#one of my mutuals keeps putting him on my dash and its annoying so i caved and staryed watching it

[zagreus-eats-your-bread]

Dr. Greg House literally looks like this

[liquidstar]

hey! i’d love to learn about re:zero! well, not learn exactly but i’m thinking of maybe getting into it so i dunno, i’d love to know what sorta stuff you enjoy about it and everything 🤧 also, same anon who sent you that ask about wanting to be mutuals! so, hello!

Omg hiiii anon! It’s nice to see you again! Please feel free to send asks or even message me any time ^_^ I’m sorry I took a while to get to this but I didn’t have time to type a lot earlier and  was on mobile… but i would SO love to talk about what i like about the series (and a little bit of what i dislike, its got its fair share of understandable turnoffs but ill get to that part later- ill make a little tw list too)

But first i totally wanna share what about it i find compelling and fun as a story. I’ll put it under a cut here so I don’t clog ppl’s dashes tho hehe. I wrote... A lot actually. Like a lot a lot. Sorry .-. You can just kind of skim it if you want I don't want to make you feel like you have to read this fucking novel I wrote lol but here it is

First of all i think what made me agree to watch the series despite my preconceptions of it as a typical isekai harem was that its actually a deconstruction of that genre. “Deconstruction” often gets misused in anime circles to just mean “a genre but with a dark twist” so at first i thought it might just be a typical isekai harem but slightly edgier… but no it actually is a proper deconstruction! It takes the typical tropes of its genre and breaks them down, exposing the issues with the genre and its viewers (i.e. nerdboys wanting escapism). 

The premise on it’s own is relatively simple, it’s about a boy who gets transported to a fantasy world and discovers that he has been given a power that lets him reset time every time he dies. It gets a bit more complex from there, there’s some really cool lore that makes the world feel like it existed before subaru came to it (many isekai cant do this). And the themes of the series are actually pretty dense, which is a LOT of fun for me and the main thing i like about it tbh. So im going to talk about each one of the major themes here (and try to keep it as spoiler-free as i can!)

Escapism

One of the most important themes of the series is fantasy vs reality. Subaru, as the main character, is set up exactly like the typical nerdboy getting an isekai powerfantasy harem, and he’s genre-aware at that. When he first gets transported to another world, he instantly picks up on what's happening, and he thinks its going to go a certain way for him. 

In fact, because of the media he’s consumed in his life, he thinks he’s ENTITLED to an isekai powerfantasy and feels robbed when things end up being much more grim. For the first few arcs he can come off as annoying, he’s trying very hard to act like his idea of a “main character” and he has a tendency to reduce the people around him to tropes. He projects his will onto them, he does what he thinks a hero would do regardless of what they say. In the 3rd arc he becomes borderline unlikable (intentionally so) after a fight with emilia, and the real turning point of him as a character is whether he chooses reality or fantasy in this arc. He could go back to escaping, or he could face whats real. 

After this point in the story he begins to truly develop more as a character too, seeing the people around him as PEOPLE makes him more complete as well, and on a meta level this is also where we start to get his real backstory and characterization outside of just being the “isekai guy.” It’s like the story is telling him that he earned it, but it doesn’t feel like a sudden shift. If anything it feels like everything else about him makes MORE sense in retrospect.

But one thing that was always made clear was that subaru hated himself. A lot. He was a shut-in loser with terrible depression and anxiety, he used to get panic attacks just at the idea of going to school. He preferred to escape in his bedroom and avoid it all, and although his parents loved him very very much, deep down, he always thought they should just hate him instead. He thinks everyone should just hate him instead, which is why he tries so hard. It can be cringy to watch, but knowing where this energy of his comes from as a character makes sense…

He never really learned how to deal with people, he’s selfish and entitled to what media promised him. In this sense the story is screaming at you that NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU USE THESE POWERFANTASIES TO ESCAPE, REAL LIFE PEOPLE WILL NOT TREAT YOU THIS WAY. THEY WILL HAVE THEIR OWN LIVES AND WILLS THAT YOU CANT CONTROL AND THEY DONT OWE YOU ANYTHING JUST BECAUSE YOURE NICE TO THEM!!

This theme is even moreso evident when it comes to the woman in subaru’s life so lets talk about…

Gender 

subaru’s habit of projecting his own desires onto other people makes him place the girls around him into obsequious roles, he objectifies them, treats them like tropes in a video game. The message that the story wants to convey is fairly obvious, that you can’t treat real life women the same way you treat your fictional characters. And that they don’t owe you anything just because you’re nice to them. This is partly what emilia and subaru’s aforementioned fight was about, and it’s important that she only accepts his love after he treats her like a human being. She doesn’t want special treatment or to be placed on a pedestal. This theme kind of went over a lot of nerdboys heads because they wanted to jerk off to rem, who actually presented the “fantasy” ideal- kind of ironic…

On the flip side too, subaru tries very very hard to fit into masculine ideals of heroism (often emulating his father who was an athlete). He thinks he has to be a certain way and act a certain way. Though once he breaks out of this shell he actually ends up being more… Just himself. He’s not afraid to let emilia be the hero, he even compliments her for being “manly” (which she doesnt take as an insult and they have a cute laugh about) and in the ln takes up dressing femininely as something he was afraid to do in earnest before- previously seeing it as a joke.

Whats also notable about emilia is that shes one of the five dragon priestesses thats running as a candidate in the royal selection- that might have just been word soup, but what it basically means is that she and four other girls are running to become ruler of the country. The title that they earn is actually KING of legunica, not queen. This serves as a nice contrast to the room emilia was locked in during her childhood, the princess room.

Its a fantasy story so archetypes like kings and princesses and knights are all present but its more so about what those archetypes represent. The knights are the heroes, that masculine ideal subaru wanted to live up to. He claims to be one without earning it, which gets him beat the hell up by a real knight, julius. Whos also an interesting character in this regard, he’s the “knight of knights” and puts a lot of pressure on himself chivalrous, and subaru is incredibly jealous. Though eventually they grow closer and idk they’re kinda… hm. Anyway there’s also reinhard, another knight who is so ridiculously overpowered that its a joke. Like, one of his powers is he’s blessed to never eat anything too salty. He IS the overpowered isekai protagonist that subaru wanted to be, but unlike julius, subaru kind of admires reinhard (they got off on a better foot). But reinhard himself… the truth is hes so very isolated and trapped, he grew up with a terrible family and because of his powers the kingdom pretty much owns him, he has no freedom. This aspiration is a leesh.  

Mean while other candidates are all interesting in their own ways and also all represent some different ideologies (incase youre wondering the emilia camp is. communism.) but the ones most relevant to the gender theme is probably the crusch camp because… actually its kind of a lot, not all of it depicted well, but not necessarily horribly either. The basic idea is that crusch and ferris are two characters who “swapped” gender performances, though the series may still posit that their actual identities are still their agab this isnt exactly that simple (especially in the ln) and i personally think its a case of a cis author not really knowing how trans people work. Crusch behaves in a more masculine role until their memories are wiped and suddenly starts to behave like a “regular girl”- this is meant to be strange and upsetting because its NOT CRUSCH so i actually think thats well done enough. Ferris is… well, not a character i want to speak as an authority on, i think they could have been handled better, but it could have also been worse. I do like that in the ln they directly dispute the notion that ferris “dresses like a girl” to attract/trick men, at least. 

The series does genuinely seem to want to pick apart some gender norms though, and though i am critical of the ways it fumbles the ball i do enjoy the themes, especially as a deconstruction story. Its NOT perfect and i think one of my biggest gripes with it is that despite this “dont objectify” theme, a lot of the female characters designs are pretty sexualized! Mostly not to an absurd degree, i actually think the maid outfits are cute, but sometimes i feel like it can detract rather than add. You could make the case that its saying “even if theyre dressed like this bla bla” but i think thats a reach… at the very least though theres not that much fanservice despite the outfits, things arent usually framed weirdly just to get tits or ass in frame and all. I think the most the was was a scene in the ova where emilia and rem hug and their boobs touch

One way that the themes do come full circle though is with the emilia and subaru’s first kiss. Their first fight was about subaru denying emilia her personhood by ignoring her will in favor of his own. They have another fight that calls back to this but this is AFTER subaru has character development and one way that he proves to her that he loves her is by getting explicit consent for the kiss (verbally and physically) beforehand- it wasnt just an example of “a kiss solves all the problems” but a demonstration of how far hes come as a character, not assuming that playing out movie tropes alone will fix stuff but actually caring about what she wants.

Memories/Identity

Speaking of losing memories, that’s also a huge theme in the story. The idea is that your memories are your identity isn’t exactly unique, but what i like a lot about how the series does it is how OTHER peoples memories of you matter just as much as your own. It’s what i call “self-recognition through the other.” 

Your identity is molded through how people around you perceive you, and how you perceive those perceptions in turn. Not just about how you see yourself, but how you see other people seeing you. That’s why there are two types of amnesia in the series, one where you forget your own identity and one where people forget who you are. Those are the two things that make you… you! So when a character loses one, they lose half of themselves. When they lose both… they stop existing. They enter a comatose state and are just a “null”- something that never was and yet is right here.

The theme of subaru projecting his will onto other people has to do with this- subaru hates himself so he can only bare to recognize himself through the projection.

The show especially has a LOT of shots of characters being reflected in each other’s eyes, making it clear that whats going on here isnt just a character being seen, but also a character seeing themselves through another person.

One example, heres a scene where subaru is yelling at emilia, he screams at her and calls her useless and tells her she cant save everyone. Throughout the entire scene we dont see subaru’s face, only emilia’s reaction, and when she starts to talk she just says “why are you crying?” and the scene changes to a close up of her eye, subaru reflected in it, crying. He wasn’t really yelling at emilia, he was yelling at himself through her.

Another way memories come into play is because of subaru’s return by death power. Its an isolating power, because when he dies and resets the timeline… his friends forget about him. From subarus perspective these are people he was close with, people hes been friends with for at least a month (in total) but who have no memory of him. Its part of why he blows up at emilia, hes frustrated that his friends cant remember such important memories because to them.. THEY NEVER HAPPENED!!! These are things that only subaru will remember. In arc 2 when he grows close to rem and ram over time and they just keep forgetting about him… it hurts him a lot because his friends just suddenly stop seeing him as a friend. Its not their fault, but its not his either. And they can never fully help him through the trauma because he cant tell anyone the shit hes been through, the power wont let him.

But from THEIR perspectives… its scary. Its scary when some guy you dont know acts so familiar, acts like you OWE him something when you have no idea what hes talking about. Something you cant remember. Of course emilia is horrified when he starts lashing out, she has no idea whats going on! 

Whats interesting is that the SAME THING happens to subaru later on… through the witch of envy. She claims that she loves him, in fact thats all she says, “i love you, i love you, i love you” but subaru doesnt know her. He has no idea who she is, hes terrified of someone who loves him so much for things he doesnt remember. Yeah, doesnt feel so good huh?

7(+2) deadly sins

Each arc of the series actually focuses around subaru making a choice that’s centered around overcoming a deadly sin, and there are also several characters representing the deadly sins, including the two that pope gregory got rid of (vainglory and melancholy). There are the witches of sin, as well as the archbishops that represent those sins. What I find the most interesting is how these sins relate back to the theme of identity through the way their powers are represented as well as the ways their respective arcs are handled.

Gluttony is the most obvious, it’s framed as a sin where you “consume” another person's identity for your own sake, or take it on completely, without regard for them and how they’ll get dulled or lose their own sense of self devoid from you.

Greed is about a desire for connection, which in moderation can be a good thing, but it can also become possessive and entitled. It’s literally objectifying, treating someone else like your possession. On the flip side, placing that desire above all else can also lead to the detriment of your own well-being as well as those around you.

Lust doesn’t just refer to the sexual connotation, but about love in general. Specifically about using love as leverage to take advantage of and manipulate people, even by force, and even down to their sense of self. 

Wrath also isn’t just about anger, it’s about intense emotions in general, and what happens when you project these emotions onto other people, and how this can become a cycle of amplifying these emotional projections back and forth until the person’s identity has been consumed by them.

Sloth can be taken as being slothful in your relationships, not just romantic ones but to the people around you. Neglecting or abandoning them when things get hard, especially if they really need you. Choosing escapism over reality.

Pride seems to be about the arrogant assumption that your perspective of another person is the correct one, and treating them the way that you see fit based on that. You’re in the right, so if you decide they deserve to be punished then it must be justified.

Envy is also about the possession of others, similar to greed but with a much more targeted and controlling nature. The jealousy that comes with it is one that forces the object of desire into being isolated, lonely and unfulfilled, unable to form any true bonds with others.

Melancholy is the one we’ve seen the least of, but it seems to be about forcing your negativity onto others, hurting not just yourself but also other people through your own depression and apathy.

Vainglory is gaslighting. Despite being as mysterious as melancholy, the metaphor is obvious. It’s manipulating another person's entire perspective and reality to fit your narrative, to manipulate them into what you want them to be.

Basically because of the series's themes of identity and projection, the biggest sin you could commit towards another person or even yourself is warping that.

Suicidality

Suicidality is present throughout the entire story. Of course it is! Our escapist mean characters superpower is to fucking die! But it’s more than that… Subaru hates himself. He wants to die. He didn’t consider himself to have a life before, and now he sees himself as an even bigger loser for all the trauma hes gone through and all that hes lost. Even in reflecting on the person he was. In the 4th arc especially he makes it clear how little he values his own life, especially because of how much he cares about his friends (at this point, yes, he sees them as people and loves them more than anything). But hes so traumatized, so down on himself for all his failures, and he cant die no matter how hard he tries.

This theme isn’t limited to him, in fact the same exact thing is true of beatrice, an immortal spirit girl who was abandoned inside a library for 400 years. They actually end up having a very very sweet sibling dynamic later on, but whats more important is that theyre both hypocrites. Subaru wants to save beatrce, he doesnt want her to die. Beatrice doesnt want subaru to die and repeatedly saves him, which he screams at her for. Beatrice begs him to kill her, he wont do it. They both want to save each other from each other but dont want to be saved themselves.

Rem is also an interesting example of suicidality- shes not as outwardly suicidal as beatrice and subaru but she does have a very very very severe inferiority complex, and very intense feelings of guilt and shame for never being enough, only being a replacement for her displaced sister, the literal reincarnation of a god. Rem falls for subaru because he sees her as her own person, for the first time ever (the only other person to do that is ram, but rem feels too guilty to see it) but what makes her feelings interesting is that she sees subaru as her “reason to die”. NOT LIVE! Rem only sees herself as someone worth discarding, if she can die for subaru than she would die happy. Its her excuse. What many many many people overlook about rem is just how unhealthy her ideas about love are, shes so mischaracterized! And its sad because of how interesting and thematically important her arc is… boiled down to a love triangle! Augh!

Stars

I love star themes in stories!!! This is honestly pretty obvious given that I have my own set of star-themed ocs, but i’ll try to put them aside for rn to talk about this lol. First of all subaru loves stars a lot, its something I like about his character too- he’s not just a typical nerdboy who likes anime and games, he has other unique personal interests like mythology and astronomy! Of course he does, his name actually comes from the stars, that’s where his love of them comes from. Subaru is the japanese name for the pleiades star cluster and the individual stars of become relevant later.

Beyond subaru there are plenty of characters whose names come from the stars, though not always directly. 

For example all of the witches of sin (aside from one) are named after astroids. Echidna, Minerva, Sekhmet, Daphne, Typhon, Carmilla, Pandora, and Hector. The exception to this rule is Satella, the witch of envy, who was always an odd-one-out. Her name could mean either star or satellite (like an asteroid!). And all the sin archbishops are also named after stars, and the names of the stars actually directly correlate to what their powers are.

There are also plenty of other ways characters names often tie into stars and mythology, but not always- sometimes theyre just puns. For example, emilia comes from the latin “emilius” which means… Jealous.

Other stuff

Re:zero actually has a lot of different content, one of the coolest to me, because of how they expand on the series’ themes, are the what:if routes. I didnt talk abt them in the above bc i thought it would get too confusing, but theyre basically alternate routes for the story. What WOULD HAVE happened if subaru had made the wrong choice, if the thematic sin of the arc won. So far, and in order, there’s 

Pride:if

Wrath:if

Sloth:if 

Greed:if

Gluttony:if 

There will probably be more in the future, whats funny is that theyre written and posted on april fools day… aka subaru’s birthday!

Theres also ovas which i think are important to watch before season 2, and one that takes place mid-season-1 so my watch order rec is actually

Season 1 episodes 1-11

Memory snow ova (lighthearted and fun!)

Season 1 episodes 12+

Frozen bonds ova (emilia backstory!)

Season 2

Theres also a directors cut version of the show but its basically just two episodes stitched together w some mild animation improvements and ONE scene added at the end (Which gets repeated in season 2 anyway) so which one you watch doesnt make a difference

After that, if you want, you can pick up the light novel at arc 5. Arc 6 s the best one imo but i havent read arc 7 yet (bear that in mind for the tw list)

Anyway now that i talked about the themes, and before i get to the tws, i want to talk about

The characters!!!!

Easily one of the best parts of the series. I feel like I’ve mostly talked about subaru and emilia here but thats because if i were to get Into It with each of these characters on their own we’d be here all day (and this is already so long!) they all have a lot of personality and are genuinely very complex and interesting characters so ill just give little blurbs to explain them here

Subaru: I’ve talked enough about here. I want to say that i genuinely like him a lot as a character, after his growth and development he’s so likable and fun and you just kind of want to protect him

Emilia: A silver-haired half-elf, she’s hated for looking like the witch of envy, a figure from history so repulsive people won’t even say her name. People call her a half-devil, say that she doesn’t deserve to live, that her birth was a crime. But emilia is a kind girl, she wants to change the world so that everyone is equal and no one is treated like she is. She’s also very strong, her ice magic is incredibly powerful and so so so deadly in some really cool and creative ways.

Puck: Emilia’s spirit! He loves emilia so much that he would literally kill everyone in the world and then himself if anything happened to her. For real.

Rem: So mischaracterized by the fanbase! Poor rem! She’s both sweet and also not afraid to cut a bitch at any given point. But for the most part she also kind of hates herself, seen as the lesser of the two oni sisters, she could never live up to ram. One day though, the tables turned, and rem had to take ram’s place, though she only felt guilt and shame for it. Seeing herself as nothing but a replacement, time stopped for her the fiery night her sister’s horn was cut off.

Ram: Also often mischaracterized as being “tsundere” though thats far from the truth- She’s actually just a straight up cunt. Her main character trait is that she’s bluntly honest no matter what, so when she’s being a bitch she means it. She used to be the reincarnation of the oni god (and technically still is) but when her horn was cut off she lost the ability to control these powers. She often gets seen as being “lazy” by other characters, but the truth is that she’s in constant pain because of this. Despite that, she was a little bit happy too when she was finally released from the pressures of a god.

Beatrice: The guardian of the forbidden library, she was abandoned there a long long time ago. Now she only sits and waits for someone to find her, save her, kill her. She can come off as being bratty, but the truth is that she’s very lonely and also afraid to let people in.

Roswaal: The margrave of the estate… He’s so very fucked up in the head… There’s not too much I can say without giving away some major plotpoints but that make-up isn’t there for nothing, he really is a fucking clown.

Otto: A merchant that eventually joined the emilia camp. He spent the first decade of his life completely mute, saying that the world used to be a hellish place of harsh noise for him. Eventually this changed- when he gained his divine protection of spirit voice. Meaning he can talk to animals! And other things. After some loops he ends up becoming a very very devoted friend to subaru, someone he can always confide in.

Garfiel: Sort of a wildcard, but despite everything he actually does have a heart of gold. And everything about him actually makes more sense when you learn he’s actually fourteen. He’s can also transform into a tiger which is pretty sick. And he has mommy issues!

Frederica: Garfiel’s older sister, she works as a maid for the roswaal estate but has taken a leave. She’s very sweet and motherly, especially to garfiel and petra. And she can transform into a lion which again is pretty sick.

Petra: A child from the village who ended up joining the emilia camp as a maid-in-training. I’m not going to lie I think she’s only there so there’s a cute kid that needs protecting and so that we can be devastated when she dies in any given loop. It kind of works

(now onto non-emilia-camp-members)

Anastasia: Don’t let her cute appearance fool you, she’s a cutthroat capitalist through-and-through. A former merchant looking to become the next king of legunica. 

Julius: Anastasia’s knight, the knight of knights. Everything about him screams “chivalry” but in reality that’s a weaning facade. He and subaru don’t get along much at first, but eventually they end up with a really close bond. Subaru is kind of tsundere about it though lol

Crusch: The most militant of the royal selection candidates, crusch is sort of a hard-ass through and through… In fact they’re pretty much just looking to run a meritocracy, and subaru himself calls out the fact that crusch would be a good leader if not for abandoning the weak.

Ferris: Crusch’s knight, Ferris is playful and sometimes a smartass. Also granted the title of “blue” for their status as the best healer in the country.

Wilhelm: Crusch’s butler. He seems like just some old man but in reality he’s badass lol

Reinhard: The current sword saint, and wilhelm’s grandson. He’s the most OP man in existence, but he has so so many family issues, growing up with a terrible family situation and being blamed for his grandmas death. On top of that he lacks freedom and choice, being bound to being a knight for the kingdom. Making it fitting that he’s representing the candidate looking to abolish the current system, Felt.

Felt: A former thief from the slums, she was selected as a dragon priestess and chose to run in the royal selection… Because she wants to destroy the structures in place. She hates the nobility, she hates the knights, and she’s going to burn it all down. She wants anarchy and she’s got my vote.

Rom: Felt’s grandpa <3 well, adoptive, but still. Their cute little found family is actually adorable and I want them to be so happy. He’s also a giant.

Priscilla: She’s such a bitch. But like, it’s also really funny how much of a bitch she is. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, and her powers of luck make it so that everything always works out for her, no matter what. Basically she’s just aiming for totalitarianism, for all her whims to always be obeyed

Al: Priscilla’s knight, he’s pretty much just there to give her whatever she wants whenever she wants it. What's the most interesting about him though is that… he’s from earth. Like, our earth. Subaru isn’t the only one. In fact there are at least two historical figures that are also from earth. 

(now for antagonists)

Elsa: The first real threat subaru encounters, elsa is a vampire and assassin who’s been granted the nickname of “the bowel hunter” because of the way she… Well, she rips people’s guts out and loves to watch them die <3

Meili: Elsa’s little assistent, they actually see each other as sisters and care about each other. She’s also more than okay with a little murder despite being like 12, because that’s all she knows. And she has control over monsters which is awesome.

Petelguese: sin archbishop of the witches cult representing sloth. He’s actually out of his mind… But. There’s some legit backstory. All i will say is that his voice actor has some fucking range i swear. Also the way he’s animated is both horrifying and hilarious. Uncanny in just the right loony toons way

Satella: AKA the witch of envy, she’s sort of mysterious, sort of a contradiction.

Echidna: The witch of greed, an amazing manipulator. All she wants is to know everything, her greed is an insatiable thirst for knowledge and she has no morals. 

Minerva: The witch of wrath. What makes her angry? The injustices of a cruel world, pain and suffering, hardship and strife. She’s angry because she cares so much.

Sekhmet: The witch of sloth, she drove a giant dragon (basically deities in legunica) to the other side of the great waterfall (a barrier considered impenetrable, no one knows whats beyond it) just so she could nap.

Daphne: The witch of gluttony, she created all the monsters that inhabit the world. Why? So that no one ever has to go hungry ever again. But she thinks it’s unfair to not give the monsters a chance to eat too.

Typhon: The witch of pride, the young daughter of an executioner. Watching person after person be put to death, she childishly and cruelly began to judge people’s lives on her own. She might be a kid but she’s horrifying. 

Carmilla: The witch of lust, though not in a purely sexual sense. A vampire who was worshiped in her life- people went to war over her. She has no interest in love herself, however she does recognize how important love is and wants to help people realize it too.

Hector: The devil of melancholy, he’s a bit mysterious but the make takeaway is that he has depression.

Pandora: The witch of vanity, and THE most broken character in anything ever. Her powers are literally just speaking shit into existence. She’s like somesort of goddess, and like her namesake she’s trying to open a box right now…

Anyway. 

Trigger warnings

Re:zero is a dark show with some heavy themes, and despite being a deconstruction its also not immune to some of the grosser things abt the isekai genre. Heres my list of things to be weary of (Aside from stuff that wasnt already mentioned) so…

A not insignificant amount of gore. Its not corpse party or anything, but there are guts and eyeballs flying out, as well as plenty of examples of limbs getting cut off or in one case twisted until they break. In the light novel the descriptions of the gore are more graphic. Subaru dies in all kinds of fucked up ways.. As well as the people around him really.

Theres some pretty graphic depictions of self harm, particularly finger mutilation by one of the antagonists. Subaru also has a habit of biting his lip until it bleeds and in the ln its very heavily implied that he cuts himself. And again plenty of his deaths were suicides. 

It’s really not shown on-screen, but one of the antagonists says that when she was a child she was molested by a man while seeking shelter in a snow storm. She killed him though so theres that

Theres also a pretty gross scene (intentionally so) where echidna, a witch character, finds a young roswaal who had literally JUST THROWN UP and starts to… make out with him. Its literally so gross. On multiple levels. In-universe it was supposed to be to help heal him, but on a meta level i think it was just showing us how their dynamic was a bit... yeah. (Also if vomit in general grosses you out, subaru throws up a few times during the series… understandable. He is so so traumatized)

Speaking of roswaal, hes like, 100+ years old now, and ram is 18. and he burned down rem and rams entire village and took them in to work for him when they were kids. And ram STILL has romantic feelings for him. Girl you have stockholm syndrome!!! But at the very least roswaal doesnt reciprocate (as of rn. Hopefully never) and the other characters straight up tell her she has bad taste lol

Also just in general animals and children will die, sometimes brutally, and even though its usually reset it can still be upsetting to watch.

The series also isnt afraid to depict subaru has having Mental Issues. It can be assumed he developed PTSD from the Everything Going On. and its not afraid to show disassociation, especially in arc 6, he more or less develops DID (though a little misdescribed) but with like some fantasy aid. You could also see emilia as having repressed memories but again theres fantasy aspects to it. I dont think depicting these things is bad obviously but i know they can cause some ppl to have episodes. (I dont have DID or anything but for some reason after i read inside mari i was like completely disassociating for days it was weird). 

But what i find the most unpleasant to watch is the “loli” characters in the show. For the most part i dont find it to be that egregious, so i can handle it. but i think the worst example by far is liliana… i honestly dont know if ill be able to watch arc 5 when she’ll actually be on-screen and ill have to look at her like… eugh. Shes 22 but looks like shes 12 and shes in a relationship with a grown man who the other characters call a lolicon. Its genuinely something i hate about the series but like everything else enough that i dont look directly at it (doesnt mean im not conscious and critical though, please dont mistake that as what im saying lol)

There’s gotta be more so I’ll add on if I remember but that’s all I can think of off the top of my head.

Despite all the things that I dislike though you gotta believe me when I say there's stuff I like.. I mean that's what this entire novel was about. This wasn't a an analysis or critique of the show in ANY way, despite how much i wrote i actually feel like i'd be doing it a huge disservice in that regard. No, it's just all the stuff that I like, and on a somewhat surface level too because I didn't want to give EVERYTHING away, though I know I still said a lot!

So yeah! :thumbs_up: if you wanna check it out and the tws dont make you too uncomfortable I say go for it. I understand it's not for everyone and thats okay ^_^

[babytaes]

†hê Ðêmðñ (the beauty of sin)

𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞: You're a guardian angel who's never been tasked with protecting anyone. Since you've been here since Creation, sitting around in heaven hasn't brought you any rewards. You were looking forward to the day when you'd be assigned a human to look after. When that day finally arrives, things take an unexpected turn when you are assigned to Heeseung, a demon from the underworld.

𝖕𝖆𝖎𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌: heeseung x female reader

𝖌𝖊𝖓𝖗𝖊: angst, suggestive/smut

𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙: 4k

𝖜𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘: profanity, smut scenes, bad boy heeseung (lol), 

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖎𝖙𝖘: click me before reading!

➳ part of the drunk & dazed series

☆ ҉ ◢▅◣

Sin is a spiritual virus that invades the whole being. It makes you morally and spiritually weak. It’s a deadly disease that infects every part of you: your body, your mind, your emotions, and your motives—absolutely everything. Nobody has the strength on their own to overcome its power.

Nobody should ever commit sin, never giving in to their worldly and sinful impulses. It's unjust and wrong. However, what is it about sin that makes it so fascinating and enjoyable?

It gave you joy to see it in his smile or the way his hands caressed your body. What a lovely thing sin is!

Even though some sins are innocent and enjoyable, sometimes regulations are supposed to be broken. Everyone, after all, is a sinner.

“WHAT!?,?” You began to sweat as you worriedly communicated your concerns to your overseer, “You must be mistaken, High Lord.”

“I understand the protocol; angels are supposed to serve as "guardian angels" to beautiful or broken souls on Earth. You know we're expected to look after them and keep an eye on them to make sure they stay on track. With all due respect, ma'am, I don't believe I'm qualified for this position; at the very least, someone of level 10 would be ideal.”

Her cream-colored wings swept her off her feet as she chuckled and waved for you to follow her. You sighed as you flutter up and away with her, trailing behind her, feeling a twitch in yours.

As you eventually caught up to her, dodging angels left and right, you apologized to random angels in your path, uncomfortably smiled at the people you bumped into with your wings.

You retracted your wings closer to you and walked uneasily beside your overseer as you carefully stepped down on the golden road.

Before you could say anything, she quietly took your hand in hers and gently kissed it, assuring you that everything would be alright. As you approached the center of the commotion, you bit your lower lip and remained silent.

Looking around at the community, it warmed your heart to see so many people, young and old, out here. Some you've known since the beginning of time, while others were born only last week. Everyone had gathered to witness the masterpiece that would emerge in an instant.

“You know Y/N I have complete faith in you that this first expedition will be a breeze,” you smiled, looking up at her with excitement and a tinge of fear in your eyes. “We wouldn't have suggested you for the job unless we knew who you really are, and you've earned it.” Don't worry, you were expecting this; now have a look.”

With her finger pointing to the stage forward, you were treated to yet another spectacular show. They're known as the "Grand Turning" in Heaven. This is where a new or seasoned angel has completed his or her training with a human or demon and earned their proper place in the community.

It could be a badge, a ribbon, or something more unique, such as the opportunity to talk with the all-powerful, our God.

Despite the fact that you were assigned to him, you were determined to get those jobs because they were the only way for you to ever get that honor. You weren't going to allow Mr. Unperfect take away that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Nobody could and will ever be able to make you fail this assignment; you were meticulously prepped. You were taught the correct and only way to do things, and now was your opportunity to shine. You were not going to be a Lucifer, cast from Heaven

“I'll do it,” you said to your supervisor, a smile on your face and confidence in your eyes. She turned to face you and hugged you passionately, rubbing your wings with a motherly devotion.

“I knew you could do it; now it's time to get you ready.”

---

When people have a near-death experience, they always remark that life flashes before their eyes. Unfortunately for angels, it's the contrary; when we're approached with a high-alert danger or warning, it's more of a gentle whisper in our ears. Normally more attentive while traveling to Earth.

The best place to be humans say.. What is with these fickle minded words?

You take a deep breath and turn to face your overseer, who is polishing her wings to ensure that they are kept in order. When having wings, a routine is taught from the beginning to keep them in a good up do. Nobody wants to look simple when you can look stunning.

She took your hand in hers and walked toward the end of the route, issuing some documents to the Pearl City Gate guards. You noticed the circular orb while glancing around.

"How can some humans believe in the world being flat, we literally have an air-like view. To me, it's definitely round.” She chuckled as she pinched your cheeks and turned your puzzled face to her.

“When you get down to earth, you'll see a lot of that, people with a lot of opinions. But what did you learn in your training?”

Standing up and smoothing your wings, you calmly shouted out the words as if they were written on the back of your palm.

“Although humans are the destroyers of their own precious planet, everyone's opinion matters, regardless of race, gender, or identity.”

“Well, not all,” you began scratching your head, “I've seen some harsh individuals in our study books, God should strike them down-“

“Um no ma'am, let us put it aside for the time being and focus on what needs to be done.” She started going over a list of laws and regulations for your descent to Earth. As you gave her a thumbs up, you were attentively listening and mentally bookmarking everything in their designated area.

I believe I have a good understanding of everything, and I think I am prepared.” She offered you a short hug before letting you go, showing her affection for you. You were going to miss her, despite the fact that it was a mutually-surface relationship.

“Last but not least, this ordeal will be different in that people will be able to see you. But if you have to use your wings, the lad is the only one who can see you. When you arrive, he will be waiting for you. My child, best of luck and may God bless you.”

You let go of her and moved toward the road's edge, gripping your bag as you turned to face her and waved farewell as you stepped over the brink.

“Wait a minute, what if-“

When you felt a push from behind, you tumbled off the ledge and spun around in the sky, where you saw a smiling face as you glanced up. They didn't tell you that you'd have to be pushed. As you plunged to Earth, you closed your eyes, terrified. Oh, how nice.

Screaming, you descended into the atmosphere, your narrowed eyes seeing glimpses of land here and there. Not letting up you let your wings cover your whole body as you plopped down onto soft green grass.

You peered out from your wings, gasping for air, and glanced up.

“Oh, Heavens”

His physique was slender, active, and well-groomed, with a trace of bad boy behavior in his scent. The first thing that struck your eye were the rips in his jeans. How could a man-made mistake seem to be so appealing? As you raised your eyes, you noticed tattoos splattered across his arms and up to his neck. His black velvet-like wings fluttering in the breeze, he raised his palm to his hair and stroked through the old curls, deconstructing the pattern they had once formed.

“Did you just pull a Lucifer or was this all planned?” he coughed as he put out his hand to you, taking a good look at you.

Stuttering in your words you quickly got up and patted yourself off and finally looked him in the eyes, noticing his dark eyes.

“Well, that wasn't supposed to happen, I hoped to fly down here and appear more Angel-like, but I think my overseer had other ideas.”

He said, "Ah," with a bored expression on his face.

“My name is Heeseung, and if you don't mind, I assume you don't.” I guess my name is well-known in Heaven. You're probably the fifth Angel who has appeared in the last year to “assist me.” What a load of bullshit; you can't hide what's already there, you know.”

He made a pouty look as he smirked closer to you before covering his hand with his mouth and saying, “oh forgive me, I suppose I have a potty mouth.”

Panicking at this new light, you smiled and coughed loudly and suddenly, “Before you say anything else, I'd want to inform you that I'm not like those angels we don't talk about. I have a holy standard that I adhere to.

He rushed to your face, rolling his eyes at your innocence, and murmured to you, "well see about that little Ms. Purity."

As you moved back and shook your head, spurring out prayers, you tugged the strings of your bag close to you, seeming irritated. Looking up, you noticed him hovering in mid-air with his arms crossed, waiting for you.

“Whether you're coming or not, I'm in the mood for a cup of coffee. Allow me to go fetch you one so that this whole ordeal between us may be over soon and we can both return to our respective worlds.”

You instantly snap open your wings and shot up into the sky, scoffing at his rudeness, and dash by him, racing to the left.

“It's this way, dummy,” he cackled as he immediately shot out. Embarrassed and annoyed, you flipped over to his side and flew alongside him, praying to the Lord for peace as your rage subsided.

“Lord, so help me”

---

 “So, what's on the agenda, Ms. Purity? There are a lot of things I'd want to do with you. You know, if you just ditch this whole act, we might be able to have some fun. He winked at you as he sipped his drink while peering across the table.

You shook your head and chuckled, gagging at his remark, "You must get all the girls, you appear really, what's the word, competent" I'm astonished since I assumed everyone down under was inept.”

He smirked and crossed his legs as he lay startled in his chair, cocking his head to the side. It's not that you were trying to be mean; it's just what you were taught. There are no hard feelings.

“Well, as much as I'd like to keep this delightful little date going, I have a commitment to fulfill. You know, duty calls.” You quickly got up and hurried after him, confused as to where he was going, as he shot up in the air and chuckled, waving farewell to you.

“Wait, Heeseung, you can't just go away like that. We need to figure out how I'm going to find you. You're being impolite by getting up and leaving.” You made yourself look insane since you didn't realize no one could see him. You wouldn't want to be labeled as one of these Earthlings.

You beckoned him down, mentally terrified, “Please can you just come down for a damn second.” Your jaw dropped as you hurriedly covered your mouth. Heeseung's jaw dropped when he appeared in front of you, stunned.

“Gasp, I'm hearing a term I'm sure they don't say in Heaven. Hmm, I suppose the Earth changes people.” He went closer to your ear, his warm arm bouncing on your skin as he giggled, his lips inches away from yours.

“I've already entered my phone number into your phone; you do understand what a phone is, right?” Doesn't matter,  I have to get somewhere, and you can locate me later. Okay, I'll see you later.” He swept up in the air and rushed over to the bridge as he vanished into the horizon, rushing out in a haste once more.

You sat back in the coffee chair, wiped your brow, and focused mentally and spiritually, pleading with the Lord for help and forgiveness. You had a feeling this mission was going to be a disaster.

Whining, you threw your hands in the air and sat face down on the table, groaning as you realized this trek. It's no surprise that these honors are well-deserved; it takes a lot of effort.

You cautiously lifted your head and faced the barista after hearing a soft tap on your table. She smiled at you as she set down a piece of paper. You scowled as you inspected the weird set of paper.

“What a jerk, he didn't just leave me to pay for both drinks.” With a shake of your head, you reached inside your bag and drew out a wallet. Your overseer informed you that many people like flaunting and spending their money, so she provided some for you just in case.

As you cleaned up, you began to mentally map out your route through town, mentally picturing the locations and navigating your way home. As you walked over to the cashier, you handed her some money and thanked her before heading out the door.

At the very least, you landed in a fantastic location. It was in the heart of South Korea, and the city was called Seoul, a wonderful metropolis to be sure. You were taught to master specific languages for specific tasks, so communicating wasn't a problem. Despite the fact that you were new in a strange place, you were determined to make the most of it. The first step was to return home and examine the situation.

How to manage Lee Heeseung. 

Arriving at your small abode was an adventure in itself; it didn't take long for you to connect your GPS and get going. It was actually fairly pleasant and provided a change of scenery to enjoy. It's not quite Heaven, but it's still lovely. When you finally arrive at your destination, you look up to see a little, charming apartment in front of you.

They really went all out for you, and it's very much in your style. You'd felt right at home as soon as you stepped inside, as it was more modern and sophisticated.

To be honest, you had no idea what you were doing, but it felt good to have your own little place to do anything you wanted. You could get used to this, no wonder why humans never leave their house. Who would want to leave when you have everything here. Food, entertainment, and a BALCONY!!

As you finished exploring the apartment and basked in its magnificence, you laughed to yourself as you made your way to the couch, sinking into its coziness as sleep took over your mind and body.

*Crunch, thud, bang*

As you lurched forward, you flew up your wings in defense mode, trying to understand what you'd heard.

“Who's there? I have a weapon, and I'm not afraid to use it.”

When you hear a familiar giggle, you look up and see the attractive intruder. Walking over to you and snatching the pillow from your grasp he took your hand and pulled you over to the island where he had prepared some food.

As you took it all in, you smelt familiar scents and smiled, completely forgetting about it until you were reminded again.

“Wait, what are you doing in my apartment, and how did you get in?”

He began to remove some pots and pans from the stove while he placed some food on a platter, saying, "I have my methods."

“I'm not sure what you eat up there in Heaven, but I'm guessing it's all healthy and nutritious food.” You laughed and shook your hand in disbelief while shaking your head.

“I don’t think out of all places we would be eating so strictly. It's basically whatever you can get your hands on.. It's guaranteed to be better food than what you'll find in Hell.”

Pulling the dish away from him, you began to pick at the fries, popping one into your mouth and savoring the flavor, “not bad.”

He bowed in front of you, wiped the sweets from his brow, and returned to sit next to you, grabbing a dish and feeding himself some. As the night progressed, you told him the rundown for the next three months.

“So, despite the fact that you're definitely one of the worst jerks I've ever encountered. For this to function, we'll need to create certain ground rules.” Aiming a finger between you and him. “I'm not sure whether you've ever had to do anything for anyone else in your life, but it's all about serving people around here, and that's why I accepted this assignment. Even if you don't want to help yourself, I want to help you.”

As Heeseung shuffled around in his chair, avoiding eye contact with you, the atmosphere became tense.

“Harsh, but keep going.”

Smiling you continued as you tried to wrap your head around this complex creature.

“I understand that we are supposed to protect and guide you to do good, but it appears that we have progressed far beyond that, and we need to start at the source of your problem, which is most likely your heart or mind. What's going on in both?

As his words danced across your lips, he smirked and drew you closer to him.

“Now there's a secret.” 

Smirking as your face felt warm, you cocked your head to the side and touched his shoulder before getting up and setting your dish in the sink, cleaning up as piercing eyes stabbed your back.

“I understand what you're thinking, and I've got it all under control.”

He approached you and said, "If you say so," as he put his head against your ear.

2 months later 

Everything was certainly out of hand, and he was to blame. Your strategy not only failed, but it was only a matter of time until your overseer found out. And you didn’t want to end up like the last guy tossed from Heaven.

It wasn't all that bad, but who were you kidding, it was a disaster. It wasn't a major shift; rather, it was a series of modest changes. Things like accidentally cursing or hanging out with him at ungodly hours. You convinced yourself that everything was OK.

He drew you into your room and sat you down while hovering over you, gently caressing your body and kissing you.

You smiled and drew him closer to you, wrapping your legs around his waist and bringing him down on you, closing the distance between you.

Heeseung has been on a mission to damage your "innocent demeanor" for the past two weeks. He intended to show you that it was all a charade and that no one is actually perfect. Despite not knowing what he was going to do, you were up for the challenge. That core part of you didn't take long to succumb to his immoral impulses.

What was the problem as long as you were both happy?

“Heeseung,” you say as he draws you closer to him and unclasps your bra with his free hand. As you slowly rise to assist him, you toss the material to the ground and reach for his sweatpants.

“Someone a little needy, but we are not doing that today. Today is all about pampering my lovely angel. Is it all right?”

Nodding your head, you keep an eye on him as he goes between your legs, halting at the bottom as he eyes your breast and grasps softly as your body adjusts.

“Hurry up,” you grumble as you stare at his sinister grin. As you moan, he places gentle lips along your folds, leaning down to your core. As you twitch under his touch, his finger makes a fast dive between your folds, inciting dampness.

As you whine from the pressure, your eyes flutter shut as he switches his finger out with his tongue, softly licking up your surface.

“mm, close,” you exclaim, your lips wide open as he notices your clit, tongue flicking lustfully against it. As he presses harder on your sensitive region, he laughs as you break apart under his power.

“Oh God, right there.” 

“Please don't involve Him in this.” He hits a place as your high comes crashing down on you, chuckling at your reaction. Heeseung is holding you down and watching you quiver wildly as you release juice, which causes him to swallow it before wiping his mouth. As you fall onto his body, overwhelmed and still sensitive to the sensation, he pulls you up.

He lays your exhausted body next to his and wipes any excess arousal from his mouth before kissing your lips.

You both lay in a comfortable stillness for the remainder of the night, your breathing slowly returning to normal as you sign into his arms.

“Perhaps you're right; we're all just horny, messed-up creatures; I mean, even though what we're doing is completely wrong, it was fun to break the rules. My entire life has been focused on doing the right thing and being this upstanding angel. It's fun to deviate from the norm.” As Heeseung witnessed you erupt in rage, you became agitated.

“You’re cute when you’re mad, also I told you.” You both chuckled as you pushed him to the side before coming to a halt in the middle of your conversation, looking concerned at him.

“However, I leave tomorrow and I don't think I'll be ready to see you off, and this was not in my plan.”

“Shhh, I figured it out; just stick to my plan and we'll both come out on top.”

You sat closer to him, nodding your head and clasping your hand in his as you allowed sleep to take over your body.

As you may know, angels and humans have quite distinct punishments; some humans are never punished for their wrongdoings, whereas angels' actions are usually discovered one way or another.

And you were terrified that they would find out. The person who fell from the edge was not the same person who was returning back and everyone was going to know it. Just not right now, you had to maintain your composure as you approached your overseer.

As you were greeted with the overseer and some guards, you held Heeseung by his chains and whispered something into his ear.

“I see you were having a good time?” You shook your head and looked down, worried. You looked up at her with sad eyes.

“Yes, High Lord, I am aware of my error and what needs to be done in order to be purified once more. I accept complete responsibility for this assignment, but I crack him first, and we have all the secrets we need.”

As he observed you return to the opposite side with the overseer, Heeseung's gaze shifted up in fright. Fearing for his life, he flailed his wings in an attempt to flee.

“What the hell, Y/N, I thought we were on the same team.” How could you betray me in such a way?” You walked over to his trembling body and pushed him down so you were above him, laughing loudly. You patted his shoulder as you cackled.

“And they said angels could be trustworthy. I know what I'm worth, and it has nothing to do with you. Heseeung, please accept my apologies. Get him out of here.” The guards grabbed his chains and dragged him to a chamber across the room from you.

As she began to compliment you on your efforts, the supervisor wrapped her arm around your shoulder.

“I'm proud of you, Y/N, even though you used some terrible techniques. I knew you'd be able to pull it off.”

You grinned joyously and thanked her for her faith in you as you looked up at her face. You cast another peek at Heeseung as she stepped forward, and he winked at you. Smirking before he disappeared into the room you chuckled at his behavior.

Everything was going swimmingly, and no one had a clue. I suppose taking over Heaven would be a simple task; if you can blow up the inside, everything will fall apart on its own.

"How could you hide this from all of us?" "Oh God, you underestimated me."

The Beauty of Sin.

☆ ҉ ◢▅◣

➳ Navigate to the Maze

[imagine-that]

You clench your fists, angrily staring down your plate of food. Ignoring Blaise’s amused smirk, you take an agressive bite of whatever you’d last put on your fork.

“Someone’s peeved.” He says with a smirk.

“Well someone’s also being bloody annoying, I wonder who that could be.” You mutter sarcastically, not removing your eyes from the plate in front of you.

The corner of his lips quirk into an amused grin. “What’s wrong y/n?” He asks knowingly.

With a sigh, you finally look up and meet his eyes.

“Draco still hasn’t asked me to the Yule ball.” You mutter with a frown. He lets out a laugh.

“Wait, you two aren’t going out or something?” He asks as he pokes at his own food.

“I thought maybe we were yeah. But then I heard from some second year that he asked some pure blood Hufflepuff girl.” You explain, rubbing your fingers against your temple tiredly.

“Then why are you wondering why he hasn’t asked you if you know he asked another girl already?” He asks with another smirk. Just the mention of another girl with Draco causes you to stab a piece of food with your fork and shove it in your mouth frustratedly.

“I bloody despise you Zabini.” You growl with your mouth full.

“Feelings mutual.” He says with a smile that tells you he doesn’t mean that.

Just as you’re about to grumble a reply, the blond Slytherin causing your agression takes his seat next to you.

“What’re you lot talking about?” He asks as he fills his plate.

Blaise opens his mouth, about to speak when you kick his leg under the table.

“Absolutely nothing.” You respond quickly, not looking away from the table. Blaise glares at you slightly, telling you that your kick was harder than you meant for it to be.

“Alright...” Draco says hesitantly, eyeing you suspiciously.

You resist the urge to kick him too, standing up abruptly. “I have some things I need to grab before class.” You mutter as an excuse. Dracos lips part, ready to question you but you’re already halfway across the grand hall before he has the chance to speak.

———————————————

“You can’t run from him forever y/l/n. Sooner or later you’ll have to talk to him.” Blaise tells you as you’re finishing up your potions homework.

“I beg to differ.” You say with a sarcastic smile, closing the textbooks pages.

He sighs and retreats to the boys side of the Slytherin living quarters and you find yourself alone again.

“Why exactly have you been hiding from me all day?” An all too familiar voice demands from behind you. You spin around and refuse to meet his eyes.

“I haven’t. You’re just imagining things.” You insist bitterly, moving to walk around him but he quickly steps in front of you, further blocking your path. “Must I move you myself Malfoy?” You spat with a glare and his eyebrows furrow in confusion.

Since when have you called me Malfoy?” He asks, obviously amused.

“Since now, now if you’ll excuse me.” You murmur. This time when he goes to step in your way, you stomp hard on his foot. He scoffs and looks at you, surprised. You don’t look back at him and instead head to your bed quietly.

———————————————————

“I heard what happened with Malfoy. Way to keep it classy huh y/l/n?” Blaise whispers to you during the next days lesson in care for magical creatures. The majority of Slytherin rarely paid much attention to the actual course.

“Shut up Zabini. I was frustrated.” You hiss back. He raises an eyebrow in response. “You know what? I don’t bloody need a date. I’ll just go on my own tonight.” You declare in a hushed tone.

“Have fun with that. I’ll be busy dancing with Pansy.” Blaise smirks and you make a disgusted face. You’d always had a strong dislike for Pansy. Had it been her who draco had asked, you probably wouldn’t have been able to remain so calm.

You turn your attention back to the lesson and sigh, waiting for it to be over as you spend the rest of the period stealing longing glances at Draco and yelling profanities in your head at your lack of courage to just ask him yourself.

—————————————————

“Y/n wait up!” You hear from behind you. You turn around curiously, moving to the side of the corridor so you aren’t in anyone’s way to find a Gryffindor running to catch up with you.

You analyze his face for a moment and finally recognize him as Cormac McLaggen. You’d been sat next to each other in potions one year but that was about all you could remember of him.

“Can I help you with something McLaggen?” You ask impatiently. He takes a breath, seemingly nervous which was amusing to you based on his major ego.

“I was wondering if you’d like to go to the Yule ball with me?” He asks hopefully. You mull it over in your brain for a second but then you see Draco walking behind him, looking angrier than ever and you look back at Cormac with a small grin.

“I’d love to. I’ll meet you in the ballroom.” You reply and he grins back, nodding wildly before running off in the other direction to brag to his friends.

“What the bloody hell was that about?” Draco asks, glaring after Cormac.

“He’s my date to the ball tonight. We were just confirming when we’d meet.” You explain nonchalantly. He looks at you and snorts and you raise an eyebrow, telling him to speak.

“You have a date?” He asks in disbelief. “I thought we were going as friends.” He adds.

You shrug. “Tell that to your Hufflepuff.” You snarl, walking away and leaving him confused.

———————————————

“Once again I hear from Malfoy what you did. You know it’s truly a wonder how he hasn’t realized you like him yet.” Blaise comments as he sees you coming from the girls dormitories that night, rushing around with your hair pinned up and your eyes shimmering from the eyeshadow on them.

You were in the middle of getting ready and had come down to ask y/b/f/n, one of your fellow Slytherins for help, seeing as they were so much better at winged eyeliner than you were.

“Put a cork in it Zabini.” You hiss as you race past him and to the person you were looking for. You saw him roll his eyes at your response but you chose to ignore it as you dragged your friend by their arm up to the dormitory to help you finish.

The usually fairly quiet room was bustling with girls running back and forth and squabbling with each other about the colours of their dresses and bickering over their makeup and hair not matching each other’s.

“So you’re getting all done up for who again?” Your friend asks as you both sit on your bed, her getting right to work.

“Cormac McLaggen.” You answer and she gives you a serious look.

“You know he’s a bloody sleaze correct?” She asks, returning to her focus.

“Yes I do. I’ve heard so from several people.” You say and she raises an eyebrow. “I’m not really going with him because I fancy him or anything. It’s just one night to irritate a certain someone.” You say with a smirk playing on your lips.

She nods and smiles. “Pretty smart way of doing that.” She says with a small laugh. “All done. You’re going to knock the boys all right off their feet.” She says, leaning back to admire her handy work.

You thank her and both of you go to your shared wardrobe pulling out your garment bags with your dresses. The both of you had picked them out together on a hogsmead trip and you couldn’t be happier with how it looked.

Unzipping it, you pull the floor length y/f/c dress out and stare at it in awe all over again before pulling it on.

Y/b/f/n lets out a wolf whistle from behind you and you laugh, rolling your eyes.

“You’re definitely going to be the most stunning girl there y/n.” She says and you thank her as both of you go downstairs.

You see Pansy and Blaise together in a corner and resist the urge to fake a gag.

Your friend rushes off to find her date and you walk over to Blaise and Pansy.

“Wow y/l/n, you clean up well.” Blaise says and you smack his arm playfully.

“Yes, you look... nice.” Pansy says enviously and you roll your eyes.

The three of you chat for a while before you excuse yourself and make your way to the grand hall, heels clicking on the floors of the castle.

When you arrive you move slowly down the stairs, gawking in awe at the transformation.

You see your date at the bottom of the stairs and sigh as you snap out of your daze, putting on a fake smile and aiming it at his amazed face.

“Hello y/n. You look absolutely ravishing.” He says, taking your arm in his own and you resist the urge to roll your eyes at his supposed charm.

“Thanks. You look pretty nice as well.” You mutter, your eyes not focused on him but instead darting around the room looking for a certain blond Slytherin.

As your eyes finally meet his, you resist the gasp trying to make its way out of your mouth. In his expensive looking dress robes, you couldn’t help but stare. He looked absolutely dashing and when you noticed the girl hanging off his arm, you feel yourself filled with envy.

Turning back to your own date, you placed an angry kiss on his lips, not fully realizing what you were doing. You could hear the collective gasp around the room as you pulled away and Cormac looked at you, stunned.

“I wasn’t quite expecting that so early on in the night.” He jokes and you fake another smile.

“I just couldn’t help myself.” You lie and he smirks to himself, clearly proud.

“Let’s dance.” You say suddenly as you see a confused Blaise on his way over to you. Without waiting to hear what he wanted, you grabbed Cormac by the arm and dragged him to the dance floor, weaving your way through the crowd of couples and to a spot close to the middle where you figured your friends wouldn’t find you to pester you.

You wrap your arms around his neck and the two of you sway for a while before he goes over to the refreshments table to get you both some punch, leaving you standing awkwardly on the dance floor by your lonesome.

As you’re about to retreat to a corner or wall by yourself, you feel a tap on your shoulder. You whirl around to find Draco with a strangely awkward smile on his face.

“I noticed your date walked away. Mind if I keep you company?” He asks as you raise an eyebrow.

“Won’t your Hufflepuff mind?” You mutter, looking at the floor. He frowns a bit.

“No. She’s off snogging her bloody ex boyfriend. Only asked me to make him jealous, can you believe that?” He scoffs and you smirk.

“At least she has good taste in men to use.” You joke and he laughs, looking at you amused. He wraps his arms around you and begins swaying you both to the music, guiding you. Soon, your bodies are moving around the dance floor in perfect harmony.

“Lucky for you, you didn’t cause permanent damage to my foot.” He teases and your face goes red with embarrassment.

“I see that.” You giggle, resting your head on his shoulder.

“You look breathtaking by the way y/l/n.” He whispers into your ear, his breath tickling the side of your face.

“You look quite dashing yourself Draco.” You admit,biting your lip. Never had you ever been this open about your thoughts about Draco. It made you feel vulnerable but for some reason this time it felt liberating, even if you were barely admitting anything.

“Your date is a bloody prick.” He mutters angrily. You follow his gaze to the stairs where Cormac is standing, shamelessly flirting with one of the Gryffindor girls.

You snicker a bit and Draco looks at you in surprise. “You know for one of the brightest in our year, you’re quite clueless.” You say, still laughing.

He looks almost hurt for a moment but then again confused.

“I didn’t truly want to go with him you idiot.” You admit and his look of confusion remains.

Sighing, you begin explaining. “I’m not an idiot Gryffindor, I don’t have much courage you know so I couldn’t convince myself to ask but... I wanted to go with you Draco.” You whisper and you see his face light up in a way you’d never seen.

“I am truly an idiot.” He mutters, sliding his hand down his face. You raise an eyebrow curiously and he sighs, looking into your eyes.

“I was going to ask you but I somehow convinced myself to ask someone else and try to make you jealous.” He explains and you look at him with wide, surprised eyes.

“Well you definitely succeeded in that.” You say with a chuckle.

“Yeah I probably should have noticed that when you tried to bloody remove my foot.” He teases and you smile embarrassedly.

“So wait... you were going to ask me?” You ask shyly and he nods nervously.

“Y/n, the truth is I quite fancy you.” He admits with a smile.

You resist the urge to jump around like a maniac. “Really?” You ask and in response, he dips you low towards the floor, planting a passionate kiss on your lips before bringing you back up to your feet.

As he does this, Cormac notices and comes storming back over. “Might I have my date back?” He asks arrogantly and Draco looks at him with a sneer. As he’s about to reply, you interrupt.

“No now beat it McLaggen.” You say, not looking away from Draco for even a second. With a huff, Cormac goes back to the girls he’d been talking with before.

“You’re a much better kisser than he is, by the way. Now where were we?” You ask and Draco smirks before spinning you around and back into his arms gracefully.

“For the record,” you begin in a hushed tone, a bright smile lighting up your face. “I fancy you too.” You finish as he pulls you into his chest, continuing to sway to the music.

You beam at each other in a pleasant silence and stay wrapped in each other’s arms, dancing the night away together, too infatuated with one another to even notice your shared best friend Blaise smiling at the sight of you two finally together.

[hyunjin-bun]

The  Good Mistake {Bokuto x Akaashi and Kuroo x Kenma}

synopsis: Where Akaashi and Bokuto have to come to terms with how they feel and Kuroo and Kenma have to discover their feelings.

pairings: Bokuto x Akaashi and Kuroo x Kenma

genre: FLUFF! (or at least trying to be) crack (but like it wasn’t supposed to be that’s just what happened) mutual pining some light angst here and there.

warnings: Swearing if there are anymore you think i should add just dm me.

note: oh my god guys. Idk what to tell you just that this chapter is MASSIVE. Its over 4k words😲 and not my intention but i just couldn't find it in my heart to split this one up. Uhm so its the second last chapter and I’m honestly really proud of this one so hopefully ya’ll like it👀

If you’d like to be tagged just send me an ask (or a message if you feel to awkward with asks cos same👀💛) Enjoy!💕

I Missed You

Kuroo woke up with a start as his alarm on his phone blared. It was Monday and time to get ready for work. Turning around to switch his alarm off he remembered Kenma breaking down in his arms last night. And looked back to his other side and saw Kenma right where he’d left him. His eyes, although closed, were still puffy around the edges.  Otherwise, he seemed peaceful.

It made Kuroo’s heartbreak because he knew how important last night was for both of them but he wouldn’t be able to spend the day with Kenma. He didn’t want to wake him up but also didn’t want to leave without a word. He carefully untangled himself and walked towards Kenma’s pc, which was still on. He opened a new document and typed out a note knowing Kenma would go to his computer first.

I don’t know when you’ll wake up but I will most likely be at work when you do, and I felt that leaving without saying anything would be wrong. But Kozume, I will try to get home as soon as possible this evening because I really feel that I need to talk to you. So be ready at about six and we can go out tonight like we used to. See you then.

,Tetsurou  <3

After finishing the note, he got up, grabbed his phone, and closed the room as quietly as possible.

Only to walk straight into Bokuto. “Jesus Bo,” he whispered harshly while reeling back slightly. He let out a sigh as he closed his eyes rubbing the sleep off his face. “Wow, I’m sorry I have to go to practice early. Where you with Kenma the whole night, what happened?” Bokuto said with a questioning look.

He wouldn’t have been so curious if Kuroo hadn’t confided in him all the emotions he had been feeling for Kenma that one night the both of them got unnecessarily drunk and the other two boys had gone to bed early. “No no nothing happened we just haven’t spent a lot of time with each other recently so we watched some movies and caught up that’s all,” he said as he walked passed Bokuto to go get ready in his room.

Bokuto caught put his hand on his shoulder to keep him from moving further, “Look Kuroo, I have a feeling that you should say something to Kenma. I’m sure you’re scared of what it would entail between the two of you but you gotta take that leap bro.” Kuroo looked back at him and nodded slowly, “Thanks Bo, I’m thinking about it.” He started walking away as he remembered what he would be doing that evening. “Oh and I’ll be taking Kenma out tonight after work so we probably won't be home until quite late.”

Bokuto smiled at that, “That’s great dude! Okay well, I’m taking Keiji out for dinner tonight so we’ll probably be leaving the house after you fetch Kenma.” Kuroo nodded thanks and went to take a quick shower. He then grabbed his bag as well as all the documents he needed and left for work hoping that his day wouldn’t be too long.

<----->

The sun was fully up and shining intensely through his window when Kenma woke up. The air around him felt empty as he noticed the absence of Kuroo. He sat up as he remembered it was Monday so he probably woke up early to leave for work. He flopped back down onto his bed breathing in the scent of Kuroo mixing with his. It was intoxicating and sweet and he instantly missed the warmth that was next to him not so long ago.

His eyes felt heavy and he had a slight headache.  It had been an exhausting evening the night before trying to keep himself from doing anything stupid with Kuroo but he broke in the end and nearly fucked it up. After touching Kuroo’s face causing him to wake up, he panicked and just broke down, but even then, as he was falling apart, Kuroo held him and it felt like all the pieces of the puzzle that made up Kenma were glued together. He felt safe in Kuroo’s arms. Safer than he’d ever felt.

Deciding that maybe taking a shower would help with the slight headache and the puffiness of his face he got up slowly. He looked toward his pc and noticed a document open. He didn’t remember opening one the night before so he went towards it and noticed a short paragraph, it was from Kuroo.

He read the note over and over again and kept freezing at the heart Kuroo put after his name. He wanted Kenma to be ready at six so they could go out and talk. What could Kuroo possible want to talk about tonight?

Kenma started to get worried and figured Kuroo had realised what the problem was and was just trying to find a way to let him down easily. The time was 12 pm so he had a few more hours to psyche himself up for what was going to happen. 

<----->

The day moved agonizingly slow for Kuroo, but finally, after he finished some filing his boss said it was okay for him to go at ten to six. Kuroo groaned in frustration as he got into his car. It took 15 minutes to get back to their apartment, that’s if he was lucky and there was no traffic. As he got onto the highway he switched his radio on to have some music in the background to calm his nerves at least a little. He thanked his lucky stars as he saw there was no traffic.

He looked at his watch and noticed he was five minutes late already so opting to not make Kenma wait any longer than he had to he decided against going inside to change. He loosened his tie and threw it into the back of his car and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt which helped cool him down while his heart raced a mile a minute.

He pulled up in front of their apartment building but there was no sign of Kenma. He hadn’t messaged him or gotten confirmation if he even wanted to go or not so he decided to send him a message.

Kuroo: Hey, I’m waiting outside. Do you wanna go out tonight? It's okay if you don’t

His palms started sweating as he expected Kenma to say no. He sighed with relief as a notification popped up.

Kenma: I do, I’m coming.

His response was short and simple but it made Kuroo’s stomach burst with butterflies. He smiled and couldn’t stop. He put his phone into the console and got out to stretch his legs for a couple of seconds and take off his blazer.

He heard the buzzer of the door to the building and looked up to see Kenma stumbling down the steps towards the car.

Kenma looked up at him looking almost defensive. Kuroo smiled at him hoping to ease him up a bit, “You ready to go Kenma?” Kenma looked at him almost annoyed, “I’ve been waiting since six so I guess so.” He said as he opened the car door and Kuroo laughed at the playful rudeness.

Kenma hopped into the passenger seat and Kuroo got into the drivers. “Okay so, what do you wanna do first?” he said as he buckled his seat belt.

“I thought you had something already planned,” Kenma looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I mean, I don’t I kinda just wanted to do things you want to I guess,” Kuroo said as he shrugged his shoulders.

Kenma sighed as he put his legs up on the dash, “Okay well, I’m kind of hungry I guess.” Kuroo praised his choice because he was practically starving; the last time he ate was a quick sandwich he bought from the café down the road from his work.

Starting the car, he drove to their favourite restaurant, which was not very far from where they stayed.  As they got out of the car it gave Kuroo a moment to notice Kenma’s appearance, he was wearing an obnoxiously bright yellow hoodie and black sweatpants. His hear was tied back in a low messy bun. Some strands of hair were too short to fit so they just hung loosely and almost angelically framed his face.

It was a bit chilly out so Kuroo grabbed the spare sweater he kept in his car. Now he looked somewhat less formal.

Kenma shivered as the walked up the path to the restaurant. He almost thought that the air around them would be awkward and uncomfortable but as per usual with Kuroo he somehow managed to put Kenma at ease. Every time.

This time it was the smile he got from Kuroo as he walked to the car earlier. It relieved some of the anxiety that had started to build up in the pit of his stomach. They got a booth almost at the back of the restaurant and Kenma couldn’t help but feel like he was on a date with Kuroo but he knew it was anything but that.

It felt very private sitting where they were sitting. Kenma liked it like this. He watched as Kuroo sat down and opened the menu to pick something. Kenma mirrored him even though he knew what he’d be getting. They ordered their drinks and food at the same time and the waiter left.

Kuroo put his elbows up on the table and balanced one hand under his chin looking at Kenma, “You wanna talk about what happened last night or not now?” Kenma placed his hand on the table trying to seem more open. He didn’t want Kuroo to think he’d keep being defensive. “I don’t think I’m quite ready to talk yet Tetsu.”

Kuroo huffed out a small chuckle and smiled at him, “That’s okay we can build up to it, what did you do today?” Kenma started to relax as he recounted probably his most boring day ever. He wasn’t really in the mood to stream because he knows his fans would have noticed how anxious he was and he wasn’t up to answering the questions they would throw at him so he’d basically sat and played games.

Kuroo looked almost sympathetic, “Why didn’t you feel up to streaming?” Kenma shrugged, “I don’t know, I guess it’s the same reason for last night.” Kuroo nodded and was about to say something when the waiter arrived with their order. While eating he listened carefully as Kuroo told him about how boring his day was too and how it went by so slowly because he was looking forward to tonight. This surprised Kenma. What was Kuroo so excited about?

He decided asking won't kill anyone except maybe his will to live. “Wha-Kenma why wouldn’t I be excited? We haven’t hung out like this in a long time and well,” he paused and couldn’t help the blood rush up to his cheeks, “Well I missed you Kenma.”

Kenma was taken aback at how forward Kuroo was being. Of course, they’d been forward with each other in the past about certain small things but never about each other. He felt a glimmer of hope in his heart at this.

Kuroo was worried if he’d said too much because of the look of surprise on Kenma’s face. Kenma looked down at his food and mumbled just loud enough for Kuroo to hear, “Well I’ve missed you too.”

Kenma looked back up to see Kuroo practically beaming, and Kenma couldn’t help but smile at him in return as his ears burned. They continued to eat in comfortable silence.

Kenma was nearly finished with his sushi when Kuroo asked what he wanted to do next. “Mmn no I chose the first thing, it's your turn now,” Kenma said after gulping the last bit of food down. Kuroo just smiled at him, “okay fine.” He didn’t say anymore and asked for the bill.

After paying they went to the car and Kenma stopped before opening the door. “Okay, where are we going Tetsu?” The man supported a mischievous grin on his face while shaking his head, “You’ll have to see when we get there Kenma.”

Kuroo drove for about 10 minutes and suddenly they were in the heart of the city. He parallel parked on the side of the street and looked at Kenma “You ready?” “Kuroo I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be ready for,” Kenma said incredulously. “Come on then,” Kuroo said as he stepped out of the car.

Kenma followed suit and shuffled closer to Kuroo when he walked around the car. It was busy in the city. Not as busy as it would be on a weekend but close enough. “Hold my hand so you don’t lose me?” Kuroo said, observing the fact that Kenma was becoming reserved at the sight of all the people walking around.

Kenma looked up at Kuroo with his eyes wide, “uh-uhm, you want to hold my hand?” he said as his face gradually got hotter. “Well yeah so I don’t lose you in the crowd,” he noted as he held out his hand for Kenma to take. Kenma hesitated long enough for Kuroo to think it was too much but Kenma took his hand. Holding Kuroo’s hand is everything he felt it would be and more. His hands were surprisingly soft and of course bigger than his.

Kuroo tried his hardest to hide the blush that had wound its way to his cheeks when Kenma took his hand. He had to remind himself that he used the excuse of not losing Kenma in the crowd of people and that they aren’t just like all the other couples he’d noticed walking around.

He led Kenma down one of the many alleys and stopped in front of a shop with lots of bright colours and lights. It was a game store he was told about by one of his colleagues at work and instantly thought about taking Kenma there. He wanted to do it for their first date but obviously, he hadn’t asked Kenma out.

He looked down at Kenma expectantly and his breath hitched when he saw how the lights reflected against his skin and how the lights made his eyes seem especially bright. “Tetsu how did you find out about this place it's beautiful,” Kenma said looking through the window at all the shelves and things on the walls.

“Beautiful,” He mumbled still looking at Kenma. Kenma turned to look at Kuroo, “What?” The sudden eye contact threw Kuroo out of his trance and he looked dowm, “Uh, yeah so one of my colleagues who is like 70 years old was telling me about his grandkids favourite store and its uh, this one.” Kenma just nodded and looked back through the window, “Well can we go in?”

Kuroo laughed and looked into the store too, “No of course not I just felt like making you look into your version of heaven and then drag your ass back home, seriously Kenma, of course we can.” Kenma gave him a small smile and pulled him into the store.

Stepping into the store was a big relief to Kenma because he was able to get out of the crowded and loud streets. There weren’t a lot of people inside the store maybe about 7 including him and Kuroo. The walls and ceiling were black and they had blue and red lights on either side of the room. There were posters all over the walls showing the new releases and life-size figures of characters were dotted here and there.

Kenma realised he was still holding Kuroo’s hand and let go thinking it wasn’t necessary anymore. Kuroo’s expression was unreadable as he let go. He was smiling but his eyes seemed to convey something different. He walked further into the store running his hands along the shelves, Kuroo watched him for a couple of seconds before following after him slowly. His hand felt empty without Kenma’s hand in it and he yearned to satiate his need for the feeling of Kenma’s skin against his.

They walked around and talked in the store until the owner said he’d be closing in 15 minutes. So Kenma quickened his pace and grabbed things he saw that he wanted to get. Kuroo was following him until he stopped and saw something that he wanted to get for Kenma.

It was a small pendant of one of the cats from Animal Crossing who Kuroo remembers was very similar to Kenma. They were both lazy and both would do activities if told they could get something like food out of it and just his general feel about him was very Kenma-ish. He smiled as he took the pendant off the shelf.

“Are you coming Kuroo?” he heard Kenma call for him. He looked up and Kenma had finished paying and was waiting for him by the door. “Oh yeah, I’m coming just wait for me there.” He replied as he gave the chain to the man at the register so he could pay for it. He declined a packet and slipped the chain into his pocket and thanked the cashier.

He and Kenma left the shop back into the street which had calmed down a bit so there were not as many people. Kenma looked up at Kuroo as they started to walk back to the car, “Hey thank you for tonight. I really enjoyed myself Tetsu.” Kuroo nodded and smiled in response, “I’m glad, and you seemed happier too.”

He then thought of an idea remembering what Bokuto had said to him that morning, “But, we aren’t done yet,” he said as he stopped in his tracks. Kenma stopped midstride and turned to look at him. “What do you mean, what else do you want to do?”

Kuroo then continued walking with a grin on his face. “Wh-what’s up with all these surprises Tetsu.” He grumbled as he followed Kuroo. Once they were back in the car Kuroo put the heater on as the temperature dropped a bit and his sweater was not nearly warm enough. He started to drive leaving the city and Kenma hooked up his phone to the cars speaker system to play some music that he liked.

Kuroo actually preferred listening to whatever Kenma played because he had a wider variety of genres that he listened to so he could go from hardcore rap to the softest and romantic music you could find yourself listening to. His favourite was a song called carry you by Ruelle which Kenma started to play.

He found himself humming along to the words and feels them resonate through the way he was feeling about Kenma at that moment. He stopped at a spot that was halfway up a mountain but had a beautiful view of the city. He stopped the car but kept it on to let the song play through until it ended.

Kenma looked out onto the view with wonder. He wasn’t the kind of person to travel much even if it was just down the road and even then he didn’t take much notice of the scenery around him. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. “Wow, Tetsu. This is…” he let out a huff as he smiled obviously speechless, “why did you bring me out here though?”

Kuroo continued to look out the window with determination. He had to go through with this. He couldn’t just keep himself from finding out what would happen. He was scared but it had to be done. “I have to confess something to you Kenma. I can’t keep it inside anymore it’s not fair to me or you.”

Kenma instantly felt a cold feeling wash over him. He knew what was coming and could feel his eyes start to burn as the tears threatened to flow. He tried to remain calm though. This needed to happen. No matter how much it hurts him it's necessary. He braced himself for the rejection.

Kuroo turned to look at Kenma but couldn’t see what was happening on his face as he was facing away. So he took that leap, “I think I’m in love with you Kenma.” As he said this he saw a tear roll down Kenma’s face.

Kenma whipped his head to the side so he could look at Kuroo, the look of absolute surprise very evident on his face. His jaw dropped open in complete disbelief. “What! is it that surprising?” Kuroo said. Kenma tried to regain his composure, “Tetsu are you sure?” he couldn’t believe what was coming from Kuroo’s mouth. Kuroo raised his eyebrow at him, “What do you mean ‘am I sure’ Kenma I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.”

Kuroo couldn’t quite read the emotions on Kenma’s face but he knew they weren’t bad. Maybe he had nothing to worry about?

Kenma moved so he could sit facing Kuroo directly, “Jesus Tetsurou I-well I love you too.” He looked as if he was close to tears as his gaze found its way to Kuroo’s. It was Kuroo’s turn to be surprised and he instantly smiled and looked down as if he was embarrassed about it.

Kenma rubbed his eyes to get rid of the tears that had threatened to fall not even minutes before. Kuroo looked back up again, “Is that what’s been bothering you lately?” Kenma laughed as he sniffed. Kuroo was oblivious but he wasn’t a complete idiot. “Yeah actually I wanted to talk to you about it but I was too scared that it would mean losing you and I don’t think I’d be able to handle that.”

Kuroo looked at him with a serious expression on his face. “So are you okay now, since it’s in the open?” Kenma nodded his head with a small smile. Kuroo lifted his hand to push back some hair that had fallen into Kenma’s face and he kept it there as he moved closer, his eyes keeping Kenma’s locked into place “May I kiss you Kenma?” Kenma nodded as he moved closer.

Kuroo cupped Kenma’s face between both his hands and lightly grazed his thumb over his cheekbone. Slowly he brushed his nose against Kenma’s and pressed their lips together as softly as he could to test out the waters to make sure he was completely okay with this. Kenma leaned more forward as he wrapped his arms around Kuroo’s neck and tangled his hands in his hair.

He sighed as Kuroo deepened the kiss, their lips moving in sync with each other. Kuroo bit Kenma’s bottom lip softly earning himself a small moan from him. Needing air, they pulled away from each other but Kuroo kept his forehead pressed against Kenma’s.

“God I’m so sorry I didn’t say anything sooner.“ He huffed out with a laugh and continued, “will you go out with me. On a date next time?” Kenma opened his eyes and smiled, “Yes Tetsu.” Kuroo giggled and kissed him again longer this time. After what felt like hours they untangled from each other but still stayed close.

“Oh I meant to ask you Tetsu, what did you get from the store earlier?” Kenma asked with a curious look on his face. Kuroo blanked for a second before remembering, “Oh shit, yeah. Well, remember when you introduced me to Animal Crossing and I told you my favourite villager in your village was that lazy cat named Bob?”

Kenma nodded, “It was actually because he reminded me of you. And when I walked past one of the stands earlier I saw this.” He reached into his pocket and brought out the chain with the pendant on it. “So I wanted to buy it for you.”

Kenma looked down at the chain hanging between them. He looked at Kuroo and smiled, “This may be the cutest thing anyone has ever gotten me Tetsu, thank you.” He took the chain from Kuroo and slipped it over his head holding the pendant of the lazy purple cat in his hand.

Kenma grabbed his phone to play music through it and they sat together listening to love songs that somehow deepened the already ocean depth love they had for each other.

Tagging: @gabbywubby  @shou-kunn @super-noya @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @pudding-head-kenma @thirsthourdemon @thesecretlifeoflilly

[morelikesin]

You Know You're Cute, Right?

ANOTHER APEX FIC BECAUSE I CANNOT CONTROL MYSELF SKNDLWKDM,, this time I wrote differently than how I normally do - it consists of quick snippets of a day-in-the-life type thing, featuring Mirage-Octane-Bloodhound-Caustic as a polycule 💕 Huge inspo from this song (as well as included in the fic)✨

Take this as a late Christmas-early New Years gift ✨ Super fluffy and casual type work, with a heavy dash of romanticism because I'll be damned if I'm not a romantic. Fic under the cut 💕💕

"You call your cat sweetheart? 'Zander-"

"Not a word."

Elliott suppressed a snort. That cheeky little smile he had when he found an opening for playful jabs was always so irritating - the kind of irritating that made the scientist want to kiss it right off of him.

"I think it's cute," Octavio hummed, leaning back into the sofa with his arms crossed behind his head. "That means you're cute. Que lindo."

The way Alexander scoffed an "Octavio" would've been more intimidating had it not been for the big, sleepy cat he cradled in his arms. She stretched her big fluffy paws, made a squeak as she yawned, and buried her head into the man's chest.

Blóð smiled.

"Vhatever helps you sleep at night, elskan."

It was incredibly late. The last time they had checked the clock wasn't that long ago, and apparently it was supposed to be sometime around 4 in the morning. It didn't feel that way at all.

They knew it'd kick their ass in the morning - getting so little sleep.

Well, Octavio might be fine. But Elliott had made it a habit to wake up at 8, Blóð still hadn't made much progress on getting more sleep to begin with, Alexander had his internal clock waking him at 7, and they all had somewhere to be at 9. This entire night was probably a huge mistake. They normally try to get to sleep by 2, but admittedly, they may or may not have a bad practice of keeping each other awake for company's sake.

And now that an entirely new subject was brought up after Alexander had rather adoringly picked up Bear, his senior cat, and called her "sweetheart," the prospect of playfully pestering him about his soft spot was all too enticing to go to sleep just yet.

"You've never even called us sweetheart," Octavio began. "You save it for her?"

There was a brief pause. Alexander had kept petting her back paw with his thumb, as his eyes remained averted until he sighed. "It...is something I've grown accustomed to for her, yes."

Elliott made a pleased hum. "Well isn't that just adorable," he teased before leaning over and petting Bear across her back - fur unbelievably soft.

It started as a joke a while ago - the way they noticed how Bear could make anyone sleepy just by looking at her - her cozy looking fur, her sweet little face, her ability to get comfortable and sleep virtually anywhere - but over time the joke had increased its humour when the idea became seemingly true. Alexander occasionally would mention how he'd sometimes stop working at his desk late at night because Bear was sleeping in his lap, and turn in a few hours early compared to his usual 2 in the morning bed time. This was deemed an exaggeration until the three others experienced it for themselves.

This happened to be one of those magical sleepy-Bear moments, as made evident by how Blóð made a quiet yawn shortly after leaning over to give Bear a loving scritch under her chin.

Octavio staved off a matching yawn. He rubbed at his eyes, began to stand, and nodded to Alexander's bed. "We should probably try and get some sleep."

-

The sun coming in through the blinds was a rude awakening. Elliott instinctually raised an arm to cover his eyes - making a soft groan in annoyance at the bright rays somehow coming through at a perfect angle to hit him in the face. Turning, he lowered his arm and began to sit up slowly as to not wake up the sleeping Octavio who had his arm wrapped around his waist.

Elliott sighed, and leaned down to give him a kiss on the temple. He lingered for a moment before sitting up again and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

He noticed a weight on his legs, and looked to see a peacefully sleeping Bear curled up in a ball. As he went to pet her head, his eyes glanced up to see Blóð sitting in Alexander's desk chair - hands busy sewing a thick-fur item. From the time spent with the hunter, Elliott had picked up on the types of hides they'd hunt and use - this one appearing to be rabbit fur. What they were making, though, wasn't clear yet.

Elliott's voice came deeper, and a bit more throaty in post-sleep fashion, "Morning."

Blóð briefly looked up, gave a gentle smile, and proceeded to look back down to continue their work. "Góðan morgin. How did you sl'leep?"

"Pretty good, considering." He took in a deep breath, and stretched his arms out in front of him. He rested his hands in his lap as he went to speak again, "When did you wake up?"

"Before Alexander, but not by long."

Elliott frowned slightly. Blóð took notice when they looked back up to gauge his reaction. They made an effort to ease his concerns.

"I'm sure Octavio will get me to take a nap vith him later today," they assured, "don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Elliott made a small hum indicating reluctant agreement. "...Alright. Just promise me to keep doin' what you're doin' - trying t'get more sleep, I mean."

"I promise, ástin."

If Elliott was a sucker for anything, it'd be terms of endearment - especially when they're used so casually. Having all four of them be big on using said terms made for an eternally happy Witt.

"Beloved, right?"

Blóð hummed, "Yes. Closest tr'ranslation I can equate to it." They briefly stopped their handiwork in the wake of a smile they couldn't seem to get rid of. "I'm touched you remembered."

Elliott smirked and made a quiet laugh, turning his head to find the time on the side table clock - 8:21 AM - before looking back over. "I try my best. Making it a goal to learn as much as I can from you and Octavio."

"We find it very sweet," Blóð assured, letting it be known that Octavio and they had seemingly discussed the language efforts before. "Alexander said as much, that you and he were doing so."

"Think I can speak for him when I say that we love learning it. Speaking of him...?"

"He's downstairs."

Elliott made a quiet "Ah." As much as it pained him to do so, he gently lifted Bear and set her on a free spot of the blanket so he could get up - her being left generally unfazed, besides her slightly annoyed tail wag in being moved from her spot.

With Octavio being so small, Elliott could easily leave the bed without disturbing him too much, albeit moving his arm so it wasn't draped across his body anymore. He stretched, walked over to Blóð, and gestured for a kiss. They hummed, seemingly still in their work, but Elliott knew they were keen - the hunter picking up the hint and looking up so their lips could gently meet.

"Que lindo, mis amores."

The two of them made a small hum in surprise before pulling away from one another with a blush. Blóð was smiling to themself shyly, while Elliott made a small chortle and flirted with the newly-awakened Octavio, wearing his darling little smirk.

"Welcome to join us."

Octavio laughed - the sound half-purr, half-grain. "I'd love to. Watching is only so much fun."

He started to rise, stretching his arms upwards and making a groan before reaching over the bed to grab his prosthetics and put them on. Standing, shaking his legs to help himself wake up, he made a small yawn before walking around the bed and giving a kiss to each partner - looking satisfied with himself.

"Big guy downstairs?"

Blóð nodded.

Elliott and Octavio made a mutual decision to go see him - the latter turning around before they headed out the bedroom door to question Blóð. "You comin' down?"

They shook their head, hands busy sewing the fur item again. "I will soon. I von't be long in finishing this."

Octavio nodded, and proceeded to take Elliott's hand as they went downstairs.

-

Dr. Somers and Alexander seemed to be having a chat when the two made it to the kitchen, their hands busy with mugs of black coffee all the while. Elliott could never understand how people drank their coffee so bitter, much less Octavio.

Dr. Somers was the first to notice the two, as she was facing the stairs leaning against the counter. Giving a small wave and giving a nod to Alexander, she drank from her mug and gave them a minute to exchange expected affections - something she learned the polycule are incredibly prone to do, despite several joking complaints about PDA from the others.

Octavio quipped with a laugh between his words as Elliott and Alexander exchanged a coffee-flavored kiss, "Not even creamer, 'Zander?"

The man bore an amused hum. "Black coffee actually tastes like coffee. You may as well drink candy if you add so much sugar to it."

"You sound old."

"No avoiding that, I'm afraid." He gestured for a kiss, to which Octavio happily gave, before drinking from his mug again. "How did you sleep?"

"Great!"

Elliott gave a "Ditto" in response, though he followed it up with a fitting yawn and a "Wish I slept some more, though."

The statement was seconded by the way Alexander made a soft hum in agreement, and thirded by Octavio and his rightly timed yawn.

Dr. Somers waited a few quiet moments before stepping forward and piping into the conversation. "It'll just be a few stores we stop by, darlin's. Doubt we'll be out that long."

"That's still gonna' be so long," Octavio complained, his voice coming as a whine.

It was common knowledge that Octavio wasn't exactly big on shopping. Elliott, however, could spend all day doing it. If they had to disagree on anything, it'd be how long they were out for things - Alexander and Blóð keeping things relatively frustration-free during a shopping trip, though Blóð would always get antsy to go home if they stayed out longer than a few hours out in a city.

"It'll be fine, babe," Elliott assured the man while rubbing his back. "It's kinda'- kinda' just mainly food shopping, isn't it? You like doing that."

"Aren't we going to the pet store after, though?"

Elliott rose a brow, "'Tavio, are you complaining about that?"

Octavio snorted and began walking to the fridge - grabbing a Bang from inside and popping the can open. "No, para nada - prefer that to everything else, even food."

Mary laughed at that, shaking her head before taking a gulp of coffee and making her way to the living room. Before she left, though, she spoke with her back still facing them, "Oh, remind me t'grab a level while we're out -  puttin' up a shelf an' think I lost the one I had."

"Lucky for you, I'm the best at reminding people of things," Elliott half-joked. Mary laughed again and took her leave with a "Thanks."

Being left alone in the kitchen, the three stood in comfortable silence for a few moments. Alexander prompted a question shortly thereafter;

"Is Blóð still upstairs?"

"Yeah," Octavio began, "Think they were working on something - dijo no tardará mucho. I can go see them if-"

The stairs creaked a bit as someone walked down the stairs, causing Octavio to cut himself off as he turned to see who it was. In seeing so, he sighed damn near dreamily and softened his gaze a bit - Elliott and Alexander softening all the same.

Pulling their past-the-waist long black hair behind their jewelry-adorned ear, they rounded the last stair and looked up to see their partners - smiling warmly and lowering their hands to fold their arms. The coyote jaw necklace (that Octavio had gifted them this past holiday, knowing they loved real animal items), that rest against their lower chest rose slightly with every breath, as quaint a detail it was to notice. Not a day goes by do any of them not love seeing their pretty face.

And Elliott made sure to tell them that.

"Not a day goes by do we not love seeing your pretty face."

Blóð bore a chuckle and rolled their eyes, though it didn't mask the rosy blush the comment gave them. "I should say the same for you, ástin."

They unfolded their arms and looked back to the three. They couldn't suppress the amused hum they made in seeing that the three were still checking them out - becoming more flushed and brushing their hair behind their ear again, looking away with a shy smile.

They always looked at each other with such warmth. They got playful tease about it from the others, especially Alexander given he was quite brooding to most things, but the gazes never subsided. They'd like to say they were subtle about it - but everyone else would vote against it. And it'd be true.

They were obvious about it. So sticky-sweet obvious - embraces and hand holding and gazes and kisses and all. They didn't mind.

-

By 10 till 9, mostly everyone was ready - save for Loba, Renee, and Elliott, who always took a while to clean up to their own high standards. Elliott called from upstairs whether he should wear his orange body mist or his cologne, and with the majority vote leaning towards cologne today - well, he must please the people.

With Renee in tow, Elliott had finally come from upstairs. He looked handsome as ever, however, wearing a black turtleneck and an orange, knee length open-front sweater. His hair looked meticulously tended to, tossed to the opposite side of his pierced right ear and framing his face well.

The cologne served him wonders, too, with Blóð and Alexander taking a clear liking to it.

Octavio walked down the stairs with a pep in his step - smoothing back his hair as best he could just so it could partly fall into his face once again. Swinging around the corner, he spotted his partners and proceeded to greet Blóð and Elliott with a firm smack on their behinds. They were startled, sure, but Elliott only looked down to give Octavio a laugh and a smack of his own, while Blóð merely scoffed in jest.

Octavio bit his lip. "Don't you all look good? Eres tan sexy," he gave a wink while unabashedly checking them out. Blóð was always so pretty, even when showing their strength in the games or when they hunted or chopped wood (Octavio could go on for days about that), Elliott was always so charming and confident (even if his suave attempts happened to fail, they were all the more charming), and the rolled-sleeve button up that was unbuttoned just enough to show collarbone and brief chest on Alexander was something Octavio (and the other two, admittedly) would store in the memory bank for personal satisfaction.

"¿Qué hubo?"

"Just talkin' about whatever." Elliott adjusted the cuffs of his orange jacket sleeves, rolling them up his forearm a bit. He took notice of Octavio's outfit. "You gonna' be alright out there? You know I love you in your crop tops, but-"

Octavio made a "Pshhh" and scrunched his nose up a bit in response to that, cutting him off. "I'll be fine, bebé. Can't be that cold outside, can it?"

Alexander seemed to check his phone for confirmation on that. "Sixty degrees."

Elliott did find the temperature better than he had anticipated, but still swiveled his head back to Octavio with brows furrowed in concern.

"You don't even have a jacket."

"I can grab one before we go."

Elliott seemed satisfied by that and left the discussion there.

Loba came downstairs, holding the car keys and jangling them as her other hand brushed her hair past her shoulder. "Any takers on being driver?"

Alexander motioned her to give the keys to him, to which she happily did - she was a great driver, but happened to not be particularly fond of doing so, rather liking going on drives as a passenger.

Octavio quickly claimed shotgun.

Before they left, Blóð gave Octavio the fur item they'd been sewing earlier - the latter finding that it was a soft rabbit fur coat. The delight in his face was all Blóð needed to feel assured that he liked it, and helped him put it on. It was a little big, and just how Octavio liked his sweaters and coats. To all of their agreement, he looked rather stylish in it.

-

They were out for most of the afternoon, starting with a two hour Costco trip (that Octavio nearly made his partners carry him for), several smaller shops in between just to browse, a liquor store to buy champagne and sauvignon to celebrate New Years tonight (along with sparkling juice for Octavio who nay drank alcohol), and a hardware store mainly for Mary to pick up that level Elliott reminded her of. By 4:30, their last store of the day was the pet store - everyone individually needing one thing or another.

When they got inside, Elliott asked his partners if they could accompany him for a minute - guiding them to the aquarium section and proposing something.

"Pick one of these guys that you like," Elliott gestured to the wall of individually kept male betta fish, of all sorts of colors and sizes. "You remember those 5 gallon tanks I got a while back? Thought I'd use 'em, and thought a' you guys."

Like Blóð was simply an animal person, and how Octavio and Alexander were cat people, Elliott was partial towards fish. The two large tanks he manages in the living room are rather serene, and despite Renee's concerns, the fish kept there seem to love the foot traffic of everyone coming through.

"One collectively, or-?"

Elliott shook his head, politely cutting Alexander off, "Three total. Was thinking you all pick one, and I set their tanks up in my room. I-I thought it was a cute idea, I dunno'-"

"It's sweet, actually," Alexander softly spoke.

"Think so?"

Blóð made a content hum - leaning down a bit and surveying the curious little fish to see which one stood out to them. "Incr'redibly, my love."

Octavio's approval was nonverbal, made of him apparently finding which one he wanted immediately and picking up the container the little guy was kept in. He looked to Elliott with stars in his eyes and a grin, "Can we name them?"

Elliott chortled and waved his hand dismissively, "I enco- en- enco- implore you to."

"Octavio Dos."

His answer was so quick the others couldn't help but bear a laugh.

And by the time everyone was at checkout, there was definite fawning over the three new additions to Elliott's personal tanks - Ljón, the cream-colored, fiesty little thing that had fins flowing long behind him that Blóð adored, Violet, the red, pink, and white dumbo betta that was adorably curious much to Alexander's affection, and the deep-red colored Octavio Dos.

-

On the way home, it was decided to just grab something to eat on the way - near everyone could cook, but the idea of standing around in the kitchen to cook for fifteen people was lost.

Natalie passed the aux cord to Octavio, who was just taking his coat off for the ride home. He looked a little beyond himself.

"You trust me with the music? Wow - what'd they put in these fries?"

Natalie held off on a laugh while she tried to finish chewing, though her smile was tell enough on her amusement. "I actually like your music taste."

Makoa requested simply, "Nothing too dirty though, please, Silva."

"Me? Liking dirty music?" Octavio snorted, "You know me so well. How about flirty music?"

The man chortled. "That works, brotha'."

Octavio hooked the cord to his phone, and swiped his screen for a few moments before stopping on something. He looked hesitant, briefly, and pressed his screen. He set his phone down and put his hand on Alexander's, their arms both resting on the armrest.

The song sounded so dreamy. When the intro became a little more recognizable, before the lyrics, Loba made a snort from the back.

"You like this song?"

Octavio feigned offense, looking back to her with a "Of course I like this song!"

He shook his head and laughed softly - looking over to Blóð, who sat behind Alexander, he sang over the song and moved his hand from Alexander to cup their face.

"You're so uwu," his voice came sweet and a bit grainy, moving his hand from their cheek to their chin. Blóð practically giggled - blushing and leaning forward into his touch.

"You make me wanna' do," Octavio took his hand away and gave them a wink, "Naughty things to you - all these things to you, you."

Elliott joined the flirt-singing, joining Octavio in the chorus while they oh-so shamelessly wooed their other two partners (and each other, mind you). The others would've said a joke about it, but Ajay was busy holding Natalie's hand and cuddling up to her, while Anita was busy running her hand through Loba's hair and speaking quietly amongst themselves. The others didn't have the heart to interrupt their moment.

Besides, the song was catchy.

"You know you're cute, right?" Octavio sung in Alexander's direction, who shook his head. Still, he wore a soft smile and kept his hand reached over to rub Octavio's thigh.

Elliott leaned over to the side behind Octavio's seat, Blóð matching the movement from the opposite side, and wrapped an arm around the hunter's waist. He continued the phrase with a cocky smile, "Cute as a button-"

Then the two sang together, "Undoing the buttons and pushing your buttons, I just wanna' get you right-"

It was a red light, and so Alexander took the opportunity to lean over and kiss Octavio - lingering for a moment or two before pulling away and focusing back on the road just in time for the light to turn green.

Octavio's heart was a puddle.

Blóð reached a free hand across the armrest to drape his hand over the one Alexander had over Octavio's leg, their fingers soft and gentle in the way they caressed the back of both their hands. Elliott went to continue singing the song, but Octavio stole a kiss much to his surprise. He hummed, and just before they pulled away, Elliott opened his eyes and let his gaze linger at the man driving.

The glimpse of one another was quick, but just as warm as everything else, and left Elliott with a bigger smile than previously.

Octavio pulled up his leg that wasn't currently the resting place of Alexander's and Blóð's, resting his arm on his knee.

He was so lucky.

-

And finally by 6, everyone was tuckered out - ready to take some personal time alone before reconvening later tonight for celebrations. Putting groceries away, Elliott setting up the bettas (as well as having a bit of an audience while doing so), and having a pre-celebratory drink from the sauvignon left the group in need of a quick sit-down. They found themselves just comfortable in the living room, along with Bear and Octavio's cat, Octave, sleeping on one of the couches. Rightly, this was the couch the four of them decided to occupy.

Renee crossed her legs, her black-painted nails running over the leather of her knee-high boots. "Any plans before tonight?"

"Oh?" Tae Joon began, "I thought we were just going to be alone before- ah, ten tonight?"

"I'm just wondering if that was the time we could agree on."

Octavio gave a nod. "Should work for me, at least. I plan on getting blasted, hah."

There was a heavy silence - his other partners looking rather surprised and, especially Blóð, flushed upon hearing that.

Elliott cleared his throat. "Come again?"

Anita snorted at his wording. Elliott gave a quick "Not- not what I meant, uh-"

Renee shrugged, wearing a look painfully smug. "I mean...a bit too much information, but I'm sure that'll go well."

Alexander cleared his throat.

Octavio, despite his nature to immediately take things dirty, just now got what the issue was. And did he find it hilarious.

Through a series of snorts and laughs, he reiterated what he meant; "If I meant I was gonna' get pounded, I would just say that-"

Blóð, Elliott, and Alexander made a simultaneous "Octavio-!"

He kept laughing, shaking his head, "I meant- like, I'm gonna' smoke a joint. Ay, Dios mío - but hey, if that other option is on the table-"

There was another simultaneous "Octavio!" and it seemed to get him to stop talking and simply laugh. He and the others found this absolutely hilarious, leaving his partners to be lost for words and red in the face.

Octavio snorted, and dared to entertain a final joke.

"Like a refreshment."

"What?" Loba narrowed her eyes, leaning forward in interest in what he could possibly say right now.

"Y'know," Octavio snickered, "Quickie's like a refreshment. And there's four of us - heh, call that a concession stand."

Loba couldn't hold the shocked, boisterous laugh she made hearing that - no one really could.

There was a silence after the laughter died down. It was broken when Ajay snorted, though.

"Stop encouraging him-!" Elliott near scrambled to say, but was cut short when Ajay gave him a laugh and a 'look.'

"I know the one flirting wit' 'im all day isn't telling me t' not encourage him. Don't act like you don't like this."

Elliott quickly bit his tongue and raised his hands in the air.

"Touché."

Another small bout of quiet settled.

Loba snorted.

Octavio looked at her, and when their eyes met, they both snorted, and had to turn away to not outright laugh.

Given the situation, a little fun was wanted out of it. Of course, trivia about one another was a frequent, and a favourite, activity amongst themselves. If they all had any one exact thing in common, it'd be that they were all unabashedly nosy.

Loba uncrossed, then recrossed, her legs as she sat up a little. "Truth or dare without the dare, anyone?"

"I think that's a thing called 'having a conversation,'" Anita jokingly mocked.

"Then let's have one." Loba hummed, "I actually had a question for you," she pointed a nude-shade manicured finger towards Dr. Nox, who looked suddenly surprised.

"What is it?"

The woman leaned forward a bit, cusping her hand around her face as if she was telling a secret - the hand facing no one, ultimately defeating the purpose - and talking somewhat low but audible for everyone to still hear.

"Be honest. Is that sweetheart thing true, or was Octavio being dramatic?"

"Oh my god."

His exasperated expression made his partners in particular so delightfully entertained - Octavio especially, laughing and giving a shrug as he left the man to answer the question for himself. He must've mentioned it to them when they were at a store earlier today.

"The people are waiting," Ajay chimed in. It earned the approval of Loba, as told by the way she looked smug about someone else prodding it.

Alexander lifted his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose in thought, and when he couldn't stave the answer off any longer he was brought to the doorstep of needing to say something.

With hesitation, he sighed. "True enough that she responds to it as well as her actual name."

As if on cue, right after he finished speaking and everyone was ready to pull the expected "big guy soft for a cat" card, Bear shifted her position from simply lying beside him to lying on her side and pressing her face against his upper leg. Despite it all, the instinct to lower a hand and pet her big sweet face was lost not in the man.

The onslaught of "Aww!"s would've been anticipated.

[syms-things-5]

Clear The Area - Chapter Two

Previous chapter HERE

Warning: Not explicit (yet); some mild language. 

Summary: 29-year-old nurse Sarah Bernette has worked hard to get where she is. Moving to Boston from a nowhere dump of a town, she’s studied hard and is grateful her stress is finally paying off. Despite being fostered repeatedly throughout her childhood, she’s since found some comfort in the form of her adopted parents, Jocelyn and Noah, and a pseudo-adoptive family of sorts in form of the Evans clan who have treated her as one of her own ever since she moved in with best friend, Shanna. Valuing them above all else, she appreciates their support even more when her long lost birth mother decides to reappear in her life after so many years, and is surprised to find out just how supportive Chris is in particular. As she struggles to maintain a firm grip on both her professional and private lives, she finds an ill-advised solace in her growing mutual attraction with him but how long before everything unravels and threatens to pull the rug out from underneath her?

Note: I apologise for my spelling/grammar errors. 

CHAPTER TWO

Sarah made very little effort to more that day. On occasion, and as often as she could, she preferred the relative safety of a self-made cocoon, with the excessive amount of pillows and duvet lying across her as she lounged on her bed, her wavy brunette locks in a messy bun. The alternative was a run followed by trash television (also one of her favourite guilty pleasures on a day like today) but both of those would have required her to get up and she didn’t feel like that just now. Even her phone telling her it was after one o’clock in the afternoon was enough to shame her into moving. The bedroom windows were as wide open as possible as was necessary for this time of year, and she slipped both feet out from under the covers to let the warm breeze caress her skin and envelope her space, calming her completely.

She must have fallen asleep quite early last night. Shan and Chris had left around 7p to head to their mom’s house, leaving Sarah to indulge in a much-needed shower before making her world-famous grilled cheese with as much as she could physically pack under the grill. She fell into a carb-induced come soon after.

When she woke, Shan had been making various noises around the flat, slamming a couple of drawers here and there before retiring to sleep. Sarah was too tired to check in on her to make sure everything was OK. Shan would no doubt fill her in when she saw her the next morning and they would inevitably catch up on each other’s gossip for the first time that week. Sarah had been working longer hours lately but as always, the first 20 minutes of the every morning was reserved for “Shan Time”; just listening to her vent for a little while. She never minded so much. It meant she didn’t have to pay attention to her own thoughts.

Today, though, she had a full 24 hours of freedom and was intending to make no effort whatsoever to move from her self-imposed exile. She had no plans; a rare treat for herself to do absolutely nothing.

Her laptop was open with numerous tabs keeping her entertained. She checked Facebook, spent 15 minutes on a Buzzfeed article about puppies, then read CNN. Always in that order on a day off. At some point, she’d stumbled upon a gossip article about Chris and Jenny and, against her better judgement, scanned the details. According to a “source”, it was lust at first sight. The pair of them hung out a lot at his apartment where he would hold his famous game nights - that detail she could 100% believe - and soon after she stopped her husband’s weekly visits to set. Her husband seemed quite nice actually, very non-threatening in his appearance, almost dorky, the complete opposite of Chris she realised which seemed a bit dubious. Indeed, Jenny herself appeared to be the complete opposite of who Chris usually pursued. She seemed nice enough, though, and an up-and-coming name in the comedy world. He mentioned her once or twice on the random weekends he would fly back to Boston for some down time during production. She was funny and outspoken. She was quirky too, both physically and intellectually. Sarah thought they might get along if they were to ever have the chance to meet in person. Nevertheless, she had picked up on a lot of insider knowledge thanks to knowing Chris over the years and could spot clickbait a mile away.

“I’m not so sure, y’know,” Sarah jumped as Shan climbed onto her bed behind her with a plate of toast and a fresh coffee in hand. She felt embarrassed to have been caught reading gossip about her brother but Shan seemed nonplussed. “About her. I reckon something happened and he’s burying his head in the sand about it.”

“Did he talk about her last night?”

“No, not really. Mom pushed it a few times and he got annoyed and left. Scott went after him, I think.” Shan seemed relatively blase about the whole thing as she sat cross-legged, munching on her toast. Sarah stole a mouthful of her coffee and closed the laptop, flinching at how sweet she liked it. “This is exactly what he does. He messes around and then doesn’t stick around long enough to deal with the consequences. He’s probably fucked up her relationship for good.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“Oh, believe me. It’s textbook for him. He just does whatever he wants to do.” She finished her toast and took her mug back from Sarah. “What was your letter about?”

Sarah’s attention was quickly drawn towards her dresser table and to the brown envelope she’d forgotten about, currently sitting there unopened. She couldn’t bring herself to read its contents last night with how tired she felt and she was good at ignoring things when she wanted to. It was an exceptional talent of hers. 

“I haven’t looked yet.” She admitted. “I just have this...feeling nothing good’s gonna come of it.”

“Shan’s heart pinched for her friend. “Do you think it’s that lady again?”

“i don’t know. Maybe. I thought she would have given up by now but maybe she’s gone via the courts. I was reading about it online and apparently, they can request legal assistance when tracking down a child. Regardless of what the child wants. Can you believe that?”

She could. Shanna had found herself in a similar predicament some years earlier. Indeed, when they first met, their mutual experiences had been something of a conversation point and there followed many, many late nights talking until the small hours, drinking wine and putting the world to rights. It was the first time in her life Sarah had reached some sense of resolution and understanding about the whole thing.

It wasn’t common knowledge but Shan’s birth mother had contacted her a couple of years earlier via some handwritten letters and a few photographs. Turns out her parents had been childhood sweethearts who fell pregnant and ultimately decided they couldn’t raise the child together. There was also an allusion to some religious reason as well but Shan wasn’t altogether interested by that point. She recognised how unbelievably lucky she had been and didn’t want to rock the boar for something that may or may not make her life extra complicated. Sarah also sensed Lisa was struggling a bit with the contact as well although, outwardly, she was supportive of whatever decision Shanna decided to make. Chris and Scott on the other hand? Well, they were not pulling any punches. Chris in particular took the view it was some pathetic attempt to absolve themselves of guilt.

“Do you want me to open it?” Shan offered bringing Sarah back into the room. In all honesty, Shan would have done a lot more. She would have called up the Adoption Agency herself pretending to be Sarah and telling them in no uncertain terms where to stick it if she’d asked her to. It was one of Sarah’s favourite things about her; her unwavering loyalty to the people she loved the most. Act first, ask questions later. When she’d first met Carly, the oldest Evans’ child, she’d pulled her to one side and said “You’re stuck now”. She hadn’t looked back since.

Sarah pondered the letter before getting out of bed and collecting it from the table. She looked it over once more before opening the seam. It felt thicker than yesterday and there was definitely some kind of booklet enclosed. Just as she was about to pull the contents out, however, the front door slammed shut.

“Oh fuck. Sorry. I got annoyed with Chris always ringing the goddamn doorbell all the time so I just gave him the spare key, “ she remembered, quickly sliding off her bed and dashing out of the room. Sarah was going to follow her, another few minutes wasn’t going to make much difference. Then, just as she pulled the letter out a few extra centimetres, curiosity got the better of her. There, in black and white, was the name of biological mother: Charlotte.

Charlotte.

It didn’t sound like an older woman’s name to her. You know how some names have connotations of responsibility and authority and wisdom, and ‘Charlotte’ didn’t seem like one of them. It wasn’t a ‘Joanne’ or a ‘Susan’ or even a ‘Lisa’ now thought about it. Those names provoked feelings of comfort and reassurance. ‘Charlotte’ was the name of a twenty-something pretty blonde who had thousands of followers on Instagram and zero obligations. ‘Charlotte’ drove a swanky soft-top her father bought for her 21st birthday.

She was probably being petulant while staving off thoughts of Charlotte having been a teenage mother who couldn’t face the pressure of raising a child at such a young age. What if she herself had lived a troubled life and something bad had happened to her and she suddenly found herself bereft with a new born baby girl clinging to life in her arms? Or, like Shan’s mother, had some overbearing ogre of a grandmother shadowing her and telling her she would go to hell for having sex out of wedlock? Maybe she had been forced in some way to give her up outside of her control. Suddenly, Charlotte seemed like she could do with her sympathy.

Shan reappeared in Sarah’s doorway and paused before speaking noticing Sarah had the letter open in her hands. She gave her a sympathetic smile.

“Um Chris is here with some beers and stuff. I think Scott is coming over to watch a movie. I haven’t said anything about... you know...” She nodded towards the letter. Sarah smiled back at her but didn’t want to give away much more.

“Sure. I could do with a drink.”

*

A few hours had passed and they had been lying around the flat drinking beers and shouting at Iron Chef, Shan’s favourite lazy day programme. Scott had arrived not long after Chris but dipped in and out to have phone arguments with his boyfriend, Zach. Zach was his first boyfriend in some time that was considerably younger than him but seemed to fit in well with the family. It was perhaps fair to say that Chris was slightly less tolerant of him and possibly wary of any new figure in their lives given how much more visible he had become now that he was a living and breathing embodiment of a superhero. That said, Zach seemed nice and cute and funny, and Scott was clearly crazy about him and had been since Day One.

“Trouble in paradise.” quipped Chris as he walked into the kitchen. The front door was slightly ajar with Scott on the outside of the apartment, pacing up and down the hallway. Sarah had been washing up and wiping down the surfaces following dinner. Chris leaned back against the countertop next to her. “I don’t know why they insist on arguing so much. It’s just flogging a dead horse at this point.”

“He likes him a lot. When you like someone, you make it work not matter how hard things get.” she shoved him to move over a little so she could grab the sponge from behind where he was stood.

“No, you don’t. You ignore their calls and texts until they get the message. If not, you leave the country.” He smirked. Sarah shook her head in disbelief, chuckling, wondering if perhaps he was only half kidding.

“Do you think they’re getting anywhere?” he asked. She knew he was concerned deep down. He couldn’t help himself.

“I’m not sure to be honest. I’ve heard “you’re not listening to me” about seven times.”

Chris winced, folding his arms. They were both now staring at the front door when Scott suddenly returned. Without thinking, they tried their best to look as though they hadn’t just been eaves-dropping on his conversation. Chris reached for the spray, almost performing a full circle in panic. “So, I should just wipe this and then we’re done?”

Scott threw up his arms. “Oh pur-lease you guys. You don’t have to pretend that you couldn’t hear that. I know how loud I was talking.” 

“We weren’t listening!” Chris protested, feighing astonishment.

“You’re holding cleaning products, bro. You’re normally about as useful around the house as a wooden frying pan.”

The kitchen fell quiet as soon as Scott has walked back into the living room. Sarah wished she could have snapped a picture of the stunned look on Chris’ face right at that moment as he stood holding the Jif. He turned to look at her, offended.

“I clean.” he objected.

“are you trying to convince me or yourself?” she avoided eye contact, giggling to herself. She could feel the mock annoyance radiating off him as he stood to the side of her eyeline waiting for her to move. They could be here for some time. He resorted to spraying her hair.

“Hey! That was uncalled for!”

“I’m gonna tell mom you’re bullying me again.” He put the spray down and flashed her an eyebrow raise. She didn’t know why but she felt a blush cover her skin in that moment as he whispered almost intimidatingly close to her ear, “You missed a spot by the way.”

“What?! Where?” She jumped and he laughed out loud. Realising he had been kidding, she threw him a glare and the dishcloth. “If you’re not going to help you can get out of my kitchen.”

“Oh my god that was too easy! Seriously, Sarah, lighten up. It’s only gonna get messy again in a few hours.” He playfully attempted to grab the sponge from her hand but she held it aloft to one side out of his reach. He enjoyed messing with her. It was something he did when there wasn’t a lot else going on and she recognised this, fearing this was going to be the new norm for her now he was practically living here. She’d have to put the lock back on the bathroom door for sure. “Do you think you’ll be retiring to you bachelor pad anytime soon? Some of us have to get up early in the morning.”

His face lost its boyish glee in that moment and she felt like she had kicked a puppy. He picked the dishcloth back up and proceeded to dry a few plates, placing them in a neat pile to one side. He peeked at her from the corner of his eye.

“How about I repay you with beer and household chores?”

*

Next Chapter HERE

[xxj0kerxx]

annnnd my rules have been updated! some new changes and removals that were probably needed because the rule was redundant

FIRST OF ALL

🤡 this is a multiverse, multiship, multimuse, indie rp blog (indie krp in some circumstances, depending how you view it because it can be quite subjective). as i have realized, i do not rp “normally” oro at least the standard rpc norms. i follow and prefer to put an emphasis on narrative driven stories with a strong theme. that will be put over the ship. when i look at a “ship” or a thread, i think of a cohesive story. writing the story is priority over smut or fluff filler.

🤡 i do have a discord for ooc and plotting (that will be issued out if asked or requested).

DISCLAIMER!

🤡 all muns and muses are all of age (18+), there will be exceptions where minors will be used in rp as npcs. all gifs used that can be seen in replies are made, by yours truly, me. this theme was not made by me, it was made by the lovely, anacommissions.

ABOUT THE MUN!

🤡 my name is john, him/he, 25, gmt-7 (pacific standard timezone). my activity will be very spotty but rest assure that i am most likely active or around either on tumblr or discord because frankly, i got no life. i am typically more active and responsive on discord because i get notifications and i have a clear preference over using discord over tumblr’s instant message. i can be seen as very controlling and very.. overly-enthusiastic. this is a heavily selective blog, i am very specific and meticulous when it comes to roleplaying. i understand that it should be fun and it will, i just tend to want things to be the best it could possibly be for us or me. i will not sugar-coat it and i will be fully transparent about it. anyways, if you have any questions about it just ask.

🤡 i am really an introvert and can barely hold conversations for the life of me so please bare with me! some will get along better with me, some will not. that’s just life but typically people who are more upfront and say what they have on their mind without fear of prejudice will have my respect and i will open up far much more. i am very easy-going, but i am very hard at getting to know. that is as best as i can word how i am. i may seem intimidating and i could be intimidating, i see myself as intimidating but understand that i am very easy-going and relaxed. all it takes is talking and having a discussion and everything can be resolved rather than keeping things complicated.

RULES | INFORMATION!

🤡 MUNS: all muns have to be 18+ to interact with me. no exceptions.

🤡 FOLLOWING: i do not follow the “follow for a follow back” rule. do not follow me unless you are interested or plan to role play with me. if i follow you, that most likely means i am interested and want to interact with you. if you do follow me, do understand that i notice but i won’t approach you until you do.

🤡 GOD MOD: don’t god mod, it simple as that.

🤡 SMUT/NSFW: if you’re looking for smut on this blog, most likely you won’t find it on this blog. but chances are, smut might occur on this blog and i will tag it accordingly. i will also put them under spoilers for the consideration of others. plenty of nsfw themes will be present on this blog, but you should be aware of that by now if you follow me. when smut does come and you’re not comfortable writing it out fully, i’d be more than happy to fade to black! just let me know, communication is important. i will try to make both of our experiences as comfortable as possible!

🤡 SELECTIVE: as stated before, i am a very heavily selective blog, but don’t let that deter you from coming up or talking to me for a potential thread! i will be very selective with who i pair together, but most things will be discussed between muns.

🤡 POSSIBLE TRIGGERS ON THIS BLOG: full discretion, many taboo topics will be displayed on this blog. i cannot list the entirety of the list of triggers but ask if you are concerned. expect the worst, from mental illness to death will occur.

🤡 FORMATTING: a high preference for small text. i do not like overly formatted replies that are hard to follow and read.

🤡 GIFS: a high preference for 90x90px gifs, but i will not subject others to this. i understand that rpc has a tendency to compact and shrink things, but i will not accept anything below 70x70px. 100x100px and 80x80px are okay! i will be frank, i do not like gifs in replies that are large (300px or over) where it covers the whole post.

🤡 FACE CLAIMS/MUSES:  i will not rp with face claims that do not have acting resources, its my personal preference. i just like the gifs to contextually make sense. on occasions, i will make some exceptions. i also would prefer to keep kpop idols separate from kdrama face claims. exceptions will be made for idols who have acting roles. same will apply to kdrama face claims with western face claims, i would prefer to keep them separate from one and another.

majority of my muses will be male, i am comfortable playing males compared to females. western and korean actors will be prominent on this blog.

🤡 SHIPPING: most likely shipping will be discussed between muns. i usually write with the intentions to what feels organic for the story. also depending, i will ship on chemistry if it works. typically, i usually have something in mind beforehand when it comes to a certain muse when it comes to shipping, but ask. i won’t ship western muses with korean/kdrama muses.

🤡 REPLIES: i will make a constant effort to reply to everyone on a weekly basis. most if not all replies will be sent all at once thursday night or friday. do not rush yourself to reply quickly and take your time. i will not sugar coat this, but favoritism is probably prevalent on this blog. there are certain muses that i have higher muses for than others so those replies will most likely be done quicker and sent out if i feel like it. BUT if you would like to do back and forth, please do ask!! i’ll try to accommodate! the longest i will wait for a reply is a month, i will drop the thread after the 31 day period if it is not replies unless you are on hiatus or mention it to me beforehand. my replies will only take place on dash, i have no interest in rping on discord or instant message.

🤡 EFFORT / PLOTTING: i require mutuals or anyone who roleplays with me to put effort within our thread(s) and plotting. i seek dedicated rp partners who are genuinely interested and care for the material and content. most if not all things will be discussed and talked about when it comes to plotting. i also do not wish to be the only one that does all the work. discussions and feedback are more than appreciated. we can share ideas together and headcanons, i’d really love that! i am the type of person who’d have an idea at 3 am in the morning! but i will drop the interaction if i see no effort or care. do not expect to match replies because replies will vary, but i typically write relatively “long”.

🤡 BAN LIST: problematic people (but that is so subjective), kpop idols, people who were accused of rape or abuse, that one kpop scandal, underaged fcs, deceased people, lee min-ho, amber heard, animated/cartoon characters.

🤡 OTHER INFO / EXTRA NOTES:

depending how you see it, i am somewhat okay or moderately okay with photoshop. if you ask, i can assist and help you out if you want to gif. though my method can be a bit different from others but nonetheless, i’d be more than happy to teach and help you out. if it is the case that you are interacting with me and need resources and you’re willing to put up the time to gif resources for the character, i am beyond grateful and i will surely try to help you as much as i can!! that is, if you’re willing to learn.

also a thing to note that i didn’t explicitly tell in my rules, even though that i have myself as multiverse/multiship. i have that because i like to be limitless and unbounded, but in theory most of my muses are single-ship. once i have the interaction that i specifically wanted, i am usually very content. it is typically hard for me to come up with another “compelling” narrative for the same muse.

please feel free to send asks, i’d love to answer them!! ( i typically don’t use memes as a way to start/make starters because it is light hearted fun to me compared to plotting.)

i can come off as too passionate or overly enthusiastic over muses and plot, which most cases leads me to ramble A LOT. if it is annoying or burdensome, just let me know.

[marril96]

The Distance Between Us

Chapter 10: Custom-Made Doll

Pairing: Rowena x reader

Summary: Lucifer isn’t fond of your and Rowena’s interaction.

Editor: @cherrypierowena

"What was that about?"

Rowena frowned, confused. "What?"

Lucifer looked at her as if she were slow. "The loser girl."

That made her even more confused. She'd only said hi to you. Maybe gave you a smile. A nice, normal greeting.

Granted, the two of you'd rarely exchanged anything other than eye-rolls, but things have changed lately.

She, Rowena realized with a touch of disbelief, had changed.

Tutoring you had allowed her to see things differently. To see you differently.

You weren't just a loser girl who enjoyed her place at the bottom anymore.

You were a person. A human being. Someone who felt and laughed and learned despite stumbling. Who didn't let obstacles such as confusion and lack of comprehension stop her from reaching her goal.

Rowena respected that.

She — it took everything in her to admit it — liked it.

She didn't agree with your choices in life. Couldn't understand why you hadn't fought harder, dirtier, to be someone. You certainly had potential. Maybe she never would understand it. But…

She could accept it.

You just happened to be different. In a less than flattering way, but different nonetheless.

Like Rowena used to be a long time ago.

She'd learned the hard way that being like that didn't pay. That, to get somewhere in life, she had to aim higher, fight harder. Step on toes, and eventually over bodies.

Maybe you would understand it one day.

Maybe she could help you understand it, the same way she'd been helping you with Maths. What was life if not one big learning curve?

"What about her?" Rowena asked, unsure where he was going with this.

"You friends or something?" Lucifer asked in a tone that made it clear he expected a negative answer.

So she gave it. "No!" And scrunched up her face into a look close to that of disgust to sell it. "No bloody way!"

You were just tutoring pals. Nothing more and nothing less.

She may have seen the good in you, but she wasn't stupid. Befriending you when Olivette and her posse were there, while Lucifer was there, would send her crashing back to the very bottom.

You were acquaintances. A bond formed of mutual necessity. Just Maths and nothing else.

Lucifer didn't seem do buy it. "You seemed quite chummy."

"I just greeted her," Rowena said with a dramatic roll of her eyes.

"Gave her that big smile."

Seriously?

"Am I not allowed to smile at people anymore?"

What was his deal?

Usually he got this annoying when she dared smile at another boy. And even then it was more for show than genuine jealousy.

Was he jealous of you?

Rowena barely held back a laugh at the thought. It seemed exactly like something she could expect from him. He was handsome and popular, wielded so much power both within these halls and out in the streets, thanks to his father's influence, but he had his problems.

A jolt of pain shot through her from the bruise on her abdomen, fresh and blue, as if voicing its agreement.

Aye, he had his problems.

"Just saying, you should be careful," he said with feigned nonchalance. "She's not the kind of person you wanna be friends with."

"Is that so?" Rowena fired. She couldn't hide the irritation from her tone.

"She's a loser," he pointed out.

"I'm well aware."

"You know Olivette wouldn't stand for that."

Olivette didn't stand for a lot of things.

And, frankly, Rowena was getting tired of it.

Maybe she should befriend you. Just to spite her. Just to prove that she still had it in her, that defiant streak that had gone away ever since she joined their little gang.

"I can handle Olivette."

Lucifer chuckled. Mocking her. Taunting her. "Sure you can."

That does it!

Rowena pulled her arms free from his. Pushed him away and stepped back, putting some distance between them. Anger pulsed through her like fire in her veins, burning everything in its path. Setting her entire body alight. She'd had enough of his nonsense. She'd had enough of his comments, his subtle (and not so subtle) digs.

She'd had enough of him.

"What the bloody hell is the matter with you?" she demanded. She was thankful to the music for drowning out her outburst, her voice raised to almost a scream.

A few kids turned their heads to look at them, noticing the tension. Their eyes burned with excitement, with joy at the prospect of new gossip.

A popular girl and her even more popular boyfriend got into it in public. Served to these vultures on a silver platter.

"Come here," Lucifer said.

Before she could voice her protest, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the crowd. His fingers dug in painfully, nails biting into her sensitive skin. Another set of crescent bruises to bloom in a few hours' time. A perfect match to those on her abdomen.

Lucifer was quite the artist when it came to her body.

He finally let her go once they were in one of the hallways, a darkened one not occupied by anyone but them. Not even cameras pointed there. A blind spot perfect for arguments.

And god, there was going to be an argument. The storm that was brewing was too strong for light rain and a dash of wind.

"You arsehole!" Rowena snapped, rubbing her sore wrist. It was red, the color of her hair. Soon to be as blue as his eyes.

He smirked. She could tell he wanted to laugh, but held it back. Then his face hardened, and he said, "You can't just go around befriending random losers."

"What's it to you?" she retorted.

"I have a reputation to uphold. I can't have my girlfriend hanging out with a peasant."

Rowena grit her teeth. Her fists curled into tight balls. "She's not a peasant, and we are not hanging out. I'm tutoring her. Because of your father!"

"You're always with her! We barely go out anymore!"

"I see her twice a week, and I see you every bloody day!"

"Well, I don't want you to see her."

Oh, really?

Really?

"I have to," Rowena said. "And even if I didn't, you can't tell me who to see. You don't get to make that choice."

Who did he think he was?

She'd put up with a lot of his shit. This, she drew a line at. There was only so much she was willing to take.

She'd sacrificed her dignity for him. Her pride. Her self-respect.

She wasn't willing to give up the last bit of freedom she had left.

Lucifer stepped closer, shoved his face in hers. In a low, dangerously low, voice, he said, "I made you, Rowena. Olivette made you. A bit of gratitude goes a long way."

She gulped. Her heart fluttered wildly as if she'd run a marathon. Was this a threat? Would he really sink that low?

Of course he would, the rational part of her said. He was Lucifer Shurley. Nothing — no matter how dirty, how awful — was beneath him.

Rowena stepped away. His hand shot up to her arm, keeping her close. A pained hiss escaped her as she said, "Smiling at a lass makes me ungrateful?"

"It's the principle of the thing," Lucifer said.

"Where was the bloody principle when you grabbed her arse last year?" she snapped. "Or did it only become so when she hit you?"

Was that what this was about? Bitterness over your rejection — or rather, self-defense?

His eyes darkened as soon as the words left her mouth. Rowena froze. Went stiff with fear. She knew that look. Knew she'd gone too far.

But, strange as it was, she wasn't sorry. She was afraid, but she didn't regret a single word she'd uttered.

Lucifer's hand lifted from her arm. Then he swung it, and before she could try to put her hands up to defend herself, it whipped against her cheek with impeccable strength. Her head swung to the side. Her flesh stung as if on fire, pounded as if it had grown a heartbeat. Traitorous tears filled her eyes, a few spilling down her face.

Shock hadn't even worn off when he grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her into the wall. She let out a small whimper, pain searing through her back like blades digging into her, tearing her up one piece at a time.

"Don't turn this around on me!" he said.

"Get off me," she said in a small voice. Too small for her liking. Too frightened.

He responded by tightening his grip. "I own you, Rowena. Don't forget that. As long as you're with me, you'll think twice about who your friends are."

Maybe I don't want to be with you anymore.

The thought vanished along with his hands. He stepped away, a menacing smile on his mouth. A threat she knew quite well.

With a scornful scowl, Rowena pushed past him, purposely shoving against his shoulder, down the hall. Back towards the happy crowd, high on delight, on laughter, on the sheer joy of the night. Blissfully oblivious to her tears.

*****

Tags: @werewolfbarbie @oswinthestrange @songofthecagedmoose @apurdyfulmind @getthesalt-sam @metallihca @salembitchtrials @jay-eris @hellsmother @elizabeth-effie @victoriasagittariablack @rowenaswife @wonderifshelikesroses @xfireandsin @liddell-alien @hotdiggitydammit @lae-lae @darkhumorsblog @gaysnakess @angel7376 @cherrypierowena @ruthieconnells @evil-regal-vampiress @collectorofsecretsandsouls @angel-e-v-a @tasyahilker @a-queen-and-her-throne

[saffronia-archive]

theres a difference between not liking something and going out of your way onto peoples posts (mutuals or not) and just making a general ass of yourself by putting it down. like if its something like south park or h*talia then like i personally feel like its fair game but this is NOT that. its just cute art. and nico + i arent friends per se. were mutuals weve talked a bit but i wouldnt pull that stuff. bcus its NOT my place. and its sure as hell NOT zweis place. its just plain shitty of zwei

honestly im just mildly annoyed with the homestuck thing because i get being irritated with it if its on your dash because yes it has its issues obviously. dont get me wrong im getting fucking annoyed that dayo keeps making art that makes him and me/nico happy and hes putting effort in and everytime we post about how it is so kind and cute we get 10 comments about how its not, but thats besides the point. what im sick of is zwei consistently inserting himself where he is not wanted, being defended like hes not nearly 22, comforted like a toddler when people rightfully point out his flaws because hes a soft white boy AND THE FACT THAT HES ON TUMBLR PERIOD LIKE HE DIDNT ACCUSE A BLACK GUY OF RAPE AND NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE.

[megabadbunny]

No Place Like Hohm (7/8)

***

(Aka the obligatory post-GitF fic, for anyone else who ever wondered what might have taken place between a trip to France and an adventure in a parallel universe. Ten/Rose, all ages, full of angst, fluff, a pinch of romantic bickering, a dash of mutual pining, and a dollop of swashbuckling adventure!)

***

Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Chapter 7 | Ch 8

Perhaps later, Mickey thought, he’d have an easier time picking out the discrete parcels of what happened next, establishing some sort of sensible timeline.

(He was, of course, magnificently wrong.)

At the moment, what he knew was this: he was pinned to the ground with the business side of a sharp blade pressed to his throat, until suddenly he wasn’t, and then the crowd went absolutely mad around him, screaming and shouting and stomping their feet until Mickey thought he’d drown in the noise, and what had riled them up like that anyway?, but maybe it didn’t matter because a bunch of those Golden Guards rushed in, and there was lots of shouting amongst the Champions and their captives, and the Guards might have been splitting everyone up or they might have been making everything worse, and there might have been a bit of a scuffle, and Mickey might have punched one of those pratty Guards in the face, which they Very Much Did Not Appreciate, and then he might’ve got a punch-to-the-face of his very own, which might’ve hurt quite badly actually, and now here he was, in some sort of alien infirmary, wondering exactly how he’d come to be in this position, thousands of miles and years away from home, nervously awaiting the decision of a council of humans and horse-people who would determine whether he and his friends deserved a reward or an execution for their impertinence, watching the events of the day play out before him on one of a dozen hi-res screens as he iced a bloody nose.

It was more than a little disconcerting, watching yourself get tackled to the ground. More than that, though, it was a little annoying to watch it while someone poked fun at you in ceaseless mocking commentary.

“All right, but this is my favorite part,” Vareem said gleefully, pointing at the screen as Rose yanked Mickey to the ground to avoid a barrage of dragon-fire. “Look at your face! Your face, Mickey!”

“What was I supposed to do, pout like a supermodel?” Mickey grumped. “That thing was gonna kill me!”

“I didn’t even know faces could make shapes like that!”

Huffing in frustration, Mickey pushed up from the plush bench, pacing round the room for what felt like the hundredth time. Certainly it had to be the hundredth time they’d watched these bloody clips from the stupid Championship, the giant screens in front of them blaring Mickey and Rose and the Doctor’s faces over and over and over again for all in the room to see.

But that, though, that was a thing all its own—it was like ancient Greece out there, how comes it looked like an Apple store exploded in here? It wasn’t just the jaw-droppingly huge television screen, either; it was the gentle music that played from some unseen source, the lights overhead whose color slowly changed with the mood in the room, the curved clear windows that displayed facts and figures and useful tidbits at a mere touch of the glass, the doors that went whoosh in and out of the walls like something out of Star Trek, all of it posh and polished and spotless pristine white. It was almost like the further they got away from the town and the townspeople, the fancier this weird little planet got. It just didn’t make sense. Nor, Mickey thought with a frown, did it make sense that their lot had been tossed in here amongst all the other winners while the City Council decided their fate, instead of being chucked into some sort of alien jail.

If they had access to the TARDIS, Mickey imagined they would have grabbed Dyana and Vareem and hopped out of here lickety-split, but since those Golden Guard blokes had confiscated the TARDIS to whereabouts unknown, that complicated things a bit. At any rate, Mickey supposed he should be grateful, however grudgingly, that the whole instant-death-round thing no longer seemed to be on the table. But there was still time enough for that, he thought glumly.

“How much longer d’you think it’s gonna be?” he asked Dyana. “Feels like it’s been hours.”

“It has been hours,” replied Dyana, arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against a pillar. “Not that I’m too keen on them rushing into things. Don’t really want to become someone’s property any sooner than I have to, thanks.”

“Nah, it won’t come to that. The Doctor will talk some sense into the Council, if nothing else.”

Dyana offered a wistful smile. “That would be nice. Wouldn’t get your hopes up, though.”

“Trust me, he’s got a talent for it. Only took him six words to uproot our entire government back home.”

“Sure it did,” teased Vareem.

“It sure did!” Mickey replied. “I wasn’t exaggerating. Just six words, and he toppled the whole thing. Poof! Done and done.”

Vareem frowned. “That’s sort of terrifying.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Well, I reckon it’s not so great for Harriet. And probably not for the people who work for her. And probably it’s causing some problems in the long run,” said Mickey thoughtfully. “But I’m sure it’ll be fine. Point is, he takes care of things. That’s what he does. And sometimes Rose ‘n me, we help. Isn’t that right, Rose?”

Rose did not reply, lost in thought as she sat still on a fluffy white hospital bench, staring at nothingness like it wronged her. A flash of silver peeked from her wrist and upper arm, two of several high-tech mesh bandages peppering Rose’s body, slapped here and there over bruises and cuts. The bandages were good stuff, futuristic high-tech mesh infused with something that would greatly expedite the healing process, or at least that was what Mickey had garnered from the physician’s explanation—the physician, not the Doctor, because he’d waltzed off the moment they’d arrived. Strange, that; Mickey would have expected the Doctor to insist on tending Rose’s wounds himself, or at least he’d hover over the physician while they did it and drive them batty explaining everything they were doing wrong. But no, he’d vanished almost immediately. Mickey wondered why.

A flurry of raised voices erupted from the monitors, pulling Rose’s attention and Mickey’s, too. They both watched as an onscreen Doctor and Rose bickered heatedly. Mickey had every intention of teasing Rose about it, but stopped upon glancing back at her; her gaze sharpened into a glare, her mouth tightening at the sight of the Doctor onscreen, tiny and digital and utterly confused, and oh dear, but this would be a very bad time for teasing, wouldn’t it?

Mickey’s brow furrowed in concern. “Rose?”

Wordlessly, she pushed up from the bench and stalked out of the room.

 **

 “All right,” Rose said impatiently, pushing aside the privacy screen—didn’t matter how he might try to hide, she’d recognize the telltale whir and buzz of the sonic screwdriver anywhere. “We can’t keep dancing around this, Doctor. We’ve got to—”

The Doctor’s gaze snapped up to hers, eyes wide in alarm, but that wasn’t what killed Rose’s words, left her breathless, nor was it the sight of him shirtless and exposed, though that was certainly unusual in its own right. No, it was the bandages, dozens and dozens of them. Some of them were wrapped round his arms, others pasted on his shoulders, others still slapped on his flanks, curled around his ribs and peeking round from the back; stepping to the side, Rose could see even more bandages slathered along his spine. What few patches of skin left uncovered by the bandages were dotted with little pink cuts and bluish-yellow bruises and angry purple welts, a perverse sort of rainbow playing out across his skin.

Bruises and cuts and wounds, a whole tapestry of hurt, and—and how long had he been wearing those special healing bandages, now? They’d been waiting here for hours, hours, and the bandages had already helped Rose and the others so much—so why did it look like the Doctor had fought and lost a round with a heavyweight champion? Or were the original wounds just that bad? When had he even gotten those wounds?

Had he been hurting this entire time, and Rose just hadn’t noticed, somehow?

“God,” she breathed, aghast. She reached out to touch him, but drew back at the very last second. She didn’t want to put pressure anywhere he hurt. “What is all this? What happened?”

“Erm, like you said earlier, average line-of-duty stuff,” said the Doctor just a little too quickly, avoiding Rose’s gaze. He continued his work with the sonic, scanning something in his hand--that pet-chip-thing, by the looks of it--and he frowned. “Just a couple of action hero wounds. Normal stuff. Standard. Run-of-the-mill, even. Nothing a couple of Beznisian battle-bandages can’t cure—and isn’t that funny, that they’ve got battle-bandages here? Definitely unexpected, considering the technology outside these walls doesn’t appear to have advanced much past the Middle Ages, but then, I suppose we’ve encountered stranger and more out-of-place things, haven’t we?”

Rose swallowed against the suspicion bubbling up sickly in her stomach. “Doctor, how’d you get hurt?”

“I just told you,” said the Doctor, pocketing the sonic and the pet-chip. “Standard stuff. Nothing worth discussing. Certainly nothing worth worrying about.” He stood up, grabbing his shirts from where he’d discarded them and pulling the tee-shirt over his head, only wincing a little as he did so. “Now, they did offer me some acetylsalicylic acid to help with the discomfort, and that actually is worth worrying about, because you know what they say about Time Lords and acetylsalicylic acid: they don’t mix. Or rather, they shouldn’t. They occasionally do. But that’s why you always have a handy spare bar of chocolate on hand!” He pulled on his oxford and hastily buttoned every other button. “There’s a bit of advice for you: Always keep spare chocolate around, Rose Tyler; you never know when you might need a good source of simple trigclycerides.

“Anyhoo, now that we’ve all had a chance to rest and recover a bit, I rather think it’s time to get going, don’t you? Shall we collect Mr. Mickey and the TARDIS and call it a day?”

“Doctor…”

“Speaking of chocolate, it’s probably time we restocked, or added to the current stock, as it were. You can never have too much chocolate, you know. It’s demonstrably proven to be the one thing in the universe you can never have too-much-of—”

“Doctor, please,” Rose interrupted, firmer this time. “Would you just—”

“Finish saving the day, first? Yes, of course,” said the Doctor. He grabbed his suit jacket and pulled it on. “Give a good speech, give a good glare, give the baddies a good what-for, don’t you reckon?” He whipped his coat about his shoulders with only the tiniest of grimaces. “Oh, and good job on recognizing what the pet-chip-thing was, by the way. It gave me a couple ideas, so I scanned and poked around a bit and I think it might end up being rather important after all. But isn’t that always nice, when something so small actually ends up being rather big in the grand scheme of things? Always a fun revelation, never a dull moment there.

“All right, shall we?” he asked, setting off before Rose had a chance to answer.

She hung back for a moment, hesitating. Even if she didn’t recall every moment of the adventure today—which she did, in startling detail—the footage playing on the screens overhead, over and over and over again, would have reminded Rose that there was no rational explanation of how the Doctor had sustained those wounds. There was no moment when he would have received them, no time he could have received them, and there was certainly no reason. Except as she watched the scene playing out onscreen, following the progress of her tiny digital self as she struggled to steer a sickly-glowing dragon, and it disappeared behind the mountainside in a hail of fire and a thunderous boom that shook the speakers around her, Rose realized that there was, in fact, a moment when the Doctor could have been hurt, and moreover, there was certainly a reason.

(And the screen flooded black with smoke, and Rose remembered awakening, groggy and sore but relatively unhurt despite everything, and what had happened to the dragon, and where was the Doctor, and was he hurt, and later, Mickey couldn’t believe she’d survived, and how…?)

Worrying her lip between her teeth, Rose followed after him.

 **

 The Doctor, Dyana thought with a sick-clenching throat, was going to get them all killed.

(It was not surprising that the guard had no inclination to bring the Doctor and co. before City Council; what was surprising was how easily the Doctor managed to convince them otherwise, and how suddenly, in a matter of seconds it seemed, the group was bursting through the Council doors.)

“About time,” Mickey muttered under his breath, but everyone else stayed quiet as their Golden Guardsman guide typed a series of characters into the keypad next to the chamber door. Dyana couldn’t guess what held Rose or the Doctor’s tongue, but a look over at Vareem let her know that Vareem, too, was likely clenching her teeth against the urge to vomit, fighting all of the instincts screaming at her to run, run, run while she had the chance, that they were both silent for the same reason:

This was it, for them.

Their entire lives had been building up to this single event, this single conversation, this one moment, a slice of time dangling their futures precariously over the knife-sharp edge of a narrow precipice. After this handful of moments, one way or the other--whether they were punished for their insolence, executed for their crimes, or maybe, just maybe, pardoned and offered freedom--their lives would forever change.

The robotic chime of the keypad sliced through the silence, paving the way for the heavy groan of the doors as they swung inward, revealing, bit-by-bit, the darkened chambers within. The second the doors parted enough, the Doctor surged on ahead, Rose and Mickey following immediately after; Dyana and Vareem hung back, frozen in uncertainty and fear. It was all good and well for Rose and her blokes to forge ahead without a second thought, but they didn’t know the Council like everyone on Hohm did. They didn’t know enough to be afraid.

(For all her plans of rebellion, Dyana had never imagined she’d meet the Council in the flesh--she had hoped to escape the Championship with her freedom intact, or die trying. Never had it crossed her mind that fate would bring her here, face-to-face with her planet’s own personal devils, confronting the pieces of filth responsible for so much death and destruction. The very same monsters who had sanctioned the her sister’s murder.)

Dyana closed her eyes against the memory that fought its way to the surface, her fists clenching in anger. She forced herself to drink in a deep, calming breath. It didn’t matter how terrified she was. She would do what she could with this chance--a chance her sister never got.

Swallowing hard, she grabbed Vareem’s hand, squeezing it; Vareem squeezed back, as if in thanks. Dyana led them both in.

Blinking against the dark, Dyana waited for her eyes to adjust as the Councilors murmured in response, and she grimaced at what she saw. It was about what she’d expected, a mixture of old money and new tech, marble pillars and velvet curtains blossoming out of the semi-darkness amidst softly glowing lights and screens. A grand table spread out before them, a great polished wooden thing that cost more than Dyana’s family could earn in an entire generation; behind it, gilded in the finest golds and silks and gems and slim electronic accoutrements the surrounding systems had to offer, sat a half-dozen humans and horse-people, gazing down imperiously.

The Council. Dyana felt Vareem shudder next to her.

Rose glanced back at the two of them and offered an encouraging smile; Dyana knew she was telling them, without words, the same things Mickey had said earlier. The Doctor will help fix everything. It’ll all work out in the end.

Gods, Dyana hoped they were right.

“What is the meaning of this?” demanded one of the Councilors.

“Six hours and fourteen minutes,” the Doctor announced as he strode confidently forward. “And eleven seconds, in case you were wondering.”

The Council stared down at the group, each of them distinctly unimpressed. “Guard, we did not send for these offenders. Why have you brought them before us?”

“And counting,” continued the Doctor, consulting his wrist as if he wore a timepiece there--which, he didn’t. “That’s more enough time to collect the facts and render a decision, wouldn’t you say?”

“We would not,” said another Councilor. “We have not yet decided your fate.”

“Oh, I’m not talking about your decision,” the Doctor replied cheerfully. “I’m talking about mine.”

The Council stared down at them, unimpressed. “Guard, remove the offenders,” ordered the Prime Councilor, “and report to your superior for suitable punishment.”

“That won’t be necessary,” said the Doctor, waving his hand dismissively before the guard could reply. “In fact, here in a few moments, none of this--” he continued, gesturing to the room around him, “--will be necessary, because here in a few moments, none of this will be in operation. See--”

Flashing the Council a cheeky grin, the Doctor rummaged around in his pockets, presenting a slim black wallet that he flipped open, displaying its contents for all to see. Normally Dyana might have delighted in seeing all of these stuffy upper-crusts breaking out of their dusty indifference, some of them stiffening in alarm at the sight of the wallet while others grew pale, but she didn’t understand--when the wallet flashed her way, all she saw inside was a small white paper that simply read: Trust me :D.

She and Vareem glanced at each other in confusion, then turned to Rose, a question half-formed on their lips. Rose shot them a little wink.

“See, things are about to change around here,” said the Doctor, absolutely beaming with mischief.

Even the Prime Councilor seemed surprised at what she saw in the wallet--which, Dyana could only imagine, must have differed wildly from what she and Vareem each saw, somehow. “I see,” the Prime Councilor murmured. Her gaze switched back to the Doctor, her mouth pressed into a thin smile. “My apologies, High Commander. We were unaware the Shadow Proclamation had chosen to honor us with their presence today. Were we not?” she asked, glancing at her fellow Councilors, as if perhaps one of them had invited a guest to the party without her permission. Dyana wondered if any of the lower Councilors would end the day without a head attached to their neck.

“Had we known a member of the Proclamation would deign to enter our humble competition, we would have proceeded quite differently,” said the Prime Councilor. “Forgive us, High Commander. You and your party are, of course, free to leave, winnings and usual fees fully intact, and we will deliver your ship promptly.”

“Excellent, most excellent. And after that, you’ll dismantle the Championship, lift your technology ban, and all of you will resign from office, effective immediately.”

The Council broke out in a murmur, but the Prime Councilor simply glared at the Doctor, her smile tightening unpleasantly. “We beg your pardon?”

“Which you most certainly will not receive,” replied the Doctor. “I’m not interested in winnings or usual fees, whatever they might be--”

“Sounds an awful lot like bribes,” muttered Rose darkly.

“--which, I suppose, sort of makes me your worst nightmare, doesn’t it?” the Doctor laughed. “After all, you must have had great success bribing anyone who came before me, mustn’t you? It’s the only thing that makes sense with all of the statutes-violations and felonies bloodying up your ledger. No way you’d have been permitted to run things so poorly for so long, otherwise.”

The Prime Councilor drew back, eyes flashing. “High Commander, those are very serious allegations, none of which, I assure you, you have any evidence to support.”

“So you’re not forcing people into your stupid little knockoff Olympics, then?” Mickey demanded.

“Or promoting the use of kidnapping and date-rape drugs?” added Rose.

“Or denying us access to vital and sometimes life-saving technology?” blurted out Vareem.

“Our people have been denied nothing,” the Prime Councilor said sharply. “The Honorable Council ensures that the people of Hohm do not descend into anarchy and chaos. We are not your mothers and fathers; it is not our place to award trinkets and treats. We cannot be blamed for those of you who have not earned your way.”

“And what about giving us away as bloody prizes, huh?” Dyana spat out before she could stop herself. “What about pawning us off on a bunch of rich off-worlders, just moving us like we’re so much rubbish? You gonna tell us you don’t do that, either?”

The Prime Councilor turned Dyana’s way. Dyana forced herself to hold the woman’s gaze even as she shuddered at the cold.

“Certainly the Honorable Council would never do such a thing,” replied the Prime Councilor. “But should any member of our population choose to volunteer themselves as bride-prizes in the Championship, we will not stop them; your lives are your own, to do with as you choose.”

“Horse shit,” Dyana tried to say, but her words were trampled by the Prime Councilor’s continued insistence that “Freedom, on Hohm, is valued above all things, even the freedom to devote oneself as a winning token. We cannot strip our people of their liberty to make such decisions, however inadvisable they may seem to others. We will not deprive our people of the right to choose.”

“Except we don’t choose at all,” Dyana argued. “Your Champions choose for us.”

“And is it not a great honor to be chosen by one of our Champions? For our Champions to pay a generous price in your name, to fight and compete and strive for your hand?”

“No!” shouted Dyana. “We don’t want that--you know we don’t want that!”

“Save your breath, Dyana,” said Vareem, pulling her back with a gentle hand on her arm. “It’s not like they can hear you over their jangling purses, anyway.”

Dyana managed not to pull out of Vareem’s grasp, but only just barely, and only because she was surprised at Vareem’s candor in front of the Councilor. She didn’t think Vareem felt so strongly about all of this. She’d never been happier to be wrong.

“It is unfortunately true that few things speak louder than money,” the Doctor agreed. “Which, I suspect, is why most of your Champions, especially the wealthy offworlders, pay such a hefty fee to enter the Championship. Does that sound about right?” he asked Dyana and Vareem. “Forgive me if I’m wrong; it’s just a hunch, as Mr. Smith and I didn’t exactly enter the competition via the usual circumstances, sort of bypassed the whole exchanging-of-money bit.”

“You’re not wrong,” Dyana replied. “They call it an entry fee or a fee to participate, but everyone knows what it really is. They put out a call to everyone in the surrounding systems, and anyone with money can pay a fortune to come here and either compete for a wife or watch the blood spilling from the stands. We’re out there risking our lives, stripped of our freedom, and rich offworlders just sit there and watch it like it’s bloody theatre.”

“All while the Council sits up here with their silks and their gold and they watch everything from behind their pristine screens,” Vareem spat.

“And they don’t even allow us to own so much as a telecommunications device.”

“Of course they don’t,” scoffed Vareem. “Otherwise they know we’d band together and stop them getting rich off violence and selling us as slaves!”

“We’re Hohm’s greatest export,” Dyana said bitterly.

“As I said,” the Prime Councilor replied, her voice as smooth and cool as the marble surrounding them, “you have no evidence to support your claims. Nor, I assure you, will you find any.”

“You know, on some level that may be true,” the Doctor admitted, shoving his hands in his pockets as he rocked back on his heels. “On the other hand, I’m certain there are scores upon scores of native Hohmish citizens who would loudly object to their mistreatment at your hands, if given the opportunity to do so--is that an accurate presumption, Dyana? Vareem?”

“Yes,” Vareem nodded, as Dyana muttered a sharp, “Very.”

“Although, if pressed by the Proclamation, I’m certain you would do your utmost to convince your citizens into stating otherwise,” the Doctor continued, to the Prime Councilor, “via your usual methods of coercion, pressure, threats, violence, et cetera et cetera. There’s the video footage of the Championship, of course, but certainly that could be easily erased, if it hasn’t been already. And unfortunately an official investigation into your many (many) sentient-beings’-rights violations could take weeks, months, possibly years, even if we did have physical, tangible evidence at our disposal. Sadly, folks like Dyana and Vareem don’t have that sort of time.

“You know what they do have, though?” the Doctor asked, and here his smile grew downright manic. “They have us,” he said, gesturing to Rose, Mickey, and himself. “And one of us has some of your oft-requested evidence conveniently hiding right in his pockets.”

He withdrew something from his coat-pocket, a small, rectangular silver thing with a series of numbers stamped across its face, and tossed it onto the table before the Prime Councilor. It clattered over the wood and slid to a stop beneath the Prime Councilor’s nose; unmoving, she peered down at it, lip curled in a disgusted sneer. “What is this?” she asked.

“That, my dear Prime Councilor, is an identifying integrated circuit, also known as a passive integrated transponder tag, outfitted with the very latest in local radio frequency identification and remote control technology; in short, as my brilliant friend here just happened to notice, it’s a pet chip,” the Doctor explained. “But Doctor, whatever are you doing with a loose pet chip floating about your considerable pockets? you might ask. Why, I’ve got a loose pet chip floating around my considerable pockets because I found it in the arena after the oh-so-mysterious explosion of a dragon, and it has yielded a surprising amount of helpful information, I would answer. In fact, I would go on to say, a scan of this particular pet chip just so happens to inform me that its original  host was a squamata basilisk draconus, a species that is massively illegal to be imported, purchased, or otherwise owned in this quadrant of the universe due to its status as an endangered species.”

“You want to shut us down because of illegal animal ownership?” asked one of the Councilors, amused.

“No, I want to shut you down because you’re denying your people access to things they want and need purely in the name of control, you’re turning a profit off violence, you’re running a thriving slave trade, and you’re dabbling in illegal pet ownership,” the Doctor replied. “Oh, and the fact that you murdered a endangered animal in cold blood. Can’t overlook that.”

An uncomfortable silence settled over the Council, but the Prime Councilor did not flinch. “Once again, I must assert that you have no evidence to support your claim--”

“Ah, but I do! It’s right there on the chip. It’s oh-so-helpful and absolutely packed with information. For example, it tells me who engineered the dragon, and when, and where, and why, and most importantly, for whom. And that whom is you!”

The Prime Councilor glared at him. “The Honorable Council would never--”

“Now, admittedly the chip doesn’t tell me how or why you inserted a remote detonation device into your pet dragon, but it doesn’t have to; anyone with a working brain can tell you that,” the Doctor breezed on as if the Prime Councilor had never spoken. “You, being fully aware of this creature’s status as an endangered (and therefore protected) species, asked the engineers of this specimen to implant a remote detonation device in case something happened and you needed to take dramatic action very, very quickly--say, for example, a devastatingly handsome agent from the Shadow Proclamation just happened to drop by unannounced, or a pair of disgruntled Championship participants stole your dragon for a joy ride and flew a little too close to the sun, figuratively speaking, and you lot got nervous. All you needed to do was press a little button, and boom goes the dragon.”

He leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially, “Unfortunately for you, the dragon might have gone boom, but that pet chip? It’s made out of none other than some of your very own Hohmish ore, and that stuff is nigh indestructible. The chip survived totally intact, with all your damning evidence written right across its face. Really, you should have made your money exporting your ore instead of your citizens, but you know what they say: hindsight’s 20/20, though there’s no time like the present to start sporting a pair of spectacles.

“Anyhoo, I may not have physical proof that you’re violating your people’s rights, but I have plenty of physical proof to charge you with multiple counts of violations of Proclamation Article 72.3 subsection 17-B, being the illicit breeding and destruction of an endangered, protected species,” said the Doctor, his hands clasped behind his back like an office manager delivering an only-mildly-unpleasant presentation to his wayward employees. “My report is on its way to my superiors right now, with the full details. Once they receive it, and find you guilty of your charges--which, make no mistake, they certainly will; dragon-breeders are notorious for turning on their clientele, no confidentiality amongst thieves I’m afraid--you’ll be stripped of your titles, fined of all your wealth, and thrown into a Proclamation prison for a minimum of ten years.”

A self-indulgent little laugh escaped his lips. “And once you’re locked away in prison, it’s only a matter of time before your other crimes are uncovered. After all, with you lot in the brig, who’s going to intimidate your citizens into silence for you?”

Finally, the Prime Councilor had the decency to look nervous, and inwardly, Dyana rejoiced.

“We could kill you where you stand,” the Prime Councilor said, her words slicing the air like shards of ice.

“Could do, but it wouldn’t stop the report from going through,” the Doctor replied. “It’s already on its way. No one can stop it going through, except me.”

Councilors whispered nervously amongst themselves in a low susurrus of mounting desperation. “What do you want?” the Prime Councilor asked the Doctor.

“Ooh, is that another veiled reference to a bribe? How exciting. It just so happens that what I desire is for you--all of you--to resign from your posts, effective immediately.”

“You can’t be serious,” one of the Councilors balked.

The Doctor laughed. “Of course I can! In fact, for every time you argue with me, or say any other silly or inane thing, I’ll add another punishment to the list. This time, you get to donate seventy-five percent of your total net worth to your citizenry.” He grinned beatifically. “Would you like to argue some more?”

“Please, be reasonable,” protested another Councilor, and the Doctor just chuckled in response. “And now I’m banning you from the planet Hohm altogether,” he said. “Tomorrow morning, you’re off the planet. All of you. It’s that, or prison for a decade.”

His grin grew sharp. “A decade, if you’re lucky.”

This time no one dared argue with him; the only response the Doctor received was a bunch of open-mouthed, disbelieving stares.

“Uh-oh, hear that?” asked the Doctor, pointing to the imaginary timepiece on his wrist. “Sounds like it’s make-a-decision-already o’clock.”

“You would really break our world like this?” asked the Prime Councilor. “Break our foundations, shatter our economy, leave our people leaderless and wandering?”

“I’m sure your new Councilors-in-interim will smooth things along nicely.”

“There are no other Councilors. We have not chosen successors.”

“Nor would any reasonable person permit you to. I am referring, of course, to Dyana and Vareem,” the Doctor replied, brow quirked in amusement, as if the Prime Councilor was terribly stupid. “Both excellent candidates for Councilor-ship. That is, if they’d like the job?”

All eyes turned to Vareem and Dyana, and Dyana’s throat ran dry. She had strode into the arena fully expecting to escape, or die trying. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined any of this would happen. Never had she dared hope that she would help make it happen! And now, this bright, shining gift sat just before her, the chance to help guide her world into the future, to make things better for everyone, to give every person on Hohm the choices they needed, the choices they deserved…

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. She wished her sister had lived to see this. She would have been so, so proud.

“Yes,” Dyana whispered, warmth blossoming from her cheeks to her fingertips to her toes, bringing joy and hope and relief flooding with it. “Yes, I’ll do it.”

“Me too,” added Vareem, nodding emphatically.

The Doctor beamed at them. “Wonderful. You’ll both do brilliantly. I’m certain of it.”

He turned back to the Council, clapping his hands together in anticipation. “All right! You’ve got a choice before you, which quite frankly in rather generous considering the choices you’ve robbed your people of over the years; you can voluntarily resign, leaving behind most of your fortunate and all of your privilege and prestige, but living otherwise modest lives somewhere far, far away from the people you’ve hurt, or, my report goes through, my superior officers at the Shadow Proclamation get a nice little arrest warrant handy, and the swift hammer of justice strikes fast, hard, and without mercy.”

His smirk was one of the smuggest things Dyana had ever seen, as if he knew the answer even before asking, but wanted to savor the satisfaction of it, anyway. “So,” said the Doctor. “Which’ll it be?”

 ***

 Rose was willing to bet the Councilors had never made a decision so quickly in all their pampered lives.

“How are you doing?” she asked in a low voice, sidling up to Dyana as they watched the Council exiting their chambers, some of them leaving with heads held high and proud while others slunk away like perhaps, if they tried hard enough, they might disappear into the shadows before anyone caught them. “You gonna be all right?”

Dyana shrugged, eyes wide. “I think so? I don’t know. I never expected anything like this to happen. I think I’m sort of in shock, actually.”

Chuckling, she shook her head. “Kind of funny, though--they’ve been so horrible, for so long, made such a huge mess and made things so bad for so many people--only to be brought down by something so small.”

“Ah, I sort of love it when that happens. Poetic justice.”

Dyana shifted, shooting Rose a glance full of suspicion. “And you deliver that sort of thing often, then? The poetic justice?”

“We’ve been known to,” said Rose with a smile.

“As agents of the Shadow Proclamation.”

“But of course,” replied Rose, tapping the side of her nose knowingly, and the two of them laughed.

They both fell quiet as a pair of Golden Guards wheeled in the TARDIS from its hiding spot somewhere in confiscation-land, watching as Vareem poked about the ship in confusion and Mickey excitedly explained it to her. The Doctor was oddly quiet as he looked on, patting the TARDIS doors in greeting, like the arm of an old friend.

“Wouldn’t have mistaken any of you for the authoritarian type,” Dyana said thoughtfully. “Doesn’t really seem like any of you care too much for any sort of rules.”

As if he could sense her watching, the Doctor glanced Rose’s way. Their gazes locked. His expression was neutral, perfectly inscrutable. But something about it twisted in Rose’s gut anyway.

“But then again I didn’t think the Doctor’s paper-thing said anything important, so, I dunno,” Dyana continued. “I guess looks can be pretty deceiving, huh?”

The Doctor ducked into the TARDIS, breaking their gaze. Rose frowned.

“Yeah,” she murmured, worrying her lip between her teeth. “I guess so.”

 **

 “Okay, look. I know you don’t want to talk about this,” Rose called out, closing the TARDIS doors quietly behind her. “Not really, not in any way that actually means anything. And that’s fine. You don’t have to talk. Just listen.”

Surprised, the Doctor looked up from the console, watching wordlessly as Rose fidgeted in place. God, why was this so difficult?

She swallowed, loudly. “You hurt me,” she said. “Back on that spaceship. Back in France. You said things and you did things that hurt me.”

Before the Doctor had a chance to reply, Rose shook her head, rushing along with, “Maybe you didn’t mean to, maybe you didn’t think about it that way. Maybe you didn’t think about it at all. And I mean, I guess that matters, at least a little. But when you share your life with someone--because that’s what we’re doing, Doctor, we’re sharing our lives right now, that’s what’s happening whether you want to call it that or not--when you share your life with someone, you have to think about how your actions affect others. You have to.”

The Doctor didn’t reply, just kept watching her, his brow knit in concentration, or maybe concern.

“I know you’re hurt because of me,” Rose said, her voice quiet. “Because you protected me. That’s what happened, yeah? I don’t remember, and it was too dark and smoky to make it out on the screens back there--but you kept me safe when we were falling. Right? Cos I don’t have barely a scratch on me, but you look beat to hell under all those layers. So you must’ve protected me, put your arms around me and broken the fall, somehow. You must have done.”

Now the Doctor couldn’t meet her gaze, scratching his neck uncomfortably as he looked away.

“I wanted to say thank you for that,” Rose said, forcing her words to stay clear and strong, not to shake the way they wanted to. “I’d probably be dead if it weren’t for you. Honestly, I’d probably be dead several times over if it wasn’t for you. Of course, the same is probably true in reverse. But that’s what we’re both there for, yeah? To watch out for each other, keep each other company, keep each other safe. To trust each other.”

Drawing a deep breath, Rose closed her eyes. “What you did a few days back--leaving us behind on the spaceship, kissing Reinette and bragging about it after--that was a violation of trust,” she said, her cheeks flushing red-hot with embarrassment. “Whether or not you meant it that way. It was--it felt like a betrayal.”

She opened her eyes and looked up at him; big mistake. He was staring into the distance, mouth tight, jaw taut, fingers clenched round the edge of the control desk. To an outsider, it might have appeared that he was fighting not to be angry at Rose; Rose knew him well enough to suspect he was trying not to show his anger with himself. The thought broke Rose’s heart.

She kept going.

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way,” she said, carefully. “But you need to know how it felt to me.”

Silently, the Doctor issued a curt nod.

Rose suppressed a sigh. She wasn’t entirely sure why, but she felt disappointed, somehow. Although really, she’d given him the option not to speak, so maybe she shouldn’t be surprised he was taking her up on the offer. Still, she’d hoped…

But that didn’t matter. She’d said her piece and he’d heard it, and acknowledged it, at least a little bit. That was worth something, right?

Rose turned to leave, to give the Doctor some space, but stopped in her tracks at the sound of him clearing his throat.

“Rose?”

She turned back to look at him, her heart convulsing painfully in her chest, so hard she thought her ribs might crack from it. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry,” said the Doctor, slowly. “What I did--it was a betrayal.”

Now Rose’s pulse was hammering in her ears. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

The Doctor’s gaze met hers. “I’m sorry,” he repeated.

Relief flooded Rose like waters through a broken dam. Before her brain had a chance to make any choice in the matter, her feet had carried her across the console room, up the stairs, and launched her straight into the Doctor, her arms wrapping snugly round him, purely of their own volition, she was sure. She squeezed him tight in a reassuring hug and he responded in kind, embracing her in a way that felt only a little bit desperate. Rose buried her face against his shirt and let out a long, pent-up sigh of release.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, her voice muffled by his shirt.

The Doctor did not reply, but hugged her harder instead.

***

Previous | Next

***

note: once again, as much as i wish i had come up with it all on my own, the conversation about semantics re: betrayal is heavily (heavily!) inspired by some writings from my good friend, the insanely talented @ksgsworld , who is super amazeballs <3

[ayafoxheart]

An Aside with Samu’El

The part of the nameless client played by: Aya Foxheart The part of the nameless Ala Mhigan swordswoman played by: Cassidy Thorne ( @tonberryslantern ) The part of the grumpy old man played by, well... Samu'El.

For the earlier events with  Hejji the Hellion

Samu'El sat at his table like he did almost every evening, downing the morsels of spiced meat that made for a savory dinner.

While Fredison, as he often did, wordlessly took a seat at the same table, setting down his meal and pint of cold beer. The two greeted each other with grunts of mutual understanding.

"So... how'd it go today?"

Samu'El gazed up from his bowl with the usual scowl. His grizzled features betrayed decades of hazardous work in the Blood Sands. He chewed his morsels slowly and deliberately before answering the question: "Well."

The simple statement of fact took his friend by complete surprise. He looked bewildered, giving his head a shake before laughing.

"Well!" Fredison repeated, loudly. "Now that must really be something."

Fredison leaned closer, drawing near enough to Samu'El that he could speak in a low voice, "You're still not going to tell me who your client is?" The old man stoically returned to eating his meal. "Come on. You know at this rate we are going to have to start a pool to see who can name her first."  Still, Samu’El did not answer. Finally, annoyed but not surprised, Fredison sat back, folding his arms across his body as he smirked at the old gladiator. "You know, its just curiosity. And only a matter of time."

Samu'El watched carefully. Taking his time to finish the mouthful of spiced beef. He forcefully thrust his fork back into the bowl, "She pays well to not be known." He took another bite, rather than changing the subject himself.

"Ah.. ah..." the wizened friend replies, seemingly sated for the moment. "No doubt she must..." The unstated words stabbed at the old Gladiator’s pride, but he refused to budge and continued to eat his meal.

"But - “ rejoined Fredison, “you said 'well'? I don't think I've ever heard you so excited about a day's work." His lips spread into a broad grin as he clapped a hand upon his knee.

Samu'El nodded, his voice liberated by the shift in topic, "Aye. We had her go up against a new training partner this morning."

"Ah!" Fredison reacted in surprise, "Not since Hejji..." Samu'el didn't let the man finish the name, interrupting his eating to loudly shush him as he peered around. "Damn it Fredison you'll get us all in hell if you keep mouthing off like that!"

The other man just waved off Samu'El's annoyance, but kept clear of the name. "But, after what happened... with her..."

"Yeah, its been a while. It has. Too long,” he admitted. “You can't keep learning without facing new challenges." He took his time, taking another morsel of his meal. “But it was tough. You understand.” Fredison nodded. “Can’t have another round of that. My constitution won’t take it!”

“Who’d you find for it?” Fredison eyed him with curiosity.

"This one was her own recommendation.” Samu’El paused dramatically,  “A 'highland swordswoman of renown' she said."

"Another Highlander?!" Fredison could scarcely believe it, "But..!"

"I KNOW!" The old gladiator laughed and then grimaced. "Do you have any idea how anxious I was all morning? Thall's Ball's and Nald’s cod sack, that damn girl was going to fight another Highlander? After the last time? I might have had three heart attacks this morning just thinking about it."

"Did you take any precautions...?"

Samu’El nodded, scratching his upper lip, "Yeah, I had Lunk pack his real blades. Just in case..."

"But..." the old man waved him off and continued himself.

"So, this 'legendary' swordswoman of 'renown' shows up, and she is this tiny blonde thing. I think Lunk could eat four of ‘er for breakfast."

His friend just blinked back in some confusion.

"And for a sword she had a wooden paddle. This thing was almost two yalms in length! And at least a fulm wide. Not light, either. Just broad and flat. Bloody’ paddle. You could spank a Chocobo into next week with it."

The description was met with a laugh.

"I have seen two-handed practice swords before, but this one was really something else."  The old man sat up in his chair, satisfied with his meal and he wound his way into the story of the bout.

"So my girl, she is all ready. I don't know what to make of it just yet. This little highlander woman, she just swings that paddle around, and doesn't even wait to size her up. She just dashes in, swinging that thing with a speed you wouldn't imagine. Right into my girl's leg. And my girl is quick. Quicker than you would expect."

Fredison nodded, "Like Lucasio?"  Samu'El belched and then laughed, "No! Lucasio telegraphed his movements. You could hem him in, pin him down." The old man gestured dramatically with  his arms, suggesting the movements of gladiators, "He had speed but he was overrated! No instinct!"

Fredison nodded again, fingers stroking the brown strands of his beard, "You mean she moves better than Lucasio..?"

Samu'El nodded, gesturing like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Yeah. Faster. Better."

Stroking his beard more energetically, Fredison turned his head a bit, "But you've said she would never make it on the Sands?"

The old gladiator let out another laugh, "No! Not for her. But she would put on a show like you'd never seen-" his friend simply nodded, though clearly not satisfied, as the story continued, "-but this swordswoman got her on the first dash. I was worried. Real worried. The speed with which she moved that stick was enough to make a man like me flinch, even in my prime."

"I watched my girl put some distance between them," he returned to gesturing with his hands, "and use her feet to keep away from that sword while she sized up the situation."

"But after that, the swordswoman barely wanted to move. She stayed almost perfectly still as my girl maneuvered. She was like a coiled snake, waiting motionless until springing to strike! But I've taught my girl some patience. Some care. She didn't let the woman get to her so easily again. The next time she approached within reach, she dipped out of the way, and kept the woman off balance with this movement I can’t even describe!" He laughed heartily, an uncharacteristic grin on his face as he made a spinning gesture with his hands.

“I taught her the basic foot work, but there’s more to it than that.” He nodded, looking quietly and uncharacteristically proud.

"But when it seemed like things were about to go my girl's way, this swordswoman did something I have -never- seen before! She stabbed that damn paddle into the ground, and in an instant it looked like my girl was trapped in water! Like the air itself, was just congealed around her - trapping in place. It had to be some form or magic, and of a sort I've never seen in the Sands! That Ala Mhigan dove forward, like lunging serpant, but she left her sword behind: and my girl spun away in just the knick of time." He leaned back, grinning proudly. “Spoiling the whole trick!”

"Then she counter-attacked! A spinning kick, landed thanks to a feint with her sword." He slashed the air with his arm, laughing.

Fredison snapped a grin all his own, "The Hellion would be proud!" Both men laughed together before stopping abruptly with an uncomfortable shared stare.

"Ahem, yes, well... it was enough. I think that swordswoman felt a little shame creepin' in. She was the one supposed to be teachin' after all, and even her magic trick wasn't enough.  She leaned back into the attack, using all of her speed and might with that big paddle. She whipped it this way and that, I swear it looked like she was going in with everything she had. My girl was just having a good time.  Good time..." he leaned back, offering an inscrutable expression as he folded his hands across his belly.

"Weren't you worried?"

"Yeah." Samu'El scratched his own beard. "But that's what I mean 'bout her not making it on the Sands. She was learning, that's what she wants. She was watching, and studying, not really looking for the kill. I think that Swordswoman needed it more. Needed to prove to 'erself that she could beat my girl. While she, well, she was satisfied with that kick landing so well."

"They went back and forth a while longer," he laughed, "the swordswoman made her a little angry for a while there. That was fun to see. I like it when she is angry.” He blinked a few times, and then shrugged at the conclusion, “And then it was over."

"Over?!" exclaimed Fredison, as if that could not be all there was to it. "Yeah, she took the girl down hard with a kick. And applied the kill with a gentle nudge of that giant paddle of hers." He laughed again, rubbing his fingers into his beard.

"She's a damn fine swordswoman. That's all I can say."

Fredison nodded, "So it seems... and this is what you're so excited about?"

Samu'El let out another laugh, "Yeah. Seems like the best thing I've seen in a while."

His friend stared at that inscrutable expression a while longer, taking what he could from their unspoken communication.  He finally broke the long silence, "So would she work with mine as well?"

Samu'El's expression went flat and serious, "Maybe. It will cost a pretty penny."

[smilexcaptainx]

Retrieve It | peter parker

wanna be on my taglist?

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Requested: Anonymous

Request: Hi! Can you write one where Peter and the reader are in a secret relationship, and The Avengers have no idea. The Avengers have to go on a mission in Paris and so they take Tony's private jet there. While riding there, Peter writes cheesy lovey dovey stuff about the reader on a paper airplane during the flight with the intention of flying it towards the reader. Unfortunately, Peter throws it too hard and it ends up landing on the lap of a napping Steve. They attempt to retrieve it & fails! Thx!!

Warning(s): Fluff

A/N: i hope you enjoy♥

Masterlist

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 You were the last one to board onto Tony’s private jet. It still boggled your mind that your mission was being held in Paris. Out of all the places in the world, Paris was the chosen one. You loved Paris, you really did, but you’d much rather spend time there with your boyfriend, Peter Parker. Or in your case, secret boyfriend.

 Peter wanted the same thing you did. He wanted to visit Paris with just you and him, nobody else. He would always gush to you about all the romantic things he would do for you there, but you two knew that being the kids of the team, the adults would’ve never approved of it.

 You and Peter have had a secret relationship for about a year now. You two had a private one year anniversary a few weeks ago and it was the most complicated thing you’ve ever done in your life. You’ve been trying to hide your relationship with each other from the team because you knew that they wouldn’t be too happy with the news.

 Although Peter could be very stealthy and secretive, it was very difficult for him to keep it a secret. There were bunches of moments where Peter wanted to shout from the rooftop his feelings about you. He wanted the whole entire world to know how lucky he was to score someone as outstanding as you. And the feeling was absolutely mutual.

 As hard as it was to hide the relationship from your teammates, what made it even more complicated was that you two came to an agreement to act like you two hated each other in real life. Even though you two knew it was acting, it still killed you both inside to act that rudely towards each other, but it was deceiving everybody, and that’s exactly what you both wanted.

 You were excited to visit Paris, even though it was for a mission, Steve promised that once the mission was over, he’d take everyone around Paris and you’d all do all sorts of things together. You were planning by sitting next to Peter on the ride there, but since you were the last person to board the jet, the seat was already taken by Tony.

 You went to go sit somewhere else that wasn’t too far from him. He was still in your line of sight, which was good so you could stare at his beautiful face the entire ride there. The private jet started and off you were.

‘’I’m tired from staying up all last night so I’m going to take a nap,’’ steve informed everybody. ‘’so don’t wake me until we’re there, alright?’’

 Everyone murmured in agreement as Steve propped up his legs on the leg rest and shifted in his seat to get comfortable. Letting out one last deep breath, he closed his eyes and began to descend into his nap. You shifted your eyes over to Peter who was writing on a piece of paper on the desk that was in front of him.

 You looked around at everybody else and it seemed that everyone was as tired as Steve was. Everybody was kicking their feet up and falling asleep, except for Tony. He was talking with somebody on his little earpiece while deeply focusing on his phone. It seemed that Tony didn’t even care about what Peter was doing.

 Knowing Peter, you knew exactly what Peter was doing. He was writing on that piece of paper an extremely cheesy note about you. It definitely wasn’t the first time he’s done it, but you had to admit, as much as those cheesy letter made you cringe, they were adorably sweet.

 After a few minutes, Peter sharply put a period at the end of his paper and smiled down at it. His eyes swung up and instantly met with yours since you’ve been watching him for the past ten minutes. He looked back down and began to fold it up into a paper airplane. You took one last look around the jet and it seemed it was officially lights out for everyone.

 Tony was raising his voice into his earpiece, his finger pressing it harder. His eyebrows curved in angrily and he slammed his fist on the arm rest of the chair. He huffed, clearly annoyed and stood up. He walked off into a little private room, it was pretty obvious he was about to blow off some steam. Or just give the person he was talking to a piece of his mind.

 As the door of the private room slid shut, Peter let out a little ‘’Psst! (Y/N)!’’ which caught your attention. You smiled at him as you saw that he was holding his paper airplane up in the air, signaling that he was about to throw it at you. You nodded and put out your hands, you gave him an assertive nod as you finally got into position.

 Peter let out a tiny, quiet, grunt as he forcefully threw the paper airplane your way. A small gasp left his mouth as his gentle brown eyes watched the paper airplane go the complete opposite direction. You held your breath as you sat to watch where the paper airplane would fly.

‘’Please don’t hit anybody in the face. Please don’t hit anybody in the face.’’ you silently pleaded to yourself.

 The last thing you wanted was to wake anybody up and then them finding out what was written inside the paper airplane. You tried to think through the outcomes that could come from it. Maybe they would just instantly throw it away and never even think about opening it. Or they would get curious and open it and your relationship with Peter would be exposed.

 You released a sigh of relief as it landed swiftly onto Steve’s lap, glad that nobody was hit in the face and woken up, but the worry immediately returned when you came to the realization that Steve was sitting at a window seat with an asleep Bucky beside him.

 Your teeth sunk into your bottom lip as you moved your eyes over to Peter who was getting out of his seat. Peter walked over and was about to lean over Bucky to repossess the paper airplane but the paper airplane was farther then Peter could reach. You knew if Peter were to reach all the way for it, he would topple right onto Bucky’s lap and wake both of them up.

‘’Peter!’’ you hissed quietly. Peter didn’t hear you, your heart began to pick up its pace. ‘’Peter don’t!’’

 Either Peter was being stubborn and ignoring you, thinking he could do it. Or he genuinely couldn’t hear you. Whatever the reason, you knew he would get caught if he continued with what he was planning to do. You shot up from your seat and said his name once again, loud enough for him to hear, but no loud enough to wake anybody. He snapped his eyes at you and paused.

‘’What?’’ peter asked quietly. ‘’Buck is snoring, that means he’s completely out (Y/N),’’ peter told you with complete confidence. ‘’I can get it, just let me do this.’’

 You quickly dash up to Peter and catch him by the shoulder before he fully leaned forward. You pull him back and shake your head.

‘’You’re going to wake the two biggest monsters on the team,’’ you whisper silently. ‘’plus one of them might open the paper airplane and our secret relationship will be revealed.’’

 Peter stood there and stared at you blankly. It seemed that he hadn’t thought it through that far. With a deep breath you turned towards the sleeping best friends and tried to calculate how you would be able to get it. Peter put his hand on his shoulder and you glanced over your shoulder to look at him.

‘’I’m sorry (Y/N),’’ peter apologized softly. ‘’but I’m willing to take that risk.’’

‘’Peter–’’

 Peter didn’t let you finish and shoved you aside and went straight for it. He leaned right over Bucky and tried to reach for the paper airplane. So far, he wasn’t making contact with Bucky, but Peters fingers tips were barely on the paper airplane, but not close enough to grip onto it. You had the urge to pull him away before he fell but Peter went along with it and took that final leap.

 Unfortunately, he failed as you predicted and lost balance, dropping right onto Bucky’s lap and waking him up instantly. And once Bucky was up, Steve woke up a second after. Peter swiped the paper airplane and crumpled it up and threw it randomly in the air before Steve and Bucky had the opportunity to see what it was.

 Luckily, the two soldiers weren’t aware of the paper that was thrown. Bucky and Steve stared down at Peter who was carelessly spread across on their laps. Peter froze in place and didn’t move a muscle. The awkwardness lingered in the air with the breathing of Peter as the only sound audible.

‘’Um, Pete,’’ bucky spoke uncomfortably. ‘’may I ask, why are you sp–’’

 Peter immediately began to wiggle his way off of the two men who were shifting position as Peter was removing himself off of them. Peter let out an awkward chuckle as he made it to his feet and brushed himself off.

‘’Guess I was just sleep walking again,’’ peter shrugged. ‘’uh, yeah. Sorry.’’

 You were so caught up in the awkward situation Peter was put in, you had totally forgotten about the piece of paper. You scanned around the jet for the piece of and paper and spotted it in front of the private room that Tony was inside. You sighed and began to walk up to it, abruptly the door opens and the paper you had your eyes on was now underneath the foot of Tony.

 Tony took notice as soon as he stepped on the crumpled up piece of paper and looked down at his foot. Tony lifted his foot and bent down. He picked it up and examined it.

‘’Is this anybody’s piece of paper?’’ tony called out loudly, awakening everybody who was sleeping.

 Peter turned around and immediately recognized it, within seconds he shot his hand straight up in the air.

‘’Mine! Mine! It’s mine! Totally mine Mr. Stark.’’ peter claimed eagerly. ‘’It’s mine. Can I have it back please? Like, right now? Please.’’

‘’Is it really?’’ tony asked, raising an eyebrow. ‘’Why are you so eager to get it back? What did you write on it?’’

‘’Um, you know, just like, normal stuff,’’ peters voice cracked from nervousness. ‘’like.. how my day was going so far.’’

‘’So.. You wouldn’t mind if I take a look?’’

‘’It’s private Mr. Stark!’’ peter shouted.

‘’All we’ve done all day was pack and get onto my private jet,’’ tony said. ‘’I don’t know see why that’s interesting enough to write about.’’

‘’Mr. Stark–’’

‘’It’s not like it’s a love letter for (Y/N), right?’’ tony joked with a small chuckle. ‘’I mean, you two hate eac–’’

‘’AHAHAHA NO WAY!! ME LIKING (Y/N)? NOT IN A MILLION YEARS!!’’ peter laughed forcefully. You cringed. Splotches of sweat were now appearing on his forehead as Tony tossed the crumpled piece of paper between his hands.

‘’You’re acting weird kid,’’ tony accused, squinting his head at him. ‘’as the older one here, I deserve to know what’s written on this piece of paper.’’

 In an instant Tony un-crumpled the piece of paper. You and Peter held your breath as Tony snaked his eyes across the paper. His face expression was slowly twisting into a whole new expression, and not a very amused one.

‘’Oh man,’’ he gagged. ‘’I think I’m going to throw up.’’

‘’It’s not that bad, is it?’’ peter reddened.

‘’Take it back. I don’t even care anymore. Take it.’’ tony begged, shoving the piece of paper into Peters chest. ‘’Ugh. I always knew it.’’

‘’Y-You did?’’ you chimed in. ‘’How?’’

‘’You two are terrible at acting,’’ tony commented. ‘’good things you’re superheros and not actors because you’d be hated all around the world if you were. Be–’’

‘’Okay, we get it.’’ you snapped, cutting his off. ‘’And.. You’re okay with this?’’

‘’You two are the only teenagers on the team,’’ tony brought up. ‘’of course I would allow it.’’ tony shrugged. ‘’Now if you and Steve were together,’’ his eyes shifted to Steve. ‘’that would be weird.’’

‘’So.. We can be public now?’’ peter asked. Tony nodded. ‘’Yes! I can finally show people that you’re mine!’’

 Peter rushed up to you and pulled you into a smashing kiss. You smiled through the kiss, enjoying his reaction. The others watched as Peter deepened the kiss. The entire room began to groan in disgust, expressing that they were uncomfortable. Peter just laughed and continued to kiss you, happiness had officially taken him over.

‘’I promise that when we get home,’’ peter said, pulling away the kiss. ‘’that I’m going to shout from the rooftops about how much I love you (Y/N).’’

The End

—

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[sokikuro]

Just Hanging

Word count: 2665

The moon hung low and bright, bathing the world in its silver light. They swayed rhythmically to the uncanny beat of the earth, their bodies pressed together intimately, only their mouths were separated by a hair's breadth of distance and the air friction was the only force to hinder their otherwise eternal dance.

“Well, now I know how sardines are feeling.”

“Oh, very clever. S-sardines because of the net. I get it.” Kaito tried to sound sarcastic but probably failed miserably. His slight hysteric laugh at the end didn’t help either he guessed. He tried to clear his throat but it was rather hard in the position they were in. So he closed his eyes from the blurry image of a pair of blue ones belonging to one decidedly unimpressed Kudo Shinichi to get his Poker face back on track and took small, even breaths through his nose, focusing on just himself for a short moment. He needed to calm down if he wanted to turn their situation into his favor.

“It’s an experience you called upon yourself my dear Meitantei-san,” he tried again, hoping that his critic would forgive his earlier slip under these circumstances. He was, after all, basically caught, something that would never have happened to either of his parents. He could already hear his mother's merciless teasing.

What was he thinking? He was not caught. This just happened to be a minor setback. Nothing he couldn't handle, really.

He hoped that the detective would chalk up his little, tiny, not really worth to mention not quite loss of character up to exactly those thoughts, though.

“Smooth.” Of course he wouldn’t simply ignore it, considering he always was unforgiving towards his slips no matter how small and insignificant they have been to his overall scheme. “And it’s your trap.”

“You activated it.”

“You dodged.”

“Have you ever been hit by one of your cursed soccer balls?” Aggravating the detective probably wasn't a good move to reach his goal but he just somehow failed to take hold of the serenity that was, without a doubt, essential for someone like him.

Forget teasing, his mother would be scolding him in her uncanny way of not actually scolding him, talking in riddles and not just using double but triple meanings, so that no one that could possibly overhear could make a connection, especially a loudmouthed inspector and his violent but cute daughter.

Kaito was ripped from his short musing when he felt a silent, long drawn exhale against his lips, sending an unpleasant shiver down his spine. “Why would you even put that net there?”

“Why do you always appear on my roofs?” This time he had his voice completely under control and gave it a dash of mocking for good measure. Kaito flinched immediately, not being able to suppress the reflex caused by getting suddenly pinched in his thigh. “Someone is forward.”

“Someone went straight to bondage.” The detective answered in the same mocking tone.

“At least I didn’t plan on starting with chains.”

Silence followed the slight outburst. The swinging motion was slowly coming to an end but they started to spin a bit more around their axis, the movement not strong enough to cause them vertigo - at least for him, he wasn't quite sure about the detective, he hoped though, otherwise this would become a lot more unpleasant - and disgusting.

Kaito got aware that he digressed from his main problem and so breathed in deeply. He tried to clear his mind of unnecessary thoughts and focus on an escape plan while he strained his ears to pick up on any noises not their own. His traps could entertain his task force for only so long and he was pretty sure that he has seen Hakuba lurking around.

He exhaled slowly. If only his hands were free. A bit room for movement would also be nice, he hadn’t thought this through if he even had been thinking at all at the time. Why did he dodge this way? He needed to train on his reactions and reflexes a bit more, Aoko was due for a good teasing anyway and maybe he would even present her with some kind of long range missiles (the mop was getting boring, he could dodge that in his sleep by now, not that he wanted to test that theory).

The detective made a small wiggling motion, tilting his head a fraction, presumably to get a bit more comfortable. It simply reminded Kaito of just how close they were, made him aware of the warmth seeping into him, of a calm beating heart not his own.

A detective never should have been able to get this close to him and now here he was, stuck in a net with the smartest of them all.

Who actually owed him quite a lot. (Letting him go now and then could hardly count as a fair trade-off.)

And had his hands free. (Somewhat. More than him at any rate.)

And usually was quite reasonable. (Not like that prick Hakuba.)

And honestly was his biggest fan. (No matter how much the detective denied it.)

"Chocolate.” The simple word, ringing loud after their silence, sliced through his thought process, thankfully, he knew that he had started to go off track again.

“What?” The detective should be able to reach is back pocket that luckily contained the small stripe of metal which he had needed for his earlier trick. It should be sharp and sturdy enough to cut the net just behind his back, freeing them.

Or maybe he could even reach his card gun if he managed to get a bit more room between them. Way more effective-

“You smell like you took a chocolate bath.”

“Nothing wrong with chocolate,” answered Kaito absentmindedly. After a moment the conversation caught up with him and he mentally shook himself, his instincts screaming at him to not give anything about himself away. Why was it so hard to concentrate today? He normally had no trouble to think up a plan while holding a casual conversation full of deflections and misdirection.

“So you took a chocolate bath?” The detective sounded disbelieving, almost disgusted.

“No.” Kaito pronounced the word carefully a part of him still confused about his lack of concentration while the other part desperately tried to hide just that. “That would be too much of a waste and I don’t want to imagine the cleanup. Come to think of it-“ A slight jab to his thigh cut his grand vision and rambling off before he could talk himself into an embarrassment. He really had to get a hold on himself, and fast. The blood rushing to his head, due to gravity's merciless pull, would soon hinder his thinking even more. At least the spinning came to an overall halt as well.

“Do you live on anything else?”

Kaito raised a brow, getting slightly annoyed by the constant distraction (at himself for needing it to stop his mind from wandering to countless places, which, actually, was his norm but he usually had a perfect handle on his multitude of thoughts, not like now), nevertheless his voice sounded cheerful as he answered. “The chase.”

Another jab to his thigh. This was getting old fast. “I wonder what will do you in first.”

“Aww, is my dear Meitantei-san worried about me? How touching~”

“Idiot.” And another pinch followed. Of course. “I’m just making observations you stupid thief.”

“Why do you always have to be so violent?”

“Must be your charm. I know around fifty people that want to punch you at least once – and those are only the pacifist ones.”

Rude. Everyone loved him. Then again, he had read somewhere, that people tend to turn violent towards beings that are way too cute for their own good, for whatever reason he found incomprehensible (sometimes evolution just sucked), and he was cute, specifically if he dressed up as women, who were always cute no matter what, even if they were homicidal witches with an ego problem.

Where was he?

“Or you just don’t know how to express your feelings.” For a moment everything was still and then Kaito gritted his teeth. “Would you stop doing that?”

"You're a moron. Not everyone is as repressed as you are.” He pronounced the words almost biting, emphasizing every odd word with yet another stab in his thigh. He would end with a big bruise for sure.

“You are the one who can’t stop touching me.” What was he doing? He had no time for this. Was the detective trying to delay him deliberately? He had to be, there was no other reason for him to act this way when they were trapped in a net like, like those f-finny things. In that moment, after all he had been through for this detective, Kaito felt betrayed. He knew that they weren’t friends, they couldn’t ever be, but he had thought that they shared a mutual understanding and enjoyed each other’s presence. He loved having his favorite critic crashing his heists. What if said detective has gotten bored of his shows and antics? The thought felt like a slap to the face, a slap his brain proved unwilling to process.

"Only because you're wasting time arguing instead of freeing us!"

Wait.

"It's been what? Five minutes?"

What? "As good as I am at impersonating him, I don't have Tantei-san's supernatural time-knowing-skill." His voice sounded dead in his ears. He felt numb, barley registering the long-drawn pain from his thigh or his own words.

"Whatever!" The detective sounded aggravated, and maybe a bit... worried? "Get us out of your stupid trap or do you want to get caught like this? Which, by the way, would greatly lower my opinion of you. Caught by your own stupid trap. That's not how I want to catch you, you stupid thief. Now do something!"

Oh. OH.

The numb feeling wasn't completely gone but Kaito could feel relief and a tad embarrassment wash over him. His body, stiff and taut until now, slowly relaxed and it was then that he noticed just how on edge he really has been, how much he has slipped. Why was he always such a mess around this detective, unable to fully keep a hold on his Kaito Kid persona? One way or another Kuroba Kaito always peeked through. And yet-

"I was trying to get up with an escape plan, but someone kept interrupting me." He injected every ounce of gratitude he felt into his words, strangely not feeling like a total sap.

"Could have fooled me. I was starting to think you like having me close and couldn't bear to separate." The detective smirked tauntingly. At least Kaito thought he did.

"Which self-respecting criminal would want to have you close?" A beat of silence. "No. Don't answer that. I don't want to know."

"Moron." The word was merely a sigh. "Can we get to the part of your great escape now? Or do you actually want to get caught because you couldn't stop flirting with a detective in time?"

Kaito's thoughts came to a screeching halt.

"My dear Meitantei-san, I'm sure it's not me doing the flirting but be assured that I am quite flattered." The detective turned red, he could feel the rise in temperature. A grin slowly stretched across his face. "No reason to be shy all of a sudden, in fact I seem to be in need of your boldness." To prove his point he curled his fingers slightly. His grin widened. The detective shivered against him, either he just found a sensitive spot or he was reacting to the change in mood. Both scenarios were kind of interesting, always good to know the weaknesses of his enemies no matter how small. The heart under his other palm quickened its beating.

"Don't." There was some form of hurt in the single utterance but Kid didn't care to interpret it, there were more pressing matters to attend to, so he simply hummed in response and curled his fingers a bit more. "Maybe I just should let them find us like this."

"Oh? But that would ruin our gentleman's game, wouldn't it not? And I clearly remember you saying that that simply wouldn't do. Not to mention, it just proofs that you little detectives can't outsmart me. What a shame that must be." His grin turned sharp. "Time is ticking, Meitantei-san, what shall it be?"

The muscles of the detective's stomach clenched under his hand and a low growl came from the direction of his throat. "Fine. Tell me what to do - Kid."

He dearly wanted to taunt him for giving in so easily, sadly he had no such time. "There is a stripe of metal in my right back pocket. Can you reach it?"

The detective hesitated for a split second before he moved his left hand carefully slow from his thigh to his pocket. "I knew that piece of metal looked out of place."

"Hm, too late for that now." Kid felt the detective turn even warmer while he traced his hand up his body.

"Wouldn't your card gun be more effective?" The hand reached his hip, mirroring his right counterpart.

Kid hummed thoughtfully. "I had the same thought, but I doubt we can move far enough apart so that you can reach my front, not to mention the risk of triggering a few of my probs."

"Or the possibility of me slicing your leg and gaining hard evidence against you." The detective mused moving his hand agonizingly slow towards his back pocket. "Why is the net so restricting?"

"True, and yet such an action would be beneath you." He let his voice drop into a sultry timbre. "After all, you want to have the pleasure of catching me in the act." The hand reached its goal but remained still. Kid waited a few heartbeats. "To hinder movement of course, which reduces the danger of the captive getting hurt or using dishonorable gadgets against unsuspecting, innocent thieves."

The detective snorted. "Of course." Finally, he shoved his hand down his pocket. "It also makes it impossible to see your face."

A bang could be heard in the distance. "My, my, you make it sound like I planned this." More banging. Kid supposed they had two to three minutes before the cavalry arrived. The grip on his hip tightened as the detective pulled out the metal. "Cut the net. You can't widen it by pulling but cutting it is really easy."

The detective did as he was told. "Everything you do is planned."

"What if I did?" Just a few more cuts and he could let himself fall out. "It happens to be an honest mistake, though."

"Not from you." The words were so silent, Kid almost missed them, he couldn't dwell on them since the detective continued louder. "Am I supposed to believe that? You could have dodged every other way instead of barreling into me. Doesn't seem very smart to run along the exact same line as the thing you're running away from."

"I only hear you complain about my actions in general, not about our situation, in fact, you are obviously enjoying it." He splayed his hands against the detective's torso. "My deepest apology for having to end it."

Kid let himself fall out the hole, pushing against the detective, losing his hat in the process, reflexively he activated one of his flash bombs, landing awkwardly on his lower back with enough momentum to roll to his feet. Behind him the detective had started to curse. He ignored it and simply acknowledged the arrival of his beloved task force by throwing a smoke bomb to hinder their vision and mask his escape, only after jumping down the roof and activating his hang glider did he finally open his eyes.

Kid could feel the piercing gaze of his favorite detective following him and enjoyed every second of it.

[futurewriter2000]

The Coffeeboy

A/N: Here you go you annoying little bug. No jk jk..I love you and I really loved writing this imagine. I’m actually really proud of how it turned out so I really hope you like it too.

PAIRING: James Potter x reader

REQUEST: I was wondering if you’re able to do a muggle coffee shop au? Like maybe the boys(marauders) own the coffee shop. James makes hella good coffee art, Remus bakes pastries, Sirius runs the cashier (“because everyone loves me, Prongs) and Peter often helps Remus bakes with his specialty (cheesecakes ;) ) and then there’s no Voldemort, no upcoming war. No one dies. And then there’s this girl that keeps ordering the same coffee everyday, and James tries to flirt with her using the coffee art.

TAGS: @shadyladyperfection , @huflerin , @nadinissavage , @geeksareunique

For those non-brittish folk, heres the TRANSLATION:

Lost the plot - are you crazy

Swot - nerd

Brill - brilliant

Nutter - a crazy person

On a pull - looking for sex

Give a bell - call you

Xx

It has been another day at the Marauder’s map coffee shop. The four workers just preparing themselves for this another cold day in February. Sirius Black, the handsome, flirty waiter and cashier with gorgeous long black curls matching his mischivious grey eyes. Flirty but harmless. Remus Lupin, dashing looking baker with his green eyes and light brown hair flecked with grey strands on the sides. And as much as girls kept swooning over the handsome cashier, they couldn’t keep their eyes away from the mysterious baker. Then there was short yet striking looking boy with mousy brown hair and blue eyes, not as dashing and handsome as Remus and Sirius, yet his choice of words always seemed to impress you. Peter Pettigrew. He helps around, being the cashier and baker himself, he helps Remus with his famous specialty that makes customers wanting for more and his skills in serving them is quite impressive. And the last but not least, we have our tall, knockout of a coffeeboy, James Potter. He was hunky and drop-dead gorgeous boy with hazel eyes, messy jet black hair and a spunky personality. His flawless coffees were sure more than enough to please a customer and his skills in coffee art was astonishing.

Yes, the four workes did their job every day before and after school. But there was one more person, who just can’t be left out. (Y/n) (y/l/n). She was a regular custumer, classmate of all the four marauders, coming for her coffee every day after school and help around whenever she has the time. She was a normal tall/short, beautiful and attractive girl who seemed to charm especially one of the four workers. The coffeboy, James Potter.

“Hello boys! Another beautiful day spent in your coffee place I see.” you smiled as you walked in, placing your bag on your special table and walking up to the cashier.

“It’s a beautiful day only if your loving smile and stunning eyes graces my soul.” swooned James and wrapped his arm around Sirius. “ Because of you: ’ I hold a beast, an angel and a madman inside of me.’ ”

“Reading too much poetry, Potter.” you smiled and sat on the counter.

“Seems that way. Prongs, the next romantic, poet and idealist. The next … Dylan Thomas.” snickered Sirius and unwrapped James’ arm from his shoulder before putting his hand on his heart and starting to quote. “Though lovers be lost, love shall not; And death shall have no dominion. ”

“ I think I know one too: ’Somebody is boring me. I think it’s the cashier.’ ” said Remus and brought another plate of croissants out of the furnace.

“Bog off, Moony.” retorded Sirius and put up a middle finger before noticing two girls walking in. “Bon voyage, (y/n). I have customers coming.” he winked at you as he walked up to the girls. “ Welcome to the Marauder’s map. How can I assist you ladies?”

You giggled at the flirting cashier before turning your head back at James, seeing him holding up a cup of coffee and smiling at you. “Just as you like it, Madame.”

You jamp off the counter and took the warm coffee in your hands. Placing it on the counter you reached in your bag and pulled out your wallet. “ £2.45 if I’m correct? ”

“It’s on me, darling.” he winked at you before turning around and walking away.

You felt blush creeping on your cheeks and a small smile making its way on the corner of your lips. That boy sure knew his way around girls, but you… well, you were sure too well obliviated to his feelings for you.

—

“ The belief in sorcery and its practice seem to have been widespread in the Ancient Near East and ….”

“Nile Valley.” responded Remus, few feet away from you.

You glanced at him and checked the 4th exercise off. “ What does a section from the Code of Hammurabi prescribe? ” you continued with the next question.

“ If a man has put a spell upon another man and it is not justified, he upon whom the spell is laid shall go to the holy river; into the holy river shall he plunge. If the holy river overcome him and he is drowned, the man who put the spell upon him shall take possession of his house. If the holy river declares him innocent and he remains unharmed the man who laid the spell shall be put to death. He that plunged into the river shall take possession of the house of him who laid the spell upon him. ” he answered proudly.

“Wow, Remus. That’s impressive.” you said to him and checked another question off the list. “How about we finish and continue this tomorrow? It’s getting late.”

“ But we haven’t even gotten to the Divination and magic in Islam.” he pouted.

“ Have you lost the plot, Moony. We get it you swot. You’re all smart and brill, now can’t you see she’s tired.” groaned James, throwing the cloth over his shoulder and walking towards you. He squated down and put his hands on your knees. “ By the power of my wicked coffees and your drag of a history book, I set you free.” he smiled and took off his glasses. “I’ll be done in a tad, so why don’t you clean up these books and I can walk you home.” he offered.

“ I’d love that.” you replied and returned him a smile.

The two of you were almost at your house when you turned around and started to walk backwards. “You know you didn’t have to walk me all the way here.”

“And leave a gorgeous girl walking the streets alone. They are full of nutters on the pull.” he replied, taking your hands and walking around you so that now he was the one walking backwards.

“And here I have my brave prince on his white horse and his charming personality to protect me.”

“Excatly. ”

The two of you stopped and you turned your head to your house before turning your gaze back on James’ hazel eyes.

“Well, this is me.” you sighed and took a step closer.

“Sure is.” he smirked, his eyes not leaving yours and his fingers still interlaced with yours. “Why don’t you want to go on a date with me?” he asked softly.

“Because you never asked.” you chuckled and brushed your thumbs on the back of his hands.

“You are so clueless that it’s adorable.” he chuckled. “ The hearts on the coffee, I don’t make them for every customer. My stupid poems, I don’t share with just anybody. Walking someone home, I don’t offer every girl. I like you (y/n) and I would be more than thrilled if you would go on a date with me.”

Hearing those words from him, made you more than just smile. You crushed on the coffeboy for a long time now, you just weren’t sure if the crush was one sided or not.

“Well, James Potter. The feeling is mutual and I would love to go on a date with you.” you smiled and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

“So I’ll give you a bell?” he quievred and watched as you walked further away to your house door.

“Oh, I’m counting on it Coffeboy.”

[meliecho]

Hearts and Heroes: One Shot - chpt 7: Lifeline - part 2

Summary: Two alpha Somni face off, but there’s a catch that triggers the boss fight. Is this the end?

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Previously on Hearts and Heroes: One shot...

The six footsteps it took to cross the room to the pedestal lasted an eternity on their own. He got within an arms reach of the Somni-Demonling.

“No,” The words caught in Sun's throat. Her limbs were heavy. She couldn't move to stop him. “Mark, don't.”

Mark's eyes slid halfway closed as he let out a long breath in concentration.

When he looked up, he clasped his hands at the nape of his back, and tilted his head slightly to each side. “Finally. I’ve waited a long time to be in control again. Watching the world through his pathetic eyes is tiresome.”

Shadow’s pleasure at facing down the other powerful entity glinted in her blackened eyes. “Welcome back,” she purred his name like a venomous spell, “Dark.”

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

And now, the conclusion...

He kept his hands behind his back in an air of superiority. “You wanted to see me. Well, here I am. Shadow, was it?”

“Yes,” pride filled her answer. “It’s an honor to meet the one who brought the great and annoying King of the Nerds to his knees,” she regarded him with caution, but confidence as one Alpha to another. “To be honest, I didn’t think he’d let you out so willingly. I’m surprised he’d put himself at risk just for this worthless girl.”

“He has a bleeding heart. It sickens me.”

She eyed his posture, and frowned slightly. “You’re…less than what I’d thought you’d be. What happened to your power? Where's that strength I sensed before?”

“Did you call me out just to insult me, or is there a point to this?” He slid his foot back, making her follow him one very slow step at a time. “Either tell me what you want, or get out of my sight.”

Shadow wouldn’t allow him to gain any distance. “Getting right to it. I like that. There is a point, actually. I wanted to look into the eyes of the one who suppressed him and see if you measured up to the hype. If you truly are my equal, or simply a poser lucky enough to catch that insufferable bastard on a bad day.”

“Satisfied?”

She made her call like someone judging an underdone steak. “You're weak, but not entirely disappointing.”

“I wish I could say the same about you.”

She chuckled. “A lesser being insulting me. Hilarious. You can't even leave your host. He still has control over you. Right now, you wouldn't stand a chance against me.”

His lips formed a thin line. “Right now, maybe. But my full potential will crush you.”

“I’ve kept her in a coma for a year. Do you really want to test me?” Her eyes narrowed.

“Gladly. But now’s not the time or place. Only a little bitch baby makes that challenge knowing they have the upper hand. Where’s the fun in that?” He stopped moving, dropping his voice to a sinister growl. “It goes to show how inconsequential you really are.”

“Spoken like a true asshole.”

“You expected anything less?”

She stepped up inches away from his face—two vipers facing off. A spark of rivalry crackled the air between them. “I don’t like you.”

“The feeling is mutual,” He paused. “Still, I am personally thrilled to meet one of my biggest fans; the colossal ice queen.”

Shadow’s expression morphed from confusion, to annoyance, to ‘pissed off.’

“Ah fuck it.” Mark dropped the act, hauled off and landed a right hook shot across its face.

Shadow reeled from the hit.

Its surprise provided the perfect chance for his next attack. “Zapdos! Go!” The explosive sound of an Ultra Ball burst to life at its feet.

He sprinted past it and tackled Sun to get her out of the way.

The light bulb jarred from her hands when she hit the ground and bounced along the surface, letting out a hollow ‘ping’ as it wobbled into the obtuse angle of the wall. Without her touch, the light faded down to a pale pinprick of yellow in the center –less than when she found it in the Barrens.

The Demonling shrieked within a flurry of electrical strikes. Bolt after bolt speared through to the ground, igniting the room in rapid strobe light pulses like a basement rave.

It slumped once the onslaught ended. Rivulets of steam drifted upward from its body, and haggard breaths rasped from its gaping mouth.

The room plunged into a blanket of night.

Sun stared wide-eyed at him. The warm light from the heart on his sleeve dyed the left side of his face and upper body pink. The pathetic color from hers was feeble in comparison. She’d noticed it before, but only without the light bulb present.

“Are you ok?”

The need to escape crashed through her. Thinking that monster she’d sensed still controlled him terrified her enough to blur her vision—a trauma trigger. She scrambled back on her hands, frightened of him. “Get away!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, whoa, hey whoa. Whoa. Easy. It’s me, I swear.”

“M-Mark...? ” that act was perfect. She’d believed it. “But…Dark… I thought you’d really caved.”

“I wouldn’t let that asshole out for its own birthday party.” He gave her a reassuring smile and touched her shoulder gently. “I’ve got it under lock and key, so don’t worry.”

Her normal reply to his performance—or what she thinks is normal—would have been ‘Damn, Skippy,’ but all her voice would produce was a small ‘meep’ of confirmation. This whole situation had her on edge.

“You,” Shadow’s voice heaved in rage in the darkness. “You bastard!”

Mark took up a defensive position in front of Sun, holding his right arm out in protection as he faced the darkened room.

“How dare you play me for a fool,” it growled low. “You’ll pay for that.” Shadow melted into the darkness.

“Oh boy,” His eyes darted in every direction, straining to use the illumination from their arms to see. He needed to get the light bulb back, but he couldn’t let Sun go yet, not when he’d finally coaxed the Somni-Demonling out of her body. He needed to weaken it before he could let it near her again.

Suspense creeped up his spine, brought to life by one of the few things he absolutely hated about horror games: Random chance. Being stalked in a dark enclosed space with no exit by a powerful enemy that will kill you if it attacks and your HP is low.

This scared him more now than any time so far on their entire journey. Her life was at stake if he failed.

The sound of it drifting through the room mirrored the flutter of silk in the wind.

He stood gradually, bringing Sun up with him. “Stay behind me.”

She gripped his shoulders, though he could feel her trembling.

Shadow’s cold, sadistic laugh bounced around the room, hiding its location and sending needles of fear through the two spirits.

His eyes and ears strained to track it, jolting toward each sound to keep it in front of him. This is what prey felt like being hunted by a predator. “Uh, I hate this,” he mumbled. “I hate this. I hate this. I hate this…”

A ripple of motion caught in his left peripheral within the halo of pink. He spun to meet it. It darted to his right. And then… silence.

He grit his teeth, his heart pounding, and his palms layered in cold sweat. His and Sun’s breathing sounded too loud. He swallowed.

Shadow lunged at him from the blackness. The ring of pink light cast a ghostly shade over its features and ignited the darklight in its eyes.

They screamed in surprised and lurched to the side.

Its cold hands clenched around his neck.

Air hitched in his throat. He snared its scarf, yanked it toward him, and plowed his fist into its gut. He thrust both hands between its arms, striking outward at its wrists to loosen its grip, and landed a sharp punch to its jaw.

Shadow disappeared into the darkness again.

Freed, he worried at his sore neck, breathing hard. Thank god he spent time in the training room to learn break-away tactics.

It circled them like a shark, craving revenge before returning to its host body. Its voice hummed in the void. “Two can play the deception game, Mark. I made sure she felt everything when I reached out to Dark. She had no choice. She knows the evil you hide, now.”

He sensed its eyes bore holes into him, and felt Sun’s grip tighten in shame.

“Your secret's out.”

“Five people already know. What's one more? Besides, now she knows I’m not lying when I say I understand. Good job, Shadow. You actually did me a favor.”

Shadow dove at him again.

He backpedaled, forcing Sun to do the same. An obvious idea hit him so hard he felt like he needed to go back to elementary school. “Sun, get the bulb,” he ordered.

She let go of his shirt.

“Go! Now!”

She dashed across the hexagonal room to the front angled walls where the bulb rested. The pinpoint light inside was almost imperceptible.

At a thought—like a feeling—he flicked his finger down in the air at chest level and called up his menu window.

The room burst into white screen-glare brightness. He jumped back in terror as it lit up Shadow’s face merely three feet from his own. “Ah! Fuckin’! Fuck!”

It shrank back from the light in an animalistic howl.

Stealing his chance, he hastily removed the slice of toast from his item list, closed it, and shoved it in his pocket.

Sun pulled the bulb into the circle of her arms, and stood. Its glow grew once more until the room was again filled with its golden hue.

Shadow’s hands curled into claws as it drew itself up.

Mark balled up his fists, and charged.

It avoided his first punch, but not his second, third, and uppercut. It staggered, whipping its head to the left from the impact. It didn’t use any skills on him, or even the shield. It might be strong enough to leave Sun for a modicum of time, but it still needed to manipulate her body to use her power.

He kept himself between her and Shadow as much as possible. He couldn’t let it retreat back into her. Not yet.

It swung at him, catching him in the gut, and grabbed a hold of his collar.

He pulled the silver dagger Wilford 'sold' to him before this mission from a hidden sheath at the nape of his back – Fate Sealer. Shadow’s previous distraction before his Oscar winning performance gave him the time he needed to pull it and the ultra ball from his inventory and hide them behind his back. He swept the dagger upward, across, down, up, and back.

Thick miasma poured from each cut like blood vapor.

Shadow shrieked at the last strike up its chest. It wavered drunkenly; stunned and gripping its own form as if to hold itself together.

Time to end this.

Mark devoured the toast. Its strength boost ability spread through him in a heartbeat, and before Shadow could retaliate with another attack, he launched his fist like a battering ram into its chest.

The Terrorling exploded in a burst of dense smoke. The Somni faded back to Sun. On its tail, the weakened Demonling converged in a spiral of dark energy back to the protection of her body to merge with the Somni again.

The force of the intrusion almost caused her to drop the light bulb. However, for now, she remained in control. Mark managed to severely damage the Demonling so much that it lost its ability to exist outside her. It was now fully dependent on her.

He knew there was precious time left before it would take control again. He sheathed the dagger, rushed over and gripped her shoulder. “You need to fight it. Look at me,” he cupped her small face in both hands. “Sun, look at me!”

Her gaze moved to meet his. She was already resisting the Demonling’s attempts to take over. “Mark,” her whisper quivered, “I’m scared.”

“I know,” he hushed, keeping the urgency, but draping a layer of empathy over his words. “Believe me. I know better than anyone what’s happening to you right now. I’ve felt that thing crawling through my head, too, and it’s scary as fuck. It becomes so loud that it’s the only thing you can hear, and it’s painful. I hear that same voice every day. Some days it’s louder than others, but it’s a voice that only you can control. You have the power to tell it to fuck off.”

“What it says, it—“

“Is wrong.” He covered the heart on her sleeve with his left hand. Faint pink light bled between his fingers and around the edge of his palm. “This is the mark of the hero. You have it because it’s proof that you are strong enough. Your heart is not dead. Wounded and torn, but not dead.”

Her eyes flicked to his left shoulder and the bright illumination on his own sleeve.

“You have something inside your heart that can’t be killed. It allows you to reach out to others and that’s what everyone sees. That power belongs to you and no one else. You’re stronger than that Terrorling is, and it knows that. That’s why it wants you to give up. You are the only one who can give the darkness power. You’ve made it this far, Sun. You’ve survived in the dream world for a year, and that alone proves you are more than what you think. I believe in you. You can do this.”

She heard him. Even though at this point, her control disappeared to the will of the Terrorling, his words still reached through to her. They echoed around her so clearly, she felt she could reach out and grab them if she tried. She looked up in the void, her knees pulled up to her chest.

I believe in you. You can do this.

In her mind, she reached out to the darkness.

Shadow gripped Mark’s wrist and twisted it tightly. “Nice try, Hero. Points for effort.” Using Sun’s skill, she summoned the shield again in a final arc blast that sent him careening across the room into the wall.

That toast gave him the strength to deal incredible damage and take that wraith down where it needed to be, but it also diminished his defenses. If he could see an HP bar, a good chunk of it would slide down into the red. Adding that might not be a bad idea.

His wrist throbbed in pain too real to be a dream.

“You don’t give two shits about her, so stop pretending that you care!” Shadow snarled. “You can't save her! Get that through your fucknormous head! Your only value lies in sustaining the existence of one of my kind that you allowed to form. You, like her, are just a Host. So, shut up and remember your true role.” She turned her back on him with as much attention as one gives a dying insect and approached the pedestal again. “You're not a hero. You never were. You're just a guy who got good at playing the game.”

That stung. But, like the rest of her words, he knew it was crafted to get under his skin. To hell with her, and her bitchery. He groaned, getting to his knees and clutching his ribs, “I won't abandon you to this thing, Sun, I swear it. I’m not going anywhere. I know you can hear me,” His teams’ voices got through to him when he was in her position, so he knew the same to be true with her.

“Funny you should say that,” Shadow spoke. “Yours was the last voice she heard before she fell asleep.” She turned Sun’s head slightly to face him. “And it’ll be the last one she hears for good. Ironic, isn't it.”

“Sun...”

The teleporter suddenly activated in a column of light shooting up from the floor by the back wall. Five damaged and weary people materialized within its core.

Red lay on his back with his head in Peach’s lap, knocked out.

Purple was out of magic energy, and had given Jade the last half heart in her inventory.

They were all out of assist items and ultra balls.

“Mark!” Blue scrambled over to her friend and knelt by his side to help him up.

His heart soared at the sight of them. They were all right. He had confidence in his team to be able to not die. “What took you guys so long?” He pulled up his menu and removed the half and full hearts he had left, along with a bottle of hot sauce. He pushed a full heart against her collarbone, then gave her the rest. “Give these to the team.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Here.” Blue pressed one of the full hearts against his chest and let it melt through to work to heal his injuries before he could object. He was part of her team, after all, and the leader, she had just as much responsibility to him as to the others. She hurried back to help her friends.

Red coughed from the hot sauce. “Fuck me. I hate this stuff.”

“How are we alive?” Jade looked around.

Blue spotted the girl in the center of the room. “Sun...” She raised her voice, “Sun, we’re here! We’re not going to let you fight alone!”

Mark got back to his feet and joined his team, who all struggled to get back up. They’d fought an intense battle, and it showed.

“Those black squares started appearing everywhere. Thanks to Purple’s light, we avoided them, and we figured it out,” Peach softly said to Mark. She helped Jade to their feet. “This world is falling apart because it’s connected to Sun, and she’s losing the fight. That light bulb is her life. If she shatters it--”

“She’ll die,” He'd already put it together, but he didn't want to voice it. She'll succumb to the darkness for good, and Shadow will be in complete control. What's left of Sun will live in the void. If Sun wakes up from her coma, then what will exist in the waking world will be the darkest part of her soul. If she couldn't wake up, then Shadow will be free to do as she pleases in the dream world.

If taken literally, she'll loose her will to stay alive in this coma and her body will die.

His gaze fell on the long-haired figure at the pedestal. “I’ve done everything I can. I know I got through to her. It’s up to her, now.”

Shadow raised the light bulb. It ignored the newcomers. They were damaged, and wouldn’t last against it in a fight with Sun’s energy powering the only skill that girl learned in the dream world to protect herself –her shield.

It gave back enough control for her to make the decision on her own. Break it, the lambent tone of Shadow's whisper licked her mind. She felt the Somni-Demonling hybrid shift in eager anticipation. End your suffering.

These thoughts she'd heard all of her life were given a voice—her own ice-cold heartless voice.

“Sun!” Blue shouted. “Don't do it, please! We’re here for you!”

You smile, and laugh, and goof around, but inside you know it's all fake. You've been acting for so long, you don't know what being 'real' is anymore. Because you're not pretty enough. You're not talented enough. You're not passionate enough. You're not dedicated enough. You. Are not. Enough. So keep smiling. Keep faking it. Because the real you isn’t worth anyone’s time. You will forever be alone.

Black tears streamed down Sun's pale cheeks. She held the fragile light bulb high even as the glow from the heart on her sleeve faded.

This Demonling—a collection of her thoughts whispering to her for years—relished in the inner turmoil of its host. You are weak, but I am everything you could never be. I will give you the power you desire.

She thought of the beings she’d met in this world, and the other humans she’d come across in her year running from the darkness.

Do it. Shatter the bulb. Let me in and you won’t have to feel this pain ever again.

Her heart thundered in her chest. She had to do this. She had to finish it. Her frustration, anger, sorrow, fear, and the last shreds of bravery she owned boiled up into a scream from her soul that drowned out Shadow. The only thing she heard was Mark's powerful yet simple phrase rising above the rest.

'I believe in you. You can do this.'

She held onto that for every ounce her life was worth, and plunged the light bulb downward.

“No!” Blue rushed forward, arm outstretched. Tears pooled at her eyes. She couldn’t lose another one. Not again.

The light bulb clicked perfectly into the slot on top of the plinth. Sun quickly locked it down a half second before Shadow took control of her body again, slamming her to the back of her mind.

The bulb brightened, flooding the room with light.

Everyone shielded their eyes from the brilliance. They cringed, waiting to be forced back to consciousness if this dream ended.

Shadow’s wail of defeat deafened her. Sun sobbed within the void, terrified that her decision had killed her.

Rays of sunlight shot upward, amplified by the reflective surfaces of the hexagon room, and poured across the black sky.

The robots of the Barrens regained their power.

Flecks of daylight glistened off the vast ocean, and lines of crepuscular rays split through the phosphor trees of the Glen. The city was bathed in the breathtaking glow of the most powerful source of yellow phosphor in this world: Life.

Every black square it touched dissolved like sugar in water, restoring anything caught in them.

The world repaired itself within the first sunrise it had seen in a year.

It's purpose complete, the light bulb settled down to a less blinding level.

The dream travelers risked opening their eyes.

“No matter what you do, you’ll never be rid of me!” Shadow screamed with Sun's voice. “I am the only strength you have! You’re worthless without me!”

Sun stood within the void of her mind. “Shut up! I am not worthless! He believes in me, and I'll do everything I can to prove him right! Get out! Get out!”

Her force of will ripped the Demonling away from the Somni. Thick black ink oozed from her eyes to pool on the floor at her feet.

The weakened Terrorling writhed in the sunlight as a puddle of congealed goop. It screeched in rage and defeat. It bubbled and popped, evaporating into a thick miasma that swirled around her, too weak to break past her defense, and escaped through the open roof back into the dream world.

The Somni known as ‘Shadow’ suppressed in the back of Sun’s mind.

Sun exhaled, put back into control and her vision cleared. Her hands slipped from the light bulb wearily to the pedestal's surface.

“Sun,” Mark's voice filled the room despite its softness.

She dropped to her knees, exhausted, but lighter than she’d felt in forever…at least forever in the dream world. Her body felt full of adrenaline, and she was coming down off the fight-or-flight high. But if this was the dream world, she didn't have a body. In that case, what was it?

She wiped the residual gunk from her eyes with trembling hands. “Uch. Gross.”

Jade pumped their fist in victory. “Yes! F to pay respects.”

Purple side-eyed them. “Really.”

Blue knelt next to her. Scratches and bruises marred her exposed skin, and her dress was torn. “You did it.”

She lifted her head to look at Blue and the group of people behind her. They’d traversed this world in search of her, put themselves at risk, and fought the Terrorlings, but they didn’t give up on her. She was worth saving after all. New, clear tears traced the tracks of the dark influence. “I’m sorry. You guys got hurt because of me. You got dragged into this, and it's all my fault. I'm sorry.”

Blue wrapped her arm around her shoulders. “No, it's not your fault. You were crying out for help. We heard you, Sun. And we came to find you.”

Sun brushed long strands of hair out of her eyes and sniffled. “I don't deserve this.”

“Yes, you do,” Red said. “You deserve to have someone there for you. Everyone does.”

“But I'm a horrible person,” she sniffled.

“It's not wrong to want validation for who you are,” Purple added softly. “It doesn't make you a bad person. It's normal. It feels good when people appreciate you and let you know.”

“Yeah,” Red continued. “It's when you become obsessed with being defined by numbers that makes someone fucking shallow. I hate that.”

Sun shook her head. “I never wanted fame. That wasn't the point of any of it. I don't remember why, but I know that fame only takes the best part of someone and destroys it. I think...I think I've seen it happen, but I don't remember who it was. I just know I don't want it. I just wanted to be heard. I wanted to feel again, I wanted to be...”

“To be loved?” Blue offered gently.

Sun nodded, wiping at her eyes.

“I get that,” Mark's voice held understanding and empathy. “I really do.”

She pressed her palm to her forehead and slumped. “Damn. My head is killing me. I feel like someone ripped my spine out and shoved it back in with staples.”

Mark moved over to crouch down next to her. “Yeah, that's part of it. You're going to feel raw and tenderize for a while. You have to let yourself rest.”

“What about Shadow?” She whispered, looking him in the eye for a truth she knew he held.

He frowned. “It'll always be there.”

Her head drooped.

“But you have the tools to fight it now. And you're not alone anymore.”

“Yeah,” Jade smiled. “You've got us, now, and we're like herpes: once you get us, you can't get rid of us.”

“Gross,” Peach wrinkled up her nose.

“Kinda accurate, really,” Red shrugged.

“Enabler,” Purple poked him in the arm.

“He's not wrong,” Mark gestured lightly.

“We're like glitter. Better analogy, same end result,” Blue chuckled.

Sun watched this exchange that came so easily to them. They played off of each other, trusted each other, and could read each other even in simple moments like this. If one person suffered, the others empathized. If one of them felt joy, the others picked up on it, too. Through times of discord and happiness, they were connected—like a family. They were there for each other, and knew that even when they were by themselves, they were never alone. It was a phenomenon of connection she never knew existed in reality. She didn't know who any of these people were, but they accepted her. They welcomed her and assured her she wouldn't be alone anymore. They wanted her. She...her existence...finally held value.

Her chest burned from a well of emotions rising like a tidal wave that spilled out in a waterfall of tears. Overcome from her ordeal, and from the shock of having six people accept her, she did the first thing that came naturally; she threw her arms around the nearest person--Blue--and sobbed shamelessly into her clothes.

Blue wrapped her arms around her and let her cry. She sighed in relief. They'd done it. They'd rescued Sun.

Finally, this nightmare was over.

She felt the other girl's grip on her dress loosen and her body became heavy. The sobbing turned into uneven breathing. A knot tightened in her chest. “Sun? Sun!?” She noticed the heart on her sleeve dimmed so much even a nightlight could overpower it. It flickered. “What's happening to her?”

“Her heart's going out?” Jade bit their lip. “That's a thing?”

Mark's heart dropped into his stomach. He'd seen this before. It was something he would never forget, and never wanted to witness again. “Yeah, and it's bad. Very, very bad. We have to get her back to the Hub, now.” He called up his menu window, prayed, and tapped the 'Go Home' option.

A phosphorescent blue portal swirled to life next to the pedestal, adding its watercolor shade into the mix. Thank God it worked.

He lifted her across both arms and shifted so her right arm draped around his neck and her head rested against his shoulder. Her weight didn't matter. “Stay with me, Sun. You'll be ok. We're going home.”

“Home?” she whispered. She didn't think she had a home, but it sounded wonderful.

“Do whatever you can to stay awake.”

Sun closed her eyes and focused on the strong pink glow from his left arm that bled through her lids. It was warm and comforting. A new ache pulsed in her heart. She didn’t want to leave them. She didn't really know them, but because her mission was over, and she couldn't remember anything but this world, they were all she had. Blue, Red, Jade, Peach, Purple, and Mark—she treasured them so much it hurt. Yet even so, the painful feeling of letting people in and opening her heart warmed her core. It was frightening and amazing.

She needed to live for them and for herself.

Blue lead her team through the portal and let it close on the final decision of its dreamer, forever left to shine in the dream world.

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

TBC

Prologue: A Light in the Darkness

Chapter 1: Weekend Warriors

Chapter 2: Something’s Suspishy

Chapter 3: Chasing the Sun

Chapter 4: The Nightmare’s Truth

Chapter 5: Light and Shadow

Chapter 6: Lifeline - part 1

Chapter 7: Lifeline - part 2

Chapter 8: Phantom Power

Chapter 9: Mark’s Past

Chapter 10: A Second Chance

Chapter 11: Learning to Breathe

Epilogue: Ad Infinitum