#jumps into the air and clicks my heels together in glee

[tmascfaggot]

Personally, I use praise to signal the transition into aftercare. I've been getting deeper into humiliation and it entertains my Dom how I react when they do terrible things to me. The sadistic joy on their face is better than praise ever was.

Anyways: how would you feel about being "sacrificed" by being sent into the labyrinth? But it turns out the Minotaur needs your help to release an obscene amount of cum??

-🦷

ahh that's fair, and a really good easy transition i think!! i agree that there's definitely no replacement for being able to tell that a sadist/dom in general is having fun with you, it's the best

also that's heaven. you've described heaven to me. how would i feel? like the luckiest boy in the world

[l44serbeam]

— TIRED OF YOU ʚɞ 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨

← 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞

warnings: swearing, blood, arguments

Patrolling with Ellie was y/ns favorite things to do, being her source of peace. So, when Ellie switched out of her patrol shift with y/n for the second time in a row, she couldn’t help but be mad and automatically ignore Ellie to give her a taste of her own medicine. Hours after a heated argument before y/n’s patrol, Ellie seems to lose all her senses when her patrol replacement returns without y/n.

Patrolling along side Ellie was y/n’s main source of peace. When it was just the two of them, wandering the grassy fields and chasing one another through the trees, the uncomfortability that surrounded y/n melted away and left behind a little girl amazed by the wonders around her. The distaste constantly directed at her became nothing but a ragged memory.

“Y/n, y/n! Oh my god look!” Ellie called out, pointing ahead and turning to face her. Childish glee coated her face and she jumped on her heels excitedly.

Y/n quickly finished tying shimmers lead onto a tree branch and ran up to the delightful girl to see what she referred to.

She couldn’t be help but laugh when spotting Ellies object of reference.

A rusted orange unicycle laid in a bush. Ellie ran up to it and lifted it off the ground, seeing if it was functional. She rotated the wheel which creaked and resisted at first, but then loosened up and turned easily.

“Help me get on.” Ellie insisted, sticking her arm out to hold.

“Ok Els but if you eat shit you’re not allowed to blame me.” y/n giggled, one hand on Ellies waist and another on her arm as she mounted the unicycle and found her balance.

“Ok, ok let go.”

As y/n backed away hesitantly, Ellie leaned forward, attempting to centralize her weight stand taller. Her body swayed as the wheel rolled back and forth, tipping her side to side.

Her eyes wide and a maniatic smile on her face, Ellie looked up at y/n as she started finding her balance and gently pedaling.

“Look im going it! Haha get fucked! Thought i wouldn’t be able to do it, huh?” Ellie laughed.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself there.” Y/n said when Ellies arms started frantically grabbing onto nothing but air as the wheel tilted to the side.

Before y/n could reach over and help her, the unicycle flew forward and Ellie fell onto her behind, releasing a huff of air when she landed and groaning. She was surprised when she felt the entirety of her pants get soaked, realizing she felt into a dip in the concrete that held old, muddy rain water.

Hysterically laughing, y/n ran up to her and crouched next to her, trying to help her up.

“Oh yeah so funny isnt it?” Ellie said, holding back her own laughter and grabbing onto the arm y/n held out to her.

When y/n expected to pull Ellie up, she was strongly and suddenly pulled into the puddle along with the girl, also getting her pants and hands wet.

“Oh are you fucking kidding me!” Y/n yelled, attempting to sound angry but failing.

“Yeah whose laughing now huh?” Ellie said, reaching up to catch y/ns wrists as she tried to playfully punch her.

The two laughed hysterically and rolled in the puddle for a few minutes, the warm summer sun shining down on them and causing a golden overcast on all the nature surrounding them.

Ellies grey eyes shone a hazey green under the sun and her skin prickled pink under her freckles.

"Wait! Stay right here.” Y/n suddenly said, jumping onto her feet and running to her pack that laid next to Shimmer. She pulled out a weathered white polaroid camera from her bag and clicked the button to turn it on.

Tommy had found the camera and dozens of boxes of film while on a patrol and gifted it to y/n to celebrate her one year at Jackson. As she began taking photos, she realized she had no where to store them. Ellie suggested the two of them made y/n her own polaroid album so, the two got together on Joels porch one hot summer day and made the photo album.

Now, y/n only stores her favorite of memories and people in the album, being mainly pictures of Tommy, Joel, and Ellie. She wanted to keep pictures and remembrances of the small, joyful moments of her life. The moments where she was nothing but happy. Surrounded by so much negativity and darkness, inside and outside of Jackson, she wanted to keep these memories close and never let herself forget them.

So now, under the hot Wyoming sun, she had to take a picture. The rarity of this warm, comforting weather made the moment all the more special, the golden overcast taking over everything.

y/n walked back to Ellie who was distracted with the unicycle, sitting on the ground and twisting some random screws to see if she could better the device

y/n brought the camera up eye and looked through the viewfinder, landing on the brunette girl before her.

“Ellie.” Y/n called, snapped the picture the very second she whipped her head around.

Ellies hands clasped over her eyes and laughed at the suddenness of the camera flash. “Jesus no warning or anything. Gonna make me go blind.”

Shaking the image, y/n ran back to her pack and pulled out the diy photo album and came back to Ellie. She flipped to the last page with three empty slots in the bottom and slid in the forming picture. The two sat and stared at the polaroid, watching the figures form and the white screen turn a yellow tint.

“Oh wow. You look so pretty.” Y/n said, the minimal comment making Ellies cheeks redden.

“Shut up.” She mumbled, receiving only giggles from y/n who knew her compliments to Ellie always left the girl jittery and pink.

“I have a question for you.” Ellie began as the two sat on the concrete floor.

“Hmm?” Y/n hummed in response as she flipped through the pages of the photo album.

“How come you never put pictures people take of you in the album? like you only put pictures you take of other people.” She asked. Y/n froze for a moment, unsure of how to respond. “I guess, i like keeping memories from my perspective, ya know?”

“Hm.” Was all Ellie responded with a nod. She leaned forward and grabbed the camera from the ground beside y/n and brought it to her eyes. “Smile.”

Y/n laughed, her hand flying up as to cover the camera lens but Ellie quickly took the photo before she could.

“You bitch!” Y/n laughed. Ellie stuffed the polaroid in her pocket. “Not gonna put it in here?” Y/n asked, suggesting to the album.

“No way. You get to keep pictures of your favorite things from your perspective and i get to keep a picture of mine from my perspective.”

Y/n couldn’t help but blush and look away from Ellie at the suggestion that she was her favorite thing.

“Now c’mon, we gotta go back and pretend we did shit.”

————

“The fuck do you mean your here in Ellies place?” Y/n yelled at the man before her.

“Uhh i mean she asked Maria to switch out so she took my shift and now im here.”

Y/n sighed angrily. It was the third time Ellie decided to switch out of her patrol, specifically the patrols she had paired with y/n.

Y/n couldn’t help but feel devastated, her best friend seemed to be avoiding her and patrolling with her.

It’d been a three weeks since their last patrol, y/n decidedly giving Ellie the silent treatment after the second schedule change. Y/n even didn’t show up to Friday movie night at Ellies. She was angry and hurt and couldn’t help but jump to the conclusion that Ellie was in fact, getting tired of her.

Shed feared this for ages, the two constantly together. Shed feared that her inability to socialize with the people in Jackson would take a toll on their relationship and cause Ellie to find others, realizing try were better than her. Normal.

Y/n turned on her heels, having plans on exactly what she was going to do the 40 minutes she had left before patrol.

Ellie was awoken by five heavy bangs on her door.

“What do you want?” She sleepily called out, twisting and turning on the couch shed fallen asleep in.

“Open the fucking door Ellie.”

Ellie jumped to her feet, her senses immediately sharpened and at ready. She looked into the small mirror hung on her wall, rapidly pulling out the hair tie that held it together and brushing it with her fingers and straightening her hoodie.

“Uhhh coming!” Ellie yelled, aggressively cursing when her foot came into painful contact with the leg of her couch.

When the door swung open, y/n’s almost had to hold back a laugh. Ellie huddled in front of her, her socked foot in her hand, her hair all over her face, and imprints from the couch stamped in her cheek. But the comical image in front of her didn’t dissipate her anger, the very imprints she wanted to laugh now making her just more furious.

“The fuck is up with you? Im being fucking partnered with some seventeen year old twig that doesn’t know his head from his as because you wont fucking take the shift.” Y/n began, pushing herself past Ellie and into the house.

She knew the house so well, pictures of the two and pieces of paper littered with doodles and drawings covered the walls. Y/n had spent countless nights on that couch, being delirious from laughter and too lazy to walk back to your house.

“You’ve been avoiding me l and its clear and if theres something you want to me then just say it because u swear to god Ellie i cant deal with this petty bullshit-“

“Y/n what the fuck are you on about!” Ellie yelled, a face of confusion.

“Im talking about the fact that you’ve switched out of every single patrol we’ve been partnered for the last three god damn weeks and have provided no reason! AND i literally haven’t seen you in ages!”

“Yeah because every time i talk to you you practically have been running away! You didn’t even come on Friday or let me know why!”

“Ive been ignoring you cause you’ve been fucking bailing on patrol, also without letting me know why! You obviously don’t seem to want to be around me and if thats the case i want you to say it. Because i am tired of expecting you to show up and getting some fucking runt.”

“Oh my god y/n stop being so fucking dramatic! I don’t always have to be around you, i have my own shit going on! Its not my fault you’re incapable of working with people like you’re fucking supposed to!”

Y/ns mouth closed and her eyes clouded with hurt. Ellie couldn’t believe she’d just said what she said, her pwn eyes widening and her hands cautiously to reach towards Y/n’s shoulders. “Y/n i didn’t-“

“Don’t.” Was all she said before storming out of the door, leaving Ellie with her face in her hands and collapsing to sit on the edge of her bed.

Fuckfuckfuck. Was all she could repeat in her mind. Shed just told off her best friend and used the thing she was most insecure about against her. She was disgusted with herself and the carelessness of her mouth.

Ellie never meant for this to happen. She meant to distance herself from y/n for the sake of her feelings but not to ruin their relationship. That was the one thing she was trying to preserve. She refused to let turmoiling feeling of love brewing within her whenever they laid eyes on one another ruin their bond and now, she let that distance hurt that now sped down the streets on Jackson to get to the gate and leave as soon as possible.

“Woah kid! Slow your roll.” She heard from a voice she rushed by, stopping her in her tracks. “Where ya off to walking like that?”

“Hey Tommy.” Y/n sighed, a small smile coming to her lips. He could always do that. Anytime y/n was spiraling in her anger or swallowing in her sorrow, he could cheer her up with just the enthusiastic call of his voice. “Boutta go out on patrol.”

“With the mousey kid? Luke i think his name is.” Tommy asked, a face of confusion.

Y/n rolled her eyes. “Seems like it. Ellie was supposed to be scheduled but shes-“ Y/n cut herself off, looking down at her boots in an offputtish manner.

Tommy knew there was something going on. He’s been able to sense it for a week or two. Hed try asking subtle questions to the both of them, but he’d only ever received dismissive jokes or immediate changes of subject.

“Whats goin’ on with you two? Ive barely seen y’all together the past few weeks.” Tommy asked, y/n rubbing her hands against her face and groaning.

“I don’t even know man. We just talked and she said some shit and im really fucking pissed at her cause she said some pretty messed up stuff but i also wasn’t exactly in the right i guess but- i don’t even know.”

Tommy put a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed it, lowering his head slightly to meet with her eye to eye. “Look kid. You two have been best friends since the second y’all met. You’ve been constantly together for three years and that wont come with some kind of disputes but one thing is for sure. Y’all love each other and you’ll get over it.”

“I guess your right.” Y/n mumbled, breathing in to regain her composure.

“C’mon, ill walk you to the gate.” Tommy said, hugging her from the side and the two walking off.

————

“Look, just keep fucking quiet ok. In and out thats how we’re gonna do this. You follow my lead and nothing else. Got it?” Y/n commanded harshly, her finger inches away from the boys face.

About four hours into their patrol, y/n and the boy she was partnered with came across a deserted warehouse that looked promising. It was five stories tall and incredibly large. Being just two of them, they had to rely on stealth and quickness, two things y/n doubted Luke was capable of.

“Yes ma’am. Got it.” Luke said, urgently nodding his head.

“Don’t call me ma’am.”

“Yes ma- Sorry.”

Y/n placed her hand on the handle of the door leading into the side of the warehouses first floor. She slowly pushed it open, the rusted hinges creaking at the action.

The two crouched down, listening for any sign of movement. When there wasn’t any apparent threat detected, she pushed in through the door.

The place looked like any other abandoned building, littered with old trash, broken tables, and rusted machines.

One each side of the floor there were doorways. Y/n raised her hand and signaled to the one on the other end of the room considering the other doorway was slightly blocked, scurrying forward and looking around carefully with eyes peeled for anything that could be useful.

When they reached the door way, it led to a stairwell, the lights broken, making it completely dark.

“Take out your flashlight.” She whispered to him.

He swung his bag in front of him and frantically searched it for the flash light. When he found it, he pulled it out with so much momentum it flew out of his hand, the bulky metal light slamming against the hollow metal stairs, the sound echoing off of the walls of the entire stairwell.

“Are you fucking kidding me? The fuck is wrong with you?” Y/n seethed, her body automatically placing itself directly in front of him, chests almost touching and her eyes stabbing into him.

“I-im sorry i didn’t m-mean to drop it.” He spit quickly.

“I swear to god if you get us in trouble im going to beat your fucking ass. Be careful!”

Luke urgently nodded, his eyes wide and embarrassed.

Y/n turned around and began to go up the stairs, her steps quiet and careful. She turned around and pressed her finger to her lips, telling him to be utterly silent.

The sound of clicks and groans started to grow along with the shuffling of feet.

Shit.

“Backbackbackback-“ y/n started saying urgently, practically jumping down the steps and dashing to the doorway.

Luke closely behind, four infected rushing down the stairs wildly, trampling over one another in desperation.

Once through the doorway, Luke shut the two doors. A bit ahead y/n stopped running, Luke slamming into her back at her sudden halt when he turned which caused her to fall forward on the ground. From the door way on the other side, three runners clawed over the desk, their force pushing it forward and getting them closer and closer to climbing over.

Luke stood above y/n, eyes dashing back and forth from the girl trying to get herself up and the infected trying to get to them from either side.

“Fuck-“ He said weakly. He looked down at the struggling girl, her fall making her fall onto a pile of rubbled stone and concrete and pulling blood.

“Im sorry. Im so so sorry.” The boy said as he backed towards the the door they’d come in.

“No, no, NO!” y/n yelled from her place on the ground, holding her knee that bled aggressively and ached brutally.

“YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH, COWARD! IF I MAKE IT OUT OF HERE ALIVE IM GONNA COME FOR YOU YOU PIECE OF FUCKING SHIT! I SWEAR TO GOD LUKE!” y/n yelled, her voice hoarse and pained.

As he left through the door, shutting it closed y/n tried to stand and look around, spotting what seemed like a closet or storage unit behind her.

Finally, the runners finally busted through the barrier, recollecting themselves and setting their sight on the target.

Y/n tumbled back towards the door, dragging her leg with the injured knee.

Once she met the handle, she swung the door open and threw herself in, shutting the door with her and cutting out the infected by mere seconds.

On the ground, y/n rolled slowly herself into a ball, her knees to her chest that rose and fell frantically. The animalistic clawing at the door prevented her heart from calming or her breath from slowing, the sound a reminder as to how death was a single metal door away.

————

“You did WHAT?” Tommy yelled furiously at the seated boy that sobbed deliriously before him.

“I-I couldn’t do anything. I ran and i got to the horse and came here.” He said, his words slurred and conjuncted with his cries.

Tommy’s fists tightened furiously at his side, his teeth clenching, resisting the urge to deck him.

Before Tommy could succumb to his urge, the door flew open, the person who came in just a blur before they immediately grabbed Luke by his shirt, standing him up and slamming him into the wall.

“Where the FUCK is she?” Ellie yelled, her voice reverberating through the room, everyone’s movements stilling at the excelling tension within the room.

Joel, who came in behind Ellie having just informed her of what happened, stood behind her, his hand hesitantly held up slightly and at ready to pull her off is she let her anger get the best of her.

“I- I- I don’t know how to tell you, it was pretty far out!” Luke cried, his voice begging for mercy.

Still holding his shirt, Ellie pulled him towards the table and forced his face to the map that sat on it, his face turning sideways at the expectation of getting it slammed into the metal.

“If you cant tell me then mark it.” She seethed, grabbing the pen next to her and slapped it onto the map right bellow his face and roughly let go of his shirt.

Hesitantly, Luke stood up straight and ran his hands over his shirt where Ellie clutched onto him. With shakey hands, he grabbed the pencil and studied the map.

What seemed like ages of silence passed over the room, everyones eyes between him and Ellie. Finally, he crouched forward and circles a spot on the map.

“There. Its this big warehouse that-“

Ellie didn’t let him finished before snatching the map and dashing out the room and she rolled it.

“Ellie, wait.” Joel called out, trailing behind her. “Think about this.”

“Fuck off Joel.” Was all Ellie said before leaving the building the were in and speeding off towards the gate, Joel giving up following her and watching her walk away, clutching the map in one hand and her other dipping into her pocket.

As she walked, she pulled out a polaroid from her pocket. Specifically, the polaroid of y/n taken on their last patrol. More specifically, the polaroid that made Ellie realize she was tragically head over heels for her best friend.

She looked down at it, the picture of her beautiful face igniting nothing but more fuel to her fire.

“Im gonna find you y/n/n. im gonna find you.”

@lady-curpse @depressionandobsessionsessi-blog @muthafuckingstargirl @slut4vampire @evangelinejxy @lanasluverr @galacticstxrdust @lazyotakuofficial @agalswrittingobsession @dania7361 @jolieetoile @rtay800 @star-j0 @macaroni676 @gocryariver @a-beee @elliewilliamsissobabygirl @daddysfavoritesexkitten @dergy @dakota-dream @hangel0veb0t @randomhoex @l0v3e1i @stvrl1ght333 @ilovemydinoboi @bertandfearnie @luvwanda @hotgirlsshareaccounts @boobabietch @lazyotakuofficial @imaginexred @miadean

a/n: here is the part two yall have been waiting foooorrrr😝 ngl got a lil excited writing the part where Ellie slammed the guy to the wall that was def j for my entertainment and indulgence LMFAO part threes lined up for next week but im gna be taking a lil divergence from tlou for a sec cus my next fic is a robin buckley fic! jumping from lesbian to lesbian 😭😭😭 but after that one im already writing another naughty lil ellie fic😏😏 i love yall i hope u guys enjoy this

[tbhwynter]

i’m on my goddess arc so

the song gooey by glass animals goes along with this bc it's based on that sorta vibe. it makes me feel something. 😪 SORRY, THIS TOOK SO LONG, AND SORRY I USED MY OC I LITERALLY HATE USING Y/N IT PISSES ME OFF. 😡 enjoy

————————————————————

“Come on”

- {2.3K words}

C!Dream x [Goddess!OC] - (FLUFF)

————————————————————

There he was, another day in his cage-like cell. Gosh, how much he missed being outside. He was spread out on the floor, which was covered in dust with his hands behind his head, linked together. Sweat rolled down the side of his face as the sweltering heat radiating from the magma plagued his body. He blew a single strand of his dirty blond hair out of his face glancing towards the wall. Five months it was today, five months. Every day for the duration he was imprisoned, he made a mark on the obsidian wall. Even if Dream wanted to, he couldn’t tell you how many times he’s counted each of those jagged scratches carved into the rock. It was all he did every day since he had nothing to entertain or fascinate him. He was devoid of happiness and anything that could make him feel any sort of glee. That was until he heard what sounded like a lever being pulled.

He sat up immediately, turning his head swiftly to see where the noise was coming from. The sight in front of him was something he’d been dreaming of since his first day being trapped. Those once dull, jade green eyes of Dream’s flickered to life as he watched the thick lava curtains separate, creating a window to what lies outside. There she was, ever so gracefully walking down the moving stone brick platform. He was stunned. Dream watched, observing everything about the women. The way she glowed ever so slightly, the calm expression on her face, and even her posture. She looked mythical. Her golden heels clicked each time they connected with the floor, and with each step, her long pale blonde hair swayed from side to side. It was mesmerizing to Dream, almost like he was in a trance. “Hello, Dream.” The man jumped, startled, not even noticing the female enter his cell. Her voice was like honey and the words rolled off her tongue like how raindrops would roll off of leaves. That’s when the reality of the situation hit Dream and he realized she could be there to bring him harm. “Who are you?” He furrowed his brows, creating a wary expression on his face while pushing himself back against the cold, solid wall. “I’m Sage, Goddess of tranquility and beauty.” Dream should’ve guessed because it was obvious. Sage looked ethereal and with just her presence, there was a soothing sensation in the air. “Okay,” The inmate dragged out his words. “So what are you doing here?” She smiled. It was soft yet genuine and it was so enticing to Dream, it seems he had been hypnotized. “You’ll see, now come on. We have places to be.” Sage held out her hand covered in golden jewelry, waiting for him to accept her offer. He reached out his quivering hand slowly, eyes darting back and forth from the goddess and his moving limb. He became hesitant once he recalled how Sam was out there watching and making sure Dream stayed detained. He pulled his arm back and sighed. Sage quirked an eyebrow. “I can’t leave this cell.” She let out a huff sort of laugh. “Don’t worry we won’t be leaving the cell. I just need your help, I guess you could say.” Once more, she held out her hand except this time Dream grasped her hand softly. Their hands had a big contrast. Sage’s was slender and delicate, similar to a bubble that could pop at any moment while the males were rough and calloused. One thing that stuck out to him was how cozy and safe her touch felt. It was in the same way a child might feel sleeping with the light on, accompanied by his or her favorite toy in their arms. Dream wasn't able to register what was happening when Sage dragged him into her body. She held him close, her cold breath tickling the side of Dream’s neck. “Just relax.” She murmured into his ear, locking her fingers with his. Dream’s weight slowly shifted onto the fairy-tale-like being until he fell into the crook of her neck. He felt dizzy, yet at peace. His light green eyes and pale eyelashes fluttered, struggling to stay open but they ultimately closed in the end. It was inevitable. His mind was being taken over and becoming cloudy.He couldn’t think anymore at all, making it easy for the male to fall into what felt like a slumber.

“We’re here,” Sage clasped one side of the dirty blond’s face, brushing her thumb up and down along the scars on his cheek. Dream groaned, reluctantly pulling himself out of her warm hold. He rubbed his eyes, slowly regaining his balance. Before he could figure out where he was, Sage started leading him to a new location. He followed behind her, observing the new environment. He was... In a forest? Looking down at his feet, he noticed the dirt path (he assumed) they were following. Dream tilted his head up, gazing at the atmosphere. The sun was setting. He can’t remember the last time he’s seen a sunset, but goodness was he glad he got to see it now. The clouds had a rosy orange tone, in contrast with the light blue color of the sky. “Watch your step,” Sage said as she continued to walk flawlessly. “What?-” Dream stumbled over something on the ground, catching himself quickly. Sage snickered. “I told you to watch your step,” Dream rolled his eyes with a grin growing on his face. He stopped in his tracks before he continued on the journey and looked down, noticing a stair to the wooden bridge in front of them. The bridge was built over a flowing river, with small glowing fish inhabiting the stream. Dream’s eyebrows raised, his mouth creating an o-shape amazed by the sight he’s never seen before. He glanced over at Sage and saw she was already past the bridge. Dream hastily caught up with her, his breathing getting heavier as he slowed down next to her. “Where are we going?” Sage stayed quiet as she pushed through some vines with various flowers hanging off them. She stepped to the side, holding the screen of leaves back for Dream to enter. “After you,” He stepped through the entryway and into an area occupied with life and a luxurious waterfall attached to a small pond. The goddess let go of the vines and began to travel towards the spa looking spring. She kneeled on a large stone creating a border between land and water. “Loosen up Dream, let me help you relax,” Sage gestured to the pond and Dream’s expression changed to a confused one. Then it clicked in his head, the tips of his ears flushed a light red color. “You want me to-” He muttered pointing to his clothes, then to the pond. “Yes, dear. There’s no need to be troubled, I promise I won’t hurt you. I’m only here to help you,” She gleamed, making sure not to break eye contact with Dream. He tugged at the orange cloth trapping his body slithering out of them when the cold air hit his olive skin like a bullet. The mortal slipped on in the heated bubbling water.

His muscles eased but he was still tense, feeling out of his comfort zone. “I need you to lay back if this is going to work,” Sage rested her dainty hands on his freckled shoulders, massaging her thumbs into them deeply. Dream laid back letting out a sigh, his head landing in Sage's lap as if she were a feather pillow. It felt wrong. He didn’t deserve her kindness and affection or even her presence for that matter. But those thoughts quickly melted away as Sage scooped some crystal clear water into her cupped hands and spilled it upon his unkempt hair. Several small droplets stuck to the ends of multiple different strands of his hair. The sun has now fully set, the luminous moonlight reflecting off of those oh-so-small drops of water, bringing his hair to seem like it’s glistening. He glanced down at his hands pulling them out of the comforting liquid, watching as the water fell out of them at a steady pace. Sage wet her hands, flipping open the shampoo bottle with a pop and squeezing some out into her hands. She rubbed the gooey texture in between her fingers preparing the bubbly soap before depositing it into Dream’s hair. Sage began lathering it into his soft waves, her nails ever so lightly scratching his scalp with each scrub just enough for the cleaning to be pleasurable. She twirled his blonde locks of hair around her fingers, playing with it. It felt good. He was embarrassed to admit it especially in the position he was in making him feel vulnerable and weak, but it was hard to deny it. Dream’s eyes drifted up to look at Sage when he unexpectedly made eye contact with her. His soft jade-colored half-lidded eyes blown out from his state of lushness at the moment, widened as his lightly freckled cheeks reddened. Her eyes were an intense golden brown kaleidoscope of colors. Honey-colored, with darker shades fanning out around the bottomless pit of an iris. They were captivating and he wanted to keep staring at them for eternity. Observing everything about them and never getting bored with the amount of fascination he found in those eyes she has. But, he couldn’t because the moment Sage flashed Dream that compassionate smile of hers, his eyes darted back down to his hands as quickly as possible.

She didn’t judge. She didn’t at all and that’s one of the many things Dream admired about her. The period he spent deep in thought, he didn’t note that Sage had finished the shampooing process until he heard another lid click open. He listened to the sound of the product exiting the bottle and docking in Sage’s hand. She applied the creamy conditioner to the tips and ends of his damp hair. Thoroughly, she made sure she got every spot, brushing out his gentle curls with her fingers delicately during the procedure. She let it sit, rinsing her hands off in the water. Dream realized, no matter how long he was in the water or what went in, it stayed clean. There was not a speck of dust to be found, almost like there was a permanent filter in it. He mused about it quietly until Sage broke the silence. “I told you before, I’m the goddess of beauty. Now wouldn’t the water look obscene if it wasn’t clean?” It was like she read his mind. “I guess so,” He shrugged looking at the weak ripples that formed in the stream. Sage took some more of the water and spilled it over his head once more, washing out the moisturizing product leaving his hair smooth. She let him sit in the water caressing his shoulders drawing elegant shapes and letters into his skin with her lavish nails. Her touch was ample and appeasing. It felt like he was being sung a lullaby to help him fall asleep. Dream’s curious eyes wandered quickly to follow her movements. He watched as she traced lines, connecting each of his light freckles as if she were pointing out a constellation in the night sky. He never realized how many he had since they were always covered by that awful bright shade of orange. He proceeded to watch her intently, eyes darting wherever she touched. It burned his skin. She left a trail of flames everywhere her skin grazed, and Dream was addicted. He wanted to feel more of it, all over his body. He wanted to feel this warmth all the time. He knew he didn’t deserve it, but that couldn’t control Dream’s desires. Sage removed her hand from the boy, and reached over to grab a fluffy towel. “Lift your head for me, hon,” The name was enough to make his stomach flutter and turn in all different unique ways. He obeyed her command, hoisting his head upwards, his dampened hair dripping very subtly. Sage slid the cloth under his head, using it to dry him off. She rubbed the towel into his scalp in a tranquilizing way, scrunching his blond hair just enough for it to be drying. Dream’s eyes struggled to stay open. “You can rest now, Dream,” She brushed his blond locks out of his face and planted a loving kiss on his forehead. His glossy jade eyes half-open glanced up at Sage with admiration leaking out of them in awe of her. His plump pink-hued lips parted scarcely and took in a gust of oxygen. “Thank you,” He muttered. His voice sounded tired and his tone seemed like he was grateful. Sage flashed the perfect smile she had and that was the last thing Dream saw before he fell into a slumber. He wished he would wake up in Sage’s arms but he would be foolish to think that would happen.

Dream woke up to the sound of clanging. He opened his eyes, squinting at the sudden bright light in his face. His eyes finally focused on what was in front of him, and saw the glowing netherite armor. “Wake up Dream, you have a visitor coming soon,” It was Sam. He sneered at the blond and looked down at him with a complexion of disgust in his eyes, and an expression on his face as if he’s just tasted the most putrid thing in the universe. Dream sat up with a slouch. For a moment, he doubted that Sage was real. He thought she was just a figment of his wild imagination, but the “S” drawn on the inside of his wrist said otherwise and a dorky smirk accumulated on his face as he traced his rough finger over the marking. She was real. All of it was real.

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Masterlist

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I DID IT!!!! I FINIAHED THIS SHIT NOW ICNA FINISH YM AMUTT 😆😆😆 YAYYYY SORRY THIS IS LIKE UNABLE TO READ THIS APRT ITS SO LATE RN IM SO TIRED OMG YAYYYY



[cybertronian-cupid]

I'm feeling really uneasy having to spend the holiday season with my family, so, if that's not a problem, could I request some fluff with TFP decepticons? Like,, comforting their s/o, making sure they feel safe and happy?

You didn't specify which ones you'd like best, so *rubs back of neck* what happened was a bit of a fluff surprise story. Hopefully it makes you smile Anon, and makes the holidays atleast a little more bearable.

*squints* though I think we should have the comfort styles of the Cons written somewhere... Keep an eye out, they'll be posted as soon as they get pieced together in some semblance of sense. ~Gregoria🏩

We hope you like it, Anon, and we hope this holiday season treats you well. You deserve nothing but happiness~Mila 💟

Holiday Surprise Fluff: Poly!Reader x TFP Decepticons (sfw)

(Yes. All of them. That includes the troops.)

............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ............

Being partners with Steve had its perks. Sure, there were some drawbacks as well, but considering how close all Vehicons were, that just meant the human suddenly had a whole lot of love and support, when one of these aliens decided to zoom into their life.

And well, when Breakdown met them and saw just how close the other guys are with them, and how nice they are treated by this fleshie, who's to blame the poor mech for falling for them too?

Knockout flirted with them once, and caught feelings when they laughed and flirted right back at him.

The rest of the ship caught feelings for the little organic faster than the cosmic rust, with the High Command being the most confused and vary over trying to express their feelings about it.

After all, their human isn't just a partner of one Steve.

They are a partner of all Steves, and soon of the Insecticon troops as well, with officers falling prey to their charms one after the other. In a sense, they have the whole ship wrapped around their tiny fingers, and soon they earn the affection of the Communications officer, Second in command and the Lord of Decepticons as well.

With ALOT of compromising and weekly reminders amongst the top three, that their human loves everyone aboard the Nemesis. The whole Nemesis.

How they manage that, remains a mystery to everyone aboard and yet, the morale has never been higher, so who is going to look a gift horse in the mouth? Noone, that's who.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Steve drives them through the groundbridge straight into the command center.

Sondwave greets them with a merry tune, Lazerbeak chirping happily as they are swooped up into familiar well maintained servos.

"Here you are, " Knockout kisses their face all over, before glaring at Steve. "If I remember correctly, today was MY turn to pick OUR lovely fleshie up"

"But you just did sir," Steve answers prompting a groan out of Knockout, before rushing off towards the barracks laughing.

"So, what ARE you guys planning?"

"We can't tell you just yet," Dreadwing smiles at them. Skyquake is leaning against his twin, nodding.

"It would ruin the surprise."

They pout and look at the ceiling.

"Not even an itsy-bitsy clue? Come onnnn, you guys have been driving me crazy for long enough."

Airachnid giggles, skittering off her perch and extending a welcoming servo for them to step on. She holds them close to her spark, heels clicking as she walks.

"Not even that. Orders from the Second in Command."

"I thought you were ALSO Second in command."

"Who isn't at this point," Shockwave points out when the femme places them in his servo, pressing a quick kiss before dragging the two warriors with her, off to who-knows-where. Being carried and placed from servo to servo was a thing that took some time to get used to, and yet, they are always handled with such care and love they can't really stay mad at their partners for too long.

They gaze up into the red optic staring at them.

"Shockyyyyy,"

"No,"

"Shockerrrrs,"

"The answer is still no," his voice is firm and unyielding, but his finials are wiggling in amusement.

Whatever the others are preparing is clearly going to be good.

"Come on, can't you just tell me? " they try again, genuine laughter from the Warlord snapping their attention to the entrance. Disappointment setting in when he is not actually standing there.

>>Patience, little one,<< the recording echoes from Soundwave, who steps through the groundbridge a moment later, with parting words of

"And enjoy the show."

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

And what a show it was. Almost an hour of all fliers, spinning and looping around each other, acrobatics of transforming mid-flight to blow them a kiss, before transforming again and resuming what has clearly been practiced time and time again with how perfect their forms were.

They couldn't look away even if they tried, each segment of them all dancing in the air grander than the last, topped off by Predaking creating rings of fire for them all to fly through.

It was a spectacle of the kind they have never seen.

Their excitement has them almost jumping in place when all commanders return to the bridge, optics twinkling with glee at their s/o and their clear enjoyment and pride.

"That was just the start," Starscream smirks knowingly, with Breakdown presenting them with a thick coat.

"Just wait till you see what our Liege has in store for you,".

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

They honestly expected a gladiator match. Hardshell, Dreadwing and Skyquake against Megatron and Soundwave. Or perhaps some sort of a firing range, or anything that would indicate a show of strength, or precision and cunning. They wouldn't be surprised if the Warlord somehow decided to do it all inside of an ice cave just for the extra challenge.

They didn't expect to be taken to one of the empty mines.

They did not expect there to be decorations put up, a mix of what they know to be Cybertronian designs with different Earth influences mixing into them all and still looking stunning in their own way.

And they did not expect every grounder of the Nemesis to be present.

"What is all this?" they ask, their eyes roaming over everyone. Their frames polished, their engines humming in sync, as they all break into a song.

A song about them.

They caught a glimpse of the title one night, when Megatron forgot to put that particular datapad away.

"Oh it's nothing," he waved their question off, settling them down in their bed above his berth.

"Megs, what are you planning?"

His grin and a tilt of his helm had them laughing, the expression on their face earning them a chuckle of his own, and yet no answer beyond the teasing "You'll see".

Any questions directed at others about what they think could be in the works, were met with the same grin and chuckles of "You'll see, it's a surprise."

Arms wrap around them from behind.

"Happy holidays," Steve says, nuzzling his helm against their head.

"Care for a dance?"

Dating Steve had many perks. Dating the whole Nemesis, has around a million more. And they have all night to count them all, as they dance and laugh with their wretched, evil, horrible, no good Decepticons.

At a house somewhere on the planet, there stands a very, very irked Makeshift, currently tangled in strings of lights, reminding himself that he is a vital part of the operation "Our Human Will Have The Best Holiday Celebration". He's been bossed around this way and that, without much rhyme or reason for a week now, and at this point, he would much prefer to listen to a certain Seeker screaming his voicebox raw, than to be listening to yet another round of 'All I want for Christmas'.

He will have someones spark if he isn't the one that gets to cuddle with The Spark of Nemesis for at least a week after his mission is complete. He knows those will be well deserved after the madness he's being put through.

[holy-stevie]

His Little Girl

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale x Daughter Reader

Summary: After a fight at school Ransom and Y/n get into a nasty argument. 

Warnings: swearing, bullying, anxiety and panic attacks, arguing, bad writing

a/n: i have a few fics that have been requested and i promise i’m working on them i just haven’t been in the right mental space to follow a planned fic right now. 

Masterlist 

Please do not repost my work anywhere else! 

Ransom Drysdale was a lot of things. Playboy, Trust-fund brat, Clever, Wicked, Heartless, Black sheep, Grandson, Cousin, Nephew, Son. He never thought that he would ever add Father to that list. He never anticipated that one quick fuck without protection when he was seventeen would result in him becoming the sole caretaker over a tiny little girl, his tiny little girl.

~

“Y/n are you paying attention?” A voice startles you out of your little daydream you had found yourself in. Your math teacher stands at the front of the room with her arms crossed, a sour look on her face as she watches you snap up and give a small smile.

“Yes ma’am.” You mumble, clenching your hands as you feel the stares of all your classmates on you, the situation not helping your already overwhelming anxiety. The teacher huffs before turning back to the chalkboard, making you sag into your seat with harsh breaths when you hear a few snickers around you. Breathe, in and out, hold it together.

When the lunch bell goes off, you’re the first out the door. Rushing through the hallways to your locker and then outside to the spot you feel safest in, a single dying tree at the edge of the big schoolyard. Sitting below the tree with a sharp breath you close your eyes to centre yourself, going through all the breathing exercises your therapist gave to you for the bad days.

You’re coming down from the small anxiety attack when you hear them approach, the playful laughs and taunting whistles making your chest freeze up again. You had never really had friends at school. In your younger years’ parents would pull their children away from you because of your last name, That’s Ransom Drysdale’s daughter, they’d whisper to each other every day you exited the car. When you reached high school they just simply hated you because you were Ransom Drysdale’s daughter, your fathers shadow clouding over you.

“Well if it isn’t the little rich girl, crying over your hair again?” The snarky blonde at the head of the group mocks as she kicks the bottom of your foot, earning snickers from the four other girls crowding around you. Macy was her name, she was the richest girl in the school, besides you of course, and her mean girl show was what made her pray on you every day.

“G-Go away Macy.” You stutter out, your chest was aching from the lack of air, the panic swirling in your mind dangerously.

“Aw she’s going to cry. Why don’t you call your daddy to come s-save you?” She mocks you, rubbing her eyes like she was crying and laughing in your face. You feel the flame of anger rise through you and before you can stop yourself you kick a leg out from under her and quickly jump on top of her, delivering two solid punches before you’re ripped off of her by a nearby teacher.

“Miss Drysdale to the principle right now!” The teacher barks in your face, dragging you away from a now crying Macy. You don’t even try to hide the little grin on your face, satisfied for a whole two minutes before you’re told to sit on the plastic seat outside the office while they call your father.

You groan and bury your face into your hands that are propped up by your elbows planted on your thighs, your fingers tangling in your black hair as you get a hold of yourself.

You cringe as you hear the sharp clicks of heels walking down the hallway towards you, you lift your eyes to confirm your fears. Your father walks powerfully down the locker clad hallway, his expensive scarf draped over a cream sweater, his usual brown coat and pressed slacks that ooze money. That’s not what bothers you, though his angry expression is going to cause another panic attack later, no it’s the busty blonde that walks besides him in a barely there red dress and black coat. She was his newest girlfriend, an accountant or something like that, that thought she was your new mother.

“Mr. Drysdale, this way please.” The old bald man says from the doorway, not even acknowledging you. Your father tells (Veronica? Vivian?? You couldn’t remember her name) to wait with you and closes the door behind him. The blonde sits next to you awkwardly and tries to talk to you, but you aren’t listening to her, instead closing your eyes and gripping your hair tighter until it starts to sting lightly.

Five minutes later when your father emerges from the office he doesn’t say anything, grabbing your arm and yanking you up to your feet and dragging you to the car roughly, his girlfriend walking behind the two of you trying to get his attention. He almost throws you into the car when he opens the backdoor, slamming it shut after all of your limbs are inside the car.

Ransom doesn’t say anything as he pulls up to his girlfriend’s house, seriously what the hell was her name, just stopping the car and waiting until she gets the hint and gets out of the car. The ride home is silent and tense as you dig your nails into your hands at the anger you know was waiting for you at the place you called home.

He doesn’t wait for you when he pulls up the house, immediately going inside and grabbing a glass of the oh so desirable brown liquid. You however wait in the car for a few minutes to gather yourself before going inside, standing patiently in the doorway to living room as you watch your father down the glass in a single mouthful.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” He yells, not even trying to calmly talk this out. You swallow heavily as you try to find your voice through the lump in the back of your throat.

“I was-” You’re immediately cut off as he whirls around to face you and holds up a dismissive hand.

“I’m not done. You think you can just walk around being a brat? Ruining my date because I had to come deal with you ONCE AGAIN.” His voice booms through the house, tears rising in your eyes at his anger. The cloud of disappointment overwhelming you, a constant let down to the only person in your life.

“Dad I-” Your throat once again closing up and causing panic to spread through you like a wildfire, but he doesn’t notice. He never notices.

“God can’t you be fucking normal for once in your life!” He shouts again, glaring at you. You feel the tears that were held tightly in the corners of your eyes drip down your cheeks, that same flame of anger raging through you again as you connect your eyes to his identical ones.

“I’m sorry I’m not normal, that I can’t go five minutes without getting lost in my head. I’m sorry that I cause you so much fucking trouble, that I can’t even make a single fucking friend in that shitty school. I’m sorry that I am and will never ever be enough for the great Ransom Drysdale! I’m fucking sorry that my existence is such a burden to you.” You don’t wait around for a response from him, instead bolting up the stairs to calm yourself down in the safety of your room.

~

The house is quiet for the rest of the afternoon, the faint sound of the tv downstairs waking you up from your nap. Groaning in disgust at the stickiness of your face you have a quick shower, padding downstairs barefoot half an hour later in one of your dads’ old sweaters and a pair of comfy pj pants.

You don’t say anything as you approach the living room doorway, your dad is sitting on the couch with a blanket draped over his strong form. He doesn’t say anything either as he lifts one arm, inviting you to snuggle into his warm side. You smile sadly before taking the offer, curling into his side as you lean your head on his shoulder when he wraps his arm around you lightly.

“You’re not a burden.” He says, not looking away from the tv. You sigh as you close your eyes trying to push away the screaming thoughts.

“The day I first held you I cried, like embarrassingly hard.” You giggle a little bit at his confession before he continues.

“I couldn’t believe I made something so perfect, something so wholeheartedly mine. I knew things would be difficult, I mean I was seventeen for heaven’s sake, but I also knew that none of that mattered because you were mine.” He looks down at you with a small smile, that type of smile that was rare to see from him, and cups your soft cheek in his big hand.

“I knew from that day that I would try my hardest to be a good dad, to be the dad you deserved. Today I didn’t listen to you, I didn’t ask for your version of the story and immediately placed all the blame on you. Today I failed as your father and I’m so sorry y/n.” He chokes up a bit on your name, making you frown and pull back to look up at him.

“Dad it wasn’t your fault, I know it wasn’t. I was just angry, a-and you were angry, and we aren’t really good at communicating.” You frown at the last part making him chuckle lightly, his hand coming up to soothe away the frown in your brow. He sighs and shoots you an apologetic look, the guilt eating away at both of you for hurting each other.

“I’m still so sorry baby girl.” He mumbles, leaning forward to press a soft kiss to your forehead. He raises an eyebrow in confusion though when he sees the mischievous smile on your face.

“I know how you can make it up to me.” He narrows his eyes at you, looking way too innocent.

“And how is that?” He asks warily, amused at the little grin that lights up your whole face.

“Buy McDonald’s for dinner.” He groans at your request, making you giggle.

“That stuff is so bad for you y/n.” He complains but gives in when you pout at him.

“Fine.” He says with a roll of his eyes, laughing himself when you get up from the couch and cheer, the child like glee making his attitude completely melt away.

Taglist: @scarletsoldierrr​ @chrisevans-imagines​ @patzammit​ @onetwo3000​ @yoncevans​ @harrysthiccthighss​

[thebakunawa]

Paint me in trust

Cross posted from my archive I’m just here to vibe and be gay

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

“I don’t settle. I’m not made that way.” You smile, flagging another drink for yourself and raising it to her as she smirks. “Then what will it take to change your mind?” “A lot more drinks, for starters.” She smiles back, her teeth seemingly glinting under the light of the bar and you nod, clinking your glasses together. “I can do that.” “What do you want, demonio?” Revenant chuckles, his voice the familiar cold and steel that haunted her nightmares. He leans against the doorframe of the room they were in. His cold eyes looking over the room where the USB is located. She notes this, because her hand goes to her little pack, securing it. “Relax.” His voice echoes in the room. “I’m not after that,” “Then what are you after, demon?” She sneers. “Why are you here?” “A little courtesy call.” He says standing up properly and grinning. “How are you and your, pet?” She immediately tenses, her expression cold. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” “Don’t play coy with me, girl.” He tuts, stepping over a dead body. Loba doesn’t move back, instead standing her ground as Revenant moves a little closer. “We know about her, your little, pet.” “Whatever business or interest you have with her, you can conduct.” The bitterness is in her voice. “I have no care about it. What she does with her life is on her.” Revenant laughs, and Loba finds herself cringing, the hair on her arms rising in a mix of fear and barely contained anger. “If this concludes our business, then I suggest you leave. We’re done here.” She turns on her heel, walking out, pulling out her Jumpdrive, and readying herself to go when Revenant speaks up again. “Did you know she did it for you?” The words make her pause, and she berates herself for turning around. For looking at the obvious trap the demon had set but it was interesting news. “What do you mean?” “We’ve all heard of what broke your relationship,” he sounds happy with himself, his voice reeking with delight it makes Loba’s guts sick and twist. “And I know what happened.” “You sound like click-bait.” She deadpans. “It’s done. It’s history. She made a mistake and I moved on from her.” She tries not to betray the emotions that swirl in her chest, the sharp ache that never leaves every time she is reminded of you and your treachery. “Tsk, little girl, you never learn.” Revenant laughs and before Loba can tell him to fuck off or any other variation of it, he tosses her another USB. She catches it easily, the device cold to the touch and Revenant has stepped back, making his way through the door he entered. “I suggest you watch it.” He says, pausing to looking behind him and offer her one last smile. “I’ll tell you when I find her—you might want to be present at least for her funeral.” He disappears soon after, just before she can reply. She grits her teeth, and sighs, looking at the USB in her hand and it’s decorated to look like a wolf head. She considers breaking it for a moment but Revenant has never gone this out of the way to offer her anything. Against her better judgment, she pockets the USB, readying herself before jumping out and throwing her Jumpdrive. Letting the air rush past her calm her as she runs back to her home.

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

You’ve known for months they’d come for you. You did your best to hide. You’ve laid low, survived off of the odd jobs here and there. You’ve also killed your fair share of people, garnering a vanishing vigilante/mercenary that never lingered too long. But you were new to this game, you weren’t a seasoned outlaw, nor were you blessed with the resources some of the hunters hunted you with. More than once you’ve only barely managed to save yourself from walking into a trap set by hunters for the device. You’ve killed even more when you entered them without meaning to. Somedays you wonder if any of this was worth it. After all, you’re dead to her. If you ever showed face to Loba she’d probably greet you with a bullet and a kick to the groin. Then again, given what you’ve gone through, the idea sounds a lot more tempting and needed. But you know you owe it to her, she trusted you. Even if you did betray it, you intend to see the promise through. You remember the hurt in her eyes, the way she had pushed you back and you knew, you’d never reach through to her. The smiles you’ve gotten, the secret vulnerability she had shared, all a memory now, and you’re left with the cold, heart-wrenching memory of her pulling her gun out at you. “Go.” She says, the laser dot in between your eyes. “Consider this my mercy.” But you both know you didn’t deserve her mercy. You ran from her like a coward, you knew she wouldn’t believe you. Not after you had gone behind her back to give crucial information. Not that you were held at gunpoint or tortured for it. Your mind lingers to the burn marks at the base of your neck or the hot iron on your thigh. You sold her out, the worst crime to do. At least that’s what everyone thought. You gave them enough information to make it factual, but you gave it in disorder. You gave half guesses and half-truths, and you knew the moment they found out you had actually lied they’d sent people after you. It was only time they’d send Revenant after you. You know he’s there before you even open the door. The cold that seeps from the other side makes the hair on your arms rise. You’re exhausted, having barely escaped from a skirmish earlier and a part of you wants to ignore it and simply let yourself get taken but you know it would be a fate worse than death. So you pause, looking out at the window, wondering if you’ll die if you’ll be injured if you fall—and test it out only seconds later when you hear the familiar hiss of his Silence and you immediately launch yourself out the window. Your eyes close and as you break the glass, falling for a few seconds before you open them and roll safely onto the ground. There’s screaming in the apartment, a gunshot was fired from where you were standing moments ago and you run. Your feet hitting the pavement, your blood thundering in your ears. Everyone starts running inside, not keen on getting caught in a firefight. You can hear Revenant’s distant cursing, and you make a beeline to hide under the bridge. Traversing through the confusing huts and houses all strung together. You don’t hear him coming after you but it doesn’t mean you're out of the woods yet. You’ve slowed your running into a walk, you're exhausted, your bones feel like they’d grind themselves and your breathing is harder, much more labored. Your joints ache, and you have enough energy to check your bullets, revealing you’ve only got 32 left in your Flatline and your Mastiff only has 6. In short, you’re truly and utterly fucked. The people under the bridge don’t dare talk. Fear of Revenant has kept them cowed and you have to get out of there quickly. It wouldn’t be the first time you had been squealed on by a passerby. Not that you blame them, the Syndicate had sweetened the deal for your capture and your appearance was a signal for a mess. But you’re tired, dead tired. The ground seems to be calling to you and it wouldn’t be safe for you to pass out here in the open. So you push yourself up, not realizing you had fallen to the ground, you force yourself to crawl until you could walk, trying to find a place where you could pass out in. It took a lot of time, time that Revenant spent hunting you down. You’ve barely made it to the edge, walking using your Mastiff as a cane when a gunshot is fired and it bounces right in front of you. “Well, well, well,” Revenant says, a coffin on the ground next to him. “Caught you, girl. Time to go.” You manage a snort, “I can’t believe you’ve actually brought a coffin.” You smile, much too tired and delirious to take the situation seriously. “Nice to know you keep your promises.” “If it suits me.” He replies amused. “Now get in.” “You know I can’t,” you muster your bravado. “Got the good ground calling me into bed.” “Get in so I can shove you in the dirt then.” Their amusement is waning and you can hear the edge in their voice. “I’m taking you in this, whether you like it or not.” “Pass.” You say and you pull your Mastiff back, brushing a smoke grenade you hadn’t accounted for, and throw it—using the last vestiges of adrenaline you have to run. Revenant doesn’t seem too concerned and it worries you—only realizing why when you feel a bullet tear through you. For a few moments, there’s no pain. Just a fleeting feeling of something passing through you, it was like going through Wraith’s portal, except the bullet was the one passing through and you fall onto the ground, biting down onto your lip, barely suppressing the screams. You hear his footsteps, and see his feet before you’re suddenly on your back, the air knocked from your lungs and you’re gasping for breath—the action making your lungs burn. “I have to admit, softie, you did well.” He says, stepping on your chest, and you struggle to breathe, weakly trying to push it away but you know it’s futile. “So tell me, where is it?” Your vision is dancing now, the red is occasionally taken by black. “I—won’t...talk....” you wheeze out. “Rath...er...die” You hear his laughter and you don’t know if you scream, you feel him crack a rib. “You will die. Just not quickly.” Revenant promises, and you feel another rib crack and you’re sure you’re screaming because your voice is hoarse. “I’ll ask again. Where are the codes? Where did you place the map?” “F...fuck—off—!“ You say and you feel another crack and snap and his growl. “I have no patience for this, girl.” He sneers. “Every time you deny me—I can have you killed and brought back to life. Again and again, and again.” His voice has a sharp glee in it. “So answer me. Where. Are. The. Codes?” You can barely focus now, the exhaustion and the wounds have taken a toll on you. You manage to meet those glowing eyes, the cold expression, and weakly make an attempt to spit at him. “Fuck...off...” His boot deepens on your chest and you pass out promptly after that. “Wait until you see what I have in store~” You turn around to see Loba smiling at you, her hand outstretched and you take it. She’s smiling, the same smile you’ve seen on her when she had found some rather good loot or when she had time to visit you. It’s a quick trip down your apartment, loading up into the cab she must have called and you lean against her. “Aren’t you affectionate?” She teases, nudging you slightly. “You utter poor fool.” “Better a fool for you,” you murmur and you smile against her, feeling her tense up before relaxing. “Besides, I’m your fool.” “That you are.” The words are laced with more affection and you bask in it. “My, poor, pain-loving fool.” This time it’s you who flush. “Excuse me! I’m not—" you pull away to continue your sentence but she places a hand over your lips. Her eyes glinting with amusement. “Not all secrets need to be spilled,” she purrs and you sigh, leaning into her touch as she strokes your cheek. “So where are we going?” You ask after a while, pulling away to smile at her. “I hope I haven’t forgotten anything important.” “For your sake, I hope you never do.” She hums before turning her attention outside. “Be patient.” She tells you. “I’m not patient.” You grin and lean against the chair. “But for you, I’ll do it.” “You do a lot of things for me,” Loba says, and she turns to look at you again, appraising you. You hadn’t seen her look at you—not when your eyes are closed and you’re covered in the lights of the city—a myriad of different colors that somehow brighten your features. “You’ll see.” “Okay, Ms. Andrade.” You snort, opening your eyes, barely missing her quick glance at your direction. “Wherever you go, I’ll follow.” She smiles, hiding it by looking outside and she holds the vault key to her own treasure vault tightly. “Good. I’d like to keep it that way.”

[frostbate]

⋆┈┈｡ﾟ⊹.｡❅*⋆༄ؘ   a   chill   down   the   spine   for.  @pectomortis​   ｡ﾟ❅*⋆

                                        ＊*•̩̩͙❅•̩̩͙*˚⋆┈┈   the   travel   north   had   been   tiring,   and   wholly   not   what   WINTER   had   been   expecting.   perhaps   over   so   many   hundreds   of   years   the   spirit   would   have   learned   a   few   things,   picked   up   on   the   tricks   of   the   earth   or   the   habits   of   the   people   residing   within   it.   but   times   had   so   drastically   changed,   and   his   mind   was   still   lost   in   the   practices   of   old.   the   wind   carried   him   forwards   in   a   grand   display   of   nothingness,   the   visage   of   flight   to   the   untrained   eye   actually   a   complex   team   effort   of   sorts,   in   which   the   boy   supplied   the   temperature   change   and   the   wind   offered   the   resistance   to   bring   him   into   the   air.    ┈┈⋆˚*•̩̩͙❅•̩̩*>

                                        ＊*•̩̩͙❅•̩̩͙*˚⋆┈┈   the   landing   had   been   ungraceful,   and   so   wickedly   in   character   for   him.   he’d   lost   his   footing   on   the   branch   of   a   tree   just   as   he’d   found   it,   the   breeze   already   too   dissipated   to   relieve   him   from   the   inevitable   fall.   thin   body   crashed   down   onto   the   grass,   frost   already   beginning   to   bead   its   way   onto   the   ground   around   him   as   he   stammered   to   his   feet,   bare   and   numb   against   the   freezing   dirt.   he   didn’t   allow   himself   time   to   take   in   his   surroundings,   immediately   finding   himself   occupied   with   the   task   of   freeing   his   crooked   staff   from   the   branches   of   the   tree,   where   it   had   found   itself   intricately   tangled   within   the   leaves.    ┈┈⋆˚*•̩̩͙❅•̩̩*

                                        ＊*•̩̩͙❅•̩̩͙*˚⋆┈┈   it   was   a   painful   and   childish   endeavor   that   took   far   longer   than   WINTER   wanted   to   admit,   the   yanking   and   groaning   and   tugging   that   took   place   at   the   gnarled   stick   until   it   finally   came   free,   a   crack   ringing   through   the   air   and   sending   birds   flying   away   in   fear   as   the   tree   rose   itself   to   its   proper   position,   no   longer   hindered   by   the   grip   of   the   spirit.   finally   he   straightened,   a   triumphant   whoop   coming   from   his   chest   as   he   applauded   his   own   success.   pale   heels   clicked   together   in   a   jump   of   genuine   glee,   the   boy   spinning   joyously   before   coming   face   to   face   with   someone   he   did   not   recognise.   a   long   moment   passed   in   which   he   had   to   remind   himself   of   the   low   temperature,   and   the   thought   that   this   person   was   most   definitely   aware   of   his   true   form,   whether   they   were   truly   human   or   not.    ┈┈⋆˚*•̩̩͙❅•̩̩*

                                        ＊*•̩̩͙❅•̩̩͙*˚⋆┈┈   «‷   woah,   hey   there   !!   ‴»   laughter   bubbled   up   from   his   stomach,   messy   silvery   hair   falling   into   his   face   as   he   greeted   the   stranger.   «‷   didn’t   see   you,   sorry.   did   you   see   that?   i   totally   got   my   staff   free   from   that   monstrous   tree,   pretty   cool,   right?   ‴»   ┈┈⋆˚*•̩̩͙❅•̩̩*

[rwbyvein]

Firen Lhain: Chapter 712: Collision:  Part I | III

The copilot turned around and looked into the cabin. "Primary target is in the secondary tower. Secondary target is pressumed to be in the primary tower. Details unknown." He then turned back into the cockpit, before turning back. "We have no landing area, so pickup will be down the hill." He then turned back.

"Listen up." the mercenary captain stated, and everyone looked at him.

"Who put you in charge?" one of the assassins asked.

"I am the captain!" the mercenary captain shouted at him, "Now listen up, this is for your own good."

"I don't work for you!"

"Fine." the captain said, and looked between the rest, focusing on the other assassins. "Our goal isn't to kill the targets, but lock them down. Squad one will target the secondary tower. Our goal is to isolate the primary target from her cohorts, while these two take her out." He then looked back to the first assassin. "Our job with this one is to keep him away from the primary target."

"What the fuck is that?!" he asked, and looked at Neo, "How the hell is that fair?"

Neo simply shrugged at him before developing a wicked smile and then looked back at the mercenary captain.

"Second squad," he stated, "your goal is to lock down the primary tower, keep them from getting to the third floor and roof, and suppressing anyone who tries to cross to the secondary tower. We're paid by the hour, but the assassins only get paid if they make the kill, so," he said, and looked at the second and third assassins, "let these two make the kill." He then looked back to the first one, "Him, though, fuck him."

"How can you do this to me?!" the first assassin spat at Neo. Neo just looked at him questionginly and then gestured to the mercenary captain. "He's working for you?" he spat. Neo gestured to the captain and then the rest of those in the back of the airship. She then gestured to him, giving him her best 'you-did-this-to-yourself' look. "Why the hell am I even here?!" he shouted, and once again Neo just shrugged. He did not take this well, causing a lot of noise.

"What if he gets in our way?" the mercenary captain asked, and Neo pointed her fingers at the first assassins and pretended to shoot a pistol at him. "Got it." He then looked between everyone else, "Any questions?" The mercenaries looked between each other and then back at the captain.

The copilot turned back around, "ETA 8 minutes. Prepare to drop. Squad 2 on the tower and then we'll lower to the wall and garden for squad 1. Everyone ready, it's show time."

One of the mercenaries raised his hand, "I kind of have to go to the bathroom."

"Will you shut the fuck up for once, Whitaker?" the captain asked.

"Uh?" Whitaker asked, "No? What would the rest of you do without my colour commentary?"

* * *

An alarm started to sound from Aurora's scroll, which she quickly pulled from her pocket and examined.

"Care to share with the rest of the class?" Nora asked.

"Oh?" Aurora asked, "Simply the proximity sensor I placed on the roof."

"You can't be serious?!" Blake shouted.

"Where'd you get the money?" Ruby asked.

"From managing Ms. Weiss' assets." Aurora said with a smile. Weiss looked concerned for a moment, "I stayed well without my discretionary amount."

Weiss breathed in for a moment, "You can purchase proximity sensors for that cheap?"

"Not so much a proper proximity sensor." Aurora replied, "It's something typically used by hobbiest radio users."

"But you said it was a proximity thing?" Nora asked.

"Because I set it up as such." Aurora quiped. "I could explain the details, or perhaps you could try and deal with whatever is airship-sized and flying near the top of our tower."

"Oh, no!" Ruby shouted, and Blake faded to black and disappeared. Ruby Petal Burst a moment later.

Weiss placed her hands together. "Is there any chance you could fly up the outside of the tower?" she asked Nora.

"Uh?.." Nora uttered, "I mean, not without my hammer?"

Weiss turned on her heels and elegantly walked to the door to the garden. "Perhaps my Glyphs?"

"I get a Weissapult?!" Nora excitedly stated.

Aurora tapped on her scroll.

* * *

Jaune picked up his scroll. "What's it say?" Yang asked.

"Uh?" Jaune asked, "Intruders. Top of tower?" he asked, and looked at Yang. The two clicked at the same moment and rushed into the garden, looking up at the tower. They saw an airship with soldiers dismounting. Jaune looked about for a moment. "Yang?"

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Walls." Jaune stated, and ran over towards one of the surrounding walls.

"Right!" Yang shouted, and turned towards the other wall. She dropped her hands behind her, ready to blast off when it occured to her she didn't have her weapons. "Oh, right. Shit." She shook her head and started running to the wall. Jaune jumped up to his wall, Yang up to hers. As the two rushed towards the tower, the airship turned towards the turret and flew towards it.

"HELP RUBY!" Jaune shouted.

"What about you?!" Yang shouted back.

"GET - RUBY - AND - SAVE - ME!"

"OH, shit?" she asked, and ran back towards the tower as she saw Weiss use multiple Glyphs to launch Nora into the air.

Jaune jumped into the air at the airship, ramming it with his antlers. He hit it hard enough to knock it off course, but at the same time his antlers cracked from the strain.

"Any more bright ideas?" Jaune asked himself as Weiss used her heels to summon her Glyphs, launching herself up the side of the tower as Nora's wing's opened up.

"Time to show you what Glorious Leader gave me!" Nora shouted, "The pleasure he gave me when he inserted his Aura inside me!"

Ruby Petal Burst onto the roof and had to stop to snicker before dropping down to all fours. She ran on all fours to the nearest soldiers, using the weight from her momentum as she tackled him . She grabbed his leg, putting the full power of her momentum into it. She heard several bones breaking, and likely some joints dislocating. He flew up against one of the parapets, barely able to move.

"What are they?" Ruby asked, "Paper people?"

Weiss landed beside her, lifting her left knee at him. She shifted her weight, using her hanging leg to pull herself into a flying kick. She struck one of the soldiers in their torso, causing him to fall over backwards. She landed, and dropped her left leg to the ground. She swept it along, and assisted by her Glyphs launched him at one of the parapets. Nora landed, and charged at one of the soldiers. She dropped under his guard and took him out with an upper cut. "Feel the warm white power my leader has infused me with!"

Ruby had to stop to giggle again.

* * *

Ren pulled out his scroll to find a message from his leader. 'Kill the power.' it stated.

* * *

Yang ran up the stairs through the fourth floor and up to the roof. "I'll try to leave you some." Yang stated.

"Don't mind me," Blake replied from the shadows, "I'm just here to make sure none of them get inside."

"Your loss." Yang stated, and blew her a kiss just as she passed up to the roof. Blake pulled out of the shadows just long enough to catch the kiss before returning.

* * *

The airship drifted off as it tried to right itself. It eventually started to stabilize itself. Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald appeared on the top of the turret.

"So?," Mercury asked, cricked his neck, "what side are we on?"

"The beasts, obviously." Cinder said with glee.

"Just checking." Mercury stated and ran towards the garden, jumping up to the top of a parapet before springing off.

* * *

"What the fucking hell is going on?" the captain asked.

"A guy with antlers air-rammed us." the copilot stated.

"And I think squad 2 are fucked." the pilot added. "Foxtrox-Uniform..."

"Don't say it." the captain stated. He then looked over to where Neo had been sitting. "Well, looks like the plan's still on."

"Find someplace to drop me." the first assassin stated, "I might still have a chance to get paid."

"I fucking hate to say it," the captain stated, "but Armin's right."

"Bravo-Alpha-Romeo."

"This fucking bitch-boy might be our only chance." the captain continued. "And the boss is still here, so we can't exactly pull out."

"So?" The pilot asked, "The wall?"

"Good thing I got that FUBAR clause added to our contract." the captain stated, "We're going to need it to pay for the medical expenses. South wall. Good thing we already dropped squad 3 already. But what the fucking hell happened to the rangers in the forest?"

* * *

Soldiers huddled on the top of the wall on the southside, just east of the tower. They dropped a rope and rappeled down. Two of the four ran down the ramp into the first basement while the other two stacked up by the ground floor's garden door.

* * *

"Is that a fucking fireball?" the captain asked, as a panicked pilot tried to steer the ship off to the side.

"I don't know what to say?" the copilot asked. "But, yeah?"

"Why didn't we have intel on a canon?" the captain asked.

"Because?" the copilot asked him and paused, "It's a woman in red."

"The primary target?!" the captain asked.

"The intel file did say she could do this." the copilot stated, bracing just before the fireball hit them. The airship slowly started to list and spiral around, fire and smoke coming from various places.

"Impact." the captain stated, as everyone quickly braced. "And let's pray the Light Brother is not too pissed off at us."

* * *

The two soldiers filed in through the floor to the ground floor before quickly being disarmed and knocked out by Taj. "Aurora, let's get you underground!"

Aurora stepped into the antechambre, and stood, trying her best not to quake with fear. "Yes..." she barely voiced, "please?"

Taj grabbed her hand and ran her to the stairwell, taking her down as the lights turned out. Aurora screamed, and Taj quickly stopped, turned, and put his hand over her mouth. "It's a good thing." he stated. "We're all Faunus here. Easy now." Aurora started to slowly walk down the stairs, one step at a time. She had not exactly lived a peaceful life, but she flashed back to the gangsters she had to play nice with. She always made sure to stay on their good side, ever careful never to cross, or even disrespect them. Somehow, her life had managed to be relatively peaceful. Until-right-now-when-she-had-mercenaries-after-her-life-as-her-heart-threatened-to-beat-out-of-her-chest. She clutched her chest as the two slowly made their way down the dark stairs. They heard a light thud as Ren took out the two soldiers.

"I don't mean to startle you." Ren said, which, of course, startled them. Aurora nearly fell down the stairs, only caught by Taj before she could.

[babyflossy]

nine minutes too late | l.ty

gif credits to owner

pairing: taeyong x reader

summary: they'll never get here in time is the last thought that crosses your mind as you start the stopwatch, they never do.

genre: anti-hero au

warnings: murder, blood, weapons, angst, kinda weird lmao

word count: 1.42k

you're six and your mother shouts for you from the house at the top of the garden. her voice light with laughter, staring in adoration at her husband. he pats your head lightly as you run into the house, knees and hands covered in mud. they scold you for getting dirt on the carpet but still help you wash it off with bubble-gum scented soap. the younger brother you had always wanted sits in his highchair, giggling at nothing and waving his hands when your mother tries to feed him.

you're eight, the boy who tried to look up your skirt is being shouted at by the school principle and your mother wraps her arm around your shoulders comfortingly. the scene replays in your head, the boy in question dropping a pencil in front of the bench you sat on with your best friend, leaning down to pick it up and looking at your legs. the memory makes you shiver, and you watch your mother glare holes into him.

you're ten, and the group of kids that stole your lunch money run away in glee, their laughter echoing down the halls and into your ears. with no money left, you sit in the bathroom and cry, too scared to tell the teacher; they'll get away with it anyway.

you're twelve and the only true friend you've ever had – a canadian boy named mark who chased bullies away from you in middle school – tells you his family is moving back to canada. you feel the air rush out of your lungs, and you think this must be what it's like to drown. your beacon of light is leaving you, the glue that keeps your fractured life from splintering apart.

you're thirteen, and the man you once called your father points the gun at your beloved mother. her whimpering is the only sound you can focus on, staring from the entrance of the kitchen. the brother you had always wanted is now eight and you make eye contact with him across the room. he has hot tears rolling down his face, sensing the impending dread. your heart stops when the trigger is pulled. either the flash of the gun or the shock momentarily blinds you and you squeeze your eyes shut, hoping it's a dream.

when you open your eyes again, the body of your dead mother is slumped over the dining table, the blood pouring from her wound mixing on the table with the red wine your father had spilt earlier. her hands are splayed out on the white tablecloth, the bracelets on her wrist still jingling from the movement. the man you no longer recognise is gawking at her, as if he can't believe she's really dead. but it's not in sadness, or regret. no, it's in happiness.

light reflects off the gun when he waves it around, pointing it at you. somewhere deep down, you wish he would pull the trigger. you couldn't feel anything. the muzzle shakes as your father starts laughing and you can't look at him. after an elongated second, he swings his body around, instead choosing to aim at your brother. you want to scream, to run at him and overpower him. but you don't; you can't. you can do nothing except listen to the bang and watch the last piece of happiness in your life collapse to the floor, face down. the thud is sickening, and the bile rises in your throat but you swallow it down, scared to so much as breath.

the sirens don't register in your head, the police officers staring in shock at the scene they walk in on. you can't feel the hands on your shoulders, you can't see the stunned but sympathetic eyes staring into yours. you can only smell the grotesque mix of blood, wine and gunpowder. this is their fault you think, and the hatred blazes through with inhuman strength.

now nineteen, the man crouched at your feet begs for you to let him go. you watch in fascination at the tears dropping to the ground, trying to remember what it felt like to care about something so much you cried. the hot pink pistol in your hands feels light, and you press it harder against his forehead, smiling in excitement when you realise what comes next. the last words of the man bounce around the room, reverberating off the cold stone walls. "please, have mercy." there is no one to hear him except you and the two other men in the room, one sat behind you watching the scene play out in glee, the other bound tightly next to him, a thick piece of duct tape covering his mouth. a slender hand runs through lime green hair, dark eyes staring intently at you as you pull the trigger.

it's like music to your ears. the blast and then the silence, his murmured pleas falling quiet. the body twitches momentarily, crimson blood rushing onto the floor and you jump back to avoid staining your new white boots. taeyong had bought them for you and his eyes travel lazily up your legs, biting his lip when he meets your gaze.

you spin around to face the others, eyes wide and crazed. the look on your face makes a smirk twitch onto taeyong's, the euphoric feeling radiating off you. the laugh you let out was diabolical and you hold out your hands to him after settling the gun into the waistband of your jeans. he slips his hands into yours, letting you pull him to stand. together, you focus your attention on the remaining man. his face is wet with tears, but you don't feel remorse, or pity. you feel alive.

taeyong stalks around the chair he's bound to, patting his head as the man shrinks away from his touch. "my turn," he whispers, pulling a knife out of his jacket. he grabs a fistful of hair, pulling his head up to face him, the whimpering he lets out muffled by the tape. skilfully, he rests the knife against the delicate skin under his chin, hushing the man softly. the man lets out what you can only assume are prayers for his life and you can't stop yourself from tutting slightly, stroking a finger down the side of his face, your hand coming back wet with tears.

"it's okay," taeyong reassures the man faintly, the blade flashing in the neon lights. "it won't hurt for long."

the promise seems to only panic the victim more, his cries getting louder and you huff in annoyance. taeyong hears you, silently agreeing the sound was displeasing to his delicate ears. his hand shifts so quickly and accurately, the product of hundreds of nights like this, that for a moment you aren't sure if he even cut the man. your doubts are squashed, however, as the blood pours out, warm and sticky, coating the white dress shirt he's wearing.

"time to run?" you offer with a twisted laugh. the bodies are left a crumpled mess on the stone floor as you both hurry up the stairs out of the basement of the warehouse. the heels of your boots click nosily, the only other sound the mix of both your and taeyong's laughter. you run hand in hand out the backdoor of the building, high off the adrenaline. once a safe distance away, you turn to watch the chaos. taeyong's arms wrap around you from behind, his head resting on top of yours, watching the blue flashing lights illuminate the quiet suburban streets. it's almost as mesmerising at the killing itself, watching the police scurry inside, too late to save anyone. they'll figure out in the morning it was you who had called them, knowing from the time of death being later than when the call came through. you had stood in the phone box at the end of the street, feigning horror as your mind floats back to that fateful day when you were thirteen.

you had called the police, screaming about how your dad was going to kill you all. it had taken nine minutes for them to arrive. nine minutes too late, you think, standing in the phonebooth, fingers clasping the silver pocket watch your father used to wear. you let the phone drop, hanging from the coiled cable as you stare at the watch with emotionless eyes. they'll never get here in time is the last thought that crosses your mind as you start the stopwatch, they never do.

a/n: this is kinda twisted but it was interesting to write

[liquor-and-intellect]

PREHISTORIC

Summary: Talia is a singer inspired by the man who broke her heart. The man who left her to pursue his career in the music industry without a second thought. The man who happens to be Harry Styles and is paying her show a visit. 

A/N: this is based off of Prehistoric by Now, Now. I’ve had this idea floating around in my head for YEARS and it feels so lovely getting it out. Enjoy:)

“Tal, we’re up in five.”

I paused my movements of bouncing my foot up and down as I relaxed back in the cold metal chair backstage. It stunk of stale cigarettes within this whole shitty venue.

I nodded toward Roman. “Got it,” I yelled back with a toothy smile.

He was about to retreat out of the room but paused in the doorway to give me a last glance—a glance I knew all too well. He gave me this look quite frequently, as if I had hung the stars in the sky. He was my biggest fan— I knew that without a doubt. Every night, every venue he cheered me on from behind the bass of his drum set. I could always feel his eyes on me as I performed.

I stood up and rolled my shoulders, reminding myself that no matter how the environment of the venue looked, I would step on that stage and be the most authentic version of myself.  There was no time to pretend to adapt to the people around me, I had learned that the hard way.

It was always difficult to not tone my performance down if the crowd just wasn’t into it. Sometimes, we played in front of statues. Other times, it was magnetic and a hit of the right atmosphere was like shooting the perfect drug into my veins—addicting and leaving me wanting more. I always came back for the chance of that high.

I had been writing for years, singing and beating on a piano for even more. The ride of my music career began with the only man I had every loved. He encouraged me to write, gushed over my vulnerable lyrics and allowed me to bleed out onto the pages of journals without a second thought. We would be up all night, playing until our fingers blistered over and I swore my joints were withering away with the night hours.

His voice was the only one that would leave me with chills every time it harmonized with my own.

He had been in the midst of chasing his own career as well during our three years together. When it took off, he left. Not a cold cut split but one that took years to unravel us from one another. Midnight calls and drunk confessions left toxins in my bloodstream. I would never be able to move on if we hadn’t cut off contact, I’m sure I’d still be in the revolving door of his control over me.

That had been years ago…

And yet I still thought of him every time I warmed up my vocal cords.

It also was hard not to think of him as his song echoed over the speakers of the club we were playing in, biding time with the audience as my band got ready to play. The catchy chorus—which I had to admit was mesmerizing—asked the listener if they knew who they were in such a haunting repetition that it raised the hairs on my arms.

He was living it big somewhere—never once mentioning my name or my writings that motivated him to pursue his dreams.

And here I was still playing in shitty bars.

I walked toward the curtain, Roman waiting for me with a smile on his face, drumsticks in his hand.

“You look gorgeous,” he whispered.

I dressed eccentrically when I performed. Letting my artistic vision bleed its way into my style. Tonight, my outfit of choice was a Fashion Nova glittery mesh shirt with bell-shaped sleeves over a chrome bralette.

I nodded in his direction, the pre-performance jitters rendering me unable to give a proper response, as the lights in the bar dimmed and we walked on stage.

This was one of our larger venues, a local take of the House of Blues. I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed a few loyal fans standing in front of the stage, smiles and phones ready. The crowd was decently sized tonight.

My face lit up and I hoped this rush was just as good as the last one. “One…two…One, two, three, four!” I yelled as the electric guitar started up and the lights faded in, I grabbed the microphone and launched into our opener, a fast-paced indie ballad that gave people a glimpse of what our music was like.

The audience was wonderful, bobbing along and swaying to the beat. I even saw a few jumping up and down to Roman’s drumstick hitting the surface of the instrument. Being on the stage was electric… I lost myself within the music, letting my raspy voice ease itself over the lyrics, bouncing around the stage in my buckled boots like I had never felt dancing before.

My whole body was buzzing with electricity as we finished our second song and I prepared myself for the one that always pulled at my heart strings.

I used to give a prelude to this one, let the microphone rest against my mouth as I told the crowd what it was about, why I wrote it and allowed anyone who was listening the opportunity to see how much this person still effected my every thought. I didn’t do that anymore… he didn’t deserve it.

I sang instead to the rhythmic beat that Roman provided. Letting the words pulse through my skull.

“I know this will mess things up tonight

But God it feels so good to close my eyes.

I’ll say I’ve been trying to move on

We both know I’m not.”

I threw my head back as the beat hit and let my body drag me away from the mic stand for a momentary breath. I thought of the green eyes that had haunted my dreams when I wrote this song. I thought of shared cigarette smoke over music sheets and a slow decay of a relationship that tore me apart from the inside out.

“It may be different now, but the pattern won’t wash out

Covers up our eyes, leaves us with knots and severed ties

We follow new lines.”

I hugged the microphone between my palms as I let my voice rasp its way to the audience’s waiting ears. Harry and I had been lying in bed when the thought of this song came to my mind with our backs to each other. I was too afraid to turnaround. Too prideful to ask what would become of us if he got his record deal and had to move to L.A. I had felt his distance before I could physically put words to it.

I finally allowed myself to look up to the audience as I sang this next part. My heart sinking as I met eyes with the last person I expected to see. In an effort to stop my racing heart, I tightly shut my eyes.  

“I would trade this sleep for you in a heartbeat…

But this weather will not lift

Leaves us shouting into cliffs, without an echo…”

Reopening them, I was met with his steady gaze, confirming to myself that it was not a hallucination.

“Each day you come closer

So close I can almost feel your breath

On my shoulders.”

I didn’t know how to look away from him and look to someone else—and by the look on his face, he noticed.

Tearing the mic from its stand, I turned to face Roman, doing a full circle before forcing myself to walk to the edge of the stage and look into the opposite corner of the bar.

“But I know if I turn around…” The words were now truer than they had ever been. “you might run away again.”

The guitar and drums hit at once, the song rising to its peak as I let my shoulders drop with the beat.

“Stuck like those prehistoric mammoths in the ice

Thaw me out and I won’t close my eyes.”

Even though I shut my eyes, I could still feel his presence within the room as if he was standing a foot from me. I thought of how I had desperately prayed to any god that might have heard me for him to turn around and face me under that white duvet every night. If he would just turn around, I would forget why I was hurting, I would forget why I was questioning everything I thought I knew. I would fight sleep and stay up to the ends of the night if it meant keeping him with me.

“Stuck like those prehistoric mammoths in the ice

Thaw me out and I won’t go to sleep tonight.”

The guitar player continued his rift and I forced myself to face away from the crowd as the song came to an end and cheers erupted.

I put on a brave face, continuing with two of my original songs and a cover. I avoided the right side of the bar where Harry stood concealed in a jacket with a hood pulled up, nursing something in a shorter glass—if he was anything like he used to be, it would be whiskey.

The few times I turned around and met eyes with Roman, he would shoot an eyebrow up, noticing the rigidness in my dancing. The guitar and bass players were not as in tune with me as he was, continuing to strum along their instruments with the same glee they always had.

The last guitar note held in the air as I finished my last song. Breathless in the microphone, I yelled, “I’m Talia and thank you for having us tonight!” I kissed both of my hands and raised them above my head in a final goodbye, risking a glance to the right side of the bar where a previously filled stool now sat empty. There was a moment of disappointment in my chest before walking off the stage, letting the boys finish out their final notes on their instruments.

It wasn’t until I hit the last step on the stairs backstage that I let my true panic take hold of me. What the hell was he doing here?

I racked my brain of all the scenarios that have landed him in this bar by any form of logic I could muster and none of them made any sense. He was big shot now. Hosting Saturday Night Live and announcing world tours. Why would he be in this shitty venue?

My heels clicked as I rounded the corner into the common area backstage and came to a full halt at the man now standing in front of me.

He had the same green eyes… but everything else was drastically different. His hair was parted down the middle, his shoulders pulled back and resting with confidence. His hands were in his pockets, but I still could see the elaborate rings that adorned each finger. Although he wore a black sweatshirt, there was an ornate Gucci logo on the front—which I knew to cost more than we got paid tonight.

I swallowed the biggest lump in my throat, suddenly feeling exposed in my shorts and bralette.

“You were…” His voice sounded the same—deep, long and melodic. “amazing out there. So magnetic.”

Three years ago, I would have bent over backwards for a compliment like that.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, I didn’t want to waste time with small talk. He disrupted my night—my life—and I deserved to know why.

He took in a deep breath and sighed, having prepared himself for my brashness. “Uh… well. I was in town and heard you were playing.”

“Bullshit.” I crossed my arms.

He pursed his lips. “What do you want me to say?”

“The truth.”

“I wanted to see you.”

My heart—reverting back to its natural state—fluttered within my chest. Even after all these years, he still had the power to do that to me. This was why our break had to be a cold, clean cut. My body always turned to a vulnerable mush when he was round.

There was noise behind me as the boys came down the stairs, laughing in their giddy way they did post-show. They stopped dead in their tracts as they noticed the star in front of me.

“Woah, is that Harry Styles?” David, the bass player, asked.

Harry smiled in their direction, walking forward to shake their hands, forever a gentleman. “You all did amazing tonight. Great job.”

I could feel Roman’s gaze on my stiff posture and defensive stance as he attempted to connect the dots in his head. “Tal, you okay?” he whispered to me, nudging my elbow with his hand.

Harry’s eyes snapped to Roman, assessing him in a way he hadn’t done previously. Jealousy?

“Yeah, I’m great. Just about to leave,” I spun on my heel and directed myself to the dressing room.

“But we have a guest!” David yelled.

Harry cleared his throat. “Actually,” he announced to get my attention. “I wanted to ask your band something, Talia.”

The sound of my name from his mouth was enough for my head to whip around in a beat.  

“I need an opener for the American leg of my tour next year-“

“What the fuck, Harry. You are not about to ask me this,” I cut him off, the anger from years ago fighting its way out to finally have release.

“- I want to ask you and your band to open… for me,” he finished, eyes frozen on me. Had he gone mad? Had he forgotten the past 5 years? How he left me in the dust of his career when someone besides me showed interest in his talent.

I could feel the confusion of the boys on the other side of the room as they eyed Harry and I.

“Well,” David began. “I, for one, think that opening for Harry fucking Styles would be absolutely amazing.”

“Not happening,” I shot back.

Aiden held his hands up. “Talia, this is the big break you’ve been talking about. Why wouldn’t we take it?”

I looked back to Harry, letting all the hurt and venom I could gather lace my words. “Because he could have done this fucking years ago.”

Harry shook his head. “Tal, you know I couldn’t—”

“Don’t call me that.”

“The label told me it was all or nothing,” he continued. “and I didn’t argue. I didn’t know how. I was twenty years old.”

I nodded. “Yeah… well now I’m twenty three and there’s no way in fucking hell you can just waltz in here-“

“Okay,” Roman interjected, stepping between Harry and I. He took a moment to let our eyes meet before he lowered his hands, knowing he gained my attention. “let’s take a deep breath and maybe have this conversation somewhere else.”

Harry nodded as if it had been his own fucking idea.

I wanted to explode even more at the idea of Roman telling me to calm down but realized that causing a scene in a building that is paying us to be here might not be the best idea.

In defeat, I took a deep breath. “I’m going to get some air,” I mumbled.

“I’ll go with you,” Roman interjected.

I held up my hand, a silent plea for him to leave me alone as I made my way out the door that lead to the alleyway.

My heart was still racing from the stage and now throwing in Harry was like forcing my body into fight or flight mode. I had envisioned the day I would run into him so many times that I never was aware that I would just be filled with anger when I saw his face again. I thought I’d be over it by now. Passive even.

I grabbed a cigarette and placed it between my lips, flicking the lighter a few times with my thumb before the spark showed itself. Taking a deep draw, I willed the nicotine to ignite my lungs with every type of chemical it had. I wanted it to take me far from here.

A scuff of a boot, then a familiar melodic voice.

“I didn’t know you were still smoking.”

I didn’t even bother to look at Harry as I let the smoke lift itself out of my mouth and into the night sky. “I wasn’t until three minutes ago.”

A gulp. I wondered if his Adam’s apply bobbed when he did that. “I stress you out that much?”

In a moment of vulnerability, a lapse of judgement, I shook my head. “No,” I murmured, taking another draw of my cigarette. “you fucking terrify me.” It was true. I was so fucking scared of the way my body was drawn to his, even after all the shit he’s done. I was scared that he was going to up and leave with no goodbye again and I’d be left in the dust of all the amazing things he was going to accomplish without me.

Harry didn’t ask me to elaborate, probably because he felt he was pushing his luck by just standing out here with me. Maybe because he already knew why I was scared. In a hopeless way, I wondered if he was scared to.

He took a step closer to me while I kept my gaze focused on the cracks in the bricks across from us. “Look,” he said hesitantly. “I want to talk to you. I want you let all of the frustration and anger you’ve felt for the last years out on me. I deserve it… and you deserve for me to hear every single feeling you’ve experienced.”

I threw my cigarette to the ground and scuffed it into the pavement with my booth.

“I don’t want you to have to do this here,” he continued. “I’m staying at the hotel off 4th. Room 310. I’m here until tomorrow.”

Harry paused for a moment, half expecting me to give him an answer now. But he knew me well enough to know that my silence meant contemplation—and that’s the best thing he could hope for in that moment.

I turned to catch a glimpse of him, but all I could see was his back as the door shut softly behind him. Leaving me once again with so many unsaid words.

PART TWO? Let me know!

[vannahfanfics]

Rainshowers

Category: Romantic Fluff

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Sakura Haruno, Shikamaru Nara

Good day, everyone! Here’s my story for ShikaSaku Week Hanami’s Day Six prompt, “Like Air in My Lungs (I Need You).” Enjoy!

“Ino. Have you ever loved someone so much that it hurts?”

Sakura’s eyes were lidded as she gazed forlornly out of the café window. Her hand was curled around a cup of black tea that was long since cold, over half full of the dark brew. The rain was pounding against the glass beside her; the glass looked as if it were frosted with the pumping streams that were cascading down the smooth, clear surface like a steady waterfall. For the thousandth time that morning, she sighed deeply and looked out the corners of her eyes at her friend, lips pursed in a self-pitiful pout.

“Sakura.” The click in her tongue indicated that she was in for a chiding. She closed her blue eyes as she set down her cup of green tea with a shake of her head. “Shikamaru has been broken up with Temari for three weeks now! Why are you here moping to me when you could be making your move?” Sakura groaned loudly and slammed her forehead down onto the table, making the cups rattle and silverware jump.

“It’s too soon! Shouldn’t I wait at least a month?”

“Girl! You waited six months before he even started dating her! It’s not like they were together for a super long time; they went on three dates,” the blonde scolded her critically. Sakura groaned into the finished wood of the small café table. “Hey. Look at me, will ya?” Obediently, Sakura lifted her head to peer at her with big green eyes; Ino was leaning her cheek in her hand and smiling sympathetically. “I know how hard it is for you to reconcile with your feelings after the whole Sasuke thing petered out, but if you never take any risks, Sakura, you’re gonna live your life full of regret.” Ugh. I hate it when she’s right, the kunoichi thought with a dour pout as she sat herself up and ran a hand over her wearied face.

“I know,” she grumbled in agreement. She turned to glance out of the window once more. The wind whisked up the rain to all but throw it against the glass in furious pitter-patters. The perfect parallel to her tumultuous mood. I just… Don’t want to ruin the status quo, she continued silently as her eyes drifted halfway shut. The rain continued to pour.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sakura had bid Ino a good evening and begun the wet, rainy trek home. The rain pounding continuously on the rubbery layer of the red umbrella she was holding over her head like a shower of bullets. The dirt street was flooded with numerous, deep puddles of dirty rainwater that splashed up the sides of her bare calves with every squelching step. Sakura tilted the edge of the umbrella up for a moment to peek up at the sky; it was choked with ashy gray clouds that rolled with quiet thunder and flashes of bright white lightning deep within their bellies. No doubt, it would be a long time before the rain let up. With a small sigh, she dropped her head back down, chin striking her chest. In such dismal weather, it was nearly impossible not to brood. Her hand curled up around her heart as it clenched tightly in her chest. She had asked Ino if she had ever loved someone so deeply that it hurt, because all Sakura felt these days was a dull aching beneath her sternum- the low, throbbing pulse of insurmountable longing. It was a painfully familiar feeling, one she had lived with for several years, and sometimes she wondered if her love for Sasuke had diminished at all, if maybe she were confusing her little crush on Shikamaru with these deep feelings of hers.

Then she would see him- just like right then, as he trotted out of the door of a small convenience store with one hand in his pants pocket and the other tossing a small plastic bag of canned coffees over his shoulder. Sakura stopped in her tracks, green eyes wide as they beheld him grimacing up at the stormy heavens.

“Man, what a drag… I should’ve checked the weather forecast today. This is getting old,” he muttered. His legs were splashed up the side with mud and Sakura could clearly see dark spots littering his clothes, evident of still-drying rain spatters. Had he walked there in the pouring rain? He apparently didn’t notice her, as he hopped down the store’s steps to land with a light splash in the muddied street below and start walking in the opposite direction. Sakura flushed and dipped her umbrella down to cover her face. She didn’t want him to notice her, and yet her heart was screaming in agony, wishing dearly to be greeted. She clenched her teeth as it constricted angrily within her chest; her ears rang with the rush of blood and Shikamaru’s soft, splashing footsteps. Her eyes flickered as the toes of his boots appeared just under the rim of the umbrella, passing her left side. She could go unnoticed. She could.

But did she want to?

“Sh-shikamaru!” she cried before her mind could stop her. Water jumped around her feet in a wide, curving arc as she whirled on her heel, and she accidentally threw the umbrella up too high, cause a sudden burst of raindrops to crash down into her face. Startled, she wiped at it quickly with her sleeve before blinking the water away to see Shikamaru staring at her with widened eyes. A mortified blush blazed across her cheeks, but she had already called out to him, so she had no choice but to stand her ground. “D-do you want me to walk you home? It’s pouring… You could catch cold.” She wished more than anything that her voice came out more confident. Hinata could run circles around her.

“You live in the opposite direction, though,” he frowned and rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly. The coffee cans jingled with the movement. Sakura stared slack-jawed at him for a second. How stupid she must look! Of course it would be weird offering to walk him home when they lived on completely different sides of time.

“U-um, I’m just out for a walk. I’m not going anywhere in particular, so, it doesn’t matter to me,” she recovered lamely. His black eyes met hers for a moment, calculating. She wondered if he could see the nervousness blooming in her spring green depths.

“Well, you gonna bring the umbrella over here or you gonna just let me stand out in the rain?” With a squeak, she scampered over to him, hoisting the umbrella up to accommodate his tall frame. He slipped his hand back in his pocket as he turned to begin walking in step with her. Her legs were significantly shorter, so she had to set her pace almost twice as much as his to keep up. The umbrella bobbed up and down over their heads as she scuttled along beside him. “So what brings you out for a walk in this ugly weather?”

“O-oh, um, I met Ino for lunch at a café earlier, but I just wasn’t in the mood to go home yet.” At least it wasn’t a total lie.

“What, do you two get together once a week to exchange gossip or something?” he sniffed teasingly. Sakura’s face turned the color of her hair; yeah, basically, that was what they were doing. Shikamaru blinked at her stunned silence, then began chuckling. “Sounds about right. Lemme guess- Ino just had to spill that me ‘n Temari aren’t a thing anymore, right? Can’t tell her anything.” She couldn’t tell by the tone of his voice if he was actually angry that the blonde was spreading his business around or if he was just mildly amused; it was blank, void of much emotion at all, and when Sakura peeked up at him she saw that his face was pretty much the same. He stared straight onward with slightly lidded eyes. He looked deep in contemplation.

“… Did you really like her?” she asked quietly. If he was sad, she wanted to be there to comfort him, as his friend. However, part of her was terrified for him to answer that he had possessed strong feelings for the girl. That would just drive the nail into the coffin that contained her own feelings.

“No,” he answered, almost a little too easily. Sakura’s heart skipped with hope. She then flushed with shame. Why should she be happy that his relationship with Temari hadn’t worked out? That was a terrible thing! His eyes shifted to bore into hers again, making her wince slightly. Was she supposed to say something? What should she say? Sakura was just brutally honest; it was especially hard with Shikamaru to act all unperturbed.

“S-so… You’re the one who called it off?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?” The question burned like fire on her tongue. Temari was smart and capable; honestly, Shikamaru would be lucky to have her. Of course, the answer could be as simple as he wasn’t feeling it. That was a perfectly reasonable answer, but doubt poked at the back of Sakura’s mind. The two had always had great chemistry, even to the point that people had assumed they were dating. It was almost certain that they would hit it off. So why…?

Shikamaru suddenly stopped, and she followed suit, looking at him in bewilderment. His hand slowly came up to wrap around hers that was holding the handle of the umbrella; blush shot up her arm to creep up her neck and face, and had Shikamaru not been gripping the handle tightly, the umbrella would be shaking from the quiver that had gripped her body. His dark eyes glittered with something that Sakura couldn’t place- amusement? Glee? Maybe a faint bit of derision? It was an intense stare that had a pleasurable shiver propagating from her head to her toes and back. She felt it, again, that suffocating constriction in her chest that made her lungs burn. The love that hurt. Electrified, she could only gawk up at him and wait for him to speak.

“Because I was just trying to kid myself out of the fact that I was already in love with somebody else.” His words were but ghosts, drifting over Sakura’s blush-stained face in feather-light wisps. She was so enraptured by them that she didn’t even react when the bag of coffee cans clattered loudly to the ground, nor when both his hands rose to gently cup her face. For some reason, only one thing and one thing only was on her mind.

“Have you ever loved someone so much that it hurt?”

“Every damn day.”

The seconds between his answer and what happened next were forever a blank period in her memory. Like a record skipping, she was suddenly just there, umbrella discarded and arms around his neck and lips furiously smashing against his in a desperate, heated kiss. The cool rain cascading down her skin foiled the burning sensation of lust flourishing through her insides like fire; everywhere his hands landed- her neck, her hips, her back- there bloomed fiery pleasure as her nerves short-circuited. Sakura hadn’t realized up until then how short of breath she was. As soon as his lips met hers, it felt like pure oxygen flooded her lungs, swelling them to maximum capacity. It was like he breathed life into her; she couldn’t breathe without him, she loved and needed him that much, and so she refused to part her mouth from his even as her head began to dizzy with lack of breath. When his tongue dipped into her mouth to eagerly tangle with her own, her knees buckled and she slumped against him, mind foggy as she began to slowly spin into suffocation. It felt so good. It felt like a part of her was made whole again.

She was panting hard when he forced himself away from her. Despite her gasping breaths, her face still chased his as it left, her mouth lamenting the loss of the taste of him, like bitter coffee and green tea and spices. He supported her limp frame with his sturdy arms as she slowly came down from the impossible high. She blinked as her mind came back to her. The rain had picked up considerably and they were both now dripping wet, beaded raindrops falling from their chins and elbows and seeping into their clothes to darken the fabric. Sakura laughed lightly as she swept a few of the pink strands that had plastered to her face.

“I let go of the umbrella,” she mused bashfully and looked down the street to see it rolling like a tumbleweed far down the street. She turned back to see that they had been standing in front of his house the entire time. Now I have to walk all the way home in the rain… Sakura didn’t mind it, really. With the gentle, bubbling heat pulsing through her body at the moment, she doubted the chill of the rain would be able to reach her at all. Shikamaru seemed to have other ideas, though.

“What a pity. Guess you’re not going anywhere until the rain lets up.” Her face turned beet-red at the sultry growl in his voice. She squealed in surprise as he suddenly hoisted her up, and her legs snapped closed around his hips on instinct.

“Shi-! Shika-!” she stammered uselessly. Her brain was far too fried to form coherent words. He gave her a twisted, mischievous smirk as he whirled on his heel to march up the path leading to his residence, while Sakura’s nails dug down into his shoulder in a white-knuckled grip. “Have you lost your mind?!”

“I’m quite lucid, thank you,” he purred as he kicked the garden gate latch up and opened it with a foot. He kicked it shut behind him, not seeming to care at all that it only bounced back open to begin flapping back and forth in the wind. “What, do you really wanna go on your ‘walk’ that bad?” Her face continued to flush at his teasing words. Of course she didn’t want to go on a damn walk! Mortified and shamefully excited, she leaned forward to bury her face into his shoulder as he carried her into the empty house.

It was certainly not how she expected to spend the rainy day, but boy, did she have some gossip for Ino for their next café meet-up…

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

Tag List: @deliathedork @searchfortheonepiece @shikasaku-week

[justlookatthosesausages]

‘Emergence’ - an interactive fanfic

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CHAPTER 7

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Kristoff rose his hands.

“Elsa, breathe calmly. I came alone.”

The Fifth Spirit’s nervous breathing slowed down, and her shoulders lowered a bit. Around her, the air seemed to warm up.

She just had a panic attack when she saw Kristoff in the forest, walking by Sven’s side. She lowered her arms that she had put up earlier to use her magic if needed.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Assured the man, seeing how panicked she had been.

He stepped to her, and they hugged as a greeting. Elsa smiled weakly to Sven, petting his head.

Kristoff then frowned in confusion. “What are you doing here? The camp is miles away. And you don’t have Nokk with you.”

“I, uh... I needed to take a walk.”

Elsa had her left hand clutching her right arm, and Kristoff knew this posture really well. Including which mental state it meant.

“What are you doing here?” Asked Elsa, a bit defensively, before he even said anything.

“I was around, for work, and I thought I could drop by. I’m exploring the nearby lakes to see which spots we could use with my team of ice harvesters.”

“Spots?” Repeated Elsa, a bit numb.

“When the lakes will get frozen this Winter. With the cold. As we are up North. To get the ice.”

“To get the ice?” Repeated the Spirit, again.

Kristoff had a scoff chuckle at her state.

“You made me Official Ice Master and Deliverer 4 years ago, remember?” He laughed.

Elsa blinked, and nodded when everything finally clicked in her mind. “Yeah, yeah, right.”

She still wasn’t looking at him, and he got concerned.

“Are you okay?”

That was a stupid question, he knew that the sisters weren’t okay. He was naturally clumsy at social interactions, so he briskly coughed and found another topic of discussion.

“How was your week?”

Elsa stared at him in an odd way, and the blond worried.

“What?”

She sighed. Elsa realized, by Kristoff’s kind and soft presence, that she needed a confidant. She hadn’t talked to anyone about what happened with Honeymaren, and was even avoiding the Northuldra people just in case someone would ask, cleverly pretending that she was busy in the wild to not spent too much time in the camp.

“I... Can we talk?” She asked.

Kristoff smiled with his usual kindness. “That’s why I’m here.”

Elsa had a relieved sigh. “We should sit down.”

The mountaineer looked around. They were in the middle of nowhere, and there was no fallen trunk on which they could sit. Suddenly, a crunching noise came to Kristoff’s ears, and he recognized it as being Elsa’s ice crafting an object. He looked down and saw a bench, transparent and shining in its magic. Sven jumped in appreciation, and the ice harvester whistled.

She sat heavily, like she had a very tiring day, and he passed a hand along the backrest. “Flawless. Like always.”

His compliment finally made Elsa smile, and they exchanged a happy face. He sat down next to her.

“What is going on? Tell me.”

He turned his face to his sister-in-law. She didn’t have her arms crossed anymore, but her hands were clenched on the ice seat on each side of her thighs, and he wondered if that was any better. Elsa took a long time before gathering enough courage to speak.

“IkissedHoneymaren.”

“Excuse me?”

“I...”

She tightened her fingers, and took a shaking breath out.

“I kissed Honeymaren.”

Kristoff’s eyes widened. Sven abruptly lifted his head from the grass with a surprised grunt.

And Elsa immediately buried her face in her hands.

“Ooooh, why did I say that...” She muttered, her voice masked by her palms.

“Wait wait wait... You...”

He couldn’t believe it. He was happy for her, but also completely bewildered. Elsa had gained a lot of confidence in the passed years on the physical plan, both for her and about touching others, but... This?

“Were you... The one who initiated the kiss?”

She looked at the horizon. “Yes.”

Her eyes widened suddenly. “I mean, NO! No, it wasn’t me. But then... Yes.”

A thousand questions bumped each other in the blond’s head, and Sven and him exchanged a glance, yet he shook his head and stayed on the supportive aspect.

“Was it... Great?” He asked.

She lifted her palms to the sky.

“I don’t know, Kristoff! It was the first time I ever kissed someone!”

The mountaineer put a soft hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

“Okay. Okay. I just want to know if you were comfortable with it. It’s important, you know. How did it feel?”

Elsa bit her lip, hesitating to confess. She hesitated on telling Kristoff, but after all, he was caring and listening, and they knew each other well. They were family. She took another breath in and tried to remember the details.

“It was... Humid, and...”

The blond frowned. “Ew.”

“I was crying, Kristoff.”

“Oh. Oh, okay. My bad. Keep going.”

He wanted to ask why she was crying, but he had a little idea about it. Anna was shocked since their dispute as well. Elsa fidgeted with her hands as she continued.

“It felt... Warm. Like, I never felt this warm in my entire life. I mean, I have, when I’m with you, and Anna, and Olaf, and Sven, and... In the castle, and in the Northuldra camp, with-”

“I think you mean that this time, it was the warmth of love.” Said Kristoff, cutting her nervous rambling.

She looked at him with a still expression. As if it just occurred to her that it’s what it was. Yet, she knew it from the very second it happened. Why did it help to hear Kristoff saying it?

“Yes. Yes, it was the warmth of love.”

Elsa’s worried face broke in a soft smile for a moment. “It was.”

Kristoff nodded with happiness, sharing her glee. She kind of exhaled an aura.

He laid on the back of the ice bench, smelling the forest. He let her have a pause in her story to decompress. Some birds chirped in the distance, and Sven munched on the grass a few meters further.

“Did you like it?”

“I... I did, yes.”

He nodded. Those were important questions, and she seemed honest about it. From the corner of his eye, he could see her blush, and he smiled.

“So you both love each other. I’m hoping it wasn’t rushed?”

“No, we... It was mutual.”

The mountaineer nodded with approval.

“Great. The first time Anna and I kissed, I asked for permission first. It was clumsy, I admit it, but I still asked.”

“It kind of was awkward for us both as well.”

Elsa suddenly groaned and buried her face in her hands again. “Why is love so complicated?”

Kristoff burst of laughter. “It always is! And you’re at the beginning of it. For now, it’s still blossoming...”

He made a gesture with her hands to mime the opening of a lotus flower, and he froze in his move when he saw how Elsa was looking at her.

“I mean...” Coughed the man. “I guess.”

She continued to stare at him, then groaned again, this time wiping her head back. She looked like she was imploring the gods, but above all was very dramatic, and it reminded Kristoff of Anna.

“You and your sister are a lot alike, you know that?”

Elsa sighed at the sudden change of topic. “If it’s a way to make me talk to her again...”

“No, I meant, on the groaning plan. You have the same way to complain about stuff.”

“We do?”

“Don’t tell me you never noticed?!”

Elsa stared down, thinking. And it just occurred to her how much time had passed since the last day she saw her little sister. Her heart felt pinched.

She didn’t dare to say it out loud, but she needed to talk to Anna. To share this, to be completely open about to someone. Kristoff could understand most of it, and she would wilfully share how it went to him, but it wasn’t the same thing that talking about it to Anna.

“Elsa.”

‘I need to talk with Anna again. I have to. I must...’ She thought.

“Elsa!” Said Kristoff, snapping his fingers in front of her face.

The Spirit blinked at the sudden call. “What?”

“You were daydreaming for a moment. Ryder has just arrived. He wants to see you.”

“What?”

They turned around, and Ryder was waving at Elsa from the back of a reindeer.

“There you are!” Shouted the Northuldra. “I have to talk to you!”

Elsa blushed and panicked. “Ohhhh no, no no no, I’m not ready for this conversation right now.”

Kristoff frowned at her. “He’s just asking you to call for the Giants help to check if all the reindeers are in his enclosure.”

“Oh.” Muttered Elsa.

She thought that Ryder was going to talk about his sister. Did he know, anyway? Did Honeymaren confessed to him, like Elsa just did with Kristoff?

Elsa nervously stood up in one go, and Kristoff yelped when he suddenly found himself slamming the ground with his butt. Sven had a laughing grunt. Elsa had vanished the bench without looking behind.

“Ouch.” Grumbled the man.

“Oh, sorry, I just...”

“No, it’s okay. You’re used to thaw everything once it’s not of use anymore, I get it...” Said Kristoff, wincing however as his coccyx hurt.

He joined Sven, and looked at the sky. “I should go. Otherwise, night will fall before I get to Arendelle, and I promised Anna I would arrive before dinner.”

Elsa looked away from Ryder to stare at Kristoff with panic.

“Don’t tell her you saw me today.”

“She won’t get jealous.” Joked Kristoff.

“No, what I mean is... She’ll want to get some news, and...”

“You know she’ll ask.”

“Just lie, then.”

“I’m not gonna lie to her, Elsa. I never do.”

The blonde looked down. “Fine. Then tell her. But... Please make sure that she doesn’t worry.”

He climbed on Sven and chuckled. “Oh, when I’ll tell her how you are, I’m sure she will be the opposite of worried.”

Elsa blushed, a bit her lip. “That... That doesn’t change what I said. I still stand my ground.”

“Hmm-hmm.” Smiled Kristoff.

He gave her a last nod, and tapped his heels in Sven’s flanks. Together, they rode down to the South.

“So...”

Elsa startled with a jump at Ryder’s sudden voice.

“Could you call the Giants for me? I need to check...”

“Right. On my way. I’m going.” Blabbered Elsa clumsily, trying to avoid eye contact and walking past him.

“Cool.”

=======

Elsa went down from the Giant’s shoulder with the help of their enormous hand, and thanked them with a deep smile and a soft touch on the chin. They gave a smile that was the size of a house in return, and stood up to join their friends who were sleeping in the distance.

“Thank you so much!” Exclaimed Ryder after he counted the reindeer. “That was awesome. And badass.”

Elsa chuckled at the compliment and vocabulary.

“Oh, while I’m thinking of it!” He added, scratching his head under his hat. “Honeymaren was looking for you, just earlier. She couldn’t find you for the whole day, apparently.”

Elsa’s glee vanished. She gulped.

“Have you been hiding?” Asked Ryder.

“What? Me...? No, not at all!” Blushed Elsa, looking elsewhere.

“Uh-uh.”

“I just... Explored. So, if you see her again, you can just tell her that I’m... Exploring.”

“Uh-uh”, nodded the Northuldra, on a different tone this time, smirking.

Elsa waved with an awkward by-bye and walked to the forest. The trees somehow made her feel like she was isolated without getting too far from the village.

“She’d be the worst at hide and seek”, muttered Ryder with a shake of the head. His reindeer grunted in approval.

The Fifth Spirit walked for several minutes on her own, then found a welcoming shadow cast by a big tree in an isolated glade. She sat on the grass and sighed.

There was a crack sound above her head, and some leaves fluttered to the ground. She frowned with confusion and lifted her eyes.

“Hey.”

Elsa screamed at the top of her lungs when she suddenly faced Honeymaren upside down.

She froze a part of the ground, spiky layers of ice covering the grass and the tree.

With a heavy breathing, she stared angrily at the woman for scaring her, and tried to take her hands off the ice, both clamped to the ground on each side of her hips.

Honeymaren skilfully dropped off the tree with a flip from the branch she had been hanging from with her legs and bent to her.

“You’ve been avoiding me. Is this how you deal with emotions?”

Elsa looked elsewhere, blushing. Honeymaren softened her tone.

“I’m not reproaching anything. I’m just asking. Is this how you deal with your feelings? By running away? Hiding in some place? Do you want to be left alone? For how long?”

Elsa stared at her, her mouth twisting.

“Okay maybe that was too many questions at a time.” Admitted the brunette. “You’re an introvert, I get it. But I just want to know why you’re shunning. Are you okay? That’s all that matters to me.”

The blonde gulped, and nodded. “I’m alright.”

Honeymaren smiled, sighing a bit. “Perfect.”

Somehow, her care helped Elsa to melt the ice, and she shook her hands as the magic vanished.

“No spooking anymore, noted.” Said the Northuldra when she understood the state she was in.

“You scared the hell out of me”, muttered Elsa.

“And you swear a lot when you’re scared.” Pointed Honeymaren, sitting in lotus position in front of her. “One unprepared moment and you loose your regal and poised mask, uh?”

Elsa smiled a bit. “Anna had noticed that out as well.”

“Then it’s true.”

A silence fell. Honeymaren gently nudged Elsa’s knee with her finger, like a ‘boop!’ gesture.

“What’s wrong? Why are you needing all that space? Communication is important.”

Elsa stared at her. She was right. The Spirit took a long breath in and out.

“I just need to think.”

Honeymaren bent her head. “Do you need to think because you kissed someone? Or because you kissed a girl?”

Elsa blushed, and looked down shyly.

“It’s the first time I ever kissed someone.”

“Oh.”

A new silence passed. They both looked elsewhere. Honeymaren smiled.

“So it’s not me. Thanks Ahtohallan, I thought you didn’t like it.”

She snorted at her own joke. “Sorry. I thought that some humor would help.”

Elsa smiled. “No, it’s not because of you. I just... Need some time to process everything.”

The Sami nodded. “If you want to have a positive thought, just know that you’re actually a really good kisser.”

Elsa blushed strongly.

“This just makes everything worse, stop.”

“Excuse me. I was too sincere.” Apologized Honeymaren, and she had a tender laugh. “It’s just... We both loved it, Elsa. And kissing a girl apparently isn’t the problem. So... Is there something else bothering you? Do you want to talk about it? I’m willing to listen, at your own rhythm.”

Elsa bit her lip with emotion at her words.

“Oh no, you’re crying.” Gasped the Sami, noticing now Elsa’s eyes had filled with tears.

“Those are happy tears”, said Elsa.

Honeymaren’s eyes widened. “Really?”

The blonde nodded, her pout turning into a smile. She sniffed. “I’m just very emotional, that’s all.”

Honeymaren melted in a warm smile. “It’s great to be emotional. It’s normal. As an example, I couldn’t sleep all night after you left the tent.”

“You mean, after I ran away from the tent.”

The brunette shrugged. “Details, details.”

Elsa snorted. Honeymaren smiled in victory to see that she had managed to make her laugh again.

Her confession touched Elsa. “I couldn’t find sleep either.”

She sniffed and kept going, feeling in a good mood to express her emotions. “I’m used to insomnia, but this is a whole other level.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Laughed Honeymaren.

She was staring at the blonde, particularly enjoying when she blushed.

Elsa smirked, noticing the way she stared. “Do you actually enjoy watching me being bashful?”

The brunette smiled dreamily. “You have no idea how cute you look when you are.”

She then blushed a bit. Words had escaped her mouth.

The two woman looked elsewhere awkwardly. Honeymaren massaged her neck, and Elsa nudged some blades of grass with the side of her ice sandal.

“Do you-”

“Can I-”

They had spoken at the same time.

“You first”, invited Elsa politely.

“No, you first. Go ahead. You’re a Spirit.”

“Don’t treat me religiously.” Elsa laughed.

Why was Honeymaren always making her laugh?

“Well, as far as I know, you’re basically a goddess, so…”

“Honey, please.”

They both widened their eyes.

“Ugh, I did it again.” Grumbled Elsa, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“It’s alright. I like it.”

“...It’s very cheesy.”

“Actually, it’s sugary. But even if it’s ridiculous, I like it. You can stick to it.”

Elsa shook her head. Then sighed. Why struggling? “Okay, fine. Honey.”

Honeymaren bit her lip at the effect it had.

“I like how it sounds, now that you actually say it.”

“I’ll stop if you make it awkward.” Warned Elsa.

Honeymaren bit her lip again with a smirk and looked at the trees.

After a silence, the blonde passed a shy finger along the Northuldra’s boot. “I didn’t mean to hide from you, I just... It’s been a lot, lately. What happened with Anna... What happened with you...” She moaned. “I feel like my heart’s going to explode.”

Honeymaren tapped on her hand with comprehension. “Would that help if we talked about it? You were overreacting yesterday, but now it looks like you stepped back a bit. We can have a chat.”

“I’d love that.” Smiled Elsa.

And in the warming light of the sun, they talked together, their fingers intertwined.

=======

Elsa hesitated before calling out the Wind Spirit and giving them her new letter to Anna. She had been putting everything in it. Her deep thoughts, her apologies... How would Anna react? She had been waiting so long before finally sending a message to her young sister. Would she be mad?

Her fingers pressed the paper as she thought about how she included the news of her kiss with Honeymaren. The Northuldra had made her comfortable enough to share it with her sister, and she thought it was a good decision to tell her, as they promised they would never hide anything to each other. But how would Anna react to that, as well? What would she say?

Elsa sighed with a shaking breathing, apprehending Anna’s answer. With a trembling voice, she called Gale, and her call echoed in the empty portion of the woods she had been retreating in.

After a few seconds, the Wind Spirit arrived, chiming in the air, and Elsa cleared her throat to chase her emotion.

“Could you please give this message to my sister?”

She raised her letter and Gale did a twirl and swooped the paper. They rose in the air, above her head, and threw the paper to her.

Elsa caught it and sighed. “Don’t throw it back, I mean it. Send it to Anna, please.”

She gave the letter back, but the Spirit brought it in her hands again.

“What are you doing? You’ve been annoying me for days saying I should message her, and now you give it back to me? Send my le--”

Then Elsa realized that it wasn’t her letter. The folding shape... It was Anna’s.

“What the...”

She stared at it, unbelieving. It indeed was Anna’s. “She wrote too?”

The Wind Spirit chimed. Elsa interpreted some impatience from it, and suddenly she understood. Her eyes stung and her vision blurred.

“She... She asked you to give me her letter only once I was ready to write mine?”

Gale swooped in a round, the equivalent of nodding.

Elsa was shocked. Her sister has respected her time of reflection and chose to only message her once she was in the mood to talk to her?

The blonde brought her hand to her mouth, gasped, and melted into tears. She slowly fell to the ground, sit on her heels, her legs bent.

“Oh, Anna...” She muttered, smiling despite the tears. “What would I be without you. And your patience. And your understanding.”

Elsa sighed with a warm smile. She looked up and saw that Gale was still standing there, or rather, floating there, as if waiting for her to open it. They apparently have been waiting a long time to deliver Anna’s letter.

“You can go deliver mine, now”, smiled Elsa.

The Spirit did a twirl before leaving, which would mean ‘Of course!’, and went out of the forest to the South.

Elsa was in a calm and silent setting again, and was glad to be so in order to read Anna’s letter with all the attention it deserved. With slightly shaking hands, she looked at the folded paper. Despite their dispute, her sister still had wrapped the message in a cute little shape, like always. This time, it was a horse.

The blonde sniffed, gently unfolded it, and rubbed her eyes before reading, so she could see her sister’s warm handwriting clearly.

So you finally decided to message me. - Elsa had a tearful giggle. - Look, I’m sorry. I truly am. You know that I can get very heated and outspoken when I’m worried, and, you know, I was.

You say that this is a default that actually can be a quality for a Queen, in tough meetings and all, but I hope that it’s not going to be a default for us both, as family, as sisters.

I can see Olaf from where I’m writing (the ballroom’s balcony) and he’s really sad since our argument. The village’s kids are in the market square and traced a hopscotch on the ground with him, but he’s barely in the mood to play. This reminds me that, as soon as we arrived home, he told me that I shouldn’t have said that you weren’t good at goodbyes, for he had forgiven you about that time when you sent us away on the ice boat. - tears went down Elsa’s cheeks, and she laughed nervously when Anna’s next sentence was ‘He truly is what connects us.’.

I already forgave you for what you told me. I know that, as well, you can lose your temper when you’re angry. I’m sorry if I made you say bad stuff (that you surely regretted as soon as you went away on Nokk), and I hope that you can forgive me too. I came to realize that it’s something I’ll often have to do, as a leader.  

Take your time, but if you want to meet up some day, message me when and where.

I love you Anna PS: Don’t pick up ‘midway’ as the meeting place, I found ants in my travel boots again the other day, and ugh.

Elsa re-read the letter several times, delighted to lay eyes on her sister’s words again, and then started to laugh. It was a sniffing laugh at first, but then it became clear, and happy, and finally she laughed openly in the woods, filled with her sister’s love. She had missed her so much.

=======

Elsa wrote a new letter to her sister in the following afternoon, after an idea crossed her mind. In fact, once she got the idea, it then took her several hours to think it through, but when she finally stop listing the thousand pros and cons of her decisions, she took a paper in her tent and grabbed a pencil, and went to a calm place in the village to write.

Anna

First and foremost, I love you with all my heart. You were right about me waiting such a long time before eventually sending you a message after our dispute, and you were right about everything. You ARE right about everything, in fact.

That’s why, for the place we’ll meet, I suggest you the Northuldra village. It’s not very exceptional, you may think, but that’s because I want to take you on a ride.

I want to show you Ahtohallan. It is time. We’re going to Ahtohallan together. And find answers there. I know I refused each time you suggested it for the past year but now I’m certain. I took my decision. You were right, again, when you said that I have to go there and know once and for all the reason why I got those visions. We’re going to get the answers, sis. Together.

I love you.

Elsa

PS: Bring as many warm clothes as you can, obviously.

She closed the letter by folding it twice and sealing it with a big five elements snowflake. Her perfectionism hit and she made sure it was symmetrical.

Once done, she joined the middle of the village, where Honeymaren and some kids were playing with the Wind Spirit. When she approached, Gale noticed the letter in her hand and strongly twirled around her arm to pick it up, making Elsa giggle at the sudden tug in her sleeve.

“Yes, it’s for her. Go.”

Gale didn’t wait any longer and brought the letter to the South. Elsa shook her head at how the Spirit was the number one fan of their correspondence.

Honeymaren approached as she was looking at it flying away.

“So, you agreed about going to Ahtohallan with her?” The brunette smiled.

Elsa smiled back with a nod, then suddenly froze. “How do you know?”

The Northuldra winked. “I know you, that’s all. You have that little sparkle in the eye when you’ve done a right action.”

The blonde stared at her, then smirked lightly. “Do I have this little sparkle often?”

“That’s one of the things I like the most about you.” Whispered Honeymaren, bending to her.

Elsa had a pout in-between happiness and awkwardness.

“This and all the moments when you smile. And the bashful faces, like the one you’re making right now.” Smiled Honeymaren.

The Spirit nervously held her arm and looked down. She smiled and came closer to Honeymaren to kiss her on the cheek.

“I’m gonna go check on Bruni. I haven’t seem him in a while.”

“Okay.” Muttered Honeymaren, standing still and blushing.

Honeymaren watched her walk away through the village, admiring her, and when she turned her head back to the kids who she had been playing with, they all looked up at her with devilish and significant smiles.

“What?”

They all started making smooching faces and sounds, and she pushed them away with a laugh.

“Oh, stop it!”

=======

To say that the two sisters were happy to see each other again was the understatement of the month, and probably the year.

Elsa had asked Gale to not tell her when Anna would be here because she wanted to give her her own rhythm, something her younger had respected and that she intended to do too.

So when Elsa had stepped out of the tent and heard hooves coming from the woods and saw Sven hurry to her with a very excited redhead on his back, she didn’t expected it at all.

Elsa let out a soft emotional gasp, her gaze blurry, and Anna jumped down Sven with a cry of joy. They both ran to each other, and tackled each other into a hug so hard that they lost their balance and fell together to the ground.

Unfortunately, they were on the bottom of a hill, and rolled together on the grass for a moment before arriving to a full stop. Sven grunted with concern. They giggled nervously a few meters below, then fully laughed. They grinned and stared into each other’s eyes, taking in the incredible fact to see her sister again, to be happy with her again, to have forgiven everything. Azure and teal blue eyes switched from eye to eye.

“No, don’t cry!” Gasped Anna. “Because if you cry, then I’ll cry too, and then we’ll both cry, and we’ll spend all day crying.”

Elsa giggled with a sniff. “Too late. I can’t help it.”

Anna blinked, and one tear rolled on her cheek. “Oh, you cutie.”

They hugged each other again, and they were still down, so they sat up with a giggle. Elsa smiled at Anna’s travel outfit and hair, and took some leaves out it. They hugged again, instinctively.

“There’s so much I want to say...” Murmured Elsa, emotion tightening her throat.

“Then say it all. We have all day.” Smiled Anna.

She then suddenly gasped, and parted the hug. “Oh my goodness!! You have to tell me about Honeymaren! When was it? How was it? Where was it?”

Elsa blinked, and winced. “Are you sure you want to know in details?”

“I want to know EVERY detail, are you kidding me?!” Laughed Anna. “Come on, do tell.”

The blonde breathed in and out, looking into Anna’s teal blue eyes. She had missed her caring gaze. This few days separation was far from being the longest one they had in the past year, and yet it felt like forever.

Why did they even yell at each other the other day? She couldn’t believe how stupid they were.

Elsa held Anna’s hand, and she started to tell what happened in the tent.

=======

“Should we stay seated here?” Asked Anna.

“Why? You don’t like it?” Laughed Elsa.

“No, it’s just... I arrived, and we basically fell on the ground. And we haven’t moved since.”

“I like improvising with you. And as you said, we’ve got all day.”

Anna smiled deeply.  

“Hey, I noticed, after our fight... I didn’t even ask you what was the Ahtohallan vision about. What did you see?”

Elsa fidgeted with the grass. “It was more of a flash. It was short, and intense.”

She looked up.

“You were right in your assumption. It was another memory of ours. This time, it was a memory of the coronation.”

“What?”

“Wait, mine, not yours. The one three years ago.”

Anna stared at her, and her eyebrows lifted when she guessed which memory it was.

“I had a flash of the very first moment we actually talked to each other in thirteen years.” Specified Elsa, gulping.

Anna put her hand on hers on the grass, trying to make her smile. “It’s a positive memory, no?”

“Yes. Yes, it is. But I’m still confused at why Ahtohallan showed it to me...”

Anna winced. “What is ironic is that we fought each other right afterwards, whereas the memory was about us being united for the first time in a long while.”

“It’s okay. We’re together now.” Assured Elsa.

Anna nodded with a smile, and a silence passed.

“I think that it’s official: Ahtohallan only submits visions of memories of the bridge.” Suddenly stated Elsa.

“Of the bridge? Do you mean, like…”

“Us. Both of us, the bridge linking the humans and Nature Spirits.”

“I see. Well, you actually brought even more sense to it than I did.”

“No, I only figured it out thanks to you. I was used to see so many memories, I didn’t even perceive the pattern until you pointed it out the other day in the reindeer enclosure.”

“Oh.”

“You’re the smart one, Anna. How many times do I have to remind you?”

Anna snorted. “Well, I’m dumb enough to have stopped counting.”

“Don’t say that!” Nudged Elsa with her finger poking Anna’s ribs. “You truly are more clever than me.”

Anna laughed at the tickle and smiled at the compliment. “Okay, if you say so.”

Elsa turned to Sven. “Did you bring warm clothes?”

“As many as I could.”

The reindeer happily showed the pile of winter clothes stacked on his back. Elsa grinned to her little sister.

“We’re going to Ahtohallan together. Whenever you’re ready.”

“I was born ready!”

=======

Elsa lifted her hands as a serious warning.

“I feel like it’s important to remind you that I don’t know if Ahtohallan got any less colder since I became the Fifth Spirit. I can’t tell if the temperature got better in the memories room.”

“It’s gonna be okay, Elsa. Relax.”

Elsa lifted an eyebrow.

“You’re the one who needs to relax now. You’re so tense, you look like you’re going to sink in your layered clothes.”

Anna clenched her hands in her gloves. She was staring at Nokk, standing near them.

The redhead had never dared to ride the Water Spirit because she felt like she didn’t belong on their back, and wanted to leave that honor to Elsa. She also still was resentful for having drowned her sister, even if it was in the context of a challenge, and she hoped that the magical being wasn’t feeling her anger.

The elder’s gaze switched from the Spirit to her.

“Are you scared of them?” Worried Elsa.

“What? Of course not. I know how to ride horses. But... A water horse... This is definitely not something I’ve done before.”

“Well, Nokk can only run in and on water anyway. I need to freeze them if we want to ride from land to the shore as well.”

The Fifth Spirit raised her left hand, and petted the magical horse on the nose. With a simple touch, their translucent body turned into a gradient of white, and their long waterfall mane looked like a stylized curtain. Anna had already seen them in this condition, but she gasped and smiled in admiration anyway.

The redhead looked at Elsa as she stroked the happy Water Spirit. “We’re gonna ride them in... Ice form? Are you certain?”

“Do you prefer to have your butt wet and lukewarm, or dry and cold?” Asked Elsa, surprisingly serious in that odd question.

Anna went speechless for a moment, then snorted. “Yeah, when you put it like that, I prefer the second option.”

“That’s what I thought”, said Elsa, petting Nokk’s neck. “Also, it’s a good way to prepare yourself for Ahtohallan’s temperature.”

The younger could see that Elsa was still very nervous at the idea of bringing her there. She went next to her and joked to light up her mood.

“Are you saying that my buttocks will turn into pop-sicles?”

Elsa laughed. It had worked.

“Maybe.”

She checked that they had all they needed in Anna’s backpack, and asked: “Do you want to go in front or behind?”

Anna didn’t even have to think. “Definitely behind you. There’s no way on Earth that I’m gonna guide them with ice reins.”

“We don’t use ice reins since a very long time. We know each other by heart, there’s no need.”

“I’m also saying that because I prefer to hold to you.” Muttered Anna, on a lower voice this time.

“Oh, okay.” Smiled the elder. “Alright, let’s go!”

With a baffling ease, she mounted Nokk, her leg admirably passing above their back and seating in a second on top, despite their tall size. Anna stared at her like she had just produced a miracle.

“How the heck did you do that without stirrup?? They’re huge!”

Elsa laughed with a cute tone, both amused by Anna’s face and appreciating the compliment. “Come, I’ll help you.”

She let out a hand, and Anna used her help to climb on their back. Clumsily - and she almost fell on the other side - she set herself behind Elsa, and looked around.

“Yep, definitely taller than any horse I ever rode. Oh my gosh.”

“It’s gonna be okay”, said Elsa’s soothing voice in front of her.

“I know.”

She was glad to have chosen to seat behind her. Elsa’s presence in front of her was reassuring, and the ice below them vibrated with her voice.

With a twirl of the wrist, Elsa made her double train vanish, just in case it would get in Anna’s face as they ride, or obstruct her vision. She looked up North.

“Do you want me to start slowly? With a simple trot at first?”

Anna smirked. “Are you kidding? Don’t spare me. I like fast. Dash to the horizon, mighty Spirit!”

She let out an excited war shout with her fists up, then it suddenly turned into a strangled scream when Nokk briskly ran forward at Elsa’s order, and she grabbed her older sister’s waist with force.

The blonde laughed openly, her voice spraying in the wind as they went at full speed. Anna could feel how her diaphragm moved with sincere laughs, and she was even more happy now to share this moment with her.

She loved to have Elsa back. Her happiness was all that mattered to her, and Elsa had never felt more happy than in this time of her life.

=======

It wasn’t the same feeling at all than when she rode her own horse; Anna forgot for a moment the urgency to ask Ahtohallan, and her worry for Elsa. All she wanted now was to laugh and have fun with her riding Nokk.

Riding the Water Spirit, she had the feeling that she was on another plane of existence. Was this what living with magic felt like?

The redhead felt how joyful Elsa was anyway. It was like riding through the magical lands on a magical horse had unveiled the final version of herself, and, sitting behind her, Anna admired the way her elder expertly looked at the landscape around, gave directions to Nokk to avoid bumpy paths for Anna’s comfort, and waved at Giants in the distance.

Soon they arrived to the shore of the Dark Sea, and the younger widened her eyes when she realized that Nokk wasn’t slowing down at all. She squinted in apprehension, her legs clamping the water horse’s body, her arms tight around Elsa.

And then nothing happened. Nothing, in the good way. She opened her eye fully and let out a silent gasp as she saw the waves passing by, on each side of them, and the Spirit galloping with ease through it like it were casual land.

“Waow.” Muttered Anna.

“Is the view great from where you are?” Asked Elsa, smiling as she turned around.

Anna couldn’t believe it. That was her first concern? To make sure she enjoyed the landscape fully?

“Yeah! Yeah, it’s amazing.” Smiled Anna.

The sisters had to shout a bit when they talked, because of the whistling of the wind and the sound of Nokk’s ice hooves splashing the water. If they kept them in their regular state and they were made of water, it wouldn’t make a sound, for the water spirit’s hooves were magically connected to the surface.

Anna blinked.

“I can’t believe it. I’m literally riding water. I’m literally sitting on moving water that literally gallop on water.”

Elsa heard her sister’s mutters in her back, and giggled.

“This can’t be the weirdest thing you’ve ever experienced.”

Anna shook her head, her arms still clenched around Elsa, and she was surprised that her elder was confident enough to look behind her and not check where they were going at such a speed.

“No, your magic made me used to way weirder.” Laughed Anna. “But still. This is... Waow.”

The redhead smiled, tension finally leaving her, and she was appreciating the moment. “How did it feel the first time you rode them?”

Elsa smiled, and turned to the horizon with a blessed sigh. “Incredible.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t believe it either. This is insane.” Snorted Anna.

The water horse neighed, and Elsa laughed. “They like the compliment”, informed the blonde.

Anna detached her gaze from the sea to look at her sister. “You can understand everything they say? I mean, feel?”

“Yes. It’s like a bond. A magical one, certainly. I have the same with Bruni, and Gale, and every Earth Giant.”

“Every single one? Damn, that’s a lot.”

Elsa laughed. “I don’t feel the emotions of everyone all the time. It’s like... When I need it. And when they need it. We understand each other.”

Anna grinned. “It’s cute.”

She hugged Elsa tighter, and the Spirit wondered if she was scared of something despite how calm the water was. Then she realized that Anna was casually hugging her. She smiled and put a hand on her sister’s.

=======

After dismissing Nokk and letting Anna admire the entrance of the glacier, Elsa looked at how Anna was exhaling smoke.

The younger noticed how she stared, and chuckled at how she was the only one to do puff smoke. She imitated a dragon to make Elsa smile. But joy didn’t stay long on her sister’s face.

“You should put your beanie on already.”

Anna put the hat on her hair and nearly sank her head into it.

“Is your coat closed tight?”

“Yes, don’t worry.” Smiled Anna.

Elsa came to her, and checked the state of her clothes herself, from her toes to her head. She took a full minute doing so, and the redhead stared at her in silence, with a touched expression. The elder was looking at her with deep focus in her blue eyes, and Anna felt like she was a kid again, when the elder checked on her before they went outside to build a snowman. She also knew that Elsa had issues about her getting cold because of her.

“Elsa, I’m fine.”

“What did we say about the conditions?” Frowned the blonde.

Anna had to physically restrain herself to eye roll. “No lies; If I’m too cold, I tell you; And I don’t protest if you decide to cancel everything and to get out.”

She repeated that rule with a very annoying tone, and Elsa actually laughed at it. “You sound like you just recited a poetry you hate.”

“You made your rules that way.” Joked Anna. “Wait, did I use to recite poetry?”

“I can find you the memory again if you want. You look adorable when you’re little.”

“Oh, I don’t know if I’m ready for the awkward parts...” Winced Anna.

Elsa smiled. “Trust me, I have the worst ones.”

She took Anna’s hand in hers. “Come on, let’s go.”

The redhead gave her a giant smile, and together, they stepped inside Ahtohallan.

=======

Wooo, this was a long chapter! I had lots of fun writing it, and really wanted to include all of that. Ice Bros, Snow Sisters, Elsamaren... Those are all dynamics that requires tons of drama and confessions hahaha - but also cute moments!

What do you want to see next? This is an interactive fanfic! You get to choose, yep I listen to you. Give suggestions in your reblogs, fellas.

(If you like my style, you can check out Untangling the Frozen Knots, my 140K words fanfic novel! :D)

[cchellacat]

Home

Wintershock

Bucky x Darcy

18+

Smut

Flour everywhere, the smell of burnt cookies wafting from the open oven door.  Hand prints on countertops, the faint scent of sex and cookie dough lingering. Natasha raises an elegant brow at the pair of wary blue eyes glaring over the back of the sofa. 

She gives the kitchen another sweeping look and her lip twitches. Buck narrows his eyes, and looks pointedly at the door, mouthing the word ‘out’, as though she somehow missed the meaning of his look.

A soft snore has him jerking back, gazing down fondly at his lover, her dark hair a tangled mess as she cuddles into his shoulder. When he looks back up, Natalia is gone, the faint click of a lock signalling that they are alone.

Bucky carefully settles back down. His hand resting possessively on her hip, fingers grazing the barely noticeable swell of her belly. He smiles, closing his eyes and breathing her in as he nuzzles into her hair.

Two Hours Earlier

“It’s been three weeks I just want to get home and see my girl Steve; screw the paperwork, I got more important things to worry about.”

Steve rolled his eyes but stays silent as Natasha pops her head into the cabin.

“Wheels down in five, we’ve got some guests from out of town so Hill says we’ll debrief tomorrow.”

Bucky’s face lights up with glee, shooting a triumphant look at Steve who sighs and thanks Natalia with a faint blush.

The decent is hardly noticeable but he’s got his gear and practically dives off the ramp as soon as it opens.

“Barnes! She’s up in the kitchens if you’re looking for her!”

He glances back and shouts a thanks to Sam as he changes direction, making his way through the corridors and up to the private kitchen.

It’s been a month, a month without contact and he’d been going outta his mind, it’s the longest they’d been apart in two years.

He spots her first, she’s so absorbed in what she’s doing she misses the sound of his gear hitting the floor. There’s a smudge of flour on her cheek and dark curls kiss the back of her neck where strands have come lose from her bun. A grin crosses his face as he comes up behind her, her ass wiggling in time to some bass beat growling under dirty lyrics.

Darcy dances on the spot, measuring out the dough and pressing it to the pan as she goes, the sudden lack of light as a pair of hands cover eyes gently has her stiffening for a split second before she’s on her toes and turning, arms snaking up to wrap over broad shoulders.

He lifts her off her feet, spinning her fast as he hugs her.

“I thought you wouldn’t be back till after dinner!”

Her face scrunched and buried in his neck, god he smelled so good, she clung to him, relishes the feel of his arms around her, holding her to his chest. The rumbling growl as his lips sweep a trail of kisses up her neck and along her jaw.

“Managed to make some time up, came straight here, doll.”

He kisses her then, lips hungry against hers as she moans into his mouth, the sudden assault sending a powerful wave of need through her body, gasping his name in surprise as he rockes his hips to hers, arousal evident as the bulge of his cock was felt through thick cotton, rubbing insistently at the apex of her thighs.

“Bucky!” She ground against him, news forgotten as lust took over. She’d missed this, missed the way he always wanted her so badly. The way she’d drop everything and get lost in his touch, his kiss, the way he’d make her forget that anyone else had ever touched her.

She doesn’t care that the door might be open or that the oven is on, she forgets the reasons she has for wanting to talk to him.

Instead, large hands gripped her thighs, carrying her to the kitchen table, tongue teasing hers, as she whimpered.

“Fuck, Darce... been dreaming about this.”

She runs her hands under his t-shirt, nails scraping, her legs hugging his hips even as he lowers her to the table top.

“Me too, every night.... Bucky... baby... I have to tell you ....”

She moans low as he tugs at her leggings, lifting her hips as he pulls her underwear down with them.

His voice is rough, “it can wait.... after baby.” He tears off his shirt as her fingers reach for the button on his pants, tugging down the zip impatiently.

She’s lost in the moment now. The gentle thud as fabric hits the floor, then the feel of him, bare skin against hers, his fingers gripping her hips, pulling her to the edge of the table.

She hisses at the feel of him, as he draws his cock through her folds, both of them letting out twin moans of need. She locks her legs around him, hands flat on the table and lifts her hips, pushing forward, demanding him. Bucky hums, dragging his tongue down her neck, suddenly slowing the process, his hips playing a game of chase with hers as she whines, his lips sucking marks into her skin, a possessive stamp that’s he knows she’ll scold him for later, before greedily cupping her breasts and kneading then, lips fixing over tight peaks, sucking hard, sending her into a spiral of muttered pleas as she rolled her hips, calling out when one hand snaked between them, his fingers pressing at her clit.

Darcy curses, rocking into his hand, as he continues to nip and suck at her tits, only pausing to growl encouragement as she soaks his fingers, then muttering praise in her ear as she cums.

She doesn’t have time to catch her breath before he’s kissing her again, dizzy from orgasm, his body, pressed into hers, hands still working their magic between her thighs till she’s panting again, begging for him to fuck her already. He whispers in her ear, tells her to hold still and she knows the tone, knows he’s right on edge and she stills, poised, waiting for him to follow through. He lines himself up, tells her to look, she’s right on the edge of the table, but all she can see is her body open and waiting for his to fill her. He thickness of his cock, the length as it curves up, nestling along her folds. It makes her womb clench and she whimpers, Bucky tips her chin up; eyes dark with lust and she nods.

It’s easy for them, a dance they’ve done a thousand times before. He rolls his hips, catching her clit with the head and she jumps, hand flailing at the sudden sharp spike of pleasure, knocking the bag of flour off the counter, it spills over the surface before hitting the floor, sending a cloud of white into the air. He chuckles in her ear and she bites his shoulder, her hands now clinging to his arms. In response, he presses into her, cock in line, and grabs her ass as he fills her in one hard thrust.

She tries to breath, the sudden fullness, the jolt of perfect feeling leaves her only able to manage a choked in gasp, then he’s moving in her, their bodies moving as though trying to catch up for lost time, neither of them wanting to slow..

She feels the table move beneath her and yelps as he lifts her off it, her back slamming into the tall standing fridge as he continues to pound into her. Stainless steel, cold at her back and her nipping at his shoulder, but she only tells him to go harder.

She digs her heels into his ass, arching against him as he brings her close, she feels the same tightness in his body but he slams one fist into the fridge door, denting it before slamming into her hard, making her scream. They’re panting, neither able to do more than whimper, it he’s still inside her, hard, throbbing. He licks into her mouth, rocking gently.

“Think you can go one more, doll?”

“Jesus, Bucky,” she pants, letting out a moan as he circled his hips, grinding against her engorged clit. “Fuck... yes... don’t stop.”

Bucky chuckles into her neck, hands securing her before he walks them over to the island, balancing her on the counter, it’s a little higher and she moans as pushes her back, resting on her elbows, staring at him. He goes slow this time, filling her over and over, watching her intently as he breaks her apart, his thumb, rubbing at the side of her clit as he thrusts, the other hand gentle over her belly. She feels the heat coiling, a sudden snap of his hips forcing him deeper, hitting the spot that makes her scream his name as she begins to come indone, watching him finally let go, following her body over the edge, her cunt clenching around his length, silk around steel. He hauls her back up against his chest, his tongue duelling with hers as they rock together, him emptying inside her, heat filling her. She slumped against him all fucked out and pliant. She could t move even if she wanted to.

Bucky holds her; she feels like a doll in his arms, her tiny body, protected by his, she always made him feel this way. She did right from the start. Like she was the most precious creature in the whole universe. And now he’d have two of them to worry about.

He lifts her easily, taking them both to the sofa, pulling an Afghan from the back and tucking it around then, holding her close.

“How’d you know?” She asks him sleepily.

“Know your body better than my own doll, could see all the little changes, feel them. You happy baby girl?”

“The happiest,” she tells him, playing with the dog tags laying in his chest.

“Sleep doll, I’m home now. Everything is going to be fine.”

Darcy snuggles in, rubbing a cheek to his chest as she closed her eyes.

“It will, there’s three of us now.”

He places a hand over her tummy, thumb drawing small circles. He was home, with his family, exactly where he was supposed to be.

@omnomsauruswrites  @eurynome827  @spacemansam  @loricameback  @jobean12-blog  @southerncross47

[plumblossomkun]

Masquerade

word count: 1999

synopsis: in which Mark goes to a party, and doesn’t really party at all, and wanders about a little lost. you know that feeling. [alludes to Mugunghwa, but no real spoilers.]

warning[s]: mentions of alcohol [underage drinking]; a single bottle of hard lemonade. party elements, a cheating trashbag. not based on real people. one profanity.

a/n: this is not a spoiler for Imagine That, not really. i want them to have met at a party, but not this one. anyway, sorry this one’s late! i’ll also be posting the next oneshot a bit late since i was working on this one for so long.

“Are you coming to Lucas’s place tonight?”

Mark looks down at the tiny girl who has just sidled up to him on his walk down the stairs to his sixth period class, and puts his arm around her to give her a brief hug. She is bouncing on her heels with excitement, though, so she slips out of his hold rather quickly. “Noona, aren’t you gonna be late for AP Lit?”

“Mrs. Dorian doesn’t really care.” She elbows him, just hard enough to get a cough out of him and draw his attention back down to her. “Tell me you’re coming.”

Mark considers it, pores over the schedule in his binder to see whether or not there’s a youth group meeting or something, but there isn’t.  “Sure, I guess. Can you give me a ride?”

“Hell no. My dad thinks he’s dropping me off at a friend’s house to do a group project.” She scrunches her nose. “I’ll ask Taeyong.”

“He’s not driving you?” Mark raises a brow at that; she and the AP Dance wonder are rarely ever seen apart these days, always walking together during passing periods and eating lunch together. “Dude, he’s so whipped for you.

“Not even. We’re just friends.” She laughs, but the sound is a little strange, like she’s unsure of those last three words. “I’ll actually be late to class if I keep walking with you, so... I’ll see you tonight?”

Mark doesn’t push the topic, only ruffles her hair, earning himself a displeased yowl. “Tell him to text me after the last bell. If he can’t drive me, I’ll ask Johnny-hyung.”

She shakes her head vigorously to unfrazzle her hair. “Okay~ Bye, Mark.”

“See you later, noona.”

Taeyong and Mark pull up to Lucas’s house at nine, an hour after the festivities have already begun. Behind the curtain, the windows flash a rainbow of lights, and laughter spills out into the street, not loud enough for the neighbors to voice complaints, but loud enough for anyone outside to know that the party going on inside isn’t one they want to miss out on.

“Did you bring a mask?” Taeyong stops just shy of opening the door. Cackles of glee and roaring laughter lie just beyond it, and the clink of bottles against cups call tantalizingly to him.

“No, what for?”

“I guess Lis didn’t tell you, huh?” The older boy hands him a white mask, whose facial features are gilded in gold leaf and with ornate details; it’s a bit hefty in the hand, and Mark nearly drops it as he fumbles with the strap. “Give it back to me when we leave later; I borrowed it from the theatre club.”

“Borrowed, or stole?” Mark teases, pulling the mask over his face. He can scarcely see out of the holes carved in it, and his breath comes out in hot puffs. “This is kinda uncomfortable.”

“Borrowed.” Taeyong laughs as he slips on his own mask, a plumed red piece that only covers his eyes and cheekbones; other than his icy-white hair, he’s unrecognizable. “Can’t be helped. It’s the party’s theme, anyway.”

Mark checks his phone’s camera and marvels at how he can barely recognize the shine of his own eyes through the mask. “Lucas’s idea?”

“I think it was Ten’s, honestly.” He pushes the door open, and they enter into the fray.

At some point, Mark acquires a bottle of Mike’s Hard Lemonade on his walk from the front to the brightly lit pool in the back. He’s caught a couple of snatches of conversation between voices he thinks he recognizes and others he doesn’t, but everyone keeps their masks on. He doesn’t quite know what to do with himself, so he wanders.

He jumps when someone in a vibrant Mardi Gras mask places a hand on his shoulder, but he recognizes the high-pitched giggle that falls from the person’s lips and grins. “Yoooo, Lucas.”

“Mark! Oh my god, man. Where have you been all night?” Lucas leans down and peers into Mark’s cup and gasps when he sees that it’s empty. “Let me get that for you, dude. I think Johnny-hyung has the bottle opener.” 

And then he’s gone again, snatching up the bottle of hard lemonade and vanishing back into the house.

Mark watches the pool slosh against the cement. He’s never really been into drinking, doesn’t like the taste of most alcohol, prefers sweet things-- so the idea of getting drunk repulses him a little. What else can he do, though, when Taeyong and Lis are nowhere to be seen, Lucas is playing host, and all their other mutual friends are nowhere to be seen or heard?

Lucas returns within a couple of minutes with the bottle opener and a red Solo cup, tucking the bottle opener into the pocket of his jeans. “Here you go, dude. Did you bring a date?”

“Me?” Mark chuckles, taking a sip of the drink. The burn of alcohol is so discreet, that he forgets that there’s any in it when swallows. “No, I didn’t bring anyone. I came with Taeyong-hyung.”

“Ah, yeah. I saw Lis trying to dodge him earlier. Wonder what’s up with them?” Lucas crouches next to him and watches, grinning, as Mark takes another deep draught from his drink. “Heyyyy, thatta boy. You know, you should see if you can find a girl tonight.”

Mark grimaces. “I don’t--”

“Not like that, I mean,” Lucas amends himself with a flustered laugh, “I mean, like, someone nice to get to know better. Not just casual. There are a lot of single girls here, man.”

“Either way, dude…” Mark trails off, pouring the rest of his bottle into his cup. “You really think a good girl would come out to a party like this?”

“Oh, I know a couple.” Lucas takes the empty bottle and exchanges it for a little key on a lanyard. “Anyway, I know you don’t drink much, so when you’re done with that, there’s some juice and water in the fridge in my room upstairs.  You can chill up there, if you want.” “Thanks, dude.” Mark pockets the key and stands.

“You can give it back to me whenever, just don’t let anyone else up there.” Lucas sighs. “I don’t want to have to wash my sheets again.”

Mark pushes the key into the lock and opens the door to Lucas’s room. It’s like a breath of fresh air, quite literally; with the windows all up to clear the room from the fumes of weed and alcohol outside, it’s just cold enough to sober him up a little.

Not that he’s drunk. Who could get drunk off of something with only 5% alcohol?

Still, he feels a little tingle at the tip of his fingertips reminding him that it’s in his bloodstream, and he sits on the bed, processing his emotions and thoughts just a little slower than normal.

So when a girl comes tumbling into the room, and slams the door shut behind her and locks it, he doesn’t react immediately.

She turns around to see him sitting on the bed, and holds a finger to her lips. Her mask is one of the masks that only hides half her face; behind the matte white material, her eyes gleam, and her lips curl with silent laughter.

Footsteps clatter up the stairs, and someone bangs on the door, with slightly slurred speech, “Hey, open up!”

Another person speaks, in a loud whisper, “Dude, this is Lucas’s room. Let’s not.”

“That bitch-- she stole my phone!”

“You can afford another one, dude. I don’t wanna get on Lucas’s bad side.”

As if summoned by those words, Lucas’s voice booms out, loud and clear as day, “Hey! Man, the whole house is open, but not my room.”

The sober one titters nervously. “Yeah, I was just telling him.”

“Fine, I’m going,” the drunker one blubbers, and then Mark hears him stumble away, presumably back down the stairs, and back into the jubilation of the party.

A moment passes, and then a soft knock. “Mark, you in there?” Lucas calls.

Mark looks at the girl, who is sitting at Lucas’s desk in the corner of the room, checking out her reflection in a mirror on the top shelf. She senses his eyes on her, and shrugs without looking back at him. “...Yeah, I’m in here.”

Lucas peeks into the room, mask raised to his forehead. When he spots Mark, he raises his hand in greeting, but freezes when he sees the girl in the corner, sitting at his desk.

In response, the girl raises her left hand in a peace sign and says, “Hey, Xuxi. Lis told me to come up here if I wanted some peace and quiet.”

“Ah! Noona! I didn’t recognize you with that mask on.” Lucas gasps, and crosses the room to fist-bump her. “That dude said you stole his phone?”

“He was cheating on my friend,” she says coolly, raising said phone in her other hand. “You don’t mind if I just find the evidence and give it back, yeah?”

Lucas shakes his head, chuckling. “No problem.” He glances at Mark and grins. Mark almost bolts right there and then, because he knows the look on Lucas’s face, the devious glitter in his eye. “Do you know Mark Lee?”

The girl is swiping through the gallery of the stolen phone, but snorts and looks up when she hears the question. “Who doesn’t?”

“What does that mean?” Mark splutters. He studies her features, or at least, what little parts of her face he can see, but finds that he doesn’t recognize them at all, though he’s sure he knows her voice from somewhere. 

Someone stars hollering for Lucas downstairs, and he perks at the sound, peeking outside into the hallway. ““I gotta go, dudes,” he says, leaning back into the room, “I think someone’s getting a little too wild downstairs.”

She laughs softly. “Xuxi, you wanna lock the door? I can’t stand the fumes.”

“That’s one thing the two of you have in common.” Lucas starts to shut the door, then pauses when he sees Mark watching him with wide eyes. “She’s a good girl,” he mouths, and then he closes the door, and it locks with a loud click.

The room is mostly silent, except for the sounds of the party downstairs coming up muffled through the floor and the open window. The girl keeps her eyes glued to the phone in her hand, and she giggles to herself once in a while, but doesn’t look up at Mark at all.

Mark fiddles with his hands, unsure of what to say or do. All he knows is that he doesn’t want to drink any more, his ride is still downstairs, and the girl next to him is probably not going to leave any time soon. Plus, the mask on his face is making it real stuffy and hard to breathe.

After what feels like an eternity, she puts the stolen phone down, and leans back in her chair with a sigh. Then, she stands, and comes to sit on the bed, leaning back on the pillows, while he stays frozen at the foot.

“Wanna tell me why Mr. Bad Boy, Mark Lee, isn’t downstairs drinking with the worst of them?” she asks, patting the spot next to her. “Otherwise, we can just sit here in silence, and be awkward. Because I don’t have any battery on my phone, and I don’t want to look through this dude’s texts anymore.”

He stares at her. 

Without a word, she crawls up the bed, and lifts the mask from his face, laughing when she sees the surprise lighting up his face.

And in response, he reaches out, and tugs her mask off too.

They stare at each other, and fire burns across his face when he recognizes her, realizes why her voice is so familiar.

He’d never have expected to meet his middle school crush at this party.

[elizabeth-234]

A Night She won’t Soon Forget

Hi all! Hope you are doing well. Thank you to those who are reading and enjoy :)

Previous Chapter Four: A Day Gone Wrong

Chapter Five: A Day She Receives Some News

Soot dislodged from a clump clinging to the side of the fireplace. Penny dug the shovel underneath and scooped the particles up, coughing as they floated into the air. She dropped the pile into the bucket and after sweeping out the remainder of the soot, pushed herself to her feet and stared at the finished work.

Penny wiped a hand across her forehead hoping none of the soot smeared on her face, but as she picked up the bucket to bring it to the back to empty it, noticed the dark stains on her shirt and pants, not to mention her fingernails were encrusted with the ashes. She could smell the burnt, dark scent on herself and scrunched her nose.

With a shake of her head, Penny felt through the material of her shirt and traced the outline of the letter from Ned. It was safe, tucked away and hidden there. There was no time to place it in her tin upstairs and, if she was being honest, it was comforting to feel the paper against her skin throughout the day.

She couldn’t read most of the words but in the corner, Ned drew a picture of the fireplace in his new home. One similar to the one she’d cleaned moments before, though this one was full of a light and a roaring fire. Stockings hung down from the ledge filled with different names. It was a proud discovery. Ned had taught her how to write and read his name, and his moniker was one of the first things she’d noticed on the picture.

Penny wondered why he was sending her a drawing of their drying socks, but it was Ned and he’d always had a wild imagination. Though, she’d much rather he was there with her, at least the card was a perfect Christmas present.

Her only present this year.

Soot shaped fingerprints stained the edges of the letter and she shoved it back into its nesting place at her side to prevent further damage. Work needed to be done and she couldn’t sit around woolgathering all day. With new determination to finish up Penny grabbed the bucket and her tools.

Penny slid down the wall between hers and Ned’s bed. She liked to image Ned was out running errands. That he would come back dripping with snow and wearing a smile as they giggled across the gap late into the night.

Her hand cupped her shoulder, rubbing the bones and muscles. She placed them with deliberateness to cover the large imprints with her own smaller digits. The purple marks peeked out from under her hand, dark ghostly fingers still clutching at her skin.

Penny shivered as her thoughts turned to her time alone in the basement.

Her fingers trembled. She took the letter out hoping for a distraction. The paper rustled even with her careful finger placement around the edges, hoping not to get anymore soot on it. She looked at the picture again. Four socks hanging from the fireplace. One was significantly smaller than the one with Ned’s name…

Dorothy giggled causing Penny to push to the letter to her chest. She stared at the girls playing a game of dice in the corner of the dormer while her heart calmed its racing rhythm. Dorothy and the other boy had to keep switching teams because the dice set wasn’t complete. Keeping a glare off her face Penny looked back to her letter.

“Shit.” Her face paled at the stain in the center of the paper right where she laid it on her shirt.

“No, no, no” she said waving her hand in the air over it trying to get it off but not willing to touch it further. She stared down at it, seeing only Ned’s disappointed face. One she might never see again.

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. Ned’s bed stood mockingly next to her. Her face had almost split when he’d told her the news.

His face red with a combination of the news and running up the stairs. She’d laughed at his attempts to get the words out, thinking one of the kids had done something stupid again.

“I’m… Penny, I’m being adopted.” He’d said with such abandoned glee. His face the most open, eyes wide with delight, that she’d ever seen him with.

And she smiled…. And smiled some more, squealing with Ned. They jumped up and down in the dormer hugging one another all while Penny’s heart broke and her flame dimmed.

Betty came running into the room, cheeks red and yelled at them all, bringing Penny out of her reverie.

“Everyone make yourself presentable. She’s back and we’re supposed to be downstairs.”

The group playing stopped and stared at Betty who put her hands on her hips and did her best impression of Mrs. Delores.

“Don’t just stand there. Get moving.” She snapped grabbing her shoes and exited the room.

Everyone in the dormer clambered around the sink. Penny looked at herself and the letter, which she stuffed back into her shirt. A creeping itch entered her limbs and Penny shifted where she was sitting. The lady was here again and she looked like a little child of the woods covered in cinder and dirt. She left a lingering gaze at the line to the mirror before sighing and brushing down her clothes as best she could.

At the base of the stairs, Penny stood behind Dorothy at the back.

“In line everyone. Get in line. John, keep your hands to yourself and stand next to Betty.” Mrs. Delores fussed with Betty’s tie on her blouse and glared at the rest of them. She turned and walked back to the lady standing in the entry hall.

The two women sized up the children in front of them. Penny, who was squished between the wall and Flash looked at her shoes.

“Now. As I’m sure your aware we have a guest.” Mrs. Delores said the word in such a manner Penny was certain was not complementary. “As such you need to shut up and listen.”

The lady’s mouth opened at the harsh language but stopped when a few children giggled under their breaths. She stepped forward and surveyed them with kind eyes. Penny looked at her from under her bangs. Her hand unconsciously played with the end of her hair.

Today she was wearing a masculine styled hat. A fedora, Penny thought, remembering the one Ned looked at in the window of one of the stores they passed on their way to get groceries. This one had a small black feather sticking out the back toward the ceiling. Her outfit coordinated between the buttoned coat and skirt. Her heels clicked against the wood of the entry way and for the first time Penny was happy she’d cleaned the floors.

“Alright, um, thank you for that introduction.” She said with scrunch of her nose. “My name is Pepper Potts and I’m here on behalf of my boss. Is it alright if I talk to you, one on one?”


“What for lady?” Someone, John, spoke up. The others snickered at his words and waited to hear the reaction. Mrs. Delores face blushed deep at John’s gall.

“Well, we’re trying to find someone very special. Someone who would be able to come home with us for the holidays, if possible.” Whispering started and in haste she added. “My boss has been looking to help underprivileged youths in the city and so we’ve come here. Will you cooperate?”

Penny wasn’t sure what underprivileged meant but from the tone the lady used it seemed like something to describe them. It didn’t sound positive.

Most everyone nodded and the lady, Mrs. Potts, turned to Mrs. Delores.

“I’ll be using your office if you have no objections.”

Mrs. Delores’s mouth opened along with a vein throbbing on her forward but voiced no objections and Penny found herself on the stairs waiting her turn. She watched as the other children went into the office, grins on their faces instead of grimaces. A day without chores would do that.

The ones waiting around Penny whispered questions that mirrored her thoughts about Mrs. Potts. Who was she? What did she mean she wanted to take someone home? Why was she wearing a man’s hat?

A steady stream of children entered and exited the room. Some children’s interviews lasted mere minutes while others dragged on until finally it was Penny’s turn.

She brushed down her shirt, took a full breath in, and pushed the door open. Mrs. Potts sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk and gestured to the chair next to her when she saw Penny. Penny slid into it, careful to sit up with correct posture on the edge and not spread the soot anywhere.

Under the attention of the woman’s stare Penny fidgeted, clasping and unclasping her hands in her lap. She peered up and the women smiled causing a flush to rise on her neck and cheeks.

She noticed the woman’s eyes remaining on her clothes. Penny crossed her arms in front of her chest to block the soot from view.

“I’m- I’m real sorry about my appearance, Ma’am.”

She waved with a soft smile.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Penny, right?”
Penny nodded. “Well, Penny, you don’t have to worry about calling me ma’am or Mrs. Potts. It would be Ms. Potts anyway and I would prefer Pepper. I’m curious about you? The others have told me all about themselves and I was wondering if you felt comfortable doing the same?”

Penny thought of everything she could say. All the great things she’d told herself all the parents, her parents, were missing, but under Mrs. Potts’s smile she knew she had to tell the truth.

“I’m not special. There’s a reason I’m at Midtown, Ms. Potts, and I don’t want to show myself off as something I’m not. I’m just Penny and I’m sure your boss would want someone much better.”

Penny tugged her fingers until she heard a pop. She squeezed her fingers together knowing a dismissal was on its way.  

“Penny, I’m not sure who told you all of that but the person I see in front of me is very different than the person you described.”

Penny furrowed her brow and glared with skepticism. Mrs. Potts laughed at the face and took a plate off of the desk.

“Have a cookie, Penny.”

Penny grabbed a cookie not hungry but wanting to save it for later.

Mrs. Potts stood up and the interview was over. Penny followed her to the door. She glanced back and her stomach clenched. Had she really said all that? Had she really sabotaged this chance to get away like she did everything else in her life?

The knot in her stomach grew the closer she got to the door. She felt like everything was slipping away from her. That she had just been standing at the edge of a great flame and, too scared it would burn, she ran away.

With heels clicking, Ms. Potts opened the door and with a brief hand on Penny’s shoulder disappeared behind the door

Someone called out to her asking how it went but Penny ignored them and ran up the stairs. She stared at Ned’s empty one from her own spot under the covers realizing he would never be back and she was stuck here. Alone with her runaway mouth.  

-

Snow flurried on the breeze and into the doorway Penny was emerging from. Her bare hands gripped the buttons of her shirt. They shook from the temperature, impeding her from buttoning the ones with buttons still attached.

With a growl she stuffed her hands into her pockets, grasping the grocery list in her left hand and bringing them together to keep the wind out.

Someone laughed and Penny froze before looking up. Ms. Potts stood at their gate bundled up in an outfit perfect for the opera. She giggled again, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth, at her lame attempt to button her over shirt. Penny blushed and tried to cross her arms in front of her, though it didn’t quite work with her hands in her pockets.

Ms. Potts walked forward up the path from the gate. The furs lining her coat to caught more snow particles making them look like sparkles emanating from her.

“I really shouldn’t laugh, Penny, but you made the most darling sound just now.” She said and smiled.

Like the last time the woman put her hand on Penny’s shoulder, her eyes closed automatically but she managed not to flinch this time. She didn’t expect the warm feeling coursing through her chest to arise again. Not when she knew the women was not here for her. When she opened her eyes, Ms. Potts was glaring at the over shirt she wore.

“Please tell me this is not what passes for a winter coat these days?” She sniped.

Penny pressed her hands closer together, straining the fabric a bit but covering herself more against the elements.

“No, of course not. I just didn’t bother putting something heavier.” She hoped the blush on her cheeks wouldn’t give away her lie. It seemed the lie, punctuated by a shiver was found out instantly. Ms. Potts clicked her tongue and caught Penny by the shoulder changing her trajectory in one warm, almost hug.

“We’ll see about that.” she said and led them inside.

All different protests came to mind, but in a bout of shyness Penny remained silent as she seemed to be prone to when Ms. Potts was around.

She, along with Penny dragged behind her, burst into Mrs. Delores’s office, interrupting the woman’s afternoon work.

Mrs. Delores woke with a start and at the sight of them her jaw gaped.

“I thought I gave you things to get, girl?” She said before turning her hard expression to Ms. Potts.

Penny opened her mouth but her captor went full steam ahead.

“Be that as it may, I asked Penny here to guide me to the office and now she’s done that most excellently I would ask that she wait in the hallway. Thank you, Penny.”

It was directed at Penny but Ms. Potts gaze never left the woman behind the desk. Penny nodded trying to smile but ended up grimacing.

She sat on the bench across from the closed door and wondered what they were talking about. It was unheard of for someone to talk to Mrs. Delores that way; to put her in her place so politely. The set down would make her in a terrible mood but it couldn’t erase the smile off of Penny’s face.  

The list of supplies remained clenched in her hands and Penny waited.

When the door opened a sigh escaped her even when it was Mrs. Delores and not Ms. Potts.

“Get inside.” She said and pointed into the room. Penny didn’t think she’d been inside the office so much before.

Ms. Potts sat down with an untouched cup of tea in front of her. Her smile was full, real, and so much like the one she gave Penny the first time they’d met. Penny stood in the center of the carpet and waited for instructions from Mrs. Delores. Without looking away from her, something that was making Penny fidget, Ms. Potts asked Mrs. Delores to give them the room.

Mrs. Delores’s face turned an ugly shade of maroon but she left without a peep. The door slammed behind her though Ms. Potts pretended she didn’t hear.

They sat in the same chairs as last time. Penny waited for something to happen, for anything to to be said or for her to be sent on her way. She was almost glad Mrs. Delores sent her out without breakfast because her stomach was doing loops as the silence progressed.

“I think the first thing we’ll have to do is sort you out some new clothes. A real winter jacket, preferably one in a jeweled eggplant tone perhaps. That would go beautifully with your hair. And don’t worry it will be warmer than that excuse for a coat.” Ms. Potts sniffed at the jacket she was wearing.

Penny couldn’t believe it. She wouldn’t.

“Ms. Potts with all due respect my hair is not beau- Wait, what do you mean new clothes?”

“Of course, your hair is beautiful. I’ve spent hours getting my hair done to have curls like yours, although it may need to be grown out a little before we can cut it properly. But I’ve gotten ahead of myself, haven’t I? Tony always says I do.” She said with a smile before getting back to business. “Well, you do remember the last time I came to visit? Yes, I thought you might. We, as in my boss and me, have decided that you, that is, if you want to, will come and live with us for the holidays. As a sort of foster program, if you will.”

For the first time Ms. Potts didn’t look at her and her words flowed not with the ease they had before but with a measured character Penny would puzzle over later.

Her mind raced. They were talking about her? The Penny who had met the woman with soot stains everywhere. The same Penny who told Ms. Potts she was under no circumstances special. The one who fell victim to her anger and peer pressure. The one whose hair was not beautiful. The Penny whose parents didn’t want her.

“I…” Her words failed her. Tears collected on her bottom lashes and she clenched the grocery list in her hands no longer trembling from the cold.  

“Oh, sweetheart.” Ms. Potts whispered and enveloped Penny in her arms.

Her tears came slow and thick, not ready to be fully released yet. She was stiff under the arms but Penny was melting on the inside. Ned was the last person to hug her and she missed them so much. She pulled back to look at the lady who had her own watery eyes.

“Why?” She whispered.

“For all the reasons you told me last time, my sweet girl.  Because you’re Penny and that is more than I could have hoped for.” She winked at Penny who was blushing from being called sweet. With a tentative, tight smile Penny rubbed her cheeks with the back of her sleeve.

She looked at the door expecting Mrs. Delores to come running in yelling ‘gotcha!’

The door remained closed.

“Would you like to join us for the holidays, Penny?” She said, leaning forward.

The question was more complicated than it seemed. Penny felt like she was being asked to jump out of the dorm window without knowing there would be something to break her fall. She felt like she was standing before the fire again and with one wrong move she would burn up into nothing.

Penny wondered if Ms. Potts was confused or if it was some weird rich people thing.

Why her?

The question it appeared wouldn’t be answered but the soft look in Ms. Potts’s eyes was enough for now. There was a wide hope springing from them and onto Penny that had her reckless with it.

“I…I think I would like that very much.”

Mrs. Potts smiled and touched her shoulder for the third and softest time. Penny leaned into the warmth.

Mrs. Delores came back into the room with eyes narrowed and metaphorical battle clothes on.

“I hope I’m not interrupting.” She said to Ms. Potts.

“Naturally not. Penny has accepted and, though I won’t be able to take her with me tonight, she will be there tomorrow, for Christmas day.”

Penny’s heart leapt.

Mrs. Delores sneered and sat behind the desk, flourishing her pen as she signed the various documents from Ms. Potts. Penny sat further to the edge of her seat, eyes trained on Mrs. Delores.

They talked over various points in the documents but Penny tuned them out. Instead she traced the words on her grocery list repeatedly.

When they were done, Ms. Potts looked over and brushed a curl from Penny’s face. She gathered her gloves and hat.

“Don’t worry, my sweet girl. I’ll be back tomorrow. Say about eleven? Will you have your bags packed and everything? Good. Until then.” She straightened her hat and put on her gloves, then looked at Mrs. Delores. “I expect Penny to be in the same condition as I left her today. Do you understand?”

Mrs. Delores clenched her jaw and merely said, “I’m sure you can see yourself out.”

The stared at each other before Ms. Potts marched out of the room and building. Penny wished she could disappear right then and there as Mrs. Delores’s venomous look landed on her.

“I bet you think you’re so lucky. Don’t you, girl? Well here’s a newsflash, that woman, those people, don’t give a shit about you. They’re going to use you, ain’t they? I can see it in your face. You know they will. And like all of us on the bottom of the barrel, once they’re done, you’ll be right back here with us.”

Penny shook her head.

“That’s - No, it’s not true.”



“Not true! Imagine that, I have it here in the papers. My sweet girl” Penny flinched at the endearment coming from her mouth. “The Anthony Stark, yeah you’ve heard of him, I knew you have, needs a bump in the numbers. He needs the press to be kind to him and taking an orphan in is just the thing to do it, eh? That’s why they picked you out of everyone. You’re the most pathetic, saddest, sorry excuse for an urchin if I ever seen one. And I have cause I look after you all. Now quite you’re sniveling. I don’t want to look at you until they throw you back with the garbage.”

Penny sobbed into her sleeve and ran out of the room. Mrs. Delores’s smile remaining in her thoughts as she collapsed into bed. She didn’t care if she kept everyone up. She didn’t care if everyone could hear her tears that night.

She tried to remember Ms. Potts’s warm hug and the soft tone she used to say sweet girl and cried harder, hiccupping into the pillow.

It didn’t matter it was Christmas Eve. It didn’t matter Santa never came.

She was alone again. Ned was gone. Mrs. Potts was gone. And her parents were never coming.

Penny shivered from the sheer depth of her anguish. Her throat raw and eyes red manifestations of the feelings welling inside of her.

The other children slept in their beds dreaming of presents and cookies. Penny was left awake thinking about Anthony Stark and the iron mask in his crest pressed into the papers that would change her fate.

The question that kept the sleep at bay was would he be a black knight or chivalrous one?

Notes: Pepper's hat I imagined as either the Robin hood or fedora shape: Here Also, I wanted Pepper to make the distinction between Mrs. and Ms. which the latter gained popularity in the 1900s, though most associated with later 20th century I think Pepper is a modern woman here and would want to be titled as such. You can read more here!

Thank you!!

Taglist: @whatisthou @warmwithafewfrostymoments

Next Chapter Six: 

[krumbine]

A Sinful Pivot

Coffee. Pandemics. Unemployment.

###

An unusual silence blanketed the City of Saint Charles.

It was almost ten o’clock on a weekday morning. Under different circumstances, the city would have been a scene of bustling metropolitan prosperity. Streets full of traffic. People working. Money transacting.

Coffee—that gloriously capitalistic, black liquid gold––fueling everything.

Under different circumstances.

The heels of expensive Italian shoes clicked against pavement and echoed through the concrete canyon of the city’s downtown district. A gust of wind picked up a scrap of newspaper and tossed it through an intersection.

A deer trotted out from around a building and found a patch of grass to inspect. Sunlight cut through the skyline and illuminated the deer until it was practically glowing.

It was a goddamned picture-perfect moment.

The owner of the Italian shoes grimaced.

This was all wrong. ​The city had ground to a halt. And while the smog and pollution had lifted––nature creeped its way back into the concrete jungle––the people of the City of Saint Charles were as miserable and hopeless as ever. They were locked away, isolated from their fellow humans in a desperate attempt to slow a viral pandemic that was steadily rewriting the future of mankind.

Greg couldn’t help but sneer in disgust as he walked down the middle of the empty downtown street.

He was frustrated. Angry. But mostly, Greg was disappointed.

The world had taken a shit so big, it was suffocating all life on the planet. This wasn’t just one for the history books––this was going to be carved in the Stones of Time.

And Greg wasn’t responsible for any of it.

For the love of fuck.

From the pocket of tailored pants, Greg fished a key out to unlock the main entrance to his coffee shop. It was the flagship store of a successful franchise that peppered the Eastern Seaboard.

Religiously Roasted Every Goddamn Day. Coffee So Devilishly Good, It’s Practically a Sin.

Greg stepped into his black-and-red themed coffee shop and locked the door behind him. He wasn’t going to have any customers, the city’s lockdown orders had made sure of that.

Pocketing the key, Greg looked around the empty shop. He had built the company from nothing––the perfect execution of needlessly expensive coffee that quickly became a compulsive necessity in the daily routines of thousands. Greg made no bones about it––he had shamelessly ripped off those guys in Seattle, put a little Satanic spin on it, and started racking up exponential soul points as soon as the franchisees started signing on.

Sure, the shop was called ‘Religiously Roasted Every Goddamn Day’ but there was nothing special about the coffee beans. There was nothing special about the brew. Greg just marked up the price––six dollars for a cup of otherwise cheap black coffee––slapped together some fancy marketing spin and then sat back to let the coffee do its thing.

It was a motherfucking perfect time to be a demon in America.

***

Above the coffee shop were the corporate offices of Religiously Roasted. Greg sat in his executive conference room––a blacked-out affair with crimson foot lights spilling an ominous glow across the walls.

An ostentatious 100-inch television was mounted to the wall and after logging into the video conferencing network, familiar faces started appearing in a grid on the screen.

“––doesn’t matter what they do! This thing is relentless,” Mr. Paz bloviated. “And the States? With how much those mouth-breathers have been downplaying it, this thing will last for years! Undoubtedly some of my finest work in centuries.”

Mr. Paz realized Greg had joined the call.

“Mr. Mammon!” Paz said with a grin that was unnaturally wide and unnecessarily toothy. “How’s business?”

Mr. Paz put an extra bit of bite on ‘business’.

Greg didn’t like Paz, but then no one did. Mr. Paz was an arrogant, condescending bag of hot air who naturally assumed that all other demonic work was somehow less than the unholy work of disease, pestilence, and death. The problem with that assumption was that in the past decade of Greg’s mini coffee empire, he collected more soul points than Paz’s outbreaks of influenza, measles, and HIV. Combined.

This new virus was like Mr. Paz had scooped up the game board and proclaimed no one else could play any more.

“Simply put, not good,” Ms. Astarr jumped in. She handled the accounting for most demonic enterprises. Her speciality was finding all the loopholes and shortcuts to take advantage of local economies. “In fact, Mr. Paz, your ‘magnum opus’ has greatly handicapped all of our work. If something doesn’t change soon in the States, Mr. Mammon’s business will be insolvent by the end of the month.”

Mr. Paz did a terrible job of containing his glee over his colleagues’ misfortune.

Mr. Abad was red in his round, puffy face. He was also based in the States, although he had a much more mobile operation than Greg. “You cocksucking sonofabitch,” Abad practically spat into his webcam. “You know what doesn’t happen now that everyone is in isolation?!”

“Mass shootin––”

“Mass shootings!” Abad screamed, a vein throbbing in his forehead.

Greg sighed and rubbed his eyes as the demons yelled at each other. This was why he liked coffee. It was a far less messy way to earn those soul points. He picked up the tall glass of pineapple juice that sat on a black coaster upon the black conference table and took a long sip.

Mr. Paz, Ms. Astarr, and Mr. Abad had similar glasses of pineapple juice and had been drinking throughout the call. Demons couldn’t get drunk on alcohol, but there was something about the acidity in pineapples that could get them just this side of buzzed.

Before he realized it, Greg’s tall glass of pineapple juice was empty.

Well, if ever there was a time.

“Excuse me,” Greg said with a wave of his hand, pulling the attention of the bickering demons. “I think we can all agree that Mr. Paz is a cunt––”

Mr. Paz attempted to respond but Greg cut him off as he grabbed a pitcher of iced pineapple juice and refilled his glass.

“––which I obviously mean in the most complimentary of ways. To be the architect of such a devastating virus …” Greg paused and shook his head thoughtfully.

After a moment to collect his thoughts, Greg said: “Mr. Paz, our collective anger is surpassed only by our collective jealously.” He raised a fresh glass of pineapple juice to the screen. “Cheers to your accomplishment.”

The change of tone made Mr. Paz uncomfortable and as the other demons sipped, begrudging Paz his success, Greg paced his conference room.

“I think we can all agree that this is truly unprecedented. Our work––even for you, Mr. Paz––is evaporating.”

“I’ve looked at it in every possible way,” Ms. Astarr stated, “and I just don’t see how a demon is supposed to effectively torture humans under these conditions.”

“Exactly,” Greg agreed. “Mr. Paz, your accomplishments aside, it is humans like that insufferable president that have been screwing things up for us for years.”

“They’re torturing themselves with that one,” Astarr said.

“We can argue amongst ourselves all we want, but it is the humans who have taken our jobs and put us out of work,” Greg said.

Paz shrugged. “I’m still working.”

“But for how long?!” Greg shot back. “These people have traded their sense of survival––their human spirit––for rank stupidity and reality television antics from their Cheeto in Chief!”

A quiet fell over the video conference. Greg finished his glass of pineapple juice and sat down again, defeated and dejected.

“So … what are we supposed to do?” Mr. Abad asked.

Greg shook his head. “I don’t know. Obviously we need to pivot.”

“Pivot?” Ms. Astarr repeated incredulously.

Greg nodded. “Indeed. Pivot.”

Anger was bubbling back up in Mr. Abad’s screen. “No. No-no-no-no. I’ve been doing mass shootings for decades. This is what I do. I can’t just pivot.”

“None of us had backup plans, Mr. Abad,” Greg stressed, growing tired of Abad’s staunch inflexibility. “But this is the reality we’re in. Soul points have plummeted and may even disappear completely. Our very survival on this plane of existence means using a little bit of imagination and fucking pivoting.”

“Gentlemen?” Ms. Astarr had raised a thoughtful finger. “Perhaps we can agree that the fundamental premise of our work here on earth is to torture the humans.”

“Of course.”

“Indeed.”

“Then perhaps it also stands to reason,” Ms. Astarr continued, “that if the humans keep turning to leadership that effectively does our job for us––and bear with me on this––maybe our pivot should be, instead of torturing the humans, we should help them.”

Mr. Abad blinked.

Mr. Paz looked sick.

Greg clicked his teeth pensively. “… help the humans?”

Ms. Astarr shrugged. “It may be the only way for us to survive.”

“To help the humans survive.”

Greg poured another glass of pineapple juice. He drained it in one long sip.

He sighed. “… we could always pivot back to the torture. You know, later.”

“Of course.”

“Indeed.”

Mr. Paz threw up a little.

​###

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jordan Krumbine is a professional video editor, digital artist, and creative wizard currently quarantined in Kissimmee, Florida. When not producing content for the likes of Visit Orlando, Orlando Sentinel, or AAA National, Jordan is probably yelling at a stubbornly defective Macbook keyboard, tracking creative projects in Trello, and animating quirky videos with LEGO and other various toys.

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