#the pain. the angst. f trying to save the day and a being stubborn like always lol

[twpsyn-who]

I'm so used with poly options from playing other books that I have to keep reminding myself that I can't date both A and N. My mind is all like 'this is a love triangle route, not poly. this is a love triangle route, not poly'.

[demonpiratehuntress]

hi hello dearie, hope this finds you well <3 i’ve been reading some of your Ace content for DAYS cuz is ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT and i have a hyperfixation for the man.

i have this oddly specific request if you’re taking requests ofc asksnakxm

ace and the reader meet each other when he saved her from potentially being killed by some random ruthless and murdering pirate, she was in that situation because he had killed some of her friends but that’s not the issue AKSNWKSB the thing is she gets mad because Ace saved her so she said sum “i was content with the fact that i was going to die, i didn’t need your saving” and he’s just stunned cuz? he just saved her???? two days later she thanks him but she tries to escape many times from the ship and those many times Ace ruined her plans so after a week of trying she gives up. THEN two years later they confess their feelings for each other after a day of Ace following her like a puppy and teasing her nonstop until she gives in

ODDLY SPECIFIC IM SO SORRY 😭😭 but it’s okay if you can’t do it <3

hi! thank you so much 😊 also im so so sorry this took so long! I've just been really busy! but i hope you enjoy this! to everyone else, i am still working on the other requests! i have much more than i realised 😂 but i will get them out...eventually

taglist - @kabloswrld

stubborn

Portgas D. Ace x F!Reader

summary - the ask above! :)

warnings - mild angst

Run.

That's all you could think of, all you could do. There was no time or space to do anything else, and your body had already kicked into the fight-or-flight response. You weren't sure how far you could get, but you were desperate to get away.

The gory images of your friends lying sprawled out on the ground, drenched in blood, made itself a home in your mind. You would never be able to forget that, no matter how hard you tried. Swallowing back a sob, you sprinted towards the town as fast as your tired legs could carry you.

"Where do you think you're going, huh?"

A solid wall of muscle slammed into you from the side and sent you flying. You hit an actual wall with a sickening crunch, pain erupting throughout your entire arm. Dislocated shoulder or broken arm, you couldn't tell which one through the blinding agony. You screamed, more so out of pain than wanting someone to hear. You already accepted your fate, the minute he found you. But that didn't make it any less painful.

"I think I'm going to enjoy this kill the most."

A large hand grabbef a fistful of your hair, yanking you upwards to meet his cold, murderous eyes. He was grinning wickedly, taking pleasure in your pain, and watched you squirm in his grip helplessly.

"If you're going to kill me, just get it over with!" You spat, not knowing where the bravery came from because of the immense pain emanating from your injured limb.

He tutted, "No, you gave me too much trouble. I'm going to make this slow and painful, just for you."

"Now that's no way to treat a lady."

A bright orange light filled your vision, but you couldn't tell what it was as you were suddenly dropped, the man who'd murdered your friends letting out a pained yelp. You lifted your head, dots swimming in your vision, but you were able to make out the familisr form of flames dancing along the man's chest.

"Judging from all the blood on your clothes, I'm gonna guess you went a little crazy tonight," another man was saying, but he sounded childishly amused. "Well, too bad it ends for you right here."

You turned to look at the owner, just as he flicked his wrist and sent more fire the murderous pirate's way. Pretty soon he was engulfed in flames, screaming and pawing at his clothes while trying to extinguish them. You couldn't care less, observing the man who'd saved your life.

He was tall and muscular, pale skin lit up by the ball of fire hovering above his palm. No, wait, his hand WAS the ball of fire. He was shirtless, wearing nothing but black shorts, black boots and a red cowboy hat.

You'd seen him somewhere before...

"Ah, good. I thought that might take a while."

You turned back to the man who'd killed your friends and had been chasing you up until now, only to see a crumpled black heap on the floor a few feet away. Your eyes widened, before you were suddenly lifted up into a pair of strong arms.

"I didn't need your help," you blurted out, "I was ready to die! I didn't want to be saved!" Tears formed in your eyes. You had nothing left. You should have died.

Ace frowned, his heart sinking. Your words brought a familiar feeling back to him, one that he hasn't forgotten but had tried to push away after finding a family in the Whitebeard pirates. He knew what it was like to feel the way you did, and it tugged at his heartstrings to find someone else like that.

Someone who didn't want saving, but desperately needed it.

He's so shocked that he almost forgets you need medical treatment. When he finally remembers, he says nothing and hurries back to the ship with you, his mind racing.

-

Two days later, your arm is in a sling and you're walking around the Moby Dick looking for the raven-haired commander that saved your life. The crew was friendly enough to you, and Marco had suggested more bedrest, but you wanted to see and thank Ace.

It was true that you wanted to die, yes, but after facing the kindness of someone you didn't even know, your mind had slowly changed. You were starting to feel grateful towards him, grateful for being alive.

"Hey! You're awake!"

You turned at the sound of the cheery man, spotting him coming your way. You relaxed slightly, not sure why you were so tense to begin with but relieved to see him.

"Yeah," you breathed out, "Your doctor works wonders."

"That he does," Ace grinned, before eyeing you up and down, "You look a lot better. I didn't get your name, though."

"Oh, it's (Name)," you told him, "You're Portgas D. Ace, right? Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates?"

"That's me. Glad to know I'm popular with pretty women," he flirted, sending you a smile that knocked the air out of your lungs.

You blushed, flustered, "Well I-I just wanted to say...thank you. I hadn't realised it before, but I didn't really want to die. Just thought I had no one left, and nowhere to go. So thank you for changing that."

Ace's smile only grew, so much so you feared it would tear his face in two, "You're welcome! If I'm being honest, I was glad to play hero for a beautiful woman."

Your blush deepened, his charms affecting you in a way that nothing else and no one else ever had. You found yourself at a loss for words, but thankfully he was called away so you didn't have to say anything else.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

-

The first time you tried to escape, you didn't realise they had a rotational watch schedule. And you hadn't realised that Ace was the one who was on watch that evening.

"Hey, (Name)! Where ya going?"

He smiled at you innocently enough, but his eyes told you he knew exactly what you were trying to do. After all, he'd done the same thing back when he joined. You were just too similar to him.

"Uh...nowhere?" You tried to lie, but you sucked at it. You couldn't even convince a potato if you tried.

"Hmm," he clicked his tongue. "This won't do. Maybe I should just tell Whitebeard, or should I keep this to myself in hopes that it doesn't happen again?"

You agreed to the latter.

The second time, Ace was actually sneaking out of the kitchen with some food when he bumped into you. He raised his eyebrow as your eyes widened, your face giving away your intentions entirely.

He tsk'ed, "Again, (Name)?" He pouted. "You promised, you know."

You sighed and went back to your room, dejected. You could hear him laughing as he walked past your room, and you rolled your eyes as you laid back down to sleep.

The third time, Ace was prepared.

And he had made a trap for you. Which you fell right into, which is why you were now wriggling around in one of the smaller boats, wrestling with a net.

"This is getting old, you know," Ace chuckled as he loomed over you. "Trust me, I know all the tricks. I was you once."

After the fourth and fifth times, you gave up. Ace wasn't going to let you leave, and as the days went by and you got closer to him and the crew, you found your will to leave slowly sapping away. You eventually realised you wanted to stay, having found a family and healed - if only a little bit - with the Whitebeard crew.

One year passed, and you had almost forgotten about the man who'd tormented you. You'd had so much fun with the Whitebeard Pirates, Ace in particular, that you hadn't thought much of the incident. It was getting easier and easier to rid your mind of the gruesome image of your deceased friends month after month. Each adventure left you happier, lighter, and you soon found yourself finding happiness once more.

The pirate life was truly meant for you.

Two years passed, and your time with the Whitebeard crew had become the best of your life. They were practically your family now, and you spoke about and to them as such. You never forgot what happened to you, but you barely thought of it anymore. Not when your head was filled with thoughts about a certain 2nd division commander, with whom you'd fallen in love.

"Ace, stop!" You giggled as he scooped up some batter from the bowl you were mixing it in. You were baking cookies, but Ace was determined to be a menace and sneak in fingerfuls of batter each time you looked away.

"Can't help it," he whined, "It already tastes so good!"

"I haven't even baked it yet!"

"Well then imagine how amazing it'll taste after that!"

You knew he was trying to flatter you to get out of trouble, but you did not care because it was working. And you hated that it always worked, especially with him, because he made your heart race and gave you butterflies.

The days following that included Ace following you around, which you found a little strange since you didn't know why. He would never tell you the reason, always saying something stupid like "you smell good" or "im your bodyguard". You knew he was doing it to tease you, but you couldn't help feeling giddy over the fact that he was choosing to gift YOU with all of his attention.

"Okay, come clean for real this time," you finally approached him one night he was on watch, sitting down next to him. "Why have you been following me around? Teasing me all day, everyday?"

He turned to you, thinking for a moment before speaking seriously for the first time in his life, "Because I'm in love with you, (Name). I didn't want to tell you because I wasn't sure how you'd react or what you'd say, but that's what it is since you wanted to know so badly."

Your eyes went wide, heart thumping like a drum in your chest, "You...you're in love with me?"

He nodded, looking down at his shorts, "I am. These past two years, getting to know you...well, I never really considered the idea of love. But finding you changed that. We're so alike, but also different in ways that complement each other. If that makes sense, I'm not sure it does."

"It does," you smiled slowly, looking out over the water. "And that's really sweet. No one's ever said something so sweet to me before."

"Really? I find that hard to believe, you're so pretty and cute."

Cue the blush, "Yeah, well, I didn't really like anyone before you," you admitted. "Never paid attention to men much, until you barged into my life." You laughed. "You've made me feel so welcome, so comfortable, so happy. You've given me a sense of peace after what happened, and I'm so thankful to you for that. You saved me in more than one way, Ace, and I'm madly in love with you for it."

Your confession took a bit of time to register in his head, but once it did he was smiling goofily and grasping your hand in his. You rested your head on his shoulder, smiling as the two of you spent the whole night holding hands, watching the ocean, and - your favourite part - sharing many heartfelt, intimate kisses.

You were eternally grateful to and for Ace, the man who'd saved you without your permission but eventually earned your heart.

[xoxo-teddybear]

What Have I Done? - Bakugou Katsuki

Bakugou x f!reader

Warnings: Angst, Physical injuries, cursing

Summary: An argument gone out of hand. Y/N just wanted Katsuki to be home more. They’re married and yet she barely sees him throughout the week. When she finally speaks on her hurt feelings, she gets a reaction she definitely wasn’t expecting.

Chapter 1 -> Chapter 2

A/N:.....I cried while writing this.

BAKUGOU’S MASTERLIST

‘He’s gone already. Again. Like always.’

Y/N had awoken to another empty bed. Her husband’s side of the mattress remained cold and empty. This wasn’t anything new. It’s been like this for the past few months. She would wake up alone, eat breakfast alone, spend her day alone, eat dinner alone, and go back to sleep at the end of the day...alone.

It’s not that Katsuki is intentionally ignoring Y/N. He loves her with his everything, he truly does! But villains never rest and neither does he. He’s so preoccupied with hero work that when he does get a day off, his friends drag him away to a bar or game night. Y/N always ran through his head but she had always been so understanding. And besides, she knows how busy the life of a pro is. She used to be one so she gets it. Right?

Wrong. She doesn’t get it. Because even when she was a pro, her and Katsuki always found time for each other. And ever since said man made her quit, claiming he could take care of both of them easily and he would feel better knowing his beloved is safe at home, they’ve seen each other less and less. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Y/N was willing to quit her dream because she found a new dream in Katsuki. She always imagined that being his little housewife would give them more time together but the opposite of that came true. Now she sits in the big empty house with no company for hours on end.

Her sadness builds up every day. She misses her husband. She tries to be an understanding wife but at this point, it’s like he’s not even trying to make an effort to see her. It’s like he’s settled to just coming home to her sleeping form and waking up to her in the exact same state, leaving before he can witness her do anything else. He should understand her though, no? I mean, she had brought it up to him in a very casual way and so he never took it seriously, but she’s mentioned it before. He should have a pretty vivid image of how shes been feeling. Right?

After 6 months of loneliness and being ‘Katsuki-deprived,’ Y/N made her move to speak to her husband about her feelings. She already imagined the outcome. An argument due to Katsuki’s brash behavior and her ‘never back down’ attitude, sad times bringing in the silent treatment for the two of you up until the both of you give in and forgive each other due to the love you have. Finally ending in a compromise. Y/N released a heavy breath as she looked at the time.

1:36 a.m. Just a few more minutes until Katsuki’s home.

—

He was pissed. 3 large scale bank robberies, 10 villain-wannabe fights, an argument with his publicist about his ‘out of line attitude,’ and Deku replacing him on a random ass billboard. The last detail wouldn’t have mattered if it was anybody else but the fact that it was Deku had him riled up. He just wanted to go home to a quiet house with his beautiful wife and admire her gorgeous, slumbering state. However that was not what he was greeted with.

Katsuki grumbled as he unlocked the front door and walked in. He noticed the lights were still on and saw Y/N still awake, seated on the couch. On any other day, he’d be elated to see his wife was still up. They’d talk and cuddle and go to sleep together. If he was lucky, they’d both make love until the sun rose. But tonight, that wouldn’t be happening. He wanted a quiet house with his sleeping wife. Not..whatever was about to happen. He sighed as he dropped his bag at the front door and sloppily placed his keys in the glass bowl near the door.

“What’re you doing up dumbass?” He asked as he walked to the kitchen, not even bothering to take off his shoes. He needed a drink.

“I was waiting for you, Katsuki. I just wanted to talk to you about something,” you said in a soft voice, hoping it would suppress his for sure incoming anger. Katsuki closed the fridge with a kick to the heavy door and chugged down a quarter of his drink.

“I’m not in the mood. Had a shitty day and I wanna sleep. Just go to bed.” He said sternly while trying to finish his beer as fast as he could.

“Don’t you think I would’ve done that hours ago? I wouldn’t have stayed up and waited for you if this wasn’t important. Please Katsuki, I really wanna talk.” Bakugou was beginning to grow annoyed. Why wouldn’t you just drop it already? He squeezed his bottle hard enough for it too crack before he spoke with a louder voice.

“Y/N! You’re not listening! I’m tired. I had a horrible day and I just want to sleep. I don’t want to talk, I don’t want to stay up anymore, and I don’t want to listen to whatever bullshit you’re about to complain and bitch about like you always do!” He screamed. His words made your jaw drop.

“Not listening?! That’s all I do! All I do is listen to your every command so that you come home happy-“

“Well it looks like you failed today!” He said, cutting you off.

“Quit interrupting! And what was it that you said?! All I do is bitch and complain?! I’m trying to talk to you about something serious here Katsuki!” You pleaded, still hoping he would give in and listen. And he did...just not in the way you’d expect.

“Fine then! If this’ll get you to quit being an annoying ass waste of time, then speak! Talk! What the hell do you want?!” He asked, screaming at you, furious at all the dramatics you’ve brought up in one night.

His words kind of stung. ‘Annoying ass? Waste of time? Is this what he thinks I am?’ You grew silent at his insults and Katsuki seethed even more.

“Oh what? I scream at you and you bitch up? Toughen up Y/N, jeez. Quit acting like a baby! Tell me what you wanted to say!” He yelled.

“.......I just....I just wanted you to spend some time with me. .....Be home more.” You said in a quiet and broken voice. You looked down to the now very interesting floor as you played with your hands.

“Seriously? This shit again? I’m a pro-hero, Y/N! I’m busy! I’m not gonna drop saving lives just because your brat ass wants someone to notice you! Since when were you such an attention whore?” He asked while rolling his neck to relieve his strained muscles. Your eyes widen at the ground due to his words and your head snapped back up to face him.

“A-attention whore? I-...I just want my husband to stop working so much. I don’t know..maybe have a day off or two!” She said with a crinkled nose as you screamed.

“I do have days off, Moron. It’s why I’m not overworked, ever thought about that?!” He screamed back.

“And you spend those days off away from me! I’m not trying to act like the world revolves around me but I would hope my own husband would spend a day with me instead of his friends that he ALWAYS sees because you ALL WORK TOGETHER!” You argued. You made a valid point and even Katsuki knew that, but he was too stubborn to admit defeat. He was still tired but he had enough energy to put you back in your place. His eyes popped as a vein grew on his neck.

“Well- WELL YOU’RE ONCE AGAIN JUST BITCHING AND COMPLAINING LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO! I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY YOU’RE SO UPSET!” He screamed.

“Don’t understand?! You know what? I know you don’t because you never listen to-“

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, I WASNT DONE TALKING! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AROUND THE HOUSE, LAZING AROUND, DOING NOTHING BUT TRY TO ARGUE WITH-“

“LAZING AROUND?!” You shouted in disbelief. “WHO MAKES YOUR MEAL PREP THE NIGHT BEFORE SO YOU CAN ENJOY IT AT WORK AND IN THE MORNING? WHO CLEANS THE ENTIRE HOUSE EVERYDAY WHILE YOU’RE GONE? WHO MAKES SURE YOU HAVE A FULL FRIDGE, CLEAN HOUSE, GOOD FOOD, AND A HAPPY LIFE? ME KATSUKI! ME!”

“Happy life? DO I LOOK HAPPY TO YOU BITCH?! NEWSFLASH, IM NOT! SO CONGRATS Y/N! YOU FAILED ONCE AGAIN! AND WHO GIVES A FUCK IF YOU PLAY MAID WHILE IM AWAY?! IM BUSY SAVING THE FUCKING WORLD! THE LEAST YOU COULD DO IS BE A GOOD WIFE SINCE YOU CANT EVEN BE A FUCKING PRO ANYMORE!” He insulted again.

“because of FUCKING YOU!” You argued once more.

“I DID IT FOR YOU!” He said while throwing his bottle to the wall, causing it to shatter. “I DO EVERYTHING FOR YOUR UNGRATEFUL BITCH ASS! I PAY THE BILLS! I BRING HOME THE CASH! I GIVE YOU THE MONEY TO BUY ALL THE FUCKING FOOD, CLOTHES, AND ANY OTHER STUPID SHIT YOU WANT! AND ON TOP OF THAT, I STUFF YOUR STUPID CUNT TO PLEASURE YOUR UNGRATEFUL ASS. AT THIS POINT, YOU’RE JUST A WALKING HOLE FOR ME TO USE!”

His words hurt. They broke your heart. Did he really feel this way? If so, why was he even with you anymore. You notice a smirk grow on his face at your bewildered state. He looked as if he just won something. However, the smirk dropped into a scowl once he saw your eyes begin to pool with tears.

“Oh great! Cry! Go ahead! Just shed your fucking tears like you always do! I’m going to bed! Come join me when you’re done being an annoying bitch.” He said and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he began to walk away. You didn’t want the conversation to go this way and there was no conclusion. You needed this to be resolved now. You just wanted your husband back. You reached out to stop him from walking but the unforeseen happened.

“Katsuki..don’t walk away from thi-“

“DONT FUCKING TOUCH ME!” He said and smacked your arms away with a burning palm. Without realizing, Katsuki began to spark his quirk and so when he went in to push you away, he burned your forearm.

A loud blast and smoke filled the room and your screams of pain invaded his ears. The sound made a shocked face grow on him as he quickly turned to see the damaged he had caused. His heart sank as he saw you crying while holding your burnt arm with your other hand. You were slightly hunched over in pain as you took notice of the damage that had been caused. That he caused.

“Y/N!” Bakugou softly shouted as he ran to you. He wanted to help but before he could even lay a finger on you, you flinched. The action caused him to hesitate and hold himself back. He ran to the kitchen sink to get a cold rag and he brought it back to you. “Baby! I am so sor-“

You pushed him away and off of you as you quickly walked to your bedroom with a shadow casted over your eyes. Tears still flowed down your cheeks as sniffles could be heard from your cherry red nose. Katsuki couldn’t believe what he just did and ran to follow you.

“Y/N! Please listen! I didn’t mean it! I don’t know how that happened Teddy Bear but I swear I didn’t mean it! I swear I didn’t mean any of the bullshit I said! I’m sor-“

*SLAM* *click!*

Katsuki realized he followed you out the kitchen, through the living room, up the stairs, and to the entrance of the master bedroom you both shared before you slammed the door and locked it right in his face.

“Baby! Please open the door!” He said while knocking in a very rushed manner. He wanted nothing more than to help you and treat the damage he caused to his beloved wife. He had royally fucked up. He began turning and jiggling the locked knob in an attempt to get it open but failed. “Please Y/N! I have to take care of you and that burn. I’m so sorry but please let me in!”

On the other side of the door, you pressed your back against it as you held in your sobs and slid to the bottom. You pulled both lips in to conceal your voice while you held your wrist to examine the burn on your arm. It was so bad. Your skin turned an angry shade of red as it blistered and bled. You were dripping blood all over your carpeted floor and so you ran to the master bathroom in the bed room.

You turned on the sink and placed your forearm under the cold, running water. The water soothed it a bit but it wasn’t enough to cover the pain. You turned off the sink and grabbed a hand rag as you patted down on your wound. You took out the first aid kit and cared for yourself. You had to take the alcohol to clean it and sucked in a breath before you poured the solution over the burn. You screamed as it seemed to have hurt 10x more. After dabbing cotton over it, you wrapped it in bandages and took a breath of relief.

‘What just happened?’ You thought to yourself.

The entire time, Katsuki was still begging for you to open up. He heard your scream and grew frantic. He banged on the door and cried for you, still hoping, praying, that you would let him in. When nothing happened, he resorted back to calling out for you but to no avail.

About an hour went by and it was almost 4 in the morning. You sat on the bed with your arms holding your knees to your chest. You stared at the wrap as the memories of what went down tonight flashed through your brain.

‘Waste of time...brat ass...attention whore...ungrateful...annoying bitch.’

His words struck you right in your heart. Cruel thoughts began to fill your head.

‘He doesn’t love me. He hates me. I’m worthless.’ Your thoughts would’ve continued until a quiet knock snapped you out of you mind.

“....Y/N?...Baby?” It was Katsuki of course, but a softer version of him. A broken one. “..I don’t know if you’re listening or if you’re awake..but I need you to know that I’m so so sorry.” It was easy to hear his muffled and staggered voice that exposed his tears and sobs. “If I could turn back time right now, I would do tonight all over again, I swear. I would’ve came home and listened to you. And we could’ve talked things out. We would’ve came out of this problem being a stronger couple than we were before...because that’s what we always do. We always make it out of the dark together..because we’re a team..and I need you. .....Please...please don’t leave me Y/N. I love you so much. ‘M so sorry that I hurt you..that I burned you..that I’m such a terrible husband. But I promise you I’ll fix everything in the morning...................Teddy Bear?”

He didn’t know it, but you were listening. You heard every word but refrained from speaking. You knew that the second you did, you’d break down and go crawling back to him....but you didn’t want to do that. You wanted to leave. He physically burned you and you wanted to leave. You were going to sleep for a few hours, and when you would awaken, you would pack a bag and leave. And so, you began your plan and tried to get some sleep as tear streaks marked your face. It would all be over soon.

You woke up to the morning sun.

6:50 a.m.

You rose out of bed and rubbed at your puffy eyes. You quietly got ready in the bathroom and applied the slightest bit of makeup to look more presentable. You took out a pair of shoes and tossed them to the center of the room. You were in your closet and pulled out a bag. You stuffed it full of a few clothes for you to wear, you couldn’t stay here. Not after what he did. You fought through the pain as you pulled on your jacket and placed your shoes on. You wiped your tears as you picked up your purse and got ready to leave. You were going to stay in a hotel. Didnt matter where or how expensive. You just needed to get away.

Finally, you walked to the exit of the bedroom. You took a breath before you slowly turned the knob and was greeted with the sight of a sleeping Bakugou. He had slept in the hallway in front of the bedroom, still wearing the same clothes from the night before. His knees were scrunched up with his arms resting there to be used as a pillow. He layed his head atop of his arms and as you looked down into his hands, you saw the rag. The exact rag from the argument. The rag that he attempted to use to help you. Little did you know, Bakugou hadn’t planned on getting rid of it until you let him use it to help you. He wanted nothing more than to fix his mistake and cater to you and your wound.

You shook your head as you felt tears began to fill your eyes but you refused to let them fall. You took a step and sadly awoken the exact man you were trying to avoid. Bakugou had quickly woken up when he heard the slightest noise and was blessed with the beauty that is you. He looked up at you with wide eyes and a small smile.

“Y/N...” was what he whispered before he quickly got up to run to you.

“Y/N!” He ecstatically said with a hint of relief. He was about to wrap him arms around you but you kept a hand at his chest to keep him at bay. “Baby?...”

Bakugou looked at you with hurt and confused eyes when you didn’t welcome his embrace. Even when you were mad at him, you still allowed him to hold you so what gives? He looked at you and your attire. He noticed your jacket and shoes and saw you holding a bag. “W-what are you doing?”

You walked away from him but he snatched your wrist to make you turn to face him. “Y/N! What’s going on?!” He frantically asked with crazed eyes. You snatched your wrist back and ran down the stairs and he copied your actions. He followed you into the living room until he grabbed your wrist once more. You tried to pull away again but found it harder because this time, he gripped it tight.

“W-where are you going baby?”

“Dont call me that.”

“What? Why? Baby, please tell me what’s going on.” He begged as he squeezed your wrist.

“What’s going on? Are you serious? What does it look like? I’m leaving!” Bakugou’s eyes went wide once more and shook his head.

“N-no! No, why!?”

“Why?! Look at my arm!” You screamed.

“I know! I know and I’m so sorry! But..but you don’t have to go! I can fix you up, I’ll take you to recovery girl, I will bring you to the best hospitals around the world to fix that for you! Just please don’t go!” He bargained and offered everything but you weren’t budging.

“It’s not just the burn Bakugou.” You deadpanned with a nonchalant face. His heart felt heavy after hearing your voice refer to him with his family name.

“..I-it’s Katsuki! Your Katsuki! It’s Suki, baby please!” Bakugou stepped closer as he cried once more but you backed away again. His hold on your wrist still strong as his fingers played with the ring on your hand, trying to calm himself down and remind himself that you are still his wife.

You shook your head at his pleading. “Bakugou. You burned me. But not only that, you’ve neglected me for months.”

“I know that! And I’m sorry! I will spend just as much time off of work to make it up to you, I swear I will, I promise!” He once again bargained.

“It’s too late.”

“No it’s not, please, it can’t be!”

“It is Bakugou-“

“KATSUKI! ....please...please don’t call me that. I’m your Katsuki,” he said with a whimpering voice. At this point you felt the tears come through, but you still didn’t allow them to fall.

“Katsuki...I can’t stay here. Too much damage has been done.” You said with a soft voice. Bakugou continued to shake his head ‘no,’ but you already made up your mind. You used your wind quirk in your hand and blew his grip off your wrist. You took the quick opportunity to walk to the door but Bakugou grabbed your bag off your shoulder in a childish panic and attempt to get you to stay.

“Hey!-“

“Please Y-Y/N! Please don’t leave me! I- I know I’ve been a terrible husband! I’m sorry! B-But I promise I’ll do better. I’ll stay at home more, I’ll spend more time with you, Please!”

“Katsu-“

“I’ll buy you whatever you want! I’ll get you all the expensive brands, I’ll find you all the best jewelry, I’ll give you all the money in the world! I’ll give you the whole world! Please stay! I love you so much Y/N!”

“Katsuki, give me back my bag,” you tried to reach for it but Bakugou kept it away from you and pulled you in with one arm and held you in a tight embrace as he cried on your shoulder.

“Please...you can’t do this to me. I need you. I love you! I’ll do better! I’ll be a better husband, I swear..just please don’t go.” He softly spoke with a broken voice and soft hiccups. It was wrong for you to do this, but you sighed and pretended to forgive him as you wrapped your arms around his torso. You hugged him tight and he fell for it as he openly sobbed now. His other arm that held your bag came to wrap around your waist but before it could, you snatched the bag out of his hold and pushed him away. You ran to the door and held a tight grip on the knob as you picked up your car keys. You saw Katsuki attempt to run back to you but you created a strong barrier of wind to protect you. “IM SORRY Y/N! PLEASE DONT!”

You took off your ring and tossed it to him through the barrier. He was quick to catch it and hold it right in fear of losing it. He had to find a way to get it back on your finger. “No..baby...Teddy Bear please!”

“....I’ll send you the divorce papers....Goodbye Katsuki.”

With that, you walked out of the door, still keeping the barrier alive. Once you started the car, you dispersed of the wind and Bakugou opened the door and ran to your car.

“Y/N wait! Please!” He cried out but he was too late. You pulled out of the driveway and drove off quickly down the street. He watched your car go as he began hyperventilating and tugging at his ash blonde locks. He ran back inside the house with your ring in hand as he looked for his phone. He found it on the kitchen island and quickly dialed your number. Of course, it went straight to voicemail but that didn’t stop him from calling about 50x more.

“This-...this has to be some stupid dream. A fucking nightmare...” he said as he tried to hide in denial. “Yeah...a nightmare. This is what it is...I’ll..I’ll wake up soon and she’ll be by my side in the morning...sleeping peacefully...and I’ll take the whole week off and spend it with her. She won’t be mad, we’ll be happy like we always are. S-She won’t leave me.”

Bakugou had an insane smile on his face with eyes of distraught on him. He clumsily made his way back to his bedroom where he flopped onto the large mattress and tried to get some sleep. He would sleep the whole day away if it meant you’d still be by his side when he woke up. The ring you abandoned was held tight in the palm of his hand as he held it close to his chest. His sobs overcame him but did aid in his journey to slumber. Eventually, he knocked out and a smile of bliss adorned his face as he assumed you would still be there in the morning.....oh how wrong he was.

The very next day, he woke up at 5:30 like he always did and quickly looked to your side of the bed. It was cold and empty. He was lonely. The exact same feeling you got everytime you woke up without seeing him for the past 6 months.

6 months. You’ve been married for 4 years and together for 8. Out of those 8 years, Bakugou spent 6 months neglecting you..and now...he lost you.

He stared at the empty space and bawled his eyes out like a baby as he screamed. He got out of bed and walked to the kitchen. Maybe you were cooking breakfast! You weren’t. Kitchen was empty. He ran to the living room! Maybe you were just watching some TV and reading a book, looking all cute and domesticated like you usually did. No, you weren’t there either. Bakugou checked every room in the house and when he couldn’t find you..he snapped.

His heart beated at a rapid pace as he trashed the entire house. Breaking windows, flipping desks, smashing furniture. He used his quirk to create blasts and burn marks into the walls and floors of the house. He did everything to get his frustrations out. The entire time he shouted and cried as rivers of tears flowed down his cheeks.

When he was done, he sat in the middle of the destroyed living room, laying his back against the flipped couch. He sat with his knees scrunched up as he hunched over, staring at the ground. His nose and eyes and basically his entire face grew puffy and red. His hair was a mess and so was he. Silent tears continued to drop, but his throat was too dry and hurt far too much for him to make anymore noise. However, he did fight through the pain to say one final thing:

“What have I done?”

A/N: hi cubsss! So a lot of you may know that my very first post, writing piece, and short story (He’s Lost) was created around angst, a breakup, and the fact that the triggering point was Bakugou physically hurting Y/N. I’ve been thinking about it and I HATE MY WRITING IN THE FIRST POST! It was terrible! Why tf did y’all like it so much?😭 And so, I’ve created a new piece revolving around the same elements, sorta as a way to check my progress. I hope you enjoyed!

ALSO!!! If you guys like this enough, I’m willing to turn it into a small yandere short story if you Cubs are down for that. Let me know and I’ll make it happen! Love you Cubs! See you next time🧸💗

[imasimpforshanks]

hiii, how are you? may i ask angst alphabet for Ace? thank you ❤️

Angst Alphabet - Portgas D. Ace

a/n: hi hi!! here you go! OMG angst is still really hard LOL I don’t want to think about their rough life 😔😔😔😔😔 ANYWHOOOOO thank you for requesting and I hope you enjoy<3

warnings: on the letter S there is mention of self harm

A-Accident (would they blame themselves if you died in an accident?)

Ace would definitely blame himself. He’s always thought he was a no-good demon child, son of a criminal that didn’t deserve to be alive (despite finding people that truly cared and loved him). You dying in an accident and him not being able to do anything about it would just reinforce what he already thinks of himself.

Regardless of your cause of death he is likely to attribute it to your association with himself, and because of that he will think it is entirely his fault, even if he wasn’t present at the time of your death.

B-Break up (How would they break up with you?)

His lessons with Makino really helped him develop manners and just a general sense of acceptable behaviour. So, Ace would just be clear and up front, no mixed messages, no miscommunication. He would take you some place quiet and away from others, and then he would be as honest and vulnerable as possible – it’s the least you deserve. The break-up would be very civil, you would definitely end on good terms (doesn’t make it any less sad though).

C-Crying (how would they make you cry?)

Sometimes Ace can take his teasing a little too far. Usually you can handle it, but there are just some days where his words cut deeper than ever intended (even if they have no malice behind them). It’s not his fault you’re having a bad day, or not realizing you are having a bad day. It’s just one of those things that happens sometimes. As soon as you start to cry though, he apologizes and reassures you so much, to make sure you known he doesn’t mean it and he’s only playing around.

D-Death (how would they react to your death?)

It would start out with a lot of confusion, like “what t-that must be some kind of a sick joke. H-how… w-what… they wouldn’t just die like that.” After it really sinks in that you have in fact died, Ace will just get angry. I don’t see him as much of a crier (spoiler alert – we only see him truly allow himself to cry on two occasions 1) when luffy got crazy hurt as a child and 2) when ace was on deaths door), so I believe he would react with anger.

Regardless of your cause of death (natural causes, accident, died in battle etc.) Ace would be unbelievably angry with himself, the world and you. He would be angry at himself for being unable to save you, someone he cares about and loves deeply. He would be angry at the world and whatever higher being there may be for choosing now to be your time. There are so many horrible, horrible people in the world, yet you had to die? It makes no sense. Lastly, he would be angry at you. Not a genuine anger but more so a “how could you just leave me like this? We were meant to be together forever.”

E-Emotion (what is one emotion they would try to hide the most and how would they do it?)

I think Ace tends to try his sadness. He tries to put on a brave face, not wanting anyone to see him cry as he doesn’t want to be viewed as weak or be even more of a burden on others.

F-Fight (how often do you fight? What do you fight about? Do you fight often? Etc.)

Fights with Ace, although they don’t happen often, can quickly get out of hand. He’s stubborn and his inability to accept that he’s not always right can cause a minor disagreement to escalate into an all-out fight. On a few occasions you have argued about him never turning his back on an opponent.

Your fights tend to be followed by cooldown time. Things can get quite heated (no pun intended) so you need some alone time and space to breathe. After that though, you comeback together and apologize.

G-Guilt (what is the biggest thing they feel guilty about?)

For his entire life, Ace has lived with the guilt of simply existing. He doesn’t think himself worthy of being alive. Can you blame him? It’s all anyone ever told him growing up. Despite eventually finding people who loved him for him, those feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness still remain and continue to plague his mind.

H-Heartbreak (what would cause them pain in the relationship? How would they deal during a break-up?)

During a break-up Ace is quiet. He doesn’t want to be around anyone or anything. He wants to be left completely alone so he can sort out his thoughts and feelings. He’d be quite devasted because he’s had so few people in his life love him on as deep a level as you did.

I-Injured (how would they react if you are badly injured?)

Ace would absolutely lose it if you were injured. He’d be concerned, upset, and angry all at once. First things first, he needs to know if you are going to be ok. Once that’s been established, he’ll be upset at himself for allowing this to happen. This will be replaced by the pure anger he feels at whoever, or whatever, caused this.

J-Jealousy (what do they do if they are jealous?)

When he gets jealous he turns into such a man child. He’s pouting and moping around while mumbling to himself. He develops quite a petty attitude. If you were to ask him “want to go get something to eat?” he’d respond with “why don’t you just go and ask ____ for some food.” But, as soon as you begin commenting on how jealous he’s acting he’s going to deny it to the end of his days.

K-Kill (would they kill for revenge?)

Ace literally hunted down Blackbeard so he could get revenge on him for killing Thatch. It’s not certain whether or not Ace had the intention of killing Blackbeard, however, he definitely had both the spirit and anger to go through with killing him. So, it is possible that Ace would kill for revenge. However, for the most part, he would prefer to just beat them senseless.

L-Loss (what is their greatest loss?)

Either Sabo or his mother’s death, would be considered Ace’s greatest loss. His mother died when he was a new-born, so he doesn’t particularly remember, or know, anything about her other than the fact that she was a kind wonderful woman. However, the loss of Sabo is something he remembers vividly. Losing Sabo had a major impact on Ace. It was an unfortunate wake up call as to how awful the world truly is.

M-Mistake (what is the worst mistake they ever made with you?)

One night, after a particularly bad day filled with a horrible series of events, Ace was letting off some steam (quite literally I suppose). Messing with his devil fruit power, throwing some flames around. He hadn’t noticed your presence and so his flames nearly burnt you. He was horrified, and he only felt worse after he noticed the pure terror in your eyes.

N-Nightmares (how often do they have them? What are they about? How do they deal with it?

Ace has nightmares frequently, they vary, but they all have the same underlying theme, that is, the people in his life don’t actually care about him and only view him the same way everyone else views the son of the pirate kind – a worthless devil with no right to life. He wakes up from his dreams in a sweat and finds himself in desperate need of fresh air (ya know to try and clear his mind). He ends up just sitting out on the deck of the Moby Dick looking up at the sky trying to tell himself it was all a dream. But his insecurity and self-doubt begin to resurface and soon he can’t discern imagination from reality. However, the moment someone else on the crew even speaks to Ace with something as simple as a “morning dude” he’s brought back down to earth and thinks to himself “no that’s right…. They love me… I wouldn’t be here right now if they didn’t.”

It’s a vicious cycle, but in the end, he manages to remember (even if it’s just for a little bit) that he is cherished.

O-Outrage (how and why would they get mad at you?)

When you continuously tell him there’s no need to stay and fight every single opponent. It’s okay to turn and runaway – in fact it’s safer to do that. When you say that he feels as though you don’t understand him. He’s not some careless, impulsive child who’s just looking for a fight (okay maybe he is a little bit). So he doesn’t really get super angry, it’s more so that he is frustrated and a little upset that you don’t try to see it from his perspective.

P-Past (what has happened in your relationship that changed the way you saw each other?)

It’s the same as the worst mistake he’s ever made with you – nearly burning you with his devil fruit. It made you realize that Ace can actually be quite dangerous (although you know he would NEVER hurt you intentionally). It made Ace realize that he needs to be more careful, the look of pure terror in your eyes has stayed with him ever since that incident, serving as a reminder.

Q-Quality (what is their most dangerous/toxic quality?)

His tendency to not back down from a fight is simultaneously his most endearing and toxic trait. He constantly places himself in dangerous situations with minimal concern for his own safety.

R-Rejection (how would they react to you rejecting their confession (or the other way around))

Having his confession rejected by you was definitely a blow to his self-esteem, but he respected and accepted your feelings. Instead of moping around about it he decides to laugh it off, trying to make light of a slightly disappointing situation.

S-Scars (battle or self-inflicted)

Ace does not have any scars, battle related or self-inflicted.

TW self-harm: I do think ace got worryingly close to self-harming, but Sabo and Luffy made him rethink it all.

T-Trust (have they ever broken your trust?)

The one and only time Ace broke your trust was after Blackbeards betrayal. You made him promise to take you with him when he left to hunt down Blackbeard because you didn’t want him to go alone. He promised but he had no intention of keeping that promise.

U-Urge (how badly do they want to see you after you guys separated?)

For a while Ace manages to get by by keeping himself preoccupied. But as soon as he lets up for even a minute, he realizes how much he misses you and is beyond tempted to just sail on back to wherever you are and tackle you to the ground plastering your face in lil kisses. When he’s not distracted, he really does miss you a lot. He hyper-fixates on what you could be doing at this very moment, whether or not you miss him too etc.

V-Vicious (what do they do when they lash out on you?)

When ace gets mad, he tends to get very loud. He raises his voice quite a lot and it becomes very, very frightening. He would never physically hurt you, but the anger and frustration in his voice is more than another to scare the shit out of you.

W-Weak (what makes them feel weak how do they try to avoid it?)

Constantly being reminded or associated with the Pirate King. Maybe it doesn’t make him feel weak, but it makes him feel horrible inside and stirs up a lot of feelings and remarks people would make when he was younger. Unfortunately, once word gets out there isn’t much Ace can do to stop this from happening, however, before this, Ace avoided this by not telling ANYONE. He only told Luffy and Sabo, with a very small handful of others knowing (i.e Garp).

X-X-ray (what do they hate and show it most obviously?)

He hates turning his back on a fight or turning his back on people that talk shit about those he cares about. This is seen during the Marineford arc. He doesn’t let Akainus words about Whitebeard slide. He doesn’t runaway. He has no tolerance for that shit.

Y-Yearn (what is one thing that they want but can’t have?)

Ok this may be dark as hell but, Ace just wants to not feel like a burden to the world. He wants to be viewed as something different/separate from his father, but he can’t change history.

Z-Zero (what do they do/say in your dying moments?)

He doesn’t let you go. He’ll hold on to you until he is forcefully separated from your body. He just starts to spout a lot of nonsense – things don’t make sense at all, but he can’t help it right now. He can’t think properly when you’re about to leave him. He just wants you to stay.

[rivers-rambles21]

The one where Bucky struggles to get it up

Part 6 of The one where Bucky has a cute neigbour series!

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X Reader (f)

Summary | Reader and Bucky become friends after he saves her from  a creep in their apartment building. Each chapter explores a different  point in their friendship - very slow burn!

Warnings | 18+ only, Smut in later chapters (this is a slow burn), swearing, unprotected sex, oral sex, cockwarming (later chapters)

Will include elements of TFATWS in later chapters

This one is a bit of a silly chapter to begin with and has a small amount of angst near the end. Apologies for any errors, it’s not been proof read today

Chapter 6 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 1 | Masterlist

As it turns out, Bucky wasn’t the best person to take furniture shopping. You’d dragged him around each store, trying to get his opinion on couches but every time he responded with either a grunt or “it’s fine”. Despite him not being overly helpful in selecting a new sofa, you’d finally settled on one and was about to hand over your cash before being stopped by the Super Soldier by your side.

“A hundred and fifty bucks for delivery? Is that a joke?”

The cashier stuttered at Bucky's little outburst, not quite sure what to say. 

“Bucky it’s fine, I’ve got some savings and I’ve decided against the matching cushions-” 

“Take off delivery, I’ll carry it home for you. Go get your cushions” Bucky's hand pressed against your lower back reassuringly as you opened your mouth to object. You promptly closed it and nodded as you saw the stubbornness in his eyes. 

“Sir it’s quite heavy, are you sure? 

Bucky merely smirked in response. 

The look on the cashiers face as Bucky effortlessly lifted the couch from the ground and hoisted it onto his shoulder in one swift motion would remain etched in your memory forever. By this point you’d seen glimpses of his strength here and there but actually witnessing him lift things no average man could ever manage did things to you. 

It was quite comical really, a 106 year old man sauntering down the busy streets of Brooklyn with a full sized couch resting on his shoulder whilst you followed behind carrying the decorative cushions which were trying to blow away in the wind was a bit out of the ordinary - even for New York's standards. 

Eventually you both made it back to your apartment building, managing to squeeze the sofa through the lobby doors. As you waited for the elevator something suddenly dawned on you. 

“Erm Buck…” 

“Yeah doll?” He turned to face you, careful not to catch you with the couch. 

“It’s not going to fit in the elevator.”

“Oh”

“Yeah” 

“Fuck.” He muttered and began heading towards the doors up to the stairs. You ran in front of him and opened the door as wide as you could, trying to give him plenty of birth to get through. 

The first floor didn't seem to be an issue as he made quick progress but by the third, it was becoming a struggle. 

“Just - uh -f uck- nearly there !”

“I can’t! It’s too hard!!”

“C’mon Y/N you can do it, just one more” 

“Ah!” 

“Fuck, thats it!” 

“Oh my god, I’m done.” 

“Last one doll, I promise” 

You lifted yourself off the dusty floor from where you’d plonked yourself after helping Bucky maneuver the sofa round the many bends. It was at this point you were regretting not paying for the delivery service, the fee suddenly didn't seem so unreasonable. 

One floor later with you shouting “PIVOT” at every opportunity to a very confused Bucky and the sofa was finally in your apartment. 

For once Bucky was the first one to sit and threw himself onto the couch, testing its firmness. You swiftly followed suit and swung your legs over one of the arms, depositing your head in his lap - exhausted from the trip up the stairs. 

“I think the gloves were a bit unnecessary considering you carried an entire sofa through Brooklyn on your shoulder.” You laughed as you picked up his metal hand, pulling at the glove. “Thanks for helping me today, I appreciate it” Looking up, you met his blue eyes and smiled. He stared back with his usual intensity before cracking a smile back. 

“Somehow I don’t think I’ll be having a career as a delivery boy.”

With one final tug you pulled his glove off his hand and tossed it behind you. Without thinking you entwined his fingers with yours and began running your fingers over the gold knuckles. “Don’t get me started on careers, every day mine is slipping further and further away from me” You muttered, hypnotised by the ridges on his metal hand. 

You felt his flesh hand suddenly pull on your hair as he began combing out the knots and moving strands away from your face. 

Surely this wasn’t normal best friend behaviour? You were doing what couples did minus the kissing and mindblowing sex. Instead of questioning it, you tried your best to enjoy the moment as his fingers caressed your head with a gentleness you didn’t know he possessed. 

“Work still rough?” He asked

“Yeah, I had everything figured out before the snap but since I’ve come back… I don't know, everything just seems so pointless. It’s like I can’t get settled y’know?” He hummed in response, allowing you to continue on. “I don’t know Buck, I’m hoping changing the apartment round a bit helps but I’m not sure if New York is where I want to be anymore. Before the snap I loved how busy it was but now it just feels suffocating.” 

A minute or so went by as you both contemplated what you’d said, trying to process your moment of honesty and openness. 

Taking a leap, Bucky began “I thought coming back to Brooklyn would make me feel better. Having something that tied me to the past, to who I was before the war, before Hyd-” His voice wobbled as he struggled with the memories flooding back. You gave his hand a gentle squeeze and brought it to your lips, kissing his knuckles as an act of encouragement. 

“I find myself looking down some of the alleys, expecting to see Steve getting his ass handed to him but then I remember and it just gets so heavy. When he left its as though- as though -” His words stuttered out as he tried to force the rest of the sentence out. 

“Like that part of you left?” You offered, your voice barely a whisper. Looking up you saw the pain etched in his face, eyes glazed over as he stared dead ahead. Slowly, he nodded his head as the weight of it all sat on his shoulders, crippled by pain. 

You weren't quite sure how to respond so you did what you felt best and slowly sat up and turned to face him, his hand still in yours. As gently as you could, you threaded your free arm round his neck and pull him toward you, encasing him in a hug. You didn't say a word as you cradled his head in your arms, his shoulders shaking as silent sobs left his body. 

[hongism]

mists of celeste ➻ eleven

➻ pairing: ??? x fem reader ➻ genre: space au, pirate au, space pirate!ateez, angst, eventual smut ➻ Word Count: 4.3k ➻ Rating: M ➻ Warnings: language, violence, guns and weaponry, blood, future warnings tba ➻ summary: Sneaking aboard the ship of a renowned space pirate may not have been the best idea, but you’ll have to make do with what fate has handed to you

⇐ previous | next ⇒

mists of celeste act two ➻ part one

​​

You find yourself, yet again, perched on the bridge of The Horizon, arms crossed over your chest as you look out into the black space before you. Typically it would be void of any occupants; however, that is not the case now. A planet looms before you, vast and emerald green all over. From the distance you’re at, it looks almost uninhabitable but you know that can’t be true seeing as that’s where Hongjoong is steering the ship.

You let your arms fall by your side, and a small sigh escapes your lips. A bit of time has passed since San gave you the papers back, but you can’t tell the exact amount of time thanks to being in space all the time. You sleep when everyone else sleeps, wake up when everyone else wakes up, and generally follow the same routine that they do. You do exercise much more caution than they do as you’re still trying to figure things out. San has made things easier for you, as well as Jongho, those two being the crew members you talk to the most on the ship. Yeosang makes his presence known from time to time – a little too known for your liking considering your last interaction with him involved his hand around your throat – but the blonde sticks to Wooyoung’s side like glue ninety percent of the time so you don’t have to be blessed by his presence often.

Yunho comes in and out of your daily routine in that every time he shows up in your path, you make a sharp turn and head in the opposite direction. It is mostly due to the fact that you can’t fucking apologize to save your own damn life, but also just a lingering awkwardness on your end from all but accusing him of stealing the papers that San delivered to you minutes later. Awkward. Awkward. And that’s what is keeping you from approaching him and even attempting an apology. You keep telling yourself that you will apologize eventually, and you’ll try to make things right, but the timing just doesn’t feel right yet. That’s the reason. Absolutely. It’s not because your ego is getting in the way.

You purse your lips as you think about that situation yet again. It’s a frequent thought for you, especially considering that there is next to nothing to do on this damn ship besides wander around or look out into space like you’re doing now. You don’t understand how they can do this so often. A small part of you is starting to feel that fabled “spaceman’s anxiety” – the sensation of being cooped up with nowhere to go except out into space. It’s very aptly named in the very least, but you wish Hongjoong would just get to Aegos already so you can put your feet on solid ground again.

“Y/N.” Speaking of the devil, Hongjoong calls out to you from his place in the pilot’s chair. You turn away from the broad window into space to look at the captain. He doesn’t look back at you; instead, he’s focused on keeping the ship on its steady path to the planet ahead. You walk closer to his slightly elevated chair, taking the empty place beside Seonghwa. You mimic his pose and fold your hands behind your back before answering Hongjoong.

“You called?”

“We’ll be landing on Aegos before nightfall. You’ll be coming with us to the capital Echidna. I have a few business inquiries to make with some partners there. You, Seonghwa, and San will all be accompanying me to Echidna; however, you and San will be conducting a separate mission from Seonghwa and myself.” Hongjoong nods in Seonghwa’s direction.

“Yes, Captain.” The lieutenant bows slightly at the waist before turning to you. “Have you ever been to Aegos, Y/N?”

“No, I don’t think I have.”

“Prepare for intense storms. Echidna has a storm guard dome over the city, but Hongjoong will be landing the ship at the docking station. It’s a ways away from the city so we’ll need to ride the train to get to the city. Once we’re there, I’ll arrange some reservations for a hotel for the night, then we will head for a bar called the Jaded Hornet. I’ll tell you and San more once we’re closer to landing, and Hongjoong will conduct a debrief as well. You should go change if you need to and get your gun just in case. We shouldn’t need to kill anyone, but drunk pirates and mercenaries never mix well.”

“Yea, okay.” You nod along to Seonghwa’s explanation. He offers a small smile in conclusion, and you step away from the captain and lieutenant. You start the short walk to your room without any trouble, but you move slower than usual.

The med bay isn’t far from your room, and you could stop to apologize to Yunho before going to your room. Or after. Either one would work. Still, hesitation fills your body. You have the opportunity to fix things and make them right, but you cannot bring yourself to do it. You know that you’re stubborn to a fault. That’s certainly a large reason for your hesitation because your pride is getting in the way, but something else is holding you back.

You’ve been thinking over things for a while, in all honesty, waiting for an opportunity to get away from the ship and crew. You have what you wanted, you have the papers, you could just leave without any trouble. Now, Hongjoong has presented an opportunity to do just that. If you stop on Aegos for a whole day or more, you would have a chance to escape. You could take the papers and run then. No need to apologize or get attached to anyone. If you just disappeared, you wouldn’t have to worry about Yunho or anyone else. It’s a temptation that entices you for certain.

All of a sudden, you run face-first into what you think is a wall. Just from the sheer size of the thing you hit, it feels like a wall. As you stumble back and fall on your ass though, you realize that it’s not a wall and in fact a person instead. A searing pain spreads across your ass when you hit the floor. In your bewilderment, you look up at the person you ran into and find that you’ve never seen this man in your life.

He’s impossibly tall with broad shoulders spread wide and bears dirty blonde hair that is shaved close on the sides. His hair is long on the top though, a floppy mop over his head, and you almost imagine how soft it would be to the touch. There is heat in his eyes though, a red hue to his irises that betrays what he is. You glance over the Berserker in attempts to figure out who the hell he is and why you haven’t seen him sooner. He returns the gaze with one of his own, but his expression is blank and empty as he looks down at you. You don’t move. The floor isn’t comfortable in the slightest yet this Berserker has you glued to the spot with the empty stare he’s sending your way. You wait, expecting him to reach down and extend a hand to help you up. Still, that stare persists, and he doesn’t move.

You pull yourself together and stand up, unable to look into the Berserker’s eyes as you drag a hand over your now sore tailbone.

“I-I, uh, I’m sorry for ru-unning into you,” you stutter out.

“It’s fine.” His tone is icy almost, icy in a way that tells you it’s not actually fine. “Watch where you’re going.”

You dare to glance up at his face, finding that same blank expression across his features. It remains steady and even, and that causes your stomach to twist and turn as you look over it. There is something strange about the way he remains so emotionless. You can’t figure it out or read him in the slightest, which you are used to doing normally. Having that ability taken away from you is disconcerting, to say the least. In your haze of confusion, you do recall that there are eight members of the crew, and you’ve met all except for one. It’s strange that you haven’t even seen him during your time on the ship, but you’ve heard Seonghwa and Yeosang mentioning his name in passing from time to time – Mingi.

“A-Are you Mingi?” You ask with a hesitant tone.

“Yes,” he answers within an instant. “Why?”

You aren’t expecting to be questioned in return for your inquiry. It catches you off-guard, and you stand across from him with a stuttering jaw for a few moments.

“I-I, uh, well I’m – I’m the newest member of the crew? If you’ve heard?”

“Of course I’ve heard.”

“Oh,” you exhale. You can’t tell whether he’s intending to be flat and rude with you or if that’s just the way he is as a person.

“I know who you are. And I don’t need you to explain it.”

It’s most likely the latter, now that you think about it. There is an underlying harshness to his tone that bridges the flatness. You open your mouth to respond, but Mingi pushes his way past you. His shoulder knocks against yours as he moves, and he hits you with such force that you take a few steps back.

“Don’t get in my way again,” he says as he passes you. You glance up at his face as he speaks, but he isn’t looking at you in return. “You’ll regret it if you do.”

You turn to look over your shoulder and watch him move, the threat in his words causing your blood to run cold. Once he disappears from sight, you look forward again, eyes trained on the spot where he was just standing. In all honesty, part of you isn’t shocked by his behavior. He’s a Berserker, and he certainly behaves like all the Berserkers you’ve encountered in the past with their harshness and underlying aggression. Nonetheless, something is different about Mingi. Almost as though he’s reining something in and keeping it from slipping out. You don’t ever want to see what that is, however, and it’s that resolve that causes you to quicken your steps and hurry to get to your room. The sooner you get your papers and leave this hellhole of a ship, the better.

Your room is dark when you step in, and you don’t bother hitting the light switch as you grab your long and sweeping jacket off the foot of the bed. Before you shrug it over your shoulders, you dig into the small table beside your bed and collect the yellowing papers that hide within the drawer. Your fingers dance over the lettering on the front for a moment. It’s your ticket out, your ticket to freedom and release from the guilt that eats away at your insides.

You tuck the papers into your chest band with haste. The temptation of freedom outweighs any guilt you could have about leaving this ship and crew in the dust. Just as you’re thinking that, your earpiece crackles to life and Hongjoong’s voice carries over the speaker.

“Everyone to the bridge for debriefing.”

You tug your jacket over your shoulders, making sure that the papers are securely in place before you fasten the buttons of the jacket across your chest. The last thing you want is to lose the papers again, especially because there is no guarantee that San will be the one to find them again. You duck out of your room, sliding the door shut behind you, and when you turn around, you run face-first into yet another person.

“Woah!” The person says as you collide. His hands fly to your shoulders and hold you in place as he struggles to maintain his balance. “Damn, I nearly knocked you down. I’m sorry.”

Your eyes find Yunho’s, and he smiles back at you without a care in the world. This is certainly not how you wanted this to go, in fact, you had somewhat resolved to leave with apologizing at all. Yet here you are, inches away from him and suddenly thrust into an awkward situation with no escape.

“I-I, uh, I’m sorry,” you say as you push away from him. Yunho laughs in response and releases your shoulders. He brings a hand to his hair, combing through the locks that are now peach-colored. In your avoidance of him, you must’ve missed the change entirely. It looks almost too good against the light tan of his skin, and you blink furiously to block that thought from intruding too much on your mind.

“No, no! You’re fine. I should’ve been more careful of where I was walking. I got lost in thought and didn’t see you leave your room.”

You respond with a weak and shaky smile, chest constricting almost painfully as he continues to grin down at you without hesitation.

“Are you heading to the bridge too?”

“Yea, I am,” you mutter.

“I’ll walk up with you!” Yunho’s voice is bright and cheery, warm to a fault, and you can’t understand how he’s so gentle with you given your last interaction. You don’t respond as Yunho begins to lead the way to the bridge. Instead, you fall into step with him silently, glancing over at him out the corner of your eye. He’s quiet but not in a concerning way; rather, he hums to himself as the two of you walk. It isn’t until you reach the end of the corridor that you open your mouth to say something.

“I, uh, I’m sorry for snapping at you about my papers,” you say under your breath. It’s still loud enough for Yunho to hear though. He turns to you, smile remaining on his lips, and a light laugh escapes him.

“Are you still caught up on that?” He asks. A few strands of peachy orange hair fall over his forehead as he tilts his chin. “I’ve heard worse honestly. Had worse fights with other members of the crew too, to be honest. But that doesn’t really matter. Did you find the papers?”

“I did,” you mutter with a small nod.

“That’s really good! I’m glad to hear it. From the way you were talking about it, it sounded as though it was something important to you. Did finding it put you more at ease?”

The question is a bit confusing to you, and you can’t understand why Yunho is asking it or why he wants to know that of all things. If you were in his position, you would be asking about the contents of the papers or trying to pry further into the reasons for needing them so badly. Yet, Yunho doesn’t seem to care about that at all.

“It did, yes.”

“Again, I’m glad.” Yunho’s smile persists, and confusion continues to swirl in your gut. You don’t understand him one bit. He shouldn’t be happy for you, and it’s pointless for him to be anyways because those papers are what is going to make you leave. But then again, he may not care about that either.

“I… thank you,” you manage to say through the confusion.

“Of course. If you’re going to be here a long time, I want to at least make you feel welcome and happy to be here.” Yunho’s words cause guilt to twinge in your gut. This is why you were trying to avoid an apology, because now that he’s being warm and kind to you, you feel even worse about planning to disappear soon. You can only offer a smile and a nod in reply, but that doesn’t seem to bother Yunho one bit. “It will probably be hard for you to be on a ship full of men and testosterone. Not to mention we’re all criminals of the government. But if you do need anything, my door is always open. Not just as a doctor. Although as a doctor, I can provide some relief for other… frustrations you might have.”

You choke on your saliva as Yunho speaks, his boldness causing your eyes to bulge and your heart rate to spike in an instant. You can feel the heat of his stare on your face as you reach up to cover your gaping mouth.

“Don’t look so embarrassed,” Yunho chuckles. “It’ll make me act up.” He manages to slide another remark in that has you nearly sputtering. Yunho laughs it off though, the sound warm against your ears, and despite your embarrassment, you find yourself smiling as well.

“T-Thank you,” you say under your breath. Part of you does feel guilty for looping Yunho in with the rest of the crew, labeling him as an awful criminal who can’t be trusted, when Yunho’s only crime seems to be his audacity. You want to believe that Yunho is trustworthy and genuine, but the feel of the papers against your skin reminds you that you can’t afford that luxury.

The two of you step onto the bridge to find everyone there already. You notice that Mingi is there as well, standing beside the pilot’s chair with his back so rigid and straight that it hurts to look at. You move to where San is standing, and Yunho follows you without further comment. It’s the first time you’ve seen every crew member present, since Mingi is there. Yeosang stands across from you, his dark eyes meeting yours, and you exchange small nods. Your gaze slips down to the man at his side, dark-haired Wooyoung with the metal collar bound around his neck. A bandage stretches over his nose, evidence of where you hit him and how hard. You hadn’t meant to break his nose completely, but apparently that’s what you managed to do regardless. Yet another thing to feel guilty about.

“We’ve landed on Aegos,” Hongjoong announces, bringing your attention off Wooyoung and onto the captain. “Seonghwa and I will be conducting business in Echidna. San and Y/N will be coming along as well to collect supplies and information. We have a lead and it’s pretty strong this time, so I’ll need the two of you to come along for that.”

San nods, obviously understanding what Hongjoong is talking about, but you’re slower to do the same. You have no clue what Hongjoong is talking about or what kind of information he’s wanting you to collect, but everyone else seems to know. It feels awkward to ask for clarification when everyone else doesn’t need it, so you keep your mouth shut and mimic San’s nod.

“I’ll provide further information for the two of you when we’re in Echidna,” Hongjoong says, glancing over at where you and San are standing. His piercing gaze shifts to the opposite side of the room and lands on Wooyoung. “I want Wooyoung to come along too.”

Yeosang’s lips part, brows furrowing together in an instant. It’s a sudden rage that coats his features, and he steps towards Hongjoong’s chair. Mingi responds immediately. He moves with haste towards Yeosang, and the shorter blonde’s rage dissipates when the Berserker gets closer. The captain redirects his glare to Yeosang. It shuts the man up before he even says anything, and Yeosang hangs his head rather than speaking up. You feel the tension spike. No one says anything for a moment.

Then, Wooyoung steps forward with a small nod.  If you had blinked, you would’ve missed it, but Wooyoung catches Yeosang by the wrist and closes his fingers around the place where the brand is. The touch seems to placate Yeosang, and he steps back into his original place when Wooyoung moves.

Your eyes meet Wooyoung’s for half a second. The two of you look away at the same time, both facing Hongjoong instead of each other. You can’t keep your eyes from shifting back to look at the bandage over his nose, the faint bruises across his skin, and your knuckles tingle as you remember hitting him. You felt bad about punching him when you thought he was a slave aboard the ship, but since Yeosang dispelled that thought, you imagine the guilt would dwindle away. Still, it hasn’t, and it lingers every time you look at the collared man.

“He hasn’t been a slave for a very long time. That doesn’t mean those scars have fully healed though.”

That statement from Yeosang is was causes the guilt to remain. You’ve really started off on the wrong foot with quite a few members of the crew though. You attempted to kill Seonghwa when first boarding the ship, tried to shoot Hongjoong in the med bay, broke Wooyoung’s nose, fought with Yeosang during your first mission, and snapped at Yunho when you couldn’t find your papers. You’ve managed to cross five of eight crew members, perhaps six if you count running into Mingi in the hallway. In a short amount of time, that’s a hefty feat, and you do feel guilty about being so troublesome.

You’ll be leaving in no time though. Don’t worry about it. You won’t ever see these people again. It’s useless to worry about nothing.

Those thoughts are enough to remind yourself that it won’t matter in the long run if you get away in Echidna like you plan to.

“You’re all dismissed,” Hongjoong says, cutting through the silence with his domineering tone.

“Of course I get left with damn Berserkers,” Yeosang grumbles as he pulls away from Wooyoung. Jongho falls into step with him, walking off the bridge with the blonde, and Mingi follows behind in silence. You glance over at Yunho. He sends a reassuring smile your way before leaving as well, and all of a sudden, you’re left with the other crew members who are going down to Aegos.

Hongjoong rises from his chair and turns to where Seonghwa is standing on his right.

“Stay here a moment. The rest of you can go to the airlock and wait there for us. Tune to the fifth channel on your headsets. We’ll be right there.”

You follow San off the bridge, rushing to catch up with him as he walks, and fiddle with your wristband in search of the fifth channel. You can hear Wooyoung’s shoes scuffing against the floor behind you as you walk in step with San. It feels awkward to walk in front of him like this without saying anything at all, but you have no idea how to start a conversation with the man after snapping his nose.

“Are things always so quiet?” You mutter to San. The man glances over at you.

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“It’s awkward to be in so much silence like this,” you say as though it’s obvious. San shrugs then a laugh overtakes him.

“I didn’t pin you as someone who can’t stand silence. You’re pretty quiet yourself.”

“It’s just because I don’t know you all well. I can’t be outgoing and friendly with you all if I can’t trust you.”

“Well, it seems like you have issues trusting people’s intentions in general. You acted as though I was going to kill you when I tried taking you to Yunho. I mean, I understand it and think it’s fair. I’m the same as you, so I can recognize it in you since I see it in myself. Still, you ought to have a bit more trust and faith in us. Just because we have the label of being a criminal doesn’t mean that we are bad people.”

You purse your lips at San’s words. You know he’s right, and he knows it too based upon that cocky little grin on his lips as he looks over at you. He nudges you in the side with his elbow.

“Is that chatty enough for you?”

“That’ll do just fine for now, I guess,” you laugh in response. The airlock looms before you, and you stop beside it. San does as well, turning to look back at Wooyoung.

“You’re awfully quiet for once,” he says to the other man. Wooyoung’s eyes go wide as you look over at him as well. “Is something on your mind?”

Wooyoung shakes his head fervently. His gaze keeps shifting over to you, eyes flitting around in a way that exposes his nervousness. It causes guilt to eat at your stomach even more.

“I’m sorry for – uh, you know, breaking your nose,” you apologize. “I shouldn’t have lashed out like that.” It’s awkward, and San only makes it worse by laughing. Wooyoung shakes his head a few times.

“No, I-I deserved it honestly.” Even though Wooyoung says that, you still feel guilty, especially seeing the bruising on his skin up close. “I shouldn’t have hit you with a tranquilizer shot either, so we can call it even. One punch for one tranquilizer shot?” His tone turns light and cheery as he speaks to you. It helps ease some of your guilty and worry, but the way he winces when he tries to smile almost erases all of that.

“Um, can I ask something?” You say, looking over to San as you speak. “What kind of intel are we supposed to be gathering? Hongjoong didn’t really explain much so I’m assuming that means everyone else knows.”

“Of course we do,” Wooyoung cuts in. His prior nervousness seems to disappear, replaced by a dimpled smile and bright eyes. “It’s all Hongjoong has been looking for. It’s been years of searching, but he’s never stopped since becoming the Captain of The Horizon.”

“And that is…?”

Before Wooyoung has the chance to answer your question, someone else does. It’s the platinum-haired captain himself, walking up behind Wooyoung and placing a firm hand on the man’s shoulder as he steps forward.

“I’m hunting down the last five sirens in the universe. And you’re going to help me do it.”

✧✧✧

a/n: here we are!! part one of act two!! i’m so excited to delve into the arc for this act and reveal more, but let me know what you think about this part 👀 it’s not super duper eventful but i hope it’s not too much of an info dump

taglist: @faeriewoobin @sugarrimajins​ @atinyinwonderland​ @2504-life @lil7bluedragon @sparklychangbin​ @jeong-uwu​ @jeonartemis​ @anothershorthuman​ @xxbluestrifexx​ @saturatedsan​ @haotheheckk​

rather than sending me a ko-fi, i ask that you consider donating to the BLM movement!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

[cosmojaem]

Jack of all Trades [l.mk]

Summary: After saving an unknown and injured man from dying. All of a sudden, you’re under the protection of one of Seoul’s notorious mafia.

Genre: mafia!au, strangers-to-lovers!au, angst, fluff

Warnings: mentions of violence, blood, smoking, language, implied sexual content 

Pairing: Mark Lee x f!reader

Word count: 7.4k

You have never been more relieved to go home after a long, gruelling day at your job. You’ve worked for a cafe for a while as a part time job, then became a full time thing after you’ve graduated to earn a little more cash to support yourself. After all, earning money is not easy. 

During one of your breaks, you instantly remembered that the results for the Nursing Licensure exams are bound to be released today. Without missing a beat, you immediately pulled out your phone, a notification popped up the moment you typed in your passcode.

LOCAL MAFIA WRECKS HAVOC, POLICE ADVICE CIVILIANS TO STAY INSIDE:

Kim Sohye | May 4, 2020 12:29 

You cleared the notification after and decided to read the article later. Crime is pretty high nowadays but you can confidently say that you live in a safe neighborhood because you've been walking home alone despite these happenings. 

Refreshing the site for the result, your fingers typing your exam number rapidly. How you wanted to cry at that very moment. Luckily, you can still do a retake, but you have to wait for 45 days for the next exam which gives you more time to prepare.

As you neared your apartment, you fished out your keys from your pocket. As soon as you approached the door, you got startled by a body of a man lying in front. The man wheezed, forcing his body to stand up. Your instincts were yelling at you, telling you that this might be a red flag and he’s going to murder you.

 But when you saw his badly injured body, you knew you had to help him.

“S-sir, I don’t think you should stand up. You’re badly injured.” You said, running towards his body and placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Leave me alone.” He commanded whilst removing your hand from his shoulder then let out a hiss.

“Don’t!” He replied immediately, shooting what seems to be like a sharp look but his pained expression betrayed him. “Just don’t take me to the hospital.”

You were confused,  but eventually agreed to his odd request, “Alright, at least let me patch you up. Can you stand by yourself?”

“I’ll be fine,” he waved you off, attempting to stand up with the little strength that he had but eventually hissed at the pain from his knee. Even with his groaning and hissing, he refused to tell you he needed help.

Rolling your eyes at his stubbornness, you helped him up while opening the door to your apartment then walked inside and laid him on your couch. You opened the lamp near your couch to see his injuries.

“I’ll be right back, don’t even think about getting up.” You told him sternly before turning your back to fetch your supplies.

You returned with all the things you need, setting them down on the floor and kneeling down after. Attempting to take his shirt off to have a better look at his injuries was more difficult than you thought as he was flinching when you touched his arms.

“How much do you like this shirt?” You asked, grabbing the scissor from your supplies in hopes of making things easy for the both of you by cutting his shirt. A pained hiss draws from his lips, “Not that much”

After doing what must be done, you grimaced once you had a better look at the bruises, cuts and blood that littered his body and took a cotton pad soaked in antiseptic to clean his wounds. After almost 30 minutes of cleaning and dressing his wounds, you also stitched the deep cut he had by his abdomen. 

When you finished up, you cleaned up all the blood soaked cotton pad and the things you used.

He whispered, “Thank you.”

“No problem, I never got your name. Can’t keep calling you ‘hey’ and ‘sir’ all time, can we? Mine’s (y/n).” You earned a low chuckles from your response. He seems fairly amused, “It’s Mark.”

“Well Mark, you’ve sustained a lot of injuries that needs healing so I suggest you stay here for the meantime since I’ll need to remove that stitch that I made.”

“What?!” He exclaimed loudly. You swear, your neighbors will be complaining the next morning by how loud he shouted. “Fuck, I can’t do that! I have to go, thanks for patching me up.”

Mark attempted to stand up from his state, only for him to let a pained groan which makes your statement correct. You shake your head at his stubbornness, “I told you. Now, stop being a stubborn ass and sit down or you’ll open up your stitches.”

Eventually, giving up all his attempts of moving, he decided to just lay down there. You turned back from him to return your things and heat some dinner because you were starving from all the work you did. As you returned your things and went to the kitchen, you heard a faint voice, specifically Mark’s voice talking through the phone in a hushed tone. You didn’t mean to eavesdrop at their conversation but all you heard was ‘base’, ‘Hyuck’ and another guy’s name you forgot. 

Once you heard him end the call, you immediately shuffled to the fridge as if nothing happened.

“Uh (y/n)?” He called from the living room. “Can I have a glass of water?”

“S-sure, just a sec!” You stuttered as you hurriedly grabbed the leftovers and the pitcher of water. You poured him water then went back to the living room with two plates in your arm.

“Here.” You placed his glass of water then set down the plates before running back to the kitchen to get the leftovers. “I’ll be right back.”

Mark reached for his glass before gulping down its contents, he surveyed your apartment. It was normal, a few frames here and there along with furniture and some decorations. Squinting his eyes, trying to take a closer look to the diploma hanging on your wall.

‘(l/n) (y/n), Bachelor Science in Nursing’

That explained a lot with the amount of medical supplies that you have. Normal civilians don’t have stitches for wounds, right? He fumbled in his pocket for his phone then sent a text to Renjun. Hearing light padding of footsteps, he put his phone back in his pocket then watched you place the food in front of you two.

“Sorry, it’s nothing much,” you said sheepishly then looked up to him. “Go ahead and eat.”

Placing his portion of the food on his plate then added rice, handing him his utensil also. After giving his share, you went ahead to get your shared portion and both of you ate in complete silence. Hearing only the sounds of clanks from the utensils and plate, Mark decided to break the ice with a cough.

“So...” he trailed, which earned him a quiet hum from you. “You’re a nurse, huh?”

He immediately noticed that you looked at him hesitantly before opening your mouth to speak, “Not really. I failed the licensure exam so technically, I’m not a ‘nurse’ yet.”

“Technically, you are one. Just not one in practice.” You flashed a small smile at him before going back to finish your meal.

“So what do you do for a living, Mark?” You asked then you saw him visibly flinched at your question. “Are your bruises hurting again?”

Uneasiness crossed his face which was weird since you only asked what he does for a job but you shrugged it off instead. You were a stranger to him after all.

“Um yeah, they kinda are.” He admitted which made you stand up to get an ice pack then let out a sigh of relief that he was able to avoid the question.

You went back with an ice pack in hand, giving it to him so he can ice his bruises. Mark mumbled out a small ‘thank you’ before applying the ice on his bruises, hissing at the cold temperature. Picking up the plates then head back to the kitchen to wash and clean up. Once you finished, you dried your hands and got a fresh batch of extra bedsheets and pillows and set it beside the couch.

“You will sleep on the bed since it’s much more comfortable there than here.” You said to Mark as you set up the books you’ll be reading.

“How about you?” Mark asked

“I’ll sleep on the couch, don’t worry about me! You take the bed.” Convincing him which earned a sigh from him, you helped him up to your room then gently had him sit up to your bed.

“I’ll leave the door open so holler if you need anything, Mark.”

“Thank you for this, you didn’t have to but thanks. I’ll pay you back sometime.” Mark said before tucking himself in.

You turned off the lights then went back to the living room to do your usual reading before going back to bed. It was around 3 am when you were awakened by a sound of screaming, immediately getting up and going inside the room to find Mark panting and sweating. 

“What happened?”

“Did I — I'm sorry, did I wake you up, (y/n)? Sorry about that, you can go back to sleep.” Mark said as you were about to turn your back, he let out a small whimper. Hesitation floods his eyes, “A-actually, can you stay?”

You were taken aback by his sudden request as he only ever showed that he was a tough and stubborn person altogether from your interactions from before. You contemplated for a bit then answered, “Sure, I’ll just grab the sheets and put my makeshift bedding here.”

You returned to the living room to get the bedsheets and pillow, setting them down on the floor beside the bed then tucked yourself in, drifting to deep sleep.

Mark woke up from the light blaring from the side of the curtain. He stretched his arms then felt that he was holding something, only to see your blanket in his hands. He looked down on the floor but you weren’t there. Gripping on the sides of your bed to support himself, pain jolting across his body then slowly got up to sit. You entered the room a few moments later, clad in your underwear.

Feeling someone was burning holes in your skin, you looked up to see Mark staring at you in shock before looking away quickly. Immediately realizing the situation, you hurriedly went to grab your clothes and ran out of the room without.

That was something. He thought, shaking his head to cool his warm cheek.

It took you a while to forget the incident that happened earlier, you cursed at yourself for forgetting that you’re not alone. Living alone has its perks and walking around in your underwear without anyone seeing is one of them but you can’t do that anymore since you have company now. You left earlier, telling him you had to go to work now and will be back in the evening.

“So you’re telling me, you’re stuck in there for days?” Hyuck said from the other line, trying his best not to laugh at Mark but failed miserably. The latter sighed, “I just said that, Hyuck. How’s everything there?”

“Chaotic as usual, here in the base. I had to stop Renjun from choking Jisung earlier. Report came in, there’s someone lurking in one of our territories, will need some taking care of though.”

“I’ll be out of here in a few days, just need to have this stitch removed. For the meantime, just continue reporting as usual to me and the hyungs. Also, tell Renjun to send me his findings.” Mark instructed the younger male, earning a hum on the other end before ending the call.

His phone vibrated, opening it to see the background check on you that he asked Renjun to send him a few days ago. Shaking his head when he saw the message before the attachment.

‘Interesting candidate for a girlfriend, hyung.’

You just finished an order, calling out your customer’s name to retrieve their order then went back to the register when you heard the bell chime.

“Welcome, what would-  Mark? What the hell are you doing here?” You whispered harshly at him as he let out a sly smile at your direction. 

“I’m hungry, (y/n). There’s no food at home so I decided to grab a meal, didn’t know you worked here.” He answered nonchalantly.

You argued with clenched fists against the counter, “You’re not supposed to be walking around, you ass! I told you that!”

“Please, I’m a grown adult. I can tolerate pain, dear.”

Your manager asked while giving you a sharp look, “Is there something wrong here, sir?”

“Nothing at all. Just having a chat with (y/n), that’s all.”

You tried not to roll your eyes but you weren’t up for a lecture about customer service from your manager so with a strained smile, you took Mark’s order while attempting to ignore the burning eyes from your manager.

The following days, whenever he had the chance to go out, he sometimes drops by the cafe to eat and then stays until your shift ends, despite your violent protests. Another reason is to meet up with one of the members, mostly Hyuck for reports on what’s happening. Today was no exception. 

“Hyung.” Mark turned at the sound of the voice to see a familiar figure wearing a face mask, hiding the lower part of his face. 

He pulled his cap lower and approached the figure who was seated not far from his line of sight. 

“What did you get, Hyuck?” He asked as he sat in front of him. 

“There’s disturbance in the shipment of our cartels, we’re still looking into it but Jisung says someone is doing it on purpose. Also, I found this too.” Hyuck handed him a thick folder with twine tied around it. “You might want to take a look at it while you’re at it.” 

Untying the tightly knotted twine around the folder, he opened the folder carefully with his eyes scanning across the contents inside. His fists visibly tightened at the folder he’s holding. 

“This bastard- I killed him off a long time ago!” 

Hyuck looked at him grimly, “That’s what we thought too. Apparently, from the information that I’ve garnered… You did kill his brother, Hyun, the former boss but he had a brother that we didn’t know of until now. He’s gathered men and out for blood, hyung.” 

“He’s after me.” Mark looked at him in realization. “What else?” 

A moment of silence engulfed between them before Hyuck gives him another file out of nowhere then throwing it in front of him. 

“We also found out about his name and whereabouts; his name is Lee Seung and he’s last seen along the ports of Busan last week.” The younger male said while pointing on the picture of a man dressed in black.

His face hardened at the new information. “I need to know who he is working with and all his activities. Call everyone, we’ll be having a meeting now.” Mark commanded while he pulled out his phone.

He stood up from his seat, creating a creaking sound while he picked up the folders and placed them in his arms. After a few rings, the other line answered. 

“Hyung, it’s me. We have a problem.” 

Hyuck stood up from his seat and followed suit while sending everyone an urgent text.

You unlocked the door to your apartment, expecting to see Mark lazing on the couch but strangely, he wasn’t in the living room.

He must be sleeping. You thought as you dropped your things on the ground and went to your room to check on him, only to find an empty room. 

“Mark?” You called before you closed the door and went to the kitchen.

No answer. 

You went to the bathroom and knocked on the door, “Mark?”

Again, no answer.

You called his name numerous times but there was no answer to your calls. The house was empty, but you remembered leaving with Mark still inside. 

Did he go somewhere? But where? He’s still injured. Numerous thoughts started to run inside your head which eventually led you to think of the worst possibilities that could happen to him. Now, you regret not asking for his contact number.

Hours passed by, it was already pitch black outside. You’ve drummed your fingers against the table as you looked at the clock across you. Mark still hasn’t arrived, you’ve already searched around the neighborhood and asked your neighbors if they saw anyone come out the house but none. 

It’s already 11 pm. Where the hell is he? Your worried thoughts still are not kept at bay. 

Upon hearing the creak of your door, your train of thoughts were interrupted then heard a light padding of footsteps. When you saw Mark, you felt relieved and annoyed at the same time. 

“Where the hell did you go? Do you even know what time it is?” You asked while your voice got louder to every question. 

“Errands.” Mark replied, he tried to make his way to your room. 

“I’m not done with you!” You exclaimed out of annoyance. 

He sighed as he rubbed his temples, “Look, can we just talk about this tomorrow? I’m tired.” 

“Oh so you’re telling me you’re tired? Did you know that I went around looking for you and sat here for hours, worrying about your whereabouts! Maybe the next time I see you, you’re already dead.” 

“Thanks for the concern, (y/n) but no one asked you to do those! Who are you even? You’re not my mother! Hell, you’re only a stranger.” He argued, visibly angered that you won’t leave him alone. 

Your jaw tightened as you shot him a glare. “Atleast I have the decency to tend your injuries and shelter you! What an ungrateful brat.” 

The argument became heated and it slowly became a screaming match, insult after insult being thrown in the mix. No one would back down and lower their pride, your screaming match only ended when your neighbor shouted from their window to shut up. 

“Whatever, don’t talk to me if you’re still going to be an asshole.” You whispered harshly in his direction. 

“Fine!” He slammed the door behind him as you plopped on your couch and curled into a ball, ignoring the cold nip of air against your skin. 

The next day, the two of you gave each other the cold shoulder treatment while occasionally grumbling  incoherent curses and mumbles under your breaths. Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Busan, a man took a long drag from his cigarette from his window sill.

“Boss!” The man turned his head to the direction of the voice. “We found him.”

A devilish smirk crept on his lips, eyes gleamed with nothing but intent. Taking his cigarette close to his lips again before puffing a cloud of smoke. “Is that so? What else do you have for me?”

A folder was thrown across, he flipped into it and picked up a picture pinned into it. 

“Interesting.” He said while examining the picture then turned back to his men. “Get her. I‘d like to settle unfinished business with the Jack of all Trades.” 

A loud yawn escaped your lips as you ran your hands through your hair. You casted a quick look to your room before clicking your tongue.

Tch. As if I’ll apologize. You thought as you laid down on the couch, using your arm as a pillow before falling into deep slumber. 

Mark can’t sleep, he’s been tossing and turning but to no avail, he just couldn’t close his eyes or feel sleepy. He woke up earlier from another recurring nightmare that he has been having recently. 

I’ll go out for a while, maybe it’ll help me. 

He tossed the blanket aside and grabbed his jacket before making his way out of the room. With light footsteps, he quietly prayed that you won’t hear him going out. You stirred in your sleep which caused him to flinch, hearing mumble in your sleep then later turned into snoring. 

What a weird girl you are. He thought as he watched you snore in your sleep. With slow steps, he went to your direction and put his jacket on your shivering body before making his way outside. 

You didn’t remember sleeping with a blanket on but when you woke up, you saw a jacket that was not yours on you. Scrunching your nose as you recognized who it belongs to. Of course, it had to be him. 

Stretching your legs before making your way to the kitchen to get yourself some water. The last thing you wanted was a bread being thrown at your face, the plastic made a crinkling sound when it hit the floor. 

“What the fuck?” You snarled whole picking up the bread on the floor. “What’s your problem?” 

Mark hummed in response before biting into his food, “Well, I don’t know. Maybe if you stop acting like you have a stick up your ass then maybe, I’ll apologize. Also, you were supposed to catch that.” 

“Do you expect me to catch that? Bitch, you must be fucking stupid.” 

He heaved a sigh before ignoring what you said. You pulled a chair just across him while rolling your eyes. 

“I’m sorry. There. Happy now?” You said with a strained smile before he lets out a triumphant smirk. “Men and their stupid ego.” 

“I’ll ignore what you said but I guess, we’re good now.” 

You two continued to eat breakfast, occasionally sending jabs before you continued on with your routine of leaving for work. Fortunately, you were let out early from your shift as your boss was going to celebrate anniversary with his girlfriend so you went home immediately. 

“Can you stay still and stop moving? I’m trying to remove your stitches here.” You barked as you slowly cut the stitches, pulling out the thread slowly until there’s none left. “There, good as new.”

Mark stood up, lifting his shirt and going to the full body mirror to see a scar. From the past few days, his injuries were healed and the aching was gone, thanks to you changing the dressing of his wounds and nursing him back to health. He almost felt like a new person with the newfound strength he regained.

“Thanks (y/n), I feel a lot better now.” Mark smiled which made you return his smile. “I have to go back now.”

“Ah right.” You said, not hiding the disappointment in your tone.

Reality dawning to you, almost feeling like you have been hit by a ton of bricks. He has to go now and you’ll probably won’t see him again. It saddens you because, you’ve warmed up to him in the past few days, silence will be your company again inside this house.

“Do you really have to go?” You looked up to him with hopeful eyes, almost pleading to him.

He sighed, “Sadly, I have to. My family needs me.”

He took a few strides to you then hesitatingly placed his hand on your cheek and looked at you with a soft expression. You eyed him, engraving every feature of his in your mind; his starry eyes, cheekbones, button-like nose and lastly, his lips. You wondered was he always this handsome and felt your heartbeat ringing in your ears.

“I’ll miss you, you know.” You mumbled but his ears perked up at what you said, letting out a sad smile on his lips.

“I will too.” Mark said then he leaned close, your noses almost touching. “Can I?”

You gave him a nod before he leaned closer to your face, feeling his breath fanning across your face as you leaned slowly and closed your eyes when you felt his lips touch yours. You placed your hands on his chest, your lips moving against his, slow and careful as if he was going to disappear.

The two of you pulled away, panting then he leaned on your forehead before opening his eyes to look at your flushed face.

He unclasped something from his neck, you felt a cold metal being clasped around your neck after then he looked at it then you. You looked down on your neck to see his silver cross necklace around your neck, gently cradling it in your hand.

“Just something that will remind you of me when you’re missing me.” Mark cheekily said before ruffling your hair.

Rolling your eyes then you hit his arm playfully, “As if, Mark.”

“Can you give me your phone?” He asked as you handed him your phone with visible confusion then typed in his number before handing it back to you. “Here’s my number so if you miss me or you get into trouble, you call this number.”

You both let out a joyous laugh before you two head out to the door, bumping each other’s shoulder. A comfortable silence engulfed you two as you made your way out.

“I guess, I’ll see you later then (y/n)?” He said before giving your forehead a soft peck which received a hit from a flustered (y/n).

“Yeah, see you when I see you.” He turned his back and started to walk away but stopped midway. “I’ll pay you back somehow, just you wait”

He continued to walk til his figure disappeared from your sight, you let out a loud sigh before closing the door behind you. You’re alone again, something you were used to before but not anymore. You clasped the cross on your neck, giving it a soft kiss. Days turned to weeks then months, your life returned to normal— it didn’t feel the same without Mark.

“So, where’s your boyfriend?” Yves pipped from the counter while you wipe the cups clean.

You blushed, “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“There’s no denying it, (y/n)~ Your face says it all.” She teased, nudging your shoulder with a knowing smile. “But have to admit, you two look cute together.”

You puffed your cheeks as you finished wiping the cups clean, shrugging off at her comment. Your eyes briefly glanced at the necklace he gave you. Looking at your wrist watch to see that your shift has ended. You went to the back to change out of your work clothes and fetch your stuff. You went out with your bag as Yves was busy typing her apron.

“I’ll be going now, Yves. I’ll leave the rest to you.” You announced as you made your way to the door.

“(Y/n)!” She called which made you stop in your tracks and turned around to look at her. “There’s a lot of criminal activity going on lately, you sure you can walk alone? Do you want me to call someone to accompany you?”

You waved off your hand at her, telling her you’re fine before you bid her goodbye again. She shot you a concerned look before slowly waving back at your direction.

Maybe you were starting to regret not listening to Yves’ warning because once you were walking towards your usual direction to your apartment, you felt heavy footsteps behind you. You didn’t think about it too much until you made a detour from your usual route which confirmed all of your suspicions of being followed. 

With your phone in your hand, you immediately tried to dial the number on your speed dial.

“Hello?” Mark answered on the other end, tears welling up from hearing his voice and also, out of fear. “Who’s this?”

“I-it’s (y/n), I need help.” You whispered through the phone. “Um… I-i think-”

Before you could even speak, your arm was immediately grabbed by someone which made you drop your phone. You tried to resist from his hold but it only got tighter as you did so. With your free arm, you pinched him with all your might on his side as he shrieked in pain, letting you go. You immediately scrambled on the pavement to retrieve your phone but both of your arms were pulled back, you cried for help which only made him let out a sinister grin.

“That’s right, sweetheart. Cry for help, no one will come and save you.” He replied as he tried to stop you from wriggling in his grasp.

You stopped resisting, already too tired as you let out a sob. Tears rolled down your cheek as you silently prayed for someone to help you. The man whistled, his cronies coming out from hiding as one immediately carried you on his shoulder like a sack of rice. You thrashed around, hitting his shoulder in an attempt for him to put you down.

“Stop moving around, little bitch.” The man growled as he tightened his grip on your thigh as you let out a pained scream.

They stopped in front of a van, opening the back and quickly tied your wrists and feet together. Caressing your cheek then when his hand neared your lips, you bit his hand. Only for you to get slapped across the cheek.

“Bitch, that fucking hurts!” He screamed before crouching to get a roll of duct tape then held your cheek on one hand as he stuck it to your mouth, muffling your cries. “That’s right, be quiet.”

He slammed the door in your face, you tried to move your wrists but the rope only tugged on your skin, making it even more painful. You surveyed around to look for a sharp object but to your luck, there was none in sight. You leaned back, crying as you thought about all the horrible things these men can do.

Your ears perked up when you heard someone from the other side talking, there was another voice talking to them, a voice that seemed much younger and familiar.

“Open the goddamn door or else.” The voice threatened then an eerie silence followed.

You heard a gunshot which made you shut your eyes with a squeal. Light met your face when the door was being opened. You squint your eyes, looking up to see Mark, concern written all over his face as he climbs on board in an attempt to free you.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry-” Mark puts a hand on your cheek but was interrupted when he was being thrown out of the vehicle, landing on the ground with a thud. 

Your eyes widened at what happened, your screams muffled by the stupid tape on your mouth.

After that, you heard gunshots and shouts from outside. Your heart pumped rapidly, scared of what is going to happen to Mark then next thing you saw is a younger male with sun kissed skin, breathing heavily.

“Hello (y/n), I don’t think we’ve met but let’s save the introductions for later.” The young stranger said with a small smirk. “But for now, I’ll need to get you out of here.”

He went inside of the van, pulling something from his boot then cutting you free from the ropes tied around your wrist and feet.

“This is going to hurt a lot.” He immediately removed the tape around your mouth.

You hissed at the painful sensation then shot him a narrowed look, “Goddamnit, could’ve you been more gentle? That was fucking painful.”

He rolled his eyes at your response, “Seriously? Not even a thank you? How ungrateful.”

“Thanks.”

Your ‘savior’ helped you out of the van, you saw a sea of red against the pavement with a few more men who were panting, sweat dripping down their cheeks. Your eyes met with Mark then he came running to you, pulling you into a tight hug.

“M-mark?”

“Shh.. It’s alright, (y/n). You don’t have to speak.” He coaxed, rubbing the small of your back as you sobbed on his shoulder, relieved that he was here.

“I-i was so scared-”

The last thing you saw was being placed behind Mark’s back in a protective stance. Peering from his shoulder, you saw a visibly older man in a suit with more companions.

“Stay behind me, (y/n).” He instructed sternly.

“If it isn’t the Jack of all Trades, I’ve been hunting you down for years and now. Finally, finally, I have finally found you!” Seung mocked then looked behind Mark. “Oh? What’s that I see behind you?”

The moment Seung mentioned you, Mark and the others immediately pointed their guns at the person talking in front of them without hesitation. He continues, “Let’s not be too hasty, gentlemen.”

Mark immediately turned to the younger man on his left who was standing beside you. They both nodded at each other, almost like a silent agreement between them, and the last thing you heard were someone pulling the trigger of a gun.

Everything was happening too fast, the young male broke into a sprint, pulling your arm as you also sprinted with him as he occasionally turned behind him to shoot.

“Mark!” You shrieked as you two continued sprinting away from the scene.

“Don’t just stand there, you idiots! Get them!” Heavy footsteps followed you two which made you two sprint faster.

Adrenaline rushing through your veins, your breath was ragged while you forced your legs to catch up with the younger boy.

“Just keep running and don’t look back, I’ll cover for you.” The younger male continued, looking behind you.

Haechan shoots with shaky hands as he tries his best not to loosen his grip on you even by a slightest. You two took shelter on a dark alley, immediately hiding behind the walls as the men chasing you two ran past you. He let out a sigh of relief then tucked his gun in the waistband of his pants.

“Name’s Haechan. You okay there, (y/n)?” He asked as you continued to wheeze, feeling a bit lightheaded from the sudden sprint.

You breathed out, obviously shaken up. “I-i’m scared, Haechan. But what’s happening, who are those men? Why are they running after us? W-what did he just call Mark? I-i’m so confused.”

He fiddled his fingers then sighed. “Those men are just cronies of a resident mafia. They’re after us, but they mostly want Mark hyung.”

“H-hold up, you’re what? How about those people from earlier?” You asked while rubbing your temples then you looked up to him in surprise. “Mark is your what again?”

Haechan’s face contorted into an amused look then he answered. “Take it easy with the questions, but yes, we’re a mafia group and Mark hyung is our leader.” 

You two sat on the floor, you hugged your knees as he leans against the wall while occasionally looking out. 

“But why was Mark called… what was that again?” You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, trying to take in all the information. 

“Jack of all trades. Oh, about that… From what I know, hyung got that alias from his enemies. I don’t blame them, his smartass is too sly and skilled.” He explained. “Don’t tell him I said that or I’ll never hear the end of it.” 

“Many admire him but many also fear him. Killing him would mean power and glory as he has a huge bounty on his head.” 

Your eyes widened in realization, putting everything together. The injuries, the frequent outing, the calls and the way he flinched when you asked him about what he does for a living. 

You croaked out a reply, “S-skilled in what? 

Haechan hesitated before whispering his answer which startled you more than ever. “Gambling but I think you know what he’s capable of.” 

You didn’t know how to feel; you felt scared, anxious and betrayed but you remembered his ‘rough around the edge’ thoughtfulness, stubbornness of not having you change the dressings, the kiss you shared before parting and the necklace. 

“The necklace.” You mumbled as your hands clutch on the silver necklace on your neck, the cross sitting just above your chest, glinting all its glory. 

Hearing a clicking sound, you crouched behind him while he cocked his gun in his hand while eyeing the wall warily. You heard footsteps then stopped but then the footsteps turned into rhythmic stomping before Haechan came out from the wall, gesturing you to stay put. 

Ten minutes have passed since he asked you to stay put and keep quiet. You crawled from your hiding place, “Haechan?” 

Peeking from behind the wall, you saw him being tackled on the ground who is obviously in pain then there’s a tackled Mark who kept a straight face but his eyes showed how furious he is. 

“Let him go.” Mark grunted while the man cackled at him while motioning his cronie to inflict pain on the boy on the ground. 

You covered your mouth in shock, tears threatening to fall down your cheeks then a small sound slipped past your lips. Pressing a hand on your mouth, in an attempt to prevent any sound from slipping again. Unfortunately, it seemed like someone heard your slip and now, you’re being thrown across the ground. 

“Look who we have here.” The man’s hand went to your chin, forcing you up and lifting your face for everyone to see as you struggled from his grip. “If it isn’t your precious brat.”

His eyes widened when he looked at you and whispered, “N-no.” 

 “Such a waste that I’d have to put a bullet in her pretty head.” 

Feeling a cold metal press against the side of your forehead, hearing a click which made you gulp from your position. 

“What’s all the crack about the Jack of all Trades? I thought you’re more powerful than that, huh? You’re making me laugh, kid! That’s all you got?” He said before letting out an ugly cackle. 

Mark looked at you before his lips quirked into a sly smile then returned his gaze to Seung with the same smile, irking the said man as he pressed the gun closer to your temple. 

“I’d watch what you’re saying if I were you, Lee Seung.” He said and soon, bullets rained down and Seung’s cronies fell down on the ground immediately. 

Seung looked startled when he realized what’s happening. Without missing a beat, he snapped out of his gaze and forced you to stand up with a gun behind your head.  “Up on your feet!”  

Mark and Haechan pushed the dead bodies, grunting at their weight before chasing after Seung and the captive. Mark pulled out his gun, aiming it at Seung’s direction before pulling the trigger. An ear piercing scream followed, Seung’s pace slowed down as he limped at the hit his leg took. He roughly grabbed the back of your shirt, pushing you forward in a rough manner. 

All of you stopped running when you reached a river, everyone was panting heavily while you trembled as felt the gun pressed against your temple while Seung toyed with the trigger which made you even more terrified and anxious at the sounds. 

“Come any closer or I won’t hesitate to shoot!” He threatened as he pulled you closer, closing your eyes at what will happen. 

Mark raised his gun. “This is between you and I, Seung. Leave her out of this!” 

“Or what?” 

“Or else, you won’t like what I’ll do next.”

The tension was heavy between the men, it was silent that you can hear their breathing and the sound of the river nearby. The last thing you heard was someone yelling your name and a menacing laughter as you struggled against the river’s current. Your breath gets ragged as you grapple around to get more air, slowly losing your consciousness.  

Meanwhile, Mark the man while Haechan immediately jumped into the river before it was too late. He was livid, not sparing mercy to his opponent while he landed blow after blow until he was sitting on top of him, beating him up senselessly. 

“I won’t rest until I avenge my brother. I won’t lose!” Seung said weakly at him, reaching out for his neck in an attempt to strangle him. 

He tried to pry it off but felt the grip getting tighter while his vision started to get hazy, his left hand snaked under his jacket before letting out a crooked smile. 

His fingers held onto four ace cards, mockingly showing it to his opponent whose face showed visible confusion and horror. “I-i won.” 

With a swift flick of a finger, the knife hidden underneath the cards came into a view. Without wavering, he made a deep incision on the left part of his neck. Blood started to seep from Seung’s mouth and neck, his hands falling unto his sides lifelessly. Mark stood up, satisfied with what he did and started to walk away from the body. 

He’d have to make sure to call Jisung to dispose of this later. 

Mark ran up to see Haechan kneeling beside your body. “How’s (y/n)?” 

“As you can see, she still hasn’t woken up.” He replied as he gently placed his palm on your forehead, still cold to the touch. 

A few moments later, you started coughing up all the water you’ve had before you slowly opened your eyes to look at Mark and Haechan looking back at you in relief. 

“D-did I die?” You wheezed which earned a low chuckled from both of them. 

“I like her already, can we keep her?” He shot Haechan a look before the said man raised his arm in surrender. 

Placing his hand on your cheek and leaning his forehead against yours, ignoring your drench and cold form while he looks at you directly in the eye. 

He mumbles as you feel his lips ghosting yours as he speaks. I’m glad you’re alive and safe.” 

“I should be the one saying that to you. You’ve saved my life now, Mark.” You responded which elicited a small smile on both of your lips. 

Your hands made their way on his jaw before you pulled him into a slow, gentle kiss. Almost forgetting what happened earlier due to the amount of overwhelming feeling of longing and affection you both felt for each other. 

“Hyung, I’d appreciate it if you turned your mic off. You do know I can still hear you.” Renjun spoke from the earpiece.

The both of you pulled away, Mark flushed in embarrassment before he argued and jabbed incoherent insults to the person he’s talking to before helping you up on your feet. 

Eight people crammed inside the van, it took a while for all of you to get inside as the others had important errands to do before hopping in. They were all interesting and rowdy individuals, even Mark got tired of telling them off. Your eyelids started to droop from fatigue. 

“You should sleep, (y/n). It’s a bit of a drive to get back to the base.” Mark said as he adjusted his position so you can lean on his shoulder. “You can lay down on my shoulder.” 

You moved a bit before placing your head on the slope of his shoulder. “Better?” He asked which earned a small nod from you. 

“I’m good now. Thanks.” You muttered before drifting to sleep as you felt him rub circles on the back of your palm. 

Mark tapped your shoulder when you all reached the base, everyone started to pile out while you two waited for your turn as you two sat by the back of the van. Courtesy of Chenle calling shotgun on the front seat where Mark usually sits during their missions. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take you home?” He asked as he helped you get out of the van, closing the door behind. 

“With everything that just happened, I might get recurring nightmares.” You admitted, stretching your sore limbs. 

Mark lets out a sigh and takes your hand into his, “I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess.” 

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about it.” You intertwined your hands with his before giving him a reassuring smile.He looks you in concern before he looks from afar before you two went inside the base, hand in hand. 

It was a comforting, the feeling of his palm that radiated warmth despite knowing what it had done to unfortunate enemies that crossed his path and his fingers that slipped into yours. His shoulder occasionally bumps into yours, making you laugh. Maybe, you’ll get accustomed to this, being with him and entering his world. 

[dweetwise]

day 18: panic attacks

prompt from: whumptober pairing: felix x ace notes: fluffy angst, idk if this even qualifies as whump but it’s what i went with <3 warnings: panic attack descriptions word count: 1920

Ace is having a rather good day, all things considered. He finishes his second generator of the trial while Feng is still doing a phenomenal job at being chased by the killer, and he even has time to stop and search a chest in good conscience.

He picks up a broken key with a worn brass token, which isn’t ideal but he’ll add it to his ever growing pile of junk back at camp anyway.

In the time it takes him to find a generator, the Nurse has finally managed to down and hook Feng, but someone saves her right after and the chase beings anew. Ace would guess the rescuer was David and that he used borrowed time to make sure the gamer made it out, since he can’t see Felix being stupid bold enough to unhook in the killer’s face like that.

With the Nurse’s distant screeches providing some pleasant background noise—considering it’s not Ace she’s chasing—he gets to work on a nearly completed generator by one of the exits. If he finishes it before the killer comes to check, it marks their fourth completed objective of the trial, and it looks like they’ll have an easy escape provided she doesn’t have the obnoxious totem perk to ensure an instant down after the gates are powered.

At first, Ace doesn’t question why someone would have abandoned the nearly completed machine, but just before he connects the last two wires, he hesitates. Will this be the last generator on this side of the map? Maybe someone wanted to leave it because it’s by an exit?

He gets up to look around a bit, trying to spot any other nearby generators, but then he hears it.

A sob.

Ace frowns in worry and keeps looking around, not seeing any signs of life. Did he imagine it? Feng is the only one injured, and her moans of pain can be heard from halfway across the map. The girl is a lot of things, but quiet sure as hell isn’t one of them.

He remembers the key in his pocket, a normally useless item with an underwhelming add-on that will allow him to see his nearby teammates for only a couple of seconds. But right now, it’s exactly what he needs, and as he channels the item, he eventually makes out a human form cowering in the corner next to the exit gate.

The key’s power dies out but Ace doesn’t care, carefully approaching his distressed teammate.

He should have guessed who he’s going to find just by basic deduction, as Feng is still keeping the Nurse busy somewhere in the Asylum and David is one to push forward through sheer stubbornness. It still takes him by surprise to notice Felix, normally so calm and collected, huddled in on himself with his knees drawn close to his chest and his head buried in his hands.

Ace suddenly feels very out of place, and he realizes he could just slowly back away and Felix probably wouldn’t even know he was ever there.

But Felix doesn’t seem to be just taking a mental break from the trial, he looks to be struggling. His entire body is trembling and he’s taking sharp, wheezy breaths, bordering on hyperventilating.

And Ace might not be the best at offering comfort, but he sure as hell is going to try.

“Hey,” he offers softly as not to spook Felix, but from the way Felix’s head snaps up in surprise, he’s not successful. Shit, he’s never seen the guy so upset, looking utterly broken with tears and snot running down his face and taking short, shaky breaths. It make’s Ace’s cold, selfish heart clench in sympathy and he slowly kneels down on Felix’s level, far enough away to hopefully not feel like he’s cornering him. “How you holding up?”

That’s probably the dumbest thing he could have asked, but at least it makes Felix react, quickly wiping at his face and averting his eyes.

“F-fine, sorry—” Felix starts, but then his trembling voice breaks on another sob and he hides his face behind his hand in shame as another wave of what Ace assumes to be a panic attack hits.

Ace has never been good at dealing with emotions, his or others’, but he’s learned a lot after being swept up by the Entity and trying to keep everyone in their little group happy and healthy. He knows that Dwight needs to be held when his anxiety surfaces, and although that position is usually reserved for Jake, Ace has been the body for Dwight to cling to on a few occasions when others were unavailable. On the other hand, when something triggers Quentin’s PTSD, the boy wants nothing more than to be left alone, and even the smallest touch will send him spiraling deeper into his own head.

“It’s alright,” Ace says, trying to keep his voice calm and even offering an encouraging smile. “We’ve all been there.”

That seems to calm Felix down some, so Ace optimistically deduces that maybe his presence does help after all.

This is a vastly different situation from Dwight or Quentin, though. Where Ace mostly sees himself as a somewhat shitty parental figure to the boys, he’s been openly flirting with Felix ever since the other got here. And despite Felix sometimes awkwardly flirting back, he fully expected their relationship to stay at the casual friendship level.

But this is huge step, and if Ace manages to comfort him without hiding behind shitty jokes and Felix allows himself to be vulnerable, maybe that’s a sign they could eventually be something more.

“Just say the word and I’ll be on my way,” Ace starts. “But I also have a pretty good shoulder to lean on, if that’s something you think might help.”

Felix glances at him and Ace tries to keep the smile on his face despite his own nerves surfacing and mixing with the worry for Felix already there.

“Are you sure?” Felix asks, voice nowhere near steady but at least being able to form a complete sentence.

“Of course!” Ace reassures without even knowing which option Felix is referring to.

And then Felix looks back at the ground and curls in on himself further and Ace tries not to be disappointed. He’s already moving to get up, an apology ready on his tongue, when Felix shuffles along the exit gate wall to make room for Ace to join him.

The grin that forms on his face might not be the most appropriate considering the circumstances, but Felix doesn’t protest, in fact he immediately buries his face against Ace’s shoulder and clasps his arm in a death grip as soon as he takes a seat next to him.

Felix takes shallow breaths against him and Ace doesn’t care that his shirt is getting stained with wet tears and snot, suddenly hit with how intimate the entire situation is. His own nerves resurface and his free hand hovers awkwardly in the air, not sure if it’s appropriate to touch the distressed man.

But in the end, he’s a gambler, and so he gambles, placing a hesitant hand in Felix’s hair as he remembers the other is usually messing with it when he’s nervous.

When the only reaction he gets is Felix gripping his arm tighter, he carefully starts running his hand through the locks, slightly disheveled from where Felix has no doubt been doing the same.

“It’s okay,” Ace says, trying to keep his voice steady and hoping Felix can’t hear his heart hammering in his chest. “You’re okay.”

“I’m going to get crows,” Felix chokes out through the tears.

“Doesn’t matter,” Ace reassures, discreetly looking up to try to spot the birds that should already be circling above Felix’s head. “Feng and David are keeping her busy. She’s got no reason to come here.”

Ace frowns as he realizes can neither see nor hear the Entity’s spies, despite knowing their captor’s rules clearly state the birds should be giving away their location by now.

The key sits heavy in his pocket and he suddenly realizes maybe the Entity wanted him to find Felix. Regardless of how Ace feels about the otherworldly being, he knows it’s not satisfied unless the trial has been what it considers “fair”. Maybe it’s giving them a time-out until Felix is in shape to continue, and maybe that’s why Feng still hasn’t been caught, despite being injured against one of the strongest killers.

“Seems like the crows are on their lunch break,” Ace voices his observation in hopes of reassuring Felix. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

Not surprisingly, the knowledge that he’s not on a time limit seems to calm Felix down some, and the grip on Ace’s arm loosens as the sharp breaths slowly turn into more deliberate ones.

“That’s it, deep breaths,” Ace murmurs and keeps petting Felix’s hair since it seems to be working, or at least not making the situation worse. “You’re going to be fine.”

He has no idea how long they sit there together, with Felix slowly coming back to himself and Ace offering generic encouraging sentiments he hopes are somewhat helpful, lost in their own little bubble while the trial carries on without them.

When Felix eventually pulls away, Ace feels disappointed, even if he finally gets some much needed blood flow to his arm that has fallen asleep a while ago.

“Fuck,” Felix sighs and leans his head back against the tiled wall with a dull ‘thud’. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“I’m not,” Ace offers with a small grin. “But I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“I didn’t expect one in the middle of a trial,” Felix says, letting Ace is on the fact that this wasn’t a one-off. “Thank you. You, um, helped. A lot,” Felix says bashfully, and Ace has to resist the urge to pull him back into his arms.

“Don’t mention it,” he says instead, and when Felix just gives him an adorable, tiny smile, can’t resist adding a cheeky “There’s a lot worse ways to spend a trial”.

“I’d say being a liability and making a complete fool of myself isn’t something I’m eager to repeat,” Felix mutters, but he’s still smiling, so Ace hopes he’s not still embarrassed.

“Honestly, I’m surprised I didn’t make the situation worse,” Ace jokes. “Or that my brain didn’t implode on itself from not making jokes or flirting for five minutes.”

“You were perfect,” Felix says so earnestly it takes Ace completely off guard, and he’s not blushing he’s just suddenly really warm okay— “I should get back to my generator,” Felix seems to remember, looking over Ace’s shoulder in the direction of the machine. “I’ve wasted enough of everyone’s time for today.”

“If there’s anything we have plenty of, it’s time,” Ace reassures, pushing himself off of the wall and ready to join the trial.

He offers a hand to help Felix up, and it makes him smile when Felix only hesitates for a split second before accepting the gesture.

“You know, we should do this more often,” Ace says with a grin as he pulls Felix up on his feet. “I mean, preferably without the panicking. I didn’t mind but it didn’t exactly look like you were having the time of your life.”

Felix huffs out a small laugh at the statement, and then he squeezes Ace’s hand that’s still clasped in his.

“I’d like that.”

[ofstarsandvibranium]

If Walls Could Talk

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Summary: If walls could talk, they would tell you of the rise and fall of your relationship with Steve.

Warning: fluff, smut, and angst.

If walls could talk, they would tell you of the melodious laughter that bounced off the walls. 

It didn’t take much to make Steve laugh. You were a pretty dorky kind of person compared to Steve’s own self-preservation and restraint. Sure, there were times when he’d say or do something that seemed completely out of character for him, but it’d be time when it was only you two, times where he didn’t put on an act. Times where he was comfortable with being himself around you. 

If walls could talk, they would tell you of the hints of pink and red and the shy smiles. 

You’re not sure at what point things changed. They just...did. At one point, you saw Steve as a buddy, your best friend, your pal. Then the next, you saw him as potentially more: a boyfriend, a lover, a soulmate. 

You two just seemed to fit. It seemed right. When everything else was wrong and dangerous, Steve was right and safe. He was home to you. 

Platonic touches turned into soft, intimate ones. Gentle. Cautious. Careful. Safe. Everytime, your skin contacted with his in some way, you’d feel the heat creep up on your cheeks, and you’d see his own turn a shades of pink and red. It was a shy start to something more heated and passionate. 

If walls could talk, they would tell you of the breathy moans and the whispered words of affection and passion.

When you and Steve became sexually intimate, it was usually so soft and slow. When his skin pressed against yours, time seemed to slow down. There was love and passion in every kiss, in every touch, in every moan of lust, in every thrust. 

The bruised spots on your neck and chest, patterning your skin like you were a leopard, marked him as yours. His own spots matching yours. You’re one in the same. 

If walls could talk, they would tell you of the first murmurs of love to each other, quiet, delicate.

He knew you loved him and you knew he loved you, yet you two hadn’t said it. Nearly seven months into your relationship, there was still some hesitance. For you, it was because you didn’t feel enough. For him, it was because he was scared to lose you. 

But it happened eventually. 

You were caught in the crossfire. You’re not trained for the field. You’re just the eyes and ears on missions, holing yourself to whatever van or base they set you up in. You weren’t trained, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t help. You ran out of the safety of the bulletproof van, deciding to help a young woman and her kid sister to safety. That’s when a bullet whizzed by, ricocheting off some debris and catching you in the leg. 

You cry out, falling face first into the dirt road, yelling for the woman and her young sister to go ahead, to be safe, to be shelter. 

Hearing your cries of pain, was enough to get Steve to ditch the HYDRA agents he was fighting and find you instead. 

A through and through, but still hurt like a bitch. 

After your cradle session with Doctor Cho, you got an earful from Steve. He lectured you about still being a civilian even though you were a SHIELD agent. He continued to scold you on and on until you rolled your eyes and told him to shut up, wanting the comforting arms of your boyfriend instead of being scolded. 

He caved, letting the fear and anger roll off his shoulders, dissipating in thin air as he crawled into the bed you now shared. He spooned you from behind, wrapping his arms around you protectively and murmuring into your shoulder, “I could’ve lost you, and I didn’t even get to tell you that I love you.”

You placed your hands on top of his and murmured back, “I love you too,” and fell asleep in the safety of his arms. 

If walls could talk, they would tell you of the confusion and conflict you both faced. 

Do you stay? Or do you go with him?

Does he make you stay? Or will he be selfish enough to make you come with him?

Steve’s always been self-sacrificing. 

“You’re staying.”

“What? No! Steve, be reasonable!” 

“I am being reasonable, Y/N! You’re staying with Tony. I-I can’t take you with me.”

“Why not?! Steve, I thought it was you and me always!”

“That was before I was on the run, Y/N! You thought it was going to be rainbows and sunshine forever?! This is the reality of the situation! I’m a criminal, a wanted man. I can’t drag you into this. You-You deserve better than this. You should want more than this.”

You’re just as stubborn as Steve.

“No. What I want is you, Steve. I love you and wherever you go, I go too! That’s how our relationship works!”

With a clenched jaw, and a stern, broken look, Steve says clear as day, “Not any more.”

If walls could talk, they would tell you of the heart breaking cries that echoed through the night. 

You couldn’t help it. Even after months of Steve leaving you at the compound, you still cried for him at night. You hated him and yourself. Him, for making you fall in love with him and then leaving you. You, for allowing yourself to fall in love with him, only for him to break your heart. 

They say time heals, and you’re wondering just when exactly the pain will go away. 

If walls could talk, they would tell you of the elated cries during an impromptu reunion. 

After Steve left, you left SHIELD, deciding to forgo saving the world and instead working as an IT at some tech startup company. It wasn’t as exciting as your previous job, but it paid the bills. 

You come home at 6 and you nearly scream when you see a figure standing by your window. When the lights come on, your heart drops and tears start to pool in your eyes. 

“Please tell me this is just my hallucinations again. The doctor said they should be gone by now,” you mumbled to yourself.

Steve’s brows furrow and he shakes his head, “Not a hallucination. I’m here, sweetheart.”

He stands still as you make cautious steps towards him. Once your hand presses against his chest, you let out an elated cry. Your arms wrapping around him as you sob into him. 

“You came back.”

“I did. I missed you too much.”

If walls could talk, they would tell you about the second time a heart breaks. 

“You’re not leaving me again, Steve Rogers! I’m done with you leaving me to protect me!” Still just as stubborn. 

You follow him into battle. You’re trained now. After his spontaneous visit, he brought you with him to Wakanda. You properly met Bucky this time and they both helped you train. For what you didn’t know, but as you stand here with hundreds of people behind you, behind Steve, you know that this is what it was for. 

With a cry, you run forward, clashing with aliens that you never thought you’d encounter. You try to keep an eye on Steve as much as you can, but your man is fast. 

You do well on your own, only getting help here and there and, for a moment, you think you’re going to be okay. That you’re all going to be okay. 

But then people start turning to dust. 

“STEVE!” you’re running to the trees where you last saw him head towards., “STEVE!” you’re praying. You were never much of a prayer kind of person but you’re praying now, praying that he won’t leave you. 

But as you’re running, you don’t realize that your feet are slowly fading away. 

You see him and you cry out in relief, “STEVE!” you throw yourself at him, but as soon as you make contact with his chest, a cloud of dust surrounds him. 

When he seeks refuge in a bedroom provided by the remaining Dora Milaje, he breaks down. Truly breaks down because he’s failed. He spent years trying to protect you and he couldn’t do it. He failed you. 

If walls could talk, they would tell you of the gasps of pleasure and the cries of pain. 

You’re back. He’s back. You’re both safe and sound and all you do is find solace in each other’s touch, in each other’s kiss. 

It’s been so long since Steve’s seen you, touched you. But it feels likes hours to you. 

Steve clings to your body, relishes your skin against his, murmurs his words of love into your mouth and against your skin as if he’ll never get to again. 

Because he won’t. 

“I’m leaving. For good.” he tells you after he’s made you see stars thrice and now he’s breaking your heart all over again. 

You thought you’d get the happily ever after with him you’d always dreamt of. But turns out, he’s always been wanting it for another. 

“You have to know, I’ll always love you.”

But it doesn’t help. His words don’t help at all, but provides more salt to the wound. You cry into the pillows of the spare room Pepper provided you. Steve holds you as you cry one last time. 

If walls could talk, they’d tell you of how you came to love and resent Steve Rogers. 

[meetthetank]

Bad End

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28743237 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: Major Character Death Category: F/M Fandom: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse) Relationship: Steve Burnside/Claire Redfield Characters: Claire Redfield, Steve Burnside Additional Tags: Bad Ending, Game: Resident Evil CODE: Veronica, Whump, Angst, shit's bad yo

Summary:  What if Alexia had simply left Claire and Steve to die in the Antarctic after destroying their snowmobile?

A/N:  I got the brainworms for these two real bad and I needed to get them out, so I took one of my old stories from FFnet and touched it up a bit to scratch that itch. I also got another Steve centric thing brewing for all 2 Steve fans out there.

Of all the perils that had plagued them on this now two day long mess, Steve Burnside never once thought that freezing to death would be their downfall. They were in the clear...how could this have happened?

They had made it past all the zombies, mutants, even the maniacal Alfred Ashford. They had beaten him, taken the snowmobile and were on their way to...Damnit, Claire knew where they were going. She had the map, she was driving, but something happened...The snowmobile had flipped and had been crushed by...something.

Claire...Where was she? Steve tried to turn to face the drivers side, but he couldn't? There was something pinning him down, keeping him from even craning his head around. What was-...

Oh...

The treads were crushing his chest, and he was becoming painfully aware of how hard it was to breathe. Each inhale was cut short and each exhale let the vehicle press harder into his ribs. He tried to shift his weight back and forth, but no matter how much he struggled the snowmobile wouldn’t budge. With his arms pinned as well he couldn’t even dig himself free...

"Steve?!"

He knew that voice. It sounded like it was underwater but it was unmistakable. He would have called out to its owner, but all that came out of his mouth as a pained breath. However, that seemed to be enough, seeing as his valkyrie was pushing through debris and snowdrifts to get to him.

"Oh Jesus-..." Claire gasped when she saw him pinned beneath the treads, "J-..hang on I'm gonna get you out of here, Steve. Okay? Just hang in there..."

There was a chunk of metal, the front bumper or part of the roof, sticking out from under the machinery, and it was at the perfect angle to act as leverage. Claire shuffled over, breathlessly telling him that he was going to make it out of here. Feebly, he tried to push the treads up with what little strength he had. It didn't budge much, but it gave him a bit more room to breath.

"Cl-..." he tried to say.

"S-shush." Claire put a hand over his mouth to shut him up, "S-s-save your breath..."

She grunted and put all her weight onto the piece of metal. The treads raised up with dangerous sounding creaks and groans, but he was able to take in a huge gulp of frigid air. It burned his throat and lungs but he took another one just to relish in the relief.

"Move, move!" Claire shouted at him, her entire body shuddering.

Steve shimmied out from under the treads, then immediately flipped over to his hands and knees and vomited what little he had eaten on the sea plane into the snow, followed by an intense coughing fit as his body recovered from nearly suffocating. His vision blurred, with little white dots swimming in his eyes each time another bout of coughs wracked his body. Claire rubbed his back, but she didn't seem to be doing any better, seeing as she was struggling to even stand upright. He only thought that she was just tired from lifting the treads until he saw little red drops on the snow...

"We...we need to move.." She muttered, leaning down to help him up.

That's when he noticed the blood running down her arm, the dark stains on her vest, and the huge piece of glass sticking out of her shoulder...

She must have taken note of his horrified expression..., "I'll be fine, but we're going to freeze to death if we don't move."

"Y-you're not fine!" he choked back, "There's-s-s a huge piece of glass in your s-s-s..." He couldn't even finish his sentence with his teeth clacking together.

"The Aus-s-strailian outpost w-will help! We are not dying out here now get up!"

Claire was practically screaming at him over the howling winds, and like the moron he was, he just sat there with his mouth open. He had never seen this kind of desperation in Claire all those times they had faced death on Rockfort and in the Antarctic facility. Then again...there had always been a clear way out. Shoot the zombie, burn the mutants, solve the puzzle. The only way out of this was to walk across the Antarctic tundra in the middle of a snowstorm with no proper clothing. Not to mention Claire was bleeding badly, and he probably had broken ribs or a punctured lung. Or both if he was really unlucky.

Steve reluctantly allowed himself to be supported by Claire, for now at least. As she stated, she could walk much better than he could. Even still, their pace was little more than a shuffle when pitted against snow and wind. They huddled close together, so close that their clouds of pained breaths mingled together. He could feel her shivering violently against him with each step. For Steve though, each breath caused painful tremors to shoot through his body. He definitely had some broken ribs. He couldn’t tell if he was shivering from the cold or the pain anymore.

They walked in silence for what seemed like hours, and only a faint silhouette could be seen on the horizon. Steve could only hope that it was the outpost that Claire had mentioned...

Claire...

She was dragging her feet pretty badly now. It was only now that it occurred to Steve that she had been losing a lot of blood. Looking back at their trail it was easy to see just how bad she was doing. Her eyelids drooped, breathing shallow and ragged, and soft pink lips were now blue and quivering with each breath. And even still, she was supporting his weight, forcing herself to move forward. She knew that if they stopped, they would die.

That's when she collapsed onto the snow a shivering mess. She was having a much harder time breathing now, her face was twisted with pain and silent screams. She had tears in her eyes and frozen trails down her cheeks. Ice clung to her skin like a shell and snow stained her hair white.

Steve fell to his knees beside her, frantically trying to find a way to help. In the gentlest way possible, he pulled her freezing body close to his, and leaned over her as if to shield her from the winds with his own body. He could barely feel her, his fingers had long since gone numb.

"I gotcha." he whispered to her, "I'm not going anywhere...I gotcha..."

She tried to form words through clenched teeth, "St-...can't..w-w-...my leg..."

Steve's gaze drifted down to her legs. At first it looked like everything was normal, but he did notice that her left leg looked...wrong. It was twisted, her foot pointing inward. Definitely broken. It made his stomach turn. And...she had been walking on it, and carrying his sorry ass across the ice and snow. So much for her knight in shining armor...

He pulled off his thin prisoner jacket and tried to drape it around Claire, but she shoved it away with a quivering hand.

"You'll f-freeze..."

"S-so will you if-f you keep being s-stubborn."

He wrapped the jacket around her shivering body, and with what little strength he had he lifted her up. His entire torso screamed in pain, sending searing waves of agony through him that pushed him back down to his knees. Despite this, he mustered up the strength to push onward, shuffling on his knees at first. Once his body became used to holding Claire, he planted his boot in the snow, and forced himself to stand. Steve refused to fall again, not when they had only two options. Move forward, or die. If he didn't make himself move, Claire would die.

It started slowly, one foot deliberately and carefully placed in front of the other. He moved slower than those zombies they had taken down together, but he was moving. The whole top of his body was bent over top of hers, not just because of the pain. He wanted to at least try to keep her warm. Hopefully, he would lose feeling in his sides before he passed out from the pain. His legs and hands were already lost, and his arms were well on their way.

Steve kept walking, and eventually the faint outline of the outpost formed into a more defined building. They were so close! Safety was right in front of them! They had beaten all the dangers and the struggle and now they were going to make it!

"Claire, look! There's the outpost!" he cheered.

...Why didn't she answer?

"Claire?.." Steve gave her a small shake.

Oh no...She wasn't moving... Her eyes were closed, jaw slacked, and body limp...

"No no no Claire!"

She was just passed out...right? Yeah..yeah that was it! She had been losing a lot of blood, and walking on a broken leg. She probably just passed out from the pain.

..Then why couldn't he see her breath...

"Claire come on...Wake up! We're almost there!" he pleaded.

"Claire please..." His eyes welled up and a lump formed in his throat, "Don't do this, please...we're so close..."

Steve sunk to his knees, clutching her limp body close to his in a last desperate attempt to keep her warm.

"You can't die now...Th-this isn't how things end...please..."

Tears spilled down his cheeks onto the limp girl in his arms. He choked out small, broken noises as he clung to Claire's body. The violent sobs and tremors wracked his body more than any cold induced shivering could. He sat there in the snow, holding Claire’s body as tightly as his frozen limbs would allow.

"Please...No...It doesn't end like this...please...Claire..."

He put his forehead against hers, "I-...Goddamnit I love you!"

A faint, warm breeze hit his neck, jolting him out of his grief. There was a pause, and then another one, just the same as before. It was slow, and sparse, but rhythmic and consistent. He looked down at Claire and saw her chapped blue lips quivering slightly. She was breathing. She was alive.

Steve was never a religious man, but he thanked every higher power he could remember off the top of his head that Claire was alive. He laughed and he cried at the same time and he knew that Claire would make fun of the noises he was making if she could hear them. But he didn't care. She was alive.

He rose to his feet again with renewed strength and pushed onward. They were going to live.

They were only a half a mile away from the outpost when that changed to "she" was going to live.

The cold had taken its toll on Steve. He had lost feeling in his entire body. His hold on the barely breathing Claire was slipping. His vision blurred and exhaustion threatened to overtake him. But he had to keep going.

He had to.

He had to...

He had to rest...

…

[aworldoffandoms]

49 for Ethan and F!MC please 🥺

Authors Note: This one is heavy on the angst! The prompt is in there...it’ll just be a while before you find it lol. Hope you like!

Thanks to @senseofduties for this prompt! I hope you enjoy it too! 💗

Prompt is: you have always been the one

Prompt is in bold.

***

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC [Nicolette Valentine]

Word Count: 1, 440 (this one ran away with me)

Rating: G

Warnings: Angst. All the angst. Oh, and maybe, like, one swear word.

Summary: Nicolette’s fed up with Ethan being so stupid that she gives him some parting final words. 

I’m tagging my OH tag list but please let me know if you’d like to stay on it or would like to be removed.

Open Heart Tag: @senseofduties @polishchoicesfan @princess-geek @i-bloody-love-drake-walker @binny1985 @fanficnewbie @x-kyne-x​ @thefluffyphotographer @lilyofchoices @thecordoniandiaries @rainbowsinthestorm @cxld-play @jens-diamondchoices @hopelessly-shipper @my-heart-beats-for-ya @landofenchantedwonder @sabrinahoffersonsworld @flyawayboo @stanathanxoox @oofchoices @thequeenofcronuts @heauxplesslydevoted @bi-cookie @kingliamsbish @trappedinfandoms @supercoolperson0808 @perriewinklenerdie @riverrune @caseyvalentineramsey

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Pixelberry and all characters belong to them.

***

OBTUSE

The air around the two doctors is thick and full of unanswered questions...or maybe that was only visible to Nicolette. All she can do is try and hold herself together against the raw pinching pain that Ethan’s constant pulling away does to her. Sometimes she doesn’t know how to breathe. It steals her breath because she should be expecting it but each time he does it still surprises her and her breath escapes her.

It’s been like this for three months and she has no idea how she has coped this long. She yearns for him to an utmost unhealthy degree. She longs for his touch, his kiss, his gentle words, his resolute strength around her and yet, she has none of it. 

They’ve skirted around each other for so long that now Ethan seems like an enigma to her. She wonders how he can be so resolute in his view of the world, so black and white, so clinical and factual, no room for variations and it infuriates her. 

And yet… 

She won’t have him any other way. She almost wants to laugh because maybe that’s the way when you are deeply in love with someone. You see them for their flaws and everything good and bad in between.

If only a certain stubborn man can see what she felt for him.

“Nicolette?” 

Nicolette inclines her head to the side to indicate that she is listening but she doesn’t verbalise the acknowledgement. She can’t. Her throat is tight as if fingers have taken a vice grip around her neck. 

There is a sigh off to her left and a click of a button and the shades to the diagnostic’s office slide closed. Nicolette jolts and she tears her eyes away from the green fern plant beside the back wall next to Ethan’s enormous desk.  

Ethan gives her a concerned glance, his brow furrows in worry and he steps closer to her, the file resting in his hands limply. 

“Are you alright?” 

No, I’m not alright. I’m going crazy because you keep pushing me away... 

Nicolette doesn’t answer and she moves her eyes from his piercing blues eyes. Oh, those eyes that could see through her and make her shiver at the same time. 

Ethan’s heart beats a little faster at the apparent absence of mind his colleague was experiencing lately. The said colleague he can’t seem to stop thinking about. 

She’s there from sunrise to sunset. The green moss of her eyes is a current occurrence in his dreams and the phantom ghost of her lips haunt him every day. Why does he do this to himself? Why must he follow his rules that he has so painstakingly upheld for the past thirty-seven years?

Nicolette will certainly be the one to change them...if she has not already. 

He sets down the files and takes his place beside Nicolette, his eyes carefully regard her as if not to scare her. For some reason, she seems more fragile than normal. The light in her eyes is less bright, the ease in her steps before more robotic now and the happiness in her expression falters regularly. 

It’s his fault, he knows it and the thought slices through him again with staggering clarity of feeling.

His voice is gentle as he begins to speak. “I know for a fact that you aren’t okay, Nicolette. What is the matter? You aren’t yourself.” 

Nicolette replies then, however, it’s more a scoff than a decent reply. “Of course I’m not myself. I haven’t been for a while.”

Ethan sighs and sits back against the chair, his arms folding along his broad chest. He takes the plunge and says the answer that both of them were thinking. He might as well say it because Nicolette wasn’t going to. 

“And this is because of me, I presume?” 

Nicolette lets out a dry, humourless laugh. “You think? I’m surprised you are smart enough to realize that, Doctor Ramsey.” 

Ethan’s eyebrows raise at the insult but he decides to ignore it. There are things that are more important than his pride. 

“It’s been known to happen. Can I do anything to help?” 

Nicolette signs despondently, shaking her head. “No, there isn’t anything you can do. Not unless you finally decide to wake up to yourself and save both of us this constant back and forth and unnecessary pain.” 

The room is silent, Ethan processing her words before he says something. “I can’t possibly wake up to something when I don’t know what it is or at least don’t have clues to properly understand it.” 

Nicolette wills herself not to scream, or better yet, cry. She tenses her jaw against the burn in her eyes. She’s not going to break down in front of Ethan. She’ll wait until she gets home and collapses into the comfort of her own bed to do that. 

How can this man be so infuriatingly obtuse? 

Nicolette’s jaw unhinges as her teeth gnaw against each other in her frustration. She repeats her thoughts out loud because she has to. Are all men this stupid? 

“Okay, I don’t know if you are fucking with me or being deliberately obtuse.” 

Ethan frowns at her sharp words, his mouth turns down in displeasure at her choice of expletive but he replies to her cooly. 

“I don’t think I’m being obtuse...I mean, I just want to understand what has got you all…” 

He searches for the word but he finds none, his hands rest against the table, his fingers threading between his own.

Nicolette’s smile is small, wane and empty. “You want to know why I’m all…” she waves her arms around her head in emphasis. 

Ethan nods and Nicolette turns to him, her green gaze pins him to the spot and Ethan has to suck in a breath to make sure his lungs don’t give out at the intensity of her gaze. 

“You. You have happened. And you will continue to be.” 

Ethan’s sharp intake of breath is all the sound that can be heard in the room and not even the beeping of his pager can distract him from her face or the frankness of Nicolette’s words. 

He finally finds words but they aren’t what he’s looking for. “Me?” 

Nicolette gets up and puts her hands in her white coat, hiding the fact that her hands are trembling, away from Ethan’s searching eyes. “Yes...you. I can’t eat or sleep. You have invaded every part of me. Body and soul. You are the only one for me.” 

Ethan doesn’t know what to say so he keeps quiet as she continues, silencing his pager. It doesn’t escape him that the words out of her mouth were true. The inherent finality and earnestly dripping off them shake him to his core. 

“I… I don’t know what—” 

Nicolette holds up a hand, her face moulding into the professional mask that both of them wear and seeing that makes Ethan's heart squeeze painfully in his chest. 

“Don’t say anything more, Ethan. I’m telling you the truth now because I don’t have the emotional strength or mental stability, even, to deal with your emotional whiplash. I’ve had enough. Either you finally understand what’s happening in there,” she points to his heart and his head, “...or we are done for good because I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep being in love with someone who’ll probably never reciprocate. What an idiot I am, right?” 

She shakes her head self-deprecatingly and heads for the office door. She needs to leave. She needs to go before she crumbles underneath his gaze. God, those eyes are going to destroy her. 

Ethan stares at her as she retreats from his side and the words fall out before he has a proper way to think them through. 

“You love me?” 

Nicolette stops but doesn’t turn around, however, he does see her nod. 

“Don’t go, Nicolette. We can talk about this.” 

His words plead with her, desperate to get her to stay, to talk, anything to make her stay and not have her walk away from him.

Nicolette’s auburn hair moves with her as she shakes her head vehemently. “No, we’ve talked enough...or lack thereof. I can’t keep torturing myself. Not when I know that you are the only one I want and I can’t have you. You have always been the one, Ethan. Why don’t you see it?”

She retreats from the room then, her back straight, her feet carrying her away from him and he has a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he’s lost her for good and that terrifies him. 

[theonewiththefanfics]

The Fight Of Our Lives (one-shot)

Summary: Thanos might have succeeded, and not only erased half the universe, but hope in general. But humans are stubborn little bitches. And so are the Avengers. No matter if dead or not, the fight of their lives is coming and nothing will stop them from righting the wrong. (AKA this is me trying to cope with Endgame.) 

Pairing: Peter Parker x f!Reader 

but is very much so Avengers x f!Reader; Platonic!Steve x f!Reader; Dad!Tony x f!Reader; Platonic!Loki x f!Reader as well

Genre: angst, fluff

Warnings: mentions of death, blood, swearing, injuries

Word count: 10074 (THIS IS THE LONGEST FIC I’VE EVER WRITTEN, HOLY SHIT!!! STRAP IN< GUYS)

       When the snap happened, everyone was in a state of shock. Even Thanos himself didn’t necessarily understand he had succeeded, glazed eyes watching the gauntlet and his surroundings. Only when Thor backed away did he realize his goal was accomplished, so he used the Space Stone to disappear in an instant.        Y/N’s head turned to the side, eyes on Steve clutching his abdomen and looking at Thor with inexplicable fear. “Where’d he go? Thor… where’d he go?        “Steve?” Bucky’s voice cut through the buzzing in her head, but maybe she shouldn’t have glanced at the other super soldier. Maybe then he wouldn’t have turned to ash and been swept away by the winds.       People all around her either felt their hearts drop to the soles of their feet or their bodies disintegrated, and when numbness spread through Y/N’s toes, she knew what was going to happen.        “Steve.” His attention was immediately on her.        “Oh, no, not you too,” the Captain was already rushing to her side, but his hands wrapped around a non-existent middle.        “Tell my dad, I’m sorry.”        Steve was left with nothing but an empty feeling in his stomach and an even emptier field. “Oh, God.”        They had lost.

***

       Steve had always been a good leader. He was Captain America, the man with the plan, always ready to jump into action and give out orders while following his own like the good soldier he was, but for the first time since he could remember himself, he didn’t know what to do. The reflection staring back at him as the remnants of his beard were washed away down the drain was unfamiliar.        This was a man completely lost, let alone out of his time. What was worse, he didn’t know where Tony was. If he was alive. The thought gnawed at him, eating at his brain day and night for almost a month now.        He sighed deeply, letting the air enter his lungs, holding it for a second before exhaling. With a clank against the sink, he let the razor fall out of his hands. Taking the towel that was on the counter, he observed his own features in the mirror.    Steve was more than a hundred years old, yet he looked barely thirty, and despite how tired he was, mentally and physically, his counterpart looked ready to fight, if not for the exhausted look in his eyes… the eyes that were shaking.        Steve’s brow furrowed when he saw the smaller mirror to his left start moving as well. A hand went to steady it, but then his razor rattled and fell into the sink, as the whole building started to tremble.        Nat, Rhodey and Pepper were already rushing outside when he joined the three. What he saw in the courtyard made his knees almost buckle from relief. He didn’t care about the strange glowing woman that placed a space ship on the grass, he didn’t care about Rocket moving forward with them. All he cared about was getting to the two people stepping down from the stairs.        When Steve’s arms wrapped around Tony’s shoulders, he could feel just how much skinnier the genius was, how malnourished and dehydrated he must be, but all that was a secondary thought to the one blaring in his mind – Tony was alive and on Earth.        “I couldn’t stop him,” were his first words to Steve, voice laced with pain and guilt.        Steve’s eyes dropped to the ground before flitting back up. He realized what he would have to inform him of, and he wished Thanos’s snap had also taken him. “Neither could I.”        “I-“ Tony started, unable to find the words before gulping and getting them out, solidifying them as truth. “I lost the kid.”        Fuck.        “Tony, we lost.”        We lost so much…        “Is umm,” he struggled for a second, not wanting to ask, terrified of the answer, but he didn’t even have to. Pepper was right there pulling him in her embrace, a choked back ‘oh my God’ escaping her before both hid their faces in the crook of their loved one’s neck.        “It’s okay,” Tony muttered, pressing a kiss to the soft skin of her collarbone. If only for a second, it was okay.        He slowly limped back inside the compound, heavily resting against Pepper and Steve for support.        Everything was pretty much the same way he’d left it in Rohdey’s care as he and Pep had gone to New York on a business trip before the whole Thanos showdown happened. Apart from the giant hologram pulling up each and every face of the people that had been dusted or were unaccounted for. With every word that Nat explained what was happening Tony felt more and more hollow. Until Peter’s face went up in the air. That took the last breath out of Iron man.        “Where is he now?” he asked, rubbing at his goatee referring to Thanos, “where?”        “We don’t know,” came Steve’s solemn response.        “He just,” Rhodey shook his head, “opened a portal and walked through.”        It was a lot to process. The same way he had disappeared from Titan with the Time Stone on the gauntlet was the same way he’d vanished from Earth after completing his insane task. As he looked behind him to where Thor was sulking, it turned out the god had had a chance at taking Thanos out. But revenge came with a cost.        When Steve said Tony had fought the Mad Titan it seemed like the most ridiculous thing ever.        “Who told you that? I didn’t fight him,” Tony pointed at himself. “No, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street Magician gave away the Stone. That’s what happened. There was no fight.”        The cruellest thing was that they’d almost had the glove, but in the blink of an eye, it was lost once more. All that effort, and here they were – broken and beaten to a pulp.        But Steve didn’t seem to give up. “Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?”        Even in Tony’s nightmares, it was never this bad. He surveyed the room, the people he used to call family now with gaps in it, his new acquired Blue Meanie friend and the stranger that had saved them from aimlessly floating through space, but then it hit him.        “Where’s Y/N?”        Nobody dared to meet his gaze, but when Pepper squeezed his hand tighter, he didn’t need words to confirm his worst fear.        “Rogers,” he seethed, “where is my daughter?”        Steve’s chest rattled as he exhaled. “Tony, I’m sorry.” Unshed tears glistened in the Captain’s eyes. He was ready for an outburst, for him to stand up and pummel him to the ground, but he didn’t. Instead, Tony just turned his head to the side, looking into Pepper’s eyes where tears had been streaking down her cheeks ever since he’d returned. He clenched his jaw and nodded.        “The one thing I asked of you after you broke the Avengers apart was to look out for her. Look out for my daughter, keep her safe, do not bring her into this mess,” Tony was fuming and with good reason. “It was a simple thing, Rogers,” he sneered, “so no, I got nothing for you, Cap! I got no coordinates, no clues, no plan, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust,” Steve could feel each word cut through him like a knife, but the last word sliced his heart completely in half, “Liar.”        Then Tony did something no one expected. “Here, take this,” he ripped off his arc reactor and slammed it in Steve’s hand. “You find him,” he pointed at the blond, “and you put that on. You hide.”        He was just about to start apologizing when Tony’s legs suddenly gave out from underneath him, and he collapsed onto the floor.        “I’m fine,” the genius waved everyone off like usual, “I’m…” but he didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence before his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he was enveloped by darkness.        Everyone was already up and acting, Bruce setting up a makeshift hospital room, Steve taking Tony in his arms and rushing him to the bed, Pepper following everyone behind, so there was not even a second more she’d be separated from Tony. Never again.        It took everyone a couple of minutes to regroup but Rhodey finally came to inform them of Tony's status. “Bruce gave him a sedative. He’s gonna be out for the rest of the day.”    The Avengers nodded in relief. It was a small victory to have him back. It was something. So often they were used to loses and casualties, but this time, it was already way too much, and one more would just break whatever was left to break.        Rhodey dragged a hand down his face as the holographic monitor showing who was missing flashed, and Y/N’s face now stared back at him.        “God, fucking damn it,” he muttered, wiping tears away. His best friend’s kid. His goddaughter. His family.        When she had strolled in the compound walking in front of Steve and the rest of ‘Rogue Avengers’, he was ready to clock her in the jaw, knowing she would never back out of a fight. Too much of her father’s genes were in her.        “You know he’s going to kill me,” he groaned as Y/N smirked before pulling him in a tight hug.        “Not if you don’t say anything,” she mumbled in his chest.        All guilt aside, Y/N had been most likely their best chance at winning, excluding Wanda. She was probably the strongest Avenger in the group. Rhodey remembered with fear the time Tony had been kidnapped, and how ballistic the seven-year-old girl had gone seeing the ransom video the terrorists had sent.        She wasn’t supposed to know, but Y/N was a master at sneaking around the house, and as Pepper and Rhodey watched, she had caught a glimpse of her father. Let’s just say the whole of California experienced some strong seismic activity as her powers rippled out of her.        God, and the other one? Peter? He was gone as well. In a way there was a silver lining to it all – both of the teenagers being gone meant neither could do impulsive and rash decisions. After all, the two were in love, and Rhodey was one hundred percent sure they’d go to the ends of Earth and bring down the sky if it meant getting the other one back.        “You guys take care of him,” Carol’s voice brought everyone back to the present. It seemed like Y/N’s face on the screen had shaken them all up. “And I’ll bring Xorrian Elixir when I come back.”        “Where are you going?” she couldn’t be leaving them now. Not at a moment like this.        “To kill Thanos.”        People were up and rushing after the woman in a split second.            Nat was the first one to reach her, a strong grip on Carol’s bicep pulling her back to face them. “You know, we usually work as a team around here, and between you and I, we’re also a little fragile.” That was an understatement, but the fight was not over. Not for them. “We realize this is more your territory, but this is our fight too.”        On the outside, Natasha was acting like a leader, similarly as she always did by either Tony’s or Steve’s side, but on the inside, she was that broken little girl thrown into a single bedroom with a bare mattress and pillow, told she’d become the nation’s greatest weapon at the tender age of six.        Build-A-Bear was the first one to ask the real questions. “Do you even know where he is?”        Carol shrugged. “I know people who might.”        “Don’t bother,” Nebula interrupted. The whole time apart from when Tony was rushed to the hospital room, she’d stood to the side and watched. “I can tell you where Thanos is.”        The hologram was up and running again, only this time displaying the map of the universe provided by the ship log from the Milano.        “Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me. Then when he worked, he talked about his great plan. Even disassembled, I wanted to please him,” there was such venom in her tone towards her past-self, even Rocket flinched. “I’d ask “where would we go once his plan was complete?” His answer was always the same: to the Garden.”

***

       The next thing Y/N knew was jovial cheering, loud laughing and warm golden lights encasing her instead of the burning plains of Wakanda.        “S-Steve?” she muttered turning around, surveying the grand ceiling and golden ornaments of the walls. “Nat?”        A large mass bumped against her back, and Y/N stumbled out of the way to let a burly looking man trudge past. “ ‘M Lady, my apologies,” he slurred, bowing a bit and then continuing on his merry way.        That’s when everything came rushing back – the fight against the Outriders, and how she took down Proxima Midnight with Wanda, the subsequent arrival of Thanos, and the snap.        “He did it,” Y/N whispered to no one but herself. “He actually did it.”        Instantly her head was high and searching the crowd which seemed to be dressed in some sort of medieval clothing, but that didn’t mean anything to her.        “Dad!” she bellowed as much as she could. “Peter!”        Please not them, please not them, please not them, Y/N chanted in her head as she squeezed between the crowd of people. From the corner of her eye, she saw an archway, beautiful green wines wrapped around the intricate marble, and that’s where she ran to – away from the people in what seemed like a garden outside, and into the building.        She was hit by a wave of warmth and even louder chatter than before. Almost never-ending rows of tables lined the inside of the hall and benches full of people she didn’t recognize. Nothing was familiar to her apart from a certain raven-haired man sitting at the very far end of the room, a beautiful woman with hair of gold right next to him.        “You!” Y/N shouted pointing at Loki. “You! I know you! Loki!”        But he didn’t hear it over how loud everyone was being, so in a true Stark fashion, she jumped on one of the tables, drawing all the attention to herself and thundered a ‘Yo, Reindeer Games!’        For a moment there, the god of mischief was stunned and left speechless. He was never speechless, but when the daughter of Tony Stark calls your name, it might have that kind of effect. As it did on the rest of the people.        Instantly he jumped over the table and ran to where Y/N was standing on the counter.        “How are you here?” he was completely breathless. The last time they’d met, he was not the Loki everyone knew now, but he’d never had any particular distaste towards the younger Stark. In fact, he’d kind of admired how the teenager was actually a useful addition during the battle of New York.        “First of all, where is here?” she motioned around the room, finally stepping off the table and out of someone’s plate. “Sorry,” she muttered to the man, but he only shrugged.      “Second of all, what’s going on? And third of all, where is my dad?”        “You’re in Valhalla.”        “Val-what now?”        “Valhalla. It’s where the fallen warriors of Asgard get to rest once their battle is done.”        “But,” she stuttered blinking rapidly as if that would wash away the scene before her eyes, “but I’m not of Asgard. I’m plain human. Midgardian. Earthling. You know, an ant to your… boot.”        Loki was just about to answer, he himself unable to understand how Y/N was in Valhalla when basically the most gorgeous woman she’d ever seen in her life approached the two. The same one that had been sitting to Loki's left.        “We’ve been waiting for your arrival, Lady Stark.”        “What now?” the question was softer than the flap of a butterfly’s wings, but the goddess, who as far as Y/N could recall her basic Norse mythology knowledge, was Frigga, had already turned to face her son.       “My love,” she smiled placing her hand on his cheek, and Loki practically melted in his mother’s touch. “You did a brave thing. You’ve always been brave and good, despite what has happened. But it’s time to be brave and good one more time.”        “Thanos won,” Y/N exasperated eyes flipping between the goddess and her son. “There is no fight. He snapped his fingers and did what he said he would.”        “Sweet child, I was raised by witches,” Frigga smiled softly at the girl. Usually, she’d sneer towards anyone that regarded her in such a way, but there was nothing condescending in her tone. “I see more than what meets the eye. It has been five years, and a battle is brewing. Your family will need each and everyone ready to help.”        “Five what now?” Y/N breathed out. “But I’ve been here barely a few minutes.”        “Time moves differently here,” Frigga placed a soothing palm on her cheek. “A decade on Earth is simply an intake of breath here. But there is no more time to lose.”        Loki’s green eyes widened as his eyebrows furrowed. “Mother, am I thinking right that you’re implying we should join the fight?”        “You were always the quick one when things needed to be figured out.”        “But… no one has ever returned from Valhalla. No one has ever come back from the… dead.”        “That’s because up until now, she,” Frigga gave Y/N a pointed look, “was on Earth.”        “Me? What the fuck does this have to do with me?” Sure, had the circumstances been different she’d be horrified by the language she’d used in front of an Asgardian royal, let alone a goddess, but frankly, Y/N was just about done with mystical mumbo jumbo and just wanted to get back home where she could watch cheesy B-rate horror movies with her dad while cuddling up next to Peter.        “No one can enter the halls of Valhalla apart from Asgardians.”        Y/N was pointing at Loki in no time. “He’s not one.”        “He was raised as one.”        “Well but I wasn’t. Human as a human can be,” Y/N placed her hands on her hips.        “But you have Asgardian blood in you.”        That made Y/N pause. There really was no other explanation as to how she could be in Valhalla. Sure, there was that time when aliens had kidnapped her from her own backyard after the whole Ultron thing went down, and she was rolling with the Guardians for a brief second before demanding to be put back on Earth cause that’s where her home was, but even her space travels were a sounder explanation as to everything going on rather than her being part of the race from Norse mythology.        “You never mentioned it,” Loki glanced at Y/N whose eye roll was the best she’d ever given to anyone.        “Because not knowing who my biological mother is, was the first thing, I wanted to talk about with the dude trying to invade Earth. Besides, Thor was of Asgard, and you continuously stabbed him. I kinda think it was in my favour not to, despite not even knowing it.”        Loki’s lips were pressed together in a thin line, but Y/N could see how he was trying to hold off a smile. “Well, maybe you’re half-Asgardian, but without a doubt, you’re a Stark.”        “You say I’m the key to getting us out of here,” Y/N was starting to get impatient. “How?”        “Your powers are deeply connected to your emotions as they are to the universe and every element swirling around us.”        Tentatively Y/N nodded, and Frigga whispered for her to close her eyes.     “Concentrate on your heart, your soul. Each stone represents a part of the universe. Let your powers go, let them roam the realms until they grasp at the source that calls for them.”        It sounded absolutely bonkers as the goddess coached Y/N on what to do, but she imagined her abilities like silvery tentacles that had a string wrapped around her heart, but the others were left free to slither their way through the galaxies and dimensions until the pull suddenly stopped, and she had a clear anchor to something.        “My Queen,” a woman with long onyx hair approached the trio. She was wearing a light grey uniform and a blue cape adorned her back, a glimmering silver sword hung by her side. “We heard what has happened, and who has come to pillage the universe. The Valkyries, if you’d allow it, would be more than honoured to fight beside our Prince and everyone else defending the world.”        Frigga just inclined her head, quickly glancing at Odin who up until that point had been sitting in his chair.        “You need to figure this out quicker,” Y/N groaned, stumbling a bit, but Loki was there to catch her. “I’m not gonna be able to keep at it for much longer.”        And then it was like a second breath had been given her. She felt her blood thrum with power as Odin, the Allfather, used every bit of Dark Magic he could summon and directed it towards Y/N.        Inch by inch Y/N grabbed onto the thread and pulled herself towards where the stones were calling. It took all of her concentration and attention to do so, but with every passing moment, she could feel them closer.        With a final tug at the tether, she extended her arms to her sides and opened up a portal, eyes glowing pure white, and teeth bared to the world. Like a lioness ready to attack, Y/N stepped out onto a battlefield.        But they weren’t alone. All around them she saw glowing orange circles where tens of thousands of warriors emerged. And it wasn’t just humans. She saw Skrulls, who she’d met while with the Guardians, the Asgardians that had been brought to Earth by Thor, and so many other creatures with different shapes and forms ready to fight Thanos. He hadn’t just angered Earth. He’d angered the whole fucking universe.        “Avengers!” Steve roared a hand extended forward, and Mjolnir flew right into his open palm.        I fucking knew it, Y/N smirked.        “Assemble.”        It took everything in her to keep that portal open. Not only that, as a scream tore her throat apart much like she was doing with time and space, Y/N put her whole being in it and expanded the gateway, the Valkyries rushing out in a majestic formation.        Thor’s scream of joy was something like an adrenaline rush, giving her more motivation.        “Just so you know,” Loki said unsheathing his dagger and letting his seidr envelop his left arm, “this boot," he motioned towards himself, "has no quarrel with this ant," he pointed at her.        “Good,” Y/N gritted, closing off the portal once she knew everyone was out. For a split second when she turned to look behind her, she saw Frigga’s smiling face. Whatever happened, she’d be there to welcome her warriors home. “But this ant,” Y/N motioned at herself with her thumb, “has a major quarrel… with that ugly ass boot.”        “Seems like a whole universe of ants does.”        That was enough of a signal for her to join the battle. Lifting herself off the ground, she rushed up to meet a Leviathan before taking it down like it was nothing. Bits of Odin’s magic were still there, and she was not about to waste them.        But no matter how many troops she took down, more seemed to take their place. It was like Thanos had a never-ending supply of them.        “Cap, what do you want me to do with this damn thing?” Y/N heard Clint as he sprinted by her, and she lifted up a horde of oncoming aliens freeing his path.        “Get those stones as far away as possible!” Steve’s voice was loud and clear in the comms, giving everyone the non-verbal order – protect whoever is carrying the gauntlet, and don’t let Thanos get to them.    “No!” Bruce, who Y/N only just now noticed was a morph of the Hulk and Bruce, countered back. “We need to get them back where they came from.”        “No way to get them back,” Clint grunted as he evaded a few aliens and resumed his mad dash. “Thanos destroyed the quantum tunnel.”        “Hold on!” a voice Y/N hadn’t heard in a while invaded the system, and she had to grin. She’d always liked Giant Man. “That wasn’t our only time machine.”        An obnoxiously loud car horn beeped across the battlefield, making everyone’s heads whip to the side as Steve rushed up a hillside.        “Anyone see an ugly brown van up there?”        “Yes,” exclaimed Brunhilde from high up above leading the storm of Valkyries against the Leviathans, “but you’re not gonna like where it’s parked.”        “Cap!” Y/N got his attention, taking everyone’s, who hadn’t seen her arrival, breath away. Including Steve’s. “Get that thing started, we’ll hold them back,” she motioned with her chin towards Loki, whose seidr glowed a brighter jade just at her words.        “Scott, how long do you need to get that thing working?”        “Maybe ten minutes,” came his rushed reply, as he heaved a few breaths in a moment of pause.        “Get it started. We’ll get the stones to you.”        When Frigga had said a battle was brewing, Y/N did not expect it to take the violent form of hot potato, but as Clint, and then T’Challa approached the van, her powers slowly depleted.        A moment of carelessness, and she was thrown away by the huge paw of a beast. It was just about to stamp on her when the bright beam of a repulsor created a hole in its chest. Y/N barely got time to roll out of the way of the corpse, before it thudded like a sack of bricks.        “Dad?” the word cracked in the middle, but Tony couldn’t move, as his daughter, the one he lost half a decade ago, was finally in front of him. After years of hopelessness, that was only regained a bit when Morgan was born, his family was finally whole again.        “Baby girl?”        That’s when Y/N threw all caution to the wind. She didn’t care about the battle, the screams and roars; all that mattered were her father’s arms tightly woven around her body, keeping her close to his chest – safe and sound in his embrace.        “I’m so sorry, dad,” she wailed in his arms. “I’m so sorry I put you through that.”        But Tony just shook his head, pulling back and pressing their foreheads together. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. You’re here... right here, and that’s what’s important.”        Both of them nodded in unison, either at Tony’s words or just to reassure them the other was real. It was a tiny moment of peace before the sound of someone loudly yelling ‘Oh My God!’ brought them back to the fight.        “Where’s the gauntlet?”        “Last I heard Peter had it.”        “Peter?” his name was a breathless whisper of hope. He was there. They both were.        Tony nodded, gripping her bicep a bit tighter before letting go. “Keep him safe.”        And with that both Starks separated destroying Thanos’s army bit by bit while desperately trying to find where the stones were.        She was in the middle of battling against Ebony Maw, her powers ripping his heart apart from the inside out when the scarlet swirls of Wanda’s magic got her attention.        “Rain fire!” Thanos grunted, and instantly Y/N whipped her head around where Wanda was pulling the Titan apart atom by atom.        There was some sort of an answer that came from a troop she couldn’t hear, but when Thanos exclaimed ‘Just do it!’ she knew shit was about to get even more real than it already was.        From high up above, Thanos’s ships aimed their blasters towards the ground and unleashed hell upon Earth. Wanda was thrown back, and that made her release the hold she had on the madman. Without a second to spare, the wizards created shields with their powers but people who were not under their protection were still getting obliterated until Y/N extended both palms upward and imagined a layer that separated her from the beams.        Taking a deep breath, she felt sweat trickle down her forehead, and then she lifted the layer. Slowly but surely, she lifted it higher and higher, a shout of strain enveloping her in the process as she reversed the blasts and made them fly back to the ship. But that didn’t stop the oncoming array of attacks.        Y/N didn’t have unlimited power. Opening the portal from Valhalla had taken out most of it, and holding off another assault didn’t seem that likely. As she stared at the guns above, the girl readied herself to take the onslaught when they suddenly turned to the sky and started firing there.        No one could see anything through the plumes of smoke and ash apart from a quickly approaching ball of light, that in a matter of seconds shot through Thanos’s ship, rendering it useless, and making it crash in the nearby lake.        “Y-Y/N?”        Her heart had never stuttered so much as it did when Y/N heard that voice. She was frozen in place, unable to move or even blink. Her hands trembled in fear. Maybe this wasn’t real, maybe he wasn’t there in front of her, and all of that was something her mind was making up because Peter wasn’t actually back, but when she turned around she saw him holding onto the gauntlet as if it was his last lifeline hiding in the dirt behind a broken cement block.        “You’re bleeding,” was her first remark as she looked him over head to toe. His lip was split, and there was a gash on his forehead, but other than that and probably some major bruising underneath the suit, he looked fine. Well, at least he was in one piece.        A sob like chuckle escaped the brown-eyed boy, and she didn’t even get a second to brace herself before his arms were wrapped around her, and pulling her in his body.        “We should’ve stayed on the bus,” he cried, but a smile played on his face.        “Tell me about it,” her chest quivered as did her lips before she smoothed back his hair. “Dad’s so pissed about it.”        “More pissed than when he walked in on us making out the first time?”        “Yeah,” Y/N let out a genuine laugh, hiding her face in the crook of his neck. “I think so.”        “Yes,” Tony’s voice invaded their moment as it cut through the comms. “I most definitely am, but we need to get the stones to the van before nut sack over there gets to them, so you might want to leave it for later.”        “You got something for me?” Carol motioned with her eyebrow at Peter, eyes flipping to the gauntlet. Safely, Y/N took it out from his grasp and handed it to the woman.        “I don’t know how you’re gonna get through all that,” his eyes roamed the oncoming army, a hand instinctively going to wrap around Y/N’s waist. He’d let go of her once before, he was not going to make that same mistake ever again.        “Don’t worry,” Wanda floated from above and settled herself behind Carol, eyes blazing red.        “She’s got help,” and the sight behind and in front of the two teenagers was the most marvellous one they’d ever seen and would ever see. Each and every heroine stood against Thanos’s army while the Valkyries made up the back, their winged mares neighing, swords high up in the air as a battle cry ripped through their throats.        “I uh got this chemistry test coming up. By any chance, anyone of you could help me with that?”        “Seriously?” Y/N snorted looking at her boyfriend. “We were dead just a few minutes ago and are fighting the biggest army in the universe. And you’re thinking about chemistry?”        “I just… I’d rather focus on anything but what’s in front of us.”        “We can think about chem and calculus and English after all this is done, I promise,” and for the first time in what seemed like forever, she was able to kiss Peter again. If it hadn’t been for the impending oncoming of the enemy, she’d sag into his hold and never let him go.        “But first – we beat the shit out of them. And that one’s mine,” Y/N sneered looking directly into the eyes of Proxima Midnight. She had been the one that had almost killed Nat and Wanda in front of her eyes. It was payback. If only for the fact that Nat was not there. She didn’t need verbal confirmation to know that her redheaded assassin wouldn’t show up. Everything had a price, and so did the fight for survival, but they’d be damned if they didn’t make her proud.        It was a terrifyingly glorious sight to see as the women stood between Thanos and the gauntlet; it was clutched safely in Carol’s arms as she flew through the enemy using her photon blasts to disintegrate them. Though not everything could go as smoothly as it had been.        Right as Scott powered up the time machine in the back of the van, Carol aiming straight for the dead centre of it, in one last attempt, Thanos threw his double-edged sword, and everyone was knocked back with the explosion, Carol’s grip loosening and letting go of the stones.        That’s when complete panic ensued. They couldn’t go through this again. He’d made it clear - this time it would be personal, and not half the universe but the whole fucking thing would be wiped out.        One by one the closest people to the gauntlet rushed to grab it, but even through that, Thanos was able to put it on. He would’ve snapped his fingers if not for Carol grabbing onto his palm and bending his fingers backwards with her bare hands, pure rage lighting up her eyes. Y/N scrambled towards them ready to knock Thanos down when she saw him remove the Power stone, blast Carol away from it. Then her father charged at the Titan.        A desperate grab at his hand, Tony’s horrified face, a punch to his side and shake, and Thanos was free as Y/N’s dad laid on the ground, struggling to get up. At that moment she didn’t even care for the stones, as she witnessed her father in pain. But then she caught the glimpse of a green glimmer.        “I am…” Thanos smirked putting his middle finger against his thumb, “inevitable.”        But when he clinked nothing happened. Just as Y/N expected.        “And I…” she ran towards her dad, “am,” one more step, one more step, “Iron Man.”    Dad’s so gonna kill me was the last thing Y/N thought before he snapped his fingers, and she grabbed onto his shoulder letting the power of the Infinity Stones course through her body alleviating the strain on Tony.        She’d never felt this kind of pain and euphoria at the same time. Y/N was invincible, unstoppable, a goddess in her own right but at the same time, her heart was just about to give out when she saw the enemy horde, one by one and then at a more rapid pace succumb to the same fate she had five years ago.        With a gasp she found herself approaching the edge of not coming back when someone called her and Tony’s names.        “Friday,” Pepper’s voice sounded like a dimming filter had been placed over it with a tinge of a beeping noise added to it. “Release the right arm.”        On command, Tony’s suit detached from the whole, and the part with the stones dropped to the ground, making Y/N’s hold let go as well.        The two Stark’s crumpled to the ground, panting and trying to get as much oxygen in their lungs as possible, as they crawled a bit to the side where they could lean against the remains of the compound.        “You are so grounded, you hear me?” Tony rasped bringing his daughter close to him, and holding Y/N’s head tightly against his chest. “Forever. You’re never leaving the house or ever thinking about it.”        “So that means we can watch movies all day every day for the rest of our lives?”        “If that means you staying safe, I’ll chain us to the movie room.”        And in the midst of all that rubble and sweat and blood, Y/N and Tony finally pulled in breaths of relief.        “How did you know it would work?”        “I uh, remember that time when aliens sorta kinda kidnapped me?”        “How can I forget the worst moments of my life… up until that point.”        “Well, I and the Guardians did that. It worked then, so I assumed it would work again.”        A beat passed with Tony’s face completely expressionless before engulfing Y/N in an even tighter hug. “I’ll kill Peter, I swear I’ll kill that braindead-knockoff-Kevin Bacon.”        “Not before I kill you both,” Pepper’s arms were instantly around her family as if she was shielding them from the rest of the world. “God, I hate being a Stark.”        They released a collective chuckle and tightened their hold on one another. “Also, that time when those aliens kidnapped me?”        “Yeah?” Tony sniffled.        “Turns out that's not really true. I uh can teleport."    "You what?"    Y/N rolled her eyes. "My powers come from somewhere, and it turns out you hooked up with an Asgardian. I now remember that night we had a huge fight, and I wished I’d be with mom instead of you... I guess they decided to show up then cause the next thing I knew, I was shooting through this weird rainbow beam, and ended up crashing on a weird spaceship. Thought I'd been abducted when instead, I had just run away from home.”        Surprisingly enough, both Pepper and her dad laughed. “Really Tony?” the redhead asked him. “So human women weren’t’ enough, had to go for the extraterrestrial ones as well?”        “What can I say,” he let her wipe away a tear that slid down his face before resting his head against Y/N’s. “I have impeccable taste. Just look at who I married.”        “Y-You got married?” she was stunned beyond belief. That’s when it truly kicked in that it had been five years. Five years they’d lived without her, and had created a life she didn’t know anymore where she fit in.        “Yeah,” Tony nodded, squeezing Y/N’s hand in reassurance. “You uh you also have a little sister.”        Wave after wave after wave of emotions rampaged her body and mind. First, it was hurt they’d do that, that they’d try and move and replace her, then it was confusion as to what was her part in this whole equation now, and then it was relief and joy. She still had her family, and no matter what had happened, Y/N was happy they’d tried to make some sort of a life even after Thanos. It had been the exact thing they’d fought for.        “Guess I can officially call you mom then, huh?” she looked at Pepper through a teary gaze. The feeling when she wrapped her arms around her was nothing short of coming home.        “You’ve always been my daughter,” she whispered in Y/N’s hair. “Always.”        “I love you 3000,” Y/N whispered back.        That set her off into an absolute fit of giggles, as she shook her head, and brought her in for another embrace. “This time, you’re in the low six to nine hundreds, Tony.”        “What?” Y/N asked, looking at her dad, confusion written all over her features.        He just shook his head. “I’ll explain later.”

***

       It took them all a couple of days to regroup and rearrange, but once that was done, once the tearful reunions and greetings were over, it was time for true celebration. Though, if someone had told Y/N that the same Loki that had stabbed his brother right in front of her eyes on the balcony of Stark Tower was the same one that practically sprinted towards Thor to embrace him, she’d tell them to fuck off.        Now they were all dressed in whatever best attire they could find, with smiles on their lips as they watched Pepper and Tony renew their wows. Y/N who had met Morgan less than forty-eight hours previously, stood tall and proud to their right as Rhodey helped her father stand up from his wheelchair and give Pepper a kiss.        “Come on,” Y/N whispered to Morgan, who was still unsure about the older sibling she’d met. Of course, not a day had gone by where either her dad or mom talked about her sister, but it was another thing to meet the girl. “I think Happy and Rhodes said they’re making burgers.”        Together they walked behind their parents, and no one could wipe off the smiles off their faces. Even Hank Pym was there, and it was a known fact that he and the Starks had never gotten along.        “Pete?” Y/N turned to her boyfriend, who instantly joined her other side, “will you take Morgan inside? I just need to quickly talk to Steve.”        “Yeah, yeah, sure,” he nodded, and couldn’t help the blush that spread across his cheeks as she pecked his lips.        As fast as she could she ran towards where they’d made a miniature of the time travel machine with the intention of Steve bringing the stones back to their correct place in time.       “I’m coming with you,” Y/N announced pulling on the bracelet on her palm that she'd hidden in the pocket of her pants, and stepping onto the platform. “And you won’t stop me.”        “Y/N, I don’t think your dad would agree to this,” Bruce remarked, his hand, much like her father’s in a sling, though where Bruce only had that and burns that would forever scar his right side, the prognosis for Tony to ever walk again on his own were slim. But that had never stopped a Stark.        “Of course, not,” she snorted tapping the device twice and letting the time travel suit encase her body. “Why do you think I ran? So he wouldn’t know about i-“ but it was just her luck as the man of the hour himself appeared out from behind the woods.        “Hey, hey, whoa, where do you think you’re going, young lady?” Tony exclaimed his wheelchair rolling towards the launchpad faster than Y/N thought was possible especially on the forest floor. “You are grounded!”       “Oh, come on, dad!”        “No,” he was surprisingly stern about this. “You zip it right now. I don’t wanna hear about it. Step off that thing right now, and get that piece of crap off of you,” he motioned towards the time travel suit and the bracelet.        “Please, dad, just… just trust me on this one. I’ll be back in a second. I just… I just wanna say goodbye to Nat. She’s the reason all of us are back here...”        With a sigh of defeat, because even a Stark couldn’t talk a Stark out of anything, Tony retreated. Y/N quickly skipped down the platform to give her father’s cheek a kiss, before joining Steve.        “Protect her. Whatever comes her way,” Tony said looking straight into Steve’s soul. This time he wouldn’t let his friend down.        “With everything I have.”        “Ok, you, dramatic gramps, let’s cut the cheesiness. Bruce?” Y/N grinned at the scientist.        “Ready to jump in three…” he started the countdown, “two…”    “See you in a minute,” Y/N winked and was gone.

***

       Putting the stones back was a whirlwind, and it made Y/N feel like a badass spy that had to infiltrate a base and then disappear unnoticed. She never really joined in on stealth missions, as that was not her forte, but fuck was it fun. Especially when Steve told her how he had to fight his old self on the first time around.        “I never knew how ridiculous that line was,” he chuckled, as they stepped onto Rocket’s ship, that he’d leant to them to get to Asgard, Morag and Vormir.        “I find it quite endearing. At least nowadays,” she nudged his shoulder and settled in one of the free seats as the Milano turned upwards to the sky and thrust them into space.        “Y/N, I’m sorry,” Steve murmured looking at her where she was strapped in place. “For everything. I thought I was doing what was right by not signing the Accords, and instead, I ripped our team apart. And with the whole Thanos thing… I’m sorry I couldn’t save you…”        That was loaded confession Steve had just put-upon Y/N, and as she was processing it, the overwhelming need to relieve him of the guilt eating away at her brain, a bright green light beeped on the panel, and they were pushed into the atmosphere of Vormir.        Cautiously the two exited and started to track their way to the sole mountain on the whole plane.        “You know, we’ve never been a team,” Y/N said looking up to where the two pillars reached into the sky. “Teammates fight together, follow orders, train together… that has never been us. We bicker, play pranks to the point of it walking the edge of mean, we spend our Friday nights curled up next to one another and throwing popcorn around. That’s not a team. That’s a family.”        “Evenings without you were a bore,” Steve said wrapping an arm around Y/N’s shoulders and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.        She wistfully sighed, skipping ahead before turning around and walking backwards. “I can only imagine. I mean with just birdbrain as the funny one and entertainment – I’m surprised you didn’t grey from the boredom.”        “Who knows, maybe I’ve just been dying my hair the whole time.”        “Oh, I’d like to see that process. You and Bucky sharing hair secrets is something I’d pay for.”        Steve snorted right as they approached what seemed to be carved out steps that lead to the top of the peak. “It’s actually Wakandan shea butter.”        “Seriously?” Y/N’s eyebrows were so far up her forehead, they merged with the creases there.        “Leaves everything smooth and silky.”        “When we get back,” she pointed at the Captain, “you’re gonna hook me up with your supplier.        “Gladly…” a small pause settled before he spoke up again. “So, why did you wanna tag along? Really?” Steve’s voice was raised so he could talk over the howling winds.       “Something uh someone said to me, made me think a bit. I dunno what’s gonna happen, but I wanna know if my hunch is right.”        But Steve didn’t get her to elaborate on what the fuck that meant when a floating cloak appeared before them. Y/N’s eyes were instantly white, and Steve had unsheathed the shield they’d gotten while back in the 70s.        “Steve, son of Sarah, Y/N daughter of Anthony,” an accented voice spoke to them. Y/N glanced at her companion from the side of her eye, only to see his mouth open in complete disbelief. “It has been a long time, Captain.”        “Son of a bitch, you’re still alive.”        “Indeed. As you know, I too once sought to acquire the stones, but alas, it was not what fate had intended.”        The way Steve was clenching his jaw made Y/N fear for his teeth. “And what was fate’s intention?”        “I am here, to be a guide to you, and all who seek the Soul stone.”        “Then lead the way,” Y/N murmured.        And without any struggle, Red Skull did as told.        “In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love,” the figure announced as Y/N made her way to where the cliff ended. “An everlasting exchange. A soul, for a soul… but you are not here to retrieve the stone, are you?”        “Nope, not one bit,” she said retreating and letting Steve open the case, Y/N’s gloved hands wrapping around the tiny glowing piece. With every step she took, she started to rethink her decision, but she’d come all this way just for this, she was putting her dad through more stress than necessary just for this.        Y/N was right on the edge, making Steve more nervous than ever. They’d come so far, with such high costs, he couldn’t lose her too. He wouldn’t recover, and he knew neither would Tony or the rest.        She turned around her, hair whipping at her face as she looked at Red Skull. “You said soul for a soul, right?”       “That is exact, my child.”       The winds were harsh at the top of the mountain, and the snow was not fluttery or light as it usually was during wintertime in New York. These were harsh icicles pelleting her skin.        “Y/N?” Steve cautiously asked, slowly approaching the woman, but she didn’t hear or see him. For a moment, her grip on the stone was so tight her knuckles turned translucent, and then she let go.        The stone glimmered like amber as it dropped down, down, down. When it touched the ground, the two beams that created the archway started glowing before bright light shot up into the sky, and Y/N had to shield her eyes from its intensity.        In that blink of an eye, she was transported away from the mountain and somewhere down below where they’d started their ascend. Her hands trembled as she opened them to see that the stone was no longer there.        And she was completely alone, as a matter of fact.        “No,” she looked at the expanse of water, as the light of the whole planet had dimmed leaving her alone and drenched in darkness. “No, no, no, no, no!” Y/N smashed her hands against the surface of it, anger coursing through her veins before a soft hand appeared on her shoulder.        “Baby Stark, you miss me?”       There, with that crooked smile of hers stood Natasha. Her hair was back to the red tone, blonde only covering the tips of the long tresses, but there she was – wearing that same ugly red and white suit as her and Steve.        “No,” Y/N sniffled scrambling up from the water and into her open arms. “Not one bit, you, self-sacrificial idiot.”       “That’s more of a Stark thing, isn’t it?” her whimpers could be heard all across the quiet planet, but that didn’t matter, given how both of the girls were crying.        “Yes, well, it shows you’ve spent time with my dad and Steve.”        The happiness pressing on the two was borderline suffocating. It was only when Natasha pulled back, bringing Y/N’s face between her palms.        “I’m so sor-“ but the girl was quick to shake her head.        “None of that matters,” she gripped the redhead’s forearms. “None of it. We won, and we’re back and we’re going home.”        The smile on the assassin’s face was the most dazzling thing Y/N had ever seen, and her breath would’ve been taken away if not for the screams of her Captain.        “Y/N!” Steve hollered as he dashed towards where he’d seen her laying in the pond, after having been knocked out by whatever the mountain did, but his panic evaporated when he saw who she was embracing.        “Nat?”        He couldn’t believe his eyes. She was there and just as tangible as his own skin and bones.        “Hey there, you, old fossil.”        He was still a few yards away, but he crossed that distance in no time, and before she could pull in a breath, Nat was up in his arms, both of their bodies shaking with tears of joy and laughter.        “You ever pull a stunt like this again, Romanoff, I swear I’ll make Fury put you on desk duty.”        “After all this, that sounds like a dream.”        “Be careful what you wish for,” Y/N piped up from the sides, grinning as she recalibrated her bracelet and moved towards the ship. “You might just get that.”        “Home?” her eyebrow raised in a sleek arch, as the other two Avengers ran up next to her and synched up.        “Home,” Nat whispered before being dragged down to the quantum realm.        The blink of an eye and the three of them stood back on the platform in the middle of the little forested area. Their suits retreated, and the trio’s beaming grins could’ve overpowered the brightly shining sun up above.        “Tasha?”        Nat’s head whipped to the side, seeing a completely stunned Clint, but she didn’t give her best friend a chance to regroup as she leapt off the podium and had her legs and arms wrapped around his middle and neck.        “Ten bucks on Clint trying to kill Nat for what she did,” Y/N muttered, leaning to the side as Steve, and she removed the bracelets, giving them back to a very much so confused Bruce, but not that confused Tony and Loki who had joined their little gang.        “That’s why you went back? To get Nat?” her dad asked, and Y/N shrugged. “How did you know it would work?”        “I uh I didn’t. But it was something his mom said,” she replied motioning at Loki. “She said about my powers and them being connected to the stones as the stones being connected to the universe. And that my powers are connected to my soul.”        Tony smirked, grabbing a hold of her hand and squeezing it. “You really are my daughter, aren’t you?”        A soft fluttery feeling erupted in her stomach. “Also, the words ‘soul for a soul’ was a pretty big give away, but that I found out only when I got there.”        As Pepper rushed out of the house, ready to kill her daughter for going back in time and her husband for allowing it, Bucky had slowly moved to stand next to his best friend.        “What happened to that ‘Happily Ever After’ you always dreamed about?”    He expected Steve to be upset about being back, blame Y/N for somehow coercing him to return, given how the two super soldiers had had a talk about him living out his life with Peggy. But instead, the blond was gnawing on his lip trying to keep a smile at bay.        “I think I just might have that right here,” he finally breathed out. “I uh I had my dance, but… I knew she’d be happy with or without me.”        “You sayin’ we wouldn’t be able to live without your old ass?” Sam smirked as he approached the pair, and it made Bucky snort.        “Obviously. But uh…” and that’s when he finally averted his attention to the thing strapped on his back. “I actually came to give you this.”        It was one thing to fight aliens, it was another to accept what Steve was offering.        “I can’t do that,” Sam shook his head looking at Bucky for support, but the man just stepped back and raised his hands in a ‘don’t involve me into this’ motion.        “Yeah, but I think you can,” Steve smiled at Sam. “Come on. Try it.”        Tentatively, as if it was made of glass, not vibranium, Sam, strapped his arm through the leathers and put the shield in front of him.        “How does it feel?” Steve asked, eyes surveying his friend from the side.        “Like someone else’s.”        “But it isn’t,” Steve shrugged, patting Sam’s back before the soldier pulled him in a hug.        “I’ll do my best.”        “And that’s why it’s yours.”        As they pulled back neither was ashamed of the tears that rolled down their cheeks. “And what will you do?” Sam sniffled holding onto the shield. “Join Bingo club?”        Steve rolled his eyes and shook his head, pushing at Sam’s arm and making him stumble. “Actually, something I should’ve done a while back.”        Both of his friend’s faces were the epitome of confusion as Steve marched away from them with sure steps, but that all changed when he called Nat’s name making her spin away from Clint and Wanda, and directly into his arms. A split second, and Steve’s lips were on her.        The cheering and whooping were just as intense as when Tony and Pepper renewed their vows by the lake. The only thing that made the two pull back was the desperate need for air, but even as they did so, their foreheads remained together.    "Where did that come from, Cap?"    "I've wasted too much time on dreams and 'what ifs'. It's time I act on them."    The pair grinned from ear to ear before a giant shadow loomed over them, and that truly made the pair pull away.        “I hope you’re okay with this,” Steve mumbled looking up at Bruce. No matter what and no matter for how long, he and Nat had had a thing, and the ex-Captain could never live with himself knowing Bruce was unhappy, but by the gentle smile on the professor’s face, he knew there was no animosity towards what was happening.        “Steve, I tried to bring Nat back because we’re family, not because of a kiss we shared. Besides,” he nervously rubbed the back of his neck, “I met someone along the way.”        Nat’s scarlet eyebrows shot to the middle of her forehead. There went the best spy in the world award. “Why didn’t you tell us?”        “Because we didn’t wanna label anything, especially with how the world was, but uh… I think we might give this a serious shot.”        “Who’s the lucky girl?” Nat’s signature smirk adorned her lips, and in all her life she would’ve never bet on the fact that the Hulk would ever blush.        “It’s uh it’s actually Betty… Ross.”        “Thunderbolt’s daughter?” the day had been full of surprises but even that beat everything in Clint’s book.        “Well we had kinda something going on before Hulk was even around, and we just reconnected after the snap… so trust me, I have nothing against you two going at it.”

***

       She could hear the laughter of everyone as Bruce told Steve and Nat to not create some sort of weird super soldier spy babies. The two of them were already a handful, and Y/N smiled at the sentiment.        “You okay?” Peter whispered into Y/N’s neck. It felt wrong to speak above that level, the scenery was way too calm for that. Even the waves across the lake were muted.        “For the first time in almost eighteen years, I can say, I am,” she gave him a tight smile, holding the glass case of where her dad’s first arc reactor was displayed. “He’s giving it up. The superhero life. For good now.”        Peter’s lips quirked up. “How do you know? This is your dad we’re talking about.”        “Yeah, but I think mom would actually commit murder if he even thought of being Iron Man…” Y/N looked over the lake.    It was bittersweet to know how much her family’s life had changed in those five years she was gone. She had a little sister now, Pep and Tony lived here in the countryside, and now he was passing up the mantle of Iron Man.    “I know he’ll always be there when we need him, when the real shit’s going down, but I’m happy about him not doing it anymore. He deserves a quiet life with mom and Morgan.”        “And you?” Peter observed how his girlfriend chewed on the bottom of her lip before releasing it once his thumb went to pull it out from between her teeth. “You deserve that as well with your family.”        “And we’ll have that,” Y/N intertwined her fingers with Peters, and pressed a kiss to them, “but first, we’ll protect the Earth. I think that’s why he gave this to me. Sort of a symbol of – now it’s your turn.”        Peter’s brows furrowed. “Your turn?”            “You’re looking at the one and only Iron Maiden.”        “Like the band?” he smirked.        “Or like the torture weapon. We’ll see what happens.”        He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips as he kissed Y/N’s exposed shoulder, but their moment was disrupted when someone lightly tapped against her back.        “Dad said to come and get you,” Morgan nervously rolled back and forth on her feet. “We’re making cheeseburgers and having juice pops after that.”        “Really?” Y/N smirked taking Morgan’s extended palm and standing up, the arc reactor securely held in her other hand, and Peter’s hand on the small of her back. “Sounds like the perfect combo.”

Tags (crossed out wouldn’t take): @lumelgy @palaiasaurus64 @supernaturalbaesduh @breezy1415 @crazy--me @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @sea040561 @staryeyedgirl @deathbyarabbit @s-c-a-r-e-d-po-t-t-e-r @reblogger-not-a-blogger @m-a-t-91 @dalilx @i-need-a-hero-i-need-a-loki @maladaptive-ninja-returns @averyrogers83 @in-the-end-im-still-trash @gallifreyansass @dewy-biitch @avxgers @unlikelygalaxygiver @sweet-ladyy @magicwithaknife @ollyoxenfrees @bnhvrdy @tvwhoresblog @celebsimagines @thatkindofgurl @sj-thefan@nerissa98 @happyseagrill @asguardiansoftheavengers @crazybutconfidentaf @wishingforahome @pizzarollpatrol @desir-ae@wantingtobekorra @kylokayd @infamousmany @3blue-dreams3 @sarcasticvodka @synka-rin @3nmxnxt3r @supernatural-strangerthings-1980 @nikolett3 @eyesinconstellations @youngbloodholland @marvels-queen-bee @julierousing98 @maggiesimps @horrorx570ximagines @luluthegreatandterrible @bambamwolf87 @drakesfiance @artbysteph87 @beets1bears1battlestargalactica

A/N: I’ve been working on this the whole day, but I apologise if there are any grammar errors. Some of the dialogue taken from the actual movie script.

P.S. feedback is always appreciated

P.S.S. my tags are always open :)

[fullmetalscullyy]

Hey Emma. I hope you're having a great day! From your prompt list of ANGST, write me up one of these prompts. “Get the hell out.” You're super awesome! -Stacy

ok.

so i know this is SUPER late. i have no excuses… just wasn’t in the mood for a while… however…

this is sitting at 20k words (not in this ask, i had to break it up into a full blown chapter story kjfkdgn) and i probably (finally) only have about 1k-2k words left to write. it spiralled waaay out of control (in the best way i hope D:)

it’s been a long time coming but it’s f i n a l l y nearly done.

aaaaand thank you stacy!!! you’re so great ilysm

sorry for the angst but u did ask uwu so here’s about 20k words of it :)

enjoy!

rated: t | words: 1978

read on ao3 and ffnet

His Protector - Chapter 1

“You did this?”

His Highness’ voice was low. She’d gone against his wishes, but it was for his own good. He couldn’t see that now, maybe he never would, but it would mean he’d be safe. That was all that mattered right now to his First Knight.

“I did, Your Highness.” Her tone was unapologetic, and rightly so, she thought.

“I explicitly told you not to carry out this request.” His tone was dangerous now.

King Mustang was angry, and Knight Hawkeye could understand that. She knew he’d be offended that she went behind his back, knew he’d feel betrayed, but she still did it.

“I told you I could handle it.”

The Knight didn’t doubt it, but she wouldn’t let him walk to his death. She couldn’t.

Her King was stubborn but had always heeded her warnings. This time, he hadn’t, and it was concerning. Riza Hawkeye had done some digging and discovered just how dangerous this venture may become. She had a bad feeling in general about the whole operation, and her gut had never failed her before. Only this time, her King had dismissed her concerns. He was dead set on following through with it. It both baffled and irritated her, as the head of his security.

If he wouldn’t listen to her as she tried to protect him, she’d have to step in to make sure that happened. She was protecting him from himself.

“I understand that, Your Highness, however given the evidence, I made an executive decision to call the meeting off.”

“What evidence?” he exploded, standing from his throne. “There’s no evidence to indicate this situation would threaten my life.”

“Your Highness, I’ve had a very bad feeling about this from day one,” Riza explained herself.

“I don’t work on bad feelings,” he interrupted.

Riza felt her irritation spike. “Yes, Your Highness, however, it’s saved my life, and yours, more often than I can count –”

“You disobeyed my orders and went against my wishes based on a “gut feeling”.” His expression was hard, his eyes unforgiving. This wasn’t how she anticipated this conversation going. It was derailing very quickly, but she was just doing her job. “That’s something I cannot have, and will not tolerate, in my court. Is that understood?”

“Of course, Your Highness.” She had to swallow past the lump in her throat to get the words out, but Riza managed.

“You no longer hold the status as my First Knight.”

That felt like a knife in her heart, but Riza had expected it. Harsh, but she knew the consequences of her actions and would accept them wholeheartedly, because it was for the King’s own safety.

“You’re no longer a part of my court. Get the hell out.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Riza bowed as was etiquette, then removed the seal from the front of her armour. It was King Mustang’s personal seal and showed the title she held as his First Knight. She’d been his closest advisor, his confidant, and his protector. He felt betrayed by her actions, Riza knew this. She could see it in his eyes. It had hurt like hell to go against him, but she was simply doing her job.

Riza approached and placed the seal on the table at the bottom of the dais leading up to his throne. She patted it once, unable to help herself as she bid farewell to her old friend. It hurt. This seal had been a part of her for years and just like that, it was gone. It was him who’d taken it from her. It hurt like hell.

Turning, Riza left the throne room, her movements controlled. There was no argument because she knew he wouldn’t listen. It frustrated her completely. Irritated her, even. How could he be so blind and stubborn? He may have felt betrayed by her actions, but the feeling was mutual. She’d advised him for so long and suddenly, he brushed her aside? Dismissed her warning and concerns? That was a betrayal in itself.

However, she’d done her part to ensure his safety. Riza had done all she could – even went behind his back and against his wishes. There wasn’t much else she could do. The knight just hoped it was enough.

As she turned, her mask cracked, and she let out a shaky breath. It was silent, so he wouldn’t hear her, and her movements never faltered as she walked away from the man she loved. Tears crept up to her eyes and threatened to fall, but she held them at bay.

All her life she’d dedicated herself to King Roy Mustang and his family. They’d taken her in after her father passed away. Berthold had been Roy’s father’s advisor, and Riza had been accepted into the family with open arms. The last thing she’d wanted to do was betray him like this, but Riza felt she had no choice. She was doing the right thing, she believed. She’d prevented him from attending a meeting which would threaten his life. Roy had told her he was going regardless of warnings from the rest of the court, because he was determined to make things right and to create a peace treaty with the neighbouring kingdom.

The letter she’d given him tonight had been forged – by a friend of hers – to explain the meeting had been called off. The “sender” – a mutual friend and messenger between the two kingdoms – advised the King not to travel because of safety concerns brought forth by the First Knight. It named her because it was the only way the King would believe it was true.

Riza exited the castle and walked across the courtyard. Her horse was waiting for her, held in place by the stable hand for her arrival. Expressing her thanks, she mounted the horse and set out through the castle town. The roads were quiet. It was almost midnight, so not many people would be milling about, but the streets were almost eerie as she rode away from the only life she’d ever known.

Her future now was completely uncertain. However, she did have one last thing to do as the King’s First Knight. She had a plan and it was time to set it in motion.

After exiting the town gates Riza entered the forest and rode to a clearing. It was well used by her throughout the years as it was off the beaten path and far enough from the road that no one could eavesdrop.

“Knight Hawkeye?” a voice called out, unsure.

Riza dismounted her horse and approached the sound. A young man exited the cover of the trees and stepped into the moonlight.

“It’s just Hawkeye from now on, Alphonse,” Riza stated gently.

“Ah. Right. So, it’s done?”

Riza nodded, ignoring the pain in her chest. The wind from the ride had dried her tears. There would be time for that once this was all over and the King’s safety was secured. Until then, she would need to be level-headed and focussed. Even though she was no longer his First Knight, she still had a duty to her King, and a personal vow to protect him at all costs, no matter what her status was.

“It’s done. Step one is complete.”

“… Now it’s time for step two,” Alphonse finished for her.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Riza nodded.

“Right.”

She would attend the meeting in the King’s stead and try to bring about peace to the regions.

The threat on King Mustang’s life was very real, so there was no way Riza would let him go ahead with it. However, peace was still important. Riza believed that. So, she would go first to beat him there, and if they threatened her life… Well, she was better dying than the King. The kingdom needed him. He was a good and just King. Everyone loved him and it was the most successful ruling the kingdom had had in centuries. Riza wouldn’t jeopardize that.

Plus, then the King would have his damn evidence if she ended up dead. Hopefully that would penetrate his thick skull.

“When do we leave?” Alphonse asked.

“I leave tonight. You go home to your brother.”

His eyes flashed with indignation. “I’m not leaving you to do this alone,” he argued.

“Alphonse –” Riza knew there would be an argument, but she was too drained to start it with him.

“No,” he shook his head. “I’ve come too far to drop it now. This plan was my suggestion, and it’s the reason you’ve lost your place in the King’s Court.” The reminder was harsh, and there was another stabbing pain in her heart. “The least I can do is see it through.”

“Al –”

“No, Riza.” His tone was firm and unyielding.

Riza looked into his eyes and saw a fire in them. His determination and loyalty to her may end up being the death of him and that’s why she was so hesitant to bring him along. However, there would be no stopping Alphonse, Riza knew that much.

“I have so many more magic abilities and I’ll be able to get you out of there if things get too dicey. I can help.”

“You’re a teenager –”

“Who has, on more than one occasion, proved my skill and my loyalty to you,” he reminded her. Then, his expression turned hurt. “You still don’t think I can do it?”

Riza stared at him for another moment, then gave in. She’d lost her fight.

“No,” she replied. She approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder, softening her knees so she was eye level with him. He’d sprouted a few inches over the past few months and was almost catching up with her. “I don’t doubt your loyalty or abilities,” she reassured him. “It’s never been about that.”

“Then why won’t you let me help?” he pleaded.

“Because if anything was to happen to you, and you were hurt, or worse, you died, that’s something I wouldn’t be able to live with.” Her gaze was steady as she willed him to understand, her tone resolute. She gripped his shoulder tighter. “I would never forgive myself,” she whispered. “And I can’t bear the thought of it.”

They’d both worked closely over the last year. He was an advisor for the outskirts of the kingdom for her, and that was where he lived with his brother and his family. Alphonse was a bright and skilled mage, who’d learned the art from his father. He must have had a hell of a teacher, because at the age of nineteen, he was more skilled than most mages she’d been able to work with throughout her career.

It was also Alphonse who’d helped her come up with ideas to postpone the meeting, or avoid the King attending it completely, if they could. King Mustang was an immovable object though and would not heed her warnings. Alphonse lived near the neighbouring kingdom and had seen first-hand the affect the ruler had on their people. A kingdom where innocent traders and townspeople were left for dead on the road was not somewhere Riza wanted her King to go.

Too bad Roy is too stubborn to realise it.

Alphonse gripped the wrist of the hand on his shoulder tightly, his determination returning. “I won’t allow that to happen. I can get us out of there if things go south. I’ve got so many healing and protection spells because my father was paranoid about me and my brother getting hurt by the soldiers from the neighbouring kingdom. I’m well prepared.” His eyes flashed with the same fire that hadn’t wavered over the last few months. “I can make this happen, Riza.”

“All right,” she relented. There was no pleased look in Alphonse’s eyes, just determination.

“Let’s get to work.”

[adorkabletodd]

Better Without Me (Jason Todd x Reader)

Summary: Reader and Jason meet again after they broke up for 2 months and you saw Jason with his other ex Isabel

Tagged request: @carolinawindsay, @jason-todd-squad

Warnings: slight angst, curse words

Word count: 2816

There's gonna be Roy Harper x Platonic!Reader

—

(Y/N) didn’t know why she agreed to this. At first, it felt like she owed Roy for saving her life in the last mission they had together but now she’s starting to feel unsure the moment she saw him again.

Just ten hours ago (Y/N) thought that a sudden call from her old friend was a harmless thing. She knew Roy ever since he became Speedy, the famous sidekick to Green Arrow. Roy met a little orphan girl and decided to bring her with him and ever since then the young archer introduced (Y/N) to Black Canary, she took (Y/N) under her wing.

Being friends with Roy had its ups and downs, what she’s most certain of is that she knew meeting Jason Todd was the best thing that ever happened in her life. Even in a situation such as this.

“(Y/N), please. I need you to be my backup in case things turned out bad.” Roy pleaded for the fifth time.

The (H/C) haired girl rolled her eyes, “what am I even doing here Roy? You can’t just expect me to go blind on whatever it is we’re diving into.”

“All you need to know is that an unknown shady group of bad guys is plotting against the Titans. And before you say anything, yes, normally I wouldn’t care about anything involving Dick and his team.” Roy explained, “but they took something from me and I need to get it back.”

The look in Roy’s eyes became dark, (Y/N) saw no trace of the playful persona her friend used to have. In every mission, they’ve ever done she knew Roy would always brighten up every mood. But this, from his look alone she knew this was serious.

“Alright.” (Y/N) said, “where are we going?”

--

That night they meet up at a nearby bar and took an hour drive to the outskirts of Central City. (Y/N) didn’t know where they were or what the place is called, but she was dressed in a proper (F/C) knee-length dress and Roy in a black tux. The two of them walk past a line where they are faced with the security guard looking down on them.

Roy pulled out an invitation from his jacket, and the security guard gestured them to go inside. “Much obliged, my good man.” (Y/N) rolled her eyes, and the security guard did too.

The grand door opened for them and music blasted into the air and colorful lights flashed around the room. Roy gently leads (Y/N) to a more quieter bar and ordered drinks for the two of them.

“So what’s the plan here?” (Y/N) leaned over to the bar “Henry Loski. He’s the owner of this place and I wanna bet a guy like him wouldn’t shy away from a deal that involves with human trafficking.” Roy gestured to a V.I.P area were a group of men lounging around with cigars on one hand and a bunch of whores on the other. One, in particular, he’s referring to is an old man wearing a navy blue suit. 

“Alright, I’m going in. Get that guy to warm up to me, and you, my dearest (Y/N)” Roy held both of her hands in a gentleman like gesture “are gonna stay here and look beautiful, these guys will listen to anything if they know I’m dominant with the ladies.”

“Pigs.” (Y/N) muttered under her breath.

When Roy left to go to the V.I.P area (Y/N) sat on the stool just as a waiter came to bring in her martini. Taking a sip of the alcoholic beverage she examines the place surrounding her.

This place was mostly filled with rich teenagers getting wasted and living the fullest. Not exactly her kind of place to go to forget all of her problems but it's still a decent place to go when staying away from people you know.

(Y/N) wanted this night to be over as quickly as possible, but fate doesn't seem to agree tonight. Across the room, she spotted a familiar dark-haired man talking to a woman. She knew him, she could never forget those beautiful blue eyes and the way his face turned soft with just a smirk.

She never would have thought that she'd see Jason Todd again after that night they parted ways.

The more (Y/N) stared at him the more she starts to remember the way her heart aches on that fated day. Two months with no contact from one another and yet she still yearns for him. She can still feel the power he has against her by just a few feet away. It still isn't clear to her on the reason why Jason wanted to break up. Something about protecting her well being or that someone dangerous is after him and the people he cares about.

A load of bullshit, she thought. Jason knows that (Y/N) is strong enough to fight any lunatic criminal this world has to offer. She knew he was stubborn enough to not tell her the reason anyway. No matter how much she tried, Jason wouldn't budge so the only thing she knew how to do was to give Jason what he wanted.

She loved Jason. Still, do. Both of them knew what it felt like to survive all alone when they don't have anyone to turn to they lean on each other. From there, everything fell naturally into place. They're both broken but maybe that's one of the reasons why (Y/N) loved him so much.

(Y/N)'s train of thoughts suddenly stopped when Roy came back "sorry it took me so long, got all the info I need. Now let's head over to the warehouse it shouldn't be too far from— (Y/N)? You okay?"

Her (E/C) orbs narrowed while gently tugging on to Roy's sleeves as if trying to grab for support. "Did you know he was going to be here?" She mumbled.

"Who?"

(Y/N) quickly darted her eyes to where Jason was before retreating back down. Thankfully Roy caught on to who she was gesturing to and his expression mirrored her the moment he saw his best friend.

"(Y/N), I swear to you I didn't know he was going to be here." When the girl didn't reply Roy grab hold of her trembling hand and place his other hand against her back, ushering her to another location. "Come on, let's go someplace quiet."

She followed along to where Roy was about to lead her, she didn't know how she had the courage to look back but when she did, she felt a burning ache in her heart when she set her eyes on Jason, kissing that other woman.

An overwhelming rush of emotions washed over her mind and her legs felt like it would go out any second so her grip became tighter around the archer as if her life depended on it. Roy caught a glimpse of the lip-locking scene over his shoulder, but he couldn't think about that now. He needed to take (Y/N) somewhere private without unwanted eyes.

When the two made it out to an outdoor patio Roy lead the girl to the railing for her to lean on, he purposely stood behind her blocking the door so that (Y/N) wouldn't be able to see the painful truth.

"So he moved on, huh?" She muttered to herself. A pitiful laugh escaped (Y/N)'s lips.

She loved him. She really did and seeing him tonight having fun with someone else made her wonder where she has done wrong. "Why am I like this, Roy?" She said. The redhead stayed silent trying to sync in her sorrowful state.

"I still don't know why he thought leaving me was for the best, maybe if he'd just fucking explain the whole situation we could have work things out together!" With each word (Y/N) spit out her voice grew louder. And once she stopped she realized that she needed to keep her emotions in check, she didn't realize that whenever she did that her arms wrapped itself around her body. "And that woman." She let out barely a whisper.

"Just the thought of him moving on so easily— it hurts." At this point (Y/N) was fighting against her will to push down her tears. She didn't want to look weak, not in front of Roy, not in a place like this.

"I'm surprised to see him with her, too" Roy muttered.

"Blonde... Blue eyed... She must be Isabel then" (Y/N) thought out loud.

"You knew her?" Roy asked, slightly taken back. (Y/N) shook her head. "He only mentioned her once, and he never talked about her either. You'd think Jason would have a long track record of romance with people other than me and her?"

Roy shrugged, but also nod in agreement “yeah good point”.

It didn’t occur to (Y/N) how cold the night was until she felt the soft wind blew across her cheek and naked shoulders. Roy noticed the slight shiver his friend made and took off his jacket. Proceeding to wrap it around (Y/N). 

(Y/N) wasn’t about to protest, she’s grateful to have Roy with her. “I gotta be honest, (Y/N),” Roy said. “Jaybird is a lot of things, but being a blind idiot isn’t one of them.” The archer leaned his back against the railing and cross his arms. “I couldn’t tell you the reason why he chose to do the things he did. But what I could tell you is that I’ve known Jason my entire life and he has never and I mean ever love anyone as much as he loves you.”

For the first time tonight, the (H/C) haired girl smiled. Genuinely at Roy, she couldn’t ask for a better friend to comfort her. Though the smile slowly faded as she starts to realize she's supposed to be helping Roy with his mission. She felt a small amount of guilt for taking his time and being heartbroken all over again.

“That’s sweet of you to say, Roy. And I'm sorry for thinking like this, you're mission is more important and I should be the one to help you." 

 "Nah, don't worry about it. Jaybird would kill me if he knew I'd disregard your feelings like this." (Y/N) chuckled lightly "I don't mean to be ungrateful for your comfort speech Roy, but it's still hard for me to believe he would still feel that way about me.” 

 “Would you believe it if I admit how I feel about you, Doll?” 

 The two young adults jump at the sudden voice and they turn to the new presence behind them. (Y/N) felt her blood run cold as Jason stared at her in the eyes. 

"Still helping out the Titans?" Jason asked. 

 "They couldn't help it" Roy lightly jokes. "What about you? Still searching?" 

Jason opened his mouth but halted his words. He glances over (Y/N) and spoke softly "I'm getting there." 

 (Y/N) felt her palms began to sweat as she fiddles with the sleeves of Roy's jacket. "Roy, would you mind accompanying my friend for a while? I think she wants to see you." The red archer flashed a confused look for a moment until he saw the way his friend stares longingly at the woman before him. 

 "Oh, right. I was about to do that." Roy pointed to Isabel with finger guns before awkwardly walk back inside. He wasn't sure if leaving (Y/N) alone with Jason was a good idea, but he does know that this is the closure she needed. 

Once Roy was out of sight Jason cautiously took a step forward, (Y/N) pressed her back closer to the railing and pulled the jacket covering her body further. 

"You look… Good, (Y/N)." 

 She didn't answer him, only glance down to his shoes. He knows that seeing him again only cause more pain in her heart, though Jason knew for a fact that she was still able to captivate him with her beauty. 

 "Listen, I know this is the last thing you wanted to hear but— I'm sorry, (Y/N). I truly am."

"No." (Y/N) said, "you don't get to tell me you're sorry until you tell me why you left that night." 

 "(Y/N)… Please, we already talked about this—" 

"I talked. You walked away. Why are you even out here Jason? You're wasting both of our time if all you do is lie straight to my face again." (Y/N) didn't mean to sound so harsh, but maybe seeing the sorrow shown in Jason's eyes is what she needed in order to leave all this behind. 

 Now he was at lost for words. "I always thought that I knew you better than anyone else" (Y/N) said. "I tried to understand Jay, to figure out a way to help you but all you did was pushed me away saying it's for my own good. You don't get to make that decision for me! You took away my choice to stand by you like we promised!" 

(Y/N) blinked letting her tears roll down her cheeks. Her vision starts to blur at the sight of the man she loved. 

It took everything in Jason to restrain himself. He mentally fought the urge to wipe away those tears. To pull her in his arms and to erase all the mistakes he has made. To shower her with kisses and endless whispers of ‘I love you’s. Oh, god. He wanted her to know how badly he needed her. She was— is still the love of his life, his light, and yet, he's too much of a coward to say it. 

"You're right," Jason said. "I wasn't fair to you, I acted on my own and I should've let you in. I didn't tell you why I had to go because I was terrified. Fuck- if anything were to happen to you I don’t know what I’d do.”

“Is that what you also say to Isabel tonight?” (Y/N) spoke bitterly. Jason’s eyes slightly widen taken back by your words “I tried to let you go, but all I could think about is you. Isabel only tried to help me but seeing you here tonight just— God, you make me fall over my knees, you know that?”

A sudden cold touch sent a violent shiver down (Y/N)’s spine as Jason’s hand cup her cheeks. Wiping away the wet trails of tears with his thumb. She didn’t realize how close their bodies are pressed against each other.

“You always know how to light up my day in the darkest hours. Every time I come home you greet me with your beautiful smile, it makes every battle worth it knowing I’ll be rewarded with the love in your eyes.” Jason hovered his lips above (Y/N)’s, ghosting with his warm breath. “I always thought that... I don’t deserve your love...” Jason slowly closed his eyes and leaned forward. He wanted so badly to feel her soft lips again, but he was stopped when her index finger met his lips and lightly pushed him back.

When he opened his eyes, he wasn’t prepared to face (Y/N)’s answer.

“You’re right. You don’t deserve my love.”

Jason pulled back lightly. His heart pounds wildly in his chest after hearing her words. “I gave you my everything Jason. You ask me to go and I left without a fight because I trust that you’ll one day tell me why you chose to go through this alone when you’ve had me to support you no matter what. You don’t trust me enough to share me your burdens and I can’t be pushed to the sidelines expecting to welcome you back when all you did was kept me in the dark.”

The world became silent and with every second Jason could feel his heart being pierced through with a knife. Jason felt his throat began to dry as he tries to swallow the lump in his throat, he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“If being together only forced you to push me away... Then I guess it’s better for both of us if we stay out of each other’s lives for good.”

With a heavy heart, (Y/N) removed Jason’s hands from her cheeks. Gripping onto him tightly for one last time, as a sign of reassurance. She looked into Jason’s eyes only to find nothing but a hollow mirror that reflects her own.

She signed deeply before walking back inside, stopping near the door, she turned back to him only to see that Jason didn’t move a muscle.

“I love you, Jason, but if you keep doing this to me then you are better off without me.”

The sound of (Y/N)’s clicking heels slowly faded, and when Jason couldn’t hear her steps anymore he felt a heavyweight in his body. Realization crashed down to him like a boulder, suffocating him from the thought. 

He waited too long, and now he paid the price by losing his love for good.

---

writing angst is so hard and that story was bad. I’m not making part two though and I never said this was going to be a happy ending.

hope you enjoyed it though!

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Hello, hello! I would like to request for Dabi and Overhaul! Headcanons on how they react to having their s/o die in their arms? I'm in an angsty mood lately! Thank you in advance!

Sure thing, dear! I’m a horrible angst writer, but I hope I did well!!

Dabi

Dabi is usually a person who never actually shows his REAL emotions, so the fact that he actually has a lover is kind of a huge deal

Maybe he still has a (huge) hard time dealing with his feelings and he’s trying to learn how to cope with them and show them to his S/O, but with their help, he’s sloooowly becoming a better person for himself and for his S/O

With their help, he learnt how to love again, despite his horrendous past which he kept hidden behind his aloof and stoic, mocking mask of a bad guy

So clearly, he made sure to be very careful so that nothing in the world would ever harm them, or he’d go insane with grief

He’s actually a very loving person with a big heart which he preferred to deny he has because of all the bad things from the past, but with his angel next to him, he forgot any bad thing and only focused on them and the beautiful present and future spent along with them

The problem was that he never, in a million years, expected to find himself in the situation that required saving them from an atrocious beast like the Nomu-…A beast sent by the League of Villains with whom he was working

He was ENRAGED to say the least

His S/O was a very kind person and loved to go outside to walk in the nature, so when the Nomu attacked, they went to save the children, despite their Quirk not being very the most fight-proficient, but at least the poor innocent souls were safe

Their own safety, however…Was down the drain

The Nomu attacked them mercilessly, breaking their bones and slamming them around as they tried their best to keep the monster busy enough for the rest of the civilians to scatter to safety and for the Heroes to finally arrive…But it was all for naught

Nobody came to save them

Not until the Nomu finally got bored of the limp human and left them there, to stare mindlessly into the bright blue sky, barely able to keep their eyes open, until they heard their name being called in desperation

It was him-

                           Dabi

Not a second later, they got their head put on his lap, both his hands on their cheek, looking at them with an unknown expression of fright that they’ve never seen before, especially not at him

“What the hell happened here?! Who dared touch you?! Where were those stupid useless Heroes?! Gods, Y/N, please, stay awake! Stay alive! For me! For everything in this world that you hold dear, please, I beg of you, DON’T close your eyes!! Y/N!!!”“I-It’s…Okay, l-love…I s-saved them…From th-the Nomu…”“Nomu…? The League attacked you…? Here? In broad daylight?!”“They were after…Children…Innocent…I c-couldn’t…”“You silly…Gods, what do I do?! HEY! I NEED HELP HERE! SOMEONE’S INJURED! HEYYYY!!!!!”

He was beginning to shake in pure fear and worry, not knowing what to do, completely aware that if he were to start moving his S/O around, they’d lose blood much faster and they’d die in the process, so the whole situation became a never-ending nightmare from which he had no escape

He, like everyone else, had no power against life or death

He felt, for the first time, ultimately powerless

And he H A T E D it

“Please d-don’t cry…My love…”“How could I not when you’re about to…To…”“I will always be w-with you n-no matter what, okay? I-I promise t-to watch and g-guide you from a-above, Dabi.”“DON’T SAY THAT-!!!”“I love you, Dabi…”“NO!!!”“Say it back, please…”“B-But…!”“Please, Dabi. I want t-to see y-you smile…And say it…O-One more time…Please…”“I…I love you…S/O…I truly love you…Forever.”“Thank you, love. Please r-remember me, b-but move on a-and seek happiness.”“I…I will try.”

With one last smile, they slowly closed their eyes, letting a complete darkness take over them, not being able to hear the screams of anguish from Dabi, nor see the blazing blue ocean of fire that the former-villain unconsciously formed as he tried to comprehend the fact that the only person he ever cared for died and it was partially his fault that happened

When the heroes arrived and saw the miserable scene in front of them, they were shocked and had no idea how to react, apart from trying to put out the fire, which wasn’t any use, since it always went back, twice as powerful

So the only thing they could do was let the man calm down by himself and make sure nobody gets hurt in the process

Not even in his worst, most painful nightmares could Dabi ever imagine that his heart would get crushed in such a horribly cruel way, and even more, he never even wished to think that his S/O could even be capable of dying

They were his light in such a dark place this Earth is, and now, even his little angel has been taken back to a better place, leaving him all alone, again, on the lonely, never-ending planet

He was alone, and he knew it

He was alone, and he hated it

But one thing was certain…

EVERYONE will pay for the crimes they did against him and his precious Y/N

And boy…Thing will get VERY ugly…

Chisaki Kai

On a serious note, this guy is pretty busy most of the time so he doesn’t actually bother much to make sure his S/O is safe or whatever, since he knows they are capable of taking care of themselves and even more, they need their own privacy, like every person does

He was able to get over his hatred of Quirks and the disgust for anything unclean (just in their case, of course) and they become the only person not expandable in his life (which says a lot since he’d kill anyone to get to the top and achieve his dreams)

Hell, he even got affiliated to the wretched League of Villains to benefit from their fame and resources, but he never imagined that something horrible would happen from betraying them

Something like his S/O getting kidnapped, that is

It took him about a week to realise that something was awfully wrong, since his dear S/O, no matter how much of an introvert and personal person they were, they would ALWAYS text him at least once a day, in a way to tell him that they are okay and he doesn’t need to worry

But to go a full week with no sign from them put him so much on edge that he kept pacing around, not being able to focus on his work and becoming a infinite times more violent than before

He got Chrono to somehow track their phone, which to his surprise, lead exactly to the LoV’s basement, which is exactly where he stormed at

What he saw when he got there was his S/O on Shigaraki’s lap, shaking lightly as he held their sides with only 4 fingers, making sure the 5th doesn’t activate his Quirk unless he wants to

“What the hell is going on here, Shigaraki, and why is my S/O here, in such a compromising state?”“You would like to know, wouldn’t y-”“RUN, CHISAKI, IT’S A TRAP!!!”“You little bitch, didn’t I tell you what would happen if you opened your mouth again?”“What the-”

Chisaki’s eyes narrowed in confusion at his S/O’s trembling scream and their tear-stained face, until he saw Shigaraki decay their shirt off, revealing multiple deep decay wounds on their body and arms which set Chisaki off like a ticking time bomb

“I told you, didn’t I? Speak again, and you get it. After all, the plan was to lure him here, correct? Why else would I keep your phone in this room, hm~?”“Leave him alone…!”“What is the meaning of this madness, Shigaraki? They’ve done nothing wrong to you. Let them go.”“Now, now, Chisaki, don’t get so impatient. After all, it’s your own fault for getting them in this position, you know? If you han’t have betrayed me, this terrible thing I’m doing wouldn’t have had to happen.”“Let them leave, Shigaraki, or I’ll kill you.”“I don’t think you’d actually risk their oh so precious life just to get your revenge, would you? Now step back and wait to see if I have any kind of mercy left in me. If not…Come forth and let’s see for ourselves how easy it is for the human flesh to decay.”

Glaring, he begrudgingly stepped back, his fists balled and trying his best to remain composed and not lash out at the blue-haired man-

But what he did next made him gasp in surprise and horror for the first time in his life.

With a psychotic laugh, Tomura used one hand to grip Chisaki’s S/O’s neck, while with the other, he kept a strong hold on their wrists, holding and decaying them together

They could only bleed and cry in agony, small, barely audible gasps of pain coming from them, which made the young Yakuza go insane, feeling powerless, unable to save the only precious person in his life, so he lashed out and tried to kill Tomura, but Kurogiri was there just in time, pushing Y/N in his arms and creating a barrier so he could safely teleport his master away from the obvious malicious danger

After he calmed down, he kneeled in front of his S/O and taking his gloves off, held one of their hands, while with the other he wiped away the stream of tears going down their cheeks

It was obvious for the both of them that no matter how much he tried, his Quirk wouldn’t allow him to save them, fact that frustrated him to no end

His lover lay there, in pain, having been captured by the enemy because of his reckless actions and he couldn’t even save them…

What kind of boyfriend was he??

A failure, that’s what he was

He failed again, just like with everything he’s ever done before

No matter how hard he tries to succeed, no matter how much he dreams and works towards his goals and ideals, everything around him crumbles and falls apart right in front of him

And the worst was that the only one he ever held so close to his heart, the only thing that was dear to his heart and unexpendable to him was dying in his arms and he could do nothing to reverse the process or save them

He held all the power of this world, but in front of death, even he was powerless

“It’s okay, Ch-Chisaki…Live on f-for me and p-please be happy…”“No, I cannot do that. Not without you.”“Please…Don’t get stubborn now…”“I can’t find happiness without you next to me.”“You can…I showed y-you the way toward the l-light…But now it’s y-you time to walk th-that path…I have faith in you, darling…”“Why would you want me to be happy?! You’re dying because of me! It’s all MY fault, don’t you get it?!”“It’s n-not your fault, silly…I treasured every s-second spent with you…Because I love you, Chisaki. So please, do th-the same and let me go…”“I won’t ever let you go. You will forever be in my heart.”“Th-That’s great to hear, my love.”“I…I love you, Y/N. Farewell.”

They took his hand and snuggled their face into his palm, letting the veil of death fall over them, wearing a peaceful expression, unlike Chisaki who couldn’t stop the stray tear from falling on their face as he slowly brought them close to his chest and hugged them tightly, not wanting to believe that they were dead

Not wanting to admit that they could have been alive if it weren’t for his reckless mistake

Not wanting to admit that the only light he’s ever seen has extinguished

He was alone

And now that he was alone, he finally succumbed to the darkness that was once caged in light, and he could unleash the monster of revenge upon this whole faulty and ignorant world

An angel died for no reason and he was going to bring the divine retribution to everyone who wronged them

Hell finally broke loose.

[cieloxcnco]

orgullo - part 1

Words: 2,000+

Warnings: language and angst. that’s it. going easy on you.

A/N: something I just worked on recently with the help of the lovely @writtersmindkdc (thank you as always for listening to me) that you guys deserve after I’ve been so MIA. hope you like it. this is going to be the first in a three part series.

I playfully tossed my newly won Tweety Bird stuffed animal at Chris’ head as he continued to laugh. “Shut up, Chris! It’s not funny!”

He was nearly doubled over, tears protruding at the drawn up corners of his eyes, choking on laughs between words. “And then you just skidded flat on your culito down the ramp. That was hilarious.” He had stopped walking behind me to be able to catch his breath.

I shook my head, biting my lip so I wouldn’t admit he was right. If the roles were reversed, I would have found him falling down a roller coaster exit ramp into a puddle like I did absolutely hilarious. “Good. I’m glad you found it funny. I’m jumping into a pair of your sweats then- the back of my jeans are soaked.”

“They’re in the side left side of the blue duffel on my bunk,” he called as I walked ahead of him, punching in the code to unlock the tour bus door.

There was no usual chaos in the bus, vacant save for Zabdiel sitting in the corner of the table’s booth, picking quick chords on his guitar.

“Hey, Zabdiel,” I said in passing, trying not to read into the solemn expression on his face.

“Hi,” he replied sharply, not taking his eyes off of the fingers holding the strings against the neck.

I poked my head back out from Chris’s bunk after finding the comfiest pants I wanted to steal. “¿Estas bien?”

His tone had been flat, even, void of any emotion. That wasn’t the Zabdiel I knew. But there he sat. “Si.”

“Doesn’t seem like it,” I said.

He gave a very slight shrug of his shoulders and continued playing the chords to ‘Tu Luz’.

“Where is everybody?” I continued, trying to see if I could get any sort of response from him.

“Out,” he shot back.

With it not seeming like he was going to give much more of an answer, I prodded. “Where?”

He let out an aggravated sigh. “Joel, Erick, y Richard estan en el Stone Pony. Creo que hay un concierto allí.”

I hopped into Chris’s bunk with the curtain drawn and changed out of my jeans and wet underwear, jumping into his sweats commando. “They didn’t say anything about going to a concert.”

“It was kind of last minute,” he answered, hitting a wrong chord and slamming his hand against the table.

There wasn’t any skirting around it anymore. He was rarely angry, and this was bad. “Zabdiel, ¿que te pasa?”

“Estoy bien. Did you have fun with Christopher?” I’d never heard him say his friend’s name with such venom before.

“Chris had told me you had plans tonight so we just went to Six Flags...” I trailed off, knowing there had to be more to this to analyze.

It was scary in itself to see Zabdiel angry. It was the Mr. Hyde to his Dr. Jekyll- his normally bright and smiling eyes were dark and clouded. His hair matched the pallor of his usually warm face. But the most alarming part of him holding on to any kind of anger was that it wasn’t explosive. He was almost never vocal about it, but he would just shut down completely, like he was before my eyes now.

I tried to put two and two together. “You weren’t here- are you upset that we didn’t invite you to come along?”

He stopped playing completely, flashing a resigned smile of utter disbelief before he bit down on his pick, clenching his teeth. “No lo entiendes.”

His attitude was getting me agitated now, and I knew this wasn’t going to be pretty. He may have been one to simmer when angry, but I was liable to be volcanic. “What did I do that you’re so pissed off?”

“Olvídalo,” he roared, shoving his guitar into his bunk and stalking over to the kitchen area, searching through the cabinet for a distraction.

I was gritting my teeth. “Zabdiel, don’t blow me off! Obviously you’re mad at me, and if you are, I deserve to know why.”

Fire sparked in his eyes when he turned to look at me. “The fact that you don’t even know is the mystery to me.”

“I can’t if you don’t talk to me!” The volume of my voice went higher without me realizing.

He shouted back, “Why would I? Everything I say, you don’t listen to anyway.” Out of anxious habit, he ran his fingertips back and forth across his scalp, reaching for his former curls to only find the short buzz beneath.

At that, Christopher had unlocked the door and was hopping up the bus stairs. “Hey, guys, did you know if-”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I snapped back at Zabdiel.

"I said to forget it!" Zabdiel countered.

Chris quickly surveyed the scene and turned right around and out the door. “- creo que debo regresar despues.”

Our focus hadn’t left the heat of each other’s eyes. “Zabdiel, honestly, what the f-”

“It’s not worth arguing over. Forget about it,” he seethed, grabbing the closest snack bag in the closet and toying with it just to give his fingers purpose.

I tried not to let the desperation show in my voice. “How am I going to forget about it when you’re so angry at me?”

His strong stone wall finally collapsed and he growled, “What did we talk about this morning?”

I stopped. CNCO had played a show in Baltimore the night before and was scheduled for a concert in New York City the next day. To make our way up, we stopped in south Jersey to have one day to enjoy ourselves close to the beach before we kept driving. Everyone had different ideas about what to do on our one day off, but I certainly would have remembered if Zabdiel had said anything specific. I stood for a moment, trying to recall word for word so I couldn’t be tripped up. “What we wanted for breakfast?  When we had to leave so we’d be in New York in time? Who took your iPad?”

The fire in his eyes died down as they held on to mine. “You made plans with me and you just go spend all day with Chris.”

“We didn’t make plans,” I protested. “No dijiste-”

The angry shouting was gone, replaced by a slow, melancholy tone. “I said I had a surprise for you tonight and asked if you were free. I wanted to do something nice for you- and you just didn’t care.”

“Zabdiel,” I started solemnly.

He cut me off quickly. “It’s fine. I’m glad to know you’d rather spend the time with my friend. I’m glad I know now rather than...” He drifted into thought but stopped himself just as fast. “No te preocupes. Todo esta bien.”

I shook my head and sighed. I had always loved being around the band. Having been friends with Erick growing up, it was just an excuse to have me be the band’s makeup artist on tour. I had grown close to all the boys after La Banda, like I was part of the family. But Zabdiel was different. I had one of those quintessential schoolgirl crushes on the friend of the guy I considered my brother. And the way we clicked when we all hung out, it just felt right. Our personalities meshed, our interests were the same, our humor was compatible, but neither of us ever approached the dangerous line that separated ‘friends’ and ‘something more’.

In all the time I had lived basically on their tour bus, I hadn’t witnessed much fighting. They all got along as friends before La Banda and were just lucky with the draw. During the few fights that I had seen, Zabdiel was the calm mediator. He was rarely ever the offended party- he always let things roll off his back. The fact that something had gotten this deep under his skin, especially that the something was me, was a painful realization.

“Just go,” he muttered. “He’s looking for you.”

“Why are you being so stubborn?” I spat, channeling my frustration rather than my hurt.

“I don’t want to deal with this right now,” he mumbled to himself, barely at a level that I could hear, going to walk past me.

“Deal with me? My apologies, Zabdiel. I didn’t realize that was such a difficulty,” I snarled sarcastically. His eyes reignited, stopping to stand in front of me as I continued, “If you planned something, you didn’t make that clear. I’m sorry we had a misunderstanding, but you don’t have to jump down my throat!”

It took a few moments for the rage to stop pumping through me and to focus on him. But with my eyes locked on his like this, my heart kept thrumming. We were so close, and it was taking every bit of self control not to reach up and kiss him like I so desperately wanted to.

That was when the emotion in his face became palpable to me. This wasn’t anger. He wasn’t furious with what I had done. This wasn’t disappointment. He might have made plans with me but it wasn’t like we couldn’t plan something else eventually.

He was consumed by the fact that I had spent the evening alone with Chris rather than him. This was jealousy.

Our proximity had me breathless. “Zabdiel,” I gasped, feeling us drawing close to each other. His face was mere millimeters from my own, his mouth so close and almost offering invitation.

And the bus door opened again, Richard and Joel bounding up the stairs with Erick in tow. Chris tiptoed in behind, apprehensive of what he was walking into. But Zabdiel had already stormed away from me and sat in the corner of the booth, his legs stretched down a whole seat to keep anyone from being next to him.

“¿Que tal, traviesa?,” Richard said, hugging me and handing me back my stuffed Tweety Bird. “Looks like your night out was a success. Chris said he won you this.”

At that, my eyes went to find Zabdiel, but with his back to me I couldn’t see his face.

“He did. It was a lot of fun,” I answered, trying to piece my smiling facade back together. “How was the concert by the beach?”

“Amazing,” he said, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “But I’m exhausted. We’ll talk about it on the drive to New York in the morning?”

I nodded, following everyone’s lead and jumping into our bunks. I turned over, putting my earbuds in and trying to fall asleep, but just hearing his voice singing in my head made my heart ache too much to find rest.

The bus got quiet quickly, everyone intent on sleep before the anticipated schedule of tomorrow. All lights slowly went out, leaving only Erick and Zabdiel sitting in the silence. Erick tapped the tips of his converse against the floor and Zabdiel rested his chin on his knuckles.

“¿Estas bien, Zabdi?” Erick asked slowly, almost hesitant.

His tone was even and low. “She was at the amusement park with Chris the whole time. We got into an argument.”

“Yeah, Chris told us outside before we came in. He heard part of it.” Erick shed his jacket and put his feet up to rest on the seat across the aisle. “Did you tell her you had gotten the tickets to the concert so you could go with her? That you gave them to us because you didn’t want to go to see her favorite band without her?”

He only shook his head. “She would rather be with Chris. I’m not going to make a fool out of myself by showing my feelings.”

Erick raised his eyebrows incredulously. “Make a fool out of yourself? Zabdiel, you love-”

Zabdiel cut his bandmate off quickly. “If she makes it that obvious that she doesn’t feel the same, she doesn’t need to know how I feel.”

Erick rolled his eyes and kicked his shoes off, shaking his head. At times like this, the only thing stronger than Zabdiel’s angry resolve was his pride.

Part 2 now here