#is so curious as 2 what’s going on just wait let the Feds cook some but apparently this will be national news not local and btw girls since

[cottoncandy-cult]

Babification Heartslabyul

Riddle

The red headed dorm leader sat quietly at his desk as he did his homework, in a bouncer next to him was the precious ramshackle prefect. He had been quite irritated when he learned the circumstances of her accident, but he quickly became more concerned about setting up a modified schedule so he could take care of her while also keeping up with his classwork. Thankfully the paperwork had been rather light, so he wouldn't be working too much longer and would be able to move on to the next part of his schedule. At first, he thought about planning every second of her day, as even if this was temporarily, he wanted to reduce the amount of stress on both of them. But whenever he'd sit down to try and schedule all he thought about was how his mother did the same thing to him, with a clear memory of how unhappy his childhood was. So, he decided to ask Trey for help, his vice-house warden was more than happy to help him make an organized schedule that still gave her plenty of time to play and gave Riddle plenty of wiggle room in case something came up at the dorm or with his class work. With a sigh Riddle sat his pencil down, stretching as he looked over to the bouncy little girl beside him. He chuckled as he reached over to gently rub her cheek, listening to her giggle as he took a break. "Just a little longer, once I finish this, we'll go get something to eat." The short red-haired male began to pet her head gently, despite how young she looked she had been rather well behaved which made him feel she was aware of her current situation. He couldn't help the grin that stretched on his face when she looked up at him, chubby hands making grabby motions that he just couldn't resist.

With a smooth and gentle motion, the male picked the little girl up, holding her close to his chest so she wouldn't knock against his desk and hurt herself. He gently bounced her, relaxing in his chair as she clung to his shirt and happily babbled away. His blue eyes glanced at the paper he was working on; it wasn't due for another 3 days but as usual he attempted to get as much of his work done as he could. Though his attention was pulled back when a tiny hand tugged gently at his hair, when he looked back to (Y/n) her curious gaze shifted to glee as a bright smile spread across her chubby. With a huffed laugh Riddle stood from his chair, cradling her gently he began to head for his door. "I suppose it won't hurt to call it quits early for once…" Brisk but quiet steps carried him down the hall, he could hear his dorm mates talking amongst themselves as they ate scattered throughout the dorm itself. When he made it to the kitchen, he readjusted the little girl to rest on his hip, he used his free hand to get some of the leftovers out from the prior night's dinner. Trey often did meal prep and chose to ensure there were leftovers, that way there was always something in the fridge for when the others are busy or too tired to cook when they can't find the time to eat during the normal group dinner time. Riddle had decided that for the betterment of the dorm some rules would have to be flexible, and it made more sense to prioritize schoolwork than it did to prioritize a seemingly random time for a mandatory dinner. Of course, he made sure to get out one of the small containers of prepped baby food for the little girl in his arms, after he fed her, he planned to do a bit of light reading with her before it was bathtime. Then he planned to let her play freely while he prepared himself for bed. "Such a troublesome little rose bud, though I'd much rather have your kind of trouble than what those 2 hob goblin friends of yours tend to stir up." The loud giggle that escaped from the little girl as he spoke made the red head chuckle, he continued to talk to her as if she was her regular self while they waited on the microwave. He did his best to ignore the feeling of eyes on him, he didn't want to lose his temper in front of her when she was like this since even if she was still aware in this form that didn't mean she'd have the same control she normally did over herself and her emotions. "Once you're asleep, I'm going to punish them." He whispered to the little girl with a chuckle, narrowing his eyes at the thought of the mandatory reading he had in mind.

Trey

Trey smiled at the little girl who stood on a stool next to the counter, she was just old enough to speak a few words and short sentences and walk which was quite convenient for the clover male. Something he learned about (Y/n) was that she was an absolute devourer as a child, she was happy to try anything and almost always had a snack in hand. Currently they were making brownies together and she had was doing her best to read out the recipe, the haze caused by the sudden age drop had her knowing what she wanted to say but her mouth not being able to keep up. Trey stirred the brownie mix with a smile on his face, glancing up at the little girl every so often. "You ready for the tea party (Y/n)?" The green haired man chuckled as the little girl gave an excited nod, looking up at him from the book. "Mhm, can't wait to try our snacks." She giggled, glancing over at some apple fritters that sat on a warming plate nearby. "The brownies will be done soon, if you want to have a snack until then. It won't hurt to have something small before the tea party." Trey filled a prepared pan with the brownie mix, tucking the pan into the preheated oven as he turned to the little girl. "Do we still have any banana bread?" She tilted her head, climbing down from her step stool as the larger male turned to check for her request. She watched him quietly, giggling a bit as she watched him begin cutting her a piece of banana bread. "You really like the fruitier baked ggoods most, don't you?" The young man turned and kneeled, passing her the plate that had the banana bread on it. He had noticed how her interest in a dessert went up when there was fruit involved. She did like chocolate and regular baked goods, but the fruit ones were always the first she asked for. The emerald haired male planned to keep that in mind for when she was back to normal, he planned to surprise her with some of her favorites at random now that he was getting to know her sense of taste better. "Mhm, I like things with cinnamon too though. Especially with apples." She smiled, her tiny hands bolding a piece of the bread and eating it while she stood by the stove. At least until Trey picked her up and sat her in a chair by the kitchen island, allowing her to eat more comfortably. "I see, I guess that does explain why you always want cinnamon rolls for breakfast." Trey ruffled her hair, listening to the little girl giggle and bat his hand away.

- When it was time for their tea party Trey walked with the little girl to the prepared space in the rose garden, one of her tiny hands held onto his as the other carried the basket with their brownies and banana bread. It was a quiet day, and the weather was nice, so the 2 planned to spend the weekend afternoon snacking and talking about everything possible. Something Trey had noticed was that in her childlike state her self-control was greatly reduced, this gave him the chance to open her up and really get to understand her true thoughts and feelings on EVERYTHING. He wasn't stupid, he knew that she was from a world without magic, and it scared him knowing just how often she is forced to deal with broken powerful mages losing themselves to overblot. But she never really complained, even when she was eating less in order to feed Grim because Crowley didn't have any extra work for her. He wanted to understand how she's holding up, cause from his perspective she had every reason to want to lock herself away in her room and hide. "I actually don't mind being a kid you know…" She spoke softly, admitting a thought she felt somewhat guilty for having. "Oh? I thought you didn't like being short or how emotional it made you?" He questioned; a bit surprised at her sudden admission after all the times she complained about the state she was in.

"To be honest I feel bad, I'm just happy that I got a break from…life." She looked down, biting her lip as she thought hard about the words she wanted to say. He patiently listened, knowing she'd have to go slow to communicate properly. "I'm not having to cram information about something I can't even use all night long, I'm not running around campus between classes trying to make money for food, I'm not spending my breaks doing odd jobs to be able to make fixes to the dorm building. I'm not constantly having to break up or being dragged into fights. It's been like a little break." The little girl smiled awkwardly, shaking her head at herself as she took a moment to breathe. It was a lot for her to say at once, the effort almost seemed tiring "I feel bad, that I'm happy cause I don't have to help anyone like this." That caught Trey off guard, he suspected and understood most of her feelings. But the real surprise was about feeling guilty for wanting a break, anyone in her position would deserve a break from everything. "There isn't anything to feel bad about, you wouldn't be half as stressed as you are if Crowley would pay you decently. He can afford it, trust me. Crowley in general seems to be the root of many of your problems. So don't feel guilty about needing a break from something none of the other students in this school would have been able to handle. Keeping up with classes is already hard, even for those of us who are from this world and actually have magic. But you're basically running through a crash course where everything is new and most of it you can't do." Trey smiled down to her as they reached the gazebo, taking the basket from her to put the last 2 items needed for their tea party on the table as she got comfortable on the padded bench. Trey sat a plate in front of her, on it was a small sandwich and some homemade chips. "It's ok to need a second to breathe, it isn't your fault this happened so don't feel bad for making the best of it." He chuckled, patting her head as he began to fix her a cup of tea. The sound of her laugh made him smile. She was already strong, but he wanted to be the one to give her the chance to not have to be.

Ace

"This is so cool; I get to skip class til you turn back to normal and all I have to do is keep a diary of everything we do throughout the day and what I do for you." Ace smiled from where he sat on his bed, the 4-year-old girl had woken him around 10 a.m. because she was hungry. He had of course made her breakfast and after they returned to his room, he had gone ahead and wrote down when he got up and what he fixed her to eat. Now they were sitting together scrolling magicam, or rather she was scrolling magicam while he did his damndest to style her hair for the day. He had several ponytail holders on his wrist, he had to seek out Vil in order to get advice on taking care of a little girl. Little did he expect Vil to give him a notebook and make him take notes of EVERYTHING he had to say, thankfully it had actually come in handy but at the same time he was still struggling to do things properly. In one hand he had a bottle of detangler, in the other he had small brush that wouldn't pull her hair. Something Vil came with him to buy himself, not trusting Ace to understand the specifics of what he'd need. "So, what style do you want me to do today (Y/n)?" Ace chuckled, brushing through her hair with a few sprays here and there. "Just a ponytail." She giggled, watching a video of a baby panda rolling down a small incline. Ace was relieved at her choice; they took time out every night to practice other hair styles that Vil wrote instructions for. Ace was actually getting good at it, he figured that he might be able to use those skills to impress her once she was back to normal by doing her hair some mornings before class. Something dear little Deuce wouldn't be able to do. Gathering her hair and brushing it smooth, he left some of her bangs down and began tying it up just like the instructions had said. He managed to learn the simpler styles quickly, but there were some more complicated styles he struggled with. He used a special spray Vil made him buy to hold her hair in place, so that it wouldn't collapse in just an hour or two. "There you go, now time to get your day clothes." Because of her state Crowley had been forced by Crewel to pay for her shopping needs, so she had plenty of cute outfits. "I don't wanna wear a dress today." She locked his phone and sat it down, walking over to the dresser drawer with him to look at her options. "Alright, what do you feel like wearing?" Ace squatted down, helping her sort through her shirts and pants. She ended up settling on some grey sweatpants and comfortable T-shirt with the school's logo, she wasn't a hard to please child and from what he could tell she was still very much herself in there, so she had some awareness about her choices.

"While you get dressed, I'm gonna hop in the shower, remember to keep the door locked til I get back." Ace patted her on the head, setting the clothes out on a chair for her while he got his uniform out and left the room to go to the showers. Locking the door behind him. She went ahead and got dressed, her clothes were just loose enough for her to dress herself without too much trouble. Once she was dressed, she climbed back onto the bed, laying on her stomach as she unlocked his phone and went back to scrolling magicam. Despite it being almost noon, she was asleep once more. The phone played a compilation video of funny moments involving some of her favorite video games, she didn't stir until Ace had unlocked the door and entered the room. He couldn't help but chuckle at the sleepy pout she aimed at him for waking her, it was only 2 days after the accident, so she was still a little low on energy. Because of that Trey was tweaking her meals to try and maximize her energy gain, though Ace didn't mind carrying her around. Despite her age he found her pretty light, but he had also been working out in order to keep up better in basketball club and she was weightless compared to his weights. "Sorry, sorry. You can go back to your nap princess; we have some time before we go to the that fair in the city. I'll wake you up when I'm done writing down our plans for today, that way I can just fill in anything extra later." Ace approached his desk, sitting down as he pulled out his assigned diary. The little girl was out cold before he even started to write again, the fair wasn't anything too big. It was a sort of spring festival that had tons of food stalls, games and shops. He wanted to keep her active and distracted so she wouldn't sulk about having to rely on him for everything, as much as he teased her, he knew she was frustrated about being at even less of an advantage than usual. In this state she was relying on him, so he was trying to take the situation seriously even if he would never admit it. To everyone outside of that room, he was a slacker using her to have fun and get out of work. And he preferred it that way, he didn't like the teasing that came with being a try hard.

Deuce

The first-year male smiled, carrying the little girl around on his back as he worked out during gm class. They were just starting class and she had been allowed to stay close, she laid on his back and giggled as she hugged him. Of course, the coach saw it as a great opportunity to work out, Deuce was just worried about making sure she was having fun too. Being as little as she was, there wasn't much she could do, and she always got bored of magicam after a while. She never got bored of playing with him, he'd always spin her around or toss her up and down. He didn't mind playing games with her in the dorm's courtyard, even if some of the other students tried to laugh at him. Trey and Riddle were quick to shut down the nonsense, Cater had loaded Deuce down with first time mommy blogs so he could stay up to date with everything. But he found she was still largely the same person, even if the change affected her in some ways, he still recognized his favorite person. After the work out was done Deuce stood in his assigned spot, (Y/n) sitting comfortably on his hip as her fingers lazily played with the charm on a necklace he wore that day. Seeing as (Y/n) was there the coach decided they would go outside to play kickball that day, figuring it was the safest way for them to earn credit without doing something to traumatize the little girl. And true enough they were all soon on their way out to the kickball field, water bottles and towels in hand. Though Deuce had a little something extra, he had read all the mommy blogs he could and so he had learned to plan ahead. Being the hard worker he was he brought a bag that had things to keep her occupied in it should she get tired of watching kickball, along with a couple bottles of flavored water and plenty of snacks for her to munch on. He even brought a small pillow and blanket so she could be comfortable, as the inside of the school could get kinda cold throughout the day and while it was pretty out, he didn't want her sitting on the bare bleachers.

He was determined to keep her happy and healthy until she was back to normal, even if it could be embarrassing at times, he was starting to enjoy taking care of her. He had developed a bit of a habit though… As he sat the little girl in her spot on the bleachers and got her some stuff out to show her she had options, he took a moment to take a picture, something small he seemed to do just about anywhere. He just thought she was cute, the way she'd sit there smiling flipping through pages of a coloring book. There were some moments he couldn't fight the urge to capture, they did take lots of pictures together when she was in her normal state of existence. But these pictures felt different, they were special cause it was like he was getting to know her when they were little in a way. She brings out his younger kid self, before he started to rebel and get rough. Even if he was the one taking care of her, it almost felt like he needed proof of that feeling that they've known each other forever. She made everything more fun, sure being 4 had to be inconvenient to her but they always managed to keep each other active and happy. Plus, he felt like he was starting to grow, he had to be responsible and think rationally for the both of them. He felt a lot more confident as his growth towards being an honor student showed, as if he hadn't matured the way he did he would have likely lost control of the situation by now. Of course, it helped that she was still kinda herself, he recognized some of her regular mannerisms and they grew even cuter to see her displaying them even now. It soothed some part of him that was tense with anxiety about how long until or even if she can return to normal. Though Crewel did tell him that it was reversable, he still held a pit of anxiety in his chest for those first few days. But now, he was sure they'd manage somehow.

Cater

Cater smiled from where he stood beside 4-year-old (Y/n), the school was hosting a bake sell where everything would be made fresh as sold. The top 3 dorms that makes the most money off their chosen goods receiving a free field trip to a festival in another town, so as usual things were competitive. Heartslabyul had chosen to do several different tarts, it was Cater's job to assemble the fruit ones in a decorative way. Meanwhile (Y/n) got the job of making sure each slice of fruit was about the same shape and size, Trey stood on her other side, cutting the fruit and placing them in a bowl of ice water and lemon for her to sort through. The fruit tarts were to have their fruits shaped like some form of flower, something Cater had learned to do after several videos as the students had all been given a month to practice and prepare. Once Riddle put the last tray of tarts into the oven to bake Cater went about setting out their fresh tarts for display, making sure things were as picturesque as ever. Though before he took the photo the red head had scooped up the little girl, placing her gently by the register on the counter. "There we go, how could anyone resist such a cute little girl and the tarts she helped make." Cater had posted multiple pictures of the little girl helping with each step of the baking process, his followers were eating it up and there was already a large number of people outside of the school gates just waiting to get in. "You think lots of people are gonna come Cay?" The little girl tilted her head, eating some of the fruit slices that were too small to be used for the tarts. The little girl was basically their dorms mascot, given her size and current situation she was allowed to compete as a heartslabyul student. Something proven by the tiny version of the dorm uniform she wore, though it was more of a dorm themed uniform. Her hair had been neatly styled, a black diamond hair pin on the side of her head to hold it all together. "Mhm, your pictures are all really popular. Don't forget you have the most important job princess, you're our mascot, so make sure you have lots of fun. It'll make the tarts taste a lot sweeter." Cater chuckled, reaching over to playfully pinch her cheek.

"I was surprised when you approached me with this idea of having (Y/n) help with advertising, but it seems I underestimated you." Riddle chuckled as he approached the 2, putting his phone away after Trey had him pull up magicam because they were trending. "You shouldn't underestimate the power of cuteness; I keep telling you. Just watch, people love cute kids and ours is the cutest." Cater was quick to scoop the little girl up, spinning around and making her giggle. He didn't care that the other dorms booths were all around, after all a happy child was the cutest child. "You're doing so well helping us, I'll get you something special after this contest is over." The little girl smiled up at him excitedly, Cater always made a point of rewarding her anytime she helped with something. "Can we get macarons from that one bakery again?" She tilted her head inquisitively, her small hands holding onto the front of his shirt. "Sure thing, I've been craving them since the last time. We'll get some dinner first, then we'll settle down in my room and watching some TV while we enjoy our dessert." Cater chuckled, setting her back on the ground and patting her head as he heard the intercom sound the 1-minute warning before the gates would open and let all the customers inside. Ace and Deuce made sure each table had 3 chairs, double checking there were plenty of places to sit and eat aside from the benches that separated their space from the other dorms. "Alright, so what we're gonna do is stand out front and greet people. We gotta talk to them and keep them entertained until it's their turn to order. I'll be right there with you, so no worries." Cater held her hand as he led her to the front of their area, he had a water bottle hooked to the belt on his hip so she wouldn't get thirsty. Just as they got settled the school gates creaked open, large numbers of people began to filter into the area. Some wandered aimlessly, while other more experienced attendees made b-lines for specific dorms. Heartslabyul had quite a large line, but (Y/n) was cheerful as she approached each person with a greeting. Both she and Cater would talk to large groups at a time, asking about their favorite fruits and deserts and what kind of tarts they were wanting to order. By the end of the sell the dorm had sold out, not a single slice of fruit or spec of flour was left. While the others cleaned up Cater got the ok to go ahead and take (Y/n) to get dinner, Trey would handle counting the money with Riddle's help. It wouldn't be til the following Monday that the results would be announced, so after eating they'd have the rest of the night to relax. They managed to just get their macarons before the bakery closed, Cater carried the bag in one arm and little (Y/n) rested on his back. "Today was fun, but that was a lot of people." The little girl yawned, laying her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, that was a lot, but that just means that it's more likely we win. And if we do, then we'll get to go on the field trip. Which includes you since you competed as a member of heartslabyul." Cater chuckled, watching from the corner of his eye as her own eyes started to close. "I hope we win; it'd be fun to go to a festival with you." The little girl giggled, relaxing into the sway of his steps. "Don't worry, when we go I'll show you all kinds of fun." Cater smiled widely, regardless of her size he'd keep his promise for sure.

[frogs-are-pretty]

Demon Brother headcanons for trying to get their attention

You're trying to ask them on a date but they're ignoring you, then you figure out the best way to get their attention

Includes demon brothers, lord diavolo, barbatos, simeon, and solomon

No Luke cause that's your brother, tf??

Lucifer

He was outside of RAD talking to Lord Diavolo about something

You honestly didn't know what they were talking about but hoped it would end soon

Barbatos knew you were there but also knew where this was going

Lord Diavolo knew you were there too but thought it best not to say something since it was Lucifer you wanted

You were starting to get aggravated

Then you had an idea

You went and held his gloved hand

He was taken aback by the sudden weight on his hand

He turned and saw you and your hands intertwined with his

He would've been happier for the affection if it wasn't in the middle of his conversation with Lord Diavolo

He asked what were you doing with an intrigued yet confused tone

"Well I was trying to get your attention but you wouldn't pay attention to me. Anyway, there's a new place that opened up that sells different varieties of princess' poison apples. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go with me."

"Why you didn't ask Beel to go? He likes princess' poison apples."

Yes Lucifer liked them more than Beel does, but he didn't see why you had to interrupt the conversation to ask him

You ad to repeat the part where you wanted to go with him, only him

That's when he asked if you were asking him on a date

Once he figured that out he agreed and told you that your going as soon as be finishes talking to Lord Diavolo

Diavolo let him go since he knew how long you've been waiting to ask him

You two walked and he did not let go of your hand at all

Mammon

He was trying to sell something to a demon

Or was he trying to get them involved in a new scheme?

You didn't know and couldn't care less

He kept talking while you tried to get his attention and you were getting fed up

Then you realized what you could do

There's two ways to do this

Route A- hug him from the front with your arms around his shoulders

He'll be flustered and all you have to do is let go but keep your arms draped over his shoulders and he's a cherry red tomato

Route B- hug his side and snuggle ino him

He'll still be flustered but just look up and he'll almost lose the ability to speak cause of how cute you look at his side

He'll ask what your doing in either case cause your getting in the way of money

"You weren't paying attention to me and I wanted to ask if you will to go to the human world with me. There's this new place I wanna go to and Lucifer said I could bring someone if I wanted and I kinda wanted to bring you."

"Of course you'd want to take the great Mammon!"

He didn't get that it was a date

You had to be more specific on why you wanted to go with him until he realized it was a date

It made him happy that his human wanted to go on a date with him

The demon was quickly forgotten about when he realized this

You two went to the house of lamentation with his arm around your waist

Leviathan

He's talking to someone about some game

Possibly an online mutual or someone with an interest in it

Either way you we're being ignored

You knew his rants can go on for hours

You were seriously having thoughts of kicking him, then a better idea came

While his head was still enough, you kissed his cheek

He stopped dead in his tracks and looked over at you

He flushed red and asked why you did that

Part of his redness was because this happened in an anime he saw once

But it was mostly because you kissed a yucky otaku

"Lucifer switched cooking shifts with me and I wanted to know if you wanted to make some of that food we saw in the anime we watched the other day. We're gonna need to shop for ingredients too."

Of course he agreed to make some anime food with you, but he was taken aback that you wanted to make it with him

He didn't know it was a date and you could tell by how calm he was compared to when you kissed him

You put emphasis on the fact you wanted to make it with him

That's when he realized it was supposed to be a cooking date

Leviathan.exe has stopped working

He lost the ability to speak but you knew he wanted to

You grabbed his hand while looking on your D.D.D for the ingredients

Once he calmed he built up the nerve to put his arm around your shoulder

He was over the moon when you leaned into him

Satan

He was talking to someone about some book

All you needed was 3 minutes of his attention and he couldn't spare that

He was getting into the conversation and so was the other demon

You were getting annoyed and wanted to punch one of them

But a thought overpowered that one

Right when he was still enough you grabbed his hand

He immediately stopped and looked over at you

He'll be greatful for the gesture and considered rubbing the back of your hand with his thumb but didn't

"What was that for?"

"I wanted to ask if you will go to this new bookstore that opened up. There's also a cat cafe near it too."

You lost him at bookstore

He was dragging you by the hand to go there

You had to physically stop him so you could tell him it was a date

That made him even happier to go

You both walked there hand in hand

Asmodeus

He was telling Solomon about something

You didn't know cause you wanted to punch both of them

The conversation felt like it qould never end

You were considering actually punching them but then something better came to mind

You hugged Asmo from the front with your arms around his shoulders

He stops before giggling a bit and hugging you back

"Awww, what is this for?"

"I wanted to ask you if you would go to this store with me that just opened up."

He agreed and asked Solomon to come too

That's when you had to say that you wanted to go with just and only him

The dots connected immediately

He kissed your nose agreed

He held you with trying to speed up the conversation with Solomon so you two could go

You didn't care now cause you got what you had to say out

You were also happy that you were so close to Asmo right now and he was stroking your back

When their conversation finished, he walked with you there with his arm around your waist

Beel

He was talking his fangol coach

You didn't know what about exactly and you couldn't care less

All you wanted was to talk to Beel and apparently that was asking for too much

You were about to give up when you had an idea

You grabbed his arm, pulled him down and placed a kiss on his temple

He looked over at you curiously

"Mc, are you ok? What was the kiss for?"

Don't get him wrong, he loved the kiss. He just wonders if there was a reason

"There's a new restaurant that opened up and I wanted to go with you. And maybe also go to a movie."

His mouth was already salivating at the thought

He agreed but really wanted to finish talking to his coach first

His coach let him go cause Beel's been a better player since you arrived

Beel almost dragged you, but stopped when you called his name

You had to elaborate more on why you wanted to go with him

When he realized it was a date he was even more existing to go

You walked there holding onto his arm and he loved how small you looked next to him

Belphegor

He was talking to Beel and he didn't notice you cause he was sleepy

He was awake enough to hold a conversation with his brother but not enough to notice the obvious next to him

You were mad with him and wanted to stab him awake

You decided against it

Instead you held his hand

It was warm and soft so you could've fallen asleep to just at the touch

The sudden heaviness made him finally look at you

You figured he was awake enough tobhear what you needed to say

"Do you want to go to this stuffed animal store later today with me? I want to get you something from there, my treat."

The fact you added my treat made him curious

"Why did you say my treat? Usually people only say that if..... Mc, are you asking me on a date?"

Your silence answered everything for him

He pulled you close to him and buried his head in the crook of your neck

"Ok, but let me nap right here real quick."

You and Beel laughed a bit

You allowed him to use you as a pillow to sleep and talked to Beel

When he woke up you two went to the stuffed animal store

He had his arm around your shoulder cause you were so comfy earlier, why would he let go?

Lord Diavolo

He was talking to Barbatos about some royal thing or something

You knew you couldn't always have his attention but just this once for 2 minutes you wanted it

You were growing impatient

So you decided to hold onto his arm

He felt the weight and looked over at you

The way you were holding his arm had him worry a bit

"Mc, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to know if you wanted to go to a restaurant with me. Maybe not today, but someday soon."

He immediately asked if it was a date

When you confirmed he was so happy

He put a hand over one of yours

He tried to quickly finish his talk with Barbatos

When he did he asked him to make the reservations at the best restaurant he knew

He was excited to go on one with you

When you did go with him, he had you hold onto his arm again

He loved how your fragile human body looked against his

How you weren't scared in the slightest either, even in a world of demons

It was everything to him

Barbatos

He was talking to Diavolo about butler things or whatever

He knew you were there but couldn't talk

He also had a vague idea on what you were going to do

Seeing multiple different timelines mad eit hard to know exactly what was going to happen

The conversation with Diavolo was making you irritated

You decided the best way to get the butler's attention

You put a hand on one cheek and tried to pull him towards you for a kiss on the cheek

Then he turned his head so you ended up actually kissing him

He looked at Diavolo

"If you'll excuse me, my Lord." He turned to you "Is there something you need? Or did you already get what you need?"

"I wanted to ask if you'd go to the movies with me one day. There's a movie playing but it was released a while ago so the theater should be empty."

"Sounds like a date."

Diavolo told him to go and decided himself that what they were talking about could wait

Barbatos followed the orders and took you to the theater

He walked you there with his hand on your back

He did put his hand on your waist cause he knew you'd prefer that instead, and he'd do anything to make you happy

Simeon

He was talking to Luke about the Celestial Realm

Or was he saying how angels aren't so drastically different from demons?

It didn't matter because the angel was ignoring you

All you knew is that Luke was too busy being in his "the devildom is evil and so are the brothers" mood to tell Simeon you were there

You wanted pull his hair out

But you thought of something better, better for both of you

When he was sighing from Luke's mood, you hugged his side

He put a hand on your back when he saw it was you

Luke was surprised himself to see you there

"Mc! What are you doing here? Did those demons scare you out?" Luke asked, still in his mood

"What are you doing here? Did you need something? Are you ok?" Simeon asked, now stroking your back

Damn, this angel knows how to make you feel loved

"I'm ok Simeon. I just wanted to know if you'd go to a restaurant with me. But not like, as friends."

He got the message with the last part and agreed

He was greatful, knowing that you liked him back

And enough that you asked him on a date before he asked you

Luke was excited that you two were going on a date

You spent the next thirty minutes talking to Luke and Simeon, with Simeon's hand still on your back

Solomon

He was talking Asmo

Asmo was being Asmo so Solomom couldn't really pay attention to you

You wanted to hit Asmo at the moment

Then you wanted to do something else, so you did

You reached down and held his hand

He looked at you and held back a slight laugh

"Is there something you need?"

"I wanted if you'd go to the human world with me to go to a new store. Ya know, just us."

Immediately realized it was a date and said a flirty remark back

He was happy that you had feelings for him, the only other human in this world of demons

Asmo was upset that you didn't ask him for a date

You simply reached over a gave him a head pat and he liked the touch

You both went to Lucifer and he changed you using his magic into your human world clothes (the magic just immediately changes clothes, no nudity)

He walked with you hand in hand, planning on taking you to dinner there too

[writemekpop]

Lipstick On Your Collar (Part 4) | Nakamoto Yuta

Pairings: Nakamoto Yuta x Reader

Summary: Your husband Yuta cheated on you - so you cheated on him back. Fair, right? But when he finds out, he isn’t happy at all...

Genre: Husband!Yuta, Angst

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: Infidelity, Sexual Content, Body Image

Gif: @leejenos​

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 ⭐

“Wait! I can explain.”

You took in Yuta before you. His nostrils were flared, chest rising and falling fast, the veins in his arms bristling.

You’d never seen your husband this angry.

You gulped. “For starters, why don’t you sit down?”

Yuta just raised an eyebrow; as if.

Sighing, you began. “Look, when you told me you cheated on me… it was just so hard to forgive you.” Your teeth wared away at your lip. Yuta’s frown did not soften.

“But then I understood why. You had all the power, and I had nothing. But now, I’ve… settled the score.”

Stepping closer, you placed on hand on Yuta’s arm. You felt the muscles tense beneath your fingers. “We can move on now.”

For a taut second, you searched Yuta’s steely gaze. Every smooth plane of his body was still. Then he scowled. “And you were planning on telling me when?”

You sighed. “Didn’t you hear me? I said I forgive you. I forgive you for cheating on me.”

Yuta turned away, crossing his arms. “So, all that stuff about rebuilding trust, focusing on each other for a while… that was bullshit?”

You twisted your lip in indignation. “Everyone has their methods. Why are you even mad? You did the same to me. No. You did worse.”

When Yuta turned to you, you saw his eyes were a glistening red.

“Why am I even mad? You risk our marriage for some childish tit-for-tat… and I’m meant to be just fine, huh?” As Yuta spluttered out his frustration, you could feel your body closing down.

Any moment now, the deafening pain would fade to a low hum. You stared at the scrappy carpet you never got around to changing, waiting to blank out.

You were shocked by an iron hand on your shoulder. 

“Don’t, Y/n. Don’t you dare. Don’t do that… that thing where you space out because you’re too scared to finish an argument!”

Your mouth popped open. You’d lost your escape; you were slap bang in the middle of it now.

Just then, you heard the squeak of the door opening.

Two pairs of eyes: yours, a clouded caramel, and his, a furious mahogany, closed in on your bedroom door.

A tiny figure struggled to push it open.

It was your youngest son, Nico. His chocolate doe-eyes were gluey with sleep, and he clung his Paw Patrol bed cover round him like a cape. His soft pink lip was stuck out and trembling.

“Baby… what’s the matter?” you crooned, kneeling down and clasping his tiny hands in yours. 

You could feel Yuta’s stare like heat on your back, but you ignored him. Some things mattered more.

“Mummy, my head hurts… and I can’t sleep.”

You stroked Nico’s chubby pink cheek, then gasped. It was burning. When you pressed your hand to his forehead, your fears were confirmed.

“He has a fever!” You turned to ask Yuta for advice, but you stopped yourself. He was clearly not in a co-parenting mood.

“Get back into bed, sweetie. I’ll bring you some porridge, okay?” You brought your son’s hand to your lips, then sent him out the door, blanket trailing.

When you turned back to Yuta, your gentle smile was wiped from your face. In its place was blank indifference. 

“I’ll deal with this.” You said. “Don’t you have that big meeting today?”

Yuta rolled his eyes. “You barely know how to cook, Y/n. You go to work; I’ll make the porridge.”

In the end, you both stayed.

In military-style commands, you split up the tasks: caring for Nico, getting your other children fed and dressed, going out to get cold medicine.

But the whole morning was filled with stifling pain. 

Each time you brushed arms with Yuta reaching for the cutlery drawer, or looked each other in the eyes by accident, your heart did a little squeeze.

At long last, Nico was fast asleep in his bed, lulled by your fingers stroking his hair.

For a moment, you let yourself just stare at your son. With his thick lashes, feathers of ebony hair and toffee skin, he was the splitting image of Yuta.

It was suddenly hard to breathe, and you couldn’t understand why.

Yuta was being totally unreasonable – you knew that. Then why did your heart crack every time he gave you that cold, cold stare?

You heard a rustle behind you, and hurriedly swiped your jumper sleeve over your wet cheeks. A clean, green scent, like a forest breeze, filled the room. You didn’t even have to look. It was Yuta.

You felt him crouch down beside you.

His deep breathing filled the silence of the tiny bedroom.

Then, to your shock, warm fingers threaded through yours. Yuta’s hand was slightly rough, and the perfect size.

Yuta squeezed your hand, vice-tight, and you suddenly understood. You felt Yuta’s pain, his remorse, his love surge through your body as strong as if they were yours.

In this moment, you weren’t a husband and wife broken beyond repair. You were two parents who needed each other.

“He’s beautiful, isn’t he?” Yuta murmured.

You heard what he really meant and felt it in your own heart. If we can make something that beautiful, maybe there’s hope for us, too.

But you didn’t say that. All you said was: “He’s perfect.”

Suddenly, you were interrupted again.

Rio, your eight-year-old son, swayed through the door, holding a huge tray. On it, was an omelette and a sloshing glass of orange juice.

Feeling like you’d laugh and cry at the same time, you took the tray from your son’s hands. The omelette – if you could even call it that – was peppered with pieces of eggshell.

“It’s for Nico. Because he’s ill.” Rio’s tone was perfectly serious. You and Yuta had to chuckle at his beaming brown face.

“That’s so sweet, honey! You’re the best older brother.” You hugged Rio close, though he tried to squirm away.

“Maybe next time, leave the cooking to Mum and Dad, huh Rio?” Yuta placed a kiss on his forehead, still smiling.

Yuta looked up, and suddenly you were staring into each other’s eyes. The moment wobbled, taking you off guard.

“I’m sorry, Yuta. All I want… is for us to have a second chance.” Your voice trembled as you spoke.

Yuta looked down, and your heart sunk fast.

Then, he leaned close, and whispered, “I’m sorry too. It’s my fault, I was just too proud to admit it. I do care about us,”- he stroked Rio’s hair – “all of us – enough to try again.”

Then Yuta’s hand rose, slowly, up your shoulder, making you shiver.

Then it slid around your head, and knitted into your hair.

Yuta leant down and pressed his mouth onto yours. You almost melted at the feeling of his lips, they were smooth and velvety, and his kiss was so gentle it almost made you cry.

As your lips slid against Yuta’s, they were filled with promise. This kiss was a thousand times sweeter than the morning’s, because you had nothing left to hide and everything left to give.

When he pulled away, you realised that Rio’s curious gaze was locked onto you.

“Hey!” Yuta chuckled, “Stop your ogling, son. Let’s try this omelette, shall we?”

You shared a grin with Yuta. He lifted the fork, and took a bite.

Rio’s expectant eyes shone at Yuta. “How is it, dad?”

Yuta pulled a face. “Hmm… crunchy. Just how I like it.”

You couldn’t help but giggle.

Your relationship had gotten a little sick, that was all. All you needed was a bowl of hot porridge and a hug, and maybe you and Yuta would be alright again...

---2 years later---

“Good morning, gorgeous.”

Yuta’s head rested on your bare chest, and his hand was wrapped tight around your waist.

You hummed your greeting, utterly content and completely worn out from last night’s lovemaking.

For the last few weeks, you’d been constantly in the mood, and Yuta being Yuta, was more than happy to oblige.

Your marriage was in a good place. The mayhem of two years back was just a bad dream, forgotten within moments of waking.

Yuta kissed the skin between your breasts.

“You know,” he murmured. “We’ve still got a few hours before the kids wake up…” His hand slid stealthily between your legs.

You curled your fingers into his feathery hair, then a revolting wave of sickness rushed over you.

You shoved Yuta off you. “I’m gonna be sick!”

You jumped out of bed and dashed into the bathroom, reaching the sink just in time.

“You okay babe?” Yuta meandered into the bathroom behind you, not bothering to put on any clothes.

You stared at him, heart racing.

His eyes rested on your thighs, your tummy, then your face.

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Y/n… does this mean what I think it means?”

You smiled back tentatively. “A fourth kid… are we crazy?”

A large grin erupted onto Yuta’s handsome face. He walked towards you and pulled you into his arms.

“Crazy in love, more like!”

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 ⭐

[tossawary]

Chapter 26 “ What You Want” of “pride is not the word I’m looking for” quotes and commentary. Not a full list of favorite quotes or full commentary.

Oh, this got so long, though. I was like, “An opportunity to wax poetic about Moshang dynamics and characterization? An opportunity to talk about why my interpretations of Mobei-Jun and Shang Qinghua are Like That? SIGN ME UP.” 

-

【Beginning next mission stage.】

【Death of the Author - Part 2: The Secret Basement of Shang Qinghua.】  

【Mission objective: place the Weeper’s Eye on the pedestal.】

Shang Qinghua slowly sits up on his sofa. He stares at the pop-up window for however long it takes his brain to roll over completely.

“I don’t have a fucking basement?” he says finally.

- 

AN: I have been waiting to use “I don’t have a fucking basement?” for months. Also, it’s been years for him, so Shang Qinghua is a little oblivious, BUT I would like to point readers all the way back to some paragraphs from Chapter 2. 

Excerpt from Chapter 2: “A Horseshoe Nail”:  

Shang Qinghua considers the point loss. What are his excuses character motivations here? Why is his unmerciful System not completely skewering him for this?

He is the servant of a demon lord, Mobei-Jun, the future Northern King, so he has a greater investment than most cultivators in the future of the Demon Realm, so it’s not unreasonable for him to seek out any bastards of Tianlang-Jun without handing the demon baby over to a righteous sect. He’s also a Peak Lord of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, so it’s not unreasonable for him to be interested in any rumors of the whereabouts of Su Xiyan or what happened to her, for political leverage or whatever. The character of Shang Qinghua originally was and still is a spy - on top of being a shameless coward willing to cling to anyone’s thighs and then stab them in the back, in order to stay alive or advance himself.

There are plenty of magical artifacts in this world that might give a power-grubbing weakling like Shang Qinghua an insight into the future. As Peak Lord of An Ding, Shang Qinghua is, in fact, in a pretty good place to get his greedy hands on one of these magical artifacts. Isn’t that what a good spy and overall ambitious snake would do?

 Especially a spy serving a demon lord extremely likely to get fed up with him and kill him at some point? While also serving a righteous cultivation sect extremely likely to execute him for eventually betraying them? Of course Shang Qinghua would obviously want to know how to save his own ass from these ticking time-bombs! And how better to save his own ass than shamelessly clinging to the golden thighs of the protagonist, who will one day conquer every other demon lord and all righteous sects?

Following Luo Binghe means being on the endgame winning team!

Shang Qinghua looks over the pop-up window’s numbers over again, in regards to the loss of points. True, how exactly he tracked down Su Xiyan’s half-demon baby when the Huan Hua Palace Master failed is a bit of a plot-hole, but the rest can be easily explained away with a bit of creativity!

Oh, the rest of the cultivation world didn’t know Su Xiyan was pregnant? Well, Shang Qinghua is a slimy, sneaky spy, who would of course guess that a female cultivator might suddenly disappear like that for months-on-end due to a secret pregnancy! And given that Su Xiyan’s reputation had been linked to a passionately self-destructive Tianlang-Jun… Okay, he can feel the anti-fan rage at that mildly sexist line of thinking, but it stands! It stands!

Now, Shang Qinghua just has to… actually decide… whether or not he wants to take the point loss, in order to save the life of his protagonist son’s adoptive mother, Luo Jiahui. 

Shang Qinghua, my darling fool of an Author God, your System is listening to the things you say and think. 

I have been WORKING here to foreshadow where I’m going with this story. I’m pretty sure that every single endgame plot point has shown up and is now in play in PINTWILF. Shang Qinghua, due to situational awareness, is dealing with too much in-world shit to narrow things down easily, but it’s all there! It will hopefully not seem as though I’m pulling things out of nowhere in the next and final part (Part 4) of this fic. 

-

“This makes me look crazy, bro,” Shang Qinghua  complains to the System. “It really does. I already have to be careful about talking to the secret, world-controlling system that lives in my head and this? This is not making me look any more stable! Where did this come from? Where the fuck did I even get it?! ”

Oh, things are coming together in Shang Qinghua’s head and he doesn’t know if he really likes the picture. On one hand, it’s always nice to actually have someone or something to blame for things beyond the fucking System. On the other hand, he really doesn’t know how the fuck he’s supposed to sleep at night with a full-length, polished silver mirror with an ornate golden frame under his house. 

- 

AN: Shang Qinghua, have you noticed that you’ve stopped losing points for continuity errors and plot holes? Shang Qinghua, you know that the people in your life have noticed that you know too much. They’ve just decided not to question you about it because you always look like you’re going to faint when they do, then you laugh and change the subject. 

But now Shen Qingqiu is on to you and he’s not so easy to shake. 

(Plus Shen Yuan! They’re terriers, SQH!) 

- 

He turns away from the mirror, only for a second System window to pop up in front of him. Only… the design of this one is different. Familiar, though! It takes Shang Qinghua a second to place it as Peerless Cucumber- as Shen Yuan’s Transmigration System.

 【 Users cannot be injured, killed, or trapped inside the looking-glass! The user will not be able to touch or be touched by anything inside the looking-glass! The user will be returned from the looking-glass within thirty minutes, unharmed! A substantial point reward is attached to this bonus mission. 】

“Right,” Shang Qinghua says.

This second pop-up window then shifts colors and is ruthlessly closed before his eyes. Ah, wow, Shang Qinghua kind of feels like he just saw someone get murdered here.

“...How many points?” he asks finally, reluctantly curious.

- 

AN: Having the Systems fight is so much fun. My setup here in PINTWILF has it so that there’s a main Worldbuilding System that does its best to maintain the world, then each transmigrator has their own personal Transmigration System managing their case. 

This is so the Worldbuilding System can maintain the world without the presence of transmigrators, and so the personal Systems can potentially follow their transmigrators into another world. All the Systems interact with each other in order to try to manage things and there are... issues.  

Look, the thing about simulated (or managed) realities for me is... someone coded the thing (or did some equivalent of coding the thing), and whether or not this thing in question is the world or just the System, if there are multiple entities trying to manage things, there’s going to be fuck-ups. You can’t have two cooks in the kitchen without points where the two cooks get in each other’s way at least a little bit. If there are multiple Systems, then you’re going to have friction, and that friction can be funny. 

Inspired by me trying to run two heavy art programs on my computer at once and being like, “Oh, boy, please don’t burst into flames while duking it out in there. Oh, man, you two were NOT made to operate together, huh?” 

- 

He knows he’s right when he walks away from some kind of important-looking procession, stepping into the next room at the same time as someone else, who looks directly at him and doesn’t look away. Shang Qinghua freezes in the doorway and doesn’t let himself stare so much as he can’t stop himself.

 “Oh, no,” Shang Qinghua thinks.

There’s a man standing in front of him, tall and broad-shouldered, with an ageless youth, but a sharp gaze and no youthful roundness to his features. His curly black hair has been cursorily held back from his face by a golden ornament, but is otherwise loose, and he wears his ornate red and black robes well and correctly, but like a man with a hundred more.

The man flicks a strong hand at the doors behind Shang Qinghua, which slam shut with a bang, like he’s done this a thousand times before.

He smiles unkindly. “Shang-Shishu,” he says, like he’s tasting the title, considering tearing it apart with his teeth. “So it's true. How curious.”

There’s no way for Shang Qinghua to count how many times he’s seen this face before, but he’s never seen it like this. The man looks like an emperor. He looks like a god. The red mark of the Heavenly Demons burns like a crown in the middle of his forehead.

Shang Qinghua takes an unwilling step back.

“What are you afraid of?” the original Luo Binghe says, still smiling. “We’re only talking.”

- 

AN: I tried to make this meeting mirror Shang Qinghua and Luo Binghe’s first scene in Part 3 of the fic, in which we finally meet the Luo Binghe (Shang Qinghua’s nephew) who is going to interact with the PIDW plot. 

Excerpt from Chapter 18: “The Inevitable Plot”: 

The restaurant is closed when Shang Qinghua lets himself in. The tables in the dining room are still packed up, lit by dim light through shuttered windows, and the only sign of another person are the chopping sounds coming from the brightness of the kitchen. Shang Qinghua stops in the doorway and lets himself stare.

There’s a young teenage boy standing at the counter, thirteen going on fourteen, still not yet near his adult height (taller than Shang Qinghua, a fact he's still not prepared to face), still carrying a youthful roundness to his features. Shang Qinghua has seen him like this a hundred times before: curly black hair tied back, a kerchief covering his head to keep it out of his eyes, a slightly yellowed matching apron neatly tied just the way his mother taught him, and intent on the work in front of him. His hands are quick, the knife sharp and sure, and the movements of food preparation work slide right into each other like he’s done this a thousand times before.

When did the boy get so big? It didn’t happen all at once; it snuck up on them, hiding dastardly in plain sight! Shang Qinghua remembers when his nephew barely came up to his waist. Fuck, Shang Qinghua remembers when his nephew couldn’t walk. What is this? Who allowed time to pass like this?

Luo Binghe scrapes the chopped vegetables off the board and into the basket beside him, before putting down the knife and turning around. He smiles.

There’s no way for Shang Qinghua to count how many times he’s seen that before.

“Uncle,” the protagonist says fondly. “You’re here.”

- 

“Let’s talk,” Luo Binghe calls out, cajoling now. “Stop running and speak to me and perhaps old hurts can be forgiven. All that condonation and betrayal is so far in the past now. This lord can be merciful, Shang Qinghua. Just speak: how many things have you been hiding...?”

- 

AN: This is PIDW Luo Binghe, by the way. 

Once I realized I was going to have a room full of fortune-telling devices, I was like... “Ooh! Bing-Ge scene! I should have a Bing-Ge scene!” Because, like, that’s the curse of SVSSS transmigrator protagonists who trip into caring about Luo Binghe, baby! 

- 

Shang Qinghua takes some deep breaths to calm his poor, weak heart, and nearly falls to the floor anyway! But he catches himself!

And then a large, cold hand wraps around his arm to steady him. It’s the cold that keeps him from lashing out and probably breaking his own hand. Instead, he looks up, heart still pounding in his ears, into the frowning face of Mobei-Jun.

“Oh, you have the worst timing,” Shang Qinghua breathes.

Mobei-Jun’s expression twitches and he lets go.

“No!” Shang Qinghua chases the hand with his own, catching it before the man can get too far. “My king, I’m so glad to see you! Thank you for finally coming! I have so much to say,” he says quickly. “I-”

Before he realizes that he’s essentially holding Mobei-Jun’s hand for no reason now - ah, now that’s something he never would have dared to do like twenty years ago - and carefully drops it. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm the panic still racing through his veins. And then promptly realizes that Mobei-Jun is here. The demon lord is here in this secret basement.

- 

AN: Moshang in this fic is... hmmm... a little weird sometimes, because a lot of it has been happening in the background. A lot of it has been unspoken until Shang Qinghua’s breakdown and until now. 

Shang Qinghua isn’t actually as scared of Mobei-Jun in this fic as he is in SVSSS, and I hope that comes across. When he had his breakdown, part of it was fear, but a large part of it was also actually anger. Shang Qinghua was afraid of how the System had changed his life, but he was also angry about this loss of control. Yes, he was terrified of Mobei-Jun because he didn’t know if it was still his Mobei-Jun, which brought lots of old memories and old anger to the surface, in which Shang Qinghua was kind of like, “How dare you think you get to freely touch me after the things you did and never apologized for?” 

BUT the status quo in this world, before the World Update, is one in which Mobei-Jun touches Shang Qinghua’s hip without SQH flinching. It’s one in which SQH and MBJ drink and relax together. It’s one in which SQH isn’t afraid to reach out and grab MBJ’s hand, because he misses MBJ. 

They’re so close, they just need to actually talk it out. 

- 

Shang Qinghua glances at the ladder and the open hole in the floor. “Ah, my king, did you… climb down here looking for me?”

“Yes,” Mobei-Jun answers, looking around with sharp eyes. He doesn’t seem to be very impressed with what he’s seeing. “...What is this place?”

“My, ah, my basement,” Shang Qinghua answers, leaving out the part where he didn’t even know he had one until about an hour ago. The System is determined to make him look like a bit of a madman, huh? “It’s just… just some artifacts and tools. I don’t… I don’t really come down here a lot…”

Mobei-Jun finishes studying the room, then stares at him again, his gaze more piercing than ever.

“The future concerns you this much?” he says.

Shang Qinghua is totally prepared to deny everything, but the phrasing of that cuts off every story he might try to tell. He glances around the room, full of these broken, desperate, stolen things. It’s… reflecting.

“...Yes,” he admits, hoarsely. Then coughs. “I… my king, we should… talk.”

“Yes,” Mobei-Jun agrees.

“But, ah, not here? I don’t… like it here.”

“Yes.”

-

AN: Mobei-Jun is one of the people who has noticed that Shang Qinghua knows more than he should. And now, thanks to this secret basement, Mobei-Jun has an explanation for why Shang Qinghua knows more than he should! 

If you don’t know about the System element, then this basement is actually pretty in-character for the new Shang Qinghua of PINTWILF. 

He is so scared of the future. He’s invested in the story now. 

- 

Shang Qinghua isn’t surprised at all when the special item speaks again as soon as it’s back in his hand.

Why would it shut up now, after all?

 “He has no name but the position he has been promised to, which he may not live to see,” the Weeper’s Eye says, which pulls Shang Qinghua’s gaze back to the demon lord waiting for him. “His father uses him as a tool. His mother is long departed. His uncle wants him dead. He has long known that these broken promises cannot be undone… but he knows new promises may yet be made.”

Mobei-Jun is frowning at the crystal eye in Shang Qinghua’s hand, looking between it and Shang Qinghua’s own eyes.

He’s not dressed-up the same way he was the last time Shang Qinghua saw him - no especially fancy robes or ornaments or jewelry. He looks like himself this time.  

 “If these ones are not kept, there will be nothing for the nameless man who will be king.”

Shang Qinghua doesn’t move.

- 

AN: I mentioned exploring Mobei-Jun not having a name in the commentary on the previous chapter. I guess that’s my take on PIDW Mobei-Jun... that the man doesn’t really have anything outside of his position. He’s a king, in service to a tyrant, and he’s never going to let anyone in. He’s just... cold... the whole way through. PIDW Mobei-Jun has an icy throne and nothing else. 

PINTWILF (and SVSSS) Mobei-Jun has the Airplane version of Shang Qinghua. When Airplane saved MBJ’s life, the System wasn’t making him do it, he made that choice for himself. The System was willing to let MBJ die (and, in my headcanon, be replaced by some ice demon cousin or LGJ). So, MBJ turns around and chooses Shang Qinghua for himself. 

Shang Qinghua was like, “No! This character can’t be replaced! You can’t just dress someone else up as Mobei-Jun! You can’t just let the character die! It has to be this man in that role! No one else!” 

When Mobei-Jun is coming to talk to Shang Qinghua in this fic, in this moment, he is making this choice for himself, the nameless man who has been promised a position he might not live to see. That’s what the Weeper’s Eye is getting at. If Shang Qinghua doesn’t want to hear the promises Mobei-Jun is will to make him, there might as well not be anything in Mobei-Jun’s future to make him an individual, more than a cold figure acting out a part. 

- 

“...Shang Qinghua,” Mobei-Jun says finally. “I will not hurt you.”

Shang Qinghua’s gaze snaps from the crystal eye in his hand, back to the demon lord standing by the exit to this secret basement.

“We will speak,” Mobei-Jun says solemnly, slowly, like someone repeating the lines of a script. “I wish to be understood by you. I have not known how. Yet I must try now… in my own words… and you must listen.”

Shang Qinghua swallows.

The anger - the frustration - breaking through at the end there sounds more like the man he knows. He’s pretty sure that’s meant to be a request, but it sounds like an order.

-

AN: After their last conversation, Mobei-Jun had a lot of soul-searching to do, and one of the conclusions he came to is that he can’t take anything for granted. He has to made explicitly clear, using words, which is apparently what matters with humans and with this human in particular, everything he feels. He can’t take the risk of continuing to hurt Shang Qinghua by letting the man think that he doesn’t regret hurting him or may hurt him again someday. 

-

He puts the Weeper’s Eye down.

He’s really sick of this thing. He doesn't want to carry it around all the time.

It only tells him things he knows, anyway.

- 

AN: We’ll get into the Weeper’s Eye in future chapters, but it’s... it’s not really a mind-reading device. It kind of is. It is a little bit. But part of the reason it’s so informative here is that Shang Qinghua is holding it and Shang Qinghua actually knows a lot about his characters and the people in his life. 

Even the original characters, like Fanli, he knows well. She’s his family. He’s privy to Fanli’s problems through Jiahui and Liu Qingge if nothing else. 

With Shen Yuan, he doesn’t know the kid well yet, but his fellow transmigrator isn’t that difficult to read and he’s been where Shen Yuan is. 

Shang Qinghua putting the Weeper’s Eye down here is a show of trust of sorts. It’s a way of telling himself to get out of his own head, away from character roles and exaggerated panic, and put himself in the moment with someone he knows and... well... trusts and wants to trust even more. 

- 

Shang Qinghua follows Mobei-Jun out of the basement, removing the spiritual seal from the wall, which makes the creepy basement entrance disappear, then replacing the flower that covered it. He hesitantly follows the demon lord back to the main room of his Leisure House. He has no idea how to stand, suddenly, or where to stand.

Mobei-Jun looks very determined.

“So, ah, should we… sit?”

“No,” Mobei-Jun replies, then abruptly says, “Shang Qinghua, you do not have to fear me. I do not wish to cause you any pain. Now or in the future.”

Shang Qinghua stares, wide-eyed.

That’s not… something he ever expected to hear explicitly.

Good! It's good, though! Very good.

It's great, really.

“...Thank you,” he says, stunned. “I don’t want to cause you pain either?”

“You have shown as much. Many times.”

This is probably not the time for an “Yes, I did tell you so” in any form!

Instead, trying to remember all the speeches he prepared while waiting, Shang Qinghua says, “You have too! In your own way! I just… my king, last time you visited was a… it was a very bad day for me. I apologize for my behavior! I was speaking from a place of-”

“Fear,” Mobei-Jun interrupts darkly. “Well-deserved.”

“Ah, well…”

“You believed that I would hurt you, in your state,” Mobei-Jun says.

“I was… it was very a bad and confused state, my king.”

“...You do not trust me.”

Shang Qinghua’s voice dries up on him. He wouldn’t put it that way, exactly! That sounds pretty terrible when said in such a blunt way. They’ve moved past that, haven’t they? It’s more that he trusts different people with different things! He trusts Luo Jiahui to be Luo Jiahui, and Liu Qingge to be Liu Qingge, and Mobei-Jun… to be Mobei-Jun.

- 

AN: Shang Qinghua and Mobei-Jun got really far without explicitly talking about things, but at some point that stopped cutting it. 

- 

“I have hurt you before,” Mobei-Jun says, looking at him directly. “From a place of fear… of anger… of… misunderstanding. I am… sorry for this. I will not do so again. I was wrong to treat you in such a way.”

Shang Qinghua takes in a deep breath… and out again.

Fuck, it feels like his eyes are burning.

“You have my respect,” Mobei-Jun says quietly, urgently, not letting up on getting all of these words out into the open. “You have my regard. You have my trust. Yet I have not shown this in a way that you have understood, so you could not share this. I have demanded your loyalty without being deserving of it.”

“My king,” Shang Qinghua protests, taking a step forward. “I was- I should have said-”

“You did. Many times. In many ways. I did not understand.”

“I wasn’t very clear either-”

“It was my responsibility to be clear. I must be clear now.”

“You’re being very clear now,” Shang Qinghua agrees quickly. If things get any clearer here, if any more of the things they’ve left unspoken get said, his heart won’t be able to take it. “Thank you, my king. It means- thank you."

Mobei-Jun nods. He looks relieved.

-

AN: I wanted to write a version of Moshang that felt... a little more mature? Shang Qinghua has developed a lot in this fic. He has grown as a person. And Mobei-Jun has seen this growth over the years. 

Mobei-Jun has also been able to see into this Shang Qinghua in a way that wasn’t available in SVSSS canon. I think that SVSSS Shang Qinghua was locked the fuck down. I think he was almost completely inaccessible and offered very, very few openings for connection. 

But in this universe, Mobei-Jun actually knows a lot more about Shang Qinghua. He knows what motivates Shang Qinghua. He knows that Shang Qinghua is a doting uncle and a doting older brother. He knows that Shang Qinghua has come to care for his sect. He knows that Shang Qinghua is intelligent and resourceful and funny. They drink together and talk politics! Mobei-Jun knows that Shang Qinghua is loyal and tired and trustworthy. 

So... there was an opening here that didn’t exist in SVSSS canon. 

And Mobei-Jun took it. 

- 

Shang Qinghua knows that cultural differences are a hell of a thing here, but everything being understandable in hindsight didn't make it not fucking hurt. It still hurts, even finally having the apology he never thought he'd get.

"...We’ve been pretty bad at understanding each other, huh?”

“It has often seemed as though we were not meant to meet,” the demon lord says softly.

Shang Qinghua, who can't imagine getting through his transmigration experience without meeting this man, thinks over all the unknowing irony in that statement.

"...Maybe."

“The differences are… significant.”

Shang Qinghua laughs, almost disbelieving. “That’s a word for it!”

"But not impassable."

"Ah… I… hope not."

- 

AN: I’ll probably make a separate post for this, but I love Moshang transmigrator reveals. Bingqiu transmigrator reveals are mostly about the Abyss, which is great, because that needs clearing up. MOSHANG transmigrator reveals are like, “My weak human husband is a god???” 

Also love it when MBJ is like, “Yes, this makes sense.” 

- 

“I have never known what you have wanted from me,” Mobei-Jun says next, like a confession. “Your life, you have said, time and time again. Though I am only alive by your grace. You demand none of what you deserve of me.”

“...I don’t think ‘deserve’ is a good word for this,” Shang Qinghua says, which probably isn’t the right thing to say, but he’s really too stunned to come up with anything better. He really didn’t prepare for the right conversation here. “Aha, sorry, my king. It’s just… I don’t think I like to think about it in terms of ‘owing’ anymore. Between us. At least… not like some sort of strict balance? I do something nice for you, you owe me. You do something bad to me, I get to hurt you. Not… not like that.”

Mobei-Jun thinks about it.

“Sorry, I don’t really know what I’m saying-”

“You are deserving of better than what I have given you,” Mobei-Jun insists, determinedly. “I do not understand you. I have never understood you.”

Shang Qinghua feels the same way.

“But I would like to,” Mobei-Jun says next. “I would if you would allow it.”

- 

AN: Mobei-Jun is only alive because Shang Qinghua saved him and he knows it! And Shang Qinghua has never made the demands he should have made, having that kind of leverage over Mobei-Jun! 

I’ve always wondered if this is deeply romantic by demon standards. Like, not inherently romantic. But I would bet that Mobei-Jun really likes the idea of a relationship where no one is keeping score... no one is granting favors to use like a leash of obligation... no one owes the other things they don’t want to give. I would bet that Mobei-Jun really, really likes the idea of a relationship where affection is freely given because the people in it want to give it. 

He does feel as though he owes Shang Qinghua, but I think Mobei-Jun likes the idea that his favor is his to give just because he wants to give it. 

-

Mobei-Jun lifts a hand, slowly, and holds it out.

Shang Qinghua thinks about it.

He thinks about it again.

He reaches back and puts his hand in Mobei-Jun’s own, which is as cool to the touch as always, and moves over his skin carefully. His hold is so light that Shang Qinghua could break it without any issue at all.

They stay there, like that, looking at each other.

Looking at their hands, holding without hurting, after everything. It's such a small gesture.

It feels kind of like a miracle.

-

AN: I am... a huge fucking sucker for Mobei-Jun holding Shang Qinghua waaaaay too lightly because he won’t risk hurting Shang Qinghua again. Like, this man is going to take it from the top. No more assumptions. 

- 

“What do you want, Shang Qinghua?” Mobei-Jun says, voice turning up at the end, in the closest thing that the man might ever come to helplessness. “What do you want from this?”

“I…” Shang Qinghua wipes at his burning eyes with his free hand. This is kind of pitiful. “Fuck.”

Mobei-Jun lifts his free hand and uses his own sleeve to wipe at Shang Qinghua’s tears, like his robes aren’t important to him at all. “Ask,” the man says, in the tone of a promise. “You do not have to fear the future. Anything I have to give is yours.”

Shang Qinghua gives up on trying to speak and just moves forward to bury his face in Mobei-Jun’s chest. Fuck it. The demon lord who was supposed to kill his character lets him do it. Mobei-Jun holds on to him, arms heavy but still so careful, the man’s chest moving in a sigh that sounds like relief.

This really was too many unspoken things to finally say aloud all at once.

- 

AN: So, yeah! That’s what I’m been building up to with the Jiahui/Qingge marriage and the Qijiu fights and makeup, getting Shang Qinghua to think about what he wants from his relationship with Mobei-Jun. Luo Jiahui and Shen Qingqiu have basically been throwing the question at him repeatedly: “What do you want from this life, Shang Qinghua?” 

Because it can’t all be plot! You’ve taken your family for yourself, but you can have more than that! You’ve made so many choices already... you can take this last step and make this choice too. Let Mobei-Jun in. 

A lot of Moshang plots end up being “Shang Qinghua’s inability to communicate versus Mobei-Jun’s inability to communicate”. Which is great! That’s Moshang! And some external issue (a rival demon lord, Linguang-Jun, etc.) will end up being the secondary plot which acts as a scenario pusher for the primary plot of the Moshang relationship. Again, great stuff! 

But since the romance isn’t the focus of this fic, I decided it would be fun to have a more “Shang Qinghua and Mobei-Jun versus the problem” take. (Which also shows up in lots of Moshang fics! Definitely not exclusive to this fic at all!) I’m looking forward to having Shang Qinghua and Mobei-Jun actually try and tackle problems together, as a couple, inside the main “Family of Choice” plot. 

Which isn’t to say that Moshang have totally worked out their relationship here. They have only just gotten together. Mobei-Jun still has issues. Shang Qinghua still has many issues. They’ve got a lot to work out together. They’ve never been in a relationship like this before and there’s a lot of people out there who would object to their relationship! Their relationship is going to continue to grow as the fic continues. They’re going to have a few bumps in the road. 

But I really like the idea of Mobei-Jun being Shang Qinghua’s rock in this fic. This man has been so stressed. He needs a hug from his ice demon boyfriend who can soothe headaches with a hand. 

-

When Shang Qinghua feels like he has himself more under control, he draws back just far enough to say, “My king, will you kiss me?”

Mobei-Jun’s expression is already soft, at least by his standards. His gaze turns hooded before he leans down as Shang Qinghua leans up. Shang Qinghua takes the man’s face between his hands to kiss him. It feels nice, if uncertain, with the hunger of something a long time coming at the end of it. There's years worth of wanting in this.

It has been so fucking long since Shang Qinghua kissed anyone.

He breaks the kiss and has to stifle laughter, clinging to the front of Mobei-Jun’s robes, which the man never closes properly, so now Shang Qinghua is never going to be able to not thinking about touching it. It’s a very nice chest to touch. He knew it would be.

Mobei-Jun’s brow furrows slightly, his hands staying on Shang Qinghua’s hips.

“What?”

Ah, sorry! Sorry, my king! It’s just- this is such a ridiculous detail to get stuck on, but your lips are kind of cold? I’ve, ah, I’ve always kind of wondered,” Shang Qinghua confesses quietly, without really meaning to actually say it. Holy shit, he’s going to blame saying something like this after that on the fact that he’s had a very long and very weird day. “Sorry. I'm really tired. It's fine. It's good.”

Mobei-Jun snorts and kisses him again, as if to say, “Deal with it.”

- 

AN: Cute! Mobei-Jun likes it when Shang Qinghua laughs. I stand by this.

[cuddlepilefics]

Count on me (2)

Fandom: Stray Kids

Little: Jeongin

Caregivers: Stray Kids

Part 1 

 No one’s POV.:

It was surprising really how quickly Chan had been able to fall asleep with little Innie in his arms. The leader would have expected himself to stay up at least another hour, dwelling on the thought of Jeongin forgetting about his littlespace. Sure, they had all noticed that their youngest didn’t slip into his headspace anymore but they had just assumed he didn’t need it. Now he felt stupid for not asking his dongsaeng why he had stopped slipping. Being the oldest, he was always attentive when it came to the other members, so when Seungmin came to wake Jisung up, Chan woke up too. Still, he pretended to be asleep and only moved his arm a bit to cover the pacifier between Jeongin’s lips. He knew the others wouldn’t go to their schedules if they knew that the maknae had slipped after what felt like an eternity. Sure, they always babied their youngest but it was still different when he was in his headspace. Chan felt a bit selfish for keeping Jeongin to himself while making all the other members go to work but he knew that they couldn’t all miss their schedules and it wouldn’t cause too much suspicion if only the two of them stayed back, besides, now that Jeongin remembered, he’d surely slip more frequently in the future.

Grumbling, Jisung rolled out of bed and made his way over to the other two. Though he was surprised to find Chan in his room, the rapper figured Jeongin had had another of his nightmares and had sought comfort from their leader. Before he could get close enough to the bed to notice anything off though, Seungmin stopped him, whispering: “They’re not going today, hyung. After Innie felt bad yesterday, Chan-hyung texted me that he’d stay back with him and that we shouldn’t wake Innie at any cost.” That did a good job at waking Jisung up. He knew his roommate wasn’t himself lately and especially after him collapsing during practice the previous day, he had hoped the younger would open up but it only seemed like he was doing worse. “Channie-hyung also told me not to worry too much, he’s going to explain everything when we get back. Everything will be okay, yeah? I trust him to take good care of Innie”, Seungmin smiled when he noticed the older’s concerned look. Though not very happy about that answer, Jisung nodded and quietly went to get ready and Chan had to suppress a sigh of relief. He knew he could trust Seungmin and really had to make sure to thank him later.

Chan stayed cuddled up with Jeongin and listened to the commotion outside their room. He didn’t want to go back to sleep right away, afraid that somebody would check on them one last time and would notice the pacifier. As soon as he heard the front door click though and it became quiet, he relaxed and decided a few more hours of sleep couldn’t hurt him either after almost staying awake with the little the whole night. It was already early afternoon when he woke up to someone poking his cheek. Chan sat up, looking sleepy and confused, which earned him a giggle from the little, sitting on his legs. “Good morning, Innie”, the leader smiled, voice low and raspy after sleeping for so long. The younger happily clapped his hands, giggling: “Daddy!” Now that his caregiver was awake, he finally had someone to play with.

Seeing the little already wide awake, Chan had to shake off his sleepy haze rather quick and checking the time, he felt his heart sink.  It was almost lunchtime and he hadn’t even fed Jeongin breakfast. “Aww, are you hungry, Sweetie?”, the leader cooed, pinching his dongsaeng’s cheek. The maknae looked at him with big puppy eyes and nodded. Picking the little up and placing him on his hip, Chan chuckled: “Very hungry or does daddy have enough time to cook you pancakes?” – “Pancakes”, Jeongin squealed, bouncing a little in the older’s arms, who struggled to keep them balanced. The leader then got Jeongin settled at the table, so he could color something while Chan prepared their late breakfast. It had been a while since he had the time to really cook something for breakfast. Usually they were too busy and settled for something quick like toast or cereal but today was different. He had promised himself that he’d make today special for Jeongin after he had struggled all alone for so long. Sure, when the maknae came out of his headspace, they’d need to have a talk about going to others for help and not trying to fend for himself but for now, he just wanted the boy to be happy and forget about his worries.

“Innie, look!”, Chan exclaimed, flipping the pancake by throwing it in the air and catching it with the pan again. The little happily clapped his hands and waited for the next pancake to be flipped. Chan felt his heart beat faster when he noticed how impressed the boy looked and started to comment on all his actions like he was on a cooking show, which Jeongin found really entertaining. He soon forgot about his coloring book and gave the older his full attention. The little was so distracted from his rumbling tummy, that it didn���t even seem to take long till his daddy joined him at the table, setting down two plates and putting his coloring book and crayons away. Chan then also got some bananas and strawberries as a topping because he knew the younger loved Nutella on his pancakes but should also eat something remotely healthy. He gave Jeongin a few strawberries to much on, so he’d be occupied till the leader had spread two pancakes with Nutella, topping one with strawberries and the other with banana slices. Then he cut it into bite-sized pieces and lifted one to the little’s pink-stained lips, chuckling: “Oh no, the airplane needs to land.” The younger instantly opened his mouth and allowed the caregiver to feed him. Chan switched between feeding little Innie and eating a few bites himself. By the time they finished their meal, his hands were sticky and so was Jeongin’s face, so before he even considered clearing the table, he carried his dongsaeng to the bathroom to wash up.

Chan had thought the little would go back to coloring while he did the dishes but he soon felt a chin on his shoulder and turned around, facing a pouty Jeongin. “What’s up, cutie? Why do you look so sad?”, he cooed, booping the little’s nose with some foam on his finger. Instead of the lighthearted giggle he had expected, he only got a small smile. Wrapping his arms around the older’s middle and burying his face in his chest, the maknae admitted: “Innie tiwed, wan’ nap but I jus’ got up. Nuh, wan be lazy.” – “Aww, it’s okay, sweets. You’re not lazy, just really run down and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. If you want to take a nap, Daddy will tuck you in, yeah?”, Chan smiled. It had come a bit unexpected because Jeongin had been asleep for a pretty long time but the leader understood that the exhaustion that had accumulated over weeks couldn’t be fixed with a few hours of rest. “Cuddles please?”, the little pouted and Chan was quick to agree: “Sure, just let daddy finish up here and I’ll be all yours. Maybe you want to go and get your paci, plushie and blanket ready and I’ll be there in a second.” Jeongin nodded and shuffled to his room, before coming back out to wash off his paci and to collect Drippy, who had been left on the couch. A small smile spread on his lips when he remembered how the plushie had gotten its name. Hyunjin had bought it for him because Jeongin really loved goldfishes and Jisung used to move it around, pretending it was swimming around the little, and singsong: “Drippy, droppy, drippy, droppy.” To Jeongin ‘Droppy’ sounded too gloomy while ‘Drippy’ sounded cheerier, so he started to refer to the plushie as ‘Drippy’.

Popping the paci between his lips and suckling on it, he sat down on his bed and played with Drippy as he waited for his daddy. He barely noticed the door open and only looked up when he felt the bed dip beside him. With a smile, Chan opened his arms and let the younger cuddle into him while he moved them to lay down. Jeongin gave a content sigh and closed his eyes. After the caregiver had started to draw shapes onto his back, it didn’t take long for the little to doze off. Though he was glad that his dongsaeng was resting now, it hurt the leader to see just how drained his youngest member was. Sure, he knew it was bad when Jeongin almost collapsed but seeing him knocked out only two hours after getting up, was impressive and Chan was glad he had made the right decision and kept the boy at the dorm to rest. What impressed him even more was that the little’s huffed breaths lured him to sleep too. He wasn’t used to sleeping much, so he never really got much sleep even if there’d be enough time to but with Jeongin pressed against him, it somehow worked. Not for long though, at least it didn’t feel long to them when the leader’s phone rang on the nightstand, waking both of them. “Yeah?”, Chan mumbled sleepily, “Mhm. See you in a bit. Maybe gather everyone in the living room, yeah? Okay thanks, bye.” He ended the call and groaned, pressing his face into the pillow till the little started pocking his arm, curious what the call had been about.

Chan sat up and gave Jeongin a tired smile, explaining: “That was Seungmin, the others don’t know that you slipped again yet. You’re okay with telling them, right? We all really missed this side of you, so I’m pretty sure you’ll get lots of affection as soon as they’re back.” – “Minnie-hyung? And- and Minmin-hyung and Binnie-hyung and Jinnie-hyung and Jiji-hyung oh- oh and Lixxie-hyung?”, the younger beamed. “Mhm, all of them, so should we get up and maybe fix our hair, so that they won’t laugh at us too much?”, Chan chuckled, smoothing down a strand of the little’s hair. Jeongin nodded and let the older carry him to the bathroom. When they exited, they could already hear their members talking in the living room. Though they didn’t understand much, the mood seemed dull as the atmosphere was thick with worry. The maknae grew shy as six pairs of eyes were on him all of a sudden and he his face against Chan’s neck, who spoke up with a small smile: “Hey, cheer up guys! Everything’s fine, I promise, our little Innie here has just become a bit of an insomniac lately, being stressed and thinking a lot. That’s also why he collapsed yesterday, he was simply exhausted to the bone. He asked me why he never felt like this when we were about to debut. Turns out, he forgot about his littlespace and that’s why he suddenly stopped slipping. I eased him into his headspace and made sure he’d get the chance to catch up on the hours of sleep he lost. He just woke up from his nap and isn’t used to being little anymore, so he’s a bit shy but everything will be fine.”

The members had broken into massive grins as heavy weights lifted off their chests. They knew that something had been wrong for longer than just a few days but if it could be fixed as easily as having Jeongin regress again, it wasn’t nearly as bad as they had feared. Even after Chan had finished his short speech, the little didn’t dare to look up at the small crowd in their living room. Sure, he knew all of them and he had been happy when he heard they were coming but now, he couldn’t help but feel shy. “Hey there little foxy”, a soft voice spoke right next to him and though hesitant, he looked up at Hyunjin with innocent eyes. The dancer pinched his cheek, drawing a quiet giggle from the boy, who instantly made grabby hands at him. In Hyunjin’s arms, they went around to each of the other members who patiently waited for their turn talking to their youngest, so he wouldn’t overwhelmed. As soon as he had interacted with all of them, he started to feel more comfortable and urged Hyunjin to put him down, before waddling off to get Drippy and proudly introducing the plushie to them as though they had never seen it before. Jisung took the plushie and sang the small tune again, ending by booping Jeongin’s nose with the stuffed toy. The maknae laughed happily, seeming so lighthearted and carefree, before tugging on Felix hand to show him what he had colored the previous night and this morning. There were no words needed for the other seven members to agree that they wouldn’t allow their baby to lose his safe place again because his fake smile was severely lacking the spark now visible in his eyes.

Over the course of the early evening, Jeongin tried to catch up on play time with each of his hyungs, which felt impossible. He could never get enough of playing with them, feeling fuzzier than ever from the amount of affection he received. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling though and he just let himself drift, enjoying not having to worry about a thing except for making sure to spend equally as much time with each of his hyungs. Chan could see some small changes in the little’s behavior but it wasn’t until Seungmin played peek-a-boo with him that Jeongin slipped deeper than ever. At first only Chan and Seungmin noticed because the youngest continued doing what he had done before slipping even younger, which was giggling at every thing his caregivers did. His stomach had started to ache from all the laughing a while ago but he couldn’t care less, they were just too funny. Seungmin gave him a chance to catch his breath and hugged him tight, watching how the younger started to chew on his fingers. At that point, all of them had realized what was going on, so Jisung rushed off to their shared room to get his pacifier. When the rapper returned, Jeongin sat in Changbin’s lap, chewing on the chords of the older’s black hoodie and giggling every once in a while, as Changbin pulled funny faces at him.

It seemed like Jeongin had gone completely none-verbal and only replied with other noises but his caregivers knew him well enough to know exactly what he wanted every time. Though they hadn’t spent time together like this for a long time, it still felt the same, maybe even better because they were much closer now than they had been during the survival show. The little seemed to have missed them as much as they had missed him and kept crawling from one member to another to cash in on all of their affection but as it got late, dinner seemingly forgotten, he settled in Felix’ lap and stayed there. At first the others were confused but when the maknae yawned widely, they chuckled. They really should have figured that he was to tired to constantly move between them. “Aww, sleepy baby?”, the Aussie cooed, patting Jeongin’s head. The younger whined and nodded, which should’ve been Chan’s clue to get him ready for bed but after already skipping one meal of the day due to them being asleep, the leader wouldn’t allow his youngest to skip another. Instead of taking him to his room, he picked Jeongin up from Felix’ lap and swayed him in his arms, humming: “You still need to eat some before going to bed, Innie. What do you want for dinner?” He wasn’t expecting an answer but he also wasn’t expecting the boy to get so frustrated with him for keeping him up.

Hyunjin came over and took him out of Chan’s arms to calm him down again, while Felix mashed up a banana and mixed it with some vanilla yoghurt. Hyunjin calmly sat down at the table with Jeongin in his lap, holding him still, so that Felix could feed him with ease. Since it was only a small meal, Chan used the time to also prepare a bottle for the little and when he walked off to put it on Jeongin’s bedside table, he found Jisung rearranging the pillows and plushies in the maknae’s bed to create a comfy nest for the younger. He gave the rapper a smile, asking: “Hey, is it okay if I stay here tonight? I slept so much better last night than I can remember sleeping in a looong time.” – “Sure, hyung but please don’t turn my alarm off again. I almost had a heart attack when Seungmin woke me before my alarm going off at least three times”, Jisung replied. “As if you’d ever wake up from your alarm”, the leader laughed, causing the younger to join: “Hey, I do wake up from my alarm! I just decide to stay in bed till somebody violently drags me out but I am aware of the time. I wasn’t aware of it this morning.” – “Alright, alright, we’ll all have to get up at the same time tomorrow anyway”, the older chuckled, leaving to check if Jeongin was done eating.

He was done eating but it had been at least as mess as it had been this morning. Not only would Chan have to wash his face, he’d also need to get him a fresh shirt but he could worry about that when he had the younger in the bathroom. The leader didn’t want to get yoghurt on himself too, so he carried Jeongin bridal-style and let him sit on the closed toilet lid. First, he stripped the boy of his soiled shirt, then he ran a washcloth under warm water, cleaning his face and wiping down his chest. The little didn’t open his eyes again after having to close them so Chan could wash his face. He was starting to doze off right there and the leader was just about to pick him up, when Changbin joined them with one of his sweaters. The rapper owned some massive sweaters that gave ‘oversized’ a whole new meaning but Jeongin loved them, always had, so despite having his eyes closed, his lips formed a little smile when his caregiver slipped it over him. When Chan finally picked him up and carried him to bed, he squeezed his eyes shut and nuzzled his face against the oldest’s neck. By the time, they were settled in his bed, with the little’s head resting against the Aussie’s chest, he was barely conscious anymore but still let out a while of protest when Chan took away his paci. When it was replaced with is bottle though, he contently suckled on it, almost finishing half of it when the older noticed his lips slowing and eventually stilling. The leader cooed at the cute boy falling asleep while drinking and put the bottle away, putting the pacifier back between his lips and saying good night to Jisung before they followed Jeongin to dreamland.

[missskzbiased]

Getting a Roommate

That’s Actually my first fanfic here (I wrote fanfics a loooong time ago, but not about SKZ, so it’s a whole new world) So I’m kinda nervous kkk

Genre: Romance; College Au; Roommate Au; Love Triangle Word Count: ~2,9K Female lead YAYAYA: For now I only know it will have a Roommate (Not necessarily Who Y/N will end up with) , Romance and everyone is in College. Would like an opinion about who She should move in with, but don’t even know if someone will answer it KKK So maybe I just choose it randomly 

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Final)

----------------------------------------------//////////////-------------------------------------------------

    You couldn’t believe your luck, maybe it’s because you don’t have any. Not sure. You just needed to find a roommate for now, but it’s your life we’re talking about so of course, it couldn’t be so easy, right?

    Well, right.

    To begin with, you could only find male roommates, which could not be a bother, but also could! So you decided to go out of your way and meet all of them in person and on the renting place, because who knows what could be there waiting for you? You were very aware that psychos could exist in all forms and usually, they looked like a normal dude waiting for you to take that bait, but at least you could narrow down a bit the ones that look suspicious from the start, right? It couldn’t hurt...

    Except that yes, it could!

    You only had a day to find a new place, because your so loved old roomie made you the favor of getting both of you expelled! A really great day it was. Now, her parents wanted her back and out of college (rich brat, indeed), but you do not have the money to live alone (you wished you could be a rich brat, hm?) and happens to need a place that takes your money and your sorry ass by the night. You had four places to look up to that met your needings, that were really just being accepted by the night, you swear you didn’t even ask for a good bathroom, a bus stop or a nice place! You just needed a bloody bed!

     The roommates you saw, unfortunately, weren’t helping your case tough.

      The first place was really pretty! The guys were also quite alluring, but they were kinda... Fuckboys? It wouldn't really be a  problem if one of them wasn’t a dick!

      “ Hey, Y/N, right?” A boy asked when you stepped in. Friendly enough, you guessed.

      The place was all clean and bright, which may suggest he could be a psycho... Blood cleaners could make the walls so shiny? Maybe. Your worrying thoughts about the possibility of being murdered ended when he spoke up again.

      “ As you can see we have a really clean place” He bragged. You don’t think that a psycho would be bragging about his skills to hide evidence to a victim, but again you don’t understand a psycho’s mind “Everything has to be clean if you want to bring chicks around, right? You guys love a clean place to fuck”

     Oh, well! It was... Unexpected.

    “I beg your pardon?” You tried to be polite and smile, unsure about what to think now.

    “I and my roomie are really... How can I say it to you? Fuckable? Well, it may sound crude, but yeah! Fuckable” He was pondering really hard about the words and he still managed to choose Fuckable. Nice. He wasn’t wrong tough “And we like to do it, okay? So we bring a lot of girls here, that’s why we like to keep everything clean and shiny, so they can feel well”

    Your mind was stuck on “we like to do it, okay?” but you also noticed the warm smile he was giving, trying to be a gentleman. What in the world? You smiled back to him, feeling at a loss of words.

   “Well, you can like to do it... It’s not wrong at all, hm...” You tried to remember his name.

   “Minho” He said, smiling.

   “ Minho” You smiled back “And I can see you guys think about the girls a lot...” Well, at least they wanted them to feel welcomed, right?

   “Not really” Another voice spoke up, and you turned back to see the other fuckable roomie you could get. You can’t believe you thought that.

    And you couldn’t believe he said they don’t think about the girls at all! What a jerk.

   “ Oh, this is Hyunjin!” Minho said to you, pointing at his friend “He’s the one who cleans the stuff and I’m the one who cooks stuff”

   “ So you guys have a system... What would I do if I got to live here?” You asked, curious about the practical matters.

   Hyunjin smiled, but different from Minho, who only smiled friendly until now, Hyunjin’s smile was cocky and you could almost hear his mind talking shit right now.

  “  You could fuc—“ Before he could end his sentence, Minho rushed to his side and put a hand upon his mouth.

  What an asshole...

  “ What he means is that you can help cleaning stuff or cooking stuff, anything you feel comfortable with. Hyunjin doesn’t really like to do the dishes and neither do I... So you could do it if you don’t mind... And you could do the laundry if you don’t want us to see your stuff or something” He tried to be reasonable.

   Something was smelling suspicious here... Why would Minho be so worried about Hyunjin talking shit if he was alright with “fuckable” and “we like to do it” himself? He got his hand off Hyunjin’s mouth and you narrowed your eyes in their directions.

   “Okay, spill out” You said, crossing your arms.

    “ What do you mean?” Minho asked, confused.

    “ Are you trying to find a new fuck buddy or something? Why are you so desperate in getting a new roommate if you guys have all sorted out? I can see you think Hyunjin is disturbing your plans on getting me here” I blurted out and they were surprised.

     “ A fuck buddy?” Hyunjin laughed out loud, slapping Minho’s shoulder “My dear, why would we look for a fuck buddy that lived with us? It would only make it difficult to fuck another person later. Are you even hearing yourself?”

     “What Hyunjin means” Minho tried again, fed up with his roommate “Is that fucking our roommates would not be allowed at all”

    “ And we mean it” Hyunjin warned “I know we’re really good and all, but even if you begged I couldn't fuck you” He said sympathetically.

    What?!

    Minho widened his eyes, shocked with his friend’s words, and so did you.          

    “ Why on the Earth I would beg you to fuck me?!” You let out, enraged.

    Hyunjin smiled and you wished you could smack it out of his face. Minho held his shoulder, trying to warn his friend, but Hyunjin was not the smart type at all.

    “ Believe me, you would beg so much you would be embarrassed the next day”

    Minho slapped his own face and turned to you with an apologetic smile.

    “He’s dumb but he’s a good roommate, I swear” He tried, but you were already heading towards the door.

    “ Y/N!” Minho called you, and you turned back, your hand on the door handle and the door open “The truth is that the rent will get higher and we don’t have the money to continue to live here... That’s why we want a new roommate. It’s just that Hyunjin is an asshole and doesn’t want a girl here...”

    You scoffed.

    “What? Are you afraid to beg me to fuck you later?” You utter.

    Minho let a small laugh at your retort, amazed, but Hyunjin scoffed.

    “ I’m afraid you will want to fuck us so much that when we do fuck our real fuck buddies you get all shitty and decide to move out, and we have to look up another roommate all over again” He spoke a little too high to your liking.

    “Not everything revolves around your dick” You said, a fake and sweet voice coming out.

    “ But a lot of people do” He guaranteed, mimicking your tone.

    That was it, you couldn’t deal with him any further, so you slammed the door and went to the next place. You could hear Minho fed up “Nice one, dumbass” from the other side and it made you feel a little better.

    The second place was way better if you were being honest, but the guy was a little bit... Tight? Maybe he just needed to warm up a little bit, He seemed really nice and sweet.

     “YN?” He asked simply, letting you come in when you nodded.

     He walked you through the apartment, pointing and explaining some things here and there. When he finished, he looked to you and waited.

     “It’s a really nice place” You offered, unsure about what to say “I could move in right now” You smiled, trying to be a friendly guest.

    He hummed, sitting down and gesturing you to do the same. You sat down on the sofa across him.

    “ So let’s talk about the rules” He suggested and you thought it was a really good idea. He seemed responsible and smart, different from the other roommates you met. “Neither of us can bring anybody home” He eyed you, searching for a reaction “ And we should be home at eleven at most”.

    That made you furrow your brows.

     “Why?” You asked suddenly “I mean... I would like to go out sometimes, wouldn’t you?”

    “I don’t really have the time” He answered simply “And you can go out as much as you want if you don’t come back after eleven” He shrugged.

    Hm… It wasn’t so bad, but it could be better, right? Maybe one of the others could be a better option.

    “ That’s…” Understandable? Okay? You weren’t quite sure what to say, so he just spoke up.

    “Boring?” He offered “Yeah, I get that a lot… But I have a really tight schedule and I would like to not be bothered by anyone past eleven. You may say you won’t drink much, but eventually, you will have a day when you do and I will have to hold your hair up instead of sleeping”

    Oh… That was kinda sweet, actually.

    “ Or you will get home all excited about a hangout and I will have to listen to it instead of sleeping… Or you will bring someone home and ask them to be quiet, but they will be loud as hell instead of letting me sleep…” He rumbled.

    You guessed a lot of roommates really disturbed his sleeping schedule before.

    You laughed, and he stopped talking for a moment.

    “Sorry, I can totally understand you. If I decide to be here, I will make sure to let you sleep like a king” You smiled, but he didn’t return it.

    “If?” He asked, sighing “So you’re not interested”

    “What?! No!” You tried to say, but he put his hand up, asking for you to stop.

    “That’s fine, I get a lot of it… I guess people don’t need to sleep anymore and I’m just an old hag” It sounded like a joke, but he wasn’t smiling, so you tried not to.

    “ I don’t think you’re an old hag” And the smile slipped right away “I just think that maybe I can find someone as nice as you, but a little bit less… Tight?”

    “ That’s fine” He assured “I have another person to come to check here out, tough” He warned “I won’t save it for you, okay? If He wants to stay, I will let him”

    “Understandable” You laugh “See you later, Seungmin” You said, getting up “I will probably be back since you’re the nicest old hag I ever met”

    He smiled at it and shook your hand.

    “ I hope the next guy isn’t an old hag, then, so I can live with the nicest not hag I met around here” He said, this time I laughed and went towards the door.

    “ What an honor” You said, faking a bow, and He laughed back.

    So the second place wasn’t really a disaster, right? But maybe you could do better… The third-place got your hopes down, tough. Although the guy was really nice and gentle, live with him could be a little… Noisy.

    When you knocked, He was already waiting for you and you got yourself thinking about all the murderer thing again. Was Seungmin too nice? Maybe He could kill you past eleven? You laughed at the thought and looked to your new guy. He looked nice… His smile was big and his voice really warm. When you stepped in, you noticed the house was a bit dark, though.

    “Oh, We got a vampire here?” You said smiling and he laughed.

    “ We have a lot of light here” He answered, fully opening the curtains. When the room lighted up, you saw that the place was actually cozy. “I was just watching a movie” He explained, pointing the TV.

    “Sorry to interrupt” You said, but he waved his hand, telling you not to bother.

    “Well, I will be honest with you, okay?” He started, and you could see nothing good would be coming “Before you see the apartment, I have to warn you that I bring girls here”

    Great, another fuckboy? Was the college so full of hormone like the movies pictured it?

    “That’s not a prob-“ You began to say, but he interrupted you.

    “And they can be loud” He continued.

    Ok? Was He bragging about his sex? Was he hooking up with really loud singers? What is the point here?

    “ Do you have a problem with listen other people sex?” He asked.

    Excuse me?

    “Well, yeah” You answered high pitched.

    “ That’s a shame…” He sighed “I was hoping you would like this kind of thing, but that’s fine… Actually, you wouldn’t hear much, I guess, but maybe some pet names or begging… Is it really unbearable?”

    Okay, so He was a dom who liked making people beg for him? You must have been thinking a lot because his face seemed a little embarrassed right now.

    “That’s not something to be ashamed of!” You rushed to say, kind of shouting it to his face. He got surprised and smiled at you, laughing right after.

    “ I know it’s not, I just thought I had made you uncomfortable” He said “I really need a roomie and I’m hoping to get someone that likes it” He confessed.

    What?

    “ I don’t really plan to make sex with you” You blurted out.

    You felt your face burn and you saw his ears getting red. Really red.

    “ NO! That’s NOT what I meant” He hushed “I meant I hope to get a roommie that doesn’t care about the name calling and the sounds! Not that it would be bad if you planned to make sex with me… I mean, you’re really pretty and all, but if you don’t like that kind of stuff it may be a little difficult… I mean, why am I even saying this? That’s nothing wrong with making sex any other way, it’s just…” He let a big breath out, this time he looked abashed “I will just stop talking”

     “Oh… Well…” You weren’t sure what to say. Both of you flustered in the moment, looking at each other “I guess it won’t go well… I still have one more place to go and I have one place in mind… But I wish you luck!” You rumbled.

    “Yeah, ok! Totally cool!” He said, still ashamed of his speech.

    You waved goodbye and got out of the room. Only one more and maybe you could find the perfect place.

    “Y/N!” The guy was really happy to see you here.

    “Hey” You smiled, unsure.

    “Is that her?” The other guy asked, coming to the living room. 

    Well… You could say that everything was out of place. Even tough both of them seemed ok, the place looked like it was turned upside down. Were They looking for something? You probably were staring a lot, because one of them scoffed.

    “Jisung can be like a hurricane” The one you assumed to be Changbin said, while poiting to his friend, who smiles sheepishly.

    “I will admit the place is not tidy, but we’re fine people” He assured you and you laughed.

    “Besides the hurricane guy is there something I should be aware of? Do you have a curfew or something?” You asked, just to be sure.

    “ Why the hell would we have a curfew?” Jisung blurted out and looked at you like you were crazy “You can go and come as you wish, dude”

    “Although you may have to be aware of something” Changbin started and you didn’t like it. What would it be this time? “We make music and we can be really loud sometimes” He warned.

    Oh boy.

    “How loud?” You asked, tired.

    “A lot” Jisung admitted.

    “ Could you guys stop being loud at night?” You asked, hopeful.

    “ Maybe?” Jisung wondered, looking at Changbin “Sometimes we would have to go through night tough… But we could try to arrange that, I guess”

    “ Yeah, we could…” Changbin agreed.

    “ Would you guys also help to clean up the place?”

    Jisung laughed at that.

    “Of course! I can be tidy” He assured.

    “No, He can’t!” Changbin scoffed “But I can help you and He can mess everything up all over again”

    Hm… Was it a good option? Maybe you should take it, you would have just to  put up with a messy roommate and a loud background. It couldn’t be that bad, right? If it was really this bad, you can search for a new place, having time to get a really nice place this time.

     Or maybe you should go to Seungmin… He looked tidy enough and you don’t really need to party that much. You can just hang out with your friends all night long If it’s necessary or crash in their place.

----------------------------------------------//////////////-------------------------------------------------

I’m not a native speaker, so if you guys have anything to suggest about the writing I am more than happy to listen (read?) about it!

Felix and IN will come next. Kept them for logistic kkk I Just LOVE Love triangles, but I still don't know who they are going to be. Suggestions are welcomed 

[snowdice]

Little Kestrel (Part 3)[Birds of Different Feathers Series]

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Logan & Patton & Virgil (future Virgil/Patton but not in this story)

Characters:

Main: Logan, Patton, Virgil

Appear: Thomas

Mentioned: Janus

Summary:

It was supposed to be a quick job either way. Either Virgil would assassinate King Thomas of Prijaznia or he’d be caught and get executed. Yet, when Virgil gets the wrong bedroom and gets caught by Prince Logan and his future royal advisor, Patton, the job ends up getting way more complicated for the 14-year-old. He also ends up sleeping in a (actually pretty comfortable) closet for a few weeks…

Notes: Implied/referenced child abuse, assassination attempt, knives, torture mentioned, captivity, teenagers being really dumb

This is a prequel to Kill Dear. I wrote it 100 words at a time on my blog, but this is the edited version. If you want to see how it was crafted, look at the tag proofread stories.

Part 1 Part 2

The figure whose head Patton had just slammed a cookie sheet over tottered forward and fell to the floor; the knife fell limply from its hand onto the floor. Patton immediately stepped forward to kick the weapon away towards Logan. Logan stepped forward to grab it and stored it away quickly at the bottom of the chest at the foot of his bed.

He looked back up at Patton. “T-thank you,” he said.

“Um-huh,” Patton replied, still looking down at the fallen figure. It did not seem like it’d be getting up anytime soon. He slowly lowered the cookie sheet.

He cautiously knelt down next to the person.

“Patton, what are you doing?” Logan asked.

“I just want to see,” Patton said. He carefully shoved the figure over to its back so he could peer at his face. It was a young boy with a pale face and kinda squiggly dark hair that framed his face unevenly. “Oh,” Patton said softly. “He’s just a baby.”

“What are you talking about?” Logan asked.

“He’s like 12,” Patton said with a frown. “Maybe 13.”

“He also had a knife,” Logan stressed, but he did move closer to get a better look at him. “We should call the guards.”

“But...”

“No, Patton,” Logan said firmly.

“Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding?” Patton tried.

“A misunderstanding?” Logan scoffed. “What? Did he accidently sneak past the guards into the royal family’s private hallway and come into my bedroom in the middle of the night with a knife?”

Patton looked down at the kid. “Well…”

“He’s clearly an assassin,” Logan said. “We need to call the guards so they can deal with him appropriately.”

“Can we at least wait until he wakes up?” Patton said. “I want to talk to him. Maybe…”

“He’s not a feral cat you can tame.”

Patton bit his lip and looked up at Logan about to do something sorta mean. “But aren’t you curious?” Patton beseeched. “He’s so young. Who would have sent him? Who would have trained him if he’s really an assassin? How’d he get past the guards? Don’t you want to know? They probably wouldn’t tell you if we let the guards take him away.”

Patton could see Logan’s resolve breaking. He was weak to his own curiosity and whoever this kid was, was a curiosity. He sighed. “We’ll have to check him for any weapons before he wakes up, and we’ll have to restrain him.” Patton beamed up at him. “We’ll call the guards and tell Father as soon as we’re done or at the first sign of trouble.”

“Sure,” Patton readily agreed.

“Hmm,” Logan said. “Watch him closely for a couple of seconds.” He ducked through the door to his little work area and then ran back with a corked bottle. “May I borrow your bracelets?”

“Sure. Why?” Patton asked, already working them off his own wrists.

“This is a binding potion,” Logan explained, taking the bracelets and pouring a couple of drops carefully on them. “It keeps people locked in place. It’s rather strong though and if I applied it directly on his skin, it’d hurt him and be hard to take off. This way, the bracelets will just act like magical cuffs. They’ll hold his arms in place wherever we need them to be.” He waited for a moment and then tapped his own finger to where he’d applied the potion. “It’s dry” he said. “Help me get these on him.” Patton nodded and grabbed the boy’s thin wrists in his, pulling back the dark sleeves so Logan could snap the brackets on him. Then, Logan grabbed both of his hands and moved them above his head, so they laid against the ground. Patton shifted him around, so he was laying prone. “Okay, now we should make sure he doesn’t have any other weapons on him.”

Patton nodded and they both started awkwardly patting at his clothing, feeling for anything that could be a weapon. “He’s really skinny,” Patton said while his hands brushed across his rib cage.

“Strange,” Logan said. “You would think one would keep one’s assassins well fed.”

“And older,” Patton pointed out.

“It’ll be another question for when he wakes,” Logan said. “He doesn’t seem to have any other weapons on him.”

“Let’s get him sat up,” Patton suggested, “so he’s easier to talk to.”

Logan nodded, and they worked on pulling him into a sitting position against the wall. The boy made a slight sound at being moved and Logan met his eyes. They quickly finished setting him up and settled his hands next to him on the ground to pin them there.

Then, they both stood back to watch. The boy shifted a bit more and then sucked in a sudden breath. He went tense all over the second before his eyes opened. His head lifted to look at them with absolutely terrified eyes. Logan shifted beside him, clearly about to speak, but Patton’s hand struck out to grab Logan’s shoulder. Logan glanced at him and then stood back.

Patton moved forward to kneel in front of him. “Hey there,” he said with a slight smile. The boy seemed to try to curl away from him into the wall. Strangely, he didn’t seem to even attempt to pull against his restraints.

 “What’s your name?” Patton asked. He paused but the boy didn’t respond. He just stared at him with scared eyes. “My name’s Patton,” he offered, “and that’s Logan.” The boy glanced at Logan, and then looked away, staring down at his lap. Patton waited, but he didn’t move. Eventually, Patton tilted his head so he could get a look at his face. “Oh, honey,” Patton said. “Are you crying?” Patton reached out to touch his cheek and he flinched back with a sharp inhale but there wasn’t very far for him to go. “Hey, it’s okay,” Patton soothed. He gently wiped away a few of the tears that had fallen onto his cheeks. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

The boy did not respond, and Patton settled back on his knees with a frown. He glanced at Logan who shrugged. Patton bit his lip in thought for a moment. They weren’t going to be able to speak to him until he calmed down. How could Patton calm him down? Patton’s eyes skirted around the room. The book Logan was reading? No. One of the old fancy crowns they’d borrowed from Thomathy? No. Cookies?

“Are you hungry?” Patton asked the boy. He didn’t confirm verbally, but his head did tilt up in interest. “We have some cookies,” Patton said. He stood, perhaps too quickly because he cowered into the wall as though he expected Patton to lunge at him. Patton smiled apologetically and walked over to the plate they’d luckily stacked the leftover cookies on before Patton had used the cookie sheet for different purposes.

With a smile, he selected a mint chocolate chip cookie from the plate and walked back over to the boy. He was slower this time with his movements, but the kiddo still tracked him carefully with his eyes as he knelt back in front of him. “Here,” Patton offered. “Try this one. It’s my favorite.”

The boy didn’t open his mouth. In fact, he pressed his lips even harder together.

“Come on,” Patton tempted. “They’re really good. It’s my mama’s own recipe and she made them herself. She’s one of the only two people who know how to make them perfect.”

Patton glanced over at Logan and smiled. He got a glare back in return. Patton leaned forward slightly like he was telling the boy a secret. “Logan’s the other person who knows how to make them,” he divulged. “When I was six, my mama got sick for a few days and I was really sad. He wanted to cook me my favorite cookies to cheer me up. He had no idea how to do it, but he was determined. He snuck into the kitchen in the middle of the night and tried to make them.” Patton laughed at the memory. “He did really, really bad. Logan hadn’t ever cooked anything before, let alone mint chocolate chip cookies. There was flour everywhere and he managed to break three wooden spoons. But, when mama got better, she taught him how to make them. That way, he can make them for me if she ever can’t.”

Patton offered the treat again. “Come on,” Patton said when he still didn’t move to eat it. “What’s wrong?”

Logan stepped forward suddenly and Patton blinked at him. He reached for the cookie and tore off a small piece of it before offering it to Patton. Patton opened his mouth, confused, and let him pop it into his mouth. He chewed it and swallowed.

“Try again,” Logan said, stepping away.

Patton turned back to the boy and held out the cookie. After a moment’s hesitation, the boy opened his mouth. Patton let him take a bite. “See!” he said. “It’s good, huh?”

He chewed and swallowed the bite of cookie. “W-what’s going on?” he finally spoke in a low scratchy tone. Hmm, maybe Patton should get him some water soon.

“We were hoping you could tell us that,” Patton said. “Lo and I were a bit startled by you showing up in his bedroom in the middle of the night.”

“I… was knocked unconscious,” the boy said.

“Well, you gave us quite the fright there with that knife of yours.”

The boy seemed to shrink at the reminder.

“Want to tell us what that was about?” Patton asked.

He shook his head, shoulders climbing.

“Let us rephrase,” Logan said calmly. “Clearly you were here to assassinate either my father, myself, or both. So, the relevant questions are who sent you to do so and why?” The boy shook his head and Logan frowned. “No?” he asked. “Apologies, but ‘no’ is not a sufficient answer.”

Want to read more? Click below!

Part 4

[saltlampsasuke]

Unfortunately, You Are Experiencing Symptoms of Falling in Love: Part 5

Having your long-term boyfriend cheat on you is pretty bad, but you're lucky enough to have a rich, pro-hero best friend who lets you move in with him until you get a new apartment. Except lockdown happens. And you can't look for a new apartment anymore, and you can't go anywhere anymore, and neither can your best friend, and you think you might be falling a little bit in love with him. Or maybe you've been in love with him all along.

The story of how it takes a nationwide lockdown for you and Bakugou Katsuki to finally get together, part 5!

warnings: Coronavirus mentions

wordcount: 1,936

taglist: @stargazerunlimited @luna-bloodrose​ @lov4kbg

So I am so so sorry for how long I took to update this, I don't really have a good excuse or explanation so I'll just once again say how sorry I am. But in good news, the plot setup is FINALLY over and now we can get to that good fluffy stuff! So thank you for bearing with me and please enjoy!

One morning, you woke up and saw that it had been two weeks since you moved in with Katsuki. You were a little surprised to realize how much time had passed without you noticing, and how easily you had integrated yourself into Katsuki’s life. Or rather, how much he had forced you to adapt to his ways of living. Not that you were complaining. You had been eating fantastically ever since you moved in, though Katsuki would refuse any thanks, and would often outright deny that he had made the food for you. And the apartment complex took care of your laundry for you, and you never really had to clean much either. It was almost like you were on vacation.

A typical morning for you would follow along these lines:

1) You wake up to the sound of Katsuki’s blender and your breakfast is waiting on the counter

2) You enjoy said breakfast and Katsuki says that he “doesn’t know why it’s there, now shut up and eat or you’ll be late for work”

3) You finish eating and get ready for work, which involves darting in and out of Katsuki’s bathroom, which causes you to bump into him with embarrassing frequency. Nothing terrible has happened yet, and you always knock and wait, but there’s always some part of you curious worried to catch him in a state of undress.

4) Katsuki gets fed up with your constant presence in his room and kicks you out so he can get ready (sometimes he will threaten to kick you out of his entire apartment, though you know he never means it)

5) You finish getting ready in your room and wait by the door for Katsuki to drive you to work

6) Katsuki stops by your favorite coffee shop, which now always has your order ready and waiting (who could have made that happen, I wonder)

7) You and Katsuki would have an argument over who would pay for your coffee (spoiler alert: it was never you who paid)

8) Katsuki would drop you off at work and demand you tell him when you need to be picked up, and no matter how much you tried to evade him he always was there once you walked out the door.

It was kind of embarrassing to admit, but the longer you spent living with Katsuki the happier you felt, and the more regret you felt as well for having let yourself become so sad and complacent with Takumi without even noticing. But you also had to pat yourself on the back for growing and moving past him. You rarely even thought about your ex now, and though part of you wondered what his reaction had been when he returned to a much emptier apartment, you didn’t have any time to think about him. You were too busy, between dealing with Bakugou at home and the destruction he wreaked on his gear in the field (as well as a special surprise you were cooking up for him as thanks), and you didn’t want to waste any mental space on such a waste of a man either.

Living with Katsuki was also so much nicer than living with Takumi had been. You two now had regular movie nights, would eat lunch together on the weekends, and sometimes, if he was tired enough from patrols, you could convince Katsuki to go swimming with you at night. The wide windows would let in the soft light from the moon and you could just relax. You felt so relaxed, all the time now. You felt safe. Of course, as soon as you had finally gotten truly settled and were ready to start looking for apartments again, not wanting to bother Katsuki for any longer than you already had, your life was once again upended in a way you could never have expected.

The first few things you heard about the virus came from the very man you roomed with. As a high-level pro hero, it was his job to be aware of threats to the citizens he protected, and while there wasn’t a way for him to blast a virus to bits, he still tried to stay informed. And of course, as a pro hero, he also had access to information from upper levels of government, and so he would always know about big developments before you. Still, initially, he didn’t seem worried. The only way you could tell that something was wrong was how he began to grow skittish at the idea of you moving out. Of course, that could have been for other reasons as well, but you were certain it was because of the virus.

To tell the truth, as days passed, you were also starting to worry about moving out. Getting a new roommate, or even a new apartment, could potentially be risky. You wouldn’t know the area, and you would be stuck with either a smaller, less nice apartment, or roommates, because you weren’t about to spend half of your paychecks on rent. And the situation was devolving quickly. To be honest, you would also miss having a in-house personal chef, even if he did yell at you.

Making matters even worse, the housing market seemed to have dried up completely. All the apartment listings you saw had something wrong with them; if you didn’t see the problem at first Katsuki would, and he wouldn’t hesitate to point it out. Dangerous neighborhoods, records of noise complaints, general ambiance, the minute you saw a halfway decent listing he would search it up and report back to you on why it wouldn’t work. Not to mention that all of the places that managed to pass his scrutiny were way out of your budget range.

He was just looking out for you, or as he put it “making sure he didn’t have to go to the trouble of moving your dumb ass back into his apartment again after your new places backfires”. And he was right every time about the problems. You were thankful he was taking the trouble, because otherwise you might have ended up in a real dump. But the days without a new place slowly grew in number. As did the number of cases. You knew both things were an issue. But you simply didn’t realize how much of an issue they would become until it was too late for you to do anything.

The morning you realized that your life was about to get even more different than it already had was the morning you didn’t wake up to the jarring screech of your best friend/temporary roommate’s deluxe blender, but rather to the smell of French toast. This wouldn’t by itself be light years past normal, but a quick look at your phone informed you that it was 9:37 on a Thursday morning. You slowly pulled yourself out of bed, confused. Katsuki would never let you sleep in like this unless it was some special occasion, and even then he would probably have woken you up eventually, calling you lazy to boot. As your brain began to wake from its fog, you headed towards your bedroom door. Katsuki was in the kitchen, you knew he had to be since you smelled him cooking, but nothing else about him seemed normal. He wasn’t in his sleeping clothes, but rather the kind of outfit he reserved for press conferences and major meetings, but the jacket was tossed on the floor and the clothes were rumpled like he had been doing hard work. His hair had lost it’s trademark spikes, flopping forward into his eyes, and he wasn’t doing anything about it. Worst of all was when you finally saw his face. He looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept the entire night. Come to think of it, considering how he looked, he probably hadn’t.

“Are you alright?” you said as he met your eyes. As he moved, you could see the exhaustion in his body, and you pulled him over to the couch, forcing him to sit down. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Let me make the damn breakfast, princess,” he grumbled from his seat, yet not moving.

“Breakfast can wait,” you replied as you turned off the burner. There was no way you could eat anything right now, not before you learned what was going on. “So talk.” Katsuki sighed heavily.

“Shit, where do I even start?” He ran his hands through his hair, causing it to lose even more of its shape. “I got a call last night around 8. Said it was an emergency meeting. I put on the fucking serious suit and everything, that’s how bad it sounded. Thought they were maybe gonna tell me that One for All had escaped or something. But this was… something else.” You held your breath as he explained. It was rare for him to be this serious, not exhibiting any emotion except determination. This was his battle face. You just had to wait for him to tell you what he would be fighting.

“I know you’ve heard about the virus that’s been going around, but it’s gotten real bad, princess. Turns out some higher-ups were downplaying it, thought it was maybe some weird quirk that they could shut down or something, but it’s not. We’ve got a real disease on our hands, and nobody can stop it. It’s gonna go global.” You blinked rapidly, trying to grasp the magnitude of what he was saying.

“Ok, but there has to be some quirk or something that can stop it, right? We can fix this?” you asked nervously. Katsuki shook his head.

“Hold on, princess. I’m getting there. We all talked about it. Everyone was there. All the big heroes, all the heads of whatever departments, anyone you can think of whose job it is to take care of the public. And there’s nobody. Healing quirks are rare as is, and with the way the virus has been spreading, no one quirk would be enough.”

“So what do we do then?” Katsuki placed a hand on your knee in an attempt to comfort you.

“Bet you’re wondering why I look like shit.” You nodded slightly. “We were out all night coming up with a strategy. We’re gonna get all our science guys on this, use whatever quirks we have to study this virus, and then do whatever we can to get a vaccine going. But for the time being, we have to shut down. The whole country has to stay home.” You stared at him in shock. Part of you had been wondering what would happen if the virus wasn’t a quirk, or if it couldn’t be stopped, but you hadn’t actually thought it possible. And now the entire nation had to be put on pause.

“Only essential shit can stay open. Grocery stores, hospitals, you get the idea. But everyone else has to stay in their house. There’s gonna be a more detailed plan later. But you won’t be leaving this building unless absolutely necessary.” Katsuki paused, clearly preparing to drop an even bigger bomb than the one he had just dropped. “And neither will I. I’m number 2. We’re hoping for a drop in crime if everyone takes this as seriously as they should, but they want the big heroes to avoid getting sick in case they need us to take out big villains if they try anything. They don’t want us out of commission if they need us. So it’s gonna be you and me in here. And it looks like it’s gonna be a while.”

---------------

Please forgive me for how short this is honestly I just wanted to be done with this chapter I know it's bad but now that I'm past it hopefully things will get better. And I think I’ll be remaking this blog because I apparently accidentally made this my side blog so I can’t reply to people so please keep an eye out for an update/post about that! I’ll also tag the new blog in all my posts so sorry for any trouble!!! Thank you for your support!

[msiopao]

The One with the Polaroids

pairing: jungkook x nobi

summary: whilst cleaning their closet, nobi stumbles upon a box that she thought she lost 5 years ago

to say the least, it was dirty.

ever since they moved in 2 years ago, the dorm hasn’t been properly cleaned because they were either too busy with touring or too lazy to do it. but it has gotten to the point where they actually were willing to clean everything. part of the reason might’ve been the boredom and the need to do something productive and the other reason could be that they would like to grab something without dusting it off first.

nobi and jungkook first started cleaning their room and around their beds. with having the biggest room in the dorm, they took a while to fully dust, vaccum, and throw away random garbage they found either under their beds or under their desks.

“ew, kook, why is there a banana milk box here?” she whined in disgust when she saw it under his bed.

jungkook merely shrugged and continued wiping the windows. “i don’t know. probably had a late snack.”

“dear god, jeon jungkook, we have a trash can for a reason!” she chided but he just turned to give her a grin.

“sorry.”

sighing, she got up from the floor and fluffed up the millions of pillows on her bed before grabbing the broom to sweep under her own bed. there was just paper balls and socks in the mix but she noticed a hoodie that she thought she really lost forever ago.

“oh my god!” nobi squealed and picked it up, examining it. it looked the same except it just had dust bunnies. “my stussy jacket!”

jungkook finished his job and looked over to what she was squealing for and gave her a look. “you mean my stussy jacket?”

laughing at his question, nobi walked over to him and patted his cheek. “sharing is caring, bub.”

a knock from their bedroom door made her go and answer it, finding jin at the other side.

“just saying that we have all the washers running so you might wait a while to run your guys’ stuff,” jin explained causing her to pout.

“this is why i keep saying that we should buy another. it’s a hassle with only 5 washers,” she pouted. jin smiled before ruffling her hair.

“once one of them is done, i’ll tell you.”

jungkook picked up a striped sock before tossing it to his laundry basket so that it could be washed. it baffled him of how many socks he has, considering he walks around the house barefoot.

once jin left, nobi went to their closet and opened the door, revealing the tons of clothing hanging on both top and bottom. it was split into 2 sections with jungkook’s and her clothing separate. but honestly, there was no use as she used his clothing most of the time. 

“hey, jungkook, should we wash all of our clothes? i mean, some of these haven’t been washed in several months. probably, since we moved,” she said.

he followed her inside and went to the very back of the closet, noticing that there was actually dust on the shoulder of one of his jackets. he took it off the long bar and examined it, forgetting he even owned it.

“do you remember this jacket, bub?” he asked making nobi look at him.

she looked at it and furrowed her eyebrows before shaking her head no. “i don’t think i’ve seen it before.”

“hm, maybe we should donate some of our clothes that we don’t own anymore. its good to give to those who need it rather than letting it sit here.”

nobi looked at him, shocked. “wah, jeon jungkook! you sounded so mature just now!”

he rolled his eyes and shoved her shoulder to hide the redness of his cheeks. “shut up. i’m always mature.”

she grabbed a big laundry basket for them to put their clothes in and they placed the hangers back on its place. nobi was amazed at how big their closet was and how small it felt when they it used to cramped with clothing. as they neared the end of the line, she saw a few boxes on the very back corner that looked like its never been touched.

she crouched in front of it and inspected it to see her handwriting, ‘2015′. lifting the boxes individually, she placed it by the foot of her bed and got out a pocket knife to cut through the packing tape that sealed it shut. jungkook noticed her with the boxes and sat on her bed as she wrenched the cardboard box open.

inside, there were many little trinkets from what looked to be tickets to a movie, a shonen jump magazine, a red jacket, and a smaller box at the bottom. carefully placing the stuff on top of her bed, she pulled out the black box and she felt a familiarity with it.

“ah! that box!” jungkook pointed. she looked at him in confusion.

“this?” she held up before lifting the lid open, finding an old polaroid camera with different pictures.

nobi held up the black and white object and blew the dust away, making jungkook cough as it was directed as his face. he made a sound of surprise but she paid him no mind, fingers reaching for the polaroids that were a mix of colored and black and white.

“did i... did i forget about these?” she whispered, hurt and angry at herself for not remembering about these precious memories.

“to be honest, i even forgot about it. maybe the members too,” he reassured.

there was one from her birthday. in the bottom, it was written, ‘nov 7 2014′ while the picture was of her with icing all over her face and carrying the birthday cake. she had a wide grin on her face and a party hat on her head.

“oh my god.. i remember these now,” she quietly stated. “this was one of the things that i took with me when i became a trainee. it was originally my mum’s.”

jungkook softly smiled at her and he gently grabbed her hand to sit on the bed where she was situated between his legs with her back against his chest. he rested his chin on her shoulder while she sifted through several more pictures.

one of her and tae in the restaurant they used to go to.

one of her and jimin in the dancing studio.

one of jin cooking.

one of hobi as he smiled widely.

one of namjoon in LA.

one of yoongi playing the piano.

one of her and jungkook as they clutched the music show trophy.

all of these were the memories of her youth yet they were sealed away in a box, only to be found years later.

as much as there were pictures of her members, jungkook was in most of them. from the simplest things like catching him staring at the camera to the happier things like their picnic in Han river that one night. he was present in almost all of the pictures and the camera lens was most familiar of his face.

nobi took a minute to fully look at this picture of her and kook where they were both lounging on her top bunk with their backs against the wall and her head on his shoulder while his rested on top of hers. the light hit them perfectly and the white walls shined the setting sun behind them. she remembered asking tae to take the picture and them fearing for their lives when their combined weight rattled the bed with the slightest movement. they both wore white and both of their hair was as messy as it could be.

it was labeled, ‘may 8 2014′, in black sharpie marker.

“god, my bare face was so bad back then.” her complaints made jungkook gently pinch her side.

“you were and have never been ugly.”

she turned her head to look at him, “yah, remember when i forgot to wash my face for 2 days and suddenly acne popped out of nowhere?”

he laughed and hugged her tighter. “you were forgetful. actually, still is. and you were too busy practicing in the studio to remember that you needed to take care of yourself too.”

a sad smile slowly replaced her grin, “but when i did remember, there was no cleanser left. i didn’t have money to buy more so i just endured it.”

“i think i used it all up. does my apology still count today?” he playfully asked to lighten her mood.

but the pain didn’t leave. “i remembered begging my parents for money. i wanted to have enough money to take care of all of us and put the company’s money to the music video.”

jungkook grew silent as she relived the time in their past where they struggled financially. it was a time where they almost disbanded because of their lack of money and not being financially stable enough to create their mv.

“i took the last bit of money i had to go to Jeju and i threw all my shame out of the window by asking them for more money. taehyung cried because he was hungry but we already spent our food money for the month. the imo from the restaurant has fed us so many times and never asked anything in return. that was when i knew i had to do something,” said nobi. “our manager was already doing so much for us and i didn’t want to ask for more.”

she never told him or the members this so he stared at her, sad and slightly upset that she burdened herself so early on. jungkook could faintly remember her disappearing for a few days and turning up a few days later with food from the convenience store. the angry outburst from yoongi being so worried for her still echoes in his memory to this day.

“i didn’t want all of our hard work to go to waste. i knew if we didn’t have any money, we would be forced to break up and i didn’t want to leave you guys. even if they didn’t help us, i wanted to think that i did everything i can to keep us together and i fought every battle with my all. we were just starting and the thought of it ending so quickly scared me.”

“we fought those battles and we won them all, nobi. we won them together,” he soothed. jungkook could feel her relax into his chest and he placed a kiss on her hair to remind her that he is there for her.

“god, i just brought the mood down, didn’t i?” she laughed. jungkook shook his head no.

“hm, no. you’ve always kept these things to yourself and never speak out whenever you have troubles. so, hearing you talk about this makes me happy because i feel like you’re finally opening up to me, bub.”

nobi swung her legs so she was able to look at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, softly tugging at the hair at the nape of his neck. jungkook looked down at her with a curious smile while he rested his hand on her knee, caressing it gently.

“nah, i like keeping these things to myself. it gives me the mysterious vibes that i want. when people get curious about you, that’s when they instinctively stick around to try and figure you out. it’s like i’m running away and you’re after me to finally figure me out. i try to play hard to get,” she countered.

he chuckled before bumping her forehead with his. “is that why i’m still with you?”

“the chase is not over yet, jeon jungkook-ssi.”

“then i’ll chase you till it is.”

....

with their cleaning tools scattered around the floor and previous intention of laundry wiped from their minds, they spent the next few hours using up the leftover film in the camera. nobi tried to make it as aesthetically pleasing as possible with her posing on the bed with a fake rose or jungkook standing by the window. 

“wah, i feel bad for ARMY who can’t have these pictures. maybe we should post them?” she curiously asked while waiting for the picture to develop. he blanched at her question.

“yah, these are too intimate to be revealed to hundreds of millions of people in the internet!” he bursted causing her to laugh out loud. he sat up from the bed as he was previously laying, thinking of different picture ideas.

“i know. im just teasing. its cute to see you so jealous,” she smirked.

jungkook pouted and tutted. “i’m not jealous. i just try to help and look out for your innocent image.”

nobi walked towards him from the window and stood between his legs, jungkook loosely holding her hips. she pushed the hair that was covering his forehead and placed a soft kiss on it.

“i think we all know that concept has been out of the window since we turned legal.”

a/n: the moods in this one is just everywhere

additional: sorry for the total silence these past few days bc this girl has been binging on haikyuu

[arsnovacadenza]

Day 2: Standoff

Characters: Napoleon Bonaparte & Wellington (OC by @batteryrose) Pairings     : Napolington gen/pre-slash

“En Garde!”

By the third day, Leon was brave enough to look over his back.

He noticed somebody had been watching him as he left the airplane wreckage after looting for rations. Although they were distant, the crunching sounds his stalker's footsteps made were audible.

If they were in a war, he might have thought of them as foolish. But there was no war. There hadn't been any for years. Minuscule battles still occurred here and there, including the skirmish his squad encountered before they were separated from each other.

Now it's just you and I, Leon smiled wryly. Why you still think of me as a threat, I have no idea.

How long had they been alone?

Before this, the French soldier had been moving from one settlement to another, searching for a radio. Every building had been long abandoned, and he struggled to find one with working electricity. Sleeping places weren't hard to find (if you considered those cracker-thin mattresses comfortable), and neither was running water.

But scouring for food was an entirely different matter. Leon was no picky eater. His training (as well as recurring unfortunate circumstances) allowed him to withstand a relatively unchanging diet of flavorless protein bars. But even those were scarce.

Leon remembered the days when he and his comrades would keep an eye out for farms around their vicinity. At night, they'd jump over the fences and slaughtered whatever animals they came across. If they were lucky, they'd carry off a sack of potatoes or two.

It was unethical, they acknowledged. Nothing was in this fast decaying, dog-eat-dog world.

"At least no one's been murdered." His friend Joachim joked. "Hell, I heard that folks one town over from mine used to kill visiting foreign officers and cooked them!"

The town he was referring to had turned to dust long before they were born. Joachim himself disappeared one day during foraging and never returned.

Leon breathed out a long, deep sigh before he stood.

Reluctantly, he reached out for his rifle. Showdown or no, he needed to look for more bullets. Ignoring the eyes that were following him, Leon continued on his way.

Leon stared at his reflection. Dark circles were already taking shape under his eyes. The watering hole would've been a great place to nap if it wasn't for the lone soldier trailing him.

As if he was one to talk. What soldier under pursuit would do his laundry out in the open? Leon chuckled, imagining how baffled the other must have been seeing him setting up a clothesline and washing his shirt and jacket in just his undershirt.

But to Leon, his display of vulnerability was good enough of an invitation. If his predictions were correct, his adversary would come out of hiding and approach, knowing Leon meant no harm.

Not that he expected too much of their possible confrontation. If things took a turn for the worst, he would at least be free of starvation and solitude. Maybe he'd even reunite with Joachim and the others.

His sanity slippage must be very severe if he thought dying by an enemy's bullet was ideal, Leon thought.

Not that he had to wait too long for the end to arrive. Boots clunked heavily on the giant steel plate he was sitting on. Apparently, their owners no longer bothered to conceal their presence anymore.

Without waiting for Leon to turn around, the stalker greeted him in English. "Bold of you to turn your back on an enemy soldier. Are you not afraid of dying?"

Ah, it's a he. And just as desperate as I am.

"Other things can kill me faster." Leon promptly replied, the words rolling off oddly from his tongue. He hadn't spoken French in what felt like ages, let alone English.

Silence fell between them, the foreign man seemingly at a loss for words. Sighing, Leon got up on his feet and finally turned to face his opponent for the very first time.

The man's uniform confirmed him as an enemy soldier, alright. He was taller and had a slightly bigger build. Leon could make out tufts of unruly sandy blonde hair peeking out from beneath the soldier's helmet. Another defining feature was his icy blue eyes, glaring straight at the Frenchman before him.

Leon especially found it striking that the soldier wasn't even aiming his rifle at him. He was cradling the firearm diagonally across his chest, the muzzle raised above his left shoulder. The sleeves of his jacket were rolled back to expose well-defined forearms.

"Don't— don't be alarmed." Leon tried assuring him. "I'm holding no arms. I don't want to fight. See?" He gestured towards his clothesline and scattered equipment.

His opponent's eyes darted around the site before scrutinizing Leon from top to bottom. Eventually, he lowered his rifle with some hesitation.

"How ludicrous," The soldier scoffed without much bite. "The men from my company were fools, the lot of them. But I've never met anyone as reckless as you." Judging from his accent, the man was nowhere akin to the American soldiers Leon saw in the field.

"I," Leon struggled to come up with a witty remark on his own. "I'm alone."  he blurted out.

That was a nonsensical response if he were to go with the man's confounded expression. After a long, awkward pause, the gentleman cleared his throat.

"That makes the two of us, then." He set the weapon down and let it rest by his leg.

Relieved, Leon straightened back and rested a hand on his hip. The man seemed trustworthy, at least for now. All he had to do now was play the gracious host.

Until he kills me or leaves on his own, I guess.

"So," he cheerfully piped, mustering all his remaining charisma. "Are you hungry? I don't have much, but please help yourself." He invited the soldier to his makeshift encampment. "Do you still have rations?"

The soldier smiled wryly. "No. I was down to two bars when I came down to that wreckage. Was planning to loot some supplies, but there you were, an enemy soldier." He grumbled in laborious breaths. "I had been sustaining myself on those bars and some water those whole three days I followed you."

"How did you manage?"

"Fed on sheer anger." The Englishman flashed a smirk. "I was so jealous seeing you munching on those bars without a care in this bloody, shithole of a world. Hell, I was eager to shoot you right then and there before stripping you of every last protein bar you have."

Leon burst into a laugh, startling the poor soldier a second time.

His laughter rang loud and free, and Leon didn't care. It was a sign that maybe, just maybe, there was still hope after all these wretched months spent hungry and desolate.

The man peered at him with astonished, yet curious eyes.

"Pardon me," Leon apologized after his laughter died down. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh at you. Um, I think I did not catch your name."

"Wellesley. Arthur Wellesley," He introduced himself with poise. "Second Lieutenant of the Royal Irish Regiment, 1st Battalion."

"Nice to meet you, Wellesley," The Frenchman stuck out his hand. "Bonaparte. Corporal Napoleon Bonaparte. But ranks no longer mean anything, no?" he grinned. "Call me Leon."

"Likewise," Wellesley accepted his handshake. " 'Arthur' is alright. Or call me Wells," the man muttered with a light blush on his cheeks. "That's what the blokes from my old regiment called me."

Leon nodded, standing back and regarding his new friend appreciatively.

"So, then, Wells." His emerald eyes glinted with newfound spirit. "What shall we do next?"

So with a 1, 2, 3, we will pick up our feet

Forgetting yesterday and every day, they don't mean a thing

Another 1, 2, 3, don't stop moving your feet

I'm sure that's all that we, that's all that we need.

Notes:

Made for Day 2 of Napoleon Birthday Prompt 2020 by @kissmetwicekissmedeadly .The lyrics I put in the ending are taken from this English cover of an anime OP. 

Also, Napoleon could've just gone with "Leon" instead of "Napoleone". It's less conspicuous for a nickname and it would suit him just fine.

[nonbinary-octopus]

How Easy You Are to Knead Chapter 3/3 Biscuit and Charcoal

recursive fanfic of @delimeful​’s How Easy You Are to Need

Partially inspired by this and this.

[Masterpost]

[More stories]

summary: Virgil’s humans are evidently terrible at assessing threats.

warnings: a little bit of nervousness

wordcount: 1.8 K

note: this takes place a few months after Chapter 2, sometime in the summer.

~~~~~

Virgil was alone. This used to be the norm, but he had grown used to having his humans around, and now he was lonely without them. He didn’t even stay in the house; it felt strange to be the only living thing in there. The others had gone into town a few days ago to trade vegetables from Patton’s garden and meat Roman had hunted for other things they needed. Virgil had no desire to be among that many humans, especially so soon after the full moon, so he stayed behind. 

Finally, though, they returned. Virgil ran out of the trees in wolf form to greet them, jumping up to put his forepaws on Logan’s shoulders. In his excitement, he accidentally knocked the human sprawling. Virgil whimpered and lowered himself to the ground beside him, licking Logan’s face apologetically.

Logan awkwardly patted Virgil’s ruff, and Virgil pulled back so he could get up. “Good to see you too,” Logan said, sitting up and wiping his face with his arm.

“Hi Virgil!” Patton said cheerfully. Virgil turned to him, and Patton added quickly, “No kissies right now; I’ve got a delicate parcel.”

“Lucky Logan was just carrying the cloth,” Roman said with a laugh. He’d tensed on seeing a large wolf rush at them, even putting his hand on his sword briefly, but he’d relaxed again as soon as he recognized Virgil.

“Let us get everything in the house, and then we can greet you properly,” Logan said, so Virgil followed his humans into the house, bouncing happily around them. He stuck his nose into Roman’s side, curious about all the new scents that clung to him, and the swordsman jolted.

“Virgil!”

Inside, they unloaded their packs. Logan had several lengths of cloth of various colors and weights. Roman carried new dishes and tools, and Patton had a packet of spices that smelled very strange and interesting, a leather bundle containing what remained of a cooked rabbit Roman had almost certainly killed on their journey homeward, and a small lidded basket.

Patton sat on the couch and grinned at Virgil, holding the basket carefully on his lap. “You might wanna shift to see this,” he said in a near whisper. Virgil wondered why, but he did as Patton suggested and changed forms. Curiously, he sat on the couch next to Patton, watching as Patton lifted away the lid of the basket. Inside was something made of fur. Black and white and brown fur, though mostly black and white. Patton grinned, reaching into the basket. “Hold out your hands,” he said. Virgil did. Patton picked up the thing in the basket— wait, no, there were two, one all black and the other mostly white with bits of black and brown, and Patton picked up the latter— and set it in Virgil’s hands.

It was small, and warm, and as Virgil watched, it moved, opened two tiny eyes, and turned out to be an absolutely bitty kitten. For several seconds, Virgil and the kitten stared into each others’ eyes. Then the kitten mewed.

“You brought a cat home with you?” Virgil asked, still staring at it with surprise. 

“Two cats!” Patton answered happily, picking up the black bundle of fur. That was a kitten as well. “Our friend’s cat had kittens, and they needed a home. They’re already weaned.”

“Oh.” That didn’t fully answer why Patton had brought the cats home with him, but this particular human definitely seemed to have a soft spot for dangerous furry strays, and that might be all the explanation Virgil was likely to get.

The kitten in Virgil’s hands mewled again, and this time her sister joined in.

“I think they’re hungry,” Virgil said, holding the little cat out toward Patton again. Instead of taking her, however, he opened the bundle of rabbit meat, handing Virgil a small piece. Patton took another piece and fed it to the black kitten. The calico in Virgil’s hand mewled demandingly, and he quickly gave her the scrap Patton had handed him.

It took several minutes and most of the meat to satisfy the kittens’ hunger. While Patton and Virgil fed them, the other two humans put the rest of their purchases away. Finally, the kittens were full, and Patton set the one he held back into the basket. Relieved, Virgil did the same with the calico. The kittens settled down on the cloth base of the basket and were soon asleep, nestled together again.

Patton cooed adoringly down at them. Then he set the basket down on the floor next to the couch and flopped into Virgil’s lap. “I missed you,” he said.

“I missed you too,” Virgil said, leaning over Patton to give him a kiss — a human kiss, not a wolf one — on the nose.

~~

When Virgil woke up on his couch the next morning, things were almost like they had been before the humans had left. He could hear Patton in the kitchen, undoubtedly making something delicious for breakfast.

But something was different. There was a weight, small but definitely present, resting on his chest. Virgil opened his eyes, looking at it. It was the little calico kitten, curled up and asleep. On top of him. Virgil frowned nervously and lay very still.

Several minutes later, Patton came into the living room, smiling when he saw Virgil awake. “Good morning!”

“Good morning, Patton,” Virgil answered softly. “I can’t get up. There is a cat sleeping on me.”

Patton’s grin widened. “Aww, yes there is!” he cooed. He did not try to help. Virgil understood this— of course Patton would not want to anger the feline either— but he was still a little disappointed. 

Patton left Virgil alone with the cat for a few minutes, going into the rest of the house. Virgil wondered how the kitten had managed to get from the basket all the way up to his couch to lie down on him. When Patton returned with the other humans in tow, the cat had not stirred. However, when Patton brought Virgil a plate of pancakes and venison, she woke and mewled at him. Virgil had to give her some of the meat from his plate to appease her, at which point she allowed him to move her to the couch and sit up. Once he had stopped moving, however, she immediately climbed into his lap and mewled again for some meat.

Twice more during the meal, the kitten demanded a piece of meat from Virgil, and he gave it to her. Patton, meanwhile, gave a portion of meat to the black kitten, who had remained in the basket and seemed much calmer than the calico.

After they had eaten, and Logan had taken Virgil’s dishes to the kitchen for him because he was still trapped by the kitten on his lap, said kitten began to press her forepaws rhythmicly into Virgil’s leg.

“Patton?” Virgil asked, keeping his eyes on the cat. Patton hummed inquisitively. “What is she doing?”

Patton gasped. “Making biscuits!”

Virgil grew alarmed. “She intends to eat my leg?” Had he not given her enough of his breakfast? 

“No, no,” Patton assured him, and Virgil calmed slightly. “She’s just getting comfy. But it looks like kneading dough for biscuits, doesn’t it?”

Sure enough, after kneading his leg for a few minutes, the kitten curled up and went back to sleep. Apparently Virgil was going to be stuck on the couch for a while longer.

~~

Over the next few days, it became clear that the calico kitten, dubbed “Biscuit” by Patton, had claimed Virgil as her own. Every night, the kittens were put to bed in their basket, but every morning without fail, Virgil woke to find a tiny ball of white, black, and brown fur on his chest. She trailed after him whenever he was in the house, and if he outpaced her, which he could easily do, as she was very tiny and he was not, she mewled for him to come back. To keep the peace, Virgil started to carry her around with him, and she quickly decided that his left shoulder was hers as well. This left his hands free, but also put her claws and teeth, though tiny, close enough to Virgil’s throat to make him nervous.

The other kitten was given the name Charcoal, or simply Coal for short, and she was indeed milder than her sister. She followed everyone around somewhat, but not as insistently as Biscuit, and did not climb into laps.

Although both kittens would accept food from any of the four packmates, Biscuit also demanded at each meal that Virgil share a portion from his plate with her. He did, of course, but only the meat, since cats were obligate carnivores.

Virgil wondered at first how the cats would react the first time they saw him in wolf form, and for a few weeks, he did not shift. But soon the full moon approached again, and Virgil began to grow restless in his human skin. He knew he couldn’t hold back a shift much longer.

Lying on the floor to avoid unnecessarily stressing his bones, Virgil allowed his form to change. In moments, he was a wolf again. There was about two seconds of silence before Virgil heard a confused mew.

He turned his head to see Biscuit staring at him. Virgil blinked slowly at the cat, and she toddled closer, sniffing at his face. After a few moments, she seemed satisfied that this was still Virgil, and she climbed up his side, kneaded his back for a few moments, and settled down again between his shoulder blades.

Virgil wasn’t sure what to do, but he knew better than to make Biscuit move. He lay his head on his forepaws, getting comfortable.

A few minutes later, Patton passed by. “Oh!” he called from the doorway. “You didn’t tell me that it was going to be a wolfy night. I’ll get the blankets.” With that, Patton disappeared again, but only for a few minutes. He soon reappeared with an armload of quilts and began to arrange them on the floor next to Virgil. It appeared to be a blanket nest day rather than a blanket fort day, because Patton didn’t drag any other furniture over to support the blankets, instead simply piling them in a big comfortable nest.

Finally, Patton finished, and Virgil, moving carefully so as not to dislodge Biscuit, climbed into the nest with him. Patton threw his arms around Virgil’s neck, and Virgil gently knocked him onto his back, laying down with his head on top of Patton’s chest and one foreleg across Patton’s stomach.

Patton giggled, running his fingers through Virgil’s fur. “Goodnight, Virgil,” he said. “I love you.”

Virgil licked Patton's face. I love you too.

~~~~~

(fin)

[danked-piccolo-shit]

Bigby x Reader ( NSFW )

Hey ! Hope you're all fine and happy out there ! 👋 The kinktober stuff made me want to translate this scenario from my computer. Hope you'll enjoy it.

Warning : NSFW ( some masturbation shit are in this post, kid, don't read it ! 🤔 )

The wolf opened his door, almost sma-

Crack

Well... actually smashing the handle accidentally in his action.

Another shitty night for the Fabletown's Sheriff, now thinking how he was going to explain this tomorrow. This was the 3rd time in a week, after all.

He entered the apartment, letting an annoyed sigh to escape from his lips as he cracked the bones of his neck. He picked up the phone, leaving it on the table before entering in the kitchen, this was a kind of ritual he use to do at the end of the day, without even noticing doing so. But after a long day of work, he just wanted to be ... quiet, and embrace the loneliness in which he had plunged for all these years.

Some whiskey would be welcome. If there were any left. A quick visit from Colin wasn't something unusual, after all, and this pig was a real pain in the ass, sometimes. A shy smile slowly came to lift his dark circles as he opened the closet. There were still some left, and plenty by the way ! Even if the sheriff couldn't recall when he went to the grocery store for the last time. The fridge was totally empty, apart from an old bottle of ketchup, and he couldn't rely on the freezer to offer him something to eat either...

The reflection of his cigarette shimmered in a glass now full of the oh so precious alcohol, which gradually became more of a painkiller for Bigby over the years rather than a real source of pleasure or relief.

He then set out to settle on this good old armchair, which will have another taste of the blood of the fable this evening.

2, maybe 3 broken ribs, some bloody phalanges and let's not even talk about his shirt.

Fed up... Bigby was fed up...

"Can I really go on living like this?" whispered the wolf under his breath, before finally grabbing this precious painkiller of his.

The truth was he didn't know himself what to do. He sweared to protect everyone, and he will continue... Until the sweet death finally come to take him, and put an end to his long and painful agony.

He dared to confront his reflection in the half-empty glass, before turning away from it a few seconds later. It might be time to have a shower, he thought out loud. To wash away the blood, and, kinda help with the smell too.

He quickly opened his window, which offered him a scent far more delicate than the one of whiskey on his beard. It seems you have been cooking something recently, but it wasn't the smell of tasty food that has made the wolf close his eyes to sniff more, and which started to make him shiver in ecstasy. It was yours.

Your so precious perfume... So lovable, so tempting ~ God, was he happy to be your neighbor from below. Be able to smell you before he goes to bed, or, at least, tries to... Trace your exact position in your apartment just by earing the sweet sound of your feets, making the wood cracking gently just above from where he was.

If he listened to his instincts, the only thing he wanted to do with you now ...

Was to take you away, far, really far from these rotten apartments, to steal you tonight and never going back, so that you can finally be happy with him, your mate for life. Bigby took only a few moments to get out of his fantasies. It was crazy to think about it, and he knew it ... Unfortunately all too well.

His cigarette ended up in the ashtray, and his half-empty glass will have to wait until his shower was over. Just leaning forward was enough to make the wolf growl in pain, but he got up anyway, now realizing the need to do laundry if he didn't want to start some half-naked investigating tomorrow.

So he went to the bathroom, rediscovering it by the way, before heading to the machine. A sound of water coming from upstairs was enough to dissipate his thoughts just before he presses the start button.

Uncontrollably, Bigby started to focus, surprising himself to be now able to distinct your breathing and even your heartbeat with the constant falling water. The walls truly were paper thin, after all...

Sudden hoarse breathing echoed in his ears, pushing him immediately into alertness. Did something happen to you ?! The pressure on his shoulders vanished the moment he could sense you were uninjured, and not seeming anxious.

False alert, and it was clearly for the best... But...

Why were you panting, then ?

Your heartbeat went madder, just like your breath... That's the moment Bigby realized you weren't actually in the shower. The falling water sound was way to constant...

A clang of clothing was enough to give rise to a hypothesis in his head. "No, no, Bigby, stop, you're disgusting, there is absolutely no chance of that happening..."

That's what he told himself before he started blaming his fatigue for his perverted spirit.

You drove him crazy every day and he knew it. But ... to the point of imagining that ?! God, he was tired.

" Hn ~ ♡ "

Instinctively, he stopped all movements, mentally praying for the first time in his life to have heard well. You were... doing it... like... really ?!

Bigby closed his eyes again, letting his hearing refine itself some more while the growing bulge in his pants already led him to the point of no return. This strange sensation he hadn't felt for years could only assert itself more when a squishy sound resonated in his ears. And that had nothing to do with the water that was still flowing...

" Shit.... "

The wolf took an immediate support against the wall, letting himself slide down to the ground as he cursed the sound of his belt which came to smother another one of your cries.

You were really masturbating, and Bigby was the only one that could hear you...

Without hesitation, he threw his hand into his pants, wedging his breath on yours not to miss the next moan as he started to pleasure himself.

" Aah ~ "

Here it came.

Being able to clearly hear this one was so satisfying for Bigby. And so, so good too. The Sheriff could not help but harden over the seconds as he could now trace each passage of your delicate fingers on your juicy entrance.

These repetitive noises... Your jerky breath... Your soft moans so inaudible that they were even more precious ... You really wanted it so badly ~ ? The wolf didn't knew this side of your personality until now, but he clearly wasn't going to complain. Nevertheless, he was curious to know who you were thinking of when you did this, and the mere assumption that it was him ended all other acceptable answers for Bigby.

" Hmmm ~~ "

He gave himself thoroughly despite his injuries, guided by his imagination and determined to silence the voice that ordered him to go upstairs and help you satisfy your reciprocal urges. To make your skin dance on his, while preventing you from holding back your cries by the simple pressure of his hands on your hips. He could finally kiss you, caress you until dawn...

Horny like he was now, if he really go upstairs, it wouldn't be just the building that would hear you scream in a mix of pleasure and pain, but the whole fucking town. Even his fear to break you in the action excited him more, in theory. His left hand that was resting on his knee threatened to lacerate it as his claws began to come out. Never in his life the wolf wanted to bang someone so badly. You weren't his mate for nothing, after all...

A special rhythm of breathing proved to Bigby that you were reaching your limits. Already? At this point, he could've made you climax twice before starting to reach his own. With a growing smile on his lips, the wolf calculated approximately. 3... maybe 4...

" Ah- Aaah, fuck ~ ♡ "

Definitely 4. He could make you beg for mercy 4 times before he finally liberate you from his grip, and fill your delicious belly with all his semence as you'll let your ultimate moan resonate in the room. He could already see your legs trembling in your succession of orgasms, while his full erect cock will force him to impregnate you like the animal he was, to mark his territory and claim you his for all eternity.

The wolf bit his lip until blood, vainly retaining a grunt to escape. Even if you had already finished, and was finally going to have a shower, Bigby took advantage of the fall of your last clothes to give him the impetus to finish alone. The falling water calmed down as you entered it, making Bigby understand that he'll not have the chance to have a round 2 this night... Or enough alcohol into his veins to dare going upstairs and make your body bend under his touch.

So he kept drowning in his fantasies, restraining himself from grunting or breaking the wall that was still his support as he remembered your needy moans.

Bigby's knee was now in blood, and hazard made him reach his limits when you cut off the water.

He desperately tried to sniff your scent when he finally came, much harder than expected, a little bit disappointed that you went to bed this early and were already far asleep. But, hey, he couldn't be mad at you, not when you just saved his evening like this ;)

The first thing he did when he opened his eyes again was to look at his ceiling, smiling wildly at the thought of what happened.

" Good night, (Y/N) "

_________

Hope you enjoyed it so far ! Thanks for reading, and remember that he still hasn't launched his laundry machine yet ! So be careful of shirtless Sheriff from now on ;)

[bubblyani]

Deeper Relations : 03

(Freddie Jackson x Reader)

A Freddie Jackson Multi Chapter Series

Chapter 03: The Confession

Summary: Being the youngest sister of Jackie and Maggie, you were quite young when Freddie Jackson went to prison. Upon his return, you cannot help but recall your innocent love you had for him back then. And surprised by your transformation into womanhood, Freddie cannot help but form a desire towards you. Will a dangerously seductive attraction grow between the two of you? What will be the consequences?

Requested by: @97freaknik​ Thank you for your detailed request 😘

Author’s Note: Managed to write faster with the self isolation period lol. Trying to be productive and creative. Hope y’all enjoy this!

Chapter 1, Chapter 2

“Alright, girls! Lights off!…Goodnight!” “Goodnight Aunt Y/N!”

Scrunching your nose playfully, you smiled at your beautiful nieces before turning off the lights. As you closed the door, you hoped they would drift off to dreamland with much haste.

Making your way to the living room, you sensed the emptiness. Upon realization, you hurriedly rushed to Jackie’s room. You sighed. Not the fact that she was curled up in bed, but the fact you could spot the bottle of pills sitting comfortable on her bedside cupboard. Clicking your tongue, you felt guilt.

Guess Maggie was right about this. 


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

(A few days ago)

“You’ve ever done shotgun kisses? “Ohhh yeah” “Guess I should try it out myself sometime……maybe with a friend. Hah! Maybe even with Marcus-” “Why don’t we try it?”

“Why don’t we try it?”

Those words, Freddie’s words, they succeeded in leaving you questioning even a week later. If the one had laughed right after a line like that,  the humor would have shown. But the way his eyes glinted with seriousness, it frightened you. What did he mean by that exactly?

That was not the only surprise you came across, for surprises came in the form of three.

Surprise number two: Freddie’s string of dalliances with other women.

You never mean to eavesdrop, but when you accidentally found yourself do so during Jimmy and Maggie’s conversation, you couldn’t walk away from it. As much as you expected this from a gangster, the thought of Freddie actually doing so made your heart shatter a little. Regardless, he was someone you admired apart from romanticizing in your young age. And what he and Jackie had back then, it was something you longed for.

If the dalliances were true, perhaps he was actually pulling your leg that day. Just messing with you. Perhaps none of what he said was to be taken so seriously.

To your relief, Maggie confided it all in you soon after, leaving you less guilty about eavesdropping. And as you were told, what made it sadder was that Jackie knew of them. She knew of  his ways, she knew of the women, which enraged you. Unfair it was clearly. Why couldn’t anything be done about it? You wondered. Which led to the third surprise: Jackie’s Addiction.

As much as she was skilled in putting on a good face to all, Jackie struggled with all the challenges her family had to go through. Having someone like Freddie as her husband definitely had not been easy. Which easily drove her into the arms and comfort of non prescribed medication.

“We have to keep an eye out for her, Y/N….” Maggie said, as you both sat in her room “She is our sister” “Yeah, of course” you nodded frantically, “Anything really…”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

(Present)

When you heard your sister Jackie had suddenly come down with a bad stomach, you were more than willing to step up and do your part.

And there you were, proactive, helping out with the cleaning and cooking. Though your sister grew with it, you did not complain. Instead you wore a smile always. You even tended to your adoring nieces, making sure they were well-fed and went to bed on time. You did it all.

Running your fingers through Jackie’s soft blonde hair, you sat on the bed while she slept soundly. “You have to be strong, sis…” you whispered, “For the girls…for Freddie”

With drowsiness finally catching up, you decided to get some shut-eye.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

(Few hours later)

Nightmares, only they would usually wake you up in the middle of the night. But tonight, reason for your abrupt awareness, the profuse sweating in many a region was definitely not because of one. In fact, it was far from it.

Hopping into the shower, you closed the door but left it unlocked, considerate for the welfare of your sister, who developed the habit to run in to either relieve herself from whichever end of her body allowed. With the shower curtain closed, you let the pressurized cold water from the shower head cleanse you, while you hoped to cleanse the thoughts that lingered.

An intimate dream was always welcomed by you. But one with Freddie Jackson? Why now? In fact, Why ever?

Your mind soiled with guilt, you remembered it all with detail. The way his beautiful eyes undressed you. The way his wonderful hands roamed over you. The way his luscious lips tasted yours and much else.You tightened your temples, hoping to erase them away. This was all just too disturbing. It was wrong, you thought. Yet,  the feeling you felt during was simply-No! You shook your head. It was wrong to even reconsider. It was simply wrong.

With your body and mind cleaned and cooled down, you mindlessly reached out to grab the towel. “Fuck!” You muttered. As distracted as you were, you forgot how the large towel was already used. And the only towel left in the shower was rather a small one. So small, it could barely cover your entire body. Cursing under your breath even further, you wrapped it around your frame so that you could at least hide your shame by concealing your nipples and the nether region while the mass of your cleavage and rounded curves of your buttocks had its time under the florescent light. Sighing, you were at least relieved it was late,  and  that no one would witness your shame.

The door burst open wide, leaving you gasping as the person you least expected entered.

Noticeably drunk, Freddie Jackson stumbled into the bathroom whilst halfway unbuckling his pants, suddenly stopping in alarm upon seeing you.

“Shit! Cupcake…” He chuckled with amusement. Although, his smile slowly faded the moment his eyes properly encountered your half naked figure standing in the bathtub, “Oh…” he exclaimed softly, with a voice low and animalistic. You felt yourself blush. “The fuck Freddie!….” You hissed, squinting instantly the moment you caught a glimpse of his exposed manhood. “Freddie!” Jackie’s sleepy voice echoed from the bedroom, surprising both of you. “Babe! You back?”Her voice inquired further. Closing the shower curtain behind you, you stood still. Freddie, standing in front of the commode, cleared his throat. “Yeah! Yeah babe…just in the loo” Freddie responded, quickly locking the door behind him to your frustration. Uncomfortable, you held your breath as you were forced to listen to him piss.

If this had happened to you years ago, it would’ve gone down a quite differently. It would have been humorous and embarrassing, which would have ended with you storming off the loo before he even considered pissing. It would have turned in to an interesting anecdote, which would have been shared with the entire family. But tonight you were speechless. Tonight, it seemed wrong. And tonight, he didn’t let you off.

The pissing did not stop to your surprise. A long night of drinking, maybe?

As you waited behind the curtain, a curious part of you urged to do the unthinkable. Holding your breath, you maintained absolute silence, drawing the curtain slightly open to asses the situation. He was not, and his visible manhood was clear proof, causing you to close the curtain in an instant.

Yet the image of his exposed genital was imprinted in your brain clear enough, it would probably last your whole life. You tried so hard not to let your thoughts dwell on it’s shape, it’'s color, its length. For it was wrong to merely do so.

More gasps left your lips, the moment the curtain was drawn wide open. Holding on to the towel that could almost fall off you any moment, you breathed deeply as Freddie stared at you. “Liked what you saw, cupcake?” He asked, buckling up his pants during. Embarrassed, you averted your eyes from it. “No… cause there was nothing to see…” “Not for me…” he said, licking his lips, “I’m really liking the view from here…” His gaze was something you had never seen. It was predatory, it was lustful. It was new. Trying not to react to any of that, you exhaled deeply. “Where were you, Freddie?” You were stern with your question. “Ozzy….” He sniffed, wiping his nose with his index finger, “He had a job for me…” “Was it just Ozzy?” “Meh…hehehe” With a shrug, Freddie chuckled, for he could not lie. As long as you’ve known him, he  had never lied to you, you realized. With your sister in mind, you have gathered enough courage for it was now or never. “Look…” you began, “We’re all so glad that you’re back. But you should know, your family needs you, Freddie…”  you said. He stopped smiling. Yet you continued, “It must seem really easy to …” taking a deep breath, you continued, “…shag around…It’s fun I bet…it’s exciting. It’s tempting…” you said, mentally pushing away the image of intimacy with him, “I’m not gonna act like I am a fucking saint cause I’m not but…”  readjusting your towel, you continued, “I care about my family. And I care about you too, Freddie” you said, “So get a grip, alright? I know you can do better than this” As stern as you were, you managed to maintain as sense of calmness with your entire delivery. It possibly could have been the most adult statement you have ever made. And to your surprise, he listened to you.

Nodding, Freddie remained speechless for a few seconds. Looking down, he merely scratched his head. “Right…” he began softly, “…Goodnight”

No name. No nickname. Just ‘Goodnight’. Turning around, he left the bathroom, leaving you alone once again.

Slowly stepping out of the bathtub, you sat on the edge. You wondered whether you have destroyed the good relationship you had with this man within a span of few minutes. Yet, in your gut you knew, you did the right thing.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

You left the next morning, and you left without a trace of guilt. Jackie had gotten better, and Freddie was home once again. And the fact he was there was enough of a reason for you to avoid any awkward encounter anyways.

A few days later, on a fine morning, you were getting ready to head out for lectures. With a piece of toast on your mouth, you walked past Maggie, only to pause on your tracks. You watched her talk on the phone with a huge smile on her face. And from the way she addressed, you could easily guess who it was.

“Was that Jackie?”   You asked the moment she hung up. Maggie nodded. “Yeah…And Y/N…” she said, looking at you with the same smile, “She sounds great” “Yeah?” Smiling back, you were genuinely surprised. “I don’t know whats going on but…” Maggie began, “…apparently Freddie hasn’t been fooling around anymore. Even Jimmy was surprised. Looks like he’s been at home with the girls. This…this is a miracle, Y/N!” Maggie said, as her eyes shone brightly. “Yeah it is…finally” you said, as happiness brimmed within you.

Your conscience was cleared, the weight was lifted off your shoulders. Walking on the pavement, you felt the urge to skip with joy. You felt pride, putting yourself out there to speak up for something worthwhile. And saving a relationship you valued, you really did your part. It was going to be a good day, you knew it.

Until you suddenly felt your hand being violently tugged back. “Wha-?” Turning back with annoyance, your eyes widened with shock.

You felt powerless when Freddie Jackson pushed you against the nearest brick wall by the pub. He looked devastated. With a tired looking face, his alcohol breath landed hot on your face, leaving you startled and confused.

“Freddie?” You breathed, “It’s 9:30 in the morning, why are you drinking?s” Chuckling maniacally, Freddie looked straight at you. “Oh…wouldn’t you like to fucking know!” He drawled. “Wha-?” “Oh Come on! Do it I have to fucking spell it out for you?” “You might have to, cause I have no clue”
Continuing with his chuckles, he leaned in closer to you. So close you could see yourself in his eyes. “You…” he stressed, as his smile disappeared completely, “You’ve always been so different. Different from Jackie and Maggie…” he said.

You gulped. Did you by chance defy him? Was he embarrassed because of what you said? Was he angered?

“And after 4 fucking years, you’ve grown up into someone…so…”

Unable to describe himself, he could only grunt with frustration. Concerned, you stepped away from the wall. “What are you trying to say, Freddie?” You gasped as you felt yourself being pushed back again. Pressing himself against you, he placed his lips next to your ear. “I fucking fancy you, Y/N…” Frozen, you simply couldn’t believe your ears. “Heheh..that’s right….” He chuckled as he continued to whisper, “…my cock…Oh! It gets fucking hard for you. I can’t…fucking…stop thinking about you, Y/N…” he said, brushing his nose against your temple. Chills literally traveled down your spine.

“So…what do have to say about that?”

He asked you, haunting your ears in a low voice. Still frozen with disbelief, you waited. Until a form of breath could even reach your lungs.There it was, your innocent childhood fantasy, come to life in the most, filthy and unethical manner.

“Freddie…I…” You began, impatiently waiting for the rest of the sentence to come out. For how would you answer him now?

______________________________________

Chapter 4 HERE

Tagged: @starlightmornings​​ @rogerfxckingtaylor​​​ @daydreamerinadazedworld​​​ @courtney-thevixeniris​​​ 

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[babystevie]

Teacher AU

Part 2

Now called:

You came back into my life (Unexpectedly but I wouldn't have it any other way)

Also Available on AO3 : Here

With a few small changes 

When Steve found out he was getting full custody of his newborn daughter two weeks after he graduated college, he had a slight mental breakdown.

This particular breakdown was mostly full of overflowing happiness at the prospect, then proceeded to turn into an actual panic attack at raising his beautiful daughter completely by himself.

When he thinks about it now, he should’ve known that this was always the way it was going to be. He respected Avery and thought she was a wonderful smart woman, which is why when they found out that they were having a child, while completely on accident, neither of them was to upset about it.

But overall, he should’ve seen it coming.

Steve is known for being unobservant when it comes to people, but he is getting pretty good at analyzing feelings, and people whether they are aware of it or not, tend to be open with how they feel. And Avery felt she just wasn’t ready to raise a child, and that aspect had nothing to do with Steve.

She wasn’t ready, and he respected that.

But,

It didn’t still his absolute breakdown when he received the full custody paperwork at the hospital.  

Which, now that he thinks about it is actually horrifyingly embarrassing, and he should’ve waited until he was at home to do so, but luckily Robin was there to convince him that she wasn’t going to go anywhere and that he was going to be a great day.

And,

He thinks he’s doing a pretty great job.

After his breakdown, he agreed to send Avery pictures every school picture she wanted, and even though she wasn’t going to be in their lives, they both agreed that if his daughter wanted to meet her one day, they’d both be okay with it.

It was one of the most important adult conversations that he’d ever had in his life and was immensely grateful that she was such a good person.

Who just wasn’t ready.

Steve on the other hand, was overly prepared for his daughter, and thanks to his mother had everything he could even slightly think of needing for his little girl. Even though there was a large chance that his parents would likely never meet the girl, they did the exact same thing they did for Steve, which was filling the empty space with items that replaced them.

So, even though he was upset with them, he’d come to terms with their lack of personal involvement in stride, and he and Robin brought his little girl home and now they are here today.

At 6 months old, Stephanie was and always will be the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

She has bright green eyes that match her mother’s but got the genes of a full head of Steve’s thick brown hair and the small moles that littered her skin were a direct mirror to what was all over his.

She is just beautiful. Steve may be slightly biased, but he doesn’t even care because he finally gets to love another person with the intensity that he carries with him when it comes to love. A love for another person that is completely dependent on him, and surely sees him with as much importance as he does,

Even though she still screams her head off at 2 in the morning from time to time.

As he walks into the daycare his daughter stays at during the weekdays while he’s teaching, she lights up with a recognition that he’s coming to take her home.

Where she will always be safe.

--

When everyone found out that Steve was going to be a dad, via Skype because he wasn’t about to leave the state any time soon after hearing the news, everyone was excited for him, but to his utter horror they had thought the baby was Robins, and they had both gotten a little green at that fact.

After the situation was cleared up, there was a lot more questions from the party, and a few hard stares from Hopper, and some squealing from Joyce and after she’d stopped making those noises, she’d called him back and threatened to fly out there and slap him if he wasn’t involved with that child’s life.

Now when he talks to Joyce, those threats have turned into praise that simply make him studder at the fact that she’s decided to move to California because,

I need to meet my grandbaby Steve, no arguments.

He’d cried over the video chat with her when that had happened.

And,

He talks to them all probably a little to much, and fills up his life with pictures of his favorite person in the entire world, he 100% certain that all of the photographs he’s sent them have found their way into Joyce’s collection, and he knows that Dustin carries one in his wallet with him everywhere.

It’s sweet and he still cries when he thinks about it for to long that they all care about them so much.

He loves them.

--

As his daughter had grown into the 6-month-old that she is now he thinks, things weren’t always easy. Sure, Robin and he had the money to support another person. Hell, he still and would probably always have access to his parent’s money, and then he’d gotten the job at the elementary school,

Which doesn’t make him that much.

But,

When he’d first brought her home, he was awake all the time. His beautiful daughter was to happy to stay asleep, and not miss even a little bit of the new world that she was brand new too.

Being a single father made him realize that things were going to be hard.

He thanks anyone who’s listening that he couldn’t have done it without Robin.

Though he did most of the baby portion of things by himself, she helped whenever he looked like he was going to pass out and cleaned up after them both when he finally got her to go to sleep.

She’d washed bottles, and picked up towels from Steve’s uneven shower schedule, graded some of his little assignments he gave to his kindergarteners, and helped him do lesson plans over the ones she already was doing for her own students,

“Surprisingly yours gets harder than mine, at least my students can read, most of the time.”

He’d laughed.

She smiled at him for the first time at 4 in the morning with her bright green eyes on him fully after she’d given him an impressive burp, and that was the day he realized that she looked just like him.

At the 3-month mark, she finally started to sleep through most nights, and the bags under Steve’s eyes were staring to lessen their prominent color of deep grey and he looked more like an actual person when he showed up to work when she hit 4 months old.

Then she started laughing and screaming about everything and nothing all at once. The new noises in his life was so adorable. It was easier to leave her to her own devices while he cooked or cleaned up after his class full of 5-year-olds, because she was able to make her presence known to him from an entire other room.

He started doing his hair again after that and got into the hang of getting the spit up stains out of his sweaters and polos after he fed her in the mornings, he should probably feed her in his pajamas.

She’s still so curious about everything at 6 months old. She rolls over at any given chance she gets. She sits up mostly by herself, and grabs things with such force that Steve pulls his hair back when he has her in his arms at all times now.

She doesn’t want to miss anything and needs to be sat up almost all the time now, and since his mother sent him so many things, he’s able to give her anything that will make her happy, and her happiness right now and watching the space around her, and the lights of the toys that she doesn’t really understand how to play with yet, but wont let him take them away because not hearing or seeing them would be a travesty.

Recently she has started teething, not much but he feels so bad, and she screams if something isn’t in her mouth now, but god he wouldn’t change a thing.

--

He is walking through the grocery store with Stephanie strapped to the front of him in her carrier facing the world because she’d scream otherwise when he hears his name being called by an excited little voice at the other end of the cereal aisle.

He turns to the sound and Isaac Hargrove is running towards him at full force. He vaguely hears another voice calling the little boys name but he’s to worried about the kid knocking him over to really care about that at the moment.

“Mr. H!” Isaac yells as he makes contact with his left leg, and Steve lets out a small laugh and a small ‘ooof’ and wraps his hand around his daughter’s torso to keep her from being jostled, because then she’ll cry at the inconvenience.

She really is almost all him.

Isaac has only been in his class for a couple of weeks now, but the kid has taken a shine to learn quickly and get along with the rest of the class, and Steve was happy about his easy transition.

He and Billy have spoken a couple of times after school lets out, but usually its just a wave goodbye, and then as they leave Steve stares at Billy’s ass when he walks to his car,

No one has to know about that.

There’s no animosity between them during these exchanges, and Steve’s sure some of that has to do with the fact that he’s leaving his child with Steve 5 days out of the week for almost 8 hours each time. Other than that, Steve’s not to worried about talking about their past anymore, he can’t bring himself to care about things that they will probably need to discuss to really move forward, but for now he can deal with just staring at him like a weirdo.

“Isaac!” Billy’s voice filters through his brains as Stephanie lets out an excited screech when Steve brushes past her little toes to reach down and steady the curly headed child at his feet.

Isaac doesn’t look like he even cares he just ran from wherever they were to get to Steve, and he yells, “Daddy look! I found Mr. H!”

Billy’s eyes are wide at the edge of the aisle before he starts walking towards the three of them, and directly speaks to Isaac,

“You cannot just run away like that kid.” And scoops him from his place on the ground with practiced ease and brings his eyes back to Steves.

“But Mr. H is here!” the boy argues, and Steve stifles a laugh, finally removing his arm from Stephanie to let her dangle comfortably once more and thankfully she only makes a small noise in anger before choosing to take her attention back to shoving her fist in her mouth.

“Your dad’s right Isaac.” Steve states getting the boys attention, and wide blue eyes stare back at him, and he gives him a small smile, “But.” He states putting his glasses up onto his nose, “I am very happy to see you.”

Isaac’s grin is wide and happy and Steve smiles, and brings himself to look back at the matching eyes of the kids’ father who’s looking at him with an expression that Steve can’t really identify,

“Billy.” He greets finally, and tries not to stare to hard at the motion of Billy’s throat as he swallows before he replies,

“Steve.” And gives Steve a small smile

They stare at one another for a moment before he lets Isaac back down onto the floor and the boy exclaims,

“Is that your baby Mr. H!!?”

And Steve can’t help the grin that profoundly takes over his face, “Yes, this is Stephanie.”

“Hi Stephanie!” Isaac waves, and like she can actually respond yells back at him with her normal level of force that Steve chuckles.

“She isn’t big enough to talk yet bud, still a baby.” Steve tells the boy.

Isaac nods seriously at his words and Billy’s voice interrupts,

“How old is she?”

Steve looks back up at him and hears the slight strain, but awe look in his face as he stares at his daughter.

She’s adorable, and they all know it.

“6 months.” Steve tells him happily, “getting bigger every day, Robin? Do you remember Robin?” Billy nods, “She keeps telling me that she’s getting to big to fast, and I can’t help but agree.” Pride bleeds into his voice, and he ignores the sadness that she really is getting bigger every day.

“She’s adorable.” Billy says with a slightly sad expression that makes Steve scrunch his face. He attentively reaches out his hand and she grabs onto his finger with what Steve knows is a strong hold,

“Isn’t she?” he starts, “Careful though, she may cut off circulation. She’s got a monster grip.” He gestures to his tied-up hair, “I would know.”

Billy laughs quietly, seemingly trying not to startle her, “That’s okay.”

Steve swears that he’s going to melt in the middle of the cereal aisle at the soft look on Billy’s face directed completely at his daughter who’s probably on the verge of smacking Billy in the face if he gets any closer to her.

If Steve’s crush had dwindled at any point, its back with complete full force right at this moment. He’s trying really hard not to just blurt out that he wants to go on a date with Billy, right here, in front of their children, for fuck’s sake, all because he’s continuing to grasp his daughters attention, making noises at her, which she gleefully screams back at him,

“She looks just like you.” Billy tells him, “Her eyes might be green, but damn they are huge.”

Steve’s brain short circuits a bit. Because that could be taken as an insult, but it didn’t sound like one, not in any way did it sound like an insult, not with the tone of voice Billy used. Steve blinks owlishly which makes Billy chuckle and murmur to himself,

“Exactly the same.”

His phone rings before he gets to process that fully and he reaches to grab it quickly before his daughter gets offended at the sudden noise and he answers it,

“Hello?”

“Don’t forget to get cat food Dingus, your cat won’t shut the fuck up.” Robins voice filters through, and the way Billy’s face morphs into hilarity he knows that he’s heard her.

“Jesus, I won’t forget Rob, I have a list.”

She hangs up without saying anything else and Steve must look super offended right now because Billy says,

“Don’t look at your phone like that Stevie, you’ll get wrinkles.”

Steve gawks and Billy continues, “So Robin lives with you then?”

He nods in response, “She’s been the best help, Steph loves her. Made things a lot easier for me.”

Billy gets a weird look on his face, “You’re by yourself?”

Steve ignores the pang of loneliness in his gut, “Yep.” He states popping the p, “Avery, her mom wasn’t ready, and I was a guess, she’s all mine.” And gazes lovingly down at his daughter where she’s currently now trying to put Billy’s finger in her mouth.

Billy’s face does a slew of emotions before it settles, and he shrugs, “I’ve only had full custody of Isaac for a couple of years, but I can relate to the feeling. After, Heather and her girlfriend passed away, I would’ve never said no.”

Steve shoots him a small sad smile, the feeling of his heart beating in his throat underneath his words, “Wouldn’t give it up for anything.”

“Yeah.” He sits his free hand onto the back of Isaac’s neck causing the boy to beam, “Me either.”

[feathersandpaintbrushes]

Entye

ENTYE, “Debt”

— Chapter 2: Sparks

 Chapter 1 , Chapter 3 , Chapter 4, 

Summary: The Mandalorian and Kas land on a desert planet in search of a new ship, but find trouble waiting for them.

Warnings: blood, injuries, language

Characters: the Mandalorian (Din Djarin), the child, original character

A/N: If you want tagged, just let me know:) Find me on AO3! Heading art belongs to me (Feathersandpaintbrushes and night-feather-designs)

-------------

It was too fucking hot.

Three frostbitten years on Hoth had forced her body to acclimate to icy winds, and the dry heat of this new planet sucked the moisture from her eyes and mouth and dried the sweat as it beaded on her forehead.

She was miserable.

She shot a baleful glare at the back of the Mandalorian’s helmet.  Getting her out of Hoth and onto a new planet – one with an actual town and spaceports – had been their only deal.  She regretted not specifying which planet; it seemed he’d taken her from one extreme to the other.

A gust of hot wind blew sand in her face and she screwed her eyes shut, an explosive sneeze slipping out before she could help it.

The Mandalorian – curse him – glanced back at her and she could swear she heard a chuckle behind his mask. 

“How much further to the town?” She gasped out, hating that she sounded like an impatient child, wishing her voice sounded like steel, but she was thirsty, and she’d already drained her canteen after a measly fifteen minutes of walking.

The Mandalorian stopped and she caught up to him, forcing her breathing to sound even despite the stuttering of her heart.  He stared quietly for a moment as she swallowed, doing her best to keep her face blank.  She wished she could be wearing her mask too, but she needed her mouth free to catch every baking mouthful of air this planet had to offer.

“Not long,” he replied eventually, and with only the faintest of sighs, handed her his own full canteen.  Pride warred with thirst, and she clenched her fists, willing herself not to grab for it.

“Don’t be stupid,” he said, pushing the canteen at her chest. “You aren’t used to the heat, I am.  Just take it.”

She did, hands shaking slightly as she uncapped it and took a sip of the still cool water.

“Thank you,” she reminded herself to murmur, looking at the horizon to avoid looking at his mask.

He began walking again after she’d taken a second sparing sip of water, and she did her best to keep up with his long stride.

When they finally got to the town, she was torn between the sheer relief of being in something that passed as civilization again and a sudden panic at the noise and press of bodies around her.  Clenching her fists at her own cowardice, she slipped into the Mandalorian’s shadow, letting him clear a way for her while she acclimated herself to what living in a society entailed.

There were humans.  Lots of them.  And dozens of different species she didn’t have names for.  There was laughter and the smell of cooking and a child ran past her chasing some small lizard creature.  She stopped and stared at a stall filled with spices, her mouth suddenly watering as she remembered all the flavors she’d missed out on when trapped on Hoth.

Someone large bumped into her, making her fingers fly to her blaster. 

“Watch it,” they snarled in a deep, garbled Basic.  Gripping her blaster tightly, she spun to catch sight of the Mandalorian only to hit a different alien, who’s damp skin stuck unpleasantly to her arm.  They hissed at her in a language she didn’t recognize.  A hand grabbed her arm and she nearly jumped out of her skin, shoving her blaster against the chest of the Mandalorian who had appeared from thin air.

“Come on,” he said roughly, yanking on her arm and dragging her behind him into a dimly lit building.  The darkness and the sound of loud music threatened to overwhelm her still further until the bitter tank of spirits hit her nose.

A cantina.  She took a deep breath, letting the familiar stenches wash over her and ground her.  It had been years since she’d been in a joint like this.  Years since she’d had anything stronger than the watery meat soup she made in the cave at Hoth.  But one cantina is much like another, and the sights and smells here were more familiar than anything she’d seen so far on this sun baked planet.

“Stay.”

The Mandalorian pushed his gloved hand down hard on her shoulder, forcing her to sit at one of the sticky booths while he disappeared into the crowd around the bar.

She took a shuddering breath, squeezing her eyes shut and focusing on the familiar beat of her heart.  A metallic clang made her open her eyes to see the Mandalorian set a cup of something in front of her.  She raised her eyes to him and smiled tightly.  “Thanks,” she said, taking a gulp of the bitter alcohol.  “It’s just –“  “Been a while.  I figured.” The smile she gave him at these gruff words was more genuine.    

“I haven’t had a decent drink in three years,” she added, taking another gulp.  “Okay,” she said coughing, as the Mandalorian tilted his head to the side in what she imagined to be his equivalent to a raised eyebrow, “I haven’t had any drink in three years.  So maybe I’m a little biased.”  He definitely snorted this time, and she hid a smirk in another deep gulp.  She still felt jerky and droid-like with her expressions.  Three years was a long time with only Tuantuans and herself for company.  She’d talked, of course, to keep herself from going insane.  But smiling – well she’d gone without a genuine smile for nearly as long as she’d gone without a drink.

“So,” she said, setting the empty glass down with a decisive clank. “Where can I go to find a ship of my own?”

-----

It was a hunk of junk.  Its hull was badly scarred, and the inside smelled like the rotten insides of a dead tuantuan.  The pilot’s seat was vaguely sticky, and she was afraid to look in the bathroom.  But it was cheap.  Cheap enough that she could buy it with the few credits she had left over from before Hoth.  And it could, in theory, fly her far enough to get her to a nice mild weathered planet where she could start work doing who knows what.  It didn’t matter.  Anything to keep her fed and clothed. 

“I’ll take it,” she said firmly. She could feel the Mandalorian’s eyes boring into her back, even through his helmet.  She ignored his judgement and set her jaw.  Not everyone could have a ship with an actual bedroom in it thank you.  Beggars couldn’t be choosers, and she was grateful to find something that she could fly away on today.  She couldn’t stand another moment of the heat.  Her nose was already red, and she wasn’t sure if she would ever get the sand out of her hair.

“Are you sure?”

Kas turned and blinked up at the Mandalorian’s helmeted face as he appeared suddenly by her side.  “It can fly me off this desert.  That’s good enough for me,” she pointed out.

“There’s got to be something less,” he gestured with a gloved hand, annoyance coming off him in waves. 

“Less what?” she demanded, stepping closer to hiss under her breath so the seller couldn’t hear.  “Less cheap? Less available?”

“Less trashy.” The Mandalorian snapped, even his modulator failing to keep the contempt out of his voice.  “The guy’s ripping you off.  He should be paying you to take it off his hands.”

This was undeniably true; the seller’s eyes had gleamed when she’d offered her meager credits.  Still, she wanted to be free again.  It left a foul taste in her mouth to be in debt to anyone, especially a Mandalorian. 

“Well what do you suggest I do?” she snapped, unable to resist curling her hands into fists.

To her surprise the Mandalorian’s voice was calm again when he answered. 

“Wait a day.  Maybe two.  Either he’ll come down in price or someone else will have something for sale.”

his carefully controlled tone did nothing to convince her; if anything, it set Kas’s teeth on edge and strengthened her resolve.  She took a step back and frowned up at the Mandalorian.

“I’m taking it. Thank you for getting me here,” she added.  “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

Turning decisively, she walked up the seller and pressed her credits into his hand with a murmur, aware the whole time of the heavy gaze of the Mandalorian piercing into her back.

------

Night had fallen by the time she’d finished stocking her new ship, and weariness dragged at her eyelids.  One more night here wouldn’t hurt her; she’d gotten her ship, and while it didn’t have a bedroom, she’d scrubbed the pilot’s seat into a semblance of cleanliness, and it was comfortable enough with her heavy coat draped over it. 

She was just drifting off to sleep when she saw flashing lights through her eyelids.  Biting back a curse she opened her eyes to see blaster fires lighting up the desert night.  Curious, she grabbed a pair of binoculars and aimed them at the flashing lights.  For a moment the night was dark, then another red flash illuminated a ship in the distance.  Zooming in, she felt her stomach drop when the light flashed again, revealing the Mandalorian’s ship.

“Fuck.”

She put down the binoculars and rubbed her forehead.  She did not owe him anything.  She saved his life from the sapphire worm, he got her to this planet.  They were even.  More than even. 

But.

But her hand still lifted the binoculars to her face again and her heart still pounded when she saw the silhouettes of stormtroopers illuminated in the red of blaster fire.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Sticking her nose where it didn’t belong is how she got dumped on Hoth with no ship and no radio.  Sticking her nose out where it didn’t belong had earned her scar after scar.  She owed this guy nothing.  He was a Mandalorian.  A bounty hunter.  The second someone who knew her put a reward on her head, it would be someone like him who brought her in.

But.

But there was that child with him.  That weird, tiny little green thing that had curled in the Mandalorian’s cloak while he’d been passed out in front of her fire. 

Before she could think about it any longer, she turned, grabbed her weapons, and ran out the door to the Mandalorian’s ship.

--

The desert night was not much cooler, even without the heat of the sun.  Dry air pushed Kas’s hair off her face as she ran towards the Mandalorian’s ship.

As she neared, the battle slowly came into sight.  Troopers were standing on the ramp leading into the ship, weapons firing at the Mandalorian as he tried to get inside.  Kas slowed and hid behind a small rocky outcropping, some ten meters from the fight.  Settling onto her stomach she pulled her a long, rifle like object off her back.  She’d modified a normal flame thrower to project balls of flames that she found went further than the normal stream of fire from a normal flamethrower.  It was one of her most prized weapons, and the modification had helped her against many sapphire worms on Hoth.

Taking a breath she leveled the weapon, aiming for the troopers closer to her.  It admittedly wasn’t the most accurate weapon.  It didn’t always fire, and couldn’t send out more than a dozen bursts in one fight.  But, it was a decent distraction.

She fired, a fierce surge of joy flashing through her as the fireball ripped through the air, hitting a stormtrooper in the chest.  She had maybe one more shot before she became too obvious of a target. 

The second shot went left, hitting the feet of one trooper but skimming the Mandalorian’s cape, which promptly caught fire.

Cursing, she shoved the flame thrower back onto the holster on her back and grabbed her staff off her back.  It was her own version of an electrostaff that had been used by the empire.  Hers was much smaller, built for close combat and easy storage.  It folded in the middle when not in use.  Between the flamethrower that strapped to her back, the blaster hanging from her right hip, and the small dagger she kept sheathed on her belt, she didn’t have room for a long swinging pole.  While not as strong, the electrified end hurt like hell, and the other end sported a blade, strong enough to pierce most armor if she gave it a solid thrust.  

Kas ran quickly towards the fight and pressed the electrified end of her staff against the side of the trooper who was approaching the Mandalorian, who was busy beating the flames off his cape.

“Sorry about that,” she gasped to him as she spun to block a blow from a different trooper.  The Mandalorian recovered quickly, shooting a grappling hook out from his bracer and tripping a trooper before shooting it unceremoniously in the head.

“I had it covered,” he shouted as she grappled with a trooper, grunting as their fist punched into her stomach.

“Duck,” a familiar voice growled next to her ear, and she dropped quickly, watching as the Mandalorian’s arm lunged above her and buried a knife into the trooper’s neck.

The fight was a blur.  There had to be at least a dozen troopers, but there were two of them at least.  And the Mandalorian was a good fighter.

So was she.

She reveled in it, a savage grin stretching her lips as she parried a blow from a trooper and then followed through with a stab of the bladed side of her staff.

They were both quick in their movements, and they slid past each other and watched each others backs like they'd been at this deadly dance together for years.

Pain sliced through Kas’s arm and she snarled, throwing herself at the trooper whose blaster fire had carved a shallow groove into her flesh.

The only problem, she thought grimly as she pushed the electric staff against the troopers neck, was that she didn’t have armor, while the Mandalorian did.  He could take hits and even some blaster fire, protected by the shiny beskar that covered his body.  Her only protection lay with how fast she could move.

A flash of movement flickered in the corner of her eye, and Kas turned to see the Mandalorian, flinching slightly as his gloved hand grabbed her injured arm.

“The child,” he gasped before turning, distracted as a trooper fired at him from a distance.

Kas felt a lurch deep within her stomach as she turned, catching a glimpse of a trooper through the front window of the ship.

She turned and ran up the ramp, hearing shots and realizing the Mandalorian was covering her with fire.

Inside the ship was dark, and she holstered her staff, grabbing the blaster off her hip instead.

“Stop right there.”

Kas froze and turned around with her blaster raised to see a trooper step out of the shadows, a bundle in their arms.

“Drop your weapon.”

The blaster fell to the ground with a metallic clang that echoed in the dark ship.

The bundle in the trooper’s arms moved, a small hand pushing its way out of the cloth.  The sight of it, so small and fragile, filled Kas’s heart with a black rage.  She didn’t know what the troopers wanted with it.  Didn’t know why the Mandalorian was fighting with them.  But she knew deep within her that they should not have the child.

The anger was hot within her, flames twisting in her stomach and up her throat, choking her with the desire to kill whoever stood against the child.  Her hand grasped the dagger sheathed in her belt.

She was fast.  The blade left her hand in the space between heart beats and landed in the troopers neck.  The trooper fell, the child with them, and Kas lunged forward to grab it, heart beating too loud to hear the blaster shot, fire inside too hot to feel the burn of the hole that sizzled in her flesh above her heart.

But the sound of heavy boots walking up the ramp had her moving, gripping the precious bundle to her chest as she snarled, blaster she’d snatched from the ground pointing out at the Mandalorian as he approached her.

 Her ears were buzzing, and she stared blankly at him for a long moment.

“…over, we need to go….. to me”

She blinked and swayed slightly, not lowering her blaster as the Mandalorian kneeled beside her, taking the child from her unresisting hands.

“It’s over,” he repeated gently. “We need to go.”

---

She looked horrible.

Din had helped the girl up to the cockpit, brows furrowing with concern behind his mask as she slumped in the copilot’s seat.  She was bleeding heavily from her shoulder and was pale in the dim light, but he wouldn’t be able to offer her help until they got into hyperspace.

The ship came to life with a soft whir as he began moving switches and pulling levers one handed – he was still too keyed up from the fighting to put the child down.

Once safely in the air he pulled the med pack down from where it was stored and walked slowly over to Kas.  She stirred as if waking from a slumber, and when she met his eyes he was startled by the sadness there.

“So much for getting my own ship, huh?” She said with a weak smile.

Guilt settled into the bottom of his stomach, and Din kneeled beside her, placing the child on her lap.

“Thank you for helping back there,” he murmured, and the smile settled more firmly on her lips.

“I couldn’t let them hurt this little guy,” she explained, uninjured hand lightly touching the tip of the child’s ear.

“We need to stop the bleeding.  Is it okay if I help?”

Her eyes were hazel, he noticed, and looked wary as she nodded her permission.

The blaster shot had hit the fleshy spot of her shoulder, below the collar bone.  Another shot has carved a shallow groove into her bicep.  He did his best to be gentle as he cleaned the wounds, but she went even paler and hissed loudly when the antiseptic touched her skin.  The cauterizing pen was even worse; both of them were sweating by the time he’d finished sealing the deeper wound, and Kas’s nails had left grooves in the leather of the seat, a low growl sliding between her clenched teeth all the while.

The difference between the pale, pained woman in front of him and the ferocious fighter from an hour ago was startling to Din.  Before her eyes had snapped and gleamed; he’d even caught sight of her smiling savagely as she killed the troopers attacking them.  Now she was just… human.  Weariness showed in the purple shadows under her eyes and the tightness of her lips.  She smelled like blood and sweat and blaster smoke.  Yet under it all he still saw the woman who had been hunched in the shadows, cradling the child in her arms like the most precious jewel in the world even as blood dripped down her arm.

He didn’t trust her.  He couldn’t trust her.

But she’d fought with him, fought for the child.

She could have left them; she had her own ship, her freedom.  But she’d turned back to help them.

He couldn’t trust her.

But he did respect her.  And she was a fucking good fighter.

He could use a good fighter.

“We can find a way to get you back to your ship,” Din offered, standing.

“Or?”

Kas turned her head, keeping her eyes on him as he put the med pack away and sat back at the captain’s seat.

“Or,” he said evenly, feeling as his her eyes were locked directly on him, despite the helmet separating them.

“Or you could come with us.  You’re good in a fight.  And the kid likes you.  I can’t offer you anything, and I can’t promise that it’d be safe.  But I can offer my help when there’s trouble, and a place to stay.”

Kas’s face was still pale and clammy, but a look of peace washed over her features.  Her eyes were blazing as they met his, and he was startled by the hope he saw in them.

“Where to next, partner?”

tags: @knockbeforeyouspeak​ 

[snowdice]

Big Bang (Sort of) Editing Story [Day 11]

I started writing this fic while editing my Big Bang story, but am going to continue doing it for other things now that Kill Dear is out. I will write and publish 100 words of the story every time I finish doing whatever task I’m doing. If you’d like to block these proceedings, please feel free to block the tag proofread stories. I will reblog this post with the parts of the story I do today. Edited chapters 1 & 2 are linked; everything else I’ve done so far is under the cut.

My Master Post Part 1 Part 2

I was going to do the bingo fic, today but I haven’t been feeling 100% so didn’t start it in the morning. I kinda wanted to work on this one instead so I’m going to. :)

Chapter 3

The figure whose head Patton had just slammed a cookie sheet over tottered forward and fell to the floor; the knife fell limply from its hand onto the floor. Patton immediately stepped forward to kick the weapon away towards Logan. Logan stepped forward to grab it and stored it away quickly at the bottom of the chest at the foot of his bed.

He looked back up at Patton. “T-thank you,” he said.

“Um-huh,” Patton replied, still looking down at the fallen figure. It did not seem like it’d be getting up anytime soon. He slowly lowered the cookie sheet.

He cautiously knelt down next to the person.

“Patton, what are you doing?” Logan asked.

“I just want to see,” Patton said. He carefully shoved the figure over to its back so he could peer at his face. It was a young boy with a pale face and kinda squiggly dark hair that framed his face unevenly. “Oh,” Patton said softly. “He’s just a baby.”

“What are you talking about?” Logan asked.

“He’s like 12,” Patton said with a frown. “Maybe 13.”

“He also had a knife,” Logan stressed, but he did move closer to get a better look at him. “We should call the guards.”

“But...”

“No, Patton,” Logan said firmly.

“Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding?” Patton tried.

“A misunderstanding?” Logan scoffed. “What? Did he accidently sneak past the guards into the royal family’s private hallway and come into my bedroom in the middle of the night with a knife?”

Patton looked down at the kid. “Well…”

“He’s clearly an assassin,” Logan said. “We need to call the guards so they can deal with him appropriately.”

“Can we at least wait until he wakes up?” Patton said. “I want to talk to him. Maybe…”

“He’s not a feral cat you can tame.”

Patton bit his lip and looked up at Logan about to do something sorta mean. “But aren’t you curious?” Patton beseeched. “He’s so young. Who would have sent him? Who would have trained him if he’s really an assassin? How’d he get past the guards? Don’t you want to know? They probably wouldn’t tell you if we let the guards take him away.”

Patton could see Logan’s resolve breaking. He was weak to his own curiosity and whoever this kid was, was a curiosity. He sighed. “We’ll have to check him for any weapons before he wakes up, and we’ll have to restrain him.” Patton beamed up at him. “We’ll call the guards and tell Father as soon as we’re done or at the first sign of trouble.”

“Sure,” Patton readily agreed.

“Hmm,” Logan said. “Watch him closely for a couple of seconds.” He ducked through the door to his little work area and then ran back with a corked bottle. “May I borrow your bracelets?”

“Sure. Why?” Patton asked, already working them off his own wrists.

“This is a binding potion,” Logan explained, taking the bracelets and pouring a couple of drops carefully on them. “It keeps people locked in place. It’s rather strong though and if I applied it directly on his skin, it’d hurt him and be hard to take off. This way, the bracelets will just act like magical cuffs. They’ll hold his arms in place wherever we need them to be.” He waited for a moment and then tapped his own finger to where he’d applied the potion. “It’s dry” he said. “Help me get these on him.” Patton nodded and grabbed the boy’s thin wrists in his, pulling back the dark sleeves so Logan could snap the brackets on him. Then, Logan grabbed both of his hands and moved them above his head, so they laid against the ground. Patton shifted him around, so he was laying prone. “Okay, now we should make sure he doesn’t have any other weapons on him.”

Patton nodded and they both started awkwardly patting at his clothing, feeling for anything that could be a weapon. “He’s really skinny,” Patton said while his hands brushed across his rib cage.

“Strange,” Logan said. “You would think one would keep one’s assassins well fed.”

“And older,” Patton pointed out.

“It’ll be another question for when he wakes,” Logan said. “He doesn’t seem to have any other weapons on him.”

“Let’s get him sat up,” Patton suggested, “so he’s easier to talk to.”

Logan nodded, and they worked on pulling him into a sitting position against the wall. The boy made a slight sound at being moved and Logan met his eyes. They quickly finished setting him up and settled his hands next to him on the ground to pin them there.

Then, they both stood back to watch. The boy shifted a bit more and then sucked in a sudden breath. He went tense all over the second before his eyes opened. His head lifted to look at them with absolutely terrified eyes. Logan shifted beside him, clearly about to speak, but Patton’s hand struck out to grab Logan’s shoulder. Logan glanced at him and then stood back.

Patton moved forward to kneel in front of him. “Hey there,” he said with a slight smile. The boy seemed to try to curl away from him into the wall. Strangely, he didn’t seem to even attempt to pull against his restraints.

 “What’s your name?” Patton asked. He paused but the boy didn’t respond. He just stared at him with scared eyes. “My name’s Patton,” he offered, “and that’s Logan.” The boy glanced at Logan, and then looked away, staring down at his lap. Patton waited, but he didn’t move. Eventually, Patton tilted his head so he could get a look at his face. “Oh, honey,” Patton said. “Are you crying?” Patton reached out to touch his cheek and he flinched back with a sharp inhale but there wasn’t very far for him to go. “Hey, it’s okay,” Patton soothed. He gently wiped away a few of the tears that had fallen onto his cheeks. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

The boy did not respond, and Patton settled back on his knees with a frown. He glanced at Logan who shrugged. Patton bit his lip in thought for a moment. They weren’t going to be able to speak to him until he calmed down. How could Patton calm him down? Patton’s eyes skirted around the room. The book Logan was reading? No. One of the old fancy crowns they’d borrowed from Thomathy? No. Cookies?

“Are you hungry?” Patton asked the boy. He didn’t confirm verbally, but his head did tilt up in interest. “We have some cookies,” Patton said. He stood, perhaps too quickly because he cowered into the wall as though he expected Patton to lunge at him. Patton smiled apologetically and walked over to the plate they’d luckily stacked the leftover cookies on before Patton had used the cookie sheet for different purposes.

With a smile, he selected a mint chocolate chip cookie from the plate and walked back over to the boy. He was slower this time with his movements, but the kiddo still tracked him carefully with his eyes as he knelt back in front of him. “Here,” Patton offered. “Try this one. It’s my favorite.”

The boy didn’t open his mouth. In fact, he pressed his lips even harder together.

“Come on,” Patton tempted. “They’re really good. It’s my mama’s own recipe and she made them herself. She’s one of the only two people who know how to make them perfect.”

Patton glanced over at Logan and smiled. He got a glare back in return. Patton leaned forward slightly like he was telling the boy a secret. “Logan’s the other person who knows how to make them,” he divulged. “When I was six, my mama got sick for a few days and I was really sad. He wanted to cook me my favorite cookies to cheer me up. He had no idea how to do it, but he was determined. He snuck into the kitchen in the middle of the night and tried to make them.” Patton laughed at the memory. “He did really, really bad. Logan hadn’t ever cooked anything before, let alone mint chocolate chip cookies. There was flour everywhere and he managed to break three wooden spoons. But, when mama got better, she taught him how to make them. That way, he can make them for me if she ever can’t.”

Patton offered the treat again. “Come on,” Patton said when he still didn’t move to eat it. “What’s wrong?”

Logan stepped forward suddenly and Patton blinked at him. He reached for the cookie and tore off a small piece of it before offering it to Patton. Patton opened his mouth, confused, and let him pop it into his mouth. He chewed it and swallowed.

“Try again,” Logan said, stepping away.

Patton turned back to the boy and held out the cookie. After a moment’s hesitation, the boy opened his mouth. Patton let him take a bite. “See!” he said. “It’s good, huh?”

He chewed and swallowed the bite of cookie. “W-what’s going on?” he finally spoke in a low scratchy tone. Hmm, maybe Patton should get him some water soon.

“We were hoping you could tell us that,” Patton said. “Lo and I were a bit startled by you showing up in his bedroom in the middle of the night.”

“I… was knocked unconscious,” the boy said.

“Well, you gave us quite the fright there with that knife of yours.”

The boy seemed to shrink at the reminder.

“Want to tell us what that was about?” Patton asked.

He shook his head, shoulders climbing.

“Let us rephrase,” Logan said calmly. “Clearly you were here to assassinate either my father, myself, or both. So, the relevant questions are who sent you to do so and why?” The boy shook his head and Logan frowned. “No?” he asked. “Apologies, but ‘no’ is not a sufficient answer.”

 Chapter 4

Logan’s statement did not appear to go over well with the small assassin. He went still and curled over into himself as though to protect his more vulnerable areas. Honestly, Logan thought agitated, Logan hadn’t threatened any bodily harm. He’d even prefaced the statement with an apology even though he didn’t feel as though he had anything to apologize for! Just like father had taught him!

Patton shot him a glare, telling him he was somehow in the wrong despite the fact that he’d been the one who was almost assassinated. Logan grumbled and returned to quietly sulking in the background while Patton cooed at the assassin, trying to cajole him out of the ball he’d wrapped himself into.

Logan did have to admit the situation was odd. He was young. He didn’t even know anyone trained assassins so young. His kingdom did have a guild of trained assassins/spies, but one couldn’t even join the military until one was of age (though they could start training at 16 with special permission) and all assassins must have at least a year of military training before being considered. It would be years more before they were sent out on actual missions.

So, where had this young boy came from? Surely, he wasn’t acting of his own violation, especially considering his age and temperament. What was his or whoever had sent him’s greater purpose? One didn’t attempt the risky act of regicide without some reasoning. Why did he only have one weapon? Most hired killers would be provided with a backup at the very least and more than likely an arsenal. Why was he acting so skittish? It was a strange attitude for a trained killer.

He had piqued Logan’s curiosity and Logan wanted answers.

“There, see?” Patton was saying. He was hand feeding more of the cookie to the assassin who looked just as startled by this fact the second time around as the first. “How about a compromise?”

Logan eyed him suspiciously. He was willing to let Patton lead since Logan was well aware of his own shortcomings when it came to tact, but his friend also had a bit of a bleeding heart. Logan refused to let him put himself at risk.

Ironically, the assassin seemed to be on the same page as Logan. His eyes tracked Patton distrustfully. “Compromise?” he echoed.

“Yes!” Patton said, unconcerned with the blatant discomfort in the room.

“We’ll ask you a question and you answer it,” Patton said. “Then you can ask a question and we’ll answer that. Then we can keep going back and forth like that.”

The assassin seemed unsure about this, but he slowly nodded. “What’s your question?” he asked.

Patton looked back at Logan and inclined his head. Logan took a step forward. “Who are you?” Logan asked. The assassin hesitated.

“Maybe a more specific question,” Patton suggested. “We’ve got plenty of time and ‘who are you?’ is a bit of a big question. There are so many different answers!”

“Very well,” Logan agreed. “Let’s start with, what’s your name?”

The assassin considered him, looking overly cautious for such a mundane question. “It’s Virgil,” he said after a moment.

“Last name?” Logan prompted.

“I-” he hesitated, looking distressed. “I don’t have one.”

“You don’t have one?” Logan asked.

And… he was curling up into a ball again. “Sorry,” he said softly. He started to cry again.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, hey,” Patton soothed. “That was good.”

Logan frowned. It was not ‘good’. It had given them basically no information. “Why-”

“It’s Virgil’s turn to ask a question, Logan,” Patton said. Logan almost groaned. This was going to take forever, wasn’t it?

Virgil’s eyes bounced between them. “Why haven’t you called someone to take me away yet?” he asked.

“We wanted to ask you a few questions ourselves before getting the castle guards involved,” Logan answered.

“Are…” he shut his mouth, likely realizing he’d have to wait for his next question.

Logan considered him. “Why do you have no last name?” Logan asked.

Virgil looked away. “I’m an orphan. I don’t know who my parents were, and no one bothered to give me one.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” Logan acknowledged. “And your question?”

“Are…” Virgil said. “Are you going to torture me if I don’t answer something right?”

Patton let out a little pained exhale.

“Why would we do that?” Logan asked.

“Why wouldn’t you do that?” he replied.

“Where the hell are you from where that’s a question?”

“Why the hell should I tell you?”

“Why the hell would you be defending a place that makes you think that’s a normal question?”

“What the fuck are you even on about?”

“Okay,” Patton cut Logan off before he retorted in kind. “I think that’s enough of the question game at the moment.” He stood up and walked back over to the plate of cookies.

“He-” Logan started to grouse and got a sugar cookie pushed into his mouth to silence him.

Logan frowned around the cookie as Patton went back and offered the other cookie to Virgil. Virgil turned his head away from it. Logan’s eyes watched the assassin as Patton thought for a moment and then tore a bit of the cookie off. He ate the bite himself before offering the cookie again. This Virgil was a suspicious thing, Logan thought as the boy slowly ate a bite of cookie.

It made Logan’s curiosity itch even more, but at this rate he wasn’t going to get any answers. He polished off the sugar cookie and then walked over to sit on the floor next to where Patton was kneeling.

Virgil watched him move and Logan met his eyes. “No, by the way,” Logan thought to answer. “We aren’t going to hurt you.”

Logan tried not to bristle at the disbelieving look on his face. Logically that distrust had nothing to do with Logan personally, but with whatever his experiences were before this.

Logan tilted his head at him. “Why the one knife?”

Virgil blinked at that. “What?”

“The knife,” Logan reiterated. “You were clearly here to use it, but you only have one. It seems odd.”

“Uh…” Virgil said. “I don’t know. That’s all they gave me.”

Logan nodded. “Me or my dad?” he asked. “Or both?”

Virgil clearly didn’t want to answer. “The king,” he said.

Logan nodded, and it suddenly hit him exactly what would have occurred if he and Patton hadn’t happened to be awake. Virgil seemed to see the realization on his face. He braced himself as though expecting to be struck. Logan felt suddenly nauseous, the idea of a dead father hitting a bit too close to home after…

“And the guards?” Logan asked.

“I didn’t,” Virgil rushed to say. “Just a light sleeping potion. They probably didn’t even notice anything happen.”

“Okay,” Logan said. “Good.”

“What are you going to do with me?” Virgil asked.

“We’ll hand you over to the guards,” Logan said. “They’ll figure out what to do with you from there.”

He nodded, looking small, and Logan refused to feel guilty for it. Virgil had come here with the intention of killing Logan’s dad! Logan had no reason to feel guilty about turning him in. Besides, it wasn’t as though any of them were going to hurt or kill a literal child. Dad would never let them anyway. He’d be fine! There was no reason for his sad eyes that seemed almost too big for his face to make Logan want to squirm uncomfortably.

Logan sighed. “Are you still hungry?” he asked. “We do actually have more than just cookies in spite of Patton’s efforts.”

“We don’t have any more jam though because of Logan’s efforts earlier,” Patton said sweetly. Logan pursed his lips but didn’t deny it. Instead he just walked over to where they’d stored their extra snacks.

“How about some cheese?” Logan suggested, “and perhaps some milk to drink?”

“Why are you trying to feed me?” Virgil asked.

“Because you look hungry. Are you?”

He bit his lip and nodded. They split up the cheese between the three of them which seemed to soothe Virgil’s worry of poison. He ate what they offered him without complaint and drank most of the milk.

Logan managed to squeeze a few more answers out of the boy, but nowhere near enough to satiate his curiosity. Eventually, morning came, and Logan sighed. “We should probably…” he said, “turn you in.”

The boy looked like he might burst into sobs, but he just hung his head. Another stab of that unfounded guilt shot through Logan and the frown on Patton’s face just made it worse.

“I’ll talk to my father first,” Logan promised. “He’s a kind man. Nothing bad will happen to you.”

Virgil clearly didn’t believe him, but Logan knew it would be okay in the end.

“We should probably hide him before we leave though,” Logan told Patton. “Just in case.”

Patton nodded and looked around. “Closet?”

“That will be adequate,” Logan agreed. He turned to Virgil. “Those bracelets make your arms stay in place as you have seen, but I can move them at will. I’ll take your arms and guide you to the closet. You walk behind me. Understand?”

Virgil nodded and Logan picked up both of his wrists, pulling his arms in front of him and then using his grip to help the boy stand. He didn’t resist being pulled to his feet or led to the closet.

“Alright, let’s go,” Logan said. Patton had on his unhappy face, but Logan did his best to ignore it. This was the correct decision. He and Patton left his bedroom and crossed to his dad’s room. Logan knocked. He’d expected that he’d have to wake his father since it was still very early in the morning, so he was surprised when the door opened before Logan had even finished knocking.

“Logan,” Father said. “I was just coming to see you.” He was already dressed, and Logan raked his brain for any early morning appointments for today and came up blank.

“What about?” Logan asked.

“There’s been word that Lamir’s new Queen may be considering an alliance with Mocnejsi. Seeing as I knew her mother fairly well, I’m hoping I can talk her out of it,” he said.

“What should I do?” Logan asked.

Father turned back into the room. “You’ll stay here and oversee things while I’m gone,” he told Logan over his shoulder. “I’ll only be gone for three weeks and there is nothing major that will need to happen. Just make sure everything runs like usual.”

“You’re going to be gone for three weeks?” Logan asked.

“Yes,” Father confirmed.

Logan glanced at Patton who had turned to him, hands clasped and was shooting him his best pleading expression. “Okay,” Logan said, “have a nice trip.”

 Chapter 5

Virgil sat as still as he could in the dark space he’d been put in. He could feel the warning tingle of the binding magic at his wrists telling him not to move too much or else. He was just lucky that they’d chosen to use metal instead of cloth to apply the potion and that he’d been unconscious until it dried. He knew from experience that there was no escaping the pain that type of potion brought until it dried no matter how still you were. Now, at least, if he didn’t try to struggle against his binding it wouldn’t hurt him. It sucked because all he wanted to do was move. He wanted to struggle and pull against the binding at his wrist, but he couldn’t. Even if it wouldn’t put him in crippling amounts of pain, he’d still not be able to get away.

So, instead he just shook. He was such a fuck up. He couldn’t even remember the right room and now he was going to die. No, he was probably going to be tortured and then he was going to die. His breath came quicker and quicker the longer he remained in the closet. He’d tried to murder their king. He’d come into their prince’s bedroom in the middle of the night wielding a knife. There was no way he wasn’t going to be made to suffer for that. It didn’t matter how gently the prince and his… person had treated him so far.

He heard the muffled sounds of people approaching the closet and curled into himself. Oh, god he was going to die. He had been breathing quickly, but now he couldn’t breathe at all. It felt like someone had poured tar into his lungs. The closet door opened, and he flinched, curled into a ball and choking on nothing.

“Hey, hey,” a familiar voice said. Patton, Virgil’s mind offered: the other guy with the prince. When Virgil managed to flick his eyes open, he saw Patton had gotten to his knees in front of him. He dully noted that the boy had reached out and touched his shoulder. “Oh sweetie, I’m sorry. Can you breathe for me?”

What was the point? He wondered, but after a few moments, he managed to suck in a couple of breaths.

When he managed to calm enough to look around, he noticed that instead of there being a bunch of castle guards standing around waiting to drag him off to some dungeon, it was just the prince and Patton again. He blinked up at them in confusion.

“There’s been a change of plans,” the prince explained.

“What?” Virgil asked dumbly. “What do you mean?”

“My father is going to be away for the next three weeks,” the prince said. “Considering you didn’t kill the guards and your only targets seems to be my father and perhaps myself, you are likely not a real danger to anyone if you escape and I’m willing to take the risk with myself. With that in mind, Patton and I have decided not to turn you in yet.”

Well what the hell did that mean? Was that good or bad? On one hand, it meant that he wouldn’t be executed yet, but what exactly did the prince want with him?

As Virgil began to freak out about the possibilities, the prince continued to speak, seemingly more to himself than to Virgil or Patton.

“We will need to figure out how to care for you in the interim. We’ll have to provide you with more food than just snacks as well as find you a place to sleep. At least one of us will have to be with you at all times, and with Father gone, I’ll have to attend to some royal duties. Luckily it isn’t strange for Patton to come into my quarters at will.” He considered Virgil with discerning eyes. “Also, your general health seems to be lacking, so I’ll have to account for preexisting conditions. First thing, first though. I imagine keeping you in those bracelets all the time would be impractical. We’ll need another solution, especially for sleep.”

Virgil did not like the sound of that. He assumed based on what the prince had done so far that he’d enact some sort of magical bondage. From Virgil’s experience, magical bondage ranged from unpleasant to legitimately agonizing.

“Patton, if you will watch him for the time being, I need to go work on a more precise binding potion then the one I’ve been using.”

“Sure,” Patton agreed, but the prince was wondering away before he’d even finished the word. Patton shook his head fondly before turning back to Virgil. “Wanna come out of the closet now?”

He really, really didn’t, but he was pretty sure he didn’t have a choice in the matter. He curled his legs into himself as much as he could and waited to be dragged out into the room, but he wasn’t touched.

“Okay,” Patton said. “That’s fine. It’s a pretty nice closet.” Virgil said nothing but did breathe a sigh of relief about being able to stay. It wasn’t very rational because in actuality he was no safer here than anywhere else in the room, but the closet felt more defensible even if they could drag him out of it whenever they wanted.

Patton seemed content to sit outside the closet and leave him in peace for the moment. A few minutes later Patton made a sound and Virgil looked over to see him yawn. He smiled when he saw Virgil watching. “It was a long night for all of us, I imagine,” he said. “Hmm… actually. Wait there.”

Like he could go anywhere else. He couldn’t get a good enough angle to see what Patton was doing, but he could here him moving around the room and rustling through a few things. He came back into view holding a comical number of pillows and blankets.

“Here,” Patton said. He offered Virgil one of the blankets and then seemed to remember that Virgil could not reach out to take it. “Hmm…” He spread out the blanket next to Virgil. “Do you mind if I touch you?”

“Why are you even asking?” Virgil asked. “You can do whatever you want with me.”

Patton frowned and Virgil scrunched into himself at the expression, but it lightened the next moment. “I know it’s a bit of a bad situation and you are technically a prisoner, but I don’t want to hurt you or make you feel bad,” Patton said.

 Virgil didn’t know how to respond to that. There was no way that it wasn’t some sort of trick, but he didn’t dare outright say that he thought that.

“Can I touch you a bit?” Patton asked once again. “Just to help you get onto the blanket.”

“Sure,” Virgil agreed.

The other boy smiled sweetly and grabbed his wrists with gentle fingers. Virgil let his whole body follow Patton’s guidance until he was situated rather comfortably on an unbelievably soft blanket.

“Head,” Patton said, holding up a pillow. Virgil lifted his head slightly and the pillow was shoved underneath it.

 Another blanket was settled over him the next. Patton was weird. “There you go!” Patton said. “Now you can take a nap.”

Virgil blinked up at him in confusion. That was… not happening. What exactly about this situation did Patton think was conducive to sleep?

“…Or rest comfortably at least,” Patton said after a moment. He arranged a pillow and blanket for himself and laid on his side, so he was facing Virgil. He yawned slightly again but didn’t close his eyes. They stared at each other for an uncomfortably long moment.

“What are we doing?” Virgil finally asked when he realized Patton was not planning to ever break the awkward silence.

 “We’re resting,” Patton said, “and hanging out.”

“Hanging out?” Virgil asked.

“Mmm, yeah,” Patton said popping up onto his elbow to peer at him. “Let’s talk some! We can get to know each other.”

Virgil looked at him suspicious about where this was going. “Talk about what?” he asked, eyes narrowed.

Patton hummed a quiet tune and his fingers tapped against the side of his face as he wiggled a bit back and forth. “Do you like cats?”

“Cats?” Virgil asked. “Uh… sure?”

“I love cats,” Patton divulged. “There are a lot of cats in the castle. Not all of them like people very much, but I like to try to pet them! I even made up a game where I get points for every cat that lets me pet it. The grumpier they are, the more points I get!”

 “You… try to pet wild cats?” Virgil asked.

“Uh huh!”

Virgil thought back to the few untamed cats he’d met in his life. “Don’t they… try to murder you.”

“Sometimes,” Patton said with a shrug. He moved his arm suddenly and Virgil startled, but he just rolled down his sleeve so Virgil could see a large, fairly fresh-looking scratch on his arm. “This one’s from Mr. Calico Man. He does not like his ears touched apparently, but he will let me give him chin scratchies!”

This boy was insane.

“I think I’ve pet every single cat in the castle at least once, except for Ghost Kitty.”

 “Who is Ghost Kitty?”

“Oh, Ghost Kitty is the prettiest thing in the world,” Patton gushed. “She hangs out in the gardens a lot, but no one ever can get anywhere near it. She’s completely black and only started showing up about a year ago. I can’t even see her for more than 2 seconds at a time let alone try to pet her, but I will some day and on that day, I’ll get 1,000 points!”

“How many points are they usually?”

“For ones like Mittens and Cleo who I’ve known since they were babies, only 1. For Sandra it’s 5 since she can get a bit tetchy, but usually won’t run away. Lily Flower and Red Hot like to run away, but won’t try to scratch me if I do catch them so they’re 10. Ones like Mr. Calico Man are worth 100.”

 “So, you are going to try to pet a cat that is 10x more feral than the one that slashed your arm?”

“She’s so pretty!”

“You have no survival instincts whatsoever, do you?” Virgil asked.

Patton smiled wryly at him. “I apparently have a couple,” he said.

Virgil blinked at him and thought back, connecting the dots. Only Patton and the prince knew he was here, and the prince had been in front of him when he’d came into the room… “You were the one to knock me unconscious,” he concluded.

“I’d say sorry, but you were coming in here with the intention of hurting someone I care about,” Patton said with a shrug.

 Right. Virgil had almost forgotten amongst his soft tone and gentle countenance that the man laying docilly next to him definitely hated his guts, and would probably relish in whatever the prince had planned for him.

Virgil let his fists clench, but otherwise didn’t let onto his distress at the thought as Patton softly brought the conversation back to the previous topic and continued to ramble on about the different cats of the castle.

 Chapter 6

Virgil had started to feign sleep about an hour after Logan had left to his potions lab. Patton could tell because his arms never relaxed. Patton kept talking to him in soft tones even though he was no longer responding.

 He seemed exhausted, but he was also clearly not planning to sleep any time soon. Patton wondered what had led up to him being here both recently which had caused the dark circles under his eyes and long term that had caused the sunkenness of his cheeks.

Patton’s stomach growled reminding him of the passage of time. He had no idea how long whatever Logan was doing was going to take, but someone was going to have to go to the kitchen and get some breakfast soon. The snacks truly had not been enough to hold them through the night.

 He felt secure enough even knowing Virgil wasn’t actually sleeping to push himself to his feet and walk over to the potions lab door. “Hey Lo,” Patton called. Virgil still hadn’t moved to indicate he was still awake.

“Yes?” he asked.

“How long are you going to take? I need to get food soon and maybe come up with an excuse for at least one of us to stay here all day.”

“It’ll be a little while longer,” Logan said.

Patton glanced back at Virgil. He caught the boy with his eyes open this time and saw him wince at being caught. “Maybe Virgil can stay in there with you well I go get things?”

 “That would be fine,” Logan said, turning back to what he was working on. “Bring him in here if you’d like.”

“Okie dokie,” Patton chirped. He turned to Virgil who was looking up at him. “I’m going to take your arms and lead you to the other room, okay?”

He nodded and Patton leaned down and grabbed his wrists. He went tenser somehow when Patton moved his arms to his front and Patton frowned, but didn’t comment. He helped him get to his feet and led him into the other room.

“You can seat him over there,” Logan said pointing.

 Virgil was looking around the room with wide eyes and Patton had to stop and think about what this room might look like to someone who hadn’t been enthusiastically introduced to every new potion ingredient and piece of equipment as they arrived. There were shelves of ingredients, all organized and labeled. He kept all powders in uniform glass vials and liquids in bulbous containers. Whole dried herbs hung from strings in one area and there were containers of fresh ones glowing a soft green; the preservation spells that Logan came up with himself kept them fresh for months longer than they would usually last.

 Logan had three separate areas for potion making. There was one space for potions that required more dangerous ingredients which currently had something simmering at it, but the enchanted protective curtain wasn’t drawn around it, so Patton imagined it must not be doing anything that could be too harmful at the moment. The table he used for experiments was empty and thoroughly cleaned so he was clearly making something with an already well-established recipe. Currently, he was standing at his table reserved only for non-harmful substances. He was chopping up what appeared to be mint as two smaller pots boiled in front of him.

 Patton led Virgil over to the indicated chair which was out of the way of even the non-dangerous ingredient zone. He still seemed to be trying to take in the room as Patton settled his wrists on the chair armrests.

“Any requests?” he asked Logan.

“Not really,” Logan replied. He glanced up at Patton. “Though if you can sneak me some of the leftover macaroni salad from dinner, that would be appreciated.”

“That’s not breakfast!” Patton chided.

“Which is why I requested that you to sneak it.”

Patton shook his head and turned back to Virgil. “What about you?” he asked.

 He looked up at Patton and shook his head. Virgil looked a bit scared and out-of-sorts. He wanted to reach forward and pat him on the head or kiss his cheek to comfort him, but he imagined that would go over worse than badly. Instead, he flashed the boy a quick smile and then turned to leave the room.

He left Logan’s private chambers and closed the door behind him before walking down the hall.

“Good morning Patton,” one of the stationed guards greeted.

He smiled at her and the other guard. “Good morning Kalani. Hi Owen.”

“I see you and the prince had a sleepover,” Kalani said. “Should we be planning on him not making it to his royal duties until later today?”

“Actually,” said Patton. “Maybe all day. He was feeling a little sick. Had a headache.” It was… probably true. They hadn’t slept a wink last night.

“Hmm,” Kalani said. “Maybe there is something going around. Clover said she had a bit of a dizzy spell last night.”

“Oh,” Patton answered. Clover had been one of the two guards set to watch the door to the royal wing. At least Virgil had been telling the truth about not hurting anyone.

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“I hope she feels better. I’m going to go get Logan something to eat for breakfast since he can’t come himself, so I’ll see you again in a few minutes.”

The guards nodded to him and he turned to walk down the hall. The areas around the kitchens would be pretty busy at this point in the morning so instead of taking any of the busier paths to it, he walked past the dinning hall towards the guest hall and took the staircase that led straight outside. It was a longer path because he had to go around and through the garden, but it was worth not getting in anyone’s way.

 Patton always did like the garden. It was pretty at every time of year. Even now as the flowers started to get sparser in the fall, it was still wonderful, and it smelt great. He took just the briefest moment to himself to splash a hand through one of the fountains with a giggle. He turned away to continue on his path to the kitchen which is when he saw her.

“Oh,” he said softly. “Hi kitty.”

Ghost Kitty was there and stared at him briefly before taking off into one of the bushes.

“Bye kitty,” he said just as soft. He smiled even though she’d ran away because that was the closest, he’d ever gotten to her.