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natsfirecat · 3 years

Text

Cold

summary: r has always liked having pyrokinesis, but after getting into trouble, she leans onto natasha for support (i’m sorry that is an awful summary fhjkdsf)

Part Two

pairing: Natasha Romanoff x fem reader

word count: 5k

warnings: swearing, needles, kidnapping, mentions of arson, lmk if i need to add any more!

A/N: this is gonna have multiple parts btw! i’m planning on 3 parts, but it could be more than that haha. also, since i’ve written a lot of pyrokinetic reader x natasha, feel free to imagine this taking place in any of those universes. preferably not the operation fire widow/bring you back universe. nat and r have been through enough there- but i imagine it in the you saved me universe!

You huffed out a sigh as you took in your surroundings. It was completely dark except for the small, irritating light in the corner. There was a pain in your arm, you felt a poke, and assumed it was an IV.

You tried to use your powers to get out of here, you tried to create a light, you tried to burn the ropes holding you to the chair, but nothing worked. Probably a result of the IV.

You were here because of a stupid decision you thought was right at the time.

You were fighting in the middle of the city, HYDRA decided that they wanted to make a scene. Mid-battle, you noticed a HYDRA agent carrying a child who was screaming and thrashing. No one else seemed to notice, they were all busy fighting.

You couldn’t ignore it, you couldn’t let them take a child. So, you made a large blast of fire, hoping that would prevent anyone else from following and attacking you as you went after the kid.

Looking back now, you should’ve at least gone on coms and told the team what you were doing. But you weren’t thinking straight at the moment. You just kept running until you reached them.

It wasn’t like you could send fire at them like you had before; you couldn’t risk hitting the kid.

So there you stood, coming up from behind to knock him down.

As soon as you lay a hand on him however, you let out a gasp of pain as something sharp poked your neck.

As your vision began to fade, you looked down to see the child staring at you with a guilty expression as he held the syringe.

You fell to your knees, hearing nothing but laughter from the man.

That was two days ago. And that was what got you into this situation. You weren’t sure if anyone even saw you go after him, so for all they knew you just disappeared out of the blue.

Guilt began to consume you as you thought about your girlfriend, Natasha.

She knew you were strong and could look out for yourself, but that didn’t stop her from completely freaking out every time you were injured. You could only imagine what was going through her mind now.

At the compound, Natasha began pacing back and forth around the living room. Everyone was seated there, wanting to talk about the mission and your disappearance.

“How could none of us have seen her?” She asked, making eye contact with each and every one of her teammates.

“Where could she have gone?”

“Who took her?”

Before she could talk any more, Clint stood up and put his arms around her to stop her from pacing.

“We’re gonna find her, Nat,”

She let out a defeated sigh, collapsing onto her friend.

“I’ve got satellites looking, FRIDAY is hacking into every street camera, we will find her,” Tony assured her, standing up.

She managed to give him a nod before leaving and making her way back up to her bedroom she shared with you.

Once the door closed, she collapsed onto the bed, clinging onto your pillow as tight as she could.

She had spent two nights without you by your side, she had barely gotten any sleep.

She missed the feeling of wrapping her arms around you while you clung onto her like a koala. She missed waking up next to you, placing a few kisses on your forehead.

She just missed you.

Of course, you had spent nights away from each other on missions and stuff. But this time, she had no idea where you were and when she would be waking up with you again. That just made everything worse.

One of the perks of having a pyrokinetic girlfriend was that she was never cold anymore. Sometimes you would hold your hands over hers, using your powers to warm them up. Or sometimes she would cup your cheeks to gather up the heat you were radiating. If she was really cold, you would wrap your arms around you as she would completely bury herself in you. Even after she was warmed up, it would usually just turn into a cuddle session of holding one another close.

She hugged the pillow even tighter, so desperately wishing it was you. She didn’t even realize she was crying until she noticed how wet the pillow was.

Letting out a long sigh, Natasha pulled all the blankets she had gathered over her, flipping the pillow over.

No matter how many blankets she had, none of them were able to give her the warmth you had.

Without you, she was just cold.

Another day passed before something finally changed. The lights were turned on, and you were given more water than before, and you were actually given some food.

You noticed the person walking in was the boy you were trying to save, but ended up stabbing you with the needle.

“Hello,” he said, placing the food tray down next to you.

“Hi,” you replied flatly.

As he headed for the door again, he made eye contact. Your heart dropped at how apologetic he looked.

“What’s your name?” You asked.

“Henry,”

“What’s a boy like you doing here, Henry?”

He shrugged before turning back and taking a few steps closer to you.

“It’s just the life of someone who’s dad is big in HYDRA and decided to get full custody after killing your mom,”

Your heart dropped, this boy couldn’t have been more than 10 and he had already lost so much.

“I’m sorry,” you told him.

“Why? It’s not like you killed her,”

You sighed before noticing the sadness in his eyes and the tears threatening to fall.

“Do you want to talk about her?” You offered. He thought for a moment,

“Maybe, but I can’t right now, I have to leave. But I’ll come back tomorrow,”

“Okay, bye Henry.”

“Bye!”

As promised, he did arrive the next day. He came in with a smile on his face before setting your food down.

“Hello!”

“Hi,”

You reached out to grab food, but winced as you moved your arm, remembering the needle in your arm. So you reached over with your other hand instead.

“Do you know what the heck they’re putting in me?”

He shakes his head no,

“It takes away your powers, but that’s all I know. I did hear someone say that they plan on changing the needle tomorrow,”

“So what other stuff do you hear?”

“It’s just bits and pieces,”

You let out a sigh as he reached up to grab some of your food. You held your good hand up to stop him.

“Kid, I’m the hostage here. I know you’re getting fed better than me. So unless you plan on giving me some of your food in exchange, hands off,”

Henry sighed, then pulled his hand back and sat down again.

“What’s it like?” He asked after a few moments of silence.

“What’s what like?”

“Everything. Being an Avenger, having powers, fighting people,”

You laughed at his excitement,

“Being an Avenger has its perks, it’s always nice saving the world every once in a while. The powers are nice too. I remember the first time I made fire appear in thin air, it was one of the best feelings in the world. I can make myself really warm, which works out perfect for Nat-” you stopped yourself as you thought about her.

Your face fell, thinking about your girlfriend and how much you missed her.

He turned his head to the side at your expression.

“Why are you sad?” He asked. “Do you miss your powers?”

“Yeah,” you answered quickly. “I just miss my pyrokinesis. Whatever you’ve got in here is really effective,”

“They’re still gonna make you go to sleep tomorrow, in case your powers come back when they change the needle. Why do they change needles anyway?”

“To prevent infections,”

“Oh,”

He sat there criss-crossed, holding his hands in his lap while moving his thumbs around. You noticed that he looked slightly happier today compared to yesterday.

“Who’s your favorite Avenger?” He asked.

“Black Widow,”

“Why? She doesn’t have any powers! She just fights,”

“Exactly. She’s just as important to the team as the rest of us without powers, that just makes her even more impressive. She holds us together, we would be lost without her,”

He gave you a mischievous smile as he observed the way you talked about her.

“Do you have a crush on Black Widow?”

You scoffed at the young boy. There was no way in hell you would be discussing your relationship status with him.

“What about you, Kid? Who’s your favorite Avenger?”

“Spider-Man. He’s so cool how he swings across buildings! And he has super strength!”

You smiled at him. You would most definitely be telling Peter about his young fan.

“He’s pretty cool,”

He smiled for a few moments, before turning back around and facing the door.

“I should probably go,” he said, his voice dropping. “I don’t want him to find out. I’ll come by again after they change the needle!”

“Alright,” you said. You were sad he was leaving, you had been enjoying his company, but you completely understood his worries.

He waved goodbye, then left the room feeling better than he had when he walked in. He would be back soon to talk with his new friend.

“I’ve got her!” Tony said as he stood up from his desk. “I know where she is!”

“I’ll get everyone ready,” Steve replied, leaving to make the announcement.

Natasha changed into her suit faster than she ever had before. Now that they knew where you were, she wanted to get to you as fast as they possibly could.

So she was the first to meet Steve and Tony outside the Quinjet.

Her expression was emotionless, but they both knew she had so many thoughts and feelings running through her mind right now.

Wanda was the next one out, taking her spot in between Steve and Natasha. She was almost as nervous as Natasha.

Soon enough, the rest of the Avengers all made their way down and were ready to go.

Clint had to physically restrain Natasha to stop her from pacing mid-flight. He knew she was scared, but what she was doing wasn’t helping.

She made eye contact with Wanda, then felt a few tears threatening to form. She took a deep breath in, then restrained her tears.

She finally let out the breath as she felt her best friend hug her.

It would be okay eventually, but for now all that mattered was getting you back.

“What’s that noise?” You asked, jerking up.

“I’m not sure,” Henry said, looking up too.

As soon as the others left your room, he ran in and stayed by your side until you woke up. He was hoping for another day of fun conversations, but he had a feeling that wouldn’t be happening now.

“You should get out of here, don’t let them catch you like this,”

He thought for a moment, then looked back out the door. An alarm went off, and he recognized the signal it was sending.

“Your friends are here for you,”

You let out a sigh of relief.

“Do me a favor and pull the needle out? It’ll be better to have it out sooner now that they’re here,”

He hesitantly held his hand over the needle, his breath hitched as soon as he touched your arm.

“You can do it, Henry. Just pull it out as fast as you can,”

His breaths became shaky as he grabbed the tip of the needle.

“I’ll count down for you,” you said as he nodded. “One… two… three!”

Just as he pulled it out, he let out a scream at the sound of a gunshot from right outside the room.

The door opened, and there stood Natasha.

She no longer had the glow in her eyes, or the softness on her face she normally had around you. In fact, you would be terrified of her if she wasn’t here to save you.

Your face fell as you saw she still had her gun raised.

“Don’t hurt him!” You yelled, holding your hand out protectively over him.

She said nothing, but walked over to you, wrapping her arms around you while holding you up.

She brought a hand to your cheek, stroking it gently for a moment while keeping her other arm around your back.

You leaned forward, then rested your forehead against hers as she held you.

“Uh, guys,” Henry interrupted your moment. “You should probably get out of here,”

You nodded, then looked out the door Natasha came from.

“I’ll buy you some time!” He offered.

You thought for a minute, your gaze shifting between him and Natasha.

“I’ll come back for you,” you told him. “Be careful!”

“Don’t worry about me! Just go!”

You nodded, then completely leaned onto Natasha. Your arm was still sore, and your legs could barely hold you considering you had hardly moved them for a few days.

Luckily for you, your assassin girlfriend was really strong and had no problem picking you up and carrying you as you wrapped yourself around her.

She was easily able to run through the halls, holding you with one hand and holding her gun with the other.

You buried your face in her neck, wanting to hide from everything going on around you. She heard you whimper, then tightened her grip on you.

It felt like it had taken forever, but eventually you were outside again. You finally opened your eyes when you heard the familiar sound of the Quinjet engine.

Natasha never left your side, keeping an arm wrapped around you as she set you down.

It had only taken a few minutes for everyone else to get back after Natasha told them she had you, taking out a few HYDRA agents along the way.

Steve’s gaze softened when he saw the state you were in. He was about to say something before Natasha met him with a harsh glare. You needed to rest after what just happened.

“It’s okay, baby,” she whispered to you, finally letting her softness return. “You can rest now. You’re okay.”

When you opened your eyes again, you were in a hospital bed back at the compound. Natasha sat in the chair next to you, one hand over yours while the other was holding her head up as she slept.

On the other side, Bruce and Dr. Cho were talking to each other about your condition.

“Y/N,” Dr. Cho said as she met your eyes.

Her voice woke Natasha up, who immediately gave your hand a gentle squeeze.

You turned to face your girlfriend, extending both arms out to her.

“Lay with me,”

Natasha looked at the two doctors, as if asking for permission. Once they told her it was fine, she pulled the sheets down and crawled next to you. She began to completely drown their voices out as she ran her fingers up and down your arm, drawing small patterns on your shoulder. Ever so often, she would lean forward and plant a kiss on the back of your neck.

“How long was I out?” You asked.

“Almost 24 hours. The stress of the situation, plus what they were putting in you definitely called for rest.”

“So, am I gonna be okay?”

“Yes,” Bruce said. “However, we’re looking into what they were injecting you with. It definitely had to do with your powers, so it’s best if you don’t use them for a few days.”

You nodded, then turned back around to face Natasha.

“You’re cold,” she said as you wrapped your arms around her. “That’s a first,”

“Don’t worry,” Bruce assured both of you. “You’ll be warm and pyrokinetic again in no time.”

Later that evening, you were on Natasha’s lap with a blanket covering both of you. She hadn’t left your side the entire day, apart from when you needed to use the bathroom. Even then, she stood right outside the door waiting for you to come back out.

“Natty,” you said to her. She removed her lips from your neck, then planted a kiss on your cheek instead. She hummed, waiting for your response as she continued littering kisses all over your face.

“I don’t want to go back there,”

“You don’t have to. You never do,”

“Yes I do. I promised Henry I would come back for him.”

“The same boy who shoved a syringe in your neck?” She said, eyebrows raised. “Tony was able to get footage,”

You sighed as she kissed your neck once again.

“It’s a lot more complicated than that,” you began. “He told me all about how his dad is a big part of HYDRA, and he killed his mom.”

“Y/N, I love you, but you have to know that there’s a high chance he was lying about all that.”

“Then why would he tell us that he’d buy us time when he left?”

“Probably just saying whatever it took for me not to kill him. It’s awful, but he was probably recruited at such a young age so they use that to their advantage.”

“Oh come on, Natty,” you said. You turned around and straddled her waist so you could face her. “Shouldn��t you have more sympathy for him? Especially considering where you were at his age,”

She thought for a moment, then pulled the blanket up closer.

“Maybe I’m a little biased because he’s part of the reason you were taken,”

You sighed, then leaned forward and rested your head on her chest. You’d get through to her eventually, but for now all you wanted to do was lay in her arms.

You huffed out a sigh as you pushed all the blankets off of you. That was something you definitely hadn’t gotten used to, and you couldn’t wait to take them all off the bed.

Natasha chuckled at your frustration, then sat up and smiled at you.

“Good morning, detka,”

You grumbled again, but couldn’t help but smile at the way your girlfriend was looking at you.

“It’s been three days of this shit,” you said as you sat up. “As soon as we go to Bruce today and get cleared, I will burn some of these. God, you have no idea how much I’ve missed setting things on fire,”

She laughed, then tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.

“So my sweet little girlfriend just wants to go commit arson? Tell me again why you’re an Avenger?”

“You know what I meant!”

She laughed again, which prompted you to throw a pillow at her.

“You’re gonna regret that, detka,”

“Will I?”

She stared at you for a few moments, a mischievous smile on her face as you smirked at her.

You let out a squeal as she suddenly pounced at you, knocking you back down. She placed several kisses on your face, but her hands also found their way under your shirt and onto your stomach.

You let out another squeal as she began ticking you, moving her hands up and down as you began to let out uncontrollable laughter.

“Natty, stop!” You begged between giggles.

She stopped for a moment, still smiling at you.

“Are you gonna throw a pillow at me again?”

You hesitated for a moment, and that was enough for her to move her hands again.

You nearly screamed as she continued tickling you. This only made her smile more.

“How about now?” She asked. “Will you throw a pillow at me again?”

“No! I promise!”

She seemed satisfied, then removed her hands from your body as she gave your forehead a quick kiss.

“Let’s go get ready for your checkup,” she said, then smiled again. “And then my baby can get back her ability to commit arson with her mind,”

You rolled your eyes, but followed her out of bed.

After getting changed, you held her hand as you made your way back to medical. You couldn’t help but feel nervous and anxious the entire walk there.

Bruce was waiting for you as you sat on the exam table. Natasha stayed standing, but kept her hand attached to yours.

“We’re gonna need to take a blood sample,” he told you.

You nodded, but squeezed Natasha’s hand tighter. You had always hated needles, and your previous experience definitely didn’t help.

As he inserted the needle in your arm, you closed your eyes and kept your tight hold on your girlfriend’s hand.

She hated seeing you like this. She hated that you even had to go through this in the first place.

Her hand was beginning to hurt from the amount of force you were squeezing her, but she didn’t flinch at all. She just kept her eyes on you, making sure you were okay as Bruce got the blood sample he needed.

When he took the needle out and put a bandage on your arm, you finally opened your eyes again.

You didn’t even realize you had tears in your eyes until you saw how blurry your vision was. You tried to blink the tears away before anyone would notice, but you were too late.

Natasha gave you a solemn look before bringing her other hand up to your face. She used her thumb to wipe the tears away, keeping her other hand attached to your own.

She then sat next to you on the table, and wrapped an arm around you as you leaned into her. She reached her hand behind you, then gently stroked your hair as she held you close.

“So will I get to use my powers again?” You asked Bruce.

“We’ll find out in about five minutes,”

You nodded, then leaned further into your girlfriend.

“How’s your arm feeling?” She asked as she continued stroking your hair.

“Hurts,” you admitted with a light laugh. “Not too bad though, not as bad as the HYDRA needle. God that one burned.”

You looked up at her, then nuzzled your head in the space between her neck and shoulder.

“I can’t wait to be your personal human heater again,” you told her.

She smiled, kissing the top of your head.

“I’ve just been glad to have you back, detka, but I’m also looking forward to being warmed up by you,”

Bruce smiled at the two of you, but his face fell as the results appeared on the computer.

“There’s still traces of what they put in your bloodstream,” he said. “Until it’s gone, you won’t be able to use your powers. I’m sorry, Y/N. We can check it again next week,”

Your heart dropped. You held your hands in your lap, looking down at them. You thought about all the times you made flames appear just from your palms. Now, you weren’t sure when you’d be able to do it again.

Natasha met your eyes, a neutral expression on her face. She was also sad about your powers, but she didn’t want to bring your spirits down even more. So, she interlaced her fingers with yours.

“Okay, so maybe a few more nights with blankets,” she said softly. “Then I get my favorite blanket back,”

You sighed, then stood up, keeping your fingers interlaced with hers.

You thanked Bruce, then walked out and went to the kitchen.

One of the perks of having pyrokinesis was that it made cooking easier. Sometimes you would just heat up the food in your hand, or hold the pan until everything cooked. It took awhile to figure out how to get it right, resulting in accidentally setting the fire alarm off multiple times as you burned food to a crisp. But eventually you were able to get your powers to work as your own oven and microwave.

Now that you couldn’t do that, you chose cereal instead. As you swallowed your first bite, you shivered as the cold milk went down your throat.

“I hate being cold,” you grumbled as you wrapped your arms around yourself.

Natasha smiled sadly, then brought your non-dominant hand to her mouth as you kept eating. She placed lengthy, but soft kisses on the back of it.

“I can keep you warm now,”

You smiled at the gesture, then let out a small chuckle.

“Natty, I love you, but we both know you’re way too cold on your own to warm someone up,”

She rolled her eyes.

“I could totally warm you up,”

“Please, you’re literally an iceberg. Why do you think we go so well together?”

She laughed, then kissed your hand again.

“Well right now we’re both icebergs. I think we can keep each other warm if we stay close, y’know, sharing body heat,”

You sighed, then leaned forward before kissing her.

You intended for it to be a quick, short kiss. But she had other plans.

She ran her tongue along your bottom lip, grinning as you allowed her entrance. Once you did, she grabbed your hips and pulled you onto her lap.

“See?” She said with a grin. “You’re warmer already,”

“You’re right,” you said, cupping her cheeks. “We should keep each other warm more often,”

She smiled, then kissed you again. You deepened the kiss this time, keeping one hand on her cheek and wrapped the other around her neck.

“That cereal is pretty good,” she said between kisses.

You laughed, then reconnected your lips. You stayed in her embrace, kissing her, for what was far too short in your opinion. You only stopped when you heard someone clear their throat from behind you.

You turned around to see Clint getting his own food.

“So what’s the news on your powers?” He asked. “Do we need to have fire extinguishers at the ready?”

Natasha glared at her friend, tightening her grip on you. He got his answer as soon as he saw her glare and noticed the way your face dropped.

“I’m sorry,” he said. He was going to say something else, but decided not to as Natasha kept her glare. So he waved a short goodbye, then left.

“Can we just go back to our room?” You asked.

“Of course,”

After putting your bowl away, you followed your girlfriend back upstairs, fully intending on staying in bed all day.

You glared at the blankets, but reluctantly pulled them over you.

You felt a little better once Natasha pulled you into her arms once again. You leaned back into her, holding onto her hands that lay around you.

“I love you,”

“I love you too,”

“I’m going to get my powers back,”

“Just focus on resting up for now, okay, detka?”

“Okay.”

A week later, you woke up ready to see Bruce again. You had been counting down the days, desperate to get your powers back.

Natasha gave a hesitant smile as you greeted her with a good morning kiss. She wanted you to get your powers back too, but she didn’t want you to be let down after your hopes had been so high.

Of course, she did miss using you as a personal heater. But even more than that, she missed seeing the smile on your face as you would control the flames emitting from you. She missed the satisfied smirk you would give whenever you knocked down someone you were fighting with fire. She missed how you would squeal excitedly after your powers helped you successfully cook something.

You were practically bouncing in your steps as you walked down to Bruce. While you dreaded the needle from the blood sample, you tried not to focus on that. Instead, you focused on how amazing it would feel to make fire again.

You still held on tight to your girlfriend’s hand as the needle pricked your skin. She ran her thumb over the back of your hand as you let out a small whimper.

Everyone in the room seemed to be holding their breath as the computer analyzed your blood.

Natasha was almost as nervous as you. Her breath hitched when Bruce said the results were coming in.

His eyes lit up as he read them.

“Your bloodstream is clean, Y/N,”

You smiled, then hugged Natasha out of happiness.

He smiled at you, then you thanked him, still bouncing in your step.

“Alright, let’s go outside. I want this flame to be good,”

Natasha nodded, keeping her hand connected to yours as you led her out. Bruce decided to follow, just in case there was something he missed.

Your smile grew even wider as you stood in front of the compound.

Taking a deep breath, you gave both yourself and your girlfriend a reassuring nod.

You took a step away, then flicked your wrist.

Nothing.

“What the fuck?”

You flicked it again. Still nothing.

Again. Nothing.

You flicked your other wrist, desperate to see the smoke rising from your palm. Once again, nothing.

“No,” you said, dropping to your knees. “Why don’t I have my powers?”

Natasha was by your side in a split second, putting an arm on your shoulder.

“I thought you said my bloodstream was clean!” You said to Bruce, feeling tears swell in your eyes.

“It is,” he said softly. “I’m so sorry, Y/N, but if you still don’t have your powers even after it’s out of your system, then that means whatever they did to you took your powers. Unless there’s an antidote, they’re not coming back,”

You let out a sob, completely wrapping yourself around Natasha. Bruce took that as his cue to leave, walking back inside as you continued crying in your girlfriend’s arms.

“What do I do, Natty?” You said, your voice breaking.

Her heart broke for you. She said nothing, but kept her hold.

“These powers, these abilities, controlling fire has been a part of me for such a long time,” you said as a few more tears fell. “And now… I’m just cold.”

#natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanoff x yn #natasha romanoff x fem reader #natasha romanoff x fem!reader #natasha romanoff fluff #natasha romanoff angst #soft natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff hurt/comfort #black widow #black widow x reader #black widow x fem reader #black widow x fem!reader #natalia alianovna romanova

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yandere-society · 4 years

Text

Scream

Pairing: Jungkook x reader

Synopsis: It’s been a year since your mother was slaughtered, with no leads pointing to any possible suspects. It’s been an up-hill battle for you to accept what happened— especially with no answers or closure— and the citizens of your hometown have been sleeping with one eye open ever since. But now, the mystery killer has decided to make an anniversary visit, and is making it known that they not only have a dire love for infamous horror films... but they also have their targets set on you and all of your closest friends.

Word count: 8k

Headline: Small Town Woodsbroro Is Waking Up Screaming Once Again!

Warnings: dark themes; Gore; Smut; Crackhead humor (only because I promised my bff I’d give her an honorable death scene); Foul language; Jungkook is psychotic; Graphic depictions of him killing your mom/friends; we’re also going to pretend that it’s outrageously easy to get away with murder; dont fact check me on anything you read here; rough sex; mask kink.

Admin: @tatertotthethot

Baley was high as a fucking kite.

So high, that she didn’t care about it being 1am as she blasted the Cha-Cha slide at full volume.

So high, that she was completely disregarding her lactose intolerance whilst making herself a triple layered, sharp cheddar grilled cheese that was bound to have her ass blasting right back off by 3am.

So, outrageously stoned, that she was totally unaware of the masked killer standing just outside the glass doors in her kitchen, watching her every move.. With her beat up, hogtied boyfriend laying out next to him.

“Now it’s time to fawnky! To the right now—“

She crab walked along with the instructions, spatula in hand.

“To the left!”

“Take it back now, y’all.”

Ghostface grimaced beneath his mask, eyes stalking the stoned woman with disdain. She was the epitome of “crackhead energy” and it pissed him off how much she resembles you. It only makes sense, being as you two have been best friends since kindergarten— probably soulmates in a past life— but it is within that fact that Ghostface has grown to absolutely fucking loath her.

She’s too much like you. She keeps up with your humor and probably has more of your heart than he, himself, has earned a place in yet. He knows good and well that if it ever came down to you having to pick between him and her, you’ll pick her.

That simply will not do. That’s exactly why he is about to rid you of that option— or, as he sees it, the dilemma.

He growled and swung at the air, wishing he could just bust in and end her already.

“How could you be in love with that creature?” He hissed at Taehyung, the built-in voice box beneath his mask altering it enough to remain anonymous. The question was quite hypocritical, being as he was in love with a girl that most would consider Baley’s second-half, but only you were an exception to being so.. abnormal.

“Mmmph—“ Taehyung drearily gurgled out from beneath the strip of tape over his mouth, tears breaching his eyes as he watched Baley’s precious, uncoordinated ass do the “Charlie brown”. It looked more like a fucked up gallop.

“What is the sex like, dude?” Ghostface ripped the duck tape off Taehyung’s split lips. “That’s a serious question.”

“Boo bear..” was all Taehyung could muster up, more scared for her than himself.

Ghostface gagged and slapped the tape right back on with a little too much force, having to take a second to regain his composure before pressing the call button on Taehyung’s phone. The Spotify music thankfully cut off as her phone rang out from the counter.

Baley was only upset for a split before she spotted the name on her phone screen, and was quick to answer it with a sickening amount of glee.

“Angel muffin!” She cooed. Gross

“Hi, boo bear..” Ghostface flipped his middle finger up at Taehyung before clutching his Bowie knife back down to his side.

“Oh my God, What was that? You sound like Corpse, mixed with the bear from Five Nights At Freddy’s.”

“The bears name is Freddy, dumbass.”

Baley neck rolled back in offense.

“Are you trying to get pegged or prolapsed? Might wanna remember who the fuck you’re talking to, the next time you call this cellular.” She snapped, hanging the phone up with a viscous pout. She still somehow managed to pick back up on the beat and cha-cha’d real smooth as she took the pot off the eye and turned the stove off, visibly upset.

Ghostface stood there for a moment, processing what she just said, before turning towards Taehyung.

“She claps your cheeks?”

Taehyung glared back at the screaming-ghost mask, bracing himself when a gloved hand reached out to once again rip the ductape off his lips.

“It’s not sus!” He immediately defended. “I have a gspot up there for a reason. I am not ashamed to use it.”

“I don’t give a fuck about that!” The killer snapped out. “why would you let that.. unstable individual insert something into your rectum—“

“You’ve got a whole lotta nerve calling somebody else unstable,” Taehyung deadpanned, and with that, his mouth was once again resealed shut.

He called Baley’s phone again, just as she was about to take a bite of the sandwhich that she’ll, unfortunately, never get to eat.

“What, fucker?” She scorned.

“I can see you.”

“Oh, yeah?” She sarcastically spat. “Then what am I doing?”

She clenched her buttcheeks in and hunched her back out, her body resembling a question mark, before vigorously gyrating her body- mostly just her spine. Jungkook knows from the various tiktoks you’ve shown him that he was witnessing the inverted-twerk.

“Hm? Tell me, fuckboy. What am I doing?”

”Something a fucking cockroach does after I spray Raid on it. How the fuck do you clench your buttcheeks like that?”

Baley halted in mid thrust, surprised but not exactly fearful (yet) as she whizzed around to face the sliding glass doors that led into her back yard. It was pitch black outside, and all she could see was her own reflection starring back at her. She was also too high to care about the fact that she had the hood of her sweatshirt over her head and the strings pulled all the way out, which only exposed the center of her face in a squished circle.

“I use my glutes. You know that. Why haven’t you come in?” She asked, not superstitious but a lil-stitious.

“This isn’t Taehyung.”

“Okay, Isn’t Taehyung. Why haven’t you come in?”

“Because I want you to come out here.” The killer responded, grinning at the visible unease finally creeping into the girls stance.

“Okay, babe— I hate to be a bummer here, but considering that today is the one-year anniversary of Ms. (L/N)’s murder, this isn’t very Cash Money of you. Can you please just come in and.. stop?”

He let out a chuckle, a dark one.

“Boo bear?”

“What, Isn’t Taehyung?”

“Turn on the outside lights.“

Ghostface put the speaker on the phone and sat it on the ground as he crouched over Taehyung, pulling him to sit up straight. He watched as Baley apprehensively padded over to the light switch by the door. He could practically feel her heart beating in-sync with Taehyung’s racing one as he placed the knife to his neck, smiling beneath his disguise.

The lights flickered on, and she screamed, terror finally bringing the seriousness out in the situation.

“HANG UP OR MOVE A MUSCLE AND HE DIES!” The killer roared, knowing she was still too high for her survival instincts to kick in. Any sober, sane individual would’ve probably caught on to the fact that they were gonna die no matter what she did. What was just making it easier for himself, knowing her dumbass was gonna comply.

“W-What do you want me to do?”

See?

“Be a good girl, and come here.”

“Quit trying to seduce me, you sick son of a bitch. My boyfriend’s literally right there!” She croaked out, voice shrill with exasperation.

The killer plunged the knife into Taehyung’s arm, making him jolt to life with a pain-filled howl. Baley began sobbing out, apologizing profusely.

“Your boyfriends going to get gutted like a fish if I have to repeat myself. Drop the phone and come here.” Ghostface seethed, wrenching the knife back out on the last word.

Baley reluctantly— and stupidly— did as told. She let the phone fall from her hand, then jumped out of her skin as the Bluetooth reconnected in the house and started playing WAP. She tried not to sing along despite the situation as she padded over, shaky hands rising to cover her mouth.

“N-Now what?” She asked.

“I just figured your last words should be said face-to-face. Is there anything you two would like to say to each other?” He asked, that being the only generosity he’d be willing to spare as he ripped the tape away from Tae’s mouth, one last time.

Baley dropped to her knees, so much despair in her eyes. So many things she wanted to say. She recollected herself and caught her breath in just enough time to utter final goodbye: “I-I-I said certified freak..”

Tae’s eyes closed as a single tear escaped, nodding his head in understanding. “Seven days a week...”

“GAH!” The killer roared out, wrenching Taehyung’s head back to slice his throat before shoving him away and lunging at Baley.

She landed on her back with him on top, and he wasted no time as he began slashing her apart, in any way he possibly could. He let all the pent up rage and annoyance he felt towards her, out on her body. It was worse than the brutality he inflicted on to your mother this time last year. He’d only stabbed her a total of 19 times— one for every year she failed you as a mother. With Baley, he didn’t stop tearing into her until WAP ended. And damn, did it feel good. He finally felt like he’d purged his soul clean.

This may all seem reckless, but Jungkook was actually just lucky. In order to mask his true motive behind all this, he had to find another one to cover it with. It was simply convenient that Baley’s father is the town mayor, and after a little digging, he made the grand discovery that he was also having a secret affair with (Y/N)’s mother. In fact, the mayor had several mistresses throughout the town.

Jungk—er, Ghostface.. chopped off one of Baley’s fingers and slid the glass door shut, writing the same words on it that he wrote on your mother’s bathroom mirror.

CHEATING PIG!!

Yes. When he did this last year, the police had to dissect through your mother’s long line of past sexual partners, and had to track down the father you never met for an interview. No leads came about, because it was all time wasted, anyways. Now, with this new addition, the mayor will not only have to set the scandals ablaze again by having to publicly confess his infidelity to the town and police, but they’ll have to lead on another pointless investigation for every woman he’s cheated with— over a dozen of them. They’ll have to also charge him with withholding crucial information from the investigation as well, but what’s so fucking comical about it all is that.. NONE of it has anything to do with any of this. It’ll just be another cold case with no leads.

And maybe, just MAYBE you’ll be smart enough to ditch this place and come with him. That’s all he wanted. You have nothing left and nothing to come back to now, and as long as you give in to him and leave, there won’t have to be anymore lives taken. You could start a new life and never experience another hell like the one he’s creating here. If only you’d say yes.

“May you both continue to clap each other’s cheeks in the deepest depths of hell,” he told the mauled corpses as he walked off, so happy to have Baley gone that he almost wanted to skip to his car.

Now, he will go home and clap your cheeks to complete the cycle.

—

“Damnit, bitch, pick up,” you huffed in frustration as Baley’s FaceTime continued to roll over, telling you that she’s unavailable. You thought you could power through today with your newly adapted ability to suppress shit, but it was hard when you’re left alone to reminisce. You just couldn’t shake the fact that the date on today’s calendar marked the same day that your heart, soul, and peace of mind was so horribly torn apart.

It didn’t help that you also missed your mother terribly. She wasn’t always the best, but she still loved you, and you loved her. Oh, God. Mom—

No. No. Don’t think about her.

You tried calling Baley one more time and couldn’t fight off the tremble in your hands, nor the tears at your water ducts as it rung through till the end. Damnit.

You couldn’t be angry. She doesn’t owe you the company— especially since you two have already been FaceTiming all day. But she was good at distractions, always able to drag you out of your shell of deprecation with her chaotic sense of humor. She is one of the only two people you have in your life that are capable of doing such, but you knew you’d get scolded if you blew up the others phone. Jungkook hates being hounded and rushed, having already told you that he’ll be there any minute. But he’s taking way too fucking long it seems, and you just hate sitting here, waiting.

You can’t shake the feeling that you’re being watched. The feeling first crept up on you this time last year and never left. You felt so venerable to the cruel world when you’re alone, especially since the maniac is still out there.

You still resent the police department for practically giving up on your mother’s case after 9 months. “Cheating pig” was the only lead they got and yet, it pointed them no where. She wasn’t in a relationship. She didn’t even like relationships. And still, they deemed it a randomized attack— no leads, no motives. Nothing. Just a local woman stabbed in the chest 19 times while taking a shower. Like some Psycho remake. No signs of forced entry. No evidence of sexual assault. Just a very passionate, yet unexplainable massacre with a useless message left behind.

It doesn’t make sense. And even though you wish to never have the attacker come back, you can feel it in your bones that they will wish to clarify it one day.

“Fuck it.” You breathed out, heart slamming against your chest and paranoia gnawing at your insides as you quickly scrolled to Jungkook contact. But then, just as your thumb twitched to press the call button, your door bell rung and you sprung up to your feet, making a mad dash to the door. You checked the peep hole first, just knowing it was gonna be him, but was disappointed when it wasn’t. That still didn’t keep a rush of relief from washing over you when you did see who it really was, though. You forced a welcoming smile on to your face as you unlocked all 7 bolts from the door, and opened it to greet Namjoon and Hobi with a hug.

They were cops, currently in their uniforms, also old friends from highschool. They’ve been looking out for you ever since last year, always making sure you knew you were safe beneath their watch. They use to take turns guarding your house until they were told to stop, but you were extremely happy to see them both here at the same time tonight.

“Everything okay?” Hobi asked, having noticed the shake in your limbs during the brief embrace. He leaned back and observed the tension in your eyes, even though you were hoping to hide it.

“Yes, just— today,” was all you could say, and didn’t have to clarify for them to understand.

“That’s why we’re here. We got permission to guard your house tonight,” Namjoon explained, eyes drifting over your shoulder and into your house. “Are you alone?”

“Yes, but Jungkook should be here any minute now. He had to go to South Korea for a week for his fathers birthday and just flew back in tonight, but apparently there’s been some huge wreck on the main highway and everyone has been stuck.”

That bit of information was actually true. However, Jungkook was lucky enough to have just miss it.. because he’s the one that actually caused it. It was honestly dumb-luck as to how he did it, but kind of amazing when given details.

He was in the express lane, him and the car behind him hitting 80mph. He recognized the car as the one that was parked beside his back at the airport, because he had stopped and took a moment to judge the driver for how worn down and raggedy the tires were. One bad pot hole or nail in the road would strip that sucker straight from the rim.

And that’s exactly what inspired him as he recognized the car, an idea sparking that could soon serve as an alibi in the future. He already had a hand out the window, smoking a cigarette. He still has those iron steak-nails he used at his construction sight. They’re 5 inches in length, subtle enough to casually drop out of a car window along with the cigarette. If they hit just right...

He gave it a try, honestly thinking it wasn’t going to work.

But holy fucking hell, did it. Not even a second after he dropped it, did the car suddenly swerve out as it’s tires screeched and sparks flew. Rubber scattered out amongst the road as the car continued to spin out, getting struck by a the car in all 6 lanes of traffic, ultimately causing a huge pile up in just under 10 seconds. It was the most destruction he’s ever witnessed and it happened so fucking fast he almost ran himself off the road just watching from the rear view mirror.

“NO FUCKING WAY!” Jungkook had squawked out as his head rapidly whipped back and forth to witness the massive mess he just created behind him. He was smiling like the maniac he is, undoubtably impressed with himself. He did it so lazily, too. But it only pumped him up even more for what he needed to do- the whole reason he even thought to do that. He only wanted something major enough to buy himself maybe an hour’s worth of time, so that when/if he gets interrogated in the future, they can check the traffic reports for a registered wreck to fit his alibi. But considering that he just shut the whole damn highway down, it’ll not only register but definitely make tonight’s news.

“Ah, yeah. We heard about that. 36 cars piled up. Can’t believe nobody was killed.” Namjoon said.

“How the fuck did that even happen?” You wondered, baffled.

“Some dickhead was going 80 an hour on an old tire and it wiped out after hitting a nail on the road. Thankfully, he only has a broken nose and whip flash, but with all the cars that got totaled— I don’t even want to know how much the cost of damage would be. But it caused 5 miles worth of traffic back-up.”

“Mm..” you grimaced, shaking your head. “Well.. would you guys like some dinner? Maybe some Coffee?”

“Ah, thanks, but there’s no need. We’ve got all the energy drinks and McDonald’s we need. You just chill out for the night, we’re right out here if you need anything,” Hobi assured, making you genuinely smile for the first time in the past two days.

But that was just before a familiar car pulled up that had your mood skyrocketing.

“FINALLY!” You broke out, sprinting down the steps and over the driver side of it right as the man of the hour stepped out. He welcomed you with open arms and easily lifted your feet up of the ground.

He looked just as good as he smelt. You’ve missed him more than words could describe in this past week— and Jungkook knew it. Of course, he had offered to take you with him so that you could finally meet his parents. But as predicted, you declined, saying that it’d be too much to meet his mother when the anniversary of your own’s death was approaching.

You continued to squeeze your arms around his neck for the next several seconds, and it wasn’t until he heard you sniffling and felt your shoulders shake that he realized you were crying. He couldn’t help but like that type of reaction. He was hoping the distance would torment you, maybe teach your ass a lesson.

“Don’t cry,” he rumbled in your ear as he pressed you hard against his lower half, making sure to up the intimacy of the embrace as he felt the eyes of the onlookers in the yard.

He waited for a second before peering over at the officers, who were awkwardly standing beside their cars. He gave a wave, pretending as if he were sheepish about them having to witness this.

“How’s it goin, guys?”

“Fine, fine,” Hobi responded. “Don’t mind us. We’re just here to watch out for you guys.”

“I appreciate that. Really.” He said in his best acting voice, even flashing a dimpled grin that gave off nothing but innocence as the two got into a patrol car, nodding to him in welcome. It actually makes things more convenient for him. They’ll be able to backup his whereabouts later on.

He pondered this while returning his attention to you, coaxing you out of your emotional outburst.

“I’m sorry. It’s just been so hard not having you here. Fuck, I’m so glad you’re back.” You breathed in and sighed out, and he could tell by the end of the last sentence that you were more-so talking to yourself, clinging to him one last time just to greedily soak in the physical presence of his body. He felt something ache in his heart, as well as his jeans.

“Well, I’m here now. Maybe next time, you’ll just go with me,” he lightly chided, hand coming up to pet your head as he kissed the top of it.

“Yeah.. I started regretting it after the first hour you left.” You whispered out, meeting his lips. You kissed each other a couple times, probably more than necessary. But it calmed you down and made you feel steady again. “Come on, I made you something to eat.”

He got his duffel bag out from the back seat and slung it over his shoulder before taking your hand, following you inside. It boosted his ego knowing that the two men watching from the tinted windows of the car were secretly jealous of him. They had a thing for you. Almost every straight guy in highschool did. That’s why he never minded what you wore, and was more than happy to let you flaunt yourself to their eyes. He liked teasing others, knowing they’ll never have such a prize as you.

Once inside, you were quick to relock your bolts. You were very strict about that now, taking extra precautions to prevent a potential attack. It kind of humored him knowing that it was him, a resident inside this very home itself, that those locks were meant to keep out. You’re literally locking yourself in with the killer.

“Damn, you cleaned the hell out of this place.” He ogled, not only taking in the immaculacy but smelling the pinesol and bleach amongst the floors and counter tops. All the laundry was folded, not a speck of dust in sight. You even cleaned the grout amongst the kitchen flooring, it seemed. Nothing looked out of place.

“I had to do something to keep from wigging out,” you shrugged, walking over to start the microwave for him to heat up his dinner plate. He left his duffel bag by the door and grabbed himself a beer before sitting at the table, noticing it’s prestigious shine.

“Did you polish it?”

“Yeah...” you said as you scratched the back of your neck, somehow embarrassed.

“It’s looks amazing in here, kitten. Really. I know you did it to cope but still, you did a damn good job.” He praised, feeling a little bad. He knows this took a lot of work, and it sucks that you opted to do all this just to keep the anxiety of his absence away.

“Thank you,” you sighed, taking his plate out and sitting in down in front him, then handing him some utensils.

“Where’s your plate?”

“I already ate, silly. I’ll munch with you, though.” You began making yourself a salad as he began to eat, complimenting you on how good it was. He doesn’t know that you’ve been awake for two days straight, and that you’re still battling off an anxiety attack. You were expecting it to vanish now that he’s here, but the sleep deprivation was getting to you.

So, you decided to reminisce on better memories. The old days; back when you first met him.

It was senior year of highschool, and he was the new transfer student from South Korea. He was the punk-emo guy that stood out amongst the crowd. All black clothing, more band shirts than anything. He had that messy mop-hair going on, and approximately 6 piercings on each ear, along with a studded labret to boot.

From day one, he was the most attractive guy you’ve ever laid eyes on. Much to his exterior trope, he was anti-social and didn’t seem friendly at all. The only time you personally heard him speak for the first few months of school was when he’d answer the teacher for roll call.

You only had one class together, chemistry. He’d always sit at the back of the classroom, and you’d remember the giddiness you’d feel just before walking into class and making eye contact with him, even for just a split second. You heart always skipped a beat and would threaten to seize up whenever Baley would lean over and tell you that he was looking at you again. Of course, that would be all the interaction you could get, being as you refused to engage any further. But life seemed to play out like a Wattpad fic back then.

Around the middle of first semester, your teacher was fed up with all the chatter amongst friends, so she decided to assign seats. Jungkook’s was still at his designated one, but you had to sit directly in front of him so that Taehyung could sit closer up, next to Baley. It’s also thanks to that class that the two of them fell for each other. It was also the same day she issued a partner-assignment that had to be done with the peer behind you.

You remembered having to play it cool, turning your desk and chair around to face him head-on for the first time ever. You anticipated that he’d still be sporting that ice-cold, disinterested glare, but he actually seemed pleased. He wasn’t actually smiling but he had a friendly glint in his eyes, like he welcomed you.

“Hello,” he started off, naturally confident in himself.

“Howdy,” you responded, immediately hating yourself. You’ve never uttered such a word in your life and you don’t know why the fuck you decided that that was the perfect moment to try it out.

He only snorted back at you, though, amusement swirling in his colorless eyes. You were intimidated by that as well. They were jett black. No distinction between his pupils and his irises. Just solid, black orbs boring into you.

You then continued to battle with basic communication.

“So, uhm.. wh—..”

English, motherfucker! Do you speak it?!

“What parts do you wanna do?” You rushed out.

“I’ll get the information together and answer the questions, as long as you create the PowerPoint and present it to the class,” he said without missing a beat, as if he’d already decided on that for the both of you.

“What criteria, though?” You asked, still waiting on that part.

“All of it...” He reiterated in a “duh” tone.

“That’s not fair to you, though...” you continued.

He arched an impressively sharp brow. “How?”

“You’re literally doing all the hard work.”

He shrugged, and you tried not to drool when you saw all his rings and the veins on his hands and fingers as he took his phone out. “I learned this shit back when I was freshman in South Korea. We’re way ahead of y’all there.”

“Oh.. well.. I can at least do the images and label them.”

Stop starring at his fingers.

“Mm,” he hummed with a lack of conviction, still looking at his phone. “No offense, but no.”

“Uhm.. okay..” you frowned in dejection, not sure how to respond to that.

“I said no offense,” he grinned up at you apologetically. “I just know you’re bad with visualizations.”

“What? I have an A in here. How do you even know that?”

“The teacher got onto you for messing up the labels on the last test. You got all the functions right but failed to match them to their description.” He said without any hesitation, and you were just as stunned as you were embarrassed. But he didn’t seem to be insulting you, and even reassured you of it. “Again, no offense. I just think it’s best for the both of us if I do it.”

“Okay. Cool,” You agreed, deciding to let him have it. Your face still burned, though.

“You still have an important role, don’t worry. Presentation is worth 40%, so you’re still gonna have to put in work and present it accordingly.”

“I can do that.” You nodded, suddenly feeling like you were sitting before a full grown man rather than a teenage boy. You couldn’t help but ask: “How old are you?”

“19,” he mused, as if he knew what you were thinking. He didn’t even ask you why you asked, and instead returned his attention back to his phone screen. “You?”

“18,” you muttered, your eyes reconnecting to his hands like magnets.

You really wanted to compliment them but decided against it, being as you were no longer as confident with this situation. Sure, he deserves to know how beautiful his hands are but you’re weren’t going to be the one to say it. You were expecting a cheeky personality at most, just because it fits the mischievous bad boy bullshit you read about in teen fiction, but you were instead met with a blunt and mature persona that made you intimidated in a way that you’ve never experienced before. He almost seemed.. authoritative to you.

“I see you like my rings.” He smirked, eyes not even looking back up at you. You had spaced out whilst tracing the path of his veins again, and immediately cut your eyes down to your own phone, feigning innocence.

“Whatchu mean?”

“Everyone like my hands, for some reason. I see you’re no different.”

“I ain’t even looking at your hands. Maybe you’re just too conceded,” you shot back, leg nervously pouncing as he lifted his head up to peer at you.

“Really?” He sarcastically challenged, making your insides stir. He sat up straight and pulled his hands back under his desk. “So the gold rings didn’t even catch your eye?”

“Your rings are silver.” You said without even thinking, then straight up face-palmed when you caught yourself.

“Thought so.” He openly grinned, and the little notion caused butterflies to erupt in your tummy. He pulled his phone back out and still wore that playful grin of his as you bashfully held his gaze. “Now, if you think you can manage to tell the truth, what’s your phone number?”

It’s amazing looking back at those memories, because you’re now starting to think that maybe Jungkook just knew back then that you two were going to hit it off. He’s always seemed so sure of himself when it came to you, always knew what the next move was gonna be and never once sent mixed signals or struggled to express how he felt towards you. He’s the most straightforward person you know, so much that it’s almost unnatural at times. If he was ever bluffing about anything outside of being playful, you’ve never been able to call it.

But damn, are you madly in love with him. You guess his ability to always remain focused and blunt is perfect for a person like you. He keeps you moving... well, for the most part. He wants you to move back to South Korea with him, and although you know you’ll eventually give in, you’ve been trying to hold off on it for as long as you can.

It won’t be as easy for you as it was for him. Jungkook was already fluent in English when he came here, thanks to his mother’s bilingualism. He hardly even had an accent from how well adjusted he was to your language. You, however, don’t know a bit of Korean. For you to go there, it would impair you in almost every single way. You won’t be able to go anywhere without him. You won’t be able to read directions or road signs. You won’t be able to go out and eat or order off the menu if there isn’t any pictures. You won’t be able to work. You’ll have to adapt to a whole new culture and way of communication, just to properly function outside of your home without him at your side.

Which, brings along another point, you’ll be without any friends. You don’t want to live in a world where you can’t go out with Taehyung and Baley whenever you wanted. You’ll be lonely as hell and home sick, he’ll be your only source of humanly contact until you learn.

You’ve told yourself that if the two of you remain stable for one more year, then you’ll go. You are ready for a change, but if you could just get one more year of preparation, you’ll be ready to go. You’ll take that leap of faith with him.

“What is it, kitten?” He finally asked, the prolonged silence getting to him.

“Nothing,” you lied, but didn’t want to divulge. “How was your trip?”

“Nice, but I was bummed out the whole time.” He shot you a look that made you pout in apology, but continued. “I talked all about you to them, showed them pictures. Almost fucked up and showed my cousin your vagina.”

You choked on your salad, which made him laugh. “I told you to put those in your hidden folder.”

“There’s so many, I just haven’t taken the time to pick them all out. It’s okay though, they only saw your face. They all think very beautiful— especially my mom.”

Your smile grew at that, “Yeah?”

“Yeah. So does my grandmother and my aunts. They were passing my phone around more than the dishes.” He snorted to himself, “They were even more surprised to see how much I smiled in our selfies. Which... I should warn you, when you do finally see my parents house, don’t be surprised when you spot our photo booth pictures framed in the hall. My mom went feral when she saw how much of a simp I was being in those.”

“She printed those out?!” You almost cried.

“Yes, she did. She printed each one individually and framed them side-by-side.”

“Aw, Kookie. I should’ve just went. I’m so sorry.” You pouted, guilt causing your heart to sink.

“You weren’t ready, angel. They understood,” He assured you, leaning forward to take your hand in his. You suddenly wanted to cry again.

“But I promise to go next time. Or whenever you wanna take me. I swear, I’ll go.” You said in determination, and was a little thrown off by his reaction.

His face went blank for a moment c like his brain needed a second to buffer.

“You will?” He inquired, that being the first time you’ve actually agreed or expressed any type of want. “Why now?”

“Because it sounds like they really want to meet me, too? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. That’s great. I just figured you wouldn’t be moved by that. You really wanna go now?”

“Yeah. Your family sounds so nice.”

“Was that what kept you from coming?” He interrogated, and it’s clear that he genuinely had no faith in you ever entertaining the idea.. which was a little disheartening. You’ve never said you’d never want to go, you’ve always kept a window open for later. You not sure why he’s so surprised.

“No, not necessarily. I wasn’t ready to meet them but if they’re that excited to meet me, then.. of course it’ll make me want to meet them, too. And get a little taste of South Korea.”

“Alright, I’ll plan a trip,” he had to say with forced enthusiasm, which you bought as you kissed his lips. Inwardly, though, he was screaming. If all it fucking took was a little conviction by saying his family was nice, just to make you consider.. them maybe he wouldn’t have had to do what he just did.

Whatever. Extra insurance. He had to tell himself, and decided to retrain his thoughts back on you as he remembered something.

“I have a special surprise for you.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm,” he stood up and walked over to his duffel, fishing around before pulling something out. “Close your eyes.”

You did as told, and waited about 10 seconds.

“Open.”

You almost shit yourself upon hearing the voice, then came closer to shitting yourself when you took in the familiar Ghostface mask that you seen in the movie Scream.

“WHUZZZUUHHH!” He drawled out while doing the cowabunga fingers, and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“Where the hell did you get that?”

“Halloween store. I got it in Korea.”

That was a lie. He’s had two of these masks for over two years, both of which he got from Party City here in America. He bought one to kill your mother in— the same one he just wore to kill your friends in— and the other one was meant for what he wanted to do now. He wanted to fuck you with it on. He’s not sure why, but why not? You might discover you have a mask kink.

“What the fuck is up with the voice?”

“Sexy, ain’t it?” He animatronically purred out, and it wasn’t until he fully stepped forward and began undoing his belt that you realized he was already shirtless.

Your eyes grew wide as you landed back in your chair, unable to decipher if this was a joke or not. You soon realized it wasn’t as he was now popping his button loose and unzipping his pants— his hardening dick print becoming more prominent.

“You’re not fucking me with that mask on,” you blurted out, sticking your foot out to stop him from advancing any closer.

“I’m fucking you with this mask on,” he argued, grabbing your ankle. “Consider it pay back for the time you refused to give me head unless I let you wear your Burger King crown.”

“No, Darth Vader.” You tried pulling your leg back but soon wound up almost getting drug out of your chair and onto the floor. Your unease soon turned into giggles and screams as wound up besting your play fight, his mask only coming off long enough to go down on you at the kitchen table.

And that’s what set the night off. You went from getting your pussy eaten at the dinner table to getting your throat wrecked on the living room couch. Then you were forced to watch yourself get rammed up against your body mirror in the bedroom, and now you’re bent up like a pretzel amongst your bed.

“Ah— GAH!” You grunted in struggle, finding it hard to cuss like you wanted being as a hand was firmly constricting your air supply. You watched the masked man above you as he heatedly fucked into you, his chain dangling above your face. Your ankles helplessly swayed around his shoulders with each brutal slap of his pelvis. Your face still stung from the actual slaps of his palms, causing you to flinch any time his hands moved. You noticed done time throughout all this that he was hellbent on making you look at that damn mask. You weren’t complaining, though. Just more-so concerned about how hot it must be under there.

But then he slowed down for a moment, trying not to cum again as he lowered his face to yours, and finally decided it was time it come off, being as you were ready for a kiss.

“T-Take that damn mask off—“

Wrong move.

He growled and ripped your hand away as you tried removing it yourself, and you were stunned by how much aggressive he became— more aggressive than he was already being, as if truly lashing out. He man-handled you, flipping you over and plunging back into you with way too much force. You yelped at the intrusion but could do nothing else as he pinned your hands behind your back, picking his speed right back up. He kept your hands locked in place with a single one of his own before clapping the other around your mouth, darkly chuckling at the fright on your face.

“I meant it when I said it’s staying on,” he rasped, pushing into you so deep that veins protruded from your neck in strain.

He couldn’t explain it— or maybe he could. But he felt extremely powerful when he wore this mask. It took him all of two rounds to finally admit to himself that it turned him on, knowing you were getting off to the very same face that your loved ones last looked at in sheer terror. He didn’t realize up until then that he somehow considered Ghostface as a different alternative to himself, one he was growing to like a little too much. It even made his dick more sensitive to the feel of you, making you seem tighter. And warmer. And sluttier.

He’s sure he began speaking Latin somewhere in the midst, but it wasn’t until he saw tears surfacing in your eyes that it dawned on him that his hand had somehow traveled up to cover your nose, as well as your mouth. A moment of panic shot through him when he dropped it and allowed you to breathe, thinking you were gonna make him stop. But much to his pleasant surprise, you only coughed out and mewled, head collapsing on the pillow as you pushed against him, a silent demand keep going. So he did. He made sure to keep the punishing pace up and running. Your body violently jolted with each slam, ass bone aching at the brutal impact. Each thrust was felt like a punch to your cervix and someway or another, you were okay with it.

Little did he know, it was actually because you didn’t want any type of deja vu happening. He fucked you in all the ways you liked the night before you found out that your mother was slaughtered inside your childhood home. You didn’t want tonight to be anything like it. So you let him hurt you.

If only you knew history was going to repeat itself, no matter what the two of you did.

It didn’t take but a few more strokes before he lost his ability to hold off, and emptied himself inside for the third time since he’s arrived back.

Once he did that, the blinds were illuminated in a dim grey, hinting at a sunrise. After a quick shower and clean up, the two of laid there, the mask finally gone.

“What are you thinking, baby?” Jungkook wondered, starring up at the ceiling. You haven’t said much of anything since that last bit. “Did I hurt you? Scare you?”

“No. I could take it.” You said, and it sounded genuine. But he still wanted to know what was on your mind. “I just don’t know what the hell I would do if I didn’t have you. You’re the only person I know that’s never even accidentally done wrong by me. You’ve been nothing but good.”

A void clouded his mind, emotional absence taking place of everything else. It’s a defense mechanism that he’s certain only comes up to block out any sense of guilt or remorse. He kept his gaze up at the ceiling, even as he felt you crane your neck back to look up at him.

“I love you, Kookie. Thank you for being here.”

“I love you too, baby,” he said numbly, those words being true... but his next words were not. “I could never imagine myself doing anything to hurt you.”

Being as he wasn’t planning on looking down, you crawled up for a moment just to kiss him, unbothered by the distant stare in his gaze. You then laid back down and got comfortable, readying yourself for a good days sleep.

“I think it’s finally time I start seeking happiness again, instead of contentment.”

That’s when it hit him. You didn’t notice how his heart cleaned beneath your head, nor was there any way you could feel the tension in his gut. He can’t say he feels full remorseful for what he did, because that would require him sympathizing for the innocent lives he’s taken away, with no rational reason. He simply didn’t feel anything for them. He was only concerned your pain, especially knowing it was unnecessary now. His trip to Korea was enough to motivate you to move on and consider a change of scenery. You didn’t need any fear to drive you out, you just needed time. God only knows how far of a set back this will be now. The fact that you’re laying here, currently thinking that life will only go up from here, when he knows damn good and well it’ll be in shambles again before the day ends..

He really needs to work on his impulses. Maybe homocide shouldn’t always be the first option he leans towards. It was just more fun that way.

But moments like this weren’t fun at all. He remembers how grueling it was last year, waking up with you at the sound of the doorbell going off. He remembers the grim look on the sheriffs face as he told them that they found your mother, dead. It was his arms that had to pick you up off the floor as you crumbled down and screamed, his ears that rung as he held you, not knowing how to console you. For the last year, it’s been his shoulder you’ve cried on, his company keeping you sane, his reassurance telling you that everything was going to be okay.... When it was his hands that caused every single bit of grieve all along.. and was about to cause even more.

So, he did the only thing he could do in that moment. He held you and mentally apologized, hoping that there was some way to telepathically tell you that you mean more to him than life itself, and that’s he’s so sorry for letting it drive him crazy at times. He’s still clinging to the original intention that you’ll say fuck it and flee with him, but he regrets going about it so recklessly.

You were fast asleep now, snoring even. He only hoped the discovery of the bodies would hold off long enough for you to get some much needed sleep. But it seems the universe was done working in his favor.

Those same, familiar knocks sounded off at the door, and he immediately ordered you to stay put as it woke you up.

“Probably just them checking up. Go back to sleep.” He whispered, assertively pushing your head back down and pulling on some sweats before going to the door.

It was the sheriff, same look on his face as last year.

“Sir?” Jungkook frowned, posing cluelessly.

The sheriff looked ghostly pale, like he was nauseated and on the verge of tears. Jungkook knew why but he had to act like it was a throw off.

“Sir..?” He repeated.

“Y’all’s friends.. Baley and Taehyung were found this morning.”

He had to stall and blink, as if he wasn’t catching on to the implications. The sheriff reluctantly continued.

“Baley was found, dead on arrival. Looks like the killer has returned.”

“Wh-What?” Jungkook stuttered, acting like he was bewildered. The sheriff’s next words, however, would spark a more genuine reaction.

“And Taehyung was found unconscious, but still alive.”

Jungkook’s veins ran colder than ever before, all mimicked emotions becoming sincere in that moment.

“Someone attempted to cut his throat, but aimed too high and cut his under jaw instead.”

Jungkook could only stare at the sheriff, probably just as pale in the face now.

“He’s in critical condition. Doctors don’t know if he’ll make it just yet, but there’s a fighting chance that he might.”

#yandere society #bts #jeon jungkook #yandere bts #yandere jungkook #jungkook x reader #bts x reader #bts halloween #bts crack #jungkook smut #bts smut

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junnibook · 3 years

Text

“ one more time”

An old high school friend

Izuku Midoriya X fem!Reader

Warnings: Izuku semi fluffy semi not. Nsfw ((duh)) eating out, fingering. Virgin reader

All characters are 18+

How sweet of you to meet your old friend.

A/n: this is the last 2020 draft I had which I wasn’t going to keep but what the hell might as well right. No full sex scene just giving.

Ask box is open for reactions

You smiled happily seeing izuku come over to you dressed nicely, he wore a black turtle neck which made him look so handsome and mature. He’s gotten taller since high school and muscles?! Who told him to be so handsome.

He asked you on this date not to long ago. He seen you at a market, shopping for who knows what. you use to be the closest of friends, always walking home together. But once you graduated you and him have been rather busy that you got separated.

So when he seen you standing there he wasn’t going to waste any second to not talk to you, he rushed over greeting you. The both of you talked as if there wasn’t any time separation at all.

He was glad to see you, your smile and you laughed he loved so much. He noticed your body matured as well and stood out in the floral puff sleeve midi sundress. it hugged your curves and showed off your chest just a little.

Did you know how attractive you look to him? to everyone.

your innocent look only made him more and more into you. he wasn’t going to lose the chance to ask you out like he did in high school which surprised you honestly. the short shy boy who couldn’t get a full sentence out when talking to you before, just asked you on a date with such confidence.

“awn zuku when did you grow up on me” you teased him and he finally blushed, like before blushing at the slightest glance you gave him. “ after high school haha you missed a lot” he didn’t mean for that to sound so sad but it was.

you two did everything together. you even met his mom and she adores you. Drifting apart never hit you this hard before. you missed his freckles and his big bright smile he gave you after every battle that happened in high school, telling you he was okay so you wouldn’t have to worry about him.

he walked you home, the both of you talked about everything and nothing, just smiling and talking about minor he stuff. you didn’t have a company like some student you graduated with. but you was very well known.

“ so Saturday? by the station?” he asked, which your were okay with walking u the few steps you had to walk to get to your door. turning to smile at him “ see you zuku” you turned to go inside leaving the hero blushing like crazy,

How could you be so cute?

you walked in your your apartment, it was a nice comfy one. In your living room, was a picture from your graduation. Mr.Aizawa took it.

It was you, Izuku, Todoroki, Iida , Ochaco and Tsu all together. You and izuku had the biggest happiest smiles, hugging each other. The last year you both were so close. You ran your fingers over the the frame, softly smiling.

Looking at the picture on made you more excited to see him...

You were early- how early you didn’t know. You didn’t want to be late. You stood there in a black dress, seemed appropriate for a first date, right? You wouldn’t know, you’ve been on a date before.

“ Y/N!” You turned to the direction that Izuku came from smiling. You paused seeing how good he looked. He really did grow up huh? His muscles were shown threw his turtle neck. His blush on his face made he look even cuter.

He stood in front of you, even his scent was attractive. You turned around to face the wall you was in front of placing your hand there.

“ uh.. y/n are you alright?” You took a deep breath preparing yourself to look at him. “ little Izuku grew up on me it’s hard to process” you turned to him your cheeks red. You pressed your lips together looking away from him.

He thought it was cute how you blushed. But he didn’t want to be “little Izuku “ he wanted to show you how much he’s grown and not just in height “ are you ready to go?” He held his arm out for you to take “ such a gentlemen zuku” of course you grabbed it - it would break his heart if you didn’t.

He walked you away from the train station “zuku?” The way you looked up at him in questioning. “ i planned on driving to the place” he smiled scratching the back of his head.

you both walked slowly to where he parked, while the two of you where walking, a small crowd of people came at you a izuku with their phone and note pads.

“Oh my Deku! i can’t believe i get to see you in person! can i have your autograph and a picture” the people pulled him away from you. he tried to talk to them tell them that he was busy but they never let him.

being the very calm person you are, you did what was right. you pulled him right to you and you walked off, leaving them behind. “you’ve became mr.popular haven’t you” you pouted making him smile down at you. he was happy you did that for him.

you reached the place, seeing how fancy it looked, it kinda made you nervous. “zuku you didn’t have to bring me here” you moved closer to him. you feel under dressed, maybe too plain. “haha i never got to take you out in high school, not like this at least.. i wanted to do something special”

your cheeks got heated thinking about it, he never did, he looked so adorable when he tried to take you out but got so blushy that his ears got hot.

“hm? your blushing this this time” he got close to your face, “ no! It’s just hot in here, don’t we have to sit down and eat! “ he wanted to kiss you, your soft lips would look so perfect on his.

the dinner went well, you both caught up and spoke as of no time was missed between the two of you. he held you hand walking around the outdoors, looking up at the sky. he held you close not wanting to let you go. his green pools couldn’t leave your e/c ones.

at first you didn’t see him watching you until you, when you did you turned to see him tilting your head, the moon light only made you prettier. “zuku?” he took a deep breath giving himself helpful advice and encouragement. he didn’t talk aloud like he use to- well not as often. he was much more brave remember.

“ can i do something”

you knew what he wanted to do and smile happily. “ of course” you won’t say you never imaged kissing your highschool friend before because you have PLENTY of times. wet dreams wasn’t new to you either.

izuku bent down to your height holding the side of your face so gently, as if you would shatter into a million pieces. he paused before pressed his lips onto yours. it was just like he thought.

soft and delicious

he pulled you closer as your lips dances with his. his tongue made his way into your mouth. “zuku we shouldn’t kiss here- people would see and you would be on the news first thing in the morning” it’s bad enough that he’s been seen with you.

When the two of you got to your house it didn’t take long for you to be on his lap, his hands on your hips moving them slowly as his lips danced with yours.

When you felt him- you felt him. It poked your thigh. Izuku tried to contain his thrill he really tried but he waited years to have you on him and like this, he could feel his precum making his layers wet already.

He could tell you where getting turned on too, he can smell your sweet desire. So he played a risky move. Making his hand slowly inch towards your panties.

First he stopped at the top of your thigh slowly running circles around it than moved to your inner thigh checking if your lips hesitated for even a second- it didn’t

Your busy taking his lips as if they was your last meal.

He moved his hand until it reached your panties, he slowly moved his middle finger to rub small circles over the wet fabric separating his fingers from your clit.

Your soft whimper made up from his smll worries. He felt your lips leave his to hide your face in his shoulder blade- your redder than he is right now.

“Do.. you want me to stop” his fingers light brushed on you, as his voice soft sent shivers down your spine.

You’ve never been touched there - well only your fingers now the land. Having his there felt different like it brought more pleasure to you so of course you didn’t want him to stop.

You shook your head- that wasn’t enough he needed your approval to continue. “ keep going” and that he did.

He used his thumb to move your panties to the side, slowly moving his finger closer. He took his time on you never going fast, he enjoyed your soft moans when ever he switched the speed a tiny bit or your whimper when he slowed down.

You couldn’t tell him in word form that you want more but he understands, he finally realized how much you haven’t been stretched when he slips just a finger in you, when you tighten is when you get a soft groan from him.

He just imagined himself in you, deep in you and how tight your walls will feel around him- he’d be addicted for sure.

He moved his finger slowly, he had a little power behind them. He loved the way you held him closer when he added to that finger, your juices covering his hand. he could feel you tighten around his fingers and he could feel you hold on to him as your thighs shook and you moaned softly.

he came to a realization that he loves making you cum the most. he wants you to do it again, so many times, just for him. well you unlocked his deepest horny side, one he didn’t want to show you just yet.

he flipped you on your back his head on your lower body, his green pools looking up at you-he searching for your permission. which you give him, your face red- a thought went threw your head and you quickly voiced it.

“zuku, i don’t wanna go all the way- not yet” he didn’t mind, since he’s understanding and isn’t forceful he’ll take his time getting to your cunny.

he moved your panties down pulling them over your knees and completely taking in the sight of your bare parts, his mouth watered with hunger, it didn’t take him long for his mouth to be attached to your clit, swirling it around with his tongue.

It felt so good - to good. You can’t even stay still anymore, his hands held your hips down as you kept bringing them up to meet his mouth.

You taste like sweet honey to him and he couldn’t get enough licking up all your juices that tried to escape his tongue.

“Zuku!” Your going to cum aren’t you? He doesn’t want you too not yet. But he has the whole night to control your other orgasms “ mm” he of course know what you wanted, you didn’t know if you wanted him so close when you came.

But he wasn’t making it easy, his tongue picking up speed more and more until you couldn’t even control how much your legs moved around his head.

He slipped to fingers in thrusting them quick and fast inside of you. He groaned you pulling his hair as you ride your orgasm out. He licked up every little juice that feel from you.

He moved back up kissing you deeply making you taste your self. “ I want to make you feel good too zuku” he moved back looking into your eyes kissing your head “ not yet we have all night, I want to make you cum one more time “

#anime #im sorry it sucks #anime ask #x reader #ask #likecommentshare #naruto shippuden #haikyuu!!#mha #naruto #midoriya izuku #deku #izuku smut #izuku x you #izuku x reader #izuku midoria x reader

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jetsam-kisa · 3 years

Text

Michiko vs Jetsam

Whew! This is done! I got carried away so I am very sorry for the length :’D

Michiko’s mod and I had some fun talking about our characters and especially the gear Michi is developing!

Unfortunately they were very busy this week, but I was more than happy to write the fight results :D

CW: emetophobia // there is a brief scene describing vomit semi-graphically

The roar of the crowd echoed through the stadium as Jetsam Kisa and Michiko Watanabe entered the battle arena. Both of the students walked to their side of the arena with a sense of purpose, even if they were nervous wrecks on the inside. Once they took their proper starting positions, the two contestants smiled weakly at each other as the announcer called out their names and the people in the crowd cheered for the next fight.

‘I’m pretty sure I’m going to pass out,’ Jetsam thought as he gnawed on his lips in anticipation, ‘That or throw up. Oh god I hope I don’t throw up in the middle of the match. Everyone here is watching. God, my parents are watching,’ Thick, heavy plums of smoke rolled out of his mouth the more frantic his thoughts became, until they nearly completely cloaked his figure, ‘I think I saw Best Jeanist in the stands too! He’s not going to want to associate with the kid who threw up during his first match. What am I doing here? What am I even going to do-?”

Jetsam was snapped out of his rapidly spiraling thoughts by movement in his periphery; Michiko gently waved her hands at him and gave him a broader smile, despite clearly being nervous herself (if the crease in her brow was any clue to her emotional state).

“Let’s both do our best during this fight, Kisa-kun!” Michiko called out from her side of the arena, before her gaze hardened with a resolve she often reserved for studying the most complex of quirks, “Although, I hope you know that I will not be taking it easy on you. I need to see how far I can go, and to learn about the extent of my current abilities.”

Seeing Michiko’s determination and hearing her will to succeed was like a salve to Jetsam’s shot nerves. He took a deep breath, then released the pent up smog. The smoke surrounding his body partially dissipated too. It was almost a shame how well Michiko’s words calmed him down; he would be better off easily producing the pollutants that came with high stress. Jetsam briefly wondered if her kindness was double-edged in a way; was it a strategic way to prevent him from building up his quirk before the match? He shook the thought out of his head before yelling back to her:

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Miss Michi!”

He could only hope that his grin masked the nerves that were still rolling in his stomach. He knew Michiko; knew her quirk. It could only be activated by physical contact, so as long as he kept his distance he should be okay.

‘Although,’ Jetsam thought as he gazed at the chain-like device at Michiko’s hip, ‘that capture chain she’s been developing could be difficult to beat. I’ve never seen what it actually does before.’

All too quickly, the announcer began their countdown: “3...2...1...BEGIN!”

---------

As soon as the bell rang, Michiko shot forward, arm extended, with a single-minded determination to do one thing and one thing only: get to Jetsam before he could gain control of the battlefield with his quirk. If she could grab a hold onto him before his smogs and tars and other (frankly, gross) expellents became too overwhelming, then she could nullify his quirk with her own, and use her capture device to prevent him from continuing the fight.

Jetsam must have realized her plans, and had just enough time to dodge out of her range, smog spewing out of his mouth now that his adrenaline was no doubt pumping again. Not to be deterred, Michiko quickly shifted her balance and dove after him again, careful not to let him hide behind the pillars of smoke he was creating.

‘He’s not going to make this easy for me, but I have been preparing for this occasion for too long to let this game of tag keep me from winning!’ She thought to herself, resolve growing with every inch closer she got to Jetsam, ‘He can’t avoid me forever, and I have a secret weapon I’ve been dying to beta test!’

After a few more moments of chasing after Jetsam, Michiko took a gamble and let him escape to the sanctuary of smog he created across the arena. She knew she had to be quick, but some risks had to be taken to assure victory! She knew that she had the power within her to win.

He wouldn’t be able to outrun her prototype, after all!

--------

‘Phew, I think I finally managed to shake her,’ Jetsam sighed with relief, dark smog still escaping his mouth and obscuring his figure to the crowd (and hopefully Michiko as well). ‘Now I have a moment to breathe. Hah, figuratively, at least.’

He made sure to keep his eye on the clear silhouette of Michiko he could make out through his smog, never before more grateful for his mom’s sight-related quirk partially making its way to him. She seemed to be standing still, perhaps strategizing her own plan to catch him and throw him out of the arena? He hoped the smoke wasn’t making her feel too sick. He had to be quick.

‘I can probably end the battle if I cover her in tar and stop her movement. It might be unpleasant but it’d be safer than trying to beat her in hand-to-hand or some other physical contest. I haven’t been training with Tsumi for too long, after all. Yeah okay, that’s the plan!’

Just as he was about to produce the sticky tars necessary to carry out his plan, a thin silhouette darted out from Michi’s figure, slithering across the arena at a speed too quick for Jetsam to react to.

As a cold, thin figure coiled itself tightly around him, the only thought sparking across Jetsam’s brain was:

“Michiko brought a snake?”

-----

‘Bingo!’ Michiko exclaimed to herself as Jetsam’s no-doubt unconscious shout revealed not only his location, but the fact that her capture device had worked perfectly as intended.

While it still had quite a few bugs to sort out, one of the most recently added features was a heat-seeking tracker that would allow the machine to chase after targets even under adverse visible conditions.

She cocked her head towards the direction of Jetsam’s quick yell of distress; she couldn’t get complacent. The capture device was only half the battle! She had to guarantee that Jetsam couldn’t continue the fight in order to assure her victory!

She couldn’t just blindly run through the smokescreen either; who knows what kinds of traps he could have placed while she set up her capture device. No. She had to be methodical, and safely make her way to Jetsam’s location while he was encumbered.

The smog was thick, but now she had her goal within sight: grapple Jetsam and nullify his quirk, thus ending the match.

-----

Okay, so it wasn’t a snake, but it was still bad news! Jetsam’s arms were completely pinned by the robotic device wrapped around his torso. So this was the work of the capture device that Michiko had worked so hard on? Jetsam had to admit that it was effective. He couldn’t fight with his limbs restrained like this, and that shout he gave out completely alerted Michiko to his location.

‘So this is it. The fight’s over, and I spent the whole time running away and cowering in the corner. Everyone is watching. Everyone saw. Everyone will know I’m just a big failure who doesn’t deserve to be here. Oh god what if Sato-sensei kicks me out of the hero course? What if they kick me out of the school?? What if everyone laughs and ignores me and hates me OH GOD-’

As the panicked thoughts swirled in Jetsam’s mind a pit formed in his stomach. A pit that rapidly expanded into a big, black ball of anxiety and nerves. He could almost picture it in his mind’s eye: an ugly, bloated orb dripping with heat and stress and bile. The more he envisioned it the more it grew until he could almost feel it spilling out of his mouth like a slick oil spill across his lips and---oh wait.

It wasn’t in his mind’s eye.

Jetsam groaned to himself as gushing rivets of slippery, rubbery oil spewed from his mouth all down the front of his body.

“Well this is perfect!” Jetsam exclaimed to himself, although it was muffled by the sheer volume of oil that expelled out of him as he spoke. He really did throw up. God, could this fight be any more of a disaster?

First he gets captured by Michi’s device, then he literally vomits gross oil from the stress. Fantastic. He shifted uncomfortably, as the oils soaked into his jersey under the capture device and--wait a moment. Oil. Disgusting, smelly, beautifully SLIPPERY oil! That was slicking up his torso and arms even now!

Jetsam pulled his arms upwards experimentally and YES! They were sliding out, he wasn’t restrained anymore! Maybe he could hide again and strategize-

The victorious thought was cut off by a hand shooting out from the pillars of smog, reaching for his newly freed arms.

-----

“I finally found you, Kisa-kun!” Michiko called out, jumping from out of the smokescreen with a triumphant smile.

Her eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of Jetsam freed from his restraints, but she simply chalked it up to a prototyping failure; she could ask him about the specifics of how he escaped once the match was over, anyways.

This time Jetsam couldn’t dodge her oncoming attack, and Michiko grappled him to the ground, pinning his arms above his head. Now was her chance to nullify his quirk! She had been practicing in hand-to-hand combat, she could still push herself to her limits and come out on top!

Michiko began to focus her energy on her quirk, as Jetsam struggled underneath her. As soon as her quirk began its nullification, she saw the startled look in his dark eyes, and winced slightly in sympathy. She had been told that her quirk was a bit unpleasant to the target; with the process feeling not unlike having your blood drawn through your whole body.

As her quirk took effect, the copious amount of smoke around them began to disappear, once again fully revealing them to the crowd of spectators around the stadium. As her own vision began to clear she was startled to find them lying at the edge of the arena; if they had tussled a bit further out they would have been out of bounds.

Jetsam followed her gaze to the boundary line, and his jaw tightened as his face flushed a dull purple. Was it anger at his predicament?

“I’m very sorry about this, Miss Michi,” he gurgled apologetically, as the last of his quirk bubbled from his mouth into a viscous oil that was spat out onto Michiko’s face.

With a shout of surprise, Michiko’s grip loosened enough for the slick oils still coating Jetsam’s arms to allow him to escape her grasp. Vision impared by the pollution covering her forehead and dripping into her eyes and nose, Michiko was unable to dodge the hefty push against her chest as Jetsam scrambled away from her touch, getting onto his feet. It was only for a moment, but it was enough for his quirk to return in full force.

“Again, words cannot express how sorry I am for doing that.” Jetsam called out to her, although his speech was hard to make out with the thick pollutants leaking from his mouth.

Michiko shot up from the floor, furiously wiping at her face to clear it of the oil. Once her vision returned, she turned to face Jetsam. The two ran at each other, trading blows and each trying to grapple the other into submission. The build-up of tar and oils worked as a double edged sword; Jetsam easily slipped from Michi’s grasp, but she also used that to her advantage to slide out of the way of his attacks.

Then, there it was: that single, gleaming moment where Michiko could see the exhaustion, see Jetsam’s attention waning as the fight dragged on for just a bit too long. Right there! He was right by the boundary line, and had miscalculated a move that left him off-balance and vulnerable.

‘Sorry Jetsam,’ Michiko thought as she built momentum for her final blow, ‘but I am grateful for this amazing fight!’

Just as her victorious punch was about to make contact with Jetsam’s awaiting back, she felt herself freeze, involuntarily. Her arm was stuck in position, unable to move. She tried shifting her feet, but to no avail. Her whole body was frozen in place, like some sort of statue!

After a brief moment of panic, Michiko quickly realized what was happening. The tar. The tar Jetsam had been producing. He had mixed it with all the other pollutants as they fought, and as she was coated throughout the battle, the tar was turning thicker and thicker, until it encased her whole body into a stiff, immovable statue.

She struggled, trying to thrash her way out of the viscous black coffin, but to no avail. She could no longer continue fighting. She had lost.

The crowd burst into cheers and jeers as they realized that the match had been settled, the announcer calling out “AND THE WINNER IS, JETSAM KISA!”

As soon as the decision was announced, Michiko felt the tar slide off her body, like showering off a thick coating of muck, until only black stains remained on her body and clothing.

Jetsam sheepishly looked over at her, hand anxiously scratching at the back of his neck.

“So… that was really, really gross. I’m so sorry. But you were incredible! You almost had me so many times!!” Jetsam babbled out, getting more and more flustered as he continued. “I understand if you’re upset, but we promised we wouldn’t hold back and-”

“That was a great match! I had such a good time, and you really tested out my limits!” Michiko interrupted, smiled brightly at him as she held out her hand for him to shake. “But I’m warning you, next time I’ll be the one to come out on top!”

Jetsam smiled softly as he took her hand and reciprocated the shake.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

#this was the first time i have ever written a fight scene!!#i hope it turned out well... again sorry for the length lmaooo #michiko #jetsam #bnha oc comeback #sports event

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f0xwrite · 3 years

Text

@stricklakeetal

The first of the snippets from WIPs (as promised!) I haven't been able to write since my mom passed, so I'm not sure if or when I'll ever get any of these done, but I thought I'd share some unfinished ideas!

This one is still in a dialogue-heavy format. I’ve tried to fill in context in parenthesis. For context, in this story, most of the babies that were taken from the cradlestone are being cared for by goblins at the old Janus headquarters, all overseen by Walter, but some are housed at the Lake residence.

***

(Douxie is walking out of a record store, humming a soft tune, when his phone rings. He answers. )

“Mr. Casperian.” Strickler's gruff voice floated out from the receiver. “I hope you don’t mind, but I got your number from Jim.”

“Uh, yeah, no it’s fine.” The wizard scratched the back of his head, raising a brow. “Who is this?”

“I’m Jim’s--an ally of the Trollhunter’s. Waltolomew Stricklander. ”

“Ah, yes, Merlin mentioned you a few times.”

“Good, then you’ll recall that I am in possession of all of the familiars—err, human children—who were formerly housed within the Darklands.”

“Oh that’s right! You’re the one with Dr. Lake. How’s that going for you?”

“Er—well, that’s the thing. It’s—we’ve run into a bit of a conundrum.”

“Conundrum?”

“It would be best if you saw it in person. Do you know where Jim lives?”

“Yeah I do, actually." He scratched the back of his neck as he spoke. “What’s going on again?”

“Waaalt, it’s not just those two.”Douxie heard another voice through the receiver.

“I have to go,” Walter’s voice was grave, “Erm, the faster you can get here, the better. We need a wizard.”

“Right then, you got it.”

(Later, at the Lake residence Douxie opens the door and his jaw drops. There are babies flying everywhere, and magic spells being cast to and fro, bouncing off of every wall. In the middle of it all, a haggard Walter and Barbara are trying to reign in the chaos. Douxie inquires about the Trollhunters, who could be there in a moments notice with Claire’s shadow magic.)

“Claire, Jim, and Toby are on vacation with the Nunez’s in the mountains.” Barbara explained.

“Young Atlas needs a break. They all do,” the changeling admonished. “I know Claire could be in and out quickly, but it would be best if we didn’t interrupt them. ”

“What on earth is going on with these babies?!” Barbara yelped as she barely dodged a ball of light being thrown her way. A crash sounded from the kitchen, and with a resigned huff, she strode off to discover its source.

“They’ve been exposed to Morgana’s magic for too long,” Douxie explained. “Creatures like that, like changelings,” he gestured towards Walter, “are naturally more inclined towards magic.”

“How do we keep them under control?” Walter’s voice was desperate. “This house, and the entire Janus base will be destroyed!”

“I don’t know!” Douxie exclaimed, “I’m not used to dealing with magic users this young. I’ve never even seen it. They have no idea what they are doing.”

“You were Merlin’s protege,” Walter growled as he tried to grab two babies that had landed on his horns. “Figure it out!”

“Waaaahh!” NotEnrique screamed from another room.

“Fire! Fire! Baby on fire!” Barbara came running down the hallway towards Walter, who grabbed the child before the flames could spread up the little one’s arms to burn her.

The baby itself giggled as the flames danced around Walter’s clawed and heat-resistant fingertips, seemingly unharmed. He sighed as the charred diaper fell away.

“This is madness!” Douxie held out his arm, and in a flash of blue, put out the flame. Grimacing, he pulled his phone from his pocket, running through his list of contacts. “We need back-up!”

Diaper-less, a stream of yellow came bounding out from between the baby’s legs, promptly splashing Walter’s face.

“Ugh,” he blinked and sputtered as he tried to clear the urine away, “and here I thought Battle of Marengo was hard.”

“Buh, buh, buh--” the baby tried to imitate him as he held it at arms length.

“Hello, Zoe, lovelet, I have an address I just texted to you, can you, uh--” Douxie held the phone to his face , trying to grab a different baby's leg as it floated by, "--do you mind popping by? There's a bit of a situation."

“What situation?” came her voice from the other end

The child escaped the Wizard’s grasp, babbling gleefully while wearing a tricorne.

“Waltolomew Jr, get over here this instant!” Barbara went chasing after the baby with outstretched arms.

“It’s a bit hard to explain…” Douxie’s voice trailed off as three other babies crawled after the doctor, sparks flying out from behind their knees like toy race cars.

“It’s mutiny, I tell ya!” NotEnrique came scurrying into the room, body covered in roots and flowers. “they’ve been savin’ it all for the big day! Oi, Jazz Hands, you mind givin’ me some help here?”

“I’m a little busy at the moment.” Douxie said as he fiddled with the gauntlet. “C’mon, c’mon...” he grumbled to the mechanism. “Ah! There.”

Geometric shapes of light appeared along the floor, bursting out and upward in a cacophony of blue. The babies who were airborne dropped to the ground, and Douxie watched as Walter lunched to catch two or three with his wings.

A thud upstairs indicated that another baby had dropped, followed by a piercing wail.

“Hold this,” Barbara said, seeming to appear out of nowhere, and Douxie found himself with a sudden armful of Walt Jr. as the doctor bounded up the staircase, NotEnrique went scurrying up behind her, shedding petals and brambles in his wake.

“Ah, hello mate,” Douxie quirked a brow as he looked down to the child in his arms, “so you’re the chip off the old rock here.”

(Douxie tries to cast a few spells with some success. For a few moments, the chaos stops and all of the floating babies come back to the floor. Strickler filters back into the room.)

He heard Walter snort, and then yelp as the first baby lit itself on fire again. The children nestled in his wing began to cry at the sudden flash of light.

“I thought you put a stop to this.” Walter growled as he held the baby away again.

“There are limits to my powers,” Douxie asserted, “I’ve got the airborne babies under control, but the other one’s will take longer. “

The changeling grabbed a crystal from a pouch along his loincloth and held it to the baby’s chest, cradling the child in his arms while the others remained in his wing. He muttered something that sounded low and quick, like snapping coals, and extinguished the baby once more. Not seconds later, a different baby with bows in it’s hair shot a beam of frost towards Walter’s head, covering his hair and horns in snow. Uttering, he tried to shake it away.

“They all have different abilities,” Douxie remarked in wonder as he stepped closer to the changeling. “We have fire, frost, earth--” the lights flickered above them, “--electricity,” he added, “and who knows what else? Heaven help us if one of them is in tune with Shadowmancy.”

“Shadow magic I can deal with, to a degree,” Walter’s golden eyes fell on the boy, “I am a creature of shadow, after all. It’s the others I can’t handle.”

Douxie laughed, something wry and time-worn passing across his gaze. “You’re not made of shadow magic, pal.”

“Come again?” his wings tensed.

“You may have been exposed to it in the Darklands, but the creation of life...that requires light.”

Walter stared at him for a long moment, gaze flickering in the dim.

“Shadow magic is what Gunmar was using to create his mindless drones, you’re not that.” Douxie went on. “I may not be as all-knowing as Merlin, but I know that much.”

“Forgive me for having a hard time believing you.” A baby was pulling in his tusks. Gently, he patted it back down. “But I have known nothing else.”

“You’ll see one day,” Douxie offered pale and knowing smile. “I don’t doubt it.”

It was then that Barbara came back onto the scene, hair completely unraveled and soaked, toweling her face.

“Oh dear,” Walter quirked a brow.

“She’s in the bathtub, living it up.” Barbara sneered. “Imagine a baby with a super-soaker.” Water still dripped from her arms. “NotEnrique’s entertaining her for now. I had to change twice.”

The sound of a motorcycle entering the driveway caught their collective attention, and Barbara gave Walter a curious look.

“That’ll be Zoe,” Douxie explained as he headed for the door. The moment he opened it, the power went out, and with the sun setting, the house became shrouded with darkness.

“Fuzzbuckets,” the wizard moaned through the burbles and gurgles and wails.

(Zoe walks up, fascinated to know what the heck could be going on. There’s some light banter, then Douxie introduces them to Walter and Barbara, who are surrounded by babies.)

“Remember the Trollhunter?” Douxie gestured to the couple. “Well, these are his parents.”

Walter tensed, “Er, well, I’m not actually Jim’s--” his words trailed off when Barbara put an arm on his shoulder.

“It’s okay, honey.”

Looking between the two of them, Zoe cocked a brow. “Well, there’s a story." It was well known that changelings couldn’t reproduced and equally known that they didn’t pursue relationships with...well, anyone.

“One we don’t have time to unpack, I’m afraid.” Walter said, curling a wing into a makeshift hammock before adding three or four babies to it.

.......

(And that’s all I had! Obviously there would have been a resolution, and I remember planning to have Steve show up at some point, but I hope you enjoyed the concept! Forgive any typos. Will post more int he next couple of days)

#walter strickler #barbara lake #douxie casperan #zoe #notenrique #trollhunters #tales of arcadia #stricklake

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specsforwoo · 3 years

Text

Son of Morpheus | Demigod!Lee Jeno

Parent Deity: Morpheus (God of Dreams and Human Dreamers)

Allegiance: Hypnos

This boy loves to sleep

Like LOVES to sleep

He could be found sleeping anywhere

High key his mom found him sleeping on the kitchen floor one day

And ever since he was little

He was able to remember his dreams with intense detail

His family just thought it was a 4 year old’s imagination running wild

Until the night terrors started

He was tormented with them

They started around the time he was 7

They still happen today, just much less in frequency

But when he was younger

They were really bad

Like he would wake up screaming and crying

And it took ages for him to calm down

It got to the point that his mom was considering taking him to a child psychiatrist

He found a way to calm himself though

He began drawing out scenes from his dreams

No matter what they are

Light and airy or nightmarish

It helped him cope in a way

Life continued on

And he started opening up to his mom about his dreams

He talked about a young man with tan skin and dark curly hair

And wings of a white warblers

He told stories of epic battles

Of courtrooms filled with music and sleeping bodies

Of sleepless nights talking with a man sitting on the moon

Jeno couldn’t tell if he was scared of the man or not

As he entered middle school

He started being able to interpret his dreams

Other’s dreams too

He kept it a secret though

It terrified him

He learned to accept this too

As he did everything else

But then he learned he could predict others dreams

And it scared the shit out of him

He told his best friend, Jaemin first

Jaemin just gave him this knowing look and took him to his mom

His mom sat him down

And for the first time in his 14 years of life

His mother pulled out a photo of his father

And he was shocked

It was the curly haired man that he saw every night in his dreams

Sitting there next to his mother in a cafe in Greece

He was fucking confused

Like really fucking confused

Until it clicked

That was his dad

His dad had wings of a garbler

HIS DAD HAS WINGS OF A GARBLER

Am I going to grow wings too!?!?!?!?!?!?

No, you idiot. Jaemin

I’m not?

No, you have to earn them. Also Jaemin

So that night he was lying in bed

Questioning whether or not he wanted to fall asleep

Knowing he would have to confront his father there

But a cloud with a dreamcatcher with dew drops hanging from the strings shrouded with a calming silver light appeared above his head

And he fell asleep instantaneously

His father was sitting there

Talking with the man who embodied the moon

The man that he didn’t recognize made a comment and vanished after he caught sight of him

His father turned around. It was like he hadn’t aged a day since the photo see saw

Do you know who I am?

Uhhhhh. A dude with white warbler wings??? That haunts my dreams every night. Who also happens to be my father?

He didn’t mean to sound as sarcastic as it came out

Yes, that is all true, though I don’t ‘haunt’ you. But, do you know who I am?

He sat him down in the dark pavilion, explaining about the gods and goddess, the war and everything in between, even how he was born.

Do I like…. Have half-siblings??

No, but Jaemin is your cousin. His father smiled

After that, the dream faded off and he was peaceful for the rest of the night

Waking up, Jaemin was passed out on the couch in the living room

Picking up the nearest thing (a remote) he threw it at the boy on the couch, causing him to wake up

WHY IN OLYMPUS DID YOU NEVER TELL ME WE ARE TECHNICALLY COUSINS????

Not my place?

Anyways start packing, Mom said I can take you to camp with me this year :)

Yes, Jaemin calls Jeno’s mom his mom

And so he went to camp with Jaemin that year

It was nothing like what Jaemin described

It was WAY cooler

On the first day people were milling around everywhere

Jaemin led him over to a couple older kids with badges around their necks

Hey Jaemin!

Jaemin introduced them as Johnny and Ten, both sons of wind gods, both camp leaders who were helping all of the new kids get around and find their cabins

They’ll take care of you, I have to go find her.

Jaemin basically dumped Jeno on their shoulders so he could go find his girlfriend smh

Jaemin told us you were Morpheus’ kid, we were thinking about putting you in the Crios cabin? Does that sound okay? We would put you with Jaemin but he said you should get to know other campers your first year here. The shorter one spoke up

The taller one, Jaemin introduced him as Johnny, pulled out a gold coin, flicking it into the air while muttering something, and a wavering rainbow appeared in front of them

Put me through to Taeil and soon the rainbow was showing an older boy as well with a red undercut over some astrology papers

The rainbow??? Was facetime???

Ten obviously saw the shock on poor Jeno’s face, carefully explaining what an Iris message was and how to do it

After that he settled into demigod life pretty quickly

Jaemin introduced him to all of his friends, the Dream team, even some older campers who he was close with

He even liked the Crios cabin so much that he decided to stay there past the first year. The Morpheus cabin was lonely and Jaemin always had his girlfriend over trying to get her to sleep

The night terrors slowly subsided and soon his dreams were more peaceful than anything else

But one time he dreamt about a girl, right around his age, running into camp, a dark aura surrounding her but obvious scared

It wasn’t the dark aura that worried him, Kun and Jaehyun both had a dark aura, both sons of gods related to death

But her aura was different, it was mixed with madness, it was close to driving her insane

Even though it was only a dream, he couldn’t shake it off

He asked everyone that he knew, especially Jaemin, he found out a while ago that he was the one who founded the camp, what the aura could be and no one knew

He also started watching the border of camp everyday

Not stalking it or anything, just glancing over whenever he had a chance

A couple weeks past and Jeno was convinced that it was just a really weird dream

But then you actually showed up

Same way that it happened in the dream

You ran into the borders of camp like you were out of your mind, you were paranoid, no one could even touch you, not even Sicheng

When Jeno had heard what happened, he ran down to the pavilion

There you were, on the ground, covering your ears, eyes wide open, terrified to shut them, and shaking in fear

Once he had pushed his way through the crowd, he placed his hand over your eyes and shortly, you had fallen asleep

After that, Sicheng had moved you to the infirmary with Jeno’s and Johnny’s help

He found that you were severely dehydrated, and even he couldn’t describe the aura around you. It wasn’t that of Kun or Jaehyun’s but it was definitely similar

You were were in and out of consciousness for about 3 days and when everything finally settled down, a raven with a snake in its mouth appeared over your head

It was symbols that no one had seen or heard of, not even Jaemin or Taeyong

The boys spent the next couple of days researching who the symbols could belong to, and eventually they found it: Melinoe

Goddess of ghosts and spiritual passage who brought mortals nightmares that drove them insane

That would explain the way you were when you first came into camp

After that, Jeno stayed by your side every step of your recovery

He also helped you to manage the nightmares and control your powers

He had been there before, dreams were a tricky subject and nightmares made it even more complicated

But slowly you got the hang of it

And slowly Jeno started to have a crush on you, and slowly it turned into more

When he finally asked you out, you were ecstatic, it would be a lie to say that you hadn’t developed feelings for Jeno since coming to camp

And when camp closed for the summer- except for the few that stayed, he found out that you were attending the same university

He had been studying astrology while you were in the art department, soon, everyone in campus and camp knew who the two of you were

Y’all were inseparable

The Dreamies even accepted you into their group

(Jisung is your favorite don’t tell Jeno)

You eventually ended up moving in with Jaehyun

He had become like your older brother at camp

When Jeno wasn’t able to help you learn about your powers, Jaehyun was there to help

He even got his mom to visit personally and talk to you about your own mom and what he role was, and most importantly, that she wasn’t a bad person

Jaehyun knew the pain that you dealt with having a parent being a literal embodiment of death

And soon enough, it was even like Jeno had moved in with Jaehyun with how much he was at the apartment

Jaehyun was okay with it as long as he didn’t wake up in the middle of the night :)

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sergeantsporks · 3 years

Note

Hiya! If requests are open, could you write a fix-it-scene where if Jim never reset, the whole reason Douxie doesn't grieve over his loss in the movie is because there just wasn't any time / the shock of everything happening all at once. And maybe later, when it finally hits Douxie, he's with Zoe when he breaks down for some Zouxie comfort? :0

I'm always open for requests :D Your angsty wish is my angsty command >:)

Douxie watched through a haze of pain as Jim destroyed the time stone. Someone was supporting him-- someone big, but his vision was blurring, and he couldn't tell who. That fight had... really taken it out of him. The fall, especially.

"Douxie?" Claire asked. Her voice sounded like it was at the end of a tunnel.

He tried to respond, but the result was a slurred "I'm okay" that he wasn't sure she could understand.

And then the world blacked out.

He woke up in a hospital bed, stiff with bandages. Jim sniffed and tried for a smile. "H-Hey. Looks like I'm not the only one who can break ribs around here."

"Hngh--" Douxie started to sit up, but fell back down with a whump. "Ow."

"Yeah... my mom says you should take it easy for a few days. Couple broken ribs, a nasty concussion, and a whole lotta burns. Buuuuuut, someone came to sign for you, so you're good to go! Everyone else is still getting checked out-- you were the worst of it, besides--" He broke off, twisting his amulet in his hands.

"Who came to-?"

A pink blur flew towards him, shaking him by the shoulders. "OH MY MAGIC, DOUXIE, YOU ALMOST GOT YOURSELF KILLED!"

Jim grabbed her shoulder. "Whoa, there, treat him nicer, he just--"

"Fell off of a titan, I know. Broken ribs, concussion, blah, blah, blah, he's had worse before." Zoe nudged Douxie's shoulder. "C'mon, let's get you out of here, it's depressing."

Douxie hobbled after her. She slowed down so that he could keep up. "The doctors say rest for you! Also that I should keep you away from particularly bright lights. And you should drink lots of water. Anyway, let's go to a movie set in the middle of the desert, what do you think?"

"Very funny."

Zoe's hand slipped into his. "Seriously, are you gonna be okay?"

Douxie rolled his shoulders, wincing. "Yeah, I think so. I died that once, so this is a walk in the park, comparatively."

"Okay. Then let's go home."

Home. Something about the word felt... empty. Hollow. Missing.

"C'mon, let's take a shortcut!"

Zoe ducked into an alleyway, and Douxie started to follow. A missing cat poster was pinned on the wall, and the floodgate he hadn't known he was putting up broke, and all of the feelings he'd been pushing back for the battle rushed him all at once.

Archie was gone.

Nari was gone.

There was no home, there was no going back, because his home was gone, it was destroyed, and there was no fixing it!

"Douxie?"

Zoe's voice sounded far away, and the world turned blue. The posters on the wall started to burn, and Douxie felt tears running down his face.

He'd lost everything. And for what?

What good was saving the world if the ones he loved were no longer in it?

"Douxie!"

Zoe grabbed his hand, and he snapped out of his wizard aura, sinking back down to the ground. She caught him as his legs wobbled and gave out, lowering him to the ground.

"Archie..." he half-sobbed.

She pressed her forehead to his. "I know. I know, Douxie."

"Nari's gone!"

Zoe helped him to his feet. "Come on. Come with me."

She led him away from the city, out to the bluff that overlooked Arcadia Oaks, and then into the trees, all the way to the kissing tree.

He half-laughed, half-sniffed. "No offense, Zoe, but I'm not in the mood for kissing."

"Offense. Offense definitely taken." Zoe grabbed his hand and put his palm on the tree. "Nari... Nari helped build this world. She's still part of it. In the trees, the flowers. The thorns, the poison ivy, the beautiful hedges-- that's all her. You helped save the thing she loved, the thing she helped build. Nari's with you in the things she made. Her soul, her spirit lives on in them."

The wind whispered through the trees, and the fireflies lighting up the branches of the kissing tree looked almost like magic.

Like her magic.

Zoe took his hands. "She's still with you. So is Archie-- every monster you trap, every lesson you learn-- that's him, with you." She swung their hands gently side-to-side. "And... they weren't the end. You still have Claire. Steve. Jim." She gave his hands a squeeze. "And... you still have me."

He bent down and kissed the top of her head. "I do. I just..."

"Miss them," Zoe finished softly, "That's okay. That's normal. But... if you need to talk about it, if you need a shoulder to cry on... I can be that, okay? You don't have to go through it alone-- aren't you always saying stuff about relying on others and the power of friendship? Take your own advice. People will be there for you if you let them. You don't always have to be the protector-- let me protect you for a bit, okay?"

Douxie managed a grin at her. "Who are you, and what have you done with crabby Zoe?"

Zoe swatted him. "Hey! No using humor to deflect the situation!" She softened again, giving his hand another squeeze and brushing away a tear. "Promise me you won't try to carry this alone, Douxie."

Douxie leaned into her hand, tears still rolling down his face. "Promise."

Thanks, non :D

#toa #tales of arcadia #rott #zouxie #zoe #douxie #my writing #asks

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wickedw3asleys · 3 years

Text

MINEFIELDS - Pt.1

George Weasley x Reader

WARNINGS: mentions of death, trauma, mental instability, depression, ptsd... emotional scenes, basically almost angst but not too much...

AN: hello everyone! so i finally got the time to finish writing the first part of my second serie! (i know i haven't finished my Just Like Heaven one but i have adhd bare with me) and i'm pretty excited about this one since it's not going to be a specific genre like fluff or smut, it'll just be a mini fic, so i hope you'll like it!!🥰

☆:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::☆

The Battle of Hogwarts and Fred's premature death was a huge heartbreak for everybody. The ones you once were close to in school were now almost strangers to you. It was sad, pretty sad actually, but none of you got out the same from Hogwarts, and for you, you were still living the trauma and pain of fighting for your life and seeing your friends die, even 4 years later; never being able to fully heal.

You thought that forcing yourself to move on the second you got out of Scotland would help you, but in vain. It was hard for you to completely move on, and the only one that kept you company was Dean, your old Gryffindor friend, who happen to be now your long term boyfriend. He was the only one that was still there after all; not even Harry, Ron, Ginny or Neville bothered in keeping in touch... The only one that sent you a letter from time to time was Hermione. You found yourself writing to her as a sort of therapy, even though you did it once every three or four months. But she was there, somehow...

You learned from her the first year that her and Ron got in a relationship, finally after all these years of being chasing each other; Harry and Ginny were still together; even Luna was now in a happy and healthy relationship, but she couldn't keep you updated about the others.

The part that broke your heart the most was when she first mentioned Molly and Arthur in her letters; after the loss of their son they weren't the same, of course they were still the Weasleys you all once knew, but they were "empty", as Hermione described. Molly, still to this day, would put an extra plate at the family table, expecting to see Fred join them for dinner; and Arthur would spend more and more time in his office, trying to get his mind distracted.

And then George... For the first year he refused to look at himself in the mirror. He wouldn't sleep or eat properly. The day Fred died, a part of him died too, not as twins, but as individual too, and everybody saw it.

When Hermione told you about the hell George had had to go through during these 4 years, you couldn't help but hate yourself deeply for not being next to him and helping him going through that.

"Sometimes I find myself talking to Ronald and Ginny about him, we are all very concerned about him and his health, still to this day... After all, he did not only lost his twin that day... He also lost you..."

Fred, George and you were always together in your school days, since your first day at Hogwarts, even though they were a year older than you. You were always there for them and they were always there for you, always you three, through heaven and hell. You couldn't agree more with Hermione's words, and you hated yourself for that. You had been selfish, not being able to stand by George's side and not giving him any sign of life. At the time, you thought that it would be better for both of you to just disappear, but after all these years, you were completely regretting that decision.

"Sweetheart... Hermione wrote...", Dean says, entering your bedroom, handing you a folder piece of paper, "Are you okay?"

You were once again lost in your thoughts, always the same ones, but Dean always knew how to help you come back to reality. You appreciated that of him, never showing and ounce of pressure or frustration towards you, and you loved him. But you weren't sure if that was truly love or if you were just thankful for him being there... And it was a thought that was slowly killing you inside.

"Huh?", you shook your head, chasing all these intrusive thoughts from it, "Yeah, I'm okay... Let's see what she has to tell me today..."

Dean warmly smiled at you and placed a soft kiss on your forehead, "Okay, tell me if you need anything, alright?"

You nodded and opened the paper the moment he left the room.

"My dearest Y/N,

I hope you are doing well. Everything is great here, we are all doing good. Nothing much has changed, except for Harry and Ginny speaking of engagement... I was supposed to keep it secret because it is not entirely confirmed yet but I couldn't help myself from getting excited over it! A good new like this one is what we all need right now...

That is why I am writing to you, I was thinking about making a reunion... A family reunion... After all these years I think it is finally time to get together and talk around a good dinner... As we used to do... I think it would be great for everyone and Molly is already so excited to have you back home, she misses you so much, Y/N... We all mis you...

I hope I get your response soon...

Your dear friend,

Hermione."

You put the letter on your desk and sighed deeply. You knew one day you would have to go back to the Burrow and see everybody again, and you wanted too. You wanted to feel like home again, feel everybody's love and affection again. You truly had missed all that, but after second thoughts, you weren't sure it was a good idea...

Hermione said everybody was missing you, but was that true? Did they all want to see you? Or do they actually still hate you for leaving? You didn't want to face Ginny's, Harry's or Molly's gaze when you get there, you would be too ashamed of it...

"I think you should go...", Dean says after you explained the letter to him, "It's been 4 years, Y/N... You need to see them as much as they need to see you..."

"I know... But what if they hate me...", you say with a small voice.

"They don't hate you", your boyfriends take your hands in his, "I'm sure they've missed you. You practically lived there when we were in school... And you were always with Fred and George..."

The mention of Fred's name made your whole body shiver. It has been a long time since you've heard his name falling out of someone's mouth, and you could feel your heart drop at the sound of it.

"I miss them... So much...", you start tearing.

"I know, sweetheart, I know...", Dean pulls you in a tight hug, never letting you down and holding onto you for dear life.

"You really think I should go?", you ask a few minutes later.

"I do... I don't like the idea of leaving you alone but I think it would be better if you went by yourself... Next time I'll go with you"

"Are you sure?"

"Completely...", he smiled.

The days that followed Hermione's letter, you had sent your positive response to her and started packing your things for the few days you were going to spend at the Burrow. Hermione had told you that the only one aware of your visit was Molly of course, but it would be a total surprise for the rest, that information only making you more nervous.

The D-day came up more quick than you've had thought, but there you were, now standing in the middle of your living room, saying your goodbyes to Dean, surrounded by your bags.

"Good luck... Everything is going to be okay...", he says, leaving the last small peck on your lips.

You warmly smiled to him and in a second, you apparated on the field in front of the Burrow.

You could feel your eyes already water at the sight of it. It was like nothing had changed, and even after all the thing that house had been through, it looked the same as it did the first time you stayed there.

The smell of rain and wet grass filling your nostrils and the sound of the wind and early birds only made you more nostalgic. Damn you had missed this place. It was home, you were home.

After a moment trying to compose yourself, you took your bags and went straight to the building.

When you got to the front door, you realized that you didn't know what to do; should you knock? Should you just enter the house? Thinking that the second option would be the less appropriate, you decided to just knock, already nervous about who you'd get opening the door.

You waited a few seconds before hearing an echo of someone running though the house, followed by voices and sounds of plates.

"Harry, dear, can you please-

"Hello, Molly...", you smiled to the woman in front of you, "it's been a while..."

She was in complete shock. Her mouth completely open and strangely looking like she was about to pass out.

"Oh Merlin...", she breathes out, "Y/N... It's really you..."

You could see tears starting to form in her eyes, and you felt too weak to stop yours from falling. She opened her arms to you and you didn't hesitate to hug her, instantly starting to sob.

"Let me look at you... Oh my Lord...", she took your face in her hands, rubbing her thumbs on your cheeks, collecting your tears, "You're a grown woman now... I can't believe it... Arthur! Arthur, come here!"

She embraced you again in the warmest motherly hug you've ever received, which only made you sob more.

"What's wrong, mom?", Ron arrived at the door, followed by his sister, Hermione and Arthur, "Who's-

You slowly lift up you head from Molly's shoulder and faced everyone.

"Y/N... You came...", Hermione says, shocked.

"Of course I came..."

Everybody was speechless, not knowing if you were actually real or just a pure product of their imagination. Ginny instantly got towards you, embracing you as warmly as her mother.

"Merlin... How are you?", she asks.

"I'm fine... I'm sorry... I-

"You have nothing to be sorry for, darling...", Mr. Weasley was now the one to hug you.

When he let you go, you looked at the other three people; you couldn't really describe the looks on Harry and Ron's faces, they were visibly shocked, but you couldn't see if they were happy or mad to see you...

"Ronald...", you started to make your way towards him, but quickly, he took a few steps back, "I need to go...", he says, before leaving the room.

You knew it was a fair reaction, he had all the rights to hate you and be upset.

"I'm so sorry...", you sob, "I'm so so sorry..."

Harry put his hand on your shoulder and also embraced you in a warm hug.

You didn't expect the reunion to be this full of emotions, and it wasn't even breakfast's time yet...

Hermione and Ginny helped you with your bags, leading you to Charlie's empty room, the one you always used to stay in whenever you stayed with the Weasleys.

"It hasn't changed a bit...", you say, admiring the house as it was the first time you saw it.

The two girls entered the room and sat on the bed with you, only to stay there in silence hugging you for a moment. As you couldn't believe to actually be there, they couldn't believe it either.

You made a brief resume of what had happened in your life during these 4 years; why you had left, where you were living now, your life with Dean...

"Dean?", Ginny smiled, "Wow... I wasn't expecting that one..."

"Yeah... I hope it's okay though...", you say, embarrassed.

"Don't worry, it's completely fine... Besides...", she stops to lift her hand and wiggle her ring finger, now occupied with a big gemstone.

"Godric! You're joking!", you take her hand, "I mean... Hermione told me about something like this in the letter, but I didn't know it was confirmed!"

"Hermione!", Ginny scolds her.

"Sorry! You know I'm very bad at keeping secrets! I was so excited for you!"

The three of you kept laughing and talking about everything, making you forget about the moment you had been apprehending for the past few days: your first meeting with George.

"Breakfast's ready!", you hear Molly's voice echo through the house, making memories come back to you.

You slowly made your way down the stairs with the girls and when you got to the kitchen, you felt you whole body freeze.

You were feeling like you were about to pass out, but at the same time, you couldn't find yourself making any type of move, you weren't sure if you were still breathing. You felt the weight of the world on your shoulder when you saw the man you had shared so many moments with, and when he turned to face you, you saw his brother.

His body immediately copied yours, not being able to move or say anything, and for a good minute, George and you stood still, staring at each other; and as if you had read each other's mind at the same time, you ran towards each other and crashed in your arms, sobbing like babies. You felt his legs start to lose strength, and you not being able to help him stand, you both let your bodies fall to the ground, still hugging and holding on each other for dear life.

Neither of you had said anything yet, you were both too busy shaking and sobbing to say anything anyways.

The other people in the kitchen didn't say anything either, they just stood there, looking at George and you, knowing that it would be better to not interrupt you and just leave you let your emotions out.

George was obviously was more affected than you were, and you could feel his body tremble with every breath he tried to take.

"I m-missed you... so much...", he managed to say between sobs.

"I missed you too, Georgie...", you keep crying with him.

"W-why... did you... left me..."

"I know... I know... I shouldn't have... I'm so sorry...", you sobbed harder. How could you have done that to him? How could you have left him alone? After everything...

"I'm so sorry, Georgie... So sorry... I missed you so much..."

"Please, tell me you're staying...", he looked at you in the eyes. You could feel his sincerity emane from his body, and you knew he needed you. He needed you as much as you needed him.

"I am staying...", you managed to smile between your tears. George hugged you even tighter than before, crushing your body with his but you didn't care. You'd let him break your whole body if he needed to.

"Georgie... Honey...", you felt Molly's soft presence helping you get up and guiding the both of you to the table. When you sat down, you see that everybody was deeply affected by the scene that just happened; Molly still having tears running down her cheeks and Hermione and Ginny holding onto each other. Even Harry and Ron were on the verge of crying.

You sat down on your chair, George's eyes still on you and your hand in his.

"George, darling..."

You quickly turned your head to the voice behind you.

"Angie...", George got up, almost stumbling on his own feet.

"What is she doing here?", she asks, earning confused looks from everybody.

By the look she had on her face, you knew she wasn't happy to see you. She looked at you with disgust and anger, which was completely fair...

"How dare you?! You filthy little-

"Angie, it's okay... Please, calm down..."

"Calm down?! Look at you! Only her can make you feel that way again!"

"Angelina... I promise I came here to start things over... And do things correctly this time...", you say, tears forming again in your eyes.

"You have NO RIGHTS to be here! After all the damage you caused this family! NO RIGHTS!", she yelled, her eyes almost popping out of her head.

You looked at the people around the table, no one saying anything. Not even Molly was able to form coherent words, she was just there, heavily breathing.

"I'm going to go...", you slowly stand up from your seat, not wanting to make everyone more upset than they already were, "Angelina, I'm sorry..."

She glanced at you in anger, "you shouldn't be here", she spat.

"Y/N, don't leave, please...", George pleaded, eyes red and swollen.

"I'm just going out, I'll be okay, don't worry...", you caressed his arm trying to comfort him, and you could feel Angelina tensing her body at that action, eyes full of fire.

"I'm sorry...", you say before closing the door behind you.

#fred weasley #george weasley #harry potter #hogwarts #weasley twins #fred weasley x reader #george weasley smut #weasley twins x reader #fred weasley smut #george weasley x reader #george weasley fluff #george weasley fic #weasley twins fic #harry potter fic

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ahopelessromantic · 4 years

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I’m yours, you’re mine ➳ S. Reid

Pairing: Spencer x reader

Word count: 3,2k

Prompts: 10, “I’m pregnant; 16, “Marry me.”; 30, “You want a family with me?”

Warnings: slight angst, pregnancy, Spencer is a whole baby and a half

You’re ready to take the next step in your relationship. The question is: Is Spencer?

(I loved writing this so much and could maybe even imagine writing a part two, tell me if that’s something you’d like!)

“Good morning, everyone.” Hotch’s greeting for the morning only came through to you as a faint echo. He was giving out the details of you team’s newest case as clear as always, but to you it sounded like his voice came from a distance. Instead of paying attention to him all you could to was to stare straight ahead, trying to force down the wave of nausea threatening to overcome you. Why was everything spinning? For a moment you thought you had gotten it under control.But then a waft of Emily’s morning coffee hit your nose and you felt your stomach turn. “(Y/N), can you work the victimology?” Of course, just in that moment you were addressed. “Sure- “ You started to answer before you felt your breakfast rise into your throat. “Coming up right after I’ve coughed up my lungs.”, was the only thing you managed to yelp out before you sprinted to the nearest toilet.

The cold bathroom tiles beneath your knees almost felt like a sweet relief while your stomach painfully clenched around itself. Once there was nothing left to throw up anymore you leaned against the wall of the bathroom stall, trying to calm down your breathing. Somehow, you felt even worse than you normally felt after throwing up. You heard someone enter the toilets and then a knock sounded against your door. “Honey, are you okay?” It was JJ, and not bothering to get up you just unlocked the door for her to get in. You nodded at her, wiping away the tears on your face. She looked at you worriedly. “Did you eat something wrong? I know Garcia’s sushi orders can be weird.” You chuckled but shook your head. “Nah, I’ve been feeling off for weeks. This was the first time I had to throw up though.” JJ kneeled down across from you, closing the door behind her. She held out a paper towel to you which you gratefully took, not missing the weird look she was giving you. “You know...” She started to speak, unsure of how to bring her words across without upsetting you. “When I was pregnant with Henry, I felt awful for weeks before I realised what was going on. I constantly felt dizzy, and the worst was looking at all the crime scene photos every day.” You felt your eyes widen with every word she spoke. Normally, you only felt this weird around the time of your period, but now thinking back you realised that you hadn’t bled in some time. A pregnancy definitely made more sense to you now than a very resilient stomach bug. “Hey, (Y/N), don’t pass out on me now!”JJ warned, shaking you out of your trance. >You had probably only gotten paler the more the realisation had sunken in. “Jayje, shit, I think you might be right.” She sent you a gentle smile and squeezed your shoulder. “Should I go get you a test?” You felt tears well up in your eyes at her kindness. “Thank you, but no. I think I’ll actually head home and do it there. I just need some time to… I don’t know, mentally prepare for whatever the result will be.”

Once your legs felt stable enough to walk again you went up to Hotch’s office to ask for the day off, which he thankfully allowed. You really needed to lie down and sleep for a few years. On your way out of the office Spencer stopped you in your tracks, the worried look on his pretty face even worse than everyone else’s. Pulling you close, he held the back of his hand to your forehead. “You’ve got a fever. Come on, I’ll drive you home.” You took his hand from your forehead, pressing a kiss against it. “I’m fine Spence. Go back to work.” But he just shook his head and went ahead to the elevator. “No discussion. I’m not letting you drive like this.” A soft smile on your face you followed him, forever grateful to have him. “Take a nap, and maybe eat something. Okay?” He told you after dropping you off at your shared apartment. You nodded. “I’ll try.” He sent you one last worried look, as if he was trying to assess whether or not he could actually leave you home alone in this state. Finally, he just nodded to himself. “Alright. Call me if you need something.” Spencer pressed a kiss to your forehead. “I love you.” He murmured and left through the door; gaze trained on you on his whole way out. You mouthed the words back to him, only able to fully relax once he was gone. You needed a plan, some tea and, well, a pregnancy test.

After a quick trip to the pharmacy down the street you sat down with a cup of your favourite tea, caught in a very intense staring battle with the pregnancy test’s cardboard box. You for yourself knew that one day, at some point in your life, you wanted to have kids.And considering the fact that you hoped to spend the rest of our life with Spencer by your side, him being the father of your children would probably only be practical. So far you had just never brought it up with him, somehow sure it was going to be a sensible topic for him.

But sitting there now, the test in front of you, made you wish you had brought it up at some point. What if he absolutely didn’t want kids of his own and you were actually pregnant? Would he break up with you? Oh god, he was going to break up with you. Now more than ever needing certainty you got up, grabbed the test and disappeared into the bathroom. The time you had to wait for the results only passed excruciatingly slow, and by the time your phone’s timer went off you had already chewed off half your nails. With a mixture of fear and excitement you looked at the little screen. A little happy emoticon smiled back at you, taking your breath away. You were pregnant. “Holy shit.” You gasped out, sinking down on the rim of your bathtub. “I’m going to be a mom.”

“(Y/N)?” Spencer called out through the apartment later that day, closing the front door behind him. “Bedroom!” You told him, feeling your hands starting to tremble once again. “Hey.” Your boyfriend smiled, peeking his head through the door. The sight of his smile somewhat calmed your nerves. “How are you doing?” He asked calmly after sitting down by your side on the bed.

You straightened up to lean against him, burying your face in his neck. “Better.” You mumbled against his warm skin, taking in his scent of cologne and books. “Still feel dizzy though.” He pushed your hair out of your face, looking down on you softly. “Do you want to eat something? I bought soup.” A large smile grew on your face. If he wanted the baby he was going to be an amazing father. But you needed some more time with your Spencer, before you took the risk of losing him over something serious like this. “I’d love some soup.” You smiled. “Can you go ahead and heat it up for me? I want to get changed before I eat.” Without a word of protest, he left for the kitchen, giving you a moment to collect your thoughts. Then you got up, got changed, and made sure the test was hidden somewhere he would never look.

During the next two weeks the nausea finally began to ease up on you, and a visit to the doctor’s office had only confirmed what the pregnancy test had told you: You were about nine weeks pregnant with a healthy baby, whose heartbeat you had even already been able to hear. Oddly, since hearing your little bean’s heartbeat, you felt a lot more certain and happy about the situation you were in. Of course, you still had to somehow tell Spencer, and you more than anything in the world hoped that he was going to be on board with it. But you were going to be a mom with or without him. You had talked to Hotch and asked him to put you on desk duty for the time being, not exactly telling him what was going on. He had just been too happy to have someone do the paperwork to question your motives. But Spencer, who knew how much you loved being out in the field, was starting to notice the changes in your behaviour. You had managed to act like everything was fine for a while, but even though your boyfriend was sometimes clueless he was still a genius.

“(Y/N), honey, can we… talk?” He hesitantly asked you at work in your tenth week of pregnancy. He had pulled you aside into a storage room for files, hoping to get a moment alone with you. You sent him a nervous smile. “Sure, uh, what’s up?” He sighed. “You know what’s up, (Y/N). The problem is that I don’t, and it’s starting to drive me insane. Are you going to break up with me?” You had been so caught up in your own head the past weeks that you hadn’t paid enough attention to your boyfriend, and it was only now that you realised how tired and frightened he looked. You were both idiots, so afraid of losing each other that you would even avoid resolving everything because it meant having to talk it out. A heavy sigh escaped your lips. “You might want to sit down.” You spoke softly, gesturing to the deserted old desk in the middle of the room. Spencer looked at you, shadows darkening his face, but still sat down. “What’s going on, (Y/N)? Are you…” His eyes widened. “Are you sick?” You slowly shook your head. “No, not exactly. Spence, I need you to know that I love you, okay? I love you more than anything in the world, and I just really didn’t know how to tell you.” He looked at you, wide hazel eyes trained on you, head moving in a barely visible nod. You took a deep breath, trying to calm your erratic heartbeat. “I’m pregnant.” You finally spoke, voice wavering. Spencer completely froze up. For a whole moment he didn’t move, scaring you that he might pass out. But then he cleared his throat, lowering his gaze to the floor. “I understand.” He mumbled. You frowned in confusion. “What?” “You don’t want to keep it. I understand that.” Shocked, you stepped closer to where he was sitting on the table. “What? No, honey! I want to have this baby.” His eyes bolted up to look at you. You could see the gears in his head turning, his big brain trying to make sense of the situation. “But... I’m an ex junkie. Schizophrenia runs in my family. My own dad abandoned me; I have no idea how to be a father. I’m the last person who should have a child.” You felt tears well up in your eyes at his words. Did he really feel that way about himself? You knew he doubted himself on the regular, you had made it your job to build him back up whenever the doubts kicked in, but this was a whole new level of self-depreciation. Didn’t he know that he was just as deserving of happiness as everyone else? “Spencer.” You uttered, cupping his face in your hands. “The risk of our baby becoming schizophrenic is less than ten percent. That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” He looked up to you from his seat, a desperate look in his hazel eyes. “But (Y/N)-“ He tried to plead but you interrupted him. “My love. You are the only person I could see myself doing this with. You’re compassionate, kind, intelligent, and no one knows me the way you do. I’ve seen you with kids, they love you. You understand them. If anyone should get to be a father, it’s you. And I want this, us. I want us to take this step.” He looked up at you in wonder, his eyes glistening suspiciously. “You want a family with me?” You laughed, finally allowing your tears to fall. “Yes.” You hushed, pressing your lips to his. “I want you, I want us, and I want this baby.” He stood up, engulfing you in the warmest hug. You could hear him sniffling but decided to give him this. He needed to cry without being seen for a moment. “I love you.” He finally choked out after pulling away to look at you, placing a hand on your stomach. You knew then that his words weren’t only for you anymore.

The two of you waited until the three-month mark to tell the rest of the team. You assembled all of them in the bullpen after a long day of work and told them as straightforward as possible, both nervously standing next to each other. All of them erupted into laughter and happy words of congratulation and you could swear you had even seen Garcia shed a tear or two. Another baby in the BAU. Amidst the chaos of everyone smothering you in hugs, you didn’t see Spencer pull Morgan aside, the two of them in a short, quiet conversation until Derek clapped your boyfriend on the shoulder with a bright grin. Even Hotch had hugged you, jokingly telling you that the paperwork was yours for the next few months. Your team’s reaction to the news only made you look forward to the changes to come even more, and you couldn’t be happier. Little baby Reid was going to be so loved.

“Are you up for a mini road trip?” Spencer asked you after leaving your office building, getting into the drivers’ seat of his car. Still feeling so overwhelmed with happiness you just nodded. In that moment you would have said yes to basically anything. You were so giddy that you didn’t even notice how quiet your boyfriend had gone, usually he would be just about talking your ear off right now. The radio filled the comfortable silence between the two of you in the car, and you made yourself comfortable. You could tell you were driving to downtown DC, a route you had known by heart ever since working in Quantico.

Less than an hour later Spencer stopped the car right outside the Smithsonian Museum, one of your favourite places to go together. “Shouldn’t they be closed by now?” Instead of answering, Spencer just winked at you and got out of the car to open the door for you. Hand in hand you climbed the stairs to the entrance, where a guard was waiting for you. “Doctor Reid.”, he nodded at your boyfriend, stepping aside to let you in. You looked at him in wonder. “Spence, what are you planning?” He smiled at you. “I called in some favours.” In just that moment the two of you entered the massive rotunda, the beauty of it stealing your breath away. You had been here what felt like a hundred times, but never like this. There was no one around but you two, and the low lighting gave the whole room a magical feeling. “Wow.” You whispered, trying to look at everything at once. Spencer just looked at you. “Just how many favours did you have to call in for this?” He smiled shyly. “Not as many as you might think, actually. I helped some people here with their dissertations.” “Of course you did.”, you giggled, stepping close to him. “What did I do to deserve this?” You asked, trying to remember if you had forgotten about an anniversary or something. “Can’t I just do something nice for the woman I love?” He asked, stealing a kiss from your lips. He always got way more confident when there weren’t any people around. You just deadpanned at him. “Honey, everything you do has a purpose. You once scolded me for baking a cake because ‘it was no one’s birthday.’” It looked like you had caught him there, taking in the way he started playing with his hands. “Do you want to…sit down?” He asked, pointing at one of the museum’s benches. You nodded, following him suit. “You know, I never thought I would have this one day.” Spencer spoke up after a few moments of silence. Even his quiet words echoed through the empty marble-clad hall and gave them a whole different weight. “Have what?” You asked him and encouraged him with a squeeze of his hand. “A girlfriend, a baby on the way. My own family.” You chuckled. “Me neither. I never thought I would ever meet someone like you. You felt Spencer move, and suddenly he was kneeling in front of you. You were sure your heart stopped beating for a moment. “I love you, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), more than I ever thought myself capable of.” He seemed awfully serious for a moment, but then he started searching for something in the pocket of his jacket and back was the Spencer you knew. “This was way smoother in my head.” He muttered before he finally found what he had been looking for with a quiet “ha!”. It was a black velvet box. With trembling fingers he opened it, revealing the most beautiful diamond ring you had ever seen to you. “Marry me?” He asked, a pleading look on his face. “No matter what happens, we will always be a family. And I want to make that official, for everyone to see. I want you to be mine in life and on paper, (Y/N). Marry me.” You bit your lip, unable to speak for a moment. Afraid your voice might fail you you just nodded heavily, tears already streaming down your face. You leaned down to capture his lips in a passionate kiss, hoping he would understand that as a yes. Still, just to be sure, you whispered “yes” again and again after pulling away from him, tracing his whole face with your fingers. You wanted to forever be able to remember the way he looked in that moment, the museum’s low lights reflected in his eyes, the happiness on his face. He leaned up from where he was kneeling in front of you to kiss you again, the both of you full on crying now. “I love you.” You both whispered at almost the same time. It took you a few minutes to calm down, your full attention on nothing but each other. “Morgan helped me choose the ring. I hope you like it.” He spoke up after a while. Oh, right. The ring. You looked at it glistening on your ring finger, fascinated by the diamond’s thousand facets. Just as many as you boyfriend, no, fiancé, had. “I love it, Spencer. But I love you more.” You ended up spending half the night in the museum, the beautiful building now forever having taken on a whole new meaning for the two of you. Spencer was yours and you were his, and soon you would have a little proof of your love running around. You couldn’t wait to go on this journey with him.

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid #spencer x reader #Matthew gray gubler #Matthew gray gubler x reader #romantic #prompts #requested #BAU #BAU Team #BAU x Reader

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kali-writes-meta · 3 years

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Yang's Gaze

"Fault" was intense. We had characters under extreme pressure reacting in entirely understandable but sometimes less than flattering ways. With all the onscreen histrionics it surprised me that one of the episode's quieter moments generated the most venom from some fans. After an exhausting, life-threatening, and dispiriting ordeal, during an ensuing moment of quiet Yang thinks about her partner. Fandom explodes. Yang is denounced as a bad person for thinking of her partner Blake whom she usually does life-threatening activities with and not her sister Ruby, whom Yang knows has Weiss, her partner in life-threatening activities, by her side. It's a weird accusation.

Before we dive into the subtleties of Yang's character, let's talk about the bull elephant in the room. In a moment of relative calm and safety Yang worries about the opinion of a teammate who isn't present. Right before that, in the middle of a life-threatening situation, Ren blows up and personally insults both Yang's sister and the teammates he's with. Fandom condemns Yang for her callousness and either ignores Ren's outburst or praises him for it, even though his much harsher actions directly imperil their lives by threatening to draw Grimm. This dichotomy of opinion reflects a reprehensible tendency to magnify the flaws of female protagonists while ignoring the flaws of male protagonists. Both actions are in accordance with character arcs that these individual characters have been on since the first Volume. I will post about Ren later, now it's time to speak about Yang.

After a bruising experience losing Oscar to Salem, their bikes to the battle, and Ren's shit to Ren's rapidly failing coping mechanisms, during a moment of quiet while repairing their remaining bike Yang apologizes to Jaune for Ren's outburst which insulted Jaune among other things. Jaune says it's okay, he forgave himself for his rash act a while back. At the mention of forgiveness Yang falters in her repairs.

"Do you think she thinks less of me -- for not helping out with Amity?"

"Ruby is your sister. She's always going to love you, even if you disagree with each other."

"Ruby -- yeah."

There are those who say that this exchange shows that Yang has forgotten her sister. (It's funny how no one complained about her not thinking about her sister before now when she was busy thinking about her male teammates.) This interpretation completely ignores Yang's preceding scene where she vigorously defended Ruby's actions to Ren, in spite of having questioned those actions herself. Yang is no doubt justifiably tired of thinking about her sister and ready to think of someone else. Besides, Yang has known Ruby all her life. Their current disagreement offers her no reason to doubt Ruby's love. But her bond with her partner is more recent, and has already suffered one setback. It's Blake's regard Yang worries about, not Ruby's love.

Note what she says. "(Does) she THINK less of me...." Yang isn't worried about Blake's safety. She's worried about Blake's opinion. Yang is reasonably confident in her teammates' ability to handle themselves in a fight. After living with Ruby all her life she no doubt has had arguments with her sister before and knows what Ruby will and won't take personally. But she's never had an argument with her partner before. She doesn't know if Blake will take an important difference of opinion personally or not.

Should she be worried about Ruby's safety? Maybe, but worrying a lot about people isn't Yang's style. It takes an awful lot to pull her attention away from the present moment (something like the soul-crushing trauma of an absent mother, one of the greatest emotional pains a young girl can experience). That's valid. People are different, and the ability to focus on the present is incredibly useful on a mission. Yang only indulges in worry in a quiet moment of relative safety. The ones who are most likely to worry about people are Ruby and Jaune. That's part of the reason why they're the leaders.

That brings us to the key question many viewers had, WHY does Yang think of Blake and not Ruby? And is this tendency to think of Blake instead of Ruby anything new? To start with the latter question, no, it's nothing new. From early on Yang's gaze has turned to either Ruby or Blake depending on distinct differences in Yang's mood.

Yang looks to Ruby when Yang feels strong, such as arriving at Beacon in Volume 1 or after recovering from her injury in Volume 4. But as of Volume 3 whenever Yang feels weak and vulnerable, such as after her injury, she looks to Blake.

But why? Remember Yang's childhood. Yang spent it bringing up Ruby, being Ruby's "little Mommy" because there was no one else to do the job. Yang doesn't think she can be vulnerable around Ruby. As Ruby's "little Mommy" Yang always had to project strength for Ruby, even when she didn't feel strong, and this -- performance -- came at a price. As she told Weiss, in "Alone Together"

Yang: I'm sorry, I just... I don't think you know what it's like to be left. You have a giant family, recitals to perform at, dinners to attend. I didn't have any of that. My mom left me. Ruby's mom left too. Tai was always busy with school and Ruby couldn't even talk yet. I had to pick up the pieces. I had to keep things together. Alone.

Yang has to be strong for her little sister. She can't be weak around Ruby. She can be proud around Ruby. Confident. Stalwart. Even silly. But not vulnerable.

And as Yang told Weiss, she desperately needs someone she can be vulnerable around.

Yang: How could I be there for her if she doesn't let me? What if I needed her here for me?

That she's thinking of Blake at this moment isn't a sign that she's callous. It's a sign that she's scared. Not just scared for Ruby or Oscar or anyone else. She's scared for herself.

And that's an entirely appropriate emotion to feel under the circumstances.

#rwby #yang xiao long

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makeste · 4 years

Note

Are there any headcanons that you would like to share? About anything you want.

anon in the absence of specific guidelines I have managed to make this post pretty much entirely about Bakugou. I apologize if you really wanted to know all of my headcanons about Kouda or something lol. but all joking aside he really is the character I think about the most and so probably like 80% of my headcanons are about him, including close to 100% of the headcanons I actually have a solid enough grip on to put into words. anyway here goes.

he does not know how to tie a tie. he was a rowdy little free range knee-scraping grass-staining run-don’t-walk child whose parents only ever managed to wrestle him into formal attire a handful of times for special occasions when he was younger, and then he went to a middle school that used gakuran-style uniforms so he never learned then, either. his dad offered to teach him when U.A. rolled around, but he was all, “fuck off dad, I know how to tie a stupid tie,” because by that time he had grown into a cocky little brat confident in his own skill and naive as to the reality checks of the world, and he genuinely believed with the conviction that only a fifteen-year-old can muster that when the time came he would just magically know how to do it. on the first day of school he got as far as draping the loose tie over his neck and holding one end in each hand before staring at the mirror and abruptly realizing the hole he’d dug himself into. and so rather than admit defeat, he just straight up decided not to wear it. which became a permanent life choice once he got to school and saw how badly Deku’s tie was tied and realized there was no way he could ever risk that kind of humiliation.

in a similar vein, I know there’s a popular fanon that because of his parents’ influence Katsuki has a good sense of fashion, but my own personal headcanon is that this could not be further from the truth lol. it’s not that he has a terrible sense of style, mind you; it’s just that he doesn’t care about it at all. he’s a nerdy jock who spends all his free time studying and lifting weights. this kid literally only wears one color, and that color just so happens to be the easiest possible color to coordinate. he owns like three pairs of shoes max. he wears his pants three sizes up and they drag so much that the hems are all frayed from him constantly stepping on them (literally canon, and one of my favorite details from chapter 218). he just doesn’t give a fuck, so long as the clothes are comfortable and don’t look stupid. he has about a million things he’s more concerned about than what he or anyone else is wearing. in fact I’m 90% sure that his mom still buys most of his clothes, and about 70% convinced he does not even know what size he is.

he’s good at household chores (because he’s good at everything), but hates doing them. aside from cooking, which he enjoys, he will bitch and whine nonstop if forced to do tedious-yet-necessary things like washing dishes and folding laundry. that said, he is a perfectionist, and he also has a lot of experience because his mom made him do chores all the time during the seven trillion times he was grounded while growing up (that’s his estimate, btw, so it may be slightly exaggerated. he was not an easy kid to raise. when your kid’s fuse is about a millimeter long and he has a tendency to literally blow up whenever he throws a fit, you end up with a lot of objects in your house that have been replaced at some point), so if you do actually manage to get him to do the chore, rest assured that chore is getting fucking DONE.

when he was very little he watched an Avengers Endgame-style All Might film where a bunch of bad guys attacked earth and various assorted heroes tried and failed to stop them. then at the climax of the film, All Might showed up and said “I am here”, and everyone got super pumped up and excited because they knew the heroes were going to win with All Might on their side. this scene remains Katsuki’s favorite scene in anything. not the fight -- just the moment where All Might shows up and grins and the audience knows right there and then that he’s going to win. this is the feeling that inspired his dream. he wants to be the one who shows up and everyone is like, “we’re good now; Katsuki is here.”

when he was six or seven he got into a big fight with an older boy over that scene because he said it was fake and that there was no way All Might could have beaten those guys in real life. Katsuki insisted he definitely would have because All Might never loses. the other boy replied that everyone loses sometimes. Katsuki kicked his ass and got suspended for a week.

ten years later, Katsuki watched All Might battle All for One at Kamino and realized two things. one, that the other boy was right and that anyone can lose. and two, that he, the one who had so proudly defended All Might back then, was going to end up being the reason why he finally lost.

for a long time afterwards, he couldn’t bring himself to watch that movie again.

when he and Izuku were three years old their moms sent them out on a first errand (google Hajimete no Otsukai if you’re unfamiliar with this tradition, I promise you it is the cutest fucking thing you’ll ever see) to buy ingredients for katsudon. Izuku was full of bouncy childish enthusiasm and could rattle off the full shopping list of ingredients front to back, but when the moment finally came his confidence wilted as soon as their parents were out of sight. Katsuki also had a moment of panic when they first rounded the corner and he couldn’t see his house anymore, but rallied once Izuku burst into tears and he realized that he had to be the one to take charge. he proceeded to morph into an absurdly over-the-top caricature of his own mother for the duration of the errand, to the point where in addition to telling Izuku to stop crying he also ordered him to stand up straight and tuck in his shirt. the two of them went on to complete the errand flawlessly and their moms were PROUD AS FUCK and took a billion pictures. Izuku and Katsuki have only a few scattered memories of this milestone in the present day but it’s enough to send both of them absolutely reeling with embarrassment whenever they’re reminded of it.

he and his mom don’t often get along but sometimes they’ll bond over roasting a mutual target. they have watched many a trashy reality TV show together for this purpose. Masaru lives for these moments but never comments on them lest he spoil the rare moments of peace.

Katsuki is perfectly capable of using keigo (i.e. normal polite Japanese with no rude language/cursing), otherwise he would not be one of the top students in his ivy-league high school. code-switching is a thing guys! anyways his teachers are aware of this, because all of his essays and homework assignments are written normally. he merely chooses to go about his daily business acting like a wannabe yakuza stereotype because that’s just his personality, and he’s not about to start censoring himself and acting like some weird little goody two shoes robot person just to please people he mostly doesn’t give two shits about. but if you put a gun to his head and told him you’d pull the trigger if he said “fuck”, he would probably be all right; he’d just have to concentrate.

when he was little he went through a phase of collecting cicada shells and leaving them EVERYWHERE -- in the bathroom sink, on his mom’s pillow, you name it. Mitsuki often tells people this is when she started getting gray hairs. one time she opened a box of cereal and there was one in there and a little bit of her soul died that day.

he generally doesn’t care who calls him Kacchan. it doesn’t particularly bother him and it never occurred to him to pretend like it did just for appearance’s sake. also secretly for some reason the thought of Deku ever calling him anything else really bothers him. he’s not sure what it would mean if that ever happened, or what he would do.

all of his workouts are designed to strengthen his arms and back and shoulders because those are the parts of his body that take the most abuse from his quirk. other than that he avoids building up excess muscle anywhere else because the more weight he puts on the harder it is to fly around. for this reason he is never going to end up being a big bulky guy like All Might. one day Deku is going to surpass him in muscle, but he doesn’t care because he’ll still be a match for him in firepower and speed.

he’s one of those kids who will not so much as take a sip of alcohol until he’s twenty-five. partly because he’s experienced enough concussions that he doesn’t particularly want to give hangovers a try, and partly because he’s a control freak and honestly afraid of getting drunk and making an idiot of himself somehow. the rowdier members of class A try virtually every trick in their wheelhouse and then some to try and persuade him over the years, but not even the reverse psychology “aw, don’t worry, it’s okay if you’re... scared :)” thing works, because that’s only actually effective when he secretly wants to do the thing.

then one day he just wakes up and is all “you know what, I’m gonna try it”, and for the next few days his google history is basically just “how many drinks does it take to get drunk” and “how to avoid getting drunk” and “how to prevent hangovers.” somehow word gets out through the grapevine (he probably told Todoroki, who is the one person in class A you’d think wouldn’t be a big ol’ gossip but in fact IS) that Bakugou is finally going to get his drink on that weekend, and pretty much EVERYONE shows up at the izakaya that Friday night excited as FUCK.

Katsuki proceeds to drink a grand total of two beers over the span of several hours, and drinks like five glasses of water in between, and literally nothing happens to him at all except that Kaminari almost fights him out of frustration. the rest of class A never fully gets over their disappointment.

he actually knows like 90% of class 1-A’s names by this point. there are still a few people he doesn’t and will never know, though. twenty years from now Aoyama will still be “that weird fucking french kid” in his mind.

he had no idea who Eri was until the Christmas party. sometimes he’d hear the other kids talking about someone named Eri, and from context clues he somehow ended up thinking it was one of Aizawa’s cats. when Eri came to the party he had a brief moment of curiosity wondering if she was Sensei’s niece or something, and then he heard someone say her name and he was all “THAT’S ERI?!” and his entire worldview was briefly shaken up.

he pulled Kirishima aside to ask him and Kirishima basically gave him Eri’s whole entire life story which was way more than he actually wanted to know. he’s now kind of terrified of ever being in the same room as her for fear of having to interact with her because he’s pretty sure he’d do or say the wrong thing. most of the time being intimidating is something he strives for and puts a lot of effort into, including when he’s around kids (who are basically just smaller, sloppier adults in his mind), but he doesn’t want to be the guy who scared an abused kid, so he basically just hopes the others will have enough common sense not to ever go “oh hey you know who should totally interact with each other?? Eri and Bakugou!”

that being said, if circumstances ever arose which forced Katsuki to protect Eri, the two of them would totally bond and they would have a really sweet relationship in which Eri looked up to him just like she looks up to Deku and Mirio and the rest, and where Katsuki was constantly trying to be on his best behavior around her, like genuinely, sincerely trying, and kind of failing at it a lot but still being sweet in a gruff sort of restrained-disaster way.

...and after sitting there for a while trying to think of more I couldn’t come up with any so I guess that’s it! basically most of my headcanons are about how secretly boring Katsuki is. honestly if it weren’t for him having the vocabulary of a 52-year-old sailor whose foot was caught in a bear trap, he and Iida would probably be best friends.

#bnha #boku no hero academia #bakugou katsuki #bnha meta #bakugou meta #bnha headcanons #don't think there're any spoilers here except for the detail about his pants in 219 lol #sorry if I have spoiled anyone for that #makeste reads bnha #asks #anon asks #long post #oh whoops it was actually 218 my bad just edited #wait a second the christmas party is spoilers isn't it lol whoops #bnha spoilers #there we go

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dinosaurtsukki · 4 years

Text

wherefore art thou, romeo? | an osamu x f!reader one-shot

pairing: osamu miya x f!reader

word count: 6.1k words

contains: a boatload of crack, fluff if you squint, high school setting, more bickering than working on the actual play, mutual pining, best friends to lovers, brief mentions of the romeo and juliet with leonardo di caprio in it

summary: being best friends with the miya twins for years has prepared you for all of their shenanigans but even you’re taken by surprise when osamu, the guy you’ve been in love with for years, nominates you to play juliet for the class play and atsumu to play romeo

a/n: *squints at word count* okay this was supposed to be released in three chapters but i ended up writing all of it in one go and i didn’t know exactly where to separate the chapters so here it goes

the day started out fairly normal, if fairly normal meant that your two best friends were using your ruler to divide a candy bar accurately into two during homeroom while waiting for the teacher, could be called ‘fairly normal.’ but when those two friends were the miya twins, that’s how normal things got. the teacher arrived a bit later, announcing some reminders about the cultural festival dates, before the time was handed over to the Class President, a guy with glasses and straight black hair that you and your friends just called ‘Mr. President.’

“for the cultural festival, our class, due to majority votes, has decided to put on the play: ‘Romeo and Juliet,’“ Mr. President announced. judging from his cheeky smile, you could tell that he may have had a hand in those ‘majority votes.’

“aw, yuck. don’t tell me ya voted for that, y/n,” atsumu nudged you from behind your desk.

“why are you assuming its me?” you grumbled, batting his hand away.

“aw, no crepe cafe then,” osamu said sullenly beside you. your gaze was pulled to him, as it always was. now that the spring inter-high was over, osamu was mostly in his school uniform, not that you minded. his silver hair, that he got in trouble with the principal for, was pushed haphazardly to the side and gleamed in the sunlight.

“now,” Mr. President continued. “what we have to decide on right now is who gets which acting roles and who gets to do the technical jobs.”

“painting sets? painting sets?” atsumu poked you and osamu.

“hmm, i’d kind of like to work on the lights,” you hummed, already imagining yourself scrolling through your phone and switching on the spotlight once every few minutes. osamu was quiet and you knew he was probably thinking of painting sets too.

“now, is there anyone who’d like to volunteer for playing romeo?” Mr. President asked, surveying the class. “you can also nominate people and--”

osamu abruptly raised his hand up. your eyes widened, wondering if he was going to volunteer. atsumu had the same concern.

“whoa, whoa. don’t tell me yer thinkin’ of playing romeo?” atsumu laughed incredulously.

but that isn’t what osamu did. in full Dramatic Flair, osamu miya pointed at his twin and announced “i nominate miya atsumu to play romeo.”

the laughter in atsumu’s voice died as quickly as the class erupted into murmurs. based on the snatches of conversation you heard, atsumu was going to be wielding a sword and probably wearing tights.

“okay, that’s one nomination for atsumu to play romeo,” Mr. President nodded, writing atsumu’s name on the board. you stifled a giggle as you heard atsumu stand up in his seat behind you.

“wait! wait! i nominate ‘samu to play romeo!” atsumu exclaimed hurriedly. the reaction wasn’t as loud as before and osamu flashed his twin a smug grin.

“i’ll make sure to get a nice, bright spotlight on you,” you smiled cheekily at him.

“so, we have atsumu-san nominated to play romeo and--”

“i’m not done,” osamu interrupted. “i also nominate y/n to play juliet.”

if atsumu reacted at a snail’s pace, yours was quite similar to how ketchup fell out of a bottle: none at first, before coming out all at once. within that length of time you spent staring into the void, Mr. President already wrote down your name on the blackboard and proceeded with the rest of the nominations (there weren’t any). the class voted, and you just barely felt someone pat you on the back to congratulate you for the role.

it was right when the decision over the roles was over when you turned slowly towards osamu, who had the audacity to flash a peace sign at you, and whisper ‘what have you done?’

...

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YA NOMINATED US TO PLAY ROMEO AND JULIET!” you and atsumu practically screamed at osamu during lunch break and for the rest of the day until you got to the miya twins’ house, where you spent most of your time, and cracked open the script that Mr. President handed out.

“sheesh, that was hours ago. get over it already,” osamu said, not looking up from the book he was reading: Beginner Techniques in Set Design. you didn’t even think he was reading, just mocking you and atsumu about the fact that he got the awesome job of painting sets.

“it was hours ago but atsumu and i are stuck with rehearsals for weeks!” you complained.

“not only that, but we’d have ta read shit and memorize shit,” atsumu seethed. “and we know that y/n sucks at that!”

“hey! i bet i could do better than you!”

“i don’t think ya can!”

osamu watched the battle from the top of his book, smiling to himself as you and atsumu quickly got into one of your fights that distracted you from the main reason behind the fight: osamu himself. ‘they’re still just like kids,’ he thought, watching you proceed to trap atsumu in a headlock.

the three of you had been the best of friends since grade school when you pushed atsumu off a jungle gym and osamu laughed and high-fived you. it was when the three of you were eating breakfast after a sleepover in your first year of high school, when you said that atsumu only had two brain cells and that ‘one was a skater boy, the other said see you later boy’ and osamu laughed so hard he got milk coming out of his house, that he realized he just might be in love with you.

“so, why didn’t you nominate yourself to play romeo?” suna asked him the next day while they were in the middle of stapling felt stars on a piece of dark blue fabric. like osamu, he was also lucky enough to be put in set design. “i mean, if you like her so much.”

“because i don’t want to play romeo,” osamu said as-a-matter-of-factly. “and i think making ‘tsumu do it is hilarious.”

“you really do have a one-track mind,” suna hummed and turned around to where atsumu and y/n were already busy working on the scene where romeo and juliet meet.

“ugh i have to kiss her hand?”

“well, do you want to kiss my foot?”

“i’d rather kick ya in the face!”

“you know, i feel like this on its own would make a great play,” suna said, watching the scene.

“a romeo and juliet where the lovers actually hate each other but their opposing families desperately want to push them into an arranged marriage. sounds pretty neat,” osamu mused.

“okay, why don’t you two take a break, collect yourselves, and then we’ll come back in ten,” Mr. President sighed. at that, you and atsumu quickly stopped quarreling and stalked off in different directions. you headed straight for osamu and suna.

“sometimes i can’t tell who’s the more insufferable one between you two,” you narrowed your eyes at osamu who had the audacity (the only thing he never seemed to run out of) to smile innocently.

“it’s one of life’s greatest mysteries. like, whether the chicken or the egg came first,” suna added.

“just give it a few weeks. atsumu will soon embrace his fate and you’ll be an amazing juliet,” osamu patted the top of your head. if you weren’t so annoyed with him you would have felt the butterflies in your stomach. except now you just wanted to bite his hand off.

“you know what, i’m going to kita’s later,” you muttered, pulling your phone out to text kita shinsuke, aka your adoptive mother.

“hmm? why?” osamu asked.

“because he’s the only sane person i know. plus he’ll help me out with my lines,” you explained, sighing with relief when you got a prompt reply from kita.

“oh, well i was planning to buy some convenience store snacks that i saw on sale for when i do homework later,” osamu said, trying not to sound disappointed.

“maybe next time,” you smiled apologetically. “but in the meantime, maybe get your twin over there to memorize his and not fuck up.” osamu looked up at his brother who was holding the script up a few inches from his face.

“you’re right,” osamu agreed. “but, it would also be funny to edit out a few words here and there.” you returned his cheeky grin.

“you read my mind.”

...

“kitaaa what if it means something that osamu chose to make me and atsumu romeo and juliet,” you groaned, face planted on the coffee table in kita’s living room while he peeled tangerines. “like, what if he realized i actually liked him for this long and this is his way of friend-zoning me?”

“osamu’s the kind of person who’d tell you right away if he doesn’t have the same feelings for you,” kita shook his head.

“that means he’s going to reject me soon!” you sat up, planting your hands on the table.”

“y/n, you’re doing it again,” kita gently reminded. “think of it this way, maybe he nominated you to play juliet because he wants to see you as juliet. but he’s not fully ready for the commitment so he nominated atsumu to be romeo.”

“or he just wants to mess with us, which is probably the case,” you chuckled half-heartedly. “maybe i’ll just believe that.”

“or, think of it this way,” kita placed a peeled tangerine into your hand, like the mom friend that he was. “you could use the opportunity to be the best juliet ever, someone that osamu can barely tear his eyes away from.”

“and i can show up atsumu at the same time!” you grinned at the idea. kita sighed.

“you know, i feel like your sheer desire to just beat atsumu at everything may be a hindrance but go on.”

“yeah, yeah, you lost me at ‘beat atsumu at everything’,” you sang as you cracked open your script. “now help me. i have to memorize all this by tomorrow.”

...

“i think yer all wondering why i’ve gathered ya here today,” atsumu began.

“we’re... in the volleyball clubroom,” aran spoke slowly.

“which is where we always hang out,” suna added. atsumu raised an eyebrow and a hand to silence them, which sometimes worked.

“i’ve gathered ya guys to form the all-important, top-secret team with only one goal in mind!” atsumu paused for dramatic effect, which suna purposely ruined by coughing. “we’re gonna to get myself out of playing romeo for the class play.”

“let me guess, whatever it takes?” aran asked, his arms folded.

“whatever it takes!”

and atsumu took that completely seriously. the next day, he gathered aran and suna to the clubroom again to execute his master plan, version 1: operation casting call.

“get it? cause, ya know, i’m part of a cast, and i’ll be showing up in a cast,” atsumu grinned proudly, showing off the roll of bandages that he bought yesterday at a drugstore.

“okay, first of all: lame pun,” aran sighed. “secondly, that’s not a cast you’re just wrapping your foot in bandages and not encasing it in plaster which i think was what you were originally going for. lastly, do you realize just how many holes your plan has?”

“oh yeah? like what?” atsumu crossed his arms and scoffed.

“like the fact that your twin brother would know whether or not you were injured yesterday,” suna brought up.

“...i’ll jus’ say that i sprained my ankle jus’ now,” atsumu said.

“as if he’s going to believe you,” suna snorted.

“i’m just saying, please ditch this plan before you embarrass yourself,” aran sighed. atsumu felt his face heat up with embarrassment.

“sh-shut up! this plan is gonna work and i’m not gonna play fuckin’ romeo for another day!” atsumu snapped. “now help bind my foot.”

aran and suna looked at each other. “you’re taking a video of what’s happening later,” aran said while suna nodded.

“i hate ya guys,” atsumu crossed his arms.

a few minutes later, his foot was all wrapped up thanks to aran and atsumu was propped up on suna as he hobbled into the classroom. with full dramatic flair that he never seemed to run out of, atsumu slid open the door to the classroom.

“Mr. President! sorry to say this but i sprained my ankle!” he cried. everyone inside turned to look at him with you raising an eyebrow at the dubious looking ‘sprained ankle.’

“you know, if you spoke like that all the time you’d make a great romeo,” his twin quickly piped up from near the door where he was busy painting a tree.

“shut up ‘samu, ya traitor,” atsumu muttered at him. Mr. President had walked closer and inspected the bound foot.

“osamu, is this true?” he asked.

“w-wha? don’t ya believe me?” atsumu splattered. beside him, suna had already brought out his phone. mad, atsumu pushed himself off his ‘friend’ and tapped his ‘sprained’ foot on the ground. ‘it hurts! see! ow!” atsumu lied.

quick as a flash, osamu kicked atsumu’s good foot, causing him to hop on his ‘sprained’ foot.

“fuck! ‘samu!” he yelled.

“well, i guess there’s nothing to worry about,” Mr. President smiled and clapped his hands together. “and atsumu-san, that was a good attempt at acting. i hope you channel that passion into rehearsal today.”

atsumu could do nothing else but mumble. “yeah, fine...”

...

“i can’t believe atsumu even thought that his plan would work,” you laughed, recounting the events of earlier that day. you were sprawled across the wooden floor backstage the theater your class was going to use for the cultural festival. osamu was right beside you, painting one of the backdrops for the play.

“i really do think all the brainpower went to me sometimes,” osamu mused as he carefully painted the sky around the white clouds. there was a look of pure concentration on his face that made you think that maybe osamu was quite excited to do the set design for the play. ‘it’s always the things that you don’t really expect him to get into,’ you wondered as you watched him.

“hey, is this shade of blue a bit too... blue?” he asked, holding the paintbrush to you. you scooted over next to him, grateful for the excuse to be nearer osamu.

“it could use a bit more white to look more like the sky,” you answered.

“hmm, can you pass me that can of white from over there?”

“sure, let me just-- hey!”

a splatter of blue paint landed on your nose as osamu swiped his paint brush over it. once again, he had the audacity to snicker as you grabbed the paint brush from him to splatter blue paint over his hair.

“you are so dead, miya osamu,” you narrowed your eyes and grinned at him as you picked up the tube of red paint from beside your knees.

“wait, wait y/n,” osamu laughed and held up his hands in surrender. “that’s red paint right there.”

“you didn’t seem to have a problem with brushing light blue paint on my nose!” you exclaimed pointing at your face.

“well, it is a bit of a good look because it brings out your eyes--” he was cut off by you squirting red paint right at his face. slowly, osamu raised a hand to touch the paint on his cheek. “you know, i kind of deserve that.”

“you definitely do,” you stared down at him with both hands on your hips before bursting out laughing. osamu blinked up at you before joining in the laughter. even with your blue nose, you still looked absolutely radiant. just like how you were earlier during rehearsals as you did your best performance of juliet. you captured everyone’s attention and even atsumu actually made an effort to get to your level.

“come on,” osamu chuckled, standing up and ruffling your hair with the hand that still had red paint on it. “let’s go wash up.”

the feeling of him ruffling your hair was such an old and familiar gesture that you couldn’t even remember when osamu started doing that. but you could clearly remember everything else you did when you were kids. watching cartoons and mixing different kinds of cereal in the morning, trying to climb up the drainpipes into each other’s rooms, the endless cycle of calling each other names, crying from too much teasing, and saying sorry only to forget two minutes later.

you watched, head cocked to the side as osamu washed the paint from his face while you dried your hair. he didn’t realize just how much soap he was getting in his eyes and the cute, childishness of it made you giggle.

“what?” osamu looked, or rather, turned his head to you.

“your eyes are going to burn at this rate,” you snickered, stepping over to him and placing your hands under the faucet before gently washing the soap from osamu’s face. you didn’t even realize what you were doing until you were doing it and by then, it was too late. osamu didn’t seem to mind, not even when you used the towel around his neck to pat his face dry.

“there, now you just have a big red stain on your nose,” you laughed nervously as osamu opened his eyes.

“at least it goes with my hair,” osamu snickered, tossing his towel over your head before ruffling it. you felt your face heat up and smiled awkwardly at him in response.

“is this your idea of trying to dry my hair?”

“i think it’s kind of working.”

“it’s not working,” you laughed, taking the towel from him. “but thanks.” you felt your throat tighten with the words you wanted but were too afraid to say. you didn’t know when you started falling for one of your best friends and maybe it was thanks to all the shoujo manga you’ve read for years, but you knew that the best friend and the main character rarely ever got together.

luckily, it was osamu who said something. “you know, you were pretty good earlier as juliet. i bet ‘tsumu was threatened,” he laughed, lifting his bag and starting to walk towards the school exit. you jogged to catch up to him.

“no thanks to you though,” you snorted.

“hey, it’s all for the sake of making memories,”

“we could have made memories while painting sets,” you huffed. “you know, like more paint fights.” osamu flashed a sideways smile at you.

“we’d have those regardless. i wanted to see you as juliet.”

you could feel your heart beating loudly in your ears as you forced yourself to think of a million other reasons as to why osamu would say that, only to focus on the single, most probable one that could mean everything you’ve ever dreamed of coming true. “osamu, i--”

“i can’t believe ya left me!” atsumu exclaimed loudly behind you two, causing you to jump. you turned around just as he slung his arms around both of you and his twin.

“i can’t believe you thought pretending to sprain your ankle would work,” osamu muttered, looking slightly annoyed at his twin.

“shut up! i can’t believe ya’d break my cover! my own brother!”

“i think you two are way past that already,” you snickered, slightly annoyed at atsumu’s sudden appearance but unable to admit that you didn’t miss having him around either.

‘if i never get to confess to osamu, i’ll still have this,’ you thought, with a satisfied smile on your face.

...

“no offense, atsumu, but i think you should just move on from the fact that your plan to get yourself out of playing romeo just isn’t going to work,” suna said, lounging across his friend’s bed and uploading the video he took of atsumu’s ‘master plan’ failing. “just accept your fate, like what romeo did.” atsumu stopped pacing and regarded suna with a raised eyebrow.

“ya read the play?”

“i read the summary,” suna answered. “at this rate, everyone knows you’re going to be faking some accident.” atsumu made no response and suna realized he needed just one more push. “also, you’re basically losing to y/n.”

that got atsumu’s attention. “since when did she wanna be juliet anyway?” he muttered.

just then, the door to their room flew open and in walked a very excited aran carrying a relic from the past, an actual DVD in its case, and a bag from the convenience store.

“yer late,” atsumu scowled at him.

“yeah, and you didn’t listen to what i said and looked really dumb earlier,” aran said, much to atsumu’s embarrassment. “anyway, i think i have a solution to your woes,” he grinned, presenting the DVD to the two of them.

“what the fuck am i gonna do with movie ‘romeo and juliet?’“ atsumu frowned.

“it’s not just any romeo and juliet movie, it’s the romeo and juliet movie!” aran said enthusiastically. “starring leonardo di caprio!”

“who now?”

“he’s the guy who didn’t win an oscar for years until the bear movie,” suna explained.

“ooooohhh.”

“you uncultured shits,” aran sighed. “anyway, atsumu, just accept your fate--”

“that’s what i’ve been trying to tell him!”

“... and open your eyes to how awesome it is to play romeo!” aran finished. atsumu looked from the DVD in his friend’s hands, to suna on his bed, and to the bag of convenience store snacks, before sighing and nodding.

“if i decide it’s shit ten minutes in, we’re dropping the movie and yer all gonna tell me i’m right.”

but he was wrong, oh so wrong.

just like every middle-aged mom or english literature university student who watched Romeo + Juliet, atsumu was pulled in by leonardo di caprio’s sincere, expressive eyes. he practically swooned at the scene where romeo and juliet met from different sides of the fish tank to that iconic pool kiss, and by the end of the movie, atsumu almost teared up. he tried to hold back his emotions, in the hopes of not looking lame in front of his friends, only to find aran practically sobbing and suna clutching his knees to his chest.

“that was... really fucking beautiful,” atsumu cursed as the credits rolled.

“do you understand now? what it means to play romeo?” aran put a hand on his shoulder.

“do it for leo di caprio, atsumu,” suna added. atsumu sniffed and nodded his head eagerly.

“i will, i’ll do it for leo.”

...

it was a normal day at school, if normal meant you were wearing a blanket wrapped around your waist to make you ‘feel as if you were in costume’ and mixing vending machine coffee and vending machine chocolate milk in styrofoam cups with your best friend who also happened to be the guy you were in love with. that was as normal as thing got when you were best friends with the miya twins.

and that only meant that seeing atsumu come in for rehearsals, with a determined spark in his eyes, and recite every line to utter perfection that you knew william shakespeare himself would be proud of, was just pushing the boundaries of ‘normal.’

that only meant you had to be on your A-game too and before you knew it, you and atsumu had put on your best performance yet. your undying competitiveness and atsumu’s devotion to leonardo di caprio had gone a long way. all throughout that, osamu had a ‘cat-who-just-ate-the-canary’ smile on his face as he watched from the props area.

“you look like you’re going to say ‘all according to keikaku’ at any time,” suna observed.

“oh, i am saying it in my head,” osamu said, watching you and atsumu onstage. he had hoped for two outcomes: either you were both comically terrible at the play, or that you were slightly mediocre. but a part in his mind knew you would find a way to surprise him. you always did, after all.

yours and atsumu’s performance got everybody in class even more motivated about the play. osamu ended up in a million meetings with the fellow set designers, even learning how to paint trees to look as life-like as possible. although being busy wasn’t enough to distract him from looking at you, especially when dress rehearsals began and you were wearing the most stunning dress that the costume department worked on. meanwhile, atsumu pretty much rehearsed, ate, and slept with his prop sword.

finally, the big day of the cultural festival came around. despite the fact that you utterly loathed having to play juliet at first, you couldn’t help but feel proud at how far you’ve come.

“hey, maybe i should just go to acting school or something,” you joked, sitting beside osamu and smoothing your dress over your legs which dangled over the side of the stage.

“you’ll run home crying after you hear any sort of criticism,” osamu snorted.

“mean! i deal with criticism really well!” you pouted. osamu raised an eyebrow at you and you rolled your eyes. “you know i was joking. the fact that i haven’t received any acceptance letters from the universities i applied to is kind of making me crazy.”

“so, is the fact that you’re playing a fourteen year-old girl who has to hide her love from her entire family before later killing herself a good way of escaping?” osamu asked.

“yeah, that and watching atsumu’s surprising transformation,” you snickered, turning around to watch atsumu and suna horsing around onstage. or rather, it was just suna from one end of the stage tossing chocolate chips at atsumu who was attempting to catch them with his mouth.

“i asked suna and aran about what changed but their lips are tightly sealed,” osamu shrugged. “i like to think that he hit his head somewhere.”

“well, he’s going to hit his head some time during the day at the rate he’s going right now,” you said, watching atsumu laugh and choke at the chocolate in his mouth. it was funny at first, until you noticed that atsumu kept on coughing.

“osamu,” you quickly tapped his twin. osamu turned around and immediately rushed over to his brother who was now turning a bright shade of red.

“oh my god, were there peanuts in that chocolate?” you asked. atsumu let out a gasp and nodded his head.

“i’ll go get his meds,” osamu quickly jogged off only to be replaced by a very concerned Mr. President. “someone get him some water!”

“i never thought atsumu-san was allergic to nuts. is it serious?” he asked, handing you his water bottle which you opened and quickly gave to atsumu who was now sitting down on the floor.

“well, it’s mostly rashes and an itchy throat but as long as he takes his medicine, he’ll be fine,” you shook your head.

two allergy tablets, an apology from suna, and a long explanation later, atsumu was lying down in the nurse’s office with the swelling noticeably reduced. “unfortunately, he’d have to sit out the rest of the play so that the reaction completely subsides,” the nurse told you, osamu, and Mr. President. you sighed and regarded atsumu with hands on your hips.

“you thought they were chocolate-covered raisins, didn’t you?”

atsumu didn’t say anything except: “i’m sorry leo di caprio.”

“this is the absolute worst time for this to happen,” Mr. President sighed as he addressed your classmates backstage. “there’s only thirty minutes before showtime and our romeo is out of commission. anyone have any bright ideas?”

“does anyone else here vaguely know atsumu’s lines?” you asked around. “someone who read the script?” instead, you were met with silence. as much as you wanted for some miracle to happen and for the show to go on because you genuinely did want to play juliet, putting up a half-assed play with one of the two main characters gone wasn’t going to look good either.

you sucked in a deep breath, preparing yourself to make the call, but osamu, who had noticed your expression earlier, stepped forward. you looked at him with wide eyes and just caught him glance at you before addressing mr. president.

“i can step in for romeo.”

“osamu...?” you asked.

“i haven’t really read the script but i’ve heard atsumu rehearsing by himself often enough to pick up a few lines,” osamu rubbed the back of his head, already feeling nervous.

“also, twin-sense,” suna piped up. “you know, your psychic connection between twins?”

osamu nodded his head slowly. “yes, that too.”

“alright, alright,” mr. president nodded his head. “well, i guess that’s better than nothing and osamu can fit into atsumu’s costume too. if you can, use these thirty minutes to read as much of the script as possible.”

“got it,” osamu nodded. and with that, everyone resumed preparations and you were pulled into the dressing room to get your hair and make-up done. when you emerged, osamu was sitting on the floor against the far side of the backstage, bent over a copy of the script and muttering in concentration.

“hey,” you greeted, sitting down beside him. he was already dressed in his costume: a white, long-sleeved shirt with golden buttons and some tassels on the shoulders. his hair was also combed back with a few strands falling across his forehead.

“god, i can’t believe atsumu memorized all this shit,” osamu shook his head and looked up at you only to stop short. he had seen you about a million times in your juliet costume but with the make-up and your hair arranged so elegantly, you looked absolutely breath-taking.

“something wrong?”

“i... i’m just panicking about having to play romeo all of a sudden,” he blinked.

“i know. scary, isn’t it?” you nodded. “i... you didn’t have to though. i’m pretty sure everyone was ready to throw in the towel.”

“and waste all my hard work painting sets?” osamu raised an eyebrow at you. “no way.” you tossed your head back and laughed.

“well, if you put it that way...” you nodded and smiled bravely. “the show will be fine. if you forget a line, just improvise. the most important thing is channeling the emotion.”

“i think i can do that,” osamu smiled and reached a hand out to you. “to the best show ever?”

you grinned and shook his hand. “to the best show ever.”

...

the show was a complete disaster. as much as osamu did try to recite atsumu’s lines completely from memory, it was as if everyone was thrown off their game throughout the entire play. cues for special effects were forgotten (someone accidentally turned on a smoke machine during the first scene), props were misplaced (the actor for Tybalt was using a footlong hotdog against osamu’s prop sword), and there were more than a few times when someone missed their lines. at one point, you ended up reciting Team Rocket’s iconic spiel after the line ‘a rose by any other name is just as sweet.’ but, despite everything being a shitshow, it still ended up being overall entertaining. the audience laughed through most of the obvious fails and that caused the actors to loosen up just a bit.

and it was osamu who ended up spearheading the comedic aspect of your ‘romeo and juliet’ play. from his dry, deadpan delivery of the very emotional lines, to his small inserts and side-comments about the play itself. you even had to stop yourself from laughing at times. but if you and atsumu were amazing at playing the scripted ‘romeo and juliet’, you and osamu were complete naturals when it came to improvising.

“i don’t know if this is a success by conventional definitions,” Mr. President addressed everyone backstage as soon as the play was over. “but... we sure did make everyone out there laugh.”

“and i consider that a win!” atsumu cheered beside you. he was looking much better, still with a bit of rashes though and his voice kind of heavy from the medicine. “kind of sad that i didn’t get to play romeo though,” he whispered at you.

“that’s alright. i channeled you in spirit,” osamu patted his twin’s shoulder.

“like hell ya did! i couldn’t believe ya used the dagger to kill yerself at the end,” atsumu argued.

“right?? i had to be all ‘oh romeo, you must have forgotten to use the poison you brought in your pocket!’” you recalled.

“i see dagger, i use dagger,” osamu reasoned. “wait, that’s ‘Macbeth’ isn’t it?”

“in a nutshell,” you shrugged.

“ugh, i’ve had enough of nuts for a day, don’t even mention it,” atsumu groaned, pushing away from the two of you and wandering off to the snack table that your classmates prepared.

“damn, i had more puns up my sleeve,” you sighed, watching him leave.

“you’ll find a time to use them, don’t worry,” osamu reassured you. “in the meantime... do you want to, get out of here first? explore the rest of the cultural festival?” you felt your face flush but nodded nonetheless.

“i’m sure no one will notice the main characters of their cast go missing,” you grinned. “let’s get out of here, romeo.”

when osamu meant ‘let’s check out the cultural festival’, he really meant buying a bunch of snacks from the stalls set up all around the school. but then again, that’s what he did all the time. soon enough, the two of you were sitting on the rooftop with your prized horde.

“thank god i don’t have some weirdass nut allergy like tsumu. that’s definitely evidence that i got the stronger genes,” osamu said, biting into a crepe he just bought. “also the fact that he didn’t check that chocolate-covered nuts packet.”

“i still feel sorry for him. he worked really hard to play romeo well,” you sighed.

“hey, i tried to play my part seriously. well... sometimes.”

“you did nail the whole ‘yearning for my love juliet’ part right,” you grinned, remembering the surprise at seeing the tenderness and longing on osamu’s face as he recited romeo’s lines about being in love with juliet. ‘well, that’s something for me to daydream about for the rest of my life you,’ you thought.

that was until osamu said “well, it’s good practice for when i actually confess to someone.”

confess to someone.

‘does that mean, all this time? he’s liked someone?’ you felt your stomach drop. you’ve never known osamu to be expressive when it came to people he had feelings for. were you just ignoring all the signs? was--

“it’s you, idiot,” osamu sighed.

“wait, what?” you looked at him with wide eyes. osamu sighed again and ran a hand through his hair.

“you know, i was thinking of a more suave way to say this but you looked like how you did earlier when you were supposed to be engaged to tybalt,” he chuckled. “so, i put two and two together for the first time. you’re the one i like, y/n.”

it was the moment you’ve been waiting for for so long, and yet the only thing you could come up with was “haha, cool.”

in response, osamu stared at you long and hard before taking another bite out of his crepe. “i think your brain is fried,” he muttered through a mouthful of crepe.”

“hold on, hold on,” you held a finger up, finally coming back to your senses. “you had a crush on me and also the audacity to make me juliet and have your twin brother as romeo?”

“i thought you’d be really cool as juliet but i didn’t want to go through the work of being romeo,” osamu said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “obviously it backfired but--”

“that’s called karma, osamu,” you pointed an accusing finger at him. “if you think i’m going to let you off easy i’m--”

you were cut off by osamu’s lips meeting yours and the taste of whipped cream and strawberry on your tongue. your brain short-circuited, trying to think of a way to describe this situation other than ‘haha, cool’ again. osamu, sensing your brain waves, pulled you even closer with a hand on your cheek.

“are you going to let me off now?” he raised an eyebrow at you after you parted. you smirked.

“i’ll have to think about it.”

“yeah?” osamu mumbled, his smirk matching yours. “what else do i need to do?” you leaned forward before taking a bite out of the crepe in his hands. you chewed while grinning at the surprised look on osamu’s face.

“now we’re even.”

taglist (still open to anyone who wants in!): @montys-chaos @miyumtwins @strawberriimilkshake @pocubo @sugawara-sweetheart@akaashisbabydoll @laure-chan@therainroguefanfiction@atetiffdoesart@stephdaninja@oikaw-ugh@charliefredb@dramaqueenweeb1469@tremblinghearts@applepienation@doodleniella @haikyuu-my-love

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heyitsani · 3 years

Text

Weight Of My Soul

Word Count: 11,084

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Mind manipulation, and Dick being a dick

Pairing: Jason Todd/Dick Grayson

Summary: After a fight with Dick, Jason comes across a Jinn and makes a wish that will change everything.

Notes: This is dedicated to @epistemologys @nerd-by-definition @mlim8 @shannara810 @hedgebelle and @the-man-moth

I don’t want to give any notes because it’ll spoil the story. So if you need some, head to AO3 and read the end notes to understand the lore I used. Or DM me and I’ll answer any question.

You can also read it on AO3 here

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

“Are you fucking insane?!” Jason growled as he pulled off his helmet the moment he and Dick landed on a rooftop far enough away from the crime scene to not catch the attention of the cops, but close enough to be sure they got there in a timely manner. “Why the hell would you just give yourself over to them like that? We had it covered, we were good. Do you always have to be such a fucking masochist?!” He knew he wasn’t technically being fair, that things had been starting to go sideways, but he was still so pissed that Dick hadn’t even warned him. He had just jumped into the middle of the nest of criminals and “let them” get the drop on him.

“Why are you so upset? Everything worked out fine,” Dick pointed out, just making Jason’s temper flare hotter. “I’m more than capable of taking care of myself. And I don’t need you thinking you have any right to fight my battles for me!” He didn’t understand how the older man just didn’t get that people cared enough to not want him to sacrifice himself whenever he possibly could.

It made Jason want to put his fist through the brick wall to his left.

With another growl and a choking motion with his hands, Jason turned and walked toward the furthest point of the rooftop, pulling his phone out at the same time. “Stay over there. I need a fucking minute!” He snapped at Dick, who tried to follow him. Dick stopped and Jason let out a huff of air as he dialed an all too familiar number.

“Jaybird,” Roy picked up on the second ring. “Aren’t you and lover boy doing some big bust tonight?” At the playful mention of Dick, Jason growled again and kicked the raised edge of the rooftop. “Jay? What happened?”

“Code Green,” he said as controlled as he could, trying to focus on holding off the green haze as best he could.

Roy swore on the other end of the line and Jason could hear the telltale signs of the man moving around. “Are you safe?” Jason gave a grunt and glanced over his shoulder to see Dick watching him from the other side of the rooftop, further than where he had initially been. Part of him was thankful for him trying to give Jason the privacy he thought he needed. “Dick still there?” Another grunt. He didn’t need to speak for Roy to know that this episode was probably made worse by Dick without the older man even realizing it. “You know the drill man. Breathe in for five, hold for five, breathe out for five.”

Jason followed the instructions and tried to regulate his breathing, listening as Roy began telling a story about what Lian had done the other day. It was a stupid story about a doll and a boy at school who had tried to take it from her.

“Like her mom,” Jason rasped when Roy said she was a little badass.

Roy scoffed, faux offended at the fact that Cheshire was more badass than him. But Jason wasn’t fooled. Roy knew it too. “You doing okay?”

Taking a deep breath, Jason let it out slowly and took stock. The green edges on his vision had faded but he still felt like the smallest thing could set him off. “I’m good. I’ll go home and sleep the worst of it off.” Roy hummed and Jason knew he was still concerned. “I’ll call you when I get to the safehouse. I just need to be sure the cops do their part for this job with Nightwing.”

“Just be careful. And you better call.”

Jason let out a soft chuckle and confirmed he would before he ended the call and turned to head back to where Dick was now standing, watching the distance.

“You know,” Dick started when Jason got close enough to hear his hushed voice. And while most people knew Dick’s temper and how hot it burned when he was yelling, few knew this tone. Few knew that when Dick got quiet and hushed after a fight, things were about to get ugly. “I wish it didn’t have to be this way. I think about it all the time, how one different choice could have changed the entire path our lives went down.” Jason frowned, not entirely sure where Dick was going with this. But he remained quiet as he came to a stop next to him and looked out at the flashing red and blue lights as the GCPD arrived on scene.

He was still on edge from the Pit Haze, but he had it under control now at least. Otherwise, he would have snapped at Dick to just say what he meant.

“If you had never been brought back by whoever it was that brought you back, then you wouldn’t be dealing with all of this now.”

Jason’s blood froze and he jerked back almost as if he had been slapped. And Dick saw it, he saw the reaction but just kept looking at Jason as if he should have something to say in response. But what did you say to someone who basically said you never should have returned? That you should have stayed dead.

“Jay…”

“No,” he snapped, backing away from Dick and picking up his helmet. “You stay the hell away from me. Then maybe you can pretend that I never came back at all,” he said as he shot his grapple and took a running leap off the rooftop.

He knew he was probably taking it differently than Dick meant, but he also knew that Dick went for the gut when he was upset. He went for what he knew would hurt the most. He had watched him do it with countless other people, but he had never expected to be on the receiving end of it. Not when they had been so close to something. Not when Jason had been trying to show Dick just how important he was to him. How Jason’s whole world revolved around the older man.

That just made it all hurt even more. To the point that his anger decided it was a safer option and took over his emotions.

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

They kept their golden eyes trained on the man as he stormed around the ramshackle building he had run off to after the argument with the one in black and blue. The power flowing over his skin was tempting and mouth watering and it was torture to have to wait for the words that could possibly not come. But with the way the man had been muttering under his breath, they were certain the phrase was right around the corner.

It was just a matter of waiting until he finally gave in. And from what they had witnessed between the two men, it was going to be worth the wait. Not only was this man dripping in power, rolling green waves of it surging over his skin, but he was lonely.

So desperately lonely.

The fight made that clear with the words exchanged. The man in black and blue had used emotional manipulation that even they themself could be proud of. And they were almost tempted to see just how far that manipulation could go, but observation was only so fun. And they were in the mood for a meal.

So they stood a short distance, watching the man pace back and forth, just waiting to hear the words. And almost as if the man had heard their thoughts, he stopped in front of the random, broken mirror in the corner and uttered:

“I wish Dick Grayson had never come to Gotham.”

“Finally,” they whispered, snapping their fingers and revealing themselves to the man. And they weren’t in any way surprised that there was a gun immediately pointed into their face. “That will do you no good. I’m friend, not foe.” The man narrowed his eyes on them but made no move to lower the gun. So they simply ignored it. Moving lazily around the room, they ran their fingers over a plant on a table and along the back of a chair. “I am here to help with your little birdie problem.”

“What are you?”

“I am Jinn.” The man paused and frowned, his gun finally lowering to his side.

“You’re a genie?” The man scoffed, but Jinn could tell he was digesting the information. “As in three wishes?”

They lifted a rich brown shoulder, left bare by the black leather top they wore. “A fulfiller of dreams, I prefer to say. Of hearts desires. Of wildest dreams.” The man’s eyes remained narrowed, but interest had sparked within them. And they knew they had won. ��So like I said, I can help with your birdie problem. If you want me to, that is.”

He paused and they waited, their victims were always so predictable. “What’s the catch?”

“You cannot wish me out of existence but otherwise, nothing will be required of you.” That you know of at least, they thought. “All you have to do is say it again.”

The man hesitated still, watching them closely as he weighed the pros and cons, and they were surprised he lasted this long. The days they had been following him had exposed a lack of impulse control when emotions ran high. But currently they would say he was almost…calculating. And they were surprised, but they also respected it. The harder the sell, the better the prize.

“Fine,” the man finally said. And they couldn’t stop the smile from slowly spreading across their face as the words were muttered again: “I wish Dick Grayson had never come to Gotham.”

“Your wish is my command,” they said as they snapped their fingers yet again.

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

It was as quick as a blink of his eyes.

One moment Jason was standing facing a stranger, a Jinn who apparently wanted to grant him a wish, and the next he was in the middle of the street of what looked like Gotham. But there was something off, not just in the look but in the feel.

“What are you doing man? Get out of the streets!” A teenager ran past Jason, scurrying up a set of stairs and rushing into the building. The door slammed shut behind him and Jason frowned. What had the kid so scared that he would warn a guy who looked like Jason did off the streets.

He took a moment to look down at himself and noticed he still had all his gear on, guns in place, but no helmet. But at least he had some protection on his person. With that small comfort, he started making his way down what the dilapidated sign claimed to be Ward St. Which meant he was in Crime Alley and maybe the kid was worried about the all too familiar criminals roaming the streets. But he could handle the usuals easily and he doubted that just because Dick Grayson was never a presence in Gotham that his own life changed that much.

But the look of the city certainly had. Even in the distance where he should have been able to see the shinning lights of the Diamond District, darkness seemed to bleed over the entire scape. It was surprising and concerning. Enough that he grabbed a flyer that was stuck under the body of a car that had been picked apart by thieves, leaving a shell of a machine to just rust in the streets.

Looking over the flyer, Jason froze.

Beware the Bat!

Beneath the large, bold print was a crudely drawn image of Batman and a paragraph that offered shelter in various locations to citizens so they could avoid being on the streets after sunset. But that didn’t make sense. Batman scared criminals, he didn’t scare regular citizens. He was an urban legend to most of them. But he was also a sense of hope. That had been his whole deal.

“Psst,” a voice called to Jason’s left and he looked over to see a head peeking out of a window of a dark house. A familiar head.

“Roy, the fuck!” Jason hurried over and slipped in the unlocked door, shutting it behind him. But the instant it was shut, he was being pushed face first into it and his arm restrained behind his back. “The fuck-?”

That only got him shoved into the door more. “How the hell do you know my name?” Roy growled from behind him and Jason had no idea how to respond to that. Roy, his best friend and saving grace, was asking how he knew him? But then something sparked a thought. No Dick Grayson meant no Robin and no Teen Titans. It also meant Jason was never introduced to Roy through the Titans. But surely the young heroes would have come together without the influence of Dick? “Answer me!”

“I’m Jason Todd,” Jason ground out, consciously forcing himself not to struggle against Roy’s hold. “I’m from a different…universe?” The Jinn hadn’t exactly explained how their magic worked and Jason wasn’t sure he was that kind of smart to be able to figure it out. “In my universe, you’re my best friend and former teammate.”

That seemed to give Roy pause for a moment before the man was backing away and Jason was able to turn around, keeping his back pressed to the door. It also gave Jason a moment to look over Roy from where he stood a few feet away. But Jason didn’t like what he saw. The man looked sick, drawn out.

Strung out.

“Roy…are you okay?” Jason asked carefully, glancing around the small space and taking in the various signs of the addiction that he hadn’t managed to kick yet. “Roy what is wrong with Gotham? Why are you here? Where is Oliver?”

“Don’t say that name,” Roy spat out, turning and heading to the fridge. Jason watched with wide eyes as the man pulled out a beer and opened it, taking a long pull. He couldn’t remember the last time Roy had allowed himself to drink. Too many comments about recovery not being easy and how he had to fight it every day. This Roy apparently didn’t have that issue. “What?”

But Jason was at a loss for words for a moment. So he shook his head and looked around again, trying to find signs of another person living there. Was Kori here too? Or Lian? But it didn’t look like anyone else had ever set foot in this hell hole.

Looking down at the flyer still in his hand, Jason frowned. “Why is everyone afraid of the Bat?” Jason asked carefully, looking back to Roy.

“Because he’s dangerous. Because he lays out more justice than the GCPD. Because he doesn’t allow second chances or hope.” But that made no sense to Jason. Bruce was all about justice being through the system. That had been their biggest issue, Jason didn’t think that certain criminals should be allowed that mercy. But Bruce didn’t think they should make that call.

“Do you have a computer?” Roy grunted and gestured to an open laptop on the kitchen table that Jason had somehow missed. Hurrying over to it, he immediately woke it up and typed in the password his Roy always used. He wasn’t surprised when it worked this time too. Roy made a noise behind him at the action, but Jason couldn’t concern himself with that right then. Instead he pulled up a web browser and typed in Dick Grayson in the search bar.

The results were surprising and Jason clenched a fist at the sight of them. Of course Gotham has fallen to shit and Dick Grayson has his perfect life.

Gold Medalist Dick Grayson Returns to his Family Act: The Flying Graysons.

The life that Dick had deserved. The life he should have had in their reality but never got because of a debt his parents were forced to pay with their lives.

“Who’s the looker?” Roy’s voice sounded behind him, causing Jason to jerk and turn to face him. The man raised an eyebrow and took another drink of his beer. “Someone you know in your world?” Turning back to look at the picture of Dick on the trapeze, Jason pursed his lips before shutting the screen with more force than necessary.

“Roy, why are you in Gotham?”

The redhead tilted his head and shrugged. “Safer than Star City. Safer than most places. At least Batman scares the citizens and the criminals. No one can control it the way he does. ‘Sides,” Roy said, finishing off his beer and tossing the bottle away, “I’m not welcome in Star anymore.”

“What about Speedy?”

“The fuck do you know about Speedy? I never told anyone about that.”

“More than you will ever apparently. This world is shit,” Jason grumbled, moving away from the table. “Jinn!” He called out, looking upward. He didn’t know how this worked, but he didn’t want this to be the reality he was stuck in. Fuck Dick Grayson and his goddamn influence on everything in Jason’s world. Fuck him and his manipulations to get people to do whatever he wanted them to do. It was just his luck that he eliminates the person who would make Gotham good and Batman better.

Just his fucking luck.

“JINN!”

“Oh stop your shouting,” the familiar husky voice sounded from behind him, the room fading to just the two of them. The image of Roy had turned hazy and Jason frowned at that. Was this part of their powers? Pause reality before changing it. Shaking his head, he turned back to Jinn and narrowed his eyes. “Something wrong?”

“This reality sucks,” he said, waving an arm in Roy’s direction before holding up the flyer. “You cannot tell me that Dick fucking Grayson had this much power as Robin and then Nightwing.” The Jinn shrugged a slender shoulder, much like they had in Jason’s safehouse earlier and Jason wanted to punch them.

“I do not create the reality; I only change the elements asked of me. You wanted Dick Grayson to have never come to Gotham,” they said, looking right at Jason with eyes that spoke of too many lifetimes and witnessing of too much pain. “This is that reality. He is a man with faults, but he inspires others to be their best apparently.”

But what was Jason supposed to do with that? How was he supposed to just be okay with all this bad that happened because he had wished Dick out of Gotham? He wasn’t the monster people thought him to be, that Dick thought him to be. He wasn’t. He wanted to help. He wanted to make a difference. That’s why he had joined Batman to begin with. That had been lost for a while after he had come back from the dead, but it was back now. He was trying. He was.

“It is within your power to change.”

Three wishes. That’s what all the legends said, right? He used one and now he had two more to perfect this. But he had to be careful because his words could easily be used against him and interpreted incorrectly. He had to be precise. But he had to bring Dick back to Gotham. He couldn’t be responsible for this. But how was he going to fix this without landing himself right back into Dick’s orbit? The man didn’t want him there, had voice his opinion quite plainly. Not even Jason could miss that fact.

“Maybe it would have been better for you if you had never come back at all.”

Clenching his jaw, Jason took a deep breath and held back the hurt and rage that filled him when Dick’s voice filled his mind, those words reminding him that what he thought was heading toward something good between them actually wasn’t heading anywhere.

Then the idea hit him. “I want to go back to my old world, but to never have come across the Batmobile that night in the Alley.” Jinn tilted their head and considered him in a way Jason wasn’t sure he was entirely comfortable with. But then they raised their hand just like last time and quirked an eyebrow before snapping their fingers.

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

The shift between worlds was just as sudden as it was before, but this time Jason had been prepared and immediately took in where he had landed. But he wasn’t sure why it didn’t seem too different from where he was last time. The only difference was it was daytime. But the street looked just as abandoned as before and the city seemed eerily silent for what looked like around noon, going off the height of the sun in the smog gray sky.

And from the look of the buildings on the street, he was in the Diamond District. But it was quiet, too quiet for even a weekend day. There should have been people all over the sidewalks and cars on the streets.

It should have been bustling.

But it was abandoned.

“The fuck happened this time?” Jason muttered to himself as he walked further into the neighborhood before quickly ducking behind a dumpster when he heard screeching tires and gun shots. He peeked through the gap between the dumpster and the wall of the building he was hiding between. He wasn’t sure who he was seeing, but something about the gleeful way they were acting told him this was normal. They were comfortable in their actions. Almost like they knew no one was coming to get them.

“Kid,” a harsh voice whispered behind him. Glancing back, Jason saw someone waving over to him from a barely cracked door. Glancing back at the vanishing criminals, Jason quickly made his way to the door and slipped inside.

After his encounter with Roy, he was expecting someone else he knew. He wasn’t disappointed. Lucius Fox stood in front of him, looking older and more exhausted than Jason remembered. But he learned from his experience with Roy not to reveal he knew the other man.

“You hurt?” Lucius asked, looking Jason over briefly. Jason shook his head and looked around the main room of what looked like an office turned into an apartment. “Then what the hell are you doing out there? Only someone desperate would do something so stupid with Bane’s men joyriding and the PD in their back pockets.”

“Where is Batman?” Lucius let out a snort before shaking his head slowly. “I know you know who Batman is. It’s hard to explain but I’m from another universe. Batman is thriving in mine, where is he in this one?” So much for not revealing who he was.

“Thriving you say? And I know you?” Jason nodded but remained silent while Lucius studied him closely. With a frown, the man walked over to the counter and pulled a pen and paper from one of the drawers. Quickly he scribbled on the paper before handing it to Jason. “Batman is there.”

Jason looked at the paper and found an address. One that looked familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. “You shouldn’t have too much trouble out there looking like you do. Make the guns more obvious and they’ll think you’re one of them. But keep them loaded just in case.”

“Thank you,” Jason said, pocketing the address and moving back over to the door. “Lucius, where is your family?” The look that clouded the older man’s face told Jason all he needed to know. He had seen grief too many time. “I’m sorry.”

“Aren’t we all?”

With one last glance, Jason ducked out the door and headed back down to the main street. He knew the general area where Lucius said Bruce was so he headed that way. Thankfully he didn’t run into anymore of Bane’s men taking potshots. He wasn’t really in the mood to get in a fight. He was too focused on figuring out what the hell was going on in this city. It was eerie and far too abandoned to be anywhere close to what he knew Gotham to be. This was a ghost town.

Pulling the paper out again, he looked at the street number and gauged where he was in relation, heading in the direction he needed to. When he reached the right address, he realized why it looked so familiar. The police station. Looking down at the number again just to confirm this was right, Jason sighed and headed inside.

“You lost?” The man at the front desk questioned.

Shaking his head, Jason slipped his hands into his pockets and made sure his guns were exposed. “I’m here to talk to the Bats.” The cop looked him up and down, taking in the quality of his weapons before shrugged and jerking his head to have Jason follow him.

“You aren’t going to get much out of him. Don’t think the bastard has said a single thing since he turned himself in,” the guard said as he led Jason down the hall of empty cells that he was so used to seeing full of the random rogues and villains. It was disconcerting to see it empty save for the one cell at the end of the hallway.

Jason took in the figure in familiar orange, sitting on a bench and hunched forward. It wasn’t the first time he had seen Bruce in that position, but he had never seen the man look so broken before. It made no sense to him. What could have happened that led Bruce to this? And the fact that Batman turned himself in? Jason didn’t think the man thought anything he did was wrong.

But this was not the image of a man who was full of pride and self-importance.

“You got a visitor, Bats,” the guard called out as they reached the glass wall that Bruce was behind. The guard tapped his baton on the glass when Bruce didn’t move, but the man remained unresponsive. “Good luck, kid. Buzz when you want out.” The guard gave him a long look before turning to head back down the hall.

Jason watched him go before turning to look at the man behind the glass. From this angle, he could see that the usual body mass of Bruce was all but gone. Before him was a thin, graying, and weathered man. This was all wrong.

“Bruce,” Jason called, knowing that since he had wished his own influence out of Bruce’s life that the man wouldn’t know him. But he hoped that calling him by his name might get a reaction. It didn’t.

And then a thought hit him, one that probably should have hit him as soon as Lucius made it clear Batman wasn’t on the streets anymore. And oh god he hoped he was wrong. He hoped he was not about to get an answer to a question that haunted him since the day he returned and realized Bruce had left the Joker alive.

“Bruce, where is Dick?”

Bruce’s head whipped up and Jason took a step back at what he saw. Pale skin, circles so dark under his eyes that they were practically black, but that had nothing on his actual eyes. Dead. There was no other way to explain it. They were the eyes of a man who had lost everything, including the will to live.

“Who are you?” Bruce asked, voice raspy and rough with obvious disuse. But there was emotion in it too. Accusations unspoken. If Jason was a nobody, he shouldn’t know about Dick’s connection to Batman. But Bruce didn’t know of Jason’s true connection. Not in this world.

“I know about Robin and I know who Dick is to you. I also know he would never let you do this to yourself. So where is he? Where is Alfred?” Jason moved so he was standing practically nose to glass, eyes watching ever twitch and flinch of Bruce as he spoke. “Bruce, where is Dick?” He was starting to fill with dread. This was wrong on a basic level, but there was something deeper and Jason wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

But still he had to know.

“Dead.”

Jason’s heart stopped. “No.” He shook his head, looking away from Bruce to try and process that revelation. Dick wasn’t supposed to be dead. Bruce needed him, the previous world had proven that. The world needed Dick Grayson. “How?” He whispered, hoping it was loud enough for Bruce to have heard him.

“Joker.” And just like that Jason felt the pit rage surge. He hadn’t been there for the Joker to get his hands on so he got them on Dick instead. This was his fault. Again, he had made a choice and people had suffered in ways they never should have. It never should have been Dick. “It was a trap.”

Jason didn’t need to hear the rest of the story to know that it was pretty much exactly what had happened to him. But it had happened to someone it never should have happened to.

“Where is the Joker now?”

“Dead.” But it was said with so much regret and so much pain that Jason forgot to breathe for a moment. Bruce had killed the Joker because he had killed Dick. And it was obvious that it had destroyed Bruce. Not just losing his son, but breaking his one rule of justice. Jason had never understood why Bruce was so adamant about no killing, especially the Joker. Now he was seeing exactly why. Would this have happened to him if Bruce had killed the Joker after Jason’s death at his hands? Or was this just because Dick was forever the golden child?

“Jinn!” Jason called out as he backed away from a now confused looking Bruce. When Bruce’s eyes went wide, Jason knew Jinn had appeared behind him but Jason couldn’t look away from Bruce’s face. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the shame and guilt that remained even as he looked shocked at the appearance of Jinn. “I wish Bruce Wayne had never become Batman,” he said without looking away from the man. He didn’t bother to look and see if Jinn was listening, Jason knew they were.

And the sound of snapping fingers proved that.

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

Jason felt cold the instant he touched down in the new world. This was not a friendly world and it cried out in pain so loudly he could feel it in his bones. And that wasn’t even taking into account the fact that Gotham looked like a warzone. Buildings were missing half their levels and rubble littered the streets. It was almost like looking at pictures from World War II in school so many years ago.

“What happened here?” He asked the empty space. He could tell there was no one nearby, not even the most reckless would trust any of these buildings. But honestly, from what he could see in the distance, he would be surprised if there was anyone left in this city.

But without any other choice, he began walking down the street to once again figure out what had gone wrong. He didn’t understand how things had gone so horribly with each of his wishes. But he knew this was wish number three which meant he was stuck. Whatever this world was, it was his now.

“Come with us.” Jason startled and turned to find two orange glowing figures floating behind him. They looked like ghosts, but set his teeth on edge. There was something distinctly not right about them. “Come with us. Agent Orange will want to address you.”

“Who the fuck is Agent Orange?” And why did it sound so familiar? But the apparitions didn’t answer, simply grabbed an arm on each side, pulling him in the opposite direction of where he had been walking.

He shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was when he found himself being led up the steps of the city building a short while later.

Jason frowned at the piles of random items lining the aisle that had been laid out in the former city building. The main structure was the same, but it had been completely gutted to make room for what looked like a massive throne with a figure in orange lounging lazily in it. Whoever it was looked like they had taken a page out of the pimps of old and had someone make them a suit of orange velvet. It was so horrendous it made his eyes burn, but at the same time he couldn’t look away. The hat that sat perched upon their head completed the entire disastrous look with the cane resting against the arm of the throne.

Sparing a glance at the glowing orange apparitions guiding him down the aisle, Jason felt like maybe things were starting to piece together. He remembered Kyle had told him the story of Agent Orange in the Vega system. But he had claimed the creature holding the Orange Lantern was just that, a creature. This was most definitely a person.

Did that mean Larfleeze had finally been defeated?

“What have you for me, my pets?”

Wait.

No.

Jason knew that voice. He would always know that voice. It burned through his memories and scorched his dreams. It was the voice of his greatest desires and biggest fears. The voice that had caused this very situation he was in.

“Dick?” Jason gasped when the person raised their head and Jason was finally able to see their face. He looked different, a bit older and glowing with an orange light, but it was definitely Dick Grayson lounging on that throne in that disgusting suit like he didn’t have a care in the world.

He watched, mouth open and mind racing as he tried to grasp what was happening, as Dick shifted so his feet were resting on the ground, facing Jason fully. There was curiosity in his eyes, but there was something else there. Something Jason had seen before but never this strongly.

Desire.

With a wave of Dick’s hand, the orange apparitions vanished and Dick and Jason were left alone. “You know my Earth name,” Dick said, eyes narrowing as he stood from his throne. And suddenly Jason felt like prey. The slow steps down the massive throne made it look Dick was stalking him. “But I do not know you. Do I?”

Glancing around, Jason tried not to show how nervous this version of Dick was making him feel. But he wanted to be able to protect himself if he needed to. His guns had been left behind in the last world and now he only had his fists.

“Do I know you, Pet?”

Jason shook his head, steeling himself. “Not in this world.” That caused Dick to pause at the last step, eyebrow raising in silent question. Jason swallowed. This was so wrong. Dick shouldn’t look like this. Not just the awful clothes and throne, but the predatory look he had about him. It wasn’t sitting right. What the hell had happened to this Dick. “I’m from a different universe. One where you are not quite so…”

“Fabulous?”

Jason gave a snort. “Not the word I was thinking of, no,” he shook his head. But Dick just shrugged a shoulder and remained in his spot. “You are the Orange Lantern.”

A slow, pleased, and proud smile spread across Dick’s face and Jason held back a shudder. “I am. I was once the pet of Larfleeze until he got too comfortable, and I took what was mine from him.” That explained the pet fixation Dick seemed to have. Jason watched Dick descend the final step and wander over to one of the tables laden with sweets. “I came back to Earth because it is mine. I took it from its useless rulers and claimed it as my own. The other worlds know that if they come here and try to steal what’s mine then they face certain death.” Dick popped a truffle into his mouth, the air about him so casual about the mention of killing. The Dick he knows would be appalled at the thought of killing anyone. But a Dick influenced by greed and possessiveness fed by the Orange Lantern? Maybe.

“Is there anyone alive on Earth?” Jason asked, curious since he had yet to see another living body. Dick’s hand paused halfway to his mouth, another truffle in hand. That was answer enough for Jason.

“There are a few resistance pods,” Dick offered, unconcerned. “They are…annoying.” Dick’s lip curled in disgust and Jason was actually surprised. And curious. He wondered who would be strong enough, smart enough to evade someone who basically had ghosts doing his bidding for him. “But they are insignificant.”

And Jason felt sadness for Dick with that comment. His Dick loved people, sacrificed himself daily for absolute strangers. But this Dick? This Dick seemed to have no love in him. It made Jason’s chest ache. It made him miss his Dick, the real one.

“I am going to keep you,” Dick said after a few moments, turning a predatory gaze onto Jason that made him uncomfortable yet again. There was just something so wrong with seeing that look on Dick’s face. “What is your name, Pet-o-mine?”

Scrunching his nose at the nickname, Jason held back a shudder. “Jason Todd.”

Dick hummed as he moved closer, looking almost as if he were gliding. “I do not know a Jason Todd of this world, but you shall be mine now. Let us feast.”

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

“Pet, did you say it was a Jinn who sent you here?” Dick leaned forward in his chair and Jason felt as though his stare would burn right through his core. It had been a handful of days since he had come to this world and while he was still struggling to get used to this version of Dick, he was feeling slightly more comfortable.

“I did,” he confirmed the comment he made only moments ago.

But apparently that wasn’t something Dick wanted to hear because he had abruptly stood from his chair and gripped the edge of the long table. “Does your world not tell of Jinn lore?” Jason frowned, unsure of why that would seem strange, but shrugged a shoulder all the same. “This is not an alternative universe for you then. This is a dream.”

Jason furrowed his brow, not sure he understood what Dick was telling him. Hadn’t Jinn told him this was an alternate universe? But thinking back to that initial encounter, he wasn’t sure that was actually ever said. “A dream?”

“Yes, My Pet. A Jinn is known for feeding off the soul or “life-force” of their victims while providing them illusions of their most perfect reality,” Dick explained, eyes taking a slightly panicked edge to them. “How many realities have you visited?” His words sounded desperate as he pushed away from the table and hurried over to where Jason still sat. “How many, Pet?!”

“This was my third wish.” Dick stopped with a gasp. But Jason had no idea why that was so concerning. Why did it matter that he had made his three wishes? Did something happen once the third wish took hold? “Dick?”

“You need to find a way out of here. You need…” Dick looked away and gazed off into the distance, seeing something Jason wasn’t sure about. But despite that, he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to find his way out of an illusion that was being forced upon him. How could he fight something in his head? “You have already spent too much time here with me, I do not know how much time you spent in the others. You might not have much time left.” Dick sounded concerned, lost, and determined all at once. Jason had no idea how it was possible, but it was there.

“How am I supposed to get out of here?”

“Will your Dick be coming for you? You’ll have already been missing for a few days. Will he come for you?” It was a good question, but it wasn’t one Jason had an answer for. Would Dick? After the fight where Dick told him he wished he had never come back from the dead? But was that actually what Dick had meant? Jason knew the man’s temper and looking at this version of Dick, he knew how possessive he could be. Was Dick speaking from jealousy over Roy? “Pet, will he come for you?”

“I don’t know,” Jason admitted.

But Dick got a familiar stubborn look on his face and shook his head. “If he feels an ounce of the possessiveness I immediately felt, then he will come. Is he strong? Is he a fighter? You are not normal, you know about the Lantern Corps. Is he like you?” Jason nodded, Dick was one of the strongest people he knew. Not just physically.

Jason opened his mouth to question Dick, to see if he had any idea how he could break the illusion from within, when the world went blurry around him and a familiar figure appeared in front of him. “You have been naughty,” Jinn said, voice tense and eyes burning. Jason didn’t say anything in return, just raised his chin in defiance. “I knew you were strong, I could feel your power on the other side of the planet. I wish I had known someone had informed you of my lore before I put you under. I would have kept a closer eye on your illusions.”

“So you lost. Let me go.”

Jinn let their mouth fall open and the corners of their mouth tilt upward as they clicked their tongue. “Did I?” And deep in his core Jason knew what was coming. But despite lunging immediately, he couldn’t stop Jinn from snapping their fingers.

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

But when the world refocused around him, Jason noticed something was different. The world wasn’t a mess and it also wasn’t moving. He had landed in the middle of a living room he didn’t recognize. The areas he could see were warm, welcoming and just to his taste. If he had ever settled down, this would have been his décor of choice. But more than that, Dick stood frozen in mid pour of a cup of coffee in the kitchen wearing just a pair of low slung sweatpants. Jason walked over to the man, looking him over.

The orange glow he had gotten used to was gone and he looked healthier and less scarred than his memories allowed. This was a Dick who hadn’t been a vigilante for more than half his lifetime. This was a Dick who probably worked a regular job, maybe at Wayne Industries, and came home to his family each day with a smile on his face.

“This can be yours.” Jason spun and found Jinn leaning against the doorway leading to what looked like a nursery. He wanted to shove past them and get a closer look, but he resisted. “I can give you this life if you just stop fighting me.”

“But it isn’t real and you’re killing me.”

Jinn scoffed and stepped further into the room. “You put your life up for bargain every single night you go out as Red Hood. This is no different.”

But it was different. “I have no choice in this. I have no chance of survival. But out there,” Jason pointed toward the wall of windows allowing sunlight to reach every corner of the living area, “I have a chance. I have a choice.”

“Don’t you want to know what it would be like to have him love you the way you so desperately love him?” Jinn waved a hand and everything seemed to unfreeze. Jason glanced over and saw Dick slipping the coffee pot back into the holder before turning to smile brightly at him.

“Is Thomas still sleeping?” Dick asked as he came closer and pressed the warm coffee into Jason’s hand, pressing a kiss to his lips in the same moment. Jason felt his heart stutter at the action, his eyes falling shut against his will. He had been dreaming of kissing Dick Grayson since he was thirteen years old and here he was, doing just that. When Dick finally pulled back, that beautiful smile on his face yet again, Jason looked past him to see Jinn watching with an amused smile on their face.

When Dick moved away to go check the nursery, Jason looked down at the cup of coffee and then back to Jinn. The world went frozen again and Jason shook his head. “This isn’t real. It’s not him and this isn’t our life.”

“But it could be. It would be as easy as falling asleep.” But it wasn’t real, and Jason knew that now. “Bastard,” Jinn muttered, seemingly distracted by something but Jason couldn’t figure out what. Jinn’s attention slipped from Jason and the man took the moment to fully assess what was happening. Jinn was desperate. They were practically begging him to accept this reality which meant something had changed. Something more than his being aware of what was happening. Because if it had just been him, Jinn could have focused solely on him. And if their attention was split, that meant help had arrived.

Dick.

Jason didn’t know how he knew, but he did. He knew deep in his core that Dick had come and now Jinn was having to face him. And though Jason was still hurt by the words that Dick had said during their fight, the fact that he was there fighting to save him meant more than he could say. That he had come for him.

“Give into me,” Jinn finally growled at him, eyes blazing gold and furious. “Give in and end this. You won’t last much longer and will likely die before you even regain consciousness. Just give in!”

But Jason just let the cup of coffee fall from his hands and a smirk to spread across his lips. “No.” Jinn gave a growl before snapping their fingers and plunging them both in darkness.

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

“I don’t know, Timmy. Maybe he skipped town,” Dick muttered as he hopped off his motorcycle and looked up at the final safehouse the family knew about. He hadn’t seen or heard from Jason in three days and none of the family or Roy had either. And as much as Dick loved Roy, he did not want to have to sit through yet another lecture from Jason’s best friend. The one he got earlier in the day was enough. Dick knew he had fucked up, he knew it. He knew he let his emotions beat out his logic and pettiness took hold. He knew he was the one at fault.

But how could he be expected to be better, to make amends, if Jason was hiding from him?

“He wouldn’t have just checked out without telling anyone he was leaving. He didn’t even tell Roy.” And yeah, Dick knew Tim had a point. Roy had said he wouldn’t have told Dick where Jason was, but he would tell him that he was aware of the location. But Jason hadn’t called Roy since the fight he had with Dick three nights ago. “Just check the safehouse and then come back to the Cave. We’ll regroup if he’s not there.”

Looking up to the fire escape stairs, Dick jumped and pulled himself up them quickly and efficiently. “Yeah okay,” Dick responded into the comm as he pulled himself up to the roof. He knew this particular safehouse had a few skylights he could enter through, one in particular was right above Jason’s bedroom space. “Lights are on in one room,” he informed Tim as he stuck to the shadows and made his way to the skylight where he could see the light coming from. He knew it was the one above Jason’s room and knew it likely meant the man was there. Roy would have mentioned borrowing the safehouse when Dick mentioned searching them.

“Is he there?” Tim asked distractedly, the clicking of a keyboard in the background. But Dick found himself frozen on the sight in front of him.

Jason was laid out on his bed, eyes closed and body relaxed as if in sleep. But his face was pale and drawn, almost sickly. “Something’s wrong.” Dick relayed, quickly feeling the edge of the skylight for the outside latch to open it. He had only used this particular one a few times, but he easily found the latch and unlocked it so he could drop gracefully beside Jason’s bed.

“What do you mean something is wrong?”

Glancing around, Dick kept quiet and listened for anyone else possibly in the safehouse. But it was almost deathly silent, so Dick moved over to Jason’s side and leaned over him, feeling for a pulse. “He’s still alive but he looks sick and is unresponsive,” Dick whispered, still not trusting that they were alone. Jason had been the picture of health when they had separated the other night. And the fact that Jason was still in his gear was another red flag. Jason never came into this room in his gear because of the skylight.

“Never know who’s watchin’, Dickie.” He had said when Dick had asked him about it.

“Jay?” Dick called softly, patting the man’s cheek. But there was no response and Dick almost jerked back at the cold, clammy texture of his skin.

“I should have known,” a husky voice interrupted his examination of Jason and caused Dick to grab the gun that Dick knew Jason kept tucked between his mattress and headboard, whipping around to point it at whoever was there. And though he didn’t recognize the individual before him, he definitely wasn’t going to let down his guard. “Humans, so predictable.”

“Who are you?”

“Someone you do not wish to tango with, Birdie,” they said, half smirk and eyebrow raised.

Dick narrowed his eyes, not sure how to approach this since he wasn’t in his gear. He had come to Jason as a civilian. So he had his fists and Jason’s gun. But he had no protective gear. He would be vulnerable in ways that could be dangerous.

“Dick who is there?” Tim sounded in his ear but Dick ignored him. It wasn’t like he had an answer.

“Who are you?” Dick demanded again, shifting to cover more of Jason’s body with his own. If he was going to go down in this fight, he would protect Jason as best he could. “What did you do to him?”

The person glanced at Jason behind him before shrugging a shoulder. “I granted a wish.”

A wish? Why the hell would Jason wish for this? “A wish?”

“Wait, did they say wish?” Dick gave a grunt but didn’t say anything so not to alert whoever this was that he had help. He could hear Tim’s typing speed up to an almost frantic pace. “Damian! Get me that Hindu lore book!”

The individual sauntered further into the room and leaned against the dresser Jason had shoved against the opposite wall from the bed. “Yes, just a wish. You threw our boy into quite the tizzy, Birdie. Did you know what you were doing when you said those words? Did you feel regret immediately or did you have to calm down first?”

“What do you know about it?” Dick growled, hand tightening on the gun still pointed at the person.

“I was there when the fight happened. I was there when he called his friend and vented about the cruelty of your words.” Dick clenched his jaw. For some reason this matter-of-fact analysis of the fight with Jason was worse than the lecture Roy had given him. “I was there when he realized that you didn’t want him around. When his hope…vanished.”

“Hope for what?”

They chuckled and shook their head, gaze amused. “You. Both of you. Together as you humans tend to do.”

“It’s a Jinn, Dick!” Glancing over his shoulder to look down at Jason, reconciling the image with what little he knew about Jinn lore, Dick tried to process quickly. “You need iron, they’re susceptible to iron. Damian and Bruce are on their way to you now.” Iron. Help was on the way.

“He was so desperate to eliminate the pain you caused that he wished you out of his life.” Dick suddenly felt cold, looking back to the Jinn. “You’re surprised? I bet you are the kind of person who thinks everyone loves them and will always forgive them, even when they make the most grievous of mistakes. So self-important that you think you’re above consequences.” But Dick didn’t think that, did he? Did he think himself better than everyone else? No, not usually. Usually, he put his own well-being behind everyone else. But he wasn’t so unaware that he didn’t know he could be cruel when he let his anger take hold. And when that anger was backed by jealousy and the feeling of not being enough? Yeah, he could be nasty.

But to the point where Jason would actually wish him away?

“I suppose the joke was on him though, he learned just how true the self-important spiel is when it comes to you.” Dick didn’t even want to consider what they meant by that. No. He didn’t care if Jason woke and told him he never wanted to see Dick again. All that mattered was making sure Jason was able to wake again.

So quickly he scanned the room for what could possibly be iron. But there was nothing. Then he remembered that Jason had a fireplace in this space and that meant iron tools to stroke the fire. But how was he going to get to it when he was protecting Jason?

“Two minutes out.”

He had two minutes to figure something out. But every idea meant leaving Jason vulnerable and he didn’t know if he could risk that. Maybe if he pissed the Jinn off enough to focus on him he could make sure they left Jason alone.

“Have you figured it out yet?” The Jinn asked, looking as cocky as they did when they appeared.

And Dick made a call he hoped he wouldn’t regret in the end. Clicking off the safety, he pulled the trigger of Jason’s gun and shot a bullet to the Jinn’s shoulder before running out of the room in search of the iron.

“You are more trouble than you’re worth, Birdie,” they growled, appearing in front of Dick in a puff of blue smoke just as he closed his fingers around the fire poker that he was really hoping was actually iron. “You think you can save him? You think he wants you to save him? You think you’re anything?!”

Good, get angry. Focus on me, Dick thought as he swung the poker in a circle to test the weight and balance. Tucking Jason’s gun in the back of his pants, Dick grabbed the shovel with the other had and crouched into a fighting stance.

“I think you’re worried I can do just that.” It was more confident than Dick actually felt as the two of them circled each other, but he knew how to put on a show. He knew how to play the part. And that’s what he planned to do.

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

Jason knew it was over before he even opened his eyes. The fact that he had to open his eyes proved that fact. He had been with Agent Orange Dick the longest and never once had he slept. Looking back, he could see the signs of it being a dream and not reality. But he had been in too deep with the illusion to notice on his own. His mind had to help him along.

But the fact that he knew he had been asleep also meant that his rescue had been a success. And that meant either Jinn was dead or contained. And he was back to face his actual reality with the truth of what he had learned about the influence of Dick Grayson on not just his life, but the world.

“Jay?” Speak of the devil. Jason blinked his eyes slowly and stared up at the ceiling of what he immediately recognized as the medical bay in the cave. He hated this place. “Jay?” Dick called again, voice sounding concerned enough that Jason found the energy to turn his head toward the other man. “There you are,” Dick sighed, relief filtering over his features.

“Jinn?”

“Were you aware of what they did?” Jason blinked, trying to clear the fog that was taking forever to dissipate from his mind. “Bruce took them to the Watchtower for the League to handle, if they survive.” Furrowing his brows, he silently asked Dick what he meant. “I got a little stab happy with your fire poker.”

Jason took a moment to process that. Iron, right. “You came.” And though Jason was still hurt by the words Dick had said, he felt bad at the look of guilt his own caused.

“I had been searching for you everywhere. You just dropped off the map for three days and no one, not even Roy knew where you had gone,” Dick explained. Three days was a long time for any of them to go without contact, so Jason could understand the need to look into it. He couldn’t believe it was three days though, it had felt longer and shorter at the same time. “I was just trying to apologize for what I said, but then I found you practically comatose and…” Dick shrugged a shoulder, looking away.

Jason took the moment to look the other man over. He looked tired. His hair was a mess, probably from running his hand through it constantly. And his clothes were wrinkled as if he had been living in them for the past couple of days.

“Jay, I shouldn’t have said what I said. I didn’t mean to make it seem like I wished you never came back. That’s not true,” Dick said, looking back to Jason who was frozen at the look of regret. “I am thankful every day that you came back. And when I said that, I meant I wish you didn’t have to deal with all the side effects the Pit left behind. Not that I didn’t want you back.”

Jason remained silent, furrowing his brows as he listened. Trying to make sense of the words when his brain had been so sure Dick had meant he wished Jason had never come back at all.

“I’m bad at handling my anger. And I’m worse at holding back when I’m jealous.”

“Jealous? What do you have to be jealous of?”

Dick looked away again, a splash of pink dusting his cheeks. And Jason was sure his brains had to have been really scrambled for all of this to be happening.

“I was,” he paused, shaking his head but still refusing to look back to Jason. “I am,” he corrected, “jealous of your friendship with Roy.”

Of Roy. Dick was jealous of Roy. What? “What?” Jason stupidly asked and Dick shrugged a shoulder, ducking his head and glancing at Jason. If he wasn’t so confused, he’d find it endearing.

“You need Roy.” Jason nodded dumbly, still confused. “When we were arguing, you stopped to call him so he could talk you down when all I could do was push you to that point.” And the pieces were finally starting to click into place. A little at least. “You don’t need me. Even though we’re…I don’t know, what are we? Friends? Partners? More?” The question was there in his eyes and Jason knew that the doubts he had about what Dick’s true feelings were unfounded. “I was jealous that you need him but not me. I’ve been jealous about that for a while. And it makes me question whether or not I’m good enough to be anything to you when you need someone else more than you need me.”

“Dick,” Jason reached out and grabbed the other man’s hand that was resting on the edge of his bed. “Just because I need Roy more right now doesn’t mean I won’t need you more in the future.” Watching Dick lift his head to look at him more directly, he recognized the confusion in his eyes. “But I can’t do a fight like that again, Dick. I can’t. I-” Dick’s hand quickly covered his mouth and stopped him from saying anything more.

“Roy gave me quite the lecture and eye-opening speech. I know. I fucked up royally and it played you in every way I knew it would. It was…manipulative and cruel.” And yeah, Jason couldn’t argue with that. Dick looked contrite and thoroughly chastised. He’d have to ask Roy exactly what he said to the man. “I’m sorry. I am. And I’m not asking you to forgive me, but I’d like to be able to prove that I won’t do it again.”

Jason considered what Dick was saying, unsure of whether or not he should offer the forgiveness Dick said he wasn’t asking for or not. He didn’t want to let Dick off the hook, but he also knew when the man was telling the truth. And after seeing exactly how his life could have been without Dick’s influence, Jason didn’t want to know what would happen if he let Dick slip away now.

“Okay,” was what came out instead of the elaborate thoughts.

“Really?”

Jason nodded and squeezed the hand still holding onto Dick’s. “Those dreams showed me some pretty hard truths about life without you and I don’t want to see what this life would be like without you.” Dick looked stunned, like he wasn’t expecting Jason to admit to what it was he had seen inside the dreams. “I’m still upset and it’s going to take a while for me to get over it, but life is much better with you in it. For everyone.”

Dick looked slightly awed at the comment, but then hesitant. And Jason knew exactly what Dick was going to say next. “What exactly did you wish for, Jay?”

Jason hesitated for a moment because he wasn’t sure Dick needed to know the depths of how hurt he was. That he had been at the point he would actually wish Dick out of the world. Out of his world. Because Jason knew that once his anger had calmed a bit, if Jinn had offered a little later, he never would have made that wish. He would have probably wished for that last ditch effort illusion. He would have wished to be happy. To know what it was like to be happy with Dick.

“Jay?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Jason looked at Dick’s curious face and sighed. “The wrong thing, but if I hadn’t then I probably wouldn’t have figured out what was happening. You were the Orange Lantern in the final wish, obsessed with taking everything for yourself,” Jason offered instead of telling of the first two. “You were so obsessed with me that when I mentioned a Jinn had sent me there, you told me what a Jinn does. You were consumed with the thought of me dying on you that you told me I needed to get out of there.”

“I wonder why your illusion told you to fight back if it was there because of the Jinn.”

“Because the Jinn only created the illusion, it was still Jason’s mind controlling it,” a voice interrupted. Jason looked past Dick to see Bruce standing in the doorway. He didn’t want to admit how good it was to see him in this state. He would probably never forget the look of the man in the jail cell. “And when Dick showed up as a distraction, the hold the Jinn had loosened and your mind could actively fight back. But I am curious, how did you know about the lore? If you hadn’t, you never would have been able to succeed.”

Jason shrugged but then remembered a few months ago when he had been with Damian in the library. “Damian,” he said, trying to remember exactly what had happened. “He showed me a Hindu lore book he had found and mentioned the Jinn.” Jason looked at Dick who was smiling, most likely proud that his favorite brother had a direct influence on Jason’s survival. “Let’s not tell him. He’s got enough of an ego as it is.”

Dick laughed and they both looked over at Bruce who looked…almost pleased. “I am glad we got to you in time, Jason. Alfred will be down shortly to check you over and give you all clear.” Jason nodded, mind still reconciling this image with the one from the illusion. Bruce gave Dick a nod before silently leaving the two of them alone.

“I understand why he never kills now,” Jason spoke, still looking at the spot Bruce had been standing. Dick remained silent and Jason knew he was waiting for Jason to elaborate or change the subject since it had still been an issue up until then. “In the world where I wished I had never met Batman, you had died.” He looked over at Dick with a heavy sadness, remembering how much it had hurt to learn that Dick had died at the hands of the Joker. “And he killed the Joker because of it, out of anger or depression maybe. I’m not sure. But he turned himself into the police and the man he became…” Jason shook his head and took a deep breath. “He wasn’t Bruce anymore. His life had bled out of him and he was a shell.”

“He has his walls he’s built around himself, but he’s still just a man,” Dick said, and Jason nodded. He saw that now. Bruce wasn’t this infallible person they all seemed to think he was because that was what they wanted him to think.

“Hey Dick?” Jason prompted, needing to lighten the mood in the room.

“Yeah Jay?”

“Don’t ever invest in an orange velvet pimp suit okay? You were like fucking Smaug and I will never be able to scrub those images from my mind.” Dick’s jaw dropped and Jason let out a laugh.

#jaydick #jason todd #dick grayson #jinn au #anikah writes #bruce wayne #alternate universe #kind of

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izlaria · 3 years

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Someone you like (part 4)

This is the fourth chapter of my “Someone you like” inspired fic. It’s also available on AO3 in case you prefer that platform. Please hit me up to talk about Plance!

Summary: In the days following their arrival on Earth, Pidge finds that conflicting feelings don't just disappear because there are more people around. On the contrary, with the approach of the final battle, they seem to get worse.

FYI, we’re still on Pidge pining hour.

18 and 16 years old

Life was not easy when you were a soldier fighting against an evil, intergalactic empire, but Pidge had found a sort of balance to it all. Now that they were back on Earth and she knew her family was relatively safe, much of the sorrow she’d carried had dissolved into hopefulness.

Much, but not all.

Pidge leaned her head against the wall, hugging the papers to her chest. Being on the Garrison made it easier for her to ignore her erratic heartbeats, because she could just avoid Lance most of the time, but it also sent her into overdrive when she accidentally met him in the hallways. She could usually depend on her mother to be there – Pidge was grounded, after all –, but there were times when not even Colleen could protect her.

She wanted to talk to Lance, of course. He was one of her best friends and no crush could ever change that, but it took a lot out of Pidge to hear him drone on about Allura and all the places he wanted to show her on Earth.

Maybe her evasiveness wasn’t the most mature of Pidge’s choices, but she was tired and lovesick and feeling neglected. She would have to be excused a little pettiness.

“Do you want to tell me why I just saw you ignore Lance?” Matt raised his brows at her, an expression that Pidge herself often mimicked and that was especially irritating to be the target of. He was standing off to the side of her station, gloves still on.

Pidge pushed away from the wall, feeling flustered. She hadn’t realized her brother had witnessed the scene.

“Did I ignore Lance?” Pidge opted to feign innocence. “I was so lost in thought I didn’t really see him there. Or you.” This last bit she said with a touch of hostility.

Matt crossed his arms and hummed, sounding disbelieving. “You always were the worst liar out of the two of us, Pidge.”

She shouldered past Matt with a glare. There was a lot of work to do until the Atlas was completed and the last thing she needed were distractions like her feelings for Lance or a fight with her brother.

“When did you land on Earth, anyway?” Pidge put the papers down on her table and moved to one of the computer screens, where she’d left a new code running. It was an improved version of her and Matt’s previous software for predicting Galra presence. “I could use your eyes on this.”

Matt stood at her back, looking over her shoulder at the lines that lit up the computer.

“This is interesting…” He squinted down at Pidge. “Don’t think for a second that a new challenge will make me forget what I just saw.”

She took advantage of Matt’s positioning to elbow him in the gut.

Truthfully, Pidge knew her brother wouldn’t tease her too much about her circumstances. Matt was caring and even protective when it came to her well-being, so he would never rat her out to Lance or any of the others, even if he disagreed with her actions.

Despite that, she struggled with being vulnerable around him.

Pidge didn’t want to think about it, but the years they’d spent apart had certainly affected their relationship. Before going to space, Matt was more than her brother, he had been her closest friend. But now she had Hunk, Lance, and even Keith and Allura. If she needed guidance, Coran and Shiro were only a call away.

She would always be close to Matt, but he was no longer the only person whose company she valued.

“We should finish this up before mom comes around,” Pidge said, trying to refocus. “She comes to collect me at the end of the day.” She rolled her eyes.

“That still going on?” Matt chuckled as he pulled a chair over to her station. He scanned the reports she had just brought in.

“I can’t even go out to eat with the team. We’ve had to meet in the cafeteria, of all places.”

“I’m just glad the cooking staff changed since I was a student.” Matt wrinkled his nose. “That was just nasty.”

“Except for the burgers.” And here Pidge smiled, suddenly reminded of all the times Hunk and Lance had dragged her to lunch and how they always ended up making a mess of their table.

“On Mondays, that’s right!” Matt glanced at her and Pidge couldn’t quite read the look in his eyes. “Until when are you grounded, anyway?”

“Let’s see, I was fifteen when I was whisked into space, so…” She pretended to do the calculations. “Until my twenty-first birthday, unless dad intervenes.”

Matt snorted. “Good luck with that. He doesn’t really have any weight with mom right now. She’s still upset about the whole being-pronounced-dead thing.”

Pidge groaned, burying her face into her hands. “I’ll be going to war in a month, but I still have no freedom here.” She raised her eyes to look at him. “Can’t you talk to mom?”

“And risk my newfound position as the favorite? You’re on your own, kiddo.” He continued to stare down at the papers for a moment, before turning to face her properly. “You know why she’s doing this, right? You spent three years MIA. We thought you were dead.” He exhaled forcefully. “I thought you were dead.”

Pidge didn’t really know how to respond. Since her arrival on Earth, she’d had versions of this conversation with several people, but her brother had always stood back and given her a little space. He probably knew better than most how overwhelming such a welcome could be. “I am sorry, Matt.”

He gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Turnaround is fair play, I guess.”

“Stop.” Pidge put a hand on his arm. She worked her jaw, trying to figure out what to say. “I never wanted you to find out how that felt.”

Matt nodded once, swallowing hard. Pidge could tell that he was putting his emotions back in check.

“I’m proud of what you’ve done, Katie. Mom might act like you’re still a kid, but I was out there before you came along.” It reminded Pidge that, though he hadn’t been present for her battles, Matt had seen his own share of horrors. “Voltron turned the tide, in no small part because of you.”

“Thank you.” She tried to blink away the tears. Matt smiled and brought his hands up to cup her face.

“My little sister is a badass, so I don’t want to see you hiding behind corners because of some stupid boy.” When she tried to protest, he just squished her cheeks. “Who does not deserve you, by the way.”

Pidge couldn’t help but laugh. She could always count on Matt to make her smile through her tears.

“I thought you liked Lance,” she said once Matt had let go of her face. He grimaced.

“He’s eighteen and a flirt.” Her brother didn’t even try to go back to work, he merely kicked his legs up onto a workbench and crossed his arms. “I would feel better about Keith, even.”

“You say that because Shiro would be just as bad of a protective older brother as you.” She pushed at his chair, making Matt almost lose his balance.

“You would never be alone unchaperoned, it would be great,” he confirmed, still pulling himself back into position.

“You realize that I’m technically nineteen?” She aimed a sharp look at him.

“You realize you look twelve?” Matt shot back, looking unbearably satisfied with himself. This time Pidge had no mercy for him; she sent his chair rolling down the aisle and Matt with it.

“Honestly, you have nothing to worry about.” She wrapped an arm around her middle. “Lance is so enamored with Allura that I could yell in his ear that I like him and the goofball would think I meant it platonically.”

Matt wheeled himself back to her. “Then he’s a fool.”

“You’re just saying that,” Pidge scoffed. “You were just as bad as him when meeting Allura.”

“Look, Allura is beautiful, that’s true, but it doesn’t diminish your qualities.” He put a hand on her shoulder, leaning in close so that their voices didn’t echo in the empty laboratory. “You are funny and witty and smarter than anyone in this damn complex. Don’t you dare compare yourself to Allura.”

Pidge dragged her chair until she was resting against Matt’s shoulder.

“It’s sort of inevitable. She’s the one he likes and I have to accept it.” She looked at the computer, where lines of code kept appearing and disappearing. “It’s just hard to be near him. I feel like I’ll do something and everyone will… know.”

“You spent almost a year pretending to be someone else, I think your acting skills are a little better than that.”

“Didn’t you criticize my lying just a few minutes ago?” she deadpanned.

“Well…” Matt gave her a cheeky grin. “I’ve known you your entire life, so I’m a Katie Holt expert.”

“Of course,” she drawled out, rolling her eyes.

Pidge felt her brother put an arm over her shoulder, squeezing her to his side.

“You’re perfect, okay?” he murmured into her hair. “Don’t ever let anyone convince you otherwise.”

She closed her eyes and let herself fall into his embrace. It was something she had missed, even now that the team was back on Earth. Everything had changed since the Kerberos mission and, while a lot of it was good, Pidge couldn’t deny that she wished Matt would stay with them more often.

“Okay.” Her voice trembled, but Matt didn’t mention it, choosing to tighten his hold on her.

“Knock, knock! Anyone in here?” As soon as the voice sounded, Pidge scrambled to hide her face. She got up and pretended to check a different monitor, turning her back to the door. She heard Lance approach their station. “Oh, hey, guys!” Then, seeming to notice the mood of the room. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, man.” Matt was the first to recover. Pidge felt him move, probably trying to keep Lance from getting any closer. “We were just discussing some Holt secret coding.” She almost snickered at this, despite the heartbeat that still hammered in her ears. It was the sort of thing that only a non-techie would believe.

“And I thought us McClains were bad with our ropa vieja recipe.” She chanced a look over her shoulder to catch Lance’s smile. He was always at his brightest when talking about his family.

“You needed something, Lance?” Matt was being a bit more brusque than normal, but his expression was thankfully still amenable. Pidge would have hit him if he just started being a jerk to Lance.

“Not really,” the other boy responded. He looked around Matt to smile at Pidge. “I was just hoping to catch up with Pidge before your mother comes around.” He shuddered. “Let me tell you, that’s a scary lady. She could almost beat mami with that I’m-not-mad-just-disappointed face.”

“You tell me?” Matt sighed. “That’s one thing I don’t look forward to when touching down at the Garrison.”

“You wanted to talk to me?” Pidge interrupted before they could keep going. Putting two of the friendliest people she knew in the same room was only a good idea if she had the patience for a long conversation. Which she didn’t.

“Ah, are you done ignoring me, Pidgeon?” Lance cocked his hip to one side, looking too sure of himself for his own good.

“I’m working, Lance, something you should be doing as well.” She pretended to fix her glasses, if only to have something to do.

The boy waved a dismissive hand at her. “I’m done for the day and I know for a fact that you’re just working on pet projects until Colleen comes to get you.” When he tried to lean down towards her, Matt moved to stand between them. Lance hesitated, before letting the strange behavior go. “Matt can keep your mom busy if she shows up, right?”

It was difficult to say no to Lance. He was jovial and charming, in particular when he wasn’t actually trying to impress anyone.

“Can you, Matt?” Pidge found herself asking. Her brother frowned at her with uncertainty.

“If that’s what you want, Pidge,” he yielded, when she didn’t back down.

“Let’s go before you get me in trouble, McClain.” Pidge gave a long-suffering sigh and moved past the two boys, who were saying their goodbyes.

Lance caught up to her at the door, opening it with an exaggerated bow.

She walked briskly down the hallway, but Lance had the advantage of his height. For every two, quick steps Pidge took, he only had to take one long stride.

“In a rush to get away?” There was laughter in his voice.

“You’ve seen how mom gets,” she replied, peaking around corners as they moved. “If she doesn’t know where I am for more than five minutes, she seems to think I’ll jump into a ship and disappear for another four years.”

“As if I had it any better.” He gestured to a hallway Pidge knew led to the analytics department. “I’m just lucky Veronica is the only one in my family with clearance to come into the Garrison.”

Pidge snorted. “I should sic my mom on you and Hunk, to make things even.”

Though she’d spent so much of their time on Earth making up excuses not to see Lance, the conversation between them flowed naturally. He had an easy-going energy that calmed Pidge’s more tense nature. While they were in the castle-ship, he had been able to soothe the worst of her worries, until Pidge could actually have fun, despite the fears that troubled her mind.

She didn’t know what would have become of her in this war, if Lance hadn’t been there.

“On the subject of your family…” Lance sent her an anxious look. “Is everything really alright with your brother?”

Pidge could tell he was actually worried, which sent a wave of affection and pain through her chest. She struggled to keep her expression blank.

“We were just talking about the war.” She allowed apprehension to seep into her tone. “I know he has a role to perform out there, but I wish he could stay longer.”

Lance twisted his mouth to the side, an unhappy expression he often adopted when trying to look empathetic. “What has Matt said about it?”

“He misses home, but he can’t really ignore what’s going on with the rebel forces.” Pidge rubbed at her temple. “If we are actually able to end the war, then things might be different, but for now…” she trailed off.

Communications from all around the universe told them Voltron wasn’t the only force preparing for battle. There were a lot of moving parts to consider, especially with the still unknown variable of whose influence had been affecting the Altean colony.

“I know what you mean. After this is all over, I think I’ll take a long vacation to just enjoy good, old Earth.”

This surprised Pidge, startling her from her previous line of thought.

“What, is the Tailor going to retire?” She knocked Lance lightly on the arm, trying for a playful mood.

“No,” he objected. He bent at the waist to look her in the eye and winked. “You know I can’t deny the rest of the universe the beauty of my presence.”

Pidge pushed his face away. It was easy to pretend to be annoyed at Lance when he insisted on acting like this. He was most dangerous when he was genuine. “Be real, man.”

“I am!” He laughed as he stood upright. “It’s just… We’ve been off-planet for so long, I kinda want some time to spend with my family, maybe travel around. I’ve only ever been to Cuba and the US, can you believe it? I’ve seen more of space than of my own planet.”

“Yeah, me too.” Pidge frowned. She hadn’t thought about the situation in these terms before. “I’ve been to Italy and England, but that’s it.”

“We should come up with a plan, get the others in on it.” Lance shot her a smile.

They had walked all the way to the MFE taxiway and Pidge focused her attention on the aircraft that Ryan Kinkade maneuvered across from them. She didn’t want to think of Lance’s warmth so close to her, nor of the future he described.

It didn’t matter how long she avoided him, Lance always found a way back into her life and into her heart. This awareness was painful, when Pidge knew he would never look at her as more than a best friend or a younger sister.

She felt something hit her cheek and looked up at the sky. Dark clouds gathered over them and soon there was another drop.

“Oh, it’s raining,” Pidge commented offhandedly. By her side, Lance let out a laugh. He sounded so joyful that she couldn’t stop herself from staring.

Lance had opened his arms and raised his face to the rain. It reminded her of something he had said months ago, about the aspects of Earth he missed while in space. She was once again struck by how attracted she was to Lance: his cheerfulness, his stupid humor, the curve of his Adam’s apple and the way his uniform clung to him in the rain.

“I really missed this!” he exclaimed mid-laugh.

Pidge stood still, admiring his delight even as her hands closed to fists at her sides. “Yeah,” she breathed out, “me too.”

After they left the mall, there was still some time for Allura to kill before her date and it was decided that she, Romelle and Pidge would stop to grab something to eat. Rizavi and Ina had previous plans, but they encouraged the girls to have some fun together, leaving unsaid that it might be their last chance to do so.

“I cannot emphasize how thankful I am, Pidge.” Allura reached across the table to grab her hand. She and Romelle had insisted on going into a coffeeshop that had recently reopened; the design was minimalist but cozy, a step-up from anything else they’d seen outside downtown.

“And I’ve said it a hundred times already, princess, I don’t mind.” Pidge let her hand go slack in Allura’s, trying not to snap at her friend. While she appreciated the gratitude, the constant touching was starting to grate on her nerves.

“You do mind,” Allura contested, with the kind of serious but diplomatic tone she used when arguing with Garrison officers. “I could see your hesitance when the vendor first offered the trade. None would have denied your right to keep the item.”

Allura pulled back into herself as she spoke. It was strange to see her uncomfortable, since the princess usually kept either a tranquil or a powerful front in the face of adversity. Free from her touch, Pidge suddenly felt bad for not responding more fervently to Allura’s efforts towards a closer bond. In the castle-ship, she had pretended they were simply too different and, on Earth, too busy.

The truth was much less dignified: Allura had seemed like an unapproachable ideal, made solid only to remind Pidge of all that she could not be. She was prim and beautiful and feminine. Once upon a time, before the complexities of her multiple identities, Katie had aspired to this image, to some degree.

“You’re more important to me than a video game.” Pidge tried to be casual with the way she said this, but the knowing glint that shone in Allura’s eyes told her it was unsuccessful. “I’ll have plenty of time to find it again after the war is over.”

“Perhaps you could teach me these games once we are back.” Allura smiled at her, the picture of earnestness. “I was always curious about the time you and the other paladins dedicated to them.”

“It can be pretty frustrating,” Pidge warned, thinking of the hours she’d wasted with Hunk and Lance just to get past some particularly difficult levels.

“I have noticed that you scream a lot while playing,” the other commented thoughtfully, “but that appears to be part of the bonding experience.”

“You can say that again.” She scoffed.

“Why would I say it again?” Allura tilted her head to the side in confusion and Pidge had to disguise her laughter.

“I’m just agreeing with you.” She sometimes forgot that the Alteans weren’t completely used to Earth culture. In the Castle of Lions, the paladins were the ones to adhere to new patterns. Now, Allura and Coran had to slowly learn their customs, like with this date.

“I suppose we did have something similar in Altea,” Allura mused. “Activities like the maze we had in the Castle were quite popular among the youth.” She leaned over the table to speak in a lower voice. “The element of danger was a point of interest, though I couldn’t quite comprehend why.”

“That’s a lie and you know it!” Pidge pointed accusingly at Allura. “You’re almost as bad as Keith with throwing yourself into dangerous situations.”

“Am not!” It was always funny to rile her up like this. Allura was so calm and collected that getting her to sound immature was a reward in itself. The other shook her head and settled back into her seat, straightening her posture. “Oh, I know what you are doing.”

Pidge continued to grin at her. “What am I doing?”

The princess narrowed her eyes at Pidge, but her mouth struggled with a smile. “You and Lance have such a way of getting me to lose my cool.” She tapped a rhythm on the table. “I must admit it is endearing.”

There it was again, the shock of warmth and sadness that had troubled Pidge the entire day. She loved Allura and was even happy for her, but her heart was conflicted by the news of her new-found interest in Lance.

It just seemed so sudden, Pidge hadn’t had the opportunity to prepare herself. Or maybe those two had grown closer in the Garrison, while she tried her best not to see them, and this was simply the outcome of her bad choices.

Pidge was saved from responding by the arrival of Romelle, her arms full of napkins.

“What a bargain!” She proclaimed as the packages fell from her hands and bounced across the tabletop. “They have agreed to serve us their best delicacies in trade of Pidge’s autographs, a video of her endorsement and an appearance once every phoeb for the next five moons!” The blonde beamed down at them. “On that regard, what is an endorsement?”

Allura and Pidge shared a dismayed look over the piles of napkins.

“Surely they do not expect Pidge to autograph all of these.” Allura gave Romelle an hesitant smile, as if her politeness could change the answer they all knew was coming.

Romelle blinked at them. “The cook assured me it was an amazing deal.”

Pidge pinched the bridge of her nose, calling on any patience she could muster. She had nothing against Romelle and the Altean was nice and cheerful most of the time, but her naivete when dealing with human conventions never failed to amaze.

“Oh dear,” Allura fretted. “I should go deal with that.”

“Think you can convince them to give us food without getting me stuck here for the near future?” Pidge teased, to disguise her vexation.

Her friend slid off the booth. “I have reasoned with beings from several galaxies, I cannot fathom a Terran entrepreneur will be more stubborn than certain members of the coalition.” Allura straightened her spine and clasped her hands over her stomach, looking every bit the princess she was. The determination in her expression made Pidge smile.

“I can autograph one pile of napkins and I agree to do a video endorsement, but I’m not changing back into costume.” She turned to look at Romelle, who seemed to be accompanying the conversation with good-humored confusion. There was something almost sly about the look in her eyes. “I’m going into space tomorrow, how was I supposed to come back? Besides, I’m grounded. If mom found out we were finished shopping, she’d already be here to drag me home.”

“I might have been swayed by the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen,” the other admitted in a manner that could pass for sheepish. She eyed the napkins, before picking up a package. “I suppose these are a little excessive.”

Allura sighed. “I will be right back.”

They watched the princess move towards the front of the coffeeshop, where the human owner was talking to another set of customers. Romelle sat down where Allura had previously been.

“Alone at last.” She clapped her hands together and faced Pidge with a seriousness that contrasted with her usual vibrancy.

Pidge narrowed her eyes at Romelle. “I knew you were plotting something.”

The blonde shrugged. “I wanted to talk to you privately and I didn’t think we would get the chance in the Garrison.” She glanced back to where Allura stood waiting for the other customers to leave. “The owner was a darling, but he was a tremendous flirt, so Allura won’t be here any time soon.”

“Do I even have to sign anything?” Pidge rested her chin on her hand.

“He wants a picture with you and the princess and an autograph to hang on the wall, but that’s it.” Romelle winked at her.

“So what do you want?” Pidge tapped a finger against her cheek. She didn’t mean to sound so suspicious, but the girl’s orchestrations made the situation feel a little like a trap.

“To thank you.” The emotion in her voice sounded almost like pity. “For your sacrifice today.”

Pidge groaned. “I already told Allura that the video game wasn’t that much of a loss.”

“I am not talking about the game.” There was a moment of silence, during which Pidge kept very still. “I saw your reaction when we told you about the date. It was only then that I realized: you like pointy chin.”

“What makes you think that?” She raised a brow at Romelle, doing her best to appear natural.

“It makes sense.” Romelle looked up at the sparse decorations that adorned the coffeeshop, her expression pensive. “He’s the one you spend the most time with, after Hunk. I didn’t think you were interested in romance, given your almost complete lack of sentimentality,” and here she made a face at Pidge, “but I suppose we’re all dealing with high emotions right now.”

Pidge didn’t know how to reply. So far, Matt was the only one who had realized her crush on Lance and he’d been thankfully quiet since. The whole day left her feeling off-center, especially with what Romelle now wanted her to confess. Pidge didn’t want to talk about her feelings. She wanted to take her bayard and carve the jealousy and affection and misery right out of her chest.

Romelle took her silence as a sign to go on. “Look, I know we are not close, but you can talk to me.” The expression on her face was so eager that Pidge didn’t immediately protest. “You are… not kind. Not always, at least, but genuine.” Romelle hurried through her words. “Which is more than can be said about others I’ve met since arriving on Earth. And I can see how much you care for Allura, though you hide it beneath your sarcasm and reluctance.”

“Has anyone on Earth given you trouble?” Pidge chose to focus on the subject that was easier to approach. Romelle clearly knew what she was doing, because the blonde gave her a very annoyed look. “The team and I have tried to shield you from the politics of having non-humans around, but it’s not always possible.”

“I grew up worshipping a man who turned out to be harvesting quintessence from the bodies of my family and friends,” Romelle stated coolly. “I can handle the Terrans.”

“Well, this thing has to go both ways.” Pidge leaned back against the booth to gesture forcefully in the other’s direction. “If you want me to talk to you, then you need to talk to me.”

Romelle seemed to consider this, her eyes narrowed. “Fair enough.” She glanced quickly over her shoulder, then leaned forward. “I know we both want what’s best for Allura, but I hope you will be happy, too.”

Her eagerness brought a small smile to Pidge’s lips, even as her chest constricted with the acknowledgement of her feelings.

There were many things in the universe that she valued more than romance: her family, her intellect and ability to continue learning, and now her friends. Pidge would do anything to keep them safe and content, regardless of how she felt about Lance. She would eventually get over him, of this Pidge was sure.

She loved Lance, but she loved herself more.

“I don’t need a boy to be happy, Romelle. I just want this war to be over.”

The blonde nodded at her response. “You have already done so much for me by going against Lotor.” She sighed. “You will always have my loyalty for that.”

Pidge took a moment to study her. Romelle could be energetic and joyful, but she had also suffered more loss than Pidge could really comprehend. She had never believed Matt and her father were dead, even on the early days of the Garrison’s declaration. Hope had moved her forward, but Romelle hadn’t had that privilege.

“Have I ever told you how I became a paladin?” she asked, much to Romelle’s surprise.

“I don’t believe so, no.” The other furrowed her brows in puzzlement. “Are you changing the subject again?”

“I was just thinking that we have more in common than you know.” Pidge lowered her eyes to the tabletop, tracing a series of scratches with the tip of her fingers. “You have met my brother Matt, haven’t you?”

Allura approached as she said this, a tray of food balanced on her hand. “Oh, has Romelle heard of your search for Matt?”

Pidge stood up to help Allura place the coffee without spilling it and grinned at her friend’s enthusiasm. “I was just about to tell her.”

The princess sat down next to Romelle and put her hands to her chest in a show of sympathy. “It is a lovely story, please go on.”

With a laugh, she did.

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