#it is so incredibly cool I can’t even imagine the work that must have gone into getting there

[exopelagic]

THAT GUY WAS A US FIGURE SKATER

[uf200singleproject]

The aim of this blog is to examine Western social perspectives on single women—particularly those who are unmarried.

This is a topic that’s close to my heart, but it’s incredibly important to point out that I am still young. I’m only 19 years old—but that’s the same age my mother married at. That’s just a year younger than the age my sister married at. And here I am, never having dated, save the two-day adventure that was a mutual crush in third grade. (He moved away later that week, but I plucked a flower from a bush on the walk home and told everyone it was his parting gift to me.)

In my life, where the most prominent of many of my peers’ concerns stem from our grades, romance doesn’t come up particularly often. (Yes, it’s obvious, I am still young.) But when it does, and if I’m asked about my own experiences, the response is usually disbelief. My sister insisted for a time that I must be hiding a secret boyfriend, because I was “cool and played games and stuff,” which were naturally irresistible traits. A friend of mine told me just last week that the fact I’d never been gone out with someone before was “probably the most surprising thing [he’d] ever heard.”

Looking at these reactions, they’re tame. The explanations for their surprise are flattering, even. But they all come from the assumption that romance is a goal I’m actively working towards.

I can only imagine how assumptions like these stretch and sour when someone gets to their 30s, their 40s, their 50s… going so “long” without experiencing or sustaining what we seem to think of as a staple of the human experience will undoubtedly lead to less kind curiosities. And I often worry about the thoughts crossing my friends’ minds after these conversations: “If she seems so cool, but she’s never been with someone, is there something terribly wrong with her that I can’t see?”

So, let’s explore. On a societal scale, are my fears unfounded? If baseless now, what ground might they have stood on in years past? In the future? What can we point to to explain it all?

[blu-joons]

When You See Him Shirtless For The First Time ~ Seventeen Reaction

S. Coups:

Your body froze as you rolled across into Seunghceol’s side, placing your hand against his chest only to land on bare skin rather than the usual material of his pyjama shirt that you had become so accustomed too.

“I can’t believe you’ve hidden this from me for all this time,” you scolded, running your hand down to settle against his abs, glancing up at Seunghceol’s eyes staring back at you. “You’ve got a great body; do you know that?”

“I’m only sleeping shirtless because it’s so hot tonight.”

“I’ll take any excuse, especially when I get to cuddle up to a body like yours.”

His head shook back at you, “are you listening to me at all, or have you purposely chosen to ignore the part where I told you that I was warm.”

“Of course, you’re always warm when you’ve got a body that’s hot like this.”

“You’re impossible,” he laughed, pressing a kiss to the top of your head, “I guess I’ll let you stay here, and I’ll just suffer in the heat.”

“I always get what I want in the end Seungcheol.”

Jeonghan:

You were stuck in the spot as you heard the shower turn off, glancing across as Jeonghan pulled the curtain back, flinching backwards as he saw you in the room in search of a hairband in one of the bathroom drawers.

“Sorry,” you nervously whispered, unable to stop yourself from having a peek at his body as droplets of water ran down his frame. “I thought you’d take longer than that to shower, I was just looking for a hairband to use.”

“Were you looking for a hairband, or is that just an excuse?”

“No, I really was. Although the plan has worked out rather well for me in the end.”

His eyes rolled as the corners of your mouth continued to turn up into a smile, “I always knew that you were trouble, but I didn’t think you’d be this bad.”

“I can leave you alone if you want me to and find a hairband later.”

“Why would I deprive you of getting to enjoy this view,” he smugly grinned, looking down at his abs, “I know you like it more than you’re letting on.”

“Really? And there I was thinking that I was being subtle.”

Joshua:

A loud hiss came from you as the sun hit you, feeling underneath the duvet you were greeted by nothing which only left you more confused. As you began to take in your surroundings however, you soon found what you were looking for.

“Oh,” you stuttered, looking across to Joshua as he began to look through his wardrobe for an outfit to wear, his bare chest on shot. “Have you been hiding that for all this time?” You chuckled as he spun around at the sound of your voice.

“What? This? My body isn’t that good Y/N.”

“Are you kidding me right now? Your body is incredible, your abs are insane.”

His head shook as he pulled out a shirt throwing it down onto the bed. “This might be a stupid question, but do you want me to get dressed just yet?”

“I think maybe just keep that top off for a little while longer, don’t you?”

“I thought you might say that,” he laughed, throwing himself down beside you on the bed, “so, my body is good in your eyes?”

“It’s more than good, it’s amazing.”

Jun:

Your eyes lit up as you reached the top of the hotel to find that the swimming pool was completely empty, except for the two of you at poolside. Whilst you made yourself comfortable, before you knew it, Junhui was beside you shirtless.

“That was quick,” you muttered underneath your breath, slightly flustered by the close distance between you both. “And pretty impressive too, where the hell have you been hiding this body all this time?”

“I’ve just never needed to take my shirt off around you before.”

“If I had a body as good as yours, I would take my shirt off at every possible opportunity.”

His eyes rolled as you took off your swimsuit cover up, “I guess I just prefer to keep my body exclusive for those that I want to admire it.”

“Do I get to be one of those people now? Is this all mine?”

“That depends,” he mused, taking a hold of your hand, “if you can beat me into the pool then I guess that you can admire the abs from now on.”

“It’s on! There’s no way I’m losing this one.”

Hoshi:

As you crept carefully down the stairs, the smell of food hit you, walking through the house a smirk appeared on your face as you spotted Soonyoung in the kitchen dancing around the hob as he prepared breakfast for you both.

“Do you always cook without a shirt on?” You teased as he spun around to meet your eyes, trying to keep control of everything that was on the hob. “Do you need a hand with that? I could always be your sous chef?”

“I’m good, you just made me jump a little bit, that’s all.”

“I think you made me jump a little more coming down to see this.”

His smile widened as he noticed exactly where your eyes had focused, “I was thinking breakfast in bed, but you beat me to it and woke up.”

“I must have known there was something delicious going on downstairs?”

“And by that do you mean the breakfast I’m preparing or my abs?” He laughed, watching on as your eyes widened in surprise.

“Both, but the abs are more of a treat for sure.”

Wonwoo:

A heavy sigh came from you as you closed your apartment door behind you, surprised when you looked into the room and saw Wonwoo walking around with his shirt forgotten about in search of his phone charger.

“Have you not gone home yet?” You questioned, letting go of a giggle as his body jumped at the sound of your voice. “Not that I’m complaining, I could get used to coming home to a view like this if you wouldn’t mind it too.”

“Sorry, I was almost packed, but I’ve lost something.”

“You don’t need to apologise, after the day I’ve had, this is a great time.”

Wonwoo’s eyes rolled as he took a few steps towards you, “can you focus on helping me find my phone charger rather than staring at my body like that?”

“I wish I could, but your body is just too good for me to ignore.”

“I guess I’ll just carry on looking by myself,” he frowned, biting down on his bottom lip, “and go and find a shirt to put on as well.”

“Fine! I’ll help, but the top stays off.”

Woozi:

As Jihoon called for the figure who knocked on his studio door to enter, his eyes widened as he realised that it was you.  Your eyes instantly darted in surprise to his bare chest as he sat down at his desk.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” you smiled nervously, not quite sure where to look as Jihoon let go of a chuckle. “Is this some weird ritual of yours that I don’t know about, do you have to write a song in the nude?”

“The aircon is broken and it’s far too hot in here.”

“Don’t blame the aircon, I’ve found out your little secret now Lee Jihoon.”

His head shook as you closed the door behind you, “I’m being serious, sweat was dripping onto the lyric sheets, I had no other choice to cool down.”

“I guess I just picked a very good day to come and surprise you in that case.”

“You must have known,” he smiled, inviting you across to take a seat, “I’m not going to get any work done now that you’re here though, am I?”

“Looking like that? There’s much better ways to spend your time.”

DK:

Your body froze as you heard the bathroom door open, glancing around as Seokmin walked back into the room with just a towel wrapped around his waist, leaving his chest exposed for your eyes to fall upon.

“This is a nice surprise,” you hummed, as Seokmin looked around to see you sat on the end of the bed. “Don’t mind me, I just came back up to look for my hairbrush, but this is a nice added bonus for me to see too.”

“Are you sure you’re not here on purpose in case you can peek?”

“I can’t believe you’d ever think I would do such a thing; I’m just looking for a brush.”

His eyebrows raised, not quite believing in what you had to say. “So, when I heard you talk to Y/F/N the other day about a plan to see naked, this wasn’t it?”

“Oh, you heard that conversation, did you? You shouldn’t eavesdrop you know.”

“You were so loud it was impossible not to hear you,” Seokmin chuckled, “you always get loud when you get excited about things.”

“Well, this was just coincidence, I promise you.”

Mingyu:

As a pair of arms snaked around your waist, your breath hitched as you felt Mingyu’s bare chest press against your back. Your eyes tried to look back and see if he was awake or not, but you couldn’t quite see.

“Mingyu,” you whispered, unsure if he was aware of the way he held you or if it was a mistake you should ignore. “Are you awake?” You then questioned, hearing him hum behind you. “What are you doing right now?”

“Am I not allowed to cuddle up to you whilst I sleep?”

“It’s not that, but you’ve not got a top on, and I can feel your abs against me.”

He continued to hum behind you, “if that’s a problem then I can go back to sleeping how I was before, I just thought you might enjoy a hug.”

“I am, but you’ve never hugged me like this before, never whilst naked.”

“I guess I’m just comfortable enough around you now to do this without needing a top on,” he whispered, “I love cuddling you.”

“And I love cuddling you, even more so now.”

The8:

Your hands rubbed at your eyes, making sure that you were awake as you looked across the bedroom to see Minghao’s bare back as he pulled the curtains apart. As he spun around, your eyes widened at the sight before you.

“Damn,” you muttered, immediately looking away from his eyes when Minghao realised that you were staring at him. “Good morning,” you muttered, shyly pulling the duvet up tightly around underneath your neck.

“What’s got you all flustered this morning then?”

“You know exactly what’s got me flustered, it’s too early for all of this.”

Minghao let go of a chuckle as he perched on the end of the bed, “I never imagined seeing a shirtless guy would make you this way, remind me to never take you to the beach.”

“It’s just you, you’re the problem looking naked and hot and really good.”

“I see,” he continued to grin smugly, “so not all men make you flustered like this, just really good ones with good abs?”

“I never said you had good abs, but that isn’t a lie too.”

Seungkwan:

After the end of their show, Seungkwan invited you down to the sauna with him in the hope of easing the pain in his leg after another strenuous performance, meeting you there, he was already prepared to go in.

“Where do I look?” You chuckled, surprised to see him stood before you with just his swim trunks on, his abs on full display for you to see. “I’ve never seen you like this before; I don’t quite know how to react.”

“As long as you like what you see, then I’m happy.”

“Like what I see? Seungkwan, have you seen yourself? Anyone would like your body.”

A soft blush crept onto Seungkwan’s cheeks as you chose to study his body closely, “do you really think my body is that impressive?”

“Are you kidding me? Your body is incredible, I’m being serious, it’s insane.”

“Thank you,” he grinned, “it’s weird to hear someone compliment my body, it’s a part of me that not many people get to see.”

“I’m glad I got to see it, and now I can enjoy it too.”

Vernon:

A smile formed on your face as soon as you walked down the stairs, with one of Vernon’s shirts hugging your figure to find him stood in the kitchen, hovering over the kettle with no shirt covering hist body.

“Well, that’s a pretty nice wake up cool,” you spoke up, sniggering as he flinched at the sudden sound of your voice. “Did you purposely leave your shirt in the bedroom so I could come down and see all of this?”

“I thought you were sleeping, what are you doing awake?”

“It was lonely upstairs, and I couldn’t miss out on all of this now too, could I?”

His smile widened as your eyes trailed along his defined abs, “I should probably take my shirt from you, it’s far too big for you anyway.”

“Don’t you even think about doing something like that or they’ll be trouble.”

“Ouch!” He exclaimed as you slapped his hand away, “are you really that desperate to see me shirtless so early in the morning?”

“Of course, there’s no better way to wake up.”

Dino:

The sound of Chan calling out your name captured your attention as you came home from work, walking straight up to the bedroom where it came from, stopping in the doorway when you saw him laid out on the bed.

“Hi,” you grinned, unable to hide the gentle blush that began to form on your cheeks, “why did you shout me when you’re currently laying half naked across my bed?” You then questioned, looking at him in confusion.”

“I shouted and told you not to come up yet.”

“Oh, I guess I must have had you wrong, what a shame that was, right?”

Chan’s head shook as he followed your gaze across to his abs, “I’ve not worked out today, so they’re not looking quite as good as they could look to be able to impress.”

“They’re still very impressive from where I’m standing, very impressive.”

“Y/N,” he laughed, waving his hand over his abs to bring you back into the room, “and this is why I didn’t want you to come up.”

“I’ve seen it all now, and I definitely like it too.”

---

Masterlist

[mandos-sluts]

The Escort

The Mandolorian x Fem!Reader

Rating: Explicit

Wordcount: 2.8k

Warnings: Smut, rough sex, mentions of sex work, daddy kink, sharing a bed trope

Summary: You are introduced to Mando, who has been hired to escort you through the outer rim. You recall the one other time you had met him before.

It was around seven months ago that the incident occured. You had been training under Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker for years. But leading up to your escape, you had begun feeling resentment toward your master and the entire Jedi order. You were having an existential crisis and questioning everything you had learned and were supposed to preach. One day, you and Luke were in a particularly bad argument, and you snapped. You packed your bags and decided to abandon the Jedi order.

You were only gone for a week. Luke managed to track you down on some underdeveloped planet, and by that time, you had cooled off and were thinking clearly. You and Luke returned and resumed your training.

The week that you went rogue was pretty uneventful. You seeked refuge in this small mining town and figured you needed to get a job. Unsurprisingly, it was very slim pickings, and your best option ended up being sex work. This was a fine work placement; the job paid relatively well and the owner of the brothel was a sweet old woman who protected the sex workers. Again, the week was fairly mundane and you only serviced a few clients.

**********************************

You had been assigned a diplomatic mission which required you to travel to some planet in the outer rim. You were all ready to go and were walking toward your ship when Luke approached you with some Mandalorian.

“Y/n, I would like to introduce you to Mando.” Luke said. You and Mando shook hands.

“Nice to meet you.” You said with a straight face. The Mandalorian seemed really familiar to you, but you couldn’t figure out why.

“He will be escorting you to the system.” Luke said with slight hesitation, already knowing how you’ll react.

“What!?” You said with confusion and slight offence. “Why would I need an escort? I’ve traveled solo to dozens of planets on dozens of missions.”

“I know, y/n.” Luke said, taking in a breath. “But the Jedi council thinks that it is best to err on the side of caution right now. The outer rim is dangerous and the Empire is growing. And we’ve seen their desperate interest in capturing young force-sensitive beings.”

You cross your arms and turn to look at the Mandalorian. He hasn’t taken his eyes off of you since you shook his hand.

“Why aren’t you just coming with me?” You say turning back to Luke. “What makes this random Mandalorian more capable than me? Why should I trust him?”

“I have other duties to respond to.” Luke says. “But y/n, Mando is the one who saved Grogu and delivered him to us. The Jedi council trusts him completely. He’s fought off the Empire– Moff Gideon, most notably– several times. He is the best one to have at your side if something goes wrong.”

Let out a breath, signalling your annoyance and you turn again to look into Mando’s visor. “Does he speak?” You say sarcastically while maintaining your stare at him.

“Not often.” Mando returns in a deep modulated voice. That voice, you recognize it. You have met him before, you know it. But where? Where could you have met him– then it hits you. The brothel. He was one of your few clients a couple months back when you were a sex worker!

A flood of memories come pouring in as your face gets red. You remember the one thing that made that week exciting, and it was the Mandalorian. He fucked you like no one else ever had. You were sore for days after. He gave you the best pleasure you had ever felt.

You try your best to gather your composure and act like nothing has happened. “So….so he’s just gonna co pilot on my way there?” You ask with your cheeks still slightly flush.

“Well...no.” Luke says. “You two will be traveling in Mando’s ship. The Razor Crest is essentially undetectable, and again, we think it’s best that your whereabouts remain unknown.” Mando visor is still glued on you. You look down and fidget with your fingers.

Luke senses your unease. “Listen, I know you’re not crazy about this arrangement, but you’ll be in good hands with Mando. Alright?” He says putting his hand on your shoulder.

“Okay.” You say back with a nervous half smile.

You and Mando walk in silence to the Crest and make your way up to the cockpit. You feel so unbelievably awkward. Does he remember you? He must. But he didn’t seem at all caught off guard when he was introduced to you?

The Crest departs and you two sit in deafening silence. All you can think about is how the last time you met, he was fucking you senseless over a dresser and wispering the dirtiest things in your ear.

Finally, you gain the courage and turn to him. “So...Do you remember me?” You say.

“Yes.” Mando returns looking straight ahead. He turns his head and looks at you. “Do the Jedi know that you’re a former whore?” He says casually.

“Yes.” You say, somewhat angered by the insulting insinuation. “Of course they know. But I’m not a former sex worker, per se. I only worked there for a week. Consider it a sabbatical from my Jedi training.”

“Interesting choice for a sabbatical.” Mando says.

You didn’t feel like explaining the actual reason for your working at the brothel. He was kind of rude and you owed him no explanation. At the same time, however, his shortness and nonchalant demeanor were kind of hot (actually very hot). He was so confident and sure of himself. He also smelled so good and his muscles were evident even under the beskar.

The trip is about two standard days, and since the Crest only had one sleeping area, you and Mando stopped off at some planet for the night to sleep and eat.

It was already dark by the time you and Mando made your way into town. Just walking down the street, people would move aside or step back for Mando. Nobody wanted to upset a Mandalorian, and you found it incredibly hot that he was so feared.

It was a very small town with only one tiny inn. You and Mando walked up to the front desk. “I need two adjacent rooms.” Mando says, throwing more than enough credits on the desk.

“I– I’m sorry sir, but we only have one vacancy tonight.” The woman at the front desk stutters.

You turn to Mando. “I can stay here and you can sleep on the Crest?” You offer as a solution.

“No.” Mando says. “I’m not leaving you alone. The whole reason I’m here is to protect you.”

Mando turns to the woman. “Does the room have two beds?”

“I’m sorry, but the room only has one bed sir.” The woman says apologetically.

Mando lets out a sigh. “Fine.” He says shortly. “We’ll take it.”

The room is pretty small, as is the bed. You wash up in the fresher and change into your sleep wear, which consists of a snug tank top and some loose cotton shorts. After you're done, Mando uses the fresher as you get in the bed.

Mando exists and sits on a chair in the corner of the room. He crosses his arms, stretches his legs out and puts his head back. “Get some sleep, we’re leaving early tomorrow.” Mando says.

You sit up in the bed. “Mando, we can both fit in the bed.” You say flatly.

“I’m fine.” He abruptly replies without lifting his head.

“Seriously, Mando, I don’t care. I’m gonna feel bad if you sleep on a chair. Come on.” You say.

Mando lets out a breath. “Fine.” He says as he gets up and walks towards the bed.

You scoot over as close to the wall as you can and face the wall. Mando strips off all of his armour except for his helmet and removes his gloves. He gets in the bed next to you, also facing the wall. There’s a good four inches between the two of you, and Mando made a point not to use the blanket.

You’re so glad he got in the bed with you. You want nothing more than for him to fuck you like he did before, and you can’t think of a better way to make that happen than sharing a bed with him. Slowly, you inch your way backwards until your butt is against his crotch. You remain still for a few minutes, but then slightly adjust your position so as to rub your ass into his groin.

Mando twitches at the feeling of you grinding against him and turns around so that you are back to back, trying his best to avoid an erection. But then, realizing he is too close to falling off the bed facing away from you, he turns back around. You shift once again, rubbing your ass against his hardening cock. Mando can’t tell if you are innocently trying to get comfortable or you are trying to tease him. Either way, this is a job for him, so he figures things should remain professional. You, however, were not relenting. Pretending to be drifting asleep, you again roll your ass over this now hard member.

Mando grunts and gets out of the bed and goes to the fresher. He turns on the faucet, takes off his helmet, and releases his long thick cock from the confines of his pants. Spitting into his hand, he gets right into it, taking his length and stroking it fast. He puts his free hand against the wall and puts his head down. He thinks about your tight pussy squeezing his cock as he jerks himself off, trying to get rid of his boner. He grunts as quietly as he can and stifles his moans. Thinking back to that day at the brothel, he thinks of you calling him daddy, begging for his cum; he imagines that your throat is between his large hand and the wall. He comes and lets out a deep breath.

You lie in bed, knowing and just barely hearing what he is doing in there. You are upset; you feel kind of rejected. But you’re not yet discouraged– you got him hard, why should you not reap the rewards? You decide to just double down and do it again, assuming that he won’t take a second trip to the fresher to jerk off.

Mando gets back in the bed, relieved that he had dealt with his erection and hoping you were asleep. But not any sooner did you start back up again. You move and rub your ass against his groin and let out the faintest moan. And just like that, you feel his cock grow hard against your butt.

He let out a hard sigh.

“Stop” he commanded, not bothering to whisper.

“Stop what?” You reply.

“You know what you’re doing.”

“Oh?” You say continuing to grind your ass against his bulge.

“And if you don’t stop, you’re the one whose going to be taking care of it this time.” He said as he lightly grabbed your throat.

Your arousal shoots up at his words and actions, and you can feel it in your pussy.

“Would that be such a bad thing?” You purr.

“What a fuckin tease you are.” He said shoving his bulge against your ass and tightening his grip on your throat.

“Mmmm, don’t act like you don’t like it, Mando.” You say. You pause for a moment and close your eyes. “I would finger myself every night thinking about the time you fucked me. I could feel you in between my legs for weeks after you left.”

Mando hums a sound of approval. “That’s right, pretty girl. No one will ever be able to fuck you the way I can.” He says slipping his hand into your shorts. His fingers glide along your soaking wet folds and you let out a whine.

“What a needy little thing you are, so fuckin desperate for me to fill your hole.” Mando starts pumping his middle finger in and out of you as his thumb rubs your clit.

“Fuck.” Mando growls. “I forgot just how tight this little cunt of yours is.”

Your moans get louder and your mouth opens wider as he picks up the pace. Mando moves his other hand from your throat to your mouth and pushes two fingers into your mouth. You suck them while continuing to moan.

“I went back to the brothel a week later, but they said you had left. I’ve fucked so many other whores since then but none were as good at you baby girl.” Mando says as he adds another finger.

Mando drives his fingers in you at an ungodly pace, hitting your G-spot over and over again. His thumb rubbing vigorously over your swollen nub.

“Fuck, I- I’m gonna cum.” You manage to say.

“Do it.” Mando commands and he grips your throat even tighter.

Your back arches and you grab Mando’s arm that’s fucking you with both your hands, digging your nails into his skin as your orgasm falls over you. You scream out his name and try to pull his hand out of your pussy, the overstimulation pushing you over the edge. But Mando nevertheless continues to rub your clit and finger you hard.

“Ohh, no, little girl. Try to push me away and I’ll just fuck you harder.” Mando says.

Your climax reaches its peak and Mando can feel his fingers getting clenched by your cunt. He finally slows down and pulls his fingers out of you, his grip on your neck loosening as well.

Mando unbuttons his pants and pulls out his throbbing erection. The feeling of it against your butt makes you jump. He yanks your shorts down. He rubs his head through your folds a few times before slowly beginning to enter you. You gasp and grab the sheets of the bed. Your mouth opens as wide as possible as you feel your cunt being impossibly stretched.

Mando lifts his head to watch your reaction. He loved the fact that just a third of his length completely destroyed you. Mando does a few slow thrusts with only half his cock to ready you for the rest. Just when it’s shifting from pain to pleasure, Mando shoves the rest of his length into you as hard as possible. You quite  literally scream at the top of your lungs. Mando knew exactly what he was doing, making you think he was going to ease you into it, before unapologetically thrusting all the way into your hole without any warning.

“Ahhh.” Mando grunts. “You’re the perfect little cocksleve for me.”

He trusts in and out of you while breathing heavily. The bed is banging against the wall every time he slams into you. The room next door is sure to hear but neither of you care.

Mando grunts and props himself up to lean on his elbow. He grabs your thigh and hooks it around his arm, getting a better angle and letting him fuck you faster and deeper. Your moans become outright screams as his unbelievably large cock rips you open. Anyone listening would surely think you were being tortured.

“Fu— fuck! Fuck yes daddy!” You manage to say between thrusts. Mando growls at your calling him daddy.

“You want me to cum inside your pretty little cunt?” Mando says.

You could barely speak, your mouth was wide open and your eyes had rolled to the back of your head. You’re able to muster out a “Y-yes.”

“Beg me.” Mando says as he grips your leg even harder. “Beg for my cum you little slut.”

“Please daddy, I– I want you to fill me up with– with your cum. Until it’s dri– dripping out of my pussy.” You say.

Mando moans and you can feel his cock tightening inside of you and his ropes of his cum coat your insides.

“Fuckkk.” Mando says pulling out of you.

You let out a high-pitched breath at the loss of his member. Mando puts his length back in his pants and sits up on his knees. He grabs one of your legs and swiftly slides you down the bed so he is on his knees in between your legs.

He aggressively pushes your legs further apart, looking down at your abused hole. His white juices are leaking out of it.

“Your pussy looks so pretty overflowing with my cum.” Mando says. He takes his middle finger and traces the lips of your cunt, then shoves it as far into you as it can go. You let out a yelp and your back arches at the pressure. “And I don’t want you wasting a single drop.” He repeats his action, plunging his finger into you. Pulling it out, he brings it to your lips and shoves it in your mouth. You swirl your tongue around it before he pulls it out.

“Mmmm I forgot how good you taste.” You say.

Mando leans over and grabs your shorts, and you pull them back on. Both you and Mando fall asleep quickly.

**********************************

“I should escort you on more of your missions.” Mando says slapping your ass as you walk out of the inn.

You look up at him. “I’ll make sure to tell Luke how pleased I was with your services.”

**********************************

Masterlist

[lipstickstainz]

true lies - s. r. (14/15)

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Series Summary: Spencer is furious, when you rejoin the team after a year and after you left him, when he got arrested. Little does he know, that you leaving him was the only option to ever get him out of prison.

Chapter Summary: Leaving is the only option - right?

Warnings: angst, blood (but not much), break up, drug addiction (mentioned), alcohol consumption

Word Count: 3.3k

A/N: hello lovies. I'm back and my mind is full of ideas! I hope you like it! gif not mine.

Series Masterlist

previous chapter

You watch the coffee in your cup as if it has all the answers for the future hidden in the caffeine. It's eight o'clock in the morning, and this is already your third cup of the sacred liquid, and you're sure it won't be your last. The shadows under your eyes are a sign of your nightmares that haunted you last night. The fact that you have them doesn't bother you, after all, you've been going through the procedure for months. What bothers you is the fact that you couldn't wake yourself up this time. You've gotten in the habit of pinching yourself when it would get too painful, but something stopped you last night. And the fact that you don't know what exactly bothers you the most.

"Y/N." Emily's voice pulls you out of your thoughts and you have to tear your gaze away from your coffee. "What do you think?"

All eyes are on you and out of nervousness you'd like to slide around in your chair, but suppress the urge. You haven't been listening for the last few minutes, too busy with your own thoughts and problems that you can't answer her. The case is supposed to be your last, and you're trying hard to enjoy it and value the time with your friends, but really you're just waiting for it all to be over. Most of all, you want to pack your things and leave.

You barely noticeably shake your head for Emily to continue, and turn your attention back to your coffee, which must be cold by now, but that doesn't stop you from drinking it down to the last drop. Without saying anything, you get up from your chair to get another one, paying no attention to Emily's annoyed look. As you fill your cup in the precinct kitchen, she stands right next to you.

"You're not being very helpful, Y/N," she says coolly as you take a sip. You know her manner is all pretense, because in reality she's incredibly concerned. She only needs to look at your face once to know what's going on in your head, but she doesn't address it. She knows you'll talk to her when the time is right. But you're not sure that will ever happen. "I've already assigned the tasks. You stay here and work with Spencer to gather all the important information that may be relevant to Penelope's research." The look on your face says it all. You don't want to spend any time with Spencer, and certainly not alone, but Emily gives you no choice. Before you can say anything back, she disappears out the door with the others.

With your coffee, which you now wish had a strong shot of vodka in it, you make your way back into the conference room, where Spencer is bent over the table, passing pictures and notes back and forth. You stop in the doorway and watch him for a brief moment, and only then do you notice the narrow, red scratch on his face that stretches from his cheek to his neck. You squint your eyes. It hadn't been there yesterday after all.

"What happened?“, you ask as casually as you can as you sit down and set your cup down on the table. As Spencer looks at you questioningly, you point to his face. "Looks bad." Indeed it does, though it's just a scratch. There's bloody crust in a few places, contrasting in color with his pale skin. Something really got to him.

"Cut myself shaving“, he replies curtly, glancing again at the pictures in front of him. You haven't seen him in two years, don't actually remember who he is exactly, but you still know when he's lying. And when to stop asking and let it go. When Penelope calls, you discuss some stuff and you see Spencer scratching over the wound until it bleeds, which he doesn't seem to notice, which is why you stall Penelope on the phone and grab his hand as soon as the line goes silent. Astonished, he looks at you before looking at his fingers.

"Come with me“, you say briefly and don't even wait for him to follow you. You approach an officer and ask for a first aid kit, which is immediately made available to you. Spencer follows you uncertainly into one of the washrooms, where you already put on the disposable gloves from the box - you don't want any bacteria to get on the wound - and wet a towel from the towel dispenser. Reluctantly, Spencer leans against one of the sinks, waiting for your instructions.

"Tilt your head to the side a little, please." You take the damp cloth and gently dab along the scratch to remove the dried blood. Spencer has to swallow at the touch and you see his Adam's apple bob, and really it shouldn't be that attractive, unfortunately it is anyway. You have to concentrate because this is the closest you've been to him in years. You breathe in his scent, feel his warmth through your gloves, and can barely stifle a deep breath.

"How do you know how to do that?“, he asks softly as you disinfect the wound, and Spencer has to pull himself together to keep from reacting to the burning from the alcohol.

You look at him briefly before turning your attention back to the scratch. „Experience“, you reply, spreading some wound healing ointment over it before taking off your gloves and disposing of everything in the trash can. You then put the first aid kit back together. As you turn around, Spencer is standing right in front of you.

"You didn't tell me you were having nightmares“, he whispers, and confused, you look at him. There's concern in his gaze, and if you're not mistaken, a little affection too, but you push the thought aside, not letting yourself have hope. Hope has only harmed you lately you have not moved forward a bit.

You look once more at the scratch, and then into his warm eyes. "You didn't cut yourself shaving“, you count one and one together and clench your jaws. He doesn't need to answer. You did this to him, you just don't remember. The reason you didn't wake up is Spencer. He was probably holding you, reassuring you so much that your body turned off its protective mechanism. It had certainly been the last time he did that, and you hadn't been awake to enjoy it.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?“, he asks, wanting to reach for your hand, but you take a step back. You don't want him to touch you. You'd prefer it if you weren't in this situation at all. You'd prefer that you hadn't come back at all. None of this should have ever happened.

"It's none of your business anymore, Spencer." Your tone is cool and something in his face changes.

"I thought we were friends."

You have to suppress a laugh. Two years ago, you could have lived well with being friends with him. You were prepared for it then, wished it on him, and meant it sincerely. Only lately you've been through so much that you can't even imagine it anymore. The two years had been hell, but you are sure that you can't live next to him without being able to be with him. You can't watch him and Max be happy together, and even though his happiness is everything you want, you'd rather he be happy with you. But you can't tell him that, it would be unfair and selfish. So you just look at him.

Then you reach for the small suitcase and push past him towards the exit.

-

You're glad when the case is over and you arrive back at Quantico. It's been a week since you and Spencer spoke, and luckily for you, you've continued to be spared nightmares, for which you're quite grateful. Not that Spencer is going to join you in bed one more time to calm you down.

As you walk from the airfield back to the building, you fall back a bit, watching the team joke and laugh with each other despite their fatigue. Most of all, you'd like to leave right now without saying goodbye. Rip off the band-aid, without anesthesia. Short and painless. But your plan is foiled when Emily suddenly walks up beside you and puts a hand on your arm.

"We're going for a drink." She raises an eyebrow expectantly. Apparently she's waiting for you to decline the invitation, and all too gladly you'd like to meet her expectations, but it's almost certainly the last night you'll see each other, at least for an extended period of time, and short and painless wouldn't be fair to her - your best friend.

You smile at her. "You're paying for the first round."

Her eyes widen in delight, but before she can say anything back, Luke, who has overheard your conversation, interferes. "We're going out for drinks?" A grin spreads across his face, almost reaching his ears, and suddenly the rest of the team pricks up their ears. Luke's gaze is fixed on you. "I bet I can drink you under the table by now, Y/N."

„You can’t“, Matt replies, and you see Rossi smile to himself. "Last time you did that, you almost passed out after four shots."

"JJ got the drinks. Maybe she mixed something in“, Luke tries to defend himself, but the blonde raises her hands.

"I'm not responsible for your kindergarten drinking. But I'd love to see you try to drink Y/N under the table." She smiles at you and winks, and you can't help but grin. It feels good to know that all is well between you and the team, even though they know with a high probability that you won't be staying. You'd understand if they were mad at you, but that doesn't seem to be the case. JJ looks at Spencer, who is being less than forthcoming. "You coming, Spence?"

He risks a quick glance in your direction before adjusting the bag on his shoulder. He knows this will be your last night. And that you won't see each other again after this. "I think I'll sit this one out“, he replies curtly, but JJ nudges him and he gives her a dirty look.

"You can't avoid it, Spence."

You'd rather he'd gone home.

The first drinks are on Emily, as promised, and the ones after that are on Rossi, and it's actually not long before Luke is sitting at the table with a glass of water, wishing he'd slowed down. You grin at him from the dance floor where JJ and you are swinging your hips, and he sticks his tongue out at you before putting his head in his hands and sipping water through the straw in his glass.

JJ reaches for your hand and pulls you close before wrapping her arms around your neck. "I'm going to miss you“, she almost yells so you can hear her over the loud music. You smile weakly at her. There's a glint in her eyes, probably from the alcohol, and only now do you realize how much you're really going to miss her.

"I'm going to miss you too“, you reply, risking a quick glance in Spencer's direction. He's sitting next to Luke, looking completely out of place. You look back to JJ and without further ado, she puts her hands to your cheeks and presses a kiss to your mouth. When she pulls away from you again, she just grins at you. "What was that for?"

"I want you to know that we love you. We all do. Remember that when you're lonely, and call if you need anything. You are and always will be a part of our weird family."

You wait a brief moment before pulling away from her and disappearing into the ladies' room. As soon as the door slams shut, tears stream down your cheeks and you have to hold onto the edge of the sink to keep from breaking down. You were aware of how much the others would miss you, but hearing it from JJ only makes it more real. By leaving, you're not only leaving Spencer behind, but everyone else as well, and that's so selfish of you that bile rises inside you and you almost throw up. You wish you hadn't had those last two drinks.

"Y/N?" You don't have to turn around to know it's Spencer. You recognized his voice and can see him in the mirror above the sink.He's standing behind you, unsure of what exactly to do, which is why he buries his hands in his pants pockets and looks at you silently.

You wipe the smeared mascara from under your eyes before turning and leaning against the basin. "This is the ladies' room, Spencer. You're not supposed to be in here.“

"I'm right where I'm supposed to be“, he replies, but doesn't move from the spot. He watches you brush your hair out of your forehead and wipe at your hot face to get rid of the tears. "You don't have to go. You know that, right?"

You look up from your shoes, straight into his eyes. "Yes, I do."

You want to leave the washroom, but his fingers curl around your arm, holding you back. "Y/N ..."

"I can't stay, Spencer. I can't look at you without knowing that someone other than me is waiting for you at home. I can't watch you be happy without me. It's okay, really. It's just that I don't have the strength to watch it anymore." The words just bubble out of you, and for some reason you can't stop. But it feels good to say it out loud, even though you certainly shouldn't. "I love you, Spencer. I'll always love you. But I'm at the end of my rope." You shrug in exasperation. "I have to think about me. I can only think about me." Spencer's face contorts painfully, but you can't stop. "To think that you're about to go to Max's and do God knows what ..." You shake your head, as if it might drive the thoughts from your mind. "I feel like I - I - I can't breathe. Like I'm going to die. And I just can't take it anymore."

Spencer's hand comes away from your arm at your honesty, but only to grab your hand and pull you against him. You bounce against his chest, wanting to pull away, but he holds you tight and presses you to him with his other hand. Carefully, he places his palm against your cheek and gently strokes your skin with his thumb. "Please, don't go."

You look into his eyes, which have filled with tears. "Why not?"

You can practically see him struggling with himself. He wants to say something, but can't find the right words, so he presses his lips together and lets his forehead sink against yours. All he has to do is say it, and you'd throw all your plans out the window and stick around. Just a few words. But he doesn't say them. "I can't ..."

You take a deep breath before pulling away from him, disappointed. „Goodbye“, you whisper, before leaving him alone in the washroom.

-

Spencer sits uncertainly at the kitchen table, watching the tea bag with lemon balm in the cup in front of him. He doesn't actually like lemon balm, but he needs something to calm his nerves and get the trembling of his hands under control as he sits there searching for the right words.

The last time he had felt this helpless, Emily had just left his apartment and he had been about to make some phone calls. The first call would have been to a man who would have given him a different number. The second phone call would have been to a woman who would have transferred him. And the third number belonged to someone who would have given him what he was only too happy to get.

Many years ago, he had sworn to himself that he would never resort to it again. That he wouldn't need it. He would be stronger than the desire to feel nothing more. The only thing that had stopped him was that you would never wish that for him. That you had helped him then, had stood by him. He didn't want it to be in vain.

Spencer hates feeling so helpless, even though he actually knows exactly what he has to do now. That's why he sits in the kitchen in the middle of the night, cup of calming tea in hand, not daring to look at the woman sitting across from him. But he doesn't need to say anything either. She knows why he was at her door at such a late hour. They sit in silence, neither quite knowing what to do. Neither of them has been in this situation before. Spencer is glad she's the first to speak.

"So that's it." It's more of a statement than a question. Spencer nods silently, whereupon she purses her lips. "Because of her?"

Spencer looks up from his cup and looks directly at Max. Then he shakes his head. "No, not because of her."

She raises an eyebrow. "But what? Don't you dare give me that 'it's not you, it's me' tour. I've heard that one before."

Spencer has to think for a moment, find the right words, before he answers. "I've lost her so many times. I wouldn't survive it another time."

The two have known each other long enough. Max knows he's not exaggerating or meaning it metaphorically. He has told her about his addiction, and she had been very grateful at the time that he was so honest with her, even though they hadn't known each other long. Spencer knows that all of this is not healthy and psychologically quite far from reasonable and Maxine knows what she has gotten herself into. But no one could have guessed that it would end this way.

"I'm sorry." Spencer's voice sounds hoarse and raspy. He stands up and makes his way toward the apartment door.

"I hope you make it." There's so much honesty in her voice that Spencer has to smile sadly over his shoulder.Maxine doesn't deserve this. None of you deserve this.

The walk to Emily's apartment is short, but to Spencer it feels like an eternity. The train is late, which is why he actually starts running, afraid of missing his chance. He runs until his lungs are burning and his bag is banging painfully against his ribs.The few people left on the streets look at him askance, but he doesn't care. He's panting, barely getting his breath and wishing he was a little more athletic, but as he sprints around the next corner he can already see the building where Emily's apartment is located.

For a brief moment he considers taking a break, catching his breath, but he can't wait another second. Hopefully he's not too late.

He's not surprised that he can just walk into the building, even though he doesn't have a key. He sprints up the stairs, and runs down the hallways until he's gasping for breath and standing in front of the right door, his head high. He bangs on the door with a clenched fist, hoping it will open and he won't be too late. He can't be late. He can't be late.

Finally, the door opens, and for the first time in years, he can take a real breath.

"Y/N."

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[sondepoch]

HC: They see MC’s sketchbook!

Art. It’s a private thing. Showing someone your work is akin to showing them a piece of your soul, an insight into who you are and everything that lies within. So when the Obey Me! boys get a glimpse of your sketchbook, they find themselves wanting for more—and all in different ways.

Word Count: 6.0k

*Mild NSFW themes for Asmo & Diavolo

Characters: All Brothers + All Undateables + Luke

MASTERLIST

Lucifer

At the beginning of the year, there is 0 trust between the two of you

Not only has he actively tried to kill you, but he’s already so suspicious of the pacts you’re making with his brothers that he can’t help but be wary every time you cross paths

So when he realizes that you’re always absentmindedly scribbling in a notepad every time you interact, he’s more than a little perturbed by it

100% thinks you’re secretly taking notes on his and his brothers’ behavior to use it against them

So, obviously, when he next sees you using it in his presence, he wastes no time in snatching the notebook from your hands

“Oh hey, Lucif—what are you doing?!”

“Nothing you should be concerned with, human.”

“That’s my sketchbook you’re holding!”

“Sketchbook?”

Instantly flips it open and sure enough, inside there’s nothing but doodles and sketches

luci.is.confuzzled.exe

He’s still convinced that there must be something incriminating in the book, so he continues flipping through it. But the more he sees, the more he realizes how wrong he is

It’s only when he flips to the section with his family that he begins to feel guilty

In the beginning, you just draw basic poses. Mammon, glancing at you over his shoulder. Asmo, posing for a camera. Beel, about to bite down on a hamburger. 

But the further he goes, the more elaborate the sketches get, and as he flips through the pages, he can feel the amount of work that has gone into each piece

And then he gets to the page where you drew him

Keep it lowkey, but he thinks his heart stopped for a second

He stares at the picture and wonders if that’s what you see every time he shifts into his demon form, because for the first time since his fall, he can’t help but think about how beautiful he looks. Everything looks so right in your art style, from the diamond on his forehead to the way his wings flutter out of his back.

It’s perfection

“I’m confiscating this,” He says quickly, not looking you in the eye.

He then escapes the room faster than you’ve ever seen, and never speaks of the incident again to you

But roughly a week later, you find a small red book on your pillow, and you know that it's a sketchbook from him, to replace the one he took

And even later—after the two of you grow close—you find your old sketchbook stored in his most secure drawer, locked away with a key he keeps hidden. And you know that he’s spent hours looking through the book on rough nights, through the doodles of him and his brothers and everything else you’ve ever drawn

And though he’s too proud to admit it, you know he loves your art 

Mammon

He found it when he was going through your stuff, absentmindedly checking to see if you had any valuables on you

And the moment he flipped open to see your little notebook of doodles, his mind went B I N G O 

He loves your art the second he sees it, spending a whole hour just sitting on your bedroom floor, flipping through the pages

Adores everything about your art style

And when he starts to see the little doodles you do of his brothers, he’s even more enraptured

You draw all the things he’s imagined but never seen: a sketch of Lucifer dressed in a onesie, snuggling a giant teddy bear. Beel, using a sleeping Belphie as a food tray for a pile of snacks as large as the sixth-born himself. Asmo with cat ears, being chased by Solomon, who appears to be a wolf.

And yet, there are no pictures of Mammon

Man is hurt by the fact that you’ve drawn all his brothers but not him. He’s your first man, after all. You should have been the first person he drew!

Gets a bit upset about it and throws your sketchbook back into the drawer he found it in, stomping back to his room with childlike indignation

Is just a bit petty about it afterward

“Hey, Mammon, can you walk me to school? Class starts in half an hour.”

“Huh? Oh, so now ya want me to do it, huh? Well, why don’t you ask Asmo instead?”

“Okay? I will???”

Soon everyone in the house has realized that Mammon’s being a bit off, and while it was nice at first to have peace and quiet from the resident troublemaker, you guys grow concerned pretty quick

And eventually, you go to his room to talk things out

Let’s just say that when you found out he’d been going through your stuff, you were not pleased. But seeing that he wasn’t going to be the mature one, you sucked it up and whacked the demon on the back of his head, telling him to “wait a second” while you went to “get something”

Cue the retrieval of your second sketchbook 

And when Mammon sees it, he’s not sure what he feels more of: guilt or happiness

Every single page in this second notebook is of him. Only a few are colored, but Mammon finds himself enraptured by even the casual doodles in the corners, where he’s doing little things like eating a banana or flashing the viewer a few Grimm

Man is touched. He’s never had anyone do this for him, and certainly not out of their own volition. So suffice it to say that when he tackled you for a hug that night, he didn’t let you go for a long time

And maybe some other stuff happened too. Who knows? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Leviathan

TSL

The second Levi sees you sketching in your artbook (after an incoherent stumble of words which you assume are synonymous with praise), the only phrase coming out of this man’s mouth is TSL

Begins begging you to draw fanart of the Shadow Lord, asking you to sketch him in different outfits, draw him in different poses, put him in various backgrounds, etc.

Basically wants you to bring his imagination to life

“Oh! Oh! Can you draw him baking a cake now? Wouldn’t that be so cool?!”

Absolutely does the wwooooooOOOOOAAAHAHHHHHHH sound effect every single time you show him your work, even if you’ve only made minor changes from the last time you showed him

He takes you on a spending spree, pulling up Akuzon and offering to pay for whatever supplies you want if you’ll just make him a super fancy poster

And so you start

It actually gets to be a pretty good way to grow closer: every day, after school, you head up to Levi’s room to work on the poster he asked you to make him. In exchange, he lets you borrow his manga and you guys watch anime together

Eventually, boi gets the idea of throwing Ruri-chan into the poster, and the second he thinks it he won’t shut up about it

“Oh, come on! You can do it—look, just put her in this little corner right here!”

“How many times do I have to tell you, Levi?! Ruri-chan and the Shadow Lord are two completely different characters who are meant to be drawn in completely different art styles! If I mush Ruri-chan into the corner, it’ll ruin the poster’s dynamic!”

“But pleeeeeaaaassseeeee?”

Cue extra pouty Levi

Eventually, you agree to make a separate drawing of Ruri-chan for Levi to hang up next to the poster, because you think that otherwise, he’ll go crazy

When the date rolls around where you’re almost done with everything, Levi formally sends out an invitation to everyone of importance

Man invites everyone from Luke to Diavolo over for the “revealing ceremony” where he plans to hang the poster on his wall

Actually tried to get the demon king to come as well, but Lucifer stopped him before he could get an invitation out

When everyone sees what you’ve been working on for so many weeks, they’re all MEGA impressed because hello??? they did not know you were this skilled???

It quickly turns into a competition, with each one of them trying to outdo each other with how vigorously they can compliment you

And soon enough you find yourself swamped with requests from every other demon in the room, begging you to make them something as elaborate as you did Levi

Satan

It’s a system you guys have set up, where every Tuesday and Thursday night, you’ll sit in the common room on the couch facing each other and will simply open your books to do what you will

You always draw, and Satan always reads

And neither will bother the other until the grandfather clock chimes twelve times, whereupon you both bid each other goodnight and wait for the next session where you do it all over

Except for today, that is

“What are you drawing?” 

Ah, there it is

The one question you were hoping Satan would never ask

You subtly (incredibly awkwardly) change the subject, commenting on the color of Satan’s jacket to distract him from his inquiry, and he picks up on the hint, quietly huffing as he turns back to his book 

But the mild irritation he feels doesn’t let him fully delve back into the realm of the nonfiction novel he was reading, so he’s more than a little distracted as he goes back to reading about human anthropology

And it’s in this state of distraction that he notices the little glances you’re stealing every so often, before returning to your sketchpad

Yeah, it doesn’t take long for Satan to put two and two together

“Are you drawing me?”

An incredulous question, asked in such an offending tone

He sounds so irate by the fact that you can’t help but helplessly deny it, muttering something about drawing plants and flowers instead

But Satan doesn’t believe it, and in an instant he’s standing behind you, staring at the sketch in your hands which has oh-so-beautifully captured the essence of him on the couch, engrossed in a book with the light from the flames in the fireplace flickering gently against his skin

The anger at being drawn without having agreed to it quickly melts into a quiet awe for your skill

“Can I see your other drawings?” He asks gently, no longer irritated but actually impressed

“I-I’m not sure if you’ll want to—”

“Nonsense. Show me.”

And so you do

You hand him the sketchbook, avoiding his eyes as he flips to the very first page—and imagine his surprise when he sees that even that is a sketch of his face, though the artwork is significantly less advanced than the piece he just saw. Satan flips to the next page, and then the next, and the next, and sure enough: they’re all of him

“I-I just needed a model to practice my artwork on,” You mumble, gaze fixated on the couch. “And you were right there, so I couldn’t resist...and then I needed a model again. And again. And you were always there, and I know I never asked, but I’m sorry, and if you don’t want me to, I won’t—“

“Nonsense,” Satan murmurs, pressing a finger to your lips. His smile has never looked as sincere as it looks now, his gaze flickering back and forth between your face and the sketchbook in his hands

“I’ll be your model, if you so desire it. Just tell me how you want me to sit.”

Asmodeus

Your model for everything

You’re trying to draw the Hulk and you a good frame of reference? And you need a really muscular model? And Beel ABSOLUTELY fits the bill? 

Yeah no, Asmo’s your model

You want to draw a child? Someone small and short, roughly the exact same height as Luke (who is an ANGEL and would absolutely help you)? Yeah no, Asmo’s still going to be your model.

Want a cute guy? Asmo. Cute girl? Asmo. Cute animal? Still Asmo.

Man refuses to leave you alone - the second he learns that you’re an artist he insists on gracing your work with the holy sight of his body

Highkey wants to model nude

And you’d be lying if you said that he was a bad model—man can hold a pose for hours without moving even a little, his only fault is that he talks incessantly—but you can easily quiet him by saying that you’re drawing his lips - and the moment you do so, he’s suddenly he’s stiller than a statue,  doing his absolute best to remain frozen so that you can capture his perfection

Boi posts 100% of your content on his Devilgram, and while you were hesitant about it at first, now you’re just used to it

Thanks to him, you’re a lowkey celebrity

Like demons love your art style 

It’s apparently very refreshing and human-like as compared to the dark and dreary art found in the Devildom, so people go wild over Asmo’s Devilgram page for it

Man thinks that they’d go even more wild if you drew something where he modeled nude

In fact, it’s lowkey a business deal that the two of you have - you allow Asmo to post your work on his Devilgram (giving credit to you, of course), and in exchange he pays for all your art supplies, acts as your model (though that’s really more of him wanting to than it being your choice), and even goes as far as to keep Mammon apart from you while you work, insisting that you need “privacy” and “quiet” while you draw

100% acts like he isn’t even more chatty than Mammon when given the chance

On the bright side, it’s thanks to these weekly art sessions where you draw and Asmo models and talks that you’re always up to date on the latest gossip. You’re 100% caught up with the fact that Zahhak just found out he has another illegitimate son and that Baphomet just liked Rusalka’s post from fourteen centuries ago

So yeah, the two of you have a mutually beneficial relationship

Asmodeus still insists that one thing would make it better though: him modeling nude

But Asmo is a sweetheart about everything, and he goes out of his way to pamper you 

Specifically, your hands—after all, those are what work your artistic magic!

Expect him to always be peppering your dominant hand with kisses, massaging it whenever you look tired, giving you weekly manicures completely free of charge, all out of the goodness of Asmo’s heart

*ahem* and weekly requests to model nude

Beelzebub

a m a z e m e n t 

Boi is entranced

Like, he’s so mesmerized by your art that he’s not even paying attention to the food sitting right in front of him, simply opting to stare more intently at the drawing you’re holding up so eagerly

It’s quite beautiful, really: The seven demon brothers surrounding you, a reworking of a photograph Lucifer took a few months ago but in your art style. And for that last fact, Beel thinks he likes this version better

“Wow,” He finally manages to say, still too impressed to really think of anything else

He lets his brothers shower you in praise and compliments, silently nodding along and agreeing with every plaudit they thrust your way

But the moment you’re alone, expect to be scooped into his arms and carried to his room

Boi instantly wants to know the process

When do you draw? How long does it take? Where do you do it? How are you getting your supplies? Who pays?

It’s not so much the physical process he’s interested in, but rather the nuances of art that make your work look so you. He’s not interested in learning for the sake of doing, but simply for the sake of understanding because he already appreciates your art so much

Absolutely invites you to his room to have you show him the art process the next time you start working on a piece

And after the first time, then, he invites you back a second - then a third - and then the two of you have settled into a routine where after school, you come to his room and pencil away in your sketchpad, with Beel watching in the background, munching on snacks

It’s quite relaxing for him, actually

He likes watching as you bring a piece together, going over previously flat areas with a second layer of shading to make certain elements pop—and even if he doesn’t completely understand what you’re doing, he’s entirely willing to learn, listening peacefully as you explain what the various tools do

By the end of the month, man has actually memorized all the names of your supplies, handing them to you every time you ask for it - be it something as simple as a request for an eraser or just the blending stump

Lowkey, your work has actually improved since you began working up in Beel’s room

Not only does he have the most comfortable setup, but the man pampers you like royalty, always making sure that there’s water or food for you in case you need something

(And if you do happen to require something that isn’t already in Beel’s room, man will 100% get it for you so that you don’t have to stop what you’re doing)

Honestly, it’s the perfect arrangement: he gives you the ideal working space and you give him hours upon hours of intrigue

And if you happen to begin sitting in his lap one day while you work, something which quickly turns into a pattern, who’s there to stop anything? ;)

Belphegor

Man naps

A lot

And you just happen to be his favorite pillow, so it’s hardly a surprise when all your free time is spent in the presence of a dozing Belphie, always passed out over your legs

So once, just once, you pull your sketchpad out from under your pillow and work on it, a cautious eye trained on the seventh-born’s every move in case he stirs

And when that first time goes smoothly, you pull your sketchpad out a second time

Then a third

Then a fourth - and suddenly, you’re caught in a pattern

It was really just a matter of time until Belphie woke up one day and you didn’t notice

And it’s already too late when the drowsy demon lifts his head, peering curiously onto your lap to see what you’re working on—much to your horror

“Y-you’re awake,” You mutter halfheartedly, a sick feeling settling in your stomach as you watch the demon’s expression shift as he studies your artwork

You hate it

A bubble of anxiety begins to rise, fear over whether he will like your work or call it bad, whether he’ll make fun of your work or tell the brothers, whether he’ll be kind about it or mean

But then, much to your surprise, he flops back onto your lap, utterly unphased

“Nice,” The demon comments casually, stretching as he rests his head along your thigh. “It’s pretty.”

You can only blink as he falls back asleep, utterly confused as to what just happened

He woke up, right? And he saw your art? And he complimented it, telling you that he thought it was nice and pretty?

A sound of disbelief escapes your mouth as you try to process the utter nonchalance with which the whole exchange had concluded with, your shock only interrupted by the light sound of Belphie, who’s already snoring

You groan

But now that Belphie has seen your work, it’s not like there’s much point in hiding it any longer, right?

You pull your sketchbook out, silently continuing to work on the design that the man napping on your lap had said to be “nice,” adding some finishing touches to it 

And when Belphie wakes up, he speaks nothing of the entire exchange

From that point and onward, you become a little more comfortable around him, relieved that you don’t need to talk about it with him

And he gets it

For all your free time, while he naps, you draw, and the two of you find a comfortable form of peace together, an odd tranquility lurking in the fact that there are no questions, no answers, just you and him, the sound of scribbling and snoring, your sketchpad and his pillow

And really, who needs anything else?

Solomon

He’s probably the first one to realize, on his own, that you’re an artist

The two of you have nearly all your classes together, thanks to Lord Diavolo, so it’s hardly surprising when the ever-astute sorcerer picks up on the fact that every time he casts you a second glance, you’re working on some mysterious sketch underneath your desk

Doesn’t really care at first

Until he sees your work

Man actually stops when he picks your sketchbook up off the ground, inspecting the page it had flipped open to after you dropped it

“Holy shit”

Doesn’t even ask for permission, he just begins browsing through the sketchbook, growing more and more impressed with each new page he sees

You only snatch the book back from his hands when you realize that the sketch he’s staring at so intently is one you drew of him, thanking him for picking it up with a huff and awkwardly trying to remove yourself from the situation as fast as humanly (heh, yes that is a pun) possible

Wizard boy stops you, ofc

“Come with me”

“But I have class soon—"

Again, doesn’t even wait for your agreement, man just drags you by the forearm to the library and flips open a book, throws down his own notebook, and demands that you use your “art skills or whatever” to help him

Sigh

Precious wizard boy isn’t very good with words when he’s all worked up

It takes you a good 5 minutes to understand that he wants you to compare the summoning circle outlined on the book with the one he sketched to identify where he went wrong, because apparently you have an “artist’s eye” and therefore you should be able to assist him - and he refuses to believe you when you try to convince him that no, this is not your strong suit and you will likely be unable to help him

He gets whinier than Asmo (probably where he gets it from) and will not stop nagging you even as you try to leave, so eventually you just give in and agree to try to help him - and it wounds up being surprisingly easy for you to realize that he missed the secondary outline of the inner circle, among another few minor mistakes

Huh, maybe you are naturally inclined toward this

From that moment and onward, Solomon decides that you are officially valuable (not only do you have magical potential, but you have an eye for summoning circles too? how UNFAIR) and begins spending all his time with you

Doesn’t really care about the fact that you’re an artist at first—is really more interested in how your skills can be applied

But then one day, after a particularly rough night of going through twelve whole summoning circles for twelve powerful demons, he takes a nap and wakes up to find you passed out on the floor, sleeping on top of your sketchbook where you fell asleep doodling him

Highkey touched

And slowly, he begins casually “falling asleep” around you more often, to see and flip through more of your artwork when he wakes up 

Sigh

Bby is fucking shady even when he does wholesome shit

Simeon

Okay let’s be real

There’s no peace with the seven demon brothers. Solomon is chaotic. Luke, as much as we love him, is just a lot to be around. And even with Barbatos next to him, Diavolo is a walking tornado that tends to wreak havoc whenever he wills it (and he usually wills it).

So honestly, being with Simeon is the only place of tranquility you can find in the entire Devildom

Specifically, his room

*Which is off-limits to all the aforementioned individuals

He extended the invitation for you to spend some “relaxation time” in his quarters whenever you pleased at the beginning of the year, his angelic heart already sensing the absolute whirlwind of disaster you were walking into when you joined RAD

And while you declined his offer immediately out of politeness, you found yourself sheepishly knocking on his door not one week into the program

And now it’s become an every-day sort of thing

So yeah

Simeon knows about your art

In fact, you can’t seem to draw unless you’re in his presence, because at this point, he naturally soothes you so much that your hand is only steady when you hear the sound of his calm breathing in the background

In fact, you work best when the two of you are spread out on his couch, your back resting comfortably on Simeon’s shoulder while he writes (yes, he manually writes all his books on pen and paper) and you put your legs up on the couch, sketching away in your notebook

It’s the very image of peace, something you can’t seem to find anywhere else in this realm

And Simeon, bless his heart, may be a master of calligraphy, but the precious angel cannot draw to save his life - a fact which you have taken it upon yourself to handle

See, the angel gets tired every now and then—understandable, given that he produces literal masterpieces at his hands

And so when he gets tired, what does he do? 

Make incomprehensible doodles in the upper left corners of his papers

So, of course, you’ve taken it upon yourself to bring those doodles to life (even if it requires a half-hour of inspection before you can make out what the sketch was supposed to be) and Simeon loves it

The expression of eagerness that surfaces every time you inform him that you’ve finished a piece is so rewarding, because the childlike glee with which he takes the paper from your hands to inspect it always sends a rush of warmth to your heart as he gushes in appreciation

But uh 

Simeon is a special kind of chaotic, something that manifests every time he doodles something on paper

You stare at the angel in disbelief as he informs you that his latest doodle (what appears to be a banana-looking creature in sunglasses?) was actually a monkey ironing clothes—unsure what to say in light of this information

But it’s okay :) There only needs to be one artist in this relationship, and it clearly isn’t him

Luke

It started with cake

He needed “inspiration” to make something for Barbatos, as a thank-you gift for the pastry lessons the elder gave him, but Luke claimed that everything he made, while it tasted fine, lacked in the aesthetic department

And while normally you would play it Simeon-style, leaving it to the younger angel to handle things on his own so that he can grow individually, you felt too bad watching him discard another batch of cupcakes into Beel’s mouth, rubbing his head in aggravation over how annoying it was that nothing was looking right

So you helped him out

It was nothing major, really

Just eight doodles—subtle yet elegant designs for a triple-tiered cake, childish and bouncy arrangements to store flan, little details in frosting to give cupcakes the added element of specialty that makes them infinitely better

But the second Luke saw your paper, he went wild

Boi was running to the kitchen so fast he barely even had the time to shout “thank you” 

Apparently, your little sketches sparked inspiration in him so strongly that the flames burned til midnight (much to Simeon’s disapproval), but when Luke was finally done with everything, he walked out of the kitchen with a tray of desserts that looked so perfect it was hard to imagine that he brought them to life from your sketches

Luke spent ages thanking you, shoving desserts down your throat even when you insisted that you were full, so unimaginably grateful that you helped him out of what he called “chef’s block”

Each “thank you” was accompanied either a brownie or a slice of mango mousse or whatever new pastry Luke was creating that day, and before long you were getting to enjoy luxury foods on the daily (much to Beel’s jealousy)

Boy only believed that the debt was paid when you told him that there was no debt to pay, that you sketched those quick little doodles for him out of kindness and not obligation

Believe it or not, Luke’s eyes actually welled with tears for a second at that, before he wrapped you up in a giant (is it really giant if the hugger is so little?) hug, wailing something about you being too “pure” and “perfect” for the Devildom, and that one day you would be very happy in the Celestial Realm

You pat his head, telling him that if it truly made him this happy, you would be glad to help him out again and sketch some food doodles whenever he wanted some new ideas

Cue another round of hugs, muffled crying, and sobs about how amazing you are

Barbatos

Barbatos knew, of course

Not because he used his powers or anything, he would hardly use them for something so trivial, but he was aware from the start that you were an artist because it was he who prepared for your arrival in the Devildom, ensuring that you had all the same amenities and comforts you were used to in the human realm

And, as such, that included art supplies

So the very moment he set his eyes on you, he was aware that you were an artist

What he didn’t expect was for you to actually be good at it

He sees your sketchbook when he’s casually strolling through the RAD library, finding you completely knocked out on one of the tables, the spiral binding of the sketchpad still digging indents into your cheek where you lie on top of it

At first, the butler rearranges your position as a courtesy

He lifts your head and rests it on your hand - which makes a much softer pillow -  coincidentally placing your books back inside your bag and taking a moment to organize the papers strewn across the desk

But then he just happens to glance inside

And the second he does, he’s mesmerized

There’s not much in the world that can surprise Barbatos - not after he’s looked after Diavolo, of all people, for so many millennia - but the butler still finds himself holding his breath as he flips through your sketchpad, each piece telling a story so evocative that it leaves him wanting more even when he arrives at a blank page, abruptly realizing that he’s just gone through your entire sketchbook without your permission

Of course, you just have to wake up at that precise moment - sleepy eyes glancing up at the butler and wondering if you’re hallucinating, but the book in his hands is far too real and the shocked expression on his face is impossibly jarring and you flinch, suddenly feeling self-conscious as you realize what must have happened

Barbatos is a perfect gentleman about it, kindly telling you to get more rest so that you don’t pass out in a public library surrounded by demons who want to eat your soul, but he ends the sharp warning with a rather kind remark about your artwork

“I liked the second-last piece best,” He murmurs, casting you a cryptic smile before bidding you farewell

And obviously, the moment he’s out of sight, your nose is buried in your sketchbook, fingers flipping furiously to find the second-last piece you drew which you cannot seem to remember at all, and—

Oh

A flush immediately erupts on your cheeks as you see the colored sketch, something inspired by nothing more than a whim

It’s simply two people on a walk—both of them vague imitations of what your mind had wistfully conjured up—one of them bearing the telltale mismatched hair and olive green eyes, the other sharing a quiet resemblance to yourself - a conscious decision, of course

But just as you’re about to flip off the page, another detail you’d forgotten about draws your attention—and your cheeks suddenly burn in embarrassment as you realize why Barbatos singled this piece out

The figures are smiling, gazing at each other from the corners of their eyes. And there, in the very center of the piece, it is obvious: 

They are holding hands

Diavolo

RIP to Diavolo’s royal painter

They have been replaced

By you

As much as you fought it, as much as you argued that you were not fitting of this position, as much as you pleaded with the demon lord to not force this title upon your shoulders, Diavolo’s decision to appoint you as the honorary Devildom painter was final—and nothing can change his mind once it’s made up

The title is really just that: a title. Diavolo knows that you’re a busy student, and while he honored your artistic talents with this position, he’s not about to actually force you through the expected proceedings of a true royal painter, not while you’re trying to survive being an exchange student in hell with an entirely unfamiliar curriculum in front of you

But on occasion, he’ll send you a text, asking if you’re free

And you’ll head on over to his palace, ready to paint him

And unlike every other demon, angel, and human in the Devildom, when Diavolo models for you, he actually models nude

Asmo is jealous

Sexual tension is high when you paint him, let’s just leave things at that

And honestly, it really doesn’t matter what you paint - Diavolo seems to be more interested in the fact that it’s a human who did the art in the first place

He once saw your RAD binder, noticing the little doodles you’d drawn on the corner of all your papers, and he immediately took them—declaring that they were art to be preserved for all eternity for historical documentation purposes

So yeah

There’s a hall in Diavolo’s palace filled with your RAD math homework, an eternal reminder of the assignments you copied off of Solomon

(You’re not sure what’s more embarrassing: the fact that you’ve drawn some rather inappropriate doodles on those pages or the fact that, despite having copied all the answers, you still managed to get nearly one-third of the problems wrong, and now your mistakes are to be showcased in the Devildom for centuries to come)

It gets to the point where you and Solomon start making bets over how basic you can get with your art for Diavolo to still consider it “amazing” and “utterly awe-inspiring,” as he likes to put it

In honor of that bet, there is currently a banana peel with a few marker doodles on it hanging in a preserved case in an iced room in the lowest levels of the palace, as none of the “art” can be wasted

But in truth, the demon lord’s fixation with human culture is endearing, especially when Diavolo tries so hard to be accepting of it

So eventually you stop giving Diavolo wacky art and actually start putting your full effort into your creations—your reward being the fact that the final piece you complete gets hung in Diavolo’s private bedroom, where he promises to gaze at it every night for the rest of eternity, vowing to remember his time with you every time he sees it

[pigeonp0st]

Hi I love your fics!❤️

Can I request a WandaxReader where Wanda is still new to the Avengers and so people are still pretty afraid and a little hostile towards her but Reader(a trainee or whatever) is one of the few people who aren’t scared of Wanda and the two end up getting close. Idk if that’s too much or not 😅🤷🏽

Wanda Maximoff x Reader #1

Words: 1,561

Warnings: Food, burn

Notes:

Thank you <3 and thanks for my first Wanda ask! I hope you enjoy. Sorry for all spelling/grammar mistakes ;)

(Imma head to bed now...if I can anyways. I’m super hyper for some reason)

———

There’s a new girl walking around the tower when you come back from your mission. You have to ask Tony to explain everything to you so you can understand why.

Apparently she was their enemy...and then their partner, and now a new avenger. You’re happy to have someone else on the team but everyone else seems...skeptical of her.

They get silent when she walks into a room. They don’t make much of an effort to talk to her, and they’re just all around...petty.

The new girl doesn’t seem to mind though. She just sits still and looks like she’d rather be anywhere else with her eyes darting around the room.

—-

Steve confronts you the day after you try to talk to Wanda during dinner. He warns you that she’s dangerous, and that he doesn’t trust her yet. He says not to become too close to her. The rest of the Avengers agree with him.

You just stare at them in mild disbelief. “Steve,” you tell him, incredibly disappointed in him, and the rest of the avengers, “she has lost everything. She looks lonely and depressed most of the time...how could you—how could you find evil in that?”

Him and the rest of the avengers don’t try and stop you from talking to her after that.

—-

“Train with me, Wanda.”

Wanda looks up from the book she’s been studying with narrowed eyes. “What?”

You grin at her cheekily and hold out a hand, “I wanna kick your ass. You can use your powers.”

Her eyebrow quirks then, surprised and apprehensive, and rightfully so. No one else even considers training with her. “I knew everyone here disliked me but I didn’t think they’d want to…’kick my ass’”

Your eyes widen comically. “I—what—no, no, no, I don’t want to—it’s an expression Wanda I swear, god, of course I don’t want to—I mean I do, but like in a friendly way—”

This, this moment right here is the first time you see her smile. It’s the first time you stop and notice how beautiful Wanda is. It’s the first time making someone else’s smile fills you with such a great sense of accomplishment.

It leaves you unexplainably breathless for a moment.

“I was kidding,” Wanda informs you, taking a hold of your hand and shaking it to seal the deal. It’s the first time you two touch. “I’m going to be the one kicking your ass, Y/N.”

She knows your name. Wanda knows your name. “I’d like to see you try.”

———

Wanda does end up kicking your ass, but she does it gently...if that’s possible. You challenge her again and again after that, only to end up losing each time.

Wanda keeps accepting, even though she looks more and more hesitant each time you ask, like she thinks that maybe this time will be the moment you realize she isn’t worth it. That she’s a monster.

You don’t. You don’t get bitter like she imagined either. You just get up each time with playfulness and a tiny bit of awe and fight again, but you never look at her with fear.

To Wanda, this moment means more than you will ever know. To Wanda, this is the moment she realizes that she wants to keep spending time with you, and that maybe this place won’t be that bad. Maybe she doesn’t have to be miserable any more.

To you, this is where you decide to keep surprising Wanda. Each time you get up again, each time you laugh, every compliment you give to her powers, she lights up just that bit more. You want to be someone Wanda can enjoy.

——

It’s about the fifteenth ass kicking that you decide, breathlessly, that you two try to fight without Wanda using her powers.

Wanda agrees cockily, which is why it’s such a surprise when you manage to knock her flat after the first five seconds.

You laugh loudly at her pout, so hard that your body shakes with it, but you manage to get out, between fits of laughter; “why the fuck were you so confident?”

Wanda rolls her eyes at you and kicks your feet out from under you but you couldn’t care less. You’re too busy laughing, and she joins in after a moment.

When the two of you calm down you turn your head to look at her. Her cheeks are flushed from laughing, and her hair is messy on the ground, but to you; she has never looked more beautiful. She has never looked so happy.

“I’ll train you,” you promise her, offering a smile that’s gentler than you intended.

Wanda nods, suddenly sheepish. “And i’ll train you.”

You remind her softly that you can’t use powers like her, but she smirks at you deviously like she’s already very much aware.

“I was not talking about your fighting skills,” Wanda huffs. “I tried one of the cookies you made the other day...and let’s just say they were not very good.”

The glare you send her way isn’t like the ones the avengers have been giving her—it’s completely playful. “I doubt that you’re baking skills are much better.”

“You will see.”

—-

Wanda is awful at baking you learn. The lesson she tried to give you ended with the kitchen almost burned down and the entire avenger squad rushing into the smoke filled kitchen.

What they come to see is Wanda, covered in flour, glaring at black bundles of ash that were meant to be cookies, and you doubled over in laughter in no less of a state of messiness.

Wanda swats at the back of your head, not noticing the avengers, and you try to hug her consoling despite your laughter.

Thus, the avengers realize with no small amount of amusement, that maybe Wanda can be trusted.

No villain can look that upset over burnt cookies, and no villain can look at someone with that amount of softness.

—-

The avengers warm up to Wanda quickly once they actually start talking to her, but she always clearly prefers to spend her training with you, and she never stops your baking session, even despite how awfully they always go.

You’ve also developed... feelings... for Wanda. It must be obvious to the rest of the avengers but it doesn’t seem to be as obvious to Wanda herself.

At least, you don’t think it is. You don’t think she likes you like that anyways...

Well, not until about your tenth baking lesson with her.

—

She’s grinning at you with the amount of joy you’ve finally become accustomed to seeing on her, and holding out (with her adorable mittens) the first set of non-burnt cookies that you two have ever made.

She looks so accomplished and so smug that you can’t help it. You kiss her. Right there in the compounds kitchen, with flour all around, and sugar in your hairs.

You kiss her and she kisses you back, tasting like your favorite dinner, and hot chocolate on a winter day. Kissing her is like coming home after a long day out, kissing her is like coming up for air after being underwater for much too long, kissing her is like—

“Ow!” You yell, pulling away abruptly and looking down at the red burn mark on your hand.

Wanda stands there blinking for a couple of moments, first at your lips, then at your burn mark, and then at the still hot ban still in her grasp.

When she’s able to snap out of her daze she sets the pan down and hugs you, with your burned hand between your bodies. “Sorry,” Wanda whispers.

“It wasn’t your fault.” It wasn’t. You were just too overwhelmed kissing her to remember the pan she was holding. Speaking of… “would you like—to you know...do that again sometime?”

Wanda releases you from her hug to give you an amused smile. “I’ll do you one better,” she says, cupping your cheek. “Be my girlfriend?”

You certainly weren’t expecting that. “Shouldn’t we at least go on a date first?”

Wanda tilts her head, confused and hesitant. “Haven’t we gone on ten now?”

You gape at her, bewildered. “I—um...I didn’t know...you know what, never mind. Let’s just...you’re my girlfriend now. Okay?”

This was not how you were expecting your day to go, but you're not even close to disappointed because Wanda gives you a beaming smile and nods her head repeatedly before drawing you back in for another kiss.

She pulls away after a moment. “I know they weren’t dates, but they might as well have been now, right?”

You wonder if everything you say to each other is going to be a question, and whether or not she’s doing this on purpose.

“Right.”

“Cool.”

“Cool,” you agree, rolling your eyes playfully. “Wanna treat my hand for me now that this is all settled, and since you're the one who burned me?”

“You said that wasn’t my fault!” Wanda huffs.

“Yes, well now that I want something from you it is.”

“Ah, I see. That’s how it works.”

“Yep.”

“Cool.”

“Cool.”

You flick her gently between the brows with your non-injured hand. “Stop it.”

Wanda smirks. “Or what, you’ll fight me about it? Do you think it’ll be your first win?”

“Dickhead.”

“Very professional, Y/N. Very professional.”

[just-a-quirkless-loser]

What Did I Do To Deserve You?

ITS WHAT!?!

Alpha Dabi x F! Omega Reader

Words: 2.5K

Summary: Dabi finds out it’s your birthday

Soundtrack: ‘Safety Net’ by Ariana Grande ft. Ty Dolla $ign

Cuddling with your alpha, Dabi, is always the best. His smokey scent always engulfs your entire being as his strong arms keep you grounded against his chest. He always looks at you like you’re the best thing on this planet. Although, his snuggles are the least of your concern right now. 

Right now, you’re trying to figure out how you’ll survive another minute of the cuddling position he has chosen for this moment. He’s sitting on the couch with you straddling his hips, your body arched into him as he keeps on hand settled on your ass. The other hand is fumbling with a Wii controller, clumsily playing bowling. It’s actually kinda cute how much your alpha loves to play video games (you hypothesis it may be because of how he was treated as a child but, Dabi barely talks about his childhood nowadays). 

The problem, however, is that your alpha has decided to make you suffer. His hardness grinds into your core every time you try to move. You swear up and down in your mind that he does this on purpose to torture you for going to work every day. It’s pure agony laying there, feeling yourself get wetter and wetter after each second. 

Dabi, on the other hand, is having the time of his life. He enjoys the way your core radiates warmth on his dick. Plus, you’ve been at work so much lately that he’s barely had you to himself for longer than an hour before you retire to your shared bedroom and pass out from exhaustion. Your asshole boss has been keeping you in the office longer since you have a big project coming up. 

The alpha within him hates being separated from his omega but, he understands that you need your own independence. Thus, having this Thursday morning with you all to himself has made him incredibly happy. He thinks for a moment that maybe you might be sick (you only ever call out of work if you physically can’t make it) but you show no signs of illness. Then, his mind rejoices at the idea that you’ve finally agreed to quit your stupid job and allow him to provide for you; you quickly shot down this motion and told him you simply wanted to relax for once. He pouts. 

“I’m not giving up hope,” you giggle and kiss his cheek. Kissing him on the lips would be a dangerous game right now. 

“I’m sure you won’t, alpha,” Dabi’s nose flares. Glancing down at you, he runs his tongue along his teeth. Goodness, how have you survived this long in his lap? 

Your starting match with your mate is cut short by your phone ringing. You flick his nose on your way up and yelp as he swats your ass in retaliation. You look back to glare at him but he’s innocently looking at the t.v., looking up at you with puppy-dog eyes. Sometimes you truly cannot believe this same man works for the League. 

“Hello, Momma,” you sigh a bit as you answer the phone. You didn’t expect her to call you. 

“Y/N!!! Happy Birthday, my beautiful girl. How are you enjoying it?” you can hear Dabi pause his game. You silently curse your mother for finally deciding to be attentive to you.

“It’s going good, momma. I took off of work for the day,” by now, Dabi is silently staring at you. His tall figure looms over you as he mouths ‘birthday’ to you. You nod your head, wondering for a moment how the fuck his hearing is so good. 

“You deserve it. It’s such a beautiful thing to turn 17,” you sigh once again. You suppose you were asking too much for your mother to remember your age in addition to remembering the day she pushed you out of her vagina. 

“Momma, I’m turning 20,” you try not to let her ruin your mood. You try to be thankful that she’s at least making an effort. On the other hand, Dabi looks at the phone in disgust. You’ve never really told Dabi about your childhood but, he had picked up over time that you were in the same boat as himself.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry. Time is flying by so fast,” you just shake your head.

“Yeah, it really is. I have to go, ma. I’m getting ready to go do some shopping. I deserve it.”

“Yes, yes you do. I love you, Y/N,” you can tell she feels bad.

“As I do you, momma,” you end the call. You know it must hurt her when you don’t tell her you love her back but, you’ve never been able to tell her that. You care for her but, it’s so hard forgiving her. 

“IT’S WHAT!?!?!” ahhh, yes, you now have to deal with Dabi. It’s actually kinda funny how your birthday has just now dawned on his mind. However, you don’t dare laugh because you already know he feels bad enough for not knowing in the first place. “Omega, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, I don’t normally celebrate it. My boss normally gives me the day off no matter how much I protest. I just wanted to spend the day with you,” you relish in the warmth of his palm as he starts to stroke your cheek. You stare into his deep, cerulean eyes, feeling yourself get lost. “Don’t feel bad, alpha. It’s not that important.”

“IT IS IMPORTANT,” he snaps a bit, nuzzling your head. “It’s the day you were born to be mine. I don’t know what I’d be without you.”

“You’d be the same, just a bit more aggressive,” you giggle. You have no doubt in your mind that your alpha would be single without you. It takes a special kind of person to deal with your Dabi. 

“That’s beside the point. Why didn’t you celebrate your birthday?” your eyes narrow as he speaks in the past tense.

“I DON’T celebrate it because I never got into it. I never really told you this ‘cause uh,” you rub the back of your neck in embarrassment. You know that you owe it to him to at least give him a good explanation. “Growing up, my parents were on really hard drugs. I mostly tried to avoid being in the house after things got bad so I was out working most of the time, trying to survive. I never really noticed my birthday since, you know, I was too preoccupied with taking care of myself. Then, the years started going by too fast till I just gave up trying to celebrate.”

“Y/N, Omega, look at me when I say this,” he cups your face in his hands, his nose rubbing against your, both of your eyes staring at each other. “Never feel ashamed of your past. Never feel ashamed to tell me things about yourself. I will never judge you. I love you so much, baby. Never forget that.”

“Yes, alpha,” and the matter was forgotten in your eyes. For the rest of the day, Dabi treated you like a queen (although, if you’re being honest, it didn’t really feel any different from how he normally treats you. If anything, he didn’t even let you walk). That night, he cooked you dinner and played with your hair the way you liked as he lulled you to sleep.

Once he was sure you were asleep, Dabi crept out of the bed. He watched you for a moment as you whined, hand-stretched out searching for your alpha. Your hand soon found his scented pillow and you decided it would be your ‘faux’ Dabi. It was adorable. Dabi made sure to snap a few pictures before sneaking out to the living room to make his call. 

“Dabi, this better be fucking good. It’s booty-call hours and I know you’re not calling me for that….unlesssss?”

“Giran shut the fuck up and listen. I want to use some of my money to take Y/N on a small trip for her birthday. Not too extravagant. She hates shit like that,” Dabi was already regretting calling the man. 

“When’s her birthday?” Dabi could hear Giran shuffling around with a piece of paper. He could imagine he was probably writing down information. 

“It was today. She just t-”

“What the fuck, Dabi?!?! How could you forget her FUCKING BIRTHDAY?! SHE’S THE BEST FUCKING THING YOUR SORRY ASS IS GONN-” Dabi had to cool the rage of his inner alpha.

“She just fucking told me, you old, senile bastard. She wasn’t even going to tell me. I found out because her good-for-nothing mother called,” Dabi was pinching the bridge of his nose. He was still pissed you hadn’t shared something so important with him. He was even more pissed at himself for not realizing sooner. 

“Oh...my bad. How soon do you want the plans to be made?”

“As soon as possible. I don’t care how much money it costs to get reservations and shit. I just want to treat her the way she deserves. Also, tell Shigaraki that I’ll be out of commission for the days you book. I mean it. None of you better fucking call me,” his voice dropped an octave. “This is my omega’s time. I’ll let you sorry fucks die if you’re stupid enough to get into trouble while I’m gone.”

“Geez, I get it. I’ll tell the others. If it’s for Y/N, we’ll lay low for a few days,” you had managed to weasel your way into the hearts of the group. Every time one of them had come to your home pleading, you took care of them. Hell, even Shigaraki tolerated you. 

“Thank you,” Dabi meant it. “I’ll let you get back to your sleep.”

Then, he was back in the bed with you. You knew nothing of what had happened and he couldn’t wait to see the look on your face when he told you of the plans he (well, technically Giran) made. 

                                                          ***

“Hell no,” why did you have to be such a difficult omega? “I have a job, Dabi.”

“Baby, it’s only a few days. I know you have more than enough vacation days saved up. Just let your daddy take care of you,” you blushed hard. You had been getting ready for work when Dabi told you he had planned something for your birthday.

“Dabi, I can’t just not show up to work. Plus, I have work to do for this project,” you went to step around your alpha when he grabbed your wrist and pulled you into his chest.

“No, you don’t. I already asked your boss and he said you can come. It’s only for a few days babe. I promise you’ll love it,” he was giving you his pout. You turned your head to the side knowing that you would cave in to his demands the longer he looked at his face. You must resist temptation. You must...you must...you...have never seen Dabi look at you the way he is now. He seems so excited for whatever he has planned. You can’t bring yourself to deny his excitement. 

“Fine. What do I need to pack?” Dabi rejoiced in your defeat, smiling down at you. 

“I’ve already packed for you,” your alpha pulls a suitcase from underneath the bed. Ahhh, so that’s where some of your clothes had gone. “I’ve already got the car outside all gassed up, Giran said he’ll drop by to make sure the house is taken care of, and I’ve got your favorite snacks waiting to be eaten by you.”

This man truly loves you with all his being. You spend the next hours napping in the car per Dabi’s request. Even though you’d never admit it, it feels so good to have a break from working in your work cubicle. Maybe, you’ll decide to take a few more days off more often. After you wake up for your cat-nap, you eat your snacks like a good girl, giggling at any of the stupid roadtrip games Dabi comes up with. 

Every time you ask about your destination, Dabi just shoots you a conspiratorial grin and tells you to “enjoy the ride like a good girl.” You squint your eyes at him the first few times as you think about reaching over to grab his dick. You decide against it, your self-preservation telling you that idea may not be the best course of action. 

The day is slowly turning into evening but you don’t mind. The day has been immaculate at your alpha’s side. 

Eventually, Dabi tells you to close your eyes. You do so with no argument, ready to see what your surprise is (at this point, you’ve learned there is no point in trying to protest). You hear the car stop and Dabi helps you out, his hands covering your eyes as he walks you somewhere. From what you can feel, you’re somewhere with gravel. That revelation does nothing to tell you where you are. 

“How much further?” you whine. You’ve been walking for a few minutes now, every so often you stumble over a pebble, making Dabi laugh.

“How do you manage to trip and I’m literally guiding you?” you huff.

“Answer my question fool,” you yelp as Dabi gives you a quick swat to the butt. You rub the sting away and give him an imaginary glare. 

Instead of answering, he uncovers your eyes to the most beautiful thing you've seen in your life (aside from Dabi ofcourse). A log cabin stands in front of you, large windows spanning from the ground to the ceilings. It looks like it may be made of pine wood. Everything looks so polished and poised. But, that’s not even the best part. 

From where you stand, you can smell water. Walking a few steps ahead of Dabi, you can see a beautiful lake behind the cabin, the water glistening as it reflects the setting sun. Hues of magenta, tangerine, and candy apple sprays across the sky. Light is giving way to night before your very eyes and you feel yourself beginning to tear up. The sandy beach feels heavenly on your toes, the air feels calm and fresh, the lake still sparkling. 

You can still hear Dabi behind you as you wrap your arms around yourself. You try to cry silently but, you just end up full-on sobbing. No one has ever done something so thoughtful for you; no one has cared enough about you to do anything like this.

Your alpha doesn’t ask you what’s wrong. He just keeps you against his chest as he lets you deal with your emotions. By the look on your face, he can tell he’s done a good job by consulting with Giran. 

“Thank you.”

“Anything for my omega,” you grin. You’ll have to start letting him care for you more often if this is what he comes up with.

You both walk along the beach, laughing at each other when either of you trip on the mounds of sand. It’s another moment of calm that is reserved for only the two of you. 

“So, you do like the beach?” Dabi looks nervous as he holds you.

“I love it.”

“Good. It’s our beach now,” and, although it sounds innocent enough, you look at him with squared eyes.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I bought the beach,” give it some time to set in. Okay, maybe a few more moments of digestion.

“YOU DID WHAT?!?!”

—————————————————————————-

TagList💕

@sinclairsamess @sakurashortstack

[sugaftrm]

♡ sweet sope ♡

love notes for my mutuals hi everyone, this past week has been full of extra love and wanted to share my appreciation, not just for this joyful community, but for the people who brighten up each day with their presence! 

@blueandtaes - hi my sib, i love you. being in this fandom together is a godsend. through the weeping, the cackling, the impulse purchases, the city adventures and home dance parties, i’m so blessed to be doing it all with you. ​

@zmalik - sabrina shonaaaa you’re one of the first people i followed on this website (i legit think you were the second person after my sister), i dont know why you followed when you did since i was a chaotic mess back then but i am so so thankful that you did! i remember our early convos and i still fantasize about deshi food hangouts in the city, whether that’s yours or mine. you’re the kind of person who in many ways I aspire to be, because you say what’s on your mind without the fluff. I’ve been meaning to ask you why you hate ji changwook btw but I’ve been scared! one day let’s talk about it over chaa nastha? Love you, and sending all my affection to you and ur new kitten!! @yoonglet - hello angel aahana! I feel as though no matter how I try to word how I feel about you, it will always fall short. You are one of the most generous, strong-willed, friendly people I know. Your aura is bright and I am so honored to witness you, even if it’s through this limited window of armytumblr. thank you for believing in me, when I didn’t believe in myself! Your support means everything <3 @artsyjoons - anj! i distinctly remember an early convo we had where we were talking about namjoon doing an srk pose lmfao thank you for understanding what i was rambling about in the tags and initiating a convo with me! every morning i wake up and i see you enriching my feed with your thoughts, your humor, and your captivating energy! please share with me the secret to being so sweet and cool??  @rosebowl - my sweetheart Sharika, when I think about you honestly… I feel anxious and giddy! Because I wonder what luck I must have accidentally stumbled upon to find a desi army friend right here in New York, and that too someone who shares so many of my own values and interests!!?? Sounds like a dream, hope I never wake up! My adoration for you grows every day, please know that I am rooting for you and support you, just how you show up endlessly for all of us! Can’t wait for our future adventures xoxoxo @taefiore - hi my darling raabia! (I hope you’re resting and not stressing when you read this, but if you are stressed I hope this makes you smile) I feel like I have to thank run-on for bringing us together?? I have enjoyed every single one of our conversations and interactions, you’re easily one of the most clever and sweet people on this site! thank you for listening to my dreams, for all your kind/witty commentary on things I post, and for being an all-around incredible person! i know how hard you work and I hope your future is just as bright as you are, love you! @bibillyhillsbaby - lovely helena, are your legs tired? Cus you’re running through my mind oooooh! we’ve said this to each other many times, how fun it is to chat about shows, about our love for these men,™ and more! but have I told you about the times you’ve generated warmth and peace for my soul? your compassion has not gone unnoticed dear friend <3 you’ve made so many of us laugh and smile, lended kind words when we’ve needed them the most. I hope that when you see flowers and trees, you think of all our love blossoming for you!  @kithtaehyung - oh ryen! when you created the ‘still with you’ gfx you officially stole my heart! but then you went and kept it for good when you made the ‘magic shop’ gfx during a challenging time in my life. your empathy and your cheerfulness was a clearing for my foggy mind! you’re a stellar person and i get such a burst of joy when i see you on my feed. if i could handwrite notes for you everyday, i would! <3 @pinkjjoon - sara i can’t remember our first conversation, but i could’ve swore it had something to do with the term “namjaan” lmao! though we’re timezones apart, i am glad the internet brought us together cus i really need more desi army visibility! i appreciate your candidness, your humor, as well as your kind words during hard times. i hope bts gets their act together and holds a concert where you are cus you more than deserve it!  @hazeltae - allison, ive been trying to put to words why i feel so drawn to you and why you always make my day and i think it’s bc you’re a capricorn sun/pisces moon!!! no wonder you have this way of making people feel steady, held while also relating to them on an emotional level! i love talking to you about rj, about yoongi, about totally normal shopping habits <3 thank you for all that you are and for being such a sweetheart!  @gimbapchefs - hello nat!! even though we’re newer mutuals, there’s such a refreshing ease in our conversations that i truly appreciate! i find myself resonating with your thoughts and reactions, and cackling at things you reflect in the tags! i also admire your dedication to your studies, even when you get a little distracted ;) we need more people like you in the field, i’m so excited to see where your journey takes you!  @intronnevermind - hi raf! it’s such a pleasure to be connected here! we haven’t spoken much but your posts and content leave me with a great sense of joy/admiration! i am so impressed by your style and am looking forward to anything you create in the future. thank you for sharing sweet remarks about my amateur content and for being such a lovely part of this community! @ourownwings - wings :) i am so in awe of the creations you provide for the community and all the tender labor that goes into relaying the BU stories here! i can only imagine the time it takes to do that, but you’ve done above and beyond - and i’m so proud of your milestone! i was delighted to chat with your about your life outside tumblr, and wish you all the best in your future endeavors! thank you for being such a sweet, supportive presence in my orbit!  @jintae - padya, it’s likely you’ll see this if/when you return from your hiatus but you should know that i appreciate our exchanges and how excited i was to connect with another nyc bengali army! i hope you are taking care and finding enjoyment during your days <3 i think about your written piece about the impact bts has had on you as well as the publication you created for the community, and am so proud to know that you’ve spearheaded these meaningful spaces for others. i hope our bond can grow over time, universe-willing, and that you get every happiness you absolutely deserve!

to my lovely mutuals who amaze me every time with their creations & their talent, and have given me much laughter/much comfort, i am grateful for you. i have much warmth in my heart for you all and appreciate the conversations we’ve had about life, about bangtan, and anything in between. thank you for being here: @duckjinnie @ayosuuga @yoongisshadow @userjiminie @jinbestboy @mykrokosmos @marvelousbangtan @jimindelune @floraljimin @flowerseokjin @dinamitae @zhujieqiong @thegoddessly @kooseokss @dalbichigom @jinjagi @joonsrack 

[cherryblossomtease]

Chapter 12

18 + only

warnings and summary - Masterlist

Warnings: 18+ for explicit sexual content: depictions of sub/dom lifestyle and lead up to m/m sexual relationship. If it’s not your thing please keep scrolling. Thank you!

~

Is there a word for this feeling? The one that happens when you wake up not knowing when or where you are…

Is it day, is it night? Is this my bed? Is this even a bed? Am I home and if not, how far away am I? So many questions go tumbling around in your head so quickly that you just have to shut your eyes against the bizarre sensation. It’s one of the few that’s happened to absolutely everyone at some point. And as you lie there in bed —yes, this is definitely a bed— you think, no way the Germans don’t have a word for this strange phenomenon.

Inhaling slowly, exhaling even slower, you finally feel it come rushing back to you so that by the time you’ve filled your lungs with a nice deep breath of salty ocean air, the smile that raises your cheeks turns into a silent laugh as you roll onto your side, curling up tight, sliding your hand across the empty expanse of the cool bedsheets, lightly perfumed by the fading scent of his cologne which makes you feel warm all over.

You open your eyes, blinking, focusing, letting the view refresh the last of the memories.

You should have known, you think laying your hand on the pillow where he’d been. You stroke the high thread count like you did his hair and his face as he’d looked into your eyes and your racing hearts settled. How many unnecessary tears were shed for him? How much time was spent worrying that you might never see the man again when all you had to do was trust that no prison could keep Helmut Zemo locked away for long, and you laugh because a year must be a record for shortest maximum security prison stays.

Now, while escaping from the supposedly inescapable is impressive, you can’t begin to fathom how he’s done it and you’re more than happy to keep it that way which is probably for the best as Zemo’s made it pretty clear he doesn’t want you in possession of said knowledge for your own safety. The less you know at this uncertain stage in the game the better. You’re physically far from government detection or any others lookin to recapture the Baron for that matter, still, nothing is ever fully guaranteed.

Luckily it’s hard to feel anything other than at peace as you smile and lazily roll onto your back, stretching your arms over your head before looking down the length of the king sized bed to find the source of light warming your bare skin.

Oh, you smile That’s right.

The matching circular windows are very large and offer views of wild blue water as far as the eye can see. It is the very definition of tranquility.

And just off to the side is a glass door that opens to a large balcony just calling your name. You'll spend too much time out there soon enough you think, imagining falling asleep with a good book and a drink. After all, you’ve got two weeks before you reach France and then it's a quick flight to you final destination of Villefranche-Sur-Mer, according to Zemo.

Two incredible weeks— and to think you’d nearly dismissed that text this morning as nothing but annoying spam.

Luckily something about it brought you back after you'd poured cereal and milk into your bowl. You’d sat at the kitchen counter unable to look away from that single message sent from an unknown number, your breakfast all but forgotten.

It was short and to the point and it reminded you of the kind Zemo used to send what felt like a lifetime ago when the instructions were no more than a time but now there was the added bonus of a location and you were no longer the sole recipient.

The sound of Bucky charging down the hall of his apartment that had become just as much yours since Zemo went away answered the question before it could be asked.

“You got it too didn’t you?” You’d asked him looking up.

Bucky stood in the doorway, hair wet and slicked back from his shower, gripping the towel he’d quickly tossed around his waist and smelling like your body wash which he liked to snag when he ran out of his own. You didn’t mind so much but it was confusing when you were a tangle of arms and legs and other parts that smelled the same…

“It’s a trick. It’s gotta be.” He’d insisted, to which you’d rolled your eyes and considered throwing your phone at his head for saying something so ridiculous. Why would Zemo play a game so cruel. “He’s in the raft” He said your name with a finality that made you reconsider, but when you looked down at your phone again, you knew it wasn’t true.

This was him. This was Zemo.

“Go get dressed. I really think something’s happened.” You’d told him. He’d stood there for a second longer, his face unreadable. But he did turn and disappear down the hall, wet footprints on the hard wood left behind.

You must have been shaking as you waited. You’d been so anxious and your head a mess of worry and hope and fear and hesitation but so much excitement.

By the time Bucky came back dressed in sweats and a t-shirt which bothered you because you wanted him dressed to go, you were completely convinced you’d hear a knock at the door and find the Baron on the other side, you’d always been good at working yourself up into a frenzy.

Bucky had been the complete opposite. You can still see him; a gloomy hundred year old kill-joy.

You remember thinking he might have been a worried at first. A little jealous or scared maybe? Like he’d gotten too used to your life and the return of the man responsible for what you had together could also be the one to see it come to an end which was just silly. James was and would always will be your best friend, but your friendship had long since proven to be more than late night Netflix binging and ordering takeout.

In fact the night before the text, he’d come in long after you’d gone to bed. He’d been gone for nearly two weeks on some grand mission with Sam —off to save the world no doubt.

You were dreaming when he’d slipped in behind you and pulled you close, waking you with the warmth of those perfect lips so soft and full, the touch of his kiss leaving a trail of heat down your shoulder and back, only to flip you over once you were half awake with the strength of that wonderfully dangerous arm. As he pulled your shorts down and found you in the dark, you happily gave in, welcoming him home as only you could, and never once did either of you expect that your unconventional but comfortable life would come to such an abrupt end.

But no, he wasn’t jealous. You knew it because there was something sort of sweet in the look of shock on his face that gave you pause in asking why he was reacting this way.

That, was the look of man conflicted.

As you’d begun cleaning the apartment —certain you’d be leaving it soon— you’d paused and studied him sitting on the couch, alone with his thoughts, phone held in his hand like he’d never put it down. You knew Bucky well enough to know the basics of what he must have been thinking.

The Winter Soldier had been trapped in the living prison of his own body for a lifetime. Now Bucky was forever free to make his own choices. You certainly wouldn’t be the one to persuade him into doing anything he didn’t truly want to do. But you also knew that you weren’t alone in missing Zemo; not after what the three of you had shared and certainly not after what the two of them had come so close to starting.

But that poor dear, somewhat clueless man. For someone who was still adjusting to life in the present day after such a strange journey you tried to cut him some slack. He was still torn, still stuck between worlds. Having to question what he knew about his sexuality didn’t seem like a very fair thing to have to add to the mix, but that’s life. Unexpected to say the least.

He could no more deny his draw to Zemo than he could his desire to be a good person. These things were solid facts; He didn’t want to kill anymore and he was absolutely attracted to this man and presumably others, but yes particularly this one.

But now he was worried that giving in to his own happiness might cost him his friendship with people like Sam, and almost certainly his freedom when he’d only just gotten it back. Not because of being bi-sexual, but, because of, well— Helmut Zemo.

As much as you didn’t want to, you could easily understand the conflict.

Once you’d finished cleaning and packing your weekend bag you went back into the living room and made him look at you. “I know you’re worried about Sam and the others. All those super heroes you know. But what sort of friends would they be if they stopped you from living your life the way you want to live it?”

“Good ones if It means living with an escaped criminal.” His retort was so logical. You hate it when he’s right.

“One that you helped escape before right?”

“That was for a reason. This is all Zemo.”

“Did he really deserve to be in there?”

“Do you really want me to answer that question.”

You did not, so you’d stepped away and gave in, just letting him be.

It was frustrating to say the least but Bucky was not allowed to steal your joy, no matter how true it all was. Unfortunately, he was very much tied to that joy.

When you’d rushed back down the hall almost forgetting your tooth brush, he’d finally gotten up and gone into the bedroom but you'd ignored him, not out of anger but because It broke your heart to think you’d be leaving him alone to his own misery. It was the last thing you wanted to do, but if you absolutely had to you would.

Zemo was the man you’d loved long before you met Bucky, you would not put the Baron aside for another person's moral dilemmas, even if might crush your heart. You would leave and send word of where you and Zemo were and hope that he could join you in time but you had to see Helmut, you couldn’t ignore the message.

However, Sargent James Buchanan Barnes could be a real man of surprise when he wanted to be.

As you finished cleaning up, tears in your eyes for what you would be leaving behind, he’d come into the kitchen with his own black duffle bag and tossed it down on the floor.You’d spun around at the sound of it hitting the tile and kept it together but you could have screamed you were so happy.

He gave you that “don’t say anything” look so instead you just flashed a brilliant smile and kissed his cheek which he dismissed as if he didn’t love it, but you saw the way his eyes lit up. He could have hidden it from someone else who hadn’t spent the last year living with him but not you.

“It’s not permanent. I can’t stay no matter where he’s taking us. But, for a little while I think it’ll be all right."

“Of course!” You weren't pressed, you'd just talk him into it later because as of that minute you’d been too elated to care about time.

*

“So what the hell are these instructions?” You’d asked Bucky in the cab out of the city

“I have an idea.” He said shaking his head a little. He was clearly thinking ‘what have I gotten myself into’ which made you laugh. You could hear Zemo in your head, his answer simply being ‘Trouble’

“Well where are we going?” You’d asked anxious to know more.

“I don’t think we’re staying in New York if that’s what you’re asking.”

You’d quickly looked back at the city, watching the bridges fade behind you, wondering if you’d see them again. There was a strong possibility that it would be a while before you did.

As expected, Bucky knew his stuff. You were definitely leaving the city. The instructions were a time and location as you’d guessed but you hadn’t understood that the second half were coordinates and not for the cab.

When you got out of the very expensive car ride— which you charged to that handy little black credit card that had magically appeared in your mailbox about a year ago (thanks prison daddy)— the two of you stood in what looked like no more than an old shipping yard.

“Come on, I actually know this place. We need to go this way.” Bucky said with his head down and eyes up, his serious face looking every bit the superhero he was when he wasn’t with you. It always made you laugh a little. This was the same guy who also sat around in his underwear watching reality competition shows with you eating ice cream…

“What’s this way?”

“Room.”

Cryptic. They always love being cryptic you’d grumbled following him, feeling on edge as you’d snaked your way through the maze of shipping containers and storage units.

As you came near the water, the rusted out rectangles did in fact clear and the narrow passages opened up giving enough space, or as Bucky had said, ‘room’ for a blacked out helicopter to rise up. It was the sort of midsized military grade machine made for traveling long distance and sitting inside was a pilot-- the sort who deals in silence and cash only transactions.

“What exactly did you tell Sam?” You’d asked once you were in the air with your headset on. “I’m sure you had to tell him something to keep him and anyone else from asking questions.”

“That I finally decided to take a vacation” Bucky’d said, his voice clear in your ears as he glanced at you. He didn't have to ask for you to see that he really didn't want you to make fun of him for it either.

“Ha! And he bought that?”

“I think so. He said it was— a good look for me.” He mocked Sams tone.

You’d laughed rubbing his warm arm and laying your head on his shoulder agreeing with Sam whole heartedly but for very different reasons.

About an hour or more in you’d fallen asleep only to be startled awake by the sound of Bucky’s humorless laughter just in time to see your destination come into view.

“I knew it.” He’d sneered looking through your window.

“Oh my god” You sat up leaning forward peering down at the white oval in the expanse of blue.

“Of course.” The way Bucky could detest Zemo’s opulence would forever amuse you. He’d sat back refusing to look anymore, as if you weren’t about to land anyway.

“It's perfect,” You’d insisted.

“He’s such an asshole” He'd grumbled but you’d caught the little twitch of a smile.

“Shut up Bucky. It’s amazing”

“Its a god damned yacht!” His voice gone high with the absolute offense of it all.

All you could do was laugh.

*

You lie in bed remembering stepping out of the helicopter, your bags tossed out and the bird in the air so quickly it’s like the pilot was never there.

“Still think this was a good idea?” Bucky’d asked as if anything about this might have changed your mind.

Impressed by the private landing pad on the highest deck but already aware of the delights that were undoubtedly waiting below, you’d just smiled and gave his cheek a pat. “Come on.”

Bucky grabbed both bags and you’d led him down the steps and onto a massive deck of beautiful pale wood lined with low white couches at the far end, blinding in the bold sun. Beneath the overhang was a large wet bar, with glasses already set out and an ice bucket, the neck of a champagne bottle greeting you.

“Please miss. Allow me”

You’d both looked behind you, startled to find the old butler Oeznik coming up from the center stairwell.

Poor thing, you'd nearly toppled him, throwing your arms around his neck but you really did adore that wonderful old man. He’d just laughed and hugged you back welcoming you aboard.

You thanked him but no sooner had he offered had you forgotten all about his hospitality.

Your back had been turned when you heard your name said with the soft accented voice that you had missed, craved and imagined for so many months…

“Helmut.” You will never forget what it felt like to turn and find him.

He stepped from the shadows and into the sun and you can still feel the way you’d bit down on your bottom lip to keep from crying.

Those eyes, that hair, his smile; so subtle and sly. You’d nearly forgotten that you could in fact go to him. He wasn’t just a man made up from your lonely daydreams but flesh and blood and so perfectly made.

It took him drawing his hands from his pants pockets— linen pants of all the casual things— to break the spell.

He’d opened his arms to just the right size for you and there was no holding back then.

What had it felt like? You try to remember now, but it's useless. You can remember him pulling you in as though he couldn’t stand another second without you close. You’d closed your eyes inhaling his scent as he touched your face and hair, his fingers brushing along your neck and shoulders. It’s so lovely and primitive the way touch and smell can become the thing that reunites and reacquaints us. You were like two animals in the wild and you’d gasped at the feel of his face gliding against yours, and his arms so tight around you until he'd pressed his forehead to yours whispering things you couldn’t understand as you held onto his forearms giving in to the thin line of tears that fell from your eyes. It was an unexpected moment of reconnecting. You knew you’d missed him, but this was so much more. You’d felt ready to submit to every command so quickly it honestly surprised you. The warm touch of his face against yours, his breath along your neck and finally his lips meeting your own was and will always be your first experience with what people describe as coming home. And then he’d pulled back, looked you in the eyes and simply said “Hello”

You couldn’t say anything back. You just watched him look past you and saw how his expression changed. You still can’t place it… “James.” The way he said his name. God it was so beautiful. You’d turned in Zemo’s arms and saw the look on Bucky’s face. There were tears in his eyes that you’re not sure he was even aware of.

“Zemo”

“How was the ride?” He’d asked politely.

“Fine.”

The tension was charged. There was unfinished business between them that they would need to work out on their own, but you hoped they could do it quickly.

And then Zemo raised his hand in offering. He had after all sent that text to two people.

Bucky hesitated for longer than he needed to, but when he did come forward and gripped the Baron in what he’d assumed would be no more than a handshake, Zemo smiled and pulled him in. He’d let go to hold Bucky by the back of his head for a moment gazing at his face. “I actually didn't expect you” He said sounding relieved.

Bucky gave in to his own feelings and reached out, gently grabbing Zemo’s waist. “Well Im here.”

“So you are.” He’d said, the pressure of such strong feelings for his soldier bubbling at the surface, desperate to be released. But he just stroked Bucky’s jaw with his thumb and smiled before looking down at you. “And now that you are, let me show you both around.”

Sitting up, you rub your eyes and find your clothes tossed all over the place mixed in with Zemo’s.

As he’d attempted to show you and Bucky the ship and explain your route, his hand would linger on the small of your back. He would find your curves as he talked about the endless amenities the yacht had to offer until neither of you were sure if he was talking about you or the boat. By the time you’d come down to the cabin deck, he’d pulled you close from behind as Bucky went on ahead unaware. Zemo grabbed your hips exhaling against your ear and you’re fairly certain it was the moan you let slip when he ever so gently pulled your hair, tilting your head to the side as he whispered something to you in Sokovian that got Bucky’s attention.

“James, please help yourself to anything at all. There are more comfortable clothes in the room here. If you’d like, Oeznik can help you find whatever you need. But— it has been a year since I’ve seen her.” He’d said his grip on your hair easing a bit as he stroked his fingers down your back. “As I’m sure you understand a year without a woman like this is a year too long.”

There was a tense few seconds between them and you worried you'd been wrong about the jealousy, but Bucky's face relaxed as he looked around Zemo towards the back of the yacht. “Was that a bottle of Longrow scotch I spotted in that other room?”

“Ah.” He seemed impressed with Bucky’s keen eye. “18 years." Zemo smiled.

“Perfect.” Bucky winked and slipped past giving your cheek a quick pinch.

After that you don’t even remember getting into the room. One second you’d been standing in the hall lost in a wash of furious kisses and the next he had you over his shoulder charging down the hall to the master bedroom practically kicking the door in.

He’d sat you down and you’d both gone wild pushing and pulling at your clothes only just breaking away from one another’s lips to actually undress with a few anxious smiles, some excited laughter tossed in until finally you were naked and then….

You hide your face behind your hand now remembering how good it felt, even though it’d been strange to have another man inside of you after so long.

There was no sign of your former lifestyle this time as he’d fucked you so perfectly. This time, desperate as he was, Helmut was gentle. He’d picked you up and held you between the wall and his own body, finding you easily, moaning into the space between you as he watched your face. He seemed so pleased to see you react to his attention as you once had, because yes, he was another man— he was the Baron and no one could ever take his place.

You’d ended up in the bed on your back nearly in tears from the feel of being under him after so long apart. Not until he’d felt you nearing your climax did he slip back into his natural state of dominance and only just enough to make the orgasm stronger as he’d closed his lovely fingers around your throat and looked into your eyes as you came and he’d whispered your name “I love you…"

Thank the stars that man is free, you smile wide now letting the lasting pleasure ripple through your body.

You look up and say it to yourself again letting the truth of him being here and you for that matter ground you. This day has been a whirlwind and until this moment you’ve been flung from one emotional state to the next. This is the first time you’ve been alone to process it and you are thankful, but the moment is short lived because Helmut’s escape was no small feat and you are not the only one ecstatic about his return.

Eyeing the closet across the room you feel a twinge of a different sort. Helmut is a planner, you’re certain there’s nothing but extraordinary outfits just waiting to be worn and you decide very easily that it’s time to get up and celebrate his freedom and address the very sexy, very annoying tension between the two men you love most in all the world before it consumes them both.

[five-rivers]

Danger First

Chapter 7

@pocketramblr

.

"Hey, Midoriya?" asked Uraraka, after Aizawa passed out a costume revision assignment and feigned passing out.

"Yes?" said Midoriya, knowing that his eyes were preturnaturally wide and fine tremors were running through his body. He was a wreck.

"Are you okay? Why did you come to class with Mr. Aizawa?"

"And what's that you're holding onto?" asked Kaminari.

"Um," said Izuku. "I was sort of... abducted by the support department? But in a nice way... And they gave me this grappling hook."

"Wow, cool! I didn't know we could get stuff like that from the support department."

"You should really read the student handbook, Kaminari," said Iida, pushing up his glasses.

"But it's so long!"

Iida tsked and adjusted his glasses more vigorously. "You're a student! You should at least be familiar with what is expected of you! Speaking of which, Midoriya, do you know how to use that?"

As much as he could learn from a ten-minute crash-course. "... yes," said Izuku, but it was clear from Iida's face that he had hesitated too long.

"Midoriya! You shouldn't have something like that in the classroom without knowing how to use it!" Iida half stood up, and Izuku clutched the grappling hook closer to his chest.

"No! Mine!" Maybe he was too attached to something he'd only had for a little over an hour, but the support department hadn't been able to give him any smoke bombs or flash grenades due to 'new school regulations regarding explosives' and he'd gone through a lot this morning.

Distress washed over Iida's face, and Izuku wondered if he'd accidentally smacked into some old trauma.

"I wasn't going to take it!" he said, earnestly waving his hands. "I just wanted to make sure you knew where the safety-"

The door to the classroom slammed open. "Is that my little brother I hear?" asked a beaming man in a track suit. Without waiting for an answer, he bounded over to where Iida was sitting and clapped him on the back. "I have come to embarrass you horribly!"

From the expression on Iida's face, this venture was doomed to failure. "I thought you were joking when you said you'd see me today!" exclaimed Iida, beaming.

"Why... why would I joke about that?"

"You joke about a lot of things. Like knowing vigila-"

"Okay! Yes, haha, funny jokester, that's me! Now why don't you introduce me to your classmates?"

"Of course! I have been remiss in my duties as vice president." He stood and executed a ninety-degree bow. "Forgive me! This is my brother, Iida Tensei! Also known as the pro hero Ingenium!"

Izuku could almost see his classmates start to put together the puzzle pieces of Chibiida and extremely tall older brother. He was more concerned about whether or not it would be rude to ask Ingenium for his autograph... and to check his analysis page on Ingenium...

"That's me! And I'll be your special guest TA today! Now, where's Aizawa? You're supposed to have him for homeroom, right?"

As one, the class pointed to the giant yellow caterpillar in the corner of the room.

"Oh my gosh, Shouta, I thought you were joking-"

.

Ingenium was, to put it in a single word, cool. To put it in two words, he was unbelievably cool. So cool Izuku was almost able to forget the impending field-trip-related DOOM they were all facing.

But not quite.

So Izuku slogged through his classes, still thrilled to be there and waning to do his best, but unable to truly focus past the crushing weight of what might happen. His classmates and maybe-friends hovered at the periphery of his suffering, clearly wanting to help, but just as clearly unsure how, or what lines they could or couldn't cross, leading them to resort to painfully awkward normal small talk.

Until they sat down for lunch, that is, by which time Monoma and Iida had gotten into a conversational spiral about how amazing UA was, how awesome Ingenium was, and how UA was truly superior for being able to have pro-heroes like Ingenium come in as TAs on such short notice.

"Midoriya," said Uraraka, startling him out of his fourth or fifth 'Kacchan sweep.'

(It was still possible that his bad feeling was related to Kacchan hunting him down and blowing him up. He'd be mortified about making such a big deal over it if that was the case, but it would be preferable to, say, a terrorist attack.)

(Why did he keep coming back to terrorist attacks?)

"Are you... okay? You've just seemed really down today, and-"

"Invisible hug!" shouted Hagakure before grabbing Izuku and lifting him over her head.

There was a beat of whispering near-silence. Then Uraraka stood up, slamming both hands on the table and inadvertently making it float. "You have got to tell me your work out routine!"

Izuku agreed.

("Strawberry," someone whispered.)

.

"I generally say what's on my mind," said Asui as the Iidas had radically different reactions to the bus seating arrangement.

"Aha," said Izuku. The swaying of the bus plus the strain of probably-Danger-Sense was making him nauseous. "What is it, Asui?'

"Call me Tsuyu."

The first time a person his age let him call them by name since kindergarten, and he couldn't properly appreciate it. Figured.

"I was watching the videos of the battle trials I missed last night," Tsuyu continued, "and I realized, I don't think any of us know what your quirk is."

Izuku's first impulse was to lie or redirect the conversation. Years of quirklessness had left their mark. But on second consideration... was there really a reason to lie? He wasn't going to talk about One for All, obviously, but the rest of it was harmless and bound to come out eventually anyway.

"Well," said Izuku, adjusting the fit of his air filter self-consciously. "That's a good question, actually."

"If you're keeping it a secret, I won't press."

"No, no, that isn't it!" Yes, it was. "It's just that, um, it's really subtle? As in, so subtle I thought I was quirkless until recently. Haha."

"Oh, wow," said Kirishima, "that must have been hard. I mean, I got teased for having a boring quirk, I can't even imagine-"

"Your quirk isn't boring! It's more than enough to be a pro!"

"But what is your quirk?" asked Monoma.

"Um," said Izuku, "well, we're not entirely sure, but... We think it lets me sense things that are dangerous? But I've also got anxiety, so..."

Monoma was frowning, but before he could speak, one of Hagakure's gloves waved frantically in front of his face.

"Is that how you knew I was there?" she asked. "In the battle trial and the entrance exam?"

"Maybe? I think so?"

"You were kind of anxious this morning," said Uraraka, concerned. "Did something bad happen to you?"

"Not- not yet," said Izuku, weakly. "It- We still don't really know how it works, so it could just be the anxiety..." He trailed off. Everyone was kind of staring at him. He pressed back against his seat, wishing there was somewhere to hide.

"Well!" said Uraraka, suddenly pumped up. "We'll just have to keep an eye out! We're hero students, aren't we?"

There was a general cheer of consensus and Izuku managed a shaky smile. So, this was what it was like to have friends.

Eventually, Mr. Aizawa told them to calm down, but there was no heat in the scolding. Maybe, Izuku thought, past the ever-increasing buzzing in his head, today would be okay after all.

.

"Yeah," said Hikage, "there's really no chance of that."

.

The Unforeseen Simulation Joint was an incredible space!

Space Hero Thirteen was about a thousand times cooler in person than on TV!

All Might, in his golden age rescue-specialized costume, looked like he'd just stepped off the pages of a comic book!

But just like Tsuyu's name, Izuku didn't have the ability to appreciate it.

As the other students marveled over the USJ, Izuku watched the adults quietly talk to one another. It seemed to be something serious.

.

"Did you find anything else with the safety checks?" asked Shouta.

"A few of the areas had the difficulty set too high- apparently some of the third-years decided to get some practice in and their supervisor didn't reset everything. Other than that? Nothing." Thirteen shook their head. "No signs of structural failure, no security gaps. Everything seems, well, normal."

"Well," said All Might, "whatever happens, we're prepared!"

Aizawa seriously doubted they were prepared for anything, but the most obvious, most likely things? Yeah.

"What do you think, Ingenium?" he asked.

"Everything looks fine to me," said Tensei, shrugging. "But if it was something obvious, then it wouldn't be so much of a threat, right?"

"We're still not sure how Midoriya's quirk really works," said Shouta. "It could be a threat just to him." He sighed heavily.

Tensei smiled in a way that just about guaranteed Shouta would be teased about this later.

"Well, I'm going to start my speech now!" said Thirteen giving the others a thumbs up. "Wish me luck!"

.

As soon as Thirteen finished their (surprisingly moving) speech, all of Izuku's attention zeroed in on the air next to the fountain. A swirl of dark mist appeared next to it.

Izuku felt like he couldn't breathe.

"Mr. Aizawa-!" But he was already looking in that direction, already watching the man made covered in emerge from the dark hole, followed by a veritable horde of villains.

And Izuku didn't use the term villain idly here. Several of the people he saw were on wanted lists.

Ironically, now that he was faced with real danger, the panicked siren in his head eased off slightly. Evidently, at least some of the strain had been fear of the unknown, and now the threat was very, very known in the worst way, that particular stressor was gone.

"There he is!" cried the man covered in hands. "All Might! The one we've all come for! Nomu! Get him!"

A large villain with an exposed brain who practically sang with danger charged All Might, who grabbed him by the wrist and flung him away, towards the landslide zone. "Ha! That's not much of a challenge! You'll have to do better than that, villains!"

"Maybe," said a villain made of the same mist as the portal that had brought the others. The large villain came charging out of the landslide zone, none the worse for wear. "Maybe not."

"You might be an elite player, but can you fight the boss and protect the noobs you're powerleveling?"

The other villains surged forwards.

This is when Mr. Aizawa and Ingenium jumped into the fray, and everything immediately got more chaotic. Izuku rapidly lost track of the multiple battles occurring around him - except, wow, Mr. Aizawa was really mowing through villains, wasn't he - that Nomu guy had to have a regeneration quirk, there was just no way - he'd have to write down that villain's monolog as soon as they got out, it might have clues - Izuku had no idea that Ingenium could fly and wow that gave him some ideas for Iida-

Speaking of Iida-

"This is no time for analysis! Hurry up and evacuate!"

Right.

"I won't allow that."

Yeah the misty villain definitely had some kind of teleportation quirk, which made this whole thing even more gutsy. Quirks like that were always monitored by the government. These guys must not care about their identities.

"Greetings," he said, a metal colar slipping into place around his neck. "We are the League of Villains. Forgive our audacity, but... today we've come to-"

A gust of air from All Might's fight pushed the mist villain back. But the move had left him partially unguarded, and Izuku watched helplessly as Nomu pounded a fist into his exposed side-

Nomu knew about All Might's injury.

Oh, no.

Izuku didn't have time to process that, however, as Kirishima and Monoma jumped forward, attacking the mist villain.

The feeling of danger spiked, and Izuku barely registered Monoma's bewildered expression.

"Only students... but the best of the best... yes he was right to say you'd be a threat." Darkness spread like an ink stain from the villain's body. Darkness... and portals.

Izuku slammed into Tsuyu and Kaminari, pushing them out of the way of forming portals. He wasn't able to do the same for himself.

"Begone," intoned the mist villain, his voice echoing all around Izuku. "Writhe in torment until you breathe your last."

The next thing Izuku knew, he was in clear light and falling. From at least two stories up, over the flood zone.

And then he stopped.

.

The ghosts whipped their heads around to stare at Nana. She was sitting on a stool, hiding her face in her hands, though whether it was out of embarrassment or fear for Izuku was unclear.

"Nana..." said Yoichi, softly.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry I saw him falling and pani-"

"What did you do that for!" exclaimed Banjo. "He was only fifteen, twenty meters up! Into water!"

"That's twice as high as Olympic divers go! And they screw up their bodies all the time if they hit wrong!" shot back Nana, other emotions abandoned in favor of rage.

"Uh, guys...?" said Yoichi, weakly.

"Who still watches the Olympics?" muttered En.

"If we had to give him a new quirk, it should have been a combat one!"

"You're just jealous that he has Float and not Blackwhip!"

"So what if I am?" demanded Banjo. "If he had Blackwhip, he wouldn't need that stupid grappling hook gun!"

"So, you admit Blackwhip is just a glorified grappling hook?"

"Better than a glorified- glorified-" He puffed out his cheeks. "I'm going to give him Blackwhip right now!"

"NO!" shouted the other ghosts.

"Banjo," said En, "what do you remember about people who All for One gave three quirks to?"

Banjo went pale.

"Oh, hell," said Banjo. "I'm sorry, I got carried away."

"You can say that again," grumbled Nana.

"But," continued Banjo, "doesn't this mean we can't give him the stockpile?"

They turned to Yoichi, who was far and away the expert on the stockpile quirk. He held up his hands and offered a sick, shaky smile. "We've already started the process of giving him stockpile access. There's... there's really no way to stop it."

Nana started swearing, and even Second and Third looked tense.

"But that's borrowing trouble! Maybe he'll be compatable?"

"With three quirks?"

"It's possible!" protested Yoichi. "I mean, he's- um, he's got One for All? Maybe it's more like All for One than we thought?"

"Disgusting."

"No."

"Absolutely not."

"Never say that again."

"But, again, that's a future problem, unlike the villain attack, which is a now problem."

"I see what you're saying," said En, "but we can't do anything about the villain attack, but we could theoretically do something about quirk troubles. Unless you'd rather watch helplessly while our latest-possibly-last holder is murdered?"

Yoichi sighed. "Okay, yeah, let's take a look."

.

Izuku's first thought was that Uraraka must have tagged him, but he had been way too far away from her for her to do that. Unless she had run at him when he dove for Tsuyu? Tsuyu had maybe sort of been between them...

But, no, this didn't feel like Uraraka's quirk. He'd only experienced it a couple of times, but it felt like falling. This felt more like floating on the surface of a pool.

This was, he realized as he drifted helplessly upwards and slightly sideways, Shimura Nana's quirk.

It would be really, really cool if the circumstances were different or if he had any control over the quirk whatsoever. As it was, he didn't appreciate the way he was getting progressively higher. Hitting the water at his previous height would have sucked, but he probably would have survived. Now? Not so much. So, if the quirk decided to stop as suddenly as it had started, he was doomed.

Beyond doomed.

He'd be dead.

Wait! The grappling hook!

He pulled it carefully out of its holster, making sure to wrap the loop around his wrist. He could get back to the ground with the grappling hook, anchor himself at a decent height and make use of this, or even attack, but if he dropped it...

Well. Doom and all that.

His best bet was the top of the downpour zone. It was the closest structure by far. He lined up his sights, fired, and watched as the hook fell several meters short.

That was less than ideal.

He rolled over and looked up. He wasn't that far from the ceiling-

Danger Sense screamed at him, and he was falling, just in time to miss getting hit by a jet of water from below. Izuku, naturally, started screaming as well and fired the grappling hook blindly. He rejoiced as a metallic thunk told him it had hit something and immediately hit the stop button, almost wrenching his shoulders out of their sockets. However, his joy quickly turned to horror as he realized he was now headed toward the hard, unforgiving side of the downpour zone at a dangerously high speed. He squeezed his eyes shut.

Float turned back on.

Izuku let out a somewhat pathetic whine in relief, and hit the retract button on the grappling hook gun, letting it pull him up to the roof.

From here, he had an acceptable view of the rest of the USJ. He shaded his eyes to look back at the main plaza and entrance. He could see Eraserhead and Ingenium fighting back to back in the central plaza. All Might and Nomu were tearing up trees in one of the forested areas, and near the entrance he could see Thirteen, Iida, Uraraka, Shouji, Sato, Sero, and Ashido facing down the mist villain. Hopefully, with those numbers, they'd be able to get past him.

Looking elsewhere, Izuku had to assume Todoroki was in the landslide zone, with the spiky ring of ice in the middle of it. He must be holding back. He could make out a fight happening in the mountain zone, but couldn't tell who was involved.

That was more than half the class unaccounted for, including Tsuyu and Kaminari, who he'd thought he'd pushed away from portals. They were probably in the other zones, but...

He took a deep breath. Focus. Where would he do the most good? Danger Sense couldn't tell him that right now, with all these bright threats all around him. He had to decide on his own.

The fight in the mountain area wasn't going well. The number of visible villains was only increasing.

Could Izuku get there? He bit his lip as he contemplated the distance, then jogged back to the opposite side of the downpour zone roof.

Then he ran.

Then he-

-jumped-

-off the roof.

Float activated at the top of the arc of his jump, and his momentum sent him tumbling forward towards the mountain zone. As he approached and began to slow (air resistance still being a thing, apparently), he was able to see Yaoyorozu and Jiro fighting for their lives. Yaoyorozu did not look good.

This wasn't a great way to be proven right about her quirk having drawbacks.

He aimed the grappling hook at one of the larger, closer villains, not really caring about how much damage it would do, and fired.

.

"Wow," said En. "Kid definitely has a bit of a ruthless streak."

"Imagine how much better he'd do with Blackwhip."

"He wouldn't have been able to get there in the first place without Float."

"Honestly," continued En, "I don't get why Second and Third don't like him. They never shut up about Nana and Eighth being too soft, after all."

"What? They said that stuff about me, too?"

"Yeah, I think they're just unsatsifiable at this point. It's annoying."

"I was much more violent and ruthless than Toshi, though."

"I know."

"Yoichi," said Hikage. "I'm not seeing any sign of additional stress on Ninth's body."

"That's because Izuku is the best."

"Or," said En, "it's because he's only had Nana's quirk for, like, five, ten minutes, tops."

"Or because he's the best. Just look at how he's helped his friends defeat all those villains!"

"Compelling argument," said Hikage.

.

"What- what now?" asked Yaoyorozu, holding herself up with one of her staffs. The mountain zone was littered with various weapons and shrapnel from Yaoyorozu's quirk use. This included a canon. Which was really cool, but seemed a bit over the top... and maybe not the most efficient thing to make, considering Yaoyorozu's limitations.

"I don't know," admitted Izuku. He'd been flung around the field as a makeshift flail/bola by the girls a few times, and was a little dizzy.

He looked back out at the battles still taking place in the plaza. "I think... Maybe we should go down, and make our way around the edge to the entrance. We could pick up Todoroki and see if there's anyone in the ruins zone who needs help-"

Then he saw the hand villain step forward, facing down Eraserhead as Ingenium was lured away in defense of Tsuyu and Kaminari, who had just run out of the wooded area, trailing villains. Danger flared in his mind's eye, and, for the second time in his life, his body moved by itself.

[akitokihojo]

Monster - Chapter 17

chapter index

Rushing water filled Kagome’s ears, the feeling of being pulled under a rushing current, unable to fight her way to the surface. She could barely see through her struggle, but she felt the restraint on her lungs as they burned for air. Her fingers extended as she reached, and reached, and reached, always falling short of the surface as bubbles rode around her from the tumbling roll of the river.

Deep brown eyes blinked open to be greeted by light fluttering through the white curtains of the window, hitting the cabin-like, wooden wall opposite. It was early. The air was crisp, chilly, and after checking blearily to see that her hands were clean, Kagome inadvertently tucked her arms under the comforter to cuddle up in the warmth beneath. If that was the nightmare she suffered from after everything, then she couldn’t help but consider herself lucky. It still shook her, that was undeniable. But, for some reason, it was incomparable to Kikyo’s death or the evil in Naraku’s stare.

Kagome didn’t want to close her eyes again and risk seeing either right now, so she continued to blink her drowsiness away. She’d kill for more sleep, truthfully. She was absolutely exhausted still. But, she was scared.

And, she had to pee.

With a little wiggle to begrudgingly crawl herself closer to the edge of the mattress, Kagome registered the large hand contentedly resting on her hip. She glanced over her shoulder then, noticing her significant other in a deep sleep behind her. It was impossible not to have observed just how gorgeous his eyelashes were before, but now that he was unconscious, eyelids closed, the way the long length of the silver lashes rested against his cheek had her envious. At some point in the night, Inuyasha must have taken his hair down, silky strands of pearl curving over his shoulder and in front of his chest. His bangs fell to the side, and she could see the cut on his forehead was significantly smaller in size, the bruise around it already faded to an extremely light shade of yellow.

In the morning light, how it only managed to hit the side of his cheek as he faced away from the window, Inuyasha almost appeared angelic. Maybe it was her biased mind, how infatuated she was with the man, but his skin tone harbored an ethereal glow. It wasn’t often that she got to see him sleep. She was typically the one that crashed first, and he had the tendency to go days without before his fatigue caught up to him. But, here he was now. His right arm was curled beneath his head on top of the pillow, his mouth was relaxed, his brow wasn’t creased in normal Inuyasha fashion, his breathing was deep and rhythmic, and a heavy palm protectively laid on top of her hip. Suddenly, she was incredibly apprehensive to wake him.

Kagome moved as carefully as possible, removing his wrist from her body and ever so gently placing it to rest on the bed. Slowly, she scooted herself to the edge, feeling she was in the clear to remove the blanket from her body and sit up, but the moment she lifted to an upright position, her entire torso flinched. Holy crap, she was so freaking sore. Kagome had tensed rigidly enough to prevent her audible gasp, but the jolt, itself, was what she worried about disturbing Inuyasha with, so she slowly turned around, holding her breath, noticing his state hadn’t changed. Thank goodness.

Every motion had Kagome wishing she could just lay in bed like a starfish. Can’t feel pain if you’re not moving. Her muscles burned with each step she took, and she wanted to groan like an old man as if it would release some of the stress she was under. It had to have been her struggle to swim in the river. Logically, she was putting all of her strength into her efforts to get out, so it made the most sense.

Instinctually, her hands were cupping her bare breasts. She was still nude, the air was nippy, and she was overtly aware of how naked she was in the open, so Kagome looked around for some clothing. Inuyasha’s discarded shirt from the day before lay not too far on the floor, but it wasn’t in the best condition. Otherwise, if she wanted an easy route, her towel was near the wall, but it only made her lip curl in dissatisfaction. Her only other option was to dig in her bag for something.

As quietly as she could, crouching down in front of the sack, Kagome opened the top pouch by loosening the drawstring, cringing with each little noise she made and peeking over to the hanyou to make sure she hadn’t woken him up. Inuyasha hadn’t moved, nor had the rise and fall of his chest changed. She was still good. Reaching in, Kagome grabbed the first thing on top, unfolding it to quickly see what it was and noticing it was her boyfriend’s shirt. With a little, pleasant wiggle, Kagome pulled the baggy garment over her head, letting it tent over her.

Perfect.

No pants necessary. No underwear necessary. His shirts were like wearing a dress. A very short dress, but a dress nonetheless, the bottom hem landing just above mid thigh.

Kagome snuggled into the sleeves, picking herself up to stalk off to the bathroom, enshrouded by his familiar, woodsy scent. After relieving herself, she took a look in the mirror. Her long, raven hair was in total disarray; tangled, poking up at the side, fly aways having a field day of their own, and waves looking as wild as a cluster of forest vines. Inuyasha was a lucky, lucky man, that was for sure.

She ran her fingers through her hair, wincing when they snagged in ruthless tangles that she had to carefully crawl through so she didn’t risk ripping chunks out of her scalp. At least, that was what it felt like. As skillfully as Kagome could manage, she shook out the stiffness of her waves, hoping it would help them relax a little and flow better. Already, she was looking much more presentable. Until she noticed a dark, circular bruise near the base of her neck.

Leaning forward, Kagome pushed her tresses behind her shoulders to get a better look, finding a few others in similar size. They just weren’t as dark. Quickly inspecting the other side, she noticed one, but it was quite light, broken blood vessels dotting the area just beneath her skin. Truthfully, Kagome couldn’t even blame Inuyasha for getting carried away last night, nor be upset about it. She liked it. Loved it, actually. It was just a little embarrassing, is all. Only a scarf would be able to put these bad boys away, and since she didn’t have one, Kagome was left to flaunt the evidence of their recent love making session. Cool.

Back home, she never really grimaced or got grossed out whenever she saw hickies decorating Miroku’s neck. She didn’t care one way or the other, but it was fun to laugh at him when he came back in the evening with a bright bruise right on top of the thinnest portion of skin near his shoulder, because more often than not, he didn’t even know it was there yet. A hobby she’d found for herself though, was flicking Miroku’s hickies. It was always light, but it was almost like a sport to sneak up on her cousin and flick his neck right on the purple mark while he was eating breakfast or, generally, minding his business. For a while, she was able to get away with merely walking past him and doing it, but once he’d caught on and learned to clap his hand over it in the nick of time, it become something akin to a game for her. And, for the first time, she was incredibly grateful Miroku wasn’t here. She could only imagine the field day he’d have right now.

Inuyasha sighed out, feeling sort of like his brain was rebooting as consciousness flooded back over him. It was as if he could practically hear the shift of the gears as they began to move once more, and life tingled into his veins and muscles, causing his fingers to twitch in response. He was discontented by the way he felt the bedsheets crinkle beneath his hand. Clearly, it wasn’t where it was supposed to be, most likely having moved in his sleep, so Inuyasha blindly reached forward. A deeper sense of dissatisfaction made home in the hanyou’s belly then, patting the empty spot where he felt the lingering warmth of the body that used to be present. Had she rolled away?

With a hazy blink of his drowsy eyes, Inuyasha saw the blurry, empty spot Kagome should have been in. An unsettling sensation trickled into his chest, one he couldn’t fight off in his lethargic state, and he pushed himself up onto his forearm to force his mind to further wake. It was still warm, so she couldn’t have gone far, but did she leave the room? She better not have left the fucking room. He was going to rip her a new one if she did, that idiot. To err on the side of caution, and maybe even administer a little patience, Inuyasha gave a studious inhale of the surrounding smells.

Nope.

False alarm.

She was still there, just in the bathroom.

The hanyou plopped his body back down onto the bed with a heavy exhale of mild relief, rolling over to his back and allowing his muscles to grow heavy again. If he’d just waited another moment before letting his mind overreact, he would have heard the bathroom door open, followed by the soft patting of Kagome’s feet.

He glanced over, arching a lazy brow as he spotted his girl in his oversized shirt, the unwelcome, anxious feeling that had appeared in the fear of her disappearance abruptly washed away by the single, powerful thud his heart just did. Kagome in the morning. Kagome in his clothes in the morning. Kagome in his clothes the morning after making her his.

“Awe, you’re awake.” She muttered, her tone small. It was too early to use her full voice, she felt. “I was trying to be quiet. I’m sorry.”

Inuyasha only managed to shake his head, slumber still wafting over his brain like a thick fog. With a grunt to force his arm to work with him, he reopened the comforter to urge her back into bed, pointing to the spot beside him so there was no mistake as to what he was trying to communicate.

With a giggle, Kagome ambled right over to him, crawling on top of the bedsheets to slide her legs beneath the blanket. Inuyasha rolled back over to his side, his eyes closed once more, and with heavy limbs, he grabbed hold of her, pulling her firm against him as he nuzzled his face into her chest. Well, this was new. A side to Inuyasha she’d yet to be fortunate enough to see until now. He was a big, cuddly baby in the morning. Kagome relaxed down against the pillows, placing a kiss on her hanyou’s head while she played with his hair.

Her fingers found their own way up to his ears, and with a light drag of her finger, she stroked the triangular appendage. So soft. So cute. And, Inuyasha nuzzled closer into her, making her wonder if he could even breath.

Inuyasha could feel the pull of sleep yanking him under again, harder so when she delicately traced his ear. Not a single soul had been allowed to do that before, but god, he discovered he really fucking loved when she did. Add that to her comfortingly sweet scent, and it was like a cocktail for dozing off. Until he heard the deep grumble echo through her stomach.

Oh no.

Amber eyes snapped open, and he hastily pulled himself into a sitting position, accidentally startling the conjurer. “Alright, I’m up. I’m up.”

“Hey, wait.” Kagome whined with a present frown. “Where are you going?”

“Food.” Inuyasha said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he scooted himself out of bed, picking his pants from the floor to shove his legs through.

“What?”

“I never fed you yesterday.” His voice was husky, a rumble hanging in the depths of it from fatigue and it sent a few butterflies fluttering through Kagome’s belly.

“But, I didn’t say anything.” Kagome objected, propping her head up with the heel of her palm as her elbow planted into the mattress.

“Which means, you’re passed the point of hunger. I know the warning signs. I’m short on time until you get hangry, and I am not dealing with hangry Kagome today.” Inuyasha chuckled as his body woke up some more. “Your stomach just growled and you didn’t even notice, babe. That’s dangerous. You may feel fine at the moment, but I’ve been with you twenty-four-seven for quite a while now. I know that it’s like a switch with you. Soon, you’ll get all tired like all the energy is drained out of nowhere, and then boom. Evil.”

Her jaw dropped in incredulity but tipped in a humored smile at the same time. “Excuse me, I am not evil.”

“Kid, you gave me the silent treatment for twenty minutes one time because I stepped on a stick and made it crack too loud. You only started talking to me again because I bought you a snack when we took a detour through a village.” He deadpanned. Leaving the top of his trousers open, he looked on the floor for his shirt, realizing it should really be washed before he donned it in public again.

Kagome dropped her face into her pillow, laughing. Yeah, she definitely got an attitude when she was hungry. She shouldn’t even be trying to play that off. She was fully aware that her mood did a complete one-eighty when she got to that point, but the moment she took her first bite of food, all irritability dwindled away with her notorious food dance.

She felt Inuyasha’s weight rejoin her on the bed from behind as he leaned over her and placed a lingering kiss to her temple. “Up, please.” He whispered.

“Want me to come with you?” Kagome smiled happily, turning her face as he kissed her cheek next.

“No. I need my shirt back.”

“You have another.” She grumbled, brows furrowing to convey her displeasure at his request.

“It’s filthy.”

“You have another another.”

“You mean, the one I was stabbed in and threw away weeks ago?” Inuyasha laughed again, kissing her pout.

Kagome huffed out a small puff of air as she took his hand to help her sit up, flinching sharply at the way her muscles protested.

“What? What’s wrong?” The hanyou quickly reacted, concerned.

“Sore. Very sore.” Kagome grimaced deeply, trying to sigh out some of the tension.

“What’s it from?” He asked sympathetically, waiting her out as he soothingly pushed some hair behind her ear. “Last night? Was it me?”

She shook her head, a calming smile finally replacing her discomfited frown. “I think from the whole river debacle. Small body, heavy current, big ouch.”

“Where’s it hurt?” He chuckled from her light humor, letting his shoulders drop.

For a moment, Kagome pondered her answer, pursing her lips. In a large gesture to her entire frame, she said. “Right here.”

Inuyasha’s laughter grew heavier. “Even more reason for you to stay in bed. Lift your arms.” He instructed, curling his fingers below the hem and slowly pulling the garment over her head.

Her cheeks had flushed mildly, and Kagome pulled the blanket up to cover her naked chest. His vision of her was only obscured for a moment while he put the shirt on his torso, pushing the end into his pants before buckling his belt.

“You’ll get this back when I return. Until then, I want you waiting for me just like this.” He said with a gruff tone, warm eyes drifting down to the curves not entirely hidden from his view.

In an attempt to fend off her heating blush, Kagome puckered her lips for a kiss before he left, an upset pout forming when he shook his head and shifted to walk away.

“No, because you’re going to pull me down for more than one, you greedy bastard. And then, next thing you know, grumpy Kagome will be here.”

“But, I want a kiss.” She tried arguing.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Kiss me.”

He chuckled dismissively, heading for the door.

“Kiss me!” Kagome demanded playfully.

“Shut up.”

She whined loudly, the cry transitioning into something short of a dramatic groan. “I need a kiss!” Kagome dropped herself onto the bed with a heavy thump, still pinning the blanket to herself. “I need a kiss or else I’ll die!”

Inuyasha stopped as he opened the door, his jaw dropping in shocked amusement while he leaned against the doorframe to watch.

“I’m gonna die! I’m dying! I can feel it! There’s the light!” Kagome extended her arm toward the ceiling to reach for the empty space. “Goodbye, cruel world! If only a kiss could save me from this doom!”

She heard the door click shut, and with a sudden sink of disappointment, Kagome perked her head up with a sad squeak to see if he’d left. Her smile swiftly reappeared as she noticed Inuyasha standing in the doorway, feigned annoyance written all over his grin as he licked his canine tooth.

“It is way too early -“ He began at a leisurely stride, but quickly shifted to rush at her and pounce on the bed. “- for your bullshit!”

Kagome gave a high-pitched giggle, ducking down so their heads didn’t collide as he jumped on top. He was mid-crawl to properly position himself over her when he pressed a hungry kiss to her lips, silencing her laughter quickly as he gave her exactly what she wanted.

“There. Are you gonna make it now?” Inuyasha chuckled, hovering just above where their noses barely touched. He watched her eyes bounce up as she went to think, wrinkling her nose adorably. “I know, I know. One more.” The hanyou beat her to it, rolling his eyes and kissing her smile away.

—

He was only gone for twenty minutes at the most, but as Inuyasha entered through the door of the inn room they occupied, he was glad he’d chosen to keep quiet. At some point in his absence, Kagome had fallen back to sleep. The comforter was pulled up to her mouth while she’d curled up on her side, her top arm poking free, and her hand weakly holding the blanket. The girl wasn’t even on a pillow, too exhausted to care about basic comfort, and Inuyasha grinned softly.

He placed the food he bought on the table in the corner, sauntering her way and gently sitting on the edge of the bed. Kagome didn’t seem to notice, lost in her dream, and for a moment Inuyasha allowed himself to simply watch the expansion of her exposed ribcage while she breathed deeply. If he didn’t know for a fact that the conjurer needed to eat, he’d have opted to let her remain like this. She clearly needed that too, but he’d just coax her back to sleep afterward. Knowing her, all he’d have to do was play with her hair for five minutes and she’d be out like a light.

Lightly, Inuyasha grazed the backs of his fingers over Kagome’s cheek, pushing hair from her face in the process. He repeated the motion a few times, barely getting a response from her, so he leaned down and kissed her side. Gradually applying pressure, the hanyou slowly rubbed her arm until those dark brown eyes blinked open.

Kagome seemed confused, registering where she was with a tiny furrow of her brow, and when she slid her hands into view, Inuyasha glided his own up to grab one.

“They’re clean.” He tenderly assured, hoping his voice would help bring her back to the present. Her fingers curled around his, and for a second, she closed her eyes again, sighing out.

“Hey, baby.” He greeted in a whisper as she turned her head to look up at him, granting him a lazy smile and half of a wave. “I brought you some food. Come on, you need to eat something.”

Silently, Kagome went to push herself up, struggling slightly, so Inuyasha aided by grabbing her arm and leveraging her to sit, rubbing her back when she hissed from her body’s soreness.

“Here.” The hanyou offered, pulling his shirt from his torso and handing it over to her so she wouldn’t feel obligated to struggle with keeping the blanket over her chest the whole time. Her movements were sluggish and sloppy as she thanked him with a little hum and slid the garment over her head. Her arms slipped through the baggy sleeves, and she let the rest fall down her sides, pulling the length of her hair free from the collar.

In front of her lap, he began to sort out the items he’d purchased; bread, fruit, some treats from a shop in town that specialized in chocolate, and warm pastries that were fresh from the oven.

“Wow. I could get used to service like this.” She said, suggestive eyes wandering down his naked chest.

The hanyou arched a brow, though his smile only grew. His voice was husky as he commented, “Pervert.”

Unsurprisingly, his girl reached for one of the warm pastries, tearing off a piece to nibble lethargically while Inuyasha crossed the room at the foot of the bed to crawl back in with her.

“What time do we have to leave?” She asked.

“Tomorrow. Maybe the day after.” He replied. “Koga’s right, we should lay low. Plus, you’re hurting and I don’t even remember the last time I was this tired. All I know is, we aren’t going anywhere today.”

“Thank god.” Kagome threw her head back in an appreciative groan. “Your human night, isn’t that coming up.”

“Soon. We’ve got a few days.”

“So, that means we’re…”

“Yeah.” Inuyasha confirmed, knowing where she was going with the incomplete question.

“Oh.” She sighed, her head slightly drooping.

“You don’t need to think about it yet, kid. I want you to relax for now.” Inuyasha kissed her shoulder comfortingly.

“Easier said than done. I’m never not thinking about it.” Kagome admitted. “But, this isn’t about me. I’m worried about -“ She paused, thinking of the proper way to phrase it, but gave up with a feeble emphatic. “That.”

“I get it.” He nodded, reaching for a pastry of his own. “I still don’t want you rehearsing the conversation in your mind at the moment. Don’t plan out the scene just yet, we’ve got a while. Try to keep your brain occupied for now.”

Inuyasha was right. Kagome was only going to end up dragging herself under if she obsessed over having to break the news to Kaede. The details could wait, and though they’d already begun to sort themselves out in her head - what she was going to tell Kaede and what she’d exclude - Kagome exhaled a deep breath to try and tear herself away from that mode. Not right now. For the moment, even if she had to force it upon herself, Kagome was going to rest.

It wasn’t long after they’d filled their stomachs that Kagome cleared off the bed and was snagged by strong arms to cuddle back into Inuyasha. He was on his back, his head on the pillows, long, free hair splaying out beneath him while she laid between his legs, trailing her fingers over the soft ridges of his abdomen. The scar Moryomaru had left him still had a little color to it and Kagome tickled the thick skin with a light graze of her nail, feeling her boyfriend tense a little.

She didn’t know what to acquaint this feeling with, but when Inuyasha sighed out, his stomach deflating slightly, eyelashes fluttering shut, and his claws very gently playing along her scalp, Kagome felt scared to ever have to let him go. To let this contentment go. There was no danger around them, no threat that told her she may or may not lose him, and nothing in her brain was sparking into fight or flight. There was no irrationality present in her fear. It was more that, Kagome didn’t know what the future held. If they survived this battle, if they succeeded in taking down Naraku, what was their next move? They were going to stay together, right?

But, Inuyasha was a wanderer. He went where the money took him, he’d once said. What if he was happy doing that, and it was what he wanted to go back to? Kagome needed to go back home when this was all said and done. Maybe not forever, but she needed to reassure her family that she was alright and Naraku was no more. And, after that, she felt she’d deserve a breather, and depending on the state of her town, would maybe help everyone come together in a way they never had before. Maybe she and Inuyasha would visit each other every once in a while? It would be unfair to expect him to drop his life and come live with her in her rustic village that didn’t even have entire paths made out of cobblestone. In the same regard, she couldn’t make the commitment of immediately packing up and heading out with him, either. Kagome wanted to see her mom again, her brother, her cousin, her best friend. She wanted to visit her papa’s grave and tell him what she’d accomplished, imagine his proud smile and fatherly pat on the top of her head while she bowed before his headstone.

“Can I ask you a question?” Kagome began. If it was weighing on her mind this heavily, maybe it was something she should plant in his so that Inuyasha had some time to consider his answer, too. It wasn’t like she needed to know right now. She just wanted to know what he thought, and maybe eventually work to being on the same page about their potential future. When the hanyou gave a grunt in response for her to carry on, she did just that. “When we beat Naraku, what’s gonna happen to us?”

With her palms placed on his stomach, and her chin propped on the backs of her hands, she was able to watch his brows furrow deep enough for lines between to appear, his eyes opening as he glanced down at her. “Huh?”

“What’s gonna happen to us?” Kagome repeated.

“In what manner? Are you worried about what might happen to us in the battle? Because -“

“No, no, no. That’s not what I meant.” She shook her head, feeling some of the stiffness in his muscles decrease. “I was talking about you and I. Together.”

“Oh,” Inuyasha shut his eyes again, relaxing the exact way he had been.

He didn’t seem bothered in the least anymore, and while it was comforting to Kagome, it was also confusing.

“Remember what I said, kid? I go where you go.”

“Wait,” She sort of picked herself up a little. “You didn’t just mean that in this scenario?”

“What scenario?”

“Involving Naraku?”

“It was a general statement.”

“What do you mean, a general statement?” Kagome sat up to her knees, bringing Inuyasha to peel an eye open in annoyance at her missing body heat.

“To cover all scenarios.” He replied.

The information was processing to Kagome and she chewed on her bottom lip, running her fingers over his thighs.

With a curious smirk, Inuyasha rose to his elbows. “Why does it seem like this is just now catching up to you? I said it a while ago.”

“Well, because we were talking about whether or not to team up with people, and the whole Koga argument, so I correlated your statement to that.”

“Okay,” He bobbed his head and shrugged, completely understanding the disconnect there. “Well, just so you know, I meant it for, like, everything. More so now than ever.”

“But, you have your own life.” Kagome reasoned, wanting to make sure he’d really thought about this enough.

“I can still have my own life, Kagome.” Inuyasha chuckled. “Just because I want to be with you doesn’t mean I’m selling my soul. I mean, I haven’t had a huge opportunity to really think about the details, but I imagine I’ll still run jobs, make money, but ultimately, come back to be near you in some way, shape, or form. Maybe even eventually live with you. If you want that. Do you want that? What’s on your mind, kid?”

His expression had twisted into one of uncertainty, and Kagome was afraid she’d made him doubt himself, so she urgently jumped to explain to try and comfort him. “Well, yes of course I want that. I just wasn’t sure what you had planned to do, is all. I didn’t want to make an assumption, because you know what they say, I’d only make an ass out of u and me.” She giggled nervously, repeating her father’s wise words to her. “But, I also wanted to respect the life you had before I so rudely jumped into the picture and uprooted it. I mean, I know I said, ‘where you go, I go’, too, and I really did mean it similarly to the way you did, but I also kind of wanted to see my family again before I did anything else. It would be stupid to expect you to come back with me if you didn’t want to, and I totally understand if you don’t. Just know the invitation is always there. My mother would love you. But, like, overall, I just really wanted to see if you still wanted to stay with me after the battle. Like, be with me. Just like we are now. I didn’t know if we’d plan visits, or sometimes you come with me and sometimes I go with you, or if I should even be thinking about this right now, or - oh no. I’m rambling, aren’t I?” Her face fell, the hands she’d been bouncing back and forth to convey one scenario to the next dropping back down to his legs.

“Did you get it all out of your system?” Inuyasha asked, pinching his lips to try and hide his amusement.

“… Or if I’m being stupid.” Kagome finished in a low tone of humiliation, eyes falling as she pursed her lips. “There. I’m done.”

“You’re not being stupid.” He chuckled, sitting all the way up. “It’s perfectly reasonable to be curious. But, why would you think we’d break up just because Naraku’s dead?”

“I don’t know.” She half shrugged, eyes still sunken. “We want different things?”

“Okay, now you’re being stupid.” Inuyasha was laughing at the grumpy pout forming on her shy expression, but also out of horrible disbelief. “I threw a fit yesterday thinking I’d lost you, or did you miraculously forget about that?”

“Yeah, but -“

“So, how and why would you think I’d be okay just letting you walk away for any reason?”

Kagome didn’t answer that one, but her expression said it all. Her eyes twitched up to him then blinked off to the side, and her body gave a subtle fidget while her teeth worried her bottom lip. That wasn’t quite what she’d been thinking.

“Ah.” Inuyasha bobbed his head, holding no malice whatsoever in his tone. “You’re scared that I’d be the one to walk away. Do you know how much worse that makes this?”

“I know.” Kagome shrugged lightly.

“How does that even make sense? Are you serious, babe?”

“Well, I know I wouldn’t be the one to make that choice, but I don’t know what’d be on your mind if we weren’t able to meet halfway.”

For the second time that morning, Inuyasha deadpanned. He’d literally broken down less than twelve hours ago at the realization that he could have lost Kagome for good. Wrapping his head around her thought process right now was nearly impossible. He could grasp wanting to know where they were going, but how could she possibly worry about separation after everything they’d been through?

“Why are you being so insecure right now?”

“I don’t know.” Kagome groaned, dropping her head in her hands for a moment. Her embarrassment was only growing worse by the second. She’d never meant to come off so needy or unsure. Taking a deep breath, she peeked through her fingers at the frowning hanyou, ultimately dropping her palms to her thighs to clear the air. “Okay, so the thought occurred about what would happen to us in the future, but it really wasn’t backed up by any sort of emotion like this. I was honestly just wondering. I don’t want to lose you, but I also don’t want you to feel obligated to drop your entire life for me. So, I thought bringing it up would help prevent that, but then I rambled and threw myself off course. I didn’t mean to.”

“I’m used to it. It’s cute.” Inuyasha shrugged, sighing out in preparation of his response. “Alright, dummy, listen closely while I break this down. Since you just brought it up, I’ll start with this: you didn’t uproot my life. My life never had fucking roots. Not since I was a kid, and even that was flimsy after my dad died. It’s not like you coerced me into killing Naraku with you, because that was one of my plans all along. So, get that idea out of your head. Immediately.”

“Wait, but -“

“I’m not done.”

“No, this is related. I’m not trying to argue, but don’t you have a home somewhere? I sort of feel like the moment I entered the picture, you had to drop everything.”

A small upturn pulled at the corners of Inuyasha’s lips. “I will admit, the second you appeared, the ball certainly got moving a lot faster, that’s for sure.”

“See!”

“But, it really didn’t make a difference. Aside from me picking up jobs less. That’s fine, though. I’ve mentioned before I’m well off.”

“And, your home?”

“Ah, yes. That. I’ve definitely got one of those. A cat, too.”

Instantly, he felt awful for being facetious. The conjurer’s eyes widened so dramatically, and her jaw dropped in horrible dismay.

“A cat!? You have a cat!? Has the cat even been fed!? Is your cat dead because of me!? Oh no!” She almost collapsed backward in her fit before Inuyasha scrambled to catch her, snickering. “Oh no!”

“Baby, baby, baby, baby, please!” The hanyou pulled her face into his hands, his heart aching when he saw tears brimming in her eyes and her bottom lip jutted out sadly. Bad time to use sarcasm, he should’ve known better than that. “I lied! I was kidding! I thought you knew since I frequent Kaede’s! I don’t have a home, and no cats have been harmed by your sudden appearance in my life. I promise.”

“No cat?” Kagome repeated, her voice so small and sad but on the edge of hopeful.

“No cat.” Inuyasha confirmed.

“Are you sure?”

He hesitated on that one, because the poor girl was such a mess that the question didn’t even make sense. “I’m - I’m positive.” Inuyasha chuckled.

“You don’t have a home?” Kagome’s doe eyes seemingly grew larger in a sympathetic manner.

“Not in the way you’re thinking. Not like what you’ve got, no. I’ve never really cared about that sort of thing. So long as I had a place to put myself away during my human night, I was fine, and even if I found myself far away from Kaede’s for some reason, I still managed. It wasn’t important to me, Kagome.” He explained, sitting back against the pillows. “My father died when I was eight or nine, and my mother died when I was fourteen. Didn’t have extended family, so my options were to sit around and sulk while wishing for what I couldn’t have, or get my ass up and go. I kept myself busy, taught myself trades, got through the bullshit, and never really cared about too much more than that. So, wipe that look off your face. This isn’t some sob story, and you know it.”

Inuyasha reached for Kagome’s chin to give it a soft rub with his thumb as she acknowledged his statement with a smile.

“As for my life before you, I don’t have much of an attachment to it. Hence the no roots thing. I never had big plans saved for after killing Naraku, so seeing about eventually planning something out with you is -“ Inuyasha paused as he briefly stole a glimpse at their future years from now; walking through the door to be greeted by her smile, comforting her when she was upset, chasing her around the room when she was in one of her playfully annoying moods, making love to her in front of the fireplace, staying up late just for a quiet moment of peace with each other. He smiled, pinching his lips together to subdue the dreamlike visual that he wanted to keep just for himself for the moment. “- Something to look forward to.”

He watched as she grew slightly bashful, but her eyes glimmered with the warmth he currently felt. Kagome bit the side of her plush lip, rubbing her hands over the pants dressing his thighs, the heat of her palms sinking through.

“What do you say?” Inuyasha carried on, his tone dying to a gruff and desirable whisper. “Does that sound good? You want to eventually make plans with me, Kagome?”

She answered with a steady nod, her happiness unhidden through the flush she wore. This had to be the luckiest Inuyasha has ever felt in his life. In the most inopportune moment, under the darkness of waring smoke, he found a romance to help encourage him to see through to the end of it. He found empowerment that somehow made him stronger than when he’d began. Kagome’s presence was a boost to his prowess, and her hand in his was motivation to stop the world from turning into a monster. And, when his heart was pounding from overstimulation, when his mind was in overdrive with no sign of a comedown, this person he got to call his, stronger than him in every way, only needed to brush his cheek with the most tender of touches and Inuyasha would once more be at peace.

How lucky.

How stupidly lucky.

So lucky, in fact, that Inuyasha was convinced not a soul on Earth could ever possibly understand this feeling that currently swam in his chest. Light, and warm, and serene, while also slightly terrifying.

The hanyou leaned forward in his seat, curving his fingers around the side of Kagome’s neck so that he could kiss her. The smile she pushed into the kiss tasted sweet. Better than the chocolate he was thankful he’d surprised her with earlier.

With a slight adjustment of his bottom, Inuyasha went to lay down again, pulling Kagome back on top of him. She moved slow, accidentally pressing her bruise against his hip and flinching, but recovering as smoothly as she could. Just as she cuddled down against his abdomen, the hanyou set to work at massaging her scalp. Gradually, he felt her growing heavier, her lashes tickling his stomach when her eyes fluttered closed.

This. This was what he wasn’t willing to let go of. It wasn’t just Kagome. Kagome, as an individual, was the embodiment of hope and he loved her so dearly. But, they’d created a bond with one another. Sure, he’d learned to trust a few people over the years. It’s just never happened on this level. He’d almost thought it was too quick as well, but Kagome and he were pushed into a situation where they literally spent endless days with one another. It was survival instincts at play, and fate that orchestrated it. They had to trust each other in order to work well together, but somewhere along the way, a pin on the map that Inuyasha wouldn’t even be able to mark, it stopped being superficial. Their hiccups almost seemingly aided in their progress, and before he knew it, he cherished Kagome for everything she had to offer. Their bond was deep. They could laugh with each other even through sensitive moments, they could rely on each other no matter what was going on, and to see the beauty in that was what Inuyasha would fight tooth and nail for.

—

Four days later, Kagome was standing on a distant hill, looking down at the town she’d visited twice before. They had to be careful traveling here this time around. Her body still wasn’t completely recovered, and her quiver was so empty that the single, surviving arrow knocked around whenever she jumped, bounced, or jogged. It wasn’t a good time to run into trouble or pick a fight with demons, given the responsibility of their success would primarily fall on Inuyasha’s shoulders, so they treaded cautiously and kept vigilant.

The sky was adorned in patches of clouds that shadowed parts of the village as they drifted with the breeze, carrying a little chill that Kagome hadn’t expected for late afternoon. The ambience was fitting. Both she and Inuyasha were just standing there, feeling impossibly heavy with the burden they shared.

Steadily, she slipped her hand into Inuyasha’s empty palm, entwining their fingers. As he fastened his grip, Kagome lifted the back of his knuckles to her lips to place a gentle kiss of solace. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t know Kaede well enough to guess how well she may or may not take this information. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was close friends with the innkeeper. His silence was enough for her to comprehend that this wasn’t going to be easy.

With a tender squeeze, Inuyasha sighed out and led the way down the path and through the cobblestoned streets, their boots making a mild clap on the rock with their strides. The market area they passed was still alight with people, and conversation seemed, for the most part, joyous and friendly. When the inn came into view, a thick, murky feeling began to settle in Kagome’s abdomen. She was anxious. Even Inuyasha’s muscles were stiffening, the swing of his arm growing less fluid. He hadn’t said a word in hours, nor she. But, surprisingly, his bravery never slowed him down. So, Kagome kept up right next to him.

He opened the door for her, and they sauntered toward the reception desk with a clear view of the nearly-empty tavern of the inn. There were a couple men working their way through a large glass of beer, minding their business in their stools, but otherwise it was surprisingly quiet in the bar considering how lively it was the last time Kagome had been here.

Just a small moment later, Kaede made her way around the distant corner, her lips tilting upward in welcome. “Hi!” Then her sight fell down to their held hands. “Hi.”

“Don’t start, Kae.” Inuyasha rolled his eyes, his voice gruff.

The innkeeper didn’t even try to put away her suggestive expression, leaning against the corner of the countertop. “So, I take it you wont be requesting separate rooms this time around?”

“Goddammit.” He groaned, lolling his head back just as Kagome tucked herself behind his arm to hide her embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, but do you know how much money I just won?”

“You placed bets!?”

“You expected me not to?” Kaede shrugged innocently. “Oh, please. You’ve been soft for Kagome here since the first moment I saw you two together, and that was after you tried to kidnap her and sell her off. It was only a matter of time until one of you made a move.”

The couple stiffened, their expressions matching as their lips pressed into flat lines. With a tilt of observation, Kagome turned to Inuyasha and he felt his anxiety spike, cautiously glancing down at her from the side.

“Oh, yeah. You did try to do that.” She dully mentioned.

Quickly, he shot Kaede a warning glare, and the innkeeper slapped a hand over her mouth in weary apology.

“No, I didn’t try to sell you, kid.” Inuyasha insisted. “It was a fleeting thought, is all.”

“Right. Because, if there was a bounty on my head, you weren’t gonna give me up.”

“I let you go a few hours later! I protected you!” He defended.

“Because, you were soft for me?” She asked flatly, the very subtle hint of a smile pushing at her lips.

With a sigh of defeat, Inuyasha lolled his head again. “That what you want to hear?”

“Mhm.”

“Then, yes. I was soft for you.”

“Thank you, I feel better now.”

Kaede giggled lightly, bringing out her guest book. As per usual, she’d already reserved a room for Inuyasha, and she checked to make sure she had their room number right in her head. The two seemed a little out of sorts today, maybe exhausted from their journey. Although they contributed to playful banter, it wasn’t as spirited as it could have been. It wasn’t the typical Inuyasha and Kagome fashion that she’d witnessed before when they’d eaten in the tavern, so it seemed best to stop picking on them while she was still ahead and get them up in their room so they could rest.

Giving Kagome’s hand a firm squeeze, Inuyasha communicated that she needed to prepare. He was going to initiate the topic, and with a clear of his throat, he leaned in a little closer.

“Hey, you got a moment? We need to talk.”

Kaede’s brown eye bounced up to him to see his hard look, amber eyes glowing with a concern she’d rarely ever seen. Then, she glanced over to Kagome, noticing she was having a difficult time holding eye contact at all, her darker irises remaining downward. Looking back up to Inuyasha, she said, “Uh-oh. What happened?”

“In private, preferably.” Inuyasha added.

He wasn’t using any of the codes she’d long established at her business, so she knew it wasn’t urgent in a detrimental manner. But, given his tone and both of their body languages, Kaede understood that it had to be urgent in another.

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“But, isn’t it almost time for -“

“No, that’s not until the sun sets.” Inuyasha admitted. “We’ve got a few hours.”

Something wasn’t sitting right in her stomach. Why was she worried? Why was she suddenly apprehensive to hear what was riddling them right now? “Should I have alcohol for this? Because, you’re scaring me.”

“You might want it.”

“Alright,” Kaede exhaled stiffly. “One second.”

It was only a minute later that Kaede came back, the handles of two cups efficiently supported with the fingers of one hand, a third in the other, and the loop of their bedroom key hooked around her pinky. With a demand that she wasn’t drinking alone, given how stressed the two obviously looked, she slid two of the ales toward the couple and then guided them into the hall, up two flights of stairs, and to their room.

“Before you say anything, Kagome, are you hurt?” Kaede began, locking the door behind her.

“Uh,” The conjurer paused unsuspectingly. “No.”

“You’ve got a little limp.”

“Oh, no.” Kagome quickly brushed off to reassure her. “I’m just a bit sore is all. I fell down and got a wicked bruise on my side, but it’s nothing to worry about. It’s way better than before.”

“And, Inuyasha? What’s your excuse?” Kaede pinned him with a stare.

“We’ve been through hell, Kae.” He confessed, sitting on the edge of the mattress as he took a healthy gulp of his beverage. “Kagome’s right, you should have seen us a few days ago. And, I’ve got a feeling we haven’t even seen the worst of it.”

“Shit.” She all but hissed in sympathy. “What the hell happened?”

“We ran into Naraku. His puppet, actually, but a form of Naraku.”

Kaede’s expression widened, her mouth hanging slightly agape. “No way.”

“Yeah. Fucked us up. That’s not exactly what we’re here to talk about, though.” Inuyasha said.

Stiffening further, which brought her to stand a little straighter, Kaede nodded in acknowledgement. Both Inuyasha and Kagome looked remorseful. It wasn’t exactly the emotion she’d expect from two people who’d just faced a version of the world’s enemy, but nevertheless, if they were here to ask for her help in some manner, which had to relate to her abilities with enchantments and made the most sense, she was more than willing to see what she could do.

“Okay, what do you need from me?”

There was a bout of hesitation as the hanyou licked his lips and glanced up at Kagome, watching as she put her untouched drink down. She didn’t even want it right now.

“We need you to sit down and listen.” He answered.

Suddenly, Kaede felt like she was put on the defense. What was wrong? A huge part of her wanted to play obstinate and continue standing until Inuyasha dropped the act and just told her what was up, but considering the look in his eyes right now, she felt it would be better of her to just comply. So, she took the cushioned seat in the near corner of the room. This had to be serious.

How did he even begin? How do you touch on a subject like this? The one time they’d spoken about her deceased sister, Kaede couldn’t even utter her name. It was like it was stuck on her tongue, a name that wouldn’t roll off smoothly, alternatively creating more pain if she’d chosen to force it. He’d heard the vague retelling of her version of the story but had been holding onto the side she’d never been able to know before. But, it was reopening that wound that was troubling for him.

“Kaede, your sister,” Inuyasha begrudgingly started, setting his own drink down beside Kagome’s. Immediately, he watched Kaede perk uncomfortably, bringing her ale to her lips and holding a finger out in pause while she took a few gulps in preparation. As she lowered the glass, he could tell that she was incredibly perplexed, but as ready as she’d ever be. “Her name was Kikyo, wasn’t it?”

Nope, she was wrong. She wasn’t ready. It had been a long time since she’d heard her sister’s name spoken, and it sent a twitch down her spine. “How did you know that?”

Kagome received her cue from the side glance Inuyasha bounced off of her, so she inhaled as steadily as she could. “Kikyo was my friend.”

“Okay, look, I’m sorry but if you’re just here to talk about some friendly, childhood memories you had with Kikyo, I can’t hear it.” Kaede went to stand, unable to meet their eyes, and slightly red in the face from evolving agitation. “I’m sure you mean well, sweetie, but this conversation is not on the table.”

“She said she loves you.” Kagome spoke quickly so she could catch Kaede before she began to walk away, a lump growing in her throat from the cold flash of the recent conjurer in her arms. “And, she’ll meet you under the willow tree.”

Kaede halted, her shoulders tensing from the familiarity of that statement. There was a moment of silence. A moment of silence that the innkeeper hated. “Explain.” She said, her tone on the direct side. “Now.”

“Kikyo didn’t die when you think she did.” Kagome said, uncomfortable from the stare she was receiving from Kaede, and she was about to continue but was cut off by the innkeeper’s quick response.

“If you know anything about that, then you know she was eaten alive. Right in front of me.” Her voice came off a littler harsher than intended.

“Right. Y-yes.” Kagome stammered slightly.

“It was faked, Kaede.” Inuyasha added assertively, only to keep up with his hot-headed friend’s nature. “Kikyo faked her death.”

“What!?” The innkeeper hissed incredulously, planting her cup heavily on the side table beside the chair. “How can you possibly fake something like that? Where are you getting this information from?”

“Kikyo, herself.”

“This is a joke. A cruel joke. I don’t know who’s behind it, but it’s fucked up, and it’s fucked up of you guys to bring it to me.”

“Kaede, sit down.” Inuyasha said.

“No. I’m not doing this.”

“Kaede, sit your ass down!” He demanded that time, his tone hard and gruff. “You may not know Kagome very well, but you do know me. Am I one for practical jokes? Am I one to unprecedentedly rub shit like this in peoples’ noses? You think this sounded like a fun conversation that we were looking forward to having?”

“My sister is dead, Inuyasha.” Kaede stated sternly, as if he needed the reminder. “There was a demon attack on my village and she was killed. You know this.”

“Yes, and up until meeting Kikyo myself, I believed that. She explained a different story, though.”

It seemed his words had gotten through to her a little. He could see them sinking in as her shoulders gradually dropped and the center of her lips parted in befuddlement. “You - you met her, too?”

“Yes.”

“What does she look like?”

“You.” He answered. “Her hair’s a bit darker - on the black side - brown eyes, pale, thin.”

Kaede sort of wriggled her arms. Almost like she was fighting a nervous fidget. Reluctantly, she sat back down in her seat, looking back over at them to carry on.

“Take another drink. You’re going to hate the rest of what we’ve got to say.”

“Ah, shit.” She grumbled, grabbing the handle of her cup with more aggression than necessary and gulping down the rest of what she had. “Alright, go.”

“When you were a kid and Kikyo was still around, she was actually in a relationship with Naraku.” He couldn’t ignore her blooming grimace of skepticism. This was, no doubt, outrageous to her, and he couldn’t lie and say he hadn’t suspected this sort of reaction. “I know. Just bear with me, Kae. For the benefit of your safety, I’m not going to tell you much about him. Do not ask. We wont tell you anything more than what you need to know, so don’t bother.” Inuyasha felt it was important to preface the major part of their conversation with that. Kaede shouldn’t know that Naraku was a human when this all began and now sat as a half demon. It would put her at risk if she ever decided to pass the word along to others. Additionally, he didn’t even really want her knowing what he looked like. He never wanted her sister’s murderer to taint her mind as he had Kikyo’s, or his, or Kagome’s.

He continued. “Long story short, he tried corrupting your sister. She’d revealed what she was to Naraku, so he’d assigned her to learn magic from a dark conjurer. Essentially, he wanted to drag Kikyo along with his plot, thinking a demon and a conjurer together would be unstoppable. She rebelled, killed the dark conjurer, and that was the beginning of their real feud.

“She’d never introduced you to each other for a reason. I’m sure you didn’t even know she was seeing someone. Kikyo was trapped in that relationship, and leaving him was a sentence on its own. She had no choice but to make the decisions she’d made. The demon attack on your village, Kaede, that was Naraku trying to take everything from her. Your eye, that was Kikyo. She took it to show Naraku, to make him think you’d died so he would never go looking for you again. Her death was something she’d produced with the dark conjurings she’d learned. It was fake.”

Kaede justifiably appeared stunned. It was a lot to process, he knew, but they weren’t done yet, and his stomach sank further.

“I met Kikyo a year ago.” Kagome said, joining back in. “When I’d first met you, I thought you two looked alike, but you said your sister was dead, and Kikyo and I had never really had much of a meaningful conversation before that, so I felt it wasn’t my place to bring anything up - especially being as unsure as I was. She’d taken the liberty of confirming it herself, but it was after the last time we’d seen you. Kikyo and I were sort of trying to work together in this fight against Naraku. Considering their past relationship, she couldn’t be the hand that struck, but it’s a conjurer’s place in this war to take him down. That’s why I’m involved. Unfortunately,” That was where she’d hesitated, finding it hard to put the words together. She was stuttering with her increasing nerves, trying so hard not to fidget with her sleeves too much. “You see, she’d made herself sick. Like I had that first time around. Except, hers was worse. From the moment she disappeared from your life up until just recently, she’d been fighting. Kikyo had been giving more than what she could to a battle that just wouldn’t end. It got to a point where she couldn’t keep up anymore. Last week,” Kagome took a deep breath, curling her fingers into steady fists. “Last week, she died.”

Kaede’s hand had sort of balled in front of her mouth, an elbow braced on the arm of the chair as she listened intently. After a moment, she finally spoke, and some emotion she’d attempted to swallow remained evident. “Was it him? Did he kill her?”

“Indirectly, but yes.” Inuyasha admitted, though it tasted sour on his tongue to confirm. “He’d ordered someone to do it for him.”

“But, he basically got the satisfaction of winning.” Kaede nodded bitterly.

“No, please don’t say that.” Kagome objected. “In the end, Kikyo was liberated. If he truly wanted to win something, he would have kept torturing her by keeping her teetering on the edge, but she didn’t have to fight anymore. She was happy.”

“You - you were there?” She asked melancholically, licking her anxiously dry lips.

Thickly, the conjurer confessed. “Yeah. I got there too late, though. I couldn’t save her. I’m so sorry.” Kagome trembled, but she tried shoving her feelings aside. The last thing Kaede needed was her guilt on top of this information.

Kaede’s eye fell, replying with a very slow and steady nod, one that Kagome would have missed if she weren’t paying close attention to her body language.

“Wow,” The innkeeper breathed. “This is the truth, huh? Lost my sister, got her back for a second, then lost her again. I’ve gotta admit, it’s almost surreal. How did she go?”

Both Kagome and Inuyasha recoiled into themselves slightly, neither able to immediately give her the answer she was looking for. Kagome bit the inside of her lip and Inuyasha’s gaze fell to the bedding he sat on, both obviously struggling with what the right thing to do was; protect her or give her honesty.

“Come on. When I was fifteen, I saw her eaten by a demon. I can handle this.” Kaede tried reasoning.

Kagome looked over to Inuyasha to make sure it was really alright. She should just take Kaede’s word for it, and didn’t want to offend her by asking someone else for permission, but she worried Kaede was being slightly irrational. Much like Kikyo, it seemed Kaede didn’t show deeper emotions to others. That didn’t mean she wasn’t feeling anything that they just couldn’t see. The hanyou gave a nod to go ahead, so Kagome reluctantly turned back to the innkeeper with the event on her tongue.

“Kikyo was dealt a very deep wound to her chest and shoulder area. She bled out from it.”

“Oh.” Kaede’s voice was small, and she failed to meet either of their eye contact. Instead, she was staring at the wood beneath their feet, a frown she tried fighting playing with her lips.

“I want to reiterate that Kikyo was happy when she died, Kaede.” Kagome continued. “I know it’s hard to believe, but she really did feel relieved that she didn’t have to fight anymore. And, she’d said it herself: Naraku didn’t win. She was merely set free. I held her so she wasn’t alone, and talked to her the whole time. I told her about you. She’s really proud of who you are and what you’ve accomplished. And, I’d promised her that I would pass on her message.”

“That she’ll meet me under the willow tree.” Kaede quietly echoed.

“Yeah.” Kagome could only whisper.

Kaede pinched back a listless grin, taking her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment. “How long ago did you meet Kikyo, Inuyasha?”

He was hoping that question wouldn’t come up, though he remained straight forward with his answer. “Immediately after we left the last time. A month ago.”

“I wonder if I would have been the one to have held her as she died if I would have had the privilege of knowing she was still alive.” Inuyasha couldn’t tell if there was venom in her tone. Her expression was almost blank and he couldn’t see her eye to tell what was behind it, but he couldn’t help but feel cautious of the condemnation she may have been throwing their way. “How far away were you when you got all of this information? Could you have turned around?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Inuyasha tried. “Kikyo was adamant about you not finding out in the first place; I was the one that made the decision to tell you no matter what. I refused to agree to her request to keep you out of it. Whether you knew or not, Kikyo was going to make sure you never found her, though. Not until Naraku wasn’t a threat anymore, at least. You knowing she was alive would have only hurt you more, and at this point, I’m glad we never turned around. It would have been worse to give you hope then come back a month later to take it back and say, ‘never mind she’s actually dead now.’”

“I deserved the chance.” She stated more firmly this time.

“I agree. You did.”

“If anyone was going to hold her while she died, it should have been me.”

“I get it. I do. She’s your sister, and you wanted to be there for her. Logically, how would that have worked, though? I wasn’t even with Kagome when it happened. I couldn’t even protect her, I had no idea what was going on, so what makes you think we could have brought either of you together in time? If we had turned around immediately and told you Kikyo was still alive, would you have closed down your business on the spot to travel with us? You don’t know how to fight. Not the way we do. You wouldn’t be able to fend for yourself the way we have to. Not to mention, we had no way of knowing where Kikyo was until it was too late.”

“Don’t bring logic into the picture, Inuyasha.” Kaede huffed, rising to her feet. “I should have known.”

“Again, I get it.”

“No, you don’t!” She stomped. “I just found out a huge portion of my life was a lie! What the hell do you know about that!? Why did she have to fake my death!? Why couldn’t she have just faked her own with that stupid, dark magic!? You want to bring up logic, let’s start there! And, if she was going to die anyway, she shouldn’t have had to seek comfort through another just to hear stories about me! This whole thing is so fucked up!” Kaede yelled, storming past Kagome so fiercely she’d nearly shoved the conjurer out of the way, heading toward the door.

“Kaede!” Inuyasha called, standing to head after her.

“Back off! I’m closing up shop, so leave me the fuck alone for a while!” She demanded, slamming the door behind her.

The room was left with a riddling amount of sliceable tension, making it hard for either of them to breathe. Truthfully, if Kagome was going to expect any sort of reaction, it would have been sorrow. Tears. Not this. She definitely wasn’t equipped for such powerful energy. So much so, that it caused Kagome to grow silent and timid, though given what she’d learned about Kaede, maybe she shouldn’t have been so surprised.

“You okay?” The hanyou asked her as he dropped back down to his seat, bringing Kagome’s attention to nearly snap his way.

“Me? Are you?” She replied earnestly.

“I,” He started, sort of wagging his hand uncertainly. “Don’t know how to feel.”

“I’m sorry. I know you don’t like hurting people you care about.” Kagome’s brows curved in empathy, and she finally shrugged her belongings off of her shoulders and to the floor before crossing the few feet to her hanyou. Gently, she cupped his jaw, caressing her thumbs over his smooth skin. “Call me biased, but I agree that you decided on the right course of action. It would have hurt Kaede so much worse if we’d restored her hope just to tear it away a few weeks later.”

Inuyasha hooked his fingers behind Kagome’s thighs, giving her a soft tug so she’d climb on the bed and straddle his legs. Wrapping his arms behind her back, he pulled his girl close, relishing in the comfort provided as Kagome tied her arms around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder.

“Just don’t think she blames you, kid.” He said. “Don’t take her reaction personally. That was a lot to take in after pouring salt into an old wound.”

Kagome nodded in agreement. “No, I know. I’m not offended at all. Actually, as horrible as it was, I’m glad it was me that held Kikyo. I know Kaede thinks it was her right, but I can only imagine the emotional and mental damage it would have done to her. Having to watch your sister die once is hard enough. Being covered in her blood after the second time is an entirely different story.”

Inuyasha tightened his hold on Kagome. He knew how much she struggled with the trauma dealt by Kikyo’s passing. Every morning, she still checked her hands. Talking about it wasn’t easy either; he could always hear when her voice hitched a little deeper from the difficulty to get out the words, but she pushed through. Knowing that Kikyo’s death haunts her but she’d still willingly accept that over Kaede having to feel that sort of pain had Inuyasha remembering just how deep her compassion went.

It was hard to concentrate on anything after that. Inuyasha and Kagome laid side-by-side on the bed, silent, basically just staring at the ceiling for hours. The sun had set, it was dark in their room, and there was no way either could even consider trying to sleep at a time like this.

Kagome felt awful. Absolutely horrible. What was Kaede feeling right now? How was she doing? If she had a better relationship with the innkeeper, she’d have followed after her by now, but something told her she should mind her business. Kagome felt like she was probably the last person Kaede wanted to speak to. It wasn’t that she thought Kaede was upset with her, but it was more that she could understand the sore spot present when considering she got to know Kikyo when Kaede, herself, couldn’t. She could imagine how hard that was and how thick that feeling would swim in her chest.

It didn’t even matter that he was in his human form right now. Inuyasha couldn’t fucking stand this. Before he’d transformed, he’d honed in on his senses while he could. Not a soul was downstairs in the tavern. Kaede really did close up, and that caused an icy sensation to crawl over his flesh. She never did that. She was always available to everyone no matter what, but she was so distraught that she locked the doors and shut herself into her own quarters. It was a good thing, he knew that. It was better for her to take care of herself, and she couldn’t properly do that while tending to shitty, drunks. Still, he was growing restless. He was worried. Kaede was alone right now. She certainly wasn’t going to confide in the old man that helped her out; Totosai was indifferent toward everything sentimental. This couldn’t possibly be easy on his friend, and leaving things like this just wasn’t sitting well with him. Especially, given his human heart was in full control right now.

“I’m gonna go check on Kaede.”

“You should go check on Kaede.”

Inuyasha and Kagome spoke at the same time. Swiftly, they turned to each other in shock that they’d been thinking the same thing, and he observed a sweet smile developing on Kagome’s plush lips in the darkness his eyes had long adjusted to.

“I won’t be long.” He promised quietly, grinning himself.

“Please, take your time.”

With a soft kiss to her forehead, Inuyasha sat up, adjusted his messy ponytail of dark hair, aggressively shoved aside his nervousness that someone other than Kagome was going to see him in this state, and pushed himself to his feet. He took the room key with him so that he could make sure Kagome was at least protected behind a locked door, the heels of his boots making a gentle clap on the wooden floor as he wandered downstairs to find Kaede’s quarters. In the very back, he could see firelight creating a warm hue beneath the crack of her door.

His knuckles rasped against the wood, and with intent listening, he could hear a little shuffle within the room. “Kaede, open up. It’s me.”

There was a moment of apprehensive silence then, one that made Inuyasha lean against the doorframe as he practiced patience.

“Do I have to?” He heard, and her voice was on the aggravated side.

“No. You can tell me to go away.” He shrugged. “But, I’ll probably just end up standing here all night.”

With a groan, she abrasively complied, her stomps heard coming his way. “You would, too.”

Kaede swung the door open, eyeing her friend just outside as he casually picked himself off the wall to stand up straight. She’d almost jumped at the sight of him, expecting to see the traits she’d only ever observed him with, but was alternatively greeted by a nearly different person. The silver hair she’d come to know was now black, no longer reflecting the orange hues of fire as beautifully as it once had. His eyes, too, were dark, but she couldn’t quite grasp if the color was charcoal or brown. His dog ears had vanished as well, replaced by normal, rounded, human ears at the side of his head.

“You look weird.” She said with a distasteful curl of her upper lip.

“Thanks.” Inuyasha replied dully. “Let me in.”

Another groan was bequeathed before she stepped aside, allowing the hanyou-turned-human to enter her living quarters.

“I’m fine. You don’t need to play bestie and hold me while I cry.”

“I had no intentions of holding you.” He admitted, stealing the chair by the fireplace as his own. “If you need any sort of physical affection, a one-armed-side-hug is the best I’m willing to offer.”

“Ew, don’t touch me.” Kaede grimaced, taking a seat of her own across from him. After a moment of awkward silence, she finally tried to swallow her annoyance, huffing out, clapping a hand on her thigh, and then anxiously standing again. She crossed to a tray at the far end, pouring two glasses of deep red wine, handing one to him as she ambled back over.

“Where’s Kagome?” She asked, taking a large sip when she sat down again. “Don’t you two came as a pair now?”

Inuyasha smiled skeptically, taking a sip of his own. “Not at all. She’s in the room. She wanted me to come check on you, too.”

“Oh. I’m just surprised she didn’t want to come, is all. She’s kinder than you are, so I figured she would have been all over it.”

“I think she’s worried you’re holding some animosity toward her and wants to respect your space.”

“What!?” Kaede gasped, her expression widening. “No! Oh, goddammit! Shit! Fuck! Dammit! Fuck! Shit! I overreacted! I didn’t mean to be mean to her!”

Inuyasha laughed at her string of repetitive curses. “You didn’t overreact at all. It was expected.”

“Did I hurt her feelings? Go get her right now so I can hug her!”

“No.” He laughed a little harder. “Kagome’s fine. She totally understood. Knowing her, I think she was just considering our relationship and didn’t want to make you talk to her if you didn’t feel comfortable.”

“I’m making her blueberry pancakes in the morning.” Kaede groaned, slumping down in her chair.

“Seriously, dude. She’s fine. She’s just worried about you. So am I.”

The innkeeper took a deep, steadying breath, sighing it out as she forced herself to sit up straight. After another sip of her wine, the color subtly staining her lips, she spoke. “I’m okay. It was just a shock. A huge shock. I’m sad, sure, but you’re right. It would have been substantially worse if I had known she was alive prior. To me, Kikyo had been dead for more than a decade already, so this wasn’t like I had actually gotten my sister back or anything. I’m more upset that no matter what, her end was still tragic.”

Inuyasha remained quiet, allowing his friend to stare at nothing on the wall while she sat with the weight of her newfound knowledge.

“Naraku, huh?” She asked. “Kikyo really loved him?”

“So she said.” He answered. “She was also capable of admitting that she realized it was a volatile match. It was just too late by the time she’d understood.”

“What can you tell me about that?”

“You sure you want to know?”

“Positive. I’d rather have the insight than open-ended shit where my brain has the freedom to wander.” She confirmed resolutely.

“Alright,” Inuyasha took another gulp of wine, letting the bitter liquid sit on his tongue for a second before swallowing. “Well, I guess it started off sweet but ended up transitioning into something toxic and controlling as Naraku got a taste for power. It’s hard to imagine a more compassionate version of him, and honestly, I refuse to believe one ever existed. Kikyo said she was about seventeen when they’d met, and he was a lot older, so you can see where they couldn’t possibly be on the same level of maturity. I think Naraku was trying to train her into obedience. The younger they are, the easier they fall into line. Or, so he thought.”

Kaede winced, but tried not to make it noticeable. She didn’t care for sugarcoating, and didn’t want her friend to think it was necessary just because this was a sensitive topic. She wanted the truth, and the truth wasn’t always something that would sit lightly in your stomach. Sometimes, the truth made you feel sick and discomfited. This was one of those times where it was going to take days to properly digest it all. But, that was something she was willing to accept.

“Like I said before, Kikyo intentionally never introduced you two. I guess she and Naraku had been seeing each other for a while, but she felt inclined to keep you out of her affairs until she was comfortable enough to know things would last for the long haul. Considering the guy never knew what you looked like, I think that was why it was a lot easier to fake your death when the going got tough. Kikyo took those lessons with the dark conjurer, and I forgot her name already, but it’s irrelevant anyway since she’s dead. She ended up using that magic she’d learned against Naraku, but she had to wait for the right moment. She wanted to leave him, but felt a sense of responsibility for his uprise. I think she blamed herself for letting him get so out of hand. Thus, the start of her lifelong battle against the fucker.”

“I had -“ Kaede shook her head, now staring at Inuyasha in disbelief. “I had no idea. So, why did - wait, I’m sorry, I just don’t understand - why did she end up telling you all of this?”

“Oh, she didn’t tell me.” Inuyasha clarified with a small grimace. “She was telling Kagome. I was just there. Kikyo didn’t like me at all, and didn’t want me there to begin with.”

“What?” The chuckle Kaede released was more of confusion than amusement, but it was still nice to see somewhat of a smile on her mouth.

“Yeah, Kae, she was pretty blunt about that. She wanted to speak with Kagome in private, but we both refused. I mean, Kagome was just gonna come back and tell me everything anyway, so when she said no, I backed her up, and your sister didn’t like that.”

“Her way or no way.” She sighed with a playful roll of her eye. “Nice to know that never changed. So, she and Kagome had a relationship of some sort?”

“If you can really call it that. This is where it gets confusing, so I’m going to give you the extremely dumbed down version.” Inuyasha prefaced, finishing off his wine. “You believe in reincarnation?”

“Uh-oh.” Kaede frowned.

“Kagome’s sentiments exactly.” He chuckled. “Apparently, there used to be a conjurer around named Midoriko. After she died, her soul was split in two. About thirty-percent went into Kikyo, the rest went into Kagome. They had a soul connection.”

“Excuse me?”

“Please don’t make me go into detail. I don’t even think Kagome fully understands it, so you think I do?”

“Alright, alright. Continue.” She relented.

“Anyway, Kikyo had been sick for a while and essentially needed help pulling the trigger against Naraku, so she tracked down Kagome. It makes sense now that they absolutely couldn’t travel together. Naraku was hunting your sister, so it would’ve been two birds with one stone, and Kikyo wanted her to remain undiscovered as long as possible. Kagome wasn’t lying, they had never had a meaningful conversation before this entire ordeal. Kikyo would use her dark magic to sort of send oddly vague messages to Kagome, which got Kagome on the road, and the first time she got any sort of tangible information was when I was with her.”

“She wanted Kagome to remain undiscovered? For what?”

“A better chance at another conjurer sneaking up on Naraku, I presume.”

“But, you said you faced him the other day.” Her brows furrowed.

“His puppet, but yes. We did. We ended up killing a demon he’d created himself a few days prior. That was how he’d found out about her. The puppet was sent to kill Kagome.”

“No.” She gasped, her stomach sinking.

“She said she fell and got a bruise on her side.” Inuyasha stoned, clenching his jaw at the memory. “The truth is, he threw her off the side of a cliff.”

“What!?”

“She landed in the river. Koga showed up and pulled her out.”

“Fuck.” Kaede breathing stiffly. “Is she really okay?”

“Hah,” He scoffed sullenly. “She’s fine. The girl can get messed up as all hell, and the only time I’ve ever really heard her complain was when she fell on her ass and hurt her tailbone. It was me that wasn’t okay.”

“Inuyasha…” Her friend didn’t speak for a moment. He merely responded to her unwavering sympathy with a shrug of his brow, shifting his human eyes her way. Kaede had softened considerably since the start, taking the moment to finish off the last of her wine. It was different to see such a typically tough man who wore disinterest on his brow like an accessory so incredibly wounded by the remembrance of almost losing someone he evidently held dear. While she’d already held a sense of respect for him, this view of who he was beneath the surface was a nice change.

“I know I threw a hissy fit earlier, but I truly am grateful Kagome was there for my sister. No matter what, Kikyo didn’t die alone.”

“We buried her.” Inuyasha said. “One day, when this is over, I’ll take you to her grave.”

Kaede stared at the wooden floor, an appreciative grin appearing. “Thank you. For doing that. Thank you. In the meantime, I’ll visit our old village and put some flowers at the willow.”

After saying goodnight to Kaede, allowing her to grieve in peace, the hanyou-turned-human made his way back to their room. It had been a few hours, having decided to change the subject and distract his friend with mild and meaningless conversation, so he wouldn’t have been surprised if Kagome had fallen asleep at some point. He also wouldn’t have been surprised to walk in and see her awake. Kagome had the tendency to be kept up by her thoughts, and given she was worried about Kaede’s emotional condition, she was most likely in the same spot on the bed, same position that he’d left her in.

Just in case, Inuyasha was quiet as he entered, twisting the lock behind him as he ambled toward the bed. Kagome was curled up on her side, her hair spread out behind her as she cuddled into the pillow, fast asleep. A smile pulled at the corners of his lips. She looks so tranquil right now, positively gorgeous.

He sat on the chair to kick off his boots, trying to be as silent as possible, but as he rose, Kagome groggily shifted to look at him, blinking blearily.

“Hi.” She greeted in the smallest tone.

“You’re not even under the blanket, you dummy.” Inuyasha commented.

“I fell asleep.” Kagome rubbed her eyes.

“No duh.” He chuckled lightly, crawling on the bed as she opened her arms for him.

Inuyasha snaked an arm of his own between her waist and the mattress, wrapping around her as he pulled her in close and sighed out against her neck. Her giggle was lethargic but still so sweet, her fingers gentle as she took her time working out the tie in his hair that kept it up at the crown of his head.

“How was she?” Kagome asked, running her hands through as soon as the length was all free and massaging his scalp.

“She’s holding up.” He whispered against her skin. The way his hot breath bounced off inadvertently attracted his lips down, gently planting kiss after kiss to her shoulder.

“Is everything okay? Or, is that a stupid question to ask? Is she upset?”

“She’s not upset, baby. Kaede was just caught off guard. Her sister is a sensitive subject, so to hear all of this sort of threw off her reality. Seriously, she’s going to be fine. You don’t need to worry too much.” Inuyasha planted another kiss to try and distract her, clutching her tighter when she giggled again.

“Are you sure?” Kagome tried, wriggling against him when he pushed his hands inside her shirt, softly stroking up and down her spine.

“Mhm.” He murmured in reply, nuzzling into her. “You smell good.”

“Wait, baby, that tickles!” She laughed, trying to be careful with the way her knees jutted against him. It was impossible to fight back her small squeak when Inuyasha playfully bit her shoulder. “Excuse me! What is up with you?” Kagome giggled harder, barely trying to fight him off.

“You taste good, too.” Inuyasha added, nibbling again.

“No hickies!” She swiftly objected, giving a little tug to his hair. One she hadn’t realized sparked something in him as he swallowed his pleased grunt. “That big one is just now fading.”

“You didn’t seem to dislike it while you had it.” Inuyasha claimed, moving up to steal a kiss from her lips. “You never once complained.”

“You - taste -“ Kagome spoke between deepening pecks. “Like - wine.”

“Mhm.”

“And, you called me a lightweight. Guess, you can’t hold your alcohol when you’re human, huh?” She observed teasingly.

“Not drunk.” He grunted in reply, moving back down to her throat. “What’s the verdict? I didn’t hear you counter me.”

“No hickies,” Kagome repeated lightly. “There.”

“There?” Inuyasha arched a speculative brow, a devious smile slowly growing. Grabbing Kagome’s waist, he shifted himself beneath her, her thighs now straddling his hips as his hands were now allowed to wander. “Then, where? Here?” Inuyasha asked, trailing his fingers over the portion of her blouse that covered her breasts. “Here?” He went further, gently rubbing his hands over her abdomen. “Here?” His hands went between her legs, caressing over the softness of her inner thighs.

“All good.” Kagome tried confidently replying, though her shyness was beginning to get the better of her.

“Ah, so you want me to mark you. You just like it more in private. So, that you can have the evidence of my territoriality while others are kept out of our business.” Inuyasha steadily observed, his fingers squeezing into the outer portion of her legs now. “I can respect that.”

“And, you?” She asked, brown eyes flickering down to his lips for a second. “How do you feel about hickies?”

“Hate ‘em.” He lied. “So trashy.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Disgusting.”

“And, if I gave you one?”

“I would never allow that.”

Kagome leaned down to shut him up, taking claim on his mouth, and her boyfriend moved to bring her impossibly closer, grabbing her ass and yanking her against him. She led the kiss, slipping her tongue inside to tease him before softly raking her teeth over his bottom lip. It was like he was in a trance, following her guidance, letting her do as she pleased. His palms remained on her bottom, rubbing over the curve of her, holding her to him, and she utilized the moment to kiss her way over his jaw and down his neck.

Honing in on her spot, Kagome sucked down hard, implementing her teeth, jolting Inuyasha out of his reverie as he stiffened with a laugh.

“Hey!” He shouted, trying to yank her off. “What did I just say, you heathen!?”

Kagome laughed as he pinched his fingers against her ribs, jabbing her tickle spot and rolling her off of him to take up his new position. She was trying to struggle, but he’d easily pinned her, playfully biting into her shoulder with a feigned and feral growl.

“You’ve abused your privileges for the last time!”

—

Inuyasha tried to muffle his groan, but he’d forgotten to pull the curtains shut the night before. The morning light was shining through the window and hitting him right in the face, the intrusive sound of birds chirping rudely disturbing his slumber.

Kagome was in front of him, facing away, but she had the right idea. She’d curled up into a ball and tucked her face beneath the blanket so the rays of the sun couldn’t tear her from her sleep. But, he would. This arrangement was not suitable for him in the least.

With sluggish movements, the hanyou scooted himself a little closer to her, finding her arm and pulling her to roll over. At first, she was heavy, resistant, but he was stronger and would definitely win - half asleep or not. Kagome responded to his silent request with a little groan, finally unfurling from her ball as she poked her head out of the blanket, following his pull with her eyes still obstinately closed.

“C’mere.” Inuyasha groggily mumbled.

“Sleepy.” She whined quietly, but eventually rolled over to her side to face him.

“Don’t care.” He replied, grabbing her lifeless arm and wrapping it over his shoulders while he tucked himself into her naked chest. Lazily, he planted kisses over the exposed skin, Kagome taking it upon herself to hook her top leg over his bare hip so that they cuddled closer. Perfect. So fucking perfect. Tangled beneath the sheets with Kagome, engulfed in her warmth and scent, feeling the pattern of her breathing while he nuzzled into her, it was perfect.

“We have to get up soon.” Inuyasha eventually murmured.

“If you love me at all, you’ll give me five more minutes.” Kagome grumbled in response.

“Two more minutes.”

“Five.”

“Two and a half.”

“Five.”

“Three.”

“Five.”

“You don’t know how to negotiate.” He chuckled, kissing a mark he’d left on her breast the night before.

“Not in the morning, I don’t.”

Fair enough. Even though he’d relented to her request, she was still a monster to drag out of bed. He’d figured it was more for sport than the fact that she was actually tired, though. Kagome wasn’t very good at stifling her amused giggles when she played dead weight as he tried pulling her off of the mattress. With the promise of breakfast, his girlfriend was up, dressed, and ready to head out in a matter of fifteen fucking minutes.

Inuyasha was actually surprised to see the dining area of the tavern bustling with people. It wasn’t packed, and there were still pretty good options for seating, but he was more shocked that Kaede had gotten up and opened this morning considering the preceding night’s events. Inuyasha grabbed Kagome’s hand to guide her through the business, leading her toward an empty table in the back before he felt a jerk stop him. Looking over his shoulder at Kagome’s gasp, he saw Kaede had ran over and grabbed her other hand, pulling her away.

“Gimme! I want to borrow her for a second!” Kaede demanded, giving Kagome another yank.

Glancing at Kagome to make sure she was okay, he released her hand at the sign of her nod, sauntering over to claim the table by himself.

Kaede led Kagome around the counter and through to the back, stopping in the food pantry, turning around, and pulling Kagome into a strong hug. “I’m sorry I yelled.”

“What? You have nothing to be sorry for. Did Inuyasha tell you -“

“No, Inuyasha swore you were fine. I just felt really bad for the way I had reacted.”

“Kaede -“

“Hush. Don’t interrupt me. Let me love you.” The innkeeper squeezed her arms around Kagome’s shoulders tighter, smothering the conjurer’s giggle so it was hardly heard. In her ear, Kaede whispered, “Thank you so much for being there for Kikyo when I couldn’t. I’ll never forget your kindness.”

Finally, Kagome relaxed, nodding against her as she accepted the gratitude. “I was happy to.”

“Do you prefer pancakes or toast?” Kaede asked, leaning back and rubbing the conjurer’s shoulders kindly.

“Pancakes! Always pancakes!” She answered elatedly, following the innkeeper out of the pantry and back up toward the front where they continued to talk, Kagome temporarily occupying a stool.

“So, what’s on the agenda today? Taking off, or staying an extra night?”

“Nah, Inuyasha wants to set out soon. We need to stop by the market place and stock up on arrows since I’m down to one, but after that we’re back on the road.”

“Are you sure you’re rested enough?” Kaede inquired, taking a quick glance around the dining room to make sure no one was beckoning her for something.

“Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Ever since the incident several days ago, Inuyasha and I have been taking it pretty easy. We’re definitely okay now.” She confidently answered.

“Okay, well I have a few things for you. Inuyasha told me you guys were running a little low on disinfectants and healing salves. I put together some of my own making, and -“ Kaede paused, her head cocking to the side slightly as she spotted a woman she hadn’t often seen frequent her bar speaking with Inuyasha at the far end of the room. Unfortunately, Kaede’s suspicion wasn’t inconspicuous in the least, and Kagome intriguingly followed the direction of her line of sight, turning around in the stool to see the woman, too.

“Who’s that?” She curiously asked.

“Not sure.” Kaede shrugged as Kagome swiveled back around to face her. “It’s not abnormal for people to try and get Inuyasha to do a job or two if they hear he’s in town. Maybe word got out and she’s trying to get him to do something for her.” It really wasn’t all that odd. There was just something about the woman’s body language that Kaede couldn’t place, and that was what had caught her initial interest. But, then she witnessed the woman tenderly trail her fingers down Inuyasha’s arm, and Kaede pinched back her shocked laugh. “Or, to her.”

Again, Kagome turned around, playing witness to the flirtatious woman’s antics. Who in the goddamn hell was this chick? Inuyasha had pulled his arm away, the look of utter impassiveness, almost annoyance, written on his face, but the woman merely laughed it off, leaning over the side of the table to push herself closer to him.

Without a word, she slid herself off the stool, crossing the tavern with intent.

“Hi, you’re - you’re Inuyasha, right?” A woman’s voice spoke, bringing the hanyou to glance up at the unfamiliar tone. She was young, maybe early twenties, tall, curvy, and her brown hair was long and straight. Her eyes blinked with shy interest, deep blue in color behind dark lashes. “Oh my god, it is you.”

“Uh, hi?” He apprehensively greeted, a little put off by her starstruck demeanor.

“You wouldn’t happen to remember me, would you?”

“I wouldn’t, no.” Inuyasha admitted with a small shake of his head. “Should I?”

“I guess that’s not surprising. It was a few years ago, and we barely got to talk afterwards, but you saved me from a demon attack.”

“I sort of deal with demons often so that’s not really going to narrow anything down for me.”

“Oh wow, you really don’t remember?” She came off as playfully disbelieving that time, her blush growing. “It was a goblin-looking thing. Kidnapped me while I was harvesting vegetables and took me away for a forced marriage. Then, you came heroically swooping in and saved my life.”

“Ah.” He absorbed her tale with minimal interest. She was being weirdly giggly, and it was only making him uncomfortable.

“So, you remember now?”

“No.”

With a slightly defeated sigh, she hung her head an inch, recovering with a smile nonetheless. “Well, that’s alright. Look, the reason I came over here was to thank you for that day. You were so quick, in and out, and I was shaking madly from the entire thing that I never got to express how grateful I was. I’ve wanted to see you ever since, but you’re always on the move, one job to the next. Now, here you are. Years later, and we’re finally in the same place at the same time.”

“You don’t need to thank me.” He carelessly shrugged. “It was a long time ago.”

“Please?” She batted her eyes.

“Ah jeez. Okay, fine.” Inuyasha tried to hide his uneasy grimace. “If it means that much to you, get it over with.”

With a satisfied grin, she leaned in a little closer. “Thank you, Inuyasha.”

“Sure.” He leaned away.

The woman stood, but just as she turned to leave, she stopped. There was an air about her that told Inuyasha his discomfort was about to climb, and as she looked over her shoulder at him, he stiffened. Something new, sultry, adventurous was behind her blue eyes, and he knew he needed to shut that down fast.

“I apologize if this is too forward, but I’ve thought about you everyday since you saved me.”

“Okay.” Inuyasha responded flatly.

“It would mean the world to me if I could thank you with a payment.”

“Call me presumptuous, but would your payment happen to be of monetary value?”

The woman licked her lips, leaning against the table as she playfully pinched the folded portion of Inuyasha’s sleeve at the curve of his elbow. “Tell me, Inuyasha. Am I your type?”

With a weary grunt, Inuyasha moved his arm so she’d stop. “See that girl at the counter? Long, black hair? Grey shirt?” He waited for the woman to follow his pointed finger and look in Kagome’s direction. “That’s my type. And, I’ve gotta tell you, getting me killed is no way to thank me.”

“You’re married?” She asked, turning back to him.

“No, but -“

“Oh, then it’s fine.” The woman chuckled, as if her point of view was common sense. She began trailing her fingers over the muscles of his arm, disregarding when he pulled away again. “She doesn’t own you.”

“Not interested.” He stated once and for all.

“You said I could thank you, Inuyasha.” She promiscuously leaned forward, exposing her cleavage as her hand stroked his forearm.

A loud clank directly next to her had startled the woman, bringing her to tense rigidly. Even Inuyasha looked afraid, pinching his lips in a flat line of apprehension. Kagome had stolen a set of utensils off of a table she’d passed, tossing it between the two so the metal clapped loudly against the surface of the table.

“Inuyasha doesn’t much like people touching him.” She dryly said, stepping the rest of the way over. Steadily, she picked up the woman’s wrist to remove her hand from her hanyou, dropping it away as if it were a dirty rag. “Neither do I.”

The woman said nothing, blue eyes bouncing away from her as she looked to the hanyou then around the room to see if anyone had seen. With the hint of finality, Kagome waved her hand dismissively. “Shoo.”

“I told her about you!” Inuyasha hastily fired in defense just as soon as the woman left and Kagome’s eyes transferred to him.

“I know.” She grumbled, taking her seat across from him. “I heard you say you weren’t interested.”

“So, you’re not mad at me?” He cautiously proceeded.

“No, of course not.” Kagome said, though she still seemed peeved. “What did she even want?”

“I guess I saved her from a demon a few years ago. She wanted to thank me.”

“She needs to learn how to use her words.”

“Oh, she used her words just fine. I think it was something else she was -“

“Stop!” Kagome winced agitatedly, her scowl deepening as she held up her hand to silence him. “No! Do not finish that sentence!”

“Sorry, sorry.” Inuyasha gave in, trying to hide his amusement. She was cute as hell when she was this sort of jealous, and now he almost felt obligated to thank the woman for revealing this side of Kagome to him. He knew the version of her when she got somewhat jealous enough to grow flustered and ramble, but angry? So long as it was aimed someone else’s way, it had to be one of his new, favorite things.

“Maybe I really should have given you a hickey last night.” She muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

“And, what would that solve?” He grinned.

“She’d know you’re taken.”

“She knew I was taken. I pointed right over to you and told her.”

“The disrespect.” Kagome pouted, bringing Inuyasha to fold. He laughed, reaching across the table to force her arms to uncross and take her hands.

“Babe, stop. You’ve got nothing to be jealous about, I would have never let anything happen.” He tried reassuring.

“Oh, I’m not jealous, Inuyasha.” Kagome denied, leaning forward to look him straight in the eyes with obduracy. “I’m possessive. There’s a difference.”

The hanyou stiffened pleasantly, his jaw dropping an inch as he arched a single brow. He swore, his heart did a fucking flip in his chest, and his stomach erupted in a wild flurry of gleeful butterflies. What the fuck had just come over him?

“Kagome, baby,” He nervously started, feeling his demeanor faltering. “We have to head out today. And, if you say that again, I don’t think we’ll be going anywhere. So, please, please…”

His voice trailed off as she took on a more tempting, challenging, torrid expression, shrugging a brow in reply. Inuyasha had almost lost the battle instantly. The vixen in her was coming out full force, and it felt like a crime to shut her down.

“We don’t have the time!” He adamantly argued, trying to keep his head in the game.

“Says who?” Kagome asked, her voice low and smooth. “Don’t we make our own schedule?”

Inuyasha had covered his mouth with his hand, leaning into it as he felt his willpower quickly depleting.

“We never checked out right?” She gave a one shouldered shrug, her eyes drifting down to the table as if she could see straight through to his hips.

“I hate you.” He breathed.

“No, you don’t.” Kagome returned in the same, nonexistent tone.

Feeling a heat shoot through his veins, Inuyasha admitted defeat with grin, his tongue swiping over his canine tooth. “Upstairs. Now.”

Kagome smiled, biting her lip triumphantly as she casually stood from her seat and set off before him. He was fucking done for.

| previous chapter | <- -> | next chapter |

[fantasia-monogram]

As the clock strikes midnight, part 1

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / epilogue

♥️ Taeyang x reader (nonbinary, female anatomy) x Jaeyoon; mentions of other SF9 members

♥️ Suggestive (~2k words); smoking, mentions of alcohol, (lightly) implied BDSM. Mutual pining. Next part is going to be NSFW (and reveal more about the characters’ history).

♥️ You’re a beast at work, having to be tough to climb up the corporate ladder, but what you never thought of is that your attitude might be intimidating to your long time crush. Luckily, your much more laid back friend is here to help... both of you.

♥️ Disclaimer: this is just for fun! I’m not claiming that’s how they are in real life, it’s just my imagination doing whatever it wants. Read at your own discretion.

“Ah, the exciting world of corporate banking.”

You were too tired to check the time, but one look over the room gave you a clear idea of what kind of stage the party has reached: vast office space, with all the desks pushed against the wall and a long table situated in the middle, was littered with barely-sober people, most of them in groups of two or three. The goal was to let coworkers of various titles and positions mingle in a casual manner, as the fairly young company’s hierarchy and employer count was expanding proportionately to its growth - friendly office culture was a staple in this place. Truth was, after a couple drinks (or, in case of some tougher individuals, whole bottles of soju), everyone would group into their regular lunch break cliques, usually within the same department.

Long gone were the days when the business was much smaller, and it was easier for people from different departments to form close bonds.

Luckily, you remembered them very well, and that’s why, as the party was dying down, you shared a (small and not very comfortable) couch with your two best colleagues: Lee Jaeyoon and Yoo Taeyang.

“Look at him. What a fighter,” Jaeyoon said with a hushed voice, pointing his almost full glass of whisky towards another corner of the spacious room. There, behind one of the squished-together desks, Quality Department leader Kim Inseong was still angrily babbling about work-related statistics to the nearly-wasted Training Supervisor, Baek Juho. The latter, with his forehead propped on his hand, kept waving at his superior to stop, as coherent words would not come out of his mouth at this point no matter how hard he tried. Inseong, incredibly professional yet warm and welcoming when sober, would do a total 180° after a single bottle of soju and turn into a snarky bastard ranting at everything going on in the company.

“Supervisor Baek is holding on strong, though,” Taeyang added in a matter-of-fact tone before taking a sip from his glass.

You couldn’t help but cover your mouth and snort with amusement.

The three of you were an unusual group. 

You all joined the company on the same day, and underwent basic training for a couple weeks. Even though Jaeyoon was close to your age, the gap between you and Taeyang was much bigger. Add their impressive height and you had to admit, it was awkward to sit between these two guys every single day. Soon enough though, your small talk during short breaks would turn more and more enjoyable, and when the last week rolled in, as the oldest one, you mustered up the courage to invite them to a nearby coffee shop. Formally, you just wanted to celebrate the end of your training stage, but honestly… You grew fond of them, so there was no harm in getting to know them better away from the workplace.

Who knew the three of you would find common ground during that fateful meeting?

“Hey… Y/n… You there?” Jaeyoon’s voice snapped you out of a trip down the memory lane.

“Yeah. What were you saying?” you asked, a bit embarrassed.

“You don’t seem to be having fun at all. I haven’t seen you around the bar even once,” Jaeyoon ranted, haphazardly shaking his glass.

“You know I don’t drink.”, you stated calmly.

“Aish… It’s a party! No need to be so strict. Am I right?”

For some reason, Jaeyoon looked towards Taeyang with a wicked grin, and you followed. The youngest one, sitting by your right side, cleared his throat theatrically.

“I’ll go get myself another one.” he mumbled, already leaving the couch.

“Don’t overdo it!” Jaeyoon yelled, then turned back to you. “You could really use some percents, though. Just saying.”

“I have an image to maintain,” you said quietly, crossing your arms against your chest.

“You dressed like it’s every other day at work, too,” your friend pointed out, “It’s just a different colour.”

You looked at him resentfully. That’s true, tailored suits were your usual look, not just because you simply didn’t like dresses or skirts. It was the easiest way to elongate your silhouette, and you were already lacking in height compared to all the higher-ups attending company meetings with you.

A powerful look was expected from the Compliance Supervisor who rose to that position in a record-breaking time and was nowhere near done career-wise. 

Besides, you had to admit, your neat suits in a whole variety of colors boosted your confidence every single day. You had all of them adjusted, so they would accentuate your figure in all the right places. Oh, all the times you and Jaeyoon would shamelessly ask poor Taeyang who’s got the best ass out of you two (“Okay, forget it. Taeyangie does,” Jaeyoon would end the competition each time, making Taeyang cringe).

"You're just jealous because I look better in red than you do," you barked, although lacking any real bite. 

"Listen, what I'm trying to say is…" Jaeyoon leaned dangerously close to your ear. "...I don't mind your uniforms, but someone over there is on the brink of losing his mind right now." 

You backed off, wide-eyed. Your friend discreetly threw a glance towards Taeyang, who just came back with his glass refilled. 

Still dumbfounded, you kept looking back and forth at each of your friends, not realizing how silly it must have looked.

"Did I miss anything?" Taeyang asked, clearly feeling something went down during his absence. 

"Yeah, I just said that maybe we should leave this remnant of a party and move somewhere else," Jaeyoon replied, looking over your shoulder at the youngest. 

You furrowed your eyebrows, but ultimately decided his idea wasn't that bad after all. 

"I don't know… Wouldn't it be rude to leave so early?" Taeyang mused. 

"Seokwoo left, like, at 9," Jaeyoon pointed out. "Way before anybody had a chance to get drunk." 

"Ah, our lovely Escalation Specialist," you sighed, talking about Kim Seokwoo, your right hand man at the Compliance Department. "You could say the party escalated too much for him."

"At nine!", the older of your friends laughed. 

“What time is it anyway?” you asked. It didn’t matter that you could just check it yourself. You were used to people doing things like this for you around this place.

Jaeyoon, who knew it very well, fished his phone out of his shirt pocket.

“Uh… Fifteen to twelve,” he announced.

Taeyang tapped your shoulder. 

"Happy early birthday," he threw casually. 

Pleasant warmth rose to your cheeks. You were just starting to smile, your eyes crinkling already, when Jaeyoon jumped in his seat, startling both of you. 

"Wait, what?!" he yelled, making a few heads turn for a second or two. 

"What kind of a friend are you, really?" Taeyang snorted dryly, "It's y/n's birthday tomorrow." 

Jaeyoon let out a sound that could best be described as a happy roar and pounced forward in an attempt to give you a bear hug. You dodged it by moving backwards, thus colliding into Taeyang's side. 

You briefly glanced at each other, awkwardly nodding as an apology, before he uttered a quick it's fine and slid further into the couch. 

"Hey, that hug was supposed to be a present!" Jaeyoon whined, recovering his dignity after the failure. 

"Thanks, but no, thanks." you retorted, staying at a safe distance.

"Okay, but now we really have to go somewhere else. This calls for a celebration!" Your overly enthusiastic companion wasn't giving up that easily.

You turned to your other friend. 

"Taeyang?"

"That's enough social interaction for today," the boy in question replied, "One more crowded place and I'll pass out on the spot." 

He was known for his introverted tendencies; even at work, he occupied a desk that was a bit further from everyone else, guaranteeing him all the peace he needed, and had only one coworker he was somewhat close to apart from you two. 

"What about we go to my place instead? I've got no alcohol, but there are plenty of leftovers for a late dinner if you're hungry," you offered instead. 

"Sounds like a plan!" Jaeyoon clasped his hands. "I'll pay for the cab." 

Taeyang bottomed out his glass. 

"Wanna go for a smoke while we wait?"

As soon as you put a cigarette in your mouth, Taeyang was there to light it. You could swear his eyes lingered on your lips, but maybe it was so late that your eyes started pulling tricks on you. 

A good five minutes passed of the three of you smoking in silence, enjoying the cool summer breeze and the sight of a nearly full moon above you. Taeyang was the first to finish, with you following. Jaeyoon was the last to end his cigarette, throwing it into the trash can nearby in a somewhat angry manner. 

"Taeyang, I can't possibly imagine a better time to tell them than now."

Both you and Taeyang turned your heads towards Jaeyoon.

"Tell what?" you posed a question, confused. 

The guys exchanged looks. After that, Taeyang averted his eyes, while Jaeyoon locked his with yours. 

"I think he should be the one to explain." Jaeyoon stated firmly. 

"It's fine," Taeyang's voice was unexpectedly weak, "I'm fine with you telling them." 

You felt your heartbeat quicken all of sudden. 

"He's head over heels for you." 

And then, it was as if your heart just stopped. No, that couldn't be. Your pretty, soft spoken dongsaeng you always had your eyes on? In love with you?

"No way." you muttered, turning to face Taeyang. He still couldn't bear to look at you. "Is that true?" 

Internally, you were screaming for him to say yes. 

Poor guy seemed like he was about to get a panic attack, breathing in and out loudly, hands balled into fists. You could see him biting his lips.

"Come on." Jaeyoon ushered, "I did the hard part for you. Now it's your turn." 

Taeyang slowly raised his gaze. His doll-like eyes were glazed over with tears - a sight so stunning it almost made you gasp. 

"It's true. It's been going on for more than two years now." His voice was quiet, but steady.

You kept staring at his gorgeous, flushed face, unable to say a word. It was a clue for him to continue. 

"I knew I had a chance. I'm not stupid. I noticed you treated me differently than Jaeyoon or any other friend at work. But I also knew your no relationships at the workplace policy and your attitude towards age gaps, and decided to keep it to myself." 

Your heart was about to burst. 

"I'm just as demanding in love as I am at work," you explained, "I'd ruin you."

Jaeyoon circled you. As soon as he stopped, he put his left hand on Taeyang's shoulder, while his right on yours. 

"Tell them," he encouraged the younger guy again. 

As if on command, there was fire burning in Taeyang's gaze. You felt it consume you as a whole.

"I'm not fragile," the boy declared, “I want to be ruined.”

You thought you were dreaming, but a squeeze of Jaeyoon’s hand on your shoulder anchored you back to reality, this reality being your crush at first sight confessing to you.

“Your confidence… How strict and relentless you are…” Taeyang went on, his voice breaking, “The tone of your voice… And your suits. Oh, your suits. It all turns me on so much.”

“What a guy,” Jaeyoon chuckled, shaking his head.

Both you and Taeyang decided to ignore him for now.

“I repeat,” Taeyang insisted, “I want to be ruined.”

Despite Jaeyoon’s continuous hold on both of you, you reached towards Taeyang’s face to caress his smooth cheeks with the back of your fingers. That was all he needed to surge forward and plant a brief, fluttering kiss on your lips that still managed to leave you with your head spinning, needing more.

“Happy birthday, y/n,” Taeyang whispered, holding his forehead against yours.

It was only then when you realized you were both breathing heavily, even though nothing had happened yet.

The moment was interrupted by the ringtone of Jaeyoon’s phone. At last, the guy ceased his hold on you to check the device.

“Okay, lovebirds, the cab is here. It’s gonna be a fun night.”

You glanced at Jaeyoon, then locked your eyes with Taeyang’s again. He reciprocated your devious smile.

(to be continued)

[river-bottom-nightmare]

Nightwing #81 Review

i swear i actually thought no one was interested so i didn’t write one but a grand total of two (2) people said they wanted to read it, so here it is. honestly, my opinion’s been going a bit downhill, but the art is really cool and there are some decent parts so. holding out i guess? i really hope taylor has an end goal or at least a cohesive plan, otherwise i don’t see this series going anywhere i’ll particularly enjoy

the cover is very straightforward in its imagery, this villain has nightwing in the palm of his hand, easily manipulated, easily controlled no matter the action dick thinks he’ll take. 

what i find interesting is the colour: both previously and heavily in this issue, the colourist has chosen to make pink this villain’s main colour, with different shades of pink as accents. so why the red in the cover? possibly to just make it more eye-grabbing, though one could argue that pink is even more eye-catching than red. maybe to convey a sense of dread or fear that pink won’t fully get across. either way, it’s definitely a decision i’m curious about.

so melinda zucco is in a high enough political position within bludhaven that she is next in line to become the mayor after the previous mayor died and dick just,,,,didn’t have any idea she existed? dick didn’t know anything about her? forget dick’s own brilliant detective skills, forget his doggedness at anything zucco related, you’re telling me bruce never found her and told dick about her? maybe he wouldn’t have now, but back when dick was a young kid, he definitely would have at least made dick aware of her existence, to let dick know and ask if he wanted to interfere with her life or anything.

i have a thought about zucco’s facial expressions. she is very much stone-cold poker face throughout the entire issue. the only time i see her pull a different expression is near the end when dick corners her against a wall with an arm around her throat. 

this is most certainly intentional, what with the varied and intense expressions we see on other characters, dick most prominently. i’m wondering what exactly is the creative team’s reasoning behind this. in these panels, zucco is meeting with the most dangerous, powerful, near-bloodthirsty man in all of bludhaven and becoming the mayor of the city respectfully. in both of these panels, there is barely a hint of emotion in her face: no fear, no determination, no satisfaction. it’s just odd, considering the circumstances she’s in, regardless of any training recieved.

just spitballing here but. like. from what i’ve read so far, dick doesn’t really seem like bludhaven’s guardian angel. more like when peter parker first put on spandex and blindly stepped out into new york.

dick, how exactly can you underestimate someone from one move. so he caught your escrima. anyone with enhanced reflexes can do that. you still don’t know how he can actually fight, and this is shown in the next set of panels. 

i just don’t like the wording here. dick’s “underestimated” him, but beats him up easy in the next page. in addition, i don’t know much about combat, but i would assume it would take more than one move to determine exactly what an opponent’s skill level is, made even more complex when you add physical enhancements and metahumans and aliens into the mixture.

idk my first thought when i saw that he caught the stick was “ah ok he’s enhanced” because obviously he couldn’t have reacted fast enough if he wasn’t (as there are few people trained enough to catch it on human reflexes alone.) then the wording in the next panel, i’ve underestimated him, made me think “oh no ok so he’s not enhanced, he’s just a really good fighter and can give dick a run for his money in a fight.” then, it turns out my first assumption was proven correct in the next panel. it just comes across as misleading to me.

(also sidenote but his curls are cute.)

have i praised the art enough in this series? no, i have not.

i adore the way this is laid out and illustrated. without even having to read the text, the action sequence is visually engaging and intense, and easily followable from one panel to the next. dick’s physical expertise comes through quite efficiently, and i love the special attention shown to draw our attention to dick’s escrima in the bottom right corner.

also that move in the middle row leftmost panel that’s the mcu black widow move to get up off the ground it was the first thing i noticed and it made me laugh; thought it was worth noting

i’m really loving dick’s escrima sticks in this run. they’re just so multipurpose, it’s hilarious and exhilarating. kinda reminds me of bruce’s belt, the way the button in the middle does eevveeerrryyytthhiinngg. 

got a problem? don’t worry! dick’s installed a feature into his escrima that can fix that! (i like thinking dick helped make them it makes me happy and makes my engineer!dick side satisfied)

yawn. your big heart is your one true weakness yadda yadda the fact that you care will be used against you blah blah we get it. jesus can the villains please find a different weakness to exploit, this is getting old.

i need dick’s capacity to empathize and care and love to stop being a weakness that villains sneer about. bonus points if dick saves everyone anyway, either because of or despite his great big heart and the villain is surprised by the goodness of mankind or some shit like that.

i need it to be a strength, right from the get-go. the fact that he cares so incredibly much should be an asset that dick has and will use. he’s a very complex character with years of background, it can’t possibly be that hard to find another weakness of his. 

ooooh this is cool, gosh i absolutely love this.

because what exactly is the reader doing? we are seeing the fear in dick’s face, just as this villain intended. even better, we’re seeing the reflection of it from the villain’s glossy mask, telling us exactly what we’re seeing and exactly what he likes so much about it.

dick’s standing up straight, shoulders drawn back, looking up at this villain’s face with determination and resolve, but his suit is tattered. one eye looks to be swollen. his hair is falling limply around his eyes, as opposed to the curls from earlier. his escrima aren’t even part of the main focus, instead blending into the side of the mask in the outer corners of the mask’s eyes, which tells you exactly how big of a threat they are to this villain.

poor bitewing’s quite alarmed.

also on second thought why would you bring your puppy out like this, when you know you’re gonna end up fighting someone in the suit. a) how many grey three-legged adorable little puppies live in the bludhaven area dick? and how easy will it be to connect the doggo running around with nightwing with the doggo that dick grayson owns? and 2) is this puppers trained? does she have fighting experience? how exactly can you ensure she will survive this highly stressful situation?

dick take better care of your dog 

you know what? i was with tim on this one. why exactly is dick so optimistic and trusting about the people of bludhaven? bludhaven, which has been described as gotham’s smaller, smellier, more corrupt sister city once or twice. it’s not just the corrupt people in power, the entire system needs to change and people need to have faith and hope in order for them to come together, espcially if they’ve been living in conditions like how bludhaven has been described. from how clueless dick is about his own goddamn city, i can tell he hasn’t been here long.

it was a nice moment of hope, i’ll admit. but it was a tad unrealistic for me.

also it was in a weird place in the comic. this sort of confrontation and big get-together of the people to rejuvenate hope in each other feels like it should come near the end of a run, if not the end of an issue. certainly not in the first third of an issue. the pacing’s a bit off to me.

loyal little puppy patiently waiting for her human to wake up. i love her so much.

no it’s not. it’s bitewing.

living for this t-shirt honestly. do comics of dc characters exist in the dc universe? they must if the mug and the shirt are any indication

(now i’m imagining the first batman movie that came out in the dc universe and bruce just. being so offended at who they chose to play him.)

well, yes. but when a group of people are put through hellish conditions over and over again, they soon become desensitized to the pain and terror of their everyday lives in order to both stay sane and keep their life relatively stable, and part of that becomes ignoring or blocking out anything that isn’t directly important to you or your loved ones. having a bleeding heart will most likely get you killed in a city like bludhaven if you don’t have the same skills that vigilantes have.

and of course, people are more than capable of coming together and rallying under their city’s vigilante after seeing the good they’ve done and how they’ve helped the people, but that sort of trust takes time and effort to build. dick also had the whole ric arc and was gone for a while, which has been referenced several times in this particular issue in fact. that’s not going to make bludhaven’s citizens any more likely to trust him.

maybe i’m being a bit harsh but this comic is comic off as a bit too idealistic for the amount of change nightwing can do in a city given the present and past circumstances as well as nightwing’s own abilities. even dick grayson can’t pull off everything.

ok seriously this needs to stop this needs to stop.

right now, dick reminds me of oliver queen in the few episodes of the cw’s arrow i watched. he does the punchy-kicky-fighty and occasionally has smart insights due to the skills he gained from his past that he certainly definitely totally has but only ever exhibits once, while his team does all of the background research and information gathering and actual work.

this is dick’s city. if he has the same intelligence, worth ethic, and stubbornness in this run that he’s been shown to possess all his life, then he knows this city inside out. he’ll have meticulous notes organized in a ridiculously efficient system, he’ll have scouted out zucco long before this started, he’ll have known when anything big happened in the bludhaven political landscape in an instant.

i’m really not liking exactly how much dick’s relying on babs and tim in this series. sure, he loves them and cares for them and likes working cases with them. but he always pulls his own weight, has always been a mentor figure to tim instead of what’s weirdly becoming the other way around, and takes point on the cases in his own damn city.

what kind of weak-ass oracle is this?? redacted fbi files are child’s play. babs used to hack into the fbi for fun. this one particular picture is so out of character i want to laugh.

reading this series has unfortunately made me confront that, despite the tiny fluid acrobat dick that lives in my head 24/7, canon dick is impossibly 5′10 and muscular at that.

mmm. titties.

tim said hydrate or die-drate bitch

love how dick’s doing all this intense brooding and stuff meanwhile bitewing is curled up in a soft comfy post having the time of her life.

you don’t understand i would legitimately kill myself for her.

also the lighting in this one scene is cool. the blue tones come off so well.

they’re just. so multipurpose!! they can become a bo staff. they can cut glass. they can become a grapple hook/line. they can electrify someone. they’re a funky colour. i’m becoming really attached to these things. absolute solid choice in weaponry.

if you’re gonna write up every rookie mistake dick has made during this series to head trauma, then dick shouldn’t be out and about at all, much less in costume.

see this? this is just straight up wrong. dick most definitely should have spotted her, and would have immediately moved to take her down.

scratch that, dick would have done a full check of the building, because he knows not to break into places uninformed, especially if the owner of the apartment was raised by the maroni family. someone as highly trained, experienced, and competent as dick wouldn’t have done this.

and if you chalk it up to head injury, (which is probably true), than his ~love interest~ and his little brother should have done a much better job making sure he stays in his house.

zucco looks so awkward it’s fucking hilarious

are those shadows that mimic a domino mask, to both reflect and hide the fact that his mask is missing? are those bruises around his eyes, to show how, despite what good he’s doing, being nightwing is hurting dick right now? 

(isn’t his domino mask supposed to have an electrifying feature that keeps people from removing them?)

it’s a little odd how the three known villains of this series are all coloured in warm shades, more specifically pink. meanwhile, in earlier issues, dick’s fondest memories were in pink, memories of him and alfred in particular. why has the colour pink changed from signifying something benevolent to something malicious? idk i hope this gets explained later.

this i did like. either it’s just a display of brute force in anger, or dick slipped the ties and pulled them off once untied. both ways, it’s an unintentional display of power, and i think that’s kinda cool.

again. dick is,,,tall? sort of? weirdddd

i’m so glad most readers are unified in the notion that this was the absolute dumbest fucking thing.

i’m hoping this gets disproved or something soon. and i hope dick doesn’t fall for it, because he definitely knows better than to take something as important as this at face value.

what exactly is taylor trying to accomplish here? why is he trying to go back on what we all knew was a happy, loving childhood and throw strife and disharmony and (what i’m assuming will be) infidelity? this will not end well at all.

---

,,,,,this review got way longer than expected lol. and i realize most of it just became me ranting. i guess i didn’t realize how ticked off i was originally. fingers crossed it gets better.

tag list: @woahjaybird @birdy-bat-writes @anothertimdrakestan @subtleappreciation @screennamealreadyused @bikoncon @pricetagofficial @catxsnow @thatsthewhump @xatanna-troy @red-hood-redemption @capricorn-stark @batshit-birds​ @comics-observer

[blu-joons]

You Look After Him Whilst He Films A Programme ~ Exo Reaction

Suho:

The flashes of the cameras instantly made you tense up as you pulled up outside of the red carpet for the first showing of The Universe’s Star. “You alright?” Junmyeon questioned, spotting the panic in your eyes.

Your head nodded, straightening out your outfit. “It’s just a little bit overwhelming, I thought a few of your fans would be here, but not this many.”

“If it’s too much, I’d understand if you want to go home,” he smiled, pressing his hand against the small of your back. “I didn’t think it would be this big either.”

“No,” you smiled, glancing down the red carpet. “I want to be here to support you, I saw first-hand how hard you worked on this programme, I’m not missing the chance to finally be able to see some of the stuff you’ve been up to.”

His own smile grew, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “I’ll stay right beside you all night long, I’m just glad you’re here.”

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” you assured him, “you’ve worked hard, and I’m so excited to be able to watch.”

“I just hope it lives up to your high expectations.”

Xiumin:

His eyes lit up as he spotted you stood behind the cameras that were filming as the director yelled for a break to be taken. “What are you doing here?” He chuckled, weaving around the staff to be able to see you.

Straight away, you handed the bag you were holding to him. “I thought you could do with some food seeing as you’re working so hard.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” he appreciatively smiled, taking a look inside. “You bought my favourite too, you’re full of the best surprises sometimes jagi.”

“I wanted to come and see too,” you chuckled, taking a good look around the set. “I can’t believe you get to work somewhere as nice as this. How’s all of it going? Are you going to become a megastar actor at the end of this?”

His eyes widened, “I’m already a megastar,” he teased, “but why don’t you stay this afternoon and watch a bit?”

“Are you sure no one will mind?” You quizzed, but his head shook straight away. “I’d love to stay and watch you Minseok.”

“Then it’s settled, I’ll set up a spot for you.”

Lay:

You could feel Yixing’s proud eyes looking at you as he watched what you’d done with the trainees to try and choreograph their routine. “You did good,” he smiled once the cameras finally stopped rolling on you both.

You smiled appreciatively in his direction, “well when they’ve got several other coaches who work them so well, my job becomes pretty easy.”

“You’re amazing on your own, not any of the other coaches,” he assured you, taking a step off the set away from the trainees. “How are you really finding it here?”

“It’s fun,” you assured him, glancing around the room once again. “It’s certainly hard working with trainees again, but it’s fun seeing them work their way up from the bottom, reminds me what we were like a few years ago.”

His head nodded, resting a hand against your waist. “I forget sometimes that this is what my life was like a decade ago.”

“At least we can give them a lot of tips,” you added, “I’m sure there’s plenty of things you know not to do as a trainee too.”

“There were a few things I picked up on in my time at the dorm.”

Baekhyun:

Your smile grew as the producer introduced you to the team that you’d be working with on set. “Baekhyun,” a confident voice introduced himself, pulling you into a tight hug whilst you offered your hand to shake.

You could only chuckle at the tight hold he had on you. “You don’t need to introduce yourself, I even listened to your music on the way here.”

“So, you’re a fan?” He proudly quizzed, pressing his palms together. “I was already looking forward to working with you, but now I am even more.”

“I’ll be very professional,” you assured him, making sure everyone on the set heard you. “Although if you want to tell me some secrets about Exo when the cameras cut off, I’ll be more than happy to hear your stories.”

Baekhyun chuckled, nodding his head, “I’m sure I can let you in on a few secrets, as long as you give me a few acting tips.”

“I’m sure you don’t need any tips from me,” you complimented, “I’ve seen you act before; I know you’re really good.”

“I bet I’m not as good as you, though.”

Chen:

You felt your stomach drop as you saw several photos of you, taken at the King of Masked Singer set be posted all over social media. “You good?” Chen questioned, noticing how you suddenly fell silent beside him.

You handed your phone across to him, “what if they figure out that I’m here because of you? Everyone will know that it’s you behind the mask.”

“You could just be here for a guest appearance,” he suggested, trying to find the positives. “It’s not like there’s any sign of me on the photos.”

“True,” you sighed, studying across the photos one final time. “I thought I was so secretive coming into the studio, I didn’t even spot any fans stood around, they must be incredible at hiding to not be seen.”

Chen’s hand rested over yours, “there’s no point in worrying, if people do think it’s me, they’ve got no actual proof that it is me.”

“Who else would I come here to support?” You quizzed, brushing your hands through your hair, “I think I’ve messed this up for you.”

“You haven’t, I promise you, nothing is wrong.”

Chanyeol:

Your eyes peeled open as finally Chanyeol came home from a long day of filming So, I Married an Anti-Fan. “Hi,” he whispered, noticing that you were asleep, “you didn’t need to wait up for me, you should have gone to bed.”

Your head shook, stretching your arms up, “I wanted to stay up and check on you when you got home to make sure you were doing alright.”

“I’m good,” he smiled, taking a seat beside your figure, “the filming just went on a little longer than any of us imagined tonight.”

“That’s good though,” you smiled, moving across the sofa to curl into his side. “It shows that everyone cares, and they want the show to be perfect, they could have just settled, but instead they knew you could do better.”

Chanyeol’s head nodded at your words, “it doesn’t change the fact that I was desperate to get back here and come and see you though.”

“You’re home now,” you cheered, letting go of a yawn, “even if it is a little better than you had hoped to be back here.”

“I reckon now I’m home you head to bed.”

D.O.:

Your eyes widened as an email popped up on your laptop screen. You called Kyungsoo through, knowing what the only thing it could be was. “Open it,” he cheered, standing beside you with his hands on your shoulders.

Reluctantly, you opened up the email. “Congratulations,” you read out, “you’ve been cast to be a part of 100 Days of My Prince.”

“I knew it!” Kyungsoo yelled, pressing several kisses against your cheek. “I can’t believe we actually get to work on a programme together.”

“It feels like a dream,” you blushed, reading through the email yet again, just to be sure. “I was convinced they wouldn’t hire me, I thought maybe they wouldn’t want both of us on set, their faces when I told we were dating were horrible.”

Kyungsoo’s smile widened, “I told you that you shouldn’t put yourself down, your talent was the thing that got you cast.”

“And now we get to work together for the foreseeable future too,” you grinned, “that’s easily the best part out of all of this.”

“I’m excited to get spend every day with you now.”

Kai:

When you heard rumour that Jongin would be featuring on your show, you refused to believe it. That was until you walked onto set and saw him stood with his manager. “Hi,” he smiled as you walked past him.

Your eyes looked back, smiling back at him. “Hi,” you blushed, “it’s nice to meet you, I’m Y/N. I’m playing the main character.”

“I know,” he chuckled, “don’t worry I’ve done plenty of research on the show, and also a bit about you too, I wanted to get to know you.”

“Oh,” you stuttered, feeling your cheeks turn a dark shade of red. “I’m in a little bit of shock right now if I’m honest, I thought the producers were playing a joke on us when they said that you’d be making a guest appearance.”

Kai’s head nodded, “well hopefully out of all the guests you’ve had on, I can be the best first kiss that your character has.”

“There’s been a good few here already,” you teased, “but I’m sure you’ll do the job well, I’ve got high hopes for you.”

“That’s definitely a lot of pressure on me now.”

Sehun:

His brows knitted together as he walked into his dressing room, noticing several snacks laid out on the table. He followed the trial that was there until he saw you sat in his chair. “What’s this?” He chuckled, walking over to hug you.

You stood up from the chair, placing your arms around his waist. “I thought I’d come and see what you get up to, if that’s alright?”

“Of course,” he nervously giggled, pressing his palms to your cheeks. “I can show you all around if you want, there’s plenty going on today on set.”

“That would be cool,” you smiled, struggling to contain your excitement at the thought of seeing Sehun on set. “I’ve had good things about you and the production, so they better live up to my expectations now.”

Sehun nudged your hips gently, “I promise you’ll love it. I think To the Beautiful has been my favourite programme I’ve been on.”

“It’s certainly been the one I’ve noticed you smile the most with,” you pointed out, “I can tell you’re enjoying yourself.”

“I really am having the best time here.”

---

Masterlist

[themoonlitsojourner]

Chapter 3: Come back home

Gar thought Raven didn't care. And he couldn't fault her for it after what happened when HE wore his heart on his sleeve. But now she's here with him. And he can't believe just how wrong he was.

In the dark room, lit only by fairy lights and the stars on the ceiling, Tara and Gar danced. They swayed back and forth, shuffling their feet in a pattern neither of them quite knew. The way they were dancing wasn’t important, after all. They were content just to be together, no matter what they were doing.

“How’s this for a dance?” Gar grinned. “It’s not exactly prom, but-”

“It’s perfect,” Tara reassured him. With a sigh, she leaned forward to rest her head on his shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Yeah.” He smiled down at her, running his hand lightly through her silky blond hair. “It’s no big deal, really. I’d do a lot more for you.”

When Tara looked up at him, tears shone in her ocean blue eyes. Tears he hadn’t understood at the time, mistaking them for happiness instead of sorrow. For affection instead of the dread of what was to come.

Leaning forward, she kissed him, so softly and sweetly he knew he’d remember that night forever. But like all the others they shared, it wasn’t long before the memory turned bittersweet.

~~~

Gar wakes up slowly. Why rush to return to his empty room and the aching hole in his chest? To the endless rain pouring down both outside his window and in his head?

But this morning is different. Today he awakens to cool jeans under his cheek and a gentle hand resting on his shoulder.

Gar’s eyes flutter open. No, he’s not still dreaming. He’s definitely lying with his head in someone’s lap. And when he cranes his neck to look, he can’t quite believe his eyes.

It’s Raven, of all people, who sleeps propped against the wall, head bowed and hair falling in front of her face, her hand resting on his shoulder. Her lips part slightly as she exhales quietly.

How does she do that? How does she find peace and control, the two things that have eluded Gar all his life? Especially now, when his world has shattered on the ground. He can’t imagine what the inside of his skull must look like right now. He doesn’t need to be an empath to know he’s a mess.

And yet Raven stayed. She pulled the pain from him, despite the havok it must have caused in her mind and the crick she’s totally going to have in her neck when she wakes up. She kept her promise.

Maybe he shouldn’t be so shocked. Maybe he should have a little more faith in his teammate. But honestly… Gar’d always thought Raven didn’t like him. That she only tolerated his presence. It’s why he can’t quite wrap his mind around it now that her actions say differently.

She could have decided to wait out the storm, could have let him push her away like the rest of the Titans. But instead she went miles out of her way to meet him in the dark hole he dug for himself.

When Gar closes his eyes, he can picture how she pulled his grief into herself, face creased in concentration. He can picture the single tear that rolled down her cheek, the first time he’s ever seen her cry. She hurt herself to help him. Why, he has no clue. It’s crazy. He’s lying with his head in her lap, for goodness sake!

I’ve gotta be a real mess if she’s letting me get this close. It’s all he can think of, that he looks so torn apart that she’s taking pity on him. Whatever the reason, he’s grateful.

“Rae.” She doesn’t stir. “It’s morning, sleepy-head.” Gar can’t help smirking. “And I think this is the first time I’ve ever been awake before you.”

“It’ll probably be the last,” Raven mumbles, still half asleep but falling easily into the familiar pattern of their banter. She pulls away from the wall, straightens, and immediately winces. Yup. Crick in the neck. Blinking against the light from the window, her careful gaze scans Gar’s face. Searching for the cracks.

“Are you okay?”

The world roars back to life around Garfield, the pictures and memories he’s desperate to forget flooding in.

“No.” He closes his eyes.

Raven lifts her hand from his shoulder. A pang shoots through Gar’s chest. Time’s up. She’s going to leave now, but he really shouldn’t be surprised. He is surprised she stayed this long though, that she answered a request he had no right to make. What was he thinking, anyway, asking the team empath to keep his chaotic mind company?

Gar’s about to sit up and let her go, and he knows she’s thinking the same thing, when he senses her hesitate. And instead of pushing his head from her lap, she pushes his hair back from his face.

As her cool fingers brush his forehead, Gar means to hold still, to listen to the part of him that’s afraid moving will make her stop. But the other side of him is so much stronger. It’s the part that needs to be reassured and held no matter who’s giving it, the part that’s been touch-starved by the hours locked alone in his room.

So Gar forgets who’s reassuring him and curls into it, seeking out more touch, more comfort. He presses his forehead into Raven’s side, letting her crisp cold wash away the muggy heat of his room.

Until he realizes what he’s doing. Never, in a million years, would Raven let him get this close. He’s totally making her uncomfortable.

You screwed up, you screwed, now she’s definitely going to leave.

But Raven doesn’t push him away. She stiffens, yeah, and she hesitates. Then she continues to stroke his hair. Her movements are awkward and unpracticed (he knows this is way outside her comfort zone), but there’s genuine care behind them. Gar tries not to purr when her fingernails scratch against his scalp in a way all the animal in him likes.

But it only takes a few seconds for reality to set in. Gar can’t ignore it any longer. Raven might be willing to stay and keep him company, but she can’t.

She has to go meditate so she can recharge. She’s told the team over and over that it’s not optional, and despite her incredible mental strength, Gar can feel the strain seeping in. The struggle to keep her mind level and calm after last night’s onslaught of emotions reflects in the tight control of her movements. She has to leave, and he can’t ask her to come back. Not after how much she’s given of herself just to be here.

Not when he isn’t sure if he’s even worth the effort.

“You should probably go.” Gar rolls off her lap.

Raven watches him for a moment, surprise altering her neutral expression and lifting her eyebrows a fraction. Does she think he doesn’t know how much of a toll her powers take on her? Maybe not. He doesn’t exactly act like he’s paying attention most of the time.

Raven’s mask falls back into place and she nods, rising from the bed. Gar looks away as she walks toward the door, unable to watch her go but too scared to admit he doesn’t want to be alone. Too ashamed to ask her to send Vic in. He’d never look at Gar the same way after seeing him like this.

Garfield hears the door swing open, but it doesn’t shut. He glances over to see Raven standing with her hand on the doorknob and studying him. Her eyes soften when he meets them, just the smallest bit.

“You’re not alone, Gar.”

Then she’s gone.

Gar stares at the closed door. You’re not alone. Just like he told her so long ago, back when they were still kids. Before their lives got so complicated and tragic.

What did he know then?

~~~

Garfield stays in his room all day. Despite the stubborn pessimist that she is, Raven hoped he’d reach out if given a little more time and space. That he would let his friends and teammates help instead of locking them out.

Apparently, she should have stuck with pessimism.

Raven has been reading the same line over and over when Victor flops onto the other end of the couch. She doesn’t need to ask where he was.

“This won’t last forever.” She lowers her book to give Victor her best attempt at an encouraging and understanding expression. “He’ll come around.”

Vic doesn’t even look at her. The frustration in his voice isn’t quite able to mask the pain. “You sure?”

Raven doesn’t have an answer.

~~~

It’s not her place and maybe it won’t change anything, but by the time night falls she can’t stand by any longer. If he won’t come out, then she’ll come to him.

Raven steps into Garfield’s room, edging around the pile of dirty laundry. “Victor misses you.”

They all do.

He’s lying in the same position as last time, on his side with his back to the door. Watching the rain that never seems to end. “I think I’ve figured it out.”

Though he can’t see her do it, Raven lifts an eyebrow. “Figured what out?”

“Why you like to be alone. Why you like the quiet. It numbs the pain doesn’t it? Calms the storm inside.” He crosses his arms and pulls his knees to his chest. “It makes it easier not to care. It’s safer that way, isn’t it?

Raven’s skin goes cold. But this time, it’s not because of her powers. It’s fear for Garfield and the way he’s talking. “This isn’t about me. And everything you just said? That’s not you.”

Gar rolls onto his back, cloudy eyes drifting to her face. “I just wanted to say I get it now. I’m sorry I didn’t before.”

This is not a time to freeze up, or wonder why in the world Gar chose to talk to the one person in the tower who is least equipped to help him. This is not a time to wish she’d learned something other than control and magic from Azar, such as how to interact properly with others. No, this is a time for action. To do something, to say something to help her friend. And maybe it won’t help. But Victor’s words echo in her mind.

Will it hurt?

Gar blinks, jaw falling open as Raven kneels beside the bed and lays her head on her arms, tilting it sideways so that she can meet his wide green eyes from the same angle. She needs to be on his level. See things from his perspective, both literally and figuratively.

“Quiet keeps the pain from getting worse. Solitude protects others from the storm.” She shakes her head. “But neither makes it better.”

~~~

Gar has never been this close to Raven before. Even when his head was in her lap she was still “up there,” her face a good two feet away from his. There’s always been a distance between them, both physically and emotionally, one that he could never figure out how to cross.

But now they’re equal, literally seeing eye to eye. Maybe that’s why Gar finds traces of... of feeling on the face he’s always thought battled Cinderblock’s for the title of stoniest. Or maybe the traces were always there. Maybe he just didn’t understand them until now. That’s true of a lot of things, actually.

He never thought of Raven’s distance as protection, both for herself and for her friends. But betrayal and loss really change a guy’s perspective on the world. So does a walk in his teammate’s shadowy shoes and even darker mind. Not that he’d ever tell her he could feel her emotions just as well as she could his when she used her powers to lessen the pain. She’d be mortified.

“I know it’s the last thing you want right now.”

Garfield’s attention flicks back to Rae, noticing the lavender color of her eyes as she speaks.

“But come downstairs. Please.” She drops her gaze, almost… embarrassed?

“Your friends miss you. They need you.”

Need… him? Gar can’t recall anyone ever saying they needed him. During a mission, sure, “Beast Boy, we need you to turn into a dinosaur,” but that’s Beast Boy. No one has ever needed Garfield.

He lowers his ears. “You need me?”

“Yes. We’re not a team without you.”

We. She’s saying we now. And he thought she’d prefer the team without him. Guess I was wrong about a lot of things.

Raven’s voice drops, and Gar knows what she’s about to tell him is important.

“What you said before, about not caring… I’m not supposed to care. It was the one rule I made when I joined the Titans, to protect myself and the others.” She tenses her jaw. “If I didn’t care, there would be fewer emotions to keep under control. And it wouldn’t hurt when the team told me to leave after they found out what I really was.”

As if we’d ever let you leave.

“Yeah. I understand that now.” Gar swallows past the lump in his throat. “It’s pretty smart, even though we’d never do that to you.” If I hadn’t cared about Tara, then I wouldn’t be hurting like this. My heart wouldn’t be shattered on the ground.

“No.” Raven shakes her head, frustration seeping into her voice. “No, it isn’t. That’s not what I’m saying.”

Gar scrunches up his nose, baffled, and she sighs.

“I’m not explaining this right. Garfield…” Her expression softens, and the mask falls away from her face. Completely and entirely. And for the first time, Garfield sees Raven, really sees her. No walls. No sarcasm or deflection. Just Raven, real and complete.

“I do care,” she confesses. “About you, Koriand’r, Victor, and Richard.” She looks away. “I care a lot. When it comes to the team, I’ve found it’s impossible not to.” Her brow furrows. “That means I’m going to get hurt someday, one way or the other. Something terrible will happen, or someone will walk away from the team, and I’ll feel like the world is ending.”

Just like I do right now.

“But it’s a price I’m willing to pay for my friendships.”

Raven pauses. Then she speaks slowly, as if realizing how she truly feels for the first time. “They’re worth it.”

Garfield’s mind whirls, set afloat in a strange new dimension where Raven makes eloquent speeches and shares heartfelt secrets. Where she cares about even him.

“You don’t hate me.” To Gar’s complete embarrassment, his voice cracks and the waterworks start. “I-I really thought-”

Raven’s eyes widen in complete horror. “Hate you? No! You… actually thought that?”

“You told…” Gar can’t say her name, images of blood soaked bandages flashing before his eyes. His hands tremble as he clears his throat and forces himself to continue. “Y-you said you used to.”

Raven falls silent. He can almost see her working through her thoughts. He had no idea how much went on behind her blank expression.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Sometimes I’ve been annoyed or irritated by you, especially during the first year. But I’ve never hated you.” She blinks and glances away. “It’s, um… kind of impossible, actually.”

For a moment, Gar forgets that Raven is Queen of No-Hugs and throws his arms around her neck. But this alternate dimension just gets stranger when she awkwardly pats him on the back in return.

Outside, the skies open up with a loud crash as the storm that the constant rain’s been threatening to bring all week finally breaks. Raindrops pound against the window in a steady rhythm while low thunder rumbles in the background. It sounds good. It feels like a release.

“I’m not going to lie.”

Gar lets go and pulls back, watching Raven’s face as she exhales.

“It will be hard at first. You’ll feel like you’re faking it every time you do something that makes you happy. But the joy will come back.”

“How do you know?” I want to hope, Rae. I want to so badly.

“Because you’re Gar.” She says it with finality, like that’s her whole answer. No hard logic or practical attempts to convince him. Just faith that he’ll come out alright because of who he is. Faith in him. “You’re stronger than you know.”

“Okay.” Garfield watches relief flood her eyes. She… she really was worried about him. “I’ll try.”

Five minutes later, Gar slips into the living room behind Raven, feeling oddly shy and self-conscious in his own home. But that only lasts the few seconds it takes for Kori to spot him.

“Garfield!” She flies straight at him like a rocket, stopping only inches short of running into him. Her eyes shine with unshed tears and she stretches out her arms. “May I give you a hug, please?”

“Why not?” Gar shrugs, blinking to hide his own tears. For once, he doesn’t mind how bone-crushing all Starfire’s hugs are. It’s never felt so good to have someone so happy to see him again. He’s never missed his friends this much.

The sound of Kori’s excitement brings Victor rushing in, Dick close at his heels.

A relieved grin splits the cyborg’s face. “BB,” he says quietly, holding out his fist. His soft brown eyes search Garfield’s face, still lined with concern.

With a start, Gar realizes how much he scared him.

“Cy.” He taps Vic’s fist with his own. “I’m… I’m sorry, dude.”

Stepping forward, Vic wraps him in a bear hug. “Man, don’t you dare apologize.” Is that… a sniffle Gar hears? “I’ve missed you, buddy.”

“Yeah,” Gar whispers into his best friend’s sweatshirt. “Me too, bro.”

After Vic releases Gar, Dick steps forward and wraps an arm around his shoulder, pulling him into a brief but sincere hug. “Good to have you back, Gar. Whatever you need, just ask. We’re behind you no matter what.”

Gar’s heart still throbs. The pain is still there. He has a feeling it will be for a long time. But as his gaze drifts from friend to friend, from teammate to teammate, he knows he’ll be okay.

His eyes land on Raven. The slightest corner of her mouth turns up and she nods, reminding him that he’s not alone. He never has been.

(Chapter 1) (Chapter 2)

(Previous fic in series: Slow dancing in the Darkness)

(Next fic in series: The Sound of the Sword)