#not to say it doesn't get focus the show was pretty damn good at spreading focus but it

[firebirdsdaughter]

Ya know…

… Now that I’m rewatching Leverage (the original, not the new one, I can’t watch the new one)…

I set Leverage apart from most of my Found Family Crime Etc. shows bc it’s much more… Heavily team-focused. While the others may feature a team, what I consider the officially ‘family’/the ‘main focus’ is usually at most three people. Leverage balances between five quite well and keeps up strong family ties and unique relationships between all of them that I don’t feel like it fits in the same class as the others, it’s got so much variety.

But more to the point, the relationship I find myself being particularly fascinated by on this go through is actually Nate and Eliot?? Like… Eliot’s loyalty to Nate and the different ways it manifests. You’ve got stuff like in the wedding episode, when Nate tells him to put the money into a different trunk than they planned, Eliot just double checks that he’s sure and then does it. Then you’ve got the moments where Eliot calls Nate out for stuff, or councils w/ Sophie about Nate’s behaviour, or how he’s the one that steps in when Nate and Sophie aren’t around. In the ep where Maggie’s arrested, he runs the rescue seamlessly and is the absolute picture of the competent, reliable lieutenant. Even just the way he’s often seen standing at Nate’s shoulder, as early as when they first pick up Sophie. Being the last to leave at the end of the ep w/ all the flashbacks about the dagger. Eliot used guns and killed for him and the rest of the team, and the fact that Nate’s the only one who knows and he keeps it a secret. Eliot being willing to kill again to keep Nate from doing it. Walks away from a football game to go help Parker bc Nate asked him to, right now. Eliot being the one to prompt Parker, then Hardison to go when Nate turns himself in.

Eliot is consistently portrayed as a very interesting, complex character w/ a checkered past who has an extensive reputation for being extensively dangerous. He doesn’t seem to have worked very long for anyone besides Moreau, some of them are even out for his blood. All in all not the kinda person that’s going to give out not just trust but loyalty easily—but he gives it to Nate (and yes, the whole team, but I’m being focused here); even after Nate hits his button of conning his team (though that’s probably foreshadowed by his eventually forgiving Sophie for the same), even when Nate’s being destructive. Eliot chains himself to Nate’s corner. And that’s just so interesting to me??

[hqcult]

EYELINER ## suna rintarou

trying to apply his eyeliner would've been easy if only rintarou can keep his hands to himself.

. tw smut, dom suna, established relationship, fingering, oral f receiving, edging, dirty talk, slight exhibitionism, mind break, unprotected sex, pwp . wc 4k

"ugh, he's gonna do it again." you mutter, eyeing suna's hand as it skims around your vanity desk for his favorite brand of eyeliner. for some reason everybody naturally finds themself drawn to suna rintarou, even if he was always so stoic and detached. 

you hate how girls would flock around him in parties as they stare at his kohl-lined eyes or at the painted black nail polish whenever you disappear to get a drink, knowing full well what kind of thoughts are running in their heads because you, for sure, thought of him the same way. alright. we get it. your boyfriend can be a hot mofo if he wants to be and his idgaf attitude just adds to the whole appeal.

we get it.

because you love him more than the stars in the galaxy combined, sometimes you can't help but feel jealous when people get too close to him. you really didn't want to be that type of girlfriend but sometimes you just like the assurance that he's all yours and nothing's wrong about that, right? plus, suna seems to exceptionally love when he gets you jealous and feral. he may always pretend otherwise but he loves staking his claim on you just as much as you liked being claimed by him. 

"are you done yet?" you say, staring at him from your bedroom door frame. 

atsumu was throwing a party tonight and you were all dressed up and ready to go, just patiently waiting for your boyfriend. 

suna replies a beat later, not bothering to meet your eyes. "just a minute."

you just want his attention all on you. you don't even want to go to this stupid party and see all these people shamelessly flirting with him even if you were right there by his side. you just want to have some alone time with suna rintarou. 

and you may or may not have just come up with an idea to make that happen.

"where's the eyeliner? the one i always use?"

"it's not there? i know i left it there. wait, let me look." 

you straighten up, walking towards him in your red leather mini skirt that can make any man's eyes sliver down to your ass. 

suna is sitting on your swivel chair, leaning back in a man spread as he clicks his tongue impatiently. he looks good even in a plain shirt and a pair of ripped jeans, his athletic and tall build enough to make any outfit look good.

"are you sure it's not in the drawers?"

"yes, i already checked."

you pout, making a show of muttering "i swore i threw it in here," under your breath as you maneuver around his spread legs to stand in between them, bending forward as you rummage around where he's already looked twice. 

you know he's staring at your ass. suna was never lowkey with how much he loves you in this leather mini-skirt. it's a miracle he hasn't landed a rough spank yet after getting a face full view of your ass. 

"wait a minute, maybe it rolled under my vanity."

so you get down on your knees, making sure your butt grazes the front of his jeans and just like you predicted, suna was half-hard already. 

it was truly such a stroke to your ego but you focus on the task at hand. 

you arched your ass up as you bend down to look for the little tube of eyeliner, slightly shaking it side to side as you "struggle" to get the eyeliner out from underneath the table. 

when your hands feel the cylindrical plastic, you retreat, sitting up straight again and proudly showing your boyfriend the eyeliner in your hands. 

you made sure your eyes were as huge and innocent as they look, kneeling in between his legs, shins tucked in and hands in your lap like a good girl. 

"i found it!"

you could've sworn you've seen his left eye twitch as he stared you down. you've been with him long enough to notice that look in his eyes. what are you playing at, huh?

you wait for him to speak but you can see all the gears turning in his head as he continues to stare at you. 

you wait anxiously for what he's going to do next. maybe he'll make you suck him off, or he'll throw you on the bed, or spank your ass because you were clearly teasing him—

"why don't you put my eyeliner on for me?"

you stand up, opening the tube in as he shuts his eyes. you try not to let your disappointment show too much. fine. maybe you can just have a quickie later while drunk in one of the rooms in the frat house. 

"why are you standing? come sit on my lap while you're doing it."

you were too busy removing the excess product off the brush to notice his eyes had taken a dark turn, contradicting the gentleness of his warm hands as it snakes around the back of your bare thighs pulling you closer. 

"no, i'll mess this—"

"i said sit."

delicious shivers create goosebumps on your skin. 

you know that tone. he only uses it when he's horny and he wants to bend you over. so maybe your game plan did work after all, yet you're staring at him dumbfounded with the eyeliner brush in midair. 

"come sit. i won't repeat myself." he leans back against the chair, manspreading as he waits for you. 

you scramble to straddle his strong thighs, muscles a manifestation of his hard work and dedication to volleyball. it was great to see him in action on the court but you'd rather he flexed those muscles when you ride his thighs. 

you cup his face, getting all up in his personal space to apply the eyeliner. 

you've long grown out of the honeymoon phase but why is your heart beating so damn fast right now?

your hands were shaking, perspiration was building up in your forehead, and you were holding your breath.

"are you nervous?"

"shut up, rin. 'm not."

when the brush first touches the lid of his eyes, a nimble finger traces the expanse of your whole slit over your panties. 

you pull the brush away, hissing in surprise. 

"rintarou—!"

"what?"

his sharp tone isn't what shut you up, it was the hand cupping your sex. the heel of his wrist slowly grazing against your sensitive clit. you drew a sharp breath. he smirks. 

"go on. continue, doll."

you want to hate the teasing lilt in his voice but you know deep down you love it.

you held your breath, diving in once again to the task at hand whilst trying to ready yourself from his ministrations. 

your hand slightly shakes as you start in the middle of his waterline, slowly tracing the bottom part of his eyes before making a small wing at the end. 

you've seen him apply his own eyeliner so much you have this down to an art form. everything would've been easy if only he kept his hands to himself. you try to ignore the digit still feathering over your slit or the hand wrapping around you to bunch your skirt up around the waist. 

for someone whose eyes are closed he's doing a damn good job navigating. but maybe that's how he shows you're his. he knows your body like the back of his hand, he knows what makes you tick, what makes you pant, what makes you moan in ecstasy. 

"i can never resist when you dress up all pretty for me. you know that, right, doll?"

applying the eyeliner to his waterline had been fairly easy. the lash line, on the other hand, proved difficult. especially when suna's upgraded from tracing your pussy lips to dangerously toying with the elastics of your panties, slipping his finger under before stretching it to slap your skin. 

as you try to connect the upper part of the eyeliner to the small wing you made from his waterline, you hissed. 

"why don’t you pull them down?"

he chuckles at your impatience and you slightly pull the brush away as he finally shoves the fabric down. you gasp when the cold hits your wet cunt. the scent of your essence unmistakable and you know suna's holding back from teasing. 

"as you wish, baby."

as suna grows bolder, the more your hands shook as you worked on his other eye. 

just as the tip of the brush touched his left eye's waterline, he pushed two fingers inside of you, dragging them against your walls in a lazy manner that was so distinctly him. he curls his fingers when he fucks it in before dragging them against your walls when he pulls it out, slightly scissoring you. he uses his other hand to draw figure 8’s against your clit. 

you swallow, trying your best to keep your hand still as a surgeon but you see the jagged little curves where your jolts of pleasure were too strong. 

you never should've provoked him to shove your underthings down, at least then you wouldn't have to suffer through his fingers. they were just so long, so thick, and so experienced when it comes to pleasuring you that you can never touch yourself anymore without craving suna's own fingers instead. 

you bit your lip, the hand that was cupping his jaw tightening as you try to fix the little mistakes here and there, hoping suna won't see them when he inspects your work in the mirror. it doesn't matter that he purposely set you up to fail. there'll be consequences if he isn't satisfied with what you did. may god have mercy on your horny little soul if rintarou thinks you were a bad girl. 

"you just hate losing, don't you?" you hiss, jolting when you feel him slap your cunt. your knees nearly buckled and you almost fell off the chair if not for his sturdy hand on the small of your back. 

"what are you talking about? i'm just fingering my girl like a winner."

just as you started outlining his left lash line, suna shoves a 3rd finger into your sopping cunt. loud squelching noises fill the room as your walls pulsate around his thick digits. the metal rings he wore brushing against your pussy lips as he fucks you knuckle-deep with three fingers. involuntarily, your own hips started moving to match his pace, shamelessly thrusting up everytime he shoves his fingers in.

he knows you so well. he doesn't even need to look at your face, he can feel you out by the noises you make. so good. so good. his fingers feel so good. fuck. fuck. fuck.

until he pulls them out of your sopping pussy. 

"rin," you whine, folding into his shoulder as you struggle to balance your kneeling self on the chair. you blindly reach down for his hand, urging him to put his fingers back in. "rin, please don't stop. please please please—”

"i told you to put my eyeliner, not fuck yourself on my fingers," he leans back on the chair, eyes still shut close while licking his digits clean. 

your lips press into a thin line, eyes dilated as a whine starts to threaten to pass your lips. you're sick of whatever game this is, you just want him to fuck you silly already! but as if sensing your thoughts, suna clicks his tongue and speaks. "hurry it up. we have a party to get to."

without his fingers to plug your cunny, your slick runs down the insides of your thighs. it's slow descent against your skin making goosebumps run up your arms, shivering as the cold hits your bare cunt. 

suna must've known your anguish, he could feel his jeans getting soaked but he didn't care and you wish to punch that smug smirk off his pretty face. 

your fingers stilled when you cupped his cheeks and leaned in to start applying a thin stroke of eyeliner to his water line. with a simple flick of the wrist you ended it with a little wing, just like how your boyfriend likes it. now, you just have to do his lash line and—

you let out an audible gasp when his fingers started feeling around your thighs, having an inkling idea of what he's tryna look for. true to what you expected, he traces the line of your dripping slick up your inner thighs until his fingers graze your nether lips, successfully collecting your essence. 

you stare entranced when suna brings them up to his lips, eyebrows furrowed and almost moaning aloud because of your taste. the fact that his eyes are closed made you want him even more. his fingers pop out of his mouth, but you get the feeling it wasn't enough. he wants more. suna wants you under his mercy. he wants to taste and ruin you until you're fucked out and lying in a pretty mess on the bed sheets. 

"so fucking sweet, my baby. you're this desperate for me? for my fingers?"

you snapped. you threw the makeup elsewhere in the room (though not before screwing it shut) before diving down to kiss him on the lips. all lust-filled and rough as you both channel the desires you have for each other. maybe suna was at his tipping point too, noting that he doesn't even bother to push you away. 

with his strong arms he picks you up and you wrap your legs around his torso, never breaking the kiss before literally throwing you down on the bed, knocking the air out your lungs. 

"rin!"

"whoops."

he's kneeling before the bed, the sheets ruffling when he pulls you to the edge by your calves, hot breath against your sex making you squirm. 

"my pretty thing," the kitten lick against your pussy drove you crazy, desperately bucking your hips up and suna chuckles condescendingly. "but such a bad fuckin' girl, aren't ya?"

you yelp when he slaps the side of your thigh. 

"who said you could kiss me?"

he pinches your clit hard as he enters your line of sight. suna has never seen you this pretty and desperate for him before. sweat making your skin glow, lips raw from your biting, eyes conveying your every lust-filled thought about him. the sight of you so riled up makes his dick ache and he wants so badly to fuck you already but bad girls don't get what they want just yet. you have to earn it. 

"i asked you a question. who the fuck told you that you could fucking kiss me?" the acid in his voice contrasts the gentle way he caresses the spot on your thigh where he had hit you. 

"no one."

you sob in pleasure when his hot tongue licks a stripe up your pussy before suckling on your clit. once. twice. sucking particularly hard on the third. before running his tongue swiftly over the bundle of nerves and kitten licking his way down your pussy lips. your thighs were shaking so hard he had to pin them down. he knows it's a sign that you're close, not that he's surprised, he's been stimulating your body for minutes now it was amazing you haven't cummed yet. 

but then he stops.

a thread of your slick dribbling down his chin as those cat eyes of his stare you down. he watches, enchanted by how your chest rises and falls. another sweet release he snatched away from you.

"i thought so. what does that make you?"

amazing how he manages to sound so normal, conversational even while he's literally edging you like there's no tomorrow. what do you expect? it's his favorite punishment. he gets to see you sob and beg for him like there's nothing in your mind but his cock and he loves it so much. loves seeing you bend and break for him to please. 

you sniffle, arm coming up to hide the frustrated tears in your eyes. "been… been a bad girl."

a hand slaps your thighs, brutal. eyes on rintarou when answering his questions. your eyes shoot up. 

"and who's bad girl have you been?"

"yours."

this time he reaches forward to tweak your pebbled nipples. the sudden cold of the pads of his fingers making you gasp and spasm. your boyfriend straddles you and you shiver at the head of his glistening cock leaving trails on top of your thighs. but he doesn't make another move. when you sneakily try wiggling your hips for your sex to graze his dick, he slapped your thigh without holding back. you doubt it won't start leaving a handprint. you wait with bated breath when he grabs hold of his cock, the head angry and dripping, the only proof of his also growing desire for you. 

when he directs the head for it to graze your nether lips, you almost cried another fresh batch of tears. his hand quickly brushes up to wipe it away, though not before feeling his dick twitch. you know how much he loves seeing you cry from the overwhelming pleasure he can give you. 

"last time i checked, my name isn't yours. didn't i tell you to answer in full sentences when i'm fucki—"

"suna! suna rintarou! i've been sun-suna rintarou's bad girl!"

suna ducks to mark your neck and torso. he feels the goosebumps forming on your body. the heat enveloping the two of you as you both quickly shed any remaining pieces of clothing. he kisses you. sloppy. nothing but teeth clashing and tongues fighting for dominance as he cradles your face with his big hands, feeling the mushroom head of his cock grazing your thighs.

usually he'd appreciate you not cutting him off mid-sentence but he too has reached his own limits and right now all he can think about is drilling you to the mattress. "rin, please!" you sob, arms wrapping around his neck as you nuzzle your face into the crook of his neck.

"shh. yes, doll. i hear ya." 

you were dripping wet enough that all it took is one deep thrust for him to bottom-out. usually you're quite hesitant when rintarou's rawing you but at this point right now, you doubt fucking with a condom would've felt this good. no thin plastic whatsoever that's separating you from him. when he starts to move, you both moan in ecstasy. the bed creaking under the weight of you both as he pistons his dick inside. "you feel so good, doll. so fucking wet and tight. look how wet you are. dripping for my cock, huh? this all for me? answer me!"

you hardly register his voice, the pleasure you've been craving since minutes ago now being crashed down upon you. it's overwhelming and you don't want it any other way. 

"yes," you pant. the tears still leaking from your eyes as you claw at his biceps. "yes. all-all for you, r-rin! just for you!"

he stubbornly keeps hitting the spot that'll make you keen and whine, suna forcing your hips down and sitting up with his palms at the sides of your head. he wants to see you come undone, he'd love to grab his phone and make this memory permanent but he doubts his camera can capture the real deal. your moans and pleas reaching his ears, spurring him on, the beautiful way your back arches of the mattress, the way you physically shook in pleasure and you screamed and worshipped his name.

"rin! oh my god, rin! fuck. 'm close," your voice breaks, hiccuping from the onslaught of tears you can't hold back as blinding pleasure grips you in a tight vice.

suna comes down to snake his arms around you, pulling you infinitely closer as one of his hands supports your lower back, manually moving your hips to match his frantic thrusts. "why you crying? bad girls should be tough, right? aren't—shit—aren't you a bad girl? hmm? bad girls like you shouldn't be crying."

you shake your head, looking pretty and desperate as you meet his eyes. "no, i'm not a bad—"

"yes. you are," you groan, his thrusts particularly hard to shut you up and make a point. "you're a very, very bad girl. you don't listen to me at all. bad girls don't even deserve to cum."

"no! no! rin, please!" you say, a blubbering mess as you bury your forehead into his neck, licking and suckling at his skin to get in his good side. "i'll be good. i promise! please, let me cum. rin! please, i'll be good. i'll be good! only your good—ah."

"you fucking bet you're my good girl," he hissed, biting your shoulder before moaning, pitched and wanton as it threatens to snap the stretched cord inside of you. but not yet. you can't. not unless he says so. "it's me that's making you feel this good. this is my pussy. my plaything. repeat what i said—doll! repeat what i said."

you cried, screaming in frustration as his cock stills inside of you and you know he won't move until you oblige. "this is…" you hiccup. "rin-rintarou's pu-pussy. i'm rintarou's play-plaything."

"what was that?" he asks, hips starting to rut against you again in full force. the headboard violently hitting the walls. when your hands scramble to cling onto something, you accidentally shove something off the bed but you couldn't care less. "louder, doll. i want the whole fucking neighborhood to hear you."

"this is rintarou's pussy. i'm rintarou's plaything." you say in your normal speaking voice, albeit shaky and almost incomprehensible as he holds you firm against him, his cock embedding it's shape and size into your sopping walls.

"louder!"

he hoists you up into a sitting position, his hips fucking up towards you and you only realize he did it when you see the window situated meters behind you two. curtains-drawn, open for the night breeze to billow in. he wasn't kidding. suna rintarou wants the neighbors to hear how good you're getting rawed. he wasn't kidding. he was not kidding.

"go on," he whispers, breathy and teasing. "you'll do it. you're a good girl for me arentcha?"

fuck. "this is rintarou's pussy! i'm rintarou's plaything!"

he licks a stripe up your neck, hands coming around your neck as he whispers into your ear the words you've been dying to hear. "cum, baby."

and your orgasm surges through your whole body in violent jolts, thick ropes of cum squirting out your pussy as you distantly hear him groaning, your walls tightening and sucking him in with every aggressive thrust. rintarou quickly finishes after you, teeth embedding themselves into your shoulder as he groans. you knew bruises will form and you're going to be sore as a bitch but you don't fucking care.

"rin, i love you." you say, grabbing a hold of his face as you stare deep into his eyes. and you don't understand why there's doubt clouding in your head when he takes a beat later to answer, when really, he just can't help the sudden wave of emotions festering in his stomach as he meets the gravity of your gaze. the love and devotion in your eyes as he can only hope that he could translate his emotions through his eyes, too.

he smiles, leaning in to give you a kiss. it's sweet and gentle, completely unlike the one he gave you a few minutes ago when in the throes of pleasure. no. you feel every bit of his love for you in this one kiss and you don't know why you ever doubted yourself, doubted him. you've been together for so long and you're it for him. 

"i love you, too."

but leave it to your darling rintarou to ruin the moment.

"but you'll never apply my eyeliner ever again."

. a/n » this was so self-indulgent im sorry lmao

[xpeachesncream]

bands | thirteen

[ series masterlist ]

summary: jeon jungkook has it all: the looks, the fame, the money, the women. being considered the sexiest man in the industry, he finds no complaints about the way his life is going nor does he find any reason to apologize for the way he approaches it. he is a force to be reckoned with - until he meets you.

pairing: stripper!reader x idol!jjk

genre: (18+) strip club/nightlife au, post grad au | fluff, angst, smut

words: 3.9k

warnings: cussing, mature language/implied sexual content, slight degradation, trouble stirring behind the scenes if you squint, yeonjun and soobin (txt) make an appearance but also as reg 18 yr olds lol

tags: @brightcolorsoffendme​ @min-nicoleee​ @eggbutnotyolk​ @ra-mun-e @miinoongi​ @jimidol​ @ppeachyttae​ @thebeebi​ @bluesharksandfish​ @kooafraid​ @liriaus​ @thisartemisnevermisses​ @ggukkieland​ @preciouschimine​ @sunniejinnie​ @cypheruby​ @cyb3rbab3​ @masterlists101​ @awhnamjoon​ @redhedhoseok​ @wooya1224​ @taeismydeath @jikookiekosmos​ @un2-verse​ @aynsx​ @wearenot7withu​ (please message me if you would like to be added to the taglist!)

"BTS' Jeon Jungkook rumored to be dating stripper from nightclub!"

"Jungkook is no longer single, ladies!"

"Jeon Jungkook is dating a stripper? Why the hell is he doing that?"

"Who the hell does she think she is? I bet she's not even pretty."

"Jungkook fell for a stripper? Out of all people? Damn, and I thought he was better than that."

Jungkook has been tired, the rumors constantly being spread day in and day out. But, it still didn't mean he was gonna say shit to prove himself to people out there. He didn't need to give anybody answers. Hell, this was strictly between you and him and that's how he wants to keep it.

Fuck every single one of you who didn't wanna be behind him and support him. Don't even think about calling yourself a fan of his if that's your mindset.

He could truly care less. He was happy and he felt ten times better than he has in a really long time. It's unfortunate how people love to stay narrow minded. The only thing that bothered him was the fact that it was so unfair for you - how they stuck to that stripper image, rather than really getting to know you beneath the surface.

But it's not like anyone else deserved to know the real you, not after all this shit. And he was gonna keep it that way, and protect you.

"Hey, don't listen to any of that shit, okay?" Jungkook says as he meets you in your car in the BigHit building garage. "None of that matters to me."

"I know, but Kook." You look at him. "Your career, BigHit literally might not even want me here and-and—"

"Then I'll make sure they understand it's not an issue, because it's really fucking not." He says, getting irritated only at the thought of the company giving him issues over you. He watches as you slightly frown, causing him to sigh and soften his own facial expression. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get worked up like that. It's just annoying how people are narrow-minded. This has absolutely nothing to do with you." You give him a small smile. "Come on, I'll walk you." You silently nod and hop out of your car. You follow beside him, your stomach in knots having to meet with their performance director. This meant you'd also most likely run into the rest of Bangtan.

In which happens to turn true pretty quickly.

"Jungkookie!" Hoseok says loudly down the hallway as he approaches the both of you. He does nothing besides smile, curiosity definitely filling his eyes.

"This is Y/N. Y/N, Hoseok hyung." He holds out his hand for you to shake, his head tilting ever so slightly because you know he's familiar with your face. He's just trying to remember from where. Or, he has recognized you, but he's trying his hardest not to say anything.

Cause they have seen all of you, especially in that fishnet bodysuit.

"Hi! Nice to meet you! You can call me Hobi for short. Are you meeting with someone?" You nod.

"Yeah." Is all you can reply with as you shyly tuck a strand of hair behind your ear.

"Nice, goodluck!"

"Is everyone else here?" Jungkook asks, making Hobi nod.

"Yeah, but they're still running through some stuff in the dance studio. I just ran off to take a break."

"Okay." Jungkook looks at you. "Follow me, he's in one of the private studio rooms." You both part ways from Hoseok, the need to clutch onto Jungkook's arm immensely strong right now. You hold yourself off though, because even with passing a few female staff members, you catch them looking at you oddly with the way you're walking side by side with Jungkook.

Nope. Don't even think about it, Y/N. It doesn't matter.

Jungkook knocks softly on a door, the middle of it being made up of entirely frosted glass so it's difficult to see inside. Their performance director opens the door swiftly and welcomes you in with a warm smile, stepping aside to let you in.

"I've got it from here, Jungkookie. Thank you." Jungkook nods but tries to peek through the door to get one last glimpse of your face before he shuts it fully. "How are you doing, Y/N?" He sits in front of you, leaning onto his knees with his hands fully clasped together.

"I'm good. How are you?"

"Good, tired." He chuckles. "Thanks for taking my call earlier and for meeting at such short notice on a weekend. I had a couple of things come up and didn't want to push things off until later." You smile.

"It's no problem."

"Jungkook tells me a lot about you."

"Does he now?" You chuckle and tilt your head to the side.

"Says you're a really good person. Super hardworking. Told me a little bit about your situation with your brother."

"Mmyeah, it's a little complicated."

"It's alright, no need to get into the details." He smiles before letting out a small sigh. "It's incredibly rare for me to hear Jungkook speak like that. In general. He's usually very closed off, doesn't like to let people in much. He really respects you, you know? Cares about you a whole lot." You slightly blush.

"I'm still getting used to it." He chuckled.

"Look, I know you've been worrying because of where you've been and all that, but I want to reassure you that none of it matters. I don't like to focus on all that. You're here as you, not her." He says, putting another pronoun to your stripper persona.

"Thank you, I appreciate it." He nods. There's a small pause before he begins to speak again.

"I could really use some help around here if you're still interested? The boys are becoming a lot for me to handle."

"Ah-uh, yeah! Of course I am." You found yourself stuttering at the sudden offer. Was this fucking real?! "But, you are aware of where me and Jungkook are at, right?" You ask, trying to be completely transparent and honest about their relationship. He nods and waves his hand out.

"As long as you keep it professional here, right?" You nod.

"Right."

"Come, let me show you around really quickly and have you formally meet the boys." You swallowed the lump in your throat. Fucking great. He definitely didn't know they've all seen your titties and pussy out during Yoongi's birthday, and now here you were - about to meet them again in this environment. Hobi was awkward enough even though he tried not to be.

Surprisingly, Jungkook wasn't waiting outside in the hallway like you thought he would be, but the tour commences and the PD is taking you around pretty quickly. You feel even more awkward and somewhat alone [even though you weren't] without Jungkook nearby, but you chug along and say your hello's to the people you're introduced to. He finally brings you into the dance studio, where there's loud ass music blasting, Jungkook, the boys and some backup dancers in front of the mirrors fooling around.

"Aye boys, come here real quick." You and Jimin lock eyes and your body suddenly gets tense. The room feels 10x hotter than it already is, especially when he slowly walks over and clenches his jaw. He is literally seeping with hate right now, maybe actually disgust, and he doesn't even try to hide it. Most of them for sure recognize you, but they seem to brush it off and give you a big wave/smile anyway.

"Last, that's Jimin - Jimin, Y/N." You give Jimin a fake smile, and the only thing his ass can reciprocate is the smallest, tight-lipped smile you have ever seen. You've never even seen your mom do that when she got mad or upset with you.

"Hi." Is all you can say.

"Sup." He looks at you before turning on his heel and walking away.

"Ooookay?" Namjoon furrows his brows as he watches Jimin walk away so rudely. "The hell was that about?"

"I knew that was Kookie's girlfriend! Maybe Jiminie remembers seeing her titties and shit too, needs to walk away before he gets his ass beat by him." Yoongi says lowly behind Namjoon.

"Yeah, like you're any better." Namjoon says, looking at Yoongi weirdly.

"I mean, we did see her practically naked." Jin says, chiming into the discussion.

"I touched her." Yoongi's mouth slightly hangs down. "I touched her."

"Go ahead, say it louder so Kookie can hear you." Jin nods sarcastically. "Go, say it!"

"No, stop." Yoongi's cheeks turn red while shaking his head and laughing. "He'll literally launch me out the window with one hand."

"Good."

"You asked for her to sit on your lap too, bro!"

"I was joking, and it's not like she did it anyway!"

"Whatever, I'm keeping my birthday deep in my memory storage."

"Clean slate for her so it should be for you too, my guy." Namjoon says as he has enough of their conversation.

You look at Jungkook who is silently standing there, looking like a big dork with a huge smile on his face and his thumbs up. You give him the tiniest nod before proceeding to follow the PD out.

"So?!" Jungkook dashes to meet you in their waiting room area, where an abnormally large picture of Jimin posing oddly hung up.

"He said he'll send me all the info and papers and stuff!" You respond excitedly as Kook hugs you and quickly swings you around.

"See, I knew it would work out!" He puts you down. "Are you gonna tell Kai?" You shook your head.

"Not today at least, it's his birthday and I don't wanna take away from that. It's his day." Jungkook smiles at you.

"Text me when you've picked him up? I should be home by then."

"Okay." You blush and back away, making Jungkook look at you with confusion. "I have to keep it professional here, duh."

"Ah I see." He chuckles. "That won't last very long."

"Jungkook." You whine.

"There's a lot of private rooms here and—"

"I'm not listening, sorry. I think Kai is suddenly calling me." You cover your ears as you begin to walk away, giving him one last smile before leaving him to the rest of rehearsals and whatever else they're doing. He laughs to himself as he waves you off, excited to get through the day so he can just spend time with you and Kai.

As the hours go on and it's about time for you to pick Kai up, you quickly stop by the store because you're a procrastinator and didn't buy Kai's birthday gift any earlier. You felt bad you weren't able to find the shoes he wanted, but you at least snagged the video game he had been talking about for a couple of days now. Before walking into the arcade, you made sure to write your birthday card and slip some more money into it before shoving it in your bag to give to him later.

"Your pretty sister is here." Yeonjun grabs Kai by the shoulder as he finishes up a game.

"Yeah, and you're too young for her."

"Age is nothing but a number. It's only like.. 6 years apart."

"Besides, she's taken, dude. Sorry." Kai snorts as he watches Yeonjun's smile fade. "You would have never had the chance."

"You're mean."

"I'm mean, or you just have really high, unrealistic expectations?" The rest of their friends laugh as they follow Kai over to you.

"Hey!" You smile at all his friends.

"Hiiiiii Y/N." They all say in unison, some waving in awe, while the others shyly dug their hands into their pockets. "Birthday boy, you all good to go? Got some good Loco Moco waiting for you."

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Happy birthday again, Kai! Get online later!" Soobin yells out.

"Yeah, yeah." He says, waving them off as he follows you out to your car.

"You guys run through the entire arcade?" Kai laughs.

"Pretty much." He sinks into his seat, legs damn near touching the glove compartment with how long he is. "I'm honestly so excited for Loco Moco. It's been years!"

"It has not been that long." You laughed.

"You're right, it's been months." Kai looks out the window. "Wait, you're passing the road to get to our go-to shop though?"

"Cause I found a better place."

"How is there a better place when that one was already supreme?!"

"Hey, trust me on this okay?" You laugh. Kai starts telling you about his day and how so many people he knew from school had been messaging him happy birthday. He truly looked his happiest today and it was all you could ask for. Though at the same time, your heart slightly sank at the fact that he'd be going off to uni soon and staying at the dorms. He was just growing up way too fast, and you wanted to spend as much time as you could with him now before he was too occupied being a college boy.

You slipped yourself past Jungkook's security, parking in the one guest spot they have in the garage that's closest to the elevator. Kai doesn't really question it and hops out anyway, his hands in his pockets as he follows you into the elevator and onto Jungkook's floor.

"You ready, kid?"

"Is this some like, Michelin Star Loco Moco restaurant?"

"Ah, I guess you could say that." You knocked on the door, hearing music playing in the background. Jungkook opens the door and Kai's eyes widen.

"Oh shit, that's Jungkook?" Kook laughs and steps aside to let you both in. "Sis why—what—how come you didn't tell me we were seeing your boyfriend? I look like a mess!" He says lowly.

"You don't!"

"Hey Kai! Happy Birthday!" Jungkook says smiling, making Kai actually blush. He's cheeks are tinted with a rosy color and he suddenly gets all shy.

"Thanks."

"Your brother's tall." Jungkook looks at him up and down.

"Looking at an 18 year old 6 footer."

"Must be nice."

"Go sit." Kai silently nods as he sits awkwardly on Kook's couch, while you go and check in on him in the kitchen.

"Is he always that shy?"

"No. Just with you, apparently. He's not even that shy around girls." You chuckle as he places a quick kiss on your head. "Need my help?" You still ask even though the plates are neatly prepared already.

"Not really." He smiles down at you. "You hungry though?"

"Starving, actually." Your eyes light up at the plates. "Ouuuuuu, yum."

"Honestly, I think this batch might be better than my first."

"Still honored to be your guinea pig." You carry a plate over to Jungkook's coffee table in the living room.

"Oh shit, that looks amazing." Kai says, slipping himself down from the couch to the floor so he could get a good whiff of the plate. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Jungkook hands you the remote before walking into his room. "Pick something."

"Here, birthday boy. Help me choose."

"Let's watch Soul on Disney+." At this point, Jungkook comes out of his room with a wrapped present, his eyes locked on the TV.

"Ooh, I keep seeing this everywhere! Niceeeee." Jungkook says, smiling with Kai nodding and already digging into his plate. "By the way, this is for you." You shoot him a look as he sits on the floor by you, watching as Kai unwraps the present. Kai's eyes light up as he sees a shoebox underneath the wrapping, quickly flipping the lid open to reveal those blue Air Jordans he wanted.

"Kook?!" You say lowly, making him smile at you and gently pinch your side.

"Holy shit!" He holds out a shoe, only for him to immediately shake his head and close the box again. "Jungkook, I can't take this." Kai says.

"No, it's your birthday."

"Yeah, but isn't this expensive? You've already done so much for me and my sister, I-I don't want to—"

"Kai, it's cool. If it's one thing you can do to repay me, it's to take my present." You literally want to cry at how sweet Jungkook is being with your brother. He had been good to you, no doubt, but this was one thing you didn't expect from him at all. Quite frankly, you had forgotten you mentioned the shoes to him. The fact that he actually remembered and kept his word.

"Okay." Kai says, gently setting the box down aside before looking at Jungkook with a small smile on his face. "Thank you. I really appreciate it. Like, even with the food and everything. It means a lot to me."

"You're welcome." You give him a soft smile before digging into your food while Soul was already off to a start. Kai and Jungkook devour their food together, with you following shortly behind as Jungkook brings over a small ice cream cake from his fridge for Kai to blow his candles on. After the boys had helped themselves to a good serving of the cake, they started getting hyper and pulled up Smash Bros on Kook's Nintendo Switch [as if Kai hadn't played enough games today]. It started to get intense; the boys jumping and yelling everywhere, bouncing off of the walls, with you getting pulled into the competition every now and then. Even though you knew you'd lost over and over again, you happily joined in anyway, seeing how excited your brother was - plus, it was always a bonus to hear Jungkook's loudly obnoxious, nerdy laugh.

"I WIN!"

"Hey, hey, hey. I let you win because it's your birthday." Jungkook said, making Kai laugh as he crashed to the floor.

"Sure." Kai huffed and puffed. "Crap, I'm tired. What time is it?"

"Almost midnight. We should start heading out, bubba." You patted Kai's chest gently.

"What? No, it's late. Why don't you two just stay here?" You suddenly remembered you've had Kai's shit in your trunk since you dropped him off at Yeonjun's this morning. You didn't have any change of clothes, but that could easily be fixed with Jungkook's closet.

"Only if the queen wants, she's driving."

"It's late, baby." Jungkook says to you softly. "No way I'm letting you two head out there."

"Okay." You give him a small smile before handing your keys. "Can you do me a favor?" He chuckles.

"What is it?"

"Kai's duffle bag is in my trunk." He nods and takes your keys.

"I got it. Kai, you can take the guest room or my office room." Jungkook says with his 3-bedroom apartment having ass. "I have my computer in my office room though, and a pull out bed. I don't know how comfy you'll be."

"It's cool, I'll just take your guest room. I always bring my laptop and switch whenever I sleep at my sister's." Kai says getting up. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Jungkook says, toothlessly smiling at the both of you, completely endeared at how alike you two were - even down to the fact that you both said thank you for every little thing. If this was a result of Kai being close to you and having you as pretty much his mother figure, then Jungkook wouldn't know what to do with his feelings. He felt butterflies every time he thought about how cute and sweet you were, and he was always excited to be around you.

Jungkook does a quick jog to your car, grabbing Kai's Nike duffle from your trunk before jogging back to the elevator and back to his apartment. He walks in to see Kai helping you clean up the remaining dishes in the sink, tidying the rest of the things in his kitchen.

"Thank you." Jungkook says himself, a little unfamiliar with saying such a thing to be completely honest.

"You're welcome." You say softly, wiping your hands on his hand towel. "Off to bed, or are you gonna go online with your friends?"

"I'll see what they're up to, but I'm pretty beat. Today was fun." Kai smiles at the both of you. "I really appreciate it." You ruffle his hair a bit before gently pushing him towards his bedroom for the night.

"Bathroom's right over there, help yourself to anything you need."

"Don't stay up too late."

"Only if you aren't too loud." You gasp while Jungkook laughs out loud.

"Kai!"

"Hey, I'm just being honest. Please remember that I'm right in this room."

"Oh my god, go to bed." You shove him inside the room and shut his door. "Don't even say a word." You look at Jungkook shyly as you hurriedly brush past him to get into his room - even though Jungkook is literally right behind you with those long ass legs of his, making every stride so much easier for him to catch up to you.

"What's your outfit of choice tonight, pretty lady?" He shuts his door behind him as you start to make your way into his closet.

"Hm, I'll just wear this plain black--" You unfold it. "Balenciaga? Okay, I definitely can't just wear this to sleep."

"Why not?"

"Because this is like, name brand and everything."

"So?" He shrugs. "Just wear it, babygirl. It's not gonna make much of a difference, you're wearing it either way." You do a slight pout before you start to slip out of your clothes to get into his shirt. You make his way to his bathroom to take a little tinkle when you notice another toothbrush sitting next to his. A pink toothbrush, next to his blue one.

"Why do you have two toothbrushes?" You wash your hands as he comes in to the bathroom to start getting ready for bed.

"That's yours." Your eyes light up at his statement.

"Mine?"

"I figured since you'd be over more, it'd be easier for you." He furrows his brows lightly. "Unless.. you didn't want--" You press a kiss against his lips, his hands resting on your arms to keep you close.

"No, I did want that. Thank you."

"Of course, baby." He pecks your forehead.

"By the way, way to make me look like such a bad sister!" You say as you start getting your toothbrush ready.

"Why? The shoes?"

"The shoes, the Loco Moco, the games, the ice cream cake." You laughed. "I literally got him a video game and some money."

"I mean, he is turning 18. I wanted to help make it as memorable as possible."

"I appreciate you a lot. Really."

"I appreciate you too." Your eyes widen as you brush your teeth.

"Waaaaow, say thaht wun mohr tiyme." You say, pulling a Jungkook while brushing your teeth.

"Eye apprushiate yoh toh." You giggle. The both of you finish getting ready for bed before slipping into his warm sheets. Jungkook never goes to sleep early, however, he makes sure all the lights are off and that the show he's watching isn't too loud. You have no idea what's going on in his show, but you lay on his chest to watch for a little bit until you feel yourself getting a little more sleepy. He's holding you close, his hand brushing through your hair softly, causing tingles to ripple through your body.

"Kook."

"Yes, baby?"

"You make me happy." You say sleepily as you hung him tighter. He smiles down at you, your eyes now shut close as you slowly start to drift into a deep sleep. He presses a light kiss against your head, fingers still in your hair.

"You make me happy too, sweetheart."

[slashingdisneypasta]

Human!Freddy Krueger x Fem!Reader || Oneshot

Title: What The Fuck Now, Freddy!?

Notes:

This is not inherently romantic, at all. Or sexual. Just... Freddy being a bastard, and you are caught in the crosshairs- and are forever linked with him because of it.

I've been listening to Lizzie, a lot lately- and this is inspired by 'What The Fuck Now, Lizzie!?'

Also- I'm thinking this will have a part 2. Due to the ending not being quite enough. Maybe a part for the court proceedings!

Plot: Many will know the story of that terrible day Krueger essentially snapped- killing his wife, Loretta Krueger. She saw the basement, they say, and he didn't like that. Their daughter saw the whole thing and suffered a traumatic response to seeing the sight of her mother, strangled to death, by her father- and forgot the whole thing.

But if she were to remember something, one day.

She may remember something no one knows about that day, aside from Freddy himself.

She may remember, that someone else was there.

She may remember you.

//

Alternatively- you're being blackmailed by Freddy who found out you, another supposedly Plain Jane in Loretta's 'mothers club', is cheating on your husband and calls you up to help deal with the mess he made. Because who else did he have?

Warnings: Okay lemme see, its basically a potluck of triggers. Hm. Murder, swearing, cheating (You, on your husband. Not with Freddy), getting rid of a body, a child gets traumatised (Obviously, Kathy/Maggie), Freddy himself, mention of the basement and all that entails, reader with a very questionable moral compass. Look, I think if you can watch Freddy's Dead, you're good here.

I'm just heading out the door, to go grocery shopping - or, at least, that's the story I tell my husband. When really I don't do the grocery shop until the day after tomorrow. He never notices... - when the phone rings. By very nearly tripping over my feet in my endeavour to catch it before the ringing stops, I manage pick up the phone with very little injury besides an achy, slightly twisted ankle. "Hi! Hi, sorry, I'm here. Hello?"

Pouting, I sit down at the kitchen table; Rubbing my poor ankle to sooth the pain, which would soon diminish anyway. Still- I'm sorry, ankle. I'll try to chill.

When the voice on the other end reveals who it is who's called the house, I lose all need to be pleasant. Damn. I really need to memorise this goddamn number... so I can not answer it. "Whatcha wearin'?"

"Thank god Harrison didn't answer this, you fuck." I deeply roll my eyes. Thank god Har's out. No, this is not my mister, not the man I was going to meet just now- but its bad, enough. In an entirely different way. Its stupid, blackmailing, son of a... hundred maniacs. "What do you want?"

"What a way to answer the phone, Y/N. Gee, seems like every time I we talk, I'm learning how you really aren't in the right place, are you? Cheating on your poor husband, swearing... These aren't really signs of the perfect suburban house wife, is it?" Gritting my teeth, I keep from lashing out. I've learned, if you stay real quiet, Freddy wont have anything to pull from and will get bored quick. "Why so silent, hm?"

"... " Oh, fuck me. I cant help it. "Wondering where you get off judging me on being 'suburban', actually."

"Anywhere I like, thanks."

Oh... oh. Gross?

He doesn't see the disgust tearing my face into two perfect halves right now, but my silence must be enough as he laughs. The sound is directly into the phone, and harsh on my poor eardrums. Ugh... "Oh for gods sake... What are we? Fourteen years old?? Come on- why'd you call?"

"Uhhhh... " Quickly, midway through that drawn out 'um' sound, Freddy's voice transitions, and gets a whole lot darker. Something deep in his chest dislodging, to make it so. Perhaps, his heart. "Well... you might wanna come and see for yourself."

"Uh, I don't think so. I have somewhere to be right now- "

"Oh well you don't, anymore." And its clear what he isn't saying- or else I'll tell Harrison about Carter and set your life on fire. "Tell your boy toy you're takin' a reign check for the day. I think you'll last. In fact... after you come over here, you might be out of the game for a couple a hours at least- maybe days."

Hold on, hold on Freddy what the fuck- "What!?"

"... Believe it or not, I didn't actually mean for that one."

Moron.

~

Nevertheless, no matter how just... off setting, Freddy is, I had to when he asked. I had to jump when he said so.

Because if not, then he would tear my life apart.

So here I am, about to knock on that big red door he lives behind, wondering what I'm walking into. Where's Loretta? Where's Kathy? How long will the visit be? I told Carter I'd be an hour or two late- any longer and I wont see him at all today. Which would absolutely suck.

Just after my knuckles come down on the wood the first time, a hand comes down on my shoulder and I immediately jump out of my skin... then slowly look around.

There's Freddy, a cheeky grin on his face. It does nothing to set my nerves at ease. "Ugh... Why are you out here?"

"We're going to the backyard. Lets go." Taking me by the shoulders, he marches me around the side of the house, instead of through it for some reason, and into the familiar backyard. I've been here numerous times, as Loretta likes to hold our club meetings here - Barbecue's, tea's... that sort of thing. Just to let the kids play together and so the adults can enjoy some adult conversation. Its a nice yard... but depending on what her horrid husband is about to show me, it may not be considered as such anymore... - , but I'm now starting to develop a sick feeling in my stomach.

Honestly- I don't know much about Freddy at all. Yes, I went to school with him, but that doesn't mean much when he was a freaky loner kid the whole time. I remember he killed the class hamster once- that's about the only splash he ever made in the news pool; But it definitely stuck.

Yes, Loretta cleaned up his image a fair bit since getting married, but now he's blackmailing me, and as far as I know I'm now alone with him.

Suspicious of him suddenly, I slip out of his grip with a dirty look flashed his way. Don't touch me.

He just rolls his eyes, leading me around some hedges.

And then everything stops.

Him, me, the air; The air around me, the breeze, the breath in my throat.

There lays Loretta, on the ground. If I was really really naïve, I could imagine she were sleeping... or passed out, at least, due to the way she's sprawled out. No one would lay down like that willingly.

But... her eyes are open.

For a moment I'm tempted to kneel down; Take a closer look. Find out how, myself. Is she bleeding anywhere that I cant see now? Are her lips turning blue? If I moved some short red hair out of the way- would their be marks on her neck yet?

But then I come to my senses...

And freak. The fuck. O u t.

"What, the fuck, did you do!?" I whip around, looking at Freddy now which entirely new eyes. I mean, before I sure wasn't fond- but now I'm filled with something new, looking at him. Something a lot worse, something that makes me want to run. Run, and hide, and stay there.

And all these, even though he hasn't really changed. He still wears a mischievous smirk, stony blue eyes eating up my reactions... like always. But this time its just so so much worse. "Made some dead weight- now you're gonna help me get rid of it. So!" Finally, though its been only a matter of seconds, he turns his gaze off of me and I'm glad. That gaze is far too heavy. "Ideas?"

Only for a moment am I lost for words, struggling to push anything out. "I... I'm sorry??"

His gaze returns to mine, but this time my eyes are hard as his are dark. "Help. Me. Get rid of her. Fucking. Body. Or do you want your dirty laundry aired for the whole community to hear?"

Before I can help myself, I let out a sharp laugh, only succeeding in making Freddy's scowl deeper. "Freddy- this secret's a lot bigger, then mine. Sure, I might get divorced- but you're going to prison!" Does he get that? He's g o i n g to j a i l. Crossing my arms, I try to avoid looking at my ex-friend's body. I cant. "I'm sure as hell not gonna be in there with you, for being an accomplice."

I really cant look at her... I can only focus on Freddy. And that takes a lot of energy- its taking everything in me, in fact. Everything I have. But I have to. If its him or her, there's no choice.

But... then a creepy smile spreads across his face- a vast polarity to the frustrated glower of before. It makes my blood run cold.

"Ohhhh..." He looks almost ferocious, even in his composed state. Like a monster. Like any moment a fanged, inhuman creature is going to burst out of him and I'm going to wake up, and this will have been a nightmare. A horrible nightmare. The kind where that creature haunts me for a long time, after its over. After this over.

He's going to haunt me.

"You must think this is my first time... " My heart turns to ice, mouth hanging a little open... what the fuck have I found myself a part of!? Suddenly all the children's disappearances on the news lately come to the forefront of my brain... "Sweetheart, give a man his dues. I'm a hard working kinda guy... " I watch his gaze flicker to a door - the back door? No... The basement door, - and when a filthy smirk pulls at his mouth, my heart flies up into my throat. God, it makes me feel sick. I want to be violently ill. "My first was my adoptive Dad... pretty sick, huh?"

The fact that he didn't say anything about the basement, makes my imagination go wild. I swallow it down, though.

I just need to get out of here, and never think about this again.

And to do that I need to help Freddy get rid of this goddamn body- and... probably... testify at court... As the panic starts to finally rise up in my, right up to fill my throat, I immediately take in a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Okay... " No time to freak out. Now's the time for action.

Gaze flickering to Loretta again, I try to acclimatise to the sight. I think its a lost cause, though. "How did you get rid of him? Your Dad?"

"No, that's not gonna work. He was a drunk dead beat, and I just had to tell the police some guy's he owed money to came over to the house." Freddy grins happily at the memory, but then just as quickly, scowls at his poor deceased wife's body- that certainly cant fight back. I just tack this onto the long list of reasons I hate him. "Lore's such a goddamn goody goody- we cant do the same thing. You don't think I woulda thought of that??"

"Hey." I snap, hands braced on my hips as I flash a glare his way. "This is not the time to get defensive!"

"Whatever... "

Then- suddenly, something occurs to me. Confused, I look around; A deeply horrified feeling disturbing my stomach. "Hold on... Where's your daughter?" Seeing no sign of her anywhere, I definitely start to panic again- especially when I look to Freddy and just see a pert look in his eyes as he looks back at me, a smile that strikes something horrid inside me. My eyes narrow. "You sick fuck- where the fuck is she!??"

"Under the bed."

"What the fuck does that mean!?" I exclaim, frustrated and freaking out. He did not- he did not! Killing your spouse is one thing, but the kid?? Your own kid??

I don't wait around for him to be cryptic some more, and rush right into the house to look for her. Under the bed, under the bed, under the fucking bed...? Which fucking bed!? Forcing ferocity out of my voice, I carefully call out to Kathy. Hoping to god she answers. I try to sound normal. Maybe a little bit cheerful; Excited.

But my voice wobbles.

"Kathy?? Sweetheart, its Y/N! Are you hiding? I have something for you... " ?? You have something for her, Y/N?? God... now you have to figure out some kind of treat.

You know what? Whatever. We'll figure that out later.

Lets just hope we aren't searching for a corpse. I'd definitely be sick, seeing a child... the way Loretta is...

Shaking my head and clenching my fists, I try to focus on Kathy.

I check under the bed in the guest room because it comes into view first and she isn't there, then her bedroom and she isn't there either... and get a sick feeling as soon as I enter the last bedroom. Freddy's and Loretta's.

God, I've never been in here before but its like a museum peace now. A horrible one. Like if you would walk into the Titanic... or the Borden house.

"Kathy? You in here?" Flicking on the light I kneel down on the ground, and check under the bed.

And something immediately crashes over me, as the sight of her covering her eyes down there. It isn't exactly relief, because this whole situation is still phenomenally fucked up for her, but I am selfishly glad to not have to see her body... crumpled, just like her mother.

"Hey sweetheart," My voice quivers slightly now, but I quickly swallow. No. No. Now, you must be strong Y/N. "Its just me. Your Daddy was looking for you, and couldn't find you! It got him worried!"

"I... I don't wanna see Daddy. He hurt Mommy." Kathy doesn't remove her hands from her face, and stays firmly by the wall- too far away for anyone to grab. My heart sinks.

Slowly straightening up again, I try to take that piece of information in. Turning to the doorway, I see Freddy there. he must have followed me. I didn't even notice. Slowly, and quietly ferociously, I say; "She saw?!"

He has the good sense to look embarrassed, even if it is just to make fun of me. "It was spur of the moment... " He shrugs. "I didn't have time to get a babysitter!"

What a fucking excuse. For gods sake.

I'm definitely dealing with a psycho- if that was even a question before now.

Swiftly, I look down under the bed again, because I'm afraid that if I continue to engage with him- I'll scream, and I'll lose my breath, and I'll scare Kathy even more. She's at the forefront of my mind; That's all I can think about.

But what to do with her after I get her out from under this bed, I don't know. I cant give her back to her father... but I cant hand her over to the police either because that would involve telling them about Loretta, and... Freddy will definitely kill me, for that.

This is a nightmare of a situation.

I'm just opening my mouth to say something - what, I don't know yet, - when she speaks, instead. "Is he there?"

"... Yes." I wont lie to her; That would be treating her with not nearly as much respect as she deserves.

When she takes a deep breath and rubs her eyes, as if just trying to keep herself together, my heart clenches. God... and to think I might not have picks up Freddy's call today. I would have been leaving her with this. For the first time today, I'm morbidly glad I came.

She speaks in that loud, hissy way that kids think is a whisper. "Can he... can you please make him go away?"

Immediately I straighten back up and look to Freddy again, my eyebrows raised halfway up my forehead. Like well? "Get out."

"I don't think you're in a position to make demands here, bi- "

"Do you want Kathy to live down there now!??" I snap, trying not to be scared. Not really feeling scared, actually. Just happy to have a reason to tell him to get the hell away from me.

A deep frown creases his mouth, deeply unhappy about the situation, but steps back. I only hear him step out of the way of the door, but its good enough. Quickly, I get up and close the door - fighting with myself not to slam it, - and lock it.

Then I return to the floor, and see this time Kathy has uncovered her eyes. She looks so small, smaller then she actually is, and she looks like she's shaking. Little red bows and piggy tails in her hair are messy from crawling under the bed. "He's gone, sweetheart. And I locked the door."

She just nods, so I take the silence as a chance to offer my hand to her. "Take my hand, sweetie? Come on out from under the bed. Its cold down there, and no one wants you getting sick." I need to upkeep the family friend bit, I need to sound caring and collected. I need her to trust me.

Her big eyes, not Loretta's colour or Freddy's, look nervous as hell. And she shakes her head.

Taking a deep breath, and I conjure all the sincerity as I can. And mean it. My eyes soften and I try really hard, to resent myself as someone trustworthy- which is hard, seeing as I've never really been that. I mean, I'm cheating on my husband. I told Carter today the same lie I told Harrison when i knew I was going to be late. The only person I think who knows the truth behind all my lies is Freddy. That says something about a person, that the only person who knows them is a psychopath.

But I want to, I need to, be good for this little girl. And there's no time for me turn my life around so it has to start with this. How fucked is that?

"... I promise, I'll take care of you. He wont hurt you."

After a few whole minutes, in which I stay silent because yes she's a child, but she's still thinking, she crawls over and takes my hand, letting me lead her out. Crawling into my lap as I cross my legs under her, she buries her face in my shirt- hiding. "You promise?"

Taking a deep breath, because I've really done it now, I offer my pinky for her to see if she turned her head. I know Freddy's listening to all of this through the wall, but I try not to freak out. "Pinky swear?"

"Pinky swear." She peaks out from my shirt, and curls her little finger around mine. Okay... "Y/N... I'm scared."

"Yeah... Me too, sweetie."

What am I going to do?

[moonofiron]

I saw this one panel in the manga and lost my shit.

He looks so 🥵 here. This is the panel that has inspired this smutty fanfic. I also wanted to draw something related to this piece so I've thrown in an illustration between the story as well! Enjoy!

Jujutsu Kaisen, Chapter 78

Anime: Jujutsu Kaisen

Characters: Geto Suguru x (fem)reader

Genre: smut, bondage, kinbaku, edging, overstimulation, explicit sexual content, visual content thrown in too 🥵

Rating: M

Synopsis: Geto shows you his skills at kinbaku

Word count: 2.4K ~

Minors, dni.

Geto Suguru ties the last knot near your ankle. You whimper from the rope chaffing your skin but ease into the burn and position yourself the way Geto wants.

It has taken months for you to get to this point. 8 months back you had casually asked him where he disappears to for hours at end every Saturday. You couldn't hold it in and he couldn't bring himself to lie to you.

"I..I practice kinbaku love. It's to destress, really."

//

"Oh, what's that?"

"Umm, it's the art of tying knots. It's derived from the act of tying prisoners during the war but now it's a...a form of art."

"I see." After a moment's pause, you had asked, "So what do you tie knots with?"

"Three strand jute ropes. On manequins."

You didn't really get it and had pouted slightly.

To break the awkward silence, you had asked him, "Will you show me sometime, Suguru?"

His face had clouded and he had looked the other way. "Maybe. Maybe, someday I will."

//

"There, all done," says Suguru joyfully. He puts his hand under your chin and pulls your face up so you can look at yourself, his artwork, in the large mirror in front of you.

You gasp at how helpless you look. You're naked and your hair is tied up neatly in a bun. Suguru did your hair earlier and decorated it with the delicate pin he bought for you on your second date. You're pretty much bent into a ball and perched on the futon you both have fucked on on so many nights that you've lost count now. Your hands are tightly tied behind your back and your ankles are tied to your thighs. The knots go down from your neck all the way down to your clit and then climb up your spine. Your breasts perk up from the pressure around them. The knots are elegant and look complicated, and you can see your cunt swelling from the pressure of the tight ropes around your inner thighs.

Please do not repost or plagiarize.

Years of practicing kinbaku has rendered him into a master of this art that he's extremely private about. His passion leaks in the way his long fingers tackle the ropes around your body, almost as if he's making love to them.

You meet his eyes in the mirror and see him looking right back at you as he bites his soft lips. His eyes are dreamy and lustful, and he wears a look of pride that pushes all the buttons for you.

He takes out a small black ball from his kimono's left sleeve and your eyes widen. He walks around and sits in front of you so his face is inches away from yours.

"Open your mouth, love," he whispers.

You do as he says without even giving it a second thought. He pushes the ball-gag in your mouth gently and you close your eyes as you envelope it with your wet mouth. He moves closer so your nose buries into his chest as he clamps the ball-gag strap at the back of your head. When done, he sits back and strokes a finger across your jaw.

“I'll be back in sometime, baby. Be good. I'll be watching." He winks and kisses the ball in your mouth gently, his gaze never leaving yours. A soft gasp escapes his lips. And then, just like that, he's gone.

You panic. 'What? I thought he'll just be showing me how it's done. What does he mean he'll be back in sometime? When? How long?' you think. A flash of fear makes your stomach drop. But then you calm down.

The first few minutes are easy. You spend them admiring how beautiful you look, how lovely Suguru has made you. But, after a while you get bored and start looking around. There's nothing to do except wait for Suguru to come back. Perhaps he ran out of ropes. The thought excites you but you don't know how long he'll take. You don't know if he's locked the door. There's no way to tell how much time has passed. All you know is that there's a warmth spreading in your stomach from the anticipation of his arrival. You try to bend down to take a peek at your cunt and see that you've formed a small pool of wetness on the futon. And, you notice a strange little cube embedded in the knot on top of your clit. You instinctively reach with your hands for your clit forgetting you can't and let out a small moan as the ropes dig into your wrists. You look back at yourself in the mirror. You notice the thin sheen of sweat on your forehead and that your nipples are plump and hard. You look around frantically before you give up and enter a kind of peace that you've never known before. You look up at the ceiling, close your eyes, and hear yourself make a gurgling noise. The small cube has suddenly come alive and is vibrating against your clit, making you squirm and lose balance. Your entire body jerks and shivers as you moan out Suguru's name unintelligibly, the ball-gag stopping you from forming coherent sentences. You feel a wave of pleasure coming and then, just as suddenly as the cube had come alive, it dies, leaving you on the edge, helpless and slick and frustrated from being denied release.

//

Geto Suguru absolutely can not wait to get back home to you. He watches you through a curse, a little eyeball, he's placed in the corner of his room. He struggles to keep still and loses patience in all his meetings. He wants them to get over as soon as possible so he can focus on you. He finishes mission reports and some pending tasks as he watches you struggling and squirming, wet and waiting. His cock twitches at the absolutely stunning sight of you, wriggling on the floor, helpless and vulnerable.

//

//

You don't know how many hours it has been. All you know is that it's the 12th time that the small cube has come alive and you can't take it anymore. The threads of the ropes are wet and cold, the futon is completely ruined, you're hot and extremely bothered. Your thighs are sticky and slick. You need to cum. You can't take the teasing, the absolute relentlessness of this thing that's refusing to let you cum. You're not in an elegant stance anymore, either. Suguru, without even being here with you, has made you fall face-first into the futon, your back arched so your hips are in the air. You're uncomfortable and all you can think about is Getou's cock buried deep inside your throbbing cunt. Your hair has almost come undone and strands stick to your breasts. Your jaw aches and your neck and chin are covered in drool. You're focused on your release. You'll definitely get there before this damned thing shuts off again. But, you know that's wishful thinking.

'This is getting out of hand,' you think as you feel tears dripping down your flushed cheeks. You try to get a sense of balance but you're so disoriented that you can't think anymore. You breathe heavily and are about to close your eyes when you hear the low buzz of the vibrator again. You're grunt and moan and your entire body buckles again and again. In all your frenzy, you don't realise when Getou comes back and quietly sits on the floor behind you.

When the vibrator stops, you scream an unintelligible, "No, please!!" and drop face-first on the futon again. Your laboured breath makes it hard to concentrate on anything. When you finally calm down, you feel his presence. You look back and see his kimono loosly wrapped around his waist, the sleeves are halfway off his shoulders as he gently strokes his cock, already rock-hard and glistening. He watches you intently. You let out a sigh of relief and arch your back to let him know he can use you anytime. Amused and greedy at once, he pulls you to himself, and unclamps the ball gag. He shoves his cock in your mouth, grabs your hair, and maneuvers your head just the way you like it. He moans and grunts out loud enough for the neighbors to hear. He's extremely vocal today and this is new.

He suddenly stops and kisses your mouth hard.

“Such a pretty babe today. Eh? You look stunning.”

"Su..Suguru, pl..please fuck me. Please. Please. Please." You break down, you can't bring yourself to speak coherently. You start to lower your head so you can taste his cock - anything to have him inside you - but he pulls your hair hard and stops you.

He pushes you back and makes you lie down. He carefully unties only the knots near your inner thighs. His cool fingers give you shivers. He cups your nipples with his mouth and licks, nibbles, and bites his way down to your clit.

“Who are you so fucking wet for?”

“Suguru! You!”

“Yeah?"

“Uhun, please, just please, take me already."

“Yeah? How?"

“Suguru, I am begging you. I cant-"

Getou comes back up in a flash. He squeezes your face with his hand and roars, “I asked, how?"

You're crying again and he can't stop thinking how gorgeous you look, sweaty and flushed, begging for his cock.

You take a sharp intake of breath and say, “Getou I want you.”

He raises his eyebrows but doesn't let your face go.

“I want you inside me, I want your cock inside me. I'm throbbing and dripping and so ready for you. Just for you. For you to use and love and fuck. Please Daddy." you say, in a trembling voice.

Suguru lets go of your face and removes his kimono. He's naked underneath. He can't believe he gets to ruin a goddess like you. He starts to lightly flutter his tongue across your swollen clit. You're trembling and it doesn't take long for your whimpering to turn into screaming. You're so close to cumming, finally! Your eyes roll back as you feel his long and thin tongue lapping up your wetness. He licks it like a fucking dog before kissing it sweetly and moves back, leaving you on the edge again and you have such a violent reaction that he lets out a strong grunt.

You've never felt so helpless before. You realise that he's enjoying himself a bit too much seeing you struggle, at your body so bent before him. You're sobbing now, and he hovers over you.

“You're making me lose it with all this begging and squirming, baby," he whispers and thrusts into you in one deep stroke. You immediately bite his neck hard and moan deep into it. Clenching around his cock hard, you take in as much of him as you can. His touch on your arms and lower back is electrifying but he soon holds the ropes around you for leverage. He moves in a quick pace and it doesn't take you long to gush around him, giving him a cumsleeve that he bends down to look at. Your release is so so sweet, your toes are curled, your calves are flexed, your back is arched, and your teeth have left Suguru's neck with spots of blood.

“Please...do..don't stop, Daddy,”

“I won't baby, you've been so good. We've got all night.”

“Night?! How long were ...uhh..were you gone?” You pant.

“6 hours."

Suguru looks at himself moving in and out of your plump cunt as his long hair tickles your breasts. It makes his cock twitch and harder inside of you. He pushes your knees back and the ropes dig into your lower back. He grabs your hair and bends your head to your stomach.

“Look at me moving in and out of you.”

The sight turns you on even more. You didn't know that getting so hot amd bothered was even possible. It seems like you've been cumming for a while now and you're overstimulated.

Suguru pulls out. You gasp and your head rolls back. He turns you around and spends a moment to admire his rope-work, and, of course, your plump and throbbing slick cunt that he's going to fuck again.

“Look at how gorgeous you are," he gently holds your chin and pulls it up. You can see yourself, your face is flushed a deep red and you're bruised everywhere. Suguru towers behind you, holding his cock that's glistening with your cum. You can't believe how good he makes you feel. You wiggle your hips at him, inviting him.

He positions his cock to enter you but starts to rub it on your clit instead. Sensitive from all the edging before, your clit blooms from the rubbing and the warmth. You moan.

"Fuck, I love how noisy your cunt gets."

“Oh, oh, please don't stop. Let me cum all over your cock again."

Suguru bites his lip and doesn't take his eyes off you in the mirror. He can't help but admire how sexy you sound and look. He continues to rub his cock slow but hard against you and you collapse on the futon again, cumming. You've squirted all over the base of his cock and stomach and your screams are drown out everything else.

”Such a good girl. Cumming all over Daddy like that."

He thrusts his cock inside of your swollen cunt and continues to move inside you for what seems like an eternity.

"Daddy's gonna paint you so pretty, love," he whispers as he pulls out, grunts, and cums all over your back, on the ropes, in your hair.

He collapses on your side and looks up at the ceiling and then at you. He's out of breath as he gently plays with his drained cock.

You're completely spent and about to pass out when you feel him untying all the knots quickly. His face is tinted with concern. When you're finally free from the ropes, he tries to massage you lightly and helps you lie down properly. He brings you a bottle of water right away and kisses your forehead.

“I'll run you bath, princess. And then I'll get you something to eat. Okay?"

"Hmm," is all you can manage.

You hear the bath running and he comes back, picks you up and takes you to the bathroom. He bathes you and shampoos your hair, kissing you everywhere with sweet pecks. When you're both finally in bed, you snuggle up close to him and dare to ask -

"When will you tie me up next?"

[newcatwords]

where is hawai'i? can you point to it on a map?

if someone asks you to point to hawai'i on a map, where would you point?

before colonization, there was (and continues to be) an island called "hawai'i". the entire chain of islands is called "hawaii" and there is a state called "hawaii" made up of a large number of those islands.

now, because there are too many things named "hawaii," the island of hawai'i is often called "the big island", because o'ahu, the island where the city of honolulu is located, is what many people think of when they think of "hawaii". it's a mess.

on top of that, we have the "main hawaiian islands" (aka "southeastern islands" aka "windward islands") vs the "outer islands" (aka "northwestern islands" aka "leeward islands").

most maps of "hawaii" show only the "main" islands. the map above (created by USGS) shows more of the hawaiian islands, but omits the names of two of the islands in the "main" chain: lana'i & kaho'olawe. these are not insignificant omissions. lana'i is 98% owned by larry ellison, founder & chairman of oracle corporation. kaho'olawe has been relentlessly used & abused by the west. it has been used for ranchland, military training, and most notably, as a munitions testing site, resulting in the continued contamination of the island. after many years of protests & lawsuits by native hawaiians, the island is now only accessible by native hawaiians for cultural, spiritual, & subsistence reasons.

meanwhile, this tourist mug with a creepy colonial-style map of hawaii includes both kaho'olawe & lana'i. good job, tourist mug!

there are actually over a hundred islands in the hawaiian archipelago. the state of hawaii includes 137 of them (source). midway atoll (made up of 3 islands) is part of the archipelago, but not part of the state. it is one of america's territories: an unorganized unincorporated territory.

additionally, some of the islands "are too small to appear on maps, and others, such as Maro Reef, only appear above the water's surface during times of low tide. Others, such as Shark and Skate islands, have completely eroded away." [source: wikipedia page "list of islands of hawaii"].

in the course of writing this post, i failed to find a map that shows & names all the hawaiian islands and failed to even find a list of all of them (plus if an island only appears sometimes or has disappeared entirely, what do you even do with that?). if you find either or both of those, let me know in comments.

so where and what "hawaii" is remains a mystery.

but this has not prevented commercial & official interests from using maps of "hawaii" in all kinds of places! here on the islands, hawaii map imagery is all around.

maps are very common on tourist items:

the hawaiian telcom logo uses dots roughly arranged in the pattern of the islands on a map:

but i guess only five islands are worth including (i understand. branding needs come above all else!).

this souvenir cloth item is interesting because it includes all the main islands (including ni'ihau, lana'i, and kaho'olawe - which are often excluded), but smooshes them into the available space without much consideration for where they are in relation to each other:

the postcard above has the main islands in their rough places, but squishes them all together so that they fit in the space. also the islands are made more similar in size to each other so that you can better see the little illustrations.

here's a more "official" map to show where the islands "should be" in relation to each other, and their sizes relative to each other (although both of those can change depending on what projection the map uses):

in my mind, though, the ultimate hawaii map fantasy lives on the ubiquitous reusable walmart cloth bag (available for 50 cents at checkout to all who have forgotten to bring the right number of bags. there's a plastic shopping bag ban in hawaii.):

in the walmart commercial universe (wcu), the only islands that exist are islands that have a walmart. the general outlines of the islands & their general orientation is preserved (along with a rough topology too!), attempting to convey a sense of adhering to a recognizable reality, but islands without a walmart have been not only omitted, but the space where they would be has been eliminated as well - as if they were never there to begin with. in the walmart version of reality, what makes something "hawaii" is whether or not it has a walmart on it.

i've had a lot of time to think about this remarkable image because i have a whole bunch of these bags. this is the bag of the people - everyone uses it for everything. the one in the above photo is in a typical state - pretty rough - because it probably came from the side of the road. you can almost always find one on the side of the road. so wherever you are, you are probably within sight of the walmart version of the islands.

so why does it matter whether or not you can point to "hawaii" on a map? well, maps are political documents, meaning that they reflect the vision of whoever has the power to put the map in front of your eyes. so if you're the one with the power to make some of the most commonly-seen maps of hawaii and you decide to remove a few islands, well that can really shape what people think "hawaii" is! we're a sea of islands - many people here have only ever been to one or two of the islands. if it wasn't on the map, you might not know that it existed at all.

hawaii is incredibly important to the united states, not just for tourism, but in terms of global strategy. it's the largest outpost of american power in the middle of the pacific. it puts america & its troops half an ocean closer to some of america's biggest competitors, most notably, china. it's a springboard to all the other island territories of the pacific (which you maybe haven't heard of because they almost never appear on maps):

once you see a map of all of america's territories in the pacific, along with the exclusive economic zones (eez) that extend out for 200 miles around each island, you start to get a better feel for the extent of america's power in the pacific.

when a place is left off the map, it can be easy to make it (including its people!) invisible. so if you're america, with bases across the islands of the pacific, with a nightmarish history of atomic weapons testing in the pacific (rendering islands uninhabitable and leaving both land and waters too contaminated for people to use), perhaps you might not want some of these places to appear on the map.

in Foreign Policy in Focus, Khury Petersen-Smith writes:

"Many of us living in North America who are concerned about climate change, for example, have a sense that Pacific Islands are facing particularly severe impacts from rising sea levels. But that knowledge tends to be vague and limited, as actual residents of these islands are rarely invited to the table to speak for themselves.

This is not accidental. Commenting during the Nixon administration on U.S. nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, which share the same region of the Pacific as Guam, Henry Kissinger said “there are only 90,000 people out there. Who gives a damn?”

The U.S. has long had an interest in Marshallese and other Pacific Islanders remaining “out there” in the American mind. This marginalization helps allow the U.S. to carry out military operations in the region, along with policies that further climate change and other harms, while keeping most Americans unaware of these practices’ impacts in the Pacific." [FPIF]

often hawai'i (and alaska - which is in many ways similar to hawai'i in its relation to the contiguous US) doesn't even appear on national maps of the USA.

here's a screenshot from the new york times homepage on march 21, 2020, just as the coronavirus pandemic was beginning to spread:

there is no alaska and no hawai'i on those maps. so if you were looking for information on the most important issue that was happening at the time, and you live in or are concerned about hawai'i and/or alaska, there would just be nothing. and what does it say about the people who run the top newspaper in america that they decided it was fine to omit these two states? are they not states? do they not matter? do the readers in those states not matter? and this is not an unusual thing at all. it happens all the time.

i'd like to finish by sharing with you a poem by CHamoru poet Craig Santos Perez. CHamoru are the indigenous people of the mariana islands (which include guam, saipan, tinian, rota, and others).

in this poem, Craig Santos Perez writes about not appearing on the map...

“Off-Island CHamorus”

My family migrated to California when I was 15 years old. During the first day at my new high school, the homeroom teacher asked: “Where are you from?” “The Mariana Islands,” I answered. He replied: “I’ve never heard of that place. Prove it exists.” And when I stepped in front of the world map on the wall, it transformed into a mirror: the Pacific Ocean, like my body, was split in two and flayed to the margins. I found Australia, then the Philippines, then Japan. I pointed to an empty space between them and said: “I’m from this invisible archipelago.” Everyone laughed. And even though I descend from oceanic navigators, I felt so lost, shipwrecked

on the coast of a strange continent. “Are you a citizen?” he probed. “Yes. My island, Guam, is a U.S. territory.” We attend American schools, eat American food, listen to American music, watch American movies and television, play American sports, learn American history, dream American dreams, and die in American wars. “You speak English well,” he proclaimed, “with almost no accent.” And isn’t that what it means to be a diasporic CHamoru: to feel foreign in a domestic sense.

Over the last 50 years, CHamorus have migrated to escape the violent memories of war; to seek jobs, schools hospitals, adventure, and love; but most of all, we’ve migrated for military service, deployed and stationed to bases around the world. According to the 2010 census, 44,000 CHamorus live in California, 15,000 in Washington, 10,000 in Texas, 7,000 in Hawaii, and 70,000 more in every other state and even in Puerto Rico. We are the most “geographically dispersed” Pacific Islander population within the United States, and off-island CHamorus now outnumber our on-island kin, with generations having been born away from our ancestral homelands, including my daughters.

Some of us will be able to return home for holidays, weddings, and funerals; others won’t be able to afford the expensive plane ticket to the Western Pacific. Years and even decades might pass between trips, and each visit will feel too short. We’ll lose contact with family and friends, and the island will continue to change until it becomes unfamiliar to us. And isn’t that, too, what it means to be a diasporic CHamoru: to feel foreign in your own homeland.

Even after 25 years, there are still times I feel adrift, without itinerary or destination. When I wonder: What if we stayed? What if we return? When the undertow of these questions begins pulling you out to sea, remember: migration flows through our blood like the aerial roots of the banyan tree. Remember: our ancestors taught us how to carry our culture in the canoes of our bodies. Remember: our people, scattered like stars, form new constellations when we gather. Remember: home is not simply a house, village, or island; home is an archipelago of belonging.

–Craig Santos Perez

----------

thank you for reading this post! please let me know if you see any errors.

if you'd like to learn more about some important issues in the pacific, here are just a few:

july 2, 2020: "US says leaking nuclear waste dome is safe; Marshall Islands leaders don't believe it" - Los Angeles Times

may 30, 2021: "Pacific Plunder: this is who profits from the mass extraction of the region's natural resources." - The Guardian

april 5, 2021: "75 years after nuclear testing in the Pacific began, the fallout continues to wreak havoc" - The Conversation

june 4, 2021: "Guam won’t give up more land to the U.S. military without a fight" - The World (radio program)

aug. 24, 2021: "The US is building a military base in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Micronesian residents have questions." - The World (radio program)

and if you'd like to learn more about how maps are political, here are a couple articles:

june 5, 2014: "The politics of making maps" by Amanda Ruggeri, for BBC

july 11, 2018: "Politics and Cartography: The Power of Deception through Distortion" by John Erskine, for the Carnegie Ethics Online Monthly Column

[telli1206]

(Per our discussion 😘) It's summer, but Carlos tends to layer up. He falls asleep after a long day out while Jay's in the shower or something, so Jay decides to tuck him in like that and go to bed, but then Carlos starts getting wiggly b/c he's way overheated btwn. his clothes, the blankets, and Jay being a human furnace, so Jay tries to wake him up to get him to strip down so they can both be in peace, but Carlos doesn't wake up and Jay thinks he's faking, so he starts to help things along. 😉

Finally getting the inspo to write this one @hersilentlanguage​, so I hope it was worth the wait 😁

WARNING: Mild smut with sexual implications

Jay grunts and jolts suddenly from the feel of a sharp pain under his arm. He blinks furiously to coax the sleep out of his eyes, the fog in his brain too deep to even register what’s happening.

Not that he really needs to, he kind of already knows what’s going on. It’s always the same person who’s to blame for his shittiest nights of sleep.

Jay should be angry. Fuck, he has every right to be. Is there anything worse than being ripped from a deep sleep by a physical attack? He can’t think of anything. Still, he just sighs and rubs at his side. If he didn’t love the boy so damn much, there’d be nothing stopping him from grabbing him and just chucking him off the bed. And yet...

Auradon may have made him soft, just a little bit. But he’s pretty sure Carlos Oscar De Vil was already well on his way to turning Jay into a teddy bear anyway.

He reaches for the culprit of his pain, managing to curl his fingers around a sock-covered foot before another jab has him wincing and scooting back, positioning himself away from another attack.

“Fuck, ‘Los,” he moans, still gripping tightly to his boyfriend’s foot. “You can be a little shit, you know that?”

Carlos starts to mumble unintelligibly, his nose scrunching adorably as the utter nonsensicals spill from his lips. He’s moving as he tries to talk, his body shifting and wriggling it’s way up the bed, jerking out of Jay’s grasp. He kicks up Jay’s side, bit by bit, scurrying his lithe body upwards until it lands flat and flush against their headboard.

Jay sighs, watching as Carlos finally settles just above his head. His new position on the hard wood of their headboard looks terribly uncomfortable, and Carlos must subconsciously agree as he clearly continues to squirm, batting Jay repeatedly on top of his head with the billow of his sleeve in the process.

“Carlos!” Jay tries again, his voice hushed but firm. He grabs at the sleeve in his face and tugs, but Carlos simply rolls the other way, pressing his body onto the wood with a discontented hum.

Jay huffs as he props himself up on his forearms and turns fully to face Carlos. His plans of going to sleep at the moment have gone to shit, so he may as well try to get Carlos situated again. His best shot at a proper night’s sleep anyway is when he’s wrapped around his favorite warm body, his face pressed into Carlos’ soft expanse of white curls.

So he’s doing this for both of them, really.

Jay carefully snakes an arm under Carlos, moving slowly to keep from jostling him too much and potentially waking him. Once he can reach, he wraps both arms around Carlos and pulls him into his chest, holding him tightly and remaining as motionless as possible, hopeful that the few movements aren’t enough to cause him to stir.

To Jay’s surprise, Carlos hardly startles. Actually, he hardly moves at all. Definitely not what he expected.

He decides to loosen his grip to check on Carlos, and Carlos surprises Jay again by spinning slowly to face him. Though his eyes are pinched closed, Jay can still hear his soft mumblings, coming and going lightly with each breath.

“‘Los?” Jay leans in closer, pressing their foreheads together as he tries to focus on his boyfriend’s words.

Carlos moans at the contact and pushes in even closer so they’re practically cheek to cheek. He’s slick with sweat, and Jay can feel the dampness and heat radiating off of him. Jay reaches over to cup Carlos’ cheek, running his fingers gingerly over the moist skin.

“Fuck, I’m sorry pup,” he sighs, pulling back. “I shouldn’t have let you sleep in all this shit. It’s way too hot.” He thumbs at the zipper of Carlos’ hoodie with one hand while his other moves to Carlos’ head, gently pushing his red beanie back until it slides off and drops behind them and onto the floor.

Despite today being sunny and warm, Carlos had opted to layer up his clothing as usual, throwing Jay’s hoodie and beanie on over his shorts and t-shirt. It’s a habit that Carlos just can’t seem to shake. But, after years of Carlos feeling that he needs to hide...both his imperfections and his existence as a whole, no one had really expected for him to change that overnight.

Besides, Jay is more than happy to see Carlos wearing his clothes. He doesn’t want to look possessive, but, he really is. Especially when it comes to Carlos. He’s been dying to claim the cute freckled boy since they met, and it finally feels safe, normal even, to do that in Auradon. So he’ll gladly take every chance he can get to show that Carlos is...well...his.

It’s not like anyone is complaining about it anyway. Carlos is fucking adorable when he’s in clothes that are too big for him. That’s just common knowledge.

Still, Carlos overdid it with the layers today. And Jay scolds himself for being a lazy boyfriend and just dropping Carlos in bed to sleep instead of helping him change first into something less...suffocating.

He’s definitely paying for that choice now.

Carlos gasps when the beanie falls away and exposes his head to the cool air of their room. He tips his head back to shake out his matted down curls, relaxing back into Jay with a sigh of relief and resting his head on Jay’s shoulder.

“Does that feel good, pup? Do you want me to take off a little more? Cool you off?”

Jay reaches for Carlos’ zipper again, dragging it down slowly just an inch or so and then stops, waiting for Carlos’ reaction.

“Just say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Whatever you want I’ll do it. I just wanna help you sleep.”

Carlos is quiet, his head unmoving from Jay’s shoulder. Jay breathes soft and shallow, his hand still frozen at Carlos’ zipper as he listens for any type of response from him. But the silence hangs in the air for over a minute, and Jay is starting to wonder exactly how deeply his boyfriend may be sleeping.

Finally, Carlos starts to shift, moving his hips slightly to bring his body even closer to Jay’s. He drapes a leg across Jay’s waist as he tilts his head up to bring his lips to Jay’s ear. He doesn’t speak, instead choosing to kiss his way down the shell of Jay’s ear, stopping only to tug at Jay’s lobe with his teeth.

“Pupppp,” he moans, biting down hard on his lip to muffle the sound. His hands fly to Carlos’ hips, squeezing tightly as Carlos’ kissing continues its way down his jaw to his neck.

“I didn’t think undressing you would get you in the mood that easy, but I’m not gonna complain,” Jay chuckles. But his laughter fades away with his breath when Carlos bites down on the junction of his neck and starts to suck at his most sensitive spot.

Jay chokes, his mind numbing with pleasure as he starts to fumble for Carlos’ hoodie again, this time grabbing the zipper roughly and ripping it down. Carlos is still latched to his neck as he pushes the sleeves down, quickly freeing Carlos of his hoodie and dropping it to the floor to join his beanie.

When Carlos’ mouth finally detaches from Jay, he takes the opportunity to dip down and kiss over Carlos’ collarbone, letting his hands glide down Carlo’s t-shirt as he does so. When he reaches the bottom he hooks his fingers under the hem, pulling away for only a second to tug it over Carlos’ head and toss it aside.

Carlos hums his approval, his eyes still closed but his mouth spread wide in his most pleased smile. He looks utterly content when Jay starts to kiss fervently over the newly exposed freckled skin of Carlos’ chest, flushed and warm under his lips.

Jay smiles against Carlos’ shuddered breaths, his body responding almost desperately for more of Jay’s touch. And Jay is eager to please. He kisses his way down Carlos’ stomach, reaching for the button of his shorts as his mouth descends closer. Within seconds he has them unbuttoned and unzipped, and they’re off and on the ground before Carlos can react.

Not that he would. He’s already distracted himself with the skin of Jay’s neck, scraping his teeth along it and mouthing lightly at Jay’s pulse.

Jay is encouraged further by Carlos’ moans, hot and tingly against his skin. He snakes both of his hands down the back of Carlos’ boxers, grazing along skin that’s too soft, and feels too delicious against his own. He stops to  playfully squeeze at firm cheeks, as perfect and perky as he’s ever had the pleasure of touching. He peppers kisses at Carlos’ shoulder, massaging tenderly with his hands before lifting his arms to slide the material down--

“Uh. Um. J-Jay?”

Jay stills in his movements. “Yeah, Pup?”

He shifts backwards, his eyes searching for Carlos’ in the dim twilight. But when their gazes meet, Jay can feel guilt pooling in his gut.

Carlos’ eyes are wide...confused. There’s no recognition in his features at all, no indication left of the passion he and Jay were engaging in just moments ago. Jay releases his grip when he feels Carlos start to squirm, sliding his hands out of Carlos’ boxers and urging some space between their bodies.

“Are we...is th-this...”

Jay winces at the uncertainty in Carlos’ tone. His brow furrows, unable to hide his worry.

“Shit ‘Los, I’m sorry. I thought you were...I thought we were...were you not, into it? Evil, if I did something you didn’t want, I swear I didn’t mean to-”

Carlos puts a finger to Jay’s lips to end his ramblings. Jay complies, laying silent as he stares into Carlos’ deep brown eyes. They’re more alert now, but laced with softness, and they stare back at Jay with an intensity that’s making his heart constrict and his breath hitch. When the finger is dragged away from Jay’s lips, Carlos is quick to replace it with a tentative kiss, light and airy with barely a brush of contact.

“Jay.”

Jay opens his eyes, unsure as to when he even closed them. Carlos is smiling at him now, bright and toothy and so, so beautiful. Jay silently hopes his damn eyelids didn’t deny him of this for too long. Every single one of Carlos’ smiles is his favorite thing in the world.

“Jay,” Carlos repeats, brushing his fingers across Jay’s cheek. “Are you good now? I swear, you’re too damn sweet for your own good sometimes.”

Jay blinks and blinks, his face blank as tries to understand what he thinks he heard.

“Too...sweet?”

Carlos shakes his head and laughs. With a swing of his hips, he flips Jay onto his back and rolls on top of him. When Carlos sits up, he’s straddling Jay’s waist and looking into surprised eyes. He smirks and flicks a finger to Jay’s chin, snapping shut his slightly agape expression.

“I thought I was dreaming, Jay. That’s all. I know you’d never mean to do anything I didn’t want to. I’d never think that. You’re so good to me.”

Jay exhales, grinning up at Carlos, who leans in for another kiss.

“Ok, thanks pup. I-”

He’s cut off by Carlos squeezing his face and pressing a kiss down firmly onto his pursed lips.

“Besides,” he mumbles against Jay’s mouth, “Who the hell would complain about waking up to their dreams coming true?”

Carlos slips his hands underneath Jay’s shirt, splaying them out as he sits back upright with a cocky grin.

“Now, can you fill me in on what we were doing? Because I’d like to continue.”

[miyalove]

Hi! Can you do an Oikawa x reader when he first went to Argentina and doesn't know Spanish? Reader can be from or have lived in Argentina for a long time to at least know spanish. Thank you! 😁

—pairing: timeskip!oikawa x reader

—warnings: manga spoilers, teasing, dialogue in bold is spoken in spanish, *unedited

—synopsis: 1.5k | you have a small sit down with oikawa to try and help him learn argentina’s native language: spanish.

—a/n: thank you for requesting, anonie! hope this didn’t take too long and it’s too your likings! please, come again somtimes, yeah? + request are open!

on top of team practices, solo training, management meetings, team bonding, and publicity shoots; oikawa tooru is now assigned to learn Spanish.

he’s already a busy man and barely has time to rest. when given certain days off, he can’t help but think about how much time he’s wasting on not practicing.

it’s times like these when his teammates have to physically rip him away from the sport. he’s dedicated and ambitious, anyone can see that but over-working himself is never good. he can’t help how anxious he gets when he’s not keeping himself distracted.

with that in mind, his manager had assigned him to learn (at the very least) the basics. every time he has a day off or some free time oikawa found himself repeating basic conversational phrases. things like “hello”, “yes”, “no”, “thank you”, and “goodbye”.

however the longer he stayed in Argentina the more he realized that those fundamental sayings weren’t getting him very far. voicing his concern to his manager, they thought what better way to learn efficiently than hiring a tutor?

and thus here you are, quite literally babysitting a six foot child.

“(y/n), how are you so good at this! i can barely pronounce these things” he’s whining your name. big brown eyes look up at you with some kind of desperation.

the two of you are in his dorm room sitting at his desk that is tucked way in the corner of the abnormally large dorm. there’s textbooks scattered all over, all with Spanish titles on them. oikawa sits to your left with a notebook opened up and a pencil in hand.

“it’s really different from japanese pronunciations so don’t beat yourself over not getting it that well,” he’s thankful that you’re not getting angry with him. you can see it when he smiles at you. that same determined gleam showing up in his hues when he talks about winning volleyball matches.

you can’t help but add on to your reassurance, “i believe in you, tooru!” you shoot him a wide grin, your eyes smile with you.

the setter feels his cheeks grow hot. it isn’t a big deal that you’re using his first name mostly because that’s how introduction are like here in Argentina so you probably think nothing of it like most people. he just can’t help the pink flush he gets whenever someone as cute as you calls out to him though.

“you’re always so sweet to me, (y/n),” he lets you take in his shining smile, “alright, let’s try it again.” he beams at you, shooting you a thumbs up.

“we’ll do informal form alright? i feel like you have that down a little better than formal.” he nods clearly getting impatient but still continues to listen to your demands.

letting out a reassuring sigh, you begin with something easy, “hello, what is your name?” gesturing for oikawa to speak, he nods brows furrowing, “hello, my name is tooru and yours?”

you feel a sense of satisfaction when oikawa answers back without any pronunciation errors. he sounds like a robot with how choppy he replies back to you. you make a mental note to work on his tone and flow later before pushing that aside, “very good, tooru. my name is (y/n). how are you?” 

this is when the conversation begins to slow. he knows you’re asking him a question because of the way your voice raised at the end of your speech. the next thing to think is what question are you asking exactly. 

he recalls the basic questions you and him went over. things like ‘what do you like to do in your free time?’ or ‘what do you do for a living?’ but for some reason the one your asking isn’t ringing any bells.

looking back at you, he sees your encouraging eyes meet his. he can’t help but to stare at how they glow in the low dorm lighting. you’re pleading with him, silently telling him ‘you got this!’. 

you part your plush lips planning to guide in with some kind of hint but before you can say anything, oikawa is quick to react. a single digit covers your mouth, gently telling you to stay quiet.

he’s got this, just like you told him. he wasn’t going to let you down... just give him a little time. like a sudden snap in a silent room, the thought comes to him again.

“good! good! ... and you?” 

he felt the way he messed up that last syllable. he quickly glanced your way wanting to see if you caught it too. his eyes meet yours. playing on your lips is a smirk and know oikawa knowns you defiantly picked it out. 

of course you would, he thinks to himself, you’re literally fluent in the damn language. slightly discouraged, you see his shoulder drop as he breaks the eye contact. as a teacher whose taught many, these are clear signs of giving up.

so you sigh, “let’s take a break, yeah?” you turn your attention to a wall clock, “we’ve been at this for two hours already.”

“yeah, sure. i can do a break,” there’s a sudden shift in oikawa’s demeanor. standing up from the desk chair he makes a turn for his bed plopping down face first into his sheets. simultaneously, he let’s out a loud grunt.

“this ‘learning a new language’ thing is incredibly hard,” his voice is muffled by the pillows but you can still her the annoyed pout he has on. 

stacking up the basic Spanish books into a pile you let out a light giggle, “yeah, especially when you have added stress on you. what time’s your practice again, tooru?” 

“in about,” he looks up at the clock, “...five more hours. why? what’s up, miss (l/n).” 

even with his face half covered by his you can see that cunning smirk from across his room. you mock his gesture but with far more ridicule in your grin than his own, “do you really want to play this game?”

shooting up, he excitedly nods as if not even ten minutes ago he wanted nothing more than to give up, “bring it, (y/n).” shooting you a sly wink, a pink hue spreads across your cheeks. you can feel the heat crawl across your face but you push it aside deciding beating oikawa is far more important than what that wink makes you feel.

“how are you, tooru?”

“good. and... you?” 

there’s no mispronunciation, and he finds himself puffing up his chest at his small victory.

“excellent! very good, tooru. now, what are some things that you like?”

oikawa knew what you were expecting. a mundane response that the two of you worked on like ‘i like volleyball’ or even ‘i like milk bread’. what you didn’t know is that despite you tutoring him for a few weeks back-to-back, he’s been having his own private lessons with google and youtube.

there’s no doubt in his mind that he likes you. in fact, every time his name rolls off your tongue he gets all flushed. don’t even get him started on how you shift closer to him when you’re reading the textbook aloud and then reiterating the idea back to him. 

he can smell your vanilla shampoo and can’t help but imagine how it would be so much easier for you to teach him if you just sat on his lap. he’d get to engulf himself in you and you’re short enough to see pass and focus on the textbook too. it’s a win-win situation. standing up from his sheets, he makes his way towards you.

you expected a practiced answer from oikawa but definitely not, “i like your smile.” and you definitely don’t expect him to continue either, “i like your laugh. i like your face.” 

without a second thought, you try to interrupt him. wave of his near confession as if it never happened, but he doesn’t let that happen. in fact, he can’t. so he lays his slender finger back onto your lips, silencing you once again.

he leans in close and you can see every detail on his face. his long, pretty lashes that frame is hazel eyes flawlessly to his delicate lips that with you, always have a smile on them. you can’t help but stare at how pretty he is.

“... and i like you, (y/n).”

you’re quick to respond not allowing yourself to lose this ‘spanish-off’ to someone with far less experience than you. 

“you’re lucky you’re cute, tooru.”

tooru doesn’t back off from how close he is to you. in fact, with his next words he finds himself unconsciously doing the opposite. his words come out in a whisper, “so you think i’m cute?” 

“yes,” matching his own teasing grin, you give him a wink before finally closing the distance. kissing oikawa tooru is like waking up on christmas morning; exciting and something you were far to eager to do. a warmth spread in your chest and your hands comb through his brown locks while his much larger palms find purchase on your hips.

the two of you stay like that for a while only pulling back when you need air, “and i also think i won.” reminding him of the game he challenged you in, he groans aloud. pulling you down with him in defeat as he throwing himself back on his bed again.

“well... losing never felt so good, miss (l/n).”

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

Dangerous Love (Pt. 06 of 13)

Pairing: Bruce Wayne (Batman) X Harley Quinn's sister!Reader

Summary: You're Harley Quinn's sister, Havoc, one of the many villain's of Gotham. But you've been caught, and has been tortured constantly for an year in Belle Reve. But when your think your life can't be anything else than the nightmare you find yourself into, Bruce Wayne, the Batman, takes you in for a project. He has a program to rehabilitate villains, and you're his lab rat. But soon enough confusing feelings start getting in the way. You know falling for Bruce is stupid. But can you keep your heart under control?

Word count: 2.5K

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{Justice League - DC Masterlist}

×

Dance With Me

Bruce kept his promise and brought you a TV. He also streamed the first season of Game Of Thrones before giving you the second book, and the old deal remains. You'll watch the second season when you're done with the book. But you don't mind. They did leave a lot out of the TV show, and you want to know everything that happens. He even stayed to watch some of the episodes with you. You cried when one of the characters died. You and Bruce have the same favorite characters. Daenerys, Jon, Arya, and Tyrion. And you love to talk about it with Bruce.

The week goes by quickly, and now you have a digital clock too, so you'll know which time and day it is. And that's how you know your birthday is coming.

Today is Saturday, and Bruce is hosting a party. You can see many people down in the garden already, making things ready.

“Alfred will bring you dinner tonight.” Bruce reminds you, as you eat lunch. “But I'll come tomorrow.”

“I'll forgive you if you promise to have fun today. For both of us.” It's so damn hard not to think about that blonde woman. “Try to dance a little.”

“I will.”

He stays for a little longer until he has to go.

In the next following hours, you focus on the book. The noise gets louder, and the music starts playing as soon as the night falls. You also take a shower, long and warm, washing your hair. Patiently, you dry and brush it, struggling with your thoughts. Then you try reading again, but you can't seem to focus.

That woman is down there, and the image of her and Bruce dancing fills your head, like torture. Her beautiful blonde hair, kind eyes... She will pull him close, and he won't resist her touch. Why would he?

He will pull her against his chest, and what you can only dream about, she will feel it. How lucky she is.

You go to the window, a knot on my throat. Why do you want to cry? Why do you feel so terribly sad over a freaking scenario you just imagined?

“Because it'll probably happen...” You tell yourself.

And if not her, with some other girl. Looking through the window, you see the pretty lights on the garden, and some people, smiling, talking... A soft music start playing, and you see as some couples get together, slow dancing.

Smiling, you close your eyes as you step away from the window, resting your back against the wall.

You imagine yourself down there, among the people, and they don't bother you. You're comfortable, wearing one of those pretty dresses. You're not a villain, you're a normal woman, someone people won't be afraid of... Someone Bruce could love. You would walk around the house, the gardens, and you finally get to see all of it. And then, you'd find Bruce...

Opening your eyes again, you walk to the bathroom to wash your face. Wash away the tears. What is going on with you? You can't let this happen. Not with Bruce. You've never been through this, you never needed or wanted someone so bad. It's weird. You don't want this to be love, you can't let this be love. Punching the sink, you ignore the pain that spreads through your fist.

“Remember who you are,” you tell the girl in the mirror. “Remember who you are.”

But it doesn't work. Who you are, or who you were, is a distant memory. He's succeeding, Bruce is changing you, he's making you see who you are behind the villain mask you had on. And you don't think you can go back there. You don't want to... You want him...

You're crazy. Now you're finally going crazy. Bruce won't like you. And you can't expect him to. You can't want him to. A loud laugh coming from the garden gets your attention, and you run back to the window. You can see a couple, happy, in each other's arms. You envy them... You won't ever have anything like that.

When the door clicks, you dry off the stubborn tears that came rolling down again. “Alfred, tell Bruce everything is beautiful.” You say, trying to keep your voice steady.

“It's me.”

Your heart skips a beat as you turn around, seeing Bruce by the door. He looks amazing in his tuxedo, so handsome. You step forward abruptly, an impulse, ready to run into his arms, but you manage to control yourself, biting your lip to hold back a smile.

“Hi.” It's all you manage to say.

“Why do you always keep the lights off?” He inquires.

“I'm just used to it, I guess... I... I tried to read, then I tried to sleep, so...” Walking away from the window, you move closer to where he's standing.

“I'm sorry if the noise is disturbing you.”

It's not the noise that's keeping you awake, it's him, and all the things you shouldn't be feeling. “That's not it. I don't sleep too much, remember?” Taking a deep breath, you avoid his gaze. You must look so bad, in your black tank top and sweatpants... The girls down there look so beautiful... “What-what are you doing here? The party seems to be going very well.” You gesture at the window, the only sight you have of outside.

“It's considered polite for the host to dance with the single ladies.” He reaches out his hand, and you wonder what it means.

“I... I'm not at the party...” His hand doesn't move, so slowly, very slowly, you take it.

“You're here. That's what matters.”

“I don't know how to, remember? I don't–”

“Relax, (Y/N).” Bruce pulls you close, wrapping his arms around your waist. It feels like a drug, inebriating. “Just follow my pace.”

Why is he doing this? Why does he care enough to come here instead of focusing on the party he's hosting? Bruce will be the one to drive you crazy.

You start moving, from side to side, following the rhythm of the soft song playing down there. The distance he first put in between your bodies disappears as you move until you're very, very close.

“You... Why did you come here? I-I mean... Don't you have enough girls down there? To dance with? You shouldn't lose your time with me.” You whisper, stuttering. Hesitantly, you look up, meeting his eyes. It's breathtaking.

“Thought you would like a dance.” He keeps his voice low as if the didn't want to disturb the darkness. “Was I wrong?”

“No.” You burst out, too fast. Suddenly, you decide to tiptoe. “This is how I'd be like if I were wearing high heels. And you can pretend I'm wearing a pretty, long dress.” Smiling, you notice your face is closer to his now. His lips get your attention, so you close your eyes.

“You're beautiful, just like this.” His voice is so low that it's hard to hear it. But does he really mean it? Can he find you pretty in such simple clothes? “Sorry I can't take you to the actual party.”

“It's alright. I... I wouldn't feel comfortable, I think... Among the people.” Bruce moves your arms, from where they were laying, on his biceps, to be around his neck.

It's hard not to look at him, but you feel that if you do, you won't be able to control yourself. “I would be by your side the whole time.”

“But what about that... That woman I saw...”

You're begging yourself not to do this. Not to ask something that will make you feel bad to know the answer. But you need to. “Wouldn't she... Wouldn't she want to have you too? I know you're just saying that to make me feel better, I... I shouldn't even be saying that. Just ignore it.” That's embarrassing. Good thing he won't see you blush in the dark.

“Angela is an old friend,” Bruce says, taking your hand and pushing you away in a smooth motion. You've seen this move in some movie, and you're happy to know what to do. You step away for a moment, and then, you spin around, back to his arms. But you miscalculated the movement, so you end up with your back against his chest.

“Sorry.” You quickly say, but before you can turn around, Bruce softly holds you there, swinging to the song. His arms are like a cage, but a good kind of cage... One that makes you feel safe. You feel his breath on your hair, and how his chest moves as he breaths.

“Relax, it's alright.” You close your eyes to hear his voice. “And don't worry about Angela. She's married.”

“Oh... That's good. For her. That's good for her.” You hate how you're always so damn nervous around Bruce. He probably thinks you're stupid.

“I guess it is.” He spins you around again, as the song ends, and pulls you close, strong arms encircling your waist.

Taking a deep breath, you gather all the courage you have to tiptoe again. Your faces are only a few inches away, despite the height difference. He'd have to bend down a little to kiss you. Would he want to kiss you? Would he even consider it? Your stomach feels funny, like butterflies. A hand comes to touch his face, your fingers caressing his skin. You're about to pull him, to end the last inch separating you when you hear someone saying his name out there.

Freezing, you step down, catching your breath. Bruce is breathing fast too, but you're not sure why. “I have to go.”

“Sure.” Smiling, you nod. “Go get them, Batman.”

“Thank you for the dance.” Bruce doesn't let go of your hand, but eventually, he moves away. You can only watch as his fingers let go of yours.

Then, you're all alone again. You're waiting for the familiar click that separates you from Bruce, but it doesn't come. Letting yourself fall on the bed, you cover your face with both hands. You're going mad. Would you really kiss him? What would you do when he pushed you away? You need to take these thoughts out of your head. So you hide under the blankets, eyes closed, trying to sleep. Sleeping is the only way to stop thinking, and right now, the nightmares are the least of your worries.

•••

You're staring at the digital clock. 4 a.m. The party ended two hours ago, and the house is silent. Your head keeps going back to what happened earlier. The dance, and the kiss that almost happened... You're tired of thinking about it, you need to stop. You're caught between trying to understand what's going on and trying to ignore it. To forget it.

But there you go again, replaying everything... Even in the very end, how it seemed like he didn't want to let go of your hand... And then... The click of the lock...

The click that didn't happen.

The door is open.

You jump up, running to the door. Hesitantly, slowly, you turn the handle. And you were right. It's open. A rush of adrenaline sets you in motion, and you swing the door open, running through the hall, to the stairs, and to the first floor. You don't know where you're going, you don't even remember where you went when you first tried to run. You know the front door will be locked, so you run straight past it. You end up in the kitchen, just as you did on your first day here. Your attention is caught by the window above the sink, and in your rush, you try to push it open, but it doesn't move.

You can actually go now. Nobody knows you're here. Taking the blender that's on the kitchen counter, you throw it against the glass until it breaks. You need to move fast now because the noise might wake up Bruce. Climbing on the sink, you use your hand to remove the last bits of glass of the way out...

Bruce...

You made a promise to him. And you know that, if you go on with this, there are chances that you'll end up back in Belle Reve. And Bruce would be sad... Right? You remember how it felt to be so close to him earlier today. His arms holding you... He touches you like no one else did. He's not disgusted... That's probably just Bruce being kind... But even so, you can't do it.

You're looking outside, to the rock path you'd have to take to get to the gates. Slowly, you step down the sink, a sharp pain on your left hand. Looking down, you see a cut in the palm. Taking a deep breath, you start making your way back to your room. On your way out of the kitchen, you see Alfred coming from the hall. He stares at you, wide eyes.

“Sorry for the glass,” you mutter before running upstairs again.

You close the door behind your back, crawling to the bed. You leave the bleeding hand hanging off so the blood won't stain the sheets. You shouldn't have done that. It happened so fast, your body just moved. You just had to get out of the room, and running felt so good. It doesn't take much time for the door to open, and you know it's Bruce. He turns the lights on, and soon you feel the mattress moving when he sits on the bed, but you can't even look at him, so you keep your eyes on the wall.

“I saw you in the kitchen.” He says, his voice soft. Why isn't he mad?

“Hiding in the shadows?” You can feel his eyes on you.

“Something like it.” Bruce takes your hand, and you hear him opening something. The first aid kit, probably. You feel as he starts cleaning the cut.

“Aren't you mad? Or disappointed?”

“Why should I be? You didn't run.” He goes silent, and slowly, you look at him. He's focused on the wound, but it doesn't seem to be too serious. He wraps a bandage around it before laying it on the mattress.

“Was it a test? You left the door unlocked.”

“I forgot. I have a lot going on in my head.”

You want to know what is it he thinks so much about. “I'm sorry about the glass.”

“Why did you change your mind?”

“I can't tell you.” You sit up, and when you do, you're suddenly very close to him. You know you should move away, rest your back on the headboard, but you're frozen, looking into his eyes. Bruce doesn't move either.

“Alright. I'm glad you decided to stay.”

You don't think you wanted to run. You just needed to get out of the room. “Bruce, my... My birthday is coming.”

“I know.” He says with a smile.

“Can I ask something?”

“Sure.”

“Can I... Can I see the gardens?” The moment you say it, you regret. He won't let you out just like this. “You know what, nevermind. A cake would be just fine.”

His face softens, and his hand comes to your face, fingers softly caressing your skin.

Bruce needs to stop doing that because it's sending you the wrong signs, and you should probably tell him to. His touch is so different from anything else, is addicting.

You're falling for him. You're just about to fall in love with Bruce Wayne. And that will probably the your biggest mistake.

×

@redwolf-7 @glitterypinkkitty @mybabyboytony @chipster-21 @agustdpeach @yaakimoon2 @chloe-skywalker

[myhockeyworld87]

Not So Dangerous Liaison - Sidney Crosby - Part 10

Word Count: 5,487

POV: Reader then changes to Sid

Warnings: Language

Notes: This is fluf again, but I think we’re getting a little closer to the smut...haha. Sorry this chapter is a little long. Happy Reading!!! As always feedback is welcome!

Not So Dangerous Liaison Masterlist

READER'S POV

 It felt like the last twenty-four hours hadn't really existed. One minute you were celebrating with the team that you were going to the Stanley Cup finals and the next, you were waking up laying on top of Sidney. As if that wasn't enough, you'd actually agreed to go out with him. What were you actually thinking? You shouldn't be mixing business and pleasure. There was part of you that was screaming that you were becoming everything that Christian had said that night in DC. Your rational side told you that things with Sid weren't like that, that he genuinely cared about you.

 It was in the way he held you when the elevator stopped and the lights when out. The way he came running after you, after your encounter with Christian, and also the way he talked to you into staying and working for the team. All those things added up and showed you just how much he really cared for you. The problem was you didn't want to be a distraction right now for him. It was your job, to help these guys not make think about bringing you flowers and taking you on a date, especially not at a time when he needed to solely be focusing on hockey.

 Though you couldn't help remembering the feel of his fingers as they ran up and down your arm this morning, or the way he smelled as your head lay on his chest. Just the thought of it all gave you butterflies. Butterflies that you shouldn't be having; you told yourself. You needed to focus on the team, just like Sid needed to focus on hockey. The only thing you could do was immerse yourself in work. Of course, you were at every practice, just like always, but you took extra time making sure the guys had everything they needed. When you weren't at the rink you were planning ahead for when you were in San Jose. Coach Sullivan had approached you that afternoon about doing an outdoor workout again. So, you were busy getting that set up for when you were in California.

 You also took extra time making up care packages for all the teams' families that would be coming in for the game. They weren't staying at the same hotel as you guys, but you did know where the arrangements had been made and you wanted to make sure that they knew they could reach out to you as well. That was the whole point of this job.

 The first home game against the Sharks, the Pens were on fire and while Sid didn't have a goal, he did have an assist. After the game, Sid did a bunch of interviews and was the last one to leave the locker room. You were finishing up a few things in your office when he stood in the doorway. "I thought you'd still be here."

 "Oh, really, and what made you think that?"

 "Because you take this job as seriously as I do." Well, maybe not quite that much. "Come on, I'll walk you to your car." You gathered up a few folders you needed to take home and your coat and headed out the door with Sid. The hallways were somewhat bare, as most of the players had already left. The garage was eerily quiet and you were glad Sid was with you. He walked you down to your car which was parked a lot further away than his, but then he was the star of the team.

 "Nice game tonight." You told him when you finally got to the vehicle.

 "Thanks, I could've been a little better, but at least we got the win." He rubbed the back of his neck and you couldn't tell if it was just sore from a hit that had happened in the second or if he was stalling for more time with you.

 "Your neck ok? I saw that hit. It was kind of jarring."

 "What? Oh…uh ya. It's a little sore." He brought his arm down then and put his hands in his pockets.

 "Can I?" You'd been told you were pretty good at giving massages and you really just wanted to help him out. He turned around then. Thank god you were wearing your heels. You were still a couple inches shorter than Sid, but it made massaging his neck a little easier. You slid your fingers into the chords of his neck muscles and could feel the tension there. "Damn Sid, didn't you have Chris look at this before you left?"

 He sighed as you hit a particular spot and the knot worked out. "I was too busy with interviews." You circled your thumbs down at the base and felt some of the tension leave him. His shoulders could use some work, but it was a little hard to get to them through this suit.

 "Well make sure you get to the rink early tomorrow, so he can squeeze you in before practice."

 He twisted around; your hand falling away as he turned. "If he can't, I'll just come over to your office." He said with a wink. You were starting to wonder how bad his neck actually hurt. Shaking your head, you opened your car door to leave.

 "Thanks for walking me to the car. Now go get some rest."

 "Trying to get me into bed, eh? And we haven't even had our first date." That damn crooked smile of his came out and you wanted nothing more than to kiss him until the sun came up.

 Instead, you told him, "Oh you'll know when I'm trying to get you into bed." For added effect, you went up on your toes and whispered into his ear. "And you may not want to leave once I have you there." You pulled back to a see his jaw go slack. "Goodnight Sidney." With that, you ducked into the car and headed home.

 The next two days were a whirlwind. You were getting everything ready for the game the next night while trying to prep everything for the away trip as well. Coach Sullivan had decided that it would be easier to just fly out to San Jose right after game two; so you also needed to pack as well. Suitcase packed, you threw it in the car and headed to the arena. The Pens fans came out in full support of their team, covering the seats in a sea of gold, towels waving nonstop. The guys played their hearts out and ended up coming away with a win in overtime. Everyone was exhausted as you headed on the plane, and while you normally sat with Beau; you decided to head to the back and get some sleep.

 Horny had the very last seat behind you and was fast asleep before the plane even took off. Your nerves still got the best of you during takeoff, so you waited until the captain stated it was ok to turn on your devices before grabbing your travel blanket and pillow and curling up in the seat. You were just about to close your eyes when you heard. "Is this seat taken?"

 You looked up to see Sid, already sitting down beside you. "No, but then I think you knew that." Sid just simply shrugged. "Why aren't you sitting up there with Flower?"

 "He's sleeping." Funny, you'd plan on doing the same until a moment ago. "And he's not near as pretty to look at when he's asleep as you are."

 "Shhh." You chided him as you looked to see who was seated in front of you. Thankfully it was just Dana Heinze and he was out like a light.

 He leaned over then and whispered in your ear. "Why can't I say how pretty you are when you sleep? I love how your lashes lay against your cheek and you have the cutest little…"

 "Sid," you said, a blush staining your cheeks. "You shouldn't be saying those things. Especially here." That crooked smirk came out again, and you just shook your head at him as he muttered fine. "Now is there something you need help with, or are you just tormenting me since everyone else is sleeping."

 "Well, I wouldn't call it tormenting?" You giggled softly, you wouldn't necessarily call it that either, but you liked making him flustered. "Can you massage my neck again? We didn't really have time after the game." You looked across the aisle and saw a couple of the trainers chatting, and knew he could've asked one of them, but who were you to argue.

 "Turn sideways." He had shed his jacket once you were on the plane, so it was a bit easier to rub his shoulders this time. His neck did feel tight, but not as bad as the other night, so you were pretty sure this was just his way of flirting with you. He slowly relaxed under your hands as you massaged him for a good ten to fifteen minutes. "Better?"

 "Mmm," he hummed out, turning so he could recline in the seat beside you.

 "Anything else you need?"

 "Some of your blanket. It's freezing back here." It was always cold on the plane, so you learned early to bring a small throw.

 "Don't you have a seat, that's missing you? Like I'm pretty sure I heard that you always sit in that seat for luck." It was just another one of his superstitions, but you actually thought they were kind of cute.

 "I did sit in it, and now I'm sitting the rest of the way with you. Now fork over some blanket, so we can get some sleep." You just shook your head at him and spread the blanket between the two. "If you come over this way, we'd both have more." You scooted to his side instead of leaning against the window.

 "There, now go to sleep." You shut your eyes when you felt his knuckles brush across the back of your hand. His fingers lightly caressed your skin, before lacing his hand with yours. It was so incredibly sweet, yet you found yourself asking. "This doesn't seem like business as usual?" referring to the fact that he was not supposed to be pursuing you until after the playoffs were over.

 "Maybe it's going to be from now on. Now be quiet so I can go to sleep." He shut his eyes, but a huge grin was spread across his face. You closed yours as well and tried not to think about the man next to you. You weren't doing anything but holding his hand under a blanket, yet it felt so intimate, and you hoped no one would notice. It took a few minutes before the motion of the plane lulled you to slumber.

 When you woke up, your head was resting on Sidney's shoulder and his was leaning down on yours. You could only imagine the picture that the two of you painted. The plane was still quiet, as it seemed most people were still asleep. His hand was still interlaced into yours and you took a moment to just breathe in his scent and cherish this moment. You knew you couldn't stay like that for fear of someone seeing the two of you. The small pillow you brought was on the other side of you, and you grabbed it to prop Sid's head on as you carefully extracted yourself. Luckily, he slept on.

 A quick check of your phone showed you were only about thirty minutes from landing, so you expected everyone to be waking up soon. You tried to unlace your fingers from Sid's but even in sleep, he wasn't having it. As much as you were trying to keep it business, you couldn't help but smile sitting there holding his hand. You took a moment to just look at him as he slept, even though it was dark and hard to make out some of his features. He looked so peaceful and so carefree in sleep, and you wondered if he ever let go this much when he was awake.

 You weren't sure how long you sat there gazing at Sid, thinking about what it would be like to wake up in his arms again, but all too soon the captain came on and told everyone to fasten their seatbelts as you would be landing shortly. Most of the guys woke up, but Sid just slept on. Gently, you rubbed his bicep, the one that was still holding your hand. "Sid, time to wake up."

 His head tilted over to you, and he whispered low. "Mmm, I know. Just wanted to see if you'd kiss me awake." You shoved his shoulder then.

 "How's that instead?" He just chuckled at you, and you had a feeling he'd been awake a lot longer than he was letting on. "You can go back to your seat anytime now." You teased.

 "Nope. You're stuck with me until we land."

 "Fine, but I'm stealing my blanket back."

 Sid stopped you. "You might not want to do that, as I don't plan on letting go until we land." He squeezed your locked hands.

 "Seriously, what am I going to do with you?"

 "I have a few ideas," he muttered raising his eyebrows suggestively at you, to which you just rolled your eyes. Thankfully, the stewardess came by checking your seatbelts and effectively changing the subject.

 The two of you made small talk the remainder for the flight. Sid did finally let your hand go before heading off the plane.

 SID'S POV

 The next couple of days were filled with practices and watching films. There was really wasn't any time that you got to spend with (Y/N) alone or even semi-alone for that matter. While the team was off watching endless hours of tapes, she would head over to the hotel where all the families were staying and make sure everyone there was fine. The only reason you knew this was because of your mom. She mentioned that she ran into (Y/N) in the lobby and how she was checking on everyone.

 Your mom also mentioned how (Y/N) had done gift baskets for everyone and how that someone should snatch that girl up. Of course, she was insinuating that someone should be you, to which you simply told her you were trying. That comment led to a whole conversation about what you should be doing to win her over. You took in all her advice but thought you were pretty much on the right track at the moment. You just needed to win the cup and then (Y/N)'s heart. The fact that you lost game three, didn't help your endeavor in either case.

 The following day, coach had you all train at the beach again. Which of course, (Y/N) had made all the arrangements for. It was again the pick me up the team needed and helped you to a game four win. As you headed back to Pittsburgh, you knew everyone had one thing on their mind and that was to win and to do it at home. Tensions were high, the entire flight home and all into game five. You felt the pressure pouring down on you, from everywhere; the team, the fans, the city, even your family, everyone but (Y/N). You'd pass her in the hall and she would always send you a reassuring smile. One time you waited to walk her to her car like you did before. She held your hand the entire time and refused to talk about hockey, trying to take your mind off of everything. Unfortunately, it didn't help and the team lost its chances of winning at home in game 5.

 As you headed back to San Jose, (Y/N) took the seat way in the back again. She must have sensed you needed some time with her. It was a morning flight, so you couldn't really cuddle up with her as you had previously. "Are you doing ok?" She asked.

 "Yeah," you breathed out. "It's a lot but I know we're going to get it this time."

 She smiled over at you, totally agreeing with your statement. "You will." She stated simply. "So, let's focus on something else. I think you have enough hockey on your mind for three seasons at the moment."

 "True. How about we talk about where you want to go on our date?"

 While she shook her head at you, a becoming blush started to creep onto her cheeks. "Sid, we're not supposed to be talking about that until after this is all over."

 "I thought you were going to take my mind off of hockey?" It was a cheap tactic, but one you used to your advantage.

 She side-eyed you before giving her reply. "Point taken. Where would you like to go?"

 "Well, I have a few thoughts." You said with a suggestive raise of your brow.

 "Sid," she whisper yelled at you.

 "What? I was thinking of that cute little restaurant on Mount Washington and then maybe ice cream afterward." You didn't point out that you wanted to lick the ice cream off of her body.

 "Yeah, sure you did." The rest of the way you talked about anything and everything, well except hockey. By the time the plane landed, you were feeling good about the game and your upcoming date. Which hopefully would be taking place soon.

 Game six was intense. Halfway into the first Dumo put you on the board, and you could almost taste the champagne coming out of the cup. The Sharks rallied though in the second as Couture, put one in the back of the net. Not a minute later, you got the puck on a pass from Shears. You weighed your options as you dangled the puck back and forth, finally flipping it over to Tanger who slapped into the net for you guys to take the lead. The rush was amazing, and you couldn't help but wonder if (Y/N) saw that; knowing, of course, she probably did.

 Minutes ticked by and it seemed like the slowest third period you'd ever played in your life, but with every passing one, it put your closer to winning. Finally, you were down to a little over a minute in the third, you were able to steal the puck away from the Sharks and pass it on to Horny who threw it into the empty net, sealing your fate as the new Stanley Cup Champs. The bench erupted and it took everything in Coach Sullivan's power to settle everyone down for the few seconds. You stayed out on the ice and when the buzzer sounded gloves and sticks were thrown in the air. The crowd was somber, nothing like if you'd had been in Pittsburgh, but it didn't matter. Everyone piled on top of each other to celebrate and as you emerged from the pile your eyes scanned the bench looking for (Y/N), yet she wasn't there.

 Handshakes commenced; a tradition long upheld at the end of a playoff series. It was only after, as you still celebrated with your teammates that you saw her, standing in the back, waiting with some of the other staff members to watch you receive the Stanley Cup. Her smile was brighter than the sun and while you knew you had a perma-grin plastered on, yours grew wider just looking at her. You were awarded the Conn-Smythe trophy and you were able to hear her say congratulations when you skated it back for someone to take back to the locker room for you. It wasn't enough, but it would have to do for now.

 The Stanley Cup presentation took place next, and you raised it above your head, cheering and skating around the ice. You passed the trophy off and quickly had microphones shoved in your face, giving a few quick interviews as it was passed from player to player. Finally, it was time for the team photo and you saw Mario drag her out on the ice. You knew she didn't feel as though she should be there, but you were glad she was. As soon as the was over, everyone's families crowd out to congratulate them. Your parents and sister were right there in the front and after a few pictures with the cup and them, you skated around joining in the celebration. Over to your left, Anna had her legs wrapped around Geno, the two sharing a passionate kiss, and to your right, you saw Vero and Flower doing the same. It was then you realized how incomplete the cup win actually was. Oh, you were still thrilled that you'd won your second championship; it just finally hit you that it would've been so much better to celebrate it with (Y/N). You wanted her legs wrapped around you, kissing you senseless, and pictures with just the two of you and the cup. You vowed right then and there that you'd win another one, just so that you could have a moment like that with her.

 You spotted her then. She was standing off to the side with Tanger's son Alex, crouched down low talking to him about everything that was going on. You skated over to him, lowering yourself to his level as well. "Hey bud, are you excited?"

 He shook his little head. "Uncle Sid, Nous avons gagne la coupe!"

 "Yes we did, win the cup, Alex."

 "He was teaching me how to say it in French, weren't you Alex?"

 "Oui." You scooped him up in your arms then, for even as excited as he was, you could see that the late-night was taking a toll on him.

 "I was just watching him for a minute, while Kris and Catherine had an interview or something." Alex rested his little hard on your shoulder and (Y/N) moved closer to the two of you to brush his hair out of his face. "Are you sleepy buddy?" He reached out his hand for (Y/N) to take him.

 "What, Uncle Sid is no good now or what?" You teased the toddler.

 "She sings better than you, Uncle Sid."

 You handed the boy over, and he wiggled around in (Y/N)'s arms trying to get comfortable. The problem was you were all still on the ice, only (Y/N) was still in heels. You reached around to support her more until Alex finally determine what obviously was the place he wanted to rest his little head, her breasts.

 Things winded down on the ice and everyone moved back to the locker room. You waited until almost everyone was back there, then brought the cup in. Everyone was cheering, champagne was flowing everywhere, in the air, in the cup; it was complete chaos in the best sense. You were soaked head to toe in some form of alcohol. After pouring several bottles into Lord Stanley's Cup, you took a drink then held it up for your teammates, coaches, and staff. Eventually, Tanger and Flower coax (Y/N) over to partake as well. You tried to pour as little as possible but of course, it ended up all over her just like it was everyone else. She was just as soaked as everyone else.

 The team partied in the locker room for a couple hours, then headed back to the hotel. As the captain, you were entitled to keep the cup for the night, so you carried it into your room and set down next to all the things (Y/N) had put in your room for this trip. You still really hadn't gotten to celebrate with just her, you'd only had that brief moment with her and Alex. Pulling out your phone, you shot her a quick text. If you have a sec, can you come down here? You didn't have to tell her where for you knew she'd assigned the rooms and would know where you were staying. Be down in a minute. She sent back.

 About five minutes later there was a knock on your door. "Everything ok?"

 You opened the door for her to come in, then shut it behind her. Her hair was slightly damp, probably after the shower she'd just taken to get the alcohol off, and she had an oversized Pens Championship t-shirt, the same as you, and a pair of leggings on. She looked adorable and sexy at the same time, a combination that wreaked havoc on your senses. "Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

 "When you text me, I thought something happened with the cup and you needed me to find fairies with little metal hammers to take the dents out."

 That caused both of you to laugh. "Fairies, really (Y/N)?"

 She simply lifted her shoulder in a shrug. "With a trophy this old, you never know. Anyway, what did you need?"

 "Oh, well I just realized something."

 When you paused a second, she asked. "What's that?"

 "Just that I haven't got to celebrate the win with you at all tonight." A sweet little smile graced her face.

 "We celebrated in the locker room." She countered.

 "Yeah, that wasn't what I meant." You took a step closer to her, now only inches separating the two of you. "There's been something I've wanted to do all night."

 "And what's that?"

 "This," you stated as you closed the gap between you, capturing her chin between your thumb and index finger, before closing your lips over hers. She was taken back for only a second, and then her hands slid up around your neck and she pressed her body to yours. You took possession of her mouth then, your tongue sweeping in and swirling with hers. Kissing (Y/N) was everything you had dreamed; your only regret was that you hadn't done it sooner. She was soft and pliant under your hands, as you skated them down her back. Her mouth molded to yours, as she returned the kiss.

 When you finally broke apart, you were both breathing heavily. You rested your forehead on hers, cherishing the moment for a minute longer. "That was…" she sighed out, eyes still closed.

 "Perfect," you told her and hoped she felt the same way.

 "Yeah."

 "So…I was thinking?" You pulled back to look at her.

 "Then we must not have been doing it right." A light laugh escaped your lips.

 "I was thinking of this before we did that." She raised her eyebrows at you. "Stay with me tonight?"

 "Uh…um…" she sputtered out.

 "Hear me out, before you answer." You quickly continued before she could protest. "Tonight has been perfect; everything about it. There's only one thing that could make it better and that's spending it with you in my arms." You felt her sigh before you actually heard it, and you weren't sure if it was one of acquiescence or rejection. "I just want to hold you, like I did that night at my house. Nothing more…not yet at least." She blushed then and you may have as well.

 "But Sid, what if someone sees us?"

 "No one will care (Y/N). Besides, they'll eventually find out, once I officially get to take you on a date."

 She closed her eyes again, shielding you from her thoughts. Your hand rubbed circles on her hip, coaxing her to say yes. "Ok," she softly whispered.

 Her agreement was like winning the Stanley Cup all over again, and you dropped a swift peck to her lips. "By the way, this looks good on you." You tugged at her shirt pulling her towards the bed before she changed her mind.

 "It's a bit big."

 "I have some pants that would go with it." You told her referring to the ones she wore when she was at your house.

 "Oh my god, I still have them." Her face turned a delicious shade of red.

 "Keep them. I have a feeling I might need them for when I stay over at your place."

 "You seem pretty confident, about that happening, Mr. Crosby." She playfully swatted at your chest, before spinning around to turn down the bed, shimming out of her leggings before climbing in.

 "I'd say hopefully optimistic."  She crawled into the bed, scooting over to the other side, while you shucked off your identical t-shirt and shed your sweats so that you were only clad in a pair of boxers. You were under the covers before she even knew you had discarded the clothing.

 "Hmm, maybe I should sleep on top of the covers." You gave her a questioning look. "Can't have you getting overconfident." All you could do was shake your head and pull her close; her head resting on your chest, just as it had days ago. She still fit perfectly in your arms, and you took a moment to appreciate everything you had at that moment. "This is nice, just you, me, and that big silver trophy. You played a hell of a game Sid."

 "Thanks, but it wasn't just me."

 She propped her chin up on her hand to look at you. "There are no cameras at the moment, take the compliment."

 "Only if it comes with a kiss." She leaned over then, her lips hovering above yours for the briefest moment before they gently caressed yours. She sucked on your bottom lip, before sweeping her tongue in and stealing your breath away. You moved your bodies so that you were both laying on your sides, as your hands roamed over her hips and back. You deepened the kiss even more, and she moaned into your mouth, the sound causing your cock to stiffen. It would be so easy to just slide her onto her back, coax her out of her shirt and make love to her. However, you'd all but promised her you wouldn't go that far; so you found yourself pulling away from the kiss earlier than either of you liked. You rolled onto your back, pulling her so that half her body was on top of you. "We should sleep before this goes any further."

 She planted a kiss on your chest and you returned it with one to the top of her head. It wasn't long before both of you were fast asleep. Sunlight stole through the curtains causing you to wake up. (Y/N) still lay sleeping on your chest. It was around eight in the morning and you knew everyone would be getting up soon and meeting for breakfast, before heading back to Pittsburgh. You hated that you had to wake her, yet it couldn't be helped. "(Y/N)," you whispered lightly shaking her, then rubbing your hands across her back. "Baby, it's time to get up."

 She moaned slightly, still in a sleep fog. "Mmm, did you just call me baby?"

 "Um…maybe?" You hadn't realized you'd let the term of endearment fall from your lips. "Is that ok?"

 "Mmm…" Every time the light hum slipped out of her lips it elicited wicked thoughts from you. "Yeah…I kind of like it."

 You kissed her nose then. "Good, because I have a feeling, I'm going to use it more often." Your lips dropped down to hers then, stealing a kiss.

 She pulled back too quickly for your liking. "I should go."

 "I can't wait until you don't have to." She giggled then, before squirming out of your arms and out of bed. "I'll meet you down at breakfast then?"

 "Yeah, I'll be down as soon as I pack." She tossed her leggings back on, before throwing her hair in some type of messy bun. You got up and reached for her, pressing her close to you.

 "Let me make sure no one is in the hall first." You didn't release her though, instead, you kissed her again, letting your mouth worship hers one last time before having to pretend there was nothing going on between you. "You know next season; you're going to have to make our rooms next to each other."

 "Oh really?"

 "Mmmhmm, better yet they should be adjoining. I'll be sure to put it on my paper so you remember." She just laughed and shook her head at you. "Wait, I have an even better idea." She pulled back, to get a better look at your face. "We can just share a room; it would save the team money."

 "You'd be sick of me."

 "Never," you answered before kissing her again.

 "I better go." You released her, before opening the door to check and see if anyone was in the hall.

 "All clear. I'll see you in a bit." She went to leave, and you pulled her back one last time for a quick kiss before she headed down the hall and back to her room. The last twenty-four hour had been the best of your life and you had a feeling they were only going to get better from here on out.

[kravkalackin]

concept: au where barry actually finds lup and frees her from the umbrella, but is dumb because of baby jellyfish. so Lup has to figure out what's going on while trying to protect Barry from dying, because she doesn't know if barry will remember when he's dead, and doesn't know he has a clone machine. Feat barry falling in love with lup all over again because he doesn't remember, and lup finding each of her former teammates and trying to convince them she's on their side while they don't remembr

oh i’ve got an au where lup is the red robe and barry is alive here but this direction sounds very fun 

Barry isn’t sure what the coin expected him to find in this cave, but he could say he wasn’t that impressed. Nearly dying really wasn’t worth a big door he couldn’t open for shit, and some corpse lying in the corner. 

After spending the better part of an hour trying and failing to get the door open (the coin said he needed Gundren. Barry had not managed to get the job though, so he might have robbed the guy to get his map and a jar of blood) he finally turned to inspect the corpse, the only other thing worth noticing in here. It was wrapped in a long red robe, and something about it made Barry sad. That was the only way he could describe it, just sad. 

He grabbed the staff from them, wincing when the body and robe crumbled into dust among the streams of red lightning. When it was over, the cave felt eerily quiet. 

“Well, that happened,” he said, taking one more look at the umbrella. It just seemed like a regular umbrella, but closer inspection showed that there was something weird about it. Barry didn’t know a lot of magic shit, he didn’t know a lot of shit in general if he was being honest, but he was pretty sure this was a magic thing. 

There didn’t seem to be anything left to find here though, not if he couldn’t get past that door. So, he went to leave. 

He was about halfway out of the cave when something fell on him from the ceiling. 

Barry barely managed to get out a yelp as he was thrown to the ground by the jelly. He felt the umbrella smash against the ground with him, getting caught and snapped between the rocks, a few bits stabbing into his shoulder for good measure. He didn’t get any time to focus on that or the fact that he was about to get eaten by a blob when suddenly the cave was engulfed in flames. He could see them, could hear them sizzling the jelly into nothing off his back, could feel their warmth but not a simple flame managed to burn him. 

And he could hear laughing. Delighted, ecstatic laughter that rung around the cave like bells. When the fire died Barry managed to look up to see the source, and it was that corpse, except they were different. She was different. The apparition in front of him was still wearing that bright red robe, her hands and legs made of charred black bones, the hood pulled up over a shadowed face with only the glowing suggestion of features. 

She looked like a flame herself, and she was laughing with her arms spread out and in that moment Barry decided she was the most beautiful and terrifying thing he’d ever seen in his entire life. 

And then she looked at him, and she somehow managed to look even happier. Which made Barry all the more terrified. 

“Babe!” she shouted, suddenly diving down at him, and Barry felt arcane hands help lift him off the ground. “It’s so fucking good to see you! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to get trapped. How long has it been? Where’s everyone else? God I wish I could smooch your face right now,” she said, and her bony hands were holding Barry’s face as much as they could, and as soon as his brain processed all of that he stumbled back. 

“Whoa! Uh, that’s not necessary. Appreciated, but oh damn, who are you?” he asked, and all that joy seemed to leak out of the apparition in front of him. 

“Babe?” she asked, her voice now confused and hurt. 

“It’s uh, it’s Barry,” he said, because he didn’t know how to handle this. “Is this like, a magic thing? I didn’t- this isn’t one of those, broke the curse and accidentally get married to some super magical creature things, is it? Because like, I’m not saying it’s completely off the table, but uh, a dude would appreciate some warning,” he stumbled out. She was looking at him now, staring at him, and he had no idea what she was thinking. 

“Is this Fisher?” she asked, whispered so quietly he was sure the question wasn’t actually for him. “Barry, tell me what you hear when I speak,” she said, and Barry nodded. She began to say something then, or at least, he assumed she did. He couldn’t understand a word of it. 

“Static. It just- it sounds like static,” he said, and she nodded, looking almost grim. And then her posture changed, seeming more determined as she came in close again, taking both of his hands in hers. 

“Well, I can’t tell you everything. I guess you could call it a curse, which we are going to have to break. I can tell you this though. My name is Lup, you freed me, we are officially married, and I am hopelessly and completely in love with you.” 

There was a long moment as Barry stood there, slowly letting that information sink into his brain. It was a lot to take in. It was way fucking more than he was prepared for coming to this cave, and he had no idea what to actually do with him. When he did finally manage to say something, it wasn’t much, and it came out as more of a squeak than anything. 

“Oh.”

[muffindaddystyles]

𝓛𝓲𝓽𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓢𝓾𝓷𝓰𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻 ❤︎

A/n: My moot from twitter made a whole thread that what if Harry wrote sunflower vol6. for some fan, she wanted the idea in words so here ya go!

Crowd just to admire Harry, cheering, loving, showering him in their evermost affection.

Harry performs like he was born for this; a punk rockstar with a flower crown on his head, bout to dominate the world just from his kindness.

After performing three songs he was engulfing in conversation with his fans and he points towards you but your friends gestures if he wants to talk to her.

You're wearing a pastel dress with hues of yellow accessories. You're so red in your own way, popping out from the crowd in the bloody bold way but you're shy and skittish around people.

You're just dancing along with your bestie, swaying your hips to only angel and then doing your own sexy moves to show your friend making fun of it afterwards.

Harry couldn't snatch his focus from you and the band noticed it so they teased him, tsking at him and mouthing him his pet name 'wep' under the loud shrivels of their guitars.

You wouldn't deny that you wanted to catch his attention too but you don't know how to.

Everyone's complementing him in their fondest way and whenever you parted your plump glossy lips to shout something nothing came out.

While playing guitar, Harry gazes at you intensely his brows furrowing when he sees that your bestfriend cupped your face to say something in your ear.

He's so fuckin' jealous. He wants to be there to cup your face, stroke you and maybe kiss you.

You looks so damn kissable. He thinks you're so golden beaming around the pink sky.

Now, when he's asking your friend's name out glancing at you from the corner of his eyes your heart drops. English isn't your first language, and this made your hands shake at the side.

You don't wanna fuck this up.

"What's your pretty name darlin'?" He smiles at you feeling a bit shy from your peer that's nothing but anxiousness, Sara and Mitch exchange looks with eachother while Harry waited patiently to get your calm voice to reach to him because at this point he can do everything.

"Y/n-y/n!" You're far from him so you shouted and it stuttered making you even more blush like a coral stone.

Fuckin' beautiful name, just like her Harry's heart gave a beat.

He doesn't want to dissapoint you by taking your name wrong, you're too precious to pronounce you differently that's why he reminisced your name many times under his breath before taking it.

"Y/n, right?" You bobbed your head a bit loosening up and smiling coyly fuck Harry wants to flop at ground just at this, "soo where are you from ba- y/n?"

"Not from here!" You told him now properly locking your eyes and Harry noticed your eyes colour's so common but looks so rare on you.

Harry mimicked you doing his comic accent, "No- Not from here, that's why asked ye' from where!?!" The crowd cheered and you laughed clutching your sides telling your country name.

"I hope you're havin' a good time, y/n." He grins combing his loose curls back and sipping his water, then throwing the water on the crowd intentionally so it would reach you and he could dive in another cute moment of you.

The whole show went like this but he wants you more than singing his melodies to you and he notices that you're getting exhausted and tired but utterly overloaded with cuteness forgetting lyrics to every other song now and then, your shoes aching you so you sat down but he jolts in panic thinking you just fell and is afraid you'll come under everyone's feet.

But when you again stood up he practically heaved shaking his to scold him that he shouldn't do this, he'll end up hurting himself from missing you and thinking about you everytime.

Getting attached too soon is Harry's weak point.

The show ended and he wanted to call you backstage but you were long gone leaving your sunflower-ey coral sunshine behind.

.

Harry went through his breakup going to Japan to give him his own solace, he went through his journal where he has written all his songs and his eyes fell over the cursive words he lovingly wrote on this specific side of his journal.

He wrote a song about you right after running backstage. Kid Harpoon wanted to make some changes in the lyrics but Harry criticised that no changes will be made in this particular song, he doesn't care if it's a hit or not, this came straight out of his heart and it matters alot to him.

One day he was wandering in london when you marched from a bookshop bumping square into one person you couldn't possibly imagine, Harry.

Your canvases, books, brushes everything flew to ground and Harry's on cloud nine a feeling of when he did shrooms spreads in his chest.

"Sorry. Shit yeah." You both said in unison squatting down to collect your things.

Your heads hitting and you giggled making Harry giggle too.

"Kay there's this saying in my culture that if your forehead gets hit by another person you should hit it twice else horns grows on your head." Your eyes glinting and he shakes his head gently pressing his head against yours.

He saw your fingers shaking so he again muttered a 'sorry' feeling bad for no-reason.

"Is it your painting?" He asked and you nodded taking the canvas from him, his touch's so soft you've only imagined it or heard from the people who met him that he has the softest warmest touch. "It's beautiful."

You're in awe of him. Ofcourse you love him but you don't know how much Harry's in love with you.

He's in awe of your talent too, he knew you'd love to paint from how vivid you're. It's one of the things he imagined bout you before going to bed.

Harry was taken aback by your respect for his consent when you asked him if you could hug him and he opened his arms wide for you.

"C'mere darlin'." Million sparks shooted inside his body when you coiled your arms around his neck because of your height, he's so happy he wants to cry.

Fuck this he wants you to be his and he's gonna drag his arse for it.

He sniffed in your shampoo and scent which's vanilla, strawberries and galaxies.

"Umm..y/n would you like to grab a coffee with me?" You are appalled. you never thought he'd remember you but who's gonna tell you that you were his only thought and the dream of his heart.

"Sure! Thank you." You beamed walking alongside of him to the nearest café.

Harry thinks you're so kind that maybe you felt rude to reject his offer but this's just his anxiety.

Anyways you talked to him about things he didn't know, you asked him how life's going even though his life's all where on the headlines.

You've never drank black coffee in your life but ordered it from the embarrassment of judgment from him and when you sipped it you practically gagged.

"Wanna swap, I just took a sip?"

"Thank you never drank black coffee in my life." He didn't asked you why but you yourself told him sipping from his and it's mocha sweet as him, "not very much common where I used to live."

Harry wants to get to know you more. About your culture, your interests and specifically just you.

"There's this get-together at my home this Saturday, would you like to come it's okay if you don't want to." He rubbed the back of his neck a little nervous.

"I'd love too!" You smiled even though you're all jittery from inside. You don't know what's happening but you're just going along with it.

"Kay. See ya there." He took your hand writing his number inside your palm and he swear that he felt like he dipped his hand into a sweet pudding when he held you.

.

You got ready with feathery makeup and simple outfit, you haven't told anyone that you met Harry. You've baked cupcakes for him because your mother has always taught you to never go empty hand to someone's house.

All the expensive cars parked at his driveway wanted to make you cry, you're so nervous.

Harry's nervy too he lectured everyone not to suffocate you and give her some space knowing how lovey-dovey his friends could be.

"And don't call me pet names infront her." He seriously told Jeff who offered him tequila but he pushed it away, there's no way he's getting drunk today. "Okay foof." Jeff patted him hardly.

"Hmm. Plannin' to become someone else's baby." Sara laughed sitting comfortably between mitch's legs and Harry shakes his head shyly snapping when the door bell rang.

He was out of breath when you were infront of him. He hugged you kissing your cheek and you took in his smell trying to calm yourself.

"Y'okay?" He frowned caringly placing his hands on your shoulders, your eyes are glassy that's why he asked.

Clearing your throat you handed him the cupcakes nodding and smiling, "yes umm here."

"Hi love!" Everyone greeted you and hugged you.

Harry was acting quite selfish taking the cupcakes inside his kitchen to eat them all to himself and when he came back you were chatting with his friends quite enjoying their company.

His mind crawls to the thought of you in between his embrace while his friends becomes your friends and you spending festives together, you hanging out with him at the places you love to be at.

You were praising their talents and then Harry's and he didn't miss the glimmer of admiration in your eyes for him.

"You're quite such a fan of Harry." One of his friends says and you just nodded not knowing what else to say. To everyone else you're just a fan that Harry invited to his home.

Harry glared him. The last thing he wanted to make you feel was invadilate your caring, humble and nice feelings towards not just Harry but to everyone.

"Can I steal y/n for a second?" Harry asked smiling down at you and Sarah spat playfully, "she's all yours."

"Uhh..thank you for these." He pointed at the delights you baked for him swelling his heart at your care and you shook your head.

"I love these on you." He indicated to the pearls around your neck. Hooking your finger to unclasp it you mumbled, "do you want it?"

But didn't waited for his answer and secured it around his neck. Shivers running down Harry's spine when the pads of your fingers brushed the baby curls over the nape of his neck.

"Thank you so much." Harry thinks he can't thank you enough. You just keep on giving him reasons to owe you, this's the perfect opportunity to love you and let you know.

He took you to his bedroom quickly going to his wardrobe and you looked around, he has frames of his family and his recently ex-girlfriend.

You don't know about her that deep but you know he was deeply in love with her, if ever you know how much he loves you.

In his recent interview he talked about how he met this person and the new album's all about exploring relationship. You think so the new songs will be about her, she really's so ravishing.

He came back sitting close to you and before you even properly look at him he locked a necklace around you.

A sunflower necklace falling between the valley of your cleavages. Harry has bought this for you in the hope that you'll meet him sometimes in this world again and wore it around his neck during the whole writing process of his album.

You opened the brass golden sunflower and it had 'you're my sunflower' encarved on it.

"You're the only cloud in my mind, the only dream of my heart. Can't stop thinkin' bout you it's been two years." You rubbed soothing circles at his knee closing distance between you two while he confessed his feelings for you.

"Please let me love you.." There was a crease on his forehead and you massaged it away smiling weakly at him because you don't think so if your heart's beating.

"I'm all yours to love." He whined at your words grasping you in his arms and shoving his face inside the crook of your neck.

"Can I kiss ye'?" He asked you and you intervined you fingers in his shaky ones.

Lips brushing his and his eyes fluttered close just at the approximty.

He placed your legs on both side of his torso flushing your chests together and peppering kisses all over your face carefully.

Pressing your temples against eachother when his lips were mere away from yours, and when you molded your hand around his face he leaned into kiss you.

Giving a hot swipe to the cupid bow of your lip, tasting every inch of you. Hands everywhere, kissed you and kissed you and kissed you until you weren't breathing his name.

"Fuck. Tastes just as I imagined." Your head fell against his toned pecs and he placed his lips over your hair hugging you tight for you could become one. His.

"M'little sunflower."

.

[wonderlandmind4]

Delicate Stages Ch 48

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x OFC Ana Rios

Summary: Bucky Barnes agrees to participate in Deprogramming Sessions. What he gets is not anything like he expected.

Warnings: Language. Violence. Blood. Fighting. Choking.

Words: 6k+ @justreadingfics @nerdyandproud9 @buffy-morgendorffer-01​

One hour before Stage Ten:

Impatient fingers taps against a wooden surface, waiting for Ana’s confirmation. Max sighs, checking the time on his phone once again, a notification buzzing as he does. The message he was waiting for comes through, though it's not what he was expecting. He rereads the text to double check; Ana has moved the time of the last stage an hour out, and to take his lunch if he pleases. Slight suspicion registers in his gut, but when another text come through with nothing but pizza and coffee emoji, the feeling settles. Locking his phone, Max stands up from his desk in the Security department, deciding to take his lunch.

Half hour before Stage Ten:

Max is just about finished with his food, crushing the wrapper of the sandwich between his hands, when Jared Sharp walks in. He halts the second he sees him sitting at the table, a confused expression crosses his face. He points behind him.

"Weren’t you just in the Lab with Rios?" Sharp questions.

Max nearly bites his tongue to hold back a snippy retort, until he picks up on the confused curiosity in his tone. "She moved it to three. It's only half past two."

Sharp frowns. "No. I just left there. She's there now with Barnes."

Max shakes his head, tossing his wrapper into the trash. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Rolling his eyes, he marches over to Max. "I mean. You are standing guard during the Session right fucking now. Yet somehow you are in two places at once."

Max snatches his phone up, rereading the text. He shows it to Jared, already standing up and pulling his gun from his belt.

"Rios didn't have her phone with-"

"Fuck. Let's go!" Max tucks his phone into his pocket, running out of the café.

Jared follows quickly behind him, also pulling out his gun. "How the hell did you let this happen?" He sounds irritated.

"I don't think you have the right to show concern for Ana right about now. Or ever." Max snips, bypassing the elevator. He presses the COM in his ear, turning it on. "I need eyes on Rios and Barnes in the Lab. possible compromise in the session. Possible Hydra personal again."

"She's still Alex's baby sister." Jared says. "I'm not that heartless."

"Could've surprised me." Max mutters.

They're dashing down the second flight of stairs when a loud explosion sounds from somewhere above them, shaking the building. They pause to stare at each other, then glance up at the ceiling. Max makes the split decision to find Ana, rather than investigate what just happened.

"Fuck." He hisses, running down the steps again. 

"That's probably a diversion. Pull everyone's attention to the bomb. Get the Avengers to focus on a false breech instead of the Lab."

Goddammit, Max knows Jared’s suspicious are possible. They finally reach the floor, and the theory is proven correct. The floor is empty, as is the Lab when they enter. Max sprints towards the room, aiming his gun at the handle, shooting once and blowing off the knob.

They arrive too late. Ana is slung over someone's back, her body limp. Max's heart clenches in fear, then drops to his stomach when he sees Bucky across the shoulders of another person. The man is massive, easily able to carry the super soldier’s weight.

Next to him, Jared aims his weapon and fires. The bullet lodges in the thigh of the second man, who stumbles for a moment, the weight of Bucky making him lurch forward. The man sneers, points his gun and fires three rounds. Max dives out of the way, and the moment he springs back up, they're gone.

"Fuck!" Max shouts, tapping his COM again. No one has responded. "Rios and Barnes has been kidnapped. They're heading towards the second level of the Lab. Block all exists! Find Captain Rogers now! I repeat, find Captain Rogers!”

He turns to Jared. "I don't fucking understand, how did Bucky allow-"

Max halts. Jared is slumped against the wall, putting pressure over his chest, blood seeping between his fingers. Another wound deep in his stomach; Max presses his hand over it. He drops his gun and taps his COM once more.

"I need immediate medical attention. Deprogramming room, first level of the Lab." He requests gravely. "Two gun shot wounds to the chest and abdomen." 

“Did-did I save her?” Jared gasps, trying to catch his breath. His green eyes are fading.

Apparently, he was knocked down before he could see what happened. Max is conflicted, wants to tell him the truth, but he ends up lying instead; in the end, Jared tried to protect Ana. “Yeah. You did.”

“Good, that’s good. Alex will be happy.” His eyes flutter. His breath hitches and chest stutters.

Then Jared closes his eyes. Max waits for the team to arrive, keeping his hand over the wound.

*

Two minutes before the Capture:

Ana stares down at the unconscious man next to her, the widow's bite taser stopping it's currents. Her knife is still embedded into his arm, and she leaves it there out of spite. She lifts her eyes to Bucky, a quip on her tongue about not knocking all the man's teeth in, except that the guy is already bleeding from the mouth. Seems like Bucky had a little more fun then she did. She pouts, sticking out her lip, then he turns to look at her.

He chuckles, a soft little sound that never fails to make her stomach flutter. "What's that look for, darlin’?"

"That was too easy." She sighs. "No fun." She holds up her right wrist. "Bracelet's handy though."

She scrunches her nose at him as he rolls his eyes, a small smile on his lips. Then he turns back to the imposter. Ana briefly wonders where Max is, and how they were able to delay him. He would have caught onto the fake guard in a second.

“I’m going to call Steve.” Ana informs. She taps her bracelet twice until it lights up. “FRIDAY.”

“Ms. Rios.” The soft lilt of the AI voice responds.

“Call St-“ She freezes. Something sharp and cold is pressing against the vein in her neck. There’s only one person next to her, can see him from the corner of her eye.

“Motherfucker.” She hisses in disgust. “It’s been you this whole fucking time.”

The needle pierces her skin, sharp and pinching hard because he doesn't give one damn about it. The foreign sensation of the drugs seep and spread throughout her veins like ice. It works fast, efficient, the effects of it already shutting down her body functions. Ana’s limbs quickly become heavy, her right arm dropping to her side, and she blinks to fight off the blurry vision.

“Call out to your Soldier, Rios.” Erik Woods whispers in her ear. “I want him to see this.”

“Fuck you.” Ana sneers, her tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth.

Through the cotton in her ears, she registers the soft click of his gun. Then she sees him pointing the barrel at Bucky, his back is still turned to them, questioning the agent, too busy to realize what’s happening.

“He’s a super soldier, but I’m pretty sure even he can’t survive a bullet to the head. Call him.” Erik threatens.

Ana squeezes her eyes shut, terror spiking up her spine. She’s helpless. She’s got drugs pumping into her system and a gun pointed at the man she loves. Her heart rate is slowing, her stomach churning with bile rising up to her throat. She feels a quick stinging session from the bracelet, like the sting of a bee. Dropping her eyes to her wrist, her skin glows red for a moment then returns to normal. Her bracelet just embedded a tracker into her arm, courtesy of FRIDAY, who is probably recording this exchange. She would feel hopeful, if Ana wasn’t struggling to keep herself upright.

“Do it.”

“Bucky,” Ana breathes out.

Through the blackened spots of her vision, Bucky turns. He drops the guard, a feral snarl on his face. The last thing she sees is the utter rage in his eyes, laced with fear. She think words are spoken, but it sounds like she's under water, the pressure pressing down on her body, dragging her, drowning her in darkness.

***

Silence. Darkness. Heavy. 

A pounding ache brings gradual awareness. Another throb of pain pulls Ana from the fuzzy black of her mind; her head feels like its splitting open. She attempts to open her eyes, but they feel glued shut. She tries to lift her head, but it feels like it weighs 100 pounds. She tries to move her arms, but realizes she’s tied down to a chair, arms pinned with leather straps. She tries moving her legs; they’re heavy, along with every muscle in her body. 

Ana

A noise breaks through the silence in her ears, muffled as if it’s submerged in water. Her head moves towards the sound, trying to find it's source. Her fingers twitch, and she suddenly begins to feel every other ache in her body coming to the surface.

Two tender spots throb in sensitive places; one on the left side of her neck, as if something stabbed her with a pencil. One on the crook of her right elbow, and a new phantom sting on her right wrist. A tracker. A miniature tracker was injected into her wrist by her bracelet, that she can feel is no longer there.

Annie doll.

Through her dark, lethargic mind, images of the previous events flash by. The two agents, the small fight, the needle puncturing her skin. Erik Wood sneering in her ear, and the terrified look in eyes so incredibly blue. 

Bucky. 

Ana's head shoots up. She groans and winces, clamping her teeth shut as a wave of nausea rises from her stomach. She inhales deeply through her nose, shutting her eyes, willing for it to subside. She breathes out her mouth once it passes and slowly opens her eyes. What she sees in front of her makes her close them again, because this can't be happening.

She reluctantly opens her eyes again, her worse nightmare set up right in front of her. Bucky is there, a relieved expression washing over his face, shoulders slumping. He’s sat several feet away from her, locked down to the electro-shock chair. The one that has starred in her nightmares. The one that tortures, that suppresses memories, erases the mind; Bucky's mind.

"Annie, thank God." Bucky sighs, his voice slightly shaky, smiling despite their current predicament. 

"No." She whispers horrified.

Breathing hard through her nose, her chest expanding up and down, she swallows back the bile burning in her throat. Her chin trembles and she grind her teeth together to stop from screaming. Devastating defeat shines in Bucky’s eyes, his grin now self-deprecating, tugging at his mouth. As if he’s saying that he failed her. If anyone has failed anyone, it's Ana. She couldn't keep him out of Hydra’s hands.

She vehemently shakes her head, ignoring the pounding ache. "No, no, no!" 

The last word breaks, tears stinging and welling up in her eyes. Fear prickles throughout her body, she doesn't know how to get him out of this. She doesn't know how to save him. She’s helpless. She begins to tremble.

"Hey," Bucky coos softly. "Sweetheart, it's going to be alright. I'll keep you safe, I promise."

God, of fucking course his only goal here is to protect her. He is held prisoner it that chair once again, and all he can think about is saving her. Ana can't blame him though, since her only goal is to protect him too, free him from the never ending tentacles of Hydra.

"This is my fault." He continues ruefully. There's a split second of fear crossing his face before he schools it again. It lingers in the air.

"No, no. Don't!" Ana nearly gasps, trying to control her breathing. "I'm so sorry, Bucky. I-"

"Ana." His voice is so gentle, it tugs at her heart. "Don't you dare blame yourself."

She watches as Bucky glances around the room before he flexes his arms, biceps bulging beneath his shirt. Something snaps on his restraints, and in a few seconds Bucky will be free. It's then Ana notices two machines dawning automatic guns on either side of him. She lifts her eyes, the same machines are on her too, whirring to life as if-

“Ah ah, Sergeant." Erik Woods suddenly tisks from behind Ana. "You break free, those guns will shoot her. She breaks free, they shoot you. Wouldn’t want her blood on your hands now would we?”

Ana's heart sinks to her feet. He can't know that. There's no way he could know Bucky's deepest and worse fear. Bucky stops moving, an absolutely feral look on his face, his jaw clenching. Abruptly his expression turns stoic, but Ana sees the flash of terror reflecting in his eyes, feels it taint his energy. A harsh hand grabs her, gripping her hair and yanking her head backwards.

"Don't fucking touch her!" Bucky shouts, struggling against the bonds again. The guns next to Ana move, whirring to life once more. He halts.

"Took you long enough to wake up." Erik teases, then shoves her head forward. He walks around so he's standing between them, smirking pridefully at her, mocking her. Ana wishes a slow painful death on him.

"If you escape, Rios, if you use your nifty little ability to shut down the power, I’ll put a bullet in that damaged brain of his. Let’s test that shall we?”

Erik’s hand jerks towards her throat, wrapping his fingers around her neck in a bruising, vice grip. All air is cut from Ana.

She hears thrashing, hears Bucky screaming “Get your fucking hands off her!”

Ana’s eyes fall to him, watching as he jerks in the chair, rage coloring his face, horror in his eyes. She clenches her fists, trying uselessly to gasp for air. Her windpipe feels seconds away from being crushed. Her vision is beginning to blacken around the edges and her face is burning, blood pounding in her ears. Her body begins to jerk involuntary, desperate to break free, desperate for air. Bucky’s screams of fury fade out in her ears. Her heart pumping slower.

Woods finally releases her. Her head drops forward, Ana heaving air to fill her lungs. She gasps, and sputters, coughing as she regains her breath, her cheeks wet from unwilling tears. She inhales mouthfuls of air, trying to get the oxygen back to her brain, refill her lungs.

“His life is worth more than yours? How pitiful.” He rolls his eyes, glancing over his shoulder. "He's nothing but our weapon. Our perfect asset."

"I will murder you, and I will take my sweet ass time doing so." Bucky growls, a snarl on his lips.

Ana wills her body to calm down, holding her ability back as much as she can. "You-you were in charge of everything." She pants, voice strained and ragged. "You realize once we-we get out of here, that we're all coming for you, right?"

"You think so? As you said, I have been in charge of everything." Erik smiles menacingly back at her, pulling out a gun from his belt. He scratches his chin with the barrel. Insane fucker. 

"Those Avengers have no fucking idea either of you are here. I had to distract them, I had to distract everyone including you during your little session. I hacked into your phone, sent a text to Max. I planted a harmless bomb on the west side of the building, drawing almost every agent, every guard, every Avenger's attention away from the Lab."

Ana frowns briefly, shifting her eyes to meet Buckys own confused gaze. They come to the same conclusion simultaneously. That's what Ana had felt, the energy from the bomb, the energy from people buzzing around it.

"You'd think I'd just waltz in there without a plan?" He continues, "I've been planning this for years."

Bucky shakes his head, mouthing, Years? Ana shrugs the best she can with her arms held down. She refocuses her eyes on the crazy man in front of her.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" She demands. Might as well keep him talking, since he's wrong about no one knowing they're here.

He spins, a manic grin on his face. "I convinced Simon Mills to speed up the triggers, and to over take the fifth stage. I delayed you on purpose, Rios. I sent one of our agents to compromise the ninth stage. I have been undercover since the fall of SHIELD and Hydra in DC during 2014. I stayed undercover because I had a bigger mission than Alexander Pierce."

Ana's heart is racing. Erik steps closer to her, dragging a condescending finger down her cheek. She jerks away from his touch, and she can feel how tangible Bucky's rage is.

"It was meant to be you all along, AnaRosa Rios." Erik admits. "You heard of Dr. Zola's Algorithm? A program that targets anyone who's a threat, now or in the future, to Hydra. We knew of someone from your family to be special...your mother."

Ana's blood begins to boil at the mention of her mother. The shift in the air goes unnoticed by Erik.

"She was an Empathetic Healer just like you, though no where near your caliber. Which is probably why she never mentioned it to you, huh." Erik shrugs and continues.

"Your mother was rather sick during her first pregnancy, did you know that? Your father decided to take her to a Doctor named Murphy Woods. He told her she was a high risk pregnancy, kept her coming back for vitamin injections, or so he said. He gradually injected her with a serum, one designed to make our own special group of soldiers from birth."

"Fuck." Bucky breathes from behind Woods.

Ana can hardly react right now, keeping her eyes locked on Erik. She had no idea about any of this.

"The super soldier serum is a beautiful thing." He goes on. "Though we could never fully recreate it. However, if we could take that concept, and design it to activate the X gene in DNA, why not? We could easily monitor newborns, children, figure out if they were enhanced. The only problem was, the drug was too new, it took too long. 

“Until your family came along. Dr. Woods, or dad, as I like to call him, convinced your mother that her second pregnancy was high risk as well. It was perfect, there was only a three year difference between the babies. We could watch the eldest child, while keeping an eye on the infant."

"You sick fuckers." Ana whispers horrified, wanting to throw up. They've been watching her and Alex their entire lives. They lied to her parents. They lied to her mother, made her put her trust in a soulless person for the sake of experiments.

Erik ignores her. "We thought it was moot. Nothing had happened. Until your parents had a helping hand being run off the road and died 14 years later. The power at the funeral knocked out, along with ten other blocks. We knew it was one of her children. So, we followed closely, Alex always seemed to be around when it happened. Then he enlisted in the army. He beat out everyone else in training. He was tall, fit, fast, strong. Everything we knew the super soldiers to be.

"We thought it was him, and we took him. Needed to whip him into compliance." He turns to look at Bucky. "You know how that is, Soldier."

"I will rip your dick straight off your body you piece of shit." Ana threatens lowly, clenching her hands. 

It’s hard to breathe, her lungs hurt, her stomach rolls, her chest is tight. Hydra took her entire family from her. This whole time, Hydra was also responsible for her parents death. The air grows thicker, hotter; energy sizzles at her fingertips.

Erik tisks, walking around until he’s behind her again, pressing his cheek against hers. "Ah, ah, Rios. That tongue will get you both in trouble. We wasted time on your pathetic brother. Could've spent all this effort shutting that bitchy, stubborn mouth of yours up." He harshly grabs a fist full of her hair at the roots, yanking her head back. Ana yelps. His lips graze her ear.

"I will make you watch him suffer before I break you." Erik jerks her head forward, releasing her hair.

The lights in the room glow bright and the machines the guns are attached to shake. Erik is in front of her again, one eyebrow quirked up, as if challenging Ana to do more. She inhales slowly, thinks of keeping Bucky safe and bullet free, and controls her rage. The lights return to normal and the machines stop.

“Good girl." Erik smiles patronizingly. “Obviously, we figured out it wasn't your brother, but since we already started the memory wiping with him, we sent him to kill you, just for fun. It nearly worked, until we realized how powerful you really were. Without even knowing it!" 

He laughs haughtily, the noise echoing through her bones. He comes closer to her, bending over. "You probably would have made a great addition to Hydra, the both of you. The Life Drainer. The Soldier. Too bad we convinced Alexander to kill himself. Just shot himself in the head, crying to protect his baby sister.”

Ana feels fire in her veins. She spits in Erik's face. A sharp, stinging pain shoots across her left cheek as her face is jerked to the side. She hears Bucky bellow, struggling against the chair. Ana blinks the shock away, stretching her jaw to combat the pain. She turns her back to glare at Erik, seething. The lights flicker again, and she forms a plan.

When she spits in his face a second time, Erik’s hand shoots to her throat, squeezing his fingers around her neck once more. This is what she was counting on. Bucky is screaming, but Ana begins pulling Erik’s energy out from his body. It takes him several long moments to realize what she’s doing. Then he abruptly releases her, backhanding her hard across the mouth with the butt of his gun.

“Clever fucking bitch!” He gasps, taking a step back.

Warm blood gathers quickly in her mouth from her busted lip, Ana spits blood and saliva at his feet. Erik grabs her hair again, feeling several strand ripping from her scalp, yanking her head back roughly.

“Just for that..."

He tucks his gun away, then pulls a device out of his back pocket. He shows it off to Ana with a manic grin. A small five prong disk that looks like the widow's bite, each point long, a half inch in width and as sharp as needles. He presses the middle, then stabs the device against her inner right knee. 

A searing pain pierces though her leg. Feeling like the rods in her knee are being yanked from her bones. Ana screams in agony, throwing her head back. It’s nothing but blinding pain, building and building until something pops inside her knee. Tears sting behind her closed eyes, falling down her cheeks, her hands gripping the edges of the chair. 

She can barely hear Bucky calling out for her, but it's his voice that has her trying to rein in her own screams, to control her own breathing. She's had worse pain, she tells herself, and begins to breathe through her mouth.

“There. Stark's pieces of shit technology disabled.” Erik says gleefully. "Probably shouldn't list a knee injury in your file, sweetheart."

Ana hears Buck threatening him again, so she focuses on his voice, no matter how menacing he sounds. She has to be strong for him, she has to be able to grit her teeth, suck it up and get him out of that chair. She has to save him; she will be damned if Bucky falls right back into the abusive, heartless hands of Hydra once more.

Inhaling a deep, calming- shaky- breath, Ana drops her head back down, finding Bucky's eyes through her own watery ones. She offers him a weak grin and the look on his face breaks her heart.

"I'll get you out of here, Annie, I swear it." Bucky whispers, his voice cracking as a few tears escape his own blue eyes.

Ana nods, biting her lip but winces at the cut. The pain in her knee is subsiding into a throbbing ache. She slowly kicks her legs out to test it, but the white-hot pain shoots back up her thigh. If she escapes this, it's going to be difficult to fight, hell, to even walk. Erik suddenly pats her thigh, causing Ana to grit her teeth; a wave of sick curling dangerously in her stomach.

“We could see it, you know." Erik sighs in a dreamily sick tone. "Imagine it. Having an asset with your powers would make Hydra unstoppable. The Winter Soldier and an Energy Alchemist. Someone who could literally drain the life from people with just a simple touch. They were meant to take you, not your brother. They were meant to brainwash you, Rios."

"But, things happen and get in the way, so I waited, biding my time. Then the Winter Soldier ends up in the same place I am. Under cover for years, which was amazing fucking luck! The best part? You went ahead and fell in love with each other.” 

He snickers maniacally. “That’s where you failed. Love is weakness.”

Ana is in an immense amount of pain, her right leg beginning to go numb from her shin down, with a radiating sharp pain shoots up her thigh. Her neck is sore, bruised and hot with her vocal chords possibly damaged. Blood is still seeping into her mouth, so she spits it out once again. She can't take this anymore, she cracks. She shakes her head, chuckling under her breath, before her laughter becomes louder.

“Um. Ana, baby? You still with me?” Bucky questions confused and concerned, his voice raw from screaming. 

“Something funny, Rios?” Erik demands.

“Fucking hilarious.” Ana sneers at him. “Every villain, which is you by the way, dickless, believes that. That love has no place in a world of violence and control, world domination. Love isn’t weakness, you fucking tit bag. It’s strength. Just because your sick as fuck father was fixated on other children rather than his own son doesn't mean it's weak."

Erik grabs her face, his grip pressing into the cut on her lip. She hit a nerve for sure, given the glint of rage in his eyes. 

"I'm going to shut that nasty mouth of yours up, by making you watch your beloved Soldier’s mind be blended again. He won't recognize you, won’t remember you. He will shoot you on my command and you will be powerless to stop it."

He releases her face, looks at her blood on his thumb, then wipes it on his jeans. "What I neglected to inform you, Rios, is like the Captain and the Asset here, we can recreate the serum injected into your mother. We can take your blood, and recreate your powers." 

Erik jeers. "So, if I wanted to kill you. If I really wanted to, I would have no regrets in losing your source. I just need your blood, and you don't have to be alive for that."

Ana knew he fucking took blood from her already. The tiny needle mark in the crook of her elbow is evidence. She glares at Erik, wishing he could burn in hell at this very moment.

"The greatest thing about this," He chuckles like he was granted the best thing he could wish for. "Is that you nearly fixed him. You almost deprogrammed him to, what? Just end up back in his favorite little chair."

He leers at Bucky. "I see the fear in your eyes, Barnes. You won't be able to work your way through this one."

Ana's skin prickles with terror, with failure, and she wants to focus her energy, use it to pull Erik's out, to stop this process from happening. But the guns are still poised at Bucky, following every minuscule move she makes. If she does that, the guns will fire. She doesn't know what to do at this point, but she can not just sit here and watch him go through torture once again.

"Bucky." Her voice cracks, raspy. Copper heavy on her tongue, bile dangerously threatening to escape.

Bucky inhales slowly, closing his eyes. He takes a moment, before breathing out and reopens them. The smile he gives her is soft, loving, as if they're back in his bed wrapped around each other. The fondness in his eyes is there, it's the same one he gives her when she's rambling on about something.

"It's going to be fine, Annie. I swear." Bucky tells her firmly. "Don't worry, darling."

"I love you." She nearly whimpers, she has to tell him, to remind him. "I'm so sorry. I love you."

"I love you so much." He replies, his voice soft.

Erik moves behind her, pressing something on the wall; the buzz of the chair come to life. He apparently pulled his gun out again, pressing the barrel to Ana's jaw from behind her. Bucky falls silent, a murderous look overtaking his expression. 

Ana's heart stutters in her chest at the sight of it all. She forces air out of her nose, and flexes her arms against the restraints. He leans down to her level, his lips grazing over her ear.

"The most satisfying part of this," Erik whispers menacingly. "Is having you watch all your hard work come undone. You failed, Ana. Did you think that your silly little tactics were going to work? Deprogram decades of Hydra's most successful project with some meaningless, pathetic exercises. You’re delusional.”

Ana closes her eyes against the prickling she feels in them. Clenching and unclenching her fist. She's made her decision, can feel energy buzzing at her fingertips. She has to prevent that chair from hurting Bucky. 

"Did you honestly think," He pauses, pressing his mouth closer. "That falling in love with him would just erase everything?"

Ana jerks her head away from Erik. He straightens up and removes the gun. A tear escapes from her left eye, rolling down her cheek. Slowly, Ana locks gazes with Bucky, his expression broken, blue eyes wide and desperate.

I'm so sorry, she mouths at him as another tear falls. He shakes his head, still offering her a calm smile, those fond crinkles by his eyes.

"No matter what happens, you are the realest thing in my life," Bucky reminds her gently. 

"This will be fun." Erik chirps gleefully from behind her. He smacks his hand against something once more.

Suddenly, the machine whizzes to life, and the chair leans back. Bucky's chest is heaving with every anticipating breath, his hands squeezing into fists. The head pieces move to press firmly against his face, the zapping of electricity echoes throughout the room. A clenched scream rips from Bucky's throat; pierces straight through Ana's heart, shattering in her chest.

She can't take her eyes off him, watching horrified as the machine begins to wipe his brain once more. Ana can't let that happen to him again. Can't let the pain, the torture, continue. There's so much energy whizzing throughout the room, growing with the sound of Bucky's screams filling her ear; her body, her soul.

The buildup of energy is quick, can feel it surging around her, prickles her skin like needles. Ana feels it, holds that feeling in her chest until it's about to burst. She inhales slowly, then releases it. A bright light explodes through the room, the lighting simultaneously shutting off. 

The room is thrown into darkness, the chair ceases noise along with Bucky's screams. There's a thud behind her, like a body hitting the floor. The only source of light is coming from a red emergency bulb. It only took three seconds.

With the power temporarily down, Ana pulls as hard as she can against her bonds until they snap free, burning away from the hot energy emitting from her skin. She launches out of her chair, stumbling towards Bucky, adrenaline masking any pain. She yanks the arms of the machine, putting her foot on the chair for leverage. It gives way, Ana nearly falls back with momentum. She climbs onto the chair, straddling Bucky's thighs, placing her hands on his face, the same spots where the paddles were.

"Bucky, Bucky. Look at me!" Ana pleads frantically. His eyes are unfocused, head lulling against the chair. "I'm here, Bucky, come back to me. Please…James. Come back to me.”

"Annie." He murmurs, slowly picking his head up. She smiles at him, beginning to use her ability to heal what she can.

"Zhelaniye! Rzhavyy! Semnadtsat!"  The words are shouted behind her, one right after the other.

Bucky's eyes flicker. 

"No, no, Bucky, focus on me." Ana coaches shakily. "Focus on the good memories."

"Rassvet! Furnace! Pech!"

Bucky shakes his head, then yanks his arms free of the restraints. The movement shifts Ana, but she locks her thighs to stay on. His hands grip her hips tightly, making her wince.

"Bucky-"

"Go!" Bucky abruptly snaps.

"No. I am not leaving you!" Ana tells him fiercely. "Keep fighting it."

"Devyat! Dobroserdechnyy!"

"Can't." He mutters, his body shaking with the effort to hold back.

"Yes you can! Remember what's real in here. You can fight this!"

"Vozvrashcheniye na rodinu! Odin!"

Ana presses her forehead against his, moves her hand to the center of his chest. Bucky grits his teeth, his grip tightening on her hips enough to bruise.

"Run." He murmurs. 

"Gruzovoy vagon!!"

Ana is thrown backwards, crashing hard onto the floor, pain radiating throughout her body, but she ignores it all. She rights herself quickly, staring up at Bucky who's looming over her, peering down at her with a thousand-yard stare, eyes void of any emotion. The flashing red light illuminates his stone cold face; it's the first time he truly looks terrifying. He tilts his head to the side as he looks at her. Ana and Erik speak at the same time.

"Bucky?"

"Soldat?"

She hopes the theory of the last triggering phrase isn’t true. For several long moments, Bucky just continues to stare at Ana. Then, he lifts his eyes to look behind her. 

"Gotovy soblyudat." He responds flatly, emotionless. The Winter Soldier replacing her Bucky.

"No." Ana sobs. She slowly stands up, Bucky's eyes snapping back to hers. She limps closer, firmly pressing both hands against his chest again. 

"Ona vrag. Ubey' yeye." She is the enemy, kill her.

Bucky suddenly grabs her left wrist, twisting her arm away as he swings his metal fist towards her face. Ana ducks, nearly avoiding his punch, and brings her left knee up to nail him in the gut. His hand loosens enough for her to pull her arm away, turning to find a weapon of some sort. The only weapon she can reach is in Erik's hands, who seems content to watch Bucky kill her. That is not going to happen.

A metal arm wraps around her neck, locking her a choke hold. Flashes of that first time run through her mind. She tires the same move, but Bucky lifts her, cutting of air supply, her toes barely touching the floor. Instead, Ana performs the same trick she had done while he was training her. She quickly finds his knee with her foot, uses the leverage to twist and push herself up, swinging her right leg around and twisting in the air. 

Her move breaks Bucky’s hold enough, his arms slipping down her body. She kicks off his shoulder harder than she did during training. The force of it knocks him backwards, falling to the ground. Ana lands on her feet.

She's abruptly reminded of the device still lodged in her knee and she crumples. Ana clenches her teeth, yelping as she grabs the device and slowly pulls it out of her knee; blood dripping to the floor. She takes too much time doing it, and when she steadies herself, Bucky is standing. He halts, head tilted slightly. He seems...confused, eyebrows knitted together slightly.

"You know who I am, Bucky." Ana states, keeping her strained voice calm. "You know me, Sergeant Snowflake."

His head twitches, eyes flashing. Ana lifts the device, then throws it at Erik. She takes advantages of the Bucky’s conflicted stare, moving past him and advancing towards Erik. He lifts his gun, aiming and firing at her chest. The bullet is blocked by a metal arm in front of her. Ana blinks in surprised, before she's shoved backwards, out of the line of fire.

"You fucking moron! I said kill her!" Erik shouts.

Bucky's head twitches again, and he widens his stance. It gives Ana the opportunity she needs. She takes several, painful, steps backwards, grits her teeth, then sprints. She drops down at the last moment, sliding between Bucky's legs and pops up directly in front of Erik.

His look of appalled shock is amusing.

"You forget who you fucked with." She sneers, then promptly thrusts the heel of her palm up into his nose. 

She hears a satisfying crunch but doesn't waste time, kneeing him in the gut. Erik doubles over grunting, blood streaming from his nose. Ana steals the gun from his slackened grip, but he suddenly grabs her arm, yanking her to the side. Her knee twinges sharply in pain and she stumbles, gritting her teeth.

He slams her against the wall, knocking the gun out of her hand. Ana kicks his knee cap with her left foot, Erik shouting out in pain. She breaks away from his hold, taking the chance to go for the gun. 

She stops short. The metal of the gun gleams against the crimson light, barrel pointing straight at her held by Bucky. There's a split moment where time stands still as they stare at each other.

Then, the Winter Soldier pulls the trigger.

*******************************************************************

Previous   Next

[bestiatexere]

Low jazz tunes resonated throughout the club, a soft & lilted symphony as the band strummed a soulful tune even without the momentary accompaniment of their vocalist. Their vocalist, who had transferred to the bar, head cocked upon a hand as digits idly swirled a stirrer through her glass, vaguely content in the midst of her solitude; before dull recognition of another's presence sliding into the seat beside her made her sigh. "Please don't." She doesn't even spare them a glance. "I'm on break."

Sleek, polished stone made up the exterior in flat tiles, stacksof striking shapes, and carved, geometric motifs. A series of bold lines racedupwards from either side of the symmetrical façade and fell into an angular,zig-zagging rhythm as they climbed towards each other. They met as they bloomedoutwards into a wide curve of stone ledge, decorated by stylized flowers andvines. The floral statues supported a large sign which glowed a warm yellow andannounced the building’s name.

The Midnight Sun.

The arched entry was set in deep under the ledge and up aset of low, stone steps that swept out from the face of the building. A sturdyhandrail, of a contrastingly delicatewave design, lined the worn steps leading up to the entrance. The wood andglass double doors were topped and framed by a set of textured leadlights presentinga starburst display. In an eye-catching script, club’s name was repeated withinthe central sun.

With one last, admiring look, Raz headed up the steps andthrough the elegant doors. Inside, the smooth, herringbone floor of theentryway spread out before him and seemed to soak in the glow coming from thedramatic pendant light above.

Straight ahead was a large desk with an employee positioned behind. Off to the side of her was the metal face of the elevator, with etchedpanels on either side and golden streaks of details on the doors. To the right,the floor stepped down into a lobby area, filled with comfortable chairs andcoffee tables, and complete with its own bar on the far wall. It was a place tomingle in a quieter atmosphere while still enjoying the music flowing from theother half.

Raz smiled and inclined his head at the woman behind thedesk as he turned left. He moved throughwide, open doors into the main lounge, stepping past a happy couple makingtheir way out.

Spacious, but lit in such a way that made it feel intimate,it was like the rest of the world didn’t exist…The club was beautiful. Finelocation, fine craftmanship, fine refreshments, and even damn fine-lookingemployees. Yes, this was the place to be, and the place he would make his ownsoon enough, if everything went according to plan.

Dark wood made up the floor, frames, and the majority ofthe furniture inside the large room, with metallic detailing inlayed withinthat drew the eye, but did not overwhelm it. High above, like crystalisedraindrops, suspended and glittering, the brilliant chandelier cast its lightonto the floors and walls, which seemed to bathe in the warmth.

Lights installed in rectangular covers were spread out alongthe walls, resting between the gold, bronze, and silver lines that ran along insubtle bands. His eyes followed along and reached the point where the linesmoved into a broad arch along the back wall. The stage was nestled beneath, setinto the curved alcove and holding the array of musicians as they played.

Hmm…

He frowned after checking his watch. He wasn’t late…

Turning his attention to the large blackboard, which heldthe evening’s schedule within its ornate frame, he easily spotted his problem. Theyhad changed the line-up it seemed, and he’d missed a certain woman’sperformance as a result. Damn them.

His frown disappeared with a sigh and a mental shrug. Therewas always next time. For now, he could just enjoy the scene and continue abouthis goal.

In between surveying the people around and moving throughthe room, his eyes travelled up along the walls and ceiling, finding the uniquedetails and impressive architectural traits that were this building type’ssignature. He took note of what might need touching up or reinforcing in thefuture. (He had to take care of his investment after all.) This place was goingto be around for a long time, if he had anything to say about it (and he did).

God, there was something about this style that stirred up anodd ache in his chest, and even he, who was usually in such good control of hisexpressions, couldn’t hide the light which came into his eyes due to it. Highquality materials, sleek lines, geometric designs, an air of classy refinement,with a dose of extravagance and luxury…it was a miraculous balm, a soothingpresence and one that pleased him like no other trend or movement had donebefore. If there was one thing humans did right, and that he thanked them for,it was the creation of this ‘Art Deco’.

His gaze drifted down from a stylistic painting of a cabaretperformance, going along with one of the lacquered lines along the wall andover towards the large bar. As guests moved across his vision, he caught aglimpse of a familiar figure.

Well, well, well…

The corner of his mouth quirked up, eyes once againbetraying his interest and delight.

Because there was one otherthing he thanked humanity for, and that was the gorgeous, talented woman thatsat at the very bar he was now heading over to. He might have missed out on herperformance, but it seemed he would currently have a better opportunity, one toactually talk to her and perhaps figure her out.

It was unlikely to him that she had noticed him in heraudience over the past week as he scoped out the place, given the lighting andthe fact he’d tried not to seem toointerested. But oh, he was veryinterested. There was something about her. Something different, and tempting. Useful, he told himself.

Perhaps if he got closer to her, literally and in otherways, he would figure it out. (His best guess so far was some sort ofconnection to a siren…)

He brushed past a pair of gentlemen, a waitress, and a womanon the prowl. A man with greasy hair and eager eyes was making his way towardsthe bar, eyes trained on the vocalist’s curves. Raz caught his arm in a lightgrip and tugged his attention onto himself, almost as if they were old friendscatching up. As their eyes met, he smirked, a glint of warning in play,delivered along with the low words.

“Think again, mate. That little songbird is not your game to hunt.”

Raz tightened his grip as he pushed a ‘suggestion’ into theman’s mind, “Stay on the other half of the club, and don’t you dare look at heragain.”

The surprised note in the human’s eyes melted intounderstanding and acceptance. Raz let him go and watched as the instructionswere followed and the man stationed himself on the opposite side of the room.

Satisfaction slipped in with a hint of a smirk and eased hisshoulders. Sometimes things were almost too easy.

But now, to get back to his objective…

He closed the remaining distance with no other troubles and claimedthe seat beside the woman at the bar in one smooth motion. His weight settledlightly on the leather top of the barstool, one of his arms coming to rest onthe smooth bartop. Pieces of carefully cut mirrors were arranged on the wall, reflectingand spreading the low lights around, catching on the multiple rows of glassesand bottles lined neatly on the back counter.

Those were details he had seen frequently this week, he didn’tneed to look at them now as there were others that held his attention (in theform of the singer beside him). He took in what details he could from thisangle, aware that this was his first close-up look and possibly the only one he would get, depending on how this went.

Long, dark lashes caught his eye, along with the soft skinof her cheek, and pretty profile of her nose and lips. She was beautiful, yes,but he was more interested in a detail that went beyond skin…or, moreaccurately, beneath it. Her bloodand the scent it gave off. Even with this proximity however, he couldn’t figureout what it was whispering to him. What was she? Perhaps if they were alonesomewhere, it would become clearer…

With a slight turn in his chair, he faced her a little moredirectly in preparation of starting some sort of conversation with her.

He didn’t get a chance to even open his mouth.

Her words beat him to it and caused him to blink. Amusementsnuck in and brought a smile, even as he gave a small wince and shake of hishead.

“That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it, love? You don’t even knowwhat I was gonna say, or if I was gonnasay something.”

Shot down so swiftly, without even being looked at! (It was good his pride could handle such a thing) Thiswoman was clearly used to being approached and was no pushover. Interesting.And well, he couldn’t exactly blame her for wanting to have her break toherself.

He lifted his hand to catch the bartender’s attention,signalling for a drink before he added to the singer, his attention back on her,“Maybe I’m just here for a nice view, hm?”

There was a touch of teasing in his tone and smile as hiseyes briefly flicked over her and then glanced away. He shrugged and waved hishand in a conciliatory gesture.

“But, I get it. You want to be left alone.” There was a beator two, his focus drifting around towards the other people showing interest inher, seeming like they might approach. “So how about a deal?”