#it slides right off her purple-dyed skull

[lokilickedme]

Since I’m now apparently this town’s version of Steve Harrington I’m going to have to start an OPC ISTG tag (Other People’s Children I Swear To God) because the generation I’m working with have zero peopleing skills and even less common sense and if I have to say “that’s not how life works babydoll” one more time I’m going to stand with my mouth open under the hot caramel dispenser on Monday morning and dare management to say a word to me.

Last week a teen girl who’s been working there only slightly longer than I have was following me around, micromanaging literally every move I made with the haughty tone of a boss trying to bully a worker into quitting.  She’s recently turned 18 and acts like this to everyone.  I, being the mom of two boys (one of whom is a teenager almost as old as this girl) have complete mastery over the unconcerned dismissive “Okay thanks” response that precedes turning around and walking off to the point where I can do it without the victim even realizing I’m humoring and subsequently ignoring their annoying ass.  But this girl is relentless and after just about two hours of nonstop badgering I stood up from where I’d been loading the vanilla sauce and said our manager’s name, loud enough to be heard in the lobby.

Teen girl stopped where she stood, silent for the first time all morning, obviously confused.

And then she started in on me again.

“Actually the way we normally do it is you - “

“Okay thanks hon, why don’t you go take care of your own business now I got this.”

“Well actually - “

“Okay, I guess we’re doing this the other way then.  KATRINA!!”

Our manager (Katrina) pokes her head out of the office and I head straight for her and proceed to spend the next two minutes telling her why I’m going to walk out and unlock my bike and go for a nice long ride around town during the upcoming lunch rush if she doesn’t do one thing and one thing only, and that is to get Teen Mansplainer away from me so I can work without the constant haranguement of a know it all child yammering at my face.

Manager immediately sends Teen Mansplainer home, because of the two of us I’m the only one who does much of anything besides talking and I’m also the one she hopes won’t quit because I’m literally the only adult on staff except her (and I’m 20 years older than her as well).  Teen Mansplainer grabs her gear and leaves without a word, but I yell “Be careful going home babe!” as the door slams behind her.

She’s off the schedule for the next two days, which are coincidentally my two other workdays for the week.

Have I mentioned that I love Katrina the manager?

So on Friday I’m home enjoying the start to my weekend when I get a call from an unknown number, but it’s local and I’m expecting a call from my maxillo-craniofacial surgeon, so I answer it.  It’s not my maxillo-craniofacial surgeon.

It’s Teen Mansplainer.

She proceeds to whine to me that she didn’t get enough hours last week and she’s not going to get enough hours next week either because she’s suddenly only scheduled for two days instead of her normal five (coincidentally her two days on are my two days off LOL) and anyway, could she have my Monday shift?

I think I must have sat there with my mouth open and speechless for a full minute.  She got sent home and taken off the schedule for harassing and constantly bothering me and then had the unmitigated balls and testicles to call me up (dunno how she even got my number) and ask if she could have one of my workdays to make up the time she lost by being an annoying little asshole...to me.

My my my, what do we have here?  Is it a consequence?  Oh my goodness look at all this consequence coming back on me as a result of my own actions, wow, didn’t see that coming!

I tell her no and hang up.

Other people’s children, I swear to god.

This week should be interesting if she’s managed to wrangle any days out of anyone else and we happen to overlap in the process.  I’ve made it clear to management that I have two other places ready to give me better positions than this one and the only reason I chose this job was because it’s right next to my house, but I can absolutely ride a little bit further to get away from the noxious self importance of kids that don’t belong to me, all she’s gotta do is not take me serious.

My manager is extremely understanding on this matter.

Today is Sunday.  She’s called me twice to make sure we’re cool and that I’m coming in on Monday.

Watch, in just about two weeks I’m gonna get a raise.

I give Teen Mansplainer just about the same amount of time before she’s turning in her application at Wendy’s.

[tlacehualli]

[ CONSTANT ] from @evelicious

She's burning midnight fuel again, as usual. This time, tucked in the office of her Venice apartment - this one has a good three monitors for her to spread all of the bullshit she's keeping track of at the same time. The summer night is hot and all her fan is doing nothing but stream stifling heat continuously throughout the house and she's just there, perched on a computer chair in nothing but shorts and a tank top whilst furiously working on whatever project it was.

Sombra groans and unfurls from her position, stalking at the front door to pull it open right after Evelynn was done knocking. "It's midnight thirty, literally what do you want right now?"

"Snippy."

"Callate." She relents, though, opening the door for Evelynn to step through. "Come in, make yourself at home or whatever." She heads further into her apartment. A wave of her circuit hand powers down her screens and her tower in the other room, then retrieves a cold bottle of water from the fridge for her to gulp down like it's ambrosia. Evelynn is leaning against her marble top counter like she owns this kitchen and it works for her. Infuriating.

"You told me you'd have what I need by Wednesday."

"Didn't I send that off to you already?" The hacker looks perplexed for a moment and she moves into the living room so she can check the logs and - oh. That's embarrassing. "Oh shit. Woops." She just goes the direct route, zipping a little purple mail icon with a skull insignia into Evelynn's phone (she did love having flair).

"Unbelievable."

The demon sounds irritated too and it occurs to her that maybe not every demon loves eternal hellfire or whatever they have going on under there. It doesn't even occur to her to be gracious about it. "It's literally only been 32 minutes since Wednesday, it's not a big deal."

"I paid you for Wednesday, not for Thursday. I would have said Thursday. I want half back."

She rolls her eyes and flips her off. Not her most mature moment. "Fuck you."

"You know what? I dare you."

Normally she wouldn't. Then she's pointedly pushing the demon into a sofa so she can slide into Evelynn's lap (it was familiar but this time her thighs are bare and she can feel the softness of her skin. There's a snarky quip but it dies in her throat, she just leans to kiss the demon like she's dying of thirst. It's been months of this and in that moment, she's not really sure why it took so long. The way she tastes, the way she sucks on Sombra's tongue pulls a groan out of her.

She pulls away from their kiss and decides she likes the expression on Evelynn's face (hungry, probably not unlike her own) - reaches out to take one of her hands and kiss each of her fingers methodically.

"Nah. Fuck me, amiga."

[babbushka]

Paradise Inn

(this is entirely @autumnlovesadam​‘s fault)

Flip Zimmerman x Reader x Kylo Ren 

In a small town just outside of Colorado Springs, there's a motel called Paradise Inn. The rooms are cheap, the furniture leaves much to be desired, the walls are thin -- but it's your favorite place to have filthy, raunchy, seedy sex with two favorite boys, Flip and Kylo.

And there's a vacancy.

5k; NSFW (threesome MMF, double penetration PIV, dom!Flip, service top!Kylo, lactation kink/breastfeeding, semi-public sex, derogatory name calling/dirty talk, multiple positions & orgasms, marathon sex) 

Available on AO3!

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

The engine quiets next to a big black motorcycle outside the shop, the familiar store-front bringing a smile to your lips. Flip turns the motorcycle off, and your arms relax around his middle, no longer concerned with falling off. It’s new, the bike, a surprise present you and Kylo worked on together. He builds them, these custom motorcycles, and he does a damn good job.

You’re excited to see him, Kylo. It’s been a couple days since you were able to get together, and even longer since you got to do what you were about to go ask.

“Be back in two shakes.” You kiss Flip’s cheek, and he smiles at you, gives your ass a light pat as you hop off the back of the motorcycle and head into the shop.

You catch your reflection in the mirror, black leather halter top and dark wash jeans. Flip’s Sherpa coat protects your arms, but you let it slip off your shoulders, wanting to catch Kylo’s attention.  

He’s there right in the front, looking up as the little bell dings for a new customer. You’re not any ol’ customer though, you’re special, you’re always special. Kylo excuses himself to the man he was talking to, and opens his arms for you.

“Kylo!” You let yourself get scooped up by this hulking man. His tattoos are on full display as they wind around you and hold you tight. You kiss him sweetly on the mouth, no tongue, not yet.

“Long time no see, sweets.” He huffs against your mouth with mock-offense, making you roll your eyes and pull away from him playfully. He throws up a hand in a wave to Flip who waves back, smoking his cigarette outside.

“You came over for dinner Friday night.” You point out.

“It’s Thursday.” Kylo counters, and you grin.

That grin, he knows that grin. He knows it, knows what it means. Trouble, that’s what. Trouble in the best of ways. His dick is already twitching in his jeans, he’s already getting hard for you, for what he knows is coming.

You back him up against the cashier counter, your hand hidden between your bodies as your palm rubs up and down the crotch of his jeans, feeling just how hard he is.

It makes your mouth water, so you grin.

“Let me make it up to you?” You whisper in his ear, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. You can feel it, when your other hand reaches up to cradle the back of his skull, his long black hair silky and soft through your fingertips.

“Hm?” He’s already lost in your touch, your smell, he shudders as your nails scrape lightly against his scalp.

“We got a babysitter; Flip and I are going to…go for a ride.” You look at him, really look at him, nearly going cross-eyed from it, from trying to convey the true meaning of your words when you ask him, “Join us? Please?”

“Is – are you good for – you know – ” Kylo asks nervously, making you bite your lips with excitement.

“It’s been long enough and the doc cleared me, I’m good for it.” You reassure him. He sighs with relief, always careful with you, never wanting to hurt you. It had been nearly three months since giving birth to your daughter, and you were ready to get back into bed. “We missed you. I missed you.”

Your stomach does flips when he licks across his teeth and replies, “Let me get my jacket.”

You walk out of the shop together, and Flip pinches his cigarette to put it out when you get close enough. You cup Flip’s cheeks in your hands and kiss him deeply, tasting the Camel on his teeth, inhaling the sigh he gives you.

“Hey Flip.” Kylo says, reaching out to shake his hand.

“Thanks for coming.” Flip accepts it heartily, gives him the closest thing to a smile Flip ever gives anyone other than you.

“Always,” He shrugs, before reaching out and caressing the side of your face, “Who could ever say no to her?”

“Who would want to?” Flip agrees, and this time, Kylo is the one who almost smiles.

Your heart soars, watching your two favorite boys be good with one another.

“I’m riding with you the way there, and Flip the way back.” You tell Kylo, and he nods, one leg over his black hog and turning her on. You’re quick to follow, snuggling yourself against his back.

“Where to?” He asks Flip, because Flip’s the one who gives the orders when it’s the three of you.

“The usual place, but the diner first. I’m starving.” Flip replies easily.

With that, you all put on your helmets and the engines roar back to life, loud and nasty on the street as Kylo and Flip pull onto the open stretch of road ahead.

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

Sunset in the mountains is gorgeous, you can’t help but think. Kylo and Flip cruise at a steady pace, and you nestle your head against Kylo’s back, watching the world move past. The Rockies are have exploded into a beautiful purple landscape, the sky a tie-dyed vision of lavenders magentas and fuchsia. Kylo focuses on the winding path ahead, and you focus on the feeling of the hot leather seat between your legs, how the vibrations make your clit throb.

You’re glad it’s not a far way to the next town over, you’re glad, you don’t know if you’d be able to wait too much longer.

Speak of the devil, you think, as the streetlamps of the sleepy little town come into view. The anticipation thrills you, as the tires eat the road away, the little neon sign of the diner grows larger and larger, until Kylo and Flip are pulling up into the parking lot.

Flip immediately moves to you, winds his arm around your middle and tugs you close to his side. He and Kylo look like twins almost, which you think is funny because Kylo does have twin brothers, and Flip certainly isn’t one of them.

Still, the hostess eyes them up and down, their dark hair, their strong intimidating statures, the way they’re both dressed in dark jeans and leather jackets…and you, in the middle of them, standing and waiting for a table.

“Smoking section, please.” Flip mutters, not one for wasting time.

She doesn’t say anything, just nods once and grabs a couple of menus. Not like you need them, you’ve come here one time too many, you know what you order, what you like. The waitress knows, she recognizes the three of you.

She doesn’t say anything, just gives you the menu at your table and lets you be.

You sit at one of those corner tables, the kind that’s one big booth that wraps around. Kylo slides in first, you after him, and Flip at the end, sandwiching you between them on the red and white leather seat.

A different woman comes over, much less suspecting than the first, barely looks up at you as she pulls out her little notebook, and a pen, asking you, “What’ll you have honey?”

“Number 2 combo?” You’re polite, overly polite because you know that you’ll have to make up for the brusqueness of the men on either side of you. “With a basket of fries, and a large vanilla shake with two cherries, please.”

“Boys?” The waitress asks.

“Double cheeseburger with no pickles, and a coke. Please.” Flip replies, smoking his cigarette, already handing her the menu. You smile and kiss his chin, the goatee tickling your lips for a moment or two.

“Same.” Kylo replies, and you squeeze his thigh, a little warning. “Please.”

You grin at him, and the waitress leaves without another word.

The diner is full, nearly every table is packed. You don’t care, neither of you do. Flip’s got one arm slung across the back of the booth, his leg crossed over his thigh. Kylo’s leaned back against the booth, his legs spread. They’re both hard and you wonder how long it’s going to be before Flip decides that he’s ready to go to the motel.

You thank the waitress for the food when it gets delivered, and immediately go for the milkshake. You pluck the cherries off the stem with your teeth and chew them slowly, before one at a time tying the stem into a knot with your tongue and teeth.

“One for my honey,” You kiss Flip, passing the first cherry knot into his mouth, before turning to Kylo and doing the same, “And one for my baby.”

“You’re real fuckin’ good at that ketsl, aren’t you?” Flip grins, chewing on the cherry stem for a moment, because your man isn’t nothing if he’s not a chewer, before pulling it out of his mouth and letting it rest on the little napkin coaster.

“I’ve had a lot of practice.” You tease, a little bubble of laughter escaping your throat.

“What’s so funny?” Kylo asks, his hand creeping between your legs, squeezing your thigh with his big palm.

“I’m just excited. I hope they have a room open.” You say honestly, earnestly in a way that has Kylo licking his lips, giving you a little half smirk. Flip smiles, smokes his cigarette.

“Yeah? Your pussy’s wet for it?” Kylo asks, his voice very low, deep and dark in your ear. It sends shivers up your spine, your thighs press together.

He smirks again, he can feel it with the hand creeping ever closer.

“Mmhmm, want a feel?” You dare, making his eyebrows shoot up a little, looking up to Flip.

“Here?” He asks, nodding slightly to the reminder that you’re all in a very public space. No one is looking at you, no one cares, everyone too preoccupied with their own affairs, their own dinner.

“Touch her.” Flip nods, baritone rumbling through your chest. “It’s okay.”

Kylo carefully, ever so subtly, pops open the fly of your jeans and wedges his hand into your underwear. His fingers slip and slide through the folds of your pussy, his cock throbbing in his own jeans as you spread your legs a little further. It’s all so discreet, no one would ever know what’s going on under that booth. Kylo’s good about things like that.

He rubs at your cunt for a while, your clit pulsing under the heat of his thumb, big and broad and rubbing soothing little circles that make your nerves short out, make you slurp a little harder on your milkshake. Your hand holds his wrist in place, you grind against the heel of it, and Flip tries his best not to grin.

You make the sweetest little sounds, doing your best not to move, not to be loud, not to be heard over the chatter of the diner, but when your eyes start to flutter and roll back, Kylo knows he has to stop.

“Pretty fuckin’ wet.” He eventually decides, pulling his hand away before you come, because it’d be bad if he got you coming right here – you come so loud after all – and buttons you back up.

“Well I gotta fit both of you, so it better be.” You turn back to Flip and kiss him a little, a couple chaste smooches against the warm skin of his throat.

“Oh is that what we’re doing tonight?” Kylo regards you and Flip carefully. You turn your attention to Flip too, eager to see what he has to say.

“Yeah, it is.” He says, before taking another bite out of the burger.

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

True to your word you ride over to the motel with Kylo, knowing that Flip will get you on the way back. With each second that passes, you only get more and more worked up, practically shaking as Kylo waits out in the motel parking lot, while you and Flip go inside to pay for the room.

“One room please.” Flip requests, already pulling out his fat wallet. He always carries cash for things like this – not that he’s got anything to hide from anyone, because you’re right there with him, but it just makes life a little less messy when there’s no paper trail.

The guy at the reception desk sees Kylo outside, and glances over at you carefully.

“How many people?” He asks, a little too suspiciously, but not suspiciously enough for either of you to give a shit.

“Oh a single king is fine.” Flip replies, his tone brooking no argument.

“Check-out’s at eleven.” The man says, sliding a single tarnished key attached to a Paradise Inn key-ring.

“Perfect, thank you.” You flash him a winning smile, and you pretend not to notice the way he stares after you as Flip holds open the door.

Lucky number 17, you find the door of your room easily. There’s not much, but then again you’re not here for a five star treatment. It’s small, brown shag carpeting from the door to the bathroom, with nothing more than a king sized bed, a black and white television on the dresser, and a lamp in the corner.

You barely get a second or two to take in the surroundings before Flip’s hands are on you. There’s a reason you wore the halter top, with one zip your tits are out and your nipples stiff against the cool air of the A/C. He rubs them with his rough thumbs, and you loop your arms around his neck as his hands travel lower lower lower, working on your jeans.

“Hi.” You say to him, your voice breathy and soft, excited.

“Hey honey-bunny.” Flip smiles back against your lips and then frowns at you like he’s angry about somethin’. He grabs your jaw and gives your face a little shake. “You’re so fuckin’ beautiful, you know that?”

“Mmhmm, but tell me anyway.” You grin, bratty and naked as he walks you back back back towards the king.

“Lay down on the bed, let me take a look at you,” Flip licks his lips, strikes up a cigarette and puffs the smoke thick and heavy into the air. He breathes out through his nose  “Damn, goddamn, you’re beautiful. We’re going to fuck you so hard you won’t know anything other than how beautiful you are.”

Flip works on unbuckling his belt, sliding it slowly out of the loops. You watch the movement, and so does Kylo.

“Did you bring the camera?” Kylo asks, knowing that sometimes, the first time Flip fucks you he likes Kylo to take pictures, all sorts of pictures from all sorts of angles.

Flip surprises him by shaking his head.

“No, not this time, this time’s just for the three of us. Come here.” He tells Kylo, turns him so that he’s facing you on the bed. You’ve pulled down the comforter and have thrown it to the floor so it doesn’t get too filthy, arms and legs spreading out beautifully in the sheets. Flip gives Kylo a gentle nudge, asks, “Do you want to kiss her?”

“Yes sir.” Kylo’s response is quick, and it makes Flip hum out in approval.

“Kiss her nice and slow, finger her open I want her ready for me by the time I’m done with my cigarette.” He pats Kylo on the back, and with the new permission, climbs up onto the bed with you.

He pulls your body to his, so that you’re facing one another on your sides, those muscular biceps flexing as they hold you close. Before he can really start, you tug the black t-shirt over his head, his chest exposed to you. Your hands splay across his pecs, and you gasp happily into his mouth as his left hand finds your pussy with his eyes closed.

“Your cunt’s so tight baby, how’d you manage that?” Kylo murmurs against your lips, thrusting one finger, then two, then three inside.

“Magic – oh!” Your eyes shoot open as he pushes those three fingers inside you up to his knuckles. He keeps them there are rubs against your walls, spreads his fingers, stretching you carefully. Your hips push down on his hand and you gasp again, this time a little harder. Immediately, Kylo’s other hand clamps down around your mouth.

“We can’t be too loud sweets.” He whispers, not stopping his pace at all, not letting up on your pussy, “These walls are thin, we can’t have anyone hearing you, they’ll know how much of a cockslut you are.”

“Kylo,” You whine, the sound muffled against his palm but still legible enough for them to hear, “I’m gonna come, Flip? Flip I’m – ”

Flip’s been smoking his cigarette at the foot of the bed, watching Kylo touch you, watching Kylo prepare you for him. He nods, even though you can’t see it, your eyes shut tight from the sensation of Kylo’s fingers stuffed up your pussy.

“You get to come as many times as you can tonight ketsl, don’t hold them back.” Flip rubs your calf soothingly, smirks at how your toes are curled and how your thighs tremble already.

“Thank you Philly -- ohh your hand’s just so fucking big Kylo, pleaseplease – a little harder please -- !” You encourage, and Kylo listens, always listens to what you say, to what you want. He’s a little rougher with you, a little faster, his fingers stiffening and curling inside you to rub against your gspot so that you can get out a quick orgasm before the night really begins.

He doesn’t even have to touch your clit before your body is snapping up for a split second, relaxing right after, shocks of pleasure ricocheting inside your brain.

“She’s ready for you.” Kylo kisses you softly and carefully eases his fingers out of your pussy.

You’ve done this often enough, you know what’s coming, but it still thrills you every time, still sends a jolt of adrenaline up your chest. Your ribs ache for it, for the feeling of being pressed between them, your orgasm glowing over your body as Flip puts his cigarette out.

“Good, hold onto her for me, hold her steady.” Flip tells Kylo.

Manhandling you, Kylo leans against the headboard of the shitty bed that squeaks and creaks and groans, and pulls your back against his chest. It’s broad and warm and already covered in a sheen of sweat, and you grin blissed out and in love, as you watch Flip shuck off his clothes.

Kylo wraps his hands beneath your thighs and holds them open. Flip smiles and kisses your pussy sweetly, swipes his tongue through the come and slick between your legs just once, before licking it off his lips and swallowing it down.

You let out a long moan when Flip pushes the head of his cock into you, your hips widening for him as you adjust yourself back against Kylo’s chest. Kylo kisses your neck, sucks on your earlobe while Flip bottoms out inside you, the feeling of fullness all the way up to your cervix making your knees want to fight Kylo’s grip.

“Flip,” You whine, your mouth seeking his, “Holy shit that’s good.”

“Kylo, rub her clit for me.” Flip smiles against your lips, sucks on your tongue as he rolls his hips against yours. Kylo’s fingers find their way back to your clit and he presses down with steady pressure in little circles. Flip groans as the sound of his cock thrusting in and out of you fills the air, “Your pussy’s so wet, pretty girl.”

“O-oh!” You moan, before suddenly, the overstimulation has your nipples leaking, making your eyes snap open with embarrassment, “Oh fuck, I’m sorry I – ”

“What’s that?” Kylo says, as Flip stops fucking you for a minute.

“Milk, shit, hand me the little towel?” You groan, one hand covering your face as Kylo lets your legs down, as Flip gives you some space.

“No – !” Kylo’s brain short-circuits, realizing that it’s your breastmilk, suddenly strangely fiercely protective of it. He doesn’t want it to go to waste, not something so precious as that, something that comes from you, something for the life that you’ve created with Flip. “No I’ll, can I -- ?”

You and Flip look at each other, before looking back at him, and he feels his heart hammer in his chest. He doesn’t know how to explain it, he just…he just thinks it would be wrong to wipe it away, not when…not when he could savor it.

“Of course you can.” You whisper, and this is new, this is something you haven’t done before, either with Flip or with Kylo or anyone else.

But damn, you’re eager to try.

Kylo shuffles out from under you, and you settle down onto the mattress again. Flip moves over you again, his arms holding your legs up around his hips as his cock sinks back into your cunt. Kylo licks up the milk that’s dripped from your nipples and sighs at the taste, his finger returning to your clit as he lays himself down so his head can rest on your sternum, your breast in his other hand as he latches himself to your nipple and sucks.

“Mmmmm.” You moan, one hand pulling Flip down to make out with him as he fucks you, your other hand carding gently through Kylo’s hair.

The sensation is overwhelming – the suction on your nipple as Kylo drinks his fill, his rough fingers on your clit, Flip’s cock dragging in and out of you, in and out in and out it drives you insane, it drives you over the edge, it makes your back arch and your toes curl and your eyes sting with pleasure, with the overstimulation on all ends.

“Aw fuck, fuck Flip – Kylo – fuck I’m – ” You’re hiccupping, panting, sweat sweat sweating all over and Flip knows you’re going to come again, he speeds his hips up, brings you closer closer closer, and you’re sobbing out their names, “Flip, Ky! Please!”

You come hard on Flip’s cock on Kylo’s fingers, cunt clenching down around them. Flip fucks you through it, you’re not done yet, not yet, not even getting started.

“You think you can take both of us?” Flip asks you seriously, sweetly, calmly. He doesn’t want to hurt you, never wants to hurt you, and so he makes sure you can handle it.

“Please!” Your eyes are clouded from orgasm as it rips through you, but there’s clear certainty in your voice when you shudder through the pleasure that you want, that they’re going to give you.

“Ky.” Flip places a sweating hand on his back, getting his attention. Kylo nods, pulls off of your nipple and licks up the droplets of milk that linger on his red swollen lips.

Kylo lays down on his back, and Flip gets off of you, grabs you carefully and settles you right on Kylo’s cock. It’s roughly the same size as Flip’s, although not as thick around the shaft, and you’re boneless above him as you sink down on it with a great big moan.

Flip kneels behind you, and whispers into your ear to relax as he pushes his cock inside your pussy too. You let your hips drop to accommodate them, and your nipples leak onto Kylo’s stomach as you cry, it’s too good, it’s so much and not enough because neither of them are moving and if they don’t start to move soon you might just lose your mind.

“You’re doing so good baby.” Flip’s hands hold you up, you can’t do it yourself, you’re drooling all over yourself and trying your best not to scream. Still, Flip asks, “Does it feel good?”

“Uh-huhh, you’re both really fucking big I – oh!” You let a big string of drool land on Kylo’s face, and he just licks it up, eyes wide, pupils blown black with lust. You can barely see one another in the shitty light of the lamp, but it’s enough to see how fucking hungry they both are for you.

“I’m going to come soon.” Kylo grunts out.

Now that he’s got his cock in you too, he’s starting to lose the ability to form coherent sentences. The tightness of your pussy and the friction of Flip’s cock rubbing against his own have his whole body tensing and flexing, shuddering and shaking as you moan and cry cry cry on top of him.

“Not fucking yet.” Flip growls through clenched teeth.

“Flip,” You sob, rocking back on the two cocks that can barely fit inside you, on the cusp of another orgasm that you’re almost afraid is going to hurt from how good it’ll be.

Flip thrusts into you harder, faster, he’s close too, you know he is, you can tell, can tell with how he’s starting to bite down on your shoulder, bite enough that he could break skin.

“No, not yet.” Flip shakes his head, hair sweaty and falling in his face as he corrals your body up and off him, with a harsh, “Pull out of her. I’m gonna come in you okay ketsl?”

“Please Flip, fill me up honey.” You cry into his mouth as he kisses you deeply, passionately, rolling you onto your sides so he can have one hand on your hip and the other splayed out across your back.

He grunts with a muffled shout against your lips and comes, shoots a hot thick load into your cunt and groans through it, hips pushing it deeper. He stays like that for a few moments, before forcing himself to pull out of your throbbing aching pussy. His come oozes onto your folds, drips and pools onto your slit. He strokes himself to make sure that every last drop gets on your pussy, before he collapses down onto the mattress with a loud groan, chest heaving.

“Fuck my come back into her, slowly Kylo.” Flip orders the man who had been fucking his fist to keep himself from shouting out your name. Kylo’s so quick to scramble back on top of your body, that Flip lets out a chuckle as he lights another cigarette and breathes, “Go slow, don’t come yet.”

“She’s so hot, you’re so fucking hot, sweets.” Kylo moans as he rubs the head of his dick into Flip’s come, pushes it through your folds and into your cunt. The squelch is slick, heady and so thick, the room smells so much like sex that Kylo almost blacks out from that alone, from the all consuming feeling of you.

“Thank you Kylo.” You slur your words, blissed out of your mind, the world moving in slow motion as Kylo takes long drags in and out of your pussy, pushing more of Flip’s come back into your body with each thrust.

“C-can I come, Flip, please,” Kylo sweats all over you, it drips down from his nose, the ends of his hair. He drools into the pit of your throat, and Flip breathes smoke through his nostrils like a great languid dragon, watching your face.

“No, not until she comes one more time.” Flip smiles at you softly, turning your face to meet his as he kisses you, his tongue hot and thick against yours as he sucks on your bottom lip. “You’re gonna come like this, aren’t you ketsl?”

“P-Phil I – yesyes I –” You cut yourself off and come for the last time of the evening, nothing but sensations, lights and sounds and feeling all around you. You feel like you can taste it, up in your throat, how much come there is inside you. Your hands rub at your lower stomach, it’s like you can feel it, sloshing around inside you. “I’m so full.”

“Here honey-bunny,” Flip gives Kylo a nod, “You can take some more, here.”

Kylo comes so hard that his arms give out on top of you, and he falls with a thud onto your messy chest. You’re all disgusting, covered in spit and tears and sweat, milk and come, all mixing all over these sheets. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you make a reminder to leave more cash for the maid in the morning.  

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

Everything is quiet, as the three of you catch your breath. Kylo comes in you just as much as Flip does, and you moan in the back of your throat at the thought of it mixing together, your two favorite boys inside you.

“Thank you Philly, thank you Ky.” You mumble, your eyes shut, mind already starting to drift off to sleep. You’re exhausted, after all that, and the pillowcase is cool and so inviting.

“You’re welcome sweets.” Kylo pulls out of you, his cock softening enough that you only wince a little from the overstimulation.

“Anything for my girl.” Flip pulls you to him once again, never wanting you too far away, wanting you close to him.

“Sleep?” You tuck your head under his chin, already snuggling against him, not caring about anything else in the entire world other than the heartbeat underneath your cheek.

“No, no not yet, we gotta get cleaned up.” Flip cards his fingers through your tangled knotted hair, picking apart the sweatier pieces and coaxing you up with little kisses. “C’mon ketsl, shower time.”

“I can’t get up.” You complain, and Flip chuckles because after the night you just had, he’d be surprised if you’d be okay to walk for a couple of days.

It was a good thing the weekend was just around the corner, he thinks, because he doesn’t envision you getting out of bed at all when he gets you back home, when you leave the motel in the morning. Still, you can’t not shower and use the bathroom, so he pats Kylo’s shoulder.

“Ky, give me a hand?” He asks, hoping to get some help from the man.

Thankfully, Kylo’s awake enough to shoulder some of the weight as the three of you shuffle your way to the bathroom. The hot water is blissful on your sore muscles, and you groan and moan and sigh with happiness as big strong hands wash your body, your hair, your face.

In the morning, the three of you will sneak out well before anyone will have any clue that you’ve gone. You’ll wrap your arms around Flip’s middle as he rides the motorcycle back towards home. You’ll pick up your daughter from your dear friend who knows what you get up to and doesn’t judge, and whenever anyone else asks where you’ve been, well…you won’t be lying when you tell them paradise.

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

[elephantsneedwater]

ACT 1: Like last time

——————————————————————

“I’m not sure if I should keep serving you,” Claire said as I slid my glass towards her.

My vision was blurry and the world was wavy, but “I can still hear the music. More, please.”

She cocked an eyebrow at me, but listened and poured me a quarter glass of my favorite tequila. I was too antsy about the liquor that I almost pulled away while she was still pouring. She sent me a chastised tick of her tongue and I rolled my eyes bringing the glass to my lips.

Our eyes locked and I could see her mind working. I’ve been here for two hours now, not saying too much. Even Rogue caught the tension in my shoulders and the look in my eyes and gave me a wide berth. Claire though had no idea what I’ve been through and how my life has just shattered to pieces and scattered in the wind. Being alive is what I’m most proud of, but being alive and alone is so much worse than dying and being surrounded by others.

My red nails tapped against the sticky counter of the Afterlife bar, Claire was still looking at me, her brow cocked and her teeth pulling in her cheek. I sighed, pinched my nose and set my glass down. The tequila swept down my throat and my cheeks burned.

“If you keep staring at me you’ll bore a hole into my skull,” I sneered.

“I’m trying to figure it out.”

I squinted, “Figure what out?”

Another patron caught her eye, and she poured him a whiskey and quickly came back. She leaned down on the counter, her elbows sliding into a bit of liquid.

“Who did you allow close enough to tear your heart out?”

I froze, “What?” I balked.

Was it so obvious that River weighed that heavily on my mind? Was I so readable? I know I’ve been gone for awhile and haven’t been around many people, but...

“Whoa, whoa, V. Are you alright?”

Claire was staring at me her eyes a bit wide in shock.

“What?”

“You’re crying.” She pointed towards my face and it was then that I could feel the hot tears on my cheeks. My vision was a bit blurry.

Quickly, I wiped at my eyes, “I -,”

Claire scooped up my glass and tossed the contents down the sink. She grabbed a new glass and filled it with cold water.

“Drink. I’m closing your tab, and calling you a cab.”

“I drove here.” I sputtered wrapping my hand around the cool glass.

“Like I’m gonna let you drive. Drink it, V. I’ll have Ted,” She cast her eyes to one of the new bouncers, his shaved head reminded me of River and my eyes lolled back to her, “take you to the cab. Drink.”

She was a bit demanding and I widened my eyes in mock disgust and began to drink my water.

——————————————————————

My eyes snapped open. The light from mid morning slipped in between the slats of my window. I blinked and sat up on my elbows, glancing about. Sex still lingered on my skin and I could see my clothes scattered about the tiled floor. Smirking, I swung my bare legs over the side of the bed, keeping my sheets to my chest.

A heavy feeling pulsed in my head and I rubbed at my forehead.

“Don’t grimace too much, I’ve got your coffee right here.” River announced as the front door swished open. His grey long sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his leather pants hung nicely on his hips.

River was carrying two small coffee cups and I spotted a brown paper bag tucked under his arm. In a few long strides he was in front of me and I happily took the the warm cup.

“I spy with my little eye: pastries?” I smiled up at him, and leaned down brushing his lips across my forehead before moving to the couch.

“I may have ventured over to your favorite bakery.” He smirked, setting his cup down.

I leaned back on my hand, allowing she sheets to pool around my hips as I brought the coffee to my lips.

“Mhmm.” I sighed.

It was exactly what I needed. My eyes fluttered open to see River staring at me, a pastry tucked between his lips but his eyes were slinking down my body. He was leaned back against the purple couch, and I could see the excitement strain against his pants.

With a sly smile I set my cup down by the bed, pulled the sheets from my naked body and ventured over to River. He watched me with extreme curiosity as I straddled his lap, leaning forward to bite at the other half of the sweet pastry. Rivers hands gripped my hips hard and rolled me over so I was under him. He pulled the treat from my lips and discarded it onto the napkins he set out on the table. His lips crashed into mine and I moaned pulling him close, my legs wrapping around his hips, the roughness of his leather pants rubbed against me and I gasped using it to my leverage.

A chuckle escaped his full lips as he trailed kisses down my neck and across my breasts.

“You had your treat. My turn for something sweet,” his hands gripped my hips as his lips trailed down my torso. My breath quickened and pleasure coiled into my stomach as his breath ghosted over my most sensitive spot.

——————————————————————

“Fuck.” I groaned snapping my eyes open.

It took me a few moments to wake up and my hand slipped from my pajama bottoms. Cursing again I pulled off my tank top and black sweats beelining to the shower. In my haste I tripped over a moving box, my little toe screamed as I grumbled under my breath.

My reflection in the mirror was a sore sight, mascara was smeared across my eyes and my lip gloss was sticky against my chin and cheek, a few wisps of ginger hair was stuck in the substance. Swallowing against the dryness of my throat I turned the shower on, not even bothering to wait for the water to heat up.

It crashed against my skin, and I leaned against the cool wall. After a few minutes, ten at most I turned the water off and wrapped a towel around my wet body. My longer hair dripped down my shoulders and to the floor as I rummaged in my closet.

I was lucky enough to get the same apartment I had before, the super said something about housing the infamous V was good for business. I wasn’t going to argue, the familiarity is nice.

As I slipped a lounge tank over my head, it stuck a bit to my damp skin and as I tugged it down my scarred torso my phone rang and I stopped.

River Ward flashed before me and I cursed. I still had three days to get my shit together before meeting him. I wasn’t ready to speak to him but as I pulled up sweat pants high over my hips, I clicked answer.

His deep voice filled my ears and I bit my lip to keep from saying anything too on towards. He wasn’t mine anymore.

“Hey, V. Joss heard you were back in town and naturally Randy wants to meet up.”

I kept quiet until he called my name again.

“Yes? Sorry.”

“I gave Randy your number. He’s excited about catching up and getting dinner.” River repeated.

“Oh, ok. Does he have a place in mind? I can meet him later on today.” I responded.

“Actually, I was gonna cook.” His voice fell into a lighter note and my heart sped up.

“Like last time?” I sputtered.

He was quiet for a bit, I could hear his own breathing grow heavy before he spoke, “Yes. Like last time.”

I couldn’t hide the smile that pulled at my lips this time, memories of our first family dinner swam into my mind and I responded with a quick okay before hanging up.

With my face in my hands I sat on my bed going over our conversation when a text from Randy pinged. My mind was looking forward to what might happen and an ache spread between my legs as I laid back ignoring the text.

I knew something bad and good was going to come out of meeting up with the family again, and it terrified me.

——————————————————————

And chapter two is a go. I hope you guys like it! Just like the game this will be a very mature story so expect it to not be PG - 13 in anyway.

Let me know what you think!

[artificialqueens]

Cause Somewhere in the Crowd (There's You) (Diamond Chaney) - Plegdoctor

A/N: Not much to say for this one really, just a short Diamond Chaney girlband au based off Super Trouper by ABBA. Enjoy!

--

The other girls were more excited than she was, unpacking the van and chatting animatedly while all Lawrence could do was stare around. The building in front of her was imposing in more ways than one – physically huge, towering over her and casting a shadow on the otherwise sunny day, but also mentally imposing. Lawrence can still remember walking into it when she was a small girl in primary school, brown hair in neat plaits and eyes as wide as saucers as she hung onto her best friend’s hand and gaped.

Now she’s standing in front of it, brown hair dyed a vibrant purple and thrown into a ponytail at the top of her head, her eyes wide as saucers, and her hand empty.

It had all gone a bit too far really, starting with Bimini slamming their fists on the table in year 12 and excitedly suggesting they start a girlband (“Well, three girls and me innit”) and Lawrence can’t trace her finger along what happened next to lead her to standing in Glasgow, a sinking feeling in her stomach as she realises what she’s doing there.

“You alright babe?” Lawrence turns to look down on Bimini, standing next to her with a concerned frown on their face. “Excited to be back in your hometown?”

Lawrence forces a laugh, a fake smile slipping onto her face in an action that more natural than she would care to admit. “Loving it Bim.”

Bimini grins. “Good. Just think, it’ll be like facing 20,000 of your friends.”

Lawrence’s snort is genuine at Bimini’s words, her eyes rolling fondly at the never-ending optimism of her tiny friend. “I don’t think there’s quite that many seats, babes.”

Self-proclaimed monarch of the PMA, Bimini simply shrugs and pivots to run towards Tayce who is three seconds away from dropping the crate full of water on her foot. Lawrence watches the scenes with a hint of amusement, the weighted feeling in her stomach settling. Her mind goes back to Bimini’s words, the thought of facing 20,000 of your friends. There’s only one friend that Lawrence wants to face when she’s on stage tonight – and that friend is currently on the other side of Scotland in her hairdressing salon.

The thought weighs on her mind until it’s pressing against her cranium and cracking her skull by the time she’s thrown herself across the hotel bed and sighed for approximately the 50 millionth time.

Lawrence loves what she does. She does. She loves her friends, Bimini, Tayce, and A’whora. She loves the process of writing new songs, long hours locked in the studio throwing harmonies and lyrics around until it just sounds like pure gibberish. She (secretly) loves learning the choreography that Tayce insists they must do, repeating the wee steps until her body finally moves in the right way and Tayce enthusiastically high fives her. She loves getting into costume and makeup, the process transforming her from Lawrence Chaney who got picked on in school into international popstar Lawrence Chaney who regularly performs on the biggest stages all around the world with her girlband.

They’ve worked hard for what they have too. Lawrence likes to tell people that becoming a household name is no overnight feat. From the day that Bimini first suggested it, to the joyful tears rolling down their faces as they came second on the X Factor, to their first single blowing up. They’ve worked hard every step of the way and been rewarded for it.

So why does Lawrence feel so ready to give it up? Part of the success that never ends is continuing to work, but for the past two months Lawrence has done nothing but eat, sleep, and sing. Her throat is raw and at moments she thinks she’s going crazy.

Her eyes catch her phone, dressed up in the delightfully tacky pink phone case that was a gift from Ellie for her last birthday. She picks it up and the screen flickers to life, displaying a picture of two girls with their heads close together and identical smiles.

Lawrence hasn’t spoken to her in far too long. Recently the whirlwind of life has swept her up to much for her to even think straight let alone have a conversation with a human being who is not also obsessively repeating lyrics under their breath.

“Hey.”

It’s a lonely word.

“Hey. It’s good to hear from you.”

Then Lawrence hears that voice, that accent that is so soft in her ear, and she could cry.

“I didn’t disturb you did I?”

“No hen, it’s fine, I only jumped so much at the ringing of my phone that I shaved some wee granny’s curls off but I’m sure she’ll forgive me.”

Ellie’s bored and matter of fact tone makes Lawrence burst out a laugh. “Poor Doreen, she’s really got to stop trusting you with those clippers.”

She can only imagine the way the corner’s of Ellie’s mouth might turn up at her teasing. “How is the salon anyway?”

“It’s in good hands. But babe, forget the salon, how’s your tour going?”

Even Ellie, the girl who knows her better than anyone else in the world, is excited for Lawrence and that only breaks her heart more. She grins ruefully, despite the knowledge that Ellie can’t see her.

“Honestly? I’ve been wishing that every show was the last show.”

Ellie’s little high-pitched noise of protest comes from her throat, her mouth undoubtedly in a little O shape with her eyebrows sliding upwards. “But you’ve only just got to Glasgow! You wouldn’t want to miss that!”

“Do you remember that trip to the theatre in primary school?”

A beat of silence at the other end of the line. “Of course I do. The one where I almost threw up on the bus because you fed me too many sweets?”

Lawrence chuckles. “Aye. Love how that’s the thing you remember about it.”

Miles away, Ellie shrugs cheekily. “I never forget friend abuse.”

“You’re such a wee cow, you know that right?”

“All part of my charm.”

“Anyway, being here is just making me realise how much I miss home. Tour is great Els, but I miss everything. I miss you.”

Ellie laughs. Lawrence shoots up in the hotel bed in outrage. “I just poured my heart out to you and you laugh at me?”

“First of all, not sure saying you miss me is pouring your heart out.”

She’s glad she chose to do this alone in the room and not anywhere near the other girls. She can’t begin to imagine the way that A’whora would pounce on her flushed face.

“Second of all, I wasn’t going to tell you this but I have a surprise for you. Listen.”

Ellie switches the phone to speakerphone and holds it away from her ear. In contrast, Lawrence presses her ear against the screen harder, knuckles white as she grips the pink case.

At first she can’t hear anything, just the faint murmuring of people talking in the background. She strains to listen for the sounds of hairdryers and flowing water. None of that comes and Lawrence lets out a huff of frustration.

“Ellie, explain to me exactly what the fuck I’m meant to be listening for?”

This train will depart at Glasgow.

Lawrence’s mouth dries completely.

“You’re coming to Glasgow?”

“No, just got on the train there for a bit of fun, I’m going straight back. Might not even get off the train it’s so comfy.”

“Get to fuck Els, I’m meant to be the funny one in this relationship.” Her mouth might be dry but her eyes aren’t, small jewels of tears welling up and threatening to spill over with every shaking word.

“I’m taking that title for now. I just need you to be the famous one in this relationship. You can do that, can’t you?”

“Ellie, for you I would do this entire tour all over again.”

Closer to her than she realises, Ellie smiles. “Good. See you on stage.”

“I’ll be thinking about you only.”

The call ends with a smile on Lawrence’s lips and a single tear sliding down her cheek. Suddenly she feels alright. And it’s gonna be so different when she’s on the stage tonight.

--

“Alright slags! Lawrence’s hometown so we’re gonna rock it just as hard as we always do. Hands in and United Kingdolls on three! One, two, three, United Kingdolls!” All four of them cheer, hoisting their hands in the air.

Their little preshow chanting may seem silly to other people but they’ve always done it. Even when it was only them singing covers with Ellie doing their hair and makeup, and A’whora ripping through charity shops to find decent costumes. It feels only fitting that they still do it now when they’re singing their own songs in professionally made costumes and makeup done by a professional artist.

Lawrence still keeps the style of her hair the same though. It’s changed colours a few times over the years, but it’s always in the same curls that Ellie brushed through minutes before the sixth form talent show.

Lawrence inhales as the music starts. The beat is steady and familiar, but tonight it feels so much more electric. She knows that the minute she’s on that stage she’s going to get blinded by that one beam of stage light that always finds it’s way to her eye, but she won’t feel blue like she always does.

When she gets on stage her eyes roam the massive crowd until she sees, in the very middle of a group of screaming girls, a head of baby pink hair. The sight of her proves to Lawrence that she’s still alive, and Lawrence uses that spark of energy to throw everything into her performance. She hits every note perfectly, her body moving in perfect harmony to the choreography that she usually fucks up at least once.

There’s a massive smile on her painted lips and she hopes that Ellie can read the smile, know that because of her, Lawrence is having fun on stage for the first time in months. There’s four of them in the band, but tonight Lawrence feels like a number one. The lights do not blind her but find her instead, shining like the sun.

They finish the first song with a flourish and Lawrence ignores the hundreds of screams to find Ellie’s. They still have the rest of the show, but Lawrence knows that they’re going to get through it and give Glasgow the best concert they’ve seen in years. Then she can stumble off stage and go from popstar Lawrence to Ellie’s Lawrence, falling into her arms and holding her tight. It’s gonna mean so much more tonight.

Because, somewhere in the crowd, there’s Ellie.

[descendantofthesparrow]

Shuffle Playlist - Rewrite - Part of Your World - Harry Hook x Reader - part 6 - Makeovers and little sisters

guess who wrote this part last night and forgot about it the entire day~ me

 your outfit:

=

Mal stepped over a pile of green sludge as she carefully dodged a passing isle resident, they turned to snarl at her but gasped as she turned back and bared her teeth, forcing her bit of magic left in her to let her eyes glow.

The resident bolted off, not wanting to stay around the daughter of Maleficent any longer. Mal sighed, shaking her head slightly to rid of the small headache that had suddenly appeared.

“note to self, glowy eyes hurt here” she muttered to herself, she had forgotten that pushing that bit of magic up into her head had caused her headaches on the isle.

She stopped in front of Curl up and Dye, brow-raising at the sign on the door.

‘closed until midnight’

She huffed, glancing behind her to see if anyone was watching before pushing open the door and stepping inside. Immediately the low sound of music bombarded her senses, the smell of chemicals swirling around her, and the vision of paint splatters all over the walls and floors making Mal laugh.

Dizzy had been busy while she had been gone. She drew back the plastic curtains used to keep cold in those big ass refrigerators at grocery stores and peered into the hair salon, smiling as she watched dizzy spin around with her broom and dance while she swept up hair from the night before.

Mal got a good look at Dizzy’s attire as she moved about the room, dark forest green overall shorts splattered with dye and paint with multicolored pins decorating the torso, faint purple ripped leggings, a dull faded pink t-shirt underneath, bright yellowish gold-painted gloves with metalwork bits and bobs glued on, dark green sneakers with painted gold fabric laces, her family crest ring on her left pointer finger, and her usual glasses and headphones on her head. Mal smiled again, remembering Evie always trying to encourage Dizzy to create her own style than to always wear that sickly green and yellowish colored dresses her mother always made her wear.

It had looked like she had followed Evie's word. Dizzy did one last spin, her eyes going wide as she finally spotted Mal. “MAL!” she squealed, making the older teen wince a bit from the high pitch. Dizzy ripped off her headphones from her ears and tossed them around her neck, giving a wide grin at the blonde-haired Mal. “is Evie back too?!

Mal gave the young teen a shrug and shook her head “no, just me” she hummed, suppressing the smile she wanted to give to dizzy as the girl's shoulders dropped in disappointment. She took another look around the salon, letting one of her old smirks grow on her face “you’ve really gone all out here….looks good” Dizzy’s downturned eyes turned to a bright grin as she looked around at her work.

“forgot you guys don’t open till midnight….think you can break a few rules?” Dizzy pursed her lips and set the broom on an empty chair, walking over to Mal and grabbing onto her long-curled hair.

“the blonde with purple tips?” Dizzy sighed, giving Mal a bored look “completely washes out your face and I can't even tell your skin and hair apart” Mal let out a little snort and shook her head. Dizzy grabbed her arm and lead her to one of the empty salon chairs and spun her around. “how far can I go?” she hummed, leaning on her palm and smirking down at Mal.

Mal shrugged “honestly, do whatever, just make it….me” she hummed, smiling as Dizzy squealed in excitement and walked over to her huge bottles of chemicals and picked up the dark bubbling purple one. She spun around, grinning as Mal gave her a slightly nervous look.

“let's do this” Dizzy giggled, skipping over to Mal and setting the dye onto the table next to the chair and grinning down at her. Mal pressed her lips together tightly as she looked up at the scheming young teen.

“don’t burn me” she muttered, closing her eyes and slumping in the chair, preparing to let Dizzy do whatever she wanted.

“I won't ~”

=

You grunted as you struggled to put on the black ripped up skinny jeans you had bought two months ago, while they fit perfectly it was always a hassle to get them past your hips.

“come on you stupid- AH!” you tumbled over and hit the carpet with a loud thump, leaving you on the floor groaning in pain.

You shook your head and pulled at the hem of your jeans, laughing in victory as they finally slid over your hips and were buttoned over your stomach.

You stood from the floor and grabbed your black combat boots, quickly shoving them on and tying them. You paused, looking down and cursing, the entire time you had somehow forgotten your shirt.

You zipped up the boots and rushed over to your dresser, pausing as you saw one of Harry's rare-non ripped tank top hoodies sitting folded in your dresser. You snorted as a dumb thought came to mind, but decided to go through with it.

“time to cosplay Harry” you laughed to yourself, sliding on the large tank top and flipping the hood down. You grabbed your skull belt and slid it into the pants loops and buckled it. You stopped for a moment, looking at yourself in the standing mirror sitting next to your dresser, and crossed your arms. “It's missing something” you hummed, tilting your head.

It hit you a moment later and you grabbed your copy of Harry and Gil's dorm room key and bolted across the hallway, unlocking their door and running over to Harry's closet, grabbing one of his old black and red leather isle jackets. You smiled at the spray panted Hook symbol on the back and slid the slightly heavy jacket on, it somehow fit you perfectly, but you guessed it was because it was one of his jackets from when he was younger, and more around your size.

You grabbed one of his sets of leather gloves and slid them on, taking it upon yourself to also raid his ring stash. You smirked at the tentacle ring, and slid it onto your pinkie, it was probably your favorite one besides his ruby ring with the black band.

You looked into Harry's mirror and smirked, now you were ready. Your shoulders dropped as something silver and metal caught your eye in the mirror, you spun around, gasping as you saw Harrys hook sitting on his bed, next to his sword. “that idiot” you groaned, smacking your forehead with your palm and walking over to his bed and grabbing the precious hook and his sword. You slid the hook through your belt loop and looked around for his sword's sheath.

You found it resting against his dresser, you grabbed it and slid the sword into it, before taking off your jacket and slipping the sheath around your shoulders and letting it rest on your hip. You slid the jacket back on and bolted out of his dorm, running to Evie and Mals where the blue-haired teen was making Bens isle gear.

“Guess what the fucking idiot left!” you yelled, taking the hook from your belt and waving it in the hair. Gil and Jay face palmed as they locked their eyes onto the weapon.

Evie took one look and groaned, holding her face in her hands and shaking her head “and from the looks of it he left his sword too” she sighed, pointing at the cutlass that rested on your hip.

“fucking yep!” you yelled, waving your hands in the air and beginning to pace the room “so now he has no fucking weapons with him and I have no fucking clue what's going to happen to him! What happens if someone finds him and he can’t-“

“(y/n)!” Gil yelled, stopping you in your tracks by stepping in front of you and grabbing your shoulders “Harry knows how to take care of himself, he'll be just fine, he also knows how to stay out of trouble…he never does it but he knows how.” He patted your arm and released you, turning to Evie as she asked him to grab some extra gold fabric.

You let out a raspberry and flopped on Mal's bed, staring up at the ceiling as anxiety started to burrow into your mind. You did your best to ignore it since Harry was very much capable of taking care of himself.

He would be just fine.

Just fine.

=

Dizzy swung the chair back around, facing the once again purple-haired Mal towards the shattered mirrors. Mal stood, leaning down to look into one of the cracked shards and squinted at herself.

Her once mid-back length blonde purple-tipped hair had been dyed a lighter-toned purple than her natural color, now just at her collar bones in a blunt cut with her bangs in a side part and the right-side cascading down her face and brushing against her lashes.

ref:

She looked like her but….there was something missing. She took a deep breath and hardened her features, her eyes sharpening and her jaw locking into a grimace “there I am” she hummed, standing up tall and spinning around to look at Dizzy, who grinned and threw her arms open in celebration.

“Voila!”

“Voila” Mal hummed in a dry tone, pulling out a stash of cash she had taken before she left Auradon and handed a $50 to Dizzy, who stared wide-eyed at Mal. “for me?” she gasped, gently taking the cash and holding it close to her chest.

“yeah,” Mal smirked, cocking her hip and crossing her arms “you earned it” Mal watched the younger teen as she skipped over to the register, only to be stopped by a black leather-gloved hand.

“hand it over you runt” Davy growled, his dark blue eyes staring threateningly into Dizzy’s. Jack the monkey giving the young vk a sharp grin. Dizzy’s shoulders dropped as she handed over the once new $50 and pouted as Davy turned to the register counter and tapped it with his knuckle. “the rest of it too, don’t want the crew trashin’ the place eh?”

Dizzy kept her eye on Jack as she walked around the counter and opened the register, taking what little money was left inside and placing it into Davys open palm. He hummed, giving a taunting bow to Dizzy and turning to leave.

“Considering you don’t got a crew I assume that your running errands for some dolt captain?” Mal taunted, smirking as Davy slowly turned to glare at her.

“well well, look whose back” he purred, walking closer to her and lifting Jack to sit on one of the empty chairs “how exciting!”

“…” Mal just rose her brow, moving her wrist slightly to unlodge her switchblade from her sleeve.

“and for your information, I run under the orders of Uma now~” he chuckled, reaching forward and brushing his fingers against Mal's hair “and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if I rough up her little enemy huh Jack?” Jack bounced excitedly and screeched, Davy yelped loudly as Mal suddenly grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his torso, pulled him up against her chest, and shoved her knife very close to the artery in his throat.

“touch me again and Uma will be down a man” she growled, feeling the headache return as her eyes glowed. Davy kept his eyes locked on hers, a drop of sweat trailing from his brow.

She slowly released Davy's arm and pushed him away from her, letting out a cold cackle as he stumbled over a chair and some of Dizzy’s products spilled over him. He sat up, his hair covered in pink and green shampoo as he glared at her. “this ain't over yet you imp” he snarled, holding out his hand for Jack.

The monkey leaped onto his arm and scuttled up to his shoulder, curling his tail around the pirate teen's neck. “you'll be sorry” he huffed, stomping out of the salon with a screeching monkey in his ear.

Mal rolled her eyes, walking over to Dizzy and tossing the cash she had pickpocketed back from Davy to the younger teen. “oh!” Dizzy gasped, the bright grin that had disappeared with Davy’s appearance coming back to light “thank you!”

“don’t mention it” Mal hummed looking in the mirror shards again and fluffing up her hair “oh and by the way” she walked close to Dizzy, leaning down to whisper in the girl's ear “Harrys here too, but don’t worry if you see him, he won't steal from you” Dizzy gave her an odd look “just wanted to let you know so you don’t freak out?” the younger teen slowly nodded and placed the cash into the register.

“Alright then, I’ll-where are you going?” Dizzy asked, watching ask Mal grabbed her backpack and made her way to the main door.

“back to my apartment, got nothing to do other to be there” Mal sighed, waving Dizzy goodbye and walking out of the salon, smirking as the residents that were walking around realized who she was, and scrambled to get out of her way.

She held her head high as she walked back to the hideout, yes, she might have been on the hell-like prison isle again, but she felt freer here than she had been in the past 4 months in Auradon.

=

Harry carefully looked around his empty dark apartment, not knowing if someone had claimed it after he left. He looked to his right, seeing one of his extra swords sitting by the door. He picked it up and flipped it in his hands, continuing to walk the large two-room apartment and keeping quiet to hear for any intruders.

“YOU’RE BACK!” Harry let out a yelp as someone slammed into his back and tackled him to the floor. He let out a low groan as the person who had tackled him giggled as she sat on his back.

“Hey CJ” he muttered, lifting his head and looking over his shoulder to see his little sister grinning down at him, her brown eyes alight with mischief. “aye, I’m back”

“haha! I told Harriet you were waiting for the right moment to strike! So where is it?! Where’s the wand” she started to palm around his jacket, searching for one of the only things that could break the barrier surrounding the isle.

Harry sat up, knocking CJ off his back and moving into his butt, crossing his legs and leaning against his knees “I’m not here fer tha’ CJ, in fact, tha’s not the plan anymore” CJ stopped in her attempt to continue searching his person, sitting back on her heels and staring at him with wide eyes.

Harry waited for CJ to yell at him for betraying her, but when she only stared at him in shock, he took his chance to explain everything. “look, CJ, I don’t have a way ta explain why I decided to turn meh back on evil, but I did, and I don’t regret it” he sighed, reaching out and holding onto CJs shoulders, watching as she slowly started to shake 

“but I promised five months ago I would get more kids off and that’s been unfortunately ignored by the council and beasty boy. I came here ta tell yeh I haven’t forgotten about yeh or Harriet, that I’m still going ta get yeh off the isle and away from da, I won't break meh promise to either of yeh.” CJ grabbed his arms and slowly took his hands off her shoulders, her eyes drifting to the floor.

“…it was that prissy Auradon girl wasn’t it” CJ snapped, her eyes snapping back up to glare into his “she turned you, made you go all goody two shoes” she snarled, yelling as she tried to stand but Harry wrapped his arms around her, easily pulling her back to the ground and into his lap “Lemme go you traitor!!! I trusted you! You were supposed to free us al-mmf!” Harry covered her mouth, shushing her.

“shut up! Let me explain what I can CJ, yes, (y/n) is one of the reasons I turned my back on evil, but she is NOT a prissy Auradon girl, she's one of the most badass lassies I've ever known, and I love her!” CJ stopped, slowly turning her head to look at him with wide eyes “I know yeh think I've betrayed yeh, but I didn’t, I betrayed da, that was it.” He stressed, shaking CJ lightly to get the point across “I realized I didn’t want da to be free, he’s a horrible person CJ, he deserves ta be here, but yeh don’t, Harriet doesn’t either, we”

 he pointed between the two of them “are not responsible for da’s actions and don’t deserve ta be punished fer what he’s done. Beasty boy agrees, and I've been trying for the last five months to get yeh and Harriet off the isle. I promise” he pulled CJ into a tight hug, hoping to convince her that he hadn’t betrayed her, or abandoned her. “I never meant ta leave you here”

It was a few moments of tense silence before CJs smaller arms wrapped around Harry's neck, her head coming to rest in the spot between his shoulder and neck “I believe you” she muttered, sniffing lightly. She and Harry sat in silence for a few moments, before CJ spoke again “you’ve changed.”

“fer the better” Harry muttered back “I’m still yer brother, and I haven’t changed in the ways yeh truly knew me, but I’m not the same as I was 6 months ago” he pulled back, giving his baby sister a soft smile, one she had only seen a few times in her life. She continued to stare at him for another moment before one of her usual shit-eating grins spread across her face. Harry mentally groaned as CJ tipped forward and shoved him to the ground

“Just because you changed big bwudda~” she teased, saying his title in a baby voice “Don’t mean the way I mess with you will….please tell me you still steal stuff? Like-you didn’t go full goody two shoes?” CJ pleaded, crossing her arms on his chest and pouting at him.

Harry snorted and  pushed her off of him, sitting up and smirking at her “you do!” CJ cheered, throwing her hands up in the air and throwing them around his torso “what's your biggest score?!”

“uhhhh, beasty boys crown” Harry smiled, remembering when he and (y/n) had decided that Ben's crown was a good thing to steal at 1 am when they were delirious from not sleeping. “no.way” CJ laughed, slapping him on the arm to encourage him to tell the story “what made you-?”

“(y/n) ‘n I were really tired from our history report at 1 am so she just suggested we take his crown and I agreed” Harry shrugged, snickering as CJ started to giggle so hard, she clutched her sides.

“ooooh my hades! That’s amazing” she snorted, letting herself fall on her side and grin up at Harry through teary eyes “…anything else?”

“(y/n) stole FGs wand a couple times?” Harry offered, falling back slightly as CJ sat up suddenly and grabbed his shoulders.

“SHE WHAT? WHY DID YOU KEEP THIS AMAZING INFORMATION FROM ME?! You want me to like her dont ya?! that’s all you had to say! I love her already when are you marrying her?” Harry felt his face flush and he slapped off CJs hands.

“I-CJ! We’ve-it’s only been six months since we started dating?! I only just admitted to myself that I love ‘er” CJ rolled her eyes.

“blah blah blah, those boradon heroes marry each other after knowing each other for five minutes, you’ve got six months, just use moms ring for her or something” Harry facepalmed and shook his head.

“CJ, I haven’t even told (y/n) tha’ I love ‘er yet, chill” CJ pouted and shoved at his shoulder.

“coward, she sounds awesome, and yet you wait to snatch her up, wait too long and I’ll lose a dope ass sister-in-law” Harry just stared at her blankly and pushed her face away from him.

“Alright, I’m done talking about tha’ ta yeh, where’s Harriet? I need ta talk ta ‘er too” CJ shrugged and stood from the floor, dusting her long scarlet jacket off.

“dunno, last I saw her was at school” Harry crossed his arms and rose his brow. “okay okay, she's hanging around her ship, the other side of Uma’s side of the Warf, the two had a truce for a couple months before well…” she gestured to him “you didn’t come back” Harry’s shoulders dropped and he shook his head.

“I didn’t mean ta leave fer so long, but beasty boy was distracted and the council was being assholes, I couldn’t do much about it” CJ rolled her eyes and smacked his shoulder.

“and you’ve already apologized about it….which is weird and never ever do it again, or I will stab you” she snarked, giving him a sharp grin and spinning around towards his front door. “Harriet’s busy right now so you’ll have to wait until she's done with it”

“wha’ is she doin’?” Harry sighed, following after CJ and leaning against the doorway.

“uhhhh captain crew stuff, dunno, she didn’t let me hang around and stuck the twins on me” she pouted, glaring off at the building in front of his.

“Sterling n’ Skipper? How are they?” he asked, smiling as CJ gave him a simple thumbs up.

“They good….as good as a Smee kid can be, Harriet’s taken to make sure everyone knows they are under the Hook family’s protection, not even Davy messes with them.” Harry uncrossed his arms and his jaw clicked.

“Davy?” he muttered; he had been wondering about what the son of Barbossa was doing “what about Davy?” CJ sighed and gave him a look.

“He’s Uma’s first mate….” she waited for his reaction, winching as Harry's icy blue eyes turned dark and he clicked his jaw again.

“….Uma thinks I left ‘er don’t she?” he muttered, looking down at his shoes and gritting his teeth.

“yeah….” CJ hummed, sticking her hands in her jacket pockets as she rocked on her heels, watching as Harry clenched his fists so hard they shook “I’m guessing you’re gonna go talk to Uma now?”

“aye” he muttered, turning and grabbing his extra sword again, looking for its sheath “I’ll see yeh later”

CJ nodded and turned, quickly going down the stairs of the building and heading back to Facilier’s arcade to hang with Freddie. “don’t let dad see you!” she yelled behind her shoulder, nodding to herself in satisfaction as Harry yelled back.

“don’t plan on letting ‘im even know I’m ‘ere!”

CJ disappeared into the alleys, leaving Harry to finish gearing up and get ready to head to the chip shop.

He needed to explain something to his oldest friend.

-end of part 6-

Here it is~ part 6, imma keep this little explanation note thing short and just say, I know CJ turned her opinion around on (y/n) and Harry being “better” pretty quickly, but really, (or at least hopeful I've made it come across clearly) Harry hasn’t changed much, the only thing about him that’s different is that he has better coping mechanisms, mentally healthier, and doesn’t steal as much as he used to. And CJ would love anyone who steals from Ben and FG, no doubt.

Yes, I changed Mal's hairstyle for D2 cuz I hate that damn pink wig and it's cut so much, so I made my own hairstyle. Also, I hope I made Mal actually intimidating in the little Mal vs Davy thing because in the OG version with Mal vs Harry she's JUST kitten pouting at him as if it’s doing anything. So, I hope I did her justice while also showing that she's still softer due to being in Auradon. (but only for Dizzy)

Also, Davy and Harry will officially meet (or reunite) next chapter, hold on to your butts! It's gonna be a rocky ride! (don’t worry bout Harry against Davy tho, Harry’s been eating actual food so he’s physically much stronger now and could easily kick Davy’s ass even without his extra sword)

also first fic/chapter of the year~

permtaglist

@queer-cosette​ @sephiralorange​

@lunanight2012​ @daughter-of-the-stars11​

@musicarose​ @random-thoughts-003​ @remembered-license​

@verboetoperee​ @thecaptainsgingersnap​ @imtryingthisout​ 

@rintheemolion​

taglist

@thesailbells​ @beccad10x​

[queen-swagzilla]

So Much Worse Than A Phantom Limb, Chapter 1 (BakuDeku)

Katsuki gritted his teeth against the noise bouncing around the classroom walls. The class was chattering animatedly as they waited for Aizawa, who was already ten minutes late. He was trying to go over his English homework, but he couldn't fucking concentrate—partly because of all the goddamn noise and partly because Deku was late too, and hadn't texted him to inform their homeroom teacher like he usually did.

He was trying to ignore the second point. After all, maybe he'd texted his nerd squad instead.

Aizawa dragged himself into the classroom at the twenty-minute mark. Iida even started to scold him until he recognized the haggard set of the teacher's face. He looked even worse than usual.

"Midoriya was involved in a villain attack. He is currently in the hospital. No one is permitted to see him—" he paused, eyes sliding to Katsuki who tensed immediately. "Except you. His mother requested your presence specifically."

Katsuki, who had gone deathly still, nodded once.

"Excuse me, but why him?" Uraraka asked, voice saccharine but shaded with barely discernable malice. "They can't even be in the same room together without fighting."

"It's what Mrs. Midoriya requested, and therefore the final answer. If I hear that any of you try to see Midoriya against his family's wishes, you will be immediately expelled." He stated, dark glare cutting across the room to the most likely perpetrators.

"Sensei," Bakugou called his attention back. "Do you mind if I call my mother to make sure she knows? Auntie shouldn't be alone in the hospital until I'm done with classes." Katsuki spoke, face carefully blank—almost bored to a careless observer. Aizawa was not a careless observer. He took in the rigid set of his shoulders and tight press of his lips and clenched fists and paling features and read the fear and concern in his student like an open book. After months of observing his two most problematic problem children, it wasn't a surprise to him. The rest of the class seemed shocked that he even had a considerate bone in his body.

"Of course. Take your time." Aizawa gestured to the door, and Katsuki hurried out, ignoring the shock on his friend's faces or Uraraka's steely glare. 

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

Auntie Inko had enveloped him in a hug as soon as he'd walked into Deku's hospital room. She was shaking—a violent full-body tremble that belied her fear. He could hear his mom speaking, but wasn't really processing her words because over Auntie's shoulder he was staring at Deku's prone form.

He was hooked up to a ventilator. There were dark purple bruises under his eyes. Katsuki had seen him less than twenty-four hours ago, and he already looked emaciated and pale.

Something was seriously wrong.

Aizawa was with them, discussing the minutiae of Deku's clearly serious quirk incident. He wasn't listening, because Deku was so still and quiet that if it weren't for the monitor, Katsuki would think he was dead. 

Dead.

An intrusive picture flitted across the back of his mind—an image of what life would be like without Deku. He shoved it aside.

He couldn't think about it. Not in front of Auntie Inko.

But then he finally heard what the adults were saying. Took in every detail about what was wrong with Deku. And he thought about it anyway.

There was a buzzing under his skin and a tightness in his chest. Lesser mortals would call it panic—or maybe terror. But he was the strong one. He didn't even panic when he'd been kidnapped. If he panicked now, everyone else would break.

He didn't have that luxury, but he supposed that was the price of being the strongest. Only one person could handle the full weight of his fears.

He could panic when Deku woke up. 

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

Deku was in a coma.

A fucking coma.

On Friday, the nerd left to see his mom for the weekend. On Monday, he was in a goddamn coma.

With a concussion. 

And two skull fractures. 

And a shattered tibia.

AND under the effects of an unknown but obviously deadly poisoning quirk. 

Thankfully, Aizawa had been there and had gotten that information first hand, so he wasn't responsible for relaying it. Unfortunately, the eighteen other idiots he lived with didn't see it that way. 

"Any news?" Eijiro asked him before he'd even taken his shoes off. 

"His medical care is confidential. Fuck off, Shitty Hair." He grumbled, beelining for the kitchen where every-fucking-one else was waiting. He bit back a growl of sheer frustration and exhaustion and powered through. He needed to eat like...six hours ago. 

"Bakugou! How's Deku doing?" Uraraka called as soon as he was in sight. "Fuck off Round Face." He grunted, grabbing his leftovers from the fridge and slamming the door behind him. 

"C'mon! If you're the only one who's allowed to see him, you gotta tell us how he's doing!" She insisted, crowding him. 

He's fucking dying. He thought vitriolically. And there's nothing I can do. "I don't have to tell you shit. Get the fuck away from me." He snapped, moving to stalk past her.

She grabbed his arm. "Hey! Don't walk away—" 

He detonated the hand she wasn't clinging to right next to her face. "Get the fuck off me." She dropped his arm immediately. "Let me leave this fucking kitchen or I'll blow up the fucking building." He snarled.

He stormed into his room, shoulder checking anyone who tried to stand in his way or ask him fucking questions. He knew they were curious and worried, but fuck why were they putting the responsibility on him to be the bearer of disastrously shitty news? Did he seem like the type of person who handled emotional bullshit well? 

He slammed the door to his room behind him as loudly as possible without actually breaking the door, ate his cold-ass leftovers, and dropped himself onto the bed.

And finally—finally—he cried. 

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

Eijiro was waiting for him when he opened his door the next morning. He almost slammed it shut again at the look on his face.

"What."

"Walk to class together? I can help fend people off." He offered. Katsuki studied him skeptically. "I heard you last night, man. We share a wall." Fantastic. Shitty Hair had heard him crying like a bitch. Spec-fucking-tacular. "And you're right, his business is confidential and it's not your responsibility to keep us updated."

"Like that'll stop the nerd squad from prying anyways," Katsuki grumbled, pulling his door shut behind him in acceptance of Eijiro's offer to be his human shield. They walked in silence most of the way, but fuck Eijiro was a good friend, so he knew what was coming next. 

The redhead stopped him just outside the main entrance. "I'm only gonna ask this once because I know you'll blow me up if I go overboard," Eijiro stated. Katsuki tried hard not to crack a smile. "Are you okay?"

Katsuki stared at him for a long moment, considering his options. He could lie. He could tell him to fuck off. But Eijiro was a good friend. "No."

Eijiro looked surprised at the admission but schooled it down quickly. "Anything I can do?" Katsuki shook his head. "Well let me know if that changes, okay? I'm here for you Bakubro."

Read the rest on Ao3!

If you liked it, consider buying me a coffee <3

Follow me on Twitter!

[notalwaysthevillian]

Shattering Stereotypes

Warnings: Kissing, making out, hickies/marks

Pairings: Romantic Moxiety, Remile, and Logince

Word Count: ~1.7k

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Read from the beginning

Chapter 19

“I’m home!” Logan called out as he walked in. His lips were still tingling from when Roman had kissed him goodbye.

Thomas appeared in the doorway, dressed up as Captain America. “What time are we due at the Prince’s again?”

“Four o’clock, sweetheart.”

Preston came down the stairs, flicking the hair out of his face. His arm was painted silver, making it abundantly clear what his costume was - the Winter Soldier.

“Oh my god, you guys did a couple’s costume? You never do that!”

“I figured we’d have some fun this year.” Preston teased, before grabbing Thomas’s plastic shield off the couch. “Take a picture for us?”

Logan took the picture, fake-gagging when Thomas held up the shield and made a big show of kissing Preston.

“You know, you and Roman act the same way.”

Flushing bright red, Logan handed the camera back over. “We do not!”

“At least they’re together now, Tommy.” The grin on Preston’s face had Logan mentally shielding himself for whatever was coming next. “Watching them pine for each other? That was horrible to experience.”

Thomas rolled his eyes, poking Preston in the chest. “I seem to remember that you had a crush on me for our entire high school career before you said anything.”

Laughing at Preston’s protests, Logan headed up to his room to get ready.

He immediately remembered his problem.

An extremely visible mark on his neck that he had no makeup to hide.

Locking his bedroom door, he immediately called Roman.

“Hey, honeybee, what’s up?”

Feeling his cheeks burn, Logan held up the camera so that Roman could see his neck. “I may have forgotten that I needed to take care of this.”

“Oh shit.” Roman put his phone down, giving Logan a view of his ceiling. There was some background noise as he rummaged through his dresser.

The camera shifted to show a triumphant Roman holding up some makeup. “I’ve got you covered. Or, I will, when you get here.”

“Thank goodness.”

“Shouldn’t you be heading out soon anyway? It’s almost four.” Roman tilted his head, giving heart eyes to the camera. “I miss you already.”

“Logan, you ready to go?!”

Blowing a kiss to his camera, Logan said his goodbyes and hung up. He ensured that his goggles were covering his issue before heading downstairs and getting in the car.

True to form, Roman darted out of his house as soon as they pulled up, opening the door for Logan.

“Chivalry isn’t dead.” Thomas joked, giving Roman a smile. “Nice to see you at your own house, Roman.”

“I’m happy to have you guys here!” Roman said as he threaded his fingers through Logan’s. “My parents have been dying to meet you guys.”

Logan heard the door open once more before Connor and Margo stepped out onto the porch. Thomas and Preston headed over, the boys trailing behind them.

“Oh, you must be Logan’s dads!” Margo opened her arms for a hug, smiling as each of them took her up on the offer. “I’m Margo, and this is my husband, Connor.”

“And I’m Dahlia!” Dahlia twirled out of the door, holding a plastic fairy wand. “Ro-Ro, I need you to help me put on my costume!”

“Only the best for you, Princess.” Roman scooped up his sister, making her squeal, before looking back at Logan. “You can help the fair lady get dolled up, or stand out here and listen to our parents talk.”

“I did learn how to do some fancy hair for my younger cousins.”

Dahlia cheered in glee as the three of them entered the house and headed up to her room.

When Roman pushed open the door, Logan had expected to be blinded by a sudden barrage of pink. Instead, Dahlia’s room was tastefully decorated, with hints of pinks and purples strewn throughout. Her bedspread was purple, but that was the biggest splash of color in the otherwise white room.

“I expected more toys on the floor.”

“Mr. Snuffles and his friends are sleeping in the closet.” Dahlia said, as though that explained everything.

Roman laughed at the look on Logan’s face. “The make-up is in my room if you want to put some on while I play the role of handmaiden.”

Hiding his blushing face from Dahlia, Logan gave a nod. He moved into Roman’s room, seeing the foundation sitting on his desk, a clean brush sitting next to it. Removing his goggles, he quickly covered up the bruise.

“Dahlia’s all dressed up with places to be.”

“Mom! Look at me!”

Logan smiled at Roman in the mirror, holding up the foundation. “Thanks for this.”

“What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t help cover up my mistake?”

As Roman spoke, he slid behind Logan, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist. The tension melted from Logan’s shoulders as Roman pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“If we’re not careful there might be another ‘mistake’.”

Grinning, Roman reached over and grabbed a black spray bottle. “Here, let’s get some setting spray on this. It’ll keep the foundation from rubbing off as much.”

Logan tilted his neck, allowing the spray to settle and dry. He felt Roman’s breath afterwards, spinning around and gently pushing him back. “Ro.”

“Lo.”

“C’mon, didn’t we say we’d take Dahlia trick or treating?”

“You know, the whole ‘super responsible’ thing,” Roman pulled Logan closer by the hips, smirking as he heard Logan’s breath hitch. “It’s super hot.”

“ROMAN WE’RE GONNA MISS TRICK OR TREATING!”

Laughing at Dahlia’s screech, Roman settled for kissing Logan’s forehead before the two of them headed downstairs. Dahlia was all dressed up in her pink princess gown, a tiara falling off her head.

Before Roman could say anything, Logan walked over and quickly braided some of Dahlia’s hair and fixed her tiara so that it would stay put.

“Get together so I can take your picture!”

The three of them took a few pictures before Dahlia started squirming. Just as she opened the door, a group of kids turned to walk up the driveway.

“LET’S GO!”

Trying to keep in his laughter at how excited Dahlia was, Logan trailed behind her and Roman as they headed to the street.

“Alright, squirt, you know the drill.” Roman was saying as Logan walked a little quicker to catch up. “We’re leaving Mrs. Dalloway’s house until last, since all she has are those yucky mints. We have to stop by the Torres’s so I can say hello to Principal Torres.”

“And we go to Lexa’s house to get the big chocolate bars!”

“Exactly.”

As Dahlia ran up to the first house, Logan moved to Roman’s side. “Seems like you have all this planned out.”

“We’ve lived here our whole life, of course we know the houses to go to.” Roman glanced over at Logan. “You have been trick or treating before, right?”

“I went until I was eight.”

Shaking his head, Roman reached out to take Logan’s hand.

Logan pulled away, glancing around. “Sorry, I just...I know how some of these moms can be and I -”

“No need to explain, I’ve run into a few Karens in my day. It’s all good.”

“Thanks for understanding.”

Dahlia darted back up to them. “Next house please!”

The three of them headed through the Prince’s normal route, with Dahlia filling them in on her candy inventory as they went.

“I already told Ro I’d give him all my Heath bars, but is there a candy you like Logan?” She asked as they headed back to the house. “Sharing is caring.”

“Oh, well, thank you Dahlia. I happen to love Snickers bars.”

Dahlia made a face. “You can have them.”

They entered the house laughing, immediately smelling meatloaf. The voices of their parents drifted in from the kitchen.

“Oh good! You guys are just in time.”

The oven timer started beeping, and Connor ran over to take the meatloaf out. Dahlia skipped over to help put out the silverware.

Dinner went by quickly, with the adults mostly talking to each other and leaving Logan and Roman to talk quietly by themselves. Dahlia hopped back and forth between conversations, pushing the Almond Joys across the table to Logan at one point. He gave her a big smile and thanked her, sliding them into his lab coat pocket.

Once dinner was over and cleaned up, everyone moved into the living room. Before they left the kitchen, Roman tugged Logan back.

“Come with me.”

Logan saw Preston glance over at them before they snuck out the other door to the kitchen. His dad simply gave him a discreet thumbs up, making Logan blush to the roots of his hair.

Roman led him down into the theater, ducking down into one of the seats. Logan followed suit, sitting next to him.

“Remember when we were alone here last time?” Roman asked, tilting his head at his boyfriend. “I think - I think I wanted to kiss you then. But my thick skull got in the way.”

Glancing toward the door, Logan was glad to see it was still closed. He slipped into Roman’s lap, looping his arms around Roman’s neck. “And what’s stopping you from doing it now?”

“Absolutely nothing.”

Logan could feel the grin on Roman’s face as their lips met, rolling his eyes. Roman pulled him as close as possible, his hands resting on Logan’s hips. When they broke apart for air, Roman immediately started pressing kisses down Logan’s jaw.

“Careful.” Was all Logan could gasp out.

Another smirk from Roman. “No marks, I swear.”

“Good.”

Ten minutes later, Logan heard the door open at the top of the stairs. He practically flung himself off Roman’s lap, landing in the adjacent chair.

“Logan? We’re going to head home now.” There was a knowing tone in Preston’s voice. “If you want to keep making out with your boyfriend, you can, but you’ll have to walk home.”

“Be right up!” Logan squeaked, hearing his dad laugh before the door shut.

Roman waggled his eyebrows. “I mean, he did give us permission.”

Logan rolled his eyes again. “I’m going home, but...thank you for tonight. It was great, and our parents got along really well.”

Grabbing his phone, Logan got to his feet. Before he took off back up the stairs, he leaned over, giving Roman one last kiss. It was his turn to smirk when he heard Roman whine as they broke apart.

“There’s plenty more where that came from.”

Before Roman could answer, Logan darted up the stairs, heading home with his dads.

[strawbxrryneptune]

police officer!jimin x reader where y/n exceeds the speed limit and yea in order to save her ass she gives the officer some good head and fuck 🤫 sksäalksksl

DENIZZZ I GOT YOUUU 💚

WARNING: choking, oral (male receiving), praising, degradation, spitting kink, implied smut, Jimin spanks your ass lmaoo, public sex, implied car sex, crack at its finest cause I may be high LMAOOO, reader smokes weed I'm sorry :), VERY unrealistic police interactions.

Please don't do this in real life :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do you know why I pulled you over, Ma'am?"

You inwardly sigh, getting ready to face an ugly ass police officer who is just dying to give you a ticket.

"No I don't, sir, but I assure you that-"

You stop mid sentence, brain turning to mush in your skull when you see the hottest man you've ever been blessed to look at leaning into your car window. Red wavy hair, the softest you've ever seen, a cute button nose, plump pouty lips, and eyes so intense they could make Medusa squirm.

"You assure me that what, darling?"

You jump slightly at his voice, forgetting you were having a whole conversation.

"O-oh, uhhh I assure you that I wasnt doing anything illegal."

The officer raises his eyebrows at you, his lips curling into a dangerous smirk.

"Shouldn't I be the one to tell you that?"

You roll your eyes in his face, blaming your boldness on the joint you smoked at you bestie's house and not on the fact that you lowkey wanted this sexy man to punish you for being rude.

"Well, you're not telling me much right now, darling."

The officer scoffs, leaning forward to the point where your faces are almost touching.

"Well, I cant really tell you anything with all the talking you're doing sweetheart."

You flush at that, cursing yourself for being naturally talkative.

"Judging by your eyes, though, I think it's safe to say you were doing something illegal, hm?"

You gasp in shock, quickly grabbing your compact mirror out of your bag. Sure enough, your eyes are red, and you really want to punch your friend in the face for practically shoving that damn blunt into your mouth. Damn her and her peer pressure!

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, Occifer!"

Shit.

The man freezes where he stands, about to give you a ticket.

"Did you just call me-"

He bursts out laughing, an adorable sound that makes your cloudy vision clear, bringing a blush to your already tinted cheeks.

"W-well, I wouldn't have had to call you that if you had told me your name, Oc-officer!"

The man straightens up with a smile on his face, stepping back.

"Step out of the car and I'll tell you, Miss."

You open the car door immediately, needing some fresher air. You inwardly high five yourself for choosing today to wear your purple crop leggings with a matching top, the shorts showing off your splendid ass and the top letting people see your cute tummy piercing.

"Jimin."

"Jimin? Jiiiimiiiin. Nice ring to it, Occifer. Jimin jimin jimin. Jiminieee. I'm (y/n)."

Jimin laughs heartily at you, gesturing vaguely towards his car.

"Well, miss (Y/n), I'm gonna have to take you back to the station. Can't have you driving high."

His statement immediately clears your head, hand slamming into your car door to stable yourself.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen. My parents would brutally murder me if they found out about this."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but it wasnt a question, and if your parents do murder you, they'll be arrested immediately. "

You make your best puppy eyes at the handsome man, putting on your sexy voice.

"Please, Jimin? I'll do anything to get out of this."

Oh, shit.

Did you just pull the anything card?

.

.

.

Hell, yeah.

Jimin quirks an eyebrow at you, looking up and down your figure.

"Are you trying to seduce me, (Y/n)?"

"That depends. Is it working?"

"Not at all."

"Well then-"

You push yourself up off of your car, slithering over to him.

"I guess I'll have to try harder."

You sink to your knees in front of Jimin, his breath hitching in surprise at the visual. You looked up at him with the most innocent look you could muster, all while palming his not so discreet bulge roughly in your hand.

"Th-this is highly inappropriate! "

You hum, not agreeing but too occupied with unbuckling his belt to say anything. You quickly unzip his trousers, pushing them past his supple ass. You brush your fingers along the waistband of his boxer, marveling at how soft yet toned he feels.

"Miss-"

"Enough with the miss bullshit. I'm about to suck your cock, just call me (y/n)"

Jimin gulps and nods, knowing he shouldn't give in but not getting enough of how pretty you look on your knees for him. Taking his silence as a cue to keep going, you pull his briefs down until his cock springs free, thick and leaking precum. You lick your lips at the sight, leaning forward to place a series of licks to his tip. Jimin shudders and grabs your hair, suprising you.

"If you're gonna act like a slut and suck me off, you might as well make it good.",

He snarls. You widen your eyes, not expecting the dude who was just stuttering to call you a slut, but you were lying if you said you didn't like it. You get to work on his cock, not wanting to waste too much time. You slowly engulf his head sucking lightly as you do so. You get halfway down before his tip hits your throat, so you pull back and spit onto your hand. Using that hand, you massage what you cant fit into your mouth, fondling his balls along the way. Jimin lets out throaty moans, his thighs twitching when you let your teeth slightly graze him. He moans out your name, sliding his fingers into your hair and tugging you closer. He strokes your chin gently, silently asking you for permission to use your throat. You hum against him, the vibrations sending chills down his spine. You close your eyes and relax your throat, letting Jimin take control. He cautiously rocks his hips into your mouth, throwing his head back as he let's out a loud moan.

"Fuck, such a good slut, letting me ruin your pretty little throat out in the open. You want people to see you, hm? Want people to s-see you being a fil-filthy little princess, yeah?"

You whimper around him, your pussy clenching around air at his words.

"Mhm, you like that? I bet your little panties I soaked, huh, baby? Bet your little cunt is aching to be filled with my fat cock."

Jimin reaches down and lightly squeezes your throats feeling his dick print. The lack of air makes you lightheaded, feeling like you could cum just from that. You feel his hips stutter, signaling his release, so you dig your fingers into his fat ass, moaning around his cock as he floods your mouth with his cum. He shudders over you, letting out small whimpers. You pull of his dick, standing on shaky legs to connect your mouth to his. He groans into you when he feels his cum dribble into his mouth, eyes fluttering shut as he grabs your ass. You pull away to let out a shaky moan, voice breaking at the end when he lands a sharp smack to your left cheek. Jimin grabs your chin and tilts your head up, sitting a fat wad into your mouth before snacking your ass again, humming in approval as you showed him you swallowed.

"There we go. Good little sluts get rewards."

You bite your lip at the prospect of more waiting awkwardly for him to continue.

"Why are you just standing there? Get your pretty ass in the my car, now. Gonna fuck some manners into you."

"Yes, Occifer."

[jasonspetertodds]

the skeleton with a scythe

warnings: swearing, mentions of character death

Jason glanced around the basement that they were in, trying not to suffocate at the sheer amount of velvet that was covering the walls. There were fuchsia colored scones on the walls that illuminated the large neon purple light on the back wall. He squinted, not being able to make out the name, but he didn't supposed that mattered. He rolled his eyes at Steph who was merely grinning up at him, her hair had been pulled back into two small ponytails at the crown of her head with the rest being down. It gave her the illusion of having even more volume then she normally did with her curly blonde hair.

She was dressed in her trademark color, but this time it was a soft lavender instead of the royal purple of her uniform. She had talked to him endlessly on the way there about how she had found her shoes, which were vintage white leather platforms, at the thrift store Jason had recommended. Trying to distract him from the fact that she was leading him to seedy basement in the heart of the Alley. A basement that housed a self proclaimed 'psychic'. Jason knew realistically that soothsayers, at least in some part, existed. He did exist in a world full of aliens and magic.

But Jason knew this was a scam and so did Steph. He hadn't been able to taste the tell tale nectar sweetness of magic when he stepped foot into the parlor. She had sourced the fact that it was just a fun thing to do at least once in his life and Jason had begrudgingly found himself staring into the depths of the weird vintage poster on the back wall. The pink neon light flickered in the corner behind him. He was, for the most part, down to try something at least once. And he didn't really see the harm in indulging Steph, especially when she was trying so hard to make him feel comfortable.

And Jason was only going to admit this in the privacy of his own mind, but it was actually kind of sweet.

And Jason wanted to maintain the best relationship he had in the family to the best of his ability, especially because it offered the unlimited possibility of tag teaming his siblings but also Bruce.

"So?" Steph asked, gently prodding his side with her elbow, pulling him away from being entranced by what looked to be a rat skull with a peacock feather coming out from the eye socket. It also had a top hat on and a little bow tie. Jason looked at her flatly and then shrugged. He was interested to see where the night went, with what story this psychic was going to spit back out to him. It was at the very least going to be entertaining.

"I don't know," He finally, eyes shifting around the room, "It should be fun, I guess."

He saw her roll her eyes and cross her arms over her chest. He shrugged again, unbothered. His eyes settled on a stack of crystals sitting on a bookshelf next to a book. Jason squinted, not wanting to step any closer to the center table with a deck of cards spread out over it, trying to read it. It looked like a copy of Daemonologie by King James of all fucking people. Jason almost huffed out a laugh. Almost.

"Can you at least pretend to be excited about the prospect of spending time with your favorite honorary sibling?" She grumbled, exasperated. Jason gave her an amused smile, but before he could respond he heard footsteps outside of the parlor.

There was the small ringing of the bell behind him and Jason immediately regretted his former words. He could taste the stinging sweetness in the lower part of his jaw, pooling just under his molars as he heard the soft approach of footsteps. Steph must've seen him stiffen, but he was so thankful that she didn't say anything about it, just threw him a questioning look.

Why was it that he always attracted magic users?

He sighed internally, steeling himself before he turned and saw a rather young looking witch smiling back at his companion. Steph had mentioned offhandedly that she had also dragged Cass and Tim to the same psychic a while ago with interesting results. She had bright lavender dyed hair that was piled up into two buns just behind the crown of her head and a blinding smile. She was also wearing a full length velvet dress, which seemed like an oddly formal attire choice, but maybe Jason was just being judgemental.

She gave Jason a strange look when she slide past him, heeled boots muffled on the strange astral Persian rugs beneath their feet and the skirt of her dress swishing gently as she wandered back behind her table. Had Jason forgotten to greet her?

"Hi," He said, hesitantly, trying to keep the uncertainty out of his voice as he watched her. He didn't know why he was on edge. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up and like he wanted to claw his skin off. Maybe he should talk to Zantana or Constantine about how magic was affecting him in his second life, because the woman sitting in front of him didn't seem like a threat. If she was, Jason already would've taken her down. Besides, maybe she wasn't a psychic in the way that she was able to tell that he was a dangerous, murderous vigilante. Maybe she was just a witch who misread his discomfort for skepticism. Was that too much to hope for? For Jason, it probably was.

He was wary, to say the least when he finally followed suit and sat down at the table to the right of Steph. She still was looking at him weird, but he figured he could explain himself later. He forced himself to relax, trying not to flex his jaw as it tingled like it did when he ate sour candies, covered with acetic acid. Piercing through the muscle and down to the bone. At least he didn't feel like throwing up... yet. He straightened his posture, trying to keep as close to a neutral expression on his face as he possibly good, trying to ignore the way his eyes glowed in the mirror of to the side of him.

Steph tapped him gently on the forearm, feather light, a question. Jason's face softened and he nodded, trying his best to convey that he was alright. He was fine. This was okay. He could deal with the unease worming around in his soul for the forty five minutes it took for this to happen. He watched out of the corner of his eyes as the blond relaxed, nodding once and offering a slight smile to the woman with the cards.

The woman before him offered him an unsure smile, before motioning to the deck in front of her before she began cheerily, "Welcome!"

Jason offed a nod of acknowledgement and Steph's smile morphed into a brilliant one, mischief alight in her eyes at the night's events. He was focused more on keeping his face as politely blank as he possibly could without it being mistaken for rudeness. He watched as she reached forward, ring clad fingers curling around the majority of the deck of tarot cards. At first he thought she was going to start shuffling them, but instead she knocked three times on the top of the stack. Maybe to cleanse it? Jason glanced back up at her face, uncertainty writhing around in the pit of his stomach.

"My name is Iris and I'm hoping to do a reading for you tonight...?" She trailed off, waiting for Jason to answer. Her voice was cheery but Jason was still hung up on the name. Iris... like the Greek goddess of rainbows and a messenger of the Gods? Because something was tugging at the back of his mind, like the Pit often did and Jason didn't believe in coincidences.

"Jason." He responded, watching as Steph relaxed further into her chair, shoulders slumping as she leaned further back, completely at ease. The witch nodded, handing the cards over to Jason. He looked at her confused for a second before he started to shuffle. Iris smiled, "It's better for you to shuffle, so the cards can have a better sense of your character."

Jason raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything. She continued, "I'm going to have you pull three cards first, since this is a general reading and then we can go from there, okay?"

He nodded, feeling how worn the corners of the cards were in his hands and how soft the glossy backing was, almost like the backing of a well loved paperback. He furrowed his brow, methodically sliding them around in his hands, trying to keep them from getting caught on each other before he finally decided that was enough. Three cards. He placed the deck on the edge of the table with great care and with a splayed palm he spread them out to the best of his ability. He sat back, suddenly noticing how sweaty his palms were before he took a deep breath, readying himself. The fact that a stupid throw away magic trick was having this much of an effect on him was ridiculous.

He eyeballed it, before tugging free a card in what he thought was the middle of the pile. He pulled it in front of Iris before he took two from each of the ends of the pile. He waited, licking his lips in anticipation when his mouth was suddenly dry, watching as she turned over his cards.

She painstakingly overturned the first card that he had pulled and he nearly choked back a laugh which turned into a choke when Steph elbowed him harshly in the ribs, glaring. There, looking tauntingly back up at him, was a skeleton draped in a black cloak upon a horse, holding a scythe with the neat little letters spelling out Death underneath the scene.

And oh god, was that fucking funny.

Iris seemed a little confused, as she tapped one purple talon against the card, before speaking, "Don't freak out about that card. Everyone always freaks out over him."

She flipped over the next two cards; One of a man looking over a cliff, a stick in hand with two others driven in the ground next to him. It read Three of Wands and one showing three swords piercing a bleeding heart. From Jason’s position the last one was upside down. Three seemed to be a big number for him tonight.

Jason remembered very suddenly three motifs in literature, when he was in high school slaving endlessly over research papers and book analyses, more often then not it was a Holy number. But it is the repetition of the cycle: birth, life, death. Of the passage of time, past; present; future. Jason again had to keep himself from snorting.

Omne trium perfectum.

Iris leaned over the cards, humming to herself as she flattened them, eyes glowing faintly under the scrutiny of the lights around her parlor. Steph looked curiously at her, “So? What does it mean?”

“Well,” She started, talon back to rapping gently against the glossy front of Death, drawing Jason’s attention, “Death is the first card you pulled. It means that you’re going to undergo change— growth if you will, but it’s specifically change followed by a period of renewal to yourself and your strength. That change leads to closure, an end to a chapter of your life.”

Jason was smirking now and he could see some of the humor return to Steph’s face at the acknowledgement. It was more than a little on the nose. He watched as Iris moved to the next two cards, flipping the wand cards around in her hand as she was thinking, "Three of wands points to foresight and a journey..." She trailed off, glancing at his other two cards, biting her lip in concentration and Jason felt his eyebrows raise further up to his hairline, "But in the context of your other two cards I think it's going to be more of a spiritual journey instead of a physical one. It also is going to lead to monumental growth. Whatever you decide, you'll have an immense amount of confidence in your plan."

"And the three of swords reversed also points to growth and recovery. You recently went through a rough time? Maybe some animosity between those in your family?"

Jason nodded. He wasn't going to offer up any more information that absolutely vital and he may have had one particularly bad fight with Dick in his little kitchenette the week before. It was interesting that the cards did seem to represent past, present, and future as he had originally suspected. He frowned, though. Death wasn't in his past. Based on the way the cards were set up, Death was his future. It was the first card he had pulled, with the three of wands being in the middle, as his present, while the three of swords being his past.

"It points to reconciliation, even though it was on the past, I think you're journey currently is learning to forgive your family--" God, Jason was trying so hard not to laugh. He heard Steph snicker beside him. "All signs point to reconciliation on both sides. Once that happens you can finally put to rest this chapter in your life and start your renewal as Death wants."

She tapped the three of wands again, "And you're on that journey, though I can't say when you'll achieve the final outcome."

Jason nodded, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that he absolutely was not going to process his feelings about this reading until he was home, safe and sound, alone in his apartment. His head was already swimming. Sure, he had reconciled with Steph, but he hadn't really done anything to wrong her in the first place. He had tried to kill her ex a couple of times while they were together, but she seemed to have forgiven him. And they just clicked. Shared background and feelings of being the failed Robins. And Alfred. Alfred hadn't been the one to excommunicate him. He knew the butler could never do that. He saw Jason as a man who had simply lost his way in the whirlwind of his life, but he had never once doubted Jason's character...

And nope, Jason was going to back out of that emotionally charged alleyway before it overtook him in public.

"It's interesting," Iris said, breaking him out of his thoughts as she started collecting the cards and shuffling them back into the deck, "You also seem to have a very strong connection with the color green. You have a lot of rebirth symbols surrounding yourself, Jason."

"His birth cards are the chariot and the tower." Steph admitted, a cheeky grin on her face. Birth cards? Jason shot her a bewildered look before she rolled her eyes, "You add up the date of your birthday and you get pair of twelve sets of tarot cards. I did it before we came."

"Why?"

She shrugged, unbothered by his harsh tone, "I was curious."

"The chariot and the tower are a powerful combination. You'll be able to overcome anything thrown at you in your life. Though, you'll be in a constant state of change because of the Tower. Ripping yourself down to the foundation again and again to rebuild a stronger and better foundation for you to stand on while the Chariot brings stabilizing energy and the will for you to be able to complete your tasks, overcoming every obstacle every inconvenience on its way to deliver you to fate. It's often the card of warriors. They're painful cards, but eventually pain will stop being the driving force behind your transformation. You'll be the driving force behind the change you inflict both on yourself and the world."

Jason titled his head with a look of disbelief painted on his features, a small uncertain frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. Even if he did believe in this particular brand of magic, which he hadn't fully decided on at that exact moment, this wasn't exactly a positive reading. It wasn't like he was a stranger to any pain, his entire life had been seeped in the worst kinds of emotional and physical trauma most people could conjure up themselves. But what she had just said rang very similarly to what Ducra had said to him. Something about how glorious it will be when his heart shined brighter than his fury.*

And, something something, he needed to recover. Which he did it's just kind of hard working through his complex emotions featuring his adoptive father, all of his siblings, the clown that killed him, his own self worth and his ethics when there was an almost world ending event biweekly. And he did think he was being significantly more successful in terms of his recovery. He had at least started paying attention to shit that triggered him and was trying to take care of himself more than he ever had in his entire life. And that was something, right?

He still had a shattered mirror in his bathroom that held all the memories of him hunched over his basin, blood sometimes dried but always sticky on his hands as he tried to make sense of who he was. He was a mosaic of every person he had ever come in contact with, of a dead kid, a murdered robin, a current outlaw, of his father, all of his mentors and all of his siblings. He was full of jagged edges and unholy rage, but it was hard not to get lost in all the different patterns and colors he possessed. His breathing would be ragged and his eyes unfocused, he was the combination sum of everything that happened to him. Both good and bad and sometimes the bad one out the night, but more frequently it was the good. He was Jason. In ever manner that he acted. He was a vigilante. A fighter. A protector. He protected the people of Crime Alley to the best of his ability, he was a protector of children, of sex workers, of anyone who needed it. And he was trying to be better. For himself and the people he was so admit on protecting.

"Jay?"

He hummed a response, pulled from his thoughts at Steph's voice. She gave him a questioning look and he was very suddenly hit with the crisp cool air of the night. They were outside, walking through the Alley in the direction of her apartment. His hands were jammed in his pockets, feeling the sharp edge of something as he rubbed his thumb along the edge. He furrowed his eyebrows, "You good? You seem pretty spaced out."

"Yeah, sorry. I didn't really expect for that to go the way it did," He offered, still tracing the thing in his pocket, "I don't really know why it effected me this much."

She tugged her jacket closer around herself, nodding, "Yeah. The first time I went all of my cards seemed to be linked back to my, uh, death. Do you want to talk about it? I know I didn't actually die, but it might help?"

Jason flinched at her mention of her death and the casual admission that she didn't actually die. As if that made it any less traumatic. Immediately he shook head, "No. No, I'll be okay I think. It was largely positive. It's just..."

He felt his entire face screw up as he tried to think of what he was trying to express, he finally settled on, "Weird."

Steph nodded, both falling into a comfortable silence. He palmed the card, slipping it out of his pocket to look at it and was torn between an exasperated sigh and a smirk of amusement. Death seemed to be rather attached to him.

[ginwhitlock]

Southbound  ch 1/ ch 2

After the Cullens leave her behind, Bella is left to pick up the pieces by herself. A year after her eighteenth birthday, a split second decision lands her in her truck, running far away from everything she has ever known. She decides to go south. What will she find in San Angelo, Texas?

One day I’m going to have to admit to my demise. The casket will be small and the rain will be pouring like it does everyday there. Charlie’s eyes will puff up like abandoned birthday party balloons in the desert heat-- and I will not be there to dry them. The church parking lot is gonna look like a high school reunion. A maze of junkers that never quite made it out of Forks, the high heels of my former friends swapped out for rain boots.

After a tearless goodbye from a pastor I never met and school acquaintances I never spoke to, the purple haze of my childhood bedroom will be packed into brown cardboard boxes. Like I didn’t live there at all. As if my mark on the world only existed in our-- my meadow.

I could feel the curl of dandelion weeds at my back pocket but refused to move an inch. His ochre eyes were spun as thick as honey as he laid beside my body. There was a gleam of something I couldn’t place in the part of his lips, but I returned the smile with my own. The press of cold flesh spread through my neck, down my spine, through my toes and into the mush under his shoes.

In the small blink of my lashes his form disappeared into the air.

The bed of wildflowers around me turned to ash before I could reach for him. All I could smell was nothing like the forest and everything like a bonfire left wild. The flames crawled towards me, my body refusing to budge in its wake. My head screamed to just MOVE.

My eyes opened to a blurry mass of nothing. Tears rolling down my cheeks, their path as uncertain as my whereabouts as I raised up on my elbows. They dried before I could wipe them away.

The pads of my fingers found the line of ancient stitching on the bench seat like a security blanket. My rapidly blinking eyes rolled around the cab in an untraceable pattern. The windows were clear and still, the leather beneath my backside warm to the touch. I could see my reflection in the silver lining the dashboard, the dark blanche underneath my eyelids clenched at my tired heart

There were no flowers. No meadow. No him.

Sitting up completely, I let out a breath I didn’t know I was carrying. The rushed exhale through my cracked lips brought my lungs to the dip of my ribs-- the familiar ache pulling the back of my skull taut.

Outside, the swell of Texas sun rises just beyond a gathering of trees. I can’t remember how I got here, the smell of asphalt long gone. Instead a dirt road lined my eyesight. It gave far too little clue to my immediate surroundings. Above me the sky was as clear as the south gets and the ground solid like beaten down gravel-- but no road signs. No mile markers.

I can’t even see behind the horizon.

The air in the cab became overcrowded with my fear, the push and pull of breath fogging up the chilled glass. I feel like a child left behind in a supermarket. Unreadable ques leading me farther and farther into the swamp of confusion.

My tires sat flat against the path, just beside it, as if I had just turned off to get some shut-eye. But why here? The middle of absolute nowhere? Had I learned nothing from the nomad with the hair like my forest fire?

My hand twisted the ignition before I could stray to the silver scar on my right wrist. It’s memory glinting in the corner of my mind.

All I can get out is the sputter of the motor, a failed attempt to rise the slumbering beast.

Another hard turn returns with the same groan.

I could feel the sweat start to slide down the expanse of my back in a winding trail. The salt water seeping into the flannel pushed up around my hips in a faux blanket. My palms slid around the wheel-- the leather close to splitting.

Me too, baby. Me too.

The door handle started to whisper to me. A stupid notion to leave the steel barrier hung onto the interior in flashing chrome.

I should've taken that damn cell phone Charlie tried to buy me last year. I could’ve at least called a tow. Maybe found out where in the hell I was-- but no. Who did I need to call back then? A boy who could pick out my heartbeat in a sea of a hundred exhausted teenagers? The press of my scent to his senses would’ve said everything I need to say anyway.

But now, no almost-not-quite-humans with super hearing as far as I could see.

The rusted-out Chevy felt more and more like a cage by the minute. A rushed push of the door frame threw my feet to the red dirt. A careful hand skimmed along the side of the truck as I followed the structure to the bed in a half-creep.

My ears were hypersensitive to the billow of wind blowing through the tops of the oak trees. The motion reminded me of the run on Edwar-- the creature’s back through the forest. Normally unwatchable to my dull eyes, but on his back I could see the restlessness of the air, the ever moving flight of dragonflies and underground wonders. Well up until I had the urge to puke.

I couldn’t say the sight of the wavering treeline didn’t give me the same feeling.

My entire body jumped nearly out of my skin at the sound of metal slapping something solid. My back clenched, the hair on the back of my nape sent sky-high.

“Down girl, it’s alright, no need to get all bug-eyed on me now.” A man’s voice came from a few feet behind me. My mind raced with the decision to face him or not. To see the person who would finally take me out. Or to lay down and leave the world not knowing the monster’s face.

A rough hand on my shoulder stops my thoughts in their measly tracks.

“You know,” A deep breath let out just behind me bounced off the metal of the truck back into my ear, “I don’t know many people that stray over to these parts real often. You must not be from around here, miss.” His hand turned my body to face him, the packed dirt underneath my sneakers scuffing into the silent air. My body felt as though it was under a spell. A rabbit held under the jaws of a coyote.

His smile caught me off guard.

It was no show off teeth, carnivore-sharp grin. It was a gentle pull of lips. A soft rose blush underneath the skin. The rest of his face was shadowed by the brim of a worn leather cowboy hat, his eyes masked slightly by it. Dragging my eyes down, I could almost feel the cotton of his button-up. It looked lovingly washed, as if it was worn for decades and not weeks. His Wranglers were in the same predicament. A smudge of what looked like motor oil stained into the crease of his knee, a rip could be easily seen by his ankles. And on his feet-- matching cowboy boots. The spurs had the same metal of his belt buckle in a vintage way, I could almost see him buying them as a set in some small town in the middle of Mexico.

“Sweetheart I know I’m good lookin’ and all but I did ask you a question a lil’ while ago…” He trailed off, his mouth set in a teasing upturn.

My eyes went wide, the fear lifting off my shoulders oddly by his tone. “I… Yes. You could say I’m not from around here.” The sentence tumbled out with a small thought of protecting myself. Keeping myself alive was first-- even if the apparent cowboy held himself like warm butter, quirked and sweet.

His brow lifted.

“You’re as closed off as a heifer in the dry season ya know that?”

His hand left my shoulder and held themselves up in mock surrender before placing them on his belt. His hip made contact with the side of the truck while starring me up and down. His eyes dragged up my fingers to my shoulder up to my lips and nose. My chest constricted with self consciousness.

The man in front of me rivaled every human boy I’ve ever met-- well man I’ve ever met. His legs, drawn out with a long line of denim, his shoulders square and broad. He looked older than He was, if anything he reminded me of Jasper.

The wavy blond hair peeking out of his hat, curling around his laid back collar. The stone corners of his shaded jaw. The slightly tanned skin, made from working fields I didn’t need to see. Even the fullness of his lips reminded me of the veteran vampire.

When his eyes landed on my own I realized-- he was waiting for me to speak again.

With a deep breath through the nose I managed to start, “I’ve been traveling from Fo-- the Pacific Northwest for a couple months. I got into Texas not too long ago.” A simple nod from his covered head prompted me to keep going, not commenting on my change of location. “I was just north of Lubbock last night. I woke up in my truck not long ago, but I’m not too sure where I am to be honest.” A low breath left my throat when I finished.

His stature straightened and I could now see how truly tall he was. He towered over me by a foot, almost. His mouth opened in a toothy smile and my brain clicked.

“Oh my god is this your land? I’m so sorry I didn’t know this was private land, my truck won’t start and I--” My ramble was suddenly cut off by a guttural laugh.

“Missy! You act like imma gonna what? You think imma skin your hide for wonderin’ onto this piece of dirt? C’mon now. Lemme getchu you somethin’ before you fall over dead.”

His back turned to me almost too fast. His form started to trek across to the treeline, his boots leaving indiscernible footprints into the rocky ground. I started to run to catch up and then stopped myself. Why would I follow this man? Did I have no self preservation? I didn’t even know him, no beachy waves or shiny belt buckle would be worth maybe dying over!

“Are you comin’ or what missy? I need to call my brother about your truck, so we gotta go to the house. It’s not far I promise.”, he yelled from the treeline, somehow persuading me to inch forward, heel to toe, towards him. My brain lost in the end, my pace quickening until I was right on his tail.

His neck turned to look me dead in the face, the shadow from his hat casting over the both of us for a moment. It was the most serious look I had seen on him in our short time together. It was almost soldier-like.

“I never asked.”

My eyebrows pinched together. “Asked what?”

“Your name, darlin’.” His face broke, smiling in a childish way, making it look like the simplest thing in the word.

My thoughts of self preservation long gone, I responded, “...Bella.”

His smile widened.

“Peter. Peter Whitlock.”

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 19

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 9,165

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

Neverland, as I was currently discovering, was a huge indoor playground at the Dusk Town Center mall. A place where children never had to grow up, or so its big overhead sign boasted. Its vast range of diversions for the little ones included such attractions as a jungle gym in the shape of a large comical skull, a huge green plastic alligator that had a slide built into its long back, and monkey bars supported at either end by large, spooky prop trees. Off in one corner, there were even synthetic, cute yet culturally problematic teepees for the tiny tots to crawl around and hide in. But its crowning jewel seemed to be the kiddie train that ran along the tracks circling the entire play area. Each of its carts were actually little pirate ships that could fit one child in it, maybe two if they were really little.

Since the playground was in the middle of a wide open mall walkway, many stores surrounded it, such as an antique shop by the name of Cave of Wonders. Beyond the rusty brass lamps in its window and past an old, tacky purple carpet draping off a shelf, a friendly young woman with long black hair tied back into a two-sectioned ponytail and wearing a turquoise crop top could be seen running the counter.

Next door to that was Game-A-Saurus Rex, a video game store sporting a green t-rex mascot as part of its logo. An absolute giant of an employee with messy brown hair was currently setting up a display pyramid but his meaty, clumsy hands accidentally knocked it over, wrecking it. I got the feeling this wasn't the first time from the look of being one hundred percent done he was receiving from his silver haired coworker with mismatched eyes.

Neighboring them, I was a bit surprised to discover there was even an Esmerelda's Secrets here as well, a… ahem, lingerie store, to use a more PG term. I found its location so near to the play area to be a bit of a questionable mall layout choice.

I sighed, paper bag lunch crinkling in my grip as I glanced around.

Where was he?

"Are you sure this is where he told you he wanted to meet up?" Kristoff asked beside me, his eyes scanning about as well. Thankfully, he'd forgiven me by now for the minor phone-hurling fiasco and we were back on speaking terms again.

"Positive," I fished my mobile out of my pocket with my free hand, rereading Lea's text asking me to head to Neverland once my lunch break had started.

Since I'd never heard of it before, I'd asked Kristoff (him being the closest person at hand since he'd been working the Ice Palace registers with me) if he'd known what it was. I figured he could at least point me in the right direction, which would be faster than looking at a mall directory. Instead, since he was getting off shift the same time I was going on lunch, he'd offered to walk me there, saying it was on his way anyway.

But now here we were and a certain redhead was nowhere to be seen.

"Bah, I'm sure he'll turn up any second now," Kristoff shrugged off with a laugh. I said nothing, just continued to frown down at my phone before raising my eyes to take another look around. Shoving one of his hands into his pocket while he used the other to ruffle the hair at the back of his head, Kristoff said, "So… your sister…"

"Anna? What about her?" I muttered distractedly, gaze still jumping from face to unfamiliar face. Come on, Lea was a friggin' mountain with hair like a beacon that could light a path home for even the most wayward of lost ships. The guy should have been sticking out like a sore thumb.

He pursed his lips to one side, slightly widened eyes darting about now. "She's… well, she's really… neat." I blinked, slowly looking over at him now. He stiffened, then gave a weak chuckle, "Did I say neat? Not neat, I meant, ah… pretty!" His face blanched. "Pretty… pretty, pretty swell, that is! Yeah, a real bangarang," insert his wince here, "gal that, uh... that's really, er…"

Annnnnd now he was blushing. What was with him, anyway? It was so unlike him to be getting all tongue-tied and-

Oh.

Oh dear. I knew what this was.

Someone had a crush.

Ugh, why did I have to be the one to break his heart by telling him my sister was already in a relationship?

"...anyway," his voice cracked and he coughed, beating a fist to his chest before trying again. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say, or… rather ask is... would you know if, ah… is... is she seeing any-" his idly wandering gaze landed on something past me and he froze, words dying on his tongue. Then his eyelids drooped. "...I think I found your boyfriend."

My brow furrowed at the face he was making before I turned on my heel, following his gaze.

I heard them before I saw them. Cheerful whoops and hollers echoing from the plastic tunnel over the railroad tracks, heralding the emerging train of pirate ships. Then there they were: Lea and Roxas, taking up a full boat each as the locomotive chugged along, their hands thrown up high over their heads as they cackled in almost maniac glee. The two kids in the cart behind them - a carrot top boy in a green cap embroidered with a red feather logo and a little blonde girl wearing toy fairy wings - were giving them funny looks.

I spluttered, my fingers shooting up to smother and hide the grin I was fighting. This was behavior I did not want to encourage.

There he was, ladies and gentlemen. My bad-boy boyfriend in all his glory.

I hope the Duke's spy wasn't here to witness this.

Scratch that, I'd rather no one were here to witness this.

"Those goddamn morons have been at this for over ten minutes now," I heard a grumble from a familiar voice close by. I looked to my right to discover Xion standing there, watching them with a scowl and one eye twitching. As the train drew near, she called out flatly, "Oh yeah, looking real classy there, guys!"

"We're posh as fuck!" Lea replied smugly with a pinky raised, heedless of what nearby young and impressionable ears might overhear. Then his eyes drifted past her to notice me for the first time. His already beaming face did the impossible and brightened even further. As his little pirate ship choo-chooed its way past us, he cried out, "There you are, El! 'Bout time! We're celebrating!"

"El? Who's El? No, you must have me mistaken for someone else. I don't know you," I shook my head, taking a step back. "Quick, let's get out of here," I hissed to Kristoff, snatching his arm with one hand and using the other to hide my face as I tried to make a hasty retreat.

"Oh-ho, no ya don't! You're not getting away that easily!" I heard Lea laugh behind me. I hazarded a quick glance over my shoulder to see him struggling to get out of the cart - he was wedged in there pretty good, seeing as how those boats were never meant to withstand a man of his considerable stature. However, he finally managed to wiggle himself free and jump off the moving kiddie train, stumbling over the railing surrounding it and leaving poor Roxas behind looking quite distraught at having been abandoned.

Then he was charging towards me and I spun around to face him, defensively throwing my hands up in front of me. "Got ya!" he declared triumphantly, snagging me by the waist, my arms instinctively going to hug his neck as he lifted me up and spun me around a couple times.

What was even happening?

"Right," Kristoff said. Don't ask me how, but I could distinctly hear the eyeroll in his voice. "I think I'm gonna go now."

He walked off and I frowned after him as Lea put me back down, though his arms still kept me trapped against him. Then I shrugged. Kristoff's wee crush would have to be a problem for another day. Looking up at Lea, I shook my head with a barely suppressed smile, "What has you so giddy?"

"I got my test grade back today," he chirped, nuzzling his nose to mine for all the crowded mall to see.

"Your test?" I cocked my head at him. Then it clicked. "Oh, the one I helped you study for? You passed?"

"Passed nothing, I aced that sucker! Made it my bitch and it was all thanks to you!" And with that, he was hoisting me up for another twirl.

"Dude, what the hell?!" a shout suddenly rang out across the mall before Roxas came bursting out of the press of shoppers, sneakers screeching to a halt in front of us as he glared at Lea. "Can't believe you just ditched me like that! I looked like a total dumbass riding that thing all by myself!"

"Oh sure," Xion deadpanned at his side, "cuz you looked like a regular Einstein before as a grown-ass man riding around in the widdle choo-choo train with another grown-ass man."

Roxas crossed his arms and stuck his nose up in the air with a harrumph. "You're just jelly cuz we didn't invite you."

She scoffed, "You didn't invite me cuz I turned you guys down the last ten times you tried to drag me onto that dumb thing because I didn't want to look stupid."

"Your face looks stupid!"

Xion lunged at him, but Lea had already put me down and was snagging them both by the scruff of their shirt collars, dragging them apart from each other. He sighed, "Kiddos, please, would you start acting like the grown-ups that you are?"

Said the adult man who'd just been joyriding in the kiddie train.

Seriously, how were these three even college students? They all acted like a bunch of preschoolers.

"Ha, fat chance with this dope," Xion snerked, reaching across to flick Roxas in the forehead.

"Why you-" he broke free of Lea's grasp. Xion gasped and managed to squirm loose herself, bolting and squealing with laughter as she disappeared into the crowd, Roxas hot on her heels.

"Oi, kids these days. I give up," Lea grumbled, shaking his head and tossing his hands up in defeat. "Now where were we?" Looking back at me, his eyes lit up. "Ah yes," he bent forward, bringing us nose to nose with a tiny smirk, "my reward."

Both eyebrows shot up my forehead and I staggered back a bit. "Your… reward?"

"Mm-hm!" he nodded, grin twitching wider. "For kicking that test's ass, I get a reward! It's standard girlfriend protocol."

I blinked, "...it is?"

"Didn't ya read your dating handbook?"

...there's a handbook?!

Wait. No. That was just a joke.

And wishful thinking on my part.

Because I mean, seriously, how much easier would my life be right now if I could consult a handbook?

That aside, I had to get back to the matter at hand: some kind of reward for Lea. Which was my duty as the girlfriend. Apparently. What did that even entail? What was it supposed to be? What was I supposed to do? My face paled and my hands clenched. This was too much responsibility to be thrust onto me all of a sudden! What, was I supposed to buy him something? Or… maybe this was this another PDA situation? I mean, I hadn't made a move in that department since the roller rink a couple days ago. If tripping and crashing into him even counted. Which, personally, I was still chalking up as one for the win column. Had to take my small victories wherever I could! That said… perhaps it was high time I gave it another go?

Yes. Okay. I was going to do this. This… I was going to do.

My gaze hardened and my nostrils flared slightly as I started taking deep, sharp breaths, psyching myself up.

I got this. No more putting it off. Be strong! Be brave! Carpe diem! Seize the day! Grab the bull by the horns! Strike while the iron's hot!

Lea snerked, straightening up, "Woah, El, your face! Relax! I'm kidding! Just teasing ya like I always-"

YOLO!

I dropped my lunch bag, grabbed his head in both hands, yanked him down and kissed him.

...on the nose.

Way to bury the lead there, I know.

But hey, it still counted! Let me have this!

I held it for the space of a few thundering heartbeats before I pulled back, releasing his face and doing my best to ignore the slight jitters I felt from the adrenaline surge.

Lea was stock-still and just giving me a blank, wide-eyed stare.

Huh… not the reaction I was expecting.

A few long seconds ticked by where nothing happened. My eyes darted about nervously. Then I slowly, awkwardly picked my lunch sack back up off the floor. And still nothing from him. Nada. Not one peep.

Should… should I say something?

That's when he jolted upright (startling me half to death, I might add) and brought both his hands up to cup his nose, spinning around so his back was to me now.

Okay, really, really not the reaction I was expecting. At all. Just what-

Then it hit me.

I hadn't asked his permission first! And after he'd been so careful with me all this time too! Apparently I couldn't even return the favor! Fudge, this was like the Kissident all over again. Except worse! At least then, it'd been an accident. This time I'd done it on purpose! This was premeditated! Not to mention this now made me a repeat offender! A… a serial kisser! Would my reign of smooching terror never cease?

Anxiety eating up at me now like a swarm of angry ants in the pit of my stomach, I bit down on my bottom lip and took a hesitant step forward. "Lea?" I asked, my voice small. "Did I do something wrong or-"

"Nope! No, it was good. Really, really good," he said quickly, voice tight and muffled still by his hands. Then I heard him puff out a slow breath, watched his arms fall to his sides and he whipped around towards me once more, huge smile splitting his face in two. "So good, in fact, it's high-five worthy. Whaddya say, wanna high-five? Let's high-five." He held his palm up in front of me. I wordlessly stared back at him, arching an eyebrow. He was being weird, even for him. And why was he talking so fast? He hastily dropped his hand, "Not high-five. Forget that. That's stupid. We should, uh… we should go. Wanna go? Let's go."

As he snagged my free hand in his and tugged me into a walk beside him, I tipped my head to the left and uncertainly gave him some side-eye. "...where are we going?"

Seemingly already recovered, his grip shifted to instead hook our pinkies together as he shot me a wink. "Where all couples sneak off to whenever they have a lil free time. Somewhere dark, secret and secluded so," here he raised his voice for all to hear over the mall hub-bub, "we can make out!"

My feet faltered and I stumbled, barely catching myself as my face spontaneously broke out into its best impersonation of a tomato. "M-make out?!"

He snorted, bending close to my ear and whispering, "Calm down, only said it for show. We'll just find some place to lay low until your lunch is over and let the gossip mill churn." Straightening back up to his full height, he beamed, "Sound good, my knuddelbärchen?" A crease formed between my eyebrows and he chuckled. "Go on, ask. Ya know ya want to."

I sighed, "And knuddelbärchen is…?"

"German for cuddle bear," he pinched my cheek.

"No."

"You can sleep on it, then get back to me."

I rolled my eyes but held my tongue as I continued to let him lead the way to wherever it was we were going. It wasn't long before we entered a part of the mall I was more familiar with and he turned us down the deserted wing that was under construction. Ah, back to the clocktower then, was it? So be it.

Once the locked door was picked and we were inside, I started to head for the stairs but he stopped me with a hand on my elbow. At my questioning look, he said, "Dunno where the kiddos disappeared off to. They may have beat us to the punch and could be up there already, which'll totally bust our whole fake make-out sesh. Better to just hide out down here instead."

"Alright," I nodded as he released my arm.

And there it was again. That strangeness that seemed to hang in the air whenever we were alone together now. Whenever we didn't have to put on the act of being in a relationship. I was now so used to him lacing our fingers together every chance he got that when he didn't this time, instead opting to stuff his hands into his pockets with a grin and a soft "heh," my own hand almost felt… slighted? Bereft? Sad? Could hands even feel sad? Well, whatever the hand equivalent of sadness was, it felt that.

There were a couple large, dusty crates stored in here with us at the bottom of the clocktower. I stepped over to one, gingerly dusting off the surface before setting my paper bag down on top of it. Then I cleared my throat and looked to him with a small, timid smile. "This whole rent-a-boyfriend thing is really becoming a full time job now, isn't it? Sorry… to be wasting your time like this. I'm sure there are better ways you'd be preferring to spend it rather than stuck here with me."

Lea blinked at me, then huffed out a breath of a laugh. "Hey, you already forgetting whose idea it was for us to steal away on our own like this? Ya got nothing to be sorry for. I like this, it's fun! 'Sides," he moved to stand in front of me, leaning one shoulder against the wooden support beam there that was holding up the decrepit old staircase above us, "it's not a waste. I'm a big fan of my El time. Love having any excuse to hang out with ya and have you all to myself."

Cue heart spasm.

Dropping my gaze and tugging my Ice Palace cap down to hide my warming cheeks, I zeroed in on opening my lunch bag with far more acute focus than was absolutely necessary. Let's see what Mama Rayne had packed for me today, inquiring minds were simply dying to know. To him, I just mumbled, "To each their own, I guess."

"So…" he reached a hand out, index finger flicking the bill of my hat back up so he could meet my eyes when he smirked, "...you kissed me."

All color drained from my face.

Crud. Was hoping this wouldn't come up.

"I'm sorry!" came bursting out of me.

His head rocked back before he snorted and sighed, "You apologize too much, ya know that? Fine, I'll bite. What're you sorry for now?"

"I should've asked if that was okay before I did it!" I took off my cap, wringing it between my hands. "I overstepped, I shouldn't have just assumed! I hope I didn't freak you out or make things awkward or uncomfortable or, or weird or-"

"Woah, woah, slow down," he chuckled, holding up his hands. "Ya got nothing to worry about. I was totally, one hundred and ten percent cool with it!"

My eyebrows knit together. "Really?" I frowned, absently setting the hat down on the box. "But you seemed so… I thought I might've upset you or-"

"Upset? Nah, not even a lil bit! Surprised, maybe, cuz I never in a million years expected you to, ah… heh…" he paused, pursing his lips to the right as he dragged his hand along the nape of his neck. Then he closed his eyes in a grin, "How 'bout this? This, right here, right now, is me giving you the okay to do whatever you want to me from now on in order to maintain your girlfriend cover. Anything goes, got it?"

Eyes growing round, I stammered, "A-anything?"

He couldn't be serious! Anything was a lot. Anything was… well, anything.

"Yup, anything! Don't hold back. Just feel free to go to town on me."

This was too much power. Do not want. Take it back.

"I, uh…" What does one even say to that? "O-okay… thanks?" Was this something I should be thanking him for? Seemed like a weird thing to thank him for. This whole discussion just seemed weird, period. Concentrating on my packed lunch once more, I pulled out a ziplock of baby carrots. "...I don't think I'll be, er… going to town on you any time soon though, but the offer is, ah…" Is what? "...appreciated?" Sure, let's go with that.

"Shame," Lea tsked under his breath, then snerked as his hand shot up to block the carrot I threw at him. "Kidding, kidding! Still, just know that door's always open, in case ya ever wanna put on a bit of a show for any audience we might have. I won't be bothered. Promise."

"I'll keep that in mind," I muttered, taking out a second carrot to nibble on as I averted my gaze. Was ready to talk about something else now.

"Still, fact of the matter remains," one corner of his lips curled up, "you kissed me."

Gah! Would he stop saying that already!

A soft harrumph. "Only on the nose."

"One lucky nose!" He hunched forward slightly, pointing at it, "I'll have you know I'm never gonna wash this puppy ever again."

I snorted, setting the ziplock down on the box and reaching back into the paper sack to see what other goodies it contained. "Be serious."

"I am! Wouldn't wanna lose the divine blessing you've bestowed upon it on this fine day!"

Biting back a smile now as I continued to root around in the bag, I shook my head. "Does this mean that you also haven't washed your lips since the-" I abruptly froze, eyes widening and mouth clamping shut.

There was a pause, then I could see out of my peripheral the slow cheshire grin spreading across Lea's face. "Go on, since the…?"

Since the Kissident, was what I'd been about to say.

I knew it.

He knew it.

But did I have the guts to actually power through and finish that sentence?

Frantic fingers grabbing the first thing they could out of the lunch sack, I shoved it into his face with a weak laugh, "Chocolate pudding cup?"

Nope. I sure as heck most certainly did not.

Elsa, Queen of the Skillful and Seamless Subject Change.

"Oo!" he chirped in delight, taking it. Well, he was easily distracted. That, or he was just being nice and letting me off the hook. Probably the latter. "A nose kiss and pudding? Big day!"

With a soft, relieved sigh through my nostrils, I fished out a plastic spoon to hand him as well. "Don't forget about the train ride too. Big day indeed… do you and Roxas do that often?"

Having already torn into it and taken a spoonful into his mouth, he swallowed. "Not really. Only for special occasions. Wouldn't wanna cheapen the experience."

My eyes crinkled. "Because it's already so sophisticated and highbrow to begin with," I said, forgoing the PB and J sandwich at the bottom of the bag for now and instead opting to pull out some string cheese. Removing the wrapper, I asked, "Passing an exam counts as a special occasion?"

"Only the hard as balls ones that can make or break my overall grade for the course," he shrugged, scooping out some more pudding and offering it to me, to which I just shook my head.

"Ah," I rested one hip against the crate, peeling off a thin strip of mozzarella and slipping it into my mouth. "How many years do you have left on your degree anyway?"

"Couple more. Though I hear if I'm a model student, they'll let me graduate early for good behavior."

"Don't think that's how it works," I hummed a low laugh. "Then after that… what was it again? ...a nice little ice cream shanty by the seashore, I believe?"

Lea grinned around his spoon, "Something like that."

Pulling off another strand, I hesitated with a slight frown. "...but why ice cream?" At his cocked head and raised eyebrows, I worried my lower lip between my teeth. How to phrase this? "...it's just been something I've been wondering about actually. What with your mother dropping you off at an ice cream shop before she, ah... split when you were so little, I would have thought it would just be a… a source of bad memories, is all."

He snorted, looking down at his spoon as he swirled it around in the chocolate goop. "S'not the ice cream's fault my deadbeat mom abandoned Saïx and me when we were kids. She's taken a lot from me, I won't let her take that too. 'Sides, also got a lotta good memories tied to ice cream. Fun times with friends and whatnot. It's nice that something so simple can bring a smile to people's faces and I just like the idea of being a part of that. Sounds silly, I know, but what can I say?" He thrust the now heavily pudding-laden utensil up high in the air, "I have a calling! And answer it I must!"

I brought a curled finger to my lips, hiding the tiny smile. "Some calling. You still haven't even guessed which one's my favorite yet."

"Told ya, it's a process," he stuck the spoon into his mouth, holding it there as he squinted thoughtfully. "Speaking of… lessee, what other flavors haven't come up yet… ah! Three Wishes?" he asked, pointing the plastic implement at me. Then he scoffed, "Yeah right. Way too gimmicky with all that blue cotton candy. It's trying too hard. Classy and effortless is more your speed."

My smile ticked wider as my fingers plucked further at the string cheese. "Are we still even talking about ice cream anymore?"

"Course! Trust me, I've got this down to a science. I know my shit."

"If you say so," I gave a soft snort. "You really have me at the edge of my seat here. I can't wait to see which one you finally land on."

"Me neither. I'm just as much on this journey as you are," he chuckled, tossing the now empty cup onto the crate alongside the paper bag. Propping one shoulder against the post again, he looked down and scratched his cheek. "...hey, so, ya free in a couple nights? Saïx's been wanting to meet my new lady friend and suggested we have you over for dinner."

Finishing the last of my own snack, I quirked an eyebrow at him. "He knows you have a lady friend?"

"Wasn't hard for him to guess since I've been out all night a lot recently, what with your couch being my new home away from home."

"Oh." My fingers reached for a tendril of my ponytail to twist as I mulled for a second. "Yeah, I suppose… I don't have any closing shifts coming up for a while, so I'm free for the next few nights. Just let me know when."

"Sweet! We can see this as a test run of sorts. Practice for the big weekend with your folks and-" he suddenly fell silent, head jerking to his right. I blinked, confused. Then I heard it too. This soft rattling coming from the doorknob - the telltale sounds of a lock being picked. "Crap! The kiddos! Hide," Lea hissed, grabbing my shoulders and shoving us both beneath the staircase, my back hitting the wall behind me.

The door burst open. I didn't so much see it since the stairs were now between me and it, blocking my line of sight, but I heard it along with the echoing laughter of two very familiar voices. As it slammed shut again and the staircase began to quake from feet running up it hard, I heard Xion ask, "Think we'll find them up there?"

"Probably." That was Roxas. I turned my head to the left, watching through the slats between the steps as his sneakers blurred past. "Giving each other tonsillectomies, no doubt."

My face heated as I realized they were talking about Lea and me.

But good news! Lea's plan was working. People thought we were off somewhere, er... shall we say, necking.

Or at the very least, those two thought so anyway.

I heard a snigger from Xion as her boots rushed past the gap not too far behind him. "Perfect. Let's scare them shitless."

They both cackled and tried to shush each other at the same time as I heard their thudding footsteps fade further and further away above us. Once I was certain they were gone, I puffed out the breath I'd been holding.

That's when I became aware of several things. Very, very aware.

Aware of the familiar feeling of Lea's eyes on me. Aware of how close we were. Of his grip still on my shoulders. Of my hands on his chest. Of the gentle thud of his heartbeat beneath my fingertips. Of his warm, spicy boy scent. Of his body pressed to mine, pinning me to the wall still from his rush just seconds ago to get us both out of sight. Of the fact that I could still sense his gaze on me.

Oh gosh, was there something on my face?

I slowly turned my head to look up at him and meet his eyes. He had that look in them again that I'd seen once or twice before. The one that made my insides twist and flip-flop.

Emergency! This is not a drill, people! Fetch the conceal-don't-feel armor and suit up, stat! I repeat, this is not a drill!

The slightest hint of a grin tugged at the corner of his lips and when he spoke, his voice was low. Barely above a whisper. "You know what would… really sell this make-out sesh? ...if right along here..." he ran the tip of his index finger along the side of my neck down to where it met my shoulder, so lightly I hardly felt it, his eyes following its trail the whole time, "...there was a hickey. Maybe two or three. Ya know… just for appearances, of course..."

I just stared at him for a second. Then two. Then I smiled, "That's a great idea!"

He looked taken aback, his gaze widening. "Wait, really?!"

"Of course! Did you bring any makeup with you?" I asked. He just gave me a blank look. "You know, like your guyliner. Do you have anything else? Something that could make the fake marks look convincing?"

He blinked a couple times. "Makeup… right… that's what I meant… heh..." his eyes darted to the left. "But shoot, you know what? Didn't bring any with me." A slow smirk stretching across his face now, he bent down to press his forehead to mine as his eyes hooded, "But hey... we could also always make 'em the old fashioned way."

Once more I stared, expression neutral.

Processing… processing…

Then my eyelids drooped. "...you're messing with me again, aren't you?"

Lea stiffened. Then he relaxed, straightening back up and bracing an elbow against the wall above my head, resting his brow to his forearm as his whole body shook with a soft chuckle. "Yup! Yup, you uh… you caught me alright! Totes was."

Conceal-don't-feel armor saves the day once again! If it hadn't been for that, my heart might have exploded in that situation.

Man, was I getting good at deflecting these little jokes of his now or what?

He shifted over and away from me, giving us both some breathing room now. "Do you think maybe we should go somewhere else?" I asked, my gaze drifting up the clocktower as I returned to the crate, repacking my lunch back into its bag and picking up my hat. Thank goodness the "kiddos" hadn't noticed this stuff before dashing upstairs. "Just so Xion and Roxas don't catch us down here?"

"Sure, good call. I gotta few other secret spots 'round this place we can hole up in until your lunch is over." He went to the door, pushing it open a crack so he could peek out.

"Okay," I nodded while waiting for him to make sure the coast was clear. Then I grinned. "You know, you almost had me going back there with the hickies."

"If only," he muttered so softly, I wasn't sure I'd heard correctly.

"Hm?"

His shoulders tensed, then he breathed a feeble laugh as he glanced back at me, "If only… I'd, er... remembered to bring some makeup! Ah well, maybe next time, huh? C'mon, let's go." His hand reached for mine.

I took it and suddenly my hand didn't feel so sad anymore as I let him lead me back out into the mall.

I couldn't sleep.

I rolled over onto my left side, pulling the sheets up to my chin and curling in on myself a bit. Then over to my right. A few seconds ticked by. Then I rested my back to the mattress and frowned up at my bedroom ceiling, at the long thin patch of frail moonlight slashing across it from between the curtains of my window. Sighing, I tossed over onto my side again and tried putting my head beneath the pillow this time, hoping the added darkness and some light hypoxia would do the trick to knock me out.

No such luck.

With another heavy sigh, I sat up, letting the pillow fall back down behind me. I brought a hand up towards one of my earplugs, stopping just short of reaching it as I frowned over at the wall I shared with my roommates. Then I tentatively pulled it out, already preemptively grimacing as the noises I might hear.

Instead my ears were greeted with a very different sound and from a different direction no less. Coming through my closed door from the living room was a faint, hollow murmur of voices. I squinted towards it, tipping my head to one side. Was that… the TV? Tugging the other earplug out, I set both down onto my nightstand as I listened for another minute, my fingers fiddling with my braid. Then folding my sheets away from me, I got out of bed, smoothed my nightgown and crept over to the door to open it.

Lea was sitting on his couch out here, the glow of the television screen the only thing illuminating him in the otherwise dark living room. Since him couch-surfing here was becoming a bit of a habit now, he'd started bringing an overnight bag with him for things like toiletries and the pyjamas he was currently wearing - a black tank top and PJ pants patterned with tiny fireballs sporting evil smiley faces. In fact I think it may have been the same design on the frisbees I'd seen back at his apartment. Some kind of brand logo, perhaps?

His elbows were braced up on the backrest behind him, temple propped against one fist as he watched the screen. He glanced over at me as I stepped out, quirking an eyebrow and lifting his head off his knuckles. "El?"

I gave my braid a tiny tug before dropping my hands and clasping them together, forcing them to be still as I gave him a small smile. "You're up late."

He grinned back. "Yeah. Never really could pass out to total silence," he nodded towards where his own earplugs laid discarded on the coffee table. Then he wrinkled his nose, shooting a sideways glance towards Rayne's and Riku's room. "But shit, you weren't kidding 'bout those two going at it like jackrabbits in there. Had to do something to tune 'em out, so turned on the ol' tube and guess what I found?"

I moved to stand beside him for a better view of the TV. The scene was currently zoomed in on a couple riding in the back row seat of a trolley. The girl was distracted, lost in whatever she was talking about while the guy was reaching his hand over to tuck her hair back, only to awkwardly snatch it away when she suddenly turned to look at him, completely oblivious to the gesture as she continued to enthusiastically ramble on. My smile grew as I took a seat next to Lea. "It's Before Dawn. Imagine that."

"I know. What timing, right?" he hummed a small laugh. We were both quiet for a few seconds, simply watching the movie. Then he nudged my knee with his, "And what brings ya out here in the middle of the night? Other than the pleasure of my charming company, of course."

That earned him a soft snort as I slouched more comfortably into the sofa and picked up one of the small throw pillows, hugging it in my arms. "Trouble sleeping."

"Oh?" he looked over at me, relaxing his hand along the top of the cushions behind my head. "Something on your mind?"

I gnawed on my bottom lip, not taking my eyes off the television even though I wasn't really paying attention to it anymore. "...it's just coming up so fast."

Brow furrowing, he squinted up at the ceiling in thought for a second. "You mean our visit to the parental units?"

My insides churned as I gave a small nod. "It's only a week away now. It doesn't feel like enough time. I don't know if I'll be able to go through with this… if we… if I will be prepared in time… if I'll be able to face them."

"Hey, don't worry 'bout it," he flashed a warm grin. "You and me? We got this. I like to think we've become quite the awesome dynamic duo. Gotten pretty good at this whole girlfriend-boyfriend thing. Got the entire mall buying into our story and if we can fool them, we can fool anyone."

"But it's not anyone," I muttered, squeezing the pillow more tightly to me. "It's Father. And Mother. And..." my face scrunched up, "...the Duke too? ...for some reason? Anyway, tricking Father for a grand total of five minutes was one thing, but now? Now it's my whole family. For a whole weekend. What if they find out?" Oh dear, I could already feel a panic attack coming on just thinking about it. I turned my head, frowning at him. "...what if I can't do this?"

The hand behind me lifted, hesitantly hovering and shifting about for a second before settling on a quick, reassuring pat to my head. "Just say the word and you can pull the plug on this whole op anytime ya want. Don't force yourself to do anything you don't wanna do. But just know you're a lot stronger than you think. And chances are? It won't be as bad as you fear." He poked himself in the side of the head, just above his left ear, "Our brains like to mess with us, tell us things will be a lot worse than they actually turn out to be. And 'sides, you won't be doing this alone. I'll be right there with you the whole weekend. Your sister too. We got your back. You got a support system. Consider us your safety net. We'll be there to pick up the slack and catch you if you fall."

I bowed my head, nose perched on top of the edge of the pillow now. "...thank you. That helps," I muffled into it, my tiny smile hidden. And I meant it. I could already feel some of my unease starting to slip away. Straightening back up and tossing my head back onto the couch, I inhaled deeply before loudly exhaling. "I should just stop thinking about it. Stressing out over it now does me no good. I need to be talking about something else."

"Something else, huh?" he mumbled, eyes returning to the movie as he scratched the tip of his nose. "...so I had a thought. Remember the other day when you said you'd be looking for a new place in a few months when lil Baby Hewley arrived?" His knee started jiggling up and down while out of the corner of my eye, I could see his fingers fidgeting with the seam of the backrest cushions. "Well, what if… and ya know, this would only be if you weren't able to find somewhere on your own and if, like… you had no place else to go and were up shit's creek and whatnot, but… what if you moved in with…" he glanced back my way, "...me?"

I blinked at him. "...you?"

His face brightened. "Yeah, whaddya think? We got plenty of space for ya! It'll be a total blast! And hey, we could even get ya a puppy."

Fighting a grin, I quirked an eyebrow. "A puppy? But what about Saïx?"

"Psh," he brushed off, one hand batting the air. "Saïx can fight me. You want a dog? You're getting a dog, end of story."

I snerked and looked down. Lips pursing to one side, I did a mental replay of what I could remember of when Lea had given me the grand tour of his apartment. "...am I forgetting a third bedroom you guys have?"

"Nah," he shook his head, "just the two. But you can have mine and I'll just… I dunno, sleep on the couch."

"You can't sleep on the couch in your own home," I scoffed.

"Sure I can! I'm actually growing quite accustomed to catching some Z's on 'em. These bad boys are surprisingly comfy," he pat the armrest next to him and beamed. "In fact, dunno if I can ever go back to a lame ol' bed again!"

Rolling my eyes, I said, "I meant because Saïx will see you. Won't he have questions about you sleeping on the sofa every night?"

"Oh. Right," he laughed, fingers ruffling his hair. "Well then I can just… sleep in the room with you. On the floor," he hastily amended. "Yeah, it'll be fun! Like a slumber party every night!"

One side of my lips twitched up as I toyed with the corner of the throw pillow I was still holding snug. "You're sweet, but… no, that'd just be crazy."

"...yeah. Crazy," he averted his gaze with a tiny chuckle. Then he frowned, plucking the short hairs at the nape of his neck. "...is it though? I mean, think about it. It'd be like the next stage of our dating evolution. That's what all couples do sooner or later, right? Move in together?"

"But the baby will be here in, what…" both my eyebrows rose as I stared off into space, "...four more months? Five? I figure we'll have probably staged a breakup by then."

"Breakup?!" he jerked forward in his seat, eyes widening slightly.

I knit my eyebrows together. "Well yeah. You… didn't think we were going to be fake dating forever, right?"

"Well, I…" he hunched forward, propping his elbows on his knees and folding his hands together beneath his nose as he narrowed his gaze on the floor. "...no, I guess not."

I tilted my head at him. Then opened my mouth. Then closed it. I focused on the TV instead. "...I figured… it'd be some time after we visited my parents. Depending on how it goes, of course. Once I was…" I shrugged, gripping the pillow more tightly, "...sure they weren't going to try to interfere with my life anymore. After that… maybe a few more weeks? A month, perhaps? Just so it wouldn't look too quick, too… suspicious or raise questions…"

Why was this so hard? Why did it make my heart squeeze, just a bit? Come on, it's not like it was a real breakup! Besides, this could maybe, possibly, eventually open up the door to actually start something more real with him in the future. If I ever got the guts up to even pursue something like that… whenever he started dating again… which would be when he no longer had to focus on his schoolwork… aka when he graduated...

...in two years…

Why did that suddenly seem like an eternity?

"...yeah," he sighed and slumped back again, his arm returning to its position behind me as he stretched them both out along the backrest once more, "that all makes sense, I guess." His lips were a flat line for a few seconds, but then he grinned over at me. "Tell ya one thing, though. Fake getting over you ain't gonna be easy. Might have to try and fake win you back."

"Oh no," I stifled a soft laugh into my fingers. "Hang on, let me guess… You. In a trenchcoat. Standing in the middle of the bustling food court. Boombox held high over your head and blasting out some old, cheesy love song. That about sum it up?"

He smirked, "Ah, fan of the classics like me, I see. Good guess, but I was actually thinking less John Cusack in Say Anything and more Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You. Me. With a mic hacked into the food court's overhead speakers. Singing and dancing around on table tops while mall security chases me all over the place."

This big dork really was a sap. That is, if his taste in movies had anything to say about it.

Shaking my head in amusement, I said, "Who's to say you'd even fake want me back? Maybe it's you who ends up fake dumping me."

He huffed out a derisive snort, "Not a chance. I'd never be dumb enough to let someone like you go." I looked away, grateful the light from the TV wasn't bright enough to reveal the gentle warmth spreading into my cheeks. Lea shrugged as he went on, "Now, dumb enough to do something stupid and royally fuck it up so you'd kick my ass to the curb however? Yeah, now that sounds like it'd be pretty on brand for me."

"No, I don't think so," I smiled, resting my chin atop the seam of the throw pillow. "...thanks, Lea. I feel a lot better now. You're a… a really good friend."

Lea was quick to return the smile, "It's what I'm here for!" His gaze went back to the screen and there was a brief pause where the only sound was the low drone from the movie. "So… was that your roundabout way of wishing me a good night?"

"Hmm..." A beat before I shook my head, "Not yet. I think I'd like to stay and watch for a little while longer, if that's alright."

"It's more than alright," the corners of his eyes crinkled as he settled into his seat more comfortably. "It's alright times two."

I'm not sure exactly when it was I nodded off. Last scene I clearly remembered was our leading couple sitting at a restaurant together, their hands miming phones to their ears as they made imaginary calls to one another, so it must have been not too long after that. Next thing I knew I was blinking blearily at the television as it showed the girl now sitting on a bed in a small apartment, serenading the guy with her guitar. They both looked maybe a few years older. Must have been one of the sequels to the first movie. I was less familiar with those. It seemed Lea had stumbled upon some sort of late night marathon.

As consciousness returned to me piece by tiny piece, it slowly came to my attention that there was something... off about the pillow my cheek was resting against. Like the fact that it was oddly firm. And warm. And…

...breathing?

Eyes fully snapping open now, they darted about to realize I'd fallen asleep on Lea. Against his chest, to be exact. Embarrassed and panicking maybe just a smidge, I immediately tried to straighten up and away from him, only to be held firmly in place by the arm - his arm - that was draped heavily around my shoulders. I furrowed my brow over at it. Wha-?

Then he made a noise and I tensed.

Took me several heart-pounding seconds to register that noise for what it was.

A snore.

Puffing out a hushed breath and forcing my muscles to relax, I tentatively, cautiously turned my head to try and look up at him. Didn't work, and it only took me another second to realize why. There was a weight pressing down on the top of my hair that I hadn't really noticed until just now.

He was using my head as a pillow.

Welp. This was quite the predicament I found myself in.

Oh gosh, I just hope we'd fallen asleep roughly around the same time and had just, I don't know... naturally gravitated toward one another in our slumber? If I'd been snuggling up to him like this while he was awake the whole time, I'd never live it down.

Next thing my brain decided to alert me to was the fact that I'd misplaced my throw pillow. I must have dropped it when I'd dozed off for I was pretty sure I could feel it on the floor brushing against my bare feet. But that wasn't the important part. No, the important part was what my hands had decided to do in the wake of its disappearance. Left hand? It was good. Just laying there in my lap, all well behaved and polite-like. The right one, however? Had found its way over to rest atop Lea's knee. The little trollop. Especially considering that one of his hands was currently covering it. Had it no decency? No shame?

I considered my situation for another minute. Then taking a deep breath, I decided to commence with the extraction. Should be easier now that I was fully awake and aware of my circumstances so I could approach it all with a cooler, more level head.

First I used my free hand to gently lift his arm from my shoulder and gingerly set it back down on the couch backrest. Another snore from him and I froze. After a few seconds where nothing else happened however and I was sure I hadn't disturbed him, I then proceeded to bring my hand back up, this time to delicately press my fingertips to his chin.

Careful now, careful… wouldn't want to wake him…

I slowly pushed his head off mine and kept going until it lolled back onto the cushions behind him instead. With nothing left weighing me down now, I crept up onto my feet and peeked back at him to make sure he still snoozed. I was rewarded with yet another soft snore. That was all the confirmation I needed. I turned to make a break for my room.

Victory! Success! Elsa, Queen of The Daring Escape and-

Ack!

...okay, so something had just happened. More precisely, two somethings, both occurring at the exact same time. The first? Was my arm being pulled taut and bouncing me back like a rubber band stretched too tight. I stumbled but caught myself, the carpet muffling any sound I might have made. The second? Now that was just a word. One single, solitary word:

"Stay."

That one word sent my heart catapulting up into my throat as I whipped around to discover Lea had pulled his head up and was now looking straight at me.

Fudge, fudge, fudge, fudge!

...but actually… wait… his eyelids were sagging heavily. Half closed and groggy. His expression slack. And now that I thought about, when he'd spoken, it had come out sounding a little… sluggish? One might even say… drowsy?

...was he still half asleep?

I haltingly raised a hand to wave in front of his face. No reaction. As my shallow breaths began to slow and my heart rate calmed, I next looked down at my other hand to see what the snag had been there. This was the one that had been on his knee with his hand on top of it. Was still on top of it and, in fact, had tightened his grip around my fingers. This was what had snared me and brought my getaway to a screeching halt.

Yeesh, what a clingy sleeper he must be.

I brought my gaze back up to his face. He was still giving me that droopy, zombie-eyed stare. I tucked in my lower lip, studying him for a moment. Then I took a tiny step closer and bent over him slightly. My free hand came up, reaching for him. I froze midway, fingers curling towards my palm, hesitating. But only for a heartbeat before I was pushing forward again.

"Shh… go back to sleep," I whispered, gently stroking his hair just above his ear.

His really, really soft, silky smooth hair.

Which I'd not been expecting. Not at all.

Crud, I shouldn't be blushing this much.

However, it seemed to have the desired effect. His eyelids drifted all the way closed now as his head sank back down into the couch cushion. His hold on my hand relaxed enough for me to slip it free. I straightened back up, rubbing my rescued hand with the other as I watched him sleep for a few more seconds, my head tipping to one side. Then I retrieved the throw pillow from the floor and put it back on the sofa next to him before picking up the comforter to drape over him. It was only now I realized that it was too small for him for if I brought it up to cover his shoulders, it left his feet exposed.

The friggin' behemoth. Why hadn't he said anything? I'd have to see about finding a bigger one for him tomorrow.

I briefly considered turning off the TV but decided against it on the off chance the sudden lack of noise would wake him. Turning, I tiptoed back towards my bedroom, stopping in the doorway for one last backwards glance at him. Still out like a light. A grin pulled at one side of my mouth as I murmured, "Sweet dreams, sleeping beauty."

The only answer I got was a snore.

Author's Note: Our awkward penguin did it! She intentionally "made a move" for the first time, I'm so proud T_T Looks like our fire boi tried to make a bit of a move himself under the clocktower staircase there… with far less successful results xD One step forward, two steps back, huh? *Siiiiigh* ah well, these two will get there eventually :P And this is yet another chapter I lament not writing anything from Lea's POV… so many scenes in my head going on for him off camera that will never see the light of day xD Fun fact: The ice cream this chapter, Three Wishes, is named after (you guessed it) Agrabah's keyblade and I imagine its description on the menu would look something like: "This blueberry flavored soft serve will have you wishing for more! Comes in a blue cone wrapped in a ring of matching blue cotton candy, with lamp-shaped sugar cubes and a sprinkling of extra sugar to top it all off."

Next chapter, with that "make a move" hurdle finally overcome, what's next in our couple's fake dating adventures? Looks like there's a certain dinner with a certain Moon Boy on the horizon, how will this lil "test run" go? Will it be a resounding success or could it spell utter defeat for our pair? Not to mention the weekend with the folks is fast approaching, will our couple be ready in time? And just how DOES Lea fit his behemoth self into those itty-bitty pirate ship train carts? Some things will forever remain a mystery, but for the rest, stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

[static-fanatic-1]

Before We Begin

-| Stuck at a StandStill |-

StandStill: Prologue

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: Mentions of blood and broken bones, Bullying, Anxiety attacks, Creepy behavior.

A girl covered in blood and dirt howled, scrapping at the concrete slab that had fallen on her leg with cracked nails. Fat tears streamed down her rosy cheeks when it seemed as if no one was coming for her, her once silvery eyes now blood shot from crying. "Papa!" The little girl hyperventilated when she was given no reply, hand shaking as blood pooled underneath the fallen debris, is this how she dies? Barely even ten and crushed by debris caused by a villain? "Momma! Daddy!"

Thousands of questions ran inside her head, shaking her body to the core with the unrelenting fear of death. The small girl croaked out a long cry, tears and snot making her look all the more pathetic as she flutily clawed at the concrete. "Papa! Papa-!" Loud shifting resonated from above, the fallen walls of the large building she was in moving aside to make way for a hulking figure. Whoever it was was framed in an ethereal, golden glow from the setting sun, like an angel sent from heaven to save the ten-year-old.

The bulky figure swiftly tossed away the fallen wall and jumped down into the cavern, flinging the concrete slab like it was a leaf and wrapping the child in his large arms. His muscles tensed at the loud booms above, the villain clearly ruining more of the city, but that did nothing to deter the figure's bright smile when he looked down. "What's your name, kid?" His voice will be forever engrained in her memory as an enthusiastic theatrical of hope.

"Aiko." The little girl meekly replied, curling into his muscular arms for some form of comfort.

"Well Aiko Shonen, everything will be fine. Why? Because I am here, All Might!" The bunny like hairs on his head waved as his smile only grew. Aiko only ever felt so safe around her papa, and this All Might figure made her feel just as safe as she would feel in her papa's arms.

A deep rumble echoed through the cavern, the hero's smile faltering the slightest bit, but quickly returned when he crouched down and jumped out of the cavern. Wind rushed through her long white drapes, her doe like eyes glowing from the immense strength the blond possessed. An old man dressed in hero's wear sped past All Might, the little girl following the yellow blur to what was happening behind her.

That was a mistake.

A deep feeling of dread washed over the entirety of Aiko small frame and made her feel utterly sick. A man clad in a crisp black suit loomed above all else. Red lightning like sparks shooting through the sky as his bulky frame floated above the toppled buildings and skyscrapers. Just how many bodies were under those buildings? And that mask, that terrifying, black, skull-like mask would forever be burned into her memory like a horribly large scar. Under his pristine black shoes were villains and heroes alike, bloodied and broken and dying.

A large hand turned her facing the sunset, a beautiful display of deep purples and bloody reds littered with fluffy stained clouds. "Don't worry, Aiko Shonen... you are safe now." All Might's bright, toothy grin brought her only more discomfort, it felt strained and off, as if he didn't believe his own words.

A certain yellow blur knocked Aiko and All Might out of the sky and into the debris of a near by building, a loud boom and an intense vacuum of air brushing past. The larger than life blond shielded her from the fall, sliding down and holding her close to his heaving chest. "Toshinori, watch out! Don't look away for one second or you'll give him the advantage!" Scolded the older man, not realizing All Might was carrying a small child in his arms.

"Perfect timing Gran Torino, take Aiko Shonen and get her out of here!" He handed her off to the elder, leaving nothing but dust in his wake as he jumped back into the fight. "Have Nighteye take her somewhere safer!"

Gran Torino swiftly pulled her into his arms and dashed away from the villain. The two made it safely out of the danger zone, a new, slim figure running to Torino. "Take her, T-All Might needs my help against All For One." His gruff voice reverberated off the fallen walls of what used to be a wealthy district. Once again, she was thrust into the hold of another hero, wincing at her broken leg.

Sir. Nighteye dashed across the debris ridden streets, blood and bodies littering them like trash. Aiko whimpered and curled in on herself, each and every detail of the villain attack being engraved into her brain. Not even a moment later she was given to a random citizen, probably a nurse or doctor from a nearby hospital. The citizen took her somewhere safer, away from the villains and heroes.

Aiko looked back one more time, All For One and All Might clashing against each other like titans or gods fighting for the mortal realm. Maybe that's what the fight is about, two titans fighting for power over the weak. That's what it looked like at least, wind pressure from their attacks brought more walls toppling down. She bit her bottom lip, being carried away from the carnage of the clashing gods.

~~~

White hair rushed through the small bedroom, scrambling to find her favorite pencil she must have dropped last night. She ducked under her bedframe, no not there, what about under her desk? Not there either. "Come on!" She whined, shuffling through sketchbooks and notebooks for the fifth time just to find her favorite mechanical pencil. "Oh, thank god!" She exclaimed, grabbing the old pencil, and stuffing it into her bag.

Quickly she collected the rest of her things and rushers out of her room. "Aiko! Hurry up you're going to be late!" Yelled her mother, a woman with a thin yet pear shaped frame and deep bags under her dull violet eyes. A messy bun made of curly turquoise hair rest upon her head. Her shrill voice echoed through the halls and into her room, drenching the little girl with a new sense of urgency.

"I'm leaving!" She reaffirmed. She dashed through the house to the front door. Slipping off her house shoes she quickly put on her outside shoes before opening the door.

"Oi! Aiko, where's my goodbye kiss?" Snarled a new figure, large and muscular with deep brown hair and yellow eyes. He tapped a thick finger against his cheek as he leaned closer to his adopted daughter's form.

Quickly she slipped off her outside shoes, she had quickly learned to never wear them on the floor, and leaned to kiss the man on the cheek. She returned to the front and waved a goodbye as she scurried out of the small house.

The young girl brushed her white hair out of her face, her roller blades now clipped onto the bottom of her shoes. Slinging her backpack securely on her back, she dipped out of the front yard and skated her way to public school.

Wind rushed through long locks of hair, her curly bangs framing her face as she sped through the busy sidewalks. Wide, hopeful, doe-like eyes watched the trees blur past. People and faces smudged by her speed, a grumpy pedestrian yelling at her to slow down. "Sorry sir!" She yelled back.

Aiko sighed at the sight of pink Sakura trees in the distance, indicating how close she was to her school. Skating past the iron gates and into the school, she threw her shoes into her locker and rushed into her homeroom class with only a few seconds to spare.

The skinny teacher glared at her. "You were almost late, again." His hands fell to his hips in a relaxed pose, eyes boring into the much smaller figure. If you moved his impossibly long blond bangs you would be able to see the orange, slitted eyes he had.

"Sorry Hagake Sensei, I woke up late again." She scratched the back of her neck and waved an apology.

"You can't be late if you want to be a hero, Aiko." He scolded, the thin tail and small cat ears waving disapprovingly. "Anyway, everyone here wants to be a hero so I'll go ahead and give you all the course selections." The cat-quirk teacher stalked through the desks, handing out papers that would change everyone's lives.

"Komori, you were going for UA right? Aiko, you too?" She sheepishly nodded when the orange eyes glanced into her own, taking thick strands of her hair and covering her mouth and cheeks with it. A habit she had developed after the incident. Her ice blue eyes looked over to the other name called, a young yet surprisingly fit boy with an impressive quirk.

Komori, a young man with a bat quirk and the physic to make it powerful. He was tall for his age, with a slim yet strong build, the only thing that wasn't conventionally attractive were the thick glasses on his button nose. But even then he made them look good. He had large ears, long fangs, a thin tail and huge wings draped behind his back. Pale, almost grey skin, with sharp purplish-red eyes complimented his short, yet messy, black hair.

————————————————

Name: Komori Suzuki

Quirk: Bat Mix

Quirk Details: Komori's quirk is pretty self-explanatory, he is a bat. Wings, tail, ears and fangs, he has both White-Winged Flying Fox (Mother—Kistune Suzuki) and Common Vampire Bat (Father—Kyūkestuki Suzuki). He has the best of both bats at his disposal.

————————————————

He cackled. "Ha! Really? That coward can't become a hero! Look at her, and her quirk is useless for hero work. The only thing she's good at is being a housewife!" Waving his leathery wings and kicking his feet up on the desk he continued to laugh at her flustered expression.

Komori could only be described as a misogynistic bastard. Aiko and him used to be friends, but when he was young he started all misogynistic towards her, typically using the housewife card against her. Still, throughout the years the two of them stuck around each other. Maybe it was a sense of familiarity between the two of them?

The girl shrunk into her chair, pulling her hair closer to her face. "I can be a hero...." Her soft tone drifted off until nothing but a pen dropping could be heard.

"Eh? What was that? You want to be a hero to avenge your old man?" He jumped on the desk and leaned down, the pearly fangs flashing dangerously. "There's no way you'd be able to do that, you can't to anything for yourself! You're just a damn damsel in distress, so give up."

The teacher glared at him and smacked a clawed hand on the back of his neck. "Shut it Komori! You'll never be a hero with that attitude!" Sensei growled and handed the both of you your papers. "It won't hurt to try, Aiko." He reassured with a pat on the girl's shoulder.

"R-right." Komori got up from the floor and glared at the teacher comforting the smaller girl. He scoffed and returned to his desk, there was no reason for him to be so mean to her, but he did anyway. Maybe he took a sadistic pleasure in messing with her.

"Anyway, this is due tomorrow," waved the teacher as he sauntered back up to the front of the rowdy class. "I forgot to give it to you guys on Monday so don't forget. If you guys don't turn it in tomorrow you won't be going to a hero school." He waited for an answer, his eye twitching when he didn't get one. "Am I clear?"

"Yes sir!" Yelled the class.

~~~

Aiko leaned on her tippy toes to grab her outside shoes and clip-on roller blades, jumping when a clawed hand slammed beside her locker. She squealed and whipped around, coming face to face with collared shirt. "Wh-What do you want, Komori?"

Glazed over plum eyes glared through thick lenses. "Why do you even want to be a hero? It's not like you'll be able to fix what the villain did so you should just give up." His throat rumbled a growl. "Seriously, you should just leave it to me, I'll get the job done unlike you." The violent eyes hardened slightly at her scared expression. "Seriously, Sweetheart, you'll get your weak-ass self hurt."

The white haired girl glanced up and shriveled into the locker. "I-I'm still going to try... Sensei said I should."

Komori opened his mouth as if he was about to say something but was interrupted by a few other delinquents. He scoffed when she dipped past his arms and wings and ran out of the school, struggling to run and clip on her skates. "When are you gonna kiss her Komori? Seriously you've been closing in on her from the beginning." Chattered one friend.

"Oh fuck off, she's just going to get herself killed." The aspiring bat hero puffed his chest and flared his wings. "And what type of hero would I be if I didn't try to save a lady-in-waiting, huh?"

Aiko stumbled past the school gates, recommendation paper in hand. Once she made it far enough she dipped into a dark alleyway and curled onto the ground. Fat yet silent tears streamed down her cheeks as she did her best to calm her anxiety. The girl tightly gripped her hair and shoved it in her face trying to calm herself. "Breathe... breathe... breathe...." She chanted.

Slowly but surely her anxiety levels died down with her calming strategy. She wiped away her tears and sipped on the last of her left over water. "Brrreeeeaaaaatttthhhhheeee...." She tensed at the buzz in her pocket, pulling out her small flip phone to see who texted her.

[Mr. Takahashi] 'Get some Tokoyaki on the way home.'

[Aiko] 'Yes Sir.'

She bit her bottom lip and furrowed her brows, waiting for a reply, luckily there was none so she relaxed. Taking her leave out of the alleyway, the small girl made her way over to the best Tokoyaki shop nearby.

A loud boom erupted out of the same street the shop was on, Aiko worriedly rushing over to the sound. Smoke covered the skies as more explosions went off. A chattery crowd formed at the street entrance, but Aiko wasn't worried about what was happening. She quickly pulled out her phone and started texting.

[Aiko] 'I'm sorry, I'm going to be late. The shopping district is under attack by a villain.'

She worriedly waited for a reply, doing her best to shuffle through the crowd to get a good look at the commotion. A blond, skeleton of a man coughed his way next to you, leaning on a lamppost and looking above the crowd. "Sir? What-what is going on?"

The blond slightly jumped in surprise at the delicate voice, looking down and taking in the little girl standing before him. Something about her seemed familiar, though he couldn't exactly place it. "A villain, nothing to worry about the heroes will take care of it." In all honesty, he couldn't exactly see everything that was going on. Between the explosions and smoke, all he could see was the sludge villain he failed to detain.

His deep, sultry voice calmed her, but the intense expression he wore had the opposite effect. Biting her bottom lip, she shuffled her way to the front of the crowd. Pedestrians around her worriedly talking to themselves, every time another explosion went off they would flinch. She would too.

Finally squeezing to the front of the crowd she saw what was happening. An ash-blond, about her age, writhed inside the sludge monster, gasping every time he could get some air. He screamed when his mouth was free, a violent cry for help that no hero seemed to be answering.

Aiko took a step closer, the water hero yelling at her to stay back. "He-He needs help! He'll die if no one helps him!" She screamed back, staring at the hero with a pleading expression. "You guys need to save him!"

"We can't, no one here can stop that villain. We are holding off until someone more prepared saves him!"

'He can't wait that long', she thought, looking at the frustrated features of the blond middle schooler. But she waited, too afraid to mess up and make things worse. Her quirk would only make things worse.

Anxiously she held her hair to her face, waiting for someone more adapt to the villain to save whoever was trapped. People happily cheered a new hero, Mt. Lady running to the scene. She stopped however, obviously she wouldn't be able to help with her quirk.

The small female was pushed to the side, another middle schooler, this time with fluffy dark green hair, stared at the scene in front of him. His freckles face contorted to a look of pure horror, a strained voice quietly calling out a name. "Kacchan!"

She watched as his feet controlled his body, taking him into the smoke ridden streets to the sludge monster. She gasped and lunged forward to grab him but missed, the small boy slipping through her fingers.

"Kacchan!" He yelled, tossing his backpack into the villain's face.

Aiko watched with admiration for the obviously weaker boy who ran in like a true hero. The ash blond also thrashing with strength and aggression she would never have. Unlike Aiko, they looked like they would be fine heroes.

She is a coward, too afraid to even try in fear of ruining everything. It reminded her of what happened six years ago, how helpless she was when all hell broke loose, how she was saved by All Might before loosing everything. She was frustrated, small tears dripping down her face at her pathetic display of bravery.

Wind smacked her long hair in her face, bringing her back to the present. It was him, All Might! The best hero to ever exist rushing to stop the bad guy and save the kids.

With a single punch, her hero saved the day. The once blue skies turning a dark grey and drenching the debris covered streets. Her tears replaced by cold rain as the crowd waited for All Might to make a move.

He raised his fist high, stumbling only Aiko seemed to notice, but remained victorious none the less. The once silent crowd burst into cheers, praises and hallelujahs for the savior of the two middle schoolers.

A ping from her pocket took her away from the heroic sight. With a heavy hand the little girl looked at the messages flooding her texts.

[Mr. Takahashi] 'Hurry up.'

Quickly she replied back.

[Aiko] 'Yes Sir.'

She would have to appreciate All Might and the middle schoolers online once she got back home. Swiftly Aiko squeezed past the crowd and skated over to the nearest Tokoyaki stall.

~~~

Unlocking the front door and balancing the packaged Tokoyaki drained the last of Aiko's energy. She took off her shoes and plopped the food onto the kitchen counter.

Mrs. Takahashi undid the wrapping, disregarding the younger girl and the paper in her hands. "Go do your homework, Aiko."

"You have to sign this. It's for the hero courses I want to sign up for." A small hand calmly pushed the paper in front of her adopted mother, a delicate smile upon her features.

"Fine, here." The azure haired woman signed the paper, the man of the household walking up behind the two.

"Hero courses huh? You better sign up for UA and get in, you'd be able to pay for our retirement!" The brown haired man bellowed, taking some of the food Aiko brought home and stuffing it into his mouth. "Seriously, you better get into UA." He scolded through chewing.

"Yes sir, I was planning on doing that." Thinking about All Might, the middle schoolers and all the reasons she want to be a hero to begin with, if she had the opportunity she would take it. This was her opportunity and no one would change her mind.

She took her food and went to her room, finishing up her homework and taking a shower. Now with her sleepwear on, all her homework finished, she plopped into her bed.

Aiko's light blue eyes glanced over to a treasured photo, the moonlight seeping from the closed blinds providing just enough light to illuminate the three of the six figures. She was very young when her family took the picture, her host mother and host father's smiles bringing a pang of joy through her heart. Her host mother had long, pink hair and a curvaceous body, while her host father was a muscular lean figure with pitch black skin and sharp teeth.

The fifteen year old decided to wear a yellow sundress that day, a big smile knowing her family was standing behind her. She wished they were still here and she wasn't with Mr. and Mrs. Takahashi... but that was too much to wish for.

She curled in on herself under the thick covers, letting the sweet memories of her past lull her into a dreamless slumber.

[lisatelramor]

Be a Better Me

Hi, I’m back with angst fic. >_>

So with COVID19 going on I 1) had more time to write + 2) have had a bit more background anxiety with the world, and stress + time = angstfic for me most of the time. So this got written in about a  month. Instead of any of my WIPs =_=;;;;; Hope other people are up for some angst. Either way I'm being sent back to work next week so I'm glad it chose to finish when it did.

This was 100% inspired by @ickaimp's Robo!Kaito fic and has probably low key kicked around my brain for years since I read it back in like 2011.

Chapter 1

His arm aches. Kaito flexes his hand, blood running down from the bullet graze that feels like fire. The robot that impersonated him is wires and synthetic skin smoking in a pile. He feels sick in his stomach, both from almost dying after a few days trapped in a lab and because he’d just seen something that had run around with his face blow its own head off.

It’s just a robot, but it’d thought it was human. It’d thought it was him, had seen his memories, just hadn’t quite been human enough to understand life, death, or morals. What kind of sick fuck made something like that?

Kaito shudders. His hand flexes again. Bandages. He needs bandages, and maybe stitches, or maybe to just. Go lie down.

His skin doesn’t feel quite right but that’s the shock probably. A lot’s happened in a couple days’ time. Like finding out someone with his face killed someone. A creepy scientist who also kidnapped Kaito, but yeah. How anything that had Kaito’s memories and personality could do that… He shudders again.

Kaito isn’t a megalomaniac in disguise right? He has lines and morals and things he’d never do in a million years, even if some of his morals are grayer than others. He doesn’t hurt people. Not physically permanent. And not any other way if he can help it.

Blood drips from his fingertips.

There’s a laboratory burning down with a corpse of a man who tried to make a man from metal out there and Kaito doesn’t want anything more to do with it.

He turns away. He has a gem to return and a budding reputation to save.

o*O*o

He feels weird for a while after that. It’s the trauma probably. Kaito can’t say his life has ever been normal. His father was a stage magician, both his parents turned out to be thieves, and he puts on a white suit to stir up shadows to try and find out why his father was murdered. That’s hardly the sort of thing a teenager usually goes through, but killer robots and kidnapping were new. His balance a bit off for a day? He spent two days strapped to a table. His arm took a bit to work right? He did get grazed by a bullet. Swimming takes a bit more effort than the last time he did it? Not weird since he generally avoids swimming in the ocean if he can. Aoko’s mop swings seem a little slower? He’s kind of hyper aware of attacks lately, so he’s just paying more attention.

Things are different but not that different so it’s just his head being weird about it all. Life goes on, he stops feeling a bit off and he keeps on going as usual. Bait Aoko, play like a good student, perform magic, and pull of the next heist. Simple.

But then there’s suddenly a magic wielding witch and a detective trying to sniff him out, and life just keeps getting weirder. He doesn’t remember it being this strange before he became Kid, but it must have been at least a little weird. It’s just that practicing magic and acrobatics with Aoko and actual magic and jumping off buildings are very different things. It’s a miracle he’s managed not to break anything. What with the roller coaster, or jumping off buildings, or getting shot at, or ghost(?) pirates, or being attacked by a hoard of hairy rats… Yeah. Life is weird.

So if Kaito’s a little weird in it, well, he fits right in, now doesn’t he?

o*O*o

Kaito’s chest is aching and there’s a nasty bruise forming. He supposes that’s what happens when a gem blocks a bullet. It’s yet another miracle the sapphire didn’t shatter let alone that the bullet hit it instead of him at all. Aoko liked her birthday gift but it had taken all Kaito had to set that up for her and he’s dead on his feet now.

He might have a cracked rib too. He winces, easing off the costume. It has a hole—two really where the bullet deflected—that will need patched and the usual bleach treatments to keep it white. White is the worst color for climbing around rooftops and crawlspaces. He’d change it if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s one of Kid’s signature identifiers at this point. Thanks, Oyaji.

The bruise is worse than he first thought when he gets his shirt off. Mottled purple all along the left side of his chest. Like someone took a wooden mallet to him.

Thankfully there’s an x-ray machine down in Kid’s hideaway. It’s old and definitely not something he’s going to ever use much because, well, radiation, but he’d rather know if he’s managed to break a rib or not so he knows how much acrobatics he can get away with.

It takes a bit to set up and a bit longer to figure out how to get everything to work, but fifteen minutes later he’s got x-ray film developing in a little darkroom off to the side because apparently his dad had a little bit of everything thought out down here. He loves and hates it in equal measures sometimes.

He sighs, feeling the deep breathing ache, and looks at the forming image. And frowns.

He’s not a medical expert, far from it, but he has a general run down of the human body and has seen x-rays before. What Kaito’s looking at? Not what he’d expect to see. There’s ribs, yes, but they’re not quite right, and too dark. Then there’s all the metal. It’s like his nervous system is registering as wires, radiating out like something from one of his textbooks, same with the circulatory system that’s a bit too dark on the film. Should he even be seeing that? Heart, maybe, but branching signs of the rest of his veins and arteries? His lungs aren’t the right shape. The vague shadows of organs aren’t right either. And there’s… there’s the shadow of screws and pins and mechanical bits that shouldn’t be there. There’s wires instead of tendons that shouldn’t be showing and he has to stare.

His chest throbs and he looks down at it. Bruising. At the film. Barely resembling something human. He hurts. Aches. Yet there in front of him is mechanical parts.

Feeling like he’s floating, or maybe sinking, Kaito plucks one of his razor cards from its deck. He slides it along his finger. Skin parts, blood wells up, pain registers dimly.

But is it blood?

It drips, just a few drops, already clotting as he stares. It’s red as any blood he’s seen. The pain is real. And yet. He looks at the film.

Kaito hasn’t thought about the robot in months. Why would he? It’s over and done. He’d read a police report about the lab in the paper. About the body found and the equipment sitting in police evidence for ages as the murder case went cold. They didn’t know to look for a robot. And the robot had been left for scrap. Kaito doesn’t know what had happened to its remains.

There hadn’t been a second body found.

He looks back at his hand and finds it shaking.

The robot’s face had peeled off, but when he tugs at his cheek he just feels pain. Same with his hair. He feels. He eats and shits and sleeps and bleeds. His breath is coming too fast and it hurts.

It’s a mistake, right? He could take another scan and it’d be normal. Human. He could scan his hand and it would be bone and tendons and the ghost of muscle, not wire and metal joints that would make a prosthetic expert weep. Not too-dark veins and tendrils of nerves that shouldn’t be visible.

His lungs were the wrong shape, he couldn’t breathe.

“Shit.”

He’s Kaito, right? Just a normal teenager with an abnormal life. Just a normal, human teenager.

The robot thought it was human.

The robot thought it was Kaito.

Kaito doesn’t remember being taken, he just remembers waking up strapped down. But the robot barely passed as human. But Kaito has wires in his chest.

He looks at the film again. “Well. No cracked rib.” He laughs. It’s not funny at all. He can’t breathe. “What do I do?”

The empty basement hideaway his father left him has no answers at all.

Like usual, it’s just Kaito facing crisis alone.

He’s never felt worse.

o*O*o

Eventually, he picks himself off the floor. Eventually he changes into new clothes. Eventually he slides into bed and sleeps, terribly, but sleeps. He sees his face melting in his dreams, a broken metallic skull leaking fluid and smoke and blank mechanical eyes staring at him. His skin peeling away to show metal bones and wires as everyone he loves stares in horror.

Kaito wakes up feeling like he’s going to throw up, in a cold sweat. He can dream and sweat and feel sickening terror, surely he’s wrong. Surely.

But the x-ray is the same damning image this morning as it was last night.

Kaito’s hands start shaking again.

If he goes into class, Hakuba will take one look at him and know something’s up. Hell, Aoko will notice. He laces his fingers together. Poker face. Poker face. Whatever is going on, he’s still been Kaito for months without noticing anything wrong so. So maybe he’s… a cyborg or something. A robot wouldn’t be having a panic attack about being a robot. Who would want to make a robot capable of having a panic attack in the first place?

He doesn’t know what the hell is going on, but he needs answers before he can do anything else.

Kaito calls in sick, leaves Aoko a message so she doesn’t show up demanding he get ready for school. Eats plain toast without tasting it—how can he taste it?—and slides on his shoes. His chest is a mass of dark bruises just like a human body that had a bullet deflected should be. But nothing under his skin is apparently human.

It’s easy to slip into the police record room with a borrowed face, and a matter of minutes to seek out the mad doctor’s case record. His charred remains are photographed in gristly glory front and center, but his cause of death isn’t fire. Kaito knows his hands don’t have the sort of strength to do what that file describes.

He almost throws up looking at it.

There’s lab equipment listed off, melted computers and bits of paper files to survive the destruction kept in evidence files. Kaito might need to come back and see what he can salvage from them. If he’s… not fully human, he might need some of the doctor’s research no matter how much the thought makes his skin crawl. There’s nothing in the file about the robot, but there is notes about unfinished pieces parts sifted from the wreckage. Police notes only speculate what they thought was going on in the labs.

The file doesn’t mention another body.

Kaito does a quick look into active unidentified male bodies found in the last few months, but none of them are young enough to be him. None of them recognizable. It should be a good thing.

It should be.

Instead it has Kaito’s breathing tight again because what if he died and no one ever found the body? What if he rots somewhere and no one will ever know he’s not. That’s Kaito’s not.

He leaves the police station.

There’s a disconnect between his self and emotions and it’s something he’s done before, but rarely outside of a heist. His poker face, most of the time, is an act. This is different. This is shutting bits of himself away because otherwise he couldn’t function. This is putting off a breakdown knowing it’ll be that much worse later. This is shutting a door knowing it’s going to open later and drown him.

He heads for the lab. It’s the only place he can think to go.

o*O*o

The building is condemned. It’s a burnt husk of a thing and a surprise that it hasn’t been torn down yet. Perhaps the doctor had owned it and it’s in the air what to do with it. Either way, Kaito approaches with detached caution.

He can remember leaving here in a rush, the explosion that followed not long after he made it out. He can remember the sickening glimpse of a body on his way out, trying not to look too hard and knowing it’d haunt his nightmares. Kaito steps inside and pinpoints the twisted metal that was once where he was strapped down, the shattered remains of the memory transfer machines still imbedded into the wall behind it.

The police had removed a lot of things, but they couldn’t remove the scorch marks on the walls and floor or the dark bloodstains in the corner. He shivers.

What is he doing here? The scene was gone over by police. It’s not like he’s going to find something they didn’t, and it’s not like he’s going to know what any of the machine bits left can do beyond the memory transfer one.

It’s damp and drafty inside. It smells like wet ashes and chemicals and he wants to turn around and leave, especially when he sees a metal start of a skeleton still bolted to the back wall. How many had this guy made? How many robot failures before the one that Kaito fought? How many thought they were human? How many other people were kidnapped in the process of building these things?

Things. Robots were things. And Kaito was…

The wall had collapsed along one side, and no one had bothered to clear the rubble. If Kaito was a crazy robot building scientist that kidnapped teenagers, what would he do with them? Ok, he’d been strapped down to the memory machine. But if he built a robot and implanted memories in it, he’d want to compare, right? He’d want to prove that he’d done the transfer right, so he wouldn’t just get rid of the teenager. The robot Kaito faced had transferred memories fine, but the emotional and moral processes hadn’t been right. The doctor had been basing it off Kaito and if Kaito was. If he was then that meant the transfer had worked right on Kaito. Probably. And maybe the scientist had been trying to duplicate whatever happened with Kaito or maybe they’d been two different models for different purposes. Who the hell knew at this point? Certainly not Kaito.

Kaito prods at rubble. If there’s one thing he’s learned about people who have secrets to hide, things aren’t as they appear. This is a lab, but it’s missing living space. It’s missing storage and a metal foundry. The pieces that built the robots are too specialized to not be custom made. The cabinets that had existed had to have been full of wires and polymers and the fine details bits that you’d want a nice open workspace to better work with, but there had to be a place the doctor had done the base work and he’s not seeing any sign of it here. Just the start of the skeleton on the wall that’s missing its head and lower half.

He can’t look at it. It’s somewhere in between the scan Kaito took of his chest and the metal chassis from the robot he fought, its skin peeling back and—

There had to be a basement. Still is a basement probably. But the door is either hidden or buried, and Kaito’s not sure what to do first. Test the shattered remains of cabinet bases? Try scrounging through rubble? See if anything still hooked into the wall shifts and shows a hidden room like his painting at home?

The basement wouldn’t have been legally added or the police would have its existence on file for the building blueprints. But most of this place can’t have been legally built. Not with the amount of equipment secreted away. People would have asked questions. So. Hidden door.

Kaito estimates wall thicknesses versus the interior versus how dangerous it is to get close to places where the ceiling and walls are still crumbling bit by bit.

There’s a cabinet with shattered glass cases and medical supplies that have all been taken away as evidence. Kaito vaguely remembers it before the explosion. Despite half a roof caving in around it, it’s still in one piece structurally and that means it’s built stronger than a cabinet should be.

It takes twenty minutes of careful prodding and digging and tugging to get it to budge and when it does it shrieks like rusted hinges. But Kaito keeps pulling and gets a space big enough for him to crawl through, stairs traveling down.

It’s dark and even mustier than above. The floor must have cracked or the foundations, and it’s growing mold, but Kaito’s surprised to find it isn’t completely dark. Somehow there’s still power running here, probably underground. The overhead lights are shattered but in the gloom are a few red blinking lights of appliances.

Kaito wants to turn back but he’s never been one to shy away from the truth.

Glass crunches under his shoes as his small pocket flashlight illuminates fragments of the dark. A table. A kitchen. A bed, all in the first room, but heavy metal doors beyond. They’re warped though, and the ceiling sags ominously where a support beam crumpled slightly from the explosion above. Kaito has no idea how it didn’t get destroyed with the rest of the place, but it had to have been the placement of explosives.

He creeps further, leaving the eerily normal living area for one of the metal doors. It’s stuck, but he gets it to move enough to squeeze past, his ribs protesting the movement. It’s fine. It’s not important. The room is the metal foundry he’d expected, casts and tools and carefully disguised air vents branching off. It’s heavily reinforced, probably also muffled so the metalwork didn’t make too much noise. He sees finished metal bones, all sorted neatly into labeled bins and racks of molds. There’s a half-finished skull just sitting there on a work bench, empty eye sockets unnerving.

Kaito wrenching his eyes away from it. There’s papers and diagrams, documents on the doctor’s research about how the robotic body comes together, about alloys and density and weights that Kaito should keep if it ever becomes something he needs—He drops the thought into that emotional void growing in his head.

If he needs anything from here, he will take it. And will not think about what it means.

The documents about the muscular, nervous, circulatory and digestive systems aren’t here. Might not even exist anymore. But there had been a personal computer in the living space and it had glass littering it like the floor, but it wasn’t destroyed. It was one of the blinking red lights, so maybe…

Kaito’s taking that when he leaves.

The other metal door is warped worse than the foundry. Kaito has to go and get a metal femur to lever the gap wide enough to pass through and he’s surprised to find the inside almost fully intact.

One light flickers on, the only bulb not destroyed. He’s not sure at first what the room is. There’s a filing cabinet by the door, sure, but also a chest freezer and something that looks like an opaque glass case except there are wires running to it and an electric hum that’s louder than the freezer. Something in his instincts prickle and Kaito can’t explain the heavy terrified feeling bubbling in his gut the longer he stares at the simple room in the dim, flicker light.

Glass crunches and he tugs the freezer lid up. He’s half expecting to find a dismembered corpse in there. There’s not a corpse but there is vial after vial of dark liquids with strings of numbers on them and containers labeled ‘skin’ with numbers after them. The liquid looks a lot like blood. Kaito’s stomach lurches. The other containers are opaque and thankfully impossible to tell the contents of, though they could be organs, real or synthetic. Kaito really hopes the skin is synthetic.

He lets the lid close and tugs the file cabinet drawers. Locked, but he can easily get in them later. That leaves the glass case.

It has a computerized box attached to the front with strings of numbers displayed that mean absolutely nothing to Kaito. There’s controls too, but the only one he cares about is the one that opens the glass case. It unlocks with a pneumatic hiss, like its contents were under pressure and Kaito swings the glass up.

And stares down at his face.

Peaceful. Like it’s asleep. He’s asleep. But his lips are bluish and his skin is pale and, when Kaito reaches out with a shaking hand, he’s cold to the touch.

The police never found a second body.

The room goes a little sideways and dark and Kaito realizes only after his face is mashed against the metal edge of the glass case that he’s hyperventilating.

“Shit,” he hisses through chattering teeth. “Shit.” His hair’s standing on end and his whole body is shaking and he’s having a panic attack next to his own corpse. “Shit.” It shouldn’t be possible to have a panic attack when he isn’t even real.

The room keeps spinning and blinking bright and dark as he tries to control his breathing. Shit, how can he hyperventilate when he doesn’t have real lungs and maybe not even a real brain—unless. He pops back up like a man drowning and scrabbles for the case.

He tilts Kai—the body’s head one way or another, but there’s no sign of it being cut open. The hair’s the same wiry texture he feels when he touches his head and there’s no injury he can feel. The knobs of its spine along the neck are intact. There’s wires, now that he’s looking, glued at the temples, but they’re not going in the body. There’s wires other places too and he has a stupid, fleeting moment of gratitude that at least the sick fuck that did this left Kaito’s underwear on. The body’s. Shit. There’s no marks and no indication of what happened, but the body isn’t breathing and there’s no pulse at its throat and it’s Kaito’s body right there.

It’s him but it’s not because Kaito isn’t.

He has to let go of the body and take three steps away to empty the meager contents of his stomach on the glass-littered floor. Stomach bile burns his throat. Is it even stomach acid? Is it even—how is he digesting if he’s wires and not-quite-organs? What is he?

He’s crying and hiccupping and he can’t quite seem to stop, the sour taste in his mouth and the smell of mold in his nose. What was the point in making a robot so close to human it can’t tell the difference between flesh and machine? What’s the point of a machine that can cry and vomit and panic like a real person? What’s the point of killing a teenager to replace him with a machine?

He crouches for an unknown period of time until the panic sort of flat lines and his tears dry. His hands stop shaking and his throat is raw, each breath a rasp. He bleeds and feels pain and emotions and—

Kaito goes back to the body. His body. Say the memory transfer worked. Say that Kaito in his entirety went from human flesh and bone to this. Intact. Say that the process fried Kaito’s brain and the doctor was left with a comatose teenager and a robot that didn’t know it was a robot. What would the doctor do with his mistake? Was the case to preserve the corpse? To keep the body as reference or had there been another purpose?

Or maybe the process hadn’t fried Kaito’s brain. Maybe the real Kaito had looked at his double. At the other Kaito and tried to break free. Maybe he’d been sedated or something else went wrong. But maybe that Kaito had died in terror and left an imposter in his place.

Kaito will never know.

There is no sign of decomposition. No sign of the body going through rigor mortis or any kind of trauma. Like he’s just sleeping. Like a few tiny stimuli could open the hidden blue eyes and the body would rise up and express how frigging cold it is in the case.

Maybe, for a scientist playing god, that had been the intent. Make a man from scratch achieved, next step bring back the dead. The first person to successfully revive a cryo patient.

Kaito closes his eyes, then closes the glass case. He can’t look at his own body anymore. He can’t. It seals with another hiss, preserving the body for however long the machine keeps running.

What the hell is he supposed to do?

He presses the heels of his hands against his swollen eyes. It’s not right to leave this here. It’s not right for any of this to be left here. It’s not right for Kaito to take the place of the real Kaito either but he doesn’t know what the hell to do. He’s been taking his place for months now; what else is there for him?

Is it better or worse if he is, in fact, a complete imprint of Kaito’s brain? Would he even know the difference if something is missing?

Worst of all, no one noticed. Not Aoko. Not Kaito or Jii. Not Kaito’s own mother. No one.

Kaito died alone. And no one noticed.

He’s crying again, not sure if it’s for himself or for the body at his back. Months. Months.

The overhead light flickers out and all at once Kaito can’t stay here. It’s like he’s the one in the box, trapped and slowly running out of air, and he squeezes out the door and up the stairs before he can even process moving. He doesn’t stop until he’s up a tree and breathing smoke and mold free air and trying to stop trembling. ‘What now?’ his mind asks. ‘What now, what now, what now?’

It’s night when he finally moves. He doesn’t know how long he sat up a tree, can’t remember the sun going down, only knowing that his body aches everywhere from stillness and unforgiving solid tree limbs beneath his ass. He makes a call. “Jii?”

He doesn’t know what his voice sounds like, couldn’t pick up his poker face if he tried right now.

It must be horrible though because Jii’s voice comes through the line sharp and worried. “What’s happened?” he asks.

There’s no way to start, no words to draw on to explain the mess that this is. How does someone say that they’re dead? That they’re dead and not, human and not, all at the same time?

“Kaito-bocchama?” Jii says sharper.

“How good,” Kaito says, voice gone all wobbly and out of control, “is that friend of yours with robotics?”

“…Kaito-bocchama?” Jii says a lot more dubiously.

Kaito licks his lips with a dry tongue. Dry mouth. Probably dehydrated and doesn’t that make no sense for a robot to have that feature. “There’s a problem. And I don’t know what to do,” he admits.

He can’t say it. How can he say to Jii that Kaito’s dead, like Toichi is dead, to Kaito’s mom that he’s dead and there’s just this remnant body of wires and meat-mimicking mess wearing his face left? How can he do that?

“Where are you?” Jii says, the sound of him getting clothing, maybe or a coat in the background.

Kaito hesitates, but gives the address of the burned down lab. “How good is your friend with robotics?” he asks again.

“…It isn’t his specialty,” Jii says after a long moment.

“Ah.” Too much to hope for. Still, maybe this mysterious friend Jii gets the occasional gadget from will know how to read the research notes better than Kaito would. Keys jingle as Jii locks his front door. “Jii?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, in advance,” Kaito says knowing it’s not enough. He hangs up before Jii can say anything in response and doesn’t pick up the return call. Instead he stuffs his phone in a pocket and covers his face with his hands and just breathes. If nothing else makes sense, at least he can do that.

[writing-the-end]

WS Chapter 43- Hellspawn

Previous Chapter

Masterpost

Finally! Forty three chapters and we FINALLY get to meet the antagonists of the story! It was almost like a mystery book, all the clues leading up to the big reveal! It also seems they have something of importance to one of our wanderers...

Red belongs to  @theguardiansofredland

Ecto belongs to @cooler-cactus-block

Red clutches the eggs, blue and orange in color and just transparent enough for him to see the baby guardians inside. Curled up, fins over their undeveloped eyes. Every so often they wiggle, like they’re dreaming of freedom. He looks over his shoulder, making sure the others have a firm hold on their charges. 

Avon found a salt pond a bit deeper into the woods, separate from the dying ocean. A place that the eggs can hatch without falling ill. Selene teleported ahead of the others, bringing a few of the healthier guardians to care for the nests. Hopefully the eggs weren’t harmed by any of the red tide or other plagues set on their ocean. 

“Be gentle, don’t let them get shaken up too much.” Red whispers, as if the eggs can hear him. Maybe they can, Red isn’t entirely sure. “They can survive a little while out of the water, but we should be fast.” 

Ecto holds her clutch of eggs close, swaddled in her scarves as she bursts ahead and out of the water. The air isn’t much better in terms of toxicity, but it’s not quite as suffocating. She misses the feeling of being dry, of not having every fiber of her being soaked in water. Of not feeling currents tugging on her clothes and scarves, or the endless amount of water breathing potions that Selene has. That girl comes prepared. 

She slides out onto the sand, coddling her batch of unborn as she basks in the warm sun and lets droplets of seawater fall free of her hair, skin, and clothes. Ecto can’t help but take a relieved sigh, closing her eyes and stretching out.

Her hand reels back to her body as it singes, skin burning hotter than she’d like it to. Ecto grabs hold of her eggs, looking at the faces staring down at her. On the left she sees Blu, leaning against his gold sword with a crass smile. The other two, however, are new.

A smile so bright it nearly blocks out the sun runs across the middle face. Teeth the color of quartz, and eyes gleaming with mischief and charisma. Long hair is tamed into twin pigtails, held severe against the side of her skull by twisting horns. The hair is borne of fire, ends burning bright blue and licking towards the sky. 

However, the last on the right couldn’t be any more different. A flat face with dead, bitter eyes, framed by straight hair. It still burns like the other two, but more like the surface of lava. Slight variations and changes in the color, but not dynamic like flames bursting free. The horns of the third one are just as uniform, rising from her hair and spearing towards the sky. 

The middle one turns away from Ecto, a cheeky grin appearing on her face as the others arrive onshore. “Come to give up? Ready to beg for us to get it over with and kill you?” 

“It would make our jobs much easier. And yours as well.” The monotone voice matches the monotone face, lips barely moving as she speaks. Blu doesn’t add anything, but the way he wields his sword is louder than any word. 

“You, you’re…” Ecto is at a loss for words. These are the people who have been harassing them for months. Three pairs of footsteps melted into the sand. A firm hand pushing her into the portal. Whispers at night and singed foliage along the trail, an unseen attacker deep in the dark. An extinction event, a destroyed desert. A silent sea. 

“Oh, we should introduce ourselves!” The middle one croons, taking a deep curtesy and grabbing at the knee length skirt she wears. “You three know the battle hardened buffoon here. But my right hand woman here is Endo, mastermind behind all our beautiful destruction. And I’m Nova, the mastermind, the puppeteer.” 

“The voice that never fucking shuts up.” Endo growls. 

“Can we kill them now, guys? You two had your fun. Let’s just get this over with and stop stalling the invasion.” Blu’s toothy grin, lips blood red against dagger-like teeth, bears as sharp as his sword. 

Endo reaches past Nova, smacking Blu. “Be quiet, you really are useless for everything except killing.” 

Ecto hears the near silent sound of metal sliding across fabric, and over her shoulder she can see Avon pulling out her trident. Angry tears threaten to fall from hardened eyes, and one wing carefully sets the eggs back into the water. The hellspawns definitely see it, but none of them look even bothered by the threat. “I just wanted to see the fruits of all our labor. Nothing sweeter than complete abandonment of all hope.” 

Red feels anger well up in his core, festering and taking control of all his thoughts and actions. He can’t believe he was going to let them win, let them gloat about all this. Like they are now. Red puts the guardian eggs into the water, closing his eyes. 

When they open again, they’re blackened with anger, with vengeance boiling over. These are the three that killed Mama Gummi, destroyed the reef, and ruined the entire ocean. Red extends her hand, water blasting free of the waves. Blu ducks away in time, and Nova only gets doused in the arm. But Endo wasn’t fast enough, and doubles over as her body steams and crackles. Her hair darkens into a muted red, discolored splotches all across her body. She was only spared by the armor she wears, thick material between her and the Overworld. 

Blu ignites his sword, eyes ablaze with eagerness to battle. His flaming hair burns bright, curling and smoking. The sand beneath his feet melts with every step. Endo struggles to stand, and none of the other hellspawns offer help as she gasps. “This place is too dangerous. To many unknowns. The balance must shift, the weights must be ours.”

“I’m hearing permission to kill. That’ll definitely shift the balance in our favor. Less of them, more of us. And especially getting rid of the only people stupid enough to fight me.” Blu steps forward, molten glass dripping off his shoes with each advance. 

“Not yet! There’s still so much planned, we’ve hardly even begun.” Nova giggles, rubbing her arm where the water soaked her. 

Avon has heard enough. She leaps over Ecto, wings extending as she pitches her trident at the three. Avon taking the offense gives Ecto time to worry about her clutch of eggs. She scrabbles close to the water, about to drop them in when a small wave frees her of duty. Red’s no longer attacking, but rather playing defense. Protecting the eggs and keeping Blu at bay as Avon attacks Nova. 

Chittery laughter fills the salty air, Nova dodging every blow of Avon’s. Ecto barges in, taking on Blu for a rematch. And this time, she refuses to lose. In the midst of the fighting- Nova slowly losing ground on Avon, Ecto and Blu locked in close combat, and Red offering defensive attacks with water- no one noticed Endo slip away to grab something. 

Not until Avon goes skyward, rearing back to drop out of the sky and plunge her trident into the hellspawn version of herself. The wrong version of herself, a different one. The triple prongs are about to end Nova’s life-

Until Endo holds up the egg. “Looking for this, you useless half reptile monstrosity?” 

Avon halts midair, suspended like she’s been frozen. Her wings keep her hovering, eyes never wavering from the massive black and purple egg. Jeane’s only offspring, a thousand years unhatched. Both relief and terror floods Avon’s body. The egg is still alive, but it’s in the hands of the nether. 

Ecto sees the opportunity to strike, while most of the hellspawns are distracted by Avon. She charges, iron sword raised to spear Nova and Endo at once. Too fast for Blu to catch her. Her feet dig into the sand, running with the displacement rather than going against it. She never lets her gaze wander, keeping it locked on the two. She hoists her blade as it meets Endo’s skin. 

And both Endo and Nova disappear, flecks of purple and the scent of ozone left in their wake. Ecto stumbles, all her strength and weight for stabbing now tipping her over. Red yelps behind her, retreating as all three hellspawns appear before her. Nova and Endo hold onto the egg, the purple splotches growing mute once more after teleporting. 

Blu sticks out his tongue, placing a bloody hand on the crown of the egg. “I wonder what scrambled dragon egg tastes like?” 

Just as fast as they arrived, the hellspawns have disappeared. And once again, leaving disaster in their wake.

[washed-soul]

More than the sound of a word

Three lights shining so above. The glow makes a cold soul feel warm. Yet the mist still slowly carries over a plane so far consumed by the flames of the ravaged dreams. Kept inside a bubble, the heart of a broken girl so wary of the wars waged inside. A broken clock, a tired memory of a place so long ago, of a different brighter cycle, where the pain remained as cuts on the body, and not the burning of the soul. A comforting hum buzzed inside the little bubble, the still turning cogs that kept her safe inside.

A heart pulsed weak above the girl. Once the raging giant of a war, a grand all-seeing wrathful machine of war, what remained of the defiant charge began to smolder away like all that exists outside the bubble. The handed tale of the creature warped around the dome, laying weakly near the top, it's right arm outreached forward, so the girl under could look above. It's many wings loafing amounts the side of the bubble, the being once more struggled to lift itself upward to remain on top of the bubble, slowly sliding off.

The soul trapped inside had her eyes look upwards, dim and jaded, the splendor of the light reflected into a sparkle in the eyes. She closed her eyes and the thundering sounds blazed up again. The screaming voices, the grasping hands of hate and harm, the self-harm and destruction, the hollowing realization of a lifetime destroyed. The girl clasped at her head, clawing at her ears, trying desperately to silence the sounds. For a moment the heart above beats faster, until dying down as the girl once more lays on the ground.

The machine of war looked down weakly. Sympathy bloomed, obstructed, and struggled by the stone of doubt and the brambled of self-hate. The bubble kept her safe from all outside, yet the trauma inside slowly consumed the once blazing blue light of the soul. The sorrowful protector and captor looked up to the highest that captivated its patron and prisoner. The black hollow husk of the being's blood-red skulled face hollowed in the bright collage.

Upon the shallowing moment's something inside the shattered defiance the seeds of hope, the grand scheme play of a dream swelled deep inside the abyssal passages of its form, the rapturous dance of dozen hidden smaller lights danced in grand scale again the three beacons that the girl whiled away the hours. The beast attempted once more to raise up, this time to fly once more for the girl kept so deep inside to cradled even one of those above, a delicate little flower to show the childlike mind keep under its wings, the faintest fragment of the world so far left behind in ash.

A strength, a desire busted through the chain of perceptions, and now the cogs of the machine hustled turning of bounteous creed to stake claims of the heavens glimmering, a lifetime's decisions away. The wings broke through the stakes hammered through the marrow and stretched hundred-year stress away to take the airs of dread underneath the ideals of an idea. A grasping claw outstretched, the light sliding through each finger, meaning faithfully to caress. The machine turned full gear until a plague strapped down it's back, a dagger sliding down the spin.

The defiant being hollowed an agony deeply felt of the fading fragments of the growing goodwill. Limp, the arm fell losing the touch of the light fading throughout stretching down the side of the bubble, the thumb catching the eye of the girl. She watched as the guardian and warden body feel coating over the bubble, it's eye now cast forward to the dead and lost planes in which it burnt. The cry silenced as the jaw hit the bubble, the mouth now closed, tongue lost. The soot crunched footsteps of another followed as the blood dripped over the clear walls.

Dressed an overshirt, split end went down the back and flowed freely in the cryptic wind. A purple tie tightened up to the neck like a noose, steel-lined boots blacked by ash. A large smile creased over the man's face, delighted and ecstatic, the only joyful soul wondering amongst the lands of death Glowing purple eyes outlined the girl's body, his gloves running over the wall of the bubble as he walked forward to face directly into the girl's face. He laughed a hearty laugh, once louder than the deafening swells of silence.

He put his hand on the bubble, one still behind him. The girl back away to the other end of the bubble, looking the fellow in his eyes. He addressed her in right now, yet called him in his own the name mistaken. For a moment a pretended look of sadness, guilt, and grief took over his face, eyes tracing the tiny dunes of sand his feet crushed. The smile yet never faulted, only dipping low upon his face as he tattled on about all the feelings and thoughts the girl wanted more than all other. The boy lifted his upwards toward the sky, now a deranged look overtook his face, swirling his fingers between each beacon up above before clenching his crushing them all in his sight, looking down back at the girl.

With great haste, his hand behind the back suddenly came down and hit the walls. A glowing blade dancing in the colors of the red, blue, and coalescing purples. The blade cracked the walls and the pushed his body upon which his lands rested. He prattled on and on, laughing gleefully making it clear that upon them all above and below, that he was the one which they all new. The poor little girl who trapped themselves in the bubble, their own manifestations of their illness, damaged done again those they knew, the demon and devil they made to torment themselves the one to hold them in their keep. A victorious roar belched from the twisted toxic mind and voice of the lad declared all the lights above of hope, dreams, and love forever belong to him for that none knew the girl before the pain and poison and none ever would.

All she would forevermore be is a name, lost in the land that captures the imagination leaving the only confusing, capped away by her beast of madness. The girl closed her eyes and feel to the plain of dreams, where the vast abyss of void could cradle away all the pain and almost certain to be truths spoken by the man in purple. Surely in the lands of empty, were not a dream or reality, hope or despair, lie or truth could remain, they'd be no pain. As for all their life should've been, there would be nothing to feel, nothing to have, nothing to know, nothing to live. There would be nothing to suffer. Just like the name that meant nothing more than the sound of a word.