#she's really just a kid who slipped into unfortunate circumstances

[cakeinthevoid]

TOMATO and CARROT for the ask game

From this neat ask game :))

Just like the last one, I'm choosing one OC to answer all the asks for. Feel free to submit the same fruit/veggie twice to hear answers for other OCs!

This is for Auretta/Zephyr from Vigilante (because both these asks fit her SO WELL—)

🍅 [TOMATO] How misunderstood is your OC? In-universe or IRL.

So... What you need to understand about present day Auretta is that she escaped a place where they kept Extra-Ordinaries (people who get superpowers after surviving a near death experience) away from the public under the guise of safety for them and others but really... it's to find out how they work—or to get them to work for the organisation. Unfortunately, most people don't know this. In the public eye, Zephyr is a villain who must be stopped from wreaking havoc on cities and forests. She is a walking windstorm.

After her... snap... Auretta just became more... unhinged, to put it lightly. She's very much at war with herself. She misunderstands herself tbh. Part of her wants to be alone—alone forever so her brother never sees what she has become. Another part desperately wants to see her brother again. She still feels like a little girl who could cuddle with her brother and watch a movie with hot cocoa. Another part wants bloody revenge on the people who dared to ruin her life. If the guy who was her catalyst event wasn't watching the news when she broke out and promptly went into hiding... he would be toast. Toast flying away in the wind.

TLDR: She maintains the I AM WICKED AND EVIL AND YOU CANT STOP ME persona well enough that no one cares to stick around long enough to hear her whisper I want my life back. I want my brother back....

🥕 [CARROT] How tough is your OC against certain situations? How weak are they against others?

Auretta post EON kicks ASS!!!! She doesn't hold back on her powers anymore. She will wreck everything to get what she needs. In a physical fight with her powers, she is one of the strongest. There were do-gooder types who initially wanted her on a team, thinking she needed some good purpose. She blew them all away lmao. Having survived essentially torture, she's jaded and cynical and lives by "me first".

However....she would still do anything for her brother, even if she thinks he hates her. That was used against her very effectively. She will always be weak when it comes to her brother. Unless Zephyr finally manages to convince herself that she (quite literally) pushes people away whether she wants to or not and that she doesn't need ANYONE (which will likely never happen because Zephyr is still part Auretta), she will always be weak against someone threatening her brother or Cass.

TLDR: Auretta is really good at pushing the limits of her powers and fights smart when she isn't being goaded. Problem: she is very easily baited. Especially when it comes to her brother.

[mrsparrasblog]

Makarov x Price Daughter pt.5

Ngl I was sobbing when I wrote it, when you come to the price part listen to "Slipping through my fingers" will make it better.

Im unsure about if we want a Price or Makarov ending, because the next chapter will be the last.

Previous part. next part

You were surprised by how much freedom you had since you accepted his proposal. You could walk around Russia, of course, with your guards because you knew how dangerous life could be, especially without Vlad, who always protected you.

You even found friends Vlad introduced you to Milena, and you always had a blast. She was funny and confident, and you liked that.

Today, you were shopping for a wedding dress, and Vlad gave you his card. You knew nothing was off-limits; you were well off. You didn’t know much, just that he was filthy rich. When people saw you walking in, knowing you were the future Mrs. Makarov, they literally bowed. The press called you the princess of Russia, and you felt like one. You picked out the dress of your dreams without going overboard, but you looked stunning. You asked the tailor to make it adjustable. By the rate you and Vlad had sex since the engagement, you wouldn’t wonder if you were already pregnant.

Sometimes you forget about all the circumstances you met. Maybe it was biology protecting you, or maybe your big heart thinking about how no one in your life ever treated you better than him. Did anyone even miss you from your old life? Certainly not, or your Dad would have at least found you. He was a special ops captain, so if he wanted to, he would.

“Моя жена, why are you crying? We will be wed tomorrow; you should be happy,” he asked. He slowly got used to your overly sensitive character; of course, he saw you as a weak dear, but that made the appeal. In his position, having a wife was a luxury; having a soft, innocent wife was like a status symbol to him. Other people in his position kept their private lives hidden. But he was Vladimir Makarov. He didn’t have to fear anything; he could show you around everywhere like a prize, and his enemies wouldn’t even dare to cross him.

“Just sad that Dad won't walk me down the aisle,” you admitted.

You missed your Dad; you always would, even if he was a shitty dad. He was all you had for years until Vlad changed everything for you. Now, he was all you needed and depended on. Even if you would want to leave, you knew you can’t. You were too well-known here; all your money belonged to him. God, his name was tattooed on your soft skin, a claim he wanted to give you before marrying you.

“I invited him, моя жена,” you couldn’t believe him; he invited your Dad, he really did it.

“You did?”

“Everything for you, princess.”

You crunched over the toilet seat a few hours before your wedding, holding the stick close that could determine your whole life. In these moments, you missed your best friend or someone you could talk to. You loved Vlad with all your heart; you really did. After everything he did for you, how couldn’t you? It was needed. But still, sometimes, a small, faint little voice in your head screamed at you, telling you he kidnapped you. But he saved you from a miserable life, didn’t he?

You peed on that damn stick, waiting for the results to finally show. Should you be happy, sad, or what? The result didn’t surprise you, though. It would be okay; you knew it would be coming, and you loved kids, right?

Your bridesmaids helped you with the wedding dress, hair, and makeup, and you were prepared now to walk down the aisle, unfortunately without your father bringing you to the supposed love of your life. The church was decorated luxuriously with all the flowers you could only imagine, and you walked towards the men who looked at you like you were the only woman on earth, suddenly, your doubts went silent as you almost ran towards him at the altar.

“Today I can finally call you Mrs. Makarov,” he whispered in your ear.

“You call me your wife for a year.”

“But now it's real,” he smiled at you, kissing your forehead, and the ceremony started. You were happy about your Russian teacher so you understood everything. You were surprised that he prepared his own vows; you thought it would be the fast “I promise to be with you through sickness and health” to not appear vulnerable, but he did it for you, showing you it was real. The man unable to love—loved you.

“My Princess,

As I stand here today, I cannot help but laugh at the twists of fate that have brought us together. In a life marked by shadows and violence, you emerged as a beacon of light—a flicker of hope in a world tainted by darkness.

Lying, cheating, and betraying were never hard for me and never will be. I could promise you to change, be the man you deserve, and be a good man who will never lie to you or hurt anyone else. But I've decided to not lie to you today or any day in my life.

I make no promises of transformation, for I am who I am, a man stained by the choices I've made. But in you, I've found something worth protecting, worth fighting for. You, with your unwavering faith in me, have softened the edges of my hardened soul. Your love has shown me glimpses of a life beyond the one I've known—a life filled with love, laughter, and the simple joys I never dared to dream of or never even knew could be possible for a man like me.

I may not change for you, my love, but I vow to stand by your side, to shield you from the consequences of my actions, to love you fiercely in the only way I know how.

I promise to never let anything happen to you, to protect you from my enemies. I promise you that I will burn the whole world down for you without a second of hesitation. I promise to kill for you, fight for you, and cherish you.

I promise to never look at another woman the way I look at you. Then, in a world where I am defined by my sins, you see beyond the labels, beyond the façade, beyond the money, the power, to the flawed man beneath. You fell in love with Vladimir and not Vladimir Makarov. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

With every beat of my heart, I choose you. And I promise you, if death takes us apart, I'll pull your hand and bring you back from the death and find you in every other life. For better or for worse, in this life and the next, you are mine, and I am yours.“

You almost cried. You thought about a lot of things, but not this kind of vows. It was almost vulnerable if you forgot the killing part, and the longer you looked at his beautiful eyes, you almost forgot the way you got to know him or that your dad, your best friend, and no one you really knew was here. Did it really matter? If he is here, you are safe and cherished. Now it was time for your vows.

“Vlad—sorry for the sobbing,” you laughed, removing the tears before you continued your vows.

“When we first met, I didn’t know who you were. You were just Vlad to me, and this was the man I fell in love with—the man who taunted me for my mint chocolate chip ice cream.

The circumstances we became a couple were odd, but I'm a long time away from despising you. You gave me the safety, guidance, and attention I longed for my whole life. It was like you slowly found your way into a missing piece of my heart, and I know loving you isn’t easy. Exactly like loving me will be hard, but I promise to always support you, cherish you, and never judge you for a day in my life.

I promise to accept you the way you are and never make you doubt my love for you.”

You kissed, and the wedding was final; you were Mrs. Makarov now, with a child in your womb he didn’t even know of. Of course, you knew he would be more than happy about this; it's what he wanted. He carried you out of the church with ease where you got to eat bread with salt, a Russian wedding tradition you never heard of.

When you thought the church looked posh, you were even more surprised about the reception. Every guest was clothed fine with tuxedos and high-fashion dresses. The guests were mostly influential people from around the world. You knew Vlad loved you, but you also couldn’t deny the political effect your wedding had. Vlad wanted even more than what he already had; he thought about getting a lead political role in Russia, operating not only from the background but from the front, and the way you charmed your way into the hearts of the Russian citizens was perfect for his plan. Everyone loved you, how nice and down to earth you were, the 10,000 photoshoots with orphans and rescued dogs helped him, and you were such a good wife helping him to reach his goals. But he didn’t talk about his goals with you, telling you to not worry your pretty head about it.

The ceiling was with opulent Chandelier; everywhere were your favorite kind of flowers. A huge buffet filled with caviar, lobster, truffle, and every delicacy you knew and everything you could dream of was there. It was like a wedding out of a Disney movie, just with a champagne tower. „Don periogn,“ the waiter said as he gave you a glass, which you declined; alcohol wasn’t in for you right now.

Your husband greeted the guests and then clung his glass of champagne to your orange juice, his head moved to your pulsing neck, and his breath ran hot, making your hair go up. „Congratulations Mrs. Makarov, I hope it will be a boy,“ he whispered in your ear, his hand slowly trailing down to the barely noticeable bump on your belly where his heir would grow.

„How do you know?“

„Your breasts are bigger, you are more moody, and you drink orange juice on your own wedding,“ he said, looking at you as if you were dumb for even questioning his deduction skills.

You started your wedding dance, and it went smoothly and romantically; how couldn’t it after all the dancing lessons you two had? You even had a bit of etiquette lessons with Milena, which were honestly fun. While one part of your brain screamed for you to wake up, telling you this isn’t the dream you thought of, more of a nightmare, the other part of your brain enjoyed this, how much power you had, how Vlad treated you, and how you were the center of attention right now. The press loved you; everyone loved you, everyone just not your Dad, you thought.

“Captain, why do we have tuxedos on?” Kyle complained outside of the big building that had more security than the NATO meetings.

“We can’t just storm in with gear, sneaky, we have an invitation,” they walked in, making them confused about how easy that was; maybe it was a trap from Makarov, but Price didn’t care as long as he had you back.

When they walked inside the wedding, they saw your wedding dress, how you were wrapped in Vlad's arm like a priceless possession, and how happy you looked.

“Aye, didn’t tell us your daughter was such a looker, Cap,” Soap commented, not able to keep his eyes from your beautiful frame, earning a punch from Ghost for his unprofessional behavior. Your dad was too deep in his thoughts to acknowledge Soap's banter.

He looked at you, realizing how he missed your wedding. He didn’t care about the circumstances anymore; he wasn’t Captain Price anymore; he was the man you called Dad so many times. He never got the chance to walk you down the aisle, how he intended to; he never helped you pick out the dress of your dreams, telling a man he would kill them if they touched you; he missed all of it. And if he was true to himself, he missed even more by his behavior towards you. Of course, he was young when he got you, but he never will experience your graduation that he missed, never saw you dancing Clara in the Nutcracker in your pink tutu.

He got only pulled deeper into his feelings the longer he watched you swirl around; this was it; he could kill Makarov, but it didn’t change the fact that you aren’t his little girl anymore. You will never ask him to look under your bed for monsters; you will never run to his bed again, snuggling his hairy body after a nightmare; you will never hold his hand while you get a shot; you won’t even live in the same apartment anymore. You were leaving him, and for the first time in his life, he didn’t care about appearing strong anymore, and his tears fell down, admiring you, the girl he would do anything for, his little girl all grown up. And for once, he didn’t have a plan on how to save you, or how to approach this situation, he just watched and cried.

Tag list: @multifand0midi07 , @whos-fran , @cassiecasluciluce , @the-faceless-bride , @paintlavillered

[draininkiss]

What's a Blue Daisy Mean? (Sonic x Amy)

I saw this post by Junichi Kanemaru (voice of Sonic) where Taeko Kawata (voice of Amy) gifted him a blue daisy with a cute note in-character. Even though the roles are reversed, I just wrote it naturally as it came to my mind. It's not proofread, so there may be some mistakes in punctuation. I'm sorry in advance.

“Augh! Sonic, I just don’t get you sometimes!” “What’s there to get?” Amy couldn’t help but let out an exasperated sigh as she slapped him on his shoulder. “You not only called me out here in the middle of nowhere, but you rush by doing your boost thing once, twice, three times, hand me a flower – a blue daisy for that matter – and then you claim we aren’t on a date?” 

She looked away from him as they walked, trying to control her breathing so she wouldn’t crumple the flower’s stem in her hands from her frustration.

“What am I supposed to think about that? That we’re still just friends?” Sonic sniffed and rubbed his nose to soothe the itch, his blue quills jostling with the slight breeze. “Is there something wrong with being my friend?” He looked over at her, eyes half-lidded and a coquettish smile on his face, “I think you ought to be grateful I’m not running away from you like I used to.” “So you admit you did it on purpose?” “Yeah.” “Just to mess with me?” “Yep!” “And you somehow don’t think that’s a problem?” “Not in particular, no.” Crunch. The grass gave way to Sonic’s weight as he suddenly sat down, causing Amy to nearly jump out of her own skin from the unexpected shock. “Sonic!” She turned to look at him, “What is it now?” With a loud, toothy yawn, Sonic began to snore loudly in faux-sleep. His tan chest heaved up and down in an exaggerated manner, body so unnaturally stiff you’d think he was a corpse being reanimated by the forces of nature. “Sonic,” Amy said in a stern voice, her shadow blanketing over him as the sunlight hit her bare back, “I’m not in the mood to play around.” “Who said I was playing?” Sonic countered, “I’m trying to sleep – it’s exhausting having to deal with people all day, you know?” “You barely talk to anyone outside of PR speak!” “I talk to Tails!” “He’s your little brother! Of course you’re gonna talk to him! You live in the same house!” Opening one eye, he gave a toothy grin before sighing and rolling over onto his stomach dramatically, “Ah, and what an unfortunate circumstance that is!” Crunch crunch. So she was going to walk away and pout this time, huh? “You know, I’m surprised you’re not offering your house to me,” Sonic chided, holding himself up with his elbows, “The old Amy would have jumped at the opportunity to share a room with me.” “Not true,” She placed the daisy behind her ear, already tired of holding it, “Even back then, I would have had you sleep on the couch. I was infatuated with you, but not your wet fur smell.” “It’s gritty! It’s natural! If anything, you’re weird for smelling like strawberries all the time!”

“You really don’t like strawberries, do you?”

“I ate one that was a slug motel when I was a kid,” An involuntary shiver caused him to jostle and assume a sitting position, “Been grossed out by them ever since.”

She turned suddenly on her heel, nearly slipping as the wet dirt shifted with her, “And you didn’t think to tell me?!?”

“You obviously like them, so no, I wasn’t gonna.”

“But that’s just terrible! I was here enjoying myself, thinking I smell great, and now you’re telling me I reminded you of when you ate slugs by accident as a kid! Why wouldn’t you just tell me to my face that I was gross!”

“Because you aren’t gross,” He corrected, “Strawberries are gross.”

She walked over to him and crouched down on the balls of her toes, wincing as she tried her hardest not to get her dress covered in dirt. Before she could think too hard about it, though, Sonic had sat her down by the trunk of a tree, disorienting her as she felt her back hit the tree with a sudden thud.

“You know, if I had known you were so clumsy, I wouldn’t have had your face printed on my bedroom rug.”

“Oh really?”

“...Okay, maybe I would have. What’s this about me not being gross then?”

“Every hero needs an admiring fan… I’ve got a natural charisma, so you chasing me around was never off-putting. The sudden back-breaking hugs were, yeah, but I never minded seeing you.”

“I’d mind seeing me! I was so insecure that you had forgotten me, after I got a makeover and everything…” She pursed her lips, flattening down her quills which had been unruly from the humid summer air.

“Forget you? Pssh, nah!” Subtly, he put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer so she was leaning on his chest, “I was a bit confused since I didn’t recognize you with the new look, but no one could ever forget a voice like yours going ‘SONIC!’”

“Sonic!”

He started laughing as she pulled away from him, the loud, raucous sounds dying down into snide chuckles as her peachy-pale muzzle glowed pink like the rest of her.

“You’re the worst person ever! You don’t deserve to be called a hero! Jerk! Creep!”

She began to punch him lightly on his head, his ears folding down as he quickly started to laugh again. A light huff signified the pink hedgehog was done with her onslaught of blows, and so she assumed her position next to him as she had, her arms crossed as she readjusted the blue daisy that was inches from Sonic’s nose.

“Do you know what a blue daisy means, by the way?”

“I know blue flowers usually mean something impossible. I’m just grateful you didn’t pick a rose.”

“So you read up on flower language too? Great! Then I guess I don’t have to explain what it means.”

With that, he took the flower from her hair and began to fan out its petals with his fingers, gloved cotton scratching against the delicate daisy as Amy looked over with an apprehensive glance.

“... This isn’t your way of rejecting me, is it? I’d rather you just tell me directly if I’m causing an issue.”

“Nope,” Sonic kept his gaze forward, his fingers still fanning out the petals, “I’m guessing you haven’t read about blue daisies in any of the books you bought from the department store.”

“Sonic, I…” She sighs, “No, they don’t have a chapter on blue flowers in any commonly sold book.”

“Figured. Well, if you need to know what this means, it means good health and a long life! If you ever stopped following me, I’d think the worst had happened to you, Amy.”

Shock. She didn’t really know how to reply to that, so she didn’t.

“I’ve never known you to be insecure about your feelings. I can’t really say everything that’s really on my mind – I’m very critical of my thoughts and my surroundings – so I’m surprised you’d think I’m bothered by you being around me.”

She bit her lip and looked away from him, placing her hands in her lap as she let him keep talking.

“Amy, I’m a pretty spontaneous person. Tails has always been living alone just like me, so I’m not too worried if Eggman shows up at his house, since it’s my house. But you? You’re just a regular girl. You live in an apartment and you buy groceries, for crying out loud! Tails buys groceries, yeah, but he does it in a mech-turned-race-car. Even Rouge doesn’t entirely adjust to human life like you do.”

“So you’re just saying you pity me because I’m just a city girl? Is that it, Sonic?”

“Hey, don’t get snappy! I’m not finished!” He chided her, one hand held up to act as a barrier from her grit teeth.

“I’m saying you’re really strong despite being a city girl, Amy. I don’t wanna disrupt your life any more than I already have. Little Planet, I just thought you were an annoying groupie - I’ve dealt with my fair share of those… but maybe I was wrong about it.”

She looked up at him as he began to rise from the tree trunk’s roots, carefully placing the daisy behind her ear as she felt her cheeks heat up all over again.

“Look, I’m not the type of guy to be in a relationship now,” She could only see his back as he began to walk away from her, “But that doesn’t mean I’m entirely opposed to the idea.”

Before she could get up or even say anything, he was gone. It was like she had just walked herself to this field alone, the only real indication he had been there being the blue daisy behind her ear.

She groaned in frustration as she balled her fists and began to stomp her feet in the dirt.

“Sonic, I really, really don’t understand you!”

[french-unknown]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝟕𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 (𝟕) | 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐎𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐫

finnick odair x fem!reader

summary: As a Victor from District 11, (Y/N) was close to the Victor of District 4 but the 75th Hunger Games turned everything upside down.

warning: death mentions, violence

word count: 2.2k +

author's note: Hi! English isn't my native language and, even if I can read English text, I have practically never written in this language. So you will be my English practice lesson! Be indulgent, thanks ~

/!\ This is technically the last one but there will be a sequel chapter /!\

[ masterlist ] - [ previous chapter ] - [ next chapter ]

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟕 | 𝐒𝐧𝐨𝐰'𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

The crowd was pressed around (Y/N) and Finnick.

Both were clad in towering cloaks lent by Tigris as they squeezed their way as best they could among the Capitol people taking refuge in Snow's mansion. They all gathered on the same path, which meant that they were surrounded on both sides by strangers. Strangers who probably knew their faces after years of seeing them. And the only protector of their anonymity was their hoods.

Nervously, neither of them spoke.

They had been separated from Katniss and her friend a while ago. They were therefore content to follow the movement of the crowd in the hope of finding them a little further while hoping not to be spotted by then.

The Peacekeepers around them made them uncomfortable, especially the (H/C)-haired girl because of the circumstances of her last encounter with them.

However, a few steps away, they saw a group of five of them pulling down the hoods and headgear of visitors to the house. The nervousness that was already crawling under their skin skyrocketed. They turned around at the same time in a gesture that they hoped would be natural, and above all discreet, but they had the bad surprise of discovering that another group of men in white were doing the same behind them.

(Y/N) began to feel seriously sweaty under her outfit.

A sudden touch on the back of her hand made her jump sharply. Finnick, who had just tried to grab her hand, seemed as surprised as she was by her jump.

"Sorry." she silently articulated sheepishly.

The blonde then resumed his movement and placed his hand in the girl's before starting to gently pull them towards one end of the crowd. Even though she didn't quite understand what he was doing, she followed him.

They arrived at the edge of the gathering, and he bent down towards her while continuing to walk.

"There is a walkway to Snow’s garden from the shop there." he whispered, discreetly pointing to a hat shop now close by. "It's really not safe, though."

"It's always better than getting exposed here." she replied in the same tone. "But what do we do for Katniss?"

Finnick opened his mouth but no sound came out.

A bomb exploded violently across the street and the sound of gunfire echoed everywhere. The street was thus drowned in the deafening sound of explosives, bullets and cries of distress. Another bomb went off again and this time it was in a car among the citizens.

Unfortunately, the duo was too close and they were thrown by the blast of the explosion.

(Y/N) was "lucky" to land on some unconscious bodies which cushioned her fall but the oldest did not have the same advantage and was ejected against the concrete facade of one of the shops still standing . Groggy, the girl from 11 ran towards him oblivious to her hood down and slipped through the hole he had made in the wall to kneel beside him. She lifted some debris to free him.

Finnick then opened his eyes and coughed several times to chase the dust, now all over his face and body, from his lungs. A trickle of blood flowed from his forehead.

"We have to get out of here!" he declared, freaked out, while grabbing her elbow.

"No kidding!" She retorted almost aggressively because of the pressure.

But the blonde didn't mind. Instead, he tried to get up.

Without success.

As soon as he put his right foot on the ground, he immediately raised it again with a cry of pain. In the same movement, due to momentum, he went back to where he came from. (Y/N) then placed her hands on the injured leg to try to see more clearly, but she saw nothing special: no blood or apparent injury.

"Go ahead," Finnick encouraged her with his deep voice. "Save yourself!"

"No way!" replied the (H/C). She took her eyes off his leg to look straight into his eyes and came to encircle his face with her hands. "I stay with you!"

The older one froze, his eyes wide.

"DON'T SHOOT, THEY'RE WITH US!" suddenly shouted a breathless voice behind her.

She turned with a start towards the origin of the noise and were face-to-face with a rifle. Two men stood there: one was aiming at them, clearly wary, while the other protected their backs while giving him a stern look.

"THEY'RE WITH US!" the last man yelled above the ambient cacophony.

The first man lowered his weapon.

"He needs help," (Y/N) then began at full speed, "he can’t put his foot down and he has a head inju-"

A huge series of explosions were heard in the distance.

"Medic! Medic!" they all heard screaming amid the sudden silence of bullets and bombs.

The two men immediately ran off.

"Wait, he needs help! Wait!" she tried to call them back.

However, she couldn't even pretend to get up because Finnick quickly grabbed her hand to hold her back. She suddenly looked at him.

"Stay." he whispered.

So she approached him and, hesitantly, she came to stand behind him. Where he was lying on his back full length, she placed herself cross-legged behind his head to straighten him up against her, positioning his back against her chest. She took the opportunity to hug him tightly, putting her arms around his shoulders. Finnick for his part put his hands against her crossed arms and sighed in comfort. (Y/N) placed a kiss in his hair without worrying about the dust covering it.

The street had become hell and she didn't have the strength to carry him on her own. They didn't even know what was going on with his leg. So they waited in their little temporary cocoon for time to pass and something better to come out of it.

In the distance, an explosion even stronger than the previous one resounds.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵ ‿︵‿

The two ended up in the hospital a few hours later.

Despite the large number of injured people and deaths to be deplored, Finnick and (Y/N) still received first aid from the medical teams present on the ground. The girl only had a few bruises and contusions, but unfortunately they diagnosed more serious injuries to the blond, including, among other things, a broken leg. He was therefore sent directly to the hospital for immediate treatment and to undergo additional examinations to ensure that he had no brain damage.

Lying on his bed sleeping, he had been placed in a room away from the hustle and bustle of the service.

(Y/N) stayed beside him the whole time.

She didn't want to leave but she didn't dare come too close either. Indeed, although they have become very close physically over the past twenty-four hours, she did not really know how to interpret it. Until then, they had always been close but neither had made the first move.

So she didn't know how it would turn out now that she knew Snow had been captured and they had won.

Sitting on a chair next to the bed, she remained that way until he woke up.

Which he did a few hours later. He squinted first with his eyes still closed before moving and crumpling the sheets. Slowly, he opened his eyelids. As soon as he saw the (H/C) he looked confused but that pout was quickly replaced by a luminous smile.

He greeted her in his sleep-castling voice before holding out his hand, palm up.

Instantly, the girl grabbed it and tied their fingers together then rested their bound hands on the mattress. She pushed the worry deep inside her in order to ask him questions about his condition as well as tell him everything she had learned about the victories of the rebels.

After a while, the conversation began to naturally dry up.

Finnick, however, continued to adoringly stare at her without saying a word. He lifted their hands still together and kissed her knuckles tenderly. Then, he rested their hands on his chest.

He called her name with the greatest sweetness.

"What are we going to become?" He asked her, looking into her eyes.

She understood that their moment was now, but she remained paralyzed at the thought of the change. Frozen at the thought of taking the plunge and ending up regretting having done so. Afraid of not doing it and forever regretting the missed opportunity.

"What would you like us to be?" She asked in response, uncertain.

She saw Finnick's eyes drop from hers to rest on her lips. Slowly, he returned to her eyes to probe her gaze before bringing his free hand to the back of her head. He tangled his fingers in her hair before gently bringing her face close to his, slowly enough to give her time to stop it if she didn't want to. Just at inches between their lips, he halted.

He watched for the slightest sign of discomfort on her face.

Finding nothing but desire, he managed a small smile before tilting his head a little to the side and finally reducing the last few inches between them.

When they separated, they stayed close to each other.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do this." he purred against her lips.

"Maybe I have a little idea." she said while kissing him again.

Out of breath, Finnick ended up moving to one end of the bed before lifting his blanket with one hand. The girl did not hesitate for a second before sinking into the sheets to stick to him, her head on his chest as they hugged their legs.

Things were finally starting to get better.

And they continued that way when they were summoned by Coin with the other Victors and she was able to see Johanna there. Away from the bald, bruised girl who smelled of rage from miles away, she seemed to be much better now.

(Y/N) tried to hug her as soon as she noticed her but the one with very short hair immediately blocked her. This didn't bother the (H/C)-haired girl though, as she laughed at the resumption of their natural dynamic. Happy to see her friend again, she settled down next to her while Finnick sat on her other side.

The meeting began.

Outraged, the girl from District 11 voted against the request for the new Hunger Games even though she understood the reasoning. It was however inadmissible to her to condemn children for the crimes of their parents and to make them suffer as much as them.

But unfortunately, given that they were an even-numbered group and tied, it was Coin who decided in favor of the new editions of the Games.

This is how they all found themselves on the circuit of the Tributes' Parade.

Memories polluted her head: all the times she had sat in the bleachers to watch her protégés being judged like fresh meat, the only time she had been in their shoes.

A shiver of disgust ran up his spine.

Snow, standing in front of them and tied to the colonnade, suddenly seemed much less impressive to her. He was no longer the inaccessible man on his balcony who had the right to life and death over those she loved. He was now just one man among many others.

As Katniss stepped forward in her Mockingjay outfit with her bow and arrows to lead the execution, she felt Finnick put his hand in hers before stuffing them into her green coat pocket.

The arrow left and lodged in the chest of the former President of District 13.

Her lifeless body fell theatrically from the stage before the dumbfounded eyes of the audience and a delirious crowd suddenly rushed in hatred towards the old white-haired man. Pushed from all sides by the unleashed population, it took them a lot of effort to sneak up to a sufficiently safe place.

From a distance, they could just observe the girl from District 12 getting picked up.

It took them several more hours before they could get their hands on Haymitch. Where (Y/N) did not really want to see the one who had abandoned her, the previous Victor of District 4 insisted. For the one he considered his little sister.

They learned from the man from the 12th that the young girl was not going to be condemned but exiled from the Capitol. So they planned to go back to where they belonged.

Relieved by this news, he let him go.

But the question of what was going to happen to them arose in turn. None of them wanted to stay at the Capitol given the memories they had there, however the question of the Districts came up.

Which one should they choose ?

But the question did not remain long in abeyance because the calculation was quickly made in the girl's mind. She no longer had anyone waiting for her: no more parents, no more brother, no more mentors. Just the deafening silence of the Victors’ Village.

So she would be the one following the blonde to District 4. At least temporarily.

She could rebuild her life there with Finnick since she would no longer have the pressure of the next Hunger Games or the constant threat of the former President.

The two therefore leave hand in hand without looking back.

[anhttydbookfan]

Just found your Rest Stop AU and I’m OBSESSED

I’m so curious tho of what movie hiccup thinks of book hiccup when he gets to know him better. Also, what sorts of things do the dreamworld dragons crew do with book hiccup once he’s more settled in?

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Movie Hiccup and Book Hiccup are dragon-nerd buddies (Along with Fishlegs Ingerman)! Book Hiccup gets to infodump all about the kinds of dragons "back home" (and possibly also start working on the (in)complete book of Dragons) and Movie Hiccup gets to show him all the cool dragons they've got on and around Berk.

I feel like Book Hiccup would get a little bit starry-eyed at how great Movie Hiccup is at making things, and maybe he'd try apprenticing under him and Gobber for a day, to... rather disastrous results. Unfortunately, the skills involved in breaking and undoing dragon-traps do not translate to creating things of similar complexity. Thankfully nothing irreplaceable got destroyed, and all the fires got put out incredibly quickly, but "Rider the Red's" apprenticeship would not continue to the following day.

DreamWorks Hiccup, meanwhile, is just really fond of this kid and the way he cares so much about everyone from his dragon friends to people he's only just met to the dragons he hadn't met but who are trapped inside these new extra-vicious dragon traps.

They bond about being the sons of Fierce Viking Chiefs (Rider the Red calls his father Boundless the Hairy). He listens to the sparing amount of stories he tells about his home and the far more frequent Concerning Tidbits Rider lets slip when he's talking about the dragons he's used to. He notices that every time he talks about finding his way back, he always says "I have to" and never "I want to", unless it's in the context of seeing his two human friends again.

Well, one human friend.

("She probably wants to see me again too. I hope she wants to see me again. I know she didn't mean it, she was just shocked to see..." he absently started moving his hand to touch his Slavemark, but stopped as soon as he realized. Hopefully before Other-Hiccup noticed where his hand was going. "Well, she was just shocked. And I don't blame her! I'd be shocked too. And a little betrayed, to be honest. Like she didn't trust me not to turn my back on her if I knew. Sure, I didn't tell Fishlegs — my Fishlegs — either, but they're different people from different circumstances. And anyway, it was more of a half-turn really.")

(DW Hiccup noted that he never once said what this big friendship-destroying secret was, or what the "it" was that this Camicazi girl didn't mean.)

All this to say, Dreamworks Hiccup isn't particularly keen on finding a way to send Rider the Red back to whatever archipelago he came from.

Then, he gets kidnapped by Thuggory the Meathead, and suddenly things make a lot less sense.

At least now he knows why Rider always looks like he's carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

[bokettochild]

Opera House AU, your "Lullaby is Legend's aunty" kicked off this idea;

Keeping with your Prince Legend concept from "Feathered AU", Legend was raised by his Uncle Twilight. Uncle later befriends Sky and thus Sun, Legend pretty much bounces between the two households as circumstances warrant, gets attached, has the "mom and dad" slip with them

But one birthday, he's taken to the opera house to watch a play. And the leading actress, a really tall brunette with violet eyes, tickles a dormant memory in the back of Legend's brain

Okay, yes!

Like, going with a more modern theme here, Dusk is his mom, yes, but she was a teen mom and in no ways ready for a child. Her parents were very strict, very old fashioned, and the idea of their daughter being a teen mother was abhorrent to them (no hate on teen moms here, y'all are really strong). It was simply Not To Be Heard Of, so they made her give up her child. The father was willing to raise the little one (little ones? Is Fable counted here too?) but unfortunately he also couldn't do so.

A job opportunity opened itself to the Papa, but he had to travel a lot for it and it just... he couldn't bring his kiddos along. In a weird twist of events, he stumbled across his biological brother, who ended up in the foster system himself as a kid, and asked if he'd take on the kid. Cue Twilight discovering the birth family he never wanted to find and, well, when he hears his nephew is in danger of going into the same system he just escaped from, he agrees to help take care of the kiddo.

Time, as sort of a mentor figure to Twilight, as an adult who also survive foster care and is trying to help this kid fresh out of the system survive after the government kick-dropped him to the curb, ends up also stepping up with the kid as a sort of bonus-uncle, and also convinces Lullaby to hire Twilight into the Opera House despite the fact that the kid can't sing or act for the life of him (yet).

Twilight is actually the reason Malon is in the picture, Time hired her as a singing coach to try and help Twilight be able to take on better roles and maybe make more money (he really, really wants to give his nephew the best life he can, and a one room apartment isn't that) and it's just by chance that sparks fly (not that Twilight totally wasn't fanning them).

Legend basically grows up in the Opera house, and it's half the reason he knows how to do Everything. It's not his passion or anything though, and when he hit his teen years there was a time when he tried seeking out the birth family that left him behind. He spent a few years over-seas, theoretically with his father, but no one really knows what actually happened, only that the sunshine baby of the Opera House came back as a storm-cloud and he doesn't want to talk about it.

It's by pure chance that down-on-her-luck Dusk showed up trying to get a job at the Opera House. She was between jobs and needed a boost, and hey, lullaby and Time kinda just... help folks like that, as long as those folks help them back by working hard. Dusk loved the group a lot though, and prefroming there is like nothing else, so she ended up staying.

Legend comes back from over-seas after she's already settling in for a while, and no one pieces it together immediately or anything, but there is definitely something odd about how similar they look, even with Legend's pink hair.

[justyouraverageanonbloghere]

Rebirth

Parting is such sweet sorrow they say. Though being 87 years old and passing in a retirement home doesn't really seem sweet. I never really had the life I wanted to live when I was alive. You see, being gay wasn't exactly in fashion back in my day. Because of this, I ended up being set up with a woman who I saw as a best friend more than anything, having kids with her, and so on. Only consolation was that she understood years after when I laid out my cards and told her the truth. Because of the circumstances, she wasn't truly upset which was a relief.

Ah- I appear to be rambling!

Now that I've passed on, I merely floated around, enjoying the freeing sensations of no longer being bound in such a frail and decrepit body. But once my funeral passed, I couldn't help but notice my grandson, Daniel. It's been a while since I've seen him and I have to say, he got good genetics from both his folks. I wouldn't mind having a body like that in my next life.

Then again . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's been a few months since my passing and I decided to stick around. I suppose you could call it unfinished business since I have been monitoring and following my grandson for these past months to study him more. Why, you might ask? Well knowing this day and age being gay is more acceptable, I want to enjoy life again. It may seem wrong to use my grandson, but neither heaven or hell wanted me and I sure ain't going to float around the rest of my life.

Daniel was getting ready for a Halloween party that his classmates from his college invited him to. I guess he was trying to be a biker or SOMETHING because the minute I saw him put on a pair of leather pants I practically salivated. I knew it was now or never. I floated around him slowly as if I were a lion watching their unsuspecting prey, waiting for my opening. As he slipped on his boots and started heading to his closet to get a shirt, I slammed myself into his back. With the element of surprise on my side, he was too stunned and surprised to really start resisting right away. Daniel's body stiffened and his back arched while I spread myself inside.

"What's happening to meeeeeEEEeEeEeeEeee?!" He groaned out while clenching his fists to resist my influence.

Unfortunately for him, I had nothing to lose and his body will be mine.

He continued to grunt in discomfort hoping to slow down my invasion, but it was all in vain. Eventually I started aligning myself within. Arms to arms. Legs to legs. Fingers to fingers. Toes to toes.

Cock to cock.

I began pushing my head up as his eyes squeezed shut in hopes he had a chance of forcing me out.

But I won.

I feel my body relax as I take my first deep breath. I open my eyes and grin.

"I did it. I actually did it!" I exclaim in glee as I feel up my toned torso. Just the slightest touch felt like electricity pulsing within.

"Mm . . . This body feels so nice~" I groan out in satisfaction before looking to see the shiny bulge my cock is creating in these leather pants. I shamelessly stick my hand within and moan in appreciation once I squeeze the meaty shaft within. As I pump it within my pants, I wiggle my toes within the confines of the boots I was now wearing while my other hand continued to massage and play with my nipples. It wasn't long until my slow and sensual playtime was at its end when I busted my first load in my pants. Sighing with a grin on my face, I collect as much as I can and lick my fingers clean.

"You even taste good, Danny boy. So virile and full of life." I chuckle while flexing these developing muscles I now have. "I guess today can be considered my new birthday now that I've been reborn in this fine body."

I give each of my biceps a lick and a kiss until I notice the dumbbells lying in the corner. I beeline to them immediately and start doing reps to test my newfound strength, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed!

With my body now shiny from the sweat, I grab a random shirt and throw it on before heading out to the party, my cock already hard and ready to go again for more action.

"Happy birthday to me~"

[[To Be Continued]]

[thenotebookscribbler]

4th of July.

(a short story)

The sound of fireworks from above my roof somehow fastened my beats. I've always been a bit afraid of all these noise, but it was 4th of July, and I could not tell them to stop. I mean, it would be very petty.

A rocket whizzed past my window, and the sparks seemed to land on the pane. I took a deep breath and dared to look outside. It was beautiful, no lie, the sky adorned with various streaks of light, the happiness, but it was overwhelming. My nephew always thought that I had probably encountered a monster who ate kids who disturbed it with fireworks, and very graciously would hold my hand and tell me that I don't have to be afraid.

"Gracias, El," I would say, each year the same tradition. "But why if you are disturbing the monster too?"

This would make him think, but the immediate call from his Papa would disrupt the only thought process that indulges his brain in some sort of a brain activity. Like mother like son I guess.

I had a great relationship with my sister, of course, but somewhere, it was scarred. She was a tad jealous of me, but she being a good person, she did not let that ruin our relation because God knows I have no one else.

And now again, it's that time of the day when El would run down the stairs to ask me if I am okay, and then would answer himself that I was, in fact okay because he was with me. I never really found the heart to say that the monsters were actually scarier than he thought.

And as usual, on the call of his Papa, he ran up again, only to hear his mother yelling, "No running on the stairs El! How many times do I have to tell you?"

Claire barely came down at these times. She always feared that El might peek a bit too down and he might slip off, and that's it.

"Hey, you," she said, taking a bottle of sparkling water out of the fridge and chugging it. The door to the fridge closed with a thump.

"Want some?" she said, tilting the bottle towards me and plopping on the couch next to me. I shook my head no.

"Will El not fall over now?" I ask her, a small grin on my face. She laughed. "Have you seen how tall he has gotten in the past few months? No way he's gonna fall over. He has to peep less."

"Smartass," I giggled.

Claire was really the only one I had. We lost our parents to, well, some unfortunate circumstances. It's been Claire and me ever since. I was in fifth grade, she was in ninth. But when she fell in love with Dalton, this senior guy she met at a frat party in her college, she decided to marry him right after graduation. She was never really the ambitious type.

"Are you okay?" she asks me, as she pushes the hair out of my face. I sigh and lean onto her, as she pulls me in.

As soon as I was about to say something, a cracker bursted really close. Maybe near the window. And that's when it happened.

I wasn't able to breathe. The smoke was choking, and I had slumped down the couch on the ground, my body writhing, like I was having a seizure. Faint screams of "Dalton! El! Come down!" was heard, until it all went black.

A blurred vision swimming into view. A very blurred hallway, and blurred mirror, where I looked at a blurred version of myself. Why was everything so blurry? Then I realized that my image on the mirror was of a much smaller version of me.

Oh no. It's going to happen again. I've passed out again.

I skip down the brightly lit corridor, calling out "Mama? Papa?" as I look for them in every room. It's the 4th of July, they're going to miss the fireworks!

I stop when I see boots in view. We never wear shoes in our house.

A part of my brain screams. STOP THIS STOP THIS STOP THIS. I feel tears streaking my face, but this young me is just so adamant. She won't budge. Won't stop until she sees the last to everything.

I walk a little closer to the room, and hear the unmistakable whimper of my Mother, as she sobs. Why is she sobbing?

Oh my god, I cry, as I madly try to stop it. I can't take it anymore. I don't want to see anymore. Why am I not waking up? Are they not doing chest compressions?

My father begs. It's in his voice.

"Keep one of us," he says, as his voice breaks. " We need to look after the children."

"Not my business," says the man with the boots.

NOOOOOO. My head screams, and I feel a pain ripping my chest apart, and I feel myself withering. It's so much worse than before.

I walk towards the room again. I hear two gun shots.

I was begging to myself. Please stop, don't let me finish this.

"Bastards can't pay a simple sum of money and requests us to keep them alive." The gun clicked. I was little, and they were huge, so I very luckily escaped their gaze.

I feel my heart breaking as I see their blood smeared visages, a hole in the centre of their heads, eyes open, looking at me. But they weren't really looking at me. It was unfocused.

Claire was upstairs. She thought the loud sound was a cracker. Well, until I screamed.

__

They were opening up the tubes and all from her body. Claire was howling on Dalton's chest, clutching at El, who looked devastated. His aunt just died. His favourite aunt.

She was having a panic attack, apparently. One she has very often. She was trying to stop it. And apparently, in doing so, the strain in her brain was huge, which lead to a cerebral attack. Her heart was working too hard, too.

"She was seeing them," Claire cried. "Mamacita and Papa. Like always."

"Well, isn't it nice that auntie will see Mamacita and Papa for real now?" El sobbed, and wiped his mother's face.

Maybe it really was.

[bidens-tight-boypussy]

Ended up visiting my uncle today. Started out p nice, he used my name even. until he started talking politics and about how its not his responsibility to feed kids and then he started on about “illegals” and at that point. At that point, I was pissed.

But. I decided instead of ruining my mom’s visit (he is gravely ill, not really all there, and she’s close with him and has major trauma from losing family before) I would make my point (and emotionally regulate) by leaving the room. So I sat on the floor outside the door. They came out after a few mins, asked me if I wanted to come to dinner and I had cooled off and went with them to the kitchen.

And then we had dinner. (the food was bomb). While were leaving and everybody was saying goodbye, he initially went for a hug (in my family, women get hugs and men get handshakes) and I went in for a handshake and he adjusted and shook my hand. It meant a lot to me, that he respected my gender even in family tradition. Even with the slip up, he still actually shook my hand, which was such a nice moment to experience.

Afterward, my mom said that when I had left the room, my uncle suddenly stopped talking politics and changed the subject. Based, he understands nonverbal cues! Also based that he realized he was making me uncomfortable and actually changed his behavior.

I had high anxiety the whole time, but once we got back to my sister’s place, I was beginning to have a full blown panic attack. I didn’t think it was that deep but…. According to my nervous system, it is that deep. Even though there were a lot of nice moments.

My guess is that the combination of seeing him again plus the whole politics deal put my nervous system over the panic threshold.

Unfortunately, I had the panic attack in front of everyone. As you might expect, I’m not a big fan of having a visible panic attack in front of others. A bit after I told them I was having a panic attack, the topic turned to how trump’s probably gonna win the election again, which was making it significantly worse. So I had to say “Can you please not talk about this while I’m actively having a panic attack.” I felt bad for not having a polite tone when I said it. I didn’t mean to, I couldn’t control my tone of voice in the moment. But I successfully set a boundary and it was respected. Dubs.

But because everyone saw it, I felt ashamed and defective. And I felt guilty for not appreciating the good that happened. Even though I do. Luckily, the kids didn’t catch on cuz I was mostly just pacing or sitting still clutching my arms with a thousand yard stare, and they were busy playing. Thank god, I did not want to be explaining this shit while currently experiencing it and already feeling embarrassed.

I feel so out of place in my family. I can’t remember a single time where I did feel that connection, to be honest. Maybe when I was 5. I always had a weird feeling about them, like a sense that they would turn on me if I didn’t fit what they wanted me to be. And well, it was true for a lot of my family.

Starting to realize that the chronic invalidation that I have experienced, internalized, and occasionally sought out has negatively affected me in ways I’m only just beginning to understand. To the point where seeing the person who, in 2020, called me sick in the head (and more) on FB would be enough to make it a panic attack trigger. When he did that, he confirmed my worst fears (in multiple ways) and caused a lot of psychological distress. He had DMed me about a political post to argue, and out of nowhere he brought up me being trans and how wrong and sick it is and that ill always be a girl and that im going to hell etc. Blocked him, hadn’t seen or talked to him since.

But yeah, I think that’s probably enough for interacting with him again to cause a panic attack. Even under the best of circumstances.

[goldengoddess]

proud of you - nikolai lantsov ♡

pairing: nikolai lantsov x female!reader

request: would you be willing to write about nikolai telling reader (can be she or they/them - anything works <3) that he is proud of them because he knows they are stressed being a queen and doing all the meetings and paper work and they just need the assurance?

authors note: hello lovely readers! enjoy this sweet nikolai fic (slightly short) while i think about how much i miss the grishaverse universe and characters. i didnt proof read this im sorry

warnings: stressed out reader, skipping lunch because they’re busy

no one had ever told you that being queen required so much paperwork.

if they’d told you, maybe you would have considered your beautiful husband’s marriage proposal more carefully.

as the thought slipped into your head, you couldn’t help the small smile on your face. who were you kidding? you would have said yes to marrying nikolai no matter what.

but the headache splitting your brain in half might have made you hesitate at least a second or two.

you’d been sitting at your desk for hours. and as you looked out the window now, you realize the sun has almost disappeared past the horizon. unfortunately the pile of papers to your right indicated you had another couple of hours left before you could finish.

this night was shaping up to be very very very long. like the night before. and the night before last night. and practically all nights since you’d really decided to dedicate yourself to your duties as a queen. you let out a soft groan and let your head fall onto the desk.

a soft squeak from the door behind you pushed you to lift your head. nikolai, in all his kingly fashion, walked through the door and into your office.

against your will and the circumstances, you felt yourself relax simply at his presence. you hoped that nikolai never realized just how large of an effect he has on you. that boys ego was big enough.

you turned back to the half finished letter in front of you. nikolai could come to you for change. you were his queen too after all.

the soft pressure of hands on your shoulders made you release an involuntary sigh. those magical hands. you leaned your head back to find those blue eyes already looking down at you.

“hey sweetheart. how you feeling?” even the sound of his voice, although most of the time annoyingly commenting in your ear, calmed you down.

you pouted up at him, making it clear exactly how you were feeling. the little knowing smirk on his face at the sight of the overflowing paperwork on your desk almost made you want to punch him.

he gave your shoulders a firm squeeze and then turned your chair so you were facing him head on. he kneeled down slowly to be at your eye level, taking your hands in his.

“that bad of a day huh?” he asked, tilting his head to the side in a way that reminded you of your childhood golden retriever.

you shook your head and let out a small breath. “no, not that bad. just extremely busy.” he gave you a small nod to encourage you to keep going. sucking another breath in you went on, “i just was in meetings all morning. and then zoya called me in on an emergency during lunch so i didn’t even get a chance to eat. and when that meeting went long i fell behind on paperwork, of course. so now im going to be here for hours and wake up tomorrow on about two hours of sleep.”

the confession tumbled out of you faster than you can shut your mouth. you felt nikolai give your hands two strong squeezes. you couldn’t help blinking rapidly and the few tears that slipped out of your eyes.

the usual smirk that nikolai permanently had on his face was missing, when you finally made eye contact with him. instead, you could read sympathy all of his beautiful perfect face. tugging slightly on your hands he pulls you out of your seat and towards the coach onto the other side of the room.

protesting, you pulled against his grip. “no nikolai i’ve gotta work. there’s so much to do i-”

“sh sh sh. nope i don’t wanna hear another sound out of you. just sit down with me for a second.”

knowing that there was no reasoning with him, you allowed him to sit you down on the sofa, right beside him. well more like slightly on top of him. your leg on top of his, his hands in yours, shoulders pressing into each other.

“my love,” he started, “you have been working yourself to death.”

you let out a sarcastic laugh, “you’re telling me?”

one side of his lips quirked upwards which caused the same reaction on your own face.

“you’ve been working so hard. you’re honestly putting me to shame. people in the palace are going to start realizing you’re doing more work for ravka than i am.”

you chuckled as he left a small kiss on your shoulder. “and we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

he shook his head, smiling towards you. “no, we would not. you’d ruin the whole reputation that i’ve got going.”

he took a deep breath. one extra kiss on your shoulder. “but more important than my fragile ego and reputation, is the dedication you have to this country, the crown, to me. you’re an example. you put about a million percent into everything you do and i can’t even fathom how you’re still standing after the day you’ve had.” one more kiss, closer to your neck this time.

“so i really mean it when i say to you: i am so incredibly proud of you. the most proud. you are a role model for so many people. including me. all the meeting and paper work and running around getting everything done. so proud of you sweetheart.” the last phrase was whispered into your shoulder, like a confession.

at his words, the few small tears turned into larger more sob like tears. nikolai didn’t even hesitate to pull you into his chest. and he held you and kissed your forehead and though you weren’t sure you swore he was mumbling “so proud of you” over and over into your hair.

“i really,” you started and then stopped to hiccup, “i really needed to hear that.”

“we’ll it was my pleasure to be able to say it to you my sweet queen.” you chucked. and if you could save that laugh in a locket and chain it your neck, you would.

“i love you so much” you whispered to him, paying back his earlier kisses with your own on his neck.

“and i love you my hardworking wife. and once again, im so proud of you.” he kissed your forehead before saying:

“there’s no one i’d rather have ruling by my side.”

taglist ;

@vintagebitc @obiwansjedi

@thegirlwiththeimpala @hybrid-in-progress @mrs-brekker15

@mrsbrekkers @simplyluvzuko @ode-to-joy @gallysonegoodlung @sixofshadowandbone @castielcouldbeasecretdentist @amourslover @caaarstairs @the-jess-life @xsamsharons @heavenlymidnights @tinyfwoggie @the-abyss-gazed-back @subjecta13-thefangirl @ughgclden @brekker-andhiswraith @ilovemarvelanne1 @lostinketterdam @anything-forourmoony @treasureofmy-heart @buckystarlight @deardiarystuff @bookishcrows @kazsimp @that-one-little-soybean @ronnieissupermegafoxyawesomehot

[ath3nasc4f3]

A mutual understanding. (Chp 1)

       After the unfortunate and unexpected passing of Demetrius Desmond, Damien is suddenly thrust into the position of heir. Giving the young boy exactly what he wanted, his fathers attention, with the new title of heir coming right along with it.

-----

Bang. 

That stupid sound was what 12 Year old damien heard. The sound that changed the course of his life. God, that terrifying sound. 

The day of the Incident damien was having a relatively good day. Anya had seemed to be paying way more attention to the boy than what was normal.  Damien hadn’t been so mean to everyone around him that day either. He’d been relatively polite to everyone. (except the occasional snarky remark that slipped out.) 

Something was off that day. Anya had seemed on edge that entire day, making a point to stick close to the boy, as if she knew something was bound to happen. He’d even caught Anya crying in the library. 

He’d gone looking for the girl, since neither Becky nor him had seen her in a while. Not that he missed her or anything! (he did.) He’d found her under a table hidden away in a far corner of the library. Her favorite hiding spot, and by extension, his own. 

He found her with her knees up to her chest. Quiet sobs escaping her lips. Her face was hot with tears. Tears of which, damien couldn't decipher. And that scared him. Damien was one of the only people who could really tell what anya was thinking, He could usually decipher that look in her eye. Those crocodile tears she used to get out of things. So when he couldn't tell what her tears were about, he freaked out. 

He rushed to her side as she would for him. 

“Anya? Are you okay? What's wrong??” A hiccup erupted from the small girl. She looked even smaller all curled up like that. 

“A-anya c-can't tell you!” She sobbed even harder. Breaking the boy's heart even further. “Anya it's okay please tell me!” Damien mustered up the most comforting voice he could, and considering Damien hadn’t heard such a voice as a kid, it wasn’t a very good one. Though, Anya could really care less due to their circumstances.

— 

Anya wouldn’t tell him, but eventually they fell into a comforting silence. She clung to the boy for dear life. That morning, Bond had come to her with a terrifying premonition. One of the two Desmond boys would die. Seeing as one of the Desmonds was her dear friend, she was obviously terrified. She came to school that day, basically in a trance. Everyone looked at anya like she was about to pass out, and to be honest  she probably was. She looked sickly, pale and frail. 

Becky was just about to comment about her unwell state, when anya had run out of the room in order to puke. Everyone had turned to stare as she ran. The clacks of her heels were like hearing a pin drop in the completely silent room. 

Of all the stares she had received that day, the one that burned the most, was damians. Be it the chance that today was to be his last day on this plane of existence, or just her regular awareness of his stares. 

Damian glare towards the door lingered minutes after the pink haired esper had run out. 

Emile and ewen had definitely noticed it, just as they had noticed every single smile, and blush that the boy had directed at anya. At this point they were used to teasing him over it, at damiens dismay.

“Boss man, If you’re really worried about stubby legs THAT much, why don’t you check on her?” Ewen smirked. He knew she was ill, but that wouldn't stop him from teasing the poor girl, let alone pass up the opportunity to tease damien. 

Damien rolled his eyes. “This isn't the time for that, Ewen. Anya’s ill. Let's treat her with kindness… At least till she's well.” he sighed. He was used to the constant teasing, but when it was towards her while she was in such a vulnerable state, it riled something up within him.

Once anya had returned, the prior attention to her had returned full blast, except this time, people were whispering. Childishly giggling about the fact she had vomited. They were twelve for god's sake, not six again. Damien groaned before slinking back into his seat to pay attention to their teacher. Only to quickly turn around, feeling as if he was being stared at. Clearly he was, as Anya was looking at the boy, eyes filled with tears. 

He quietly raised his hand. “Teacher, anya’s clearly ill, may i take her to the infirmary?” He spoke with little volume, not wanting to bring more attention to the poor girl. The teacher nodded, so Damian packed up, pulling Anya along with him. 

“Alright what's wrong.” He sighed as soon as they were in a more secluded area. His usual defensive aura being placed down in turn for a genuinely concerned one. But the girl just ran. 

And for the rest of the day (until she’d been found in the library.) No one had seen Anya since. 

That worried the group of kids who’d grown to love anya’s silly demeanor. Three of which used to relentlessly make fun of the poor girl. In the moment though, till they’d find anya, they’d pass up the opportunity to tease her, instead opting to help track the girl down. Afterall, what's the fun in making fun of someone who wouldn't even be there to witness the teasing?

Anya still wasn't letting up what was wrong. And so they sat. And they sat for a while. Until anya finally decided to speak. 

“Damien? Can you stay with me for another while?“

“I already am, Aren't I?” He sighed. His heart felt like it was going to burst in the few moments that passed. 

Anya leaned into his side. Desperate to know he was real and alive. Desperate to know he was well and breathing. If not for his own sake, for her own. A selfish thought, if she thought about it. But she didn’t care. She just cared that he was alive. She cared that the boy who’d been in love with her since they were six was okay. 

Anya didn’t like damian. At least that's what she told herself. Trying to convince herself of such, because damien desmond, would never love a commoner like her. 

And that's when they heard it. 

Bang.

In the midst of her slowing breaths, she sharply inhaled. Looking at the boy who she was told was destined to die that very day. Except he was alive and well. If not only startled and afraid. 

It wasn't a moment to remain calm though. The kids knew what the bang was. They were smart enough to know what the sound was. And in turn, they heard the library doors shut. As the kids inside were instructed to hide. Told that they would be let out soon. And that everything would be alright. 

But the school that held children of such high societal positions was being targeted, which meant families in turn were being targeted. 

And so Damian quickly pulled out his cell phone, quickly texting his brother, then ewen and emile. Making sure to look back at anya every so often. Making sure the small girl was alright. 

“Anya are you alright?” He whispered. Careful not to disturb the dead silence of the library. Anya’s already broken composure, only deteriorating more as she spoke. 

Well that wasn’t reassuring. 

“Anya, if it's about the gunshot, we should be fine. We’re safe in here okay?” Logically he knew it wasn't only about the gun shot. But he ignored it, for his sake at least. 

“No! I-it’s not that! You don't understand damian!” His name burned on her tongue. She almost never said his first name, to her he was always sy-on boy, not Damien Desmond. 

And then for what felt like the 100th time, they fell into a comforting silence, the only sound escaping from the two were the quiet sobs escaping anya's mouth. 

It’d taken them 2 hours for everyone to be evacuated. 

It’d taken him 5 to find out of his brother's death. 

Those three hours in between was the calm before the storm. He and Anya had ended up finding the rest of their little group. Anya seemed on edge still, but was calmer, at least in comparison to what had happened in the library. 

“Anya, where were you all day? We’ve been worried sick…” Becky sighed as she rushed over to hug the pink haired esper. “Even Emile and Ewen were worried! Are you ill?? Did you get hurt?” The girl began to ramble. Much to anya’s dismay, since her head was still hurting quite a bit, due to all of the thoughts of the people in the library.  

About an hour later, after everyone's parents had been called, Becky's driver had come to pick her up, and then went Emile and Ewen, leaving Anya and Desmond alone and sitting on a patch of grass. Damian's parents hadn’t even picked up the phone, leaving him sitting there. Unsurprised by the lack of care on his fathers part. Careful not to place blame on his mother. 

“Anya? Do you want to talk about what you were upset about earlier?” Careful with his volume. He was always able to tell when anya was having a headache.

“I… I had a bad dream.” 

“That's it?” Damian scoffed, his typical teasing tone back in full force at the moment. But it dissipated as soon as he saw her face. He wanted to take back his words, because to her, it wasn’t just a bad dream. 

“I, I had a dream you died…” Anya sighed. She hated withholding the fact that it wasn’t a dream. It was a premonition. And it was either him or his brother. 

“Oh. Well, I’m alive, no?” He chuckled. He knew it wasn’t funny, but he at least wanted to try to be comforting. Even if he had no clue what that was supposed to look like. 

But that only panicked Anya further. The day isn't over yet. He still needed to be protected.  

“Damian, do you want to come to Anya's house while you wait for your papa?” Anya looked up at the boy. That was it! If she could keep him within arms reach, he would be safe! Especially with mama and papa being a spy and an assassin!

“Uh, I don’t know. Would your parents be okay with that?” He fidgeted. She was so persistent about coming to HIS house, that he never thought he’d be invited to hers. 

“Of course! Mama and Papa wouldn’t mind at all!” And for the first time that day, she finally cheered up a little. Even if it was just a front. Even if Damian could see right through it, he wouldn’t dare say anything about it. Of course it was to not get sucker punched in the cheek again. Though, if it were coming from her, he wouldn’t mind her doing it again.

By the time Loid had shown up at the school to pick up anya, Damian had already let his family know of his whereabouts, but he knew they probably wouldn't see it anyways.

“Papa! Can we take sy-on boy with us while he waits for his parents?” Anya was attached to her fathers hip. 

Loid began to think. ‘If I bring the Desmond boy with us, I'll be able to meet his father. Therefore, eliminating the need for the imperial scholar scheme. And also improving anya’s relationship with the boy, giving me another entrance to the boy’s father…’ 

Anya stared at her father while he was lost in thought, quickly tugging on his pant leg to get his attention again.

“Papa?” Anya looked up at him with her puppy eyes she knew he couldn't resist. 

Loid sighed, before looking at the both of them. “Sure, Damian, I'm assuming you’ve let your family know about your whereabouts?” Loid looked at the boy with sad eyes, as if he knew something the boy didn’t, and he did.  

Anya automatically knew what her father knew. Given the premonition of the morning. She knew.

Anya was so thankful that it wasn’t him. Of course she felt guilty of the fact she was practically celebrating while his very own brother had passed. 

But he didn’t know that. Not yet at least. 

Anya knew her father knew. And she knew why too, he’d most likely been on the scene,trying to take down the boy's assassin. Or gathering intel on the incident. Since one could assume that after the death of Desmond's most prized son, that a war would break out.

It was only a matter of time till Damian found out. 

And anya was determined to make the wait in between as comfortable as possible. 

As the three of them began the journey to the forger house, anya was adamant to holding damians hand, much to Loid and Damian's dismay.  

“Anya has to hold your hand so you don’t get lost!” Anya giggled when she saw Damians tomato red face. It totally wasn’t out of fear that the boy's life would be ripped away from her! Why would that be the case at all!

By the time they had gotten home, yor was already beginning to prepare boiling water for that night's dinner. And while she had been aware of what had happened at the school, she wasn’t aware they’d bring the Desmond boy along. 

Now both Loid and Yor were aware of each others true professions, but they weren’t aware of anya’s abilities. 

Not only did this give anya the upper hand, it also had led to the discovery of their true identities. 

So when Loid left the home in a hurry, he’d quickly explained what had happened, before rushing out of the door. He’d love to say the rush was for the mission, but he knew that the rush to leave and get on the scene was to keep his anya safe. 

“Oh hello there! You must be sy-on boy! Miss Anya had told us so much about you!” Yor smiled, the sight of the two children holding hands not going ignored. Though for the moment, especially for Anya’s sake, she let it slide. After all, they were only 12, not like anything weird was going on. 

“Mama! His name is damian!” Anya blushed furiously, embarrassed by the words of her mother. 

It seemed as if Damian was flustered too, but for other reasons. It seemed as if Anya was the only one allowed to call him that, not that he minded of course. 

“Oh I'm sorry!” Yor chuckled. “Well Damian, are you going to be staying for dinner?” She smiled politely at the boy. 

“Um I think so? I don't know when my driver's coming…” Damian sighed. Not that he minded being in the girls house. He just knew that, it’d probably be a while, if not all night, that it’d take his father to note of his absence. 

His state of reverie was disturbed by anya. 

“ C’mon sy-on boy! Let's go to my room so we can do our homework!” Anya smiled. Quickly afterwards, Loid lent a reminder to anya that might’ve just made the two kids' faces combust.

“Keep the door open. I don't want to hear any smooching from 12 year olds.”

Both Anya and Damian shot around to stare at the older man before them. Yor was busy giggling in the background to tell Loid off for teasing them. “Well then run along you two! Have fun! But not too much!” Yor smiled before going back into a laughing fit, this time with Loid by her side. 

The adults voices began to muffle when the children entered the girls room. 

“Damian? I’m glad you're safe.” Anya’s voice trembled. As if she were going to burst into tears for the umpteenth time that day. 

“So am I, would want the world's living without me, Damian Desmond am I right?” His lazy attempt at humor in the moment, seemed to work on the young esper. He was sure that if the girl's parents heard her cry, his head would be on the chopping block, awaiting a quick execution for making their beloved daughter cry. 

“Sy-on boy? Do you wanna help me with my math work?” Anya grinned. 

“Hold on, was this a ploy for me to do your homework??”

–

After the pair were finished with their school work, they were called into the dining room for dinner. Perfect timing on the adults part.

“Well Damian, Miss Anya tells us a lot about you! How's school going for you two?” Yor smiled as she put down her glass of water. Loid ended up taking over dinner. Not wanting to disappoint the high standards the wealthy child had. For the mission of course!

“Um, It’s going well. Anya still doesn’t really get the math that well though… Though I've been trying to help her with it.” Damian felt a sheen of sweat pool on his forehead, not liking the amount of attention he was receiving. Even though he preferred to be the center of attention, when it was the parents of his cr- sorry sworn ‘enemy’. 

“That's awfully nice of you damian!” Yor smiled. Loid also smiled. The picture of a happy family with two loving parents, made him slightly jealous of the girl. He could have almost anything he wanted. But two loving, caring parents, was something the boy was sure he would never have.

“So Damian, I take it you and Anya were together when it happened?” Loid was unsure if the boy knew what had happened during the events of the lockdown. So he wanted to test the waters before letting it slip. 

“Uhm, we were in the library, me and Anya were kinda just sitting there when the gunshot went off…” Damian tried to leave out the fact that the girl was crying, not wanting to face the possible wrath of her parents.

By the time they had wrapped up dinner, Damian and Anya had taken up washing the dishes themselves. That's when the doorbell rang.

When loid had opened it, he sighed heavily before turning to the children. “Damian? Can you come here please?” The face at the door was an unusual one for Damian to see. His father, with a grim face, was at the door. Since when did his father care enough to come pick him up? 

Something had to be wrong. He knew that at the very least. 

“Damian. We have to go. We can talk about this in the car. It's important.” His stern voice gave no hints to the boy. 

“Can’t you tell me now? I want to say goodbye to Anya…” Damian fidgeted unconsciously. “Damian, your brothers dead. Is that what you wanted?” Donovan desmond let the bomb drop on his son.  

A wave of grief and guilt hit Damian like a ton of bricks. Was this what Anya’s dream was about? Was that why she was so upset all day? The boy felt tears well up in his eyes. Wiping them before any could escape his grasp. He quickly turned around and grabbed his bag, before saying a quiet goodbye to Anya. And a quick thank you to the forgers for having him.

Damian followed his father to the car. In which his mother was hysterically sobbing. The sight of his two parents in the same room as him, at the same time. Filled him with some sort of comfort. Even though it all went away when he remembered the reason for them all being together. 

“Damian, things are going to be different from now on. Since your brother is no longer with us. That makes you the new heir. There will be a grand change to your life, boy.”

“Yes father.”

[rocorambles]

Reciprocate

Pairing: Akaashi x Reader

Genre/Warnings: Yandere, NSFW, Mafia AU, Kidnapping, Rape/Non-Con, Forced Impregnation, Objectification, Degradation, Humiliation

Summary: You should have known better than to think you could ever truly escape from him, especially when you carry something he treasures so dearly inside of you. 

You reminisce on the early days when you had met the beautiful dark-haired man, when you had been swept off your feet by striking blue eyes and a serene composure. 

Akaashi had never been just normal to you and you remember how he had made your head spin with the air of mystery he carried around him, how your heart whipped back and forth between the always surprising mixture of sharp blunt words and eloquent poetry he entrapped you with. He was a man full of surprises, truly multi-faceted and you remember watching in awe at how quickly he could go from easily and agilely maneuvering his toned athletic body in the gym to lazily reading classic literature with a hand posessively but gently wrapped around your waist as you curled up besides him on the couch. 

There are many words you could have used to describe Akaashi. But dangerous? Dangerous was not one of them. 

Funny how quickly things can change. 

Even as careful as Akaashi is, even he can’t foresee unexpected circumstances, especially when you are more entangled in the webs of his life than he ever meant for you to be. And he is forced to reveal who he truly is to you or kill you when you get caught up in things and with people who shouldn’t have ever even known you existed. 

You wouldn’t be the first woman he’s killed and his mind flickers to numerous dead bodies, corpses of prostitutes and other unfortunate women strewn about when things became too complicated, when they threatened his position and the safety of his clan. But he can’t bring himself to pull the trigger, can’t even bring himself to think about aiming at you. 

You’re not like the other fleeting distractions and for the first time ever, Akaashi Keiji breaks Fukurodani policies by revealing everything to you in the hopes that you’ll accept him as everything he is, that you’ll join him for the long run. 

Blue eyes storm over when you don’t look at him with the love and acceptance he expected of you, only fear and disappointment apparent in your eyes, and his hands instinctively clench into fists when you flinch away from him, scrambling to create space between the two of you when he reaches out to reassure you that underneath the terrifying family name and insignia, he’s still just him. 

Fine. You’re scared? He’ll give you something to actually be scared of.

His fingers dig deeper than necessary as they roughly drag and shove you, movements harsh and rough enough to make a very clear point, but never enough to permanently mark you. He likes his possessions as pristine as possible after all. And he smiles at how quick you are to go limp in his arms, obediently letting yourself be led when Akaashi’s silky voice patronizingly tells you what a shame it would be for your beautiful body to be decorated with bullet holes. 

You know who Boktuo Koutarou is, even if you’ve never physically met him. Everyone in your city knows who he is, his name whispered and murmured in the streets, tales of his erratic temperament and ruthless wildness spread far and wide. The Fukurodani clan has always been a powerhouse in the underground world, has always controlled your city with an iron fist, and Bokuto, even by Fukurodani standards, has more than risen to the challenge of continuing his family’s undeniable reign, garnering respect and fear even among the monsters that share his insignia. So even though you’ve never met him, you know exactly who you’re shoved to your knees in front of, who Akaashi reverently speaks to and asks for permission from to keep you at the base as his pet, and you don’t dare open your mouth or raise your head, absolute terror paralyzing you. 

Gold eyes peer at you in interest. Whores aren’t uncommon in the base, lewd moans and slick sounds sometimes making the base seem more like a brothel than the home of illicit dangerous business and Bokuto has always encouraged and rewarded his men with the best cunts money can buy especially after particularly successful or tiresome raids. But for as long as he’s known Akaashi, he can count the number of times the younger man has partaken in those base pleasures on just his fingers and even then, they’ve always been one night stands, brief flings. So he’s surprised, to say the least, when the dark haired man asks to keep you around as his little toy and he has a gut feeling that you’ll become a permanent extension of the family, but how can he deny the man who’s resolutely stayed by his side all these years, who’s pledged his life and loyalty to him? Akaashi asks for so little and if all he wants is for Bokuto to provide protection and surveillance for one more body to be happy, then so be it.     

You’re no stranger to sharing a bed with Akaashi, but this is different. You had always thought that he had been holding back with you, swearing that you saw a hint of something darker gleaming behind blue orbs only for it to dissolve away as you were swept away by sensual languid pleasure and gentle, attentive words. And you hate that you were right, voice going hoarse as you scream at the top of your lungs as you’re ruthlessly taken over and over again, a coldness in the eyes you had once loved that pierces deep within you, animalistic possessiveness in the way he marks you, long slender fingers leaving bruises in their wake as he holds your writhing body in place as he thrusts in and out of your abused lower lips. 

Day in, day out. All you know is a fitful sumber that exhaustion forces you into and Akaashi. His scent, his touch, his voice. You’re drowning in his essence. Dying. No. That would be preferable. At least there would be an end. And you silently grieve, unable to even cry real tears anymore when you wonder when this will ever end, if this will ever end. 

As much as Akaashi would love to permanently lay beside you, duty and appearances do call from time to time and he reclines across from Bokuto, watching the black and white haired man boisterously chat with Kuroo Tetsurou, the current head of Nekoma as scantily clad women surround the two men, dragging fingernails down their chests and shamelessly shoving their breasts into their faces in the hopes of gaining their favor. They sure do seem to be enjoying themselves and Akaashi grimaces when one of the prostitutes begins to loudly moan as she grinds against his leader’s swelling erection which doesn’t go unnoticed by sharp eyes. 

“Akaashi, don’t be so uptight. Why don’t I send some of them to your room tonight to help you loosen up?”

Bokuto knowingly smiles in amusement when he’s promptly rejected. 

“Ah, that’s right. You still have your cute pet. But you know Akaashi, pets are temporary. Don’t you think it’s time to make it a little more permanent? Maybe put a ring on it? Hell, I love kids. I wouldn’t mind having a few runts running around the base, especially if they’re yours.” 

Their conversation is interrupted by a rude scoff and Bokuto snarls at Kuroo’s taunting words. 

“Because God knows Bokuto isn’t having kids anytime soon. No woman could stand bearing his kids and listening to his loudmouth for the rest of her life.”

Akaashi tunes out their bickering as the gears in his mind churn. 

He had kept you on your birth control pills, not wanting to disturb his time with you as he broke you in and figured out exactly what his plan for you is. He knows he loves you, knows there’s no life for him without you. But he wasn’t a dreamer. He’s fully aware just how dangerous his life is, how impossible it is for the both of you to be able to grow old together, how much more likely it’ll be that both of you end up dead side by side in a turf war gone wrong. Yet now all he can think of is what you’d be like as a mother, how you’d look pregnant with his children and when your pills run low, he tears your prescription to shreds in front of your eyes. 

You have more fight left in you than he thought you would and he’s enraged by how much you despise the thought of carrying his children, every desperate plea for him to not cum inside of you while you’re unprotected, a direct insult to him and his love for you. All he sees is red as he breeds you over and over again, stuffing you full of his cock and his seed, never stopping until you’re filled to the brim with the sticky proof of his adoration, stomach heavy and sloshing with his declared affection. 

Turbulent emotions ransack you and you wish you could blame it solely on the hormones raging throughout your impregnated body, but you know it’s deeper than that. It had been so easy to become numb to being used, being known as nothing more than Akaashi’s pretty pet, being the victim of a cold, ruthless stranger you realize now that you never really knew. But it’s agonizing to once again see the hints of the man you had fallen in love with and your heart aches at how gentle and considerate Akaashi is to you once more as your belly begins to swell, a comforting hand rubbing your back and holding your hair away from your face as morning sickness has you heaving over the toilet bowl. And you feel something break and shatter into a million pieces inside of you when one night, as your due date quickly approaches, he kneels in front of you, slipping the engagement ring of your dreams onto your trembling hand. 

“I know this isn’t how you dreamed of any of this happening, but I promise you, once the child is born, I’m going to give you the wedding you always wanted and do my best to be the husband and father you deserve and want. I love you.”

You sob, tightly returning Akaashi’s embrace, burying your face in his chest, wishing with all your heart that things could have been different, that you could go back to those early days, that everything in between was a dream, a nightmare. 

But this is reality and as you cradle your baby bump, you know that you need to do something, anything, now that it’s not just your life on the line anymore. 

For the first time in a long time, it seems like fortune is finally on your side as Akaashi relinquishes his leash on you, trusting that your growing bump will permanently tie you to him, that you won’t even think of trying to escape in your current state. And you play your role perfectly, smiling and leaning into his careful touches, accepting the gifts and attention he lavishes you with, looking to all the world like an excited expecting mother perfectly matched with her doting fiance. 

Akaashi resumes taking up longer projects and jobs, no longer seeing a need to keep as careful of a watch over you or a need to remind you of your place besides him every night. And seeing one of their higher-ups relax makes everyone else careless, no one paying you much attention, no more armed men outside your door and windows when Akaashi is away. 

Really, it’s embarrassingly easy for you to escape, so easy that you wonder if this is a trap, almost expecting Akaashi to appear from around every corner and drag you back to the prison he had created for you, and you shudder when you can almost feel his hands against your skin, his voice murmuring cruel cutting words into your ear. 

But no one stops you and you slowly, but steadily make the long journey to Inarizaki territory, discreetly settling in and making a new home for yourself, starting a new life. Inarizaki and Fukurodani have never dealt much with each other, their territories so far apart that it’s pointless to clash or ally with each other when there are so many other enemies and friends closer to both their homes to deal with. You pray that it’s enough to hide you, to allow you to leave your wretched past behind. 

It seems like your prayers are answered as month after month passes, as your belly grows and grows, as you give birth to a beautiful baby girl. You can barely remember a life outside of motherhood, your heart overwhelmingly full of love and happiness as you watch your daughter grow. And as you watch her take her first few wobbly steps as her first birthday passes, you let yourself finally believe that you can really move on and look forward, locking the blue-eyed demon of your past behind you once and for all. 

Except that demon doesn’t want to be locked up, that demon is far too strong and cunning for your flimsy padlock, and you clutch your daughter to your chest when your door slams open one night and your apartment is swarmed by men with the Fukurodani insignia, tears pooling in the corners of your eyes when one last final figure makes their way past your threshold and you stare into familiar blue eyes. 

As if your daughter can sense your anxiety, your fear, your hopelessness, she begins to loudly wail and bawl, wrapping her little arms around your neck and drenching your neck and shirt with her tears and snot, reminding you just how much is at stake right now. 

You do your best to fake some semblance of calmness, drawing on your maternal instincts to still the quivering of your voice as you gently whisper soothing words in her ear, telling her everything will be fine, telling her that these are just mommy’s old friends, all the while watching your ex-lover gracefully make his way towards the two of you, subtly shielding her little body with yours as he approaches. 

Realistically you know there’s not much you can do if he does mean harm to her, but you’d gladly die defending her to the best of your abilities if it came down to it, already ready to beg for her to be spared and for just you to be punished for your transgressions and your betrayal. You finch when you feel his weight settle besides you on the bed as he sits on the edge of the mattress, heart pounding as you feel his familiar presence, and you quickly turn to face him, only to be completely stunned by the softness in his eyes as he gazes at your daughter. 

Relief floods through you and you hesitantly shift, allowing him easier access to see her, something bittersweet trickling inside of you as long slender fingers gently reach out to caress tear-stained cheeks, as your daughter’s sobs die down and curious eyes peer at the stranger who’s touching her. And deep inside you know Akaashi won’t harm her, will fiercely love her, as he tugs her out of your arms and pulls her into his lap, a sad smile pulling on your lips as you watch father and daughter reunite. 

Deep inside you also know that you won’t be as lucky and your fears are confirmed when Akaashi stands, still cradling your giggling daughter in his arms, blue eyes pinning you down with a look you recognize all too well. There’ll be hell to pay for your actions. 

You feel nauseous, body already aching and throbbing in anticipation of your punishment. But you plaster on a smile for your daughter as she happily plays with one of her favorite toys in the backseat of the car between Akaashi and you, peppering her tiny face with kisses as Akaashi and you tuck her into the gorgeous nursery he’s prepared for her, and wishing her good night as Akaashi leads you back out, continuously waving until the nursery door is firmly closed. And only then does your act drop and you sob as a hand harshly grips your wrist, tears only flooding down more as you recognize the hallway you’re being dragged down, body shaking when you’re shoved into a room and a bed you had tried so hard to forget. 

Clothes are being torn from your body and you thrash around as lips descend upon you, a mouth hungrily molding with yours, yelping when teeth harshly bite on your lower lip before pulling apart. You feel so exposed, so helpless, so vulnerable as icy blue eyes glare down at you, Akaashi’s body pinning you in place as he takes in your figure, scrutinizing every line and curve of your body, mapping every familiarity and difference from the last time he’s seen you. But you lay still, wincing when his grip on your wrist becomes bone crushing when you try to instinctively cover yourself from him. 

“I trusted you. I love you. And this is how you repay me? Running away from me? Keeping my daughter away from me?” 

You open your mouth to stutter out some feeble excuse, but gasp when a hand wraps around your neck, warningly tightening before relaxing. The weight of his palm still against your throat keeps you silent. 

“There’s no excuse for what you did. But I promised you that I’d be a good husband, so I’ll forgive you if you show me how sorry you are.”

You nervously watch as he completely lets go of you, eyes trailing after him as he settles his back against the headboard of the bed, beckoning you over to him with a single finger. And you can’t help but feel like foolish prey walking into a trap as you obey, body quivering in fear as he pulls you in and positions you so that your legs straddle his thighs, back arching and a cry slipping past your lips as he teasingly captures one of your nipples in his mouth and sucks. 

“Still so sensitive.” 

You hate how well he’s trained your body, how easily your body betrays you even after being separated from him for over a year, how well he knows every inch of you inside and out and shame and humiliation lance through you when a long digit easily slides into your already dripping heat. 

“I think you’re more than ready, darling.”

Even past your wanton moans, the clanging metal of his belt unbuckling echoes throughout the room and you whimper as something hard presses against your entrance. 

“Come on, love. It’s time for you to apologize. Do you know how much effort and time I spent searching for you?”

You yelp as the hands resting on your waist dig into your flesh before relaxing and rubbing soothing circles into your skin. 

“But it’s okay because you’re here now, you and our daughter are here now, and neither of you are ever leaving me again. Right?”

You vigorously nod your head as blue eyes sharply stare at you, relaxing when they soften and a small smile plays on his lips. 

“Good girl. Now prove it to me.” 

You almost wish Akaashi had just forced himself upon you, finding it so much more demeaning to sink down on his cock all by yourself as he impassively sits back and watches you. But you’re sure that’s the whole point of this, for you to show your submission and acceptance through your actions. After all, nothing he ever does is meaningless. 

And you truly do feel broken, like nothing more than a good wife, a good pet as you wildly shake your hips, bouncing up and down on his cock in a way that makes your breasts jiggle, pussy clenching even tighter and gushing even more when he orders you to look him in the eyes all the while. 

“You’re making me feel so good, sweetheart. You’re so beautiful. You were made for my cock, made for me. Tell me who you belong to.”

In hindsight you’ll be embarrassed by how quick you are to babble his name over and over again in response. But here and now? All you can think about is the warmth in your chest as he praises you, the warmth in your belly as something pleasant and overwhelming builds inside of you. And Akaashi groans at how tightly you squeeze around him as your peak nears, almost cumming from just the hazed over arousal in your lust-filled eyes, pulling you in for a sloppy kiss and swallowing your cries of ecstasy as you reach your high, body convulsing and twitching in his arms as he holds you steady, lips still locked with yours as he thrusts up a few more times before finding his own release and spilling deep inside of you. 

You slump onto him, exhausted body collapsing and still twitching from the onslaught of pleasure. But as the fog from your mind begins to ebb away, you involuntarily tense at the whispered “I love you” that sounds like nails scraping against a chalkboard, hesitating too long to respond in kind. And you know you’ve made a huge mistake when blue eyes are coldly regarding you once more, shivering from both the cold and fear as he pulls back from you before shoving you onto your back and settling between your legs.

“Looks like you need a little more encouragement to reciprocate my feelings. That’s okay. We have all the time in the world for me to show you just how much I love you.”

[holocene-sims]

next // previous

june 11, 2021 2:10 p.m. newcrest counseling center

[margot] i think her cheating on you is the closest reminder you’ve had to your childhood in a very long time and it drove you to repeat old patterns. i know we haven’t gotten very far into the conversation about your childhood itself because it’s extraordinarily painful for you but you’ve told me a lot about your adulthood. we both know that your physical and mental health problems come from your childhood and that your poor coping mechanisms come from a place of trying to quiet your hurt. you just said it yourself a moment ago. and last time i saw you, you did make a few references between päivi and your childhood.

[margot] so here’s how it seems in my eyes. when you were growing up, your parents failed to do their job as parents by proving for your needs and you were grossly abused by your mother. she would hit you, scream at you, say the worst things imaginable right to your face...and then she would make you feel like a fool when you finally lashed out in return, didn’t she? and what did päivi do? she failed to meet your needs as your partner by meeting hers outside of your relationship and she tried to suppress your feelings when you expressed them. she hit you, she screamed at you, she said things that should never be spoken…

[margot] it is not a surprise that you might find comfort in what you used to comfort yourself a long time ago. päivi’s actions were the perfect formula to put you right back in the darkest periods of your life. she mirrored the abuse that you suffered through and it made you feel the exact same way.

[grant] totally makes sense but somehow i think this just makes me feel worse.

[margot] why do you say that?

[grant] sorry we're just repeating the same conversation from last time. but i've worked really hard to get better and i feel like an idiot for still being able to go back there so easily. i shouldn’t be able to do that with no problem.

[margot] you’re not an idiot. the unfortunate thing is just that trauma will show up in every part of your life and in some sense, it will appear for an eternity. in the right circumstances, anyone and everyone can slip back into the thick of it. that doesn’t mean it won’t get better, though, or that you haven’t already! obviously, you have gotten better! you’re sober, you admitted in the last few months that you needed real professional help and medication for your mental health, and you’re alive. and guess what else? you stood up for yourself against päivi. maybe you did slip back into old habits and darker times but you defended yourself in a way you were never able to in the past.

[margot] you continue to get better and you always will because you care to. if you didn’t care, you wouldn’t be upset that you relapsed. if you didn’t care, you might still be in the relapse instead of stopping it early like you did. if you didn’t care, you wouldn’t be here.

[margot] i'm pivoting angles here, but i think you should ponder for a moment about who you were when you suffered through the trauma that affects you today. who were you? you were a...?

[grant] a child. i was a child. just...a kid.

[margot] don’t you think that kid might be very proud of the person sitting here today?

[grant] i, um…

[margot] and don’t you love that kid? or feel bad for them? or want them to be happy? or all of the above?

[grant] yes. of course i do.

[margot] there are a million reasons to not feel like an idiot and to forgive yourself for a temporary thing, but the number one reason is because that child is still you.

[grant] right.

[margot] when we grow up, especially in hostile conditions, we lose track of our past selves. we learn to detach from who we were as a child to protect ourselves, to distance ourselves from the pain and from the missed opportunities of our childhoods. if you remember that child, the one who suffered and created your maladjusted adult self, you can restore a sense of empathy and love for yourself and re-parent them, and you’ll heal who you are in the present.

[margot] when you were a kid, what did you think about the future?

[grant] that it–oh jesus christ, i don’t want to cry again already–um, that it didn’t exist. i thought i'd be stuck in that house with my parents forever or that i wouldn’t exist anymore and i'd just disappear out of nowhere. i didn’t dare dream of anything for myself beyond childhood. i couldn't. not until i was much older.

[margot] you gave yourself the future you never imagined. forget for a moment all of the bad things that have ever happened and remember all the good things you’ve experienced beyond your childhood. and then remember that child again. remember what it felt like to be them.

[margot] i don’t think they would ever hold the bad against you. so you shouldn’t either. i think they would be immensely proud of the life you have given them. and as i said, that child is still you. everything you gave to the past version of yourself was given to your current real self, too, and nothing is changed or destroyed by the bad or by temporary relapses or whatever else troubles you. you are still in a better place than long ago and you have a future beyond this future.

[margot] you said you were reevaluating things. so reevaluate your life if you’d like, but not without this framework. so if you see this period after the end of your relationship as a time of renewal, think of it as the start of another future. the next one has even greater potential to be exactly what you want it to be. when you work on yourself and free yourself from where trauma bonds you and controls you, you have all the power to create a version of you and your life that you want. you’ve done it before and you can do it again now.

[margot] besides, if you need any further evidence why you should forgive yourself and keep going: every time you choose to value yourself and your future, you’re rebelling against what your mother wanted you to do. she wanted you to feel worthless and to feel like you have no future and like you’re fundamentally broken. the way you feel about all this–like you’ve ruined something, like you have no worth, and i assume like your life has come to a halt again–is the echo of her words. don’t let those thoughts drive you because they were never yours and never correct in the first place.

[grant] you’re right. no, you’re right about everything.

[margot] would you like a tissue?

[grant] please. thank you.

[fanficimagery]

Five Years After

Imagine going to the feed store for your sister, only you come home with more than just feed for the animals.

Words: 5.1K Author’s Note: The ending of this imagine was definitely inspired by a TikTok video :)

When the Blip happened, you were in complete disbelief. Chaos erupted all around as planes fell from the sky and automobiles crashed because their drivers had vanished into thin air. Everyone was a complete mess as they attempted to call loved ones, their calls going straight to voicemail or being answered by another family member that were having to deliver the bad news of a disappearance.

Your only living relative was your sister Laura and her children she had with her husband Clint, so when one of your co-workers and a handful of your customers vanished into thin air, your first call had been to your ex-Avenger of a brother-in-law. Unfortunately Clint was just as clueless as you and the phone had nearly slipped from your hand when he gave you the news that Laura and the kids had vanished. You had nowhere to go and were so scared because of the looting that had started, so Clint told you to pack your things and get to the farm as soon as possible.

You'd only been on the farm for a full day before Clint's friends came looking for him. Natasha, who you had met after your sister had married Clint, greeted you with a rather solemn hug. It was Steve Rogers, however, who attempted to introduce himself with as much joy as he possibly could in order to be polite.

You had shaken his hand, smiling sadly. "You don't need to force a smile for me, Rogers. The circumstances suck. I get it."

That had surprisingly pulled a short laugh from Natasha. "See, Steve? Told you she wouldn't be expecting the Man with a Plan."

Steve and Natasha had proceeded to stay for the duration of the day, telling Clint all about a fight that had taken place in Wakanda and who out of their friends had vanished. It was a devastating blow and you had no idea how everyone was going to cope. Then soon after the two Avengers had left, Clint went into overdrive. He was making phone calls left and right, packing bags and weapons, and you were at a complete loss.

You had decided to leave him be and it was only the following morning when you woke to an empty house did you find the letter on the kitchen counter. In the letter he had apologized for leaving you after everything that had happened, but went on to explain that there were criminals still out there who had survived the Blip when others who were sin-free didn't. He couldn't leave them be while people like his wife and children were no longer alive, so to work through his aggression he was going to hunt those criminals down. Fortunately enough, he left you in possession of the farm-house and made it so you were able to access his bank accounts. He told you not to look for him or get the others involved, so you waited a whole day before contacting Natasha and telling her all about Clint's derailment.

Clint left no trail, leaving you all alone. Or so you thought.

With Clint's vanishing act, Natasha and Steve made you their responsibility. They made sure you knew they were only a call or email away, but only after Nat drove down to give you some technological devices since the regular power grid was fluctuating. Since Earth lost half its population, everything seemed to be falling apart.

Then Tony Stark was brought back home and the world seemed a little bit brighter.

For years you drifted, working at a grocery store in town to keep yourself busy. The Blip took a toll on everyone, but it was nice to have to talk to someone even if the other person moved on autopilot. Clint sent an email every other month from a burner email, so it was a dead end every time Natasha looked into it after you had forwarded it to her. And about the only news-worthy thing that had happened after the Blip was the announcement of Tony and Pepper Stark's baby girl Morgan. You didn't know the Stark's personally, but it didn't stop you from sending their little girl a present every year on her birthday for the next five years on behalf of yourself and the Barton family.

One morning you're sitting at the breakfast table when you hear the telltale sounds of a jet overheard. You figure it's just Natasha and Steve for their monthly check-in so you think nothing of it.

The screen door creaks open and you call out, "In the kitchen!"

The steps of what sounds like more than one person falter, but then they pick back up until they near your location. "Got enough for another plate?" That oh so familiar timber makes you spew orange juice across the table. You're up and out of your seat, staring at your brother-in-law who's a lot more tatted up than you remember him being. "Hey, sis."

Tony Stark stands just a couple feet to Clint's right, but his presence isn't enough to deter you from marching up to your brother-in-law and punching his shoulder. "You asshole!" You punch him again for good measure as tears sting your eyes. "You left me. You left me all alone! How could you-"

He dodges your continuous blows, wrapping his arms around you to keep you from attacking him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but I'm here now. It's all going to be okay." The fight instantly drains out of you as you sag into his embrace, sob after sob leaving you as you clutch to him tightly.

Clint tightens his grip a little more around you until your cries turn into sniffles. "What- what are you doing here?"

"Lang came up with a plan to bring our people back." You tense in Clint's arms and pull back to look him in the eyes. "Banner and Stark made the machines necessary to make the plan work. We're going to bring 'em home. We're going to bring 'em all home, Y/N."

"Please tell me you aren't joking," you mumble.

"Nope. No joke," Tony says. "It's not a total guarantee, but we're going to try our best." You let go of Clint and turn to look at Tony who's standing by the stove and picking at the leftover scrambled eggs. "Mmm. These are good. What'd you put in them?"

"Uhh, just butter and cheese."

"Morgan would absolutely love these. She's on this whole cheese kick right now."

That earns a chuckle, and after gathering yourself you look back at Clint. "So what's going to happen now?"

"The team's getting ready for a test run," Clint says. "I just wanted to let you know I was home and that we had a really important mission coming up."

"How soon?"

"Today if the test run goes good," Tony says. He pours himself half a glass of juice before downing it in one go. "And speaking of, we need to go."

You look at Clint, a little let down that he's leaving so soon, but he grins and pulls you back into a hug. "It's going to be okay." You nod against him and he lets his arms drop before he steps back. He looks around the kitchen and his grin widens. "You've kept up good with the house. I'm impressed."

"I should hope so," you mumble. "I had to flirt with the hardware store boy so he'd help me keep the house from falling apart."

Clint laughs. "You did good, Y/N. Laura will be proud."

"Yeah, yeah. Now go bring my sister, niece, and nephews back."

"You got it, boss."

          - - - - - - - - - - 

You're grateful for the day off because it leaves you with time to clean the house from top to bottom. You need some way to burn off all your anxiousness and making sure the house looks good for your sister is one hell of a way to do just that.

You're not sure how long you'd been cleaning when you decide to take a break, and you head outside for some fresh air. You walk off the porch and onto the grass, tilting your face skyward as you inhale and exhale softly, your eyes closing. One moment all you can hear is the wind ruffling tree limbs and grass, and the next it's a cacophony of chirping birds.

Your eyes fly open and you're shocked to see the swarms of birds flying around in the sky. Sure there have been birds around after the Blip, but you've never seen so many together since then. You're too busy staring up into the sky that you don't see what appears to be ash take formation behind you.

"Aunt Y/N?" The timid voice makes your heart stop before you whirl around, your eyes widening at the sight of Lila glancing around in shock. "What's going on? Where's dad?"

"Lila?" You breathe out in awe. You stumble towards her, eyes glistening with tears. "They did it. They actually did it." You pull her into a hug, cries stuttering in your chest. As you hug her, you glance towards the open field where you see Laura appear, followed by Nathaniel and then Cooper. "Laura!"

You grip Lila's hand tight as the both of you break out into a run towards the rest of your family, you and Laura colliding with twin oomphs. The two of you are crying as Laura tries to work out what the hell happened and where Clint is, but before you can explain anything she's pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialing Clint's number. As she worries about getting her husband on the phone, you quickly hug Cooper and pick up Nathaniel to hold on your hip as you squeeze him in relief.

"Clint?" Laura sobs when he finally answers. "Clint, what's going on? I-" She stops talking all of a sudden and she looks at you, eyes wide.

"What happened?" You ask.

"I- I don't know. One second he was talking and then-" She cuts off, glancing at her children and shaking her head. "He just cut out."

You know all is not fine and that something terrible must have happened for Laura to trail off the way she did. But instead of worrying her kids, you offer a grin. "I'm sure it's fine. As clumsy as he is, he probably just dropped his phone." She forces a smile for her kids' benefit. "So why don't we go ahead and wait for him inside. I'll make something to eat while you guys relax and I'll catch you up on the five years you missed."

"Five years!?" Laura nearly shouts.

You wince. "Yeah. You guys missed a lot."

          - - - - - - - - - - 

For the next couple of hours you tell Laura all about the Blip and how half of Earth's population just disappeared- Avengers included. You tell her how Clint had you move in, and how you helped take care of the house and what few animals they had on the farm still while working at the local grocery store. You tell her all about Steve and Natasha, and how Tony Stark is now married with a daughter of his own.

"Wow." Laura chuckles. All the kids have fallen asleep around the living room, leaving Laura the time to finally ask, "And where was Clint this entire time? I noticed he brought you onto the farm, but then everything became about Steve and Nat."

You suck in a breath sharply. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice that."

"Y/N.."

"He went rogue." Her eyes widen and you wince. "He left me here with access to your bank account, which I only used to pay bills and buy groceries by the way, and not even Natasha could find him. He only came back when she tracked him down and told him there was a chance they could reverse the Blip."

"Oh Clint.." She sighs, shaking her head in disappointment.

The sound of a quinjet hovering makes you and Laura perk up, but you keep quiet so as to not wake the children. You and Laura meet each other's gazes before you carefully get up and tiptoe out of the living room, and then you're rushing out the front door and down onto the lawn.

The door drops down and then Laura is sprinting across the field to reach her husband. You joyously laugh, jogging over to catch up. But as Laura and Clint hug one another, sobbing, you turn your sights to Steve who's standing sheepishly off to the side. There are two others with him, but since you've yet to meet them you make your way towards the familiar.

"Hey Rogers. Good to see you in one piece."

He tiredly chuckles. "Y/N." You punch his arm and he opens them up so you can hug him. "How are you holding up?"

"Better now that I got my sister back," you muse. As you pull away, you glance behind him into the quinjet. "Hey, where's Natasha?" Steve's smile falls and your heart plummets into your stomach. You can practically read the answer in his eyes. "No.." You shake your head.

His breathing stutters before he clears his throat. "We, uh, we lost Tony too."

Your expression completely crumples then, but Steve is quick to pull you back into a hug. He lets you cry into his chest before Clint steals you away, and then you're crying into your brother-in-law's shoulder. Then once all the tears taper off, Steve introduces you and Laura to Wanda and Bucky.

"I'll be in contact with you about what Pepper decides to do," Steve tells Clint. "If you do anything for Nat, let me know."

Clint sniffles. "I will."

You, Clint, and Laura wave off Steve, Wanda, and Bucky as they return inside the quinjet and lift off.

"Come on," Clint then sighs. "I need to see the kids and then figure out a way to tell them all about auntie Nat's sacrifice."

"And plan a memorial," Laura says.

You frown. "This was not the homecoming I was hoping for."

After a few days of planning, Clint decides on a cookout with all the Avengers and close friends of Nat's invited. It was a couple of days before Tony's own memorial, so you were surprised when Pepper Stark showed up with Morgan in tow. You were happy to finally meet the young girl who you'd been sending gifts to and you gladly ended up on babysitting duty.

You had met more of Clint's ex-coworkers, but your attention always ended up back on the children. Then when it came time to say a few words on Natasha's behalf, you somehow ended up between Steve and Bucky as the children ran back to their respective parents with Steve tucking you into his side when the tears started.

Then when the day of Tony's memorial came, there were more guests than you had anticipated. So as Pepper and Morgan walked a small flower raft with an arc reactor replica on it and set it out on the water, you stood back with Laura and her family and waited in silence. And as the crowd dispersed, you mostly kept to yourself until you saw Steve walk out of Pepper's home in the oddest white and red suit you'd ever seen.

Walking up behind Steve, you nod at Bucky and Sam who grin at your presence. When Steve turns around, you chuckle. "Why do I got a feeling you're about to do something very stupid?"

He grins and adjusts his grip on the suitcase hanging by his side. "Someone's gotta return the stones to their original timeline."

"Mhm. Well be careful. Don't start any unnecessary fights."

"I'll try my best."

As he walks up onto the platform, you step back and nudge your arm against Bucky's. He smiles down on you and you stand by his side as you listen to Bruce who walks Steve through about what's going to happen. Bruce checks all his monitors, giving Steve the go-ahead when everything is fine. Steve nods, a mask of sorts opens up and wraps around his face, and he presses a button that had been in his hand. Bruce counts down the seconds before he flips a switch which is meant to bring Steve back, but nothing happens.

Bruce looks around his monitors and starts pressing some more buttons. "Where is he?" Sam asks.

"I don't know. He blew right by his time stamp. He should be here," Bruce says as he flips a few more switches.

Bucky sighs and you quickly glance at him, and he looks more resigned than anything as he turns to walk off.

Your attention goes to Bruce as your heart rate picks up. "Get him back."

"I'm trying."

"Get him the hell back!" Sam urges.

You and Sam are low-key panicking, but it's Bucky's calm voice that stops the both of you. "Y/N. Sam."

The two of you whirl around, gazes sliding towards where Bucky is staring off to. In the distance, on a stone bench by the water, there appears to be a man sitting there that wasn't there before. You and Sam stumble forward, and you squint your eyes, only to glance back at Bucky with wide eyes.

"Is that.."

"Go."

You share another look with Sam and he gestures for you to follow him. The two of you walk towards the man together and Sam stops just behind him as you walk around in front. When you get a good look at your friend who is way older than what he appeared to be a mere twenty seconds ago, your heart cracks just a little.

You try to force a smile, but it wobbles as an elderly Steve chuckles at you. "I'm really trying not to be so mad at you right now." Your voice cracks and he pats the spot next to him as you sniffle. You immediately sit next to him and take his left hand within your own two, a gleaming wedding band not going unnoticed. Your fingers trace it. "Was it at least a happy life?"

Steve pats your hand. "It was. It was the beautiful life I always dreamt of."

You take a moment for yourself, inhaling and exhaling deeply. "You know you were my complete impulse control, right? Who's going to stop me from trying to get into your best friend's pants now?"

There's a snort from behind you, but you don't bother giving Sam your attention. "Go easy on him," Steve tells you. "I'm not sure he even remembers how to flirt."

You grin as you lean your head on his shoulder. "I'm really going to miss you," you say after a beat. Another moment passes before you drop Steve's hand and sigh before you stand. "Well, um, I should get back my sister and Clint now." You meet his gaze and flash him a small smile. "It's going to suck not seeing you every month, but I'm really glad you found your happiness."

"Thank you, Y/N."

Your bottom lip wobbles again. "Goodbye, Steve."

As you walk away, you hold your head up high and nod to Sam when he looks at you to make sure you're okay. You continue walking, nodding at Bucky as you pass him up as well when you see Laura wave you over. "For the record, I still remember how to flirt." You stumble and and then hear Bucky chuckling quietly behind you.

"Goddamn super soldiers and your dog ears."

As the days turn into weeks, Clint and Laura offer you a permanent place on the farm now that everything seems to be going back to normal. He's promised to build you a small house on the property for all that you've done in the past five years, so in the meantime you've taken to bunking with Lila while Wanda took over the guest bedroom. Clint had also taken to bringing Bucky to the farm when he noticed the super soldier not coping as well as he was letting on, so you found yourself often sitting by the back pond with him as the two of you traded stories about Steve and yourselves.

Though you had originally joked about getting into Bucky's pants, you found yourself seeking friendship from him more than anything else and vice versa. So when you weren't working at the grocery store, you were watching the kids for Laura and Clint or hanging out with Bucky and Wanda. It was no surprise to anyone that the three of you latched on to one another after losing those that you did.

"Hey Y/N," Laura calls out. "Will you do me favor?"

You glance up as she walks out the front door, you and Wanda ceasing your conversation. You grin. "What do you need?"

"Lucky needs some dog food and we need a few bales of hay for the goats."

"Oh. Okay." You look towards Wanda. "Wanna go for the ride?"

She shrugs. "Sure."

"Thank you! You can just put it on the Barton tab at the store," Laura says. "Clint pays it monthly and I've already called ahead to let them know someone was going in to pick up some stuff we needed."

"Got it." Standing up, you pat down your pockets to make sure you have your keys, phone, and some cash. Realizing you have everything, you grin at your sister before walking down the porch steps. As you near your truck, you whistle at Bucky who was throwing knives at a target on the side of the barn. "Hey Buckaroo! We're heading into town. You wanna come?"

He throws the last knife in his hand before he turns to look at you. "Don't call me Buckaroo!" He shouts back as he makes his way towards you.

"Then stop lookin' so darn cute!"

Wanda snorts and you laugh as Bucky shakes his head at you. "One of these days he's going to flirt back and then what are you going to do?"

"Bend myself over the table and let him hit it from behind," you mumble. She snorts harder this time and your eyes widen when you see Bucky start to smirk.

As he nears the two of you, he says, "What did you say?"

"Nothing," you blurt. "Nothing at all. Wanda's just easily amused, is all."

His gaze slides to Wanda, but she shakes her head and doesn't tell him a word. You mentally sigh and praise her for being a good friend, and then you turn to walk towards your truck. Wanda readily heads for the back driver's side door while Bucky walks around to the passenger seat so he's seated next to you.

Once you're seated behind the wheel and the engine is turned on, you take a moment to find a decent song on the radio before driving. It's not too long of a drive and you find yourself pulling up to the local feed store not even three songs later.

Parking and cutting the engine right in front of the store, you turn towards Bucky. You know he's not a huge fan of being out in public, but you rather not have to flirt inside the store to get a helping hand. "Hey Buck, can you do me a favor and load up four of those large rectangular bales of hay and one bag of that dog food right next to it?" You see him tense. "I rather not have to flirt with the boy inside just so he'll help out."

He relaxes then and gives you a nod. "Yeah. Sure."

"Thanks. Just keep watch through the window. Wait 'til I give the signal for you to start loading up." He gives you another nod and you turn around to face Wanda. "Wanna head inside with me?"

Wanda grins and readily opens her door, you and Bucky following right after. But as you and Wanda head inside, Bucky remains by the tailgate of your truck and keeps watch through the large front window as you had said. Inside, Mr. Reeves is waiting by the cash register and keeping an eye on Bucky outside.

"Don't worry, Mr. Reeves. He's with me." Mr. Reeves glances at you, smiling in relief. "I need four large bales of hay and a fifty pound bag of dog food."

Mr. Reeves starts punching buttons on his register. "Alright, sweetheart. Is that going to be all for you?"

"Sure is. Um, Laura asked if you can put it on the tab? Clint will be by at the end of the week."

"Sure thing." You turn towards the window and give Bucky a thumbs up. He turns to open the tailgate and then move towards the bales of hay to start loading up. Mr. Reeves chuckles. "That's a strong fella you got there."

His words make you blush and Wanda giggle, but you can't even reprimand your friend because she is further away than you expected. She's leaning over what appears to be a warming box, hand inside as she smiles down at something you can't see. "Whatcha got there, Red?"

Her smile widens as you hear small chirps. "Ducklings."

You walk over to her, peering inside and your heart absolutely melts. Inside are the cutest ducklings you've ever seen and you know you're done for when you set your hand down inside and one particular little duckling runs onto your palm.

Mr. Reeves walks over, chuckling. "They were hatched a few days ago. All have been looking mighty strong and are ready to go to good homes."

"How much?"

"Y/N," Wanda laughs. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking this little sucker with me." You pick up your hand, duckling still happily nestled in your palm as you cradle him to your chest and look at Mr. Reeves. "Any chance you have those small plastic kiddie pools?"

"As a matter of fact I do," he muses.

Wanda is giggling the entire time Mr. Reeves gets exactly what you need, you nuzzling the yellow fuzzball to your face. You pay with your own money and sadly hand over the duckling when Mr. Reeves has to box her up. You then carefully take the box from him as Wanda takes the kiddie pool, and you walk behind her as you make your way to the truck.

You have absolutely no regrets about buying the duckling, but you still hide the box as you walk around the truck and open the driver's door. Wanda shoves the kiddie pool into the back with her and Bucky turns so his gaze darts between the both of you- Wanda looking far too amused and you looking a little sheepish as you continue to stand outside the truck.

"What did you do?" He sighs.

"Well we went in to just buy the food," Wanda says, "but-"

"I bought a duck." You blurt. You finally put the box in front of you, on the seat, and you open the lid. The duckling chirps and you beam down at her, picking her up and nuzzling her once more. "I'm gonna name her Flauta." Bucky snorts and Wanda laughs uncontrollably then. "No one tell Laura."

"Gonna be hard to hide her, doll."

Bucky reaches over to take the duckling from you and the sight of him cradling it, holding it up to his face and smiling makes you melt once more. Wanda is staring knowingly at you, but you don't even have the urge to flip her off because you know you're fucked. Instead, you take your phone out of your back pocket and snap a picture.

"That's my new wallpaper."

Bucky doesn't bother admonishing you for taking the picture, so after setting it as your wallpaper you put your phone away and climb into your truck. He holds onto the duckling as you make the drive back to the farm, Wanda giggling every now and then when you glance at Bucky and sigh longingly.

When you make it back to the farm, Clint and Laura are on the porch as the kids play out in the yard. They both stand as you park, their expressions turning suspicious as Wanda hops out of the back with the kiddie pool in tow. You grin as you hurriedly hop out as well, leaving Bucky to carry the incriminating evidence.

You can tell he expected as much as he watches you jog around to his side of the truck, already pointing at him through the opened window. "Bucky bought a duck!"

He shakes his head at you and you blow him a kiss, Clint and Laura then joining you by the truck. "Oh really?" Your brother-in-law muses.

"Yep."

"Mhm." Clint looks to Bucky as Laura bites back a grin. "Buck, what's the duck's name?"

Without missing a beat, he says, "Flauta."

Laura finally laughs. "Nice try, Y/N." As Bucky and Wanda guess how Laura knew, she says, "When we were younger, Y/N did the same thing but with a turtle. She named him Taquito."

"And Taquito lived a long and happy life until we went off to college," you say. "Flauta will live just long, if not longer, here on the farm."

Clint chuckles and then takes the duckling from Bucky. He looks to Wanda and gestures for her to follow him. "Lets go get this little lady all set up. The kids are gonna have a blast."

Laura follows after them, but not before winking at you, and you shake your head as you're left alone with Bucky. He finally climbs out of the truck, shutting the door and then leaning against it. You nervously laugh as he smirks. "You threw me under the bus."

"I couldn't take the chance that they'd make me return Flauta." You pout. "I couldn't send her back, Buckaroo. I'd already named her."

He pushes off the truck, turning you around and laying his arm around your shoulders. For a moment you forget how to breathe. "You're just as bad as Steve."

"Oh whatever." You roll your eyes, grinning as your arm wraps around the back of his waist and start walking towards where Clint went. "Steve got you shot at. I momentarily put you in momma bear's crosshairs." He quietly chuckles. "And besides, I didn't hear you deny it. Admit it, Barnes, I'm growing on you."

"Like a fungus."

You pinch his side. "Oh fuck off." He fully laughs then. "Just you wait, Buckaroo. The day we decide to put sex on the list of things we should definitely be doing, I'm gonna withhold just because you're being an ass."

"You sure about that?" The teasing lilt to his voice suddenly makes you feel at unease. "You sure you won't immediately bend over the table and let me hit it from behind?"

Your face flames, but you can't help but laugh at your earlier words. When you manage to calm down, you can't help but say, "I hate you," as you finish making your way towards your family.

"Nice try, doll, but I'm calling bullshit."

[helloalycia]

teenage dirtbag [one] // wanda maximoff

summary: when you're paired with the most popular girl in your grade for Chemistry class, you definitely don't expect to start liking her like that...

warning/s: none i don't think??

author's note: okay so i have a ton of requests to work through but i got sidetracked and before i knew it, five parts of this imagine were written.

It's based off the song 'Teenage Dirtbag' and idk, i thought it was cute to write! Who doesn't love the popular girl!wanda and loner!reader concept?

Here’s a cover of the song to listen to because i really liked it and a girl sings it so it immediately made the song 10x more gay, just how i like it 🥰

masterlist | wattpad | part two | part three | part four | part five

"Are you all comfortable?"

The class stayed silent, watching our Chemistry teacher, Mr. Hale, as he looked to everyone with a raised brow.

"You all like who you're sat with?" he asked again, as if expecting an actual response from someone.

I exchanged questioning glances with my best friend, Y/BF/N, who was sat beside me. It was the first day back in Chemistry class of our final year of high school and we were just waiting to begin.

"Anyone?" he asked, looking around.

"Yeah," a few students mumbled in response so we could move on.

He clapped his hands together. "Great! Well, don't get too comfortable because I made a seating chart."

A chorus of groans erupted from the class, including from me and Y/BF/N. Every other class had successfully managed to not give us a seating chart. I'd heard that Mr. Hale was an awkward teacher who hated students (ironically), but I didn't think he'd stoop so low as to pair us with students who weren't our friends. These new seats were also our partners for the rest of the year and were non-negotiable, so any projects or work we did would have to be with our seat buddy. Fun.

Students began to shuffle to their newly-assigned seats reluctantly as Mr. Hale read out the chart. When Y/BF/N left my side, I frowned dramatically, waving goodbye to him.

"Wanda Maximoff, you're now partners with Y/N Y/L/N," said Mr. Hale, making me look up at the mention of my name.

I didn't get chance to register what he'd said as the aforementioned girl soon approached me, settling her bag on the table beside me. I looked up and saw Wanda Maximoff smiling my way before taking a seat on the stool.

Huh. Wanda Maximoff. She was one of the most popular girls in our grade. Everybody loved her, either wanting to be friends with her, be with her or be her. I'd personally never crossed paths with her apart from the few classes we shared. She seemed nice enough, but I guess I had preconceived notions of what she was like since she'd made the very poor decision to date the most obnoxious guy ever. Anyone making decisions that terrible definitely had a flaw.

She had a twin brother, Pietro, who was also in our grade and played on the football team alongside her boyfriend. Her parents were good friends with mine, through mutual friends, I think, as I recalled my mum mentioning 'Mrs. Maximoff's boy' or 'Mrs. Maximoff's girl'. And I remembered when her family moved into our town back in second grade.

Admittedly, Wanda was the star of the show back then, too. We were only kids, but child Y/N wasn't blind. She was the first girl I'd crushed on, an innocent child crush – the crush that made me realise I liked girls. Apart from that, and the fact that she had a locker behind me in the hallway, I never really thought about her.

I glanced behind me, catching Y/BF/N's gaze across the room as he sat beside some other kid. He frowned, implying he wished we were partners, and I knew just how he felt.

Once Mr. Hale finished assigning seats, he gave us five minutes to get to know our new partners as he struggled to find the powerpoint for today's class. If there was anything worse than getting assigned seats, it was ice breakers.

"Er, well, hi," Wanda greeted, turning to face me. Green eyes sparkled brightly behind a friendly smile. "I'm Wanda. But, I mean, we already know each other."

"That we do," I said with a nod, returning her smile. "How're you doing? Your summer go well?"

She ran a hand through her hair, adjusting herself so she was comfortable on her stool. And as she did, a waft of her perfume washed over me and I blinked, trying to ignore how nice it smelled. Floral. Subtle. It suited her.

"Good, yeah," she answered with a nod. "Could have gone on longer for all I care."

I chuckled. "I feel that. I'm definitely not ready to be back."

"Right?" she said with raised brows. "It's gonna take a while to get back into routine, that's for sure. But I guess I did miss seeing my friends everyday."

I hummed in agreement, eyes flickering to Mr. Hale as he attempted to tackle the oncoming stream of animations on his powerpoint. I tried not to laugh as I looked back to Wanda, who clearly noticed the same thing as me and stifled a smile.

"Have you had Mr. Hale before?" I asked, nodding his way.

She shook her head. "Nope. You?"

"Never."

"Sucks that he makes seating charts," she said with a sigh, before realising what she said and looking to me with panicked eyes. "Not that I don't like you or anything–!"

"It's fine, I get it," I cut her off with an amused smile. "I wanted to sit with my friend, too."

She breathed out quietly, a hint of relief in her eyes, and scrunched her nose with an apologetic smile. Okay, yeah, maybe that was kind of cute. Older Y/N wasn't blind either. Wanda Maximoff was beautiful, with long brunette locks and matching hazel eyes that seemed to change from blue to green to brown in a kaleidoscope of colour. A winning smile and soothing voice was enough for anyone to fall for her unintentional charm, but it was purely admiration. Everyone pretty much had a mild crush on her, you'd be stupid not to.

"If we're gonna be working together, d'you wanna get the whole awkward number exchange out the way now?" she asked, half joking, half not.

"I– er– sure," I stumbled out rather carelessly, before cringing internally. Where did that come from?

Thankfully, she didn't seem to pick up on it (or just saved me the embarrassment of acknowledging it) and was already writing her number on a slip of paper. Sliding it my way, she capped her pen and gave me her signature smile.

"Thanks," I said with a nod, accepting the paper and pocketing it. "Can't wait to start those lovely science projects we've got coming up!"

She let out a quiet laugh at my sarcasm. "It'll be fine. You're not dumb, right? So, we'll be fine."

"Can't promise you that," I joked, making her roll her eyes playfully.

"Maybe if we–"

But she was cut off when Mr. Hale spoke up loudly, interrupting everyone's conversations.

"Five minutes are up, let's begin!"

I wondered if everyone was thinking the same thing as me – that was not five minutes.

"So it begins...," I mumbled to myself, facing forward.

Wanda breathed out, a stifled laugh, probably having heard my comment, and I couldn't help but crack a smile. Maybe I judged her too harshly. She wasn't actually that bad.

—

Since being paired with Wanda, I was surprised by how much she'd made an effort to befriend me outside of class. We'd always been back to back with our lockers though not quite speaking, but since becoming Chemistry partners, she'd wish me a good morning if she caught me, or greet me briefly as we collected our books.

She didn't have to, but I could see why everybody liked her now. She was just genuinely nice. Due to circumstance, we'd become partners, but rather than leaving it at that, she made a genuine effort to befriend me. And not even just me, but also Y/BF/N, who was at the locker next to mine. He was as surprised as I was, expecting Wanda to mind her own business as we weren't exactly in the same social circles.

This was, I guess you could say, the start of our friendship. And it was a good one at that. I grew to learn how funny she was, how much she loved her brother, the passion she had for art and painting... she was a wonderful person. Which is why I didn't understand why she was with her boyfriend, Nate. He was a grade-A dick and everything Wanda wasn't. How were they a thing?

It sounds like I'm being a bitch and judgemental, but he really is the worst. The few unfortunate times I shared a class with him or caught sight of him around school, he was causing some sort of trouble with the teachers or picking on students in a way that made it seem like a joke but everybody knew it wasn't.

For example, there was a time when Wanda and I were studying for an upcoming Chemistry test we had. We decided to just help each other study since we already worked together in class, so knew we could motivate each other to actually put in the work. It was, maybe, the fourth studying session we had, and I was going over some notes when I felt her eyes watching me.

"You need a hand?" I asked, unable to take the staring any longer. I looked up at her, quirking a brow.

She seemed to fall out of her daydream and straightened up, eyes flickering to mine. "Huh?"

I gave her an awkward smile, unable to maintain her gaze. "You're staring."

She didn't seem fazed as I called her out, instead leaning back in her seat and continuing to study me curiously.

"Did you do something different with your hair?"

Subconsciously reaching for my hair, I straightened up my ponytail and shook my head. "No...?"

She chewed on her lip, saying after a pause, "You tied it up. You usually leave it out."

Did I? I wasn't sure. I just knew that her noticing something like that made me feel self conscious all of a sudden.

"It looks good," she decided, before offering up a small smile. "You should do it like that more often."

Quickly, I felt warm. Was it stuffy in here or was it just me? God, compliments already made me feel stupid. And compliments from pretty girls made me feel ten times that. It didn't help that she was watching me with an endearing expression, making me focus on my book before me.

"Thanks," I got out quickly. "I– yeah."

Her smile widened before she looked back down to her own book. Suddenly, I became acutely aware of the way her leg brushed up against mine under the table.

Thankfully, the strange fuzzy feeling following her compliment faded and we were able to get back to work without her tuning out again. As we were going over each other's practice questions, an annoying voice shouted from across the library.

"Wanda, head's up!"

"Hey, no talking in the library!" a librarian hissed at the voice.

Wanda and I looked up just in time for a football to smack me in the side of the head. I didn't even see it coming until I felt the thing slap my head, giving me an instant urge to strangle whoever threw it.

"Fuck," I cursed, holding my head and closing my eyes to breathe through the pain.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Wanda's voice made me open my eyes and I saw her leaning forward, hand resting on my shoulder and the other on top of mine that was clutching my head.

"Been better," I admitted, trying to make light of the situation because as angry as I was at the idiot who threw it, I was also embarrassed because it hit me.

Wanda seemed concerned as she gently pulled me hand away, not letting go as she got a better look at the side of my face which I was sure was burning red. At least that's what it felt like.

"Shit, I'm so sorry."

I looked up and saw none other than Nate Green, Wanda's boyfriend, hovering and stifling a laugh as he looked at me. He had his stupid varsity jacket on and I was tempted to strangle him with it.

"I thought Wanda would catch it," he explained stupidly, before moving around the desk to collect his football.

Breathing out through gritted teeth, I pulled away from Wanda and nodded reassuringly. "I'll be fine. Just need an ice pack."

"You're such an idiot, Nate!" Wanda snapped, looking to him with a glare. "You need to watch what you're doing!"

He smiled sheepishly, making me roll my eyes and clench my jaw at the heat on the right side of my face. Fuck, that really hurt.

"What did you want?" Wanda asked him with a quirked brow. She definitely wasn't impressed. I'd hate to ever be on the wrong side of that condescending glare.

"I thought we could go out," he said like it was that simple.

"I'm studying," she quipped with crossed arms.

"I'm happy to wait," he said, toying with the ball in his hands.

Knowing I definitely didn't want that, I closed my books and said, "It's cool. You guys go. I think we're done here anyway."

Nate grinned. "See? S'all good."

Wanda ignored him and looked to me with worried eyes. "Y/N, are you sure?"

"You know your stuff," I said, referring to the work. "You'll be fine in the test. I'm sure."

I offered her a small, forced smile, before standing up to pack my bag. She did the same, beginning to pack her own things, but her eyes kept flittering towards me.

"D'you want me to go to the nurse's office with you?" she asked, shame laced in her voice.

"It's fine, I'll be fine," I said, hurrying up with my actions so I could just get out of here whilst I still had (some of) my dignity left. "See you in class tomorrow."

She nodded, sending a guilty smile my way. "See you tomorrow, Y/N."

Without giving either of them a look, I shouldered my backpack and left the library. Just another reminder of why Nate Green was literally the worst person ever.

—

Liking Wanda as more than a friend wasn't something that happened for a while if I'm being honest. I guess I started to enjoy her presence more and more the longer we spent time together.

I'd come to appreciate it whenever she'd say something completely out of the blue that made no sense whatsoever, or whenever she'd laugh at something I'd said that was arguably not funny but she didn't want to make me feel bad, or even whenever I teased her about something stupid she did, resulting in her doing that cute little nose scrunch she did. But I didn't think of it as liking her, more just a randomly-formed friendship that I was glad to have.

Maybe it was this misinterpretation that didn't make me see how I was acting around her, such as the time I was in the dinner queue at lunch when I realised she was stood behind me.

"Oh, hey, Y/N," she said when she noticed it was me in front of her. Her usual bright, friendly smile was on her lips as she looked to me. "You good?"

I nodded, returning her smile. "Yeah. Just getting some doughnuts for Y/BF/N and I. You?"

"Same," she said, before nudging the guy next to her, who I recognised as her brother. "Pietro and I thought we'd treat ourselves."

At the mention of his name, Pietro looked down to his sister before his gaze fell on me. A mischievous smile appeared on his lips as he put out his hand.

"Pietro Maximoff," he introduced. "You must be the Chemistry partner, Y/N, right?"

I raised my eyebrows with surprise as I shook his hand. "You, er, know who I am?"

He glanced at his sister with a cheeky smile. Wanda was avoiding both of our gazes, her cheeks dusting pink.

Clearly saving face for Wanda, he said, "We've been in the same grade since kids, right? 'Course I do."

Despite the truth to his words, something told me that wasn't how he knew who I was. Especially since I was sure I'd never spoken to him in my life. But, to save Wanda the embarrassment of clearly having spoken of me at home, I nodded to Pietro.

"Right," I agreed with an amused smile. "Duh."

I moved down the queue and grabbed two doughnuts from the display, putting them in two separate paper bags.

"Dibs the last one!" Pietro exclaimed as soon as I returned the clippers to the display. He reached around his sister immaturely and bagged the last doughnut.

Wanda rolled her eyes. "You know I can ask for more, right?"

Pietro grinned, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Go on then."

The two were twins, but they couldn't have been more different. I simply revelled in their interaction, finding it adorable.

Wanda did as she said, asking the dinner lady if there were any more doughnuts in the back. Unfortunately for her, those were the last for the day, making Pietro laugh as Wanda pouted.

"Sucks to be you," he teased her, as I paid for mine and Y/BF/N's doughnuts.

"I hate you," she mumbled playfully, but I saw the disappointment in her eyes as he lovingly but annoyingly waved his bag before her eyes.

Without even thinking much of it, I held out one of the bags in my hand. "Here. You can have mine."

Wanda looked to me with surprise. "Are you sure? I can live without a doughnut, if that's what you're thinking."

I chuckled, grabbing her hand and making her take it. "It's okay. I wasn't in the mood anyway."

Plus, you look better when you're smiling and not pouting, I added in my head.

She accepted the bag reluctantly. "I– thanks. At least let me pay for it–"

"It's just a doughnut, Wanda," I teased, before nodding her way. "See you later."

Leaving her and Pietro to it, I headed back to the table Y/BF/N was sat at and took a seat opposite him before giving him his doughnut.

"Sweet," he said, quickly opening the bag before realising I didn't have one. "Where's yours?"

Over his shoulder, I saw Wanda and Pietro taking a seat at their lunch table, doughnuts in hand and a heartwarming smile on Wanda's lips.

"They ran out," I answered Y/BF/N. "Wasn't in the mood anyway. Enjoy."

He shrugged before digging in. I'd like to say I didn't spare glances in Wanda's direction every now and then for the rest of the lunch hour, but I'd be lying if I did.

—

I'm in the art department. You okay to bring it here?

I read over the text Wanda sent me before shooting her an 'okay' and heading to the Art department. I'd grabbed her notebook in class earlier on, only realising as I was studying with Y/BF/N in the library and pulled out an extra one, so I was going to give it her back.

I guess, when you realise you like someone, it comes randomly, suddenly, without warning. Liking someone isn't instant, it's constant and gradual and subconscious. I guess I'd been falling for Wanda for a while, without even realising, but today was the day I acknowledged that fact.

The Art department wasn't somewhere I frequented regularly – give me a paint and brushes and I'd probably present you with a finger painting – but it was definitely worth the visit. Art pieces from current and past students were hung on the walls, a mural of the school was spray painted on another, and sculptures stood around. The whole department brought a smile to anyone's face with its bright colours and open space – I could see why Art students always hung out here, Wanda included.

Speaking of Wanda, I found her in one of the classrooms sat at a stool in front of a series of canvasses. The room had a few other Art students littered around, working on their own pieces during their lunch period, otherwise it was empty.

"Hey," I called, getting her attention as I approached her.

She followed my voice and straightened up with a cheery smile. "Y/N, hey. Thanks for coming. I'm working on my Art project, so I couldn't pull myself away."

I waved my hand dismissively, joining her side. "It's all good, don't worry." My eyes wandered to the series of canvases on easels she was working on and widened. "Holy shit, these are so good."

Three unfinished hyperrealistic portraits of people were before us, one whom I recognised as Pietro. The paintings were so detailed, despite their medium-size, and I couldn't imagine how long they must have taken.

"You think?" she asked, glancing between them. "I think I messed up the nose here." She pointed with the back end of her paintbrush to the nose of Pietro. "It's a bit bent."

I almost laughed as I looked to her with disbelief. "Are you kidding? Wanda, these are amazing. How did you even do this?"

She looked down bashfully, a nervous smile on her lips. "I don't know. It's for a project. I chose to do family portraits." She pointed to each one as she said, "My mum, my dad and my brother."

I was in awe of her talent, jaw dropped with amazement still. I always knew she was an artist, but I'd never actually seen her work. I was starting to wish I'd come here a lot sooner.

"So, you got my notebook?" she asked, pulling me back into reality.

I looked away from the paintings reluctantly before getting her notebook from my bag and holding it out for her. As she accepted it, she must have forgotten she was holding her paintbrush as the tip brushed my wrist, leaving a swipe of red there.

"Oh, my bad," she said with a laugh, before setting her notebook and brush down and grabbing a paper towel from beside her.

Wetting it with water from her bottle, she pressed it to my wrist and swiped the paint away. It was such a mundane action, but the way her fingers gently held my wrist and emanated a warmth only she seemed to carry sent shivers down my spine.

I glanced up at her, letting her do it, and noticed the swipe of paint she had across her cheek, as if she'd touched her face without realising.

Now that I paid attention, I noticed how cute she looked in her Art getup. An old, oversized shirt covered in paint was being worn to cover her clothes, sleeves loosely rolled up to her elbows. Her long hair was tied back into a ponytail, but her baby hairs framed her forehead adorably.

When her hair wasn't in her face, her eyes only seemed more intense, glistening with excitement and happiness. I almost forgot to breathe when they met mine briefly, a hint of embarrassment there from when cleaning me up. She was in her element here and it made sense to me now.

I knew I'd fallen for her.

—

"You don't get it," I was saying to Y/BF/N as we hung about the school gym, waiting for the teacher to start the lesson. "It's bad. I like her. Like, like like her."

Y/BF/N laughed, clapping me on the back with pity. "You're screwed."

I frowned. "I know."

As he stretched for class, he continued, "I mean, I get it, I do. She's super nice. Pretty. And you guys seem to get on."

I chewed on my lower lip worriedly.

He gave me a knowing look. "There's one problem though."

I groaned, running a hand down my face. "I know, I know. She's got that dick of a boyfriend."

He chuckled. "That's one way to put it."

I sighed, crossing my arms with annoyance. Since realising I liked Wanda as a little more than a friend, things weren't going well for me. Whenever we worked together, I'd forget what I was thinking because I was too busy admiring her side profile or getting lost in her eyes. If she spoke about the work, told a joke or was simply speaking her thoughts aloud, I'd focus on every little thing she was saying, knowing I could listen to her speak all day. It was bad, but thankfully I hadn't stumbled over my words or made a total fool of myself in front of her. I was determined to not let it get that far.

My eyes wandered around the gym as Y/BF/N tried to give me advice, but admittedly, his words flew in one ear and out the other when I caught sight of Wanda.

She was standing with her friends, smiling and laughing to whatever they were saying. Like everyone else in here, she was wearing her gym kit – black athletic shorts and a blue and white tee shirt, the colour of our school. It wasn't anything special, yet she made it seem that way, outdoing anyone in here. Her brown hair was tied back, the ponytail falling down her back, showing her stunning profile and making my mouth go dry.

Another clap on the back from Y/BF/N pulled me from my reverie and I looked to see he was laughing at me.

"Majorly screwed," he corrected his previous comment.

He was definitely right.

[pixla]

hi hon! i adore your writing and i have a request for tommy: so you know that scene in the caves when alice breaks her leg and cindy has to like put the bone back into place? could that be with tommy x gn! reader instead? and both of them have a really really cute moment where the reader confesses how they never felt alive until they met and started dating tommy? they both survive and flashforward with fluffy smut pls?

Special thanks to the j-st-patricks-day and all my friends who helped with the process of writing this fic <3

broken bones and beating hearts

Tommy slater x nb!reader

Warnings: swearing, graphic descriptions of murder, graphic descriptions of injury (eg. Broken bones and stabbings/cuts), Possessed!Cindy, alice dies, Arnie dies, vomiting, fluff, pet-names, knocking out teeth, sex, unprotected sex, this au doesn’t fit with any of the other films (feel free to tell me if there’s any others)

Word count: 3.2k

POVC= point of view change

Tommy gripped your wrists pulling you out through the narrow cavern as it collapsed only seconds later. “Fuck!” You tucked your legs close to your body, trying to shake the feeling of Cindy's grip around your ankles. “What the fuck is happening?” You looked up as Tommy still held you close, you both too scared to move from the previous near death experience.

Everything was normal. You had all just ran out into the woods, you and Alice teasing Cindy about some stupid witchcraft book she had found in nurse lane’s office. But then Cindy decided to slash Alice and Arnie’s guts open with a machete.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck fuck!” You cried, bawling your hands into fists, wandering down what felt like endless hallways. You both soon realised that you had been going in a circle. It didn’t make any sense, it felt like another dimension or a mirror maze, where everything looked the same, maybe even was the same. “Y/N.” You turned your head to face tommy. “What?” He looked at you confused. “I didn’t say anything.”

You were going to shake it off as you just imagining it, but then you heard it again. “Y/N!” This time you knew it wasn’t Tommy, it was a woman. “Hello?!” You yelled out, hoping that someone had finally come to your rescue, but Tommy just continued to look at you like you were crazy.

You strayed from Tommy’s side following as the voice repeated your name. “Where are you going?” Tommy yelled after you as you wandered, not bothering to pay any attention to his questions.

You followed the voice, bending through the same corridors and hallways, not knowing where you’d end up. It was when you twisted round one corner you halted in your steps. It was a huge room, far larger than any of the ones you had previously found. But the greatest way it stood out was the mass in the centre of the room.

It was dark and fleshy, like clumps of meat thrown into a pile. You gasped as you stood closer gaining a better look at the thing. It was alive. It rose up and down almost like it was breathing and it thumped like a beating heart. With each whisper of your name you grew closer, drawn to it. You reached your hand out transfixed, but when your hand melted into its flesh, you froze.

It all flashed through your brain so fast. Cyrus Miller, ruby lane, billy baker…Cindy Berman. It was every single one of those shadyside phycos, even Cindy. It was all of the pain, all of the suffering and all of the evil. You lifted your hand, a thick slime dragging with. You backed up slowly, expecting to hit a wall. You were soon proved wrong when you felt your body fly backwards.

You cried out as you landed with a thud, Tommy finally catching up to you, peering over to find you clutching your leg in pain. “Shit, are you okay?!”

He had jumped down helping to lift you from the pit. You sobbed, tears running down your cheeks like a broken faucet, your hands clutching at His shirt. Tommy held you running his finger gently through your hair, shushing you softly as you buried yourself into his warmth.

Tommy gently slipped from your hold, leaning down to examine the damage. It was bad. So bad, you could practically see the bone protruding from the skin. You felt your gut wrench at the sight causing you to lean over beside you, regurgitating your dinner onto the cold cave floor. “Don’t look, okay? Just look at me.” Tommy leant over wiping your mouth with his jacket. You nodded slowly, trying your best to keep your eyes locked with Tommy’s despite how hard your morbid curiosity urged you to look down. Ripping his plaid jacket into strips he looked up at you. “We’re gonna get out of here. You’re gonna get out of here. No matter what I do, I’m gonna make sure I protect you, just like I always have.”

“I love you so much Tommy. I’ve never and never will love someone the way I do you.” You lean into him pressing your foreheads together. “I can’t lose you, okay?” He nods sympathetically, pressing a light kiss to the slope of your nose.

“Do you remember those dates we’d go on, out to the forest at night, and we’d just lay there, staring up through the cracks in the trees?” You nod. “I want you to think about that, okay? I want you to think about how many more we’ll go on once we get out of here.”

You hold a tight grip on his arm as he wipes away at the area. “I’m gonna have to put it back into place now.”

You pleaded with him, as the tears started again. “Please, no. Please just leave me here. Just go and find help okay? I can’t do it Tommy, I can’t do it”

“Hey, hey, hey. C’mon, look at me.” He places his hand on your cheek, tilting your head to look him in the eye. “You're gonna be fine, okay? You just gotta focus right now.” You nod timidly, the tears starting to slow.

He holds the bottom of your calf with one hand and your heel with the other. “Just count to three and I’m gonna do it, okay baby?” He looks up at you, his soft words lulling your anxiety. You bite your knuckle nervously, unsure as to how you should answer, but the look of trust in his eyes persuades you easily. “Okay.”

You breathe in. “One, two-” You let out a blood curdling scream as a large crack rung out, bouncing against the walls of the cave. Your fist gripped Tommy’s forearm tightly as you cried out a series of various curses. “You fucking asshole.” You whine out in pain, letting out an airy laugh trying to brighten your rather dull circumstances.

“You're okay baby.” You wince as he wraps the piece of fabric he had ripped from his jacket around your leg, tying it tight enough to hold you together for the moment. You grabbed Tommy’s shoulder as he wrapped his arm around your waist lifting you from the ground. You hiss as you feel your leg throb from the sudden movement. “Do you think you’re able to stand?” Tommy watches as you wobble trying to stay grounded. You nod. “Yeah.” You had no choice and you both knew it, if you wanted to live, you’d have to.

You both started your journey, finally entering a new environment as you trudged deeper into the earth of Shadyside. Why did these tunnels even exist? The intricate details of the maze made it easy to come to the conclusion that they were man made, but by who? Not once had you ever heard of these tunnels, and by the looks of it, nobody else had either, despite nurse Lane of course.

“Be careful.” Tommy tightened his grip around you. “You might slip.”

“Okay.” You mumble, too exhausted to form a real answer. You looked around at the walls, floor and ceiling. The further the two of you walked, the denser this moss became. You felt a wave of familiarity but you couldn’t quite place it. Red moss…red moss! It hit you, Cindy! Her red stained shirt, she said it was from the moss in the outhouses. “Tommy! It’s the fucking outhouses! We fucking made it!” You would probably be jumping up and down with joy right now if it wasn’t for your broken leg.

You look up, spotting the out house toilet openings. Wow, real nice, you’re both sitting in Sunnyvale shit and piss right now. “Yeah, but how are we supposed to get out?” Tommy sighs looking up at the roughly 15 foot climb. “You can’t climb that.”

You look at him. “Yeah, but you might.”

“No. I’m sorry but no, I’m not leaving you down here, especially when there’s Cindy running around up there trying to kill us. C’mon let’s go, if we’re at the outhouses, we must be near to camp.” He directs you along but before you can both carry on your interrupted. “Did you hear that?!”

“No I-“

“Shush.” You both stayed quiet listening as to what caught your attention. It’s screaming. Someone is screaming from the outhouses. “Hey! Help! Please, we’re stuck down here!” You yell trying to get the attention of the voices.

The space grows quiet as the screaming halts, the both of you waiting nervously for any indication of life when a head pops out from one of the seat holes. “What the fuck are you guys doing in the toilets?!”

It was ziggy, Cindy's sister. “Ziggy..” you wonder if it’s right to tell her what’s happened to her sister but you decide against it, not wanting to put the girl in such an emotionally vulnerable state whilst she’s already physically. “Gary’s up here too!” She yells down as Gary’s head pops out another toilet hole. “Hey!” He yells, surprisingly light heartedly considering there’s a murderer running around camp butchering little kids with a fucking machete. “Can you get us out of this fucking toilet or not?!”

Gary had managed to make some sort of bucket contraption with some rope. “It’s just like You’re Gothel climbing up Rapunzel's hair, okay?!” He yelled down, lowering it down to you.

You're about to slip onto the contraption when you hear Ziggy's unfortunately very familiar screams, and before you know it Gary’s decapitated body lies beside you on the floor. You and Tommy let out an in sync gasp, him pulling you away into his chest, as to protect you from the image. “We’re gonna have to find another way out.”

You think to yourself. Alice…she had shown you something whilst you were robbing nurse lanes office with Arnie. “I know how.” You pull out the book that started this whole thing.

“Baby, I don’t get how that book is gonna help us, let’s be honest it’s some random witches and wizards bullshit written how many hundreds of years ago?”

“No, tommy.” You turn the book to him parting the pages. “It’s a map.” You rest the book on the floor, the two of you leaning over it. “It's a map of camp, you see over here, these x’s are the graves we found. And over here, that’s where we entered.” You point your finger on the page. “Here, there’s another exit. Mess hall.”

His eyes lighten. “Jesus, fuck! You’re so smart!” He pulls you in for a kiss.

—-

You sat, your back arched over as you watched Tommy laid on his back kicking open the vent that led to the mess hall when another scream rang out. You instantly knew that it was ziggy, far too acquainted with the tone of her screams.

“Tommy!” With one final kick the vent flew open, Tommy hauling himself through in a split second. “Don’t move, stay here! I’m gonna go help Ziggy.”

Tommy always cared so much for the kids at camp, you honestly weren’t surprised that he was willing to risk his life for one of them.

—povc—

Tommy barged through the doors of the mess hall, an all too familiar song ringing through the speakers, the noise made his head thump as it blared.

Tommy followed the screams, grabbing a mallet that lied on a nearby counter. Cindy stood beating at a supply closet door as ziggy screamed from within. Tommy pulled cindy's shoulder for her to face him as he swung the mallet into her jaw. Cindy tumbled to the ground as she spat a mouthful of blood and teeth onto the floor. Tommy hesitated holding the mallet in his hand, ready to strike Cindy. But before he could come to any decision Cindy grabbed her machete from the ground slicing at Tommy’s thigh.

Tommy dropped to the floor, his mallet sliding across the freshly mopped floor tiles, Cindy rising to her feet, towering over Tommy. Overpowered, he crawled backwards digging the heels of his hands into the cold tile floor. He was braced for impact when Cindy stopped turning around.

—povc—

You lunged at her digging the knife you found into her back, pulling it out as she turned to face you, plunging it into her chest over and over until she hit the floor unresponsive. You fell. You had finally reached your limit. Your leg was broken for fucks sake and you just murdered Cindy. Pure-hearted, hard working Cindy Berman. You plunged your knife deep into her chest until you split it down the middle. You dragged your body over to Tommy’s wrapping your arms around him, wetting his shirt as you became inconsolable. He held his hand at the back of your neck placing soft kisses onto the top of your head. “It’s okay baby, it’s okay. She’s dead now, we’re gonna be okay.”

You heard as ziggy opened the closet door, dropping to her knees at the sight of her sister dead on the floor. The red headed girl pulled her sister's body over to face her, wrapping her arms around Cindy crying into her cold lifeless body. You crawled over to the girl pulling her away from her sister's touch into yours. “I’m sorry.” You whispered.

The three of you struggled as you heard the last bell ring signalling that the bus would be leaving. Ziggy yelled out as the bus doors began to close. The wheels began to roll forwards but before it could depart a boy budged the doors open, calling out to her. “Ziggy!” You released your grip from the girl's side as she ran to him, embracing him. You rested your head on Tommy’s shoulder at the sight of the two. “I hope she’ll be okay.”

The two of you had found a place on the bus as Ziggy sat with you fellow councillor Nick goode. Finally being able to breathe, you rest your head on Tommy’s shoulder. “I’m so glad you're okay.” You look up at him smiling at his words. “Maybe you're the one who really needs protecting, without me you’d be dead meat.” You press your lips together, smiling softly into the kiss. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had lost you.”

Your eyes wandered to the window watching as the camp nightwing sign slowly floated away out of sight. Finally it was over.

———

After the accident medics treated and hospitalised many of the camp nightwing campers and counselors such as you and Tommy. Your leg was thankfully saved. They said if not for Tommy it probably would have had to be amputated due to infection.

It was two months since that night, you still had to use crutches but besides that, you made a speedy recovery alongside tommy. Although he was in a much less critical condition than you and was discharged within a few days, he still spent every night in the hospital with you.

You laid beside Tommy his leg slotted between yours as the velvet underground played softly in the background. You run your fingers through his hair slowly as he whines quietly into your chest. It finally felt like the first time since that day that you both could finally relax.

You pulled away from his touch leaning over him, kissing his lips softly. “You look so pretty.” You hum. He smiles into the kiss. “Not as much as you, baby.”

You lifted yourself straddling Tommy’s hips, deepening the kiss as your hands ran down playing with the hem of his shirt, travelling underneath. He pulls away, his hand rubbing your thigh. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“I’m okay.” You reassure him, pressing soft kisses along his collarbone. You removed your shirt as Tommy’s hands floated up to your waist.

“God, you're so beautiful.” He mumbles, kissing up your chest slowly as you take off your pyjama shorts, throwing them to the floor.

You lean down unbuttoning Tommy’s jeans, taking him in your hand. Tommy twitches at the contact as you align himself to you. You lower yourself onto him slowly as his hands hold a firm grip on your lower back. Tommy lays his head back, his hips thrusting up into you.

You shiver as you lift yourself up and down, your thighs shaking from the stimulation. His thrusts hardened, your soft whimpers of his name encouraging him. “You look so fucking good right now.” He gripped your waist helping you keep a steady pace.

You steadied yourself, leaning your arms out pressing your hands against his chest as you felt yourself near your climax. “Shit, Tommy I’m gonna come.” You whined under your breath.

“Don’t worry baby, me too.” He runs his hands down your back lovingly.

You threw your head back as you felt Tommy’s hand wander down edging you on further, your breath quivering at the touch. You felt his hips buckle beneath you as he reached his peak, yours following soon after.

You sighed your body collapsing onto his chest. “I love yours so much.” You mumble into his skin as he presses a soft kiss against your forehead.

—-

It was the 16th anniversary since that day at nightwing, the two of you still happily together. Despite the permanent scar that night had left on the both of you mentally and physically, you both managed to stay strong, the event probably making the two of you even closer than you already were before.

Every year instead of hiding from the memories of that night, you both embrace it. Tommy’s favourite way to do this was to ‘reenact your youths’ in his words by driving the two of you out to the forest, where you would’ve spent so many nights together when you were younger.

You would open the sunroof and lay out the seats creating a little bed for the two of you. Probably not the safest thing the two of you could do, but most definitely the sweetest.

The two of you laid there staring up at the trees, resting your head on Tommy’s chest, your arm draped across his abdomen. Looking up at him you pressed a small kiss to the slope of his nose, pressing your heads together. The moonlight glazed over his cheeks, giving him a paler look. “You look so beautiful.”

—-

The car ride home was quiet but the atmosphere felt soft and comforting as Tommy rested his hand on your inner thigh. The velvet underground played softly on the radio as your eyes gazed out at the passing scenery.