#so with men it was usually one and done id get my ass kicked but the cycle was perpetuated by their crusty girls

[twunkzilla]

Once you meet like cishet dudes that are actually cool and you can dudebro around its the funnest shit I'm like dude imagine for every birthday as a kid you just got barbie dolls and dollar store nail polish and they were like broooo that sounds awful I know your pain

[chloe-online]

I've dreamt about this

I obviously had to write for Leon, I have a story for Chris, Karl, and Carlos. Leons one of my boys <3 this will hopefully turn out fluffy. this is all over the place, sometimes it's from Leon's pov, sometimes it's from yours, please bear with me. id totally be down to maybe write a fluffy part two! enjoy!

pairing: Leon Kennedy x fem!reader

warnings: cussing, descriptions of a kiss?

words: 1700

synopsis: Leon dreams about you, he won't admit it but he really likes you. you guys may just be friends but a night of watching sports at his place may lead to something more.

Leon wasn’t obsessed with you. He didn’t have a shrine dedicated to you in his closet, nor did he pray to god that one day you’d be his. Occasionally he dreamt about you, nothing creepy or sexual, but he dreamt that you guys were together kicking the enemies ass with you as his partner. While he really liked you, he understood that you guys were friends, nothing could happen between you two, right?

A sign left Leon’s lips, he took a sip from his beer. His eyes fixated on the clock, it was 11:24 pm, the football game was really dragging out, the referees were really bad at calling the shots, wasn’t that interesting of a game anyways.

Out of the blue, there was a knock on the door, ‘who could it be? It’s late’ Leon got up to check anyways. He focused on a polaroid on his front shelf, it was an old picture from when he and y/n when you two graduated the police academy. Of course, now he wasn’t exactly a cop, although the training came in handy, and you weren’t a cop either.

Leon took another sip from his beer and opened the door to you with your arms crossed, looking very angry. His jaw dropped, you were in this gorgeous skin-tight cream color dress, and these white high heels making you about 3 inches taller. Your makeup was all done up, despite the fact that you didn’t wear it often, your hair was curled and flowed beautifully, you even had a purse over your shoulder, usually, you put your stuff in a small backpack and ditched purses.

“Men are so shitty!” you let yourself into his house and kicked your heels off, Leon closed the front door and followed you into the living room.

“Wait so what happened y/n?” this didn’t seem like you, rarely did you go on dates, when you did you never really got upset if it went too wrong.

“I was on a stupid date with some stupid guy at a stupid restaurant. When I finished the stupid food he wanted to take me to his stupid house to see my stupid “gorgeous body” that was hiding underneath my stupid dress! He was in it for sex!” you plopped onto the couch, Leon placed a hand on your shoulder and sat beside you.

“So you had a stupid date huh?” Leon chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

“Somethin like that,”

“I’m sorry you had such a shitty night, but uh, your welcome to stay here for the night, the games almost done but we could still have a few drinks. The guest bedrooms all set up,” you smiled at him, he’d always been so nice to you, perhaps that’s why you guys were such good friends, you always got along.

“Leon that sounds lovely, I’m assuming you don’t have any of my clothes in that guest bedroom I could change into though huh?” Leon shook his head.

“Darn, you think I could just borrow one of your shirts or something?” a pale shade of pink painted across Leon’s face just at the thought of you in one of his shirts.

“Uh y-yeah, of course. Go pick on out from my bedroom, you know where it is,” you thanked him and headed to the end of the hall to go change out of your uncomfy dress. Leon took a deep breath, you were probably about to come out looking so fucking good. He got up to get two beers, for when you came back of course. He checked himself out in the mirror and fixed his hair, he had to look good, even if you were just friends. He placed the beer bottles on the wooden coffee tables and sat down to wait for you. 5 minutes passed and you still weren’t back, so went to see if you were okay.

“y/n, is everything okay in there? Can I come in?” Leon knocked on the door, waiting for a response. He would’ve just went in, but you were in there, he didn’t to accidentally walk in on you changing.

“Y-yeah, you can come in, there was just a bit of an accident,” Leon opened the door to a whole bunch of his pants in a pile on his bed, beside it was you, putting them back on hangers. His eyes flew to what you were wearing, one of his shirts was draped over your petite figure, he could slightly see your ass, the shirt didn’t fully cover it and you weren’t wearing any pants underneath. The pink on Leon’s cheeks deepened as he scanned your figure.

“I-I’m sorry, I was trying on some of your pants but they didn’t fit and it’s taking a little longer than expected to put them all away,” Leon squeezed his eyes shut and pushed his tongue against the top of his mouth with a sign. Maybe it was the alcohol speaking, but you looked so goddamn sexy in his clothes. He opened his eyes and examined you again.

“It’s okay, I’ll help you p-put them away,” he was getting flustered just by seeing you, he was trying to hide the fact that he was clearly into you. You put the pants on the hanger and Leon put them away in his closet, it only took 5 minutes with the both of you.

“I’m sorry it happened in the first place,” you sighed, feeling embarrassed. You apologetically furrowed your eyebrows and slightly smiled. Little did you know Leon was going crazy over what you were wearing, he really didn’t mean to look, you were just so stunning.

“It’s okay, it’s cleaned up now, no need to worry,” he swallowed, it wasn’t your fault you didn’t fit in his clothes.

“Is the football game still on?” you sat back down on his couch, taking your beer from the coffee table.

“Oh uh, yeah, there’s 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter. It’s almost done but there’s still time for our team to win,” you got comfortable on the couch, sipping from your beer every so often.

“Leon do you have any snacks?” you put your beer down and sat up straight. There were only 3 minutes left in the game but you guys were probably going to just watch something else after anyways.

“Yeah, in the cabinet closest to the fridge,” you got up and went to the kitchen to see what there was to choose from. When you walked past Leon he was at ass level so his entire vision was just your ass for a few seconds. He watched as you disappeared around the corner into the kitchen and reappearing with a bowl of chips and two more bottles of beer.

“God today was so stressful, this is just what I needed. Thank you, Leon, for everything,” you held your fresh beer bottle up towards him.

“Cheers,” you two clinked bottles and took a lengthy sip. You scooched over closer to Leon and kinda cuddled into him. He looked down at you, the football game just ended and you were just cuddled up next to him. You smelled like lavender, and your hair was a deep y/h/c. You were beautiful, Leon couldn’t help but cherish this moment.

“Your so amazing Leon, I wish there were more guys like you,” Leon tensed up, he was a guy like him. He was the only guy like him.

“I’m a guy like me,” Leon blurted, immediately regretting it. You looked up to look right into his eyes.

“Yeah, but I mean, would this work? We’ve been friends for so long, I fear that if it didn’t I’d lose you for good,” you sat up and faced him, drowning in his ocean blue eyes. You’ve never told anyone but you really liked Leon. He’d always be such a funny, genuine, amazing person that treated you like a motherfucking queen. Through thick and thin he was there, when you cried, when you laughed, when you’re mad, when your jumping from wall to wall in happiness. He’d been there through it all, ever since police academy you guys have been best friends, always attached at the hip. You thought about what it’d be like if you guys tried being more than friends, but there was the chance that you’d lose him for good, and that just wouldn’t do.

“y/n, you will never lose me, ever. It’s you and me against the world,” he smiled, “literally sometimes,” he was referring to the raccoon city incident, that’s how they met. You gave him a slight punch. Leon sat up and got close to your face, his breath going down the opening of your shirt, and noses almost touching.

“I really think this could work, we just have to try, I know you feel something,” there was a sense of unfamiliarity in his voice, you’d never heard his voice go so deep and raspy, and yet it was full of love, like genuine interest in you, it was difficult to comprehend let alone explain.

“Well then,” you put your arms on his shoulders and held them together behind him, “let’s try it out,” he initiated the kiss. He pushed his lips onto yours and you just leaned into it. It was so graceful, our noses bumped, his warm lips so soft and pillowy against mine. Warmth blossomed in Leon’s chest, butterflies dancing in your own. I could taste our shared beer breath and feel our combined heartbeat. I loved how warm his body was against mine, how he addictively invaded all my senses. We were glued to each other, Leon was tangling his hand in your hair. Hesitantly, you slowly pulled away smiling. You were out of breath in every good way. That kiss made you feel like a million dollars.

“That’s something I could get used to,” Leon chuckled. He pulled you in for a warm hug.

“y/n I swear everything’s going to be okay,”.

“Yeah, I know,” you cuddled up to him and held him close. For once, you felt at home, you felt like you were finally where you belong, right in Leon’s arms.

tags:

@thatgoblin

[mostribelle]

Bulletproof

You're Dean Winchesters teenage daughter who is trying to have a fun night out with some friends, but it never seems to go how its supposed to go...

Gif not mine, credit to owner.

Warnings: mention of alcohol

Words: 2604

The brunette swayed to the loud beat of the club as people passed by her. Tonight was her one night off from hunting and she was ecstatic. Her dad and uncle were back at the bunker, just having a relaxing night in with Castiel and her grandpa. Being seventeen and having a dad who does illegal things such as fake IDs was great. She could get into any club she wanted since she had the classic Winchester look. Now, of course, she hadn't told them she was headed here, or else her dad would for sure ground her for life. So she lied and said she was going over to Kallies house- which wasn't entirely a lie since she was there and they did get ready together. She never told them that's where she was staying. So as she ran her hand through her long hair, she felt a hand grip her waist and she turned to look over her shoulder and snickered when it was her friend's older brother.

Kallies older brother, Damon, was twenty-one and their DD for the night. He made sure not to let the girls out of his sight, or else his mom would kill him. Bailey turned around as she swung her hips side to side, "Thought you were supposed to be watching your little sister," she wouldn't lie. He was insanely attractive- but never did anything despite her friend saying it would cool to have her bestie and her brother together. Then again, Kallie was into cliches and all she read were books on Wattpad.

Damon grinned like a Cheshire cat as he lowered his hands so they rested on her hips. "-Well, if you paid any attention in the last fifteen minutes, you would have noticed that she is sitting down with one of her besties in the corner." He smirked at her crestfallen expression. The brunette paused her dancing to glance for her friend and when she spotted the girl snoring in the corner with one of Damons friends, she smacked the man's chest.

"You ass! I-I thought she actually found someone else here.." She tried to frown, but when he gripped her chin so she was forced to look up at him, she smiled shyly.

Damon's black hair shone purple as the lights changed and an older song came through the loudspeakers. He chuckled with a shake of his head. "Sorry baby, just thought to shake you up a little." He grinned when Everybody by the Backstreet Boys came on. The girl's eyes widened as the song came on and she immediately dragged the man out to the center of the dance floor. She started grinding her hips all over and tensed a little when he stepped closer so she ground on him. When he bent down to her ear, he whispered, "S'okay Bails... Just go with the flow of the music and if you feel uncomfortable, tell me alright?" He backed up a little when she nodded in understanding.

The music grew quieter she swore as he grabbed her softly. She would usually never be like this, but she blamed the alcohol that she had consumed. She was so into the music that she hadn't noticed her phone ringing in the dress pocket. Damon felt something buzz and when he looked down, he saw a light emitting from the small slit and he reached down to grab it. Panic rose in her chest and she tried to pull away but he gripped her tightly to his chest as people danced around them.

"Damon! W-what are you doing?" She turned around just in time to see him raise the phone to his ear and answer. He heard Dean on the other hand and inwardly cursed. The man held his finger up to silence her and that's when she noticed it was her phone and it was probably her dad. "Fuck!" She cried out and pulled him away through the crowd and into a dark hallway. With an extra push, she opened the exit door and they stood outside.

She watched Damon's facial expressions twitch every so often as if Dean was going off.

Damon nodded, "Sir she's fine. We are in the basement with a few other of my friends and hers-"

Silence until the man nodded again.

"Yes, do you want to talk to her?" He shot her a curious look to which she waved her hands as no. Her dad would know for sure she was drunk. She could never lie to her daddy. Before Damon could say she was busy, Dean immediately said yes. He shot her a knowing look. "Uh okay, she's right here-"

The phone was passed to her and she inwardly cried. This would not end well.

In a sickly sweet voice, "Hiya, daddy!" She winced at her loud voice. He either ignored it or already knew she was wasted.

"Hey baby girl, you busy at the moment? Damon seemed out of breath." Eyes wide, she slapped the man's arm and he cried out 'what did I do?'

"Ah, no way! You crazy old man-" she hiccuped and bit her lip quick after. "I'm totally fine. He just came down the stairs and you know him, outta shape." She joked lightly.

Dean sighed into the phone. He rubbed his eyes before glancing at his dad and brother. The three men in the room all shared a knowing glance. "Baby girl?" He received a small 'yeah' before responding, "Where are you really. I know you're drunk so tell me where you are." He heard her swear loudly which made him chuckle. He was pissed. But he knew she just wanted to have a little fun and he wouldn't be so harsh on her.

She mumbled her coordinates and heard Dean curse.

"You're at Lights?!" The girl winced at his loud tone but meekly answered him. She heard a voice in the background before he spoke again. "Look, just stay with Damon and Kallie... I'm on my way." He hung up and she felt terrible.

She not only lied to her dad but also went to the club where she had gone missing one time during a vampire case. Damon wrapped his arms around the crying girl, she just sobbed. Her makeup was smeared, her heels were off and she wore his jacket as they stood in the front of the club. It had been fifteen minutes since she heard from her father and now she was scared. Damon told her that Kallie was just with a few friends of hers and their boyfriends so she relaxed.

"I'm sure it'll be okay. He's just worried and it didn't help that you lied," he tried to joke but she was so deep in her thoughts she hadn't noticed. 

The girl heard a familiar rumble of Baby and she tensed up. Damon rubbed her arm soothingly as if it would help but she was so terrified of what her father would say. These were the times she wished her mother was still here. To calm down her dad when she did stupid teenage rebellion things. When the car came into view, she gently pushed away from Damon and walked to the edge of the curb. The door slammed shut and out walked her dad, she peeked into the car and saw her uncle in the passenger side with pursed lips. Bailey's bottom lip quivered when he neared her. She went to open her mouth to say how sorry she was but turned around to vomit. Damon backed up and frowned as she cried.

Dean rushed over and wrapped his arms around her but not before wrapping his flannel around her shivering body. The sobs wracked her frail body as she turned into her father's chest. Dean's harsh glare found the eldest Fritellie's eyes and mouthed to leave them. With one last glance, Damon walked back into the building and the door shut behind him. Dean's temper eased as he was left alone with Bailey. The young girl mumbled apologies to her father but he just shushed her and ran his hands through her hair.

Dean could see how the nightmares affected how she behaved. She had been withdrawn from her whole family since she was kidnapped. That was three months ago. Sam and John had just brushed it off as her being a rebellious teenager. Dads know best.

Slowly but surely, she grew tired and rested her cheek to his heart. Dean bent down a little at the knees to pick her up bridal style and carry her to Baby. Sam saw the pair come closer and he got out to open the door. Dean kissed her forehead before letting her down and onto the seat. She turned into the flannel and yawned before letting herself fall back asleep.

Shutting the door quietly, Dean turned to rub his face when Sam opened his mouth. "I think she should see someone, Dean. This- This was okay for the first week but now it's going on three months. Three, Dean." At his brother's words, the elder Winchester scoffed and kicked the dirt.

"Ya don't think I know that Sammy?! Of course, I do. I was there when she was found goddamnit," he sighed and placed his hands on his hips and pondered over the next move. "I'll talk to her in the morning about it. I ain't forcing her though. Maybe Cas can help her." He said the last part more for himself than Sams.

The pair stayed silent all the way back to the bunker.

Dean drove into the garage and parked Baby before getting out and picking up his baby girl. She groaned a little but nuzzled into him again. John was in the den with a cigarette and a bottle of beer when the door opened and he heard heavy footsteps. Dean walked by with Bailey in his arms and Sam turned into the room. The younger Winchester sibling sat down with a sigh and shook his head at his dad.

"She's not well. Dean says he sees it, but he hasn't done much to help her. Maybe I should just-"

John cut him off with a glare. "You will not be doing anything, boy. Bailey is your niece and his daughter. You know how your brother is. He will do something on his own terms. That's how he's always been." He grumbled into the beer. Sam huffed out in annoyance for his dad taking his side.

Inside Bailey's room, were polaroids of her and her friends hanging on the walls. A family picture hung above the teen's bed along with some tickets to concerts she had been to with her dad. Dean had taken off her shoes and threw them onto the ground as he tucked her under the covers. He grabbed her hand and sat on the edge of her bed, watching over her. He wished his mother was here to help him out. He knew his little girl felt lost without a mother figure in her life, but he also felt that if he did find someone, she'd think he was replacing her.

Dean loomed over her before placing a chaste kiss on her head and walking to the door. He closed the door softly, before walking to his own room. He would have gone back to the den and sat with his dad and brother but he was angry at Sam for telling him what he already knew.

Dean took off his clothes, climbed under the blankets, and closed his eyes.

His mind wandered to if he'd been a terrible dad lately, causing her to rebel and sneak off without his permission. Or lie straight to his face at your whereabouts. He never really believed in God until he met him, nor did he really ever pray. But he now silently asked the heavens what to do to help his little girl out.

Sleep caught Dean in its warm embrace and his dreams were plagued with what to do with Bailey.

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

Sam stood by the counter with his earbuds in as he mixed his early morning post-run drink. John sat at the kitchen table across from Dean, both had coffee mugs in front of them- one laced with whiskey. The eldest Winchester kept his gaze on the newspaper, looking out for any new hunts or leads for one. The trio heard light footsteps come down from the hallway and towards them. Bailey entered the silent room and walked over to the coffee pot. Reaching up she grabbed her favorite mug- it was a family picture along with Cas.  She poured some creamer into the mug before the coffee.

John was the first to speak. "Have fun last night, baby doll? Sure seemed like it when we called you." Dean shot his dad a quick glare but just shook his head.

Bailey looked down into the mug with shame in her soft eyes. "I'm sorry pops. I-I have no idea what went through my head when I disobeyed you guys," she mumbled out and stirred her coffee before speaking quieter, "I'm up for any form of punishment."

At her words, Sam set down his smoothie and ripped out his earbuds. "Sweetheart, you do not deserve to be punished for being a teen." John shot his youngest son a confused glance, for last night he was up to damage. Sam must've noticed because he spoke again, "I felt different last night but I then realized that you're a teen. Hell, when your dad was your age he was ten times worse!" They all share a small laugh except Dean who rolls his eyes. Sam continues with a softer tone, "I- We all know how hard it's been since the incident... You're only seventeen, baby girl. We are worried about you." When he finished, Dean released a sigh and scooted his chair back so Bailey could sit with him. The girl plopped herself down onto her father's lap and sipped her coffee before setting it down.

Dean wrapped one arm around her waist and began to speak, "Even though we were very upset last night, not for the reason you were there, but the fact that you lied straight to my face. I know how it is baby, you're young. You've never done that before, not that I know of," he muttered the last part soliciting a laugh from Bailey.

"Let me cut this shit short- we are all worried as hell about you baby doll. You're our everything. Our main goal in this short life is to make sure you live it to the fullest. You can't do that if you're dead at the bottom of a ditch." John was straight to the point, and it scared Bailey. She had never seen her pops this serious. The brunette reached her hand out to wrap it around his own.

John squeezed it with a tightlipped smile.

"You should see someone baby girl. I know it will suck at first, but if you won't talk to us or your friends about it, it will never go away. Trust me. It haunts you forever. Please baby, for me?" Dean spoke sadly and watched as his little girl nodded before a tear slipped down her cheek.

The girl continuously nodded, which made her dad wrap his hands around her tighter. He kept mumbling "I love you" into her ear, resulting in her sobbing into her father's shirt.

[neutron-stars-collision]

The Art of Inversion

Neil x Reader

Chapter 15 - Make Up Your Mind

Masterlist; Chapter 14

Summary: The mission in Oslo does not go exactly to plan, forcing you to face irritated Neil. What unfolds then surprises you both...

Warnings: A little dose of hurt (nothing graphic however); swearing; some nsfw content (nothing too explicit as well; yet)

Author’s Notes: Okay so here we go, my first attempts at a little more than kissing... It turned out that once I let these two loose, they knew exactly what to do. I’m terrified but also excited to see what you all think! Feedback will be greatly appreciated! Enjoy!!!

The next day went by in a mad blur, filled with perfecting the plans, getting hold of the equipment, and rehearsing the itinerary. The only plus side of your late evening encounter with Neil was the return of texting. It became not only the most fun part of the day but also an opportunity to talk to him freely, without the curious stare of TP, who seemed confused by the dynamic between you. But then you could not blame him when Neil had the nerve to send you rather questionable texts during the hours spent planning…

“I can’t help but wonder whether to treat what you did last night as a promise” as soon as you read the message, you raised your head to look at him across the room.

There he was, nonchalantly sipping the espresso you handed him mere ten minutes prior. When he noticed your look, he smirked. Intentional teasing in public was new. You wondered whether that was a punishment for your own provocations the previous day. And the very self-indulgent kiss. If so, then you probably did deserve it. One thing was certain, it was hard to forget how it felt to touch his skin beneath that shirt. Or the sound he made when it happened. The memories flashed before your eyes, and you blushed. Neil noticed but luckily chose to keep the information to himself. In response, you typed back:

“Maybe, if you behave nicely, you’ll see soon ;)” you hit sent and got up to help Mahir with choosing the right kind of gun for the job.

You certainly did not ignore the way Neil’s eyes lit up when he received the text. Or the way he made sure to brush against you on the way to the bathroom. Hiding a grin in your coffee cup, you had to admit that you liked this evolution of events.

The next day, with the operation set to begin at eight o’clock in the evening, you were forced to spend most of the day in the hotel room. You have all decided that for the sake of safety, it was best that TP and Neil have not been seen meeting anybody before their scheduled visit in the Freeport. And so you have spent hours watching tv, going over the plan and conversing with Mahir, who turned out to be an excellent companion. He entertained you with tales from his previous Tenet missions, usually just as crazy as the Oslo one. You responded by telling him the story of how you ended up in the organization. Before you knew it was time to go. You both got dressed in civilian clothes, based on what research told you about the clothing of the airport crew. The first part of the plan involved entering the perimeter of the Oslo Airport with the rest of the evening shift, blending in with the crowd, using the hi-vis vests and ID cards. When you succeeded, you located the Norskfreight plane. It was exactly where it was supposed to be, with the airport crew busily loading the compartment with the gold bars stacked on crates and secured with straps. So far, so good.

You checked the time. There was still some left till the beginning, so all you had to do was lay low, stay out of the spotlight and make sure you were on that meal cart when it will be loaded onto the Boeing. You hid in the shadows on the hangar, letting Mahir and his associate, Rohan, take up their posts. Using the few minutes of freedom, you glanced at your phone. One new text message.

“Stay out of trouble there, please” he must have sent it before they left the hotel.

Despite the rising anxiety, you smiled.

“Same goes to you. I need my idiot back” you typed, for once giving in to the temptation of honesty.

It felt like things were about to shift at any point now. And it was not as scary as you expected.

Mahir calling out your name brought you back to the present moment. You took a deep breath, checked the gun holstered underneath the vest, and joined your partners on the tarmac. Nodding politely at the guards that were to accompany you onto the plane, you sized them up. Three rather large men with years of experience guarding precious cargo. You should manage. As the lift went up and you stepped aboard the plane, you let the guards escort you to the compartments with the plane meals. The three of you unloaded the cart purposefully slowly. Your eyes met Mahir’s, and you nodded. It was time. Silently you counted the seconds before turning to the guard nearest to you and placing a cotton pad over his nose. When he passed out, you lowered him onto the floor and watched your partners do the same with the rest. You then dumped the sleeping bodies onto the cart and let Rohan send it down, sealing the plane door. You followed Mahir into the front of the plane, opening the cockpit door without knocking. When the two pilots turned to you with a startled look on their faces, you cocked the gun and showed it to them with a small smile. A clear signal.

“Don’t touch the radio,” Mahir warned and sat down on the additional seat in the cockpit.

Taking your position, you aimed the weapon at their heads, alternating between the men every few minutes, suiting your fancy. Sometimes it was terrifying how much you enjoyed having such power.

“Now, let’s begin” your partner motioned for the pilots to start up the towing procedure, pulling out from the hangar and onto the tarmac.

Their nervous gestures were somewhat adorable. You glanced back at Rohan, who was busy with the gold bars, slashing up the straps and preparing the grenade. Feeling the incoming explosion, you braced yourself against the ear-piercing sound. You were rolling down the taxiway now, at a comfortable speed. When the blow came, you flinched instinctively. The distant clamour of gold toppling onto the tarmac made you beam. Mahir got up and tapped you on the shoulder. Now for the fun part…

“Alright, gentlemen,” you grinned at the panicked pilots “Let’s get going” at their hesitation, you smacked your tongue and raised the pistol “You don’t want me to use this. Trust me” you winked.

That was enough. The got up hastily and left the cabin, while you followed behind with the gun ready to be used at any given moment. Rohan opened the front emergency door and unfolded the slide. Nudging their backs with the barrel of your Glock, you urged the crew to roll down the slide and onto the tarmac.

“Ouch,” you flinched when their bodies made contact with the surface.

That was bound to hurt. But then, supposedly, it was better than dying. Once that was done you made sure Mahir was on his task of steering the giant plane off the track and in the direction of the Freeport. Everything seemed perfectly executed. At least so far.

With the back wall approaching fast through the panoramic windows in the cockpit, it was time to work on the exit route. Rohan has opened the flap on the floor and lowered the ladder just as Mahir made sure that the plane was on the right track and stood up from the pilot’s seat.

For the last time, you checked the trajectory, the speed of the machine, and whether there were any signs of trouble around.

“Y/N, it’s time to go!” Mahir called you out from his place by the ladder.

Your ears perked at a strange sound coming from the lavatory on the side. That was worrying… Sensing trouble, your eyes’ met Mahir’s. You urged him to go on, hoping he will take the hint. With a small hesitation, he nodded and left the plane. You looked out of the window. You were approaching the building too fast. But there was no time to waste.

Using the training, you aimed the gun and kicked the toilet door open. You were met with a pair of startled yet determined eyes belonging to a young man. You realised he was probably delivering some papers when you barged in and so hid in the bathroom. Not checking was on you, a definitive fuck up. There would be time to dwell on it later. Now you had to act. One look at the boy was enough to let you know that he was harmless. You yanked him up from the toilet seat and wordlessly pushed him towards the doors open with the slides unrolled.

“What are you doing?” he stammered.

At least he can speak English.

“Saving your ass. Thank me later” you pushed him down the slide.

You could hear the sound of light posts toppled by the plane and the cars crushed by the rolling wheels. It was late. Perhaps too late. You could see the details of the building as you leaped towards the ladder. Fuck it. Landing on the penultimate step, you turned to see people running around, sensing the impending impact. It was definitely too late.

Just as you jumped, Boeing’s nose was two meters away from the wall. With that speed and overwhelming panic, you could not land properly and fell to the ground hard. The impact with the tarmac blew the air out of your lungs, and it took you a long 30 seconds to get up. When you did, the plane crashed into the wall with a bang. The explosion sending you back onto the hard surface of the runway. The instinct kicked in, and you tried to cover your head with your hands, bracing against the potential debris. That was a good decision as soon you felt the sting on different parts of your body left uncovered. You did not want to think about the future bruises and scrapes. Once the initial explosion died down and the biggest pieces of the wreckage fell, you pushed yourself up. Only now, when the adrenaline levels dropped, you realised that the pain was, partially, because a few articles of your clothing were singed. So burns too… brilliant. Your whole body ached, with few areas stinging more ferociously. You glanced at the detritus covering the tarmac all around you. It was a miracle you could do as much as get up and run away from the breach, using the remains of strength. You spotted Mahir and Rohan on the sideline of the crowd that assembled by the plane wreckage. The gold bars were by far the most interesting feature, and so it worked. Nobody stopped you as you joined the team. Worried looks from them both were enough to assure you that they saw what happened. But there was no time to talk.

You waited until the police forces arrived and then used the increasing confusion to slip out unnoticed. Glancing at the Freeport building, you could only hope that Neil and TP had more luck than you. Running away from the chaos, you noticed something strange on the periphery of your vision. You turned sharply and stopped, watching. Two men running with a stretcher. It was most likely nothing but… You would swear there was something familiar in the movements of one of them. It couldn’t be. He turned as though noticing your stare. Just for a quarter of a second, your eyes met. For some reason, you knew then that it was him. And he saw you, acknowledging your existence with widened eyes. The moment ended with Mahir tugging on your arm, urging you to follow him. When you turned again, there was no sight of the two men. Briefly, you wondered whether you should tell Neil, but you knew the answer. What’s happened, happened.

*** Escaping the Oslo Airport turned out to be rather easy. Despite the aching body and tiredness that was slowly catching up, you followed the plan. After splitting up with your partners, you hopped on the public transport that took you back to the city centre within a half-hour. The early reports were calling the incident a terrorist attack, and because of that, there were many people aboard the train that wanted to get away from the epicentre. You blended in well, choosing to sit by the window at the back. No one asked questions.

Once you made it back to the city, you went back to your hotel and changed into something more comfortable. Taking off the shirt, you frowned at the forming bruises, burns, and scratches littering the whole of your torso and back. Somehow, you knew that you will not be able to hide it from them. Especially not from Neil.

You glanced at your watch. You were late. Cursing, you sped up the movements, left the hotel, and hurried down the empty streets. Adjusting your hood now and then, you kept glancing at your phone. Just as expected, your lateness did not go unnoticed.

“Where are you?”

And then:

“Is everything alright?”

Normally, that would make you think, but with everything that happened tonight, you just replied.

“Yes, I’ll be there in 2mins” pocketing the phone, you practically jogged the rest of the way.

Using the skills in sneaking, you managed to pass the reception desk unnoticed. Upstairs, you knocked on TPs door and awaited a response. It did not take long.

Five seconds later, the door opened, revealing Neil. You offered him a weak smile, suddenly relieved you made it back in one piece. Without a word, he took your hand in his and dragged you inside, closing the door and turning the lock. TP was waiting in the corridor, evidently troubled.

“Sorry, I…” you were acutely aware of the fact that the questions are about to be asked.

“We’re glad you made it” TP smiled at you and wandered over to the adjacent room, giving you privacy.

Now that was even more concerning. You watched wide-eyed as Neil approached you with a rather nervous smile on his face. He was worried. Before you could react, he closed the gap and embraced you. You did not have time to relax into his touch. When his hand brushed one of the sore spots on your side, you flinched. Of course, Neil would notice. He let go of you in a flash:

“What’s wrong?” his blue eyes studied you worriedly “Are you hurt?” he skimmed over your body as though trying to see anything obvious there.

You frowned. It was hard to resist that sudden urge to run out of the hotel room and onto the street, avoiding the conversation. Avoiding those eyes that could always see right through you.

“It’s nothing” you faked a smile and tried to turn away from him.

But he reached out and grabbed your arm, holding on strong. There was no escape.

“Doesn’t look like nothing to me” his brow only furrowed more.

You could tell that although their mission was successful, he was weary. And all because of you. That realisation was a hard one to swallow.

“Just a few scratches,” you shrugged, aiming for nonchalance “It’s okay, seriously”.

You could tell that he was trying to keep his emotions in check. He breathed out, as though composing himself, and asked:

“What happened?”

God no… Briefly, you were grateful for the fact that Mahir was still MIA. At least only you knew the truth, and that allowed some room for… lies.

“Got held up before I could escape the plane and... I jumped too late onto the tarmac” you blurted out, staring at the carpet purposefully.

Everything was better than meeting his eyes again. You heard movement across the room. TP was most likely hearing this too. Bloody brilliant.

“Jesus, you could’ve...” Neil let out a long exhale, unable to finish the thought.

Despite knowing better, you raised your head to look at him. The concern and anguish you saw in his expression were enough to make your heart stumble. Maybe it was not all want and his needs?

“But I didn’t, so please stop” you tried to regain composure, wrestling out of his hold and stepping out of his reach.

He clenched his jaw, clearly battling the emotions. You could hear the blood pounding in your ears.

“I need to check if you’re okay,” his voice broke at the end of the sentence.

Fuck.

“I am” attempting defiance, you straightened your back and wandered into the room.

“I don’t believe you,” he followed and blocked your path in no time.

You stared, trying to stifle all that his worried eyes were making you feel. Why does he have to be so goddamn difficult?

“And who’s problem is that?” you shrugged out of the jacket, careful not to show the pain you felt “Neil, just let it go” you pleaded.

“I can’t” he stepped in closer, trying to get to you the only way he knew was successful.

But this time, you were determined not to give in. Maybe it was ridiculous, but his concern set off the stubbornness you were full of. You could not let him see how badly you have fucked up during that mission. Because then he could look at you differently. And that was terrifying. Especially when combined with feelings that you have tried to repress for the past few days.

“Brilliant” you sighed and collapsed onto the nearby armchair.

That was a mistake, as the wounds on your back stung the moment you sat down. You were unable to stop the grimace of pain. Neil, naturally, did notice. The concern on his face quickly shifted into annoyance. Before you could continue the strange quarrel, TP walked back into the room. The way his eyes shifted between the two of you, you knew he heard most of it.

“Is everything alright there?” he asked, seemingly casual.

“Not quite. We’ve reached an impasse it seems” you shrugged, rolling your eyes and ignoring Neil, who was very much in the centre of your vision.

“You’re being childish, so there’s that” the dark edge to his voice was surprising.

But that relentless voice in your head found satisfaction in it. And decided to press forward.

“If I’m childish, then what does it say about you?” you met his gaze with one eyebrow arched “Why do you even care so much? Didn’t take you for a neurotic” once you spit those words out, his eyes darkened.

That might have been a step too far.

“Fucking hell...” he took a deep breath “Okay, I’ve had enough” he grabbed your hand and pulled you up from the chair “You in the bathroom now. I’ll look at those wounds” he practically pushed you in the direction of the corridor.

You stared, shocked. For a split second, you looked at TP and noticed his perplexed expression. This was definitely not how casual co-workers behaved.

“Is that absolutely necessary?” you risked another question.

“Yes,” Neil was not even looking at you, searching for something on the desk.

You sighed defeatedly. Seeing him that angry was startling. And you were not sure you wanted to know why he was behaving like that. Because, surely, it could not have been all caused by your disobedience…?

“Do you want tea for later?” TP’s question broke through your messy thoughts.

One look at Neil’s tense figure was enough to give you an answer.

“Whiskey would be better, thanks” you smiled at the boss and went into the dreaded bathroom.

You did not have to wait long for Neil to follow you and lock the door behind you. At the sound, you turned to face him. Taking in the irritation in his eyes, clenched jaw, and furrowed brow, you quipped:

“I see you finally got what you wanted. Me and you, locked in the bathroom. What’s it gonna be?” you drawled out the question and wiggled your eyebrow, giving in to the weird mood that suddenly overcame you.

That took him by surprise. You watched as his eyes widened and mouth opened a little. For a second, you wanted nothing but to close it with a kiss. No, stop.

“Think I’m starting to rub off on you” Neil gave you a half-smile that did not reach his eyes.

“Is that bad?”

“Potentially,” he grimaced and dragged a hand through his hair “Now, sit” obediently, you perched on the edge of the bathtub “Where is it?” his eyes roamed over your body again.

There we go, you ignored the blush creeping over your cheeks as you sheepishly glanced down at your chest and stomach.

“Okay. Off” if he was bothered by the information, he did not show it.

You could not tell if that was good or bad.

“Really?” you glanced up, hoping that maybe he will change his mind.

“Yes. And I’m not going to say that I won’t look because that’s kind of beyond the point” there was nothing playful in those eyes.

“Well then…” awkwardly, you took off the loose shirt you found at the bottom of the suitcase.

As it came over your head, you dropped the material onto the floor. The moment cold bathroom air hit your bare skin, you felt exposed. Swallowing down the nerves, you met Neil’s eyes. He did stare, there was no denying that. You felt him skim over your chest and stomach, drinking in everything that was suddenly revealed. You knew that he saw all the bruises, scratches, and burns that you have acquired tonight. The expression in his eyes was as close to cold scrutiny as you have ever seen. You felt judged, and it was a rather uncomfortable position to be in, considering everything. But before you could let that feeling consume you, he ended his examination and kneeled on the tiled floor, right in front of you. He met your gaze, asking for permission to touch you. You just nodded and turned away, focusing on counting the little white squares in the shower floor mosaic. A moment later, you felt Neil’s fingers ghost over one particular scrape on your rib, just below the band of the sport’s bra you kept on. At least that one bit of dignity was allowed.

He was gentle you had to admit. First, he identified all the spots that needed attention and then went on to clean them with a wet cloth. With his face this close, looking over the parts of your body that you were self-conscious about, it did not take long for anxiety to kick in. The fact that it was Neil, the man who you had tried desperately not to fall for, only made it worse. The faster breaths and shaking hands did not go past his attention. He leaned back, searching your face for any clues about what was going on. He must have found the answers quickly.

“Hey, it’s okay” tipping your chin, he turned your face, forcing you to meet his soft gaze “I didn’t mean that I don’t care… about how you look, because I really do” you were surprised to see him nervous “I know that this isn’t the most comfortable situation for either of us but…” he trailed off, looking for words.

It looked like the anger from earlier was gone, and now he was just as tense as you were. It was increasingly hard not to think about all those times you got a little too close. You had a sudden feeling this might be the moment that the dreaded ‘elephant’ will make its appearance after four days of silence. And you were not wrong.

“You know… What I said the other day?” he asked, and even though you knew what was coming, you felt your heart speed up.

You did not respond, instead choosing to stare at him curiously with a dose of apprehension.

“It wasn’t just alcohol talking” the earnest look in his eyes was not helping “I have realized that recently but I do l-“

Okay, that was enough.

“You’re making it worse” you interrupted him, refusing to maintain the eye contact any longer.

You were scared of what you both could potentially see. The whole situation was somehow getting more and more overwhelming.

“I want you to know that it doesn’t matter that this is how I first saw you... I...”

You used the break in his rambling to bring an end to the suffering. You reached out and placed your hand over his mouth. The blue eyes glanced at you, perplexed and lost. It seemed like neither of you knew how to deal with this situation.

“Neil, please stop” you muttered, hoping that maybe if you showed him the extent of your discomfort, he would understand “I know what you’re doing but please… I’d rather we didn’t talk about it right now”

Before you could retract your palm, he grabbed it and kissed your knuckles lightly.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… everything that happened today has been rather draining and now…” he sighed and squeezed your hand before letting go “Should I…?” he motioned at the first aid materials on the side.

“Yeah, let’s get this over and done with” you attempted a small smile, which he mirrored.

You let him continue the work, cleaning the cuts and scratches, applying ointment to the burns. He frowned when he noticed the wound that began the whole affair – a rather large cut on your side, a result of colliding with a piece of debris from the plane. The silence made you think. Probably a little too much. Finally, after battling with yourself, you decided to ask:

“Why did you get so angry? If it were you, you wouldn’t even care”

Neil glanced at you, seemingly unbothered. His long fingers brushed over your rib cage thoughtlessly. So far, you were succeeding at ignoring the very way his touch made you feel.

“That’s the difference, it’s you, not me,” he said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world and went back to his task.

“Does that really matter?” you hissed when he applied some hydrogen peroxide to the cut.

“It does to me” the blue eyes met yours with defiance you did not expect.

Oh. You inhaled, realising the implications behind his statement. Suddenly, his proximity, the gentle touch, and the things he said meant much more. Because if he cared so extremely, then maybe… maybe he did actually mean it. Surprisingly, the doubtful voice was not present to give any counterarguments. You took that as a sign to let yourself do what you wanted.

You reached out and dragged your hand through Neil’s hair, making him look up with a surprise. As your eyes met, just for once, you decided to look at him without holding anything back. You poured all the fondness, attraction, affection, and desire into that look. It was enough. Neil exhaled as he took in the sight. For a second, he rested his chin on your lap, staring up at you.

“If you keep on looking at me like that, I’ll do something stupid” it was a warning, and yet you found that you were not scared.

“Like what?” the confidence was new but not unwelcomed.

“Do you really want to know?” that was a challenge.

Something changed in the way he was looking at you. The softness got replaced with darkness you got to know well. Only this time, seeing him like this made you want to experiment. Using the hand that you ruffled his hair with, you traced the outline of his sharp jaw. That simple gesture had much effect on Neil. He dropped the cloth onto the floor and stood up abruptly. Before you could determine what to expect in response, he motioned for you to get up as well. One look at his tense posture was enough to make you decide and obey. Once you were levelled, he made you turn around to look at the bruise below your right shoulder blade. With your back turned and inability to see what his eyes held, you had to depend on the way he touched you. Something felt different. Especially in how close he stepped and how his fingers trailed over the skin surrounding the purple bruise. Then, before you could prepare, you felt his breath on the back of your neck. You shivered as he kissed your shoulder and pulled you flush against his chest. Arms encircled your waist, taking time to explore every curve. Fuck.

“Neil… what…” the coherence was gone.

All you could do was gasp when he lightly scratched the skin on your stomach.

“Let me show you what’s going on” his voice was huskier than you have ever heard it.

He started kissing the back of your neck with urgency. Looking for support, you grabbed the hands that were wrapped around your stomach and held on tight, only gripping stronger when he started biting the skin on your shoulder. You knew that was bound to leave marks. With every new kiss and bite, Neil was getting more confident, using the lack of your protests as a sign to continue. In response, you could only give him access to new spots on your neck.

Using a break in his exploration, you turned in the embrace to face him. The darkness of his irises and blown pupils were enough to make you feel faint. His parted lips were the only thing you could focus on, desperate to kiss him again. Before you could lean in, he whispered:

“If you want to stop, this is the right moment” with how close you were you could see his long eyelashes and slightly crooked nose.

He was beautiful. Feeling the steady grip of his hands on your waist and seeing the longing in his eyes, you realized that, in fact, you did not want to stop. Not when his every touch and kiss made you feel wanted like never before. Neil was still waiting for consent, looking at you with adoration. That was all you needed to tip the scales. You nodded and pulled him closer by entangling your hand in his hair. As your lips crashed, he let out a groan. A giggle rose in your throat and tinted your next kiss with sighs. The heated kisses were everything you needed. He was never close enough. Desperately, your hands tugged at his shirt but to no avail. You let out a frustrated whine when he broke the kiss and took half a step back. The playful sparks in his eyes were enough to assure you that he knew exactly what to do. With wide eyes and shallow breath, you let him part your knees with his long leg, providing support as his hands continued the reverent exploration of your upper body. Hands palming your breasts through the thin fabric of the sports bra were enough to make you curse. The heat flowing through your veins was pooling in your lower stomach, making everything hazy.

“Fuck…” you breathed out, resting your head in the crook of his neck.

The intoxicating smell of his cologne was slowly overwhelming the last bits of sanity.

“That bad?” Neil sounded smug.

His hands travelled south now, brushing over your sides and settling on the skin just above the trousers hemline. All it took was for him to scratch that spot under the belly button, and you shuddered. The only response from him was a short laugh that revibrated through your embraced bodies. That raspy sound was more than revelatory. Suddenly the leg that was so conveniently placed between your knees became the only thing you could focus on. Hooking one of your legs around his hip, you ground down on his thigh, beginning a little movement to ease the ache. That kind of friction had to do.

If he was surprised by your actions, he did not show it, instead working on unbuckling your belt. His hand slipped just as far as the band of your trousers allowed, testing the waters. The gasp and the way your fingers dug into his biceps were all he needed to continue. You sucked on the skin of his neck, wanting nothing but to mark him in any way. At that moment, you realized one thing – you wanted him to be yours. The quiet moan he let out upon your action made you believe that maybe he wanted that too.

The moment he succeeded at undoing the belt on your jeans, you could not hold back the only plea that came to mind.

“Neil, I…” you breathed in his scent, hoping to find salvation in any way possible.

You what? Need you? Want you?... Love you? Perhaps you did.

He responded by unbuttoning your jeans and meeting your eyes for the first time in a while. You knew that was the final opportunity to back out. His eyes were almost black, clouded with the need that made your breath hitch. You did not want to imagine what sight he saw in your flushed face and unfocused eyes. All you could think, and feel was him; his hands knowing exactly where you needed his touch; his eyes making you feel wanted and important. It suddenly made sense, every shared look and close encounter building up to this exact moment. You leaned in, determined to kiss him again when a knock resounded in the bathroom.

“Mahir is here” TP’s voice breaking through the silence was like a sharp wake up call.

You stopped with your lips brushing against Neil’s, sharing a breath. Your eyes met, and you could see that he was just as shocked as you were. There was no going back from this. He closed the distance and gave you a chaste kiss on the lips before taking a definitive step back. You disentangled from him, feeling embarrassment take over any other emotion. Once you were stood on your own again, you swayed a little, overwhelmed by the situation. Even now, Neil noticed and reached out to steady you, carefully touching your arm. Without a word, he picked up your shirt from the floor and passed it to you with a rather contrite expression in his eyes. That was worrying. You swallowed the increasing panic and quickly got dressed, using the fact that he turned away, giving you privacy. While the gesture was thoughtful, you could not help but worry that it meant he was having regrets. Or worse, that he realized that this was not something he actually wanted. Battling those thoughts, you splashed cold water onto your face, hoping to cool off the flushed skin. Looking up at the mirror over the sink, you noticed those blue eyes watching you closely.

“Go, have that whiskey. I’ll join you in a minute” he spoke when you turned to face him.

The space between you felt like an ocean that neither of you could breach. You noticed the furrowed brow and conflicted eyes.

“Neil...” your voice sounded strange without that passionate tone “Are you alright?” you watched him with concern.

What if that’s how you fucked it all up? You could feel the incoming panic attack at the thought. That probably cleared up the question of your own feelings on the matter.

“I just need a moment” upon seeing your worried eyes, he stepped in closer again “Don’t worry, it’s not about this”

But what if…? You desperately wanted to get rid of the sabotaging brain. As though Neil was reading your mind, he leaned in and kissed you on the forehead. The softness took your breath away. You squeezed your eyes shut tightly until you could think straight again.

“Think we should join before they…” he trailed off, and you were hit with the realization of how suspicious the whole situation was.

Bloody hell.

“Yeah, sure,” you hesitated before asking the seemingly most crucial question, “Are we… are we okay?” once you stumbled over it, you met his eyes timidly.

None of that previous bravado could be found right now. You wondered how it changed within mere minutes.

“Yes, of course. Never been better” he picked up a stray long hair from his shirt.

A tell-tale sign of what happened. Or nearly happened. You eyed him curiously once more, to assure yourself that he was real and fine. Your eyes froze on the reddish mark on his neck, visible through the unbuttoned collar. Your work. Feeling shame burn on your cheeks, you decided to let him know.

“Neil… there’s… you’ve got…” you huffed, unable to formulate the sentence.

He was watching you with a charming expression in his eyes, making the matters worse.

“You might want to look in the mirror before you go outside” you blurted out the sentence and added, “I’m sorry”.

You could not miss the way his eyes lit up as he glanced at the mirror then.

“Nothing to be sorry about” he sent you a smirk.

*** When you finally joined TP and Mahir, you realized how badly that whiskey was needed. You took a long sip even before acknowledging them both. If that was in any way surprising, they did not show. And neither did they comment on how long you and Neil stayed in that bathroom. Luckily. You hugged Mahir and settled down on the sofa.

“Are you alright?” TP eyed you quickly.

“Yeah, I’ll live” you smiled lightly, enjoying the way alcohol hit, taking the edge off.

“Neil made himself useful, I hope”

Oh no. You tried to mask the horrified expression on your face by taking another large gulp. Fucking hell. It was meant to be a joke, but you had a hard time finding words again. This was looking to be a long evening…

“Yeah, he did” you looked up for a split second and gave your brightest grin.

That had to do. You had no way of knowing whether TP bought that because, at that moment, Neil chose to make an appearance.

“Good to see you back Mahir” he wandered over to the man in question and slapped his shoulder gently.

You took the notice of his shirt collar, buttoned up all the way. Without the tie, that looked suspicious. At that moment, you vowed to never again let yourself get that lost in such circumstances. Even for Neil, the embarrassment was not worth it. You kept on staring as he poured himself a shot of whiskey. Huh. Apart from that, he looked perfectly composed.

“So… how did it go on your end?” Neil joined you on the sofa, keeping a respectable distance.

His eyes flicked between you and Mahir.

“Everything perfect up until the last moment” your partner looked at you with interest “But maybe that’s best explained by Y/N”

“There isn’t much to explain… I… uh, got caught up by unexpected obstruction and had to make late-exit onto the tarmac just before the explosion” you shrugged halfheartedly.

The three pairs of eyes were staring at you with a wide range of emotions. TP was shocked, perhaps a little worried and suspicious. Mahir was perplexed, undoubtedly wondering why your story felt so disjointed. And Neil was looking at you with that same concerned and infatuated expression you knew well. Sighing, you tried to steer the attention away.

“What matters is that it went well, and we’re most likely getting away” you plastered a weak smile onto your face.

“Fair point” Mahir came to your rescue “How about you lads? Everything good?”

TP tensed at the question. You knew that he would rather keep you all out of the circle of those initiated. To him, all three of you were only helping, necessary but costly additions to making his mission succeed. You were not supposed to know the truth.

“The distraction worked” he answered, finally, smiling at Neil lightly “No one suspected anything, and we had time to explore the pentagon” he hesitated.

Your eyes flicked to Neil, but his troubled expression gave nothing away.

“I got my answers and even more questions” that was a definite answer, as TP picked up his drink from the table.

“And the rest is silence, huh?” Neil smirked, and you glared at him.

You ignored the warmth that spread in your chest upon seeing his cheeky smile and sparkling eyes. Shit. He mirrored your look with a little head tilt, still smiling. The look in his eyes was something you could not describe. But it felt important. Before you could contemplate it further, TP replied.

“Well… yes. The job is done for you, and unfortunately, I can’t give you any explanation” he shrugged apologetically.

Not everything is so different.

“Understood” you nodded curtly and focused your gaze on the carpet.

“Well, if this is our last night together… we might as well have fun” Neil got up, on the way brushing his hand over your knee.

You clenched your jaw. His nerve never failing to surprise you.

“Anyone wants more whiskey?” he raised the bottle, undoubtedly glancing at you.

“Yes, please,” you deadpanned.

When he came over to give you a refill, you stared at the ruffled blonde hair and inhaled the whiff of his cologne that accompanied him. Creepy or not, it was needed.

Once everyone had the needed amount of alcohol, you drifted into a rather confusing terrain of trying to talk to TP without disclosing anything significant about yourselves. Mahir went first, and you were surprised by how good he was at spinning his life story in a way that made him seem like a freelancer. He mentioned working with Neil, another fellow free spirit. That seemed strangely fitting, and the boss bought it in no time. And then he asked about you. Or more precisely, how come you had all that experience and where Neil knew you from.

“I’ve started the freelancing gig a few years back after gaining experience in the gov” the lie rolled off your tongue easily.

All that thanks to alcohol.

“You’ve worked with British Intelligence?” TP arched his eyebrow skeptically.

You knew what he meant; you were quite young for that kind of experience.

“Yeah, I was a young prodigy,” you shrugged, attempting smugness “And then Neil and I met on a little job recently” you glanced at the man in question and found him staring at you “He must’ve taken his liking to me since he went straight to me for this one” you smirked upon seeing Neil’s eyes widen.

How about that? It did not take him long to recover.

“Who can blame me if I did” he grinned “You’re good at what you do. And at everything really” he batted his eyelashes at you.

Stifling the urge to groan, you replied:

“Thank you, I’ll take that,” downing the rest of the drink, you got up “I’m pretty tired, so I’ll head off now. It was a pleasure to work with all of you” you shook TP’s hand and nodded at Mahir.

Neil was to be ignored. Which was inconvenient given the fact that he was the one to let you of the apartment. Once you were out of sight in the narrow corridor, he placed his hand on your waist, effectively pinning you to the wall. You gaped at him, surprised and intrigued. He leaned in close and whispered:

“Thought you’d know better than to slip out without saying goodbye,” he nuzzled your neck, just below the ear.

You shivered, unable to pretend that it was not working. You realized that act might need to be given up now.

“I was hoping you’ve had enough of me tonight” biting hard onto your lower lip you tried to level your breathing.

Neil kissed your neck before responding.

“I wouldn’t count on that” he took his time, breathing you in and making sure you understood his intentions.

“Ever?” you cringed at how breathless you sounded already.

“Mhmm” he left one more reverent kiss in the crook of your neck before raising his head “For me, this was only a little prelude” his eyes sparkled playfully.

He grinned when you rolled your eyes.

“Fantastic. Now let me go, please?” you ignored the voice that suggested letting him do whatever the hell he wanted to you.

But it was easier said than done. Your breath hitched when he lightly nibbled on your earlobe, letting his hand travel down your hip and then between your thighs in a smooth movement. Relentless bastard. The previous ache was threatening to come back at any moment. And now was definitely not the time. You leaned back as far as the wall allowed you and glared at him. With a cheeky smile, he retracted his hand and beamed at you, ever so innocently.

“Of course,” he kissed you on the lips chastely, for the second time tonight, “I’m nothing but a gentleman”

“That’s debatable” up this close his eyes seemed too blue to be real “Goodnight, Neil” 

“Night night, darling” letting go of you, he opened the door with a flourish “Sleep well and dream of me” he winked when you were out in the corridor.

“Kindly, fuck off darling” you stormed down the corridor.

It did not take him long to keep on bothering you. Entering your own hotel room fifteen minutes later, you heard the text chime:

“Good thing I’ve got that scarf with me” Idiot. You grinned fondly despite yourself.

“You have a slap incoming, I think” you typed back and lied down on the bed.

“You can start tomorrow night with that then” that did not take him long.

Ah yes, your night out… absolutely terrifying.

“Is it still on?” you nibbled on your lip, not sure what sort of answer you wanted.

“Of course. If anything, tonight gave more reasons to take you out”

Okay… You rolled onto your stomach and hid your face in the pillow. Now that is going to be a nerve-wracking day… and night. You had a feeling those butterflies in your stomach were not going to stop.

[emilyoftheshadows]

Are we going to ignore the inhaling of narcotic drugs going on in the corner?

 Enjoy some more angsty rowaelon vibes! This drabble is more intense than my other two pieces and probably the most angst I have ever written.

TW: depression, drug/alcohol abuse, death, gun violence

~~~~~

Aelin looked good tonight. No, correction, she looked fucking hot. The dress hugged her thin figure, the hot pink color sure to make her stand out in any crowd. With her loosely curled hair running down her back and a disguise of makeup to cover the darkening circles under her eyes, Aelin was ready to face the crowds.

  The most rambunctious groups came out Friday night. The clubs become filled with young drinkers like Aelin, ready to let loose after a long week. Not that it mattered what day of the week it was anymore. Aelin could barely keep track as it was. Between last night's drunken adventures and the shroom endeavors the night before, time blurred together. 

 Her apathy for her life was at an all time high, and Aelin couldn't find it in herself to give two fucks about her safety. No, she was out for a good time, even if the cost was a high price. She wanted more good times, more distractions, more haziness, more everything. Want was too weak of a word...Aelin needed these distractions in her life. Because if she took the time to re-evaluate her life circumstances, she would crumble beyond repair. 

 So instead of feeling the emptiness of reality, Aelin decided to live in the fullness of fantasy. With her intentions in mind, she turned to Dorian with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. He smiled back with drunken enthusiasm, already 4 shots in due to his notorious pre-gaming. Yes, even events he attended involving the consumption of more alcohol still required this ritual. Ever since Aelin had dived into her partying streak, Dorian had been stuck to her side. While they were not dating by any means, he was a good fuck buddy and a great party companion. With the same wild side as herself, they had a partnership that benefited them both. 

 Tonight, they walked into The Vaults, instantly greeted by the smell of sweat and liquor. The club was grimy at best with an even grosser owner, but they sold pints by the dollar and had a tendency to skip id checks. For this exact reason, Vaults was filled to the brim with patrons creating a chaotic image. Arms pumped up in tandem with the bass, bodies bumped into one another as people found the rhythm of the music; partners danced on each other, lost to the world around them. Aelin saw it all and became fascinated by the scene in front of her. She craved the anonymity that came with jumping into a random crowd. Aelin reveled in the thought of losing herself tonight, just  like she had every night since he was ripped from her life.

 Dorian released Aelin of her trance, pulling her to the expansive bar on the side of the room. Waving down the attention of the bartender, Dorian yelled over the sounds of the club.

 "Ace, what are you feeling tonight? Shots, beer, cosmos, you fucking name it. Everything's on me tonight!" Oh yeah, it was an added benefit that Dorian had money to burn. His father did something or other, Aelin couldn't remember. It wasn't pertinent to her, therefore she couldn't care less. But because of his fathers funds, and Dorian’s unlimited access to said funds, Aelin didn't have to pay for a thing when they went out. 

 "Surprise me!" With that said, Dorian turned towards the bartender ordering god knows what. Aelin took this time to check her phone, noting the date. June 9 2021, 365 days after she had lost her greatest love. The reason she needed to drown her sorrows with booze and bodies. Because the day Sam had died had been the last time Aelin truly knew who she was anymore.

 With a margarita set in her hand, Aelin tucked her phone back into her pocket determined to take back control of her thoughts, and continued to lead Dorian into the depths of the club.  As much as she hated to admit it, Aelin frequented Vaults on a weekly basis. The club attracted a crowd she usually didn’t interact with in her day to day life, creating a safe space where Aelin could go as wild as she wanted. The seating area they now stood in contained multiple clusters of partygoers, some more distracted than others. It was then that Dorian took a certain interest in one group over the others. 

With a hefty laugh, Dorian commented, “Are we going to ignore the inhaling of narcotic drugs going on in the corner?” 

 Aelin couldn’t help but join in his laughter, because as she turned her head to the left, she saw a girl arranging lines of white powder on the table in the middle of a much larger group. 

 “You know what, you are absolutely right Dorian! How could we ever miss an opportunity for a nice high?” Aelin could barely hear her own words over the noise, but noticed the glimmer of mischief reflected in Dorian’s eyes as well. She took that as a sign, moving closer to the group until she was in the center of the cluster with Dorian stuck at her side. With a raised eyebrow, Aelin gestured with her eyes to the powder and back up to the girl organizing the substance. Her hair was white as snow, piercings dotted along her ears and face.  She glanced up at Aelin, the girl's pupils already blown out and bloodshot. With a lazy smile she handed Aelin a card to line up her own serving. 

 Three lines later, Aelin was feeling more awake than ever. Her heart felt like it was skipping a beat, her nerves were on edge and her emotions were heightened. She looked over, glad to see Dorian was enjoying his time with the white-haired girl. But Aelin was done lounging around. No, she needed to move with the crowd in the center of the club. With her eyes locked on the floor, Aelin stumbled her way into the group of dancers, easily moving to the beats of the music. As she spun in circles, whipping her head around,  a flash of silver hair caught her eye. Many eccentric characters liked clubbing at Vaults, so it wasn’t unusual to see colorful hair, odd piercings, or questionable life choices. But, Aelin had a feeling that this character would be worth the search once found.  She finished her rotation and gained her bearings. Her eyes focused after a few moments, immediately setting out to find the topple of silver hair she had only seen moments ago. With a cursory glance, Aelin couldn’t find her target and quickly resigned in her search. There were many more people and many more ways to distract herself tonight.

 Aelin started to move her hips to the lull of the music once more, raising her arms up, reaching for her lost lover in the sky. She felt the haziness of the drugs and alcohol overcome her senses, finally enjoying the night's events. Men and women surrounded her, Aelin’s own sweat mixing with others around. Arms became entangled, hips grinded against a partner, and lips kissed in sync with the swaying of movement. 

 As Aelin became a part of it all, she imagined Sam was dancing with her…... as a boyish face appeared right in front of her, his usual outfit sculpting his body just right : a button down shirt with rolled up sleeves and a pair of nice jeans matched with one of  his many shoe choices. His arms wrapped around her waist, Aelin’s right resting on his shoulder, her left hand entwined in his tousled brown. She looked into his beautiful eyes, finding the light she loved to see shining back at her. Aelin felt her mood lighten, finding comfort in the arms of her love that she had missed for such a long time. God, she had missed this feeling, this unexplainable comfort she felt in his presence. Sam twirled Aelin around herself, his arms coming to wrap around her middle, his hands- grabbed her hips from behind. 

 Aelin came to her senses, shoved back into reality. Rough hands pulled her back into a tall, muscular frame. The mysterious man behind her had a pungent odor, wafts of his smell acting like a tether to her more sober self. Aelin turned to catch a glimpse of the man, only to see Arobynn Hamel himself. The man was almost twice her age, not to mention the owner of The Vaults, and a notorious man whore with a keen liking for younger girls.

  Aelin immediately became uncomfortable. There was too much going on. Between the lights of the club, the music’s heavy bass, and the unwanted sensation of the man behind her, she was ready to get out. She maneuvered herself out of his grasp, turning around and making a drinking motion with her hand. Instead of accepting her departure, Arobynn grabbed her by the waist and crashed their bodies together. Now encircled in his arms, Aelin truly had no escape. Her mind was on overdrive, her body kicking into flight or fight mode. Arobynn’s hands wandered down to her ass and up the length of her body. 

 He continued to grope her assets with unnecessary fervor, never loosening his grip on her body. Aelin tried shoving the man away, only to be greeted by an ugly smile and a beady pair of grey eyes. Fear kept Aelin in her place, the man staring back at her only more encouraged by her lack of willingness. As they danced, Aelin frantically looked around for help. Anyone who could help her get out of this situation now. Her vision was blurred with tears, her eyes barely able to distinguish anything around her. Then, like magic, Dorian finally appeared and yanked  Aelin out of her partner's arms. 

 "You motherfucker what the hell are you doing??" Dorian was enraged at Arobynn's actions, his bloodshot eyes bulging out of his head as he yelled each word. 

 "Well, before you so rudely stole my partner, we were having a really good time dancing with one another." Arobynn's eyes wandered to her at that comment, his misguided intentions clear as day.

 "A good time?? Huh? A good time when the girl you're dancing with is crying because she can't stand your very existence? Yeah that sounds fucking wonderful to me!" Maybe it was the powder they had both inhaled earlier, but Dorian was more aggressive than usual. Without missing a beat, he swung at Arobynn and clocked him dead smack in the face. 

 Arobynn was caught by surprise, losing his balance as he teetered backwards from the hit. Blood dripped from his nose profusely, a bruise forming beneath his eye. Arobynn looked back at the man who had caused this pain, and snarled in anger. 

 As he ran to Dorian, tackling him to the ground, all Aelin could do was stand there frozen in time. She heard screaming, maybe her own, as the men fought on the floor. There was so much noise around her, the sound of fists connecting with bone, the music still blaring in her ears. There was so much blood --- so much blood around her, on her, on him. Aelin sat on the floor, her phone beside her as the paramedic updated her on the ambulances location. But she couldn't listen, no, she was too busy watching the man she loved disappear right before her eyes. Sam's body was pale, the gaping gunshot wound in his abdomen leaking too much blood too fast. Aelin cradled his head as he struggled to breath, soothing him with little sayings and comforting noises. Her tears fell on his face as she kissed him, not able to let him go. He needed to be okay, he needed to respond to her sayings, he needed to tell her he loved her, he needed to survive. But as Aelin looked into those brown eyes, there was no light left within them anymore. Aelin couldn't help the sobs that escaped her. Her body wracked violently as --- she was shoved by the fighting men. 

 Arobynn and Dorian were battered and bruised, the men equal in build and skill. They were breathing hard, looking at one another with hate etched in their features. Then all of a sudden, Arobynn lunged at Dorian unexpectedly, leading him to swerve right into Aelin as she --- fell to the floor. Her head hit the blue sofa they had bought only a week ago, their apartment a new venture they had bought together. They had spent hours setting up their new home, hours of that work now destroyed as their apartment was wrecked beyond repair. Sam was in front of her in an instant, his body taking the impact of the shot meant for her. Blood splattered on her body, and Sam's fell to the ground with a thud. Aelin looked up from her position in the ground to see a hooded figure dash out their front door, backpack open and filled with their precious items. Aelin didn't even care about her missing jewelry, only worried about her love splayed out on the floor , blood pooling around his frame. She heard screaming, screaming coming from --- a beautiful red haired woman approaching the duo. She pulled Arobynn's arm, dragging him away from the other bloodied man on the floor. 

 Dorian was in bad shape, his face swollen with cuts and scratches dotted all along his arms and legs. All Aelin wanted to do was go to Dorian's side and help him, but as she looked at his splayed body she lost all her intentions. All she could see was her love on that floor. All she could see was Sam's blood draining from his body.

 Aelin felt lightheaded, the events of the night, combined with the various substances in her body exhausting her beyond belief. She walked away from Dorian to go find a place to sit, slowly losing reality once again. As she fainted, Aelin saw a tall tanned man rushing towards her. His sharp features contrasted the soft concern on his face and in those emerald green eyes. Aelin hit the floor with a soft thud, watching the man attached to that luscious silver hair run to her rescue. 

[kpop---scenarios]

Stolen Heart (5)

Previous Chapters

Warnings: Bit of Violence

Word Count: 1.6k 

The second you and Baekhyun made it through the back door and into the alley, two of Jinyoung’s men cornered you, leaving you without any options. 

“Boss!” One of them yells.

The backdoor swings open again, and out walks a smug looking Jinyoung. 

“Ahh, there you are.” He smiles, eyeing you up and down. 

Baekhyun pulls the sleeve of your jacket, bringing you behind him before he places his hand on the gun he kept in the waist of his jeans. 

“What do you want Jinyoung?” Baekhyun snaps, keeping an eye on the men that surrounded the two of you. 

“I really just want one thing.” He says. “Her.” He fishes, pointing to you. 

“That’s not happening.” Baekhyun snaps. 

“What?” Jinyoung laughs. “Has the almighty, king of drugs found a weakness? Some good pussy has you wrapped up around her little finger? Is that it.” Jinyoung asks. “If so, I’d like to try it for myself.”

Baekhyun’s body visually tenses as Jknyojng continues to speak about you. However, the second you thought Baekhyun might care with how he reacted, the thought is ripped away by his next sentence. 

“You want her? Take her. Nothing but a quick fuck anyways.” Baekhyun spits, pulling you from behind him and shoving you towards an eager Jinyoung. 

You look at Baekhyun, you’re shocked. How could he just give you up just like that? Without any care? 

“Glad you do have a brain after all, Byun.” Jinyoung smiles. “Lets go.” He says to his men, grabbing your wrist and dragging you away. 

You turn your head, looking at the man who betrayed you one last time, when he winks at you and nods his head. 

How the hell were you supposed to know what that meant? 

Maybe he would come for you? You Could only hope. You didn’t want to spend anymore time with that psychopath than necessary. 

You decided not to fight the men who held onto your arm as you walked away from a confusing Baekhyun, seeing as he apparently didn’t want you after fucking you. Maybe that’s all he wanted? Maybe he was truly unobtainable and that was the most you would ever get from him. Due to the situation you were currently in, you probably should have listened to Lisa all those weeks ago and left him alone. Just thanked him for helping you with the drunken man who wouldn’t take no as an answer and moved on. 

But it was a little late now. 

“What?” Jinyoung snaps, answering his phone. “Race? Tonight? Yeah we’ll be there. And I’ve got the perfect prize.” He smirks, looking back at you. 

** 

Pulling up to a house, your stomach is in knots as Jinyoung’s words replay over in your head. “The perfect prize.” Surely he wasn’t referring to you.. you weren’t a prize.. you couldn’t be. 

“Lets go.” One of his men sniped, yanking on your arm to get you out of the van. 

You walk into the grand house, eyes scanning over everything, when they land on a familiar face. 

“Yugyeom?” You laugh, seeing a friend you had known since high school. 

“Y/N?” He asks with a giant smile. “I can’t believe it. What are you doing here?”

“Jinyoung took me from me.. friend.” You say through gritted teeth. “I don’t really know to be honest. He saw me and then took me. It’s been a weird day.” You admit. 

“And you didn’t think of trying to fight or anything?” He asks. 

“A bunch of dudes with guns vs me and my friend, who only had a gun didn’t seem like very good odds.” You admit. “It’s not so bad, since you’re here.” You smile. 

“Yugyeom, get her ready for the prize tonight.” A man tells him. Looking at his face, it goes pale as he processes what he was told. 

“Jackson.. c'mon man, she’s a friend. Can we not?” He asks. 

“Bosses orders.” Jackson says, shrugging his shoulders before walking away. 

“I don’t want to.” You whisper. 

“I’m sorry. I’ll do what I can to keep you safe for now but I don’t have a choice.” He sighs, taking your arm to bring you upstairs. 

** 

When you’re done, you’re extremely uncomfortable. Your make-up is heavy, dark and bold. Your dress is short, cut out and not something you would typically wear. 

“Please Yuggy.. don’t let him do this.” You whisper, tears threatening to fall down your face. 

“Sorry Y/N..” Yugyeom sighs, bringing you downstairs and placing you in Jinyoung’s office, where you now wait to go to the races, where you were going to be traded as a prize. You really wished you knew what Baekhyun was doing right now and if he had any plans to save you. 

** 

Baekhyun had come up with a plan the moment you walked away from him. The second that van drove off, he ran to his car, dialing a number as he whipped out of the parking space. 

“Let me know what’s on the table for the race tonight as soon as you find out.” He snaps before tossing his phone onto the passenger seat. He should have taken you away from there the moment that Jinyoung left instead of thinking with his cock. But he knew Jinyoung well enough, not to mention that he had a habit of finding pretty girls and using them as trophies or prizes during races. Mostly because he won and got to keep them anyways but Baekhyun couldn’t let that happen to you. 

He didn’t want to like you, but he did. However, the situation you were in right now was because of him, and because of that he couldn’t be with you, regardless if you had stolen his heart or not. He wasn’t going to risk losing you constantly because of his lifestyle. He was selfish, but not that selfish. 

He reached for his ringing phone as he pulled up to the shop, answering it without even looking at the caller ID. 

“Yeah?” He answers. 

“Jinyoung’s using a girl tonight.” The man says. 

“Fuck.” Baekhyun spits. He knew it. And he knew how to get you back. 

Jinyoung usually only brought 3 or 4 men with hkm to the races, because he knows no one is dumb enough to truly try anything with him. He probably wasn’t counting on Baekhyun to get you back because of his acting as though he didn’t care and that’s exactly where Baekhyun wanted him. 

“Chanyeol, Kai.” He calls out, walking into the garage. 

“Don’t. Touch. Anything.” Chanyeol grits. 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. 

“Yeah. Look, i need your help tonight.”

“Whats up?” Chanyeol asks, a little concerned. 

‘Jinyoung took Y/N, and is planning to use her as top prize tonight.“ He says. “I need to get her back.“ 

Kai smirks at Baekhyun. “And I thought she meant nothing to you.“ 

"Yeah well, are you gonna help or not?" 

"No way in hell I’m gonna miss fucking up Jinyoung.” Kai laughs. 

“A fight? Fuck yeah.” Chanyeol laughs. 

Great. Now he just needs to make sure you’re safe.

** 

After hours of being kept on Jinyoung’s couch, having men stare at you, wink at you, lick their lips, you were finally escorted out of there and put back into the van that brought you here. 

“I don’t want to hurt you princess.” Jinyoung sighs. “So don’t be fucking stupid.” He warns you. 

You knew better than to run, Jinyoung and his men always showed off their guns. You knew you wouldn’t make it far anyways. You weren’t sure why you were so calm about it all. Maybe in the back of your mind you thought Baekhyun would come to your rescue but you doubted it. Though you held out hope. 

You arrived at a very familiar setting. The place that you had first met Baekhyun, the place that he had saved you and now it was the place that you hoped he would save you again. 

“This her?” A man asks, pointing to you. 

“Mhm.” Jinyoung answers. “Top prize.” He smiles, wrapping his arm around you, pulling you in close to his side. 

**

Baekhyun gets out of his car, followed by Chanyeol and Kai and almost immediately spots Jinyoung’s guys before seeing Jinyoung with his arms wrapped around you. You were wearing a tiny dress that barely covered your ass. Baekhyun could feel the rage building up inside himself as he watched Jinyoung hang onto you, acting as though you were his. 

You werent. If you belonged to anyone, it sas Baekhyun and he wasn’t going to let Jinyoung get away with this. 

“Let’s go.” Baekhyun says, making his way over to them. 

“Jinyoung.” He spits, approaching the group. 

“What’s up Byun? How can I help you?” He asks. 

“Give her to me.” Baekhyun snarls. 

“Her?” Jinyoung asks, pointing to you. “This pretty little thing? Nah, I wanna keep her for myself.” Jinyoung smiles. 

“I won’t ask you again.” He says. 

“And i won’t tell you again.” Jinyoung says, pushing you back and to the ground before walking towards Baekhyun. “She’s mine.” He smiles at Baekhyun who scoffs. 

A sarcastic smile on his face, Baekhyun cocks his fist back before punching Jinyoung directly in the nose, knocking him back to the ground. 

With giant smiles spread across both their faces, Chanyeol and Kai happily begin brawling with the few men that Jinyoung brought. Throwing punches and kicks, while receiving some back but not taking long to have his men laying on the ground withering in pain. 

“You want her back so badly? Race me for her.” Jinyoung spits, blood seeping from his mouth. 

“Baekhyun you can’t. He’s undefeated.” Chanyeol says, worriedly, Baekhyun’s eyes remain on Jinyoung, whose now smirking. 

“Winner gets the girl." 

[inkribbon796]

Shutdown Ch. 3

Chapter 3: Damage Control

Summary: Logan finally finds Nate and things continue to escalate.

Chapter: 1, 2, 3

Nate was talking with a couple of Legionnaire hunters in some bar when he got a text from both Bing and Marvin that Logan was heading his way, and that he was acting weird.

Problem number one: he preferred not to be seen with the other hunters around the Coalition. Especially since the hunters didn’t like how “permissive” Nate was about them keeping demons under their roof. The singer took great joy in telling them to take their heads out of their asses and not to attack people. And that he was not going to help them until they stopped.

Problem number two: he very possibly more than a little bit drunk.

“Hey Nate, you might want to watch out. Logan’s upset.” It was from Bing.

“In fine,” Nate struggled to text.

That was when Marvin rushed in, he took one look at the hunters and said, “Get outta here, Google’s coming an’ he’ll kill yah guys if he sees yeh, come on Nate.”[1]

“Come on, let’s wait for Lo,” Nate told him, before the singer called over to the bartender. “Hey Greg, can I get a gin and tonic for my friend, he’s coming in.”

“Nope, nope,” Marvin said and after a couple minutes was able to pull Nate out of the bar. The hunters didn’t leave but they hung around the area.

“Come on Nate, help me out a little” Marvin muttered. Silver flying overhead with Henrik, Patton, and a couple of bags.

“I haven’t had drinks with Logan in ages, I’ve been out of town doing fuck all,” Nate complained.

“Yeah, whose fault is that?” Marvin retorted as he dragged him out.

“It’s freezing out here,” Nate complained. Mare was getting antsy, clearly better able to read the room — so to speak — than his inebriated host.

“Sharp!” Logan called as he walked over, still in his uniform, Roman hot on his heels. Google kept his distance as Bing and Jackie were braced for trouble.

“Ahhh, hey Lo,” Nate smiled, even after Logan walked over and ripped the singer out of Marvin’s hands and slammed him against the brick wall of the bar.

“What the fook[2]!” Marvin spat in surprise. Logan wasn’t violent. Logan at least tried to communicate.

“Where is it?” Logan demanded.

“Hmm, what?” Nate slurred. He was tired, and maybe he was a little more drunk than he thought he was.

Logan’s hands got a little close to Nate’s throat. “My camera, what did you do with it?”

“You said it was fine,” Nate reminded.

“You stole from me!” Logan spat in a rage. “Give it back.”

“Logic,” Silver warned, putting a hand on the Side’s shoulder. “Let’s go back to the base and talk this over.”

“So he can steal from me again?” Logan spat and shoved into Silver with much more force than the other hero expected. He could have easily withstood the shove and not moved but he wasn’t expecting it.

Mare was finally fed up with the situation and easily pushed himself into control of the body, surging out of the necklace and grabbing onto Logan’s wrist with a false light grip. “Hey hero, let’s not make a scene in front of people.”

The Side looked back at Mare and Nate, dark lines coming down from Mare’s eyes. The arm of the suit briefly vibrated for a second before Mare felt electricity coursing through the body. He quickly kicked Logan away before he could do damage the demon couldn’t block.

“All this for a fucking splitter?” Mare shouted. “Thought you were the smart one.”

“I don’t care what you two want it for,” Logan proclaimed, “he stole it from me and everyone is insisting I keep waiting until he gives it back.”

“Come on Nate,” Mare decided, “time to sober up. I think it’s time you got a nightcap, buddy.”

“I just don’t understand why I am forced to sit idly by while things are taken from me,” Logan spat.

“Yeah well Nate’s drunk, so you’ll have to wait until he’s sober again,” Mare told him.

Logan went quiet for a second before something that looked like brass knuckles shot out of his suit and Mare didn’t like the look of them. He knew Logic wasn’t a brawler, so there was no way he was just planning on beating the shit out of Nate and taking the camera off his broken body.

“Okay, alright,” Mare began sliding along the wall, trying to put distance between Nate and Logan, “I’m still using this body, just don’t hit the face. I need it.”

“You demons and your face fixation is a little unnerving,” Roman commented.

“You’d be surprised what you can get away with if you have a nice face,” Mare defended. “If I wanted absolute power I could get that just about anywhere.”

Logan went to hit Nate’s chest, clearly just trying to get into contact with him rather than go for a quick knockout.

“Hey!” Mare yelled.

“Bing, get the can opener,” Silver ordered.

Bing was quick to move it and between Silver holding him down and Bing working with the nanites they got the suit fully turned off.

Logan stopped talking and fighting, just quietly laying there, Mare released Nate who looked a bit more sober and hungover than before and he rubbed at his eyes as Henrik began trying to find what was wrong.

“He said he was fine with me holding onto it,” Nate grumbled, keeping his eyes on the bar. None of the other Legionnaires had come out of help or confront him about Mare.

“I guess he wasn’t,” Roman commented.

“You okay?” Patton asked Nate.

“My head feels like sandpaper and my mouth feels like ass,” Nate grumbled. “I’ll be fine.”

Henrik directed Silver to take Logan to the hospital since he: A— wasn’t breathing; B— didn’t have a heartbeat; and C— was cold to the touch.

Mare quickly took back control of Nate’s body and just ran off into the night before anyone could stop him, and Google stayed following from a distance. He didn’t go into the hospital but he was very clearly watching from a distance for a while before leaving to take his notes and test back to his workshop.

Virgil raced into the hospital, since he’d been called by Patton about what was going on. He proceeded to freak out and have a mental breakdown.

At this moment several things were missed. A swath of freckles covered by a mask. The fact that Virgil’s eyeshadow was always dark and did weird things sometimes. And since people tend not to look down when directed, there was a black stain on the hem of Roman’s normally perfectly white coat.

Logan was admitted to a room for treatment where the doctors stated that he was still pumping blood and his heartbeat had returned, but he wasn’t breathing so he was going to be kept for tests.

After everyone had called asleep, Janus slipped in, disguised as a nurse. He’d been watching for a couple hours, waiting for his moment to move in.

Janus sighed as he walked in, looking at all the Sides. More importantly he looked at the new additions on the Sides. The freckles, the deep black eyeshadow, the black tinge on a coat, and most damning of all Logan laying there in the middle, not breathing.

A deeper sigh came from his chest. “Oh Logan, what have you done?”

From his caplet he pulled a spell book, and flipped it open to a page before he started chanting a spell. He made sure to do so quietly so that none of the Light Sides would wake up. His aura lit up into a magical circle around the Light Sides.

Once Janus stopped speaking, Logan drew in a breath and everything finally went back to normal. Patton’s face had his normal late winter pallor. Roman’s coat was its normal color. Virgil’s eyeshadow looked slightly lighter.

Janus let out a sigh of relief, using his nurse illusion again but promising, “Don’t worry, I won’t let this happen again.”

Carefully the deceitful protective Side left the room and the hospital was left none the wiser.

After the warehouse the silent sniper had followed Google outside the bar until the other heroes had swarmed around Logic. The accidental victim had seemed fine, a little more aggressive than he was usually reported as being. But then there was all this talk about a lack of a heartbeat, and Nate had clearly been possessed and slipped off into the night without waiting to talk to anyone.

Or more likely the demon suspected it would be forcibly placed back into containment.

It wasn’t until the coast was clear that the hunter got into a car and drove just outside of Gainesville city limits while they could still reach the location. It looked like a simple storefront if not for the plain clothes agents inside.

The hunter flashed a quick ID badge and the guards let the hunter in, barely offering a comment as they headed down the stairs to a room where there were four people talking. Three men in suits, and a woman wearing a cloak with rune tattoos going up and down her arms.

The hunter threw the crossbow down in front of the woman, “You gave me the wrong spell.”

“Excuse me,” one of the men in suits barked angrily. “We are having a discussion, if you could wait until we’re done.”

“No, they were sent to get Google, I want to hear how it went,” one of the other men in suits commented, he was in front of a laptop working on something.

“Fine,” the first spat. “I can already see it didn’t work.”

“Calm down,” the woman told him. “What happened?”

“I had the robot in my sights but the arrow hit the hero instead,” Taylor told her. “He saw me, I was told he was a null. I shouldn’t have even been able to hit him by accident.”

“You’re positive that it was one of the null heroes?” She asked.

“Director,” one of the agents walked in with a new folder and handed it to the more frustrated suited man before he handed it to the man who was in front of the computer.

“This thing should be decommissioned and ripped apart,” he commented, Wezel remembering how Google had almost killed him in his own office. “At least the other one doesn’t try to rip your nuts off.”

“I’m not losing all the resources we dumped into it, I want this thing back,” the Director reminded. “If I have to get them back as scrap, I’ll take it.”

“Fine,” Wezel snapped. “Would help if you all used the stuff I made.”

“We did,” Taylor snapped. “It targeted someone else.”

“That’s impossible,” Wezel insisted. “It wasn’t designed to work on people.”

“Well that obviously doesn’t seem like the case,” the third man in a suit commented. His suit was an off beige and his tie was a blood red color. His smile was as sharp as broken glass.

The Actor’s placement was off but he fit like a puzzle piece, forced into place and his aura dampened to look human.

“I don’t care what it seems like, you can’t give someone a computer virus,” Wezel snapped.

“I think maybe you can,” the Actor smiled confidently.

“No, you can’t,” Wezel pulled a file out of the stack and slid it over to the Actor. “Here, take it and just go already.”

The Actor stood up, flipping through it, “Screw this robot hunt, Dames is mayor again.”

“We have more important things to worry about than a corrupt politician,” the Director reminded firmly. “But if you want to deal with it, be my guest.”

“Nice, ah-score,” the Actor smiled and kept flipping through the folder until he found a set of pictures stapled onto the folder to keep them from falling out.

They were different pictures of Dark’s Lost Ones, the Actor ignored all the others to the side and ripped Illinois’s picture out.

“You sure this kid is Wil’s?” The Actor chuckled. “Looks a bit too good looking to come from that sleaze ball.”

“Who cares at this point?” Taylor commented. “They’re all spawnlings by now.”

“Well I lost something a couple years back, looks like Dames found him for me,” Marc smiled, taking the picture as he stood up. “You need me for anything else, Director?”

“No,” the Director scoffed. “As far as I’m concerned, you and these other magic freaks can all get lost.”

“Alright, see you all around then,” the Actor just walked out, whistling to himself as he left, a slight skip in his step.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Accessibility Translations

1. Get out of here, Google’s coming and he’ll kill you guys if he sees you, come on Nate.

2. fuck

[popculturebuffet]

Darkwing Duck Reviews: Darkly Dawns the Duck Pts 1 and 2

It’s a Darkwing Double Feature! Just in time for his ducktales special, I take a look at the introduction of everyone’s favorite Daring Duck of Mystery. In his daring debut we meet Darkwing Duck, an egositical and attention hungry superhero who soon finds himself having to look after a feisty orphan to keep her from getting nabbed by local kingpin of crime Taurus Bulba with the help of his biggest fan. Darkwing owns the night under the cut with decades old spoilers. 

Let’s Get Dangerous.. is tommorow so with that in mind i’m doing a darkwing double feature to refresh myself before the big special. So i’ll be covering both the original series pilot “Darkly Dawns the Duck” and the ducktales reboot episode “The Duck Knight Returns”.  Let’s Get Dangerous Itself because I was so wiped yesterday I didn’t get the other review done and unexpectly got acess to the new episode way earlier than usual so i’d rather focus on that. Got it? Good. Let’s continue past me. 

As usual with a new show a breif bit about my history with it: I watched it years ago, as a friend of mine lent me the first two discs of the season 1 dvd and never found the third one nor asked for them back, nor cared I had them. I thoughtly enjoyed it, had a great time and then it took me a decade or so to actually watch the series again due to a combination of being too stubborn to just buy the season 1 dvd again, a very darkwing move of me in hindsight, and then when disney plus meant I had all episodes at my finger tips I.. sat on them till now.. though to be fair i’ve sat on a LOT of great shows on there including the mandalorian, gargoyles and boy meets world. I have a bad tendency to procastinate, the fact this is coming out so late in the day should be a giveaway. I did read about half of volume 1 of the comic and all of volume 2, so there’s that at least.  Point is this new episode finally made me decide to get off my ass and watch darkwing once again, starting with the pilot and the episodes related to the fearsome four to be ready for tomorrow to see what the differences are (Thoguh I did remember bushroot vividly, so I had that at least).  Something to note before I get started talking about the pilot itself though, is the episode order for Darkwing Duck is a Darkwing Clusterfuck. Now I do understand WHY they aired this way: While some episodes do logically take place after other episodes, you can reasonably pop on just about any darkwing and watch it and enjoy it with minimal need to know what happened in previous episodes, kinda like batman the animated series oddly enough. It was also aired between two networks so on some level I get disney’s confusion here.. but on the other hand it’d take ten minutes, they clearly can call up the creator easily as Tad Stones made a cameo in ducktales 2017 we’ll get to so they could easily get a better order from the creator himself, so they really don’t have an excuse for this, or for slapping the pilot in the middle of season 1. Then again both ducktales 2017 and x-men the animated series were sort of a mess order wise when first put up, so not giving a shit about where episodes are placed for re-watching clearly is a pastime of theirs. 

Now i’ve got that out of my system we can dive into the episode itself and a breif plot synopsis. Darkwing Duck is the superhero protector of St. Canard, a masked vigiliante who takes out crime but wishes he actually got fame and credit for his work. Kind of like Booster Gold but without taking endorsments or as far as we know coming from the future. He also has nothing else as shown by the fact he fights crime, does a training regimine to prepare his breakfast that’s a delight to watch then prepares to sleep. It’s an intresting concept, a hero who HAD a civlian identity once, as the rest of the series would play out, he just no longer needs it. And it’s also ahead of it’s time as batman would explore this idea both seriously with bruce wayne murderer and comedically and seriously with the lego batman movie LONG after this series aired, meaning the writers here figured out what many probably knew about batman and put it into their parody version: Batman is the real identity and Bruce is the mask. Batman only keeps his old self because the bruce id is useful to him: It keeps people away from his company, puts up a playboy facade that draws attention away from him being batman, and allows him to do various charities and what not and help honor his parents in a way that dosen’t involve swooping in and kicking people in the throat. And as seen with bruce wayne murderer when the option to throw bruce away for good came up Batman gladly took it.  This is the same idea: Drake Mallard ONLY cares about crime fighting, has no friends no family, we never do find out jack about his family hopefully if there’s a full reboot series Frank and Matt fix it for their version. He has nothing, and is fine with that. He hasn’t really had a reason to care about anything else than his own glory and works alone not because it’s less efficent but because his oversized ego means he dosen’t want to share credit. IT’s an intresting start and his ego would be a defining bit of who he is and used intrestingly int he reboot but we’ll get to that there. 

His life changes forever though when local crime boss Taurus Bulba unleashes his latest scheme: To steal the Ramrod, a gravity manipulating device created by the late Dr. Quackmeyer.. late because Bulba’s men killed him and were dumb enough not to get the arming code for the ramrod first a year ago. Bulba is also behind bars but in one of my faviorite gags of the episode despite the warden’s constnat gloating, Bulba has taken the “Supervillian makes jail into a base” Or “Jail is nothing to a supervillian who can easily get out trope” to ludcrious machines. He has whole meetings with his minions, keeps the ramrod once he gets his hands on it in the laundry and has a ship SHAPED LIKE HIS FACE built into his cellblock. I’ts just so over the top it’s glorious. But yeah since Bulba can’t go after it at first he sends his three goofy minons, one played by eddie “Mandark” deezen in.. love that guy. 

THey do end up stealing the ramrod thanks to the help of bulba’s cool, non-anthromporhic condor who he uses as his right hand man and as his link to his minons via a small tv aroudn it’s neck. That.. is awesome. Darkwing spots the condor but fails to stop the three stooges or the condor and gets unknowingly blamed for the robbery..and stopped to get glamor shots not realizing the guy thought he was a criminla which.. fair enough. It is a shadowy disguise after all. 

Darkwing ends up grabbing onto the vulture sonic 3 style, but ends up falling off him into a hangar where we meet the original version of Launchpad McQuack, whose apparently quit working for scrooge and has his own hangar now though it wouldn’t be a stretch that scrooge bought it for him.. he does , stingy as he is, appricate hard work and launchpad wanting to start his own buisness and while hte planes were probably all on launchpad, Scrooge would gladly buy a run down buliding for a loyal friend who wants to put in some hard honest work. Plus it’s a free place to store any vehicles he has in the st canard area.. I mean it’s still scrooge. And yes I know the whole “Tad stones said they aren’t the same universe” non sense. I do have the utmost respect for the guy and he seems really, nice but I don’ tlike that, no one likes that and both the comics and the current duckverse with the ducktales reboot entirely ignore that for good reason.While the two shows are diffrent in tone they stil lfit and it’s not a stretch for launchpad to want to spread his wings or failing that scrooge to help push him out of the nest and give him his own buisness or one of scrooge’s to run. 

But while Launchpad does help DW with a propeller plane they fail and while launchpad offers to be his sidekick, DW gives him the old I work alone bit.  However him being alone won’t last for long as Bulba still needs that arming code and since his only lead is Waddlemeyer’s grandaughter who grew up in his lab, he sends his buffonish minons to go get him. Why he never sends his lone female minon with them is because it’s funnier if she dosen’t I guess. Which it is so fair enough.  So thus we enter Goslyn, who the head of the orphanage is fed up with due to her antics. Goslyn is played as most of you knwo by christine cavanagh.. I honestly forgot and it still throws me off a bit she’s using what would later be her chucky finster voice for a character so completely diffrent. Granted it’s not unusual in voice acting, just weird here and only for me personally having grown up with rugrats but not darkwing. The orphanage head is a bit less jarring as she’s played by Marcia Wallace, aka Edna Krabable from the simpsons but A) that show was already running at this point and B), the character is basically a nicer version of edna versus chuckies voice coming out of a tiny if immensly fun to watch hellion. I do like goslyn, sh’es a fun character even in her shadier moments, it’s just something i’d forgotten about i’ll need to get used to is all. 

Bulba’s hired goons come in claming ot be friends of her grandpas and we actually get some really heartwrenching context for Gos’ behavior: While she does act out she actually LIKES THE orphanage.. ti’s just her friends keep getting adopted while no one wants someone “full of spirit”. It’s heartwrecnhing to hear.. and only gets worse when the goons try and kidnap her.  Thankfully Darkwing.. also kidnaps her, but he kindaps her from kidnappers and while Goslyn naturally takes a second to realize he’s the good guy them shooting at him clues her in. Darkwing, in a rare for the series as a whole moment of reason and not wanting to just power though something himself TRIES to do the responsible thing and leave gos with the police where she’ll be protected.. but given they think he’s a wanted criminal they shoot at him.. and the small child in his motorcycle. Yup that’s the police alright. 

So with no other options Darkwing takes gos home, hyjinks insue including her activintg the breakfast thing. But the two genuinely start to bond. While Darkwing dosen’t WANT to keep her around, the whole not wanting connections thing, it’s clear he’s growing fond of the little snot as she holds her own with his trianing course, they have a tickle fight and in the sweetest moment of the episode the two sing little girl blue, a song her grandfather used to sing her to sleep that she teaches darkwing. It’s an utterly heartmelting bit and Cummings and Cavanagh really sell the hell out of it. It also however turns out ot be plot relevant: Turns out just in case Dr. Waddlemeyer hid the code for the ramrod in the song, and when Darkwing sees a photo Goslyn got from bulba’s goons, he realizes this and realizes that depsite thinking she didn’t know it Goslyn had it all along.. and that as long as h’es around she won’t know.  Bulba is naturally livid at his minons failure and decides now’s the time to take this into his own hands and while he actually liked the prison hq setup, as it did make sense as it was the perfect cover and the warden was too full of himself to realize Bulba was still active and too convinced the bull was beaten down when he clearly wasn’t, but instead as mentioned above awesomely converts his cellblock into a flying ship in the shape of his own head.  Bulba.. is a great villian and I only think the show didn’t use him more because he’s a dead serious, deadly dangerous villian in an otherwise goofy but fun superhero parody show. The show later gained Negaduck, so they had a more dangerous threat for darkwing that fit the show’s tone better while still being utterly terrifying, and likely simply didn’t need him till the idea for the steerminator came up. But I love the guy: he reminds me a lot of the kingpin, a threatning villian who uses his sheer size to beat our hero down, is cool and suave and is an utter mastermind at planning. He also wears a nice suit.  And naturlaly he has a plan to take out darkwing since despite the two never having met, as Darkwing disparages when Goslyn assumes their lifelong mortal enmies like in the comics, they know of each other.. and thus bulba knows exactly what trap to spring to get him out of the way and goslyn into his ship: He flashes a message in morris code that he wants to surrender to Darkwing while stroking his ego a LOT. And it works... while i’ts an obvious trap Darkwing’s so full of himself he goes despite Goslyn telling him it’s very obviously a trap.  Naturally everything goes pear shaped as a result: Bulba shows up, revealing gos not only to be right but easily pummling Darkwing. Which makes sense: While Darkwing is a vetran crime fighter and secret agent, Bulba’s been at being a villian longer clearly as he’s built up enough of a rep both for Darkwing to know him out of hand and for the warden to be proud capturing him. Given what univese this is, it probably isn’t Bulba’s first round with a superhero and given at this stage St Canard only has one.. yeah Darkwing is outclasssed and the police grab him while Bulba scarpers. And while Gos puts up a good fight using the trianing course, Bulba’s vulture gets her. Bulba has everything he needs.  Darkwing meanwhile actually bemoans what a dick he’s been, that the first person he’s cared about besides himself in possibly ever is now in the hands of a murderous mastermind, and that he’s stuck in jail with no one to call on for help. Thankfully.. help arrives.. and by help I mean launchpad backing the ratcatcher, Darkwing’s bike, into the prisoin. He DID come just to bail DW out despite his earlier jerkishness, but backed in and Darkwing not beliving superheroes have time for paperwork, decides to just bust out. And to be ifair int his case he’s probably right as you know, a ten year old might die if they don’t get there in time. So off they go.. but with Bulba in the air they need something with wings to catch him. ANd luckily as Launchpad mentioned earlier he’s been working on something special for darkwing.  It’s with this we enter the thunderquack, which is DW”S awesome headshaped plane. It’s just cool it’s got a nice design, goofy enough tof it the universe but cool enoguh to still be fun to watch. Darkwing has really damn cool vehicles, as the ratcatcher is also awesomely iconic. But yeah the thunderquack impresses darkwing and rightfully so and he decides to make LP his sidekick afterall.  So now our heroes fly into the danger zone and attack bulba’s airship with Darkwing landing on the bow and a scuffle insues with darkwing and hte minons.. who use actual guns which for a 90′s kids show is  a suprise, especially one this intentioanlly goofy, but boy is it nice. However Bulba, being awesomely evil, isn’t dumb and instead of fighting darkwing, which he could win but would win him nothing and having gotten nothing out of goslyn, figures the hero might know the code.. and while Darkwing lies and says he dosen’t, Bulba points out .. he’s right.. but he’s always been a gambling man and has his condor drop goslyn to lure drake into telling him , with DW putting in the code and bulba testing it with a bank robbery.. before predictably having his condor drop the girl because he no longer needs her. Thankfully launchpad catches her in time and then they get revenge on the condor with the thunderquack BITING IT.. which is awesome. Hopefully the reboot version does that. 

Darkwing meanwhile saves the day, his new daughter and the city by simply sneaking over to the ramrod and mashign the keys till it overloads, silly, but undeniably awesome and effective. Bulba TRIES to finish off darkwing this time for foiling his plan.. btu the ramrod explodes and while bulba’s minons and goslyn and launchpad are safe... bulba and darkwing are apparently dead and it’s effective.  A few weeks later Goslyn’s back at the orphanage utterly distraught and broken at being basically orphaned again. Naturally though Darkwing’s alive, having taken his old identnity back since now he has something worth using it for and adopts her, hinting at who he is so she goes with him. And Drake has changed.. sure he’ll still be as egostical and impuslive as he was here.. but he’s no longer just darkwing.. he’s drake again as he has someone worth fighting for.. two someones in fact. He has a friend, a loyal partner to help him fight cime. And more importantly.. he has a loving daughter. And both needed each other: Goslyn needed someone who understood her despite her manic energy, and Drake needed someone who needed him and not darkwing, a reason to be a person outside the cape and cowl and outside the attention again. He needed a reason to live again... and he’s got it. And it’s going to be great. 

Final Thoughts: This pilot is excellent. Well paced, plenty of laughs, tense action and great introductions for everyone involved as well as a hell of a vilian> This is how you do a first episode: it introduces the main themes of the show, both comedically and dramatically, introduces the cast and gives us a one off , or rather two off it’d turn out, villian whose compelling and intresting. IT’s really damn good stuff and I can’t wait ot see what frank does with a simlar story tommorow. Until then, stay safe, and happy hallowen. We’ll be back shortly for The Duck Knight returns and then Let’s Get Dangerous tommorow. 

[alitaimagines]

character: luciano vargas / 2P! Italy - Hetalia 

song recommendations: the big bang - rock mafia

you held you shopping bags with a tight grip. you were running late to a coffee date with one of your friends but you knew that if you didn’t get the shopping done, you wouldn’t have time for the rest of the week. 

grabbing your keys from your purse, you immediately put all the perishable items into the fridge and left everything else in the bags before quickly using the bathroom and leaving again. 

hopping into your car, you zoomed to the coffee shop where your friend decided to have the date. as soon as you parked the car, you realized that your friend was just barely arriving herself. 

“Laura!” you screamed as she waved at you enthusiastically, “hey, sorry for running late!” the two of you apologized to each other at the same time. you couldn’t help but laugh, “I had to get shopping done for the week. my schedule is busy for the rest of the week and I had to get it done today.”

she nodded before saying that she got caught up with shopping as well, “well, at least we had time for hangout today. god knows I’ve needed it.” Laura sat down as you went straight towards the coffee bar to ring in your order. 

“afternoon Slyvie!” you told the older lady. she gave you smile, “the same as usual?” she asked. you nodded as she went to the back to start making your order. 

you sat one the stools and started talking with Laura. the two of you had coffee dates once a week. it kept the both of you sane and it really was just a form of therapy after the busy week you usually had. 

“do you remember the time you got drunk at a Drake concert at busted your ass in the cement?” Laura reminded you as you rolled your eyes, trying to hide your face, “no need to be embarrassed! it’s just a funny memory. that was also the night I got into the wrong car and got yelled at for it.” 

as the two of you continued to talk, you heard the small bell ring indicating someone came in. the coffee shop was usually dead around this time so it was odd hearing the noise. 

paying no mind to whoever walked in, you kept talking to Laura as she stared at whoever it was that walked in. finally getting enough of her not paying attention to you, you turned to look at who it was. 

you were stunned to see a tall man with two people standing behind. all three of them looked different from each other yet your eyes remained on what you assumed was their leader. 

“hey Slyvie, can you grab me a lemon bread? the coffee taste is really getting to me,” you asked a bit shyly. once you turned over to Laura, the three men sat at one of the empty tables and continued their own conversation. 

as the day continued and you realized that time was slipping away, you got up from your seat, “well, I gotta head home. I have class first thing in the morning and I know I’m going to struggle getting up in the morning,” you said with a hint of sadness in your voice. 

the two of you walked out of the shop but not without giving the mysterious man one last look. without realizing, you accidentally dropped your ID while taking out your keys and the man immediately noticed. getting up and picking it up, he left without telling where he was going and noticed you barely reaching your car. 

he sauntered over to your car and you immediately noticed him coming over to talk to you. without realizing, you checked yourself out in the mirror as he finally reached you. 

“I believe you dropped this inside of the shop,” he said as you instantly swooned into your seat by the sound of voice, “oh, it’s my school ID. thanks for grabbing it,” your voice wavered as you instantly wanted to smack yourself for it. 

he chuckled as he leaned up against the car, “I’m Luciano, you’re ( your name ), correct,” you nodded as he watched you nervously play with your hair. being that Luciano did what he did for a living, he was able to pick out the nervous habits of people, “what are you doing out here?” he asked knowing that it was a stupid question to ask but with your flustered state, he figured you wouldn’t realize it. 

“oh, I was catching coffee with a friend,” you explained, “we usually catch coffee once a week so that’s what we were doing,” you felt yourself over explain it and wanted nothing more than to crawl in a hole and die. 

he gave you a smirk as he finally got off the car, “well I see you’re busy,” grabbing your hand, he kissed the backside of it before leaving, “see you around.” 

as soon as you shut the door to your car, you instantly screamed in a flustered manor. you had never gotten that reaction from a man before so having someone kiss your hand so delicately, you felt your hand tingle. 

-

it wasn’t until your Friday night outing until you remembered your incident with Luciano. a few of your friends decided to grab dinner at a restaurant and while the place was a restaurant, it was also a joint to dance without it fully being a club or bar. 

“god, he was so attractive,” you admitted as you smacked your head on the table, “I swear to god, I’d let him raw me,” all of your friends looked at you horrified, Laura more than the rest of them. 

“Jesus Christ, ( your name ),” she exclaimed, “that’s very weird coming from someone who yells at us whenever we make a sexual joke.” 

you shrugged as they continued on with the conversation they were having. as the night drew in, the dance floor was a little packed as you went to dance with Laura to a random song. Luciano was sitting in a booth with a few of his henceman as he watched you sing and dance to ‘lay all of your love on me’ from Mamma Mia.

a few songs passed when the soda you were drinking finally made you want to use the bathroom. walking over to the single restroom, you realized a very familiar face. you locked eyes with him and immediately felt your face warm up. 

going to the bathroom, you checked your makeup and popped in a piece of gum before quickly using it and walking back out. Luciano stood on the other side of the wall, scaring you and making you jump at least a few feet back. 

“oh hey, Luciano, funny seeing you here!” you tried to say as he gave you a smile, “I was just saying the same thing to my friends,” he replied, “where are you sitting?”

you pointed over to the table where all your friends were at, “how about you and your friends sit with our table,” you instantly shook your head, “we couldn’t you guys look busy and we wouldn’t want to intrude.” 

he gave you a commanding look, “if it would be intruding, I wouldn’t have mentioned it so how about my offer?” you nodded as you gulped down the lump in your throat and walked over to your friends. 

they instantly seen your heart eyes, “sooo, remember the guy I was just talking about?” they nodded, “he’s actually here and offered that we sit with them, you guys down?” 

you could tell they were hesitant in responding, “sure?” Laura said as they all grabbed their things and told the waitress that they were moving tables. they all gawked as they seen the plethora of very attractive men sitting at the table. 

“you can sit here, amore,” you nodded as you slid inside of the booth and sat next to Luciano. he even propped up your legs so they were laying on top of his lap, “you guys can afford this type of wine?” one of your other friends exclaimed. 

she was holding a bottle of wine that had the price tag of more money you would ever see in your life. one of the other men laughed, “we can afford more than you think,” you chuckled as Luciano poured some wine in your glass. 

“try it,” he whispered as he handed you the cup. the wine was a bit bitter for your liking but the taste wasn’t horrible, “it’s not bad,” you mentioned as some of the other men poured the wine for your friends. 

the night continued with you basically sitting on Luciano’s lap as all of you drank wine and talked amongst each other. you felt the eyes of other patrons as you gave them a weird look and didn’t bother to give them a second look.

once all of your friends decided to call it a night, you got up from the table and stretched, “thank you for tonight, Luciano,” you said as he offered to walk you to your car, “I have to repay you for tonight,” you added. 

he stayed silent for a moment, “how about you let me take you out on a proper date?” he asked as he put his gloved index finger underneath your chin, “a beauty like yourself shouldn’t have to repay me anything.”

not being able to hold back your squeal, he chuckled at your reaction, “so I’ll take that as a yes?” you nodded as he came closer to you, “wonderful. I’ll make sure to figure out where we go for our date.” 

he closed the gap between the two of you and kissed you. had this been any other man, you were sure you would’ve pushed him away and probably kicked him in the nuts but there was something about Luciano that didn’t make you want to do that. 

“get home safely,” Luciano whispered as he finally released you and let you get into your car, “I’ll see you later.” 

-

word had gotten around your college and although you weren’t directly hearing it yourself, you were now seeing someone high up in the mafia. 

people whispered about it, some envious at how lucky you got for basically reeling in a man with money while others were fearful for the fact that you were now dating a fucking mafia leader and how quickly this could go south. 

you walked out into the schools campus but instead of heading to your car, you seen a very familiar expensive car standing in the pick up area. Luciano was leaning against his car, dawning a very expensive looking suit as he had a cigarette hanging from his lip. 

“I’m assuming that’s your boyfriend?” one of your friends asked. you shook your head no, “we’re not in a relationship, we’re just seeing each other but to be totally honest, I have no idea why he’s here,” you explained before waving your friend goodbye and walking toward Luciano. 

he flicked the unlit cigarette away as you walked up towards him, “hey Luciano! what are you doing here?” you asked as he silenced you with a welcoming kiss, “I wanted to pick you up. is that a problem?” he stated as he brought you in closer, you shook your head no, “what are you doing tonight?” he asked. 

“um, I have a few papers I have to proofread but besides that, not much,” you mentioned as he told you to give your keys to one of his men and he would make sure he would bring it back to your house, “let me take you out for dinner tonight,” he offered.

you looked at your watch, “around what time? I have a few things for school I have to do but depending on the time, sure,” you replied. he looked down at his watch, “whenever you’re free,” you grabbed your planner from your book bag and scanned it, “is seven okay?” you asked. he nodded as you gave him a smile, “wonderful, I’ll see you tonight!” 

you finally arrived to your apartment and got immediately to work. slowly but surely, you felt the energy to do your schoolwork wash away and lazily got it done before texting Luciano that you would be done a little early. 

not knowing how fancy the place Luciano was planning on taking you, you put on a random blouse and a flow-y black skirt with black heels and very minimal makeup. you knew Luciano preferred your face not to be caked with makeup. 

as you sprayed perfume on, you heard a honk from outside. grabbing your purse, you locked the door and got met with Luciano already standing outside to help inside the car. 

the car he had taken was on purpose. the back was covered so the driver wouldn’t hear their conversation and Luciano hated when unnecessary people poked into business that wasn’t there’s. 

as soon as you got comfortable, he propped your legs up on his lap and rubbed them, “you looked beautiful, as always,” he complimented as he watched you get flustered, “did you finish that work?” he asked. 

“yeah, I did although I felt like falling asleep halfway through,” you admitted, “can’t say I wouldn’t say the same. how come you’re so far away, amore?” he mentioned before pulling you in closer. 

you giggled as he held you close to him, “where are we going?” you asked as he waved you off, “you’ll see now how about you be quiet and give me a few kisses?” he said before capturing your lips. 

you moaned softly as he slipped his tongue into your mouth. your fingers ran through his fiery brownish red hair as he rubbed your bare legs. you took off his suit jacket as laid you down, well as much as he could without making uncomfortable. 

“are we really going to do this in the car?” you asked as he chuckled, “I guess this just knocks something off our list, right?” he asked before delving back into a kiss. 

by the time you arrived to your destination, your lipstick was smeared and it stained Luciano’s face as well. you quickly grabbed a few things from your purse and fixed it before Luciano got off the car and helped you out. 

from the looks of it, you were at a shopping center. the center looked to be filled with various expensive looking stores. chanel, versace, tom ford, dior. you name it and you were sure it was there. 

“what are we doing here?” you asked innocently, “shopping, what does it look like?” he said before grabbing hand. his free hand fixed his bustina cap and he walked towards the first store he intended on taking you.

as you shopped and Luciano purchased everything you even mentioned in liking, you noticed others doing the same thing. a lot of the men wore something like Luciano did and their partners were dressed in either very expensive clothes themselves or shopping for new ones. 

little did you know, it wasn’t unknown for mafia members to take their partners shopping here. it wasn’t a secret but not many ‘civilians’ shopped there. they knew what could happen if they got in the way of mafia leaders/members or their partners so they didn’t bother to try. 

just as you felt your feet starting to wear you down, Luciano took you into a jewelry store. not many people were inside but from the looks of it, the owner already knew who he was. 

“ah Mr.Vargas, how can I help you?” he asked as he walked around to greet Luciano, “I’m shopping and I need something for her,” was all he stated before got the hint. 

he motioned for you to follow him and took you to the necklace section. you immediately gasped at some of the prices that you seen but Luciano was quick to remove that stress. 

“pick whatever you like doll,” you immediately tried to protest but he gave you that look that usually stopped your protest, “pick something,” he stated again. 

you looked over the plethora of necklaces and finally chose a necklace. the necklace was shiny but not too shiny. it was diamonds covering the entire necklace while the middle held a real gemstone, one of your birthstone. 

“is the one you like?” he asked as you nodded, “we’ll take this one,” he told the man as he shook his head for the man to leave him. the man dismissed himself to the back, taking Luciano’s card to pay for the necklace. 

you propped yourself up and gave him a kiss, “thank you,” you whispered as he nodded, “I hope you know that this signifies that you are now my girlfriend,” he said without giving you much say in the matter. 

you smiled as he captured you in another kiss, “of course,” you immediately said, “although I do have one question,” you asked. 

Luciano gave you a look, “what do you do for a living? you never told me that?” you simply asked as he let out a belting chuckle, “I sell things and run my own company but don’t you worry about that. what you need to worry about is what we’re going to eat for dinner, okay?” you found it odd that he didn’t give more detail about his occupation but you didn’t bother to press it. you knew he would tell you once he felt comfortable. 

Luciano knew exactly what he was doing. he didn’t need to get you wrangled into his lifestyle. the least you knew, the better. all he had to do was keep you happy and with him and he was be content. let anyone cross your relationship with him and they would be expecting an unpleasant visit from Luciano. 

part two anyone?? i actually like where I went with this imagine and if any of you want a similar imagine with another Hetalia character, let me know! I’m thinking of Russia or England. i could make this an entire series like my pregnancy ones if you guys would like! 

ALITA 

[buckysgoldenheart]

Escort: Bucky Barnes AU

Summary: You’re a highly paid escort, trained to adapt to any situation the client may need. But this next client is a first: A mother, hiring you for her son.

Words: 3370

I know i’ve done a bad thing and started another series, hopefully small. I am still working on the other ones, but after my dad died, I lost inspiration until this story popped into my head and i kinda ran with it. Anyway, I hope you guys like it and aren’t mad.   -Lauren

This may be triggering in a way. The title pretty much explains what this is about, but it’s not negative.

Part 1:

You had been doing this for long enough to get the gist of want your clients want. Some were lonely and wanted someone to talk to for the night. Some wanted to take you out and brag about the beautiful, young girl on their arm. Some, the usual’s, wanted a fake girlfriend to take to family engagements to avoid scrutiny. But you were not a prostitute in the sense of what people assume. Your boss, Maria, was very clear to all potential clients that her girls do not engage in sexual relations in exchange for money. That’s not what her business was about. You and your coworkers were too expensive for the ‘street creeps and weirdos,’ as Maria liked to put it.

You were a girl strapped for cash and would’ve rather put a bullet in your head than take another retail job to pay for your college classes. And when Maria advertised it to you, that bit about the exclusivity made it seem safe somehow, but being rich or famous, or both, did not make someone any less of a creep or a weirdo. So, Maria was more than willing to put down money for mandatory self-defense classes that you would complete before taking your first job. Now, you and the other girls could kick anyone’s ass, even someone twice your size. At the end of the day, there were worse jobs.

 —————————————————————————————-

You were barely through the front door of your modest apartment, high heels already discarded, when you heard your cell ring. The caller ID was not one you were allowed to ignore unless ill or on the brink of death, which you were neither, so you sighed and slid the answer button.

“Hello, Maria.”

Your boss wasted no time with pleasantries and got right to the point. “I know it’s late and you had a long day, but I need you to get down to the office immediately. I have a client here and after looking at her options, she has decided on you.”

You were slightly taken aback. Her? While it wasn’t unheard of to have women request Maria’s services, it was rare. Most were annoyingly wealthy men with underlying and deeply suppressed self-confidence issues.

You sighed, internally groaning. You were exhausted after some guy’s family reunion today. It was too long and too humid, and his family was too obnoxious; prodding you with questions as if they knew who you really were. But you couldn’t turn down Maria’s requests. It was in the contract.

“I’ll be right down.”

——————————————————————————

You were still in your dress and heels from the reunion earlier: A simple light blue, but expensive looking, sundress and strappy, silver sandals, when you exited the elevator. Walking down the corridor to Maria’s office at this hour, you couldn’t help but notice how quiet it was around as your heels clicked loudly with your steps. None of the other girls were there. There was always at least one or two.

You shook your head and scrunched your eyebrows for a moment before knocking lightly on Maria’s door. “Come in.” She said from the other side. You turned the handle and stepped in with a pleasant smile. “Y/N,” Maria also smiled. “I would like you to meet your next client.”

Then, she gestured a delicate hand to the woman sitting in one of the luxurious office chairs. You nearly gasped at who was before you. Mid-fifties, hair styled in a neat chignon, tailored suit, with diamonds along her neck and at her earlobes that showed off her wealth.

The Mayor.

“Y/N, sit.” Maria said, slapping you back to your senses. But you did as she said, taking the other chair two feet away from the most powerful woman in the city. You couldn’t take your eyes off her. She oozed power and class. “I would like you to meet Mayor Barnes.”

The Mayor smiled and turned in her seat to shake your hand. “You are lovelier than your picture.”

“T-Thank you.” You replied, shy in the presence of this woman.

After the introductions, Maria began her typical spiel that, when summed up, basically just meant you weren’t a hooker. “Oh, of course not.” The Mayor replied.  

“Wonderful,” Maria smiled and scooted the paperwork across the cherry wood desk towards you and Mayor Barnes. “You will both sign and be under contract. However, Y/N, this is a…unique…situation.” All you could do was gulp. “Mayor Barnes may be your client, but to clear up any confusion, you will not be her escort.”

“O-Ok.” You nodded slightly, waiting for the kicker.

“You will be her son’s.”

Your jaw dropped despite your best efforts to remain composed. Her son. Infamous, sexy-as-hell, playboy James Barnes, who couldn’t manage to stay out of the tabloids for a quick second. Why he would suddenly want a girl like you when women fell at his feet was the most confusing part of this. Well no, the most confusing part was that his mother was the one hiring you.

“You will take on the role of Mr. Barnes’s woman.” Ok, you thought, typical job. “But there is another condition that I have assured the Mayor will be no problem for you.”

You glanced at the Mayor who was looking at you with a sweet, genuine smile; like she was already prepared to accept you into the family. Clearly, this was a well-drawn out plan.

“Mr. Barnes has not been informed about any of this. And the toughest part of this job is that he can never know.”

“I don’t understand.”

The Mayor turned to you a little more, catching your full attention. “Let me explain, dear. My son, as most people can’t help but know, is quite accustomed to putting himself in the spotlight, though it only seems to be negative. He’s been called a number of things. Womanizer, man-whore, troublemaker, a disappointment, but I know my son. He’s just as his father once was; Young and handsome, running around dragging his name through the mud.” You blinked not nearly enough as you listened, and your throat was starting to dry out. Everyone knew of James Barnes and his questionable decisions, but you felt a pang in your heart at the way his mother spit out the names he’d been called by the media. “James is not really like what everyone says. I believe he’s just…lonely. He was so young when I was elected and neither his father nor I could spend much time with him. My own fault, perhaps, but I don’t want my son to keep making these choices. He’s better than this. He’s so handsome and smart and charismatic; he could do great things, but not if he keeps himself on this path. So, what I need from you, my dear, is to become someone James can trust. A fixture in his life, at least for a time. He needs a beautiful woman like you, not these floozies that keep hanging off him. I will have you meet him, accidentally on purpose, and it won’t take much for him to strike up a conversation with you. You are absolutely gorgeous, and James can’t seem to help himself.”

“You want me to be his friend?” You asked. “I thought I was supposed to be his woman, or girlfriend, or something along those lines.”

“I would love if it turned into that, but I recognize that this a job, one that you cannot do forever. I would prefer he not fall in love with you if only to break his heart. I won’t need your services once he turns his act around. I am hoping you can encourage a permanent change.”

“One other thing, Y/N,” Maria began as you digested all the information being thrown at you. “You won’t be taking on any other clients for the duration of this job. It would create some serious problems if the woman in James Barnes’s company was seen with other men. The media would blow up and come to some dangerous conclusions. And before you start worrying about how to pay your bills with only one client at a time, the Mayor is prepared to offer you triple your normal rate.”

Triple, you thought. Somehow that made you feel guilty. You already felt bad about this type of job. You were going to be deep in a lie that would last longer than an afternoon. A lie that could potentially hurt someone when your time was up, and the thought of Mr. Barnes learning who you really were made your stomach turn. No one in their right mind would swallow that discovery with an accepting smile.

But you agreed; Not that you had a choice. You signed the contract and Maria gave the Mayor your work number so she could contact you to let you know when and where to show up so you could conveniently run right into James Barnes.

———————————————————–

For the first time, you were nervous. James Barnes’s face has been splashed all over every magazine and stupid celebrity TV program for months, and you couldn’t deny how insanely attractive he was. He was rugged and beautiful at the same time, with a smirk you wanted to kiss and eyes to melt your soul. Not only that, but there was the fact that you would be in the most intense spotlight. While the other men you’ve spent time with were wealthy, they weren’t typically the kind of famous that drew too much attention. Certainly not enough for anyone to remember your face once the job was done. But this was different. A woman by James Barnes’s side for longer than an evening would bring about a nauseating level of attention, but you guessed that’s part of the reason you were getting triple the pay.

You sighed as you plopped down on your couch for the night, stretching your legs out in your comfy sweats and turning on the TV. Flipping through the channels, you immediately stopped when you caught James’s name coming out of some done-up woman’s bright red lips. As she spoke to the camera, she would gesture behind her to the large screen with James’s picture on it, his hand clearly on some random model’s ass. His new toy.

Finally looking away from his face, you focused on what the host was saying about him. “James Barnes, notorious, sexy bad boy and ladies’ man, caught seen with his newest fling, model and actress, Svetlana Antonov. Will this last? If you ask us, she’ll be gone by the end of the week. But who will be next?”

With a groan you clicked off the TV and tossed the remote to the side. “Vultures,” You mumbled. And then, suddenly, you wondered what would be said about you.

——————————————————————

Mayor Barnes, or Winnifred, as she preferred you now call her considering your new ‘personal relationship,’ phoned you no more than two days later. What you hoped would be something simple, like a coffee shop interaction or running into James on the street was, in reality, much more extravagant. The Mayor’s annual summer fundraiser ball. Only the best of the best A-list celebrities, financiers, and hotel heiress’ where invited; People who could donate a significant chunk of change in return for a reputation boost. This is where you would meet James Barnes.

Winnifred had sent over a deep blue Oscar de la Renta gown that had small diamonds speckled around the fabric making it look like the sky on a clear night, with a flowy-ness that when you walked gave the illusion of a refreshing breeze following your steps. There were also matching drop earrings and subtle, silver heels.

You felt amazing in the dress. Not like a princess, but a queen. Thankfully though, you were permitted to do your own hair and makeup. You let your hair tumble over your shoulders and kept your makeup delicate but glamorous enough to match the high quality of the gown.

You looked at your phone, quickly checking the time before slipping it into your clutch. Ready or not, it was time for you to go.

———————————————————————–

To your surprise, Winnifred also sent a limo to escort you. A note sat on the seat cushion that read ‘you couldn’t possibly arrive at the most exclusive event of the year in a cab,’ signed with a cursive ‘Winnie’ in the bottom right corner. You supposed she was right; it would look odd. This way you wouldn’t stand out negatively.

Inside, you gasped at the grandness of the ballroom. Not only was it nothing you had ever seen before, but it was something you couldn’t even imagine if you tried. It wasn’t what you pictured when told it would be a ball. It was more like a black-tie party in an up-and coming-club. The room was dark, but not too dark, with bluish-purple up-lighting, and private, velvety, plush lounges lining the walls that could be hidden by thin curtains. Some danced to the top 40 hits the DJ was playing, but many, mostly the older men, sat chatting and drinking expensive alcohol as young women, much like yourself, draped themselves over their laps.

You realized you had been to something like this before, but not nearly as nice. You had been the girl a man held at his side like a trophy; told not to speak, but to stand there and look pretty. It was like looking through glass at a piece of your life from a different angle. And it looked pathetic. But you had to push that thought from your mind because you had a job to do; one you had signed a contract for.

Looking around, you had no idea how the hell you were going to find James Barnes. His mother only told you he was wearing a blue suit. Not much help you realized, when you actually began to search.

After thirty frustrating minutes of sifting through bodies, you decided you needed a drink, and once you reached the bar, you figured maybe James would be the one to accidentally find you. What is that thing people say? Once you stop looking for a man, a man will come to you, or something like that. You hoped that was the case because you were sick of looking. So instead, you sipped your wine and people-watched.

After some time, you realized you probably looked like an uncomfortable wallflower. You started to explore around a little more, but with your gaze distracted, not watching where you were going, you slammed your shoulder against another’s and your wine glass fell from your hand. The dark liquid splashed all over the floor, and though no one heard the glass shatter over the music, the woman whose white dress was now stained with little red droplets certainly did.

“You LITTLE tramp!” She screamed over the music. “Look what you did!”

Before you could even apologize, the woman shoved you back with a growl and murder in her dark, brown eyes. She looked familiar and a second later you recognized her as Svetlana Antonov: model, actress, and James Barnes’s latest fling. And then…

“Babe, c’mon. It was an accident.” James Barnes. He looked down at the dress with a little chuckle. “It’s no big deal,” He said. “You have twenty of these designer things.”

When he looked up he met your eyes, and while you thought you saw his breath hitch, yours certainly did. Magazines and TV didn’t do him justice. “I-I’m sorry.”

James licked his lip as he stared at your own, then you blushed as the blue-grey irises trailed down to the curve of your throat and back up to your eyes. “Don’t worry about it.”

“James!” Svetlana shrieked, and for the first time you noticed how heavy her Russian accent was. When he didn’t glance her way at her outburst, the model/actress/fling stomped away, muttering curses in her native tongue.

You wanted to stay and talk, but his presence had somehow stunned you into silence. Then you remembered something his mother told you over the phone: ‘Play a little hard to get. James could use a challenge.’

“Well, it was nice to meet you,” You smiled your sweetest smile that held a dash of sexiness. “I should probably go—”

“We haven’t yet.” He said, effectively cutting you off.

“I’m sorry?”

“We haven’t met yet.”

Your lips formed an ‘O.’ For whatever reason, you didn’t expect a comeback. “I’m James.” He reached out and took your hand in his rough yet warm one, then placed a kiss on your skin. “You can call me Bucky.”

You pulled your hand back and said a simple ‘Ok’ in response to his forwardness. He chuckled.

“And you are?”

You took a step back, smiled again, and cutely cocked your head to the side. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it. I doubt we will be seeing each other again.” Then, you sauntered off, leaving James ‘Bucky’ Barnes speechless where he stood.

 ————————————————————————

At two in the morning, you were done. Your exhaustion had hit a new level and all you wanted was a hot bath and your warm bed, but you still had one trick up your sleeve that you hoped would peak James’s curiosity about you just a little more.

Some guests had left making it easier to hunt down your target. The second you actually began to look, you saw him causally leaning against the bar as he sipped a whiskey, staring at you like it was all he had done since you ran into him earlier. You kept eye contact long enough for him to smirk seductively. But, instead of going over to him like you knew he expected, you kept walking to the exit.

You didn’t see James’s smirk drop. You didn’t see him slam his whiskey glass down and quickly tip the bartender. And you didn’t see him trailing after you, but you knew he was. Because despite how he made your pulse increase to dangerous levels, you were good at your job, and his handsome face and charming smile wasn’t going to change that.

“Hey, wait!” You heard behind you. ‘Right on time,’ You thought, but you kept walking until a familiar warm hand wrapped itself around your upper arm and spun you around. “Wait.”

He was breathing a bit heavy and you made sure to bat your lashes in the moment where silence was between you. “Hello, old friend.”

He kept hold of you, darting his eyes over every feature of your face. “Friend’s know each other’s names.”

“What?” you gasped jokingly, your eyes widening along with the act. “Who told you that?”

His eyes narrowed and he inched his face closer to yours. “My other friends.”

“Oh, well, you and I have very different customs.”

James released your arms and crossed his own over a broad chest. “You’re really not going to tell me your name?”

“Is there some kind of law that requires I do, James?”

“Bucky.”

“James.”

“Bucky.” He stressed.

You sighed. “Fine…Bucky. I don’t see why you could possibly need my name.”

“How else am I going to see you again if I don’t at least have your name so I can track you down?”

You hummed in thought. “Don’t you already have a woman whose name you know? The model?”

“She’s not my girlfriend if that’s what your implying.”

“I wouldn’t care if she was.”

“You sure about that?” He asked, his lips quirking.

“Yes, I am…Bucky.” You chuckled. “Anyway, I should go. Early morning.” But, as you turned, he grabbed you again, this time your hand.

“Please.” He said to your back.

You smirked to yourself, knowing you had won for the night, then faced him again. The pleading look in his eyes almost broke your resolve.

“Y/N.” You said.

James smiled in victory. “Last name, too, sweetheart. I need both to find you.”

You rolled your eyes with a small grin. “Y/L/N. Happy now?”

“Very.”

Then, he let your hand go and watched as you left out the front doors.

tags: @dugan365​ @moonlightimagination​ @pietrotheavenger​ @marvel-fanfiction​ @hawkeyeharrington​ @dani-si​ @alyssiamking @wintersoldier98​ @then-there-was-me-emily​ @prxttybirdz​ @tessvillegas @xceafh​ @jazzwoman897​ @fandoms-who​ @meganwinchester1999​ @ufffg​ @debra77​ @rebelliouscat​ @anise-d-castle6​ @projectxhappiness​ @buckybarnesappreciationsociety​ @lowkeysebby​ @stringgeek13​ @quotemeow @notmyfault404​ @jjamesbbarness​ @stangirl4eva​ @guera31​ @sophiatomlinson23​ @thisismysecrethappyplace​ @hiddles-rose​ @vibhati123 @mywinterwolf​ @picapicapicassobaby​ @lokilvrr​ 

[backtobackbakubabe]

Baby its Cold Outside (PART 9)

Bakugo x Reader 

Have you seen this man

**** Warning**** This chapter has a bit more graphic violence than the others. 

Words : 2810

PART 1 HERE, PART 2 HERE, PART 3 HERE PART 4 HERE PART 5 HERE , PART 6 HERE PART 7 HERE PART 8 HERE PART 9 HERE PART 10 HERE PART 11 HERE PART 12 HERE PART 13 HERE PART 14 HERE

*****************************************************************************************************

You actually got pulled to duty today, so naturally you just had to be feeling under the weather. Any other day of the week you could sit at your desk or hell just lay on one of the many couches in the break room, but nope. Not today. Today you need to go assist in a bank robbery. It was a simple call. They just needed you to pop in and get the hostages out. Piece of cake. From what you understood there was only four hostages and only two villains. Walk in the park.

But because you were already having a bad day it would only make sense if it got worse from there. So you arrive on scene and guess who’s already there? Bakugo. And guess who is yelling like the mad man he is that you don't need to go in there? Again Bakugo. 

“Nope. No. I don’t think so! This feels all too familiar. Nope. Cant do it. Go home. I think I can hear Zuko crying from here. You should probably go check on him. I can take care of this...” He probably didn't even know he was doing a full on Deku rant but you weren’t about to point that out to him right now. 

“Ground Zero... I appreciate your concern but I was called here specifically. I assume because they knew you’d blow up the building. I’ll have them out in five minutes. Now you can either help me or pout. That part is totally up to you.”

He narrowed his eyes at you, probably not appreciating be called Ground Zero. But you were in pubic and trying to be professional. “Okay Adsum..” He threw a little extra sarcasm on your name. “What do you want me to do?” 

You gave him a victorious smile, “I’m glad you asked. I can do this a lot faster if the villains are distracted. So do what you do best. Yell at them, blow things up, get their attention. And once I’ve got them all out you can go Lord Explosion Murder all over the place... Sound good?” 

He ground his teeth, “Yeah whatever just hurry...” 

Before the accident Bakugo wouldn't have bated an eyelash at you doing something like this. Now it was like pulling teeth. 

You ended up pulling everything off flawlessly. Only minor damages but that’s only to be expected when Bakugo’s involved. 

You endured the strobes of flashing cameras as the press yelled praise and questions. But neither you nor Bakugo paid them any attention. In fact you wanted to get as far away as possible. You started to feel light headed and you thought you were going to vomit any second now. Once you were far enough away you bolted towards a trash can and emptied your breakfast. 

Bakugo was at you in an instant holding your hair and rubbing your back, “Oi... you okay? You pushing yourself too hard again? I don’t care how small she is, I’ll fucking fight Dylan.” 

You pulled a tissue out of your pocket and wiped your mouth. “I dont think it’s Dylan. I think I’m just sick. I wasn't feeling too hot before I even came in today. But now that I think of it, We did have a harder day yesterday than we usually do. She had me pushing myself to see how many times I could teleport in under a minute.” You gave him a proud smile, “I got all the way up to 30. Thats once every two seconds.” 

He brushed a few hairs out of your face, “As proud as I am of you, you need to take better care of yourself. I know you say she knows your limits and everything but I still dont think there’s a chance in hell she knows your limits better than you do.” You went to protest but he gave you a pointed look, “Can you please take the rest of the day off? Just go home and get some rest. You clearly need it. ” 

“Ugh, fine... but only if you bring home some ice cream later...”

He laughed, “You and your damn ice cream. Yes I will bring you ice cream. Cookies and cream or chocolate chip cookie dough?” 

You gave him puppy dog eyes, “Both?” 

He smirked, “How could I say no to that. Alright you got yourself a deal. Now get out of here before I throw you over my shoulder and drag you home myself.” 

You wagged your eyebrows, “Oh yeah?” 

He thumped you between the eyes, “Oi! We are at work women! Contain yourself.... you also just threw up...soooo I will give you a professional hand shake goodbye.” 

He held his hand out and you just rolled you eyes. You held your hand out as well but before it met his you popped behind him and smacked his ass. “Report me to HR... I dare you.” And then you popped away in the direction of your apartment before he could scold you. You ended up ditching the costume and packing it away in your backpack. You called a cab because you really were not feeling well. 

You didn't know if the cab driver was staring at you periodically because he recognized you or if he thought you might throw up in his cab. Either way he didn't make any attempts at conversation which you were thankful for. 

You quickly took a half ass shower and brushed your teeth before going straight to bed. You passed out a soon as your head hit the pillow. 

You woke up hours later to the loud ringing of your cell phone. You checked the time before you answered. It’s a little past midnight, Katsuki should have been home by now. 

The caller ID said Kiri and your heart sank. With shaky hands you clicked answer, “He..” You cleared your throat, “Hey Kiri? What’s with the late night phone call? You wouldn't happen to know where Bakugo is would you?”

“That’s actually why I’m calling! I’m on my way to get you. I’ll explain everything when I get there. Just get dressed and get ready to go. Zuko too! Dont answer the door for anyone who isn't me!” 

He hung up before you could ask what was going on. Truly panicking now you jumped out of bed and started digging around for clothes. You were pulling on your shoes while simultaneously trying to locate Zuko’s leash when a loud bang came from the other side of the door. 

“Hey Bitch! Open up the damn door! We know you’re in there! Dont make me break this shit down!” 

Zuko started growling as you looked through the peephole. You gasped, it was the cab driver from earlier. He did recognize you. And he brought a friend. 

“Your little boyfriend aint here to protect you now is he! Not like he was the night he killed my brother! My brothers dead because of you!” 

You had no idea what the mad man was talking about but it was enough to send chills down your spine. You didn't want to risk having to fight them one on one. You still felt too sick for that. You knew Kiri was on the way so you could wait util he got there... *CRACK*

They had started kicking at the door now. “Shit...” 

“We’re going to make you pay for what you did you little bitch!” 

*CRACK*

“Then when we’re done, we’ll take out that that little shit stain Ground Zero!” 

*CRACK*

“Then we’ll track down every girl you saved that night!”

*CRACK*

You ran to the kitchen and took one of Bakugo’s really expensive knives. Surely he’d forgive you for fucking it up. You returned to the door that was only about one hard push from coming off the hinges. You focused really hard as you squeezed the knife in your hand. Then there was a slight pop and the knife was gone. 

“WHAT THE FUCK!” You looked through the peephole again but this time the cab drivers buddy had a knife... Bakugo’s knife, the one you were just holding, lodged in his chest. You did it.... You had teleported the knife through the door.

Before you had a chance to back away from the door, the cab driver threw his shoulder into it, effectively taking it off its hinges and throwing you to the ground. “Fuck!” You tried to scramble to your feet but he caught your ankle. 

You kicked him in the face twice before he let go. You had barley gotten to your feet when Zuko lunged for him. Bakugo spent a lot of time training him... so it didn't surprise you when he went straight for the throat. But watching as your dogs teeth sank into another man’s throat... it was hard to watch. 

The man cried out in alarm but Zuko just dug deeper and growled. You eyes went wide, “Zuko! No! Get back here!” 

Zuko let go and ran back to you. The man’s blood was pooling around him now as his eyes began to droop close. 

You sat down in shock staring at the scene before you. Two dead men. Blood. so much blood. Your breathing was starting to get shallow.

“Holy shit! What happened to don’t open the door for anyone but me?! Y/N! Are you okay?” 

Your eyes slowly met Kirishima's, “Where’s Bakugo?” 

He grabbed your hand and started pulling you out of the apartment and down the hallway. “I’ll tell you in the car... Come on Zuko!” 

You sped off with Kirishima checking his rearview mirror periodically. He didn't ease up until he was almost to the agency you worked at. “Okay so here's the deal. So as you just discovered some quirkless cabdriver found out where you and Bakugo live. He sent a threat along with some pictures of you walking into the building to Bakugo.” 

You gasped but Kirishima wasn't done, “Yeah but what's worse is he also sent it to the league of villains. Told them you were the one who messed up their human trafficking deal and Bakugo was the one who blew up some of their best men. You both have pretty big targets on your back right now. And Bakugo being Bakugo... he....” 

Your hands gripped the leather armrest, “Kiri don’t tell me he went off on his own... KIRISHIMA WHERE IS HE?!” 

He gave you a sad look, “We don’t know. He called me and told me to get you out of the apartment and then hung up... That was an hour ago.” 

Your eyes welled with tears. He’s so stupid. always yelling at you for not waiting for back up and now he thinks he can just show up alone to fight the League of villains of all people! 

“Where are you taking me?”

“Technically I’m supposed to bring you to the agency while we wait this out... but...” 

You leaned forward, “But what?”

“But we’re going to meet up with Deku, Todoroki, and Denki and where going to go get him.” 

“I thought you said you didn't know where he was?”

He gave you a shit eating grin, “I dont. But we happen to know where all the League of Villain hideouts are. All we need now is for you to teleport to each one. Find him and report back. They’re all within a few miles of each other. I know it’s kind of pushing it but Bakugo told me you once teleported 15 miles.” 

You nodded, “By accident sure, but my range has gone up! Its almost to three miles now... He’ll kill you for this you know? He won't want me involved in this at all.”

He rubbed his neck, “Well that's a risk I’m willing to take to get his dumb ass home.” 

Half an hour later you along with the others were huddled around a map with all possible locations circled. Todoroki pointed to a spot almost exactly in the middle if the others, “That’s where we are right now. This spot is about 5 to 10 miles from all possible locations. Y/n. We need you to teleport to each of them until you find them. When you do, do not engage. Teleport back to us. You’ll take me first, then Midoriya, them Kaminari, and lastly Kirishima. Do you understand?”

You nodded, “I’m going to be honest.. I don’t know how efficient Ill be. I’ve only been working on this kind of thing for a month or so. I’ll likely have to teleport two or three times to get to each location. Do you have pictures?” 

He shook his head, “No I apologize we do not. Are you sure you’re up to it?”

You cracked your knuckles, “Which one first?” 

You popped in and out. Running into trees, and ponds, and whatever else was in your way. You had to stop to throw up nice or twice, but you never did it in front of the other heros. They didn't need to see you were sick. You were on to the fourth location when you made a mental note to thank Dylan profusely when this is all over. Without her intense training you don’t know if you could have done any of this.

This stretch only took you two teleports to get there. You were breathing heavy with a sweat soaked shirt when you heard it, the familiar sound of an explosion. “Katsuki?” You were hiding in a couple of trees that surrounded a barn. You teleported to the top of the closest tree and look down. Sure enough there he was. You were itching to go to him. To drag him out by his ear. But you had a job to do. You took one last look at his blonde head. Hoping he would still be here when you got back. 

In one long stretch that made your muscles scream in protest you teleported back to your friends, “I found him now lets go. We need to hurry!” 

Shouto stepped up and you spat a quick, “Hold your breath.” And you were off. You dropped him by the same tree you had just stood under and pointed in Bakugo’s direction, “Hes that way. Just listen for the yelling and the explosions.” 

Without waiting for a response you went back to get Midoriya. When you dropped him off you started to feel dizzy. Not good. You leaned on a tree and gripped your head. Through gritted teach you made it back for Kaminari.

When you came for Kiri you couldn’t help it. You threw up. 

“Shit Y’n are you okay?” 

“Yeah I just have the flue or something. Just give me a minute.” 

A minute turned to twenty and you could still hardly pick your head up. Kiri came and knelt next to you. “Hey they made it out okay. They took him kicking and screaming, but they got out. I just got off the phone with Midoriya. What do you say we get you to a hotel room and get you something to eat huh? My treat. It’s the least I can do after I basically volunteered you for this.” 

You wanted to protest but your stomach gave you away. You hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and you had thrown that up a long time ago. “Yeah I could really use some food. I’m fucking starving.” 

You called ahead and ordered a room as well as enough food for a small family. Kirishima got the room next to yours and told you to let him know if you needed anything. 

You opened the door and the smell of pizza, chicken nuggets, and mac and cheese hit you. You couldn't decide what you wanted so you had ordered it all. You needed a little comfort food. You deserved this. 

You had devoured the mac and cheese and was about to dig into the pizza when you heard the click of the door.

You grabbed your fork tightly as you stepped over to see who it was. 

“They didn't have cookie dough, so I could only get you cookies and cream.. I hope thats okay..”

You dropped your fork and flung yourself at him, “You’re so fucking stupid you know that! You cant do that to me. I was so scared!” 

He slowly wrapped his arms around you, nuzzling his nose through your hair, “I know. I’m sorry. I just.... I saw red. I couldn't let them get to you. The only thing on my mind was to protect you.  And then Kirishima told me they went to the apartment anyways. SHIT are you okay? I heard you stabbed a guy..?”

You flinched, “Well not exactly. I teleported the knife through the door... Zuko handled the other guy. Speaking of which he needs a bath... He has blood in his fur...”   

He cupped your face in his hands, “Later when were both not emotionally exhausted I’d like to talk about how badass and impressive you are. But nows not the time.” He looked to Zuko who was wagging his tail at his feet, “Thank you for looking out for our girl.” He gave him a quick pat on the head

You pulled away from his embrace and ran to the bathroom and threw up for probably the fifth time today. 

“Damn Y/n I’m sorry. I was the one who asked you to take the day off and then you had to go and work so fucking hard just so you guys could find me. I’m such a dumbass. I’m sorry.” 

You leaned against the tub, “You're not a complete dumbass. You still remembered the ice cream.” 

[broadwayandnetflix]

Meet Cute - Officer Slater x Reader

Warnings: Language

Theme: Fluff

Summary: After you get robbed you keep finding yourself meeting up with the cute officer you met at the police station. 

Word Count: 2.1k

A/N: I just want to clarify that I don’t know jack shit in regards to how police officers do things. If I butchered anything, I am so sorry in advance. If any constellation, I don’t think Slater or Micheals do either. Also, I’m so sorry in advance I feel like this could’ve gone a lot better, or into two parts, but I hope you enjoy! @wltz-bby​

A soft hum escaped his lips, fingers tapping rhythmically to the beat of a faint stereo song playing in the background. There he sat, in uniform, kicking the ground one foot at a time to twirl his office chair around and around.

The small and dingy office fan blowing weakly in his face, while sweat dripped down his forehead in response to the heat.

Heaving a big sigh, he runs his hands through his hair, instantly cringing at the dampness of his disheveled locks.

Let’s face it, summer within abnormally warm cities sucks, or more specifically summer in Los Angelos sucks ass. He can’t tell what’s worse, the daily humidity or the fact that he has to wear his uniform and act like he’s not sweating to death.

Whoever decided that police uniforms should be pitch black, were obviously not thinking correctly. That shit attracts heat, and if Slater dies on the job from a heat stroke, he’s going to sue from the beyond.

So when it was devastatingly announced that the air conditioner within his unit broke, Slater knew that his day was ultimately going to be a long one.

That was until Jennifer called him down to the front desk, he stood up rather too quickly as the chair below him shot out, causing him to stumble backward. Catching himself, he straightened his sweaty uniform and strode out.

Jennifer, a woman in her mid 50’s, always seemed to carry a slightly sour disposition with her. So when he witnesses the reason why he was called down, he can’t help but feel bad for the poor thing.

In front of the front desk resides a somewhat frazzled woman, her eyes widened and body all staticky. If there’s one thing that Slater notices despite her current state, is that she is quite the looker.

Now one didn’t have to look long at Slater to tell that he was not as smooth with the ladies, so when dealing with a pretty woman, while simultaneously looking like a sweaty, hot mess was not ideal.

“How can I help you, ma’am?” thoughts aside, he was at work here.

“Oh, uh, I think I was robbed!” you blurt out quickly.

“You think?” he hums, quirking a brow.

“No! I know! I’m sorry, this has never happened to me before.” you admit quickly, silently cursing yourself.

He smirks at you, emphasizing that he’s teasing, to which you deflate slightly, before pulling out a notepad and a pen to which he promptly points towards you.

“What apartment complex do you live in?” he asks procedurally.

“Nansen, I’m in apartment 7B.,” you reply, watching as he jotted it down.

“Can you give me any reasons or details that may revolve to you getting robbed?” he questions, no longer looking at the pad but at you.

You could feel your face begin to heat up under his pressing gaze, as you have never had much experience with Police Officers prior.

Especially not attractive ones.

He seems to catch on before softening his gaze, deciding to give you tips about the questions prompted.

“Did there appear to be any forced entry?” he starts.

“Uh, yeah, there did, I think. I came home from the grocery store, and my door was wide open. I know for a fact that I didn’t leave it open, and I don’t have a roommate.” you explain quickly.

He nods in response, muttering the words under his breath while he quickly scribbles them out on his pad. This allows you to get a quick glance towards his name tag, Slater.

“They definitely took a few things, nothing that I really need back. You see, my neighbor told me to call the cops, but the precinct is down the street, and the guy already left, so.” you look down at your feet.

“No that seems about right, I’ll check in with your complex in regards to any security cam footage. In the meantime, I’d like you to fill out this report so we can contact you if needed,” he informs, clearing his throat, causing you to glance up at him once more.

In his outstretched hands contains the form, the paper rustling gently under his slightly shaky grasp, to which you take it before pulling it down to your side.

He looked a tad bit flustered and quite sweaty now that you’ve gotten a better look at him. It doesn’t surprise you in the slightest, the weather outside was boiling, and the precinct was littered with fans.

“Sound good?” he asks, breaking your train of thought, you nod quickly.

He smiles, sweetly at you for a moment, causing you to feel your cheeks heat up once more. Until a muffled voice erupts from his side pocket, his smile faltering and eyes widening as he reaches down to pull out a walkie-talkie.

“Slater, Micheals, 10-16, I repeat 10-16.” a male voice omits from the speaker to which he dramatically groans.

“I gotta take this,” he juts out quickly, looking at you hesitantly, to which you promptly nod, smiling awkwardly, watching as he walks away to talk to another officer.

Letting out a breath you didn’t know you had been holding, you walk over to a section with a table and discarded chairs, filling out the form to get it over with.

-

“Hey, sweet thing, whiskey neat, would ya?” A customer calls out, his voice gruff and slurred.

Forcing a smile, you nod, biting back a witty remark as you grab a clean glass and a bottle.

You don’t know what exactly prompted you to become a bartender, but it paid the bills and gave you desirable hours. Despite the usual filter of drunken men, you enjoyed the company of your coworkers and regulars.

Sliding the glass across the counter towards him, he gives you a wink and scoots his barstool around to face his friend. You cringe slightly, before turning back to meet your coworker, Julie.

“Hey, Y/N, can you do me a favor and grab another bottle of tequila from the back? We just ran out, and some asshole wants shots,” she asks, rolling her eyes slightly at the drunken calls coming from behind her.

“Yeah sure, Avión, right?” she nods quickly as you shuffle towards the back.

Slipping into the back, you quickly secure an unopened package of tequila, walking back out only to stop at the sound of loud commotion within the bar.

Hunched over the front counter are two police officers and one scrawny kid, you catch the eye of Julie as she rushes over to grab a case.

“What’s that about?” you whisper, noting the familiarity of one of the officers.

“I don’t know, thanks, though.” she shrugged before rushing off to the other side of the bar.

Eyes widening as you walked closer, the officer you had spoken to earlier that morning sat delved in some conversation with his partner.

“How may I help you?” you ask as nonchalantly as you could, shifting nervously on your feet.

His eyes flicker upwards towards you, before forming a slight “o” with his mouth. Out of the corner of your eye, you note his partner nudges him in the side.

“Oh, hey?!” he stammers before clearing his throat, sitting up straighter.

You shyly smile before leaning against the counter, a silence settling between the two of you.

“So we actually wanted to ask if you could play this tape for us,” his partner begins, you quickly glancing down to his name tag that read Micheals.

“Oh yeah, robbery at a local store, and we need to check the security cameras,” Slater adds in, never taking his gaze off of you, holding the tape out for you to consider.

“Oh yeah, of course,” you reply.

Your fingers brushing against each other as you grasp the tape, you feel your breath hitch, before turning around to slide it into the television behind you.

“Can I get you guys anything to drink in the meantime?” you ask as you play around with the remote.

“Of course, three Coronas?” Slater replies you look back at him eyebrow raised in response to the kid beside him.

You watch sympathetically in response to the kid, eyeing him as he gulped nervously under the sudden set of attention on him, looking anywhere else but you. It makes you feel almost nostalgic, being a teenager again wanting to sneak a beer. You’d certainly done it with friends at parties, but never with cops.

“Can I see some ID please?” you inquire while reaching down to get three beers at the ready.

One by one, they slide them out towards you, including the kid with quite the peculiar name. You bite back a smile, before reaching up to slide their ID’s back along with a beer for each.

Out of the corner of your eye, you catch Slater wink at you, you press play on the remote and lean back to watch the tape.

The footage containing the robbery that Slater had mentioned prior, which included the kid getting the brunt of the attack.

Slater and Micheals finding the ordeal very entertaining, you couldn’t help but giggle at their antics, replaying the video to get the perfect timing of the hit.

-

After a while, the commotion between the three died down, Julie often making her way over to take orders, and you began clearing tables. The bar was a tad bit smaller than a typical bar, so clean up wasn’t so bad.

“Hey, I just wanted to thank you for being so understanding about Mc’Lovin and everything.” A voice calls out from behind you, you spin around becoming face to face with Slater once more.

You smile softly, shaking your head as you set down your tray of empty glasses. His taller figure towering over your smaller frame, you couldn’t help but pay closer attention to how good he looked in uniform.

“Oh my gosh, don’t worry about it, I trust that you guys know what you are doing,” you reply, casually leaning against the table, eyeing him.

His stares blankly in response, tilting his head to the side, you gesture to his uniform, watching it click within him.

“Oh yeah,” he stammers, “probably the beer kicking in,” he smirked, raising his drink up for you to see.

Chuckling softly, you make your way over to another table, motioning for him to follow you. He does, watching you curiously while you worked in your element, making sure everything was precise and orderly.

“So,” you hum, “what’s it like being a police officer?” glancing back at him briefly before wiping down a dirtied tabletop.

“Oh, it’s the shit, Micheals, and I get to do all the badass shit like stop robberies, car chases,” he pauses, prompting you to look back at him, his finger pointing towards you, motioning for you to come closer.

Just between you and me,” he whispers practically pressing against you, the scent of his cologne filling your senses.

“Micheals and I skip red lights, just for the fun of it,” he smirks at you, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.

“Okay, sounds like someone’s a little tipsy.” you chuckle before pressing away to grab your tray.

He shakes his head defensively, even though the scent of his beer still lingers on his breath. A smile forming at your lips, watching as he tries to sober up to prove a point.

“No,” he sighs, “I just haven’t done this in a long time.” you eyed him curiously, “I haven’t flirted with a pretty girl in a long time, I’m afraid I’ve lost my charm.” he murmurs dejectedly.

Now, this surprised you, looking up at him with wide eyes, now it’s you who are shaking your head in disagreement.

“Trust me, you haven’t,” you reply quietly, smiling softly at the thought.

A small grin meeting his lips, the two of you taking each other in, that is until Micheals calls out from behind breaking the moment.

“Buddy! Apparently, there was a fight that broke out at a party, we need to check it out.” You watch as Slater almost deflates at the prospect of leaving, to which you chuckle softly.

“Go get ’em, tiger.” you wink before gently shoving him off.

-

“That’ll be $38.25 for your total, and just sign here please,” you say as you slide the receipt out towards them with three extra beers.

Slater nods before doing so; his script messy and signature tremendous in comparison to the line.

“Thank you.” you murmur as you grasp the receipt from his outstretched hand, and then hand him the final one with a little something extra.

Your phone number.

You watch as he looks down at the total and then towards the extra slip in his palm, giving you a huge grin, before being promptly shoved out by Micheals.

This was going to be interesting.

[donnerpartyofone]

A few years ago there was this moment where I got a ton of anonymous messages from some far right asshole about the usual shit--Hillary, the corrosive force of immigration, inherently evil ethnic and religious groups, etc. The messages were weird in that most of them seemed to be copied and pasted out of the middle of some article somewhere, but there was never a source mentioned, and there was never enough information for me to get the whole picture even if I really cared about all this "proof" that black and brown people should be kicked out of Sweden or whatever the point was supposed to be. Some of the messages were actually written by the sender, and they all sounded pretty stereotypically crazy: rude, vague, delirious references to conspiracies, pedophilia, brainwashing, etc on the left, or really just orbiting around Clinton. (This is totally tangential, but to this day I'm convinced that all these reactionary nutbags just want to fuck Hillary Clinton, I mean the enduring, overheated obsession with her has extended so far beyond the the sphere of her electoral campaign or any threat of her achieving greater power that there has to be a reason these freaks keep bringing her up, bringing up the fevered vision of a woman dominating them along with the entire country, a compelling reason, perhaps a BIOLOGICAL reason) I'm still embarrassed about this, but I engaged with this person, posting their inane drivel to try to vivisect it, to explain why it was so stupid and ineffectual. I wasn't that worried about giving them a platform, since the messaging was so primitive and hard to understand if you weren't already on his side, but that was exactly my point: When you make yourself sound like an escaped lunatic in a doomsday sandwich board sign, who is supposed to take anything you say seriously? How could it have any effect besides undermining whatever you're trying to support? That effect, and the strengthening of convictions held by lefties like me, who would naturally like to be as opposite of your raving inarticulate ass as possible? And besides all that, my blog had a pretty apolitical appearance at the time, so why was anon assuming I was this passionate Clinton shill? I mean, fuck him and his bigoted garbage, OF COURSE, but I couldn't figure out how he had targeted me personally for this treatment.

The point that I wish I had gotten then was, it didn't matter. It might have been the result of one of those things you hear about from time to time, about how supposedly a bunch of mean jerks from 4chan (or whatever the current iteration is) are going to conduct a "raid" on Tumblr, like they're going to seek and destroy liberal snowflakes and precious cinnamon rolls with their, uh...incredible verbal prowess I guess. Surely the point was just to get me all riled up so someone could say that they pwned me, although I don't know what the reward of this pwning was supposed to be besides the "made you look!" thrill of tricking me into talking to or about them. I'll never understand the perspective of the kind of person who thinks that you "win" something when someone blocks you online, as if blocking isn't just a way of saying "You are literally worthless." It's interesting how that line of troll thinking works, it seems to suggest something like, "Ah, you should have KNOWN that I was nothing but an insignificant piece of shit with nothing to say, but you treated me like I was worth talking to, so therefore I WIN!" I strongly suspect that all of troll culture (I mean, not LEGIT trolls who bait you with patently stupid decoy ideas, but these little garbage people who bait you with their real actual opinions) is predicated on an urge to masochism, that this kind of person is always a spineless perverted weakling who craves insults and punishment, who feels in their very bones that they deserve the worst, who is at all times secretly drooling to slurp on the delicious bootheel of Hillary Clinton, long after her rally balloons have been found deflated and dangling from the network of powerlines crisscrossing the Real America...

But that reminds me of another self-loathing lunatic of my acquaintance, my ex-boyfriend. Yes, really, but I swear to god this is going somewhere. He was an intelligent guy, a lit major who had graduated with honors from a reputable liberal arts school, an editor at a respected arts & culture publishing house who fancied himself a progressive thinker who stood up for the freedoms of others--and who, I slowly found out, used his enthusiasm for Obama and The Daily Show to mask the noxious brew of casual racism and virulent misogyny that made up his fuel for living. When we were dating, I thought that we had problems, and I thought dealing with problems was a normal part of adult relationships; I thought the opposite of constantly struggling for peace, honesty, and respect was "expecting life to be like a fairy tale", which I certainly did not want to be accused of. So I didn't get what was going on when he would choose some arbitrary trigger for an abusive episode, and I would try, and fail, to resolve whatever was bothering him. I bought in to the idea that we were both intelligent people with respect for one another's intelligence, and that it was possible for us to get at the heart of any trouble through calm and rational discussion. He often gave me plenty of breadcrumbs to follow, indicating that there were REASONS that he was angry with me, which led me to believe I could fix everything by clearing up misunderstandings, since I had never conspired to do anything to him but try to love him. (Although sometimes he wouldn't even tell me what I had supposedly done, intoning "You're a clever girl, you'll figure it out" in a sneering Joan Crawfordesque voice--I should have known then that he didn't need or even want a good reason to attack me) But, his debate style, if I can call it that, involved screaming, changing the subject, repeating whatever I said back to me in a "r*tard voice", impugning my character (or that of my family and friends) in ways that had nothing to do with the argument, and other tactics that ensured that his opportunity to hurt and terrorize me lasted for hours or days. I missed the fact that for him, the fight wasn't a resolvable interruption of our relationship, it was the entire point of the relationship.

The most brilliant thing he'd ever done--though I don't want to call it that, since this has more to do with base instincts than brains--was to use my intelligence against me. If I had placed more importance on my own feelings than I did on "being fair" and "making sense" of our conflicts, then I would have escaped before I had to develop this whole behavioral theory that I am delivering to you now. By producing "reasons" for his anger, he made me think there was a debate to be had, and that the person with the superior logic would win out. I was convinced that would be me, since I knew the Truth, and he was just confused by his inner demons (drugs and alcohol, his shitty friends who "made him" do bad things, his supposed trauma from the last relationship he deliberately destroyed, his inferior parents who made him look bad by being "visionless ant people", and whatever other excuses he surfaced whenever it benefited him to play the tragically injured good guy). What I know now is, all abuse is the same, and it doesn't need or want to justify itself. Its only aim is the free reign of violence. It has no interest in truth or justice of even the most deformed variety. Its goal is to give unfiltered vent to all forms of hatred. The fact that it disguises itself with a mask of rationality, made up of straw men, false equivalences, dubiously construed "facts" arranged into artificial patterns, and other distractingly logical-looking tactics, does not mean that what is inside operates on, or is vulnerable to, actual logic. It's all just id monster shit. Do not interact.

[meganshinsou-tm]

Crimson|Ink. (m)

↳ chapter twenty: your betrayal

❧ genre:  tattoo-shop/hitmen au | tattoo artist/hitman kirishima

❧ fic warning: major character(s) death; happy ending

❧ chapter warnings:  throwing up/bile, minor blood, mentions of drugs/drug dealing

❧ chapter song:  Your Betrayal by Bullet For My Valentine

♬crimson|ink playlist | ♧ character profiles

[multi-chap masterlist] [previous chapter - next chapter]

Dabi’s booted foot kicked open the door to his office as he shucked off fresh blood from his hands before reaching into his pocket for a cigarette. He mumbled to himself with annoyance while placing one of the cancerous sticks between his lips and kicking over the small wastebasket that sat beside his worn-out desk. The sound of bottles clinking and rolling around the floor rang throughout the room when they spilled from the container and he plopped down on the desk chair.

“Fuckers - think they can run shit behind my back,” Dabi grumbled and kicked his feet up.

Igniting a small flame with his palm, the man lit his cigarette. Lips wrapping around it as he puffed it to life and finally took in a lungful of nicotine. With a deep and long inhale, Dabi deflated into the cushioned chair and exhaled, feeling his rage simmering down. Running a bloody hand through his black hair, he let his head fall back and rest, his blue eyes closed for a moment and tried to not set his entire office ablaze.

The last thing he wanted to do today was exhaust his energy on idiotic bullshit but on rare occasions, not even Dabi gets what he wants. That fact had been proven to be annoyingly true a lot lately. 

To him it felt like more and more the past few months, his own pushers weren’t taking him seriously. Where they got the idea that they could screw him over without any consequences was beyond him. It was very clear that Dabi saw everyone around him as expendable, it was also clear that he was a raving lunatic who would cremate whatever he pleased without a single shred of remorse. The fact that some of his subordinates even had the balls to think otherwise made Dabi’s blood boil. Nothing pissed him off more than disobedience, especially when it came to his products, his livelihood.

So needless to say, when he found out a small group of his own workers were using his very own product to run and make cash for themselves like a couple of dumbasses, he didn’t have any second thoughts about teaching them a lesson. Once that lesson was learned and they were crying, begging for his forgiveness, covered in charred blistering skin with a few less fingers, toes and teeth to begin with, Dabi only laughed before disintegrating them into nothing but ashes at his feet.

All of that took energy, energy he didn’t have, and it was fair to say that all of this put Dabi in a worse mood than usual. And without you there now for him to take all that frustration out on, Dabi was on edge. 

Sure he could torture anyone he wanted, but he didn’t get the pleasuring satisfaction from it like he did when it was you he was torturing. He missed those doe eyes looking back at him, full of big fat tears and unwavering fear but also unconditional blind love. Dabi craved to have those broken and shattered three words spoken back to him as he had his way with the thing most precious to him. 

His angel.

The more he thought of you and the lack of your presence around him, the more pissed off and impatient Dabi got. It had been nearly a week since he called that shop you now hid behind, waiting for some sort of news. Of course, Dabi didn’t expect any of the tattooed men to really kill you, he hoped to drive a wedge between the trust that was built there, to cause the small crack that would eventually lead to a massive break and get you back in his grasp. But it was taking too long, way too long.

Dabi flicked his now burned up cigarette across the room, gritting his teeth.

He should’ve just grabbed your ass when he had the chance. He should’ve killed that red-headed fucker that you clung too while walking down the street. But no, for some reason Dabi wanted to play games because he was used to things going his way of course but once again, that wasn’t happening for him lately. The only thing that would bring the likes of a smile to his face was knowing how branded you were, how you would never be able to truly get rid of him. He relished in knowing that every time you looked at yourself, or that he looked at you, you both knew who you belonged to.

Before Dabi could continue to think, his phone started to ring. His eyes scanned the caller ID and he answered with impatience.

“About fucking time, I was beginning to think you were slacking on me.”

“I - I’m sorry sir, it’s just been harder now to get an eye on her and the source has been out of town until recently.”

“Shut up. Anything new?”

“Well as you suspected they didn’t take it, she’s still alive obviously. The thing is, now they’re always around her, she’s very well protected at all times and she hasn’t been back to her own place at all. I’m positive she’s staying with the red-head now. They even have his place on lockdown, someone is always around and watching.”

Dabi chuckled and shook his head. He expected this. It was a major annoyance and hindrance for him but it wasn’t going to stop him from getting to you, not in the least. He sighed calmly and sat up in his chair before replying.

“That source, when do you see them again?”

“Tonight.”

“Perfect,” he smiled wickedly and stood to his feet, “Bring em in tonight, I’m getting fucking impatient here and I’m done with playing games.”

“Kami I’m walking into work right now, I’ll text you okay?”

A pout could literally be heard through the speaker and it made Hitoshi chuckle and roll his eyes.

“You’re hopeless you know that, look I’m gonna see you again in a few more days so stop pouting!”

“I’m not pouting …” Denki replied with a whimper.

“Yeah and my hair isn’t fucking purple,” Hitoshi grinned as he walked into the bar he worked at, resting the phone on his shoulder so he could remove his jacket. “You’re so needy, you’re lucky you’re cute. Now I have to go, I’ll text you - promise!”

“You’re lucky I’m so easy!”

“I wouldn’t sound too proud of that if I were you Kami.”

“Shut up, you know what I mean. Ugh - I gotta go anyway and make a run with Lil’Mama. So I’ll talk to you soon.”

Hitoshi nodded and placed a hand on the bar top, “Okay, please be careful and safe, both of you.”

Denki awed into the speaker, probably smiling.

“Don’t worry Toshi, nothing is going to happen to her, I’ll slice and dice a motherfucker for this girl, she’s in good hands with me! Now be a good boy and get to work, bye!”

After hanging up Hitoshi smirked at his phone and sighed. He placed the device in the back pocket of his jeans and went to clock in, running a hand through his unruly locks. The door opened and closed as he was walking back to the front of the bar, making him look to see who it was and smiling.

“Hey Kage, long time no see! Ready for work?”

The silver haired male nodded with a friendly smile and pat Hitoshi’s back when they passed each other.

“Ready as I’ll ever be. How was your trip?”

“Good, just hung-out with some friends and took it easy, needed a little break. Hope it wasn’t too busy without me here.”

Kage shook his head and shrugged, “Nah man it was fine, no worries! But hey, we need to catch up, wanna chill after we close up tonight?”

Hitoshi nodded, agreeing with his pal before getting back behind the bar and setting up for the night. Soon Kage joined him and they made sure glasses were clean and ready, Hitoshi made sure there were full bottles of every kind of liquor lining the shelves and the bartop itself was clean. He was thankful his first night back at work after a week is with Kage, they always work well together and the nights go by without any problems when it’s them.

Kage actually started working at the bar maybe six to seven months ago after moving to the area. He and Hitoshi hit it off well, he was laid-back and carefree, a hard worker. It didn’t take long for the two of them to become friends and hang out every now and then after their shifts together. Once in awhile Hitoshi would catch him in town and they would grab something to eat together. 

Any time Hitoshi needed off to go to see you in the next town over, Kage was always happy to help him out and cover for him. Hitoshi wasn’t proud to say that Kage could drink him under the table in no time and almost always ended up having to tote the hulking purple-haired man back to his own home. Any time they drank together was fun but always ended in a major headache and hangover from hell the next day for Hitoshi.

The two men managed to finish setting up just in time when a wave of people started to crowd into the bar out of nowhere, kicking off their shift with a bang. 

Back and forth Hitoshi went, pouring drink after drink, taking a few shots here and there that were bought for him by happy customers. It wasn’t against the rules and it helped with tips, he just had to pace himself in between. A few hours passed and Hitoshi only had to use his quirk once to avoid a bar fight, other than that the night was good. Him and Kage were holding down the bar, doing tricks here and there to get even more money and good energy. Kage took a small smoke break and came back to relieve Hitoshi and give him his own small break.

With an appreciative smile, Hitoshi ducked out and grabbed a bottle of water before stepping outside for some fresh night air. He propped against the brick wall and took his phone out, chuckling at the numerous messages he had from the small group chat between him, Denki and you. Scrolling through the messages of nonsense and memes, he decided to just video call. Not even a second after ringing, yours and Denki’s faces popped up on his screen, full of smiles as you both waved.

“Toshi!” You both answered in unison.

He smirked and waved with a finger as he held the water bottle.

“Hey, cuties.”

You laughed and looked at Denki, pointing out the pink on his cheeks and earning a nip to your finger. You gasped with offense and Denki smiled, taking you under his arm and holding you close while the three of you chatted.

“How’s work?” Denki asked.

“It’s busy but it’s good. Gotta work my ass off this next week to get you guys some presents since I took off last week.”

“Aww Toshi, you don’t have to get us anything. Speaking of - we’re doing Christmas here at the shop, cooking, hanging out, games! So you have to be here.”

Hitoshi nodded at your demand.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world sweetheart. How are you doing, that jackass keeping you safe?”

“Fuck you troll!”

Hitoshi smirked as he heard Kirishima in the background, he snickered when you flipped the red-head the bird off screen before you were pulled away and no longer visible. The sound of you laughing in the background filled his ears and made him smile, a relieved breath leaving his chest. Denki managed to get kicked in the crossfire of the tickle war going on between you and Kirishima in the background so he moved to a different room, your voice yelling out loud enough that you loved Hitoshi and said goodbye.

“Yes, he’s keeping her safe, we all are. You have nothing to worry about really, she doesn’t want you to worry anyway.”

“I know, but I can’t help it Kami. I feel responsible for her and being nearly two hours away from her at a time like this, with him around and knowing where she is - it’s fucking terrifying, I’m helpless here.”

Denki pouted, his yellow eyes softening and holding nothing but concern for his friend.

“I understand Hitoshi, but we’re gonna find him soon and we’ll deal with him once and for all okay? You’re not helpless here babe, just calling her like you do helps. It helps her not think about that shitty fact for a few moments, makes her forget. And I mean in all honesty ... if you wanted you could totally quit your job and just move down here, I’ll take care of you!”

Hitoshi looked at the screen to see Denki smiling deviously, he laughed and tilted his head.

“Oh yeah? You gonna be my sugar daddy, Denki?”

“What you don’t think I can be?”

“Well going by the other night and the way that you were riding my -”

“Okay okay okay - shut the fuck up!” Denki cut off the cocky purple-haired male as his hand frantically waved on the screen. “So maybe you’re more the daddy here in those terms. What if I gave you all the money and you act like it’s yours, that way I can still be the baby.”

Hitoshi gave a hearty laugh and shook his head.

“You’re something else Denki, what am I gonna do with you?”

Denki blushed and chewed on his lip. Hitoshi watched closely and smiled, placing his thumb on the screen and imagining brushing the pad of it over the soft piece of flesh. So maybe he was a sucker for this horny little freak since you found Kirishima. No one was complaining or shocked though, it was hard not to fall for Denki’s charm and pretty looks. Not even if you were Hitoshi Shinsou.

“Just think about it, okay babe? There’s nothing wrong in letting me take care of you, you can get a job around here, hell even work at the shop, I know you have some drawing skills. And if it helps put your mind and heart at ease to be closer to her, then I won’t hesitate to be your sort of backwards sugar baby.”

“I’ll think about it okay? In the meantime, I gotta get back to work and make more money so I can get you something special for Christmas, since you’re so cute and whatnot.”

At this Denki gleamed and nodded eagerly.

“Okay! Have a good shift handsome, text me later!”

After saying goodbye Hitoshi ended the call. His head leaned back against the wall and he looked up to see just a few stars peeking their way through the clouds. 

Maybe moving wouldn’t be so bad. In the beginning, it was only half of his heart that was two hours away, now the other half was there too and it was getting harder and harder for him to be so far away.

Hitoshi pushed off of the wall and downed his bottle of water before tossing it into the trash can and returning back to work. For the rest of the night his shift went smoothly and finally it came to a close. Kage sighed and leaned against the entrance door of the bar after the last customer walked out at 2am and it was locked. Hitoshi groaned as he stretched his arms up high above his head and rubbed his back.

“Getting old there Shinsou?” Kage chuckled, rubbing his neck.

Hitoshi smirked and shrugged. “Guess so, maybe I should start taking some multivitamins or something. Let’s get this place cleaned up so we can take it easy!”

With a smile, Kage nodded and the two worked together in cleaning glasses, drink hoses, counter-tops and such. Hitoshi counted down the register and put away the loose change, divided the tip money evenly between him and Kage. Once everything was done, the two grabbed a few drinks of their own and got comfortable on the other side of the bar. The perks to working where they did was the free booze, as long as it wasn’t any of the more expensive shit and they didn’t get too hammered at work of course.

The silver-haired male handed Hitoshi a shot before pouring himself one, with a smile they both downed them and hissed at the burn of the liquor. Hitoshi chased it down with a swig of beer and sighed.

“So,” Kage started, after drinking his own beer, his matching silver eyes glistened when they looked at Hitoshi, “I see (Y/N) is still alive, yeah? Dabi’s not happy about that.”

Hitoshi quirked a brow, body going stiff and cold as he looked at Kage, his purple eyes narrowing at the guy. He was smirking at him and it wasn’t anywhere near friendly. The last thing Hitoshi hears before blacking out is the sound of his bottle slipping from his fingers and shattering on the floor.

Purple eyes slowly fluttered open, a tired and weak grunt leaving Hitoshi’s chest as his head hung low. It was pitch black wherever he was, eyes straining in the dark to try and make out shapes. There was a numb tingling in his arms and Hitoshi went to move them, only to realize that he couldn’t. 

In fact, he couldn’t move at all; not his arms, his legs, and suddenly he realized that he couldn’t even move his own fucking jaw. Something was stuffed inside his mouth. A gag?

Panic started to flood Hitoshi’s system, his body trying to move, trying to budge. His breath began to grow shallow and his hands began to tingle - he couldn’t see shit. Hell, he could barely fucking breathe. Where the fuck was he?

“Finally wake up, sleeping beauty?”

Hitoshi’s head whipped in the direction of the familiar voice, wincing when his vision was suddenly being flooded with light. The sound of footsteps drew closer to him, looking at the ground he saw four different pairs of feet before looking up. Standing in front of him was Dabi, a blonde with gray-blue eyes and a scar splitting the middle of his forehead, an older male with gray hair that was smoking and had round eyeglasses and last but not least - Kage.

Hitoshi zeroed in on his coworker, eyes widening in his panicked state. A boulder dropped hard in his gut as he looked at his friend, trying to speak but his words not leaving past the gag in his mouth. Kage didn’t seem to be here against his will like he was, in fact he looked rather calm and satisfied. His friend watched him curiously as bile began to crawl up his esophagus.

“Must be hard to breathe huh?” Dabi finally spoke, breaking Hitoshi’s focus on Kage and bringing it to himself.

Purple brows furrowed, his panic making its way into a sudden burst of rage. 

Hitoshi tried to lunge at Dabi, getting nowhere at all due to his bounds and the two strangers holding his chair back. Out of nowhere, Hitoshi felt something cold press to his temple, he looked from the corner of his eye and saw the oldest male standing next to him, grinning a smile with missing front teeth as he held a gun to Hitoshi’s head. Immediately he froze, not daring to try and move again. His purple eyes burn in loathing at Dabi, however, breathing heavily as he tugged at his bonds once more.

“Hitoshi, meet Jin and Giran, you already know Kage right?”

Is he fucking serious? Does he expect Hitoshi to reply? 

He sends Kage a seething glare before turning his attention back to the man in front of him. Dabi chuckled before he looked at Giran and back at the bound man, rubbing the side of his neck  with a sigh.

“Oh yeah the gag. Well I could’ve done a lot worse, like knocking your teeth down your fucking throat, cutting out your tongue, sewing your mouth shut, just beating you to a bloody fucking pulp until your lungs filled with blood or collapsed. You have no idea the things I want to do to you, Hitoshi Shinsou,” Dabi’s expression finally slipped from smug to borderline rabid, hand gripping Hitoshi’s hair and yanking his head back roughly. “First, you help that little bitch get away from me and proceed to fuck her like clockwork any time she shook her little ass in your face. You took and touched what’s fucking mine, and one day I’m gonna fucking kill you for it.”

Hitoshi didn’t flinch when Dabi shoved his head back and kicked his chair, making it screech against the floor as it moved back a few inches. The chair nearly fell back before Jin and Giran caught it. Giran held the gun to his temple steady in the process, Kage raising a brow from where he stood against a wall.

The psycho was furious, literally fuming - smoke rose from his body and filled the room with the distinct smell of ash.

“Dabs calm down, you can’t get too worked up and leave a mark on him remember,” Jin spoke, trying to calm his leader.

“I fucking know idiot, I’m calm. Take the fucking gag out, I want him to smart off at least once, dig himself into a deeper hole for the next time I have him.”

“B-Boss, his quirk.”

Dabi growled with annoyance and pushed Jin out of his way, un-doing the gag himself.

“He won’t fucking use it you moron, there��s four of us and one of him, he can’t use it on multiple people and if he is fucking stupid enough to even try, we’ll know and blow his fucking brains out.”

Jin nodded, looking genuinely hurt from Dabi’s scolding. Once the gag was out from between Hitoshi’s jaws, he gasped, taking in lungful after lungful of air. Drool seeped from the corners of his mouth and he managed to wipe it off on his shoulder, groaning and moving his jaw around after to try and get the feeling back into it.

“What the fuck do you want? How did you find me?” Hitoshi growled out, looking up at Dabi from under his purple locks.

Dabi smirked and tossed the gag to the floor, waving off Giran to put his gun down and then motioning for Kage to come over. Kage pushed off from his spot on the wall and took his place next to Dabi, crossing his arms as the stitched man patted his back roughly.

“You fucking know what I want, powder-puff. It’s not rocket science, I’m a fucking drug-lord. I can find anyone I want, except for that little bitch! At least that was the case - until I found you.” 

Hitoshi’s inital rage sputtered out, his brows furrowing at the insinuation. 

Dabi continued to speak before he gets the chance to respond, “I gotta hand it to you, you did a damn good job at keeping her hidden, even though I had you, it still took me a bit a get her location. That made me realize I needed an inside man - my man Kage here. He got that job working with you, getting on your good side and in the end getting me all the information I needed.”

Hitoshi looked at Kage with confusion, that feeling of bile rising up once more, the guy only shrugged and smirked at him. They couldn’t mean ...

As far as he could remember, Hitoshi had never spoken a word about you to Kage. He never had spoken a word about you to anyone, no one knew you even fucking existed except the guys at the shop of course. Hitoshi trusted no one with knowledge about you, especially not Kage. Sure they were work buddies but that didn’t mean shit. Not once in all their conversations, even drunken ones, did Hitoshi let your name slip from his lips, so no - there was no fucking way Kage had information.

“Whatever he told you is bullshit then, I’ve never said a fucking word about her to him.”

“Not that you remember right?” Dabi questioned with an evil smile. “You see Hitoshi, you aren’t the only one here who can fuck with people’s heads.”

A long finger tapped at Dabi’s temple as he chuckled and watched those purple eyes widen, Hitoshi’s expression going from smug to sheer disbelief. His mouth went dry, he tried to question the two before him about what the fuck they’re talking about. The fear in him breaking through more prominently now.

“Mind Compulsion.” Kage finally spoke up. “It’s my quirk. You see all I have to do is make eye contact with you and you become like a slave to me. You do whatever I want, that also means speaking, I can tell you what to say or get you to tell me something. After it’s all said and done, you have zero memory of it. Those ‘headaches’ you’d get every morning after we’d drink together, that’s the only con really for the victims of my quirk. So long story short, we drink, I use my quirk, you give me information and wake up the next day with any memory of it and thinking you have a hangover.”

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

The sound of Dabi laughing and cackling like a maniac was drowned out by a high pitched ringing in Hitoshi’s ears and his head hung low. If it weren’t for his body being tied to the chair, he would’ve fell to his knees on the cold concrete. Hitoshi couldn’t tell if he was sweating or freezing, everything was numb and his stomach was lurching.

“Give yourself a hand Toshi, you told us exactly where she is.”

Hitoshi couldn’t contain the contents of his stomach anymore; they burned as they made their exit from his system and onto the floor. Dabi quickly jumped back with an amused grin, his crazed hyena laughter ringing deep in the his ears. Dabi stood there, relishing in the breakdown happening right in front of his eyes. How there were tears pouring from amethyst eyes, along with bile dripping from Hitoshi’s mouth and onto his jeans as he hurled everything he had, dry heaving when there’s nothing more to expel. Dabi was pissed that he couldn’t physically hurt Hitoshi right now but god did he forget all about that at the sight of the now broken man. It’s like he could hear his heart shattering, the sobs and retching like music to his ears.

“This is all your fucking fault Shinsou. You should’ve just left her to die, at least it would’ve been more humane than what I have planned for her now. Just imagine what she’ll think when she finds out her own best friend, her own fucking family, is the one that sealed her fate. Now, thanks to this,” Dabi paused and held up Hitoshi’s phone, “We have all the details we need for when we make our next move.”

“Please, j-just leave her alone! If you want someone to fucking play with and kill just to get off, then kill me! She’s too terrified to say anything about you, you fucking psycho, no one is going to come for you if you promise to leave her alone! T-Take me instead please, I’m f-fucking begging you, don’t hurt her anymore Dabi … please.”

Dabi rolled his eyes, tired of listening to the pathetic cries coming from Hitoshi. His booted foot connected with his chest in a hard kick, making his chair fall back. Hitoshi grunted as the air left his now sore lungs from the impact of the fall, his head ringing after being smacked against the ground. Soon there was an agonizing weight on his chest and Dabi crouched down, his foot on his ribs and resting all his weight on it. A cold hand gripped at his jaw harshly, making him hiss when Dabi jerked his head up to lock eyes with each other.

“Don’t worry you piece of shit, you’ll get your wish, no doubt about it, but first I need you one last time. You’re gonna go to that little fucking party and you’re gonna get her alone, those idiots trust you with her life and won’t question when you ask her to go outside together, right into my arms.”

“They’ll fucking kill you. He’ll fucking kill you!” Hitoshi warned through gritted teeth before spitting in Dabi’s face.

He isn’t smiling for long before Dabi placed his opposite hand on Hitoshi’s hip and engulfed it in flames. Ripping a scream from his mouth. The flames don’t last long before Giran and Jin are both pulling Dabi off of Hitoshi.

“Boss stop! You can’t fuck him up too much for it to be questionable when he wakes up!”

Dabi kicked like a child and threw both men off of him. He took a moment before telling Kage to come up with some sort of narrative for the new small sized burn on Hitoshi’s pale skin and walked back over to the man laid out on the floor, his shirt now charred as he breathed heavily from the pain. Dabi was resisting every urge to kick him, to make him cry again. Just the mention of that red-headed fuck had him in a silent rage.

Kirishima is nothing, nothing but a fucking obstacle in his way that can be dealt with easily. That fucker isn’t invincible, none of them are!

After taking a long deep breath, Dabi straightened his clothes and put on a smug smile and towered over Hitoshi, pressing his boot to his cheek.

“Let them fucking try, she’ll be fucking dead before they reach me and then for Christmas, I’ll send each and everyone one of them a very special, very bloody gift.” Dabi grinned, pushing Hitoshi’s face to the side as he turned to walk away and waved, “I’ll make sure to wrap up her heart extra pretty for Mr. Kirishima.”

Before Dabi walked out of the room, he ordered the remaining three men to deal with Hitoshi, for Kage to clean him up and get him back home, making sure to cover up for the burn he so irrationally left. Kage nodded, him, Giran and Jin all bowing as their leader exited.

Hitoshi looked up at the ceiling above him, tears stinging the corners of his eyes again. He was drowning in hopelessness, guilt and shame. He failed to protect one of the most precious things in his life and he had no one to blame but himself. Everything was so fucked up now and Hitoshi cried even harder as he thought about how he won’t have the chance to warn anyone, to try one last time to save you. In no time he’d be waking up in his bed with no memory of this night.

Hitoshi’s jaw clenched and his eyes screwed shut as he shook his head before letting out a shaky defeated breath.

“I’m so sorry (Y/N) … I’m so fucking sorry.”

A series of violent buzzing next to Hitoshi’s head is what wakes him from a dead sleep. His eyes cracked open and immediately he’s groaning from the pounding in his head. His hand searched under the pillows until it grabbed a hold of the ringing phone and he answered without looking at the caller ID.

“Hello.”

“Toshi, did I wake you?”

A sleepy smile grew on Hitoshi’s face at the sound of your voice and he shook his head. The tired man went to roll over and lay on his back, hissing when there was a sudden pain in his side.

“Hey, you okay? Toshi answer me!” You questioned, the concern in your tone thick.

Hitoshi brushed his covers off his torso, brows knitting in confusion at the blistered area of skin on his hip. 

“Give me a second kit.”

Removing the phone from his ear, Hitoshi went to his messaging app and saw he had an unread text from Kage. The sound of you clicking your tongue impatiently carried through the speaker and made him smirk as he read the message.

➥ Kage : Hey man, I left some burn ointment in your fridge. You may or may not have gotten a little too wasted last night and thought it would be cool to see if you were flammable or not. Let me know if you need anything else.

A hum left Hitoshi, with a shrug he put the phone back to his ear.

“Sorry, I’m fine sweetheart, just a little hungover. What are you doing calling me so early huh, miss me that much?”

You laughed sarcastically on the other end. “You’re so full of yourself.”

“But you love me.”

“I do love you Hitoshi, very much. But - I was calling to discuss a few gift ideas for Denki with you, I mean only if you wanna know but maybe you don’t need my help at all. I just thought since you were so fucking whipped for him you might wanna go all out for your first Christmas together.”

Hitoshi rolled his eyes and chuckled. He tried to muffle his slightly pained groan when he crawled out of bed and went to head for his fridge.

“Alright kitten, let me hear it.”

[smutav]

So i posted the pictures I had for my xray and comic in this post here and I said id wait a year but I’ve decided I need to lay this project to rest and move on to what comes next. Its under the cut because its mad king heavy

the old man part was fully scripted out so I’m going to throw the script in here first then it’ll be just notes for the general plotline

(M) Old Man   = O1 / (J) Old Man   = O2 / Xray          = X / Vav           = V

we come in on Xray and Vav coming onto the scene but we start lookin at the old men

O2: "Uh Oh, the calvaries here" O1: "issit the popo? tell them they cant make me go back... to that horrible home... fulla old people..." O2: "No.. its those spandex kids again" O1: "Oh, the blue one confused me... so blue jus like those dirty cops" O2: "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE US ALIVE" [O2 throws something that lands nowhere near xray and vav] V : "Look you have to stop causing a ruckus!" O1: "ah ah ah prettyboy we got da bomb" O2: "Thats right if you get in our way it'll be a real stinker!" O1: "Uh Ohhhh"

X : "you have got to be kidding me" O1: "I'm too old for kidding, im old-ding over here" V : "What are you doing with a bomb!?" O2: "We've got demands!" O1: "Oh yeah lots of demands!" O2: "We want.... Pudding!" O1: "Oh yeah and none of that rice shit in there" O2: "get that rice out of our pudding no chunks!" O1: "itsa chokin hazard, I almost died when they had that at the home" O2: "thats why we left they was tryna kill us" O1: "But you only show up to stop two guys havin fun" O2: "Ya punks!" [Vav has snuck over to the obviously hidden 'stink bomb' and gags when he sees whats under the cover]

O2: "Ey!" [he smacks Vav with a cane] "gettaway from there" O1: "These two have no manners" O2: "they jus go touchin stuff that doesnt belong to them!" O1: "Well two can play at that game" [he moves towards Xray pointing at his glasses] "I want those" X : "How about I give you this instead" [he shoots a lazer at the old guy but it bounces off his walker] O1: "uh oh you shouldn't have done that" X : "oh yeah what if i do it again" [it really has the same result smart guy]

[Vav at the same time is dealing with.. a really slow old guy. and he dodges a punch an the old guy just keeps goin down and hits the ground] O2: "Ah! I'm hit thats it for me! [he tries to get up but just knocks himself over again] it's over for me I'm deadd. You killed me ya bastard" V : "I really didn--" O2: "this blood is on your handssss ohhh im goinnnn" [Vav backs off while the old man keeps slowly 'dying' to help out with Xray who's wrestling for his glasses from O1]

X : "Youre smudging up my glasses!" O1: "oh i'll do more than that" [he moves to take a lick at them] X : "no you dont!" [He punches the old man square in the jaw] O1: [catches himself on the walker] "you want a boxing match, i used ta have the belt ya know" [he lands a punch on xray who doesnt even flinch]

V : [Vav comes up from behind and pulls the old man away] O1: "No he's got me!" [he flails a bit but ineffectively to get out] "this is just like the 40s you cant stop all this" V : "We're sending you both back to the old folks home just stay there this time!" O1: "You'll never keep us caged! We'll always be ba-- Oh no is this a heart attack? Ma is that you in the light I'm-- I'm comin... comin to kick your dead ass" [and he's dead]

[Xray and Vav dump the old guys on an elderly bus they're used to dealing with these guys 'dying' and approach the stink bomb which is the stink jug but theres wires and stuff attached to supposedly detonate it] X: "Well I guess we'll have to deal with this" [he kicks the 'stink bomb' and Vav goes green] V: "I guess it'd be best to get it to Hilda she'll know how to get rid of it" X: "right lets go" [he starts walking leaving Vav to carry the barrel, poor vav]

I hope the notes after this make sense plot wise a lot of it was going to be explored deeper as we get drawing XDD ((also you get all my note writing jokes that i make to myself))

V = xray and vav / K = mad king / R  = rimmy tim / M = mogar

(V) - I need,, some basic everyday hero biz to start the story with - tIME TO THROW THE OLD MEN IN THERE (K) - He decides to try out his powers a lil test run ((around Hilda's lab)) - Xray and Vav crash the party ofc - He gets by them EASY slow mo can't do much against teleporting - He didn't have much of a goal for it but, now he knows he has the upper hand on Xray and Vav - He leaves victorious (V) - He gets the business end of a run in with ender ryan - What was that?? he can teleport?? - Well we have to figure something out! (R) - Rimmy Tim runs into Mad King - Which is wild! thought he was dead! - but he does have some weird ass shit going on (K) - Wow running into Rimmy Tim isnt that neat? - He pays no mind to the Battle Buddy (R) - Rimmy Tim is crashing at Jake's place ((to be relevant)) - He also meets Xray and Vav but nobody knows what his full deal is ((and theyre distracted from having they ass kicked))

(V) - Vav is the plan guy - They get intel that he has a weird power source - it gave him the powers so if they can figure it out maybe they can take them away! - We'll need to be stealthy boys... - MOGAR! - ask mogar for help, he distract while they sneak in and nab the gem (M) - The plan involves Mogar fighting Mad King up front - Mogar runs into Rimmy Tim and is suspicious of him (K) - Ofc he knew Xray and Vav would make a plan - Mogar comes to fight him aw they just decided to send a fwiend - Mad King is busy beating Mogar and doesn't notice that they got the gem ((Uh Oh! Plothole!)) (M) - They dont see him at the meeting place (K) - He Notices when he decides to experiment with it and tries out a lesser power source - Resulting in Zombie Mogar

(V) - They HAVE to find Mogar - poking around the outside for a sign of him they find his sword in the dumpster - thats,,, not good - its really heavy but if vav straps it to his back he can handle it - they wind up splitting up for any sign of Mogar (K) - Well if you're going to be rude about it - [teleports in the streets] - Have it your way do what you want - [and he leaves Mogar there] - when he teleports back Rimmy Tim is there and he quips ab how convenient tping is (R) - MK has him get rid of the new power source obviously a failure (V) - It gets dark but vav hears a noise in the alley - He finds Mogar! But he's eating something - Mogar growls and starts running at him - *british screaming* - As he BOOKS IT around a corner Xray runs into him and Vav just grabs his arm - NO TIME TO EXPLAIN - so what the plans just fucking run - oh wait thats Jake's van - *climbs in* wEHAVE TO GO HIT THE GAS - bro its a red light - iTS THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT THERES NO TRAFFIC JUST - Mogar jumps on the vAAAAAAAA - Thats enough to convince Jake she slams on the gas - " you guys are paying for any tickets i get"

((for context, Jake is my oc she has an ask blog that I was planning to use to be like in between she and rimmy tim are hanging out and you might find out things from interacting w her. But for character knowledge she’s an appliance installer that works with The Monarchy’s Servants. Which that is the company that installs the stuff that comes out of Monarch Labs. there was also a whole bit where she and rimmy tim would be hanging out and he’d be joking like oh do you ever go in like “ah m’lord!! is this installation to your liking thank you m’lord!!” and she’d goof back if he ever had a house for her to install shit in she’d do it just for him.

and for how Jake and Rimmy tim met it was at 3am dennys a few years ago and they been buds ever since))

(R) - Jake's checking on her van later and Rimmy Tim comes out to give a hand - and he asks what happened and she's shaking a lil - she just leaves it as hero biz as usual she thinks (V) - bloody hell we have to help mogar! - yeah what did Mad King do to him! - they gotta bait and catch him (R) - Jake gets a call from xray and vav asking for help getting mogar to a lab - Rimmy Tim tags along and gets to see Mogar (M) - Xray and Vav catch mogar and have him leashed in the lab - But?? Is he dangerous?? Can he contaminate others??

(R) - This is wrong - RYAN is wrong - Rimmy Tim,, Has to do something - discussion doesnt work, Ryan's just a wall discussion wise - theres no talking him out of anything he's too absorbed (V) - Mogar has good moments - reference the rotten flesh test w vav (K) - Rimmy Tim is getting increasingly worried ab him - Rimmy Tim mentions Mogar - Well it wasn't on PURPOSE - but yeah i did that - No, I don't particularly know how to reverse it (R) - Rimmy Tim tries talking hey what if we just did this partner like - Nothing can beat the battle buddies then this can all be done right? - Mad King brushes him off and tells him to stay out of his business - Ryan gets caught in the rain - He claws Rimmy's face oh no! his money maker! - Rimmy Tim decides enough is enough and leaves to help Xray and Vav fix this,,, fix him,,, (V) - They hear Mad King in the rain - hhhhh i dont want to deal with more monsterrrrssss - Rimmy Tim joins the team! - he explains his history with Mad King - and how he's worried - wORRIED LOOK WHAT HE'S DONE TO MOGAR - He digs out the lesser power source that was used on Mogar - THIS made THAT *points at Mogar* (K) - Mad King is bandaged and goes to sleep off the pain and *emotions* (gross) of the evening - as he drifts off instead of dreaming he finds himself seeing through Jeremy's damaged eye - He just sees xray and vav but he cant hear a word - needless to say he feel betrayed

(Finale leadup)

- they need a plan to catch MK - Xray and Vav decide to drill RT ab possible weaknesses - he doesnt have much to contribute though they havent worked together in years and he didnt have all this magic junk going on. - and all RT's seen of the magic junk is teleporting - Well have you seen his hideout? can you explain like layout or whats going on there - oh fuck yeah i guess that is intel lemme sketch it out

- Hilda is playing around with whats the difference between the gem they stole from MK and the one that RT says changed Mogar - Mayhaps after some experimentation gone wrong she figures they cant use the thing against him but need a device that'll remove that specific energy - so you know a SUCKING machine - While she's working so closely with this she starts having enderhilda dreams but like when she's awake shes like yeah thats neat but you aint caught my interest you dumb gem

- Wait RT if you and MK used to be in cahoots do you have any powers that can beat him? - I got guns we were guns for hire you know battle buddies - wot MK doesnt use guns he plays mind games - well yeah NOW he does he uh-- didnt have it all together after our last mission

(flashback)

- Battle buddies are cleaning up after a mission - they're both pretty angry like we wound up being the bad guys AGAIN how does this keep happening - RT agrees he's not a fan of dirty cash - MK comes to the conclusion if i controlled these sheeple nobody would be calling my shots and makin me do the wrong thing - come on ryan ya cant control people thats wrong - whats a little more blood on my hands if it means making things better on the whole - and MK winds up leaving the battle buddies :C

(Finale)

- Hilda comes in like hey i got your guys's sucking machine go suck off mad king or whatever - and vavs like Alright! lets make a plan lads! - then we go to MK - he can see them coming, he's gotten practice watching through RT's eyes - he gets the machine from them as theyre barely through the door - "well I was curious what this would do but what does it matter anyways" - and he's got like some full ender shadow clones to help with the fight and they all pair off ((not like an army literally just enough to pair off MK dont need an army to beat these guys)) - the real MK personally faces off RT though :) - RT "why do i get the real ryan why couldnt you face off with like vav or something" - MK "im curious if you could shoot me 'buddy'" - RT "well I doubt i'll do something but i do owe you one ;)" and he do shoot him but yeah the bullets are stopped and do nothing - MK "I do hope you brought something else if youre turning against the MAD KING you have best be prepared" - RT "what can i say" [drops gun] "I stick to my guns" [throw punch]

- but yeah after the fighting and witty dialogue clears it looks like MK do have the upper hand - RT was left bleeding out ((stabbed through with pointy fingers oooo MK got his blood literally on his hands)) - While MK is monologuing RT sneaks into the bathroom which MK pauses mid monologue when he sees a flash of RT's bloody hand reaching for the showerhead - cant believe that fuck - and RT comes out and hoses him down ((yes it reaches that far LOOK its got a long hose)) - then MK's on the ground fucking sizzling - vav's like oh right! and jumps up to get the sucking machine and they use it on MK

(epilogue)

- Jake drops RT off where they got MK locked up and shes like "do what u gotta do man" and RT's like "thanks for understanding bud" - and he gets in MK shifts to look at him - RT starts to apologize for ruining his plan but gets interrupted as MK says "you were right" - which is a SHOCKING thing to hear from that guy - and mad king is like "thank you" - and we end on "anytime buddy."

so that was my plot I havent been kidding when I said it was a long comic plan. Its been heartbreaking to have this whole thing ripped from me but I can’t tell a story about friendship w a manipulator. 

I’m not sure how long it’ll be until I actually get another thing started but I hope its soon because I was very excited to share a good long story with the xray and vav fandom and I thought this plot wouldve been like a good season worth of content

I had some draws tagged under “#its all connected” and they were all me working on this idea before I actually decided to write it out and try for a whole comic after being inspired by some close friends and the good at being bad animation collab

[octrainfanboy]

Undercover - Chapter 3

Upon initiating the final stretch of his mission, something unexpected happens as everyone is in shock. What is the meaning of this?

Luna had lead the daredevil back to the computer room and had the other employees greet him before leavibg the room again. He felt a little bit uncomfortable in this new environment as nobody was talking and the only soumd breaking the silence were loud keyboards.

Yuck! What's with the lack of social interactions?! Boooooriiiiiing.

Octane tried to start some smalltalk with these men.

"Soooo... How long have you been working here, amigos?"

One of them looked at Octane, an expression as if nobody had talked here before. It might have even been the case if he didn't know it any better.

"4 years." The man said. Octane nodded, making a few strange sounds before booting up the computer.

Once the desktop loaded, he looked arounf trying to watch what the others were doing.

Quite frankly, he had no clur what he was supposed to do.

He whispered a quiet "Hey" as one of the workers raised his brow at him.

Octane apologized, claiming it to be a weird habit he had which the employee seemed to believe.

Wraith started talking to Octane through the earpiece, giving him clear instructions on what to do.

"Open the program in the middle of your screen and just do what I tell you to do. You have to blend in perfectly and by that I mean that you have to look innocent. Now just start doing what the screen tells you to do."

Octane was suprised about how Wraith knew so much. But he was not gonna question it. He booted up the program and proceeded to do the tasks he was assigned in silence, his foot tapping on the floor impatiently.

He was currently sitting in complete silence and he hated it.

Hours passed as he just sat there doing the work as a bell rang, announcing theur break as everyone got up to leave the room.

Octane was deprived and decided to take his chance to explore the facility. And by explore he meant sticking his nose in places it didnt belong.

First though he wanted to grab a shitty snsck from the cafeteria. It had been quite a while since his breakfast and Wraith only did so much scrambled eggs for him.

Seeing a vending machine in the back and just taking Luna's advice he decided to not get something from the chef, but instead just throw some cash in the vending mashine and get a small snack out of it.

He leaned forward to inspect what was in there and the lack if the good stuff was very disappointing. Nontheless he decided to go with a chocolate bar and a small coffee. It wasn't much but it was definetly better than nothing.

He was currently nibbling on the chocolate treat as Wraith came on the comms, however not alone this time. She was accompanied by Mirage and Bangalore.

"Octavio?"

Octane swiftly exited the cafeteria so that he would be by himself.

"I'm here, amiga. ¿Qué tal?"

"Hey Octavio if you get the job done I'll kick Renee's ass. She didn't talk to any of us about this. I am positive that you can do it though, watch your six."

"Gotchu, lady."

Mirage took the mic and cleared his throat for a couple of seconds before taking a deep breath.

"He-heeeey buddy- How are you doing? Well you're currently in a dangerous facility where you will probably be executed if you get caught, haha-"

He gulped as Bangalore and Wraith gave him a slightly annoyed look, mixed with mild aggression.

"A-aaaanyway so uh... That Luna girl? Wraith showed us the footage and uh- Yeah she's kinda cute can you like- Get her number?"

"Mirage! Cut to the point." Wraith had her hand on the mic as she tried to pull it out of his hands. A few seconds passed where judging by the noises, they were fighting over the mic.

Octane couldnt help but to chuckle a little before Mirage made a victorious sound, followed by Wraith whispering something and Bangalore sighing.

"So yeah... Buddy! We're here and you got our support! You can do it kid! I-I'm putting my thumbs up but you can't see us- Can he see us? Don't think he can... Uuuuhhhh yeah back to Wraithy!"

Octane chuckled yet again, this time at the embarassing nickname the skirmisher had just received.

"Just proceed. You're on a good way. Try and break into the room where you were with Luna earlier today. Change your clearance and gain access to the labs."

Octane shoved the last bits of the treat down his throats, drinking the coffee in one go before slowly leaving the area.

He would be lying if he said that he remembers where the room was. In fact, he was quite lost right now. He walked forth and back, awkwardly greeting passing scientists and other employees while looking for the destination.

Lucky for him though, he discovered a map on the wall that showed the exact layout of the layer he was on. According to the text below the rooms that were pictured on it, there was a list of layers.

And there were quite a few.

He managed to locate the room though. Octane quickly made his way there and opened the door, closing it behind him. The daredevil leaned over a computer which told him to enter a code.

Wraith gave him a code out of nowhere.

It made him shrug that she popped on the comms for like a second or 2 before going silent again.

LRLUP? What was that supposed to mean? Whatever, he entered the code as the symbol that usually showed up when one of Crypto's hacking devices was used on something.

He was in.

"Open the only program this thing has and insert your card number. You should be able to change your clearance."

Octane did as he was told and booted the program up, then being asked to input his ID number.

He did so, taking a little while tho as it was 16 random numbers.

Once the numbers were entered he stared at the screen in disbelief.

Maximum clearance? What? How?

He knew how-

"Took you long enough. Let's burn this place down, shall we?"

Behind him was Luna, she hid behind a cupboard so Octane didnt see her while entering.

"Chica, what is the meaning of all this? You kinda lost me."