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yelena-bellova · 2 years

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Twenty Years Later: Joel Miller x F!Reader - Chapter Two

Chapter Two: Strangers in the Night

Plot: Joel and Y/n try their hardest to ignore and avoid their past while waiting on the cover of night to leave the QZ.

Warnings: M for violence, gore, language, allusions to sex, alcohol, unwanted advances (16+)

Word Count: 6.9k

A/N: Okay, let me just say, did not expect such a big reaction to this little 2.2k fic I thought up randomly. You guys wanted a series, so here’s a series. It’ll be 16+ from here so please specify your age in your bio if you’d like to be tagged. I’m really excited to write this one, hope y’all enjoy it! It's gonna be a wild frickin' ride...

——————————

May 9th, 2002, Austin Texas

It was unseasonably warm for spring in Austin. Summer was making an early entrance and driving everyone indoors. The bars were packed each night, but especially on the weekends. Something about the heat always inspired people to drink more.

The Miller brothers were seated at a table in the far corner of Dane’s, each nursing a Budweiser. Despite it being a Saturday, they’d worked overtime on a garage apartment conversion. It was in Joel’s neighborhood and he needed the money. Jobs hadn’t been ripe for picking lately, in going the extra mile with the clients he did have, he could bank on a few referrals.

“We’re runnin’ short on the 2x4s,” Joel told his brother, “And it wouldn’t hurt to-“

“Dude,” Tommy made a slicing motion with his hand, “You’re off the clock. Switch off for a while.”

“I’m just trying to get ahead,” Joel replied.

Tommy smiled, lounging in his chair, “Look, you’ve got two modes: work mode and dad mode. And guess what? You never come out of either. It’s a Friday night, you’ve got a sitter, why not just try being a single, not-offensively unattractive, guy?”

Joel’s eyebrows were permanently furrowed, especially around conversations like this. Tommy meant well, but he’d been trying to get Joel to find something outside of work and his daughter for years. It wasn’t happening.

“So you’re sayin’ I should focus less on keeping a roof over my daughter’s head and makin’ sure she’s happy?” Joel asked, leaning back in his chair, “I get that right?”

Tommy chuckled and shook his head, “I’m just saying…you’re gettin’ more and more like an old man the longer you’re by yourself. Wouldn’t hurt to find someone that makes you happy.”

It was easy to ignore Tommy’s ramblings, but Joel couldn’t deny there was some truth to what he was saying. After Sarah’s mom up and left them, he kept his heart guarded from the world. Sarah and Tommy were the only ones he had the space to love. No, not the space. He had all the capacity in the world to hold someone else close to his soul, he was just too afraid of getting hurt again.

A few feet away at the bar, Y/n twirled her wine glass in her hand. Navigating a new city and a new job was taking it out of her. There had been no catalyst in her decision to move to Austin. She wasn’t running from a bad relationship nor did she need space from her family, she’d just wanted a change. So far, aside from the random heat wave, she was enjoying herself. The people were friendly, the neighborhood was quiet…she could see herself eventually calling the place home.

As she enjoyed her own company, a muscly man approached the seat next to her. He didn’t even do her the courtesy of asking if it was taken.

He flashed a pearly smile at Y/n, “Havin’ a good night?”

“Mm-hm,” she nodded, not looking up from her glass.

“Haven’t seen you around here,” the man continued, “You new to town?”

Y/n politely smiled, wishing he’d taken the hint. “Sure.”

“Findin’ your way around alright,” he put his elbows on the bar, indicating he wasn’t going anywhere, “Or are you thinkin’ you need a tour guide? Someone to show you around? Help make you feel a little more comfortable?”

Y/n was fighting the urge not to laugh, she’d seen dogs in heat more subtle than this guy. “I’m doing fine on my own, thanks,” she replied, her will to smile fading with each second he stayed.

“I don’t know,” the guy dragged his fingers up and down the condensation on his beer bottle, “You seem a little lost to me, darlin’. I got a hog outside, we could head out…night scene’s pretty wild here.”

Y/n took another sip of her wine, “Not really a wild kind of gal.”

The man’s lingering stare was beginning to make Y/n’s skin crawl. It was like he was staring straight through her clothes. He leaned in to her, his arm grazing hers, as if the close proximity was imperative to what he was about to say.

“I got this theory that inside every woman,” he lowered his voice, “There’s a wild girl just waitin’ to come out. She just needs the right cowboy,” he paused, a smile spreading across his lips, “To let her loose.”

Concealing her annoyance, Y/n looked down at her glass bashfully. She peeked back up out of her eyelashes, “What’s your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

“Jacob,” she repeated sweetly, leaning in closer to him, “Going around trying to prove how big your dick is ain’t gonna make any woman want to touch it.”

Jacob pulled back a little, shocked at both the comment and how easily being foul mouthed came to this woman. Y/n scrunched her nose and gave a sugary smile before moving to get up from her stool.

Jacob grabbed her shoulder, not prepared to lose the battle. “Hang on there, sweetheart.”

“Let go of me,” Y/n was quick to say.

“I don’t think you quite understand what I’m offerin’ you here…”

“Let,” Y/n gritted her teeth, raising her voice slightly, “Go of me.”

Jacob began to close the space between their faces, “What’re you gonna do if I ain’t ready to say goodbye to ya yet?”

“Hey.”

Y/n turned to the two men who had approached while she was fending Jacob off. The one with the mustache swung his fist and landed a shiner on Jacob’s nose. The whole bar gasped as he stumbled backwards, clutching his now bleeding face. The mystery man placed an arm in front of Y/n, making himself the barrier between Jacob’s advances and her safety.

Once Jacob caught his footing, revealing just how tipsy he was, he clumsily stalked back towards them. The second man stepped forward and effortlessly threw a punch to Jacob’s abdomen, knocking him off his feet and to the ground. The other patrons actually clapped and cheered at the knockout.

The man shielding Y/n and his friend grabbed Jacob’s arms and pulled him to his knees. Dane, the owner, came out from around the counter and marched towards the door. The men dragged Jacob through the bar, taking no care to his hands and feet as they knocked into chairs and tables. With Dane holding the door open, they threw him out, earning another round of cheers from the bar.

Y/n watched it all with a hand over her mouth. The whole thing had left her more anxious than she cared to admit.

Her two saviors made their way through the room, earning pats on the back from most of the patrons.

“Are you okay?” The man with the mustache asked when they reached her.

“Yeah,” Y/n answered, trying to hide how her hands was shaking, “Are you?”

“Not the worst we’ve seen,” the clean shaven guy smiled, flexing his bruised hand, “But I think you’re gonna have to take a shower to get that creep’s touch off ya.”

Y/n chortled, the feeling of his fingers digging into her skin hadn’t left yet. “I’m really sorry you had to step in,” she said earnestly, “I’m not great with following through on my smack talk.”

“Nah, you were holding your own,” the cheerier of the two men laughed.

“Hey, can I buy you guys a round?” Y/n asked, “It’s the least I can do.”

“There’s no need,” the quieter guy shook his head.

“No, I want to,” Y/n insisted, looking between the two of them.

The one who had done most of the talking so far was the first to relent. “Fine, but we’re spotting your next glass. Just to try and restore the ever-deteriorating reputation of men.”

Y/n laughed heartily for the first time of the night. She liked them.

“Hey, Dane,” the talkative man flagged down the bartender and turned to Y/n, “What’re you drinking?”

Y/n held up her dwindling glass of rosé.

“Another rosé for the rosebud,” the man finished, winking at Y/n in a way that felt more playful than flirtatious, “I’m Tommy, by the way.”

“Y/n,” she took his extended hand and shook it before turning to the other man.

“Joel,” he pressed his palm to hers.

Y/n smiled, her eyes lingering on the man as they shook hands. There was a peace to him that she already knew she liked.

Y/n ended up at Tommy and Joel’s table, each of them sipping a victory drink and talking up a storm. It was one of the easiest conversations any of them had ever had.

“So you just picked up one day and,” Tommy made a swooping gesture, “Came to Austin?”

Y/n shrugged, “Just needed a change.”

Tommy whistled, “That’s brave.”

“I mean, it’s Austin,” Y/n chuckled, “It’s not New York,” she took a sip of the free rosé, “What about you two?”

“Nah, we’ve been here forever,” Joel answered, holding his beer to his lips.

Tommy raised his bottle to his brother, “Can’t even get this fucker to take a vacation somewhere.”

“Workaholic or homebody?” Y/n asked.

Joel was inhaling to answer when Tommy spoke up, “Both.”

“Nothin’ wrong with working hard or staying home,” Joel replied, throwing back a swig.

“Nah,” Tommy replied, smirking, “Only when you do it.”

Joel glared out the sides of his eyes at his brother. Y/n laughed against the rim of her glass.

“Well,” Tommy leaned against the table, “If you ever need a tour guide, we’re at your disposal. We’ll show you the real grimy hole in the wall places. Best food or beer in the city are always in the places you’d least expect it.”

Contrary to Jacob’s thinly veiled advances, Y/n took Tommy and Joel for exactly how they presented themselves. They were funny, they were gentlemanly, and they were the first people in Austin she’d met who she felt truly comfortable around.

Joel, who was naturally more quiet than his brother, had never felt more lost for words. He was trying to keep himself in check considering the happenstance of their meeting, but all he wanted to do was look at Y/n. When she laughed, something inside his stomach twisted. When their eyes met, his chest tightened. There was something about being around this girl that felt very, very different than anyone else.

“Well,” Y/n checked her watch, catching the late hour, “I’ve got the morning shift tomorrow and I can’t be too hungover. Thank you both for the company and the wine,” she smiled at Joel, “It was a big improvement on how the night started.”

“Yeah, we’d better go too,” Joel announced, rising to his feet with Tommy, “Gotta get a head start tomorrow before the storm moves in.”

Tommy gestured to his big brother, smiling at Y/n, “What’d I tell you?”

“I gotta side with your brother here,” Y/n smiled, scrunching her face a little, “Everyone needs a break. That’s kinda what weekends are for”

“See?” Tommy said, “Maybe you’ll listen to her.”

Joel was on the verge of busting out in to a grin. “Not my problem if you two are lazy,” he shot back.

Y/n and Tommy each gaped with laughter. Joel smiled, he’d wanted to hear her laugh one more time before they parted.

“Well, you two have restored the name of ‘men’ quite admirably,” Y/n grabbed her purse, “Thank you for what you did, really. If you hadn’t stepped in, tonight would have ended much worse.”

Tommy shook his head, “Don’t mention it. Just learn how to throw a punch,” he slapped his hand against Joel’s shoulder, “And I think we’ll both sleep better at night.”

“I’ll get on that,” Y/n chuckled. She wasn’t sure if it was the kinship she felt or the rosé had simply relaxed her, but she reached over to Tommy and gave him a one-armed hug.

“See ya around, Rosebud,” Tommy said, keeping his hand respectfully high up on her shoulders.

“See ya,” Y/n replied, pulling back to look at Joel. She wasn’t sure what she expected to happen, only that she wanted to memorize his face before she left. “Goodnight,” she said with a small smile.

Joel tried to ignore how his heart was thudding in his chest. “‘Night,” he replied.

His eyes followed her all the way to the door, till she stepped out into the steamy evening air. He wasn’t sure why he had to urge to follow her.

“You,” Tommy gripped Joel’s shoulder a little tighter, “Are fucked.”

Joel rolled his eyes at his little brother’s laughter, “The hell’re you talking about?”

Tommy fell back down in his chair, a hand resting on his chest, “You were fuckin’ smitten with her.”

“‘Smitten?’” Joel cringed, taking his seat and his beer, “What’re you, 14?”

“Fine, hot for, taken with, enamored, mesmerized,” Tommy chuckled, “Whatever you wanna call it…you liked her.”

Joel shrugged and took another drink, “‘Course I liked her. You liked her too.”

“Not like you,” Tommy shook his head, still grinning, “I think she liked you too.”

Pushing down the way his stomach jumped when Tommy said that, he glanced over at the door again. He looked back to the table, checking to see if she’d left anything. Maybe she’d have to come back. What would he do if she did? Would he ask for her number? Or was that too forward? He didn’t want anything he did to remind her at all of the asshat they’d tossed out-

“She didn’t leave anything, dude.”

Tommy’s voice brought Joel out of his thoughts. He hadn’t realized how long he’d been staring at Y/n’s empty seat. There was no reason for her to come back.

“You’re fucked,” Tommy brought the conversation full circle, patting his brother’s shoulder and taking a drink.

Joel hid his disappointment, just like his infatuation; well, but not well enough. He looked down at his bottle, “Doesn’t matter. We’re not gonna see her again.”

Tommy shrugged, “Austin ain’t that big.”

Outside, Y/n was making the three minute walk down the street to her apartment complex. Her mind was no longer focused on the douche whose name she was already forgetting, all she could think of was how Joel smiled like he had a secret. How his laughter was reserved only for when he found something hilarious. How whether he was sitting beside his brother or punching out a handsy creep, he was completely relaxed. How his brown eyes were so warm, one gaze into them had given her goosebumps…

Y/n shook her head at herself, completely thrown for a loop. One encounter with one guy and she felt like there was some invisible string tugging harder with every inch of distance she put between herself and the bar. The chances of bumping into Tommy and Joel again in a city as big as Austin were slim. It was a reality she had to face. It was just one of those meetings that left you feeing like you’d experienced true magic. She was saddened at the thought of never sitting across from Joel again.

Into the night, with a total distance of seven minutes unbeknownst between them, Joel and Y/n each retired and prepared for their respective early mornings. Joel paid the neighbor who’d watched Sarah, Y/n called and checked in on her sister, who’d just had a baby. Joel kissed his daughter goodnight, Y/n finished up a load of laundry. They each changed into their pajamas, brushed their teeth, and turned out the lights. It was then, in the sweet space between sleep and consciousness that they let their minds drift back to each other….

—————————

2023, Boston

Of course it was raining. Rain made everything easier.

Joel, Tess, Y/n and Ellie trudged through the streets of what was once downtown Boston. Y/n kept a hand on Ellie’s back at all times, untrusting of both the people around them and the ones they were traveling with.

Even with the utter chaos they were in the middle of, Y/n’s mind was overtaken by the holes being burned into the back of her head. Joel’s stare was unfaltering. She wanted to turn around and scream at him, but that would garner the attention they were trying so hard not to attract. That was fine, she had more than enough anger and more than enough time to let him feel it.

Joel, whose every move was made with vigilante like precision, was struggling to keep his thoughts in order. The past was so easy to put behind you when you never had to look at it. Faced with the person who knew it all, had seen it all…the second he’d laid eyes on Y/n, it had all come flooding back. He had to get himself in check. Y/n’s unfiltered hatred was helping him there.

They made it to Joel and Tess’ apartment without any trouble, the four of them filing down the narrow hallway. Y/n pulled as far away from Joel as possible while they waited for Tess to unlock the door, which wasn’t very far. Once it was open, Joel impatiently waved for Ellie to enter, saving the same glare for Y/n. Ellie entered apprehensively, while Y/n knew enough to know that they were Joel and Tess’ leverage. Without them, they couldn’t get their battery. They were safe, for the time being.

“Give us a minute, all right?” Tess stated more than asked, heading back out to the hall.

“What the fu-“ Ellie started, the door silenced the last two letters.

Y/n put a finger to her lips, standing beside the door and listening to the other side of the door. Tess and Joel were discussing which route to take, something that infuriated her. There was only one child in their party, she refused to let Joel make her anything other than an equal.

She threw down her backpack and threw the door open. “If you two are planing on excluding me from the planning side of things, let me know now so I can strangle you both,” she said, smiling sweetly.

“You wanna tell us what we’re really doing with this kid?” Tess fired back.

“Not particularly,” Yn replied.

“Then you don’t get a voice here,” Tess looked to Joel, “We leave after dark. Stay with them.”

Joel took a step forward as his partner walked off, “Wait, why do I have to — Tess! Tess!”

Tess turned the corner of the hall without ever breaking stride.

Joel sighed loudly, eventually looking over to Y/n.

“She’s lovely,” Y/n snarked, earning a signature Miller scowl.

Joel nodded towards the door and Y/n slipped back inside, he kept an overly safe distance between them. Y/n unzipped her backpack and grabbed her first aid kit, sitting down at Joel’s table to tend to her bullet wound. Joel shrugged off his pack and threw himself on the couch. Ellie was splitting the distance between them, holding a large book in her hands.

“So,” the girl started, “Who’s Bill and Frank?”

Joel looked up confused, as if he couldn’t imagine how she could have possibly heard anything from the other side of the door.

“Oh, come on, Tool Time,” Y/n chortled, as she opened the bottle of disinfectant, “This whole place is paper thin.”

“The radio’s a smuggling code, right?” Ellie asked, “60s song, they don’t have anything new. 70s, they got new stuff. What’s 80’s?”

Joel got off the couch and ripped the book out of Ellie’s hands, throwing it to the side. He glanced over at Y/n, who was struggling to keep her grunts quiet as she cleaned her wound. A twinge of pain ran through his chest as she scrunched up her face, trying to keep her breaths steady. His fingers automatically twitched to help her, but it wouldn’t actually help anyone. Instead, he fought his instincts walked back to the couch and laid down.

“What are you doing?” Ellie asked.

“Killin’ time,” Joel said, his drawl particularly noticeable.

“What am I supposed to do?”

“I’m sure you’ll figure that out,” his eyes were already closed, just like the conversation.

Y/n began to use a q-tip to spread antiseptic cream over the wound, the cooling sensation dulling the pain.

Ellie took back the book and walked past Joel, “Your watch is broken.”

Four little words froze Y/n, hunched over the table with her supplies. She didn’t have to look to know that Joel’s eyes were open again. It was the second time today that they’d been perfectly in sync. The first was pulling their guns on one another and, to be honest, Y/n would have preferred to stare down the barrel of his pistol. Bullets were simple and easy to dodge, memories were more cunning and hurt significantly more.

Y/n finished dressing her wound, zipping the kit back up and throwing it in her backpack. She laid her jacket out to dry on the back of the chair and finally took a good look at her surroundings. She couldn’t have chosen a place more opposite to Joel’s 3-bed 3-bath in Austin. The floors creaked, the walls were stained, and the ceilings were uncomfortably low. Home was a fluid concept in the world they lived in, and the kind Y/n was thinking of was lost entirely.

“He’s fun,” Ellie grunted from her seat at the window.

Y/n scoffed, “You have no idea.”

If they’d be using the cover of night to travel, Y/n knew Joel had the right idea to sleep now. She pulled out a sweater from her backpack, bunched it up and set it on the ground across from the couch. Without any blankets, she made the call that a nearby rug would be the next best thing. She shook it out and placed it below the sweater.

“Try and get some sleep,” Y/n instructed Ellie, “You’re gonna need it.”

Ellie simply hummed and continued paging through the book. Y/n slipped under the dirty rug and sighed, she’d slept in worse places for much longer…

She took the moment of peace to finally take a good look at Joel. His eyebrows still furrowed as he slept, as if he was in a constant state of disapproval with the world. The rest of his face was softer, a strange contrast, but so very him. His chest rose and fell in a perfect rhythm. It was hard for Y/n not to remember how it felt to lay with her ear against his heart, lifting and lowering with him…

The QZ was small, and stories got around. Y/n had known for a while that Joel was in Boston. She’d also heard the stories of the things he’d done, the people he’d killed, and just how far he’d go to guarantee his survival. Despite not owing him anything, Y/n had refused to believe them. She adamantly denied the possibility that she could have ever loved a man capable of such hideous acts. The Cordecyps had changed them all in different ways, but she had to believe that Joel was still Joel…

————————————

“Hey.”

A mumble and a boot kick to the shoulder had Y/n startling awake. She rolled over to see Ellie, still sitting by the window with the book in her lap.

“How do you know him?”

Y/n squinted and sat up, her joints cracking as she stretched her limbs. The sky outside was pitch black, clearly she’d needed more sleep than she thought.

“He’s an…” she began to say, the complexity of the situation hitting her all over again. There was only one answer to give that wouldn’t invite any more questions. “I was friends with his brother a long time ago.”

Ellie’s seemed to accept it, “Where’re you from?”

“Texas.”

The girl’s eyes widened, “You lived in Texas?”

“Just for a little while,” Y/n replied, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes,

Ellie looked down at her hands and then out the window, “I’ve never been out that far.”

Y/n sighed, thinking about what it might be like to grow up never having known what the world used to be like. “You’re not missing much, kid,” she lied. She’d have gone back to Austin in a heartbeat, if it was at all possible.

“What’s ‘rosebud?’”

Y/n’s body went cold, as if she’d just been plunged into ice water, memories slamming into her like waves. A glass of rosé and belly laughter, a backyard game of football, soft lips whispering sweet nothings against her ear…

She looked over at Ellie calmly, “What?”

The girl nodded towards Joel, who was still peacefully sleeping. “He kept mumbling the word ‘rosebud,’” she replied, “Thought maybe it was a code word or something.”

It did serve as a codeword, containing secrets, laughter, and all the love that had once existed in Y/n’s world. Now the mere utterance cut her worse than any blade could.

“If it is,” Y/n got to her feet, not wanting to be anywhere near the word, “I don’t know what it means.”

Joel woke then, startling without any real physicality. He stared up at the ceiling, dazed from his dreams. No, nightmares. That’s what they were.

“You mumble in your sleep,” Ellie said, announcing her presence, “Something about ‘rosebud.’”

If that didn’t wake him up, nothing could. His eyes flitted across the room, looking for the woman who owned every inch of the word. When Joel couldn’t find her, he pushed up on one arm and found her sitting at his kitchen table with her back turned to him.

In his subconscious, he’d seen her as she used to be. Her eyes full of light, her smile like pure sunshine, laughter pouring out of her with a freedom so few people allowed themselves. He’d felt her soft skin against his, felt her lips pressed to his jawline, right between his neck and his ear. He’d known her for the first time in twenty years, only to wake up and find her ghost.

Joel swung his legs over the couch and rose, his knees and back aching. Getting older in a post-apocalyptic world felt extra cruel. He ventured over to the table, ready to test the waters and see just how bad of a time he was in for.

Y/n sighed in annoyance as Joel took the chair next to her. She needed distance she wasn’t going to get, from him and all that he reminded her of.

They sat in the most awkward silence either of them had ever known.

Joel was the first to break it, “You get some sleep?”

Y/n glared out the corner of her eyes at him, the first words he spoke to her after their confrontation and that was the first thing he said?

Joel’s chest tightened at her poisoned stare, he wasn’t going to get an answer. “Wound okay?”

“This whole thing’ll go a lot easier if you stop pretending to give a shit about me,” Y/n said quietly, the sharpness of her tone cutting through the volume, “We both know you don’t.”

The walls weren’t coming down. Joel knew that. He didn’t want them down. But after seeing her, full of energy and joy, he had to check and see if there was any bit of that woman left. His eyes scanned her skin, so many scars and scrapes where there had once been a smooth surface. Her hair was dry, streaks of oil laced like highlights through the strands. Her nails were chipped and caked with dirt underneath. But most noticeably, there were two prominent frown lines across her cheeks. That let Joel know that the woman he’d once loved was absolutely gone.

“What happened to Tommy?” Y/n asked. She couldn’t help herself, but she kept her tone frosty.

“Sent a message three weeks back,” Joel answered, his fist fidgeting against the table, “Haven’t heard anything.”

Y/n didn’t want to take any strolls with Joel down memory lane, but Tommy was…Tommy. She couldn’t deny that she still cared about him deeply. “Do you know where he is?”

“Wyoming,” Joel answered, looking past her eyes at the wall. He didn’t think he could handle speaking about his brother to her, of all people.

“Oh,” she said, “So you’re completely crazy now.”

That earned her a hardened gaze, as if Joel had anything else for her.

“I’ve never been on the other side of the Wall,” Ellie spoke up, “Look how dark it is.”

Y/n got up first, smoothing her tank top back down and leaning against the wall near the door. Joel followed, retaking his seat on the couch. They both pondered the same thing separately: how much life Ellie had missed out on just by being born in the wrong decade.

“You guys go out there a lot?” Ellie asked Joel.

“I guess,” he answered.

“When was the last time?”

“Maybe a year,” Joel quickly replied, he wasn’t enjoying all the questions, “What’s it matter?”

“But you know where to go,” Ellie clarified, looking too much like a kid, “So we’re gonna be okay.”

It was a fair question, and Joel couldn’t fault her for being scared. Fear was all she’d ever known.

“Yeah,” he answered, significantly softer than his last one.

Y/n’s eyes grazed the window, spotting the plastic butterfly that clung to the glass. After all these years, Joel had managed to keep it. It took all the self-discipline she had not to let her tears fall.

“So what’s the deal with you anyway,” Joel asked Ellie, “You some kind of bigwig’s daughter or somethin’?”

Both Ellie and Y/n knowingly smirked to themselves. “Something like that,” Ellie replied, “Oh, the radio came on while you were sleeping.”

“What?” Joel snapped to attention, leaning forward, “What was the song?

“He kept sayin’ like, “wake me up before you go-go?” Ellie answered, making Y/n and Joel feel much much older.

Joel knew what that meant, and it was nothing good. “Shit,” he whispered to himself.

Ellie’s smirk spread across her face, “Gotcha. 80’s means trouble. Code broken.”

Joel got to his feet, having used his patience up earlier in the day. “Listen-“

Y/n was between him and Ellie in a flash, sticking out a hand towards Joel. She was off limits, even for a light scolding. Luckily, the door opened up before anything could be said. Tess had returned.

“The spot under Lancaster looks good,” she reported, turning to Ellie after, “You got a jacket in your pack?”

“Yeah,” Ellie responded.

“Okay, get it. It’s time to go.”

Y/n stuffed her sweater back in backpack and went to retrieve her now-dry jacket. It had been a long time since she’d gone outside of the QZ, she couldn’t decide whether she was terrified or happy to step outside the fence.

Joel on the other hand felt like he couldn’t move. Between the fear over his brother’s safety, being close to Y/n once again and the daunting task ahead of them, he wanted to pause it all for a moment. Tess throwing his jacket at him was a good reminder that he didn’t get to take minutes.

As Y/n went to the window to check Ellie, her eye caught the butterfly in the window again. Much like ‘Rosebud,’ there was another name that she never said. She could practically see it weaved into the fine details of the creature, the bright blue against the dark black. When Joel’s back was turned. Y/n pulled the cling off the window and shoved it in her backpack. If they were going to do this, she needed to feel strong enough to do it. She’d give it back to Joel and face his wrath when the deed was done.

The four of them made it out and into the underground tunnels, landing in a lesser frequented area of the QZ. Joel climbed out first and scanned their surroundings, helping to pull Ellie out after. Y/n came through next, though Joel knew better than the extend his hand to her, and finally, Tess.

“Holy shit,” Ellie remarked, spinning around to take it all in, “I’m actually outside.”

Not half a second later, a helicopter made its round over them, searchlights shining off it. Tess pulled Ellie in and crouched behind a large piece of debris.

“Okay, we’re gonna take the left edge around the buffer zone,” Tess explained, “You stay close and you follow my lead.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Ellie nodded in understanding, glancing over to Y/n as if to get approval. Y/n nodded back, placing momentary trust that Tess would protect the girl.

“Same goes for you,” Joel said from beside her, his voice low.

Y/n glared over her shoulder, “I really don’t think you want me where you can’t see me.”

“Let’s go,” Tess ordered.

The four of them crawled under an abandoned school bus with Joel bringing up the rear. Walking while crouched was hard, but they managed their best and paused behind a car when a FEDRA patrol vehicle passed by. Once it was clear, they made their way through a rusted, metal pipe, stopping when the chopper passed over them again. Y/n caught a peek at Ellie’s face as the light shone on them, she looked terrified. Through her own nerves, Y/n reached over and took Ellie’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Joel watched the whole thing, if he wanted a glimpse of the woman he’d once known, he’d gotten it. Her heart was still there.

Their team hurried out of the pipe, rushing to hide behind another big piece of debris. A storm was starting, the lightning acting as temporary lighting for their path. Joel was leading the way when their presence was detected.

“Hey,” a FEDRA soldier shouted, “Hey! Don’t, don’t, don’t move.”

Joel hurriedly looked around for more, pushing Ellie behind him. He held his hands up in surrender, along with Y/n, Ellie and Tess. If they wanted to get out of this, they needed to play along.

The FEDRA soldier opened the visor of his helmet, getting a look at Joel. “You gotta be shittin’ me…”

“Okay, let’s talk this out,” Joel said calmly.

“Turn around,” the soldier ignored him.

“Hold on-“

“Get on your fuckin’ knees,” the soldier yelled, “Get on your fuckin’ knees!”

Joel wasn’t giving up, “Now, hold on-“

“What did I fuckin’ tell you, man? I said stay the fuck home,” he pointed to the ground, “Get on your knees!”

Y/n knew if he fought any harder, he was going to get them all killed. Taking matters into her own hands, she dropped. “Ellie,” she said calmly, “Get down.”

“Just get on your knees,” Tess said to Joel, “Just get on your knees.”

Joel listened and kneeled between Ellie and Tess, turning his back to the soldier. Ellie finally followed Yn’s directions and got down next to Y/n.

“Listen, you let us do this run,” Tess bargained, “We’ll split the cards with you.”

The soldier wasn’t having it, “Oh, will you?”

Y/n’s breaths quickened, knowing their chances of escape were slim. There had to be something to do. If she gave herself up, would he let Tess and Joel leave with Ellie? She didn’t particularly feel like dying, but Ellie was too important to compromise. They could get her the rest of the way.

“Hands on your head, eyes forward,” the soldier instructed. It was the eyes forward bit that bothered Joel the most. They wanted to control what they couldn’t even see.

“Hands on your head,” the soldier screamed, startling them all into doing it. He came up behind Tess, holding a device to her neck. Checking to see if they were infected.

Y/n’s heart stopped in her chest. Shit.

“Really, man?” Tess complained.

The soldier was undeterred, “Yep, we’re doin’ this by the book.”

Ellie nudged Y/n with her boot, signaling she knew what was coming. Y/n wasn’t sure how to offer her any assurance that they’d be okay.

“Unauthorized exit,” the soldier reported, “They’ll hang you for that.”

“Fine,” Joel tried again, “Everythin’ off this run and half off of all the pills.”

Their voices faded in Y/n’s ears. If she could move quick enough, she could spin around and shoot the soldier before he knew what was happening. It would give Tess and Joel a few seconds to get away.

Before Y/n could make a decision, Ellie stole her move and stabbed the soldier in the leg.

“Ellie!” Y/n and Tess cried in unison.

The soldier was momentarily dazed, stumbling backwards and trying to figure out where the injury was. Y/n took the opportunity to shove Ellie behind her. Joel did the same, jumping to his feet and standing in front of Y/n. It was pure instinct.

“Get out of the fuckin’ way,” the soldier yelled, aiming his gun past the adults.

Joel could talk his way out of a lot, but this looked grim. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try.

“We can fix this,” he tried, holding up his hands as a barrier between them and the soldier.

The soldier was done listening to their pathetic attempts. “Move.”

Joel didn’t budge.

“Move.”

Y/n had been on the recieving end of a lot of guns, held by people who thought that God had abandoned the post-apocalyptic warland and it was their job to fill His seat. But the military regulated weaponry, the uniform, the expressionless face that wouldn’t fill with guilt the moment its body pulled the trigger.

It transported her back twenty years.

And she knew Joel was there with her.

He surged forward, letting out a gutteral cry as he tackled the soldier to the ground. He climbed atop him, pinning him, and began to throw one merciless punch after the other. The crunching of bone and squishing of flesh formed an awful, perfect, rhythm.

While Ellie watched and felt something awaken within her, Y/n felt something die. She watched the man she’d known in her past life as loving and tender become a necessary monster. People thought mourning was only for those who left the earth, but there were plenty of dead souls still breathing. If there was any debate as to whether or not her version of Joel Miller was truly gone, the proof was now and forever burned into Y/n’s mind. Someone else now inhabited in his body.

When the job was done, Joel sat heaving over the man’s body, looking down at his bloody and bruised fist. It was the closest he could ever come to avenging her. When he looked up, his eyes first fell on Ellie, who didn’t seem to mind the violence at all. It seemed she actually liked it.

Y/n’s eyes told a different story.

A well-timed lightning strike lit her up, and Joel saw tears pooling below her y/e/c pupils. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, anxiety mixing with terror. Joel knew exactly what she was thinking about him and for a singular second, he felt guilt. He felt guilt for causing her pain, for forcing her to see him as anything other than the man she’d known.

It passed as quick as it came. It had to.

Tess grabbed the dropped scanner and read the bright red screen. Y/n hurried back to the present pulled Ellie by her jacket away from Tess.

“No, no,” Ellie yelled, “No, I’m not sick!”

“Joel,” Tess called, beginning to panic.

“She’s not sick,” Y/n backed Ellie up, “She’s clean!”

“Joel,” Tess yelled again, putting space between Y/n and her.

Ellie pulled her jacket sleeve up to reveal her arm, “Look! Look! This is three weeks old! Nobody lasts more than a day! Does this look a day old to you?”

Tess examined the bite site, it looked more like a bad scar than an infectious wound.

“You would have fuckin’ killed me!” Ellie said in horror.

“I should fucking kill you,” Tess bit back, looking up at Y/n, “What the hell’s Marlene trying to pull?!”

“It’s true,” Y/n said, keeping one hand over her pistol in case Tess didn’t listen, “She’s clean.”

She looked past Tess’ shoulder and over to Joel, who was still watching her. It was a long shot to get him of all people to listen to her, but now, she was happy to bank on their history in hopes that he’d believe her.

“I swear it,” Y/n held a hand up, her eyes digging into Joel’s, begging for him to not raise his gun.

Joel stopped short at Y/n’s vulnerability, he was shaken in every direction just from the last thirty seconds. He felt his will to argue with her slipping away.

“They’re gonna catch us if we don’t run,” Ellie stated, she wasn’t wrong. They could argue elsewhere and keep their lives.

“Joel, we gotta move,” Tess called, interrupting the stare-off between Y/n and him, “We gotta move, Joel.”

Ellie and Tess were already making their way to the fence, but Y/n and Joel stayed a second longer. Neither one had much credibility with the other, not after the last time they’d been together. But at the moment, Joel had two choices. He could either die at FEDRA’s hands, or he could follow the woman he’d once trusted most in the world and believe her one more time.

He chose the latter, though he was far from believing.

Joel picked up the soldier’s rifle and gestured for Y/n to move, the two of them ran after Tess and Ellie, who were already slipping through a hole in the chained fence. Y/n pushed through it, coming to stand on the other side of the QZ’s limits and pausing for Joel. She knew he trusted her as far as he could throw her and she wasn’t totally confidant in turning her back to him. She waited till he came through and the two of them ran after Tess and Ellie, into the night and into the unknown…

————————

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Joel Miller Taglist: @xsnak-3x @xmoonknightlyx

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x y/n #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller imagine #joel miller fanfic #joel miller fanfiction #twenty years later

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captain039 · 19 days

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The 2029

Old man Logan x reader

Warnings: AOB dynamics, age gap, angst, swearing, mutants, intimacy, eventual smut, claiming, heats, ruts, needles, drug usage, dystopian world, plus size reader

Mutation: Telekinesis, energy manipulation, telepathy

The wards alarm wakes you. The sound blaring and ear piercing, you hear the loud sound of boots and your door opening.

“Up omega 332” the guard says and you’re forced out your bed. You keep your back to them as they inject your neck making you bite your inner cheek. You feel your powers die with it like they were never there. You force your body to relax so the guard knows it works. He leaves your door closing heavily and the lock clicking. You rub the small spot on your neck where the needle went in.

“All omegas are required to wear outfit 3 for presentation today” the female voice rings out over the PA system and you sigh heading to the small closest. You grab the outfit, a tight white tank top, white underwear, white bra and nothing else. You put it on feeling uncomfortable in it already, it sticks to your skin the material isn’t soft either. You brush your hair and put in a pony tail as instructed before brushing your teeth and taking the enhancers with the breakfast slid through your door flap. You hate how they make you feel, your mind goes hazy everything that makes an omega gets enhanced by ten times, scent, submission, weakness….

You hate it.

When you’re lined up with the other omegas you hate the almost attacking smells from the alphas in the other room. You scrunch up your nose slightly before a small frown is on your face. You take a subtle breath finding one scent sticking out from the others, mutant, older. You shake your head a bit as the doors open your body going rigid. Though there’s a barrier between you and them you don’t feel any less safe. The roaming eyes heavy gazes, heavy scents alphas close to rut.

This world was a fucked up place. Omegas forced into wards made perfect for breeding, taught how to be a proper omega since presentation. Alphas close to rut are brought in if they aren’t mated, made to pick an omega so they don’t cause havoc on the street, as time went on so did alphas feral state, when it seemed to be getting better four years ago turned into something worse, alphas began to kill their mates from brutality, they’d go on a rampage and not stopped unless put down. So the government sought to protect the betas seeing as they take up most the population while the alphas and omegas were forced into a new heavily caged way of life, though alphas still lived there life as normal they were watched heavily, tracked as well.

You keep your head down knowing that you’re most likely not to get chosen. A bonus if you think about it, you’ve always been a bigger woman your whole life no matter what sort of diet and forced exercise they made you do, you stayed the same, you’ve got muscles, your body’s healthy too, you have to be here other wise you get sent to the other facility, the one where the ‘useless’ omegas go.

You catch the mutants scent again but don’t dare look up. All mutants have been marked and taken control of as well with the changes, a mutant alpha on the loose was worse than a human, one caused a whole town to go extinct. So they forced the omega and alpha mutants to get a weekly injection to dull their powers and branded with a small M on the back of the neck.

“Exit” the automated voice calls and you follow the line back to where the rooms are and head to yours. You let out a sigh of relief thankful that’s over ready to claw this damn singlet off.

“Omega 332 you have been chosen” the automated voice makes you freeze, panic running through your whole being.

“If you do not calm down you will be injected with an easer” the voice adds and you take deep breaths calming your heart, you hated those too, an Easer something to make you high and easy. Your door opens and your afraid too look around till you catch the mutants scent. You take a small breath his scent not unpleasant like the others, its laced with Cigars and whiskey, somehow not harsh on your nose. You keep your back turned waiting for the alphas command.

He doesn’t speak though he grunts softly and sits down on the love seat in the corner of your room sighing softly. You’re confused as he doesn’t say anything, doesn’t move either, you can see him out the corner of your eye but don’t look without permission.

“How can I serve alpha?” You ask.

“Jesus” he mutters voice deep and rough.

“Sit on the bed” he says, he doesn’t command or use his alpha tone but you listen anyway and sit down.

“Get comfortable” he grumbles and you shuffle so your backs against the wall and you sit comfortably. You see him now fully, he looks old, greyed hair, wrinkles, his eyes are closed and his head is leaned back showing him your throat. It’s strange for an alpha to do that but he doesn’t seem to care. He’s in a suit, no tie, a plain black jacket unbuttoned. He doesn’t speak, he just sits there and you’re highly confused, you can catch the slight smell of rut in his scent but it’s subtle. You’re unsure of what to do, fiddling with your hands silently cursing this shirt. You shuffle a bit trying to itch your back against the wall. The alpha lifts his head with a slightly raised eyebrow. You freeze forcing your eyes down.

“Something wrong with your shirt?” He aske quietly, you struggled with how to answer.

“It’s itchy, the fabric isn’t nice” you answer honestly expecting a backlash.

“Do you have other clothes?” He asks and you nod pointing to the white cupboard. He stands with a small sigh going to the cupboard with a limp. He opens it stares for a moment before pulling out your grey shirt and shorts.

“Here, these ones feel better” he hands them to you and nods before sitting down. You hold the clothes in your hands baffled at the gesture as he sits back down again.

“May I get off the bed to change?” You ask.

“Don’t have to ask” he shrugs.

“You’re the alpha I have to ask” you say.

“Right” he grumbled sighing.

“You can change in the bathroom” he says and you nod heading to the bathroom wondering why he picked you if he didn’t want to see you naked. You change and come back out.

“Is this ok alpha?” You ask.

“Just call me Logan kid” he sighs.

“I’m required to call you alpha” you say feeling more confused by him.

“Right, yes that’s ok you can sit down again” he grumbles out. You sit down again in the same spot happy to be out of those clothes.

That’s how your first meeting went with Logan. He didn’t do anything the whole time during his rut, he sat there took the meals provided, let you do what you wanted, well when he asked you to. He asked you what you liked and then asked you to do that. It was strange to say the least. He had a few showers you heard a few times of him relieving himself in the shower before he came back out and sat back on the chair. He hardly slept max two hours a night or during the day, the older alpha did nothing to like what you’ve been taught and told would happen. When he left you were confused for a while, wondering why the hell he didn’t do anything wondering if he didn’t like you or you weren’t a good omega. You’d asked more than once if he required anything but he got angry with a growl and shut you down so you never asked again. You’d never seen an alpha with so much restraint or maybe he genuinely didn’t have the urges due to his age.

It became a routine he’d come in for his ruts and you catch his scent in the other room your heart picking up before the automated voice said you’d been chosen before the alpha would come in and sit down. You got brave asked simple questions, how was his day, if he worked or not, he’d answer in short simple answers and you got that he wasn’t a talker, so you’d sit in silence, you learnt not to ask to do thing even though it went against every fibre of what was drilled into your head since your presentation. His scent was becoming familiar and you found yourself enjoying it, you found yourself sitting on the chair lying down so your nose was close to where his scent laid, left wondering how he’d act if he’d been younger or let all restraint go, he’d be rough you could tell by his exterior, the gruffness, hardness in his voice, he’s been through a lot you just don’t know what and it always left you wondering and wanting more.

Next part ->

#x reader #aob #old man logan #old man logan x reader #alpha Logan #alpha old man Logan #Logan x reader #logan howlett #Logan 2017

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magmahearts · 1 month

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TIMING: current. PARTIES: @ariadnewhitlock, @vanoincidence, @muertarte & @magmahearts LOCATION: the magmacave. SUMMARY: as cass prepares to leave town for good, ariadne, van, and metzli show up to speak to her. when makaio finds them, things go south. CONTENT: parental death, child death, emotional manipulation, domestic abuse

Something had shifted with Metzli’s last visit. Cass had always known, on some level, that her father was capable of being dangerous in the same way she was, but she hadn’t thought much of it. Most of the people she loved were capable of being dangerous, and it never made her love them any less. Even now, she wouldn’t pretend she loved Makaio less than she had before. He was her father. She still loved him, would always love him. But… she didn’t think it was safe for him to be around her friends anymore. Not after he’d tried to have her hurt Metzli, not after he’d made it clear that there was only room in her life for him. She loved her father, but she didn’t think he belonged here.

Which probably meant she didn’t, either.

She’d already started planting the idea in his head. The two of them would be better suited for somewhere far from Wicked’s Rest. Alaska had a lot of volcanoes, and would put a whole country between them and the people she loved. It had a lower population, too, which meant less risk of… accidents like what had happened with the security guard. (Or things that weren’t accidents, like what had happened with the hunter. Cass tried not to think about that one.) Makaio actually seemed excited about it, and that was a good thing. The two of them could start over somewhere fresh, where no one she loved was in danger and she could have the family she told herself she wanted.

So, she was deep within the Magmacave, scribbling letters in a notebook. She knew she couldn’t say goodbye to her friends in person; they’d all ask her to stay, and Cass wasn’t sure she was strong enough to say no. The notebook would be a better option. She’d leave it in the woods near the cave, someplace where one of them could find it. They’d be sad, but they’d be okay. They’d move on. Everyone always did.

If she were less busy with the writing, she might have known someone was coming before the footsteps echoed off the walls. She might have registered that those butterflies in her stomach that signaled the presence of another fae, of her father, were absent with the approach. But knowing probably wouldn’t have changed anything, anyway, and so it didn’t matter that Cass didn’t hear them coming ahead of time. Her pencil paused in its scribbling as the footsteps finally echoed close by, head snapping up. “You shouldn’t be here.”

—

Van remembered the last time that she’d seen Cass and how tense it had been, of how she re-ran the conversation over and over in an attempt to figure out how to have it better next time. She wanted so badly for things go right that she didn’t heed the warnings. So what if Cass’s dad was dangerous? So what if Cass thought she was dangerous? Van was dangerous, too. She could do things, too. Unimaginable things. For the first time in a long time, Van wasn’t afraid as she walked towards Cass’s cave.

It almost felt foreign in a way, a forgotten kind of memory that was only linked to the dreams she used to have about all of them beneath the cavern’s edge. She thought about the times that she’d been there to visit Cass, with or without the others– of the comics spread out on the floor, of the movies they’d watch on their phones. Van wondered very briefly if she should’ve brought pizza like before.

It was just as difficult as before, navigating her way through the cave’s entrance to the opening that would lead her straight to Cass. Before she turned the corner, she could hear her friend’s voice ring out. “You like, said that before.” She didn’t have to do much to dodge the overhanging parts of the cave, as she was already on the shorter side. Instead, she walked right through, feigning authority and confidence. The moment she finally saw Cass, however, it shattered. She was wearing the necklace. It burned itself like a plate against the magma, but she was wearing it. Van stuttered as she spoke, “I just really wanted to see you. I’ve been– it’s– I missed you. A lot.”

—

Ariadne had missed Cass more than she could put into words. Except that she’d decided that she had to go by the cave now. There wasn’t any other option at this point. Cass could yell at her, ignore her, do anything, but she needed to see Cass. Cass was her best friend and she’d been the person to make Ariadne really understand what it was like to have a best friend who wasn’t part of your family. She also needed to make sure that Cass was okay. Even if Cass never wanted to talk to her again, Ariadne needed to see for herself that her friend was at least okay.

She should’ve brought cookies – M&M, or something like that. Chocolate-caramel-chip. All sorts. Lifesavers gummies too. Except she’d shown up, with only a embroidered piece of fabric that was another volcano. A volcano with stars shining above it.

“I’m sorry.” She nearly walked into Van as she arrived at the cave. “I – uh. I missed you. Also. I’m sorry. I know you said – but you’re my best friend in the whole world and I really, really miss you and I needed to see you because –” Ariande cut herself off. “Please, let me – us – let us in, just for a little while?”

There was something finite about visiting the cave again, feeling the stone beneath their fingertips as they trailed behind the two girls ahead of them. More than ever, Metzli felt like death was permeating around them. Whether it was from a separate source or from within, they weren’t sure, but they saw the way Cass’s father kept himself gripped to her. Quite literally.

From what they’ve seen and what they’ve experienced, Metzli knew all too well that it would take violence to get Cass away from that man instead of sacrificing the life she made for herself. They couldn’t let her give up the home she had worked hard to make, not for anyone. Especially not a man who abused his position as a father. The very thought of that made Metzli’s stomach sink, gagging them into silence while they listened to Van and Ariadne speak until there was a pause.

They swallowed, wringing their fingers together several times until the ball in their throat released their voice. “We love you.” Metzli breathed, “It has been too long since we are able to be with you. Just for a little bit, we will like to see you.” Their body stiffened, and they added, “Please.”

It was overwhelming, having three of her closest friends show up at once. For weeks now, Cass had felt as though she was drowning just dealing with them one at a time, trying to keep both her families intact while knowing they needed to be kept separate. Seeing Metzli, Van, and Ariadne all here, all telling her the same things they’d been telling her for weeks… It was hard. More than that, it was scary. Cass glanced towards the back of the cave, where Makaio was resting. Hadn’t he said he’d kill Metzli if they returned? Wouldn’t he do the same to Ariadne and Van? This was why she had to go. None of them could ever be safe so long as she was here.

Half panicked, she looked back to them, getting to her feet. Hesitantly, she put up her glamour, stone and magma giving way to skin and hair. It was the first time she’d bothered with it for weeks now, the first time she’d worn it in her cave since Makaio first introduced himself to her. She took a step towards them, gently pushing the notebook towards Van.

“I love you, too,” she said quietly. “All of you. But you can’t be here, okay? Just — Look, I’m not… We can’t do this right now.” Or ever, really. But if she told them her plans, would they let her go? The best case scenario was for them to leave, and for Van to open the notebook after. By then, Cass and Makaio would be gone, and it would be better. Wouldn’t it be better? “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’ve been — weird lately. But you guys really need to leave.”

—

Van hadn’t anticipated the others, but they were welcomed additions. What better way to prove to their friend that she was loved than to all show up? It might’ve been overwhelming, too. There was no sense in facing the back and forth of what it could mean for Cass, because it was clear that they all thought they needed to be here for their own reasons. She figured from her’s and Cass’s last meeting that there’d be no such appreciation for the sudden visit, but hadn’t anticipated panic. She remembered what it looked like on Cass’s features from the time in the grocery store, Debbie’s blood spilt between them.

“What is this?” Van didn’t open the notebook that Cass pushed into her hands. Instead, she held onto it tightly at her side, fingers denting the flimsy cover. It was a little odd, seeing Cass in the way that she remembered her most easily, and while Cass might’ve argued that the former was more in tune with who she was, Van thought that they both were. She didn’t really know how fae glamor worked, but it was clear it was different across the board, given Regan only had to hide wings. Well, not anymore, but still.

“What’s going on, Cass?” This was different than the last time, too, Van realized. “Are you okay?” Her voice trembled slightly as she took a small step forward, catching Cass’s hand with her own. “You can come with us, right? You can come with us, and you can tell us.” Her eyes swept behind Cass where she anticipated Makaio’s arrival, but all she saw was darkness. “You can come with us.” It wasn’t a question this time, instead it was spoken with finality– a plea dressed in the most basic of emotion.

—

A part of her had wanted to be the only one here, but it made sense that Van and Metzli had shown up too. If Ariadne were honest, it was also a welcome addition, because it meant she didn’t have to convince Cass of her value all alone. Van and Metzli were perfect additions because she knew Cass loved them deeply too. So maybe this would work. Maybe she could get her best friend back. To show Cass just how desperately loved she was.

Cass’s panic was unsettling. Ariadne would’ve preferred anger, preferred being yelled at to go and being told she was annoying, no matter how much that hurt her. Cass’s glamor shifted, and Ariadne opened her mouth to say that Cass didn’t have to do that, that she was so incredibly beautiful in her true form, but maybe now wasn’t the time for that.

“Please come with us.” She echoed Van, taking a step forward and grabbing Cass’s other hand with her own, gaze falling to the notebook, wondering what was in there, if Van knew more, and what that more might have been. She hadn’t met Cass’s dad yet, but figured he had to be somewhere in here. “Just come on, we can – we can do whatever you want to do. Anything at all.” Because even on the most normal of days Ariadne would have done anything on earth for her friend. But now it seemed especially important to highlight that, to make sure that her best friend knew how much she’d do anything on earth for her.

“I missed you. I love you.” A mantra, almost. The way it flowed off her tongue was nearly like a prayer. “We love you. We love you.” She changed, not wanting to ignore the others who were there, even if a part of her wanted to wrap Cass up in their own little world. “What’s the matter?”

The reciprocated love, although quiet, meant everything after the months of pushback. It helped further prove to Metzli that it was never truly Cass who spoke so cruelly. Maybe she once believed the words as they flew off her tongue, but that didn’t seem the case anymore. They recalled the last time they were there, and looked to Cass’s shoulder. Metzli could still see the jagged grip on it, detested the idea that she was left with a bruise and an ache that they couldn’t soothe after they left.

Quickly, the thoughts were shaken away before more could be conjured in a panic. Their focus was better set on getting Cass somewhere away from her father, somewhere safe. By the looks of it though, with Metzli’s trained eye and propensity for analysis, the notebook Cass was shoving into Van’s hands looked a lot like a goodbye. Their shoulders fell and their posture stiffened at the realization, and it was all they could do to keep their composure. If Cass left, she would be sacrificing everything for a man that did not deserve it. Metzli couldn’t let that happen, and they were glad to have the unexpected help to convince her of that.

“You should not go with him.” It was a quiet plea, much too quiet for anyone to actually hear, so they said it again. “You should not go with him. He hurts you. Love is not supposed to be painful.” Metzli paused with a swallow. “Not like this. Will you please listen? We can help you.” They took a step forward, taking a breath. “We can. Let us help you.”

Van didn’t open the notebook, and that was good. Cass wasn’t ready for her to do that yet, wasn’t ready for the goodbyes to be acknowledged. If they knew she was leaving, they’d argue, and… Cass didn’t want to fight with her friends. She’d done enough of that already. She would be leaving them with this terrible impression, this quiet doubt of who she was and how she felt about them thanks to the last few months of distance she’d forced between them all. The last thing she wanted to do was widen that gap at the end, make any of them think she loved them less than she did. She was sick of fighting with them, but she didn’t know how to stop. This thing with Makaio was a boulder rolling down a hill; the momentum was too intense to keep it from rolling to the bottom.

“I’m okay,” she said to Van, a quiet mantra she’d been repeating for a while now. She was fine, she was loved. It wasn’t Makaio’s fault that no one else understood him; how could it be? They didn’t know him the way Cass did, didn’t know his history. Even if they did, they couldn’t understand. No one understood her father the way Cass did, and maybe that meant that all of this was okay. She could go with him, and she could understand. She could go with him, and she could be understood. It didn’t have to be a bad thing. So, she repeated it, trying to make it feel right. “I’m okay.” It didn’t burn her tongue the way a lie would have, but there was an uncomfortable feeling in her chest all the same.

She swallowed around the lump in her throat, shaking her head. “I can’t go with you. I’m sorry, but I can’t. I’m — My dad needs me. He’s alone. He’s been alone for such a long time. I can’t… I have to stay with him. I’m sorry. But that doesn’t mean I don’t —”

“What’s this?”

A jolt of panic rose to her throat at the cool, familiar voice behind her. Her guts had been so twisted up in all the things she was feeling that she’d neglected to recognize the fluttering in her stomach that had signified her father’s approach, had missed the tug of the cave around her as his feet padded along its floor. Cass whirled to face him, fear and guilt spreading over her face. “I — They were just leaving. They came to get some things, that’s all. Right?” She looked back at her friends, hoping they’d take the hint and go.

—

Van had done a lot of running. She’d shied away from danger time and time again, favoring ignorance as a means to keep things normal. But the reaction Cass had to her’s, Metzli’s, and Ariadne’s pleas was anything but. She knew that Cass didn’t believe herself to be the girl from the grocery store, but there was another edge to it. Van listened to Ariadne’s voice, soft and delicate, and then to Metzli’s– still soft, but with an edge of knowing. What did they know that she didn’t? She cast a glance in their direction before it realigned on Cass’s face.

Before she could echo Metzli’s sentiment about having Cass leave with them, the sound of footsteps and a minor vibration beneath her feet had her snapping her mouth shut. She looked past Cass to see her father– not traced in any kind of glamor, but more akin to the way that she’d seen Cass the last few times now; molten and blistering. She swallowed the plea she had tucked at the back of her throat, and instead held onto the notebook tightly.

It occurred to her then, what it meant. It was a goodbye. Cass planned to leave with him. Metzli figured it out quickly enough, and maybe she should have, too.

At Cass’s insistence that they agree with her, Van felt the weight of her’s and Cass’s friendship slip over her shoulders– a heavy weighted thing. The idea that if she didn’t fight back against the ill fated reassurances, she’d lose her forever. “We weren’t.” The words came out, never mind how minor, and they surprised her. Before, she would have relented– found her way through the cave’s mouth and escape only to message Cass later. But this had a certain finality to it, that if she turned her back, she might never see Cass again.

“We’re here to see her.” Her tongue felt heavy and iron pulled from the back of her throat.

—

Life was dangerous. Ariadne hadn’t been quite so aware of that when she was growing up (and she had a guess that being human then was a good part of it – and then there was how her parents didn’t have a clue about anything, and if they did have a clue, they kept all of that well away from her). But in the past year, and even more particularly in the last half year, and even more recently than that, she’d been terrified for Cass. Because her best friend wasn’t someone to shy away from friends. If anything, Cass was – or had been – ever-present in a way that provided unending comfort.

So her sudden drawing back was weird, especially when it came with confusing reasoning that Ariadne couldn’t find a way to make sense of. Wynne and Van had agreed about that, and now it seemed Metzli had, too. Even though she didn’t know them too well yet, they were Leila’s partner, and if there was someone whose opinion she knew would always be right, Leila was top of the list. Leila was scared for Cass too, she recalled.

Except before she could say anything else someone else appeared behind Cass. Non-glamoured, and beautiful in some ways (though not as beautiful as Cass), and she wrapped her arms around her torso, fingertips digging into each opposite upper-arm.

“Yeah.” She nodded, bolstered by Van’s words. “We’re – we’re here to see her. She’s my – my b-best friend and I just – I miss her. We all miss her.” Ariadne focused on Cass, not wanting to look her father in the eye, feeling incredibly tiny despite her height. “I can’t – can’t go, not yet.” The words burned in her mouth, and she found herself grateful that being dead meant she couldn’t blush anymore. Maybe it gave her an edge. Maybe it would allow her to help Cass.

—

Panic and fear were powerful feelings, sometimes unstoppable, but they brought out a violent honesty that was near impossible to suppress for most people. Metzli could recall countless moments they looked just as Cass did, and their mind went back to a painting still displayed at the gallery. A looming shadow in the background and a being unable to escape its touch. It was a sight Metzli had every instinct to protect Cass from, but they weren’t sure she’d allow for it.

The truth was far too terrifying to witness, so what would make the illusion fall right then? Metzli wasn’t sure, but they knew they had to try. Even if it meant getting burned. Stepping forward, they placed themself between Cass’s father and the two younger women, becoming a shield.

“Her friends miss her. I miss her too.” They stated firmly, keeping their eyes low and avoiding any gaze, but focused. Fear didn’t drive them to look away, not exactly. Looking at the man would only drive Metzli to violence, and they didn’t want to find out how Cass would react if that happened. “If you want to be good father, then you will be happy that she has so much…” Taking a breath, Metzli’s nape bristled, uncertain whether or not they were choosing the right words. “Family. She deserves every love. All of it. We will not leave her, and it will be w-wrong to make us leave. Wrong. Wrong.”

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

They felt the emotion begin to run their mind in circles, and before they could trip over it, Metzli wrung their fingers against themselves and counted softly to themself until the episode passed.

For a moment, it felt as though the world stood still. Cass was beyond hoping that her father would have a positive reaction to something like this. Maybe months ago, in the very beginning of their companionship, she would have longed for it. She would have imagined a world in which he cracked the smile that, until now, had existed for her and her alone, would have crafted a universe where he invited her friends to stay for dinner and listened to stories of Cass as she had been before he knew her. But naivety wasn’t the kind of thing she’d ever been able to afford, and she knew better than to hope for the impossible. The world stood still, not in anticipation of something decent springing it back into action, but to ask the question of just how bad things would be.

Van was insisting that they were here to see her, not leaving as she’d suggested. Ariadne was saying, again, that she missed her, and Cass ached with the words. Metzli was standing in front of a man they knew wanted to see them turned to dust with their fists clenched and their jaw set. Makaio glared at the lot of them, fire burning behind his eyes. And Cass loved them all. She loved Van’s stubbornness and Ariadne’s bravery, loved Metzli’s careful words, but she loved Makaio, too. She loved his protectiveness, loved the way he said her name like it was a precious thing. And she wondered if she was supposed to.

Her friends looked at him like he was a monster, and Cass loved him. She loved him even now, with her hands trembling and fear crawling up her throat. Could you be terrified of someone and love them still? Could you adore a person and still have nightmares about the things they were capable of?

Makaio turned to look at her, and she shrank beneath his gaze. She felt smaller than she’d ever felt before, felt like an insect at the foot of a giant. “I told you,” he said coldly, “that they didn’t respect you enough to understand your decision to be apart from them. I told you this.”

“It’s not — It isn’t like that,” she insisted, unable to meet his eye. “They’re just worried. And I was — I was going to tell them to go. Before you got here, that’s what I was doing. They just — They don’t understand.”

“You’re right,” he agreed. “They don’t.” For a moment, she thought that might be the end. She thought, maybe, he would let her handle it. But Makaio sucked a breath, and Cass stilled. She knew, in a way, what he would say before he said it. Loving someone meant being able to predict what they might do next, after all. “So it’s time that you make them. You say you want us to be equals, Cassidy. This is how you can achieve it. Get rid of them, and you and I can carry on in peace. It’s the last thing I’ll ask of you, keiki. Kill them, and it can be just the two of us. The way it was meant to be from the beginning.”

—

Van could understand to a degree where Cass was coming from. The idea of having somebody that loved you enough to stick around was something that drew her forward, too. But this was not right. The way that Makaio looked at the three of them, and then at Cass… there was something deeply sinister about it, and it made her stomach twist. She listened to Ariadne trip over her words, but the strength was still there. Metzli’s steeled voice sounded authoritative, and it had hope blooming through her.

Cass, however, seemed frightened. She was being split in multiple directions. Between their begging words and the stern look from Makaio, she knew what kind of weight must be pressed onto her right now, and Van felt bad that she was making it worse. That there might be repercussions once they did leave. But if she, Metzli, and Ariadne had it their way, the repercussions would come later, after they managed to get Cass out of the cave and talk some sense into her away from Makaio.

Defiant words crawled up and over Van’s tongue, pressed against the back of her teeth as she clenched her jaw. This was gaslighting 101, right? Like, how could Cass not see that? But she knew it wasn’t fair to impart that thinking on her friend, especially given the fact that when on the side of things where you thought this was love, it was hard to see it wasn’t. Maybe Makaio did love Cass, but not in the way that she deserved. Not in the way that everyone else in Wicked’s Rest did.

Their prior conversation rattled around in Van’s head like a bell calling the livestock home, but home looked different now that she was in front of Makaio who was telling Cass that her friends didn’t understand, and that–

“Whoa, whoaaaa–” That had to be what turned Cass over, right? Van’s gaze slipped over Makaio, then back to Cass, her hand still locked around her friend’s wrist. If Cass really wanted her to let go, she could pull back. Van wouldn’t stop her. “Are you serious– Cass, are you listening to him?” A nervous sweat licked at the back of her neck, and her throat suddenly grew dry. “Cass,” Van tugged on her hand, begging her to take a step away from Makaio. “She’s our friend! Why are you doing– why are you asking her to do this? She would never do that, not to us. She wouldn’t.” For once in Van’s life, there were no tears. Her magic was absent, held back by the ring wound around her finger. She could feel it bubble, but there was no spilling.

—

It wasn’t that Ariadne wasn’t happy for Cass to have family in town. Ariadne knew that she was lucky to have the parents she had. Ridiculously lucky, and shouldn’t she want that for her best friend too? She did want it, but with everything that had happened recently, she wasn’t sure just how much joy she could feel. She didn’t like how Cass’s dad was looking at them. It kept making her feel small, feel like she could just shrink into herself.

Her friend’s voice wavered and it made Ariadne feel sick. Cass was so often giddy and excitable and sure-footed. There was no judgment about her not being this way all of the time – and there never would be – but it was so much unlike the Cass that Ariadne knew that she had to do a double take. She didn’t want Cass to be afraid. She wanted to devour every hint of possible fear that her friend could have, keep them away from her. To never let her be hurt, not even one bit.

– so why couldn’t she move? She took another step toward Cass, on the opposite side from where Van was. Trying to keep her friend safe, as best as she was able. Which might have not been so very much, but something was better than nothing. Looking for any free space, she hooked her pinkie finger around Cass’s. Treasured the warmth from her friend.

Even if her dad did care about her, why would he want her friends to go away? Ariadne’s parents had practically literally jumped for joy when she’d admitted to finally having a few real friends. They’d wanted to meet them, for her to have them around for as long as it was possible. So it didn’t add up that Cass’s dad seemed to want them to go away.

Then he was saying to kill them and Ariadne shook her head right away. “Hey, uh, no. No thanks – there’s, uh, there’s no reason to do that! You know?” She was squeaking again, and she was maybe weak, but she could be better than that. She could be anything but weak. “Cass?” She echoed Van’s words. “Hey, Cass. I love you. Come on, you can – you don’t want to hurt us.” Didn’t say kill, because she couldn’t get the words out. “She won’t hurt us.” She narrowed her eyebrows, the hand whose pinkie was not around Cass’s clenched into a fist. “She’s not that sort of – friend.” Person, she almost said, but maybe Cass’s dad wouldn’t like that. Maybe Cass wouldn’t like that. Friend, however, was indisputable. “We can all hang out. We all love Cass so much.”

—

There was a sensation coursing through the vampire that they hadn’t felt since Chuy broke the news of his string of betrayals. It was an anger that had gone long past a simmer and a boil. Silently and with a bit of hyperventilation, Metzli wondered if that was what it felt like for Cass. The heat of her own body mixing with the anger. Her devil was dancing with her father’s demon, and the fiddler’s tune was only just beginning. Each pizzicato from the bow sent another rippling burn in Metzli’s belly, and before they could stop themself from speaking without thinking, they snapped.

“You make her work to be equal?” Parents weren’t supposed to do things like that. Being alive, just existing was supposed to be enough. Every moment was precious, and Cass had such little self worth from her life of abandonment that she couldn’t tell what her father was doing. “You make her do things for you so you can love her? How…how dare you?” The words came out in a growl, acid dripping from their tone. Looking up, Metzli’s eyes were already red and their fangs were sharp. They had to unbury Cass’s eyes to the truth, expose the man’s secrets to the glare and reflect it out like a grotesque carnival mirror.

“What-what is wrong with you?!” Their voice shook, but their spine was made of steel. Taking a step toward the two fae and van, Metzli swallowed, shaking with an anger akin to a volcano ready to erupt. With every plea that came from Van and Ariadne, the tremors grew, and when the man spoke of what was meant to be, Metzli vehemently shook their head.

“If she does not want to kill us, you will be a bad father if you make her. What kind of father does not want their child to be loved? Why does this family threaten you?!” They took another step forward, staring daggers into the bigger fae with their lungs filled with a mixture of courage and anger. “You are not good father. A good daughter like mijita deserves a good father.” Metzli’s fist was balled tightly while they kept the last shred of composure they had. “Be one. Be better. Maybe I leave one time, but I choose better and listen to Cass. Listen to what she wants!”

Makaio’s eyes slid to Van and Ariadne, and Cass was fairly unfamiliar with the feeling of being cold — volcanoes seldom froze, after all — but a chill ran through her all the same. She wanted to tell him to stop, but the words were caught in her throat. She could feel them stick to the inside of her mouth, feel them cling to her tongue and refuse to leave it. The world seemed to be closing in on her, two universes colliding in a way she’d always imagined would be joyous but was anything but.

“She’s killed for me before,” Makaio said, and Cass flinched. “More than once now. It’s asking very little for her to do it again. Things like you die so easily.”

They’re not things, she wanted to say. They’re my friends. I love them, just like I love you. Why can’t I have both? I want to have both. Please. Was it a selfish thing to want? She’d spent all her life longing for one family, and now she was throwing a fit over her inability to have two. Would she spend every waking moment wanting more? She wondered, with a sharp pain in her chest, if it would ever be enough. If her father had wanted to merge with the family she’d found in Wicked’s Rest, would Cass be happy? Or would she still long to add to it, still want in the way she always had? Maybe nothing would ever be enough for her. The thought was a stifling one, a thing that ached.

People were taught not to want, weren’t they? People were taught to be happy with what they had. Maybe Cass’s life would have been easier had she ever learned that lesson. But she didn’t. She wanted, even now. She wanted this moment to be different, to be better. Ariadne was scared, Van was confused, Metzli was angry, Makaio was close to eruption. Cass closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, taking a moment to steel herself.

He wasn’t expecting her to pull her wrist from his grip. She’d never done it before. So when she yanked, her hand came free fairly easily, and Makaio’s expression shifted to one of surprise. Cass planted herself firmly between her father and her friends, trying not to look as nervous as she felt. “Stop it,” she demanded. “I’m not — I’m not going to hurt them. They’re my friends. I’m sorry I’m not what I wanted you to be. I’m not — not what anyone wanted me to be. I know that. But I’m not going to hurt my friends.”

The surprise was still present on Makaio’s face. It rippled, a rockslide that shifted his features from shock into rage with a quiet rumble. His hands, now free without her wrist in his grip, clenched into fists at his side. Cass had seen her father angry, but never at her. In spite of everything, it hurt. She chewed her lip, standing firm despite her nerves.

“Stupid girl,” he said lowly. She flinched as if it were a physical blow. “I thought, with time, you could be shaped into something worthy. Perhaps it isn’t too late. If you won’t do what needs to be done here, I will. Let the slowness of their deaths be a lesson to you.”

He took a step forward; around them, the cave rumbled.

—-

Ariadne echoed her sentiments about not wanting to be killed, and Metzli conveyed the anger that stirred inside of her, displaying it for both Cass and Makaio to see. Van stayed still– silent in her disbelief that somebody could request this of somebody they claimed to love. The idea that Cass had killed for him before didn’t bother her, not in the way she thought it might at the confirmation. Instead, she thought of Debbie. Of the branding she and the others shared on their stomachs after being slashed with what Van knew now to be iron. She considered telling him, but what did it matter if she did?

Instead, she made eye contact with Cass. She hoped that her expression conveyed a certain neutrality, but the kind that was loudly on Cass’s side. Even if Cass had killed before, it was clear that it wasn’t in the vein of cruelty, but in something else– the hope for a connection, maybe. It was clear that Makaio had made their relationship all about what she could do for him, not what they could be together. Van hated him in place of Cass. Hated him enough to envision him dead, crushed beneath the weight of his choices. But now wasn’t the time. Her magic was stagnant, a boat out to sea with no power to move forward.

She listened to the way Cass fought back, insistence laced with longing. Van couldn’t completely understand the way that Cass felt, but she knew what it was like to love somebody who had the wrong idea. Would Jade ask her to kill a friend for the sake of her duty? Was it wrong to impart that idea onto her? Her chest tightened as Makaio began to speak, calling Cass stupid of all things.

Cass was the opposite. She was kind, compassionate– loving, fierce, loyal. She was everything Van had hoped for in a friend, so when Makaio began to shake the walls of the cave around them, Van enveloped herself in the love she had for her friend and she stepped forward, grabbing onto Cass’s arm. “She’s better than you’ll ever be, and she’s– she’s everything, and if you don’t see that, then you’re…” Van shook her head, fear beginning to worm its way through the adrenaline as the walls around them continued to rumble, “I don’t know what you are, but you’re not a father. You’re somebody who wanted something, and Cass is more than anything you could’ve hoped or dreamed for, and–” She held onto Cass’s arm tightly, partially forgetting that the other two were there as well, “she’s killed for me, too– protected me, and that’s what it should be about, love and protection, and maybe she did that for you, but I did that for her, too, and I helped her, and we share something, and I don’t think you’ll ever share it with her because you don’t know her and you never will.” The words came tumbling out laced with something that was hard to identify. She turned to Cass, “we can leave, we can go– he can’t hurt you when you have us.”

—-

Cass was one of the bravest people she knew, full stop. It was something Ariadne had believed forever, and right now was only further proof of that. She just wished that her friend didn’t have to be so brave. She deserved a break from things, and she deserved to have support from people closest to her. From her father, of all people.

“I don’t care if she’s killed. She’s still my best friend!” Ariadne shout-squeaked, wishing she had the ability to seem just a bit more frightening in this moment. She’d never really wished to be scary, but if it could get Cass’s father to back off, she’d wish for it a thousand times over. Wish for it until she couldn’t wish any more.

Van looked over to Cass and Ariadne did too. “She’s my best friend for-ever and always, and I love her no matter what.” That much was true. Her stomach turned as she thought back to the hunter who’d almost killed them both, and how that seemed to be when Cass had stopped talking to her in the same way. Ariadne should’ve followed after her. She knew that. She should’ve reassured her – or maybe not even stopped her. Even though she didn’t like the idea of that, and she didn’t know if she could go back and let Cass kill someone (even though maybe they did deserve to die, if they tried to kill her. Maybe, maybe.). What she did know was that she wished she’d never let go of her friend’s hand, literally or metaphorically.

Cass spoke, but her words wavered and Ariadne’s heart hurt. She shouldn’t be feeling that way. She was a volcano. She was bright and powerful and sometimes pretty loud and excitable and it felt wrong to see her looking small. It felt even worse when her father called her stupid. That wasn’t what parents were supposed to do. Van seemed to think along the same lines, and Metzli would too, Ariadne knew. They’d talked about protecting family. Cass was family.

You didn’t let go of family. Cass was family. She moved closer to Cass. “She’s not stupid. She’s one of the most brilliantest,” okay, not her finest word choice, “amazing people I know. She’s anything but stupid. She’s clever and caring and so so smart.” The cave’s walls were rumbling, but Ariadne didn’t move. “We’ll keep you safe.” She echoed Van again. “We’ll keep you safe and I’ll make sure he never hurts you. Make sure you’re happy.” It was all she wanted. She wanted to wrap Cass up in her arms and protect her, to tell her what familial love should feel like. Her parents could adopt a grown up, right? She could give Cass a family who wouldn’t force her to do what she didn’t want to do, right? “I love you. I love you forever.”

—-

“You do not scare me with your threats.” Metzli growled, unwavering in their place as Cass’s father attempted to strike fear in them by weaponizing the truth. Cass had killed someone, but that didn’t shape her into anything different in the vampire’s eyes. They were more worried for her mental well-being, knowing the guilt that riddled her heart for smaller things than murder. Taking a life was never easy, even when it was right, and Metzli wasn’t going to let a strange man perpetuate an idea he had no ground to uphold.

“Cass, it is okay. I still love you. It does not scare me that you have killed. I have too. It is scary and heavy when it is new, but we can be okay again. Come with us,” Metzli breathed shakily, eyes glistening with hope when she talked back to her father. “I love you, okay? You are not stupid.”

Family loved, unconditionally, and Cass dreamt of having her father fill his role the way he was supposed to. She fell prey to her own wishes, making excuses and rearranging the image of a family in hopes of the pieces fitting together seamlessly. You couldn’t force them to fit, and despite the pain, Metzli could see that Cass was beginning to accept that, in her own way. Even if she was still telling herself she was the cause of the puzzle not being cut correctly. They could work on that later, help her see that she was always perfect the way she was. When her father was out of the way and they were all safe, Metzli and Van and Ariadne would help her, and others too.

It looked like it was time to leave, anyway. Cass’s father was throwing a tantrum violent enough to shake the cave, endangering everyone who wasn’t stone. They had to act quickly.

“Come with us, mijita.” Rubble began to bounce off Metzli’s shoulder, and they looked up to see the integrity of the cave diminishing. They stepped closer to be a shield, watching Van pull Cass toward the group. She came to her senses, so she was going to leave with them. She had to. Right?

“We will take care of you. Come with us.”

She was wavering. She knew her father could feel it, knew he saw the way her body language screamed of her uncertainty. Where she’d previously leaned towards her father, she leaned back towards her friends now, making no move to shrug their hands off of her or step away from their comforting words. Makaio’s eyes flickered between them, glowing faintly with his rage as he scoffed.

“They rally behind you because they know you don’t want them,” he told her bluntly. “They’ll leave the moment you’re more accessible to them. They’ll walk away freely, as everyone always has. Who has stayed with you, Cassidy? Who besides me?”

Cass swallowed. Those old fears were swirling in her gut, reminding her of all the times she’d felt alone. But — but Van’s hand was on her shoulder and Ariadne’s words echoed in her ear and Metzli stood beside her the way she’d always imagined a parent would, in a way that spoke of the pair of them as equals. Makaio had never done any of this for her.

“They love me,” she said quietly. “They love me, too. Why can’t — Why can’t you be okay with that? They love me, like you do. They —”

“How could anyone love you?” Makaio snapped, and Cass’s mouth shut with such force that her teeth gnashed together painfully. “You are a disappointment. You are a failure. I thought you could be made useful, thought something good could come from you, but I was wrong. I spent months playing pretend for a sad little girl, and now I see it was for nothing. If I can’t make use of you, Cassidy, I’ll be sure you pay for wasting my time.”

It was jarring, this shift. For months, she’d been so sure that, if nothing else, her father loved her. Whatever else he was, he was still her father. He still cared for her, still wanted what was best for her. That thought had driven her all the while, had inspired her to push everyone else away and to defend him to the bitterest of ends. And now, standing here with the cave rumbling around her, she realized it was a lie. Makaio wasn’t someone who loved her. The people who loved her were the ones standing behind her now.

Cass turned back towards her friends, her heart in her throat. They wanted her to go with them. She wanted to go with them. But…

“I won’t leave you. I promise, I won’t.” Her words, the ones she’d spoken to him months ago, echoed in her mind now. She glanced towards him, saw it in his eyes. He remembered, too. He was probably tugging the bind now, causing that anchored feeling in her chest. There was only one way for her to go with her friends, only one way for her to leave.

Her father had to die.

In spite of everything, the thought made her stomach twist in violent discomfort. He didn’t love her, and maybe he never had, but Cass loved him. Even now, even standing in this trembling cave. She loved him, and she wanted to go, and the only way for her to do that was to force the bind to shatter.

The cave rumbled violently, the two oreads’ control warring with each other. Rocks fell on Metzli’s head, and they were small enough not to do any real damage, but a few feet away a much larger chunk of cave ceiling came loose and shattered against the ground. She glanced back to her father, and he was stepping forward. He burned dimly — never as bright as Cass herself, which might have been why he’d sought her out the way he had — but it was a dangerous glow all the same. A hand snaked out, trying to grab Van behind her, and Cass shoved him back.

“You think you can protect them?” Makaio sneered. “They’re going to die here, Cassidy. And when they’re gone, you’ll have only yourself to blame. And only me to fall back on.”

Cass whirled around, panic in her eyes as she faced her friends. “Go!” She yelled over the sound of the rumbling cave. “Go outside! I — I’ll meet you up there, I promise! But you need to go, now!”

—

Both Ariadne and Metzli continued to echo her own sentiments. If it were just her and Cass alone with Makaio, would they have gotten this far? Would Van so clearly be able to see the shift in her friend’s demeanor? The stark realization that she’d been manipulated? It wasn’t Cass’s fault, and Van didn’t blame her. Despite the hurt she felt due to the growing distance between herself and her friend, Van wasn’t angry at anyone other than Makaio. This was his fault. He preyed on the fact that Cass wanted nothing other than to be loved and he twisted it like a knife until it was too late to pull back without any blood loss.

But now, Cass was hemorrhaging. They all were.

Small rocks from above began to rain down, hitting the ground with enough force to make snapping noises. Van’s anxiety had begun to show its head in the way that iron coated her tongue, slipping down through her throat. She pushed it away. There was no room to be afraid, especially when Cass needed her. What good would it do, anyway?

Makaio’s words lit a fire beneath Van and she clenched her jaw, her magic still stagnant, but glaringly obvious now that she’d become more aware of it. It was there, and she would allow it to help if needed. She would trust her magic to protect them all if it came to that, but she knew she also needed to trust Cass, too. Van had learned that fae could not lie, not without some level of discomfort, and so the vitriol that Makaio spewed told her that he believed she was nothing. “Cass is the greatest thing to ever happen to you, the greatest thing to ever happen to me, and the fact that–” She looked towards Cass, recalling the night with Debbie– of their blood spilled, of dumping her into the pit, of everything else. The late night talks, the sweets shared between them, the jokes, the reassurances. How it had all come to an end because of him.

Makaio reached out for her and Cass put herself in between them. Van’s hand was still on her shoulder, grip loosening only due to the constant rock fall. The sound of the cave groaning made her skin crawl. This would likely be all of their ends if they didn’t leave, but Van couldn’t leave without Cass. “Not unless you come with us– you can’t– we can’t leave you, Cass.” Her grip tightened almost instantaneously, a hopeful thing laced with an edge that reached her tone as she dared Makaio to challenge the three of them. “Please, come with us. Don’t stay here. Just leave. Please!” Worry spun circles around her as her vision became hazy from the dust as it bloomed around them, larger chunks of rocks beginning to fall at their feet. She could see the look in Cass’s eye– had seen it a dozen times. There was a promise there, and she knew it to be binding, but what if she didn’t make it? Van enveloped Cass into a tight hug from behind, attempting to drag her backwards. “Come on, help me!” It was said to the other two behind her as she tried to bring Cass towards safety.

—

Her best friend’s father wasn’t really much like a father at all. Fathers weren’t supposed to act like this, to do things that made their children scared or uneasy or even significantly uncertain. Ariadne knew that she’d won when it came to parents, but she also knew that right now, Cass’s dad wasn’t meeting even the bare minimum requirement. Cass deserved so much more. Van and Metzli were echoing the same sentiment, and she knew that Nora and Wynne would think the same. Cass had so many people on her side, Ariadne just wished she could make sure that she knew that. Because Cass doubted the love people had for her, and she’d been given love, but the love she’d been given hadn’t been real, and yet she’d been convinced that it was.

And now she was realizing just how much it wasn’t and Ariadne wanted to take away every bit of sorrow and fear that Cass must have been experiencing now. She was grateful that she wasn’t alone with Cass and her father, but in the same thought, there was a certain part of her that wished it was just the three of them. Because then maybe, somehow, she could deal with this. She could prove to Cass that she could be strong, that she could do anything for her friend. For her forever friend. Or at least as close to forever as she was going to get. Hundreds and hundreds of years sounded pretty neat.

“Cass is the best thing in the world. I didn’t know anything really about friends – best friends – until I met her.” Ariadne didn’t look right at Van, mostly because she didn’t want to hurt her other friend. She and Van had been friends, but Van had been closer with Chance, and the two of them had grown apart until just over a year ago. Besides right now was all about Cass, and Ariadne was intent on keeping it that way.

The cave made a sound that was unsettling. One it had never made when it was just Cass around. Because Cass loved the cave, and the cave loved her, and things were balanced, then. With her father around, things were darker and cloudy and Ariadne opened her mouth to speak as Cass stood between them and her father. She wanted to scream that she couldn’t die, that she was already dead, that it didn’t matter, so long as Cass lived. Not in any form of a ‘want to die again’ way, but Cass mattered more than anything right now. She grabbed Van, reached out to touch Cass’s arms, to pull her as tightly as she could. “Just come now. Please, Cass. Please.” She had to listen, didn’t she? “You’re still my favorite superhero. My favorite friend. I – Cass, please.”

—

The structures around them all groaned and cracked, but nothing sounded louder than the way Cass urged them to leave. Van and Ariadne protested, and Metzli kept their hand out for just a little longer until a larger piece of stone crashed into their shoulder. Their arm went numb momentarily from the sudden impact, and it suddenly became very clear that they might have to do as Cass says instead of convincing her to join them.

She was promising, becoming an anchor to two tethers in separate directions, if the look in her father’s eye was any indication. It looked a lot like the look in both Eloy and Chuy’s eyes when an opportunity to exploit a weakness presented itself. The smug smile on his face was taunting and arrogant, making a pit in Metzli’s stomach as they pondered on the possibilities. He had something to use against Cass, but they just didn’t know what and time wasn’t on their side to figure it out.

“Van. Ariadne.” They swallowed, placing a hand on the young mare’s shoulder, but it fell quickly when another rock landed on them. With a hiss, Metzli tried again and tugged her gently toward them. They didn’t want to force them to follow, but if Cass was promising she’d meet them outside as the cave around them collapsed, Metzli didn’t really have an argument. No matter how badly that they wished they did, unsure if an oread could prevent themself from being crushed by their own nature. They loved her, so they had to listen.

With a little reluctance, the vampire tugged again, ignoring the way panic marched up and down their skin. “We have to trust her.” Metzli’s voice shook, but they did their best to not waver as more and more rubble began to surround them. “We have to go. She is promising!”

She couldn’t concentrate. It was taking all she had to keep herself together, to keep her father from getting too close to her friends, to make sure he didn’t hurt them. She knew she needed to take a more offensive stance, needed to fight him off directly, but with Van’s arms around her and Ariadne trying to help their friend pull her from the cave, Cass couldn’t focus on any of that. With the rocks falling around them, she couldn’t focus on any thought beyond the desire for her friends to be safe, for them to get out and get free. She could deal with Makaio, she knew she could. She recognized now that her strength had always surpassed his, that he hadn’t offered to help her destroy tourist sites or hurt hunters not because he wanted her to learn, but because he wasn’t sure he could. Cass was the stronger oread. She knew that now.

She just needed to prove it.

Maybe there was something selfish in the desire for her friends to leave the cave. She wanted them safe, of course she wanted them safe. But, at the same time… she didn’t want them to see what she was going to have to do here. She loved them all, and she knew now that they loved her, too, that they always had, but some dark voice in her mind still whispered that if they saw her cross a line — if they saw her do what needed to be done to separate her from her father — that love would falter. They would look at her differently, they would flinch away. Cass didn’t think she could handle it, not after everything. She wanted them to be safe. That was the main drive behind the insistence that they go. But it wasn’t the only one.

Makaio took another step, his face twisted into something terrible. For months now, Cass had thought the rocky features of his expression an immovable thing. His face was like that of one of the sprawling cliffs near the Magmacave — constant and smooth. Seeing it now, she realized she’d been wrong. Rage was capable of causing an earthquake that could shift that cliff into a crater, could make it into a terrifying thing. She thought of the Allgood pit, with the steep edges and the stench of death. Her father was much the same.

Pulling her arms free from Van’s grip, she moved to shove her father back, a resulting crash echoing through the cave as stone met stone. Her expression was one of desperation as she looked to her friends, locking eyes with Metzli. Of all of them, she thought, Metzli understood the most. Hadn’t she helped them take out Chuy in that crypt, when they were still mostly under his control? Hadn’t they said nothing when she’d let her magma seep into his skin? Her expression turned to one of pleading as the vampire called out.

“I promise!” She repeated desperately. She looked at Metzli, begging with her eyes. “Metzli, I can’t — I can’t do this with all of you here. I can’t keep them safe. Please. Please help me keep them safe.”

—

Van could barely hear Metzli or Ariadne over the sound of the cave splitting at the seams. Its groaning was a mournful thing– the acknowledgment of what was to come if they all left this place without Cass. Van’s fears were becoming a reality; that she would lose Cass forever. She tried her best to keep her arms around her friend, dodging the litter from above them by burying her face into Cass’s shoulder. She committed the feeling of Cass’s frame to memory, because it was the only thing that eased her into pulling away.

That, and Metzli’s arm snaking around her waist. Van let out a yelp as she was torn away from Cass. “Please, please– we have to take her with us!” She knew the ending of this story. She knew Cass may never come back from beneath the rubble, and who would she be if she left without acknowledging that? “Cass, please!” She shouted again, struggling against Metzli’s grip, but it was no use, they were far too strong for her to remove herself from. She tried to twist the ring from around her finger, to let the explosion of magic take them all down– to at least sacrifice herself in favor of the others, but Cass was becoming harder to discern from the dust and rubble.

Ariadne hadn’t followed them out, and thus another wave of panic washed over Van as she tried to peel herself away from Metzli. She gulped in the fresh air as soon as they broke free from the cave, and just as she managed to wiggle free, she watched as a large chunk of the cave came crashing down into the entrance, sealing them off from those left inside. “Ariadne is still in there! Cass!” Van threw herself at the rubble and immediately began trying to clear it away. “Cass! Ariadne!” She screamed as she scooped away the debris. The larger chunks were unmoving, and so she turned towards Metzli. “Help me,” Van pleaded.

There was a look in Cass’s eyes that Metzli had seen only months ago. Suddenly, the fiddler’s tune began to ravage the strings with fervor, and the devil began its dance, though to the blind eye, one would only see Cass’s father. She needed to join in, and everyone else needed to let her, trust that she could out-tempo his tune. They just needed to get the others safe, but they only had one arm.

For a few beats, the vampire looked around, trying to figure out a way to get both of Cass’s friends out in their arm. Then it clicked. Ariadne would be fine.

“I love you.” They said shakily, “I am proud of you.” Squeezing their eyes shut, Metzli nodded their head and tears rolled down their cheeks. They wanted to stay and fight for the girl they saw as their own, but the world had other plans. It always did, and before Metzli knew it, they were dragging Van out of the cave, only looking back to see Cass disappear in the clouds of dust. “Ariadne will be okay. It is night time. We have to trust.”

When they made it out, they were welcomed with fresh air, still warm from the day. Metzli looked back to the mouth of the cave and finally set Van down, arm ready in case she tried to run back in. “We will wait.” Their voice was shaky yet firm in its command. “Too dangerous to be inside with flesh.” Taking a breath, Metzli added, “I want to stay inside too, but no one ever listen to Cass when she was child. Loving is listening. I am sorry.”

Cass was telling them all to leave and Ariadne was five again, refusing to leave the ice cream store. Except this was much more important than that. This was about her best friend. Her best friend who was desperate and afraid and it made Ariadne shake with anxiety, because Cass wasn’t listening and her stubbornness was one of Aria’s favorite things about her, but right now she just wished that her best friend would listen. Except she wasn’t, and now Metzli was dragging Van out and Ariadne ducked out of the way.

She’d help Cass. She’d get her out. Everything was dusty, and it was becoming harder to see. She was grateful that she didn’t have to breathe. Except Cass did. But maybe because she was part rock and volcano and maybe that meant that it would be okay for her?

“I’m not leaving, Cass!” She screamed as loud as she could manage. Doing something that made her lungs hurt like she’d run for too long in the cold. “I’m not. Not until you leave. We’re best friends, and I love you, and come on, please!” She ran forward, grabbing onto Cass’s arm. “Collapse it or whatever you’ve gotta do and then hold my hand and we’ll run and you can — it’ll be okay, right? Please.” She wasn’t going to cry. Ariadne was going to be brave, for her and Cass’s sake. And also for Van and Metzli who were outside, and safe – because they had to be, because she could only worry about so much right now.

“I’m staying and then we’re going together.”

—

Metzli pulled Van out, and Cass hoped they understood the flood of gratefulness that flowed from deep within her chest even if there was too much chaos to properly voice it. With two less people to worry about in the cave, the oread could focus more of her attention on holding her father at bay and a little less on where the stones were falling around her. Van and Metzli were safe; Makaio couldn’t use them against her so long as they were outside the cave, and Cass could focus more of herself on defeating him and joining them at the surface. Van and Metzli were safe.

But Ariadne wasn’t.

It struck her all at once, her friend’s voice echoing through the cave. Metzli couldn’t drag the pair of them out, not with only one arm, but she’d hoped Ariadne would go with them all the same. Instead, the mare was gripping her arm and begging her to leave, and Cass wanted to shout her frustrations into the collapsing structure around them. I can’t, she wanted to yell. You don’t understand. I can’t leave him, I promised. But saying it aloud felt like saying too much, and there was always a risk that Aria wouldn’t understand the weight of it, anyway. She’d explained promise binds to her friend, but wasn’t it the kind of thing that was impossible to understand from the outside?

She couldn’t leave her father, and she couldn’t do what she needed to do with Ariadne watching. She wanted — She wanted an after, a place where all of them could exist unchanged. She wanted a world where her friends wouldn’t see her differently, a place where she could exist outside of this moment. It was already a slippery concept to hold, already like trying to grip a stream of water between her fingers. But if Ariadne stayed, if she bore witness to what Cass knew needed to be done here —

Even if she got out physically unscathed, the bond between them wouldn’t be the same. Cass knew it as surely as she knew her name, as surely as she knew what she had to do here to free herself from her father. She needed Aria to go. She needed the cave empty for this next part, needed it to be only herself and her father the way it had been for months now, even if she needed it for different reasons than she had then.

She set her jaw in a stubborn line, stomach churning with the knowledge of what she had to do next. There was only one way to get Ariadne to leave the cave quickly, only one way to contain the damage. “You thanked me,” she breathed, the sound of her voice rumbling along with the cave. “Back — months ago. You thanked me and I didn’t — I never cashed it in. I’m cashing it in now. Go outside, Ariadne. Get out of here. Now.” She made the bind with practiced ease, even if doing so made her feel a little sick. This was what needed to be done for all of them. Cass knew that.

—

Cass seemed mad. Which didn’t make sense – she couldn’t actually be mad, could she? She was stressed and maybe Ariadne had overdone it with the staying, but she couldn’t help herself. She also couldn’t not stay. That wasn’t an option. Friends didn’t let friends stay down in a cave that was falling apart alone, or something. Some modified version of the actual phrasing.

You thanked me.

Ariadne’s stomach turned and she wanted to refute that fact, but it wasn’t really possible to, because Cass couldn’t lie and Ariadne was sure she’d messed up more than once with her expressions of gratitude, even though Cass had told her not to do that. But she was forgetful and she loved her friend so much, so messing up was something she was bound to have done.

She just wished Cass wasn’t so keen to use it. Cass hadn’t really ever cashed in on thanks or promises before, and Ariadne didn’t like the implications of what Cass was doing right now. “I – no!” She shook her head. Except, of course, that did nothing. It was nighttime, and with her friend’s words, she found herself suddenly outside, cursing herself that she actually was good at astral projection. That wasn’t how things should have worked, and she collapsed onto the ground, in front of Metzli and Van and shook her head.

“She – she made – I – she made me go. She’s still there!” Turning towards the entrance, Ariadne screamed again, “Cass!” Turned back to the other two. “I – she’s – I – why did she do that? She – I – Cass!”

Dust and rubble collected at the entrance of the cave, and Metzli watched in horror as it covered it completely. Their heart begged their legs to move, but they wouldn’t comply. Cass wanted them to trust her, believe that she could do the impossible when her father so clearly did not. Metzli gritted their teeth at the thought, keeping an eye on Van. “Please,” They whispered, watching and waiting. Their entire body continued to tense, and it wasn't until Ariadne appeared out of thin air that Metzli allowed themself to relax. Slightly.

“You are out!” The vampire blurted, still keeping an eye on Van as they embraced Ariadne tightly Leila surely would have somehow had a heart attack if anything happened to either of them, and it was a relief to Metzli that they would have no bad news to share once Cass was out. They swallowed, “She wanted us safe. We have to trust her. We have to. She is strong. Her father is not. He is a weak coward.” Squeezing a little harder, Metzli planted their cheek atop Ariadne’s head in a soothing manner, shifting their eyes back to the cave entrance in hopes of seeing Cass crash through soon.

Van was not gentle with the rocks she pulled from the small mound blocking her entrance to the cave. Instead, she threw them behind her. Some were too large to throw, so they rolled at her side. She could hear voices behind her– Ariadne’s, but she made no move to turn and see if her friend had escaped, because the question of Cass and why she’d forced Ariadne out had come to light.

She focused on the rocks, pulling each one back, hopeful to see Cass’s face on the other end. “Help me! We can– we can dig her out!” She knew that realistically, Cass would be able to get herself out, but what would happen if she didn’t? Would she think that her friends ran away? Cass had spent so much of her time worrying she wasn’t loved that Van needed to show her she was. “Please, help me.” Exasperated, Van could feel the sweat begin to bead at the back of her neck, and her eyes burned from both the tears and the salt. “We can get her– we can get her out! We have to try!”

Ariadne disappeared from the cave, into the astral and off to safety. Relief was a palpable thing, a pressure pushing down on her chest hard enough to force all the air from her lungs at once. Ariadne was safe. Van was safe. Metzli was safe. She hadn’t doomed them with her stubbornness, hadn’t been too late to save them from her downward spiral.

She hoped she wouldn’t be too late to save herself, either.

Rocks still fell from the ceiling, from the walls. The safe haven she’d built for herself felt anything but safe now, and she felt a piece of herself crumble with it. She thought of a story she’d read once, years ago, when the public library was her safe haven and she’d picked books off shelves with a desperation built from bricks of wanting to understand and be understood in return. It hadn’t been one of her favorites or anything, but it wasn’t a bad story.

It was about a chicken, because most children’s stories seemed to star animals in the place of people. He’d gone outside one morning and been so sure that the sky was falling. He’d run through town, warned everyone he saw with a desperate plea: the sky is falling, the sky is falling, the sky is falling. And everyone took shelter, everyone hid away in their homes trembling and afraid because the sky was falling, and no one knew what to do with that.

And then came morning, and the sky was still there. It hung above the Earth the same as it always had, and that silly chicken realized that the piece of the sky he’d been so sure had fallen on his head was a tiny acorn. It must have felt so much bigger in the moment, Cass thought. It must have felt like the world was ending.

It was the kind of thing she realized she could relate to now. All her life, the smallest acorns had convinced her that the world was at its end. The people she loved never loved her back the way she wanted them to, they left when she needed them to stay. Every time she stood staring at someone’s retreating back, she was that stupid chicken running through town, screaming for all to hear. The sky is falling, the sky is falling, the sky is falling. And the next morning, the sky was still there.

There was another fable, wasn’t there? About the boy who cried wolf. It taught that if you made enough false claims, no one would believe you when the claims were true. If you screamed about a wolf in the bushes over and over again, if you convinced the shepherds to come with their guns and their staffs only to find the bushes empty time and time again, they’d eventually stop coming at all. There would be no one left to save you from the wolf, no one left to keep it from devouring you.

For years now, Cass had felt as if every acorn that fell on her head was an apocalypse. The sky fell, but only for her. She warned everyone around her, and maybe it meant something the first few times. Maybe it scared them, too. But there had never really been a wolf hiding in the bushes and, sooner or later, the shepherds had stopped coming to save her.

So what was left for her, now that the sky really was falling? What would Chicken Little have done, had his piece of sky wound up being larger than an acorn?

Hands grabbed her, slamming her against the wall. The cave shook harder, her own fear crumbling the walls the same as her father’s anger. His eyes were glowing a faint orange as he glared at her, rocky face twisted into something rageful. Cass wondered if she looked the same. The thought that she might no longer felt like a comfort.

“Stupid girl,” Makaio snapped. He sounded different than he ever had before; it took Cass a moment to realize that he was afraid. “Do you understand what you’ve done? You ruined everything. For the both of us. Do you truly believe that those… insects you drove from this cave are capable of loving you? Of staying with you? I am the only one who could have done that. I am the only one who could have made you great.”

She thought of all the things she wanted to say, all the things she could tell him. She thought of Metzli, who took her to the zoo and asked her to help them name a baby giraffe. She thought of Van, who ordered takeout while she sat upside down on the couch and played Go Fish. She thought of Ariadne, who saw every movie Cass dragged her to even when she probably had no interest in them. And she thought of other people, too, of people not outside her cave waiting for her. She thought of Kaden, who let her call him her sidekick with only a faint roll of his eyes. She thought of Leila, who had always been willing to fight for her even when Cass wasn’t sure she was willing to fight for herself. She thought of Wynne, who asked for her opinion on things. She thought of Mack, who liked her even after she accidentally threw her down the stairs, or of Thea, who talked about comics with her even after Cass accidentally shaved her head. She thought of Elias and Nora and Regan and Jonas, of Alex and Ren and Luci and Milo.

She thought of all the people she loved and the ones who loved her back, and she couldn’t find the words to name them all to tell Makaio that he was wrong, but she knew he was, anyway. He held her against the wall, and she stared at him for a moment before her mouth fell open, words tumbling out: “Would you believe me if I said the sky was falling?” Makaio’s expression flickered — rage turned to confusion, but only briefly. Cass decided not to let it stop her. “Everyone believed Chicken Little. I never understood why. He said the sky was falling, and everyone believed him. Would you — Would you believe me?”

Makaio pulled her forward, went to slam her back into the wall again. Cass let her arms shoot out, let them land hot against his chest and shove him back with all her strength, magma surging forward. He grunted, stumbling back. She was stronger than he was; it was the only reason he’d ever wanted her around.

“Because I think… I think that’s what love is. You know? Believing someone when they say the sky is falling, even when it’s right outside the window. And they —” She gestured towards where the mouth of the cave had stood before. It was gone now, buried by rocks and rubble. “They would believe me. If I told them the sky was falling, they’d go into their houses and they’d lock the doors and they’d be afraid, but they’d believe me. I could tell them there was a wolf in the bushes a thousand times, and they’d still come to look.”

Makaio stared at her for a moment, but he made no move to step closer. His face was still twisted in that strange, unfamiliar expression that she now knew to be fear. It wasn’t the rocks he was afraid of anymore, she thought; it was her. She didn’t know if it felt good or not.

“I won’t release you from your promise,” he told her in a low, gravely tone. Cass closed her eyes, nodding her head.

“I know,” she admitted, barely a whisper. She opened her eyes, saw larger pieces of the cave falling now. A chunk came down to Makaio’s left, close enough to shake the ground beneath his feet. He didn’t move. Another landed just behind Cass, so close that she felt the sharp pain of it brushing against her spine. She didn’t move, either.

Rocks fell between them until she couldn’t see her father anymore. They fell beside her until she couldn’t see the walls of the cave, either. She took a deep breath. She closed her eyes.

The sky was falling.

—

Metzli held tightly onto Ariadne, careful not to crush her, but enough that it might've been uncomfortable. They didn't let go until the rumbling stopped, only a few smaller rocks tumbling down here and there from the disturbance. Silence surrounded the trio and it was as if an symphony had died, unable to swell into a crescendo and keep rhythm with the pace Metzli's heart would've set if it could leap.

“Please,” They whispered beneath their breath, as if some higher being above could hear their petition over the billions of others. Closing their eyes, they counted, over and over again, only opening their eyes when something in the wind changed. Their eyes widened with a mixture of surprise and relief at the sight of Cass outside the cave, and without another moment of hesitation, Metzli let go of Ariadne to run to her. They stopped short, restraining themself in case she needed a moment to not be overwhelmed.

“Y-you did it!” They grinned and blinked, squeezing their fist tightly shut to keep their excitement from bubbling over. “You-I…I am so proud.”

She fought against Metzli’s hold on her as the cave seemed to collapse into itself. She screamed as it did so, falling to the ground the moment that their grip on her loosened even just by a fraction of anything. Ariadne didn’t bother to look down and see if her knees were scraped, if glitter was on them, because she was fine and Cass was the only real priority now. The only priority, full stop.

Then she was outside of the cave and Ariadne ran toward her, with little regard for the concept of personal space. If Cass didn’t want a hug, she’d deal with apologies after. She needed to hug her best friend, she needed to pull her away from the falling rock and hold her and never ever let her go again.

Except as she went to grab Cass, she found that her best friend was intangible and Ariadne screamed again, completely collapsing on the group as she let out a loud sob. “She – she’s not – she’s not here! You – Cass!” She gulped for air, feeling suffocated even though she didn’t need to breathe. “Where are you? You’re there but you’re – where are you? Please – just come over here. Hold my hand. I’ll make sure things are okay.”

—

Pain was sudden and intense and everywhere. It was an all-consuming kind of thing, and Cass couldn’t bite back the scream that came on its heels but she didn’t think it mattered, anyway. The sound, ripped from her throat against her will, was lost to the deafening boom of falling rocks. The sound of stone hitting stone swallowed up everything else; she couldn’t hear her own thoughts bouncing in her head, couldn’t hear if her father was still trying to speak to her, couldn’t hear anything outside the cave at all. It was is if nothing existed except for her and the rocks falling around her; they were the same. They were a part of her just as much as she was a part of them.

It was overwhelming, how much it all was. The pain, swallowing her up with gnashing teeth and an acidic burn, knew every part of her. Her head, her shoulders, her legs, her stomach. There was nothing that didn’t hurt. Even the tips of her ears ached in a way she’d never known possible. Her eardrums, too, hurt with the noise of it. The rocks falling, her own hoarse yells, the rumbling and the pounding. Light was swallowed up, until only the faint glow of her own magmic veins remained. And then those, too, disappeared, falling beneath stone that cracked everything open with its weight. She thought of Atlas in the myths and wondered if his shoulders had hurt as much as hers did now.

It went on forever, somehow. The pain, the sound, the darkness. And then, abruptly, it all stopped. Nothing hurt anymore; silence surrounded her. She hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes, but there was the barest hint of light visible from behind her lids. She opened them slowly, afraid of what she might find.

The sky was still there. Hanging above her head, just as blue and endless as it always was. She stared up at it for a moment, heart in her throat as she wondered if, once again, she’d built an apocalypse from an acorn. Something felt strange, felt wrong; she felt different in a way she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

But then, a voice called out her name, and the worry and fear that came with that strangeness seemed to melt away. Metzli was running towards her, Ariadne was calling out. She’d saved them and, impossibly, she’d saved herself, too. Ariadne went to wrap her up in a hug, but she — she missed, somehow. Cass didn’t quite register it as strange, adrenaline making it difficult to focus as she scanned the surrounding area. Ariadne and Metzli were here, were in front of her, but she couldn’t fully relax until she saw —

“Van!” She stepped towards her friend, still crouched by the stones that had once been the cave’s entrance. She was out. Didn’t Van see? She’d promised to meet them outside the cave and, somehow, that fae magic had pulled her out to let her keep it. “Van! I’m here! It’s…” But Van didn’t look up. She was still at the rocks, still looking distraught as if Cass hadn’t spoken at all. “Van…?”

Dread built up in her stomach, gripped her by the throat. No…

—

Van only dared a look over her shoulder as Metzli spoke. Their gaze was trained on the nothingness in front of them, and then Ariadne followed suit. She twisted around, watching them, hopeful to see what they could. Cass was out? Cass was–

But Ariadne was stumbling forward, desperation whistling from her open mouth. Van couldn’t stand. She couldn’t move. She remembered what it was like watching Erin speak to somebody that wasn’t there. She remembered the absent feeling, of being on the outside of something that she couldn’t put together. It was uncomfortable, and it revealed everything that Van needed to know.

“No, no– no!” She turned back towards the rocks. The majority of what was left were too heavy for Van to lift, so she started to kneel against the ground, arms hugging them as she tried to wedge them from the spots they’d landed in. “Cass!” Van screamed, but not behind her towards the others– of where Cass was presumably at, but to where she’d been left in the wreckage of her father’s doing. “Cass, I’m– I’m going to get you, I’m going to figure it out, I’m going to– we have to–” She turned towards the others, eyes glossy. “We have to get her out of there. She’s not out. She’s not out.”

Van had lost, and she had lost again, and she would continue losing those she cared deeply about and she knew that she would. It would consume her, twist her insides until she couldn’t breathe, and then over time, she would heal. But at the moment, she wasn’t sure she’d ever heal from the loss of Cass. Of one of the truest friends she ever had. “The necklace,” Van choked out, turning back towards the rocks, “the necklace is in there, too.” But the notebook was there, on the ground a few feet behind her, dropped from when she beelined for the cave’s entrance. She scrambled towards it, still on hands and knees and gathered it to her chest. It was the last thing any of them had of her. She had to keep it safe.

“She’s– Cass?” Van knew from Erin that the others on this plane of existence could hear her– could see her in a way that she could not see them, and so she hoped Cass was listening. “I’m– I’m sorry.”

—

“N-no. No!” Metzli shook their head vehemently in disbelief, rejecting the sight of Ariadne passing through Cass. “We-I-I can fix this!” The march of ants became frenzied, each step accompanied with a fierce bite full of venom. It was overwhelming and Metzli feared it would eat away at the beautiful music that Cass had brought into their life. They met that silence with a sorrowful noise, choking on sobs as they leapt into action.

“I know first aid.” The vampire used their strength to toss aside the larger stones, urgently trying to make an opening. With each reach, their nails dug against the rubble, tearing off when Metzli’s movements became too erratic.

“Can-does-does my bite–Cass!” They pleaded, building an opening and trying to crawl inside only to find there were more rocks. “No!” Metzli's voice became a scream, the crunch of their knuckles slamming against the wall of stone joining in the noise. There was nothing but a crack left behind with a smear of black ooze, and Metzli quickly turned to Cass and ran back to her. It was no use to panic. Being a ghost couldn't have been easy to realize, and as someone who loved her, Metzli knew they had to set everything aside to provide a safe space for the one they called theirs.

“You should not be dead. You-you…Mija?” Parents weren't supposed to outlive their young, they weren't supposed to put them in a position that led to their death, so maybe, Metzli thought, they were just as bad as Makaio. They had outlived everyone in their bloodline, and now, they had outlived another.

“I…am sorry.” They sniffled, nearly hovering their damaged hand over Cass's cheek before thinking better of it. “You saved us. You-you…are hero. Our hero.”

Cass was her first real best friend. She’d had friends before but none were quite like Cass. Van couldn’t see her and Van was the only one of the three of them who Cass had forced outside of the cave who was alive, and that had to mean – no. She didn’t want to say it out loud Didn’t want to think it, either, but thoughts had minds of their own (which wasn’t like, physically possible but still, it seemed right, and somebody smart had probably said that before) and so Ariadne couldn’t stop her thoughts from racing – from going ghost ghost ghost.

Which meant Cass was dead and another sob escaped from Ariadne’s mouth, loud and eerie enough that she wasn’t sure if she even recognized it herself. “No!” She looked around, desperate, “Cass, please, please come back. I’ll do anything!” She shook her head, and she kept shaking her head, “we were supposed to be friends for hundreds of years!! Not just – not this short of a time.”

Cass couldn’t be dead. Her best friend, who was so full of life and light and fire (quite literally, as a matter of fact) couldn’t be gone. She’d touched Cass not even ten minutes ago, and now she couldn’t. It seemed impossible. “Please!” She scream again, and she felt like she was going to be sick and she couldn’t think and Cass was dead and she’d known Cass might die before her, but that wasn’t supposed to be a problem she had for like, almost a thousand years. Cass wasn’t supposed to be dead yet.

“There’s so many movies I wanna watch with you, and places we’ve gotta go! You need to take me to the best volcanoes – Cass! I love you. Je t’aime beaucoup, pour toujours.” I love you so much, for always. “You’re the bravest and best person I’ve ever known. You are my superhero. I love you. I love you so much. I’ll never stop.”

Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.

It felt different hearing it this time. She’s dead, they’re dead, he’s dead– they’re all dead. We killed her, it killed him, the fire killed them and others– how many different ways could something be said that made her feel this lost? Suspended in something she couldn’t quite identify. Her muscles felt like jelly as she watched Ariadne plead with the space in front of her. She forced herself to memorize the way Cass felt beneath her arms just moments ago, of how she smelt of ember and pine. Metzli called Cass her their hero and the word echoed, morphing itself into the word dead and can’t. Heroes can’t die. Hadn’t that been what her father had told her time and time again as he lifted his dvd’s up for her to see, X-Men on the cover?

But that wasn’t true, right? Heroes died all the time. Cass was dead. Behind the rocks, submerged in them– probably an unrecognizable thing. Was it cruel to imagine her in that way? Van imagined her father, Makaio in that way– of his eyes opened and unseeing, of blood trickling from his mouth. Something akin to relief rose in her. It made her feel sick, too.

Ariadne continued to plead with the ghost of her friend she could no longer see, and Van was left on the ground with the notebook pressed to her chest. Her mouth felt dry. “Have to tell– have to tell Thea, tell Nora.” She needed to tell others before she could completely fall apart. How would she be able to get in contact with Ren? Would Ren care? Her mind raced as she stared at the ground, memorizing the way the rocks she’d managed to carve away from the entrance had gathered at her feet.

“She’s dead,” Van croaked. It was a confirmation for nobody but herself, because she already knew that. She already knew that Cass was dead and she wouldn’t be coming back. She knew that life would be forever changed. Whatever was in the notebook she held would be her final goodbyes, and that in itself made Van bite the hand of grief, drawing its blood until there was nothing left but skin and sinew. She couldn’t fall apart now, not when others would need to know. When Cass deserved a burial. When– She looked at Ariadne and Metzli, both grief stricken. Van wasn’t sure what to do for either of them, but she would figure it out.

“I’m sorry, Cass,” Van said again, a small half-sob building in her throat as she got to her feet, legs wobbly.

—

Van finally looked up and, for the briefest moment, hope was a living thing in her chest. It fluttered and rose and sang until the moment her friend’s eyes looked past her, looked off into the middle distance and then back to the rocks. Van couldn’t see her, even with Metzli and Ariadne looking at her, speaking to her directly. Ariadne’s hands had gone through her, not past her. The rocks had been falling from every direction, the pain had been everywhere. And Cass knew. Cass knew what it meant, what it all added up to. The pieces came together like a puzzle no one wanted solved. Cass knew the answer, and everyone else did, too.

The chaos that came after the realization was an immediate thing. Everyone was yelling, stones were being tossed aside. If there was ever a physical embodiment of love, it was in the way Metzli’s hands gripped at those rocks, the way Van dug at the dirt, the way Ariadne screamed and sobbed. She’d been right, down in that cave when the sky was falling. The people here loved her enough to come to her aid every time she called for them. She’d been stupid not to realize it all along.

There was a certain tragedy that came with a certainness that arrived too late. If she’d known weeks ago what had been proven to her now, she wouldn’t have slipped as far as she had. But what had been proven to her now couldn’t have been made certain without what had preceded it. It was like one of those stupid riddles, the ones with no right answer. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? If you can only be saved by knowing you’re loved, and you can only believe in the love your friends have for you when they’re mourning your loss, did you ever stand a chance?

They were all apologizing, and Cass wanted to cry, wanted to scream, wanted to shake the Earth with all that she felt. But already, her form was flickering; she’d had a promise to keep, and she’d kept it. She’d met them at the top when it was over. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t finished; she wasn’t meant to stay.

“I’m sorry,” she choked on a sob, though there was no wetness on her face. Maybe ghosts didn’t cry; maybe they weren’t capable of it. “I’m — Tell Van. Tell her, too. Make sure she knows. I’m sorry. I love you — I love all of you.” She looked to Ariadne and Metzli in turn, looked to Van who was trying to look at where she stood but couldn’t quite find the right position. The ache in her chest wasn’t a physical thing; on some level, she knew it.

That didn’t make it hurt any less.

The world flickered around her, going from black to golden white before resetting back outside the cave. “It wasn’t your fault. Okay? I need you to know that. It wasn’t any of your faults. It was — It was me. Or it was him. Or — Or maybe it was both of us. I don’t know. But it wasn’t your fault. You were — You were everything to me.”

She looked to Aria, forcing a smile. “You’re — I think you’re the best best friend I could have asked for. When I was a kid, I never could have imagined that I’d find someone like you. And I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t a good friend to you in the end. I’m sorry I couldn’t be what you deserved, what I — what I wanted to be. I’ll still love you for a hundred years, even if I’m not here to do it.”

Turning to Metzli, she swallowed. “And you… You were my family. Not him. I should have seen it sooner, I should have —” She could fill an ocean with should haves now, couldn’t she? She closed her eyes, willing herself to remain a little while longer. “Please don’t… Please don’t hate yourself for this. It wasn’t your fault. You deserve a family. And you have one. With Leila, with Aria, with so many people who love you. Please don’t… Please don’t let me be the thing that ruins that.”

Van still couldn’t see her. Cass choked on a sob at the realization, looking back to her friend still standing by the ruined mouth of that empty cave. “Tell Van… Tell her I’m glad we were both in the supermarket that night. Tell her that everything that happened, all of it, was worth it just to get to know her. Tell her I wouldn’t change any of it, not for a second. And… and tell her she was right. We would have been friends either way. All of us. The Allgoods were written in the stars, I think.”

She smiled, looking back to Metzli and Ariadne. The world flickered again. “I’m okay,” she told them. “I need you to know I’m okay. It doesn’t hurt. I’m going to be okay. Whatever’s next… I think we’ll see each other again someday. Just not too soon, okay? I don’t mind waiting.”

Another flicker, and it was over. The space she’d occupied was empty, without so much as an echo left behind. The final rumblings of the cave silenced as the ground came to settle beneath the remaining three pairs of feet. There was no more cave; there was no more oread.

And the sky was still there, in the end, still hanging above the Earth as it always had. There was just one less person to see it.

#ariadnewhitlock #vanoincidence #muertarte #ariadne: sky is falling #van: sky is falling #metzli: sky is falling #wickedswriting #:D

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ficbrish · 8 months

Text

Stay A While

Rating: Explicit 18+ only!

[AO3 Link]

[Kinktober 2023 prompt thanks to @absurdthirst! October 21st - Hair Pulling, Masturbation]

[[TW/CW: Cptsd, blood]]

Summary: Astarion wants to linger the morning after one of their initial trysts.

Takes place in Act I.

[Click here for my other Kinktober one-shots]

“Where do you think you’re going?” Astarion’s droll tone harbored a tinge of excitement.

Vistri froze in her tracks, but answered with her back still to him, “Surely the others are waiting.”

He clicked his tongue with a slow shake of his head. “Back to camp,” he observed dryly, drawing out the word camp, then giggled, “How droll!”

She turned to face him; not an agreement to stay, just to hear him out. His pointy-toothed grin charmed her more than she’d like to admit.

“What’s the rush, darling?” he asked mischievously.

The only rush she felt was her pulse, but she couldn’t say that even if he already sensed it. Admittances such as those were for late nights spent together—Well… They said those sweet things all the time, and to anyone, but it was different when they actually meant it. Truth belonged to the midnight hours and their illusions, where it could hide in the dark. But it was simply out of place under the sun.

Vistri crossed her arms, suppressing a creeping smile, “I’m guessing you have other ideas?”

Admittedly, Astarion was curious. The tadpole gave him freedom, a new lease on undeath, but Vistri opened up entirely new pathways of pleasure. He woke up feeling the best he’d ever felt after drinking her blood. Only to be topped when they added a fuck into the mix. In a bit over a tenday, Astarion had a few of the best mornings of his life. He didn’t think it was possible to feel any better. Unless…

Light filtered through the trees, adorning him in spotty shadows. Rays of sunlight hit the side of his face, making one of his eyes sparkle like a rich ruby as the other was cast into darkness. He held up his hands innocently and made a show of looking side to side, “I don’t see any search parties.”

Ah, to never be found. Oh, to stay in this little grove and fuck ‘til death.

Vistri raised her brow, tentatively interested, “Say there were. Just how disappointed would you be?”

That was his cue to walk towards her, “Be careful of the way you talk to devils, girl. You might entice one. The sun may be high in the sky, but you’re never safe alone with a monster.”

The word, monster, stuck itself in Vistri’s mind like mud on a boot. She tried to scrape it off and put it on Astarion, but she couldn’t. She looked into his scheming, slanted eyes and said, “I’m not afraid of you under the moon either.”

He uncrossed her arms and wrapped them around his waist, “You little fool.”

His mouth was so close to hers, Vistri felt dizzy, “I’m no fool.”

They were nearer to each other now than they’d been all morning. Vistri always fell into her trance on his chest and came back to the present with her face against dirt. He never held her after the sun rose, never kissed her good morning or farewell. It wasn’t like he’d set a clear boundary; he just never did any of those things, and she wasn’t going to be the first to do them. Whatever this was existed for the sole purpose of trading themselves for a bit of ecstasy, and they were simply each other’s catalyst. And that was fine. It’s the way she wanted it to be. It’s the way things always were. There was nothing special about this time, about him.

Astarion smirked. She tried to move away but he held her forearms against his sides in a firm grip.

“You’ve only survived thus far because I chose it.”

She continued fearlessly to meet his gaze. It was a misplaced confidence, like she had no concept of a reality where he’d actually ruin her. So much trust she laid on his unworthy shoulders, if it wasn’t foolishness, it had to be self-destructive.

She laughed at him. A real bitchy, mocking laugh, “Oh, you chose it?”

He grabbed her throat, tilting her head back with his thumb, “Yes. I chose not to rip you apart. Every. Time.”

“Pity.”

“No, not a pity,” he purred dangerously, “You’ve been so worth it.”

Vistri fought herself and lost. Swept up by a sudden rough current, she immediately gave over to drowning. She just let go, let it happen, and took a terrifying leap at his kiss.

Astarion moaned in pleasant surprise. He had a few more moves queued up before going there himself, but he didn’t mind the way she leapt in first. Her tongue was otherworldly, like it had been spilled out of Sune’s gossip at Loviatar’s tea party, salacious and indecently lush.

Nothing in the world compared to the way he felt. Like the sun, he colored all the greys in Vistri’s world. He felt like everything fascinating, and thought she was worth keeping alive. Someone, who felt as good as he did, deemed her worthy of life.

He was so grateful to himself for obeying his impulses. Astarion didn’t know whether she’d deign to touch him like this in the daylight. Come to think of it, she was the very first person he’d touched in 200 years under the sun. Yes, he’d pulled a blade on her then, but she was still the very first. And his first true drink. And the first fu—

“Oh, shit!” Vistri pushed him away, remembering herself and their unwritten rules made of habit, Sorry!”

Their kisses were only meant for teasing, their touches only meant for petting. She wasn’t supposed to love him at the end of her lips. Unless it was for pretending.

“Don’t be sorry,” he muttered, bringing her mouth back to his.

She felt her knees grow weak. Stupid knees. Backstabbing cunts.

“I kissed you,” she protested.

“And I kissed you back,” he went in for more.

Vistri eventually broke away again, “But we don’t kiss in the mornings.”

“And I usually don’t drink in the mornings,” he spoke into her neck, “But I think… I think we can do whatever we want. Don’t you, darling?”

He could take her blood, “I want you to drink me.”

He could take her body, “And ravish me.”

He could even take her heart, “Just make it hurt for me, lover. Would you?”

He grabbed a fistful of hair and pulled it until she cried out. His voice dripped with a bright, shiny toxin, “Oh, I can make it hurt, if that’s what you like.”

She tried to nod, but his grip was too tight on her scalp, so she just begged, “Please.”

Astarion licked her neck from base to chin, then crashed into her mouth after whining, “Gods but you make a mess of me!”

Lines like that were usually bullshit, it’s why he said them so readily. But as it tumbled out of him now, it felt real. Maybe he was just that good of an actor, and he’d really begun to believe his part. That would be so much more convenient if it was. He picked her up, overcome with a desire to possess her. He didn’t own her, didn’t belong to her, but he could steal her away from gravity. She wrapped her legs around him, and he moaned deeply; tangled in her lips, in her hair.

The others were definitely going to have to wait. That or just start the day without them.

Vistri felt her back press into a tree, just like on the first night. She kissed him and felt every star she’d ever seen. That night, she thought it had to be a fluke, a trick of the bad wine. But Gods! It was still there. It was screaming. Her heart broke whenever he pulled away, and mended only when his lips were back on hers.

He chuckled, “I’ve got you right where I want you, little pet.”

“Where’s that?”

“At my mercy.”

“You did try to warn me.”

“I’m not a nice man to be alone with.”

Her smile messed up the kiss. He was so adorable. And he was right. So right. Vistri shivered as he nibbled at her ear. It felt a lot like love, but it wasn’t. Great fucks pierced the soul like great works of art. But that wasn’t care, it was an appreciation for expertise. Sure, Astarion felt indescribably right, but that didn’t make him her god. She’d just finally met her match.

He unbuttoned her corset to fondle her breasts. She twitched whenever he brushed her nipples delicately with his fingertips, and he giggled like a naughty fey each time. The line between reaction and performance was beginning to blur. She didn’t know anymore whether she twitched on cue because he touched her or because he liked it.

“I don’t want you to be nice. I want it to hurt.”

He pulled her hair again, smirking as she let out a sound that was something between a moan and a yelp. The harder he pulled, the more she felt like his. She didn’t want to want that, and yet it possessed her, like a sob forcing itself out.

“More,” she pleaded.

“More?”

“Aren’t you a bad man? And I a fool alone in the woods?”

He let go of her hair and spoke onto her lips, “Oh, you’re not alone, darling. You’re very much not alone.”

His hand took hers and brought it to the front of his trousers. Grasping and gasping, she felt him. How hard he was; thick enough to break her. The anticipation made her shiver as he kissed her again.

“Use me,” she sighed, “However you’d like.” It was the only way for her to say, I’m yours.

She gave herself so willingly, it was intoxicating. Not like it was anything he wasn’t used to, but it was new, startlingly so. He melted into the feeling of being wanted by someone who knew what he was, of being wanted by her. The world grew smaller, more manageable. All he had to be was the salve to her desires. Hers wasn’t an itch; it was a death wish.

Astarion felt something pull on him, and for a moment froze, thinking of Cazador’s compulsions. Noting his twitch of fear, Vistri took her words for the cause. Fuck. Simultaneously, they asked the same question through their eyes; Have I been found out?

“Touch yourself,” he commanded, saving them both any need to explain.

“Will you watch?”

“As I hold you tight,” he offered.

It was overwhelming. Astarion didn’t want a performance, not the kind she was used to, but something candid, completely her. He wasn’t asking her to curate his pleasure, he demanded she create her own. She never showed anything like it to anyone before. Accustomed to one type of role, she stepped into something unfamiliar. And not even a role, but the actor in their bed alone at night.

Vistri’s hand travelled between her legs. She felt Astarion spread them further apart, holding her steady with a grip on each thigh. She was close to him again, held and admired; the only thing he wanted in the moment. Her fingers traced his lustful expression onto her soul, encircling herself in his web with every stroke. Determined to trade her life for a little death, she exposed her aching need to be coated in his poisons.

She closed her eyes.

“Open them, darling. I want you to watch me, as I watch you.”

Her breath skipped with her choking heart as she met his gaze. Astarion looked as raw and exposed as she felt. His eager fangs rested on pouting lips. She leaned forward to lick them.

“No, no, dear. You’ve got to earn that,” he cooed, “With your ecstasy.”

She moaned stupidly, “Okay.”

Vistri was everything his hand had been slapped away from these past 200 years. She ran through his thoughts entirely on her own. His body forced him to comply instead of the other way around. Sure, he was using her at the end of everything. She was by no means the first to surrender, but there was something sweeter about hers, and not just because she was his to savor. This time he was actually having fun.

“Does it feel good, dear?” he grinned.

She tossed her neck and sighed. Her eyes closed for just a moment before snapping open again to obey him, “Yes.”

Astarion kissed her neck, and she moaned, leaning into it. He whispered into her ear, “You think you’re in control, but I’ve got you tangled up.”

“You do,” she panted, “You do. All yours.”

“My, but you put on a show,” his warm tongue wrapped around her lobe. His breath gently broke over her skin.

It was like watching her layers peel back in a way he hadn’t seen before. Reading her eyes, Astarion watched them become saturated with the whole of her. The void in them brightened from her dim presence, and the light grew with her gratification. Shy at first, she stepped and then stomped into herself. Until there it was in those violet depths, the core of her on a silver platter, ready for him to devour.

Vistri let his name slip lazily from her lips.

“Do you call out my name when you’re alone?” he chastised.

“S-Sometimes. Once. Accidently.”

Astarion licked her throat, desperate to eat her up, “I’ve yet to call out yours. But I’ve thought of you.”

Her free arm tightened around the back of his neck. Her breathing got faster.

“That’s it, my darling. You’re so close. Now give it to me. Be a good pet and cum for me.”

Astarion could feel his own blood throbbing as she fulfilled his wish. His eyes were open, greedily watching, but seeing nothing. There was just a great feeling, like when their tadpoles bent reality to the other’s experience. Her eyes were shut tight as if in begging prayer, and all he could do was stare blindly into her abandon.

Her cries, only loud for being close to his ear, pierced his heart. At the end of them, he finally allowed himself to kiss her. It was his turn to let her name slip slowly out of his lips.

“I earned it?” she asked happily.

He nodded, chuckling, “Yes, I think you’ve earned it.”

Vistri closed her eyes and kissed him again. She felt him undo his laces, then helped him pull down his trousers. Alone in the woods with the naughty rake indecently arrayed; she knew she was wiser than that. Giving herself to Astarion was a decidedly stupid thing to do, and that only made her want to disappear further inside him.

He nestled himself against her soaking, warm, soft, “Oh gods…”

“Astarion!” she cried out as he tore through her with a hard stroke. Her lips trembled from the sanctity of his name. It was a spell that brought everything out of her chest, even the dust tucked between her ribs.

He cracked her open.

The more they took, the less they were sated. He wasn’t near enough. He wasn’t in her skin.

Maybe they’d never go back to camp. The others would have to carry on themselves while the two of them stayed here, tangled up in each other until they inevitably sprouted tentacles, out of the artifact’s reach. And what would that matter? Astarion never wanted to be anything other than buried inside Vistri ever again. That was his new identity now, just his pulsing cock deep between her thighs.

“Drink me.”

“In a moment, love,” he said, then tousled a little with her tongue, and spoke again, “I quite like this as it is. Feeling you.”

It was more the desperate growl in his voice than the words themselves that made her tremble. It sounded like she meant something to him, even though she didn’t. Pretending it was real made her eyes roll back. Or no… it had to be the devilish thrusting of his hips. It had to be—

“Astarion!” she shouted so suddenly; birds took off in terror from their branches. Her staccato cries and their warning calls formed a cacophonic duet, like ritual music for the purchase of her soul.

He sunk his fangs into her neck, just below her ear, as the squeezing and pulsing around him coaxed his throbbing self to bursting. He rolled deeply into her as he let himself go, overtaken by a blinding wave of ecstasy. It felt like it would never stop, stunning them both, wave after wave. Even after it stilled, Astarion tenderly moved himself in and out of her. The mess he made dripped between them. Regardless of any overstimulated shiver, he savored the feel of his spill in her.

“You’re my little slut, aren’t you?”

She nodded emphatically, panting as her breath fought to settle her pulse. He rested his forehead against hers, and they lingered there, head pressing into head. They were both so dizzy, they had to get hold of their bearings, remember who they were.

How long could they stay there like that until the other had something to say about it?

It didn’t matter that his arms grew tired. They could fall off before he let her go. Astarion shut his eyes against welling tears. His disobedient forehead softly nuzzled hers; subtle enough to sneak passed his own notice. Catching himself, he cleared his throat.

“Time to go back?” she asked, tone heavy with a sense of sorrow.

Astarion reached for one more kiss. Saying goodbye until their next, inevitable tryst, they clung so vehemently to each other it couldn’t be paid attention to; couldn’t even be muttered about.

Arms wobbling, he finally set her down.

She immediately started to collapse under her weight. He stopped her fall.

“Easy now!”

“I’m all right.”

“You can’t even stand.”

She smiled dazedly, “Bloodless times two.”

“Gods, you’ve gone all silly. Look at you! You’re barely alive!”

“No, you’re barely alive.”

“Ha-Ha. Very funny,” he huffed, scooping her into a bridal carry.

“Weeee!”

He couldn’t stop himself laughing. It wasn’t even funny.

“You’re ridiculous—Stop squirming! I’ll drop you, and if I drop you, I’m leaving you.”

“Arsehole!” she pouted, “You’d leave me behind?”

“I’m sure Karlach or someone would come get you, but I’m tired. We can only do our best, darling.”

“You’ve had two separate helpings of my blood, you’re not tired.”

Vistri closed her eyes for a moment, just to savor this rare occasion of him holding her after. His arms felt as solid as she was wibbly. His chest felt like the stars as a pillow.

“You put me to work just now. I’m exhausted, and on top of that, now I’m carrying you all the way back to camp.”

“Whose fault is that Mr. Fangs?”

“Yours!”

“Mine?!”

“You turned back ‘round when you should have marched on.”

“You asked me to!”

“Darling, I’m a villain!” he chuckled, “You’re supposed to say no. Right my wily ways.”

“I quite like your wily ways.”

He couldn’t remember the last time someone looked at him the way she did now, with lackadaisical joy in their eyes.

“Astarion?”

“What?”

“You’ve stopped.”

“What?—Oh, right. There was a stick.”

“A stick?”

“Had to maneuver around it.”

“Took a while.”

He blushed, “Sounds like somebody wants to get dropped.”

“No! Please! Don’t drop me,” she giggled.

“Drop you?”

“No! Don’t drop me.”

“But you said please so nicely.”

“No!” she laughed, “Don’t drop me!”

“Shush! I have to pay attention to our surroundings, my dear. I want to give a good description for the others to find you.”

Vistri squealed, hysteric. Astarion crushed her tight against him.

“Silence, girl!” he teased in a booming voice, “Otherwise I’ll observe no great detail, and the only landmark the others will know to look for is ‘somewhere by a tree that has leaves on it.’ And then they’ll never find you, and then I’ll never get to shag you again. Would you like that tragedy to come to pass?”

She blushed in his arms, “…No.”

“Good. Then leave me to my concentration.”

She nodded her agreement and didn’t utter a sound.

“Oh, never mind that! Please say something. I grow bored so easily.”

Vistri chattered away as Astarion brought them out of the woods. Totally wrapped up in conversation, they forgot what a sight they made when they eventually showed up midday.

“Where the hells were you?!” Karlach growled. She’d be happier to see him if Vistri was walking vibrantly by his side rather than carried like a ragdoll with two big bite marks on her neck.

“Don’t light your pants on fire,” Astarion said, “Where’s Shadowheart?”

The cleric tore out of her tent, “What have you done to her?!”

A huge smile broke over Vistri’s face, “Shadowheart! Come give Mummy a kiss.”

In a fury, she grabbed hold of Astarion’s tunic, even with Vistri limp in his arms, “I will repeat myself only once, Spawn. What have you done to my best friend?” Her voice was lethal.

Vistri’s was not, “Bloodless times two!”

Shadowheart let go of his shirtfront to bury her face in her hands and sigh deeply, “Just put her on the ground.”

“That’s a good cleric,” Astarion smirked.

She glared up at him, kneeling to treat Vistri’s condition, “Good clerics stake vampires.”

“Then let’s call you… a good, nuanced cleric!”

“Whatever.”

Vistri sat up like a galvanized corpse once Shadowheart muttered her spell.

“Wow! Thanks, Shadow. Owe you one.”

“Owe me plenty.”

Vistri chose to ignore her and smirked at Astarion, “My, my… You look more powerful than ever before. My blood suits you so well.”

He gave a little turn, “Doesn’t it?”

“Very,” she confirmed, surveying his form. She lost her train of thought until Shadowheart elbowed her side.

“Right!” Vistri said, addressing everyone, “Let’s go slay a hag or something!”

[Click here for my other Kinktober one-shots]

#vistarion #kinktober 2023 #absurdthirst kinktober list #prompt fill #vistri #astarion #astarion ancunin #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #full fic #tav x astarion #astarion x tav #stay a while fic #BrishFics #smut #angst #fluff #lemon

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punchdrunkdoc · 1 year

Text

Part 2, Chapter 17

Summary: After the events of S3, Matt Murdock is trying to once again balance life as a lawyer and a vigilante. But he’s been scarred by loss and betrayal - will a mysterious new neighbour help him heal? Or will her secrets drag him back into the darkness?

Notes: This is a slow burn romance with an original female character, told in 3 parts. There is mystery, intrigue, action/violence and angst - all the good stuff!

Also available on AO3 and Wattpad

Masterlist

Reference pics

————–

PART 2

Chapter 17

Calina woke to find they’d shifted in the night.

She was now on her back, with Matt’s head resting on her chest. His broad shoulders blanketed her, and she couldn’t resist stroking her hand over his warm skin and running her fingers through his hair.

She was reminded of the footage she’d watched from the cabin - when they’d woken up the morning after Matt’s confession, they’d been in this exact position. She traced a finger around the shell of Matt’s damaged ear and echoed one of the lines he’d said to her that day. “We’re apart for a few days, and look what happened.”

She didn’t add the second part - ‘I guess the sensible option is for us never to be apart again’ - because she knew that they would be parting again soon.

And she hated the idea.

She continued her idle strokes of Matt’s skin while she stared out the window. Crisp winter sunlight streamed into the room, transforming it into a bright and airy space. There was a slight chill in the air, but she was so warm beneath the covers and underneath Matt’s weight.

And so at peace.

This is where she belonged. She only wished she could stay forever.

“Eight.”

The deep grumbled word took her by surprise. Her hands froze and her breathing stopped. “What?” she choked out, afraid to believe the truth.

“You said ‘We’re apart for a few days, and look what happened.’ We were apart for eight days.”

She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tight as sudden tears escaped her eyes. Despite her wordless attempts to reassure him last night, she’d been so scared that he would never regain his hearing.

“Hey,” he said, shifting further up the bed so he could face her. “Why are you crying?” He wiped away the moisture with his fingers, and kissed her damp cheeks.

She shook her head. “I’m just happy.” She traced her fingers over his ears again. “Is everything really okay? You’re really back to normal?”

Matt cocked his head, and she recognised it as his ‘listening mode’. He stayed that way for a few long moments, as if testing his range. Then he smiled. “Two kids are having a snow-ball fight outside the coffeeshop you used to go to, while their mom orders hot chocolate at the counter. They’re squealing with laughter.”

“Matt…that place is over a block away.”

He just shrugged. “I guess everything’s back to normal then.”

He shook her head in wonder at his abilities…then punched him in the arm.

“What was that for?” he laughed.

“That was for scaring me last night! Do you have any idea what it felt like seeing that building explode, knowing you were inside?”

“Probably the same way I felt hearing that you were in a coma after being shot.”

She opened her mouth to protest…then snapped it closed, knowing he had a point.

“Thank you, by the way,” Matt said, his voice suddenly serious. “For finding me, and getting me home. You seem to have a knack for always being in the right place at the right time to save my ass.”

“Ditto,” she whispered, meeting his serious tone. “Thank you for coming to the cabin and waking me up.”

He ran his fingers through her hair. “I didn’t do much.”

Calina shook her head. “I saw the footage. You talked to me all night. I am absolutely positive it was your words that brought me back.”

Matt’s fingers stilled in her hair. “There was footage?”

“There was a camera set up in the room to monitor me while I was unconscious.”

He leaned back, his weight now braced on the arms resting either side of her shoulders. “And you watched it? All of it? You heard…everything I said?”

Calina couldn’t interpret his tone. Was he embarrassed? Angry? Did he regret saying it, and want to take it back?

She bit her lip and nodded, her heart fluttering with nerves.

“So, um, what did you think?” he asked, his voice unusually hesitant. And that’s when she realised - he was nervous too. He was unsure of her feelings. He was as scared of believing in this thing between them as she was.

She cradled his face in her hands, and stroked her thumbs over his temples, ready to tell him how she felt…but the words wouldn’t come. She swallowed hard, struggling to force down her fears and insecurities.

And then her thumb grazed over a faint scar hidden in his hairline. She traced over the raised line, wondering if it was a result of the beating he’d taken at the hands of those kidnappers months ago…or if it was from another one of the countless times he’d been attacked. She remembered the feel of his other scars beneath her hands last night. His body was a monument to years of suffering and pain. He’d fought and bled for this city, over and over, because he thought it was the right thing to do. He’d been blinded and orphaned and abandoned. He’d lost people and lost battles, but still he fought, every night.

He was amazing.

Brave and wonderful and kind.

And he deserved to know that he was loved.

Her fear disappeared, and she smiled up at him. “I love you, Matt Murdock.”

———

Matt had been bracing himself for rejection.

Which didn’t really make sense given everything they’d shared last night, but a lifetime of being abandoned by the people he cared about had set a precedent that was hard to overcome.

And he wouldn’t have blamed Calina for wanting to guard her heart after he’d kept her at arms length for so long. But after a few moments of silent deliberation, she’d smiled…and gifted him those three amazing words:

I love you.

He felt a smile stretch over his face, so big and wide that she gasped in response. “You have dimples,” she said in delight, running her thumbs over the small hollows in his cheeks.

He dipped his head to rest his forehead against hers. “Say it again.”

“You have dimples.”

He laughed, and it was his turn to sound delighted. He gave her a quick kiss on the nose in response to her teasing, then resorted to begging. “Calina…please. Say it again.”

She lifted her head off the pillow, and brought her lips to his ear. “I love you,” she whispered.

“Again.”

She giggled. “I love you."

“Again.”

“Hmmm, no.”

“No? What do you mean, no? Are you rationing your declarations?”

“No. But I’d like one in return. While I’m conscious, this time.”

“Ah,” he said, “I see.” He rolled off her and onto his side, then pulled her against him, drawing one of her long legs over his waist, until they were perfectly fitted together. He smoothed her hair behind her ear and dragged a finger down her neck. He tried to gauge where her eyes were, so that he could meet them with his gaze. “I love you, Calina Balashova.”

“Good,” she breathed. “I’m so glad.”

He smiled and leaned forward, capturing her lips with his. He kissed her - so, so gently - wanting the reverence of the act to tell her how precious she was to him.

But just like last night, the kiss soon transformed into something less…pure.

They’re were both so starved of touch. So starved of each other. She ended up on top of him, her breasts pressed against him and her hair forming a silken curtain around them as they kissed and kissed and kissed. He stroked his hands down her back, over her ass until he reached her thighs. Then he pulled her legs to either side of his until she was straddling him again.

She grinned into the kiss, recognising the position, and settled down against him. But she was a little too high up for the stimulation she craved, so he pressed his hand between her legs from behind. It was just a quick glancing touch - a promise of more to come - but it made her moan. A beautiful, guttural sound that fluttered through her throat and spilled between his lips.

He was hard in an instant. He groaned in response, then grabbed fistfuls of her hair and leaned up to deepen the kiss even further-

And that’s when her phone rang.

She froze, then tried to wriggle free but he followed her up to a seated posture. “Ignore it,” he mumbled against her lips, taking advantage of their new position to palm one of her breasts.

The phone kept ringing.

Calina shook her head, finally breaking the kiss. “I need to get that - it might be Foggy. I texted him when I found you last night, and he said he would check in this morning.”

“Foggy can definitely call back.”

She laughed, but there was suddenly a stilted quality to it. She scrambled off the bed and raced into the living room to grab her phone. She connected the call with a breathless, “I’m here.”

“Is he there with you?” Matt heard Foggy ask.

“Yes,” Calina replied. “We made it back safe and undetected.”

“How is he?”

“He’s fine. No permanent injuries.”

“That’s good. I’m glad he’s alive and unharmed. That means I get to kill him myself.”

Matt groaned again - for a completely different reason - and fell back on the bed. He knew Foggy would be pissed at his unauthorised excursion last night - especially after it turned out to be a trap - but he wasn’t in the mood for a lecture right now.

He was in the mood for something much more enjoyable.

He crawled out of the bed and stretched, feeling the aches from last night's collision with the rooftop stretch and burn. Then he tapped on each ear, making sure there were no lingering effects from the blast.

Everything seemed clear.

He’d felt such an intense wave of relief this morning at waking up to the sounds of New York, instead of the incessant ringing noise that had plagued him last night. He’d lain there for ages, eyes closed, just enjoying the hum and bustle of all the life in the neighbourhood around his apartment.

And he’d listened to the beautiful thump of Calina’s heart beneath his ear, and the hum of the blood in her veins, and the rush of air in her lungs, knowing he’d never, ever get tired of the sound of her.

He padded out into the living room to find her sitting cross-legged in one of the arm chairs, still talking to Foggy. He bent over the back of the chair to press a kiss against her neck, bared by the messy bun she’d put her hair up into.

She scrunched her shoulders up as if it tickled and shooed him away.

He made himself busy, brushing his teeth and grabbing a drink of juice from the fridge. By the time he’d downed the glass, Calina was off the phone and in the bathroom. He parked himself outside the door, and the moment she opened it, he pulled her into his arms.

He pressed her against the wall and nuzzled into her neck, the scratch of his stubble catching on her soft skin. She shivered at the feel and melted against him…before suddenly tensing up.

He leaned back. “What’s wrong?”

She looked up at him and licked her lips nervously.

“Calina?”

“I- I need to tell you something.”

———

She couldn’t keep it from him any longer. Not that she’d been consciously hiding it from him - she’d meant to tell him last night, but he’d started touching her…and all thoughts had escaped her. The same thing had happened this morning. She’d been all set to tell him, then he’d kissed her…

And her brain turned to mush.

But he deserved to know now, before things went any further between them. Before they took that final intimate step. She had a feeling it would be a million times harder to leave after that.

“Calina?” Matt prompted. “What is it? You’re starting to scare me.”

“I need to go.”

He took a step back as if stunned. “What do you mean?”

“I can’t stay. Here. In New York. It’s not safe.”

“You’re leaving?” he asked in a pained whisper, the sound of it breaking her heart.

She reached for his hand but he pulled away from her, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You’re leaving.” A statement this time, his voice flat.

“I don’t want to. Believe me, Matt. I don’t. But-”

“But what? Explain it to me. What exactly is the danger? Because you know I can protect you-”

“It’s not me I’m worried about.”

Matt frowned at her, looking more confused. She tugged his arms free and led him over to the couch - to their couch. She pulled him down next to her and draped her legs over his lap, prepared to use her full body weight to stop him escaping if she had to. “How much did Yelena tell you at the cabin?”

Matt scoffed. “The bare minimum. Someone found your safe house and you had to run - that’s about it.”

“That’s not exactly true. They always knew where the safe house was. They always knew where every single one of us was.” Calina explained about capturing Volkov and interrogating him, and how he told them about the tracking nanites. “Every moment I spent here with you, thinking I was starting this amazing new life - this life that was mine - they were watching me. Monitoring me. I was a dot on a screen flitting about between this apartment building and the coffee shop and the dance studio and the library…and all the time they were watching. Watching and waiting for the moment when they could swoop in and take me back. Take us all back. We’ve always just been these…things…to them. Not human beings with our own thoughts and feelings and dreams. Just…property.”

Matt rubbed her bare leg, his rough hand providing a calming touch. “So what happened?” he asked. “I assume you were able to remove the nanites since you have another safe house now.”

“Yes, through something called plasmapheresis.” She told him about the procedure, and how her exchange had to be cut short when Volkov’s men descended on the mansion. “That’s why I was in such a bad state after being shot. I was running on empty to start with. And then the infection hit me like a freight train-“

“Wait, what infection?”

She glanced up at him, and realised that she’d never explained why it had taken her so long to come see him. “I got really sick after you left - I spent most of the last week in bed wracked with fever. I only really recovered a couple of days ago.” She reached up to cup his cheek. “And I only found out yesterday that you’d visited me in that cabin.” She couldn’t believe that only 24 hours ago she’d been in Maine, oblivious to Matt’s feelings for her. And now look where they were - half dressed and unable to keep their hands off each other.

Matt closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers. She stroked his cheek and scratched her nails through the stubble on his jaw. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “If I’d known - and if I’d been able - I would have been here so much sooner.”

“When you didn’t call…I thought it was over. I thought I’d never see you again.” His voice was soft, but the hand gripping her thigh was anything but - as if he was subconsciously trying to pin her in place and keep her from disappearing on him again.

It was no wonder he’d looked so devastated when she’d told him she was leaving.

“You will see me again, Matt. I promise,” she vowed. “But Volkov knows that I lived here for months. And now that he’s lost track of us through the nanites, this would be the obvious place to start searching for me. I can’t stay here. It would put you - and everyone in this building, and all of my sisters - in danger. I can’t take that risk.”

Matt sighed. “You’re forgetting that it would put you at risk too. That’s all I care about.”

She smiled at him. “You’re such a liar. You care about everyone. If Volkov’s men suddenly started ransacking this building, terrorising all the residents, you would move heaven and earth to stop them. Because that’s who you are. Its one of the things I love about you.”

He smiled, as if still getting used to those words.

“It won’t be forever,” she said. “Once we find Volkov and neutralise the threat, I can come home. Then we can be together.”

“That could be weeks, Calina. Months, even.”

She looked away as he voiced one of her fears, but then tried to put on a brave face. “I hope not. We’re all pretty invested in getting our freedom back so we’re working flat out trying to find him.”

“Let me help.”

“With all due respect to your skills - and I know you have a lot of them - I’m not sure what you can do.” She cupped his cheek and stroked the delicate skin beneath his eyes, trying to soften her words with her touch. “Besides, you have your work cut out for you here - you still have to find out who’s behind those pheromones.”

Matt groaned and dropped his head back against the couch. “And I’m back to square one on that. They’ve figured out we were tracking them, so they relocated and blew up the old lab. Now we have nothing.”

“There must be financial records for the building you could look into? A different way to trace them?”

Matt lifted his head up, as if just remembering something. “Actually…”

“What?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he levered himself off the sofa and crouched down by his suit, which he’d left crumpled on a heap on the floor last night. He removed something from his belt and turned around to show her. “I stole one their devices last night.”

He passed it to her as he sat down again. She turned the metal container over in her hands studying it. It was sleek and relatively simple, with a canister at one end and a button at the other. It looked likes something Apple would make if they started designing asthma inhalers. “Interesting,” she murmured.

“What is?”

“This device. It’s made of an expensive-looking alloy. And the design is…refined. Someone put a lot of thought into how this looks.”

“Why is that interesting?”

“Because it tells me a lot about the person behind this. For one, they have money. A lot of it. This isn’t some prototype cobbled together from scraps. They wanted something that looked good. That represented them. And they had the money to make it happen.”

“Okay, so they’re rich. That doesn’t exactly narrow it down.”

“No. But it also tells me that they’re vain. Narcissistic. As well as being a sadist for wanting to create something like this in the first place. That’s a really bad combination, Matt.”

Matt took the device and ran his fingers over it, mapping its shape. “That is interesting.” He smiled at her. “Have you moved on to reading psychology books now?”

She returned his smile, but hers was bittersweet. “No. This what I was trained to do - get inside people’s heads. It makes it easier to impersonate them. Or manipulate them.”

Matt stroked a hand down her thigh. “Well, you’re using that training for something positive now.”

Calina shrugged. “But you’re right. It doesn’t make it easy to narrow down a suspect list.”

“Analysing the contents might. I just have to figure out a way to do that.”

Calina perked up as she realised there was a much more practical way for her to help. “We have an older Widow on the team who’s a biochemist. She could analyse it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, she’s actually the one who developed the mind control serum. As penance for that, she’s been helping us take down the last of the Red Room. I’m sure she’d be happy to work on this if I ask her to.”

Matt didn’t reply straight away, so she glanced across at him. He looked uncertain. “What is it?” she asked.

“Are you sure we can trust her?”

Calina straightened up. “Why? Because she’s a Widow?”

Matt grabbed her hand. “No. I didn’t mean it that way. I’m worried about this tech falling into the wrong hands, and you just told me that she has a history of being on the wrong side of this kind of thing…”

“I only told you that so you’d know she has the expertise to deal with this. She wasn’t aware that her formula was being used to control us.”

“But she knew it was being used to control somebody.”

Calina frowned and tried to pull her hand away, but Matt held on tight. “I’m sorry,” he sighed. “I shouldn’t have said that. In my defence, I’m really not good at accepting outside help. But I trust your judgement. So if you trust hers, that’s good enough for me.”

Her frown stayed where it was as a pernicious thought crept into her head. If Matt was so wary of trusting Widows because of their background and the things they’d done in the past…did that extend to her too?

Did he trust her?

And could she blame him if he didn’t? She’d lied to him - multiple times. She’d just admitted that she was trained to manipulate people. She was a killer. A thief. A spy.

Why would he trust her?

“Hey,” Matt said softly, tipping her chin up with his finger. “Are you okay?”

She tried to smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

He sighed, obviously not believing her. He scooped her up with an arm under her legs and dragged her onto his lap. He held her close and and kissed her neck. “What’s wrong,” he asked.

Calina pulled at a thread on the hem of her shorts as she debated whether to tell him…

No. She needed to know. She had a feeling this would eat away at her otherwise. “Do you…do you trust me, Matt?”

It was his turn to frown. “I just told you I did.”

“No, you said you trust my judgement. Do you trust me?”

He turned her face towards him again, and kept his hand on her cheek as he spoke. “Of course I do. Calina, I love you.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I trust you.”

Another kiss to her cheek. “I respect you.”

One to the tip of her nose. “I admire you.”

To her chin. “I feel everything for you.”

He slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her deeply, as if trying to convince her of his truth.

And…it worked. When she was in his arms like this, with his whole body focused on her, and his beautiful words ringing in her ears…she believed him.

————–

Chapter 18

@hollandorks @chezagnes @stilldreaming666 @acharliecoxedfan @yanna-banana @tearoseart-blog @freckledbabyyy

#Daredevil #daredevil fanfic #daredevil fanfiction #daredevil fic #marvel's daredevil #daredevil x original female character #Matt Murdock #matt murdock x oc #matt murdock fanfic #tabula rasa

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specialagentartemis · 11 months

Note

trick or treat!! 🐈‍⬛ 🦇 🧹

Happy Halloween!

Here's a section from something I wrote for Whumptober last year. I think this was for the last day of the event, so a year to the day, in fact. It never really went anywhere but I really like this bit.

Mensah is back home after Exit Strategy and she is Coping, Badly

---

The hours she lies awake in bed before dawn are the only times that could be called time alone. The house, with its ebb and flow of residents, is always full, always busy, and it’s a relief. Mudiwa has taken to trailing behind her, wide-eyed, like he’s afraid his mom will disappear again; Pilar seeks her out to hug her before going out anywhere; Amena, with a teenager’s self-conscious pride, makes sure to always drift into the kitchen for breakfast in the morning at least long enough to check in without trying to make it seem like that’s what she’s doing. It’s sweet. Thiago tries to corral the kids sometimes when they get loud and start overlapping each other and someone can’t resist peppering her with questions (they have a lot of questions), but most of the time she wants to say, no, let them stay. Being surrounded by her family means less time to think about anything else. (Besides, the adults in the household, her siblings and their spouses and her cousin and her cousin’s friend, aren’t perfect at holding back their own questions, either.)

During the days, she does all right, mostly. Being back home is grounding, reorienting. The house is light and airy, and even though it’s hot outside—because it’s hot outside—Ayda likes to throw the windows open and let in the outside air. Air on ships and stations always tends to run cool. She likes having the warm planetary air flowing through the house, knowing that it’s connected to the world outside in a permeable and unbroken flow.

(It takes days for her to notice that SecUnit, always lurking uncomfortably among all these people, winces every time she opens a window.)

She tries to let this togetherness with her family be healing. And it is. But even more so is closing her eyes and breathing in the scent of the trees on the wind, the smell of mud and plants and even the animals reinforcing that she’s home. That she can stop being afraid.

She tells herself that, firmly. She can stop being afraid. She can stop—

And then on her fourth afternoon back she walks into the kitchen and it smells like cleaning fluid (Jaouad always was a stress-cleaner) and it’s such a normal smell, it is, but the careful cloak of safety and calmness that she’s built up flies away in an instant, and she’s brought back to the transport ship, the one the GrayCris agent had dragged her stunned and handcuffed onto—they’d drugged the food they’d offered her, to keep her complacent on the small ship heading to TranRollinHyfa, and she made herself vomit it back up once she’d realized, as if that did anything—they had sent a cleaning drone to clean up the mess, and the air inside her cramped, confined quarters was soon thick with the smell of chemicals, causing her to retch and gag again as she breathed it in and of course it hadn’t bothered the drone at all, and of course it was a punishment for not playing along, and they’d sent their liaison to her with another package of reheated packed food and a condescending smile, calling her Ayda like they were friends—

She’s relieved that it’s Maryamu who finds her, hands on her knees and insides convulsing trying to vomit up nothing from her empty stomach. (Her sister, and not the children, and not Jaouad or Thiago, or SecUnit.)(She desperately wishes it was SecUnit just as strongly as she does not want SecUnit to find her like this.)

“Ayda,” Maryamu says, “Ayda, Ayda, calm down, Ayda, you’re okay. You’re okay.”

It’s ridiculous (it’s entirely normal) that she can be set off so easily, here, in her own home, where she knows she’s safe, she knows it. She melts, trembling, into her big sister’s embrace anyway.

#asks #non-plutonian-druid #ask game #fic trick or treat #The Murderbot Diaries #NOT daemon AU this time #fanfiction #perpetual perpetual ladies night

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wexarethewalkingxdead · 1 year

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careol: @careol

each day that passed, carol would replay his words in her head. it’s not like we’re never gonna see each other again. she held onto that hope, that he would COME BACK. that he would be okay out there on his own, that no one would harm him. after all they’d been through, didn’t they deserve some peace? she’d hated when he was leaving, wanted so DESPERATELY for him to stay, but daryl had always been a wild one. his life was OUT THERE, in the woods where he could truly be in his element. he was never meant for this kind of community living, and she understood that. it’s why she hadn’t said ANYTHING to him the day he was leaving, just supported his choice and hoped he would find what he needed out there.

carol has lost track of how long ago that was. it FEELS like forever, though in reality it was maybe two months? maybe a week or so more? either way, she’s been really feeling that loneliness for a while. she has the kids and dog, and the others who have decided to stay in alexandria… but it’s not the SAME. daryl was her world, and she’d REALLY THOUGHT they were close to finally breaking that barrier between them when he left on the road. she just hoped he’d return soon so she could find out for sure if what they were was something more, or if their relationship would ALWAYS remain as just friends.

she swears that she can hear the roar of his motorcycle in the distance. it wouldn’t be the first time her loneliness has played tricks on her though. it’s why she didn’t think much of it, until her door was burst open and jerry appeared with a big smile. she really should LOCK that door… sure, there are no enemies anymore, but STILL. privacy was still necessary wasn’t it? and then jerry speaks, letting her know that DARYL has returned. she doesn’t give the man time to say anything else as she’s pushing past him and out the door.

there he is, dismounting his motorcycle, looking EXACTLY THE SAME as when he left. albeit a little dirtier. carol felt tears welling in her eyes as she started making her way forward, and they met in the middle. his arms wrapped around her, and she felt like she was HOME. eyes closed, body practically melted into him as he spoke those words ever so softly. ❝ bet i missed you more. ❞ her tone was just as soft, with a hint of playfulness. god, PLEASE don’t let this be another vivid dream like she’s had in the past. please don’t take her away from this moment.

Daryl cannot seem to get enough of her as he kept her body crushed to his. His lips find her hair, pressing a soft kiss into her gray tresses. He had been away from her before. For longer amounts of time than this, but something about this felt different. It frightened him how different it felt. He was afraid to put it into words, afraid that it would backfire on him somehow. Every time something started to go right, something came along and fucked it up.

He closed his eyes tightly as he gave her one final squeeze before pulling back to get a good look at her. Had she always been this beautiful? And was he always too blind to notice? He cupped her cheek, smiling at her as he shook his head. "What is this? Some kind of competition?"

The pad of his thumb moved over her cheekbone as his eyes moved to her lips. Her lips looked so kissably soft. At any other moment, he'd be hyper aware of the people milling about around them, but right now, it was on the two of them. "Carol…" And he knew deep down that words would just fuck it all up. Instead, he leaned in and captured her lips in a soft kiss before pulling back slightly to await her reaction. "Think I won," he breathed out softly, trying to keep the sly smile off his lips before a nervous one replaced it.

Had he just messed everything up?

#t; stone by stone #.echoes [daryl]#careol #.editor [beta]

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mosscloakenthusiast · 2 years

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Treebark Week day 6 - win/lose

It doesn’t hit either of them what has happened when Ren kills Grian.

It doesn’t hit them as they walk back to Dogwarts to regroup and plan their next move.

It doesn't hit them as they realise how late it is and settle to rest in the cave under Renchanting. They sleep in shifts. Because it hasn’t hit them yet.

It hits Ren when he checks his comms to see who’s left. Martyn is asleep. He could kill him, he’s asleep, can’t defend himself. He doesn’t. He doesn’t share with Martyn his realisation.

It hits Martyn when Ren starts acting more relaxed, more domestic, working beside him rather than insisting that one of them stays on watch. He wants to pretend it hasn’t. Let them live like this forever. He knows he can’t.

—

They both realise that the other knows. They both wake up each morning to the sounds of the ghosts on the wind, begging for a fight. They try their hardest to ignore it.

Without people to rule over, Ren slips from The Red King back to Ren, who happens to be red. Without a king, Martyn loses his position as The King’s Hand, becoming Just Martyn once again. It does very little to appease the red in both of them, but it is nice to just be Ren and Martyn, who don’t have a banner or domain or title, just each other and the fast-setting sun.

Ren and Martyn love each other more than they could ever properly express. Ren and Martyn don’t have to worry about keeping their people safe, or making deals, or Grian’s hidden bombs. Ren and Martyn are a single togetherness against the echoing empty world.

Not a word is spoken when they start sleeping in the same bed. It’s for warmth, for protection, nothing more, they tell themselves. They both know it isn’t true. They both keep it to themselves if they notice how inseparable they become, rarely in separate rooms, knees touching under tables, holding hands and not letting go. It’s so they know they haven’t lost each other, they say.

At some point they feel able to talk about what has happened again, talking of wars and scars and beheadings. They realise that, if they’re honest, it was never The Red King’s kingdom. It was always Ren and Martyn’s. Always.

When they kiss it feels as easy as breathing. As if they’d always done it, just off-camera. They stop making excuses for not crafting an extra bed and always holding hands and wanting to be so close. They feel almost at peace. They get better at ignoring the ghosts.

They tell eachother everything, pretty much. Loud stories told under a burning sun as they replant their crops, confessions whispered in the dead of night. They forgive and they hold each other close and they repair anything broken from the times they found the hardest.

Ren doesn’t tell Martyn that with each day that passes he feels the scar on his throat grow larger, threatening to rip open. He doesn’t tell Martyn he’s been killing small animals to keep the bloodlust at bay, that the red in him begs for a death, even if it’s his own.

Martyn doesn’t tell Ren the eyes he feels settling on his face, the force pulling him to Watch. He doesn’t tell Ren about the part of him that cleans his axe every day, practices the motion of bracing to be killed.

—

It hits Martyn when Ren takes his hand and pulls him outside to the Altar.

It hits Ren when Martyn hands him an axe and kneels.

It hits them that this always had to happen. They’ve both been preparing for this, without telling the other.

It hits them when they’re both begging the other to kill them that they were never going to get away with living.

They argue. They scream at each other. Sit softly and hold hands and the axe lies between them like a promise.

Martyn caves. Part of him knew this would happen, he will always do what Ren asks. He thinks, he hopes, that death is better than winning and being left alone. That Ren forgetting he exists is better than remembering he no longer does.

Ren feels familiarity kneeling on the Altar. He doesn’t feel afraid. He has been ready for this for a long time. It’s even the same axe.

Martyn hates himself. But he can’t let Ren down.

—

It hits Martyn that Ren is dead. And he is alone.

#treebark #treebark week #adventreebark #adventreebark 2022 #tw for very mild body horror #and descriptions of violence #ren and martyn are the last two in third life au #i have a lot to say about this one so buckle up #i am very ill and tired atm which means we get my writing Special Edition #ie. flowery poetry language that doesn't make sense half the time #also made an appearance in that one pearl fic i wrote #that being said this is the longest one i wrote so far bc Flowery Poetry Language does get me in the writing zone a lot more #this is very vaguely inspired by wearing thing by sparxwrites

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whatisreggieshortfor · 2 years

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Surprise?

For @rebelrayne

Lucas x MC

Angst to fluff

Life should’ve been perfect.

They won Love Island. They were making time for each other in their relationship in the real world. They were growing closer than ever.

But then Lucas’s parents began digging into his brain. They fed him doubts.

Making him second guess every decision he’d made, had him questioning Penelope’s loyalty, left him wondering if they were seeing something he wasn’t.

He wasn’t naive enough to believe his parents outright. They never supported the way he lived his life, the plans he’d made for himself. But they’d liked Penelope so much when they first met her. Always asking him to bring her back for another visit, always asking how she was when they talked. If they liked her, they wouldn’t lie…right?

His parents had made comments about her traveling for her job as she toured with her band, how she spent more time away from him than home. Made comments about her being too close to the other Islanders even after their time ending, but he thought it was fair to be close to them. But then the more he thought about it, the more he realized that for the past month she’s been whispering with Bobby and they’d both stop whenever he walked in. Hope wouldn’t look him in the eye when he mentions her. Gary always has some place to run if he tries to talk about it. Chelsea won’t even answer him. He reminds himself that he trusts Penelope more than he trusts his parents about her. But then why were the things they said becoming clear as day with the distance she was making between them? She was spending more nights at her own flat than at his, and when he would offer to stay with her she would make excuses that she needed to be up early for work. They were supposed to be looking for flats together- it was what she said she wanted. But even Priya was ducking his calls to see if she was still speaking to her about it.

He was facing what he was already afraid to realize. Maybe Penelope just didn’t love him anymore. Maybe it really was just a summer of love and she was too afraid to break it off.

He turned to the only person he could think of with Henrik also blowing off his calls.

Blake was confused when her phone rang, Lucas’s name lighting up across the screen. They had long gotten past the infatuation they had with each other, and she and Penelope had gotten past her mean words at the finale, but it wasn’t often either of them reached out to her. Blake was never offended by that, she understood why it would be awkward. Lucas had brought her back to the Villa, essentially telling Penelope that he didn’t trust her to stick with him. She could see why that would make a close friendship hard.

Still, she answered the call expecting news of an engagement or one of them getting a promotion. She didn’t expect to be met with what he said.

“Could you meet me for coffee? I think I’m being dumped.”

Blake sat at the cafe table, tapping her stirrer against the rim of her cup as Lucas recalled everything that had been happening. How their friends were brushing him off, Penelope being more guarded about her phone, always rushing off when Bobby called. When he finished, she hummed.

“Do you trust her?”

“Well, yeah, but-“

Blake shook her head. “Babes, look deep in your heart, right now. Ignore what your parents said, ignore everything but your gut feeling here. Do you trust her?”

“Yes.”

Blake shrugged, “I’m sorry but that’s all you can do. She’ll either hurt you, or she won’t. And- I don’t say this to be mean- but you didn’t trust her once and I saw the way it almost broke her. Even with that brave face she put on saying she was happy for us. Rewatch that episode if you don’t believe me. I know tensions were high, and you might not have noticed it at the time, but you’ll see it.”

They talked a bit more about various things before Lucas decided to head home and take her advice. He queued up the episode with the stick or switch, watched the way Penelope was clearly upset, tears filling her lash line even as she smiled at him and offered her support. The way she needed to brace herself before approaching him on the roof terrace.

It made sense. Lucas knew he could trust her. She wasn’t a mean person. If she moved on from him, she would tell him.

He decided to head to her place, not something they usually did. His place was usually the go to, and he wondered how long she’d been accommodating him when he didn’t for her.

He had his own key, so when he saw her car he left himself in, catching the end of a conversation, “You can’t tell him. It’ll ruin everything.”

“He’ll find out eventually, babe.” That was Bobby, but it wasn’t in person. She must’ve been FaceTiming him.

“I just need a week. Then it won’t matter anymore, the secret will be out.” Then they said their goodbyes, and Lucas shut the door a little louder than necessary.

She ran into the living room to find him, and he gave her a smile and a hug, “Hey, love. I missed you so I thought I’d come to you this time.”

Penelope’s eyes shined with surprise and affection as she excitedly returned the embrace and launched into telling him about her day.

A week, huh? Lucas guessed that if that’s how long he got her, he’d make the most of it and deal with the pain later.

The Sunday dinner with his parents was rough. They kept making not so subtle digs at both of them, and Penelope didn’t offer up much resistance because she had repeatedly made the point that she didn’t want to be labeled as the over defensive girlfriend. She wanted their approval. She didn’t look to him for help, like most would expect. She had told him to just let what they say go. But Lucas tried where he could, and their doubts started creeping back into his mind as the night wore on. He might only have her until the end of the week, then they could say ‘I told you so’ and go back to only questioning his professional choices.

That Saturday, it was coming. Whatever it was, he knew by the end of the night he’d end up in tears that he would hide away.

When Penelope picked him up, she wouldn’t tell him what they were doing. She drove just a few minutes from his flat, pulling up outside a building only familiar because he passed it every day. He knew what it was, flats that were a cross between her low rent style and his posh style, but he couldn’t think of anyone he knew that would be living there. None of their friends had mentioned moving, let alone so close to him. They entered the lobby, and he registered how nervous she seemed as she pressed the button to call the lift, before hitting the floor button. She led him down the hall, raising her fist to knock on a door, but he stopped her.

“Am I supposed to be meeting the guy?”

She blinked, her brow furrowing, “What? Meeting who?”

“I-“ he shook his head, “It’s going to sound even stupider if I say it out loud. My parents were pointing out the distance between us, and you’ve been so secretive, and I just thought-“ her eyes widened in realization but he continued, “It’s daft to think. Even more so when I realize you wouldn’t be bringing me to meet him at his place, but-“

She pounded on the door quickly, effectively shutting him up, before grasping his hand like she was afraid he’d pull a runner. The door swung open a second later, Priya beaming from the other side, “Glad you two could make it! Come in, come in.” The entry of the flat was decorated, but it was sparsely furnished, and as soon as they crossed the threshold all of the Islanders jumped out, “SURPRISE!”

Lucas damn near had a heart attack. “GAH! What the hell is happening?”

“House warming party, babes!”

“House warming-“ he glanced at Penelope, who was nervously twiddling with her rings.

“I kind of, might’ve, maybe, definitely already leased this place for us. I was trying to make it a surprise, but instead I had you second guessing everything and I’m sorry but-“

Lucas cut her off with a kiss, “I’m sorry, love. I wasn’t trying to doubt you, but I was having trouble coming up with alternatives. Like why you were so sneaky about talking to Bobby of all people.”

“Oi! I’ll have you know I was busy making a cake to her exact specifications!” The baker called out, wheeling out a cake that was an edible replica of the Villa.

Blake waved from the corner, “Sorry I couldn’t be more reassuring. She called me the day after we talked and let me in on the secret.” Lucas just held his girl tight as the others got the party moved going.

Lucas was right. He did end up with tears in his eyes that night. But not because his heart was broken. Instead it was because it had never felt more full.

Masterlist

@justtuesdays @sunshinejihyun

#litg #litg season 2 #litg lucas x mc #litg lucas #post villa #established relationship #s2litgexchange

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thehypotensivegrad · 2 years

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The Adviser (18/45) | Bechloe Mafia AU

Il Male è Grande e Vasto (Evil is Grand and Vast) - Chapter Preview (Read the rest at ao3)

Beca almost woke up with a jolt.

Almost being the keyword.

The only thing that kept her still was Chloe's arm around her waist and her desire not to disturb the redhead's peaceful night's sleep. That's why, as Beca stirred awake, with flashes of old buried memories of the things she did, who she had become over the years, replayed in her mind. Chloe's question still lingered there as well, about if she's ever killed anyone before, and the way she had side-stepped that question, one she refused to give a clear answer to.

She had never felt guilty before, and neither does she now, but she does feel a bit of shame, from staining her hands scarlet. From the darkness that was a part of her. Beca couldn't help wonder if Chloe would be afraid or disgusted, even when deep down, she already knew, that Chloe simply accepts her as she is.

At least, she's never given Beca any reason to think otherwise.

Beca stayed still for a few more minutes before intricately removing herself from underneath Chloe's arm and out of her bedroom and into her kitchen to prepare breakfast. It's only been a couple of days, but she and Chloe quickly settled into a routine during this temporary living arrangement. A routine that, dare Beca say it, she's actually enjoyed.

Despite bitter memories haunting her every morning, despite whatever shift or schism Chloe had unwittingly started deep within Beca, she did find some kind of solace and peace in her company. One she dared not want to disturb, afraid that the illusion of being normal roommates, of being friends and allies against this fight against Babel, would be dispersed, and the bubble of innocent mischief they have been involved in their pursuit of evening the scales of justice would sooner rather than later burst.

No, Beca felt protective of these quiet moments. That's why she dared not broach the topic of being in the mafia with Chloe unless she brings it up. That's why it's all just rather mundane and normal living thus far.

Beca would cook in the morning and sometimes in the evening when they don't go out. Chloe would either get or make her coffee every time during work at the office or when they are out, and even late night when they get home if they still have some work to do. If they wanted to relax, they'd have a glass of wine, and Chloe would chatter on, and Beca would answer questions if she ever had some. Chloe never pushed if she felt like Beca would be uncomfortable about a topic, and Beca was thankful of that.

In way, they got to know each other better. They're able to anticipate each other's needs better too, all in a short amount of time. Quickly, Beca learned of Chloe's lack of personal boundaries, walking around the apartment after a shower or as she is getting ready to head out in various states of undress that Beca still hasn't gotten used to it yet. She's nearly given Beca a heart attack a few times too, because if Chloe needed something from the bathroom, it doesn't matter if Beca would be showering or was inside, she will still barge in. In one occasion, she did so simply because Beca was singing a verse from her favorite opera. Chloe would always be amused at Beca's reactions. The words "adorable" and "cute" were even thrown around much to Beca's chagrin. But as much as she protests, she loved to see the way Chloe would smile and laugh at their own private antics.

And somehow, some way, that was enough.

Enough piece of happiness that Beca could ever ask for.

Then there's Chloe's natural tendency to cuddle. She had gotten so used to cuddling up to Beca that one recent late night in the office had Aubrey staring at them when Chloe leaned in to rest her on Beca's shoulders, hands around Beca's waist their chairs pulled closely together around the meeting room. Aubrey didn't say anything. She simply chuckled to herself amused.

But Beca didn't say anything either. She simply quirked an eyebrow back and that was that.

There was something almost sacred about their rituals, constantly towing the line between what? Beca wasn't sure of, or perhaps she does, she just doesn't want to complicate matters. She was here for a reason, even when Babel has become a priority to deal with. But she still wasn't going to end this dream over it. She dreads the day when dreaming would end, true, because she doesn't want to wake up to greet the morning in a world without Chloe.

So, for now, whatever it was that they had, she would protect and treasure.

Simple as that.

#bechloe #bechloe fanfiction #bechloe fanfic #beca mitchell #chloe beale #pitch perfect #beca and chloe #Beca x Chloe #bechloe mafia au #bechloe lawyers au #bechloe vincenzo au

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everyeyeismine · 2 years

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Statement of Wick the spider, regarding a brush with death and a clown during the autumn of 2020. Statement documented directly from subject on December 5th, 2022 by Jonathan Sims. Statement begins.

I already lived in fear. The past year of my life had been one long nightmare, waking up far too often to a glowing red eye leering down at me accompanied by a sharp toothed grin. Those claws always so close to my face... What if one night I didn’t ever wake up again? What if one night those claws finally sunk into my eyes like they so clearly wanted to do? It’s not like she was ever subtle about how much she loved to kill people. She wasn’t ever subtle about wanting to kill me someday too.

Somehow I’d set that fear aside long enough for an act of kindness when my tormentor found herself at the mercy of strange magic. Nothing lasts forever, and her violent reaction upon the magic wearing off had left me petrified at the thought of being home alone- I didn’t have a roommate back then. I’d tried to avoid it, tried to stay with friends as long as they’d let me, but I couldn’t stay away, could I?

Of course not, it was my home.

Every little noise was the sharp rap of claws on hardwood. The swish of a long tail in the periphery of my vision. Was that a giggle? No.. I was hearing things. It was the TV, it was my pet beetles squeaking against their tank. I’m rational. I’m not some victim in one of my favorite horror movies. No matter how many little quizzes say I’d be the one to die first. I’m not afraid....

... I was very afraid.

For days I was on edge, jumping at every little sound that might indicate the impending attack I’d been dreading. I was nothing but a tiny helpless deer. Wide-eyed and waiting for the truck I couldn’t see to mow me down.

One night I finally let my guard down, which is of course when the truck finally came crashing back into my life. I was alone at night, fixing a drink, when I saw the red light. I spent so long rationalizing things away that I didn’t think much of it. Just a power light, I told myself as I looked over my shoulder to find the source.

There were no lights behind me and when I turned my head again, the light was pressed right against the glass. The same pale doll-like face of my every waking nightmare. The same fanged grin. The truck was barreling toward me then. Metaphorically. Literally it was already there a couple feet away. I couldn’t let myself be the deer in the headlights. I just couldn’t...

I ran. I ran as fast as I could but I can’t outrun magic. I’ll never be fast or strong enough to outrun magic no matter how much I try. I’ll always be weak and fragile and useless to those I care about. The clawed hand that sprung forth from the floor grabbed my leg, knocking me to the floor easily as more clawed hands stretched out, grasping at my kicking and flailing limbs. I couldn’t fight back against magic either.

She had me then. She was furious. She was questioning me over my kindness and getting angrier and angrier with each answer I gave. I couldn’t even be interrogated correctly. Claws dug hard into my limbs, my throat, my head. I couldn’t move. With every enunciated word I could feel them tighten just a little harder, threatening to crush me like the weak little bug I am. I started crying and it only made her angrier. I yelled something back at her. For a brief moment it looked like I said the right thing. Right up until the claws tensed back up. I could feel the pressure, the sting of their points. I felt like I could barely breathe. I knew I was going to die here, scared and alone and fragile and defenseless. I saw another clawed hand raise up into the air. I knew this was it. I squeezed my eyes shut tight, thinking it some small mercy if I couldn’t see the death blow coming. I could practically hear the whistle of the claws through air as the strike came. I heard the splitting crunch as it made contact... With the wood floor. A part of me felt a fleeting hope that someone had shown up to my rescue, but there was nobody there. It was still just me alone with that hateful thing. I didn’t make a sound, there was nothing I could say that would make this situation any more survivable and I was frozen, terrified. Deer in the headlights. Weak and defenseless.

Those claws dug deep channels into my floor as the monster seemed to be changing her mind about something. The many hands quivered, digging those pointed clawtips in ever harder. She’d obviously just wanted to scare me and delighted in the reaction. My world shifted on its axis as she suddenly hauled me up and slammed me against the wall. I heard a crunch and I couldn’t tell how much was my own carapace and how much was the glass frames I’d just been thrown into. I could feel the shards of glass digging their sharp points into my head and back. It all hurt so so much.

She drew back her hand again and I knew that was going to be it for sure this time. I think. Not that I felt like I could think. My head was spinning so much at that point it’s a miracle I didn’t pass out. Just as she was about to deal the killing blow, she stopped again and just dropped me and disappeared. Maybe she got what she wanted. A terrified sobbing bleeding mess.

I still have to see her every day. Some of my closest friends like her. Are friends with her. Trust her even. But any time I see them talking to her all I can think about are the times she’s almost killed me... Almost killed my other friends... And how soon she’d kill me given another chance.

#m!a: becoming #long post #spiiderwiick #ask to tag

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vanilladaises-rp · 2 years

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YANDERE BACKSTORY #2

(Tw:bullying, slight violence. Lmk if i missed anything. Also I wanted the other person to be gender neutral, I’m gonna try to make them all that way but I couldn’t find a gender neutral name that I’d like so you get to pick, when you see (insert name) you can use yours or anyone you come up with. Enjoy!)

KIM HONGJOONG

•Ever since Hongjoong was a kid, he was always a bit different than the other kids, especially the boys.

•Sure he liked playing sports or with cars but he also loved making bracelets and painting. (a/n: not trying to place these activities with particular genders, you can like anything despite your gender 🫶🏻)

•He was also very shy and more sensitive than other kids, he would cry at the slightest injury or groan the rest of the day for ruining his painting. He became self conscious at a young age and was hard on himself a lot.

•And it wasn’t because of his parents actually, they were very supportive of him and loved him just how he was, they did try helping him with his stutter and shyness as much as they could hoping it would help him open up or make friends.

•Hongjoong was also a star student, he exceeded expectations in all his classes and subjects, he was known as the smartest kid in school which many say was a blessing but to him was a curse.

•Up til high school was up picked on a lot for it, they’d pull pranks on him or call him names, even would get beaten up every now and then. And his teachers didn’t help, they always tell him to ignore others or to just keep focus on his studies

•Hongjoong never told his parents about the bullying either because he was ashamed and didn’t want to burden them since they both work very busy jobs. He continued to deal with the pain until high school, that’s when he changed his aesthetic completely

•He was still a straight A student but became more “hot” as his classmates would say, but he was new to having so much attraction towards him, so he panicked when it came to social interactions.

•More students wanted to be his friend, some even his date, but he soon realized it was either only because of his looks or because they needed help studying. He never met anyone who truly cared him, that is until he was introduced to (insert name).

•Hongjoong was asked by the school specifically to show the new kid around and He was completely nervous since he was very introverted and once he saw Hera, his brain completely shut down.

•Hera was so beautiful it made his stomach twist, "H-Hi, I'm H-Hongjoong" he introduced himself, holding out a shaky hand. He'd spent the morning showing them around campus and Hongjoong found out Hera was just as nerdy as him.

•The two had so much in common and became really good friends since that day, they spent everyday together, going to the mall, amusement park and even prom.

•Hongjoong was so madly in love and would do anything for (insert name), but he was too scared to confess, afraid maybe they didn't feel the same and didn't want to ruin their friendship. He came close to kissing Hera on prom night, but let his fears get to him again.

•After high school, Hongjoong and Hera ended up going to the same university surprisingly. Hongjoong was supposed to go study abroad but changed his plan completely to stay near Hera.

•But even though they were attending the same uni, they became more distance than ever. Both were so piled up with essays and assignments, it made it hard for them to hangout like they did before.

•Nonetheless, Hongjoong's feelings for Hera never went away, if anything they grew stronger. Hongjoong had arranged his schedule to have a day off for her. He was fed up with holding back and was planning to confess today.

•Hongjoong should have notified Hera first but already knew they had the second tuesday of each month off so decided to surprise them instead. He showed up to their dorm door with flowers and a gift.

•Once he was ready, Hongjoong to a deep breath and knocked on their door. His stomach doing jumping jacks as he waited for them to answer but once they did, his heart completely dropped. Hera was half naked with another person in their dorm.

•He completely froze, his heart shattered to pieces realizing he was too late, Hera had already moved on. Hongjoong dropped the stuff and ran out of the building feeling heartbroken but completely embarrassed.

•He ran to his car instead of his dorm since his roommate was there, and completely broke down. Hongjoong was angry at Hera, he was upset with himself for waiting so long but also upset that Hera found someone so fast.

•Hera had tried calling Hongjoong multiple times and even showed up to his dorm, but his roommate covered for him by making up excuses as to why he wasn't there. He knew he'd have to face Hera eventually, he just wasn't ready yet.

•After months, Hongjoong finally agreed to meet up with Hera before the end of the school year. He was nervous but knew it was time or he may never get closure.

•They met up at the library's cafe and joong was finally able to confess his feelings, "Since day one I've loved you, and each day after that it only grew, my love for you grew Hera. I-I never told you though because I afraid of rejection, but more scared of losing you" he sighed, "So I tried showing you by my actions instead, buying you coffee before school or painting you your favorite characters"

•Hera listened to everything he said and each word made them feel worse than before, they began to cry halfway through his confession and waited a few seconds to respond once he was finished.

•"I-I never knew you felt this way joong, but I should've. I just always seen you as a friend joong. I never intended to hurt you" their voice cracked.

•Both spent another hour talking and joong came to the conclusion they could no longer be friends, just like he feared. It took him time to heal and he spent all summer trying to by surrounding himself with family but still felt this pain in his chest that he couldn't seem to get rid of.

•Once the new year kicked in, Joong was back on campus hoping for it to be better than last year. And after a few months it was, he kept focus on his studies and joined the chess club which gained him more friends. At one of their meetings, he had heard from Hera's roommate who was also a member of the club that their so called boyfriend/girlfriend had completely used Hera for sex

•"They're completely heartbroken Hongjoong, that asshole has been telling everyone it was a summer fling, when it was much more. They keep telling all the other boys in his frat house about it and is spreading the most degrading things about Hera"

•Hearing this made him furious, even though the two were no longer friends that doesn't mean he no longer cares for them. After the meeting he couldn't stop thinking about Hera, he wanted to hold them and wipe away their tears. He wanted to show that he'd do anything to protect them.

•Joong spent the rest of the evening thinking of how to make that dipshit pay. Only one thing came to mind, it was risky and super dangerous but has his father always says "I would do anything for the ones I love" and that's exactly what he was going to do. For Hera.

•Hera's ex was throwing a back to school party with bis frat boys which gave him the perfect opportunity to take his shot. Joong prepared himself until the night finally arrived.

•This time, he had no fears nor was he afraid his mind was clouded with angry and wanted to cause that asshole pain, just like he did to Hera.

•Hongjoong hid in the shadows of the party until he notice their ex heading to one of the room’s with a other girl/boy. He followed far behind but put his arms between the door and then frame before he could close it.

•”What the hell?” (ex’s name) spat, but joong ignored him completely, pushing out their hookup before closing the door with just him and their ex. “What the hell is this abo-” “Shut the fuck up” Joong growled, gritting his teeth before punching the man straight in the jaw

•”Don’t open your fucking mouth again, I swear if you do I’ll watch you burn alive” he ordered punching the man again, “What gives you the right to hurt my precious flower? You think you could just fuck with their feelings and then just leave?” He yelled

•Hongjoong was only supposed to beat him up but the man only made joong more angry, “I made it clear it was just a fling man, it’s not my fault Hera is so dense” he spat which drew joong over the edge.

•Hongjoong pulled out a lamson kitchen knife and stabbed the man multiple times in the chest then his throat. Once joong has realized he was dead, he panicked a bit but felt more relieved than ever. He set the house on fire but lucky no one else was hurt.

•After a few weeks, it was still a mystery as to who killed (ex’s name) and who set the house on fire, Hongjoong completely disappeared since but showed up infront of Hera’s door

•They smiled after not seeming him for so long but noticed he was different, joong seemed more dark and mysterious than before, “J-Joong? It’s b-been so long, how’ve yo-” “I want you” he said flat.

•”W-What?” “I want you to be mine, I need you to be mine. I can not let another asshole use you like he did” he said before grabbing their hand “So please, be mine. I’ll protect and love you like a man should” he added stepping closer.

•”I’ll made sure that asshole paid for what he did to you, and I won’t hesitate to do it again” he whispered making Hera’s eyes widened, “Y-You what?” they asked frozen in place “I got rid of him for you” he said with no emotion, no pity or sorrow.

•Hera’s breath shuddered and slammed the door in his face, they panicked and started to hyperventilate, “You can’t run from me Hera! You’re mine!” He yelled through the door.

•Hera had panicked and didn’t know what to think, of course they cared about hongjoong but they’d never thought he would do something this extreme, “w-why did you do it joong? you knew i-it was wrong” they cried

•Hongjoong felt his heartbreak hearing them cry, “no no bunny don’t cry, I did it to protect you. Can’t you see how much how much I love you, I-I’ll do anything for you” he spoke softly through the door while he was picking the lock.

•Hera started climbing out the window to escape but hongjoong was quick to open door before they could jump, “wait please! don’t leave me! I didn’t mean to hurt you (Insert name), I just want to be the one to protect and provide for you is that too much to ask?!” He felt tears fill his eyes, “Just let me love you, you know I’m not bad please” he cried

•Hera gave no response and jumped, they were only on the second floor so the impact wasn’t that bad. They didn’t know where but (Insert name), kept running and running as far as they could. And til this day they still are, hongjoong spent almost five years searching for them and nothing.

(Okay i feel like this is sorts similar to my irene one so I’m sorry 🥺 I put in (Insert name) for the person because i couldn’t think of a name. I used they/them as well to make it gender neutral, I will try my best from now on to make them all like that. I hope you enjoy!)

#hongjoong #headcanon #yandere #kpop headcanons #kpop scenarios #kpop roleplay

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orleans-jester · 2 years

Text

Gas mask was on. Apparently Chip had left one behind. Perhaps it was all of the times that he had come to check on her after River’s death. Or it could have been left over from before. When she did the supply run after River had gone on the lam. Those days felt so long ago. It felt almost as if she had always been here, had never left. Had a part in the Laveau lives and really, really knew them. It was an uncomfortable thing to wear. But she made sure it was on properly. Covering her nose and mouth. So the eyes wouldn’t fog up.

It was quite dark. And the fog was thick. She thought of taking her little Vespa, which was the only thing in her garage, but did not trust other people who might be on the road. Not right now. So she walked. No - she strutted in that Elsa way. Head up despite the weight of the mask. She was not afraid. She had come out alive before. And that was before she knew how to control the force on her powers. Hands to her sides, ready to shoot out ice at anyone who came close, whether zombie or survivor, she was going to get to Koda. He, River’s ghost and Ellie were the only reasons to stay here, and River could probably find her anywhere. It was just convenient to have him know exactly where she was.

Anna. She was probably dead. That didn’t upset her. Seeing her and her husband again had done nothing to thaw her heart to them. She simply put up with them for her niece’s sake. And even then - Ellie had grown very independent in the past year, and Elsa was aware part of that had to be Dale’s doing. So though she would be keeping an eye out for the young redhead, she was not going to rush in to save her unless Ellie seemed like she needed the help. They kept in contact through phones. Ellie was in a rough neighborhood, but secure inside of a building. No addresses given, just the assurance that she was fine so far, and keeping indoors.

Koda’s place. Not too long ago, they’d been here celebrating that he had gotten one of his own. Her hellion of a niece plopped a Christmas bow on top of Elsa’s head and declared her to be a housewarming present. She had not been expecting that. But she didn’t chide her for it either, just caught Koda’s eye and rolled her own. How strange to think how many people that were at that party may now be lifeless out there on the streets. Stumbling along to the bidding of an ancient man. She raised a hand and gave three curt knocks, no rhythm, just sharp, no nonsense, no hurry and flurry.

#ElsaxKoda

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gamerwoo · 2 years

Text

[SKZ Imprinted] Chan: Always You (Part 2)

Anonymous asked: if i remember correctly, wasnt there a part 2 to bang chan's part in the original? if there was will you repost that too or no?

Characters: Chan x female reader

Genre/warnings: werewolf au, college au, angst, fluff, violence, mentions of/implied torture, blood, guns/shooting, reader gets hit in the face, demons, but there’s fluff at the end i swear!!!!!

Word count: 7,568

Summary: You haven’t thought about your ex since you dumped him and completely closed him off from your life. But your ex has been thinking a lot about you and ways to make you his for good, and he’s capable of so much more than you thought.

a/n: things in bold are in english

Previous | Next | Imprinted Masterlist

“All I’m saying is that–”

“You shouldn’t be saying anything.”

The pack laughed as Seungmin and Elsie went back and forth with each other as always. They never actually fought -- at least, not that anybody was aware of -- but they did bicker a lot. It was clear the two loved each other, but they didn’t always see eye to eye on things, such as what to do about the situation with Elsie’s sister, and Jungkook. The pack had been so focused on what to do about Ryu and Minho that they’d completely overlooked that Jungkook and his crew might be an issue for them.

Namjoon was known to stick to his deals. Despite being the leader of the werewolf hunters, he was fair. He never went after Elsie after their treaty, and Elsie doubted he’d hunt down Ryu, either. Jungkook, however...

Considering how close the two were, Elsie couldn’t confidently say that Jungkook wouldn’t go behind their backs to see Ryu to either kidnap her or whatever he’d want with her. Until Elsie was positive Jungkook wouldn’t try anything, she was focusing on keeping her safe rather than tackling the imprinting situation.

“If you let her stay with me and Felix–”

“Like hell I would,” Elsie interrupted again with a scoff.

You, Chan, Felix, Jeongin, Seungmin, and Sam were all sitting in the grass, waiting for your various classes to start. Jeongin had just come from one of his, but the rest of you had been sitting there for a solid twenty minutes, basking in the sunlight since the temperature was starting to drop with the season change.

“Yeah, no offense, Minnie,” Sam spoke up, “but I think I’d trust living with a werewolf hunter rather than a couple werewolves if I’m trying to stay protected from other werewolf hunters.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jeongin frowned. “You think we couldn’t take on that old bag?”

“You better watch it, kid,” Elsie warned, pointing sternly at the younger wolf.

Jeongin rolled his brown eyes, but still flashed her a smirk.

“For what it’s worth, I think Sammie’s right,” you shrugged, finally putting in your two cents.

Chan looked at you, eyebrows furrowed, “You do?”

“Well, yeah. She makes a good point because they’re literally trained to kill you guys, but Elsie knows how they work. Plus, they kinda seemed intimidated by her.”

“Then you should just keep Ryu with me,” Elsie muttered. “Not like she’d be thrilled about moving, anyway.”

“We’re a delight!” Felix insisted, seeming offended.

Elsie eyed him up and down, “Do you even like Ryu?”

“I mean…that’s one less person I have to babysit,” Chan shrugged with a chuckle, ignoring the growing bickering. Since he was alpha, he had to care for not only his brothers, but their mates. But if Ryujin could be kept in safe hands, he wouldn’t feel like he had to worry as much. He looked to Elsie and pointed at her sternly, interrupting her back-and-forth with Felix. “But you’ll have to be the one answering to her brother if he shows up.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Elsie waved the matter away. “You guys act like I’m afraid of them.”

“Wonder why,” Seungmin mumbled.

“Alright, I’ve had my fill of entertainment from you two,” Felix grunted as he pushed himself off of the ground. “I should head to class to make sure that kid with the giant head doesn’t steal my spot again. I’ll see you guys back at the apartment.”

“See ya!” Chan waved to the younger boy as he slung his backpack over one shoulder and walked off to his building. Then he turned to you, poking your cheek. “I think I should be getting you to class, too.”

You giggled, swatting his hand away, “Chan, you know very well that I can get there on my own.”

“Yeah, but I get to hold your hand when I walk you,” he grinned, showing off his dimples.

He stood up from the grass before helping you up, keeping your hand in his as he laced his fingers with yours. He waved goodbye to the few people still in the grass before leading you off toward the building your next class was located in. Your hands softly swung between the two of you as you made comfortable small talk about various things from your latest exam, to the pack.

Other than the sisters, Chan was also worried about Changbin’s mate -- you still weren’t sure which name she preferred but you were pretty sure Changbin flipped between Jamie and Yijun. She still lived with you, and while she did was going to therapy now, it was clear she had bad anxiety, and possibly PTSD. Even though she wasn’t technically in the pack, she was part of the family, so the alpha worried for her. He wanted her to get better but nobody was sure how to help other than therapy. Changbin was doing what he could, but it was clearly hard on him, too. But he loved her, so he didn’t mind it.

“At least she can sleep in the same bed as him,” you noted. “Has she been doing okay?”

Chan shrugged, “She has night terrors sometimes, and Changbin’s presence...helps, but also doesn’t... Poor girl is torn on how to feel, and I get it. I honestly think she suspects he’s up to something at night, but he’s afraid of telling her everything and making her think he is out to harm her.”

“I told him she can just come live with us,” you shrugged, the pads of your fingers lightly drumming against Chan’s skin. “She’d have her space and he can come by whenever he needs to.”

“He doesn’t want to impose. Besides, it would be a little unfair for my brother to be living with my mate,” he teased, gently nudging you with his classic smile that had your heart fluttering.

The two of you reached your classroom, so he said his goodbye and gave you a chaste kiss on the cheek. He held the door open for you before he left, gripping the straps of his backpack since he didn’t have your hand to hold. But as he got outside, he was met by someone he didn’t expect to see.

“We have to tell _____,” Felix insisted, already going to run toward your building.

Hyunjin grabbed his jacket sleeve, tugging him back, “We can’t just interrupt her class.”

“Chan’s in trouble, and you’re worried about her classes?!”

Elsie looked between the trio, eyebrows furrowed, “Is this really a conversation we’re having?”

“Lix, you can’t go rushing in and cause a scene,” Hyunjin continued, ignoring the hunter’s words. “Look, you and Jeongin tell the pack and go to Seungcheol’s -- and take Elsie. Explain the situation to whoever’s there. I’ll wait here for _____ to get out of class.”

“What’s Seungcheol supposed to do?” Jeongin wondered.

Felix shook his head, “We’re not going for Seungcheol. We’re going for Bomi.”

Elsie’s eyes narrowed, “Wait, like...Lee Bomi?”

The class seemed to let out a collective breath when the professor called for the ten minute break. You got your phone out of your bag, checking to see if anything interesting happened. You saw a very calm text from Hyunjin telling you to leave class as soon as you could, and to meet him behind the library by the parking lot, which definitely didn’t sound good even if he wasn’t spamming your phone in a panic.

But the text you saw after his had you in a panic. Your blood ran cold when you saw Taehyung’s name. You hadn’t heard from him in months, but he clearly still had a problem with you choosing Chan over him.

Kim Taehyung: Decided to pick up your boyfriend to hang out for a bit. Hope you don’t mind.

You collected your things and left like most of the other students. Except you didn’t plan on coming back.

As soon as you were out of the building, you ran. You knew people were probably staring, and you knew Hyunjin’s text very well have might’ve been nothing, but why would he so calmly tell you to leave class? The only answer you could come up with was that something was wrong, and you were terrified that it was Chan or Ryujin.

When you got to the back of the library, Hyujin already had his car pulled up nearby. You sprinted over, getting into the passenger seat and tossing your bag on the floor. Hyunjin stayed silent despite the fact he all but peeled out as he drove off.

“What happened?” you asked him breathlessly.

Hyunjin stayed silent for a moment, deciding how to answer. He didn’t want to stress you out too much, but he knew he couldn’t hide the severity of the situation from you when you were Chan’s mate.

“Did you know Taehyung was a werewolf hunter?” he finally asked.

Your eyes widened, subconsciously gripping the armrest between you and Hyunjin, and the handle to the glove box, “What?”

Hyunjin just nodded, trying to keep calm since everyone else was panicking over their alpha getting kidnapped – and with good reason, “Taehyung works for the same group of werewolf hunters that Ryujin comes from, so–”

“So that’s why he’s so angry I chose Chan over him…” you said quietly as realization hit you. “It’s why he was always trying to keep me away from him!”

“Exactly.”

“What the fuck are we gonna–”

“Don’t panic,” he moved one hand away from the wheel, placing it on yours that was gripping the armrest so hard, your knuckles were white. “We have a plan. You know Mingyu from Seungcheol’s pack? His mate worked with Taehyung and his group, too. We’re gonna ask him for help, and we’re going to get Chan back.”

You nodded, wanting to believe Hyunjin’s words. You wanted to believe everything would be okay, but you knew every second that ticked by was precious. Hell, they could’ve killed Chan already for all you knew. But you had to think positive. You couldn’t lose Chan. He wasn’t just your mate, he was your best friend, your rock, the one person who knew you best – he was your entire world.

The ex-werewolf hunter’s eyes scanned your pack slowly. The entire pack had beat you and Hyunjin to Seungcheol’s, and they were now gathered in the living room as they begged Bomi for help. The short girl looked almost terrified as she looked over all seven of them – plus you and Elsie.

You hoped maybe Aya would be there since she was an old friend of yours from high school – and you could’ve used the extra comfort – but she wasn’t.

“Please, Bomi,” Felix begged, his now golden eyes full of desperation.

Bomi looked around the room for help, but the rest of her pack – at least who was home – just stayed silent as they waited for her answer. They seemed tense, though, which didn’t help your case. Plus, according to Minho, Bomi had already declined and slammed the door in their faces as soon as they mentioned Taehyung’s name.

“Guys, I’m really sorry about Chan...but...I-I can’t,” she said, shaking her head slowly.

“Why not?” Jisung asked with a frown. “We don’t know anybody else who could get us in now, and this is our alpha.”

“Elsie knows them; Ryujin knows them. They can help you.”

“If I break this treaty again, they’re coming for my sister,” Elsie stated coldly. “There’s no fucking way I’m going in there -- or Ryu for that matter.”

Seungmin begged, “Come on, you have to understand that this is really important -- he’s our alpha, Bomi.”

“No, I understand how important this is to you,” she nodded, “but I really can’t help without getting myself and my own pack in trouble.”

“Bomi–”

“I said no,” she cut off Changbin sharply, her stare becoming cold. “So if you could just please leave–”

“What if it were Mingyu?” you blurted.

Bomi’s eyes shifted to you, and you saw something flash across her face. Fear, maybe? You knew Bomi knew what went on in that building, and now you were forcing her to replace some werewolf that her and her group would’ve heartlessly tortured and killed without a second thought with her own mate. It was definitely a low blow from you, but you were desperate. You had to save Chan.

“What?” Bomi’s voice was just above a whisper.

“What if the one person you loved more than anybody else in the world was taken from you?” you asked, trying to keep your voice steady. “They’re gone, and you don’t know what’s happening to them at this very moment, and you’re so desperate for somebody to help you get them back. What if you knew Mingyu was being tortured or even murdered right now? And what if the one person that could possibly help you told you no? How would you feel?”

You watched as Bomi’s eyes filled with tears with each sentence. Her hands balled into fists at her sides as she imagined Mingyu going through that – going through what she knew what happening to Chan. You weren’t aware of the torture that went on in their headquarters, but she was, and that scenario hit her harder than you thought it would. But you needed it to hit hard because you needed her help.

Soonyoung stood from the couch and walked up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders, “Hey, it’s okay. Mingyu’s safe, Bomi – everybody’s safe.”

You didn’t even realize she was shaking until that moment. That only made you more worried because clearly that place must’ve been awful for her to get so worked up over the insinuation that Mingyu got caught.

Bomi’s voice was shaky when she finally spoke, but she wouldn’t look at anybody, “Fine. But I’m only getting you inside. I’m not– …I’m not going back in there.”

Changbin nodded, “Of course, you don’t have to. Thank you so much, Bomi.”

The pack murmured their thank yous as Bomi wiped under her eyes. She made eye contact with you, and you gave her a small but grateful smile.

She just stared before going for the door.

Of course, the pack – yours and the elder pack – wanted you to stay behind. You were just a human, and they didn’t want you to get hurt. But this was your mate, and you’d be damned if you just stayed home while he could be getting tortured or worse.

Elsie went back home to be with Ryujin, but she did ask to be updated. Kira and Hansol were asked to go stay with Jamie for the time being, and Joshua promised he’d keep them in the loop, too.

Bomi had Soonyoung and Minghao drive her – Soonyoung because he was older, and Minghao to keep Soonyoung out of trouble – to headquarters while you and the pack followed behind them in your various vehicles. They stopped just before the gate to get in, making sure to keep their faces hidden with masks and hoods.

You parked your cars in some bushes before going over to talk to the three in the elder pack. Soonyoung rolled his window down, his eyes looking serious rather than the playful you’d always seen when you’d cross paths with him.

“This is as far as I’m going,” Bomi told you before pointing to the lights coming from the building about a mile down the dirt path past the gate. “There’s a broken spot in the fence on the west side that you can get through. After that, go around to the south side of the building and find the broken vent. If they fixed it…get creative, I guess.”

“Thanks for showing us where it is, Bomi,” Seungmin offered a small smile.

“Have a safe drive home,” Minho nodded.

Minghao leaned forward, his head poking between the seats so he could talk to you, “If Bang Chan needs anything, you can bring him by the house. We’ll fix him up.”

“Let’s hope that’s not necessary…” you trailed off, not even wanting to think about your boyfriend getting hurt.

“Yeah, but, y’know...” Minghao shrugged, “just in case.”

Soonyoung looked up at you, his eyes drifting over the whole pack before going back to you again, “Good luck.”

With that, he rolled up the window, and drove off until you couldn’t see their brake lights anymore.

“Alright,” Changbin spoke up, inhaling deeply before letting it out, “let’s go.”

The pack did as Bomi advised, finding the kink in the fence and crawling through before walking the perimeter of the building to find the broken vent. The building was smaller than you thought – you assumed maybe it would be some big, looming building in the middle of nowhere, but it wasn’t – but it still seemed like a place you could easily get lost if you didn’t remember where you came from.

“Even following our pull to Chan,” Jeongin spoke up after being quiet for so long, “I don’t think we could’ve even found this place.”

“Probably not,” Jisung agreed.

“Shh, look,” Changbin pointed over at the building where there was a vent that was just slightly out of place – you wouldn’t have noticed if you weren’t looking for it – and had rust all around where it was supposed to be bolted to the building. “Found our in.”

“Then let’s go,” Hyunjin said as he scanned the area before bolting toward the door.

Changbin double checked that nobody was around before grabbing your hand and running – though not too fast since he knew you couldn’t keep up. He pressed your back up against the wall firmly once you were under the overhang of the roof just in case there were any cameras.

“Changbin, you’re in charge of keeping _____ safe,” Minho stated, looking at the younger wolf. With the alpha gone, he had to step up and take charge.

Changbin gave a solid nod, “Got it.”

Jisung removed the vent from its spot and ushered everybody else through. Minho led the way since he was essentially second in command, and then everyone else went through after. Changbin went in before you, and then Jisung helped you up and in before he crawled in himself.

Changbin caught you when you dropped from the vent. You fixed your shirt as your eyes adjusted to the brightness of the hallway you were in. The wall was lined with doors every few yards, and they seemed to require key cards to get in.

“Okay,” Felix said slowly as he looked around the empty hallway, “…now what?”

“None of you thought this through, did you?” Jeongin mumbled.

“Jesus Christ, we should’ve just left you at Cheol’s,” Minho groaned.

The youngest glared at Minho before his golden eyes darted to one of the doors that had sound coming from it, “Stay here.”

“You can’t tell us what to do,” Hyunjin stated at the same time that Felix warned, “Jeongin, don’t…”

“You think I’m useless?” Jeongin mumbled as Changbin pulled you down the hall to stay out of sight. “I’ll show you useless.”

Without Chan there to force Jeongin into listening – or Elsie – Minho just sighed and motioned for everyone to move down the hall. Jeongin walked up to the door and knocked on it, waiting for an answer. You could see the claws on his left hand elongating as he waited.

The door opened, but you didn’t see who was inside. Jeongin immediately pulled his right hand back and punched whoever was there, watching as the body hit the ground with a thud. He bent down and cut off the key card around the person’s neck with his claws before he stood and looked back over at the pack with a smug look, holding up the key card.

“Think you owe Innie an apology,” Seungmin chuckled to Minho as he got up from his crouched position to join the pup. “Good job.”

Changbin kept a hand on your back as you walked back over to the group. You could see that the card Jeongin obtained said the name Park Jimin, but you didn’t dare look over at the body.

“Now we just follow the pull, right?” Seungmin asked.

Jisung nodded, “Exactly. Let’s go.”

The boys collectively knew where to go, following their instinctive pull to their alpha to find him. It brought the group down a shorter hallway off the main one you ended up in, right at the end of the hall.

You suddenly heard a shout of pain, and it sounded just like Chan. Your eyes widened as you launched yourself toward the door, only to get held back by Changbin

“Ch–!”

One of Changbin’s hands clamped over your mouth, keeping you quiet. But you continued to panic as the yells got louder, mixing with growls and howls. You tried to fight Changbin but you knew he was way too strong for you to even stand a chance.

“Gimme the key,” Jisung held his hand out for the key card. Jeongin placed it in the older boy’s hand, so Jisung went to stand by the card swipe. “Ready, guys?”

Minho nodded, “Always.”

Jisung swiped the card, causing the doors to open. Minho bolted in with the pack behind him, tackling whoever was inside. Changbin, however, stayed outside with you, trying to calm you down before you went in.

But seeing the door open and knowing Chan was inside just inside fueled you to try harder. You bit down on Changbin’s hand, knowing you’d feel bad about it later. He yelped and yanked his hand away before you shoved off of him as hard as you could and ran for the door.

“Chan!” you shouted as soon as you saw him kneeling on the floor with his hands behind his back.

You ran straight toward him, dropping to your knees in front of him. One eye was swollen, his lip was busted, and parts of his clothes were torn open and seeping with blood. You could smell burning flesh and hear the sizzling from the silver they used on him.

“_____,” he breathed, managing a relieved smile. Despite how much pain he was in, he only looked at you with complete fondness and happiness. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

You cupped Chan’s face, pressing your lips to his with a little too much force, making him groan from slight pain, but he didn’t even care because he was kissing you.

“_____, you–”

“Everybody freeze!” an unfamiliar voice boomed, cutting off Changbin’s warning.

You pulled away, whipping around in time to see Changbin sliding to a halt in front of you and Chan, his stance protective. Across the room, you could see the pack holding your ex boyfriend hostage. They were holding one of the weapons up to him as their red eyes stayed fixed on the multiple people wielding guns that stormed into the room.

One of the men – he was one of the shorter ones, but he had an intimidating aura to him just from the look he gave you and the pack – stepped forward, directing his weapon at where Taehyung was. Most of the others aimed toward there as well.

“Move away from him,” he ordered.

Minho stepped back, putting his hands up in surrender, so the rest of the pack followed.

Taehyung stood when he wasn’t surrounded anymore, chuckling, “I knew you’d come try to track down your precious boyfriend, _____. What I didn’t expect was that you’d make it this far. May I ask what happened?”

“Jimin happened,” one of the hunters spoke up, sounding annoyed with the hunter Jeongin had knocked out. “He’s out cold in the main hall.”

“So this is that girlfriend of yours, Taehyung?” another man spoke up, gesturing behind Changbin to you. Then he scoffed “The one you literally skipped town over? Can’t believe she dumped your ass for a--”

“Can you shut the fuck up, or I’ll shoot you next!” Taehyung barked.

“Isn’t this Kookie’s sister’s new love interest?” the shorter one noted, gesturing his gun toward Minho. “Wow, Els didn’t decapitate you yet? She really is soft now, huh?”

“Yeah, there’s her puppy, too!” the man Taehyung threatened giggled, pointing at Seungmin.

A different man began eyeing you up and down, “Y’know, if she’s a werewolf bitch now, we should–”

“Namjoon said I get to call the shots with this one, Hoseok,” Taehyung interrupted sharply, “and she’s staying alive. In fact, she’s staying with us so I can keep an eye on her.”

“Like hell I am,” you spoke up, your voice stronger than you thought it would be, but hey, you weren’t going to question it. “You really think I’m gonna stay here with you?”

“When we get rid of your entire pack, you won’t really have a choice, will you?” he smirked, giving you a wink that made your blood boil. He picked up a gun from where the weapons were, weighing it in his hands before he casually walked up to you. He shoved past Changbin and loomed above you and Chan for a moment before he held the gun to the center of your mate’s forehead. “Let’s start with getting rid of the main problem.”

“Taehyung, please don’t,” now your voice was barely above a whisper as the severity suddenly set in. You thought at first you had a shot since you had a relatively large pack, but you now saw you were ultimately helpless against a bunch of hunters who already had a vendetta against the pack, and Taehyung was seconds away from killing your mate.

“He took you from me,” Taehyung stated, his voice completely void of emotion. “Even if he hadn’t, he’s still the one thing I’m trained to kill. He has to die.”

“Taehyung, just take me!” you begged, grabbing onto his arm with both of your hands, trying desperately to pull the weapon away even though Chan just stared up at Taehyung without any fear. “I won’t run away and I won’t fight you! Just take me and let them–”

Taehyung suddenly swung his arm, hitting you across the face with the gun. You let out a shriek as you hit the floor, your cheek stinging from the impact. You heard Changbin growl beside you, but it was cut off by a gunshot. You swore you felt the wind of the bullet blow a part of your hair, and you flinched away with another cry of panic.

But the echo of the shot was drowned out by the roar that ripped through the room, followed by the twisting of metal, and a thud.

“Kill it!” somebody ordered.

The room erupted into sounds of gunshots, growling, and yelling. But Changbin stayed by you as you tried to clear your blurry vision and collect yourself off the floor. He was told to protect you, so protect you he would.

When you finally managed to sit up and focus, you saw the place was in complete chaos. The pack was taking on multiple people at a time – though Jeongin had shifted now and was throwing people to the side with ease – while Chan was close to shifting -- he was shaking which caused the silver chains now dangling from his wrists to rattle -- as he held Taehyung up against a wall by his throat, the hunter’s feet several inches off the ground.

“_____, are you–”

“Chan, stop!” you shouted, pushing passed Changbin to get to your mate.

But of course, Changbin followed to make sure you stayed safe.

“I’ll kill you,” Chan’s voice was low and rough, and you could see his claws were already out. When you skidded to a stop in front of him, his eyes were blood red, and his fangs were sticking out above his lip. “I swear, I’ll fucking kill you for trying to hurt her.”

“Chan, no!” you tried to put yourself between him and Taehyung, not wanting things to go any further. Not only did he have a pack to worry about, but you didn’t want him compromising who he was. Chan was no murderer, even if the Taehyung did try to kill you. You knew Chan wasn’t like this and you knew doing this would mentally destroy him later. “Chris, don’t do this!”

You held his face in your hands, trying to pull him to look at you. It took a bit of coaxing, but the sense of his mate needing him finally seemed to overpower his anger, and his eyes looked into yours. He still held Taehyung off the ground, though, which scared you because you weren’t sure how much time you had left until Chan choked him to death.

“Chris, stop,” you told him, trying to keep your voice calm and steady, but still stern. “You don’t have to do this. Look at me, I’m fine. Put him down, and get your pack home.”

“We’ll take care of him, Chan,” Changbin promised.

Slowly, Chan brought Taehyung down before he removed his hand from his throat all together. Taehyung collapsed on the floor before Changbin moved to make sure he didn’t try anything. Though Taehyung wasn’t coughing or gasping like you thought he’d be, you couldn’t focus on him now. You were more worried about the pack.

Chan gripped your shoulders, worry written all over his face. You knew his skin was still burning from the silver, but you also knew his instincts found you to be the most important thing right now, so he was pushing through the pain – which you could only imagine to be excruciating.

“I want you to go back the way you came, and wait for us nearby, okay?” he ordered.

You shook your head, gripping forearms, “No, I’m not leaving you. You’re getting overpowered, and–”

“Exactly, which means you’ll get hurt,” he stated, his voice getting sharper. “Please, _____, just go.”

“No!”

“Go!”

Whatever you were going to say was cut off by another shot, only this time, the person didn’t miss their target. Chan’s eyes widened, and you let out a sharp gasp as your brain processed the situation. Chan didn’t let out a sound as he slipped to the floor despite your weak attempts to keep him up, but you let out a scream so loud that even some of the hunters had to cover their ears.

“Chan!” you cried as you dropped to your knees beside him.

You heard a loud howl before you heard a growl and a yell, but you didn’t turn around to see what or who it was. You couldn’t see anything except for Chan as blood seeped into his sweater from his side.

“Ch-Chan?” you heard Changbin’s voice beside you, sounding worried and panicked, but it also sounded like he was underwater because of the blood pounding in your ears. “Chan?”

How were you going to get Chan out? How were you going to get any of them out alive at this point? Your mind was in utter chaos, and you were close to just breaking down then and there and just–

The lights suddenly turned off, only being illuminated by dim, red lights in some spots. There was a loud alarm that was blaring, causing you to clamp your hands over your ears.

“Fuck!” one of the hunters hissed.

“What do we do, Namjoon?” another asked.

But before Namjoon could answer, the door was kicked open, and two figures dressed in dark colors and wearing motorcycle helmets burst into the room. One had a hand gun and began shooting at the hunters. The other pulled a long, shiny blade from their belt that glimmered against the light.

She lunged toward one of the hunters with it, who disappeared in a puff of black smoke before reappearing a few feet away.

“Joon, they’ve got an angel blade!” he shouted.

Only a second later, another hunter cried out in pain and held onto their shoulder that was now gushing blood.

“Fuck it,” who you assumed was Namjoon who sighed and grumbled. “Retreat!”

The person with the angel blade went for the same hunter again, but he grabbed the hunter next to him and disappeared. Two others did the same, grabbing the nearest hunters and vanishing in a cloud of black smoke until all of them had disappeared.

“Who are they?” Jisung asked, cowering backwards now that the hunters were gone.

“Demon hunters,” Changbin stated, though there was some fear and uncertainty in his voice because he wasn’t sure how demon hunters felt about werewolves. “They’re the only people to have angel blades.”

“N-no...” Minho mumbled. “That’s... No...”

“Elsie?” Seungmin asked, taking a cautious step forward.

One of the two helmeted individuals took the helmet off, revealing a head of blonde hair. Elsie smirked as she tossed the helmet to the side before letting down her hair from the clip it was bunched up in.

“You’re welcome, dogs,” she stated.

“You were supposed to be home!” Seungmin frowned, unhappy his mate came and put herself in danger.

“I was,” she stated, giving him attitude. “Don’t yell at me, alright? You think it was my idea to come here? You know I was against helping you idiots.”

“So...what happened?” Hyunjin wondered slowly.

Minho slowly approached the second person who had yet to take their helmet off. Carefully, he lifted the helmet off their head, staring down into Ryujin’s eyes.

“Holy shit...” Felix mumbled as if he were watching a romance movie at home.

“Can we focus here?!” Changbin shouted, regaining everyone’s attention.

All eyes went to him before they all widened seeing the pool of red coming from their alpha on the floor.

“What happened?” Hyunjin asked and strode over to him.

“Chan!” Felix cried as he rushed over.

“He was shot,” Changbin said since you couldn’t find your voice. “I don’t know by who.”

“We have to get him back to Cheol’s,” Minho decided after lifting his shirt to look at the wound and checking his pulse with his fingers. “Jeongin, you better shift back or you’re not fitting in the vent. Hyunjin, since you’re the fastest, take _____ instead.”

You whimpered, leaning over your mate as he coughed and bled onto the floor, “No, I don’t want to leave him.”

“C’mon, baby,” Chan choked out. His eyes were half closed, but he still managed to give you a small smile, “you gotta go with Hyunjin. Do it for me, okay? I’ll be fine. Hyunjin, take her to one of the cars, and just drive.”

“But there will hardly be any room for–”

“I don’t care,” Chan snapped. “Then take Felix and Jeongin with you if you’re concerned about space. Just get _____ out of here.”

“No!” you sobbed, burying your face in his chest. You were getting his blood on your clothes, too, but you didn’t give a shit. You were staying put. “I don’t want to leave you!”

You weren’t sure who pried you off of him, but you were tossed over somebody’s shoulder, and carried out of the room. They ran as fast as they could, so it wasn’t long until you couldn’t see Chan anymore.

“Call Seungcheol,” Hyunjin instructed as he pulled out of the bushes and onto the road, his eyes scanning carefully in search of anybody following them.

You still weren’t sure why those alarms went off -- you assumed the sisters must’ve had something to do with it -- but getting out of the building seemed a lot harder than getting in. Hyunjin made a run for the fence while he carried you. You did try to be silent when you were outside even though you were screaming and crying and begging when Hyunjin ran you down the hall to the main hall you came from.

Jeongin had to do the whole thing naked, too, since he shifted, but thankfully Hyunjin’s car had extra clothes in the trunk.

Felix pulled out his phone and called Seungcheol. The car was silent other than the faint ringing sound from the phone while you sat in the front beside Hyunjin.

“Voicemail,” Felix reported.

“Then try somebody else,” Hyunjin growled, looking in the rear view mirror nervously. “Just keep trying until somebody answers.”

Thankfully, the second person he tried seemed to pick up.

“Hansol! Oh, thank god!” Felix sighed. “I’m in the car with Hyunjin, Jeongin, and _____, but everyone else is back at HQ. Chris got shot, and– …No, they just told us to go. An alarm went off, and– …No, I don’t know. …Yeah, we’re on our way there. …Okay. ...Um...yeah. …Okay. …Alright, we’ll be there soon. …Bye.”

“What did he say?” Hyunjin asked as Felix hung up the phone.

“Hansol said Aya should be home any minute and can set up to help, and Josh’ll help when he gets home. They’ll update him on the situation so he’s ready, and Kira’s gonna call Minghao and see if he answers. Hansol and Kira are gonna bring Jamie over, and we can stay at Seungcheol’s for the night,” Felix listed off. “He suggested Chan find a new place to live, though. He also said he should probably transfer schools.”

“Unless someone happens to kill–”

“Nobody’s killing anybody!” you cut in suddenly, making at least the two younger ones in the back jump.

“She speaks,” Jeongin joked, trying to lighten the mood. “Are...you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay. I’m terrified,” you turned in your seat, looking at Hyunjin. “Is Chan gonna be okay?”

Hyunjin’s sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he thought about it, “I mean... Y-yeah…of course! I mean, he’s the alpha; he has to be okay…right?”

It didn’t make you feel better that Hyunjin was equally as shaken up and unsure, or that Felix and Jeongin stayed silent in the back. But you really couldn’t blame them.

None of you could sit still, and nothing anyone said or did could get you to relax. But what did they expect?

Seungcheol managed to get Jeongin calm – you’d never seen Jeongin get upset before, but he was actually scared about losing his alpha – only after telling him how proud he was that he had shifted to help keep his pack safe. He was now sitting on the couch beside Juri, his head on her shoulder as his leg bounced nervously.

You, Hyunjin, and Felix didn’t stop pacing, though, until the rest of the pack came in. Hyunjin opened the door before they were even out of the car, and Chan was carried in by Jisung and Changbin. He was completely passed out, though, and you broke seeing him like that.

“Follow me,” Aya started up the stairs as your pack followed. “Keep _____ down here.”

“No, I wanna go!” you sobbed.

“Trust me, it’s better you stay out of it,” Soonyoung told you softly, placing his hands on your shoulders from behind you. “C’mon, I’ll make you some tea, and you can cry as much as you need to.”

As you sat in the kitchen and cried quietly other than sniffles every few minutes, Bomi wandered in, looking like she felt guilty. You didn’t blame her for anything, though, but she seemed to be pretty hard on herself from what you could tell.

“Soonyoung told me they let you go,” she said quietly as she took a seat across from you.

You nodded, keeping your eyes on the table, “An alarm went off, and everything went dark, and then the girls showed up. I guess it was Ryu’s idea.”

Bomi nodded, also staring down at the table. She stayed silent for a few moments before she spoke again, “There’s something I never told anybody about the hunters…but now that they’ve added you to their hit list, I guess I should mention it now.”

Even Soonyoung turned around at that, “What is it…?”

Bomi took a deep breath, folding her hands together in front of her. You could sense the crowd forming at the entrance to the kitchen to hear this, too.

“They’re not just werewolf hunters,” she began slowly, “some of them are…other things. Mostly demons mixed in with the humans. It’s why some of them are so strong and good at what they do.”

“So why keep humans mixed in?” Seokmin asked from the doorway. You and Bomi turned to look at him, as he sheepishly backed up. “…Sorry.”

“It throws off the hunters after them,” Bomi explained. “Demon hunters are much more ruthless. They’re all terrified of them. I know I should’ve told you before but I didn’t want to make you panic even more.”

“I’m not mad at you, Bomi,” you sighed.

“I know, and I deserve every– Wait, you’re not mad?”

You shook your head.

Bomi’s eyebrows knitted together, “Why? I was one of them, I know them better than anyone and I barely did anything to help, I even kept this from my pack, and–”

“Even if you told us before, it wouldn’t have stopped anything from happening. What’s done is done, and all we can do now is wait.”

So that’s what you did. The pack sat in the kitchen with you, trying to keep you from panicking too much. Though, you did notice when Joshua got home because he slammed the door shut and yelled, “I’m here!” about twenty times until you heard the door upstairs close again.

You weren’t sure how much time had passed until Aya came downstairs and into the kitchen. Her clothes were covered with blood which freaked out out, but when she leaned against the door frame and announced that Chan wanted to see you, you felt relief wash through you.

“He actually asked for me?” you asked as you stood from your chair.

She nodded with a smirk, “Kid’s tough. He’s awake and everything. Just no fucking each other in this house.”

You ran passed her, tossing a, “thanks, Aya,” her way before you left in a rush. You bolted up the stairs, almost tripping up them as you went. You got to the room – it being the only open door – and all but fell in. The pack was still in there with Joshua as they talked to Chan, but he stopped and lifted his head to look at you as soon as he sensed you.

“Chan!” you breathed as you rushed over to him.

“Careful!” Joshua warned as you almost threw yourself onto your mate.

You managed to catch yourself with one hand on the mattress before carefully leaning over his body to hug him. He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you down onto him, getting a surprised gasp from you.

“I’m gonna hurt you!” you whined, though you really didn’t want to move.

“Eh, it’s just a little sore,” he shrugged, burying his face in your hair as he grumbled happily deep in his chest. “Besides, I heal better with my mate, so I gotta keep you as close as possible.”

“Just don’t try doing what Bomi and Mingyu did to get him to heal faster when he got shot,” Joshua grumbled.

“Why?” Seungmin asked. “What did they do?”

“I’m not giving out ideas!”

“They’re responsible,” Felix reassured the older boy. “Well...mostly. They’re respectful, is what I should say.”

“Alright, then let’s leave them alone,” Joshua decided before ushering the rest of the pack out. “Chan needs a hell of a lot of rest.”

“Where are you sleeping, Shua?” Chan asked as Joshua walked toward the door.

“Spare room in the basement,” he shrugged. “There’s more privacy down there anyway, so. Anyway, sleep well.”

Joshua left, leaving you and Chan alone. The only light was coming from the lamp on the nightstand, giving the room a warm, orange-y glow. Chan’s hands slowly moved up and down your back as you laid on top of him, listening to his heartbeat. You didn’t think you could love a sound more than you did right now, honestly.

“I’m sorry about everything that happened,” he mumbled, sounding much more tired than he had before.

“It wasn��t your fault, Chan,” you told him.

“Yes it was,” he laughed softly. “If I had never gotten in the way of you and Taehyung before–”

“Then I wouldn’t be as happy as I am right now,” you interrupted. “Chan, don’t ever regret what you did, because I’m so happy that I get to be yours, and that I can call you mine.”

“When did you get so sappy?” he chuckled, looking down at you.

“When I thought I was going to lose you…”

“You won’t, baby. You never will.”

You lifted your head and leaned closer to press a sweet kiss to his lips. He purred, the vibrations from his chest going to yours and making you smile. When you pulled away, he whined, though he was smiling.

“Did I hurt you?” you frowned.

“No, I just didn’t want you to stop kissing me,” he said as he wiggled his eyebrows, looking up at you with gold eyes.

You rolled your eyes, laying your head back on his chest, “Go to sleep, dork.”

“There’s the _____ I know!” he laughed. “Goodnight. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” you mumbled as your eyes closed, and you soon fell asleep with your mate’s arms around you, knowing he would be okay.

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