levi and MC down to second place by a lot, that wasn’t all, apparently someone was salty after not getting past Levi and MC and put “are dumb” under their names!

Levi was practically frothing at the mouth when he pulled MC to the DDR machine to restore their lost honour. They… did not restore their lost honour. Levi ended up getting so upset he tried to unplug the machine, which somehow ended up permanently freezing the high scores onto the screen. It seemed that the entire Devildom would know that Baphomet and Azazel were better than Levi and MC, and that they were both dumb…

There was still one more thing Levi had planned on doing during his date with MC, he wanted to take them to a cherry blossom tree and suavely kiss them under it. Sadly, there were no cherry blossom trees in the Devildom, but there was a pretty decent substitute that was in bloom during that time of year. Levi and MC made their way to a spot where Levi knew there was a tree, and stood under it.

That was when Levi suddenly realized he had no clue how to be suave and began to stutter-spiral. MC patiently waited for Levi to properly articulate what he wanted to say, when they spotted a unicorn in the distance! MC excitedly pointed it out to Levi, who immediately went pale. Apparently Devildom unicorns are very territorial and very aggressive. They are Satan’s familiar for a reason…

Booking it from a unicorn was not how Levi wanted to end the date… it really wasn’t… but the final straw that broke the camel’s back had arrived in the form of a single raindrop. Then another… then another…

“Levi, please get out of the pond…”

“Leave me, find someone better.”

After the rain had started, Levi had taken off his jacket, handed it to MC, then proceeded to float face down in full demon form in the middle of a pond. The Avatar of Envy was so tired and embarrassed that he just wanted the pond to consume him.

“Levi,” MC tutted. “You’re going to get struck by lightning.”

“Good.”

“Leviathan!”

MC’s sudden shout caused Levi to flail in the water for a brief moment before he was able to use his tail to stabilize himself as managed to tread water.

“Get out of the pond right now! The Lord of Shadows would never abandon Henry like this!”

“The Lord of Shadows is cool, I’m not…” Levi crossed his arms and sunk ever so slightly deeper into the water.

“What the hell are you talking about?” MC asked. “Did we watch the same show? The Lord of Shadows is a huge dork, like you, now get out of the pond so we can go home and not get struck by lightning.”

Defeated by the power of friendship/love/fandom brotherhood, Levi made his way back to shore and was given a quick whack to the back of the head.

“Ow!”

“That’s for being a sulky dummy!” MC then yanked Levi forward by the front of his shirt and kissed him. Levi nearly gasped and began to fanboy right then and there in the middle of the kiss. A rain kiss! A dramatic kiss in the rain! That was one of the best tropes ever! “And that, was for trying to take me on a sweet date.”

“M-marry me…” Levi whispered before he could stop himself. MC giggled and patted one of his now bright red cheeks.

“Maybe someday.”

Satan

Going on fun spontaneous dates really wasn’t Satan’s forte, he preferred a schedule, but both he and MC had the afternoon free and Satan didn’t feel like bumming around at home when the two of them could do that any other day.

Oh-so charmingly taking his beloved MC by the hand and leading them to the nearest cat-cafe was the first thing Satan could think to do. He loves cats, he loves MC, what could possibly ruin a nice afternoon with both?

When the two reached the cafe, they were met with an employee closing the place early, claiming that all the cats had actually gotten adopted and they were waiting for more rescues to come in.

Satan couldn’t decide whether to be upset about the lack of cats, or happy that the cats got adopted into loving homes like they deserved. Satan settled on being aggressively happy.

It was no big deal, there were other things they could do together, like go to a library, or bookstore, or a museum, the possibilities were endless!

Well, it would have been endless if it wasn’t for the world conspiring to make Satan loose his cool. First, the line for his favourite book store was looped around the block because of a new book release. Inconveniencing, sure, but nothing too awful, there was a nice park nearby, the two decided to relax on one of the benches.

Problem number two arose when some idiot threw a Fangol ball a little too far and it ended up hitting Satan, then bouncing off his head and hitting the tree that the bench was under, normally, this would be rude and annoying but nothing that would activate Satan’s volcanic temper, except for the tiny issue that there was a wasp nest in that tree that decided Satan’s drink was enemy #1.

After being stung approximately eight times in the hand, Satan wasn’t doing too good, MC could tell and offered to go to the doctor’s with him. As Satan led them out of the park and towards the sidewalk he assured MC that there was nothing to worry about…

But MC, holder of Satan’s heart, went to go get him ice anyway.

The third and final thing to make Satan blow his top, the rain… the cold… depressing… rain…

“Oh…” MC mumbled as they looked up at the rain, then at Satan, whose hands were balled into fists so tight that his palms began to bleed. “Satan are you-”

Completely silent, Satan strode toward a nearby dumpster and slammed his foot into the metal, sending the entire thing into the back of the dead-end alley. The entire dumpster practically compressed and folded in on itself from the sheer force of the kick.

“Do you want to go home?” MC asked gently, taking a few steps towards him, Satan slowly nodded.

“Y-yes. I think that’d be the smart thing to do.” Satan massaged his forehead and took the ice from MC. “It seems that spontaneity isn’t our strong suit as a couple.”

MC sighed and nodded. “Yeah, we should go back to planning this stuff beforehand, and… you know,” They gestured around the two of them. “check what’s open and what the weather’s going to be before we head out.”

Only MC could soothe Satan’s temper as quickly as it flared up, and MC was getting covered with rainwater. That just wouldn’t do. He turned to MC and offered them his jacket. “I don’t want you to get cold.”

“Isn’t your line supposed to be ‘here, take this, you might catch a cold’?” MC lightly teased as they took the jacket. “Like a classic romantic lead?”

Satan shook his head and laughed softly. “No, that’s a common misconception. You can’t actually get the common cold or flu from being out in the rain. The real danger is hypothermia or frostbite.”

“Ah,” MC looped their arm around Satan’s and held his non swollen hand. “So smart, tell me more about the dangers of hypothermia.”

“Don’t tease, dearest, or I’ll take back my jacket.”

Asmodeus

Asmo had just the most stressful day… and decided that he and his sweet MC just had to go on a nice date together to fix it!

Most dates with Asmo had a sort of three act structure, first they would coordinate their outfits together for the actual date activity, then they’d do whatever they set out to do, then they’d go home and either snuggle, or do the Devil’s tango, whichever MC was feeling up for.

But on this particular day, the three act structure was being ruined. It started with the outfit coordination, somehow everything Asmo had that would match with what MC was wearing was in the laundry, he had to be convinced by MC that this wasn’t that big of a deal and the two of them would look radiant whether they matched or not.

Since that was settled, Asmo and MC made their way to Asmo’s all time favourite spa, which was not closed, no no no, it was actively on fire.

“How… how did this happen?” “Well, there were a lot of candles burning in that place, I guess we’ll just have to save the spa trip for another date.”

Everyone was fine by the way

Oh well, it would take more than a raging inferno to ruin Asmo’s date, he was determined to have a good time, so he cheerily took MC’s hand and led them away from the fire. He also casually mentioned that being so close to danger was a total turn-on.

MC very quickly ended that comment with a kiss, Asmo can’t make inappropriate sex jokes when he’s kissing his favourite person. It was truly a testament to his complete and utter adoration of MC that Asmo was willing to share the top spot of his list of favourite people with them!

While on their merry way to find something else to do, Asmo’s fan club caught wind that he and MC were on a date and decided to make their appearance. Now Asmo’s groupies are normally very sweet, but they can also be incredibly unaware of boundaries.

Everywhere Asmo and MC looked, one or two of Asmo’s fans would be half hiding and half spying on how the date was going. It was common knowledge that Asmo x MC was the OTP of the entire club, and some of the members wanted to get a peak of their ship doing something romantic.

As much as Asmo loved attention, it was getting kind of… creepy. He began to usher MC away from certain areas and tried to find a suitably nice place to get away from prying eyes.

The pair ended up in this absolutely gorgeous public garden that was thankfully quite empty. Though, all it took was one awkward step with the kind of shoes he was wearing and Asmo fell straight into a rose bush.

MC had to quickly get to work kissing Asmo’s cut up face better before he started to cry and ruined his mascara. What was even worse was that the fall messed up Asmo’s shoe and he’d have to walk back to the house like an uncoordinated baby deer.

Everything was fine… just fine… no need to worry… everything was… cloudy…

The moment the first drop of rain landed in front of Asmo he stood completely stiff and still.

“Don’t.” He growled. “I just got my hair fixed.”

The rain didn’t listen, and began pouring down, absolutely drenching Asmo and MC in a matter of minutes. MC tried to pull Asmo towards an alcove or a covered patio so they could call a cab home, but the Avatar of Lust refused to move. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, smiled serenely to himself, then looked back up to the sky and screamed with the hatred of a thousand suns:

“FUCK YOU TOO FATHER!”

It was quite a scene for MC to witness, Asmo rarely fully lost his cool, especially not enough to swear like an ‘uncouth barbarian’, combine that with his running mascara, scratched up face, and dirty clothes, he looked more like a feral movie star that was just rescued from the woods than the solid ten out of ten MC normally knew him as.

“Momo?” MC gently patted his back. “Come on, we should go home.”

Asmo finally turned to look at his sweet MC, the poor thing shouldn’t have seen him act like this… the day had gone completely horribly and he just had to drag MC into this, didn’t he? He felt his heart drop right into his gut as he practically collapsed into his human’s arms.

“Oh MC, I’m so sorry I dragged you out today… we should have just stayed home…”

“Asmo,” MC weighed their options, before settling on just rubbing his back. “There there.”

The awkward sniffling and snorting continued for the next couple of minutes while MC called a ride service to come pick the two of them up.

“Thank you, MC,” Asmo sniffled. “You’re the sweetest thing in the universe…”

“You’re sweet too, Asmo. It’s a shame today didn’t work out.”

“Mhm…”

“We can still save this date, you know? When we get back home we can take a bath and snuggle.”

“That…” Asmo sniffed. “That sounds really nice, MC.”

“Anytime spent with you is nice, Asmo.” MC then rolled their eyes while Asmo giggled. “Man that was corny…”

Beelzebub

Beel had come back from one hell of a Fangol game, and he was in an amazing mood! He wanted to take MC out to celebrate!

Between-meal snacks were packed, and they set off to the carnival. Nothing could beat the nice smell of fried dough, Carmel apples, popcorn, and spending time with MC.

Of course, the food wasn’t the only thing Beel wanted to enjoy with MC, there were rides and games to try while they enjoyed their snacks. First they made their way to the teacup ride.

In theory, having big strong Beel to spin the big wheel in the middle to make the teacup move would be a good thing, but even though it was the first ride, MC had eaten quite a lot of carnival snacks.

Beel only had to spin the centre disc once for the disc to both break and make the teacup to whirl around at a speed that practically threw them into Beel’s side. MC then… well… vomited. Everywhere.

Since Beel accidentally ripped the centre disc off, he couldn’t slow the teacup down manually to stop the puke-tornado, so it took a little while before the ride operator realized that something was wrong and stopped the ride.

The walk off the ride was both embarrassing and completely nauseating, MC needed to stumble to the nearest trashcan and hurl. Beel did his best to comfort his poor human and mumbled quite a lot of apologies.

“I’m sorry MC…” “Beel, it’s okay… I’d uh, kiss you but the… vomit.”

Both Beel and MC decreed that maybe rides weren’t the best idea after that, and went over to check out the carnival games.

After a few unsuccessful tries at a few games, a plushie caught MC’s eye and they were absolutely smitten with it. Beel vowed to win it for them, and lined himself up to try the pitching game.

Well, something good came out of that… Beel threw so fast it may have broken a record, the bad thing was that the ball tore through the tent and caused the whole thing to collapse.

The tent then caught fire after landing on some of the candles that were set up… the plushie went up in flames…

Beel turned to MC, who wordlessly patted him on the back. At… at least they still had their snacks…

As Beel and MC made their way to the exit, a group of kids rushed past the pair, Beel, not wanting to step on or bump into any of them, awkwardly wobbled, then fell and dropped all of his emergency snacks.

And then came the rain…

“Oh…” Beel mumbled as he stared down his spilled food, MC quickly wrapped their arms around him, looking up at him with a half-hearted smile.

“We can buy some more, or wait until we get home, it’s okay, Beel.”

The Avatar of Gluttony slowly nodded, tearing his gaze away from the wasted snacks. Thunder sounded above the two and the cold rain began to beat against them.

When Beel looked down at MC, he felt his heart flutter in his chest, they weren’t upset at him, they weren’t angry… they just wanted to make him feel better… Beel nodded resolutely to himself, he was going to make MC feel better too! He picked MC up bridal-style and began to walk away from the rapidly emptying carnival.

“B-Beel?” MC sputtered.

“Let’s go home, MC, I have cookies hidden in one of the cabinets that we can share.”

MC looked up at their sweet cinnamon roll, then buried their face in his chest. Their shoulders shook slightly as they looped their arms around Beel’s neck.

“M-MC?” Beel asked, he tried to shift MC in his arms to see if they were crying, but MC looked up at him with a sweet smile.

“You’re just the best, Beel. Never forget that.”

Belphegor

The Avatar of Sloth doesn’t exactly “do” traditional dates, but even he could tell that MC wanted to do something a little more exciting than “lay in bed and make out until Belphie falls asleep”.

Since Belphie is a totally wonderful brat boyfriend, he decided to take MC out to the best possible place in the human world for some stargazing… and napping.

He even put together a picnic basket so he and MC could eat while watching the sunset before the stars came out!

The favourite blanket was packed, the picnic basket was ready, and Lucifer gave the two permission to visit the human world for the evening. Belphie took a mental note to avoid doing any pranks for a week as a thank-you to his older brother.

Well, the first problem came when the two spread out the blanket and opened up the basket to find… nothing. Belphie immediately thought that Beel must have eaten their food, but then the memory of the food clearly sitting in the fridge entered his mind. He had forgotten to put the food in the basket… and he was too lazy to check why the basket was so light…

Oh well… no big deal, MC had a big lunch. The second problem came in the form of a swarm of mosquitoes. Gross, bloodsucking mosquitos.

“MC?” “Yeah?” “Did you happen to pack bug spray before I took you out on this surprise picnic?” “No…”

Belphie’s solution was to use his tail to bat the bugs away, but that proved to be quite useless. It didn’t help that while both MC and Belphie were being eaten alive, Belphie would end up accidentally thwacking MC with his tail.

Well, at least the sunset was nice, or it would have been if Belphie hadn’t slept through it by accident.

It was classic Belphie to manage to sleep through anything interesting, and apparently he also missed out on a shooting star which soured his mood even more.

The only little bright spot of the date so far was that MC did say that they wished for something for him on that shooting star… hopefully wish magic might salvage the date…

After being awoken by MC to look up at the sky, the two realized that something was… missing. Where were the stars?

MC and Belphie were laying on their backs facing the clouded over sky when they both had the dawning realization of what was to come.

Rain.

Of course… mosquitoes are extra active and crazy before a storm… that’s why they were coming at them…

Belphie let out a dejected sigh as the first raindrop of many hit the tip of his nose. MC scratched at their arms and began to pack up the blanket into the empty picnic basket. At least the blanket wouldn’t get too wet.

Well, he fucked this up royally. The Avatar of Sloth almost never put any actual work into something that didn’t benefit himself, but MC had managed to make themselves the exception. He wanted to make them happy, he wanted to see that cute little face they made when he’d crack a joke or make a quip about something, but now, lying flat on his back staring up at a coming rainstorm, Belphie had come to the crippling realization that all his work went to waste.

“You know, MC, the outdoors is going to lose my patronage.” Belphie murmured, blinking a few raindrops out of his eyes as the rain began to patter down with more ferocity. “I think the two of us should stick to indoor dates.”

“Couldn’t agree more.” MC sighed as they used the picnic basket as a makeshift umbrella.

“I’m um…” Belphie began, guilt twisting in his gut. “I’m sorry this turned out so shitty.”

“It’s okay, Belphie.” MC pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “If by some miracle the food that was supposed to be in the fridge hasn’t gotten eaten by the time we get back home, we’ll eat a late dinner, cuddle, and then sleep till noon.”

888 notes · View notes

wicked-mind · 3 years

Text

Fast and Slow

Summary: Falling in love with Bucky was fast for both of you. Losing you, however, made time stop for him until he found you again. Word Count: 6.4k

Warnings: Swearing. Mentions of torture. Sad stuff. Russian translated through google translate.

Note: Wrote this pretty quickly so any mistakes are my own and parts that don’t make sense we can blame on 3 hours of sleep for the past two days. Contains a line from Clone Wars.

All Writings Masterlist

All likes, comments, and/or reblogs are deeply appreciated! I love that shit (:

*gifs not mine

Falling in love is fast. It feels like the whole world is spinning faster than it should and the only thing holding you there in place is the person you love. Without them, you’d be flying off the world with how fast everything seemed to move. And when you’re in their arms, that’s when the world finally just stops and fades away. It’s just you and them.

That’s how Bucky felt when he found you. His world suddenly went from moving too slow to spinning out of control. He fell fast and hard with the way your lips moved when you spoke, the way they’d curve into that wondrous smile just at the sight of him entering a room. It was like gravity no longer held him, you did. Like the whole universe had a meeting with all of the galaxies and decided it was his time for happiness.

The first time Bucky told you he loved you was when you were reading to him late at night. The sound of your voice always calmed him into sleep and kept the nightmares away. He had his arms wrapped around your waist, head resting on your stomach as you read the words aloud to him. He suddenly tilted his head up to look at you, reaching his vibranium arm to take the book away from your hands which made you smile down at him and complain you weren’t done with the chapter yet. Bucky just simply smiled up to you, crawling up your body until he could cup your face in his hands, “Sweetheart…” He whispered out to you before leaving a kiss on your forehead, “I think…” A kiss to your left cheek, “Maybe… possibly…” A kiss to your right cheek before he leaned his forehead against yours, staring into your eyes with a smile that had pure bliss, “I’m in love with you.”

You had smiled and tilted your head forward to press your lips to his, hands moving up his arms until your fingers tangled in his hair, “Just think?” You whisper against his lips as you pulled away, meeting those gorgeous blue eyes that were your world, “Because I know I’m completely in love with you, James Buchanan Barnes.”

The day Bucky asked you to marry him was the second best day of his life. He had asked Natasha and Wanda to set everything up because, let’s be honest, those two know how to get shit done. It was night time but candles and rose petals led you down a path to where Bucky was standing, waiting for you with that signature grin on his lips, as the rest of the team released glowing paper lanterns into the air from behind him. You walked up to him and he took your hand in his, “My love…” He began, the other hand going up to stroke some hair from your face, “I never thought I would find you, let alone deserve you. I tried to stay away from you thinking that you deserved better. But you turned that all around. Hell, you turned my whole world upside down. When I’m with you it feels like the whole world has stopped just for you and I. I love you with every piece of me and you taught me that even the broken pieces of me deserve love.” He slowly dropped to one knee, keeping your hand in his right while his other dug into his pocket until he held out a ring in front of you with a diamond in the center and rubies around the band, “I’ve waited for you for what feels like a century.” That comment made Sam snort but both of you ignored him, “Will you marry me?”

You bit your lip with a smile, trying to stop the tears that had mercilessly rolled down your cheeks at the proposal. You nodded and managed to squeak out a soft ‘yes’ before watching him slide the ring onto your left hand gently and as soon as it was secured, you flew into his arms leaving kisses all over your face.

When the day came for you to marry Bucky, Tony had gone all out with decorations in the garden. He was the biggest wedding diva out of everybody and you kept making jokes it was like he was getting married. He kept stomping around outside while you and Bucky got ready, making sure everything was absolutely perfect. It wasn’t often that two members of the Avengers got married so Tony was going all out to make this look good. When the music started and everybody was in their seats, Bucky stood up at the front with Steve at his side. You walked down the aisle after Natasha, Wanda behind you to make sure your train and veil looked perfect. Bucky could’ve swore his heart stopped when he saw you, not knowing he was holding his breath until a soft gasp escaped his lips as well as the tears that flowed freely down his face. This was it. His forever happiness he had been searching for was walking towards him to officially become forever his and him forever hers.

For three years, you and Bucky were happy. You two had your own apartment suite at the facility filled with pictures and reminders of how much you two loved each other. Not only was home life great, but the mission success record you two had was the one to beat. Every night you would read to him with one exception. On nights before missions you two would lay and stare at each other as if it was the last time you’d see each other, memorizing every feature on each other’s bodies and face. Bucky ran his fingers through your hair slowly, studying every expression that came across your face, “I love you.” He whispers out towards you, his voice breaking slightly.

You smiled gently over to him, your fingers brushing down his face to trace his lips, “Stop saying it like it’s the last time you’ll see me. I love you too, James, and I promise I won’t let them take you.” You whisper back to him. Bucky always had nightmares of Hydra taking him again, taking him away from you. Every time you two had a mission that involved Hydra, Bucky would always get lost thinking they were going to get him. That the night before the mission would be the last time he would remember you. It’s the reason why he would sit and trace every feature on your skin, trying to memorize every bit of you deep in his mind so if something were to happen, maybe deep down he would remember the way you smiled or how your lips looked when you told him you love him.

The mission came much too soon the next day. You gave your wedding ring to Bucky to put on his chain that held his dog-tags as well as his own ring as you always did, telling him to give it back to you after with a smile. Your mission was to capture one of the scientists of a Hydra facility, figure out exactly what they were working on. However, you, Bucky, and Steve were, not expecting the Hydra based to be so packed with agents. You and Bucky got separated from Steve while fighting off enemy agents but the plan was to just get out of the base as quick as possible and call it a failed mission. After fighting off enemy agents, Bucky had his arm around your waist helping you run down the hallway. You had hurt your ankle fighting off some enemy agents and couldn’t run very well and Bucky had his share of bruises and wounds across his face and body as well. You were almost to the door when a shot rang out and your body lurched forward, a gasp leaving your lips.

Bucky’s eyes widened as he looked behind the both of you to the swarm of agents chasing after the two of you. Then he heard the shot and your gasp. He stopped in his tracks for a slight moment and looked over at you, feeling your body going half-limp against him, “Baby?” He asks you in a shake voice before his eyes wondered down to your left shoulder. There was blood leaking down your tactical suite from a hole, splattering against the floor, “No no no, baby.” He says, pulling you firmly to his side as he resumed towards the exit.

“James…” You whisper out, swallowing hard. You could taste the tinge of copper in your mouth, realizing you must’ve bitten your tongue when the bullet entered your body, “Go, James. I won’t let them take you…You need to go now.” You tell him, trying to stop in your tracks to hold the agents off so he could escape. You could feel your body starting to get cold, knowing that wasn’t a good sign and the pain slowly subsiding, another bad sign. The door at the end of the hallway had an emergency shut button but one of you would have to stay on the other side to close it.

“Shut up, I’m not leaving you.” Bucky growled down to you, keeping a steady pace towards the door, keeping you upright and pulling you towards the exit. He was so focused on taking care of you that he hadn’t noticed he had been shot in the back as well, his super soldier serum not allowing him to stop. It’s not like this is the first time he had been shot before but he was damn determined not to let it slow him down from getting you to safety.

The Hydra agents were right on your heels, one grabbing your arm and pulling you from Bucky as another went to grab him. You grab the agent that attempted to grab ahold of Bucky, pulling him down to the floor. You thanked god you couldn’t feel the pain as you stood back to your feet, walking towards Bucky and shoving him out the exit before hitting the red button, causing a door to come slamming between the two of you, the only thing you could see through the small window was Bucky staring at you with wide eyes, pain across his features at you two being separated with you on the wrong side of the door with dozens of Hydra agents. You smile slightly at him, one hand on the wound to your shoulder while the other touched the glass, smearing some blood on the small window, “I promised you.” You whisper out, not knowing if he could hear you through the door, “I love you, James.”

“NO!” Bucky yelled, punching the door with his vibranium fist and barely leaving a dent, “Baby, open the door now!”

You took one last look at him before turning to look at the Hydra agents, lifting your hand to the earpiece, “Steve… Bucky needs immediate extraction and medical attention… Get him out of here.” You say into the coms before pulling the earpiece out and dropping it to the floor. You winced as you pulled out one of knives from the sheath on your thigh, ready to attempt to fight off the dozen agents approaching you slowly.

Steve ran up behind Bucky, looking through the window. He tried to help Bucky pry the door open, then both of them froze when another shot rang out and everything seemed to move in slow motion. Your body lurched again, Bucky watching as a bullet went through the right of your ribcage. He let out a loud, deep scream at the sight of your body stilling for a moment before you fell to your knees then you fell flush to the floor. Steve grabbed onto Bucky, watching the Hydra agents move around you to get to the door. Steve pulled the screaming and fighting Bucky away from the door with all his strength, eventually making it back to the quinjet they arrived on and sedating him so he wouldn’t go fight his way to recover your body.

The team went back to the Hydra base a few days later, wanting to recover your body but the base had been cleaned out and empty with all that was left of you was the blood. Bucky’s world had stopped. Every day he felt like he woke up from a bad dream of losing you just to enter the reality that he did. The empty space in the bed was haunting to go to sleep next to as well as wake up but Bucky couldn’t bring himself to switch rooms or beds. He needed you and you were gone. He tried to accept that but how could he when you were the love of his life. His person. You were supposed to be with him forever and instead he was left alone.

Losing love is slow. It feels like your world just decides to stop spinning around you. Everything seems wrong and different in a way you don’t want. It feels like a piece has been forcefully torn from your heart with no hope of it being replaced. It isn’t just a star that is taken, it feels like the whole damn sky has been ripped away from above you and you aren’t quite sure if the ground beneath your feet is holding you anymore.

Two Years Later

The team sat at the table, called in by Natasha. She was the acting head of the Avengers, an honor given to her by Nick Fury. He had told her that they needed to be lead by someone who understood and was apart of what they were, but also had a solid mind not to sway. Natasha sat, staring at the table. Obvious lost in her thoughts about this latest mission she was going to debrief the team about. It had been a while since they were all here together meaning it had to be a dangerous one.

The team took their seats, Steve watching Natasha closely in confusion of what may be bothering her. Only Steve, Bucky, and Clint were called to this meeting.

“Okay, let’s get started.” She spoke finally after a sigh, standing up and turning on the hologram to show video footage. “We have sent four teams of agents in to take down a threat we believe may be loyal to Hydra. Every time we send a team in, we lose transmissions and footage from an unknown attacker. It’s something that has never happened to us. Usually we find some sort of trace. We had no information. Until last night. Brace yourselves..” She promptly pushed play so the rest of the team could see what she meant.

The video was taken from a quiet drone, following the team of four field agents. Everything on the video was normal for the agents, clearing rooms in a building trying to find their target. But quickly, everything changed. Something came into the room, knocking the agents to the floor with ease. Then, whatever it was, paused, looking at one of the standing agents in the face. The person wore a black leather jacket, dark jeans, and combat boots. The agent pulled out his pistol, telling the person to stand down. But the person didn’t move, not even flinch at the sight of a gun pointed at them. They quickly pulled out a knife and threw it, landing right in the neck of the agent and watching him fall to the floor before turning to the drone. The person wore a mask blocking the features and the hair, unable to get recognition. The person picked up the dead agent’s gun and fired it at the drone, cutting the feed.

Steve looked at Natasha, confused, “What was that?”

Natasha sighed and turned to look at him from the screen, “I don’t know.”

“Can’t see her face.” Bucky muttered out.

“Every time we see whoever that is, they’re masked and they don’t speak. We can’t identify them.” Nat responded, placing her hands on the table, “The only thing we do know is that they have killed four teams, a total of 13 agents.” She paused for a brief moment, “I’m thinking it’s a super soldier. We have intel on a Hydra base in Russia.”

Steve looked over to Bucky, “Are you up for this mission?” He asks softly, knowing Bucky had been specifically staying away from missions to do with Hydra since he lost you. It was just too much of a reminder for him of what Hydra had managed to take away.

Bucky swallowed hard and sat back in his chair, staring down at his hands, “Yeah.” Was all he could manage to get out. It was time for him to face his demons, figure out what had happened to you. Maybe he could now finally figure out what happened to your body and bring you home where you belong, burry you so he would have a place to actually mourn. He would go through every Hydra agent until he got answers.

One Week Later

When the team arrived, they did a lot of recon. The bunker was so thick that Sam couldn’t get an accurate reading even with RedWing’s help. It was an obvious Hydra base, sometimes they would see agents coming out and going in, sealing the large doors behind them. Natasha and Steve quickly hatched a plan that when agents would leave, they would attack them and steal their gear and keycards used to enter the base.

That is how the team of Steve, Natasha, and Bucky ended up walking down the corridors of the bunker disguised as Hydra goons. It took everything in Bucky not to just kill the first agent he saw but he was here for answers and needed to complete the mission first before he could interrogate the enemy. Once they got the layout of the facility and a good idea of numbers, that was when they started their attack. The trio started at one end of the bunker, going through and eliminating agents while Sam and Clint came through the front of the bunker.

Bucky and Steve broke off once they met up with Sam and Clint, going on the search for the scientist they were looking for. They walked into a room to find the scientist, Arvloski, by himself and attempting to burn files. Steve threw his shield at Arvloski, knocking him back into the wall and this was when Bucky finally snapped. Bucky crossed the room, gripping onto the scientist’s throat with his vibranium arm and pushing him against the wall, “Two years ago you killed my wife.” He growled out, his eyes darkening near black.

“Buck.” Steve’s voice came from across the room.

“What did Hydra do with her body?!” Bucky growled out again, ignoring Steve completely. He was consumed with white hot rage, only seeing the images of you saying you loved him one last time before dropping to your knees.

Steve approached Bucky and pulled him away from Arvloski, the scientist hitting the ground gasping for air, “Buck, stop!” He said, snapping his friend back to reality, “Look!” He yelled, pointing over at a computer monitor.

Bucky frowned, looking over at the scientist before making his way over to the computer monitor Steve had pointed him to. He squints a little at the screen, it was recordings and the dates started at a year and a half ago. Bucky felt his blood run cold at the view of the monitor, his jaw dropping slightly. There you were, alive, strapped into the same type of machine they would use to wipe his memories. He watched as you were sat back up after screaming, the mouth guard falling from your mouth as you stared blankly ahead with sweat dripping down your skin.

Arvloski came into view of the screen, “Do you know who you are?”

You kept staring for a moment, a look of confusion on your face before you whispered out one word, “James…”

Arvloski shook his head, “This isn’t working. We keep running her through this her brain will melt. We’ll try something else."

Bucky’s fists clenched as the recording ended then started replaying again. He stood silent for a moment, trying to control his anger because if he didn’t then Arvloski would be ripped to shreds by Bucky’s own hands. His nostrils flared with anger as he took in deep, shaky breaths, “Where is she?” He demanded, not looking over at Arvloski.

Steve had positioned himself between the scientist and Bucky just in case things got more violent than they should be. He watched Arvloski get to his feet, brushing the dirt from his pants, “I’d answer him.” Steve said over to the scientist.

Arvloski raised an eyebrow at the two before holding up his arms as if to say he gives up, “I’ll take you to her.” He said, keeping his hands up and leading them out of the room and down some metal stairs to what looked like a containment area. He motioned down the hallway, “Third cell on the right.”

Bucky glared over at Arvloski, pushing him up against the wall and pointing a finger at him, “I’m not done with you.” He hissed out, throwing him over to Steve who secured him in an iron grasp on the arm. He took a deep breath before starting to walk down the hallway, looking at the empty cells until he reached yours. He paused, squinting in the dark of the cell to see a figure curled up in the corner. Bucky gripped onto the large padlock not he cell doors, ripping it off easily with his vibranium arm and strength before pulling the door open slowly with a soft creek, “Baby?” He whispered out towards you as he stepped into the cell. He watched your head turn slightly as if you were going to look at him but you didn’t turn enough to meet his gaze or let you see his face.

Arvloski reached into his pocket with his free hand while his other arm stayed in Steve’s grasp. He dug in his pocket until he found the small remote he was looking for, clicking the large button before speaking in Russian throughout the cell block, “солдат, атака (Soldier, Attack).”

Bucky heard the Russian words, looking over his shoulder for a moment before back to you. You seemed to flinch at first but then he watched as you slowly stood from the corner, cracking your neck on each side as you turned to face him, “Sweetheart you don’t want to do this.” He pleaded, watching you take steps closer to him. He wouldn’t fight you but he wouldn’t exactly just let you beat the shit out of him either. Bucky was caught off guard by the strength of your punch to his stomach before you landed a kick to his jaw, causing him to fly backwards into one of the stone walls. His eyes widened as he looked up at you, realizing they hadn’t just tried to brain wash you. They had done the same thing to you as they did to him. Give you some sort of super soldier serum that gave you extra strength and somehow controlled you without needed trigger words.

You walk past him out of the cell, eyes looking to the smirking scientist for a moment before up to Steve. Within moment, you moved from standing in front of him to advancing at a quick pace, throwing punches that Steve was trying his best to block. Arvloski took this chance to run up the stairs in an attempt to escape.

Steve managed to wrap his arms around you, vaulting your attacks for a moment, “Buck! Get the thing from Arvloski!” He yelled before you swung your head back into his nose, causing him to let go and stumble.

Bucky came flying out of the cell, watching you fight Steve, “What thing?!” He yelled, advancing from behind you and trying to get ahold of you through the punches and kicks you threw at the two of them, “Fuck that, you get the thing! I got her!” He growled out to Steve, gripping onto your arms and slamming you back against the wall. He could hear Steve scurrying up the stairs after Arvloski to get the remote that controlled you. Bucky stares into your emotionless eyes as you flailed against his grasp, “Baby, stop! This isn’t you!” He said to you, searching your eyes for any remembrance of him.

You frown at him, licking your lips before speaking, “хорошие солдаты следуют приказам (good soldiers follow their orders).” You tell him before lifting a knee and thrusting it not his stomach, causing him to release you from his grasp. You ran after Steve, watching him hold the remote to control you in his hands with Arvloski knocked out on the floor Your gaze darkened on him and you advanced once against the blonde super soldier, trying your best to knock him to the ground. You were able to wrap a hand around his throat, shoving him against a wall and lifting him slightly from the ground.

Steve gasped against the hold on his neck, one hand trying to pry your grasp from him while the other held the remote. He looked over to see Bucky coming up from behind you, “Buck!” Steve spat out between breaths, throwing the remote to him, “Say something in Russian!”

Bucky looked at the remote in his hand before clicking the button and watching you flinch again, releasing Steve as your hands went up to grip the sides of your head, “останавливаться (stop).” He said, watching you freeze and look over to him as if waiting for another command. Just as Bucky was about to talk to you again, he heard two shots and two needles went into your neck. You narrowed your eyes at Bucky before falling to the ground unconscious. Bucky stares at you on the floor before looking down the hallway to see Natasha, Sam, and Clint staring at the ordeal.

“What? You two weren’t going to knock her out.” Natasha said, putting the tranquilizer gun back in her holster, “Someone had to do it.”

Three Weeks Later

Much to Bucky’s dismay, you were kept in the detention center for two weeks upon your return while the team tried to figure out how exactly the remote controlled you. They had isolated you, Natasha bringing you meals and clothes. She was the only one allowed to visit you because of her ability to separate her emotions from the mission at hand. Once they figured out how the remote controlled you through a chip that had been implanted into your brain, Dr. Strange was called in to perform neurosurgery on you to remove the chip and threat you posed.

Bucky had to be physically stopped multiple times from entering the detention cell by Sam and Natasha which earned the two to feel the wrath and creative curse words that fell from Bucky’s lips. He needed to be there for you. He needed to know if you still remembered him. After the surgery to remove the chip and another week of observation, you were deemed no longer a threat but chose to stay in the detention cell as you pieced together bits of your memories. You sat in the open cell on the bed, flipping through some photos that Natasha had given you to help piece things together. The presence of Bucky made your head tilt up to meet his gaze. Your brow furrowed… You knew him. Knew everything about him- He was the one thing you couldn’t forget, “Hi.” You said softly to him before looking back down.

Bucky’s lips twitched into a smile at your greeting. It’d been so long since he heard your voice and he thought he never would again. He slowly entered the cell, leaving the door open, and taking a seat on the metal chair across the room from you, “You doing okay?”

You shrug slightly, looking over at him from the corner of your eyes, “I guess. Still trying to figure things out.” You said with a sigh, tossing the photos at the end of the bed and pulling your knees to your chest in frustration, “Everything’s all jumbled and lost. Can’t put the pieces together.”

Bucky stared sadly at you, wishing he could take you into his arms but he didn’t know if you remembered what he meant to you. Or what you meant to him. You two were each other’s worlds and now it seemed like you were worlds apart. He swallowed hard before speaking, “We were pretty close before.” He said, smiling slightly at the memories, “I can help you.”

You chewed on your bottom lip, focusing on the wall in front of you with a confused look on your face still, “I don’t remember much. Everybody has been calling me Y/N so I’m assuming that’s my name.” You pause, chewing again on your bottom lip. Your eyes slowly moved to look at Bucky, remembering everything about him. He was the only person you hung onto through the brainwashing sessions and once Arvloski figured out the device in your brain, you didn’t need the brain washing treatments anymore. You were completely complicit with the click of a button and words spoken in Russian when your chip was activated. Your eyes scanned over Bucky’s face. He looked sad, a tinge of guilt and pain behind those blue eyes you adored, “I remember you, James. I remember everything about you.”

Bucky’s lips part slightly in shock. He didn’t know what to say. You remembered him, and not just who he was, but everything about him. He quickly stood, going to cross the room but stops in his tracks when he saw you tense up and curl slightly away from him. That hurt deep in his core but he understood. More than anybody he could understand some of what you went through and how damaged it could leave you. Bucky moved to sit back in the chair, keeping the space he wanted to cross so badly but couldn’t for you, “I’m here for you.”

It took one month for you to finally agree to Bucky to move out of the detention block and back up to the apartment suite with him. The detention cell wasn’t as bad as it sounded. Bucky and Wanda tried to make it as ‘homey’ as possible, bringing down blankets, pictures, flowers and even a laptop to watch movies on when you got bored. You walked into the apartment suite and looked around, hovering around the door as you took everything in like it was all brand new.

Bucky wanted more than anything just to reach out to touch you but he still knew better. Every time he would try, you would tense up and suddenly your eyes would flash to a guarded state and he would back off and try his best to give you a half-hearted smile. He watched as you slowly walked around, looking at the pictures on the wall and all of the decorations that you assumed you had done because Bucky didn’t seem like the decorating type. He watched you walk down the small hallway and pause outside the bedroom door, staring at the doorknob, “You can go in if you’d like. It’s your room too.” He said softly from behind you.

You swallow hard at his words, your eyes still glued on the doorknob as the war in your head silently raged on to whether you should go in or not. Then you just got the courage to grab the doorknob and twist, pushing it open and stepping inside before your body decided you couldn’t. You took in a sharp breath as you looked around the room slowly. The dresser was littered with pictures of you and Bucky as well as fancy perfume bottles. Your eyes floated over to the bed, it was messy and looked like it hadn’t been made in a while. The red sheets made you blink and wipe small tears away from your eyes as memories of you reading to Bucky and laying in his arms promising you’d never let Hydra take him flood your mind. You slowly turned to face Bucky who stood in the doorway, the tears free falling from your cheeks.

Bucky slowly started walking towards you when you turned to him, seeing you cry. He hadn’t seen you cry since they brought you back, you’d usually just be staring off or have this look of frustration on your face but now it looked as if the floodgates had opened and you were about to break. He paused right in front of you, staring down into your eyes, “Sweetheart…” He whispers out, “Can I touch you?” He waited until you slowly nod to take another step towards you, one hand gently touching your arm while his flesh hand went up to brush along your cheek for a moment, wiping tears away before pulling you close into his chest with his right hand brushing through your hair softly, “I’m here, doll.” He said, pressing his face into your hair, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

It took another month for Bucky to have to stop asking for permission to touch you and eventually you found herself melting into his arms, searching for his touch. You almost felt panicked without him there to ground you now. But just because you craved for his touch didn’t mean you had your limits also. You wouldn’t let him see you undress and get dressed. You’d sneak out of his arms in the middle of the night once he had fallen asleep to go sit by yourself on the couch and stare out the windows until the sun came up and Bucky came to find you.

A few months after that, you attended your first Sunday movie night with the rest of the team. Bucky made sure you two sat in a corner close to the exit in case you wanted to leave early but to his surprise you sat next to him on the small couch gripping onto his hand tightly through the entire thing until the credits rolled and you smiled and thanked everybody for the fun night before heading back up the stairs with Bucky to head to bed. You slowly laid down the bed, watching him pull off his shirt followed by his pants leaving his chest bare. You looked at the dog-tags around his neck, noticing his wedding ring tangling on the chain as well as yours. You watch him crawl in beside you, laying his head down on the pillow next to yours so you could stare into his eyes. You could see the guilt behind his half smile towards you, causing you to lift your hand to run along his stubbled cheek softly, “James… It’s not your fault.” You whisper over to him.

Bucky turned into your touch, a smile set on his lips before turning to a soft frown at your words. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh before opening them to meet your gaze again, “It is. I always made you promise to not let them get me.” He whispers back to you.

You shook your head slightly at him, “No, it’s not. I promised I wouldn’t let them get you and I kept that promise, James.” You whisper back to him, “I made the decision to close the door. Anything that happened was my fault.” You swallowed hard before continuing, “Besides, I should’ve died but Arvloski had other plans. I’m sorry I’m not the same person you loved. I’m sorry I’m broken.”

Bucky crumbled at your words, “No!” He hissed out then sighs, “Don’t say that, baby.” He replies back to you in a softer tone, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you against him, “Don’t ever say that. When I thought you were gone it was like my world stopped spinning. I don’t know how I made it without you.” He cries out into your hair, “I’m so happy you’re here. I’m so sorry for everything that happened to you, and I will be here everyday to help you, but I’m happy you’re here with me now because I couldn’t go on much longer without you, Y/N. You’re my whole life.” He sat up, bringing you up with him and adjusting you to sit between his legs so your back was pressed to his chest. Bucky pulled the dog tags from his neck, unclasping it to slide your wedding ring off slowly before putting the chain around his neck again. He brought the ring out in front of you to look at, “You are and always will be my everything. I will always be here for you. I know what you’re going through, doll, and I’m here with you every step of the way because you’re my wife and I vowed to be with you through everything. You and I can be broken together and we will put ourselves back together, okay?”

You stared at the ring in front o you for a moment as you listened to his words. Through the months, things from your life had started to come back in more clear images and the one thing that you knew for sure that was never taken from you was Bucky. The way he would smile at the sight of you. The way lanterns floated through the air when he proposed to you. The way he would seem to savor every touch with you like he was memorizing every part of your body or the way when you two trained together he would pin you down and leave a soft kiss on your cheek with a chuckle before climbing off of you to go again. You slowly lifted your left hand up for him, watching him slide the ring slowly onto your left finger before wrapping his arms around you and leaning his forehead on your shoulder with a sigh of relief, “I love you, James.” You whisper out to him, “You’re the only thing I held onto for two years.”

Bucky tightened his arms around you, pulling you down to lay beside him so he could look into your eyes again, “I love you.” He says softly to you, “You’re the only thing I held onto for two years too.” He murmurs out before gently kissing your forehead, “And now that I have you back I’m never letting you go.”

_____________________________________________________________

Permanent Taglist: @buckypops @bibliophilewednesday @buckys2thicc @stcrryslibrary @princessnnylzays @redhairedfeistynerd

#bucky barnes #bucky x you #bucky x y/n #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x reader #james buchanan barnes #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky fanfic #bucky fanfiction #bucky barnes one shot #bucky barnes oneshot

282 notes · View notes

space-helen · 3 years

Text

‘Split up and search’

Words: 2524

Pairing: PLATONIC Nick x Reader x Greg

A/N: Ok obviously I need to brush up on my proper terminology but I hope this is ok? Longest fic I’ve written in a while but I enjoyed the heck outta it

Request: Hullo could you write something with the CSI characters Nick and Greg and the reader as friends on a case. The reader gets hurt in some way and the boys try to help her out but its not easy. Thank you. - Anon

______________________

The car pulled up to the scene and the three of you jumped out. “What’ve we got here.” Nick said, clapping his hands together and looking at the fresh body on the ground.

The three of you took a second to silently take in the scene. One body, two witnesses and a large area of the immediate crime scene taped off lit with floodlights.

“I’ll question the hikers.” Greg stated before moving over to the young witnesses stood with the attending officer.

“I’ll help David with the body.” Nick announced.

“I guess I’ll take the rest of the scene.” you grabbed your kit and got to work processing the scene. The suspect had left you some very nice footprints to process as well as other small pieces of evidence.

The body was soon on it’s way to the morgue, the police officer left to take the hikers home and Greg, Nick and yourself were left at the scene.

Standing together the three of you discussed what you’d found, filling each other in on all the details you had.

“So the suspect could have taken off in any direction.” you clarified.

“Yeah. But that makes it more fun” Greg teased flashing a smile and looking around.

You rolled your eyes “split up and search?”

You could see Nick thinking it over for a second, he knew it probably wasn’t wise to split up but he also didn’t want to be out here all night. “Ok but don’t go too far alright? We’ll wait for daylight to go further.”

You agreed with the man’s terms before switching on your torch and beginning to exit the floodlight lit area “I’ll go this way.” The other two men were soon moving off in their own separate directions.

Branches snapped and crunched under your feet as you moved away from the main area, scouting carefully for more evidence. It didn’t take long for the main scene to disappear from sight. You’d managed to pick up a couple pieces of evidence but had no clue if they would even lead to anything.

Spotting a streak of red substance on a tree you froze, snapping a picture you quickly marked the evidence and swabbed the sample before storing it away.

You looked at your watch and noticed the time, you’d been away from the main area for about 45 minutes. You knew you should probably head back soon but you’d just found compelling evidence.

Noise in the trees made you freeze for a second. Steadying your breath you looked around and shone your torch through the trees just the breeze and darkness greeting you.

After a minute of silence you took another couple of steps forward, and grabbed your walkie talkie. What you didn’t see was the deep hole dug into the ground not that much further ahead of you as you kept your attention on the trees.

You felt yourself falling and lurched forward to try and grab the edge of the pit but it was no use. You crashed to the floor on your leg harshly and hit the back of your head. The loud cracking as it happened was not reassuring.

You sat and tried to orientate yourself properly for a second, your head hurt but the blistering pain in your leg was worse right now.

Groaning you looked up, your torch had fallen down with you but it was a lot dimmer than it had been, picking it up you shone it around the hole.

It was deep, much taller than you if you stood up and the night sky was pitch black above you. Putting the torch between the crook of your neck and shoulder you freed up both hands to assess your leg. Poking and prodding you quickly determined whatever it was wasn’t good but you didn’t think you’d completely broken it. On all accounts you were lucky, you could have ended up much worse from an unexpected fall like that.

You went to grab for your walkie and realised it wasn’t in the hole with you, you must have dropped it as you fell. Cursing you felt your face get warm with frustration but the cold night air soon cooled it down.

Shivering briefly you rummaged through your back pocket and found your phone, it was busted. The screen smashed from the fall, slipping it back in your pocket you took a deep breath and screamed for help. Pleading that Nick or Greg would hear you.

You screamed again. Pointing your torch upwards and flashing S.O.S. “Nick! Greg!”

You did this for a while with short breaks between. What startled you out of it was the sound of crunching.

You froze and called out softly “hello?”

A man’s head peered over the top of the hole, you certainly didn’t know him. “Who are you?” You shone your torch in his face and shuffled against the dirt wall behind you.

“You found some evidence right?” You stayed quiet. “I know you did.”

“Yeah?” your voice clearly showed your nerves.

“Yeah. I saw you taking photos.”

Your camera was still around your neck. “I did, but the photos might be nothing.”

“Still. I’d like to take that please.”

“I can’t allow that.”

“Throw it up or I’ll start to fill in the hole.” the man held up a shovel.

You played it over in your head, you’d really like to get out of this with minimal fuss and confrontation. “Alright I’ll give it to you. Give me a second alright?”

You turned your body to face the dirt wall and pulled your leg close, balancing against the wall you quickly slipped out the SD card as you stood up the best you could. Using the wall for support but also hiding what you were doing with the camera “Alright, here.” you tossed the camera up towards the man and he caught it.

Just as it hit his hands your walkie on the side came alive, you couldn’t quite make out what was being said but it was enough to send the man running.

You groaned and lowered yourself back to the floor. Your leg really didn’t like standing up and a dizzy spell had hit you. As you adjusted how you were sat you opened your fist and turned the memory card over in your hand, smiling at the small success you slipped it into your CSI vest pocket.

You took another deep breath, preparing your lungs to shout again. “Help! Nick? Greg? Help!”

Another five minutes passed and your throat was raw. The cool night air was properly nipping at your skin now.

Cold and in pain a stray tear ran down your face. You weren’t sad, you knew they’d find you, there was no way they wouldn’t.

You shouted for help and shone your torch up again flashing S.O.S for what felt like another age. Defeated you stopped and let your head lull back and rest on the wall as you let your eyes rest.

You could hear what seemed to be shouting, opening your eyes you listened harder. “Y/N!”

“Over here!” you shouted

“Y/N!”

“Y/N”

You could hear the men taking it in turns shouting. “Help!”

The voices got closer and you continued to shout until you could hear their feet crunching the branches faster, clearly running towards you. You shone the light out of the hole again to alert them, hoping neither of them would fall in like you.

Skidding to a halt Nick dived to the floor and was soon on his hands and knees above the hole peering over. Greg not far behind him, both panting.

“Y/N.” Nick smiled and you could see that his eyes were shiny, coated with tears of relief.

“Are you ok?”

“No.” you admitted “I’ve hurt my leg bad and my head hurts.” out of nowhere the emotion took over and some tears began to stream down your face.

“Hey hey don’t cry.” Nick tried to comfort you “We’re here now, we’ll get you out.”

“I know. I’m not even upset.” you reassured the men giving a pathetic laugh and drying your eyes.

“Forget this?” Greg joked, he’d been scouting the area, picking up your walkie and holding it over the hole. “What happened? Fill us in.”

“I was walking and heard a noise. I used my torch to scout the trees and kept walking but… this hole came outta nowhere. I hurt my leg and here I am. The suspect was still around and threatened to bury me in if I didn’t give him my camera so I did. But I slipped out the memory card first.”

“That’s our girl.” Nick said proudly before getting serious. “Let's get you out and safe and we’ll deal with the rest later.

You nodded “sounds good to me.” the pain in your head now throbbing and chills were shaking your body.

Nick stood and Greg moved next to him “What’s the plan? Can you stand Y/N?”

“It hurts but I can for a second.”

“Alright.” Greg nodded.

“I’ll jump in, give her a boost out and you can pull her out, then you can reach in and give me a hand.” Before anyone could react to the plan Nick had slid himself down the hole and offered you his hand. Taking it you let him help you up and you instinctively hugged the man.

“It’s alright.” the man slightly chuckled but knew how scared you probably were deep down. He looked up at Greg who had sympathetic eyes.

Nick embraced you back, his arms comforting around you. He went to place a hand on the back of your head to make you feel safer in the embrace when a moist feeling made him pull it away quickly “Did you hit your head?”

“I think so.” You admitted.

Greg pointed his torch directly at Nick's hand which was slightly bloodied. Nick peered at the back of your head and saw the injury.

You pulled away and saw the man's face “What?”

“You definitely hit it.” Greg’s voice came from above you.

“Let’s get you checked out ASAP.” Nick said worried, looking up towards Greg who nodded in response, the seriousness of the situation coming back in fully.

“Is it bad?”

“It’s not nothing, let's put it that way.” Greg said hastily.

“But it doesn't look life threatening.” Nick added. “Alright get on my shoulders and let Greg pull you up.”

The man bent over and you did as instructed. Greg's warm hand grabbed your cold one and pulled you out, stumping you flopped to sit on the floor to watch as he helped Nick out. “Thank you both.”

“No problem. Don’t make a habit out of it though.” Greg teased

You smiled at Greg “I wasn’t planning on it.” the adrenaline began to wear off and tiredness washed over you.

Greg and Nick helped you up, a man on each arm as you took a could of steps, the uneven terrain making it difficult to walk. You tripped several times but the men were able to catch you.

“Y/N can we just carry you? We’re about 40 minutes from the cars and at this pace it’s going to take all night… no offence.” Greg offered, just wanting to get you checked out sooner rather than later.

“I won’t object to it but I don’t want to be a nuisance.”

“I vote carry.” Nick’s added nonchalantly, but really he was worried about you.

“Alright I’ll go first.” Greg grinned “Piggy back or bridal style?” the man joked, trying to lighten the mood.

You rolled your eyes and laughed “Piggy back. I love you but I feel like you’d trip and drop me in bridal style.”

The man leaned forward and let you hop onto his back, he quickly adjusted you and walked side by side with Nick as Nick shone the torch ahead. The three of you discussing your findings on the case so far.

The warmth of Greg’s back and the cool air was a nice contrast and you couldn’t help letting your eyes slip closed for a second, just to help ease the pain.

“Y/N?” Greg repeating your name brought you out of your semi-asleep state

“Yeah?”

“Are we really that boring?” he teased “no going to sleep” he softly jostled you.

“I’m tired.” you added, eyelids fully drooping. “I don’t know why I got enough sleep.”

“Yeah we understand, you’ve exhausted yourself with all the fun you’ve had today.” Nick knew how tired he was after being buried alive and although this wasn’t too the same calibre he still had sympathy.

“We didn’t check for concussion.” Greg commented, knowing the head injury could be a cause of the tiredness.

“Let’s swap over and we can check.” Nick moved behind Greg ready for the swap “Alright Y/N you’re coming to me now.”

You unwrapped your arms from Greg and placed them around Nick’s neck, letting him carry you bridal style. Greg slipped his torch from his belt and turned it on. “I’m fine really.”

“We’ve got to be careful though, you do have a nice wound on the back of your head.”

You rolled your eyes “Alright.”

“Feel nauseous?”

“Nope”

Greg quickly checked you for concussion “I don’t think you have it but fight falling asleep ok? We need an actual professional opinion.” he began walking and Nick fell into step next to him.

“I’ll do my best.”

It wasn’t too long before the main sight came into view again, but you were certainly fighting to stay awake now, eyelids feeling heavier by the second and the chill having even more of an effect on you. “Hey, hey. Eyes open.” Nick’s voice came out softly.

You smiled “I’m trying.”

“We know.”

The light of the main scene greeted you and the men made a B-line for the car. Greg opened the door for Nick and he put you down right by the door. Helping you into the car he quickly moved around to the driver's seat and started up the engine.

Greg had brought an emergency blanket, some water and snacks for you out of the trunk. He wrapped the blanket around your shoulders, his hands fumbling, as you took the bottle of water from him and took some sips.

Nick was soon gripping the steering wheel and speeding from the scene, calling in what had happened to dispatch while the two of you in the back were distracted, you with staying awake and Greg with ensuring you were ok.

“They’re sending a police unit back up just in case the guy tries to take any more evidence. D.B and Catherine are going to take the case until we’re back. He’s told us to look after Y/N.”

You shivered in the back seat, not really hearing what Nick had said.

Greg looked at you sympathetically and wrapped an arm around your shoulders bringing you into his side for a reassuring hug. “We can definitely do that.” Greg made eye contact with Nick through the rearview mirror and Nick gave him an acknowledging nod.

Tag List: (open)

CSI:

Nick Stokes:

Greg Sanders:

#csi fic #csi x reader #nick stokes x reader #greg sanders x reader #csi vegas x reader

160 notes · View notes

realcube · 4 years

Text

ARCADE

summary ★ she needs to get the action figure that's in the claw machine for her sister’s birthday, so saiki does her the favour of using his a telekinesis to win it...along with a few other favours.

trigger warning ★ gambling, god, swearing, fem!reader & reader has a younger sister

construction on the new arcade near pk academy had finally come to an end. the grand opening was today after school so of course, nendou suggested that they attend as a squad. usually, saiki tried to avoid getting roped into outings like this but for a change, he actually agreed without the need for any further prying. that's because the arcade was attached to a small cinema where they'd be premiering the latest action movie — based on the TV show adaptation of the game — 'Olfana's Story X-2'. as it turns out, a few months after saiki gave the game a shot, it became a craze and a massive hit among speed-runners. so from it's new-found popularity, they developed a TV show series which inevitably flopped so now they have created a movie. only the most elite people among the gaming community were allow to see it before the official release date and they all said it was incredible; but there was not a doubt in saiki's mind that they were being paid to sing it's praise. a crappy game turned into a crappy show, now adapted into a movie was sure to be crappy. so you may be wondering why he even wanted to view the movie if he was set on it being awful. Well, there are two simple answers; curiosity and the mystery. since it was so exclusive, he had yet to overhear spoilers through his telekinesis and he now had a germanium ring in his possession so he could watch the movie in peace. also, having played the game but not seen the show, he was curious to see how bad the movie is going to be and perhaps he'd be able to get a good laugh out of it. but he made the mistake of mentioning his plan to see the movie which screened a few hours after the opening of the arcade, as now kuboyasu, nendou and kaidou were all going to see the movie along with him. In theory, it shouldn't be a problem since he'll have his germanium ring on but in practise, the world seems to be against saiki so one of his friends will probably end up stealing his popcorn or chatting throughout the entire movie. he'll just have to wait and see. kaidou and nendou did not even stop to take breaths as they raced on about how excited they were while they were all walking to the arcade. "i'm sure the movie is going to be sick!" kaidou exclaimed, followed by rapid head nods from nendou as he replied, "yup! And i can't wait to see what sort of games they have!" saiki was a bit excited himself but he didn't care to show it like the others did. but when he saw the vaporwave building covered with bright neon lights come into view, his lips curled into a small smile. though it was short-lived as he noticed the massive queue to get in; it appeared as though they weren't the only ones who had the idea to visit the arcade after school as he noticed many familiar faces standing in line, amongst crowds of others. all of their cheery auras dissipated for a few moments until kuboyasu perked up, approaching the doors to the arcade with a smug smirk, cutting in front of everyone in the line and gesturing for the boys to follow him, "don't worry about the queue, guys. follow me." nendou followed without any further questions but saiki and kaidou were a bit apprehensive. all three of them watched as kuboyasu stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the guard by one of the doors, muttering something in the man's ear, causing him to sweatdrop and hesitantly open the door with a shaky smile; allowing all four of them inside. "woah, that was awesome, aren!" kaidou yelled, not only out of awe but so he could be heard over all the cheering, laughing and game noises from inside the arcade. "yeah, that was so cool! but what did you say to that guy? he looked freaked out!" nendou inquired, surprising saiki with his actually intelligent observation. kuboyasu's hand found it's way behind his neck, rubbing it awkwardly as he chuckled, "oh, nothing! it's not important-- hey! how about you guys start playing your games and i'll go get the tickets we reserved, yeah?" "yeah!" kaidou and nendou cheered in unison, high-fiving the purple-haired boy before the all ran off in different directions, leaving saiki standing alone at the entrance. he fidgeted with his germanium ring, contemplating taking it off as he stared at kuboyasu; he really wanted to know what the teen boy could've said that'd incite such fear into a grown man, but he decided against it — merrily making his way towards the claw machines, leaving kuboyasu's secrets alone. ★★★★★★★★★★ "shit." he cursed under his breath as he watched the cyborg cider man plushie that he's been trying to win — for yuuta — for half an hour straight slip out of his grasp once again. 'these things are rigged. and what's the point in having psychic superpowers if i can't use them.' he thought to himself but had to quickly shake off the idea, as there was no way he could risk using his powers in such a crowded place, especially for a plush that wasn't even for himself but rather for an annoying kid. he sighed, slipping another coin into the slot and about to find the right state of mind until he heard a loud "fuck!" from in front of him. his head jerked up, scanning the area for the source of the noise until his eyes landed on you. the claw machines were lined up, back-to-back, and playing on the machine diagonal from him was a girl with enchanting (e/c) eyes which contrasted greatly with her disheartened expression as she stared at the box. the only emotion she wore was sadness as she stared at the machine, so out of curiosity, saiki slipped off his ring in order to read her thoughts; feeling no guilt in listening to the affairs of a complete stranger. 'c'mon, stupid claw machine, i need this!' your silky yet whiny voice rung through his mind, 'what's she gonna think about me tomorrow when i tell her that i couldn't get her the gift she's wanted? she's gonna hate me- even more than she already does. and now i've spent all my money on this silly game so i can't even try get her a crappy gift with the little money i had. Wow, (y/n), you're the worst big sister in existence.' saiki cocked his head to the side, peering through the glass of the machines to see the contents of the claw machine you were standing in front of and when he saw the limited edition, silver cyborg cider man action figure sitting on a pedestal — almost as if it was taunting the poor girl — he finally connected the dots. your hand dug through your pockets until you found the smooth metal surface of your final coin, 'just once more try. if i win her this action figure, maybe she'll finally respect me as her big sister! and this toy will surely make her more happy than any gift mom could've possibly thought of. i'll make her sixth birthday one to remember!' the dejected look on your face slow lifted into a determined one, but it wasn't very convincing as saiki — and anyone else — could see the worry and shame in your eyes as you dropped your last coin into the slot of the machine, giving you one more chance to redeem yourself and claim the title of 'best big sister in the world'. saiki watched you maneuver the claw of the machine with bated breath, admiring how your pretty nose crinkled and your tongue poked out from the corners of your perfectly glossed lips in concentration — 'ew, stop being a simp, kusuo.' he mentally rebuked himself before engaging with your scene one again. your fist slammed down against the big red button, followed by the claw opening and lowering over the box of the cyborg cider man action figure, slowly closing it's jaws around the box and grasping it perfectly, resulting in a slight gasp to escape your throat as your lips pulled into a grin. the claw kept it's grip in the toy as it lifted up, slowly making it's way over the hole where it would drop the action figure, straight into your possession. that is, if the grip didn't falter hence allowing the toy to fall down, off it's pedestal and onto the bottom of the compartment to join the rest of the more average action figures. "fuck!" you screamed in an almost identical way to which you did earlier, expect this one held more pain. 'this can't be happening; is this the third year in a row that i'm going to show up to my little sister's birthday party empty-handed?' you thought, your bottom lips quivering so you quickly bit down on it, staring at the damned toy before turning on your heels, shuffling away from the game with your head hung low, the thoughts which cried in your head about how much you budgeted and how hard you worked made saiki's heart sink. 'maybe i could take out a mortga--' your thoughts were abruptly cut off when you heard the noise of something falling behind you. whipping your head around to see what happened, you exhaled a sigh of relief upon seeing nothing out of the ordinary. however, you caught a glimpse of inside the machine which you had been cursing at and realised that the toy wasn't with the packaging peanuts where you left it, as if it magically disappeared in the few seconds you had averted your gaze. creeping up to it, your gaze darted around in search of anyone who might've won it in less than 5 seconds but that was unlikely. now that you were closer, you peered through the glass once more to confirm that the toy was in fact missing and you were right. recalling the noise of falling you heard just before you turned around, you dropped to your knees and lifted the flap to the compartment which held the good that people would win from the machine. you almost screamed with delight and shock when you laid eyes on the limited edition, cyborg cider man action figure that was tucked snugly inside. yanking it out, you pressed it to your chest and the tears you were choking back finally came running down your cheeks, but now they were from joy. "thank you, god." you whispered to yourself, making saiki chuckle from his spot at the claw machine which he hadn't moved from. he wasn't god — nor was he friends with god — but he didn't mind not being able to take the credit for his kind actions of using his psychokinesis to drop the box into the hole for you. honestly, he found that seeing you happy, sitting on the floor with brightest beam gracing your features along with your now cheerful thoughts in his head, was enough of a reward for him anyway. also, he appreciated how you didn't question how the box ended up in the hole and instead you just deemed it a miracle as you were too overjoyed to use logic; that sort of thinking saved saiki a lot of trouble. 'i should probably go home and wrap this.' your internal monologue had now calmed down slightly as you were now able to produce a thought that wasn't just a squeal of delight, 'hm, maybe once i am done i could come back and see the new movie that's premiering-- but i've not got much money left so i guess i shouldn't get ahead of myself.' you hummed, picking up the box along with yourself, dusting yourself off before heading towards the exit. saiki must've been staring for a tad too long though as you caught his gaze while brushing off your clothes. he cringed, instinctively darting his eyes away so you didn't think he was an ogling creep but the fact he appeared defensive probably didn't help. so he fully expected you to frown or cast him a dirty look, judging him for his actions but to his surprise, you simply chuckled. waving at the pink-haired boy before strolling off with the box under your arm. 'he seems cool. where i can get clips like those?' why were you thoughts making him blush like an idiot? time to put the germanium ring back on. ★★★★★★★★★★ as it turns out, nendou is surprisingly good at poker. he figured this out after he stumbled across the casino section of the arcade, and since he looks way older than seventeen, nobody questions it when he took a seat at one of the slot machines, under the impression that it was a fancy, old-timey arcade game. he was then offered a round of poker with some old dude with way too many gold teeth and nendou ended up taking the poor, stubborn guy's entire fortune. god-knows how many games with how-many people later, nendou was sitting on stacks of cash at a round table with a tired dealer, and two grown men — one crying into the shoulder of his arm-candy and the other weeping into the sleeve of his suit — while the three boys who had came to give him his ticket stood by, all wearing matching confused expressions. "uh, nendou." kuboyasu tapped his friend on the shoulder, waving the ticket in front of his face, "the movie is gonna start soon, we should start heading over there right now so we can buy snacks and get good seats." nendou raised an eyebrow, puzzled until he recalled that he was supposed to watch a movie today, "oh, that sounds cool and all but i'm having a lot of fun right here." he smiled, motioning to the large casino area. kuboyasu chuckled awkwardly, backing away from nendou slightly as he turned on his heels, ushering the two other boys away, "alright, well, have fun, nendou! don't stay out too late!" nendou sung an okay in response, sliding a kaidou some cash for the extortionate theatre snacks before he was rushed away by kuboyasu, the purple-haried boy not wanting to spend anymore time in the casino than needed. "if nendou isn't joining us for the movie then we have a spare ticket. here, saiki, you should have it!" "why me?" "uh, because you said you saw reita earlier. so if you see him again maybe you could offer him the spare ticket." 'absolutely not.' was vocalised as "sure." by saiki as he took the ticket from kuboyasu's outstretched hand, fiddling with it before stuffing it into his pocket along with his own ticket. "what i said to nendou was kinda an exaggeration" aren mused, glancing at his watch before looking up at his two pals, "we still have some time left before the movie starts. i'm gonna go handle some business — you two have fun, and try find reita!" kuboyasu said before pivoting on his heels in the direction of the staff only closet. the only thing saiki could think to do during this free-time was escape kaidou's pestering to play dance dance revolution — since saiki didn't want to dance, dance or revolute, he darted outside as soon as kuboyasu left, leaving kaidou alone and confused in the middle of the arcade. 'finally, fresh air.' saiki inhaled, filling his lungs with the cool air rather than the stuffy, arcade oxygen. scanning the surrounding area, his eyes caught a glimpse of a figure standing by the ATM, which he immediately recognised to be that of the girl he had helped earlier. so naturally, he flicked of his ring to figure out the reasoning behind the awkward look on her face. 'do i really want to withdraw money to see some stupid movie? i mean, i could leave that money to accumulate and buy something nicer later.' without thinking, saiki hummed in agreement with your thoughts as he had been in your position many times before. 'but then again, i should treat myself! when was the last time i saw a movie that wasn't pirated? hmm..' your indecisive thoughts matched perfectly with your conflicted expression as you stared through furrowed brows at the screen of the ATM. a soft breeze passed, followed by something light smacking against you face. you winced slightly, your hand snapping your cheek and grabbing at whatever it was; just by the texture, you could tell it was paper. holding it in front of you, upon further inspection you realised that the mysterious sheet that had flew into your possession was in fact a ticket to tonight's showing of 'Olfana's Story X-2' row G, seat 9. you double, triple checked it out of fear that this may be a cruel prank but no, this was completely real! you cheered, bouncing up and down and away from the ATM since you no longer needed it's services as god had blew the desired item straight into your hands — or your face, rather. either way though, you were over the moon, clutching the ticket to your chest and basking in your second miracle of the day. unbeknownst to you, saiki's smile was almost as wide as your own. you thanked god for your relief and saiki had no problem with that; seeing your little happy dance and squeals with your free ticket was enough for him. but actually, perhaps he might benefit himself after all, since the ticket he had given you previous belonged to nendou. meaning that saiki was seated at row G, seat 10; right beside you. ★★★★★★★★★★ saiki forgot to send a few notes flying your way in the wind, so you walked into the theatre and took your seat, completely snackless since you couldn't afford the exorbitant prices that they sold food for at the cinema. but perhaps that wasn't all bad as it revealed the possibility for saiki to offer you some of his popcorn as a conversation-starter, as he's usually not too good at socialising with new people — forget starting a conversation. however, he didn't need to work up any sort of courage to talk to you as the first thing you did when you plopped down in your seat beside him was turn to him and chirp, "oh, you're the guy i saw at the claw machines earlier! i love your clip thingies." your buoyant-adrenaline allowing your to be more bold than usual. the movie had yet to start, low murmurs of chatter coming from across the theatre as the trailers played in the background, "yes. and thanks." 'good grief, curse myself for not being more talkative. she probably thinks i'm dull now. perhaps i should channel my inner nendou..if i have one.' instead of ending the conversation right there like he assumed you would, you continued talking and saiki was..glad? why did he want to interact with you so much? he spends most of his days trying to avoid interacting with people; why were you any different? "no problem- also, did you get what you were playing for?" you inquired, tapping your lip in genuine curiosity. his ring remained on his finger, despite the fact he wanted to know what you thought about him, he didn't want to invade your privacy any more than he already has. "no. did you?" "yeah, i did, actually!" you chirped, not noticing the smirk creeping onto saiki's lips as you were too engulfed in your memories, "i thought those games were rigged but maybe they're not 'cause i managed to win this super special action figure that my sister has been on the top of my sister's wishlist for like- forever! and her birthday is tomorrow so i'll be a--" you cut yourself off, crinkling your nose in embarrassment, "sorry, i'm over-sharing, aren't i?" your enthusiasm made his heart flutter in a way he wasn't used to, if you didn't know any better, he would have thought he was having a medical emergency. his eyes widened slightly as you halted in your speech, "no, you're fine." he said, the uncharacteristic softness in his voice catching the attention of his two pals sitting on the other side of him. you shook off his comment, "i mean, i'm telling you my life story and i don't even know your name." you said, laughing sheepishly at the reality of the reality of the situation.

“saiki kusuo.” he blurted out without a second thought.

you blinked a few times, shocked that he’d give his details away so easily as you somewhat expected him to be more of a reserved type of guy but evidently, you were wrong. “uh, i’m (l/n) (y/n).” you choked, biting down on your bottom lip slightly before continuing you story as he seemed to wait expectantly, “as i was saying, today’s just been the best day ever! everything has been going so well, i’m a bit scared as to what is going to happen when it hits midnight.”

saiki nodded along, popping a piece of popcorn into his mouth before remembering his plan, “oh- would you like some?” he asked, offering you some popcorn from his bucket. unfortunately, the plan was a last-minute thing so he had only bought a small, but he still wasn’t opposed to sharing.

you shook your head, trying to grin foolishly wide at his kind offer, “no thank you.”

saiki nodded, about to open his mouth to reply until the blaring music from the beginning of the movie started, putting a swift end to your conversation — despite the fact saiki would much rather talk to you than watch the crappy movie — out of theatre etiquette.

★★★★★★★★★★

it was worse than you or saiki could’ve ever imagined.

it was painfully trying not to burst out laughing right in middle of it or lean over and giggle in each other’s ear at the silly dialog but out of respect for the other people in the cinema, you both stayed silent and just cast each other occasional knowing glances whenever something cringey happened on screen.

you both let out audible sighs of relief with the credits began to roll, accompanied by a slow indie song. “that was..something.” you mumbled, grabbing your purse and jumping to your feet, wanting to exit the building as soon as possible and hopefully leave your memories of the movie behind you.

“definitely.” he snickered, absently flicking the side of his empty popcorn bucket, “i stopped paying attention once i finished my popcorn.” it felt weird to vocalise — or rather, telepathically communicate — the comments he’d usually keep to himself; why did he feel so comfortable speaking to someone he only just met?

he began gathering his things, stuffing all of his rubbish in the bucket so he could dispose of it all at once. his mind was fixated on crappiness of the movie and how a five-year-old could’ve shot a much better film, until you grabbed his attention by calling out his name, followed by a question which made him blood run cold.

“before i go, it gotta ask’ how’d you do it? or more importantly, why’d you do it?”

he blinked several times before putting on his best bewildered expression, with the idea that maybe if he played dumb, he could gaslight you into thinking that it never happened or that he had nothing to do with it. “what?”

“oh, don’t give me that!” you scoffed, narrowing your eyes at the boy, “i’m not stupid. every time something good happened to me, you were nearby. i’ve connected the dots so fess up. why did you do all those nice things for me? was it out of pity or are you that nice to everyone?”

“i’m that nice to everyone.”

“i don’t believe you.” you snapped, fixing your tone when you remembered that even though he was lying to you, he still helped you get the present for you sister and gave you his spare ticket. “i don’t care if you’re not gonna give me a straight answer, but at least let me make it up to you.”

he huffed, an unimpressed look covering his features before you even proposed your idea. there was really nothing he could possibly need from you. what were you going to give him that he wasn’t capable of obtaining on his own? so he frowned, ready to decline your offer.

“i saw that you bought one of those jelly pots from the snack stand and i actually work at a little café in the town, so i might be able to get you few things for free or discounted?”

“yes.” wait, that wasn’t refusal.

“great!” you chirped, glad that you wouldn’t have to pry further, “does later this week sounds good? we could meet up here then i can walk you to the café- or i could give you my number and we can arrange a date later?”

“sure.” saiki said without thinking once again.

but it wasn’t as though he regretted it when you slipped the piece of paper you had scribbled your number onto, into the front pocket of his shirt, tapping it with a smile. “alright! i’ll see you later then- unless you want to walk home with me?” you fidgeted with your fingers slightly, instantly regretting what you just came out with. not because you didn’t want to walk with him, but due to the fact you highly doubted he was going so say accept so you mentally prepared for the impact of his harsh rejection.

“sure.”

★★★★★★★★★★

BONUS

saiki ended up walking home with some girl he met at the theatre so that left kuboyasu and kaidou to fetch nendou once the film finished. they both searched the casino area for almost half an hour but neither of them had any luck finding nendou. that was, until kuboyasu had to take a step outside to escape the casino as he noticed an old friend of his playing on the slot machines, and he found nendou crouched by the garbage cans, on his phone.

“nendou! we’ve been looking all over for you- why are you out here by the trash? and what happened to all your money?!”

nendou chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with his spare hand, “fun story actually. i was doing so well and i was on my way to becoming a millionaire until these schoolgirls came marching in and absolutely slaughtered me! it was so embarrassing and the only way i could escape them was by running away so i hid back here.”

kuboyasu’s aura just screamed ‘disappointed but not surprised’, “so you’re telling me that you lost millions to highschool girls?”

“they might’ve been middle-schoolers, i’m not too sure. i didn’t get a very good look at ‘em but they were all wearing creepy red uniforms.”

all kuboyasu could do was massage his temples to ease his headache at the stupidity of his friends, “so you lost all your money to school girls in creepy red uniforms?” he repeated aloud, just to make sure he was hearing things correctly.

“yes. but not all my money.” he said, pulling out his wallet and grandly opening it to reveal a few notes and a button, “i’ve still got enough to spend on ramen with my bros!”

#the disaster of psi kusuo saiki #saiki headcanons #saiki kusuo no psi nan #saiki no psi nan #saiki k x reader #saiki x reader #kusou saiki #saiki imagines #kusuo x reader #kusuo saiki x reader #the disastrous life of saiki k.#saiki k headcanons #psychic kusuo #kusuo saiki

380 notes · View notes

vigilantetendencies · 3 years

Text

Pspspspsps

Hero with cat powers and a villain who loves cats.

“You have a tail,” he squeaked, eyes so wide that they might have popped out of his head. Bengal stepped backward, glaring.

He was still wearing boxers, but they didn’t exactly have enough room for him to tuck the tail away like his hero suit did.

“Yeah, cat powers. I have cat things. I think we’ve been through this- Don’t come closer!” Bengal pulled out the claws again, stopping Volt as he stepped forward.

Volt and Bengal weren't strangers; Bengal had been a new hire at the hero agency when Volt first began to terrorize the town and thus the two had been pitted against each other from the get go.

They'd battled multiple times, Bengal more often than not failing due to his clumsiness. Volt adored him, however. He adored the quips, Bengal's snarky attitude, and his body was rather nice to look at. Bengal's hero suit was bland and tight, leaving little to Volt's imagination as he threw him and zapped him. How many times had he invited Bengal over now to try and cop a feel?

Invited was perhaps the wrong word- How many times had he tried to force Bengal to come to his lair? And now...He couldn't believe his eyes; There he was, Bengal! The hero!! In his lair!!! What a moment! And Volt was not going to let it go to waste.

"How does it feel to be the very first hero to see my place?" Volt asked, rising from his throne and gesturing grandly.

All he could see with Bengal's annoying helmet being on was his mouth, pulled down into frown.

"Shitty," Bengal responded dully, standing before the throne with his hands bound behind his back. "Can I go home now?"

"Before you've seen the break room and the had martinis in the hot tub? No way!" Bengal stiffened.

"Hot tub?"

"Yeah!" Volt strode up to Bengal and paced around him, cape flowing behind him. He liked to be able to take his time and really inspect Bengal; He really had no idea what his powers were or, honestly, what use he was to the agency at all. That and...maybe he liked to look at his butt.

Just a little.

"No. No way, I'm not having martinis with you and I'm not going in your hot tub." Volt was surprised when Bengal was suddenly free of his binds, narrowly avoiding a punch to his face.

"C'mon, Bengal!" He shot electricity at the hero who dodged and climbed up one of the walls with ease.

"Nope," he called down, climbing until he got to a landing area up above. Volt huffed, not liking his answer, and threw a ball of electricity into part of the landing. Bengal yelped as the floor gave out beneath him and he fell face first onto the ground next to Volt, groaning.

Volt took a moment to mourn the broken balcony, but it would be easy enough to fix. Losing his favorite hero was not his favorite option.

"Your name is Bengal. Shouldn't you like...land on your feet or something?" He asked, squatting down next to the hero and poking his helmet. He ignored Bengal gasping for air (the force of his fall knocking it out of him) in favor of rolling him onto his back. "Why would the agency give you that name if you're this clumsy?"

Bengal swallowed and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, I don't know. You're right," he agreed, trying to get to his feet. He got as far as his knees before Volt knocked him backward harshly. The helmet clanged against the floor, jarring slightly and cracking from the earlier impact.

"Here, kitty, kitty~" Volt whispered suddenly, making Bengal look his way- and then his helmet was torn off.

"Oh my god!" Volt held the helmet up as if it were a trophy, looking down at Bengal with a large grin. He could see his face, a nice tan tone to his skin, his hair- black and brown and the strangest patterns in the curly mess.

But what really got him was the ears.

Two large cat ears were standing at attention on his head, green eyes wide and revealing slitted pupils as he began to panic.

"What are you doing!? You are crossing a line-!!" He screeched, scrambling to grab the helmet back. Volt jammed his hand against Bengal's forehead, shoving him back down while his ears flattened.

"You dirty little liar, I knew it!" Bengal withdrew his hand for a moment, fingertips exposed out of the tops of his gloves. Claws protruded from them suddenly, making Volt giddy. "The fingerless gloves make so much more sense now! They were a choice, but at least they were a functional choice!" He didn't register the implication before the claws slashed at him, four scratches on his arm and suit torn. He dropped the helmet in his pain and Bengal shoved him off, rolling over and scrambling to grab the helmet.

He succeeded, though a foot came down on his wrist and pressed into it painfully.

"It's about time!" Volt huffed, cradling his bleeding arm as he looked at the henchman who was pinning Bengal with their foot.

"Apologies, sir."

"Send gauze to my room and take Fluffy to the holding cell."

"You are dead," Bengal promised, glaring at Volt as he walked past them and picked up the helmet. Volt only smirked back at him, waggling his fingers and exiting the room.

"No, I'm the proud new owner of a sweet little kitty cat," Volt corrected gleefully. "And he better behave if he knows what's good for him."

Bengal looked up from his spot on the floor, baring his teeth as the henchmen slapped cuffs on him and picked him up by the back of his hero suit to drag him off.

Bengal escaped, without his helmet, and went straight home with to pout in the bathroom mirror. It was embarrassing being...this. The agency wanted to capitalize on his feline parts but he hated them- His hero suit was designed to hide every part of him that resembled a cat because he asked for it to be that way. If Volt started telling others then what would happen? Calls of, “Here kitty, kitty,” and quips like, “cat got your tongue?” would never end.

Never!

He solemnly sent the agency a request for a new helmet along with the information that his face had been revealed before he climbed into the overly plush bed in his room, curling up and closing his eyes.

The next time he saw Volt he was ready to knock the daylights out of him, still stumbling with nearly every punch.

“So it’s just the ears, huh?” Volt slammed Bengal down, snickering as he watched his slightly feline friend adjust his helmet quickly.

“You’re such an ass hole,” Bengal told him, trying to get to his feet before Volt kicked him in the side.

“I’ll take that as… a no,” Volt decided, watching as Bengal rolled from the force of the impact and hit the tire of a car. He dug into the pocket of his suit, trying to hide something from Bengal as he stood up. He lunged at him, yanking off the helmet and cupping his hand over his face.

Bengal struggled harshly, claws coming out as he grabbed at Volt’s hands and arms, scratching and scratching and scratching and- Something was in Volt’s hand and-...

Bengal slumped in Volt’s arms, eyes half lidded as his tongue lapped against the inside of Volt’s hand.

Catnip.

“Holy shit it worked,” Volt whispered in amazement, beaming as he lowered Bengal to the ground. He was so docile! So...not trying to kill Volt. And as mentioned once before, Volt did not waste opportunities. He gently tangled his fingers into the man’s soft hair, scratching at the base of his ear experimentally and, sure enough, Bengal pressed the side of his head to Volt’s hand.

Then, like something scared him, he perked up and smacked at Volt’s hand, falling onto the ground in an attempt to get away from his touch.

“What is wrong with you!?” He yelled, face redder than last time. He looked at his arms and saw that some of the catnip bits had fallen there and, without hesitation, began to lick them off.

“I reallllllllly like cats,” Volt informed him, looking like a child on Christmas. “I don’t even care about the bomb anymore, the detonation code is 1337, I just-” Volt reached for Bengal’s ears again which only made him hiss and back away, realizing that he was licking himself in front of his nemesis- And anyone could see them here! They weren’t exactly hidden.

“I don’t like you, okay!?” Bengal got to his feet, wobbling a little. “So stop bothering me!”

Bengal grabbed up his helmet and sprinted off, climbing over garbage cans and cars to escape Volt.

“Gauze, sir?” Someone asked over his headset. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think he’d let you down so harshly-”

“Are you kidding? All cats are like that. You just gotta reel them in.” Volt stood and tucked the pouch of catnip back into his suit. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, gauze would be nice.”

There was no fighting today.

He had gotten himself all ready to go, hero suit and new helmet (with locking buckles) on, when he got the message from the agency.

[Bengal, we need to review your employment with us. For the time being you are on suspension. You will be paid for your time, imagine it like a vacation!]

He glared at his phone. A vacation? A vacation that was going to end in his termination, probably.

He threw the helmet onto his bed and moped about the message until he felt about as numb to it as he could feel. He was so distracted being angry at the agency that he didn’t notice the shape outside his window, stripping the tight top of the suit off and stretching before he started peeling off the bottom.

The window opened and he whipped around, hissing at it and letting go of the pants of the suit to use his claws.

“Whoa! Hey, easy!” It was Volt.

Of course.

He slid inside and stood near the window.

“Where have you been!? I didn’t ask to fight Echo, do you know how hard it is to fight a guy who sees, like, everything!?”

“He’s blind,” Bengal deadpanned, and Volt gestured wildly.

“DO YOU SEE WHY THAT’S AN ISSUE FOR ME!? No one told me and-” He huffed.

“Sorry that I was the perfect disappointment,” Bengal muttered, turning around and stripping off the rest of the suit. “The agency is reviewing my employment. Probably because I keep losing to you. So you better get used to Echo, Kuso, and Jumper.”

Volt didn’t respond and Bengal thought for a brief moment that he had crawled back out the window. He turned around and found Volt looking somehow happier than he had over the last few fights.

“You have a tail,” he squeaked, eyes so wide that they might have popped out of his head. Bengal stepped backward, glaring.

He was still wearing boxers, but they didn’t exactly have enough room for him to tuck the tail away like his hero suit did.

“Yeah, cat powers. I have cat things. I think we’ve been through this- Don’t come closer!” Bengal pulled out the claws again, stopping Volt as he stepped forward.

“Can I touch it!?”

“No! No you can’t touch it! Get out of-” Bengal watched Volt dig into the same pocket as last time and hissed loudly. “Don’t you fucking dare!”

Volt grinned and ran at Bengal, ignoring his hisses and screeches while he chased him out of the room and through his apartment.

“Hereeee kitty, kitty!” He chased him to the balcony, watching as Bengal climbed up on it and balanced without issue. “Your tail! That’s why you’re such a grade A klutz!” Volt smacked himself on the head. “Duh! Man, I can’t believe I didn’t think about that!”

“Why do you care!?” Bengal looked honestly upset, and that immediately put Volt off. He lowered his hands.

“What do you-”

“Are you going to go and tell all of the other villains? ‘Just bring catnip and he’ll be distracted long enough for you to kill him,’ or grab my tail and pull and it’ll really fucking hurt-”

“Why would I tell anyone any of that?” Volt raised a brow. “The only thing people talk about is how off balance you are, you know.” Bengal seemed to calm down, crouching on the railing.

“Just..leave,” He muttered, and Volt gestured for Bengal to come down, showing that his hands were free of catnip.

“Walk me out?”

“Fine,” Bengal huffed, slipping off of the railing and walking back to the bedroom. There was a moment where he truly believed that Volt was trying to give him time alone- And then he yanked backwards, Volt sitting on his bed and pulling him into his lap.

“You son of a-” Volt grinned at him as he began to scratch just above Bengal's tail. He held back a delighted squeal as Bengal leaned into him and purred.

"I’m going to kill you," Bengal mumbled into his neck, kneading his fingers into his shoulders.

"You have to keep your job, first.” Volt ran his hand up Bengal’s tail, feeling him shudder. “Or you could come have martinis in my hot tub, the invitation’s still open.” A pause. “Am I just not inviting you right?” He leaned closer to the ears on Bengals head, watching them twitch in irritation. “Pspspsps?”

Thank you so much for reading! Find more heroes, villains, sidekicks, civilians, and reporters here on my masterlist!

If you’re able to take a moment and Buy Me a Coffee I’d be so grateful! But no pressure, my content and my characters are free to enjoy!

I love requests and prompts, so don’t be a stranger! Thanks for supporting me!

#hero #villain #hero x villain #cat #cat hero #villains #heroes #oc #original character #superhero #supervillain

74 notes · View notes

beccanoodles · 4 years

Text

Spike and Faye Pairing Analysis

March 2021

Ah the hit or miss pairing of the century! If you don’t love it, you probably hate it lol. I’m a very analytical person so I love analyzing works of art and overall enjoy deep discussions about them too. I have SO much to say when it comes to Cowboy Bebop (and oh I plan to), but I have decided to start with my very own OTP. Here, I am not really going to discuss Spike and Faye’s feelings for each other, but rather why I think people are drawn to this pairing and why I think they're totally valid. Get ready for a long read!😁

⚠️SPOILER WARNING!!! [Major Cowboy Bebop and the movie Out of the Past spoilers]⚠️

First off, let’s clear something up. I am confident most of us can agree that Spike was in love with Julia. Some people assume Spike and Faye fans are deranged and disregard Spike and Julia’s romantic relationship to try and make something of Spike and Faye that never was. While some people may have their various theories and opinions on this, generally, I don’t think anyone denies Spike’s love for Julia. As we will see, this pairing is not really driven by who loves who...let’s first look on the surface.

I don’t know your experiences with the series, but in mine, every time I show this to people it never fails for someone to say something along the lines of,

“Wait, they don’t end up together?”

“Why didn’t he kiss her!?”

“He should have stayed with her...”

and so fourth.

Naturally, this pairing catches many eyes.

Think about it, you are given two really cool, really hot and really deep characters that are really fun to see together! There are so many parallels between the two and they are arguably the strongest characters of the bunch. Granted, you can agree with this and still not ship them, but these aspects are part of what opens up the door for many fans of the pairing.

However, there is certainly more to this pairing than them simply looking good together right? As the years pass and I’ve now seen the show multiple times, my understanding of it has evolved in many areas, Spike and Faye included.

Spike and Faye really couldn’t have ended up together. Sure, it’s a nice thought, but It would have been an entirely different show if they had. I don’t feel that the show should have happened any other way and I don’t think many other fans would either.

So, what am I saying here?

What’s the point of this paring if I don’t think they should have ended up together?

It is what's so frustrating about them, yet keeps you coming back and what honestly validates this pairing in my opinion. Spike and Faye are not driven by what is, but rather, what could be.

I personally feel the themes of classic film Noir are not discussed enough when it comes to Cowboy Bebop! This is one of the show's major influences, especially when it comes to the plot and characters.

One of the common tropes of a film noir is that of a protagonist who is drawn back into his past and ultimate doom, usually by the “seduction” of a femme fatale. In these movies, the women are either a femme fatale [devious, dangerous, mysterious, greedy, troubled, or unreliable] or a woman of virtue [reliable, dutiful, trustworthy, conventional and loving].

I am going to use the 1947 classic, Out of the Past to make my comparisons from here on out.

In Out of the Past, Jeff is a former detective who gets caught up in a love triangle between a gangster and his girlfriend Kathie, sound familiar? He attempts to run away with her, but is betrayed and runs off to start a new life in a new town. Here, he meets Ann and falls in love with her, but of course, his past catches up to him and he is drawn back into the world of criminals (largely by Kathie’s involvement). This ultimately results in his and Kathie’s deaths and Ann’s heartbreak.

Even though Kathie is the femme fatale in this movie, I found myself comparing her more to Julia’s role in the show, than to Faye’s and I found that Faye actually fit best in Ann’s role (this is a bit unusual considering Faye is typically seen as the femme fatale of this show).

Does that mean I think Julia was as ill intentioned as Kathie or that Spike fell in love with Faye? Well, not exactly, let’s look at it a bit further.

“The kind of beautiful, dangerous ordinary that you just can’t leave alone...Like an angel from the underworld or a devil from paradise.”

Most of what we get about Julia is from Spike’s point of view. From this, we learn she is at the center of Vicious and Spike’s conflict, but aside from that she is basically depicted as “The Virtuous Woman” of a noir. The colors around her are warm and she is shown caring for Spike. There is an innocence and modestly about her as well.

Yet, when we finally do meet Julia, we get a different image. We know she is tied up with dangerous men, but is she herself a dangerous woman?

She is certainly capable of betrayal.

Suddenly she is a bad-ass-gun-toting woman in leather and black, surrounded by hues of grey and dark blue. Intentional or not, Julia is a major part of what lures Spike back into the past and ultimately to his death. In this case, Julia is the femme fatale of Spike’s story and thus, their relationship is doomed from the start.

Faye, on the other hand, is portrayed in somewhat of a contrast. When we first meet her, she is the clear cut femme fatale, appearing cunning, strong willed and seductive. However, we soon find that she has quite a bit of kindness and naivety hidden behind her facade. She uses the former tactics as a way of emotional (and probably physical) protection. Gren points this out in his conversation with her.

Gren,

“You’re just afraid they’d abandon you so you abandoned them. You distanced yourself from the whole thing.”

As the show progresses, we start to see less of her “femme fatale nature” and something more genuine. Think about it, between Hard Luck Woman and RFB Part 2 we don’t see much of Faye as her typical conniving or unreliable self, aside from changing the course of the Bebop maybe. Sure she takes off, but it isn’t at all for the same reasons she did in Jupiter Jazz or Speak Like a Child, for example.

I would argue we actually see her more trustworthy and caring than ever. Since I don’t want to spend too much time talking about Faye’s character development (not here at least) I’ll give one example of this.

When she returns to the Bebop after her encounter with Julia in RFB Part 1, she gives Spike the message, even though the outcome might hurt her (i.e. he leaves and/or dies). While she does first say “It’s gonna cost you,” she doesn’t really mean it because she tells him without hesitation only moments later.

This isn’t to say Faye good, Julia bad. Both women have their layers and even though we know way more about Faye, I don’t get the impression that Julia is selfish and cunning like Kathie was. But I do get the feeling she was enclosed in a world of crime and betrayal the way Kathie was. We really only know the basics of Spike and Julia’s situation. Who knows the details like motive or how long it lasted etc. etc. We can only speculate...

There is a scene towards the end of Out Of The Past, where Kathie tells Jeff to go away with her. This time it is her asking him, just like Julia asks Spike. During this she mentions,

“I never told you I was anything but what I am, you just wanted to imagine I was. That’s why I left you.”

This got me thinking...did Spike imagine Julia as something she wasn’t? Or something he wanted her to be that she just couldn’t be?

It could explain why we get such contrasted images of her.

There are themes of this “dreamlike” relationship between Jeff and Kathie, similar to Spike and Julia’s “It was all a dream.”

The two of them were going to “live and be free,” probably something neither of them knew how to do and most likely wouldn’t have been able to get away with.

When Jet asks Spike if he can just forget the past, this is his answer.

Spike,

“There was a woman. For the first time in my life I saw a woman that was truly alive. At least that’s what I thought. She was the part of me I had lost, that part that was missing, that I had been longing for.”

I always wondered about this, because Spike is clearly talking about Julia, but right after is when Faye shows up. To me, that spoke volumes...

Faye is a woman who is terribly human and terribly alive.

Going back to Faye and Ann, I find their similarities shine not so much in the “Virtuous Woman,” concept, but rather in Ann’s dedication to Jeff and her optimism for the future. She is also the last person to talk to Jeff before he leaves for the final time, as if he were being presented with one last alternative. Spike spends his last moments with Faye as well, in which she basically begs him not to go and keep him in the present that she has now discovered for herself. She may be stuck, but she is definitely someone that yearns for human connection, love, and life.

The problem is, Spike and Faye are both set in opposite directions. Her’s leads to a future and Spike knows this because he points it out early on (My Funny Valentine). He also knows, his most likely does not. He has already dug himself too deep into this hole, if you will, that there is really no turning back.

But let’s say none of that was an issue? What could be?

I sat and watched this movie (Out of the Past) with my mom. She didn’t know anything about it and didn’t know why I was watching it. I wanted her genuine reaction. The whole time she was getting mad at Jeff until the very end. I asked her why and she said that she wanted him to be able to live happily with Ann. I explained to her why he had to do what he did. She understood this, but still couldn’t help but be sad at how things turned out for him, when they could have been good.

Even though Kathie and Jeff are the “lovers,” of this movie, you don’t really want them to end up together. Forget that Kathie has a devious nature, regardless, you know where it has to end and you don’t want to see your hero die.

Like Kathie, Julia symbolizes Spike’s inevitable doom and Like Ann, Faye symbolizes his possible future.

“I’ll be with you till the end”

“You’re the one still tied to the past Spike!”

“Why do you have to go? Where are you going? What are you gonna do, just throw your life away like it was nothing?!”

It’s two sides of a sad coin...

We want Spike to have a future and because we love the characters of the show, it would be really great if he could have it with them, but that is where the tragedy is. It's only an idea we can think about, a possibility presented to us as it was to Jeff and Spike before their deaths.

The bottom line is, when it comes to Spike and Faye you are really only given a taste. You are not given what you expect to see, which is why I say this ship is driven by what could be. As it is with most of the character relationships in the show, no major breakthroughs are made until the very end, when it's too late. Then it just feels like such wasted potential, but sometimes in life, that's how it is. And thus, we have been given a very classic noir here ladies and gentlemen!

So no, I don’t think people miss the mark when they ship Spike and Faye, nor do I find they invalidate the show by any means. I kind of like that Watanabe switched it up and didn’t do the expected, but left us those subtle hints. He didn’t outright give Spike another lover, but he gave us someone that represents what he could have. Kind of does that with the crew as a whole too!

UGH. I love-hate this show and I love this pairing! Thank you for reading my thoughts and I know this may not be the case or reasoning for everyone, but just based on what I have seen around the community and where this show draws inspiration, this is what I have concluded. I didn’t get into Spike and Faye’s feelings for each other because it gets a little more theoretical there, but I would like to do a post on my thoughts on that as well sometime. I also didn’t touch too much on Spike’s reasoning for choosing to face Vicious in the end, just because I know that will only lead into a whole other analysis lol. But you know I have my thoughts on that and certainly plan to share them 😎 Also, I know I basically spoiled it, but Out of the Past is such a great movie!! I think if you’re a fan of this show it's definitely worth a watch! There are so many more parallels to Cowboy Bebop that I didn’t even mention. Anyways, thanks again and talk to you soon!

#Cowboy Bebop #Spike and Faye #spike x faye #analysis #cowboy bebop analysis #pairing analysis #pairing #my ship #out of the past #film noir #did i mention #I LOVE THIS SHOW #YES i've been working on this for two weeks like i was writing a midterm essay for school #DON'T JUDGE ME 🤓😂#OOTP is really good watch it #last scene gives me chills😨#spaye #faye x spike #faye and spike

159 notes · View notes

storiesbymads · 4 years

Text

THIS BIKINI’S MADE FORE DANCING (AND HITTING THE FLOOR)³ ( sun kissed desires . )

Y/N finds herself on the lovers cruise she was supposed to be on with her fiancé—ex-fiancé—when she meets a single man in the suite right next to hers.

warnings: smut

add yourself to the taglist + series masterlist

Your morning ventures ended with probably the best mid morning nap you’d ever had in your life. You woke up without a headache, thankfully, and with the way you’d guzzled the water bottle on your nightstand before you’d crashed out, you felt halfway ready to take on the world.

You dug through your duffel bag in an attempt to find one of the twelve bathing suits you’d packed three days ago. Hopefully you’d packed your cute ones, you’d been in such a rush you honestly had no idea what all was in your bag or if anything really matched. Finally, you found a black set at the bottom that was simple enough that it wouldn’t require too many of your brain cells to put on, still being kinda sleepy and everything.

Finding your way to the pool was easy, considering it was in the dead center of the boat. You were surprised to see the number of kids sitting around the edge of the pool when you got down there, feet dangling in the chlorine filled liquid. You glanced down at the phone in your hand to see the time. 12:08. Adult Swim.

You crossed the short expanse of wooden walkway over to the lounge chairs, dropping your few belongings onto the small table beside the single free one you could find before covering your phone and key card with the towel you’d just barely remembered to bring down so the sun wouldn’t wreak too much havoc on them. The chair was surprisingly more comfortable than it looked when you situated yourself on it.

The sound of a whistle sent your head snapping in the direction of the pool only to see a few dozen kids jumping into the water as the few adults scrambled to get out in time.

And, of course, your eyes found Sidney’s in record time. God, how could one man be so pretty? The fact that he was practically dripping wet didn’t help, either.

He had a pair of teal swim trunks on, oddly enough, and they seemed to cling to everything as he climbed out of the water. To you, it felt like he was moving in slow motion, but it probably only took him about thirty seconds before he was walking in your direction. No. Right. To. You.

He shook his head slightly as he did so, attempting to conceal the grin making its way onto his face. God, he’s cute, too.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he said, louder than the other times you’d spoken with him—you gave that up to the fact that you were outside. He’d still yet to adjust his swim trunks and the tent in them seemed to be staring you right in the eyes.

“Hey, you’re the one that came up to me,” you scoffed dismissively. Sidney just cleared his throat in response, nodding toward his belongings in the seat next to yours. The only thing separating his belongings from yours was the tiny metal table, and even that was covered in your personal items. “Oh.”

“Oh,” he mocked lightly. He opted to sit on the edge of your chair rather than take the last two steps towards his own, the warm skin of his thigh brushing against your own. The barely there touch sent tingles up your spine. You couldn’t imagine what having all of him pressed up against you would feel like.

He picked his hand up off the plastic of the chair, hesitating slightly and letting it rest in the air above your leg for a second too long, before letting his rough fingers meet the smooth skin.

“I’ve been thinking,” he started. “About your offer earlier.”

Your breath hitched in the back of your throat as his hand trailed higher up your thigh, dangerously close to the flimsy bow holding the fabric together.

“M-my offer?” you stuttered out.

“Are you sober...” he trailed off, tongue darting out to wet his lips. He was fiddling with the nylon string at this point.

“Y/N,” you hummed out a response. “And, yes. Took a nap and everything.”

“Good,” he said before abruptly getting up so that he could collect his things from his own chair. Your skin felt cold without his touch despite the scalding heat you were being exposed to. He turned back around as he shoved his phone into his still damp pocket, “C’mon, pretty girl. We don’t have all day.”

You practically jumped up from your seat to grab your things, in spite of a chuckling Sidney behind you.

The walk to the lobby happened in what felt like half a second and before you knew it, Sidney had you pressed up against the outside of his room door. Maybe being on the first floor wasn’t such a bad thing.

His hips were pressing into yours, his fingers were bruising against your waist, and his lips. They were everywhere. You don’t even remember when he’d started kissing you, you just know you didn’t ever want him to stop.

He pulled away just enough to leave you panting and chasing his lips.

“I gotta open the door,” he whispered, lips grazing yours as he did so. The door clicked seconds later which allowed the two of you to slip inside only for Sidney to halfway shove your against the other side of the door the second it closed. Your palms fell flat against his exposed chest, slipping lower and lower as the moments passed until you were thumbing the hemline of his shorts.

“Please,” you whimpered out.

“Please, what?” he asked.

“Just. Please,” you answered. His hand found the tie to your top in a matter of seconds, undoing it slowly before repeating the process with the one around your neck and letting it fall to the floor between you.

His lips attached to the column of your throat as his fingers traced the edges of your bottoms. His mouth moved lower and lower until he was circling your left nipple with his tongue.

Stopping suddenly, he rose back up to his full height, motioning for you to jump with two taps on your hip as he lifted it to his waist. He carried you across the short expanse of his room, dropping you on the recently made up comforter of his bed.

“You’re so beautiful, you know that?” he mumbled before reattaching his lips to yours. He tasted like heaven. There was a faint mint flavor that you chalked up to being his toothpaste mixed with the distinct taste of Minute Maid lemonade and a sweet tea brand you couldn’t identify.

His clothes cock rutted against your core, sending flickers of the sight of him getting out of the pool glittering through your mind again. Those swim trunks left nothing to the imagination.

He shifted lower over your body, tugging your bikini bottoms down in one swift motion and quite literally tossing them over his shoulder.

“Look at you,” he praised. “So pretty and pink and wet for me. You’re dripping all over my sheets, pretty girl.”

One of his digits slipped between your folds, spreading the wetness around as he circled your clit with the pad of his finger.

“I think you’re a little-“ you cut yourself off with a moan when he slipped the finger inside you. “Overdressed.”

“Patience,” he said, inserting another finger into your hole. He curled his fingers in a scissoring motion, eliciting a high pitched gasp to fall from your lips. His thumb quickly found your clit which sent your eyes rolling straight into the back of your head.

“Oh my God,” you whimpered.

“Look at me,” he said. You ignored his comment, head hitting the pillow underneath you only for his movements to stop. “Look at me.”

Your eyes snapped back open.

“I want to see your eyes when you come on my cock,” he said, pulling his fingers from you so that he could shove the teal shorts down his legs just enough for his dick to slap against his stomach.

He grabbed a condom out of his wallet on the nightstand, ripping the packaging open with his teeth before rolling it down the length of his dick.

“Fuck me,” you groaned out as he lined his tip up with your entrance.

“I was planning on it,” he exhaled. He didn’t even give you a second to respond before he pushed in halfway.

“Holy fuck, you’re huge,” you said, unintentionally clenching around him. He shuddered before fully bottoming out.

“And you’re incredibly tight,” he said. It didn’t take him long to find his pace as his hands molded bruises into the sides of your hips.

His lips found your neck soon after, running his teeth lightly along the top of your collarbone as your hands found his hair. You would’ve commented on the softness of it if you had a coherent thought in your head. But all you could think about was the burning pleasure building in the pit of your stomach.

“I’m gonna cum, I’m gonna cum-“ you repeated like a mantra until your orgasm washed over you like a tidal wave.

“I’m right behind you,” he said, hips snapping into yours at an even faster rate. He lasted about two more thrusts before you felt him still inside you. He stayed there for a moment before he pulled out and made his way to the bathroom to dispose of the condom.

The thoughts started rushing into your head before the post-orgasm bliss even had the time to fully wear off. You couldn’t believe you’d just done that. Sure, he was gorgeous and, sure, he was practically the most gorgeous man you’d ever laid eyes on. But you were gonna be stuck living next door to him for the next two weeks.

You were already off the bed and grabbing your things from where they’d been dropped at the door—something you didn’t remember doing in the first place—when you heard Sidney turn the shower on. You had your bikini back on before his eyes hit you again.

“You can join me, if you want,” he said as he watched you scramble around his room from where he was leant up against the ensuite’s door frame.

“As much as I would love to do that, I’ve gotta get going,” you said, throwing open the room door and letting it shut before he could get another word out.

You had other things on your plate, anyway. Current mission: find Sigma. She might not be your best friend in the world, at least, yet, but you needed to tell someone about what just happened.

And judging by the way you’d scrounged what felt like the entire ship at this point—not really, you really only checked like three, very public areas—your mission was proving more impossible than you would’ve liked. Then, when you thought all hope was lost, you remembered the teensy tiny little tidbit of information she’d given you this morning when you were in six mimosas. She was staying in Room 215.

“Y/N! How unexpected,” Sigma said as she opened up her door wide enough to let you in. Her southern charm was seeping through every word and it really was no wonder how she’d already gotten married at 23.

You saw a man laying on the bed, thankfully, fully clothed with a remote control laying on his stomach. You heard a woman’s voice coming from the TV and what sounded like a murder documentary.

Sigma was ushering you out onto her balcony before you had time to really search her and husband’s room any further.

“What’s this surprise visit all about? I thought you’d gotten of me this morning,” she said as the two of you sat in the bolted down, metal chairs out there.

“You know that really hot guy in the room next to mine,” you said.

“No,” she exhaled. Maybe you’d forgotten to mention that this morning. Course, you barely remembered anything you’d mentioned this morning.

“Well,” you started. “There’s a really hot guy in the room right next to mine. And I may or may not have just hooked up with him.”

“You’re kidding!” she gasped.

“I almost wish I was,” you groaned, pulling your knees up to your chest.

“Was it that bad?” she asked with a wince. You looked over at her with a dumbfounded look on your face.

“It was the best sex I’ve had in my life,” you said.

“So, what’s the issue?”

“I don’t know. He’s kinda like my neighbor for right now, and somehow we manage to bump into each other everywhere we go. I just don’t want things to be even more uncomfortable for me on this stupid boat.”

“Honey.”

“I know, I know. It’s dumb,” you sighed. “I’m just not ready to get involved with another guy. Not after what happened with Max,” you said.

“Look, sweetheart. You’re never gonna find someone if you don’t give yourself the chance to open up. And who says this whole thing with your supah hot guy has to go any further than it has. I say if you get the chance, go for it.”

“Get the chance?”

“To have sex again! According to you, it was the best sex, like, ever.”

The next twenty minutes went on like that until Sigma’s husband practically forced her to go back inside and get ready for something. You took that as your cue to leave.

You were glad you’d gone to find her today. As weird as a start that you’d had for your friendship, she was probably one of the easiest people you’d ever had the opportunity of talking to.

The walk back to your room was quick. That was when you realized the only item you currently had in your possession was your phone. And not your key card. You knew you’d had it before the incident with Sidney and you were sure you’d grabbed everything on your way out of Sigma’s room. Which left one option. It was still on Sidney’s floor.

Sighing, you dropped your head in defeat, walking the two steps it took so that you were face to face with the wooden door you were pressed up against over an hour ago. Your hand hovered in the air until you worked up enough courage to actually knock.

“Here for this?” he asked, holding up the white card in one hand after he opened the door just wide enough to see you.

“Yes, thank you,” you said, reaching out to grab it from him only for him to pull it back, inches from your grip.

“You could’ve just gone to the front desk,” he said.

“I-“ you started. “Forgot that was an option.”

“Why are you always wet when we see each other?” you asked with an eye roll as the door swung open.

“Actually, I distinctly remember you being equally as wet when we met earlier,” he said.

“You’re insufferable,” you scoffed.

“And you’re adorable,” he said before actually handing over the key.

“Says the guy that takes hour long showers,” you said.

“I got a little preoccupied.”

“Uh-huh,” you hummed.

“You sure you have to go to your room?” he asked, tantalizingly slow, allowing his words to hang heavy in the air around you as his tongue slipped past his lips. Your eyes stayed glued to the water droplet running down his throat.

“I guess-“

“Well, come on then. Wouldn’t want you getting cold out there, pretty girl,” he said, the hand still holding your key card clasping around your wrist as he pulled you into his chest, and consequently, back into his room.

tags @kiedhara @thefootballfaithful @stuetzlesumlaut @penstxgal1968 @linkingdolans @englishmuffinwritesbooks @mrsvech37 @honeybearbarzal @burningbiatch @hannabritta @monalicia @mymanshawn @butgilinsky @pierreslucdubois @damndunner @klutchnetsov @stampiej @punkharts @heatherawoowoo

#sidney crosby series #sidney crosby imagine #sidney crosby x reader #sidney crosby smut #nhl #nhl imagine #nhl series #nhl smut #sun kissed desires

231 notes · View notes

diavolosthots · 4 years

Note

Could you make a fic with Asmo about mc’s strict religious parents?

Not me trying to get through all of Asmo's first... I aint gonna make it but its the will power that counts

Warning: religion

Expect the Unexpected (ASMODEUS X GN!READER )

Something told you this was a bad idea from the beginning on. No matter how much Asmodeus promised he’d be good, and how many times he reassured you there’s not much he can do when he’s meeting your parents over a zoom call, it just didn’t make you feel any better. “You’re so afraid I might do something, that it’s actually spurting me on to do something.” His face turned into a smirk, your eyes going wide because you knew he would very well be capable of it, but it just ended in him laughing and you smacking his arm, “Asmo!” He hummed, leaning in close, his lips almost brushing over your cheek, “yes, dear?” You groaned, brushing him off, “just be nice…” A fake gasp escapes him, his dramatic self falling back on the bed, “when am I NOT nice, (Y/N)? Truly, it hurts my feelings that you think of me so lowly.”

A chuckle escaped you, watching him with his arms covering his face, “My apologies, how could I ever make that up to you?” He pulled himself back up, lifting your chin by putting one of his fingers underneath it, “you should kiss me, darling, I’m sure it’ll get my mind off of it…” In reality, though, he saw the zoom link pop up in the corner of his eye and this kiss may have very well been a distraction to start this meeting with your parents out with a bang. The minute your lips touched his, he made sure to open the zoom link, kissing you back slow but deep. Your arms snuck around his neck, silently wishing you had more time, but that thought was interrupted by your father’s voice, “(Y/N)?!”

Of course, you pulled away from Asmo with a shocked look on your face the minute you heard your father’s voice, your mind racing as you tried to find the words to explain, only for Asmo to interrupt. A wide smile spread across his features as he moved in toward the camera, looking closer at your parents, “oh my, aren’t you handsome? A you! (Y/N). You never told me your mother was such a beauty!” To say you were embarrassed by his behavior right now is an understatement. Your mother didn’t know whether she should be flattered or just as embarrassed as you are right now and your father was a little less than amused. “Uhm… hey… guys. How are you? This is--!” “Asmodeus! Nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you and let me assure you that they were all good things! Truly, (Y/N) is such a sweetheart, I don’t think they could speak badly of anyone and-!” Your father held his hand up, abruptly stopping Asmodeus who didn’t take too kindly to it, but left it at that.

“Hold on son, can we go back to your name for a minute? Asmodeus? Like from the book of Tobit?” The demon’s eyes seem to almost pop out of its sockets as he squeals in excitement, nodding eagerly. “Yes! So you’ve heard of me. It’s not quite as acu---!” You slapped Asmodeus on the arm, desperate to get him to shut up before he dug himself an even deeper hole. You cleared your throat, smiling softly, “it’s simply a coincidence. His parents a-!” “Apparently smitten with demons. Are they Satanists (Y/N)? Are you dating a Satanist’s son?” You frowned, shaking your head and trying to explain the situation, “no! Of course not. His father is quite the uhm… holy man. In a good way.”

Asmodeus looked between you and your father for a moment, frowning because he can’t really brag about himself right now, but trying to ease back into the conversation, “he is… I was raised in a very… holy way.” A soft giggle escaped him as he tilted his head to his eyes, smiling at your parents, “are you very religious, sir? It sure seems like it if you’re trying to dictate your child’s relationship based on whether or not they’re dating a Satanist.” For the first time today, your mother spoke up, a soft smile on her lips, “It’s not us dictating, sweetie, you just have to understand that we want what is best for (Y/N). We wouldn’t want them to get mixed up with the wrong crowd.” Asmo nodded, looking at you before his hand reached up to push a strain of hair behind your ear, “Ah. My apologies. It sounded like you thought that anyone who’s not… a devout follower of your religion would be a bad guy, but that’s silly of course! Not what you meant at all. Still, I must say that not all Satanists are bad people.”

Asmodeus knew you thought he was digging himself a grave here, but the smirk on his lips told a different story. He was simply trying to rat out your parents and see what they truly thought. “So… Asmodeus… how did you two meet? How did this happen?” A sigh of relief fell from your lips when your mother actually asked a normal question and you visibly relaxed, smiling at the screen, “well… seeing as we always run into each other due to us living together, we just starting ta--!” “Hold on there hot shot; you’re living together?” You silently cursed your father, of course this was the one line he’d catch up on, “yes, dad, we live together. As a matter of fact, I live with a lot of people.” Your mother’s eyes beamed and you watched her visibly relax as well, “oh, so like a dorm? Tell me, what is it like?”

“Oh you know it’s me, my brothers, and (Y/N)!” The urge you felt to punch Asmodeus in that very moment is indescribable. A deep glare was directed toward him but he either didn’t see it or he didn’t care, “Of course, (Y/N) hangs out with me the most, especially…” he cups your face, wiggling his eyebrows, “...at night.” Before pulling away with a laugh, “we’re like a big family here! Don’t worry, everyone makes (Y/N) feel welcome and I especially give them my full, undivided attention.” You didn’t need to be in the same room to know that your father was fuming right now, not just about being interrupted, but also because Asmodeus just told him indirectly you were sleeping together, and sexual or not, he viewed that as a sin.

“Oh really? (Y/N), what else is there we should know?” You swallowed thickly, grabbing Asmodeus’ hand out of instinct, for comfort, and he seemed to understand, his voice dropping down sweetly, “you should probably know that I’m the Avatar of Lust, but don’t worry, consent is important to me.” not only were your parents eyes as wide as the ocean, you swore your dad was about to curse up a storm had Asmodeus not left the meeting and shut down your computer, turning back to you with a smile.

“Don’t be mad. I knew the minute I saw them that they’d be a stick up my ass and I just cannot pretend to be a sweet, innocent angel when I am simply… not.” A soft smile played on his lips, his hand reaching back up to cup your cheek, trying to ease the stunned look off of your face, “(Y/N)?” Could you really be mad at him? After all, no one knew your parents as well as you did and Asmodeus did have a good point and made the right assumption about them,” I… uhm.. Well you’re not wrong, but… I just really didn’t expect this to go the way it did.” A chuckle escaped him before pushing you down, “expect the unexpected.”

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me headcanons #obey me scenarios #asmodeus obey me #shall we date asmodeus #asmodeusobeyme #omswd asmo #om! asmodeus #asmodeus avatar of lust #obey me asmodeus x reader #tw religion

241 notes · View notes

coeurdastronaute · 4 years

Text

Essays in Existentialism: Plus One, Ch. 2

Previously on Plus One

It oscillated every other minute between being an amazing idea, but also being the worst idea of all time, and Lexa was mostly exhausted of bouncing back and forth. It might be easier, she decided, if she just got herself on board with it being a good idea, but a deep, gnawing hole seemed to manifest itself in her gut at the very thought of seeing her ex.

As she went through the motions of finishing the day, of doing inventory because it was Wednesday, Lexa tried not to distract herself with the thoughts of her impending trip. In just forty-eight hours, she’d be face to face with Costia, who she hadn’t seen in months, who she avoided before occasionally running awkwardly into each other at mutual friends’ events. She’d come face to face with her ex who was getting married.

And she was going to do it with a complete stranger on her arm.

With a heavy sigh, Lexa tossed her clipboard on her tiny desk in the storage closet and plopped down in the squeaky chair, tipping it back with a wail. Her sister was the worst.

It was quiet in the shop, closed for just a handful of hours, Lexa always took a day to inventory and repair the damage of the week. She enjoyed the late evening work, when her workers were gone, and the shop was empty and full of dreams. No one knew how the cabinets stayed so clean, or how the scratches on table tops got sanded and fixed, or how the wobbly table by the window was miraculous cured one day, or how the ceiling fans got dusted, just that it all happened, and Lexa was off, meaning she didn’t come in until at least ten, the following morning.

But Lexa sat in the chair and let her brain do the same mental gymnastics it always seemed to do in the new quiet she found herself craving. She opened her laptop and ignored the awaiting spreadsheet, and instead opted to look over the answer Clarke had given her to the “Know your partner” quiz Clarke googled and made them both do. A mix of basic information and Newlywed Game style innuendos, Lexa filled hers out after a bottle of wine and anxiously waited for Clarke’s.

That was what started the daydreaming. She scrolled through Clarke’s answers and furrowed, doing her best to memorizing all that she could, as if she’d be tested on it all, as if it’d be impossible to believe she could be happy with someone like Clarke.

And when those thoughts started to seep into her brain, Lexa leaned back again and dug the tips of her fingers into her eyes.

In a week it’d be over.

And with that and a deep, heavy sigh, Lexa looked at the screen again and went about learning Clarke.

She started professionally, of course, looking at her corporate page and resume, because this was, if not anything, simply a business transaction and Lexa thought it was easier to parse a person if she didn’t actually have to fall for her.

A graphic designer at Anya’s firm, Clarke held accolades and a long list of references. The link to her work showed a wide range of commercial campaigns and a certain amount of talent evident by her list of upcoming projects. A graduate of a small, private, liberal arts university, her academics leaned heavily scientific, which was a surprise until Lexa read some of the answers in the survey about a degree in physics given up for art.

Lexa promised that she wouldn’t have looked at Clarke’s Instagram if Clarke hadn’t requested her first. She wasn’t someone who lurked, or at least she thought she wasn’t. She didn’t want to be someone who snuck around, digging through someone’s past, analyzing every filter and caption like a private investigator. But then Clarke appeared.

And there were pictures of Clarke with friends getting drinks on a rooftop. And then the one with her laughing and baking. Or the Christmas party where she was on a corporate Santa’s lap, smiling so wide her eyes were shut. Despite herself Lexa found herself smiling along with the girl in the pictures. The one who went hiking with a pack of dogs, and the one who seemed to always be eating something. The one who had a lot of friends and enjoyed making them smile and laugh. The girl who posted storie about her morning run, and the girl who seemed to have a healthy work life balance.

Lexa closed the webpages and stared at her inventory for exactly two seconds before curiosity won again and Lexa started looking at Costia’s account. There were the standard pictures of her pre-wedding planning. There was Costia working out. There was her new bride-to-be, happy and smiling at a gift for her birthday.

And then a throwback that made Lexa’s stomach drop as she stared at a familiar image of Costia smiling in a bikini on a beach. It was from the last trip they took. Lexa was the one behind the camera.

Three weeks after that picture was taken, Lexa walked in on Costia and a girl in the middle of the afternoon. Right in their own bed. Only to then discover it’d been going on for months. And it wasn’t the first. And then, Lexa didn’t remember much except that she moved into the apartment above her coffee shop and woke up one morning alone on sheets that weren’t familiar, in a room full of boxes.

It seemed even more difficult to start inventory after that shot to the gut.

But her phone went off, and Lexa leaned back in her chair after shutting the laptop again, wondering if that sinking feeling ever went away when it came to someone you love, or loved, or once loved, even for a moment. She didn’t have anything to compare it to, and she didn’t have any idea what love really was.

It felt like a deep wound was scratched open, the scab pulled back, and a burning numbness gnawing at the bottom of her spine. It felt like it would swallow her whole, and Lexa hated, more than anything, giving anyone the power to do anything as such over her.

Hey! Do you think this will go with your outfit?

An image came next, of Clarke in a dressing room wearing a very pretty dress, with very messy hair with her tongue sticking out. Lexa didn’t notice the gnawing feeling disappear.

We don’t have to match completely.

We do! Don’t you know how to date?

Not really.

Another picture of another dress came a moment later. Clarke was pretty. She was happy and silly and kind. It felt oddly normal, for as crazy as the whole scheme actually was.

I like that one, Lexa wrote, making sure to add a heart-eyed emoji to emphasize her point. Maybe that was flirting. Maybe she was allowed. She definitely needed more rules.

Good, I do too. It matches your tie, you know? And these heels will still leave you a little taller than me.

Sounds good to me!

Kind of excited. I guess I’ll see you at the airport tomorrow.

I’ll be the one at the bar.

I’ve heard it’s possible to find your soulmate at the airport. Something about the crossing of paths and time and space.

If my soulmate is a bottle of wine, then I reckon I might.

A love story for the ages.

Lexa smiled once more at her phone before tossing it to the side and letting her head drop to the desk. With a groan she growled into her hands and broke it down. She just needed to make it seventy-two hours. That was it. She could sleep for about twenty of those. She could drink for another twenty or more, if she really tried.

But this was it. This was the end.

And regardless of the weight of everything else, there was something satisfying about knowing it was almost over.

XXXXXXXXXX

The airport was absolutely teaming with bodies and people, weaving their way through the swelling crowds, loading and unloading the terminals at a constant, steady thumping rate, so regular one could set a watch to the heartbeat of the building.

Clarke adjusted her bag on her shoulder and tapped the ticket against her thigh as she moved through the security line. The nerves were coming for some reason. That was why she was at the airport three hours before the flight. She was anxious and needed a stiff drink and a few moments to catch her breath. She needed to escape the whirlwind she’d allowed herself to create.

Carefully, she made her way through the airport, checking the boards and finding her way to a seat in the empty waiting room. Not even an attendant waited at the kiosk.

Once again, she let herself awkwardly scroll on her phone, learning everything she could about her future date and weekend plans.

Lexa was nearly non-existent online. She didn’t have any pictures of herself. She rarely posted anything on her personal account, and when she did, it was just a book or a coffee or from a trip. She wasn’t one to enjoy being the center of attention, but when it came to her shop, she made sure to post almost daily, highlighting her employees and their recommendations, she made share to highlight events, she made sure to be as active as possible.

Anya had already warned Clarke that her sister was devoted to her work. She’d poured all of her effort into being successful and part of the community, and Clarke admired it, she just wished that there was more for her to see.

And so, once more, she flipped back to the long line of questions they’d filled out before giving up and gazing out the window at the planes coming and going.

For a moment, she allowed herself to think that she was doing something nice and good. It was an act of charity. It was the shake up Clarke needed and was selfishly trying to package as benevolent.

“You beat me, and I’m usually the first one here for a flight,” Lexa observed, walking up to Clarke, stealing her from her reverie.

“I like airports. Just waiting for true love to stroll up and introduce themselves.”

Lexa shoved her hands in her pockets, her bag balanced on her shoulder as she cautiously looked around, surveying the empty terminal slowly. Clarke watched her look around, smiled at the innocence of it. Enjoyed the way she ran her hand through her hair, mussing it up a bit and tossing it to another side.

“No one likes airports,” Lexa shook her head before taking the seat beside her.

“I do. They’re romantic.”

“Romantic?”

“You can get onto a plane, and a few hours later, you’re hundred of miles away, and it’s different weather, and it’s a different time zone. You can go to sleep in a different state. How can you not be romantic about that.”

“It’s a tin can filled with recycle air.”

“But there are peanuts.”

That did it. Lexa cracked a smile to herself and relaxed a little.

“I was going to be the first one here. Surprise you with coffee, but you beat me to it.”

“You are quite a good girlfriend. Someone clearly trained you well.”

Lexa shook her head, somewhat bashful, somewhat reserved. There was always something right there, just below the surface, obfuscated by a kind of resolve to never give anything away, not at any price. Clarke read it between words in their texts and emails, a glaring finality in the simple pixel of a period.

“Can I get you a coffee? Two creams, two sugar right?”

“You don’t have to--”

“It’s early and I’m trying to be charming. Allow me to somewhat repay you for this whole endeavour.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, darling.”

With the term of endearment, Lexa nodded, grinning into her chest as she stood and made her way across the terminal in search of sustenance. Clarke watched her take out her phone, texting her sister no doubt.

Once more, Clarke resumed the digging on her own, scrolling on her own phone at old pictures on Lexa’s profile. She was ready for fun, and she was ready to crack at that facade.

“I don’t know if this will help,” Lexa sighed as she sat down. “I didn’t sleep a wink last night.”

“Oh this won’t be good for me either,” Clarke said as she took a sip. “I’m a fairly nervous flyer.”

“And yet you let me get us both coffee.”

“You made a good point, and I’m prepared to be paid back all weekend.”

With another grin, Lexa leaned back, her arm going on the back of the chair that Clarke inhabited, naturally, with ease, with a level of comfort.

“Are you ready to tell me the story?”

“Which one is that?” Clarke turned to look at her date, returned from an absent moment.

“How we met.”

“How we met,” she nodded, her smile bordering on mischievous. “That’s simple. Don’t you remember? It was a very blustery Tuesday, and I was trying to escape the wind and rain. I almost tripped coming into your coffee shop, but you happened to be sweeping, and were kind enough to catch me.”

“You’re severely overestimating my reflexes.”

“Fine. I ran you over and we both ended up on our asses in the middle of the coffee shop. Coffee everywhere.”

“Sounds pretty likely.”

“And I knew right there, I was hooked. Those eyes, all angry and annoyed at me for not looking where I was going, despite my persistent defense that I’d been assaulted by the weather.”

“Why do I have to be the angry one?”

“Wouldn’t you be though?” Clarke returned, daring her to be contradicted.

“Maybe,” Lexa agreed over the lid of her cup, fretting with it nervously.

“So I crashed into you, and you bought be a coffee. I turned up every day after that until I finally asked you out. You took longer than I would have liked to answer me, but I accepted it anyway, and we’ve been madly in love ever since.”

“And when was this?”

“About eight months ago.”

“How’s it going so far?”

“Splendidly. I’ve already met your sister, who it happens that I work with, which is super convenient for everyone.”

Quietly, Lexa sat there, going over the story, going over all of the past eight months of apparent bliss in her head. Clarke watched her furrow before softening, her eyes not seeing, but rather looking through the window as a plane took off and another landed. The softening of her features was soon met with a perplexion, a slight, gentle contortion of the brow and the lips, a tightening as a kind of confusion overtook the ease of the entire story.

“Is it that easy?” Lexa asked quietly, turning her head toward her date. Clarke cocked her head, waiting for more. “Is all of it… just… a wind? Waiting for someone to just ask you out? Is it that easy? Does that happen to people?”

“It can. How does anything happen in the world? It just… does. The universe is just a series of things happening, all of the time, right?”

“But is it that easy?”

To her credit, Clarke thought about it. She flexed her jaw and took a deep breath before slowing letting it go as she wondered if it really was.

“I don’t know. Maybe it can be.”

“How?”

“I guess there has to be a balance to making things happen and letting things happen.”

“I don’t know if I’m good at either of those things,” Lexa confessed. She sat up straighter a moment later, afraid of her honesty, and surprised more by how easily it came out.

“I think you can be.”

“That’s probably too kind.”

“We’ll see.”

Clarke rubbed Lexa’s shoulder, rubbed the middle of her back between her shoulder blades until she reached the collar of her shirt, where she massaged her neck. She tensed before relaxing, and Clarke didn’t stop, just rubbed there gently, slowly until she knew it was enough and she trailed her palm back toward the seat.

It was right there, they just didn’t know it.

212 notes · View notes

yandere-daydreams · 4 years

Note

darling escapes from atsumu & runs to osamu for help, not knowing that the twins share the same feelings for her

I try to keep my Reader-Inserts gender neutral as often as possible, but I /love/ the idea of escaping from one brother, only to fall into the loving arms of another. At least Osamu’s a little nice, or, he can be, at least. He tries to be. Sometimes. Maybe. If you’re really, really lucky.

Title: Trade Off.

TW: Kidnapping, Captivity, Mentions of Physical Abuse, Dehumanization, and Slight Infantilization.

Osamu greeted you with a hug.

From anyone else, it wouldn’t have been surprising. What kind of friend wouldn’t hug you - a missing person, a victim of something awful with the evidence littered all over your skin, in burns and cuts and too many bite-marks to count, but Osamu had always been reserved. A hug from him was like rain in the desert, snowfall in the tropics, and despite everything you’d done to earn something more than just a stiff embrace and a moment of uncharacteristic affection, you’d cherished it. You’d fallen into it. You’d wanted it and you’d loved him for it, if only because it was something Atsumu’d never do. If only because it reminded you how different he was from his twin, despite their identical appearances.

If only because, from that point forward, you’d been sure you made the right choice by running to him, before friends and family and a dozen more reasonable choices. You were still sure.

It’d proved he cared about you, and that was something his brother could never do.

Even now, his protective fondness hung in the air, laying over you and keeping you warm like a blanket of worried glances and soft touches, Osamu taking any excuse to rest his hand on your shoulder or let his fingers brush against yours, little things to reassure himself that you were there and you were real, even if hours had already passed since you turned up on his doorstep. You’d already told him about Atsumu, how he’d turned into a monster overnight and the more palatable parts of your captivity, and he’d sat across from you in the cramped living-room, nodding occasionally and letting you speak, getting you a cup of something hot and herbal when your eyes went cloudy and your hands started to shake. You drank it down, thankful for the excuse to stifle the words you found pouring off of your tongue, despite your best efforts to hold them in.

Osamu took your story in stride. With his chin resting on his fist, he scanned over you, his gaze lingering passively on Atsumu’s shirt, the only piece of clothing you’d been able to grab before you fled, and a particularly bad bruise over your shoulder, dipping down until it reached your collarbone. “Want to use my phone?” He offered, his voice flat, but the question itself full of concern. “Your folks must be worried sick. I wouldn’t blame you for wantin’ to get out of here sooner than later.”

You should call someone, your parents, the police, someone, but a selfish, exhausted part of you just wanted to curl up on Osamu’s couch and spend a few more days in denial, pretending the past few months of your life hadn’t happened or dismissing the fact that they’d continue to take a toll on you. Embracing the idea wouldn’t be a good idea, but it couldn’t hurt to indulge it. Get a few hours of sleep, see if you could find a decent pair of pants. Take in Osamu’s hospitality rather than try to tell yourself you didn’t need it. “I need a little time,” You said, shaking your head idly. “You don’t mind if I hang around for a while, do you? I just… I’d like to get my story straight. Saying ‘my famous boyfriend locked me in his basement because he loved me’ might not go over well with the police.”

That earned an airy chuckle. Osamu stood, taking you by the hand to help you do the same. “C’mon. I have a spare room I’ve been fixin’ up, you can stay there for as long as you need to.”

You smiled up at him, and he smiled back. You weren’t sure whether it was relief, joy or gratitude that flooded into your body before you could remind yourself to be cautious, but you let Osamu guide you through his home without complaint, only letting go of his hand when he came to a white door at the end of a long hall, and Osamu had to fish through his pockets to find its key.

‘Fixing up’ had been an understatement.

You weren’t sure if Osamu and Atsumu had a younger sibling, any cousins they favored, but if they did, those kids must’ve been spoiled rotten. The walls were painted a rich, pastel pink, the desk and the bed both new and trendy and absolutely covered in trinkets and toys, things that fell somewhere between decorative and unnecessary. There weren’t any windows, but with a flip of a switch, a small army of lamps lit the room with a soft glow, making you want to fall onto the plush rug that covered most of the floor and lose yourself in the unadulterated homeyness. You couldn’t say you were difficult to impress - with Atsumu, your ‘room’ was either an empty, darkened closet or a crate, sometimes big enough to accommodate you, sometimes not. This felt… extravagant, in comparison. More than you deserved. More than you could accept without paying a price.

It made sense when you heard the door close behind you, a lock clicking into place and Osamu’s key slipping back into his pocket. Your heart still froze into your chest, your pulse slowing down and racing at the same time, but it made sense.

You swallowed your nerves hastily, forcing yourself to turn around and cross your arms over your chest. A futile gesture, considering Osamu’s height and your blatant frailty, but it was too early to grovel. If he wanted to push you around, you’d prove you could push back. “Let me out, now. I don’t know if you think this is funny, but--”

“I started putting this together the day after ‘tsumu got to you. It was already too late, no one knew what ditch you’d died in, but what the hell, right?” He walked past you swiftly, not bothering to acknowledge your rebellion. He didn’t speak loudly, nor was he any more imposing than he’d been a minute ago, but what he was saying, how casually he was saying it, was enough to render you speechless. Absentmindedly, he slid open the closet’s mirrored panel, rummaging through its contents as he went on. “It wasn’t hurting anyone, and if I was gonna get my hands on you eventually, I’d have a plan. He’s too impulsive, never had to wait for anythin’ in his life. I was worried he was gonna break you, for a few weeks.” He paused, pursing his lips as he found what he was looking for. Clothes were thrown at your feet, a full outfit too sheer and too minimalistic to be for your enjoyment. “Change. I’ve wanted to rip those fucking rags off of you since you got here.”

You didn’t bother responding to that. You had a feeling it would only fuel his smoldering hostility. “This isn’t--” You bit your tongue before you could finish. ‘It’s not fair’ was something a child would say, and you were an adult, a capable, independent adult. Clearly, you’d already done something to make the Miya twins think otherwise. “You have to let me go, Osamu. I just got away from your brother, I just got free, you can’t take that away from me. We’re supposed to be friends. You’re supposed to care about me.”

“I’m doing this because I care about you.” On their own, the words might’ve been kind, empathetic, but whatever warmth his gaze held was balanced out by the way his lips curled back, how his tone turned into a snarl so easily. “What would you do if I opened that door? Run off and tell the cops? Knock on doors until you find someone willing to believe that a celebrity and his twin both tried to kidnap you, back to back? Or, would you go crawling back to ‘tsumu, see if he still wants you after you let his brother put his hands all over you?” He had a way of laughing at his own jokes, the noise so arrogant, so confident, so annoying, it was hard to believe he’d ever found anyone else funny. Maybe he didn’t. Maybe he couldn’t. “I’m trying to be nice, but if you make this hard for me, I’ll make it hard for you.”

You grit your teeth, but your body betrayed you, eyes flickering down to the cloth at your feet. “I can manage on my own--”

“Don’t lie to me.” His fingers were in your hair before you noticed he was moving, forcing your head to bow as his blunt nails dug into your scalp. “You’re helpless, and you know you are. If you aren’t in ‘tsumu’s bed, you’re gonna be in mine, and you’re smart enough to make the right choice. Fucking change, before I start to think it’d be easier to throw you out myself.”

You stiffened, going rigid under his palm. Then, you kneeled, taking up the silken fabric and casting him one last glare before retreating to the other side of the room, turning your back to Osamu as you slid Atumu’s shirt over your head.

Just exchanging one kidnapper for another.

Silently, Osamu watched as you fled and regrouped, facing away from him to hide the way your shoulders trembled, your body shaking so violently, Osamu couldn’t be sure whether or not you were trying to make him pity you. He didn’t mind, though. He’d been waiting months for this. Years, honestly, but Osamu’s teenage daydreams hardly centered around taking in his brother’s wayward brat. If Atsumu had tried to train you, he’d done a piss-poor job. You were as obedient as you would’ve been fresh-off the streets, and now you knew all the tricks and tactics of a well-worn captive.

Still, he’d be lying if he said he was disappointed. Already, a collection of incentives were burning holes in his mattress, tucked under his bed and waiting to be used the first time you acted-up with something more aggressive than words. Luckily, you were too preoccupied to notice his mouth moving in a silent prayer, words of thanks that you’d turned down his offer to use his phone. If you thought to go through his messages, his call history, you wouldn’t have liked what you found. He was already planning for how… distressed you’d be, at the next trade-off.

If you were this fussy to fall into Osamu’s care at all, he couldn’t imagine how you’d act when Atsumu’s next turn came around.

607 notes · View notes

misha-moose-dean-burger-lover · 4 years

Text

for @bend-me-shape-me's spn advent calendar 2020. prompt: carols.

dedicated to @one-more-offbeat-anthem!! happy birthday <3

After Chuck's defeated, and Billie's gone, and the Empty has been bargained with (semantics, any of the Winchesters would say if you asked one of the four to elaborate) into returning Cas in exchange for eternal sleep, there's peace.

After they're done, and really done, there's time.

A moment to breathe, a minute to look at the clouds, and hours stretching endless, days on end, resonating with something resembling quiet.

And then, there's a guitar.

"Nope." Dean declares. "Never seen that thing in here before. And I once did Christmas inventory by myself, so I should know."

Sam snickers at Dean's cavalier tone. He'd been content to examine the instrument from a distance, unlike his brother, but that didn't mean he wasn't paying attention. "You had to do it yourself, Dean. Those were the exact words of the bet."

"I was drunk, and you hustled me!"

"You've known I play poker my entire life!"

"Well, yeah." Dean flashes his best shit-eating grin. "But you've sucked, your entire life, so —"

"— sure I have —"

"— your entire life has really just been a very long, very lame hustle!" Dean spreads his arms in a display of triumph. "And ergo, you hustled me into Christmas inventory-ing. The case is rested, your honor."

"That's not how you say —"

"Sam. Dean." Cas interjects, loud and exasperated. Sam shuts up immediately, eyes falling to his lap, while Dean exchanges a sheepish look with Cas (and Jack, who to his credit, seemed to be unaffected by the mini-feud. But that's less the part about him being God-Lite and more about him being himself. A kid who grew up watching his dads bicker endlessly and mostly, uneventfully, and has come to terms with it as a primary aspect of (at least, his) family.)

Cas, as usual, puts up with less of their crap. "Is this really necessary right now?"

Dean loves him for it, except when it's targeted at Dean and since that's kind of a lot, he isn't sure he loves it, or just loves Cas and generalises the things he does under the wider bracket of Cas.

"And if it's not," Cas goes on, using what is probably his I-led-garrisons-in-heaven voice, which automatically sends a shiver up Dean's spine. "Can we agree the guitar is, somehow, a recent addition and leave it at that?"

Sam nods slightly, apologetic. Dean just rolls his eyes, but it's a yes. (Everyone there knows it's a yes.)

"It's not cursed." Jack cuts in brightly. "Or out of the ordinary at all."

"So," Dean blinks. "We just happen to have an awesome new guitar show up, completely randomly, in this top secret Bunker no one know about, minus any ulterior motives or death curses?"

Jack grins. "Yes."

"Cool." Dean says immediately, and Sam huffs an amused laugh. He thinks he sees Cas smile as well, and a smirk grows on his face.

"Dibs."

Unsurprisingly, nobody counters his dibs, and Dean ends up taking the guitar to his room.

It's after a few days of insecurity, leading right into embarrassment, leading further to ignoring its existence, and further still to a mostly depressive array of memories — before it circles back to insecurity, and is about to repeat all over again, when he stops himself in his proverbial spiral, and decides to just friggin' do it.

That night, he picks up the pick.

Fiddles with it in his hands for a minute, and proceeds to abandon the idea again, because it does not feel right. Different shape, different weight.

And Dean Winchester's already enough of a misfit for this project, for his guitar pick to be a poor goddamn fit in his hand too.

But there's something about being so close that stirs up motivation in his heart, similar to the first day they found the damn thing, and next morning, he's out looking for a music shop in town.

That night, he finally plays.

It's uncertain — experimental — and he soon realizes why nobody ever says a damn thing about guitars when they say you never forget how to ride a bike.

But then, slowly, and really slowly at that, music seems to return to his fingers.

It isn't smooth by any chance, or even really accurate, but there's a faint tug in his brain that leads him to the next chord, and a twitch in his wrist that tells him when to strum, and he's awful, he's really friggin' awful, but even repeatedly saying so in his head refuses to dampen the overwhelming feeling that lights him up from the inside to start to feel like maybe he can play again. There's hope, and there's terrible, off-timed, broken music, and there's Dean in the middle of it, and maybe he can actually do this.

Recollection of how to play had come to his hands as they trembled, and tried, but the exhilaration of it, and the joy, only come back to his heart once he'd stopped, heart racing, adrenaline high, and unexplainable tears pricking his eyes.

Dean Winchester goes to bed that night, giddy in a way he hasn't been in years.

And outside his bedroom, his family of three exchange confused glances when the playing stopped abruptly, and then smiles when a sound that can only be said to bear semblance to a squeal, follows the silence.

(The first song Dean had played in over twenty five years had been Joy to the World.

It had also been the first song he'd ever learned — Cassie's choice, not his. Sam, Cas and Jack didn't know any of that. To them, it had just been a christmas carol. But there was also something so moving about that, soft in a way each of them knew Dean would fight against being, that they didn't realize they hadn't budged from Dean's door, long until faint snores replaced the quiet, and they left for their own beds, wordlessly already having decided on a plan for the next day.)

Cas knocks first on Dean's bedroom door, and all music immediately ceases. There's a yell from inside after ten seconds of a shuffling kind of silence.

"Yeah?"

"May I come in?" Cas asks.

Another pause.

Cas wonders worriedly if Sam and Jack were mistaken when they said that Cas had to be first, that he was their best shot at getting Dean to open up — the easiest past Dean's line of defense.

Then Dean says, a little quieter. "Yeah, sure."

Cas enters, gently closing the door behind himself before his eyes land on Dean — and he fights the urge to smile, because Dean hasn't kept away the guitar or anything. It's still on his lap, not in playing stance, with his arms folded over it — but he's not trying to hide it from Cas.

"Is everything okay?" Dean interrupts his reverie. Cas nods.

Neither of them say anything for a minute.

"Can I listen?"

Cas surprises himself with his own courage to ask — no twisted words or excuses to stay, just a simple question. Things were so rarely simple for them, but this wasn't a common occurrence either so it evened out.

"Y-yeah." Dean mutters.

Cas lights up.

"I suck, by the way." Dean adds, almost immediately. "But I'll suck less with time, I'm hoping. I mean, I'm supposed to, you know, but I — uh, I mean — maybe I —"

Cas realizes that he hadn't stopped smiling at Dean and that's what had made Dean falter, and he looks away, embarrassed.

"I'll just play, I guess." Dean manages smally, sounding as embarrassed as him.

"Please."

Dean clears his throat instead of playing.

"Yeah."

Cas can tell he's nervous. Even if he weren't good at, and very used to reading Dean, he could've gauged as much. And he wishes he had the right words, he really does, but he's aware a sincere speech of how much it means that Dean let him stay, and listen, would have the opposite effect of calming.

Then there's another knock on the door, and Cas relaxes.

"Dean?"

Sure enough, it's Jack.

Sam had explained how Dean was most likely, unfortunately, to deflect if he was there — "his denial fires up, Cas. I associate it with a parenting complex of some kind, and he just won't let go of it." — so the order had been decided as Cas, Jack and Sam. No overwhelming by arriving all three at once, or one after the other as if it were planned. No, they'd enter after some time, giving the previous person time to make Dean comfortable to them before the next enters.

Cas thinks it's a rather brilliant plan, and wonders if he should ask Sam to formulate a similar one to get Dean to open up about other things too. He doesn't, ultimately.

"Yeah?" Dean yells back.

"Have you seen Cas?"

That had been the plan.

"Yeah," Dean raises his voice to answer. "He, uh. He's right here. Come on in."

And Jack does, and eyes Cas with probably too much meaning (he means triumph) for Dean to not have noticed, before turning to the latter. "Oh. Were you about to play for Cas?"

Dean colors at that, his ears reddening almost instantly, and Cas files it away for pondering later.

"Can I be here too?"

And Dean's eyes widen a little — sign of anxiety, maybe understanding — and he licks his lips and then he nods. "I guess. I mean, okay, fine. But didn't you need Cas for something?" He adds, confused.

"I," Jack hesitates. Oh no, Cas thinks. Sam's prepared him for this, but Jack looks like he's about to, as Dean would say, wing it. And all-powerful or not, he knows his son is a terrible liar. "No, I just wanted to know if you'd seen him."

Dean narrows his eyes.

"Now I do know. That, uh, you've seen him." Jack braves on, determined to reach the bottom of the proverbial hole he'd dug for himself apparently. "So now, I don't need to know anything. Now I can stay."

Dean sighs.

"I can, right?"

There's a lightness in Dean's voice instead of tension when he says, "Yeah."

"Thank you." Jack says brightly, and all Cas can do is shake his head when Jack turns to him for feedback, and the both of them proceed to wear (nearly matching, but not on purpose) excited stares as they focus on Dean.

The final straw is when there's a third knock on the door, and Sam pokes his head in. One unconvincing "Where's everyone at?" later, he's joined Cas and Jack in staring with a unnecessary (and hopefully unintended) comfort-the-vic's-family smile at Dean.

God, he loves these dumbasses and would give his life for everyone present in the room, but none of them can act for shit.

It's glaringly obvious they've all respectively shown up to listen to him play.

Which is bullshit in itself, because Dean wasn't being modest when he told Cas he sucks — he does suck. But then, he doesn't think any of them would mind. Sam would probably unlock new levels of the puppy eyes if he knew how happy even playing awfully, made Dean. Jack would be blunt, of course, but undeterringly sweet. And Cas? He'd probably smile at him all the way through, just — that smile of his, that always seems to make time freeze and Dean's heart stutter.

So Dean decides magnanimously to not call them out.

Right away, anyway.

Instead, he turns to them with a question. "Any requests?"

(He can't play one of the only songs he remembers having learned without errors yet, so obviously asking for requests is the right way to go. But you see, once you've given up on impressing, it's only fair to see yourself to the end of the chaos.)

"Christmas carols." Jack answers before anyone else.

"It's May."

"Sam's," Jack swallows. Dean should really get on teaching the kid how to lie. "Sam's making me listen to carols."

"In May?" He asks his brother this time.

Sam shrugs, struggling to keep a diplomatic face.

"You're going to grow up to be the young adult who doesn't take off the Christmas lights in January." Dean informs Jack, who absorbs his words with all the seriousness Dean should have expected. "And, fine. We can do carols."

Cas speaks up. "Any carol you'd like, Dean."

"Nah," Dean shakes his head. "Jack requested it. We'll do what he says." And he insists to his conscience that he said so because he wants to make Jack happy, and not because he's well aware the kid isn't being subjected to carols by Sam in friggin' May, and probably doesn't know any.

"Oh." Jack's face falls. He looks at Sam in the most conspicuous way anyone's ever looked at anyone. "I —"

"Uhhuh?"

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!" Cas blurts, on behalf of Jack, and there's a two second gap where Sam facepalms and Jack exchanges a conspirational glance with Cas, and then Dean's throwing his head back and laughing.

And soon, Sam's joining in with an exasperated kind of chuckling as if he's gotten stuck in the wrong team but he doesn't regret a thing, and then Cas starts too, mostly from looking at Dean losing his shit (Dean strictly ignores thinking about that part and focuses on imprinting Cas's laugh to memory) and probably also because the ridiculosity of the entire situation probably struck him, and of course Jack's smiling at all of them, and it's, altogether, everything Dean could ever have wished for.

The evening ends with Dean playing Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer (of course) for at least an hour while consistently getting better at the repeating music, and although it's him humming under his breath (like he always has while playing) that starts it off, soon all of them are offering their own awful renditions to the chaos. Cas is off-key, Sam somehow manages to screw up the lyrics, and Jack is as flat as a friggin' plateau.

And it all comes together in a wholly unmelodious kind of awesome — to Dean the same way they say a mother's love comes through for an ugly child.

After Rudolph, it's Silent Night (another song Dean's learned, it hits him, once he's trying to find the right chord) and even Cas manages to look disappointed at the lyrics Sam and he come up with to make up for not knowing the real ones, and since Jack's never heard this one, he simply listens in rapt attention leaving Dean wondering if he probably ended up learning the wrong version on account of all his concentration.

And last of all, it's We Wish You A Merry Christmas, and Dean plays the chorus enough times that he's perfect at it, because for once, no one messes up the beat or the lyrics, and everyone has the most fun.

All in all, it's an evening to remember.

What Dean learns through it all is primarily the lesson that letting your family think they tricked you into having an audience is sometimes an excellent choice to make, and that things can be crap, but still be enjoyed. That doesn't mean he's not going to practice his ass off learning to play at least the choruses of the Led Zepp tracks he gifted Cas (the idea came to him in bed last night, and Cas has always sounded like he enjoyed them, okay?) so he can play them 'for Cas' as the kid so casually put — but then, some things are different from other things, just the way some love's different too.

And while some things are about efforts, and saying the words that scare you, others are about letting go, and singing carols in bright and sunny May.

The only thing Dean's sure about is that just about all of it comes down to being free.

200 notes · View notes

nox-et-stellae · 3 years

Text

Kojiro had lost track of how long he’d been sitting in the same spot.

The armchair in the corner of Kaoru’s hospital room was too small to slump into comfortably, so Kojiro had given up on the idea of taking a nap. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to sleep now, anyway. Every time he closed his eyes, the events of the past few hours flashed by in his mind.

Entering the emergency room had been a blur -- running in with Kaoru in his arms had brought the attention on him right away, and within seconds he was swarmed by nurses and staff. Countless questions about what happened rained down on him, and he found himself unable to open his mouth to answer them. Relief washed over Kojiro when Shadow started filling in the gaps for him, and then a nurse tugged on his sleeve, pointing him to an empty bed and instructing him to put Kaoru down carefully.

Kojiro could only do as he was told, and he could’ve sworn Kaoru’s grip on his jacket lingered for a touch too long before he let go. Their gazes met, and Kojiro would’ve done anything to get rid of the fear in his eyes, if the hospital staff hadn’t cut in and busied themselves with Kaoru’s injuries.

Before Kojiro knew it, Kaoru’s bed was being wheeled away. A black hole swallowed everything within the cage of his ribs as he watched Kaoru disappear behind a set of heavy white doors.

One way or another he’d found his way into a waiting room. Someone pushed a small cardboard cup of cheap coffee into his hands. He vaguely remembered staring at the wall until its subtle pattern began to swirl along with his stomach.

Eventually a nurse notified him that Kaoru was confirmed to be stable, no severe or life-altering damage done, and that they’d moved him to a separate room to rest. She walked off then, without saying another word, knowing that Kojiro would follow her to whichever room they’d assigned him.

Kaoru had been sleeping from the moment Kojiro had entered. Kojiro had simply collapsed into the nearest chair and watched him, illuminated only by a small nightlight.

A handful of minutes ago the door had opened, shaking Kojiro out of whatever reverie he’d been stuck in, revealing the small, tired frame of a nurse about to wrap up her night shift. She passed through swiftly to check on Kaoru, waking him gently and asking him a handful of basic questions to make sure his concussion didn’t get worse. Kojiro didn’t even get the chance to look him in the eye -- he was back asleep before the nurse had closed the door behind her.

By now, the early morning sun started peeking through the thin indigo curtains and slipping through whatever slit they didn’t happen to cover, bathing the small room in a soft, golden glow.

Kojiro had never before had this much time to look at Kaoru. To really look at him.

He lay in a half-upright position, his back and neck supported by sturdy pillows. Bandages covered most of his head wounds, and his right arm was tucked securely into a sling. Traces of blood still lingered in his hair, splayed around him in tangled strands. His chest rose and fell peacefully underneath his hospital gown -- a movement Kojiro had tried to calm himself with over and over, but never quite managed.

Even in this state, Kaoru was heartbreakingly beautiful.

Kojiro had always known he was, and he’d always been aware of it. But there were particular moments, such as this one, where it slapped him in the face and left him reeling.

He didn’t think he had ever ached to touch him this much.

As quietly as he could, he scooted his chair closer to Kaoru’s bed. Then he reached out, slid his hand underneath Kaoru’s free one, and interlaced their fingers.

For a moment, he marveled at how well their hands seemed to fit together, like two matching puzzle pieces. How his hands, tan and covered in calluses and tiny little scars he’d collected in culinary school, contrasted with Kaoru’s fair ones, slender and smooth except for the spots on his fingers that carried his calligraphy brush. And how, above all else, he didn’t want to let go.

Then Kaoru’s fingers moved, solidifying their grip on Kojiro’s hand with a slight squeeze.

Kojiro’s head shot up, and saw that Kaoru’s eyes were open, trained on their intertwined fingers, the tiniest smile tugging up his lips.

“I knew you were sentimental,” he said lowly, “but this is a lot even for you.”

“Kaoru,” Kojiro breathed, and before he could stop himself, he started laughing. Soft, breathy, desperate chuckles dripping with relief; the kind that could transform into harsh, racking sobs if one wasn’t careful. Finally, finally, the vines that had strangled him for hours on end began to loosen their hold, and he leaned forward until his forehead touched their shared hands.

“Now, now,” he heard Kaoru say, his voice laced with amusement. “No need for your carefree spirit to be so worry-struck. Cheer up, little Kojiro.”

Kaoru’s hand pulled free from Kojiro’s grip and ran through Kojiro’s hair soothingly. “I can’t believe I have to comfort you when I’m the injured one here,” he added, mock-sullenly.

“Alright, alright,” Kojiro said, sitting up, “you can cut it out now.”

Kaoru hummed, lifting his hand to cover his smile with slender fingers, the way he often hid it behind his favorite fan.

Then, as if the events of the night before suddenly came back to him, his smile fell.

"Are you in pain?" Kojiro asked immediately.

Kaoru started shaking his head, then winced at the movement, squeezing his eyes shut. Vines started creeping up Kojiro's chest again. He feared they wouldn't be completely gone until Kaoru was back to how he'd been before. And that could take weeks. Months.

Kaoru opened his eyes, then stared at a spot on the wall. His free hand clutched the fabric of the covers.

"I can't believe how stupid I've been."

"Stupid?" Kojiro was dumbstruck. "Kaoru, nothing about this is your fault--"

"No, dimwit," Kaoru interrupted him. "I can't believe how stupid I've been to believe anything remained of Adam as we used to know him."

Oh.

"I wanted to see it for myself," Kaoru continued. "See how much he'd changed, if there was anything in him at all that I could recognize. Some part of me held out hope that I-- we could turn it all back somehow."

Kaoru cast his eyes down to where his hand strangled the sheets. His gaze-- no, his entire body, held the unmistakable weight of grief. "But I was wrong."

"Not just you," Kojiro said. He reached out and stroked the back of Kaoru's hand with his fingertips. "It's hard to watch, seeing the person he's become."

Kaoru nodded slowly. The movement made a few strands of hair fall into his face.

An idea sparked in Kojiro’s mind.

"Oh, wait, here--" Kojiro dug into the pocket of his jacket, fishing out the spare hair tie he always carried around "--let me tie up your hair for you."

Kaoru blinked at him, then hummed, acceding. Some of the tension in his shoulders dropped, suggesting to Kojiro that he wasn’t the only one glad to have an excuse to change the subject.

He carefully sat down on the edge of the bed and helped Kaoru sit upright a little. With his fingers he gently combed through Kaoru's hair, untangling any knots he came across, scraping his fingernails across Kaoru’s scalp for good measure. Kaoru's eyes fluttered closed as Kojiro worked -- the tiny noises of pleasure he made from the back of his throat were the only sign that he was still awake.

When his hair was all smoothed out, Kojiro gathered most of the strands together into a loose ponytail, one of Kaoru's signature looks, and wrapped the hair tie around it until he was sure no amount of twisting and turning would undo it.

"There," he said, tucking a stray strand behind Kaoru's ear. "That should do it."

"Thanks," Kaoru breathed curtly. His cheeks took on a rosy tone.

Kojiro couldn't help caressing Kaoru's cheek as he moved his hand away, his skin igniting at the touch. As he sat back down in the armchair, Kaoru exposed the palm of his hand -- an invitation. Kojiro accepted, taking Kaoru's hand in both of his.

"I'm tired," Kaoru sighed.

"Then rest." Kojiro traced circles on the back of Kaoru's hand with one of his thumb. "That's all you have to do for now."

Kaoru hummed. He turned his head so he could meet Kojiro's gaze.

"Will you stay?"

Kojiro's heart jumped, filling his chest with sparks of static electricity. Kaoru was usually too proud to admit he had any needs or wants -- and if he was forced to, he tended to go with arrogant humor rather than vulnerable sincerity. The fact that he chose the latter this time around suggested something was changing between them.

With the way his entire body tingled with warmth, Kojiro couldn’t say he wasn’t excited about the prospect.

He smiled, and lifted Kaoru’s hand to press a feather-light kiss on top of his knuckles.

"Always."

~~~~

[this could be considered part 1]

#matchablossom #joecherry #sakurayashiki kaoru #nanjo kojiro #sk8 the infinity #look i had more thoughts #brain keeps whining it's not perfect but it's not supposed to be so i'm posting it anyway #not good enough for ao3 though lfhslhfdl #emrys writes #emory writes #long post

58 notes · View notes

homoose · 4 years

Text

Merry Christmas, Baby Girl

Summary: Just Penelope and Derek being in love in the snow. Based on the prompt: What kind of Christmas would it be if we didn’t play in the snow?

Pairing: Penelope Garcia x Derek Morgan

Category: fluff

Warnings/Includes: none

Word count: 1,444

a/n: Ficmas Day 9! Yes, my ficmas has two days of Penelope getting her man because that woman deserves the world and everyone in it and frankly it’s a hate crime that morcia wasn’t canon.

Series Masterlist

———

“Derek Morgan, this is not negotiable. We’re making a snow person.”

Derek sighed. “Baby girl, I moved away from Chicago for a reason. I don’t do snow.”

“Well, I moved away from California for a reason,” she huffed. “And we never get this much snow!”

She was right; DC never got this much snow— especially not in December. Sure, a few inches here and there in January and February. But this year, a freak blizzard had dropped over a foot of snow overnight. The entire city was shut down. It was the first white Christmas they’d had in years. And Derek had zero interest in going out in it.

“You go,” he said, gesturing with his hot chocolate. “I’ll watch from the window.”

“Uh-uh.” When Derek groaned, Penelope rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. An hour in the snow won’t kill you.”

“It just might,” he countered. She pulled her best pout, shuffling toward him with full on puppy dog eyes. He shot her a pointed look. “Don’t even.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist, looking up at him from underneath her lashes. “So… you don’t want to spend Christmas Eve… bundled up with the love of your life… wrapping a hand knitted scarf around a jolly snow person… who was brought into this world with love—”

“And who’s going to melt in twelve hours?” Penelope huffed out a breath, and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders when she went to pull away. He sighed into her hair. “... you get one hour.”

Penelope squealed and squeezed him tight, and Derek couldn’t stop the smile from turning up the corners of his mouth. “And only because I love you.”

She leaned up to press a quick, chaste kiss to his mouth. “I’m quite certain that I love you more. So much that I’ll even help you get bundled up.”

The two of them got dressed in their layers— two pairs of pants, long sleeved shirts, sweaters, and jackets. They laced up their snow boots and stuffed their hands into waterproof gloves. And then Penelope wound one of her ridiculously soft scarves around his neck, wrapping it once, twice, and then tugging him down by the ends for another kiss. He brought his hands to her hips, tugging her as close as possible through the combined six layers of clothing. His fingers tightened around his favorite part of her and she laughed into his mouth before swatting him with the fringe of the scarf.

“You will not get out of this with seduction, sir.” She tugged a matching beanie over his head, tapping on the little puff ball on top. “God, how are you so cute?”

He pulled her hat down a little more snugly over her loose curls. “I got it from my mama.”

She smiled at that. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Fran Morgan, thank you for giving me the love of my life.” She turned to retrieve a wicker basket from the entryway side table.

Derek eyed the basket, overflowing with miscellaneous items. “What’s all that?”

Her lips quirked up in a small smile, and she grabbed his hand. “You’ll see. Come on, hot stuff.”

They trudged out into the middle of the yard, and Penelope hemmed and hawed over the perfect location for far too long. When she finally decided, marking it with a little x, Derek leaned down to start scooping up snow. She waved her hands frantically. “No, no, no— you can’t take the snow from there.”

He furrowed his brows. “Well, excuse me. Then where am I supposed to get the snow from, pretty girl?”

She let out an exasperated sigh. “If you use all the snow from there, you’ll expose the dead grass, and then she won’t look good for pictures.”

“She?”

“Yes, she,” Penelope confirmed. “She’s going to be an icon and a diva, and I will not have her surrounded by ugly, brown grass.”

They spent the better part of an hour rolling snow across the lawn, each snowball growing in size until Penelope deemed it satisfactory. To her credit, she rolled the middle snowball entirely by herself, and Derek only had to help her a little in the lifting. Then, he worked on smoothing the base of their snow person, while she got the shape of the head just right.

Derek stood and dusted the snow off his knees, watching as Penelope retrieved the wicker basket from where she’d set it down earlier. She pulled a bright orange scarf out of the top and handed it to him. “Here. Bundle her up,” she ordered.

“Yes, ma’am.” He smiled and wrapped the chunky knit scarf around the head of their creation. She handed him a carrot, and he dug out a little starter hole before positioning the carrot and packing it in with some fresh snow. She pulled two brown buttons out of the basket, sticking them on as the eyes.

“Okay, make the smile with these.” She dumped a pile of red buttons into his outstretched hands.

As he pressed the buttons into a curve, he watched Penelope fasten three beaded necklaces and wedge in two large jewels for earrings. The snow might not be his thing, but Penelope Garcia certainly was. His god given solace, his compass, his ray of sunshine, his queen, his literal angel on earth.

They’d danced around it for so many years— each of them always with someone else or not ready to commit. The shameless flirting became their thing, something they just did that no one questioned. It became so routine that he missed the moment that their philia became eros. He couldn’t even call it falling, because with falling, there’s always a collision. Loving Penelope was floating—buoyant, ebullient, liberating.

When he’d finally pressed his mouth to hers that first time— really kissed her—after a horrific case that he almost didn’t come back from, he was worried that maybe he’d been too late. They’d said I love you so many times before, but he’d never said I’m in love with you, it’s only you, I’m ready for you, it’s never felt like this, you’re the sun and the moon and the stars all at once.

But then she’d kissed him back, and he hadn’t been too late, and she was with him. And everything and nothing changed. It was still all flirting, but this time they could back it up. And he really, really loved backing it up with Penelope Garcia.

She caught his eye and quirked a brow and brought him back to himself. He grinned and held his hands out at his creation, and she inspected it with a nod of approval. He could see that the basket was almost empty, but there were a few more items left. She pulled out three ornate gold buttons, pressing them firmly to the torso. “And the finishing touch for our snow diva.” Derek laughed when she placed the teal, feathered hat at a slight angle on top.

“She’s pretty incredible.” He tucked her under his arm and hugged her close. “Like someone else I know.”

Her arms snaked around his waist. “Mmmhmm. And don’t you forget it.”

“I could never.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “But your hour is up, sweetness.”

“We have to get some pictures with her first,” she said, pulling out her phone. When he groaned, she continued, “And then, we’ll go inside, and I’ll help you get all—” kiss, “warmed—” kiss, “up.” She whispered the last bit against his mouth and gave him a sweet, sultry smile.

“I like the sound of that.” He tried to kiss her again, but she laughed and pushed him off, gesturing toward their snow woman.

“I’m sure you do, my love.” It was funny the way his heart still soared when she called him that, even though he’d heard it a thousand times. “Now, give her a kiss.” He sighed, but leaned down to pucker up next to their creation. He heard the shutter sound and stayed still for two more, well practiced in the art of posing for Penelope’s pictures. “Perfect!”

He held his hand out to her. She laced their gloved fingers together, and he tugged her forward, catching her when she toppled into him. Brown eyes met brown eyes, and then he watched as a snowflake fell onto her nose. He grabbed her phone, quickly opening the camera and snapping a picture before it melted. “Mmm, that’s a perfect photo.” He pressed a kiss onto the tip of her nose, right over the top of the snowflake. “Now, let’s go inside so I can kiss my real diva.”

———

some snow diva inspiration x x x

Permanent tags: @andiebeaword @averyhotchner @pinkdiamond1016 @shadyladyperfection @coffeeandendlesswords @justanothetfangirl @no-honey-no @ajeff855 @sapphic-prentiss @eevee0722 @rexorangecouny @rainsong01 @goldentournesol @blameitonthenight21 @moviequeen51

Series tags: @wastingborrowedtime @90spumkin @wordvomit-foryourmind

#penelope x derek #morcia #penelope garcia x derek morgan #derek x penelope #derek morgan x penelope garcia #criminal minds fanfiction #penelope garcia fanfiction #derek morgan fanfiction #morcia fanfiction #morcia imagine #penelope garcia imagine #derek morgan imagine #homoose writes #a very moosey ficmas #a very moosey ficmas

195 notes · View notes

omniscientwreck · 3 years

Text

Like Waves Upon An Open Shore

Pieces of this conversation came to me late last night and I couldn't write anything else until I got this out of my system. This is one in a series of pseudo-character study/ missed conversation fics I have on AO3. There's no lifespan angst here, it's more of a meditation on power and potential.

The first to approach him was Caduceus. After they’d imprisoned Ikithon they combined efforts to build back his home. It turns out that this is something Essek’s particular arcane flare is appropriate for. He is learning to accept that his power has limits and that it likely always will. He’s never had to worry about this before, even knowing that one day he will be among the dirt and there he will stay. He’s never had to consider that the flow of time and how it feeds and consumes life is something one might need to control. When it had hit him, when they’d needed the improbable and he could not deliver, he had cried for this man he’d never known save for fond rememberings told by happy words and sad eyes.

He had come to help them and when they needed him most he couldn’t even fail because he never could have started.

However, fixing a roof is practical. Spreading density until large loads of materials are manageable to carry, freezing objects in place as they’re affixed by regular means. He can be useful here and he is. In the first two days he uses all of his strength helping and at the end of the day he’s exhausted. But Caduceus also needed help with the garden. Yasha had shown him some basics and every night he worked with his hands, for the first time of his life bringing new beauty to a scarred earth.

The first night is quiet and he is alone with his thoughts. The eyes are gone and he can properly think again. The new one, Kingsley, sleeps outside but he’s been through a lot and it’s difficult for Essek to look at him knowing he did nothing. It’s difficult to look at Caleb. To look at any of them for the first day.

But he does. He is trying to learn humility, to learn that whatever ugly thing rises in him (guilt for things he can no longer change and selfishly wouldn’t, longing for someone he has no right to feel close to, regret at working with those who had hurt him so badly, sick satisfaction at seeing him stripped of power, the desire to end him then and there) is not always the most important thing. He works alongside the Nein still. He laughs when Jester jokes, he levitates Luc to catch the child’s attention when he’s being particularly mischievous, he attempts another joke which a few of them catch this time. He is there for them now, an imitation of the way they’ve been there for each other.

He digs into the earth in the cool breeze of dusk, removing his gloves now that the sun is fading on his second night there. He’s elected to tend to the graves of an elven family, many of whom have the last name Akhilvarr. He recognizes the surprisingly light footfalls of the firbolg approaching him as he gently holds two flowers, deciding.

“You’re up late.”

He places the plants down softly in front of the hole he’s dug out, brushing dirt from his bare hands, learning to relish the coating of grime, the feeling of having an impact on the world around you. “I don’t really sleep as much as the rest of you.” He hesitates and from the way Caduceus’ eyes bore through him he knows the statement has a second half, “And I feel like I need to be out here.”

He nods and sits, levelling eyes with Essek who’s still on his knees, facing the graves. “How are you feeling?”

The question is so simple but Essek cannot find an answer that is satisfactory, no words he’s ever known can accurately sum the corners of his heart. “It does not matter right now how I feel. Your home was nearly destroyed, you brought someone back from the dead. I dare not burden you with my own troubles.”

“Essek if I may,” he’s learned by now that Caduceus means this to be a precursor to a deep insight and though he is raw he allows him to continue, “there is a difference in being selfless and being harmful. Now I won’t force anything, only you can know if you’re ready to talk, but I never ask a question I don’t want an answer to.”

“I just-” he can feal traitorous heat as tears threaten to spill over his eyelashes and realizes he can’t wipe them away without streaking his face with mud. “All my life I have trained to be powerful. I have learned to manipulate the equations and theory that make up the way we experience the world. I can manipulate the lenses through which we understand the things around us. I have been touted as a prodigy and I couldn’t do anything to affect fate when it mattered to you all most. I am so thankful that you were there, that you and your god were able to fix a great injustice, but this is the last piece of my world shattering. I thought I could protect you all, to be useful in any circumstance and I was wrong.”

He stares into the two flowers and the purple one to the left blows in the wind, while the yellow remains still. He goes to tuck the purple bloom into the dirt and gently packs earth in around it, protecting roots and brushing dirt off leaves. Caduceus allows him to do this and by the time he looks back up at him, there’s a gentles smile at rest on his face. He knows Essek has more to say and he gestures for him to continue as Essek considers which flowers would most like to celebrate the Akhilvarr family.

“It’s funny, almost. I have heard much about the wonders of gardening and never believed a word. But here I am, dirt under my nails, digging in the earth, repairing damage for once in my sorry life, trying to leave somewhere better than I found it.” he finds a red flower with ruffled petals and a taller white flower who’s stem splits off into several tiny flowers, clustered into one sphere, they seem impatient.

“The gardens at my tower were never tended by myself, I had someone else to do that. They were arranged perfectly, planted with aesthetic and design in mind and little else. Looking idly at the beauty of nature is one thing, but this place-” He looks around, mosses give off a light glow as the sun has now disappeared. Slowly but surely fireflies blink to light up the air around them, dancing from leaf to petal. “I keep having the impulse to decide based on aesthetic. It’s difficult to ignore but-”

Caduceus fills in where he has no words, “That’s not your world anymore. I regret to inform you that as soon as we crossed your path your days of neat little boxes and even rows gained an expiry date. The world is so much wider than the machinations of people, we can never predict what is outside of our purview and when we take a step back, relinquish that control, often something more beautiful will spring up. I have tended this garden for many years, longer than the memory of many and I could never have dreamed up the beauty that lives here now. It gets more and more beautiful as each year grows on because the chaos is nurtured and you are learning that.” Caduceus grabs the trowel and begins digging his own hole, “You have come so far Essek and I do not know whether I have the right to feel this way, but I am immensely proud of you. I’m proud for who you are now, and who you are about to become.”

Essek laughs and it sounds like broken glass, “Proud is a funny word to use for someone who has done as much wrong as I.”

“Each decision we make is a point in a network of thousands of other decisions we make connected to webs of the decisions of everyone who has ever had a hand in our lives. If you and everyone around you acts in fear your decisions will be rooted there. Those are the times where we are most lost and I think you are beginning to realize that.”

Every bad decision flows through Essek’s consciousness and he lets them drift by, hands trembling, and the red flower with the beautiful frills slips from his grasp and falls into place in the hole beside the deep purple of the last planted bloom. It’s fate.

“So each bad decision you’ve made has crashed in on the wave of every other bad decision you’ve made, and every bad decision anyone has ever made about you. Now, every beautiful thing you do, every good decision you make will be carried forward by every good decision you’ve made before. It’s a web, it’s a network where everything is connected and you have as much agency now as you did then, every good decision counts towards every good decision you will make in the future and I know there will be many.”

Tears stream freely down his face now and he doesn’t care about the dirt as he wipes them away. “That is-”

“I believe-”

Again, the silver tongued shadowhand has no words, “Thank you Mr. Clay. I think that is more kindness than I know how to give myself. It is difficult to process and accept but I will try my best.”

Caduceus’ hand wanders through the bag of flowers, not even looking as he picks one, a massive flower, bright white and nearly glowing in the moonlight. He sighs contentedly and plants the flower. They work together in companionable silence and Essek relishes the sound of his companion’s breath, the feeling of dirt sticking under his nails, the gentle breeze that blows through fireflies and looking through them up to the stars, once again teeming with the promise of possibility, change, growth.

AO3 Link Here

#critical role #ficlet #caduceus clay #essek thelyss #character study #no lifespan angst #just some light emotional hurt/comfort #critfic #my writing #wreckwrites

30 notes · View notes