#not tagging this i simply just needed to yell my idiot thoughts somewhere

[mothheart]

It's cliche as hell maybe but gabriel being trans is a fun hc to toss around with that religious guilt of his. overachiever angel who fought his way to the top and earned the respect of the other angels and the tolerance of the council and committing countless atrocities in the process gets severed from his connection to god in the end regardless and has the most self-destructive downward spiral. failure of an angel speedrunning every sin until he kicks the bucket. it's a good thing there's a certain self-indulgent murder toaster to help him with that :)

[ginanosakka]

I Hate it Here

Masterlist

We Were Kids | Next

Moving you into Katsuki’s apartment across town took mere minutes, but everyday you spent there felt like years that you’d never get back. Everything felt too big and nostalgic, and the only thing grounding you to keep you from a panic attack, was Ryu being himself despite being pulled from school and transitioning to home school. He was just happy to be around his father all the time, immediately bombarding him with questions about his day the moment that he stepped through the door.

It wasn’t news that Katsuki wasn’t fond of comforting people, and the thought of him begging for forgiveness was laughable — but that brick wall you put up the moment you stepped through his threshold for the second time was driving him insane. When he was around, you were somewhere else in the house on the phone, or on the laptop you purchased and had shipped to his home as soon as possible. On the rare occasion he did see you for more than a few seconds, you looked drained of life. . and scared.

You were tough even when you two were young — the constant picking at you being quirkless might have made you think he thought otherwise, and he wondered if that contributed to your hardened shell now — but there was the rare occasion when something would break through your tough skin.

And it was always your father that did it.

Katsuki practiced his jabs that he tried out in training with Kirishima on the air, trying to make sure every moment was precise to recreate the amount of damage he dealt everytime. You had tagged along after phoning him and asking what he was doing, receiving the usual ‘I’m training and don’t give a shit if you come or not’ that you always took as a very hostile ‘yes’.

Usually, you’d make small noises of approval as he trained, and after yelling about you messing up his concentration but only getting a tongue stuck out at him in response, he had grown use to your annoying presence. Which is why he stole glances at you today when you were completely silent, and he found himself curious about why you didn’t even look at him as he trained. Bakugou was more aware of your every moment than you’d ever know, and he wanted it to stay that way, so he continued to only steal glances instead of confronting you.

“My dad didn’t tell me happy birthday.” There it was. The moment you’d break the silence and spill your guts to him with no coaxing needed from him.

That’s what drove him crazy about you; how you adapted to his pride and made being there for you so easy.

“He had Jun give me my necklace and money when I woke up, and I asked her if he made any plans to see me today. . She said he’s a busy man and I need to grow up. . Am I asking for too much?”

You looked up at him with every ounce of insecurity on full display, the kind of look he hated seeing on your face more than he hated seeing you in those stupid get-ups your mom bought you. Even he had said happy birthday to you, granted it was though text and there was no gift with it, but at least he had the decency to listen when you said that all you wanted was to hear two simple words from the people you cared about. It pissed Katsuki off even more that he knew you told your dad that’s all you wanted, and it didn’t take a genius to know that he didn’t do it on purpose. Now Katsuki had to be the one to pick up your broken pieces.

“Idiot, it’s not your fault that your old man is trash.” He grunted, turning away from you to stare at nothing so he didn’t have to see that stupid sparkle in your eyes when he said something nice.

That damn sparkle made his heart squeeze.

He was relieved to hear your soft laughter, “I guess you’re right. He’s better at bribing people than caring for them.”

If only he could tell you how true those words were.

“Shit.” Katsuki mumbled under his breathe, the realization of what was happening hitting him like a brick.

That day he went to your office, he hadn’t been there just to get a look at what you had accomplished, and the reason he got so riled up by your secretary was more than just being told he couldn’t see you. He had gotten a tip from Tokoyami that morning about a yakuza organization that was deeply involved in many missing people cases, and also suspects for the assasination of small business companies that were expected to outgrow large corporations.

That organization had your picture on the wall, along with pictures of those who were missing, and ones who had not gone missing but were on police watch due to the likelihood of them being taken next. Katsuki chalked it up to you being seen with him when he was a target for many villains due to his success in taking down and capturing villains with ease, and he let the most obvious point go over his head. He had just immediately wen to go see you to calm his nerves, not even second guessing his own answer that tied this back to the one man he had his own hit on.

The organization that had you targeted, acted under powerful businessmen in Japan. .

Your father was one of those powerful businessmen.

‘It all comes full fucking circle,’ Katsuki thought angrily as he picked up his office phone, knowing that he had to get his least favorite heroes on the case.

“I’m not asking you to take sides, I’m asking you to tell me the truth!” You hissed into the phone, and you could feel every ounce of your patience draining from your body and your tone.

It had been three days. Three days since you moved in with the father of your child, three days of feeling anxious and livid, and three days of trying to get in contact with your mother. For once, you could say that the least of your worries was Katsuki, and now it happened to be the life of your child again. You weren’t stupid — the moment Katsuki mentioned your safety specifically being threatened you knew who had put the hit out on you, and he wanted you to know.

It was your father’s way of warning you that if you even thought of exposing that you were his daughter that ‘went missing’,or tell them what he had done, you and Ryu will never know peace again. The knowledge that you were in his sights again and he still was just as ruthless as ever couldn’t even fully register in your brain, but you knew you had to do something. This was your baby’s life that was in danger again, and this time he isn’t living inside of you so you could have him with you at all times. You didn’t even know how to have this conversation with Katsuki when he didn’t even have the decency to tell you there was someone after your son while he sat in school. In fact, you were doing your best to avoid his presence so you didn’t cause a scene and scare Ryu half to death.

And your mother had the fucking ability to help you, and she decided this was the time to wave the white flag to involving herself in you and your father’s war.

“This isn’t something that I can tell you and your father not disown me too for, Y/N! Do you really expect me to risk my life too?” Your mother responded, and your grip on the phone tightened so much that you weren’t sure how much longer you’d have before it shattered.

“Yes! I expect you to risk your life for me, mom! I expect you to be a mother for just one damn moment in your life to save your grandson! If you can’t tell me what he knows and what you’ve told him, this will not only get ugly for him, but for you too!” You threatened with full intention of making it a reality.

“I can-“ as she spoke you heard a male voice in the background that made your heart sink to the bottom of your stomach before the phone went dead.

You paced the floor with a hand over your mouth to keep from screaming with Ryu napping in the other room, but this situation could only be fully resolved with risks being taken. The company you put blood sweat and tears into — you had long since realized you never wanted to start an entire company, but it was the best thing you knew how to do to make money to give your son the life he deserved — was going to have to be put in jeopardy. Your life, and more importantly your son’s life, would be in immediate danger once you decide to wage this war.

It’s father against daughter, and loser loses everything.

“You were really going to go through this again alone? You really piss me off sometimes.”

You whirled around to the door of the guest bedroom you were in to see not only Katsuki, but Eiji also standing there. It didn’t shock you in the slightest how pissed Katsuki looked, but Kirishima’s deathly stare had you frozen in place. Even though you knew in the back of your mind that their anger was towards your father, you couldn’t help but feel weak when two very famous pro heroes had their murderous gazes on full display for you.

“You don’t have to worry,” Kirishima said and flashed you a hardened arm. “No one is going to touch you or Ryu on my watch.”

Katsuki grunted, “I’ll kill anyone that tries.”

(A\N: So who’s ready to see full on angst, romance, and a badass reader? Cause I am ^_^! Also the amount of love and insight you guys give me on this story is insane and I still can’t than you enough 🥺 I hope you enjoy! <3

Taglist (Closed) <3 : @fandomgirllover @cloudsgathering @that-bipolar-renegade-romantic @jazzylove @that-chick212 @bonbonthedragon @misssugarless @insomniac-nerd-posts-things @bakugous-bakahoe @pinkykookie17 @animexholic @arielting @samkysnks @simpforeveryone @damnirina @deneuves @tsumuuumiyaaaa @vintage-teddyxo @regalmigraine @samvmgh @iamagalaxy @officialtrashbusiness @xwackk @videogameboiwhowins @marajillana @ellasdilemma @plutoneu @saucey-kneecapzz42020 @thestarsanctuary @dewdropwifu @star-light-imagines @kritiiiii @bakugosbottombitch @the2ndl @candybabey @simply-not-the-same @sam-i-am-1025 @mes-bisous @eternallyvenus @peppytine @chaelysian @definitely-yours @oikawarc @suneaterofthebig3 @m0na-l0ver @nkb0048 @losertsukki i @notyourfavorlte @caramelsquares @hikaru-mikazuki

[gjrain20-starwars]

Hello! Saw your fanfic ask! I'd love to read a Tech X Reader (she/her) with some angst!

Thank you 😊

Hi, thanks for the request! I hope you like this :) 

Request #1 (Blog Open Post): Tech X fem!reader w/ angst

Word count 698 (I can’t even stay in the word limit I posted jksdlajfkslaj)

Repairs and Reconciliation

“Tech! If you weld the two frame plates together that way, you will compromise the frame’s integrity. You’ll need something to stabilize the weld.” 

“This is MY ship and I will repair it how I choose. If you don’t like it, when why don’t you just leave!” 

You finally just stormed off as everyone else watched, stunned. The two of you just spent most of the repairs nitpicking over each other’s decisions on how to perform the repairs. You walked into the forest nearby, thinking being there alone would distract you. You were fuming and on the verge of tears. Tech never yelled at you before and you always struggled with being yelled at.

“Well maybe I’ll just leave entirely since I’m not good enough for them. Tech wouldn’t care, he’d probably be happy if I just left.” The intrusive thoughts swarmed your mind in droves. “I’m nothing but a burden anyway. How am I supposed to adjust to being with them if I am just a burden.” The tears rolled down your face as you cried. You kept walking through the forest, not sure of where you were going, as long as it was away from Tech. 

*****

"Hey Tech, where’s Y/N?” Wrecker inquired. They went to Tech to see if they could find you.

Tech hesitated before just responding: “We were arguing about the repairs. I simply told her if she didn’t like what I was doing with the repairs, she should leave. I didn’t tell her to go into the forest, I simply meant somewhere else on the ship.”

“You told her to LEAVE?” Wrecker shouted. “Don’t you realize how much she admires you? She wanted to help you with the repairs for a reason. She sometimes even stares at you while you work because she is fascinated with your determination and focus. She...” 

“What Wrecker is trying to say is that she likes you. It’s really obvious and it’s surprising that you haven’t noticed.” Hunter interrupted before Wrecker could continue. 

It all clicked for Tech and he turned red. All the times you sat next to him came back to mind. “That’s why she asked me so many questions! She’s now gone because I told her to go. I am a kriffing idiot.” Tech took off into the forest to look for you.

*****

You were sitting at the base of a tree. The leaves danced in the wind as time passed on. You focused on your breathing, wiped the tears from your eyes, and decided to start walking back to the ship.

“Y/N, there you are!” Tech called out. You were dreading having to talk to him. 

“What do you want?” You snapped.

“I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier. I shouldn’t have questioned your expertise in ship repairs. I wasn’t listening and clearly I hurt you.”

“Nice observation.”

“I’m being serious. I clearly made it seem like I didn’t like having you around but I do. I wouldn’t know what to do if something happened to you out here or if you truly left us.”

“Probably what you did before I showed up.”

“Technically that isn’t possible since I didn’t know of your existence then but now I do. I would miss you sitting next to me as I work and asking me about the projects. I would miss... you.” 

“Wait, what?”

“I would miss you.”

“You’re joking.” 

“Wrecker pointed out how you wanted to help with repairs and sat with me as I worked on stuff...”

“He told you I liked you didn’t he?”

“Well, Hunter finally said it because Wrecker was just going on about the times you made it obvious and I didn’t see it.”

“And you feel the same?”

“Well, I liked having your company even if we argued today. I’ve never had someone feel this way about me and it’s all new.”

You smirked “Well, should we take this slow and do our research before coming to a conclusion?” 

Tech chuckled a little. “Why not? It is the logical thing to do!” He winked after that last statement.

The two of you walked back to the Marauder, his hand finding yours on the way. 

Notes: Thank you to @brekkers-girl for proofreading this to make sure it sounded right!!

I’ll eventually make a tag list but idk how to make one!

[mortedeveles]

Valentine’s Day, but make it illegal!

Copyright © 2021 by Veles. Do NOT repost, plagiarize, or read my content as ASMR or audiofics.

SUMMARY: Denki has been planning for weeks on how to ask his dearest crush, you, on Valentine’s Day. But once the holiday has arrived, luck doesn’t seem to be on his side... 

PAIRING: Denki Kaminari x fem!reader 

THEMES: Fluff, humor, slight angst but overall lighthearted. [ONE-SHOT] [CUPID’S ARROW WRITING EVENT] 

WORD COUNT: 4.7K (around 4702 words) 

TAG’S AND TW’S: Illegal activity (don’t try this at home kids) trespassing,  mentions of insecurities, blood and minor injuries, a bit of hurt comfort but mostly fluffy, romantic pining. 

before you read (!!!):  this fic is part of the writing event, Cupid’s Arrow! check out our masterlist if you’re interested in more Valentine Day themed works <3 please support the event with REBLOGS, likes and follows!!

Out of all the things Denki Kaminari considered himself to be, brave wasn’t exactly one of them. Sure, he could muster up the courage to tease Bakugou about something silly, then run away in fear, or pull off some stupidly dangerous stunts, but when it came to you, it felt like all the adrenaline and courage in the world abandoned him.

Left him to fend for himself, stuttering like an idiot, or simply being way dumber than his usual self. He would race off with burning cheeks after making a mistake in front of you, attempting to forget the fool he made out of himself. And you never brought it up, which he was extremely grateful for. It was just another reason why he had the biggest, fattest crush on you. You never judged him for his chaotic antics, never insulted him, or felt ashamed of him. 

Denki knew he was a big flirt, and even though he would occasionally try a cheesy pick-up line on you, it never worked. You would only laugh and pat his shoulder, telling him it was a good pick up line to use on someone. Why didn’t you see that the only person he wanted to conquer with his lines was you? That’s why he always told you them, always tried to be as romantic as one could, but you never picked up on it. 

Every unintentional rejection of yours left him to mope alone and disappointed. He had tried everything- tried using all the pick-up lines he knew of, would try to invite you on a date, but you always waved him off, almost as if you didn’t even believe him.

As the months came by and quickly left, February was here in a blink of an eye. The cold weather continued, some days were chillier than others, and on some days, there would be the occasional sunny view. Not much warmth, but at least some sunlight. 

The number fourteen on Denki’s calendar haunted him. Valentine’s Day was approaching quicker than he’d like, but he had decided that he would ask you out, for once and for all, on the upcoming day. The thing was, he still hadn’t completely made up his mind. Unsure of what to do for the special holiday, he decided to consult Kirishima, Sero, and Mina after class. When Denki brought up the topic of asking you out, Bakugou merely snorted and walked out of the classroom, not before muttering, ‘’Just ask her out dunce head, it’s not that hard.’’ 

His shoulders slumped with a dramatic sigh, and the remaining of his friends watched him with sympathetic gazes. They found themselves sitting in the 1A classroom, just after the final school bell of the day had rung. You had quickly left, walking away with Uraraka and Midoriya. Denki and his friends huddled in the center of the classroom, sitting on some desks that weren’t theirs- but since Aizawa-sensei had left early for the day, there was no one around to reprimand them.

‘’I don’t know what to do,’’ he groaned into his hands, ‘’I can’t screw this up- it has to be perfect. But…’’ 

‘’You don’t know what to do.’’ Sero completed the sentence for him, and Denki moaned in response. 

‘’Well, I don’t think you have to do something extraordinary, bro,’’ Kirishima piped in. ‘’Y/N likes you for who you are, not for some facade of sorts. Just be you, and you’ll be fine.’’ 

Mina tapped her fingers on the table, remaining to stay silent for once. Sero hummed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. ‘’You’re not wrong Kirishima, but knowing Denki, Y/N might kiss him and he’ll end up accidentally electrocuting her.’’ 

Kirishima laughed heartily at this, while Denki pouted. Mina gasped loudly, raising a finger in the air. She then grinned and clasped her hands together, rubbing them vigorously.

‘’I know what you should do, Denki! I’ve just thought of something,’’ she leaned towards the blonde, whispering into his ear. Kirishima and Sero watched the exchange, as Denki’s droopy eyes quickly widened.

‘’No!’’ He yelled out, and Mina cackled as his face went bright red. ‘’I’m not- I’m not doing that!’’ 

‘’What did Mina suggest?’’ Sero asked and Denki grumbled. 

‘’She told me to-to put a trail of roses in Y/N’s room, and sit on her bed, a rose in my mouth and half-naked!’’ He cried out, and by how flustered he was, it wouldn’t be long until steam puffed out of his ears.

His friends laughed loudly, while he rubbed his ears, feeling the warm skin against his palm.

‘’I am not doing that,’’ he stated and Mina snickered.

‘’Okayy...’’ she sang-song, ‘’I was just trying to help you out!’’ 

Denki huffed, shaking his head. ‘’I may be a big flirt, but that’s… waaay out of my boundaries.’’ 

Sero chuckled. He then began to shoot small strips of tape out of his elbows, absentmindedly placing them on the desk. Kirishima hummed in his seat, his sharp teeth poking out. 

‘’Well,’’ the red-hair started. ‘’Y/N’s quirk has to do with nature, right? Maybe you could take her to a camping site. Or a park, but I think maybe she’d like to spend a night outdoors.’’ 

‘’Kiri…’’ Denki trailed off. ‘’That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard!’’ He quickly scrambled out of his seat.

‘’Wait- where are you going?’’ Kirishima and Mina called after him, watching as their friend tripped over a seat before racing out of the classroom. 

‘’I need to plan this date!’’ He shouted. ‘’If I want everything to go as planned, I need to start working now!’’ 

The remaining U.A. students chuckled at their friends’ antics, before returning to look at each other.

‘’Do you think the date will go alright?’’ Mina piped in.

Kirishima shrugged. ‘’I don’t know,’’ Sero responded. ‘’Knowing Denki, they might end up in trouble, or lost somewhere.’’ 

Kirishima laughed, slapping Sero on the back. ‘’Let’s have a little bit more faith in our human Pikachu, Sero. Who knows? They might end up dating after Valentine’s Day.’’ 

                         ➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶

Today was the fated day. It was February 14th, and Denki didn’t think he could be any more nervous than he already was. With a rose in his hand and a box of chocolates in another, he slowly trudged into his first period, eyes immediately landing on your seated figure. You were smiling, laughing, and nodding along with whatever Mina was talking about. But when the pink girl spotted him, she grinned, before bidding goodbye to you.

Aizawa-sensei hadn’t arrived yet. The blonde took a deep breath, feeling his heart ready to explode. This was it. He was going to walk up to you, give you a charming smile, and ask you out without hesitation.

‘’Here goes nothing,’’ he told himself before approaching your desk. Your head was ducked, focused on a notebook you had just pulled out. 

Denki cleared his throat and straightened his posture as you looked up at him with a welcoming smile.

‘’Hey, Denki, what’s up?’’ You saw the flower and chocolates in his hand but didn’t say anything.

‘’Um…’’ he felt just like when he’d overuse his quirk, dumb and unable to say anything. You were just so damn pretty, and he was speechless every time he met your gaze.

‘’Would-would you like to go out with me today?’’ His voice was much squeakier and nervous than he’d like, but Denki mentally clapped himself on the back for being able to do it.

Now, it was up to you. Your eyes widened in surprise, lips slightly parting open. 

‘’Wait...that’s for me?’’ You pointed at the flower and chocolates. Denki suddenly became aware how most of his classmates had gone quiet, and were watching the two of you. Not trusting himself to speak, he nodded in response.

‘’Do you, um, wanna be my Valentine’s?’’ The blonde cursed as his voice escaped as a squeak yet again. But when you smiled widely, his worries were washed away in an instant.

‘’I would love to!’’ Some of his classmates began to cheer, while you stood up and wrapped your arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. Your perfume suddenly invaded his senses, and his mind was foggy, unable to focus on anything but you.

Wait... you accepted-?! Denki couldn’t stop the dopey smile that spread across his lips as he returned your hug, basking in your lovely scent. 

‘’Grea-great!’’ He stammered but felt his confidence return quickly. ‘’I’ll pick you up at your dorm at four o’clock, is that okay with you?’’ 

His heart stuttered at your bright smile. God, you were so cute.  

‘’That works with me!’’ 

For the rest of the school day, Denki could not stop thinking about you. The rush of confidence and happiness he felt was still there, but so was something else. He felt his insecurities creep onto him. 

What was he going to say during the date…? Should he dress in any particular way? Wait- he was the one who had decided on the location, so he should know. Should he bring you more flowers? Did you even like the flowers and chocolate he gave you? What if you’re allergic to flowers and he didn’t know-?! You had accepted the gifts and thanked him nonstop, but what if you were just pitying him…?

He was growing nervous and antsy. Unable to stop thinking about the future, he sat on the lunch bench next to Kirishima, tapping his leg up and down. Sero and Mina were talking, but Denki had his mind on other things.

He had decided to go with Kirishima’s idea, a date at a camping site, which was in a fairly popular park near U.A. Denki had checked the park’s website, reading over the type of events they had. He had also heard that there was a beautiful view at the park, but it was extremely dangerous so it was restricted. But Denki would find the way to show it to you, he was sure of it.

And before he knew it, the blonde found himself standing outside your dorm, extremely aware of Mina and Kirishima watching from the wall corner down the hall, murmuring excitedly. He swallowed nervously, feeling small beads of sweat form on his forehead. This is it, he thought as his fist fell upon the wooden door. 

‘’Hey!’’ You greeted him cheerfully as the door swung open. Denki’s mouth opened, jaw slackening as he stared at you, eyes trailing over your outfit. You felt slightly scrutinized under his gaze but felt your cheeks warm up as well. 

‘’Hey... you look really nice.’’ He murmured, nervously scratching the back of his head. You smiled, hands tightening around your backpack straps. Denki was staring at you in awe as if you were wearing the finest of silks and jewelry. But really, you were just wearing a comfortable grey tracksuit, paired with some black running shoes, a backpack with some essentials, and a sleeping bag hung around your shoulder, you were ready to go. He’d told you during English that you would go camping, so you decided to prepare for the trip. 

‘’Thanks, you look good as well.’’ The blonde was sporting a black jacket and black sweatpants, with a yellow lightning bolt sewn onto the upper left shoulder, sporting a pair of black sneakers similar to yours. His hair was slightly ruffled and you resisted the urge to reach out and hold the golden locks between your fingers. 

 ’It’s nothing,’’ he waved you off, but the soft blush that spread across his cheeks made you smile. ‘’Anyways, uhm, are you ready to go?’’ 

‘’Yeah!’’ You adjusted the bag around your shoulder, stepping out of your dorm, locking it behind you. ‘’Let’s do this.’’ 

Denki smiled brightly, and you felt your heart stutter. He outstretched his hand and with a shy smile, you took it.

The two of you quickly walked out of the dorm buildings, your friends cheering and whooping behind you, and you couldn’t help but laugh as your face grew warmer. Denki glanced at you, and the two of you shared a bright smile.

‘’So, where are we going? You told me to we’re going camping, but you didn’t say where…’’ You questioned, your hand that was intertwined with Denki gently swinging back and forth.

‘’Oh! Well, I was thinking about it for a long time,’’ he paused. ‘’Like a really, really long time,’’ you giggled. ‘’So uh, I thought we could spend the night at this national park! They have a camping area, a local store and so on. What do you think…?’’ He stopped for a second, staring at you as he awaited your reaction.

‘’Oh, cool!’’ The idea truly did excite you. ‘’Sounds great, I haven’t camped in so long.’’ The blonde smiled widely, and the two of you continued to walk away from the campus, and into the streets, where a car awaited. 

‘’I order a taxi for us,’’ Denki explained. ‘’Let’s go!’’ 

          ➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶

‘’Wow, this place is beautiful…’’ was the first sentence that left your lips as the two of you stepped out of the taxi, which quickly drove away. The scenery ahead of you left you speechless. So much nature, trees, it was nearly impossible to describe it in mere words. A sea of tall and towering trees surrounded the park, with a cement trail a few ahead of you, some bushes and rocks littered between trees. From the corner of your eye, you saw a squirrel climb up a tree, and grinned, forcing down a squeal of excitement.

‘’I love it!’’ You turned to look at Denki, who was already looking at you. His head jolted back in embarrassment, cheeks blooming red. 

‘’Yeah? I’m glad you think so. Come on, let’s go find our camping site. I made a reservation, so we should be fine.’’ 

‘’Oh my, okay then,’’ you walked beside him, your backpack gently bouncing on your back with every excited step you took. ‘’You planned all of this out, huh Denki? It’s amazing, I love it.’’ You stopped in your tracks, and the blonde did the same. He smiled nervously, shrugging his shoulders casually.

‘’It was nothing,’’ but you saw how he shied away from your gaze. ‘’But I’m glad you love it.’’ He gave you a warm smile, radiation so much genuine happiness and pleasure that you nearly melted into a puddle.

‘’Well then,’’ you cleared your throat, looking away with burning cheeks. ‘’We have to go find our site, right?’’ 

The blonde nodded silently, and the two of you continued to walk in the stone path. Eventually, the path led to a widespread area. There were two small wooden housings at your left- what you assumed were the local convenience stores, and in front of you, stood an array of camping tents, and three campfires.

 It wasn’t particularly crowded, with only a few people in the area, chattering animatedly. No one paid mind to you both as you walked to the camping tent on the farthest left, which was also the closest to the trees. The tent was a bright yellow and shaped like a triangular pyramid, a column of sticks holding it up from the center on the inside. The color reminded you of the blonde on your left, and you smiled.

‘’So, the tents here are kinda small, sorry ‘bout that. But I did rent the biggest size they have, hopefully, it’ll be comfortable enough for the two of us.’’ Denki explained. The two of you dropped your bags on the ground, kicking off your shoes and opening the tent. It was rather cramped, but you didn’t mind. 

‘’Sounds good to me!’’ You replied. Your eyes trailed over the inside of the tent. It was empty, and the two of you began to unpack, first unfurling your sleeping bags and laying them on the ground. It was a tight fit, and the implications of it made you swallow nervously. There was no space left between the two sleeping bags, which meant you’d have to sleep really, really close to Denki. The thought of it made your stomach twist and your heart stuttered.

Once the bags were spread and your backpack definitely felt lighter, the two of you set them on top of the sleeping bags and sat down. 

‘’So,’’ you traced your fingers on the tent’s flooring, a thin grey carpet. ‘’What’s the agenda for today?’’ 

‘’Okay, so first we’re going to walk on a trail with a tourist guide, do whatever we want, maybe some birdwatching and eat dinner? And then once it’s night time, return and roast some marshmallows over the bonfire. How does that sound?’’ 

‘’Lovely,’’ you smiled and Denki nodded. ‘’Yeah, so…’’ he pulled out his phone and nodded to himself.

‘’The tour begins in twenty minutes, so we’re here just in time. In the meanwhile, want to go outside and get to know the park?’’  

‘’Sure.’’ You said. Denki stepped out of the tent, and you followed, about to get up when he outstretched his hand towards you.

‘’Would you do me the honor, m’lady?’’ He then bowed dramatically, and you giggled as you took his hand, standing up on your feet. 

‘’Alright then Romeo, let’s go exploring.’’ 

➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶

After hours of walking, one bird attack, and some roasted marshmallows later, you were curled up in your sleeping bag, the night calm and steady. Denki was right about the tent being tight, and honestly, you weren’t sure if you were thankful or just a nervous wreck. 

He was so close to you. His warm breath was fanning your closed eyes, and you swallowed nervously. Somehow, you ended up sleeping on your side, facing him, and now your hands were brushing against his, knees bumping every now and then. Slowly, you opened one eye and peeked at him. He was sound asleep, snoring. You giggled. You followed after, gently closing your eyes and falling into a deep slumber. That is, until you heard Denki’s hushed voice, and your shoulders gently being shaken by him.

‘’Psst! Y/N, wake up,’’ he murmured, and you slowly opened your eyes, mumbling in confusion. 

‘’Denki?’’ you murmured, sitting up and leaning your elbows. ‘’What’s going on?’’

‘’I have to show you something,’’ there was a gleeful smile on his lips. ‘’Can you get up? Let’s go, we have to sneak out.’’ 

‘’Mmm..’’ you groaned in protest, but eventually got up, dusted off your clothes, and trudged behind Denki, exiting the tent. You slipped on your running shoes, and he did the same.

Crickets were chirping, the wind was gentle tonight, and it was mostly ark tonight, other than the moon shining down. You looked up and smiled. Being away from the city and deep into nature, the stars in the sky were much visible. It was a beautiful sight. 

‘’Wow, it’s beautiful out here.’’ You commented. ‘’Yeah,’’ Denki replied, but he wasn’t looking at the sky. His gaze was pinned directly on you, a soft smile on his lips. ‘’It is.’’

His unwavering gaze made your face feel hot. So with a slight tremor in your walk, you went up towards him, waiting for him to take the lead. You stood next to one of the campfires, which had already been put out earlier, and there was nothing but some wood and ashes. 

‘’What did you want to show me?’’ You piped in, wringing your hands nervously, unsure how to feel with Denki’s sudden quietness and intense stare.

‘’Oh, it’s this way. C’mon.’’ Without any further warning, the blonde slipped his hand into yours, walking further away from the camping tents and into the sea of trees. Denki’s hand was really warm, and how he took your hand without hesitation made butterflies swarm in your stomach. 

You didn’t know where you were going. Lost sense of direction, and only clung to your friend’s hand. He was holding a flashlight in his other hand, leading the way. You stepped over tree branches, dead leaves and heard small critters chirp around you.

A few more minutes went by until you heard a noise. It was faint, but only grew louder the more you walked straight ahead. The unmistakable noise of water. You perked up, the haze of sleepiness clouding you quickly diminishing, and focused on the noise. You felt it too, how the air became cooler, and the sound of falling water slowly surrounding you.

You saw a gleam of water in the distance but was met with a wired fence in front of you. Confused, you turned to Denki. 

‘’Here, hold this,’’ he handed you the flashlight, before gripping the fence, slowly climbing upwards.

‘’Wait, Denki-!’’ You exclaimed when you realized what he was doing. Then your eyes swept to your sides, and your blood ran cold as you saw the big, bold and red warning sign that read; RESTRICTED AREA. ANY TRESPASSERS WILL BE ARRESTED AND FINED.

‘’Denki!” you hissed as he jumped over the wired fence, eyes darting around to make sure there wasn’t anyone else around. ‘’Are you sure this is legal?!’’

He nodded quickly,- a little too fast for your liking, which made your suspicions heighten. ‘’Of course, it is!’’ he responded eagerly, offering you his hand. ‘’Why wouldn’t it be?’’

You sighed. ‘’Because, it’s already dark, there’s no one here, and I’m pretty sure that sign to my left says that this area is off-limits.’’  

‘’Pfft, that old thing?’’ The blonde shrugged and shook his head in denial. ‘’Doesn’t matter. We’ll be fine!’’ He waved you off. 

‘’Anyway, can you throw over the flashlight? Then climb over here.’’ With a defeated groan, you threw the flashlight over the wired fence- which wasn’t too tall, around one and a half meters at most. 

Denki caught it in his hands, and you began to climb. Days, months of training helped you move quickly without any major difficulties, and before you knew it, you were on the top, springing towards the floor. Except, you didn’t notice the top of the fence had particularly sharp wire ends, and pressed your hand against it, before jumping down to the ground.

‘’Fuck!’’ You hissed when pain sprang from your palm and watched as blood seeped out of it. ‘’Oh god.’’

‘’Are you okay? What happened-oh.’’ Denki’s mouth fell shut when he noticed your bleeding hand. Then his eyes widened and he sprang into action. 

‘’Oh, shit! Does it hurt a lot? I’m so sorry,’’ he began to ramble, and looked around at his surroundings, anything to stop the bleeding. ‘’Fuck, shit,’’ the blonde took off his jacket and your eyes widened. 

‘’Wait, no Denki-! That’s one of your new jackets, it’ll get stained with the blood!’’ But he didn’t listen to you and insisted, wrapped one of the sleeves around your palm and gently pressed down, the cloth soaking up the blood.

‘’It doesn’t matter,’’ he stated. ‘’You’re hurt, and it’s my fault. I can’t just stand here and do nothing about it,’’ the last part of his sentence came out as a whisper, but you still caught the words with a frown.

‘’Hey,’’ you gently reached out for his arm, squeezing it reassuringly. ‘’It’s not your fault, okay? Don’t worry about it. It’s just a minor cut, I’ll be fine.’’

‘’But it is my fault,’’ he looked at you pleadingly, almost desperately. Your chest ached. 

‘’I’m so dumb, this is all my fault. If I hadn’t insisted on us trespassing, none of this would’ve happened. Fuck, I’m so sorry, I never meant for you to get hurt, I’m lucky enough as it is that you gave me a chance today -,’’ you stopped him with a finger against his lips, frowning at the sight of his watery eyes.

‘’Hey, hey, everything is okay,’’ you said gently, dropping your now wrapped left hand to the side, and held Denki’s chin with the other. 

‘’Everything will be alright. You’re not dumb, okay? Don’t ever say that,’’ his lip wobbled. ‘’And what do you mean, you’re lucky enough I gave you a chance? I would’ve said yes anytime, Denki.

‘’Wait...really?’’ He looked genuinely shocked, and it made your heart ache.

‘’Yes, I’m serious Denki. I’ve liked you for so long, didn’t you know?’’ 

‘’Oh.’’ His sudden silence from the shock made you giggle. But then his eyes drifted to your wrapped hand, and he frowned. 

‘’Hey, hey,’’ you murmured, bringing his attention from your hand to your face. ‘’My hand’s all wrapped up now, I’ll get it cleaned up on the way back, why don’t you show me wherever you wanted to go first?’’ Denki was quiet and didn’t remove his eyes from your face, and your heart stuttered when his gaze fell open your lips. 

‘’Okay,’’ he said but made no moves to step away. The blonde and you suddenly became aware of how little distance there was between the two of you. You couldn’t stop thinking about how tempting Denki’s lips looked, and his thoughts weren’t too far from yours. 

‘’Can I..can I kiss you?’’ The words left his mouth before he could even register them. You smiled, and instead of answering, you leaned forward.

A needy, almost desperate ghost of a groan left Denki’s throat when you met his lips, and you noticed how his eyes widened, but you merely smiled against his mouth. He wasn’t rough, but his movements were fast, desperate as if this would be the last time his lips met yours.

Your hands trailed to his hair, gently toying with the tips, and Denki melted even more into the kiss. It was enthralling, kissing your friend, but before you could get carried away, you pulled away, hands resting on the blonde’s chest. It was heaving up and down, and you smiled at the sight of Denki’s pink lips, now swollen and reddish.

‘’You know, when you asked me out earlier today, I didn’t expect things to end up like this,’’ you commented, and the boy chuckled.

‘’Yeah, me either.’’ He slowly took your hand in his once again, and the two of you began to walk forward. Your surroundings were pretty much the same as before, walking in a multitude of trees and nature, with no clear path ahead.

‘’I heard water,’’ you said. ‘’Earlier, when we arrived at the fence. Is there a lake or something here?’’

Denki gave you a sly smile. ‘’Maybe. You’ll have to wait and see for yourself, Y/N-chan.’’ You smiled at his response, and the two of you fell back into a comfortable silence, feet trudging along the grass and dirt.

‘’We’re almost there,’’ he said, and you could tell. There were fewer trees as if forming a path straight forward. Finally, you caught the sight of the water, and let out a breathless sigh. It was a beautiful sight. There was a waterfall across the forest, the water pouring down into a lake below, and with the moon shining on it, it left you mesmerized.

‘’Oh, be careful,’’ Denki held you back when you walked forward, eyes pinned on the waterfall. ‘’It’s a cliff here, so we don’t want to walk too far and fall, but we can sit on the edge if you want to.’’

‘’Yeah,’’ you agreed and smiled. The two of you walked forward, hands clasped together tightly. Soon enough, you reached the edge of the cliff and tentatively, peeked at the bottom. Your stomach lurched a bit, seeing the distance, but instead, you ripped your gaze away from it and sat down with Denki. 

‘’I really enjoyed today,’’ you commented, swinging your legs back and forth. Denki looked at you, and his hand slowly crept to yours as he gave you a nervous smile.

‘’I’m glad,’’ he said. ‘’I wanted it to be special for you.’’ 

You exhaled with a small smile, before quickly leaning towards the blonde, landing a brief kiss on his mouth, and pulling away. Despite kissing earlier, his face still went red as a tomato.

‘’Oh-oh wow,’’ he looked dumbfounded before his face brightened. ‘’… does this mean I get horny rights-?’’ 

You sighed but cracked a smile. ‘’Say that again and I’m pushing you off this cliff, Denki.’’ 

‘’Okay, okay,’’ he raised his hands in surrender, and gave you a lopsided grin. ‘’It was worth a try.’’ 

a/n: ahh!! this was my first time writing for denki, i hope it’s okay!! i struggle with characterization a lot. anyways, check out the Cupid’s Arrow masterlist if you want more Valentine’s Day themed content! 

if you enjoyed, please leave a like, REBLOG, comment, and/or follow! all the support is greatly appreciated <3

Copyright © 2021 by Veles. Do NOT repost, plagiarize, or read my content as ASMR or audiofics.

[jinkicake]

What Are Limits To Ushijima Wakatoshi?

Jealous!Ushijima in which the reader develops a plan with Oikawa to make her soft boyfriend show how rough he actually can be.

Ushijima Wakatoshi x Reader

For anon!! I made the reader and Oikawa friends because I wanted to sprinkle in Iwaoi. I apologize, I do, but I can’t handle myself when it comes to Oikawa. I can’t. TT (/ε＼*)

semi-smut? not really? LOL

WC- 1,742

~~~

“And you really think this is going to work?” Oikawa asks as he flips his beautiful bangs from his face and you maintain your serious expression while sending him a brief nod. The two of you are deep in a very important conversation during lunch. “Ushiwaka is as dense as a rock, he’s not going to pick up on shit.” Your friend continues to complain and you roll your eyes. “Why do you even want to make him jealous?”

“W-well he’s just so gentle and I know there is much more to him, he’s holding back and I want to test his limits.” You stutter out and Oikawa can’t hide the disgust off of his face, you scoff at him. “Do you know how many times you used me to make Iwaizumi jealous, I don’t want to hear it from you Oikawa.” You seethe and narrow your eyes, the boy opposite to you only lifts his hands defensively.

“Fair enough, tonight it’s you and me.” He lends his hand out and you gladly shake it. “For friendship and the chance to make our significant others so jealous that they fuck us into next week!”

“For friendship and sex!” You cheer with him, clinking your iced coffee with his own.

You later find your boyfriend sitting outside the library, reading a psych book, with Tendou sitting on the other side of the table.

“Wakatoshi~” You call out to your boyfriend, placing your hands on his shoulders. “You want to go to this party tonight, it’ll be so much fun!” You ask and smile when he places one of his hands on top of your own. “Tendou you should come too!”

“Getting black-out drunk on a Thursday night? You son of a bitch, I’m in.” The redhead points to you and you laugh at his words.

“Please Wakatoshi, go with us!” You sit down in the chair beside him and watch him carefully, hoping that you hadn’t overstepped.

“I’ll go.” He glances at you before going back to his book and you press a kiss to his cheek.

“I’m so happy, we are going to have so much fun!” You cheer and Tendou can see that the excitement in your eyes is not just because of the party. The redhead sits back in his chair, mentally preparing for the drama that is bound to go down tonight.

- - -

The first thing you do when you enter the house is look for the devil himself.

“Oikawa!” You call as soon as you see him, not noticing the way your boyfriend’s face puckers up at the sight of your friend. “Ushijima do you want to come say hi?”

“I’m good.” The hand wrapped around your waist loosens and he places a kiss on the top of your head before he walks over to Tendou. Your friend sees you quickly and hands you a drink, one that you instantly clink with his.

“Where’s Iwaizumi?” You ask while Oikawa drags you over to a wall, right in the spot where nearly everyone can see.

“Out and about.” He shrugs and rolls his eyes, clearly, you’re not the only one trying to get someone’s attention. “Shall we begin?” Oikawa darts his eyes to where your boyfriend is, mischievously holding eye contact with him, before sending a teasing smile. He makes a big show in turning his attention back to you.

“Okay, how do I make him jealous without being an asshole?” You shout at Oikawa over the music, sipping on your drink while nervously glancing back and forth around the room. “I don’t want it to look like I’m ditching him for you.” You motion towards your friend, swirling your drink around in your cup, Oikawa looks offended.

“You’re dumb (Y/N).” He glares down at you, placing one of his hands on the wall beside your head. “Let me do all the work, just seem mildly interested in what I have to say but not too interested, okay?” His voice is low as he speak into your ear and you stiffen at the close proximity. “Don’t look at him, look at me.” He coos and grips your chin every time you try to look at your boyfriend but you accidentally make eye contact with someone else.

“Oikawa, Iwaizumi looks like he is going to punch my face in.” You whine nervously and try not to look back at the muscular boy, who is gripping his cup too tightly in his hands, across the room.

“Serves him right, you know how long I’ve been waiting for him, he can handle a little jealousy.” He teases and you laugh loudly, tilting your head back, at the stupidity of your friend.

“You two are ridiculous!” You yell and tag another large gulp of your drink, already feeling light-headed from the strong kick.

“You chase Ushijima around for nearly two decades and then come back to me.” He defends and you laugh along, always finding something funny in his words.

Across the room, you don’t notice how Ushijima glares at you, how the need to rip Oikawa off of you becomes so apparent it hurts. He tries to calm himself down, remind himself that Oikawa is a good friend of yours so there is nothing to worry about and there is no reason for him to be jealous. Instead, he slowly drinks from the water bottle he is holding and nods along to whatever Tendou is saying. His eyes still glance at you every once in a while as he tries to put a lid on his simmer jealousy.

“See I fucking told you he is a rock!” Oikawa accuses and motions towards your boyfriend who has not shown an ounce of interest in your stunt. “Either he trusts you a ton or simply is not paying attention, hopefully it’s not the latter because that’s sad-“

“Oikawa.” You glare and hit the top of his head, downing the rest of your drink. “If you don’t want me criticizing Iwaizumi then don’t criticize Ushijima, Iwaizumi is also a rock!” You spit and Oikawa agrees.

“Touché, you’re still a bitch though.” He leans down and places a warm kiss on your cheek, winking as he pulls away. “Wait let me try something,” He teases and brings his hand down to your waist before taking a step closer to you. “Let’s make a bet, who will come knock us away first. Ushijima or Iwaizumi?”

“Ushijima you fucking idiot.” You narrow your eyes at him and Oikawa can only roll his eyes.

“Fuck you for being right.” He sighs and you pat his shoulder comfortingly.

“Your time will come too, Oikawa.”

“Really?” He gasps, full of fake excitement. “After twenty years, really?” His theatrics only cause you to laugh more, the loud noise catching your boyfriend’s attention.

Oikawa is right, you really are dumb. Ushijima has been watching you closely the entire night. He just about loses it when Oikawa presses a kiss to your cheek. Maturely he makes a decision and walks over to you. The first thing he does is wrap a hand around your bicep, breaking you away from Oikawa and pulling you directly into his chest.

“Oikawa.” Ushijima narrows his eyes and Oikawa has to hide how content he is that his plan worked.

“Ushiwaka, finally done playing with yourself in the corner?” He bites before winking down at you, purposely leaning down to whisper something only you can hear. Oikawa makes a statement by holding his gaze with Ushijima for as long as possible before turning into the kitchen.

“Wakatoshi?” You stare at him worryingly and your heart drops when he doesn’t look down at you, he simply drags you out of the house. The cold air causes goosebumps to rise on your skin and you try to ignore how warm Ushijima’s hand feels on you. Your boyfriend brings you all the way to his car, standing in front of you before caging you between himself and the car. He simply stares at you and you continue to look up at him, mildly confused.

“Did you drink a lot?” His first question makes you tilt your head in thought as you try to wonder what he is getting at. You shake your head, even though it was a lie. “I know you did. I didn’t drink because I have practice tomorrow.” The small talk is starting to make you nervous and you nod your head along with his words.

“What's wrong?” You ask, laughing nervously when he glares down at you. He feels so guilty when you wince, Ushijima tries not to look intimidating, the last thing he wants to do is scare you. He lowers his face to yours and captures your lips softly. His mouth moves gently against your own and you continue to wonder how far you’ll have to go to make him snap.

“Oikawa is just your friend?” He asks when he pulls away, you continue to stare at him with an expression he can’t read.

“Of course, he’s just touchy.” You try to laugh it off but one of his hands wraps around your waist and he leans down to press his body into your own.

“I don’t like the way he touches you.” Finally, finally you feel like you are getting somewhere and you have to hide the excitement off your face. “Doesn’t he know you’re mine.” His arms wrap tighter around you and you nearly choke when he bites your neck roughly.

“Fuck.” You whimper and lean your head further back. “Wakatoshi ruin me, remind me who I belong to.” His hand squeezes your ass harshly and you let out a breathy moan at the sensation. “I-I only asked Oikawa to put on a show because I wanted to see how rough you could get.” You confess and pinch your eyes shut when he nips at your jaw.

“Did you really, (Y/N)?” Ushijima asks, his lips ghosting over your ear and you have to refrain from shuddering in pleasure. “Was I not rough enough with you before? Who knew I was dating such a dirty little thing?” He groans against your lips and you can only stare up at him with hopeful eyes. “You sure baby? Once I start I won’t be able to stop.” You fucking moan at his words.

“Please.” You beg and Ushijima watches you with a grin.

“If you insist.” His lips are back on yours in an instant.

[flowerwrites06]

jeweled sea finale — kth

Plot: A princess without a kingdom ends up in a pirate ship

Pairing(s): Pirate!Taehyung x Princess!OC (Name: Angel)

Rating: G | PG | M | R 18+

Type: Drabble | Oneshot | Two Parter | Series

Word Count: 5k+

Genre: Pirates/Fantasy | Fluff/Angst/Smut

Tags & Warnings: drinking, mentions of trading people, explicit smut (in the next part), tiny bit of angst.

Authors Note: another requested repost and one of my personal favourites!

Peaceful morning had been interrupted with growling and protests from outside of the cabin. At first Angel thought it was just the crew attempting to have a party early in the morning. That is until she heard one of them yelling for someone to get off the ship.

Taehyung shifted under the blanket, squinting one eye and opening the other to see Angel standing at the table. “Wha-happe-ngh…” He rubbed his face. All the exhaustion in the world seemed to rain down on his body as if the alcohol still pumped through his veins in place of actual blood. With the groan, pushing himself up and sat on the edge of the bed.

Angel watched him pull his boots on quickly before stomping up to his feet and rushing out of the cabin. She followed along as the door opened, welcoming in the stark morning light.

They were welcomed with the crew still in sleeping clothing while other figures in full navy uniform standing just in the center looking around. Or at least it looked like navy uniform. The badges shined but not in the polished way. Rather a disgusting imitation of gold that was far too yellow so it was hard to miss. And their uniforms a dirty crème white like someone had not washed it in weeks.

“What’s going on here?” Taehyungs’ voice rung deeper and raspier than ever with his sleep still laced with in it.

A man with matted grey hair and a scar down his lip walked closer to the couple. “Are you the captain of this establishment?”

“Who’s asking?”

“Lieutenant Kwon.” He answered, keeping his hands clasped behind his back. No sooner his eyes flickered to the side where she stood. “We are the Royal Guard for the lost Kingdom of Owuhan. We’ve come here to retrieve our future queen.” Kwon nodded towards Angel.

The mere nod caused tremors of whispers and hissed mutters amongst the crew while they stared at her in both apprehension and fear. For the first time, Angel preferred them laughing like idiots and acting like the epitome of freedom rather than this.

“Lost Kingdom of Owuhan. I’m sure you get sacked or something when kingdoms die.” Taehyung continued to play along with the conversation.

Kwon smiled sarcastically. “Only if the bloodline is broken. Now let’s do this peacefully, hand her over.”

Angels’ brows furrowed before scoffing lightly. “Who’s your commander?” Her question lingered in the air.

The crew’s focus now quickly piqued at the makeshift navy officers who stayed silent as if thinking up a fake name.

“Commander Park.”

Angel softened her expression, giving the officer a polite smile. She leaned closer to Taehyung. “…They’re lying.” She whispered.

“Looks like they weren’t the only ones.” Taehyung retorted.

“You—you don’t remember.” Her heart jumped and clenched as she stood completely straight next to him.

“If it helps, pirate—” Kwon spoke up. “We’ll pay a large reward in exchange for the princess. She’s worth a lot of gold.”

Taehyung tried to rack his brain for something Angel might have said last night. She was talking before he passed out. Fucking hell. Though what captured his interest the most was the honorable naval officer offering gold for his precious monarch. “How much gold?”

Angel closed her eyes for a moment, hanging her head as she wrapped her own arms around herself. What did she expect really? That he was going to welcome her and let her stay here for the rest of her life? This was the troubling fate of any princess or prince without a kingdom. Being sold around like a slave until they could take no more or someone decided to marry them out of pity.

“Five thousand pieces.” Kwon’s reply should have shaken the entire crew into excitement.

Except they all stayed silent. It was about as silent as a ship wreck at night.

“Promising offer.”

“Captain…” Jimin murmured trying to take a step forward down the steps of the quarter deck but Namjoon grabbed onto his shoulder gently. He felt him close in on his ear.

“Patience, pet.”

“Do we have an accord, pirate?” Kwon held out a hand to seal the deal.

Angel swallowed the growing lump in her throat, glancing over at the rest of Kwons’ crew who had their eyes raking down her form already. Fingers gripped at her shirt until it could almost rip through.

“Well you see—” Taehyung smirked. “Now that you’ve given a price, I don’t feel as inclined to give her away. Who knows someone might come along and take her for a larger price. Royal slaves are always a strong demand.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

Kwon curled his fingers into a fist before pulling it back into his pocket. “You won’t get more than five thousand pieces. It’s a small kingdom. She’s not a valuable royal.”

“I’ll have to take those odds…lieutenant.” The captain raked up and down his ragged form, struggling to keep a grimace away from his features.

He tried to look less infuriated by pursing his lips together but the constant blinking and bone jutting out from his cheeks clearly showed he felt cornered. “Alright.” Kwon spoke through his gritted teeth. “We will—leave you to your business.” Kwons’ crew did not seem to care to hide their defeat as they tried to quietly argue with him while they made their way back into the ship.

Jimin relaxed back into Namjoons’ hold, letting out a deep sigh of relief. Though when he looked over at Angel, her expression seemed unchanging. “Is she okay?”

“She was almost sold to a ship full of scoundrels who don’t have self-control. It’s not easy to just laugh it off.” Namjoon explained in the solemn tone, looking at the other ship to ensure it was really sailing away.

When the ship looked far enough, the crew burst into a light cheer. Some of them patting on Angels’ shoulder to which she responded with a faint kind smile. In minutes they all happily moved back to their positions and began working. Once they were occupied, Angel turned on her heel and walked back into the cabin.

Taehyung looked over his shoulder, wanting to quickly explain that it was all a play but she disappeared before he could say a word. Letting out a small defeated sigh, he followed her.

-

Walking through the cabin, Angel told herself that she needed to be happy. Taehyung wasn’t planning on selling her in the first place. It was a clever trick. So why did something in her chest still clench and her heart still pound through her ribcages like she was under attack again? Warm tears filled up in her eyes as she padded towards the velvet covered sitting area attached to the edge of the cabin where the windows were.

She perched herself down, forcing herself to take deep breaths while her fingers still trembled along with her knees.

Taehyung carefully shut the door behind him to ensure she didn’t get startled. One step after the other, he heard a few sniffles echoing in the room. “Angel…” He spoke almost under his breath.

Angel quickly wiped away at her cheeks as soon as she heard his voice. “Thank you for helping me. You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to.” He replied simply.

“The person… who attacked the kingdom was a close friend of my father.” She stared down at the dark wooden surface meshed with a deep red velvet, nails raking down gently. “He wanted to arrange a marriage for an alliance but—I refused. And he killed them.”

Taehyung took a few steps forward. “That’s not your fault he can’t take rejection, you know that…right?”

“I do.” Angel nodded not giving him another glance. “But now Kwon is going to tell him—and your ship might be targeted.”

“We’re pirates, love.” He finally managed to reach the sitting area and slowly sit next to her. “My ship is always targeted.”

“But that’s a whole army of people. If they find out—”

“They can hunt a lost princess. But they can’t hunt a pirate.” Taehyung shook his head. “They’ll have to deal with the entire Guild for that. That’s why he offered me money—not just your price but to keep it quiet.”

“But I’m not a pirate.”

“You don’t have to pillage and steal to be a pirate. So long as you’re part of this ships’ crew, no one can hurt you.” He smiled.

Angel met his gaze quizzically. “You mean that?”

“I think I’ve bluffed enough today.” Taehyung scrunched his nose, a small chuckle emitting under his breath.

She couldn’t help but smile back at the male. “Thank you.”

-

Two days later. This night was more peaceful than anything else. At least amongst the crew, the sky itself had a few thick clouds covering the moon while they heard thunder rumble a few miles away. The winds were wispy, chilly and almost wet to the touch.

Angel could tell after the drunken chaos and drama with the officers, the crew truly looked like they were rested and ready to continue on their journey to an unknown destination. A true kind of freedom. Not having to worry about reaching somewhere rather fully immersing yourself into the pleasures of the trek itself.

“Tomorrow morning we go back to the open sea.” Namjoon announced, fingers absentmindedly brushing against Jimins’ hair while he rested on his shoulder.

“Where to next?” Jimin asked.

“Anywhere the wind takes us, I suppose.” Taehyung replied through a relaxed sigh.

“We could go to the Sirens’ Cave in the West.” Namjoon suggested. “Apparently you can bathe in their waters and regain lost memories.”

“I’m sure we’d have a lot of those with the way we’ve been drinking.” Jimin chuckled.

Angel watched them with a serene joy, a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Eyes flickered up to the captain, heart jumping a little when his gaze was already fixated on her. The shadows of the candle light shining down his tanned face causing his jaw to sharpen. Long dark hair relieved of the bandana, leaving his bangs to hover over his eyes.

Every second Angel kept with his gaze, the tingles down her spine travelled to her lower belly. Spreading through every vein in a delicious heat of anticipation.

A light smirk tugged at the corner of his plump lips watching the way she shifted in the tiniest hint of excitement. Her body now adorned with a loose white nightgown bought from one of the merchant stalls in the Severed Tail. Apparently some businesses ran quite well there. Though Angel noticed the insignia and told him it could have also been stolen from another kingdoms’ palace.

Cheeks burning, Angel took a deep pleased breath. “I’m going to retire for the night.” She muttered to the crew before standing up. Not forgetting to glance over at the captain as she walked to the cabin.

Taehyung licked his lips keeping his eyes glued on the girl as her dress flowed through the cool air before she disappeared into the room. “I should probably head off too.” He announced, getting up while actively ignoring the smirk Namjoon and Jimin had plastered on their faces.

-

Through the cabin, the calming atmosphere twisted into one of adrenaline pumping through their veins. Taehyung walked and only stopped until his toes touched the back of her heels while she stood at the table. Almost waiting for him. Leaning in, he nudged his nose into her soft hair. Salt now exuding the faint remanence of rose. Possibly another merchant purchase.

“You looked very beautiful tonight.” He whispered, warm breath cascading down her waves.

“Is that drunk Taehyung talking?” She smirked glancing over her shoulder.

Taehyung hummed in a gravel tone almost resembling a low growl. Lips hovered down to her neck, merely brushing against the soft skin as his hands made camp on her hips. “Completely sober.” Well he was a different kind of intoxicated. It involved squeezing the cinch of her waist and relishing in her light giggle.

Angel tilted her head to give him room, closing her eyes as his faint brushing turned into chaste kisses down to the crook of her neck. A shaky sigh passed her lips lazily pulling at the drawstrings of her dress to loosen the sleeves off her shoulder.

He reached in front of her, hands exploring every crevice until he found her clothed core, warmth so strong it radiated through her clothes onto his palm. “Already getting excited?” Taehyung smirked into her shoulder.

Angel let out a small trembling breath, a fire burning in her lower belly. Arousal thickly seeped through she didn’t know whether to feel shy or even more stirred. “Don’t tease.”

“Or what? Hm?” Taehyung challenged, voice deeper than it could possibly go as his hand pressed harder against her core almost squeezing out more of her wetness through her clothes.

“I might just waltz back outside to your crew.” Angel leaned back against his shoulder, pressing her nose against his cheek. “I’m sure they’d like to see what’s under here too.” Jolts of electricity flashed through her seeing how dark the captains’ eyes turned as he met her gaze, predatorial and hungry.

Ringed fingers came up to grab at her chin, pressing into her cheeks until he could feel her teeth. Hot breath hitting her face as he felt a tightness in his pants feeling her press a little harshly against him. “I think you’re forgetting who runs this ship, princess.” A dangerous smirk tugged at his lips. “Would you like me to remind you?”

Her spine tingled, every word awakening her nerves as she pushed back against his crotch, feeling accomplished at how it stiffened. “Yes.” Angel whispered.

The sweetest, tiniest voice rung in his ears, magically muffling out anything else so all he could do was drown into her. How Taehyung tried to maintain dominance while still keening over Angels’ every being was beyond him. Turning the woman around, he captured her lips into his, tongue pushing through her teeth while the ship began to sway with more intensity.

Angel gripped onto the edge of the table while one hand gripped onto his shoulder. She pushed down his loose shirt almost ripping it in the process while he slid her dress up until it rested on her hips. Legs spread apart to completely close their distance, Angel discarded his shirt onto the ground before working at his belt.

Taehyung undid the drawstrings on her dress watching it fall helplessly down her shoulders, revealing her tender breasts, nipples poking out cutely in the cold. Once his belt landed on the floor he dived in and latched onto one of her nubs swirling his tongue around it until it was unmovably stiff.

Throwing her head back, she curled her fingers into his hair, nipples hardened until it ached but his tongue managed to soothe it at every lick.

Hand travelled down until it sneaked between her inner thighs, the heat from her core still exuding with strength. Fingers rubbed at the heat feeling it drench the skin until he sunk a finger in slowly.

Angel bit down her bottom lip feeling his long finger curl up inside her, cool metal of the ring causing her to shiver a little.

Taehyung moved up back on his feet, smirking at how her beautiful features contorting in gaining pleasure from his one finger. Ambitiously he snuck another in stretching her walls out for him to fully be a guest. “Have you done this before?” He mused.

“I was a princess—” She giggled. “Everyone wanted to fuck me. Sometimes I let them.” Angel spoke in a whisper, almost teasing the captain a little.

He let out another growl under his breath, pulling his fingers out and unbuttoning his pants to let his achingly stiff length spring free.

Angels’ walls clenched around nothing just looking at the monster of a cock twitching in front of her. She couldn’t help but let out another giggle as his hands latched onto her body before the thick tip pressed against her entrance. Without warning, she felt his wide length push through, ripping her open for him to taste, a gasp leaving her lips as her frantic fingers scratched down his shoulders.

“Princess likes being stuffed with a cock, doesn’t she?” Taehyung whispered, pulling his length out a little only for her pussy to swallow him back in. Slow, snapping thrusts clapped their skin together making Angel cry out in a daring mix of pain and pleasure. “Does it hurt, sweetheart?”

Angel wrapped her arms around his shoulders, getting dizzy from how full she felt, the tip reaching the soft walls of her cervix every time their hips snapped. “It’s okay.” She whispered giving him a small tender kiss. “It’s okay.”

“Good.”

Before she could gather her bearings, her body was being lifted off the floor and carried over to the colder side of the cabin where the windows.

Taehyung pulled out of her causing Angel to whine before he turned her around. Taehyung pushed her back, bending her over until her face touched the glass window of the cabin.

Icy surface touched her dampened cheek, hair over her eyes. Angel felt him spread her legs while her knees rested just at the edge of the sitting area. Rough velvet scratching against bare skin. Heavy breathing fogging against the glass, the flicker of silver lightning cracked through the blackened sky in the same intensity as Taehyung snapped his cock back into her sloppy entrance.

Fingers curled against the glass getting warmer and foggier from her body heat, fighting against the harsh cold of the storming sea. Angel almost couldn’t tell whether it was the ship moving Taehyung right against her or the other way around. It didn’t matter. She felt him feeding every inch of his length to her core, a growing pressure on that tingling spot inside her.

Another roar of thunder from outside as the ship swayed to the right. Taehyung dug his nails into her hips until it created dents on her beautiful skin, pushing in to relish in how her walls clenched around him almost trying to keep them connected.

Lightning flashed again. The ship swayed to the left causing Angel to stumble a little on her side but Taehyungs’ death grip kept her from crashing. Palms now pressed hard against the rough velvet underneath them.

Taehyung moved them to the side, his one knee resting on the sitting. The movement causing a whine to spew out of the princess’ mouth. Slapping their hips together until the skin burned from the impact, her pussy squelching at every thrust. The very sight of her arousal sputtering out of her made him throw his head back, drunken smile gracing his lips.

Angel pressed her chin down, nails scratching against the velvet surface as she let out a delightfully shaky moan. The heat bundled up in her lower belly coiling tighter and tighter desperate to burst. “Tae-ngh I’mgo—” She gasped as Taehyung jabbed into her roughly before staying still.

“Are you close?” He breathed out.

With a whine, she tried to swivel her hips to bring back the rush of heat but it slowly kept fading away. “Mhmm—p-please–keep moving.” Lightning flashed when she spoke, rain droplets slamming against the windows like a bullets.

Hissing lightly, Taehyung pulled her up and moved their positions so he sat properly and her body perched atop his. He smiled at how her hair fell all over her face. Gently he brushed it away to reveal Angels’ glowing face, almost shimmering in the dimmed light.

Legs on either side of him, she sunk down with so much ease, a light giggle passed through her hypnotizing Taehyung to do the same. He watched through hooded eyes how Angel slid up and down his cock trying to pleasure him but chase her orgasm at the same time. She grinded her hips against his, throbbing clit rubbing against his lower belly as the tip of his cock tortured her soft spot inside.

Taehyung choked out a moans as his nails dug in so much, her skin could break. Constricted heat spreading across to his thighs, cock growing heavy. Too heavy. Thrusts sounding like wet splotches mixing in with hurried whimpers. “I’m cumming…” He whispered. Only a second after he spoke, his body stilled, the heaviness now shooting out in ropes.

Angel breathed out a delighted chuckle, continuing to bounce on his drenched cock as her pussy spewed his release, staining both their thighs.

He rested his head back against the window as thunder cracked so loud, it could frighten the Ocean Goddess herself. Hooded eyes peered at how Angels’ lips parted, closing her eyes as she milked him out down to the last drop. Quicker and quicker, he felt a little ache around his member but he’d be an idiot to stop her, the way she tried to chase her release. With a pleased smile, Taehyung reached down to press thumb against the hardened nub rubbing it in circles.

“G-g-Tae—” Angel whimpered, trying to rub further against his thumb while keeping her rhythm. The heat became unbearable reaching the depths of her core. The coil sprung free, bursting like a dam as her release now mixed in with his creating a sloppy between both their legs. Warmth spread through her limbs down to her toes, body trembling, wall clenching around his cock and spewing out more of his release.

Even the nailed sitting area creaked as the ship swayed giving momentum for her to quicken her thrusts. In a hot, wet mess, her orgasm hurdled over the edge. Warmth trembling through her limbs making convulse as her cries of pleasures echoed through the cabin almost loud enough to match the thunder and rain. Angel continued to thrust against him until her walls began to ache from the friction.

“Such a good girl.” Taehyung breathed out, brushing away her hair. Leaning in he pressed a small kiss on her lips. “Did that feel good, princess?” He nudged against hers.

In the midst of her heavy breathing, Angel let out a delighted chuckle before nodding. Good was an understatement but she was too fucked out to make coherent sentences. All she could do for the moment was lay her head on his shoulder and catch her breath properly.

-

“You can teach me sword fighting.” Angel held up the blade, pointing it playfully towards Taehyung as he relaxed on the bed. Her body now adorned by her loose shirt while the captains’ hat lay on her head, a little tilted.

Eyes still droopy from the air of bliss swirling in the cabin, he smiled at the woman. “I thought princesses were taught sword fighting.” His voice grew raspier after all the growling under his breath. But every little ache and strain brought a sense of calm in his belly.

“I was given archery and assassin training by my mother.” Angel put the sword back down on the table. “But never got around to sword fighting. Apparently it’s because I’d have to deal with more distant work than front line.” She padded over to the bed and knelt down on the soft surface, sleeve of the shirt falling off her shoulder.

“Pirates don’t really do front line fighting.”

“Then the stories I’ve read are false?” Angel shifted closer until she straddled him, legs on either side of his lap while her hands rested on his shoulders.

“I suppose in the past, they used to. Now we’ve gotten more intelligent.” Taehyung smirked. His hands immediately rested on her bare thighs, sliding upwards until he felt the globe of her ass. Still a few dents left from his nails.

“Right. You never figured out I was a princess.” She mused, shaking her head. “Guess you’re not that smart.” Angel nudged her nose against his playfully before feeling him squeeze her ass, the beautiful sting coming back as a reminder of their prior sin.

“Intelligent for navy standards.” Taehyung grinned. “Not exclusively trained royals.”

“Ah—makes sense.” Angel mused, giggling under her breath before pressing a tender kiss on his lips.

Taehyung closed his eyes as his hands moved up her back. He relished in the comforting warmth of her lips dancing before the harsh jolt of reality tugged at his belly. “Will you ever return to your kingdom?” Much to his dismay, he felt Angel pull away from the kiss to meet his gaze.

“I’ve thought about it.” She played with the hairs at the back of his head. “Maybe fight and take my kingdom back but—I…I never wanted to rule. I saw how it ruined my father and my mother. They were good to me but I could tell ruling took a toll on them.”

“No one said you have to do what your parents did.” Taehyung reached out and pulled off the hat, placing it next to him. “You can be free to do whatever you want.”

Angel sucked in her bottom lip, averting her gaze in thought for a moment. “What if I wanted to stay on this ship?”

His expression softened, a light fluttering in his belly as the words registered slowly. “You’re already part of the crew, princess.” Taehyung smiled.

“Really?” She grinned feeling a burning behind her eyes.

“Well Jimin would surely kill me if I let you off alone somewhere so—”

Angel chuckled patting his chest affectionately. “I’m not really a pirate though. Are you sure?” She eyed the captain carefully. He didn’t have to take her in with some grand gesture to keep her safe if he really didn’t want to. So many tried to protect her because of some duty and it only ended in tragedy. It ached her heart thinking of a situation where something like that would happen to Taehyung.

Taehyung let out a small sigh, reaching up and lightly cupping her cheek. “This can be your new home—if you want it to be…”

Lips quivering, she wrapped her arms around him burying her face into his bare shoulder. Angel squeezed him a little to remind herself that this wasn’t some sick dream she was having while stranded out in the sea again.

“Is—is that a yes?”

“Oh!” She sniffled, giggling as she pulled away. “Yes, yes…”

Taehyung grinned quickly wiping away the light tear gathered at the bottom of her eye. “Then you’re officially a pirate now, Your former Highness.”

<< PREV CHAPTER

[wanderingchocolateeclair]

But again, he was just a little too late...

Hello!! I’m back and finally gathered the motivation to finish this! Here is one of the Izumi angsts that I keep on going on about!! It took me ages, but I decided that since I don’t think my motivation will let me make this any longer, I might as well bring it to a suitable end and post it for you to see :)

I hope you enjoy, I spent a little too long on this one (the other Izumi angst is a little longer but a bit more on the proper angsty side, so there’s that one to look forward to when it’s done!)

Warnings: mentions of death, destruction, panic, and death.

Tagging: @kiriderp @chaotic-trash-can @theshisthings (if anyone else would like to be tagged in any of my writing posts so you can see them, please let me know and I will happily do so!😊)

————————————

“Oi, Jeanist, slow down!! What the hell?!”

An exasperated Hawks yelled as he clung onto the side of the car seat, his body pressed closely against a very squashed Rumi, who was sprawled rather awkwardly over an even more squished Ryuko.

“Dude! Say something, for god’s sake! What’s going on?!!” Rumi shouted, trying to correct her posture but failing miserably. “I know that ya like to conceal stuff and hide things so people don’t worry but-”

“-this is getting rather concerning, Tsunagu.” Ryuko interrupted the rabbit hero, speaking the thought that was running through all of their minds as the blond man drove at incredibly high speeds down the highway.

“What’s going on?”

No answer.

“Tsunagu.”

Still no answer. The tall man’s hands clenched tighter around the steering wheel, his breath wavering slightly.

“HAKAMATA, FOR FUCKS SAKE-”

“-ALRIGHT! Bloody hell, Ryuko....” Tsunagu blurted out a reply, his hands shaking slightly as he tried to steady his voice. “....w-we just. I need- I need to get there....”

Ryuko sighed and her eyes softened slightly as she heard the vulnerability in the older man’s voice. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell, it’s just....I’m worried.”

“We all are....” Keigo chimed in informatively.

Tsunagu nodded his head and sighed. “I know, I know. It’s fine, Ryu, it’s my fault, I should’ve at least said something.”

The dragon hero chewed her lip and looked out the window, thinking back to what happened.

They’d all been waiting to be called for a mission of any sort and were interrupted by a hero message alert, simply informing them about an accident that had happened somewhere. This happened a lot and would notify heroes that were nearby so that they could be on standby for if aid was needed.

Now, all was well, until Jeanist read the message and received another immediately afterwards that contained information that the others were unaware of.

Ryuko observed as the man’s face went paler than ever as he read what had been sent to him, and she didn’t even have time to react or ask before being flung quickly into the back of his car along with the other two and told that it was ‘an emergency’.

“It was that alert, wasn’t it?” She muttered, not wanting to know the answer as she feared the worst. “Wait- Shinya, what about Shinya, where is he?”

Tsunagu winced at the harsh sound of the woman’s voice and prepared to answer but was cut off by Rumi as she gave her thoughts of what Ryuko had just said.

“Isn’t he on patrol around that area with Kamui and Mount Lady?” She questioned, yelping slightly as the car took another sharp turn and sent her flying straight to the other side of the car. “Augh...The message said it was only a small villain attack but it’s mainly the building that got demolished....though they said there were some casualties and injuries and such...”

Tsunagu’s chest grew tight and he started shaking even more at the thoughts that raced through his mind. ‘Oh god....no please.....please be safe...oh please, I beg you....’

“....look at the time...” the blond man whispered, his voice sounding even more vulnerable than before.

4:50pm.

What was so special about 4:50pm?

“What- what’s up with the time?” Rumi asked hesitantly. Looking over Ryuko’s arm as she checked the time. “It’s 4:50, what about it?”

“Izu-” Tsunagu stuttered, his breath hitching as he felt that familiar feeling creep from his stomach up to his throat yet again. “Izumi finishes her school at this time. Hana....Hana looks after her and takes her home....but- but the area. This- argh!”

The car swerved sharply as the blond man narrowly avoided a massive crevice in the road. They stopped moving and looked at the sight in front of them.

They were there. They were at the area that they’d been told about but were shocked to see that the building had completely vanished. It was not there. It was as if someone had plucked it from the ground and taken it elsewhere.

“Holy shit...” Keigo muttered, his wings slumped slightly at the sight that he saw.

Rumi’s ears did the same, as they drooped against her face in a shocked manner while she took in the imagery of the rubble filled, dusty concrete space in front of them.

Ryuko clutched onto the seat in front of her tightly and could feel as Tsunagu’s shoulders dropped, her own breath wavering as she looked out the window.

Police cars and ambulances were scattered around the scene, many heroes could be seen trying to clear the rubble. Despite feeling like such an empty space, there was carnage everywhere.

“Oh god, Tsunagu, please tell me that my suspicions are wrong...” Ryuko quietly spoke, her hands letting go of the seat in front of her as she moved to open the door. “Please....tell me that what you were worried for isn’t what I think it is...”

The blond man drew in a sharp breath and fumbled for the door handle, pushing it open. The other three watched as he stumbled out of the car and exchanged concerned looks before following him in his actions and hurriedly getting out of the car themselves.

“Oi!” Hawks called out, trying to get the older man to slow down as he watched him run towards the police officer that was standing amidst the rubble. “Jeans- Tsunagu, for gods sake, slow down!”

The blond man was too caught up in his worried thoughts to notice the yelling coming from the other three that were following him. His head was so heavy. So loud.

‘Oh god-’

“Tsunagu!”

His stomach felt as if someone had set it on fire....a familiar feeling...too familiar.

‘Please, no-’

“Hey!”

He felt tears prick at his eyes as he reached the shorter police officer who was looking up at him in quite a terrified manner.

“Where are they.”

The smaller figure looked up and squeaked at the surprisingly threatening tone of the fiber hero’s voice.

“U-um, sir? Pl-please wait, don’t-”

“Let me through.” Tsunagu interrupted, no longer trying to mask the harshness of his voice.

“I’m sorry, I-I really can’t let you do that right now, sir. You can’t-”

“Let me get through, and let me see what’s going on.” He loomed above the other man, his long and thin figure casting a dark shadow onto those who were in front of him.

“B-but-”

“Now.”

“Jeanist, sir, please I can’t just-” The police officer cut himself off as he saw the hero’s eyes.

Bright teal orbs glowing with adrenaline, rage and dread, staring straight back into his own. Their light intense enough to mortify the soul that shook in fear within oneself.

This was enough to completely terrify and intimidate the officer. He obeyed the tall man’s demand and dropped everything he was doing as he stepped back hesitantly in shock, unable to look away.

“C-carry on, sir!”

Taking this opportunity, Tsunagu rushed forwards and weaved his way through the piles of rubble, jumping over some of them and kicking some out of the way as he neared the centre of the attack.

‘Idiot!’

Tsunagu snapped his head up at the thoughts that started flooding his mind as he stared up at the huge chunk of concrete that seemed to loom ominously over him.

‘You’re so slow- too late, always too late...’

He shook his head and took a step forward. ‘What would your family think? It’s not like they’d care about you any-’

“Shut up!” He blurted out, feeling his eyes sting from the tears that refused to fall. “Shut up....goddammit, Tsunagu, you’re an idiot.....Shinya....Izumi.....shit...”

His mind felt as if it would explode at any moment. He blamed himself, he always had, but the dread and fear for what he’d find was too much to bear...he couldn’t breathe.

‘So slow-’

“Oh god...”

He stumbled around the massive boulder and shuddered at the sight he saw. The sight that was hidden from everyone else.

‘Too slow-’

“No no no-”

He felt a pair of warm hands gently grasp his shoulders from behind as he watched two younger heroes run towards him in a manner of which to prevent him from going any further towards the usually comforting and familiar flash of red that was wrapped around the kneeling figure that lay ahead of him.

‘Too late.’

Tsunagu felt his heart shatter as he looked at what was in front of him. The tears started to fall and his voice faltered as he tried to call out to his husband, his child, his family...anyone....

“No...th-that’s not right....no...”

“Hey, I don’t think this is a good idea...” Mt Lady spoke quietly as they approached the taller man, her eyes darting back to where Shinya was curled up on the ground.

Kamui shakily looked up at the blond man and took in the fear in his face.

“Let...me...go...” Tsunagu weakly demanded, his voice fading slightly as he tried to shrug the winged hero’s hands off of him.

“I can’t, Tsunagu....holy shit...you two...what happened?” Hawks stuttered out, his own words failing at the sight in front of him, his grip still firm on the other’s shoulders.

“I- I can’t say it.....not here....not now...” Shinji whispered as he tried to steady the tall figure in front of him, his own eyes saddened by the harsh truth of what had happened, blinking rapidly to try and clear away the tears that had already made themselves present. “Jeanist, please......please wait a moment, this isn’t a good idea....”

“Let me go...” Tsunagu’s hollow voice croaked out again, yet this time it seemed to get louder...more desperate....

“Wait! You need to calm down, it’s not safe!” Yuu exclaimed, her voice still trying to be soft. She grabbed onto Tsunagu’s arm and shook it gently, trying to bring him back to reality and make him pay attention to them. But it didn’t work.

His throat tightened as he stared at the crumpled figure of his husband on the ground, his heart racing as his thoughts grew deafeningly louder. He couldn’t hear the others. He couldn’t feel the reassuring hands of the three that held him back from behind...or the hesitant words of comfort from the two that blocked his path.

“Let me get to them!”

All he could hear was the pain of his own thoughts and the silent screams that came from his husbands mouth...the muffled wailing that only he seemed to be able to hear...

“Shinya...”

“For gods sake, please calm down-” Ryuko’s steady voice cut through his thoughts and snapped him back to reality, making him realise that he still hadn’t gotten any further, and that Shinya was still there, curled up on the cold ground.

“Please! Let me see them!” Tsunagu cried out, his voice still straining to the point where barely any sound would come out. “My family, let me get to my family!”

Hawks pivoted around to face the struggling blond and sharply dug his fingers into the older man’s shoulders, trying to make him come to his senses. “For pity’s sake, Jeanist, you know this is a bad idea! You need to calm down, ‘cause out of all people, if you lose control-”

“I need to see my child.”

“Oi!”

“Where is my daughter?”

The two younger heroes that had been with the ninja hero at the time of the incident shared a worried glance and thought back to the moment that Shinya found out what had happened...the fear on his face...the heartbroken scream he let out when he saw....

“Tell me...”

When he saw......

“Let me see my child...”

“Hakamata-san.....” Yuu started, her voice cutting off as more tears welled up in her eyes.

“Let me go....”

“Please....you need to calm down....please listen to us....” Shinji finished what the blonde woman tried to say.

“Don’t touch me...” Tsunagu’s eyes clouded over yet again, his heart racing as he tried to fight against the others.

“You know bloody well this isn’t a good idea!” Rumi hissed as she tried to help Ryuko grab hold of the tall man’s shoulder.

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” Tsunagu yelled out, his voice finally making enough noise to startle and frighten the others, the tears streaming down his face even more than before.

“Shit-”

“LET ME GO!”

“For God’s sake-”

“LET ME GO!!”

“No- we can’t, you know this-”

“STOP IT!”

“We’re trying to help, for fucks sake-”

“LET ME GET TO THEM!”

“TSUNAGU!”

At the sudden loud mention of the fiber hero’s name, the silver haired man’s head snapped up and turned towards the commotion in a weary manner.

Locking eyes like the first time they met, the two anguished heroes shared a gaze. Two parents...partners....family....feeling the same despair and pain as each other as they knew...they knew what they both would have to accept.

“.....Tsunagu?” Shinya called out weakly, his voice barely making a sound as he reached out for his husband. “.....you’re here?”

The others watched as the smaller figure reached out to them, their eyes darting back to the man they were holding.

Tsunagu’s face seemed calmer than it was before, still distraught and pained, but calmer. He seemed to breathe slower and his shoulders lowered as he locked eyes with the other man.

“Shinya...” Ryuko started, her voice filled with concern and worry. “Shinya, are you-”

“Let him go...” The silver haired man interrupted the shaky dragon hero, his voice still quiet despite the boldness of his words. “Let him through...”

“Shinya-”

“Let him get to me...let him see her...” His grey eyes seemed to pierce through the air sharper than his own body when using his quirk, despite how dull and hollow they appeared.

Seeing this, the others shared a hesitant glance before letting go of the distraught Jeanist, their hands lingering slightly to let him know that they were all still there for him.

Stumbling forward slowly, Tsunagu reached out to Shinya, his knees buckling beneath him as he fell into the shaky arms of the other man.

“I-I....I can’t....Shinya, I’m sorry...” he started, his tears rolling steadily down his face.

“Don’t....don’t apologise to me, Tsu, we are both sharing this pain....” the silver haired man whispered, rocking the child in his arms ever so slightly as his own tears fell down the sides of his cheeks. “Just....look at her....look at them both.....look....look at her face, Tsunagu, her face-”

The blond man whimpered as the other man shook in despair, holding his family closer to his chest as they took in the peaceful features of the two that lay in his arms.

The small child that was bundled up in Shinya’s arms stared up lifelessly at them, her usually bright and happy teal eyes, now dull and empty. Her light silver hair was dishevelled and dirty, matted by the dust and rubble that was laying around them. Her tiny little body, laying there, broken and damaged...in a way that not even the most heartless creatures could stand and look over....and the imagery of her childhood, stripped away forever. Her life...cut shorter than anyone could ever deserve.

A different pair of kind and caring arms were wrapped around the resting child. Ones that did not belong to Shinya or Tsunagu, but to a certain hero whose own life had been interrupted by the sudden incident.

Hana’s face seemed to carry so much focus, despite being devoid of life and hope, and her eyes still carried their usual determination. She had always been willing to die fighting for those she loved, however it was never meant to be this soon....not with Izumi...not with her trying and failing to protect her own niece.

“What....what happened....” Tsunagu muttered, burying his face deeper into the top of Shinya’s head and taking the other man’s hand gently in his own, squeezing it in the same reassuring way he would’ve done when their family was alive.

“They were walking home...” Shinya croaked, his voice getting smaller as he held his sister and his child’s body closer to him. “They were just coming home, but they got caught- they got caught up in- Tsunagu, I can’t-”

The taller man attempted to comfort his shivering husband but couldn’t stop his own tears from intensifying.

“Tsunagu....Hana...she tried so hard...” Shinya reached down and fixed a stray strand of hair that was poking out from the fairy hero’s head. “My sister....she....she’s gone.....she.....she tried so hard to protect her...our petal, our little Izumi...”

He trailed off, tears falling onto the red scarf that he had wrapped around the two that lay in his arms.

“Our child....our baby....” Tsunagu breathed, continuing from his husband’s unfinished sentence, his own voice sounding more broken than ever.

“Why....why did this happen?” The smaller man asked a question that he didn’t really want the answer to, yet he asked desperately anyway.

“Shinya...” Tsunagu turned away in pain, looking back at the other heroes he had dragged with him. He felt bad. He didn’t mean to yell at them or push them away...but the blind panic he felt had washed over him like a tidal wave drowning out the signs of those who were trying to help. But now he saw. He could think, he could see, he could hear them clearly once again.....but it was too late for that......and it was too much, too loud, he knew too much of what he wish had never had to know.

He watched as Ryuko crumpled to the floor in anguish, barely being held up by the usually strong bunny hero, who’s ears were now pressed against her face, both being comforted by the winged hero that stood by their side. Keigo’s head hanging low as he felt his heart fill up with a familiar sadness that he knew all too well.

“Why did this happen to us?”

Shinya’s words rang through the air as clear and sharp as the cold winter air that they used to play in as a family, throwing snowballs at eachother and watching as Izumi jumped into the massive piles of snow, only to come out shivering and asking for warm hugs and to be wrapped in her favourite blanket. Those memories that could never happen again.

The fiber hero looked back down into his husbands eyes and saw the pain once again, seeing the desperation from deep down within Shinya’s soul.

He took a deep breath and tried to reply as steadily as he could, keeping the other man’s gaze locked to his own.

“Because she’s our daughter....and anything that happens to us will only ever result in pain for those we love the most....”

Shinya felt more tears run down his face as he listened to the familiar and somewhat still so soothing voice of his husband, sharing the truth of what he had already known.

“That’s how it’s always been for us...all throughout our lives.” Tsunagu continued, closing his eyes as he felt his tears blur his vision over and over again.

“It’s all our fault.” Shinya quietly mumbled, brushing the dirt off of their child’s face as he cried.

Looking up, the silver haired hero saw a flash of blue in the distance, and watched the horror seep into the familiar secretary’s face as she looked upon the bodies he held in his arms, falling to the ground as she saw Hana’s broken figure, and wailing when the reality that her partner was actually gone had fully sunk in.

“We’re her parents....and because of that, now she’s dead.”

Shinya felt Tsunagu’s embrace tighten and watched as his husband place a gentle hand against Izumi’s face.

“Our child is dead...Tsunagu.....our child.....our petal....our sunshine....”

The words that escaped Shinya’s lips stuck daggers into both of their hearts as the felt the shared pain of losing a loved one once more.

“Our baby...” the taller man whimpered, his head no longer able to be held up high, resting on the others own shoulders.

The pain they shared was more excruciating than any injury or near-death experience they had ever felt, all combined together. For they had once felt the joys of being a happy family, becoming parents to a whole entire new life that saw the happiness in everything. For the first time in both of their lives, they had felt true peace, and true happiness. But once it was taken away from them, the light they saw in those moments, would never shine again.

“She’s gone....”

[heresathreebee]

Brackish and Briny Waters (five)

[Ralph Lamont x Female Reader]

Summary: Ralph apologizes and you've got baby brains, but sometimes life does nothing but kick you down. Previous Masterlist Next

Tag(s): 16+ | 1.7k words | more angst, baby fever, alcoholism, ghostly vibes

AN: GODDAMN Part 5 took me a lifetime to finish. As always no beta readers just poorly side eyeing this by myself and hoping it makes sense

THE NEXT MORNING

You barely stir when you hear the door open. You've all but forgotten last night, and yet you flinch when Ralphie tries to cuddle with you. He sighs somewhere near your ear and hugs you from behind anyways, lips brushing the nape of your neck and breath fanning over your back as he simply lies there, quiet as the grave. 

There's no bruise but you can still feel his hand gripping your arm from last night. "You're being a huge dick…" 

"... I know." 

That is not good enough. You roll over to face him and watch his face twist when he notices the tract marks of dry tears on your face. He swallows and almost unconsciously takes your hand, smoothing his thumb over the back of your palm in a way that was meant to comfort him rather than you. 

"I'm sorry." He opens his mouth again but he flounders for words. After a deep breath he continues. "We can't call Reagan. Because he won't do anything for us…" 

You wait impatiently for him to explain. 

"Sweetheart, if we called Reagan last night, he would have fucking laughed at us. It is step one down that slippery slope to the couple who cried wolf." He put a hand on your shoulder and looked you in the eye, "do you really think he would have done something?" 

You think about it. If Ralph hadn't stopped you from calling him, what would you have said to Reagan? 

I smelled exhaust fumes. Not an emergency, he would say. 

I think he found us. What do you want me to do about it, too late now, he would ask.  

We're in danger. I'll send a squad upstate, they should be there in 4 hours, he would joke. 

"It was real," you insist. "I smelled fumes." 

"I know. I believe you." 

You squint at him threateningly and he doesn't give an inch. He doesn't seem like he's mocking you. 

Ralph could be an asshole, but Reagan was infinitely worse. At least one of them gave a shit about your safety. The realization Ralph was right scared you more than anything. You were alone in this… 

Well, alone together. 

You sigh and bury your face in his neck. Your hair is tangled as shit and probably tickling his face, but your husband simply wraps you up in a tight embrace and holds you against him. It's all the apology you need. 

END OF THE FIRST MONTH

Adjusting to your new life hit you like a sack of bricks early on a Monday morning. You woke up from a dream where you still lived in your tiny little apartment two minutes walk from everything. In a reality which felt more like a fever dream, Ralph was late for work, donning a tie and tweed jacket and kissing you goodbye for the day. 

You never realized how much space there was in the new master bedroom. In the apartment, a queen sized bed nearly touched the walls and barely left room to creep around two night stands and a dresser, but in the new house you had room to lay on the floor and stretch, maybe put another piece of furniture in here like a bookshelf or something. 

And the whole damn house was like that. You had an entire second floor to claim as your own! There is almost too much space… too much space for just the two of you. 

God there's that thought again drifting into your mind unbidden, unfurling like a fern at the first droplet of sunshine. How many people does it take to turn a house into a home? Three should be plenty, your mind offers. 

You busy yourself with measurements, regrouting the loose tiles in the kitchen floor, and scrubbing the blackened hell out of that downstairs bathroom. It seems to come to life beneath your hands and you can feel yourself getting excited to show guests the improvement. 

The thoughts of turning your little twosome family into three persist over and over until you can't stand it any longer. Maybe it's finally time… 

Ralph's late getting home by 5 minutes instead of 5 hours but he still looks tired. No mud tracks on his pants or hard set eyes. He's halfway up the stairs before you realize he's probably going to bed early. 

"Hey!" 

Ralph stops like it pains him. His head sags and his hold on the railing is tight like he'll fall if he lets go. The way he's wobbling he might. He is barely able to meet your eyes as he glances over his shoulder and when he does he simply grunts. 

"I made dinner," you squeeze your hands together behind your back, "angel hair pasta and that sauce you love." 

Ralph's eyes flicker in thought. "Be down in a second." 

You wait nervously to see if he does come down. What if this is a bad idea? What if he doesn't take you seriously? Oh god what if he hates it, what if he calls you an idiot for even considering it? 

Ralph does come back downstairs, hair wild from running his fingers through it. He seems to gain a small amount of energy while eating, not wanting to talk himself but asking how your day has been going. 

You're definitely rambling right now. Ralph listens and listens, chuckling along but at some point he grows concerned and envelopes your hand with a worried expression on his face. "Jesus, I've never heard so many words come out of your mouth at once, it's like you're writing a dissertation over there. Are you OK, baby?" 

You snap your mouth shut. God, you hadn't even come close to talk about kids for all your rambling. And then there was that weird smell… 

Your blood runs cold as you recognize it. You lean a little closer to Ralph and he almost instinctively flinches away. If there's one thing you are sure of, one thing you could swear on god– Ralph Lamont has never flinched away from a kiss before. So he has something to hide. And that something has a sharp scent and explains his slow reactions and tired eyes better than anything else could. 

"Have you… have you been drinking?" 

It's the way he can't meet your eyes when you ask him. You know. It's beyond out of character, so much so that it's confusing and a little frightening for you. 

A little drink here and there is, to you, to be expected especially considering the wealth of your new company. So why hide it? Is there something else he's not telling you?

You suddenly feel sick and too hot, ripping your hand away from his and getting up to leave the table. 

He knows you get in your head sometimes and practically yells your name to stop you. "I'm… I don't know why I…" 

Ralph sighs and buries his face into his hands, ashamed. All this suspense is twisting knots in your stomach. You sit back down gingerly, taking deep breaths to calm yourself down. 

"Ralph," you warn, "you had better start explaining yourself right now before I lose it." 

Ralph stares a hole into the table and worries his lip. The truth is he doesn't know what to say because he doesn't know why he did it. The students are easy, you are easy. Even in the toughest of times, at his lowest, he didn't drink so… what the fuck was coming over him?, he asked himself. 

Something clicked. It rolled like fire in his belly given dry wood, smoking curling to the top of his throat and out of his ears. "They hate me." 

"Who? Who hates you?" 

"Everyone." 

You looked him in the eye for the first time tonight and saw something dark looking in there. It makes you uneasy. "What makes you think they hate you, baby?" 

Ralph's grip on his fork tightens until his knuckles are white before he gingerly sets the dishware down and deflates. He clicks his tongue and shakes his head with a sardonic grin. 

"You wouldn't understand… and how could you? You never leave the house." He looks at you and there's a growing instability rising in his movements. "You… you don't see it. It started out as little nothings that I could ignore because it didn't matter that they didn't like me: I was new.  

"Then it became lots of these little nothings. Staring and whispering and hushed silences. Tip toeing language and poking and prodding and testing me and my limits and it just… it just… it never got better…" 

Rumors. It dawned on you that his frustration seemed intimately familiar to you as you had had to change schools once or twice due to a few terrible rumors that snowballed and got way out of hand. And you can imagine the sort of rumors that accompany a man with little interest in making friends who has a wife nobody knows anything about. 

If you wanted to stay here long, you would need to change a few minds. You set aside your fear for a moment and make him look at you. You can see the unshed tears in his eyes and feel pity for him. 

"I want to do that dinner party," you announce. "With all that's gone on, you probably didn't have the grand introduction you deserve. Let me show them how much you mean to me." 

Ralph's shaking his head but he already knows you'll win this fight. For him it feels like begging for something he doesn't even want. He agrees because he already promised you could when you were ready and you needed to find new friends asap. 

His sleep that night is fitful and the room's shadows seem to reach out like claws seeking his immortal soul. When the haze of whiskey finally dies down in his system he sleeps dreamless and wakes to feel somehow more hollow with despair than before. 

Ralph Lamont has the distinct feeling things are going to get a hell of a lot worse before anything gets better…

@werwulfy @fundamentally-lazy @escape-your-grape @mimiscappinisideblog @go-commander-kim

[emluvsevermore]

Him (40’s stucky)

{ rb is great, but do not repost somewhere else without credit to me. do not steal my work }

originally posted on Wattpad. you can find my whole collection of stucky one-shots there. username is @/thatenbywitch107

wc: 1,437

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I'll be back," Bucky said, ruffling Steve's hair. "Don't worry."

"Bucky, it's war. I have a right to worry."

The newly drafted soldier tried to fake a smile, but his boyfriend saw right through it. Luckily, he had the perfect thing to cheer him up.

Steve pulled a small metal object out of his pocket. He held it out to Bucky, who took it.

"What's this?" he said, inspecting it. It was a seemingly blank dog tag, save for three symbols pressed into the metal: S + B.

"Do you like it? I figured a picture of me would be too risky, and this way, you can make up any girls name that starts with S—,"

He was cut off by Bucky crushing him in a hug. Steve tried to hold the tears back but gave up when he heard Bucky sniffling. They held each other as they broke down. Bucky pressed his nose into Steve's hair, eyes squeezed shut. He hated crying, but it was an almost inevitable action. In a few minutes, he would be leaving the best part of his life behind to fend for himself in a city full of danger and disease. Meanwhile, he would be off fighting in a war that he didn't actually want to fight, with a slim chance of returning.

"Bucky... you need to go."

He shook his head profusely. "No..."

"Buck," Steve's voice cracked. "I'll be okay."

The brunette shook with emotion, but slowly pulled out of the embrace. He tucked the tag into his front pocket before turning back to Steve. He held his face in his hands. The couple shared a kiss mixed with salty tears.

Bucky pulled away only slightly, so that their lips still brushed when he spoke. "I love you, Stevie."

"I love you, too, Bucky."

///

He tucked behind a tree. Knowing his chances of survival were close to none, Bucky pulled out the dog tags that were tucked beneath his uniform. He ran his fingers over the extra tag on the chain, feeling the gentle bumps of the 'S + B'.

A bullet flew by, mere inches from Bucky's ear. He aimed his gun, but another soldier in his unit put a hand on his arm and shook his head.

"It's not worth it, Barnes. We're surrounded."

Hesitantly, Bucky lowered his gun to the ground. He held up his hands in surrender, as did the remaining soldiers of the 107th.

///

He was tossed into a dark, muddy cell with several of his comrades.

"We'll get out of here, men. Don't worry," Bucky said, trying his best to be a leader. He clutched the dog tags in his hand.

Yet months went by, and one by one, the men were dragged off. They never returned. Bucky spent his time reading and re-reading the words and numbers on his tags, spending extra time on the one from Steve.

This went on until one day, a German soldier approached the cell. He looked around until he landed on Bucky. He pointed. "You. Up."

///

When Bucky awoke, he was cold and in pain. He tried to sit up, but a strap over his chest and arms pinned him down.

Looking around him, he found that he was in a lab room of some sort. It was dark, so he couldn't make out much, but he seemed to be alone. That didn't last long.

A door clanged open, and three men walked in. Bucky didn't recognize any of them. They spoke amongst each other in German, before one walked up to the table that Bucky laid on. He was a rather short, middle-aged man, with round glasses.

"Trial number 310," he spoke in a thick accent, reading off of a clipboard. "James Buchanan Barnes, 26. Good history of health. Let's hope this one works."

He squinted when a bright lamp above the table was switched on. Before he could realize what was happening, a needle was pressed into his foremen. Within two minutes, he was passed out.

Apparently, "this one" did work, because Bucky remained on that table for another two weeks. At various points in the day, he was poked, prodded, and injected. They didn't always put him under for the tests. When those times came, Bucky forced himself to remember, despite the hunger and pain eating away at him. He ran through what he had memorized; his ID numbers, his full name, his station. Most importantly, he remembered Steve.

Steven Grant Rogers. 25, born and raised in Brooklyn. The best damn artist I've ever known. My boyfriend.

Steven Rogers. Brooklyn. Artist. Boyfriend.

Steve. Artist. Boyfriend.

Steve. Boyfriend.

Steve.

Steve?

///

He mumbled the codes. He had long since forgotten what they meant, but he knew they were important.

S. That one letter rang out in his mind, but he didn't know why.

The metal door swung open once again.

No. No, not again, he thought. One more round and I'll forget him completely. S- Steph? Sam?

But his confusion shifted when he saw the man that approached the table this time. He was different, but familiar.

That's not him, is it? No, it can't be—

"Bucky?"

Oh, shit, it's him.

"S- Steve? Steve."

The blond undid the straps and helped Bucky off the table. He took in his boyfriend, although he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.

Steve spoke first. "I thought you were dead."

"I thought you were smaller."

The world was at war around them, but the reunited couple stood there, smiling like twitterpated idiots.

"Steve," Bucky cried as he collapsed into his boyfriend's impressive biceps. What the hell happened to the skinny kid he had left behind?

"I've got you, Buck. I'm here." Steve pressed a kiss to Bucky's forehead. "Can you walk?"

"Um—,"

Steve scooped him up anyways. "We need to go."

He ran out of the room with his exhausted boyfriend in his arms. Bucky rested his head against Steve's chest.

"I missed you, Stevie."

Steve glanced down, his expression warm and full of emotion. "I missed you, too, Bucky."

He kissed his forehead once more before continuing at full speed out of the building, and back into the battle.

///

*One week later*

Side by side, they walked into the base. There was applause was the other soldiers realized what was going on.

Agent Carter and Colonel Phillips approached them. As Steve filled them in, Bucky glanced around. Something about the cheering bothered Bucky. None of these men gave a damn about Steve before he got all big and strong. And then all of the sudden, he was a celebrity.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Let's hear it for Captain America!"

And there it was, even louder this time. This support was for Captain America, not Steve Rogers.

Bucky stepped forward so that he was right next to Steve. He took his hand, causing Steve to turn his attention back to him. They shared an affectionate smile.

///

Later that day, Steve and Bucky were alone in a private cabin. Steve had explained their relationship to Peggy and she had sorted it all out.

They sat on the couch in their favorite cuddling position, with one straddling the other, arms wrapped around each other. Except this time, their usual roles were swapped. For one, Bucky was now smaller than Steve, so it made more sense. Two, Bucky needed a little extra comfort. It had only been a week since he got out of the torturous room.

So, Bucky sat on Steve's lap with his face nestled in his neck. They were both exhausted, so Bucky simply placed slow, lazy kisses on Steve's soft skin. In return, Steve traced his fingers up and down Bucky's back.

"How are you feeling, doll?" Steve asked.

"Like I just came back from hell." They were quiet for a moment. "Steve?"

"Mhm?"

"I just want you to know, that you're the most important person in my life. I don't think I would've survived back there if I didn't have thoughts of you keeping me alive. You're a hero to the whole country now. I don't know exactly what this means for us, but I do know that... that even before, when you were skinny little Steve... you were my hero. I don't think I tell you often enough how much I appreciate you."

Steve hugged Bucky even tighter. "I won't let anything happen to you again, or to us. I'm with you till the end of the line."

[yan-senna]

The Keeper of the Diamond 2 (Severus Snape x reader & Valtor/Baltor x reader)

By yan-senna

Other links to the story: Wattpad / AO3

Want to be tagged when I post a fanfic?

Book 1 / Chapter 1 / Next chapter / All chapters

Chapter 18

TW: Blood, death, torture, swear words, weapons and mentions of rape

Y/N is lying on a table as her hands and feet are tied. She can’t move. Bellatrix and Icy are in front of her, smirking at her.

Meanwhile, Darcy and Stormy are a bit far away in the background. Darcy looks at Stormy. “Do you really think this is a good idea?” she whispers.

Stormy shakes her head. “I know it was me who complained that we couldn’t have fun, but honestly, what fun would it be? Darkar will most likely find out and then refuse to give us Magix!” she whisper-yells.

Darcy nods at that. She really hopes that Darkar won’t show up and find out what they are about to do.

At the table, Y/N is struggling. However, to no avail. Bellatrix has a knife in her hand.

“I have wanted to do this for a long time. The Dark Lord declined my wish last time, but this time, nobody will stop me” she says as she gives a loud and evil laugh.

She then drags the knife down from Y/N’s throat and along her chest. She however isn’t putting pressure to actually cut, yet. She drags it along her stomach, her hipbone and her thigh. She stops as she lifts up her dress to reveal her bare thigh.

“We will not even need any spells as long as we cut on discreet places” Bellatrix states.

She then starts to cut Y/N’s left inner thigh. Blood drips from the fresh cut. Tears start to spill from her eyes. It hurts, really bad.

“Tsk, tsk. Are you crying already? We haven’t even started yet” Icy says while smirking at Y/N.

Bellatrix then stops cutting her thigh, grabs Y/N’s chin harshly and starts to scratch her right cheek with her long nails. She scratches hard enough to draw blood. Y/N can’t help but give a scream as it hurts.

“You fucking idiot! I thought we agreed to only harm her in discreet places?!” Icy exclaims, absolutely angry.

Bellatrix just smirks at her. “I simply could not contain myself. Go on, it is your turn” she says as she hands Icy the knife.

Before she can reach for it, though, spells are thrown their way.

“Leave her alone!” Bloom yells.

The two witches turn around to see the Winx in their fairy form, the Specialists, Valtor, Laura, Vera, Snape, Black, Lupin and the Gryffindor Trio.

Stormy and Darcy are tied by ropes, looking annoyed yet defeated.

“You idiots! Why didn’t you attack them?!” Icy screams at them.

They just shrug. “We did, but they surprised us. Apparently, Darkar’s monsters aren’t that strong since they got past them” Stormy says.

Gritting her teeth, Icy then starts to attack the Winx. Bellatrix attacks Black, Lupin and the Trio while the Specialists, Laura and Vera attack Darkar’s shadow monsters which have just appeared inside the fortress.

Valtor and Snape hurry up to the table where Y/N is still tied to.

“Do not worry, Y/N. We will get you out of here!” Valtor reassures her. Y/N merely nods while still having tears in her eyes.

While Valtor uses his magic to cut her free, Snape inspects her cuts. “Merlin, what did those witches do to you?” he questions while gently caressing her bloodied thigh.

She whimpers as it still hurts. He notices and mutters “Episkey” as the cut slowly heals, it however leaves a scar. He heals her cheek as well which also leaves a few scars.

When she’s free, she doesn’t hesitate to hug Snape tightly. “He’s here, he’s here” she says over and over again.

Valtor raises an eyebrow at that. “Who? Lord Darkar?” Valtor asks, puzzled. Snape looks confused as well.

She shakes her head as she points somewhere. Both men turn around to see Dolohov. Snape balls his hands into fists. Not that fucking bastard again.

Valtor is still confused, though. “Who is he?” he slowly asks.

Snape gives an annoyed sigh. “Dolohov. He tried to rape her last year. He killed her mother, too” he states, knowing that he killed her since Lucius once told him while Y/N wasn’t there. He already suspected that Dolohov did it, though.

Valtor’s expression turns angry at that. He won’t let him get away with hurting Y/N. “Will you be fine, Y/N?” Valtor gently asks as he wipes away her tears. When she nods, the two men don’t think twice about what to do.

They approach Dolohov. “Well, well. Hello, Severus. I see Lucius is not here with you. What a shame, huh?” he says as he smirks.

That just makes Snape even angrier. “We should not have let you live. We should have killed you when we had the chance” Snape states, referring to that night at Malfoy Manor.

Dolohov laughs at that. “Maybe, maybe not. However, you will not win this time. Lord Darkar has both diamonds. You might as well just surrender now” he says in a mocking tone.

Valtor looks at Snape and Snape looks at Valtor. They both nod, knowing what to do. They don’t even bother using their magic - they just keep beating Dolohov with their bare hands while the man looks surprised as he doesn’t react in time.

After a while, he finally stops moving. His face unrecognisable as it’s covered in bruises and blood.

“If anybody asks, then it was self-defence. That will not get us in trouble” Snape states which Valtor nods at, both of them having blood on their hands. Nobody has to know that they beat Dolohov to death. Only Valtor, Snape and Y/N have to know.

Y/N watched the whole thing from afar, still lying on the table. She lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Finally, he’s gone. The face of her nightmares is gone.

However, nobody in the room notices a person emerging on the throne.

[tintinwrites]

indelible | Comandante Veracruz x Reader | Part Three

A/N: SORRY Y’ALL THERE IS PLOT WITH THIS PORN TBH.

Rating: 18+

Warning: Reader dominates Veracruz and he’s pissed bc HIS PERFECTLY STYLED HAIR but he loves it. Naughty words. Veracruz calls Reader mean names bc he thought she was abandoning him. Lots of lawbreaking and mentions of violence.

Word count: 3,424, apparently!!

Summary: You save Veracruz from being arrested and let your more assertive side out.

Part One | Part Two

GIF credit: thewaythisis (Please let me know if you don’t want me using your GIF!)

Tags: @shadow-assassin-blix​ @bisexual-space-slut​ @damndamer0n​ @woakiees​ @anetteaneta​ @yespolkadotkitty​ @feelmyroarrrr​ @mynameisabsinthe​ @damerondjarin​ @arkofblake​ @spacegayofficial​ @perropascal​ @theocatkov​ @synystersilenceinblacknwhite​ @readsalot73​

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

“Stay out of the way, girl.”

That was what Veracruz told you when one of his men’s cars was blown up, as he drove up to where Commander Axe’s people were hiding out in a building, nodding for you to go hide out among some nearby trees with rage in his eyes.

You listened because there was concern there, too, you thought, but you stayed at the edge of the forest to watch.

You let out a quiet laugh when you saw Commander Axe approach Veracruz and his men on a donkey with his hands up in the air to show he wasn’t armed, thinking that you rather liked this man even if he was working against your...whatever Veracruz was. You weren’t even sure whose side you were on considering you tried not to be involved in such things.

Sam was quickly yanked off the donkey then pulled to his feet, only to be punched right back to the ground; you admitted to yourself that your comandante was fairly sexy when he did it, though it seemed immoral.

You were close enough that you could hear them if you really tried, hearing Commander Axe seemingly lying to them about how they needed to surrender because there was more than ‘smelly, stinkin’, unwashed farmers’. You didn’t know what he was talking about, but he really seemed to be bluffing.

“—that’s why I’m here with my one time only, not to be repeated offer,” he pointed almost in Veracruz’s face like he was a child. “Unconditional surrender, right now...and I will let you walk away.” He counted the two terms on his fingers as he smiled almost patronizingly, Perez grinning at him like he was an idiot and Veracruz seeming to consider it with a shrug, but you knew him too well to think that he believed him. “And one more thing.”

“What is it?” Veracruz’ words were clipped as he paused with his hand lifted slightly, turned away from Sam.

“You hand over that pretty girl you’ve been holding hostage.”

Veracruz practically sneered at the idea that you were held against your will, or perhaps at the idea of another man talking about you. He yanked a gun from one of his men and turned back to Commander Axe with a pissed, “You’re bluffing,” before he rammed the gun against his stomach.

You didn’t like knowing about these things, flinching and looking down when he used the gun hard enough on the other man’s head to send him to the ground. By the time you looked up again, he was cocking the gun to shoot him and you kind of wanted to run out to stop him yourself, but Perez did.

They instead turned and started shooting up at a building that you imagined was hiding some people connected to Commander Axe, and you decided not to look again.

Until you heard the sound of helicopters and looked up to see them over the building, then Veracruz was yelling at everyone to leave the trucks they were parked in as all three helicopters began shooting.

Now you really wanted to run out and grab Veracruz and drag him away with you since you would need to start a whole new life without him, but you didn’t want to run into that when all the trucks were being blown up.

A voice started to say that it was the police, telling everyone to surrender, and most of the soldiers walked over with their guns held up to kneel down; Veracruz, however, yanked out a knife and ran for Commander Axe.

You didn’t know whether you were cheering for Sam or wanting to protect the man who never needed protection as he was quickly disarmed and knocked out by the commander, a pang somewhere deep down as you watched the only person you even knew anymore lay there on the ground.

Sam’s eyes scanned as if he knew you were there and you quickly backed away to hide yourself, knowing it wouldn’t be helpful if you were arrested too.

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

Veracruz knew he told you to stay out of the way, but that was so you wouldn’t distract him or end up being shot by one of his or Commander Axe’s men, an idea he didn’t like to entertain the thought of.

Where were you now?

You chose a life with him and now that he was being shoved to his knees in handcuffs to be carted away to prison, you would most likely go back to the life you knew before him.

His eyes scanned the trees where he told you to hide in search of you, lips pulling into a snarl when he saw you briefly running through; running away, abandoning him.

He started to move to his feet, muttering rather unsavory words to himself, thinking of what he was going to do to you for abandoning him like this.

But the officer who was searching him and removing any weapons shoved him right back down with a punch to the ribs that made him grunt.

He was yanked to his feet once he was thoroughly looked over and shoved unceremoniously into the back of a car where he simply stared out the window, raging about his scheme being ruined and you leaving him when he’d done so much for you.

He paid no mind to the driver who slid into the car, only rolling his eyes when their driving made the car jostle.

“Doesn’t this thing go any faster?” That voice made him look forward to see your hair, his gaze moving up to meet yours in the rearview mirror.

“—so you are not off fucking Commander Axe?” His look was shocked, but he hid it beneath the anger he was currently holding onto, quickly moving his expression back to a scowl.

His words made you pause slightly, the submissive side of you backing down a little as you responded curtly, “I knocked out a police officer and stole a government vehicle to save your ass, and you ask me that?”

He was a little taken aback by your snippiness since he was used to the deal that you decided on; you were submissive to him because you enjoyed it so much, usually hanging back and listening to whatever he told you to. You’d never exactly spoken to him like that.

Rather than letting you know it surprised him, though, he kept on with his own attitude. “Are you going to uncuff me?” He raised an eyebrow when all you did was glance in the side mirror to make sure no one was following you, though thankfully no one noticed you take the car. “I asked you a question.”

You were willing to leave him handcuffed if you were doing this and he was acting like that, staying silent as you drove in the direction of the camp.

“What are you doing? Take these off me!” He shook his hands behind his back, looking at you like you were crazy in the rearview mirror.

“Maybe when you calm down a little.” The drive to the camp was a little bit of a long one and you were reflecting on all you’d done for him, and what little he’d done in return.

“Whore,” he spat like a reflex since you weren’t doing what he wanted, but it was more out of anger then the usual sexy scolding.

“The whore you liked so much that you kept me,” you spat right back, finding your own anger the more you thought about his behavior.

He was silent for a long moment and you thought maybe you actually shut the man up, until you felt his lips pressing to your skin. There was no partition in the car, so he was able to lean forward, his chest pressing into the back of the seat. “Do you know what I’m going to do to you when I’m out of these?” He asked softly, letting the tip of his tongue run along the shell of your ear.

It was kind of a threat, yet it made you squeeze your thighs together tightly because you knew he’d never hurt you; spank your ass and not let you cum, yes, but he’d never actually hurt you.

“Shut up,” you mumbled, then tightened your grip on the steering wheel and nodded to yourself as you said it more firmly, “Shut up.” You leaned forward and turned on the radio, leaving it on the first station there and turning it up enough to tell him you didn’t want to hear him.

You pulled up to the campsite soon enough with Veracruz insulting you again as you hopped out of the car, though he calmed down some when you pulled him out of the car to come with you to your tent. You left him at the entrance of the tent with the cuffs still on as you started to throw some clothes and valuables into a duffel bag.

“Where do you keep your money?” That was something he’d always kept private so no one would steal it and you didn’t care much since he kept you fed and clothed.

“Why?” He was standing there with the grumpiest look, all but pouting.

“I just interfered with your arrest for trying to kill people and I stole a government vehicle, so we need to leave and we need money.” You’d almost forgotten that you were once more assertive, before you and Veracruz came to your agreement.

“—the metal box under the bed,” he mumbled.

You crouched down and pulled a green metal box out from under the cot that other soldiers might keep pictures and special items in; this one was full of Colombian pesos.

You’d wanted nothing to do with any of Veracruz’ work and now you’d not only stolen him away from being arrested in a police vehicle, but your first thought when you saw the money that you would probably need to exchange it to the currency of whatever country you needed to flee to.

It was almost funny how you went from not knowing much at all to committing some fairly serious crimes to save the man who was calling you a whore.

You shoved the box into the duffel bag and put it over your shoulder, walking over to grab Veracruz’ arm and drag him out of the tent back to the police car.

All you did was lean in to grab the keys that included the one for the handcuffs, then you walked into a tent to take the keys for one of the cars that had been left behind.

Continuing to drive around in a stolen vehicle would’ve been quite stupid and the car you’d chosen wasn’t a military one, which meant it would be harder to find the two of you.

“Uncuff me,” Veracruz hissed when you opened the passenger side of the car, figuring he couldn’t really do anything with his hands behind his back and he probably wanted to leave as much as you so he wouldn’t try anything.

You merely pushed him into the car and shut the door, noticing his glare through the window as you walked around to hop into the driver’s side.

Tossing the duffel bag into the back and putting the keychain with the handcuff keys on it into a cupholder, you put the key for this car into the ignition and started the engine, pulling out of the camp and onto the road as quickly as you could.

There would still be a bit before anyone was at the camp if they’d seen the car was gone yet, but you wanted to put some distance between you and them.

Veracruz was quiet on the way into the city which you were pretty sure was because he was pissed, and you much preferred it to him insulting you when you were doing all of this for him.

When you pulled up to a cheap little hotel in the middle of the city, you told him you’d be a minute and hopped out of the car, going into the back to grab money from the box then going in to pay for a room; a man in handcuffs might look a little suspicious, so you wanted to buy the room first then bring him in.

Only one night, as you would be booking a plane ticket for the first decent place out of Colombia.

You walked back to the car for Veracruz, the bag, and the keys, going quickly up to the room.

It was small, but it would do, and you left Veracruz on the foot of the bed as you moved to put the keys on the nightstand and the duffel bag in a chair.

“I suggest that you uncuff me.” The anger in his tone made you tense slightly, slowly turning around to face him.

“I suggest you respect me since I broke the law to save your ass.” Yes, you submitted to him in bed, but him acting like this with all you did for him was pissing you off.

“As if I’ve never broken the law for you, hm?”

You glared at each other and as you stared at him, there on the bed, hands behind his back, you thought that maybe you could be the one to do the dominating. To show him what it was like to deal with a brat. He was angering you so much that you wanted to dominate him, to boss him around because you were the one in charge right now.

You smiled at him and he only looked angrier if that were possible. “Now there’s an idea.”

His shoulders straightened and his head lifted slightly when you pulled your shirt off, his expression going from angry to turned on as his gaze went to your breasts.

You were still in your bra, but there was plenty showing to entice him like it always did.

“You’re gonna be a good boy and let me do what I want.” That made him scowl again even with you undoing your pants and pushing them down.

“Did you forget who you belong to?” His eyes followed the lines of your legs anyway, then moved up to stare at your panties.

“Are you saying that you don’t want me to sit on top of you and ride you?”

Silence.

He was both pissed and turned on at your brazen move, his anger perhaps a bit of an act now to remind you he was the dominant one, though his cock was hardening at the thought of you doing this.

You took off your bra and he watched, you took off your panties and he watched, and he stared up at you as you climbed into his lap and freed his cock from his pants.

Your other hand went to that forbidden place that was his hair, messing it up from its neat styling, and he might’ve sneered up at you, but something else flashed in his eyes.

“Are you going to stop misbehaving?” You pouted at him, enjoying this role since he was being such a jerk.

He smiled at you, but it was not a sweet smile by any means, and he said softly and mockingly with a patronizing humor in his eyes, “Si, puta.”

The way he continued to say these things to you when you’d helped him out of going to prison made you so angry, you moved off his lap and looked around the room, quickly grabbing your panties off the floor when you saw them and balling them up, shoving them into his mouth right when he opened it to say something else that was probably unfriendly.

His eyes went wide with shock then turned to rage, glaring up at you as you climbed back into his lap. “There we go.”

You lined his cock up with your entrance and slowly moved down onto him, enjoying the way your underwear muffled his groan. You sat there on his lap and he tried bucking his hips to make you move yours, but you stayed put.

It wasn’t until he stopped that you did what he wanted, riding him at a slow pace that made him twitch inside you.

You moved one hand down to play with your clit, rubbing yourself as your other hand continued to muss his perfectly styled hair; you knew he really hated that, but you could also tell he was turned on by everything you were doing.

Even though you were submissive and happily agreed to be that way with him, you were really enjoying being on top.

“I saved your ass and instead of thanking me like you should, you’re calling me names and insulting me like I abandoned you.” You were able to angle your hips so his cock brushed up against a certain spot inside of you and you moaned.

He was no longer glaring at you as much as before, his eyes mostly filled with lust as he stared up at you.

You were honestly so turned on and the angle you were fucking him was so good that you were close to coming, moving your hips a little bit faster much to his enjoyment.

Your fingers moved faster against your clit and you saw the way he watched your every movement, listened to each moan that fell from your lips like they were music to him.

The way his hips started rocking up into you again wasn’t something you cared about now, focusing only on your pleasure as you pressed against him and came hard around his cock, moaning as you clenched down around him.

He moved a little bit faster, grunting around your panties, and it was when you knew he was about to come that you lifted your hips off of him.

His eyes widened with anger and you smiled at him. “Maybe be nicer to me next time I save you from going to prison.”

It was then your eyes that went wide when his hands were on your arms and he was spitting your panties out before yanking you against him so that your nose was practically pressed to his. “Maybe you shouldn’t leave handcuff keys with the person who’s handcuffed. Now it’s my turn.”

You were quickly turned around and pinned down to the bed by your wrists, moaning loudly as Veracruz thrust into you and began a fast pace against you.

He was groaning and grunting over you, his hips snapping into yours hard. “You’ve been a naughty girl, haven’t you?”

It turned you on for him to be on top of you and dominating you, you couldn’t deny it, but it was fun to be the one dominating for a moment.

“You’re like me now. You’re stuck with me.” He was referring to you breaking the law in such a way and how you were both now criminals who needed to stay together or you might rat each other out; the idea of it seemed to turn him on so much that he thrust a few more times before spilling into you.

He panted as he rolled off you, not saying anything when you slowly moved to lay under his arm with your head on his chest. Your relationship was almost a game and even with him insulting you or you dominating him, you would still silently cuddle as if you needed each other.

“When did you unlock the cuffs?” You asked, looking up at him from the position you were laying in.

“When you went to pay for the room...you are not very good at crime.” He put one hand behind his head, looking at the ceiling.

The two of you laid there in silence for a moment, your hand moving down to put his cock back into his pants. He shooed you away from it, pulling away and undressing himself then laying back down next to you.

He lifted his arm so you could crawl into his side again. “What is your plan, little lawbreaker?”

You ran your fingers over his belly because it was ticklish and you liked the way the muscles twitched, how he’d glare at you but wouldn’t stop you from doing it.

“We’ll buy tickets for the first country out of here and then…”

“And then?”

“We’ll lay low, use some fake names, find some jobs wherever we go so we can make a living.”

“Perhaps you are a smarter criminal than I thought you were.”

[an-absolute-travesty]

Let me go

~Writing strike is over!~ 

*confetti*

Hopefully that taught the general public to appreciate writers a bit more

There was no prompt for this, I just wanted to write it :)

Massive tw for: major character death, grieving, blood, panic...this one is rough, friends

Word count: 1,701

About: kam angst

Tag list (tell me if you want to be added or removed):@you-are-the-vacker-legacy @ruewen-and-rising @lemontarto @a-lonely-tatertot @clearlykeefitz @percabetn @vibing-in-the-void @sewersewersewercouch @everyonehasthoughts @imaramennoodle @enbies-and-felonies @blxckh0les42 @rainbowtay-11 @littlemisscupcake 

Tam was making lunch for his boyfriend when he got the hail. Keefe himself sat in his art studio, working on a project that Tam apparently wasn’t allowed to see yet. Their anniversary was coming up though, five years of success. Tam suspected it was some present to do with that. Maybe a nice landscape, they needed something to sit over their mantel. 

“Hello?”

Dex’s voice came from the other end. “Tam, we just got word of a possible Neverseen attack in Atlantis. We think it might just be a few crazy extremists, no leaders spotted yet. but since you and Keefe are closest we need you two to check it out. No interactions required, just a scope out.”

“Got it, be there in five.”

~*~

It...wasn’t just a few extremists. If that wasn’t obvious enough. 

“Shit,” Tam said in a harsh whisper, pulling Keefe far behind a wall as he crept around the corner. 

“What? Who is it?”

“A certain mommy dearest.” 

Then, someone appeared behind him. Tam couldn’t remember who. Couldn’t remember how. All he knew was that he was shoved from his safe spot into the open. 

“Hey boss, we got a visitor. Remember the little shade boy?”

He quickly moved to a place of defense, shadows prepared. 

“Oh yes, I remember him. Shame, he wasn’t the goal. Ruy?”

The man turned. 

“Be rid of him.” 

Everything went to slow motion. A throwing knife was hurtling towards him. He braced for impact, there was no way to dodge it. Aimed right for the heart.

Only then he saw the flash of movement. Keefe fell back into Tam, the wound in his chest just starting to bleed. 

“No!” Did it come from him or Gisela? Tam couldn’t tell, his eyes trained on Keefe’s face as he gently lowered him to the ground. 

“Oh you fucking idiot.” Tam didn’t know if he was talking to himself or Keefe. Maybe both. He went to remove the knife from where it sat lodged in Keefe’s heart.

“No,” He said weakly. “Leave it, less bleeding.” Somewhere in the background the Neverseen had gotten away, Tam never found out what their goal was that day. He was sure they didn’t get it, though.

Keefe held Tam’s face in one hand, staining him with blood. 

“You have beautiful eyes you know. I’ve always loved your eyes. I hope I get to see them again.”

“Keefe, don’t talk like that, you’ll be fine, we’ll get Elwin in here and-”

“No.” He took a break to cough, it left blood rolling down his chin. “No, Elwin can’t do anything for me. You can hail him, I’d rather go in the infirmary than the street.”

“Keefe-”

“Go, call him. It’ll make you feel better, love”

So he did.

Elwin was there fast, 10 minutes at most. 

It took entirely too long.

~*~

Keefe passed out on the way to he infirmary. He still laid asleep as Elwin frantically rushed to grab something that might heal him. The contrast was awful, half to death and Keefe looked calm in the chaotic room all while being soaked with his own blood. 

Bullhorn was laid beside him. Having Sophie around, it wasn’t a too uncommon sight, but everything felt more grim when the typically white sheets had gone red. 

Finally, Elwin stepped back. Tears shined in the physician’s eyes. 

“I’ve done what I can. It was a deep wound. Now we-” He got choked up. “Now we can only hope.”

Tam creeped towards the bed. Bullhorn laid scarily still next to Keefe, silent and unmoving. 

He touched his forehead to Keefe’s as tears streamed down his face. 

“Please stay,” He whispered. “Please wake up, please. You- you can’t just leave me, please, I love you.” 

A hand moved up to cradle Tam’s face.

“Hey...Bangs Boy.” His voice was weak, but there.

Tam couldn’t tell who was crying anymore, him or Keefe. Maybe both. 

Tam held his face, almost not believing he was real. 

“Keefe! Please stay here, stay awake, stay with me please, love.”

A sad smile came across his face. “I wish I had that option, but...if I don’t, then please don’t look at what’s in the studio, okay? Please promise me you won’t look at it, Tam.”

“I promise.” Tam said without a second thought. 

More friends rushed into the room then, hoarding around his bedside. All the best friends, they hadn’t talked all together in months.

How gruesome that this was the only thing that brought them all together. 

The spent the next hour together, talking about old stories, laughing even. The room was still somber. Tears were exchanged with sad and nostalgic smiles, remembering the years they spent together. Suddenly, Keefe interrupted after being quiet for some time.  

“Guys…” He said in labored breaths. “Please leave the room. I don’t want you all to have to see this. I love you all, and...and I better see you at my wanderling planting.” Everyone paused, before solemnly lining up and mumbling their last goodbyes. Sobs were heard throughout the room and eventually they all filed out into the hall, their wails could be heard from inside the infirmary.

Tam didn’t move from his spot. 

“You always were stubborn, Bangs Boy. That’s why I love you.” His tone was raspy and harsh. 

“I love you, too.” Tam said, voice cracking, as he wrapped his arms around Keefe. “Why couldn’t you just let me take the knife?”

He didn’t answer at first, just pulled Tam’s face up to look at him. He smiled fondly but there was an obvious sadness to it. 

“You have so much to live for. Linh needs you.”

“Linh can live on her own, she’s stong.”

Keefe shook his head. “Let me go, Bangs Boy.”

 “I can’t, I’ll never let you go, you’ll be fine-”

“Tam…” He trailed off, the sentence left unfinished as he winced in pain. Keefe’s typically tan face had gone ghostly pale, his perfectly mused hair now sat in limp strings on his forehead. 

“Hey,” He managed, holding the unhealable wound on his chest. “I think I’m...I think I’m heading out. I can’t really feel my toes. Tell everyone that my last words were ‘Cassius is a little piss baby,’ I can’t let him think I forgave him in my last moments.”

Tam smiled, Keefe could always make him smile, even in moments like this. 

Keefe simply held Tam’s face, a thousand words left unspoken. 

His last were simple.

“I love you,” 

Before Tam could reply, he was gone. 

~*~

There were a lot of people at the wanderling planting, too many. All the random people from Foxfire that Tam barely knew, random citizens, every councillor. 

Too many. 

Everything moved far too fast to keep pace with Tam’s mind that felt as if it dragged across the floor. Mourners would only pay their respects for a few moments, unless they were a close friend. 

Too many. Too fast. 

The ceremony was confusing. Tam didn’t understand it, it was just too much for him to handle. He hadn’t been to one before and was now meant to lead it while still in mourning. 

Too many. Too fast. Too much. 

Before long he couldn’t stand it anymore, he ran off into the forest. Not paying attention to direction. He heard yells calling him name.

Too many. Too fast. Too much. Too loud. 

Too bright, why did they have to wear green? 

Too lonely, it was just him and Linh again. 

Too sad, he couldn’t do this.

Too many. Too fast. Too much. Too loud. Too bright. Too lonely. Too sad. Too many. Too fast. Too much. Too loud. Too bright. Too lonely. Too sad. Too many. Too fast. Too much. Too loud. Too bright. Too lonely. Too sad. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much.

He found himself sitting at the base of a tree, he didn’t know who’s. He couldn’t handle it. He had to go...somewhere. He didn’t know where. He had to get away from this place. The ceremony could go on without him. 

He took out his home crystal, ignoring the voices still searching for him in the labyrinth of trees. 

~*~

Tam stumbled into his previously shared home, face finally dried, but still red and puffy. 

Pictures on the walls shook as he slammed the door, a plate fell from its place in the cabinet but he payed it no mind. 

Somehow he ended up in the art studio...well Keefe’s art studio. Though, he guessed he wasn’t so much now. 

Tam sat down in front of the large, tarped piece that Keefe had been hiding from him for weeks. 

It was probably just a landscape. Tam kept telling himself that. Just a landscape, that was what they talked about. 

And yet...he couldn’t help the curiosity. 

Keefe’s last wish was to not look at it. How could he disrespect that? But if it was just a landscape...why would that be his last wish?

Tam slowly unveiled the painting. 

It was a portrait.

Of him. 

In the painting he was smiling, his whole face was lit up, the bags now present under his eyes were missing. 

Why would he hide this? 

Tam flipped over the canvas, a piece was folded paper was stuffed in between the wood. It looked like a preparation for a speech, the ideas he decided not to use, crossed out.

“Tam would you-

Tam you know what would be really super cool-

But, consider if you just-

Ugh this is harder than I thought it would be 

Hey uh..you are cooler than like...a whole pan of mallowmellt 

UGH

Tam...I love you more than life. I want to be with you for the rest of it. Would you please give me the honor of marrying you?

HAH I DID IT!!! Now I just have to...actually do it.”

Tam slid to the ground, a sob escaped his body and tears slicked his face. 

~*~

Their anniversary was coming up. 

Five years of success. 

On the day, Tam took the note to his tree. 

“Let me go, bangs boy”

He couldn’t, he wouldn’t. 

“I love you, too”

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, tabbytabbytabby!

For @tabbytabbytabby, who wanted alive Hale pack and anything alternative universe. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT!!!! I decided to go with a rock band AU because let's face it, they're all stupid hot and would look so good doing it. My headcanon for alive Laura Hale is the incomparable Katie McGrath if you want a visual. Those eyes, man. They make my little bisexual heart very happy.

Also everyone here is somewhere in the Kinsey Scale :)))) There will be smut and idiocy. Idiots in love has become one of my favourite tags!

The underage occurs when Derek and Stiles are in high school. Derek is a senior and Stiles is a sophomore.

Band line up is as follows:

Laura - lead vocals Derek - lead guitar Boyd - bass Erica - acoustic guitar and backing vocals Isaac - keyboard and backing vocals Cora - drums and backing vocals

Read On AO3

*****

Edge Of Seventeen

Chapter 1 - Say What Now?

‘Do you want to?’

It took Stiles a few moments to focus on the words, electricity buzzing under his skin and his mouth bruised and still wet with Derek’s spit. Two warm broad hands settled either side of his face and gently redirected his attention. In the dark of the Camaro’s back seat, Derek’s pale eyes glittered.

‘We can.’ His voice was low and rough, his breathing out of kilter. ‘If you want to.’

Stiles looked at him, his heart racing a thousand miles a minute.

I want to.’ he said and fell into another kiss.

The alarm woke Stiles with a start. He swore and leaned over to slide a finger across the screen and turn it off. He’d forgotten when he’d arrived the night before, still a little jet lagged and not quite with everything when he’d collapsed into bed and been asleep in what was probably a record time.

He lay still, looking up at the ceiling and getting his breath back. He hadn’t had a dream about Derek Hale in a very long time and he was chalking it up to being back in his childhood bed. Independence Day had been the one holiday he’d won in the field office lottery, and so Stiles had packed up and gone home for the long weekend, four blissful days off. He’d known going into the FBI would be hard, but he’d had no idea just how hard it would be. Noah was delighted. The last time they’d seen each other had been Christmas and Stiles had been morose after yet another break up. He’d spent an afternoon wandering around the preserve, ending up staring at the Hale house, still closed up and looking a little worse for wear, with nary a Hale in sight.

This time it was summer, the heat already making his room uncomfortable. Stiles grimaced and plucked his damp t-shirt away from his skin, sitting up and dragging a hand over his face as he tried to wake up properly, manfully ignoring his dream-induced erection that made him feel like he was a teenager all over again.

‘Stiles?’ Noah yelled from downstairs. ‘You up, kiddo?’

‘I’m twenty-six, Dad,’ Stiles muttered, standing up and stretching. ‘Not a kid anymore.’

He was feeling it too, the crashing realisation that those carefree days were far behind him. He had a job and an apartment in Sacramento, cacti that he had managed not to kill. All the cool stuff. It wasn’t hard to feel like something was missing but Stiles would never admit that the string of failed relationships he had accumulated were anything to do with what Lydia referred to as ‘the one who got away’.

Noah was in the kitchen as he predicted, sleep rumpled and unshaven in sweat pants and an old BHPD t-shirt. He’d been taking it a bit easier, giving Parrish more and more responsibility. Stiles was pleased and Parrish was both smart and sensible, a combination that Lydia had found irresistible. Their senior year fling had evolved into a long term relationship until Lydia had come home to buy them a small clapboard Victorian near the preserve and commute to the research lab every day where she had her associate professorship. Parrish had presented her with a simple solitaire ring at Christmas and she was very happy.

‘Are you going to see Mom?’ he asked and Stiles nodded, grabbing the orange juice from the ridge and pouring himself a glass, sniffing hopefully at the eggs Noah was scrambling. He noticed Stiles’ meaningful look and grinned.

‘I thought I would go after breakfast,’ He beamed at his father when he was presented with a plate full of eggs and bacon.

‘It’s turkey before you get on your high horse,’ Noah told him. ‘Get your own coffee if you want some.’

‘Not yet.’ Stiles made space for him to sit down and they ate in comfortable silence. Once finished, he did get up to make two cups. Noah accepted his gratefully and smiled at his son, grey eyes twinkling.

‘So…,’ he started and Stiles held up a finger.

‘No,’ he said. ‘I don’t care who it is you want to set me up with, it’s not happening.’ His parents had a terrible habit of matchmaking.

Noah held up both hands in supplication.

‘Not setting you up,’ he protested. ‘Just thought I’d mention that when your mother went into the shop yesterday, she saw a ghost from the past. Several, actually.’

Stiles cursed internally. His dad knew he couldn’t resist a good mystery.

‘Okay, I’ll bite,’ he replied, starting to get up.

‘The Hales.’ Noah replied with all the smugness of a man who knew he had the scoop of the year.

‘Oh fuck.’ Stiles blurted and tripped over his chair.

-

It was the sneezing that woke Derek up.

‘Jesus fuck!’ Laura roared a floor below him. ‘How much fucking shit is in this place?’

‘Oh good, she’s awake.’ Cora muttered and turned over. They were in what had been the twins’ bedroom, each of them crammed into a single that was a little on the small side. The top storey of the house was still a burned out wreck and the furniture had been largely taken away over the years and so the pickings had been slim, with their merry threesome taking the scorched master bedroom and Laura camping out on the sagging couch downstairs. As Alpha, she always preferred to be on watch as it were.

‘This was such a bad idea.’ Derek borrowed deeper into his comforter. ‘We should have brought the bus.’

‘That would have given the game away.’ Laura replied, hearing them both perfectly even though she was now in the kitchen. ‘Which part of low profile are you two having trouble with?’

‘We could have always stayed in a hotel. Sleeping int the burned out remains of our family home is precisely the opposite of low profile. Lo.’ Derek pointed out, sitting up. There was no way he’d be going back to sleep. Not with his alpha on a mission.

‘Discretion is our watchword, Derek.’ Laura hissed and started banging pots and pans around with a maximum of noise. Derek looked over at Cora. Her dark eyes were just visible under the pillow she had over her head.

‘You’re her second.’ She bared her teeth at him. ‘You go deal with her.’

‘I hate you.’ Derek said flatly, rolling out of bed and onto his feet. He stumbled a little on the stairs, still half asleep. Laura had her head buried in a blackened cupboard when he got to the kitchen. It hadn’t been as badly affected as the rest of the house but it was still a health hazard as far as he was concerned.

‘Where the hell is the waffle iron?’ she demanded. ‘Mom said she left it here.’

‘Who the fuck knows?’ Derek yawned and went to the fridge. There was nothing inside except for a gallon of milk and the leftover Chinese take out from the night before. He sniffed a carton of lemon chicken, grabbing some disposable chopsticks from the small pile on the kitchen table, and started eating. Laura eyed him, one fang just visible.

‘We need proper food.’ She glared at the ceiling. ‘Everybody up! We’re going grocery shopping!’

‘Christ.’ Derek grumbled. ‘You think that’s low profile too?’

‘Shut up.’ Laura swept past him, nose in the air. ‘I’m the Alpha now.’

Derek sniggered and let her go, enjoying his leftovers while he listened to her rouse the threesome. There was a lot of complaining, and he couldn’t really blame them. Their schedule had been hectic, even for wolves, and they were all tired and the house wasn’t exactly welcoming. Laura’s plans to come home and reclaim their territory now she was an Alpha in her own right had seen them finish the final leg of their international tour in New York, a quick catch up with their pack and then flying down to Sacramento and driving the three hours to Beacon Hills all in twenty-four hours. They had barely had time to stop in at the small coffee shop near the Sheriff's station before coming out to the house, which had been shut up for the past ten years. Peter had intended to join them, but had been delayed in New York. As their manager, he was the one who took care of all the dealings with their record company. If it was left to him and Laura, they probably would have eaten every executive by now. He was worth every penny they paid him, even if the meeting had probably been manufactured as a way to get out of cleaning up the house.

-

Stiles pulled up at the cemetery, parking the Jeep behind the old truck that had parked off centre and across two spaces. Grinning, he got out and made his way through the iron gates, remembering Isaac Lahey, who’d been a couple of years above him at school. His father had been the groundskeeper before there had been an incident at their house and Coach Lahey had been found dead. He remembered Isaac being taken in by social services and a whole sordid story of child abuse and alcoholicism coming out. Isaac had stayed off school for a week and then simply vanished off the face of the earth. There had been a lot of theories as to where he’d gone, but the truth was he wasn’t the first person to do that in 2011.

Stiles got lost in thought as he meandered between the headstones, finally coming to a stop in front of one made of white marble and embossed with angels.

‘That’s new.’ he remarked. ‘Not sure about the daffodils.’

‘They’re so gaudy.’ The dark haired woman kneeling at the grave grinned over her shoulder at him, her eyes the same warm whiskey brown as her son’s. ‘I’m glad to see you made it out of bed. I was starting to think you’d spend the whole weekend hibernating.’

‘Funny.’ Stiles helped Claudia up and gave her a long hug. When she let him go, she stepped back and looked him up and down.

‘You look good.’ she said. ‘Dare I say, professional.’

‘Mom.’ Stiles settled his hands on her shoulders. ‘Dad said you saw the Hales yesterday.’

‘Oh.’ Claudia’s look of faux innocence was belied by the mischievous twinkle in her eyes. ‘Is that why you came to see me. No ‘I’ve missed you terribly Mother’, but ‘You saw the fucking Hales’.’

‘Mom.’ Stiles narrowed his eyes at her. ‘Did you see him?’

‘Who?’ Claudia crinkled her nose in amusement. ‘The boy you’ve been literally pining for, for almost a decade?’

‘I’m sure he’s not a boy anymore.’ Stiles snorted. ‘And yes. Stop playing dumb.’

‘I might have.’ Claudia tilted her head. ‘What’s it worth?’

‘A double chocolate muffin and all the lattes you can drink.’ Stiles replied and she cackled and linked her arm through his.

‘Done.’ she declared. ‘And you’re right. He’s definitely not a boy anymore.’

-

Derek leaned heavily on the cart, eyelids at half mast and his senses muted. The store was fairly empty, the early hour on a Saturday meaning that most shoppers were yet to make an appearance. Next to him Boyd yawned and shifted on his feet, hands sunk deep in the pockets of his leather jacket.

They’d been best friends a long time, playing basketball and baseball and getting into shit when they were teenagers and when things had turned bad and they’d had to leave, Boyd had been dogged in his refusal to cut ties and turned up at the pack house in New York a week after graduation with Erica in tow. They had walked right in and asked Talia for the bite and she’d given it gladly. Derek knew she was going to do it for Erica even before they had had to flee their territory and they’d settled in like they’d always been pack. Isaac had, of course, already joined them earlier and his delight at having them back had turned into a deep and abiding love that saw them forming their triad and becoming mates.

Erica was leaning on Isaac, her blond curls dragged into a messy ponytail and Cora was trailing Laura a few feet ahead. It always grated that she had inherited their mother’s early rising nature while the rest of them would have happily slept in and threw her weight around to get them out of bed when they most definitely didn’t want to. Even the fact that Derek was her twin didn’t let him get out of doing what she wanted.

‘Toilet paper.’ Laura turned and they all tried to avoid her eyes. ‘Derek. Take Boyd and grab some.’

‘But I’m minding the cart,’ he whined, clinging to it like a drowning man to a life preserver.

‘Go!’ Laura’s eyes flared red for just a second and Derek had to resist the urge to snarl back at her like he’d always used to. The whole alpha thing was new, the result of an overambitious alpha that had come into their territory planning to challenge Talia and ending up facing her daughter instead when they tried to take Cora with the intention of forcibly mating her and claiming rights. Talia had always taught them to solve their problems with diplomacy but Laura was headstrong and fiercely protective of her siblings, ever since Kate Argent had tried to use her to get close enough to kill them all. She’d almost succeeded too, that night of the party to celebrate the basketball teams’ victory for nationals providing the perfect distraction for them to be off their guard. Kate had struck in the early hours of the morning and she’d had them trapped, the beginnings of an arson that would have killed them all if Derek hadn’t come back and caught her. He’d ripped her throat out with his teeth, calling Deaton in a panic to come and break the circle of mountain ash that kept them trapped and they’d all watched their family home burn until the police and emergency services had arrived.

Talia had decided that it was too dangerous to stay, knowing the Argents would come for Derek, getting them all packed in a matter of twenty-four hours and away from what was left of their home. They’d gone to their father’s pack in New York State, leaving no sign of them behind. It was the way with wolves, always having a back-up in case something went wrong. The Argents were a large and powerful hunting clan and there would be retribution for the death of Gerard’s golden child, but when they came for the Hales they would find the place empty. Deaton stayed, both to protect the territory and report back to Talia about hunters coming in and not a month after it had happened, they had come. Thankfully the wards on the Hale land had kept the territory claim in place and the hunters had left with no satisfaction.

The rest had been a long and bloody fight between their respective Councils. Gerard had wanted Derek’s head for killing Kate and Talia had countered with the evidence that Kate had planned to kill a pack of law-abiding wolves along with their children. The matter had finally been settled when Gerard died of cancer and his granddaughter, by all accounts a level headed and honourable young woman about the same age as Derek, had taken over.

The music had started as a way to keep them all sane while this was happening, Talia more or less forcing them into music therapy as a way to deal with what had happened. It had been a bit of a shock to realise they were actually very good at it and they’d formed the band. Some minor success saw them moving steadily up the indie charts until it became their lives. Laura had named them Hale Pack 2.0 and Talia had laughed so hard when they’d told her that she’d shifted and clawed right through the cushion she was holding, feathers flying around them like a small snowstorm.

Derek hadn’t minded at first. The music was what he loved, the fame and money secondary. The Hales were already rich, but Peter had jumped at the chance to do something different and he drove their commercial success. They were in that comfortable zone of being middle of the road, not so successful enough that they were household names but it became hard in New York to go anywhere without being recognised.

Derek didn’t enjoy that part much. He was solitary and quietly sarcastic by nature, but unfortunately that just seemed to translate into brooding and mysterious in interviews and so he was plagued by a long line of would-be groupies that tagged along after him like a cloud of midges. Laura found it hilarious and basked in her own popularity. As an out lesbian, she had her choice of pretty girls to shack up with. Cora kept her asexuality to herself, just as surly as Derek was. The other three were not exactly open about their polyamorous arrangegment, but they didn’t hide it either. They were lucky, having found each other and being able to keep each other.

He often thought about that night, the one where the reason he’d been able to save his family was because he’d been in the back seat of his father’s illicitly borrowed Camaro with the boy he’d loved pretty much forever and indulging in a bit of mutual deflowering. Then he’d had to pack up and leave said boy without even saying goodbye or telling him where he was going. It had hurt more than he’d thought possible and if part of why Derek was so keen to come back to Beacon Hills was to try and track down that boy, then who was to know. The only people who knew what he’d been up to were Boyd (because Derek told him everything) and Laura (because she’d sat on him and tickled him until he’d confessed and then had to hold her while she cried, guilt and shame coming off her in waves). Derek hadn’t had the heart to complain when their very survival had been at stake because he’d killed Kate Argent, no matter whose fault it had been. Talia had said to make a clean break with the town and while she’d made allowances for their friends who were already in the know, that was as far as she was willing to push her luck.

Derek and Laura had finished out their schooling at home, Cora had gone to boarding school in South America with her Argentinian grandmother’s pack and the twins were still too young to be a problem so that was, as they said, that. Then had come college, followed by the band and the success and the travelling and before Derek knew it, it had been almost ten years and he was twenty-eight and still hung up on Stiles fucking Stilinski.

‘Hey.’ Boyd bumped him with his shoulder. ‘You alive in there?’

‘Not really.’ Derek surveyed the toilet paper and grabbed a couple of twenty-four packs. ‘Just thinking.’

‘Yeah.’ Boyd grinned, lighting up his usually serious face. ‘I can guess what about too.’

‘Not a goddamned word.’ Derek growled and then froze, his nose twitching madly.

It wasn’t exactly the same, a little deeper and a little thicker but he’d recognise that scent anywhere with his nose stuffed up and people throwing peppermint oil in his face. He shoved the toilet paper at Boyd and charged through the aisle, needing to find the source and skidding to a halt in the aisle with the candy and stared at the Sheriff, who looked like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. In fact, as it was he had cookies in his hands which he quickly put back.

‘Derek?’ He looked pleasantly surprised. ‘Claudia said she’d seen you.’ He came over and Derek couldn’t help taking in a deep breath. The scent of Stiles was all over the Sheriff and it made his heart start thumping like a drum.

‘Sheriff Stilinski.’ He took the offered hand and shook it, gleeful when he could smell a little bit of Stiles on his own skin. ‘Yeah, we’re back. Laura said she was going to stop by and talk to you about the house. She’s actually around here somewhere.’ He couldn’t stop smiling. ‘I’m glad you’re still here.’

‘Where else would we be?’ The Sheriff raised an eyebrow at him. ‘To be honest, we never thought you’d come back. Any of you. The last we heard, you mom and dad had skipped town and taken you all with them after the fire and then five years later, you and your sisters pop up playing gigs in New York with the Lahey kid, Vernon Boyd’s son and Erica Reyes and since you hit the big times, you’ve been entirely responsible for provisioning this town with 90% of its salacious gossip.’

‘How did you know that? I mean, New York.’ Derek was completely bemused. They had started out small, playing tiny venues, still wary of being recognised. It had only been in the last couple of years that they’d made it big enough to be known internationally.

‘I kept track.’ The Sheriff replied. ‘The fact that you all pretty much disappeared overnight hit this town like a slap in the face. I called in a lot of favours.’ There was something in his voice though that had Derek frowning. ‘I had my reasons, son.’

Derek was about to ask him what those were exactly when Laura came barreling down the aisle.

‘There you are.’ She came up short when she saw who he was talking to. ‘Sheriff Stilinski?’

‘The one and only.’ The Sheriff tipped an invisible hat at her. ‘It’s good to see you, Laura. Derek and I were just catching up.’

‘Well, I have to steal him. Excuse us.’ Laura gave him a toothy grin that was not her usual smile and Derek wondered just what was happening. She caught his arm and practically dragged him away.

‘What the hell?’ he protested, trying to wriggle out of her iron grip.

‘Hunters.’ she hissed and Derek’s blood ran cold.

‘Are you sure?’ he asked and she nodded, her face grim.

‘The others are doing the check out.’ she said. ‘We need to go.’

-

Stiles parked on the kerb and got out. Claudia already had the front door open and was looking down the street.

‘Visitor.’ she announced and went inside, leaving him to stand and wait for the car to stop. He bounced in excitement, barely waiting for the driver to get out before grabbing her and squeezing her hard enough to make her squeak.

‘Lydia, my strawberry blonde goddess.’ He kissed her cheek soundly. ‘I was wondering when you’d show up.’

‘Stiles.’ Lydia had softened since high school, growing into her intellect and losing the hard veneer of extreme fashion that had been her armour in high school. She was still elegant, but the tan leather boots she wore under her long floral skirt were flat and her face was less determinedly made up, her hair a mass of loose fronds that framed her face. She was also as beautiful as she had always been but Stiles loved her for more than that. They had grown close in junior year when Jackson had moved to the UK and she’d been left bereft. Scott had been dating Kira that year and he’d had little time for Stiles so they’d drifted together and never really drifted apart, in spite of their physical distance. Now Scott and Kira were engaged, with Scott working for Deaton full time and Kira teaching martial arts with their first baby on the way and Stiles felt even more like he was lagging behind. Lydia kept him tied to Beacon Hills as much as his parents did.

‘So what are you doing here?’ He escorted her to the house. Lydia went in first, saying hello to Claudia as they went into the kitchen.

‘I have some news you might want to hear.’ she said, her eyes dancing.

‘’If it’s that the Hales are back, I already know.’ Stiles was smug when she pouted. He so seldom got one over on her so it was fun when he did.

‘Sorry.’ Claudia grinned at Lydia. ‘That was my fault.’

‘Dammit.’ Lydia folded her arms. ‘Well that may be, but I bet you don’t know that they’re going to be playing the Jungle tonight.’

‘No, that I did not know.’ Stiles was immediately hooked. He’d always wanted to go watch them, ever since they’d first popped back up on his radar after years of radio silence, courtesy of a discarded music magazine in the field office. He’d fantasised about meeting Derek’s eyes across a crowded venue but he knew that in reality, Derek probably didn’t even remember the boy he fucked in the back of his sister’s car and probably also had his pick of beautiful people to spend his time with. It hadn’t stopped him from following the band’s progress almost obsessively though.

He’d been distraught when Derek had gone, trying to find any trace of him online, but there had been nothing at all in the years just after the fire. Noah had been cagey about what he’d known and Stiles had been at a loose end, trying to fill in the gaps. When he’d rediscovered them, Stiles had followed them on every form of social media he could and tracked down every article about them. Derek still didn’t have any online presence apart from that and the music videos his band put out. Stiles had jealously hoarded every single tiny piece of information and downloaded every picture and video of him, seeing how handsome Derek had become, growing into himself in a way Stiles envied. He’d jerked off many a night, watching the stylised black and white videos that the Hale Pack 2.0 preferred. Derek was always dressed in black jeans and tight white t-shirts, the sleeves of his trademark leather jacket pushed up to his elbows and his broad hands drawing Stiles’ gaze in as he played his guitar, all precision and power that had Stiles breath coming short at the thought of them on him.

‘Danny told me this morning. He’s practically beside himself at getting them on his books at such short notice.’ Lydia smirked, knowing she had his full attention. Danny had made a ton of money in apps and bought his old stomping ground. It had had a makeover and was now a very stylish LGBTQ+ venue that he ruled along with Jackson as his partner in business and life, once he’d had his gay crisis while he was gone. Stiles knew from the Hales’ publicity that Laura was a lesbian and he was pretty sure Isaac, Erica and Boyd were involved in something that looked pretty polyamorous but Derek and Cora were notoriously private and there was never any suggestion as to who they might be seeing. It seemed the kind of place they would be playing.

‘Okay.’ He moved to the coffee maker, preparing for a long sit down. ‘Tell me everything.’

TBC on AO3!

[idnek83]

Aid - Chapter 4/13

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Soda Kazuichi/Tanaka Gundham

Tags: Alternate Universe - Island Mode, No Game Spoilers, Masturbation,  Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Semi-Public Sex, Grinding, Wet Dreams, Anal Fingering,  Friends With Benefits,  Getting Together, Internalized Homophobia, Anal Sex

Summary: Everyone is hot and half naked because of their beach vacation. Soda is horny and tries to do something about it. Gundham tries to help and does. It all gets a little out of hand.

Chapter: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Read on Ao3

This Chapter: Soda is slowly realizing his relationships might be changing. Soda has some feelings, Gundham has a secret, and both of them blow off some steam.

_____________________

Once he was out of Nagito’s sight, Soda stopped and looked around. Gundham had gone to the beach? He said he didn’t like the ocean or whatever, but now he was apparently going to the beach on his own? Had he just made an excuse earlier cus he didn’t want to hang out with everyone?

Had Gundham just not wanted to hang out with him?

Soda hesitated. Gundham might just get even more annoyed with him if he showed up and crashed his secret beach time. Maybe he really should just take the food back to his own room, eat way too much, maybe cry a little, then pass out for the night. That sounded like an alright plan…

But his dumbass already had told everyone he was taking food to Gundham, meaning Gundham would definitely find out that Soda had purposely not looked for him and get even more pissed. God damnit. He really couldn’t deal with it if Gundham hated him.

He started walking towards the beach. If Gundham got mad he could just play dumb and say he was going for a swim, he was still in his swimsuit after all.

It wasn’t a great plan but, hey, it was a plan.

He wasn’t really sure what he’d find; Gundham swimming, or exercising, or taming animals, or like, trying to summon a demon. But when he got to there, Gundham was simply standing still, dressed once again in his swim shorts and scarf, staring out at the ocean with a troubled look on his face.

Something about it made Soda feel like he was seeing something private. Like Gundham really wouldn’t want him there.

Before he could even think about leaving, Gundham turned his head and caught sight of him. He looked surprised and… embarrassed?

“My… Kazuichi, for what purpose have you disturbed my dark meditation?” He didn’t look mad, but Soda could tell he wasn’t happy to see him. Ouch. Fair, but still ouch.

“Uh, Teruteru made food for everyone so… I thought maybe you’d want to eat some too?” He awkwardly shifted the bowl in his hands.

“Ah, if you are simply here to deliver sustenance, you may do so and leave.” Gundham gestured dismissively to a spot on the ground where he had laid out a towel.

Oh shit, he was actually super mad wasn’t he, Gundham must be one of those guys who just never yells when he’s actually pissed, just gets quiet and scary. Shit. Fuck. At least he was used to being yelled at, he didn’t know how to deal with quiet angry people. He really needed to apologize.

“Look Gundham, I’m really fuckin’ sorry, I shouldn’t have-“

“You are sorry?” Gundham looked surprised. God, he must think Soda is a real piece of shit to be surprised that he’d try to apologize. Soda’s chest felt tight. He was actually gonna cry. Gundham definitely already hated him.

“Y-yeah, I- look it was stupid and I’m stupid and I really didn’t mean to be so god d-damn shitty to you, I was just…” A stupid selfish asshole? An idiot chasing tail? The same useless fuck-up he had always been? God he wasn’t even worth the time Gundham was giving him to apologize. And now he was crying like some kind of pussy.

Gundham was standing in front of him now, Soda looked at the ground. Gundham didn’t need to see how ugly his face was when he was crying like a little bitch, and Soda didn’t want to see the look Gundham’s face when he realised just how truly pathetic he was.

“I just so- so fucking stupid and useless and-” He felt a hand on his naked shoulder.

“My sweet companion, I do not know what it is you are trying to apologize for,” Gundham pulled him close to his bare chest and began to gently stroke his hair “but I am certain it is not worth shedding your precious tears over.”

Soda sniffed, grossly, against Gundham’s shoulder “I t-totally ditched you today. I invited you out and the I just f-fucking left you.” His arms were just hanging at his sides while Gundham tried to comfort him. He had dropped Teru’s food. He felt incredibly stupid. He was incredibly stupid.

“I believe it was I who deigned not to accompany you.” Gundham moved his hand from Soda’s hair to his cheek, gently shifting his head so he was able to look into Soda’s eyes. “You have inverted the situation, dearest friend, I fear it is I who must ask forgiveness of you.” Gundham smiled in that soft way that made Soda’s chest hurt.

“I- huh? B-but I should have-“ He averted his eyes from Gundham’s face, he didn’t deserve Gundham’s kindness.

“Then I forgive you, if that is what you wish to hear. I forgive you for all that you believe you have done wrong, and I only ask that you to grant me the pleasure of your smile in return.” The hand on Soda’s cheek slid under his chin and lifted. Soda had stopped crying, but he didn’t smile. “Do not make me call upon my Deva’s, Kazuichi, you will not be able to withstand their wrath.”

Soda laughed weakly, turning his head to rest it against Gundham’s shoulder. “You didn’t a-actually bring them to the beach right?” He sniffled a little, feeling his tears drying on his cheeks “Isn’t it dangerous for them out here in the dark?”

“Ah, you once again prove to be wise beyond my perception. The Deva’s remain safely in their lairs.” Gundham’s hand was back in his hair, stroking.  “You’ve bested my deception with your dark insight, well done.” Gundham stepped back so he could look at Soda again. “Shall we partake in the rations you have fetched? Perhaps it would be best to converse after sating our hunger.”

Soda looked down at the food he had dropped, it looked like the lid had stayed on at least.

“Okay, y-yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

They sat on Gundham’s towel and ate in silence, as Soda’s shaky breathing slowly returned to normal. He always felt so unsteady after crying, it was embarrassing. At least Gundham wasn’t making fun of him for it.

“Hey, um… Sorry about all that.” He said, staring at his feet. “I swear I’m not usually such a pussy, I just… had a weird day, I guess. Shit just kinda piled up and, well… I dunno, I guess I was worried you like, hated me or something?”

“I am… quite far from hating you.” Soda looked up, but Gundham turned away from him. “Why would you think I held such a feeling for you?”

“Cus of how I ditched you earlier! Like a complete asshole! What kinda friend does that?”

“So, the guilt you felt, believing you had abandoned me, that was what caused your emotions to spill out so violently?”

“I guess, kinda… yeah?”

“Ah, then I truly do own you my most sincere of apologies.”

“What? No man, it’s fine, really.”

“But it is my weakness which caused you such sorrow.”

“Your weakness?”

Gundham stood and turned towards the ocean. “As I said, it was I who chose not to accompany you. I… wished to partake in the ritual which our comrades suggested, however, I would not have been able to.”

Not able? Didn’t Gundham just hate the ocean or something?

“It is shameful but… I am unable to traverse Poseidon’s realm.” Gundham hid the lower half of his face in his scarf as he spoke.

‘Unable to traverse’? Wait, did he mean-

“You can’t swim?” Soda was sure he was misunderstanding.

What little Soda could see of Gundham’s face turned red.

“As I said, it is quite shameful. That is why I ventured here this dark night; I wish to overcome my weakness, so that I may partake when next I am bade to an aquatic ritual.” Gundham sighed “However, it is proving quite difficult.”

So he was trying to teach himself to swim? So that he could hang out with everyone next time they wanted to play in the ocean? That was��� pretty cute.

“I could teach you.” Soda had spent some time checking out a busty swim instructor at a pool one summer, he figured he probably picked something up.

“You would aid me in this?”

Soda’s heart skipped a beat when Gundham spoke that word, and he knew he was blushing. He told his dick to shut up for a minute so he could help his friend.

“Course, I don’t mind. I missed you at the beach today anyways, so it’d be cool if you came next time.” Soda scratched his face and tried not to think too much about Gundham coming. “You wanna do this now or?”

“It was my intention to begin my training tonight. Does this suit you?”

“Sure, I could go for another swim.” He smiled at Gundham. Gundham smiled at him.

“Thank you, my dearest-”

A loud laugh could be heard coming from the direction of their cabins. Apparently their friends were returning from the other island. Soda saw the embarrassed look on Gundham’s face and realised he probably didn’t want the others to know about his ‘weakness’.

“C’mon, grab your stuff and let’s find somewhere else to do this.” Soda picked up the empty bowl they had been eating from and headed towards the rocky outcrop a little further down the shore. He could hear Gundham just behind him.

The “beach” on the other side of the hill wasn’t nearly as nice. It was essentially just a small patch of sand, surrounded by the rocky outcrop so you couldn’t enjoy the cool sea breeze during the day. But that also meant it was relatively isolated from the rest of the island and they wouldn’t have to worry about the others catching them here.

Swimming, they wouldn’t have to worry about the others catching them swimming here.

Gundham spread out his towel again and Soda bent over to set the bowl down next to it. When he straightened out, Gundham was behind him, staring. There was a moment of awkwardness between them.

“Uh, I guess we should get started then?” Soda laughed awkwardly and gestured towards the water, what was with this atmosphere?

“Yes, you are right.” Gundham removed his scarf, turned, and walked towards the ocean. Was Soda imagining it or did Gundham look a little… disappointed?

Weird.

Soda followed him into the water. The sun had set like an hour ago, but it was still plenty warm out and the coolness of the water was nice. Soda waded out until the water was at his waist, before diving forwards and enjoyed being submerged in the refreshing feeling for a moment. When he resurfaced he found Gundham staring at him with a worried expression.

“Don’t worry dude, it’s not even that deep here. If you think you’re gonna go under all ya gotta do is stand up.” Soda reached out and gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. Wow, he always forgot that Gundham was actually kinda jacked. His biceps were-

A topic for another time when he wasn’t trying to help his friend learn how to swim.

“Ok so uh, I guess we should just start with floating? Or do you know how to do that already?”

Gundham looked apprehensively at the water and shook his head.

“No worries man, just like, lay back and let the water catch you.” Soda demonstrated, then righted himself. “See? Easy. Your turn.”

Gundham slowly laid back, then promptly sunk below the water. Oops. Not easy apparently.

Gundham re-emerged, blushing and gasping. He turned his gaze to the shore.

“Perhaps-”

“Don’t worry about it dude, that was my bad.” He wasn’t going to let Gundham give up that easily. “Try it again, I’ll help you stay up this time.” Soda moved next to Gundham and put his hands out to catch him. “Just lay back again, I won’t let you go under, trust me.”

Gundham took a deep breath before laying back again. Once he was on his back Soda could tell his hands were the only thing keeping Gundham above water.

“Ok, so now you gotta just, kinda, spread your arms and legs.” He though back to the swim instructor, “Like a starfish.” Gundham complied and Soda felt the weight on his palms lessen. Almost there.

“K’ now you just gotta relax.” Gundham gave him an uneasy look. “C’mon, just like, take some deep breaths and close your eyes. I’m here dude, it’ll be fine.”

With a heavy sigh Gundham closed his eyes. He began taking deep breaths and Soda could feel the tension slowly leaving his body.

Soda felt kind of proud of him. This was probably pretty tough for Gundham, opening up and trusting another person like this. Soda wasn’t sure if he’d be able to do the same thing in his place.

Looking down at Gundham, Soda felt his heart beat a little faster. His face looked almost peaceful and his hair was a little messy. Apparently whatever product Gundham used to style his hair wasn’t waterproof. Soda let his gaze wander to the rise and fall of Gundham’s chest. He swallowed. Gundham had really nice pecs. And great abs. And thighs. And from what he remembered-

No, bad dick, helping Gundham comes first.

But maybe Gundham wouldn’t mind some help from his dick too?

“Is my form off?”

“W-what.” Gundham had opened his eyes at some point.

“I feel as though I am properly ‘floating’ now, but you seem to be examining my form quite closely. Am I doing something incorrectly?”

“Oh, no. You’re doing great. I was just…” Thinking about your dick. “Uh, anyways, why don’t we try a front float now?”

Soda waited until Gundham was standing and demonstrated floating on his stomach.

“So same deal as before, I’ll hold you up, so just focus on letting your body relax.”

Gundham lay forward, with much less apprehension than before, and Soda placed a hand on his stomach to support him.

God, Gundham’s abs. Soda couldn’t help but rub his hand over them a little, pretending he was adjusting his grip. Yeah, he was trying to focus on helping Gundham, but it was okay to be a little turned on right? Staring at Gundham’s back muscles wasn’t really helping the situation either. Why was Gundham in such good shape? Was training animals really that much work?

Focus Soda.

“You alright Gundham? Ready to try actually moving a bit?”

He felt Gundham tense up a bit, but he nodded anyways.

“Ok, I’ll keep holding you up for now so don’t worry. Just try kicking your legs a bit.”

–

Soda wasn’t sure how long they had been out there. He just knew Gundham was now able to do a passable breast stroke and that he had lost track of how many times he had blanked out just staring at Gundham’s body. He did know he had been caught more than once though. And that he had caught Gundham doing the same thing at least twice.

Gundham definitely didn’t need Soda to hold him up while he floated anymore, but he asked to do it again anyways, saying he wanted to focus on his form. Soda obliged, and Gundham didn’t ask why he placed one hand under his thigh this time, didn’t ask when Soda began to lightly squeeze and rub. Soda didn’t mention the quiet moan that escaped Gundham’s lips when he moved his hand to his ass, didn’t mention the growing bulge in Gundham’s trunks, just moved closer so Gundham could feel the one in his. Gundham didn’t stop him, instead he just stood, slowly, and pulled Soda in by his hips.

“Aid me.” Gundham pressed his cock into Soda’s hip, and breathed against his ear. “Please.”

Soda didn’t even have time to think about the way that word had gone straight to his dick. He grabbed Gundham’ hand and headed for shore.

He sat on Gundham’s towel, only to be pushed onto his back a second later. Gundham kneeled between his thighs and cradled his cheek.

“My sweet companion.” He whispered before ducking his head and kissing down Soda’s neck. Soda bucked his hips a little and slid a hand into Gundham’s hair.

“Fuuck, Gundham.” He moaned his name and bucked his hips again, the angle wasn’t right, he wasn’t getting the friction he wanted. He let out a frustrated groan.

Gundham must have understood what he wanted though. He slid his hands down Soda’s body and grabbed him by the hips, lifting them and pulling them flush with his own. Gundham lightly bit down on his shoulder and began thrusting against him. It wasn’t perfect, their cocks weren’t quite lined up right, but the friction caused by their swim shorts rubbing against each other as Gundham moved was still maddening.

“A-ah… my dearest… I- hah.” Gundham was moving quickly, nipping and licking at Soda’s neck and shoulders as he drove his hips forward. He was quietly moaning, his grip on Soda’s hips began to tighten, and his thrusts were growing stronger as he pulled Soda against him. He looked like he was already about to cum.

Gundham must have already been pretty turned on if he was getting close that fast. As hot as that was, Soda wasn’t ready for this to be over so quickly. He remembered he still needed to make Gundham scream.

“Gundham- ah- wait.” He ran a hand down Gundham’s back and squeezed his ass. Gundham slowed his thrusts. “What’s the rush? Lets slow things down a little.”

Gundham swallowed and stopped moving his hips. “Ah, my dark consort, I apologize. I was-” Gundham slid a hand back up to Soda’s cheek “Overcome.”

Soda shivered at the word. He didn’t think he had ever heard that tone in Gundham’s voice before. And ‘dark consort’ was new too, wasn’t it?

He wasn’t here to analyze Gundham’s speech though.

Soda squeezed Gundham’s ass again and moved his hands up to his chest, shoving slightly. Gundham got the hint and leaned back, only for Soda to follow him up. He placed his hands on Gundham’s shoulders and pushed him back until he was sitting so Soda could straddle his hips. Soda had planned to take the initiative, but Gundham didn’t give him time to.

Gundham’s hand found Soda’s hip, rubbing slightly before slipping onto his ass and kneading. He ran his other hand up Soda’s chest, teasing a nipple with his thumb before replacing it with his mouth. Soda gasped and tightened his grip on Gundham’s shoulders. He had though about sucking on girls’ tits before, but he never realised it would feel so good to have someone do it to him.

“Shit, Gundham.” He ground his hips down into Gundham’s. Gundham hummed in response, his deep voice resonating through Soda’s chest as he switched his attention to his other nipple.

Soda started grinding in earnest, enjoying the way he could feel Gundham’s breath catch against his skin. He reached down to free his cock from his shorts, then moved to do the same for Gundham. He couldn’t really see with Gundham still mouthing at his chest, so he did a bit of feeling around first instead. He traced Gundham’s abs with his fingers and used them as a guide down to Gundham’s cock. God, he forgot how big it was. He rubbed it through his shorts before finally freeing it. He couldn’t help it, he pushed Gundham back a bit so he could see his cock properly.

No fucking wonder he had sucked Gundham off in the beach house. His cock was just so… appetizing. He could literally feel himself salivating at the sight of it. He remembered how thick and warm and heavy it had been in his mouth last time. He wanted that again. He wanted it and he wondered if it would feel just as good in his ass.

His dick twitched but his mind froze. He probably wasn’t ready for that.

Yet.

Gundham was watching him. Waiting.

“What do you desire my consort?” There was that hand on his cheek again. He looked from Gundham’s cock to his face, his beautiful, flushed face. Gundham licked his lips. Soda followed the movement of his tongue with his eyes, and found himself focusing on Gundham’s mouth.

Fuck, he kind of wanted to kiss him.

Was that allowed? They had never really laid down any ground rules for their… relationship? No. Pact. That’s what Gundham had called it, and it was probably safest to just keep calling it that. Nice and vague. Obviously getting each other off was the main thing with their ‘pact’, they were just two bros helping each other relieve some tension, right? Did that make them fuck-buddies? Did people kiss their fuck-buddies? He’s pretty sure they did in movies, but then they always ended up falling in love, and he didn’t want that.

Right?

“Dearest consort?” Oops, guess he had been spacing out.

“Sorry, it’s just-” Probably best to just ask if they could kiss right? “I was um, t-thinking about your tongue? And like, uh y-your lips? Um- sorry.” or not. He had sucked this mans dick but somehow thinking about kissing him was turning him into a stuttering mess.

“Mmm, fret not, my consort, I understand.” Gundham gave him one of those soft smiles that did things to his heart and slid a hand down Soda’s neck, the back up, resting it on the back of his head.

Oh shit, okay. Here goes nothing then.

Gundham brought his other hand up to Soda’s chest and pushed him backwards. They ended up in the same position they had started in, only now with their cocks out and Soda’s legs spread wide. He wasn’t sure why they had to be in this position to kiss, but he wasn’t about to complain. He was all to aware how easy it would be for Gundham to fuck him in this position, and he was too distracted by how turned on that thought made him to notice Gundham was currently moving away from his lips.

Gundham was kissing his chest again, pausing to lick one of his nipples and give it a light suck before moving his head lower.

Oh.

No kissing then.

Soda felt… complicated. And complicated could wait.

The lips on his stomach reminded him he was about to get blown, and the hand wrapping around his dick reminded him that he was horny as hell.

Yeah, complicated could definitely wait.

Gundham was just barely pumping Soda’s dick. Teasing, Soda realised, getting him extra excited for the main event. Gundham kissed just below his belly button, then pulled away, making Soda whine. Gundham smiled and shushed him, pulling Soda’s swim trunks all the way off and moving back to where he had been, punctuating his action with another kiss below Soda’s belly button and a squeeze of his dick.

Gundham resumed his downward path, planting more kisses on Soda’s abdomen, each one getting just a little bit closer to his cock. Then, right when Soda thought there wasn’t anywhere else for Gundham to kiss, he lifted one of Soda’s legs and began to kiss along his thigh instead.

More teasing?

Soda couldn’t stand it.

He loved it.

He let out a frustrated moan. Gundham laughed and hummed into his thigh, then bit down gently. Soda couldn’t stop his hips from bucking a little, up into the barely moving hand Gundham still had on his dick. The friction felt good, so he did it again. Gundham used the hand he had lifted Soda’s leg with to hold his hip still and switched his attention to his other thigh. Soda couldn’t take it anymore.

“Gundham please! Stop teasing!”

“Were you not the one who said we should ‘slow things down’?” Gundham laughed against the spot where his thigh met his groin. Soda loved it and hated it.

“Y-yeah but c’mon, isn’t this a little too slow?”

“Mmm, then if that is your desire” Gundham finally put his mouth on Soda’s cock.

He kissed the tip gently before running his lips down the side and licking his way back up. Then he opened his mouth and sucked.

“Ah Gundham.” Soda couldn’t believe how good it felt. Gundham took more of his cock into his mouth and began to bob his head. Soda’s head shot back, and he felt like he was going to die from pleasure.

Gundham’s mouth was wet and warm and tight around his cock, and his tongue kept working along his shaft, making him feel things he could hardly describe. Soda knew he was moaning Gundham’s name, over and over, but he couldn’t stop. Every time Gundham pulled back he sucked hard on Soda’s cock and the only thing stopping Soda from thrusting up into Gundham’s mouth was that strong hand on his hip. He didn’t know where the hand on his thigh had gone, he couldn’t focus long enough to find it. He reached for the one on his hip and covered it with his own. Gundham moaned around his cock and laced his fingers through Soda’s, shifting so he could use his forearm to keep Soda’s hips pinned in place.

He was going to cum. He squeezed Gundham’s hand and looked down at him, trying to get his attention, trying to warn him in case he didn’t want Soda cumming in his mouth.

But the second he saw Gundham’s face, lips wrapped around his cock, eyes locked with his, and flushed the same way it had been when Soda had been sucking his cock, it was over. His hips were bucking against Gundham’s arm and he was cumming down his throat, his name on his lips. He could feel more than hear Gundham moaning around his cock, and the vibrations kept him at in ecstasy for just a little longer, before becoming to be to much for his sensitive cock.

“Gundham, please, it’s too much.” Gundham moaned again and pulled off his cock. He went back to Soda’s thighs, no longer gently kissing and teasing, but sucking and biting. Soda was vaguely aware of Gundham’s shoulder shifting rapidly.

“S-soda!” He squeezed Soda’s hand and buried his face into the crook of his thigh. He was so taken aback by Gundham actually calling him ‘Soda’ that it took him a moment to realise Gundham was cumming.

Oh, so that’s where that hand went.

Gundham kept his face pressed into Soda’s thigh for a moment, panting, before kissing it for a final time and crawling back up Soda’s body, releasing his hand only long enough to unhook his arm from around Soda’s leg before intertwining their fingers once again.

“You know I could have, uh, done that for you.” Wasn’t the whole idea of the pact thing to get each other off anyway?

“I’m sorry, my dear companion.” Gundham raised their clasped hands to his lips and kissed Soda’s fingers. “I simply could not resist. Between how beautiful you appeared in your ecstasy and sweetly you were calling my name-” Gundham sighed and smiled, looking into Soda’s eyes “I was bewitched.” He twisted their hands to kiss Soda’s knuckles without looking away.

It made Soda blush harder than anything else they had done.

That complicated feeling was coming back.

He never asked if it was alright to kiss him. He still hadn’t made Gundham scream.

Next Chapter

[faefictions]

Lonely People | Ch 6

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield x Reader

Word Count: 5.7k

Warnings: some angst 

Friday night parties had become a sacred ritual in the apartment. It went without saying that all 3 of them would be out and drunk by 8 pm. Getting out of a Friday night party was about as hard as getting out of work. If you didn’t have a doctors note, you were out of luck. 

Fridays before breaks were different. Usually, all three of them were packed up and on a flight out of town before dinner, but of course, this Friday had one difference. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to tag along? I’m all for you staying, but I get it if you changed your mind,” Jace called as he set his stuff by the front door. Sierra was still frantically packing in her room, so she had no say in the conversation. 

“I’m sure, Butthead. Tell your mom I said hi,” y/n called from the couch, turning to give him a teasing smile. 

“Ok, well I’m ready to go whenever. Are we waiting for Sierra?”

“Her and Tom. It might be a while,” y/n rolled her eyes. 

On any other holiday, the three would get an Uber to the airport, but since y/n was staying home for the break she promised she would drive them all to the airport. 

“If you need anything while we’re gone, promise you’ll call?”

“I’m a big girl Jace, you don’t have to worry about leaving me home alone,” she teased, but when his stern expression didn’t let up, she sighed and nodded her head. 

She didn’t anticipate needing them much over the week. It was just one week of being alone. And sure, she hated being in the apartment on her own, but that wasn’t something they needed to know. She just knew that if she did need anything, calling someone who was halfway across the country wouldn’t be of much help. 

“And if it is an emergency, remember Harrison is still in town. You have his number right?”

“I’ll be fine Jace, stop worrying,” she chuckled at him, just as Sierra came tripping through her doorway with two suitcases in tow. 

“You’re going to be gone for one week, what could you possibly need that would fill two suitcases,” Jace asked. 

“Shut up, I am not the ridiculous one here,” she growled, pointing to his half empty duffle bag.

The two continued to playfully bicker, and y/n sat and soaked in the last few moments she would have with her roommates before silence would fill their shared space for the week. 

Tom showed up less than 10 minutes later, and they all dragged their luggage down the steps and out to the car. It was a game of tetris getting the bags to fit in the small trunk, but they managed to get it shut and began their trip to the airport. 

Y/n helped the 3 unload and walked them through the doors, but before they reached security, Sierra had to give her the same talk that Jace had back at the apartment. 

“Si, I swear to god, you two better get out of here before I throat punch you.”

“Promise you’ll call first!”

“Fine, if anything goes wrong, which it won’t, I will call you. Although there will be nothing you can do because you will be 5 states away. Now, go.”

Sierra wrapped her up in one last hug before taking Tom’s hand and leading him to the security line. 

Jace lingered for one more moment, asking y/n one more time if she was sure she didn’t want to go home with him. 

A small part of her wanted to give in. It wanted to say fuck it and just get on the flight without any luggage. But she knew that being there was never her idea of a good time, and going anywhere without at least a change of clothes was a bad idea. So she shook her head and gave him one last reassuring hug before shooing him in the same direction as Sierra. He looked over his shoulder only one time before joining the other two in line, giving her a small, sad wave. 

Y/n wasn’t in a rush to go back to the apartment. Thinking back, she hadn’t spent a single night alone since moving in. Every once in a while, one of the roommates would have a one night stand, but the other one was always just a room away. It was a little too nerve-wracking for her to rush back to, so instead, she decided to go get something to eat. 

Her bank account didn’t have much in it. The small amount of freelance work she did had been slowing down even more, something she didn’t know was possible, and it was making it hard to survive. There was no way she was about to tell Jace and Sierra about that though. She knew that they would both be willing to empty their own bank accounts if it meant helping her, and while that meant the world to her, she could never let that happen. 

She walked onto one of the few places to eat on campus, a large mural of their mascot greeting her on the adjacent wall as she walked in. She hated that painting. The idiotic smile on the mascots face was enough to make anyone uncomfortable. 

She walked quickly past it so it didn’t occupy her thoughts for too long, and made her way over to the register. She wanted to eat there, but the amount of people in there made her nervous. Being anywhere alone was already nerve-wracking for her, but somewhere that full didn’t give her a chance. There was no delaying the inevitable anymore. She had to go back to the apartment. 

As she was turning to leave, food in hand, she almost ran into the person behind her in line. Her grip on her food tightened as she apologized. 

“It’s alright,” they spoke back, and y/n knew who it was before she could even glance up. Harrison’s accent would give him away in any situation. 

“Oh, hey,” she greeted awkwardly. She hadn’t seen him since she had taken their first photos for the project, and the atmosphere was just as awkward as before.

“Hey… I see you got out of going home with anyone for the holiday.”

“Oh, yeah,” she stated simply. 

“Eating alone tonight?” 

“Yeah, I’m just going back to my apartment.”

“Well, would you maybe mind some company?”

Her eyes shot up in surprise, trying to decipher if he was joking.

“I don’t mean to intrude, feel free to say no. I just hate being at my place alone. It feels eerie without Tom yelling across the place.”

“Uh, yeah, of course you can come over. I was actually kind of feeling the same way about my place,” she smiled shyly. Avoiding Harrison could wait until she had someone else to keep her company. 

She waited for Harrison to get his order and drove them back to her apartment. She was thankful that she had driven there. The music in the car filled what would have been the awkward silence. 

The silence followed them into the apartment, and y/n began to think that him being there was almost worst than being alone. Not only was it quiet, there was another sense of unease stacked on top of it and it was tiring. 

Harrison was running around his mind, trying to think of something to fill the silence, but he was preoccupied with the question “Why?”. He still had no idea what he had done to make her turn so suddenly. They clicked the moment they met, there was never a weird silence between them, it was all filled with some kind of sarcastic quip. He knew that it only happened after he had the conversation with Jace, but he was in denial. There was no way that Jace would say something to her, right?

“You ever watched I Love You, Man?” he finally said between bites. 

“Yeah, it’s probably one of my favorite movies,” she replied, covering her mouth as she chewed. 

“Wanna watch it? It’s on Netflix.”

“Sure,” y/n replied and grabbed the remote. It took a minute to find the movie, but once she hit play, everything felt better between them. The silence was filled with laughter, and it all felt so comfortable. 

The two would each sneak looks at the other during the slower scenes, when they weren’t busy laughing. Harrison loved the way she gave her full attention to the screen, mouth slightly agape. Her eyes weren’t quite as wide as a child, but her demeanor was like one. 

Y/n would sneak her glances as quickly as she could. There was no way in hell she was about to let herself get caught. But each millisecond of a glance made her feel something she told herself she wouldn’t, so halfway through the movie, she stopped looking. She stopped laughing as much, and Harrison saw it in her expression. Something was wrong, and he hated it. 

When the credits started to roll, Harrison was the one to grab the remote and stop it. 

“You wanna go out and do something? I’m sure you know of multiple parties happening tonight.”

After a moment of quiet deliberation, she nodded her head with a smile. She could use the distraction. 

An hour later, y/n and Harrison found themselves in the middle of a sweaty crowd, drinks in hand. They were dancing along to the shitty music, a song neither of them would listen to in their spare time, but the alcohol coursing through their veins was giving them a strong buzz. Strong enough to make them enjoy a song they would otherwise be making fun of. 

When the song ended, y/n stumbled as someone pushed past her. Harrison’s caught her arm as she giggled at her misstep. 

“Wanna play beer pong?” Harrison asked loudly, overestimating the ambient sound in the room. 

She happily nodded her head, and let him lead her to the empty table. Two people had just ended their game, just in time for them to arrive. 

Y/n grabbed the ball and began to arrange the cups in to triangles on both sides of the table as Harrison refilled both of their drinks. When he approached the table, y/n traded the ball for her drink. 

“I’ll let you go first,” she winked. 

“That’s not how this works.”

“You should take what I give you, kiddo. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”

“Oh, talking trash are we? Fine, I’ll take it, but not because I need it. I’ll just win faster.”

He crossed to the other side of the table and took a deep breath to focus. He took his shot, and sure enough, it landed in the back right corner cup. 

“Told you,” he smirked again, only making his opponent narrow her eyes.

“That was a lucky shot,” she bit back.

“We’ll see about that.”

15 minutes later, there were only two cups left. Harrison had missed only one shot, but y/n had missed none. If she made this, she won the game. She was intensely staring at the cup, the ball and her hand in the air. She wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone there, but the alcohol was starting to mess with her senses. She took a deep breath and shot, watching as the ball went straight for the cup, but instead of falling straight in, it hit the rim and bounced off onto the table. She dramatically grabbed her head before slamming her palms down on the table, loudly expressing her disappointment. 

Harrison’s smirk only grew as she watching in horror, hoping and praying that he wouldn’t make it. He had had a lot less to drink though, so his ball glided into her cup effortlessly, and she nearly fell to her knees in frustration as he ran around the table to rub it in her face. 

“I hate you,” she said, trying to hide her amusement at his excited nature. 

“Tell me something I don’t know,” he chuckled, following her as she went to get another drink. One more before she called it a night. 

But one turned into three, and y/n found herself walking back to her apartment with Harrison leading the way. She had insisted that she was fine to walk alone, and after some fighting over it, he convinced her that he just wanted to stay on her couch so he didn’t have to sleep at his place alone.

He wasn’t completely lying. He was starting to feel a little homesick, and with Tom gone and alcohol coursing through his system, it was being amplified. Having company muffled it, even if the closest person was a couple rooms away. Sure he could have lived without her that night, but it was just an added bonus to making sure she got home safe. 

The walk home was almost silent, but halfway there, y/n got bored of the silence and started to poorly hum a song. Harrison tried to make out what she was trying to hum, but it had sounded nothing like the original. She realized this and began to giggle every few seconds, making it even more unrecognizable. 

Y/n let them into the apartment, struggling with her keys for a good thirty seconds. Harrison tried to offer help, but she refused it. When she finally got the door open, she kicked her shoes off and hung her keys. She knew that drinking a glass of water would have been a good idea, but her bedroom was closer than the kitchen, so she poorly decided against it. 

“Are you sure you wanna stay on the couch, we have 3 bedrooms here, it’s not like they’ll know,” she offered, stumbling a bit as she tried to take her coat off. 

“The couch is fine.”

“You could sleep on my bed if you’re worried about being polite. I could sleep on the couch. I would fit better anyway.”

“Goodnight, y/n,” he laughed, trying to push her towards her room. 

“I’m being serious, we could switch,” she insisted, but he just kept pushing. 

When she was just about comfortable in bed, she heard her door creak a little, being pushed open just a little further. She peeked over the covers to see Harrison quickly placing a glass of water on her nightstand before making his way back out to the couch without a word. 

The gesture was something she had done for Jace and Sierra countless times, but she couldn’t recall anyone ever returning the favor. That familiar feeling crept back into her chest, making her feel a little nauseous, but she drifted off to sleep before she could tell herself to stop feeling it.  

 *****

When y/n woke up the next morning, Harrison had left already. She expected to find him fast asleep on the couch, seeing as she was up before 8, but he hadn’t left a trace of his stay. The blanket that he had used was neatly folded over the back of the couch, just as it always was, and the glass he had used was washed and placed back in the cupboard. 

Y/n would be lying if she didn’t say she was at least a little disappointed. She hadn’t had the greatest night of sleep, and she would have loved the company, even if he was passed out on the couch. So instead of human interaction, she settled for wrapping herself up in the blanket he had used, only her face poking out, and put on a feel good movie. The single movie turned into a marathon, and soon enough it was time for dinner, and she realized that she hadn’t eaten all day. So after the sixth movie of the day she decided to make herself something to eat. There wasn’t much left in their fridge or pantry, so she had to settle for some old cereal.

As the night got darker, she had to fight the urge to text Harrison. As much as she would hate to admit it, his company the night before was nice. It relieved the anxiety of being alone in the apartment, and it was nice having someone care for her while she was tipsy, even if it was just getting her a glass of water. But she didn’t want to get used to him. She didn’t want to get attached. After her roommates came back, she would have to go back to being cold. 

Around 8, she heard her phone go off. It was a text from Harrison. 

“You eaten yet?” was all it read, but she smiled at the screen nonetheless. 

“Does cereal count as a dinner??”

“Absolutely not”

“Then no”

He opened the message almost immediately, but he left her on read. It would have stung, if her doorbell hadn’t rung 30 seconds later. Sure enough, when she looked through the peephole, Harrison was waiting on the other side. 

“So you were here anyway, why send a text?” she asked as she opened the door. 

“Nice to see you too.”

“What would you have done if I had said I had eaten?”

“You didn’t, so I don’t have to worry about it, do I?”

“You stress me out.”

“Get a jacket, it’s cold out there,” he replied, starting to make his way back down the hall. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” she laughed, watching as he turned back towards her. 

“And why not?”

“Well, for one, I don’t have shoes on.”

“Good point. So put some on.”

“I also don’t exactly have the money to go out to eat twice in a week. Some of us are poor, asshole.”

“I’m paying, go get your shoes.”

“And why would you do that?”

“That’s what friends do.”

“Oh, so we’re friends now?”

“I slept on your couch last night, we’re friends. Now get your shoes, or I’ll carry you out there.”

“Aggressive,” she laughed at his cheeky smile, “Fine, you’re just lucky I’m goddamn hungry.”

She disappeared into her apartment for a few moments, quickly slipping on some tennis shoes and grabbing her jacket and keys before catching up with him in the hallway. 

“Ok, you gotta be honest with me, I’m curious,” she broke the comfortable silence as they hit the sidewalk outside. 

“Ok?”

“Is Sierra making you check up on me while she’s gone?”

“What? No, why would she do that?” he chuckled, giving her confidence that he was telling the truth. 

“She doesn’t think I can survive a week alone,” y/n blushed, realizing that fact was a bit embarrassing. 

To be fair, Sierra was right. Y/n didn’t like to leave the apartment alone unless it was completely necessary, and since classes were out for the week, she probably would have spent the whole week inside. Sierra knew her better than y/n would have liked to admit. 

Harrison kept to his promise and paid for her dinner. They took their food back to her apartment, and just like the night before, they put on a movie and ate on her couch. Each night that they spent together felt more comfortable than the last. They giggled through 2 movies that night, and when they were over, y/n invited him to stay on her couch again. 

The next morning, Harrison was still there when she woke up. He was fast asleep on the couch, and she could’t help but admire him for just a moment. But fear that he would wake up and catch her looking made her peel her eyes away and make her way to the kitchen. 

The pattern continued for 4 more nights. Harrison would leave in the morning, but by sundown, he would be back to keep her company, always with food in hand. Y/n would never admit how much she enjoyed the little ritual. She almost wished Jace and Sierra would leave town more often. Harrison was good company. He didn’t bring any drama or uncomfortable situations. They did the exact same thing every single night, but there was nothing boring about it. He made it feel like it wasn’t just a routine. It was the most fun she had had outside of partying since she had moved to this town. 

On that Thursday night, Harrison fell asleep on the couch before their movie had even ended. The movie he had put on was chosen with only her in mind. He had had a long day, but he didn’t want to waste a night being away from her. So he had brought over the meal that he had heard Sierra mention she loved so much (for the 2nd time that week) and almost immediately fell asleep. The soft snores leaving his lips were too distracting for y/n to pay much attention to the resolution in the movie. She just stared at him.

If anyone else had been there, if anyone had happened to look through her window, they would have thought one of two things. They could have seen the way she looked at him and thought she was a being incredibly creepy, watching intently as her prey slept. Or they could have thought she was in love. 

She studied the light freckles on his face, unevenly spread out across his cheeks. She liked to imagine that he didn’t have them as a child, that he acquired them through plenty of happy days in the sun. She caught herself as she began to think about what he could have been doing in those days. This wasn’t something you thought about with your friends. She was letting her brain go further than she wanted to allow, so in an effort to backtrack, she got off the couch and brought the styrofoam dishes from their dinner with her. She threw the empty containers away and decided to pour herself a drink while she was up. 

For having such an empty fridge, the apartments array of alcohol was impressive. Most of their bottles were a good 3/4 of the way gone, but each one held another dumb memory with her roommates, or just herself. She was no stranger to drinking alone at 3 am on a Saturday night. 

She decided to just take a swig of a flavored vodka, one that Jace had drunkenly stole, unopened, from a party. She smiled at the memory, and let it distract her as she downed the liquid. She barely flinched at the undiluted taste. 

By the time she made it back to the couch, Harrison was awake. His eyes were still droopy and he was still resting his head on the arm rest, but he sat up a little to meet y/n’s eyes. 

“You missed the ending,” he nodded to the TV, which was rolling the credits slowly across the screen. 

“Oh, darn,” she replied sarcastically. 

“Didn’t like it?”

“It was ok. Would have been better if someone was awake to make fun of it with me.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. Long day.”

“It’s fine. Wouldn’t be me if I didn’t make fun of you somehow though. Speaking of, did you know you snore?”

“I do not.”

She let out a mocking snore, much louder than anything that had come from him, and he threw the blanket from the floor at her. 

“Well now that you’re so well rested, I’m going to bed. Listening to you snore is just exhausting.”

“You’re the worst,” he narrowed his eyes at her. 

“Fell free to crash on the couch again if you want. I’ll see you later,” she smiled at him, and began to make her way to her room, letting out one more snore on her way there. 

The swig she had taken had done nothing to calm her brain or her heart. Once the door to her bedroom was closed, she just stared at the shaking in her hands. She hated being this way, feeling this way, but there seemed to be no way around it. She knew that once break was over, she had to find a way to set things back to normal, but she had no idea how to do that. She couldn’t just suddenly and inexplicably revoke their friendship. 

She had to find a way.

Harrison didn’t come over the next night. She was almost tempted to text him and ask if he was planning on it, but she thought better of it. That didn’t stop her from waiting around in the living room all night. For a text. For a call. For a knock on the door. Hell, she would have taken him barging in with food or a semi-threatening invitation to go out. Hours passed, and nothing came. There was no sign that Harrison had even thought of her. She took it as a bittersweet win, and decided to go to bed earlier than usual. There was no reason to stay up. 

When she woke up, she had a text from him. “Sorry I didn’t come over last night. Had something going on, but I’ll see you tonight for the last one before everyone comes home. Promise I won’t fall asleep this time xx”

She smiled at the text and tried to forget about it until nightfall, but man was that hard when she had nothing to do all day. All of the things she had to do ended up bringing her thoughts back to him. She tried tidying her closet, but the clothes for their project were the only things she could think of. She tried watching a movie, but she couldn’t help imagining his commentary. Editing the photos for the project was an obvious no, since staring directly at his face did nothing to help. 

Harrison finally showed up around 8 pm. Usually he brought some kind of dinner, but this time, he had several bags filled with junk food, along with a brown paper bag.

“Wow, you… really came prepared.”

“Last night of break, we gotta celebrate.”

“Celebrate going back to classes?”

“Ok, maybe not celebrate, but we should get drunk.”

“Yeah, I can get behind that,” she laughed, inviting him inside. 

An hour later, the living room was littered with wrappers and empty mini liquor bottles. The Bluetooth speaker in the corner of the room was softly playing a Spotify playlist that Harrison had insisted on showing her, although neither of them were paying much attention to it. 

Their heads were laying on opposite headrests, staring up at the ceiling as they talked for hours about nothing that would be important the next day, but was important enough to start another heated discussion every few minutes. 

Harrison could tell that she was getting progressively more tipsy, and he tried to match her drinking pace. He loved seeing her all giggly like this, and he wanted to feel just as happy as she seemed. 

Suddenly, she sat up with a gasp, looking towards the speaker in the corner. 

“Is this The 1975?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I love this song,” she exclaimed, falling back onto the armrest.

He propped himself up on his elbows to get better look at her. She was singing loudly, flailing her arms around dramatically with the music. He couldn’t help but stare as she really got into it. He was trying to hold in his laughter and adoration, but it was hard. He didn’t think he had ever seen her like this. She always seemed a little more carefree than her usual self at parties, but never like this. It was nice. 

She caught him looking at her, causing her to stop her little show. She propped herself up, mirroring his position on the opposite end of the couch. 

“What are you looking at Osterfield?” she teased. 

“Just you,” he blushed, breaking eye contact to sit up, “You’re really beautiful, you know that?”

She hated the way that comment made her stomach churn with anxiety. She rolled her eyes at him without realizing, and it made his heart break just a little. 

“Harrison-“ she began, but with that tone, he knew which direction this conversation was going. 

“No, y/n, please. I know you don’t really date anyone, and I know that’s like a thing with you. Jace already warned me against this, but… we’ve had a really great week, and I’ve had a lot of fun with you, I feel like you’ve been enjoying it too. I just figured I could shoot my shot.”

“Well you should have fucking listened to Jace,” she spat, getting up from the couch to grab some of the wrappers from the ground to go throw them away. The buzz she had going had dispersed, sobering her up just enough to start to panic inside. Cleaning was one of her ways to help with that feeling. 

He watched her make her way to the kitchen, hands full of trash. He sighed and grabbed the remaining litter to follow her. 

“Y/n, please, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything.”

“Well it’s too fucking late for that.”

“Y/n-“

“No, Harrison. You knew it was a bad idea to say something like that, Jace warned you for a fucking reason, and you did it anyway. How fucking stupid do you have to be?”

“I’m not stupid.”

“Well clearly you are. You knew what would happen and you did it anyway… So I think it’s time for you to leave.”

“Are you being serious? All I said was-“

“I don’t fucking care. I want you to leave.”

“Y/n-“

“GET THE FUCK OUT.”

He wasn’t expecting her to scream at him like that. He wanted to be mad at her, and deep down he was, but a surge of pity took over him when he saw the flash of fear behind her eyes as she yelled. That didn’t make him any happier about the situation. 

He let out a heavy sigh and stormed off to grab his jacket and keys before he left, slamming the door on his way out. 

The music on the speaker was still playing, but it slowly crackled and disconnected as he got further away. Finally, the music fully stopped, and y/n was left in silence. Left to accept the reality of what she had just done, again. 

A/N: it is midnight, this is already a day late, and I haven't slept in almost 2 weeks, so i may not have edited this. But happy late birthday to Harrison, I hope y’all like this chapter!! Lmk what you think about it :)

Tags: (it won’t let me tag quite a few of you!)

@embrace-themagic​ @fanficparker​ @baconlover001​ @chloe-geoghegan1​ @chonisberonica​ @heartbeats-wildly​ @saturn-aka-six​  @ghostofdrfluke​ @calum-hoodwinked-me​ @peterplanet​ @mischiefmanaged49​ @bucky-newtlock​ @johnsambrosemcclaren​ @r3ader @lizzyosterfield​ @nicotine-sunshine820​ @hrryhllnd​ @itsjusttor​ @ciannemar83​ @emistrash​ @happyharrison​ @hiding-behindmy-glasses​ @thenoddingbunny-blog​ @wolvesofthewinter​ @ccchloeee-666 @softholand​ @cosmic-mint-tea​ @suemesabby @wholeheartedlymendes @jess-holland23​ @whattheactualbollocks @sovereignparker​ 

[asgardianthot]

Hunting Season (sambucky) - Part 4

Series Masterlist

A/N: ello :) I hope you’re all safe and sound, and I hope you’re surviving quarantine. Here’s an angsty update for you to enjoy! 

Words: 3329

Day 3.

The morning had prepared for the happy couple an hour of kayaking. Bucky got his tired ass to the lake with the least amount of motivation possible, for he had spent a sore night. The idea of Brock Rumlow spending the night in that house had his bones rattling. Sam, on his part, couldn’t blame him; Brock only stayed there when the two were an item, so the fact that he was tagging along indefinitely had ‘ill intentioned’ written all over it. Bucky’s theory was that Brock probably thought he was gonna crash the lunch party and win him over again, stay the night at their old bed instead of a small guest room downstairs.

On the bright side of matters, Sam and Bucky were still the only ones to have a hunting clue. The envelope that had fallen out of the Viktor Frankl book had a hand-written note, specifically placed there by Nana. It read as following: If you found this clue, congratulations, you have a brain. Frankl was more than just a man in search for meaning: he was a neurologist and a psychiatrist, as well as a philosopher. It’s not hard to guess why my husband was obsessed with him. Now find out more about the author and try to guess what else he and Theodore had in common. You’ll know where to look.

Those words meant absolutely nothing to Sam, but it made some sense to Bucky. All they had to do was research about the author of the book and find a connection, for now. The rest would be a problem for later.

Right now, meaning at that very exact moment, Sam’s problem was kayaking.

“Okay, so what now?” he asked Bucky, holding the paddles like they were going to hurt him.

The second the word ‘kayak’ had been brought up when discussing future activities, Sam knew he would make a fool out of himself, for it was something he had never done, while the rest of the guests had been practicing every summer since they bought the damn house. Still, he put on his swimsuit and showed up. For Bucky. They were the ones closest to the lakeside, as Bucky was still teaching Sam, meanwhile the other Barnes were already paddling away or messing around in circles, as they prepared for a race.

“Now, you kayak.” Bucky replied simply, which earned a death glance from Sam.

He was already having enough trouble adjusting to the new sport, which left him with little to no patience. Fortunately, Bucky pitied him and laughed as he moved to the front seat, agreeing to help.

“Okay, wait,” he grunted as he struggled to accommodate behind Sam, “let me help you.”

Sam felt the warm pressure of Bucky’s chest against his back without any type of warning, and flinched a little. He could feel the drops of water that hadn’t dried out in Bucky’s skin stick to his own, and it sent shivers down his spine. He decided to believe the shivers were caused by the startling feeling of water droplets.

“You’re holding it wrong.” James explained as he took the paddles from Sam’s hand.

Wilson rolled his eyes, “Of course I am.”

“Someone’s cranky.” Bucky remarked, “Didn’t sleep well?”

Sam thought hard about that one. As a matter of fact, he had woken up plenty of times during the night, only to find Bucky struggling to catch his own sleep next to him. The situation was weird as it was, so Sam pretended to miss it.

“You kick your feet a lot.” Sam lied.

“There’s always the divan.” Bucky reminded him.

“Will you shut up about the damn divan? No one should sleep in anything called like that.”

However, the ridiculous discussion came to an end when Bucky managed to get Sam to paddle correctly.

“That’s about the hang of it.” he congratulated him before turning his body and dropping it into the water.

The water barely reached his chest, so he stood there in waits for Sam who accomplished his goal of successfully kayaking away.

“Now come back to me.” Bucky instructed his apprentice, “Turn.”

Watching him swirl the canoe so concentrated, Bucky couldn’t help but find him slightly adorable. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t seen Sam learn something like that before, but it definitely was a good look on him. A smile creeped up his face, however, it didn’t last long. Soon enough, his ears picked up on a conversation behind him. He saw that uncle Milo was talking to Brock, and he only then figured they probably had been the entire time, which made him feel observed and, most of all, uncomfortable. Bucky was so distracted by the interaction that he almost didn’t see Sam returning to him, but he noticed right on time to stop the tip of the kayak before it hit him.

He shook it off by shooting a smile in Nana’s direction.

“Sure you don’t wanna hop in the water, Nana?” he messed with the woman who looked over everyone from her chair.

“I want another drink, sweetheart.” She messed with him back.

Bucky winked at her and returned his attention to the fake boyfriend, who seemed a lot more comfortable with the sport. They most likely wouldn’t win the race, but at least Sam wouldn’t feel bad for sucking at it.

“You know what?” Nana’s voice was loud and clear this time, which got everyone’s attention, “First one to get me a drink gets a clue."

The bold statement was followed by hesitant glances. Most of the family exchanged weird looks, none of them sure of how to proceed.

"Is she for real?" Bucky said, frowning.

Then, cousin Colin jumped to the water from where he was paddling, and started swimming towards land. Rebecca went second. Bucky and Sam were quick to notice how they were the ones closest to the lakeside, which didn’t make it seem like Nana was unbiased. If anything, it made the couple look like the favorites. Alas, Bucky and Sam climbed onto land fast, hearing people rush across the water behind them, until they heard a scream.

As they both turned towards the noise, they saw Rebecca slapping her hand around, swallowing water, and barely managing to yell the word ‘cramp’.

Bucky dove back on the water to save her. Literally. As Sam awaited kneeling on the shore, he couldn’t help but notice nobody else went to help. As usual, Bucky was Rebecca’s knight in shining armor.

"Rebecca, are you ok?" Winnifred barely asked above her usual tone to be heard.

The siblings were too busy trying to stay afloat –Bucky dragging her to land and Rebecca coughing her lungs out– to answer, so the mother insisted.

"Rebecca?"

Luckily, Sam cut in to get the unhelpful and mediocre concern away from the scene, "She- she's fine! We got this!" he assured the woman.

Once the siblings reached the wooden shore, Sam pulled Rebecca up by her arms while Bucky climbed up, panting. The young woman held her leg in pain.

Right on time, Brock approached them to save the day.

He extended his hand towards Rebecca, "Here, let me-"

"Get the fuck away from us!" James shot him an aggressive warning while placing a hand on Rebecca's back, not dignifying the man with eye contact.

Rumlow raised his hands in defense, "Just tryna’ help, Jamie."

The snap in Bucky’s brain might as well have been hearable. He was so done with the hovering figure he used to call his partner, everything in his head went red with fury. He looked up at him with such rage, Sam anticipated his outburst even before it happened.

"Shut up, Brock, shut up!” He yelled directly at him, microscopic bits of spit being thrown in Brock’s direction, and followed by a uncomfortable, still silence, which Bucky couldn’t stand either, “Are you deaf or are you a fucking idiot? I said leave!"

Rumlow accepted the offense and shook his head, putting on a disappointed façade.

"You're insane." He informed Bucky before turning on his heels.

As the man walked back inside the house, the spectators of the show remained silent. All that could be heard was Bucky’s heavy breathing, until Rebecca spoke.

"Way to go, brother." She whispered, which was only heard by Sam and Bucky.

Bucky’s expression revealed how shocked he was at his own courage to pull off such a stunt.

"That felt so good." He admitted, drawing a big proud smile on Sam’s face.

-

The outburst that morning, no matter how fulfilling, had taken a toll on Bucky. The rest of the day, it was all he could think about, and therefore, it naturally got the paranoid spinning wheel in his brain running at full speed. Cousin Colin, after the lake scene, was the only person insensitive enough to actually go through with Nana’s demand; the man had brought his grandmother a nice summer drink from the kitchen, which the lady received with a roll of her eyes. Unfortunately, she had promised the deliverer a clue, so she reluctantly kept her word and gave him the help in private.

It didn’t necessarily worry Bucky nor Sam, because the couple still felt they were winning so far. They had found the first clue by themselves, no help needed, so the best Colin could do was keep up with them before they got the advantage again.

No, what had them both worried was this cocktail gathering after dinner, right now. It was too early for anyone to be tired enough to go to bed, but it was late enough for people to start making bad decisions. That had been Bucky’s case. Drink after drink, worry after worry, the liquor had found its way into Bucky’s system long ago. In fact, he was sitting down, resigned to his sorrow, with a glass of champaign in hand.

He was wasted, and Sam could tell. While Bucky played around with the almost emptied glass, Sam’s chest felt heavy.

"He's watching." Bucky suddenly said, his enunciation already affected by the booze.

His eyes were fixated somewhere in the room, over Sam’s shoulder. The latter didn’t need to turn around to know who he meant.

"Don't pay attention to him." He shrugged it off.

"He used to do that,” Bucky, however, acted as if Sam hadn’t even spoken, “when he didn't approve of something."

"Hey.” Sam called, demanding his attention, “Hey, look at me. I'm here with you, okay? Not him."

As much as Bucky wanted to lean into those words, embrace the support and such, he knew it wasn’t truly real. Sam was there to help him out of pity, or so he thought. He used to love imagining having a boyfriend who would take away the pain, wipe away the tears caused by Brock. He used to like that image, but sometime in the horrible long-lasting relationship, he just didn’t think it possible. Anyone loving him after Brock? Anyone putting up with that baggage, with the lurking ex-boyfriend watching them at all times?

It simply wouldn’t happen. It’s why he wasn’t there with an actual boyfriend. It’s why he had to play-pretend with Sam. In his head, there was no place for anyone to love him. Not after he’d been chewed on by Rumlow and spat out a hundred times.

"But you're not.” Bucky sad dryly, almost insulting, “Not really. I'll never get the real thing."

Sam’s brain had a hard time with that one confession. Did Bucky mean that getting his friend to play fake boo was the closest he'd ever get to a boyfriend from now on? Or as he implying a world where Sam could have become the real deal? His confusion left him almost speechless.

"And why is that?" he managed to ask with a heavy heart.

Bucky was too quick in answering Sam’s doubts, "Cause I'm messed up. 'Cause of him."

That being declared, James stood up from the table, leaving his company sitting there by himself, rudely. Sam watched him get to the bar, which consisted of a few tables set up for drink service, attended by one of Nana’s kitchen employees. It did the trick in looking fancy enough for an improvised bar, and still, Bucky managed to look fairly pathetic, leaning on the table and ordering yet another hard liquor.

For the next half hour, Sam brought himself to chat and interact with the Barnes, but mostly, he was checking up on Bucky every other minute. Fortunately so, since it allowed him to spot Rumlow as he approached the drunk figure. Wilson excused himself and headed straight for the bar, and was noticed by the man who looked, as usual, like he was up to no good.

"Samuel, we were just talking about you." Brock greeted him cynically.

"Leave him alone." Sam said, not messing around.

Bucky’s eyes were fixated on his drink, avoiding exchanging gazes with his ex, no matter how hard Brock tried to catch his attention.

"I don't think anyone should leave him alone like this." Rumlow cocked a brow, giving off the most pedantic posture yet.

As much as Sam didn’t wish to sound just as condescending as the ex-boyfriend, he needed him to back off. So he stood his ground, planting himself in front of Bucky, and raised his chin.

"Oh, goodie, that's what I'm here for." He clarified with a taunting tone.

All of a sudden, Bucky decided to stand his ground as well. Unhappy with the exchange of words about his state, he got himself in front of Sam, stumbling a bit.

"I don't- don't need anyone to look after me." He managed to croak out, frowning.

After he delivered the words, he propped himself on the table unsteadily, causing Sam to gesture catching him, but Bucky seemed to be partially alright on his own. Brock, on his part, gave him a deeply disappointed look. Suddenly, Sam understood so much; the paternalistic vibe he gave off, like you’re nothing for yourself and are in desperate need of his aid. The way Rumlow judged people could get anyone to doubt themselves. Luckily, Sam wasn’t giving in.

Brock extended his hand to the more-than-tipsy man, "Come on." He said, more a demand than an offer.

The response was even more abrupt than that morning by the lake. In sight of his hand so near him, Bucky’s paranoia crippled through his bones, provoking a different kind of outburst.

"Don't touch me, you fucking maniac!" he yelled, taking a step back.

Sam’s skin crawled. During the tense silence that followed, he felt eyes staring at them three. Brock, however, didn’t seem nearly as shocked, but instead acted like this was just typical Bucky. He did seem embarrassed, though, being the victim of the scandal for the second time that day.

"Let's go." Sam pleaded, not daring to touch Bucky in a jumpy state like that.

That was Rebecca’s cue for approaching the lot, allured by the fuzz.

"What's going on?" she demanded an explanation in a low, but harsh tone.

"Nothing.” Rumlow spoke before anyone else got the change, “He's making a scene, as usual."

Rebecca shot him a threatening glance, to which he simply rolled his eyes and abandoned the bar area. Sam took his place in order to check up on Bucky’s face, and found his eyes beginning to water. He was frozen in place, eye sockets reddened by the drunkenness and lips caught between his teeth.

"James, get it together.” Rebecca whispered, “Everyone's staring."

Although Sam was expecting more comfort from the man’s sister, whom just so happened to be scolding him for no reason, he kept his quiet this time. The two sober characters dragged Bucky’s body to the nearest chair and forced him to sit down, which only attracted more attention towards him, but that way he could remain still and far from tumbling scandals.

"Get him some coffee before he embarrasses himself even more." Rebecca told Sam, sternly.

As she kneeled sat next to her brother in order to pretend normality, Sam just gave her a look of disbelief. He didn’t think she could act so heartlessly before.

"You're a real sweetheart, you know that?" he threw her a sarcasm dagger, refusing to move.

"Believe it or not, I'm helping him.” She spat, looking around frantically in hopes no one was judging them, “Coffee, Samuel, please."

Sam took one last good look at Bucky before obeying the very persuasive sister. The drunken mess was avoiding all sorts of eye contact, and was almost pouting like a child. Wilson didn’t have much else to do but get himself to the kitchen, although reluctantly. At that moment, he hated everything; every person and light were getting under his skin, and even the sound of glasses clinking together pissed him off. Right before he reached the kitchen, the sound turned muffled, abandoned far away, and there was a sense of peace. Silence. And breaking through that silence, there was a sharp voice.

“I’m telling you, this is our chance.” The voice echoed from inside the kitchen.

It was unmistakably Rumlow’s. Of fucking course. The man was a goddamn ghost lurking around every room of the massive house. Sam was determined on turning back, until he heard another voice responding.

“Give me a few days-“

“I don’t have days to give you.”

It sounded like an altercation that had just recently began, right before it could get too heated.

“Is your lawyer not your personal bitch this time?” the other man accused Brock, “You not screwing him, too?”

“You want the money, right?”

The inciting question was followed by a tense pause. Therefore, Sam seized his chance and walked into the kitchen, hopefully being able to pretend he hadn’t heard any of it. He recognized the other man as uncle Milo, when the two angry men straightened themselves too quickly, in an attempt to dismiss their previous altercation.

Sam gave them an uninterested glance, “Am I interrupting?” he asked nonchalantly.

“What can we do for you, Samuel?” uncle Milo raised his voice with false friendliness.

“I’m just gonna make some coffee.” He replied, waltzing towards the busier side of the kitchen, further away from them.

Before he could even get a hold of the coffee maker, Rumlow’s forceful interruption made Sam stop in his tracks.

“Nicole can take care of that for you, right darling?” he called for the maid in a patronizing tone, “She’ll even pour it for you and everything.”

Sam glanced at the woman who was still putting the dishes away when it definitely was the end of her shift. It wasn’t just about Rumlow’s treatment of the staff, it was everything, from the way he put Sam in an uncomfortable situation, to the smirk on his face while doing so.

“No thank you, I got it.” Sam told the working lady.

“Actually, she’s got it,” Brock insisted, this time much more taunting, “that’s her job.”

Sam found himself cornered, and resigned, although not without showing his discontent. He pinched the bridge of his nose and agreed tiredly.

“Fine, uh… Can you just take it up to James’ room when you get the chance?” He forced a smile in Nicole’s direction, whom nodded politely, “Thank you.”

When he was leaving to return to Bucky, Sam took a turn on his heels at the last minute. His blood still boiling, he gave the two plotting men a small but clearly exaggerated reverence.

“Goodnight, Mr. Barnes.” He let uncle Milo know his anger wasn’t directed towards him, then spoke directly to Rumlow, “Fuck you, Brock.”

“Classy.” The appellee complained.

“You’re right.” He lied, then turned to the maid one more time, “Nicole, my apologies for such rudeness. On behalf of Mr. Rumlow, of course. I guess money can’t buy decency.”

After addressing that last insult to the obnoxious man, Wilson headed back to the cocktail gathering in order to retrieve his drunk friend.