#steel toed boots and the like stuff to keep him protected | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kazoo5480 · 3 years

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Ruby quietly moved Emma’s bug into the garage behind Grannys, out of sight. M’s held Emma while she sobbed into her friend’s lap, and M’s stroked her hair, comforting her.

Ruby texted August quickly, letting him know they had it handled but not to tell Killian where Emma was laying low until they helped her figure it out.

August texted back, “Did he cheat on her?

Ruby: No, a shitty misunderstanding but M’s and I witnessed the entire thing

August: Is she ok?

Ruby: Would you be if you thought your boyfriend cheated on you in a bar full of people when you catch a flight home to surprise him?

August: He better fix this with her, don’t let her run. Understood?

Ruby: Yeah, TTYL

Killian called August and was sent straight to voicemail. “Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!” He screamed sinking to his knees. His phone vibrated.

August: She is safe, but I told you man, let her go if you don’t want her. Don’t make me come there, Jones.

Killian: Did she call? I swear it wasn’t what it looked like

August. I know. She is safe, that’s all I can say.

Killian: Wait who called you? Ruby?

He got no response. He just tore his clothes off and showered, climbing into their bed holding her pillow as he thought over how the fuck he was going to fix this, Emma would probably never forgive him. The thought of that was so painful, it was almost unbearable.

He scrubbed his hands over his eyes, wiping the leaking tears, fucking Milah. Always fucking up everything, leaving people shattered in her wake like the bloody plague.

Anger bubbled up in his chest, and he put on clean clothes, going to sit in the shop and smoke, he stayed there all night, until the dawn shown through the garage glass, and his pack lay empty on the desk.

Killian hung the closed sign on the door of the shop and went upstairs to clean himself up. If he was going to find her, he needed to not look like absolute rubbish.

Emma woke up sandwiched between Ruby and M’s in her old bed at Granny’s, her eyes feeling swollen, her throat raw. Emma crept out of bed, and into the bathroom, and brushed her teeth, washing her face.

She was grateful for her friends, she had never had that kind of an experience without August, but she knew Ruby was right. Killian didn’t cheat on her, and she did get some satisfaction that the woman she punched was Milah. But it didn’t mean she was ready to face Killian yet, or anytime today.

She left her phone off, and booted her laptop up, emailing her boss that she caught a bug on the plane, needing a day off.

Ruby sat up, “Em, you ok honey?” she asked.

Emma shook her head, and Ruby beckoned her back to the bed. Emma laid back down and both women held her while she fell back asleep.

Ruby tip-toed out of the room locking it, and M’s said she wouldn’t open today, that she would stay with Emma and help her figure out the plan. But Ruby couldn’t go missing, she had to buy Emma a little time.

She made her way downstairs freshened up and found Killian sitting at the counter. Ruby didn’t acknowledge him, just slid him a cup of coffee and leaned back against the counter.

“You look like shit dickhead” she said.

Killian looked up at her, and Ruby almost broke then and there. He looked awful, up all night she would guess, crying too.

“Where is she?” he asked in a clipped tone.

“I don’t know Jones” Ruby lied.

“Ruby, where the fuck is she!” he banged his fist on the counter, the coffee sloshing out of the cup.

“Damnit Jones, stop. I don’t know” she said.

“You called August?” He asked her.

Ruby nodded, “a text.”

“You saw everything, you know I didn’t, couldn’t cheat, I wouldn’t ever cheat on her,” he said sounding defeated.

Ruby leaned forward, “I saw, and yeah I know. But she didn’t, I told her, but give her some time Jones” and patted his hand.

“If I find out you are hiding her Red, so help me god” he growled out.

Ruby leaned in, “I will beat your ass in heels any day of the week Jonesy. Don’t push me on this,” she said lethally.

Killian sat up, pounded the coffee, and stood.

“Where are you going?” Ruby asked him.

“To fucking find her,” he said.

Ruby waited until the door shut, and let out a breath of relief. Emma tip-toed down the back steps, and M’s whistled for Red.

“Clear” Ruby called out.

Emma came in, and Ruby was wiping the coffee off the counter.

“Em he is going to find you, if you are leaving, you’ve got to do it now while he is out looking for you. Or I can go grab your stuff, just tell me what to do here” M’s said.

Emma shook her head, “I don’t know. I just need some clothes, I can sneak in but I need you to keep a lookout for me” she said, and M’s nodded.

“Go through the alley, he won’t be looking in the alley. Climb up the fire escape outside your bedroom” Ruby said, and Emma eyed her.

“Why do you know all this?” Emma asked.

“I slept with Liam a few times, Jones doesn’t know,” Ruby said sadly.

Emma’s eyes widened. “Go!” Ruby said.

Emma and M’s slipped out the back door and sure enough, she was able to get in, their bedroom window unlocked. M’s stood hidden watching. Emma slipped in, her pillow balled up, the loft reeking of smoke, and her heart broke.

She grabbed a small duffle and threw only necessities in, she could buy new stuff. She had her laptop and charger, and anything else she would need for a few days, but grabbed her shampoo and conditioner, her running gear, and scribbled a note leaving it on her pillow.

“I’m not ready to talk. - E”

She slipped out the window and down to M’s hiding spot as they made their way through the alleyways back to her room.

M’s headed to the boutique and Killian was perched against the front door. She gulped and eyed him.

“Killian please move,” she asked.

“Funny, you didn’t listen to me begging you last night to get out of the way, to go after her,” he said.

“Where is she M’s? Just tell me, is she ok?” he pleaded.

M’s lied, for like the third time in her life. “We caught her last night, we told her the truth, and she said she needed time. She came out of your loft, and drove off” she said quietly.

Killian leaned over the glass of the counter, “M’s where is she?” he gripped her arms gently and asked again.

“Killian seriously, leave her be. She will come back when she is ready, but a thank you for telling her the truth would be appreciated” she snapped and pulled her arms from his grip.

Killian eyed her. “You two know where she is. Don’t you?” he asked.

“Killian, I do not know where Emma is right now,” she said, not lying but not telling the truth. Emma could be anywhere right now, she thought.

Killian nodded at her. “Just tell her I love her, to come home, that it wasn’t what she thought. But just tell her I love her, I need her M’s” he said and M’s nearly cried but steeled herself nodding.

“I will,” she said and he walked out the door.

Killian walked to the garage and headed up to grab his car keys off the dresser. He saw the note and smelled Emma’s perfume.

“Swan!” He yelled out, but he was alone, again.

He dialed August and went straight to voicemail. He called Scott, and he heard his voice come through in a low tone.

“Scott, please” Killian begged.

“She isn’t here, I am not supposed to be talking to you, Killian. But all I know is that Red told Auggie last night she was safe. If she shows up, I will tell you, but she isn’t here” Scott said grimly.

“Did August tell you not to talk to me? Why isn’t he?” Killian asked.

“I don’t know man, he just said we had to let Em have a say,” he said.

“Have a say? In what? Leaving me? Killian asked desperately.

“I don’t know Killian, honestly. I know you didn’t invite what happened, I know that. So does August, but he will choose her, and if Emma needs time, he said he would never push her, she has been hurt too many times, and he wouldn’t risk her pushing him away” Scott said.

“You’ll text me if she comes there?” He asked.

“I will, but I will not admit that I helped you to Auggie if Emma doesn’t want to see you, man. I have to protect her and you too, that’s what family does. We cant break trust” he said.

Killian nodded, “Thanks Scott” and hung up.

He looked at her note. He heard the door buzz, and he ran down to the front door.

“Milah, what the fuck are you doing here?” he said glaring at her.

“Who was the blonde Jonesy? Hmm? Your new piece of tail? I want her fucking name” Milah shouted.

Killian dialed Graham. “Get here to the lot now, I have a trespasser,” he said hanging up.

Milah’s eyes went wide, “You have to be fucking kidding me. I fucking lived here” she shouted and slapped him.

“You never lived here, you left a fucking toothbrush, and you are a fucking cesspool of rubbish, tearing people’s lives apart” he spits out.

Graham flew through the gates in the cruiser and got out. Eyes wide, he looked between the two of them.

“He hit me!” Milah yelled pointing at Killian who rolled his eyes.

Graham looked at Killian, and Killian shook his head.

“That never happened, and the person who did hit you has already left town, no trace of her” Graham said to Milah, and Killian’s eyes widened at that.

“You can leave, or I can arrest you and process you for trespassing. Your choice Milah” Graham said.

“Fuck you both!” Milah said storming off the lot, letting the gate clatter shut.

"Have you seen Emma?" Killian asked him desperately.

Graham shook his head, his mouth in a grim line. "No, I just want that pile of trash out of town. I don't even want her knowing Emma's name" Graham said and pulled Killian in for a hug.

"She'll come back Jonesy. She is just as crazy about you, as you are her," he whispered, and Killian nodded.

Graham took off, saying he was following Milah, making sure she left town. Killian nodded in thanks, and he saw a flash of blonde hair and took off running.

He saw the woman enter the diner and ran as fast as he could calling her name. Everyone including the woman turned to look at him as he barged in yelling her name, and it was a woman much older than Emma, and Ruby rolled her eyes.

“Granny watch the counter” and she walked out, grabbing Killian by his arm and dragging him back home. She pulled the gate shut between them. “You’re on house arrest until you get your shit together jones,” Ruby said and walked away.

Ruby went in the back way and knocked on the door in the code they agreed to, Emma opening it quickly. Ruby crept in and locked it behind her.

“He is losing his fucking mind Em, you gotta talk to him tomorrow. Scared our neighbor Ingrid, chasing her into the diner calling your name. The guy is hallucinating, literally losing his mind” Ruby said.

Emma looked down, “I know, I know. I will go tomorrow, ok? I need one more night, I need space, to clear my head,” she said.

Ruby nodded. “Milah showed up at the shop today,” she said, and Emma looked up at her in surprise.

“Killian called Graham, Graham gave her the choice of being arrested for trespassing or to leave town. She also cracked Killian hard enough to leave a handprint on his face” she said.

Emma sat down, her hands over her eyes. Why was she torturing him, he didn’t do anything wrong, Emma knew this. She trusted him, even after this. But what if she was wrong, she had been wrong before. Ruby locked the door behind her after she dropped that bomb. She needed August.

“Hey, sunshine,” he said.

“Hi,” she said numbly.

“Facetime call?” he asked her.

“No. I just need to know what to do here Aug” she said.

“Do you believe him?” he asked.

“Of course,” she said.

“Then why aren’t you home in your bed, having him prove to you how devoted he is to only you?” He asked her.

“I needed space, I mean I have been wrong before…” she said quietly.

“And you are wrong now. Tell you what, pop a zzzquil, get some actual fucking sleep, shower, shave, and go home. Let him apologize, be an adult, and let that man worship you the way he always does” he said.

“You haven’t spoken to him?” she asked surprised.

“Nope. Scott did, but briefly. He is mainly worried you left town, and he won’t know how to track you except through me. Red isn’t giving you up, surprisingly Mary Margaret didn’t crack, and you are a ghost. He has no idea where you are, imagine if you were in his shoes Em” he said.

“I’m going to bed,” she said.

“Night. Love you” he said hanging up.

Emma snuggled into the blankets, as the rain began pelting the windows. She naturally reached out for him, but he wasn’t there. When the first crack of lightning hit she texted him. She wanted to go home.

Killian was going crazy, he tried her phone again, and it rang, and went to voicemail. He opened the google maps app, and her location sharing had been turned off to him. He went upstairs to the loft and pulled out a bottle of rum, sitting on the couch. He turned on the princess Bride and proceeded to drink half of the bottle.

He woke up sometime in the middle of the night, thunder clapping outside, and waking him. Emma hated storms, hated thunderstorms when she was alone, he blinked a few times trying to focus his eyes and grabbed his phone.

“We can talk tomorrow. I love you. E.” It was an hour ago.

Killian sat up, he was still half drunk. She loved him. She was coming back, fuck. She had to be close by. He got himself in the shower and cleaned himself up, chugging a mug of coffee down. He brushed his teeth and cleaned the whole apartment. The lightning ripped through the sky.

Emma laid awake, every clap of thunder and flash of lightning set her teeth on edge. She wanted to be safe, to go home. She looked outside, she was going to make a run for it.

She threw on a pair of leggings, and her tennis shoes, she didn’t have a coat but peeked outside, the next flash bright enough to light the whole street up. She had to run fast. When the thunder subsided to a rumble, she ran out into the pouring rain, running hard towards home, toward him.

Killian watched the sky. It was nearly purple, and the lightning flashes, set the whole loft alight, it was the worst storm they had roll through in ages. He hoped wherever Emma was, that she was ok. He knew she had to be fucking terrified on a night like this.

Killian heard the gate whip open out front, clattering against the fence with enough force to snap it. He ran to the window. She was there, she was trying to get home, he flew down the steps and threw the shop door open. The lightning clapped, thunder rumbling, and he ran toward her stopping a few feet from her.

“Emma” he called out, and the sky lit up again, thunder booming.

She stared at him for a moment, eyes rimmed red, and ran into his arms. He picked her up, her legs locking around his waist, and he ran inside, slamming the door shut with his foot, bringing her upstairs.

She was trembling against him, he buried his face in her neck, her long wet curls drenched, and dripping puddles on the floor. He walked them to their room, sitting on the edge of the bed, and began to cry.

Emma was crying too, every clap of thunder causing her to tremble harder. Killian just sat there holding her, wrapped in each other as they cried.

She came home. He leaned back, cupping her face, and rested his forehead against hers, “I'm so sorry Emma” he said, tears still running down his cheeks, their hair dripping down their faces, each of them soaked to the bone.

He smoothed her hair back, her arms and skin felt like ice. “We have to get you warmed up, he said setting her down and rushing to turn the shower on. He took his clothes off, and he helped peel her out of hers, dropping them wetly to the floor, her lithe body trembling.

He picked her up and carried her into the shower, and stood with her under the hot spray, warming her up, his arms wrapped around her as she shivered.

“What do you think you were doing?” he whispered, keeping his face buried in her neck. “You could have been hurt,” he said, tilting her chin up.

“I was going to wa-wait. And the storm started. I texted you b-but you didn't respond, and the storm got really bad, I wanted you, I wanted to be home” she said her teeth chattering, and he gripped her tighter, rubbing her back, letting the warm water heat her through.

“You could have been hurt, gods. You can't do that Swan, you can't go out in bloody mayhem, you could have called me, I would have come wherever you were to get you, just never do that to me again. You could have died” he said and her thin arms wrapped around his waist hugging him tightly.

“I'm sorry, I know. I know what happened, I knew you would never, I just didn't know what to do. I got scared, I wasn't trying to punish you, I just needed time. I was going to come back earlier when I heard you chased the new lady in town, and August said you were going out of your mind, and I wasn't trying to make you that way. I swear, I just needed a breath, to make sure I wasn't wrong. I am sorry” she said.

Killian shook his head, “She means nothing, she came at me, and then you were there. I thought she had stolen another piece of my life. Ruby and M’s wouldn't let me near you, August hasn't spoken to me, Scott said you were ok, but I didn't know where you were. You disappeared on me, and I didn’t know what to do, I was going insane” he said, sounding desperate and broken.

Emma surged forward, her lips chasing his and he sighed pulling her closer, gripping on to her tightly. Killian ran his hands over every expanse of skin he could reach, kissing up the column of her throat as she moaned his name.

He picked her up, and her skin smacked against the tile wall. Killian angled his hips, Emma steadying herself on his shoulders. He let her slide back down the tile, and he guided himself inside of her. Emma whimpered at his entrance, gasping as he seated himself fully within her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her nails digging into his skin. Killian hissed as her nails dug in, and bruised her lips in a punishing kiss, the thrusts wild, and hard. It felt like he was trying to place himself so deep inside of her that they would never separate.

Emma let her tears fall, whimpering as he thrust into her repeatedly, her ankles locked around his waist, the tile backsplash her only support as he punished her with all the love he had inside of him.

Emma sobbed through it, through the pain of feeling unwanted, of feeling like the one thing she had come to trust wasn't true at all, the pain she caused both of them from her fears and insecurities, for it all. As he pounded into her relentlessly, it felt like all of the hurt, and pain she had been warring with the last few days slipped away.

Killian was at war with himself, he was being rough with her, he could feel her trembling around him, her nails scoring his skin, the sobs wracking her chest as he tried to fuck away her pain, his pain, their pain.

He moved swiftly, sitting on the bench of their shower, and with her balanced on his thighs, he leaned back cupping her jaw, attacking her mouth, leaving marks all over her porcelain skin. He was never letting go of her now that she was home.

He gripped her hip in one hand, leaving his mouth fused to hers, swallowing her cries, tasting her tears, and his, and he rocked her back and forth. He was pushing them both closer to release with each thrust until he felt her clench around him.

He felt her nails digging deeper into his shoulders, and when he heard her cry his name, he let go, letting her drag him over the edge with her into a blinding abyss.

They sat there in their embrace until the water ran cold, and the steam was long gone. Their tears subsided and he couldn't stop kissing her. He kissed her as the lightning raged outside, and the power went out blanketing them in darkness. He kissed her as she trembled in fear of the storm, and gripped him tighter against her.

Emma shivered in his arms, and he lifted her off him slowly, missing the heat of her already. He grabbed a washcloth and wiped them both off, and wrapped her in a towel, helping her out into the dark bathroom.

Emma toweled off quickly and squinted in the dark, navigating their room to crawl in their bed. Killian crawled in beside her, his front to her back, and gripped her possessively. Emma felt him still hard, rutting against her, and she didn't know if she could take any more.

“Killian I can't'' Emma protested softly, and he kissed her neck with so much gentleness she couldn't deny that she craved the closeness of him too.

“I know. I just want to be inside you Emma” he murmured, and Emma understood because she felt the same way. She arched, giving him access, and he gently pushed through her swollen folds. She moaned softly at the intrusion.

Killian groaned, and wrapped her tightly against his chest, cupping her breast and his hand possessively holding her stomach against him, just wanting to feel the warmth of her surrounding him after feeling so lost. He smoothed her curls out until he felt her breaths even out, and he fell asleep.

When daylight peeked in through the curtains, she realized they had shifted at some point, no longer connected. The alarm clock on their dresser blinked, power was back on. She rolled over, taking in Killian’s unshaven face, his long black lashes fanned over his cheeks, sound asleep.

She quietly went to the bathroom, turning the shower on, letting the water heat up, and went to stand beneath the spray, scrubbing herself clean, and unknotting her curls. She heard the door open and she watched Killian enter the shower.

His blue eyes had circles beneath them, and she kissed him as he stepped into her, wrapping his arms around her. Emma reached up, grabbing the showerhead from its cradle, and held it over him, warming him up.

“I love you,” he said against her neck, and she nodded.

“I know, I am sorry. I love you too” she whispered, her throat feeling hoarse, and pressed her lips to his quickly.

He leaned back and his eyes locked on hers, “You did nothing wrong, and though I didn't either, I never want to experience this kind of pain again Emma, I can't. I don't think I can handle losing you” he said, gauging her reaction.

Emma stepped back sitting on the bench giving him the space to shower, but not wanting to leave. Killian cleaned himself up, trimming his beard and brushing his teeth.

Emma just watched quietly, not knowing what else to say. She got out, and grabbed clean towels, laying one on the sink for him as she wrapped herself in her robe and brushed her hair.

She headed to the window at the front of the loft and looked down. She could see a few fallen trees, and Killian came up behind her, dressed in sweats and a soft tee. “We should talk,” she said, not turning to face him and he sighed, nodding against her shoulder.

He went to grab them a cup of coffee, and brought it to her, sitting beneath the soft throw blanket with her. He was anxious and exhausted, but he wasn't going to lose her, he wouldn't allow it.

“I went to the bar as I told you I was. Ruby, Graham, M’s, and Dave were there, everything was fine, and I went to the bathroom. When I came out, she was there waiting for me. I asked her what she could possibly want from me, and she said a roll in the sack” he laughed almost in disbelief.

“I said some not so kind words, but ultimately no. I didn't even need to mention you, because whether you were here in my life or not, I still would have said no. She caught me off guard with the kiss, and I heard you drop your bag, when I looked over and saw you, the pain all over your face, my heart broke. I wanted to hurt Milah for hurting you, for putting me in a position to even shake your trust slightly in me. But you beat me to it when you socked her, and your henchmen blocked my exit after you ran out” he finished.

Emma swallowed the coffee and nodded. “Ruby told me most all of that, M’s too. But it still hurt, god it hurt so bad. I trust you, please don't doubt that. What I did not trust was myself, and if I was willing to risk hurting myself by allowing you that much power over me, my happiness, my heart. That is why I left. I knew you didn't do anything wrong, or encourage her” she said quietly.

“So the self-imposed exile, driving me insane with worry, was because you were protecting yourself from me?” he said, sounding hurt.

Emma nodded. “I have never let my happiness be so wrapped up in one person, I never had that. I have had boyfriends, and lovers, but never have I let someone actually own my heart, to have that kind of power to destroy me entirely” she whispered avoiding his gaze that was burning on the side of her face.

Killian swallowed, absorbing her words. “But you are choosing us?” he asked bluntly.

Emma looked at him, her green eyes dim, and nodded.

A wave of relief swept through him, and he set their mugs down on the coffee table. “I choose you Emma, every day, every single thing I do, since the moment I laid eyes on you. I have chosen you, only you. You are everything to me, my love, my best friend, my whole heart. I choose you” he said and waited.

Emma’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at him, “I know. I just never had anyone choose me before, and I had to deal with that Killian, I had to deal with someone wanting me, choosing me, loving me entirely. It is fucking terrifying. I wanted to tell you something before this happened, I made a decision in New York, and I flew back to tell you before all of this happened” she said.

Killian rested his arm over the back of the couch, and looked at her, fighting to curl into herself and instead choosing to face him.

“I don’t want to do my job anymore, I don’t want to be apart anymore,” she said.

Killian’s eyes widened in surprise. “You don’t want to work?” he asked confused.

Emma sighed, “I don't want a job where I can get hurt, or have to travel at a moment's notice whether it be a day or for a week unexpectedly, I don't want it anymore. Every time I leave, the look on your face kills me, it breaks me to leave you every time I walk out the door not knowing if it was for a few hours, or a few days. I know it hurt you, and I don't want it anymore” she said, looking down at the blanket she was twisting in her hands.

Killian ran his hand over her hair, twirling an errant curl. “Emma, that is ok love. You don't have to do that anymore, I don't care. Don't work at all, or work with me, or do something on your own from here, consulting, or what August does. I know you can do whatever you want. But we don't need the bloody money, I just need you to be happy” he said.

Emma nodded, and curled into his lap, her head resting on his legs. “Where did you go?” he asked her softly.

Emma bit her lip, “Granny’s” she said.

“Bloody Ruby, I would have torn the building apart brick by brick if I had known,” he said harshly.

“Don't be mad at her, she was trying to do what was right for me, to protect me, to slow me down, and buy you time while I figured it out” she protested.

Killian grumbled, “and she got M’s to lie too? The woman hasn't held a secret in her whole life, and I show up and lean on her, trying to force it out of her and she doesn't crack at all,” he said, sounding surprised.

Emma laughed, “M’s was my lookout when I broke into the loft to get some stuff and left the note,” Emma said biting her lip.

“Oh, so now she is a liar, and encouraging breaking and entering?” he said, sounding amused.

Emma nodded and rolled to her back looking up at him. “They were trying to help me, protect me, protect you. I’m sorry” she said.

“Are we going to be able to move past this?” he asked her. Emma nodded and gave him a small smile.

“Does this mean you are going to take Graham up on his offer?” he asked and Emma shook her head. “I don’t think so, I don’t know. Maybe until I figure out what I want to do, and I don't know right now. But I have money, and I know you do, and that I have time to figure it all out, don't I?” she asked, almost nervous at what his response would be.

“Emma I told you, don't work, work from home, be a deputy, I don't bloody care, as long as I go to sleep with you, and wake up next to you. Having you within my sight at all times is just a possessive bonus, but I won't ever give you up, I am never giving you back” he said and tucked her hair back.

Tears leaked out of her eyes, and she turned in his lap, crumpling, as the words cracked her apart. Killian slid out from underneath her, and laid behind her, spooning her, and dragged the blanket over them. He held her while she cried, and he soothed her until she fell asleep in his arms.

Killian laid there, holding her, he should just ask her. Make her know this was permanent, but with a fucking ring he couldn't do that. How was he going to make her feel secure enough that he would never leave her? He wracked his brain, and nothing came. He finally conceded to the idea, he would just have to show her every bloody day and never stop.

When Emma woke up she was too warm. Her robe tucked around her, and Killian’s body heat radiating against her back. He was snoring lightly and she hated to wake him but she felt like her skin was on fire. She slipped out the end of the couch, and he didn’t seem to wake up. She quickly dressed and drank a glass of water.

Deciding to sit in her chair and read until he woke up. She didn’t read for long before he stirred on the couch, his eyes blinking open alarmed that she wasn’t still in his arms. He sat up and saw her, and she heard his sigh of relief.

“Hi,” she said.

He nodded at her, wiping at his eyes waking up.

“Want to walk over to Grannys and get my stuff?” she asked him, and he smirked at her.

“Absolutely.”

@sailtoafarawayland @omgmarvelous

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#emma swan #killian jones #ouat #ouat au #once upon a time #ruby lucas #august booth #mary margaret blanchard #graham humbert

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luminescentlyricist · 4 years

Text

🧡 Autophobia 🧡

AUTOPHOBIA - NOUN - An irrational fear of oneself ; an intense self-fear that is groundless.

Dirk had never been all that emotional, but this was the last straw. He was breaking day by day, teetering on the edge of snapping the carefully constructed mask of apathy he'd worked so hard to maintain. Even before Derse had exploded, there were days where he couldn't slip away into the dream planet. Then, whenever he could - without Roxy there, without having her snoring company - the whispers of the horrorterrors seemed loud enough to deafen him. He'd never told anyone about it. Not even Dave. There were truly no words appropriate for the situation, and it muddled up his thoughts with stupid emotional biases to consider.

He sat in his living room, a hunched-over gargoyle, unmoving and unwilling to move. The larger-than-necessary television screen in front of him blared music, but his own brother's sick beats weren't enough to shake him from his literal and metaphorical slump. For all he knew, it was midnight, but he felt detached enough that he'd disregard the ebbs and flows of tiredness until he blanked out and crashed. Sometimes, his mind and body alike couldn't handle the strain. This was one of those times. Dirk's muscles ached in protest of the awkward position he'd decided to rest into, and as his neck craned downwards - being physically unable to keep his head up any longer - the iconic triangular shades he always wore slipped from his nose.

He made no move to retrieve them. Despite feeling disproportionately vulnerable without them, the Strider barely cared. All of his windows were covered by thick black curtains anyway, the otherwise invigorating sunlight nonexistent.Nobody wanted to visit, anyway, as Dirk was sure they were all sick of each other's company after so long. He was all too used to being alone and looking after himself, so the group's self-imposed isolation period shook him a lot less than it did his peers. He noted that he had been invited to a group board on Trollian - his chat client of choice, as it turned out not to be exclusive to the trolls - but, once again, made no effort to raise himself from his slump.

John had also messaged him, but they had barely spoken. All he knew was that the 'windy boy' was one of his brother's friends.

Dirk's uniquely-coloured eyes slipped closed after a while of vacant staring. He no longer heard the music loud enough to shake the walls. The only thing that met his ears was the low, steady thrumming of his own heartbeat. It was disorienting, yes, having everything fade away, but he was adjusted to solitary ventures and feeling so alone that darkness felt more comforting than seeing.

He'd been wondering whether or not to give Hal a more physical form because he'd been able to salvage the AI from the 'corpse' of ARquiusprite. It felt somehow immoral - even by Dirk's largely skewed moralities - to keep the shades locked away, even though it was to prevent them from tormenting him or driving him to increasingly long periods of sleeplessness. The truth was that Dirk held an emotionless facade as his brother did, though his lack of understanding was left exposed and unmasked in contrast. But he was fragile, as prone to breaking as anyone else was. Hal was an enigmatic being, more than enough to shake him up.

It was haunting, realising just how strangely he had acted when he was younger. How stupidly, how naively. Taken away by his emotions, loud and brash. Was that just how thirteen-year-olds were supposed to be? As detestable as the robot was, he was a reflection of who Dirk had been and who he never wanted to be again. A reminder.

Finally standing, a small groan escaping his lips at the pain of his now-stiff body, the Strider thought. He didn't really know what to do, but never bothered to engage with his friends despite the annoyance of the notification light blinking. Travelling to the fridge with habitually light, wary footsteps, Dirk opened the door and took out a can of Orange Crush. He consumed so much of the stuff it was a wonder his teeth weren't stained. The cold drink seemed like snow - not that he personally knew what it felt like - in the way its coolness slowly spread through his hands. He needed the sugar to snap out of his daze, as strange as it seemed.

The tab of the lid scratched abrasively against his fingers when he attempted to open it, and he cursed aloud, hearing his own voice for the first time in what seemed like an aeon. The surfaces of his fingertips had been caught, and pinpricks of red bubbled up to obscure their swirling prints. Licking the blood away without a second thought, he tried again, ears pricking to the satisfying hiss the carbonated drink made when the metallic seal was broken. Taking a swig, Dirk disregarded the bubbles that seemed to burn his tongue. As much as he hated it, he felt too lonely now, The taste of the drink was familiar and comforting.

Slamming the fridge door with a little more force than was necessary, the young man flinched. His shoulders were raised in a defensive, tight position, so he forced himself to relax. He'd engineered a situation for himself that hindered his emotional and physical growth, the battle bots being the very reason why he was so prone to startling when no one else was watching to protect him. But the one flaw that Dirk seemed to so vehemently disagree with was perhaps his most prominent: He'd largely formulated and fuelled his own misfortune.

Moving back to the couch, he sat, staring at the rotating disc emblem on the screen. It was up at full brightness, as he refused to take off his shades even though he was completely alone. He knew that he should have at least contacted his brother. If he was craving contact so badly, Dave would be the best person to tell about his troubles. They had been raised similarly, after all, regardless of any family ties they might have had. But. for the most part. he felt disruptive.

Watching the rapid spinning of the disc animation, his stomach felt compelled to follow suit. Swallowing another mouthful of Orange Crush, relief washed through his whole body and quelled his nausea to a degree. His thoughts were only becoming louder and harder to ignore, though, so he muted and switched off the television. His ears continued to ring obnoxiously, so he tilted his head back, placed down the can and plugged them with his fingers.

Dirk was procrastinating, denying the need to fidget and tinker in his workshop purely to quieten his Hal-based thoughts, which were beginning to come overwhelming despite his efforts. He just wanted to prevent them from growing.

He still wondered about his Brobots. The boy wasn't one to get sentimental, and he wasn't about to. He'd simply put so much effort into them that it seemed a shame to dismantle them for a cause he didn't truly support. It was one hell of a choice to make, and the self-imposed delays were only hindering his prospects. Surely he was stronger than his thoughts? For someone who'd sat alone with them for so long, something like Hal shouldn't have moved him.

With another few slow swallows of his drink, he forced himself to stand and look towards a corridor. That was exactly where he didn't want to go. The darkness surrounding the area - though purely owing to his laziness, having not installed a lightbulb - was disorienting and even frightening. He'd never liked having his vision taken away because of how heavily he relied on it.

Descending the small staircase, he glanced downwards to check if his boots - normally steel-toed in case he dropped anything onto them by accident, despite outward claims of his own composure - were properly laced. Finding that one was undone, he bent down and carefully double-knotted it, wincing as the normally non-irritating fabric connected with the raw skin on his fingertips. He'd expected such a small thing to heal rapidly, but all it was doing quickly was becoming both a metaphorical and physical pain. Straightening, he pushed open the door to his workshop and stepped inside.

The space no longer seemed as welcoming and relaxing as his memory told him it would be. There was a certain fogginess about it, the windows dark and air colder than Dirk had ever anticipated. The layout was similar to that of Equius', though the benches and worktables were distinctly neater, and various swords and weapons lined the wall. Their metal glinted dully in the waning moonlight. As opposed to bloodied parts of completed and smashed battle bots, Dirk's hosted husks and unfinished or dismantled robots in varying degrees of completeness.

An entire table was strewn with circuits and other electrical components. Dave had once suggested he contact a troll named Sollux to help with those. He hadn't bothered to enquire who that was, but it seemed a little more believable since he'd confirmed that trolls were not just internet idiots but also a bona fide alien race. Some had cool powers, according to his brother, and this 'Sollux' was one of them. He reportedly possessed psionics and eye lasers, though the tech savviness was far more relevant to Dirk's quests.

Checking around for his welding mask, the young man decided to distract himself by turning to the 'wrong' bot entirely. Squarewave and Sawtooth still existed, after all, and his mind was wandering to that uncertain place. He needed a distraction. He didn't want to face that. He was, for all intents and purposes, a complete and utter coward, even more so because he didn't want to admit it. His calloused fingers tightened against the personalised welding mask, so much so that it rubbed against the drink-tab wound, the same one that was so insistent on not healing.

This bot was a loose model, a sort of forgotten 'Davebot', one which he had since decided to abandon the building of. He thought it selfish to construct a model bot of someone who was still very much alive and deserving attention. By this token, he knew that he had broken this unspoken principle by virtue of the bot he had made Jake, though he considered that a separate situation. Dirk wasn't taking any attention away from his original self, and he could also argue that he didn't deserve it at all.

The boy let out a short sigh, rubbing his hands across his face and grabbing a pair of thick black gloves from a hook on the wall. This allowed a streak of red to smear across his nose from the newly reopened finger-prick wound. Although it was a bad idea due to the blatant infection potential, he didn't bother leaving the workshop to get a bandaid for it.

The Dave-esque robot's bright red eye lenses bored into his own with an unnerving glint, appearing far too alive for his liking. Dirk exhaled shakily, reaching out to touch the bot's soothingly cold exterior. Silvery alloy, fused with tight welding and ungodly amounts of heat so that there were no unseemly bolts and such to mess up the appearance of the face. Although he found it unnervingly difficult to display his affections, the care with which he had assembled his brother's likeness was telling enough.

Drumming on the shining lenses with unclipped fingernails, Dirk realised that he had subconsciously removed his gloves while fidgeting. He scanned the room, huffing and looking down at his fingers so that he had a concrete image of himself putting them back on in his head. Without that reminder, the boy was so stuck in his own swirling thoughts he would have forgotten again. He stepped back from the Davebot, wrinkling his nose in disgust - or perhaps a sudden burst of jealousy - despite his prior, awkwardly-expressed affections towards it. He took a nearby cloth, throwing it over the bot if only to obscure its confronting gaze.

The last thing he wanted to do was face Hal, even though it was just like going back in time. He never asked to face himself, no matter the iteration. Dirk knew he was better than that. The flaws that he once had were all locked away tightly, or so he thought. And yet, he had given their metallic prison a name. There was something so disarming about Hal; the stagnancy in growth was awful alone, but seeing himself - or a projection, a perception - so raw and unfiltered was going to break him apart. It just wasn't natural.

As Dirk felt himself spiral into such a distressing pattern of thought, a rare frown took his lips downwards. He picked up a stray piece of scrap metal, turning it over and over in his fingers until he found some peace in the constant action. Placing it into a pocket, he decided to keep it out of the way but nonetheless close by for further 'use'. He also needed something physical to do rather than resulting to his self-jeopardy and facing Hal when he was in such a fragile state of mind.

The tremors that were rippling through his body begun to intensify, and Dirk realised just how useless it was waiting for himself to calm down. There wasn't a whole lot he could do to procrastinate unless he dragged his friends out of the comfort of isolation. Besides, he had a feeling seeing Jake in person wouldn't put him in the best mood. Running a hand distractedly through his hair, the Strider braced himself against a worktable and groaned aloud. Nothing was helping his emotional turmoil, much less the headache pounding behind his eyes.

He'd spent too many sleepless nights wondering about this particular moral dilemma to keep it inside, but that was simply what he had adjusted himself to. Dirk Strider was a bomb, but he was convinced that he could explode if and when he wanted to. But each and every issue he refused to face was only shortening his resolve. What kind of Strider allowed himself to cry? Not him, that was for sure.

Sweat dripped down his forehead, slipping beneath his welding mask and making him his in irritation. Everything, no matter how small, seemed like it was against him. And to someone feeling as sensitive as Dirk was at that moment, it might as well have been the truth. The buzz in his fingers from touching the abrasive metal - despite the gloves - was gradually spreading, vicious pins and needles that were such a rapid sensation every movement was causing him pain or discomfort.

With a shaking hand, he removed his phone from one of his many pockets and opened Trollian. There, in bright red letters, sat the exact help he was so sure he didn't need. Dave would've been able to soothe him, at the very least, but what he really wanted was for someone to just... listen. Dirk hadn't let himself rely on others in the past, and he wasn't about to. Letting the screen fade to black, the young man let out a breath he had no idea he had held in so tightly. The phone fell from his lax fingers and back into his pocket, the dull weight sparking more pain in his midsection that he couldn't ignore.

Teeth harshly grinding against each other, he took one last glance towards the covered Davebot and rounded a corner, pushing back a thin and vaguely dusty curtain that separated one bot from the rest. Exhaling slowly and steeling himself, he stepped inside. Attempting to disregard his various aches and pains. his gaze flickered to a small drawer. It looked as if it were gouged at to try and remove the handle. He had done that, but it had been so long since that he'd forgotten.

Walking slowly towards it, Dirk produced a key from a chain around his neck. His friends had often enquired as to what the chain was for, but he'd never felt the need to answer them truthfully. He unlocked the drawer, closing his eyes for a moment to silently process what he was doing. It was terrifying, as much as he wouldn't admit it. The only thing that scared Dirk enough to break his facade was himself. Facing his own flaws. Hal made everything ten times worse. Nonetheless, he had completed the body, even if it was crafted in a far less personal manner when compared to the Davebot.

Sweat continued to bead at his forehead and drip downwards, irritating Dirk enough that he removed the welding mask entirely to wipe it away as much as possible. Taking a spare pair of shades - which he always had somewhere on his person - out of his protective apron and slipping them back on, a little bit of the tension melted out of his shoulders. It felt more natural to have the shades on, and he had no need for the welding mask. He didn't intend to see to the bot's adjustments just yet.

Although he regretted building Hal a body, all things said and done, it was the only chance he had to try and quash the nightmares and nausea that followed him everywhere he went. There was no logic to the fear, this he knew, but he just wished it'd stop, despite his giving up hope on it a while ago.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears, so he retrieved his phone and headphones. They were a special pair that Dave had once painted for him, sleek, black and noise-cancelling with the added bonus of his hat logo emblazoned on each ear. Again, his thoughts drifted towards getting the help of his brother, but there was no time for any of that. He was too entrenched in his personal problem to think about pushing it onto anyone else. Once again, he put Dave's beats on, but this time they were too close to ignore. The headphones were wireless, luckily, because there was no chance he could have untangled them with his uncooperative hands. They weren't going to stop trembling any time soon.

Dirk's hand rested on the drawer, fingers drumming against the fading, once-burnished wood. He looked down to the contents of the drawer and grimaced, taking a small step away from it. He rethought the last hour's efforts, captured all in the single hesitation. He knew it was necessary, but there was something freezing him in place while his head and stomach spun. The boy curled his fingers so tightly around the handle that his knuckles turned white and it started splintering beneath his grip.

He reached into the drawer, placing his fingers one-by-one on the black lenses within and unsteadily picking them up. As the light caught on them - the workshop lacking curtains as the only room safe and secluded enough - he winced, but it was unclear why until he set them back down and rubbed his eyes vigorously. Dirk had seen the red lenses behind the shades, and thought that he was hallucinating for a moment. He hadn't seen them distinctly prior because he just hadn't processed it. He'd developed a habit of blocking things out physically and mentally when he didn't want to see them.

Sighing to the empty room, Dirk fumbled around in his many pockets for his phone, sending a short message devoid of context to his brother.

~ TimaeusTestified [TT] Began Trolling TurntechGodhead [TG] ~

TT: This is it.

~ TimaeusTestified [TT] Ceased Trolling TurntechGodhead [TG] ~

Returning it to his pocket, he made sure it was on Do Not Disturb mode. There was no way in or out of Hell he'd be shaken from his concentration, and no event more important than it to justify that. It also had to be kept a secret for exactly that reason. Picking the shades back up, he glowered down at them. He hated them - and even more, the AI that they contained - beyond expression. But there was no time, and thusly no back-pedalling that he could afford to be doing. He'd procrastinated enough.

Hesitating despite the reassurance that there was no time to waste, Dirk took off his shades one more time. Removing another welding mask from a hook at the wall - this one plain black unlike the one in the main area that he had taken the time and effort to customise - and replacing it with his own pair of shades, a shudder worked its way up his spine again. This time, the associated tension in his shoulders stayed, giving him none of the prior relief. He never expected it to, really. The Striders were a family who were all capable of working with, around or against their obstacles if needed. Highly adaptable. In reality, nothing much was a hindrance to Dirk because of his learned - and perhaps forced - stoicism.

With a stiff and uncertain movement, the young man drew the shades up to his facE, staring into the crimson lenses as if in a trance. They were lifeless and cold, just as he'd trained himself to be. But he knew, deep in his mind where the bad thoughts - or those he personally considered bad, anyway - rested, that it wouldn't be for long. He barely caught himself fidgeting with the scrap metal restlessly for a moment within his pocket. He begun to prepare the final wirings, those that would spiral out from his folly's chest and centre console.

The one advantage of his fear-based procrastination was having ample enough time to hone his craft. He was able put more careful handiwork into Hal's final form than he ever would have been able to give to the Davebot, which was cause for shame on his part. The wires, all of which he constructed himself, were built to be see-through but contained small lights that would change from blue to red according to the artificial rise and fall of Hal's chest, and the 'beating' of the console. It was a small detail, easily missed, but it made him feel all the more unsettling and real.

He hummed along to the beats still thrumming in his ears, a habit he only displayed when entirely alone.

Dirk inserted the chest-piece along with the console, which was neatly connected and hidden behind) into its proper place, the shaking that had once plagued him long overshadowed and disguised under false confidence. Something was telling him to stop. To leave Hal to rust and his careful wirings to rot. But Dirk's stubbornness and characteristically destructive nature caused him to dismiss all judgements, no matter how logical. No matter how much the dismissals would hurt him.

Clearing his throat, the boy's eyes flickered upwards to the lens that was missing in the facial pieces. Realistically, he could have simply foregone the eye-lenses in their entirety because of the shades he'd put on, but it would have felt unnatural. Regardless of the bot-husks scattered across the workshop and the image they conveyed, their creator was highly committed and dedicated to his craft. Under the right circumstances, yes, but dedicated nonetheless.

Straying from the bot, Dirk re-entered the main sector of his workshop and located a box full of perfectly maintained, crystalline lenses. Picking it up, he made his way back into the smaller room and set it down onto a makeshift workbench, sifting through them in quiet. He had somehow listened to the majority of his brother's discography, even though the intensity of his concentration caused him to block out all else but his work. As such, he hadn't properly realised the magnitude of either achievements, disregarding the bot-related work as well.

Soon, Dirk found the lenses he was searching for, holding them up to the windows and discovering there was no light left to shine through them. Another thing that he'd let slip unwillingly under the radar was just how long he'd been working for at that point. Nonetheless, he knew well enough that their colouration was a near-exact match to his own eyes. They were chosen in stark contrast to the red and black dominating Hal's outfit.

Stepping backwards from the bot in question, the Strider dug the toes of his boots into the floor and started to count silently. He was grounding himself in both a mental and physical manner. He needed to prepare himself for what he was about to finish. For any normal person, the task wouldn't have been so daunting. For him, on the other hand, it was facing his fears. Regardless of his own wants or desires, Dirk both pressed and stepped forwards. He placed the lens in the appropriate eyepiece, and realised that he no longer had to fake his confidence. He was sure of himself.

Slowly soldering the wires with his welding mask pulled down against the embers and sparks, he steadied his once-erratic breathing as much as he could. Upon completing this, he took off the mask and let himself observe Hal, a slight frown turning the otherwise neutral expression he'd maintained. Checking that the kill switch was working - and, despite his loathing, hoping that he'd never have cause to use it - for a moment's distraction, he retrieved the iconic shades.

Connecting them to the bot, he reached down to the centre console and pressed in a final panel. Looking back towards Hal, Dirk realised what he was truly seeing.

These were the eyes of someone more human than he was.

#luminescent lyricist writes #dirk #dirk strider #hal #hal strider #dirk homestuck #hal homestuck #if you tag this as stridercest I'll kick you in the nads #🏠 stuck at home 🏠

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is0gild · 4 years

Text

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 23

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 11,552

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

"Sorry, did I miss a point back there where my car transformed into a submarine to cross the Atlantic Ocean?"

I turned my head towards Lea, knitting my eyebrows together. "Pardon?"

"Well I just don't see how else we would have ended up at freaking Buckingham Palace," he muttered, keeping one hand on the steering wheel while the other tipped his aviators forward for a better look at the mansion at the end of the long, extravagant driveway he was currently cruising his car down. He gave a low whistle, "Shit, all it's missing are those dudes in the highschool band uniforms and big fuzzy hats."

Rolling my eyes, I snorted softly. "Oh come now, it's not that big."

He scoffed, "'Not that big' is something girlfriends say about their exes to protect their insecure boyfriends' fragile male egos. It's not what you say about the Taj Ma-fucking-hal here."

The dreaded weekend was upon us at last.

You know. The Weekend. Capital T, capital W.

Aka, the visit with my parents.

Operation Boyfriend But Shh Not Really was about to be tested to the extreme limits.

The chateau in question (maybe villa would be a better word? Or manor, perhaps? Really, it wasn't big at all, Lea was just exaggerating) belonged to my parents. This was the home I'd grown up in. It was weird coming back here now after all that had happened. Was still in the process happening, I suppose. My fingers fidgeted with my braid as the mansion loomed ever higher the closer we got.

Actually… now that we were more up close and I was really seeing it again… oh gosh, it was rather enormous, wasn't it?

...had it somehow grown in size since last I-?

Shush, now, don't be ridiculous. That was just the anxiety talking.

Of which I was in no short supply of. I still had no clue what was in store for this weekend. Anna seemed almost just as much in the dark as I was, which was strange seeing as how she still lived here. Then again, I was pretty sure she'd been spending a lot less time around home lately in favor of staying over at her new boyfriend's place. A man I still surprisingly knew absolute zilch about, but I was hoping Anna had invited him to join us for this weekend as well. That way, I'd get to meet him and maybe even have a little of the attention taken off me. Long shot, I know, considering he was only Anna's still relatively new beau whereas I'd skipped out on my own wedding and shamed my whole family (apparently), so this guy was kind of small potatoes by comparison. But hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

It was actually Friday evening right now, so we were going to be in for more of a long weekend - in every sense of the word. Lea and I had both worked early shifts today before going to our respective homes, getting changed, packing bags for staying over for two nights and then finally heading up. Not knowing what this weekend was going to entail was wreaking no small amount of havoc on my nerves. That said, it could have been worse. Pretty sure I'd actually been more nervous for the audition a couple days ago than I was for this. Maybe that was because the audition had just been so last minute, whereas I'd been preparing for this little get-together for a couple weeks now. Even I had to admit that Lea and I made a pretty convincing couple at this point. Sure, I still got a bit awkward with PDAs, but I was no longer anywhere near as bad as I had been the day I'd seen father at my old condo.

...then again, doing the whole relationship act around the mall for the past couple weeks was one thing. Trying to pull off the same charade in front of my parents now, not to mention the Duke as well? Probably was going to be a lot more complicated.

I really had no idea what was going to happen the moment we passed through those ornate double doors leading into my parent's home.

But I was about to find out.

Whether I liked it or not.

"Alright, we made it," Lea announced as he parked the car next to the big fountain in the middle of the circle driveway, shutting off his engine. He shot me a grin, "You ready for this, my lil sötnos?"

I blinked over at him, then narrowed my eyes. "Do I even want to know?"

"It's a Swedish term of endearment. Its literal translation is sweet nose. And if yours ain't the sweetest, I dunno what is," his grin twitched wider as he reached over to tweak said nose.

"Sweet n-" I groaned, swatting his hand away. "Veto."

"Aw c'mon, I thought that one was cute!" he gave a little whine. I just drooped my eyelids at him and he sighed, stretching over to open his glove compartment and pull a black marker from it. "Guess America's just not ready for the sweet nose," he grumbled, pulling the cap off with his teeth and marking something off on his palm.

I frowned. "...what are you doing?"

"Regrettably giving up on what is arguably the greatest pet name of all time, that's what."

"No, I meant with your hand." I snatched his in both mine, yanking it over in front of my face to discover a small list written on the inside of his palm, located at the top of which was sötnos with a line struck through it. "...are these... more terms of endearment for me?"

He smirked as he leaned in closer to stare down at his palm alongside me. "Yup! Since the big weekend's here, figured I'd best come prepared. This is important stuff we gotta nail down!"

I squinted at the words before me, reading, "Kruzynko…?"

"It means breadcrumb."

Scrunching up my nose, I stole the marker from him and crossed that one off. "No. Bogárkám?"

"My little bug," Lea supplied, sounding more confident in this one.

A snerk. "Nope," I popped the P. And another one bites the dust. My tongue tripped uncertainly over the next one, "Blodyn tatws?"

"Heh… potato flowers?" he asked hopefully.

"Oh wow, I love that one."

He perked up, "Really?"

"Absolutely... not," I said flatly, looking him dead in the eye as I drew a line across it as well.

"Aw man, not cool!" He pouted, then pursed his lips to one side. "Hey, is now really the best time to be doing this? We, uh…" he chuckled sheepishly, holding up his second hand to reveal a whole other list scrawled on that one too, "...might end up being here all day."

I stared blankly at him. "Just how many more of those do you have?"

"I'd show ya, but that'd require me going a lil more half monty than you'd probably prefer I'd get in your parent's driveway."

My brow furrowed and I leaned away slightly, eyeing him up and down. "...where…?"

He waggled his eyebrows at me, "That's for me to know and you to find out."

I let his hand drop from my grasp, "I'm good, thanks." As he snickered, I looked away, rubbing my fingertips over one of my (now brought to a low simmer) cheeks. "Can't you just stick to El? It's simple. Nice… I like El."

"You do?" I heard him ask and I directed a furtive sideways glance in his direction. A slow smile was curling his lips, "Alright… El it is." But then he was peeking down at his palm again. "...and also krúttið mitt."

Biting back a grin, I swat his shoulder. "How would you like it if I kept calling you some weird pet name in a foreign language all the time?"

Lea beamed, "I'd like it very much actually."

"Really? Fine," I took up his hand again, scrutinizing his palm, "...mo chuisle it is then."

His eyes lit up, "Ooo, that one's spicy!"

Oh dear, why had I thought this was a good idea again?

"...what's it mean?"

He bent towards me, eyes hooded as he purred, "You just called me your pulse."

I've made a grave error this day.

"Ah-ah!" he chirped, pressing a finger to my lips as they began to part. "Too late! No take-backsies!"

I huffed, unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car, slamming the door shut behind me.

Lea looked far too smug as he climbed out himself, retrieving both our bags from the backseat of the car on his way out and slinging them over his shoulder. He removed his aviators, hooking them into the collar of his black, fitted v-neck shirt as his eyes took in the mansion before us once again. He'd reclaimed his leather jacket to wear for this, accompanied by snug jeans tastefully ripped at just one knee and a pair a black, heavy, steel-toed boots. He'd blinged out a bit as well, sporting a small sun medallion that hung from a chain down to his mid-chest, along a few strappy leather bracelets and a couple of rings decorating his fingers. His winged guyliner was somehow even darker and bolder than usual and his hair had been pulled back into a half-tail.

Not going to lie, my traitorous fingers practically itched to pet that little red tuft at the back of his head.

Instead, I settled for fussing with the necklace that rested against my skin just above my collarbone. The pendant was formed of three blue, almond-shaped gemstones gathered together at one point. A present from Rayne to wish me luck on this trip. I was a much bigger fan of her good luck charm than I had been of the one Lea had "gifted" me with for the musical tryouts. I wore the small charm with a classic little wrap dress in a soft lilac. Off the shoulder of course - it was me we were talking about here, so you can probably guess it before I even say it at this point - and with the hem of the skirt flaring out around the knees.

Needless to say, looking at him and me side-by-side right now, it was clear one of us was either severely over or underdressed. Considering it was my parents' door we were about to knock on, one guess as to who was what.

"Try not to scratch the paint, chief!" Lea chipperly called out as he was suddenly tossing his keys at one of the staff under my parents' employ who just so happened to be walking past us in that second.

Eyes widening, the man fumbled to catch them. As Lea turned to head towards the front door, I followed, quirking my eyebrow at him. "What was that?"

"I'm blending in," he flashed a cheeky smile, shoving a hand into one pocket of his jacket. "Whatcha think, do I sound like a rich asshole or what?"

I tipped my head to one side. "...actually, you kind of sounded like my ex."

A snort escaped through his nose. "I'll take that as a yes then."

We walked a couple steps in silence. Then, "That wasn't a valet, by the way."

He froze midstep, looking at me sharply. "What?"

"That was a gardener. My parents don't even have a valet."

"Oh." Lea glanced back over his shoulder, frowning. "...maybe I should go get my keys back then."

I hid a small grin behind my fingers. "Maybe you should."

Waiting politely, I watched him jog back towards the worker to do just that, along with offering what looked to be quite the humble apology. "Got 'em!" he declared once he'd rejoined me, flinging them up into the air before catching them again to slip into his pocket. "So even a proper gent like your old man feels the need to prove what a hot, young stud he still is, eh? Wouldn't of thought him the type."

"What?" I blinked a couple times. Where'd that come from?

He tossed his chin back towards his vehicle. More specifically, at the few other cars he'd parked next to. "I recognize Anna's Porsche over there, but that blue Ferrari reeks of midlife crisis."

"...that's my car." Then I grimaced and amended, "Rather, was my car."

"Huh?" he looked taken aback. "You drive? Since when?"

I gave a small shrug, "Since always."

"Then why're you always having me n' your roomies chauffeur you around? Not that I mind..."

"I don't have a car or the funds to purchase one." He wordlessly jerked his thumb back towards the Ferrari, face blank. I sighed, "My parents bought me that. It didn't feel right keeping it after… everything. Not with me trying to separate myself from them and make it on my own. No, I plan to buy my own once I've saved up enough."

"Shit, still shoulda kept it," Lea said and I gave him a dull look. He hastily waved a hand in front of him, "Even if ya didn't want it, you coulda sold it and made bank before giving all that munny away to charity. Ya know, just so you could really stick it to your folks."

Shaking my head with a soft chuckle, I started walking towards the entrance again. "Let's just get on with this."

"Aye aye, Capitaine," he gave me a two-fingered salute, catching up to me with his long strides.

Feeling my chest start to constrict as we drew nearer to those doors, I blew out a soft, slow breath. "I hope we're not late. I shouldn't have let you talk me into that salon visit after we got off work."

"What, you needed something to help ya relax and a quick spa day was just the ticket! 'Sides, I wanted to make myself all pretty for this! Whaddya think?" He stretched his arm out before us both, fingers wiggling to show off his fresh coat of black nail polish. "If this doesn't impress your folks and tell 'em what a man of sophisticated tastes I am, I dunno what will!"

I snorted. "I think my father is more of a mauve man himself."

"Really? Crap, you shoulda said something! I'd have asked for a matching color so he and I could be twinsies! Shucks," he snapped his fingers, "missed opportunity."

Coming to a stop on the doorstep, I reached for the bell, but my fingers hesitated.

This was so strange. I'd lived here. Spent my childhood here. I'd never had to use the doorbell before.

...why did the idea of doing so now seem so hard?

A sudden warmth enveloped my other hand. I looked down to discover Lea was holding it. He gave it a small squeeze as he said softly, "Hey. Whatever happens in there, just know I'm here for you."

I felt a small stutter in my chest as a tiny smile tugged at my lips. "...thank you," I murmured, squeezing back before looking to the doorbell once more. Taking a deep, calming breath, I pushed the button at last and a heavy chime could be heard within.

While we waited, a glimmer of something at Lea's waist caught my eye and I turned to see what it was. A crease formed between my eyebrows. "...is that… a wallet chain?"

How had I missed that thing until now?

"Hm?" he followed my gaze. "Oh! Yup! Heh, thought it might really pull the whole look together! Do I look like a punkass bad boy now or what?"

"Or what," I fixed him with a deadpan stare. "You look ridiculous."

He splayed a hand against his chest in mock offense. "Rude. Can't believe you'd talk to your pulse like that."

Face warming, I hung my head. "...I'm never going to hear the end of that, am I?"

"Nope!" he grinned wickedly.

"Would you just take that silly thing off?"

"No can do, sweetcheeks! Boys like to accessorize too, ya know," he sniggered, giving the chain a little twirl. "Just be grateful I left the spiked choker in the glove compartment."

"Spi-?!" I spluttered over the word before managing a scoff and crossing my arms. "Oh, trust me, I am. The point is to get my parents to back off, not to send them into cardiac arrest!"

...huh… Lea in a spiked choker…

"You're trynta imagine what I'd look like wearing it now, aren't ya?" he'd hunched down beside me to whisper into my ear with a smirk.

My cheeks burned so hot, you could have roasted marshmallows on the damn things.

"...am not."

I was almost grateful when the door swung open just then. And also a little surprised, because the face that greeted me wasn't that of my parents' house maid Gerda.

No, instead it was that of a pale, wide-eyed, huffing and puffing Anna.

(With Gerda right behind her, looking quite harried and put out by the fact that my sister had stolen her job.)

"Elsa!" she cried out in relief. "Finally! What took you so long?!"

Furrowing my brow, I began, "Anna? What-?"

"No time! Get." She lunged towards me. "In here." Her hands seized my shoulders. "Now!" I was forcibly yanked inside.

I heard the door booming shut behind me and could only hope that Lea had managed to slip in himself in time as well. Gripping my sister's arms, I tried again, "What's going on? We couldn't be more than a few minutes la-"

Her hand suddenly shot out to squeeze my cheeks together between her thumb and fingers, squishing my face and effectively silencing me. "Shush! No talkie! Only listen! Oh, it's bad, Sis. Really, really bad! It's him! He's here! Like, here here! Right friggin' now!"

"Who's here?" I asked, tugging my face free of her vice-like grip and working my jaw. I knit my eyebrows together at Gerda, who was frantically circling us as she kept trying and failing to get a word in edgewise. "The Duke? I already knew-"

"No! Not the Duke! Of course not, he won't be here until tomorrow! Gah! You know, Sis, sometimes you can be really-" Anna cut herself off in a tiny snarl, fingers curling in front of her to strangle empty air. "Ugh! Anyway, it's- I didn't- It was just- Out of nowhere- Mom and Dad, they- He- His-"

"I think she's trying to tell us something. What is it, Lassie? Timmy trapped in the well again?" Lea snerked as he let our luggage fall to the foyer floor beside his boots.

Ignoring him, I gently rubbed my hands up and down Anna's arms. "Breathe. Calm down. Take a minute to gather your thoughts."

"People!" she suddenly blurted out, startling me a bit. "Lots of them! Loads of them! So many people!"

I frowned. "People? Where? You mean here, now?"

She shook her head rapidly, "No, no, no, no! Not now people! Future people! Tomorrow people! And… and caterers! And musicians! And decorators and, and, and him! He's- Right now, he's- just down the hall, he's- he's-"

"Who, Anna? Who?" I insisted.

Her hands violently shook me, "Him!"

Right. Thanks, Sis. Big help you are.

Why was she like this?

The maid finally managed to pipe in, "What Miss is trying to tell you is that your-"

"Got it, Gerda, thanks!" Anna huffed out with a tiny scowl. Then she took in a deep breath, preparing to say something.

"Crap, I think that dude just robbed us," Lea chimed in first.

Holding a finger up to Anna, I whipped my head around to see what he was talking about: an older gentleman in a black suit walking briskly away with our bags. "Oh, that's just Kai."

Lea cocked an eyebrow at me, "The robber's name is Kai?"

"No, the butler's name is Kai."

"Why would the butler rob us?"

"He's not robbing us, he's just taking our things up to our room." I blanched. "Rooms." Plural. As in more than one. My parents would never, not in a million years, have put Lea and me in the same room under their roof… right? Oh gosh, why was the possibility only just now occurring to me? "He's, uh… he's p-putting them where we'll be staying. Separately. As in, not together. Completely and one hundred percent apart," I (overly) clarified, fighting that blush I felt creeping up my neck now.

Anna suddenly grabbed my head with both hands and forced me to look at her again, grounding out through her teeth, "You're. Not. Listening to me!" Then with a grumbling sigh, she snagged my hand in hers and started dragging me down one of the many corridors that branched off from the foyer. "Come on, we better hurry, they're probably wondering what's taking so long."

Gerda squeaked and scurried after us. "Right this way, please, and I'll see you to the Marigold Room where your hosts await your presence!" she awkwardly trilled, trying to maintain some semblance of performing her duties despite Anna's continued interference.

A whistle from Lea confirmed he was following as well. "Lemme guess. The Duke in the conservatory with the candlestick."

"Wha-?" my voice faltered as my feet tripped trying keep up with Anna, only barely managing to keep myself upright.

He grinned down at me as he strode along, shrugging. "This whole place is a legit, life-sized Clue board. Just trynta play the game here."

I stumbled again. "Ow, Anna! Not so hard. What is the rush?"

Not slowing down, she glanced back at me over her shoulder. "Come on, Elsa, think! What day is it?"

"Uh…" Was this a trick question? "...Friday?"

A low, agitated noise emitted from her throat. "No, what day?"

I squinted up at the ceiling in thought. "...the seventh?"

"Yes!" she spun around to tap her nose excitedly, her feet still moving backwards. "Which would make tomorrow…?"

"The eighth." Lost by this line of questioning? I know I was.

"Of?" she pressed. "What month, Elsa?"

"The eighth of… oh!" It finally clicked and I staggered again, my eyes growing round. "...oh no. It's his birthday. Oh gosh, he's here?! Right now?!"

"Yes! Finally! Thank you!" Anna cried out in exasperation.

"Who?" Lea asked, both eyebrows shooting up his forehead at my sudden change of attitude.

"It's-" I began, but that one word was all I got out before Anna took a sudden sharp turn, yanking me into the Marigold Room with her and bringing us face to face with-

"Grandfather!" I breathed, feet faltering as Anna brought us both to a sudden and jerky stop before him.

He cut an imposing figure, my grandfather. Tall, like father, and with the same red hair too that had been passed down to Anna. His however bore prominent streaks of grey at his temples - really the only sign of him getting on in years as he otherwise looked remarkably good for a man of his age. Still fit as a fiddle, barrel-chested, with a strong, square jaw and a sharp, piercing gaze.

A gaze that was so cold right now that I didn't know how I wasn't frozen into solid ice on the spot.

Anna had been wrong.

This wasn't bad.

This was catastrophic.

Because my grandfather? Not exactly the nicest person. Remember what my father had been like? Well, just think - he'd had to learn it from somewhere. And next to Grandfather, my father seemed warm and cuddly. Like sunshine and rainbows. Heck, Father was as friggin' teletubby by comparison to the man who'd raised him. Grandfather was cut from the same cloth as his brother, the Duke. The epitome of old fashioned and proper etiquette. The thing was, where the Duke was all bluster and tantrums, Grandfather just got quiet when he was angry. Like... really, really quiet. An ominous kind of quiet. A bone-chilling kind of quiet. Whenever Grandfather stopped talking, that's when I really got scared of the man.

No, scratch that. That was when I got petrified of the man.

So the fact that he was just staring down his nose at me right now, eyes narrowed, lips set into a grim, disapproving line, and not uttering a single word? Would have been enough to turn my hair stark white if it weren't pretty damn close already.

And to make matters worse? Mother and Father stood not five feet behind him looking rather unamused with me themselves.

Oh gosh, this wasn't going to be some pleasant, little family gathering.

This was going to be an execution. Mine, to be exact.

Gerda suddenly appeared off to one side, panting to catch her breath and making a hasty curtsy towards my parents and grandfather before announcing, "Elsa and her guest have arrived."

...thanks, Gerda. I think they figured that out already.

I watched as she turned and hurried to make her exit before reluctantly returning my gaze to Grandfather. Still, he said nothing. Just arched one bushy eyebrow at me and waited.

Oh fudge, he wanted me to be the first one to speak? Where do I even begin? What do I even say? Could I even talk right now? I don't think I could, not with how heavy my tongue suddenly felt, like it had turned into solid lead. What was I supposed to do here? How-

Suddenly, I felt it. A hand. Lea's hand, slipping across the small of my back and coming to rest on my hip, pulling me gently into his side. "Aren'tcha gonna introduce me, babe?" he asked, voice low and sugary-sweet as he grinned and pressed a kiss to my temple.

Grandfather's thick mustache gave a little twitch.

That's all it took for me to know. Not thirty seconds into this and there was absolutely zero doubt in my mind.

Before this weekend was out, Grandfather was going to murder Lea.

Inhaling and exhaling, I wrung my hands together and somehow figured out how to do this thing called 'talking' once again. "F-Father, you've already had the, uh… the pleasure, but Grandfather, Mother… this… this is…" I screwed my eyes shut, trying to steel myself.

Come on, Elsa, you can do this. Just one word. Just one measly, little word.

"This is my boooooo-" What was this? What was I doing here? "-oooooooooooooooo-" Why was I stretching the syllable out so friggin' long? What, had I gotten stuck? "-oooooooooooooo-" Dear god, how was there this much oxygen in my lungs? "-oooooooooo-" I didn't think there was even this much oxygen on the whole planet, much less inside my lungs. "-oooyyyyyyy-" Oh good. Progress. At this rate, I'd complete the word sometime this century. "-yyyyyyyyy-"

Anna, my divine saviour and blessed angel of mercy, jabbed her elbow into my gut.

"-friend!" I finished at last with a cough. "Boyfriend. This is my...my boyfriend. Yes. This is he. He is this." A beat. Then, "Lea! By the way. His name, that is. Yup. Lea the Boyfriend. My boyfriend. That's right, Lea is my boyfriend. My boyfriend is-"

"I think they get it, Sis," Anna hissed quietly out of the corner of her plastered-on smile.

Gee, I was getting so good at this whole lying thing, wasn't I?

"Pleased to meet ya, Gramps," Lea stretched out a hand towards him.

Grandfather didn't take it. Instead, he just stared long and hard at it. At the black nail polish and rings adorning it. Finally, he lifted his chin with a sniff and straightened his already ramrod posture even further. "That'll be Sir to you, young man."

"Oo, how formal. Whatever you say," he retracted his hand with a smirk, "Sir Gramps."

This had been a mistake, using Lea as my rent-a-boyfriend.

Actually… no, mistake would be an understatement. This was a powder keg and Lea was a goddamn burning match.

Pushing past my now rigidly stiff grandfather, Lea approached my parents next. "Pops, always a pleasure. Ma'am," he took my mother's hand in his to politely press his lips to the back of it, "lovely to make your acquaintance."

She looked slightly taken aback, blue eyes widening. However, Mother recovered quickly, delicately plucking her fingers from his grip to smooth at the tight bun her brown hair was currently up in before primly folding her hands together just below her waist. When she smiled, it was gracious but tight. "As it is yours," there was a briefest of pauses before she tacked on a hesitant, "Lea. Please, take a seat. Dinner should be ready shortly, but would anyone like a drink prepared while we wait?"

I was relieved to hear Lea answer with, "I'm good, thanks." Because a return of Wine Tipsy Lea was by far the very last thing this situation needed right now. As I declined as well, a quick look around brought to my attention the fact that we were the only two not partaking as it seemed the others had already started before we'd gotten here. Mother and Father were sipping at what looked to be some sort of dark red cabernet, while Anna retrieved her own glass and moved towards the mini bar to refill it - most likely with something sweet, fruity and potent enough to bring down an elephant, knowing her. On the low table around which all the seats gathered was a sturdy glass full of ice and an amber liquid. Probably Grandfather's. Probably bourbon.

I shifted over towards the sofa opposite the table from my parents and all three of us took a seat at the same time. Lea joined me soon after, slipping his arm around my shoulders as he flumped down into the cushions beside me. Grandfather, however, hadn't budged from where he stood since we'd entered the room. Not one inch. "Father," was all my father said to him - partially warning, partially pleading.

Grandfather's mustache twitched again and his left eye ticked. But then he moved to sit down in the armchair in front of the bourbon, snatching up the glass and sullenly nursing it.

Dear lord, this was a nightmare. No, this was Hell. That had to be it - I'd died and was now in my own little corner of the Underworld specifically designed and crafted to torture me in the cruelest way possible. I could already feel the stress burning an ulcer into my stomach and no amount of Lea's fingers lightly trailing up and down my arm would calm me down.

There was no point in putting it off, right? I should just do it now. Bring up the thing that was on all of our minds but no one was talking about. You know, the thing. The wedding thing… or rather, the whole lack of the wedding thing. I should just get this over with. Rip the bandaid off. Getting it all out in the open now had to be better than this. Anything had to be better than this… right?

Hands fidgeting furiously in my lap and this close to dislocating a finger, I licked my dry lips and managed to find my voice. "Perhaps now… we should discuss what exactly h-happened on… on my-"

"That is a topic that would be best saved for later," Father talked over me, his stern voice cutting me off. "Let us speak of other things right now."

My head rocked back at that, my forehead wrinkling. I flicked my gaze over to Grandfather briefly - who was still stewing quietly over his drink - then back to my parents. "But I thought-"

"Now's not the time, Elsa," Mother insisted firmly. "This is not a discussion that will be brief, nor will it be suitable to have over dinner. Besides, your father and I will have our hands full preparing for the party tomorrow evening, so this is a conversation that will just have to wait until the day after."

A frown tugged at my lips. "You're hosting a party?"

"For Grandfather's birthday," Anna plopped down onto the sofa beside me, freshened drink in hand. "Since, ya know, it's such a huge one. The big seven-oh. The whole family is going to be there to celebrate. And I mean, the whole family," she shot me a pointed look over the rim of her glass as she took a swig.

Oh. So that's what she'd meant earlier by "tomorrow people."

Why couldn't she have been this articulate when she'd greeted me at the door?

Mother added, "You are, of course, invited to attend the celebration as well, Lea. I know Father would be thrilled for you to join us."

Uh-huh. Sure. Grandfather looked positively pleased as punch over there at the very prospect.

"Sounds like a blast, count me in," Lea grinned.

Alright so… the birthday soirée would be tomorrow, then The Talk™ would be the day after. Roughly two days… forty-eight hours of waiting and worrying and dreading and- oh dear, I had to wonder what the world record for longest sustained panic attack might be. Start the timer, I was about to shatter that sucker.

A hush fell over the room, with the only sound coming from the clinking of the ice in Grandfather's drink accompanied by the ticking of the ancient but well-kept longcase clock in the corner. The ticking seemed to get louder with each passing second.

After one painfully long minute, Mother was finally the one to break the silence. "So Lea," she began, her eyes intent on him, "please… tell us a little about yourself."

"Where to even begin? Lessee here." Uh oh. I didn't like that little gleam he had in his eye as he rubbed a curled finger over his chin. "Well, I guess ya could say I had the kinda childhood every lil tyke dreams about: full of joy and love and the foster system." It was probably a good thing I hadn't gotten a drink because I'd probably be choking on it right now just like my parents were with theirs. "But I mean, with a druggie dad who bought the farm and a druggie mom who split outta my life first chance she got, where else was I s'posed to go?

"As for the rest after that, let's just give ya the highlights." Now he started ticking off his fingers, "College dropout. Ride a motorcycle. In a hardcore death metal band. Smoke ten packs a day." For the love of… he did remember the part about not giving my parents a heart attack, right? "Just got my thirty-day chip from AA - hey, fifth times a charm, right? Oh, I'm also a wanted felon in three different states. Wait…" he squinted one eye, pursing his lips to the left, "...make that four. Always forget about Connecticut. Which reminds me, I need to check in with my parole officer."

"He's joking!" I said quickly with a tiny, nervous laugh.

"Or am I?" he leaned forward in his seat to whisper conspiratorially, eyebrows bouncing. I pinched his arm, forcing a soft tch from him. "But let's not forget the most important thing ya need to know about me: how completely," he kissed my pinky, "and totally," another one for my ring finger, "head over heels," three more, one for each word and each remaining finger, "I am for your daughter."

Alright, you need to cool your jets, cheeks. This was all just part of the show, after all.

A show that was possibly being performed a bit too well. Grandfather's knuckles had gone so white around his glass, I was surprised the poor thing hadn't shattered into a million pieces yet.

Lea tapped his index to his lips now, "Hmmm, what else? Oh! Got a pretty cool story about this gnarly scar my half-brother gave me with a-"

"Anna!" I suddenly burst out, turning towards her at the same time I snagged Lea's hand, keeping him from lifting the hem of his shirt. She froze mid-sip, glancing at me out of the corner of her eyes. "What about you? What's new with you? You have that new boyfriend of yours, right? What about him, will he be joining us this weekend?"

Who me? Trying to change the subject? Psh, I would never!

She winced, averting her gaze and lowering her drink as she traced a finger around the rim. "Oh jeez, my…? Well... he, er… he was going to make it for dinner tonight but… something… unfortunately came up! But he should definitely be here in time for the party tomorrow, so… don't worry! Heh… I- oo, little cheeses!" she cried out excitedly as Gerda abruptly appeared once more to place a small platter of hors d'oeuvres on the coffee table. Anna immediately proceeded to stuff her face with them before pointing at her bulging cheeks and shaking her head, signaling she could no longer talk.

A crease formed between my eyebrows.

Huh… was it just me or was Anna acting kind of weird?

Maybe the tension around the room just had us all on edge, even her. Yeah, that was probably all it was.

"And you, Elsa?" Father's cool tone snapped my attention back to him. Each word that followed was slow and measured, as if he were picking them very carefully, "Tell us how you have been keeping yourself occupied during these past several weeks."

"Oh!" I gnawed on my lower lip, my fingers already tugging at my braid before I'd even realized it. "Well, I've… reconnected with an old friend - you remember Rayne from when I went to summer camp? Well she's married now with a baby on the way, can you imagine? And… and I've gotten myself a place to live and have found a job and-"

-and auditioned for a musical.

That was what I'd been about to tell them. However when I tried, the words got caught in my throat.

I knew they'd disapprove. That they'd probably scoff and wonder why I was still wasting my time on such childish, useless things. But it wasn't childish or useless, at least not to me. To me, the audition had been so important, had brought me so much happiness. I didn't want to give my parents the chance to belittle and ridicule it. I didn't want them to take this thing that was so special away from me.

So instead I released my braid and folded my hands in my lap, sitting up a little straighter as I simply said, "...and that's it really."

I could sense Lea's eyes on me. I think he knew what I'd purposely omitted. Thankfully, he kept his mouth shut about it.

"So… Lea…" Grandfather spoke up suddenly, his voice dangerously low and making me flinch. "I hear you're in the…" his lip curled in a slight sneer, "...pizza business? Is that right?"

Smirking back, he slouched a bit more comfortably into his seat. "That's right. I sling dough at a lil pizza joint in the local mall food court. Great place by the name of Pizza Planet… you ever been?"

His jaw clenched ever so slightly. "No, can't say that I have. But this... Pizza Planet," he said it like those were the two most offensive words in the english language, "...is that where you see yourself working for the rest of your life?"

Lea chuckled, his hand batting the air, "Nah, that'd just be silly! No, I won't be selling pizza forever." His mouth curved into a cheshire grin, "Instead I'll be selling ice cream."

"He plans to own his own business, Grandfather," I hastily clarified.

"His own business… selling ice cream," he growled, pointer finger incessantly tapping against his glass now. "And this is how you would plan to provide for and take care of my granddaughter."

"Pardon me, Sir Gramps," there was a hint of an edge to Lea's voice now, despite his unwavering smile, "but I was under the impression that your granddaughter was her own person fully capable of taking care of herself."

You know that chilling, goosebump-inducing, hackles-raising energy you can feel crackling in the air right before a devastating storm strikes and ravages the land?

That was exactly how it felt right now in the space between Grandfather and Lea.

Luckily, Gerda appeared in the nick of time to divert the tempest by announcing, "Dinner is ready!"

"Thank you, Gerda," Mother had stood in the blink of an eye and was already making her way over to Grandfather. "If you would be so kind as to escort me, Father?"

His hard, unblinking gaze was still on Lea and for a second it seemed like he hadn't even heard her. But at last he tore his eyes away with a harrumph and put his drink back down on the table with a sharp, audible clink. "Of course, my dear," he said evenly as he rose from his own chair, offering her his arm and leading her out of the room.

I turned to Anna, but before I could say anything she'd already bolted up and around the table to grab both of Father's hands in hers. "C'mon, Dad! Walk me to dinner too!" she yanked him up, startling a soft grunt out of him as he staggered to his feet. Then she was hooking her arm through his elbow and all but dragging him out of the room with her.

What the…?

...maybe Anna was just super hungry?

"I think that went really well!" Lea chirped, giving me a thumbs up.

I merely drooped my eyelids at him and said nothing.

Later that night found me in my old bedroom. I'd deduced this was where I was expected to sleep, seeing as how this was where Kai had deposited my luggage. As suspected, Lea had been set up in one of the guest rooms further down the hall, so it was just me alone in here now.

It felt odd being back in this room. Just like it'd felt odd returning to my parent's home or going back to my old condo. I don't know, I guess I just didn't feel like I... belonged here anymore. Like I was some piece that everyone else was trying to force into the wrong puzzle, even though my edges didn't fit and the picture didn't match at all.

Sighing, I shifted in my chair to face the mirror on my vanity once more - this one a lot nicer than the one we'd scrounged up for my room back at the apartment I shared with Rayne and Riku, as you might imagine. Having just finished combing out my hair, I set my brush aside and my fingers idly went to work on rebraiding as my thoughts began to wander.

Dinner had ended up just being the sequel to drinks in the Marigold Room. My parents had continued to try and maintain some semblance of being hospitable hosts while keeping up strained conversation. Grandfather had continued to be a seething ball of barely-held-in-check fury and I don't think he'd said more than two words for the rest of the evening. Lea had continued to… well, be Lea. And as for my sister…

I quite honestly had no idea what was going on with her. Maybe it was just my imagination but it seemed every time I'd tried to talk to her, something else had always gotten in the way. Like I'd open my mouth to speak but before I could so much as make a peep, she'd already engaged Mother or Father in some new topic. Or I'd ask her a question only to have her look at me, lips pursed shut against a mouth full of food and shoulders shrugging. There was even one time where all I'd said was her name before she'd accidentally knocked over her drink. At least, I thought it'd been accidental… unless...

Could it be that she was... purposely avoiding talking to me? Had I done something to upset her? I couldn't even begin to think what. Last I'd seen her a week ago, she'd been fine. Everything had been normal between us. What could have possibly changed since?

...maybe I was just reading too much into it. It was probably just a lot of coincidence and poor timing. In fact-

There was a knock at my door just then.

Ha! Bet you that was her now. See? Nothing to worry about, I'd just been overthinking it all. Tying off my completed braid, I rose to answer the door.

And indeed, it was a redhead that I found waiting in the corridor on the other side.

Just not the redhead I'd been expecting.

"Lea?" I frowned, both my eyebrows rising.

He snerked, "Yeesh, don't act too excited to see me."

"What? No, I'm- You're just not who I-" I pressed my lips shut, heaving a small sigh through my nose. "...nevermind. What brings you here?"

"Brought ya something," he grinned and for the first time, I realized he was hiding his hands behind his back. "May I come in?"

My head tipped to the right. "Uh...sure," I opened the door wider, my bare feet stepping off to one side as I absently smoothed at my dress - the same one from dinner. Lea had arrived just before I'd been about to change for bed.

He was still in his earlier clothes as well, though he'd left behind his boots and jacket. I couldn't help but notice he hadn't taken that cute little half-tail out of his hair yet. I also couldn't help but notice the way he carefully managed to keep whatever he had behind him out of sight, even as he walked past me into the room. I closed the door and when I faced him, he hunched down to my eye level, "Ya ready?"

I crossed one hand over my abdomen and gestured with the other for him to continue.

"Ta-da!" he brought one hand forward now, revealing a little black strip lined with sharp, metal points dangling from the clasp pinched between his fingertips.

That's right. It was the spiked collar.

...whatever I'd been expecting, it hadn't been this.

My eyes blinked once. Then twice. "...you were serious? You actually have one of those?"

"Course! What, didja think I was lying? I'm offended, madame," he hmphed, putting his free hand to his breast.

I snorted with a roll of my eyes, "Well no, not lying, but more so just joking."

"I never joke about studded leather," he waggled his eyebrows at me.

Nose crinkling, I delicately poked a finger into one of the spikes. "Alright, so why exactly are you showing me this?"

Lea smirked and shrugged. "Your curiosity just seemed so piqued when I mentioned it earlier."

I gave him a flat look. "It was not piqued."

"Keep telling yourself that," he chuckled then paused, eyes crinkling. "...so you wanted to know what it looked like on me, right?"

Cheeks lightly toasted now, I scowled, "I never said-"

He wrapped the thing around his neck, holding it in place with a hand instead of fastening the tiny buckle in back.

Oh.

Oh, I see.

...it was, um… hrm, it was… interesting.

Damn it, face, be cool. That goes double for you, heart! Don't go thinking I can't hear that racket you're making down there!

"Well, I guess that's one mystery solved," was all I said as I glanced away, hand coming up to cover one cheek in a vain attempt to hide the growing blush.

"Glad I could be of service," he murmured as he (mercifully) removed the collar from his throat once more.

"...why do you even own one?" I asked, hesitantly reaching for the accessory now.

He let me take it from him. "Just a relic from my pissed-off, rebellious juvenile delinquent days that I managed to dig up again recently. What a punkass lil poser I was back then, huh?" he hummed a tiny laugh as he looked down at his feet, lightly scuffing one against the carpet.

Intrigued by it now, I turned it over in my hands as he spoke before taking it over to the mirror on my vanity. "I suppose we all try to find different ways to express ourselves when we're young. Just a part of growing up and figuring out who we are," I said distractedly as I watched my reflection bring the choker up to encircle her neck, tilting her head slightly to the left with a thoughtful frown.

"Well I guess that'd make me a-" whatever quip he'd had locked and loaded was forever lost as he made a sudden strangled, choking noise.

I looked over at him sharply, brow furrowing as I lowered the spiked collar once more. "You okay? What happened?"

His fist thumped his chest as he fought for breath, which was making his face red. "N-nothing," he wheezed, rapidly shaking his head. "Just oxygen, man. That shit'll kill ya, am I right? Heh."

I squinted at him dubiously.

Lea was such a weirdo sometimes.

He averted his gaze now, rubbing at the back of his neck. "You, uh… that choker looked good on ya. Like really, really good."

"You think so?" I frowned down at where it rested in my palm before holding it out to him, "I'll just have to take your word for it."

"Keep it," he grinned, pushing my hand back towards me. "Ya never know when you'll need one for an impromptu angry goth phase."

I smiled at that, "I think I'm in the clear. Isn't that more of a teenager thing?"

"Please. Angry goth isn't an age, it's a state of mind."

"If you say so," I snorted, but put the choker down on my vanity. I had to wonder what my parents might say if they ever discovered it in here with the rest of my things.

"So," he piped up once more, pulling my attention back to him, "this is the bedroom that sweet lil El grew up in, huh?"

As I watched Lea take a few steps further in now, it suddenly occurred to me... this was the first time a boy had ever been in my bedroom. And not just any boy - this was my crush.

Wow… it felt so highschool when I put it that way.

To be fair though, this wasn't an experience I'd ever got to have while I was actually in highschool.

Better late than never, I suppose?

I only wish it didn't make me want to squirm so much as his eyes roved over everything in here, from the big, purple, gauzy canopy bed to the embellished, oversized wardrobe and matching dresser set. From the cushy, inset bench beneath a grand window in the unique shape of a triangle to the tall, antique shelves of neatly arranged novels and DVD cases of old musicals and plays. From the small sitting area in one corner furnished with plush red chairs to the vintage Broadway posters hanging from the walls in expensive frames.

The room was not small by any means, but him being in it somehow seemed to make it shrink. Like here was this big guy that had somehow found his way into a cutesy little dollhouse room. The comparison did not make me want to fidget any less.

Trying to take my mind off it, I began, "So… earlier at drinks and dinner, did you really have to be so…" I bit down on my bottom lip, trying to find the right word. "...just so, ah…"

"So much of a grade-A jackass?" he suggested brightly. Not exactly the word I would have used, but still, I gave a slow nod and he laughed. "Remember, the whole point was for me to be a total hooligan so they didn't just think me some pushover they could boss around or scare off. Think they got that message loud and clear. 'Sides, pushing every last button of the girlfriend's folks is kinda a hallmark of being a classic bad boy."

My fingers found their way to my braid, running up and down it. "But there's a big difference between pushing a few buttons and having a deathwish."

"Aw, how sweet, you worried about lil ol' me, El?" He paused briefly in his casual perusal of my room to glance my way, flashing me that cursed dimple of his, "I'm so flattered."

I shook my head, "I just think you didn't have to go to such extremes or be quite so-"

"Gotta question for ya," he interjected, coming over to stand in front of me. "Say I had showed up on my very best behavior. The perfect gentleman, minded all my P's and Q's and was just the saintliest boyfriend to ever saint. Do you think your family would be singing my praises right about now?"

My eyes shifted about and I tried weakly, "...well… maybe if-"

"Do you truly, honestly believe that your family would ever accept a white trash lil nobody like me dating their precious princess of a daughter?" he pressed quietly yet firmly.

I tucked in my lower lip, hesitating for a long moment before a tiny grimace twisted my face and I mumbled, "Probably not, no."

Lea gave a little smile that almost seemed a touch sad before he turned away once more, returning his attention to exploring the bedroom. "Thought so. I was screwed the second I so much as dared to breathe the same air as your gramps. So if they're all gonna hate my guts whether I play the part of boy scout or hoodlum, might as well go with door numeros dos and at least have some fun while I'm at it," he chuckled.

"Fine, I see your point," I crossed my arms with a frown. "But still, you might want to tone it back just a smidge. Grandfather has munny and connections. He can seriously make you disappear."

A snerk. "I'd like to see him try. I'm one tough son of a bitch to get rid of," he muttered as he neared my bed now, reaching out a hand to poke some of the draping aside as he peeked in, "Trust me, no one axes me that easily, got it memorized? He's in for one rude awakening if he thinks he can just- gah!" he stumbled back in surprise, blinking a couple times before shifting the canopy again for a second look. "The fuck is that ugly lil bastard?!"

I rushed over, snatching up the stuffed plushie sitting atop my neatly made bed and hugging it close as I glared at Lea. "It's a snowman and shush, he's cute! Cuter than you anyway!"

His horrified gaze darted from me to the doll and back. "Dear god, I hope not!"

Sitting down on my mattress, I spun the little guy around in my lap for a better look at him - it'd probably been at least four-some-odd years since I'd last seen the plush, after all. And okay, sure, I could admit he probably wouldn't be winning any beauty contests any time soon, but give the poor, stuffed snowman a break! I had had him since I was a baby and he had had to endure more than one stitch repair job, especially with what a destructive little toddler Anna had been. Despite all that, I still thought him rather handsome with a unique, quirky charm to him.

Giving Lea a flat look and hitching my chin, I said dryly, "My statement stands."

"Wow, guess it's true what they say, beauty really is in the eye of the beholder," he grumbled, narrowing his gaze on the plushie as I snuggled it close to me once more. But then one corner of his lips quirked up and he bowed down to look me in the eye, tipping his head to one side as he murmured, "Hope I at least rate a close second."

Resident cheeks be advised: flash fire warnings are now in effect.

I held my tongue and just glanced away.

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he straightened back up and shoved his hands into his pockets. "So… about that big party tomorrow…"

Thank goodness, a new topic! "What about it?"

Shrugging, Lea said, "Just wanna know what to expect."

My fingers idly stroked at the snowman's head - the fabric still felt soft after all these years, even if it had taken on more of a dull gray color by now as opposed to its original pristine, snowy white. "Well… it'll probably be held in our ballroom-"

"This small palace has a freaking ballroom too?" He shook his head with a snort, "I was kidding before, but this place really is just one big damn Clue board."

Rolling my eyes, I continued, "And it'll probably be packed with all our relatives. Believe me, there are a lot of us on both sides of the family. Acquaintances too. Honestly, it'll most likely all be rather boring. Just a whole lot of mingling, maybe a speech or two, and an over abundance of food accompanied by music."

"Music…" he repeated, frowning up at the ceiling now as one hand went to the nape of his neck, tugging at the little hairs there. "So that mean there'll be dancing? Like… the fancy kind?"

I cocked my head at him. "Are you worried about having to waltz?" Resting my stuffed doll against my pillows, I stood up, "I can teach you if you'd like."

He blinked at me, expression unreadable. Then, "Alright."

I stepped over to stand before him. Now that I got close, I was reminded of just how freakishly tall the man was. My stomach did a little somersault at that and I was already regretting this decision. But it was too late to turn back now. Beating the blush back, locking it up and throwing away the key, I schooled my face into seriousness.

I was going to handle this like a professional, damnit!

"It's fairly simple really, and you've probably seen more than your fair share of it in those sappy movies you like so much. Our hands come together, like this," I joined my right with his left, holding them up to one side. "While your other hand goes…" gingerly taking his wrist in my grasp, I tentatively guided his palm to rest on my hip, hoping the action didn't seem as awkward as it had felt, "...right there." Finally, I settled my left hand on his shoulder and looked up the few inches that separated us.

Big mistake.

Jeez, having eyes as green and beautiful and heart spasm-inducing as his should've been illegal!

And being surrounded by his warm, cinnamony boy scent was not helping matters one bit.

I hastily broke eye contact, opting to look down at our toes instead. Toes are nice. Toes are safe. "It's, uh... it's very easy. You just take steps in the shape of a square. Watch my feet and follow along, I'll go slow. Forward with your left foot first," I took a step back and he moved with me, "then to the side with your right… now bring them together… Good. Then back with your right… out with your left… and together again." I took him through it a few more times without issue. "See? Simple. You're already getting the hang of it."

"I just must have a really good teacher," he said in a low hum.

"At this rate I'll soon be the one following your lead instead of… wait," my forehead wrinkled, "...you are already leading." I looked up at him suspiciously. "Did you already know how to ballroom dance?"

He smiled sheepishly, "Heh… guilty?"

"You brat, why did you tell me you didn't?" I laughed, trying to step away from him.

"I said no such thing," his hand shifted from my hip to the small of my back, not letting me escape. To be fair, I didn't try that hard. "You just assumed I didn't know how. And you know what they say when you assume," he teased as he continued to lead me in our little dance.

I scoffed in spite of the upward tug I felt at one side of my mouth. "Where did you even learn to waltz?"

"My lil secret," Lea winked. "But you know the deal. I'd be willing to give it up for one o' yours."

"You want me to give you a secret?" My eyes darted to the left. "I'm not sure I even have anymore…"

He snerked, pulling me ever so slightly closer to him. "Now I know I don't believe that. You must be able to think of at least one."

...actually yes. There was… at least one more I could think of…

That of certain feelings I was having for a certain redhead.

Sensing a small, familiar heat creeping up into my face, I cleared my throat and shook my head, still not meeting his gaze. "No… no I don't think so. Pretty sure I'm all tapped out."

He dipped his head down next to mine and I could feel him smirking against my ear as he whispered, "You wouldn't be lying to me now, would you?"

His warm breath tickled and I had to suppress a shiver. Conceal, don't feel. Don't let him know. I finally looked at him with a small, playful smile that I hoped didn't betray my hammering heart. "Come now… does this look like the face of someone who'd lie to you?"

Lea bit back a tiny, crooked grin as his eyes hooded, his thumb tracing small circles against the fabric of my dress. Then his lips parted, about to speak.

That was when, for the second time that night, a knock came at my door.

That must be Anna. Smile widening as I continued to stare up at Lea, I called out, "Come in."

I heard it open followed by a soft, "Oh!" that caused me to pale and my feet to stumble.

That wasn't the sound of my sister's voice.

My head whipped towards it as I stammered, "M-Mother!" This time when I attempted to break free of Lea's hold, he let me.

She stood there, posture perfect and hands clasped together in front of her. "Sorry, I didn't think you already had company."

"S'okay, I was just leaving," Lea said before pressing a tender kiss to my forehead. "Night," he told me, voice low as his fingers tucked some of my hair behind my ears. Apparently, he couldn't just depart without giving me one final whammy of the warm fuzzies. Jerkface. "Ma'am," he nodded to my mother as he walked past her towards my door, closing it behind him on his way out.

My gaze followed his exit before drifting over to my vanity right beside the door.

More specifically, to the spiked collar still resting on top of it.

Fudge. Had I wondered what my parents' reaction would be if they ever discovered it in here? Yes. Did I particularly need to find out the answer to that little question this very night? Hell no!

Luckily Mother hadn't seemed to notice it on her way in and her back was currently to it as she said, "That young man is… quite the character."

Funny. That's what Father had said. Almost verbatim. I wondered if my parents rehearsed these things.

"He, uh…" I sidled past her, putting myself between her and the choker, blocking her line of sight to it. Then I forced an innocent smile and a weak chuckle, "...he makes me happy."

If she thought my movements strange, she was good at hiding it. "And he seems very fond of you."

"Ah… yes, I suppose so." I casually leaned back against the piece of furniture and slipped a hand behind me, discreetly moving the offending item into one of the vanity's small drawers.

Whew! Mission Hide The Goth Contraband was a success!

The small feeling of victory swiftly waned however and I frowned. "Mother, I…" I began, only to find I had no idea what to say to her.

I hadn't had any idea for years now.

It had not always not always been like this. In fact when I'd been very little, I'd felt like I could share anything and everything with her. She'd been my biggest supporter in all things, especially in my love of the performing arts. As I'd always been such a shy child, she'd gone so far as to even encourage the activity, perhaps in the hopes that it would build my confidence and make me more outgoing.

But as I'd grown older, our relationship had changed. She became more aloof and distant. I suspect she and Father had hoped my interest in theater was just a phase, one I'd grow out of eventually. But when it seemed I wasn't going to - not on my own anyway - she'd started taking a sterner approach with me. That's when she stopped being my friend. That's when it became harder to talk to her. And it'd only gotten harder and harder with time. Things were never quite the same between us after that.

She watched me now, patient for me to continue. Worrying my bottom lip between my teeth, I finally settled on, "Why are you here?"

"I would think the answer should be obvious." Her small, gentle smile caught me off guard, but not nearly as much as her now stepping forward to take both my hands in hers. "I wanted a little time alone with my daughter. Away from your father and grandfather... just the two of us."

My breath hitched, my chest constricted, and before I knew it I was blurting out, "I auditioned for a musical."

Her head reeled back slightly and I winced.

Welp. So much for not letting that cat out of the bag.

I swear, mouth, I can't take you anywhere.

Waiting with bated breath, I searched her wide-eyed gaze for any clue as to what she might be thinking. Was she angry? Annoyed? Disappointed? I couldn't tell as her face gave away nothing for several long seconds. Finally though, she tipped her head to one side, "...did it go well?"

I blinked, a crease emerging between my eyebrows. "I, uh… yes, I think it did. But they won't announce casting until next week."

"I see. Well," and here she was smiling again as she leaned in closer to whisper, "we can just keep that our little secret, hm?"

...who was this woman and what had she done with Mother?

I stared at her before slowly nodding. It was all I could do. Words abandoned me at the moment. I hadn't been prepared at all for this.

And I was even less prepared for what came next.

Mother's gaze softened as she brought her hand up, cupping her cool fingers to my cheek. "That must have taken a lot of courage. I'm very proud of you."

My throat tightened and I swallowed past the lump I felt forming in it. I blinked away some tears, my voice hoarse as I somehow managed to get out, "Th-thank you… Mother."

Had I entered some sort of Twilight Zone? If so, I never wanted to leave.

She regarded me kindly for a second more before her expression turned to that of concern. "You look tired. Have you been sleeping well?"

Honestly, I hadn't. The last good night's rest I'd had was the unplanned sleepover in Lea's room. Every night since then was one night closer and closer to this weekend and whatever unspeakable horrors awaited me. Every night had been less and less dreams, replaced by more and more tossing and turning. I'd actually spent all of last night wide awake, just staring up at my ceiling until the sun had at last arisen.

So, naturally, my answer to Mother was, "Yes."

Her quiet tsk said she didn't believe me. "Come here," she turned away, walking towards my bed and lowering herself down onto it. I hugged myself, feet rooted to the spot as I stared after her, bewildered. Sitting back against my pillows and tucking in her legs, her hand patted the spot on the mattress beside her, "Cuddle close, scooch in."

Instantly I was transported back to when I was a little girl. Back to the last time I'd heard her say those words to me. My response was automatic and before I'd realized it, I'd already curled into her side and was resting my head against her shoulder.

She started humming a familiar lullaby. One she had used to sing for me all the time when I was small. It was from my favorite musical, the same one that the song I'd sang in the tryouts had been from.

This was nice. It wouldn't put me to sleep, but still, it was... nice. Comforting. Nostalgic. Her hand was lightly stroking my arm, my hair, my cheek. Then she was trailing the tip of her pinky down the bridge of my nose slowly before bringing it back up to do it again. An old trick she'd used to use to get me to pass out. Cute. That may have worked when I was a child, but I was an adult now. There's no way it could still possibly have the same effect on me now, not in a million-

Within minutes I was out like a light.

Author's Note: Ah, it's finally here! The dreaded weekend with (dun dun dun)… The Parents (TM)! Elsa's spent most of the story in Lea's KH universe, now it's his turn to spend a few chapters in her Frozen world xP Let me tell you, when I was writing outline notes for this whole story, I had very little planned for this arc at first. I had a smattering of a few vague ideas, but hardly enough to fill even so much as one chapter with! But thankfully, Frozen 2 was released, coming to my rescue and giving me a whole new host of Frozen characters to include xD Then the ideas started flowing, thank goodness! Soooooo, more F2 characters to be introduced in the chapters to come! Fun Fact: Elsa's dress this chapter (complete with lil necklace) is loosely based on the dress she wears at the beginning of F2 for the Some Things Never Change song, just picture it shorter (cuz apparently I just want to do that to all her dresses) and with a maybe slightly poofier skirt.

Next chapter, what new trial and tribulations does The Weekend (capital T, capital W) hold in store for our couple? Is there something up with Anna or she just being her normal oddball self? Was there a reason behind Mother's unexpected show of affection? Will there be trouble brewing at Gramps' bday shindig? Just who REALLY is the cuter cutie to ever cute: Lea or Elsa's wonky snowman plushie? Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

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btswrckd · 5 years

Text

Hunting a Hybrid I

Black Panther!Hybrid Jungkook X Fem!Reader

Summary: Four years after it’s made illegal to acquire hybrids as pets, you’re approached by the daughter of your old employer to find one that was gifted to her

Warnings: Slight violence, eventual smut, hybrids are looked down on A LOT in this.

A/N: If you read the teasers and find that some stuff is different, it’s because I was so excited to get this out there that I posted a teaser before I did any real editing. Also, if you’re wondering why I’m posting it all over again, please refer to my earlier announcement. Thanks guys!

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The smell of cigarettes burned her nostrils as she scrunched her nose up in disgust, her hands firmly at her side so as not to touch any surface lest she contracted some kind of disease from such a filthy place. She sneered at the dust particles floating about and brought a hand to her face to keep herself from gagging at the acrid smell of what she can only guess is piss filtering in from the alleyway. If she weren’t so desperate, she’d hightail it out of that “office” as fast as possible and never look back. But she was in need of a service that required skills as calculated as yours.

“You don’t belong here, princess,” A deep voice cut through the atmosphere and she nearly jumped a good foot in the air. He chuckled as her face burned bright red at having not noticed him lounging in a chair upon her arrival. He was so tall and lanky, his long legs stretched out so far in front of him that it was a miracle she hadn’t tripped over him. His head tilted in amusement, silver earring dangling from his lobe in a way that she was almost drawn to him, his entire aura screaming dangerous and yet she couldn’t bring herself to look away. He was gorgeous as he was clad in all black from the his entire head of hair right down to his steel toed boots.

“I’m looking for Y/N. Y/N Y/L/N.” She squared her shoulders and held her head high, refusing to allow this handsome stranger to distract her from her goal. Eyes scanning the dark room once more, she noted the scary array of knives lined along one desk she presumed was yours seeing as a leather jacket much too small to belong to a man hung on the back of a broken down chair; given your particular services, she doubted you had any time to sit down anyways. She nodded to the weapon filled desk, “I think I’m right where I belong.”

“She doesn’t like visitors, you know.” The man spoke, rising from his seat and rolling his eyes at the two men who flanked her side coming to stand in front of her. “Especially visitors that clearly have no business with us.”

“Maybe you should let her decide that.” She shouldered past her bodyguards and held out a briefcase, raising a brow when he hesitated to take it from her. “There’s $10,000 dollars in there. If Y/N agrees to my request then there’s twice that amount sitting in my safe with her name on it.”

“Ye-Jin.” Your voice came from behind her, startling her bodyguards and causing them to turn quickly, one man reaching for the gun in the waistband of his pants. You were much faster, grabbing hold of his wrist and pushing him back as hard as you could while your leg swept out to kick the other man in his gut, the steel toe of your combat boot digging into his gut and sending him tumbling backwards. You wrenched the armed man’s wrist around to his back, easily taking his gun and shoving him to the floor next to his partner. A smile flashed across your face as you disassembled the gun before his very eyes and handing the parts to your friend, the guard’s mouth falling open.

“What are you doing in my part of town, Nam?” You turned to Nam Ye-Jin, listening to the rustling of her two goons dusting themselves off as they stood from the ground. “Teahyung’s right. We’ve no business with you so leave.”

“No,” Ye-Jin pushed her nose in the air and you took in a deep breath to keep yourself from reaching over and strangling her. “You haven’t had much business since my father stopped hiring you---.”

“Correction, princess,” You scoffed and stepped towards her, getting a small sense of satisfaction when she shrunk back in fear, “I stopped doing jobs for your father, not the other way around. Don’t let daddy twist that pretty little mind of yours more than he already has.”

“Regardless, you could use the money. How long have you been staying in this dump, Y/N?” She smirked when your shoulders tensed at having been called out on your bullshit. She had seen the mattress occupying the corner of the already crowded room, women’s vest tops and black combat pants that have been ripped from fighting strewn atop it and coming to the only conclusion that made sense. “Now, are you ready to hear my proposal and take this money that you so clearly need or are you still going to turn me away?”

Taehyung narrowed his eyes at Ye-Jin, now recognizing her bravado came from none other than Nam Hyungsik, her father and for a while, your only source of income while what you and he had specialized in was still legal. He folded his arms and leaned against your desk, eyeing your posture and taking in the way your hands curled into fists and your jaw set at having taken the bait.

“I’m looking for someone,” Ye-Jin supplied as if that small bit of information was enough reason to take her money. “Well, more like something. A hybrid. My hybrid. It was a birthday gift from my father and it escaped.”

“Oh, I see,” You laughed and shook your head in disbelief, “so that’s why you came to me. You can’t go to the police because trafficking hybrids is illegal. Or did daddy forget to tell you that when he bought you one?”

“He purchased this hybrid for me as a surprise four years ago, back when owning them was perfectly legal.”

“And now it’s not. Your father’s deal with his buyer is void under the hybrid protection act no matter when---.”

“You’re awfully law abiding for someone who specializes in tracking and moving said hybrids.” She snapped and Taehyung quickly moved between you two before you did something rash and gave the local police even more of a reason to throw you in jail. “You were the best, Y/N, and now you’re just another hunter gone to waste because the government gave these animals rights to live freely among us. I’m not asking you to find me a new one, I’m asking you to find what was already mine.”

“Why the hell should I? Give me one good reason I should risk being thrown in prison for life for you.”

“I gave you 10,000 reasons,” She turned to the briefcase that Taehyung had set on your desk and popped it open to reveal a hefty sum of money. “And when you deliver this hybrid to me, I’ll give you 20,000 reasons why it was worth it.”

You looked to Taehyung to find him fixated on the amount of money neither of you had seen in two years. It was more than enough to get the both of you settled somewhere nice for life, never having to track, capture or even sometimes kill a hybrid again. And for damn sure never having to worry about someone like Ye-Jin showing up at your doorstep ever again. This was a chance at a new start, a chance to disappear and create a whole new you.

“How did your hybrid escape?” You asked with a sigh, giving in and taking a folder that one of her guards held out containing every bit of information you needed.

Ye-Jin smiled wickedly and hummed at her small victory, “Daddy brought it to me in a cage and it seemed pretty docile, so---.”

“You bit off more than you can chew,” You snorted as you skimmed the papers in your hand and giving them to Taehyung when you didn’t think they were important.

“It broke through its restraints and killed half a dozen people before making it off the property.”

“Why do you want him back so bad if he’s not tame?” You question as you catch the hybrid’s name and determine its gender.

“That’s my business.”

“I guess your daddy didn’t tell you much about how this works, did he?” You shut the folder and toss it at her feet in an act of defiance to show her that she can’t get away with mouthing off to you simply because she’s your employer. “I hunt hybrids for more reasons than just money. So tell me, why is this one so important to you?”

She glared at you, nostrils flaring at the way you pried and tsked while crossing her arms, “It’s a rare breed, pure bred and worth millions.”

You cocked a brow as a way of telling her to continue or else the deal was off.

“It’s a panther. A black panther.”

“Has your father lost his fucking mind?!” You hissed, running a hand through your tangled hair and tugging on the knotted strands in the process. “Do you even know how close to extinction they are? What kind of dumbass---?”

“Can you do it? Yes or no?” Ye-Jin demanded as you rattled off how unbelievably stupid her father seemed to be.

“No way.” Taehyung answered before you had the chance, shaking his head. “An animal like this is dangerous and he’s better off on his own than caged up in your home. Panthers are fast, strong, and because this one was kept in a cage for all of his life, he’s twice as aggressive. Y/N, tell me you’re not really considering this.”

“We’ve hunted worse, Taehyung,” You tried to argue and not show any bit of fear to Ye-Jin, but he was right. In all of your time hunting, you’d never crossed a panther let alone a black one and given that this one had been bred and held in captivity for all of his life made him unpredictable. He was dangerous and his ability to fight in the trees, on the ground, or in water gave him the upper hand and you didn’t like that one bit.

Taehyung poked his tongue against his cheek in irritation, unwilling to say any more until Ye-Jin let out a small ‘hmph’ and barged towards the door with her two bodyguards in tow, her nose high in the air and a pep in her step now that she was getting exactly what she wanted. When she was gone, he waited a beat before letting out a large huff.

“This shit is dangerous and you know it,” He watched you approach the briefcase and close the latches before you braced your knuckles against your desk and dropped your head in defeat.

“We don’t have a choice, Tae. We’re not exactly raking in money anymore since the hybrid protection act went into effect. Aren’t you tired of barely scraping by?”

“I’d rather be begging on the streets than putting my life on the line for some spoiled little brat who has no regard for hybrid life. Yeah, we used to hunt them but we knew when to draw the line. You heard her, Y/N, she doesn’t give a damn about that panther, she just wants him as part of her collection. You know better than anybody what goes on behind those walls, that family is sick and Ye-Jin getting her hands on that hybrid will kill him. You want that on your conscience?”

“I want,” You whirled around to face him, exasperation written all over your face as his every word sinks in and an internal battle starts within you, “I want to start over, Taehyung. I want to live a life where I never have to consider something like this again. We are criminals, Tae, that’s never going to change as long as we stay here. With this job, we can cut all ties and just leave. We can finally be free.”

“You mean like they want to be?” Taehyung countered and it left you stunned; you spoke of freedom as if you hadn’t had the option before. But the truth was that you chose to be a hunter and you dragged Taehyung into that life with you all those years ago. “Hybrids have been treated like slaves for years, hoping and dreaming for the day to come when they could be free, Y/N. Now it’s here and you want to track down this panther like an animal? For what, some spoiled bitch who’s no doubt going to kill us as soon as we deliver her ‘property’? There’s no way in hell Nam will hold up her end of the deal, especially not if this hybrid is as expensive as she says he is.”

“If he’s killed people then we can’t leave him out there.” Pulling your hair back into a long ponytail, you grab the briefcase and pry open one of the floorboards to stuff into the hiding place only you and Taehyung know about. “He’s volatile which means if he’s out and about among people and he’s cornered, he’ll lash out. We’re better off finding him than leaving it to the local police. The hybrid laws are still fresh and if he’s caught with human blood on his hands, they’ll hang him anyways.”

Taehyung watched you stand and clap your palms together to rid them of the dust and dirt you dug up when pulling at the wooden floor. His eyes followed as you pulled your jacket from the chair and slung it over your shoulders, plucking four or five knives from your collection and tucking them in the various hiding places your combat pants provided and even one into the side of your boot. Something wasn’t right about this situation, there was something Ye-Jin wasn’t telling you and he wasn’t exactly keen on going in blind but he couldn’t very well leave you to track the panther on your own.

“I’m not saying we’ll hand him over right away. I’m saying we need to find him before Ye-Jin hires other hunters if she hasn’t already. I may be her best bet at catching him but I don’t come with a guarantee, she’ll need more than just us looking.”

“You think she went to other hunters?” Taehyung followed you to the door and stepped out into the rain that had started a little less than an hour ago, the droplets of water beating against the window keeping him awake and that’s when he’d spotted Ye-Jin.

“I think if she really wants this panther as bad as she says, then we’re not the only hunters with 10,000 reasons to find him.” You pulled on the door roughly as it was old and the latches didn’t catch securely so it needed that extra oomph just to close the damn thing. The hinges creaked as you jerked it closed and you turned into the pouring rain, hands stuffed into the pockets of your jacket to keep your fingers warm as you reached an older modeled jeep. You yanked on the door and hauled yourself into the driver’s seat while Taehyung did the same on the passenger’s side.

“We’re going to get killed, you know.” He leaned back into the seat to make himself comfortable after you started the ignition and pulled onto the busy streets. “It was nice knowing you.”

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

The steel cage Ye-Jin kept in her apartment sized room seemed relatively secure to the naked eye, which is why she would have never noticed that the lock was being slowly sawed off until her hybrid had enough strength to break free from his ‘restraints’, which consisted of a chain collar and leather wrist cuffs. The sight alone made you shudder and bile rise in your throat at the thought of what she could have done to him.

“You mean to tell me that you had him for four years and you never noticed how fragile the lock was becoming on his cage?” Taehyung questioned, holding two pieces of what would be a latch if it wasn’t snapped in half. His eyebrows shot up at how truly naive Ye-Jin had been, judging her and trying his best to keep from voicing how stupid he thought she was.

“I’ve only had him for five months.” Ye-Jin tried to defend herself with narrowed eyes and missing the slight laugh coming from you as you examined the inside of the cage.

“You said he was purchased four years ago,” The gears turned in Taeyhung’s head, recalling the obvious lie you’d been told back at the office and trying to piece together whatever truth was hiding behind it.

“Yes, but daddy simply put down...a deposit, if you will.” She turned to look at you eyeing the tray of scraps sitting on the floor not far from the cage. “It was a present for my 24th birthday this year and daddy secured it before then to make sure no one else purchased it. Daddy hates to disappoint me.”

“Why wait so long to move him?” You asked and toed the tray of scraps that looked about three days old. He was eating, unlike most captured hybrids that nearly starved themselves before accepting their fate of being a pet. He had been building his strength, waiting and allowing Ye-Jin to believe he was becoming domesticated before a chance finally arose for him to break free.

“He wasn’t mature enough to be brought into our home yet.”

“Mature enough for what?” Your head snapped to lock eyes with hers. There’s only one reason people preferred nubile hybrids and it made your skin crawl to think of the kind of abuse they went through to fulfill the desires of the perverts that owned them. “What did you want from him, Ye-Jin?”

“How dare you?!” She squeaked with a flushed face and stomped to her bedroom door, holding it open as her way of telling you to leave for offending her. “If you’re not going to find my hybrid, then leave. There are plenty of other hunters willing to do what I’ve hired them to, no questions asked. Frankly, Y/N, if you’re so worried that I mistreated it then maybe you should take a good, hard look at what you’ve done in the past and recognize that you contributed to hybrid abuse more than anyone else. You are the one who delivered them to people who actually use them for sexual desires, are you not? Don’t accuse me of mistreating my animal when you’ve done much worse.”

Gritting your teeth, you were quick to cross the space between you and Ye-Jin but Taehyung had swooped in and caught your arm before you got too close and killed her. You really couldn’t argue with her when she was right; you’d captured and delivered hybrids without a second thought if you were given the right amount of motivation.

“You came to me,” You reminded her with a growl, hands fisting so tight they shook. “I’m your best chance at finding him and bringing him back to you alive. Need I remind you that you didn’t set any boundaries or give specific instructions when it came to his capture? You think any of those other hunters will bring him back breathing?”

Ye-Jin’s breath caught in her throat; she hadn’t thought of that. She simply asked for her panther to be found, whether he was dead or alive wasn’t a condition that was established among her other employees and they all seemed quite eager to find the cat. Tears glossed over her eyes, whether it was from the distress of losing something she actually cared about or the thought of all that money invested gone to waste, you weren’t sure.

Blinking back the tears, she looked down at the gun tucked into your thigh holster, “You said you’d bring it back alive. What’s with the gun?”

“Relax, it’s full of tranquilizers.” You rolled your eyes and patted said weapon, almost laughing as she jumped in fright. She’d never been around firearms before, that much was obvious and it was a little entertaining to watch her squirm around a gun that wasn’t even lethal.

“Find him,” She conceded and turned on her heel to exit the room but not before stopping and adding over her shoulder, “or you’ll be living in that cage as his replacement.”

“She really isn’t going to admit how in over her head she is, is she?” Taehyung finally let go of your arm and turned back to the panther’s cage. “I at least give her props for setting him up in a much nicer cage than most hybrids experience. Some are just tossed in a dark room or basement,” He stalked back over to the cage and tugged on the bars to test its resistance and finding that any normal human could probably rip it apart. His eyebrows drew together in confusion, “Why did he wait five months to escape? He could have easily broken out his first night.”

“Not if he was weak.” You nodded to the tray of food you found earlier and pointed out the stacks of other trays underneath it. You then pointed to the sawed off lock in pieces on the floor and then to the leather restraints that were gnawed at but not obvious enough for Ye-Jin to notice. “He’s smart, smarter than Ye-Jin was led to believe.”

“What the hell are we dealing with, Y/N?”

“A predator,” You moved to the window of Ye-Jin’s bedroom, scanning the tops of the trees of the woods you were about to explore in search of one Jeon Jungkook. “I always knew the Nam family was a little extravagant, but only they would be dumb enough to buy an undomesticated hybrid and then move it to their cabin in the woods.”

“Sounds like a good horror movie if done right.” Taehyung moved to be at your side and leaned against the window pane. The trees rustled in the wind, leaves were picked up and swirled around, and a pair of critters ran back and forth with playfulness. “He’ll need food soon if he hasn’t already found his way into the city limits.”

“Let’s get busy then.”

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“Ugh, gross,” Taehyung swore as he slapped a hand against the back of his neck and grimaced at the squishy guts of the mosquito he just killed. “Why the hell did I let you drag me out here? You know I hate nature.”

“Because you could use $20,000 just as badly as I could,” You grunted when you lost your footing and fell forwards, landing on all fours and cursing your lack of nature skills. You didn’t usually hunt in such a rural setting but Taehyung had found hybrid footprints just outside the Nam home where he’d jumped from Ye-Jin’s window. “This is your fault anyways, jackass. You’re the one who pointed out the prints to Nam.”

“Hey you’re the one who said we had to catch him before other hunters did and I know you didn’t clock that pair of four wheelers sitting outside Nam’s garage. Other hunters are here and we got a head start.”

“Yeah, some head start,” You kicked a pile of leaves in his direction and laughed at his glare as he dusted the wet leaves from his pants. “And by the way, I did notice them but I bet you didn’t notice the snake decal on one of them, did you?”

“Aw fuck,” Taehyung sighed heavily, “Suho’s guys. Figures.”

“Stay sharp. They follow their 'shoot now, ask questions later' policy to a T.” You peeled your jacket from your shoulders and tied the sleeves around your waist. Taehyung always gave you shit for keeping a leather jacket that was a good 10 years old and frayed at the cuffs; there were much nicer jackets that could easily take the place of your stretched out one, but you weren’t willing to part with it. It drove Taehyung up the wall and he would have thrown it out by now if you wouldn’t murder him for doing so.

“If I get caught up in some poison ivy, I’m shooting you,” Taehyung threatened just as the sound of ATV’s being revved up shook the trees and sent the birds soaring. “Shit.”

“Split up. We’ll cover more ground and you’ll handle the situation better if you run in to them.” You braced a hand against a nearby tree, other hand resting on your knee as you doubled over in exhaustion. “We’ve been at this for hours and it’s going to get dark soon. We’ll meet back up at Nam’s in an hour.”

“Fine,” He frowned, hesitant to leave you alone when there was a predator lurking around, an unstable one at that. “An hour, Y/N, if you’re not back by then I’m coming back out to find you.”

“Deal,” You nodded and stalked forward while he turned back to start in a different direction. The damp leaves were quiet underneath the weight of your boots, the rain subsided after your arrival at the Nam home. You could hear crickets chirping and the rush of water coming from a nearby stream and you followed the sound to a clearing that could have easily been a pit stop for Jungkook. Your throat suddenly felt dry, the temptation of the water drawing you near and you knelt to cup your hands and splash cold water on your face. Bringing your hand up to wipe at your brow, you plopped down on the dirt and rested your elbows on your knees.

You and Taehyung took on too much with this job. Not only was this hybrid smart, he was observant and calculated in ways that made your blood run cold. He reminded you of yourself and you thought it would make chasing him easier, thinking you could predict his every move only to be proven dead wrong when his tracks took you and Taehyung in one giant ass circle for the better part of an hour. Head hanging and shoulders slumped, you really contemplated saying ‘fuck it’ and giving up on the job; you were no match for the black panther Jeon Jungkook. You weren’t even sure why you let Ye-Jin goad you into taking it anyways. Money was your excuse when Taehyung asked you that exact question but pride was the real reason you didn’t back down from her. She’d called you the best and trash all in the same sentence and it stung.

The snapping of a twig had your head whipping around in time to find a fully grown, fully shifted black panther not 10 feet from you, the air leaving your lungs immediately. His fur so dark it resembled the night sky and his eyes so green, a person would think they were actual emeralds. Truthfully, out of the many hybrids you’d encountered, you’d never seen anything more beautiful. His stare pierced yours, studying you and getting ready to pounce as you slowly came into a crouching position, your hand settling on your gun. You took in a deep breath and got ready to draw your weapon when your name came echoing off the trees in a panic, sending Jungkook turning and dashing into the throng of trees.

“No!” You cried and sprinted after him all while knowing damn well you’d never actually catch him. Your name was being screamed somewhere off in the distance and you recognized it as Taehyung, he was in pain, but you were so close to Jungkook. Feet pounding against the ground heavily and breath ragged, you found yourself leaping over a large fallen branch and losing your footing, falling to your knees. You cried out in pain as your hand came down to stop your fall and landed on a sharp rock, the stone slicing the inside of your palm but you continued on, quickly jumping back to your feet to chase down Jungkook.

You came to a sudden stop when you realized you could no longer see his massive black coat, whipping your head around in every direction and trying to locate any sign of him but found nothing. Steadying yourself, you listened carefully for the rustling of his paws or the heavy panting of his breath, doing your best to drown out the wails of Taehyung and your own shallow breathing. Ultimately, the only sounds you were met with was the chirping of birds and crickets, the trees and leaves blowing in the wind, and “Y/N!”

Your jaw ticked as the panic of Taehyung being hurt washed over you. You’d been taught to set those feelings aside and focus on the task at hand but Taehyung was your friend, your best friend who needed you. A giant blur whipped past you and you weren’t able to react before being tackled to the ground by a body full of black fur. You both went tumbling down a small hill, your grunts of pain followed the sting of being cut by sharp rocks and twigs before you finally stopped rolling. You groaned and turned onto your back while you wrapped an arm around your torso having felt Jungkook’s sharp claws take a swipe at you and blood coated your fingers.

“Shit!” You hissed, turning over to your knees and trying to catch your bearings but a low growl had you freezing in place, your head coming up slowly to find yourself almost nose to nose with Jungkook. His lips curled back into a hiss, a low rumbling in his chest as you grit your teeth and heard Taehyung calling for you one more time; his scream was loud and full of agony. For all you knew, Jungkook could have gotten to him first and mauled him in defense.

Gritting your teeth, you decided to take the risk that came with trying to outrun Jungkook and you were on your feet, bounding in Taehyung’s direction faster than you’d ever run in your life, the heavy pounding of Jungkook’s paws moving further away from you in the opposite direction. “Taehyung!”

“Y/N!” He howled as you finally came into view. He’d gotten caught in a snare trap, tripping over the wire and causing the pointed stick to plunge into his calf, blood and dirt running down his leg. The stick was too deep to remove on the spot so you opted for sawing at the wire and having him limp back to the Nam house with the trap still lodged in his leg.

“Holy shit, you’re heavy,” Your arm was wrapped around his waist while his hung around your shoulder to help him out of the woods. “What the hell, Tae, how did you get caught?”

“An ATV was close behind me and I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” He groaned with every step he took, “Think Nam will get pissed that I’m going to get blood all over his floor?”

“Only you would joke in a situation like this.” You rolled your eyes and finally came upon the Nam house, your knees buckling and almost falling to the ground with Taehyung if one of Suho’s men hadn’t caught you guys. You passed Taehyung off to the much stronger man and took one last look over your shoulder into the dark trees.

“You might want to get that checked out,” Suho’s other man gestured to the blood seeping from your shirt, the injury forgotten in the chaos of getting to Taehyung and then dragging him back to the house. “Looks pretty deep.”

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

“Who was it?” Ye-Jin seethed after gathering her team of hunters into the living room while Taehyung was being tended to by the Nam family doctor.

“Who set the trap?!” She repeated louder. “I’m not paying you idiots to try and kill each other! You’re being paid to catch my hybrid!”

“Isn’t it obvious who did it?” You answered her from the doorway where you stood, hands in your pockets as you sauntered into view. Turning to Byun Baekhyun and Oh Sehun, you ran your tongue along your bottom row of teeth in irritation. “Every hunter knows how Suho operates and that he’d have his men do anything to secure a deal. I’m surprised you haven’t taken each other out yet.”

“Morons!” Ye-Jin screeched and reached out to land a vicious slap to both of their faces and all they could do was stand and take her abuse, not bothering to deny what they’d done. “Why are you wasting my time and yours by setting useless traps?!”

“Well you would know that they’re useless, wouldn’t you, Ye-Jin?” You chuckled when she whirled around to face you, a murderous glint in her eye. “You’re keeping something from us and I’m giving you the chance to tell the rest of them now or I can do it for you.”

Ye-Jin pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration and was tempted to throw something at you. Even when you worked for her father, you were the most defiant of hunters and she wasn’t sure how much more she was willing to put up with.

“What the hell are you talking about?” She sneered as the other hunters turned to look at her accusingly.

“Why didn’t you tell us that he was a full shifter?”

A collective ‘what the fuck?’ sounded throughout the living room as the other hunters all shared a knowing look. That piece of information should not have been withheld from them and you, it changed the whole game plan. This was no ordinary hybrid meant to be caught with ordinary techniques.

“You saw it,” Ye-Jin wasn’t visibly phased at having been caught in a lie, “that means you got close.”

You nodded silently as the room turned to you, giving you their undivided attention.

“And you let it go?”

“I went back for Taehyung,” You stepped in her direction, only this time there was no one to stop you, other hunters equally as pissed at the malice in her tone. “Taehyung who was hurt chasing your hybrid. Now if you’re done looking down on us hunters, maybe you’d like to fill us in on what else you’ve been hiding about him.”

Ye-Jin sighed in defeat and sunk down on the couch, fingers running through her perfectly combed hair. “It came from a breeding farm with a bad reputation, they were pretty much known for crossbreeding hybrids and the results were less than pleasant. When my hybrid began causing trouble as it got older, the farm owner locked it away and called my father to sell it. Daddy was just excited to start building his collection again since you decided to stop working for us, Y/N.”

“Hybrids aren’t trophies, Ye-Jin, how many times did I try to drill that into your father’s head?” You dropped your head back and began to wonder just how much stress the human body could take before the person keeled over dead. “So you know nothing about Jungkook? Nothing at all?”

“I know that it was supposed to be the start of a new panther lineage but it wreaked havoc whenever it was time to breed.”

“He,” You corrected angrily stepping in her direction to tower over her, “his name is Jungkook and he’s one of the smartest hybrids I’ve ever encountered. All of us combined couldn’t catch him.” You turned to the rest of the hunters that were hired to address them, “He’s fast, strong, and most importantly, he knows exactly what he’s doing out there. Most hybrids panic after an escape, not being taught how to function in the city among humans but Jungkook,” You shook your head, “he’s unlike anything else we’ve ever gone up against.”

“This is crazy,” Sehun raked a hand down his face and turned for the door but Baekhyun caught hold of his arm to stop him.

“Boss told us to get this job done.” Baekhyun tried his best to keep Sehun from leaving but was only met with a frustrated huff of breath.

“Boss can kiss my ass. This hybrid can shift into a full fucking panther, we’ve never dealt with something like that and I’ll bet my life that neither has Suho. We’re not equipped for this, Baekhyun, none of us are.”

“It’s just a fucking hybrid!” Ye-Jin interrupted their argument, “it’s not like it’s military trained. You’re hunters, so fucking act like it.”

“Screw you, princess,” Sehun seethed and Baekhyun had to brace his hands against Sehun’s chest to keep him from moving any closer to her. “You’ve never had to work a day in your goddamn life so what the hell would you know about hunting? Just because your father tried to build a collection of hybrids doesn’t make him or you an expert. Hybrids are 40% animal, sweetheart and sometimes that 40% overpowers the 60 that’s human. Especially when one’s been mistreated like your precious panther.”

“Not mine,” Ye-Jin assured with grit teeth, “it’s---.”

“He was raised on a breeding farm, Ye-Jin, get your head out of your ass! That farm is overpopulated by products of unsuccessful breeding because the idiot owners don’t know what they’re doing.”

“I can’t believe you bought a full shifting black panther hybrid that was abused all of his life, and locked him up in a cage so weak that a simple human could easily break free.” Baekhyun, paced the room angrily and chewed on the nail of his thumb. “You didn’t think about how dangerous that was?”

“Of course not,” You scoffed and crossed your arms, heading for the hallway to the room where Taehyung was resting, “because daddy assured her it was okay. That because they’re rich and own half the town that they weren’t doing anything illegal, and yeah maybe buying Jungkook before those laws were passed was legal, but it was still inhumane.”

“You didn’t seem to think so when you handed that leopard hybrid off to us all those years ago!” Ye-Jin screamed at you to take the focus off herself and paint you as the bad guy.

“And what happened to her, Ye-Jin? Mi-Sun died not too long after because your father hadn’t a clue how to take care of hybrids!”

“That never stopped you from delivering more. Admit it, Y/N, you never gave a damn about what happened to the hybrids you caught because the money was too good to pass up. I know that’s why you took this job. $10,000 would be just enough to disappear and start anew but guess what, you can erase every physical trace of yourself but you can’t erase the past!”

You leapt onto the coffee table separating you from Ye-Jin and charged at her, tackling her to the floor and raising your fist high before your wrist was caught and you were hauled away by Baekhyun. You struggled against his hold as you and Ye-Jin threw barbs at each other loud enough to have Taehyung stumbling down the hallway to see what the commotion was about.

“You spoiled ass princess! You think your money is so fucking great that you won’t be held accountable for the kind of person you are?!”

“You think the world’s going to forgive you for being a money hungry bit---?!”

“Enough!” Taehyung’s voice boomed and you stopped squirming against Baekhyun’s hold. He looked between you and Ye-Jin and shook his head, annoyed at your bickering. “The fuck is going on?”

“Jungkook is a full shifter,” You supplied while shoving Baekhyun away to straighten your clothes. “Something Ye-Jin failed to mention earlier.”

“Yeah, speaking of which,” He pointed to your torso where your shirt had ridden up to expose a sliver of the bandage that covered Jungkook’s scratch, “what are you doing trying to fight with a scratch like that? You probably opened the stitches, stupid.”

“You don’t seem all that surprised about the panther,” Sehun directed at Taehyung and felt a small stab of guilt when he had to limp into the living room.

“I saw him shift. It’s why I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going and got caught in your guys’ snare.”

“You said you didn’t want to be caught up with them,” You accused, “that they were close behind you and that’s why you were distracted.”

“I wasn’t sure how you’d react if I told you what I saw,” Taehyung ducked his head in apology but also took the time to joke, “thought it might scare you off if you knew.”

“Screw you, Taehyung.”

#Jeon Jungkook smut #jeon jungkook imagine #hybrid au #hunting a hybrid fic #bts imagine #ot7 fanfic #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook fic

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ourloveisforthelovely · 5 years

Text

To the Ends of the Earth 5

Supernatural AU

Warning: OOC Gabriel

Link to Chapter 4

Words: 3,365

Pairings: Gabriel x Reader/Dean x Cas

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You stood in the library anxiously looking at the books on the shelf. Surely somewhere in all of these books, you would be able to find something to help you get to Gabriel. Tapping your bottom lip, you tried to fight to a panic attack that was threatening to take over. Was this the soulmate gene in you working their magic? It had to be! Sam and Dean had gone missing multiple times, of course, you were worried but not like this. You weren’t ready to burn the world down or kick an archangel’s ass to get to your archangel.

“Y/n?”

You turned as Sam and Dean walked into the room with Cas trailing behind. All three were watching you with a worried expression as you tore books off of the shelf. You threw ones that weren’t helpful over your shoulder into a pile. Sam would probably have a fit over this but you didn’t care. He could categorize them later!

“If you three aren’t going to help me then get lost.”

Dean looked over his shoulder at Cas. If anyone could calm you down it was him. Maybe Cas understood what the hell was going on better than Sam or Dean did too. Dean was a little surprised by your actions. You were the calm cool one. You thought stuff out before acting typically.

Cas slowly walked over. He gently reached out and took your hand in his.

“Y/n, come with me. You need to relax.”

You turned to look at Cas with worried eyes. Even Cas seemed a little surprised by the panicked expression in your eyes. Cas didn’t need any further confirmation to know that you were Gabriel’s soulmate. The pure desperation on your face was enough to show anyone that you had feelings for Gabriel that you never had for anyone else.

Cas’ eyes rolled up to Dean. The eldest Winchester had his arms crossed over his chest. He was still obviously trying to take all of this in. Cas knew that part of Dean was suspicious of the whole soulmate gene. Dean hadn’t seen it enough to even consider it as really happening. Now that it was happening in his own house, he had no idea how to act.

“I can’t, Cas. I don’t know what I am doing but I have to do something.”

Cas didn’t let go of your hand. He tightened his hold on your hand.

“Come and sit down. Gabriel will be fine. He can handle Michael. He will be back with you as soon as he can.”

You didn’t believe Cas like you normally would have and Cas knew it.

“Y/n, I know that you are his soulmate. I know that this is hard for you to understand. These feelings have to be confusing. Come on.”

You didn’t move for a moment before finally giving in and following Cas to the dining room. The last thing that you wanted to do was sit down and take it “easy” but it seemed that you had no other choice.

Sitting down, you stared at the table in front of you. Sam had wandered in and was sitting down beside you. Dean had gone into the kitchen for a moment before coming back with a steaming cup of tea in his hand. He knew that tea always seemed to make you feel better. This time, however, he wasn’t so sure.

You looked down at the tea as Dean sat down. Neither of your brothers spoke for a moment. They watched you as if you were going to explode at any moment. Finally, Dean decided it was time to say something.

“So this soulmate thing is real?”

You looked up and nodded.

“I told you that I saw his wings.”

Sam decided to come in.

“We’re sorry, Y/n. This is just a shock of us as well. We’ve never seen you like this over someone before.”

You laughed bitterly.

“Like the two of you would ever let me be with someone anyway.”

Sam frowned.

“We would.”

You looked between your brothers as if they were batshit insane.

“No, you wouldn’t. Look at how you both reacted to me dating Gabriel.”

Dean held up a hand.

“In our defense, you did run off with the guy without saying anything to us.”

You sighed.

“You two would have never let me be with Gabriel if I told you about us. I know the two of you painfully well. If I told you that I wanted to be with Gabriel you both would have tried to kill him.”

Sam and Dean looked between each other and silently agreed that you were right. They both would have never willingly let you date an archangel. Now there really was no choice in the matter. The last thing that they really wanted was Gabriel making their lives hell or killing them because he couldn’t have access to his soulmate. There just wasn’t enough homeowners insurance to cover what Gabriel would do to them.

Sure, they both wanted you to understand that it was because they wanted to keep you safe. That was 100% what it was. Dean felt sick when his mind went to what Kelly had gone through with Jack. He didn’t want his baby sister to go through that!

“Forgive us for wanting to keep you safe.”

Dean said coldly. Sam shot Dean a cold glare.

“Y/n, we are just worried about him not taking care of you properly. He doesn’t know everything that you would need.”

You shook your head.

“He took care of me just fine. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself too.”

Neither Sam nor Dean said anything for a moment. You quickly stood up and motioned them forward.

“I can fight just as good as the two of you. Try me.”

Dean started chuckling as Sam shook his head.

“Y/n, we aren’t fighting you to prove a point.”

You rolled your eyes.

“Chicken.”

Dean rolled his eyes.

“Y/n, fine. You fight just as good as us.”

Sam slowly stood up as you started trying to push him over. He rolled his eyes as he continued to attempt to push him on the floor but wasn’t getting anywhere.

“Are you done?”

Sam asked in that paternal tone of contempt that John would often give you when you were a kid.

“Forget it.”

You muttered and started for the kitchen but stopped. Sam had obviously let his guard down. You took off after your brother and crashed into him. Sam hit the floor with a loud thud. Dean, meanwhile, was still drinking his coffee as if nothing had happened.

“She took you down, Sam.”

You stood up and walked back to your chair with a cocky smile.

“Told you.”

You muttered as you took your place back at the table. Sam slowly sat up and pushed his long hair out of his face.

“Congratulations. That really wasn’t what we were referring to, Y/n. We meant more like your physical and emotional needs.”

“Sam, gross.”

Dean grumbled. Sam rolled his eyes, clearly frustrated.

“I didn’t mean THAT, Dean! I meant what if you get ill or don’t eat enough. Clearly, Gabriel didn’t know what was bothering you this morning.”

“He knew.”

Cas came in. Dean turned to his lover.

“Thanks for joining the conversation! Y/n, we want to make sure that you are safe.”

“I am. Not at this particular moment, however.”

Dean’s green eyes rolled up to yours.

“We need to stop this conversation before you get more depressed. One question, do you love him?”

You nodded,

“Very much. It may not make much sense to you…”

Dean interrupted you. This time his voice was a lot more gentle. He and Cas may not be soul mates but he loved him.

“It makes sense. I understand love...believe it or not. I don’t worry about myself though. I worry about you. Look Y/n, you may be an adult but Sam and I have taken care of you since you were born. You can’t just turn that off. We’ll try to get along with Gabriel. If this means something to you then we will try to be more accepting. Try is that keyword.”

Half an hour later, you sat at the table anxiously tapping your fingers. Sam and Dean had gone off to get a beer and who knows what else. They were probably avoiding you after the conversation earlier.

“Y/n?”

You looked up as Jack stepped into the room.

“Hi Jack.”

“I can get you back to that hotel bar. Gabriel didn’t block me.”

You jumped up. This was the best news that you had heard all morning!

“Then poof me back there and you will be my favorite person ever!”

Jack frowned.

“I’m not letting you go alone. If Michael is involved, I don’t feel comfortable letting you go by yourself. Dean would never forgive me. Besides, you are the first person here that doesn’t treat me like an ignorant kid. You talk to me like an equal. I kinda don’t want to lose that.”

You smiled.

“You’re the best, Jack.”

Jack quickly walked over and wrapped his arms around you.

The next thing that you knew, you were standing in the middle of the hotel bar. You stood behind Michael and could clearly see Gabriel. Relief washed over you as you looked at your boyfriend. He didn’t look happy but he was in one piece. He and Michael were speaking in rapid Enochian.

You frowned as your attention focused on Michael. The prick had his back to you and was totally clueless that you were there. You had the immediate urge to kick him as hard as you could. It would have been a lot more enjoyable if you had worn some of Dean’s steel-toed boots!

Gabriel’s eyes had gone from Michael’s face and was on yours. You met his gaze and saw nothing but sheer terror! He looked almost panicked!

“What the hell are you doing here?! I told you to stay at the bunker! Go! Get out of here and I will catch up with you soon.”

Gabriel yelled in your mind. You shook your head.

“No, Gabriel. I am not leaving you with psycho over there! You can’t make me do everything that you want! That isn’t how this works! I am not listening anymore!”

Gabriel continued to yell at you but you didn’t listen as you snuck up on Michael. When you got directly behind Michael, you kicked him in the shins as hard as possible. Michael spun around, totally surprised that someone would dare to kick him.

His eyes darkened as he started in your direction.

“You stupid insolent little…”

Before you could fire an insult back, Gabriel had you protectively in his arms. Michael froze and looked at the two of you disgusted.

“Gabriel, let go of the human. I told you when you came down here to not touch anything or put anything in your mouth.”

Gabriel laughed coldly.

“You don’t want to know what I have had in my mouth.”

Michael instantly looked ill.

“I could take her out of existence easily. You won’t be able to stop me.”

Gabriel quickly shoved you behind him this time he shielded you with his wings. Michael stopped moving and glared at his brother.

“It's not possible.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

“It's totally possible! Isn’t it sweetheart?”

You made a quiet “uh-huh” from behind Gabriel.

“She’s my soulmate and you aren’t touching her! If you think for one minute, that I wouldn’t turn you into a pile of goo just because you are my brother then you’re wrong.”

Michael looked calculatingly at his brother. He was no fool. He knew how soulmate genes worked! Michael was not about to tangle with Gabriel while he was high mate rage. His attention also focused on Jack, who was in the room as well. The nephilim and Gabriel together could really do some damage!

“You’re in trouble, Gabriel. I may not be able to take you on my own but wait until Raphael finds out. Your little darling is going to die and you will meet the same sticky end.”

Michael disappeared in an instant. Gabriel didn’t move for a few moments just in case Michael decided to be a hero and come back. When he didn’t, Gabriel quickly hid his wings and turned to face Jack and yourself.

“What were the two of you thinking?! You could have been hurt!”

You looked down at your feet before meeting your boyfriend’s angry gaze. Gabriel’s eyes were locked on you. Boy, he looked mad!

“Gabriel, I was afraid that something happened to you. I was about to tear the bunker down…”

“She isn’t lying.”

Jack said cheerfully. Gabriel’s icy gaze turned to his nephew.

“Bye!”

He snapped his fingers banishing the kid back to the bunker. Gabriel turned back to you looking angrier.

“You got Jack in on this craziness?”

You rubbed your upper right arm nervously.

“Cas couldn’t help me because you blocked him.”

Gabriel’s mouth dropped.

“And for good reason. Now I am going to have to make sure that I block every being in the bunker when I need to get away from you.”

“Get away from me?”

You asked weakly. Gabriel’s expression didn’t soften. Normally when you had that tone, he would backpedal and try to appease you. This time, however, he was so angry that he couldn’t even think about anything else! IF you were injured, he would have been devastated!

“Let's just get you back home.”

Gabriel muttered before reaching out and grabbing your arm.

The next thing you knew, you were back in the bunker with Gabriel practically dragging you to the bedroom. He was walking so fast that you were struggling to keep up.

“Gabe, can you slow down? I can’t walk this fast! Human here! Hello!”

Dean poked his head out of the kitchen with a spoon in his mouth. He stepped out with a half-eaten pie tin in his hand.

“Whoa! What’s going on here?”

Gabriel turned and focused his rage on Dean.

“You’re sister thought that it was a great idea to kick Michael in the shins!”

Dean immediately sat the pie down before looking at you.

“You were just in the dining room. How the hell did you kick Michael?”

Jack held his hand up from the living room.

“I’m a selfish toad because I helped her out.”

Dean blinked. He was tempted to say something but decided against it. Gabriel miracled you into the bedroom and slammed the door.

You meanwhile, landed on the bed with a little thud. Gabriel was nowhere to be seen. Of all of your spats with him, this was probably the worst! You looked down at your arm where Gabriel had a hold of you and there was a clear imprint that was starting to bruise.

“Well that’s great!”

You muttered. Gabriel was typically so aware of himself around you. He would never squeeze you too tight or even think about hurting you. If he did bruise you it was during sex and he healed the places as soon as it happened. Gabriel knew his strength. Today was the first time that he ever did this.

This was the last thing that Dean needed to see! If you wanted Dean to like Gabriel this was not the way for it to start!

An hour later, you lay on the bed looking at the ceiling. The door closing got your attention. You sat up to see Gabriel standing in front of you with a rose in his hand. He looked at you sympathetically with those honey eyes that stole your heart.

“Can we talk about earlier?”

He asked softly. You shrugged.

“I don’t think there is much to talk about.”

Gabriel chuckled.

“We have a lot to talk about. What you were screaming in my face, the fact that you kicked Michael in the shins, there is a lot that we have to talk about.”

You didn’t say anything. Gabriel sighed and started talking.

“Sugar, I was scared to death earlier. I honestly thought that my idiot brother was going to kill you right in front of me. You have no idea how scared I was.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I don’t listen very well. Ask Dean or Sam, they’ll agree.”

Gabriel frowned.

“Maybe so but that isn’t my point. My job isn’t to tell you what to do. We haven’t really been honest with each other. I guess that I was trying to protect you. If my brothers found out about you being my soulmate, I was afraid that they would try to hurt you. Which it turns out I was right about but hey crapstoms happen. I know that you saw my wings that day and I know that is why you were pissed at me. The whole silly little girl comment was a bit harsh. I’m really sorry.”

Gabriel’s eyes lowered to your arm.

“Did I do that?’

You nodded, looking away from Gabriel’s face. The beyond depressed expression broke your heart.

“I said that I would never hurt you. Guess I’m a liar too.”

“You didn’t mean to. We were in the middle of a fight and you forgot your strength.”

Gabriel knelt down in front of you and quickly healed the place.

“Never again...I can’t forget that...not with you. You’re the one person that I am not supposed to hurt.”

You reached out and cupped his cheek.

“Its okay. I’m not mad at you. I just want us to be honest with each other. You don’t know how scared I was earlier. Sam and Dean tried to help...I’m sure that you can imagine how bad that was. It made me even worse.”

Gabriel stood up and undid his shirt before tossing it on the floor.

“We do. Come here.”

He held out a hand and pulled you into his arms. Gabriel looked at you a little apprehensive before making his wings appear. You looked at him with wide eyes. Gabriel gave you a small smile.

“This what you wanted, sweetheart? Here’s your first step in honesty.”

You leaned forward and kissed him softly.

“You’re perfect.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes.

“You maybe biased.”

You continued to press chaste kisses to his lips before reaching out and stroking your hands over his wings. Gabriel instantly whimpered as his knees buckled.

“Holy hell, do that again.”

Gabriel moaned against your mouth. You smiled and stroked your fingers over the skin on his shoulders down to the base of his wings. Gabriel shivered.

This really was like an aphrodisiac! Gabriel didn’t believe the stories that he heard. Now here he was a shivering horny mess by a couple of touches. He tried to focus on how each delicate touch of your hands was making him feel, however, with each touch he was closer and closer to the edge. If you needed a way to shut him up then this would be a good one!

Gabriel muttered a few phrases in Enochian as you pulled a few feathers. The lights flickered in the room as you slowly started alternating between pulling and petting. You had turned the archangel into gooey putty in your hands.

“Sugar, I’m about to come in jeans.”

You smiled against his mouth.

“Would you rather move this to the bed then? Maybe have a little makeup sex to fix this crapstorm of a day?”

You said softly. Gabriel nodded frantically as he snapped away both of your clothes. He didn’t need anymore convincing. If this was what happened every time you touched his wings then you could see them anytime you wanted.

_______

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#Supernatural #Gabriel #Supernatural Fan Fiction #Dean Winchester #Sam Winchester #Cas #Jack Kline #supernatural reader insert #gabriel x reader #reader x gabriel #cas x dean #Dean x Cas #Destiel #gabriel fanfiction #to the ends of the earth

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signutai · 5 years

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I didn’t actually end up sleeping last night so I guess it’s time for me to talk menswear, I say, opening up the Fallout wiki to the list of NV armors for reference. Takashi’s armor is his very own version of the classic NCR ranger vet armor everyone knows so well, more closely resembling the unique riot gears found in Lonesome Road than anything else, though clearly distinct from them. The duster is dyed a forest green, only barely desaturated, and reaches down to about just above his ankles for dramatic flair, with a high collar (enough to completely cover the back of his neck) and consisting of three layers: the original outer leather layer, along with a secondary layer of leather sewn into the inside and a layer of sturdy protective mesh sandwiched in between. It’s heavy and much more stiff than the similar armors, and when he’s in a tight spot he’ll usually just toss it aside for freer movement. No pockets on the outside; they’re all on the inside of the coat instead and he keeps his secrets there. There’s some spots of minor damage here and there, along with a few places where he’s sewn new leather over holes, and the ends of the coat itself are starting to come apart thanks to the repeated wear and tear associated with traveling the wastes, but overall he tries to avoid damaging it and makes sure to oil the leather when he can find any leather treatment materials--it overall lacks that dirty, dusty, and aged look the other riot gears tend to have. The pauldrons are similar in size to the elite riot gear’s, though more rounded like the advanced version. Have some visible damage (some denting, missing paint, ect.) due to the fact that he mainly uses them to break down doors. They’re attached directly to the duster, just because it’s one less step to remember when he’s dressing himself. The throat guard is larger and has “Lefty” painted on it in white rather than a number. The breastplate is almost identical to that of the Remnants power armor, except more polished and the metal less dark, stripped of any electronic components and outfitted with clasps on the sides and shoulders for easier removal. Has some minor dings, dents, and scrapes, but he’s recently had to resize it and he banged and buffed out the worst of the old damage in the process. Under all of that he wears a simple dark leather shirt (think barebones reinforced leather armor that still has both sleeves). Wears his Pip-Boy on his right arm, along with an additional layer of padding between it and the sleeve to help alleviate pressure on an injury there. Has a nondescript, unpainted metal guard on his left forearm that is heavily marked with scrapes, cuts, and dents from deflecting/countering melee weapons. And under that is a heavy cloth shirt, to which is attached a backpack-like metal device that links to a cooling system built in the shirt. There are holes cut into the leather armor, breastplate, and duster to accommodate it (he puts it on first and then fits everything else over it), and a small solar panel on the top that provides it with power. It does a fantastic job of keeping him from overheating despite all the layers, at the cost of needing to scavenge for or buy coolant to keep it going (not always an easy task and part of the reason why vertibird wrecks can be a veritable goldmine for him; not many folks know how to properly salvage a ‘bird). Produces a constant, quiet hum when running. The shirt has a zipper to make it less of a pain to wrestle with and zips up all the way under his chin. Fingerless gloves. He tried full gloves once and got nervous about not being able to actually touch anything. Simple, loose-fitting canvas pants (currently) with big pockets for more secret storage (namely, a pencil and his “quest book” as he so fondly calls it). He’s found thigh armor to be just a little too restricting on top of everything else, so the pants tend to see more damage, and get replaced and patchworked more often than any other part of the outfit. Wears knee guards similar to the elite riot gear, and more metal plating over the front of his steel-toed boots. The boots, like the duster, are well-oiled, though a lot more visibly worn. He does a lot of walking. The helmet hasn’t seen a lot of modification because he doesn’t really like wearing it--the actual helmet part of it is identical in construction to the elite riot gear’s, though darker, and the mask portion more resembles the advanced gear’s, save for the red lenses are swapped with a bright green (”The world looks much more friendly this way,” he says.). Under the duster and crossing his chest from the right shoulder are one bandoleer stocked with his very special homemade hand-load .50 MG rounds and another of small pouches (ideal for storing a few handfuls of caps or things like lockpicks that are good to have close at hand). Other ammunition is stored either in the inner breast pocket of the duster or a satchel on his belt. Both bandoleers attach directly to the shoulder and side of the breastplate because the cooling system prevents anything from being looped comfortably around the back. Would absolutely wear a big obnoxious belt buckle if he could find one, though at this point he’d struggle to find room. Keeps his hunting revolver in a holster on his left hip, as well as his wakizashi. Three or four other pouches and bags on the belt hold things like snacks, ammo, more caps, and his cache of herbs, spices, and teas. Carries two canteens on the same damn belt, which is currently crying for mercy, can you hear it? Other storage consists of a courier-style satchel he usually wears with the strap over his left shoulder--that contains the important things, like whatever he’s courier-ing, his medical supplies, a stock of non-snack foods, the rest of his caps, extra water, a length of dyed leather in case of duster damage, his other weapons, books, and various repair kits--and a duffel bag he’ll just sling over his shoulder that he uses for loot and/or anything he hasn’t currently sorted into its proper place in his exhausting storage system. (Yes, he does have the Pack Rat perk, why do you ask.) Basically, his entire set-up is built for enduring long road trips through extremely harsh terrain and for being able to withstand a fair amount of damage--not as much as if he were in full metal armor, but it’s nothing to sneeze at. It is, again, much heavier than the other riot gears, and the fact that he can still keep much of his speed and agility while wearing it is a virtue of his own unique constitution rather than any deliberate effort to make the armor manageable for anyone who isn’t him. His fingers and maybe a small sliver of throat, if he tilts his head right, are the only skin he shows to most people. That is by design. Just about everything that would require him showing his face (eating, bathing, ect.) is done in total privacy except for the two or three people he trusts enough for that. In this way, he’s protected from the outside world in more than one sense. Exact colors I’m still trying to figure out a way to work on, but I’m imagining a bold and quite distinct mix of fairly saturated mid-tone and darker greens, black/dark greys, and silver. He stands out in a crowd and cuts a pretty impressive--if very square--figure. Takashi Takeda is nothing if not a vain motherfucker at his core, and he’s not going to go around looking like he just spent a month swimming in a pool of wasteland dust, regardless of how impractical it is for him to try and keep himself and his armor clean of the stuff. Though he’s since done extensive modifications to suit his particular lifestyle and look, the armor was originally a gift. He can’t remember who from.

#Courier Lefty #long post #i'm probably forgetting a few pieces but yeah #there is a 'late-game' version of this in which he stops wearing the helmet and swaps a few minor things out but #dunno if i want to get too deep into that territory yet #leftyref

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ichigopanhpff · 5 years

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BNHA Fic: Blink! Ch. 7

Read Ch. 6 | Masterlist

Early update today since I have stuff to do tomorrow.

SPOILER ALERT: This chapter officially begins the Shie Hassaikai (The Eight Precepts of Death) Arc. We finally get to see Ren in action as a hero this chapter. You’ve been warned!

After Fat Gum’s formal submission in accepting Ren and Kirishirma as his interns were processed and approved by U.A., the two made their way down to Kansai with their hero costumes in tow. Amajiki met up with them at the office to give them the general rundown of the routine.

“When you wear your costumes out in public, you’re officially heroes,” the third year firmly spoke. “So be sure to address each other by your hero names if you want to protect your identity. We start patrol in ten minutes.”

“Yes, sir!”

The two interns entered their respective spaces to change into their costumes and reemerged a few minutes later. Kirishima’s costume had been mildly fine tuned since its alpha stage, adding loosely draped sleeves on his arm to protect civilians from his quirk when it activates. Ren’s, in hindsight, looked more mysterious; she donned a bi-colored hood of a dark gray-blue on the outside and crimson red on the inside with a leather eye mask on her face. The rest of her costume consisted of a black leather bolero vest with cutout sleeves, matching black slacks and utility bag with a silver stylized “B” as her belt buckle. Her velcro strapped steel toed boots had red accents at the top. A pair of arm guards the same color as her top with a loose leather strap and chrome metal bangles made up her accessory.

She looked like a cross between a ninja and a medieval vigilante warrior.

“Oh, you got rid of that weird cape scarf on your shoulder,” Amajiki remarked when he saw her costume.

“I had to lessen the drag resistance when I use my quirk,” Ren stated, brushing off some non-existent lint on her shoulder. “And I improved the durability of my guards after my last spar with Tomoe.”

“If you wanted more speed, you could’ve worn a body suit,” Kirishima commented, making her blush furiously and looked down.

“It… shows too much I don’t wanna show,” the girl quivered out her response, remembering the alpha version of her costume. The boys couldn’t stop gawking at her during and after their training session in her first year.

“Ah, that body suit...” Amajiki remembered. “You must’ve had a lot of trouble with that.”

“If it weren’t for Tomoe and Seri scaring the boys off, I’m sure the harassment wouldn’t have stopped and I’d still be eating lunch on the rooftop by myself,” she uttered. “Using the bathroom with it was a pain, too.”

Their conversation was interrupted with Fat Gum’s entrance into the main office, prompting them to make final preparation for their nightly patrol on the streets of Esuna-shi. Making their way down to the main street, Kirishima softly called Ren.

“Ren-senpai… I just realized I don’t know your hero name. I mean, you know mine so...”

“It’s Blink.”

“Short and easy to remember. Got it, Blink!” He flashed her a toothy grin with a thumbs up.

“Keep a keen eye on your surroundings, young’uns,” Fat Gum reminded. “Anythin’ can happen once the sun goes down. There’s no shortage of gangs and street punks as of late. You guys came at a good time, honestly. The heroes ‘round here don’t like to fight much.”

“We’re happy to be here,” Red Riot enthusiastically replied with vigor.

“We’ll do what we can to help,” Blink calmly replied.

While Fat Gum, Suneater and Red Riot were immersed in conversation, Blink continued to scan the premises for anything suspicious, a habit she formed after interning with Hawks. An area with lots of civilians hustling and bustling around the streets would be a perfect cover-up for a getaway in the form of a commotion.

All of a sudden, the four heard someone screaming, “It’s a fight! Someone help!”

Quickly turning to the source of the outcry, they saw a group of thugs in loose business clothing running away from something.

“Let’s split up!” one shouted, prompting the four to get into the action.

Fat Gum managed to stop three with his body as another slipped his grasp by using his quirk, to which Suneater easily took care of with his ability, Manifest. Blink ran ahead and tapped her bangles together, forming a pair of T-batons before teleporting further to incapacitate a bigger gentleman wearing a hat and sunglasses by slamming her weapon at the side of his face at full force, knocking him unconscious.

All Red Riot could do was stand around in the midst of chaos. He understood even though Amajiki-senpai was the way he is, he was the real deal. And so was Ren. This was what he meant by being a hero without hesitation. He was in awe and looked further down to see the hooded heroine standing on top of a giant man’s shoulder, kneeling down to take his pulse. The boy didn’t even notice how fast she moved in taking control of the situation.

“I… did good, didn’t I?” he heard Suneater’s voice tremble out as he reverted his tentacled hand back to its original form.

“You were awesome!” Red Riot praised. “You whipped out your quirk so quick too...”

“If you’re talkin’ about ability alone, Suneater’s already outclassing most pros! He just needs to be mentally stronger!” Fat Gum replied after assisting an officer in taking away the culprit he stopped.

A roaring cheer came from the civilians, making Suneater shake from nervousness. From a short distance, Blink saw a glint of metal reflecting from the lights at her vantage point.

“Fat Gum!” she shouted and saw a guy in the crowd holding a gun aimed at them.

“Get down!” The rotund hero warned as the shot fired, hitting Suneater in the left arm. The assailant fired again, this time at Red Riot’s head. Luckily, his head guard ricocheted the bullet off.

“You’re mine!” Red Riot angrily bellowed as he activated his quirk.

The shooter looked at his gun and panicked as the crowd were sent into a screaming frenzy, some shouting “A hero’s been shot!”

Blink immediately teleported to Red Riot and Suneater’s side, taking a defensive stance.

“Suneater! Are you okay?!”

“It didn’t hurt like it was supposed to...” he wearily blurted out and gingerly sat up from the ground.

The criminal quickly made his getaway in the crowd, with Red Riot and Blink hot on his trail. Fat Gum trailed not too far behind and gave Suneater instructions to take care of the situation, but stopped in his steps when he revealed his quirk wouldn’t activate. It couldn’t be…

The chase was on with the remaining two heroes, with Red Riot taking the main street and Blink taking to the rooftops for a better vantage point.

“Stay back! Stop followin’ me!” the shooter screamed.

“How about you stop running, then?!” Red Riot replied.

“You idiot, don’t engage in a conversation with him,” Blink muttered to herself, keeping her pace up and beamed herself across three buildings.

Scanning further down the street, she saw they were going to turn up to a dead end. She ran further ahead to create a pincer attack formation. Catching the momentum of her run, Blink leaped off of the rooftop and phased down to the street, facing the scared assailant with a glare.

“End of the line, scum.”

“Give it up!” Red Riot shouted from behind him.

In a heightened state of fear, the man activated his quirk with blades emerging from his forearm and attacked Blink first, only to have it intercepted by her batons. She followed up a punch to his stomach. He stumbled backwards and tried his hand at Red Riot, only to be intercepted with his Red Counter.

“I held back, so come quietly, you bastard!”

The redhead’s guard softened the moment they heard the criminal sobbing on the ground, complaining about his quirk and all he wanted to do was save his bros from getting caught despite how scared he was. Red Riot consoled him as what seemed like his resolve being broken was merely a facade as Blink quickly noticed something sliding down his left sleeve and into his palm.

“Get away from him!” she shouted but it was too late.

The man stabbed something into his neck and violent convulsed in place.

“What’d you do?! What did you inject into yourself?!” the boy exclaimed and ignored her warning.

Within a millisecond, Blink dashed and tackled Red Riot by the torso and teleported to a safer distance as blades extended out of every part of the enemy’s body. The newly formed weapons nicked both of them on the arms and stabbed through a space in Blink’s hood before they fell to the ground with a soft grunt.

“You moron...” she groaned out and pulled herself off of him. “Don’t talk to villains like they’re your friends!”

He looked up to see her face was grazed by the blades, with small droplets of blood rolling down her right cheek. Her hood had been sliced, revealing her disheveled rose-gold hair.

“You’re lookin’ a bit ragged there, Red Riot,” she joked upon noticing his headgear had pretty much disintegrated from the close range attack. “Sure you can still fight?”

The boy gingerly stood and regained his composure, flashing a determined grin at Blink and replied, “It’s gonna take more than a few blades to take me down.”

The two turned to face the villain, who was currently smiling madly with power, with blades extending out about 5 meters in diameter. At that moment, Red Riot realized this was a dangerous situation for onlookers. He looked down at Blink and saw her expression immediately changed into something fearful. If anyone were to see her right now, they’d think she was the villain.

Her usual warm and friendly hazel-green eyes were sharp and vindictive, glaring fiercely at their opponent.

She knew all too well what this was: Trigger, a type of quirk booster.

The fuel to her anger burned slowly in the pits of her stomach. Quickly putting her batons together at the tips, her weapon transformed into a long staff and stamped it on the ground with a heavy thud.

“Let’s end this quick.”

“Everyone, get back!” he turned to warn the civilians nearby. “Get to a place where the blades won’t get you!”

The villain made his first move by shooting his blades at a distracted Red Riot, only to have Blink intercept most of them with her staff by smashing down on it; the stray few sent him sliding down the street. The blades ended up cutting him in his current hardened form.

“You got cocky, kid! Acting all high any mighty, preaching about justice!” he boasted madly. “It’s just like my bros said: the age of heroes is coming to an end!”

Catching a glimpse of Red Riot’s current status, she assumed he must be feeling vulnerable and decided it was best to regroup with him before jumping back into the fray.

“Harden your heart, Red Riot,” she uttered out to him in an earshot. “Make yourself something nothing can take down. Not even All-Might himself.”

Her words brought him back to the conversation he had with his friends a while back about his quirk’s weaknesses due to the lack of attacks he had. But then he suddenly remembered Bakugou’s words:

“If you refuse to go down, it means you’re stupidly strong.”

Concentrating all his energy, his body morphed into layers of hardened skin; his hands turning into monstrous claws, his face a shell of its former self. His body contorted into something new. While he was building up his quirk, Blink used herself as a decoy in deflecting all the blades currently shooting their way and caught a glimpse of reflection from one of them.

It was time to use one of her ultimate moves: Ricochet.

It allowed her to teleport into any reflective surfaces at nearly the speed of light. It’s a move that has superlative defense and best used as a distraction.

Beaming and weaving through the forest of blades, the villain found his attacks were slowly becoming ineffective. Upon some hitting Red Riot, he screamed in pain and fell backwards. Blink reverted to her physical form, panting. Looking to her side, she saw the new version of Red Riot.

One who was now Unbreakable.

#bnha kirishima #bnha tamaki #bnha fatgum #bnha fanfiction #mha fanfiction #mha kirishima #mha tamaki #mha fatgum #my hero academy fanfiction #boku no hero fanfic #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #ichigo bnha-fic #bnha oc #mha oc

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doodlelolly0910 · 6 years

Text

Close Encounters of the Spiritual Kind

Summary: Emma Nolan spent a lot of time alone, and that was fine by her. Because one is never truly alone. She should know. She can talk to dead people. What she didn’t expect was one of these spiritual encounters to hang around, taking her down a rabbit hole of missing women, revenge, and, least expected, love. Can she save the day and Killian Jones? Is there even another choice?

Read it from the beginning on AO3 and FFN!

A/N: *pokes head in* Hi guys! So some of you may have noticed there wasn't an update from me last week. If you follow me on here, you already knew there wouldn't be one, but I thought I would acknowledge that here as well. I struggled a lot with this chapter, and had a lot of personal issues with writing in general over the last week. I definitely apologize and appreciate all of your patience while I worked through my mental kinks. If you ever have any questions, or you just want to know what's going on with me or my writing, just send em a message or an ask. My inboxes are always open. You can follow me here as well, I’m usually moaning about my writing woes on my blog anyhow lol. More than ever this week, thank you thank you thank you to my wonderful beta and friend @kmomof4 for being so awesome and supportive, and also I will forever be in melting fangirl joy over the beautiful art that @courtorderedcake made for this story. Give her some love, and read all her stuff. She's amazing. And last, but not least, thank YOU, my lovely readers. The fact that y'all take time out of your day to read anything of mine just fills me with joy. So thank you. So much. Without further ado, here's chapter 16!

Chapter 16

Why she was still so affected by a stupid kiss, Emma would never know.

But here she was, studiously avoiding looking over to where Hook was standing with a small, rotund man called Smee of all things (oh, the irony) in order to obtain something that was not very easy to obtain. Which was apparently what William Smee excelled at, obtaining hard to get objects. She hazarded a glance at the two men, simply to find out what was taking so damn long, and immediately regretted it.

Smee was scrutinizing her, his distrust clear as day, but that wasn't what threw her. It was the set of bright blue eyes that were locked on her rapidly reheating face and the peek of tongue that slipped past Hook's lips as he swiped it over them. He thumbed the scruff on the edge of his jaw, responding to something Smee said half heartedly, his gaze staying resolutely on her face.

She couldn't look away fast enough.

Good man, Milah whispered without warning. Emma jumped, her face reddening further, utterly embarrassed to be caught in some sort of moment with Hook by his dead ex-lover. Slowly, the scent of jasmine filtered into her senses.

“Hello to you, too,” Emma grumbled, then froze, her eyes widening and her brows climbing her forehead.

Did she know about the kiss?!

Yes, Milah murmured and Emma felt her stomach turn as the spirit answered her unasked question. Good man. Worthy.

Emma's heart stuttered through a change in gears in her chest before ramping up in speed. She swallowed thickly, trying to think of a response but coming up entirely empty. She looked to where the two men talked out of the corner of her eye and saw them turn and walk into the building.

“Can you just… not… do that. We get along now. That's enough,” Emma said through gritted teeth. A silence descended in the car around Emma.

Good man.

The final whispered words faded away along with the scent of Milah’s perfume and Emma was alone again. She sighed heavily, Milah's words weighing on her already heavy mind.

Emma startled as the door opened to the passenger side of the bug, but she recovered quickly as Hook settled himself in beside her. He didn't appear to have anything new with him and Emma's brow knitted together in confusion. He glanced at her face and then quickly away and she just knew that he had done something she didn't approve of.

“All set, Swan, let's go,” he said, patting the dashboard with his good hand and shifting in his seat. She didn't move to start the car, only staring at him intently, trying to figure out just what it was that he was hiding.

He exhaled sharply through his nose and turned his head only slightly to get a better look at her stone faced expression.

“You know, vehicles usually function better once they're running.” He gestured to the ignition with his hooked arm, still not making eye contact.

“What did you do?” she asked bluntly and Killian looked genuinely surprised before steeling his features once more.

“Well you saw most of it. We had a chat, went inside, and now it's time to leave.”

“And what happened while you were inside, Killian?” He winced at her use of his given name.

“Business,” he replied, his tone clipped. He turned back to look out the windshield.

“What kind of business?”

“The kind you needn’t concern yourself with, love,” he said softly, but his tone brokered no arguments. Emma studied him for a moment longer. The way his dark hair fell over his forehead, his bright blue eyes avoiding hers. His jaw ticked, not in anger, but frustration. Her senses still fired off red flags that he had done something he shouldn’t have, but Emma recognized his behavior for what it was. He was trying to protect her.

So she let it go.

For now.

Wordlessly, she reached up and turned the keys dangling from the ignition, the engine to the little yellow bug rumbling to life behind them, and she drove them back to the compound. As soon as they had gotten back, Emma hadn’t even needed to worry about putting space between them. Twilight had already descended around them and Hook wasted no time in disappearing into the shadows between buildings.

“Get some rest. You’ll need it for tomorrow,” he said before he vanished. He was obviously avoiding her, but that was fine by Emma. If he hadn’t put the space between them, she would have, certainly.

Emma made her way back into the living quarters, staying clear of the office area in case that was where Hook had escaped to, making her way into the bedroom Hook had led her to before. She was tired. So very tired. These kinds of things tended to happen, though, when you hadn’t slept in a week and sustained more than one head injury. The cut on her head throbbed with her heartbeat a few times at the thought, but Emma ignored it. She was getting good at ignoring the small things. She had to stay singularly focused. There was no room for anything else.

She spied the blanket, sheet, and pillow that Hook had left out at the foot of the bed, for her, she presumed, and picked it up, setting it on the ground. She wasn’t a hundred percent sure whose bed this was, exactly, but she was almost positive it was Hook’s and she wasn’t looking to put him out. She just wanted to relax a moment. Setting the pillow against the wall where the headboard would have gone, had there been one, she toed off her boots and spread the sheet down over the top of the already crisply made up mattress. She walked across the room to where a small card table sat, empty of all things except her messenger bag.

She wasn’t sure what had possessed her to bring in her sketchbook from the car, but she had, and now she knew it would bring her the comfort she sought in this moment. She grabbed only one pencil from her bag and flipped open the book to a blank page before settling onto the bed. The moment the pencil touched the paper, she was lost in the motion of the drawing, unsure of what she was even sketching until a flower began to take form over the page. Long, thin, pointed petals began to fill the space in the shape of a star. She shaded a bit and began another. And another when that one was finished.

Suddenly, she was in a field of flowers like the ones she had been drawing. Instead of leaning against the wall, her back was against the rough bark of a large tree, her sketchbook having disappeared entirely. The hairs on the back of her neck stood to attention, goosebumps exploding over her skin despite the warmth of her surroundings, and she knew she wasn’t alone. Emma eased to her feet, finding she wasn’t nearly as sore as before, and turned around, laying eyes on the tall man standing off to her left.

Liam’s mouth was set in a firm line as he watched her get to her feet and approach him and Emma grew wary of the obvious disapproval in his stare.

“Hello, Liam,” she greeted him warmly all the same.

“Emma,” he returned coolly. “Would you care to explain why you were snogging my little brother in the street today?”

Emma blinked rapidly at his blunt words before the anger and embarrassment swirled in her abdomen again.

“You know, between you and Milah, I’m beginning to think I don’t have a moment’s privacy. Do you watch me shower as well? Keep track of my toilet habits?” she snapped, folding her arms across her chest. Liam blushed but his expression remained stern.

“I don’t keep track of your anything, unless it has to do with Killian. What were you thinking?” he asked tersely. Emma’s patience was already wearing thin. As she brushed her long blonde hair over her shoulder, her hands found their place on her jean clad hips.

“I was thinking that your brother is an insufferable ass who needed a dose of his own medicine. It was just a kiss to shut him up. And he kissed me first, by the way.” A thin honey colored brow arched high on her forehead.

Liam made a low humming sound, as if he didn’t entirely believe her. She wasn’t sure she entirely believed herself.

“There is a fine line that you’re flirting with, Emma.” He folded his arms over his broad chest.

“Pun intended?” she snarked.

“I mean it. You’re not here to fraternize with Killian. He is in real trouble, and if you’re only going to complicate things rather than help him, maybe it’s best if you bow out.”

“Not a chance in hell,” she growled, kicking the flowers at her feet. They exploded into a flurry of white petals, looking much like snow swirling between them.

They glared at each other for a long minute before Liam let out a sigh.

“Listen, lass, I know you’re under a lot of pressure. You’re tired, maybe not thinking straight, but I’m telling you now, getting involved with Killian is a mistake. For him and for you. Don’t forget, at the end of all of this, you’ll be going your separate ways. Think of your own heart, if nothing else,” he murmured, taking a step closer to her, and Emma scoffed.

“My heart is just fine. Your brother has become a friend, at best. You know, you and Milah, you guys came to me for help. Not the other way around,” she reminded him. Liam nodded.

“As you’re well aware, I’m sure, options to reach out from beyond are… limited. At best.” Liam’s brow pinched, deep furrows of concern working their way into his forehead. “I need to know that your priorities are straight.”

“That is one thing you never need to worry about. And, sorry to disappoint, but Killian is not my top priority right now. Finishing this case is. Finding these missing girls is. Taking down that bastard Gold is my number one priority. And nothing, not even your brother, and especially not some stupid, fucking kiss, is going to push me off my path,” Emma said, now shaking with the weight of the words pouring from her. Liam’s face was unchanged.

“You say that, Emma, but I see my brother. I watch him every day. And his heart is definitely on the line here. I’d bet my eternal soul that yours is, too,” he said, more gently this time. That statement struck Emma hard, her breath evaporating from her lungs.

His eternal soul.

The only thing he had left. The only thing that truly mattered in anyone’s life. His slate blue eyes stared into her jade green, the intensity of his words washing over the moment. There was no other way to answer him but honestly.

“I won’t let any feelings from Killian or myself get in the way of what I need to do,” she replied quietly and Liam’s shoulders sagged in relief. “And Killian will come around. We will fix this.”

“I truly hope so, lass,” Liam said, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder. “Get some rest. You’ll need it for tomorrow.” Emma smirked at his echoing of his younger brother’s words from earlier. The Jones men were so alike sometimes, and then others, they couldn’t be more different. Emma looked down to pick a white flower from the field, and when she looked up, Liam was gone.

Emma decided that she was going to take advantage of the beautiful dreamscape she found herself in, turning to head back to the tree, but as soon as she made the rotation, the scene was gone as well. She was at her apartment building, at the end of the hallway by the elevator on her floor, but there was a red string in front of her door. Her eyes followed the string down, down, down until she saw the other end laying at her feet.

She bent down, the flower in her grasp fluttering to the ground beside her, replacing it with the red string between her fingers. She began following the string, one hand on it at all times, passing it to the other and back again as she walked towards her apartment. The door was open and she followed the string inside.

She wasn’t prepared for what she saw.

Women, naked women, battered and bruised, and lifeless, their eyes staring blankly into the void of her living room, piled atop one another in a heap, all of them bearing faces that she'd only seen in case files. Emma stood frozen in the doorway, her mouth hanging open in utter horror and the string gripped tightly in her fists. Limbs stuck out in every direction, cuts and bruises marring the flesh. Suddenly, from the middle of the pile, one of the hands began to move, just a slight twitch of the fingers. Emma ran towards the indication of life, desperately moving arms and legs and hair to reach whoever she could still save.

A woman with short, dark hair in front of her face was at the other end of the movement. Emma swept her hair away to look at her pale, blemished features. She recognized her immediately. Ivy Belfrey. The most recent woman to go missing. Her big brown eyes were dimming, her life force fading like all the rest, and Emma grasped her hand tightly.

“Stay with me, Ivy, I'm gonna get you help,” Emma told her and a single fat tear rolled down Ivy's cheek.

“Why didn't you save us?” Ivy asked on a cracked whisper. Emma's throat closed up at her words and her green eyes blew wide. Ivy's expression twisted into something dark and angry and she reared up from her place within the corpses. “WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE US?” she screamed. Before Emma could answer, Ivy had reached down and yanked the string from Emma's hand.

The entire room blew apart in a fiery explosion and Emma screamed…

“EMMA!”

Emma's eyes snapped open and she sat up in the bed she was in, looking around frantically. She was still at the compound. Her eyes cleared from the haze of her dream and found Killian, staring at her in the dark of the room, concern etched into his features. Tentatively, he reached up with his hand and brushed a wild snarl of blonde curls out of her face, his knuckles skimming her cheek soothingly as he withdrew, but Emma instinctively leaned into his calming touch. At her motion, Killian moved closer to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side.

Then Emma did something she hadn’t done in years in front of another living soul. She cried. She turned her face into his chest and her tears were immediately soaked up by the cotton of his t-shirt. She wasn’t sure when he slipped further up onto the bed, or when she’d ended up curled up half in his lap, him murmuring soft, calming things in her ear as sobs racked her body, but she did know one thing: she felt the safest she had since this whole ordeal started right there in Killian Jones’ arms.

#Close Encounters of the Spiritual Kind #chapter 16 #Monday update #csff #cs ff au #cs ff #CSSNS #Captain Swan #Captain swan supernatural summer #i am so sorry for the delay

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fantroll-purgatory · 6 years

Text

Vexxin Telore

@eldritchdraaks

This is a follow up to my previous troll, Viiveh. This is also Viiveh, just some months later.

Planet: Alternia

Name: Vexxin Telore In an effort to abandon his old life, Viiveh took on a new persona. That includes a brand new name, Vexxin. There isn’t anything special about it, he just thinks it sounds cool. It’s based on the idea that if there’s an X in your name it’s automatically cooler. He still kept the last name, but I don’t have a good enough reason for it other than I didn’t want to change it. At the least, He doesn’t give it out.

That’s a really good reason for picking a name, to be fair. It also sounds at least tangentially similar to Vexing, which implies worry or distress, which is part of his motivator for hiding away.

Age: Nearly 8 sweeps.

Blood color: Hemoanon His real blood is Fuchsia, however due to his appearance most assume he’s Teal or Cerulean. He doesn’t try to correct them.

Sign: Again, no meaning behind his sign, however it’s more excusable since he made it up. It looks somewhat like Tony Stark from the movies.

This coloration would imply that he’s a mutantblood proudly presenting himself. Though I won’t change your accent colors, this would need to change to aid his survivability.

Trolltag: invalidTechnophobe It’s a clever way to say he’s a technophile.

Maybe inverseTechnophobe instead? Invalid doesn’t imply an opposite state, I think inverse would give the clever subtle indication better.

Quirk: Uses a double backslash and a space as a prefix; Holds the shift key while typing, and uses underscores as a space. Proper punctuation gets replaced with shift variant. Originally the quirk was designed to look like code, but he got lazy having to press shift+underscore after every word, so he just held shift down.

IT:\ ARE_YOU_NUTS?_THIS_ISN"T_HOW_WE_DO_THINGS_AROUND_HERE>_LET"S_ALL_CHILLAX_AND_DO_THIS_PROPERLY<_OKAY?

Maybe when he gets better at coding he can just write a script that does this automatically.

Special Abilities: He has lost the pink coloration of his skin and freckles due to eating far less shrimp on land. His freckles will still glow from bio-luminescence so he keeps them covered up.

Personality: He’s still mentally weak, but has the advantage of no one knowing who he really is now. I forgot to mention before that being a fuchsia means the other blood castes either treat him as nobility or wish for his demise, which isn’t fun. He reaches a breaking point on a trip to land where he was nearly assassinated and didn’t have his manipulative moirail around to protect him. Unable to take it anymore, he ran from his problems, going incognito as Vexxin. He lives alone in a communal hive stem; he couldn’t get the drones to build him a new one without exposing his royalty to others, so he settled for renting. He actually has friends now.

I’m happy he got out and has a chance to develop himself! It is certainly an interesting experience. Does he pretend to be more confident than he is now that he’s here? Like put on an act or play a role? Or is he still fairly open about his personality/nature? Is he working on his self-confidence and his ability to fend for himself? This is just stuff to think about with regards to his current position.

Interests: His interests are relatively the same. He likes to figure out how things work. Shrimp is still his favorite food but he no longer has an abundance of it to eat. His interest in landdweller tech has grown now that he can get get his hands on it more easily. Sucks at writing code and hacking, but has a fondness for electrical wiring and soldering.

Outfit: He wears a suit to cover up all his freckles, his gills, and his fins. The clothes he wears over the suit are basically the same as what he used to wear: a tank-top and board shorts. Because he’s walking on land instead of swimming in water he wears steel-toed boots to protect his feet. The headset he wears hides the color of his eyes and more freckles. He thought it was cool as heck to have the digital screen eyes that mimic his real eyes. The piece around the base of his horns keeps the headset on his head, and powers the headset and the cyan lights of his suit and boots. His sign glows through the tank-top.

Responding to questions about Viiveh: On my Alternia the role of Empress is applied to any fuchsia that rules, regardless of gender; Empress and Heiress are gender neutral.

The thing with liking shrimp and being pink because of it was based on flamingos. If Viiveh had his own lusus instead of sharing Gl'bgolyb, it’d be an aquatic flamingo (see here).

Viiveh IS actually small and shrimpy, being only 5ft tall.

On my Alternia, some tech, especially the newest kinds, aren’t always water proof. Sometimes it takes awhile to get it ready for underwater use, sometimes it may be impossible without compromising functionality, and if it’s niche it might never make it underwater. Seadwellers are only 1% of the population here.

You were correct, Viiveh would not play sgrub. This is more Hiveswap than Hivebent. However I do have a hypothetical godtier for him, being a Sylph of Hope, Derse dreamer, although I can’t recall the explanation behind it.

All interesting stuff! Hmm... I still feel like doom/prospit might fit him better, but figuring that stuff out can be really intricate and tricky.

That should be it. If you have any questions just ask, and the blog for Viiveh/Vexxin is @the-cyber-fish.

Design stuff!:

Hair: I tousled it a little more to make up for the lack of tiara.

Mask: I decide to utilize a blue instead of a brown to lean into the idea that people might assume he’s a cobalt. I also wanted to restrict his color palette just a little in general.

Symbol: I utilized the same symbol, but made the top part open up a bit more and also added an arrow for a similar reason to the blue. I made it the hemoanonymous color, #636363, for the reasons I discussed above.

Shoes: I wanted to make it clearer that it was steel-toed boots, so I made the distinction start farther up and also added some notable screws.

Thanks again for sharing!

-CD

#eldritchdraaks #vexxin telore #vexxin #telore #fuschiablood #hemoanonymous #review #cd review #redesign #submission

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agustdtoaspringday · 6 years

Text

Beautiful Embers Pt. 3/?

Warnings: Blood, Violence, Kidnapping, Plague, Gangs, Illness, I love EXO I just needed someone to be that bad guys so please no hate, Probably a bunch of other stuff that I'm forgetting or will add in later.

Eventual JiminxReader

Jungkook is the youngest member of BANGTAN the larges gang in the region. In a world still recovering from the plague eight years ago, this is a big deal. Everyone wants a piece of that power. He had no idea, however, just what lengths they’re willing to go to.

Word Count:2234

AN: Ahh sorry you guys, back to school has me in a frenzy. Hopefully the wait for chapter four will be smaller. Also what do you guys think of Epiphany and twice’s new song? Jin is killing me with those visuals and his voice. I’ve probably watched the video a hundred times, no joke. I definitely haven’t listened to BDZ ten times, nope. Also, I don't’ know why people are upset over the new comeback photos. Our boys are slaying those outfits and photos, just my thoughts.

The days spent in my little cell blended together as time wore on. My only way of telling time were the boys bringing two small meals a day, which were by no means enough to sustain a human being. As nine days bled into ten I could feel my muscle slowly being eaten away by my own body. My cell neighbor hadn’t spoken a word to me since the first morning, not that I hadn’t tried. Any form of conversation I tried to begin was met by nothing but the steady sound of his breathing and the water slowly dripping from some corner in this basement that both drove me insane and kept me mentally stable.

It was the tenth day when I saw my captors again. They slammed open my cell door, jarring me from sleep. There were two of them. One had the sides of his head shaved, and the other was sporting hair darker than ink. Both of them were dressed from nose to toe in black, including black boots, gloves, and scarves to conceal their faces.

The one with the shaved head marched over to where I sat in a daze on the floor. He used a gloved hand to grip my throat and pull me to my feet. I was met with dark eyes as my lungs screamed for air before a harsh punch was delivered to my face.

“Now you’re gonna listen to us, little princeling, and no one gets hurt,” the one still standing in at the cell door spoke calmly, as if he was explaining the rules to some game to a petulant child.

“The first question is easy,” He continued stalking closer as my eyes followed his every movement. Noticing this, he made sure I caught a glimpse of the wicked blade he held loosely in his hand.

“Who are the main members of BANGTAN? Not all of them are as dumb as you and instead use code names, we can’t find their records or any information on them,” He demanded as though he was just asking what the weather was like.

I hadn’t thought of that. Although I had wondered why the hyungs used code names such as RM, V, Suga, and J-Hope, it had never occurred to me that it was yet another form of protection. It made sense. Many of the major groups, including BANGTAN, would hack into files and find information on their enemies. They would try and find weaknesses, what type of education they had, if they had any family still alive, ext. If they couldn’t find the hyungs in the system, then they couldn’t find any information on them.

“What makes you think there is anything to tell?” I growled back at him with the little air allowed into my lungs. His partner didn’t seem too happy with my answer. His hand around my throat tightened while he used his free one to deliver a punishing blow to my nose. I felt the hot liquid pour from my nose and down my face. The telltale metallic taste of blood coated my tongue as he and I continued to glare at each other. I refused to struggle or let him see just how much strain the lack of oxygen was putting on my body.

“I’m gonna give you one more chance kid,” The man by the door said, fixing me with a look that chilled the blood still running through my veins.

“Give us the names, or my friend here will make you wish you had.”

A pregnant pause filled the cell as I held his gaze.

“Go fuck yourself,” I growled.

The next moment I was being thrown to the ground. I tried to scramble to my feet only to be met with a steel toed boot to my ribcage. The next thing I knew my head was slamming into the cement floor and the man who had been holding me to the wall was on top of me.

I was barely to register as he pinned me beneath him with his weight. Once again he placed one hand around my throat and squeezed while the other battered my face. Sometime during my oxygen-deprived haze I felt him get off of me, only to be met with an onslaught of kicks thrown at my limp body. I tried to shield myself but my head was pounding too much from the collision with the ground and my lungs were still trying to take in air correctly. Eventually my body gave in and everything went black.

***

I woke up with my eyes still closed. All I could feel was pain, I was in so much pain. Everything hurt from my head to my toes, but my neck, head, and abdomen were particularly sore. I hadn’t even moved yet. Slowly I peeled my eyes open wincing as the sensitive skin stretched and crinkled. Judging by the light in the makeshift prison area, it was sometime in the late afternoon or early evening. Had I been out that long?

I slowly sat up, groaning as pain burst through my protesting stomach. There was a small tray of food sitting near the corner of the straw mattress I was on. For a moment I wondered how I had ended up on it when I had passed out on the other side of the cell. That thought was quickly extinguished by the hunger roaring through my entire being. I didn’t even look at the food as I devoured it, and stared longingly at the tray when it was empty.

“I was wondering when you’d wake up,” The mystery man from next door said, surprising me.

“Why,” I groaned.

“You didn’t wake up when they brought dinner yesterday or breakfast this morning, I thought maybe they’d killed you by accident, wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Wait,” I said my brain swirling, dinner, breakfast, “How long was I out?”

“They knocked you out yesterday morning before they brought me breakfast; it’s almost time for dinner today. Do the math yourself.” He sounded tired, but he always did. I wondered if it was from being locked in this dungeon for five years

“What did you mean it wouldn’t be the first time they killed someone,” I asked, trying to hide my labored breathing. My whole body was screaming for relief I couldn’t provide.

“The brutes don’t know their own strength,” He replied sounding more and more exhausted with each word.

“They interrogate some poor kid who won’t talk, or maybe doesn’t even have the answers they’re looking for. They go too far, and the kid doesn’t wake up. The body usually has to start smelling before they clear it out.”

“God,” I gasped, unable to even imagine being trapped in a cell next to a dead body, “I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing to me, I’m not the one they killed,” He snapped. I would have responded but the door suddenly opened. I heard footsteps walk down the hallway and near the cell next to mine. I held my breath in anticipation, but a wave of relief came over me when I saw Junsu sliding the tray into my cell. I had begun to worry when another boy had delivered my meals for the past few days. My only reassurance was that his older brother had not seemed worried.

“Thank you,” I whispered when he purposely pushed the tray with more force than usual into the cell, causing it to slide further in, lessening the distance I would have to move to reach it. He nodded before running off.

Six days later…

“So how long until you’re brilliant plan works,” I huffed out into the humid air during the freezing afternoon of my seventeenth day in the small cell. I had mentally calculated how long it should take to get a message to BANGTAN and then how long it would take for them to find their way here. By my estimate it was about a week.

“Soon,” My neighbor sighed, not caring about my mental dilemma. He had seemingly become quieter over the last six days. If I didn’t know better I’d say it was as if I could hear the strength leaving his body.

“When is soon?” I asked unable to keep the bite out of my voice. I was getting sick of sitting in the same cell day after day, getting woken up by those thugs demanding information only to be knocked out when I refused to give any. I would wake up later in the afternoon and force as much as the increasingly disgusting ‘breakfast’ down my throat before staring at the wall and watching the shadows move. Then dinner would come, I would ask how long until my neighbor’s plan should be fulfilled. Every day I would get the same answer he gave me yet again.

“Soon, you’ll see.”

I huffed, more than annoyed. I should have known better than to trust the shady kid in the cell next to mine. He probably was just enjoying my suffering and was using the promise of rescue to keep me from submitting. The anger and betrayal I had felt building in my chest burst out when I snapped.

“You can’t actually do anything to help me, can you?” I accused him, annoyance and venom slipping into my voice no matter how much I tried to control it.

“You’re probably just using me as some sick form of entertainment. He isn’t your brother, is he? You’ve probably just been here a few weeks more than me and got bored, so you decided to mess with the new guy. I give up. I’m done playing you’re game. You don’t get to mess with people’s lives anymore.”

All of the anger I had built up during the last few weeks poured out. Some of it, most of it, should have been directed at my captors, but without them to lash out at he was the next best thing. He angered me more when he just sighed and said,

“You’ll see.”

“No,” I said raising my voice, “I’m sick of empty promises that I knew better than to trust. I trusted you. Do you realize that? I gave you my trust and you shattered it. You can’t help me; otherwise you would have helped yourself long ago.”

“Be quiet,” He barked back, surprising me.

“No I’m sick of you, and you’re all-knowing attitude,” I continued only to be interrupted again.

“I’m serious Jungkook-ssi, shut up right not.”

“No, get it through you’re thick skull…” I started to yet again be cut off, this time by the door banging open.

“What are you two doing down here,” A man I had never seen bellowed as he stomped down the short stone hallway. I couldn’t clearly see his face, but merely from the sound of his voice I could tell he wasn’t someone I had met yet. Judging by the small whimper from the cell next to me, however, my neighbor had.

“Are you causing trouble again little fox?” I heard him sneer at the boy in the neighboring cell. I could smell alcohol on his breath even from this distance.

“You know what happens when you cause trouble,” He continued and I heard the cell door creak open.

“Leave him alone. He’s just a little kid,” I heard the boy yell; voice surprisingly higher than it had been not even a minute ago. I heard the sounds of a scuffle and what sounded like a punch being thrown. The next thing I knew the pair was walking past my cell. The guard was holding my neighbor by the back of his neck, nearly dragging him towards the door.

For the first time in the two weeks I had been here I saw my neighbor. He was smaller than I had even expected and his clothes hung on him like wet towels on a drying line. Dirt smeared every inch of his body and clothes. His hair was covered by an equally dirty beanie that could have been any color but had since faded to a dull brown. His small feet were bare and callused and he was drug trough the small dungeon. I caught his line of sight just as the door was about to close. He was still struggling against the guard’s hold, hurling insults left and right, attempting to loosen his grip by clawing and flailing about.

“Get the runt,” The guard yelled just as the door closed.

Runt, that’s what I’d heard them refer to Junsu as multiple times. ‘Come on runt, quickly.’ ‘What are you waiting for runt?’ ‘Get movin’ runt.’

My heart sunk in my chest and my throat closed up when I realized what was about to happen. Junsu would be punished because I couldn’t keep my damn mouth shut.

Neither of them reappeared that night, and a different boy brought dinner. Only one the tray, I noticed and realized that I would be alone in the dungeon tonight.

***

It was the middle of the night, it must have been. So why were people yelling? I couldn’t make out voices, but there was obviously some type of serious verbal altercation happening just outside of the door.

For the second time that day, or was it now the next day now, the door slammed open and a yelling man walked into the dungeon…

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