#mind the rating & content warnings tho pls

[le-amewzing]

the end of the world (and no one’s fine)

Decided to go way out of my comfort zone just for the holiday, so have some Parknight with a twist! XD *Note: This is a zombie apocalypse AU, so please check the closing A/N for a full list of trigger warnings.

Fic: "the end of the world (and no one's fine)" [FFN] [AO3]

Pairings/Characters: Jess Knight/Alden Parker, with Ronnie Tyler, Dale Sawyer, Sid (from Cyber XD), Tony Francis, & Curtis Hubley in supporting roles; cameos from Delilah Fielding–McGee & Victoria Palmer, as well as minor bkgd OCs

Rating: M

Words: ~10,330

Additional info: romance, family, angst, hurt/comfort, horror, supernatural, AU, 3rd person POV

Summary: The world's fallen apart in just a few months, loved ones are gone or scattered, but…but they've still got each other to depend on.

      The world outside these orange walls was not supposed to look like this, Knight thought when she got up from her desk in the bullpen to go have a peek between the shutters across the way.

      Outside NCIS, the sky was a sickly, greenish–gray. Clouds of smog permanently hovered close these days, just below the skyline, despite the efforts of those who remained at the necessary facilities trying to clean up the air across the country. Worse still, what was above was much the same below, and she didn't need a glimpse to know the parking lot here was as grimy as ever, strewn with debris and refuse and who knew what else, even though few cars and no people were present. Below that, underground, the water had become yet another situation.

      "Antsy?" Parker asked, drawing up on her left side at the window.

      Knight grinned without turning his way, but she knew it was a tight expression. There was no use in lying to him. "No. Yes? Maybe," she settled on. She glanced at him, copper eyes briefly meeting hazel. "Any word?"

      He shrugged. "I thought we were luckier, being here at headquarters, since it has a lot of what we need… But Cyber guys are Cyber guys. I don't know how Piper and Sid ever put up with Hubley's whining. Sid already kicked Hubley out, so Francis is helping him work on the filtration system."

      "Probably for the best. The filtration system is half tech, half mech. No offense to Hubley, but I'd rather Francis follow Sid's orders on which items need muscling into proper place." This time, when she smiled, it felt more genuine.

      Parker, too, smiled a little. Then he resumed staring out the window with Knight. "So, any word?" he asked.

      Knight scrunched her nose up briefly, hearing her own words and at how he asked right now, especially since he knew the likelihood of the answer. "…no. Ronnie and Sawyer are due back from patrol soon, but the satphone's been quiet." She paused. "Alden. It's been days since we last heard from Torres."

      He ran a hand through his hair, which had more white threaded through it these last few months, and cupped the back of his neck. Then he sighed and pursed his lips. "Jess—"

      "I know what you're going to say. I know," she insisted, half turning towards him, her attention no longer on how wrong things looked outside the window. "I know that he's busy. I know that he and Bishop are exceptional tools in the hands of that—Odette woman," Knight said, almost as if Odette Malone's name were a curse any time someone at NCIS mentioned her, "and that their coordination between here and other NCIS agencies, coordinating on the ground…it's what they do best."

      Parker raised his eyebrows.

      "And it takes time."

      He brushed back a lock of hair from her face and shoulder and let his hand trail down her arm until their fingers were linked together. Parker gave her fingers a squeeze.

      Knight squeezed back and took half a step forward, hiding her face in his chest. "But it's been days, Alden," she repeated. "And we can't lose Nick the way we lost Tim."

      At that, Parker's other hand came up to rest on her back, and he held her gently, without uttering a single word and yet saying everything on his mind in that moment.

      Ronnie and Sawyer came back inside a few minutes late—not yet late enough that Knight and Parker were suiting up to go fetch them, but late enough that all pairs of eyes in the bullpen turned when the partners did appear.

      "It's nothing, I promise," Ronnie swore up and down, shuffling ahead of Sawyer as she removed her rifle and passed it to the younger agent.

      "Uh, correction: It is something," Sawyer said with a mild glare at his boss' back. He checked the ammunition and safeties on the guns before standing them along the wall with other weapons by the elevator, ever at the ready.

      "Ronnie," Knight began, getting up to join the other woman on the other side of her desk.

      "She sprained her ankle out there," Sawyer tattled.

      There was a collective sigh of relief from their fellow survivors, although Knight could've sworn she heard Ronnie flare her nostrils when she glared at Sawyer over her shoulder for blabbing.

      Parker stood up straight from where he'd been leaning against the edge of Knight's desk. He hooked a finger at Ronnie, gesturing for her to follow him. "C'mon, Ronnie. First aid, even for a sprain."

      But Ronnie vigorously shook her head, sending her curls flying. "No. I don't need it."

      Parker exhaled a calming breath. "Ronnie—"

      "I am not going down there!"

      Her sharp tone pierced the quiet of the bullpen. Sid and Hubley, sitting on the floor already, ducked their eyes at her outburst. Sawyer continued to frown at his boss' back, and Francis glanced between Knight and Parker, the two senior-most agents present.

      Ronnie shook, slightly, in the middle of what had once been the squad room, though. With her fists clenched at her sides, dark knuckles blanching, she shook her head again and met Parker's stare head on. But, where she'd glared at Parker before, her anger abandoned her now. Those were the wide eyes of a frightened woman. Knight knew; she'd seen them countless times during her tenure with REACT.

      "Ronnie, it's the best place to keep the medical supplies," Parker reminded her. "And the place is clear. It's been that way since Zero Day."

      She flinched at his casual mention of the start of…well, Armageddon, Knight supposed, but Ronnie swallowed and found her voice. "I don't care, Parker. You won't get me down in Autopsy."

      Parker grimaced. The good humor left his posture, given the squaring of his shoulders and that tautness of his jawline, even though the latter was hidden by his whiskers to a less trained eye.

      That was why Knight stepped between them and offered Ronnie her chair. "Ronnie, just have a seat. I don't see why we can't pop down for an ice pack and wrap," she aimed at Parker, "and it'll be faster with the two of us."

      The tension in his jaw relaxed, and Parker conceded with a subtle nod.

      But Ronnie furrowed her brow. "Honestly, Knight, Sawyer's just being a worrywart. I simply tripped over that stupid tree root that broke up the foot path. You know the one over on the left side of the building. If I can get my foot up for an hour or two, I'll be fine."

      Knight smiled and shoved her notebooks and old paperwork—what use was there for case files when cases would no longer be closed?—onto the floor to clear room for Ronnie's foot. She even patted the spot for good measure. "Then get it up already." She glanced behind her. "Curtis, toss Ronnie two protein bars and go fill her a bottle, would you?"

      Ronnie's eyes went wide again as Hubley grumbled but left to fetch the items. "No! The water filters are back in place? No more stale water bottles?"

      "You're welcome," Sid said from the floor, though he still kept his eyes glued to…ah, he and Hubley had been playing some card game.

      Knight took a headcount, reminded herself that Hubley would be right back to join the other four, and followed Parker out of the bullpen, towards the back hallway. One they'd rounded the corner and stepped into the elevator to head down to Autopsy, she mumbled, "Kid gloves with Ronnie, Alden."

      He huffed. "I know. But—" He put his hands on his hips and turned away from the doors, as if Ronnie would be right outside when they next opened. "It's been months. Nothing's changed about Autopsy. Jimmy happened to have it empty that week, and it's been that way ever since."

      The elevator dinged, and they stepped into the short hallway before Autopsy's doors. But Knight didn't enter just yet. "It's been months," she agreed, "…but you don't just get over the loss of family like that. It was her daughter, Alden."

      Parker's shoulders sagged. He didn't say anything to that, so they went inside.

      Where Autopsy before had been just another aspect of their jobs, its chill sterility creeped Knight out more than it ever had now. She knew Parker was right—none of the slabs held any bodies, no dead, no reanimated, not even any parts—but being here, while the world was falling to pieces, weighed her down and threatened to bring on a headache.

      Months, she'd had to remind him. It'd taken the world two full weeks to grasp the reality of the situation, that this wasn't some large prank orchestrated nationally or globally by some select, dedicated horror buffs with elaborate designs and too much time and money on their hands. In two full weeks, they'd seen countries fall and the rest descend into chaos, ordered and not.

      The U.S. was a bit of a mix. Certain leaders had bit the dust or disappeared altogether, at every level. …no agency had been spared, not even NCIS.

      Knight bit her lower lip as her thoughts drifted to Director Vance. Supposedly, he'd located Kayla and Jared and gone into hiding with them. But it'd been almost two months since Knight and Parker had heard from him, and Torres and Bishop were constantly on the move between agencies, so it wasn't likely that they'd heard from him or tracked him down yet either.

      But she shook her head free of such dismal thoughts. Bad enough that she was worried about not hearing from Torres in a while. She'd already brought up McGee's death once today. She didn't want to entertain any others right now.

      "Ah, found the wraps," Parker announced from the storage closet. He emerged with one in hand and tucking another into his pocket. He did a double-take at Knight's expression. "Jess?"

      "Hmm?"

      "Your face is flushed. What's wrong?"

      Tears threatened to spill forth, but Knight shook her head and went to the freezer. She pulled out two packs, tossing one to Parker and pressing the other to her eyes. The cold helped anchor her. "Nah, it's just me being in my head too much."

      Parker went quiet long enough that Knight pulled her head out of the freezer and stole a peek at him. He cocked his head to one side. "Who's on your mind right now?"

      Damn, he was so good at that… She laughed, which helped to beat back the tears. Knight returned the second ice pack and closed the freezer door. "All of them."

      They returned to the elevator, and Parker cleared his throat. "You know… Just because we're waiting to hear from Torres and Bishop…hell, even from Malone…doesn't mean you can't touch base with the others."

      Knight chuckled. "I dunno… Calls mostly are for emergencies in end times, Alden."

      "They don't have to be."

      She nodded. Maybe they didn't have to be, but Knight hated to admit that she was scared to call and get no answer.

      "…what people have deemed 'Z-Day' is, in fact, the zombie apocalypse—" one of the announcers began on ZNN early in the evening.

      But a second announcer cut in. "Please excuse my colleague for such language. We here at ZNN do not identify such things as being real. Zero Day, as dubbed by early researchers of the phenomenon, is of course the name for the inciting incident, five months ago, when the recently deceased began to regain movement in city morgues and in hospitals. Though currently we still have no medical treatment for the cause, scientists have been able to study a few viable samples, and they say the name 'Zero Day' is apt. Not unlike a software vulnerability, the 'reinfection,' as some are calling it, appears to stem from the uncontrolled regeneration of white blood cells, cells everyone has, meaning it's rather like a human software bug that these white blood cells on steroids are exploiting." The second announcer narrowed her eyes at the camera and adjusted the papers on her desk, which was showing its wear and tear from the small crew holing up at the television studio. She cleared her throat and continued, "Scientists, in the same vein as software developers, are desperate to come up with, at the very least, a patch. In the meantime, other researchers are more concerned with what precisely would spur white blood cells' behavior in this manner, going from causing cancer to causing a transformation—and if that's even a fraction of the whole picture."

      Knight pulled a face and leaned forward to grab the remote, but Sid beat her to it, and the Cyber agent clicked around, trying to find something a little less doom-and-gloom for them to watch on the screen in the bullpen while they waited for Francis and Hubley to return from their patrol.

      "You'd think, even a few months in, they'd have agreed on the source of what's going on," Sawyer griped, breaking the quiet of the room that was only moderately filled by the television's low volume.

      Each of the rest of them settled him with a dry look. Even Sid bothered to crane his neck up, since he still sat on the floor and Sawyer had dragged what used to be McGee's chair out into the middle of the room.

      "What?" Sawyer gestured at the television with a mild scowl. "It's just history repeating itself, you know."

      Ronnie groaned and started in with, "Dale, you have got to learn to read the room…," so Knight took that as her cue to get up and stretch her legs. And, her mind flashing back to her chat with Parker at lunchtime, she grabbed the satphone to bring with her.

      Knight headed upstairs. She walked past MTAC and Vance's office, the latter with a wince, and kept going until she reached an empty conference room. There, she closed the door behind her and moved towards the window. She checked outside.

      Nothing. That stained sky remained, but there was no movement.

      Knight checked the signal on the satphone's screen. Its strength was best here or up on the roof, but Knight kept her visits to the roof limited ever since Zero Day… She heaved a sigh and scrolled through the short list of saved contacts.

      It took two rings, but Delilah answered. "We're fine, Knight," she said by way of greeting.

      Knight blinked. "How'd you know it was me?"

      "Because, like clockwork, you call around suppertime, every other day." She sounded tired.

      There was an apology on the tip of Knight's tongue, but she withheld it; Delilah had heard a lot of those in the first few weeks since losing McGee. "How're things at Sarah's?"

      Delilah inhaled, paused, and exhaled. "Not…terrible. Could've been worse, holing up with my mother."

      Knight's eyes widened. How Delilah managed to find any humor in the situation, she'd love to know!

      "But I think it's good for the twins, to be with their aunt." She went quiet.

      Knight asked what she was supposed to ask: "How're the twins?"

      "The same," Delilah answered, her voice breaking so slightly. "Johnny cries when he stops to think about his dad, but Morgan's—she's withdrawn, Knight. She's here, but she's not, you know?" Delilah dropped her voice to a whisper. "…it's as if I've seen the light go out in my little girl's eyes."

      "Delilah…" Words escaped Knight. They all knew what had happened to the McGees… All the years she'd known Timothy McGee, it made sense to Knight that he sacrificed himself to ensure his wife and twins made it to safety at his sister's at the start of this mess. But no one could've counted on any in his family witnessing that sacrifice, like Morgan.

      Delilah sniffled and cleared her throat. "But, otherwise, we're okay. You and Parker?"

      Knight frowned. "We're all right. Still have our tiny crew here, and we've shored up defenses as best we can, so it's not the worst bunker in the world."

      "Good, good…"

      "I'll…let you go then, Delilah."

      "Yeah. Catch you in two nights' time."

      Knight smiled to herself. Had she become that predictable these past few months? "Oh, hold on."

      "Something up?"

      "Have you heard from Torres lately?"

      "Mm… Maybe last week? Nick said he'd arrange for more supplies soon and asked what we needed, but I heard Ellie bugging him in the background that he was overdue to pay Lucia and Amanda a visit, too. Maybe he's with his family."

      "Yeah, maybe… Thanks, Delilah."

      "Sure thing. Thanks for always checking in, Knight. Bye."

      The line went dead, and Knight tapped the satphone's antenna to her chin. Could that be it? Torres and Bishop had just…made a detour? She desperately wanted to believe it and not think of other possible outcomes, so Knight chose to bury those concerns under other priorities for now.

      Scrolling down a little further in the contact list, Knight selected another name—but then the phone beeped obnoxiously with an incoming text. And the text had arrived from that number:

-Jess?

      Knight furrowed her brow and quickly typed back:

-Jimmy? Kasie?

      The reply was a bigger surprise:

-Victoria

      Not entirely odd… Victoria of course was at home with her dad, who'd taken in Kasie and Piper, as well, when everything had gone to shit. But it still raised Knight's hackles that the kid and not one of the adults was texting on the satphone. And Knight tried to convey her curiosity without showing her concern:

-Hey, V. U guys running low on anything? Uncle Nick should b making delivery soon, this week or next. We're keeping a good lookout here, so we're safe.

      She wished she could conclude the message with a thumbs-up emoji, but, sadly, this satphone wasn't quite current enough. But perhaps the emoji wouldn't've helped, considering Victoria's next few texts:

-No, we're good on stuff

-but Aunt Kasie & Piper don't see it

-something's off about Dad

      Knight reread the last message five times before the words registered with her. She blindly groped for the back of the nearest chair and gripped it once she found it. Knight sank into the seat as another message came in:

-Aunt Jess?

      Right. She couldn't leave Victoria hanging. Knight's thumbs flew over the keypad:

-Tell me everything that happened. And then I want you to start sequestering your dad in another room—tell Kasie & Piper this is on my orders—and move whatever supplies you need out of the way.

      She didn't want to sound alarmist, but it felt right, especially as Victoria filled her in on Jimmy's "milk run" yesterday late in the morning on his own… Knight shook her head, because her friend was a fighter and resourceful, but he lacked training.

      When Victoria signed off (just a quick "Thanks"), Knight set the satphone down and rested her head atop her arms on the dusty conference table. So much for touching base with others to lift her spirits….

      Knight woke with a start, nightmares filled with gunshots and screams echoing in her ears as she sat up in the conference room. She checked the time on the satphone.

      Oh, thank fuck. She'd only been out for fifteen-ish minutes.

      She yawned and stretched her arms and back before getting to her feet. Knight tucked the phone into her pants pocket and exited the room. But, coming down the hallway, she spied a familiar silhouette walking towards her. She smiled and met him closer by the top of the staircase, and they leaned together on the railing, looking out over the office floor. "I was long," she admitted.

      "Yeah, I was coming to see if something were up," Parker remarked. He rested on his forearms with his hands loosely clasped. "And the verdict is?"

      Knight raised her eyebrows and twisted her lips around. But she didn't have the energy to explain it all, so she pulled the satphone from her pocket and scrolled to the top of her exchange with Victoria. Then she passed the device to him.

      Parker read every last line. "…oh," he said, his voice low and final.

      "Yeah, 'oh.'" Knight took the phone back. Then she stood up straight and gripped the railing hard enough to turn her knuckles whiter than—well, than the way Parker's Oxfords used to look, before they'd begun holing up here, reduced to half a dozen outfits each and little means to clean anything. "It's like Tim all over again. We're not going to have the chance to say goodbye to Jimmy either, Alden."

      "I know."

      Still, she sighed. "I…don't even know how I can still get angry. Half our NCIS family is gone or going. The same goes for my blood relatives, the ones who aren't staying safe on the water, avoiding all this for now." Knight looked Parker's way.

      He nodded. "Trust me, Jess, I get it. My family's faring little better."

      She frowned and released the railing, moving to touch his nearer arm. "Oh, Alden, I didn't mean—"

      But Parker shook his head. "I'm lucky Viv still considers me a friend and took Dad into hiding with her. But Roman Parker was a crotchety curmudgeon when I was a kid and that wasn't going to change now. So he got antsy from being holed up and went outside when Viv's back was turned and got bit." He shrugged, but that hard line had returned to his jaw. His father's death was still too fresh and raw.

      Knight pinched his sleeve and rested her forehead on his shoulder. They stood together like that for a few moments, quiet, tired, and worn out. It was hard not to feel those things ten times over, really, when they kept replaying their losses like a scratched DVD. The comparison got Knight thinking, though. "I think…I've had enough dwelling on the past for this lifetime."

      Her words piqued his curiosity. Parker did half a turn, resting on one elbow on the railing now and facing her. "This lifetime?" He raised his eyebrows. "Dreaming of what life would look like if none of this"—he waved out at the floor, but Knight knew he meant outside the building—"had happened?"

      Knight blinked, not expecting Parker to take her idea and run with it. But the idea now felt so absurd, she almost wanted to laugh. "Oh, God. Can you imagine a different world? Just…no reanimated corpses. Just regular cases." She paused, squinting while her thoughts churned. "Or, bizarre in a different way. Instead of dead sailors, we investigate, I dunno, a storage container full of—cheese."

      One of those eyebrows sank as Parker settled her with a skeptical stare. "Cheese, Jess?"

      "What? So I'm hungry."

      His pink complexion grew rosier and his dimples made an appearance under his whiskers the harder he tried to stifle his laughter, especially when she smacked him in the arm for laughing at her.

      Little moments of levity like these were the only things Knight tried to hold on to anymore, though. The weeks had quickly built up into months, but the days were running together since everything seemed to be on repeat.

      Her imagination didn't seem that farfetched or anything like a laugh to her, though. Before Zero Day, NCIS headquarters had been just that—headquarters. Ronnie and Sawyer covered the night shift, Sid and Piper were still down in Cyber, Hubley was still wet behind his ears as a field agent and was considering returning to Cyber, Francis was a glorified paper-pusher who should've had his shot with the MCRT under Gibbs' supervision back in the day, and the MCRT… Well, the MCRT was Parker's and had been for a few years now, Knight thought with another glance to the man beside her. McGee had only just started talking about switching gears and setting aside the fieldwork, for the sake of his family, and Torres seemed itching to leave NCIS and pursue the nonexistent trail Bishop had left years ago.

      But Knight was still going to be here, at Parker's side, MCRT or no. Which reminded her… "C'mon, we might as well catch some shuteye now, while Sawyer and Sid head out for the nighttime patrol." She pecked his cheek and got him turned around to march downstairs.

      Parker huffed. "Tell me again why we took the morning shift…," he groused.

      She smiled at his back. "Obviously, because you're a morning person, Alden. Pastries in the office every morning? Then it was pastries at the little coffee klatch near your place on the weekends… Hell, sometimes it was pastries and coffee to end the night." Knight chuckled and poked him in the back. "You made a morning person out of me, you know."

      Despite all his grumping, Parker couldn't hide that smug smile of his. Yeah, he knew.

      Had the skies been clearer, they would've revealed the bright sun of the not-too-early morning this October day. But that green–gray tint clung to the clouds, even when Knight and Parker woke before their colleagues and friends in order to suit up.

      More than five months ago, "suiting up" would've been as simple as grabbing one's go bag and NCIS jacket and cap. Nowadays, Knight, Parker, and the others didn't bother with too much of their branded gear. Instead, they made use of some spare REACT body armor that had been available in the building at the time—Torres and Bishop hadn't been able to bring them more pieces yet, so no one had a full set—and they constantly combed the armory for weapons and ammunition, hoping to find useful items they'd missed on initial searches.

      They had a limited number of rifles and more handguns than that, but Knight wasn't as concerned about the ammunition, since that was one supply Torres and Bishop always managed to come through for them and have along with each delivery. Even if their group didn't see the couple until next week, they should still have enough ammo to last until the end of the month, used smartly.

      Knight finished adjusting her body armor (which covered her torso, her arms, her shins, and the front of her thighs…it'd have to do) and wound her hair up into a bun to keep it from swinging free into her face. She glanced across the small ground floor office-turned-equipment room and motioned to Parker with a jerk of her chin. "You good to go?"

      He pursed his lips but nodded. Parker did well keeping his calm, easygoing attitude in front of the others, but he didn't fake his fear with Knight, not after all this time. And, especially in the last several weeks, as more and more bad news reached them, he'd gone quiet when they prepped to head out each morning.

      Knight strapped on her SIG and slipped two spare magazines into her pocket before slinging her sniper's rifle across her chest. Then she held a hand out to Parker.

      Parker tucked spare magazines into his vest and placed two SIGs in separate holsters at each hip. A third one waited for him within reach on the nearby table, but he took Knight's hand first and drew her towards him, seizing the rare bit of privacy to kiss her.

      Knight lingered in the kiss, her head angled up, their foreheads resting together. Then she patted his scruffy cheek and broke away. "It won't be long," she reminded him, her tone light.

      He exhaled, trying to cover his huff. But Parker led the way out of the small office out into the lobby. He paused by the doors and, at Knight's signal, unlocked the heavy chains holding them together.

      Patrol wasn't a game, even though that was Sid's closest experience with heavy weapons until now, since he hadn't gone through FLETC as the rest of them had. But even for the most experienced agents like Knight and Parker, there was no real way to prepare for…this.

      "This" was the horrid stench that came with the tainted sky and foul-looking streets. Knight coughed as she stepped outside with Parker and wondered if they'd ever get used to the reek. "I know they confirmed it's not an airborne pathogen, but I still wouldn't turn down a gas mask if Nick comes across a box of them," she bitched to Parker.

      "Seconded," he said. But then he briefly touched her back, locking eyes with her, and slowly began his prowl out front, his eyes peeled for odd movements.

      Knight frowned. Patrol was the rare time when she and Parker had to split up, as he covered the front perimeter and she walked the rest since she was faster with the rifle. Even knowing it was the best use of their skills, she didn't have to like it. But Knight swung her rifle around into her hands anyway and got to walking.

      More than hating the current stench of grime and rot, which was hard to forget when sometimes one stepped and heard a stomach-churning squelch underfoot, Knight missed the saltiness of the air of the Navy Yard. She headed towards the motor pool, aiming to round the building eventually, but her eyes darted left, wishing she'd look out and see water beyond the gross, hazy fog. Hell, maybe if she wished hard enough, she'd hear the crashing waves.

      But, since Zero Day, there'd been an eerie nothingness. No waves, no wind, barely a rustled leaf. Just…nothing.

      The only sounds were the ones Knight made. Dead, mostly wet leaves squished under her feet as she walked across slick pavement. Her rifle made small clinks as it gently bounced against her chest and in her hands. The earwig connecting her to Parker via radio hummed lowly in her ear.

      She made it past the motor pool. The garage doors were sealed up tight, and their group of survivors staying here hadn't tried using the vehicles in inventory to go anywhere precisely because there was nowhere to go. No, the cars were better served as parts, if Torres and Bishop needed them for themselves or people elsewhere, or even just as a change of scenery. Usually, Knight and Parker slept in their chairs or in sleeping bags in the bullpen close by Ronnie and the rest. But, every now and then, it was nice to get away and pretend they were someplace else.

      Knight definitely could go for someplace else. She meant what she'd said to Parker earlier, about being done dwelling on what had transpired. But she wasn't exactly done imagining… Yes, Greece was one of the several countries that had fallen hard from the start, but Knight liked to think that, in that other life, she could see her dream, could have a vacation in Grecian waters with a handsome, whiskered silver fox at her side, laughing as he turned red as a lobster in the sun—

      Her ears pricked up when she heard the softest of snaps.

      She whirled around. Had that come from behind? Knight scanned the view behind her, tracking it with her rifle, but she saw nothing.

      Knight faced forward again and rounded the building, getting behind the motor pool. That either had been her imagination or the earwig, well, wigging out. She tapped on the comm just to make sure. "Alden?"

      No answer.

      Her pulse sped up, her mind filling in the blanks as to what the yard in front of NCIS might look like right then. She pressed on the comm again. "Alden, come on, answer me."

      Was it her stupid heart racing? She couldn't even hear the earwig's electric hum anymore.

      Knight turned heel and began jogging back. Their patrol was screwed, whether Knight didn't finish it or Parker were hurt. But, even knowing they had more people inside to protect, there was still a whole building for their friends to hide in; they had time. Parker didn't.

      As she picked up speed and ran, Knight fumbled with the battery pack in her vest. She plucked it out—and the damn light was out. Sonuvabitch, they'd checked their comms before coming outside, and the batteries had worked twenty minutes ago, but they must not have had enough juice, and—

      Her thoughts vanished the next second, for something slammed into Knight, hard as a concrete wall, sending her flying when she was halfway back to the front of the building.

      Instinctively, Knight clung to her gun and tucked her head in as she rolled, shoulder over shoulder, as if she'd been sent merrily down a hill. But this was part of the NCIS lot, not some damn hill out of a jaunty children's book, and she wasn't a little kid come out to play with her friends. When she came to a stop and got her bearings, Knight pushed herself upright with her free hand and searched for the source of her pain.

      There. Barely thirty yards away.

      One of the reanimated.

      "Fuck," she mumbled under her breath. Knight struggled to her feet, her eyes never breaking from its gaze. Even when she got her rifle aimed, she didn't break the eye contact…if it could be called that.

      There was footage of the reanimated, of course, but seeing one up close and personal was a new sensation. The skin was pulled taut over bones and decaying muscles, and the color was all wrong; Knight was put in mind of the rare floaters that appeared on Jimmy's autopsy table, bloated and a desaturated blue–green from all the chemicals and microorganisms that would enter a victim's body when submerged underwater for too long.

      Knight didn't waste another second. She pulled the trigger—but the gun jammed. Her heart and eyes fell, and her panic swelled. The rifle must've taken her tumble harder than she realized.

      The reanimated being took her movement as an opportunity. Its neck cracked as it turned its head impossibly at a ninety-degree angle, and other of its joints crackled and groaned when the reanimated took one step forward.

      "Oh, no, you don't!" Knight growled at the thing, swinging the rifle around so the stock was out of her hands and at the ready to use as a bat. She took a running step forward and swung.

      But the reanimated cracked its head the other direction and ducked her attack as it closed in, broken claws outstretched to grab her.

      Knight swung the rifle around and swiped the arms away, but she went down with the damn monster on top of her. She clenched her teeth and pushed the rifle against its neck, keeping the gnashing teeth above her barely six inches from her face.

      If this thing turned out not to be here alone…

      Knight wouldn't last in this current stalemate either, though, she knew that. Her mind spun until it settled on one crazy idea. The next second, she pushed the rifle against the reanimated's neck with just her left hand and clawed her right thigh for her SIG.

      The monster took the opening and pressed in closer to her, sliding down her body.

      Bile rose in the back of her throat. Her thumb shook to get the safety off—

      —teeth sank in to the side of her right thigh, beyond the protection of her body armor, and she bit back her scream and closed her eyes—

      —Knight got the safety off and unleashed one, two, three, four rounds into the reanimated's left eye socket—

      —finally, the thing stopped moving. Knight's blood, red and fresh, dribbled out of its mouth, and she spied some of her skin between its teeth, but the burst eye and leaking vitreous fluid were sure things. She could even see through the new hole in its head as she rolled it off her.

      Two thoughts struck her at once. Not one before the other, but at the same time and with equal weight:

      Parker would've heard those gunshots and would come running, the yard patrol be damned.

      And she couldn't let him see this wound.

      So Knight got to work and fast. Since the reanimated had sent her into the lot, she stumbled to her feet and dragged the true corpse closer to the building, behind the bushes. She had no bandages on her, but she'd take care of that once she made it back inside. For now—

      She glanced at her mutilated leg. The blood made barely a stain against the black of her jeans.

      Knight yanked off her boot and pulled off her sock, using it to cover over the wound. She hissed—stitches weren't going to make up for a missing chunk of thigh—but it'd do for now. At a glance, it was barely noticeable, that there was even a hole in her pants. So Knight crammed her foot back into her boot and returned her attention to the true corpse.

      Just in case, she flipped her rifle again. Then she jammed the butt of her gun against the head, smashing it over and over and over, until bits and pieces detached from the neck. There was nothing to reanimate when she was done.

      Knight wiped the rifle butt on nearby grass and emerged from behind the bushes. She jogged back towards the front and, unsurprisingly, Parker met her halfway.

      Parker's brow was furrowed, his eyes wide and his gun drawn. He lowered it two inches when he found Knight. "Jess, what the hell?! I heard gunshots!"

      She nodded. "I got one," she said. Knight put it out of her mind, the memory of being blindsided. "But it's fine. I took care of it." She cocked her head, indicating the spot behind her shoulder.

      For thirty seconds, Parker said nothing. Finally, he lowered his gun the rest of the way. "…all right."

      Knight gave him a tight smile. Then she blinked and held up her rifle. "Oh, hey. We need to duck back in. Thought this one was all good, but it jammed. Had to use my SIG. I'd rather have a working rifle strapped to my back than a gun-shaped baseball bat."

      He narrowed his eyes, but eventually he nodded, and the couple made their way back inside. Parker remained by the equipment room's door, though, while Knight swapped out her gun. "Jess, is that really all?"

      "Yeah, why?"

      "You look anxious as hell." His frown was small and concerned when she glimpsed it.

      But Knight shook her head and shrugged. "Meeting one of those things was not fun," she said with a forced smile and laugh.

      "Does that thing explain your leg then?"

      She froze. But Knight didn't stop smiling. "Kinda." Knight slipped the strap of a working rifle over her head. "It happened during the fight. I scraped my leg on a broken bit of brick out there," she fibbed. But she met his eyes and hoped he wouldn't press the topic.

      Parker held her gaze. He grimaced, but he gave her a curt nod. "All right," he said, accepting her truth, and he turned to lead the way back outside.

      But, behind him, Knight's heart broke a little, lying to him…but also that Parker wholeheartedly believed her.

      He'll know the truth soon enough, she thought as they descended the steps outside the brick building. It's only a matter of time.

      Their morning ended the way it should've: uneventfully.

      Knight and Parker had no further sightings of reanimated, and Parker didn't press her again on her earlier tussle. But she thought she caught him sparing her a few extra glances, so she mustered a tired but true smile for him, a sign that she was all right.

      Inside, everyone else was awake and waiting for them, and Ronnie and Hubley wore matching expressions of concern. "We heard gunshots," Ronnie said.

      "We're all good," Knight assured them. "What's for breakfast?"

      Francis held up an untouched plate. "It was going to be bagels, but they've gone stale, so water and protein bars again, plus a fruit purée pouch from Torres' ration stash, if you like."

      Parker looked around at the others. "Just—stale bagels? Not moldy?"

      They shrugged and nodded in response.

      Parker held his hand out for the plate. "All right, gimme. We have 'stale' bagels and a working microwave. I can make these things edible again," he promised. He turned for the kitchen but paused beside Knight. "Jess, breakfast?"

      "Mm, not yet. I'll hit the showers first. But save a bagel for me, thanks."

      "Got it." And, without hesitation, he brushed his lips against her temple before leaving the room.

      That had her doing a double-take. Parker was friendly with everyone, but she'd never known him to be good with PDA in their romance… Nevertheless, Knight decided to chock it up to their stressful morning and grabbed her gym bag from under her desk on her way to the showers.

      A shower was a luxury, especially since Sid and Francis had gotten the filtration system back up and running and they needed as much water as possible redirected to the faucets for drinking. But Knight had to wash the morning off her. Not to mention—

      She locked the door to the women's locker room and dropped onto the closest bench. With some effort, Knight shimmied out of her jeans and peeled away the sock-as-gauze covering. She snapped a hand over her nose and mouth when air hit her wound.

      Dried blood tracked down her thigh and over her knee, but the bite mark itself shockingly had stopped bleeding. The mark… Knight's thoughts went right back to outside, because once more something was the wrong color. The reanimated had taken a chunk out of her an hour ago, but no way should the torn skin look burnt brown, nor the flesh underneath rotten, that same kind of rancid green one might find when meat's been sitting too long in the fridge.

      Worse, her nose caught the faintest whiff of earthiness. Knight checked her jeans and the used sock, as well the rest of her clothing. Only the sock smelled the least bit like it. When Knight hunched over, getting her nose as close as she could stand to the wound on her thigh, the stench grew.

      That turning earthiness was her.

      Knight sat up slowly, her shoulders sinking. There was no way she'd be able to hide the smell forever, no matter how many showers she took or how hard she scrubbed.

      Nevertheless, Knight shed the rest of this morning's outfit and hobbled into the nearest stall. She bit down on her knuckle when the lukewarm water hit the bite mark, but Knight took several calming breaths and focused on that to get her through her task. In, out, in, out—there wasn't much dirt or sweat to wash away, but the rest of her felt a smidgeon better afterwards.

      At least until her eyes landed on her wound in the mirror.

      Knight quickly dressed. She didn't have a proper bandage mixed in with her belongings, but she selected her darkest t-shirt and tore it into strips. She wasn't going to need that shirt in the near future, but keeping this bite mark hidden was a top priority. Even with a spare pair of jeans to change into, she still needed this damn thing covered, just in case someone else had as good a sense of smell as did she.

      Finished, Knight stood and walked around on her injured leg. …it hurt like hell, and she hobbled when exhausted, but she could fake it for a little while longer, before the infection turned her.

      She took a deep, shaky breath and gritted her teeth, trying not to think of how much longer she had. Knight shouldered her bag and exited the showers, and she smiled when she returned to the main floor and heard sounds of laughter.

      "What'd I miss?" she asked when she rounded the short cubicle wall and slid her bag back underneath her desk.

      "Sharing FLETC stories since Sid never had the opportunity," Francis answered with a grin. He jabbed a thumb in Hubley's direction. "We all have our ups and downs, but Curtis here really takes the cake."

      "I did not mean to discharge my weapon at the instructor's feet—it was the firearm malfunctioning!" Hubley rushed to explain, sending another ripple of chuckles through their group.

      Knight couldn't help grinning, too, and the lighter moment made her feel more present and less preoccupied with her predicament.

      While Sawyer launched into the tale of what he assured them was a "near-perfect score" at training, Parker came over and slid a plate of food over to Knight. "As you wished," he murmured, a hint of a smirk on his lips.

      Knight returned the smirk. "Paraphrasing Westley now, are we?"

      "You've sat through every last Terminator movie and series with me and are still here. The least I could do was watch The Princess Bride with you, Jess."

      She snorted around a mouthful of bagel. "I'm not the one quoting it, though."

      He shrugged. "Well, true. The Princess Bride may not be sci-fi, but it's practically required watching for anyone who likes movies." That smirk was full-blown now. "Besides, Westley's not a bad guy to emulate, last I knew."

      Knight shook her head, but her eyes lingered on his. She found it hard to swallow and maintain her smile. "No…no, he's not."

      Parker quirked an eyebrow and brushed back a damp lock of hair behind her ear that had fallen forward, since she'd left it down to finish air-drying after her shower. Yet again, he did this in plain view of their friends, and Knight thought she saw Ronnie glimpse and quickly avert her eyes to the otherwise private moment.

      Even if Parker were being more deliberate in his actions, Knight swore to herself right then that she'd have a few more hours. She just wanted until the end of today with Parker.

      And then she'd head to her thinking spot on the roof, alone and armed.

      All to keep him safe.

      Even with her mind set, Knight found today dragging on, but she quickly put her finger on why.

      At lunchtime, when Ronnie and Sawyer were set to head out on patrol, Parker piped up, "Hey, you two—double-check the rifles you use."

      They and Knight stared at him, and Ronnie scoffed. "Uh, something I'm missing, Parker?"

      "Not a call on technique, I assure you." He glanced at Knight and briefly ducked his eyes before nodding at the nightshift pair. "Jess' jammed this morning, so I want us all taking extra precautions in going over the weapons we select."

      "Oh." Ronnie's shoulders slackened, and she nodded. "Thanks for the head's up." She narrowed her eyes at Knight. "Damn, Knight—you really took out one of those things with your pistol?"

      Knight mustered a grin, to which Ronnie made an impressed face and Sawyer whistled. "But, when in doubt, a rifle makes a great bat!" she added, and the pair chuckled at her humble attitude before they left. Then Knight turned around and settled Parker with a tiny glare. "Was there really no other way to alert them?"

      He rubbed her upper arms, but the gesture wasn't comforting like usual. "We've all gotta know how to protect our sixes, Jess."

      She grumbled under her breath, but he did have a point.

      Still, it wasn't just him being more vocal then. When everyone was together later in the day, too, and Francis had stepped upstairs while borrowing the satphone to check on family, and Sid once more tried doom-surfing the remaining dozen channels on the television, Parker sat closer to Knight than normal in the bullpen.

      That one actually took her a moment, because she was so accustomed to them lazing together at home that she didn't realize she was half leaning out of her chair and into Parker. It wasn't until she'd reached up to toy with his fingers that Knight became aware he'd slung an arm around her shoulders. They really must look as if they were cozy like two people at home in their own little world!

      And, driving that fact, er, home was Ronnie catching her eye and subsequently raising her eyebrows. Ronnie smiled a bit, too, before looking away and chatting with Sawyer, but still.

      Knight pushed Parker's hand away and sat up. She tried scooting her chair away, too, but something caught in the wheels. She glanced down.

      Ah. Parker had his foot wedged under one of the legs.

      Knight slowly met his unamused stare.

      Without a word, Parker pointed upstairs. He waited for Knight to stand first, and they ignored the others as they climbed the stairs, passing Francis on his way down. But Parker and Knight weren't simply heading to the next floor.

      No, Parker continued to the silver-plated retinal scanner and stood before it. The scan took, and the door to MTAC opened. He stepped aside and let Knight in first.

      When the door closed, Parker stuck his hands in his pockets and blew out a slow breath. "Want to tell me why you're antsy around me today, Jess?"

      Knight stared at the big, empty screen, wishing it would come alive with happy news for once. "You're weirdly affectionate today," she blurted, still facing away from him.

      "Okay… I thought that's one way for people in love to show their feelings. Unless that's changed?"

      His tone in asking that made Knight turn. She hated seeing his frown. "Alden, no. That hasn't changed. I'm just—" Knight bit her lower lip. "You're suddenly quite affectionate with me in front of everyone else, is what I mean. It's strange. Normally, you're PDA-averse."

      She expected annoyance or anger. Instead, Alden Parker's fear was plain as day in his features, deepening the lines around his eyes and even the dimples she loved so much that appeared whether he smiled or frowned. He blinked once, twice, and it took her a second to understand why: Parker, normally brave Parker, was fighting back tears. "…because I know I'm losing you."

      Her blood turned to ice. "What?"

      "Not because we're holed up here." Parker took a step forward; she took a step back. "You've been off since this morning's patrol." His eyes roved over her, sadly. "The thing that came after you—it got you in the leg, didn't it?"

      Knight opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She coughed and licked her lips. "I—"

      "I'm not stupid. And it's not easy to hide, Jess. Least of all from me."

      "But—!"

      Parker took another step and a half forward. "With each hour that passes, I feel as though I just have more proof. You're literally turning cold as ice, no matter how much I warm you up." He rubbed her upper arms once more and pouted.

      Ah. So that explained part of today's coziness. Knight's chest ached, being told that he'd known the truth all along. Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she clutched the front of his shirt. "…I lied to you, Alden. I'm so sorry," she said, shaking her head.

      He shrugged. "Easily forgiven, considering the circumstances."

      Knight stared up into his eyes, feeling incredibly lucky to be holding down this fort with him, knowing it had to be hard for the others downstairs without their loved ones, knowing it probably hurt as much as it helped Delilah to hear from her and Parker all the time as it did to see Torres and Bishop in the wake of her loss.

      Parker rested his forehead against hers, sighing a little. His nose brushed hers, too, and he leaned in closer—

      —but Knight blocked his kiss with her hand. "No, we don't—we don't know—" She couldn't bear to finish the sentence. It wasn't an airborne pathogen, no, but it was spread through bites. As far as they knew, any sort of contact with saliva…anything…

      "Hmm. Well, do you feel ravenous?"

      That threw her. "?? No?" Knight stared at him as if Parker had two heads.

      "A shame. And here we have MTAC all to ourselves."

      She blushed. How this scoundrel could turn a morbid joke into a sexual one and muster a smirk during this heightened tension, she would love to know…!

      Still, Parker remained right here in front of her, not ready to move away. And, despite the brief spot of dark humor, his gaze was still heavy-lidded and morose.

      So Knight conceded with a slight turn of her head, letting Parker kiss her cheek. The temptation was real, though, with his mouth so close to her lips. But she didn't want to risk it, to risk him.

      Parker exhaled, his breath tickling her cheek and rustling her hair, and he squeezed her against him, but this amount of intimacy would have to do.

      It would have to do for both of them, Knight knew as she squeezed him back and inhaled his scent, not yet ready to return downstairs.

      Parker's pain was something Knight shared in as the day bled into evening.

      But it was not her sole pain as the hours ticked by.

      After discussing the severity of the situation, they returned downstairs at Knight's behest. "I don't want to alarm any of them," she'd told Parker earlier in the day.

      He, of course, had settled her with one of his I-Am-Not-Amused stares, but he relented. Parker wasn't wholly content with idling away her remaining hours, but he would rather spend them together then not at all. At the very least, he got Knight to come around to his open affection, since it'd be the last.

      But, when evening arrived, Knight began to feel pain, emanating from her leg. She was standing one second, bickering with Hubley over who got which dehydrated meat for dinner, and then Knight yanked her desk chair under her the next, for fear she might collapse.

      Hubley eyed her strangely. "Uhh, Parker?" he called.

      Parker rounded the corner, returning from the restroom, and his eyes widened a fraction when they landed on Knight. But he kept his calm and walked up to them as though he meant to be part of the dinner conversation. "What, Hubley?"

      Hubley furrowed his brow and looked between the two, confused. "I, uh—"

      Knight forced a smile to her face. "Curtis, I'll set aside some turkey for you, I promise. Now please get a move on, because no one does patrol alone, and you're due right now with Francis. So get going, yeah?"

      The former Cyber agent pursed his lips, thoroughly befuddled, but he skedaddled as instructed anyway. And, with Ronnie in the break room, Sawyer upstairs borrowing the satphone, and Sid taking a nap elsewhere, Parker and Knight had a rare moment in the bullpen to themselves. Parker didn't waste it. "Why did we just fake Hubley out?"

      "Because I'm in a shit-ton of pain and I'm a crap actress, Alden."

      His face fell. Parker knelt before her and eyed her bad leg. "So…it's spreading."

      Knight nodded. "Yeah."

      Parker heaved an angry sigh. "I wish we knew how long. Of all the millions of things the experts don't know, it's how long."

      Knight leaned forward and cupped his cheek with her hand. "They've noted a bunch of quick cases, but there are too many factors. Health. Metabolism." She shrugged. "Maybe even the will to fight it." At that, her smile turned genuine. "I'm crap at acting, but you know I'm a fighter, Alden."

      He chuckled, but it was a wet sound. Parker covered her hand with one of his. "Yeah… Yeah, I do know."

      "Hey. Promise me this?"

      Parker peered up at her quizzically.

      "Once it gets really bad…keep me away from the others. Ronnie already lost her daughter, so she'd freak, seeing me like this. And I want to go out on my own terms."

      Parker closed his eyes, squeezing them shut tight, long enough that Knight thought he'd turn her down. "As you wish," he uttered, his head low, his brow touching her knees.

      Knight's heart surprisingly felt light, hearing his answer, knowing he saw the reason in her request. So she leaned down and pressed a soft kiss atop his head.

      The pain began in her leg, and it spread like tree roots, thirsty for her life.

      Slowly, slowly it became harder to stand. That was easy enough to solve, with her rolling desk chair right there in the bullpen. But then came the shooting pain up her sides, shooting up high and descending down into her arms.

      That was harder to hide. Those pains made Knight's hands convulse, and she endeavored to hide her hands in her lap, under her desk.

      By the time of the nighttime shift, as Sawyer and Sid prepped to head out and the others got ready to hit the lights and the hay, Knight noticed something new. In the light of her desk lamp, she was the wrong color.

      Was she seeing things now?

      Another wave of pain crashed through her, and Knight winced and gritted her teeth, knocking into her lamp. Parker was beside her in an instant, and she vaguely grasped the excuses he offered Ronnie, Francis, and Hubley as he escorted her to the men's room, where he could see her in better light and, more importantly, lock the door.

      "Jess, hey, Jess," Parker said, guiding her to the counter.

      Knight bent over the sink. The pain was bad enough she wanted to hurl. But just leaning on the edge, gripping it, steadied her. "Yeah. Yeah, Alden, I'm. I'm okay. I'm here."

      But Parker was running the tap, and he had it turned completely to the left until steam emerged. He touched her, ran his fingers under the hot water, and touched her skin again to compare. "…Jess, you are not okay."

      She lifted her head and eyed the people in the glass' reflection. In it, she saw Parker, same as ever yet more concerned than ever. Yet, beside him, she saw a woman she didn't recognize. She looked like a woman an artist had painted if given a vague, poor description of Jessica Knight. Her complexion was waxy, yellow and washed out…lacking warmth. And her hair, dark though it was, hung dull and limp; it looked as if it might begin falling out.

      "Jess—"

      "You promised," she reminded him. A shock tore through her, and her back arched as she bit back a cry of pain.

      Parker caught her before she could fall or crack her head open on the counter ledge. "Jess, please…"

      "Move me," she rasped. Knight licked her lips and clung to his arm. "Move me away from everyone else. If I can't make it on my own, get me to the roof."

      Despite his fretting, Parker got her right arm over his shoulders and unlocked the door. He checked the corridor and shuffled the two of them out since the coast was clear. They took the back stairwell, though, since anything else would catch their friends' attention.

      It was just a few flights of stairs, but those flights drained Knight of her remaining energy. For the last few steps, Parker all but carried her in his arms, including through the door that led outside.

      Yet…the air didn't hit her as it usually did tonight. Knight exhaled a tiny sigh of relief in the cool, damp air.

      "Ha, maybe I just needed some fresh air," she joked as Parker set her down against the brickwork beside the door.

      The cloud coverage filtered light, so it never got very bright or very dark anymore, and Knight therefore caught the little glare Parker shot her way for her ill attempt at humor. He settled down beside her, one leg outstretched and the other drawn up. He rested his arm on his closer knee, gun in hand, just in case they learned tonight, of all nights, that these things did indeed know how to scale buildings. "Definitely not what I'd call 'fresh,'" he grumbled.

      Knight hummed and leaned against his side. "Maybe not. But I feel a little better. …thanks for bringing me outside, Alden."

      He was quiet for a whole minute. Then: "Do you intend to sleep out here tonight?"

      Knight opened her eyes and stared at the brick wall in front of her. "I don't exactly have a choice. It won't be long."

      Parker didn't comment.

      Knight closed her eyes again and, eventually, she nodded off, matching her breathing with his…and then slowing it down…and dreaming, once more, of other lifetimes…

      When Knight's eyes snapped open, she had no clue how much time had passed, but she knew:

      The time was now.

      A fresh wave of pain rolled through her, primarily through her back and shoulders, into her neck—but it wasn't entirely pain. No, this something else was different and had Knight shoving Parker away while she shot to her feet, fighting the turn for real.

      Behind her, Parker stood. "Jess—"

      But she shoved him again, never minding the frailty that came with his age. She backed away from him with a frown, nearing the short brick wall that edged the roof.

      Again, he stood. "Jess, don't do it," he begged. "We'll—We'll figure something out. Maybe there's something the researchers are developing and haven't released yet. Maybe you have more time than you realize! You've been fighting this all day—don't give up now!"

      Knight climbed onto the ledge and narrowed her eyes at him, palming her gun.

      But Parker ran for her. He reached out for her—

      —and some part of her reached out for him, too, and managed to snag the front of his shirt—

      —they locked eyes, his going wide and white and round (was it fear? was it concern, for the one he lovingly called "Jess"?)—

      —right before she took those two steps backwards off the ledge.

Full trigger warnings (including spoilers): Zombies/zombie apocalypse, psychological horror, character death (implied and/or mentioned), discussion of death, consideration of self-harm/suicide (which is implied to occur), murder, and gore/graphic violence.

WELL. Happy Halloween? :O In the closing A/N to my oneshot, "Zeptosecond," I mentioned that I believe the two biggest challenges a shipper can write are breaking an OTP up and OTP death (either or both partners), and that I'd never write the latter. Then I got to thinking about Halloween coming up…and originally I had a more lighthearted, silly idea ("Who would even survive the zombie apocalypse of the current team?"). But then my muse took the dial, cranked it up to eleven, and ripped the fucking knob off, because I know for certain that, while I've written charrie death in other stories/fandoms, I sure af have never written anything like this. So—challenge met! That said, and triggers noted, my heart does rly hurt to think about what these charries might do for their loved ones at the end of the world, hence painting the picture I did for the McGees, for Ellick, for the Palmers, and, yeah, for Parknight, too. Nearly every action taken, tho, is an act of love. The only thing I want you, my readers, to doubt is that ambiguous ending. Was that Knight pulling Parker off the roof with her or one of the newly reanimated about to take his life, too? Was Parker about to see a chance to save her or at least save himself because, perhaps, he realized he'd already lost the love of his life? :3c I'll never tell~ This is, in some ways, both trick and treat. ;}

As for some housekeeping: Btw, I actually delayed another monster-sized (but not monster AU XD) fic to get this done in time for the holiday, so yay for long Parknights! :D All charries mentioned in the story are canon minor charries, with Sid, Piper, and Curtis Hubley being the newest additions from s19 (Ronnie Tyler and Dale Sawyer ofc have made several appearances and Tony Francis had cameos yrs ago during the Gibbs era—poor beefy guy rly was curious about joining Gibbs' team!). So there are a lot of Easter eggs/nods to canon for fans of all eras/seasons. :') I'm not certain whether it's stated that Cyber agents deffo have to pass FLETC same as field agents, so pls take Sid's lack of training with a grain of salt. Parker's mention of Westley and Parknight's brief chat about The Princess Bride is just an allusion meant to highlight Parker tryna be Knight's hero, ofc. :'D Also, Parker's "ravenous" joke srsly is just a play on the word's definition; it deffo was not a vore joke. XD The fic's title is also a spin on the awesome hit by R.E.M., "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"—I grew up with this song and it honestly never loses relevance, no matter the crisis. But, interestingly enough, and as with my other story, "through and through," the vibes for this story were influenced by some of my fav survival/horror videogames, such as the BioShock series, Amnesia, the Silent Hill franchise, and the Resident Evil franchise (altho I deffo prefer RE's explanation of zombies to mine, *lol* XD). Finally, the soft, melancholic tunes of the album Balance by softy & Kendall Miles got me through this fic, and I just. Have a listen and have some feels. c: Aaaand, with this fic, I've officially written more than 100,000 words of Parknight content~ -w-

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

[the-old-witch-writes]

title: “just a little bit”

fandom: One Piece

pairing(s): sadist!luffy x reader (gender isn't specified but there's a mention of pussy/vagina)

summary: luffy would never describe himself as a sadist. actually, he doesn’t even know what that word means! he just knows that he really, really, really likes how you react whenever he does certain things, like making you cry—but only a little bit. (cue shifty eyes)

rating: Explicit (ish?) (still, mdni)

content warning/tags: sadistic thoughts, luffy being possessive and maybe a bit of a yandere, sexual content, degradation (in thoughts), dacryphilia, use of “Bunny” as a nickname, “baby” as pet name, no use of y/n, overstimulation, mild choking, biting, blood mention, reader might be a masochist—but only a little bit, and by that I mean a whole lot lmao, yes Luffy is ooc and I don't care, completely self-indulgent, pls don't take this seriously 

added as a chapter to "even in her helplessness" on AO3...still anonymous tho lmao

~1~

of all things to use as an adjective, Monkey D. Luffy would never describe himself as a sadist.

matter of fact, he doesn’t even know what that word means! when Traffy throws the accusation of him of being such one day—specifically, after seeing how he acts around you—he just tilts his head and hums with owlish eyes, very confused but also suddenly very curious. so, of course, he does what he always does whenever he doesn’t understand a word—he asks certain members of his crew.

most of his usuals don’t really give him an answer:

Nami blushes and demands to know where he learned this word and who she needs to beat up for “corrupting” him—a question Luffy refuses to answer, because he actually likes Law and wouldn’t like to see him beaten and bloodied by his mercurial navigator.

Sanji blushes even more, his voice refusing to work for a good moment before he spins on his heel and runs back to the galley.

Zoro bursts out laughing, insanely enough, and he keeps laughing until tears flood his eyes and he’s hunched over, finding it difficult to breathe—even as Luffy slowly backwalks out of the crow’s nest, only feeling more confused and a little bit disturbed than when he first entered.

Usopp whips around, eyes bulging out of their sockets and jaw slack, and he asks, “WHO TAUGHT YOU SUCH A WORD EXISTS???”

needless to say, Luffy has nearly given up figuring out what the word means until Robin casually gives him an answer over coffee later that day.

“Oh, it means you get sexual pleasure out of seeing other people in pain,” she says, her eyes still on the newspaper as she takes a sip from her coffee. “In this context, Law is implying this regarding your bond with our little Bunny.”

Luffy listens to the explanation, his eyes growing wider with each word coming out of Robin’s mouth. then, when she’s finished, he bursts out laughing.

“Hahahaha, that’s hilarious, Robin!” he says between giggles, trying to breathe. “Yeah, no way that’s me…”

at this, Robin pauses. she places her mug down and lowers the newspaper to reveal her eyes, the blue in them gleaming with this knowing that freezes Luffy in place. once she steeples her hands below her chin, her mouth spreads into a little smirk.

“Are you sure?”

at this, Luffy pauses to think—to really, really, really think.

after a moment, he swallows hard enough to make his throat bob, sweat beginning to drip from the side of his head and then down the back of his neck. then he shifts his round brown eyes away, his mouth starting to purse even before he speaks.

~2~

now that he actually knows what it means, on all that he holds dear—hell, on the One Piece itself—Luffy swears that he isn’t a sadist.

no, really.

he can describe his many previous enemies as sadists, sure. guys like Crocodile and Doflamingo quickly come to mind—the latter he considers particularly evil. and the idea of being on Joker’s level makes Luffy’s insides twist in disgust. the last thing he ever wants is to be like him, or any of the other sick bastards he’s fought in the past.

so yeah, no; Luffy would not describe himself as a sadist—especially when it comes to you. you’re his special person, his lover, his best friend, his future. the last person he would ever want to see in pain in this world is you.

it’s just that, maybe, just a little bit—he really likes it whenever you blush that deep crimson, especially when he says something that he knows leaves you embarrassed. to the point that you stutter adorably, that your hands lift to your face, to hide from everyone’s stares—only for his hands to clasp your wrists to stop you, his grinning mouth letting out a low chuckle as his hooded gaze bores into your doe-like eyes.

and sometimes, when you two are alone and locked in a room or in a secluded corner of the Sunny, he really, really, really likes to bite your neck. like, sink his teeth in until he tastes a hint of blood sort of biting, until bruises and teeth marks are bloomed along the column of flesh, until you’re left moaning and placing your trembling hands on his shoulders, warning him that there will be marks, that everyone will see and know—

“No shit, Bunny,” Luffy laughs in your ear, swiping his tongue across his smirking lips to taste the little drops of your blood—and fuck, do you taste good—“That’s the whole point!”

—but only just a little bit.

and then, there’s the fact that you’re so fucking pretty when you cry.

not much turns Luffy on. the most beautiful person alive could be naked right in front of him, bent over and presenting their hole for him to conquer, and he’d honestly shrug and walk away—or pick his nose, whichever his impulse points him toward.

(sorry not sorry Hancock, it’s the truth)

the sight of your eyes, glossy and flooding with tears that flow down your cheeks? oh. that—that awakens something monstrous in him. makes a shiver run down his spine, every hair on the back of his neck standing at attention, and his mouth absolutely water like he’s been presented with fresh meat. all he’s filled with then is the desire to do whatever it takes to make more of those tears flow, enough that he’ll be licking your cheeks for the taste, just for the chance of them dripping into his mouth.

gods above, he loves making you cry. second to an awesome adventure and friendship, it’s one of the things that make him feel alive.

(only him, though. if anyone else dares to make you cry—a real cry, where you’re sobbing from pain and feeling helpless from a particularly brutal enemy—Luffy will destroy them, piece by piece, until they’re not even a memory.)

—again, only a little bit though, of course.

~3~

it’s these thoughts that hit him even now, when his mouth is kissing your body so deeply, ravenously, your trembling thighs kept apart and pinned to the bed with his rough hands. your back is arched, your hips attempting to shift under his strong grasp, and your voice is so shaky in releasing those pretty, near sobbing moans as his tongue stretches and swells and twists inside your already gushing cunt, intent on making you come apart just one more time.

“O-oh my—fuck, Luffy, wait! Wait, wait, wait, mmm,” you whimper, eyes squeezing shut as they begin watering. Your shaky hands go to his shoulders and push, but only a little bit. “You need to s-stop, it’s t-too much—”

Luffy stares up at you through dark, hooded eyes, his mouth remaining relentless. too much, huh? just how long have you two been like this, actually? he honestly can’t remember. all he knows is that while he’s made you come plenty so far, it’s not nearly enough for him.  

Still, he thinks as his eyes narrow, the corners of his mouth curling upward. It’s so cute that you’re trying to stop me.

and it’s this—amusement that coaxes Luffy to pause, to pull back his tongue before he pulls away from your body. you let out a whine at his absence, then your teary eyes flutter open to see him moving up your body to loom over you. you attempt to shrink into the bed underneath you, your eyes wide and glossy, teeth sinking into your lower lip.

Luffy puts on a smile, tilting his head as he gives you a look. 

“Is that all?” he asks. “C’mon now—”

one of his hands moves to rest on your throat.

“—we both know you can beg better than that, Bunny.”

with a dark chuckle, he then squeezes his palm around your neck, his fingers pressing to the sides and nearly sinking into the soft skin—but only a little bit.

Luffy watches as you moan, nearly rolling your eyes back as you attempt to repress a smile—mindless, elated, the way you always get whenever he gets like this—and his mouth spreads into a grin, a sick sort of glee rushing through him as your eyes fill with those little tears again. 

“I don't know, baby. That face you just made doesn’t make me think you wanna stop,” he says, in a mock clueless voice, his head tilting again. “Seems like you’re not being honest with me. Do you really want me to stop?”

that said, Luffy lightens up his grip on your neck for a moment. it’s an opening for an out—one he always gives you, just in case it actually gets too much—a moment for you to say the word that you both agreed on, the one that would get him to stop, no questions asked.

as he suspects, because he can read you better than even you think, you giggle and shake your head, looking up at him from your long, rather wet eyelashes.

Luffy smirks.

“Yeah, thought so. Well, let me hear it then,” he coos, his hand back to being firm on your neck and squeezing just so. “Tell me what you really want. Beg nice and pretty for me.”

that blush floods your face, despite how your eyes light up. slowly, your mouth opens.

“W-want…I w-want…”

“‘W-want' what, baby?” he can’t help but mock your tinny voice, his grin revealing teeth. “Say it properly.”

“Your cock!” you whimper, cheeks so red—as if this the first dirty word that ever left your lips, so pathetic, baby—“Please, Captain, I need you to fuck me!”

despite the sudden sharp danger in his grin, like that of a razor, Luffy hums and looks up at the ceiling of your bedroom, as if he has to think about it.

“Mm, I guess I will. Since you asked so nicely,” he says with a shrug. lifting his free hand, he removes his straw hat and places it on the nightstand, then makes quick work of undoing his denim shorts. 

then, with his eyes dark and his other hand still firm on your throat, Luffy slams his turgid cock inside you—relishing in how you cry out, how the gummy walls of your pussy squeeze around every inch of him, as if to welcome him home—and then, he gives you precisely what you want.

and well, maybe just a little bit more.

[shotosgaychangemymind]

Pls pls pls I would die for ‘iwa being bad at feelings, and he notices his s/o seems off, maybe a little sad- so he just- tries to do smth stupid with them’ as a oneshot

omfg i cannot believe i'm just seeing this, i'm sorry!

i love this tho and he totally would

i present Iwa being awkward in:

Cleared Doubts

___________________________________________________________

[masterlist]

pairing: iwaizumi x reader

genre: fluff?

warnings: none I think?? rumors/doubts ig

a/n: i kinda got distracted from the og prompt while writing, so it's not the stupid activity i was planning on having iwa do, but i think this writing is better and i really hope it's what you had in mind. tysm for the suggestion anon!

___________________________________________________________

For people who have been dating well over a year, an outsider may see your relationship as a little one-sided. You, always bouncing around and being the one to express your feelings in the most mushy of ways, seemed to be the only one doing so. Iwaizumi tended to keep to himself. He put up with your antics of dimple poking and "you mean everything to me" statements, but that's all he did: put up with it. Every now and then, you received a quick peck in response, maybe even the rare puppy dog eyes he pulled when he watched you having fun so he could snap a picture. Simply put, he wasn't good at feelings; you knew that from the start, but you were more than willing to be good enough at it for the both of you.

However, when your friends and family started saying things about his lack of affection, it started to stir some doubts around in your brain. You were sure you had locked them away, sure of his feelings for you from the start. But, as more of people you held dear to your heart starting questioning if the relationship was anything for him, your anxious thoughts broke free from their cage and circled fervently around your mind.

Today, you were set to go over to Iwaizumi's for movies and dinner. After pulling on comfy clothes (most of which belonged to your boyfriend anyway), you threw together a small bag filled with colorful boxes of sweets. Trailing your way through your house, picking up small things here or there that might serve useful for today, a small buzz emerged from your pocket. Plastered across the screen was the name of your closest friend, someone you'd told about going to Iwaizumi's for the day after being invited somewhere with them. As expected, after you opened the text, your heart sank a bit as words of discouragement filled the screen. Ordinarily, people who are happy and healthy in their relationship should cut those who oppose it so vigorously out of their lives, but you just couldn't. They were your best friend and you knew they had good intentions, but they didn't understand the situation at all.

While your eyes were still glued to your screen, a beeping noise made its way to your ears from outside: a signal to head out the door. Iwaizumi was pulled into your driveway, waiting patiently for you to emerge. As he caught your eyes walking to his car, a small smile spread across his features, easing your doubt-fueled anxiety a little more.

Although, it wasn't gone completely. You were squirming throughout the movie, trying to find more comfortable ways to curl up into your boyfriends side. Every now and then when he did make an effort to cuddle into you more, you let out a small (an admittedly petty) sigh. You weren't your normal bubbly self, a painful realization for Iwaizumi. He may not show it very well, but he knows when your down and it hurts him a little too. The only thing he wants is to see that smile of yours and your contagious energy to fill the room, so it's uncomfortable to go without it.

You've been dating over a year, of course he can tell when something is off by now. Although you might not know it, he understands that you get doubts a lot. He understands he's bad with feelings and showing his emotions. So, he tries to do little things to show you how much he truly loves you, even if it isn't with his words.

There's one thing he knows you love to do that he's fairly good at as well: baking. Fidgeting with his hands and letting an unsure voice escape him, he suddenly says, "Lets bake something."

"What?" You look up at him, and he's staring right back, eyes somewhat pleading or unsure; you aren't sure which.

He makes a move to stand, pulling you up with him. "Lets bake a cake. You like cake, right?"

You finally caught on. His play was already working, sending the brightest smile onto your lips.

Making your way into his kitchen, he pulls down all the ingredients while you look up a recipe. The one you chose was a little more complicated, but you bake all the time and Iwaizumi was secretly a master at it, no matter how much he didn't want people to know that.

You took turns navigating about the kitchen, putting ingredients here or there, getting caught up in the other's feet every now and then making both of you giggle. Once you had finished your task at the stand mixer, you turned towards the other counter and wrapped your arms around your boyfriend's waist, resting your head against his back as he whisked together the batter. A slight hum of appreciation came from him, surprising you a little but it was more than welcome. At this rate, all of your doubts were gone and you were reminded of how much he cares. Especially since it wasn't really common knowledge that you love to bake anything other than cookies (which were constantly in your oven to serve as little gifts for your friends).

Once the cake was baked and cooled, the icing mixed and ready to go, you started up on decorating. That was the part Iwa could never get down, so he watched you work your magic, content at the pleased look on your face. Before long, though, he made his way over to you, only to dip his finger in the buttercream and plop it right onto your lips.

"Really, Iwa?" You joking sounded annoyed, knowing his game.

"Oops, I'll get it," his coy tone shining through and giving away his ticks. He places his hand under your chin, turning it so your lips lined up with his own. Closing your eyes as he leaned in, he filled his kiss with all of the feelings he couldn't say on his own. Softly, lovingly, he kissed away your anxiety.

[yoonjinkooked]

CHEMISTRY | JHS (3)

PART 3 - ONE KISS

(pls ignore my old URL, i’m too lazy to change it now RIP)

DRABBLE SERIES, TONS OF SHORT LITTLE CHAPTERS.

SERIES MASTERLIST Pairing: Hoseok / Reader

Rating: 18+

Genre: FWB, university AU, smut (a bit of a slowburn)

Warnings: cursing, alcohol, hot Hoseok who knows what he wants, kissing (is that a warning), the deal is almost made, JK has a bad music taste (not really tho)

Word Count: 5k

Summary: After a few years of being immune to Jung Hoseok’s charms, you suddenly fall into them, head first. All it takes is one night, too much alcohol and a lot of balls. 

A/N: This has been sitting in my drafts since OCTOBER and i finally edited it today because I can’t f-ing get Jung Hoseok out of my head. Sigh. Let me know what you think! I’m balancing this story with others and I hope I’ll have an update for you soon! 

As the days passed one by one you knew that the luxury of avoiding Hoseok is going to escape your grasp soon. Frankly, it’s a miracle you’ve been able to avoid him as long as you have and with Yoongi’s birthday this weekend, you know your lucky streak will break soon.

You didn’t expect it to break before that, not really. But here you were, minding your own business, studying on campus in a makeshift picnic setting and taking in the first proper rays of sunshine of the year, when he popped up from the tree behind you, very clearly cornering you.

And scaring the living daylights out of you too, as you end up clutching your chest and cursing at him while he laughed his ass off at the sight of you freaked out. “You nearly killed me, you idiot. Was it worth it?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” he laughs as he plops down on the grass next to you, completely casual, as if nothing between you has changed. To be fair, perhaps it hasn’t, in his eyes. “Let’s be honest here Y/N, I had to ambush you. You’ve been avoiding me for days,” he emphasises and although you wish you could call him out for being overly dramatic, you couldn’t. Leave it to Jung Hoseok to not beat around the bush and call you out directly. 

“It wasn’t that bad,” you mumble, not even bothering to try and deny. That makes him laugh, a sound that sounds so misplaced in your current setting. It feels wrong to openly discuss the awkwardness that has formed between you while he is literally laughing at it.

“You ran out of the cafeteria the other day so fast, Namjoon is still calling you Speedy Gonzales,” he jokes, laughing harder when you curse that traitor under your breath. At least he is joking around with you. You wish he would ignore it altogether, but it could be worse.

“I’m sorry,” you let out a groan, consciously avoiding making direct eye contact with him. “You know I can get awkward like this. It’s not your fault, it’s… all me.”

“Y/N, come on,” he leans closer to you and nudges your shoulder with his. “It’s me you’re talking to. There’s not a single reason to avoid me. We are both consensual adults who wanted to make out at a party. It’s as simple as that.”

This time, you turn and give him a good look, unsurprised to find a content smile on his face. He is bright and positive just like he always is, to the point of it being both annoying and overbearing at times. He has always been a great friend but there were times when his positivity and energy were too much for a grumpy ol’ potato of a person that you are 24/7. Now, however, you are glad for it. Unlike you, he obviously wasn’t beating himself too much about what had happened between you.

“So, what you’re saying is that you’re not feeling awkward and I shouldn’t either?” you ask.

“Exactly,” he shrugs. “You are… one hell of a kisser,” his eyes widen in a way that makes it seem like he is shocked by how good of a kisser you are.

“Hoseok, please,” you hiss at him, not even caring if he was telling you the truth or lying to spare your confidence. You are embarrassed and he knows it well.

“I mean it!” he laughs, amused by your sudden shyness – it’s a side of you your friends are not used to seeing, simply because you don’t normally do shit you’re ashamed of, at least not when they are directly involved. And if you do, more often than not, you own up to your bullshit. You’ve had your fair share of moments that would normally be counted as humiliating, only to brush them off casually and move on with your life. Not this one, though.

“You need to stop,” you laugh awkwardly, hoping that this conversation will simply end. “I was drunk, I came onto you way too strong and I am pretty sure I used way too much tongue.”

“If you think that I didn’t find it hot how confident you were that night, I’m afraid you don’t know me well,” he bites back. You are instantly shocked, not imagining him taking the conversation in that direction and also shocked by the nature of his admission too - Hoseok always struck you as more of a hunter than prey. You didn’t exactly keep track of his hook-ups but you were fairly sure that he was the one who initiated them more often than not. “And for the record, it was the perfect amount of tongue.”

Oh good lord. If you knew he would say the things he is saying, you would have tried desperately to avoid him for… well, the rest of your life, really.

“Please stop before I dig a hole for myself, right here, right now.”

“Why are you acting so shy about this Y/N?” he is laughing, once again nudging you with your shoulder, which only makes it more obvious to you how close you are sitting next to each other. Before, you wouldn’t bat an eye. Now, it’s driving you mad. “You know me, I don’t bite. Not unless you want me to, that is,” he adds cheekily.

“Oh, I noticed, my neck had a lovely little souvenir,” you reply before you could realize what you were even saying. There’s no way he’ll let it go now and the worst part is, you don’t even want him to. You’re saying that you do but in reality, you yourself are finding ways to deepen the conversation. This whole thing is crazy and… wrong! “Why are you making it sound like you want to do it again?” you whine, wishing he would just be up for forgetting about it.

“Well… I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”

You turn your head towards him so fast, you strain your neck and wince in pain, reaching at it with your hand. “Are you okay?” he asks, wide-eyed and worried, as he watches you rub your neck and grimace in pain.

“Am I okay? Are you okay?” you counter, completely floored by the words that left his mouth seconds ago. You have avoided him because you’re an awkward idiot, not because you thought that he’d be up for a re-run. “Did you just suggest what I think you suggested?”

“To be fair, I didn’t suggest it, I simply said that I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” he shrugs.

“Hoseok,” you glare at him, making him laugh. Even now, he laughs.

“I mean… why not?” he shrugs casually and all you can do is stare and blink dumbly at him, reminding yourself that you’re supposed to breathe, too. “If that party showed us anything, it’s that we definitely have chemistry that… goes beyond friendship. I’m not looking for anything serious and as far as I know, you aren’t either,” he continues and after a few seconds of silence, you realize that he’s waiting for some sort of a response from you. Unsure of what to say, you simply nod your head - after all, it is true. You are not looking for a relationship, not after the last two ended in tears and you drowned in vodka and chocolate ice cream. “Why not… take advantage of the opportunity?”

“I’m gonna need you to elaborate on what that opportunity is,” you’re not sure why you are even asking him that, when you know damn well what he is implying. You suppose that it would settle the last remains of doubt if you were to hear him say it more directly.

“Two single, and if I may add, incredibly good looking, friends who want, or in our case, don’t want the same things,” he cocks his head to the side, a small smile on his face. He looks way too cute for someone who is suggesting you sex with no added obligations. If you are not terribly mistaken and he has something else entirely on his mind. “Why not take advantage of the situation? And the chemistry - holy hell Y/N, you know we have it.”

He’s… absolutely right. Despite being drunk, you can clearly remember how… feverish you felt that night. You just wanted to keep kissing him, annoyed when you had to part for one second to simply breathe. If you had one more drink in you or if there had been fewer people around you, you’re not sure if the night would end with the two of you fully clothed. You have amazing chemistry as friends and you felt the sexual side of it that night. It would be stupid to deny it when you know well how rare it is to simply click with someone in the manner that the two of you had clicked that night.

“We do… but we’re also friends. And you know how shitty deals like these can end,” you point out the obvious. There are millions of books and movies about how ‘friends with benefits’ is a horrible, terrible idea because there’s an incredibly high chance of it ending in tears. “One of us could end up taking that chemistry to the next level and catch feelings. I’m not good in chemistry – I’m an art history major for a reason,” you joke, relieved when it actually makes him chuckle.

“That’s a good point. But we’re also really good friends, Y/N. We know each other well and we talk. If it would become too much for one of us, we could simply… talk. And I’m not suggesting anything… specific. I’m not here saying we should hook up until one of us decides they want to move on,” he tells you.

“Dude, you’re confusing as fuck,” you sigh, laughing along with him. “What are you suggesting then?”

“I’m just saying,” he grunts as he stands up, pausing to wipe down his jeans, while you make a conscious effort of not looking down because... thighs. “The next time you’re drunk, horny or bored, or even all of the above, you know where to find me.”

He looks down at you, the smile gracing his face slowly turning into the tiniest of smirks, before he gives you a wink. And with that, he simply turns around and walks away, leaving you with your mouth open, looking like a complete idiot while you try to figure out what the fuck just happened.

Nah, you know damn well what just happened. You have enough dating and flirting escapades behind you to recognize the look of someone who’d be happy to fuck you. The particular someone being Jung Hoseok is what is leaving you absolutely shocked and at a loss for words. As honored as you are and as much as the offer is… incredibly tempting, this is not something you can decide on the spot.

No, because you’re a dumbass. Of course you can’t decide this on the spot but you could decide in a matter of seconds that you want to stick your tongue down his throat and let him grab your ass while you grind on him as if your life depended on it. You weren’t expecting this turn of events and unsurprisingly, you have no idea what you should do about it. It’s tempting, in all the wrong ways, but it is also making alarm bells in your head go off. It could easily end in tears - the real question is, would it be worth it?

It took three full songs for you to start wondering if you have stepped through a time machine when you’ve entered Seokjin’s house. How Jungkook managed to convince Yoongi to let him DJ at his birthday party was a mystery that you at first ignored, but by the time he played that one Nicole Scherzinger and 50 Cent song, you’ve decided to investigate. “How much did you pay him to let you DJ?” you laugh at your friend, who looks up at you and grins, dancing in place with his trusty neon green Beats around his neck.

“Come here baby, hey be my baby, hey be my baby,” he sings at you, making you roll your eyes.

“Fuck Jungkook, please don’t drop out of school, you need that degree more than you know,” you say as you offer a comforting pat on his back.

“For your information, the theme of the party is ‘guilty pleasure’,” he announces with a proud smile. “And Nicole just so happens to be mine.”

“You and me both,” you admit with a huff, turning around to scan the room in the search of Jin - you’ve been looking for him for the past couple of minutes, with no luck. “Did you see Seokjin? He went to make me a drink with the gin from his expensive stash, but it’s been like…  half an hour?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook nods, pointing behind you. “He’s right there with Hobi.”

Those were the only words you needed to hear in order to know what you must do next – hide. You did not bother checking, you did not look back – you simply dropped down to the ground and plopped your ass right next to Jungkook’s feet. “Y/N, what the hell are you doing?” your friend laughs, looking down at you in disbelief. “Are you still hiding from Hobi?”

“No, I’m sitting here because the view of your thighs is nice,” you roll your eyes. “Of course I’m hiding from Hobi! I’m not mentally prepared to deal with him right now. Although, you do have weirdly muscular thighs,” you add absentmindedly - what is it with them and thighs? First Hoseok, now him - do they only do leg days when they hit the gym?

“Stop,” Jungkook laughs down at you. “Are you seriously planning on running from him forever?”

“Not forever,” you shrug casually. “Until the end of the year, maybe.”

“I mean, I can’t stop you… but you do realize that if he finds you here, it’s going to look like you were giving me a blowjob or something?” he pointed out, eliciting another casual shrug from you.

“Good. He’ll think I’m busy and leave me alone,” you offer Jungkook an angelic smile. He knows better than to push you – when you want to, you can be stubborn as all hell and sadly, Jungkook’s has plenty of experience with being on the receiving end of said stubbornness.

You know what he’s thinking – you can tell from the way he shakes his head and decides to ignore your presence by his feet while he focuses his attention to that god-awful playlist of his – you know exactly what he’s thinking and he has a point. You’re pathetic. A coward. An idiot.

You have shamelessly lied to yourself earlier tonight, as you were getting ready for the party. You’ve told yourself, repeatedly, that you are ready to face Jung Hoseok, despite not knowing what your answer is to his suggestion from a few days ago. You have convinced yourself that you were ready to face him. Seeing as you're hiding behind a damn desk, just meters away from him, it’s pretty obvious that you are not.

He hasn’t left your head in days, to the point of even appearing in your dreams, even if he was just on the sidelines. For years, you have been blind to all the gifts Jung Hoseok has to give, and now they’re slapping you in the face all day long.

You want him, that much you’re ready to admit. Definitely to yourself, perhaps even to him. But are you willing to put an entire friendship on the line and go through with that desire? That’s not a question you know the answer to. For the time being, you will just… keep on hiding behind the makeshift DJ booth, until Jungkook informs you that the coast is clear.

“We’re drinking that whiskey tomorrow, got it?” Yoongi asks, referring to the birthday gift you’ve given him earlier, which he had to hide in one of Seokjin’s spare bedrooms, given that the house is full of people who’d drink anything that’d fall into their hands. “You and me, tomorrow night, drinking back at my place. Let’s make it fancy. Wear a beret or something.”

“Why would I wear a beret while drinking whiskey?” you laugh in confusion. “What’s the correlation?”

“Both are fancy,” Yoongi shrugs and after a few seconds, so do you. If he wants to drink expensive whiskey whilst wearing a beret, that’s what you’re going to do. Having a drink or two with Yoongi, in almost complete silence, has become sort of a tradition for the two of you. Compared to the rest of your friend group, you and Yoongi are the quieter, less social ones. How you wound up in a circle of friends that include permanent hyper bunny Jungkook and Mr. Loudest-Laugh-Ever Jin was beyond you.

“Can I join?” you hear Joon’s booming voice. He approaches the two of you, throwing a hand around your shoulder. Glaring, you grab a hold of his hand and move it away from you, watching as Yoongi laughs in confusion at your open hostility towards Namjoon.

“Not you,” you point a finger at him accusingly. “I’m still pissed at you. You haven’t gotten to your redemption ark yet.”

“What did you do now?” Yoongi sighs, looking at Namjoon as if you were not in the middle of the conversation with him.

“I teased her about hiding from Hobi,” Namjoon announces with a shit eating grin. “Guess Speedy Gonzales here doesn’t like to hear the truth.”

“Oh, I’m absolutely avoiding Hoseok,” you admit shamelessly – it’s become obvious now, why would you bother to deny? “I just don’t want to talk about it and you can be one pushy bitch when you really want to.”

“You’re both idiots,” Yoongi shakes his head, sighing. “I truly wonder why I’m friends with you?”

“Well, I buy you good whiskey. Dunno what’s his excuse,” you offer Namjoon one last glare. Deciding you’ve had enough of his judgment and teasing for one night, you beeline towards one of your two safety nets – Sana. As good of a cover Jungkook was, you didn’t want to cockblock the poor boy all night, and he has been talking with some freshman for the last couple of songs. Sana, being practically your only female friend in existence would definitely be more willing to help you out, but by the time you’re halfway towards her, you notice that she is talking to a senior she’s had a crush on pretty much since you’ve met her.

Brilliant. You can either find a new cover or be a cockblocking friend. Whatever you decide to do, you need a drink first. Settling for cheap gin this time around, you venture into the kitchen, ready to get wasted and cursing under your breath at Jungkook’s horrible taste in music, as you are forced to listen to Ginuwine’s ‘Pony’ at full blast.

One more drink and it’ll be socially acceptable for you to leave the party. You’ve stuck around for long enough, even managing to enjoy yourself a little bit. Not enough though, not compared to the tension that you’ve been feeling in your gut even before you got here.

“Hi.”

If you were holding your drink, you would have dropped it. Even the sound of his voice is enough to make a shiver run down your spine. Closing your eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath, you muster enough strength to turn around and face him.

Nope, that wasn’t enough strength. You needed more. You needed more to face Jung Hoseok, in ripped skin tight jeans, a black shirt with a v neck, messy hair and a smirk on his face, casually leaning on the wall next to the kitchen door. You could have taken an hour to collect yourself and prepare for your pending doom, and it would not be enough to prepare you for the Hoseok you were facing now. Especially when he is smirking at you, looking at you like he knows exactly what thoughts are roaming around your head. Add to that the horrible soundtrack courtesy of Jungkook, and you are overcome with a sudden wish to die, right here, right now.

“You’ve been avoiding me again,” he points out the obvious.

“And you’re cornering me again,” you argue back, hoping that he didn’t notice you gulping, literally gulping.

“I’m not cornering you,” he chuckles. Your eyes go wide when he stands up straight, no longer leaning on the wall. Slowly, he starts walking towards you and you walk backwards right into the table, no longer having room for an escape. He stops in front of you but he’s too close, too close for comfort, to the point of you being able to see a single freckle on his nose, despite having a decent amount of alcohol in your system already.

“Oh no,” you suddenly move to the right, towards the door, towards your escape. “Stay away from me, Satan!”

“Satan?” he laughs in disbelief.

“Yeah, Satan,” you confirm without a second thought, looking at him up and down. “Did you look into the mirror before you left your house? You’re sex on legs, Hoseok. So yeah. Satan.”

“For someone who’s about to run for the exit, the words you’re saying are making me think you don’t really want to do that,” he laughs, although he doesn’t step any closer to you. As ready as you were to call him Satan just seconds ago, you see his true good self shining through. He’s chasing you, very obviously so, but he is not pushing you too far and you know that he’ll recognize if he actually should step away. He doesn’t want to literally make you run in the opposite direction and the space he leaves between you is confirmation of that.

“You think I don’t want to run?” you ask and immediately he nods. “Maybe. You’re here. You’re hot. For some reason I can’t fathom, you want something with me. That’s inviting, yet very scary at the same time.”

“And do you want something with me?” he asks, no longer smirking.

“Honestly? Yes and no,” you answer, cursing yourself in your mind – alcohol always makes you talk more than you should. But in this case, maybe that’s exactly what you need - just a little bit of honesty. “I’m attracted to you, you’re an amazing kisser and we’re both single. Why not? And the answer to that question is simple -  we’re friends. There’s… way too much at risk here, Hobi.”

“We’re better than that,” he shakes his head immediately. “We’re not stupid, horny teenagers. We know each other well. We’d be mature enough to stay friendly, or at the very least cordial, no matter what happens.”

Both of you do have a reputation of remaining friendly with your exes. Except for your last one, but that’s a story you don’t wish to revisit, especially not tonight. Broken hearts mend with time, people grow, find others and life goes on. If you set the terms the way you both want them, in theory, it truly doesn’t have to end in tears.

“What exactly are you offering me? And miss me with that ‘whatever you want’ bullshit you offered me the other day,” you interrupt him, chuckling when he closes his mouth dumbly, obviously having been ready to say just that. “Do you want to make out? Do you want to fuck me? Once or on a regular basis? To kill time until someone better comes along or in the hopes of it becoming more? I can’t make a decision if you don’t tell me exactly what you want, Hoseok,” you tell him. You were honest with him and now, it’s his turn.

“I want you.”

“Effective, but not effective enough,” you mumble, ignoring the stirring in your stomach that started as he said those words with… earnesty, with meaning. Hearing that you are wanted is always a good fluff up for an ego, but to hear it said like that, dead seriously, by someone you find incredibly attractive? It’s so good, it’s borderline painful.

“I’ll take what you give,” he shrugs casually. “What do you want?” he throws the question back at you. Shameless is what he is.

“A husband, two kids, two dogs and a house with a white picket fence?” you joke.

“Y/N,” he glares playfully at you, laughing. “You might want that down the road but do you really want that now?”

“God no,” you snort in response.

“So what do you want now?” he asks again. “It can be a one-time thing. It can be regular. As you said, we can kill time until someone better comes along,” he rolls his eyes at the phrase, obviously not liking the sound of it. “It doesn’t have to be sex, for all I care. We can just fool around at parties. Or we can pretend like none of this ever happened and just continue being just friends,” he shrugs.

“When you say it like that I wonder if you even want anything from me,” you laugh.

“Y/N, I have barely been able to stop thinking about kissing you ever since that night,” he deadpans, looking straight at you, not a trace of teasing or joking on his face. “Which was pretty horrible, seeing as you’ve been avoiding me and I had a molecular biology paper to finish. I do want you, probably more than you realize or want to accept. And I’m taking whatever it is that you offer. If I had my pick, we’d be friends that… occasionally become more than that.”

“So, to put it in simple terms, you want a friends with benefits thing with me?” you ask.

“Yes. But if you don’t want that, I’ll respect it and stick to it. You’re my friend, Y/N,” he smiles at you and it’s almost calming to be on the receiving end of his genuine smile and not that evil smirk that does things to you. “I’m not losing that friendship if I want to fuck and you don’t. So… whatever you want to do, that’s the way it’s going to be.”

Here you are again, faced with an opportunity that you know will likely end badly for you, perhaps even both of you at once. And again you wonder, if all the possible negatives are worth it - worth of finally succumbing to this sudden and overwhelming desire you feel for Hoseok. Turning his offer into reality… is it worth it?

“I need to think about it,” you close your eyes, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I’m not thinking straight right now. I’m not wasted, I’m just… hazed. Horny. However you want to call it. And I don’t trust my judgment around you right now. If we go through with this, I need to have a clear head when making the final decision.”

“Take all the time you need,” when you open your eyes, he’s smiling at you still. “I do have two tiny requests, though.”

“Shoot.”

“Please stop hiding from me. It’s weird and I think you’re scaring Jungkook,” he grimaces.

“You saw that?!”

“Of course I did,” he laughs. “It was cute.”

“Stop!” you order him.

“Okay, okay, I’m stopping,” he lifts his hands up as if he’s surrendering. “I’m pretending you didn’t duck and hide when you heard I was around,” he laughs. The fucker knows how embarrassing it is for you and he’s enjoying every second of it.

“What’s the second request?” you ask, desperately wanting to change the topic.

“Would you let me kiss you again?” he asks.

“Hoseok…” both your words and eyes are warning, as it’s going directly against what you want right now - a clear head. Kissing him would muddle it all, you know it. Not to mention how easier it would be to take things a notch further, given that you both know now that you want more.

“Just one kiss,” he elaborates. “It’s not gonna turn into a kitchen make out session or something more. And if you don’t want it, it’s not happening. We’ll never do something you don’t want, Y/N. You know me, I’m not like that.”

You do know him and you clearly remember him refusing you at first because he thought you might have had too much to drink and were acting out. You didn’t, you were well aware of what you were doing. Yes, you had no idea why you were doing it but your actions were not a drunken side-effect. Not then and not now. And damn it, you really want to kiss him again.

“One kiss,” you lift your hand in warning, but that was enough for him. He takes a few steps and closes the distance between you – was he being deliberately slow or were you imagining things, you’re not sure. All you know is, it lasted enough for your heart to start going into overdrive even before your lips met his.

It’s just a kiss, but at the same time, it isn’t. He’s not grinding against you, he’s not groping you, he’s not taking it anywhere it shouldn’t go. His hands are in place on your waist, gentler than you remember them being the last time. He’s respectful and careful, in every way except with the actual kiss. Before you even get to mentally prepare yourself for it, he parts your lips with his and tongue meets yours.

You’re the one who moves. You’re the one who threatens to take this further than it should go, as you put your hands around his neck and run your fingers through his hair, pressing your body just a bit closer to his.

It’s his fault. His kiss made you do it. He’s way too good of a kisser for his own good.

Thankfully, the one who initiated it is also the one who pulls away. Breathless and with eyes on your lips, Hobi moves away, letting your hands drop out of his hair as he keeps a safe distance.

“One kiss,” he repeats your earlier words. “Until you tell me you want more.”

Yeah, it meddled with your mind. Despite telling him you need more time to think about it, you know it’s already settled in your mind. You’ll definitely be coming back for more.

[yutahoes]

Rate (tito😭) Yuta's looks by eras!✨

My all time favorite is punch tho esp. when they made the content where they're all in corporat suits. Ackkkkkk.

Wbu! With description pls! I wanna know what's running on your mind!

Wow, this is difficult. 😭 But I'll try.

These are too personal and wildly specific. I'll just use their MVs as basis for the era since there's a lot of looks I love from Yuta and I forgot what era they were. 🤭 This is long, please be warned. 

Wakey Wakey : This was the start of Yuta being my bias. He just snatched me from Jaehyun this time. And this was the exact image that made me fall for him. 😂😂 Note that this is from the teaser of Wakey Wakey, not the MV and I was wrecked so bad.  

Limitless : The picture at the topmost. It still makes my heart drop whenever seeing that particular image. Also, the one where he caught Taeil during the bridge part. His stare. 😍😍

Punch : That exact image in the ask. That content made me feel interesting things. (I wanted to be Mark that time) 😂 Also, I'm so in love with this picture and this fit on Yuta...

Switch / SM Rookies : When they're all wearing white. Although he's behind the other members, I have a huge crush on him that time. And this pic, he looked like J-dorama actors. 

His present looks. Everything. Top tier would be the one with the flower background, the Tom Ford one, then the one in Ginger, followed by Slow Acid (when they modelled their own shirt design), then his latest post.

Superhuman / Highway to Heaven: Red hair Yuta supremacy. And this iconic look...

Chain : I think it was the album jacket where he has pins in his hair. I'm so in love with that look. Also it was the era where they performed in A-Nation and Yuta looks so cute that time, I started having a major crush on him. 

Black on Black / Touch : Because of this look...

This is the picture that inspired Otou-Chan. I don't know why but I was thinking of this Yuta in the beginning of that series. 🤭

From Home/ Work It / Resonance : I love his blue hair in the MV for Work It and when he kept on wearing sunglasses on their live performances. Also, I love his hair by the end of NCT World. 

Kick It: That one fancam of him where he’s doing the ‘lion’ thingy. And their content when they were like samurais and the Weekly Idol one. 😂

Gimme Gimme: I thought I wouldn’t like his look in this MV at first but whenever I watch the MV, I feel butterflies in my stomach.   

Regular : Not that I hate his look in the MV but I just love the Regular era because of their photoshoot in LA, the one where he is wearing a pink hoodie. I remembered seeing that in a Kpop event(?) and then I just gasped at how he looked like.    

Firetruck / Taste the Feeling : Firetruck is kinda questionable but I love him in the MV for Taste the Feeling. When he looked happy after kicking the ball in the goal. I felt that. 🤣 And that YuWin moment. 😍

Cherry Bomb: Maybe because I’m a Winwin bias when this came so Yuta didn’t have a huge impact on me in the MV and maybe because of the lines. But I love his teaser photo and his smile when performing 0 mile. 😂

Simon Says: (Sorry)There’s only one look I like from Yuta in this MV, when his hair was down during the end of his part. It’s only for a second though.  

Other looks that I love from Yuta: 

This ISAC especially when he played against Yuto. He’s so playful and so hot. The Howl Agenda. 

His first (?) ISAC. I remember watching this game because of Sam from Lunafly, which is his teammate. When he scored a goal, I’m sold. 

My all-time favorite Yuta look. If you’re going to see me in real life, this is usually what I’m wearing. Oh, and I really have a thing with Yuta in casual clothes and jeans. 😂 

Again, these are my personal opinion. I love how Yuta is so comfortable with everything he wears, even how he experiment with his hair. 

It may be confusing but for me Yuta is like that neighbor friend you always see and had a crush on (I first saw him in SM Rookies fancam of Ten). You have a cat and dog relationship with him (I am a Winwin bias since the start) but it was that one exact time (Wakey Wakey teaser) when you realized you fell for him. So yeah, I have this one-sided cliché romance with Yuta. 😂 

[hyliantimelordin221b]

do you have some sanster fanfic recommendations? any rating 👀

i am SO glad you asked, my friend. because OH BOY. DO I.

For safety’s sake!!! fics that i like because of the varying levels of unhealthiness in their dynamic I have marked with a (!!) so that u are aware that the fic is not sunshine and rainbows! some of them contain content warnings so pls be aware of that, n also pls read the tags on the fic before u read them bc i haven’t read all of these very recently so i could be forgetting things to mention.

also !! explicit/mature fics are marked with (E) or (M) respectively. 

Memory by ratwormGOOD ANGSTY it makes my heart ache and also a rly interesting take on sans not remembering gaster after he falls :( i like this one a LOT ,, !!!

(M) Spoiled Sweet by AngeliaDarkTHE WAY GASTER TAKES CARE OF SANS IN THIS ONE KILLS ME it’s so intimate i cry ,,, also warning tho that it’s part of a sugardaddy au and there’s an implied age gap and also implied polyamory/papster but no fontcest, in case any of that makes u uncomfortable. rly cute how much gaster cares for sans n how he pampers him ,, also not teeeeechnically explicit but definitely rated M

(E) I’ve Got A Few Things To Say About These Two by Pomanderanother collection of sanster oneshots. ALL OF THESE ARE AMAZING. i’m absolutely in love with the portrayal of their relationship here–they’re much more like equals in this than boss and assistant.  so … intimate ….. it’s … gooooooood ….. they care about each other so much …….. anyways this was literally the first fic that came to mind when i saw the eyes emoji in ur ask bc this fic is so soft in some places but i’m still pretty sure every one of these is quite explicit lkjsdfl;kjsdf

(M, only chapter 3 tho) The Dump by overlordya collection of diff oneshots, but first four are sanster! THEIR FLIRTING ABSOLUTELY K I L L S me and the puns and their dynamic is so good in the first two chapters, and the next two are amazing angst too ahhhh.  there’s a flirty line in the first chapter abt the gravitational constant and idk maybe its bc i’m an engineering major in college but it had me dYinG.  heads up that chapter 3 is M-rated (and very angsty ,, good shit) but the rest are mostly just suggestive i think

(E) Dinner and a Show by ZodiacTHIS IS A VAMPIRE!GASTER AU AND I LOVE HOW NEEDY SANS IS IT  K I L L S  ME AKLSJDL;KASDF and i also love the way gaster’s dialogue is written. this one’s def a bit explicit ,, it be like that sometimes

(!!)(M) Monstrosity by mister13eyond and tripleCrocodilianOKAY SO LISTEN. LET ME SCREAM ABOUT THIS ONE FOR A MOMENT. this one’s an RP apparently, and its almost 200k words long.  i literally CANNOT commit to reading something that long because my attention span seriously just does n o t allow for that (especially since it’s abandoned ahhhhhh), but THERE’S A SEX SCENE AT THE END IN CHAPTER 19 THAT GIVES ME EVERYTHING I WANT OUT OF THIS SHIP.  IT’S G O O D. like it’s not explicit at all from what i remember, but it’s a lot of sans dying for gaster’s approval and gaster just… using him, not really giving half of a shit about him AND SANS KNOWS IT. AND HE STILL WANTS TO BE USED.  ITS GOOD.  I LOVE IT ITS SO UNHEALTHY ITS GOOOOOOOOOOD anyways i bet the whole thing is amazing but i just re-read starting halfway through chapter 19 and i’m screaming it’s great that is all

(!!)(M) Soul Tap by Askellie(NadaNine)I DON’T WANNA SCREAM TOO MUCH BUT THIS IS ALSO GOOD UNHEALTHY SANSTER, also just overall really well written with amazing style and some rly gr8 use of extended metaphor, this one has implied rape/non-con in it tho so pls be careful :// also !! papyrus worried for sans and good skelebro angst, i’m here for it always  (also vampire!gaster au, hmm i’m seeing a trend here.)

(!!)(M) Oathbound by 0neTypethe characterization in this one is amazing, more fucked-up sanster from gaster’s perspective. be warned this one also contains implied rape/non-con. also it’s vampire!gaster again what is happening here why do i love these so much my twilight phase is haunting me in the year of our lord 2019 smh

(i also have one more rec that i’m not comfy sharing here bc of how intense/potentially triggering it is so i’ll reblog w my ns/fw blog and give it there !! check the notes if ur interested or use this link i guess)

also disclaimer: i’m probably missing some really good ones because i just got an AO3 sort of recently and keep forgetting that bookmarking/history is a thing that i can use to help me find/keep track of old fics that i like !! aaaaaa

anyways !!! those are my recs!!! lemme know if any of the links don’t work or somethin and i’ll try my best 2 fix it !! thank u for this ask, i hope u enjoy !!!

[yeracluedeanwinchester]

All the questions bich 😂

1: How tall or short do you wish you were?I wish I was like a couple inches taller. Not much tho 2: Do you have a favorite clothing style?Jeans and a hoodie 3: Do you like makeup? if so, What's your daily makeup routine look like?Black eyeliner, dark purple or pink eyeshadow and just basic foundation. Or none if idgaf that day :)4: What three things/people do you think of most each day:Hmm. Food. Travelling. Whatever movie or show I'm obsessing over at that moment lmao5: If you had a warning label, what would yours say?Oh so many. Don't let go too long without food. Only likes people for half the day. Picky. Is probably obsessing over something dumb at any given moment.6: What is your opinion on [insert person/thing here]?N/A I guess lmao 7: What is your Greek personality type? [Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric, or Melancholic]No idea my guy 8: What's your sexuality?Straight 9: who's your favorite celebrity?Oh boy. Uuuuuhhhhhh Ansel Elgort atm 10: who's your favorite viner?That magician guy 11: favorite youtubers?Buzzfeed unsolved and supernatural, buzzfeed worth it, try guys, simplynaillogical, Shane, and dan and Phil lol 💕💕💕12: cat or dogs?Dogs mostly 13: How tall are you?5'4"14: If you had to change your name, what would you change it to?Morgan or Jaime or something unisex tbh 15: How much do you weigh? [Only ask this if you know the user doesn't mind!]I'm not that soft lmao. Im actually not sure. Maybe 14016: Would you rather be nocturnal or diurnal [opposite of nocturnal]?Opposite of nocturnal 17: Any phobias or fears?Fear of people who knew my before grade 9 lmao. And forgetting anything fun I've ever done 18: Favorite movie?Baby Driver atm. 19: Do you get scared easily?Depends on how I'm being scared. But usually yeah20: Blog rate me?Wut. 0? ;)21: What is a color that calms you?Blue. But I learned that apps make their content blue because it's more appealing so all I see is fucking blue so maybe purple. 22: Where would you like to travel and/or live?Almost anywhere else than I do. I really want to go to Europe tho23: Where were you born?Northwest BC 24: Introvert or extrovert?Both. More introverted recently tbh. 25: Do you believe in horoscopes and zodiacs?Yeah but I don't like plan my for it though 26: Hugs or kisses?Both 27: Who is someone you would like to see/visit right now?Dan and Vaughn 28: Talk about your crush, if you have one!Uhm. I don't wanna call it a crush. But he loves the outdoors, has a dog, basically lives the life I want lmao 29: A sound you really love?Rain or the sound after it snows 30: Can you do the splits?Nah fam31: Favorite actor and/or actress?Wasn't this already answered 32: Favorite movie?So was this 33: How are you feeling right now?Pretty chill. Amused with YouTube 34: What color would you like your hair to be right now?Dark brown/purple pls35: Something that calms you down?Depends what I feel like lmao. Ranges from junk food to cleaning to weed to just Netflix 36: Have any disorders?Um no but I procrastinate to disappointing levels lol 37: What does your URL mean?It means I'm a fucking nerd 38: What makes you unfollow a blog?Lmao we were just talking about this. When they start posting weird stuff that I didn't follow them for 39: What makes you follow a blog?When they post stuff that I like ??40: Favorite kind of person:Confident, wants to try new things, will be weird with me 41: Name three of your favorite blogs.@hellish-b0y @trustissued @ponderation42: What is your MBTI personality type?INFJ or EFTP or something. I took it twice. 43: What outfit out of all your clothes do you like to wear the most?This soft thin sweater with jeans and purple lipstick. 44: Post a selfie or two?Meh45: Do you like to swim?Yes46: Is swimming or ice skating more fun to you?Oh shit idk. Probably skating 47: Something you wish didn't exist:Money 48: Some thing you wish did exist:Whatever it is it probably already does soo49: Piercings you have?None 50: Something you really enjoy doing:Painting when I have inspiration 51: Favorite person to talk to:Vaughn or David 52: What was your first impression of Tumblr?Annoying but funny (before I got it) 53: How many followers do you have?22554: Can you run a mile within ten minutes?Probably not 55: Do your socks always match?Usually 56: What are your birthstones?Garnet 57: Winter or summer?Summer but winter for skiing and my birthday 58: Someone you look up to:My auntie or uncle 59: A store you love?Chapters or boathouse 60: Favorite type of shoes?Converse fo sho 61: Where do you live?Edmonton 62: What color do you wish the sky was?It's perfect the way it is 63: Favorite thing about a person:The way they talk 64: Something you hate about Tumblr:The hate lol 65: Something you love about Tumblr:The way you can have your blog personalised 66: On a scale of 1-10, how attractive would you say you are?Like a 5 or 6 on a normal day67: What nicknames do you have/have had?Syd but only by certain people 68: Did you have any pretend or imaginary friends?Nah69: Have you ever seen a therapist/shrink?No 70: How many languages do you speak fluently?171: Name three people you would like to talk to right now in person.Dan, Vaughn, Marissa because holy shit I miss her 72: Do you like BuzzFeed?Yes 73: How many people are you following?621 lmao 74: How many posts/likes/ and or drafts do you have on your blog?I GUESS I'll look. 9550 likes, 26,669 posts. Shit lmao Thanks @delaisse lol

[miraimisu]

These Stones We Skip | Chă̶̪͔̩̺̌̿̉ͅpter 1

◄ previous part  ♣  next part ►

[Read at FF.net]

[Read at AO3.]

Summary: Ochako, as a newcomer to the most powerful guild in this forsaken village, had not only one, two; but three responsibilities: grow stronger until she was able to pin the world down, untangle the mystery that her past was and survive under the eyes of a crowd that watched over her as night chased the sun’s tail, the charade going on and on until the thread… suddenly snaps.

Rating: T because of obvious reasons such as Bakugou and swearing children. And it’s an AU. Medieval AU.

Word count: it’s fucking long get over it

Author’s note: i AM BATHING IN LIKE /checks almost 60 pages of fucking content and this is so hard because IT’S LIKE JENGA AND I HAVE TO LOOK OUT FOR PLOTHOLES AND I’M FUCKING OBLITERATED FROM THIS GALAXY OK. I am choking. Unchoke me pls :c

So I have to thank the people who actively support this???? somehow??? AO3 went kinda wild about it, and... FF.net too, for a reason. I’ll try to write another kacchako fanfic in the mean time. Idk. I could have written a novel with this length. Do you guys realize this is a disaster. Don’t kill me ♥ PLEASE DONT

Warnings: it’s long, it’s messy, OLD SCHOOL MIRAI :V It has them feels tho. Kinda. Tons of broshipping. And... some kacchako, finally?? maybe not idk

I’ll very likely have to edit this once I am over this chapter and repair any little plotholes I may have poked.

I just hope Mic. Word hasn’t munched nothing of this fic or left words out.

Yuuei was a weird place for Uraraka. No insults intended, but the second she had been officially introduced as an official member of the guild, nothing had changed.

In all honesty, she had expected some kind of warm welcoming, a party, or maybe a surprise token? but she didn’t get anything. From the most realistic standpoint, she should have expected this– after all, the battle against the rocky fireballs monster had been just a day ago, and people were still tidying the place up of upcoming foes.

The following two days after the battle, the whole guild had been imposed a ban from the council. As the sorcerer would later learn, that basically meant that the whole guild was forbidden to partake in violent events, organize for team battles or even do as much of a rock paper scissors competition. Turns out that the mission against the volcano boss was kind of too high for them, and it somehow made sense to her in the end: only she and Bakugou had been able to do significant damage to that son of a bitch.

When she tried to patiently ask the leader why they had embarked in such a counter-productive battle, he had unkindly explained with not much patience that it was a measure for later journeys, that it needed to be done, and that she shouldn’t meddle in business that didn’t affect her at all. Then he remembered that he had personally accepted her into the guild and marched off mumbling about her being a pain.

That was when Kirishima came rushing to her with a sheepish expression, and continued the events of the present day. “He’s too much of a short-tempered guy, don’t mind him.”

Uraraka had been going downstairs with her new uniform on, dressed in pink again after being marred in too many bandages after the last battle. Just the thought of the mental strain that the battle had meant brought chills down her spine. “Good to see you in shape, Kirishima. Is he feeling alright?”

If one listened carefully, it was possible to hear Bakugou and Midoriya arguing heatedly inside their office. Both let out a healthy chuckle as the redhead led her down the staircase. “Just Bakugou being Bakugou, no surprise.” and the girl seemed unfazed by this, which obviously surprised him. “And you don’t seem to have much problem with that.”

She shook her head as they arrived to the common room, where some people had lunch between loud chatter and laughter, all tables equipped with a vase full of three sunflowers. It was good to see the guild so alive after such harsh battle, so she couldn’t help but smile at her friend, and then curiously glance at the odd choice of flowers. “Once he stops threatening you with his toy knives, he’s bearable outside the battlefield. Not like he’s near being sane, but I can stop watching my step now. Step by step!”

He affectionately ruffled her hair with a little smile, and she puffed her cheeks in annoyance. Her hair was something extremely hard to deal with, above all with that habit of hers to ruffle it when nervous, anxious, or just plain observed. She threaded her hair back to place under Kirishima’s glance. That was when Uraraka noticed that he was noticeably taller than her. Actually, everyone was.

“I’m glad to see that you are still willing to give him a chance. Many people give up the first day when he screams for them to stop invading his privacy.” she allowed herself a sigh of exhaustion, remembering how he had been so adamant about her joining but had afterwards offered her a membership in the guild. It showed he was a tough one, but not invincible for that matter. “Oh, talking about people!”

Kirishima swung his arm around Uraraka’s shoulders and dragged her to a side, making the people on the tables look at the approaching couple. “Guys, have you met Uraraka yet?”

Of course, Uraraka couldn’t recognize a single face, for which she felt incredibly ashamed despite having no reason to, and the feeling of being observed by those analyzing eyes of theirs made go through ten seconds of self-consciousness and awkwardness. There was a blonde guy – he was a bit similar to Kaminari, maybe they were brothers? – another blonde guy, but this one had a much kinder set of eyes and he impregnated his glances with such softness, Uraraka felt instantly relieved. Her eyes travelled down his body to find him clutching his side in concentration.

“Guys, this is Uraraka, the volcano girl!” suddenly, a flash of recognition seemed to flash through their eyes, but it was short lived. Their shoulders went back down, and the very same skepticism returned in a moment. “She’s been resting till’ now, so be a bit easy on–“

“Wait, you are that girl!?” spoke someone with glee and a girly, excited tone, but Uraraka couldn’t see the person. Apart from those blondes, there was nothing else excepting food, the vase with sunflowers, discarded clothes, and gloves on the table–

“Holy shit!” let Uraraka out, rushing to the girl’s side, trying to make out her figure through her veil of invisibility. The nearer she got the more clothes she saw that outlined the girl’s figure. “You are invisible? How is that possible?”

The three other boys watched the scene unfold, and obviously no one had been this thrilled about invisible girl because they seemed hilariously shocked. The very same girl got up and showed herself to the newcomer. “I was jinxed when I was young by keeping my special ability on forever, until the very day I die.”

The soft looking boy glanced at Uraraka with, again, a very kind smile on. “She’s constantly travelling in recognition missions with us, she’s the stealthy boss of the guild” and no matter how much invisible girl was trying to deny it with flailing arms, the kind boy dismissed her. “You were lucky to find us in our resting day.”

Kirishima scratched his head, with an apology at the tip of his tongue. This was the most troubled Uraraka had seen him. “Man, sorry for not even asking about that. It’s been crazy here with the ban and fixing the mess after Pyrox.” the redhead looked at the brunette, sensing she’d be confused at all this new information. “What part didn’t you understand?”

“Pyrox?”

“The guy you basically cooled down back at the volcano.”

Uraraka let out an acknowledging hum, and one of the blonde guys, the one with this flickering passionate gaze, dig his elbows on the table. “Such an impressive feat, by the way.” the girl was startled by the praise, and he noticed this– and also winked, teasingly. “I’m Aoyama, please don’t forget my name like you did with Pyrox, pretty please?”

The invisible girl nudged Aoyama, and if it was possible to tell a pout would sure be present on her face. “Don’t tease her, Aoyama!” the gloves waved at her. “I am Hagakure! This is Ojiro.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Uraraka.” replied Ojiro, waving at her, and the sorcerer did the same with a little, shy smile. “We’ve been told about you by others, but seeing you with our own eyes is a bit clashing. You are so tiny.”

Kirishima crossed his arms after, again, ruffling the girl’s hair. It seemed like some kind of stress reliever. “She’s a tough cookie, don’t mistake her…”

Uraraka visibly jumped at such defensive remark, eyes twinkling and her hands flying to her heart. Kirishima had said those words with such faith and kindness that something hammered hard in her heart– warmth, tickles and butterflies at the prospect of being respected so much by the leader’s right hand. All she could do back that was minimally intelligible was smile. “Where are Sero and Shoji? Haven’t they reported back to base yet?”

Hagakure rounded the table to give the redhead a little scroll, all after some messy rummaging in her big cloak. “Sero gave this to me for Midoriya, and told us to meet at our base at Orange Forest.” Kirishima unhooked the paper and read the report as quickly and read everything briefly. “They have some successfully gotten into an illegal base, but we must let things work on their own.”

The redhead nodded, fingers tapping his chin. Uraraka didn’t really bother to follow the topic, as she’d sure not understand this mess. “Have you guys gotten any new information?”

Ojiro shook his head with resignation. “We haven’t heard anything from Sero from within the headquarters at the east. Shoji reunited with the others as far as I know up at the north, and we are supposed to meet where Hagakure mentioned.”

Kirishima rolled the paper and closed it with the bow, tucking it in his side bag. “I will go tell Bakugou as soon as he stops the bickering with Midoriya.”

The room casually fell silent, and a faint sound of crashing and roaring echoed in the distance of the offices. Ojiro laughed, then hissed and clutched his side again. Uraraka flinched and blinked at his poor pose. “Yeah, they sure are–“

The sorcerer was instantly fretting over him, had gone running to the boy and started pouring dewy, morning healing on his side. “I am not the best of healers, but I can help with that!” green lights started to patch the wound beneath Ojiro’s clothing, who looked at her with that impossible smile of understanding he seemed to always have. “Please, don’t move too much, or my magic may be rendered less useful!”

The blonde boy tried to swat her away as kindly as possible. “I’m overjoyed to see you so worried about it, but Shuzenji already patched this up and told me to–“

“But you clearly are in pain.” mumbled Uraraka, squinting for focus– the boy didn’t dare to interrupt her, as she looked stubborn as hell and by the look Kirishima was giving him… this was a given. “Besides, she doesn’t need to know.”

The redhead shook his head with a kind smile, scratching the back of his head with a mysterious glint in his eyes. “Man, and to think that Bakugou thinks you are a threat…” Aoyama looked at him in interest while Ojiro tried to calm Uraraka down. “Not completely harmless as I thought you to be, but man, you are a far cry from a monster.”

“But she’s still a threat, right?”

Uraraka’s healing halted, looking at the other blonde from the corner of her eyes. The passionate boy looked at Kirishima in vehemence and the most light-hearted tones she had ever heard regarding her professional status. “We still don’t know what she will do in the future. There’s no need to be so laid back about it either, right, Uraraka?”

“Huh!” her back was as straight as a tree, eyeing the suddenly menacing blonde who was looking at her piercingly– and it turns out that convincing everyone that she was trustworthy wouldn’t be as easy as to just get into the guild and hope that everyone would trust her. The faith they had put in her during battles, the littlest of trusts that Bakugou was putting on her when allowing her to roam around his peers as much as she wanted– it wasn’t enough. It seems like only time would fix this misconception. “Ah, well, I just hope I can make you all trust me, somehow!”

Hagakure pounded Aoyama on the head while Kirishima frowned at him for making his little pal so uneasy, and he was by her side in a heartbeat. “Aoyama, stop being such a creepo.”

“Apologies for being cautious, Hagakure.” stated he, eyes unblinking as he stared at the brunette. “She’s just so tiny, to think she holds such power… it’s beyond me.”

Kirishima had been apparently rummaging through his bag during the exchange, and Ojiro was up with Aoyama when he cleared his throat. “Anyway, go to Bakugou’s office with this scroll, and make him look it up so he can consider your mission concluded and give you some free days. I don’t think you guys should be off before Sero and the others report back.”

“Roger that!” exclaimed Hagakure, grabbing Aoyama’s arm as the passionate boy wrapped himself into more complicated thoughts that Uraraka wasn’t very pleased about. That guy seemed harmless a minute ago, why had he shown his fangs at her so quickly? Clearly, everyone was different in that guild, one way or another.

The trio was ascending the staircase in a loud exit the moment Mina came through the main door, her brows rising at the happy group of nerds. “Some people sure have some good breakfast.” murmured she before her black eyes were set on Kirishima and Uraraka, a smile shooting up to her round features as soon they looked at her. “Oh, my eyes have been blessed! Good morning, guys!”

Kirishima padded to her with a grin, and Uraraka waved at her while walking less enthusiastically than him. The redhead sure was a goof bear despite his tough exterior. “Good to see you around today, Mina! Any luck at today’s practice?”

The pink haired girl sighed, shoulders sinking in disappointment and the sight was so unsettling for Uraraka, somehow. There was something so irritating about seeing such a cheerful girl so sunken��� the image was stirring something weirdly terrifying in her, and all the sorcerer wanted to do was hug those droopy eyes away. “It was a bit meh. No lucky shots or good preys to catch. Midoriya and barbarian would sure be disappointed with my performance.”

And Kirishima’s hands came to rest on her deflated shoulders, which perked up at the soothing gesture, and it brought a little smile to Mina’s face as soon as his calloused hands were rubbing her shoulders– and Uraraka didn’t know with all certainty, but Kirishima seemed to relax as soon as she was fine again. Light streamed around the pair, making it all look more heavenly to her. It made her heart squeeze comfortable in her chest, and the brunette smiled kindly at the exchange.

Her neck started sweating grossly, but it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling. Sparks of complicity flew and cracked from the pair’s fingers, ignited the ground beneath Uraraka and lifted her up in a trip to another world, all the world fading away, her included, and tainting it all it reds and roses, the color of his eyes and the blush of her cheeks. The world seemed simpler, their breaths dancing across pages of her life in blurs of iris, and it all felt familiar and warm to her.

She was suddenly wondering if Midoriya was also like this seeing how soft he was, or if Kaminari could smile like that too, or if Bakugou used to be this endearing before becoming such a beast. Not like she minded, though.

“Take it easy, though.” said Kirishima, finally, voice as soft as silk and his eyes bright. However, his brows were a bit furrowed. “I know how you all tend to overdo it when bad days go even worse. I don’t want to have you hitting the bed before dinner.”

“Ah, I’m going to rest for the rest of the day. I had thought about heading to the alchemist, then go downtown for the Sacred Sanctuary.” it sounded like assurance, but Uraraka couldn’t find what rest she would do in doing guild chores. All she did was smile with a shake of her head, which prompted Mina to look at her and grin. Everything was alright in the world, suddenly. “Wanna come with, Uraraka? There are some people I think you haven’t met yet!”

Before the brunette could even answer, the archer was already dragging her out of the main room until Kirishima stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Wait, can you do me a favor and take this scroll to the Sanctuary? Yagi will sure be happy to see we already have the zone swept for them.”

She removed her backpack to open it and put the scroll in. Uraraka could tell with a little glance that this woman was not a commoner archer, as all items she had seemed pretty damn hard to get. The moment the scroll was in, the inventory was closed. “I’ll try to be quick. The library at the Sanctuary will be jam-packed with people at evening.” her hand was on Uraraka’s elbow a second later as Mina waved at Kirishima. The sorcerer was being dragged so ruthlessly that all she could do was hum a farewell to the hunter.

While they walked through the plaza, Uraraka was slapped to reality when a crack on the ground called her attention. That was from when she used the ground spikes against Bakugou – she recalled unwillingly, and her face tensed when memories of the fateful battle swarmed in her brain, swum in her mind and drowned her in a sense of dread and, again, determination to get better the next time she trained with Bakugou.

“Don’t get worked up over it!” Mina patted her back as they neared an adjacent building. “Everyone at the alchemist will sure love you to bits!”

Yeah, well, not like that was what was going through her mind at the moment, but that would do. Uraraka nodded and let herself be guided to the alchemist, all troubling thoughts forgotten when her nose came in contact with what could either be an awful medicine or a wonderful poison. However, the room was cozy and warm, divided by a counter that crossed the whole room. There were two tables at the sides and bookshelves with books, flowers, and bottles full of pebbles and devices that were foreign to her.

The windows by the door provided with shedding sunlight onto the floor, making it glow in radiance and this familiar feeling writhed in her heart, a feeling similar to smelling fresh bread, or burying your face in the fluffiest pillow. There was a big cauldron at the end of the room, a bit hidden at the darkened ends of the room, and someone was moving around there.

When Mina closed the door, this very same person came running to them. It was a girl, green hair with big, doe eyes and a neutral, scientific look in her face. Her hair was tied up in a large bun, but was irremediably long no matter how much the girl tried to tie it. She shot a hand up to greet them, polite. “Good morning, Mina. This must be new girl, right?”

The archer hummed in agreement, and wordlessly handed a sheet of paper to her. The girl behind the counter read it slowly, eyes carefully examining the ingredients asked of her, and Uraraka was assured right there that this woman was a skilled professional. “The usual, I see.” she searched under the counter to get a seal and mark the sheet. “I’m Asui, by the way. I’m the chief herbalist of this guild, and also main alchemist. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

When Asui offered her a hand to shake, Uraraka gingerly corresponded the gesture. “Yes, I have heard of you as well. You must be a valuable member of this guild.”

A small, purple dressed man came to Asui’s side, face of a kid but clothes of a full-fledged adult. The herbalist gave him the sheet and guided him behind so he’d start working on it. “I am a fighter, as well, but I am specialized on potions and gems. This region is fertile and rich in minerals, so we are always coming up with new improvements.”

Uraraka nodded in awe, eyes sparkling at what could mostly be defined as a pure brutal hard worker. Mina nudged her with a mischievous glint in her eyes, but her smile was pure and genuine. “Guess what? She’s a sorcerer, too!”

Uraraka was quick to slam her hands on the counter, making the wood shake and papers crumble, and her words came out excited and overwhelmed. Her shoulders were shaking as her chords vibrated in glee. “Y-You are a sorcerer!”

Asui wasn’t affected by her happiness, only nodded with a finger to the mouth. “Always been one. It’s only natural since I was raised in a lake.”

In a lake? – when Uraraka turned to Mina, she only nodded slowly in consideration, then turned to the head alchemist. “She can only use water based magic.” Uraraka still seemed clueless, maybe because she hadn’t seen Asui’s whole non-human complexion. “She’s a mutant.”

A second passed, then two, and the girl was unresponsive. Before the brunette could flip the counter upside down, Asui chided the archer. “Please, Mina, don’t be so blunt, ribbit. Watch how you are talking about the person who makes your daily potions.” the pink haired girl shrunk a little, and Uraraka was stunned that such a stale, collected and calm person existed in such unkempt guild. “My family was cursed before my birth during a battle, and had to exile. I am mostly human, but–“

“Asui,” the small man came running again. “who is that cutie–“

The alchemist’s large tongue slapped the man back to work, and he whimpered back to the cauldron while blood drained from Uraraka’s face. Mina didn’t mind the little show. “–as you have just witnessed, I have frog-like abilities. I can also blend with the colors of a room, and breathe underwater. However, due to my slim, porous skin, I can’t handle fire magic. Other elements just bore me.”

“She’s a part of the exploration team too, with Hagakure and the others.” explained Mina, and Uraraka nodded stiffly, still shocked by Asui’s slap. “More than valuable, she’s just a mad woman. Midoriya accepted her so fast that Bakugou had no way to deny him. Maybe it was because of her handicap that Bakugou ended up accepting her, but that’s beside the point.” the archer smirked coyly. “You sure have been spending time with Midoriya ever since, right?”

The ever so phlegmatic girl, who had been blinking at them without a trace of emotion exploded into a small blush, cheeks dusted in pink. “He makes for a good companion when days are rainy. You will have time to talk with him as soon as the ban is over, I’m sure.”

“That will make tomorrow much easier for Bakugou.” commented Mina airily, hand on her waist as a hand racked behind her mane of pink locks. “He can’t handle being still and idle for more than an hour, let alone another day. That guy…”

“Give him a rest, Mina.” surprisingly, it was Uraraka who said that, a comprehensive smile gracing the view. “After all, we made a favor to the Council by defeating Pyrox. I can understand why he’s so annoyed with this situation.”

“It’s so weird to think that you are that girl who stood her ground against him. I was told all about it, and it’s a shame I wasn’t there to see the spectacle you made at Magma Volcano.” Uraraka was torn between feeling a bit offended and blushing for the compliment– but look, everyone had regarded her as tiny, but still a powerhouse, so she couldn’t complain, really. “I still reckon you have tons to learn, yes?”

“Now that I think about it,” Mina scratched her cheek – Uraraka noticed that she had a minor scar there – and looked at her newest friend. “I heard that you and Bakugou would be training, yes?”

Uraraka jumped at what had been presented to her as a secret, but seemed to have spread like wildfire. “Oh, do you have a knack for masochism, ribbit?” she jumped again. “You have such pretty skin, what a pity.”

The brunette knew she shouldn’t be as spooked as she was, but her peers’ behavior was frightening. The idea that they had of her sparring sure sounded different than what Uraraka thought. Asui and Mina were probably used to the barbarian they had as a leader and they were most likely disregarding him out of habit, thinking it would be just Bakugou being Bakugou– except it wasn’t. That man could kill her if he so desired, so nobody should be so aloof about such a threat.

“Hold on, it’s not a matter to be taken lightly!” exclaimed the sorcerer, hat dancing as her head shook in denial. “This is not going to be a walk down the forest! He is a mad monster with nothing else to offer but pain.”

“But that’s what you want from him either way, right?”

That made both archer and sorcerer look at the alchemist, who was neatly noting things down on a sheet of paper. “I mean, you can’t really ask for much more other than that. Bakugou isn’t going to change much no matter how much you try to hammer him into shape. He works in another more complicated way.”

Mina blinked at her for a second before glancing at Uraraka pensively. “She’s right on that. You are going to spend some more time with Bakugou as long as he trains with you– which he kinda actually ordered you to, right?”

Something clapped inside of her, as if her heart had orbited out of existence and all she had left was the thunder hammering of her heart against her chest, but it echoed out of her, as if it had ran a mile and was hanging on the hands of another person– another man. He had clutched her heart in commitment, punishment and obliteration, condemning her to a life full of wounds and interrupted healing. Somehow, her eyes would never heal from seeing him survive a meteor shower– but she’d cope and learn how to go against him.

Yes, that feeling of dread everytime the thought of sparring with him– it was so vibrant now, because he had directly given her the directions to walk, every single day, into a death flag. She was overcome with the same feeling of being thrown into a black hole with a blindfold, unconscious, and waiting for the fall to bend her broken.

“Well, yeah.” gulp. “He did say he’d impose his training schedules on me, which doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but still…” her hands reached out for her neck to mess with, but Mina held her wrists down with a pout. “… not gonna lie, he may be easier to deal with now in terms of speaking, but a one-on-one sounds like a bigger deal.”

“That’s what he wants you to feel.” butted in Mina again, planting herself in front of Uraraka. “He plays a lot with psychology, but gives himself away with the little details. When he called you roundface, he was mentally integrating you with the rest of us. I’m alien girl,” Mina pointed at Asui with her thumb, grinning. “she’s frog girl, but he respects us all the same. And the fact that he privately accepted you into the guild… he does respect you as a fighter.”

Somehow, the thought of Bakugou actively respecting her sent her heart into an override of confusing feelings, namely throbbing anxiety and crippling warmth that was so sketchy and edgy, all sticking to her lungs and constricting them in a deathly hazard of suffocation, because heat was issuing from her nonblushing cheeks and god forbid her from blushing at the mention of something as common ground – or at least, should be common ground – as respect.

“But you still are a universal threat.”

“Yes!” agreed Mina, and Uraraka deflated considerably, the high from the fantasy popping like a balloon. “You are still dangerous, and while most of us are open to trusting you, he will either never open up, or it will take a while. Asui was handicapped, but you sure are not.” insert humorless giggle and a blink from the herbalist. “See him as a toy, as a tool, get all you need to from him, and then quietly leave.”

“Does that mean I’d never make him be at least friendly or civil with me?” her tone was desperate, graver than intended, but reflected the worry she had intended to show.

Asui and Mina shared an unintelligible message that Uraraka knew to be a thing in this guild– man, it made her feel so out of context. Asui spoke up. “Kirishima made it happen, so I don’t see why you wouldn’t– but you are a sorcerer. So skipping the profession barrier is a tough thing to accomplish.”

“You guys shouldn’t brainwash her like that– you’ll only get her into trouble with grumpy nukes.”

The two clients spun to meet Kaminari at the doorway, who shook his head at their startled looks. Asui casually shrugged off the fact that the boy had been there for a pretty long time. “Sorry I didn’t properly greet you, ribbit. We were having some quality talks here, I didn’t want to interrupt them.”

“S’kay, Asui.” he kicked the door shut, arms busy and heavy with what appeared to be harvests from the forest, colorful fruits and leaves peaking from the bag. Uraraka wanted to help him with the burden, but he seemed to be handling the charge with those good arms he had sure worked hard for. “Sorry for taking so long with these. I just couldn’t decide on which ones to pick.”

The herbalist gathered a bunch of contents from the top of the pile and spread them on the table, pointing at them to teach some medicine basics. “This red one is used for kids’ medicines, as they are sweeter than regular herbs. It has no more use than its taste, used as an additive.”

Mina quickly grabbed it – she sure had a sweet tooth for fruits and sugary products – and munched it. “Yummy! How is it called?”

“It’s a variant of regular strawberries, called sterolia.”

Kaminari raised an eyebrow while Uraraka tentatively tried one as well. “Sounds tough work, all the naming stuff.” Uraraka spit the sterolia out– too much sweetness for her.

“This leaf here is poisonous, so I hope you were– ah, thank goodness you carried gloves with you.” indeed, the blonde had a very worn out pair of gloves with him, stained and unsown in some parts. “Touching them carelessly causes horrible stitches, and the wounds from scratching the stung parts attract lots of bugs. Not pleasant.”

Asui took the dark brown leaf and dipped it in a glass of water. Purple splotches of ink started to steam out of the leaf. “Bugs are in love with this thing, so we here use it for strategic purposes, to make enemies come out from their hideouts.” she wiggled the glass a bit in front of them, the liquid spilling gracefully from the container and the other three took a step back. “Drinking this is horrifyingly painful for your stomach, but it has a bittersweet taste and smell, resembling a health potion. Iida once mistook this with a stamina potion and… well, it was rough for him.”

Uraraka grasped the edges of her neck ties with concern and shock. “Who would have thought it! Did he have much trouble to fight it?”

The boy chuckled as good – should be bad – memories resurfaced from the bottom of his mind. “I remember once, he woke up mumbling something about a fight against aliens and him being super beaten up by them. What a weird guy.”

Before Uraraka could embark into a solo voyage of a worry rampage, Asui cut in. “It is hallucinations too, it was only natural he had those visions. This is a pretty good sample of nitoria. You did a good job, Kaminari. I might ask Midoriya for an allowance to hire you permanently.”

The job mustn’t have been easy or funny, because Kaminari paled at the prospect of doing the job again. “I’ll have to politely decline the offer, Asui. I’m of much more use at the battlefield.”

“You sure are, sparkles.” he tensed at the casual use of such dreadful nickname, and Uraraka and Mina giggled. Asui meant her words as a praise, but she doubted that edge had fallen their way. “Either way, there are also some other ingredients here for painkillers and sensorial enhancers. Mina, you had some ordered here, right?”

“Positive!” after a vigorous nod, Mina glanced at Uraraka, who was still observing the leaf let out the toxins deep into the water. “My Uraraka, you sure seem to like herbs and that stuff.”

Kaminari also looked at her in wonder, eyes drifting from the purpling water to Uraraka, time after time. “I don’t know why that surprises you so much. I had always thought sorcerers knew a bit about herbs and alchemy.”

“Excuse me,” the brunette sorcerer leant back from her watching pose and narrowed her eyes at him, trying to look as venomous as Bakugou would in a nice day. “I do know a bit of all that– after all, I know how to do potions and stuff, but just the basics.” her eyes wavered to Asui’s unblinking ones, as she scanned her over and over. It was all kinds of awkward when one caught her glance like that. “Would it be too much to ask for some practice now and then, Asui?”

The green haired pharmacist shook her head. While she walked to a shelf to get some flasks, Kaminari started setting some other things on the table. “Not at all, Uraraka. I bet Bakugou and Midoriya would accept me giving you some lessons. All for training’s sake and survival.”

“Thank you very much, Asui!” the girl vowed dramatically until her forehead touched the floor, and Kaminari pulled her back by the hem of her uniform’s neck. “I’ll try to come as often as possible.”

“Talking about lessons and nerdy stuff…” Kaminari tugged at the sorcerer’s sleeve so she’d stop rambling about her future lessons with their high-level herbalist. “Yaoyorozu came to me earlier and asked about your whereabouts. She said she needed to speak to you privately.”

Uraraka’s back tensed right after mentioning the knight’s name, and her eyes shone in anticipation. She was quick to jump in front of the blonde and start firing him with unspoken questions, all summed up to this: “Do you have any idea about what she wanted?”

“Nope.” but her eyes didn’t waver in intensity, her hands never let go of their tight grip on her chest’s fabric, and her smile was brightening with each passing second. No matter how many “She’s with Todoroki– necking, probably, discussing stuff at the library.”

The brunette nodded with eagerness and her feet quickly scrambled to the door. Giddiness was taking over her body as her frantic steps neared the sunshine outside the alchemist’s. “Thank you so much, Kaminari! I’ll see you later at dinner, guys! Please Mina, do take care of yourself.”

As soon as Uraraka was out of the room, Mina chuckled. “She sure is full of energy this late in the–“

The door was slammed open again. “HOW COULD I FORGET.” making everyone jump a yard back, she screamed at them for answers. “Has anyone seen Jack around? I need to have a little talk with her.”

“Last time I saw her, she was heading to the library downtown.” he scratched his chin, backtracking all the way back to the very same sunny morning that had turned slightly cloudy and grim without Jack, then had opened up when Uraraka decided to drop by. “She has been missing ever since.”

“Ah, I’m gonna head to the Sanctuary’s library right after getting my stuff from Asui.” and yes, Uraraka remembered that– also how Kirishima seemed to shine whenever she was close, and the way his tense muscles had softened around her shoulders, and it somehow felt like such a Yuuei-ish thing, making people so squishy and light inside. Uraraka’s heart leaped out of her chest whenever she remembered that she was a member of this family now. “Is there anything in specific you need from her?”

“Nothing in particular apart from a talk we need to have. If you see her, remind her of this.” the door was closing again, but no without a cheeky girl waving behind her. “Take care guys, see you later!”

When she was gone again, everyone let out a sigh of contentment. Kaminari looked at the archer while Asui sorted out the received items in a further shelf. “She’s always running around– kinda reminds me of you in your earlier days, Mina.”

The pink haired girl pouted and crossed her arms. “I am not a potential powerhouse threat to my peers, thank you so much. And I’m not in the best terms with Bakugou, but he at least hasn’t tried to kill me.”

“He did, once.” commented Asui from afar, her words reaching meekly and as unemotional as ever. “Remember when Kirishima almost dropped hunting practice to tend your sore ankle? He sure is an angel.”

There was a whole minute of silence in which the only response Mina gave was her left eye twitching, hands quivering, and as much as Kaminari did to wake her up from the trance, nothing was working.

When a shove didn’t work, he looked at the unfazed herbalist with a narrowed, pointy glare. “I think you just broke Mina.”

“Serves her right for calling me a mutant.”

Uraraka’s steps up the endless staircase of Yuuei’s main building were a nightmare scenario of blood red carpeted steps with golden strings, holding the secrets of the very same guild hanging from a thread, an inch away from her nose and making her chase after those demons with even more determination than before, the strings wearing thinner and thinner until, someday, the fibers would give in to their.

Sparkles of jars full of sunflowers and roses blurred at her sides the more stairs she flew upon, her rhythm long forgotten and given in to the frantic beat of her heart, the crossed and uneven gasps that escaped her mouth and how the clouds beneath her lungs transcended and transcended until she was breathless, hopeless, and falling into another place far away from there, away from the violence, the disturbance and the disarrayed stream of peace that shot out from each of her peers’ hearts.

“I gotta make it to the top…” her shoes stomped harder on the carpet, hands flailing in front of her as the end reached her eyes. “important matters await me there!”

Because Yaoyorozu screamed patience, understanding, intimacy, power and this dreadful sense of danger behind ever corner she had to turn, as if her eyes were always searching to corner hers into an alleyway of unfounded grudges that she clearly didn’t desire to hold, yet she did because no matter how good one tried to be, rumors would always prevail over human faith. And Uraraka knew this. She had seen the same phantom behind everyone’s seemingly innocent eyes.

But the brunette knew that while walking down this river, stepping on the wrong stone would have her meeting a fierce leader’s sharp blade, fueled with bravery and desire. No matter how good-intended her beliefs were, popular opinions would always squish her little hopes into nothing if she ever dared to show her teeth too much.

So, when she opened the door to the library. it was somewhat surprising to see the two knights talking animatedly, with no care in the world– and even when she came into view clearly, that little spark didn’t change. “Fancy meeting you here, Uraraka.”

The sorcerer closed the door behind her and nodded a greeting to Todoroki, who sat on the table by his female counterpart, who had aimed for a chair. “I’m glad Kaminari told you to come by, otherwise I’m not sure if you would have made it in time before dinner.”

“It’s fine, you know I would have come by sooner or later.” Uraraka decided not to sit down, and eyed some books with interest. Titles as The Sword and the Sun flashed in front of her like a bird crossing the horizon, briefly and in a blur of confusing colors. “Is the matter of such emergency that you had to get a messaging dove for it?”

Todoroki chuckled and beckoned her to get closer to them, which she did with a meek glance at them. “It’s good to see you in good shape after the events of last two days. I don’t think a classical commoner would have withstood being stabbed, being almost stabbed again by a bloodthirsty maniac and then defeating a monster almost on their own.”

The knight chuckled as well, but shaking her head at the boy and then looking at the confused sorcerer. “That’s Todoroki’s congratulations for… I guess not being a commoner. Don’t look much into that.”

Uraraka sighed, but it didn’t sound as relieved as one would have expected. “Yeah, it seems like people only know me for being ‘the kamikaze who put off a volcano’. Not that I’m ungrateful for the praise, but I just hope to grow a name out of my own personality, not battlefield victories– at least, for now.”

“So, you wanna yield a name?” Yaoyorozu looked up from her book to look at her friend, who nodded vigorously with her hands to her chest. “Interesting. You have so many things to do here, and you seem resilient.”

“It’s not like you have little things to do, either.” commented Todoroki with slight traces of both disdain and teasing, to which she responded with a little pout. “Besides, she’s new in here. Of course she’ll be busy, and even more while recovering and training with Bakugou.”

Uraraka’s brow twitched as she looked at the pair, who continued reading their books as if they hadn’t said anything of particular importance. “Why… do you all seem to know about the training thing? Are you guys spying on me… on him?”

She didn’t want to include the idea of an us because that would be awfully misleading.

“Information here spreads fast. I just hope Bakugou doesn’t know about it, he’d sure throw a monumental tantrum over being spied on.” complained Yaoyorozu. Uraraka felt a bit flustered at the idea that they had been spying on their last conversation, while she had been fixing his fingers– ugh. Some pink now sure had made its way to her cheeks and she didn’t know why because nothing of special relevance happened. “Either way, there are some things I wanted to show you.”

The knight let her book on the table – Todoroki slipped a finger on the last page she had been reading with a sly sway of his eyes, making Uraraka smile at the little act of complicity. Then, her eyes drifted to the girl scrolling her eyes for a specific book. It must have been one of those dusty ones if she was struggling so much to find it. Books at the top seemed dusty to the naked eye, big fat pages engrossing the eyes of the interested reader in hours of silent learning. Others seemed lighter, covers thinner, and some of these were piled up at the bureau at the back, mixed with some thicker ones.

Uraraka approached the bureau with curiosity under Todoroki’s veiled but short stare, and picked up a random book. This one specifically talked about metamorphosis, and as she eyes the first pages, it turns out like it was something she herself could do with practice. “Shapeshifting.” it came as a murmur that only Todoroki picked up, but he was now too busy reading his things to bother answering. “The art of material shifting.”

The knight was quick to slap the book away from her hands, as if Uraraka was a child and she was a mother, looking out for her. “Don’t you even dare go near that thing.”

The sorcerer frowned and squatted to pick the book up– her hands traced the spine of the book delicately, aware of its decripit state. “Why not? I bet this would help me train for a bit by learning new stuff, even if it’s side skills!” her eyes scanned the first pages of the book quickly while the other glared. Hard. “Well, this seems complicated– ouch, that can hurt like a– I can transform into wate–?!”

Yaoyorozu snatched the book away, frowning down at her. It felt like someone had cut down a rope that the sorcerer was climbing right before reaching the peak of the mountain, and now she was falling down to an abyss, her head full of questions as the knight left the book right on the top shelf where very few people could reach.

“Off limits, Uraraka.” spat she, not meaning to be unkind, but coming across as defensive and angry. “We do want you to expand your prowess, but there’s a limit to everything. What’s the first rule of sorcery use?”

A second later, Uraraka sighed and pointed out her index. “Never try or wield spells or moves that are high above your capacity, lest they will backfire on you.” listed she in a monotone deadpan. The knight nodded, and Uraraka instantly started to complain. “But that’s not fair at all! It’s not like I’m going to go around shapeshifting when I’m wary of–“

“But are you aware of what you can handle, really?” Todoroki flashed the other knight a warning glare, which Yaoyorozu blatantly ignored with a frown of hers. “Remember when you clearly consumed all your energy during your fight with Pyrox? Despite the fact that you kind of saved our lives back there, we can’t let you adopt to that habit. Sorcerers have great habilities, can usually pull off any level moves they wish for– but they can backfire dramatically.”

“I know the basics of sorcery, I know about level barriers and all of that.” the burn from the other day with a simple candle was the first example of how aware she was. Big things could be done with small bodies, but it would always backfire in catastrophic ways. It would always depend on how much energy you had and your capacity. “But I am pretty sure I can start learning the basics of high level stuff while I make my way–“

“That’s not it, Uraraka.”

“Then?”

Yaoyorozu locked gazes with the other knight, who seemed to be having trouble with focusing on the book and biting his tongue at the same time. His knuckles started to rub his thigh, a clear sign of distress– the knight hissed as she stared harder on him, as if telling him to either shut up or speak up, but stop making a fuss over it. It’s not like she usually had the upper hand on him, but this time, it looked like he’d let her maneuver to her liking.

Yaoyorozu was back to acting slightly worried about the handful she had in front of her, who blinked an alarmingly amount of times in confusion. “Power is a double edged sword. And in your case, it plays more to your disadvantage than it does in your favour.”

Uraraka glanced at Todoroki, who was having an internal crisis regarding how vague his companion was purposefully being, and then blinked back at the other female. “Care to elaborate?”

She sighed and sat down again on the chair, rubbing her sore eyes with fervor and enthusiasm before facing Uraraka again. “You are a sorcerer, a powerful one. Having you develop such high level skills at an early stage will only attract attention from people.”

“In other words,” cut in the other boy, without looking up from his book. “they will want your head faster.”

The notion fell on her like an avalanche shaking a tree, stars twinkling behind her eyes and her ears starting to deafen the more reality dampened her in fueled determination, but also doubt and everlasting dread of, again, that nauseous feeling of having a thousand eyes looming from above– and it all and it only made her wonder, wonder if there was no easy way to make them all realize that she wasn’t evil. Her eyes dropped to the ground, existentially decades away from the very moment when Todoroki felt a little bit of pity for that little girl. Because of course he was skeptical, but he hadn’t seen her do anything bad either.

“I don’t really see what’s the problem with me learning some basics…” her face was crestfallen, lips drawn in a thin line as she spoke. “But I guess I can understand your standpoint to a certain extent.”

Lights went on in Yaoyorozu’s stern glance, that had grown soft under Uraraka’s surrender, and she flung to a side of the table to gather a pair of books. “That doesn’t mean you can’t check some of these books out.”

Todoroki took the books from the knight and handed them to the sorcerer, but he still wouldn’t look up from his books. The brunette looked at the volumes in sheer happiness and excitement, like a little girl with a lollipop or a set of new crayons, and eyed the titles of the rather big volumes, all covered in leather and metallic intrincated patterns, rough to the touch but expelling wisedom and magic all over their surface. One of them seemed to be a basic guide into elementary sorcery and summoning, and another into basics of other side techniques.

It all screamed rookie, weak, and she didn’t really like it– yet, she reluctantly took the books to heart and nodded to the knight. The little snippits she had read touched on subjects she already had knowledge about, but it was a bit like mathematics and astrology: things she definitely knew about, yet she never gave them much use. Uraraka was more ambicious than to dive into the known seas of principant sorcery, expected exciting things to happen to her now that the Baku-deathflag was out of sight.

But she could understand that they needed to keep her a bit down to earth for the time being. Doing some basic training like this would open her doors more, make her rethink a little bit her choices during battles. Perhaps Bakugou was right and maybe – her hands clenched their grip on the books, making their existence and weight more relevant and vivid –, just maybe, she could improve by boosting some basics.

A minute or so after – when the black haired girl had sat down again, apparently for real this time, a tiny bulb lit up on her avid imagination. Her fingers threaded through the various pages of index references, eyes skidding over the words like water on ice, her eyes fixated in a single word she was struggling to find.

“Is there…” her voice trailed off for two seconds, giving the other two guild members to look at her, as she switched books. “is there any appendix on… dreams and the like?”

Their reaction was as she had predicted: surprised, albeit not completely shocked. Todoroki finally looked up from his volume – now that the sorcerer inspected it in a closer look, it was even dirtier and older than hers. “Dreams.” he tasted the word in his chapped lips, and then she nodded. “Are you interested in oneiromancy or something?”

Her head was going to shake in denial before she mentally took a step back and contemplated the word, appearing in glistening lights and a cloud of fog, trying to blur her thoughts until she snapped and nodded ever so slowly. “Yeah… kind of.”

“Well, I don’t think there is anything akin to oneiromancy here.” Yaoyorozu looked at the ceiling in wonder, gesture that somehow seemed so typical of her to do. “If there was, I certainly don’t know anything of it. But there are always oracles to go to.”

Uraraka left the books on the table, took out a very uncomfortable looking chair to sit down on and gawked at the knight. “Oracles?”

Todoroki carried on with the explanation. “They are usually old women who live in small villages, usually in exile. They often can practice oneiromancy, but,” his hands shot up to stop what was going to be a beaming interruption, her eyes dulling a little bit as her words were stopped. “it’s a bit dangerous to rely on a stranger for issues that involve psychology. If you ever encounter one and decide to consult her, be careful with what lies she can tell you.”

“Most of them don’t charge you for consulting them,” she said, thinking that Uraraka would be relieved to hear that – which she wasn’t, because gold wasn’t something she really cared about. “But it’s true that some people still leave their chambers in a worse condition than before. They are a tricky business to meddle with.”

Uraraka’s expression twisted into a sour frown, her hands now cluthing the book harder as she looked through some pages hesitantly. Ever since those dreams had been hunting her, her mind had woken in a haze of unchasable chains of events, something she felt close to her, but was somehow tearing her apart. Both her hands were stretched, two threads pulling her in opposite directions towards where home was supposed to be, yet she was feeling undeniable torn apart despite her general contentment.

In a sense, her mind wasn’t completely settled, it hadn’t wrapped around the facts that had been happening around her– and it was driving her insane. Everything around her was unknown, a foreign space where stars shone in a distance too far for her dainty hands to reach, and the void somehow grew bigger and bigger as flashes of people, smiles and sunflowers passed by. Her steps through the streets would feel ghostly, as if she had forgotten how to walk yet was managing to stand and survive, and not knowing how was eating her alive.

If her fingers stretched into the distance and screamed for her memories to come back, they wouldn’t. There was nothing there for her. They had never been to start with.

“I guess you have been having trouble sleeping, then?” wondered Yaoyorozu casually, but still addressed the matter with care, her reading slowing down to hear what she had to say.

Her head snapped up, and her fully white grin was back on full to grace their day. Uraraka scratched her cheek with nonchalance. “You could say that.”

“Then maybe Asui can give you a hand on that.” Todoroki grunted, his book already closed, and hoped off the table. “Anyway, duty downtown calls me. Do you need anything from there?”

“Wait!”

Uraraka abruptly rose from her chair and slammed her hand on the table to call his attention despite him being still in the room, looking at her with expectation– and her eyes trembled their way up his blue vest, padded up the porcelain skin at his neck and fixated her irises on his cold ones– which had little stems of concern in his eyes at times, but it was always short lived, and all she wanted was for everyone to bear with her a little longer than that.

But, again, something snapped inside of her the minute her eyes bore into his too far, as they got entangled with the miseries that heart of his must be enduring, and she felt worthless under his unpurposed glare. The words she had meant to say sunk down hell fast, trespassing her stomach and twisting her gut awkwardly.

“I just wanted to thank you for your assitance while I was dungeon hunting the other day!” her head was vowed a little bit, hat shadowing her flushed expression. “I am so sorry you had to go out of your way and look after me!”

The boy’s eyes fidgeted when looking at the bashful newcomer, then fluttered to rest on Yaoyorozu’s stare. Judging by her bored expression and how quickly her eyes had shifted back to her book, the same thought had crossed her mind. He waved his hand at her in dismissal, to which she only titled her head in disbelief. “There is nothing you need to thank me for.” he approached the door to leave the room, but looked at Uraraka and softly added something in the last second. “That’s what guildmates are for.”

When the door closed, a charge of meaningful feelings and newfound significances fell heavy on her shoulders, tingles of positivity and acceptance crushing her alive, so she smiled, grinned because someone seemed to be outwardly giving her a hand by giving her a chance– but Yaoyorozu had seen the way her mood lifted, and was quick to cut it short with her all-seeing eyes, the welcome slashed in mid air.

“The guild will be having dinner soon.” commented the other, aloof, as if not giving it importance. Uraraka twitched a bit, aware of how serious Yaoyorozu sounded and only being able to hear the busy rustle of pages being turned. “Leave your books at your dorm and go down with the others. If anybody asks, tell them I’ll be skipping dinner today.”

Uraraka turned to this, ready to give her a very ironic lecture on alimentation. “But–“

“Uraraka.”

The sorcerer fully turned to the knight, who was still pretending to read that very thick book, more intimidating than the ones she clutched close to her chest. Before the soorcerer could muster as much of a response, Yaoyorozu’s eyes had turned as cold as Todoroki’s frown– which was not visible, but was mentally craved on Uraraka’s head, eyes dull in menace.

“You didn’t mean to ask such petty excuse of a request to Todoroki, am I right?”

Such dour voice shook all muscles of her being, making her look at her books to just minimize the impact of Yaoyorozu’s future implications. The words rattled for minutes in her head before Yaoyorozu considered the silence as a very good answer on its own, and her eyes landed on Uraraka’s shaken up stance. Eyes black, dark glare, stared at her in a frightengly invisible threat.

“Don’t you ever dare pull again another move like the one you did back there with Bakugou.” pages still rustled. “If you do as much of a trick similar to that one, we will have problems. I am willing to accept you,”

–There was a pause, and Uraraka could feel her breaths consume her sole existence with anticipation and dread. –

“but I will never condone cursed magic in this guild. And I am in a stage that I could either hug you or gladly give you a beating without having very few doubts about it. Trust me when I say that not many people on here would even care to give you a proper burial.”

Her shoulders shifted, feeling how her words plunged all kinds of irrational fears and successfully took out all sense of acceptance and resolution she had ever held. These people were open to trusting her – she remembered, this bitter taste filling the room in white noise and backtracking, hope trembling again underneath Yaoyorozu’s pinning eyes – but they were also willing to kill her if she dared to do a single wrong move out of their eyes.

“I am more aware of that than what may seem.” spat she out without giving it much thought, words flying out of her mouth before she could take them back. “But I am going to show you all that I am trustworthy enough.”

“I am not saying that we are all spying on you.” her eyes softened the tiniest bit, making Uraraka remember that yes, Yaoyorozu was fierce, but she was also kind. “We are aware that there are people who are starting to trust you already– I myself find the heart to do so. But if you ever dare take our hands to then eat our whole arm… we will have problems, alright?”

“Again, I know that I can’t expect to be fully embraced the first day. You guys are… generous, kind. But I also know that being open to a risk doesn’t mean you are going to be fully reckless about it.”

She could feel Yaoyorozu shifting, feel her heart beating as fast and out of cadence as hers, lungs constricting and finding it hard to breathe under the looming, silent risk of having a potential terrorist in her headquarters– but still trying to find the heart to accept her and put their lives in her hands like they had done many times before, but risking a whole universe in the process.

“This is our last warning, Uraraka.” deadpanned the knight– but it felt like everyone was talking to her at the same time, their hands hovering over her throat with a plastic knife–, clothes crumpling in the distance and her voice thin and frail like a stray loose hair in a thread. “If you take things a step too far from now on, you’re over. So you can either stay or leave now.”

Uraraka shuffled the two volumes to her neck, knuckles white with so much pressure in them – the weight of maybe killing somebody, of maybe killing an entire nation and then, eventually, maybe killing a whole universe – the whole notion of blood and despair in the body of an innocent man flashed in front of her eyes, and flickered to disappear when Uraraka turned, mild frown wrinkling her features.

“I was personally invited by one of the leaders to stay for what I could create, not destroy.” one of her hands grasped the door as the other almost crushed the books on her chest. “And for the little amount of faith you guys have put on me, I will make it a worthy investment.”

And with that, her dress swayed out of the room with the soft thud of the wooden door, and Yaoyorozu finally let down the façade to lean back, smile and sigh in relief.

“And I shall welcome you here, Uraraka.”

“Who was at the kitchen tonight?”

Everyone sitting on the table turned to look at her while Uraraka minded her own business, drinking straight from the bowl of soup. This elicited a hearty laugh from her, wiping a stain of soup from the corners of her mouth. “C’mon, don’t look at me like that; this was pretty good!”

Kaminari, who sat straight in front of her with his over the top leather jacket– wasn’t he hot in that? – puckered his lips in focus at how happy she seemed with just a warm cup of soup, nose wrinkled in disgust. “It’s Asui’s explorer quick soup. Turns out somebody didn’t know how to shop around town right.”

Funnily enough, he was mocking himself, and it seems like making that soup was some kind of punishment for him. Asui, who sat with Uraraka, slapped his hand away from the bread. “You were unlucky it was only us three having dinner now. Things would have probably been different if it had been more of us here.”

“Speaking of…” Uraraka looked around the common room, where no other people other than those three members stood. The chattery guild had turned into a pale shadow of itself within the passing of busy hours, people coming and going out and in. “where is everybody?”

“Ah, this is the usual.” Kaminari drank some water to let the water cleanse his withering throat, feeling the bitter taste of the soup be washed away. “Since us all have different occupations and tasks, it’s fairly normal to have mismatched schedules. Asui and I are usually with Jack and Mina today, but last days’ events have shaken our schedules up a bit.”

“So you never have, like, family dinners?”

“We do, but it’s very unusual.” pointed out Asui, stealing her friend’s loaf of bread away. “It only happens after guild battles or during special festivities. Sometimes, mixed professionals have it easier to coincide with others, but there are very scarce examples of that.”

“Mixed professionals?”

“Todoroki, for example.” Kaminari drank more and more water the more soup he ate. “He can fullfill minor sorcery quests and S-class knight quests. Mina, also, can fullfill S-class archery quests – well, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, she struggles a little – and some minor hunter ones. She can swing a hammer like a beast.”

“Some people usually tag together for quests like those. This guild doesn’t take in that many anymore, mainly because we don’t really need the extra gold with all these expeditions we partake in on a regular basis. We’re more busy with guild management more than anything nowadays, but this guild used to be buzzling with activity the first months.” added Asui, and Uraraka just listened intently, hearing Kaminari gulp all the water in a sole intake.

The sorcerer was starting to feel a bit thirsty, so she blindly reached out for the jar of ice cold water, only to feel it empty. “I can’t believe you drank it all in one go.”

The blonde scratched the back of his head, taking the jar from her hands with a guilty smile sketched playfully on his features. “Asui’s soup is a real killer!”

“Please, go fill it in.” he didn’t budge at first, but then Uraraka fluttered her eyelashes at him despite the blatantly obvious fact that her hands were sparking with a very troublesome looking yellow fire. “Now.”

And the boy dashed by them, only to be stopped by Asui’s tongue on his elbow. “With lemon.” and she let the boy hurry to the kitchen. Uraraka stared in wonder at the alchemist. “I like it refreshing. Hope you don’t mind. Besides, it will make the taste of the soup fade away a bit faster for him.”

The brunette turned her head to the kitchen, where Kaminari desperately searched for lemons on a big fruit basket. Then, a little giggle. “It’s alright. There was no need to be so hard on him for picking the wrong ingredients for dinner, though.”

“Don’t sweat it, Uraraka. He sometimes hesitates with which ingredients to buy, or just plain forgets about it.” the little girl craned her head a bit, and her eyes narrowed as he racked around a bag of goodies for lemons. “He is one of the very few that can’t stand the taste of the soup, others being Hagakure and Midoriya, ribbit. It’s very healthy and quick to make, so it’s what we usually eat during expeditions.”

“Sounds like a good deal for me.” Uraraka toyed with the spoon on the bowl, eyes imagining the vivid colors of a fire against the oak trees, owls screeching in the distance as members told stories while eating this soup, maybe Kaminari puking in a faraway bush. A dreamy sigh escaped her lips. “Yeah, definitely good.”

“So, what were we talking about, again?” Uraraka woke up from the daydream, looking at her friend while Kaminari approached them from behind. When the jar was set on the table, the sorcerer took the glass container with a smile. “Ah, yes, schedules and dinner.”

“It’s not like having dinner in small groups is a bad thing.” chipped in Kaminari, his arm draped across the bench. His eyes were focused in a far away memory. “I can’t remember the last time I had dinner with Bakugou and Midoriya, and it’s not something I’d be looking forward to.”

Asui nodded. “Agreed. Dinners with Midoriya are delightful, he’s always talking, almost like Uraraka… but Bakugou is either silent or moody.”

Uraraka had been busy with muscular rehabilitation all morning to even notice that she hadn’t seen Midoriya ever since she woke up the night after Pyrox’s defeat. “It’s been long since I last saw Midoriya… and Bakugou.” there was a trivial need to add the barbarian leader too, because now that she thought about it, they hadn’t talked much about their training sprees. Her eyes looked at the glassy glow of the bown under the candles. “Must have been busy.”

“They are sorting out some business at the Council, they should be here soon.” the herbalist offered Kaminari the jar of water, which he denied with a shake of the head as he spoke. “Doing paperwork at the office is absolutely dreadful, lemme tell you. Reports and the like are the worst part of sweeping off an area.”

“But it’s not like it was a quest, right?” asked the brunette, pouring some water on her glass. “As far as Todoroki told me, it was only another regular enemy on the way to an important path.”

“…which is correct information.” remarked Kaminari. “But it was not an authorized mission, therefore we are dealing with a ban. This village only authorizes business inside its borders, and the moment we meddle with enemies that are not only above our level, but also out of our barriers, we get a ban.”

“Then, why did we have to defeat an enemy out of our barriers to go to a path that is also out of our barriers? I guess there must be something important out there if Bakugou and Midoriya were so hellbent on going there, right?”

Asui and Kaminari blinked at her full load of questions, and discovered that she was way too quick to tie knots without enough information. Not like she was mistaken, anyway. “It’s a complicated story.” answered Asui, munching some bread quietly. “You should better ask Bakugou, who was the one leading the operation.”

“Yeah, I obviously did ask him as soon as I was told that we had that ban issue on our heads.” spat she, eyes narrowed and hands grasping the glass of water impatiently. Her fingers clenched around the glass when his insulting voice came to mind. “Told me to mind my own business. That insolent jerk…”

The blonde chuckled, eyes flickering in affection for the girl. Somehow, she had such warm spirit and sunny demeanor that seeing her so fixated on despising their leader was hilarious, and she had survived the tale after having Bakugou confront her. He couldn’t help but feel attached to her. “It’s fine to hate him at first. Trust me, I did at first too.” the girl looked at him, head titled and eyes sparkling against the molding candle light. “Not like I don’t dislike him now, but we all respect him as a leader.”

That statement did weird things to her twisting thoughts, and it clashed with a dangerous edge of her whole conception of her guild mates. “I’m always hearing you guys speak about Bakugou in terms of respect and, in a degree, fear – but Midoriya is another leader of Yuuei, and you guys almost never refer to him as such.”

Asui frowned at the statement, but didn’t disagree on this very right notion. “Their personalities are too clashing to wrap your mind about them being leaders. Bakugou is much more serious about it in the outside, while Midoriya… he works much more than he should. After all, mental effort counts as well.”

“We do aknowledge him as a leader, but he doesn’t give that vibe as much as Bakugou does.” Kaminari was drinking water again, and had also successully got himself some bread. “I bet you think the same.”

“Sincerely, I had already talked about this with Jack the day I fought Bakugou. Midoriya doesn’t seem as powerful as Bakugou is, but that may be because I have never seein him in action.” Uraraja clasped her hands under her chin, eyes shut as she tried to remember any image of Midoriya fighting during their encounter with Pyrox. “But if he’s a leader, I can only think he is powerful.”

“First, don’t think that a leader must be by force of occupation the most powerful member of a guild.” Asui’s words shut her mouth, speaking as bluntly and earnestly as usual. “And second, Midoriya is powerful, but he doesn’t let it shine too often. He is still a bit small in power, but I bet that with time, it will blossom.”

Blossom. The off choice of words made the sorcerer briefly wonder about what exactly were Midoriya’s skills in battle, but she decided to make a mental note to address it later to the leader. For now, she only drank water and tapped her fingers against the glass. “I just hope they aren’t doing too much stuff at the Council. Who knows how much patience one can–“

The door swung open with a loud bang, almost falling off its hinges as the charismatic leader triumphantly made his way into the guild’s common room. “WE ARE FINALLY FREE, DAMN IT.”

Midoriya, who was shyly trailing behind his cape, beamed at the trio of startled members, that were on the edge of their seats after Bakugou’s entrance. Uraraka’s eyes lit up at the comic duo. “He’s been screaming that just after we left the Council.”

“Dude, did they finally lift the ban?” asked Kaminari in his ever lasting laid-back voice, head lolling backwards to meet the hot-headed leader, who only snarled with a dangerous shadow on his eyes. “Does that mean you can already go around stealing kids’ candies?”

Bakugou’s hands wrestled Kaminari out of the bench and started grinding his fist against his blonde mane. “Who are you calling a bully, sparkles!?”

Midoriya ignored the ruckus and took Kaminari’s empty place with a placid smile. Uraraka also tuned off the noise of grunting and swearing to focus on Asui’s words. “I am glad we can finally go hunting. I don’t think Mina and Kirishima would have lasted another day without eating meat. And don’t get me started with the practicing straw dummies.”

Midoriya sighed, barely missing the jolts of electricity that Kaminari was defensively issuing to paralyze the beast that was overpowering him. Uraraka grimaced both at the beating and the hinder of those silly fake foes. “Yeah, I heard Kirishima moan about those. He sure doesn’t like idle enemies, huh.”

Bakugou finally let Kaminari drop to the ground, who was letting out nonsensical moans and cracking jokes with the floor he was licking. The ashen blonde only swore at him and shook his arms for some tension relieving, voice breathy. “Fuck, I truly needed that.” his eyes scanned the table and all around it, eyes finally landing on Uraraka, who was shaking with anticipation. However, the leader’s eyes were not as hard as usual, still bleeding in anger and violent discordance– but they were so, so clear now. “Shouldn’t you be doing muscular recovery, sleeping, or whatever suicidal sorcerers do?”

Her breath quivered a little when his lips drew down and down until he was frowning at her, either because she was being reckless – news flash: she wasn’t – or because she was existing in the same room he was. None of those options made her eyes back down from his digging ones, that pierced her chocolate eyes for answers and trying to make her shake a little.

Her heart was doing weird things out of intimidation inside her chest, beating to the rhythm of a crazy dance of chaos, and she could feel confidence skating on the surface of her fingertips like everytime they spoke or fought, and the stars that loomed high above the roof and the world sighed in unison to the erratical cadence of her little, throbbing heart. That guy was dangerous, made her feel too intimidated and so very angry at times, yet she felt the need to still stick relatively close to him, albeit just enough so they wouldn’t clash too often.

In the end, she just ended as far as a stranger– but her hands, those eyes of hers that lingered on his with determination, they all wanted a bit more.

The words slipped naturally, bones idle and her thoughts falling off her thin lips. “Shouldn’t you apparently be ambushing little kids for sweets?”

A count down was going on his head, fuse at the verge of ignition. His reaction was inmediate, and Midoriya had to calmly stop his companion from slaughtering her in the spur of the moment with a hand to his front. Kaminari’s words echoed right behind Midoriya, behind the bench, and a hand shot out from there. “Well done, Uraraka!”

“You little–“ Bakugou kicked his peer on the ribs, but not as aggressively as one would have expected. Asui was already up, ready to heal him, and the leader was quick to boss her around. “Heal that fucker and make sure he gets some rest.”

By the looks of it and surprisingly enough for Uraraka, seeing how there was this regretful corner on Bakugou’s eyes, he didn’t go beating his comrades very often, which was somewhat calming and smile-worthy. So, she smiled at him under Midoriya’s curious eyes. “You at least had the decency to let him be healed.”

The green haired boy took a sharp breath. “Urara–“

“I am not that kind of scum.” spat Bakugou, slowly rounding his way to her. His hand slammed the wood between her glass of water and the edges of the table, making the water dance at the brims. “They are members of this guild, I don’t go around beating the shit out of everyone I see, y’know. It’s conterproductive for our activity.”

“That’s true…” murmured Midoriya, amused by the way Uraraka wasn’t unfazed by that murdering glint he had on his eyes when he got too close for one to notice, and how Bakugou was internally screaming for not being able to scare the hell out of her. They were an interesting combo. “He’s strangely respectful to us.”

The ashen blonde made a sharp turn and his frown deepened, if that was possible, fists flying dangerously close to Midoriya. “What the fuck are you implying, greenielocks!? You calling me a wuss?”

The other leader gulped nervously, palms raised in defense as he inched away from the towering figure. The brunette sipped from her glass, eyes shifting between the rowdy mess and the more collected leader. “It’s not like that, Bakugou!”

The hunter leant back and his head snapped back to Uraraka, who eyed him with that soft, naïve spirit of hers that Bakugou absolutely despised, because he knew she was a fucking duplicitous sorcerer that had that veil of purity and cuteness, but was a beast on the inside– and he felt tricked, felt like she was lying on his face. Her eyes were always doing that thing that turned everyone to goo, was always letting out sparkles and butterflies like she was some goddamn fairy.

It did weird things to him. She was a liar, and it sent his heart on an override everytime she came to him with that cutesy acting when he had experienced her other face. “Whatever.” his eyes were peeled away from hers with the very same annoyed shine in his sunset eyes that defeated any traces of pardoning for the girl. “I’m going to bed. Don’t go making any fucking mess while I’m gone.”

Her head snapped up to see him making his way to the staircase, and was quick to chase after him seconds after his form had left the room. She got up as fast as possible, feeling a bit light-headed, and dashed after him. “Wait, Bakugou!”

And even after she closed the door behind her, not paying attention to Midoriya’s call, Uraraka could hear the angry steps of the short-tempered boy thumping on the polished carpet of the corridor, and her pace increased until his hunched form was visible to her on the staircase, him ascending to his room on the last floor.

“Bakugou.”

He was halfway through a step when his muscles tensed the tiniest bit, and his walk stopped alltogether to the sound of her irritatingly pitched voice. There was a little hiss, then he turned to look at her. He was always on top of her, him stoic and proud while she was a mess of breaths and pants floors and worlds beneath his reach and disruption, nice and tdy where he could watch her. They didn’t belong to the same world, him being a powerful hunter and she being a potential enemy.

He didn’t like that – and he frowned at her as she spoke, probably saying something stupid, as always, about nice things – he didn’t like having the enemy at home. Yet he had promised to stop whining and threatening her, so he would try not to.

“I just wanted to ask how you were feeling… but I see you have healed nicely.” his fingers were no longer bandaged, twitching in stiffness for whatever loss of time she would be saying now. “And just ask about the training you were so enthusiastic about. I didn’t put up with your mood swing that night to have you avoiding it.”

His hands scraped the fabric of his pockets, then fisted them and turned to her a little bit more. She wasn’t panting like he had expected, or breathless or struggling to stand. She was still there, looking up and expecting him to answer without fear in her little bland eyes, unprepared and raw intensity– oh, he hated her so much, sometimes. Never meeting his expectations.

He couldn’t decide if that was a good or a bad thing, so when he blinked, his eyes were torn in between ire and peaceful displeasure. “Do I look like I care about it? Yeah, I know that you are gonna train with me, but I’ve had other things in mind other than your fucking stuff.”

That made Uraraka jump, but not in the way he wanted to – no negative emotions flowered in her: no anger, no sadness, no defeat. It was only empty surprise that made her hands fly to her front and her shoulders rise in shock. “Right. I’m sorry for being so impatient. The ban has me a bit uneasy too, I guess.”

A senseless, breathy laugh danced out of her mouth, blowing on Bakugou’s ears and vexing him to no end. She was always being this nonsensical, stupid, impatient, innocent and fake– she seemed to want to deceive him so hard that it was sometimes hard to believe she was an imposter. He was still learning to draw the line between them, so little by little, he would someday be able to block her.

For now, he had to suck it all up: the hate, the ignoration, the whirlwind he felt everytime their eyes met. It was all but positive. “Is there anything you need? or can I go to bed already?”

It was worded kindly, yet spoken brash and impatient. This made Uraraka deflate a little, and she retreated to the exit of the wing. “I don’t think so. Just speak to me as soon as you have a plan… and please, do sleep well!”

When Uraraka had turned to leave, Bakugou hadn’t still moved. Her flowing shape was becoming no more than a fading thread of footsteps when he called out her name, making her turn around, ready for an earful or something. But then came his almost hurried, whispered sentence.

“I will probably be at the clock tower’s balcony, knowing myself.” he then did something so contradictory that it made her feel mentally dizzy, yet warm nonetheless, despite all the coldness he carried with him. “Don’t come unless you gonna have something to say.”

And then he restarted his pride stride upstairs, Uraraka lingered on the sport – under him, as it would always be – while looking at him from afar, her hands looming over the doorknob to the common room. His back shifted under the lights of the candles, his body never bending no matter the stairs he walked on, the enemies, the heads, or the corpses he stepped on to reach his goal. Fake, invisible dust and blood mixed on his skin, and all she could do at that moment of silence was wonder who that man was… and why she was so fixated on him during late sleepless nights.

A gentle smile shone on her lips for brief seconds, and then she left to the common room. Uraraka was met with a panicking Asui and Midoriya also trying to tend to her, the whole room screaming anxiety and distress the more she looked into the situation.

“Kaminari… he’s just spluttering like a nerd. I think he’s gone over his voltage limit.”

“He has what.”

Uraraka had had doubt before her feet had quickly padded their way through the corridor, up the clock tower, and finally reached the door. When it had been time for her to call it a day, she had seriously intended it to stay that way: a day ended, night destined to peaceful slumber. However, no matter how much she rolled, wiggled, snuggled and tried to bounce on the bed, she would end up screaming in rage at her pillow.

A corner of her embroiled mind had swallowed Bakugou’s offer a little too hard. In fact, she was feeling choked up, her hands trembling because she knew that the fearsome leader was half waiting for her, half hoping she wouldn’t show up– but he was up there, and the fact that she even knew that little bit of information was driving her insane.

Her eyes had fallen shut for a few minutes, blackness welcoming her– but as if hands were shooting up from the darkness to squeeze her dead, her eyes would snap open again. Trepidation sneaked up behind her tense back, shattering her resolve to ignore the leader to peaces, and her plans were suddenly crumbling to nothingness as well. Uraraka stared at the ceiling, wind howling outside, stars in her eyes.

She could go, meet him up the clock tower.

But she really, really didn’t have the need to.

All traces of determination, all traces of feeling and rest that had been whirling all in between her bones, her muscles, making her heart soar– it all plumetted to the ground deep below her restless eyes, drew her eyes to a darker hue and made Uraraka fist the sheets in agitation and pure outrage. Confusing feelings clashed all over her, surfaced in front of her wide awake corpse as she stretched a hand, trying to make all determination and composure come back to her so she’d feel complete again.

Those fingers of hers fell on her chest, clutching her beating heart. Bakugou shouldn’t affect her this much, but a part of her knew why he had told her about his plans, knew that they had some stuff to talk about and that she had some questions for him. Despite all those very valid motives, a fraction of her conflicted mind had regarded them as stupid and trapped her on an empty bed, so focused on those intimidating eyes of his that

That was the moment when she put on some shoes, grabbed her dear shawl to put around her sleepwear, and thoughtlessly wandered around the corridors, lingered on each stair a second longer than necessary, and finally got to the door. Behind that very same door stood the leader– and she knew this.

Fear anchored her backwards in the very same way that it had done the first night. Hands trembled, afraid of what emotional rampage he would throw at her this time. But then she remembered, remembered that she was not going to do anything good down at her bedroom, and her hands clasped the knob and twisted as slowly as possible.

Moonlight shone on him like a mother looking down at a child, lovingly and gracing the leader with this calm, relax and light halo of purity and heaven. Her knuckles were paling the tighter she clutched the shawl and the more she looked at him, her presence probably undetected as his eyes twinkled underneath the pale dots of the starry sky, darkness enveloping his back and cape while milky light bathed his skin, moved his hair, and tied him down to a very heavy reality that was her sole existence and the demons she carried within.

The planets in orbit around them lined up to see her look at him, eyes gleaming under the precious satellite of light and nothingness as the midnight breeze clocked and blew the seconds, minutes, away. She didn’t know how long she stayed there, looking at him breathe in, looking human for once and knocking some sense of numbness and grace onto her.

After what seemed like minutes, hours, decades and eternities of air and pink supernovas blasting high above them, his feet turned to look at her. He looked painfully surprised to see her there, but his cold wall was back up a second later. “Took you long enough.”

Uraraka only stared up at him, shifting the shawl around her shoulders with unease as his eyes only scrutinized deeper into her brown pools, lukewarm contemplation crashing with his hellish irises the more air swayed her tresses, the more her eyes shone under the pearly moonlight– and his heart did that double clap, stomach lurched, warning him that this woman was dangerous, that he shouldn’t  contemplate the idea of normalizing her stay at the guild. Dangerous but cute, deceitful and currently driving him insane, that was who she was and he couldn’t condone a single swat of her witch eyes.

Because she was anything but normal, she was terrifying in her own private ways. And he was a monstrosity as well, but his ways were more outspoken and irking than hers for mostly everyone. And the fact that Uraraka was an enemy, an enemy that nobody was considering– it put him on edge. Still, he found the heart to forget his tantrum for a little moment, heart clenching in thriving disgust that was reduced to a spotless aknowledgement and he turned to look out again, gaze cast on the ghost town below them.

She took this as some kind of permission to step nearer to him, nearer than she had that day he almost suffocated her with livid bites, and her steps sounded faint and too light for a deceiving being like her. He eyed her from the corner of his vision, hands deep in his pockets as she spoke with that pitched, yet now smooth trail of words. “I take it you must like astrology, yes? I could teach you some bits someday.”

“Astrology?” without looking at him, she smiled and nodded with that bright shit she had going on with her. He scoffed. “What the fuck. I don’t like none of that.”

At least he hadn’t insulted her yet, that was an improvement. Uraraka shrugged and took a little step closer to the stone railing. “Well, it sure feels nice here. If you aren’t coming for scientific business, it sure must be good to take a breather up here before going to sleep.”

“I don’t know what’s this small talk for, but I ain’t gonna play the game. I seriously hope that’s not what you came up here for, Uraraka.”

Her form recoiled from the railing and she took a step near him this time, making him take a step back in surprise too. No way she was going to invade his personal space now. “I do have questions! I just wanted to be nice!” her cheeks puffed, head turned to look at the town that lay under them. “Christ, give me a break. Can’t you at least bear with people being polite?”

His eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and hands fisted tight, he grunted a blunt response to her stupid words. “Not if they make me lose my damn time.” Uraraka sighed. “Make it quick: what the hell do you want?”

The brunette watched him blink at her with those thirsty eyes of his that could sure make nations crumble under his stares, make hordes of enemies shiver with a sole glance, and his skin was wrinkled in distaste at her, making her wonder what was the point on coming if he was probably going to be rude at her. She could see the threatening sharp blade of a thousand knived being pointed at her, grazing her skin tentatively as all she could do now was move forward or back down to her dorm.

And there was no way he would let that man shrink her so much. “You never answered me.”

He was clearly expecting something better from her from the way his arms crossed and his eyes looked plan red again, no longer aggressive. He sighed, making emphasis on his voice being scratched over in resignation. “Answer what?”

“I asked you about the ban, the other day.” both could recall that moment. “All you did was push me away.” yeah, they could remember that, too.

He looked at her, pointedly, his eyes narrowed and teeth showing under a grimace. “It is none of your–“

“Except the fact that it actually is, Bakugou.” remarked she, smashing his words into nothingness as her frown grew deeper, more severe and a different spark emerged in her chocolate eyes. “I am a member of this guild who had no prior information about it being an illegal mission– yet I went there and sorted out part of the business.”

“I don’t know if you are trying to be fucking humble for the sake of saving face, but you did pretty much everything.” before she could jump at his throat with some bullshit about cooperation, he growled at her. “You did, end of story. And it’s not like you would have made us stop when we were in the middle of the battle, we are not some wuss losers.”

Her arms crossed on her chest, and he felt a little bit mocked because it seemed like she was mirroring him, but in a smaller scale. “True.” condemned Uraraka, eyes squinted in accusation. “But I still would like to know why I ended up cooperating in an unauthorized mission.”

“Some fucker must have been feeding you lots of data if you are so nosy about it now.” murmured him, more like spat to her, but her posture didn’t falter a single heartbeat. His eyes still held the same anger and disorder as always, and hers were as strong, yet brilliant as always. “And I am pretty curious to know what they exactly told you to make you even doubt that our decisions, as leaders, are the best for our guild.”

Bakugou referring to the leader team as an us made her heart flutter in pure awe, because it seems like the only one who respected Midoriya enough as a leader was actually his sworn enemy. Again, all she did for now was push it aside. “They just told me it was for the greater good of an important mission, but that’s something that I don’t know about, either.”

The ashen blonde shifted under the moonlight and was reminded that, again, she was no stand-by member, for better and worse, and he would have to deal with her meddling around as long as she belonged to the guild. This thought caused his next sentence. “I don’t know why you assume you will be partaking on the mission. You are in no condition to put up a decent fight yet.”

He was so vigorous and obnoxiously disgusting to the human ear that she flinched at the venom aimed for her, and mentally dodged his spears. “I will always take part in whatever important voyage this guild has to do, handicapped or not.” he could have spoken right then, denied her all rights to even proclaim herself an incorporated member as she was too new, fresh and dangerous for them– but somehow knew her rebuttal would come in anyway. “So since I will be going with, I would like to know what we are facing that made us get a ban on our heads, and how it was worth it.”

“Don’t you dare be sassy with me, because remember that I fucking rule this guild, Uraraka. One snap of my finger will have your head chopped any second I wanna.”

“But it’s not like you’ll lose a valuable– powerful member of your guild, right?”

“Do you think I’m stupid or anything?”

That was Bakugou talk for a bland refusal, which she could easily read. Yes, she was a threat to them, but also a valuable asset for them as he himself had very well said when they met. For now, all he could do was be patient with her until they could get that boulder off the road.

“Then answer me.”

Bakugou looked at her, and even though he was clearly towering over her and aware of her knowing this– it all made him respect this woman maybe a tiny bit more, but this time as a person. Her perserverance in the battlefield, while reckless and stupid, was evident and worth praising. Still, it’s not like he would be giving her the pleasure of giving her positive backup when she still lacked as a guild member. He had invited her to the guild– but it had been only done to measure her and keep her under watch.

Yet, that Uraraka… he had this terrifying inkling that it was only matter of time until she was a full-fledged member of the guild. Her skin was thin as porcelain but tough as steel, and while she was made of the same materials as him, they were faces of a varied planet, separated by the moon that hovered over them and the sun that slept under the night’s tombstone.

The whistle of the silent, peaceful night only made his focus on her be sharper, and all he wanted was for her to be dead, gone, out of his sight– yet another part of him was curious to see what those hands of hers could do with given time.

Bakugou sighed on defeat, and stepped to the railing, leaning over on his elbows. “Yaoyorozu must have told you all about the timelines and all that stuff.” there was no need to look; he could tell by that stubborn hum of hers that she knew all about it, maybe even more than he did. “I also hope she gave you some warnings about the whole ordeal. It’s a fucking mess.”

Uraraka didn’t copy his pose, but stood looking over the railing with a determined frown, but it was curt and weak. It didn’t take long for her to sigh. “Yeah, it was all a bit messy. But she did tell me she believes it ties to a single mastermind behind it all.”

“She’s pretty fucking crazy to believe that, but I shamefully believe the same.” explained he, making these weird signs with his hands that only showed how deep in shit he was about that particular issue. “We have been chasing after what we believe to be one of this fucker’s tools, or peers, or however you may call it.”

“So, there is more than one person behind it all, then?”

Bakugou sighed and rubbed his face with stress, muttering curses to his hands. “See, this is why I didn’t wanna do this with you, because I have little fucking patience and you are damn slow.”

“I am new here, go out of your way to understand the struggle.”

Three exact seconds passed before he was able to crash the block and talk again without sounding too annoyed, hassled, or before letting out an explanation heavy in curses. He wouldn’t drop that low and pollute her naïve fairy ears. Bakugou had no patience, and giving such information was always Midoriya’s role– he never, ever, had to do these things, and it turns out he would have his first go with the most despisable person on the guild right now.

Or maybe it was because he was too tired to even be comprehensible. None of that mattered now, all that he could concentrate on were her sparkling eyes and the traces of another earful on the tip of her tongue– and god, didn’t he hate her for feigning to have the upper hand when she was no more than a fairy with the heart of a madman.

“There is this monster called RampAge, living at what we call the corner of the civilization – a place we don’t really know, but we are starting to cross out some damn stupid options that other shitheads have been offering.” he looked at her to see if she was following the explanation, and she seeemed good this far. “It is what we deem to be causing some temporal disruptions among with that fucker who is doing the time travelling thing.”

“So, there are two enemies involved in this.” Bakugou glared at her furiously, thinking that being proven right was all that mattered now for her. She stiffled a laugh in. Yet, a part of her had been coated in trepdidation for this terrifyingly sounding monster– it would only catch up with her later that night. “Sorry. But yeah, I get it. So apart from this major enemy, we have RampAge to deal with as well?”

The ashen blonde sighed. “Again, took you long enough. I didn’t know that you sorcerers were also slow apart from fucking terrorists.”

Uraraka fumed in pure exhasperation at him, hands on her hips with her nose wrinkled in disgust– it seems like that out of nowhere remark had cut deep in her, but Bakugou didn’t feel that proud about it. “Drop the act already, Bakugou.”

“I thought it was clear that it’s not an act.” he turned to look at her, a hand resting on the stone railing. His nose was also scrunched in pure hatred for the girl who he couldn’t still accept in the guild as a proper member. No way he would accept her so fast. “You are no more than a tool for me.”

“For fuck’s sake.” he was impressed by her avid use of insults, even if it had been directed at herself mostly. “I don’t know what to do to actually make you accept me in– and I don’t mean physically, but I just hoped that after inviting me over you would give in a little.”

“I don’t see the difference between RampAge, that fucker out there causing all this mess, and a probable future you.” he jabbed her on the forehead, teeth showing as he hovered over her with his arms now crossed, chest puffed– and damn her for thinking he looked terrifyingly male. “I can at least tame you under my hands, now that you are here. But trusting you is another whole story.”

A little hum of displeasure came out of her squeezable throat, one he had almost sliced that day– yet, he hadn’t, and he sometimes regretted that decision. “I still don’t see what I can possibly do to make you accept me as one of your peers. Why would I stay here if I knew I would be under watch? If I were so evil, don’t you think I’d be out of here?”

“For starters, you are still damn basic for a sorcerer. You know your basics well, and trust me I am aware of how much of a minx you are in the battlefield.” clouds rolled by on them, but they didn’t hinder the bloodlust in Bakugou’s eyes as he stared down on her with a piercing grimace. Everything regarding her degrading role as a sorcerer escape his lips hastily, yet there was a newfound feeling at the tip of his fingers. “And that’s exactly why I wanna train with you– a wimpy ass, but with potential.”

“And that was another question I had for you.”

A hand slammed the stone by his side, and his head was an inch too close for her liking. His smile was wicked, yet it had no glee or meaning behind. It shook her bones and chilled her to the deepest core of her being. “You sure are asking shit tonight.”

Uraraka pretended not to be affected by his proximity, and leaned a little bit back to mask the shake of her eyes. “Maybe because I am curious as to why you would wanna make a little sorcerer like me grow into that very same role of a terrorist.”

Bakugou pulled away a little, the thrill of menacing her long gone as she posed that important contradiction. In retrospective, asking that question was all but favorable to her, but it also made him realize that she knew what she was to others’ eyes, and it only made him think more about what was going on inside that stubborn head of hers.

“Because I am willing to shut my mouth about it and give you a half-assed chance to prove yourself.” he instantly regretted those words and wondered why he always regretted every decision he made regarding her. Bakugou saw her eyes light up in hope, and he would admit It wasn’t an ugly thing to see. “It’s not like I’m gonna give you my trust, which I sure think won’t be happening, but I at least wanna see if I did well when I invited you over.”

“As in,” he dug his hands in his pockets as she stared into the infinity, putting the pieces together. “accepting me?”

“I seriously don’t wanna do it.” he didn’t. A pair of minutes ago he was in the very same spot, three times less vexed than now, thinking straight and not willing to accept that damn sorcerer into their lives. “And I swore to myself that I wouldn’t. But you protected my people back there, and that’s something I can give some fucking credit to.”

Her pure, brown eyes melted against his still ones, swirling and embracing the embers of his incandescent coals, eating her heart like a wolf and still referring to her as an equal on some degree, yet stomping on her dignity like an avalanche. Both worlds were turned upside down in distress, discord and utter chaos at the sight of the other, his muscles clenching in menace and hers clenching in anticipation and horror for his teeth, those fangs that sucked her blood and drank from her misery.

Every time she blinked, a tornado of fury devastated his heart, and made him wonder, again, why that slut was still alive. “You still basically put me on the same level as RampAge and time-travelling foes.”

“Because I do think you can do the same harm at those bastards, therefore you are in that very same stage as them for being a misleading bitch.” she should be surprised at his bold choice of words, but couldn’t really find the words to lash at him because he was right on some degree that she could be named as such. “So when I say acceptance, I say that I am willing to push that stuff aside for the sake of both my people and my guild.”

Her eyes widened as saucers, blown wide and seeing how something as automatic as rushing to her companions’ side had somehow awakened a human side on him, and galaxies of gee and hope bloomed on her beady eyes. A little smile curled on her face as she clutched her shawl. “Are you… really?”

When he heard her warm up so quick when she should always be terrified of him like his people were– something snapped. He wasn’t to be considered kind or gentle, but rash and a fucking beast, because he didn’t do things smoothly and he’d make her walk through hell and back to show her so. “That ain’t mean I am gonna forget about it. It means that instead of considering you a fucker, I will consider you more of a sucker like the others. But I think that the terrorist tag will still hang on you– all I gotta see is if that will play in our favor or if you will end up backfiring on us.”

Uraraka nodded in comprehension. It turns out that all she had to do was find a way to flip that hard, rusty switch over to make him see her in the true colors some people were starting to see in her. Bakugou gave her the feeling that if she found the way to make him realize the good she had in her and her intentions, the whole guild would embrace her as well. Acceptance– that was her challenge and game now.

“Right.” condoned she, looking at his relaxed leaning form and how the cape rode the air that danced between their bodies. “And when will we be starting the bonding training?”

And there he was again, tense and irritated as he was by force of nature. “Oi, don’t give it such a misleading name, Uraraka! All we gotta care for is your growth now that the final showdown against RampAge is coming.” she nodded, again, and her hair bobbled with every move of hers and it was driving him up a wall. “I’ll be going to a dungeon tomorrow. I’ll let you tag along for this once.”

“Thanks for the blessing, mister.”

“What did I say about being sassy?”

Uraraka giggled and looked at him one last time. Her irises blinked on his unfocused ones, and then those red lights of his found their way to hers, and they shone in curiosity for her as hers did for him– and it sparked something weird in him. He hated her so fucking much, that damn midget. His breath always grew overly angry whenever she was near, and his brain would break down in ire if she passed by him an inch closer than necessary. Her world would sometimes get too mingled up with his, butterflies mixing with bats and spiders, and somehow, her sunshine would always prevail over the solitary moon of his heart.

And it seems like her sun had dug its way up the tombstone of his heart, too. Uraraka retreated from the balcony, grasping the thin fabric of her little shawl. “I think it’s time for me to go to sleep.” she would have patted his shoulder goodnight, but it would have meant taking boundaries too far. “Sleep tight, Bakugou. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Her soft words were taken away by the wind, by the deaf swing of a door shutting close, but there he stood– and the moment her presence faded away, the meaning of the promises of acceptance he had made came crashing down on him, and it dawned on him that It was too late to take them back.

Because, somehow, the moment he accepted her into the guild, he was growing weak for her– a terrorist, the person he hated the most in this cursed world of unfairness and violence. Yet, she was there, standing in the rain like it was nothing, and he couldn’t stand the fact that the world spun madly around her without making her dizzy, fazed, or that she seemed invincible to the naked eye of a dark boy, isolated in the darkness of his own untrust. He absolutely despised that fake innocent girl who could pin them all down with her pinky, yet pretended to be a child who knew nothing about the atrocities that this world held.

He hated liars.

He hated her.

Yet, a part of his heart had been too weak tonight. And the moment he started giving in, he knew there was no going back.

“Hey, girl, get back here!”

The little chubby child ran all the way to the awaiting adults, who held silver buckets full of water on a stone well. Her hands flew wild above her head as she squealed all the path to them, and stopped on her tracks to glance up to them from under her lashes. “I am here, sir!”

One of the men knelt down by her, clawed hands messing with her hair as they usually did with a smile, which had ended up making her giggle. “It’s father, child.” she titled her head a little, then remembered. “I am your father.”

It was obvious this man was not her father– his skin was too pink, eyes too black while her skin was fair, hair messy in brown and eyes a slain clean chocolate. Still, her toothly grin as she nodded brought satisfaction to her adoptive parents, who handed one of the buckets to her. “Take this to that house,” he pointed at a stone and golden house, to which the little girl nodded. “and bring the bucket back to us as soon as possible.”

Her hands reached out for the well, and tried to pivot herself up the stone structure mutteirng a little “giddy ap!” that she recalled to have been an inspiration when she lived… somewhere, a far off memory of scattered faceless people until her parents, these parents, had come to rescue her, months ago. One of the adults laughed and grabbed her small body until she touched solid ground.

“You sure can’t control your impulses yet, Nameless.” the brunette pouted, but smiled again brilliantly when she was handed one of the buckets. “Take them over there. Hurry, honey!”

The girl took some steps back before dashing off with the bucket grasped on her head, giggling with wobbles of her head, water splashing around her as it danced disorderly out of the brims. Her run came to a halt as she found a familiar red head sulking at his doorstep, so she let the bucket down and waved at her friend.

“Harold!” the boy looked up and grinned at her, running down the stairs to meet her. “Harold, gimme a ride, please!”

The young boy knelt down and wiggled his hips so he could hoist her up. “It will be a pleasure, ma’ princess! Your horse Harold will give you a ride!”

Nameless took the bucket full of water – correction, not so full anymore – and put it on her head again, screaming in childish joy as the boy ran with her on his back around his house. “Harold, take me to house number four!”

“Your words are orders for horsey Harold!” the red head raised his fist and shifted her behind him with a roar. “To house numba’ four!”

The two children ran their way to the neighboring stone house, a few blocks away from horse Harold’s residence. Most houses were small, modest, almost prehistoric and primal, but everyone had a roof to rest under when skies were gray and days were warm, placid, breezes pushing the rain away from the sun as children laughed under the sunshine of blooming sunflowers and fluttering butteflies of youth.

Harold and Nameless eventually reached the house, and he carefully let her down from his back as the brunette spotted a friend of theirs and ran clumsily to her, dodging stones and making water fall over. “We are here!”

The pink haired girl, one who was clearly a descendant from this village of a foreign species unlike Nameless and Harold, who clearly weren’t– she smiled brilliantly at them, rushing to their side. “Thanks a lot for the water! Come check this out!”

The other two children squatted before the little mount of soil that their friend had done. “I’m trying to plant some seeds here, like my parents told me to! I bet lots of flowers will bloom from this!”

Nameless and Harold gawked at the mount, waiting for the plant to blossom with excited smiles and blinking irises. The other girl coughed and eyes them warily. “Don’t be weird, they will obviously take long to flower! I’ll show you inside!”

The red head dashed after the girl, but the brunette only stared at the planted seed until, eventually, she snapped out of it all with a rub of her eyes. When she looked up again, the alien girl and Harold were waiting for her, and Nameless laughed as she ran to them. “Wait up,” she breathed in and giggled while reaching out for the door. “Mina!”

“Uraraka, stop following me already.”

“I’m not following you.” pouted the sorcerer behind the leader, eyes glistening with malice as he glared behind. “As you put it last night, I’m tagging along.”

“You’re so fucking determined to make me regret every decision I make these days, aren’t you?”

The brunette looked around her, and the scenery didn’t seem as towering and menacing as it had been some days before. The forest was, by nature, green and humid, crusts of dead wood fallen on the ground and crunching beneath Bakugou’s mad boots, and there were great possibilities for an unlucky encounter with bandits camping around the wilderness. Still, the ashen blonde walked straight forward, shoulders heaving as he heard her pestering a meter behind him– he knew the way to the nearest dungeon and if there was anything he needed in that moment, was to plunder some caves and haunted refuges.

Her presence had sparked unease in him. The many responsibilities that hung from her heart and lashes were too many to count, carrying that heavy aura of importance, terror and yet sheer glitter with her. He knew it shouldn’t irritate him so much that she had decided to go hunting with him, as he had stated that he would try to get used to her, but it was so damn hard to keep that oath with the heavy rain she brought with her. A blaring terrorist banner hung on her back and it was inked in her fair skin, a so smooth skin that sure held many bruises and self bites beneath the layers of innocence.

His eyes blared behind him to see her falling into step with him, looking around her with wonder and that placid smile of hers that he couldn’t bring himself to get used to. She herself was abnormal and stupid– stupidly powerful, stupidly deceiving, and such a bitch. Still – this was a reminder he did to himself everyday in a mental note about why he shouldn’t kill her – she had protected his people, protected the installations of the guild, and just… taken responsibility. That was the only thing that kept her alive now.

“Say,” started she once he had looked away, and Uraraka watched him slash some vines out of the way. She had to clumsily brush the remains away. “when you meant training and tagging along, you sure didn’t mean to trash me here and hope for me to survive, right?”

Bakugou stopped for a second and turned his head to look at her, red flashing in front of her as his teeth shone under the trees’ shade. “Oi, what kind of scum do you consider me to be? Not like it would be a wrong riddance, mind you.”

Uraraka smiled kindly at him, but he could clearly see how mischievous her intentions were. He continued walking forward, and the girl found joy in seeing the spots of sunshine take shape along his disarrayed mane. “You tried to kill me the very second day.”

And the leader smirked, because it wasn’t something he really regretted doing and, while he ended up giving her the mercy she perhaps deserved, Bakugou had sure enjoyed those moves of hers. At least, most of them. “It’s not like I fucking regret the fight. If you were just a bit less of a wimp, your shoulder would be fine now.”

“Whatever.” condoned Uraraka, and he could picture her crossing her arms like the little child she was. The blonde snickered, and swatted the vines away again. “Where are you taking us?”

Bakugou jumped over a tree trunk, making Uraraka want to do the same for the sake of imitation and making a decent impression. The moment her feet touched the ground, her soles slipped on a polished stone and almost fell over, but the short-tempered boy paid no heed to her clumsy shoes. His back had tensed upon mentioning their objective, the hairs of his neck snapping as his boots seemed to stomp harder on the mistreated soil.

“There is this dungeon around here that those fuckers from Grinning Blade take pleasure on pillaging.” explained he, licking the memory of catching them all in the act and relishing on the future prospect of seeing them suffer his wrath. The sorcerer saw how vicious his tongue had flickered those words, and an uncomfortable sense of danger ran down her back. “It has pretty damn good resources, and I will just have a fun time taking it away from them.”

Bakugou leaped over a small stream of water, trying not to wet his boots lest they slipped later with the polished pavement of the caves. Uraraka shamelessly stepped over it, boots splashing and the blonde wanted to curse for her lack of precaution. Yet, she beat him to the chase. “Sounds pretty legal from you, to conquer other people’s zones.”

“Watch the sass, Uraraka.” threatened he, eyes glaring at her briefly before focusing on the path ahead again. Birds chirped above the leaf ceiling of the forest, casting some shadows on Uraraka’s eyes. She looked up to the clear casket of trees and sighed to put herself together. Every single time his eyes loomed over hers so heatedly, her stomach would shrink in trepidation for what tricks he would pull out– the feeling had been lessening little by little, but it remained in an intricate chain of chilling emotions. “They have done this many times before, it’s almost like a tradition.”

“Yeah, I had guessed your relationship with them wouldn’t be so healthy if–“

Bakugou was quick to clutch the big, wide sword on his back with a mid turn of his body, grimace curling his angular jaw into a clenched unsightly beast. Turns out she had touched a soft spot in him and this was the first and last time she’d really regret it. “Don’t assume we are not civil with them even if we are fucking champions of the village. We have been plenty kind with those losers.”

Talk about kindness while insulting them– such a nice thing of thing to do. “That’s not what I meant to say.“ he was still grabbing the weapon, ready to smack her with it if her words weren’t quick and intelligent. “Jack and I crossed paths with their leader– Shinsou, was it?”

Wrong choice. Bakugou started to take the sword out of the ropes on his back, and the sharp edges of it grazed the ground in horrifyingly precise gentleness. His feet worked their way near to her until their bodies were close enough for him to be hovering over her shrunk, impatient and stupid body. “You’re wearing my patience damn thin. You have been seeing that bastard?”

Uraraka felt her eyes widen, take in the sight of a maniac with a weapon looking at her with narrowed eyes, red knocking chocolate out of the stratosphere to only fall through her stomach and make her take a little step back, smile apologetic and hands up. Those sun cores of his soul, such a royal mirror of his swirling rage… her heart pounded to the dance of his flames. “No, no! That guy looked scruffy as hell, no one in their right mind would hang out with him. At least, that’s what I feel.”

The weapon lingered around her a bit more– and his eyes still flickered between a wide catalyst of emotions as the steel touched the leather, brushing her boots until he finally put it back in place, on his back. But his eyes still felt erratic and wrong to the rookie view.

“Yeah, well.” Bakugou coughed, eyes roaming around her outwardly unfazed expression – it made good work to hide the trepidation she felt inside of her – and, after he was fed up with seeing her so damn resilient to hold her ground against him, he recoiled from her space. “That guy is an asshole, and probably near your class.”

“Class as in, profession? Or do you mean my super terrorist crew of criminals?”

The sarcasm was so heartfelt and offensive that he couldn’t find patience enough to snap at her without killing her in the spot. He then remembered that she did actually realize his struggle, and the feeling of unease felt a bit lighter. “He is a borderline, potential criminal. A sorcerer that seems to know where his badshit crazy priorities lay. You at least try to hide it.”

Air was knocked out of her lungs as soon as those words made their way to her ears, drilling and drilling in a very uncomfortable way knowing that there was, apparently, someone with ill intentions who managed a whole guild– a runner up, for that matter. And no one was stopping him. “Do you mean–?”

“Yes, Uraraka, yes.” he was mentally calling her all kinds of intelligence-degrading terms and Uraraka managed to feel offended when she saw the snarl of his face, the scowl of impatience. This man managed to flip her switches – from anger to annoyance, then intimidation and sudden peace, sometimes. Uraraka absolutely hated that effect of his. “He has some gruesome methods to change the fates of our fucked up timeline– y’know, like fix it or something.”

The brunette could see where the path was leading, and was afraid to pry on the subject any longer. Still, her heart tugged for her to ask more, so she did. “And what’s so wrong about that?”

The unknowing play of her words made the boy stop walking, but he didn’t turn to look at her. It was the very first time Uraraka saw him idle and so conflicted about how to put his thoughts into words meticulously, like he had the day before at the top of the clock tower– but this time, this seemed to hold more weight on the long run, so he tasted the metallic truth before spitting it out like blood in a tough battlefield.

“Rumor has it he has been seeing rogue bandits in search for time travelers, to seek time bending. He may plan to play with the chords of time or fucking twist them like the bastard he is.” yeah, judging by her face, the notion of danger floating a few months away, or maybe only days– it had dawned on her too. “I don’t trust that guy. He is the nearest thing to a criminal I have ever had the displeasure of meeting, and he apparently doesn’t give a shit about anything else.”

“You feel he intends to… destroy the timeline for the sake of being powerful?”

The boy grunted his response, anger shivering in her steaming eyes even more passionately than ever before. “I have no fucking idea of what is beyond timelines and stuff, if there is some kind of heaven or a black pitch for sinners like him.” so much venom in his words blinded Uraraka, who stepped a bit nearer to him albeit hesitant to even breathe the same air as him. “But I’m sure that all these disruptions with our timeline will end when we defeat RampAge and the fucker that is behind all of it.”

“Wait, hold on.” he didn’t. His step only quickened under the pressure of her impatience. “But is this all about Shinsou being a criminal official? I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s not fair to accuse him of being something he isn’t.”

No weapons were drawn to her throat, but his eyes pierced daggers on her stronghold heart. “Are you saying you relate to him?”

Uraraka frowned at him, disbelief written in her eyes. “Of course not! It just surprises me that such terrible rumors are spread so carelessly.” that made sense in his mind, so he let her carry on. “Hasn’t it drawn the attention of the Council?”

When she hurried to his side, instead of kicking her out of there, Bakugou just glared at her from the corner of his vision. “Do you even know what the Council is?”

The girl blinked a few times before smiling guiltily at him, for which he sighed with impatience. She sure was a hassle– forget all he said about not being uneasy around her shitty glitter stupidity. “Well, I saw this– Yamada, was his name. And this person called Yagi that belonged there, too? I just have this vague idea that it’s a round table of some sorts.” again, the blonde, groaned. “Christ, no need to be so vocal about your hatred towards me.”

“That’s not it.” his steps slowed down at the little inch of vision he had in the mist of the vast wilderness, then heard a noise that made him immediately stop and shoot a hand up to stop her behind his body. “I hear something.”

The sorcerer tiptoed to his side, still remaining behind his stretched arm. Bakugou had clearly heard this, after all he surely spent lots of quality time around the forest– but Uraraka had to make a little effort to distinguish the noises ahead of them from the brush of leaves, birds chirping and a river flowing nearby. When she finally focused enough, eyes closed and nose wrinkled in disbelief, there was chatter, maybe a grunt–

A piercing screech was heard ten meters ahead of them, at what Bakugou would reckon to be the entrance of the dungeon, but he didn’t flinch as much as Uraraka would have expected him to. The brunette was stiff in fear for whatever foe waited there, staff readied in her hands as words flew clumsily out of her mouth, dry and loose. It had been a pitched scream, grazing the limits of danger and fear that didn’t only boom across the trees, but it also stabbed Uraraka’s confidence. Such scream could only come from a bloody corpse, full of fear until it had been shattered, shredded to rotten pieces of meat with broken–

“Stop freaking out, bitch.” his words were rash, but effective to interrupt her crippling, escalating fear of whatever foe lay ahead. “It ain’t anything you should be losing your shit over.”

“How can–“ the leader slapped a hand to her mouth, narrowing his eyes to her to simply shut her up, signaling to the source of trouble with a lazy nod. Her voice lowered a few notches as his hand came back to pull his sword out. “How can you be so calm? We have to go help them!”

“Uraraka.”

“That was no regular scream!” she tried to round her way around him to walk on, and tried to make out any shapes that could give away the identity of the offender– but there too many vines in between them, the path to the clearing hidden by a maze of lianas and leaves. Her eyes tried to make her statement clearer, but it was to no avail as he still regarded her lazily with irritation. “C’mon, stop standing there and help me–“

The moment she tried to go past him, his sword was drawn in front of her, blades daring to slice her stomach in half if she dared either cross the path or interrupt his next orders. A shadow came to cast his eyes into a deep glare that craved all kinds of atrocities in her. “Can’t you be a little bit clever for once?”

Uraraka put a hand on the blade – softly and gingerly as to not cut herself, sparking a moment of surprise for Bakugou as she pierced her decisions on him. “Lower this thing down.”

“Fucking listen for once.” the blade inched closer to her, as he locked a sideways gaze with her. Her orbs trembled once, twice, until she blinked and sighed, hand coming down from the weapon. “You don’t live here, nor know these fuckers’ ways. Shut your mouth and listen.” Bakugou let the sword drop down once she nodded and stepped back, but the sword was still in his hand as both a warning and a measure for caution, just in case anybody decided to ambush them. “Those losers from Grinning Blade enjoy making human traps so people just run to their sides for some half-assed rescue. Kirishima fell for that shit once.”

“Kirishima?” his silence was enough response for her, his arms tense as he rewinded the sharp memory of an injured companion going on and on about what ways they had against him. It wasn’t a pleasant memory, and only Uraraka could be enough of a bitch to remind him of that. “Did he get hurt?”

The boy chuckled with no humor, eyes frowning at her from a side as she stared at the path ahead, something along the lines of flaring caution, a bit of fear and bravery covering it all– it all engrossed him into a mental lecture of her eyes, the way she got points across with a single glance, and how she was somehow failing to hide a little crack in her armor from him, dense and slow with emotional shit. The fact that the picture of an injured pal had affected her spoke volumes about her.

Again, he was torn between deeming it to be a good thing or a bad thing, but that discourse was to be taken care of any other moment than this. “Kirishima is, luckily, no wimp ass. He took care of the matter damn fast, but the scare was still there.”

Uraraka nodded, gritting her teeth at the mistake she had almost done. She would have to learn from these little things and grow some patience before jumping into conclusions quickly. A point was clear though: Grinning Blade was a whole different ballgame to a joke. And Bakugou was more aware of this than anybody. Was this maybe why he was so adamant on hating their leader?

The sorcerer focused on the road ahead, the touch of cold steel under her fingers reverberating with more vigor than ever as the thrill of what awaited for them behind overtook any feeling of distress. Regardless, a pinch of worry was well hidden underneath that mask of innocence and crumpling stone. “Then, what should we do?”

Bakugou took some steps forward, Uraraka staying behind this time in wait for a cue. “I’d say we are good to go.” the blonde waited for her to catch up. Her step was more hesitant than before, hands shivering ever so slightly, but her eyes were fired with bravery. It was an unnerving display to watch; she had never shown any traces of a faint heart before, so what was she shaking for?

Uraraka was too focused on keeping up with the leader to even realize that he was seeing right through her. Her mind was lost in a cloud of doubt, anticipation and trepidation for what kind of person would be waiting for them– if it was the leader of that damned guild, they were in serious trouble. He was a sorcerer as well, one with more skills and knowledge than her, and his ideas didn’t seem to be remotely close to sanity. Upon closer inspection, the man beside her was pondering this thought as well, as he was outwardly agitated.

However, something was wrong with the picture. Uraraka guessed that he must have easily assumed this chunk of information, or had either come to terms with it long time ago. Thinking about it, considering his hatred for that leader, this rumors were old and already glued to his mind, leading his stride to the place to be agitated, feisty, enthusiastic. Regardless, his eyes held an unsettling tranquility crowned with a frown of decision, his head titled forward– and she could already see it, the blood running down his arms as his chest heaved back and forth in front of a victim, heart soaring for the beast he had become and–

Her step haltered, breath hitched and jumping awkwardly inside her chest. Her deft fingers clutched the neck of her uniform as the dead images, stationary feelings of dread and fear attacked her heart aimlessly, eyes clenched in confusion as those sharp unwanted flashes threw her off a cliff to a sea of poking tragedies, unresponsive body spinning against the current as voids of emotion filled her throat, drowned her, and made her head squish in commotion.

The girl was overwhelmed, blinking to focus on the back of that man, blade of his gigantic sword twinkling under the shade of the high trees, sun looming above and throwing uneven smudges of orange on his scarred skin. His calmness, the recklessness against an international threat, his fatality, the fire burning from his fingertips far away from her ice cold ones– and suddenly, the abyss was intolerable, but she walked forward nonetheless.

He truly was a monster, wasn’t he?

Bakugou slapped some leaves away with his sword and hands, peeking some clearance around the entrance of the dungeon. His step was assured, filling the enormous place with his dominant scent and presence, so similar to the one of a lion or a bigger foe than Pyrox had been back in time. His eyes sharply turned to meet hers. “The path’s clear. Don’t go tripping on thin air, got it?”

They stepped out of the wilderness to be met with a clear spot in the forest, the only thing standing there being a little stone building, two floors tall, decrepit, with vines swarming its walls and debris decorating its creaked steps. Silence hung low in the air, the only thing that was heard was the crunch of Bakugou’s boots smashing pebbles to dust, and his cape flowing with the afternoon air. Uraraka fixated her eyes on his neck, trying to ignore the bad feeling she got from just standing in such bleak spot.

The blonde noticed her unease and turned, one feet on the first step of the dungeon. “The dungeon goes on underground. I ain’t gonna look after you like some babysitter, so watch your fucking step.”

The sorcerer breathed in deep, recovering all senses of bravery she had in her, and marched forward with her chin high. “I don’t need your assistance.”

The sorcerer breezed past him. The might that esteemed off every inch of her skin and notch of her voice coaxed a grunt out of him, but the prospect of having an entertaining member with him made the experience overall much more appealing to his incandescent eyes. He smirked at her waiting stance at the gate of the dungeon, went up the steps and brushed past her in the very same way she had done.

The moment she aimed to join him inside, her intentions died with the first step. “Oi, what’s gotten into you?”

“I’m… not entirely sure.” Uraraka turned around to face the clearing, stark naked of unwanted presences. No eyes were on her like her neck had registered, nothing pressed at her back or enemies glaring at her. The sorcerer rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Just… nevermind. It was nothing.”

Bakugou crossed his arms, leaning on the doorway to the ancient passage. The girl took the chance to look around. The place was devoid of furniture, cracks adorning the floor and walls, with bars closing the windows and dark plants climbing up every inch of wet stone. Her boots could feel the instability of the building with a single step, and when she approached the closed door to the insides of the dungeon, it came as no surprise to see it almost crumbling down.

She looked at the leader, who still leaned smugly on the threshold of the blocked entrance. He stared back at her expectantly. “What the fuck are you waiting for?”

Uraraka’s eyes flared in intensity and exasperation. Her eyes then scanned the stone gates, which sure could be opened with some kind of switch or spell, and gave it a small push to test the waters. “Why am I supposed to open the gates? Do you think I can smash it open?”

“Can you?”

“I can.” answered she, and his shoulders raised in surprise. “But that’s not elegant– or intelligent, for that matter.” the blonde waited for her to go on, and the brunette sighed again. “If we leave the entrance blatantly open, enemies will come in freely and can ambush us easily.” he didn’t look that surprised, which made her raise an eyebrow. “But you already knew this.”

“You’re talking about it as if it were the smartest thing to say, but I’ve been a fuckton of times here. Don’t come with the sass if you ain’t gonna handle a comeback.” Bakugou growled under his breath and pushed her aside with a harsh shove. “I’ll be a damn gentleman and let you choose: you smash it or I smash it.”

Uraraka crossed her arms, staff swinging while she gave him the stalest glare he had ever seen. “Give me a reason to waste my stamina on such a measly thing like a switched gate.”

Bakugou pounded the ground with his sword, cracking the floor with a twitching eye. His patience was running out the more snarky remarks she came with and he couldn’t stand slow business when it came to dungeons. This was the reason why he most usually did plunders alone, so no smarty pants companion would go and question his methods. “First, because I am ordering you to do so. And second,” he took an experimental step towards her, just to see how she’d react now against direct authority. He jabbed her forehead with his free hand, words full of frustration. “because this is your damn training and I’m not gonna do all work myself.”

Uraraka realized his proximity when his words rung too close to her ears, when the violent shake of his threats reached way too close to her heart. She could hear and feel his breaths, and if she only reached out, she could grab his sword and stab him, leave him bleeding as a payback for their prior battle and flee. But pouncing would be giving him the pleasure of knowing he was above her, that he could berate her anytime he wanted, and she would never allow that.

The sorcerer turned swiftly to face the gates, her voice filling in the gap of his mistreated pride. Feeling obviously ignored, the leader growled again, gave her a withering look. The fact that she was willing to ignore him infuriated him, and he hated that. He hated her.

“You’re right, I guess.” Uraraka took a few steps back, and feeling the danger she supposed and inwardly acknowledging it, he did the same. He stood on the side of her line of attack, arms crossed with irritation for that little bitch. Not only was she a terrorist, but when she was given the opportunity to actually use it for his advantage, she refused. At least she was starting to give in a little. “Back off.”

“Don’t go shooting fireworks at me, Uraraka.” spat he. She turned to glare at him. “And don’t give me that fucking look. You aren’t an ally of mine, you are not much different than a fucking villain to me.” Uraraka shifted when he said that, poison shooting through his clenched jaw. “Don’t take your confidence too far.”

When he finished speaking, Bakugou was pleased to have made her react to his words, eyes a bit shaken and her pose less confident than before. She was no more than a fucking criminal to him, another one like Shinsou, a beast– but then, he remembered that, again, he had promised to change his ways towards her for the sake of the guild. However, his hatred for her wasn’t like a switch: it couldn’t go from a hundred to zero with the snap of a finger. She would have to work herself through it as well.

Bakugou was at least making the effort to not kill her. She could at least show some respect for him. Mischievous little pest she was, fuck her. His glare broke into her staff as she swung it around, as if she was stretching for a long run. The hunter started tapping his arms, impatient. “Oi, you gonna do anything?”

“I can’t go around nuking a whole door without making the building fall down. I attack from far distances to wide areas, not the other way around.” her face was constricted in a dangerous warning. “I am the only one who knows this struggle. You don’t know me.”

“For fuck’s sake, Uraraka.” he padded to gate, leaving Uraraka far behind him. Bakugou left his sword leaning on the wall as he gripped his right wrist. “Watch the professional doing your fucking tra–“

Something vibrated from within the dungeon, meters away from behind the stone gate. His hands faltered and ended up lowering until he was able to confirmate who was behind the door. “Bakugou?”

Yeah, he knew that voice. “Fuck.” Bakugou quickly took his weapon and stomped all the way to Uraraka, who jumped at his horrifying glare of disgust– but for once, it wasn’t really directed to her. He took her arm forcefully and dragged her to the entrance of the building, dropping her behind a fallen pillar. “You fucking stay here where you won’t cause me trouble.”

“But–“

“Just shut up.” he frowned harder at her, gripped her shoulders and made her squat behind the debris. “You ain’t good for this fucking situation. Stay there until I come back.”

Her eyes stared into this with intention, brow wrinkled in disgust at his bossiness and lack of attitude, how ruse he was being and the blood boiling in those troublesome eyes of his, wrinkled back at her in a silent warning. Death was marring his intentions, looking at her the same way he did back in that rainy night of empty threats and silent seething– but this was different, it was pondering mixed with annoyance and stars crashing with her seas of innocence and wonder in a devastating mix of sparks and hatred for the other.

This time, it was Uraraka who conceded him to take the wheel. Her head turned to avoid his glower, and he silently thanked her for cooperating this once when things were critical. Uraraka was keen on cooperation and being helpful, but Bakugou had this capacity to nullify all her good traits and twist them in a violent manner that only made her mind sink deeper into its hatred for him.

This very same man made his way into the building again, sword drawn out and having it secured by his side in full knowledge of who he was facing against. His eyes came to meet Shinsou’s bored purple orbs on him. Bakugou slowed his pace just to pour as much hatred as possible in one single stride. His enemy stood right in front of the now open gate, gloved hands shoved into his black pants, unimpressed at Bakugou’s undesired presence.

“I can’t believe you are still coming around this area.” muttered Shinsou, tone unmasked as he stared at the blonde. “What’s the point on coming to a pillaged area?”

Bakugou smirked humorlessly, teeth shining confidently at his opponent, who had one of his hands out in case Yuuei’s leader wanted to act funny. “Cut the crap, asshole. You know what interesting business is down around here.”

“All I know is that you are no more than a coward coming to an area my people have already cleared.” his tone was clear, deep but much more poor in life than Bakugou’s, whose fuse was being consumed the more shit Shinsou spat at him. “I’d be very thankful if you’d stop dropping by. And I wouldn’t like to have a fight in here, in such decaying place.”

“Ha.” the hunter’s sword was flung to his side, cape riding the waves of movement behind him. Light filtered behind the bars and shone down on his cape, gleaming and sliding down his muscular body like water down a polished stone. “Do you think I’d give a shit about wrecking a lousy building like this? I thought you knew your enemies better, purple.”

“You sure are searching for trouble today. Was this day difficult for you?” Shinsou calmly took a flask of water out of his bag and took some sips from it. The leader discarded it far behind, and the crash seemed to boom among the echo of the deep dungeon. “As you wish.”

Shinsou snapped his gloved fingers, and a fierce rain of steel arrows came to pierce his guts at amazing speed, surprising the blonde boy who had no time to cut them in half– and the tiny missiles would have made a number on him if a green shield hadn’t stopped the arrows, which were stabbing the makeshift barrier as both leaders turned to the entrance.

Uraraka stood there, on the steps, hands clenched in focus as a hard twinge of danger danced in her chocolate pools. “Such a sneaky attack. Sorry for being a nuisance, Bakugou.”

“Oh?” the barrier faded in thin air, and the arrows stumbled down with a clatter of wood and feathers. Bakugou smashed the darn goodies to pieces and he didn’t know if he should be glaring at her for being sarcastic or actually admiring the way she had basically sneaked up on them and protected him. He decided the latter, because Shinsou’s gasp of surprise was no better than his actual reaction. “And who is this, Bakugou? Have you gotten yourself a sidekick?”

Uraraka neared them, staff clutched in her hands with decided step and a changed direction of her heartbeats, escalating up the roof and soaring high above them as Bakugou regarded with a different gleam to his endlessly ire-driven lights. When she looked up, his heart also started twitching the tiniest bit– because she had protected not only his people, his guild, but also him as well. She hadn’t even let her be trustworthy before she had gone and slammed a shield right in front of him.

It turns out Uraraka wanted to prove a point, as well. “I’m Uraraka.” spoke she, tone gentle but wary of her opponent. “And I am far from being his sidekick, or a mere ally. But I belong to his guild now– his and Midoriya’s guild.”

“Yeah, your face seems familiar.” the brunette gulped nervously, but held her piercing glare pending in front of the other leader. “I saw you at the market with Jack– yes, the clumsy girl. I can see now why she’d be admitted in such worthless guild.”

“Fucking excuse me.” Bakugou pushed Uraraka behind again with an angry shove. That woman sure was a life saver at times, but she could also be a great hinder– and she did nothing good near Bakugou, who would start chopping Shinsou to pieces if his dirty tongue got close to spitting on his damn guild.

The blonde sneered at the man in front of him. “But our guild ain’t first for nothing, loser. Most of your people isn’t more than standby extras filling up space.” he taunted the stone ground with the sharp blade of his sword, voice loud and clear, savage, smirk growing more wicked than before. “I still can remember you losers kneeling before us for mercy, praying for us to not cut your damn limbs off. You got no right to shit on our prowess when you can’t even reach our ankles.”

Shinsou looked over Bakugou’s shoulder to see a still standing sorcerer behind, her staff settled on the ground between cracks as her stare was fixated on his eyes– and it was all the weirder for her, since this man had been spoken so highly of, yet his eyes were so dead, hard and emotionless. They didn’t betray his fortitude or strong ideals, but the fact that they didn’t express any power like Bakugou’s did, or that they were so dead and focused on her all of a sudden– it terrified her. The wall separating his heart and eyes was too thick, and if this man dared to make a breakthrough and make a display of power, the debris would be thicker and the impact, unfathomable.

A little chill escalated her delicate spine as his dark, musky tone dug into her ears. “Yuuei must be desperate if you guys are accepting sorcerers. The epitome of evil and disgrace, that pest you were so resolved to eradicate­– but look, there she is.” Bakugou’s breath hitched because Shinsou was attacking a foundation that he and Uraraka didn’t even have, but he was most importantly questioning his decisions as a leader. The blade rose a bit higher, realizing that he himself doubted himself as well, sometimes. “Doesn’t look that weak enough. The better for me, I guess.”

“What do you even mean, you fuck–“

Uraraka’s hand trembled up to touch his shoulder and he instantly froze at the feeling of her gloves on his skin. A part of Bakugou wanted to scream because was was hellbent on believing she had casted a super fast spell on him, something that would kill him the moment he took a step in any direction and she’d be laughing at his corpse, something so she could take over the guild and, later, over the world– but he let the thought die wordlessly as she came to stand by him again, and her hand was gone with the wind.

“I don’t know what you even mean by me being useful to you.” stated she, eyes closed for a second as she thought on how to place her words to win that bastard off the building. “But I can assure you that I will never join in whatever dubious schemes you have behind the village’s back. I will never tire of saying that I will never break to that point.”

Shinsou narrowed his eyes at her, tone alive now as he spoke what he thought to be obvious to the common people. “You are a sorcerer– a beast made to take over and rule the world with a single thumb.” unlike the first time her power potential was tampered with, she didn’t even flinch. “You were born to change the fates of this world, not to watch it all pass.”

“I know.”

“We are destined to fight for power, we are destined to change the course of times and fix what’s broken.” his words were passionate, yet dead and meaningless in Bakugou’s ears. Judging by Uraraka’s pensive expression, she was taking them in as he had the first time, and, deep inside, he prayed for her to be swatting them away. This investment he was making on her couldn’t go to waste. “It’s in our nature to create great things. Everybody knows that, including Bakugou.”

Uraraka looked down, dejected, and the blonde tightened his fists because he should have fucking known he shouldn’t have put the tiniest of faiths in that little minx who would be biting his lungs off when she got tired of pretending– pretending to be weak, to not want to achieve power by bending time. When did he even began to believe her–

“He will never trust you.” added Shinsou, watching her squirm in deep thought. “No one will ever trust you. And you know that.”

Uraraka’s heart was beating fast– she had never thought that, in this time, space and day she’d meet somebody who spoke so deeply about power, about how focused his aims were while seeing worth in her, wanting her to change the world by his side in an unspoken manner. It made her grit her teeth as a tiny thought placed itself in her head, one she hadn’t even considered.

What if he was right? What if his ways to fix things were actually right? What if by destruction he– he– she felt choked up as facts and conclusions pounced on her from behind, eating her and drenching her in cold, invisible sweat that made up for the hot anger she felt that overtook any thought in her head, and burnt all traces of doubt away.

“I know who I am– I know what most people expect me to be doing. I know what you, Bakugou and even the people from Yuuei expect me to do.” this once, her talk wavered, quivered and thickened as the heavy weight of her thoughts and truths came to chase her enemies back, determination consuming her being. “But I don’t give a damn about being able to bend time, to kill civilizations, or to drive people crazy. I don’t aim to be the terrorist Bakugou fears me to be in the future. I know he will never trust me–“ silence, deep breath, and Bakugou stared at her in well masked surprise and patience. “as long as I can trust myself to go down a good path to find a solution to this mess with my peers, then nothing matters to me.”

Shinsou let out a heavy breath, a sigh of boredom and hopelessness escaping through his lips without him really wanting to sound so let down. And the way Bakugou was eyeing her– in respect, starting to swallow her whole persona little by little, it made it all worse. “You’re chasing your own tail then, but you’ll understand my point with time, Uraraka. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

Uraraka saw a flash of negative colors invade her whole vision, focus tunneled into one point that where his dead, unfocused eyes as the world swirled and all she could see, hear, or feel was a cold, dreary and looming voice whispering things to her ears, her feet scrambling into a world of roses and blues while lights flashed and blinded her, purple prevailing as the words were whispered over and over in a madness of echoes and colors–

Then, she felt hands on her shoulders and something slapping her hard on the face, which made the fuzzy colours fade to Bakugou’s blood eyes screaming at her, her head wobbling as he shook her in anger and disbelief because Shinsou had fucking brainwashed her and he wouldn’t have that fucker imprinting sensitive material into her little peachy brain. When he saw her blink, eyes no longer small and looking straight into him, he took the liberty to give her another shake.

“What the fuck, Uraraka? Did you seriously let that mother–“

“Did you just slap me?” Uraraka wiggled out of his hold while rubbing her cheek.

Bakugou snarled hard at her unaffected twinkle of eyes, arms crossed. The brunette saw that the psychotic leader looked relatively calm in the outside but his eyes were screaming otherwise– disruption, anger, irritation, unnamable feelings of madness and impatience. Also, it seemed like Shinsou was gone. “You were deep into that fucker’s ability. I could have stabbed your shoulder again, thank me I was gentle enough.”

Uraraka frowned at him as she rubbed harder on the reddened spot. “Yeah, thanks for being a real softie and not stabbing my insides out, such a hero.”

“Don’t make me slap you again, Uraraka.” Bakugou turned to look from the open gates, prompting Uraraka to do the same. The darkness inside the dungeon seemed infinite, wind blowing from inside to tickle their courage. Bakugou found himself shaking his head in disappointment. “Yeah, this dungeon’s taken for the week. Tough luck that guy got here earlier.”

Uraraka’s mind finally landed back in time as the notion of falling into a pitch, pain in her abdomen and water dampening her fingertips– the sudden notion fell away to nothing as she blinked to look at his retreating form, who was advancing out of the dungeon without throwing a single glance behind. Uraraka rushed to meet him at the stairs.

“I still don’t understand… anything.” muttered she, afraid of what remark about her intelligence he’d come up with. “Why did he use the scream bait at us if he was going to be so quick with the plunder and we wouldn–“

“Again, you’re not seeing the big picture.” commented he infuriatingly fast and sharp. “He probably saw that the dungeon had been cleared and decided to get the hell out before we even arrived, so he tried to delay us.” she blinked up at him, and he could hear her heart thumping a meter away. “And I bet that brainwash was just a little remembrance present.”

“Brainwash.” she didn’t question it, just welcomed it with a statement because Uraraka was sure they’d be seeing that guy again. “Well, it was not a pleasant present.”

As they went down the stairs to the clearing, Uraraka heard a rope being tightened in the distance, making all those feelings of being observed wash over her once again. Her step slowed down, as did Bakugou’s in pure instinct. “I hope he didn’t imprint any nasty message in that sucker brain of yours. There’s no need to make you a worse terrorist than you already are.”

An empty smack of air rushed to Uraraka’s ears, who instinctively took a leap to Bakugou’s back and deflected the arrow directed at him with a swing of her staff, cracking the arrow with a might swoosh of power. The trail of power chased the trajectory of the arrow up the building and slammed its pressure on both the building and the ground below them with an empty smash, ground snapping to quake after the hit. The defensive counterattack had been too improvised, chaste and hurried for Uraraka to control.

The gust of dust and sand along with the deaf smack of magic beneath his feet made him turn around and see not only the broken arrows at the sorcerer’s feet, but also a mysterious figure standing on top of the stone dungeon. Bakugou readied his sword again for a fight against this impertinent enemy, who was only staring at them once his plan to kill the leader had backfired. “Oi, who the fuck are you now? Be decent and show yourself!”

Uraraka stepped to the blonde’s side, mouth in a tight line. Meanwhile, the attacker only stood and watched them, members of Yuuei quiet and ready for whatever attack that could come from this archer, but also whoever that could come from behind. The figure’s silhouette was framed and hidden by the glaring sun, and the shade was gone with the wind as the offender took a step back and ran away, jumping to the forest with a busy rustle of leaves and branches.

“Who in the world was that? We can’t let whoever that was escape!”

“It ain’t worth it.” muttered Bakugou, a mixture of anger and frustration eliciting a growl from him. Letting a foe off the hook so easily wasn’t in his murderous unmerciful style, always efficient when it came to taking enemies out of the way. This time though, he let it fly. “There may be a whole gang of them deep in there.”

Uraraka blinked at the sun in order to decipher how this person had fled into the forest from such a high building. The leader eyed the remains of the arrows suspiciously. “I guess you are right on that.” the blonde knelt down to see the little projectiles with more accuracy. “What are you even doing now?”

“Tch.” he was on his feet again, eyeing the arrows with this nasty glint of his that could drive a whole army off a cliff if he so desired, as if his hatred for the pieces of iron and wood were his worst enemy like Uraraka had once been– or most likely still was, after Shinsou perhaps. “We gotta get back to the guild. I’ll have to report all this shit– fuck my life.”

Uraraka couldn’t read what his eyes spoke about, his words too vague and her too drunk with information and a new sense of emergency hanging on the clear ceiling of the sky, a sky they shared with countless criminals, Shinsou, and a whole universe of timelines, entangled complications and the everlasting question of the sorcerer’s loyalty, her morality and if the spikes of ice beating inside her writhing heart were real, dangerous, and if Uraraka would remain by everyone’s side. The more Bakugou looked at the arrows, he felt angrier, sicker, mind surging until he basically snapped.

The pieces of broken wood were burnt with a small bubble of fire, and the boy tasted the smokes with his fingertips as his frown only deepened. The sorcerer trailed behind the leader, eyes following the shadows of his cape as she thought that – maybe, just maybe, that person was the very same one she saw at the market the other day – but it somehow sounded too far stretched and sketchy, an association too strained to be true.

Right? The pieces of the puzzle were scrambled on the floor, and it somehow seemed like the only one to solve the riddle would be her.

Her head shook in complete denial as Shinsou’s last words to her, whispered to her soul in a private embrace all the while he left them without a single word spoken out, yet slapped on her with abrassing fire, a very same fire that beat inside Bakugou’s eyes, his glare and all the trepidation carried with those little dropped words.

You’ll understand someday, fairy with the clipped wings.

It turns out they didn’t even have time to rest Shinsou’s exposition off, because the moment they stepped into the village again, it was as empty as it had been the day Uraraka had first appeared. The feeling of rain falling on her was gloomy, as if stars had started falling down the sky and had shattered the mental ground she was in, remembering the grim bitterness of being soaked to the bone, yet still alive but with no life purpose or a place to belong in.

Yuuei had given her a reason to stay in that village– the leaders, the members, the sun and the moon had given her a place to stay. But when Uraraka saw that there was no one in the streets, a part of her resorted into an abyss. It was in the air, written in the skyline, hanging from the rooftops and slimming down every sewer and pebble stone. Irregularity and silence with a tinge of bleakness and blind danger drowned the buildings, its inhabitants, killed every flower and chirping bird.

This was no village. It was the very same ghost town that had stayed under the covers of the night during her talk with Bakugou, during every restless night in her dorms, watching the faraway rain fall and drench her heart in a tight embrace– vivid nights of loss, ubiquity and confusion. Aftershock would plunge itself deeper and deeper as it slammed unrecognizable feelings of oddity and darkness– it was all dark around her, foreign feelings harboring down into a remembranceless sea of bubbles, silence and dark steep abysses of so many questions left unsaid, unspoken, unanswered.

All feelings were blending together, mixing, twisting, until that was left in front of her was a thread of lost streets with no people, no soul– just the skeleton of a broken body. The rain… it was always so familiar, yet so foreign.

“What the fuck is this?”

And in the middle of it all stood this ghost town, bricks missing from buildings, houses full of dust, cannon balls imprinted on some walls, trees falling apart– haunted memories of irregularity and despair that Bakugou was starting to realize with a start of a run, starting to hear noises and crowds banging on doors the more they ran to their guild, the nearer they got to the gates.

Right before they turned to the main street directing to the wall and gates, he pushed her to a side and changed directions, speed increasing. “If they see you with the village in this state, they’ll think it was your damn fault.”

Uraraka didn’t argue his point, but was still torn in between trusting his measure to be good intended or thinking he was going to throw her into a dumpster. “Why should I trust you in this?”

“The real question is why should I trust you with anything? You could take the opportunity to corner me into an alley, disarm me and tear my organs apart for some witchery sneaky business of yours.” spoke he bluntly, breathy as he struggled to remember which alternative path led to the guild’s secondary doors. “A part of me is fighting against it for my people’s sake.”

Yeah – she understood that – and a part of her was trying to put all his murder, blood and ire aside to try and see what hid behind those thick, heavy curtains he had around his weak heart. She was terrified of even peeking, afraid of being burnt with his death glares or his viscerous remarks and measures to keep her in place– yet, wasn’t he afraid too? Afraid of the monsters she hid inside her closet while she was also intimidated by the destruction he carried with him, afraid of being blistered beyond repair.

“Thank you, Bakugou.” the spiky boy turned to look at her, brows for once neutral when her smile came to view– and even if it was a small one, it was a step in the right direction. “For trying.”

“It ain’t gonna mean a damn thing until you actually show us you are valuable. Don’t go around making misleading conclusions.” because it wouldn’t be easy, but the fact that he was going to at least try to not murder her was… nice, in a way. It shouldn’t be so surprising, but Uraraka found herself smiling nonetheless.

When they finally exited the labyrinth of messy old houses and wet, dark streets, they found themselves running to the big barrier of the guild installations, the wall shining in all its glory with no disruptions to be seen, sunshine reflecting in every smooth corner to glorify the blessed territory. Uraraka squinted during their race to see a little gray door waiting for them.

“It’s an emergency door. Only you would make us use it for such petty issue as a crowd.” the leader gave it a good push with an ease that Jack sure hadn’t displayed some days earlier. He  went through first and waited for her to get in before closing the door behind them, and hurried to the center of the guild plaza.

All members of the guild stood at the entrance, making the two remaining members rush to see Kirishima struggling to keep the mad crowd at bay. “Please, calm down! We are still fixing to check all damages done around the area, be patient!”

Uraraka stopped her run by Yaoyorozu, hidden from the crowd by Tokoyami as the leader stepped forward to face the angry mass of people barricading at his damn guild doors. “What the fuck is going on and where did you all pop up from?”

Midoriya looked at his peer and mused on the fact that his hands were reddened, bruised, and that Uraraka had just arrived with him. His eyes pierced his heaving chest, the irritation– but there was a little spark there, in a deep pitch of his endless galaxies of anger and disturbance. Something was clouding the aggressiveness off his glare, and replacing it with just exhasperation and impatience, now looking at Midoriya to find an answer that wasn’t just senseless screaming from the villagers.

“Disruptions have started appearing–“

“I know, dumbass. I saw it all with my own eyes before.” he then took out his sword again and flung it in front of the mass of crowds attempting to cross the threshold, successfully making them all step back as he pointed at them with a sneer. “What I don’t understand is why everyone is here and not whining to the Council.”

An elderly woman appeared in the middle of the line, eyes clouded by a gray fringe of disheveled hairs. “The door to my house is basically disintegrating! It’s being bitten by something and it will sure be long gone by the time I get home!”

Another voice boomed from the back, hand shot up to point to the village at their backs. “Tons of blades have appeared on my restroom, and water has drained from the well at my neighborhood!”

Uraraka looked at the restless crowd of people as the listed off all their problems, some blurry in her ears as worry settled in. She heard Yaoyorozu hum in preoccupation, eyes glaring at the back of their animalistic leader. “This timeline… is growing weak. This must be RampAge’s doing.”

Yes, RampAge, the angry monster waiting for them at the end of the world while he was slowly eating all bits of the timeline and tangling everything with his slimy hands, waiting for the truth to crash on Uraraka was she just stared at the danger before it was even in front of her, but the feeling of being cornered by fear and– just the feeling of being small, the problem being too huge and her being just so, so tiny and useless. As another lost star in the horizon against the blaring sun of the morning, her spark faded away slowly, the burden was too heavy on everybody’s shoulders.

People wouldn’t see her as the solution, or a part of it– they’d see her as the fucking problem herself.

Tokoyami realized that she was behind him and took a step aside, arms crossed. The moment she looked up, her eyes met the dozens of those who stood in the frontline, and when they saw the wooden staff in her hands… disbelief fell down on her like a tsunami on the destruction fall. A man was first to call out on this fact. “H-Hold on, that’s a–“

“A sorcerer! It’s a sorcerer!” Yaoyorozu dedicated Tokoyami a fierce sideways glare, to which the bird boy only shrugged in defeat. “This must have been her doing!”

Kirishima was the first one to tread forward and chide them for such quick grudge. Uraraka saw then a variety of knives tucked in his pockets and a very fancy looking one pinned on his back. “Nobody here is allowed to badmouth anybody from our guild, sorcerer or not.”

“How can we not do so!?” the elderly lady from before spoke up again, fists tight and her face scrunched in a frown. “We can’t let that vixen get away with this crime! She’s responsible for destroying our homes!”

It was not true. It was not true now, not before, not in the future, not in another place, not in another story – Uraraka would never attempt to destroy families, nations – but the mere accusation with such sharp edges and venom had her knees trembling, lip quivering as all she could hear was Shinsou whispering those words to her again while the whole world spiraled with their accusations, everything blending together to the rhythm of a parade with her head in their hands, blood splashing on the ground as they stepped forward and cornered her rotting corpse.

“She’s no more than a scoundrel!”

“All go for her head, she’s a witch!”

“No sorcerer shall–“

“SILENCE!”

Bakugou drove his blade straight into the ground, blade stabbing the stone like butter and cracking the pavement under his feet, making all his people’s clothes sway with the wave of the impact, but Kirishima’s knives were still out, Midoriya had the handle of his sword clutched as well– only Bakugou had lost his temper way before it was due. His glare was constricted, dreary, and incredibly defensive of these accusations that were directed to a member of his guild.

These guys– good for nothing losers were telling him he was wrong for inviting him over– a belief he was fighting against but people still wouldn’t let him get over with. He took a deep breath, unaware of having Uraraka staring at him with her brown eyes blown agape at his fierce interruption, the heave of his shoulders and the way he was struggling to keep his cool against such accusations not only against her, but indirectly against him.

“You fucktards have no right to say anything about who I admit in the guild. For starters, she had been under my watch all the time, and I can assure you that if she had gone and done anything risky, I’d let you have her head to be impaled.” he extracted the sword from the stone slot and directed the blade to the innocent villagers, who again recoiled from the enormous beast. “I won’t let you doubt my expertise as a co-leader of this guild, which has saved your eyes countless time. We ain’t stupid and we know when to cut off an investment.”

The mob of people went silent for a pair of seconds, and the whole guild held in their breaths. They knew who they were dealing with, and this crowd was no easy group to handle. Another pissy villager was quick to speak. “But the fact that you are even calling it an investment is worth noting! Making blind investments on a future enemy like her is a reckless move to make in such critical moments!”

“He’s kinda right on that one.” Tokoyami sighed, eyeing the girl from the corner of his vision– and the sight left him a little petrified. Her head was titled forward in a new, more courageous way that had just immediately surfaced when she had needed Bakugou– her sworn enemy, the most terrible of thunderstorms, to rescue her from the vicious hands of a blob of unknown faces, their words cutting like knives but he had this time shielded her from them– shielded his guild from the accusations.

“We can’t let this continue!”

He clearly had more to him than just simple anger to the world that dared push him down, so she took a step forward, and forward, closer to the people, closer to her enemies– eyes crunched into a venomous glare of defiance as she positioned herself just behind Bakugou, Kirishima and Midoriya.

“Look at her though, such a small thing.” commented a woman to another, a man standing by snickering at the harsh truth. “One can blow her away with a little breeze.”

“I can’t believe the leader of this guild has let a traitor in!”

“This guild must pay for bringing the devil closer to our–“

“I think Bakugou has told you all to stop talking.”

The three guardians turned to look at her, people’s mouths falling shut as her eyes narrowed at them in distaste. Bakugou crossed his arms at her, ready for whatever trick she’d do to either screw up or knock those asses off their knickers. “I don’t know where these biased opinions come from, but whoever that finds it suitable–“

The tip of her staff hit the ground with a hard slam, waking the dust from their slumber on the ground and blowing dirt away among with any loose pieces of clothing. “–shall come and prove themselves!”

“Oi, look at this thing being so pretentious and mighty!”

“Yeah, I bet I could take her anytime, man!”

Knowingly, the boys let Uraraka step nearer to the gates. Kirishima smirked at what he had called little lady when he saw her first, and hoped for her to prove him wrong again. Uraraka frowned at the crowd of people, chest puffed out and small lines of teeth showing behind those thin unharmed lips of hers. “It’s fine for me then.” her staff touched ground again, but only to make her statement clear as she put all her power and bravado in a single shot. “If all of you are so against me being here, so skeptic about my power, I challenge you all to fight me.”

“Is this girl craz–“

“I said,” her staff was risen to the heavens above, and thunder clapped on the death of a clear day of sun, shadowing her eyes for a dangerous moment of menacing bestiality. “fight me!”

The crowds pulled away from the powerhouse with renewed fear sinking their expressions to a pale shadow of the smug shame thrown at her that she had not only annihilated, but also returned to every single doubting civilian. They still stayed, but at a safe distance, which made Bakugou step forward again to the wooden bridge with his blade in front of him. Midoriya accompanied him on the stride as his frown deepened – a gesture out of character for him.

“We won’t repeat ourselves again: don’t dare come to shame on our members without being ready to face consequences.” Bakugou nodded curtly, nose wrinkled at them as Midoriya finished the discourse with a sharp response. “We will part as soon as possible to identify the source of this dilemma. Go to your houses and fight the war on your own for now, shall peace rest in your hearts.”

Kaminari and Yaoyorozu quickly closed the doors as Mina took a pretty shaken Uraraka into the faculty, the poor sorcerer recovering from the high of such mighty confrontation. The ashen blonde glanced at the fidgeting sorcerer, eyebrows scrunched in meditation over the show she had put out.

Maybe... just maybe–

"Bakugou, we can't stand still now." the aforementioned turned to look behind and see Midoriya standing by Asui, and that was when he realized that everyone was pretty much looking at him in anticipation, desperate for something– a reaction, some kind of order to carry them out of the stump. "I think it's time to make a move. Delaying this won't make this any easier."

The hunter hissed, eyes closed in thought. The sword was put aside again. "Yeah, I'm aware."

"I don't know if it's my place to say," Yaoyorozu approached them, fingers twitching on her chin as she went through all the information to the day. "But judging by the current state of the village, it's highly probable that the decay will go further. We can't go on like this. Stretching the damage in this timeline will only make things worse."

Uraraka's glance flew from the knight to Midoriya, then to Bakugou, who was the center of all eyes, darkness twiling around him until there were no lights floating, no more air– and suddenly, the world was underwater, the trepidation and anticipation for an incoming avalanche of danger suffocating her, hands shooting from those dark corners and suffocating her in a loving hug.

And again, there he stood, in the middle of it all, having to carry the burden of a guild along side another man, stood Bakugou– this man who was starting to at least be civil with her, who had sort of, kind of, in a way, defended her back there. He hadn't haunted her, tried to suffocate her. Now, he had a burden too big to even notice her. He had told her the night before.

She couldn't bring herself to hate him so much when such big things were coming and he was still there, proud and strong. Yeah, there was no way a part of her couldn't respect him both as a fighter and a leader. Her hand tried to reach out, yet curled back and fell limp on her side, eyes down as Uraraka was helpless, useless, and no more than another face in this place.

But somewhere deep inside of her, something screamed, flew up her torso, flew up her vocal chords as the limp hands clutched on the knot tying her uniform's neck. "Are we ready for this though? Can we really pull this off as confidently as we are putting it?"

Bakugou boredly looked at her as some guild members backed off at the implicaton. Uraraka didn't understand the offense until the ashen blonde strode to her in a slow pace, spikes swaying as ashes danced on his face.

"You can't go around as a new member throwing shit at us." his hands were stretched, fingers curled as his smile went downhill with a disapproving grimace. Yet, his fingers never dared to reach any of her as they would have done so recklessly before. He knew who he was talking with this time. "Don't understimate us. If you aren't letting anybody do that to you, don't let your shitty mind play tricks on you."

"I am not, by any means, implying that you guys are weak!" the girl looked around to see everyone paying attention to her, but their expressions weren't disappointed at her, or mad. "What I'm trying to say is that RampAge doesn't seem like a foe to be taken lightly–"

"Uraraka is right about that." interrupted Todoroki, sensing that the girl was about to step on a blind spot. "We should have a plan before even thinking about heading off into battle so recklessly."

"It's not we'll have a straight-away encounter with him." retorted Midoriya, his eyes unfocused as he displayed a mental map of the whole kingdom. "We'd have to cross a town in the Frost Way, then advance to the Capital. That would take us a minimum time of two weeks, but we can try to be faster by maybe crossing the river? But even that would–"

Asui smacked Midoriya on the shoulder with her tongue. "Quit it. You look creepy."

Midoriya looked at the pharmacist with a little blush of apology as Mina sprung back up. "It's not something we can't do, I bet. I am mostly worried about how we will know where this guy even is."

The redhead, who was currently trying to supervise Bakugou in case he snapped out of his train of thought, shook his head. "Midoriya and Bakugou have him vaguely located. It shouldn't be so difficult to pinpoint him in a mildly large area. Supposedly, he is not specially small."

"Playing with suppositions will not take us very far." Iida cleaned his glasses, then gave the cloth back to Yaoyorozu. "We can't risk such an important fact like actual situation. RampAge may move the moment we step out of the capital, for all we know."

Midoriya staggered a bit to find an answer, so Bakugou had to once again respond while so side tracked. "The area he is in is basically like a massive hollow mountain. It's fucking impossible for it to actually change places like you do, four-eyes." then, he rubbed his face with both hands. "Which means I can't take Amelie with us either."

Jack, who had seemingly popped out of nowhere, swiftly debunked that setback. "Amelie wouldn't have done much more damage than our best fighters would have done." the black haired girl looked at the brunette, who stared back in wonder. "Group in which I very gladly include Uraraka."

The ashen blonde found entertainment on seeing little Miss Terrorist explode into a mad blush of aknowledgement she wanted to deny, but Midoriya spoke before anybody else could refute, agree or interrupt the statement. "Now that I think about it, what's your opinion on this?"

She jumped a bit to look at Midoriya, and the guild stared in wonder. "My opinion?"

"Well, you are a newcomer here, but anybody's impression is welcome." the freckled boy smiled at her kindly, and the sorcerer was instantly relieved for an unknown reason. It came from deep inside her heart and it was driving her insane. "Besides, new opinions aren't biased, just raw and fresh."

"Oh!" gasp and wide eyes, fingers fidgeting with her sleeves as her arms crossed, then she stood still as her answer was clear, had always been from a start and it had taken her too much to figure it out. "In that case..."

Uraraka cleared her throat and spoke up. Bakugou watched her from slightly afar, brow wrinkled as a warning. "I believe that our leaders would never take us through the wrong path. If they believe in our power and believe in the path they have traced, I don't know why we wouldn't trust them." and this time, Uraraka fully faced Bakugou by staring right into his eyes. "That's what a leader stands for."

The boy's eyes widened with a disbelieving frown, her eyes solid brown and no longer swiming in emotions and brewing with mechanical schemes, ideas, or even hesitant. Todoroki smiled behind her, a knowing little smirk showing through that no one but him would understand.

"Hell straight." Bakugou stretched his arms, flexing his muscles for both a show of power and might, condemning the following measures to be followed. "We will start moving tonight while light is still out, and camp for the night in the way to our first stop."

He seeked Midoriya's eyes for approval, and he nodded with a solemn grim frown. "We should divide into groups to make travelling easy, and in case of an ambush we will be able to maniobrate much easier. We'll need a healer in each group, and as diverse class-wise as possible."

"We can talk that out when we set off later." the ashen blonde moved his cape aside and advanced towards the main building. "Move your asses and start packing, take only necessary battle items, just light package. You are dismissed until sunset, be quick."

“Uraraka– Uh, Uraraka?” Kirishima opened the door to her room a little bit more in pure shock after seeing the madness she was stuffing into her backpack. “How many books do you think you will be able to take?”

“Oh, Kirishima! Um…” the girl hesitantly took them out with a hand and slammed their weight on her desk, prompting the hunter to approach the pile. “I thought they’d be useful to have as an addition to basic training with Bakugou… and that way I can also have something to read if ever have to make guard!”

The boy leant back from the volumes and grinned at her. “No worries lil’ lady! Having your shoulder in such state will probably save you from the guards. Bakugou and Kaminari offered to do your guards until we get to the first stop.” the sorcerer titled her head, blinking as the thought of Bakugou actually going out of his way to help her started to sink in awkward places, still odd and out of character for him. “By the way, you’ll be going in Bakugou’s group– said something about watching you, so I’ll see you when we get to the first stop. Such a shame. Also, why is Edgar so… down?”

Uraraka padded to her shelves to gather some spare potions and scrolls, not surprised by Bakugou wanting to keep her under his hook. Her eyes then drifted to the sleeping form of her eagle, and sighed. “Little buddy here had a sever intake of ashes from the fight with Pyrox, as he flew around the battlefield for a while. I can’t take him with us, but he’ll come to me when I need him to. By the way, I take it you’ll be going with Midoriya, then?”

“Yeah,” the redhead picked up a random book from her desk. “with Yaoyorozu and Mina, good company. I’ll sadly have to deal with Todoroki being around as well, he is such a baby during expeditions like these.” the brunette nodded with a little airy laugh, letting Kirishima read the titles of her sorcery books. “Wow, all this stuff seems complicated.”

The girl approached him to finish packing up, but before she could take the books back, Kirishima lifted it out of reach and read the title from below. She tried to grab the volume with clenching hands and chubby fingers, but the redhead still held it in the air. “A book on chemistry and… magic law?”

Uraraka jumped and got her book back, almost tearing Kirishima’s arm apart. “Well, there are lots of things I haven’t had time to ask Yaoyorozu about this kingdom’s laws. So I need to learn if there’s anything specific I can’t do in certain places.”

The brunette clamped the bad shut with a huff, the potions clinking with the metal details of the books and various other items of good use. Kirishima opened the door for her so they could finally proceed to the exit. “Well, I bet you were already told the basics, right? About dungeon hunting, the libraries, the ice mag–“

The door fell shut as Uraraka jumped to Kirishima’s face. “I never got closure on that one!” Uraraka started to mess with her hair again, eyes darting all over the place. “I was given this creepy vibe about ice magic, like the fact that it’s considered a cursed magic– but she never told me why! Jack sure seemed bothered about it though. Oh, and she also showed me–“

The hunter slapped his hands on her shoulders, and rubbed softly. “Take it easy, roundface. Midoriya’s mumbling thing sure is rubbing on you easily, what a pain.” Uraraka slapped her cheeks, eyes wide, wondering where the heck that ramble had come from. “Well, first, our guild has protection against ice magic, so using this kind of magic is actually possible, but it weakens the body of the user spectacularly.”

The brunette nodded, adjusting her bag on her shoulder as Kirishima gave her an explanation. His scarf was tight on his neck, vest scraped to his chest and hands rummaging through his pockets, maybe checking to see if he has everything with him. “Ice magic is…” he gave an approving pat, then looked at Uraraka as they walked onwards. “out of the elemental circle. It’s a mystery how one can manipulate it, and too dangerous to deal with. There is water, wind, earth, fire– those are the main elements, then there are other side techniques that I’m not that aware of.”

The brunette gave him an endearing look of both surprise and pride. “You sure know what you are talking about.”

The other boy tried to shrug it off with that warm, humble demeanor of his. Still, the compliment took over his heart, and the very same emotion was reflected back in his eyes. “I spent some time with Asui at the infirmary after a raid gone wrong, and she told me all about it. She’s especially wary of this magic, considering she can only use water magic.”

Kirishima and her passed by the lobby in complete silence as the brunette thought her next question, and was able to pronounce it once they were half way through the corridors to the main doors. “Still, why is it so bad?”

“It’s just mysterious, and people fear the unknown in the same way I guess they fear you or Shinsou at Grinning Blade. My knowledge can’t reach that far, you should ask Asui about it.”

And of course Uraraka was going to ask her about it, because it turns out that she was feeling colder than usual, the fierce reminder that Yaoyorozu gave her still fresh in her mind– the way her eyes had flared with warning, how shocked Bakugou had looked when he saw his axe get knocked out of orbit in that wild winter frost. Bakugou knew, Yaoyorozu knew, but the only one who didn’t really know what was going on with this magic and its danger was Uraraka.

“Oi, what the hell took you damn losers so long!?” screamed Bakugou the moment they exited the building, waiting at the gates with horses and the whole guild gathered. The two remaining members shook their heads and ran to them, remembering the reason behind such rush. “We have stuff to do!”

“Bookworm here wanted to pack a whole library of books.” the blonde scowled at her in deep reprimand, but Kirishima was quick to defend her. “She did it for a good cause, though!”

Out of nowhere, Kaminari tapped Uraraka’s shoulder and made her look at him with a little tug. “C’mon, we’re sharing a horse, and we better get going before Bakugou here blows our asses up.”

“Hold up, Kaminari.” before the blonde could help her on his black horse, Bakugou forcefully gripped her arm and carried her to Kirishima’s horse. “You are a clumsy rider, no way I’m gonna involve more people in your damn disasters.” because it’s not like he cared for her– that definitely was not the case, but he wasn’t willing to have more casualties than necessary before the real war had even began.

Kirishima chuckled and took Uraraka’s arms. “I guess we will have to share horse then. My pleasure to comply, master!” the blonde glared at the two brainless idiots who he sure hoped would crash into the nearest cliff and disappear. “Hold on tight, miss!”

“Everybody up their horses?” called Midoriya, Asui behind him as she set all her potions and ingredients in her bag for a quick reach.

“Wait, I am not–“

“Kaminari, what the fuck. Hurry your ass up the damn horse.” Jack looked at the screaming leader and shook her head at Kaminari’s clumsiness when it came to riding. He sure had been practicing, but it’d take him a long time before he got used to it. Mina, grabbing her from behind, laughed freely. “I take it you all are ready.” there was a loud hum of agreement, and Kirishima handed Uraraka a big coat for her just in case she got cold. The sorcerer realized then that most people were wearing it as well.

Seeing that Kirishima was actually giving up his for her despite wearing less clothing, she politely rejected the offer with a shake of her head. That guy was impossibly kind to her.

“Pay attention, please.” Midoriya’s voice was clear, loud, commanding, similar to Bakugou’s but in a less dangerous way that filled the entire place, but in enthusiasm and diligence. “We will head to the Frost Way as a whole group, then head for the forest so we don’t make ourselves too noticed, and split up in groups. We should be there close to midnight, and meet again in a few days at the nearest village. Any questions?”

Uraraka had been giving this idea lots of time to go away– really, lots and lots of time. It was a crazy thought, a possibility that would be rejected the same moment it was spoken outloud. She gripped Kirishima’s vest for dear life, forehead cuddling with his scarf, and bit her lip. Yet, the words were escaping, floating into the skies of her brain until they couldn’t go higher, and instead dropped to the air below in quick sentences of anxiety.

“Why don’t we…” Kirishima now noticed that she was close to tearing his vest apart, and gently craned his head to look at her. “why don’t we ask Grinning Blade for help?”

“No.”

“But–“ nobody interrupted her, but they were obviously agreeing with Bakugou’s refusal by the way they glared at her. “they are up against this very same issue! They may be great help with different sets of–“

“Go to them.”

Kirishima, Uraraka, Bakugou and basically everybody looked at Midoriya, who didn’t dare to look back at his guild and instead focused on the road ahead. “Kirishima, take her to their headquarters and then head to the Frost Way. We will wait there.”

Bakugou almost went off his horse to chop his head off. “What the fuck do you think you are doing!?” his hands went wild into the air, little explosions rippling from his palms. “We can’t go ask for help from that good for nothing purple hairs! Who even–“

“I have the very same right as you to make these decisions as you have.” the green haired leader turned his head to look at the seething hunter, who then leant back in thought to think things through. “We are in no state to be picky… Kacchan.”

Bakugou didn’t make a fuss this time about the odd change of nicknames, only frowned heavily and gripped the bridles of his horse as hard as ever. “You got no right to call me like that, greenielocks.” Uraraka blinked at the exchange from behind Kirishima’s tense shoulder, and shook a little when Bakugou turned to look at her. “Be quick or we’ll end up delayed by those motherfuckers, so go on ahead of us. Be careful on the way.”

“Gotcha, master!” Kirishima whipped the bridles and the horse took a step back to then speed up across the bridge, stride clopping against the stone pavement as they rode into the sunset, turning at some houses and speeding up at empty areas.

Uraraka gripped Kirishima’s torso with a hand and held the hat on its place with the other, a grateful smile softening her round features. “Thank you for this, Kirishima! I would have never thought Bakugou would agree to this!”

His voice was hushed from the winds leaping at their sides, but it vibrated inside his ribcage and made her felt at peace, bathed in the sunset as the guild’s aroma carried their winds along. “He looks like a wolf, and actually fights like one, but he can’t deny help we need. And I’m just hoping Grinning Blade will agree to help us!”

“I bet they will, it’s not like it’s not their problem.”

Well, the real issue started when they were met with Shinsou’s tired and bored dead eyes staring right through Uraraka as she voiced her concerns with earnest frantic glances, hands clenched around the neck of her uniform, travelling everywhere and there was a moment when she gripped Kirishima’s sleeve for mere relief, her words being spat faster and sharper than ever. Her hair bobbed, arms shaking, and she finally shut up.

Shinsou only stared for a second, sipping from his drink, and gave a blatant answer.

“Not interested.”

Kirishima and Uraraka jumped five meters behind to only come rushing back to his side, Kirishima speaking as loud as possible. “Man, what the hell? This is an issue of vital importance!”

“I don’t give a damn about vital importances and what gets in your hairs. Nobody asked this guild for help, therefore I will never put my people on the line for others who haven’t asked for it.” Shinsou’s eyes travelled from the gaping redhead to the other sorcerer, whose eyes didn’t seem as surprised as one would have expected. “I guess you were already expecting this, clumsy girl?”

The hunter was startled to find that these powerful sorcerers knew each other, above all considering how ill Shinsou’s intentions. Kirishima hoped Bakugou knew about this and had found a way to be alright with it. The sorcerer spoke up, mouth grim in a line of disappointment. “I can’t deny that, but I sure was expecting to be able to see you cooperating.”

“Then we don’t need to speak anymore.” the leader did a double take when turning to close the door, and stared at Uraraka with analytical eye. He seemed to observe how the sorcerer was holding herself awkwardly, a hand gripping her side with strange delicacy. “Is there anything wrong with your side?”

“Ah!” the girl jumped and smiled awkwardly at the other sorcerer, who was still looking at her right side with a pointy glare. The brunette felt too observed to her liking, so she unbuttoned the lowest part of her shirt to show the ugly scar to the leader. Kirishima was internally raging over the display of skin she was offering so recklessly, but he guessed it wasn’t such a bad thing. “I got a pretty ugly wound when I first came to Yuuei.”

The hunter stepped forward to check the scar. “Woah, it sure healed ugly and big, lil’ girl! Does it hurt?”

She shook her head while still holding the shirt apart. Shinsou didn’t seem so fazed by the new information, but a spark in his eyes betrayed his appearance. Only Uraraka noticed. “It’s alright. It only hurts when I push hard enough, but really, it’s as if nothing had happened. Shuzenji sure is a miracle!”

“So, you got that in a battle?” the brunette shrugged while buttoning up her shirt, which only made Shinsou ask more questions. “You don’t know?”

Before the sorcerer could shake her head, Kirishima gently spoke first. “She’s got amnesia.”

“Amnesia, huh.” both outsiders nodded at the same time, Uraraka still lost at the huge meaning that word had in her life now. It was like a big, hideous stain had damped her life and there was no way to wipe it clean. The boy in front of them tapped his chin, eyes swinging from side to side in deep thought. He then stepped inside for a second, and was back with a piece of paper. “We may not be willing to help, but perhaps old man will actually help out somehow.”

Uraraka gingerly took the little note and read it with shock still imprinted in her easily molten eyes. “Old man?” the redhead looked from her shoulder, but didn’t bother to finish reading the note. “Are you gonna take us to some kind of elderly wise man?”

Shinsou flashed them a little private smile, but it was full of intentions and raging thoughts. “You could call him that. Just go to him and ask for his aid.”

Uraraka arched an eyebrow at him, but was elated to see him helping somehow. If this was his way to help, she would welcome it the first. “I am glad you are willing to help us indirectly, but how can we know if we can trust you?”

Shinsou chuckled at her endearing innocence and turned around. “Trust me, clumsy, I get nothing from helping you guys out. If I’m gonna go out of my way, I’ll at least try to be civil.”

Kirishima drove her with an arm around her shoulders towards their horse. “Thanks, I guess. Talk to Hatsume if you guys ever wanna help out, and she’ll make it work somehow. Good luck while we are gone.”

The door was closed behind them with no further ado, and while Kirishima led her to his horse, Uraraka reread the note with trembling hands. “You sure we can trust this guy?”

“I sincerely… am not sure.” her voice trembled at the end, but her eyes were focused and resolute. They had no other choice but the hard choice. “We have no other option but accept this little nudge. As Midoriya said, we are in no state to be picky.”

Kirishima hoisted her up the horse and adjusted the bridles in a second, not many changes needed. “Where do we have to go though?” Uraraka handed the piece of paper to him, and he had to read it a few times before he could actually recall where the location was. “Gotcha, it’s in our path to the Frost Way. I just hope I can find such accurate location.”

The hunter got on the horse and snapped the bridles to make him run out of town, all the while Uraraka read the note over and over again, eyes squinted at the smudged calligraphy, hugging Kirishima a little bit tighter the more she read into the note. “The Mountain’s Chamber. Sounds creepy.”

“It actually is creepy, if I do recall. It’s a place under a big mountain full of snow. There’s some big fog around there, I just hope it doesn’t hinder our arrival.”

Uraraka was worried about everything but that. Her hands scrunched the paper and held it tight to her chest, heart beating off a raging tsunami the further they got from the village, nearer to their only source of aiding and away from her short-lived home, away from her dorm, and away from safety. Shinsou’s words trumpeted deep inside her mind, where only deep husky voices like Bakugou’s arrived, provoking all sorts of little chills covering her spine.

“Yeah…” her face was buried on his scarf, fresh and old with use. Smelled like rain, smelled like home. “I really hope so, too.”

“Lil’ lady, this place sure is fucking creepy.” his head shot up from the foggy cover as the horse stopped, Uraraka seemingly seeing right through everything as she was blinking and looking around just fine. “I can see the entrance from here though. Looks dark.”

The sorcerer looked up to the sky and frowned slightly. “It’s cloudy now. Sunset must be over by now.” the girl took a leap of faith, brave despite what could lie beneath her feet, and luckily landed on safe ground. “I’ll go talk to him.”

Kirishima immediately got down from his horse, chasing after her little steps. “What? If that man is an acquaintance of Shinsou, he ain’t good news!”

Uraraka stopped her stride to turn and lift the hem of her shirt. “Shinsou only decided to give us some help when he saw this scar. Maybe if I show this man I am tough, he’ll believe we all are, as well.”

But the boy didn’t give it up. “Uraraka, if something happens to you out there, Bakugou will have my fucking head.”

There were a few seconds of silence in which Uraraka didn’t budge from her place. Instead of going forward, she let out a little laugh, humorless and her expression afterwards was kind of sad. “Like he’d even care about a terrorist like me. Despite being a member of the guild, I’ll never be more than that.” Kirishima was about to say something crazy to deny that truth – something with little foundation that could somehow make things better between them – but the girl spoke up again. “Besides, it’s ok. I can handle myself and flee if that man get’s feisty with me. Just watch after the horse.”

Kirishima raised his hand in protest to only have it meet the fabric of his combat pants. “Whatever, just be careful.”

Uraraka nodded eagerly and watched the man go down the little hill before she ran with big leaps up the little hill and towards the cavity on the mountain. There was some snow under her boots, crunching on her soles, humidity hanging low on the air as little stars twinkled behind a curtain of clouds above her bobbling head, which shook with every step she took closer to the hideout.

Her steps halted when she reached a regular door plastered on the cavern walls, where she knocked as soon as she got there, to get rid of the tension hanging in the unfallen snowflakes of white heaven. Uraraka heard steps behind the door, as swift and smooth like a leaf falling from a tree, and the door was opened slowly, cringing as it revealed a scruffy black haired man with a sand scarf on… that much she could tell from the darkness around them.

“Excuse me, mister! I hope I am not disturbing you.”

The man stared at her in silence, tousled hair covering a pair of eyes that rivaled the deadpan of Shinsou’s. “… who are you?”

“My name is Uraraka, sir. I belong to a guild called Yuuei, top champion of the season at the village we reside in… and my guild is fixing to go against a monster called RampAge, that lives far away from here!” her hands started fidgeting with the back of her hair again, twiddling and mixing with the lost strands of uniform. “Anyway, Shinsou gave us your address to seek for your help!”

At this, the man blinked and held out a hand. “Shinsou?” the girl nodded in response, frowning with determination. “Can I see some proof?”

Uraraka gave him the wrinkled paper, and the man read the letter carefully and slowly. Whoever this man was, he made her feel extremely uneasy. He looked scurffy, messy, darkened by the lack of lights and his eyes were devoid of any happiness, illusion or even anger. It was like watching a jar of water freeze over and to never melt again, his hair so unkempt and his scarf giving her a sense of humbleness from this man. Still, his hands were deeply scarred, marring his fingers, and it suddenly gave her a feeling of intimidation as this man… he was powerful. Maybe even more than Bakugou– her whole being agreed, heart thumping against her chest in sudden fear for what this man could do to her.

She was met with silence when he gave her the note again, and her fingers started to play with the folds of paper. “I just hope we are no hassle for you! I just felt like we needed to get more help in case out total prowess doesn’t suffice and… I’m just hoping to get people over because–“

The man raised a hand in the air in front of her, making her mouth clamp shut with a single movement of his. “I can’t help you. You aren’t strong enough.”

This made Uraraka come back at him like a boomerang, her face trying to get close to him for emphasis– something she did too often that she should really stop doing. “Wait, but I just told you that we–“

“I don’t give a shit about Yuuei. I am talking about you, Uraraka.”the man eyed her, glare narrowed as she blinked at him. “You don’t have the necessary knowledge to ask for my help. You are still weak.”

“Hold on, mister!” she tried to get him to not close the door on her face, which he ended up not doing. “I am not that weak! I almost took out my leader and Pyrox–“

“I don’t care what you did. I only care about what you can do in the future.” he shook her head at her, not a single trace of pity roaming his pale face. “I can’t help you yet. There will be a moment when you will really need to seek me, when the lights die and you are lost– then, you will find me.”

This kind of foretelling statement left her lost, empty, paling and eyes widening as dread settled in her heart and started quenching, gripping, squeezing, something venomous and poisonous filling her eyes to the brim with colors– but they were dark, shadows, ghosts of something she couldn’t see, but she could almost reach out to touch and feel the remorse, the pain, the wholehearted loss of a future she could almost taste in a metallic rain of blood.

Her mouth almost hit the ground when she tried to reach out for him, so he wouldn’t close the door on him, urgency rushing to her hands as they weighed on her. “What do you mean, sir?”

His shoulders heaved down in distaste as he eyed her one last time. Chocolate pools reflected his death charged abysses, and his hand clutched the knob once again. She wasn’t ready yet. “You can’t come to me.”

And the door closed after he roughly spoke his last words.

“You don’t know the meaning of death yet.”

[A/N]: define a mistake

me: shows you dis /giddy ap!

[chokemeseokjin]

for that ask thing... do em all... all 170... do it 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

OK LET’S DO THIS

1: How tall or short do you wish you were? I wish I was like 5′6″ tbh i’m too tall2: What’s your dream pet? (Real or not) fucking dragon mate3: Do you have a favorite clothing style? I like kinda cute pastel shit but not really girly? does that even make sense?4: What was your favorite video game growing up? Nintendogs?5: What three things/people do you think of most each day: My gf, bees and flowers6: If you had a warning label, what would yours say? Approach with caution, cries easily and afraid of loud noises7: What is your opinion on Mo being unfaithful to Jimin? Unsurprising and relatable (ily)8: What is your Greek personality type? [Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric, or Melancholic] IDK9: Are you ticklish? incredibly pls don’t touch me10: Are you allergic to anything? I’m lactose intolerant so… yeah11: What’s your sexuality? bi bi bi12: Do you prefer tea, coffee, or cocoa? tea i am a brit after all13: Are you a cat or dog person? B O T H14: Would you rather be a vampire, elf, or merperson? vampire fam that’d be so cool15: Do you have a favorite Youtuber? either Dan and Phil or Tomska, Dan and Phil are one in my head ok shut up16: How tall are you? 5′10″ :)))17: If you had to change your name, what would you change it to? Evie bc that was what i was going to be called and I would prefer it,,,,18: How much do you weigh? [Only ask this if you know the user doesn’t mind!] idk fam19: Do you believe in ghosts/spirits? kinda?20: Do you like space or the ocean more? S P A C E FAM THE STARS ARE JUST !!!!21: Are you religious? nah22: Pet peeves? When ppl walk really slowly in the middle of the fucking pavement23: Would you rather be nocturnal or diurnal [opposite of nocturnal]? nocturnal24: Favorite constellation? gemini obviously where my hoes at25: Favorite star? Kim Seokjin26: Do you like ball-jointed dolls? the fuck are they?27: Any phobias or fears? the dark n clowns28: Do you think global warming is real? yes???29: Do you believe in reincarnation? yeah i guess I do30: Favorite movie? Super 8! Pls watch it! support my kids!31: Do you get scared easily? yes like seriously easy32: How many pets have you own in your lifetime? 233: Blog rate? [You’ll rate the blog of the one who’s asking.] BEST BLOG EVER 10/10 WOULD LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE AMEN34: What is a color that calms you? Pastel blue35: Where would you like to travel and/or live? Japan and Hawaii! 36: Where were you born? hospital in my home town37: What is your eye color? very blue38: Introvert or extrovert? introvert39: Do you believe in horoscopes and zodiacs? I think they’re interesting but the ones in magazines n shit are bullcrap40: Hugs or kisses? hugs pls41: Who is someone you would like to see/visit right now? my gf :(42: Who is someone you love deeply? ur mum43: Any piercings you want? more on my ears and maybe my nose44: Do you like tattoos and piercings? yes!!!!45: Do you smoke or have you eiver done so? i have yh46: Talk about your crush, if you have one! how to describe min yoongi,,,,47: What is a sound you really hate? metal being like dragged along something u know what i mean48: A sound you really love? kim seokjin when he gets lines :))))49: Can you do a backflip? no i’m not jungkook50: Can you do the splits? nearly lol51: Favorite actor and/or actress? I lov Andrew Garfield with all my heart 52: Favorite movie? u asked this already but I’ll chose another one soooooooo um Breakfast Club bc i am a white girl53: How are you feeling right now? sleepy54: What color would you like your hair to be right now? same colour it is now tbh55: When did you feel happiest? sleeping56: Something that calms you down? watching youtube videos specifically gaming ones idk why but it’s rlly calming57: Have any mental disorders? [Only ask this if you know the user doesn’t mind!] probably lmao58: What does your URL mean? i want. kim seokjin. to choke me. ok? are we clear? 59: What three words describe you the most? a fucking loser60: Do you believe in evolution? yeah61: What makes you unfollow a blog? posting rude/mean stuff or just if I don’t enjoy their content anymore, i don’t mean any harm or anything lol62: What makes you follow a blog? if it’s pretty/memes63: Favorite kind of person: nice people who’re funny and caring and actually give a shit about me and other ppl, not just themselves64: Favorite animal(s): meerkats, giraffes n bees65: Name three of your favorite blogs. @oh-no-its-mo​ @jinsasleep​ @taechy​66: Favorite emoticon: i’m on my laptop!!!! the sparkly heart!67: Favorite meme: um idk? the in tarnation one is p funny atm tho68: What is your MBTI personality type? fuck i can’t remember the rarest one i know that for sure69: What is your star sign? Gemini, come fight me70: Can your dog roll over on command, if you have a dog? no jfc she wont even sit when i ask the hoe71: What outfit out of all your clothes do you like to wear the most? denim mini skirt thing, tights n some cute top 72: Post a selfie or two? no73: Do you have platform shoes? i am tall enough74: What is one random but interesting fact about yourself? I hate potatoes 75: Can you do a front flip? no jfc76: Do you like birds? yah77: Do you like to swim? I’m baically Rin tbh78: Is swimming or ice skating more fun to you? Swimming i have no balance 79: Something you wish didn’t exist: donald trump80: Some thing you wish did exist: free traveling 81: Piercings you have? 5 in ma ears82: Something you really enjoy doing: writing and dying83: Favorite person to talk to: my gf84: What was your first impression of Tumblr? yo it was awful i was superwholock bullshit asshat i still hate myself for it i’ve been here too long85: How many followers do you have? 983!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY86: Can you run a mile within ten minutes? FUCKING HELL NO87: Do your socks always match? no88: Can you touch your toes and keep your legs straight completely? yes89: What are your birthstones? emerald 90: If you were an animal, which one would you be? dragon91: If a flower could aesthetically represent you, what kind would it be? oh fam a fuckin scabious they’re the shit92: A store you hate? superdrug93: How many cups of coffee can you drink in one day? i had 6 one day it was a mistake94: Would you rather be able to fly or read minds? flyyyyyyy95: Do you like to wear camo? yes sir96: Winter or summer? summer97: How long can you hold your breath for? i can swim a length of the pool underwater98: Least favorite person? donald trump99: Someone you look up to: is it cheesy to say namjoon?100: A store you love? the fat ass topshop on oxford street101: Favorite type of shoes? cute ballet flats102: Where do you live? LDN 103: Are you a vegetarian or vegan? If so, why? bacon104: What is your favorite mineral or gem? i just thought of that fucking goat meme bye105: Do you drink milk? no i would die106: Do you like bugs? some107: Do you like spiders? small ones108: Something you get paranoid about? e v e r y t h i n g109: Can you draw: a little tho i’m sure others would disagree110: Nosiest question you have ever been asked? idk fam i haven’t rlly been asked one111: A question you hate being asked? is ur hair naturally that colour112: Ever been bitten by a spider? no113: Do you like the sound of waves at the beach? yah114: Do you prefer cloudy or sunny days? sunny!115: Someone you’d like to kiss or cuddle right now: my gf jfc how many times have i answered with that 116: Favorite cloud type: penis shapes ones117: What color do you wish the sky was? pink118: Do you have freckles? yah 119: Favorite thing about a person: their laugh120: Fruits or vegetables? fruit121: Something you want to do right now: sleep tbh122: Is the ocean or sky prettier? sky123: Sweet or sour foods? sour? i dont rlly like sweet stuff much124: Bright or dim lights? in between aaaaaye125: Do you believe in a certain magical creature? unicorns i read a book when i was little that convinced me126: Something you hate about Tumblr: drama and ppl caring too much about shit that dont matter127: Something you love about Tumblr: making friends and seeing ppls amazing art!128: What do you think about the least? what a weird question um idk slugs?129: What would you want written on your tombstone? fucking finally130: Who would you like to punch in the face right now? Saitama? to see how much it would hurt131: What is something you love but also hate about yourself? my entire being132: Do you smile with your teeth showing for pictures? i dont smile at all if i can help it133: Computer or TV? computer134: Do you like roller coasters? sort of135: Do you get motion sickness or seasickness? motion yess not sure about sea136: Are your ears lobed or attached? attached137: Do you believe in karma? yes138: On a scale of 1-10, how attractive would you say you are? a strong -4139: What nicknames do you have/have had? El, Ellz, Petra, Sharpay, bitch, hoe, shut up ellen140: Did you have any pretend or imaginary friends? yeah141: Have you ever seen a therapist/shrink? nope142: Would you say you are a good or bad influence to others? Good most of the time143: Do you prefer giving or receiving gifts/help? giving!!!!!!144: What makes you angry? rude people145: How many languages do you speak fluently? two146: Do you prefer boys, girls, and/or non-binaries? anyone who’ll have me tbh147: Are you androgynous? no148: Favorite physical thing about yourself: my eyes?149: Favorite thing about your personality: i guess i’m kind idk150: Name three people you would like to talk to right now in person. my gf (again), Jess and Ellie151: If you could go back into time and live in one era, which would you choose? dinosaurs, i would make them my children152: Do you like BuzzFeed? their snapchat thing always makes me laugh153: How did you meet your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend/partner? [If you have one.] through this god damn website thanks to pepekwan,  romance at it’s finest kids154: Do you like to kiss others’ foreheads or hands for platonic reasons? yes155: Do you like to play with others’ hair? yes156: What embarrasses you? literally everything157: Something that makes you nervous/anxious: again, literally everything158: Biggest lie you have ever told: i’m straight 159: How many people are you following? too many160: How many posts do you have on your blog(s)? 46,715 JFC161: How many drafts do you have on your blog(s)? none162: How many likes do you have on your blog(s)? 1,758163: Last time you cried and why: i can’t actually remember 164: Do you have long or short hair? medium!!!!!!165: Longest your hair has ever been: nearly to my waist166: Why do you like, dislike, or have neutral feelings about religon? never really affected me tbh, people can believe what they want to beleive as long as they’re not hurting anyone/ pressuring anyone to believe in it too167: Do you really care how the universe and world was created? not really no168: Do you like to wear makeup? yeah u dont wanna see me without it169: Can you stand on your hands or head for more than thirty seconds? no?????170: Did you answer the questions you were asked truthfully? yes I have ur welcome Mo ily

i didnt check this so sorry if there are mistakes lol 

[le-amewzing]

What Goes Around, Comes Around (part 1 of 2)

And now for something dark and bittersweet, with a dash of feels. XD *Note: This is set after s18, so major spoilers ahead; also includes a few spoilers for s19. This was also a request by owlthewriter on FFN, asking for a dark Ellick set after the s18 finale.

Fic: What Goes Around, Comes Around [FFN] [AO3] | part 2 (M rating)

Pairings/Characters: Nick Torres/Ellie Bishop, Lucia Torres–Campbell, Mrs. Torres (Nick & Lucia's mum), & Amanda Campbell, with a surprise guest

Rating: strong T

Words: ~3,470

Additional info: romance, family, angst, hurt/comfort, horror, 3rd person POV

Summary: Nick, enjoying a happy dinner with his family at home, gets called out for something he never would've expected or wanted. Ellie, elsewhere in the world shortly before, receives a grim reminder that distancing herself from her old life is easier said than done. | Part 1: Nick, in the aftermath.

Part One: Aftermath

      "You seem better these days," Lucia remarked as Nick helped his sister dish up dessert one late summer night after dinner at his place.

      He glanced down at his big sister. Their height difference didn't matter much; Lucia had inherited the Vega women's presence, so she was tiny like their mother but had the personality and the command to give him pause. "'Better' is a relative term," Nick eventually settled on, passing her the chocolate mint chip ice-cream container.

      She raised an eyebrow at the flavor, didn't remind him that no one in their family ate it, and held out her hand for the plain chocolate instead. While scooping, she continued, "I meant given the turbulent start to the summer you had. You barely had time to breathe after—"

      Nick shot his sister a dirty look.

      "—after she left," Lucia said, helpfully avoiding Ellie's name, "and then Gibbs was thought dead for… When did he finally turn up?"

      "Oh, uhh…" Nick swallowed a nervous lump in his throat.

      "Ah, Señor Gibbs!" their mother called from her spot on the couch around the corner, parked in front of Nick's television. She craned her neck to catch her children's eyes. "Are we back to talking about that one again, mijo? He sounds like trouble."

      "Trouble is my job, Mama," he reminded her.

      She whined and clicked her tongue at him in response, waving the remote around before pointing at him with it. "You've been feeding me that line for years, Nico. You know, there are plenty of other jobs out there…"

      "And until I get scouted by a modelling agency, 'NCIS Special Agent' is a perfectly fine job title."

      Lucia snickered at their banter, not bothering to hide her smirk when Nick settled her with a dry look. "Always a good boy, Nico," she lightly teased.

      "Only Mom gets to call me that, no one else," he grumbled, doing his best not to think of certain other persons who'd called him "Nico" this year.

      "Yeah, yeah… Who's ready for half-assed ice-cream sundaes?" Lucia called out to the rest of the room.

      "Definitely me!" Amanda answered from her grandmother's left side on the couch. Or, her hand answered—Nick and Lucia couldn't see the dark-haired college student beyond the pale hand that had shot up and the other hand that held up her phone, scrolling.

      Lucia heaved a sigh and carried out two bowls with Nick right on her heels with the others. "You know, I'm beginning to think you don't keep these family dinner dates for the good company, Amanda, but for the free food."

      "It's definitely better than anything I could ever hope to find on campus," she replied honestly. Then, likely realizing she'd said what was on her mind, Amanda lowered her phone and sat up straight, giving her mother and uncle a sheepish look. "…but I enjoy your guys' company, too. Especially the past year and a half, having to do things remotely."

      Nick and Lucia shared a laugh. "Love you, too, kiddo," Nick told his niece, a knowing glint in his eye. Honestly, the older Amanda got, the more he and his niece had in common…it both pleased and worried him.

      "You never did answer me, mijo," his mother said the moment he and Lucia settled into their spots in the living room, Lucia on the couch with her and Amanda and Nick in the armchair on Amanda's left.

      "There'd been a question?" Nick risked.

      "Don't give me that cheek! That Gibbs—he is too dangerous. Didn't you have to go rescue him a few years back, all by yourself, down south?"

      Nick opened and closed his mouth. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Amanda raise her eyebrows, but she only dug deeper into her dessert. He met Lucia's eyes; his sister gave him a sympathetic half shrug. "Look, Mama," he started, "yes, Gibbs is back, but…he's not really in charge. He's…kind of working under McGee, like Knight and me. He's not our boss; McGee is." And this was all without explaining the FBI and Parker business…

      "McGee! That one, too—didn't you rescue him at the same time?"

      "Well, yes, but McGee doesn't as often land himself in—"

      Nick's scrambled reply was interrupted by a knock on his front door. Two quick raps came. Nothing more, nothing less, and no rhythm to them.

      Nick smiled tightly at his mother. "Let me go check who that is, yeah? And, Mama? I just paid for a new streaming package. I think you'll like it—it's got all your telenovelas in one place. Amanda, show her how to navigate the menu, would you?"

      He hopped to his feet and rounded the corner before the women could protest or his mother could detain him much longer. He knew that, once started on the topic of his job, she could talk circles around him for days, and that would only leave him drained and completely exhausted for work in the morning… So, thank you, mysterious night knocker!

      Or that was what Nick thought until he checked the peephole and saw no one outside his door. Huh. Maybe they'd left, not wanting to wait around for him? But if they'd just left…

      Nick cracked his front door an inch, just enough to glance up the hall. No, he didn't see anyone. He pricked up his ears. The only sounds he heard came from behind him, back in his apartment, from his TV and his mother struggling with Amanda over the remote, half in English and half in Spanish.

      He dropped his eyes to the floor. That's when he saw the only thing out of place: A single cellphone right on his doorstep.

      He blanched. Suddenly his mother's grumbles about the dangers of his job seemed very real and very important, because it made no sense for someone to walk up to the home of a federal agent and leave a cellphone at the front door.

      Wary, Nick didn't reach for it right away. No, that would be the dumb thing to do. He knew far too well that even the smallest packages could be incendiary devices…ah, if he had the energy and time to spare, he'd stop and have a laugh right now about that café fuck-up from George and Lucia's case, which had led to him joining Gibbs' team…but then the screen lit up.

      Nick nearly pissed himself.

      But nothing blew up. Not here in front of him, nor anything nearby or far off in the distance. Maybe…this wasn't a bomb, after all?

      Since that appeared to be the case, Nick bent over slightly, just enough to read what the screen said. It had a message—for him:

-Nick, pick me up.

      Well, shit.

      "Nick? Who is it?" Lucia called from the living room.

      He felt his heart skip a beat, given the painful throbbing of his pulse in his neck from the tension. "Uh, nothing," he lied, turning on his heel and patting his pockets and grabbing for his gear bag…where was it…where was it…

      "If it's nothing, then come back and join us. Mama wants to watch a movie to wrap up the night."

      He had his own phone in his pocket, thankfully. But his weapon he'd put in the lockbox as soon as he'd come home from work. And the spare gun from Ellie's—ah, yes, he'd moved it into the secret compartment in the wall by the front door, where everyone left their shoes. He retrieved it and checked the ammo. Now armed, Nick felt a smidgen better. "I just need to pop out for a minute. Be right back!"

      "You don't get to complain about what she picks then!" Lucia called after him as Nick pulled the door shut behind him.

      He locked his door on the way out, just in case. Then he collected the mysterious cellphone and exited the building via stairs in the event that the phone had been a lure and the elevator had been rigged. He couldn't help it; his spy training was kicking back in like a flipped switch.

      Outside, the August humidity had dulled into a damp chill that settled on his skin, of course causing his goosebumps. No, he wasn't creeped out at all by the darkness of the street at this late dinner hour…or the emptiness of his street… He was unnerved, surely, but that had more to do with seemingly being drawn out on his home turf more than anything else.

      He looked at the [likely] burner phone and read over the message again. Nick tapped on it, saw the phone was unlocked, and examined the device as best he could, to no avail. There was nothing saved on this phone. So he tapped on the message again, texting back:

-Who is this?

      A reply came nearly instantly:

-Go across the street.

      His neck throbbed painfully—another skipped beat in his pulse—and he scouted either end of his street. He didn't see any car lying in wait to ambush him and run him down, nor did he hear an engine idling, so he seemed at least to have an even footing with his opponent. Regardless, he really despised his position right now. But, without any better options, Nick flipped off the safety from his backup gun and raised it, checking both ends of the street again and checking his line of sight ahead of him before slowly crossing.

      Directly across the street from Nick's building were smaller condo complexes and assorted businesses. But, before one arrived there, one had to cross a strip of green that divided the road. It wasn't wide enough that the city wanted to keep people here with park benches and water fountains, but people liked to walk their dogs here, and—

      The burner phone chirped in his non-trigger hand. He lowered his weapon a fraction to read the message:

-Open the door to the newspaper dispenser. Morning edition.

      Nick swallowed a sticky lump in his throat. He turned his head to the right and spied the dispenser amidst grass yellowed not from the changing temperatures but the dogs that visited it. He frowned, his worries growing in magnitude, the goosebumps from before causing a pronounced shiver to skitter over his arms and run down his spine.

      Someone must be playing with him. There had to be a bomb in the newspaper dispenser—given his luck this year, Nick Torres was willing to put hard money on it—and a bomb in a newspaper dispenser was going to do a lot more damage than a teeny, tiny, little incendiary device hidden in a burner phone outside his door.

      Would he even have time to call this in and get a bomb squad out here? What about the ruckus, the panic it would raise? …what about the P.R. nightmare if he were wrong? He was sick of hearing about how the agency looked these days, these past months, these past years, but it was finally hard for Nick to shake, since he'd been putting up for months with listening to others who didn't know discuss "the traitor, Bishop."

      He took a calming breath. Gotta get back on track. Gotta hope no one explodes. (Again.)

      Nick eyed the dispenser and walked around it, checking for any signs of tampering. It seemed fine to him. It had the normal wear and tear and the latch was loose from overuse, because some people still had a hankering for the printed word. Then he actually looked through the window, and his stomach dropped.

      A brown, wrapped box sat atop the remaining copies of today's morning edition.

      Nick rolled his shoulders. Good thing for Rule Nine—he crouched down in front of the dispenser and plucked his knife from his right boot, and then he slide the blade under the window to pry it carefully open. Just in case it were wired.

      The window fell open with ease. Now Nick had a better view of the inside and saw that there were more than a few remaining copies of the paper. They'd been arranged below and to the sides to allow room for the box inside the dispenser.

      Nick slowly checked the papers, using the knife to test for small pressure plates. Finding none, he removed the anomalous box from the dispenser and placed it on the ground. He rearranged the dispenser and closed it up before examining the box.

      It was cool to the touch. Curious. It had been wrapped in standard shipping wrapping and tied with twine, the latter which Nick cut. Then he slowly unfolded the paper and unwrapped the box, finding a small, portable Styrofoam cooler inside. Well, that explained the chill; there likely was ice inside, but hopefully, he thought as he gently lifted the lid, it wasn't dry ice keeping something volatile stable until chemicals and warmer air mixed—

      Nick fell on his ass when he caught sight of the contents, completely forgetting his bomb precautions. The lid fell out of his hands, and he even dropped his weapons in the process. But who could blame him, in his shoes?

      Because, inside the cooler, was Miguel Torres' head.

      But…how?

      It couldn't be.

      It had to be fake.

      Whoever was toying with Nick was being especially cruel.

      …and yet…

      The longer Nick sat there, agape, eyes wide, in complete shock, the less he believed this to be a setup or a ruse. If it were a bomb, why not set it off already, anyhow? And that chill—

      Nick's eyes dropped to the cooler.

      Miguel didn't stare back. His eyes were closed, but his lips were parted slightly, as if ready to admonish his son for this unwelcome reception. …if only. His sickly pallor was purplish in some places but overall a faint yellow–green. The color of decomp. The color of the dead.

      His father was dead!

      A man who had managed to evade every last bad thing in his life, in his career…

      …was dead?

      Repeating that word in his head enough times helped Nick come to his senses some. He was scared, he was angry, but he was not yet overcome with grief. Nick went on high alert the next instant, scrounging for his gun, whipping his weapon around, surveying the area.

      No matter how hard he searched, he was alone. Things remained eerily quiet at this time of night.

      Then the burner phone rang.

      Nick was halfway to pulling the trigger at the sound before he caught himself. He scowled at the burner and snatched both it and his knife up, tucking his knife away before answering the call. "Hello," he spat into the receiver.

      "Did you open the box?"

      He hadn't heard her voice in months. Months. A voice that alternated tea with her coffee to keep it smooth and only grew hoarse when reading aloud from her favorite books…only to smooth out when sucking on her favorite hard candies and honey lozenges.

      The last time he'd heard this voice, it'd said some nice and some not-so-nice things. He didn't know what he'd been expecting if and when he'd get another chance to hear it. Still, he got to hear her voice. And yet…

      "Ellie, what the fuck—"

      "I'll take that as a 'yes.'"

      Nick sighed and turned away from the cooler.

      Ellie waited a beat. Then she added softly, "I'm sorry for your loss, Nick."

      "Ellie," he started anew, "you sent me my father's goddamn head—" He stopped, expecting to be interrupted again.

      But Ellie's end was silent. He feared she'd hung up on him until he caught the tiniest hint of her breathing on the other end, a very familiar, soft sound that he thought he'd forgotten over the summer and came hitting him with full force now as if she were standing there right beside him, holding his hand once more.

      Her silence also gave him a moment to process the situation. She had sent him Miguel's head, yes. But something else clicked. Something else hit him because of precisely how well he knew her. "I doubted myself months ago when you left, but I know you," he said, voice low, "the important things about you, Ellie. You wouldn't do this. Not to me. Not to my family. Tell me what happened."

      "Nick—"

      Stupid heart skipping another beat for other reasons now, hearing his name from her mouth. "I can handle it," he assured her.

      "… …Nick, it was all that was left of him."

      Silence. As her words sank in, Nick had to look around him and check that he was, indeed, outside, for all the sudden quiet made him feel as though he'd been dropped into a soundproofed room indoors.

      But it was hard to deny he was outside, that this was real, this was happening, when his eyes finished their roving and landed once more on his father's head in a cooler.

      Nick shuffled half a step closer to the morbid package. Miguel's eyes were closed, which he'd noted before. But he fought down the bile in his throat as he forced his gaze towards his father's neck. It was hard to see much there. Ellie had wrapped that end carefully and tightly, to prevent the more gruesome parts from seeing the light of day just yet. In fact, the longer Nick stared at his father's closed eyes and Ellie's discreet wrapping job, the harder it was to believe Miguel wasn't just…tucked in that box, asleep, even if Nick couldn't see the rest of him.

      He choked back a sob.

      Nick flipped the safety back on the gun and stowed it in his jeans' waistband. Then he pinched the bridge of his nose, a motion to help push everything down, to be felt later. But it was a painful pinch, given how much he felt. Truly, the only thing keeping him from breaking down was the knowledge that, if he stayed out here much longer, then Lucia would come looking for him, and this was not how he wanted his family to remember Miguel. Though— Nick gritted his teeth, yet another item piling on a rapidly growing to-do list. He was going to have to tell them, eventually…

      Ellie cleared her throat. "Nick, you still there?"

      He glanced at the phone, as if he might find her face there over a video call (he wished). "Yeah…yeah, I am."

      "… …I know I've screwed us up, but—I did this for you." Her words came out thick and stilted.

      Nick shook his head and ran his free hand over his face. "That sounds so twisted, Ellie. But…I get it. I think." He darkly chuckled and didn't even bother fighting the matching, sardonic grin that came with this morose mood. "He's home now. Not the way I wanted… But he's home."

      Was that a triggering phrase? He wondered. For, the next thing Nick knew, a cascade of memories played through his head. Some stood out more than others:

      Miguel leaving earlier this year without a word, after successfully worming his way back into Nick's heart on that NCIS case.

      Teenaged Lucia helping to raise a young Nick because their mother had had to work so much and Church and community donations only went so far, especially in Colombia.

      Miguel leaving when Nick was just five years old.

      Miguel and Nick back when the Torres family was still whole and together in Panama. Nick had been three when Miguel just barely began teaching him soccer basics…those basics were long gone now.

      Nick's thoughts circled back to his family as it was now, though. There were three people waiting for him across the street, upstairs. And there was a voice on the other end of this line.

      That voice was silent, waiting for another cue.

      Nick closed his eyes and shook his head again. "Ellie, I know we didn't make any promises before, but please"—his voice was a broken whisper—"promise me someone won't someday do me a 'favor' and send me any part of you."

      More silence followed. Nick wondered if she'd heard him or refused to acknowledge his pleading tone. But maybe luck was on his side: There was a soft, wet sound like a kiss pressed to the receiver. Nevertheless, Ellie said, "Goodbye, Nick." The burner line clicked after.

      He took a shuddering breath, this disaster of a night weighing heavily on him as he tried not to imagine the worst in store for her, the severity of his father's fate at last coming home to roost. He'd let himself feel everything in a moment.

      But first he pulled out his own phone to dial Jimmy. It might not be an NCIS case, but Miguel sure as hell was a biohazard.

Well! On that grim note, allow me to remind you that there is a very interesting part two you should read, giving Ellie's POV of sorts! ;) I knew that, going in, I wanted to have Nick relaxing with some of his fav people, so I wanted to deliver some more good ol' Torres fam feels. As owlthewriter's request came from some inspiration from s3e15, "Head Case," I rly took the dark idea and ran with it, hence making this a twoshot…I think the inspo from "Head Case" will feel more complete after reading part two! But, man. I just. The Ellick here feels so taut and tense, wishing they could be there together, esp during what's clearly a dark time for Nick. I think Nick will have mixed emotions surrounding Miggy's death, no matter how it happens, hence the back and forth thoughts Nick has. (Alas, I quite like writing Miggy, so this is not related to my Sunshine & Rain series, which started with the misleadingly named oneshot, "Ghosts." XD) Anywho! OH! Last thing: There's an ice-cream Easter egg in this fic for fans who've read my earlier Ellick fics, specifically some oneshots from earlier this year~ ;)

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

[hinanaha]

1-170 :)

lmfao james i swear to god

1: How tall or short do you wish you were? i wish i was 160cm cause i wanna be short and also then my weight would be healthy lmao2: What’s your dream pet? (Real or not) we all know i want a norwegian forest cat, and also a lizard would be cute3: Do you have a favorite clothing style? long flowing dress or skirts w blouses4: What was your favorite video game growing up? pokemon5: What three things/people do you think of most each day: my cats, what i will eat and how much a wanna be picked up and spun around one day6: If you had a warning label, what would yours say? it wouldnt say anything it`d just have the crying laughing emoji like deepfried on red tape7: What is your opinion on [insert person/thing here]? u didnt say anything for this so ill state my opinion on meat which is yuck8: What is your Greek personality type? [Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric, or Melancholic] none rlly fit me tbh9: Are you ticklish? yea….. 10: Are you allergic to anything? nope11: What’s your sexuality? lesbian (femme lesbian specifically)12: Do you prefer tea, coffee, or cocoa? coffee, tho i like all13: Are you a cat or dog person? CAT, im very picky abt dogs14: Would you rather be a vampire, elf, or merperson? elf15: Do you have a favorite Youtuber? idk like i dont rlly watch youtube for anyone inparticular i just watch whatever16: How tall are you? 170cm17: If you had to change your name, what would you change it to? opal, just cause its my middle name and opals are my favourite gemstone18: How much do you weigh? [Only ask this if you know the user doesn’t mind!] about 50kg (ik im underweight if anyone is concerned btw im fine its a sideaffect of one of my medications)19: Do you believe in ghosts/spirits? yes20: Do you like space or the ocean more? i love sharks and jellyfish so the ocean, however i am fucking scared of octopuses21: Are you religious? nope, never have been22: Pet peeves? men.23: Would you rather be nocturnal or diurnal [opposite of nocturnal]? why does diurnal sound like urinal, but i like the day so that24: Favorite constellation? the pot thing cause its easy to spot25: Favorite star? the biggest one there is26: Do you like ball-jointed dolls? i dont rlly see much of a use for them27: Any phobias or fears? arachnophobia, and aslo the dark 28: Do you think global warming is real? um yes definitely, because im not stupid29: Do you believe in reincarnation? i mean there aint even close to enough science backing or not backing it so i couldnt say, im neutral 30: Favorite movie? idk31: Do you get scared easily? id say more anxious then scared, like im a very jumpy and shaky person32: How many pets have you owned in your lifetime? idk like 20+ (chickens count)33: Blog rate? [You’ll rate the blog of the one who’s asking.] yes34: What is a color that calms you? peachy colours and whites35: Where would you like to travel and/or live? i would love to hike somewhere someday tbh i think itd be rlly magical, and i love nature so much36: Where were you born? Melbourne37: What is your eye color? blue grey38: Introvert or extrovert? introvert39: Do you believe in horoscopes and zodiacs? to an extent40: Hugs or kisses? both at the same time41: Who is someone you would like to see/visit right now? honestly kinda wanna see my nan rn for some reason42: Who is someone you love deeply? definitely my mum, she is the most important person to me43: Any piercings you want? i want a nose piercing, maybe a small decorative ring44: Do you like tattoos and piercings? yess i love them, i rlly want a tattoo someday45: Do you smoke or have you eiver done so? no i dont want to46: Talk about your crush, if you have one! i don`t have one47: What is a sound you really hate? i cannot stand the sound of animals licking themselves48: A sound you really love? wind chimes49: Can you do a backflip? i could if i wanted to50: Can you do the splits? no51: Favorite actor and/or actress? ashley johnston52: Favorite movie? this was already asked lmao53: How are you feeling right now? pretty chill but also kinda sad for no actual reason54: What color would you like your hair to be right now? im feelin a burgundy colour tbh55: When did you feel happiest? nothing specific rlly56: Something that calms you down? music57: Have any mental disorders? [Only ask this if you know the user doesn’t mind!] i have ADD also p bad anxiety58: What does your URL mean? mango boba yum59: What three words describe you the most? anti-social goblin witch 60: Do you believe in evolution? i do biology so yes61: What makes you unfollow a blog? they post stuff i dont care abt or triggering content62: What makes you follow a blog? pretty picture63: Favorite kind of person: someone who makes me feel special/loved64: Favorite animal(s): cats, bees, lizards, crows65: Name three of your favorite blogs. idfk tbh66: Favorite emoticon: im not on mobile but the sparkling heart one67: Favorite meme: i dont have a favourite68: What is your MBTI personality type? Infp/intp69: What is your star sign? taurus70: Can your dog roll over on command, if you have a dog? no they cannot71: What outfit out of all your clothes do you like to wear the most? pyjamas72: Post a selfie or two? icbb73: Do you have platform shoes? yes74: What is one random but interesting fact about yourself? i have a double jointed shoulder on one arm75: Can you do a front flip? yes76: Do you like birds? yes chirp 77: Do you like to swim? no lol it sucks i cant breath well when i swim and it freaks me out78: Is swimming or ice skating more fun to you? ice skating, i love it, would take up lessons if they were available79: Something you wish didn’t exist: flies80: Some thing you wish did exist: giant domestic cats81: Piercings you have? just simple ear piercings82: Something you really enjoy doing: doing creative things w friends83: Favorite person to talk to: u already know its the council 84: What was your first impression of Tumblr? funny mem85: How many followers do you have? 168 (i had 470 on my old blog)86: Can you run a mile within ten minutes? ye but not always87: Do your socks always match? yes88: Can you touch your toes and keep your legs straight completely? yeah89: What are your birthstones? idk90: If you were an animal, which one would you be? surprising but id be a fox not a cat91: If a flower could aesthetically represent you, what kind would it be? lavenders baby92: A store you hate? bendigo iga, its shit93: How many cups of coffee can you drink in one day? 1 otherwise my hands shake94: Would you rather be able to fly or read minds? neither tbh95: Do you like to wear camo? ii guess if it looks good96: Winter or summer? summer97: How long can you hold your breath for? a pretty long time actually, once held my breath for 3 minutes underwater98: Least favorite person? my dad99: Someone you look up to: no one100: A store you love? i dont like kpop anymore, but the owners of happytown were always so nice to me so i rlly like that store because of that101: Favorite type of shoes converse102: Where do you live? austrlia103: Are you a vegetarian or vegan? If so, why? im vegetarian, but i eat mostly vegan food, i rlly like animals and dont like the idea of eating them, also eating too many animal products can be unhealthy 104: What is your favorite mineral or gem? opal105: Do you drink milk? ye but not on its own106: Do you like bugs? yes, silly creetures107: Do you like spiders? im scared of them108: Something you get paranoid about? i dont rlly get paranoid much, but i sometimes get rlly paranoid something be watching me109: Can you draw: ye, reblog my art pls @yumeuwu110: Nosiest question you have ever been asked? i cant remember lmao111: A question you hate being asked? i cant think of anything112: Ever been bitten by a spider? nope113: Do you like the sound of waves at the beach? yeah its pretty nice114: Do you prefer cloudy or sunny days? both i guess,  tho respectfully to their matching seasons115: Someone you’d like to kiss or cuddle right now: id cuddle my future gf rn :`)116: Favorite cloud type: .. w… poofy cloud117: What color do you wish the sky was? yellow would be pretty, but not piss yellow cause that`d be weird118: Do you have freckles? yea faint ones119: Favorite thing about a person: their lips, lips pretty120: Fruits or vegetables? veggies121: Something you want to do right now: sit on a warm hill in silence122: Is the ocean or sky prettier? sky123: Sweet or sour foods? im more of a savoury person124: Bright or dim lights? dim, sexy125: Do you believe in a certain magical creature? i mean it aint impossible126: Something you hate about Tumblr: pointless discourse127: Something you love about Tumblr: nice people128: What do you think about the least? idfk129: What would you want written on your tombstone? oh my fuckin god she fuckin dead130: Who would you like to punch in the face right now? no one, but im always ready to punch something131: What is something you love but also hate about yourself? im very very selfless, which is nice but also makes me rlly sad sometimes132: Do you smile with your teeth showing for pictures? nah133: Computer or TV? computer134: Do you like roller coasters? hell yeah, they fun135: Do you get motion sickness or seasickness? i get motion sickness136: Are your ears lobed or attached? lobed137: Do you believe in karma? i guess138: On a scale of 1-10, how attractive would you say you are? probably a 7, like im p cute139: What nicknames do you have/have had? uhhh anepeace (die mr flanagan that nickname is so ugly)140: Did you have any pretend or imaginary friends? no, not that desperate yet (no offence to those who do have them im sure ur lovely)141: Have you ever seen a therapist/shrink? yeah i see a psychologist monthly and also psychiatrist 142: Would you say you are a good or bad influence to others? id like to say good143: Do you prefer giving or receiving gifts/help? recieving144: What makes you angry? assholes145: How many languages do you speak fluently? 1146: Do you prefer boys, girls, and/or non-binaries? girls ;3147: Are you androgynous? nah148: Favorite physical thing about yourself: i have nice shoulders149: Favorite thing about your personality: i try to be considerate of others 150: Name three people you would like to talk to right now in person. idk151: If you could go back into time and live in one era, which would you choose? honestly fine w this one152: Do you like BuzzFeed? some things153: How did you meet your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend/partner? [If you have one.] dont have one :((154: Do you like to kiss others’ foreheads or hands for platonic reasons? nah155: Do you like to play with others’ hair? yea, prefer people playing w my hair tho156: What embarrasses you? anything that puts me at the centre of attention among strangers157: Something that makes you nervous/anxious: loud noises158: Biggest lie you have ever told: i dont rlly tell lies so notin159: How many people are you following? i cbb to check160: How many posts do you have on your blog(s)? 7000+161: How many drafts do you have on your blog(s)? 1162: How many likes do you have on your blog(s)? idfk163: Last time you cried and why: i cried cause i saw a floofy cat164: Do you have long or short hair? short hair165: Longest your hair has ever been: hip length166: Why do you like, dislike, or have neutral feelings about religon? most religious views ive heard make no sense when compared to science so i dont rlly believe it167: Do you really care how the universe and world was created? nah168: Do you like to wear makeup? sometimes169: Can you stand on your hands or head for more than thirty seconds? no im weak170: Did you answer the questions you were asked truthfully? ye

[le-amewzing]

What Goes Around, Comes Around (part 2 of 2)

And now for part two of this thrilling thing! :O

Fic: What Goes Around, Comes Around [FFN] [AO3] | part 1

Pairings/Characters: Ellie Bishop (but heavy Ellick vibes, so please tag with Ellick, ty~! c:) & a surprise guest

Rating: M

Words: ~2,610

Additional info: romance, family, angst, hurt/comfort, horror, 3rd person POV

Summary: Nick, enjoying a happy dinner with his family at home, gets called out for something he never would've expected or wanted. Ellie, elsewhere in the world shortly before, receives a grim reminder that distancing herself from her old life is easier said than done. | Part 2: Ellie, finding the cause.

Part Two: Cause

      Ellie decided that she both loved and hated the subtropical climate of São Paulo.

      Here she was, just outside the capital, and she was able to pull up on an abandoned former mill on foot without any trouble. The weather, she decided, had a hand in it. It wasn't dry here and never really got dry. Nothing had crunched underfoot the entire trek down, so, if there had been anyone around to hear her, she wouldn't've been given away.

      On the flip side, the same worked in the enemy's favor, too.

      With that miserable thought in mind, Ellie steeled herself to lower some brush so she could get a better look at the place. All she could see was an empty car not far from the main gate. If she wanted a full sitrep, she'd have to leave the safety of the forest.

      As she checked the rounds in her gun and quickly and quietly darted to the empty sedan, Odette's words came to the forefront of her mind. "If you agree to my training," she'd said to Ellie what felt like a lifetime ago, "you should know I have some rules."

      Ellie nearly had laughed at the time. She knew rules well.

      But Odette's priorities were different from Gibbs'. Odette's Rule One: "Whatever you can do on your own, do alone."

      That was the hardest one for Ellie to learn, and it was the one that had given her away to Nick and McGee and even Gibbs well before she left NCIS. Learning how to operate on her own, not as part of a team, took some trial and error, and even now, in August, with months working just for Odette, Ellie still wasn't sure she liked the idea. She frowned as she scouted the rest of the outside and found only one other abandoned vehicle, an SUV as opposed to the sedan.

      She didn't like this. Were these truly abandoned? If not, just how many awaited her inside? Bad guy cars were like clown cars—they always seemed to hold a physically impossible number of bodies, especially when one were alone and scared.

      Ellie chewed on her bottom lip. She would bitch to Odette right about now if their comms were within range. But, nope, of course that wasn't an option. Odette waited for her about twenty miles out with an escape vehicle in the event that Ellie couldn't hack it on her own.

      Sincerely, though, Ellie knew this was just Odette waiting for Ellie to call up the older woman's own Rule Two: "Ask for help when needed." A rewording of a very familiar Rule Twenty-Eight, but Ellie appreciated it. She didn't think Odette was looking down on her. It was a show of concern. So far, Ellie had tracked down Mischenko's men across two continents already and more than survived to tell the tale. Ellie just hated that here she was, in yet another place were government officials were all too happy to turn a blind eye. No doubt Odette was more concerned than the motherly mentor let on to Ellie.

      Casting her ponderings aside to concentrate, Ellie drew closer to the building and inspected the perimeter. The building was in disrepair but sturdy enough to serve a purpose, so she couldn't yet write it off as vacant. She froze four times before she completed the perimeter—never once was the noise another human being, but she did lock eyes with a lazy jaguar who sauntered on its way when Ellie stood her ground—and, when she completed her check, she determined it to be safe and secure. No tripwires. No bombs. Not even a single camera.

      The lack of security gave her pause. On the one hand, these were men who didn't want their faces left on anything—no pictures, no videos, nothing. On the other hand, the former mill was so old and decrepit, Ellie wondered if setting up even a minimal security system were worth the effort; it likely would be dependent on a portable power source, and those didn't last long unless one wanted to lug a generator around.

      Ellie went around to the back, to the old staff entrance. The door creaked open, sending an obvious echo announcing her arrival inside. She slipped inside before anyone might get curious, and from there she skulked about, rocking on her feet, heel to ball, heel to ball. With these softest of footsteps, she hopefully could regain the upper hand that door had just robbed from her.

      The equipment from this place was long gone, but the platforms and scaffolding remained, in place and unable to be repurposed. With so many possible hiding spots, Ellie took her time combing the main factory floor. When she checked her watch upon completion, she cursed. Thirty minutes. That was too slow, far too slow. Dammit.

      Ellie scanned the sides and chose the nearest hallway, reminding herself that this was not an NCIS case. This was the hardest part of her new line of work. It was too easy to fall back on her NCIS training. Despite all the training sessions with Odette, which continued even now, despite Odette's assurances that Ellie was ready to be active in the field… So often, Ellie found herself in scenarios where her FLETC training kicked in. She couldn't help that; it came the most naturally. That was the prime reason why it was so difficult for Odette to override it completely, a notion which Ellie had, from time to time, found interesting, considering how levelheaded the older woman normally was.

      She moved faster now, putting Odette's tenets to use as she cleared the hallways and rooms. Most places hadn't been touched in years, maybe half a decade.

      But the hallway second from the staff entrance proved useful. It was short and led directly into a small meeting room, where an old table and three chairs had been disturbed. The grime on the floor told her the furniture had been moved, rather recently. But the papers that plastered the floor underneath them were as old as the mill and had nothing to do with those Ellie pursued.

      Beyond the table, in the far wall, was another door. Ellie crossed the small meeting room and found a makeshift kitchen through it, with emptied cupboards and cabinets and an unplugged fridge. Though the fridge was a bit dirty, Ellie figure it must've just been unplugged; the food inside was spoilt, but the dates were current.

      This place most certainly had been used as some sort of base, as recently as last week. Whether by Mischenko's men stood to be answered.

      Ellie visited the meeting room again, turning every last thing over. Each chair, the table—she cut into the chair padding, as well, to no avail. Back in the kitchen, she emptied every nook and cranny, but the previous occupants had taken everything with them that wasn't edible. Ellie even dumped the food, just to make sure nothing important had been stowed in the least expected place.

      All that did was draw a pair of cockroaches out from the shadows to feast.

      Ellie recoiled in disgust. She kicked the fridge door shut, angry she had found no connection to Mischenko. All this—two continents!—and all she had was a gigantic loose end.

      Sick and tired of being surrounded by nothing by peeling plaster and paint and not wanting to hear any more of the roaches' skittering back and forth between delicacies, Ellie dropped her eyes to the ground, ready to give up.

      That was when she spied an old blood trail.

      There were many lessons she'd learned in her time at NCIS which Odette was trying to undo, but certain knowledge Odette wanted her to keep because it was useful. Identifying something like a bloody trail? That counted as useful, for sure. And, Ellie realized as she crouched down for a better look, the trail was old and dried…but it spread out, as though someone had scrubbed it, trying to clean it up.

      Hmm.

      Ellie followed the trail. The drops and splatters led from the makeshift kitchen back into the short hallway and into a storage room. She'd missed the blood before because, at first glance, it was faint enough to look like more dirt under all the grime.

      She readied her weapon and opened the storage room door. She took two steps in—and she gagged.

      No wonder the door had been closed, with paper covering its slim, inset window. The storage room held body parts, all strewn about, and the stench…the stench…!

      Ellie turned on her heel and ducked back out into the hallway, gulping in the stale factory air. She shook her head, too, but that was reflex. Nothing she could do was going to get rid of that image burned into the backs of her eyelids. It was the grizzliest thing she'd seen to date, even in all her years at NCIS.

      (Offhandedly, she wondered if humans had done all the work. With the forest so close by, Mischenko's men…or others…might've been ballsy enough to capture a jaguar for their entertainment.)

      Ellie swallowed some more air and then forced herself back inside. Mischenko's handiwork or not, these were victims. And now they were found.

      She stepped carefully. She disliked the thought of stepping on someone, let alone getting them on her boots and tracking remains into Odette's car, and once more she took her time, Odette's desire for swiftness be damned. A time or two she nearly slipped, though, because of the garbage piles in the room, and Ellie swallowed a scream when she came within inches of face-planting into one pile of organs.

      Ellie surveyed the tragic scene, desperately focusing on her counts. Two legs, sliced open, primarily from torso to ankle, left in opposite corners of the room… The arms she found beside the headless, opened-up torso, and she willed herself not to look inside. Besides, the arms were bad enough: They'd been beaten bloody and broken, especially each hand, and the fingers…

      She closed her eyes. She'd already seen a few things this summer and had a few sleepless nights, but this was a new nightmare.

      She backed away from the torso and ducked the entrails nailed to the wall. Whatever wasn't broken or cut seemed torn, lending credence to her wild-animal-as-entertainment theory. And her count—

      Ellie froze, circling back to the storage room door.

      Two legs. Two arms. One torso. Digits that added up to—

      This wasn't multiple people. This was all from one body.

      She was no Ducky or Palmer, but Ellie had had anatomy in school and remembered it well enough to be confident that everything in here belonged to the corpse that slouched in the lone chair in the room. It was propped up only because the torturers never removed the victim's bindings.

      Ellie swallowed the sick lump in her throat and searched the room. Had this been one of their own, perhaps? Or maybe a local had stumbled across their operation? Either way, this was a clue Ellie couldn't leave without, and she needed to know the victim's identity, so she searched the room anew for the head.

      She found it in a box under one of the garbage piles that had tripped her up. She breathed a sigh of relief for a second—and then she opened it and recognition hit her as if she'd been on Merriweather's plane when it blew:

      She knew this face.

      It belonged to Miguel Torres.

      They had killed Nick's father.

      Ellie dropped to her haunches, nearly dropping her gun in surprise. She teared up, too. She had thought Miguel a pleasant enough man when he met the team earlier this year in D.C., even though she knew and understood the bad blood between Nick and his father. But—

      She hadn't expected to come across someone she knew, for fuck's sake!

      She blinked away her tears. God… Nick. He wouldn't know. Given Miguel's line of work, it might be forever before his body would be found by his CIA handlers, whoever they were these days. Not to say that the CIA would even rush to contact the Torres family. Top-secret missions came before family grief.

      Ellie grimaced. She often gave in to daydreaming about Nick, but on weekends, on her downtime, when it was all right and safe to think about what she'd left behind.

      Now she replayed her departure from Nick in her head, her heart aching, wondering if Nick ever was going to forgive her, wondering if she should stop trying to look for forgiveness and keep to her path. After all, she had the talent to make this world a safer place for the man she loved.

      But, no matter how bitterly things had ended between them, they wouldn't ever truly be over, because the feelings were still there. She still cared.

      And she cared for Nick enough to know it was the right, the loyal thing to do, to send these remains to the family.

      She stowed her weapon and marched back into the kitchen. There was no useful info in there, but the previous occupants had left behind just enough useful materials for what Ellie needed now. She scrounged up a cleaner, sturdier box and some initial wrappings—she knew she'd have to find something more suitable or hope maybe Odette would have a better idea, before she delivered this to Nick—and then Ellie dug some gloves out of her jeans pocket. She pulled them on and gingerly transferred Miguel's head, minding the moldy flaps of the old box and arranging him in his new, temporary home. In that moment, she understood Ducky's and Palmer's urge to talk to the dead. So…with no one around to hear her and call her crazy, she talked to Miguel.

      "You know…you were a polite enough guy to the rest of us at NCIS, Miguel," Ellie said, flinching as the paper she'd grabbed for wrapping made a squelching noise at the stub of his neck. She sighed and frowned at him. "But there's a part of me that wants to leave you here to finish rotting, knowing the hurt you caused Nick by abandoning him…"

      Miguel's head, thankfully, remained silent.

      She shook her head. "But that's the pot calling the kettle black now, isn't it? So, instead, I'm going to follow your example and put him first. I—I'm probably not his favorite person right now…but I care about him too much not to let him grieve you. He loves you, you know. That's why it hurt him so much."

      Ellie paused as she went to close the flaps over Miguel's face. Her own words resonated with her, explaining her and Nick so well:

      That was why their separation hurt so badly. It was because they loved each other so deeply, even though they refused to say it.

      Of course she would only understand this now, far from him and at the worst of times. She laughed, a short, barking sound that was morbid even by her own standards.

      Ellie stood then, box under one arm, gun in hand, and exited the abandoned former mill. Same as she'd gone in, she met no issues going out, and she began the journey to the rendezvous point with Odette.

      On her way there, she mused that this part of her NCIS training had never left her either, the importance of getting the remains to the surviving loved ones…but she also wondered how Odette would take to Ellie's request for a brief detour back home to D.C. before they resumed the hunt for Mischenko….

WHOO, BOY. I think this better explains my reference in my pt1 closing A/N to s3e15, "Head Case," yes? X'D (Which, I will confess, I love even more as a fan of NCIS: NOLA, bc Rita's actress! c:) Anywho! This part also explains the M/Mature rating on FFN and on AO3, bc the violence occurred off-screen, but the description is still fairly gnarly/gory (and detailed enough), what happened to poor Miggy. Dx Still, I think this is a kind of love, a kindness, that Ellie demonstrates here, making sure kin is returned to kin—as written, she loves Nick enough to know he's gotta grieve his dad, no matter their history. This kind of falls into the category of things that can only be said/done by someone who knows/loves you that well…and, dayum, that's a lot of intimacy. :O Also, the fic did write itself a bit here, with Odette's rules coming out of the blue, but I like the idea?? Mike Franks had rules, Gibbs has his, plenty others do—and now Odette! At what point do the agents just say "pls no more rules, our brains are too full, kthx"? XD But that's that. I sincerely enjoyed writing this bc it's outside my normal stuff (altho I've written horror and violence before, I just do so sparingly) and bc I like the depth of love Ellick shows here. So I hope you enjoyed your request, owl!!! Tyvm for asking! -w- I'm sad to kill off a charrie I like, but it's an impt writing skill to practice, *lol*. At least I wrote some horror for October? :'D

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this! And please go read part one if you skipped ahead to this~

~mew