#maybe he lost it. it got shrunk in the wash the first time he cleaned it

[dirt-str1der]

Do you think thats truly the only suit kiryu has ? Like he has his funeral outfit but i guess he could have like rented a black suit but what happened to his casual black suit and pinstripe white suit from y0 i know he didnt grow out of them he is exactly the same size as he was thirty years ago

[descendantofthesparrow]

Cold rain and bruises - Harry Hook x reader - oneshot

*Hurt/comfort fic* *warning; talk of abuse; physical and alcohol abuse* 

=

You jumped awake at the loud and sudden rapid knocks that echoed from your front door, just barely disguised by the rain that shrouded the isle this humid night. “the fuck” you whispered to yourself, slowly reaching out to grab your switchblade and slid out of bed. You stepped heel to toe silently as you crept closer to your door, stopping as the knocks sounded again, this time just slightly quieter and faster, as if panic was setting into the person's bones.

You waited for a few seconds before starting at the door again, furrowing your brows as you stopped just against it and heard the quiet sounds of someone…hiccupping? You pressed your ear against the door and frowned as the thick wooden door didn’t hide the sound of fabric rustling against itself as someone knocked against your door again, this time almost defeated and so quiet that if you weren’t next to the door you wouldn’t have heard it.

The person hiccupped again and you slowly opened the door, flipping open your switchblade just in case. You swung the door open as the watery red-rimmed eyes of Harry Hook peered at you, his chin was crumbled as he pressed his lips together tightly. “Harry?” you gasped, eyes widening as you looked upon the soaked disheveled form of your long-time best friend and sorta-maybe-boyfriend.

“what happened-why are you-come in! you’re gonna get sick standing out in that!” you gently grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him into your apartment, closing the door with your foot and quickly locking it again. You turned and flicked up the hallway light switch, gasping as you turned to look back at Harry.

Still wet blood caked the side of his head and was congealing into his soaked hair, his left eye turning red as his right cheek had a large curved welt growing with a thin bleeding cut on the bottom near his jaw. His neck had a red slowly turning purple hand mark that started at his throat and his wrists were rope burned and just starting to bleed “Harry” you cooed, you set down your switchblade and stepped up to him and cupped his face gently, biting your lip as he seemed to melt into you. “what happened?” he bit the inside of his lips, shaking his head a bit as a hiccup erupted from his lips and tears slipped down his cheeks and fell to the floor.

You let out a quiet sigh of distress and looked around your apartment, trying to remember if you had a first aid kit handy, the tension in your shoulders released ever so slightly when you remembered there was one in your bathroom closet. You looked back up at Harry and gently lifted your hands from his face, making him open his eyes ever so slightly in curiosity, and trailed them down to his shoulders, pushing off his waterlogged jacket and guiding his arms out “Harry?” you asked gently, letting the heap of heavy leather drop to the floor, reminding yourself to clean it up once you had Harry dry and taken care of “where’s your hook?” you had noticed as you took off the jacket that his precious hook had been missing the entire time.

“it’s-it’s on the ship” Harry croaked weakly, hiccupping again as you slid his soaked top off, raising his arms to help you in your effort. You narrowed your eyes at the welts and reddening marks that were appearing on Harry's torso, clenching your jaw at the several thin slices on his arms and the ones just peeking over his shoulders.

“which ship?” you undid the belts from around his waist and dropped them onto the floor, the red scarf around his hips joining them moments later.

“da’s” Harry sniffed, his teeth beginning to chatter and body starting to shake as the freezing rain started to set in his bones. You took his hand and gently pried the rings from his fingers, holding them in your palm and sliding his gloves off his hands. Harry intertwined his fingers with yours, sighing a bit as the heat of your hand transferred to his.

“well, we can go get it later yeah?” Harry gave you a numb nod as you glanced back at your bathroom and then turned back to him “how bout a bath?” Harry sniffed and nodded again, reaching his free hand up and wiping his jaw from the still flowing tears. You glanced down at his pants and shoes and gestured at them, Harry getting your meaning and leaning against the wall to undo his boots as you walked into your bathroom and started to run a hot bath, thankful that you had decided not to use them your hot water for the night.

You heard a loud crash and rushed back out of the bathroom, cooing sightly at the sight of Harry sitting on the ground against the wall, the small bookcase next to him on its side with its contents strewn across the floor “Harry?” he hiccupped again, his teeth clattering loudly in your quiet apartment as he curled in on himself, the new cuts on his back making themselves known as he did so.

You moved to sit in front of him and reached towards him, gently cupping his face again and caressing his cheek “hey, you don’t have to tell me what happened, but you're freezing and going to get sick if we don’t get you into the tub and that’s gonna suck for you. and I don’t think you are gonna want to wake up with a headache and sore throat huh?” Harry shook his head slightly, grabbing onto your hands as you stood and took your hands off his cheeks and held them out for him.

You pulled him to his feet, clicking your tongue as you looked down at his boots, which he had only gotten as far as undoing the knot of his left boot before he had fallen. “come on, into the bathroom”

Harry leaned against you and held his other hand on the wall as you guided him into the thankfully large bathroom. You guided Harry to sit against the bathroom counter and let out a low sigh, putting your hands on your hips and tilting your head at the shivering Harry, whose teeth continued to clatter against each other “I need to take off your boots and pants, it's up to you if you’re comfortable taking off your underwear.” Harry's pale face and ears turned a light pink as he realized that you would have to get…near his area to take off his pants.

He sniffed and attempted to take off his boots again but lost his balance, yelping as he tipped to his side. You quickly caught him and pushed him back up against the counter, sighing and resting your forehead against his chest “just-just lemme do it” Harry let out a small grumble but moved his hands from your hips, when did those get there? And onto the counter, looking to the side as you kneeled down and undid the laces to his boots and quickly slid them off along with his socks, wincing as you finally saw his swelling right ankle “Harry what the hell happened?” you asked quietly, standing and unbuttoning his pants, sliding them down his thighs and off his legs.

Now, all that Harry was left in was his dark blue boxer-briefs and some bracelets, his cheeks and ears now dark red. “come on” you whispered, guiding Harry to the tub and gently setting him into the steaming water, Harry let out a small sigh of relief as the hot water settled into his skin, the chatter of his teeth and the intense shivering soon stopping as he relaxed in the water.

You frowned as small droplets of red started to flow through the water around Harry's back. And put your hands on your hips, eyeing the bloody mark on the side of his head. You kneeled next to the tub and reached toward him, taking a moment to wipe the still running tears off his cheeks, and gently grabbed his chin to turn his head towards you so you could examine the possible injury.

You let out a heavy sigh of relief as the blood had no source from his head, he must have fallen on something or something else with blood on it hit his head. You looked at Harry, a soft smile growing on your lips as you locked eyes with him, his striking blue ocean eyes seeming to stare into your soul. “you okay?”

He didn’t answer, just sniffing again and leaned his head back against the tub as a couple more tears dripped off his jaw. You furrowed your brows and looked at the tub, it was big enough for two people…

You stood and walked out of the bathroom, ignoring Harry's eyes on your back as you walked away from him.

Harry shrunk in on himself as millions of thoughts started to run through his head, what if his dad found out about him being here? What if next time, he took his anger out on you? What if he wasn’t there to protect you? What if- he perked up as you returned to the room, quickly looking away with red burning cheeks as you appeared in only a sports bra and some old shorts of yours that you didn’t care if they got ruined. You took the first aid kit from the closet and set it on the counter, grabbing two large towels from the closet as well and setting them next to the kit. You looked at the tub and nodded to yourself before moving towards Harry “scooch” he quickly obeyed, biting his lip as you stepped into the tub behind him and sat down, your legs sliding around his and your hands guiding his head to rest on your chest.

Harry closed his eyes in content as your right hand immediately started to scratch at his scalp, something that always calmed him down quickly. With your other hand you finally turned off the water as the tub was finally filled enough to cover the two of you to your necks. You sighed, leaning back against the edge and rested your hand on Harry's chest, your thumb caressing it as your other hand dutifully scratched at his scalp.

Harry closed his eyes and almost fell asleep as you took care of him, the heat from the water feeling like a comfortable blanket as he calmed down from the nightmare that he had experienced only an hour ago. “can I wash your hair?” you whispered, smiling as Harry nodded against your chest. You grabbed a shampoo bottle Harry had left forever ago and set it on the edge next to you and started to scoop water onto Harry's hair, while it had been soaked when he arrived it was still freezing and cold shampoo on cold wet hair was not fun.

Harry almost seemed to purr as you poured the shampoo into your palm and started to rub it into his hair and scalp, you chuckled slightly as he cuddled into your neck, leg twitching as Harry's hand slid from his stomach and gripped onto your thigh.

The blood caked on the side of his head started to drip down his cheek and jaw and melt into the water as you rubbed at it gently with your palm, sighing in relief as Harry showed no sign of discomfort from your action. You grabbed the small cup to your left and filled it with the hot water, pouring it carefully over Harry's head and rinsing out the shampoo.

You smiled at the small hum that came from Harry as you did so and reached out to grab the conditioner that Harry had also left forever ago and squirted just a bit into your palm, giggling as Harry curled against your hands as you rubbed it into his head. You glanced at the clock on the bathroom wall and let out a tired sigh, it was half-past 2 am and you were exhausted, Harry had to have been as well, so you decided to wrap up the bath and get his wounds all fixed up before you shoved him in your bed for the night.

You rinsed out the conditioner and started to get out of the tub, giving Harry a comforting smile as he whined at you and grabbed one of your towels for Harry. Harry grabbed onto your hand as you held it out to him and hauled him out of the tub.

You smiled again as Harry looked down at you with red-rimmed eyes as you rubbed the towel against his hair, drying it quickly before moving to the rest of him, gently patting him dry around the areas he was hurt.

Harry nursed his ankle as you dried yourself off and grabbed your aid kit. You drained the tub and guided Harry to sit on the edge so you could properly care for his wounds.

You started with the several long cuts on his back, wincing as Harry gasped in pain as you pressed a cloth soaked with disinfectant to the cuts. Thankfully they weren’t too deep, but you would need to wrap them so they didn’t get infected from the isle air or any of Harry's work on Uma’s crew, but you were sure once Uma found out about Harry's injuries, she would restrict his work so he could heal properly.

You grabbed a pack of sterile bandages and ripped open the package, placing the bandages on the cuts and wrapping them to his back with gauze. Harry's hand gripped tightly onto your thigh as you worked, forehead pressed tightly to your shoulder.

You caressed his jaw as you finished, and pulled back, cleaning the cuts on his cheek, arms, and chest. You examined the darkening bruises on his neck and eye and left it alone as you wouldn’t be able to do anything other than maybe put ice on it. You moved onto his wrists, soaking a rag with cold water and gently cleaning the rope burn and small cuts. You gently wrapped them to keep infection out and moved on to his ankle, moving your fingers around the swollen part and humming as Harry hissed in pain and jerked his foot away as you pressed against just below the bone of his ankle “I think you sprained it, it's definitely not broken because if it was you would have been screaming in pain the entire time” you missed Harry’s sigh of relief and turned to grab some gauze to wrap his foot.

Harry closed his eyes and scrunched his nose in slight pain as you wrapped his foot. You quickly finished and stood to put away your kit and grabbed the towels “let’s get you into something dry, I think I have some of your extra clothes in my dresser” you turned back to Harry and grabbed his hands, helping him to your room and tossed the towels onto your bed so Harrys still wet underwear didn’t get your duvet wet.

Harry sighed in relief as he finally completely lifted off his ankle. He watched you dig through your dresser and took out one of his accidentally abandoned sweaters, a pair of his underwear, and black sweatpants that he had left here a couple of months ago.

He caught them as you gently tossed them to him and turned back to your dresser to grab a fresh change of clothes for yourself to change into. Harry felt his face burn as you took off your bra and shorts and quickly changed into the clothes, he had seen you naked multiple times but it didn’t change the butterflies in his stomach when he saw you like that.

He muttered aloud that he was changing and stripped out of his boxer-briefs, struggling slightly to put on the new pair and his sweat pants. He got as far as getting on the underwear getting his legs through the pants before he tipped forward off your bed, grunting as he slammed into you. “I got ya” you muttered, grabbing the waistband of the pants and tugging them up and over his hips, giving Harry a reassuring smile as he turned red once again and buried his face in your neck.

“Come on, let's go to sleep” it took a few moments to get Harry into the queen-sized bed and setting his ankle on a pillow. You tossed the blankets over the two of you and curled up, your hand resting inches away from Harry's arm, just close enough to let him know you were there but far enough to not crowd him.

You laughed silently as Harry wrapped his arm around you and pulled you into his side, you lifted your head and rested it gently on his chest, taking a deep breath and finally relaxing after the stressful past hour.

“darling?” you let out a small hum at Harry‘s ‘question’ “can…can I tell yeh-“ Harry went silent again, and you could imagine him biting his lip in distress of whether or not to tell you about whatever happened to him.

“if you feel comfortable enough to do it” you muttered back sleepily, tossing your arm around his torso and curling your hand around his neck, scratching at the hair at the bottom of his neck gently.

“I….me da’” your hand froze against his neck…his father did all this to him? “he got drunk an’…I guess I fucked up abou’t somethin’ or whatever but he” Harry sniffed and you felt something drop into your hair. You lifted your head and set your chin on his chest, watching as tears started to pour down his cheeks again as his chin crumbled and hiccups erupted from his lips again. “he got so angry with meh an-an’ he hit me in the face wit’h ‘is ‘ook” your eyes drifted to the curved welt on his cheek, rage bubbling in your stomach.  “I think I hit the ground too hard cuz I blacked-and-an I woke up with all” he gestured to himself “tha’ and-it was dark an’ cold an’ raining and I just-“ he took a wobbly breath, his grip on your waist tightening “yeh were the first person I thought of ta go to that wouldn’t judge me” he ended with a whisper, sniffing as you leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to his jaw.

“I'll never judge you for something that wasn’t your fault, you can come to me at any point in the day for whatever, I won't care what the story is, I'll always be here with open arms” Harry hiccupped and pulled you up and further on top of him, burying his face in your neck.

“Thank yeh” he whispered, pressing his lips to your collarbone and holding onto you tightly. He pulled back from your neck, eyes drifting to your lips to your eyes, silently asking for permission to kiss you.

You answered with pressing your lips to his softly, tilting your head and closing your eyes as Harry chapped lips pressed back into yours. You pulled back as Harry's hands started to drift down and gave him a soft smile “we can continue that kinda thing on a day where you’re not hurt okay?” Harry sniffed again, and nodded, his hands following you as you slid off his chest and buried yourself into his side. He turned on his side facing you and curled around you, letting out a heavy sigh through his nose as he finally let go of the tension he had felt since he walked in on his dad on the ship.

-

Harry perked up from the tray of food as two customers at a nearby table started to talk “hey did you hear about Hook?” Harry froze at that thinking they were talking about him and the news of his beating had gotten around.

“No? what happened?”

“He got his ass kicked by (y/n), something about revenge for someone, and now he’s hanging by his ankles in the town square off the lamp pole” the two pirates laughed to themselves as Harry stared at them with wide eyes.

His eyes shifted to the front doors of the chip shop, a smile blooming on his face as you stepped through the doors and set your sword into the check and walked toward him, his hook held tightly in your hand.

You walked around the table and set his hook next to his arm, patted his back, and sat down on his other side. Uma emerged from the kitchen a moment later and set a tray full of food in front of (y/n), smirking at her war chief and rubbing Harry's shoulder for a moment before getting back to her work.

Harry stared at (y/n) for a few moments before going back to his food, trying to keep the mushy grin from spreading on his lips.

-end-

permtaglist

@queer-cosette @sephiralorange

@lunanight2012 @daughter-of-the-stars11

@musicarose @random-thoughts-003

@remembered-license @jatp-rules-my-life​

@imtryingthisout​ @thecaptainsgingersnap​

@verboetoperee​ @rintheemolion​

[brutal-nemesis]

E&T-Caring For Your Tiny Test Subject

Welp. (⓿ ◡ ⓿) I made more. Maybe real content will resume soon, but until then...tiny Erebus

←Previous - Masterlist

Ingredients: noncon partial stripping/nudity, noncon touching (unsexy)

“You know,” Neteri mused as she turned Erebus over in her hand, “you’re kind of filthy from your little adventure. Maybe I should-”

“No-”

“Yeah.” She tightened her grip as Erebus squirmed, looking down at him with a devilish grin. “Let’s get you cleaned up, lil guy.”

“I-I can do that myself Neteri you don’t need to-”

“I do need to because it will be so absolutely adorable.”

“That’s the dumbes-” Erebus’s protest was silenced as she placed one of her fingers over his mouth. He glared at her, debating biting her for a moment. She’d only have herself to blame if he drew blood...still, the last thing he needed was for his situation to get any worse. As per usual, Neteri was going to get what Neteri wanted and he’d just have to suffer through it. Even so, this...this was not going to be easy. Already, an awful feeling was stirring in his gut at imagining her…bathing him. He shuddered, trying to just put it out of his mind for now.

Once they got back to her office, Neteri plopped him back into the jar and screwed on the lid before taking him back to his cell. She set the jar on the desk and crouched down to his level. “I’m going to go get everything I need, and then I’ll be back, so you just chill until then, okay?” Erebus just quietly nodded from where he was seated with his arms wrapped around his folded legs. He tried to take deep breaths once he was alone, trying not to let himself get freaked out before it even started.

He would be fine. Neteri was always gentle with him as long as he was cooperative, so he wasn’t too worried about this experience hurting. He was far more worried about how much she was going to be touching him, about how exposed he was going to be, about how helpless he was going to feel. Not that he wasn’t already helpless right now, stuck inside a glass jar, but there was a whole new level of powerlessness in being held tightly in her hand. When he’d been his real size, he could always take comfort in his significant height advantage over her, the vague idea that he could easily overpower her if he tried. But now, she could do whatever she wanted with him with just her bare hands, and there was nothing he could do to fight back.

By the time she had returned with a relatively shallow bowl and a large cup, he had steeled himself for what was about to occur. Still, when she reached her hand in the jar, he pressed himself back against the glass, because he didn’t want this. “You’ll be alright little guy, the water’s nice and warm for you.”

“T-that’s not what I-hey! I can take that off mysel-”

“I’m sure you can,” Neteri said as she pulled his shirt off over his head, his struggles doing absolutely nothing to slow her down. “But this is more fun.”

“Not for me.”

“Who owns who here, Erebus? Now stop wiggling or I might take off more than your pants, and neither of us want that.” Erebus grumbled but stopped trying to resist, feeling his face flush at her bare hands against his skin. She poured some of the water from the cup into the dish before gently setting him down in it. He felt himself relax despite everything; the water did feel good and it’d been so long since he’d had a bath. Probably not since...since he’d lost everything. Maybe this would be alright…

Yeah, it felt sort of nice as she poured the warm water over his head with a thimble and started to wash his hair with two of her fingertips. He leaned into her touch just a bit-no no no wait this was Neteri she’d shrunk him and this was humiliating he wasn’t supposed to enjoy it, and even if he did, there was no way he’d let her catch on to it. He put on his best glare and hugged his knees close to his chest. Neteri laughed. “You always look so cute when you’re angry, but now that you're tiny it’s even cuter! You’re just perfect like this, huh?” She tilted his chin up, and he tried to turn away, but she forced him back. “Keep your head tilted back, I’m going to rinse your hair and I don’t want it to get in your eyes.”

“Fine.” She was always so unfairly tender with him, and part of him wished she would be rougher, that she would stop making it so hard to hate this. Even when she pried his arms away from his legs and forced him to uncurl so she could wash the rest of him, she was never anything but gentle. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately? He wasn’t sure), the feeling of her fingers scrubbing his body ended up being more uncomfortable and invasive than nice, and it was easier for him to hate it. 

And he...he hated it, really hated it, so much so that he didn’t know how much more he could take, because he just wanted her hands off of him, not all over his bare skin, over all of his scars, at the same time. Erebus tried to squirm away, but there was firmness behind Neteri’s gentle grip, rendering his attempts futile. He was just as helpless as he had feared being, and he could hardly bear it. She was almost done, she had to be, she’d gotten just about everywhere and he wasn’t sure if his face could get any redder, if the awful feeling in his stomach could get any worse.

He fought back an audible sigh of relief as she started rinsing him off, glad that this experience was almost over. Once she was done, Neteri slid her thumb under his chin, tilting it up. “There, you’re all clean now.” She stared at him a moment more, stifling a laugh. “You’re all embarrassed it’s so adorable. I do wish I could keep you like this.”

“You’d better not-”

“No, no, I can’t, that would use up far too much of my magic power, shrinking you every day. And doing procedures on your tiny little body would be way more difficult and not worth it at all. But, a girl can dream,” she sighed. He rolled his eyes, relishing the fact that she’d have no idea that he did it. She released him, looking around on the desk. “I forgot to get a towel for ya; let me go grab one from your bathroom.” 

Erebus eyed the edge of the bowl as soon as she turned around. The sides weren’t that steep, and he could probably climb them, which would earn him a little moment of freedom, not stuck inside anything or held back by her giant hands. He stood and sloshed towards the edge, deciding it would be best to just try to crawl up the sloped sides. He stepped out of the soapy water, feeling confident enough in his first step that he immediately tried to take another, trusting all of his weight to his foot on the sloped side of the bowl.

A mistake he soon paid for. 

Still coated in soapy residue, his foot slipped on the smooth surface of the bowl, and his forehead immediately slammed into the ceramic. He managed to catch himself before his face slid into the water, and he just stayed on his hands and knees for a moment, staring at his reflection in the water as his head throbbed. Of course he couldn’t even escape from a bowl. Of course. Tears of frustration welled up in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away as Neteri returned.

“What was that sound, Erebus? You okay?” she asked as she picked him up, examining him.

“It was nothing. I’m fine.” He crossed his arms, hoping she’d just drop it.

But this was Neteri, who rarely dropped it, and seemed to have a sixth sense for this sort of thing. “I dunno bud, you have a lil red spot on your forehead. Did you-” a mischievous grin spread across her face, “did you try to climb out and hit your head?”

“I-so what if I did? It doesn’t matter.” He looked away as she laughed, his face once again burning an unfair amount.

“It does matter ‘cause that is the cutest thing, oh you poor little dear.” She ruffled his hair with one of her fingertips before picking up the cup of clean water. “Alright, close your eyes while I rinse you off one last time.” When she was done, she set him down on the towel she had brought over and got to work drying him off. He let her, just wanting this whole thing to be over with. The towel felt so much rougher now that he was small...that was another thing he missed about home, how soft the towels always were. His sheets and pillows had always been so comfortable, too...he missed his father and everyone, of course, but sometimes he couldn’t help but think about all of the little things. 

Once he was dry, Neteri dropped him back in the jar before throwing a set of small, clean clothes on top of him. “Here, I shrunk those for you, and I think I was able to do it so they’ll get big when you do like your other clothes shrunk with you the first time. Just let me know when you’re done.” She held out her hands to cover the side of the jar facing her, eyes squeezed shut for good measure. 

“You’re good, Neteri,” Erebus called once he’d gotten changed. “Are you going to leave me alone now?”

“Absolutely I will not.” She picked up the jar, holding him at her eye level. “You are at your most cutest ever in the world and I want to be here for every second of it.” Her stomach growled. “Also I have just realized that I forgot about food and neither of us have eaten since this morning and it is definitely past lunchtime so I am going to go get us some food.” She grinned as she set the jar down. “I can give you tiny food oh I’m so excited!” She dashed out the door, calling “I’ll be right back!”

Erebus couldn’t say he wasn’t happy to get something to eat, but he could do without the way Neteri watched him the entire time, occasionally gasping at stupid things like him ripping off part of the chunk of bread she’d given him. She’d shrunk most of his food, so he ate it like normal, but for some reason she tore off a piece of her normal sized flatbread and gave it to him, and there was no way he was just going to bite into something so big. He’d lost a lot of his dignity over these past few months, but he still wasn’t a savage. Besides, she was making him drink out of a thimble, which was demeaning enough. 

She put him back in the jar while she took care of their plates and cleaned up from bathing him. He laid on his back and stared at the ceiling, wondering what stupid thing she had planned next. It would be foolish to assume she wasn’t going to spend the rest of the day bothering him and teasing him and holding him in her hands, since she’d made it very clear how much she was enjoying this. Nothing would be worse than the bath, though. He hoped. 

Once she returned, Neteri picked him up from inside the jar and just stared at him intently. Erebus narrowed his eyes. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m just trying to decide what to do with you next.”

“You could put me down.”

“Or I could hold you in my hand forever.”

“No.”

“I think I will do that.” She sat down on his bed and laid back, pressing Erebus against her chest, her hand on his back pinning him down on his stomach. His wiggling was, as always, completely useless. He sighed, trying to make himself comfortable and pretending he was just lying on a bed or something. Neteri rubbed her thumb soothingly up and down his back, and soon enough he...found himself...getting tired...

~~~

Neteri resisted the urge to jump up in delight as she watched little Erebus fall asleep on her chest. She’d just wanted to lay down and hold his tiny body for a few minutes, but she’d expected him to struggle longer or glare at her the whole time, not take a nap. Not that it was unwelcome, not at all, he was so precious like this, and there was no way she’d move until he woke up. She continued stroking his back, smiling down at her little test subject. 

She was going to enjoy every moment she had left while he was small.

Tags: @as-a-matter-of-whump @yet-another-heathen @galaxywhump @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @whumpasaurus101 

[lovieebby]

Man down

Daddy!Syverson x little!reader

Summary: Sy unknowingly sticks your best friend in the washer with the bedsheets and when you’ve come to realize the missing person, it's too late. It's doomsday.

WC: 1.5k

Warnings: a small spank but really just cute fluff!

Note: im being a little selfish and putting my manatee in this, and tbh I’ve had this guy for ab 5 years and he still doesn’t have a name 😩😂 so we’re just putting he/him. Also gif is from Pinterest so all credit goes to the person that made it!!!

Tags: @hell1129-blog @snowbellexx @summersong69 @kaizet @omgkatinka @hinata7346 @thethirstyarchive @mary-ann84 @agniavateira @shaybabbby @oddsnendsfanfics @cavillshmavill @vivodinson @radaofrivia @iloveyouyen @jessevans @pinksdaydream @ollyoxenfrees @woofgocows @captaingothgirl1996 @honeychicana @viking-raider @seb-owns-these-tatas @laufeysodinson @msblkfire84

If you want to be added/removed lemme know! Feedback is always welcomed, love you lots and be nice to yourself my bbies ;))

You rushed up the stairs in a race to see who got into bed first. Sy seemed like a million miles away as you squealed when you face planted into the fresh bed sheets. It smelled like the clean lavender, and a mix of other florals and musks Sy used for soap, it was honestly your favorite smell besides the man himself.

“I won and you lose!” You sang out after you rolled to your back.

Sy exaggerated a panting breath as he leaned on the doorframe to your shared bedroom. He had his arm tucked around his gut making you giggle as he took a deep breath.

“You’re just too fast bug.” He exhaled, “Way too fast for this old man.”

“Why thank you! I practice very hard.” You giggled, tilting your head to the side to watch Sy rolling his eyes with a chuckle.

You snickered a small laugh and groaned while you sat up. Sy met you on the bed with his own groaning, roughly sitting on his side of the bed making you bouce at his weight.

“Now, its time for bed. Get your pj’s on and go brush your teeth.” He said, leaning to you and giving you a soft kiss on your forehead.

You nodded in agreement, standing up and doing what he politely commanded. You picked a oversized shirt from your dresser, a pair of sleep shorts and quickly changed to meet Sy in the bathroom. You both brushed your teeth in silence, softly shoving eachother teaseingly, Sy poking your sides to make you giggle and you knocking his knees to see if he’d fall or maybe do it back.

When you made it back into the bedroom Sy had you lay down and helped you put your soothing lotion on before tucking the both of you under the covers. He had turned off the lights and pulled you close to his chest and whispered his i love you’s.

Before you completely settled down, you searched around for the grey creature you snuggled with every night. He wasn’t between yours and Sy’s pillows, nor between the bed and wall. You pulled Sy’s heavy arm off of you and sat up to look at the end of the bed, soon crawling to the edge to lean down to look under the bed.

“Baby girl, what are you doin’?” Sy groveled out, his eyes still closed but listening to you roll and pat around.

“Daddy I lost him.” You mumbled out as you moved around the totes under the bed, just in case your manatee made his way down there.

“Oh.” Sy deadpanned.

You frowned your brows and slowly sat up, looking at your daddy with your eyes slanted. “Oh?”

“Yeah I think he’s in the wash.” Sy nervously chuckled, shrugging as he scratched his beard.

He braced himself on his elbow as he leaned into it to see you more clearly. Sy tried not to laugh at your try hard mean face contort into shock.

“You what?! Daddy!” You scrambled off the bed quickly then dashing out of the bedroom.

“Man down! Man down!” You screamed as you bounced down the stairs and ran into the laundry room.

Sy came into the laundry room soon after you with his heart squeezing in his chest as you sat in front of the washer, watching your poor manatee’s face popping up every now and then through the glass of the washer.

You sniffled quietly, “Manatee down Daddy.”

Sy chuckled at your joke.

“Baby it’s gonna be okay. He’s a sea cow, that means he knows how to swim! He’ll be out in the morning.” Sy tried his hardest to reassure you, but it just made you sniffle and cry louder.

“Yeah but not in soapy water! And I didn’t get to say bye!” You pouted, rubbing your cheeks and nose with the sleeve of your shirt.

“Oh baby,” Sy sighed, crouching down to you, “I promise he’ll be okay. I’m sorry I forgot to tell you he was going in the wash.” He apologized sincerely, Sy really hated seeing you so upset.

Even though he saw this as a really small ordeal, he knew that this meant more to you than him, and he also knew you were probably more upset because you’re tired. Sy was very glad you didn’t freak out too much and opened the washer door while it was still running; that would have been a handful.

“C’mon sweet angel.” He said, standing up straight with your hand in his.

You cried weakly as you hesitated standing up. The thought of your manatee being all alone made you cry harder, you fruitlessly pulled away from Sy. You refused to leave your best friends side through such a tramatic time.

Sy tried to understand your frustration, but he also had never had a bond with something so small— honestly he didn’t like the stuffed animal, the thing was old and lost its cuteness the moment it got more snuggles than him. Before he snapped at you, he sighed softly with a long exhale. You tucked your chin between your knee caps, arms wrapped around your shins and watched the lit numbers above the door handle, seeing that there was still a long way to go.

“Pooh bear, lady bug, my sweet little baby,” Sy listed off all your pet names, hoping to intice you to come with him. “Honey it’s already passed our bedtime— a nap tomorrow won’t even fix the lack of sleep.”

Your only response to him was a growl, a small chest grumbling growl. Sy shifted back, and blinked as he crossed his arms over his broad chest.

“Now I would really hate to believe you just did that. Do my ears fail me?”

Your eyes widened in surprise of him hearing it. You dared to repeat your actions, you thought to just keep yourself quiet as you shrunk in your spot. Sy nodged his knee against your shoulder, pushing hard enough to rock you.

“I’m waiting little bear.” He spoke lowly with a small joke but the tone still left a lingering shiver of fear.

“Sorry Daddy.” You whispered softly, biting your lip as you pushed yourself up to walk to him.

You came to him and raised your arms to wrap around him for an apology hug, but he stuck out two fingers and pressed it to your chest to stop you. He shook his head with a frown as you pouted.

“You growled at me bug! I ain’t letting the dogs growl at me, what makes you think you can?”

“I said I’m sorry.” You whined, still pouting your lip out.

“I accept that, but you still need to learn little miss.” Sy said, turning his two fingers around; a silent signal.

You pressed down the urge to roll your eyes and groan in difiance. Instead, you let out a whine and listened. You turned around in the door way, facing the white painted frame and clenched your cheeks.

“You clench, it’ll hurt more.” He warned, his eyes watching the bottom of your cheeks relax.

A quick three swats left your bottom stinging. Sy’s big hands could crush anything from their sheer size, and with these spanks, you could tell he didn’t hold back. Your breath shook as you heard Sy grumble proudly, his hand softly rubbing your cheeks. You frowned upon grazing your eyes over the washer one last time before Sy nudged you to the hallway and up the stairs.

Your lip wobbled when the bedroom door closed with a soft click. And as Sy flipped the sheets over to pull himself in, he snickered at your pitiful face.

“Tuck that lil’ lip in baby. No need for that.” Sy spoke softly, watching you from his peripheral as he tucked his pillow under his neck.

You huffed once before you made your way to the bed, the soft, clean sheets inviting you into sleep. Sy’s heavy hand rubbed gentle circles as you laid flat on your tummy, a silent and bratty way to tell him you don’t want to cuddle. Though you knew Sy didn’t care for your small sour attitude; he still rubbed your back and kissed your exposed shoulder with ease and care. With your face deep into your pillow, arms shoved under and Sy’s body heat warming yours, sleep was easy to fall into.

And as Sy heard your soft breathing and felt your body relax, he stayed up until the soft ring of the washer went off and when it did, he slipped his pillow under your chest and belly and traveled down the steps carefully. Before you fully awoke, he quickly swapped loads and made his way back to you.

He would never understand the attachment between you and a replaceable thing, but he would do everything in his power to see your happy face over and over when you woke up with the small manatee under your arm, still warm and the fluff rejuvenated.

[simping-i-guess]

Vash x Reader; Careless Choice

Do as little harm as possible, never take a life. A philosophy that you had always held close. Even when faced with horrid individuals- murderers, bandits, kidnappers, your will to bring everyone out of any situation alive and unharmed held true in your heart. Maybe it's why you and the Humanoid Typhoon got along so well. In this world, not many people held the same ideology as the two of you.

However, we all must crack sometime.

With broken skin, your knuckles weeped blood as you beat a particularly horrid foe to the ground. The unspeakable actions this person committed with no justification available- something about it broke you. You hated him. You wanted him gone. It didn't matter if he hadn't harmed you personally- you wanted him off of this planet. You wanted to save everyone from this vile individual's crimes.

Your fists wouldn't stop their torrent. Even as the man lost consciousness below you, your anger propelled you to continue. Again and again, your fists bruised the man's already scarred flesh, opening fresh wounds that mingled your blood with his. How long have I been at this? I should stop before... Your inner voice was drowned out by the distinct sound of blood pounding within your ears, and the crackled yells that tore from your tired throat with every last punch you inflicted.

But suddenly, you remembered Vash's smile. You remembered they joy he displayed when you told him that you shared his feelings on murder, on inflicting harm- on everything. You two were so alike, and that made you so very happy... except for in this moment, perhaps.

"I just think it's best if everyone stays alive. No one has the right to take another's life." Vash's words played through your head again and again, and your fists finally stopped their assault. Your eyes took in the sight of the man's face, wet with blood dripping from his nose and bubbling up through his mouth. You then looked to your own bloodied hands, turning them over slowly as they shook. You inhaled deeply, opening your hands and flexing your fingers, hoping to regain feeling in them.

What have I done to cause these bloodied hands? You wondered how it had gotten this far. How you could have possibly done this. So unlike me... so very unlike me... It was as if you'd been possessed with the blind rage of the angered victims of this individual. You didn't fully understand why this had happened, nor did you have time to dwell on it right now.

Despite the fact that your hands would not still, you were able to firmly press two fingers to the man's neck. After a single reposition of your fingers, you were able to find a slow pulse. Good, he was alive. Maybe you could fix this...

Swiftly you stood, though your legs wobbled and swayed in protest. Your adrenaline was fading, and the pain from all your sustained injuries and the exertion was becoming swiftly apparent. But it didn't matter, you had to get this person to a doctor.

Kneeling behind the man's head, you carefully lifted his upper body, slipping your hands under his arms to get leverage. You shut your eyes, trying to remember which way the town's medical center was. You were in the very outskirts of the small town, where the roads were loose and sand fluttered freely with every breeze that passed. Going out alone was a bad idea you thought to yourself. After a brief survey of your surroundings, you began the slow, painful trek back to the inhabited part of town, dragging the unconscious and bleeding man along with you. Let's hope I make it in time.

...

As the loose sand became more compact, you realized you were approaching one of the main roadways into the town's center. With a heavy sigh, you hurried your steps, hoping someone would notice you and offer help. This man wasn't light, and you had practically no feeling in your arms anymore, other than the dull throb of exertion. Unfortunately, the last person you wanted to see happened to stumble upon you.

"(Y/N)!!" Vash quickly approached you, his hands hovering uselessly as he took in the scene before him. "What happened?"

"Get a doctor for him." Your voice came out flat and detached, and you were sure your expression matched it well. "He's alive, but his pulse isn't very strong."

Vash was quick to take the burden from you, using his strength to easily lift the man out of your arms. "What about you? You should-"

"I'm fine, Vash." You responded shortly, refusing to look at his face. "I'm just going to wash up."

Despite the ache within your legs, they continued to carry you, and you mindlessly walked back to the small inn you and Vash were staying in together. You were thankful that the room you two were staying in had a bathtub, and the first thing you did was strip from your blood stained clothes and slowly submerge yourself into scorching hot water. You tried to clean yourself, using one of the offered cloth rags to wipe away some of the dried blood from your face, but you didn't get very far. Even in the warm, soothing water, your muscles ached so badly that lifting your arms was a chore.

So, you sat in solitude. You knew Vash would return, but you didn't know what you'd say. How could you explain that you almost killed a man when you had told him so many times you thought taking life was wrong? You didn't know. You were afraid of what he would think of you after this.

"(Y/N)?" Eventually, you heard Vash's voice calling for you. You didn't have it in you to respond. You instead waited in silence until Vash finally opened the door, peering into the small washroom. He put on a small smile for you as he entered the room. "I was looking for you-" Vash paused as he again assessed you, his eyes focusing on the cloth held in your limp hand. His face fell at the sight.

It's not as if the criminal hadn't fought back. Hell, he attacked you initially- the whole thing started as you defending yourself. You were sure your arms would be black and blue by the next morning, and your back would likely be similarly injured.

Crouching beside the tub, Vash took the cloth from your hand, beginning to wipe the blood from your face carefully. He started with the droplets of blood that had dried up on your cheeks, then moved to the blood that had come from your nostrils and dripped down onto your lips.

As he dabbed the blood away from the left corner of your lower lip, you cringed. Vash noticed, pulling the cloth away to look more closely. "Ooh, your lip is gonna be a bit swollen for a while." Vash commented, returning to cleaning it, albeit more gently this time. You huffed out through your nose.

"I'll probably have shiners coming in too, soon enough." You commented, your voice coming out weakly. Considering the strain shouting put on your poor throat, you'd likely have a very weak tone for the next few days.

"Yeah, it looks like it was a pretty bad scuffle." Vash said, no judgment present within his voice. You unconsciously held your breath, again feeling guilty about your contribution to the fight.

After Vash finished thoroughly cleaning off your face, he gave you a small smile. "Now," He began as he dipped the cloth back into the water, wringing it out to clean some of the blood out of it. "Do you wanna tell me what happened?"

You shrunk at Vash's question. He still didn't sound like he was judging you- but he must have seen the condition of the man he took to the medical center. Your eyes locked on your bloody and bruised knuckles as you steeled your resolve, only taking a moment to search for your words. After clearing your throat, you gave a simple, honest answer.

"I lost control. I almost killed him. I wanted to kill him."

Vash seemed momentarily surprised at your admission, but otherwise he carried on with his task. He took one of your hands, holding it gently as he dabbed the cloth against your knuckles. "But you didn't." Vash pointed out.

"That doesn't mean I didn't get close. He had relented long before I stopped myself." You sucked in a breath through your teeth, your knuckles beginning to sting as Vash revealed just how raw your knuckles were under all of the blood. "I shouldn't have allowed myself to lose control like that."

Again, Vash didn't seem to respond harshly. He just hummed in acknowledgment and continued cleaning off your knuckles, though he was clearly in thought. "Did you intend to kill him when the fight started?" Vash asked. You would have shook your head, but your muscles still ached.

"No... It was only in the heat of the moment that I considered it." Again you answered honestly, and still received no hostility from Vash. You watched his expression intently, trying to read something- anything from it. Was he angry with you? Was he hurt by your actions? You just wanted to know.

As he wiped the final bits of blood away from your hand, he finally focused his gaze on your face. He gave you a sympathetic smile, offering your hand a very soft squeeze, as to not hurt you any further. "We can all get lost in the heat of our anger. What's important is being able to pull yourself out of that anger so you can look at the bigger picture and make the best decisions possible."

"That doesn't make what I did any less... horrible." You retorted.

"No, but you didn't get to the point of no return. The man is alive, and according to the doctor, will be fine. He will however, spend the rest of his life confined for his crimes." Vash informed you, and moved to take your second hand to clean. "I understand your anger, even if I think you went a little far." At that, you let out a short, humorless laugh.

"A 'little' too far?" You asked rhetorically.

"Okay, maybe a lot too far." Vash again began the process of dabbing your wounds, wiping the blood away to reveal the cuts that lay beneath. "But... You didn't follow through. You had some self control. It's a learning experience."

You couldn't help it. You sniffled. Right there, as Vash cleaned your wounds, you were going to begin crying. Not from the physical pain- but the relief. Vash didn't look down on you for this. He didn't even really seem angry- just... understanding. You tried to blink away the sting in your eyes, but your attempt was fruitless. Tears still formed, and slid down your cheeks, dampening them further. At the second sniffle from you, Vash noticed.

"Hey- am I hurting you?" Vash asked, pulling the cloth away from you. "Why are you crying?"

You didn't verbally answer. You didn't have any words right now. With a slow, painful shift of your body, you extended your upper body over the side of the tub just enough to embrace Vash. It was a loose embrace, your muscles simply wouldn't allow for anything more. It didn't matter though. You wanted to be close to him.

Slowly, and ever so carefully, Vash returned your embrace. His hands came to rest against your back, smoothly stroking up and down your bruised skin. His touch was delicate, soothing the aches and pains just a bit. You let out a choked sob, pressing your face against Vash's neck.

"O-ow." You complained shortly, the sob making your sore muscles flex painfully. "C-Crying hurts..."

"Then let's try and save the tears for after you're a bit more healed." Vash spoke with a slight chuckle. You tried not to laugh, but you couldn't help it. A giggle turned into another groan of pain, and Vash would chastise you. "No laughing either, hold it in! No, don't laugh harder!!"

By the time Vash had finally got you cleaned up and tucked into your shared bed, you didn't feel quite as horrible. You still felt guilt over your actions, but your promised yourself something. You'd learn. You'd grow. You'd continue on. It would be okay.

Though, your body still felt as if it was about to fall apart. There was no way for you to be comfortable, you just ached so badly. Vash could tell, and was obviously sympathetic to your plight.

"Here- where does it hurt most?" Vash asked, having left momentarily to retrieve a washcloth from the bathroom, which was clearly damp and very hot.

"My back." You croaked out, having to clear your throat to continue speaking at all. "Should I turn over?"

"If you can manage that without hurting yourself.”

With a heave of effort, you were able to flip to lay on your stomach. You kept your arms down by your sides, knowing if you tried to rest your head against them it would ultimately just hurt.

You felt the mattress lower slightly to your left as Vash sat himself down beside you. He rolled the back of your shirt up, exposing your back. Vash audibly winced, and you felt his fingers softly stroke down your spine.

“The bruises are coming in.” Vash commented, his hand stopping at your tailbone. For a moment there was a loss of contact, but it soon returned as the hot washcloth was presses against your upper back, soothing the muscles considerably. You let out a long sigh, turning your head just enough to look up at Vash.

“Feels good... thank you.” You breathed out, talking just barley above a whisper. “You’re too good to me.”

“It’s not a big deal...” Vash downplayed, a blush tinting his cheeks.

“It is to me, Vash.” With a wince and a slight shift of your left arm, you placed a hand against Vash’s knee. “It is to me.”

“Well, uhm...” Vash cleared his throat, beginning to busy himself by massaging his fingers into your back. “...I’m glad to help.”

You hummed happily, allowing your eyes to fall closed. Sleep would soon overtake you, but not before you felt the distinct sensation of a few kisses on your cheek. You were glad you were just awake enough to feel that, at least.

[cherripeach]

Chapter 6

Little Match Maker

Summary: Your life motto is “I have the power of god and anime on my side, don’t mess with me,” and you stand by that with your life. No human, magician, or random creature could ever stop your firm belief in it.

However, getting transported to this world that seemed to turn your already bad luck worse was not what you wanted to be in your life story, but you made the most of it.Making friends, enemies, and disasters, you were in your prime in this world, and so you decided to help as many people as you could flourish, at least what you believed to be.

Prologue 11-13: we all die: you either kill yourself or get killed 

Chapter Summary: You thought high schoolers in your world had a terrible IQ, but somehow these three don’t even have one. 

Warning: Jokes about assault, curse words, and maybe jokes about death

Words: 2.2k

Relationships: developing but future twstxreader

The end of the school day came, and the only reason you could tell is by the excess of students gathered in different areas of the schools to just lounge around and do work. You only paid attention to that because you bumped into a taller male with green hair and a clove on his cheek with two others standing next to him: one was a short red head but darker than the dude you saw at the beginning of today and another was a taller male with curly orange hair whose eyes were blasted open once taking a peek at you in your amazing outfit.

You ended up finishing your work a while back and decided to look around a little since you already got lost once. You found how to get back to the well from main street and even a better way to get to your dorm, but that’s all. You also found an odd tree in the middle of the forest with green leaves and bright, shiny red apples

After you ran into that group, the two of you-you and your stupid cat- headed back to the cafeteria from the outside: so you went back to the well, went to the cafeteria windows, and jumped back in.

No one was in there at the time, so you thought that you could sit down and relax your feet for a while. Grim took to scurrying on the table to see if anyone left any food.

He soon came back with a piece of break and sat in front of you on the table, “I’m already beat from cleaning all day.. Now we have to wash a hundred windows, too…” He bit off a piece of the bread.

You could only shake your head, “You could have not fought a kid with magic, but I digress.”

He looked openly offended at your comment, but then, he looked around the room, noticing something, “That Ace guy is sure taking his sweet time. Who does he think he is, making me wait! I'm ticked off!”

“Give him a bit. The kid can’t take that long, and who knows he might be lost. He is a first year,” You were trying to give the kid the benefit of the doubt.

Grim just huffed and ripped another piece of the bread off with his mouth. It seems like today was not his day either.

Grim finished the bread and maybe five minutes had passed and the cat gained a furrowed brow and crossed arms.

Twenty minutes had passed and the cat had begun to tap his tail vigorously against the table.

About half an hour had passed by the time Grim jumped up and began to stomp on the table and pull on your coat.

“... I don't care what happened, there is no way he's this late!” He pointed at the door for a second then a lightbulb went off in his head, “Wait, he wouldn't just skip out, right?”

He sprinted out of the room out of the large doors yelling, “I'm not gonna let him get away with putting all the punishment on us! Let's go henchmen! We're gonna catch Ace and make him do all the window washing!”

You slapped your forehead and casually jogged after the cat.

You two ended up heading down the hallway and up a set of stairs into a classroom. Problem was that the classroom was empty, and Grim was still upset.

You were not having this, “Grim let’s just go back and clean the windows and tell the Headmaster. I’d rather not fight him for him to just not listen.” Your social battery was almost out, and you did not want to go through another confrontation.

Grim could never listen to you, “Orraaaa! Where's Ace! We're not gonna let you hide away! .....Ah, there's nobody here!?” He finally realized the obvious.

At least until a voice came out of nowhere, “No, I’m here.”

Grim jumped behind you and latched onto your cloak, “Fffgyyyaaaaaaaaa!!!! The picture talked!!” His hand trembled while pointing to a picture of the wall of the classroom.

The painting on the wall looked offended at the cat’s statement, “What now? It's not uncommon for paintings to talk at this school.The Wall Lady over there, the Wall Gentleman over here, everyone can speak. Portraits can speak because they have a mouth. That's normal, you know?”

“How high am I today?” You announced to both the cat and the painting.

The painting ignored your remark and continued his story, “Rather than restlessly floating in the air, I've been sitting still on this wall perfectly for more than fifty years. Your 'normal' and my 'normal' differ in regards to our quirks. Isn't that true. That aside, who are you looking for?”

You, then, noticed that out one of the long windows there was a figure flashing in the side of your vision. The figure seemed to scurry out of view once you turned around, so you assumed that they were watching you beforehand. You could not think of anyone in this school who you would have charmed as much for them to follow you and stalk you, but there always is that possibility. You continued to stare out the window waiting for a sign that something had changed until Grim vigorously tugged on your cloak in the direction of the door to the classroom. You assumed his conversation with the painting went well for once he got your attention, he was off.

Down the hall and out the window of the cafeteria again, Grim ran out of school and even asked a couple (one with green hair and odd eye brows yelled at you to not bother his job and another was the pair of twins you met this morning who glared at you two when you walked too close) while you patiently walked behind him where this ‘East building’ was. Finally, he arrived while you were behind him out of breath with a hand on your chest .

This building had to have been the most wack building you have ever seen: there were seven large mirror entrance things with weird accessories all around them. One of them looked broken, one had bat wings on them, and one even had sand surrounding it. All of this was from a movie or book, and it was incredibly obvious.

In front of the main entrance to this odd entrance area, you stood with your hands on your knees and your breath gone.

Then, in front of you a male with red orange hair stood, and you knew that he was your target.

“No way I’m washing a 100 windows. Gonna head home…” The target crossed his arms and shrunk his shoulders.

Grim decided that sneaking up on him was off the table, “Heeeeeeey yoooouuuuu!!!” The male swiveled around locking eyes with your dumb cat and then yourself before yelling, “Geh! Found me!” and running away

Grim was having none of it and ran after him. Both of them began to yell at each other while running around the place.

You, however, found the perfect person to help you: another male with dark blue hair in the same uniform as Ace or whatever. You judged that he was the perfect person to catch him as the target was running in his direction. So you screamed and pointed to the red head, “Catch that idiot!” because what else would people listen to.

The blue haired male panicked and started glancing around the room to figure out what to do while mumbling something-Grim even responding once- until he finally cried out, “Anything is fine, so come on! Something heavy!”

The ‘something heavy’ ended up sending the target into a pancake, causing you to laugh and miss some of the next exchange of shouts between the three.

Once you turned back around to face them you caught the end of a phrase said by your target directed at you, you assumed, as his eyes were locked on yours, “Those 100 windows should be clean in a flash.”

“Okay, dude, I don’t think you know how to count because 5 windows lasts me three songs on my playlist,” How hard is this college if this dude can’t even count? “Besides, how big are these windows. I was told nothing besides cafeteria, after school, and clean a hundred windows.”

The red head scoffed at your answer and rolled his eyes at you.  The blue head’s eyes widened after he whipped his head in your direction, and he opened his mouth only to close it again and ask a question, “Washing 100 windows as punishment... What in the world did you all do?”

The target voiced his opinion on the situation, “I got into it a bit with the furball, and we might have charred the Queen of Hearts' statue a bit.”

The blue head began shouting at the target about how “people would get angry with” and “on the first day.”  

The red head yelled back at him, but you were distracted because the mention of Grim gave you an odd feeling in your stomach like he was going to do something wrong. You surveyed the area, seeing if he was even present, and to you absolutely surprise, he was not.

Missing both of the boy’s introductions, you called out, “Grim yeeted himself out of here, dudes.”

Both males blanked for a second before their faces darted to you and then to where the cat was to find him with a call from Ace of, “Ah! The furball’s gone!”

There was then a conversation between the two while you quickly got to work searching for the direction he went in until the redhead pulled you by both of your shoulders to motion to you while keeping eye contact with the other guy, “This deadweight can’t use magic so they don’t count! Let’s go!”

And you were off, chasing after a cat that would never listen to you with two idiots who were arguing in each other’s faces.

You all ran through hallways to find him and even peeked in classrooms to search for him, but you were empty handed. However, once you got to the cafeteria, the cat was already present and scurrying around on all four of his legs.

Red head bolted after him only to end up face first into a wall, “Darn it! He’s darting around everywhere!”

Grim let out a snicker watching the read head’s fail, “Catch me if you can suckers!” He mocked all of you by blowing raspberries and sticking out his tongue.

You tried to predict Grim’s general direction and walked to that area missing out on the red-blue combo’s discussion, but with their brains they could never completely destroy anything.

.

.

.

So you were wrong. They managed to decimate an old ginormous chandelier that looked to be something on the top 10 richest people in the world could pay for. The red-blue combo had the combined IQ of 2 because blue decided that since Grim managed to climb onto the chandelier, they can try too.

And you breathed once and strolled over to them with a smile on your face, making the three of them turn around and stare at your state, “How dumb can you be? I was positive that you were older than three, but now I’m not sure.” You smacked your forehead and kept your hand there, “Really. I could deal with the fight because this is an all boys school and testosterone runs high, but ruining such an expensive chandelier that even if I became one of the richest people in this world I would not be able to pay back is not what is ‘acceptable’ to me.”

Grim drunkenly scurried to you and grabbed onto your cloak to keep him standing, "Pleasee, pleaseee, help us!” He fell to the floor and you picked him right up and placed him on your hip.

The blue haired male started pulling on his hair, “I-I screwed up! I didn't think about the landing!”

Ace swiveled to him almost tripping over his foot and began his statement with utmost calmness, “Are you... AN IDIOT!? We caught Grim but if the Headmaster finds out we busted the chandelier..”

You locked eyes with him and smiled even brighter, “There was just a big crash in one of the largest rooms in this school, meaning that any loud noise in this room is going to bounce off all the walls, but let’s not forget we also left the doors open. Of course,  the headmaster knows!” You threw your hands up in the air trying not to punch this kid in the face because you did not want another crime of assault added to your list of damaged public property twice.

A cough was heard located near the front of the cafeteria, causing all four of you to circle your heads in that direction only to find the very bane of your existence there.

The headmaster.

“If I... find out?” He stuttered out clearly trying to calm all of the anger in his body because this was the first day of school and no one needed this.

This began a very long conversation between the headmaster and the two kids who had an total IQ of 2. Grim was stuck on your hip for all of the speech while the blue haired kid basically begged the headmaster for a way to both fix the chandelier and stay in the school.

The headmaster could only reply to the boy’s question with, “There is no normal chandelier. This is a magical chandelier that uses candles that will burn for eternity. It is a masterpiece made by a legendary maester of magical tools. It has been entrusted to the school since its very foundation...Taking into consideration to its historical value, it would cost no less than a billion Madol.” He gazed down at the boy with his hands across his chest, “Can you pay for those damages?”

The kid was busy panicking to himself while the kid who you fought this morning let out a confused “But, Teacher, can't you just fix it up with magic…”

The headmaster could only shake his head, “Magic is not all powerful. More importantly, the magic crystal, what we call the Heart of any magical tool was shattered. No two magic crystals are the same. The chandelier will never be lit again.”

The two males had to look down and mumble to themselves because they could not argue against him.

However, once the headmaster brought up that the crystal that powered the chandelier (whatever that was) was located in the Dwarf’s mine the blue head seemed stuck on going as to not get expelled. You all had to deliver the crystal before tomorrow morning, not giving you much time.

You could only hope that you still could have a roof over your head if you got this crystal, so you followed after the blue head’s sprint out of the cafeteria with Grim attached to you. You breathed in again and realized that you have gotten no sleep for around 24 hours, but there’s nothing you can do besides going on this adventure.

Here’s to adventuring.

Grim had managed to miss a huge portion of what just happened as he passed out after blue threw red onto the chandelier, but now Grim has wide eyes directed to you when you told him that, “Yeah, you should have stayed asleep because we might be getting thrown out of our only home.”

Red pulled on his hair complaining, “Aaaah.. Why did it turn into something like this? Today is really not my day..”

Blue was quiet for once, suspiciously, and glared at red, “Now isn't the time for mumbling! Let's go!” You three had finally made it to the mirror chamber and while you might normally gaze in awe at the floating coffins and mirror, this is not the time for that.

Blue turned to face the mirror and began, “Mirror, mirror on the wall! Light our way to Dwarf’s mine!”

[since0202]

Chapter 34: Watch

Grace woke the next morning in her bed, groggy and hungover. She rubbed a hand down her face and let out a soft groan as she let the light bleed over her face. Sacred vampire wedding punch mixed with three shots of vodka were probably a bad idea. 

She pulled herself out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom, turning on the shower and letting the steam settle her stomach. As Grace hopped in the shower, she wondered if any of the pack were there, sleeping on her couch or in her office. 

She could feel their presence in the area, but within her home, their spirits quieted. It acted as a refuge, a place where their humanity was always first and they could be just boys, very feverish men who needed an escape from the responsibility that being a wolf warrior crowded in on them in their everyday life. There were no secrets under this roof. 

The water trickled warmly down her body and she felt across the length of her abdomen. Her eyes got distant but she didn’t let herself get lost. The warm pang had returned with Jacob’s return and with that came complications. She wasn’t healed, but she was getting there. Ti’Hal had warned her that he would return and that his soul was being called by another’s. Did that mean his imprint had finally emerged? Grace needed to brace herself for the crushing pain that she knew would come at finally losing him to the imprint, but she wasn’t going to let the progress she had made with her pack suffer. 

She had to focus. She was going to focus. A gentle knock on her bathroom door snapped her attention. 

“Grace?” It was Embry. His soft, calming, even voice sounded muffled as it floated through the crack in the door. 

“Yeah,” she answered. 

“Sam’s called a gathering at his place tonight...Everyone is supposed to come.” 

“Okay,” Grace answered simply again. 

“Jake’s going to be there.” Embry clarified. Grace felt a pounding in her ears as the heat waved a bout of nausea through her. She held around her stomach now, trembling softly, keeping herself together, desperate to remain this whole for a little while longer. 

“Uh huh,” she managed. Embry didn’t move from his spot by the door. 

“You okay?” he asked. Grace tried to pull in hair through her nose and out through her mouth as her stomach roiled. As her mouth filled with spit, she knew the nausea was going to win out and accepted her fate as she unceremoniously hurled in the shower. 

She leaned her head back and let the water rinse over her face and opened her mouth to take in some water. After a solid few minutes she called out: 

“Yup.” She tried not to look down at her feet. 

“Okay,” he said weakly. “Do you need help in there?” 

“No, Embry.” Grace said in pain. She heard a shuffling from behind the door and knew he had left her bedroom. She quickly washed up and threw on a robe before cleaning the mess at the bottom of her shower. 

When she came downstairs Embry and Quil were posted up at the kitchen table scrounging over left overs. Grace rubbed a towel through her hair and plopped down at an empty spot as they continued to grub. 

“How was puking in the shower?” Quil said nonchalantly. 

“Shut up,” Grace said softly. “So what’s this gathering about then?” Embry looked up from his food and shot Quil a look before saying, 

“We don’t know. Maybe a formal welcome back for Jake? Hard to say.” Grace nodded her head and picked at some bread on the table. 

“Or, what about this?” Grace said after a long moment of staring concerned at her bread. “We blow off this mysterious meeting, go to Port Angeles, and sneak into that sketchy nightclub the...the Racket?” 

“The Cricket?” Quil offered raising an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, I have a fake ID and you both look 40. We could totally get in. Sam hasn’t made it an order yet has he?” Grace looked at both of their faces eagerly. Quil’s face was alight with the thought that they were potentially blowing off some boring meeting for an outing that was definitely off limits. Embry didn’t seem so game. 

“What if we go after?” Embry offered. Always the responsible one. Holding it all together, keeping her on track. Grace sat back and crossed her arms. 

“Fine, but you have to promise.” 

“Promise.” They both said in unison. 

Grace showed up at Emily’s a little late to ensure she wasn’t stuck making small talk or awkwardly staring at Jacob from across the kitchen table. The house was lit up with laughter and light booming from the open door. Grace hesitated on the porch step. 

In anticipation for completely bolting off this evening to Port Angeles, she had dressed a little better than she had in months—she wore a thin blue dress dotted with white flowers that clung to her body and was just a tad short. She wore a black leather jacket over it with brown boots that sported a short heel. She had even done her hair and hoped that if Jacob was here that he wouldn’t think she dressed up for him. Her lip curled at the thought and then she pivoted—fuck it, let him think whatever he wanted. 

She jogged the rest of the way up the steps, stomping on the rainsoaked wood to help announce her presence and walked through the door with a smile. Her pack was crowded around the kitchen table joking and pushing each in the shoulder. Jared spotted her first. 

“Heeeey! You made it. Bout time!” This resulted in a cry and holler coming from around the table to her appearance. Even Paul was in high spirits. Sitting just outside the tight ring of the table, on a high stool with his shaggy hair falling around his face was Jacob. Grace swallowed hard and gave him a curt nod. His eyes narrowed instantly at her, anger flooding his face,  and then Sam came out, slapping him on the back and snapping him out of it. 

“Good! You’re here.” He looked around the table and a hush fell. “The purpose for this gathering is to come back together as a pack. Jacob’s home. That means that whatever occurred in the past, we should leave it there. We’ve been making great progress and I want that to continue. That will only happen if everyone cooperates,” his eyes moved from each member of the pack, his hand gripped tightly on Jacob’s shoulder before finally resting his eyes on Grace. She only shrunk internally. Outwardly, hands still in her jacket pockets, she nodded. 

“Got it,” she said. She glanced for just a second at Paul who had his eyes trained on Sam, suspicious. 

“So! Let’s get it all out in the open now and move on. Rip it off like a bandaid so the healing can begin,” he slapped his hands together and Jacob looked shocked for a minute. Sam motioned for him to proceed but he opened and closed his mouth as if he was unprepared. Grace, outwardly looking cool as a cucumber, was screaming on the inside. 

“I’ll start!” Quil raised his hand and then stood up. Sam gave him a surprised look and Leah chuckled. “Jake man, it sucked that you took off like that for so long. I get why you did it but you left us in the lurch and we were all really worried. Don’t uuuhhh,” he paused looking around at the stunned pack members, some wore incredulous grins, “Don’t do that again. Right guys?” 

There was a small echo of consent from the group. 

“Good!” Sam said, looking back to Jake, but Jake’s eyes were on Grace again. She could practically feel the heat coming off of him. 

“I didn’t come back for you,” he said. Grace swallowed and nodded. Stay composed. Stay here. She thought.

Paul scoffed and Jacob’s eyes turned black looking at him. “You have something to say?” Paul was shaking his head laughing a little. Grace tensed now. 

“Give it a rest dude. We can all see right through that,” he challenged. Jacob was on his feet and Sam put a hand to his chest to steady him. Grace took a step forward but Seth touched her arm. 

“What you did was absolute shit. Both of you! And if I had it my way, I’d have nothing to do with either of you ever again!” He shouted. 

“So leave! We were doing just fine without you!” Paul was on his feet, all anger with Jared and Quil blocking him. Though Paul had told him to leave, it felt like anything else but that. Grace realized what he was doing—he was drawing Jacob out, letting him get angry so that he could say what he needed to say. A cathartic release.

“You KNEW what she meant to me and you still did it anyway!” Jacob yelled back bucking against Sam now his whole body shaking. His eyes glistened with what Grace thought might be tears, but the rage was unmistakable in his body language.

“It was a MISTAKE. And it’s not always about you Black!” he boomed back. “I apologized. She apologized. There’s nothing we can do to change what happened, but putting her through this unending painfest isn’t going to work out like you think it is.” 

“Oh yeah? And why’s that? Because you’re still defending her? Still fucking her too I bet.” Jacob spat. Paul lunged, pusing past Quil and Jared and connecting his fist to Jacob’s face. A sickening crunch sounded and Jacob rocketed back, the stool behind him was reduced to splinters. Sam jumped in front of Paul demanding that he calm down as he shook violently. Jacob was holding his nose which was gushing with blood but nobody moved to help him.

Grace had never seen such blind rage come from Jacob. Paul? Sure. But Jake. Sweet, kind, benevolent Jacob that was like a walking sun never lost it like this. Seth was up and standing next to Grace now, his hand still on her arm. Embry hadn’t moved from his spot, and Leah was rocking back in her chair clearly enjoying the show. 

“If you think you deserved her before, you definitely don’t deserve her now. She made a mistake. We both did, but that doesn’t mean that you get to treat her like shit for the rest of her life. That’s not what you want, I know it’s not,” Paul spat. “We’re pack, we won’t let you. Let it go and come back.”

He shook Sam off to show he was okay and reached his hand out to help Jacob off the ground. Jake gave him a confused look and then took his hand, still holding his now healed nose. Jake shoved him in the shoulder and Paul let out a barking laugh. It wasn’t reconciliation, but it was close. 

Grace was frozen to the spot still. Jacob joined around the table, not meeting Grace’s eyes, intent on at least ignoring her for the rest of his life if he wasn’t allowed to hate her. Seth motioned for Grace to sit down in his chair and she took it, trying to hide how much her body was shaking. 

At the end of their dinner they all spilled out into the cool air. As Grace walked down the porch steps after them, she heard Jacob call out to her. She turned, sucking in a deep breath and hovering on the bottom step looking up at him. He wouldn’t risk coming too close to her, the pull was too strong. 

“I haven’t forgiven you.” He said simply. Grace nodded. 

“I know.” 

“And I don’t want to be your friend.” He continued. 

“Got it.” she said, her voice aching. “You’re allowed to stay mad as long as you want.” 

“Ready?” Quil was behind her, eager to get going, and Leah was straightening the newly adorned sequined top on her shoulders.

“But I don’t have to sit and watch,” Grace concluded with a small smile, an olive branch. “Ready.” She turned to Quil and looped arms with Leah as they skipped off toward Embry’s car. Jacob stood a little stunned on the porch and his face turned down into a frown before he phased and took off into the forest at full speed, letting his animal instincts take over and smashing into Paul’s shoulder as they took on rounds. 

Port Angeles. Paul shared with Jacob. He briefly showed an image of the divey dance club they were headed to and with a laugh said, You’re welcome to go after her if you want. 

Not a chance. Jacob growled running faster into the night letting the cool air pull through his fur and set him free. 

Okay so maybe going out two nights in a row wasn’t such a great idea. Grace woke with another groan, experiencing a serious bout of deja vu. The sun sprinkled in through the gauzy white curtains and she took a deep breath assessing the level of pain she was sure to be in. Her limbs felt battered and her head was swimming. She had no idea how or when she got home last night which was never a good sign. 

She stretched her arms out and heard a grumbled sigh coming from her left. Her eyes shot to the apparent sleeping form next to her. 

“Oh god,” she whispered. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Had she brought someone home last night!? She couldn’t remember much, just blue flashing lights on a crowded dance floor, a hand pulling her into a bathroom stall, but that was it. If the pack found out, she’d never live it down.

She leaned up on her elbows. She was fully clothed so that was a good sign. She kicked off her boots and pulled back the bedsheet to see who laid beneath. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the familiar pack tattoo on the forearm of the quietly sleeping form. She never let anyone sleep in her bed with her, why would she do this?! 

As her eyes moved up the arm of the sleeping body, her gaze connected to softly cropped hair and smooth, peaceful face of Leah. Grace breathed a sigh of relief and flopped back on the bed. That was close. 

She slowly changed out of her blue dress from the night before and pulled on some oversized grey sweats and a black t-shirt that was stocked for a pack member and stumbled down the steps. The sound of sizzling was coming from her kitchen and she yawned, assuming it was Quil or Embry. But as she landed on the bottom step, she saw Quil on the floor and Embry sprawled across the couch with a blankety haphazardly strewn across his body. Confused, Grace turned her head toward the kitchen to see none other than Jacob Black, working away at her kitchen stove and prepping breakfast. 

He looked just as gorgeous as ever, loose strands of hair falling in front of his face, the rest tied in a bun. He was wearing a light blue shirt that stood out beautifully against his russet skin, light scars scraped down his right forearm from the incident, and his normal blue cut off jean shorts. 

“Hey,” Grace croaked a little embarrassed. 

He glanced at her quickly and said with little to no humor in his voice, “You look like shit.” 

“Thanks.” she said, still glued to the spot, “Why are you here?” The sun was suddenly glaring in Grace’s eyes and she put a hand up over them. 

“Came to check and make sure you all were okay after your little misadventure,” he said, a tone of disappointment clear in his voice. 

“What are you talking about?” she rubbed her eyes and moved toward Quil on the floor who was clearly drooling. She slumped down and leaned her head against the back of the couch on Embry’s arm. 

“Pretty sure you got dosed, there’s no way in the world you guys could afford enough alcohol to get that trashed.” He murmured, scraping a load of crisped hashbrowns onto a plate. 

“Ugggh,” Grace groaned, reaching down to Quil and putting a hand on the back of his neck trying to pull out some of the sick that she felt stirring in his body. 

Jacob scoffed. 

“I didn’t realize roofies made you feel like you got hit by a bus,” Grace said quietly reaching her other hand behind her to place on Embry’s back to do the same for him. 

“You’re probably the only one that feels like that. In your drunken glory, you decided to recast everyone back to the rez instead of, oh I don’t know, taking a cab back? You recast three people, blasted out of your mind, appeared too close to the cliff edge, slipped, and hit some rocks on your way down to the water.” He shook his head and cursed under his breath. “Absolutely idiotic, you could have died.” 

“Thank you, Jacob, I get it.” Grace said as the dizziness caused her vision to go blurry.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. They kind of deserve to feel the after effects of their mistakes if you ask me.” He said setting some food down on the kitchen table. 

“Good thing I wasn’t asking you,” Grace grumbled uncomfortably. Jacob came over, chewing a piece of toast and shook Embry’s shoulder, ignoring Grace’s quip. “Em, wake up man, breakfast.” Embry mumbled something very close to ‘okay’ and promptly fell back asleep. When Jake came around to pat Quil on the face, he received a very mumbled and slurred, “Fuck off, Jake” from Quil. Grace let out a laugh and then flinched at the blinding pain swimming in her head now as she tried to relieve some of Quil and Embry’s hangover on top of her own. 

“More for me.” Jake said resigned and walked to the kitchen table to dig in. 

“Grum...py,” Embry muffled, his face pressed against the couch cushions. After a few minutes of groaning, Embry pulled his body up, grabbing Grace’s hand and pressing it to his cheek for a few extra seconds before stumbling to the table and plopping down next to Jake. 

Quil also was able to pull his body up and stayed seated next to Grace as she continued holding onto and gently rubbing his neck. Leah nearly fell down the stairs, catching herself on the railing and letting out a laugh. Quil opened his eyes and looked wide eyed at Leah. 

“You let her sleep in your bed?!” Grace laughed, her eyes closed now. “Hot,” he murmured. 

“Shut up, Quil,” Leah grumbled making her way to the table. Quil took Grace’s hand off of his neck and said:

“Come on, breakfast!” He was clearly feeling a little better. 

“Gonna sit for a bit,” Grace slurred. Quil patted her head and dug in with his pack mates as Grace leaned her head back on the couch. She only faintly heard what they were saying as she faded in and out of sleep, but she thought the jist of it was catching Jacob up on what they found on rounds these past three months. 

Grace woke up, head still slung back on the couch sometime later and felt her mouth was exceptionally dry. She stumbled to her feet and earned the stares of the group at the kitchen table. Her head was pounding and she felt her heartbeat racing as she walked slowly toward the foot of the stairs. 

“She’s gonna go puke in the shower again I bet,” Quil said. 

“Shut–” Grace muttered as she put her first foot on the staircase and inhaled a deep breath. “Ookay.” She only got about four stairs up before she stumbled and came crashing down, but a hand caught her around the waist before she fell face first into the wooden staircase. 

“Jesus Grace,” Jacob muttered, pulling her to her feet. 

“Don’t touch me,” she slurred, slapping his hand away from her. “I go’this.” Jake let go of her but slowly followed her as she made her way up the steps, hands outstretched to catch her if she fell again. Once she made it into her bedroom and into her bathroom, Jacob stood awkwardly in her room not sure what to do. She turned the water on to the shower and started pulling off her sweats. 

“You’re not going to fall and smack your head in the shower, right?” Jacob asked, annoyed this time. 

“Go’way Jacob,” she said before peeling off her shirt now and stepping into the steam. Grace lost track of time, but the next time she felt herself coming to she was on the floor with her robe draped over her. The cool tile was a relief on her cheek and as she picked her head up and looked around, she realized she was next to the toilet. She stayed there dazed for a minute. The sun was setting and she felt immensely better. There was a glass filled with water placed next to her and she drank it down happily. Outside the door, Grace heard footsteps approaching. 

The door swung open to reveal Leah, in her tattered sundress that she used to cover up after phasing. 

“You’re alive.” 

“I am?” Grace questioned rubbing her hand across her forward. Leah crossed the bathroom floor and grabbed a bottle of aspirin from the medicine cabinet and dumped some in her hand to give to Grace. 

“Apparently. You still kind of look like shit.” Leah grimaced, squatting down with a cold wash rag and placing it against her face. 

“Roofies,” Grace said quietly. “Hey why aren’t you...you know?”

“Flat on my ass?” Leah clarified with a smile. 

“Yeah, I don’t remember giving you the whoosh,” Grace held up her hand as if to touch her but missed. 

“Unfortunately, that’s not the first time I’ve been dosed. Must have built up a tolerance? Or just too stubborn,” Leah said with a laugh. 

“That’s fucked up,” Grace whined. “Help me up.” She reached out for Leah’s hands as she helped her pull her up off the floor. 

“You good?” Leah said. She wasn’t big into touching, but she was usually a little more open around Grace. Still, Grace could tell the touching made her uncomfortable. 

“Good.” Grace said walking out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. 

“There’s some leftovers downstairs. I got to a shift, but Seth is going to swing by and check on you in a few hours, okay?” 

Grace waved her away as she pulled clothes down from her closet. She inwardly vowed to take a pause on the going out and drinking for awhile to get her head on straight. Especially since Jacob was back. 

She paused and then let out an embarrassed groan at her recollection of the events earlier that day. His hand catching her around the waist, the searing warmth causing her to jerk from a phantom pain. His introduction back into Grace’s life presented her as much of a mess as when he left. 

She vowed to do better. For herself mostly, but also to show Jake that she was okay. Really, she was okay. Maybe. 

Fuck. 

[and-it-freezes-me]

Accidents Happen - Mothers, Maggots, and Manacles

Summary: Roman finally visits Remus in search of answers, and doesn’t like what he finds. Ah - if anybody is fluent in Korean and wants to correct me on anything, please do!

Content: Discussions of drug and alcohol use and misuse, some bad parenting, mentions of skipping meals

Word count: 5,433

{Part 2} {Part 4}

Janus knew Remus.

Roman didn’t remember standing up, but he was definitely glad for the fact that he was pacing. He felt that his brain was about to explode. 

Janus, the ideal student, the one with perfect grades and a small fleet of academic awards (they were in a glass-fronted cabinet in his home - Roman had seen them when he had been trying to find the toilet), who headed the debate club and had every teacher at their school eating out of the palm of his hand, knew Remus the walking hazard.

Roman turned sharply in front of his dresser, caught sight of his notebook still lying open on the bed, and scowled.

Not only did Janus know Remus, but he knew him well. Well enough, at any rate, to have Remus being the person to call if he lost his phone.

He was back beside his bedside table, turning to pace the room again.

What did that mean?

Did it mean that they spent a lot of time together? No, that couldn’t be right. Roman would know if Janus and Remus were friends. Remus had no filter, was incapable of keeping a secret - he was almost like Patton in that regard, Roman reflected. The fastest way to make sure that everybody knew something was to tell Remus or Patton. And if Remus and Janus were friends and did spend time together, why didn’t one of them say something at the trial?

Maybe Roman had typed the wrong number. He was so used to calling Remus in fruitless attempts to find out what exactly the substance in his slippers was, or whether he should be concerned about the red smudges on his brother’s door handle, that maybe he hadn’t typed the number he had thought he was typing. His fingers had fallen into a pattern they recognised, the same way his feet had done, carrying him from bed to dresser and from dresser to bed and back again.

That made sense, didn’t it?

“No! No, it doesn’t!” Roman gave his phone a vengeful glare, as though it were the one at fault here. He never dialled Remus’ phone number, preferring to do what any self-respecting person born since the invention of a contacts list did and simply stab the name he wanted to call with his forefinger.

The tips of his fingers felt stiff and tingly, and he paused by the bed to take a long, slow breath. Letting stress overwhelm him now was not going to be productive.

“Roman? Everything alright in here?” There was a soft tap at his bedroom door, and Roman had the foresight to flip his notebook to a blank page before his mother’s floral scent and tired eyes entered the room.

“I… Yes? Is something the matter, Mum?”

“I just…” She paused, covering her mouth with one hand to catch a yawn, and then continued. “Thought I heard you shouting.”

Roman winced. Had he woken her up? Dae Wang’s short hair was matted against one side of her head, and she was wearing a rumpled nightshirt and sweatpants despite it being the middle of the afternoon. “Oh… Yeah, I was just practicing for a part in the play. I know I’m not actually in it this year, but I… Enjoy being able to coach the younger students.”

The lie had rolled from his tongue almost without hesitation, and his mother’s eyes softened slightly. She reached out and ruffled his hair affectionately, and Roman batted her away automatically, the static feeling spreading up to his wrists. “Try to keep it down, Ro? I didn’t get home until around one, and I’ve got another shift this evening…”

“Sorry. Actually, I was just thinking about going for a walk - it’s such a nice day, and I can take some flashcards through the woods. Might be nice to revise with a bit of a change of scenery, huh?” More lies. Sure, Roman was used to lying a little bit, but now it felt as though every other thing that came out of his mouth was deliberate misdirection. First with Janus, and now with his parents… 

“You work so hard… I’m so proud of you, Roman.” Those were words that Roman was used to hearing; usually, he revelled in them. Now, however, they only made him feel more guilty. What about Remus? Yes, he was a screw-up, but… Roman couldn’t remember the last time either of his parents had said something positive to his brother. Worse, he couldn’t remember the last time he had said something properly positive to him.

The words were out of his mouth before he had made a proper decision about them. “Can I borrow your car tomorrow? I’d like to visit Remus.”

Dae looked at him for a second, apparently stunned by the fact that he wanted to visit his identical twin. Then she nodded slowly. “You can, but… Roman, saja saekki, are you sure you want to?”

“He hasn’t hurt me, Mum. He’s my brother.” And he shouldn’t be left to rot, Roman added silently. There’s something we don’t know yet.

“I know. You’re always so kind to people, even when they don’t deserve it, I just… I don’t want him dragging you down, Ro. He’s only going to get worse, and maybe… Maybe this is the time for a clean break for you.” Roman stared at her, the shock clear on his face. She sighed. “Being associated with Remus… It’s not going to be good for your future, is it?”

It looked as though she was waiting for him to say something now, and Roman refused to give her anything. Was this what his parents really thought of Remus? Sure, he knew that Remus had been getting into more and bigger problems as he had gotten older, but… It hadn’t quite sunk in, when they had asked Remus not to come home, that they didn’t want him to be part of their family any more.

What sort of family were they? Why hadn’t Roman tried talking Remus out of his chaos sooner, rather than pinning all of his own misdeeds on him? It felt as though his torso had been emptied out and refilled with ice cubes.

Eventually, his mother seemed to translate Roman’s silent staring as something less than what she had been hoping for. “Okay. Don’t stay too late, though. It is finals week, after all.”

Roman nodded stiffly. “Of course.”

He leaned forward to allow her to kiss his forehead, then watched her leave, numb, the breath frozen in his chest.

He needed to get out of here. All of the colours had leached out of the world around him. Usually so spacious, his bedroom seemed to have shrunk to the size of a broom cupboard, and Roman was so much too big for it, and everything inside him was threatening to brim over, to spill from his fingertips and his mouth and his eyes in a burning torrent of… Of what?

As he moved, he started counting in his head, trying to focus on just getting the numbers in the right order. One, two, three and he was groping under his mattress for his re-hidden supply of weed, purloined from the kitchen table when nobody had been looking. His parents had just been going to burn it, after all.

Four, five, six, seven, phone in his pocket and taking the stairs two at a time, eight, nine, not stopping as he grabbed Remus’ keys and threw the back door open. Ten, and he was down the steps; eleven-twelve-thirteen brought him across the backyard, and by fifteen he was in the greyscale woods behind their house and running as fast as he could.

Maybe if he ran fast enough, he could turn back the hands of the clock, back the four weeks - six weeks? How long had it been since Remus had turned his car and Janus into a fiery wreck? Turn the clock back past that, back to when things were okay. But three weeks wouldn’t do it, would it? Things hadn’t been okay for a long time before that. When was the last time he had had a real conversation with Remus?

When he hit thirty-nine, Roman skidded to an abrupt halt. Small black spots decorated the trees around him and he realised with a start that he hadn’t eaten breakfast that morning either, too preoccupied with his raging internal debate about Janus’ moral standings to feel hungry. It didn’t matter. Just then, his whole body was too frozen in black-and-white, fizzingly numb static to even think about eating. He wasn’t sure if he could even swallow just then.

Putting his back to the nearest pine and sliding to the floor, Roman took a few deep breaths to steady his hands before pulling the clear plastic bag from his pockets.

It took longer than usual to shake some of the dark flakes onto one of the small paper rectangles and roll it shut; with his numb hands, it took several tries to get a flame on the lighter attached to Remus’ keychain, and when he did manage it he burned two of his fingers before managing to light the joint. Finally, though, Roman closed his eyes and focused on inhaling, exhaling, just breathing, allowing colour to bleed first back into his own body, and then the forest floor, still strewn with pine needles from last autumn, and then back up to the blue sky. The ice in his torso warmed, thawed a little, and then melted completely as calm washed over him.

-

He didn’t talk to Janus the next day.

It was the opposite of everything he had told himself he would do yesterday, going against all of his thoughts and notes about not making Janus feel as though he had scared Roman away or that Roman was tired of him or thought he was a freak. It was the opposite of what he wanted to do, which was concerning. Maybe he was getting too close to the role he was playing, because he kept finding himself wanting to go to find Janus, to make stupid little jibes at him and watch them be passed effortlessly back to him. He even thought he might have enjoyed studying with him. No matter how much he told himself that it was just nerves, that he was just worrying that he was losing time on getting closer to whatever truth Janus had been hiding, there was a small part of Roman arguing that that wasn’t the truth.

Janus didn’t try to talk to him, either, which only reinforced his guilt.

He saw him once, on his way out of his Physics final. Janus had half raised his left hand in what could have been a nervous greeting, but dropped it when Roman caught his eye but walked passed without responding otherwise.

He felt like an arse for doing it. 

It didn’t help that he had been feeling slightly lightheaded all day. It had been hot in the exam hall, and halfway through his English paper that afternoon Roman found that he couldn’t read anything he was writing. The printed text at the top of the page had blurred into a wavy black bar, and his own ink had become a colony of spiders, crawling over the page in unintelligible shapes. He had blinked hard, then ground the bases of his palms into his eyes and counted (one, two, three… All the way up to thirty-nine). When he looked back at his paper, his handwriting had returned to its usual semi-legible scrawl.

He blamed it on the stress from his afternoon plans.

The previous evening, once he had calmed down a little, Roman had taken a long, meandering walk through the trees, pondering his situation. Eventually he had reached the conclusion that he should go ahead and visit Remus anyway, and that he could ask about Janus then. Remus wouldn’t lie to him.

Or would he? How much of his brother had become a mystery to him?

When he walked into the visitors room and saw Remus, Roman had to admit that the answer was probably a far higher proportion than he would have liked it to be. He actually had to stop and ask himself how long it had been since he had taken a good look at the man that was supposed to be his mirror reflection, because Remus looked almost nothing like him anymore.

The crooked nose was still there, and the pale scar that ran across its bridge, and the jaggedy line down one of Remus’ cheeks from a barbed-wire sledding accident, but there were other marks too, smaller but still there. Roman could count no less than seven piercing holes in Remus’ right ear (Roman’s right, Remus’ left), for example, and another in his left eyebrow. There were several acne scars that looked as though Remus had picked them until they refused to heal properly, and what looked like a burn was poking out from the next of his jumpsuit. His hands and knuckles were littered with mostly healed scabs, easy to see because they were pressed palms-down on the table, a nervous habit that Roman remembered from when they were small. Deep bags hung under Remus’ bloodshot eyes.

All in all, it was a bit of a surprise when Remus opened his mouth before Roman got a chance to say anything, and commented, “You look like shit, brother mine. Come to trade places with me?” There was another piercing hole in his tongue.

The statement startled a chuckle out of Roman, and he sat down across the table and smiled weakly at him. “I look like shit? Have you checked in a mirror lately, dude? It doesn’t look like you’ve slept since… You know.”

“Since I drove the fine piece of ass that is Janus Sinclaire into a telephone pole and turned him into crispy bacon? What’s a little more nightmare fodder, huh Ro? At least I still look like I’m getting a decent meal.” Remus cackled briefly and lifted a hand to rub at the empty shell of his pierced ear while Roman tried to figure out which part of Remus’ statement to poke at. Since when did Remus think Janus was a ‘fine piece of ass’ - since when did Remus even think about Janus? And what right did Remus have to talk about him like that, anyway?

In the end, he just blurted, “You’ve been having nightmares again?”

Leaning back in his chair so that its front legs left the ground, Remus raised an eyebrow. “That’s how it’s gonna be, huh? This is a fucking welfare check? Did the right honorable parents send you?” He lifted one hand to inspect his nails - nails that Roman could now see had been bitten until the cuticles bled. He winced.

“The right honorable… I’ll answer your questions if you’ll answer mine. You’ve been having nightmares again?” Roman had a strong feeling that he wouldn’t get anything out of his reflection unless he bribed him; his deal was met with another cackle, and Remus tipped further back on his chair.

“Fine. Want to shake on it?”

“Thanks, but I’d rather not, given the unspeakable places those hands have been. So, nightmares?”

Remus looked up from his nails, flicked his middle finger up, then turned his attention to the ceiling above them. “You know the nightmares never stopped, Ro-ro. Did the spawners send you?”

“The what? Oh - no, I’m here on my own.” Roman glanced over his shoulder briefly. There were only three other people in the visitation room - discounting the two guards, one on either door - and they were on the other side of the room. “What do you mean, never stopped? You stopped having nightmares when we were thirteen.”

He felt as though he were being watched. Was this how Remus felt all the time? No wonder his nightmares had gotten worse.

“You’re yanking my dick, right? Of course they didn’t stop. I just figured out how to stop screaming. If you’re not here for the womb and the sperm, why are you here?”

Roman wrinkled his nose at that, then shrugged. “You… Figured out how to stop screaming? How? Nothing we tried ever worked. And I’m here because I wanted to ask you some stuff.”

“About my nightmares?” The incredulity in Remus’ voice was so overdone that Roman had to laugh again.

“No, you idiot. And you didn’t answer my question.” Roman brought his thumb up to his mouth and bit down on the nail, realised what he was doing, and laced his fingers together in front of him.

Remus was still addressing his nails. “What did you want to ask me? Because I can tell you any number of better places to hide your pot - didn’t know you did that, by the way, since when? - and can probably hook you up with a cheaper dealer if that’s what you need.”

“No, that’s not - maybe a year now? Helps with the…” Roman waved a hand, and Remus nodded wisely.

“The ball-twisting stomach-gnawing digit-freezing stress-moths.”

“That’s… Not how I would have phrased it, but… Wait, why am I answering all the questions?” Remus finally looked at Roman again, meeting his look of frustration with a shit-eating grin.

“Don’t know. Why are you answering all the questions, Ro-ro?”

“Because you keep -” Roman started automatically, then clamped his mouth shut and glared.

Remus threw his head back and cackled so hard that his chair teetered precariously on its hind legs. When he finally stopped, he flicked his fingers briefly at Roman in a gesture that he took as ‘continue’. Taking a deep breath, Roman opened with the question that he had finally decided was the best one to start with.

“Did you know Janus well?”

For a heartbeat, he thought he saw Remus’ face, bold despite its scars and hollowed eyes, crease into something he didn’t recognise. Then the grin was back, and the chair was tilted so far that Remus was practically horizontal in the air, face to the ceiling.

“Alcohol. Started getting wasted.”

“What?”

“To get the screaming to stop. If I clocked out pissed, I didn’t scream. Didn’t wake up all night, actually. Did start getting headaches, felt sick all the time. It sucked. Did that for about six months, if I recall correctly, which I do, because my brain hasn’t been eaten by maggots.”

Roman was staring at his twin with his mouth hanging open. “What?”

“The nightmares, Ro-ro. To stop screaming. Is this hard for you to follow?” Remus’ head lifted to look at him, then his wild eyes shifted to something behind Roman. The front legs of his chair returned to the floor with a snap.

“I asked about Janus, Rem. The guy you just described as crispy bacon?” The words grated against Roman’s conscience. Janus deserved better than being mocked like that.

Remus nodded slowly, then continued as though Roman hadn’t said anything. “So I quit drinking myself to sleep and started trying to stay up all night instead. Did a lot of coffee. Who needs sleep, I said. Very wise, me. Started hallucinating, though. That was an interesting few days. Eventually I just collapsed, and then I started screaming again, so no go there.”

Roman groaned quietly, resigned to listening to the tangent that Remus had apparently decided was more important than Janus was. He vaguely remembered that his brother used to jump between conversations with the rapidity of a highly skilled traceur. His verbal parkour had never been anything but annoying.

“So I started playing with drugs. Nothing major, obviously. Nothing fun. Bit of weed, didn’t help at all. Sure, helped calm me down, but once I fell asleep, poof. Screaming.” Remus snapped his fingers a few times, and Roman nodded slowly.

“So then, after a lot of experimentation that didn’t -”

“Wait.” Roman held up a hand as the maths fell into place, and Remus paused obediently, tilting his head to look at him. His hand had returned to tug at his pierced ear. “You’re telling me you started drinking when you were thirteen?”

Remus gave him a look that he recognised as one Janus had given him several times. It said “You’re not really the brightest here, but that’s alright, I’m still fond of you.” Actually, it probably said “You’re a fucking idiot, but I tolerate you.” When he spoke again, his voice reminded Roman very faintly of the sound a thin sheet of ice across a pond makes when it gets trodden on.

“Yes. Keep up, Roman. Sheesh. As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted, I eventually found that Xanax works fairly well for me - no hangovers, no puke, no spikes through my skull or pissing blood, and no screaming. Just nightmares and sleep paralysis, but y’know, I was getting more sleep.”

“Xanax,” Roman repeated stoically. “Where did you-” His question was interrupted as Remus steamrollered on.

“Then I got here, and obviously they don’t let us screw around with that stuff without a prescription, so I’m back to the old scream’n’stay-awake-’til-morning routine. Happy?” Remus tilted his chair back, seemed to remember that he wasn’t supposed to, and compromised by tilting it sideways instead. He allowed a couple of seconds to pass before raising an eyebrow at Roman. “Or are you just going to leer? You a gargoyle now?”

Shaking himself, Roman rubbed a hand through his hair and glanced at the clock. It was later than he had thought it was, and he was certain that visiting hours were going to be over soon. Licking his lower lip, he nodded slowly, then shook his head. “Happy, no. You should’a said something, Rem? We could have…”

“Could have done what?” The brittle quality was still there, but now Remus’ voice was sharper, colder. Roman knew he had said the wrong thing. “Could have helped? Found some pill that would’ve lobotomized me so I’m just a cud-muching sheep?” There was another crack as Remus’ chair legs returned to the ground, and then his palms were pressed to the table once more. He was leaning forwards, voice so low Roman had to crane his neck to hear it, and for the first time Roman actually saw a shadow of something truly frightening on Remus’ face. “Our parents were too busy wondering where they went wrong with me and rewarding you for being perfect. Too busy trying to erase me from our fucked-up family. And you were too busy letting them, getting me to take your falls for you, using me to wipe away all the shit stains on your perfect little bubble. And look where I am now! Just where you always expected me to end up. So fuck off with your empty regret, Ro. I don’t expect anyone from our house to help me, got it?”

Remus’ voice cracked on the last word, and he jerked to his feet, one hand rising to scrub roughly across his dark eyes. “We’re done here. Fuck off.” A guard had started moving toward them the moment he had stood.

Roman stood as well, expression frozen to one between shock and horror, something hot and painful rising in his throat. It wasn’t vomit - he’d been too stressed to eat lunch. “Remus, I…”

“Save it,” his twin snapped. The guard was right beside them now, ready to escort Remus away again, and Roman had no idea how to make anything right. “And Roman?”

His heart rose, but his hopes were dashed almost immediately by the raw expression on Remus’ face. “Leave Jan alone.”

-

Roman spent almost thirty minutes just sitting in the parking lot, racking sobs forcing their way from his body. He wasn’t even sure who he was crying for, only that the emotions were going to force themselves from his chest whether he liked it or not. It was probably safer not to drive and cry so hard the world was blurry around him.

He could have been crying for Remus as he had been, thirteen and aware that their parents had chosen Roman as their favourite, wracked by nightmares and trying to teach himself to stay silent at night to avoid disturbing anybody, repeatedly told that he was a bad kid until he truly became one.

He could have been crying for his own blindness, his refusal to see that he was trading Remus’ pain for his every time he was too panicked to own up to his own wrongdoings, the damage he had done to their relationship - the damage that Remus had pretended he hadn’t minded. Why? Why hadn’t he said something?

He could have been crying for their parents, not sure what to do with a son that skipped school and went shoplifting, drinking, setting things on fire, foulmouthed and reckless, their confusion turning to regret and then something approaching neglect.

He could have been crying for Janus, eighteen and burned, his once honey-like voice raspy and hoarse. It hurt for Janus to swallow now - he had noticed it over the last few weeks, the slight wince after every bite.

He could have been crying for Remus as he was now, just as lost as he had been at fifteen, at thirteen, at ten, but now his pain was manifesting in bigger and bigger disasters. Remus, the scape-goat, who didn’t trust their parents, who didn’t trust him.

It wasn’t as though he deserved Remus’ trust, though. As far as his twin knew, Roman would probably have taken the trust Remus placed in him and turned it into more ammunition to make himself seem ever closer to heaven and demonise Remus even further.

No - no, he shouldn’t be crying for Janus. It had taken him until now, but as Roman’s sobs finally subsided he realised that he did recognise the expression that had passed over his brother’s face when he had asked about Janus.

It was fear.

Remus was… Remus was afraid of Janus. (Roman hadn’t thought that Remus was afraid of anything - but he clearly didn’t know his brother at all anymore.) What could Janus have done to inspire fear in somebody as wild, as dangerous, as bold and brash and reckless as Remus?

But if Remus had done what he had out of fear of Janus doing something worse, an attempt to be free of him, why hadn’t he at least spoken up at the hearing? Janus couldn’t have hurt him from all the way across a courtroom.

The answer came to Roman as a cold fist around his heart, the icy fingers making him gasp in shock. That was why Remus was so afraid - “Leave Janus alone”, he had said. Leave Janus alone, because Janus was holding something over him, and whatever it was could ruin Remus for good. 

Janus was blackmailing his twin, and Roman wasn’t going to stand by and let it happen now that he knew.

No, Janus didn’t deserve his tears. Janus deserved everything he had gotten, and more, and Roman was going to make sure that karma was delivered right to his door.

-

When he got home that evening, he found that somebody had left a voicemail on his phone (he had left it in his room, not needing it while he was visiting Remus). He thought he knew who it was even before the worm-ridden chainsaw-murderer voice curled into the room with him.

“Hey, Roman. Didn’t see you much at school today. Uh.”

A second of silence, as though Janus was awkwardly trying to work out what to say. Masterful. Janus had played him like a master. 

“We were both pretty busy, I guess.”

Another pause. How had Janus gotten his number? Maybe he was blackmailing Virgil, too, and had forced him to give it over. (Or he could just have asked. Virgil probably had Roman’s number, and would probably just hand it over for a price.)

“Anyway, I was wondering if you’d… Um, want to do something on Friday. Y’know, to celebrate the end of finals, and… Stuff. Not much point us revising once the exams are done, eh, Princey?”

The nervous, teasing tone was making Roman’s teeth grate. I’m coming for you, you snake. You viper.

“We could… See a movie, or something. Or just hang out. Pat gave me the recipe for his toffee cookies, we could try making them!”

Yet another pause. Roman wanted to throw his phone across the room - but if Janus was asking to see him, that probably meant that he didn’t know that Roman was onto him, and that he was going to continue his sinister plans. Only now, Roman knew what was going on.

Janus’ voice lost it’s jovial quality, becoming possibly slightly sad. There was a chance that he was a better actor than even Roman. “Of course… If you don’t want to, that’s… I mean, I know yesterday wasn’t ideal. I’m… Really sorry you had to see that. If you don’t want to hang around me now, that’s… That’s okay.” There had even been a slight hitch in his breathing as he spoke, as though the idea of not talking to Roman anymore had pushed him to the verge of tears. He really was putting on a whole performance for him, wasn’t he?

“Um, anyway. Call me, or… Whatever. Text. Leave me a note, stalk me to my locker. Or don’t, if you’d rather not. I won’t bother you if you don’t want to see me anymore. Um. I’m going to hang up now. Oh - this is Janus, by the way, but I… I’d hope you’d already figured that out now. It just occurred to me that you probably didn’t have my number. Yeah. I’m hanging up.”

The call lasted for another few seconds, the only sound being Janus’ breathing - which Roman suddenly noticed had a laboured quality to it, the breaths sounding dry and scratchy. Then there was a click, and the automated voice asking Roman if he wanted to delete the message.

Well, then. He should get back to work. He wouldn’t mention having visited Remus to Janus - not yet, anyway - just in case he went ahead with whatever threat he had hanging over him, but he could make up some excuse for why he had all but ignored Janus that day. As much as he wanted to slam Janus against the wall the next time he saw him, hold him there by the front of his shirt and force him to explain, to apologise, to leave him and his brother alone, he couldn’t do that, either.

If Janus already wanted to hang out on Friday, he probably wouldn’t mind if Roman suggested they did something. Now that he knew just how evil Janus was, Roman pushed away shrieks and squeals from his moral compass with almost no regret. All he had to do was get Janus to talk, hopefully enough to get something on him to make him drop his case against Remus - and whilst Janus was usually so guarded with his words, Roman knew a way to get people to relax. There was nothing to feel guilty about, he told himself firmly. It wasn’t like he’d force Janus to do anything, of course - he wasn’t going to stoop to his level. He’d just mention that the woods were a good place to smoke and blow off some steam, and invite Janus to join him.

<Friday sounds great! Could go for a walk through the woods - I know a few neat places. Sorry about today, been really stressed lately, shouldn’t have taken it out on you. Don’t worry about yesterday, no biggie.>

<Sent 19:36>

It had taken him a while to compose the text; when he was finished, he threw his phone back on his bed and went downstairs to have dinner with his parents. They had already removed Remus’ chair from the circular dining table: it was sitting out in the hallway, holding his dad’s briefcase and his mum’s coat, and the remaining chairs had been arranged in a triangle. Neither of his parents asked how his visit to Remus had been - in fact, Remus wasn’t mentioned at all. Already, it was as though he may as well not exist.

Janus had done this, Roman told himself, and that fact did something to calm the slimy ball of worms writhing inside him. Yes, he had contributed, but it had been Janus who had dealt the final blow to erase his twin from their lives. Janus was going to pay, and Roman would spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to Remus.

Taglist:

@bloodymari-0666

[vincess-princess]

What Is Lost, What Is Found

Chapter 3.

Word count: 2585

Trigger warnings: none

Author’s note: i can’t believe this myself, but here we are, after an 8-month hiatus.

Tommy came again six days later, this time in the late afternoon. He peered gingerly into the store, not even daring to open the door wide enough to see his face. Mick could only see one very worried eye and a trembling right corner of his lips.

"Mr- Mick? Am I too late?"

"Never too late for cleaning, kid." Mick looked up at him from his lunch which he was consuming at the moment. He’d rather keep staring at the hot dog he was eating, but the boy didn’t need to know Mick was probably even more anxious than him. "Lunch first, though. Are you hungry?"

He didn't wait for Tommy to answer and put a couple of dollars onto the counter. Tommy stepped into the shop, closed the door behind him carefully, and almost tiptoed to the counter. Mick smiled, trying to reassure him that everything is alright. The boy smiled back timidly and took the money – silently. He didn't even try to start his usual "oh you're too kind, Mr. Mars", which Mick decided to consider his personal achievement.

"You know what to do."

Tommy did, and this time came back not only with a burger but also with French fries. Progress, Mick thought with warm satisfaction.

Tommy handed him the change, pulled up a chair from the back room, placed it near Mick, sat down and started eating, or, rather, devouring his food. Mick couldn't help but watch him proudly like a granny watches her grandson eating homemade food. The awkward silence in the shop was interrupted only by Tommy’s energetic chewing, and Mick decided to put on some music. Tommy approved randomly pulled out of the pile Led Zeppelin II with a thumb up - his mouth was too full to speak.

"How much time do I have?" Tommy asked once he was done with his fries. "You close at eight, right?"

"Right, but that doesn't mean I'm leaving at eight. I usually stay overtime to sort out records and count the revenue. So take your time. Why are you so late today, though?"

"Uh," embarrassment reddened Tommy’s cheeks suddenly, "I, uh, had to wait for the guys to leave for a, hm, job. They were supposed to do it in the morning, but we had a, well, some good time at a club yesterday. So we all were, hm, kind of hungover today. So we overslept. But as soon as the guys were out the door, I rushed to you!"

Mick rolled his eyes, mostly out of Being-An-Adult duty than out of disapproval. He didn’t approve of such behavior of teenagers but believed it to be perfectly natural. He was like that too once, after all.

And Tommy rushed to meet him. Rushed. Nobody was ever as excited about meeting him as Tommy. Even Mick’s own kids.

"Ain't you too young to drink, kid? How d’ya even get there?"

"Well, not that it's really that difficult," Tommy snorted into his soda. "The security knows us."

"Oh, so you're also faithful clients?" Mick chuckled. He knew he shouldn’t approve it. At the same time, he wouldn’t be able to play a strict guardian even if he tried. "It was stricter in my days, which weren't so long ago, but still. Good for you, I guess. Just don't do drugs."

"I don't!" Tommy reassured him, for some reason really emphasizing that "I". "Honestly, I didn't expect you to be so chill about that. All adults I know always freak over it."

"I'm chill about a lot of things." Mick almost didn't lie. After all, how could he judge someone when he, himself, couldn’t beat the very same addiction?

A customer, an elderly lady looking like she got stuck in the fifties, entered the shop, and Mick, noticing glances of disapproval she cast at Tommy, shooed him to the back room. He didn’t want the kid to scare off all his customers.

He definitely needs a haircut, Mick thought idly. And new jeans. And new shoes. And new, well, everything. It was a wonder he still hadn't attracted the attention of the police, walking around the streets like that. Mick never considered his neighborhood to be respectable, but even here the boy looked terribly out of place.

He could, of course, pay Tommy more – not that this rather small sum of money could make his business go bankrupt. He knew, though, that Tommy wasn’t very likely to spend it on clothes or even food, considering everything he had just heard. And Mick didn’t want his money to go into making those kids alcoholics. It could go into making Mick an alcoholic himself, of course, but he was an adult who was willingly giving in to a habit he realized was harmful to him. Mick was pretty sure none of those young misfits knew what an addiction could entail.

The customer was particularly fond of Elvis Presley and ended up buying a few of his rare editions, which rather improved Mick's opinion on her. He always respected a keen music lover, especially an Elvis lover.

"Can I go out now?" Tommy whispered dramatically, peering from the backroom after he had heard the door close. "She didn't really like me much, did she?"

"Old farts like her” – aren’t you an old fart yourself, the voice in Mick’s head whispered, “want all boys to have bowl cuts, wear bow ties and obey their parents. Don't worry about that."

"I don't." Tommy shrugged. "I'm used to it. What should I do now?"

"The floor is waiting for you." Mick waved his hand towards the toilet, where Tommy proceeded to go to fetch a mop and a bucket.

The conversation seemed pretty light-hearted, almost without that last time tension, and Mick almost managed to believe everything was alright.

Almost, because something lingered in his mind. A phrase of Tommy's, barely a couple of words that rubbed him up the wrong way. God, they talked barely ten minutes ago. What was his memory turning-

Gotcha.

"Hey, Tommy," Mick called, and Tommy ran up to him from the other side of the store, concern on his face.

"Yeah?"

"What did you say about the guys? Something before the bar talk?"

"What did I say about..." Tommy frowned, then his eyes widened. "Oh shit."

"What was that?" Mick demanded to know, taking a step towards Tommy. He was barely taller than him and not much stronger, but Tommy still shrunk, staring at the floor.

"Tommy."

"I'm sorry!" Tommy exclaimed nervously. "I don't want you to think badly about the guys. They just didn't have a chance to get to know you yet. Nikki's super paranoid in general too. I know they'll come to terms with it, but it takes some time."

"Come to terms with what?" Mick tried to find Tommy's eyes, but he hid them behind his bangs.

"Me coming to your store," Tommy confessed with the desperation of a drug addict giving away his dealers. "They don't trust you. They think I don't understand shit. That I'm naive and stupid and can't see through people at all. They treat me like a fucking stupid little boy, and Vince is the same fucking age as me, just nine months older! I'm tired of that shit. I want to prove to them that I'm not stupid. I see that you're a good person. They just need to believe me."

Tommy stopped to gasp for air, and Mick just stood there and looked at him with a face devoid of emotion.

He was right in some way. Not about his own naivety: the boy was as naive as one could get, and it was pure luck he came across Mick instead of any other adult with less pure intentions. But Mick did understand how the situation appeared to someone who couldn't really see through his intentions.

Tommy was going to continue his tirade, but one glance on Mick’s face changed his plans. He stared at Mick for a moment, his eyes desperately examining his face, and then asked:

"Are you angry?"

A wave of cold washed over Mick. Was it his facial expression that the kid got scared of? Did he pull a son-of-a-bitch face once again? And god damn, why did the kid think Mick would be angry at every little thing he did?

"What? No, they have a point," Mick shook his head. Tommy, obviously expecting a different reply, blinked in confusion. "Their concerns are reasonable. They're worried about you."

"Yeah, maybe they do that, but they never take me and my opinions seriously!" Tommy started to flare up again. “It’s always, oh, T-bone, you don’t understand, you don’t know anything about life! I have escaped the goddamn orphanage, I’ve been living out on streets for almost a year now, I had my share of hardships, but for them, I’m still too young and naïve!”

After a short silence Mick uttered his conclusion.

“Yeah, it sucks.”

And immediately regretted it. He had to fight the desire to hide under the counter, far from Tommy’s disappointed face. He needed to support the boy, to help him deal with his problems, and once the kid actually opened up and started speaking about those problems, the only reply Mick could come up with was “Yeah, that sucks”? It must have come off as indifferent at best, mocking at worst. Great job, Mick. Just great.

“Yeah! That’s what I’m saying!” Tommy nodded fiercely. Mick raised his glance, examining the kid’s expression. “At least you understand me, thank god.”

“Yeah, I do,” Mick murmured, frantically trying to come up with something more coherent to say. The boy seemed to have missed the awkwardness of his latest remark. He was just glad someone supported him. Maybe Mick overreacted a little. Maybe it wasn’t all that bad.

He still didn’t know what to say, though.

“You know,” his brain finally came up with an option, and Mick clung to it with passion of a lover holding their partner close, “maybe they need to see what we’re actually doing here to realize their paranoia is unfounded? I understand they might have had a slightly wrong impression of my character when I was dragging them to the backroom threatening to call the police.”

“Yeah,” Tommy giggled, “this sure has left a biased impression. So you think I should bring them here?”

“Exactly,” Mick confirmed quickly, glad that he got off cheap with his lack of parenting skills. “Great idea. Bring them to the store and show what we’re doing here. And, additional help is always welcome.”

“Oh, great!” Tommy beamed. “I love it here with you but I really want to be able to tell the guys about it. They won’t steal anything, I promise.”

“Of course they won’t, after such a failure,” Mick laughed. “Nikki seems like the type with principles. Not sure about Vinnie.”

“The only principles he has are not to sleep with cross-eyed girls and not to have a curly-haired person in a band,” Tommy smiled. “I don’t know why he hates curly hair so much. He has a lot of, um, quirks.”

Nikki was a walking quirk himself, Mick thought, but decided not to say it. Tommy could laugh at Nikki’s weird preferences as much as he wanted to, but Mick saw how warm his voice became every time he mentioned Nikki. Surrounded by cold and unfriendly adults, Tommy could really take to a person that expressed even a minimum amount of concern and care.

Mick could only hope Nikki wasn’t a bad influence for the kid. Which he probably was, with his always-looking-for-trouble attitude.

“You two seem to be close,” he only said, trying to manipulate Tommy into telling him more about Nikki. The boy only needed a slight push in the right direction.

“Well, we have spent half a year roaming the streets, I guess that really brings people together,” Tommy shrugged. “Without him I wouldn’t have survived out there. He’s super street smart. He says he ran away from home when he was twelve.”

“Doesn’t he have any relatives to put him up? A twelve-year-old kid was just sleeping out in the streets and no one cared?” Mick only now started to realize how big the problem was.

“Well, I’m not entirely sure, but he said his mother never cared about him. Well,” Tommy lingered, “he didn’t say exactly that, but it was pretty clear. He’s got grandparents, but they live in another state, and Nikki said he wanted to stay in L.A. I’m not sure if he has any other relatives. He never mentioned anyone else.”

“That’s not much,” Mick sighed. Anger started to rise inside him. A child should always have a home to come back to. Always. The mere thought of people who could so easily abandon their child, their flesh and blood, made Mick feel sick to the stomach. “And you all have been surviving on what, Nikki’s, hm, skills?”

“Well, we work if we can find something sometimes. Vince also helps out. He has this talent of finding boyfriends with property, so we can spend a night or two under the roof of one of his numerous lays before Nikki pisses them off and they throw us out.”

“And how often does this happen?” Mick felt like he was going to throw up. One a shoplifter, another basically a prostitute. What a great company for an impressionable young boy just out of an orphanage.

“Well, Nikki has a talent of pissing off Vince’s boyfriends, so it happens quite often. But Vince always finds new ones.”

“Where? Nightclubs?”

“Maybe. He says he “knows his places”. As though we don’t know which gay bars he hangs out in. There are not so many of them around.”

“Wait a minute,” Mick interrupted him. “Aren’t they all eighteen plus? How does he get in there?”

“Well, he used to sing in bands when we were in high school. Probably from there. I’m not sure, we had same classes at school, rehearsed together even, he’s a good singer. Then I went to the orphanage, and when I came back, he no longer performed. I mean, my drum kit was gone, so I couldn’t play anymore but his voice didn’t go anywhere. I dunno, he just… changed. A lot.”

“In what way?”

Tommy sighed, plopped the rag in the bucket and looked up at Mick.

“He’s gone more, like, fake, you know? Like, he always plays his boyfriends around, they are ready to do everything for him, but he also tries it with us. He’s always in that playboy mode now. And that’s some kind of bullshit. I mean, he was like that at school and towards girls, but he never tried it with me. He knew I knew him. And now I feel like I don’t know him anymore.”

‘Who knows what happened to him while you were away,” Mick said. “Looks like he went through a lot.”

“Yes, I thought the same, but he always says everything is fine. And it’s not fine. And I can see it. And it’s killing me.” Tommy sighed and began dragging the rag across the floor.

“You do care about your friends a lot,” Mick noted gently.

“Too much for my own good,” Tommy murmured, not looking back at Mick, his whole attention devoted to the rag. Mick decided to stop asking. He’d heard enough to think over.

But first of all he had to take a closer look at those Nikki and Vince.

[chasseurdeloup-retired]

Fowl Language || Nate and Kaden

TIMING: Current LOCATION: Nate’s Apartment PARTIES: @deadicated-nate and @chasseurdeloup SUMMARY: Nate’s birb gotta go :/

After a long few days of trying to get some fresh air, Nate was thrilled to be spending his day off cleaning up around the house and trying to teach Alea some new words. She was an incredibly fast learner, always impressing Nate with how quickly she added new words to her vocabulary. On one of his trips out of the house, Nate had gotten her a whole new gang of toys to reward her and she seemed in good spirits. For the first time in weeks, Nate felt at peace. He opened the blinds, let some sunlight in and brought his feathered friend out into the living room so they could enjoy the golden June sunset. His peace was cut abruptly short at the sound of a loud rap on his door, a sound so out of place that it caused him to jump a good foot and a half in the air. “Someone’s at the door! Someone’s at the door! Uninvited!” Nate cooed at Alea, attempting to calm her before heading over to see who was interrupting him. It wasn’t like Nate got too many visitors. He pulled open the door slowly, peeking around the edge to see who was standing on the other side, his mouth dropping. “Kaden? Problem, officer?”

There was a lot of shit going wrong in Kaden’s life. So much shit. But he could make one thing right. Even if the person in question didn’t want his fucking help, they were going to get it. They’d thank him later. Alright, no, they probably wouldn’t but he could sleep a slight bit better at night. Not that the aravo in Nate’s apartment was really keeping him awake but it was the fucking principle of the matter. He’d gone to the “pet shop” on Amity and sure enough, all monsters, no fuccking legitimate permits to speak of. Kaden was having trouble getting the place completely shut down, but he did at least get the paperwork of the “pets” sold to customers to follow up on. Nate was one of them. Easy enough to get his address and head over there. “I have a warrant for your unlicensed bird,” he said, biting back his smile from being too wide. He was off to a cordial start, really. “Or you can just let me in and we can cut the crap.”

Nate shrunk back, closing the door slightly in front of him. He had the right permits. The shop gave them to him! God, was this dude just a huge dick for no reason?? Nate hadn’t done anything to make him hate him or his poor bird! Not to mention how much good Alea had done him, keeping him company and erasing the sinking loneliness of the home he’d once built for him and his love. “Why?” His eyes were imploring. What did it matter if Alea was an exotic pet? Even if she was illegal, what was it to this guy? What Regan could see in the guy, Nate would never know. Nate pulled himself up, trying to look intimidating and failing. “You can’t.”

Kaden sighed. It was going to be the difficult way, wasn't it? He pulled out the papers and showed the warrant. “I can. That’s how warrants work. Please don’t make this worse.” He had every confidence this was only going to get worse. “I really don’t want to force my way in if I can avoid it. The pet shop you got him from? Illegal business. Sorry, but I need the bird.” The real question was if he was going to be forced to kill it right away or if he could actually cage the thing first. Guess he’d see. He put his hand against the door to make sure it didn’t shut in his face. No pressure on it. Yet. “You been having any issues with your voice?”

Nate’s brows furrowed. Maybe if the guy knew how important Alea was to him, that she wasn’t just some bird, some pet that could be replaced. She was more than family, she was his only true friend. Nate had told her so many things that haunted him, fears he hadn’t told Morgan or even Nell when he was drugged. But he didn’t go against the law. Head falling down, Nate opened the door, allowing the man to enter. But he couldn’t give up without a fight. “Just- leave her,” he croaked. Cocking his head, he furrowed his brows again. “My voice?” Sure, sometimes it was hard to choke out the words he wanted, but it’s not like he had strep or anything. He was just nervous. A lot. And allergies. “No...why?”

Kaden stepped inside and searched for the bird. With the squawks and rustles of feathers, it wasn’t hard to find. He kept his eyes fixed ahead, not wanting to deal with whatever stupid attachment the guy had to the monster in question. It was never fun dealing with beasts that looked like pets, tricked humans into thinking they were friendly. Didn’t change what he had to do. Who knew how many voices this had. “Nothing? Never felt a little hoarse around your bird?” His eyes narrowed at the animal. “Go away! Uninvited!” it squealed out. Not sure why he figured it wouldn't put up a fight. “Just asking because they have uh...” Powers. They had powers. “Well they typically cause most people to have, uh, allergies. You know. All that.”

Nate hovered behind Kaden as he made his way deeper into the house, his eyes fixed on the back of the man’s head. He wondered if it made him feel good to take people’s pets away, members of their family. Just because of some darned paperwork. He tried to give Alea a consoling look, but her feathers were rustled and she was dancing side to side on her perch, clearly not a fan of their visitor either. “No.” He said firmly, crossing his arms. “W-what difference? Hm?” He coughed into his elbow. Summer blooms messing with his lungs. “What difference does that make?” He moved to try to stand between the animal control officer and his new best friend, his face imploring. “She didn’t do anything wrong.” “Nothing wrong! Nothing wrong!” Alea echoed.

Kaden’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the guy, coughing and sputtering a little. It wasn’t a certainty that the bird was stealing his voice, maybe it was just allergies, but that wasn’t a chance he was going to take. He reached out to the creature, but before he could do much of anything, Nate was standing in front of him. He couldn’t help but huff and roll his eyes. The voice that came out of the bird sounded almost human. Right. Nothing wrong. “That doesn’t mean you can keep her. I’m sorry. You got pulled into a scam. I’m just trying to uphold the law.” He tried to keep his tone sincere. And he did mean it. Losing a pet, even if it was a monster, it sucked. And a replacement wasn’t the same. Not when it came to animals. “Please step aside,” he pleaded. Without waiting, the bird cawe, “Nothing wrong!” and leapt from her perch and flew beak first at Kaden, wings sprawled and talons out.

Nate didn’t want to interfere with the law, but he’d already lost so much in this life, couldn’t he have just one thing that was good? One thing that was his? He was about to throw his arms out in protection when Alea rocketed into the air, her claws looking for purchase in Kaden’s skin. “Alea! No! Bad girl!” The bird shrieked and inhuman noise, feathers flying about the room. “Bad! Bad! Bad man!” She shrieked, attacking the officer with a fury Nate had never seen before. He flung himself across the room, trying without success to grab onto her leg. “What’s- Alea! What’s gotten into you!!”

The talons dug into his arm as Kaden tried to shield his face from the attack. He tried to throw his arm away and shake the creature off, blood flying as he yanked it back. Aw, shit, another fucking scar. Or five. Something like that. He took the cage in his other and and whipped it around to try and hit the bird as it squealed in his face. “Nothing wrong, huh?” Kaden yelled as he ducked to avoid another attack, this time with the beak aimed directly at his eyes. When he came there, he had no plans to pull out his knife on the fucking bird in front of Nate but that ship had fucking sailed and reached back for his weapon as blood dripped down to his palm, coating the handle. “This.” He swung out at the bird, blade trying to strike at flesh and not just feathers. “Is why.” The feathers whacked him in the face. “These fucking birds.” Talons by his back, he ducked rolled. “Are illegal!”

Nate flitted around the room, his hands on his head. What the heck was he supposed to do?? Alea had never acted like this before, but she clearly hated this guy. And who wouldn’t?! Before he knew it, Kaden had a flipping knife in his hand and was slashing wildly at his pet. “STOP! Stop what are you doing!!” Nate dropped to the floor as Alea dove over him, narrowly avoiding Kaden’s blade, screaming all the while. “Monster! Monster!!” Tears began to form in the man’s eyes as he watched the scene unfold. Today was supposed to be a relaxing one! Not filled with some asshole trying to kill his pet!

The edge of the knife only struck a small bit of the bird’s flesh but a squeal rang out through the apartment. “It’s attacking me!” Kaden yelled out. And the violence only encouraged the aravo to  strike out at him again. The beak grabbed at his ear and pulled. Kaden screamed out in pain and rammed his knife into the bird and it let go. Putain de merde, that hurt. “Either control your fucking mon-- BIRD or I have to put it down!” He had no hope that Nate would calm this bird down, but in the off chance he could, he’d like to avoid another puncture to his ear. “Stop what are you doing!” The bird’s voice was a mirror of Nate’s for that one moment. Shit. That wasn’t good. Kaden ducked again as the talons swooped towards his back. “Stop your bird or I’ll have to! If you can even talk anymore!”

Nate’s heart was racing, grief and panic washing over him in waves. What the heck was he supposed to do?? He wasn’t cut out for this! He had no idea how to calm Alea down, she’d never acted like this before! “B-because- y-y-y-ou attacked her!!!” Wildly, Nate threw himself around the room after the bird, attempting to grab her without getting himself slashed by her talons. Every swipe she took, however, seemed meticulously calculated so that she only ever nicked Kaden. In a desperate attempt to save his bird’s life, he ran to the couch, grabbing the blanket so that it might be a shield of sorts. He’d seen people on Animal Planet do this kind of thing when they captured thrashing, dangerous animals. “Stop what are you doing!” Nate froze, blanket in hand, at the sound of his own voice. It was eerily similar to his own in a way he hadn’t heard before. “Y-you can’t k-k-kill her!!” He begged, his feet firmly planted in place.

Kaden was thrilled to see that Nate was frozen in place as the bird’s talons dug into his back, ripping through Kaden’s shirt and down into his flesh. He screamed in pain as he tried to duck and roll away, but the damage was already done. Kaden whipped around and yanked at one of the wings, hoping to get more than a fist full of feathers but such was his luck at the moment. Another duck from the claws and this time, when he reached out, he got a sizable piece of the wing, the limb this time. He pulled it down out of the air and dragged it towards him, knife raised and ready to thrust down into the heart. But before he could do that, Kaden caught a glimpse of the guy’s face. Fucking hell. Bleeding goddamn hearts were getting to him. He couldn't do it in front of Nate, not looking like that. His grip pinched the wing, hard, keeping the writhing bird in place and he grabbed the blanket with his free hand to wrap the bird in. “Look, I don’t know how much you know. But this bird is stealing your voice. And it may have stolen others.” The beast was scrambling and squawking under the blanket as Kaden tried to wrap it tightly closed. “The only way to give them back is by killing it. Do you understand?” He tried to keep calm and look Nate in the eye, but he knew there was no way this was sinking in. Not now.

Nate didn’t move when Kaden snatched the blanket out of his hand. His heart sunk as he watched the man tackle his bird, his closest friend and confidante for the past few months, preparing not only to take her away, but apparently to end her life all together. Even if she was illegal, Alea didn’t deserve that. Even if she was- stealing his voice? What was this, a Disney cartoon? Nate wasn’t some animated princess and Kaden certainly wasn’t his prince charming. Since when did prince charming murder your pet in front of you?? Maybe he was taking the metaphor too far… “N-no,” he croaked, his voice still struggled against his body to be heard. But that was because he was distraught, not because his Alea was stealing his words! That would be insane! “That- it’s- not p-possible!”

The bag flew a few feet in the air as the bird inside tried to fight its way out. Kaden would have to make a decision fast. There was no way he could keep the bird trapped in there for too long. Those claws and that beak would poke its way through soon enough. “Do you even hear yourself?” he said, rolling his eyes. ”Your voice is cracking every time you ta--” Kaden didn’t get a chance to finish when a voice that sounded just like Nate’s came from the bag. “His voice is fine.” Fucking aravos. Kaden exchanged a glance with the other man, raising a brow and hoping maybe, just maybe, his point was proven. “You teach her all that? Or did she just learn that all on her own? She’s not even repeating anything you said.” Come. On. “I don’t have to do it here, just let me take her. She’ll leave you once she has your voice and you'll never see her again and you won’t be able to get it back.

Nate sank down onto his couch, his arms falling down in front of him. Crazier things had happened to the man than a bird who could steal voices. But he knew Alea, she was sweet and smart and the best pet he could have asked for...right? But the more she thrashed around in the makeshift bag, spitting out phrases in his own voice, only filled with a venom he could never muster. Hadn’t he lost enough? Somehow, he knew Kaden was right, but for the life of him he didn’t want to give the man the satisfaction. Nate felt his heart breaking with every squawk, but he nodded slowly, consenting for Kaden to do whatever he needed to do. It wasn’t like Nate was in the position to fight him, he knew that was a battle he couldn’t win. “Just...quick, please? F-for her?”

If Kaden had a free hand to rub his face with, he would. This was exhausting. Why was a perfectly routine hunting call so fucking exhausting? He knew. Looking at Nate, he knew. Fuck, when did his heart start bleeding over bullshit like this? “I’ll take her outside, alright? If you want.” It felt like the least he could do. This wasn’t like being there when putting down a dog. This wasn’t the pet and the deep bond that this guy clearly wanted from an animal. Kaden hated how much he could relate. “Look, I know it’s not the same. It’s not. But if you want, I’ll waive the adoption fee at the shelter for you. Any animal. There’s plenty. Who don’t take voices.” And by waived he meant he’d just pay it for him. It still felt cheap and hollow. Animals couldn’t be replaced. Monsters should never be kept as pets and it was an unfortunate situation, but the sentiment remained.

Nate looked up at the man who was about to murder his pet through tear brimmed eyes. He didn’t like this man before, and today was doing no favors for their relationship, but he could see that Kaden at least was trying to make this easier. A little. It was a far cry from just not killing his pet, but Nate didn’t see how he’d be able to change the animal control officer’s mind. Especially after Alea proved rather...terrifyingly vicious. Tears began to spill over onto his cheeks and Nate dropped his head into his hands. “J-just go. P-please.” All he wanted was this nightmare of a day to be over so he could wallow in the loss of his pet alone.

Kaden gave a small nod and awkwardly tried to drag the blanket with the bird as well as the cage he brought with him. It would be great if it were quieter or more graceful but it was the best he could do. Once he was outside, he took the knife and dug it into the bird’s heart. Or where he hoped it was. The struggle ended and Kaden watched as the chet fell and air released from the lungs. The sounds of a handful of voices floated up to the air and then dispersed in all directions. One small breath of voice floated to the door he’d just left. Even if the man inside didn’t appreciate anything he’d just done, Kaden knew something ended well at least. Not much, but it would have to be enough.

[shadowofthelamp]

Relish the Flavor

Happy Halloween, you filthy animals.

Ao3 link

Summary: Zim has a craving for something... different.

Wordcount: 1870

Rating: T or M, only a very brief mention of sexual stuff but... well, look at the warnings.

Warnings: Gore, cannibalism (does that count if one’s an alien?), consentual vivisection, hard vore I guess? Messy messy messy. Also mpreg.

Comments either here or on ao3 super appreciated, as well as likes, replies, and reblogs! 

Zim was hungry for something.

What, he wasn’t sure. Something other than sugar, because he’d had a few spoonfuls and they hadn’t even cracked at the hunger. Usually, whenever he had a craving that satisfied it, but now it just nagged at the pit of his spooch like a loose tooth. He’d already taken a single bite of nearly everything in the fridge and none of them sad sated the itching desire. (On top of that, Dib’s ham sandwich had nearly made him sick. He wasn’t sure why he thought that might be it.)

His knees pressed against the curve of his abdomen, and he narrowed his eyes, one hand squishing the blanket underneath him.

“Why can’t you just give me an answer? What do you want?”

The smeet didn’t reply. Typical. They really enjoyed playing him like a puppet, didn’t they? How a bundle of meat had so much control over such an Elite soldier’s biology was beyond him. They were clever, taking full advantage of the fact that he had to listen to them or risk his body rebelling. It was going to be worth it in the end, but in the meantime...

He turned as Dib emerged from the elevator, cracking his back so loudly it made Zim’s antennae flinch. “You need to fix the rough edges of that one console, it snagged me when I was crawling back out.”

“What were you doing under it?”

“I dropped something,” Dib said, licking at the back of his hand like a cat. Zim huffed.

“That’s your fault, then, isn’t-” His words died mid-sentence as he caught the scent of something wondrous. “What’s that?”

“What’s what?” Dib turned to him. “Oh, damn, it got my side too… man, I really need to get more clothes, these are getting torn up. Your base is a death trap, you know that?”

“That smell.” Zim pushed himself up off the blanket pile with a grunt, sniffing at the air. “It’s rich.”

“Rich? Okay, maybe I need to wash up a little, but-”

“Not that! Your stink isn’t as offensive as usual to me at the moment.” Zim dismissed it easily, moving closer.

Dib licked at his cut hand again, and yelped when Zim suddenly dug his fingers into his wrist. “Gah! What the hell, Zim?”

“This. This is what they wanted.” Zim squeezed Dib’s thin wrist, watching the bright red bubble up over his skin. Dib swallowed.

“Wanted?”

“I’ve been attempting to figure out what the smeet’s been making me crave.” Zim pulled Dib’s hand closer, tongue running over the cut. The blood soaked in, coppery taste jolting his senses, and Dib stared down at him.

“Uh… that one’s new.”

Zim lapped at the wound for a few more seconds before growling, throwing the hand down. “It’s not enough.” He grabbed Dib’s hips, twisting him before throwing him down on top of the blanket pile and straddling him. He reached back towards his Pak, and Dib held up his hands.

“Woah, woah, slow down for a second! What are you doing?”

“I want something more.”

“More?”

“Something… more substantial. Bloody, but better.”

“What, like one of my organs?” Sweat dripped down Dib’s cheeks, and Zim raised an eye.

“That was the plan. You lost your lungs for a bit years ago and were fine.”

“I still don’t know how that worked.” Dib wriggled underneath Zim, and Zim could feel him under his bump. “You should at least ask before you steal a guy’s heart when it’s this literal.”

“If I make you an extra, will you let me have yours?”

Dib’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks. “What?”

“If I grow you a replacement organ, may I have one of yours?” Zim repeated more slowly, unsure how Dib didn’t understand the first time.

“I- I guess so…?”

Zim licked his lips. “Good. Then come with me.”

_________

The ride down and walk to the lab was silent. Or rather, it would have been, but Dib’s heart rate was heavily accelerated. Zim probably could have heard it even if he’d been a human.

Dib climbed up on the table. “So let me get this straight. You’ll grow me a new organ, then open me up, take mine out, and put the new one in?”

Zim snapped a glove on. “That’s the idea.”

“How long will it take to synthesize a new-”

“No time at all,” Zim said, crossing the room to open a fridge. “I cloned all of your organs years ago.”

“Can I ask why?”

“I don’t want you dying of something preventable if I wasn’t the one to do it. Heart failure is such a pitiful way to go for a warrior like you.” Zim pulled out a spleen, turning it over in his hands before putting it back. No, no, that wasn’t right, it needed to be perfect.

“Oh. Wait, years- this was back when we were enemies?”

“As I said, you weren’t going to die to anything but me.” Intestines? Tempting, but his wouldn’t be as clean as these. Lungs? Mmm, those had been surprisingly tasty, but partially hollow…

“Oh. Well, you always were a possessive jerk. Not that I wasn’t the same.” Zim heard the rustle of fabric and turned to see Dib had pulled his shirt off, grimacing at the cut on his side. “Why can’t you just eat the grown one?”

“It isn’t yours. I want yours. ”

Dib gulped. “Got it.”

He decided on a heart. Dib had mentioned it before, and it was the symbol of sticky love-feelings, wasn’t it? It was juicy and had more than enough meat. He set it back in the jar, bringing it over. Dib looked over at it.

“Wait. This was a clone from when I was younger- is it going to still work with my older body?”

“It’ll be fine.” Zim reached for the sterilizing gel. “Now relax. I don’t want to break anything that doesn’t need to be broken.”

Dib laid back on the table. “I always figured I’d be the one to cut you open first.”

Zim didn’t respond, the end of his tongue sticking out as he focused on the gel application. “Table, activate restraints.”

Dib yelped as his wrists and ankles were bound. “Hey!”

“It’s so you don’t wriggle around and have your liver pop out. The gel should numb you enough that it will only be a mild sting.” Zim pulled out his tools, selecting a scalpel.

“That’s- okay, that makes sense, but geez, a little warning would be nice, huh?” Dib slumped back, staring up at the ceiling. “And your pain tolerance and mine are pretty different.”

Zim snickered. “I know, but I would have knocked you out if I didn’t think you could handle it. Don’t be a smeet over this.”

“You’re cutting me open, I have the right to be a little- uh.” Zim had climbed on top of the table and straddled over Dib’s legs to get a better angle. Dib’s height had nearly doubled over the years, and Zim had to crawl up him like a pole if he ever wanted to get anywhere, nowadays.

Dib pushed up a crooked, nervous smile. “Not gonna lie. You look really good, with the backlight and the scalpel and- you know what, I’m going to be shutting up now.”

Zim grinned. “I always look good.” He lowered the blade, making neat a shallow, neat ‘V’ over the middle of Dib’s chest before beginning to cut. Dib sucked in a breath, but Zim was focused. A line dragged down under the initial cuts, and he pried the skin and muscles open, blood immediately pooling over his hands. He needed to work fast- he hadn’t thought to lower blood pressure, and the rapid beats of Dib’s heart weren’t exactly helping. It stuttered like a rabbit, and Zim couldn’t help the way his stomach growled.

He reached around the ribs to cut the heart away from the arteries and veins, taking care to keep as much of the aorta intact as possible. When he was done, he set aside the scalpel to pull the heart out. Dib stared as it pulsed in Zim’s hands, speechless for once.

Zim set the heart down on the tray, carefully lifting the replacement out of its jar and setting it back in. He maneuvered it around the other organs, settling it back where the original had been. The tiny program inside of it ignited upon being settled into place, reaching out to the veins and beginning to beat.

“That was… easier than I thought.” Dib admitted as Zim settled the layers of muscle and skin back into place before sliding off Dib. “Uh, Zim? Are you gonna finish-”

Zim could barely hear him, drool pooling in his mouth at the rich organ sitting in front of him. He picked it up, watching as it continued to beat. Still alive, even though it was no longer attached to Dib. Even though it was Zim’s now.

He licked it first, not caring about the gore that soaked his gloves. It tasted like the cut had, only better. This blood was healthy, full of oxygen, not tired from travel through the veins. This blood that helped keep Dib alive. That was going to nourish Zim.

Then, he took a bite, ripping part of the aorta off with his teeth. The taste was indescribable and he immediately swallowed, taking another. He needed more.

Dib let out a little squeak, but Zim was preoccupied, feeling the salty sweetness soaking through his tongue. Dimly, he realized he was making a mess- the heart was still dripping blood, and now viscera soaked his chin and probably his clothes. It was far away compared to the satisfaction of the ‘food’, though, the craving disappearing amongst the texture and taste. He’d never taken bites before- the only other time he’d consumed human organs, they had all been whole, and he’d dampened his taste buds to keep from becoming sick.

Perhaps it was just because he’d grown to enjoy the taste of Dib, or perhaps he’d jumped the gun and all human organs had this transcendent property. The bites became larger and larger until he was left holding nothing but thick, sticky globs of blood.

Zim burped, a hand settling down on his now-thoroughly soaked shirt. It was only then that he noticed Dib again.

He’d fumbled for the medical sewing kit, giving himself sutures. Well, he’d always been quite self-reliant for a human. He was fine. What worried Zim was the glazed look in his eyes and the flush on his cheeks. Zim waved a hand in front of them. “Are you dead?”

“No…” Dib’s voice was quiet, and Zim realized as he shifted something was nudging him from underneath. “But I think I just realized that I’m way more into this than I ever thought.”

It took a moment for Zim to process Dib’s vague phrasing, but he smirked, leaning forward to stroke a hand soaked in Dib’s own blood over his cheek.

“I have the others. We can try again later, and you can personally give of yourself to make the smeet happy.”

Dib’s eyes drifted down to the curve of Zim’s stomach, and he nodded slowly.

“Deal.”

[hanji-zoe103]

LeviHan Spookfest! Ghost/Farewell

Haunted by the Past

           It’d only been a few weeks since Levi’s squad had been killed by the female titan.  Levi wasn’t quite right after it.  No one seemed to notice.  Except Hanji. She saw he was upset and missed his squad.  They’d all laid down their lives to protect Eren, at Levi’s orders.  The worst part for Levi was having to deliver the horrible news to their families.  Levi hardly slept, each time he closed his eyes, he saw their cold, dead faces in his nightmares.  

           He sat in his office late one night, trying to get work done.  He was exhausted and very sleep deprived.  Levi’s eyelids started to droop.

           “Why Captain…?” came Petra’s voice.

           Levi’s head snapped up.

           “Why didn’t you save us?” Eld asked.

           “You could have prevented our deaths Captain,” Oulo said.

           “It’s your fault we’re dead,” Gunther said.

           “I-I’m sorry…I-I couldn’t…!” Levi replied.

           Four ghostly figures appeared, each in the form of their deaths.

           “N...no,” Levi said.

           “You’re not real…”

           “We…” Eld replied.

           “Are…” Petra added.

           “Very…” Gunther followed.

           “Real…” Oulo ended.

           “Y-you’re all dead,” Levi gasped out.

           The figures surrounded him.  Blood started pouring from their eyes, mouths and wounds.

           “You did…” Petra hissed.

           “We’re dead because you didn’t come.”

           “Our families…they suffer,” Oulo said.

           “And it’s on your shoulders,” Eld added.

           “Our blood is on your hands,” Gunther said.

           Levi felt their cold hands grab at him, clawing at his skin.

           “That stupid titan shifter was more important than us!” Eld growled.

           “You would rather save him than your own squad,” Gunther said.

           “N-no! It…I was following orders,” Levi replied.

           “You never cared for orders,” Petra said.

           “You were given charge of Eren, we could’ve just let him get taken and we’d all be alive!”

           “This…our deaths, is because you failed us Captain Levi.” Oulo said.

           “You even left our corpses out there. Using them as titan bait.” Petra hissed.

           “Our families had nothing to bury, nothing to mourn over. Not even our wings were given to them!”

           Levi shivered from the cold, his heart pounding in his chest.  

           “Now…you will join us!” they all said.

           “Leave me alone!” Levi yelled.

----------

           Hanji was walking to see Levi when she heard a loud crash come from his office.

           “Levi?!” She called.

           Then she heard him yell.  Hanji bolted to the door, slamming it open.

           “Levi?!” she exclaimed.

           It was dark in the room so it took a minute for her eyes to adjust.  The room was a mess, shattered glass scattered across the floor, the desk broken in half…but where was Levi?  Hanji scanned the room.  There, he was curled up in the corner.  Hanji rushed over.

           “Levi?” She said softly putting her hand on his shoulder.

           Levi flinched and shrunk away from her touch.

           “L-leave me alone!” he exclaimed.

           “Whoa, easy Levi,” Hanji said.

           “It’s just me.”

           “No…we’re not alone…” Levi replied.

           Hanji could feel him trembling.

           “Th-they’re here…” Levi said.

           “Who’s here Levi?” Hanji asked, concerned.

           “Oulu, Eld, Petra and Gunther…” Levi said.

           “Levi, it’s just you and I,” Hanji replied.

           “You can’t see them?” Levi asked.

           “Levi, there is no one else here,” Hanji said.

           “What’s gotten into you?”

           “They’re haunting me Hanji…they blame me for their deaths.” Levi replied.

           “Everywhere I look, I see them… ghostly figures with blood pouring from their eyes…”

           “Levi, have you been sleeping?” Hanji asked.

           He looked at her, dark circles under his eyes.

           “How can I?” Levi said.

           “Every time I try, they’re there…”

           Hanji sighed.  She picked him up and pulled him onto her back.  Levi slumped against her, too tired to even try to argue.

           “First a bath, then food then sleep,” Hanji said.

           Levi was quiet.  He just let all his weight rest against Hanji’s back and into her arms. She walked to the bathroom, filled the tub with hot water and undressed him.  Levi slowly slid into the water.  Hanji sat on a stool behind him and began to wash his hair.

           “Levi…I’m worried about you,” she said.

           “I’m…fine,” Levi lied.

           “Yeah…you’re not,” Hanji replied.

           “It’s my fault Hanji,” Levi said.

           “They died because of my decision.”

           “I remember when I had met you in the beginning you told me this,” Hanji replied.

           “The only thing we're allowed to do... is to believe that we won't regret the choice we made.”

           Levi sighed.  Hanji rinsed the soap out of hair.

           “We’ve all had to make decisions that result in the death of our comrades…and it’s never easy,” she said.

           “But…Even in moments of the deepest despair, I guess we can still find hope. They didn’t give their lives in vain Levi. They knew the consequences of being in the Scouts, just like we all do. They gave their lives fighting for humanity.”

           “Had I been with them, they would’ve been alive today,” Levi replied.

           “You don’t know that, you could’ve died as well,” Hanji said.

           “Who would care…not like anybody really likes me as a human,” Levi replied.

           “I’m just a soldier…��

           Hanji lifted him out of the tub and dried him off. She got him into clean pajamas and sat next to him.

           “I would care,” Hanji said.

           “Levi…I don’t want you gone.”

           Levi looked at her.

           “Me? You actually care?” he asked.

           Hanji smiled softly to him.

           “I’ve always cared,” she said.

           Hanji gently pressed her lips to his, a light blush on her cheeks.  Levi blinked as she pulled away.

           “S-sorry about that,” Hanji muttered.

           Levi took her face in his hands and kissed her again. It was more passionate this time. Hanji pushed him back.

           “Easy there Ackerman,” she said.

           “There will be plenty of time for that later. First we need to get you taken care of.”

           Hanji picked him up again and headed to her room.

           “Where are we going?” Levi asked as he kissed her neck.

           “My room,” Hanji said.

           “Your room is filthy,” Levi grumbled.

           “No! It’s clean!” Hanji replied.

           She walked inside and to Levi’s surprise, it was actually clean.  Hanji set him down on her bed.  

           “I’m going to get food, I’ll be right back,” she said.

           Levi didn’t want her to leave.  He was afraid the ghosts would come back.  Hanji assured him it would be all right.  She made sure she was only gone for 10 minutes.  Levi stayed curled up on the bed.  He nervously looked around the room, waiting for the ghosts to come back and haunt him, but… they never did.

           “I’m back,” Hanji said walking in.

           She brought in a tray with soup and tea.  Levi remained quiet.  Hanji got him set up in bed and then sat in front of him.  She raised the spoon to his lips.  Levi didn’t react.

           “Levi, you need to eat,” Hanji said.

           “Why? Maybe it’s better if I just die…” Levi muttered.

           “Would finally give peace to all the soldiers lives who I’ve ruined.”

           Hanji sighed.

           “They are not blaming you Levi,” she said.

           “We all have lost comrades…friends, but we keep fighting so their deaths are not in vain. We fight to gain our freedom and they sacrificed their lives for a cause they believed in, a cause that they fought hard for.”

           She stroked his cheek.

           “Don’t blame yourself Levi,” Hanji said.

           “Eld, Gunther, Petra and Oulo knew what the end could be, they still followed you and believed in you. They knew you were the best and they were willing to accept their fates in the end. And look, Eren’s still alive because of them and you. Now tell me, is that the actions of a man who recklessly puts other lives in danger? No. Those are the actions of a man who cares and a man who values the life of his comrades.”

           Levi looked at her.  Hanji reached into her pocket.

           “Before you go and get all mad that I was reckless, listen,” she said.

           Hanji handed him four small ‘Wings of Freedom’ patches.  On the bottom of each patch, each of his past squad members names had been stitched on.

           “W-where did you get these?” Levi asked.

           “I went back out,” Hanji replied.

           “It’s something I often do after we’ve lost comrades and can’t bring their bodies back. I go and gather their wings and bring them home.”

           “You are the biggest, most reckless idiot I have ever met…” Levi said.

           He hugged her all of sudden.

           “Thank you,” Levi said.

           Hanji hugged him back.

           “You’re welcome Levi,” she said softly.

           Levi glanced up and there, at the end of the bed, were his four dead squad members.  This time though, they weren’t ghostly, wounded and bloody.  They were healed and smiling, with a golden glow around them.  Levi smiled slightly.  The four figures saluted him and then vanished.  

           “Time to eat,” Hanji said pulling away.

           Levi nodded.  Hanji fed and helped him drink his tea.  Levi was so hungry that he ate two full servings.

           “Now, for you to get some sleep,” Hanji said as she put the tray on her desk.

           “I have one more request,” Levi replied.

           “Oh and that would be?” Hanji asked.

           Levi grabbed her shirt collar and pulled her close. He pressed his lips to hers. Hanji blushed and kissed him back. Levi flipped them over and pressed her against the mattress, deepening the kiss.  Hanji ran her fingers through his hair.  Soon they broke apart for air.  Hanji’s face bright red.  Levi smirked.

           “You’re mine now Zoe, I refuse to let you go and I will protect you with my life,” he said.

           “The same goes for you Levi,” Hanji replied.

           Levi kissed her gently once again and then plopped down on top of her, using her breasts as pillows.  Within seconds he was asleep.  Hanji covered them with a blanket and stroked his hair.

           “Sleep well my Levi,” she said.

           “Your comrades are at peace and you are as well. I will always be here for you no matter what.”

           Hanji did some reading over her notes before getting some sleep as well.

@levihanweek

[smile4imagines]

A Visit to the Office

summary: after recently adopting you, your dads Kamal and Boris Habit take you up to the office, but when you get there your fear of dentists makes it hard to keep a straight face.

a note from mod B: AHHH THIS WAS SO GOOD!! thank u so much for writing it, i’m really glad u got inspiration from one of my posts!! <3 <3 <3

 ( @catgirlwarrior )

You paced nervously back and forth in the garden, running your hands over the wooden bench in the center and trying to work up the courage to look in the direction of Boris’ office. You’d been avoiding going anywhere near it since you met him, acutely aware of just what your new guardians did for a living. You were absolutely terrified of dentists, and even though you knew Kamal and Boris were both loving dads, you dreaded having to go in for an appointment.

You knew you would have to soon, as Boris was talking more and more about work lately, and how it was a shame that your records had been “lost” (because you totally definitely had those in the first place) so they didn’t know how long it’d been since your last appointment. Just thinking about either of your dads finding out that you were afraid of the dentist made you break out in a cold sweat.

Would they be mad at you? Would they not love you anymore? Would they try to “cure” your fear with more exposure??

Your stomach turned and you paced faster, twisting the hem of your shirt nervously in your hands. You noticed someone in the window of the office tower walk toward the elevator, and you forced yourself to stop.

Act casual. Just stop and take a breath and act casual. Did they see me? No. That was probably just a patient leaving the office. There’s no way that Boris or Kamal would’ve seen me from all the way up there.

You bent down to smell one of the flowers, using it as an excuse to take a couple of deep breaths to calm your nerves. When you looked up, you saw (to your dismay) that Kamal was walking towards you.

  “Hey, y/n? Boris saw you pacing from his office window, and we weren’t going to say anything but you seemed really upset. Is everything okay?”

You nodded quickly, trying to seem nonchalant. 

“Oh, uh, yeah,” you lied, “I’m fine. I was just waiting for my friend to call me back about some plans we had but they didn’t call. I’m fine.”

Kamal seemed unconvinced, but shrugged noncommittally. He turned his attention to the flower you were looking at, a pretty white Erythronium blossom. He quirked his mouth into a small smile upon seeing his partner’s favorite flower.

“Hey, why don’t we bring some of these to Boris? Your friend will still be able to call you while you ride up to visit your dad.”

  You had to force yourself to remain neutral and keep from stiffening, but inside you were screaming in fear. You tried to think of some excuse as to why that wasn’t a good idea, but you couldn’t think of one that wouldn’t sound suspicious so you nodded. You picked a handful of blossoms and followed Kamal back to the office door. You were glad he was walking ahead of you and he didn’t have to stop to hold the automatic door for you, or else he would’ve seen you trembling violently with fear. You managed to get yourself calmed down enough by the time you got into the elevator that you were sure he wouldn’t see you shaking, but as the elevator rose up into the air, you stood in silent panic as Kamal talked about his day.

  Boris was there to meet the two of you at the elevator, and you forced a smile at the sight of your dad in his horrifying white coat.

Oh god is that blood on his scrubs?

Boris noticed you looking at a red stain on the front of his sleeve and sighed.

“Oh, sum tyems patients r a little messy, especially wen they lose a tooth. It’s nothing that the wash-r can’t fix.”

He ruffled your hair, thankfully seeming to think that you were worried about the blood on his shirt because it would stain. You swallowed and held out the bouquet to him and he gasped, delighted. He leaned down to give you a flouride-scented hug and you had to stifle a gag at the wave of smell that hit you.

He looked at you with a question in his eyes and took your hand, leading you back toward the hallway out of his empty office lobby. 

“R you okay, y/n? You seeme veree nervous 2day. Maybe you should come back and sit down?” He started to pull you down the hallway, but you stopped in your tracks and pushed his hand away. He turned around, furrowing his eyes in concern.

“Y/n? What’s wrong?” Kamal asked from behind you, making you jump a little. You opened and closed your mouth for several seconds, trying to form a good excuse for your behavior, and then the phone on the front desk rang. You nearly leapt out of your skin, and as Kamal left to go answer it, you sat down in a nearby chair and hid your head in your hands, trying not to cry.

You felt a big hand on your shoulder, and you sensed Boris kneel down to be at your level. You sniffled, refusing to look at him as you whispered, 

“I’m scared of dentists.”

Boris sat back on his heels, unsure of what to do now. He had noticed you brushing and flossing your teeth more frequently lately, and sometimes if you weren’t careful, he’d find a little bit of blood left behind in the sink after you spat out your toothpaste. He had tried to hint to you that perhaps you should come in for an appointment, but all of his attempts were politely shut down by you changing the subject or finding convenient excuses to leave the room.

He hadn’t really understood what was going on before, but now it all clicked. He felt terrible! You were afraid of him. You were probably afraid of Kamal, too! It must have been terrifying just to ride up here, and then he’d made you think he was going to force you to sit down and open wide….

“Y/n? I’m soree. I shud have real eyesd before that you didn’t like my work.” You peeked out at him from behind one of your hands, and he put out his hand slowly. You took it cautiously, as if worried that he’d make you get up and go into an examination room. He ran his thumb across the backs of your knuckles in soothing little circles, hoping to alleviate some of your worry.

“How long as it been since you last saw a dentist?” Kamal asked, having hung up the phone and come to sit by his partner. You muttered something into your hands, and Boris gently asked you to repeat yourself.

“I’ve only ever been to the d-dentist’s once, when I was seven. They were mean and they pulled out two of my teeth without any painkiller and I was scared a-and-” your voice broke and you shrunk back into yourself, taking your hand away from Boris to cover your mouth. You could tell that Kamal and Boris were disgusted, and though you weren’t paying attention to what they were saying, you knew they were talking to each other.

They probably think I’m a disgusting freak. Kamal’s second husband is his toothbrush, and Habit polishes teeth every day for a living. What must they think of me? The monster who doesn’t get their teeth cleaned at all?

Boris seemed to notice that you were spiraling, because he was saying something to you now and tapping you lightly on the shoulder.

“Y/n? It’s oka-y. I don’t think you’re some kind of “monster”.” You didn’t realize you had been thinking out loud until he spoke.

“What happened when you were a little kid is not okay, y/n. That’s not how going to the dentist is supposed to work. You were taken to a really terrible dentist.” Kamal sounded indignant for you as he ran his fingers gently through your hair. You looked up at them, noticing that Boris had thrown his big blue coat over his lab coat and bloody scrubs, hiding them from your sight. You breathed a little easier, uncurling a little in the uncomfortable pink chair.

“Do you neede a “hug”?” Boris asked tentatively, holding out his arms a little. You nodded and leaned toward him, taking in the scent of bubble gum and copper that you knew to be distinctly his. He rubbed your back and hummed a fragment of a song in russian, the same one he hummed when he noticed Kamal was particularly worried about something.

“I think,” Kamal said, trying to gauge your reaction, “that we should show you what the dentist is supposed to be like. Nothing big! Just a cleaning?”

You stiffened against Boris, suddenly feeling like his hug was an attempt to restrain you. You shook your head and whimpered, trying to escape from the dentist’s grasp. When you found you couldn’t, you began to hyperventilate.

  “Woah, woah. Calm downe, pleez y/n. I’me not gonna “hurt” you. Heer, I’m lettin’g go and taking a “step” back. I just want to make sure you’re oka-y.” He took a step away from you and put his arms up, exposing the sleeves of the bloody shirt he had on under his coat. You continued to shake your head, trying to breathe.

“Shh, it’s okay, it’s okay. You’re safe. Boris won’t take you back into an exam room if you don’t want, it’s fine. It was just meant to be a suggestion. Just meant to help.” 

You sank to your knees on the carpet of the lobby, hugging yourself and crying. You knew they would try this! You should’ve known a family this loving would be too good to be true.

Your guardians left you alone for awhile, walking back to an exam room to talk. They could hear you quietly crying from down the hallway.

“I can’t bee-leeve I didn’t knowtiss before. Y/n always seems so uncomfy when we talk about work, but i never real-eyesd that this was y!! Am I a Terrible Father!?” Boris cried, nervously pulling at his hair. Kamal quickly reassured him that he was not a terrible dad, only a confused one, and then tried to think of something that could help you with your fear.

  “Habit, do you still have that old puppet?” he asked. When his partner nodded, he smiled. “Okay good. This is what we’re going to do…”

  You managed to calm yourself down by counting your breaths and thinking of more pleasant things, and focusing on the smell of the flowers that still lingered on you in spite of the clinical smell of the office. You blushed with embarrassment as you wondered what your guardians must think of you, then held your breath as you heard Boris and Kamal start back down the hallway towards you.

  You didn’t meet their eyes as they came out to sit by you, but when Boris motioned for you to look at him you did, stifling a laugh at the sight of your dad wearing a tiny, puppet version of himself on his hand.

  “Hel-lo Y/N! I’me Dr. Puppet Habit, but you can “call” me Habby! Why are you frownie today?” Boris moved his hand and spoke in a funny little voice, obviously trying to make you laugh. He succeeded, and despite your earlier fear, you let yourself laugh a little at the absurdity of an 8 and a half foot tall dentist pretending to be a puppet of himself to amuse you. You sheepishly answered that you were scared of dentists, and the puppet “gasped”.

  You sat for almost an hour, talking with “Habby” about dentists and letting him explain things you didn’t know and were too afraid to ask, like what all the tools were and why it was important to go to the dentist anyway. You felt a lot more relaxed by the end of the “show”, and when “Habby” waved goodbye and Kamal took the puppet to put it away, you came over and gave Boris a big hug.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I was worried you wouldn’t like me anymore or you’d…do what Kamal did…”

Boris just squeezed you back, shaking his head.

“We wamt you 2 b healthy, AND happy, y/n. It’s import-ant to visit the dentist twice a year, so we know that you’re mouth is oka-y, but it’s also import-ant to take care of your self. It’s oka-y 2 b scared, especially when your past wasn’t very smiley. I pinkie-promise i won’t make you come back to my exam room 2day if you tell me the truth. Are any of your teeth frownie? Do they “hurt” or bleede wen u brush and floss them?”

You frowned, looking down at your hands, then nodded. You told the truth- a few of them bled a little when you flossed them, and sometimes one of them felt a little weird when you ate or drank something cold. You were careful to reassure him that it didn’t hurt! Just.. felt weird. He nodded kindly, thanking you for telling him. When Kamal came back to the lobby, he stood and picked you up easily, announcing that he was closing the office for the night. The three of you went home to eat dinner and watch a movie, and Habit made sure to change out of his work clothes as soon as he got in the door. You knew that it might not be easy, but you could survive an appointment with Boris, if you had to have one. When you said that to your guardians, they both beamed at you.

[luckyspenny]

Penny and the Birches || Part 1

Where: Penny & Jude’s Apartment Who: Penny, @hcrrybirch & @lvcybirch What: Harry and Lucy show up with chili for Jude and find Penny there alone. Lucy goes off and leaves Harry to talk Penny alone about Jude. 

The two Birch siblings had arrived at their brother's apartment with worried affects and a peace offering. Harry carried with him a large container of his girlfriend's chilli, figuring that Jude probably wasn't eating a whole lot in his current state. No matter how angry he'd been with him, the worry far surpassed that. Lucy banged her fist against the door, wanting to give her brother the privacy to clean up anything he didn't want them to see first, rather than barging in as she usually would. Still, she was impatient to get stuck into the food. "Judey, hurry the fuck up!”

Penny had been busy. Between work and trying to make the apartment somewhat nice, she'd been back and forth from the thrift store and accepting donations of household stuff from the regulars at the The Bullet. She'd managed to get some curtains which could almost match in the right lighting, a futon and a cheap fake wood coffee table that had it's gouges in the top covered with a pretty blue scarf she'd found for a quarter. The kitchen had enough stuff in that she could at least make mac and cheese and after making friends with the neighbor she'd managed to score their wifi password. Now with more than just a bed she was excited for him to get home, not entirely sure where we was. He'd be so surprised when he saw it.

 At the sound of pounding on the door, Penny froze, instantly think of the cops and making her tentative way over after making sure her kit was well stashed away. Pulling open the door, it wasn't the cops standing there, but what she could only assume was a couple were on the other side. "Um... Hi? Can I help you?" Blinking at them in confusion she managed a bright smile nonetheless.

  As the door swung open, Lucy stiffened immediately as she saw exactly who was behind it. So it was true, what people had been saying. Jude and Penny were living together. Harry, though stirred by Penny's presence, noticed his little sister tense up in front of him and laid a hand upon her shoulder to remind her not to do anything irrational. But it was a gesture laid out in vain. "Yeah, you can get the fuck out of my brother's apartment." Lucy spat, only to be tugged backward by Harry who's heart was pounding at the suddenly explosive situation. "Lucy, stop. You're not helping the situation." He said before turning to Penny and replying coolly. "We're Jude's siblings. You must be Penny."

Blinking in confusion as the female snapped out at her, the word brother had it all falling into place. Shit. "I-..." She wasn't even entirely sure what to say, this was entirely the last way she wanted to meet any of them. Swallowing hard, eyes wide with confusion and sudden anxiety, Penny nodded her head to confirm his assumption. "Um... Jude's not here, but-... but, you can totally come in and wait of course. We um... have a place to sit down now." Pushing her hair behind her ear she shrunk back a little from the door so they could step in if they wanted to. When she'd shown up it'd been little more than a mattress on the bedroom floor and some towels, she she was thankful for the timing of what she'd managed to accomplish in such a short time. At least Jude could be happy that his siblings had shown up to something at least somewhat homey looking. "I can't really offer anything besides water."

Harry was about the only thing keeping Lucy from snapping again. Even then, she was hanging by a thread - red-faced and tight-jawed. The older Birch kept a hold of her, his fingers digging a little into her shoulder now. "That'd be lovely, thank you." He said, though his voice had certainly lost its warmth. He steered Lucy past Penny and toward the couch. "We're fine. We brought chilli over." Harry said, though no longer hungry, as he set the tub down on the coffee table that hadn't been there the last time he'd been at his brother's. He almost felt bad for assuming the worst of this woman, given how she had clearly touched the apartment up. Lucy took a seat by her brother, still fuming, as she hissed through clenched teeth. "It's for Jude." Ignoring the pointed look she earned from Harry once she had done so. "I'm Harry, by the way. This is Lucy."

Penny felt bad for not recognizing Lucy. They'd met a few times in LA when she and Jude had first started dating, and they had gotten along, but that felt like forever ago. It didn't help that Penny was hardly able to look her in the face now, well aware of the seething anger in the other female. She wasn't even entirely sure what she'd done wrong. Was this all over Ari? "Yeah, I've met Lucy... It's um... it's really nice to meet you, Harry. I've heard a lot about you from Jude, I'm really sorry that-... that I never really got a chance to make a first impression." 

Inching forward she even kind of leaned away from her as she reached for the container. "I'll just um... I'll put this in the fridge for when he gets home. I ate at The Bullet." Music from her new phone playing on the kitchen counter where it was propped up with the stand on her case, Penny took the moment stepping away to just breathe. She could do this, she could totally do this. What had she really done besides make their brother happy? She had a job she was contributing in more ways than she'd admit to them and things were okay. For now, they were okay and she was just praying she could get it to stay that way.

"This is first impression enough." Harry pressed softly, trying to keep his judgement out of the picture and focus on the facts in front of him. Lucy was too far gone, blinded by her protectiveness over Ari, seething in her corner of the couch as she watched Penny disappear into the kitchen. The siblings used that moment to communicate quickly to one another - Harry arching up his brows expectantly at her, Lucy countering with a dramatic roll of her eyes. "Be nice. For Jude." He whispered to her and though the words were met with another eye roll, Lucy's shoulders sagged a little. "How long have you and Jude been living together for?" Harry asked once Penny had returned.

Adding some ice from the trays that had been empty in the freezer she assumed when Jude moved in, Penny had washed them and filled in prep to maybe celebrate that night, but thoughts of that were so far out of her head. Filling two mismatched glasses with ice and water, she quickly brought them over and set one down in front of each of them. At least it seemed less like Lucy was about to hit her at any moment.

 "Oh well... Um... Since the whole thing with Ari, really, or just after it. And I just gotta say-" Putting her hands up she was obviously speaking mostly to Lucy. "I get that it came off so bad, I do, but you gotta understand that I had no idea that they were anything before that. I didn't even know they knew each other. And then all of sudden she's in love with my boyfriend and calling him a liar and I just I lost my cool and that's entirely my fault. I'd apologize to her but I lost my phone that same night so I couldnt even call her if I wanted to. I was actually gunna talk to Jude about that tonight, because I'd already promised him I'd stay away from her. I just-... really wanted to say that. I'm sorry for all of that." Her apology spewing from her mouth in a quick paced vomit of words she just wanted to get it out there before she ended up making things worse. Especially when Harry was being so nice.

All the softness that Jude's name had instilled in Lucy was gone the moment her best friend was mentioned. She could feel Harry's eyes on her, but she didn't care. All she saw was red. Lips parted to speak, or shout, or cuss Penny out but she was stopped before she got the chance to. Scoffing at the words spoken, she rolled up her hazel eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "Nah, fuck that. You need to learn how to pull other women up, not punch them in the fucking face when they try and warn you about a guy." Lucy retorted, her voice strangled with seething anger. Shrugging off Harry's hand the moment it reached out to touch her shoulder. "Your attitude's bullshit. Like, you can say you're sorry all you like but there is something so fundamentally wrong with what you did." Her voice was rising though she was trying to keep it even, it wouldn't be long until she snapped completely. 

So she pushed herself up off the couch and stuck her hand out in front of her brother. Still glaring down Penny as she did so. "Fuck this, Harry, gimme your keys. I'm gonna go wait in the truck." Harry's lips pressed together, watching his sister tremble with fury. Trying to contain it, for Jude. He sighed in defeat and pulled the keys from his pocket for her, figuring it would probably be best if Lucy wasn't here. There was no getting anywhere with Penny when they kept coming up against Lucy's contempt. 

[writingwithadragon]

Destructive Behavior

Description:  Inside every person, there is a demon. Demons can never be unlocked, even if the world depended on it. The demons are connected to the soul, and no one can live without a soul. A group of boys thought that one of their closest friends lost his soul. John went missing four years prior after he went to cool off after another rough day. But he was found, unconscious, but found. And almost instantly his friends knew something was wrong.

!Warnings! : [Blood] [Gore] [Death] [Canniblisim]

Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two

Chapter Two ~ Feast

My vision once black vanished with excruciating pain. I screamed out in pain but I was met with an echo and the pain stopped as if I told it too. It seemed like I was behind a glass wall as I blinked. I didn’t feel the snow in my face nor did I try to get up. But here I was wiping away the snow getting up onto my feet. I had no control over myself, I was simply just an overseer. My eyes looked over my hands. They were black, frostbite was quick on my body. Black fingers formed a fist then relaxed.

The sight of my fingers would’ve made me sick, but I felt nothing and only had the thought stuck in my head. I really didn’t have control. There was a scream of fear as my head turned to face the sound. It was one of those damn white-robed motherfuckers. The rage that I felt wasn’t normal, it wasn’t mine. White snow, white robes, and red pools of blood. I seemed to look around, I assessed my blood loss, but when we looked down I was horrified. My blood had melted through at least a foot of snow and covered me head to toe. If I wasn’t looking around and thinking straight I would have thought I was dead.

Well, I still shouldn’t be alive, there was no way I could be. I lost too much blood. We looked around some more. Eyes landing on the man with a twisted knife. A feral growl came from me, yet it wasn’t human. The twisted knife was tossed between his hands until he lunged forward. Another growl filled the air, I felt a slight pang of pain in my arms - mouth - and head. Our hands caught the man’s wrists. Dirty blond or light brown fur covered our arms.

I mentally froze my fingers where drastic changing into sky blue crystal claws. The claws dug into the man’s skin, our crystal claws bent in a way that made it impossible to get free from. Taller than what we were a few seconds ago, a pain stabbed a thin ring around my torso. I mentally groaned but the thing we did next was like being the monster in a horror movie that Jaren and I watched over at his place together. Jaren, where are you. But the man’s wrists were snapped with a clench of my hands. His pain filled scream flooded all of the other sounds in the forest, a demon has risen. A hand was torn from the man and flung at another robed figure. In seconds the man was torn apart into shreds.

Blood sprayed all over us, getting into our eyes, we just blinked it away. I could feel the rage and hunger that didn’t belong to me swap all of my thoughts and senses. I watched as we turned to face three figures with identical twisted knives. A demonic chuckle made them flinch, it only sparked joy in the thick feelings of rage and hunger. The look of horror spread across their faces as we lunged at them. Ghastly snarls could be barely heard with the blood-curdling screams that filled the forest. Together we attacked our enemies, they didn’t stand a chance in this bloody forest. Where things come to die. With a sudden gust of wind, the candles lighting up the massacre went out. It wasn’t much of a problem as I now had night vision, the night belonged to us now.

But those unlucky bastards were human and couldn’t see for shit in the dark, and we were going to make sure they suffered. We could see the last three living souls run into the forest in fear, the others laid dead in the snow surrounding us. There had to be at least six dead bodies on the ground. Licking our lips we sprung after them. Hunger swapped out all of our senses as our prey seemingly ran into us, an easy meal. Necks snapped easily in our hands, three warm bodies just begging for us. Flesh and muscle were torn from the bone with sickening lip smacking and crunching. Blood covered our face, eyes dilated as we stuffed ourselves. Chunks of tasteless fat were thrown to the side. Organs made our mouth water, it was a heavenly feast.

Eyes plucked from their sockets were met with happy hums of satisfaction. But our favorite part needed a bit of strength to get too. Skulls crushed between furred palms, yet we were careful not to mash its important cargo. The brain, we loved the brain, delectable and mouthwatering flavor. All that was left after the feast was three picked clean skeletons and chunks of fat thrown about. We licked our lips clean, we got up and took a quick sniff of air. Blood filled our nostrils, but our ears picked up the sound of a babbling brook nearby. Following the sound we stepped into the should be freezing water, yet I felt nothing. The water turned a frightening shade of red as it flowed downstream. We washed the blood from our clothes as best we could, there was only a faint stain left behind. The pain around my torso disappears as I shrunk a little. Gentle water flowed around me as I sat down, I was confused, to say the least.

“What just happened?” I muttered an echo bounced off unseen walls. I wasn’t looking for a reply, I just didn’t know if I was dreaming or not.

“We cleaned ourselves. Before that, we feasted. But way before that, I helped you,” the deep voice from before answered. It came from our lips, or my lips, I don’t know anymore. I froze at the sudden voice, wait, what did he just say?

“What do you mean by helped me?” I questioned, the phrase of ‘Before that we feasted’ faded out of my mind for a moment.

“You asked for help. Therefore I helped you. I am your demon after all. Right?” we smiled as he spoke. He was proud and very eager to show it, “I did a good job too. Otherwise, you would be dead and we wouldn’t have had that delicious feast.”

“We ate humans,” I choked out, “I know I asked for help and you did a hell of a job at that. But I didn’t sign up to eat people. Cannibalism is something that I’ll never get behind and support.”

“Thank you. But animals do it all the time. And aren’t humans animals too? Therefore it’s okay,” the voice paused for a moment as if he was thinking over something. “How about we make a deal? No eating people unless they show that they want to kill us? We can eat anything we want, even if I crave human flesh the most.”

“Fine, only because I don’t think anyone will try to kill us anytime soon. Also please don’t say that it makes me regrettably hungry. Now, what’s the best path to Hillbrookes?” I asked the glass wall vanished, my voice didn’t echo. A shiver was sent down my spine.

“We aren’t going to Hillbrookes. It’s too soon,” the voice echoed in the back of my head. It was weird but I could get used to it. Eventually.

“What do you mean too soon? But can we at least talk to Jaren one last time? He would understand,” I frowned and my eyebrows furrowed. I was back to my normal height, fingers and arms were normal again, but small fangs made their permanent home in my mouth. The thought of Jaren made me smile, he was one of the only things in my life to make it worth living. But if he found out about me eating a person, let alone three, he won’t be so understanding like he normally was.

“No. We can hurt him. Looking through your memories I see you fancied him quite a bit. When you’re ready we will go to him,” the voice growled, fighting back wasn’t an option anymore. This wasn’t a warning but an order.

I looked around the dead silent white forest, “Okay mister grumpy, where to then?” I asked, the thought of not seeing Jaren crushed me, but I had no choice in the matter anymore.

“Shelter is our first priority, then checking for any unhealed wounds. After that it’s testing our limits,” the demon voiced, “We should follow this brook to its source. Maybe we can find a cave of some sort. That’ll be homely.”

“Alright, I’m pretty sure there is. I once ventured out into these woods before. But given it was a long time ago since I last stepped foot here. About testing our limits. Can we sleep first? I’m super tired,” I yawned suddenly, the fatigue hitting me like a semi-truck.

“Sure, you will need it. And that’s understandable. Getting attacked by a dog alone in the woods would be traumatic,” the deep voice instantly answered humming before he continued. He really did read my memories. “You don’t need to worry now. I’m here to protect you.”

“Okay. I’ll keep you to that. No ‘but’s about it. So my name is John,” I smiled as I walked through the water, I still couldn’t feel the ice cold liquid flowing around me. “What should I call you?”

“Kryoz.” 

\|/\|/\|/

@celestiadraw

[mincamzfic]

her words mean nothing;

trigger warning: toxic relationships, emotional abuse

pairing: Seokjin x Reader

word count: 1.2K words

It has been four months since my brother Seokjin and broke up with his now ex-girlfriend, Seoyoung. They’ve been together for almost a year. Seokjin absolutely loved her. He kept on daydreaming about their future wedding and children, something they’ve once discussed about. When he found out that she had cheated on him, he was devastated. She didn’t even try to justify what she had done, he told me.

My brother warned me earlier that he would be going out later that day, in the evening, and that he would be back shortly. It is now midnight and he hasn’t come home, yet. As if the Gods heard my prayers and thoughts, I heard the keys jiggling. I stood in front of the staircase, which was facing the door. My brother silently closed it, thinking I was asleep. Out of the blue, I asked him where he had been, for an outing that was meant to be ’short’.

“I was with Seoyoung.” He blankly said before walking passed me, as if I wasn’t even there. 

I followed him to the living room, where he sat down and played on his phone, still having his coat on. 

“You know she’s no good for you, Jin. She broke you to pieces.” I tried to make him realize what he was going to fall into if he didn’t stop right away, even though he’s been doing these outings for three weeks now. 

“She said she changed.”

I scoffed, rolling my eyes at his statement. “ That’s what they all say.”

“What do you fucking know, huh?” He tore his eyes from his device and his fingers stopped typing on the keyboard. He stared to yell at me about how I don’t know anything about her and profanities. I said nothing and simply walked away, heading to my bedroom. 

Six weeks have passed and I noticed how much my brother change. He changed because of her. The second he went back to Seoyoung, I knew it would be a toxic relationship. And they are not even dating. They are always together, having sex, doing God knows what, but they are not dating. Funny isn’t it? I skipped down the stairs with my laundry basket in my arms. I opened the washing machine’s lid and saw my brother’s unfinished laundry. That is something he would never do before. He’s too much of a cleaning freak. I let out a frustrated sigh,grabbed the wet clothes and put them in his basket. I put my dirty clothes in the washing machine. 

Me: Next time you do your laundry, please make sure you’ll be there the whole time. It’s annoying to always finish you stuff, you’re not alone in this apartment 

Jinnie: I miscalculated my time, if it weren’t for that it would have already been in the dryer.

Jinnie: I’ll be home soon

My brother is always organized... Damn her.

I pressed the close button on my phone and left his garments where I put them, not knowing if he wanted to air-dry some of his clothes.

Turns out that the ‘I’ll be back soon’ was 48 hours later. It’s always like that. He’s not even coming home anymore. Always at hers and then he goes to work and goes back to hers. That day, I just put everything in the dryer. If something shrunk, it wasn’t my problem.

On a very busy study night, I took a break to grab a midnight snack. I saw my brother struggling with his knife to cut something. 

“Maybe you should change your knife... This one is too big.” my voice Kindly suggested. 

“I know what I’m doing, go back to your fucking room!” Jin yelled at me, once again. 

“Damn, okay. I was just trying to help.” I mumbled to myself, slowly heading back. However, I changed my mind and went back to the kitchen to say a piece of my mind. “You know what? You have no rights to tell me to go to my room. You’re not dad, you’re not mom, you’re just my brother. You have no authority over me.” I spat before storming off to my room. 

I had just finished my studying, now comfortably laying in bed. I heard a soft knock on my door and my brother entered. 

“I’m sorry for yelling at you.” he apologized. 

“It’s not like I’m not used to it anymore.” I replied and all he did was lowering his head. “You know, you’re in a very toxic relationship. I’m no longer a Mother Theresa and it sickens me that I can’t help you.”

“I know...” he admitted. Did he mean it, though? Or was it just so I have the answer I want? Or that he thinks I want, that is. “Can you help me?”

“Eversince you got back with her, you’ve become so... angry. You’ve definitely developed anger issues. She constantly cheats on you, she threatened you to call the police because you were ‘harassing’ her.  She’s completely changing you and you act like you don’t care.” I stated. My brother still stood in the hallway, looking at me with an expressionless face. “ She’s using you, Jin.You’re her play toy. The moment she finds someone else to play with, she’ll leave you, and when she’ll get bored for her new toy, she’ll come back only then. You’ll drop whatever that you’re doing the second she tells you to go to hers.” I sighed frustratedly. It seems so obvious for us, for me, that it’s not healthy, that she’s a bad person, how my brother changed. But as I’m talking, it’s like it goes in on ear and leaves in the other. It’s like he’s not even listening. “Like your goddamn laundry, for example. You’re never home, Jin. She was your first love, yes, but she isn’t your happiness anymore. There are more fish in the sea-”

“It’s not that I don’t care, but I’m really tired and I would like to sleep.” Jin cut me off. 

I stared at him in disbelief, not believing my ears. “Are you fucking serious?” 

“What? I didn’t think you would have talked for that long...” 

“You damn well know how long I can go on when it comes to that bitch!” I lost my patience. “If you don’t want to take the time to listen to what I have to say, so I can help you may I add, then I guess you don’t really want to be helped. “ I said with a stern voice. Enough is enough. 

The next day, we woke up as if nothing happened. But I had something in mind. That evening, I got a call from Jin.

“What the hell did you do?” I heard his voice, shaking with both desperation and panic.

“Simple. I pressed charges against Choi Seoyoung for emotional and psychological abuse and got you admitted to a psychiatric ward for you anger issues, severe anxiety, severe OCD, and more. You asked for help, here’s me helping you. “ I replied.

“I trusted you.” Seokjin whispered. 

“So did I.” I said before ending the call. 

a/n: If a loved one is in a toxic relationship, please help them. It is very damaging, both mentally and physically. This story is based on personal experience, concerning the emotional abuse, and is actually what is happening right now with a loved one of mine. Just changed things up a little. I obviously don’t know all the resources, so I might have Witten things considered wrong. If anything offended you, I’m sorry. It wasn’t my purpose for this story. Just wanted to write a lil something so people can relate and know that they are not alone. Thank you for reading, my loves!