#since he'd set a normal pillow on fire

[sopebubbles]

Master List

Fifteen

Synopsis: in a world where alphas, betas, and omegas live along side modern humans as second class citizens, you've fallen through the cracks of a society that wants to take everything wonderful from you. Luckily a timely encounter with the boys just might save your life.

Chapter summary: You and Hoseok might be missing each other during his heat, but you get the opportunity to become closer with another pack member.

warnings: mentions of past trauma, fire, death, assault (nothing detailed), tbh aside from some pining, this chapter is pretty fluffy.

wc: 6k

When you woke up on the fifth day of your heat, you felt almost normal. Your limbs didn't weigh quite so heavy, and the ache between your legs was gone. Yoongi laid beside you in bed, his cheek pillowed cutely on his arm. He looked so peaceful, you couldn't help staying a while to watch him. You had few moments to look at him like this when he wasn't looking back at you. You'd never noticed how lovely the dip above his cupid's bow was, even though you'd spent so long admiring his smile. His black hair was disheveled from sleep, cutting dark black shards against his pristine white cheek. It took every ounce of restraint to not brush his hair back, but you wanted nothing less than to wake him. He'd earned a good sleep after giving you anything and everything you needed for the past five days. 

Jimin was absent from bed already, you noted, and after indulging in several minutes of watching your alpha sleep, you decided it was time to attend to your bladder's needs. You slipped off the bed as gently as you could and quietly opened the door. 

After washing your face and brushing your teeth, you went down stairs, hoping you would run into Hobi, but no one was there, not even Jimin. Maybe your brain wasn't working as well as you'd assumed because you could smell every pack member but Jimin in the house, but there wasn't a person in sight. Coffee hadn't even been made. You shrugged it off, guessing everyone was sleeping in like Yoongi. You wouldn't be going to work since your hormones were still above normal, and it could attract unwanted attention even though you were feeling better. So you looked around for something to occupy you until the others got up or Jimin came home.

You found baskets full of laundry in the room connected to the kitchen and debated for a minute whether it was intrusive to do the pack's laundry for them. Ultimately, you decided that Hobi wouldn't mind and got to work. There were towels left in the dryer from last night and you folded them, looking around for anyone before you indulged in burying your face in a particularly soft and fluffy one. It reminded you of how Jungkook smelled, even though you hadn't been particularly close to him since you moved into the house. You weren't afraid of Jungkook like you were the others, maybe because you'd already been close enough to him when you first met to know he wouldn't hurt you or maybe just because he wasn't an alpha. But you were afraid he was going to arrest you anytime you saw him in uniform, and that feeling would take time to fade.

When the folding was done you decided to have a bowl of cereal to fill your grumbling stomach until everyone else woke up. You had to drag a chair from the kitchen table to the fridge to be able to reach the boxes on top. You didn't realize Jimin was home until you heard him laugh. You froze, your hand still reaching for a box of sugary cereal, and turned your head to look at him. 

"I get it now," he chuckled.

You dropped your hand. "Get what?" 

"Why people always laughed at me for being short. This is objectively funny," he explained as he walked over and grabbed the box you were going for with ease.

"I had it," you mumbled as the box floated past your face, and he set it on the counter. 

"Sure you did. Come here before you hurt yourself." Jimin grabbed your waist and lifted you from the chair, and put your feet on the ground.

"Where were you?" you asked softly.

"Did you miss me?" he teased, and you looked away without responding. "I just went to the grocery store. Can you help me bring stuff in?" he asked, and you eagerly nodded. 

"I didn't know you could drive." Although you normally would have tried to carry several bags at once, your limbs were still a little weak, so Jimin only handed you light things like paper towels and bread.

"I can. There are just so many people in this house who prefer to drive. It's never really been my thing, but I can do it when I need to."

"Isn't grocery shopping usually Taehyung's thing? Why didn't he go with you?" You wondered as you walked back into the kitchen.

"Hobi's in heat," Yoongi said from the bottom of the stairs, his hair wild and his eyes still droopy from sleep.

"Oh," you breathed. You should have realized sooner. You couldn't explain why that left you feeling disappointed. 

"He started yesterday. He tried to tell you but you were–"

"Yeah, it always gets deepest at the end."

"How do you feel today?" Yoongi asked. Coming closer, he pushed your hair back to look into your clear eyes. You had to tilt your head back to look up at him.

"I'm fine," you answered as he wrapped his arms around you. You hugged him back, and he hummed happily. "Shouldn't you be with him?" you asked softly.

Yoongi pulled back to look at you. "No, princess. We're yours."

"But…" you huffed air through your nose, trying hard to get a grasp on your own feelings. They should be with him, right? You shouldn't be keeping them from that. Hobi needed and deserved them. "He needs you."

Jimin shook his head. "He doesn't. He has more than enough alphas to get him through it."

Your face scrunched in frustration as you picked at your nails. Yoongi might be able to appreciate how adorable you looked more if he wasn't concerned. "What's on your mind, princess?" He prodded softly. 

"I know you're my pack. But you're his pack, too. And–" you looked at Yoongi and he gave you a nod to go on. "All three of you made my heat better, and I want Hobi to have the best heat, too, so I think you should be with him."

"Sweet thing," Jimin cooed, unable to resist patting your head. 

Yoongi reached for your hand and pulled you close. "It makes me really happy to hear that your heat was better. It's still not over quite yet, so we will stay with you. We want to stay with you. Hobi wants us to as well. So you don't need to feel bad about it. He's just fine."

Your lips still pouted as you mumbled an 'okay.' Yoongi watched you as you tried to blink away the moisture in your eyes, but you had to look away from him. The washing machine sounded like a church bell calling you to service. You turned and wiped the last of the unshed tears from your eyes. 

"Okay. I'll just put in another load of laundry and then I'll make some breakfast, okay?" 

"Baby, you don't have to clean," Yoongi said, but you shook your head at him. 

"Is this my home or isn't it, Yoongi?" You questioned, voice stronger than he expected. 

"Of course it is, but–"

"Then it's my home to clean. It's what I need to do."

He smiled lovingly at you. He couldn't be more proud that your omega instincts were calling you to take care of the house. It was like a special omegan way of claiming ownership, and nothing could have made him happier. "I get it. I only meant you shouldn't overwork yourself. You're still recovering."

"I'll be fine. I like doing housework," you assured him as you pulled away and went to the laundry room. 

By the evening, you had all of the laundry washed, folded and sorted. You'd even been able to iron Yoongi's uniform before he left. He was reluctant to do so, but you assured him that you would be fine with just Jimin for the night. It would feel weird though, to sleep in your nest without Yoongi after so many nights together. But you didn't let it show. 

After dinner, Jimin convinced you to settle down and watch a movie with him on the couch, so that was how Jungkook and Taehyung found you, cuddled and happy in front of Jimin as you both laid facing the TV. When you saw them, you tried to get up, but Jimin held you down, unwilling to let his personal heater go. 

"Is everything okay?" you asked. 

Jungkook nodded. "We just came to get food."

"I made two trays for you for dinner. I wanted to take them up but Jimin said to wait."

"That's sweet, pup. Thank you. But you don't have to," Jungkook said as he went to the kitchen. 

"You're watching Harry Potter?" Taehyung asked as he came to sit on the edge of the couch near your feet. He wore sweats and a sleeveless shirt, and his blonde hair fluffed around his head, making him look softer than ever. 

Jimin hummed. "The pup has never seen them."

"How is that possible?" Tae chuckled.

"My parents were really strict about us not reading or watching things about magic or anything like that. But I read all the books last year," you explained.

Taehyung nodded his head. "Are you enjoying it?"

You smiled and nodded eagerly before Tae reached out to ruffle your hair. He did it easily as if he'd done it a thousand times before, but it left you wide-eyed with heated cheeks. He didn't seem to notice though. He merely leaned over to kiss Jimin on the cheek, lingering a little to appreciate your scent, and then left to help Jungkook in the kitchen.

"You like Tae Tae, little pup?" Jimin whispered in your ear when he was gone. His teeth nipped at your throat and you wriggled away from him, finally escaping his grasp, but only because he let you.

"I hope this is okay," you said softly as you walked into the kitchen. "Do you need me to make anything else? Jimin said light stuff is better, but I'm not exactly an expert."

"This is great, Y/N. Thank you," Jungkook replied as he gathered water from the fridge.

"What do you like to eat when you're in heat?" Taehyung asked. Lucky for him you didn't seem to notice the intense interest of his inquiry. 

"I don't know. I don't usually eat much," you shrugged. Taehyung frowned, remembering the time two months ago when you passed out from not being taken care of. It was packmates' jobs to take care of an omega in heat, and he felt relieved you'd had a pack to help you this time.

"She'll eat anything as long as Yoongi feeds her by hand," Jimin said loudly from the living room. The two men watched as your face darkened with embarrassment. 

"I-is Hobi okay? Does he need anything?" You asked after you were able to compose yourself again.

"You are a sweet little thing, aren't you?" Taehyung said. There was something in the way you lowered your head, maybe to hide a smile, that he found heart-poundingly endearing.

"Hobi is doing fine. Happy as a clam. We'll take all this up, and he'll be even happier," Jungkook answered. 

Seeing that they were short a few hands with all the bottles of water and other drinks, you quickly grabbed one of the trays and took it upstairs. Your steps halted at the top of the stairs and you waited for Jungkook to open the door. When he did, you couldn't help taking a glance inside, to see if you could get a glimpse of Hobi and know he was okay. But when you did, it suddenly felt intrusive, like you shouldn't be there. Even after the two men entered, you could only bring yourself to the threshold of the door and wait for them to take the tray from you. Once he did, you disappeared back down the stairs before Taehyung could thank you and shut the door.

"How are they?" Hobi asked when Taehyung came back to the bed. He was relatively lucid for the moment. 

"They're good, hyung. Y/N made some food for us," Tae told him, helping him get up into a sitting position to eat. "It looks like she's been keeping busy."

Hoseok whined softly, causing Jin to wrap his arm around his back to comfort him. "I'm sure Jimin would come cuddle you for a bit if you asked."

When Hoseok didn't say anything and merely frowned, Taehyung answered for him. "It isn't Jimin that he wants, hyung." 

Hobi sighed. "I didn't know what it would be like to be with her. I've been with my sisters during heats, but it was different. I miss her scent and the way she fits in my arms," he said, sounding bereft.

"Maybe she could give you a pillow or something," Jungkook suggested. 

Hobi looked to Jin, not knowing how the pack alpha would react to an outsider's scent in the nest. "It's your nest, my love," was his answer to his husband's longing eyes.

He turned to Namjoon, who was still lying on his other side. The alpha shrugged. "It's not like we're not used to her scent now. It's all over the house. And it's nice. I don't mind, especially if I would make you happy, darling." 

Hoseok smiled slightly and turned onto Jin, burying his face in his neck. "We need to eat," Jin reminded him with a kiss to his head.

The remaining days of Hoseok's heat left a lingering weirdness. It felt like just at the point when you were wanting to see more of them, especially Hoseok, but even Taehyung too, everyone was suddenly occupied. Even Yoongi was working a lot, taking extra long shifts with only 8 hours in between to get a little sleep and some food before he went back. You felt guilty, knowing he was trying to make up for all the time he'd taken off with you, but you couldn't say that to anyone. He had to do it, and you were grateful he had, but you hated seeing him suffer for it now, even more than you hated not being able to see him much at all.

Jimin has been sleeping with you in your nest every night, but you were finding it hard to sleep without Yoongi, especially when you awoke from your nightmares. Jimin didn't wake easily, and you could cuddle into him without causing any disturbance. But tonight, your nightmare had been so upsetting that you didn't want to go back to sleep, so instead of turning in toward Jimin you rolled toward the edge of the bed, sending a quick text to Yoongi to see if he was busy. 

While there were times when he wouldn't be able answer because of an emergency, there were also long stretches of time when he didn't have anything to do at all. He always told you that you could text him anytime while he was working and if he could answer you then he would, but not to worry if he didn't. You'd been lucky a few nights ago when you woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. You'd texted him and since he wasn't busy he texted with you until you got sleepy again. Tonight, you weren't so lucky. A few minutes ticked by while your message sat unread. Finally, you decided to get out of bed since you were feeling awake and didn't want to lay in the darkness, lest your nightmares should catch up with you. 

You descended the stairs, expecting more darkness, but light filtered softly down the hall from one of the rooms at the front of the house. You knew that was Taehyung's studio. Other than the pack's room, it was the only other room that was omitted from your post-heat cleaning frenzy earlier in the week. You'd never been inside of it, but you found yourself walking quietly down the hall to the cracked open door. Low-fi music played softly inside, quiet enough that you couldn't hear it until you were just outside. Within, Taehyung stood behind a canvas propped on an easel. You couldn't see his face, but even if you didn't know it was him, you would know him by his heady scent that even the smell of paint couldn't smother. 

"You can come in," he said loudly enough for you to hear. Without leaning around the large canvas to see you, he had identified you by your apple scent, too.

You crept cautiously around the door to stand just inside. "I didn't mean to bother you."

His head poked around to look at you, smiling. "You're not. You can have a seat," he told you, pointing to the couch against one wall. You sat and curled your knees to your chest, picking at your nails as you took in the room. Odds and ends scattered about, quite the opposite of the rest of the house. "What's keeping you up, sweet little?"

You blushed at the nickname he had begun to call you a few days ago. "It's 'sweet thing,'" you corrected him the first time with Jimin's pet name for you. "Maybe to Jimin, but to me you're a sweet little thing," he'd argued.

"I had bad dreams."

Taehyung nodded with a thoughtful frown. "Me, too." He applied a careful stroke of paint before he looked at you. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

You shook your head. "I don't really remember it. But you can tell me about yours," you prompted. 

Taehyung shrugged. "Mine are pretty similar most nights. I dream about a fire, and the screaming, and when I wake up it feels like minutes before I'm able to move. When I can move, it feels like I have to get up. So I come here."

"When were you in a fire?" you wondered. 

"I wasn't. My birth pack's house caught on fire when I was away at art school. I wasn't there, and they all died," he explained distantly. 

"I'm sorry," you whispered. 

Taehyung looked at you and smiled softly. "Nothing for you to be sorry for."

You wrang your hands together, not sure what to do with the uneasy feeling in your stomach. "You must miss them a lot," you said softly. 

He nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"Is that why you don't like to leave the house much?" you asked before you could stop yourself. You wished you could stuff the words back into your mouth. 

Taehyung huffed and then chuckled. "Yeah, that's part of it. If I go out somewhere for too long, I get worried. Like I won't make it back in time if something goes wrong." He sighed, "I know it's kind of silly. I just–"

"It's not silly," you assured him. "It's good that you have people you loved, who loved you. And now you have more people who love you. Was your birth pack big?"

He shook his head and put down his brush and paint in favor of sitting down with you. "It was just my parents, my mom's sister and her husband. They didn't have any kids, so I was an only child. They spoiled me, but I loved them a lot."

"It's nice you had so many adults to raise you and teach you."

He hummed. "Yeah, but I always wished I had some siblings or cousins to play with. When I first met Jungkook and he introduced me to the others, it really felt like I had gained those brothers I always wanted. It wasn't until almost a year later that I started having deeper feelings for them."

"Jimin told me once that when you joined the pack you were looking for family," you said.

"That was what I needed back then," he agreed.

You fixed your eyes on your knees. "I wish I could have been adopted by a family like yours instead," you said gently. "I could have been your sister."

Taehyung smiled sweetly at you. "That would have been great. But then we wouldn't be together now. And I like you being here now." At his words, you hid your face, but it only endeared him more. "I can be like a brother to you, if that's what you need. But I'd rather–" he cut himself off and shook his head.

You lifted your head just a bit to peek at him. "Rather what?"

He blushed slightly and put on a strange kind of smile. "I would rather be your alpha—one of your alphas. I know you're probably not ready for that, and that's perfectly fine. I'm not like Yoongi or Jin, but I do want to make you comfortable and happy, and I want to protect you as best I can. I know it's not an enticing offer but…" he rambled and you unconsciously put out a hand and touched his arm to soothe him.

"I'm sure you're a great alpha. I…I don't know if I can…one alpha is a lot for me already and Yoongi…I don't know. But I could use an older brother," you admitted. 

Taehyung tried not to show the tinge of disappointment he felt and gave you a boxy smile. It didn't hurt too much though. As long as he got to be around you, he didn't care. As a big brother he could still protect you and help you, and maybe someday, your feelings would open up to something more. The silence stretching between you was broken by a rumbling in your stomach. 

Taehyung's eyebrows rose with a question. "Are you hungry?"

You smiled sheepishly. "Yeah."

He took your hand and pulled you to your feet. "Let's find you something to eat."

He dragged you to the kitchen before you could say a word to stop him. When he opened the refrigerator, he frowned, discovering what you already knew. Supplies were limited. There wasn't even milk for a bowl of cereal.

"There's stuff for breakfast tomorrow," you assured him. "And Yoongi said he would stop by the store on the way home and grab a few things in the morning. We didn't realize how bad things were until we'd finished making dinner. Eight people is a lot of food and–"

"It's okay, sweet little. You don't need to stress about it," he smiled down at you. "But it doesn't exactly help our current situation." By the look in his eyes, you could tell he meant you.

"I'm fine. It's no problem for me to miss a meal or two." You had missed more than that before and been fine. 

His eyes narrowed at you. "Did you skip dinner?"

You shrank from his gaze. "I just wanted to be sure you all had enough. You've been–'

"You don't need to do that for us. Ever. We will always work something out. It's our job to make sure that you are provided for. Not the other way around," he said, an edge of anger in his voice that had you pulling away. 

"You're not my alpha. Yoongi is…"

"And how do you think Yoongi will feel when he finds out?" He continued. 

You grabbed his arms in your hands and shook your head. "Shh. Keep your voice down. You don't have to tell him. It's really not a big deal, Tae."

"How can you say that?"

"Alphas eat first. That's most important," you told him matter-of-factly.

Tae's heart broke, and he took a deep breath before he could respond to you. "The alphas who told you that were wrong. That's not how things work here. You're never going to be last. Do you understand?"

You knew you wouldn't get away with saying no, so you didn't say anything at all for a moment. "Are you going to tell Yoongi?" you asked softly.

"That depends," he answered vaguely.

"On?"

"What do you want to eat right now?"

You shrugged. "I'm really okay."

"Tell me what you're craving," he said, but it sounded like a demand.

Sighing, you closed your eyes and thought. A smile tugged at your lips when an idea came to you.

"Name it," he said. His smile grew as yours did. 

"Mcnuggets and fries," you answered. 

"That's it? You can have anything you want!"

"I'm a simple girl, Taehyung!"

He chuckled, enjoying the way you said his name. "Fine. I think we can still have it delivered."

You scoffed. "It's less than a mile away. Let's just go."

"It's late," he mumbled. 

"It won't take long. I promise we'll be back soon," you said, thinking that leaving the pack was the source of his hesitation. 

"It's not that. I…I don't go out at night," he admitted.

You leaned in to whisper to him. "Are you afraid of the dark?"

He pushed you away gently. "It's not that…exactly." You looked at him, waiting for further explanation. He dropped onto a stool and sighed, looking for the words. "You remember how you knew my painting from the one you saw on the building downtown?" You nodded. "Well, I used to do a lot of stuff like that. Street art. And of course the best time to do street art is in the middle of the night. Once I was out alone and I got jumped by a group of saps. Ended up in the emergency room. Since then, I don't like to go out at night, unless I'm with other people."

You frowned. "That sounds really scary," you admitted. "But I'm other people."

He scoffed. "Hardly. I meant other alphas."

"Psh! You think they can protect you better than I can? I bet Jin doesn't even know how to fight, but I do!" You punched him playfully in the chest. With a laugh he stood and put his hand on your head, holding you at arms length so that your punches only hit air. You pouted at him so easily thwarting you. "No fair. But we'll be safe! We can go through the drive thru. We won't even get out of the car." He looked at you doubtfully. "Pleeease. You made me think about food and now I really am hungry," you whined. 

"Fine," he relented, "but you better make sure you text your alpha and let him know. I don't want him finding out later and getting mad."

"Deal." You followed him to the door and pulled out your phone as you both got your shoes on.

You failed though. 

You didn't see him or smell him as your shift ended, although perhaps you could have been on your guard for it. He usually came in at this time of day, between school getting out and picking Jimin up from work. But you hadn't seen Namjoon at the library since you moved in several weeks ago. He always made sure to go at a time when you weren't working. You couldn't help seeing him now as you waited outside for the purple minivan that almost always picked you up these days. Namjoon strolled casually out of the library, and you hid yourself behind a pillar as best you could, hoping to escape his notice. 

You hadn't recognized his presence inside, but he had noted yours. He knew you would be there, after all. Although you two hadn't ever spoken directly to each other, Namjoon didn't hate you the way you—or anyone else—thought he did. Most of the time he tried not to think about you too much, one way or another. He felt more secure by now that you weren't going to fundamentally change his relationship with Jin, or with anyone else for that matter. But he also didn't want to dwell on the unwanted thoughts you aroused in him when he least expected it. Wonder if she's warm enough in that sweater, he thought over his morning coffee as you moved around the kitchen with Hobi before work. Wonder if she's doing okay today, he thought one day last week during your heat while standing in the hallway as students passed from one class to another. Isn't Taehyung supposed to pick her up? Omega shouldn't be out here all alone, he thought as he watched you duck out of sight. He could've kept walking and pretend he didn't know you were there when you clearly wanted to avoid him. But then again, it seemed he couldn't.

"Hey, Y/N," he spoke softly, coming out awkward and stilted. 

"Hi," you responded so softly he almost didn't hear it. 

He cleared his throat. "Is Taehyung coming? Do you need a ride home?"

You shook your head vigorously. "He's already on his way. They should be here any second."

As if you summoned him, Tae's car pulled up only a few awkward minutes later. He put the car in park on the curb and hopped out. 

"Hyung, what are you doing here?" Tae asked, an edge to his otherwise friendly tone. Maybe it was an automatic response to the way you curled in on yourself, looking scared and shaking like a leaf.

"Just the usual," Namjoon answered, gesturing to the books in his hand. "I saw Y/N, and I thought I'd wait with her."

Taehyung nodded. "Ah. Sorry I'm late, sweet little. Are you ready to go?"

To answer him, you simply nodded your head and walked toward the car. You climbed into the front passenger seat, where Hoseok would normally be sitting and buckled in before Taehyung had even gotten to his door. 

"Where's Hoseok?" You asked as soon as he got in. 

"He's at home resting. He's pretty worn out, but he's excited to see you when we get home." Tae put the car in drive and pulled smoothly out into the street. "Your alpha is there, too."

"Let's go!" You urged, forgetting your mood from a moment ago.

"We'll be home in a little bit. We need to go grocery shopping first." He couldn't help smiling at your eagerness though. 

"Namjoon meant well, you know," he said after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

You looked at him briefly before turning forward again and sat on your hands to keep from fidgeting with them. "I know," you admitted reluctantly. Whether Namjoon hated you or not, you believed no one in the pack wanted to tempt Yoongi's wrath. "I'm sorry it's taking me so long to adjust."

"Hey. There's no rush. I just wanted to reassure you since you seemed a little shaken up."

"I'm okay," you replied, a little unconvincingly.

In the grocery store, Taehyung let you push the cart while he loaded it with the pack's usual supplies. As he did, he explained which brands Jin preferred (he was picky), what vegetables each member liked and hated, and each member's favorite snack. You made mental notes and hoped you could remember them all. By the time he was finished, the cart was loaded so full, you had to keep a watchful eye for things falling off the top, and you could hardly push it. You'd never seen so much food in your life. But with seven fully grown men, all of this would barely last a week. When the price was tallied up at the register, you could only frown.

"What's that for?" Taehyung asked when he got inside the car, looking down at your outstretched hand and the bills you offered. 

"For the groceries."

He scoffed and ignored your offering as he put on his seatbelt. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not. I don't want to add to your burden. You have enough mouths to feed already," you argued.

"You eat like a bird. Do you think it even makes a dent?"

"Don't be so stubborn!"

He looked down at the money still in your hand. "Do you want me to tell Yoongi about this?"

You groaned, "You can't always use that against me!"

"I can when you're being an idiot," he replied and flicked you in the forehead. You sat back with an astonished look on your face, mouth wide open until it closed into a pout. You stuffed the money back into your pocket. "Wait until I tell Yoongi about you."

"Be my guest," he laughed as he finally backed out of the parking spot.

You walked into the house carrying multiple bags in each hand despite Taehyung's scolding. As soon as you walked in, Yoongi was up off the couch where he had spent the last few hours cuddling with Hoseok.

"Hey, princess," he smiled as he wrapped his arms around you and smelled your head.

"Hi, alpha," you hummed, but you couldn't hug him back since your arms were still weighed down.

He chuckled, "Let me take those before your arms fall off."

"There's more outside," you told him as he pried the bags from your blood deprived fingers.

"I'll get them. You go cuddle with Hobi," he said before you could leave the room.

"It's okay. You can stay. I know you've missed each other."

Yoongi shook his head. "We've had plenty of time. And I think he's missed you more."

The way your eyes lit up and a smile covered your face made his heart swell. You didn't waste any time turning toward Hobi. His hair was a fluffy mess and he looked like he could sleep for another day, but he was waiting for you with open arms. You felt happy and relieved that he still wanted to cuddle with you and it hadn't only been a heat privilege.

"There's my little pup," he grinned lazily as you crawled into his makeshift nest. He was warm when he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into his lap.

"I'm stinking from work," you complained, pulling away slightly. 

He stuck his nose in your neck and sniffed deeply. "You smell like pup to me."

You rolled your eyes as he pulled you close again, until your head rested on his shoulder. Taehyung came in carrying grocery bags, followed by Yoongi, but neither of them paid attention to you. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel great, just worn out and a little sore."

You nodded. "That will happen when you have three alphas," you said quietly as the two currently home left the room once again. "I bet you don't get any sleep at all."

Hobi laughed loudly. "Not much, but I love it. I wouldn't have it any other way." You could tell by his smile that he meant it. He looked thoroughly satisfied.

"Then I'm sorry for taking Yoongi from you."

Hoseok clicked his tongue at you. "Never say that to me again," he scolded. "I've got more than I need and I'm happy to share. I know someday we'll be one pack. One way or another."

You know that was what everyone expected to happen, what they hoped for. You wished you weren't making it hard on everyone. If only you could get over your reservations. But you were trying, slowly.

"Taehyung told me he wants to be my alpha last night," you whispered to Hoseok. He already knew this. Tae had told him and Yoongi in the morning after you left.

"Do you want him to be?" Hoseok wondered. You said nothing but turned your face into his neck to hide your heating cheeks. Hopefully Hobi wouldn't notice how hot they were against his own skin. His grin spread ear to ear, and he stroked down your back without forcing an answer out of you. He knew it would come out soon enough. 

a/n: idk about yall but I made myself so soft with this chapter. What do you think about her relationship with tae? we got a little peak in joonie's mind too. Are things coming together?? I kinda felt unsure about this chapter, but I think it turned out okay overall. Please let me know what you think <3

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[queen-of-writing-bad-things]

Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 5

Episode 14: My Dinner With Bigfoot (SMUT)

*hola, amigos, we have a little sprinkling of smut throughout the chapter. 

Oh, yeah, this is gonna be spread out since variety is the spice of life. don't do stuff in the woods though. you will get arrested in real life. HAVE FUN!

for the less corrupted amongst us, there are some slightly spicy scenes towards the middle that aren't too bad, followed by genuine smut so look out for the warnings since we'll be going in and out of mature content*

Friday night, date night. Or at least it was supposed to be.

Things had been busy lately. Since the loss of the fifth and sixth Man Cave, there had been a lot of baloney about sorting stuff out. That new Man Cave smell was nice but it was so formal and stiff, not the kind of thing you wanted for your home, so Ray and (y/n) had made good on their promise to each other.

Not the new wardrobe thing, although Ray did take his sweet girl out shopping one afternoon and returned carrying fourteen bags just to rival every other man in the mall who was following their wife or girlfriend around like a lovesick puppy. 

Every surface. No joke. That's what he'd whispered in her ear, so that's what they'd done, desecrating their new bed as well as the shower, the guest shower, a few walls, the hall, the couch, the computer's chair, the kitchen and the tubes. Animals. 

Things were back to normal, which meant a quiet night in was needed with the two of them and a bottle of red. No funny business, that's what Ray had said, not because he didn't love fucking her whenever and wherever but because after getting scolded by Schwoz for leaving evidence strewn across the Man Cave, he decided they needed to dial it back a bit.

And that had led to them enjoying a very fine evening in their room, nothing lewd or suggestive, just the two of them curled up on the floor with a blanket next to a TV with a looped video of a fireplace on the monitor. It was a bit corny as they sipped their wine and giggled when it went to their heads, laughing when Ray fed (y/n) a strawberry and booped her nose. 

It was cute and there wasn't stuff. Ray had told Schwoz there wouldn't be and that's how it was staying. That was the plan, anyway.

"You know what this reminds me of?" the man mumbled as he watched his lover swirl the blood-red liquid in her glass before putting it down to focus on his words. He was languishing against a half-moon of pillows, arms stretched along the row and his legs spread in front of him so she could shuffle closer, curl into his side and rest her head against his chest.

"What?" 

"The first time I took you out to dinner..." he said softly and tucked a loose strand of her behind her ear when it fell from her lowering her gaze shyly. It was a bit weird, he knew that this was nothing like the first time he took her out to dinner, whether it be they were "friends" or lovers.

"What? You do know that we weren't sitting on the floor or alone in your bedroom on either occasion," (y/n) giggled, sitting up so she could look at him properly and possibly sneak a sip from the wine glass he raised to his lips, even though she had her own. 

God, her younger self would kill to know what her future held and would've died and gone to heaven at the idea of her best friend pulling her into his lap so their faces were at the same level, his hand on her bare thigh, fingers grazing under her dress innocently as he pecked her lips.

"I know, but it feels the same. But this time, you're not my friend or my girlfriend...you're my wife," Ray grinned and tilted his head forward to catch her lips once more in a slow, sloppy, uncoordinated dance that was enough to set a fire alight in (y/n)'s core. Her hips shifted and tilted to press against his clothed cock, which was barely hard, merely twitching with slight interest as his jeans gave her a glimpse of pleasure. 

They shouldn't--couldn't, she knew that. This was meant to be relaxing, a chance for them to catch up with clothes on but she couldn't help it. Call her crazy after the Christening of The Cave as it had come to be known but she wanted him. She always had and it was that which convinced her. 

Until the taste of wine became sharp and sour on her tongue and she remembered that her past self never had to contend with tipsy Ray.

"Doofus..." she giggled, pulling away from his lips, although she remained firmly on his lap, clit pulsating against the rough coolness of his zipper, "I think someone has had a little too much wine...I'm not your wife yet."

"You should be...you're so pretty and smart. My sweet girl..." he mumbled and dragged his thumb over her bottom lip as he pouted at the thought of yet more waiting. He pouted even more when she took his wine glass from his hand, the one that had been dangerously close to tipping its contents all over them as he lost himself in her honey taste, and placed it next to hers away from the blanket.

No spillages, thank you. Instead, the chilled Pinot was left to go lukewarm as her hands returned to his shoulders to keep him pushed against their pillow next and his eyebrows twitched at the sudden change in the atmosphere. 

He could feel it; the way she looked at him, the way her thighs trembled when his grip slid to her waist and how her weight seemed to shift to press against him at the right angle and make him stiffen. 

"I know what we can do in the meantime," (y/n) smirked and slotted her mouth against his, expecting him to play right into her hands and remap his territory with his typical vigour. Ray loved pinning her down, ravishing her, taking what he wanted, especially when he was given such a tempting invite, so it was a surprise when he pulled away.

"No, sweet girl, what did we say?" the man growled and held her away from him by wrapping a gentle hand around her throat. He didn't squeeze, it just rested there as a reminder that despite his reluctance to spread her out and have his fill, he was very much in charge. However, it didn't stop her from whining and rocking her cunt against him once as a protest.

"But--"

"No buts. I promised Schwoz that we just having a quiet dinner in a room, nothing that will cause him any grief," she huffed at the name of the genius, who right now was the enemy since it was his complaint that meant his free hand was clutching her pelvic bone to keep her still. 

So what if he found her bralette on top of the microwave? It was nothing he hadn't seen before but apparently, finding the matching panties hanging from a monitor in the main room was the final straw. Whoops.

"So? We'll just have to be extra careful next time we fuck in front of the TV," the heroine giggled, drawing another growl from his lips as he casually pressed butterfly kisses to her jaw. There wasn't gonna be the next time, not if he could help it, no matter how irresistible the offer was, but he figured a peck or two couldn't hurt.

"Needy little girl..."

"And besides. What we do in our room isn't up to Schwoz. If he finds something in here, then it's his fault, not mine when I want you to fuck me in our bed, in our bedroom, with the door shut," she whispered hotly into his ear, biting the lobe as she made her point and began grinding her clothed pussy into his lap, where he was getting undeniably hard from her begging.

Her dress was flimsy, thin and the sort of garment he didn't like to see her walk outside in just because she looked as if she could freeze to death at any moment, in any weather. But she didn't intend to walk away, not when she had him to keep her warm and the delightful friction between her legs, which had perfect access in the dress he hated to love. 

But even he couldn't resist bunching her dress around her thighs and pushing it up to her belly button, revealing the lacy panties she'd put on underneath. Fuck him, they were soaked, sliding over his painfully hard cock that throbbed at the sight of her rutting against him--a show only for him. 

He wasn't going back on his word, he was just looking with hooded eyes. Nothing wrong with that. 

"But I'm not gonna fuck you, darlin'. Not here, not tonight. Not after someone else got to see your panties and I had to collect them," the hero told her firmly, swallowing the lump in his throat when she wailed and sagged against him. The look in her eyes suggested mutiny as if he'd betrayed her in the worst way as her hips kept moving--almost madly now that he'd said that.

He'd be a liar if he said the thought of pushing into her wet little hole didn't make him want to cream his pants, he could tell from the mess she was making that she was desperate despite them being very...active over the past few days. But that was the problem, she wasn't there when a mortified Schwoz handed over a pile of freshly laundered underwear whilst wearing rubber gloves with him as the equally mortified recipient. 

"Wha---Ray, that's not fair! I need it--want your cock so bad! Can't you see how wet I am?" she whined, pulling at his shirt like a petulant child who couldn't get her way. Her fingers snaked to cup her mound, where she gathered an embarrassing amount of slick that had seeped through the lace on two fingers. Even through his jeans, she could make out the head of his cock straining against the denim and her mouth dropped open when it poked and teased her entrance.

"Which is why you're going to get yourself off like this. Rubbing your pretty clit and begging me for more, so come on. Make yourself cum," Ray challenged, giving her a hard stare, which she shrank under. He wasn't gonna--huh? 

She could do as he asked, with him talking so filthily in her ear, it was easy but what she desired was so close. It didn't make sense that he'd sit there and torture himself like that when it would be so easy to unzip his pants and free his cock, let her bounce on it a little until they were both falling apart. And yet here he was, gazing down at her so cockily as his hands started to pull her hips back and forth.

"But I want to ride and cum on your cock, like I did on the couch--wanna feel you so deep inside--" she muttered squeakily as her hand went inside her panties and began circling her clit in a figure of eight. He seemed pleased with how she carried out his barked orders and fondled her tit through her dress as she did until her stupid mouth got her into trouble for being bratty.

"What did I say, little one? You'll take whatever I do or don't give you and endure. I want you to cum like this," he replied harshly and the hand that had been pinching at her nipples left them alone to smack her ass harshly, causing her cunt to brush against his cock deliciously. A hiss left his lips and as much as he wanted to take care of her, was suddenly, selfishly starting to wish that he could fill her up.

This was yet another part of his game and she loved playing it no matter how frustrated she became when the stimulation on her throbbing bud wasn't enough. Poor thing, she had it too easy, thinking she would get fucked every time her pussy started aching, but he had to teach her that bad girls don't get what they want. 

"Please..." she pleaded, nuzzling her head under his jaw and kissing his pulse point in a bid to get as close to him as possible. Maybe if she reminded him that she was his good girl, his sweet girl, his cute, innocent future wife, he'd give in.

"No..." he growled, refusing to touch her any more than he already was; hands on her ass, tits and waist, lips nibbling at her neck, no more. It added to her frustration when he let groaned lowly in the back of his throat, no doubt kicking his orgasm away as she teetered on the edge of hers.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, I can't--please!" (y/n) begged. No matter how hard she tried, how quickly she rubbed, how deeply she ground, her release was always out of reach, running away as soon as she chased it and only he had what she needed to grasp it. 

Again, he denied her, helping her movements against him as if that was any help. The only real thing he did was seize the top of her panties between his two fingers and thumb before ripping the elastic. The lace was shredded, useless and able to peel away easily from her figure after that, meaning her cunt was bare and free to ruin his pants as she wished, even if the increased friction was laughable. 

"Fuck, you're soaked, sweetheart. This all for me? This the hole you want fucked?" he asked mockingly as his fingers finally stroked through her velvety slick, causing her mouth to fall open and her pussy to move against them greedily. A fingertip breached her hole and she screamed, hands balling his shirt as one digit slid into her and then another straight away.

Her head nodded weakly as she sobbed at finally having something to clench around but it was nowhere near enough. Not when she was used to stretching around his girth as he pounded the life out of her.

"More--please--need your--cock--"

"How many times, filthy girl? I'm not fucking you right now, you can cum on my hand," Ray tried to remain firm, scissoring his fingers to try and make them feel bigger. Honestly, he didn't care about Schwoz, it was his Man Cave, he'd fuck his fiancée wherever he liked but it provided a good excuse to tease her and drag their date out a little more. 

He loved her like this and had planned to woo her, bed her, make love to her during the evening, forgetting his promise to Schwoz. Although, he didn't expect to be quite like this.

"But--but you could fuck me, fuck my pussy...anywhere," his fingers stilled inside her and his eyes met hers with a steely gaze, causing her to carry on with needy confidence, "you said you would and you still haven't. Captain, why haven't you fucked my ass yet?"

The effect was instantaneous and better than she could have ever imagined. Ray's hand was ripped from her cunt and she whined at that, only to whimper when he roared and pushed her to the blanket roughly. Within seconds, he was swiftly crawling up her body whilst simultaneously fumbling to free his weeping member, which was straining after that suggestion.

That had been pushed to the back of their minds, on the table but ignored for now since they'd never had enough time to do it safely and properly but that didn't mean he wasn't desperate to try it. He still wanted to see her every hole claimed, sated and owned by him, so her teasing rose the beast within him that wanted her on all fours for him to see.

"You're so bad--bad fucking girl. My girl," he grumbled in her ear as she braced herself on her hands and knees, skirt flicked over her ass, and looked back to see his perfect, glorious cock pulled from his zipper. He was leaking, an angry-red colour and bobbing deliciously as he hissed from the cool air; it was clear that he couldn't be bothered to properly take off their clothing, not after she'd said that.

"I'm gonna fuck this pussy so hard and then, if you're lucky, I might start practising stretching this hole out, ready for my--" Ray rambled, letting himself get lost in the fantasy as his head pressed against her entrance and gently began to break her open. The burn was heavenly and (y/n) groaned throatily at the relief it provided, thinking they were the only people in the world at that moment.

That is until she looked up and saw through blurry eyes how the door handle was turning. 

With a squeal, she instinctively crawled forward and away from Ray, snatching a blanket from the pile next to their nibbled-at dinner and draped it across her lap quicker than her lover could blink or keep hold of her.

"What the fuc--" he snarled, outraged and confused that she'd moved away at such a crucial moment when he was half-cocked and dying to slip inside her walls. Seeing nothing but red, he thought that she was playing some devilish game and so, he went to grab her, intent on spanking her ass until it was red and sore and in need of her superpower to make it better. But then he saw it too.

The doorknob had made a half-rotation and he only had a fraction of a second to yank a cushion from next to her head and press it into his crotch when the door was pushed open by the one person Ray did not want to see at that moment. 

They'd fallen against the pillows, panting, sweaty and trying to appear as if they'd merely been sipping wine and not on the verge of fucking, when Jasper entered the room, staring at his phone and unaware as to what he'd walked in on. 

Of course, it was him.

"J-Jasper, what are you doing in our bedroom?" (y/n) asked breathlessly, trying to fan her warm cheeks in a subtle way that wasn't subtle at all. Anyone with half a brain could realise what had been going on just by how warm and close the air was, how warm and close they were, if they only took a minute to observe. 

"Yeah, what are you doing here?" Ray asked darkly, glaring at the boy as he felt his cock soften and the mood vanish. He was still desperate, raring to go and would give anything to slide into his sweet girl had he not rudely interrupted. 

"Oh, uh, yeah...you said that you were gonna join me and Henry tonight, remember?" the boy said, looking up from his phone to see nothing out of the ordinary.

It was damn lucky that Jasper only had a quarter of a brain, otherwise, they'd have a lot of explaining to do with very red faces. But he was oblivious to their sticky foreheads and stiff shoulders, plus the way Ray refused to move the cushion from his pants as he thought about the boy's words.

"Oh...yeah. That," he mumbled, sending an apologetic glace to his puzzled lover, who hadn't heard of this arrangement before. What a fool Ray was; he'd agreed to the boys' night with the teens since they rarely had any guy time. So, tonight they were gonna be reckless, dumb and crazy, keeping their youth alive. And it seemed that he'd double-booked the date too. Oh, hell.

"What? Look, Jasper, I'm sorry but Ray's gonna have to miss whatever you've planned 'cause we've still got half a bottle to finish as well as something else, so--" she laughed nervously, feeling highly uncomfortable that her dearest Curly was in the room when she was aching on the inside. 

She didn't care about whatever they'd planned, she thought Ray would choose her over a stupid night playing video games and eating candy. How wrong she was.

"So, just gimme a minute. I'll be right there," Ray told Jasper, gulping to keep his voice steady as (y/n) looked at him with shocked, wide eyes and an open mouth. The boy grinned and walked off, calling to Henry down the hall to get the popsicles from the freezer, leaving the woman to gawk in silence as they breathed again.

"Wh--what? You can't leave me here!" she gasped as she relaxed into the blanket and expected Ray to do the same, but no. When he said he'd be right there, he meant it and was already tucking himself away and doing up his zipper as she laid there, still wet and needy. 

He looked sorry, apologetic and remorseful but even so, that didn't stop him from standing up to grab a moist napkin from their dinner table to dab away any embarrassing stains and freshen himself up. 

"Precious girl, this is my fault. We arranged this night ages ago and I can't let Henry down...or the other one," Ray told her gently as he finished scrubbing himself and threw the napkin onto the tray again. She scoffed as he looked in the mirror and ran a hand through his tousled locks, smiling softly as she scowled and stamped her foot against the carpet. It was childish but she was distraught.

"But you can't leave me here without fucking me first..." the heroine muttered and grabbed the leftover wine to take a large swig--much-needed fortification to quench the blaze inside of her. The burn in her throat was unpleasant and made her eyes water but she hid the discomfort well, welcoming it to mask her frustration. How could he walk away? Was he not burning up as she was?

"I promise I'll fuck you later, yeah? Later, I swear," he insisted, deeming his appearance suitable enough to show a couple of teenagers and stepping away from the mirror. His smile met her glare and he leaned down to kiss her goodbye, probably the last one of the night since they were set to pull an all-nighter. However, (y/n) couldn't help but linger and try to swipe his tongue into his mouth--a play to entice him back that ultimately failed.

"Later. I'm holding you to that," she said to him firmly as he pulled away before his semi could return at full force. He couldn't deny that he still wanted her and was equally frustrated but he had to hide it well for the kids. They didn't need to see that.

"Later," he repeated and with one final peck on her forehead, he swept out of the room, leaving her a trembling mess in their rudimentary picnic spot. She'd finish herself off to the roaring of the fake fire but it wasn't enough. It could never be and she couldn't help but wonder.

Was Jasper an idiot or was he just being purposefully annoying?

*SAFETY AT LAST. Not my best but we've more yet to come, so stay tuned my fellow sinners--Onwards with the episode!*

~Many long hours later~

Annoying. Very annoying. They all were so damn annoying. One, two and three.

(y/n) had slept alone that night, had gone to bed in a frightful mood and all because of their stupid, ridiculous, testosterone-fuelled party. And it was a party—a big one. 

At one point, she'd woken up at three-thirty to go pee when she heard their rowdy voices in the main room, shouting something about Henry finishing an entire can of soda in eight seconds. Full sugar, no doubt, that's what they ran off for the past god knows how long. The binge hadn't stopped when the sun rose, not when their sugar highs nosedived and not when Charlotte came to work at nine to see a very grumpy woman sitting in the chaos as she'd tried to eat breakfast. 

For the life of her, Charlotte couldn't work out why the heroine was so grumpy and tetchy, it wasn't like her at all but in the end, she'd put her snide remarks and long sighs down to her being tired and moody from Ray's antics. 

Hell, she'd only been there five minutes and she was tired from their conga line, so to escape from the tornado of pizza and smelly armpits, the girls had legged it to the safety of a cafe for the morning, hoping that by the time they'd finished gossiping and sipping cappuccinos, they'd be sleeping it off on the floor or couch. That was so naive of them.

It's how they'd ended up where they were now; one of the boys, assisting in something bovine and moronic frolic that required more players than they had. What the hell even was a haircut chain?

"How's it lookin', Henry?" Jasper asked his friend as the boy stood behind him. This was their big idea; they each stand behind one another with lasers--very dangerous, highly unpredictable lasers--so that they could give each other haircuts. Yeah, Charlotte and (y/n) didn't understand either.

"Lookin' gooood!" Henry replied with a smirk as he lightly trimmed Jasper's hair so it was a gradual fade and not a severe cut. The lasers were at their weakest setting, which meant they were being irresponsibly complacent since they merely saw it as a free haircut, nothing more. "How's it lookin', Ray?"

"Lookin' ooooookay!" the man said happily as he zapped at the stray hairs on his sidekick with an experienced hand. Behind him, his sweet girl and Charlotte were doing the same to him, although the woman needed to stand on a ladder held steady by the girl to match his tall stature. She was still thrumming on the inside, she could feel it when she walked and could see it in his gaze when they'd come home but still, the wait went on. 

"How's it lookin', sweet girl? Charlotte?"

"We do not know what we're doing, doofus," she replied dryly, squinting to ensure that she was cutting in a straight line. She'd never cut her hair let alone someone else's and as it happened, she was quite fond of Ray's floppy floof. She didn't want to see it ruined so she was trying her best to not mess it up, but it was hard when she and Charlotte kept swapping to take turns on the ladder.

"What?!" Ray suddenly exclaimed and raised a hand to shield his brown locks as they ceased lasering. His hair was practically sacred, one of Captain Man's best features, to cut it without some skill was sacrilege. "Why would you mess with the Man Mane if you don't know what you're doing?"

"You told us it didn't matter!" Charlotte argued, wondering why he was being so crabby too. She didn't know if the happy couple were in the middle of a domestic or what but fifteen hours of sugar and soda had not helped the man, who was getting to be strangely antsy.

"When did I say that?" Ray asked in an innocent tone, although he remembered the precise moment quite well.

"Ten minutes ago, you doofus? Remember? When we walked out of the elevator and found you guys dancing around chanting, haircut chain, haircut chain, haircut chain!" the heroine refrained from punching his shoulder, knowing that if she did, the contact might make her spontaneously combust. The coffee was still fresh on her tongue as well as the fluttering from the butterflies after seeing him again...

~

"Haircut chain! Haircut chain! Haircut chain! Haircut chain! Haircut chain! Haircut chain!" Ray, Henry and Jasper chanted as they paraded around the Man Cave, waiting for the return of the girls.

They could hear the elevator coming down and were eagerly anticipating getting them to join, so it was quite the surprise for the two friends to step into the main room and see them so excited. As painful as it was to see them still so energetic, it warmed (y/n)'s heart to see her doofus again after four hours and three iced hazelnut lattes later; maybe it was her, but his gaze seemed ravenous for a split second before his cheerful grin resumed. 

"Hey! We're gonna cut each other's hair!" Henry exclaimed, not caring if they were still holding their final takeout cups of Jet Brew. He was on his fifteenth popsicle, caring wasn't an option anymore.

"With lasers!" Jasper shrieked and (y/n) shared a look with Charlotte when his breath practically tore their faces off, Maybe leaving them unsupervised was a bad idea, but damn, they'd needed that coffee to pull through whatever this was.

"You in?!" Henry offered with a determined glint in his eyes that they didn't share. 

"I do not know how to give a haircut with a laser."

"Yeah, me neither," they told him, wanting to make sure that they were aware that if they went near their beloved styles, there could be irreversible consequences. But as always, Ray wasn't a responsible adult and when his lover turned to look at him with fleeting eyes, he ignored any warning since it put a dampener on his spirits.

"Doesn't matter!" Well, he was the one who said it. That counted as permission in their eyes, the terms and conditions that hadn't been read but regardless, they'd accepted them. 

"Then, okay..."

"I still say this is a bad idea," (y/n) muttered and took a long sip from her latte, letting its familiar milkiness take her back to her younger days. She knew that the haircuts were gonna be a disaster just from the way the chanting started up again, although this time, lasers were fired at the ceiling.

"Haircut chain! Haircut chain! Haircut chain!" the boys shouted, firing laser after laser at the rock face above their heads. Ray only stopped to kiss his sweet girl after hours of not seeing her properly but when she went to cup his face and linger, he pulled away to start dancing with his fellow gibbons. 

You'd think he'd be a little more clingy considering that he hadn't crawled into bed with her that night and had been sorely missed by his sweet girl but that would come later, once the sugar tap had been turned off. The (y/n) withdrawal symptoms would come back with full force and so would his bone-crushing hugs and need to kiss her frequently - amongst other things. 

~

"That didn't happen," Henry shook his head and peeled his eyes away from where he was lasering to look back at the girls. He was tired, sluggish and fuzzy so they didn't believe him, even if it was three against two.

"Yes, it did!"

"Who are you going to believe, Charlotte? Your own flawed memory or three guys who've been up all night playing video games and eating popsicles?" Ray asked and pursed his lips as he recalled the long night he'd just experienced. 

Truth be told, he was getting a little too old for that kind of thing and looking at the pile of popsicle sticks on the table, he knew he'd have acid reflux at some point--it was just one of those things. Getting a good night's sleep after finishing his still unfinished business with his sweet girl sounded much better, but he was way too proud to admit that. 

"Yeah, that's not a tough choice, you morons," (y/n) said with a scoff, although her point was marred slightly when she leaned forward on the ladder to press a kiss to the nape of Ray's neck. She enjoyed watching him shiver and hoped that he was reminded about what his fun night had cost, something that highly amused Charlotte as she stopped the ladder from tipping.

"Yeah, exactly. Popsicle boys!" the kid squeaked immaturely and in a move that somewhat disturbed the insulted girls, wiggled his fingers against Ray's as they made a stupid sound. The hero might've been shaking from the inrush of cold air after his lover had her lips on him but he didn't miss a beat, unlike Henry, who missed an awful lot since his focus was elsewhere.

"You might wanna look where you're lasering," Charlotte advised. She wasn't the one on a platform like (y/n) but even from her position, she had an excellent view of Henry's lack of movement, meaning she could see how he'd been going over the same spot on Jasper's head for the past three minutes. It kinda looked like a mole rat now, smooth and fully shaved, not what the boy had asked for. 

"You better look where (y/n)'s lasering!--ah!" he retorted cockily, thinking that she was simply buying into the playful banter until his gaze wandered back to his work to see that what was once a masterpiece was now ruined. 

From his ear downwards, Jasper's hair was gone; it kinda looked like a mole rat now, smooth and fully shaved, not what the boy had asked for, meaning a horrified, squeaky gasp fell from Henry's lips. 

"What was that?" Jasper asked nervously as he felt the gentle heat on his head stop and a draft brush against his skin. It didn't feel like any other haircut he'd had given how cold everything felt and it was like he could sense their stares burning into the back of his head as if something had gone wrong. 

"Uh...nothing," Henry stammered, wondering how he was gonna fix the mistake if there was no hair left to work with when Schwoz came through the secret door, minding his own business and carrying a picnic basket. 

"No, no, no, you tiny screamed," Jasper tried to bring his focus back, knowing that his friend only screeched like that when something was wrong.

"Uh, dude, it was nothing--Hey, Schwoz! Random question...do you have anything that regrows hair?"

"What?!" The boy's hand flew to the back of his head as he heard the not-so-subtle question and even he understood that Henry was trying to say that he'd screwed up the haircut chain. The genius was so conveniently in the room now and so, Henry thought that he'd have a solution since that was his expertise and helpfully, he did. 

"Don't worry, I got something," Schwoz reassured them, seeing the utter panic on Jasper's face and the guilt on Henry's, so he pulled a tube from his pocket and tossed it to the shaved kid, "this hair-growing cream works great. I've been using it on the sides and back of my head for years."

"Any instructions for this stuff?" Jasper questioned as he looked at the tube dubiously. It didn't have any legible writing on it and Schwoz was already off out somewhere, so it didn't give him the best feeling, even if Schwoz's hair (or what was left of it) was thick and luscious. 

"Oh, yeah. Lots of 'em! But I don't have time to tell you right now because I'm late for my dinner with Bigfoot," Schwoz replied and lifted the basket over his head so he could disappear up the tube and not have to worry about Jasper and his lack of hair problem. But he couldn't leave, not after dropping a bomb like that--something about Bigfoot?

"Whaaaaat?"

"Hang on..."

"Wait, stop, stop, stop!" the remaining five rambled, focusing on the genius who rolled his eyes at their confused expressions and raised the tube again. He was getting very late and didn't have time for any questions, even if they now had a million of them. 

"What?"

"Bigfoot?!" Ray repeated as he held out a hand for (y/n) to steady herself coming off the ladder. Back on solid ground, she held onto his doofus' hand as they huddled together to grill Schwoz on how he could be friends with a mythical, rampaging thing in the woods and not tell them. They must've heard him wrong, there was no way that it was the Bigfoot. 

"Like, Bigfoot Bigfoot?"

"Yah." Or not. Schwoz wasn't laughing or holding in giggles, he was being deadly serious about meeting up with the hulking creature, something that they just couldn't believe since it was so outlandish. 

"The Bigfoot?" Jasper questioned, leaving his smooth nape alone for a minute since this had piqued his interest. Bigfoot...and people thought he was strange. 

"Like, the made-up creature who lives in the woods?" (y/n) asked, wanting to clarify that they were definitely talking about the thing that supposedly scared campers and hikers. She often prided herself on being quite open-minded, she was an engineer after all, but like the others, she was thinking one thing; Schwoz had either been sniffing glue or watching too much of the conspiracy channel again. 

"He's not made up, he dated my sister," the small replied, which both shocked them and made a lot of sense at the same time. They could get over that Bigfoot existed, but Winnie getting a date? Jeez, the poor guy probably had to give her bags of carrots instead of bunches of flowers.

"Your sister dated Bigfoot?!"

"Yeah, it didn't work out between them, he wanted kids, she didn't but I always thought he was a chill hang," Schwoz shrugged, remembering all of the drama that always ensued when a couple broke up and the drama that ensued afterwards when he and Biggie remained friends. He was glad that his favourite couple would never go through that, it's why he liked living with them despite the ickiness and incidents--no chance of it ending, not ever. 

"Can we go with you?" Henry requested eagerly. It's not that he was nosy, rather, he wanted to see if Schwoz was lying or not. Anyone would jump at a chance of seeing Bigfoot in the flesh and the others had the same mindset.

"Oh, yeah!"

"Yes, yes, please?!"

"Come on!" they clapped their hands excitedly and looked at him expectantly, which put Schwoz in an awkward position. It's not like he had anything to hide but he thought it would be awkward having all of his friends clashing, after all, there were gonna be a lot of personalities clashing. 

"I don't like to mix my work friends with my wood friends--" he tried to let them down gently, ignoring their pleading eyes and hopeful grins because he felt guilty enough. It was impossible though, he truly was outnumbered.

"Oh, come on, Schwoz! Just let us come!"

"Yeah, we can all be friends together!" Charlotte and (y/n) begged together, using their best, fluttering eyelashes and doe-like eyes to win him over--and it worked. They ground Schwoz down all too easily because he wouldn't want to make them cry, now would he? That would just be cruel. 

"Fine, let's go to dinner with Bigfoot--" the handyman conceded with a sigh to the roaring cheers of his friends, who applauded, cheered and fist-pumped their success in an almost hedonistic way that undermined Schwoz's kindness. He wanted them on their best behaviour, not screaming or shouting or being weird, Bigfoot was a very sophisticated guy. "--but don't embarrass me!"

They calmed down at that and although still buzzing with excitement, the group moved to enter the elevator, Ray happily tugging (y/n) along with a spring in his step. He refused to let go of her hand because it was the only thing keeping him cool at that moment, what with the adrenaline still streaming through his blood and the prospect of meeting a literal legend wasn't helping, neither was the sudden, unexpected alarm.

"Emergency alert!" Charlotte exclaimed as everyone looked back at the computer and saw the familiar red flash of the beacon. Right, they were technically supposed to be working right now and an impromptu trip to the woods, something that would take a couple of hours just to get there, wasn't gonna stop them from continuously coming in. 

Captain Man couldn't take time off and neither could his sidekicks and Ray was aware of that, highly so; it was just a shame that he didn't care. Shielding his eyes from the others in a not-so-noticeable way, he pulled his laser controller from his pocket and fired a single shot at the beacon, burning a hole straight through the plastic, thus ending the call, at least so that they didn't have to hear or worry about it.

"Raymond!" (y/n) whined and gave him a stern look for what he'd just done. She didn't feel right leaving whichever poor soul to suffer simply because they were curious and leaving something a mess made her stressed all the more. It made her itch in a way, knowing that it would be lying and waiting to be fixed until they came back so she was ready to scold him and Ray was braced for that. Until--

"Dinner with Bigfoot!" Henry began chanting, his booming volume swallowing whatever noise came from (y/n)'s mouth. He'd known the couple long enough to sense when they were about to argue, whether it be petty or explosive, and he did his best to stop it, which worked rather well well when Jasper and Charlotte joined as Ray fleetingly kissed his sweet girl quiet and chanted too. 

"Dinner with Bigfoot!" 

"Dinner with Bigfoot!" 

"Dinner with Bigfoot!" Strange. They thought he would've kissed her for longer. What was with those too?

~Two hours later, in the woods~

A van journey later and the group were still chanting as they approached a clearing in the woods, one where Schwoz had said was his and Bigfoot's supposed meeting place. 

Despite the long, bumpy journey, one that was still palpably tense thanks to Ray, (y/n) and whatever was going on between them, the anticipation for meeting the mythical creature was still high and the teens had been poking Schwoz since the second stop light for more information. What did he eat? Normal food. Where was he from? Swellview, duh. What was his favourite colour? What kind of question was that?

It went on and on but thankfully, it meant not much attention was paid to the front of the van, where the couple had been strangely silent, uneasy and not at all handsy--the most worrying thing. Ray didn't put his hand on (y/n)'s thigh like she was hoping, the thing he always did when he drove since the pillowy flesh was just asking for his fingertips to feel it, but that night, he was worried that the call was asking for something else and he didn't want to listen to it. Not yet, anyway. 

"Dinner with Bigfoot!" 

"Dinner with Bigfoot!" 

"Dinner with Bigfoot!" The teens chanted relentlessly as they followed Schwoz through the thick foliage, walking for a few minutes to disappear into the night that had fallen during their drive over. Bigfoot was a secretive guy and preferred to not be seen by others, which was understandable, so they carried on in single-file, Schwoz first, the kids in the middle and Ray and (y/n) walking hand-in-hand to bring up the rear.

They were trailing slightly, keeping up but going at their own pace as Ray's stride was much longer than (y/n)'s and he wanted her comfort more than anything, so it was her setting the speed. It was fine, Schwoz had everything under control at the front and they were nearly there, or so he said, so the only problem Ray was experiencing was the one in front of him. The perfect view of his sweet girl's ass as she walked--all he could do was stay back and try not to stare, which was easier said than done.

"Sweet girl?" He grumbled, surprising himself with how animalistic he sounded, akin to something they might find in those very woods, so it was no wonder that (y/n) whipped around immediately, slowing down to a mere ambling pace as she faced her dark-eyed doofus to see what was wrong. 

"Yeah?" she asked, her saccharine voice full of innocence that made Ray's abs tense. He didn't know what he was gonna say at first, he just wanted to call her name but seeing her looking at him like a lamb in front of a wolf made his next actions undeniable. He let go of her hand to grasp her wrist instead and it was damn lucky that the gasp she released when he roughly pressed her against the nearest tree wasn't heard by the others.

Henry, Charlotte and Jasper carried on merrily, not noticing that there were two missing members in their party as Ray pinned his precious girl against the scraping bark and kept her hands clasped together and above her head. 

In the moonlight, she looked so ravishing as his eyes raked down her quivering body and he could see the questioning look in her eye, a part of her wondering why he was picking his moment now. However, he could also see how she wasn't all that innocent either, pupils dilating the minute one hand went from her waist to brush between her thighs, touching nothing but the soft skin there. 

There she was, his girl, his darling lover, his future wife, waiting for his next move, panting lightly in the darkness as they were left behind and he knew that he'd been a fool to leave her for a few popsicles and to play Mario Kart, he'd been a fool for thinking he could last a whole day without her. 

"Doofus, what--"

"The second we are alone again, little girl..." he whispered in her ear, one hand cradling her jaw as the other stayed with hers against the tree. It was his promise to her and it could be left unspoken, she didn't need an explanation. They were pushing their luck as it was, staying behind as the others marched on and as tempting as it was to throw caution to the wind and feel those thighs around his waist because lord knows that he did not give a fuck, she did. 

Jasper's earlier faux pas was but a forewarning in her mind and it would not happen again, not two nights in a row, so as quick as her back had met with the harsh bark, he pulled away, taking one hand with him. 

The dazzling rush of it all had her stumbling to catch up with his long legs as he marched towards the clearing, following the voices before they were missed or he changed his mind and she had no choice but to jog behind her doofus. Her hot, moody, incredibly well-endowed doofus. 

Avoiding a tree root and a mysterious puddle of green mush, the couple made it to the back of the group again, not that anyone had noticed their slight delay. The only noticeable thing was how their breathing had quickened from the rush, although in (y/n)'s case it was something else. Paired with her red cheeks, it was kinda obvious, but the shadows hid it well and so did hiding behind Ray's shoulder. 

"Hey! That hair-growing cream worked great."

"Yeah, it looks gooooood, dude," Henry complimented Jasper when Charlotte noticed that unlike two hours previously, Jasper's hair was completely back to normal. You'd never guess that he'd had the majority of it lasered off and he was quite happy with the results of Schwoz's cream, save for one little thing. 

"Oh, nice...this worries me a little," he smiled but it was nervous and they knew why when he raised his hands to show them that not only did the cream work on scalps, it also worked on fingers and palms. Baby hairs had begun to sprout from his flesh and he was getting quite furry, which was disturbing. Really disturbing. 

"You have to wear a glove when you apply it. That's part of the instructions!" Schwoz exclaimed as the others grimaced, (y/n) burying her nose into the jacket she'd stolen from Ray.

Being the silly-billy she was, she'd only realised how cold it was out until they were well past the city's border and in the sticks, so her ever-adoring fiancé had swooped in and bundled her up in one of his huge jackets that had been slung on the backseat of the Man Van. It was huge, enough to keep her warm even in a dress and it was only made better by his cologne following her around. 

"You didn't tell me any instructions," Jasper argued as he coped with his hairy hands. He'd just assumed that the cream worked on heads, not skin in general, which was kinda bad since he'd been touching his head, face, ears and other places since using it. 

"Okay, step one--don't itch your ears!" Schwoz said when he saw the boy rubbing and searching his earholes. That would only mean more cream transfer, even if it was a little late to be giving out advice. 

"Soooo...Schwoz, where's Bigfoot?" Henry asked as Jasper stomped off to try and deal with his new hair problem. This was the meeting place but no one could see any imaginary animals or beings, meaning the kid was starting to doubt if this guy was real or not and whether Schwoz had pulled the best prank of all time. 

"Yeah, man. We've been walking around for four whole minutes. I'm starting to think you don't really know Bigfoot," Ray added, his hands shoved deep into his pockets and his sweet girl huddled to his side to try and keep the cold away. He wasn't the world's most patient man but four minutes traipsing around some bushes at night wasn't his idea of fun and he was waiting on a promise for what was. 

"Relax, let me just call him--" Schwoz told him gently and the man went back to trying to keep (y/n) warm. He knew that dress was both angelic and evil, but at least he could put his arm around her, which was good for when Schwoz ignored his phoned and abruptly summoned his friend. "BIGFOOOOOOOOT!!!"

"He's on his way," he told them, not thinking a thing of his sudden, echoing voice in the dead of night nor how he just spooked the heebie-jeebies out of them. Biggie wasn't much of a phone guy anyway. 

"If you were just gonna scream his name, then why'd you pull out your phone?" (y/n) asked as she snuggled into the cosy fuzziness of Ray's jacket. She'd seen the genius take his phone from his pocket when she was ogling her lover, which is why his bellowing had been so unexpected. 

"So I could get a picture of you guys when Bigfoot shows up," Schwoz replied in a tender voice but he had that mischievous glint in his eye like he had something up his sleeve. His phone was pointing at them and open on the camera app, so he was ready to capture their shocked, terrified expressions whenever he needed a good laugh, not that they knew that. 

"You mean if he shows up," Henry scoffed sceptically, shoulder-to-shoulder with his friends as they waited, "we've been here for five whole minutes now. I'm starting to think you don't actually know hi--"

Henry never got to finish his mini-rant. As he rambled on at the smirking genius, a big, hairy lump dropped from the overhanging willows to land in front of them, bellowing a ferocious roar. The sight of this snarling furball caused the teens and couple to shriek in terror, a moment that Schwoz swiftly captured on his phone as (y/n) practically leapt on Ray, who had his jacket clutched by Henry, flanked by Jasper cowering behind Charlotte.

But the howl eventually petered out and the beast put its arms down in a friendly slouch, meaning the group eventually stopped screaming too. Bigfoot just stood there and he wasn't quite what they were expecting as hands let go of jackets and men put down their sweet girls; he was tall and hairy with thick, sharp nails, that was a given, but apart from that, he was normal.

Well, nearly normal--he was placid with an easy-going stance, nothing like the monster some people often described him as. 

"You guys, Bigfoot is real!" Henry exclaimed as they all stood there, in awe of the living legend in front of them, who wasn't a mutant or animal like on the TV, he was just a normal guy with a lot of hair. 

"Real handsome!" Bigfoot quipped, putting them all at ease with his small joke. If he was comfortable with himself then they had no reason to fear him, especially when he laughed in that resonating baritone of his. "It's nice to meet you..."

"So...uh, this is Hen--" Schwoz started to introduce everyone, not wanting things to be awkward since he didn't have many friends and he didn't want to lose any, but Bigfoot beat him to the chase. 

"Oh, I know this guy. Henry Hart AKA Kid Danger? Feels gooooood!" The hairy man chuckled, much to Henry's excitement. 

"Bigfoot knows my thing!" The ecstatic kid hissed to the others. He thought it was wild that Bigfoot of all people knew who he was and had intimate knowledge of his personality, even his secret identity. He didn't seem to be the kinda guy to leak stuff like that, after all, Schwoz was smart enough to not be all pally with grasses, so no one worried. 

"'Course I do. Scheoz talks about you guys all the time," he revealed, making the small man blush since no one knew about his pride from working the Man Cave. 

"What?" Jasper tilted his head, stunned that Schwoz could be so sneaky and that Bigfoot knew about their crazy gang. 

"Yeah. You must be Charlotte," Bigfoot nodded, turning to the girl whose cheeks heated up when he started being all charming, "Schwoz tells me you're even smarter than he is."

"Whaaaaaat?... It's true, though," she grinned, blushing from the sentiment of Schwoz hyping her up to his other friends but it was the truth. The Man Cave would be lost without her skill with the computer and general sensibility, so it was nice to know that it was noted and appreciated.

"Oh--Jasper!"

"Yeah!" The boy nodded with a smile as Bigfoot moved on, looking at him next and punching out at him lightly in playful banter. Honestly, this guy was so cool and Jasper liked that he had also been included when he did the least out of the three teens.

"J-Dowg!"

"B-Foot!" They bantered and bumped fists as Schwoz kept snapping pictures, wanting to remember every moment of his friends becoming friends. Maybe they'd be able to hang out together as a gang and he'd be surrounded by everyone he loved--maybe a tad premature but a nice thought as they all got along so well.

"How's that girl with all the allergies?" Bigfoot asked, referring to Patina, the one Jasper took to Cactus Con and accidentally plunged into an anaphylactic fit. 

Ouch, a touchy subject in more ways than one so no one ever mentioned what had happened with her, not that Jasper ever let it bother him. 

"Oh yeah, she ghosted me! I keep texting her but she never responds!" He shrugged, tugging at (y/n)'s heartstrings as he smiled with the others but she remembered those weeks all too well. Jasper sat on the couch, texting and texting, waiting for an answer that never came until he had no choice but to move on with a sad acknowledgement for a romance that had gone so far only to be left to die. She never liked that girl. 

Speaking of moving on...

"Oh, and well, I know who this beauty is! (y/n), the sweetest girl in the world as Schwoz put it! Lovely to meet you, I know all about your engineering and how you keep the place running--oh, and of course, Miss Danger! How could I forget?" (y/n) was practically a tomato as Bigfoot moved on and grinned at her next. 

He extended his hand and she thought he was going for a handshake when he warmly pulled her in for a hug, a very soft hug as his woolly body helped her forget about the cold as he gushed about her many talents and the way the Man Cave would crash and burn without her expertise. Pulling away, her face was beaming as they crowded around Schwoz with the other three to look at the pictures and that only left Ray on the outside. 

The man loudly cleared his throat as they cooed over the funny and heartwarming photos, looking up to see him still standing there. Right, the main man as it were, the boss, the head honcho, they couldn't forget him, after all, he'd never let them. 

"And, uh, last but certainly not least..." Ray grinned, awkwardly turning to Bigfoot who removed his arm from his darling girl's shoulders and looked at him--with a blank stare like what you'd give if you were giving a stranger. Oh, lord.

"Hey..." Biggie greeted slowly, which didn't fill the hero with confidence but still, he smiled back, encouraged by (y/n), who was edged closer to them as much as she could without passing the furball, "there he is..."

"There I am!"

"This guy!" They interacted with a definite tension that made the teens frown because it was so weird that Bigfoot had been so welcoming and friendly with them, knowing specific details about their lives and personalities, only for him to have no idea who Ray was. 

"You must be, uh... Henry's dad?" The hairy man suggested, trying to find a possible identity for the mystery man that his friend had never described, but it only served to insult Ray. That was nowhere near accurate and kinda insulting since he thought he looked too young to be any teenager's dad. Come on, he wasn't even married yet. 

"Henry's dad? Are you--are you kidding me?"

"Are you...uh, Jasper's dad?" he moved on, a hint of desperation as (y/n) facepalmed in the background, itching to get to her doofus' side before his emotions started leaking but she knew how it would look if she was constantly clinging to his side. So, no matter how badly this was going, she stood still and hoped that Ray didn't do anything stupid after being called the weird kid's father. 

"Uh, I'm-I'm Ray AKA Captain Man AKA (y/n)'s fiancée!" the hero said, hoping that a few of his basic titles would spark some recognition in the legend's mind. 

Bigfoot looked genuinely surprised to hear about another superhero living with Schwoz since he didn't have a TV and never ventured into the city; he had to learn stuff by ear and when he looked back at the mention of the sweet girl, he saw her raise her left hand and point to the ring that sparkled in the starlight. Well, that confirmed it, weird how he never knew. 

"Oh, Schwoz never mentioned you! Are you new to the Schwoz Cave?" He asked politely, seeing nothing wrong with his question, so he didn't understand why the man's face erupted into anger as the woman and kids released shocked giggles behind him. Oh, that little fibre, what had he been saying?

"The Schwoz Cave?!" Ray snapped and his furious gaze landed on Schwoz, who smirked bashfully and adverted everyone's gaze. He was ashamed but also unapologetic because he loved the idea of being a superhero and messing with Ray's head, even if it was a tangled web of lies that he was now stuck in. 

"Listen, listen--" Bigfoot put a furry hand on Ray's chest to keep him from tackling Schwoz and instead, diverted their attention before things got out of hand, "I found this great campsite just past the creek. Let's all go down there and have dinner to get to know each other better.

"Yeah."

"All right, let's go," the teens nodded enthusiastically at the sound of food and a pretty area to sit, so they quickly followed after their host, who knew the way like the back of his paw--hand. Schwoz was right behind them, giggling mischievously to himself as he passed Ray, who stood like a statue with a stony expression engraved on his face. He was visibly livid from being unmentioned and the shoulder pats that the kids gave him only soured the mood. 

"That's a tough one, daddy," Henry commented jokingly as he walked past, not knowing that it was possibly the worst thing he could've said to the man, who'd been waiting all day and all night for that kind of talk. He was damn near breaking point and (y/n) knew that as she was the last to move. 

"Come on, sweetheart. Let's go eat," she whispered, stepping in front of him and smiling in the face of his grim expression. She gently reached for his hand, which unclenched when her fingers slid over his to let her in and without hesitation, Ray allowed her to grasp it. Sighing when she stroked his cheek, he allowed her to tug him towards the campsite, his heart unwilling to watch her walk away despite how sluggish his plodding feet were. 

They might have liked Bigfoot but he wasn't so keen and neither was he impressed with that good-for-nothing, low-down, double-crossing sneak, Schwoz. He'd be having words with him but for now, he was willing to indulge in one thing - his sweet girl. If the hairball didn't know who he was now, he surely would by the end of the night if it was the last thing he did. 

Her fiancé, her lover, her doofus. Always. 

Up ahead, they could hear a slight commotion since they were going quite slowly, anything so Ray could sulk in peace a little longer and cheer himself up with a little butt-staring. No doubt the amazing Bigfoot was doing something amazing with his amazing dinner because he was amazing. 

"Let's eat!"

Yeah, right, he could've done that but to avoid a scene, Ray stayed silent and kicked at the dirt as they came to another, smaller clearing, complete with rocks and stumps for rudimentary stools, a pre-lit campfire and some coolers left by the campers he scared away, one of whom Henry could swear looked like Mitch Bilsky but as he looked at the cosy spot, he couldn't find it in himself to care. 

Soon, they were huddled around the fire, Charlotte sat with Bigfoot on a fallen tree trunk, Henry with Schwoz, Jasper on his own, and then, Ray on a rock with (y/n) perched happily on his knee. Their new friend had raised his eyebrows at that, thinking they were very open about being so touchy and...kissy but the others assured him that it was normal and separating them would only lead to trouble now that the man was calmly nuzzling into her neck and hair. 

So, soon, the snacks were handed out and the stories started. Bigfoot lead them since he was the fascinating one and even Ray was able to tame his jealousy and listen as he nibbled a hotdog, offering it to his lover occasionally, another thing that they assured the legend was normal for them. 

"Sometimes, I just want to sneak into town to get that good salsa but people would see me and they'd either want a selfie or they'd try and kill me," Bigfoot sighed as everyone listened intently to how hard it was being so famous yet hated. Sure, he was legendary but most would kill to be the ones to capture Bigfoot or put the real-life Bigfoot in a zoo, and that was just horrible considering that he was such a sweet man. 

"And I hear that!" Ray piped up as (y/n) bit into their hotdog and he tightened the arm around her waist. He wasn't hated but he knew the price of popularity and it was nice to see him finally making friends, even if it was slightly self-centred, "I can't go anywhere without getting mobbed."

"Appreciate your sympathy, Ron," the behemoth gave him a polite smile and he was gracious enough to not mention the way they were snuggling like they were the only ones in the forest. All Bigfoot concentrated on was his story and the way Charlotte was braiding his fur, which was a shame because his blatant forgetting of Ray's name touched a sore spot for the egocentric man.

"Ray. It's...it's Ray," he corrected with a smile that was akin to a snarl If it wasn't for his sweet girl playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, he would've pounced and taken the hairy buffoon on himself. Was he that forgettable or had Scwhoz properly swindled him for once?

"Oh, I'm so sorry--Captain Ray!" Bigfoot was trying his best; this guy was quite techy about his image and he didn't fancy fighting with Schwoz's other friends, not when they could so easily blow his clandestine existence. However, even his best wasn't enough and Ray gritted his teeth at yet another mistake.

"No, it's Captain Man. My name is Ray," the hero laughed awkwardly and mockingly, earning himself a few hard stares as he took everything too personally, "and I just think it's hilarious that this guy has no idea who I am!" 

Everything got out of hand quite quickly and (y/n) whined indignantly when her doofus stood up abruptly, tipping her off his lap so she had to scramble to stay on her feet as he started throwing a rather embarrassing tantrum. Honestly, it was like caring for a six-year-old.

"Doofus! Ray--Raymond! Oh god, I am so sorry about him..." she had to say, giving Biggie an apologetic look and nervous smile as her lover began kicking at the dirt, complaining about anything and everything. She was used to his emotional outbursts but that didn't make them any less humiliating when their new friend looked so perplexed and almost sympathetic to her situation. God, the shame--he was thirty-seven for god's sake.

"And there's no dijon mustard for this hotdog!'

"Hey! Just chill, okay? Just relax!--" Schwoz and the teens were staring at the earth as (y/n) flattened her palm against Ray's chest and began pushing him away after he threw the half-eaten Weiner and bun to the ground. Sure, it had been a little bland and boring but it was nice for a minimalistic picnic and they'd share anything honestly, mustard or no mustard.

"Said it was a great campsite, doesn't seem so great to me! His words, not mine!" Ray growled above her incessant pleas to calm down and she started using her body to push him back quicker when he pointed straight at Bigfoot--a highly rude gesture. Such a child...

"Calm down! Just calm the hell down!"

"Ray? Ray?!" Charlotte shouted as she came over to see if she could get through to him too since the awkwardness was killing her. She joined (y/n) in begging for him to button it and folded her arms as he spat her calming words back in her face; seriously, if (y/n) was struggling to calm him down, her, his beloved fiancée, what hope did she have?

"I'm the problem, sweet girl? I'm embarrassing?! I'm embarrassing?!"

"Yes, yes, you are! You're embarrassing when you act like a child, Raymond, getting angry when things don't go your way and it's deeply humiliating!" the woman scolded, staring him down--or as down as she could get since she was so much shorter than him--as a teacher would to a rebellious student. He seemed to sober up at that, recoiling when she gave him the reality check that he was upsetting her, the kids, and everyone and that wasn't fair.

"I'm embarrassing?" he asked again and she cleared her throat when his eyes softened from the hardened glare they'd held seconds before. He never wanted to humiliate her, god knows that he only ever wanted to be proud of having him by her side and it was only because of stupid Bigfoot that he'd lost his cool. Or...maybe it was him, maybe he needed to think things through.

"Yes, Ray, so you know what? You need to calm down, so we're going to go into the forest and we're gonna take a lap," (y/n) told him firmly and took up his hand so she could march him out of the clearing before there was a punch up. Did other girls have to do this with their fiancés?

"I don't wanna take a lap!" he replied petulantly and tried to pull his hand away from his sweet girl in defiance. In his normal state of mind, he'd never do that but children often cut their noses off to spite their faces when being told off--he was no different when he was like this.

"You need to take a lap, Ray," Henry piped up this time, having stood up to come and join Charlotte in assisting the woman, even if their opinions meant very little. Still, he figured that if his boss heard it from enough people, he'd eventually stomp off with (y/n) in tow and she'd ensure that he was fully calm before coming back to their rustic yet sophisticated hangout.

"I don't need a lap! It's not my lap time!" Ray snapped at the kid, thinking he was getting them all to back off when really, he was making it worse. Did he not realise how childish he sounded? All the man wanted to do was enjoy a quiet evening with his girl and feel her squirm against him when he breathed hot air down her neck, but no. That walking carpet was ruining everything.

"If you want to act like a child, then I will treat you like one, Raymond. Come with me!" (y/n) tried to shove him again but his bulk wouldn't budge, not until someone else joined the cacophony.

"Uh, I wouldn't take a lap. It's pretty dangerous out there!" The same walking carpet said, again trying to be helpful but again failing miserably. Whilst he knew the woods like the back of his hairy hand, they didn't and he'd hated to see them step in something dangerous but to Ray, that sounded like a challenge. If Bigfoot could do it, he could do it better.

"Oh, okay! We're taking a lap!" the hero scoffed, suddenly changing his tune, much to the group's frustration. Without another word, Ray seized (y/n)'s hand and dragged her off in the direction that they'd come, grumbling as he went. She was tripping over her feet at his insane pace and all she could manage was a quick wave to the others before they'd rounded the corner and disappeared into the shrubbery.

*WEE-WOO, WEE-WOO. SMUT IMPENDING AGAIN. I PROMISE IT FINISHES AFTER THIS THOUGH. LET'S GOOOOOOO!*

"Ray! Ray! Slow down! I said a lap, not a sprint!" she gasped as he retraced their faint steps that had been trodden into the dirt, looking for one spot in particular since it would be far enough from the camp but not too dangerous for them to be caught unawares. He tried to ease up when she stumbled on a jagged rock emerging from the soil but he didn't stop, merely squeezed her hand even more to keep her following.

"Raymond! Will you just--what is with you tonight?" the heroine asked again, slightly breathless from how much ground they'd covered in such a short space of time. Trees had passed and bushes and a sign saying hunters would be prosecuted--and a sign after that said prosecutors would be hunted if they didn't keep their noses out. It felt like they'd trekked the entirety of the woods when he finally stopped, abruptly and without warning, and with no inclination that he was going to answer her question.

Like lightning, Ray pushed her against the tree for the second time that night and their surroundings once again became familiar to (y/n) as she felt the same scraping against the soft skin of her back. He'd taken her up the path to the old clearing, the one where the moon lit the path to keep the monsters away--and hopefully any snoopers too. 

She'd been hunted again, only this time, Ray intended to go through with the kill.

"I'll tell you what's with me, sweet thing," he growled and instantly had his face buried into her neck so he could nip a line down her jugular, tearing gasps and weak moans from the back of her throat, "I've done nothing but think about your pussy since last night and I need it, darlin'. Need you so bad."

Truth be told, a smile tugged at her lips when his typical, domineering snarl turned into a whining beg. He was pawing at whatever he could get his hands on; her soft neck, tits through her dress, hands brushing back the jacket to hold her waist before slipping down to knead at her ass. Most would say that he was pathetic, desperately trying to tempt her into joining him in the open, in a public place, where anyone could stumble across something.

"Whose fault is that then?" (y/n) teased, jaw dropping open when his teeth bit down on her collarbone, causing her to yank hard on his hair when her hands snaked to run her fingers through it. His lips were so distracting but through the lips of them and his wandering touch lighting fire on her skin, she could feel him against her hip, hard and throbbing, begging to be released after losing out so critically before. 

Now, it was her chance to wind him up tight like a spring and watch him squirm because that's what she'd had to do the night he left her for popsicles and buffoonery. He could've had her, could've pushed right in, god knows she'd let him, she was soaking through her panties just at the memory and yet, he'd left himself to suffer. 

Pushing the skirt of her dress up, Ray immediately grasped at her thighs and tried to widen them, hoping to get a glimpse of the delight that was waiting for him, even if he knew he didn't deserve it, not when he'd played such a cruel game. The desperation was clawing at his insides, cock begging him to fuck her soon before he exploded and so, as much as his instincts told him to have his sweet girl spread out like a feast for him and chastise her for teasing her Captain, he swallowed his pride.

"Please--please--please," he whispered over and over against her neck as he rutted his hips into her. With any luck, she'd feel what she was doing to him, how crazy the thought of her had made him over the last god knows how many hours, how he couldn't wait to fuck her tight cunt any longer. 

The drive over had been hell; anytime he looked over, she was there looking like an angel and he could swear that she'd been widening her legs just to tease him when he rested his hand on her thigh. Little minx... But what could he do? He did his best to find her sweet spots, licking and sucking at the spot below her ear and trailing his fingers closer to her core until she was trembling between him and the tree, that's when she spoke.

"What do you want, doofus?" she murmured, tilting her head back so he'd have more access. Moving down from her ear, he headed for the top of her tits, nipping as he went before he grabbed at them roughly. God, he wished they were back home or that he'd done this sooner, then he could take one into his mouth, he knew how perfect those nipples were for biting and sucking, but out here, he wasn't willing to expose more than he had to.

What did he want? A few things. He wanted her naked, on their bed in the warmth so he could get on his knees and pray for forgiveness before worshipping her like he should've done before. He wanted to hear her every sound above the rustle of the leaves. He wanted to peel her panties down her legs and fuck her hard and strong so he didn't rip someone's head off. He wanted her, he wanted her so much.

"You, sweet girl. I want you so bad--since last night," he panted, grinning against her skin when he found her clit through the soaked material under her dress and rubbed his thumb against it in tight circles. She lurched forward with a cry, bucking her hips towards him as best she could with only the tree for leverage and it reminded her that he wasn't the only one who'd been simmering since last night.

The drive over had been hell; anytime she looked over, he was there, looking like a god as one hand guided the wheel and the other stayed with her like always. She could swear that he'd crept his hand closer to her core with every passing streetlight, just to drive her insane.

"Then fuck me, you idiot," she smirked and palmed at him through his jeans, feeling how huge he was even through the denim and no sooner than the words left her mouth, they pulled apart to weakly shove any clothing out of the way. 

Her thumbs hooked the elastic of her underwear and she pulled them down her legs as their eyes stayed locked, his darkening when she slipped them past her ankles and awkwardly over her shoes. It was never like this in the movies, they made it seem so smooth but she got there eventually and pressed them into his hand, earning herself a groan when he felt the damp cotton. 

Tucking them into his back pocket, Ray lifted his sweater slightly, revealing a peek of his Adonis belt as she knelt to pop the button on his jeans and slowly bring down the zipper. He watched with hooded eyes as she gingerly reached into his briefs and pulled him free, licking her lips at the prize that lay in front of her. 

She leaned forward, ignoring how the bitter air was making her core clench when it met her bare pussy and how stones were digging into her knees as she braced against the ground but it was worth it. Dipping her tongue out, she kitten-licked at his tip before allowing the flared head to break her lips open, taking him in one, two, three times with slow bobs of her head that had him throwing his back to howl at the sky. 

It was indulgent, he knew that; her pace was tortuous and he longed to hold her face still and fuck her pretty throat but relented when she looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes that were spoiled only by his cock inflating her cheeks.

"You always look so hot with my cock in your mouth, sweet girl," he groaned and placed a hand on the back of her head to guide her movements. (y/n) moaned at the salty taste of him, loving how pliant he was in her hands, so much power and strength being controlled by her movements--it was intoxicating but not what she sorely wanted.

With one final swipe of her tongue around his length, she pulled back, leaving them connected with nothing more than a string of saliva as she gazed up at him with cherry-red, sickened lips and doe-like eyes before asking, "will you fuck me now, sir?"

"Fuck, baby--" Ray groaned at her naive tone, admiring how small her hand looked when giving his cock a few tugs. Leaving her hair, his hand slipped under her arm and he pulled her to her feet, growling when she giggled at his eagerness. Her amusement didn't last long; pushing her against the tree once more, Ray gripped the backs of her thighs and snarled "jump" against her throat, picking her up effortlessly when she lamely tried to follow his orders.

He secured her legs around her waist and used the tree as leverage, thankful that in their horniness, he'd picked one that had grown at a slight angle so things were easier. His raw strength made her tremble as she clung to his shoulders, where his muscles felt softer through the fuzzy fabric of her sweater but she knew the power that was hidden beneath and could feel it from how he lifted her so easily. 

Rutting his hips forward, they moaned in tandem as his cock slotted against her slit and steadily rocked through her slick, brushing against her clit with every move. Her mouth was pressed against his ear so he could hear every noise she made and his grip turned to steel when he caught on her entrance, prodding so he could feel her clench but not going any further.

"Can I fuck you, sweet girl? Can I fuck you here where anyone can see what's mine?" Ray asked into her hair, sliding his head through her lips to rile his lover up even more. His abs tensed at the thought of someone stumbling across them, a lone hiker or maybe even Bigfoot himself as he came to investigate their disappearance. 

He'd never let them see anything, her pleasure-screwed face and soaked pussy were for his eyes only but a small, sadistic part of him hoped that their new "friend" caught a glimpse of him with his pants shoved down and his sweet girl wrapped in his embrace as he pumped into her. 

That would stick in his head--maybe he'd remember who he was then. The man who was entirely devoted to the sweetest girl on Earth. The man who knew that sweetness better that anyone else.

"Shit--yes, please. Fuck me, I don't care if someone sees--" (y/n) pleaded, going half-insane from the contrast of the jagged bark on her back and the soft swipes of his cock. Ray didn't need telling twice and as her cries painted a smirk on his face, he pushed forward, staring between her legs as he began to disappear inch by inch. The woman threw her head back, not caring when it thunked against the tree, all that mattered was her fucking hot fiancé and his cock that stretched her walls for miles and miles. 

He had the perfect view; her dress was bunched up around her waist and with the moon and stars to guide him, he could see how drenched she was in the dim light and how her pussy sucked him, welcoming him home. She was certain that some of her wetness had been there since the previous night, had not ceased gathering even when he left her alone with a glass of wine to nurse and nothing more and it only made it easier for him to bury himself to the hilt.

For a moment, he gave her a chance to adjust to his sheer size or maybe it was his way of masking how he was the one who needed a minute. Her walls were so damn tight around him and velvety soft, making searing white heat crawl up his spine until he got a grip on himself and started to rock into her.

"So dirty but you like it, don't you? You like having your little pussy filled in the middle of the woods," Ray said cockily, punching out each word in synch with a thrust of his hips, drawing moan after whimper from her mouth--and he sure as hell felt the way she tightened at the reminder of their surroundings. "Oh, you do, don't you? Like knowing that anyone could see you like this for me--see how you scream my name when I--"

"Fuck, Ray!" she cried when he snapped his hips into her at a different angle and hit a spot that made her see stars. Smirking when he saw the way it made jelly of her muscles, he began pummeling that spot, hearing nothing but the blood rushing through his ears and the slapslapslap of his balls against her thighs. Her squeaks and begging were music to his ears and he got lost in his sweet girl, nothing else existed apart from her, him and her tight heat as it ruined his cock.

"N-not gonna last long, darlin, not after last night--" he stuttered, feeling how tight his balls were and how they were begging to pump her full of cum before he exploded. He'd denied himself earlier and it had left him half-crazed, his body drying out for its soulmate so they could be one at last and he was finally succumbing to the call, succumbing to the sweet pull of her pussy and how it was waiting for him.

(y/n) whined something incoherent, too lost in the pleasure rippling through her body from the epicentre in her core. Steadily, she lowered one hand from his shoulders and dropped it to her clit to begin rubbing it in rough circles, her fingers slipping across soaked flesh. It was the push she needed to hurtle her towards the edge and she felt the familiar burn beginning to set in, one that began to blaze when Ray's lips brushed against hers and he captured her gaze.

"That's it, pretty girl. Rub this pussy for me, get it all nice and ready for my cum. Can you do that for me?" he asked in a teasing, condescending tone that had her nodding obediently. His thrusts increased as she doubled down on her clit, giving it light slaps like she knew he would if they were in a more comfortable setting. 

Ray's eyes followed her movements and a gasp got stuck in his throat when he saw how the diamonds in the ring he gave her sparkled with every circle. Fuck, if that didn't make him go faster then nothing would and it wasn't long before he felt the fire return to lick up his spine. Her cunt, her moans, her tight grip on his hair, the sight of his fiancée fucking himself whilst he fucked her was enough to drag him to the edge and her with him when his thrusts faltered.

"Come with me, doofus. Fill me up before we go back," (y/n) whispered before biting his earlobe to smother her loudest moan of the night when he came with a groan, triggering her own end. Ropes of pearly cum flooded her heat as he pressed her against the tree and her orgasm stretched thin when the scraping pain mixed with the bliss. Ray whined and buried his face into her neck, staying as close to her as possible as he filled her up with his most intimate claim.

The heroine sighed at the serenity and rested her forehead against his shoulder as their breathing slowed down. He stayed inside of her for a while, unwilling to remove himself from her warmth when the air around them was so chill and he was more interested in kissing up her neck and running his thumbs across her ass as held her aloft still. 

But, eventually, the chilliness of the air caught up with them and upon feeling his sweet girl shudder and snuggle into him more, Ray realised that her jacket had slipped down her arms when he was pounding into her. Not to mention the fact that she was still wearing that sorry excuse for a dress with her legs facing the elements. 

So, he planted one final kiss on her pulse point and peeled her from the tree, hearing her whimper slightly as her scratched skin smoothed over and his cock jostled against her walls. He pulled out slowly, groaning when he felt his release begin to leak now that she wasn't plugged up. 

"I've got you, sweetheart," the hero told her gently, setting her back down on shaky legs and ensuring that she didn't tumble to the forest floor. "You okay?"

"More than okay, doof. You feelin' better?" (y/n) asked with a breathy laugh. Her tummy fluttered when she felt his cum begin to ooze out of her and whilst she hated to lose it, knowing that it was there was near perfection.

"Much better but there is one thing that I need to do."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" she asked perplexed, wondering what could be so important as he tucked himself away and tugged up his zipper with a shiver. It all became clear when he smirked her way and felt into his back pocket and brought out her panties, the ones he'd tucked away for safekeeping before having his way with her. 

"Would you mind, sweet girl?" He held them open and with a giggle, (y/n) stepped into them as clumsily as she had taken them off, struggling to get her sneakers through the holes until he shimmied them up her legs. Carefully, Ray pulled them over her ass so none of his precious spend could be lost and he playfully squeezed her cheek before fixing her dress to check that she didn't walk anywhere with her butt showing.

"Does this mean I have to walk around with your cum in my underwear?" she questioned, leaning up to caress his lips with hers in a slow dance.

"Of course," Ray grinned, thoroughly in love with the idea that they had a dirty secret between them that no one would ever know but them. Perhaps he was being childish again but the thought of having one up of Bigfoot, having her as his lover since, in his eyes, any man would kill to be with her, made him gloat and preen. Speaking of the hairball...

"We should probably get back..." (y/n) mentioned and pulled his jacket across her body tighter to try and conserve some warmth. The campfire was sounding pretty nice round about now and even better if her doofus would be there to calmly snuggle with her, besides, the others were probably beginning to wonder how long one lap could take.

"You go on ahead, precious girl. I just wanna take a look at something before I go back, I won't be minute," the hero told her gently and gestured to some bushes in the direction they'd come from. 

"Okay, doofus. Don't stay out here too long. I'd hate for something to happen to you," she smiled and pecked his cheek, giving one final warning for him not to be a hero when he wasn't in uniform. Ray chuckled at that and gave her ass a small smack as she walked away, laughing when she sent him a bright-eyed glare over her shoulder. 

God, he hated watching her walk away but at least he could admire her with a longing gaze. Now, about that shiny thing he'd spotted...where was it?

*AND BREAK SCENE. THE SPICY MEATBALL IS OVER MY GUYS. THANK YOU FOR COMING, I HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOURSELVES, THIS IS SADLY ALL WE HAVE SPACE FOR SO, MIS INOCENTES, WELCOME BACK*

Even in the darkness, on her own and slightly intimidated by the possible Oogie-boogies lurking in the bushes, (y/n) steadily made it back to the camp. A slight left turn, straight on, past the bush that looked like Shirley Bassey and then a right to the small circle of rocks and stumps that seated her friends. 

Just act normal, tell a small white lie and don't blush--whatever you do, don't blush!

"Hey, guys!" she smiled at them as she skipped back to her and Ray's rock and plonked down on it. In her mind, nothing was out of the ordinary and she'd already thought of her story, the one she'd slightly altered to a more suitable narrative. All they needed to do was buy it.

"Hey!"

"What took you so long?"

"Where's Ray?" The teens asked as Schwoz and Bigfoot mumbled and smiled their greetings. The woman laughed nervously at the influx of questions, some of which were easier to answer than others. At least they looked happy and ignorant, that at least meant their "lap" had been far enough away for any noises to dissipate.

"Oh, you know what Ray's like, such a drama queen. He needed a bit more time to cool off so I left him to wander for a bit while I get the feeling back in my fingers," she explained quickly and thank god, it checked out. Whether it be from her steady tone or her pleasant face, the teens nodded knowingly since that did sound like their boss and (y/n) had looked cold all night in that frock of hers.

"I just hope he's okay out there. It's pretty spooky."

"And dangerous!" Bigfoot added, watching the nice lady as she warmed her hands with the fire, flexing her fingers so that the heat seeped into them. Huh, it hadn't seemed that dangerous to her, scary once you were off the beaten track since you couldn't see the hidden roots and rocks as you were walking but apart from that, the woods weren't that bad.

"Why'd you say it was so dangerous out here?" Jasper asked, flexing his fingers too, although it wasn't from a lack of warmth, more like the hair of his palms growing disturbingly long to the point where his skin felt like it was right next to the glowing embers.

"There's this hunter--S. Thompson. He's been setting traps for me all over the woods," Biggie replied and no one liked the sound of that. Not only did the idea of their new friend being caged like an animal make them feel awful, but they also didn't feel safe anymore knowing that there were claws and contraptions hidden under leaves and branches. 

And of course, their favourite idiot was out and about in it, hunting down the treasures he'd seen out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey!" Ray suddenly shouted and poked his head above the flora to show that his hunt had led him back to their vicinity...and the allure of his sweet girl too. "I found some pork chops just lying here on the ground!"

"No, no, don't--" The gentle giant tried to warn him off touching the pork chops but it was too late. 

"G'ahhhhh, it was a trap!" Ray yelped in agony as a metal claw tanged and ensnared his arm with diabolic teeth. Luckily, he was the indestructible Captain Man, so there was no medical emergency, just the wailing of a lost lonely creature who should've followed its mate instead of sticking its nose where it didn't belong. "Monkey fungus, this hurts!"

"Oh my god..."

"You all right, dude? (y/n)'s worried!" Henry called to him and held a calming hand out to (y/n) to tell her that Ray was a big boy, she didn't need to run off to mollycoddle him. She was protective, he knew that, but technically this was on the idiot who just saw something he liked and grabbed it--come on, the world was not going to respond in the same way she did when he grabbed her ass.

"I'm o-kay!" Ray announced, easing his girl's worries with one bellow of his signature phrase. The pain wasn't so bad once his skin adjusted to the pressure and hell, it was worth it for a free pork chop that had been sitting on a dirty rock for who knows how long.

"Hey, is that a bottle of root beer? I'm gonna grab it," he suddenly gasped and no sooner than he did, he was off wandering in another direction, causing his friends to cringe. Something to was the crusty pork down, nice root beer that could've contained any other substance. Delicious.

"What? No, don't grab it! That's probably another trap, you doofus!" (y/n) shrieked over her shoulder but again, Ray didn't listen until he'd stuck his hand in yet another booby trap. The second the bottle left the pressure plate, it snapped shut on his other wrist with a force that would've broken the tendons there had it been anyone else.

"Cobra-Kai, that was equally painful! G'ahhhh..."

"That's the man you want to marry?" Charlotte asked (y/n) dryly, giving her one of her dubious looks as if to tell her that she was dumb for falling for such a moron. They were polar opposites, he could do very little right and she could do very little wrong; even if they had taught her what true love looked like, it was hard to see what the woman fell for since she wasn't the type to go solely off looks.

"Yeah...he has his good moments," she replied quietly and scuffed her sneaker against the dirt. She could name a million things that made her fall in love with Ray, starting with how kind he could, how gentle he was, and how he secretly cared more than anyone, to his floppy hair, baby blue eyes and goofy grin. Amongst other things.

"Oh my god, (y/n/n), what happened to your knees?" Jasper unexpectedly exclaimed, having watched the way she scratched her shoe into the ground and caught sight of the fading bruises.

They were barely visible, almost fully healed so really, she just had some very, very minor bruises that would disappear within the next five minutes. However, if Jasper knew her superpower, and he did, he'd say that for them to be like that, she must've scuffed them up pretty badly. What had happened?

"Oh, uh...um..." the woman stuttered and prayed that the heat from her cheeks couldn't be felt by the kids over the fire. She had to think of something quickly, something that couldn't be added to the pile of reasons why she adored her doofus because it would scar all of them for life.

"Oh, uh...on the way back, I tripped on a tree root and cut them! Nothing super-regeneration can't fix, though..." was her pathetic excuse, which thankfully, went over Henry and Jasper's heads as though the scenario was plausible. They nodded and smiled sympathetically, telling her to watch where she was going in future, powers or no powers, but Charlotte didn't look so convinced. Yeah, sure, she tripped all right. Straight onto Ray's--

"People have been hunting you for years. What's so special about this guy?" Schwoz asked, turning to Bigfoot who was strangely tense after Jasper mentioned (y/n)'s banged-up legs. They were grown-ups, not idiots and the hairy man cleared his throat before continuing, sparing his and the woman's blushes with some tactful conversation.

"He's really good. He knows exactly what I like; pork chops, root beer..."

"Season two of Will & Grace on Blu-Ray!" Ray shouted once more, having spotted the small plastic box on the floor but not the trap that was undoubtedly hidden beneath the shower of dried leaves and twigs.

"That's a good season!"

"That's a great season! Maybe I can pick it up with my foot..." the hero replied, having spent many a binge session with his sweet girl to watch the famous sitcom. It was a freebie, he had to get it but this time, he was going to outsmart the trap since his hands were full, sort of.

"Ray, stop!" Schwoz yelled, hoping to get him to come back but the man was a child--he looked with his hands, not his eyes.

"AHHHHHH! Sweet Megan Mullally, when will I learn my lesson?" he whimpered as his leg was captured too, the metal threatening to impale his skin, even though it was holding out. That was a good question, when would he? Probably never, which was why it was always best to send his handler rather than let him work it out for himself.

"Someone should go get him," Charlotte suggested, eyeing Henry and (y/n) since they were the ones her boss liked best. His sidekicks could handle him, no sweat.

"On it."

"Honestly, it's like looking after a goddamn toddler," the young woman sighed as she followed Henry speedily. Hopefully, they'd get to Ray before he did something idiotic enough to land himself in serious trouble and it was annoying that she had to move again when the fire had just begun to keep her toasty.

"Anyway..." Bigfoot said sadly, standing to his enormous height and going over to get a tangerine from Schwoz's basket as he watched the boy and girl jog away around the corner, "it's only a matter of time before that hunter, S. Thompson, catches me."

"Y'know, Biggie, my friends are superheroes. Maybe they can help get this guy off your back," the genius suggested. He hated to see one of his oldest and dearest friends so gloomy and if he could, he'd do anything to help. And one of the biggest ways he could do that was getting Ray, Henry and (y/n) to flex their super muscles, intimidate this asshat a little bit to leave the woods and its residents alone.

"Hey, Henry! Grab that top hat that's randomly lying on the ground!"

"No, dude. It's a trap!"

"But look how fancy it is!"

"Raymond! You already look like a fire-damaged Lady Gaga impersonator, don't you dare set off another one of these things!" Well, they were super most of the time. Schwoz and Charlotte shook their heads as they overheard the interaction of the sidekicks trying to get the hero to follow them, only for him to reiterate how dumb he was.

"I know, I'll just kick it out of the trap really fast before it closes!"

"No, you doof, that's not gonna work!--" (y/n) begged her lover and tried to grab onto his bicep and tug him away without aggravating the claw on his arm, but once Ray had an idea in his head, he didn't snap out of it. Not even when she whined at the sight of him getting lynched.

"Yeooooowwwwwww! Mamma mia, that's a spicy bear trap!" He yowled as his other got caught, meaning he was now snatched and snipped in all four corners; the pain was near unbearable but he had his prizes, including a dashing top hat that he hoped would make his despairing sweet girl fall for him.

"See what I mean? There are traps everywhere," Bigfoot sighed and Schwoz understood his predicament. From how easy it was to fool Ray, there was a different trap every few feet, so there was no wonder that he was on edge--one wrong move could spell disaster.

"Hey!" Ray yelled as he approached the clearing again, finally having been shoved that way after Henry wrestled him away from something else interesting - another spoil of bear trap war. "Did you guys know there's a bunch of traps and a really sweet top hat in the woods?"

"Yeah, did you also know there's a massive doofus who keeps falling for them too?" (y/n) hissed as she moodily walked behind him, watching how her lover limped from the pain and weight of the metal that clung to his body. He did look cute in the top hat, though, like a huge dork that her heart couldn't help but sing for no matter how much he irritated her with his antics.

The doofus wasn't the only creature falling that night. The sweet girls were at it too.

~A while later~

After peeling Ray from the traps, a task that had required all of them working together and a monumental amount of effort, the plan to save Bigfoot was well underway.

The heroes were in their uniform, ready to pounce should this S. Thompson guy show up prematurely but apart from the electric anticipation in the air, things were smooth. 

Using one of his many contacts, Ray had brought in a large, steel booby trap, one that wasn't like one of those piddling little claw things that had got him. No, this was the real deal, something he'd used to trick criminals hundreds of times before. 

It was a box, spread out flat across the woodland floor and when lifted by several ropes, it trapped whoever was dumb enough to be standing on it like an animal. It was genius, apart from the fact that they had yet to camouflage it.

"Thanks," Jasper nodded at Henry, who had taken the time to laser off the hair on the boy's hands since they had a lick of free time now that most of the work was done. 

"Yeah, you got it," the sidekick smiled, glad to help out his buddy. Well, he'd mainly done it to stop his complaints, not to mention the fact that the sight of the ever-growing hairs was starting to freak him out.

"It was really hard to go to the bathroom with all of that hand hair."

"I don't wanna hear about it," Henry said quickly, recoiling at the image of Jasper doing stuff and then, stuff getting on things and...ew. He did not want to hear about that, too much information but it didn't deter Jasper, not at all. 

Sensing his friend's discomfort, he merely smiled and warmly patted his arm before walking off, mentioning something about enlightening poor Charlotte with his toilet troubles instead. She and (y/n) had been sent off on a very important mission whilst the guys did all of the heavy liftings with the trap; they were told to collect twigs and moss and leaves--that sort of thing--any material that would cover the metal sheets and blend it into the ground. 

"Hey, we got the pine needles you wanted to cover the trap!" Charlotte announced, shuffling back into the clearing with a fluffy mound of brown foliage. Twigs, moss and leaves weren't that easy to carry, but millions of pine needles could easily be scooped up, even if they didn't make them feel itchy and scratchy. 

Walking to the centre of the flat box, the girls dumped their loads, watching as it fluttered to the ground and covered about one per cent of the metal, which didn't help them. The needles clumped together, so all it was were two brown lumps on the ground, not the thick camo they were after.

"Oh my god, where'd the trap go?" Henry asked sarcastically, looking at the two who didn't respond well to his dry quip. He'd expected them to either bring more or at least try and spread it out, give them a bit more coverage, but frankly, it was a pathetic effort on their part.

"Seriously, sweet girl? That's all the pine needles you could get?" Ray turned to his fiancée, whose eyes narrowed at the prospect of him pointing the blame but he didn't sound mean or angry, just soft and questioning. Right, the others could be told off but never her--she was the one he was enchanted by.

"Well, doofus, we could've gotten more if maybe someone would've helped us. I don't know, maybe someone with floofy hair and thirty-two-inch biceps?" (y/n) replied frankly, her hands on her hips since she wasn't a miracle worker. 

If she was an octopus, she would've been able to carry eight times that amount, or if she was a magician, she could float them over, but she wasn't. She was just a superheroine who'd tripped a million times in her cute boots that were sadly not designed for rocky terrain and had a lover who'd been too busy strutting about like an egotistical peacock to help her and Charlotte.

"Don't worry, darlin'. I got you," he smirked and for a moment, she genuinely thought that she'd gotten through to him with her flirting and stroking of his ego but then, he had to go and ruin it, "Jasper! Schwoz! Go with Charlotte and Miss Danger and get more pine needles."

The boss had spoken and upon receiving his command, the boys and girl sloped off to go and scavenge for more needles, leaving (y/n) to give him a boring look. And people said chivalry was dead.

"Wow, Captain Man. Thanks a lot!" She exclaimed in a faux excited voice, turning lethargically on her heel but not before pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek. He might have pissed her off but she'd never leave without giving him one, otherwise, she'd never be able to concentrate on anything other than the knowledge that her doofus might not know how much she loved him. And she could never have that.

"So, what's the plan?" Bigfoot asked as the woman walked off to tell Jasper not to eat any unknown substances. It was his voice that broke Ray out of his trance, having been totally in a dream as he followed her figure until it had rounded the corner completely. What? What was that? Had he been thinking about her thighs again? Certainly not!

"We're gonna trap that jerk-bag hunter," Ray replied calmly. He still wasn't awed to be in Bigfoot's presence but he could tolerate him now that his system was clear and he had a job to focus on. 

"Yeahhhhh, Bigfoot likey!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, and then, as soon as we spring the trap, Captain Man and I will pop out and he won't even remember that you're Bigfoot.

"Oh, solid plan!" The hairy man grinned as Henry explained what they were gonna do and it did sound pretty cool. The hunter couldn't hunt if he didn't know what he was hunting, which was what made it so clever, if only they were that too. After all, they were so busy chuckling that they didn't notice the predator circling them.

"How does this trap worked?" Biggie asked, distracting them yet again from their surroundings. The stalker in the bushes was good at his job as Bigfoot had described, so he knew how to muffle his footsteps and creep about in the shadows to the extent that not even the great Captain Man with all of his experience knew what was happening.

"Great question, 'Foot!"

"You're gonna stand right over there and when the hunter sees you, he's gonna be like, doo-do-doo-do-doo-do! There's Bigfoot!" Ray played it out, acting like an idiot as he scampered over to stand in the middle of the trap.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, and then, he's gonna walk over and stand right here--this spot," Henry carried on, moving to stand next to his boss so they were adjacent to the pathetic pile of pine needles. They were so dumb; Thompson was standing right there and they didn't even know it, and neither did they see how huddling together was a really crap idea.

"Right here?"

"Mhmm, right where we're standing right now," Ray nodded to the other man, who was now in the centre of the box too, looking around intently but not that intently...or carefully.

"And then, Schwoz will hit a button and he'll spring the trap."

"This trap right here?" Bigfoot pointed to the metal under their feet, just to make sure he knew what they were planning. After all, it was his safety and everything.

"The same."

"The one we're standing over right now."

"And where is this button that springs the trap we're standing on right now?" Bigfoot asked, not realising that his biggest foe was eavesdropping on every word they were saying. It was like they wanted him to know how to outwit them or like they had a death wish because Thompson was getting some great tips on how to catch the beast he'd been after for so many years.

"Another great question, 'Foot. It is riiiiiiiggggghhhtt...there," Henry slurred, looking around for the button since he hadn't been paying attention when Schwox had been setting it up. He and Ray scanned the trees and surrounding bushes before their eyes landed on one big red button that had been nailed to a tree trunk. And that's when they finally noticed the man in the high-vis vest standing next to it. 

"Hey there, fella!" Ray suddenly said in a tight, chirpy voice that didn't soothe or fool Thompson. He knew a nervous person when he cornered one or three, including his prize.

"Would you mind stepping over here to the--" Too late. Nothing Ray could've said would have convinced Thompson to do anything but whack the button; he'd waited years to catch Bigfoot and now, he had him and he'd virtually walked into a trap set by himself. He wouldn't pass up that opportunity. Immediately, the trap was sprung and a series of pulleys above their heads pulled the walls up, magnetically locking the three in a solid steel box.

"Woo!" The hunters had become the hunted.

Inside, Ray pulled a portable light from his belt and stuck it to the wall, giving them light now that the moon was hidden due to the height of the metal. It wasn't great but at least they could sort of see.

"Okay, we need a new plan..." Henry hissed to his boss, who knew that it was just a question of what. They couldn't get out, not on their own and little did Thompson know but they had two teens and a weirdo and a hot superhero out in the woods as a backup. He knew what to do.

"Scream for help?"

"Scream for help." Henry nodded and instantly, the three bawled at the top of their lungs. The noise ricocheted out and into the night air as they begged for mercy, for someone to come get them and for the hunter to not hurt them--Ray even tried thumping on the walls to no avail. All that could be heard was that hillbilly celebrating his easiest victory ever.

"Woo! Gah! Yeeewoo! Finally got Bigfoot! Yeah, gah, you're in there, boy! Woo!" He screamed and banged his fist against the steel, causing Biggie to jump at the racket as his enemy taunted him. "I'm gonna call the news right now! That's right, I'm gonna be famous! I'm definitely gonna get married now..."

"Not before I do, buddy..." Ray muttered, fully aware that the asshole couldn't hear him but still. He wasn't gonna be carted off like some freak and fail his mission there had to be some way out, after all, he had a very important date to make at some point. And even so, he doubted that any girl would want to come in three feet of a man who wanted to poach innocent beings.

"Dude, he's calling the news. What are we gonna do?" Henry questioned worriedly and ignored the murmurings that fell from his boss' mouth. He was more concerned with their current predicament than whether Thompson thought he was God's gift to women or water.

"Oh, come on. Like the news is gonna pick up..." the hero scoffed at his sidekick's worries. Not to be mean or anything but S. Thompson was a bit of a weirdo and he doubted that the news would pay attention to him at all--if anything, this would be a wake-up call for him to get a proper job.

"This is the hunter, S. Thompson and I trapped Bigfoot. Bring your cameras, you can be the first people in the world to show pictures of him!" The hunter's hushed voice came from outside and quickly, Henry gave Ray the stink eye. He just had to jinx it, didn't he?

Yeah, the news was interested, they had very little else to do, so now, Mary, Trent and probably all the other creature fanatics in Swellview were headed their way. 

"He called the news! They're on the way!" Bigfoot exclaimed in a panicky voice. He was freaking out at the thought of being exposed to the world and from the sounds of it, he was near tears at the thought of being labelled a mutant, a sideshow freak. 

"Relax, 'Foot, I'm gonna laser us outta here," Ray told him soothingly as he plucked his controller from his belt. He'd had a great idea and hell, it had once been tried in a movie so it might work now, even if in that movie, the theory hadn't panned out.

"What? No, no, no, dude, it's diamond-plated steel--" Henry tried to warn him that firing a laser could have disastrous consequences but like always, Ray didn't listen. Schwoz and (y/n) had said something about the metal being extremely durable and resistant, so a silly laser wouldn't do a thing, not even a scratch, as they were about to see.

Ray fired a small shot, not at full strength but not a mild one either, but when it came into contact with the patch of walls above their heads, the plasma bounced. It another plate and another and another, ricocheting all around them until it burned a hole in Bigfoot's fur. 

"Ow!" He yelped in pain as the heat seared away all of the hair to leave his skin underneath smooth and pale. Definitely not one of Ray's best ideas.

"Maybe if I set this thing to kill..." he muttered, again not thinking with his head. Stupidly, he didn't make the connection that a stronger laser wouldn't help, all it would do was render one of them dead, so Henry would have to wrestle to stop him before something disastrous happened...or maybe not. He'd just had a brainwave.

"Hang on a second. Dude, dudedudedudedudedudedude--"

"What? What?" Ray looked at him, agitated from all of the pesterings. Seriously, that was as annoying as (y/n) begging him for a slurp of his drinks all of the time but without any of the butterflies.

"Dude, look at his arm," Kid Danger said, pointing to Biggie's right arm, the one that had been nicked by the rogue laser.

"Yeah, it's big, but mine are way bigger," the man replied, not seeing the significance of the other guy's arms when his were superb. Come on, they made Miss Danger swoon whenever he tensed them and so, that's what he did, flexed them to make them puff up into the physique that he was well-known for. 

"What? No, that's not what I'm--" the boy shook his head and got his boss to knock it off because his name wasn't (y/n) - thirty-two-inch biceps didn't work on him. "Look at the bald spot! It looks like he's got normal skin." He redirected his attention to the lasered spot, which kinda looked like Jasper's head had been after the unfortunate incident.

"So?" Ray shrugged again, not seeing why the kid was getting so pumped over silly old Bigfoot. 

"So, this might sound crazy but...what if we shave Bigfoot with our lasers?" Henry suggested, looking at Ray with a devious smirk. Hell yeah, it was crazy and kooky but they were desperate, so maybe they needed a bit of that. 

"Okay...love that," Ray was up for it anyway. After the Jasper incident, he'd discover that seeing someone with their hair gone was pretty funny and besides, Bigfoot was known for being hairy--what would the news crews do if they turned up to a pink blob and two superheroes? Probably nothing.

"Uh...I don't know, guys. My hair is kind of my thing," the hairy man said anxiously. He had some doubts, which was understandable but it might be their only option.

"Exactly! So, if we zap your hair off, when they open this up, it'll just be three totally normal, hairless dudes just chilling in the woods!" Henry explained. Honestly, Biggie didn't know if getting caught as a beast or as one of three guys in the woods was worst--the boy did make it sound a bit weird, especially when he and Ray did their weird little hand-wiggle thing.

"Hairless boys!"

"Exactly!" They grinned and did their little high-pitched tongue noises as their fingers wiggled together before looking at the man expectantly.

"Uh, I don't know..." Bigfoot debated, sounding unsure since it had taken him a long time to get to be the walking carpet he was now. How long would it be until he got his hirsute splendour back? But then...

"Woo! Ya hear that? The news is comin'! Yeah, the world is finally gonna know the name of the hunter, S. Thompson! You're mine now, ya big, smelly hairbag!" The obnoxious poacher's voice came from outside and the southern drawl sent a shiver down Bigfoot's spine. Right, he had to remember the alternative and what would happen to him if he didn't lose his hair. It didn't bear thinking about.

"Be gentle..." Finally, he came to a decision; the hair had to go. At least if they set it to a weaker setting then the beam wouldn't be as strong or painful, and so, with the devices turned down low, Henry and Ray got to work. Biggie's eyes were squeezed shut as green light began to glide across his fur, taking it away bit by bit. 

It was just hair. It would grow back. Being bald was temporary, being trapped and experimented on was forever.

~Deeper in the woods~

Whilst all of that had been going on with the boys, (y/n) had been traipsing after Schwoz, Charlotte and Jasper for what seemed like forever. 

The boy kept seeing bright plants and flowers that he liked the look of--plants and flowers that (y/n) could swear were poisonous so she had a job keeping him alive as they each collected large armfuls of pine needles until they could carry no more. 

They'd been at it for a good ten minutes, surely, they had enough to satisfy Ray and cover the trap, besides, Charlotte and Jasper could swear that she was getting antsier the longer she was away from her doofus. Stupid love, it made them so silly.

"Hey, I got more pine needles for the trap!"

"Me too!" The girls shouted as they came stumbling back from different routes, having decided that foraging in different clearings would be the best idea. Schwoz was already stood at the meeting point and like them, could barely see over his collection it was that plentiful.

"Okay, just put them over there by the bush--" he instructed them, thinking that they were gonna return to the campsite in a moment but he didn't expect them to just dump their loads on him. As if he was some sort of pack mule, Charlotte dumped her needles on top of his and because of that, (y/n) copied her, believing that he'd kindly offered to carry them so their arms wouldn't get all itchy.

"Wait, wait, that is not--" His protests came too late and then, Jasper returned as well with yet more pine needles.

"Comin' in with needles!" He shouted, carrying another million or so and Charlotte knew exactly what to do with them, after all, they weren't heavy or anything.

"Oh, give 'em to Schwoz."

"No, do not do that!" the genius protested, thinking that he could barely see as it was, he didn't want more needles on top of him. But Jasper had a problem, one that hadn't been taken care of earlier when Henry kindly volunteered to trim his hand hair because, for the most part, it had been forgotten about.

"I can't hear with all this ear hair!" Jasper yelled at an unnecessary volume and now that they looked, the girl could see that he had long tufts of hair sprouting from inside his ears. Schwoz had said not to itch them and Henry hadn't lasered them, so he was having a hard time listening to anything--including himself.

"Give--your--pine needles--to Schwoz!" (y/n) shouted directly into his ear, hoping that she was being loud enough to penetrate the long strands. Jasper strained to catch every word and nodded as he got the just of it, much to the small man's displeasure.

"Okay!"

"Wait! Don't--arghh!" he groaned as the final pile was added and whilst one small bundle weighed practically nothing, added together, it was quite hefty, enough to make him feel a slight strain. "I know my muscles are huge but--

"Hey, guys!" A voice suddenly came from the right to cut off Schwoz. He couldn't see who it was but for (y/n), Jasper and Charlotte, it was highly familiar--Piper. (y/n) squeaked at the thought of her seeing Miss Danger in the woods, fraternising with two teens who she wasn't supposed to know and in a split second of panic, she froze and looked for a place to hide as the girl approached.

"Someone caught Bigfoot in a trap--bye!" And like that, she was gone. Piper didn't even register that a gobsmacked heroine had been in the clearing, as well as a walking haystack so it was a surreal experience until the panic set in again for a whole different reason.

"Wait, what did she say?" Schwoz asked, not having heard the shocking news above the rustling of the pine needles. Plus, it was kinda hard to believe it since they were trying to do the reverse.

"Someone taught Bigfoot how to rap!" Jasper replied loudly, getting nearly all of the words wrong thanks to his hairy ears. To be fair, Piper had only been present for all of three seconds and Charlotte had (y/n) barely caught it, so he was at a disadvantage.

"No! Someone--caught--Bigfoot--in a trap!" Charlotte yelled, sounding out each word as the heroine had done earlier so he had time to catch them. Well, that didn't sound good at all, especially since if Bigfoot was trapped, then something must've happened to Ray and Henry too. Oh, god...

"We need to get back there!" (y/n) breathed out and gestured for the kids to run after her as a chill ran down her body. Her sweet doofus, Henry, Biggie, something must've happened, so she took off running with the teens hot on her heels as Schwoz floundered with the now useless needles.

"Wait, what about the pine needles?" He called after them.

"Who cares?!" Charlotte screamed over her shoulder and by that point, she was already gone by the time Schwoz said that he did. Miss Danger would have a heart attack if anything happened to her companions, especially her soulmate, but the genius was more concerned about what they had spent so long collecting. 

But he didn't have to think about it for long because as he worried about what to do with them, a large, grumbling man emerged from the bushes, heading straight for him. In his drunken state, the man collided with Schwoz, coating himself with the needles that for some reason stuck to him like glue and when he roared from the pain, Schwoz took off running.

He knew a monster when he saw one, even if that monster looked strangely familiar, so he left it to gurgle and claw at the fuzz clinging to his skin so he could make a break for it and catch up with the others.

~

In the clearing, things had started to heat up.

True to their word to S. Thompson, the news and all of their helicopters, crews and the genuine desk had turned up for the big report, one that would make the hunter famous once and for all. Trent and Mary were here and as soon as the cameras started rolling, he'd spring it for them to see, for the entire world to see.

Not only that, but a group of enthusiasts and local busybodies had arrived, hoping to catch a glimpse of the real-life Bigfoot in the man's trap, so their phones were ready for the big moment, whenever that would come.

"This is insane..." (y/n) grumbled to Charlotte and Jasper, her arms folded as she watched the news desk be lowered from the helicopter for Trent and Mary to sit at. 

There had been a few murmured whispers about why Miss Danger had suddenly stormed onto the scene with her face like thunder and two teenagers and a weirdo following her but she was too worried to pay attention. Apparently, Bigfoot was in their trap, which had worked perfectly only on the wrong people, and she just knew that her doofus was stuck in there too--the doofus.

"That's good, Rick!" Trent shouted to the helicopter pilot once the desk was firmly on the ground for her and Mary to sit at.

"Did I miss Bigfoot?" Piper asked Mitch Bilsky, who had indeed been the terrified camper spooked by Biggie earlier. The girl had been slowed down by her dad, who'd gotten lost somewhere along the way after eating some poisonous fungus, but she'd left him behind when the whir of the helicopter sounded above her head. Bigfoot was more important.

"Nah, that guy's about to reveal him right now," Mitch replied, pointing to Thompson as he loitered around the trap, "I'm gonna get a video of me looking at his feet going, what are those?!"

"If I could have everyone's attention!" The hunter announced and looked to the crowd where Mitch was being so immature, "I'd like to give a little speech." He said tenderly, annoying the buzzing crowd who weren't much for mushy sentimentality.

"Websters defines a hero as a big sandwich...but if you look a little further down--"

"Just open it up, ya gunch!" Mitch yelled, interrupting the dumb speech that was in no way relevant or tearjerking. For once, (y/n) was grateful for his big mouth and shuffled from one foot to another as the seconds lagged. She didn't want to hear some shit about sandwiches when her friends and lover were trapped inside and about to be revealed to the world.

"Fine, I'll open it," Thompson huffed, annoyed that his glorious moment as a hero had been shot down, but the best was yet to come as he grabbed the trap's release. 

"Behold! Bigfoot!" he cried and the walls fell into their original flat position. As (y/n) had predicted, Ray and Henry had indeed gotten trapped with Bigfoot, caught by that dumbass hunter but along with the heroes was a being who blew her mind. 

The cameras flashed as everyone gawked at the guy who was supposedly Bigfoot, but he wasn't. What had been fur was now smooth, pale skin that had seen little sunlight and the teens, (y/n) and Schwoz gasped as they saw Biggie looking like a proper man. His hair and beard were clipped, as were his torso and legs save for a section around his butt that had been kept furry to save his modesty. Honestly, they were just two heroes and a guy in furry pants, what was epic about that?

"Hey, everybody!"

"Hi, people of Swellview..." Ray and Henry greeted the crowd awkwardly as Bigfoot held his breath and tried not to shiver from the newfound cold. Ray turned to wink at his sweet girl, who sighed with relief when she saw that they were all okay but he wasn't able to quell her questioning look, not without tipping off the crowd that they were in the middle of a scheme.

"Trent, Mary, how's it goin'?"

"How are you?" They then turned to news crews, who looked equally perplexed because they had been expecting Bigfoot, not the crimefighters and some random big guy with weird fashion sense. S. Thompson had gone strangely pale and quiet as he took in his prize--or lack thereof--and he couldn't work out what had happened.

"So...where's Bigfoot?" Trent asked, searching the scene but coming up empty. God, he hated hoaxes.

"He's there! He's right there, look!" S. Thompson snapped, pointing directly at Biggie, who merely appeared shrewd and harmless at such an indictment, turning around as if he was just another curious onlooker--just how Ray and Henry had told him to act. If he looked in a mirror, he wouldn't recognise himself, let alone the fanatics and journalists around them, who always saw Bigfoot in one specific light.

"Who, Eddie? This is just our friend, Eddie," Captain Man lied, brushing away the hunter's accusations with faux innocence and his signature trustworthy persona. Everyone believed their favourite heroes because they loved them so much and their cunning made Charlotte, Jasper, (y/n) and Schwoz smirk at each other.

"Hi, I'm Eddie!" Bigfoot waved to the baffled crowd with a big grin on his face. They were confused but didn't suspect a thing; perfect.

"Yeah, and Eddie here, he--he likes to wear...hair shorts."

"Which are a real thing!" Henry said and was quickly backed up by Ray when everyone's gaze fell to Bigfoot's curious attire. Well, they couldn't leave him naked and from a distance, they just looked like a peculiar garment; it wouldn't be the first time Swellview had been hit by weird fashions, the hip youth was always doing odd stuff.

"Whoa...I never heard of no hair shorts," Thompson protested, glaring at the heroes as they tried to slip his prize out from under his nose. He knew the truth, he could smell Bigfoot after so many years of studying and he wasn't going to let them convince the crowd otherwise.

"Well, I have!" (y/n) abruptly exclaimed, crossing the clearing to come and stand in between Henry and her doofus, bringing with her an opinion that the citizens of Swellview could never refuse. 

Miss Danger was often spotted in every magazine going, whether they be gossip or fashion because everyone wanted to know what she thought or wore or liked, so if she put her seal of approval on hair shorts then they would be in every boutique in the city before the next sunrise. 

"Yeah, I've heard of hair shorts and I think that they are the coolest. I have so many pairs at home!" She lied through her beaming smile as Ray stood smugly next to her and put his arm around her waist. She smiled at that, feeling her heart flutter now that she knew he was safe and sound, even if the camera flashes meant that they'd be headlining the news again as the city's hottest couple.

"Did you hear? Miss Danger says that hair shorts are the coolest!" Charlotte repeated to the crowd in a robotic voice like she was an avid fan eager to follow the heroine's way of life to a tee.

"Yeah! And she's an influencer so hair shorts have to be cool!" Jasper carried on, sending the crowd into a hush of whispers because that's how society worked in the modern era. Celebrities were the leaders and the mere mortal public were the sheep and none could be prouder than Ray as he stood on the arm of the hottest woman in town.

"I--I mean, those are the rules," Piper acknowledged. She was an internet loiterer, constantly checking and refreshing every app and website going for new trends and gossip, so she'd know what to do if one of her idols said something; follow it to the letter.

"Come on, guys. Let's go get some hair shorts!" Mitch smirked at his pack of buffoons, showing that the pack mentality was starting to work--hair shorts would be popular come tomorrow afternoon. And that did not please Thompson.

"No, wait! Don't leave!" he begged the crowd, who were beginning to lose interest now that they knew that Bigfoot was still a mystery and he a loony. "Y'all, that's Bigfoot and I found him! And I'm gonna get married!"

"Fat chance of that..." (y/n) said under her breath so only Ray and Henry could hear her. The man chuckled at her response that was along the lines of his and it was when he had pressed his lips to her temple joyfully that something came stumbling out of the undergrowth.

The crowd gasped as a hulking, moaning creature staggered into the clearing, looking like it had been in a fight with a dead bush and lost, and sounding like it was in pain--kinda like Bigfoot. He was hairy, sort of, and animalistic in his manner, so they snapped a few pictures for evidence of what was actually Mr Hart covered in a load of sap, pine needles from Schwoz, whilst slightly high from the moss that he'd eaten by mistake.

"That's Bigfoot!" Mary cried from the desk, pointing at the terrifying monster as it snarl at the stunned crowd, who quickly descended into madness as they saw what looked like a creature from a fairytale. 

As the disorientated man swayed, they charged, eager to get a hold of Bigfoot and Mr Hart ran for his life, the bleariness in his eyes making it difficult until they were all lead away from the trap. And that left the Man Cave team and "Eddie" alone at last.

"Well, that just about wraps it up," Ray said with a clap of his hands and he could honestly say that he was ready to go home. He had unfinished business with his sweet girl and the idea of falling asleep with her as they watched movies in the bed sounded heavenly.

"So..." Henry nodded, knowing that there wasn't much else for them to do now that all of the hunters were on the wrong trail and they'd met Schwoz's friend as they had set out to do. "You guys wanna go back to the Man Cave and watch Will & Grace?"

"Season two?" Biggie asked.

"Do you even have to ask?" Henry giggled and the man and boy bumped fists as everyone agreed that the plan couldn't be better. Well, that would (y/n) and Ray down to the ground, they'd fall asleep watching anything, in their room or not in their room, as long as they could cuddle, which they inevitably would. 

"Let's go!" (y/n) grinned and ushered them all to get moving so they could leave all of the drama behind. However, as the teens, Schwoz and Bigfoot turned to go, Ray's eyes wandered and spotted something shiny and interesting yet again. There were so many traps yet for him to discover...so many things for him to take.

"Ooooh, look. Some cheese titos!" he smirked deviously and wiggled his fingers, indicating that he was gonna swipe them for a binge-watching snack. He would never learn his lesson, no matter how many times he hurt himself or had his fingers smacked by his precious girl.

"What? No, dude, no!" Henry tried to stop him, not wanting to go through the same struggle again but this time, (y/n) was willing to let Ray learn for himself. After all, once bitten twice shy, right?

"No, kid, just let him. Sadly, this is the only way he'll learn," she sighed and held a hand out for him to stay where he was. He was her doofus and she loved him but she wasn't going to spend their lives together running around to wrap him in cotton wool. He couldn't be an idiot forever, he'd soon learn to keep his hands to himself.

"These things are cheesetastic!" Ray grinned and reached down to grab the bag as he kept smiling at his tired fiancée. He'd just get these and then, they could go because of course, he wasn't aware that he was the one tiring her out with his antics. 

"ARGGGGGGHHHHH!" And then came the pain. The claw closed on his hand as the others had and it was like his hand was being ripped off constantly but refusing to let go of his wrist. "Crunchy snacks, that smarts!"

His friends cringed but as the pain passed, they assumed that he'd hobble back to (y/n)'s side to lick his wounds and seek her comfort, but no. In true Ray fashion and despite his silent promise, the hero looked to his left and saw something else, another doohickey that he fancied, and he figured that one more trinket could hurt. Traps could hurt, though, and hearing him in pain was even worse for some.

"Hey, look! A cane! That'll go perfect with my top hat!" he noted as he ate a chip and felt so giddy about the idea of being a pristine gentleman for his sweet girl that he skipped off to go and retrieve it. At this rate, they'd never go home, not until he was immobilised by metal and carrying a bag full of worthless tat.

"Or...he'll never learn." the heroine lamented, burying her face in her hands as Ray went off again...and got trapped again. Did he not know that he was breaking her heart and tearing down every word she said in his defence? She could get him titos if he wanted and she didn't need him to dress up, dressing down was preferable and now, he was a bigger doofus than ever.

"Ow! Puttin' on the Ritz, that hurts!"

"Are you sure you wanna marry him? It's not too late to run for it, y'know..." Charlotte retorted to the woman, who didn't take any offence from her words. She was joking, that was clear, the girl would never ruin the relationship that she helped to forge, but it had to be said yet again. 

They were so different and him so difficult--did she really want to sign herself up for a lifetime of that?

"You don't know my doofus like I do. He's a massive idiot and he drives me insane but he's my massive idiot. I wouldn't have it any other way... I love him."

Hell yeah, she did.

[fleetsonourgecentral]

hii not sure if this blog is active still but since its the 23rd, that means scourge finally gets the birthday he deserves in the fleetway universe.

OH SHIT HAPPY (late) BIRTHDAY TO THE BASTARD MAN HIMSELF

~~~

"Scourge."

"Mmn."

"Scourge."

"Mmn."

"Scourge."

"Can't you take a hint?" Scourge hissed, swatting at the finger insistently poking him in the head. "'M sleeping. Go away."

"Absolutely not," Sonic snorted, evidently giving up on poking Scourge awake and upgrading to physically shaking him. "If I let you sleep in, you'll just be bitching later."

"When have I ever bitched about sleeping in?"

"Repeatedly. Get up before I push you out of bed."

It wasn't an empty threat, and Scourge knew it. The knowledge, however, did not stop him from burying his head under the pillow and groaning long and low. "Fuck off and let me dream about setting Tekno's experiments on fire."

It was disappointing, but not surprising, when instead of heeding Scourge's command, Sonic yanked him out of bed by his ankles, letting him crack his head on the cold, unforgiving floor.

"Son of a bitch!" Scourge twisted in Sonic's grip, pulling his poor ankles free. He glared up at Sonic, who looked down at him with his arms folded, customary smug smirk on his face. It was sorely tempting to kiss that stupid smirk away, but that would require getting up, and Scourge was seriously considering pulling the blankets off the bed and curling up on the floor and going back to sleep out of sheer spite. "What was that for?"

"Get up and you'll find out," Sonic said, nudging him with his foot. "It'll be worth it, I promise."

"How about you get up and find out a new place to sleep tonight," Scourge grumbled, reluctantly hauling himself to his feet. "Won't even let me sleep in peace when there's no new missions you need me for... don't get in the bed if you want to be up at the asscrack of dawn."

"This is my room," Sonic said, linking his arm in Scourge's before Scourge could contemplate throwing himself back under the bed-sheets. "If it bothered you that much, you would go crawling back to your own room."

"Maybe I will."

"Sure you will."

"You think I won't?"

"Prove me wrong tonight if you want to, but you're not going back to bed today. After all the bitching you did about the birthday chair on my birthday, I'm not going to let you sleep your birthday away and give you the chance to bitch about not getting the chair."

"Some boyfriend you are, not letting me sleep in on my..." he trailed off, half-asleep brain finally registering Sonic's words. "Birthday?"

"Yes," Sonic said, looking at him like he was an idiot. "Birthday."

That couldn't be right. His birthday wasn't until...

Scourge frantically tried to remember the date, and when his memory failed him, he snuck a glance at the calendar.

Huh. Well, fuck him sideways, look at that. It was his birthday.

Scourge... had honestly forgotten all about that.

It wasn't his fault! It was this stupid dimension and their backwards way of writing dates. The weirdos wrote the day before the month, like maniacs, instead of putting the month first like a normal person. That little difference had tripped him up more times than he cared to admit, and he'd lost count of the amount of times the mix-up had gotten him into trouble. His recent tactic was to just leave all the date stuff to everyone else, and while he had gotten better at remembering their weird system, it still didn't come to him automatically. It was one thing to know, logically, what month it was, and another thing entirely to look at the date and associate the unfamiliar order with the month they were in. So he hadn't been paying much attention to the date, and the reminder of his birthday just sort of... slipped by him.

Apparently, though, it did not slip by Sonic. He remembered. Although Scourge couldn't remember ever telling him when his birthday was, so how Sonic knew was beyond him.

"It's my birthday, and you're still making me get up at ass o'clock in the morning?" Scourge complained, shoving down the warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest as he snatched his glasses from the nightstand. It was a familiar feeling by now, and it didn't bother him as much as it once did, but it was way too early for anyone to see him feeling sappy feelings.

"Oh please, it's only nine o'clock," Sonic snorted, dragging him out of the room. "Nowhere near the asscrack of dawn. Quit your bitching."

"I think I should get to sleep in as long as I want on my birthday. Don't I get any birthday privileges? What kind of fucked up dimension is this?"

"Your birthday privileges are the birthday chair. Move your ass, or you won't get any of the presents you were bitching about missing out on on my birthday."

Presents? Well, that was a motivator, Scourge couldn't lie. He dragged his feet for a few more seconds, just to prove a point, just so Sonic wouldn't win, but with lingering sleep slowly losing its grip on him, eagerness took its place, and he couldn't stop himself from picking up the pace a little. Sonic, like the dickhead he was, noticed immediately, and that stupid knowing smirk returned, and fuck, Scourge really needed to kiss it off his face. He'd do that. Later. Pencil it in to his to-do list. He'd get around to it right after he opened his presents.

Downstairs, the rest of the Freedom Fighters bustled about, the same way they had done for Sonic's birthday. Just like before, there were no cheesy banners (thank fuck for that) and the old ratty armchair had once again been dragged out of storage. The hand-made banners from last time were nowhere to be seen, but that was expected; those were banners for Sonic, after all, and Scourge didn't want banners about Sonic Day hanging from the walls on his birthday anyway. Overall, there weren't as many decorations as Sonic had, and the ones that were in the process of being hung up were boring and generic, but as most of those decorations from last time mentioned Sonic specifically, Scourge wasn't too upset about it. There was a green cushion on the armchair, though, which wasn't there last time, and Scourge took his rightful place on his throne for the day with smug satisfaction coiling in his chest. It wasn't much, but the cushion was so clearly bought with him in mind. It was for him and him alone, and it did wonders for his ego. No wonder Sonic was so pleased with himself while sitting on the armchair on his birthday.

"Scourge!" Amy appeared seemingly out of nowhere, beaming at him with a bright smile Scourge still wasn't used to. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks." Scourge leaned back in the armchair, crossing his legs and doing his best to shove away the bubbling discomfort. Amy didn't need to know he still wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond to such genuine... genuineness. If she knew, she'd probably do it more, under some kind of excuse like helping him get used to it, which was such bullshit; Scourge knew her well enough by now to know she liked messing with people, and liked messing with people by being nice to them even more. The only reason she'd stopped telling people she was Sonic's girlfriend was because Scourge bragged about dating Sonic too much for anyone to believe it; apparently not even dating Tekno was enough to get her to stop, because Tekno found it funny and encouraged her to do it more. If anything united the Freedom Fighters outside of, well, fighting for freedom, it was opportunities to screw with Sonic.

Speaking of Tekno, she also fluttered in and out with presents clutched in her arms, parroting another "happy birthday" in his direction, although thankfully she was gone almost as soon as she said it, so he didn't need to reply. Even Tails waved at him as he flew in with a few more decorations.

"Sonic, can you-"

"Yeah, yeah, already on it," Sonic interrupted Amy, dashing into the other room after Tekno to help. Scourge peeked through the doorway after him; from what he could see, the pile of presents was nowhere near the size of Sonic's pile on his birthday, but he guessed that was to be expected. Sonic was the Hero of Mobius, receiving presents from grateful citizens in every Zone they entered, including a few sent over from the Special Zone, and Scourge had no interest in being viewed as a hero by anyone. No one had the same sense of gratitude towards him as they did towards Sonic.

An envelope and present landed on his lap before he had the chance to feel anything about that.

"From Ebony," Amy said quietly as she passed, like a secret. "And... well, the rest of them, too, I guess."

Raising an eyebrow, Scourge ripped open the wrapping paper on the present; Sonic had waited until all his presents were brought into a pile at his feet, but considering who this was from, Scourge figured he'd be forgiven for opening this one early. It was nothing special - a simple mug, Scourge couldn't tell if it was hand-made or store bought - but it was honestly more than he was expecting. It would be good to put his hot chocolate in, if nothing else, since he broke his last designated mug and hadn't gotten around to replacing it yet.

Setting the mug aside out of sight, he ripped open the envelope next. A cheesy birthday card greeted him - gross - but when he opened it, he was greeted with a glorious sight: money. Score.

He almost didn't bother reading the words on the card, but he was feeling gracious, so he skimmed them. Ebony's neat, cursive handwriting greeted him: thank you for all you've done for us. From Ebony, Pyjamas, and Super - The Groovy Train

Ew, sappy shit. Scoffing, Scourge tossed the card aside with the mug, ignoring whatever weird feeling was happening in his chest. He didn't even know why they'd bothered to send him anything; he didn't even like them that much, he only showed up to babysit Super if Ebony promised to pay him. But hey, if it meant he got birthday money out of it, he wasn't going to to question it too much.

Folding his arms, Scourge watched Tails and Amy hang the rest of the decorations. Someone managed to get their hands on some balloons, which they'd scribbled "yearly survival day" on in marker. And - oh boy - they'd found some banners to hang up after all. Amy was balancing on a ladder holding one end, while Tails grabbed the other, flying up to stretch the banner out-

Oh.

That... that was a hand-made banner. Not one of Sonic's, and not a generic or cheesy one, either.

Thanks for bullying Sonic, it read, with a bunch of names scribbled underneath. Signatures. Signatures of people he knew, people he was... friends... with. Front and center, proud, not tucked away at the back where they'd be out of sight.

Scourge stared at it. It was objectively ugly, an eyesore if he'd ever seen one, clearly made with limited resources, and the letters smushed together at the end where they'd clearly started to run out of room when they were writing. It was messy, far from perfect, nothing lavish or fancy. In all his life, he'd never had a birthday banner as ugly as this.

A pesky lump formed in Scourge's throat. He swallowed it down. At least his eyes were dry, and if that changed, his tinted glasses would hopefully hide that.

And oh fuck, there was Sonic suddenly standing before him, arms full of presents, glancing at the banner before meeting Scourge's eyes with that stupid, stupid, smug and knowing smirk.

Fuck it. He wasn't waiting. He was moving this task to the top of his to-do list.

Sonic barely had time to drop the presents onto the meager pile before Scourge seized him by the arms, dragged him in, and finally kissed that smirk off his face.

His triumphant plan promptly failed, for although Sonic couldn't smirk, his smugness was apparent in his kiss, instead. Asshole.

"Worth getting up for, huh?" Sonic said when they broke apart. "Was I right, or was I right?"

"Eh, I've had better," Scourge lied, pulling Sonic onto his lap. Turnabout was fair play, after all.

"I've got something planned for later," Sonic promised, looping an arm around Scourge's neck without his customary complaining. "Bring your spray can, we're going vandalizing."

... Fuck, Sonic knew him too well. Damn it, Scourge loved him. It was actually unfair how much he loved him. He'd say there should be a law against it, but... well, Scourge wasn't exactly famous for giving a flying fuck about the law.

"You'd better treat me to dinner after," Scourge said, instead of saying any of that sappy shit.

"You'll get burgers or hotdogs from the first stand we see and that's it."

"Cheapskate."

"You'll get over it."

It wasn't lavish, or extravagant, or over the top, or any of the flashy, fancy things he was sure he'd get when he became the King of Moebius. And it was still too damn early, and he would've still liked a lie-in. But the hand-made banner was for him, and was signed, and Sonic wasn't even complaining about being in his lap, so... it would do.

It would do just fine.

[scarletsaphire]

Danny, newly added to the cheer team (mostly) against his will, is attending his first lock in with the girls. It's a lot more fun than he expected.

--

4th fic for @phicphight, with this one going to @lavendarlily and @lonelygrayrose, with a special shout out to @hannahmanderr because she asked politely. Prompts used will be at the end!

Danny had accepted that he didn't get much control over his life. Ever since he'd died, he was getting pulled one way or another for ghost fights or school or family stuff. It really came to its worst point went he'd been more or less bullied into joining the cheer team. Sam and Tucker were not help; they thought it was hilarious.

It did mean that the already minuscule amount of free time he had was filled with practice, or games, or other team building exercises. Like right now; the annual lock in for the cheer team, hosted in Casper High one and only cafeteria. Really pulling out all the stops.

Danny had been dreading it since it was announced two weeks ago; knowing his luck, there would be some kind of ghost attack, and then he'd have to play the whole "Oh I've been here the whole time!" game. And if that didn't happen, he'd be stuck in the cafeteria with the cheer leader girls for twelve hours straight! Sure, they were nice enough, especially since he joined the team, but that didn't mean they were friends!

It had only taken an hour for Danny to change his opinion.

The parent chaperone very clearly did not care about what they got up to, provided no one broke a bone or stole something where she could see. This allowed them to roll all of the tables off the walls of the cafeteria and construct a complicated and completely unsafe obstacle course for them to run through.

The first two girls had already given it their best shot; the first one, Abigail, who Danny had never seen without bows in her hair, had made it pretty far for being the first one through, but her hair had gotten tangled in one of the wheels, and the official score keeper (who was, of course, Paulina) gave her a DNF. She was currently off to the side with Star, getting her tied back into a braid and watching the spectacle.

The second girl, Brittany, had finished, if her time was a bit sad. "I don't want a repeat of that!" she'd said while the rest of  them teased her about her terrible performance. "I just got these braids put in on Monday, and I am not spending another four hours to get them redone!"

They were going in alphabetical order, so that meant Danny was next up. He lifted his arms above his head to stretch while he analyzed the course.

They'd done a pretty good job, if he did say so himself. There were several tables that he would need to go under, several he'd need to jump, and one they'd set up to require jumping on the seats instead of on the table. A bit rudimentary, sure, but it worked for their purposes.

"So, Danny Fenton," Paulina said, holding her water bottle out towards him like a microphone. "As the only boy on the team, you have quite the reputation to try and uphold. Do you have a strategy going into this?"

Danny flashed her a grin he normally saved for when he was Phantom. "Course I do."

Paulina returned the smile, and leaned in closer. "And what would that be?"

"And spoil the surprise? Not a chance."

Paulina laughed, leaning back on her seat of backpacks, blankets, and pillows. "You're setting high expectations, Fenton. You ready?"

Danny nodded, settling into a running stance.

"Three, two, one, go!"

He started running to the cheers of his teammates.He hadn't lied; he did have a strategy, and it didn't involve any kind of ghost powers. He wouldn't need them.

Danny had spent the better part of two years dodging bullets, ray beams, fire, boomerangs, bazookas, and about a dozen other, faster, much more painful objects. Two years honing reaction speed, flexibility, and spatial awareness, all of which would help him decimate the past two times, and anyone else who wanted to race after him.

Okay, maybe the practice part did involve ghost powers, but he wouldn't be using any now.

He vaulted over the first table cleanly, chaining the momentum to roll underneath the next table in one fluid motion. He came to his feet already running, ready to vault over the next two tables. In what felt like a heartbeat, he was already at the end obstacle, where he'd have to hop back and forth on the seats without touching the table; if he touched it, that would mean an immediate disqualification.

It didn't prove to be any more difficult than any other obstacle had been, although it was significantly slower. Danny leapt off of the final seat straight into a backflip, landing perfectly on his feet.

That part wasn't required; he just felt like flexing a little.

His grand finish was met with the roaring applause of the eight girls; Abigail had even started whistling, much to Star's annoyance, as she was still trying to fix her hair.

"And that is two minutes and twenty seven seconds!" Paulina called from her makeshift chair.

"Damn!" Alysha said. "That is going to be a tough time to beat!"

"Thank you, thank you," Danny said, taking an exaggerated bow. "I'll be here all night."

Alysha shoved his shoulder even while she laughed.

Danny made his way back to the spot he'd claimed, a little bit to the side of Paulina's seat.

"I am so happy we recruited you," she said as he sat down.

"Yeah," Danny agreed. "I am too."

As surprising as it was, it was true. Maybe he'd originally gotten the spot because of his ghost fighting and powers, but it had quickly become the only (mostly) ghost free thing he had. He'd never gotten that kind of luxury at home, and while he loved Sam and Tucker to death, it was way to easy for their hangouts to become patrols or planning patrols. Or homework, but that didn't count.

There was the additional fact that being on the cheer team had made Danny's life easier at school; the teacher's were more lenient with schoolwork, he had a different group of people he could sit with if Sam and Tucker were out sick, or if they got absorbed in their infamous debates, and everyone was just so much nicer to him.

Even Dash had stopped with the bullying, and after a couple stilted conversations and an emotionally charged apology that was leagues beyond what he'd thought Dash capable of, Danny would be willing to call them friends.

Definitely just friends though. It didn't matter that Tucker had caught him staring at Dash several times during lunch or that he got all flustered whenever they ended up in the locker room together. That was a coincidence. 

Just like Danny had expected, none of the girls came even close to his time. Star got a strong second place at three minutes flat, which was very impressive on its own, but his natural talent and years of practice held him high above the rest.

"You have to tell us how you did that," Aubrey said, jutting out her bottom lip. It was the same look she gave Coach Tetslaff every time she tried to extend practice.

Unfortunately for her, it worked just as well on Danny as it did on Coach. "Yeah, sure. Right after I tell you how I handle flying so well."

"Ugh." Aubrey flopped forward into a heap on the table. "You are. So mean."

The sound of a cellphone ringing cut off whatever Danny was going to say next. The team glanced back at the chaperone, who had settled in a corner of the room with a laptop, a thermos Danny swore was full of hard liquor, and headphones. They all sat in silence as she answered the phone.

"Hello? Uhuh. Yeah, I'll be right up. Everything should already be paid for, right? Good." She hung up the phone with a snap and stood from her spot. "Pizza's here. You kids sit tight, I'll be right back."

The group stayed quiet until her footsteps disappeared down the hallway outside of the door, before everyone shared a conspiratory look. Everyone but Danny, that is.

"Uh... what did I miss?" Danny asked.

Aubrey and Abigail stood up, one moving to the window of the door, the other to the chaperone's bag. The other girls all shared the same look again. 

"Did nobody tell you?" Dakota asked.

Danny ran over the incredibly short list of things he'd been told about the lock in, which was basically just that it was a lock in, before shaking his head. "Tell me what?"

"Oh, Ms. Pachelli is a total drunk," Paulina said. "I'm sure you've noticed its not apple juice in her thermos?"

Danny nodded his head.

"Well, that's not enough to last her a whole night, even on a good day, and dealing with us is never a good day in her books." Paulina studied her fingernails while Abigail fished a bottle of whiskey out of her backpack. "So, every year we switch out her spare bottle for one of Abby's parents' old empty ones."

Sure enough, Abigail pulled out an identical bottle from Ms. Pachelli's bag.

"And... you don't get in trouble for that?"

The rest of team all giggled. "Please," Star said dismissively. "She barely cares about us to begin with, and if she tries to get us in trouble, she'd have to admit she has a problem."

"She's coming," Aubrey hissed from the door, and Abigail made a dash back to her backpack. By the time Ms. Pachelli was back in the room, three steaming pizza pies in hand, the whole team was doing a perfect imitation of teenagers who weren't up to anything.

"It'll be over here when you girls are hungry," she said, setting them down where food was normally served. "Uh. You girls and Danny." She amended when she turned around to see them all pointing at him, a habit they'd developed with Coach Tetslaff. Ms. Pachelli settled back down in her corner, taking one, long swig from her thermos, and putting her headphones back on.

The rest of the team

"She'll fall asleep soon," Dakota whispered to Danny. "That's when the real party starts."

Sure enough, it had barely passed 1 AM before Ms. Pachelli had dozed off and the team was left completely unsupervised. Brittany went to make sure she was sleep, and after fiddling with the headphones, she shot a thumbs up at the group. Abigail pulled the bottle back out to the cheers of the team.

"It's time for the real party to get started!" Dakota called.

"Don't we need to stay quiet?" Danny asked.

Star shook her head. "Nah, she's got some video playing in the background. I don't even think a ghost attack would be loud enough to wake her."

"I think its flat earth videos this time," Brittany added. "Definitely looked like it from what I saw, at least."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Why is she even here? If she sucks and also hates all of you-" he ignored whoever called out "She hates you too!" "-why does she volunteer to do it?"

"We ask for her by name," Abigail said, passing the now opened bottle to Paulina.

Paulina took a swig straight from the container before passing it on to Brittany. "That, and if she didn't volunteer for this, she'd have to actually do something at any of the other events the school hosts. She's part of the PTA." 

"Ok, but that doesn't explain why she has to be on the PTA," Danny pointed out.

"Uh, duh, she's Derreck's mom. You can't have a kid in as many extracurriculars as he's in and not be on the PTA," Star said.

"I guess," Danny agreed. He still didn't really understand, but he also didn't want to spend the whole night asking about Ms. Pachelli's life. Besides, the bottle had reached him. He took a small sip from the bottle, and pulled a face at the unexpected burn.

The girls laughed.

"First time tasting alcohol?" Audrey teased, taking the bottle from his hands.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "It's not the first time. I just. Didn't expect it to taste like that."

The girls all shared a look before laughing harder.

"It is going to be a fun night," Paulina said, a mischievous smile on her face.

--

Danny wasn't sure what time it was anymore. He knew that a couple of the girls had conked out, with Aubrey being the first to fall about an hour ago. He knew that he wasn't getting any sleep tonight, and from the looks of it, neither was Dakota, who was blasting music from her phone and dancing on one of the tables. She'd been the one to hog most of the bottle.

Not that Danny was complaining; he was definitely not sober, although he couldn't say whether he was tipsy or drunk or somewhere in between or another word he wasn't privy to. Either way, he was drunk enough that he'd agreed to let Paulina and Star do his makeup, something he would never have agreed to without the help of the whiskey.

"Stop moving," Star said, holding him by the shoulders and looking into his eyes, as if she could psychically control him into not moving. Jokes on her, Danny knew how mind control worked, and it was only sometimes like that. "Or else we're gonna-" she hiccoughed, then continued as if nothing had happened, "-mess up your makeup."

"Yeah," Paulina said. "And you don't want to look like a mess for Dash, do you?"

Danny snapped his head towards her, nearly poking his own eye out with the makeup applicator she was using.

"Stooop!" Star said, turning his head back towards her.

Danny obeyed, but he turned his eyes to look at Paulina. "Why would I care about what Dash thinks?"

He could just barely make out her flat stare from the corner of his vision. "Because you like him?"

"I do not!" Danny protested.

Star giggled while Paulina talked over her. "Danny, we have eyes, you know. And we've seen yours wandering to him every time he's anywhere near you."

Danny opened his mouth to protest, but Star pushed it shut. "Nuh uh. Lipstick first." He tried again, but was met with the same result. "I will smear this all over your teeth do not test me Fenton." This time, Danny obeyed.

 By the time he had finished, his initial protests had already died out. It wasn't like they were wrong; he just hadn't realized he'd been so obvious about it. "Fine. I might have a little crush."

"Well if by "little crush" you mean that you're head over heels in love with my best friend, then yeah, I know you have a little crush on him."

"Hey!" Star cried. "I thought I was your best friend?"

"Best boy friend," Paulina corrected. "But not boyfriend boyfriend. We tried dating, but he's not interested in me. Which, you know, I was insulted with originally, but he's just not into any girls, so the fact that he was into me enough to try dating is a win."

"So, he likes-"

"Boys, yeah."

"Which means you have a chance," Paulina added. "But only if you sit still and let us make you look pretty!"

Danny really didn't think he had been moving around all that much, but he made sure to sit even stiller now.

"You're gonna need to be the one who asks him out."

Star nodded. "He's worried about doing something wrong, cause he was so mean to you before." Star paused at Paulina's glare. "Oh. Was that a part I wasn't supposed to share?"

"Yes," Paulina said, annoyed. "But it's too late now."

"Wait, hold on, what?"

"Oh, he likes you too," Paulina said. "It's gotten kind of annoying, listening to him go on and on about how 'cool' you look doing flips and everything."

Danny felt his face heating up more. "I mean. I just. I don't really know how to ask someone out?"

"Oh trust me, I know," Paulina laughed. "Don't think I've forgotten all the shit you pulled during freshman year."

Danny's face burned even hotter.

"Polly, you're embarrassing him!" Star said, but she couldn't stop a giggle of her own. "We're supposed to be helping!"

"I know, I know, but I can't help it!" Paulina said, her laughter dying out.

"You two planned this?" Danny asked incredulously.

"I mean, we didn't not plan it?" Star replied.

"No, we planned it," Paulina corrected. "I think Abigail even put it on her itinerary, but she fell asleep, like a loser."

Star giggled again. "So we're taking over!"

"You've got to be more confident, flaco. You get all blushy and stutter, and give up halfway through, and while that's adorable, it's not going to work if you want results."

"We've seen you on the field, we know you can do it, so don't try to deny it," Star added.

"But that's an entirely different thing!"

"It's not that different," Paulina said.

 Star ignored her. "Then just pretend you're on the field! Put on a good show for him, and I guarantee he'll be drooling all over you. Just like he is during the games."

"He is not drooling about me during the games."

"Oh, he so is," Star countered. "You remember the game you first debuted?"

Danny nodded; while he'd done fine, the actual game had been a bit of a shit show. Casper High had lost, fourteen to nothing.

"Dash only fumbled that because he was so distracted by you," Paulina said. "Tripped right over his own feet, cost us the first points of the game, and it was all down hill from there. If you can do that when you aren't even trying, imagine what you can do to him when you are."

"I think we're done here," Star said, withdrawing from Danny.

"I think we've outdone ourselves," Paulina said, angling his face to admire their work. She grabbed a small mirror from her pocket and passed it over to him. "What do you think?"

He looked surprisingly good, much better than he expected considering the fact he was a boy and that the people doing his makeup were at least a little drunk.

"It looks good," Danny agreed.

"No," Star protested. "You look good, and you need to take that vibe with you when you ask Dash out tomorrow."

"Who said anything about tomorrow?"

"We did," Paulina said. "Because tomorrow, we're going to be dragging him with us to the park and finding a convenient excuse to leave him there alone."

"You're gonna swoop in, and you're gonna ask him out and save him from having to deal with us all day."

"Trust us. It'll be perfect."

"I don't-"

"Shh." Star put her finger over Danny's lips. "We're doing this, whether you show up or not."

"Which means we need our rest, and you need your beauty sleep."

"So shoo while we clean up."

Danny didn't really know what else to do besides walk back to his pile of stuff and get comfortable.

He guessed he was going to the park sometime tomorrow. He hadn't been planning on it, but that was ok. He was used to that.

--

Prompts:

LonelyGrayRose - "Well if by "little crush" you mean that you're head over heels in love with our best friend, then yeah, I know you have a little crush on [him/her]" lavendarlily - Who knew Danny Fenton was so agile? Paulina makes it her personal mission to get him on the cheer squad.

[no-m4gic]

Hello dearest I'm back hehhe

Idk how to call you so I'll just call u no magic :⁠^⁠)

It's me again Ik ik I'm annoying but omg I adore Ur writing like Ur my fave on the app rn so I was thinking maybe if you write angst to fluff argument scenario for byakuya!? I mean u don't have to since Ik some plp aren't comfy w that do if u aren't u can just write some general headcanons lysm have a nice day cutiepie

omg angst yes thank you plasma also you can call me sitaya :) thanks for your suppport <33

i have no idea what you want the argument to be about so i just went to watch msa rich people stories

also i found out how to turn on dark mode yyyay!

i spilled noodle soup on my shirt while writing this damnit byakuya give me your money to buy some gucci and a new washing machine

warnings ;; angst obviously, abuse, hitting, yelling, dramatic flashbacks, mentions of drugs

~mod sitaya

COMFORT // BYAKUYA X GN S/O

you heaved a sigh, listening your husband, the almighty byakuya togami, insulting one of his new servants for *accidentally* spilling some champagne on his top. you were just waiting for togami to finish his whole dramatic scene and tried not to think about the havoc going on right next to you. at least he wasn't yelling at the servant.

well since you've heard byakuya throw spiteful comments at servants several times, you knew how long this would go on for. your mind was protesting you tell togami to stop being such a bratty bitch despite already knowing the result you'll receive. "s/o. this is my business, stay out of it,". you've heard it thousands of times, and you don't want to hear it ever again.

you were zoned out until you heard those words. "you know what? you're fired, get out of my face you plebian," you turned to look to your side, only to see byakuya shooing the servant away. it looked like she was crying, too.

even though this was normal on his part, it definitely wasn't anything good on yours. how heartless of him to just send someone away for an accident and start casually sipping your coffee, right next to your partner too.

"hey dude, that wasn't cool. she was apologizing, you didn't HAVE to fire her... plus you could just wash the champagne out," you said, in your calmest demeanour. "she deserved it. what am i even paying her for if she's just going to ruin my belongings," wow. way to go. "just because you think she and almost everyone are under you doesn't mean you can treat them like trash!" byakuya set his coffee down and turned to you, giving you that all-so familiar leave-me-alone face. "if you want to side with her, how about you go chase after her and go apologize for your husband's behavior since he doesn't want to,"

"well maybe i will- and leave your hellhole of a mansion!" you got up and stormed away to your room. byakuya just shrugged and continued with his extra black and bitter coffee, you'd get over it and wear yourself out eventually.

after locking the door, you flopped onto your queen-sized bed and buried your face into the fluffy pillow, unable to tell if you wanted scream, cry or both. well, your hunger kept you distracted from your emotions... and your emotions kept you distracted from your hunger. you were tempted to grab something to eat, but you didn't want to see your husband's face right now.

you woke up to the sound of banging on your door. this... wasn't your room, were you even in byakuya's mansion anymore? it wouldn't be possible that he'd drugged you since you never ate or drank anything nor would it be possible that he or his workers carried you elsewhere as you were a light sleeper.

your thoughts were interrupted by screaming and crying. there was a painful silence before you heard something being thrown across the room and a cry before everything turned silent again.

scanning your surrondings, you immediately realize this was your old room when your eyes met a picture of you, your mom and your dad. you knew what was happening behind the door of your "room". not wanting to see or find out if your theories were true, you hid under your ragged blankets, trying to fall asleep again, hoping this was all just a bad dream.

your eyes flew open as you gasped, sitting up from your bed. your actual bed. it was all just a nightmare. a flashback. after a while, somebody started softly knocking on your door. you hated yourself at that moment for hoping it was byakuya just coming to check on you or something.

getting up to unlock the door, you passed your vanity mirror and saw you were pale, sweating and shaking. grabbing the door handle, you used all the strength you had to pull it open, revealing who you'd hope to be behind the door. your husband. "byakuya-!" you jumped onto him to hug him.

"yeah yeah, hi. i just came here to apologize for... this morning," he hugged back, with his same disgusted face. you knew he's just like that whenever he received affection, though. "so, what happened- you're all sweaty and stuff," he gently pushed you away and folded his arms, looking down (or up if you're somehow taller than daddy long legs) at you.

"it's nothing, just a bad dream," with him around, yea, you felt better, but to say you've recovered fast would be an understatement. "hm. alright," he gave you a suspicious look before turning back to where his room was, but not before announcing something you've been wanting to hear for so long. "also, since you wanted to, we're going to disneyland."

DISNEYLANDDD sorry if it's short! i rushed the ending slightly so uhm it might not have *fluff* fluff, but i tried to make it as wholesome as possible :,)

[worthlessed]

Fondness blooms in his chest like a wound - something shaped like her that had been punched out of his chest when they were still young and the veil had only just been pulled from their eyes.

Their shared trauma, what part of it they did share, drove them both to two wildly different actions. Nancy had run as far and as fast as she could. Steve envied it - wished he was a stronger, different man that could shirk the clothing of Hawkins from his back and dress himself in something else. Perhaps he'd be the businessman his father wanted, some corporate soul-sucked in the big city wearing suits just as expensive as the house with a haircut that matched his reputation. Maybe he'd just be himself but damaged, the man he had become only somewhere that people didn't know his name.

Worthless.

He'd taken everything that had been handed to him and set it on fire. Only ashes remained.

There was an echo of Steve Harrington left, somewhere. If he stared hard-enough at himself in the mirror he could maybe see the youthful face that used to stare back at him all those years ago. An ego-driven boy who cared more about his reputation than anything else. Life was easier then.

But he also hated himself for being that person. A miniature of his father. The thought made the fine hairs on his forearms stand on end, gooseflesh dotting the skin beneath it. If she asked he'd blame a chill.

Nancy was warm like the sun. In a brief moment of their tryst, when she was caught beneath the cage of his body and breathing hymns into the damp skin of his neck, he could pretend she was still his. When sleep still fogged his brain and the smell of coffee tickled his senses he could imagine a time where this was more normal and not quite so painful (that gnawing little feeling, the bitch it was) and cling to the vestiges of it before he was fully awake.

She's only going to leave and break your heart again.

She couldn't break what was already shattered into a thousand little pieces, though ... could she? Stamped out so long ago, snuffed the flame that had burnt and handed him the crisp wick before blossoming into the woman he'd always seen her as.

How many times had he tried to find that love again with another woman?

Too many. None of them were her. None of them even compared. It was pathetic to find his true love so young. His best years, wasted.

You're doing this to yourself, you idiot.

He knew. The chiding voice in the back of his mind sang a chorus of righteous fury and he understood it - agreed with it, but did nothing to reprimand himself. He'd suffer. And he'd drink away the sharp ache until it was dull again and when she disappeared he'd pretend it was nothing more than a midsummer night's fantasy.

"No, I can get it."

Is what he settles on, lifting the blankets just-enough to welcome her back into the fold and unabashed at the spare flesh that revealed itself in the process. She'd seen it all before, then ... now. Steve was Steve, not much had changed about him in the years since their mutual horror story had ended and their lives had branched into their own blossomed trees. (Except his felt withered and decayed where she just ... bloomed.)

To compound his statement he enveloped her in his arms once more, claimed the space around her waist with the circle of muscle and sinew and tugged her toward him just enough to have her half-laying with her share of the pillows at the small of her back. He wasn't shy when he buried his nose into her hip and ignored the lingering scent of himself on the fabric (far too used to it) and shamelessly inhaled what composed of her unique identifier instead. Something vaguely floral and sweet without being overbearing.

Something nostalgic.

Maybe in the wee hours of the early morning they could shirk reality together. Maybe they could be silent. Maybe they could stave off their thoughts.

His voice was still a husked rasp when he spoke again, muffled against her.

"You always up this early?"

Steve likes torturing himself with @hollowvictory

[power-rings]

Till Death Do Us Part: Chapter 2 His Presence

[previous chapter] [next chapter here]

Everyday since that day when Amy felt able to finally get back to work, without a breakdown, she had swore I had seen Shadow on the other side of the street. Was he watching out for her? Anytime she tried to confront him, he was mysteriously gone. Each evening that she took the stroll home, she still felt his gaze. She wasn't sure whether to be creeped out, or what. Amy shook her head, picking up the pace. For once since late last month, I actually looked forward to getting home. Her kids had came home just last week; their house felt normal now. Oh, how relieved Amy had felt when they embraced her the moment she opened the door. While at work, typically Tails watches the kids, or on the rare occasion Rouge or Knuckles will.  In the morning, the kids will be returning to school, she wanted to get as much time with them this evening as she could. Her youngest son Mach will be starting kindergarten, while Lily will be starting 2nd grade. Lily was ecstatic, while her brother was full of butterflies. At the dinner table, I would encourage Mach about school, and remind him he won't be having a full day until the next week. We had pizza at the dinner table, thanks to Tails for ordering for them before I had even gotten home. Once Tails left the house, I started helping the kids with preparing their lunches for the next day. Mach was a lot more pickier than his sister, he hated crust on his sandwiches, while Lily didn't mind. The three soon joined each other on the sofa, watching one of their favorite movies together. Summer days were ending for them, and my heart ached slightly. She was gonna be alone again. Dread started to seep in. Mach was going to be gone more, which was another reason why she was relieved she started working again to bring in some income, and keep herself busy. In her heart though, she will miss these days home alone with her youngest son. She wondered if he felt the same? Once the credits rolled, Amy got them ready for bed. She watched from the doorway as Lily sat on her bed, and set an alarm for herself. Lily sure has matured since Sonic had passed. When she saw her mother, she smiled warmly. They embraced, and Amy kissed her on the head. Their gaze locked with one another, feeling as though they were thinking the same thing. They laid on the bed together, Lily talking about that trip she took, and the accident with the jellyfish stinging Mach. Which, as Tails exclaimed Mach had handled it like a pro. The pair talked about Sonic, remembering those nights he'd be in the bedroom tucking her in. Or perhaps getting Mach fired up, causing him to get too excited to sleep. Neither of them never thought, they'd have to actually miss those moments. Yet, here they were. When Lily fell asleep on her shoulder, Amy carefully moved and tucked her in. Tears stinging her eyes, that she held back earlier.  When she went to check on Mach, he was on the floor playing with some video games. Sternly, she told him to put it away and get to bed. Just like with Lily, Amy lingered in his room and they sat on his bed. Mach rest on her lap, not much was said between the pair, except Amy asking Mach to make sure he didn't forget anything for school. She made a mental note to check his bookbag before she gets to bed. Like many nights before Amy stroked his ear until he had fallen asleep; which it didn't take long. Now that he was tucked in, Amy turned to switch off his bedside lamp and kissed him on the head before leaving. 

The hallway to her bedroom felt like it went on forever, she hesitated Infront of her doorway. So eerily quiet.  Last week, Amy got tired of sleeping on the couch because it was hurting her back now. Now feeling like maybe this would help her sleep, she got rid of the sheets that her and Sonic would sleep on together, and replaced them with fresh new bedding. New pillows and everything. It seemed to help her get to sleep, as well as some music playing to provide more noise to make up for the lack of Sonic's snoring that she oddly missed. She eventually fell asleep around 2 that morning. Amy must have slept hard, because when her alarm went off at 5am that morning, she didn't even move an inch. It wasn't until, 6:30am when Lily came into the bedroom. "Mom?" Her ears twitched, slowly lifting her head, blinking in confusion. Why had her daughter came in her room, at this hour? On a weekend- Oh shit. She gave her daughter an apologetic gaze before pulling the covers off of her body. The frantic hedgehog got her slippers on and quickly made her way into the kitchen, she wanted to make sure they had a good breakfast before school. She prepped some pancakes, with Lily's help, and cut up some fruit, and fixed some glasses of orange juices.  After Mach was rudely waken up by his sister, they sat around the table to enjoy the first meal of the day. To Amy, time flew by and before she knew it she was helping them get their belongings, and head out the door. Since the school was walking distance, the three of them walked along the sidewalk, when they got closer to the school building they saw two rows of cars for drop-off.  Some teachers guided them inside, while a lot of the parents had wished to walk them to the entrance. Lily knew where she was suppose to go, when she saw two of her friends from her previous classroom, she gave Amy a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek... leaving her brother and mom behind. A lady welcomed Amy and Mach inside, while doing so, the young hedgehog gripped his mom's hand tighter. Deep down she wanted to just turn around and take the kids back home, sure it was only gonna be for 6 hours but the loneliness in that house would drive her insane. Mach's kindergarten teacher greeted them warmly, Mach was guided to his desk, while Amy and his teacher had a quick conversation. Soon, Amy wished him a great first day, embraced him tightly. Alongside Amy, other parents said their goodbye's and went on their way. Amy stopped at the end of the curb, quickly texting Tails how the drop-off went. Once she looked up, she noticed a familiar motorcycle in the parking lot. Nah, it couldn't be him. As she inched closer, her curiosity getting the best of her..  

"Looking for something, Rose?" She almost jumped out of her own skin at the sound of his voice. She squinted at him, suspicious. Before she could even ask, why the hell he was at the school he answered, "Knuckles and Rouge are out of town." Yeah, she totally didn't forget their child was attending first grade now. 

"Hm, not very safe to let a minor ride on a bike." She smirked, playfully.

"He was fine. I'm not stupid; he wore a helmet." Shadow scoffed at her comment, while he mounted his bike. 

"He better... Rouge would kill you if anything happened." Amy glanced back at the school building, more children were being dropped off. 

Shadow shrugged, "if she didn't trust me with her son I wouldn't be here, now would I?" Amy's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and crossed her arms, inched closer to the other hedgehog. 

"Oh, you wouldn't be here to just watch me, now would you?" Shadow's ear twitched slightly, but Amy couldn't read him. "I saw you. Every single day I walked home. Slightly creepy, don't ya' think? I mean I would've been fine if you asked to walk with me. But, you just stood on the other side of the street-" Shadow waved his hand. 

"I wasn't watching you."

"I saw you." She went on to speak more, but Shadow silenced her. 

"I knew when you got off of work, I arrived maybe minutes before you clocked out." Shadow admitted, shifting further back on his bike. "I wanted to make sure..."

"Make sure of what?"

"...That you were okay." Amy felt like her heart fluttered slightly. Okay, that was weird. Why did it do that? Her gaze fell to her feet. Amy didn't know what to say. Could she really blame him? After that incident in the restaurant? She contacted him afterall. He wasn't the one who just randomly called in the middle of the day. Could she really be upset with him for checking on her? No. Nothing was spoken between the pair, Amy was pulled out of her deep train of thought when he revved up his bike. "I better go."

Amy blurted out an apology, "I shouldn't have assumed, I should have... j-just approached you about it. I'm sorry. T-thank you for checking on me, Shadow." Her cheeks felt hot, and she hoped that he didn't noticed the blush. "Next time.. let's walk together. I'd like the company."

Shadow looked away. Feeling awkward. He patted the seat behind him and handed her a helmet. Amy hesitated, but she did admit just now that she'd like the company. She snapped her helmet in place, and mounted the bike. She wasn't sure he was taking them, but she didn't ask any questions. As he accelerated further from the school, she grasped his waist tighter. It wasn't long before she realized that he wasn't taking her home. Going deeper into the city, the hill got steeper and Amy closed her eyes tightly. She felt him turn the bike to the left, and actually slow down. They had pulled into an apartment complex. He parked into a numbered parking spot, and dismounted the bike. "Is this your apartment?" He nodded. She followed him up a flight of stairs, he punched in a code, and the door unlocked. At the end of the hallway was an elevator, he pressed the upper level, triggering the door to open. Silently, the pair entered, as he punched the number 4 in the number pad. It only took seconds before they arrived on the right floor, he exited and walked down another hallway. He took a left, and stopped infront of his door. Amy hesitated in the doorway. She never been to Shadow's apartment... this was the same apartment complex Rouge use to live in, she remembered. After Rouge and Knuckles got serious, she moved out leaving Shadow to himself. "Close the door. Echo will get out." Amy quickly shut the door as she stepped inside. 

"Echo?" Amy asked, looking around the apartment. Did he have a pet? Shadow inched his way towards the kitchen. Roaming through some cabinets, and his fridge. Before she got an answer from the dark hedgehog, she heard movement coming from another room, finally making contact with a dark Chao that made its way in the living room. Amy squealed, startling the Chao.  "Aww! I didn't know you had a Chao, Shadow!" She reached to pick the startled Chao up. 

"Don't pick him up- he bites.." The second he warned her, Amy yelped in pain, and Echo flew out of her arms. Shadow gave Echo a cold look.

She rubbed the top of her hand, wincing. Amy laughed nervously, "my bad. Chao's are so cute, and precious." 

"Not Echo." Shadow scoffed and placed a bowl of fruit before the Chao. Echo stared the stranger down, before stuffing its mouth with fruit.

She glanced at her hand, noticing that Echo did in fact draw some blood. "Uh, do you have a bandage?" Shadow blinked at her injury, and then searched through his cabinet for a bandage for the bite. He grabbed her right hand, and put some anti-bacterial cream on it before wrapping it up. 

Shadow left the room to answer the door, some of his mail left at the door. Half of which he tossed in the trash. "If you wish to leave, I'll take you home. I hadn't fed Echo before I left. My couch would suffer if I didn't return quickly."

"Do you mind if we stay a little longer?" Amy glanced around the house. Looking at the frames hung on the wall, admiring a picture hung above the couch that displayed a mountain view. "Where was this taken?"

"It came with the apartment." Shadow responded quickly, keeping an eye on his Chao that just watched Amy search the apartment. A little red question mark forming above its head. Amy should have known, when Rouge lived here she probably did a lot of the decorating as it was. 

"Can I get a tour?" His eyes furrowed in confusion. Amy could tell he wasn't thrilled about the idea. Shadow shrugged, and guided her down the hall. There was a small half bath, an office in the next room, and then at the end of the hallway was his bedroom. "Jeez, didn't even make your bed, Shadow." She playfully elbowed him. Shadow rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms, watching her search the room. She stopped at his bedside, seeing a picture of Maria Robotnik. "...Is this her?" His eyes softened slightly, and nodded. Amy smiled. "What was she like?" 

"Too pure for this world.." Shadow's response was hardly audible. His red eyes darted to the ground. 

"I wish I could have met her." Amy sighed, gave Shadow a sympathic look, then made her way toward the door leaving the room behind, and leaving Shadow for a moment to his thoughts. She heard him clear his throat, but nothing but silence followed. She paused when Echo stood at her feet, staring up at her. The Chao made a weird noise, and walked away, leaving them behind. "Hm. I wonder where it gets that attitude from." Amy grinned back at Shadow. He merely scoffed.

Hours later, Amy was still at Shadow's apartment. Not much was spoken between them. They were actually just enjoying some coffee sitting at the bar in his small kitchen. "I can't believe Mach is in school, already." Amy sat her cup down, and gave a sigh, her hand running through her messy bangs. "Sonic is missing it all." Amy gave a painful smile, "others always tell me that he's not missing it, he's still here. In my heart..." She took a quick sip of her coffee. "Sometimes I just wished they didn't say anything at all." Amy exhaled, "It's not the same, Shadow. I wished they would understand." She noticed he was staring at her, and quickly she glanced away. "It doesn't get rid of the fact that he is missing out on everything. One day... Lily will be getting married." Amy's eyes started to sting with tears, "Sonic won't be here to walk her down the isle." Amy wiped at her eyes, and gave another tired sigh. "I know it's far in the future, but as a mother I think about these things." Amy met his gaze, "poor Mach doesn't quite understand what happened to his dad. He's only six, Shadow." She continued on, "when the time comes Mach finally asks more questions about Sonic, I don't know how I'm gonna handle it." She sniffled, trying to hold back from more waterworks. 

"...You'll figure it out when the time comes." Shadow chimed in. 

 Amy jumped when Echo suddenly jumped on the countertop. Echo glanced at Shadow, which in return Shadow told it to get down. Echo trotted towards Amy, perhaps the Chao could sense how Amy was feeling. Amy watched it jump into her lap. "Uh... hi there?" The ball floating above its head still perfectly rounded, so it was hard to predict what Echo would do next. The very hand that he had bitten earlier, he licked over the place as if it was apologizing. Shadow look on with surprised. Echo cooed and then hopped off of her lap. "See? Chao's are precious." She smiled. Amy wiped at her eyes, and exhaled. "I'm sorry, you probably have a lot of things to do. I... guess I should get home." Amy finished off her cup of coffee, and made her way into the kitchen to rinse out the mug before placing it in the dishwasher. "I can walk home-" She noticed Shadow making his way to the door, grabbing a set of keys and a helmet that he placed on the coffee table. After leaving the apartment, they made their way to the parking lot. "For a nice apartment, there's not a lot of vehicles here." Amy noted. 

"Yeah.. it gets busier at night." Amy wanted to slap herself, she had forgotten this place had a club underneath the living quarters. 

"For someone that likes the quiet, this is a strange place to live." Shadow smirked at her in response

"That's why I mainly work at nighttime." Amy nodded, the two of them both mounted the bike. But, Amy had more questions. Shadow must have noticed because he hesitated turning the ignition on. 

"May I ask what you do?"

"I work with G.U.N." Shadow cleared his throat, "I also sometimes guard the club here."

"Interesting..." Amy fixed her helmet securely. "I don't know how I feel about G.U.N."

"That's what Sonic would say."

"I... I thought that's who attacked your home?" She motioned towards the sky. Perhaps she was prying too much into Shadow's life, so if he didn't respond, she would understand.

"That was years ago, Rose. That was under a different ... leadership."

"Is this leadership better? I know they've made some decisions that could've been played out better."

"Perhaps." Shadow revved the engine, "But, I'm not gonna defend them. I just work with them. I could care less about their personal morals."

"Sonic never did like them." Amy leaned against Shadow's back, holding tight as he picked up speed. 

"Well, I guess I wouldn't either after being chased with a semi." Shadow scoffed softly. Amy pinched at his ribs.

"Yeah, because they had thought he was you. "

"It's not my fault for that their poor eyesight."

----

Tuesday morning came fast, and the routine was about the same as yesterday. Get the kids ready, breakfast, saying goodbyes at the school. But, today Amy was returning to work after having Monday off to take time for her kids. Quite honestly, it wasn't a bad day nor was it a busy  one. Which was helpful so the staff could restock on different items. Amy was asked to finish decorating an order for a birthday party. She found after working at the cafe, she enjoyed decorating various sweet treats. It was a simple "happy sweet 16" decorated on the top layer of the cake. By 3pm it was ready to be sent out to the customer, which she was pleased with the handiwork, and tipped very well. By 4:30 Amy clocked out, said bye to all her coworkers, and slipped out of the door. She paused a few blocks ahead, looking for someone. She didn't catch a glimpse of him on the other side of the street. Perhaps he got the wrong idea, and decided not to take up on the offer and walk with her. She was clearly disappointed. Amy checked her phone, there was a few text messages from Tails stating that he took the kids out to dinner, and was gonna play video games with Mach after helping him with his homework. She went to reply to her text, only to drop her device after colliding into Shadow. "Ouch! Sorry!" He grunted in response, and reached down to pick up her phone. She met his gaze, " you came?"

He shrugged, "you said you could use the company." Amy started to smile until she noticed the cut along Shadow's cheek, and dried up blood at his head. 

"What happened?" She went to touch it, and Shadow was taken off guard. He gently moved her hand away. 

"Tch, just had an confrontation at the club last night. Nothing I couldn't handle. You going home?"

Amy frowned, "yes." She started walking ahead of the male hedgehog. It probably only took them 10 minutes to get to her house. "Come in. You need to clean that up."

Shadow stopped at the entryway, "It's fine." Amy pulled at his wrist, and pulled him inside. Making him sit at the stool in the kitchen.  He sat with his head resting in his hand in defeat, while she looked around in her kitchen. She grabbed a wet cloth, and inched closer to the dark hedgehog, cleaning off any of the dried up blood, causing Shadow to wince slightly. Amy frowned at the gash. 

"Who stitched that up?" She looked over the gash that was poorly fastened together to close the wound. 

Shadow eyed her cautiously, "I did." 

"Jeez." She started to gather some different supplies from the first aid. After being with Sonic, and the many injuries that he sustained, Amy was almost a pro now. Carefully, she undid the poor stitching job, and started working on that nasty gash.  Unlike Sonic, Shadow actually didn't squirm. Yes, it hurt like hell but he knew this was a battle that he couldn't win with her, so he just allowed her to work her magic and close up the wound. She ran a finger along the cut along his cheek, which wasn't as bad. In response, Shadow subconsciously stroked her knuckles while her hand rested there. When she felt his gentle touch, her hand felt hot all of a sudden. So did the rest of her. What the hell is this? She only ever felt this way with Sonic. Only could he make her heart flutter, and her stomach turn into mush.  Yet, for some reason Shadow's touch, and his presence was causing all of these weird sensations. The front door opened, and Lily walked in with her bookbag, she froze when she saw a mysterious male hedgehog with her mom in the kitchen. "Oh! Welcome home, baby girl." Amy's face burned in embarrassment, and Shadow quickly got up from his seat. Lily embraced her with an arm hug, looking over her shoulder towards Shadow. 

"Mom ...who is that?" Her voice strained slightly, struggling so hard to control her emotions right now.  Meanwhile, Shadow made for the exit. Mach was in a rush, so he didn't even acknowledge his mom, or even Shadow and rushed upstairs to relieve himself. 

"Shadow?" Tails stood before the door, with some of the kids' belongings. Lily looked from her uncle to her mother. Conflicted. She only heard her daddy speak about Shadow, and perhaps seen him in the distance, but never became aquatinted with him. She had so many questions. Why was he so close to her mom earlier?

Shadow acknowledged with a nod. "I was just leaving." He made a quick gaze towards Amy, her face beet red.  

The twin-tailed fox's ears twitched slightly, and then closed the door behind him. Glancing at Amy, for a possible answer to this weird encounter. Amy smiled in embarrassment, and took the items from her fox friend. "I was just about to fix supper, if you'd like to join us?" Tails nodded, he made his way to the window and peaked out the blinds. Amy started to hang up the kids' bookbags, cleaned out their lunchboxes. Amy watched her daughter retrieve a soda from the fridge,  "Lily if you wanna help me set the table..." Lily met her mom's gaze. She didn't say a word. She just took a sip of her soda, and made her way upstairs. It felt like her heart was stomped on.

"What was he doing here? Did he hurt-"

"No." Amy answered quickly, as she preheated the over as the recipe instructed. "He's been more helpful really..." She realized that Tails never heard about that incident, and that Amy had called Shadow. She kept that to herself. "He just making sure I made it home okay." Tails raised a brow, not completely convinced. He didn't notice the first-aid kit and other medical supplies out on the counter, instead, he made his way to the living room. "Could you put the enchilada's in for me? I'm gonna check on her." 

Tails smiled, "of course."

Amy tapped on her daughter's door, Lily was sitting at her desk drawing away at her sketchpad, when her mom entered, she dropped her pencil and met her worried gaze. "Hey sweetheart. " Amy kissed her on the forehead. "How was school today?" Lily brushed her bangs aside, and closed her sketchpad, and sit on the edge of the bed, her mother joining her shortly after. 

"It was good." She shrugged, and leaned against her mom. Amy was trying to get a read on her. "I think Mach made a new friend," Lily looked up at her. Amy smiled back, full of pride. "Yeah, I saw them playing on the playground together. But, mom I think Mach gets into trouble a lot." Lily laughed a little, "he was in timeout a lot this afternoon." Amy gave a sigh. She would definitely talk to him later.  The pair made small talk for a few moments, then heard the beeping from downstairs, indicating the over had preheated to the set temperature. Amy got up from her bed, and made for the door. "Mom?" The pink hedgehog stopped, her ear twitching in attention. "Is... he coming over more?" She assumed that Lily was referring to Shadow. She looked away, tears stinging in her eyes. "I don't want a new dad." Her face turned red with anger, and hurt, as she rubbed at her eyes. 

"Oh baby, no. It's not like that..." Seeing her cry made her heart ache, within seconds she was at her side again. She held her close, while Lily cried into her chest. "Shadow... has just been watching out for me, that's all. Just as friends." It felt like she was trying to remind herself of that. Friends. Nothing more. But, how does Shadow see them? "No one will ever replace your daddy, sweetheart." Lily sniffled, wiping away more tears trying to escape. 

"Okay.." Lily embraced her mother tighter, and made for the restroom to wash up before dinner. While alone, Amy sat on the edge of the bed, lost in her thoughts. Was there something growing between her and Shadow? Something deep down told her that perhaps she was wrong. She shook her head, pushing away these lingering thoughts and questions. Amy met Mach and Tails downstairs, supper was almost finished. As she was setting up the table, when Lily came down she seemed to be more upbeat now that they had their talk and she had a relaxing bath to ease her thoughts. As a family they all gathered together at the table to enjoy some cheesy chicken enchiladas. Around 830 both of the kids were struggling to stay awake, so they made their way back to their rooms. Her and Tails was catching up, she invited him to stay here since there was a storm stirring outside. "Did Mach get in trouble today?" Tails sighed, and nodded. 

"Yeah, his teacher said he doesn't stay still very long, and will talk back to her sometimes." Seems about right. "Otherwise, he's doing well. Don't worry, Ames. It's a new start for him." He patted her hand. Amy went to get a bowl of ice cream for the two of them. As she scooping some of the frozen treat into a bowl for herself, her phone dinged. 

Hey chick. You doing ok? You should come to the club tonight. We need a girls night. Shadow's gonna be there, but he won't intervene. Buuuut maybe you want him to? ..I heard you two have been talking a lot. What's up with that???

Amy dropped her bowl, startled. She quickly cleaned it up, and tapped away at her phone. It's nothing. We're just friends. Rouge, it's a school nite. 

She saw the dots on the bottom of her screen indicating that Rouge was already texting back. Amy returned to the couch where Tails was watching some sort of movie, that she never seen before. 

Don't worry, dear we'll get you home before bedtime. Just friends.. mhmmm.

Amy rolled her eyes, and went to text her once more. Another time, Rouge. G'night. Luckily for Amy, Rouge let it be and didn't text back the rest of the night. Amy turned her phone on silent, and enjoyed the company of Tails. They turned in around 11pm that night. 

-

Amy had finished another day at the cafe, and just as expected Shadow was waiting for her. He was reading something on his phone, leaning against the building before she walked out. "Amy." She was actually shocked that he called her by her first name, they inched closer. If he had anything to say after that, Amy quickly stopped him. 

"Hey... uh, I think I'm gonna go by myself today." He blinked, but she couldn't tell whether this bothered him or not. "I'll be fine. Thanks for looking after me." Shadow shrugged, and started to turn around. At least he wasn't pushing the issue. If she didn't want to walk with him. He respected it. She started to inch further and further away from me, but she still felt his gaze on her. In fact, when she looked over her shoulder, she saw him staring at her. She gave him a smile before he disappeared. Honestly, this made her feel terrible. But, she didn't want her daughter to get the wrong impression of the relationship between them.  It was a quiet, and lonely walk back home. For the rest of the week, it was like this. By Saturday, she almost texted him to walk with her. But, no. She took the journey home by herself. 

Rouge later asked about coming to the club tonight, and finally Amy agreed. Her kids more than excited to have a night with Uncle Tails. Around 7pm that evening, she approached the apartment. Her eyes locked on the familiar motorcycle. He was parked in the same location as last time, just like he had mentioned the other day, it got busier at night, and he was correct. There was a long line at the entrance. But, once someone saw Amy, they let her through. "Party of 3. Under the name Rouge?" She nodded, and they allowed her inside before the club filled up with more bodies. Rouge was at the bar, and waved her over. "Party of 3? Who else is here?" Rouge shrugged, "another friend of mine, but she cancelled on me. So, it's just the two of us." She winked, "what you want to drink? I'll take care of it." 

Amy glanced at the drink choices presented before her, "just a water." Rouge frowned. Amy didn't feel like getting a strong drink, a cold glass of water with lemon sounded good enough to her. Rouge ordered a glass of red wine for herself, and order a water with lemon for Amy. Slowly the club started to fill up with more people. Among the group, she made out Shadow. He didn't see her, thankfully. That would have been awkward. They made their way to a round table near the back of the room. 

"How are you doing, m'dear?"

Amy took a sip of her drink, and gave a faint smile. "I'm hanging in there."

Rouge patted her hand. Even though they've had their differences, the two have put aside the past, and shared a good friendship. "Shadow told me what happened the other day..." Amy's ears perked up slightly, shocked that Shadow mentioned it. "He said you were a mess."

"I can't believe he brought that up."

"He seemed worried, Amy." 

Amy sighed. She snacked on some chips that was brought to them earlier, and dipped them in some salsa. "I appreciate him being there for me. But, I'm doing better now. He doesn't have to babysit me."

Rouge raised a brow, "babysit? I don't think.."

"Lily thinks there's something going on between us. She saw him at the house." Amy admitted, lowering her voice. There was a noticeable blush on her cheeks. "Honestly, Rouge. I can't tell how I feel about him." Amy looked away, "I have never seen Shadow like this before, though."

"He's rough around the edges, dear. But, he's not a bad guy. You just have to get to know him."

"I guess you would know, you lived with him for years." Rouge winked back at her playfully. 

[ruinedrefectory]

(Wanted to try writing what Val's first heat would be like. Technically since its in the future/ not in rp it's not canon, just a what if.

Contains PWP, masturbation, object fucking, terato, heat/ rut, plushophilia, sticky)

 Valentino flopped back on the floor, trying to cool himself down. When John learned the extent of the millipede demon's 'condition', he took the time to explain the more unexpected symptoms of demonic influence. Everything from demons being drawn to them, the pull of sin, the strange hunger for violence and blood. What caught him most off guard however, was the cycle of sexual desire, stronger and more base than mere lust. Although thankful, Valentino was quite sure he, as a creature that was neither a proper demon nor a sexual being, would have nothing to worry about.

Lo and behold, here he was with a warmth settling over his body, a fog overtaking his mind, and a maddening throbbing in his nethers. He was brought to the basement so he could pray and focus on returning to normal, but it was also proving to be the best place he could ride out the cycle without distracting the others. The only problem was there was little to occupy him other than a few books and a radio. None of these appealed to his taxed mind.

His eyes fell on a large teddy bear near the foot of the bed. Abigail had given it to him, 'to keep him company' while he was separated. He eyed the fallen bear, a naughty thought forming. "It wouldn't be wrong, would it? Abbey said it was a gift. It wouldn't be weird. Wouldn't be weird at all..."

It'd be weird, he thought as he uncoiled. The demon clambered into bed with all the grace of a horny teen, awkwardly curling up the lower third of his body to fit on the bed spring. Taking hold of the bear, he gazed over its soft dark chocolate fur. His antenna twitched, taking in Abigail's scent hanging on the plush. The heat curling in his stomach was growing into a wildfire. The bear was large enough to double as a support pillow, which made it all too easy for the demon to sprawl over it, slotting in between its legs.

Valentino shivered as his groin rubbed against the plush. Sooner than he'd like to admit, his sheath relaxed, freeing his twin erections. Tapered tips, a subtle curve adorned with nubs leading to a swell at each base. When he first discovered this part of the transformation, he was horribly embarrassed. This was strange, perverse, he couldn't dare ask John about this development. But now, taken with this fire burning inside, those thoughts were the furthest from his mind. 

A ragged moan ripped from his throat as his lengths pressed into the bear's fur. Bracing his hands on the bed to steady himself, he hugged the bear to himself with his third set of arms. Grinding the soft plush against his aching dicks, Valentino buried his moans and gasps into its neck. Dimly aware during his rut he mustn't be too loud.

"Nnhh- oh, oh God, yes." The demon braced his coils against the mattress. He dug his claws in, pinning the bear to the bed to fuck it in earnest. His hips began to stutter as he neared his peak, cocks gliding over silky fur.

"Ohh, oh please oh please it's so- ahh!" Valentino cried out as he came undone. Cocks twitching slightly out of unison, painting the teddy bear with his load. The demon collapsed on the bear, panting as if he ran a marathon. 

Finally the fog hovering over his thoughts pulled away. His breathing eased as a sense of calm settled over him. Sitting up, his eyes wandered over the bear, staring at his seed staining it before trailing up to its dark button eyes. He quickly flipped the bear over, but his guilt was replaced as the bear's plush rump pointed up. Despite his orgasm only a few minutes ago, his dicks twitched in interest.

He knew it would be weird. 

[solardee]

Okay so I have been INSANELY busy with all the shift changing, and learning stuff so I haven't drawn too much And it's about to get even busier next week so here have some concept art for Dawn's tower LOL Not entirely sure how I want the whole castle to look but I'm getting there. excuse my notes, I thought I put them on a DIFFERENT layer than my lineart. I was wrong.

[celiosal]

Hi! How are you??? I want to say that I love your writing and how you organize your posts too! I'd like to request a reaction/headcanons, I hope it's ok for you to it and I completely understand if you don't want it! I feel like there's a stereotypes/gender role conformity about how boys and girls act in a relationships but I. Am. Weak. for things like, boys sitting on my lap, being the little spoon, stealing my clothes (I'm a tall gal and I use baggy clothes), etc. just boys being pampered emotionally/feeling safe and not (just) in the way society expects women to take care of men (as if they are our child). I'm a girl but I guess that writing it gender-neutral would still be cool since the fics' dynamics are usually the other way around. Take care of yourself! xoxo

Pampered Boys !

pairings - mammon, belphegor, barbatos x reader synopsis - spoiling the boys with love and their reaction.

writing contains : fluff, established relationship, gender neutral (lmk of any possible mistakes), possible ooc, headcanons, showering with barbatos, just boys being pampered

a/n - aa you guys are so sweet 😭 I fully agree with you and I love the idea!! (we stan tall girls! ★) I hope I did it right!

MAMMON

♧ It may not look like it but this little demon loves to steal your clothes.

♧ Believe me, he would steal hoodies, t-shirts, and basically anything he can wear.

♧ He just loves the scent of you and absolutely would never sell it, it's only for him and it's too special for him.

♧ He gets all pouty when you try to take it back, heck he even has a whole drawer filled with your clothing.

♧ Give him passionate kisses and he will start blushing furiously.

♧ When you sleep together, he loves being the small spoon. The comfort of your arms around him keeps the nightmares away (especially when you two watch horror movies together)

♧ He's adorable when he sleeps, sometimes he'll whisper your name and reach out to try and hug you. Of course you hug him and he relaxes again.

♧ I can not stress the things he will do to show how much he loves you, it got so bad to the point where he nearly set the whole house on fire.

♧ Absolutely appreciates everything you give him, when you come into his room you're bound to find one of your gifts in a glass container or some sort.

BELPHEGOR

☽ Sleepy boy also loves being the small spoon when cuddling. It's soothing and helps him sleep better.

☽ Shower him in praise and he'll crumble into your arms.

☽ Just like his twin, he enjoys good food as well. When you cook him an amazing meal he'll finish it no matter if he's hungry or not.

☽ Despite already being in a relationship, he loves it when you choose him over his brothers, it always gives him a sense of pride.

☽ Belphie loves when you watch movies together, huddled in a blanket and hugging your arm.

☽ Adores sleeping on your lap, he just thinks that your thighs are more comfortable than a normal pillow.

☽ He only wakes up to you and you only, otherwise he'd be grumpy because he didn't see you first thing in the morning.

☽ As someone who's been touch starved, he loves it when you pepper him with kisses all over him. Your breath tickling his skin and making him chuckle.

☽ Just give him attention and he's satisfied for life.

BARBATOS

‣ He's a busy demon alright, but when he does have time you two spend it by caring for each other.

‣ Give him a massage, he'll fully relax at the touch of your arms. Stiff and sore muscles finally disappearing.

‣ If you somehow wake up early before him, cook him breakfast and brew tea and he'll appreciate it to the end of days.

‣ Sometimes he wonders how he was able to get someone like you, you're always so kind to him.

‣ When you two shower together, both of you scrub each other's back. It's just a thing you do.

‣ Barbatos is one who won't show his emotions so easily, but if you do something special like a date, his walls will break

‣ On especially rare occasions, he can be clingy so just take care of him!

© celiosal. 2022, do not repost/modify/translate

Reblogs and feedback is highly appreciated!

[lsvdw-blog]

Drained (2/?)

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x f!MC

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings; Rating: Angst; General

Premise: The aftermath of Ethan's lashing out at Serena after a particularly rough day.

Author’s Note: Catch up here. It's a bit choppy at the end, but I needed to power through to continue with the next part 🙈 I hope you enjoy and thank you for reading 💖

Serena returns to a dark and empty apartment, haphazardly throwing her keys on the kitchen island on the way to her bedroom. 

She grabs a pillow from her bed and flops down face first, using it to muffle the scream that comes out of her. 

She stays like that, unmoving, for a few minutes before grabbing her phone and turning it back on. The incessant pinging of notifications welcome her, multiple texts and missed calls from her mom and Ethan.

Rolling her eyes at Ethan's notifications, she hits the video call button for her mom. 

"Hi, sweetie! How was your day?" 

"Awful." 

"What's wrong?" 

And that's when Serena spills it all, the tears resurfacing. 

"I know it's only been six months since I became lead, but maybe this was a mistake." 

Serena pauses for a split second.

"I wanna go home," she chokes out.

"Oh, honey." Concern drips from her mom's voice. "This is your dream job, though." 

"...it was. But I don't want to work somewhere where I'm not welcome. And they've made that abundantly clear." 

Just then, another incoming call from Ethan lights up her screen. Serena quickly taps ignore. 

"Whatever you want to do, we support you and you are always welcome to come home."  

"Thanks, mom." Serena rolls over onto her back. "I love my job, but I hate working in this hostile environment." 

"You can't change the way people behave, but you can change the environment you're surrounded in." 

Control what you can control. 

She used to be a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed young woman, hell bent on leaving the world a little bit better than she'd found it. She had wanted to volunteer with organizations like Médecins Sans Frontières, the WHO, and the Red Cross, all the while traveling the world and experiencing all life has to offer. 

She'd promised herself to always put herself and her career first — she'd worked way too hard to get where she is and she wasn't going to let anyone keep her from reaching her dreams. 

And then she'd met, and fell in love with, Ethan. Applying for jobs and experiences elsewhere never even crossed Serena’s mind after that.  

She'd follow him to the ends of the Earth and bear the weight of his world on her shoulders if he'd asked. 

But not even Atlas carried the weight of the world effortlessly. And if she'd learned anything that day, it was that she'd been the one making sacrifices for far too long. 

"You're right, mom." 

"Get some sleep, sweetheart. You'll feel better after a good night's rest." 

They end the call, but Serena stares at her ceiling for hours. She replays how the last six months have been hell on Earth, how she hadn't accomplished the majority of the goals she'd set, compromising on things she'd promised herself.

"It's not worth it," she whispers into the night. 

Serena doesn't notice her phone lighting up with a photo of Ethan and another one of his calls as she cries herself to sleep.

~~~~~~

Serena wakes before her alarm, feeling much better. Instead of going back to sleep like she normally would, she slowly gets out of bed, and makes her way to the kitchen. 

She prepares herself a warm cup of lemon and honey water before going back to her room and unrolling her yoga mat in front of the floor to ceiling windows. 

She sits cross-legged, sipping on her water, admiring the still-asleep city of Boston. 

Feeling more awake, she sets a timer and begins her day with a meditation session, clearing her mind and centering herself for yet another long, and difficult, day ahead. 

When the timer goes off, Serena opens her eyes, and they’re filled with the fire and intensity of a woman who knows her own power.

~~~~~~

A large bouquet of red roses greet Serena as she walks into her office. She rolls her eyes, knowing exactly who they're from and what the note says before she’s even fully in the space. 

Her hands full, she carefully pushes the vase aside, putting down her designer tote bag and reusable water bottle. Without giving the flowers, or note, another glance, Serena turns on her laptop and begins her day. 

She spends the morning attending meetings, supplying answers to any and all questions with a cool calmness. She correctly diagnoses three separate patients that have stumped other, more experienced doctors for weeks, radiating confidence. She leads the new interns in their rounds with encouragement and strength. 

As Serena departs for lunch, she overhears one say, "She's so put together. When I’m an attending, I want to be like Dr. Harlow." 

Serena sighs under her breath. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. 

~~~~~~

Ethan is waiting for her when she turns the corner to her office. He stands when he sees her and it takes everything in her to not roll her eyes at him. 

"Hi." 

Serena walks past him without a word or glance. 

"I was hoping to have lunch with you." 

"I'm busy." 

"Of course, but you still need to eat," Ethan says hopefully. 

"I'm not hungry." 

"But I made reservations at—" 

Serena looks up and the coldness in her stare would rival Medusa's. 

"I have a job to do. I don't have time to go on fancy lunches." 

They stare silently at each other, at an impasse. Ethan is the one to offer a truce.

"Serena, I'm sorry." 

"I don't have time for this right now." 

Serena’s eyes dart to the door, signaling to Ethan that his time is up. 

Ethan's eyes plead with her, but Serena has already returned her attention to the papers in front of her. 

He squares his shoulders, straightens his tie, and turns for the door. 

I'll make things right later. 

Little does Ethan know that after he leaves, Serena spends her lunch searching for, and applying to, jobs.

~~~~~~

Serena goes out of her way to avoid Ethan for the rest of the day. She knows she’s being immature and this isn’t the best way to handle it, but she just doesn’t have it in her to deal with him after the earth-shattering revelation she came to last night. 

By the time Ethan makes it to Serena’s office at the end of the day, she’s already stepped onto the T. 

He lets out a defeated sigh. No matter how badly he wants to show up at her apartment to see her and work this out, he knows better than to trap Serena when she so clearly wants space. 

But maybe he should have. 

As he walks out of the building, Ethan resigns himself to another sleepless night alone. 

~~~~~~

An incoming notification chimes as Serena enters her room after getting ready for bed. She swipes the notification bar downwards as she climbs into bed. 

A new email. 

From Médecins Sans Frontières.

Asking to give them a call at her earliest convenience. 

Serena stares blankly at the screen for a few beats, a myriad of mixed emotions coursing through her: hope, confusion, fear. 

Her finger hovers over the phone number at the bottom of the email. She wasn’t expecting, or prepared for, a turnaround time of ten hours. 

After some internal back and forth, she figures it would be better to call them when someone is already burning the midnight oil rather than at the ungodly hour that is before her shift. 

She holds her breath as the dialing tone emits, part of her hoping that no one answers. But then: 

“Médecins Sans Frontières, this is Rebecca. How may I help you?” 

~ The Next Day: 10:30am ~

Serena walks through the double doors of Edenbrook, greeting other doctors and nurses as she saunters through the atrium. 

Usually in her office by 6am, she told Tobias she woke up not feeling well, but that she’d be in later. 

It wasn’t a lie, per se. She did wake up feeling unwell. 

Due to the butterflies in her stomach at her impending interview at 8am with Médecins Sans Frontières. 

Rounding the corner to her office, she sees Tobias sitting at her desk through the floor-to-ceiling panes. 

“Replacing me, already?” She says as she pushes the door open. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it, boss.” Tobias winks and smirks as he vacates her spot, moving to the round table for team discussions. 

“Feeling better?” 

“Yes, thank you.” Serena avoids eye contact as she sets her things down. 

As she gets situated, someone enters the room. 

“Big Chief! To what do we owe this pleasure?” Tobias teases. 

“Tobias.” Ethan nods in acknowledgement. “I need a moment with Serena.” 

Tobias’ eyes dart quickly between Ethan and Serena. It doesn’t go unnoticed how the temperature in the room has chilled since Ethan entered. 

Tobias gives a low whistle. “If you need me, I’ll be anywhere but here.”

They both watch Tobias hurriedly leave the room. As the door swings shut behind him, Ethan visibly deflates and sighs. 

“Serena, please talk to me.” 

“What would you like to talk about?” She still hasn’t looked at him, shuffling around papers on her desk. 

“About how sorry I am and that I am an absolute asshole.” 

“The asshole part I agree with,” Serena scoffs.

He approaches her desk, both hands atop the wood as he implores her. 

“I had had a rough day — every single employee was badgering me, buttering me up as the new Chief and I feel as though I’m being pulled in a million different directions.”

“Yeah, well, all my rough days have accumulated to rough months, but you don’t see me lashing out at you.” 

This statement gives Ethan pause, his brows furrowing. 

“Is everything alright?” 

Serena finally looks at him, but Ethan wishes she hadn’t: her eyes are brimming with unshed tears. 

“I don’t even remember the last time things were ‘alright.’”

“Wha—”

But before Ethan can even finish his word, Serena is up out of her chair and leaving the office, wiping her cheeks. 

Ethan is left standing in his old office, a solitary figure, beginning to feel frantic. 

~ 8pm ~ 

Serena’s phone rings as she’s walking home from the T stop. She stops and rummages through her bag.

“Hello, this is Serena.” 

“Dr. Harlow, good evening! This is Rebecca from Médecins Sans Frontières. Do you have a minute to speak?”

“Yes, of course.” 

“I’m delighted to inform you that Médecins Sans Frontières would like to extend you an official offer assisting our work in Myanmar, beginning as soon as possible.”

[soobprised]

Heartstrings

Soobin x Reader

Warnings: sadness ; unworthiness

Soobin moves in with you unexpectedly. Going through his own problems with himself- you are there to help him out.

Fluff + angst

~♡

Soobin was sitting on the floor. His knees were deep in his chest, his arms hung on his sides, picking at the ugly dark green carpet. He looked at his hand picking at the carpet and kept at that motion.

He was looking down, both literally and emotionally.

What was his usual cute self had turned into a stranger. His eyes had been replaced with dark circles. His eyes were puffy, a feeling he invited with open arms now.

Feeling sad was his new job. It was terrible really. He actually lost his job, he stopped clocking in, Soobin assumed he was fired since he had no way of contact with anyone.

His phone was deep in the Han River, and he didn't have a home anymore. How his phone ended up in the river was a long story. But since he lost his job money got cut short quickly so he moved in with you, y/n, one of his friends.

You weren't close, like, at all.

You met Soobin in college, before he had dropped out. Soobin was very chill. And you simply liked chill people. But the only time you both interacted was when you were in a group.

So when Soobin called you asking for help, you were confused (which is a given), but you helped.

And now he's kind of like a depressed freeloader in your house who sleeps on your love seat. It's funny really, he's too tall so his legs dangle over the seat. You felt bad but the apartment was small so you could only fit a love seat.

okay now back to the present.

"Ahhh my fucking keys-ugh- ". You reached down onto the ground in front of the door to get your keys. Then you quickly open the door quietly. 'Hopefully soobin was asleep- and if he was I hope I didn't wake him...' you thought. But then you make eye contact with him. Your eyebrows immediately drooped down. "Oh....oh soobin..." you set your keys on the end table nearby, then you reach for soobins face as you bend down to his level. "Don't look at me like that y/n.." He avoided your eye contact. His tears were dried and his face was entirely flushed, he looked so exhausted.

Then, as if you were his mother, you pulled his hair back so you could see his eyes better. "You look exhausted..." you continued to stare at him, a pout forming on your lips. He gave you a weak smile. You honestly weren't even sure if it was a smile at first. "How was work?" He asked. you scoffed at him and stood back up. How dare he try to switch the conversation now? "You're sleeping in my bed tonight, you look so tired...that couch isn't helping, is it?" You asked. You reached your hands out to him and grabbed his hands. He reacted immediately, gripping onto yours and lifting himself up. He instantly towered over you. It somewhat intimidated you, forgetting about his height. "Yeah...its shit..." He chuckled meekly. You held onto his hands still, rubbing small circles. He led himself into your bedroom.

Usually when he was like this, you would sleep with him platonically. You didn't make it a habit, but it's slowly turning into one.

He let go of your hand once the door to your bedroom opened. And then, in the spam of what was 1 millisecond, his shirt was off. This was normal, of course, but it was almost as if he'd waited for this. Did he wait for you to allow him in your bed?

He then jumped onto the bed with his face buried in the pillow. The scent of you invaded his every nerve. You smelled nice, he couldn't pinpoint the exact scent, but he loved it. It was just soothing for him. Your scent on the pillows could've lulled him straight into dream land. But he was still awake.

"Did you wait for me?" you asked. You made your way to your dresser, taking off your work clothes to get into something more comfortable. Soobin wasn't looking at you, don't worry, he understands the basics of boudries.

"wait for you? pfffffffftttttttt" He could laugh at that, but he was too exhausted. "maybe- yeah, I didn't want you to come home to see me sprawled out on your bed." He buried his face into the pillow. "dat might make you frudaded" you giggled at him.

You crawled into bed beside him. You were wearing a simple concert shirt and sweatpants. You pat the back of his head, massaging into his scalp. "I don't mind if you sleep in here, you don't need to ask me." He groaned at the massage you were giving him. he bounced his head up a bit to give you a sign that he understood.

Your hands eventually gave out and you huffed out, letting your hand fall.

Soobin turns to face you. "I'm sorry that I'm kinda- ya know..." He looked away from your worried gaze. "It's just getting harder, you know? I've been trying..." He started to fumble with the blanket. He went silent so you held his hand- urging him to continue. he looked back up to you, greeted by the most warmest smile. He felt so safe around you, he swore he was home almost. "i-ive been trying to go on walks- like you said...and I felt pathetic-i-i-i..." He began crying. He tears slid down his cheeks onto the pillow. his sniffles had become more heavy. he sat up as to avoid 'ruining your pillow' he thought. You joined him and immediately held both his hands, in response he buries his face into your neck- to hide. It was hard, eye contact, for soobin it was so hard. Hiding was the only way to get him to actually speak now. "shh soobin...you're amazing, you know? I'm proud you went on that walk...you're so awesome soobin..." your hand reached up to his back, stroking him delicately. "I just felt off...everyone-no- everything will...well you know h-how I-" his sob breaks his sentence and he only buries himself deeper in your neck. You pulled him closer to you, both of your bodies completely enveloped eachothers. Soobin could only hear your compliments. He loved compliments. You gave him so many each and everyday and yet his heart still flutters at every single one. "we can talk more about it another time if you want soob...you need to sleep." He didn't respond, he couldn't. so he simply lays back down- covering his face with his bare arm. you poke at his stomach playfully and he smiles- genuinely smiles. "th-thanks..." He mumbles in between breaths. his stomach was cute. he was entirely cute to you. His abs started to die down a bit, but he was still toned. he wore sweatpants too, and now that you were thinking about it, they're the same brand as your current sweatpants you have on.

"can you sleep?" you leaned your head towards him as you asked. "yeah...with you around sleeping becomes much easier..." He smiles, his pearly teeth flashing at you. your heart bounced at his words, and he knew cause he then sent you a playful wink that he quickly regretted. when he winked at you he did a cringy finger gun, which you only responded with silence. you puffed your cheeks out and pretended you were trying not to laugh at his quirkiness. he responded by squirming around and hiding himself under the blanket. "ouuuuy y/n whyyyyyyyyyy" soobin groaned and cried, playfully. You then reached over to him and pulled the sheet off of him. "nooo I'm sorry I'm sorry soobin" you whispered to him.

When you were met with his face he smirked. You didn't know you had gotten so close to him. "why are you staring?" He teased. You rolled your eyes at his playful banter. "with someone as beautiful as you, I'm bound to stare" you smirked back at him. Before he could respond you fell back into your side of the bed.

you turned off the lamp nearby that illuminated the room, leaving a helpless soobin to your side. his thoughts were always scattered, but now it was as if a tornado ran by. he had to have stayed up for like 30 minutes.

You were already snoring away and soobin felt like he was suffocating a bit. He tried to stop his thoughts that were pulling on his heartstrings. Playing the usual melody, soobin listens to it. sleeping then felt natural. by your side, everything felt a little more natural. This realization of his feelings would hit in the morning when he was more alive.

As for now, his heart yearns for more dreams of you.

~♡

[apompkwrites]

in your arms || aether, bennett, chongyun

masterlist characters: aether, bennett, chongyun genre: fluff summary: in which their s/o is in desperately need of cuddles. notes: ah i miss cuddles :(( if you can't tell from how i write cuddling, i'm big on physical affection like hugs and stuff. can't do that now tho :( also, hun is a petname i use like... all the time. idk man, i just really like it :D

aether -

i feel like this boy gives some of the best cuddles.

i like to think he's the "older" twin out of the two.

on the coldest nights of their adventures, him and lumine would cuddle up next to each other next to a fire to keep warm (platonically of course).

if you're in teyvat after he's lost his sister, he'd put everything into those cuddles.

he misses her so much and he hates the idea that one day, you'll be gone too.

although he held high statuses in both mondstadt and liyue, aether still preferred to camp outside the city limits.

something about the calm and quiet outdoors brought peace to the otherworldy traveler.

and you never really minded it.

as long as you were able to be next to him, you were content with any living condition.

luckily, it never really affected your nightly cuddles with the blond :)

one day you both split up to handle separate commissions, right?

one brought him all the way to mondstadt while yours required you to head to liyue.

this commission, however, was one you didn't particularly enjoy.

it wasn't because you couldn't handle, because of course you could.

in fact, it was purely because of the neverending stress building on top of you.

so once your commission was complete, you definitely were in need of some good ol' aether cuddles.

you waited for him by your usual spot, the aching feeling in your chest growing more unbearable as time went on.

until eventually--

"(name)! sorry, did you wait long?"

"we brought you some food to make up for it!"

the familiar voices of of your beloved traveler and his emergency food companion called out to you from down the path.

aether was running over to you with paimon in tow.

and you, desperately wanting to wrap your arms around him, ran over to him and met him halfway down the path.

before he could talk again, you had already jumped into him and were squeezing him as you wrapped your arms around his shoulders.

"wh-whoa! (name)?"

instinctively, he'd wrap his arms around you.

he wouldn't need to ask about how your commission was, he could already tell by how tight your grip was around him.

"c'mere."

he'd pat his hands on your legs, signalling for you to jump up into his arms.

and, of course, you do.

he still needs to set up your tent and all, but he doesn't want to let you go either...

next best plan? just build the tent with you in his arms.

it'd take him longer than it normally would since he was busy holding you, but he'd get it done.

paimon definitely wants to tease the two of you, but she'll save that for tomorrow when you're feeling better :)

once paimon disappears to wherever she goes, it's just you and aether in your tent beneath the moonlight.

you're both accustomed to the hard floor beneath your tent, but that never mattered.

all that mattered was that the two of you were together.

if you're still awake, he'll whisper some stories of how his day was and what happened during his commission.

i like to think his go-to position for cuddling would be the honeymoon hug?

i mean, like i said before, cuddling is something that reassures him that you won't be leaving anytime soon.

so something like that type of cuddling where your both holding each other is his absolute favorite.

but if you're in need of comfort, he'd be laying on his back with you on top of him, his arms wrapped around your waist and hugging you close to him.

he likes to talk to you, surprisingly.

i mean, we've seen how quiet this boy is.

but with you, he'll talk to you even after you've fallen asleep.

"i know today's been kind of rough on you, hun... i hope just being here with me, holding you close to me, is enough to help comfort you."

bennett -

bennett... has absolutely no experience in cuddling whatsoever.

you'd have to be the one to help him out.

he's always afraid something will go wrong due to his bad luck that he's tried his best to stay away from intimate things like that.

plus, he's also very energetic and jittery so cuddling isn't something that's crossed his mind to begin with.

you'd be the one to show him all of the different positions you could do, include those where you're just sitting next to each other.

he's definitely touchy since he's never experienced this before.

still kinda hesitant though because of his luck ://

he needs a lot of reassurance from you before he even thinks about fully cuddling in his sleep.

in fact, a lot of the time it'd be you who's cuddling him after a bad day.

i think his favorite position before fully allowing himself to cuddle would be ones with lingering touches.

like a simple arm slung over the shoulder and your legs crossing each others' in your sleep.

those small gestures.

but once he's used to cuddling...

he loves the idea of having you hold onto him while sleeping.

kinda like the sweetheart cradle with you being the one to hold him.

he just needs that reassurance that you're okay with him and his luck won't do anything to change that.

but sometimes you need to be cuddled too.

you're day has been rough, what with the countless things you needed to do that day (be it because of procrastination, schedule mishaps, etc.)

you'll head towards the adventurer's guild in search of bennett.

his dads all know you, of course, so whoever meets up with you takes him to wherever he is.

you wouldn't need to say a lot to bennett for him to know something's up.

probably just a small hum or murmur would be enough to clue him in.

you'd drape yourself over his back, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and digging your nose into his neck.

he'd jump for a moment, thinking someone else knocked into him because of his luck.

but then he realizes you and he relaxes.

he'd bring his hands up to rub your arm, hearing your muffled whines as he does so.

his dads would already notice you're having a bad day, so they don't say anything that'll disturb you two.

honestly? bennett would probably want to cuddle with you right then and there.

he's not one to get embarrassed too quickly, so he wouldn't mind.

but his dads bring up a good point that you both should probably be resting in an appropriate bed instead of the floor or a bench.

so the two of you would head home as soon as you could!

bennett would talk your ear off about his adventures that day.

if you don't wanna talk, he can do enough for the both of you!

anyway, you'd both head home and jump into bed as soon as you can.

he'd instinctively go to your standard position but then he remembers that you're in need of some well deserved cuddles.

so instead, he'll be the one to hold you close.

he'd let you rest your head on his shoulder or chest.

you could trace the scars running up and down his arms.

he'd rub your back lightly while talking about his adventures again.

he'd tell you tales of the mare jivari he's heard.

and when you're off to sleep, the stress leaving your system, he'd continue to rub his hand along your back.

"how about tomorrow we go on an adventure? just me and you. we could do whatever we want to get your mind off of things..."

chongyun -

this poor boy doesn't cuddle a lot!!!

he's gotta stay cold, y'know?

as much as he'd love to just wrap his arms around you all night, he can't...

but he will try!

he'd definitely try to push himself near the beginning of the relationship.

i'm talking forcing himself to cuddle all night, no matter how hot it gets.

but, as the loving s/o you are, you tell him that it's okay he can't do the full body cuddles like other people.

but he still wants that touch, even if it's a little.

his cuddles are the ones where only a certain body part is touching the other.

like his arm is up against yours or your legs are touching.

those types.

he feels bad he can't do more though :((

he for sure owns those cooling blankets, even if it isn't for cuddling.

if you're under one of those, it's more likely for him to try and give you a hug as you both drift off.

he'd eventually separate from the hug if he's feeling too hot.

and as much as you're okay with those small cuddles with fleeting touches, there are times where you just need a good cuddle full of hugs.

he'd come home from another day of trying to exorcise evil spirits, wanting to simply fall into bed where he knows it's nice and cool.

he'd greet you once he walks into your bedroom but he'd notice...

you're wrapped up in your blanket and hugging your pillow tight, acknowledging his entrance with a simple nod.

he doesn't know what's causing you to feel upset or stressed, but that doesn't really matter anyway.

he'd hop into bed right next to you, slowly unwrapping your body from the blanket.

you're still clutching onto your pillow once the blanket is gone.

he'd have to turn you over for him to even be able to look at you.

you're resting your cheek on top of your pillow while looking up at him with tired eyes.

he'll cup your cheek with his hand, smiling softly when you nuzzle into his cold palm.

he would stay on top of the sheets while you're lower body is tucked underneath it.

he'll rub his thumb along your skin, watching as your eyelids flutter every now and then.

"have you been awake long?"

you shake your head.

"i see... come here."

he'd open up his arms, a gesture you hadn't seen for a long time.

this one, however, was different.

he didn't have a forced smile on his face and his arms weren't tense like before.

this time, he had that soft smile you'd always see when you two are enjoying popsicles together and his arms were relaxed.

you'd scooch over the bed, tossing your pillow behind you as you nuzzle into his chest.

he'd let out a quiet chuckle before pressing a quick kiss to your forehead.

"i'm sorry i don't do this often."

"...it's okay. i like our cuddles no matter what."

"but you deserve this every once and a while."

you'd just hum in response, smiling at the feeling of his thumb rubbing your skin.

he won't talk as much as the other two, opting to keep the calm silence in your room.

you could hear his quiet breaths and his heart beating in his chest.

and you fall asleep to it, the feeling of his arms around your body permanently marked on your skin.

"i normally... get too hot when we cuddle like this. but now... it's feels really nice."

[hitozy]

have you ever ‹ masterlist › denouement

tw! manipulation, mentioned underage sex, dubious consent, cheating. i also want to point out that reader is around 2-3 years younger than Iwaizumi, while Jae and Iwa are the same age. ps. this is a long chp :)

𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞

Iwaizumi has no idea of what has possessed him tonight. He doesn't know why he's walking around the city in the middle of the night a day before he should be on his way home.

He doesn't know why after the celebration he didn't follow his teammates. He doesn't know why he has barely answered your texts since after the game.

He also doesn't know why he agreed to go and see Jae, to hear her out.

He's been doing fine so far, seven months Jae clean and while the first three were bumpy; your company had made it easier to deal with. Your cheerfulness, your happiness, the adventures you've both have been planning have taken his mind off the broken heart he was nursing.

She continued to contact him, even when he begged her not to and blocking her phone was no use, she just got a new one and tried again and again. His resolve was diluted and he knew it would be a matter of time before he fell into his old habits.

lil jae: congrats on the win haji! let me invite you to a drink, im in town.

-

Iwaizumi recalls an old memory from back in high school, a few weeks before moving to California, you were sitting on his bed helping him organize his suitcase with 'essentials'. His clothes all over the place but as always, you showed enthusiasm at helping him out.

He remembers you giggling and calling him a dork while folding his Godzilla themed underwear and placing it inside his suitcase. He remembers the way you hummed some songs that you had just placed on your shared playlist because 'it's kinda your style' and it kinda is. He even remembers what you were wearing, a pair of black running shorts and a blue tank top. When you reached over the edge of his bed for his fallen socks, your cleavage was visible to his eyes, 'If a man ever peers down his shirt', he thought, 'I'll kill him without hesitating.'

But what he remembers the most is you pulling out an old shoe box from under said bed, a shoe box that held his most treasured things. Pictures from his childhood that matched the ones on your bedroom wall, doddles from your hand, your favorite flowers pressed inside a copy of your favorite book, short stories and poems, snippets of stories never finished from you. He'll never forget your teary eyes and happy smile when he took the box from you, emptying the contents carefully inside his backpack. The hug you gave him afterward still sets his heart on fire, nothing has ever been more lovely than you and your happy smile.

He also remembers Jae coming into his room right during your hug, wearing an empty smile on her face, her eyes red and raging. He's only ever seen her this mad whenever he's with you and he still doesn't get it.

She stay's to "help" when in reality all she does is glare at yn the whole time. It helps that you don't even mind the glares or the bad mood, joking that 'Jae's grumpy because we couldn't go to the movies today'.

It was late afternoon when you left, Iwaizumi had given you a bag filled with some of his stuff - things he knew you loved and adored, things he couldn't take. He watched you get inside your parents car and wave him goodbye, even though you both knew he'd be coming through your window in a few hours for movie night.

He remembers when he came back inside to find Jae naked on his bed. How angry she was and how she took it out on sex, the tension so palpable he could taste it. Once it was over, she walked towards his backpack and pulled out all of YN's things and that's when it clicked. She was mad because he was taking stuff about YN and not her, she made it clear when Jae told him, 'What the fuck is this.'

-

He remembers that hours later, he finds himself in your room squeaky clean and wearing nothing but his sweatpants and socks, his back against your front with his head against your breasts. He hadn't told you that Jae broke up with him, but he knew you had figured out he was sad because your arms cradled him since he got situated there and had not moved since.

How Jae said she wouldn't move with him in the end. How she had decided to stay in Japan and have him go to California all alone in the end, just because she wanted him to. How he begged her to come, to stay with him, to not leave him and how he watched her get dressed to go home. How she winked at him as she left with a, "Call me once you're in Cali."

How she only wants to go out when she knows he has plans with you. How she only cares about him when you're around or how messed up and used he feels ever since she took his virginity during your 14th birthday party.

He feels disgusting sometimes after sex with Jae, disgusted with himself on how wrong it is but how much he loves her still.

He didn't have to say any of that to you, the kiss on the forehead you just gave him eased it all away anyway.

-

He remembers all of this while he's kissing Jae in her hotel room, her dress and underwear discarded somewhere in the room, his cock buried deep inside of her like a starved man, Her nails racking down his chest from his unbuttoned shirt as she moaned at the feeling.

When Jae separates herself from him with half lidded eyes, she smirks, "I bet my little cousin can't even kiss right, the little virgin." She kisses the column of his neck, grazing her teeth against the skin, getting ready to mark him as hers and even though he doesn't agree with her, he stays quiet.

A memory burst through his mind as he pounds into Jae. The way your sighed his name when he settled himself inside of you, the way your nails scratched his back when he hit your G-spot, the way you moaned when his thumb circled your clit; your gummy, tight walls griped him as you came, with his name on your lips. Your soft, pillow lips that have only been his, only kissed him.

"Be safe out there, Hajime! I'll be waiting for you!" She smiled as she kissed him goodbye by the front door.

He turned to deepen the kiss, pulling her closer to him like a starved man, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna runaway, mochi."

As he walked down the steps of his house, he heard her say "I miss you already."

It's then that Iwaizumi snaps out of it.

He pushes her off of him and steps back until his back is against the wall, feeling disgusted with himself in a way he hasn't since they broke up.

"I can't do this, I won't do this, I-" he pushes himself off the wall, tucking himself in and picking up his stuff, "Never again, Jae."

Jae watches him leave, a sinister smile spreading across her face. Her gaze steady as his figure disappears into the night, "If you think you can just up and go, Haji, you are very mistaken."

She walks to where she hid her phone and chuckles as she presses send, "Lets see what my little cousin has to say, hmm?"

-

Iwaizumi was worried, it wasn't normal for you to not answer his calls or texts. He was on the road back home with the team, their ruckus would usually give him a headache, but right now? Right now he can't focus on anything except the little 'unread' mark at the bottom of his last text to you.

my one: mochi? r u ok? im on my way back home

-

He didn't expect to come back home and find you in the living room in silence. Your eyes rimmed red and puffy from crying, you didn't have to say anything for him to know what had happened.

Jae told you.

He wish he could be surprised, but Jae had been nothing but a devil all this time and he can't believe he never saw it until now. Until he married you, an angel.

"Mochi, I'm sorry. I'm very very sorry, please talk to me." He knelt at your feet, his hands on your knees trying to get you to look at him. His guilt crashing down brick by brick, he should have never gone out to see her.

"I know this means nothing to you, mochi. But I'll never see her again, only when its a family reunion or you're with me."

Silence.

"There is no excuse, but yn, please, look at me, let me explain."

She pushes him off a bit, without much force as if her sadness took away all her strength and his heart clenched. How could he do this to his best friend? Lie and lie, again and again and again.

YN-”

“No, STOP! You- you got your say, now it’s my turn.” She's shaking and her breaths are short. She's starting to have a panic attack.

I get up and advance towards her slowly, “YN you need to calm down. Here,” I place my hand on her back, “let me-”

She pushes me off, her back towards me, “Please, don’t touch me. Please, please, please.” She's sobbing and its hurts so so much.

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.

“Remember your breathing exercises, mochi. In and out. In…”

Eventually her breathing normalizes but she still won't look at me and it takes all of my strength to not touch her.

“All I ever wanted was for you to love me, Hajime.”

Whoever said words can never hurt someone, has never been in my place. She just stabbed me without a knife and its more painful than I ever imagined.

“I wanted you to love me, to see me as your wife, as a woman but you didn’t. You don’t and I- it hurts so much.”

“But, mochi, you said you would marry me so we didn’t end up with strangers.”

“I know.”

“Then why-”

“I lied. I’ve loved you since the moment you came into my life. I’ve loved you for years, even before Jae came into the picture. I’ve loved you so so so much, I love you so much.”

“… you know about Jae? Since when?!” I made the mistake of reaching out for her, she pushed me back and said nothing. The dread of her knowing, of her finding out before today makes me sick.

“If you knew then why did you marry me!? Did you think I would change? That my feelings would change? You know I’m not like that.”

“I do know. I- thought that maybe-, but then it was clear that nothing would change but, I made a promise to you and I said it in our vows.”

“YN-”

“I know the mistake is mine. I know what all the blame is mine to take, I know it and I accept it. I’m sorry, Hajime, that’s me that you have to stay with.”

She finally turns to look at me, but I wish she hadn't. The tears are flowing steadily down her cheeks to her neck. I did this to her, I hurt her again and again, without thinking. No, without watching. Because if I had paid attention to her like Jae did, I might have seen it sooner.

“We could get a divorce, you know. That way you can stop getting hurt. Stop your heart from breaking. You don’t deserve this.”

“It’s okay. I- I give you permission to do it, to break my heart forever.”

“…What?”

She takes my hand, and in-between the tears she smiles at me as if her heart wasn't breaking in two. As if I didn't shatter her dreams for a few sloppy seconds, “It’s okay, I know what I signed up for, I knew it from the beginning. I guess I just didn’t want to accept it. So go ahead, break my heart, break it into a million pieces! I give you permission, Iwaizumi Hajime, please just - don’t leave me.”

I can't say anything, what am I supposed to say? My sweet, sweet girl is hurt and damaged and all she wants is for me to stay. I feel disgusted in a way I never did with Jae, because instead of being used, I am using her.

I bring her into my arms, and say the only words that have actual meaning between us, "I love you, mochi."

"I- I'll do better, I promise. Please YN," He gripped her shoulders tightly, "Please forgive me, I'll do whatever just, I'm so sorry, baby."

He can feel the tears spilling onto his shirt, a scorching pain expanding through his chest at the consequences of his actions. He hurt the one person who didn't deserve it, who he promised to keep safe and happy.

"Hajime, please take a bath, I wanna sleep without the smell of Jae."

His heart dropped at her words, he forgot that he had just upped and left from Jae's, only changing his clothes for comfort. His skin still smelled like her. As he separated from her, he kissed her forehead, "Join me?"

-

He laid on the bed with her hours later, her head on his chest where he could see her puffy eyes. She had washed him thoroughly to the point were he thought she had scrubbed him raw, and he couldn't blame her - he wanted to do the same since the beginning.

He pulled her closer, practically on top of him and felt her heartbeat against his own. He had done something terrible and he needed to fix it, fix this. So he needed to take the first step.

to lil jae: for someone who says they love me, u sure like to make me miserable. i don't know why u hate yn so much and tbh i don't care anymore. i don't want to see u or talk to u ever again. if u contact me, i'm gonna get a restraining order, jae. i can't do this anymore.

to lil jae: goodbye jae.

do you wish to block this number?

yes.

Remorse is memory awake, Her companies astir,— A presence of departed acts At window and at door.

Its past set down before the soul,         And lighted with a match, Perusal to facilitate Of its condensed despatch.

Remorse is cureless,—the disease Not even God can heal;         For ’t is His institution,— The complement of hell.

Remorse is memory awake - Emily Dickinson

taglist ! @daphnxy @zukoslosthishonor​ @i-am-a-hoe-for-shinya @mrsdoradominguez-barnes @anejuuuuoy

a/n! *hands you all this and runs* i'll see you soon for chp11~

but in all seriousness, i wrote this chapter with my heart on my sleeve. love is truly the strongest curse and for it to be unrequired? imagine it.

now, i'm off to write the next part! and i am sorry :) ♥

[writebecauseyoucannotbreathe]

Ultimate Ship Meme: Azulaang

Rate the Ship -  

Awful | Ew | No pics pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OTP to rule all other OTPs

How long will they last? - Until I say so. I can see them being together after death as spirits.

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - Ooooh boy. Azula struggles to understand friendship. I think she'd fall in love fast and hard but take the longest to realize. Aang wouldn't let himself get attached at first because Azula is unapologetic and one of the things I like about Azulaang is how it would push Aang to deals with the nitty gritty gray, not in a The Fire Nation was right all along way but in how even Kyoshi and Roku's conflict resolution let to disagreements. I think it would take Aang longer to fall in but once they reach a semblance of common ground he'd be well aware he's falling in love and would enjoy the ride.

How was their first kiss? - Let's see my fanfics. In Blue it was awkward. In Weightless it was sweet. In Smut it was horny and hate filled. In canon I think their first kiss would be very passionate and then they snap back to reality and Aang would evade while Azula denies so they wouldn't talk about it but they'd for sure be thinking about the kiss.

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Technically Azula. As soon as Aang hears about a Fire Nation wedding, either his friends or he learns about Ozai and Ursa's wedding, his mind would be set on a wedding. He wouldn't say anything but he'd squirrel away relevant wedding information like he'd hear a song and go "I want that instrument to play at my wedding." But Azula would have her life planned out by other people and there'd be a set date where Ozai now Zuko are supposed to comb through suitor requests (it was probably Ursa's role. If she's there she'd talk to Azula directly instead of Lo and Li. I don't think Lo and Li are high enough rank to determine the suitor but I think it would be customary/expected for their input to be asked). Azula would tell Aang something along the lines of "I should be wed." and he'd agree and then Azula will spend an abnormally long time wondering if he married her because he liked her or because it's his duty until she asks him while he's discussing potential baby room colors pre wedding.

Who is the best man/men? - Sokka and Toph. Azula was going to pick Momo but he made a better flower girl. Yes she did this to annoy Zuko (and because Toph didnt want to wear the bridesmaid outfit) it's okay though Fire Lord Zuko was the guest of honor.

Who is the braid’s maid(s)? - Katara, Suki, Mai, Ty Lee. Mai pretends she hates the outfit but she's secretly pleased.

Who did the most planning? - Aang did the most thinking but Azula did the most planning.

Who stressed the most? - Externally Aang. Internally Azula.

How fancy was the ceremony? -

Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.

100% Azula's fault. Aang has no clue what Fire Nation weddings are supposed to be like.

Aang: Wow I can't believe all weddings in your Nation are this big.

Azula: They're not. It's because I'm Royalty and you're the Avatar.

Though I hc that Aang wants to get married in all the different Nations and Azula secretly wants to experience a small wedding so they get married 3 more times with one of them being a very small Air Nation wedding.

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - Hmmm I'm not sure. On one hand, Ozai redemption. On the other hand, Ozai death.

Sex:

Who is on top? - Aang. Azula thinks she wants to be on top but she'd rather be pampered and Aang is more comfortable communicating and attending to needs. Aang has no strong preference either way and they do switch but this is their usual dynamic.

Who is the one to instigate things? - Azula but she denies it.

How healthy is their sex life? -

Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now

I think it's up to the reader's preference but I can see them being very private (Azula) and naturally talented (Aang) to the point where they assume every couple has sex daily. Hc that Aang and Suki talk about sex freely (ex: When I do __ should I __ or do girls prefer ___? I can never tell with Azula. Why do guys do ___ after ____ ? I've tried asking Sokka but he doesn't give me a straight answer.) Much to the fear of Sokka and Azula.

How kinky are they? -

Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head

Again up to the reader. They both like learning new things and are prodigies so I think they'd end up reading about things to try in bed (Azula) and would try things out to see what they like (Aang) until they learn what they and each other generally like/dislike.

How long do they normally last? - 

Does the Avatar State remove your refractory period? >;3c

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - No. Aang likes overstimulating.

How rough are they in bed? -

Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.

Neither can dirty talk. Azula is rougher. Aang likes to take it slow. She sets the pace in the beginning but he decides when it ends.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? -

No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.

Azula refuses to cuddle in public but in return they cuddle all night.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - hc them having twin boys at first with one firebender and one airbender because poetry. But Azula really wants a girl so they have a third child she is an airbender with Aang's charm and knack for getting in trouble and Azula's ruthlessness. Amon kidnaps her and instead of easily escaping (Aang's genes) she instead viciously mocks him the way only a preteen can (Azula's genes.) It's traumatic enough for Amon even before the parents show up. Then Aang wants another one and Azula wants another firebender so they do the do and surprise triplets! (maybe it has to do with ejaculatimg in the Avatar State lol) So 6 in total and lets say its 3 boys 3 girls with 3 airbenders 3 firebenders.

How many children will they adopt? - None. Azula is wary of motherhood and I know people like to hc Aang as adopting and while I can see him acting as a father figure to several kids I think he'd greatly prefer biological kids especially airbenders. It's a flaw that was barely touched upon and def not handled well in Legend of Korra.

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Servants or Aang. After a kid or two Azula would be comfortable enough to change the diapers but it would still be mostly Aang.

Who is the stricter parent? - Depends on the kid. Aang is more lenient with airbenders and Azula with firebenders or girls. I can see Azula being strict with training & studies but not with sharing whereas Aang would have less rules but they'd be more heavily enforced (ex: no airgliding without supervision until you've mastered the safety course)

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Azula. She's pretty lenient with the term dangerous esp. when it comes to firebending as long as basic safety measures are applied (ex: you can pracrice lightning as long as it's not pointed towards yourself aka dont be Zuzu) but Aang is of the mindset "How are you gonna learn airbending without dangerous stunts?" And after the first few incidents she started stepping in.

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - Azula but Aang cooks them.

Who is the more loved parent? - Appa

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? Azula. When Aang attends the teachers shower him and his kids with compliments ("You're doing so well teaching your kids the values of the Air Nomads. It must be so hard being The Last Airbender"). They do the same with Azula but unlike Aang she sees through it and manages to get an accurate assessment of how their kids are doing.

Who cried the most at graduation? - Aang was more happy than sad. Azula cried before and after.

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Aang. He is a notorious lawbreaker. Azula would bail the kids and she could do so quicker than Aang in a few cases because of her connections but she'd be mad so their kids would rather call Aang or break themselves out.

Cooking: 

Who does the most cooking? - Tied. Aang at first but then Azula wants to learn and after Aang teaches her since she has less experience she finds more enjoyment in cooking.

Who is the most picky in their food choice? - 

Technically Aang since he's a vegetarian. Azula hasn't tried as many foods and she's used to not making a fuss at the family dinner table to the point of which Aang notices.

Who does the grocery shopping? - Both. Aang has a better eye for vegetables/fruits and Azula is better with prices (it's not about the cost it's about the value).

How often do they bake desserts? - Aang bakes them when he can/weekly. They're fruit based so if Azula doesn't want dessert he gives it to Momo or flings it at a target.

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - Gee I wonder. Aang eats salad Azula eats meat.

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Aang but Azula tends to figures it out. Azula is more likely to plan a dinner but she wouldn't make it a surprise.

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Aang but Azula is a close second. It would be a tie if it wasn't for the bathhouse.

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidently while cooking? - Accidentally? Aang. On purpose? Azula.

Who cleans the room? - Servants or Aang.

Chores: 

Who is really against chores? - Azula hates cleaning up but she's neater.

Who cleans up after the pets? - Aang.

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Aang.

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - Azula.

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Aang.

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Azula. In the Fire Nation Palace Aang has taken to chatting with Azula in the Royal Spa while he feeds her (and mostly himself) cherries.

Misc:

Who takes the dog Appa out for a walk? - Aang

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - Never. Once they like the room they like the room. If its an event they'll go to a different location for it or leave the Air Temple as is.

What are their goals for the relationship? -

To stay together.

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? -

Aang slept for a hundred years so I'll give it to him.

Who plays the most pranks? - Tie. They've both pulled elaborate pranks as kids.

[kezibun]

A storm of a hunt part 3

Part 1

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You hesitantly tell him your name, maybe he was actually just being nice?

"Huh… cool name..." He mumbles.

A waft of coldness crawls over your skin, making goose bumps rise. You can't stop the shiver that follows it.

 "Oh shoot." Papyrus sighs. "That damn heater." 

He stands up, then kicks the little heater a few times and presses the button, but nothing happens. He seems to give up on the heater and you watch him as he walks over to the box labelled torture. Your whole body is tense but you keep you're eye on him as he rummages through the box. He's looking for something that you can be sure of.

 After all this was he really going to hurt you? After what's been said? What will he find in there? What does he want? Maybe he's looking for something to tie you up with. 

 He's just playing some kind of sick game again, like everyone else in this hell hole. You shouldn't trust anyone, not even down here. You just can't especially since all you've been met with is manipulation, lies and treachery. 

Maybe now you could try to escape, slip away while his back is turned. But as you try and sit up, a sharp pain burns in your side, there is no way you're going anywhere while you're in this agony. You sit back down and instinctively hold your injuries, not that it helps. Why does everything hurt worse once you've had a minute to rest?

 Papyrus comes over with something. It looks like a big metal tin. How Is he going to hurt you with this?

He kneels on the floor, setting the tin down, he's filled it with wood and sticks. Then he snaps his fingers over it, an orange spark floats down settling on a twig, it fizzles briefly as it sets alight. The fire is slow to grow but it already feels warmer than the small space heater. The flames grow and dance as they cast an amber glow. You're mesmerised for a moment.

"Do your injuries still hurt?" His question snaps you out of it.

"Yeah, those traps did quite the number on me." You say with a nervous laugh. 

"Let me check your HP."

"Wa-"

In that second the world around goes dark, an encounter? You feel fear creep over you, this wasn't good. 

"-It…."

Damn is he going to fight you? Or just check you like he said? If this was going to be like any of the other monsters you'd encountered before? you're sure it won't be fun.

You look over to your HP. There's something weird about it, it doesn't seem right, and that makes your stomach churn with even more nerves. You don't know what's wrong but It can't be good.

 He stares at you intently for a second.

'Papyrus cheeked your stats he doesn't seem happy with what he sees.' 

It's your turn now. His name is yellow, you know what that means. You're tempted to take a peek at his stats but you really don't have the energy right now and you're pretty sure he won't appreciate it. You are definitely not up for a fight, so you choose mercy. Everything fades back to normal. That wasn't so bad.

He then just walks out, leaving you behind and alone. The only sounds that keep you company are the crackling fire in front of you and the howling wind outside. 

You sigh and huddle up by said fire, pulling the jacket around you again as you wonder what on earth he saw that he didn't like. You hope whatever it was won't get you hurt. How did you ever end up in this situation? If only you could remember.

 You feel the warmth of the fire almost wrap around you as it seeps in and you finally start to thaw. Your toes almost sting like pins and needles as the feeling starts coming back to them. 

It wasn't long though until Papyrus was back, he entered silently like he'd just appeared in the room.

He holds a brown paper bag out to you, "Eat this." 

You take the bag, inside is a donut with black icing and a purple cobweb design on top. You usually would have been suspicious of such a gift, just in case it was poisoned. But at this point you don't really care, you're just happy to get some food. All you can do now is sort of trust him right? as much as you might dislike it. What other choice do you have?

"Thanks." 

You take a bite of the donut, the first flavour you get is sugar, it's very sweet, there also seems to be a bit of a spiced flavour then you taste the weirdest thing, you're hit with a faintly meaty flavour like chicken, mixed with a slightly fishy taste? and there's a dubious crunch to it. Then following it is a sandy texture that tastes smokey, but it's all then taken over by the alcoholic aftertaste that hits next. Despite the weirdness it's actually pretty good, better than snail pie to say the least, possibly the second best thing you've eaten since falling down here, the first being that candy that kept you alive through the ruins. You finish off the whole donut.

Wait. A sudden strange feeling washes over you, you feel the urge to check your stats. Did you just level up? That's kinda mysterious but cool, why would that have happened?

He then sits in front of you.

"What are you doing?" You ask.

"Your wound…How's it?"

"It um... feels a little better."

"Let me check it?" He asks.

You pause and take a moment to think. "I… don't know…" Is the only reply you could conjure up.

"It's ok."

He pulls the jacket off your shoulder.

"Hey don't." You grab his wrist.

He takes your hand and moves it off his wrist with a scowl. Then he pushes your ripped top up enough to see your wound. 

You flinch as his cold phalanges brush against your skin. 

"Sorry." He mutters, but he doesn't stop what he's doing, he looks over your badly wrapped wounds.

Now that he's so close you notice how his cheekbones seem to have a faint rusty glow to them, and he's actually pretty cute. No you can't be thinking like that. He's a skeleton monster that just hunted you down in a snowstorm, and scared you half to death. Not to mention you're now in his torture shed.

"The trap had some magic that stops it healing. I'm gonna to treat it. Can I… um...?" He gestures to your injuries and you fill in the gap.

You think for a minute… Is it smart to let him treat you? Probably not. But it might be your only chance, if anything he's saying is true.

"I did a pretty shoddy job with wrapping it up didn't I? Just be careful... I'd rather not die today you know…" You mumbled. Maybe that hint was a little too obvious, you feel like you basically just yelled please don't kill me. Would it be better to just beg for your life? Would that get you anywhere? Could you let go of what little pride you have left?

"You're lucky. I... can't have you dying yet." He takes his phone out and gets a first aid kit from his inventory. "Could ya hold your shirt up?" 

You do as he asks and hold up your top, the cool air is sharp to your newly exposed skin, you can't help but shiver some more.

"You humans sure feel the cold don't ya?"

Is he trying to strike up a conversation? Or just making an oddball comment?

Either way you don't really answer him… 

And with that he quickly warms his hands over the fire before he ever so carefully unwraps your bloody makeshift bandage. You watch his every move carefully, making sure there's no foul play. He then gets out a small round pot from the first aid kit, it's white with a green symbol on the lid.

"This'll sting but it'll help."

He applies the light green cream, it has a peculiar scent that can only be described as warm and kind, but it feels like he's just rubbed nettles over your flesh, that means it's working right? For you're benefit you hope. He then wraps your wound up, it's not too tight but definitely tighter then whatever you'd managed before. He pulls his jacket back around you. 

"You should try and get some sleep." He pats your head before he sits down next to you. 

"Are you staying?" 

"Yeah. Rest. I'll stay guard."

"Why are you helping me?" You query.

"It's complicated." He huffs. "No more chit chat. Just sleep already." He pulls the hood over your face roughly.

"Ok." You yawn as you lean into the corner of the shed, the wooden wall is cold and hardly an ideal pillow but you are so tired it barely bothers you, you close your eyes and soon enough you're asleep. 

. . .

"MUTT! have you lost your mind?" 

"Hush M'lord, They're sleepin'."

"YES SLEEPING AND NOT DEAD." 

"I can't kill em." 

You open your eyes slightly, stirring awake from the commotion and loud voices. 

You see Papyrus and the other skeleton, his brother?

"Then let me at the darn human." He snaps.

"M'lord you can't." Papyrus stops his brother from getting closer.

"AND WHY NOT!?"

"I told you. I need to figure it out. Trust me."

"You're going soft, don't forget your duty Papyrus! You have a week! NO THREE DAYS! Figure out whatever the heck you need to then get rid of that pest, that rodent." He starts walking off. "If Alphys finds out, I'm dead, this will be the end of my malevolent career. The Queen will have our heads for this! YOU KNOW THAT RIGHT?" He huffs as he storms out. 

You're still so tired… your eyelids are too heavy to keep open… With this new silence you can't stay awake for even a second more.