#the people who started this company have no fucking clue how to run a pet store

[sga-owns-my-soul]

wow made it three whole months at the new job before things went to absolute shit and i want to quit

[bucky-barnes-diaries]

The Office

Pairing; CEO+Dad’s Best Friend!Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader

Summary; You and Bucky fuck for the very first time in his office at the company’s building.

Word Count; 4574

Warnings; NSFW, 18+, Minors DNI, undefined age-gap, “cheating”, language, cursing, Sir!kink, dirty talk, pet names, slight degradation, hair pulling, oral (male receiving), face-fucking, spitting, fingering, teasing, orgasm denial, unprotected sex, creampie, mention of bodily fluids.

Authors Note; I can’t get enough of CEO+DBF!Bucky so this will be the first of many fics like this! I hope people will like it and be interested in more! Jesus I need to bathe in holy water now. Hope you all enjoy <3

Main Masterlist || CEO+DBF Bucky Barnes Masterlist

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Bucky had begun texting you while sitting in a meeting with your dad and some of the company's other employees. You weren't doing anything important, just at home reading a book, so you were more than happy to text back and forth with him. The meeting was relatively standard and straightforward, it wasn't too much of an importance, so it allowed Bucky to talk with you without feeling guilty while the rest of them sorted out the details. Once in a while, he would chime in with his views and opinions. The text messages were pretty innocent, to begin with. The standard “hello” and “what you are up to” was exchanged between the two of you before more of the dirtier stuff ensued.

You thought about it for a second before you sent him an answer. You and Bucky had started fucking around a few weeks ago. You had met him when your parents had friends and colleagues over for a grand party like they had most of the time. You had just moved back home after living on your own in another city for three years, so this was your first time seeing Bucky in person. You had heard a lot about him and seen pictures when he started working with your dad, and they had formed a tight friendship, but you had never met him in person. He was even more handsome than what the pictures could show when you got introduced to him, and you had started to take a liking to him instantly. He had done as well because not even a week after you met, you and he had started a relationship. To begin with, it was only fucking around, but as the weeks went by, you felt like there may be more to it; sparks were felt between the two of you. None of you had done anything about it yet, mainly because it wouldn’t be received well by the public, your family most likely would disapprove and because of his wife Natalie and her whole family.

Which you didn’t find wrong at all that he was “cheating” on her with you. They both hated each other’s guts and would more than anything like getting a divorce. Bucky had told you that she had cheated on him multiple times, and he had done as well with her, but they played the happy couple when they were out in public because of their families. They got married at a very young age because their families are rich and powerful and wanted their kids to get together, so they are now stuck in this toxic relationship together. But soon, you and Bucky would have to decide where the next step of the relationship would go. Would you continue to sneak around, or would you form a proper relationship and come out for the whole wide world? It was only a matter of time before you needed to decide.

You and he would primarily meet up on neutral grounds. In his car or a hotel but on a few occasions, you had fucked in his or your parent's house in your room. This would be the first time you had done it where he worked; you assumed it would be in his office. It would be risky, but the thought about him taking you hard against every surface had your thighs clenching in need of him.

A soft whimper escaped your parted lips at his promise to fuck your brains out. He was never afraid to be direct with you about his needs and feelings. He always meant what he said, and that was one of your favorite things about him. You could always trust that he would be true to his words.

It would take you about 30 minutes to get over there, so you needed to leave right now. You did a quick freshen up before you called a taxi to get you over to the company’s building. Being in the car gave you time to think this through. You weren't sure how you and he would pull this off. Everyone would see if you entered his office and then wonder what was taking so long and what in the hell you guys were doing in there. In their eyes, you and Bucky weren't even friends. You barely spoke with one another when other people were around, as not to raise any suspicion. For them, you were the boss's daughter while Bucky was his partner, and nothing was going on between you two; besides, Bucky had his “loving” wife, Natalie.

The building stood tall as you arrived. Clouds were teasing rain, and it was a bit cold. The skirt you were wearing made your body chilly, but you kept it on for Bucky's sake. You looked up at the structure before you went through the main entrance. The security guards and the workers at the reception greeted you as everyone was well aware of who you were. You all greeted them with a smile as you walked towards the elevators. Entering the elevator, you became impatient as it took its time to travel up the floors to the main offices in the building. Your legs were uneasy as you shifted your weight from one foot to the other. A thin layer of sweat formed on your hairline as you came up with scenarios with how you and Bucky could get caught. You shook your head, trying to get those thoughts down. You trusted Bucky, and besides, this was something you wanted to try out.

When you arrived at the floor, and the door slid open, you saw your dad, Bucky, and some of the employees coming out of one of the conference rooms. The meeting must have just finished. As you walked over, you tried to put on a smile to mask your nervousness. None of them had seen you yet, except for Bucky. He had you in his sight out of the corner of his eye, a slight smirk on his face as he saw you strutting over. You came to stand between him and your dad.

Bucky couldn’t have been more subtle with staring you up and down; your dad was standing right there after all. His tongue darting out between his lips to wet them, clearly having an image on his head about you bent over at his mercy.

“Hi, dad! Mr. Barnes, it's nice to see you again.”

Bucky gave you a simple nod of his head, acting like he isn't just about to have his way with you in his office with your dad not having a clue about what a whore his sweet and innocent daughter is, “pleasure seeing you again.”

“Sweetheart,” your dad gave you a one-arm hug as he had a smile on his face at his daughter visiting him at work, “what are you doing here?”

“I was in the area and thought I could drop by before moving on with my day.”

“Aw, honey. I wish I could spend some time with you, but we have a meeting again in 30 minutes.”

“It's alright, dad. I'm on my way out again anyways. Have some errands to run,” you lied.

“Excuse me, sweetheart.” He turned to say something to the others. While everyone had their attention on your dad, you turned slightly towards Bucky to give him a “chill out” look. The outfit you were wearing had him on edge and excited to have you in his office as soon as possible. Since the crowd was paying attention to your dad, it allowed Bucky to give you some instructions. He leaned in a little closer to you, but not too close in case someone saw.

“Here,” he slipped you his card, the card for the private elevator he had that went from the parking lot and up to his office, “take the elevator. No one is going to see you. Also, I want you to have your panties off before you come upstairs. You got it?”

You swallowed down the lump in your throat. Your body felt hot and warm. The palms of your hands had a thin layer of sweat on them as you took the card from him. Your heart was hammering against your chest. This was really about to happen.

“Y-yes, Sir.”

“Good girl.”

Like clockwork, your dad turned around towards you again just as Bucky leaned away from your body. “Well, I'll see you when I get home later, sweetheart.” He went to hug you again, and you returned the action.

“Bye, dad. Bye, Mr. Barnes, I'll see you around.”

Everyone said their goodbyes to you before you left. You went out of the building and around it to where the cars went down into the parking lot. Once down there, you made sure that no one was around to see you before you scanned the card for the elevator. The journey up to his office gave you the opportunity to take your panties off. You held them in your hand as you almost bounced up and down in fear and excitement for what was in store for you when you reached his floor.

When the elevator reached the office, and the doors opened, you saw that Bucky was waiting for you, his back facing you. He was staring out the big windows that decorated almost his entire office room.

“Did you take your panties off as I told you to do?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

He turned around so he could be met with you. His tongue wetting his lips as he beckoned with his finger for you to come over to him, “get over here now.” Not even thinking for another second, you were quick to stand by his side by the window, waiting for further instructions he had to give you.

“Give them to me,” the palm of his hand was held out for you to hand them over to him. With shaking hands, you handed them over, and he opened his suit jacket to put them in the inside pocket so he could keep a hold of them.

“Is someone going to come in?”

“Shh,” his hand came to caress the side of your face—his thumb stroking your cheek. The simple action had you relax a tiny bit. “Don't worry. I locked the door, and besides, I told them not to disturb me. Do you trust me?”

“I do, Bucky. With my life.”

“Well then,” his finger pointed down to the floor, and you knew immediately what he was getting at, “get down on your knees for me.”

In front of the window of all things?! For everyone to see? But frankly, you didn't care. Let them see it all. You would give them all a good show. Besides, they wouldn't be able to know that it's you because the next building over was some distance away. All you cared about was to have his dick in your mouth right now and nothing else.

Like second nature, you quickly sank on your knees where you had spent more than once worshiping his cock, and this wouldn't be the last one either. He looked down at you, his eyes dark with desire at you being so easily submissive to him. His tongue peeked out from his mouth at you on your knees for him.

His thumb traced your lips as his other hand was palming the bulge in his pants. You granted him access into your mouth as you sucked and swirled your tongue on his digit.

“I can't wait to have your lips wrapped around me, kitten. Do you want me to fuck your mouth?”

You nodded your head and released his thumb from your mouth, “please, Bucky, I want it so bad.”

Your eyes followed his hands, your lips parted, as he undid his belt and pulled down his suit pants along with his underwear. Coming face to face with his dick, ready to be sucked by you. You wrapped your hand around his shaft and looked up at him through your lashes, waiting so that he could give your permission at proceeding, knowing how much he loved it when you waited for him to provide you with a green light.

“Suck it, baby girl.”

You opened your mouth to swirl your tongue around his head before you wrapped your lips around him so you could suck on his mushroom tip, your tongue teasing him. You could see that he was becoming impatient, so you engulfed him halfway through while massaging his balls in your hand. The action had his hand fist in your hair, making a gasp being sounded against him by you, as an exhale of satisfaction escaped him.

He needed more, so with the help of his hand in your hair, he pushed his dick further into your mouth till the tip of him reached the back of your throat, making you gag around him. The vibrations from your mouth had him shiver all over. Your eyes were watering as saliva started coming out the side of your mouth. Looking directly up into his eyes as you took whatever was left of him the best you could and bobbed your head on him, watching as his eyes struggled to stay open to watch how good you were taking him down your throat.

“F-fuck. That's so good, baby. You love sucking my cock don't you, pretty girl, hm? Such a good girl for me, aren't you?”

His dirty talk turned you on, and all you wanted to do was touch yourself at his words. You released him from your hold. Saliva was hanging from your mouth, and his dick was glistening all in it. Your hand jerked him off so you could answer his question, your voice almost like honey as you spoke. The wetness from you made it easy to glide your hand effortlessly on him.

“Yes, Sir.”

A deep groan was sounded from within his chest at the nickname he loved to be called by you. You on your knees so pretty and messy for him had his dick twitch in your grasp.

“Good, baby. Look at you. Such a beautiful mess for me, kitten.”

“Only for you, Sir.”

His head leaned back some as you took him in your mouth again. Your mouth is an expert at taking the whole of him. “Fuck, I'm gonna cum. Do you want me to cum in your mouth, baby girl?” He asked while slowly thrusting his length in and out of it. All you could do was moan, letting him know that you wanted to taste him.

He picked up his speed and fucked your mouth, making you gag around him each time his tip tickled the back of your throat, and you loved every second of it. His hands came at the side of your face so he could hold you steady as he used your warm and wet hole as he pleased. The sloppy sounds of your mouth, your gags, and moans around him only enticed him even more to reach his end.

His thrusts became uneven, and not a second later, he came deep in your throat. Sounds of pleasure dissolved in the office space as your mouth took all that he had to offer. You swallowed around him, milking him for all that he was worth, as you moaned at his delicious taste. You didn't pull away from him until he had spilled every drop in you.

“Show me your mouth.”

Pulling away from him, you opened it to show him all of the cum. He learned down till his face was inches from you and proceeded to spit in your opening. The action had your desperate clit pulsating.

“Can you swallow all of that for me?”

Closing your mouth, you swallowed all of him, his cum and spit, and opened up once more to show him what a good girl you had been at drinking all that he gave you. His hand was petting your hair as a sign of appreciation for you being so amazing for him.

“Such a dirty girl. Was that good? You love the taste of me, don't you, doll?”

“Mhm, yes,” you responded while licking your lips. Your hand was jerking him off again as you couldn't get enough of the feel of him. Your words and actions had him lean back some.

“You've been such a good girl, and I want to give you a treat. Do you want it?”

His words went directly to your tingling clit, and you needed to push your thighs together to get some form of friction down there.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Get on all fours on the couch, with your ass facing the desk.”

You got up and walked over the few meters to the couch, taking off your skirt and sweater until you were only in your bra, and then got in the position as he had wanted from you. He went over to his desk to have a better view of you—leaning on it as his hands held the edge of it. You supported yourself on your elbows as you pushed your ass up and out, earning a groan from Bucky.

“Like this?”

“Just like that. Now touch yourself for me.”

Pushing two of your fingers inside your mouth to get them wet before your hand went underneath you to circle your aching and needy clit, letting out a sigh of relief at being able to feel something finally. You pushed the two fingers inside of you, letting out a low moan and they stretched and penetrated your tightness, closing your legs some at the feeling. It was nothing like Bucky's fingers or dick, but it would have to do for now. You started to move them in and out of your tight pussy, going at a slow pace, to begin with.

Bucky hadn't said anything yet, so he must be enjoying the show you were putting on for him. He let out a moan just as you turned your head to find him pumping his shaft while watching you intensely as you pleasured yourself. Your teeth captured your bottom lip at the sight of him.

“Fuck, kitten.”

You pulled your fingers out and started circling your clit again, whimpering as you were close to your orgasm. The two of you held eye contact as you watched each other.

“So good, Bucky.”

“You're such a good girl, baby. Showing me how you touch yourself. Is this how you look when you're in your room late at night? Touching yourself like this while thinking of me?”

“Mhm, yes.” His words made your fingers move rapidly into your tightness again, wanting to get to that sweet release you were craving desperately.

“Fuck, I'm gonna cum; please can I cum, Sir?” You pleaded, needing to get some form of relief. Tears were teasing to spill out of your eyes if you didn't get your way soon.

“No! Stop!” He didn't want you to cum just yet. Whining at his words but complying anyway, you knew you needed to listen to him, so you brought your fingers out of your hole and into your mouth to suck your juices off. You tried as best as possible to hold eye contact with him as you sucked and swirled your tongue around your digits, moaning at your own taste, as you swayed your ass from side to side for him.

“Fuck me, Sir, please.” He didn't hesitate for one second in getting behind your bent-down form at the speed of lightning. One of his hands caressed and grabbed one of your ass cheeks before it landed on your hip to hold a tight grip on it while the other held his shaft as he teased your fold with the tip of him.

“Please, Bucky, don't tease.”

“I'll give you what you want, doll.”

He slowly pushed himself in your warmth, wanting you to feel all of him. The feeling of fullness almost had you cumming right then and there. He filled you up to the brim, wanting you to feel all that he had to give, and you weren't one bit disappointed. He pulled out till only his tip was inside you before he slowly pushed himself into you again, doing this a few times to get you familiar with the feeling. He just wanted to cum right then and there at the tightness of your walls clenching around his throbbing dick.

“Bucky, please go faster. Fuck me, please,” you whimpered out, wanting him to fuck you completely senseless.

His thrusts were hard and fast as he fucked you into the couch, hips slapping against your backside, making you jolt forwards with each move of him. Your mouth hung open as silent screams came out of it.

“This pussy feels so incredible. Fuck, so tight.”

His hands held your sides while his fingernails dug in your skin, creating dents. He moaned out as he watched his dick disappear into your hole with every move of his hips. Your head was buzzing, and your face was buried deep in the cushions at the intense pleasure Bucky was giving you. “Oh god, please don't stop, babe,” you pleaded of him.

Bucky took a fistful of your hair, pulling your head back, making your back arch. You bit your lip at his rough and dominants actions. The hand in your hair and his abusive thrusts was too much and so intense, but you loved it to the fullest. Tears came out of your eyes as he was taking you so good from behind.

“You like this? Don't you, baby? You like when I fuck your tight and pretty pussy?” Take what belongs to me? Hm? Letting me fuck you like a whore while your dad is just down the hall?”

Your head was foggy from the incredible fucking he was giving you. The lack of answer from you had him unsatisfied, so he smacked your ass cheek hard, making you squeal out at the pain.

“Answer me!”

“Y-yes… I love your cock fucking my tight little pussy. Please don't stop, baby.”

“Such a good whore for me. I'm not gonna stop, kitten, I promise.”

The thought that your dad and everyone else that worked in the building was just out the door, not having a clue as to what was going on in Buckys office, was so intoxicating—not knowing that Bucky was having at it with the boss's daughter.

You turned your head, at the best of your abilities, to look at him. His eyes were shut tight, and his face in pure concentration as he moved his body against yours. He met your gaze, both of you looking at each other as you neared your orgasm. One of your hands grabbed onto his forearm that had a tight grip on your hip. His other went underneath you to play and tease your clit.

“Please, Bucky, I need to cum. I need you to fill me up, please.” The pathetic pleas for him to fill up your pussy was what brought forward his release and made him finish deep inside of you.

His seed filling you up was what brought forth your own release. The way your walls became tighter around him had his hips snap rapidly against you as he gave you all of his cum. Moans and soft whimpers on a loop by the both of you as the pleasure overtook all your senses. Bucky thrust through both of your orgasms, not stopping until you were both satisfied.

Your face was in the cushions as you tried to slow down your breathing. Bucky caressed your sides and peppered kisses all over your lower back. Praises being given to you for being such a good girl to him.

“You're so good to me, beautiful.”

He pulled out of your hole. The two of you hissing out as you both felt overly sensitive. Bucky helped to clean both of you up with a few wipes he kept on his desk. He made sure you were ok before he went over to the windows to grab his underwear and pants, pulling them on where he stood.

You put your skirt and sweater on and fixed yourself up as you sat and watched him get ready. God, he looked so handsome that it had your stomach burst out in butterflies. Now all you wanted was for him to hoist you up on his desk and take you hard against it. But you saw him have a look at his watch, his eyebrows furrowed together.

“The meetings in five.”

He came over to you just as you were getting up. You hissed out as your body felt sore and spent up, but good regardless.

“Are you ok? Did I do too much?”

That was Bucky for you. Always worried that he had gone overboard, but you always reassured him that you had enjoyed yourself.

His hands came to rest at the side of your face, looking you up and down to make sure you were all good. Your own hands went over his ones.

“Hey, I'm alright. Just a little sore, but you know I loved it, and I can handle it, Bucky.”

“I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“I'm all good, babe, I swear.”

You took his face in your hands now as his ones traveled down to the small of your back so he could pull you flush against his body. His face leaned down some so he could capture your lips with his, giving you one of his sweetest kisses. His face moved down to suck and lick at the side of your neck in the most loving way.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” he reached into the pocket of his jacket to retrieve your panties, ”I believe these belong to you.” That cocky smile of his decorated his face as the panties dangled from his finger. Right. You had almost forgotten about those. “Thanks.” You took them and slid them up your legs.

“I wish you could stay longer. There are more surfaces in this office I would love to take you against.”

You wrapped your arms around his neck as he held you close. You would love nothing more than to stay here and let him have his way with you, but you knew that he needed to attend the meeting because if not, people would come knocking on his door, wondering where he is.

“I know, me too, but you know my dad is going to come knocking on the door and wonder where you are if you don't show up.”

“Yeah, I know. C'mon, I'll walk you out,”

He followed you to the elevator so he could say goodbye to you. A kiss and a hug were shared amongst you before the elevator dinged that it had arrived.

“We can meet later tonight if you want? Natalie is going out; God knows where, so we can stay at my place this time.” He asked you. “Whatever you want, just let me know, ok?” “I would like that, Bucky. I’ll let you know when.”

You stepped inside of it and pressed the button to go down. A smile on both of your faces as you gazed at each other the few seconds you had before the doors slid shut.

“I’ll miss you, doll.”

“I'll miss you more, Sir.”

Thank you for reading <3 Feedback through a comment is highly appreciated if you liked it! As well as a reblog to share it with others!

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Bucky Barnes Taglist: @sirrwritesalots @academiawhore @feescher @doyoumindifislytherin-1 @yippikaiyaymotherfucker @dontputyourfckingdrinkonmytable @hemsbucky @lokiscollar

Let me know if you want to be added/removed!

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[afriendlyblackhottie]

P*$$Y Fairy

Summary: you and Chris just like to enjoy each other’s company away from LA sometimes. Part 2 of Risk.

Pairings: Chris Evans x black!popstar!reader

Warnings: Smut, fluff, daddy kink, oral sex (female receiving), weed use

Ask 1: um i just found out that chris evans used to smoke weed 😳 but like the sex tho?? 😩😩😩

Ask 2:  how are black!popstar!reader and Chris Evans doing because I loved that one

(A/N: this is like four WIPs combined into one because that second ask really helped me figure out what direction to take the first one in because for some reason I was str.ugg.ling. Apparently all the ideas I had were meant for Chris and black!popstar. Based on P*$$Y Fairy by Jhené Aiko and Positions by Ariana Grande. I also listened to the whole Confessions album while writing this because I don’t care that it came out when I was 11 it’s still so good. Anyway, reblog always 💜 ✌🏾)

Tagging: @titty-teetee​ @iam-laiya​ @zaddychris​ @hqneyyincc​ @mariahthelioness29​ @olyvoyl​ @liquorlaughslove​ @harrysthiccthighss @donutloverxo​ @queenoftheworldisdead @whiskey-cokenfanfic​ @night-of-the-living-shred​ @buckyownsmylife @blackmissfrizzle @fullofmelaninsarcasmandepression​ (Just tagging people I know that read the last one)

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Things were hectic for sure. You had your career and he had his. Yet the romance was still enough to where you got swept up in. You felt like you were living in an old movie. He was always sending you flowers. When you couldn’t see each other he’d send you cute texts like they were love notes.

No one knew about what was going on, though. Sure everyone had fun on Twitter for a few days, but it quickly became yesterday’s news when everyone thought that was it. You’d sworn to secrecy to the point where your friends had no clue who your mystery man was. When anyone would ask you who sent the flowers you’d just shrug. Even on the card he’d sign with his middle name instead of his first.

He wanted to keep you to himself and vice versa. Like you were each other’s dirty little secret. It didn’t matter that everyone saw the chemistry between you. You like sneaking around with him when the both of you were in town. Sometimes even escaping the craziness of LA to just be together.

Like right now. It was stupid maybe. Everyone was bound to be worried because this was last minute and you’d left your phone at home and yet it still sounded like the best idea ever. You’d been so stressed about your newest album when he’d asked you to go away with him. You weren’t going to turn spending the weekend with him down over stressing and arguing with your producers.

As you laid in bed tangled in the sheets beside him it felt so worth it. The polaroid camera you’d picked up flashed as he took another picture of you as you let out another puff of smoke, you giggled throwing your head back making him do another one. “I think this one is my favorite,” he said, looking down at it with a smile on his face.

You raised up letting the sheet fall from around your breasts so you could look at it. “I love it,” you said, resting your chin on his bicep. He kissed your forehead before moving his lips to yours. He pushed you onto your back getting on top of you, tickling you at the same time until you were giggling again.

“Stop!” You tried to push his hands away still laughing as he took the blunt from your hand flipping over so he was beside you.

You rolled over so you were nestled into him. He was letting his hair grow out for a movie. He looked so damn good with that beard and that hair. You kissed his shoulder needing to feel him against your lips. He shivered looking at you before turning his head so you could kiss him.

He grabbed your hips so he could pull you on top of him. The way he was touching you, made your skin prickle. Your breathing heavy from how intense it felt to have him this close. Your head felt overwhelmed from all the sensations yet somehow it was like it wasn’t enough.

You laid on top of him. Enjoying the feeling of his chest moving up and down against yours. You bit your bottom lip feeling like you could fall asleep like this. He kissed your forehead again before peering up at him through heavy lidded eyes.

You don’t know you let out another giggle before kissing him. Were his lips always this soft. Yet his beard scratched against your skin. It felt so warm and inviting. Probably why you deepened it.

He wrapped his arms around your waist as you got better situated to straddled against his abs. He traced patterns into your skin with his fingertips. The soft lightening of the room only making you feel deeper into this haze you were in.

“I love you,” he mumbled.

“Yeah?” You asked him with a lazy smile spreading across your face.

He nodded, sitting up making you sit with your ass against his suddenly growing dick. “Yeah,” he breathed, looking down at your lips before nuzzling your face.

“I love you, too,” you replied, you put your head on his shoulder needing to feel him as close as possible. It never felt like it was enough.

All the flirting you’d done at that interview and this is how you’d ended up a few months later. Heads in the cloud in love. You never wanted to come down. When it was like this, it felt like nothing else even existed.

“Fuck that sounds so pretty,” he said, he smiled against your temple. “You’re so goddamn pretty, Baby. Prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”

“Thank you, Daddy.”

You started kissing again except this time he sank you down on his dick. Making you feel so full you thought you might actually explode. He still had the blunt in his hand even as he helped you ride him, through no longer lit.

Your nipples were aching for his lips, but you were too lost to ask him to pay attention of them. His deep breaths tickling your neck yet making you feel more tingly. It was like you couldn’t think anymore. Just feel. Feel how good he always did you.

Combing his soft hair with your fingers. Tugging on the ends every time he went a little too deep. He was already stretching you out so good. It didn’t make sense how deep he got inside of you.

“Daddy,” you whimpered.

“That’s my girl,” he panted. “Yeah you like Daddy’s dick, huh, Y/N?”

You nodded. “Uh huh.”

“You love me?” He asked bouncing you up and down on top of him.

You nodded this whimper coming out of your mouth. Fuck you were getting so close. He was making you feel so good. You don’t think you ever felt like this before.

“Say it,” he demanded, moving you so you had to look in his eyes.

“I love you.” As your pussy clamped around him he forced you up and down his cock. “Fuck,” you cried, “I love you.”

“That’s my girl,” he said grabbing you so he could put you down on your back. He fully put out the blunt in the astray on the nightstand. He climbed back on top of you, spreading your legs out so wide as he started licking your pussy.

You gasped running your hands through his hair. “Fuck,” you repeated quivering as he tongue fucked you. The grip on the back of your thighs so strong as he had them in the air. His beard burning into your thighs.

“Oh, my god- Daddy!” You gasped as another orgasm creeped onto you. He was quick to move up so he could use that time to push into you. Moving his hips so he was deliberately brushing into your spot.

It was already too much. Why did he have to be doing this to you. “So good for me,” he whispered in your ear. “My girl, huh. No one else’s.”

“Never.” You tilted your head back and be took advantage, kissing prepping your throat with kisses. Then wrapping his hand around your throat gently.

“Love you so much,” he said, before finally bathing your tits in attention as if he was reading your mind. His mouth hitting this spot you’d desperately needed to be touched.

“I’m gonna,” you squeaked out like a warning, “I’m gonna cum.”

“That’s okay, Baby,” he panted. “Cum for me. Don’t you ever not cum for me.”

You started to nod when you felt it. Starting deep in your abdomen before spreading with this warmth over your lower half at the same time that this tingle sparked all over. It felt like you could turn inside out. Or like if he wasn’t on top of you, you might float away.

“That’s it.” He smiled lazily taking in how pretty you looked, your mouth open all wide as you squirted just for him. “Fuck,” he hissed as he began to reach that point soon after.

He’d fucked it into you until he couldn’t anymore before slumping on top of you. Drawing his hands around your waist so your back was arched, head buried in the valley between your breasts. You were pretty sure you could stay like this forever.

—————

At some point you had to get back to life. Inspiration seemed to hit you out of nowhere. Everyone thought you were crazy when you’d told them you wanted to scrape the album, but you couldn’t let the feeling go. You needed to capture those thoughts in your lyrics.

You didn’t want to admit that a huge chunk of the album was about him. About the things you did together. How he’d hold you down and fuck you just the way you liked. How no one else has ever been able to do you like he does.

He’d left to Boston to film another movie. It was kind of lonely in LA without him. It was crazy. You barely got to spend time with him as is even when you lived in the same city. Yet when he was away you missed him. Even the calls every night weren’t enough.

Which led to you sneaking off to Boston. You could try to keep a low profile. At least until you got to the safety of his home.

He picked you up in his Audi also you guess trying to keep a low profile in his baseball cap and sunglasses. Taking your bags after giving you a quick hug and a kiss hoping no one would notice the two of you. It was getting harder and harder for you to sneak away from everyone, but somehow you managed.

Dodger greeted you as you walked through the door. You got down to pet him while Chris went to set your things in his room. When he came back he pulled you into another hug, savoring this one.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” he said kissing you all sweetly. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you, too,” you sighed into him.

After washing the flight off of you and changing into something comfortable. The two of you enjoyed glasses of wine over the pad thai you’d ordered since neither one of you felt like cooking. You talked about finally maybe going public soon. About not wanting to hide it anymore.

You poured another glass of wine as he started kissing down your neck, pressing your stomach into the kitchen counter. He was so hard against you. He’d made you take him right there. First from behind and then turning you around so he could fuck you while you were sitting on top of it.

You scratched at his back as he carried you to the living room, bending you over again over the back of the couch. Somehow that led to you riding him on the stairs. Each time he’d made you cum so good yet still held on.

Finally he’d led you to his bedroom where he fucked you all night. Made you call him Daddy while he was deep in your stomach. Alternating between the intensity of his thrusts or pulling out to put you in all these positions so he could hold out longer.

When it was time for him to finally fill you he didn’t hold back. Cumming into you so deep that if you weren’t on birth control you were sure he would have just gotten you pregnant right then. The thought of it only made it so much more intense.

You’d finally fallen asleep all curled into him. Not being able to keep going any longer. He’d left you worn out barely even able to think. He whispered I love you against your skin.

When you woke up the next morning all wrapped up in him, both of your phones were loud going off. The buzzing noises against the wood of the nightstand made you jump. “What the fuck,” you groaned sleepily as you reached behind you to grab your iPhone. “Hello?” You asked with your voice feeling like it was all worn out.

“Y/N, where the hell are you?” Your agent asked. “And do not lie to me.”

“What?” You asked looking over to see Chris looking at his phone.

“Oh shit...”

“What?” You asked him.

“You’re with him right now?” Your agent asked and you groaned.

You wrinkled your nose as she kept talking because your brain kind of wasn’t turned on yet. “I’ll call you back.”

“Do not ha-“

But it was too late. Chris held out his phone showing you whatever was on his screen. “I’m not gonna lie I have no idea what’s going on right now,” you said putting your face into shoulder.

“Babe, they fucking got a picture of us,” he finally said.

“What?”

“Mhm. At the airport yesterday. Even got a good one of us kissing.”

You groaned. “Wow, we suck at disguising ourselves.”

He laughed bringing you close to him so you could lay on his chest. “I know.” He kissed the side of your head. “How’d you sleep?”

“Good.” You yawned into him. Your phone was still going off, but you just wanted to sleep.

“So I take it your team isn’t really happy that you’re here with me?” He asked.

You shrugged. “To be honest I don’t know if I actually care to even find out.”

He chuckled. “Good. Maybe this was a good thing?”

“Mhm. Now we don’t have to sneak around anymore.” You sighed contently. “I bet Twitter is having fun.”

“Oh definitely.” He laughed.

“I think you broke me,” you told him. Your legs felt all stiff and sore. Liked you’d just come back from a workout.

He placed more kisses on your face. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.”

“Why so you can break me some more.”

“Exactly,” he said. “Who do you think is going to be the most mad at us for this?”

“Hating ass people on Twitter,” you said with a chuckle. “Who will also be the happiest. I can imagine all the comments now.”

He laughed. “Oh, we’re definitely going to be reading them over breakfast.” He started rubbing your back trying to soothe you back to sleep even as you whispered to each other. You could worry about the outside world later. For right now you wanted to enjoy the cloud the two of you were alone on.

As he laid there, he promised himself that things would be different with you. That no matter what happened he’d stick beside you. Because as Chris looked down at you, your eyes closed all nestled into him he realized he didn’t want anyone else. You were it for him. And it didn’t matter what Twitter or your teams had to say. He didn’t care how crazy life got or how busy the both of you were. Now that he had you, he wasn’t letting go.

[rocorambles]

Training Camp ft. Ikkei: Part 1 - Know Your Place

Pairing: Yandere Nekomata x Kuroo ft. Ikkei

Genre/Warnings: NSFW, Yandere, Sex Toys, Chastity Cage, Exhibitionism, Voyerism, Humiliation, Degradation, Objectification, Cock Warming, Sweat Kink, Overstimulation, Gangbang

Summary: Nekomata has special plans for Kuroo’s first New Year’s trip. 

Previous | Next 

A/N: Of course I need to dedicate this to @sawamooora #1 Ikkei stan. 

Kuroo impatiently waits, brimming with excitement as he searches for the familiar sight of Nekomata’s car approaching, suitcase packed and ready to go besides him. It’s been months since their little relationship began and the pink cage around his cock and the plug nestled in his ass feel like second skin, bringing a sense of comfort to the younger man as he’s reminded of just who belongs to with every shift he feels against his sensitive cock and insides. 

He’s always hated New Year’s, dreaded being forced to spend more time than he wanted to at home, in an empty house devoid of any real familial love other than a fond smile here or there from his grandparents. He doesn’t want to be ungrateful and he loves his grandparents, he really does, but the loneliness is tormenting, the emptiness and silence clawing and digging its way under his skin as the clock ticks down to midnight every year, with only him there to greet the new year, his grandparents already long fast asleep and his father nowhere to be found. 

But this year...this year’s going to be different and he can’t help the grin that spreads across his face when a car honks at him from the street, practically skipping and almost tripping over his long legs as he shoves his suitcase into the trunk of his coach’s car and hops in the passenger seat. 

Kuroo’s always been envious hearing his friends tell him about the fun celebrations their family did over the holiday, something green and ugly churning in his guts whenever someone rambled on and on about the amazing family trip they went on during the time off. But over time, as he got older, he had grudgingly come to terms that it’s just never something he’d ever experience, settling for the quiet dragging days he spent idling away in his bedroom instead. 

So when Nekomata had asked him if he wanted to go away to the countryside with him over the New Years holiday during one of their post-coital cuddle session, he could hardly believe his ears, almost smacking the old man in the face with how quickly he turned to stare at him with wide hazel eyes before grinning and enthusiastically nodding his head. His body suddenly regained all of its energy despite how many orgasms had been coaxed out of him and he noisily pestered the older man with all types of questions about what they’d be doing and exactly where they were going, only shutting up with a gasp when a wrinkled hand reached down to circle his cum-filled hole, amused eyes staring at him as a finger slipped inside the loosened entrance. 

“Well if you’ve recovered enough to make so much noise, let’s put that newfound energy and loud mouth to use.” 

Needless to say, Kuroo didn’t get any answers that night. 

And even now as they begin their long road trip, he still has no clue or hint of what’s in store for him. 

Nekomata fondly smiles as Kuroo inquisitively looks around, pretty eyes sparkling with excitement and awe as he scurries around like a kitten exploring new territory, examining every inch of Ukai Ikkei’s peaceful training camp nestled among the woods of Miyagi. It’s a beautiful location, so different from the bustling city of Tokyo, hidden from prying eyes, only snow and barren trees visible for miles and miles. Perfect for what he has planned for his adorable pet and he laughs when Kuroo lays beside him that first night, pouting and whining about Nekomata not telling him that there were indoor volleyball courts here so he could pack accordingly. 

He had wondered when Kuroo would bring it up and despite creaking bones, he eagerly makes his way to his own suitcase, pulling out a package he had purposefully kept hidden for this very moment, gleefully watching as the taller man curiously opened the bag. Not many things catch Kuroo off guard, so Nekomata watches in pride as the athlete’s jaw drops, almost reaching the ground as he realizes exactly what he’s staring down at. 

The Nekoma captain knows it’s going to be a long weekend when he sees the vibrating butt plug innocently laying on top of a bundle of fabric, throat dry as he sets the toy aside and examines the soft bundle still inside, cock twitching in interest in its prison, a little whine stuck in his chest. 

“Shouldn’t you thank me? Now you’ll be able to play all the volleyball you want this weekend. I even have some old friends visiting tomorrow who can join us.” 

“It’s- That’s way too small! You want me to wear just this in front of other people?” 

Hazel eyes pleadingly stare at the older man, but it’s no use and Kuroo pouts as Nekomata sternly stands his ground, reluctantly nodding his head and cuddling into his cushy chest when the coach uses his weakness against him, softly murmuring little praises about how good he’ll look, how he just wants to show off his handsome boy to everyone. 

Doesn’t Kuroo want to make him happy? 

He does! He does! 

And despite how embarrassing it is, lean toned torso on display, cute nipples pebbled in arousal as Nekomata teasingly sucks the two peaks to attention, tiny bulge and ass cheeks practically hanging out of the skimpy black spandex shorts (really just glorified panties), Kuroo can’t help the pleased flush he feels spreading inside of him at how proud and hungrily Nekomata looks at him, whispering how gorgeous he is as he playfully prods and pushes the vibrating plug inside of Kuroo’s tight hole. 

But it’s time to play a different game and Nekomata pulls the dazed boy after him, pretending nothing’s unusual about how he introduces the almost naked youngster to the rest of the senior citizens gathered on the indoor court, ignoring the leering looks they give the flustered athlete, biting back a smile at how veiny wrinkled hands roam and linger inappropriately across Kuroo’s body as they introduce themselves and greet the frazzled man. 

He’s proud of how well Kuroo takes all the attention and the wandering touches, something akin to jealousy curling inside of him at how the messy haired man unconsciously leans into fingers that run along his nipples and sticks his ass out just a bit more when someone presses up behind him. Maybe he had trained his toy too well, but there’s no time to linger on it, not when everyone’s lining up on either side of the net and getting in game position. 

Adrenaline pumps through Kuroo and he feels at home, almost forgetting the embarrassing outfit he has on as he gets ready to play like he always does, thinking to himself if maybe he should take it down a few notches, not wanting to hurt any of the frailer men around him. He sees a spiker jump in front of him and he leaps in the air, toned arms reaching up, ready to block the ball, but he yelps, mind going white as the vibrator inside of him is suddenly turned on, pressing relentlessly against his prostate and he falls on the ground in surprise. 

Old faces crowd around him, rough hands helping him up, voices asking him if he’s okay, but it’s all background noise as he stares wide-eyed at Nekomata, heart racing at the smirk he receives in response, the flash of a remote peeking from his coach’s shorts solidifying his worst fears. But there’s nothing he can do, nothing he can say without letting everyone else around him know exactly what’s happening, that he’s traipsing around in public with a toy shoved inside of his ass like a slut. So he stays silent, plastering on a forced smile on his face as he reassures everyone he’s fine, unaware of the shared smirks behind his back, all of them in on Nekomata’s naughty little secret. 

It only gets worse after that, the vibrations becoming unpredictable in timing and intensity, sometimes hitting him at the peak of his jumps, sometimes starting up in between plays, sometimes not moving at all, only making it so much worse when it does begin again after a longer pause than normal. His anticipation and anxiety only makes things worse and he knows he’s a mess, sluggish, sweating far too much for a simple game with old men, sloppy. But he grits his teeth, determined to make it through at least the first set before making up some excuse to leave and relieve himself. 

Unfortunately Nekomata and company have different plans for him and when he once again jumps to block another spike, he can’t hold back the scream as the vibrations hit him full blast, not stopping even when he collapses on the ground, writhing and grabbing his ass, begging Nekomata to turn it off, uncaring of how everyone is watching the lewd spectacle he’s making of himself. 

But it’s not Nekomata who hauls him up and he sobs as Ikkei snarls at him to stop whining, sneering at him for being a fucking whore who can’t live without a toy inside of him. 

“How dare you waste all of our time by pulling shit like this? We’re here to play volleyball, not babysit a horny slut. So go make yourself useful, get off the fucking court, and be our little bench cock warmer since you clearly need something to always fill that slutty hole of yours.” 

Kuroo can hardly register what’s happening, incoherently blabbering and drooling as the intense vibrations still relentlessly assault him, mindlessly following as Ikkei continues to drag him over to the metal bench, moaning as his pre-cum soaked shorts are pulled off of him. He petulantly whines when the plug is pulled out of him, immediately changing his tune and apologizing when Ikkei’s hands swat at his ass, rough palms humiliatingly spreading his ass cheeks apart, leaving his gaping fluttering hole on full view for everyone. 

But when he’s positioned over Nekomata’s sitting form, trembling thighs bending as he’s shoved down on the cock he’s grown so familiar with, it feels like everything’s right in the world and a dopey smile spreads across his face when he bottoms out, the familiar weight and heat inside of him soothing his highstrung body. And suddenly he can care less about how the rest of the men are crowding around Nekomata and him on the excuse of being on a “water break”, greedy eyes taking in how Kuroo’s long legs splay wide open, pretty pink chastity cage out in the open, tight hole stuffed full of old man cock. 

He doesn’t know how long he stays like that, body drunk on pleasure, jolted back to attention here and there by fingers that teasingly tweak and brush his nipples, a wrinkled hand easily fondling his cute little caged cock in one hand, a raspy voice mockingly tsking him for dripping so much sticky pre-cum everywhere. 

The first set finishes and then there’s bickering as the other old men complain about how it’s unfair that only Nekomata gets a cock warmer when he sits out, demanding that Kuroo be passed around as a communal object. Nekomata is hesitant, surprisingly fierce possessiveness keeping him from readily agreeing. But when Ikkei urges him on, encouragingly asking his long-time friend things like “don’t you ever want to just sit back and watch?”, “don’t you want to see what your little pet looks like being split on multiple cocks?”, he can’t help the voyeuristic curiosity inside of him that ultimately has him acquiescing.

Kuroo doesn’t know how many times he’s passed around, doesn’t care, mind only able to think of being full, uncaring of how or by who. 

Sometimes he’s made to face the game, fingers prodding his face, palms gently slapping his cheeks until he’s paying attention, forced to keep track of points, punished by vicious pulling and twisting of his aching nipples and smacks to his pathetically imprisoned cock when he says the wrong numbers or forgets to say anything at all after a point is scored. 

Sometimes he’s made to face the player whose cock is splitting him apart, coaxed into sloppily making out with chapped lips, the scent of elderly bodies filling his nostrils, the wet sound of tongues and mouths tangling together echoing in his ears, bony hands digging into his bare ass. 

He thinks he may have passed out once or twice, maybe even a few times, only to wake up moaning, tears in his eyes as arousal and denial mix and meld in a painfully intoxicating cocktail inside of him. All he needs, all he wants is to bounce on the cocks shoved inside of him to his heart’s content, desperate even for the lackluster untouched prostate orgasms he’s limited to with his chastity cage still firmly locked. But anytime he tries to even shift his hips, every time he even breathes louder than normal, he’s scolded and vulnerable inner thighs are meanly pinched until he stays still like a good toy. 

It’s all a frustratingly dizzying experience, time and space blurring in Kuroo’s mind, brain turning off as he allows himself to just submerge in the feeling of being passed around and used, allowing himself to just let go and be the mindless sex toy they want him to be. But he’s snapped back to reality by a sudden inability to breathe and piercing coldness across his entire torso, muffled squealing filling the air as he’s laid face down on the cold metal bench, Ikkei’s cock breaching his mouth further and further, Nekomata sinking balls deep inside of his loose ass, both men surrounding him, their legs spread on either side of the bench, caging him in between them. 

As his mouth is stretched painfully wide, nose brushing against Ikkei’s lower stomach, gray scratchy hairs tickling his face, ass full, Nekomata’s hands playfully kneading and groping his toned buttcheeks, any humane part left in his sex-crazed mind shatters. All he knows is serving and pleasure and he happily moans as his bare flat back is used as a table for sweaty towels, soaked fabric carelessly tossed on top of him. An especially drenched towel is thrown over his head and he deeply inhales, the salty heavy smell of sweat intermingling with the musk of Ikkei’s groin only dragging him further down a path he’ll never be able to recover from.

He could live happily just like that for the rest of his life, filled on both ends, white cotton fabric acting as a blindfold, encasing him in the pungent scent of his tormentors, reminding him just how far he’s fallen. But his owners have different plans, ignoring his little complaining mewls from being left empty and unfulfilled as Ikkei and Nekomata pull out of him. The towel still around his face prevents him from seeing anything, but a delighted smile slips on his face at the feeling of something prodding at his entrance, a content sigh escaping him when the familiar vibrating plug is pushed back into him, eyes closing and focusing on the soothing feeling of being filled once again. 

But that comfort is short lived and he screams, a panicked overwhelmed keen that makes the men around him laugh as the vibrator is suddenly turned onto its highest setting, the borderline unbearable intensity against his relentlessly stimulated prostate driving him crazy, body writhing and convulsing in agonized bliss, fat tears and drool making a mess of his face. Yet that doesn’t stop his audience from meticulously pulling back up his ridiculously tiny booty shorts, pulling the material snugly high up on Kuroo’s hips, locking the plug even more firmly in place, slapping the captain’s perky ass for good measure and prodding at the toy inside of him through the stretchy fabric as he continues shaking and trembling, eyes rolling back, tongue lolling out. 

The towels that had been strewn about his body and head all lie rumpled and discarded on the ground, thrown off by the younger man’s chaotic movements, and the group of men watch in awe and lust, veiny wrinkled hands pumping their useless old cocks at how broken their little toy looks. He barely looks human. He definitely doesn’t sound human. And it only makes the desire in their aged bodies grow that much more, pride and power swelling inside of them at how much control they still have, despite their numbered days, over a bright and powerful young thing like Kuroo Tetsurou. 

Gangbangs? They’re a young men’s game. But as they stare at the now cum covered man still sobbing and wailing as the vibrator inside of him continues its relentless assault, slobbering all over their cocks and fingers as they make sure not to let a drop of their sticky liquid go to waste. They can’t help but give themselves a pat on the back for their successful attempt, yawning and slowly walking away on aching legs and hips, bones creaking and cocks exhausted from being used so thoroughly after almost decades of no action.  

Kuroo makes to get up, confusion in dazed hazel eyes as he tries to follow the pack, whimpering as every move he makes only makes the vibrations inside of him hit different angles. But he’s gently shoved back down by two pairs of hands and he bewilderedly pants, turning his attention towards Nekomata and Ikkei, gasping when they each toy with one perky nipple as they amusedly observe him. 

“And where do you think you’re going, Tetsurou? There’s water bottles, towels, and all this equipment that still needs to be packed up and stored away. I’m not turning off your little toy until everything is cleaned up, understand? So better get to it.”

Tears stream down his face at the stern words, dismayed eyes taking in just how much of a mess there’s left for him to clean, realization that his torment has hardly begun sinking in. But he shakily nods and two pairs of eyes watch in sick fascination as their little slut begins to move around, breathy gasps and lewd moans interspersed with his actions, stumbling and panting like a cat in heat. 

It’s going to be a great training camp.  

[dixie12]

secret!sub!jonny!

patrick starts to maybe get a clue?

it's the offseason, and the hawks were just eliminated after the second round. not entirely unexpected- they can't win it all every year, much as jonny wishes otherwise. but he's gone back to winnipeg to lick his wounds in peace.

the best thing about winnipeg isn't his family, even though he loves them and misses them like crazy during the season. it sucks, because a dom shouldn't miss them like that; a dom should be working on bonding with a sub, creating a new family to lead, so jonny always has to hide how much it aches, being away from wrestling with david, making dinner quietly with his dad, feeling his mom run her fingers through his hair while she hugs him close.

so yea, seeing his family is great, but the other thing that winnipeg has is dan: the only dom that jonny really feels comfortable submitting to. by the time he gets back to canada every summer, it's usually been months and months since he's knelt, and he spends the first few days back, after checking in with his family, pretty much non-verbal at dan's feet, letting dan take care of him. letting dan dote on him. letting dan fuck him.

it's early afternoon one day, and dan has just unbound jonny's hands, stretched him out on the bed and told him to stay put until he came back with some lunch. jonny wriggles into the sheets, luxuriating in the sensation of someone else being in control. he's floating, not exactly in subspace anymore, but definitely not back to himself, when his phone vibrates on the bedside table. he thought he turned it off before the scene, but it's easy to get distracted when dan's looking at him, eyes hot and hungry, and a length of silk wrapped around his arm.

jonny rolls over, grabs the phone, and sees that it's pat calling. a happy shiver goes through him at the display picture. patrick is a good dom, and jonny wants to make him happy, doesn't want to ignore him. he answers the call, half-sighing "patrick" into the phone, voice slow and scratchy.

on the other end of the line, pat freezes. he'd been calling just to shoot the shit, see how jonny was holding up after the elimination. jonny always disappeared for a week or so after the end of the season. over-responsible bastard, shouldering all of the blame for the team, when there was plenty to go around. prototypical dom captain, pat always thought.

he'd talked to jonny when jonny was drunk, stoned, high on painkillers after a bad hit, concussed, and exhausted in the middle of a playoff run, and jonny had never sounded like that, fucked out and loose. and more importantly, jonny had never called him by his full name. some people went by their real names all the time, but typically when they went by a nickname, everyone but their partner used the nickname. patrick himself had only had one or two subs call him "patrick," always in a tone of deep respect, and always either in a scene or right after.

hearing it out of jonny's mouth now sent a confusing bolt of arousal through him, and for a moment, he almost switched to a video call, desperate to see jonny's face and try to understand what just happened. he resisted the urge, started to make some joke about what, was jonny day-drunk already? when he heard a voice in the background call out "do you want to eat in bed, baby, or come down here?" and what. the. fuck. if calling a dom by their full name was weird, calling one by a pet name was unheard of.

pat's mouth was hanging open, speechless, and jonny still wasn't saying anything, just breathing softly into the phone. pat heard footsteps and then a rustle in the background, and all of a sudden a new voice was on the phone.

"hey pat, this is dan," came the voice. pat wracked his brain, finally coming up with a picture of jonny's bff from home, a guy he'd always struggled not to be stupidly jealous of. there was no reason to be possessive of jonny, but sometimes pat wanted to fight anyone who acted like they knew him better than patrick did.

"hey man.." pat trailed off, still utterly confused. maybe they were tag-teaming a sub, and that was who dan was calling out for?

"sorry, we've got some company here. i'm gonna let you go. jonny'll catch you later." and the line went dead. so yea, probably a threesome. it made sense, he guessed. patrick shrugged to himself. canada was weird.

lying in bed that night, though, he realized that even a threesome wouldn't have explained why jonny had called him patrick, especially in that tone of voice. he couldn't get it out of his head. jonny had sounded so different. gentle, almost. he couldn't figure it out, but obsessing over it, replaying it over and over in his head wasn't helping. it was, however, getting him incredibly hard. pat was absolutely not going to jerk off to another dom, his captain, of all people, and forced himself to think of nothing at all while he jerked off. hopefully things would make sense in the morning.

[clairecrive]

"Childhood crush" - Alfie Solomons x reader

So this one is for the lovely @evelynshelby, today is your birthday and as a present here is a little something for you. I hope you like it and that it will be able to make you feel a little better✨ I haven't proofread it I'm sorry, but I wanted it to be out for your birthday so here it is.

I haven't written Alfie in what feels like forever and I actually missed him lol. The Bane request is the next one don't worry anon.

Requests are always open and feedback is always appreciated!

Tag list: @mollybegger-blog @br0ck-eddie (let me know if you wanna be added)

Life could be such a wonderful experience. Feeling the warmth of the sunlight on your face while taking a stroll down a park, listening to the quiet sounds of the birds resting on the nearby trees. Humming a little tune of your own you relished in feeling the moment to its core, in its simplicity. Who could have thought that such a simple action could bring such powerful emotions? Well, maybe the Romantic poets did but that's beside the point.

Afternoon strolls were a recurring thing between you and Alfie. It had started a couple months ago when you thought it would be such a waste to be coped up into a restaurant with a beautiful day blossoming outside. Surprisingly, Alfie had agreed too despite the bad hip. He thought it would be a unique opportunity to get to know you better and indeed it was right. Along with the flowers, your relationship was starting to blossom too. It was crystal clear that there was something between you two but for some reason, neither of you pushed to put a label on it. You'd rather enjoy each other company in every possible way: evenings at the pictures, morning dates at a museum, dinner at your place and of course, your favourite one, the afternoon strolls.

Today wasn't any different than any other day. You were enjoying Alfie's company, walking alongside, observing the way nature was waking and growing more colourful. You were so taken by the sheer pink of a flower growing at the roots of a tree that when you looked up, it took you a moment to realize that the man who was walking your way, was rather familiar. Not in a good way though. Occasional meetings on the streets were something that you had always found rather dull but this one was different. You could tell by the feeling of dread that suddenly took over your bones or the shivers that made you slightly tremble. The man that had been unaware of his effect on you and yourself, was the one and only Stephan Loop.

Stephan had been your first crush but also your first heartbreak. Nothing really happened given that you were eight and he didn't reciprocate your feelings. That wasn't the worse part, you couldn't blame someone for not thinking you're pretty, even at the candid age of eigh you knew that. What broke you was what happened because of the crush.

You thought you had been sly about it but you couldn't have been more wrong because he knew and made it very clear that he didn't feel the same, even if you hadn't ever thought that he did, or well his cousin did. Sweet old wretched Clode thought it was rather fitting to make your crush very public. That meant not only poor Stephan that did nothing but stare probably not understanding what was going on, but also the whole class, which of course was very delighted by all the drama. It may sound a little childish because nothing really happened, but it was one of your most embarrassing moment, one that still haunted you from time to time. It's safe to say that you didn't recover from the embarrassment and shame yet. The crush was long forgotten but the shame... that will never fade. So when you saw his face coming closer you couldn't help but turn to Alfie for help, who was completely unaware of the intern turmoil you were experiencing.

"Alfie, quick hide me." you hurriedly walked over him and then behind him.

"What the fuck are you on about pet, what is going on?" He had been looking at the ground to try and not triple over any little rocks or branches. So he was genuinely startled by your sudden movement.

"Now it's not the time to ask questions, Alfred. Just put that massive body you have to use and hide me, please." You took the back his coat in your hands, holding it tightly so that you could keep him in place. A rather stupid thought given the difference between your hights and strength levels.

He hadn't a clue about what was happening but the fear and panic on your face were real. That much he knew. You kept glancing at the approaching Stephan, your face getting paler and paler as he took more steps towards you. It didn't take long for Alfie to connect the dots. He didn't know why but he knew that that man was the cause of your distress. So of course, he took the opportunity to turn the situation in his favour. Grabbing you, he brought you in front of him and softly pushed you on a wall you were walking by, his face getting dangerously close to yours.

This wasn't exactly what you had in mind when you asked him to hide you but Alfie was a cheeky bastard so you should've expected it.

"Don't take advantage of the situation Alfred." You warned him narrowing your eyes and staring pointedly at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about pet, I'm just doing what you asked, see? I don't think he'll be able to recognize you. I fear that your face is still too exposed tho. Here." and got even closer, your noses were now touching. If he inclined his head, your lips would too. Too into the moment, you let him distract you and have his way with you. He was even about to do it, that bastard, when you suddenly remembered yourself and pushed him away. You didn't know if Stephan had already walked past you but at this point, you didn't care.

"I actually prefer to die from an old wound that to open a new one, thank you very much asshole." you spat leaving him behind. But of course, Alfie being his annoying self didn't let you venture far off before catching up with you.

"A thank you would be enough, pet. " You heard his pace quicken thanks to the sound of leaves he stomped.

"Why the hell would I thank you?"

" 'Cause I've saved you from an embarrassing moment, like the gentleman I am."

"Yeah, by making fun of me. What a hero." you sassed with a roll of your eyes even though he couldn't see it.

"How was that making fun of you?" He sounded genuinely taken back

"Why would you pretend to kiss me? Couldn't you just hide me in a different way?"

"Public display of affection make people nervous so they don't look, alias you'd have been safe. You're welcome."

"Whatever you say Alfie." you mumble trying to put space between the two of you not in the mood to have this conversation anymore.

"Stop running Y/n, you know I can't keep up with you with this bloody stick." He growled and you knew he was getting frustrated.

"Well, maybe that's the point." you mumbled loud enough so that he could hear you.

To be honest, Alfie's behaviour was nothing new. He always did like to make fun of you or to put you in a tight spot just to see you all flushed and embarrassed. He was a sadist, that old bastard. But you also like to make fun of him and his nice and elegant walking stick so it was fair game really. The similarities between what he did and what happened with Stephan were too close though to let you brush away his comments like an irritating joke.

You slowed down after a while, letting him catch up with you, and he did eventually, in silence.

"So, wanna tell me who was that bloke?" he asked after a while.

"Not really." you mutter with a shrug.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked further.

"Not really." His cousin did.

"So what did he do that had you hidin' behind me like a scared kitten?" He persisted like you know he would.

"Let's just say that he's related to the most embarrassing moment of my life." You confessed.

"So he did hurt ya. Want me to let him meet my fists?" He oh so kindly offered.

"Although that's really kind of you, I think it's not necessary. And he didn't hurt me, his cousin did, " you started letting him in slightly, "she made fun of me because I had a little crush on her cousin, who was the guy we saw earlier. I haven't spoken to either of them since that day."

"Did he make fun of you too?" he just asked.

"Not really. But I'll always be the girl who had a crush on him you know? How can I ever look him in the eye after that?" You finally open up, looking to him and you find him already staring at you.

"He should feel fucking lucky to have a girl such as yourself crush on him. But, if it really bothers you still, you could be the girl he saw again after all these years, at the arm of a gentleman such as myself." He joked but you knew that his words were a tacit offer.

Smiling at him, you take the arm he was offering. Oh, how you cherished this man.

"Well, I think I'll take you up on that, thank you very much." you beam at him, leaving a sweet kiss on his cheek sealing the deal.

[otherpeoplesheartachept-2]

TRANQUILITY BASE

Here’s my @coexchange piece for @that-bi-bliophile! 

I hope it’s okay I stretched your prompt to fit an entire album. I listen to the album Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino by the Arctic Monkey a lot and it’s inspired countless daydreams so I figured I’d fit a Snowbaz bullet point fic into this universe. If you don’t want to listen to an entire new album (which is understandable) but want a feel for the album and the vibe I’m going for, I’d suggest listening to the songs Star Treatment, American Sports, and/or Four Stars out of Five.

For some background, in this AU Tranquility is an out of date game from an out of date console made as promotion for the real and still existing hotel on the moon. Simon lives on earth, which is currently a weird mix of waste land and advanced technology. Basically global warming isn’t fixed, all rich people just moved to the moon and left everyone else on earth to do the jobs they don’t want. Baz is the child of some of those rich moon people. They’re both like 18 when they “meet” for the first time.

Tranquility The Game is Simon’s way of escaping the reality of his shitty father and taxing job. The old gaming system is one of the few things he has that matters to him. He’s build up his own imaginary life in this digital hotel, where he’s a successful musician with a band, rich enough to afford stays in fancy moon hotels.

Baz’s dad, head of Grimm Co. is the new owner of the real TBHC. Baz goes to the hotel for a business meeting because Malcolm wants to teach him how to run the company. Baz is bored and finds an old copy of the game and console in some storage closet. He takes it home and boots it up.

He’s surprised to find it works, and even more surprised to find someone else already in the game.

Simon is confused and furious that someone else is in HIS game. He immediately shoves virtual Baz against a wall and demands he leave the game.

Baz is like “what the fuck how does anyone even still play this” but he’s intrigued by the attractive angry game boy so he insults him and keeps coming back to the game.

The relationship is hostile at first (because Simon doesn’t want Baz ruining his virtual world and Baz looks down on Simon for living on earth) but Baz, despite himself, is desperate to get to know Simon, this weird kid clinging to an out of date, boring videogame. And Simon secretly likes having someone to share this game world with, even if he “hates” him.

They get into petty fights a lot and call each other names that are supposed to be insults but are really just thinly veiled pet names. Baz’s favorites are “earthling” and “freckles boy” Simon’s are “fucking posh space boy” and “bastard”.

Baz tries to goad more information about Simon out of him but Simon is very committed to holding on to the fantasy life he’s made up for himself, he won’t even tell Baz his last name.

Despite all their “fighting” they start to warm up to each other.

One day Simon gives Baz a tour of the virtual hotel and Baz explains how different everything is in the real hotel. Throughout the tour Simon starts to open up about his father and his friend Shepard and the crumbling state of planet Earth. (Cue discussion about capitalism and class and how fucked up it is that billionaires just left the Earth and all the poor people to die.)

Baz talks about his life and how isolated he feels because his father and all his “friends” are very emotionally closed off. Simon sympathizes but teases him a little.

Simon: Like you’d rather be anything but a posh moon business man.

Baz: I would. If I could be anyone I’d be an astrologist. What about you, Earthing? Who would you be, if you could be anyone in the universe?

Simon, suddenly somber: My father says dreaming isn’t for folks people like me.

Baz shows up in the game one day to find Simon playing a guitar, he’s quite good at it.

Simon learns Baz can cook after Baz asks if there’s a way to get in to the game hotel’s kitchen (there isn’t). Simon likes Baz about ten times more when he explains how to make the perfect shepherd’s pie. Baz realized he might be in love when Simon starts explaining how good sour cherry scones are and how they should be their own food group.

They go star gazing together on the roof of the hotel. Baz knows a lot about constellations and explains them to Simon.

Baz: You know that isn’t how they look tonight?”

Simon: No?

Baz: No. it takes the light ages to get to us, so what we’re seeing is years behind. Like, look at that star there, it’s been dead for twenty years.

Simon, pointing up: There?

Baz: No, *takes Simon’s hand to readjust it* there.

Simon: Oh… yeah.

Neither of them are looking at the stars at this point. Cue gay thoughts about Simon’s freckles being constellations and some EXTREME pining.

Baz learns they can write in the notepads left in each virtual hotel room. They start leaving notes and little drawings for each other in game when they play and the other isn’t there. Sometimes Simon leaves chords to songs he’s writing. Baz will add lyrics to the songs sometimes. Baz will also flirt in the notes but Simon can never tell if he’s serious or if it’s just Baz being sarcastic and dramatic.

One day Simon’s playing guitar and invites Baz to sing with him. Baz is nervous about exposing his feelings for Simon with the romantic lyrics. Simon gets so wrapped up in listening to and watching Baz sing that he stops playing before the song is finished. They do the classic routine of staring until the other person stares back then quickly looking away and blushing. Again, Major Pining.

At this point they both think the other might be interested romantically, but they’re too nervous to take the next step into actually talking about romance.

One day Baz insists on teaching Simon to dance. They move some furniture in the hotel lounge and figure out how to use the futuristic jukebox in the corner of the room. Simon is clumsy but happy to follow Baz’s lead. (It helps that he can’t physically step on Baz’s toes. However, a few times he does bash into furniture in his real life bedroom). Baz’s hair is loose and falling in his face. Simon can’t stop smiling. Baz is still pretending like this is purely a teaching moment but he can’t hide the faint blush on his cheeks. The music shifts to a slow song. They lock eyes. Simon reaches for a phantom cheek. Baz leans into the imagined warmth of a digital palm. All they hear is their shared breathing and heartbeats until someone speaks.

Simon: If I could be anyone, I’d be someone who kissed you right now.

They can’t really kiss, it’s a videogame. But they finally admit they have feelings for each other.

They daydream about meeting somehow. Simon sneaking onto a cargo ship to travel to the moon. Inventing a way to fully convert themselves into part of the game so the never have to leave. The two of them hijacking a spaceship and enough rations to last years, then flying out somewhere in the Milky Way to live out the rest of their lives together. But they know these are just fantasies. They won’t say it out loud, and sometimes, when staring into pixelated eyes and making elaborate plots they forget the impossibility of it all, but they know they can never make these dreams reality.

Any spare time they have is spent in the digital hotel with each other. Simon starts carrying the game console around with him everywhere, even when he knows he can’t play. Baz has stopped showing up for anything he’s supposed to in the evenings, he just locks himself in his bedroom with the game.

“What would you do if I was really there?” becomes a common question.

“It’s a crisp evening here, so I’d pull you in close, keep you warm. Kiss you underneath the sliver of moon.”

“I’d hold your hand. Kiss every freckle I can find on it until I have to push up your sleeve to find more.”

“I’d mess up your hair. It looks better messy.”

“I would punch that stupid look off your face. You can’t seriously think the sun used to revolve around the Earth, that’s fucking insane!”

“I’d tell you… I- I, I never want you to leave.”

Are some of the answers.

One night they’re in the game and Simon’s struggling to stay awake. It’s adorable but Baz tells him he should go to sleep. Simon says he wants to spend more time with Baz. He asks Baz to tell him about space so he’ll stay awake. Baz knows that will put Simon to sleep rather than keep him awake, but he does it anyway. Simon fights as long as he can but falls asleep “next to” Baz within minutes. Baz realizes he’s sleeping but keeps talking about black holes while stroking the digital version of his boyfriend’s hair. And when he’s sure Simon isn’t going to wake up, Baz whispers about how much he loves him before falling asleep as well.

The next morning Simon wakes up alone in the game. Baz wakes up to the sound of his headset cracking under the weight of his skull.

Frantically he tries to turn on the console, reattach a piece of electronics that came off the headset, plead with a god he doesn’t believe in. Nothing works.

He searches for replacement pieces, a new headset, ways to convert the Tranquility game to newer systems, but there’s nothing. It’s a shitty game on an outdated console that no one cared about. He’s heartbroken.

Simon doesn’t realize anything’s wrong at first. He thinks Baz is just really busy for the first few weeks. Then he worries he did something to hurt him. Then he’s angry Baz never bothers to talk to him about why he left. Then he’s scared something happened to Baz.

For a few years he returns whenever he has the time, searches for Baz, or clues that Baz was there while he was away. But he’s never there, and there’s never any notes revealing he just missed Baz. Eventually he can’t stand to keep coming back to the deserted hotel. Whatever happened to Baz happened, deep down they both knew they couldn’t live this fantasy life in an old game forever.

Baz continues searching everywhere in real life and online for a way to get back to the game hotel, to Simon, but all he can find are parts he already has, or headsets that don’t work anymore like his.

Soon enough Simon can’t stand to even look at the gaming console. And he could use the extra money, so he decides to sell it. A local pawn shop takes it for less than Simon was hoping to get, but they said the name scratched into the side really devalues the piece.

After years of searching, Baz finds a full working console with headset for sale online, from an Earth seller. The interplanetary shipping is expensive, but worth it. When the console arrives Baz finds “SIMON SNOW” carved into the plastic exterior. He cries for days.

He boots up Tranquility The Game but he knows he’ll be the only one there. The hotel looks the same as it was the last time he played. He finds a note from Simon addressed to him, angrily asking why he left without a word, then another apologizing, saying he was just hurt but he knows things had to end at some point. Those were three years old. Simon never left anything else.

Baz decides to leave a note of his own: “Simon Snow. I wish I could tease you for carving your name into an electronic device; it’s extremely childish, and probably quite unsafe. Still, in a way I’m glad you did it. If you even found your way back here I’d hate for you to know the depth of my feelings, even after these long years. But I doubt you will. Knowing that is bittersweet. I will admit sometimes I still fantasize about you, about impossible ways we could still be friends, more than friends, anything other than ghosts haunting each other’s memories. Simon Snow, I loved you.”

[justjessame]

The Deal Chapter 45

Negan knelt in front of me, his hands on my face, rough thumb pads swiping under my eyes. I watched him as he stared at me, trying it seemed to see straight through me. I closed my eyes, and let my hand cover one of his where he rested on my cheek. I couldn’t deny that I liked his touch. I couldn’t say that I felt NOTHING for him, but I also couldn’t agree to become whatever he considered his “wives” to be.

I was holding his hand to my face when I felt the thumb of his other hand touch my lips. I sighed, letting the air in my lungs wash over his fingers. Why did he have to ask this now? Why did he have to make it more complicated than it had to be?

“Jessi,” Negan’s voice was raw, as though he was torn by the mere thought of speaking. “Look at me, sweetheart.”

I opened my eyes and met his gaze. “Why now, Negan?” I asked, thinking that if we dealt with all of it like a bandaid, that maybe we could rush past it, and get to the real issues. My family and his people were going to go toe to toe.

“I told you, Jessi, I-” his eyes closed and he took a deep breath. “I need to know that you won’t hate me if he dies. If he dies during this fucking war that him and your dad seem to need so damn badly.”

When his eyes opened, he saw me studying him. “I didn’t hate you when you killed Abraham, Negan.” I started, and he opened his mouth to speak, but my free hand brushed over his lips to stop him. “Let me speak, please.” His nod gave me the clear to keep going. “I didn’t hate you when you killed him, or Olivia, or Spencer. I didn’t hate you when those deaths happened because I think I understand why you did it.” I sighed again. “This world. The world we live in now, it’s not the same as it was before. Before we had the luxury of high morals, of knowing firmly right from wrong. Now, it’s kill, be killed, or be killed again. Every single person, every LEADER in this new world, has a new set of morals. A new set of right from wrong. A new set of rules.” I closed my own eyes to collect my thoughts. “I’ve watched Daryl leave a barn after beating a man from a rival group for information. I’ve watched my own father attack another man in the middle of Alexandria because he felt he had the moral high ground. I’ve watched women who never once raised a hand to defend themselves against abusive men in their lives kill without blinking.” I opened my eyes to see he was listening intently to me. “I may not always agree with the rules of each leader. I may not always agree with their tactics or their motives. In the end? It doesn’t matter what I agree with. If I choose to follow someone, then they are the leader and I am not. Because I don’t want to LEAD, Negan. It’s not something I’m interested in. I don’t want that responsibility. I don’t want the weight of the lives of followers on MY shoulders or conscience.” I took his hand from my face, but kept our hands together. “If Daryl dies at your hand, or one of your people’s hands, then you have to know that I will experience the pain of losing him. I will grieve him. But hate you for HIS choice to fight? No. That won’t happen.”

His eyes, ever changing, were dark again. He had listened, but did he HEAR me. “Are you really sure about that, Jessi?” He let his fingers link with mine. “That his death, or your dad’s, or fuck, Carl’s, won’t make you hate ME?”

I shook my head. “Death is one of the few constants in our world, from before and now, Negan. Men and women died before this shit started, and they’ll die after your war with Dad and Daryl.” I knew I sounded defeated, because I was. This was something he couldn’t fix. They couldn’t fix it. I would never be better in this one sense. The inevitability of death didn’t make it more reasonable or easier to deal with. “I will grieve, Negan. I will be sad and angry about their deaths, or yours, because it could go either way. But hating you? Or them for that matter? Why would I? I haven’t hated them for anything else, I can’t hate you for it either. You’re all so certain it’s necessary. All I can do, all I can promise is to try my damnedest to help you understand them, and in that you’ll find a way that the cost isn’t as great as it could be.”

“I don’t want you to disappear inside yourself over this, Jessica.” His eyes were still locked on mine. “I don’t want you to lose yourself because of this shit.” I could see he meant it, and I didn’t know why he was so concerned.

“Negan,” I was staring at him, trying to think of a way to phrase what I wanted to know without raising the tension in the room to a fever pitch again. “Why do you care, really?” Our fingers were still linked. “Don’t you have enough wives?” I tried to make it sound flippant, but I was honestly trying to understand him.

He got to his feet and used his free hand to run down his face. His other was still holding my hand and he used it to pull me from my chair. Sitting down in his spot on the sofa, he tugged me onto his lap. His face found my neck and he inhaled the scent of my skin, seemingly to calm himself or to gather his thoughts.

“I don’t know.” He whispered, his breath fanning against my skin. “I don’t know why I care. I don’t know why it matters if you hate me, Jessica Grimes. I just fucking do. I care. I want you to-”

When he stopped, a groan left his lips as though the mere thoughts he wanted to give life to by voicing them. I felt like I was holding my breath, but then his hands were cupping my face and he was staring me in the eyes again. And then his lips met mine and my eyes closed. Kissing me, Negan felt like he was as tormented as he’d been in trying to explain himself, but he was trying, I could tell to show me.

I let the kiss go on for as long as I could, but I wanted answers. Making out with Negan was well worth the time, but the truth was that being physical with him would NOT make what we needed to get clear come out easier. I finally pulled away, watching his eyes open when I moved my mouth from his.

“Words, Negan.” I begged. I needed to understand, and kissing it away wasn’t going to work. Not for me.

“I want YOU, Jessi. I want you and me, I want US.” I knew I looked confused because I felt it. He swallowed hard and glanced down. “What we have, what I want us to have, it isn’t the same.” As? I wanted to ask, but I waited. He was talking now, I didn’t want him to clam up. “My wives, they were offered a deal, or some offered me a deal-” Another swallow, and I stayed quiet. “What you offered? Was YOUR LIFE for someone else. You wanted to die and use me to do it, but you also wanted to SAVE someone with your death.” It was the truth, but I didn’t quite understand. “You had no fucking clue I’d bring you here. That I’d let you live, that I’d work to bring you back to yourself.” Also all true. “When I asked you if you wanted me, I had to know that you didn’t assume it was part of you being alive still. That this, us, wasn’t part of it. That you aren’t THEM.”

I leaned back, staying on his lap, but wanting to see him. His face, his posture, and his eyes. “When you say they, the wives, had a deal?” I wanted to know, he had his curiosity, so did I.

Negan sighed, his eyes tight. “The ones that had partners, were offered a place with me, for their own safety and to keep their men in line. The others came to me, wanting the same protection and perks.”

“Perks?” I asked, starting to understand a bit more.

“No points. No fighting. Safety and luxury.” I nodded, showing I wanted all of it. “In return, I owned their bodies. Their partners couldn’t touch them again. They were my wives, after all.” He said it as though it made perfect sense. His harem for their luxurious lives.

“That’s why-” I closed my eyes at the memory of the man’s skin burning. The smell of burnt flesh. “Because she cheated.” I whispered, remembering him and the woman, her vows of her love for him and I felt sick. “What about me?” I wanted to know, I needed certainty even with his multiple wives that the rules didn’t apply to him.

“It’s a one way street, Jessi.” His voice was quiet, he was clearly watching my face. “They get a better deal than me, in so many fucking ways.” Sure, I thought, they didn’t have to be with you every time you rang the bell. Or hell, maybe there were nights when they all took him on, how would I ever fucking know?

“Of course,” I stood up and moved out of his reach. “Pretty clothes, safety, and unlimited shit that they don’t have to work for-” except flat on their backs, or on their knees. “What about Eugene?”

“Eugene?” He clearly forgot that his harem was currently keeping Dr. Mullet company.

I was standing at the window, staring out into the darkness so different from my own. I directed my next words to the glass. “Yes, Eugene, the bullet maker. Aren’t YOUR WIVES keeping him entertained?”

“They aren’t fucking him.” He offered, clearly bothered by the very idea. “I’m not even sure he’s capable.”

My hand pressed against the cool glass. “And me? Would I be entertainment for your next pet?”

“Jessi,” Negan groaned, and I heard him stand. “Didn’t I say that you’re fucking different?”

“Don’t come closer, please.” I didn’t turn around, but I needed him to not touch me. “How am I different? Because I wanted to DIE and you saved me? Because I didn’t offer to sleep with you for my freedom or gifts? Because I wanted to DIE and I became a martyr in your eyes?” I turned finally, and let him see the pain on my face. “Negan, I’m not a fucking saint. I’m not a martyr. I’m someone who gave the FUCK UP. I couldn’t stand this fucking world. The pain, the death. Watching my baby brother turn merciless. Watching my dad and the man I love decide that they are willing to let people DIE so our people can have ‘more’?” I sighed and leaned against the wall beside the window. “You think you see me so fucking clearly. You don’t see me any better than they did.”

He started forward, but I held up my hand to stop him. “You take the bed, Negan, I’ll take the couch.” It was final. And he knew it. I needed space. And since he wouldn’t let me leave this room without him, then I’d be sleeping alone. Period.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #288

“i never believed the devil was real, but god couldn’t make someone filthy as you”

When was the last time you drove or travelled for over an hour? Where did you go? Around a month back, I rode with Mom and my sister to my mom’s doc appointment. When you get old, are you going to let your hair go gray or dye it instead? Haha, I don’t see my desire to dye my hair wild colors ever fading. What genre was the last book you read? Was it any good? Fantasy. It was very good. Did you ever wear braces on your teeth? Yes. What’s your favorite condiment to have with sausages or hot dogs (or the vegetarian equivalent)? I just have ketchup and mustard. Which fictional character can you relate to the most? Is this a character from film, TV or a book? I dunno, there’s just so many to dig through. I’ve never felt a *strong* connection to any. Do you groom your eyebrows? If so, how? Not really anymore. Do you own any photo albums? Are they dedicated to special occasions or just a random selection of photos? We have old ones stored in a cabinet somewhere. I haven’t looked at them in a long time, but I think they’re loosely bound by time periods. What’s your favorite meal of the day - breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Breakfast, for sure. Who was the last person you texted? How do you know that person? Sara. She’s my best friend. What was the reason behind the last time you shouted or raised your voice? It wasn’t severe at all, but I raised my voice to tell Roman to stop clawing at the carpet. Are you a citizen of more than one country? Would you ever use that advantage to move abroad? No. Have you ever read any of John Green’s books? If so, which one is your favorite? I barely started The Fault in Our Stars, and that’s it. I’m quite sure I would if I actually read them, though. Are you a protective person? UM ONLY JUST SLIGHTLY. Have you ever experienced an earthquake? No. There’s been very, very mild ones here, and the one “big” one (which, mind you, was only big enough to make the pool water barely tremble) that’s happened in my lifetime I wasn’t even home for; I was hours away at the zoo. According to Facebook outrage much more recently, my area experienced a teeny-tiny one, but I sure didn’t feel it. Are you a fan of penguins? Omg yes, such darlings. So intelligent, too. I particularly love emperor penguins. Has anyone ever sang to you? Yes. Are you a good painter? I’ve been told so. Before buying a car, do you usually test drive it? I’ve never been in this position. When was the last time you met someone for the first time? Ummm I dunno. Maybe Nicole’s ex? Have you ever cooked with crab or lobster? Could you ever bring yourself to kill a live lobster/crab? No and no. I hate the taste of both. Squishy and just… ew. Which fast food restaurant do you go to the most? What do you tend to order when you go there? Being the cheapest, probably McDonald’s? I usually get a double cheeseburger and small or medium fry. Does it bother you when dogs jump up at you? Does it bother you less if it’s a smaller dog? Nah. I mean their claws can hurt, but it’s all worth a dog’s love, haha. What kind of animal did you touch last? Was this animal one of your pets? I pet my cat Roman last. How would you describe your sense of humor? Have you ever offended someone when you were only joking? Seeing as I don’t even find myself funny, idk how to answer that. I don’t believe I’ve ever offended anyone with a joke. When was the last time you cried - what caused it? It was literally last night when I was really deeply thinking about stuff I’ve been running from. What’s your favorite flavor of potato chip? You can’t beat the original ruffled kind, imo. Do you prefer fruit or vegetable juice? What kind of flavors do you like? I love fruit juice, but you’ll never see me even try vegetable juice. I enjoy lots of fruit ones: mango (my favorite), pineapple, strawberry, watermelon, orange, apple… Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? How did you meet this person? If you mean via a call and not texting, that would be my psychiatrist. I met him during my partial hospitalization. He helped save my life. Who was your first celebrity crush? Which celebrity do you like now? Jesse McCartney /swoons. Now I’m a l l about Mark Fischbach like jesus fucking Christ lord- Do you usually sleep with your closet door open or closed? It’s closed. What’s your favorite love movie? The Notebook. Afraid of heights? Kinda, yeah. Do you take a vitamin daily? Not daily, no, but I have to take Vitamin D once a week. Wal-Mart, Target, or K-Mart? Wal-Mart. Is K-Mart even still around? Cheetos Or Fritos? Cheetos; I don’t really like the latter. Are you patient? N O P E, not unless it’s really called for. Which are better black or green olives? I hate olives. Black aren’t as awful, though. Who was your high school crush? Ha, Jason surpassed “crush” by a lighyear. Have you ever had your computer or e-mail hacked? Did anything bad happen as a result? No to both, but I’ve had my Facebook hacked. Nothing too bad happened. Do you prefer the company of people or animals? Animals, for sure. I need human company sometimes too, though. When was the last time you went to the beach? What did you do there? A few years ago when Colleen and I were still friends. The water felt fucking incredible, so I swam a lot, and then I just chilled with her, her husband, and their then-infant son under the umbrella. I still got insane sun poisoning, though. What kind of milk do you prefer to drink (if you drink it at all)? 1-2%. Skim is gross and whole is too thick. When was the last time you wore some kind of fancy dress? That witchy photoshoot I mentioned in I think the last survey. Do you enjoy dressing up (ie. in suits or smart clothing)? When was the last time you did so? Ugh, no. Too much effort and usually not very comfortable. See above answer for the second part. What’s worse - being overdressed or underdressed? I think the latter would embarrass me more. What do you think would be the worst thing about being stuck in solitary confinement? Being alone with only your head for “sound.” And if you’re in solitary, odds are your head isn’t in a good place, so it just makes it worse. How old were you when you learned to tie your shoelaces? Idk, but I know I learned it the “wrong” way first from Dad. It always annoyed Mom because they weren’t tight enough, apparently. Do you enjoy decorating for the holidays? For the most part, honestly not really. I love SEEING places decorated, but hate doing it myself. So much effort for sometimes not even a month’s worth of enjoyment. Would you rather go into a restaurant or just go via the drive-thru? I prefer the drive-thru. Do you like having your teeth cleaned at the dentist? Yeah, even if there may be a bit of pain here and there. It feels nice afterwards. Have you ever had a gun drawn on you before? YIKES, NO. When was the last time you went to a petting zoo? I probably haven’t since I was a baby. How old were you when you first started using Tumblr? Have you had the same blog all that time? Idr, but I know I was waaaay late to the party. I’ve had the same since the start, though. Are you a fan of Reddit? What are some of your favorite subreddits? I’ve never used it. Have you ever watched those YouTube videos of people popping their own spots or zits? Do you find them gross or fascinating? EW EW EW EW NO. They gross me the FUCK out. What’s a food you hated as a kid but love now? How about vice versa? Hmmm… I only know vice-versa, really. I loved peas as a baby, but now it’s a “fuck no” from me, man. Do you prefer socks, shoes or going bare foot? Bare feet, at least where it makes sense. Are you currently in the second story of a building? No; my house doesn't have a second floor. Who was the last music artist you listened to a song by? Ozzy. Have you ever written or drew something on a dollar bill? No. What was your favorite childhood game to play with your friends? We played lots of things, but I guess "Categories" in the pool probably wins. Basically the person on one end of the pool had to guess somebody on the other side's favorite in a certain topic, and if they guessed it right, you raced the other person to the opposite side. Whoever got there fastest was the next guesser. Where did you get your favorite pet from? My favorite pet of all time, my old dog Teddy, we got as a puppy from a friend of a friend. Her cocker spaniel had a massive litter and adopted the babies out. Have you ever called animal control on anyone? Not me personally, no. I think my mom did when our childhood neighbor's two rottweilers got loose and killed at least one of our kittens of the time; she was livid because it wasn't the first time they got out and attacked our cats, and of course us kids were absolutely devastated. I think they got off with a warning. Do you prefer wearing hoodies to coats? Yeah, especially slightly oversized. Is there anything written on the shirt you are wearing? No, it's just a black tank top. Have you ever been to another continent? No. Do you ever go out of your way to avoid someone? Not really. What was your last voicemail about? I don't even have a voicemail set up, so. Are you currently wearing a belt?I haven't worn belts since high school. How much was gas the last time you looked? I think $1.99. Is there someone who would support you no matter what? My mom, probably. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?I REALLY don't want to think about this one. Do you still get carded when you try and buy things you’re old enough to? I very rarely order one, but I don't really get carded for drinks at restaurants anymore. Do you know anyone fluent in a really uncommon language? Not that I know of. Do you kiss on the first date? This would depend on a lot of things. Odds are though, no. When was the last time you slept on something other than a bed? I've got no clue. How do you feel about the last person you shared a kiss with? I love her. Describe your current mood: Hopeless. Confused. Aimless. Exasperated. Just depressed. Do you think we were put on this earth for a reason? I mean, somewhat, but also not really. I don't believe life exists by chance, so whoever/whatever made that decision obviously had some reason - but not for each person in particular, I believe. I highly doubt something/someone thought out extravagant stories for every single thing that lives. I believe we give ourselves a reason. What is something you have done this year you’re proud of? Absolutely nothing, off the top of my head. What were you doing 10 years ago? I woulda been 14, almost 15... so starting high school. I was in school with actual goals and confidence I'd do great in life, despite my depression being in full swing. Did you ever have a MySpace? Yup... Still remember Natasha Bedingfield's "Pocketful of Sunshine" was the song on my meerkat-slathered page too, haha. Do you think breaks are toxic in a relationship? I don't believe in breaks, period. You don't turn love on and off. Do you have a YouTube channel? If no, would you create one? If yes, what’s your content? Yeah, but it's not one that seriously produces content. Its primary purpose is just to like, favorite, and rarely comment on stuff while having recommendations catered to my interests. I used to make GMV/AMV-type things and mostly Meerkat Manor tributes, as well as various MEP parts because BOY could I only accomplish very short videos. I no longer have "professional" video editing software (I'd always pirated it before, anyway...) nor the necessary motivation and patience to make them anymore. Are you a math person? Heeeeeeeell no. Have you been ghosted before? Would you ghost someone? No to both. When do you think things will be normal again? Who the fuck knows. It'll probably be a couple years, at least. Do you watch anime? If I'm watching television, yeah, I like some animes. Do you like TikTok? Never used it. Do you ever miss Vine? YO Vine was fuckin FUNNY If you're in school, are you doing it on Zoom or in class? I'm not in school, so. But if I was and in-person classes were expected, guess who the fuck isn't going with how serious I am about social distancing. Lives come before education. Would you ever have a pet rat? I've had a handful, but I don't think I will again. Their cages require so much cleaning, and they need more socialization than I'm able to provide. I fucking adore them, though. Favorite memory with your best friend? It's weird, we've "seen" each other for only like, a month's collective time, and I'm not sure of my answer because there's so many. Have you ever dated someone more than twice your age? No. Have you ever “dined and dashed”? No, I never could. Have you ever been cut off by a bartender because you were too drunk? No. Have you ever borrowed money from your mom & lied about why you needed it? I don't think so. Have you ever dated someone just because they had money? Fuck no. Have you ever lied to your spouse about the money you spent shopping? N/A, but I wouldn't. Have you ever flirted with a cop to get out of a ticket? No. Have you ever lied during a job interview? Me? Social? People person? Well duh, of course I am. Have you ever switched tags on an item to pay less for it? No, that's awful. Have you taken any pics of yourself that you wouldn't want your parents to see? Actually no. Did you ever get fired and tell someone you were laid off? No. Have you ever turned in a school paper that someone else wrote for you? Absolutely not. I liked writing papers anyway and am very serious about creative honesty. Do you feel accepted by your BF/GF’s family? N/A If you were an employer, would you hire someone with your exact work ethic? Well, what's the job? Have you ever trashed your ex’s car after an argument? No. The only thing I ever did to his car was decorate it for his birthday lmao. Have you ever done something because of peer pressure you are ashamed of? I don't think so, no. Have you ever been embarrassed to introduce your parents to anyone? No. Would you leave a note on a car claiming responsibility if you damaged it? Yes. The guilt otherwise would be unbearable. Have you ever used someone's handicapped parking pass to get a parking spot? Ew, no. Have you ever held back a well-deserved compliment because you were jealous? I wouldn't put me past it lately. For yourself, would you rather have a perfect body or high IQ? I hate my body so fuckin much that I'll take the first, please. Have you ever used a false ID? Nope. Are you embarrassed to tell people your job? I'm embarrassed to admit I don't HAVE a job. If you ran over an animal would you keep driving? Oh my god no, I'd have to stop to break the fuck down. Ever lie about you (or your kids') age to get a discount? Ha, I'm sure my parents would sometimes at restaurants when I was young. Do you really care about saving the planet for future generations? A LOT. Have you gotten close to anyone recently? Not really. Do you remember the first conversation you had with the person you have feelings for? No, but I can assure you it probably wasn't nice lmao. Have you ever gotten a D or F on your report card? Not until college. If you had twins, would you give them rhyming names? No. What are you listening to? "Radio" by Rammstein is on atm. Have you ever fallen into a mud puddle? Maybe as a kid. But that might'a been on purpose, lol. Are you scared of spiders? To a degree. Like, I want a few tarantulas but will scream and jump five feet the moment I see a huge spider beside me unexpectantly. I think they are very, very fascinating and important, but I also prefer to give them distance. Unless I have a camera in hand, haha. Do you think that crying is a form of weakness? Absolutely not. Have you ever slept on a couch with someone? Yeah. Last person to call you? Some number from Mississippi??????????? Ever feel like you have been replaced? Oh yes.

[artificialqueens]

Hot as hell and no A/C, Chapter 1 (Branjie) - Blackhighheels

Read at AO3

When a new dance teacher comes to “the friendly community” in the middle of nowhere, he doesn’t expect to run into a cute blonde local, who always helps out his deeply religious family and might just be…. gay. And really deep in the closet.

AN:

Please not that while this is a romance, the topics of religion, (internalized) homophobia, depression and stereo types will be heavily featured in this story. If these trigger you in any way, then please don’t read!

Thanks to all the different people who gave me input in the first chapter and helped me out!

Chapter 1

”Shit, Thacks, look! We so far out in the middle of fucking nowhere, not even the ad signs get used.” Jose says to his cat, who is lying in the passenger’s seat looking up at him with a bored expression before he simply goes back to sleep.

They had left Los Angeles nearly two days ago and have been on the road ever since. They both like it that way and Jose takes the car, and the cat, wherever he can. Even if it’s the middle of bum-fuck nowhere, Texas. For the last three hours he’s driven through vast stretches of absolutely nothing. Even the desert between LA and Vegas might be more populated than this never ending green emptiness.

He’s close, though. There are houses now, farms, the orchards. Pick-up trucks pass him from time to time. There are horses out on the paddocks, cows out grazing, dogs running around and kids chasing after them.

‘Welcome to the friendly community’ Jose reads, as he passes the sign that tells him he’s finally reached his destination. There’s also something on it about a corn festival, but he’d rather not think about that too much.

The one street through town leads him past a liquor store, a gas station, a couple of derelict buildings of which one of them might be an open bar. Another gas station follows after a car shop, silos and what looks like a small grocery store. Then there’s only silos and farms and nothingness again. Fuck, he must have driven past it.

Once the tractor behind him has passed, he turns the car around and drives back. After he passes the welcome sign again, he realises he has no fucking clue where he is supposed to go. Navigation had stopped working about fifty miles back.

”This is some fucked up shit, Thacks. I can’t even find the motherfucking studio.” Thackery just yawns and gives a pointed look to his cellphone. ”You right, I’m a dumb ho. I should just call Jason before these howdy motherfuckers shoot my gay ass.”

He dials and it takes forever until his friend picks up his phone. It feels even longer because cars that pass him start honking and the children playing on the other side of the road eye him suspiciously. He is painfully aware that his shiny black Porsche Cayenne is just as much out of place here as he is himself.

”Hey, Jo, what’s up? Where you at?”

”Child, if only I knew. I passed some dumbass sign about a corn festival twice now but I can’t find your fucking place.””Oh ok, if you mean the welcome sign, then you’re on the wrong side of town. Just follow the road until you pass the colourful little bakery on the left and the cemetery on the right. Then there’s nothing except some farms for about another ten minutes. And then you can see my dancing studio on the right. It’s the biggest building around, you can’t miss it, cowboy.”

”Alright, then Imma be there in a few. You better have a drink ready for me, now that I know where I’ll spend the next eight fucking weeks.”

Jason just laughs. ”Girl, you’ll love it here, I swear! And could you stop by Smith’s and bring some bread? Tell Ada it’s for me and she’ll know which one, ok?”

”That the grocery story that looks like the roof will come down? With the bright blue, ugly ass door?”

”Don’t be such an L.A. bitch, Vanj’! I swear, y’all gonna love it here!”

”I wouldn’t bet on it, asshole. I doubt there’s any gay dicks around to suck to make up for this shitty town, cause yours sure as hell doesn’t count for me. See ya!”

Once more, he turns the car around and drives past what Jason considers to be a town. Although the old, dirty green pick-up truck in front of him that just off the road suddenly and drives over the fields and grass makes it painfully obvious that this is no fucking town.

When he gets out of the car in front of the grocery store he notices that it’s really warm and the air smells like the blossoming trees that are all around. In contrast, the shop smells like freshly baked bread which makes his mouth water. It’s been a while since he’s eaten.

”Hey, y’all. Can I help you?” a woman comes up to him. It’s hard to tell how old she is, but her hair is badly dyed red, her clothes are old and worn, but clean. She has a friendly smile and very pretty blue eyes. The most remarkable thing about her, though, is her huge, pregnant stomach.

”Hey,” Jose smiles at her and tries to control what comes out of his mouth for once. If he gets into trouble here for running his mouth he’s fucked. ”Jason sent me. Told me to tell Ada he needs some bread. You Ada?”

”Yeah, I am.” She waddles away and signals him to follow her. ”You a friend of Jason’s ?” There’s something in the way she says it, that makes him bite his tongue for a second.

”Yeah, I’m here to teach the spring dance class.” Better keep it professional.

”Oh lord, then you’re Vanjie, right?” she seems really excited all of a sudden. ”My daughter Rachel is a big fan of yours and’ll be attending the workshop. She’s been looking forward to it for weeks!”

Jose wrinkles his forehead, because his workshops are for kids ten and up. ”So that’s not number one?” he asks and points to her pregnant belly.

Ada laughs loudly. ”No, that’s number seven.”

”Seven? Y’all must know how to keep busy around here.” He freezes when he stops to think about what he just said. But then Ada laughs as she passes him the bread.

”We just believe in accepting what the lord gives to us. However many kids he will bless us with, that’s how many we will have.”

Jose doesn’t really know what to say to that, so he just hands her some money for the bread. ”Thanks, Miss Ada. See ya ‘round.”

Thackery greets him with a head-bump when he gets back into the car. ”Yeah, you better be glad I’m still alive, bitch. This town is no joke.” He pulls out of the gravel parking space and back onto the road.

Jason hadn’t lied when he’d said his building was the biggest around. Also the newest, most modern and probably the only one with air-conditioning, by the looks of it.

”Miss Vanjie, you made it!” he greets him with a big smile and a hug. He looks like a fucking cowboy with his hat and the boots he is wearing.

”You better believe it. And bitch, you will owe me so fucking much, after this shit is over! ‘Cause, child, this town is way too hillbilly realness for my gay ass!”

***

‘… When the world’s all that it should be Blessed be your name. Blessed be your name on the road marked with suffering, though there’s pain in the offering. Blessed be your name.’ Brock hits the button to shut off his alarm clock and whatever crap the Christian Rock station plays in the very early hours of the morning. He doesn’t even really like the station, but he still doesn’t dare to change it. He’s had the same alarm clock with the same radio station since he was fifteen. Sometimes it feels like time stands still within his four walls.

Brock’s eyes already burn with fatigue, even though he hasn’t opened them yet. His arms and legs hurt, his head is pounding and the heaviness that settles in his body every second of every day hasn’t left during this short night’s sleep either.

He wants to sleep and stay in bed, just like every other day. And just like every other day he slowly sits up, grabs some clothes from the dresser and gets ready in the dark. He squints when the light from the porch light hits his eyes as he steps into the hallway. He tiptoes around because he doesn’t want to wake his parents, but the old wooden floorboards creak under his weight anyway. His parents, at least, should get a couple more hours of sleep, even if he can’t.

The cows come first, then the pigs. By the time he gets to the chicken, the sun is rising and the farm comes to life around him.

He takes a moment for himself when he sits down beside the barn door and pets one of the kittens, resting his head against the chipped wood of the door. The little guy has taken a liking to him and sometimes, when his mother isn’t watching he sneaks him into his room, so he has company as he reads or listens to music in the evenings.

With a loud sigh he gets back up after a while. He doesn’t have time to rest and he’s not really looking forward to another argument with his father when he’s barely awake yet.

”Good morning,” Brock greets his parents waiting at the breakfast table, pressing a kiss to his mother’s cheek.

”Morning, Brock. You’re going to say grace today?” she asks him.

”Sure,” he shrugs and sits down. He still feels like a little kid every time she asks this of him. If he had his way they would just start eating. ”Father, we praise You for the nourishment you provide. Thank You for meeting our physical needs of hunger and thirst. Forgive us for taking that simple joy for granted. Bless this food to fuel our bodies forward into your plan for our lives. We pray that we will be energised and be able to work for the glory or your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, amen.” He automatically recites the prayer, but feels nothing as he speaks these words.

”Amen,” his parents both say and Brock can finally eat something after slaving away at the farm for the last three hours.

”Brock, you’re gonna have to hurry up after driving the kids to school today. We have to get the barn roof fixed before the May storms come in.”

”I know. Just, Daniel needs me in the afternoon, so he can keep the deadline for the new annex at the Miller farm.” Since his brother started his construction business, Brock has spent more hours up on roofs than in his own room. But his brother needs his help, because he can’t afford to pay more workers at the moment.

”I need you back at four. Tell him I said so.” His father lays down the law as per usual. Brock just nods and puts his toast down. He’s not hungry anymore. Swallowing the last bite is painful and the familiar heaviness weighing on his chest even makes it hard to breathe.

The day has barely started and already it seems endless and draining. Just like every other damn day in his life. Sometimes, he wishes he could just leave and escape. Be someone else, someone who has some say over their own life and gets to do what he wants to do. Enjoy life just a bit more. Yet, it looks like that’s not the lord’s plan for him.

***

”Ruthie! Jonathan! Rachel! Uncle Brock is here!” Ada yells with a volume that one wouldn’t expect out of such a small woman.

Every morning when he stops by it’s absolute chaos. The kids can’t find their bags, their homework or their shoes. The younger ones forget to brush their teeth or their hair and the two older ones try and help their mother wrangle them all into the waiting cars, so they can go to school.

Before his sister got pregnant for the seventh time she was somehow able to do it on her own. But now that the school in town has closed and they all need to go to the one, one town over, it’s harder for Ada. She can barely fit behind the wheel anymore and she works too much anyway. Taking care of six kids, with one on the way, managing the household and working full-time at her own grocery store, while her husband is on the road making money as a truck driver, is hard.

Brock wishes they would just stop having kids. Six is too many already and he is scared to think of how many more will come after number seven.

”You ok, Brock? You look tired?” Ada asks him with a worried look in her eyes. He should be used to it by now, but he isn’t. He wishes he could tell her about how exhausted he feels, how trapped, how much his life sucks and how much he wants out.

”Sure. Just didn’t sleep too well.” He says instead and goes to find his nieces himself, just so he can get away from her and her dangerous questions.

Ada kisses each kid goodbye as they leave and he gets a kiss on the cheek as well, as she stays behind with the younger ones, that she will somehow watch at the same time as she works in the grocery store.

”Uncle Brock, guess what!” ten-year-old Rachel says as soon as they are on the road. She always gets to drive shotgun, because she likes to talk to him, while the rest is asleep again in the backseat.

”What?”

”No, guess, guess!” She is so excited she is bouncing in her seat.

”You have to give me a clue, Rach. Otherwise I don’t even know what exactly I’m supposed to guess.”

She sighs, but then gives in ”Ok. But only one!”

”Only one clue.” Brock nods and smiles a bit. He really loves her a whole lot and she always manages to warm his heart.

”It is about what I’ll do next week after school.”

”Uhm… you’ll meet your friends?”

”No.”

”You’ll study every day,” he teases her.

”No.”

”You’ll help grandpa fix the roof.”

”That’s for boys, dummy!” She giggles. ”Imma join Vanjie’s dance class! Momma said yes!”

”What’s Vanjie?”

”Not what, Uncle Brock, who! He is the bestest dancer who does all the choreography for like Rihanna and Ariana Grande.”

”You know you’re not supposed to listen to that kind of music, right?”

”They play it all the time at Jason’s dance studio. Momma knows that! And she said yes! I think Imma get an autograph from Vanjie!”

”Jason, of course.” Brock tries to keep his tone neutral. He can’t say that he likes Jason very much. It’s not so much that he’s gay - even though that’s wrong too. It’s more the fact that he has to shove it in people’s faces with the way he dresses and talks. Sometimes he has guys over that dress in women’s clothes and wear make up. It’s just… his father calls it an abomination. Still, Jason is a great dance teacher and the kids love him, and so does his niece. How much worse can thisVanjie be?

***

”Brock! Finally! I thought you’d be here by twelve!” Brock’s brother is already up on the roof, hammering away when he gets there.

”I wanted to, but a new shipment came in at the grocery store and I didn’t want Ada to carry the heavy boxes.”

”How is she? She popped already?” Daniel laughs and hands him the hammer. He takes it when he has found a more secure stand. Brock is afraid of heights and crawling up on roofs every day is not very high on the lists of things he likes to do. But his brother needs help and his family needs the money, so what choice does he have?

”She’s getting bigger every day, but still insists on doing most on her own. I just hope Jack comes back soon.”

”He’s the man, he needs to make the money,” Daniel shrugs. ”Once you get married, the days of just working a bit here and there will be over, too, my friend.” Daniel laughs, but Brock just wants to slap him. If they weren’t up on a damn roof without any safety equipment, he just might have. Instead he grabs a nail and hammers it in with as much force as he can. At least the work up here can be somewhat therapeutic.

He gets to the ninth nail when the head of the hammer flies off and scares Brock so much he nearly falls backward. The metal flies off and hits the ground, where gladly no one is standing.

”Shit! I thought you fixed the tools!” he snaps at his older brother.

”I did! You banging away like a madman doesn’t help. These are damn cheap tools. They’re not meant to be used every day to build houses and roofs.”

”Dan, this is dangerous! I could have killed someone with this! I could have hurt you or myself.”

”You think I don’t know that, Brock? What am I fucking supposed to do? Build me some tools myself?”

”Buy new ones!” Brock yells back. It’s not like anyone is around who could hear them up there.

”Do you have any idea what that shit costs? One roofing hammer costs about 50 bucks and I need at least 6 different ones, and that times two at least! And if I really wanna go somewhere with this business I’ll need a nail gun, too. That alone is nearly two grand. I don’t have that kind of money, kiddo. I have a family and obligations. Not like you!”

”Hey, I don’t have money either! I’ve been saving for months just so I can finally get my truck fixed.”

”So you do have money!”

”Dan… that car breaks down every couple of days and I need it.”

”You could just take ma’s old one.”

”That has no A/C and it’s too small. The kids don’t fit in there when I take them to school.”

”Brock, come on! I’ll pay you back, man.” Brock thinks for a second about just leaning back and letting himself fall. Well, not really.

Or?

Is he really a rotten person, because he doesn’t want to give his brother the money he carefully put aside, so he can finally get the necessary repair on his old car done? A car he desperately needs to drive to the several fields and orchards they have, drive his nieces and nephews back and forth from school and to their extra-curricular and also to get to his brother’s construction sites. And sometimes, just once in a blue moon, he needs the car to drive out into the middle of nowhere and scream out into the night and cry where no-one can see or hear him, so he doesn’t lose his mind.

”Fine. I only have 3 grand, though.” It’s his brother and he has to help him out. That’s what family does.

”Thanks, man! Now back to work so I can be home by dinner time. Lilly’s making stew tonight!”

Brock nods, grabs another hammer and lets out his frustration on the nails. There won’t be any stew for him once he is done here; only more work, more problems, more prayers, more self-doubts and guilt.

***

”Uncle Brock, you have to come in with me! Pleeeeease!” Rachel begs when they reach the dance studio. His plan was to go home and finally get some sleep, since he was up last night delivering a new fowl. His headache is nearly killing him and he probably shouldn’t even be driving, but how can he say no to his favorite niece?

”Fine. I just hope the music isn’t too loud.”

”It has to be loud, otherwise we can’t hear it when we dance,” she skips ahead and holds the door open for him.

It’s not loud music he hears, but a man yelling at TJ Johnson in a volume Brock didn’t think possible. His head pounds, but he can only stare in fascination.

”If you motherfucker ever come in here again and talk smack about mah friend, Imma kick your ugly hillbilly ass, you got me bitch?” he finishes the rant that seems to have gone on for a while if TJ’s dumbfounded expression is any indication. ”Fucking assholes in this motherfucking town.” The guy grumbles and turns around to face them. He’s not that tall, with brown hair, that is styled in some movie stars way, where half of it is missing in the back. He has brown eyes that are dark with anger and tan skin. Brock wonders what his ethnicity is. His arms are full of tattoos and his ears are pierced.

He’s beautiful.

”What the fuck are you staring at, bitch? You got something to say about Jason, too?” he barks at Brock, who can only shake his head as he keeps staring at him.

Then he’s gone, and has disappeared behind the door of the dancing studio.

”Uncle Brock, what does motherfucker mean?” Rachel looks up at him with wide eyes.

”That’s a very bad and nasty word, Rachel. I don’t ever want to hear it coming out of your mouth!” He becomes stern, which is rare.

”But Vanjie said it!”

”If that’s Vanjie then I should maybe talk to your mother, because I’m not sure I want you around this guy!” The pout on Rachel’s face makes him give in and let her join the class for today at least.

As angry and crude as Vanjie just was with TJ, he’s great to the kids, and they seem to have a blast. Brock watches the lesson through the glass window for a while, but at some point the too-warm, sticky air in the studio gets to him and he falls asleep.

***

”Hey there, sleeping beauty.” Brock opens his eyes and what he sees are two warm, sparkling brown eyes and a large smile.

”Hey,” he says and tries to shake himself awake.

”You ok there, Mary?”

”Yeah, sorry. I was up all night. One of our horses needed help with the birth,” he says, even though that much information isn’t needed at all. It’s not like he owes this guy any explanation. ”Lesson done?”

”Yeah, the kids are just changing.  Here,” He hands him a cup of coffee that Brock accepts gratefully. ”You’re with Rachel, right”

”Yes.”

”She’s good.”

”Thanks.” He takes a sip of the coffee and doesn’t really know what else to say. He is surprised when the guy sits down beside him. He smells nice, like cologne and hairspray, even after the training lesson, which Brock finds surprising. However he can’t tell him that.

”I’m Jose.” He holds out his hand.

”You’re Mexican?” It’s curiosity not racism, and he hopes it won’t be mistaken as such.

”Nah, Puerto Rican.” Jose just laughs. ”And you are?” He is still holding out his hand.

”Brock.”

”Nice to meet you, Brock.” He shakes his hand and finds it warm and surprisingly soft. He knows his hands are rough and calloused from the work he does.

”So Vanjie isn’t your actual name?”

Jose snorts. ”Nah… just some stupid nickname given to me by one of my clients. I always made her go all Banjie girl in her videos and for her shows, and ‘cause part of my last name is Vasquez, she started calling me Vanjie. It just stuck.”

The explanation makes absolutely no sense to Brock, but  nods anyway. Thankfully, though, he’s saved from saying more by the ringing of his phone.

”Hey Lily,” he greets his sister-in-law, but what she tells him makes his blood run cold. ”Yeah, stay there, I’ll be there as fast as I can,” he tells her and hangs up.

”Can you please get Rachel? My brother fell off a roof and was taken to the hospital. They need me there,” he asks of Jose, who runs off without saying anything. Brock gets up and runs his hands through his hair. This is not good. This could be… he doesn’t even want to think about it. Just the costs alone for the hospital will be too much, for all of them. He feels dizzy, and the room around him starts to spin.

”Hey, you look as white as a sheet. You sure you can drive?” The light touch of Jose’s hand on his arm stops the spinning for a moment. Should he drive? Probably not. He shouldn’t have driven here in the first place. But an hour to the next hospital with Rachel in the car? He’s still so tired. He doesn’t know when he has eaten last. And breathing is still hard.

”I…” he doesn’t know what to say, but he has no choice, really. He needs to get to the hospital.

”I’ll drive you, come on,” Jose is gone for a second and comes back with his wallet and car keys. He grabs Brock’s wrist and takes Rachel by the hand and leads them both outside. Brock doesn’t even know if the car is black or white, only that it smells like leather and cologne. Jose makes sure that everybody is buckled in before he takes off. It never crosses Brock’s mind to refuse the offer, because he’s just too overwhelmed by life at the moment.

Brock manages to give him directions, but otherwise just listens to Vanjie telling Rachel some funny stories to distract her and calm her down. Brock can’t laugh, though, because his mind is going way over speed limit, worrying and calculating already how much more he’ll have to work and what they’ll have to sell to pay for the hospital bills and take care of Daniel’s new business. He doesn’t allow himself to wonder how badly his brother  might be injured. He wouldn't’ be able to take it at the moment.

TBC

[woolishlygrim]

Winter Weebwatch #10

We’re very much hitting the final stretch of the winter anime season now, and to be honest, I still don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing for Spring Weebwatch (Spring Spreebspratch?). Kami no Tou, Digimon Adventure 2020, and Yu-Gi-Oh Sevens are shoo-ins, but a lot of the shows that start in Spring are the second seasons of shows from Autumn 2019, and I’d rather not do those.

Anyway, on with this week’s shows.

Pet.

★★★☆☆

Okay, so apparently Pet did air last week, I just didn’t see that it had, which is weird, I was looking out for it.

Also weird is that the character I originally thought was called Tsukasa and then thought was called Tsubasa is actually called Tsukasa. Did … did the subbers make a mistake at some point, or did I make the mistake? I genuinely do not know.

Anyway, last week and this week, Pet saw Hiroki discover Hayashi, still not entirely crushed but rather in a mostly-crushed state similar to the one he found Tsukasa in. Realising from exploring his memories that Tsukasa was the one who crushed Hayashi, Hiroki, feeling betrayed, confronts Tsukasa and eventually runs away. Meanwhile, Tsukasa, faced with the prospect of the Company separating him from Hiroki and then with Hiroki running away, grows more and more unhinged, eventually deciding to manipulate Satoru into going after him.

Things are definitely winding their way towards a conclusion, and I honestly can’t see what that conclusion will even be, or how the writers plan to tie this up in two episodes, but it’s fun to watch, at least.

That said, my god, Tsukasa going off the deep end is … something. The animators are having a whale of a time, drawing him wide-eyed, pale, and practically twitching. One scene has him drooling as he talks and occasionally having to wipe it away with his sleeve. If this was an actor, I’d say they were chewing the scenery, but it’s not, someone intentionally made him like this.

ID: Invaded.

★★★☆☆

This is another episode that just doesn’t quite deliver on the promise it set up. While I felt I was being a little harsh with last week’s score, this time I feel like I’m being a little lenient. It’s really a two and a half star episode.

With the set-up of the last episode going forward, Anaido just turns out to not … really have any kind of diabolical plan at all, whereas Hondomachi in the Well-Within-A-Well just kind of puts a couple of clues together and discovers who John Walker is.

John Walker is, incidentally, the character everyone expected him to be, since we’d seen that Walker has a white beard and moustache and only one other character had that.

As far as twists go, it’s … weak. It’s very weak, and the downplayed way the episode presents it suggests that the creative team were well aware of how weak the twist was. Similarly, the reveal that Kiki is inside the Mizuhanome is pretty much expected.

However, we still have two episodes to go, so there is plenty of time for the show to pull a rabbit out of its hat, so to speak.

Darwin’s Game.

★☆☆☆☆

I’m beginning to lose patience with this show, and if we weren’t in spitting distance of the end (this is episode nine, there are eleven episodes total apparently), I would drop it.

So continuing on from last week, the protagonist (nine episodes in and I still have no idea what his name is) engages in a fight to prove that his clan is worthy of allying themselves with the boxing gym-y clan, after which the top-ranked player in the game kidnaps him to … ugh.

Kidnaps him because she is the head of an ancient clan of psychic assassins and she wants him to be the father of her child, and fuck knows writing that sentence made me seriously reconsider watching the last two episodes.

The whole thing ends with said top-ranked player (who can psychically incapacitate people somehow) joining the protagonist’s clan, because I guess we don’t need stakes? Nah, nah, who needs narrative tension, right?

Congrats on another episode I actually remembered, Darwin’s Game. You might’ve done better if I hadn’t.

In/Spectre.

★★★★☆

Okay, I admit it, In/Spectre has wormed its way into my good graces. I enjoy this show now, I guess.

This is just a really good episode, and it manages to be a really good episode while working with material that I’m not sure most writers would be able to make interesting. As the plan to take down Steel Girder Nanase kicks off, Kotoko begins what is essentially a reddit forum argument in which she attempts to cast doubt on the existence of Steel Girder Nanase by proposing an alternate theory and arguing in its favour. As she does this, however, Rikka is attempting to argue back under several different accounts, trying to sway people into believing in Nanase’s existence.

Do you see what I mean? This is … this is banal. This is people arguing in the comments section while one person uses transparently disguised sockpuppets. This is something I can find by just going to a forum and scrolling down a few inches, and yet this episode is absolutely fascinating to watch.

When the episode ended with Kotoko saying that it’s time for her to present her second theory, I wasn’t even annoyed. I’m genuinely interested to see what the second theory is. I hate that I really like this show now.

Infinite Dendrogram.

★★★★☆

This is another one where I was honestly not sure what score to give it. It was a three-and-a-half star episode, really, and I wavered back and forth for a while over whether to bump it up to four stars or down to three stars, before eventually deciding to be nice. 

Honestly, it could have gone either way.

With Franklin/Penguin-san having kidnapped the princess and enshrouded the arena in a barrier, he begins his invasion of the city, remarking to the princess that he will break the spirit of the Masters of Altar before the war between Altar and Dryfe can resume. While Franklin’s own Superior class ability, which allows him to invent and spawn monsters, is a potent threat in his own right, he is also joined by numerous other Masters, from both Dryfe and Altar, along with Hugo and what appear to be the other three Dryfe Superiors.

So this is an actually really fun episode, even if it’s also kind of a nothing episode. With Shu and Figaro both trapped in the barrier, Ray and Rook learn that any player below level fifty can pass straight through the barrier, and use that to mount a counterattack. A small chunk of the episode is devoted to what amounts to a ‘Ray And Rook (And Later Hugo) Show Off Their Awesome Abilities’ scene, and honestly it was enough fun that I’m willing to forgive it for being mindless fluff. I do like the touch that while Rook can use his abilities to convert female monsters to his side, his Embryo Babyl can use her abilities to convert male players to her side, making them a nice team.

Meanwhile, Marie, who had bonded with the princess earlier, tracks down Franklin and shoots him a bunch, and exactly nobody is surprised because we all basically knew already that she was the monster-bug-shooting gunslinger who killed Ray before. Franklin is still alive, though, and as the show, as all shounen shows must, descends into shounen anime battle match-ups, Marie finds herself facing off against another Dryfe Superior with power over music.

Also, can I just express my irritation that Franklin combines both chess metaphors and poker metaphors. Those games are the antithesis of each other: Chess is a game all about planning multiple moves ahead, figuring out multiple paths and multiple outcomes to those paths and then choosing the best one; whereas Poker is a game all about taking a hand dealt to you by luck and tricking, scheming, and gambling your way to getting the best possible use out of it. Either one will work for a scheming villain, but they work for very different kinds of scheming villain.

[inexchangeforyoursoul]

FINALLY birthed this thing. I’m officially a disaster with writing anything that involves conflict. Just like irl. :”) Anyway, yeah, there were 3 reasons why I did not finish this immediately about a month ago.

Első: See above.

Második: I had no idea what I wanted the last drop for Hawks to be before writing the rest in advance anyway, whoopsie~

Harmadik: I was.... reeeeeally not sure whether I want to publish this during pride month, seeing as I’m cis, and what kind of shit I put in this. (..... ok I’ve been thinking about this, and somebody just tell me if I’m plain projecting shit here. I might as well. Like, I always am, but it has usually got to do with characters being heavily #relatable in some way in strictly canon, which goes for everyone I write scenarios for. But now I’m thinking about whether there is something more to this, bc me headcanoning Shiggy as genderfluid and starting that shitty LawxOC body swap fic came around the same time two years ago, and now here’s Hawks, too. I’m onto you, me. I’m so onto me...)

Anyway... if you want the usual fluff, you might wanna sit this one out. (There’s some of it, but beware of everything else... it got p long (~6.5k), too, so you might wanna read it on a proper platform for txt: AO3 )

Big, BIG thanks @cutiesableye @acidmatze @waxwingedhawks and @mistystarshine for basically proofreading it and slapping a big green GO into my nervous face. Or being at it rn; regardless, I am thankful. Sssh, only dreams now.

I hope y’all be as uncomfortable reading the meat of this as I was writing it, whoops.

For how much he's surrounded by people normally -which he enjoys most of the time, really- Hawks prefers the silent rooftop right now. It shouldn't be anything out of the ordinary, he'd need a lot more alone time in the first place… but he's supposed to be working right now. Be in the thick of this spying shit, collecting intel from social and environmental clues like nobody's business.

Returning to the room is not something he wants right now, though. The topic and the awkward atmosphere it brought are weighing on him, and he'd rather get over this before moving on with the sleuthing business. He's been perching over the weed-ridden parking lot for like half an hour already, though. Judging by what he can pick up, the League is back to their time killing activities, and not very concerned about his absence. He noticed Spinner checking on him some time back from the doorway, and that's what it was. He's low-key grateful that they would let him breathe instead of poking around some more, or tailing him. If it's something he's allowed to do all the time, it'll be a luxury he's plain going to cherish for as long as it lasts.

Another plus is… that his reasons to join have become more than just believable. Even if this bit of information was not something he wanted to share. Like, at all. Ever. It was perhaps naive to think nobody will ever find out in the first place, that it would stay a secret of the select few who trained and took care of him. But the ones aware of it now being the members of Japan's most infamous terrorist organization… is not reassuring. 

Still… they are letting him be alone. It's… nice. Being seen as a person. It also hurts, though.

His feathers catch onto the vibrations of someone coming up the staircase again. The echoes tell of familiar size, weight and shapes… he knows who it will be. Being a wild card, he's probably coming on his own volition. The plastic smile is already in place, even though it has never worked on the guy- this was nice while it lasted.

The metal door opens with a lazy creak, then there's a soft thud, followed by slacking steps that stop right behind him. Dabi takes a swig from the beer can in his hand before speaking. "So… Peacock and Starling, huh."

"What about them, bacon face?" It's a funny feeling to hear someone say those… names, technically. It's equally funny to think that one of those is what he'd be known as if things go a little more his way. Even considered the title Phoenix for a moment, but that was too pretentious even for him, not to mention ill-fitting past being made of reds and yellows. As for the flashy Peacock… it's easy to see why the blatant joke got rejected off the bat. He'd look sick in iridescent blues and greens for sure, but that's all the reason he ever had to consider it. Those colors didn’t fit his basically pre-established brand… and nowadays he'd rather be invisible than catch even more eyes, anyway. And there's the almost, almost final Red Starling, which had the prototype of his current hero costume and everything…

He wanted to avoid predatory birds when given the task to choose a hero name, blatant secondary traits notwithstanding. They were beautiful creatures, yes… but hardly something reassuring and safe, killing for a living, full of pointy bits. Someone else probably wouldn't have batted an eye and had gone for the intimidation factor, but it was simply not what he had in mind.

A hawk… is a borderline case. It's among the smaller species and underwent some form of domestication, after all. They are not ideal for being kept as mere pets, though; they serve a purpose, instead.

They are used.

Used to hunt for sport or pest control, as he usually does. As he's supposed to right now.

So 'Hawks' was an afterthought, invoking the image of speed and danger. Which they insisted on, especially after… that. Smuggling the S at the end on the form was a last passive-aggressive jab after getting the okay, before letting go of who he used to, or wanted to be. It was fascinating to see the big shots make peace with it almost immediately, and regarding it as an improvement, even; 'makes it easier to associate with a swarm of feathers,' and 'more unique and identifiable,' they said. As if the original idea didn't accomplish both. It really was just… fascinating. The rest of these names, he banished to the stuffiest, darkest corners of his mind, as there were few good things, and even less pleasant memories attached to them. Until… today.

What has happened was simple and logical- the idea whether he'd choose another alias for underground activities came up. Mentioning them in the first place was an enormous mistake… and entertaining either as a viable option was even more so. Disturbing those relics reminded him of those buried memories and feelings, and all he can think of right now is the way Himiko's words rang in his ears barely half an hour ago.

Today, your smell reminds me of Big Sister.

Dabi lets out a sigh before getting to the meat of it. He spent the time Hawks had been gone on thinking himself, and there's a lot to unpack here. So he ought to take it step by step, lest he gets lost in the details. “Let me… get this story of yours straight."

… Great. This is exactly what he needs.

"It starts with… dirty, piss-poor little you getting caught up in a car accident and single handedly resolving it, right? Then, for doing something nice and selfless like that… you got sold off like a slab of fucking meat to the government.”

He blinks. "Hmm… not the most revolutionary take on it. I know you can do better." Claiming that the thought has never crossed his mind would be a lie. He just never let himself dwell on it. But now, this idiot is making him do exactly that. Or is trying to, at the very least. It certainly seems to be one of those convos. This… is turning out to be a major pain in the ass right away. Maybe he should reconsider provoking him this time around, it could backfire big time in the current mood of his.

“It is what happened, though, wasn’t it?” Dabi continues, slipping down to sit next to him, one leg dangling over the edge. “And once your apparently sub-par parents raked in the easy money, and washed their hands of you… you got stripped of everything.”

"Bold of you to assume that I had much to lose, bro. If you know about the accident, you also know where they picked me up from." Putting up a front aside, there was a rough edge to that 'everything' that makes Hawks want to run for the hills immediately. Nope, he is positively not in the mood for antagonistic banter at the moment. He wasn't really able to hide his upset and embarrassment over the situation, so Dabi must have found some twisted sense of enjoyment in pestering him about this specifically. Why can't this asshole just… shut up for once. He thought the villain incapable of it, but he does it so damn well with others around. Sticking with the lot might be a good idea, because solo Dabi is worse. He… he better filter out all the babbling before he starts thinking about bad shit or worse. It’s been a while since he had to take such measures, but he'll have to lull himself into a coma, and just… shut up. Inside out. And hope that Dabi gets bored of him.

“Doesn't change the point, does it, now. They started with any meaningful human contact you may have had… until they erased every last ounce of self," Comes the continuation while Hawks tries to block it out; "They denied you time, likes, attention, possibly even your basic fucking needs while moulding you into a perfect little cleanup machine that fears no death. Then tossed your dried-up skeleton into a roomy cage, filled with expensive junk to fill the void, as a semblance of compensation. Well thanks for fucking nothing, you sick fucks."

Hawks' eyes have locked onto a sunbathing lizard in the distance, but the idle animal is not quite enough of a distraction and his fingers twitch with the tightening grip over the wall's edge. Why does it sound as if Dabi was taking his side?

Shut up… don't pay attention.

He winces when Dabi pulls on the collar of his tracksuit to take a disgusted look at the label. "All the shit you wear was gifted from companies you played dress-up doll for, wasn't it… one fantastic billboard, you are. You own literally nothing else, do you? I'm sure that's the case, because, funny story… a newbie classmate of mine, some dump kid whose parents became new money, had always obscene amounts of cash on him…  but after an initial shopping spree, he never could bring himself to buy a fucking thing. So we asked him about it. Turns out he simply felt like utter shit for spending any of it unless he had a good reason. I laughed then, but apparently, getting a bag of chips is a gargantuan issue for most people who grew up in poverty." 

He leans closer, low words dripping like liquid venom in Hawks' ear. "You, too, feel like garbage every time you spend an ounce of money on something you can do without, don't you? Reminding yourself that there are dozens of that thing at home, lying untouched in your wardrobe that's the size of some families' entire house. Pray-tell Hawks, how many times did you sit over a full basket of online goods… the stuff of your dreams, probably some basic ass shit... only to back out at the last second, hmm?"

Shut up.

Dabi's eyes slide to the tense hands possibly attempting to tear the crumbling edge off the worn wall. A second later, he distances himself again, stirring the can with lazy, circular motions. "I don't even want to imagine what it feels like. Never spent a fucking dime on anything but charities, I fancy. And the odd bottle of booze, fuck or junk food… Are those chicken bits the only thing you're allowed to get? Tch.” 

“What a fucking luxury, being allowed to treat yourself to a bucket every other week, when your disgusting training diet has been set in stone three months in advance." It sounds like a personal addendum, but not a single word in that sentence escapes the overbearing sarcasm and condescension.

A still ticking cogwheel in the hero's head wonders why Dabi knows of the standard diet thing he has to undergo at least twice a year being three months long, and how he could possibly know that he's come to hate half of the dishes over the years. The overwhelming majority of said cogs have long come to a halt, however, screeching SHUT UP. He's not sure who or what that message is directed to anymore. Probably both of them.

Dabi’s waltzing wrist comes to a halt, soon followed by the whirling liquid in the can; it's a minute break, the kind that's just enough to make conversations awkward. In fact, the silence is too big for Hawks to handle- there’s no white noise to drown out and it makes not thinking, not paying attention unbearably hard. The lizard disappears under the cracked asphalt, leaving him with nothing.

“With how long it took you to respond to Shigaraki, they also stripped you of your name. And what I got from the exchange with Toga… is that the same goes for your body, too.”

A shiver runs down Hawks’ back and wings over the addition, kicking the machine brain back in full order despite his best efforts. Dabi takes a big swig of beer and lets out a sigh, resulting in another ill-placed pause. It gives Hawks time to think, goddammit, and he thinks too fast, too hard, about everything.

“While you were moping up here, I've come to realize why you always seem to be so hilariously desperate to one-up me in any given way… it’s because you actually are grasping for straws. You have no control whatsoever, over anything. None." There’s a somber undertone to his voice. The can, along with the remaining sloshes of beer, are flung down to the concrete wasteland and land with a sad, high pitched clank. "My sister used to be like this… people like you don’t dare to ask why things happen. You will believe you’d done something wrong to deserve it all… maybe see yourselves as a necessary sacrifice. Did they ask you to be a martyr, or did you decide so yourself, bird brain? Not that it matters… because that’s exactly what your bosses want and they'd keep on twisting your arms until they get there… but I bet they did. They didn't ask whether you actually wanted it, though… or ask anyone else, about anything, for that matter." 

He reaches over Hawks' vaguely trembling shoulders for the jaw, forcing his face out of hiding. The grip turns gentler as the man's head turns in his general direction, though he's refusing to make eye contact. Dabi keeps him there like that for a while, dissecting him with icy, blue scalpels.

"Gentle like a dove… you'd have flipped the fuck out and been talking shit ever since I opened my mouth any other day. Is this the defense mechanism you developed for these situations?" There's some twitches to the corner of the mouth, but the other remains unresponsive. Heaving another, mildly annoyed sigh, he pries the hero off the crumbling wall with a disgruntled huff and turns to face him. Once there’s some space to work with, he tilts the head in his grasp to the left, to the right… no resistance. "To see you like this is creepy as all hell, birdie… do you even register what I'm saying anymore? Or is ignoring me the goal? Hmm?" 

He scoffs at the glazed eyes, then shakes his head. "I'd imagine you met some pigs high up on the food chain soon after the stunt… those monsters can do anything they want. Then buy silence from pocket change." He starts caressing the other's face as the trembling turns more and more into shaking. "Isolated, innocent eye candy kid at their mercy…… I can only imagine what they’d do to a sweet little plaything like you."

A visceral reaction makes Hawks' stomach convulse, threatening to empty itself, and the muscles in the rest of his body follow suit. Unwanted scraps of memories, all the blurred scenes, images and feelings he didn't quite manage to erase flare up in his mind. And even though his entire being is revolting against being reminded of hugs that felt off by a mere margin, of touches that were always, always distinctively soft and slimy, and things sometimes even worse, and much worse…  the sole thing that betrays his near perfect neutral expression is a pair of clenched jaws. What concerns him even more than any of this, however, is the fact that his tear ducts have been burning up for some unknown time, and...

… too late. There’s already a droplet of water sitting on the thumb Dabi lifted up a second ago.

The tear gets reduced to nothing between the pensive swipe of two fingers as he lets go of him. “Thought so…”

A sliver… a handful of cells, some unidentifiable part of Hawks is thankful that Dabi doesn’t elaborate on what he’s thinking right now, glaring somewhere distant both past the hero and his own damp hand.

The villain's eyes come back into focus soon enough. There's still… one more thing. "Then you started to grow… and they decided to focus on function over form, since your baby face would be just as marketable with a scruff. Becoming popular and following a strict schedule makes it near impossible for creeps to do as they please, with all the watchful eyes dissecting your every move… so you live on a leash instead. An accessory to show off to guests… and still shiny, new weapon to flashily beat up people with." He cocks his head. "And you loathe mindless violence."

On one hand comes the relief that the previous topic has been dropped as unceremoniously as possible, and he gets a moment to breathe and stop shaking like a leaf. On the other…

They are used. Used to hunt pests…

Having less than no time for himself, the daily drill of regular heroing and the overwhelming amount of paperwork the job comes with are things he can deal or cope with… It’s fighting, hurting and confronting other people he loathes the most, even if he'll ram heads with the bigger fish to ensure a more stable framework for everyone to live in. For… others to live in.

Forcing himself into a group of known murderers and the deception this comes with is just the icing on the rotten cake. God, all these fucking lies, he cannot look into the mirror anymore for being overcome with sheer disgust. And now he's stuck with it until the source of all Noumu can be located, too. Why can’t things be like a shitty cops and robbers chase and, just… easy? Simple? Is it really that much to ask for?

But what makes it unnerving is to know that Dabi’s right, always fucking right. About people, what a living nightmare being a hero is once one looks past the glitter covers, and pretty much everything else. But most importantly, he's right about him. He hates being predictable at all, not to mention being read with confidence, and right now he feels as naked as an open book with covers ripped clean off.

He can feel more tears break free, and his fingers scrape over the rough concrete, letting the bumps and glass shards cut a fingertip or two open. It's frustrating. Every single time they happen to make contact… Dabi either makes a good point or manages to get the upper hand in the most inane, little ways, and it’s so… frustrating.

He can’t keep bottling it all up forever, but what is he supposed to do about these feelings?

“What I'm not sure about… is what exactly they are thinking this time.” There’s a thoughtful pause before the continuation; every last tendon in the blonde’s body tenses up. “Are they actually this desperate to get us for good… or is it you they want to get rid of that bad?” 

For a moment that seems like an eternity, Hawks feels… absolutely nothing. Nothing but the piercing glare of the very sky above them, staring straight through the villain's eyes. “Psycho girl is right… you really have no idea how to say no.”

Why now… Hawks can't tell. But hearing the same shit he's thinking about for the millionth time makes something crack. Click. Snap. And next thing he knows, he’s already tackled Dabi to the ground and is clenching his fists into his coat; the man himself doesn’t look too surprised over the turn of events, which drives him even madder.

“Every,” his voice shakes with bubbling anger and is lower and gravelier than his normal, but it will do. Hawks pulls on the leather hard enough to lift the other before slamming him back onto the grey concrete--- “Every” --- over--- “single” --- and over--- “aspect” --- and over, “of you,” and over, “drives me up… the fucking wall,” and over… “any time you open your godforsaken MOUTH,” this time, he goes a little over the top, as the big yank is followed by a pointed knock upon Dabi’s head meeting the ground and his lungs flatten under the pressure of fists, but Hawks is not in the mindset to give a flying fuck about the minor inconveniences of the villain at the moment. Fucker has dug this grave himself, so he better lie in it. "how the everloving fuck... How…! How can you possibly know me more than I do?! TELL ME!!” He asks with an ever growing voice that borders screaming by now, all while shaking the man relentlessly.

He's about to pull and slam him down again when Dabi's hands grab onto his arms just below the wrist. Maybe it's that he did not expect it, but the grip definitely stings a little. As fragile as Dabi is, he thought those scrawny arms less powerful, but apparently what does he know? Still angry, he tears one hand free while shooting a glare at the villain.

There's a trail of blood flowing down his cheek around where Hawks' fist rubbed against at the time of the yank. Dabi blinks once, leaving his left eye with an odd pink texture as his lid smears the leaking red fluid all over it. Not too surprisingly, his face remains as unreadable as a mannequin's, and eyes as cold as that of a taxidermy specimen. Hawks hates looking at him when they are like this, which is most of the time. "Careful, little bird… you're tearing at the seams. Don't want to end up like this, do you?”

That calm voice works like just another taunt, making the hero want to beat him to a pulp, or at the very least, continue where he's just left off with flattening him into the concrete. At the same time… hesitation wedges his joints to a halt. No… No, he doesn’t want to end up ‘like this,’ whatever it may have been to drive Dabi into burning himself alive on a daily basis.

And he notices. Of course he does. Hawks could swear to see his lips curve, but it may just be the angle.

“Fucked-up kids know how to read others pretty well, don’t you think?”

Hawks’ still short breath hitches and he freezes upon feeling a hand, the very same he just shook off, slide over his hips, ice cold on his heated skin even through the fabric of a t-shirt. There's no real intent behind it; in fact, it feels like a doctor's indifferent, calculated touch. Somehow, that makes it even worse. "… didn't even have the decency to start stuffing you with testosterone from the get-go, huh?" 

Another statement that sounds more like a personal note than anything else, and it makes Hawks’ skin crawl.

“Well I can’t read you for shit! Congratulations!!!” He barks, slapping the intrusive limb away. “For starters, what was this supposed to be about, hell, why the fuck did you even come up here?! Just to gloat about it into my face? Or do you want to make fun of me for not being able to decide whether I’d rather be a cheeky bitch or the insufferable prick I am today?!” 

There’s tears streaming down his face again, but he couldn’t care less. It hurts like all hell… especially remembering full well how fucking much waking up from what was supposed to be nothing more than an open break surgery hurt- there was near nothing to remove, for fuck's sake. But claiming not to enjoy at least some aspects of what being a man brought would be just more lies on the throne built on them.

Mentioning his interest in IT and mechanics to strangers is not criticised or made fun of, not anymore. Neither is his tendency to run ahead of others in pretty much every situation. Instead of second guessing, people default to respecting and listening to what he says on any given topic in general, and he stopped doubting himself, too. The circumstances were a special kind of fucked-up for sure… but he also ended up having fewer weak spots than almost everyone else, which did come handy a couple of times. The hormones he received made him taller than he ever could have grown realistically, too. And rejecting fans is easier as most women- and most of them are women,- know basic fucking etiquette.

But he also wants cheesy tees with cats and birds and flowers that he never gets to sponsor. Cuter shoes that are still comfy. Some eyeshadow every now and then. Wear the prettiest blues and greens, and maybe… maybe a nice dress.

"… You are pissed for the same reason I am.”

By the time Hawks has processed the sentence, he is the one being pressed into the roof, with one wing stuck awkwardly underneath him. For a dreadful moment he breaks into cold sweat, because this also means that Dabi is between his legs, and--- fuck, this is the last fucking position he wants to find himself in, especially right fucking now. He doesn’t get to break out in panic, however, because the villain is busy strangling him against the lukewarm ground. It’s his turn to grab onto the other’s arms as he wheezes for some air. He needs to calm the fuck down somehow, otherwise he won’t be able to use his feathers---

“Looking at you… is like staring at a distorted mirror image at fucking funland.” Hawks cracks his eyes open, seeing Dabi stare right back at him. It's as if someone put goddamn transparency over the villain to make the blinding blue behind him visible. He’d blame cold eyes in general, but he doesn’t find Twice’s even lighter ones nearly this creepy when Dabi’s like this. His burn with intensity rivaling All Might and Endeavor, which have always made him uneasy.

“What a nice pair of custom-made patchwork monstrosities we are…” His voice delves into a hiss as the grip tightens over the hero’s neck. “… makes me sick to my stomach."

Hawks coughs under the weight on his throat. He manages to get some air in and think clearly enough to turn back to logical thinking; if Dabi wanted to go for the kill, he’d be toast by now. Motherfucker is just toying with him for the hell of it, isn’t he? He flexes his wings against the rough concrete and flips the two of them back over to where they started.

“Would you stop playing games, you *cough* sick fuck?!” he wheezes, all out of breath.

"Maybe you’re the one who should stop dicking around, bird brain!"

His next protest gets cut short when Dabi headbutts him in the temples. It feels half-hearted, but gets him to shut up for a moment nonetheless, which is all that the other needs.

"The fuck did you scrape us up from the floor for, HUH?! You had ONE JOB, and you could have been done with it just like that… but instead...!! INSTEAD you played nurse and started to GET ALL COMFORTABLE AND SHIT!” The villain’s voice is basically rolling like thunder over the forsaken plot.

Hawks’ angry and pained grimace twitches under his hand- he’s seen Dabi smug, and aloof, and crazed, but not… angry. Not to mention angry with him, specifically. And, once again, it’s one of those little, irritating, miniscule things that are… true. He didn’t get an order to stick around and follow the lead to the Noumu until like a week later, so it was all unnecessary and ended up being even more work and trouble than it was worth.

He didn’t have to help when he found all of them dying, bleeding and broken.

He also didn’t have to start talking to Compress and Twice and Giran, then all the rest as they warmed up to him and came to.

He wasn’t supposed to lie about their initial status, he didn’t have to keep covering for them after they were all walking and doing all right, after the decent person in him had already been satisfied.

And he definitely never meant to get… attached.

A pull on his tracksuit wakes him from the shock, just as Dabi continues screaming at him head-on. “And YET, there still isn't anything YOU want from us?! REALLY?!! Do you want to be a puppet for the rest of your life, idiot?!"

Well… Hawks had been called names before. He never thought that being called a ‘puppet’ would offend him this much, but that... that certainly just did it.

“NO, I DON’T!” He screams back at him, voice swaying all over the place.

"CAN'T HEAR YOU, BITCH!!"

"I SAID I DON'T WANT 'o!!” Whatever air's still in Hawks' lungs gets stuck inside as a wave of what’s probably fear washes over him upon hearing his own, distorted voice crack and echo in the empty parking lot. Realizing just how much he's straining his voice, a sudden knot manifests in his stomach that folds his rage into a small, jittery, awkward package.

“Ah… I,” It takes so much effort to squeeze out a single thing, what--- why is he embarrassed? “I don’t---”

The next word gets stuck somewhere between his thoughts and throat when the same cold hand from before leaves a little pat on his head.

"See? Wasn't that fucking hard, was it now." It combs Hawks' hair back, staples getting stuck here and there on the fragile strands. There’s nothing methodical about it this time; the entire gesture is just… gentle. "Good job, chicken."

Just like that… all that rage, despair and helplessness, along with the last confusing bundle of emotions, evaporates out of the blue, leaving Hawks empty and tired, somewhat nervous, and maybe a little… relieved. It takes him a bit to be able to think of anything at all, god knows how much time passes while he blinks blankly in front of him. It takes a rugged sigh from Dabi underneath him to phase back into reality; the scarred hand has long disappeared, and is tucked behind the villain’s head along with the other as he’s gazing at the passing clouds. The first coherent thought that crosses Hawks’ head is a fully formed fact- what kind, and with what purpose, he doesn't know or begin to understand… but this was… a test, or rather, a lecture.

A very… very crudely executed lecture.

Hawks sniffs with a stuffy nose. Fucking… fucking fucker. “… you are an asshole through and though, aren’t you?” And now he’s hoarse, too. Wonderful.

There’s a shrug… well, as much of a shrug it can be from someone in Dabi’s position. “I don’t believe it’s ever been up for debate.”

He sounds so smug, it's just so… ugh. The hero squishes his face with a palm in frustration before crawling off him at last. The annoyed grunt in response is all he needs right now. "Are you done being a nuisance, or do you wanna egg me on some more?"

There's a rare chuckle. "Already making bird puns…? Nah, little bird. Getting hell-and-back pissed is exhausting as fuck. You won't be any more fun today." 

With that, Dabi scrambles onto his elbows, then sits back up. He gives a quick massage to his previously flattened nose before rubbing the back of his head; there’s a number of fully formed lumps already. Feathers isn’t very gentle when riled up… at least the spot’s not bleeding. He'll need to put some painkillers to work, though. "Still… the manic look suits you well. I'm getting giddy just thinking about your bosses' reactions upon seeing you like that." In a move that is more or less successful, he licks a finger to rub the trail of rust off his cheek.

Hawks wrinkles his nose upon seeing a rather genuine looking smile on the other’s face. “Please. Noone in their right mind is in my face like you are all the damn time… at least not with the intent of driving me batshit only to make me murder them. You’re a freak case and should not be accounted for.” He sighs, resting his head on an arm- there really is no willpower left in him to do anything for the rest of the day. There better be no trouble on his late evening patrol, or so help him. Or help it, because there's no guarantee he won't snap back to this awkward beat-to-a-pulp mode if confronted with a no-name villain.

After some fidgeting, Dabi produces something from a pocket… something that looks very suspiciously like a worn blunt. “It’s because they don’t have to, dumbass… you are edging towards a nervous breakdown at any given time. Anyway, look… you are no doubt seen as an invaluable asset… but are worth so much more still. Give yourself some credit." Hawks peers back at him just as the conspicuous thing is lit over a wrist which gets shaken after, much like one would put out a match. There’s a tentative draw, followed by another. 

“What I want to say is… they are terrified of you, birdie. If not for the danger of exposing their disgusting practices, it's because they fear that their blue ribbon pet won't return from a hunt… for one reason or another. And, just for the record,” He breathes, offering the roll to him; “I'll gladly hold you back for a good scare."

Following a vacant stare and a blink, he takes it. It’s not as if this quite tolerable, for-the-hell-of-it mood of Dabi’s was new, but… he was seriously considering to strangle the guy a minute ago. When exactly did they return to casual banter? Hell if he remembers, or has noticed at all. God… this whole thing has him rattled real good. Hopefully a nap will get him back into the usual pace of things.

“I sure hope not everyone blows their sugarbird pocket money on beer and weed like you do,” The blonde muses once he can feel a different kind of fatigue set in, reaching the blunt back to Dabi. Hypocritical? Maybe. Won't stop him from nagging others for the same shit, though. Comes with the job.

“Well, Compress replaced the crumpled hat… and Tomura decided to save up for a new handheld,” Dabi muses, placing the smoke into the corner of his mouth. "It'll go via Giran, of course. After seeing the taxes on that shit, I can't even blame him."

Can’t help but smile at that. “You are all fucking hopeless.”

A hum is all he gets as a reply.

After a while of comfortable silence, the remains of the roll get snuffed out on the ground. Blinking past Dabi, Hawks can see the sun is soon to set. Fucked like two hours just sitting out here, didn’t he. The Commission better not expect much from today’s endeavor… cannot exactly tell them that he was getting high on the rooftop with the flame villain for a good portion of it, the only villainous topic being creepy fat cats and their own shortcomings. Or that his possibly biggest secret slipped, although they wouldn't give a rat's ass about that. Yyyeah… it’s best to bullshit it.

“Humor me for another minute of real talk, will you, chicken?”

Dabi’s voice drags him back to reality again, only to realize that the light has already turned into a warm yellow. If his bones… or rather joins popped now, he’d feel like the embodiment of a nice little bonfire under the sun. Huh. Guess the stuff was of the better quality to make him think of weird similes and turn his sense of time whack. What was he--- oh, right. He should answer.

“… cannot promise I'll be able to pay attention or remember any of it, but do your best, crouton.” There’s a mild prickly sensation in his wings and his brain feels like marshmallows. If only he could always be so calm.

“Don’t bullshit me, you barely had a whiff." The dirty remains of weed are flung over the roof in annoyance.

He can feel a goofy smile creep onto his face- it's nice to be the source of frustration for once. Maybe all he needs to do is be honest more often. "Second hand smoking goes a long way, bruh."

The initial answer is an exasperated sigh. "Shut it… Anyway, you should cut the sweet chirping and tweeting, birdie. No matter what you do, people take advantage of your position. You know this better than anyone else. So squawk and screech to your heart's content, if that's what you need… and if barking won’t help, get down to biting.” Having said that, he stops surveying the cracked parking lot under the golden sky, and turns back to Hawks.

He forgets to breathe for a second. Good lord… those eyes glow as if they were illuminated by blue fire from inside, and the contrast with the sunset is just… well, literally breathtaking, he supposes. This is among the few times when they don’t creep him out- quite the contrary, in fact. They still feel like X-rays, though. “I guess it really doesn’t matter… by the way, real talk question: can you fucking read minds?”

Not that he expected anything else, but a smug grin appears on the villain’s face. “Maybe~”

“Careful, man. Your pants are sizzling.”

Lo and behold, another rare chuckle. Despite being under the influence of drugs, (or maybe because of that?) Hawks is on a fucking roll.

He can't keep his eyes off those blue ones even once Dabi decides to stare back at him. “Jokes aside… suppose there really is an idiot like me out there, and they get up close and personal… put those clipped talons to work and gouge their fucking eyes out. You have all the means to tear them limb from limb… go all out, who gives a fuck. These are the same kind of people who shit on wild animals from beyond a cage, but watch them run with tail between legs upon realizing that the gates are wide open. And even if you weren't ready to dirty your hands or feathers like that…" 

He lifts a pointing finger and rests the tip on the hero’s nose. "One word of yours… and we'll make sure it's the last day they touched anyone. Understand?"

Really, all he can manage to that is a weak, sheepish smile. “… thanks,” he breathes, not knowing what else to say. He should be a thousand times more alarmed over basically being told that someone's ready to kill for him, and not… well, flattered? Touched? Especially since he knows Dabi means it, and so would the rest of them.

“Great,” the other grunts while getting on his feet, and leaning just a little bit on Hawks’ head while doing so. What a turd. Latter’s about to get his stiff legs working as well, but once the vague aching starts subduing, he can see Dabi stop in the doorway and put a hand on his hip. “… those filthy gremlins have been spying on us.”

Indeed… someone brought the hero’s scantily loaded bag to the top of the staircase and left it there.

“In that case,” turns Dabi around, flinging said bag over to Hawks in the same breath, “go straight the fuck home and get yourself presentable, you overgrown turkey. Might wanna decide on the new alias by the next time I call, too. You already know the rest.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he sighs, dragging the strap over his head.

Between the echo of boots, there’s a distorted farewell: “See ya, little star.”

Hawks stops in his tracks. He looks over to the empty entrance, and the metal door wide open. The sound of footsteps has faded into barely more than creepy sounds in an abandoned building- if not for his feathers, he wouldn’t even know that six other people are under the roof he’s standing on. Spirits and shadows haunting an old convenience store like many others.

He's nothing more than another ghost out here, and yet… he's never felt so real.

---

No matter what he chooses, Dabi will just stick to 'fancy chicken.' Also, I’m so fucking proud of that Red Starling. Not only is it obscure astronomy bullshit (much like the title of this thing), but it would be a nifty alternative to Hawks; just hit up a video on a flock (or, as I just learned, murmuration) of starlings. Shit’s cray.

[ill-skillsgard]

Patterns in the Ivy, Part 6 - Bill Skarsgård

Title: Patterns in the Ivy

Description: A continuation of Smoke & Money. Ghosts from the not-so-distant past come back to threaten her. She must choose between a lavish life of servitude or have everything she ever loved stripped away.

Warning: 18+ smut/swearing/mentions of drugs/kink & fetish themes

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12

Nobody took the news of us moving as hard as Kiki did. When I told her, she cried. Then I began crying and the realization that the only important thing I would be leaving behind was her friendship. She had helped me through a lot of dark days and I felt like I was abandoning her with barely a warning. When I told her these things she shook her head through the tears and said, "No, J, this is what you want. Imagine all of the things that Ivy will be able to do. All of the things that you will be able to do because of him." I stared at my feet, ashamed for my past self yet high on the thought of moving back to the glamorous West Coast, into Bill's estate and sitting second to him, a King, dressed in the latest fashions and drunk on the affluence of his private desires. Although I didn't bear upon my excitement in the slightest, these fantasies were materializing quickly. I cried for the friendship that had gotten me through the harsh realities of living as a runaway but I did not allude to how I was now yearning for my taste of wealth. Not even to Bill. On the outside, I appeared calm and asserted but I knew that my thoughts were caught in a roundabout. I was excited for us, for Ivany and for the new way of life that Bill had already begun to wrap us up with but I was dreading the questions that were sure to follow after I told Kiki and Ivany's teachers at school that we would be pulling her out a month early so we could move. Kiki understood me. She always had. That's what made her such a good friend. She knew the struggles I had gone through at the hands of greedy men and how hard it was to fit into the mold of what most would deem a normal life. I promised her that we would come to visit or that she could come to visit us when she insisted if anyone was going to be hospitable, it would be us with all of Bill's money and his huge home and his fancy cars. As long as I gave her a glimpse into the new, exotic and luxurious life I was being swept off to live, she would forgive me for leaving. Bill paid off my lease so that we could move without a hitch. He had been persistent on us to take as little as possible since we would be flying across the country as soon as Ivany's last day of school was done. I didn't want to yank her out of school so quickly but Bill insisted we go as soon as comfortably possible since he had been putting work off for as much time as it had taken him to find me and coax me into returning home with him. It all seemed to happen so fast that when I turned around, I was staring at the front door of the little townhouse Ivany and I had spent almost her entire life in, bags packed with enough clothes to get us through a couple of days, ready to load into another one of Bill's rentals to speed off to a small airport where his private jet was stored. "J, are you ready? Ivany's in the car." Bill's voice sounded from behind me. "Oh, uh, yes. I'm ready." I felt his fingertips at the base of my spine and they trailed downward comfortingly. He bent forward and stopped when his lips were next to the shell of my ear. "You won't miss this. I promise you," he said with his mouth pressed to my hair. I turned to him and saw that he had on a reserved smile with one hand plunged into his trouser pocket and the other one reaching out for mine. I stared down at his wide palm, long fingers clenched together in an offering. I slid my fingers over his and remarked to myself how comically large his hand seemed to mine. He was right. Once we drove off I hardly felt the nag to look back. Of course, I still felt a swelling of sadness in my chest but when I saw Ivany holding Bill's hand the way I just had, nothing else mattered. We spent most of the ride to the hangar talking to Ivany about flying on an airplane. She seemed so happy that I forgot about everything that had been weighing me down. I stopped constantly remembering my past, the worries I had about paying bills and my shitty car and our tiny townhouse. I displaced the fear of being alone after Ivany went to bed. Now that I was with Bill, nothing was going to be the same. My years-old worries had dissipated further and further into fragments, specks then molecules before they were completely gone before my eyes like a fine vapor carrying off to invisibility. The private plane was a whole different experience that I never envisioned myself having. The whole concept of us flying on an airplane with just a pilot and one attendant baffled me. I tried not to show how impressed I was but when we drove up to the plane and walked up the steps and I saw the interior of it I couldn't help but scoff at over-the-top it felt. Ivany was naturally amused beyond belief and could hardly contain her excitement when she saw what was in store for her. Bill boarded right behind us and showed Ivany that there was a TV she could watch or places she could sit to read or draw and I had never seen her eyes go so big and round. The plane could have boarded twenty people but it was just us, the puffy white leather seats, tables and throw pillows and a blond flight attendant that had a game-show style smile plastered to her face. "Welcome aboard Mr. Skarsgård," she said, even going so far as to adopt the Swedish accent when she pronounced his last name. Bill nodded in her direction as he unbuttoned his blazer, revealing more of his navy blue button-up shirt underneath. I was overcome with a fear that I may not look as qualified as he did to be on a private jet. His outfit was intimidating, his shoes shot out from the ends of his long legs, the colour of caramel with a pointed toe and twice as shiny. His hair was all combed back and held there with a touch of wax and he smelled like the best cologne money could buy. Then the panic started to settle in and I grew quiet. I took a seat and just relaxed there for a moment to catch a breath and calm my pounding pulse. Luckily Ivany was nowhere near as nervous as I was and provided an incredible distraction between Bill and I. It wasn't flying I was afraid of. I had flown all over the States and was no stranger to it. My problem was the way Bill was dressed and the cylindrical ottomans and the plastic Barbie of a flight attendant and the fact that you could comfortably fit an entire sports team on the plane and then some and how I wasn't dressed for the occasion. The voice shouting you don't belong here kept repeating itself over and over and then morphed into something more like you don't deserve this. "Daddy, can I sit beside you?" I heard Ivany ask. Daddy. Yes, I thought, Daddy indeed. Sugar Daddy 2.0 and I was playing pet and wife and I had no clue what he did for a living. Was I sitting in a Mafia procured aircraft? Was I taking my daughter back to my homeland to live with a criminal? It was far too much to think about all at once. I knew Bill had friends and money but an old CEO of a beer coaster company who had erectile dysfunction had once told me that rich men didn't have a lot of friends and if they did then you knew they were dirty. He told me about partying with the richest of the rich and how mountains of cocaine really did exist and these Wallstreet tycoons would all take turns railing fat lines off of hookers and strippers every night. He was an old client of mine and probably one of the richest I'd ever had besides Bill. Sometimes all they wanted to do was talk and sometimes I remembered what they told me. I peered over at Bill and our daughter and he didn't look up once from the yearbook that Ivany had been toting around with her. Could he be the leader of a drug ring? I wondered this instead of thinking about how obviously underdressed I was to be sitting in such a luxurious chair inside of a million dollar plane. I tried to picture Bill up late at night in the middle of an unused warehouse that hadn't completely lost its purpose, sitting with a bunch of hard looking guys, talking business. In my vision, he was smoking a cigarette and maybe letting the conversation take its own way among his boys as he sat back absorbing information in the calm stoic way he had about him. Or maybe he was the type to really enthuse about his product. Cocaine, maybe heroin or meth. No, definitely not meth. Something expensive though. "Miss? A drink?" The attendant's voice shook me from my reverie. I looked back again and Bill and Ivany were both staring at me. "Um, no thanks. Oh, a glass of water." I said. "Darling," Bill called over to me. "Have some wine, you look tense." Ivany looked between the three adults on the plane over and over until her eyes settled back on the book in front of her. Normally I felt unsure of drinking in front of my daughter but when Bill nodded his head I felt like I was obligated to. "Sure," was all I managed. Once we were up in the air I started to calm down and with a glass of wine, it took the edge off of the anxiety that was shiving me in the spleen. Bill's fucking plane, of course, had WiFi and a Smart TV so Ivany could watch literally anything she wanted. I was grateful for the distractions until Bill stood up and came to me. "You can relax now." He said. "I know." "You get nervous flying?" "Not normally, no. It's just... This is weird." Bill fawned over me, running his hand through my hair. "You'll get used to it." What I really wanted was to get some time alone with Bill that didn't necessarily involve getting fingered in a restaurant or eaten out in the back of a moving vehicle or spanked in a hotel room. I needed some genuine conversation with this man that I hardly knew but had a child with. I wanted to know how he got where he was, about his family and his childhood and his hopes and dreams. What was I moving our tiny little lives into? Who was Mr. Bill Skarsgård exactly? Entrepreneurial hotel owner or drug lord? He excused himself to go speak to the pilot and left towards the cockpit. Once he disappeared behind the heavy velour curtain I turned my body around to see what Ivany was doing. "Hi, honey. Having fun?" I asked her. "Yeah, look out the window Mommy!" "I know sweetheart, we're up in the sky!" "I can't believe it." "It's amazing, isn't it?" Ivany nodded. "Daddy went to go talk to the pilot." "That's right." I had another conservative little sip of my wine. As much as I wanted to drain a bottle of Merlot to myself, I didn't want to start catching a buzz on a plane with my kid right there and my anxiety level fluctuating. I also didn't get too comfortable in my seat, especially once I heard a bout of giggling coming from the front of the plane. Bill threw back the curtain and I saw the remnants of a smile on his face and the flight attendant seemingly blushing. "Alright, see you later." He dismissed himself. I watched him stroll back over with a sway that had been absent on his way there. It made me really uncomfortable real fast the way I saw that flight attendant beaming at him in the kind of a way I would look at him after he called me something like darling or sweetheart or little girl. The wine suddenly started to taste really good and as soon as the attendant was in my sight again I raised my empty glass. "Excuse me, ma'am? Can you bring me another one of these?" "Certainly," She replied promptly, coming to take my empty glass from me. "Mommy, you should come over here and play with me and Daddy." Ivany's little voice called to me. "I'll be right over." After the attendant brought me a new glass of wine I graciously accepted it but not without peering at her for a couple of extra moments just to make sure she knew I wasn't going anywhere. I stared at the back of her head, blond hair all tightly wrapped in a bun sitting low on her neck, the tight little pencil skirt that exaggerated the curve of her ass. I looked back at my soon-to-be-King and tried to picture him fucking her. He could, I knew, but whether he had or not remained a mystery. I just didn't like the way she smiled whenever he spoke. My annoyed inflection was apparent for the entire flight and even after we landed. Though the sun was warm and I really was excited to be back on the West Coast, my suspicions had only grown worse when, before arriving, the flight attendant spoke to Bill and gently laid her hand on top of his shoulder for a second too long. The jealousy I was feeling was completely uncharacteristic of me and that alone was the cause for my irritability. Envy was a new colour on me that I didn't quite like and Bill could tell that there was something storming inside my head too. All I could picture was how many times he had wrapped those long fingers of his around that flight attendant's throat and pushed her up against a wall. Did he treat her the way he treated me? Did he whisper mine in her ear as he used those same fingers to fuck her with her forest green pencil skirt still on? The trip from the airport to Bill's estate was a long and quiet one. Luckily I was able to occupy my thoughts with the sentimentality of driving down familiar highways. It had been years since I had gone back home and I honestly never thought I would again but as we passed familiar landmarks my soul filled with the warm cure for the homesickness I didn't know I had. Looking at Bill's face, being in the back of an expensive rental car with our daughter bobbing in and out of a nap felt familiar in the way one might experience a cripplingly uncanny case of deja-vu. When we took an unexpected exit off the highway I looked at Bill, questions making themselves evident in my expression. "I forgot to mention that we moved." He told me. "You're not in the city anymore?" A tasty little smirk spread across his lips. "Just on the outskirts now. More privacy." He hadn't been kidding about the privacy part, when we finally got off the highway we drove down a pencil mark of a back road until we reached an area of rolling hills that had been excavated exclusively for the filthy-rich. Multi-million dollar homes sat atop of hills with winding driveways, cascading windows, carports fraught with fast cars, brand-new gates that were so recent you could practically smell the fresh cement. Some of them even had horse stables that drew Ivany's attention more than anything. "Horsies!" She exclaimed. "Do you like horses?" Bill asked her. "Yes, I love them!" "What colour horse would you want?" "I like white horses, like Maximus!" Bill looked to me, smile unwavering. I cracked a smile of my own and said, "she's talking about Tangled." It was cute to watch Bill pretend to know what Ivany was talking about. I couldn't envision a young Bill being interested in movies at all. It was another thing that made me realize I had no idea what his childhood was like. There was so much mystery surrounding him I couldn't even concoct a scenario in my mind of what he would have been like as a kid. Ivany explained the entire plot of the movie to her father and hadn't finished by the time we pulled up to a massive wrought-iron gate flanked with gnarled blue oak trees and pines so that what lay beyond it was completely unobservable from the road. Through the tinted windows, I watched the driver reach out from the car and wave a small fob over the sensor of a keypad just below an intercom speaker. The ten-foot tall gate creaked to life and began slowly shifting away, grinding heavy but smoothly on its tracks to allow the car through. I held my breath as we drove through, winding around a collection of trees that could only be described as a small forest. When it cleared I could see the house and it was a departure from what I had pictured in my mind. When I thought of moving back home I expected Bill's Victorian-style manor in the city where we had met for the first time with the roundabout driveway and the pillars and the easy access into town. The property grew bigger as we approached or rather, we grew smaller in its shadow. The structure was reminiscent of the Renaissance, with stone archways, red crosses marking the front windows, stone parapets and turrets thrusting into the sky like swords. The front entrance was atop a set of carved stone steps that took a gentle turn left beneath an overhang. The building was nothing short of a small chateau and Ivany agreed. "We're going to live in a castle!?" She shouted, her hand planted on the glass of the window. "Of course," Bill said to her. "Isn't that where most princesses live?" The pure unadulterated joy that she displayed was elating not only to me but to Bill as well. She rushed us to let her out of the car so that she could stand before the manor and stare up in awe as our bags were taken in. We stood in a cluster, a tripod of a family in front of the stairs leading up to the entrance. Bill stooped down to kiss Ivany on the cheek and whispered, "welcome home, Princess Ivy." She followed the driver to the front door, swinging and lifting her little legs up each stone step behind him. I had never seen her so eager before. I followed behind her to make sure she didn't go reeling backward with excitement and Bill trailed me closely, hand grazing my hip, little laughs escaping him as he observed all of the animation taking place. As I suspected, the interior of the manor exceeded even Bill's standards of luxury. Although there was a modern-day style of minimalism, whereas there wasn't much in the way of furniture, everything else was decked and dressed in Persian rug, velvety damask, crystal, polished wood, shining marble and well cared for antique brass. I had no idea why Bill required a bigger house than the one he had in the city but I held my tongue and asked no questions. That was right up until he showed us the bedrooms. Ivany's room was going to be redecorated to suit her four-year-old tastes which meant everything in purple, new drapes, a new bed and a redesigned walk in closet for her soon-to-be new wardrobe and toys. There was one window in the room that was covered in heavy linen drapes that Bill opened so the sun could pour into the room. He beckoned Ivany to his side and lifted her so she could see out of the window. "Do you know what that is?" He pointed. "Yes. That's a stable." "Do you know what goes on a stable?" "Horses!" "That's right. We'll have to find you a white horse to live in the stable." "MAXIMUS!" Ivany shouted. I walked around in a daze, my eyes never finding the same place to settle on twice. The extravagance of the manor was nothing like what I was expecting and there wasn't a thing that could have prepared me for it. "This house is... Gigantic. I'm going to get lost in it." I said more to myself than to Bill. "There will be plenty of time for wandering but for now, I want to show you your room." "My room?" I asked. Ivany had already busied herself unpacking her bag so she could set up her toys and put away her clothes as she liked to. She wanted her velveteen rabbit on the massive bed but there was no chance of her being able to hoist herself onto it. "Are you fine staying in here for a while, Princess?" Bill asked her. "Yup! I'm going to put my dolls together on the bed." He went to her and lifted her onto the bed along with her suitcase and made her promise to stay there for a moment. I knew that she would have no problem staying put but I didn't say anything until we left the room and continued down a hall big enough for a train to pass through. "What do you think of this place?" Bill asked as he led me down the corridor. "It's... A lot." "Do you like it?" "Well, of course, I do. Who wouldn't?" Bill stopped in front of a set of twin doors and turned towards me. The light coming in from one of the cathedral style windows was just enough to cast shadows over the painting frames, the antiquated accent tables, and his face. When he opened the door for me I stepped into a room that was not from our time. There was a canopy bed fat with scarlet and silver pillows, the headboard crested with hand-carved filigree the colour of bleached bone and four posters carved from mahogany. A bedside chest of drawers was home to a brass lamp in the shape of a willow tree, its branches tear-shaped crystals that twinkled as I walked in. All in all, I was absolutely speechless for so many reasons that it made me want to sit down. It was happening so fast and I was coming up with more questions on top of the questions I already had. Bill noticed that I was becoming distraught because I simply couldn't hold it back any longer. "What's the matter?" He asked me. If I had an iota less of self-control I would have felt my lip quiver but I took in a deep breath and searched for the right words to say to him as he stood there in front of me with his eyebrows raised. "My room? You mean we're not... We're not-" "Sharing a room?" He finished my sentence. I knew if I tried to say anything else I might start to waver. Bill relaxed his shoulders and took his hands out of his pockets, expression softening as he approached me. I turned my face away so that he wouldn't stare directly into my watering eyes but he was persuasive in the way that he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me into him. "I'm not going to pretend like this isn't a huge fucking deal for you. I know what it means for you to be here. I know that I plucked you and Ivany out of your cozy little life and threw you across the country, trust me. It's going to take time for us to grow accustomed to it all and I just figured it would be appropriate to give you your own space for now." He softened even further when he saw my eyebrows furrowed together. "I don't have all of the answers." He added. "I get no answers from you, ever. Why do you even want me here? What am I to you that's so important you needed to drag me back?" Bill's grip tightened on my elbows. "Listen to me, all you need to know if that I want you here. You are mine and you are the mother of my only child so I think that elevates your status from call-girl, don't you think? I want what's best for us and for her. Don't take offense because I offered you a room of your own. I thought you would be a little more gracious." "I am, Bill. I'm grateful, I'm in awe of you, I cannot believe what is happening but it's freaking me out a little bit." "Why?" "Because I have no idea who you are! I don't know what you do or why you have a fucking palace and I don't know what my role is in your life!" Bill ran his tongue over his teeth in preparation for his retort. "So you want a label? Is that what you want? Will some out-dated, superficial term give you comfort? Or can you just accept what is going on around you? Can't you just be happy with what I'm offering you? We can work out the details as we go along but for right now you need to trust me and just live in the time I am giving to you." Our eyes smoldered at each other. His brows were clenched and that alone intensified his entire expression. The look he had on was absolutely menacing and for some reason, I wanted to tread further just to see where it would take me. "You want an obedient little house pet." "Just one little facet of the overall person I know you to be." "You don't know me at all." Bill grabbed my cheeks with one hand, pinching my face as he snarled, "I want you to be a good little girl and live with me in my fucking castle with our perfect daughter who is about to turn five and I want to own that cunt while you help me run the fucking world. I want you to stop complaining and spend my fucking money on shit that will make you two happy and at the end of the day, I want you to worship at my feet and make me come because you know..." His voice dulled to a low whisper. "You know that Daddy's going to make you come ten times harder, isn't that right?" I felt my flesh crawl and my knees weaken when Bill let go of my face. "You're already here, J. You made it. You're the Queen of this castle... But everybody knows that she still answers to the King." He told me. "Okay... Fine." "Does all that sound good to you?" "Yes." "Yes, what?" He growled. "Yes... Daddy." As soon as the word left my mouth I watched his teeth graze his bottom lip and he pulled me in close to him, tipping my face up and licking his lips before kissing me long and hard. When he pulled away he whispered, "that's my good girl. Now, we're going to have a really nice dinner together as a family, then we're going to put our child to sleep, then we're going to the master bedroom and Daddy's going to make you remember why that pussy belongs to me." "Yes, Daddy." "You want to play with me?" "Yes," I squeaked. "You promise?" "Tell me. Tell me you want to." "I want to play with you, Daddy." "You're going to have to prove it to me tonight, kitten."

[calucadu]

To wish upon a dragon - Chapter 2

To wish upon a dragon, a Boku no Hero Academia/My Hero Academia Fanfic. Chapter 2 - The Encounter

Summary: Bakugou wants to be a dragon but somehow ends up getting hit by a curse that will change his life forever. In a world where Magic Dragons fight Blood Dragons, everything seems posible, even dragons turning into humans and humans turning into dragons.

Pairings: Bakugou/Kirishima.

Characters: Bakugou Katsuki, Kirishima Eijirou, Ashido Mina, Sero Hanta, Kaminari Denki, Midoriya Izuku, Uraraka Ochako, Todoroki Shouto, Todoroji Enji, Midnight, Asui Tsuyu (Froppy), Iida Tenya.

Rating: Teen and up

First chapter // Next chapter (coming eventually)

Read on AO3

Or read below the cut

The fact that he was naked should’ve been proof enough for Bakugou to know what the curse was about, but he was in denial about the nature of it. He didn’t want to admit that he’d been the one responsible for the damage around him.

His first instinct was to run. He started slow, like he was dazed, still asleep, his head turning frantically to look at his surroundings as he tried to come to terms with what had happened. He gradually picked the rhythm up, his heartbeat loud in his chest as he travelled through the destruction. The smell of burning wood, the ashes the wind was blowing away and the smoke that still hadn’t faded were all making him feel sick.

Once he got to his village he immediately slowed down, finding something odd about it. He made his way through the strangely silent streets until he reached it. Apprehension caught him in the form of a visceral claw digging and twisting its dangerous nails into his gut when he saw the numerous amounts of people gathered around his house. He pushed past his neighbours and acquaintances until he reached his parents, who were sitting huddled up, a blanket around their shoulders. They were alerted by his snarls and by his impatient voice and immediately looked up, both of them standing as soon as they saw him push past everyone. Mitsuki quickly embraced him in a strong hold. He responded to it, letting himself feel smaller than he actually was, hoping that her hug would erase the guilt that had formed deep inside his heart.

His father ruffled the hair on his head, but once he pulled away from his mother he could see that Masaru was visibly more relieved as well. Mitsuki quickly gathered the blanket and wrapped him in it, scolding him about being more decent in public. Once that was taken care of, she smiled bittersweetly at him, and he could tell tears had been running down those now dry cheeks sometime during the night.

“Katsuki, you’re okay!” She sighed in relief, hugging him again. “I was so worried.”

“It’s good to see you’re fine.” His father smiled at him, his hands on his son’s shoulders. Bakugou noted that action didn’t prevent them from trembling.

He’d given his parents such a fright, on top of probably nearly killing them. He turned around to face the destruction to his house, to face the damage he’d done.

It was in ruins. He wasn’t surprised, but tears sprung to his eyes nonetheless as he fell to his knees, a low sinking feeling in his gut making its home there. He hurried over in a desperate attempt to do something about it, the villagers giving him his space by silently moving away as they watched him break down. With shacking hands he tried to move the cold stones, his voice lost in endless screams and sobs. Blood erupted from wounds opened by his carelessness, fingers clenching around what had once been the foundations of his childhood. The many years he’d spent there, the memories he’d cultivated as he’d grown up, everything seemed to have come crumbling down with the destruction of his house.

His father walked over to him and secured the blanket over his body, making sure he didn’t get cold. His mother lovingly tried to get him to stop hurting himself as he pushed at the rocks nearly uselessly. She removed his arms and shushed him softly, trying to make him see that everything was alright.

But nothing really was.

Someone brought him clothes. Someone else brought him a mug of hot tea and some bread. He was pretty sure the latter had been brought by Yui, but it had all been a blur, so he wasn’t quite certain.

All he could think about was that he was the one responsible.

When he’d been dressed and he’d managed to down his breakfast his mother tried talking to him again, kneeling in front of him so their eyes could meet.

“Katsuki… we need to take you to see Froppy. And Chiyo, too.”

“What? Why? What about our house!?” Bakugou snarled defensively, pulling his hands away from her tight grip.

“The curse awakened, we need to go see the specialists. We finally have some clues.”

“They won’t help!” He hissed, his eyes narrowing.

There was sympathy in her look, as well as understanding and apprehension as she smiled kindly at him, trying to get him to agree to go with her.

“Honey…” She spoke softly, using the pet name she used to use when he was a child, and moderately cute, before he turned into the arguing, prideful teenager he’d grown to become. She blamed herself for his change in temper and attitude, as she’d seen the potential in him. She’d pushed him to work hard, to get the best out of his magical powers. She’d only wanted what was best for him, and she’d always told him just how great he was, so it wasn’t really much of a surprise that he’d turned into a conceited and arrogant young man. Maybe, if she’d gone the right way about it, she would have gotten better results in the end. “You turned into a dragon.”

“A… dragon? I can’t… a dragon?” His face scrunched up, his hands still trying to push her away as she forced him to stand up.

“The curse, Katsuki. It’s real.”

A part of him already knew. The curse affected him. He’d done this by himself, but he didn’t want to admit it. He didn’t want to think he’d nearly killed his parents, that he’d been the one behind the destruction in the forest. For a while Bakugou tried to resist her pulling but she was stronger than him – even after all those years of practice – so he eventually let his mother lead the way as he grumbled in dejection. She effortlessly pushed him along, telling him how they’d awoken to a deafening crashing sound and how they’d made it out alive by jumping out of the window as they saw a black dragon slowly growing in front of their eyes.

Froppy was an ancient frog witch who had been travelling for eons before settling in their village because she liked the way they treated her there. Her magic was water based, and she needed to be in her swamp for her power to be at her strongest, so Bakugou quickly found himself wading through the green waters that were clearly her territory. She greeted them by hopping onto a nearby rock, her hands curling in front of herself after waving at them.

“It’s finally happened, then? Kero.” She asked, letting her body drop into the water, her hair tied in a bow flowing behind her as she swam nimbly to them. She inspected Katsuki as he frowned at her, not happy with her webbed fingers prodding at his skin, lifting his chin up and moving his head around.

“What can you tell us about his curse, Froppy?” Mitsuki asked, holding him by his non-scarred shoulder tightly. He turned around to stare at his mother in slight anger.

“The conditions haven’t changed. We already discussed this over ten years ago.”

“Right.” His mother sighed. “Powerful curse, can only be lifted by the witch that did it, and you’re not sure what it does.”

“I saw a dragon in the skies last night.” The frog witch said, her tongue sticking out as she looked up in wonder. “A dragon like I’ve never seen before, kero.”

Bakugou scrutinized her, a mixture of annoyed and tired.

“He looked possessed, like he was fighting himself. That was you.” She pointed at him before swimming over to her rock. “Have you ever heard of werewolves?”

Katsuki clicked his tongue. Of course he had. There even was a famous legend in the village about one.

“Well, you’re about to find out what a weredragon is.” She smiled at him, not unkindly but not completely friendly either. Like she was enjoying his suffering. Bakugou had enough of it and waded away, cursing the women as he left.

He thought about it for a while as he dried off in the sun. If he was a weredragon and he couldn’t control whenever he turned into that beast, what options were left for him? He couldn’t really stay in the village and risk wrecking it and killing its inhabitants. His parents had barely made it out alive and he’d already destroyed his house.

He hissed in anger, a hand slowly gliding down his face as he thought he needed more information. He eventually grunted in distaste, but swallowed more than just his pride by getting up and going back into muddy waters.

“Okay, Frog Face, what else is there to know?” He screamed as he searched for her, wading in between things that felt icky as they touched his skin.

“Kero.” She came out of the water behind him and made him jump. He turned around and watched her swim until they were looking at each other properly. “You want to know what it is to be a weredragon?”

“Obviously. Why else would I be here?”

“I doubt it’s because you enjoy my company, kero.” Her tongue darted out of her mouth in an almost comical fashion. Bakugou found it annoying more than anything, her slow way of beating around the bush too much for his impatient nature. “Anything you’d like to know?”

“Is it ever going away?”

“You should know the conditions of your own curse.”

Bakugou growled. He knew them alright, he just didn’t accept them.

“When’s it going to affect me? Every fucking day?”

“Do you know how werewolves are affected by the moon?”

“Yes. Am I like them? Does it affect me too?”

“There’s something called the Dragon Moon. Most people believe is a myth because they can’t see it but people with strong magical powers can sense it and dragons can see it. When the Dragon Moon is high in the sky you’ll turn into a beast.”

“Any idea how long this Dragon Moon’s cycle is?”

“20 days. Treasure the 19 you have left until you transform again.”

He had to leave his village. He had to pursue Midnight, do whatever it took to get back to normal. He couldn’t just stop himself from turning into a town-wrecking dragon, and who knew what else he was capable of doing under the influence of the horrid curse. He didn’t remember anything that had happened the night before, and it terrified him. Bakugou didn’t like not being in control.

He didn’t mind leaving his village behind. It didn’t bother him that his departure would cancel the wedding plans they had with Yui, and it was probable that she’d be more than happy. It wasn’t that they didn’t get along, they did, just none of them really wanted to marry each other. She seemed more interested in Rikido Sato, the intern her father had hired to help out in the bakery and Bakugou didn’t get love. He knew he’d eventually have to marry and have offspring, so he’d agreed to go along with it and get it over with instead of putting up a fight. He wouldn’t win against his mother anyway. But that didn’t mean he wanted to do it. He’d do it for Mitsuki, to get her off his back.

Bakugou wasn’t good with people. After the incident, he’d become much more reserved and didn’t trust others easily. He mostly kept to himself. That’s why he wasn’t good at love, or feelings, or any of that crap. It seemed useless to him, and he did his best to avoid it.

He gritted his teeth, staring at the mountains in the background. He clenched his fists, anger boiling inside him as he thought about everything that would change with this curse.

“Ah! There you are!” His father’s voice brought him back to reality. “Your mother’s been looking for you. She wants to take you to see Chiyo.”

“I know.” Katsuki growled. He didn’t mean to lash out at Masaru, but he’d felt on edge ever since waking up in the forest. The guilt was worse, though, and it was spreading around inside him every time he thought about what his parents were going to do now that they officially had nothing.

His father sat down next to him on the rock and patted his still damp leg warmly.

“I know you feel bad about the house, Katsuki, but it’s not that big a deal. Everyone in town has decided to help rebuild it. They’ve offered us places to stay and basic things like toiletries and clothes.”

This didn’t help him feel better. They were still poor, and the blond was slowly making up his mind about leaving the village for good and abandoning them to their fate.

But he couldn’t voice his concerns to his father, not when he was smiling softly at him and Katsuki could see all the wrinkles and lines time had left on his skin. He sighed, getting up and offering his hand to his old man.

“Let’s go look for mum so I can go see the doctor.”

For the next few days Bakugou helped rebuild his old house. The baker offered Katsuki a place to stay and Yui begrudgingly led him to her room, where they would share a bed.

They hadn’t even kissed, nor dared to even touch each other. She was a sweet girl, silent and nice but the blond just felt weird around her.

He confessed to her that he had no intentions of marrying her on that first night, telling her that he was leaving as soon as he could help rebuild his house as much as possible before putting anyone at risk. He wished her well but told her he had no feelings for her, that they barely knew each other.

She listened to him, relieved and glad, her hands raising to cover her mouth before she threw herself into his embrace. He awkwardly yet gradually wound his arms around her, bringing them closer.

“You’re doing the right thing.” She whispered, leaning in and gently kissing him on the cheek.

Lying next to her on the bed was weird and he didn’t like it. She was small and warm, but he felt restless having her by his side. He was wary the curse would awake and he’d end up crushing her and killing her. He didn’t manage to get any sleep that night and he didn’t bother going back to her house. Instead he spent his nights with the horses at the stables, thinking no other place was safe from his unconscious wrath.

Time was ticking by quicker than he’d imagined but he’d slowly been gathering supplies to take with him. He felt slightly guilty that he’d been squirreling away the things the nice villagers had lent to him so he could get back on his feet, but it’s not like he could do anything else. He couldn’t just walk into the forest empty handed, so he bowed that he’d one day repay the kind villagers once his curse was lifted.

He had everything ready by the day his curse would hit again. A bag full of thing he’d need and a purse with enough money to suffice for the time being. But he still had to say his goodbyes.

His house was still in ruins but they’d done quite some progress with it. They’d managed to recover some of the belongings and were slowly rebuilding the foundations.

When he told his parents the decision he’d made he noticed a glint in Masaru’s eyes and he figured his father had already found out he’d been planning on leaving. His mother, on the other hand, had been taken by surprise by his confession and thumped him over the head for being secretive. She wasn’t angry, though, and told him he had to do what he thought he had to do with his life.

So he left, and a part of his heart stayed in the village he’d always call his home.  

He started making his way by diving into the forest, a bag on his back, a hand trailing over familiar yet unknown plants. He didn’t stop walking until he noticed there was barely any light left and he pulled the furs that would serve as his bed for the next few months out of his bag. He curled in on himself, closing his eyes shut and hoping it was all just a joke.

It happened again.

The Red Dragon breathed fire in his dreams, and Bakugou knew what it meant. The curse.

He had nightmares clouded by destruction, murder and flying debris. He didn’t want to wake up and have to shoulder the blame for the things he’d done when he hadn’t been conscious.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes were a pair of red ones, not unlike his own.

“Good morning!” The smile on the stranger’s face spread ever wider when he saw that Katsuki came to.

“Who the fuck are you?” Bakugou pushed him away, annoyed. He sat up, rubbing his sore muscles, his eyes glancing at his surroundings, trying to evaluate the damage before they fell on his naked body. He gritted his teeth, annoyed that he’d been found so vulnerable and exposed.

“Funny you should ask! I wanted to ask you the same, though.” The cheerfulness this redheaded man had was irritating the blond. How could he be so enthusiastic this early in the morning? Fucking weirdo. “You seemed to have uh… destroyed my house.”

“You live in the fucking forest?”

“Well, not anymore.” The young man shrugged his shoulders, which irked Bakugou immensely.  How could he be so carefree?

“Why the fuck do you live in the middle of nowhere?”

“Life takes you where life takes you.” The redheaded shrugged again, his smile appearing once more, shinning brighter than the morning sun. “Anyway, you’re a dragon?”

“You saw that, huh? I was cursed when I was little and I can’t control it.”

“A cursed dragon? I’ve never heard of that.” Bakugou accidentally remembered the white beast that had been cursed with him on that fateful day.

“I’m not a fucking dragon. I’m human.”

“Oh.”

Yeah, oh. Bakugou rolled his eyes as he got up, shaking his limbs slightly. This wasn’t where he’d made camp the night before. He frowned, his eyes falling on what was left of a cave.

“I did that, didn’t I?” the blond sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, exasperated.

“Yeah… At least you woke me up with all the noise you were making. You gave me enough time to get out of there. It’s a pity I couldn’t save any of my things.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry.”

“Not a biggie, I needed to move anyways.”

“What the fuck? Are you some kind of fugitive or something?”

The redhead threw his head back, a loud laugh escaping his lips.

“Do I look like a fugitive to you?” He asked, his tone serious with a hint of teasing in it.

“No, you look like a fucking weirdo. What’s up with the hair?”

The redhead tried to look up as if he could see the top of his head that way. He smiled again, his hands raising to gently pat at his spikes.

“It just grows like that! It’s not that unlike yours, you know?” He giggled, fingers intertwining in blond hair, gently pulling at Bakugou’s locks playfully. He received a snarl from the other and a smack on the hand.

“My name’s Kirishima Eijirou, what’s yours? I hope we can forget the whole destroying my house thing and become friends!”

“It was a fucking cave, what are you doing calling it a home? There’s something very wrong with you.”

“I like to travel! I can’t just make my house every time I want to settle down when I know I’ll be moving in a few days.”

“So you’re a traveller…” Bakugou muttered, his brow furrowing again as an idea struck him. “You must’ve heard a lot, seen a lot. Does the name Midnight ring a bell?”

Kirishima’s face fell. He looked wary and scared before realisation kicked in.

“She cursed you!? Midnight cursed you? Midnight the witch, Midnight!?”

“Yeah, stop saying her name like that, it’s annoying. Anyway, do you know anything? Do you know where she might be or something?”

The redhead fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable.

“Yeah, but you can’t just go there alone…”

“Watch me.”

“No, I’m being serious here! She’s super dangerous!”

“Don’t care. I’m getting rid of this fucking awful curse.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Yes, I will! I’m not letting you just… go there to die.”

“I won’t die.”

“You’re underestimating her. She’s super powerful and knows a lot of magic.”

“Yeah, well, I know magic too!” Bakugou showed him his exploding palms, the smell of something burning hitting his nose not too late after. “See ya, Shitty Hair.”

He turned around, not expecting the other’s hand to wrap around his arm and pull him backwards to face him again.

“Friends don’t let other friends throw their lives away.”

“We’re not friends!” the blond tried to snatch his arm away but found that Kirishima was stronger than he looked.

“Yes, we are!” A cheerful grin spread on the redhead’s face. “You woke me up before you accidentally destroyed my house, that’s gotta count for something! See, you saved my life! Now I have to do the same and save yours.”

“Did you hit your head or something?” The tone in Bakugou’s voice was slightly accusing, but there was a gentle half-smile tugging at his lips.

So, somehow, Kirishima ended up accompanying Katsuki to find his belongings. They followed the path of destruction while the redhead tried to maintain a conversation. The blond finally told him his name, and Eijirou got him to talk about his life at the village and the curse and what had happened that day.

Kirishima stopped in his tracks.

“Seems to me that you should be doing the contrary of what you’re doing.” He said, and the words made Bakugou turn around, frowning at him.

“What did you say?”

“Well, you just said that when Midnight cursed you she specifically told you to change your way of doing things.”

“So?” The blond continued on their way, so Kirishima was forced to walk along with him to continue with their conversation.

“It seems to me that she was scolding you for acting in rage. And isn’t that kind of what you’re doing now? You took revenge on that dragon and she cursed you, and now you’re hunting her to get revenge on what she did to you.”

“So what do you suggest I do? Stay and accidentally murder everyone? I’m fucking dangerous to have around, Shitty Hair.”

“Eijirou. Or Kirishima, either is fine. Just… I don’t know… you shouldn’t hunt her down with the intention of killing her just to revert some stupid curse.”

“Who said anything about killing her?” Bakugou let out a small, hoarse laugh. “I just want her to get rid of it. If she doesn’t comply then I will fight her.”

It seemed that the redhead wanted to argue with his reasoning but was cut off when they found the blond’s belongings. Katsuki ran over to his bag and searched it, finding and putting on some appropriate clothing. He immediately felt better once he wasn’t exposed and revelled in the feeling of warmness.

“I think it’s good that we’ve got each other.” Kirishima hummed, mostly to himself. “That way we can cover each other’s back.”

“We need to find food, c’mon, it’s getting late.” Bakugou ignored him completely.

“Sure thing!”

“You better be good at hunting or at something…”

“I’m pretty good. I’ve been living in the forest for a few years now, so I know how to fend for myself.”

Kirishima was better at hunting than Katsuki had expected. He constructed a trap and caught a wild hare before Bakugou ordered him to. He was good at skinning the animal too, but the blond soon found out he was horrible at cooking, like he hadn’t done it before. Bakugou hissed at him and prepared lunch for the two of them, making sure the other paid attention to how he was doing it so he’d learn. Eijirou obliged much too readily, chatting incessantly about whatever came to mind. Bakugou realised that he didn’t find it as annoying as he should have.

Despite babbling away, not once did he mention which village he was from, or anything about his parents or family. Katsuki didn’t bring it up. Some people were sensitive to stuff like that, even Bakugou could figure that out, so he let it be, answering questions about the people he’d lived alongside with.

“There’s a witch living in your village!?” Kirishima said in awe, his mouth wide open, his eyes sparkling. “And she couldn’t help you with your curse?”

“Nah. I don’t think she’s all that good anyway. I think her magic is pretty weak.” The blond shrugged his shoulders, finishing his meal.

“And, wait, you were gonna marry someone? Aren’t you going to miss her?”

“I was forced into that arrangement. Neither of us actually wanted to marry. It was just convenient for our parents.”

“Oh. But you’ll miss your friends, right?”

“I don’t have any friends, Shitty Hair. Do I look amicable to you?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be your friend forever!”

“It’s not something that worries me.” But there was a hint of a smile on the blond’s face. Maybe having Kirishima around wasn’t all that bad.

[dbhtychou]

Hank and May (and Sumo)

A little snippet of an idea between Hank and May, my OC who is Hank’s estranged wife and Cole’s mother. (I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fic involving Hank’s wife/Cole’s mom as anything else than a horrible person.) If I ever write a full story about these two, this is probably going in there. (Connor makes a guest appearance.)

Hank and May (and Sumo)

They stood together at the back of the police building, upwind from those out for their smoke break. They remained side by side, shoulders nearly brushing. Not talking, but not leaving the company of the other.

“How's Sumo?” May spoke up.

Hank made a gruff noise, but not an altogether unhappy one. “He's getting fat, but he's fine.”

“I miss him sometimes.”

He scratched the back of his head. “Hell, May, you are welcome to see him anytime. You have always been welcome. You could even take him for a week or two if you wanted.”

Hank glanced at her and saw her gentle smile, the way the breeze played with her hair.

“I wouldn't dream of taking him away from you. He likes you best, Hank.”

Hank made a sound that seemed to say he didn't quite agree with that. Then a small chuckle escaped him. “I remember when we first got him and he was so sick. I wanted to take him back to the breeder, but you insisted we needed to keep that one. He was special. So I said we'd give it one more day and then the dog was going back. But then I come home to find you, Cole, and that puppy all sleeping together on the living room floor. I knew he was family after that.”

May smiled at the memory and the two of them were silent a moment longer.

“Why did you come here, May?” Hank then asked, his affectation now sober and serious. “What do you want from me?”

She was surprised by the question. “I don't want anything from you. I came because I heard about your android partner. I had to see it for myself.”

“Who? Connor?”

“You began working with him before the revolution, before they all went deviant. And now he's still here with you, with a desk adjacent to yours. Working cases with you as if there was no revolution. As if he had never been a part of it.”

“Like he's an actual person?” Hank challenged with a raise of his brow. “No matter what he's made of, he's a good kid. He tries. I never seen anyone try as hard as he does. Hell, I'd dare say he's relentless sometimes.”

“Does he know we're aware of him watching us?” May asked with a bit of humor.

Hank glanced over across the way and stared hard at Connor who was indeed peering at them from around a corner. As soon as he was made, the android slinked off to parts unknown.

“That's fine if you think he's a good kid,” May then said. “I just wanted to make sure he's safe. That you are safe with him.”

“I trust that dumbass with my life,” came the gruff reply. A pause, and then Hank added, “Is that really all you came down here for?”

“That's all.”

He let out a long breath, as if he had been holding it for a while. “When I saw you across the precinct, I thought 'this is it, she's met someone else and she's finally coming for that divorce.'”

May tucked a few stray strands behind her ear to keep them from dancing in the breeze. “I have never wanted anyone else, Hank. Just you.”

Connor wasn't sure why, but they hunted him down and invited him to go with them in the car. He sat in the back seat, Hank and May up front. He had never ridden in the back of Hank's car. It was a new position to be in, staring at the heads of these two humans. It was dead silent in the car as Hank drove. No music, no speaking. The air was thick.

But Connor was always immune to human moods. Maybe that was why they invited him along.

“Can I ask what you do as a profession, May?” Connor asked neutrally from the back.

She glanced back at him as if surprised he had the ability to engage her. “I work for dispatch at the precinct on the other end of town.”

“You used to work at our precinct. I found your file in our employment records.”

“Jesus, Connor. You don't just go looking into people's fucking records,” Hank grouched.

“Is that where you met Hank?” Connor then asked, ignoring his partner's protests. He was very good at being immune to human moods. Especially Hank's.

“Yes it was,” May responded with good humor. She gave a fond look to the driver. “He was more clean-cut then.”

“What was he like back then?”

“Connor,” Hank warned.

May ignored him as well. “Hank was a bloodhound, always tracking something. Always ready to bust someone's ass. He was in narcotics when we started dating, keeping a fire lit under everyone when he was in the Red Ice task unit. Which I know you loved,” she added, looking at Hank. “But he did his best work in homicide. His old captain told me once Hank had the nose and the gut for homicide. He knew knew how not only to look for clues, but to listen for them. He knew how to read people, how to ask the right questions. He knew when he was looking into the eyes of a killer and when he was not. Homicide was his true calling and he was very, very good at it.”

A 74% case file close rating for Lieutenant Anderson in his prime, Connor discovered. Much higher than the national average of 62%. But Hank was not that man anymore, the android also noted. Perhaps he would never be again.

They pulled up in front of Hank's house. Connor stepped out quickly and opened the car door for May. She seemed surprised by this, too. Connor wasn't really sure what this woman expected of him to keep being so surprised.

The three stepped inside the house together. Hank called for Sumo who, since it was the middle of the day and he wasn't expecting his human to be back so early, was napping in the kitchen on the cool tile. The massive St. Bernard plodded in with wagging tail. He immediately saw Connor and the wags increased until his whole body was wriggling.

“Hey, buddy,” Connor greeted, crouching down to his level. In the months that they remained partners, Connor fast became one of Sumo's favorite people and he was always excited when the android came over. Though the dog was heavy, it did not bother Connor at all when Sumo placed a massive paw on his thigh to reach up and give his face a sloppy lick. Connor laughed and wiped off the slobber with his sleeve.

In that moment, Sumo went absolutely still. The dog's gaze was fixated on something behind Connor. The android glanced back. It was May. When Sumo saw her, he tucked his tail in, ears down. Connor had never seen such a posture from the St. Bernard as he approached May in a low, humble crouch.

Sumo let out a soft whine, nearly crawling on his stomach now. May crouched down to his level and the dog's whimpers grew in volume as he came into her space.

“Oh, my sweet, sweet boy,” she crooned as he rested his massive head in her hands. He continued to cry, eyes looking up at her sad and soulful. May cradled his head, running her thumbs over his muzzle and the soft fur beneath his eyes. “It's okay. Oh, my sweet baby, it's okay. I missed you, too.”

She was practically pushed down by the weight of the dog, so May sat on the floor, Sumo trying to put at least the top half of himself in her lap. She continued to pet and mumble soft things. Despite his cries, Sumo's tail wagged gently. May hastily wiped a tear from the side of her eye before going back to loving on the dog all he wanted.

Connor watched the display, his thoughts cycling. He glanced over at Hank who had moved away, his attention on the far wall. His eyes were wet, too. Connor looked back at Sumo. Sumo knew. Connor had never once doubted that Sumo was very wise and knew more about the nature of humans than he did. Sumo knew there was a missing part to this family. Now, it was up to Connor to help his canine friend piece it all back together.

[proxylynn]

Underfell: File Name not Edgy Enough #15

Chapter 15: Black

WARNING: I WANT NO RESPONSIBILITY OVER SPOILING THINGS FOR OTHERS. THAT BEING SAID, THIS IS HOW FILE NAME NOT FOUND WOULD FUNCTION IN THE AU OF UNDERFELL. BEFORE YOU READ THIS, UNLIKE THE NICE TIME OF UNDERTALE, THIS WORLD IS KILL OR BE KILLED. THIS STORY WILL BE GRAPHIC, GORY, USE SWEARS LIKE NOBODY'S BUSINESS, AND DEAL WITH SENSITIVE SUBJECT MATTERS. FOR EXAMPLE, THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE READ THE FILE NAME RELOCATED SPOOF WILL KNOW HOW I PICTURE THIS VERSION OF LYNSIE COMING TO THE UNDERGROUND. IT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT. IT IS NOT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING DUMB. IT IS BECAUSE SHE CHOOSES TO END HER LIFE. SO TAKE THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. I MADE IT BECAUSE I NEEDED TO LET SOME OF THIS EDGINESS OUT OF MYSELF. WHICH I GUESS MAKES UNDERFELL LYNSIE EVEN MORE TRUE TO WHO I REALLY AM. ANYWAY, ENJOY. ^_^

There's a lot of yelling after that stunt Mettaton did. Mostly from Papyrus. Sans just shouts over his brother when possible. I had no voice in the matter. Too spooked to speak really. I was just frozen on the couch for the longest time while the sound of my own heart pounded in my ears.

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW THIS WAS A STUPID IDEA FROM THE VERY START! HOW THE HELL DID YOU TALK ME INTO THIS MESS?!"

"calm down."

"CALM DOWN?! HOW THE FUCK DO YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN?! THE UNDERGROUND KNOWS NOW THAT THERE'S A HUMAN RUNNING AROUND! HELL, THAT BUCKET OF BOLTS GAVE ENOUGH CLUES TO HAVE PEOPLE LOOKING FOR HER HERE!"

"and how do ya figure that?"

"HE SAID SHE WAS IN A TOWN, SANS. JUST HOW MANY TOWNS DO YOU KNOW OF IN THE UNDERGROUND? WE LITERALLY LIVE IN A PLACE WITH TOWN IN THE NAME! NOT TO MENTION IF ANY OF THOSE DRUNKS AT THE BAR SAW THE SHOW AND RECOGNISE HER VOICE AND RECALL HOW WE ASSOCIATE WITH HER...MY GOD..."

"to be fair, most people in town know we have the human already. they just don't know what a human looks like."

"BUT OUTSIDERS DIDN'T KNOW. NOW UNDYNE AND THE KING SURELY WILL WANT TO HAVE HER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THIS WHOLE MESS IS ONE BIG SHIT STORM...HOW DOES HE EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE HUMAN?! SHE'S NEVER LEFT OUR DISTRICT!"

"yeah, a funny story about that. remember that machine we used in the multicolored tile puzzle?"

"THE ONE WE GOT FROM ALPHYS? WHAT ABOUT IT?"

"see...that hunk of junk was actually mettaton."

"..."

"bro?"

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"

"i wish. the quack confirmed it herself."

"UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE."

"i know this seems bad..."

"BAD IS A MASSIVE UNDERSTATEMENT. WE ARE TRAPPED IN A PARADOX. ON ONE SIDE, WE MUST OBEY THE KING AND TURN OVER THE HUMAN SO WE ALL CAN BE FREE. AND YET, WE ALSO HAVE TO OBEY THE QUEEN AND SHE DOESN'T WANT HARM DONE TO THE HUMAN. THERE'S NO WINNING HERE AND OUR LIVES ARE ON THE LINE. AND FOR WHAT? FOR HER? SHE'S NOT WORTH DYING OVER!"

"pap, come on, she's right there."

"I DON'T CARE! GET HER OUT OF HERE! I DON'T WANT TO SEE HER. I DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHERE SHE IS. I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS ANYMORE, SANS. I'M DONE. DO YOU HEAR ME, HUMAN? THIS IS OVER. NEXT TIME WE MEET, I WILL KILL YOU."

Things kind of fog in my head when those words and everything else keeps repeating to me. Sans isn't given many options at this point. For the meantime, he removes all traces of me from the house and all that is me is now in the shed, me included along with Flowey. Vaguely I recall Flowey asking Sans if we'll be able to at least get back to the Ruins. He didn't give an answer. Merely leaving a plate of food without a word being spoken. This is how it's been now for a couple of hours. Me, staring at a now empty plate and holding Flowey's pot to my chest to keep his soil warm while I sit on the small pet bed.

"We're not going back to the Ruins, are we?"

Flowey asks and I just tighten my hold on him. I'm not in a mood for talking.

"You're probably right. Now's not the best time. Who knows how many are out looking for you."

I shiver.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"Cold."

Flowey looks around, the shed isn't that bad for its piss poor condition but the broken windows do let the chill air in. He hadn't really noticed since I'm using my body to warm his soil.

"Will you be okay through the night?"

I nod.

"You sure?"

I nod again and he pouts.

"You know, it would help if you'd talk to me. Even if it's something silly."

I close my eyes.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!"

"I'm not."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Thinking warm thoughts."

"Oh."

I'll try in the early morning to run for help. Hopefully, no one will be awake at, let's say, 5 am, except Papyrus maybe. The way back to the Ruins from here isn't long, but it is tedious and I'll need to try out being stealthy more to avoid monsters looking to nab a human. It's a bit of a shame that there's such a huge gap between here and any place I can say is safe. I mean, I want to trust that Grillby's would be a safe place to duck into if shit hits the fan, yet I can't say for sure that's the case. Even if Grillby likes me, I'd be a fool to think he'd really turn his back on his race by harboring me. The smallest crime is met with massive ramifications in this world. Even if he would, I could never live with myself if he was caught and held in this court's version of retribution. He's been so kind to me. I won't betray that kindness with his extinguishing execution. Argh...Why did I leave the Ruins? I didn't have to just to see Napstablook. Was it my curiosity? I always heard it can kill. What I wouldn't give to be back with Toriel right now. Just listening to her read from one of her random books as I lay beside the fire all cozy and Flowey hums softly to himself, maybe Chara would pop in to chat. Yeah...That would be heaven right now. All nice and safe, kept warm by the heat of the hearth in our home sweet home as I lose my senses watching the flickering of the flames dance with the embers like graceful lovers.

Pussycat~

Something inside my soul has me hearing Grillby's voice like a whispering burn.

Pussycat~

I start to feel warmer as if the man of flame were here with me. I can imagine it now. He and I sitting here, him at my back with his arms over mine. Him constantly teasing that pet name in my ear just to rile me up for his amusement and me not caring because his company is worth the minor annoyance.

Pussycat~

Yeah, yeah, you really get a kick out of calling me that.

You know you like it.

Maybe.

You know you like me too.

Don't be a fool, ya goof. Of course I like you.

No, that's not what I meant.

What are you insinuating?

Search your feelings, you know the answer.

This is a weird conversation to be having with basically myself.

Who says I'm just a voice in your head? Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Or maybe, I'm closer than you think. Maybe I'm right in...here.

I feel something ignite my soul and my eyes shoot open in shock. The suddenness gets Flowey's attention.

"Everything okay?"

Images flash before my eyes. Images I forgot about. It comes flooding back to me and I scream internally as it didn't take much for the spell of alcohol to be broken.

"Whoa...Your face is really red. You're not getting sick, are you?"

I shake my head and curl myself into a ball around his pot.

"Are you sure? You feel really warm."

"I'm fine. Just tired."

"But..."

"Please...Just...Get some sleep. We leave in the morning."

He doesn't like it when I get like this. I don't like it either. But he also knows that when I get like this, I tend to keep to myself until I, and only I, feel ready.

"Okay. But if you want to talk, you know I'm here."

I nuzzle him so he'll relax and I think it works for now. I just hope that when we wake up things will be better...also, I really hope I don't dream about Grillby again. I really don't want to freak Flowey out with that crazy Pink Soul. Lord knows I don't want to feel that surge again. I just want this to be normal. Please? Just one normal night's sleep. Is that too much to ask?

In the house beside the shed, someone else was having issues of their own. While Papyrus didn't seem to be bothered by the recent events other than he was involved, Sans felt the tug of convictions in conflict. On the one hand, as a monster of the Royal Guard and loyal to his King, he knew it was in his best interest to turn the human over to the crown so that the race my once more walk under an open sky. Yet, on the other hand, he is also a man of loyalty and his Queen/friend had him make a promise, yet Sans is many things but an oathbreaker is not one of them. Not to mention in his late-night chat with this human, he had come to realize that she was far different from that of Frisk.

While in some of their encounters Frisk would mention Chara or Gaster, it was never to the extent Lynsie talked about. Hell, she had bruising from a guy that isn't even on this level of existence. What the fuck is with that? Was she just unlucky? Was it something about her in general like that glitchy thing or her strange soul? Or maybe it's something weird in her humanity? Probably wouldn't hurt to read some of those books he and Papyrus got. Who knows, he might learn a thing or two that could come in handy when dealing with her. Not like he learned anything much in his time working alongside Gaster and Alphys all those years ago. Humans usually met with quick demises when spotted and the most the scientists were able to study were the souls left behind. For some morbid reason, the King would always take the bodies away and as you can guess that makes it hard to study human biology. But that's where the books come in. How kind of the humans to write out informative novels on how they function and then chuck them into the hell of the Underground. That's like a robot pointing out where it's batteries are located. Very stupid.

Speaking of robots, he was regretting that moment in time where he stopped Papyrus from smashing that machine. Fucking Mettaton and his blabbermouth. They had a pretty sweet thing going on until he had to ruin it with that stunt. Now the town is going to lose its mind looking for her, probably thinking a reward will come for doing so. If something happens, he'll have to change how he handles confronting her so other won't think he's sided with humans. The last thing he needs is another reason to have a target on his back. By looking at him, most write Sans off as weak and easy EXP. They are wrong. Even if he has only 1 HP and an LV of only 1, Sans is a monster not to be trifled with. With his skills alone, he has made higher LV leveled monster turn tail in shame. Still, there are the few fools that dare try to tangle with him. Most of them don't get the chance to know his power because of Papyrus and to a degree he's thankful for that. Yet he hates when Papyrus deals with these attackers. For it was one such attack that Papyrus gained his first EXP and his taste for slaughter began, turning his brother from the kind person he grew up with into the cold-hearted asshole that he is now. Sans has lived with the guilt of that ever since. Though tonight, if only for a little while, he managed to get a small glimpse of his brother's old self. The human was to thank for that. That girl...He'd swear she had a split personality. One moment she'll piss Papyrus off to the point of violence and the next moment she's kissing up to him to where he's calm as can be. She is a strange one, that Lynsie. So yeah, maybe one of these books will help him get a better understanding on what makes her tick. Here's hoping they're not all full of gross human facts. Let's see...Psychology For Idiots: How Everything Somehow Is About Sex. ...God damn it. Needless to say, he threw the book into the corner when it began insinuating incest.

[Time passes]

"*whisper*...Wake...up...Hey...Lynsie...Come on...Wake up..."

{Wake up, idiot!}

Flowey's muffled voice barely stirred me, but Chara shouting in my head is something very clear. My eyes strain open as shadow moves across the floor. This instantly alerts my senses and I don't like it.

"*whisper* What's happening, bro?"

"*whisper* I woke up because I heard something outside. Then I saw someone looking in the window."

I snort softly.

"*whisper* Great...Nothing beats starting the day with some fucked up shit."

"Human! We know you're in there! Come out and face death!"

I am not in a mood for this and I can sense nothing good will come from this point.

"Piss off!"

"*whisper* That's not going to help you know."

A blade stabs into one of the walls.

"Come out! Or we will make you!"

Well, that's cliché as hell. I take a quick look around and note the few broken floorboards. They'll do nicely.

"Flowey, do you think you can travel in cold ground?"

He looks at me funny.

"I guess?"

"Good."

"Wait, what are you planning?"

I bring us over to one of these messed up floorboards as those on the outside begin pounding on the shed. With the heel of my foot, I stomp into the edges of the splintering board and break off more to show the non-snowy dirt below us.

"I need you to be brave, bro."

"Lynsie?"

I claw out a hole before scooping Flowey out of his pot to now fill the spot.

"I need you to be strong. Bad stuff is about to happen. Bad stuff that might make that darkness in my soul come out..."

His face scrunches in worry.

"So in case that happens, if I lose myself to that blackness...I'm counting on you to get someone we trust. I don't care who. Mom, Sans, Papyrus...Anyone we know will do. I'd ask you to be the one, but I don't wish to put you through what might happen. Can you do this mission for me?"

I can see the fight in his eyes. He doesn't want to leave me. But he doesn't have a choice. Especially when a freaking molotov cocktail comes shattering through one of the windows. Sans and Papyrus are going to be pissed that some assholes are burning their shed down.

"You have to go!"

"I can't just leave you here!"

"Asriel, please!"

I've never said his name before. I didn't want to use it until I felt we had bonded more, like what Chara would tell me about. But I had to. I had to use it to drive this urgency to its point. And he gets it, though the reluctance remains on his face.

"I'll come back for you."

I smile and stroke his petals.

"I know. Be safe, brother."

"Okay...You too."

He struggles a bit to sink his roots in but he soon leaves and I grab my bag before the flames try to take that from me. I'm grateful to the fact I can open the bars, gotta thanks Sans later for showing me that, otherwise I'm fairly certain the fire would get me. I know this is going to be bad, I just know it. So it's no surprise that when I flee the burning shed that I'm almost immediately attacked. Sucker punched hard enough to knock me into the snow. Suddenly the fire feels like it was the safer option.

"I think you need to understand a few things about our little town..."

A large brown bear in a red jacket with black sleeve lines and zipper stands as the leader of this group of four monsters that are assaulting me. The others are smaller than the brown blue bear in a red sweater with black lining, a pink mouse in an overly long read and black scarf with matching puffball cap, lastly is this weird thing that looks like a grinning red devil/demon in black under its wing cowl.

"The way our society works is very simple as far as politics go. There are no mayors or governors over each territory of the Underground. We all are ruled by our monarch, and his Royal Guard enforces his laws. Around here if there's ever a problem, a skeleton will tell a fish lady about it. But here's the thing...What if that skeleton isn't doing his job and allowing something like, oh I don't know...a Human...to go about on its own will and endanger the public? Why that would be quite criminal, to say the least. Wouldn't you agree?"

Dear god this guy never shuts up. In the time he's taken to monologue, I got up and dusted the snow off while thinking of several ways to get out of this.

"Dude, as much as I'm a fan of the whole bad guy needs to rant cliché. But you do realize how pointless it is to waste time chatting me up, right? And I know it's counterproductive on my end telling you this...But you could've killed me by now."

The mouse sighs.

"I told you this was stupid."

The blue bear groans.

"This is not stupid. It's a tradition. And tradition isn't stupid."

The red demon, who is the closest to me, looms just over my shoulder and bares his teeth in his grin.

"I say we compromise. We continue with the plan but do it at the same time as killing her."

I point to this devil and smirk.

"Now this guy has the right idea."

{What the hell are you doing?}

Chara's voice rings true and I shake my dumb helpfulness off. Now isn't the time to be pointing out flaws in how to properly kill me.

"On second thought, go on. Give me the speech. I wanna hear how I fucked up and how you're going to give me my comeuppance."

The brown bear rubs his face as he steps closer, dude is much bigger than me but still small compared to Toriel.

"I really don't get it. I've seen you around a few times, we all have, and I just don't understand."

Don't ask him what.

"What?"

Damn it! At least the fire isn't so bad. The snow melting on it is almost enough in mass and speed to put it out, but not quite enough to fully do the job.

"Why haven't you hurt anyone?"

I blink a few times and tilt my head in confusion. This doesn't go over with the bear. He snarls and grabs my face.

"Don't play with me, bitch! We know what you are! Humans kill monsters! What sort of sick game are you pulling by acting like you're one of us!"

I bite his hand...eh...paw? Whatever his grabbing appendage is called, I bite it and he releases in pain.

"If you think I'm acting, then you're a fool."

The red devil grabs my arm and hurls me into a nearby tree. The mouse, I feel sorry for, because it tries being tough by going for my legs, but I accidentally kick it away in the face. This is when blue bear begins hitting me and red demon joins in. All while brown bear watches with annoyance and pink mouse tries to make the world stop spinning.

"Remember boys, we're not to kill her. We'll be rewarded more if Asgore gets her alive."

The pummeling is not good on my end. I try to fend some of the blows off, but there's only so much I can do. Blue bear hits harder than red devil yet he's more precise in the attack, striking at points that can probably cripple me if he was a bit stronger. All the commotion, of course, draws attention. Monsters in town only come as close as the skeleton household and watch on with a strange mixture of reactions. Most are thrilled to see the beat down, the fact it's on a human is a bonus, yet for the few that do know me from the bar...they are a tad more conflicted.

"What's wrong, human? Why aren't you fighting back? Do you want to die?"

{I hate to agree, but they make a point. You need to fight back.}

You think I haven't been trying?! I can't make one move without getting hit twice. And even if I do fight back, I can't even fight for real because I don't want to hurt anyone.

{But if you don't, then something might...}

*Crack*

[HP ████████████████████ 20/36]

The sound almost echoes and is followed by my roar of pain. I'm a tad surprised when the hits stop. Then again, probably seeing what we do see would do that. Blue bear had stomped on my left arm and the bone couldn't take it, snapping the radius to make part of it pierce outward like spikes. This is on a new level of pain that rivals the stabbing Papyrus has done. I hold the bloody limb into the snow and trying to numb it with the cold. My watering eyes aren't helping me see what's going on.

"Will you look at that. Heh...No wonder those boneheads didn't turn her over. This human's got a skeleton inside her."

"I'd bet gold that they were using her for their own fun."

"Can't say I blame them. I'd do the same too if there were no more of my kind."

"Greedy bastards. Leaving us all trapped down here just so they can fuck some human whore."

I glare at the watery blurs that they are in my eyes.

"Awww...Ain't that cute? She's offended."

"What's the matter, whore? Mouth too full to talk?"

"I say we have a little fun of our own."

"Yeah! Those pricks owe us for withholding her."

Now, I don't know fear very well. Gaster was the one that truly scared me for the first time. Not even these threats scare me, I've heard them before in middle school. But this is different. These aren't humans that can be intimidated. These aren't humans that I can handle on my own. These are monsters that are stronger than me. These are monsters that have already proven that they don't care what they do so long as they get what they want. I don't know fear. But I do know fright. And right now...I'm scared.

"Come on, whore. Bring out your soul."

I don't like this.

"Yeah, if you do us right, we might just show you mercy."

I'm scared.

"I bet fucking a human feels amazing."

Make this stop.

"As the leader, I get first dibs."

Make it stop!

Suddenly, I hear the loud thumping of my heart and a familiar pain shoots through my veins. The air stills, the temperature drops, and I know what's about to happen but I don't have the strength to fight it. In an instant, the world goes dark for me and my body slumps over in the snow like I'm dead with my eyes open. The three big ones are too busy fighting over who really gets first dibs to notice this or the pink mouse approach my body. He just looks at me. Snapping his fingers as if to get my attention yet lifeless I lay. He does however become confused when the whites of my eyes begin to darken into black.

"Hey, guys? I think something is *squeak*...!"

The mouse's sudden cry get their attention but they weren't expecting what they end up seeing. The mouse is dangling by the throat in my good right hand and is struggling to breathe. All of a sudden, there's a small popping sound and mouse goes slack before fading away into dust. Their eyes widen as my body rises unnaturally from the ground and I grin maliciously at their now freaked out faces.

"*growls* You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"

This was not going to end well.

[Meanwhile: Snowdin Forest]

Boredom once more claimed the skeleton known as Sans. It had gotten to the point where he was flipping through some old magazines he keeps under his post and snacking on hotdogs even though he wasn't hungry. He has looked over these same pages over and over. A few decent articles and comics, but nothing really all that special. Yet anything was better than those damn human books. God, he had no idea how messed up humans were. That one was fucked up. At least she wasn't as nuts as some of the things that the book said. Sure, she was crazy, no doubt there. But who isn't down here? Yet she was something that no one else was, and no he didn't mean she was human, she was harmless as a baby.

"Sans!"

That wasn't a voice he was expecting to hear.

"weed?"

"down here!"

Hidden in the front of his post, Flowey sprouted and looked as if he was being chased by a mower.

"what are you doing out here? heh...did she finally get sick of ya and give ya the boot?"

"Ha ha, very funny. But this is not a social call. There's an emergency!"

"if you're looking for fertilizer, sorry, i'm all out."

Flowey growls.

"Listen to me, Smiley Trashbag, Lynsie is being attacked!"

That made his grin falter.

"what?"

"I don't know how many there are, but they set the shed on fire."

"what?!"

"She made me leave for help. She's afraid that the Black Soul will trigger."

His sockets widen.

"shit..."

Sans is about to teleport when a thought comes to him.

"okay, here's your next mission. follow the path to get papyrus."

Flowey is shocked.

"Papyrus? Why?"

"tell him that some fuckers are wrecking his shit. oh! and tell'em they called him a fart sniffing asshole. he'll rush back to town faster than him wanting to kick my butt over telling a pun."

"That is fast."

"now go."

Flowey nods and sinks into the ground as Sans also disappears.

Now in the town, the sounds of screams are heard as citizens flee to their homes in terror around Sans. Smoke is seen near his home and there are shapes he can't quite make out. His approach is a cautious one as there's no telling what is happening. Little does he realize that what is happening is a nightmare. For once he can see the figures better he regrets so much about putting the human out of the house. There she stands in bloody snow with dust coating the thick red, what looks like a plastic knife in her right hand, her left arm seems wrong at the angle he sees, and Politics Bear's head is under her boot.

"Is this what you wanted?"

Her voice...It made his bones chill down to the marrow. It was cold and growled, almost sounding like two voices in one.

"You wanted a human, right? And humans kill monsters, right? Well, you got your wish."

"No, no, no, no, no, no! Wait...!"

Her boot adds force and the bear's head is no more, just like the rest of his body as dust scatters.

"holy crap..."

The words escaped him before he could hold them in and she heard it. Slowly turning to see him in the glow of the burning shed, those black eyes and sinister smile were all too familiar for the skeleton.

"Sans..."

Never did his name sound so horrifying.

"*gulp* h-hey kiddo...um...you okay?"

She turns fully around and he sees more of the damage done to her, including the bones coming out of her left arm.

"They did this. They hurt me."

"i can see that."

"They wanted to do things to me. Very bad things."

She takes a few steps towards him and he finds himself frozen on the spot.

"I had to do it. I had to make them go away. They didn't give me a choice."

With her coming closer but seemingly calm, his instincts make him CHECK her.

[L̴̵y̷͠n҉s̸i̶e͡͏ – L̴͢V̶̧͝:̧͢ ͟2 – ̀H͘͟͠P͢: ͡͠͏7͠2̀ ́̕A̧T͏̶́K̶:́ ͏62̴͡ D̸Ȩ҉̷F̴͘:̀ ͜͏4͠͞͡2̨ ͏͘͠– ̛̛͝E͠R̢͡R̶̴Ó͠R̢̕]

What the hell is happening with this human?

"yeah...say, w-why don't you just put down the knife?"

She stops within arm's reach.

"Why did you CHECK me?"

Shit!

"n-no reason."

She tilts her head in observation. He'd say this was unnerving but that title currently was held by the fact she hasn't blinked since he's seen her.

"You're afraid of me."

A nervous fake laugh leaves him.

"what? n-no...that's dumb. you're being dumb."

Wow, he sounds like a dork when like this.

"Papyrus was right. You are a bad liar."

He began to sweat profusely.

"i am not..."

"I can smell your fear."

If ever there was a time for his knees to not be knocking.

"It's fine, I don't blame you...You should be afraid."

Flashbacks start triggering in his skull of a child in a striped sweater uttering those same words before slashing at him. Instinct overrides his crippling fright and he shoves her back, making her stumble. It takes a moment before both of them register what happened.

"So...That's how it is?"

"uh..."

"Very well...I was going to leave you alone, but now..."

She stands strong and brandishes the knife.

"I want to see you dance, skeleton!"

She swings the blade and he dodges the strike. She blinks finally and those soulless eyes target him.

[MEGALOVANIA begins to play in the background.]

Thus begins a fight Sans didn't see coming. A tit for tat of turns where she's on the offensive and he dodges to save his life. With each move, he guides her towards the town entrance, hoping to at least get her away from more monsters. But there's a drawback to this. He's not used to moving so much at any given time continuously. He doesn't have the stamina for it. So the longer this goes, the weaker and more tired he gets.

[Sans can't keep dodging forever. Keep attacking.]

Great, now those things are going to make this feel even worse. And by the time he's gotten her past the library he's feeling low.

[Sans's movements grow a little wearier.]

Twenty-two. It takes twenty-two dodges to tire him out. He's sadly counted all the times when he'd fight Frisk before he would be killed. And even more worrisome was that he was on dodge ten.

[Sans's movements seem to be slower.]

Almost there. Almost there. He's gotten her as far as Grillby's bar by dodge sixteen. If he can just make these last six dodges really long...He might at least be able to last long enough for Papyrus to get here. But then she does change her tactics. She doesn't come at him straight on as she had been doing. She instead makes a twisting move sideways that ended with a dive and he had to move to the side just to avoid the strike. She does this each time he tries to get back on the direction out, which is five dodges.

[Sans is starting to look really tired.]

One dodge left. It's all he has left in him. He's sweating and panting out of breath while her demeanor hasn't changed at all, even the lack of blinking again.

"*pant* you...you really don't...don't want to...be doing this..."

"You seem to think I can be swayed when you're near your end. An odd move. But at least it's something."

"*pant* don't make me..."

"Attack? I'd be amused that you tried. There's no point if you don't at least try once. Even those four fought back."

Four? She killed four monsters? But her LV is only 2...How weak were they?

"Pay attention, Sans. We are being watched."

She points the blade to the large window of Grillby's bar and Sans sees the onlookers inside looking back in worry.

"If not for me, at least show them that you tried. It is your job after all. Or are you expecting Papyrus to do the deed?"

He'd flinch if his nerves weren't shot.

"It's your go, Sans. Attack me. Come on. Do it! Keep your promise and kill me before I kill you!"

He hadn't noticed it before, a bit hard to do so when dodging knife slashes, but those last words made him see it. Those cold black eyes of hers that refused to blink were not the dry orbs he expected, no, they were wet and rolling the tears in streams down her face. Somewhere deep in there, that goofy weirdo girl he knows is trapped, and all she can do is try to fight this blackness. And if she can't fight it, she'd try to have herself be put down. Yet even if that's the case, he was struggling to do this. He had never killed anyone in his whole life, he simply doesn't have the heart to do so unless under the most extremes, like when Frisk does a Genocide run. But she was right in her words and he had to try. The Black Soul was going to make her kill him and who knows how many more if he didn't stop her now.

"*deep breath* okay, kiddo. i'll do it."

He focuses his remaining strength into his magic. His eyes go dark except for his left which flares into a glowing flash of red and yellow as he holds his left hand out.

"this is my strongest attack."

She gets ready.

"Thank you."

He smiles sadly and makes a fist with his left hand, her dark soul appears then turns a dull dark blue. He proceeds to lift her into the air before slamming her down hard.

[HP ██████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ 66/72]

Then bones begin to spring out of the ground under her, stabbing into her as she tries to get back on her feet.

[HP ████████████████████████████████████████████████ 48/72]

Just as those bones begin to sink in and her footing returns, he sends out bones in a zigzag pattern that demands tight precise movement to avoid, which in her current damaged state she does not do well.

[HP ████████████████████████████████ 32/72]

Now for the real magic draining portion of the attack. He summons to him thirty Gaster Blasters, a special move made by Gaster himself and passed on to his brothers, then positions them to circle the bloody human before having them do as their name says...blast her.

[HP ██ 2/72]

Even after all that, after pouring the last of his magic into the attack and unloading Karmic Retribution (KR), she was still alive...just barely though. She was down on her knees, one of those heartless eyes forced shut, and bleeding from just about everywhere. Had her stats not doubled in her LV increase she would be dead where she stood. The weapon she held had been knocked back far enough that it was no longer visible, which is good because losing it meant she was pretty much declawed. For Sans though, the use of so much magic after all the activity was too much. He too found himself unable to stand, he wobbles a bit before falling on his butt in exhaustion.

"*shaky exhale* for the love of god...i really hope that made you normal again."

She doesn't move. She hardly breathes. She just stares at him as she had been. And for a moment, Sans believed the struggle was over. Until...the sound of snow lightly crunching gets his attention. His sockets widen as she weakly crawls towards him, the wicked grin she had since finding her like this now was an animalistic baring of her teeth and the growling coming out of her sounded demonic. Even that eye of hers was more fear-inducing, as it had gone completely solid black. If he had to guess, this was the Black Soul's beastly nature coming out due to being so close to dying. But now wasn't the time to think about the mechanics of her soul. He had to focus on backing away to stay alive while a lost in the darkness psycho human was coming at him with a look that screamed she wanted to gnaw on his bones till he was dead.

"easy, kiddo...let's not doing anything crazy. you're not yourself. it's the black soul making ya do this. ya know you don't want to hurt me."

She snarls and speeds up her crawling faster than he can back away. She ends up over him as he struggles to hold her back, her good hand tries clawing at him while her teeth snap with the want to crunch bone.

"damn it, don't do this! don't make me kill you!"

All the sound that comes out her resembles a rabid beast. Seeing no way out and her most vulnerable area is easily in his range, the Black Soul had remained exposed after his attack, he makes a bold move. One hand grabs her neck to push her up while the other grabs her by the soul itself and doing so causes the most ear-splitting screech to erupt from her throat.

[HP █ 1/72]

"now you listen to me and you listen good. i won't have you do this. you're not this thing. you don't want to hurt anyone, right? that's what you swore. now prove it. prove to everyone that this isn't the real you. that you're not like any other human. so snap out of it, lynsie! this is your soul! yours! you control it, not the other way around! so don't give in like some dumb bitch! fight it! fight back, lynsie!"

Suddenly he felt the soul beat in his grip and her body slowly ceased it's thrashing.

"Sa..́.͟S҉an҉s...͏"

Did he really get through to her? Better keep this up.

"yeah, it's me. i'm right here, kiddo."

"Sans.̨..͝I.͠..͠I di̶d̵ ̧bad ̸thin̕gs...҉D̷idn'̕t͘ I?"

That creepy voice was still there but it sounded more like her at least.

"yeah. but it's not your fault. it's this black soul. it made ya do it."

She softly began to whimper and not sensing danger anymore, he lets her neck go but still holds the soul that began to falter in its darkness.

"hey...come on, people get killed here all the time. it's no big deal. don't start crying."

She covers her eyes with her good arm and weeps into it, black streams fall down her cheeks till the tears become clear.

[YOU WON!]

[You earned 0 XP and 0 gold.]

Seeing this has him check on her soul. The black was relenting to show some blue, the same color as his magic. A small sigh of relief leaves him as the door to the bar opens.

"Sans? Is everything alright?"

Of course, the only one to check on them would be Grillby. No one else was brave or gave a shit enough to step out after seeing all that.

"i think so."

Grillby comes over and kneels beside the sobbing girl.

"try not to touch her right now."

"Why not?"

Sans shows him the soul in his hand and Grillby stares at the heart trying to regain its color.

"Is she okay?"

"not really."

Grillby's brow frowns and he hesitantly puts a supportive hand on the human's head, softly petting her.

"Shhhhh...It's okay, pussycat. Everything's going to be okay."

Still, she weeps as guilt and shame consume her. Sans waits until the blackness is completely gone from her soul before putting it back at her chest, letting it sink into her body.

"well...at least this can't get any worse."

"HUMAN!"

God damn him and his big mouth!

Papyrus finally appears and has the flower in his grip, it doesn't look alive as the roots are gone.

"pap...what did you do?"

The cold hard stare Papyrus has cuts through Sans and aims right at the girl.

"I THOUGHT I MADE MYSELF CLEAR..."

Papyrus puts out his right hand and Sans realizes what's about to happen.

"pap, no! you don't have to do this!"

"NEXT TIME WE MEET, I WILL KILL YOU."

Too lost in her sadness, the human is unaware of the red glow appearing underneath her and the danger it means. Knowing this, Sans makes a move to push her out of the way at the same time Grillby does. She is knocked back with Sans as sharp tipped bones launch out of the ground. They miss her and Sans. Unfortunately...they still hit someone.

"nooooo!"

The alarm in Sans's voice has the human look now at the scene of where she once was. The look on her face is the same as the one on Papyrus upon seeing the result of his attack...The impalement of Grillby. Needless to say, this was something no one was about to handle well, especially when Grillby coughs up molten plasma. Showing he's still alive but for not much longer.

"*painful cough* Judging by those faces...it looks as bad as it feels..."

For a human that's got the shit beaten out of her and lost a ton of blood to where she only has 1 HP, the girl made a burst of speed toward the down bartender.

"No, no, no, no...This can't be happening...You can't be hurt...You can't."

All Grillby could do was smile as she held his face.

"Someone! Anyone! For fuck's sake, he needs healing!"

Oh, if only it were so simple. If anyone knows the strength and deadliness of Papyrus more than the man himself, it's Sans. And the sad truth is that there's nothing that can be done. No amount of healing magic or health-replenishing food was going to undo an attack meant to kill. Grillby is a dead man. The only real question was when was his soul about to expend the last of its magic and let him fade to dust.

"God damn it! Why is no one helping him?! Why do none of you care?! Papyrus, recoil these..."

Speech dies on her tongue when she spies the flower limply held in Papyrus's hand. Her eyes widen as a new flood crashes down from those orbs like waterfalls.

"Asriel..."

That name...It came out in a hushed breath that few were able to hear. Her next words were much louder.

"You killed my brother?!"

There are not many things that can get to Papyrus. Not even threats from Undyne would shake his core. But knowing he had messed up and the look of loss on the human really hit him hard. The verbal and likely physical assault the human probably wanted to do was interrupted by a weak hand on her wrist.

"*weak* No, pussycat...Stay with me..."

"Don't speak. You need to save your strength."

A strained laugh leaves embers from the fallen friend. The only reason he wasn't dusting instantly was due to his high LV level. Not many would take it from being around the guy, but Grillby's life was harsh and he fought hard to keep burning. It's why he also set up shop to give people a break from all the death. To be able to relax under the protective roof of a man of LV level 10 and know true peace.

"*weak* And here I was worried...that no one would cry...if I ever died..."

"You are not dying! Do you hear me?! You just need a strong healer...Nanny! Mom can do it! We just have to get you to the Ruins and..."

"*weak* Shhhhhh...It's okay to be scared...But you need to be strong..."

"*whimper* Grillby..."

That wasn't going to be a thing for her any time soon.

"*weak* Sans..."

He flinched and choked down a painful lump of dread in his throat as he came to kneel by his friend.

"yeah, grillz. what...what can i do for ya?"

"*weak* I...I think we can call your tab even now..."

Grillby sputters as his flames burn lower with each passing second. It takes everything in Sans for him to not cry. Never in any of the past timelines has Grillby died, at least, not before him. So seeing this, the only friend he had now moments away from dusting, it was painful as all hell.

"hey...leave the jokes to me. *sniffle* ya never did have a strong suit for humor."

"*weak* Yeah, you're probably right...*coughs* Pussycat, mind coming a tad closer? I...I have something for you..."

She wipes her face dry before leaning closer to the fire elemental, no sense getting him wet at a time like this. When she's close enough for him to whisper, he reaches out and pulls her into a sudden kiss that has everyone stunned. While that part had them looking at him in confusion, Grillby can't help the smug and pleased smirk of satisfaction that came to his tired face.

"*weak* Sorry about that...I know you trusted me with your first kiss...but I don't think I can take care of it anymore..."

She blinks with uncertainty that such a thing happened and her soul began to emerge in an odd pink. This glow seemed to bring peace to the bartender.

"*weak* So that was the reason...Heh...I can at least die happy knowing this...Thank you...Lynsie..."

"Don't say that. Don't you fucking say that! You can't die after saying that!"

Grillby's eyes fight to stay open but can't and she loses it in desperation.

"Open your eyes damn it! Don't you quit on me after saying that! You are not allowed to die! Do you hear me?! You're not allowed! *sobs* You can't die! You can't! Don't leave me...Please..."

The flames that make up Grillby's form dim and flicker away. Then, when his body's heat could no longer be felt and his glow was gone, his form dissolves into dust upon the snowy ground. He's gone.

"*crying* This can't be happening..."

She scoops some of the dust in her hands and it slips through her fingers.

"*crying* This wasn't supposed to happen...No one was suppose to die..."

Regret. She was practically emanating the emotion in a near-visible aura as those words kept repeating in her weeping. Papyrus fell to his knees being drenched in the stuff, after all, it was his impulsive action to kill the human on sight that needlessly ended Grillby. Sans, on the other hand, felt pity. Frisk never showed this level of remorse. No human was known to ever give any care for the death of a monster. But she did. She cared. And for the first time in a long time, he felt bad for someone else. So he tried showing some support with a hand on her back.

"it's not your fault."

"*sniffling* This is wrong...This is all wrong..."

"i know. but what's done is done. he's gone."

He stands up and sighs heavily.

"come on...i'll walk ya back to the ruins."

She doesn't move.

"lynsie?"

"...I refuse."

He cocks his sockets at her.

"you refuse? refuse what?"

"This. I refuse this."

"look, i get it. you're sad. i'm sad. we're all sad. but ya can't just say you refuse to accept this. it doesn't make it stop being what happened."

"There's got to be a way to fix this. There has to be."

"there isn't."

"What about the RESET?"

His sockets widen.

"Maybe if I can trigger it..."

"don't!"

He was hoping she had forgotten him ever mentioning that. He didn't want to go down that same road of repetitiveness again. Living the same days over and over and over and over again to the point where nothing fucking matters so you give up trying on everything. No. He was not going through that again.

"What do you mean, don't? If it brings them back, I'm doing it!"

"no! i ain't going through that shit again! resets are like drugs. the first time is supposed to be the only time, but then you start doing them over the stupidest little shit reasons. well, no dice. you're not resetting this timeline!"

"My brother is dead! Grillby is dead! I'm not living in a world where I lose those that matter to me!"

For a moment, Sans didn't see the human girl in front of him. Instead, he saw himself the first time Papyrus died. As big of a dick that Papyrus is, he's still his brother, and no one can stand the pain of losing a family member that's that close to you.

"Please...Sans..."

He hated himself. He hated himself for feeling bad for her, sympathizing. It would be his death one day.

"*grumble* fine."

Her eyes light up with hope.

"Really?"

"but this is a one time deal. one reset. that's it. ya got that?"

"Thank you!"

She hugged his legs tight.

"Thank you, Sans! I promise...This will be the only one."

He casts his blushing gaze elsewhere, especially when that pink glow of her soul started to change into a bright white.

"yeah, yeah, don't mention it."

"If ever mention doing another, I give you permission to kick my ass."

"that, i'll agree to do."

He dreaded the moments to come. The way things would just undo from happening always made his head hurt. Most monsters didn't remember anything when a RESET happened. Some just had odd senses of déjà vu. But he had the rarity of recalling much more than the others did. So when the moments passed and nothing happened apart from her letting him go, a thought popped into his head.

"you don't know how to reset, do you?"

"I thought you'd know and would talk me through it."

He slapped his face.

"for fuck's sake...the most i know about it is that it mainly happened after each time frisk died. i don't know how the kid did it without death."

"So...I have to die in order to fix all this?"

"WORKS FOR ME!"

Blood gushes out of the human's chest as a bone shoves her soul out of her body. Scared shock encompasses her face as Sans's sockets widen from the surprise attack Papyrus did.

"I KNOW NOT WHAT YOU TWO HAVE BEEN SAYING, BUT IF YOU CAN FIX THIS IN DEATH, THEN I ORDER YOU TO DO SO."

Papyrus yanks the bone out and her eyes roll into the back of her head before collapsing to the snow.

[HP 0/72]

"what the fuck, papyrus?!"

"WHAT? I HEARD YOU BOTH SAY SHE COULD UNDO ALL THIS."

"yeah, but she didn't know how!"

"...GOD DAMN IT!"

The human's soul lingers after her final breath, as human souls tend to do. The white color was something monsters haven't seen in a long time. Monsters souls start out white, full of hopes and dreams, just loaded with goodness. But in this world, where death and murder are the norm, the white dulls into gray the longer the monster lives in such a state. So this pure white heart was a blinding eyesore. A reminder of what they used to be. That they were Monsters and not just monsters.

"SO...WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT THAT?"

"don't know. i kinda feel like taking it to the ruins, but..."

"YES, TORIEL WON'T TAKE THIS NEWS WELL."

"damn it...what the hell are we supposed to do?!"

Papyrus's attention left his brother and fell to the soul. It began to pulsate, small electrical crackling sounds coming from the random glitching surges. Sans now found himself staring at the soul as well.

"well...that's different."

"HUMAN SOULS DON'T NORMALLY DO THAT?"

"nope."

"HUH."

The soul surges strongly, bursting energy into the human's body till it fades away and leaves behind a button that Sans has seen too many times before. Only, something about it isn't quite right about it.

[̴̧̡R̸̕͢È̶͡S͟͠E̴̡̢T̷]͝

"IS THAT THE THING YOU BOTH WERE TALKING ABOUT?"

"heh...kiddo found a way. clever girl."

"WAIT...SO THAT THING WILL UNDO ALL THIS?"

"that's the gist of it. but who knows just how far back it might undo things. we could go back minutes, hours, maybe even days or weeks. it's a gamble really."

"BUT...THIS...ALL THIS WON'T HAVE HAPPENED...RIGHT?"

It's rare to see the great and terrible Papyrus like this. To be regretting his actions. To feel pain over a kill. To hate gaining EXP. Papyrus didn't know Grillby as well as Sans did, but he respected the man. If there was ever one person he would not kill, it was the one that made sure his brother was okay when he wasn't around. So if this thing, this RESET, can undo this stain...He was going to use it.

"y-yeah?"

Papyrus goes to hit the button but it's gone. Paw prints lead to the culprit, an annoyed black dog growling with the button in its teeth as it strolled away.

"easy, boy...don't do anything rash that you'll live to regret."

The dog shoots Sans a dirty look.

"ah, you little shit!"

Papyrus holds his brother back.

"ALLOW ME, SANS. CLEARLY, THE DOG DOESN'T RESPECT YOU BECAUSE YOU COMAND NO AUTHORITY. WATCH HOW A REAL AUTHORITY FIGURE WORKS."

Sans rolls his eyes.

"COME HERE, DOG. THAT DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU AND SEEING AS I AM CLEARLY AN ALPHA, YOU WILL OBEY ME."

The dog turns and lifts its tail at Papyrus. The insult is met with a cage of bones surrounding the dog.

"I AM IN NO MOOD FOR YOUR SHIT. DROP THAT...NOW!"

The dog snarls but does as told...except it is the one that presses the button. The button blinks away and the human soul responds with an explosion of all-consuming light that swallows all the Underground.

"☞✌💧👍✋☠✌❄✋☠☝📬📬📬" (FASCINATING...)

"👌☼✋☝☟❄ 👌☼✋☝☟❄☜☼ ✡☜❄ 👌☼✋☝☟❄☜☼" (BRIGHT BRIGHTER YET BRIGHTER)

"❄☟☜ ☹✋☝☟❄ 😐☜☜🏱💧 ☝☼⚐🕈✋☠☝" (THE LIGHT KEEPS GROWING)

"❄☟☜ 💧☟✋💣💣☜☼💧 👍🕆❄❄✋☠☝ 💧☟✌☹☹⚐🕈☜☼" (THE SHIMMERS CUTTING SHALLOWER)

"🏱☟⚐❄⚐☠ ☼☜✌👎✋☠☝💧 🏱⚐💧✋❄✋✞☜" (PHOTON READINGS POSITIVE)

"❄☟✋💧 ☠☜✠❄ ☜✠🏱☜☼✋💣☜☠❄" (THIS NEXT EXPERIMENT)

"💧☜☜💣💧" (SEEMS)

"✞☜☼✡" (VERY)

"✋☠❄☜☼☜💧❄✋☠☝" (INTERESTING)

"🕈☟✌❄ 👎⚐ ✡⚐🕆 ❄☟✋☠😐📪 ☹✋❄❄☹☜ ⚐☠☜✍" (WHAT DO YOU THINK, LITTLE ONE?)

"*gasp*"

My eyes open to the sight I didn't think I'd see after what I last remember being through. I'm on the couch in the skeleton house. Sans is to my right, Papyrus to my left, Flowey on the table with the pet rock, and we're all okay. We're just watching TV and everyone's okay. Internally I CHECK my stats.

[HP 36, ATK 31, and DEF 21]

My stats are normal again? Then this means it worked, right? Time went backwards. Wait...then at what point in time is this?

"GREETINGS, YOU LUCKY CALLER. I TAKE IT YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TO THIS UNFORTUNATE SOUL."

Mettaton's voice chimes in on the TV and the phone in my hand. A hard shiver racks my spine and I look over at Sans. He shakes his head and reaches for the phone. But for some reason I keep it and even stranger, I still answer knowing well what happened before.

"Y-yeah...*nervous* Let him go."

Papyrus scoffs like he did before and Sans glares at me. The robot on TV has an overly dramatic reaction.

"WHAT?! LET HIM GO? NOW, WHY WOULD YOU SUGGEST SUCH A SILLY IDEA?"

I know what happened last time. This is when Mettaton revealed me to the whole Underground and in doing so many died. I know better than to let that happen again.

"Because...If you ever want to meet me, you'll be smart about what you do next."

I hangup the phone and a shaky breath leaves me.

"you didn't have to do that."

"I know. But still letting him do that would be bad. And I've done enough bad."

Sans rolls his eyes with a knowing smirk.

"being nice is going to be the death of you."

A soft smile comes to me.

"I expect nothing less."

Papyrus looks at the two of funny. I don't think he remembers what happened and I think that's a good thing. Mettaton takes the sudden hangup with distress and fains hurt.

"OUCH, DARLING. THE RUDENESS OF IT ALL. I DIDN'T THINK YOU WOULD ACTUALLY CALL BUT I'M DELIGHTED YOU DID. ONLY YOU WOULD SHOW KIDNESS TO SCUM LIKE THIS. BUT...YOU CALLED MY BLUFF AND I RESPECT THAT. VERY WELL...THIS POOR, SAD, AND RATHER PATHETIC BOY GETS TO LIVE YET ANOTHER DAY."

The restraints release douche cat aka Burgerpants and he rips the gag off.

"You psychotic bucket of bolts! This was not worth the overtime bonus."

"MAYBE NOT FOR YOU."

He storms off and Mettaton takes a bow.

"I DID AS YOU ASKED, DARLING. I'M HOLDING YOU NOW TO YOUR END OF THE DEAL. I HOPE TO SEE YOU IN HOTLAND SOON. OR CALL. YOU HAVE MY NUMBER AFTER ALL. OOOH...I EVER SO HOPE YOU ARE ABLE TO JOIN ME WHEN THE TIME COMES. I HAVE BEEN EXPECTING SOMETHING TRULY FABULOUS TO BE READY ANY DAY NOW AND EXPERIENCING IT WITH YOU...WELL...LET'S JUST SAY IT WILL BE A MOMENT NO ONE WILL EVER FORGET. TOODLES~!"

The show cuts back to something already in the middle of airing.

That's it. This same event just played out and had a completely different outcome. My existence wasn't revealed and no one ended up dead. Everything is fine. Heh...Everything is fine. I start to laugh with joy.

"Everything is fine!"

"SIT DOWN, HUMAN. UNLESS YOU PLAN TO MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL AND FETCH ME ANOTHER HELPING."

Papyrus holds out his empty plate and I shock him with a surprise hug.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Everything is okay, Papyrus. Isn't that amazing?"

"RELEASE ME NOW OR I WILL HURT YOU."

"And I won't have it any other way."

Papyrus looks at his brother uncomfortably.

"SANS, THE HUMAN IS ACTING WEIRDER THAN NORMAL. I THINK SHE MIGHT BE BROKEN."

Sans merely shrugs.

"eh, maybe she's just happy."

"FOR WHAT?"

"dunno. maybe because she gets to be around someone as awesome as you."

"HMMM...I CAN'T SAY YOU'RE NOT WRONG. I AM INCREDIBLY AWESOME."

I giggle at the level his ego can inflate to and release him to look at Sans.

"don't even think about. you hug me enough as is."

I shrug.

"Fair enough, Sansy-boy."

I take Papyrus's plate and grab Flowey on my way to the kitchen, making an mental vow to never be away from my brother again. Not that he minds the extra attention after going through that experience. Poor boy remembers what happened. He remembers trying to convince Papyrus to go to Snowdin Town but something happened and Papyrus got incredibly angry, ripping Flowey from the ground...things went dark after that. I keep my flower brother with me as the night continues on without incident. I don't even mind that Papyrus puts me out in the shed for the night while Flowey remains in the house. A little cold is nothing compared to what happened before. I just need to work on things. Make sure I do better. I'll do what Sans told me in that fight. I'll show all of monster kind that I'm not like other humans. But I need help if I'm to do any of that. The Black Soul is deadly. It's strong in power and control. It warps my mind, makes me do the bad things I think about but never would act on. I need someone that understands souls. I need Gaster's help. I don't want that THING to take over me again. So when I go for sleep, I try to summon that which always comes to me at random in dreams.

Sleep begets darkness and darkness begets the void's door. I welcome that door and the one that resides within. That man, the one Chara tells me to fear, is my only hope in gaining control over this darkness. I am not surprised by the smug knowing look on that face of his.

"❄☟✌❄ 🕈✌💧 ✈🕆✋❄☜ ❄☟☜ 💧☟⚐🕈📪 ☹✋❄❄☹☜ ⚐☠☜📬 ❄☜☹☹ 💣☜📬📬📬👎⚐ ✡⚐🕆 ☼☜👍✌☹☹ ❄☟☜ ☞☜☜☹✋☠☝ ⚐☞ ❄✌😐✋☠☝ ✌ ☹✋☞☜✍" (THAT WAS QUITE THE SHOW, LITTLE ONE. TELL ME...DO YOU RECALL THE FEELING OF TAKING A LIFE?)

I look away at the ground.

"I would be lying if I said no. It's like...I was stuck behind this wall. I could see and hear most of what was going on, but I wasn't the one...I wasn't the one in control. It's like a dream when I come out of it. Everything feels foggy like it didn't happen, but I know...*shudder* I know something bad happened and I can't..."

I fight the lump swelling in my throat.

"I can't let this happen again. I don't want to hurt anyone. I'm not a killer."

He moves close and I feel this strange vibe off him.

"💧⚐ ✡⚐🕆 💧☜☜😐 💣✡ ☝🕆✋👎✌☠👍☜✍" (SO YOU SEEK MY GUIDANCE?)

I feel so weak and vulnerable having to do this.

"You yourself have said your goal is to understand that which is the SOUL. Well here's your opportunity to do so with my consent."

The grin he makes is unnerving and twisted, pleased by what he's hearing.

"✡⚐🕆 🕈⚐🕆☹👎 ☝✋✞☜ 💣☜ ☞🕆☹☹ ✌👍👍☜💧💧 ❄⚐ ✡⚐🕆☼ 💧⚐🕆☹✍ 🕈✋❄☟ ☠⚐ 👍⚐💣🏱☹✌✋☠❄💧 ⚐☼ ☼☜💧✋💧❄✌☠👍☜✍" (YOU WOULD GIVE ME FULL ACCESS TO YOUR SOUL? WITH NO COMPLAINTS OR RESISTANCE?)

"Yes."

He circles behind me and places his hands on my shoulders.

"☜✞☜☠ ✋☞ ❄☟☜ 🏱✌✋☠ 👌☜👍⚐💣☜💧 🕆☠👌☜✌☼✌👌☹☜ ✌☠👎 ✡⚐🕆 🏱☹☜✌👎 ☞⚐☼ 👎☜✌❄☟🕯💧 💧🕈☜☜❄ ☜💣👌☼✌👍☜✍" (EVEN IF THE PAIN BECOMES UNBEARABLE AND YOU PLEAD FOR DEATH'S SWEET EMBRACE?)

I shiver at this sense of dread of things to possibly come.

"Yes. I need you to figure this thing out and help me. I don't care if it hurts. I don't care how you'll do it. I don't want to hurt anyone. I don't want..."

"❄⚐ ☹⚐💧☜ ❄☟⚐💧☜ ❄☟✌❄ 💣✌❄❄☜☼ ❄⚐ ✡⚐🕆✍" (TO LOSE THOSE THAT MATTER TO YOU?)

I can feel the water begin to pool in my eyes and he leans over me, his hands moving to center the holes in them over my chest.

"✡⚐🕆 ✌☼☜ ✌ 💧❄☼✌☠☝☜☹✡ 😐✋☠👎 ☝✋☼☹ ☞⚐☼ ✌ ☟🕆💣✌☠📬 👌🕆❄📬📬📬❄☟✌❄ ✋💧 💧⚐💣☜❄☟✋☠☝ ✋ ☹✋😐☜ ✌👌⚐🕆❄ ✡⚐🕆📬 💧⚐📪 ✋ 🕈✋☹☹ ☠⚐❄ ☹✋☜ ❄⚐ ✡⚐🕆 ✌👌⚐🕆❄ ❄☟✋💧📬 ❄☟✋💧 🕈✋☹☹ ☠⚐❄ 👌☜ 🏱☹☜✌💧✌☠❄📬 ✡⚐🕆 🕈✋☹☹ 👌☜ ✋☠ ✌ 💧❄✌❄☜ ⚐☞ ☠☜✌☼ 👍⚐☠💧❄✌☠❄ 🏱✌✋☠📬 ❄☟☜ ✌☝⚐☠✡ ❄☟✌❄ 👍⚐💣☜💧 ☞☼⚐💣 ❄☟✋💧 🕈✋☹☹ ☹✋😐☜☹✡ ☹✋☠☝☜☼ ✋☠❄⚐ ✡⚐🕆☼ 🕈✌😐✋☠☝ ☹✋☞☜📬" (YOU ARE A STRANGELY KIND GIRL FOR A HUMAN. BUT...THAT IS SOMETHING I LIKE ABOUT YOU. SO, I WILL NOT LIE TO YOU ABOUT THIS. THIS WILL NOT BE PLEASANT. YOU WILL BE IN A STATE OF NEAR CONSTANT PAIN. THE AGONY THAT COMES FROM THIS WILL LIKELY LINGER INTO YOUR WAKING LIFE.)

"I don't care. That thing...that killer...It can't be allowed out again. I need to know how to stop it. To keep it caged or better yet, put an end to it all together. So, doctor...If need be, do your worst. Pull my soul out and learn all that you can till no secret is left unknown to you."

"✌☠👎 👎⚐☜💧 👍☟✌☼✌ ✌☝☼☜☜ 🕈✋❄☟ ✡⚐🕆 ✌👌⚐🕆❄ ❄☟✋💧✍" (AND DOES CHARA AGREE WITH YOU ABOUT THIS?)

"He don't know. This is my choice."

I can almost hear the smirk form on his skeletal mouth.

"❄☟☜☠ ☹☜❄ 🕆💧 ☠⚐❄ 🕈✌💧❄☜ ✌ 💧☜👍⚐☠👎 ☹⚐☠☝☜☼📬" (THEN LET US NOT WASTE A SECOND LONGER.)

He summons his other helping hands to restrain my limbs and I hold my breath in anticipation as his main hands start pulling on my soul through the holes in his palms.

"✡⚐🕆 🕈✋☹☹ ☠⚐❄ ☼☜☝☼☜❄ ❄☟✋💧📪 ☹✋❄❄☹☜ ⚐☠☜📬 ✡⚐🕆 🕈✋☹☹ 👌☜ ❄☟☜ ⚐☠☜ ❄☟✌❄ ☝✋☞❄💧 💣☜ 🕈✋❄☟ 😐☠⚐🕈☹☜👎☝☜ 👌☜✡⚐☠👎 💣✡ 🕈✋☹👎☜💧❄ 👎☼☜✌💣💧📬 💧⚐ ✋ ❄☟✌☠😐 ✡⚐🕆 ✌☟☜✌👎 ⚐☞ ❄✋💣☜📬" (YOU WILL NOT REGRET THIS, LITTLE ONE. YOU WILL BE THE ONE THAT GIFTS ME WITH KNOWLEDGE BEYOND MY WILDEST DREAMS. SO I THANK YOU AHEAD OF TIME.)

Like before, allowing his magic to flow freely into my body makes my SOUL emerge. And just like last time, this thing is a swirl of multiple colors all sloshing about. Orange, red, blue, yellow, green, light blue, purple, black, white, and pink. Though unlike before, the white and pink are now larger than when he first did this.

"💣✌☼✞☜☹⚐🕆💧📬📬📬💧✋💣🏱☹✡ 💣✌☼✞☜☹⚐🕆💧📬 ❄☟☜☼☜🕯💧 ☜✞☜☠ 💣⚐☼☜ ❄⚐ 💧❄🕆👎✡ ☠⚐🕈 ❄☟✌☠ 👌☜☞⚐☼☜📬" (MARVELOUS...SIMPLY MARVELOUS. THERE'S EVEN MORE TO STUDY NOW THAN BEFORE.)

"*wince* Glad to hear it."

His top main hand pulls up and he hooks his fingers around the soul, pulling it away from my body. The pain isn't as bad as some of the stuff that I've gone through, dying being at the top of the list. But the whimpers that escape me can't be helped and the wriggling in his hold is just reflexes of instinct.

"☠⚐🕈📪 ✡⚐🕆 💣✋☝☟❄ ☞☜☜☹ 💧⚐💣☜ 💧☹✋☝☟❄ 👎✋💧👍⚐💣☞⚐☼❄📬" (NOW, YOU MIGHT FEEL SOME SLIGHT DISCOMFORT.)

I snicker to myself.

"✋💧 💧⚐💣☜❄☟✋☠☝ ✌💣🕆💧✋☠☝✍" (IS SOMETHING AMUSING?)

"*wincing* Just...trying to keep myself...in a good state of mind about it..."

He gives me a funny look as he swivels around to face me proper.

"☝⚐⚐👎📬 😐☜☜🏱 👎⚐✋☠☝ ❄☟✌❄📬 ✡⚐🕆🕯☼☜ ☝⚐✋☠☝ ❄⚐ ☠☜☜👎 ❄⚐ ☞⚐☼ ❄☟✋💧 ☠☜✠❄ 🏱✌☼❄📬" (GOOD. KEEP DOING THAT. YOU'RE GOING TO NEED TO FOR THIS NEXT PART.)

"*wince* Why do you say thaaaaaaat?! *shout* Holy fuck!"

His other main hand presses a finger into the soul and every nerve in my body goes off harshly. And the more he presses that digit into the heart, the more my body begins to twitch in violent convulsions. It all gets freakier when his finger actually phases into the soul and things get rather glitchy on my end.

"☞✌💧👍✋☠✌❄✋☠☝📬 ❄☼🕆☹✡ ❄☟✋💧 🕈✋☹☹ 👌☜ ✌ 💣⚐💧❄ ✋☠❄☜☼☜💧❄✋☠☝ ☜✠🏱☜☼✋💣☜☠❄📬" (FASCINATING. TRULY THIS WILL BE A MOST INTERESTING EXPERIMENT.)