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daryl-dixon-daydreams · 3 years

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Words: 5,073 (OH THIS ONE IS LONG!) Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader Reader pronouns: she/her Era: Alexandria Warnings: Language, mentions of abuse, violence, typical TWD stuff but nothing super dark in this one A/N: This is part of a series! Find the previous parts on the Masterlist! Summary: Hilltop and Alexandria start making plans to take on the Saviors. Y/N and Daryl head back to Alexandria for a brief visit to an unexpected visitor.

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The next morning, Daryl was awake first for a change. He could tell the sun was just coming up and he wanted nothing more than to linger in bed with you next to him until well after it rose. He tried his hardest to resist the urge to move and wake you up, but he just had to pull you in against him more tightly and sweep a few strands of hair off your face. You stirred beneath his arm and Daryl’s heart swelled as you reached out and pressed your hand flat against his chest and nuzzled into him until you were tucked into the crook of his neck. He could barely feel your steady breath on his skin. He rested his chin on the top of your head and smiled as you let out a content sleepy noise.

“Mmm.” You wrapped an arm around him and woke gently as he pressed a kiss into your hair and breathed you in. “What time is it?” you asked softly.

“’Bout dawn,” he drawled.

“Mmm,” you sighed again. “We have that meeting with everyone. We should get up soon,” you thought aloud.

“Mhm,” Daryl agreed. He ran his fingers through your silky hair. “How’d ya sleep?”

You drew back just slightly so you could look into his face. “No nightmares,” you said.

He nodded. “Good.”

“You?” you asked him, lightly resting your hand on the side of his face, your thumb tracing the edge of his jaw.

He nudged his nose up in a nod. “Good,” he said, a slight smile curving his lips. “Seems like—like I can actually sleep with ya right here.”

You smiled more widely at him. “Me too.”

After waking up slowly and lingering close to each other in bed just a little while longer, you both got ready for the day and grabbed some breakfast. You were standing outside the trailer and Daryl had just said something to make you laugh, tossing your hair back and giving in to it, when Rick came around the end of Maggie’s trailer. He was both surprised and not surprised to see Daryl’s arms around your lower back and the fond and tender looks you were giving each other were unmistakable. Rick cleared his throat and watched with amusement as the two of you broke apart and glanced over at him. He gave you both a knowing smile.

“Too late for hiding that, don’t you think? I suspect most of us had it figured out before you two did,” Rick said kindly. Your cheeks were blushing and Daryl’s ears were turning a bit red as you exchanged a look with each other. Rick looked between the two of you and nodded. “I’m really happy to see you two in one piece, and even better like this.”

Daryl nodded and met his friend’s eyes. “Thanks.”

“We’re all just in Maggie’s trailer,” he said. “You ready?” You both nodded and followed him inside.

Plans. You had plans. You were all making plans. The true fight, the big showdown, wouldn’t be for a while but it was agreed that preparations needed to start now in earnest. There were supplies that needed gathering. Thanks to your warning, Rick had managed to save a good portion of their guns and ammo before The Saviors swooped in and took the rest away. But it wasn’t enough. And they had to provide for Negan and his men’s collections in addition to building up stockpiles to keep the communities running once the war began in earnest; food, medical supplies, weapons, and more were needed.

Of course you had lots of ideas for how to hit The Saviors where it hurt the most. You knew how Negan thought and over the time you had spent in The Sanctuary, you’d learned a lot about how they operated. Rosita and you would put your heads together devising plenty of ways to hit them hard without any risk of casualties to yourselves. Guerilla warfare. But once it started, their response would be a heavy hammer blow and you all needed to be ready.

After many hours of talking and planning, the Alexandrians decided it was time to head back. Rick approached you and Daryl. “The Saviors don’t know we’ve got one of their walkies. What do you two think about coming back and helping with a few things down in our neck of the woods? Jesus has promised to radio us as soon as they hear any whiff of The Saviors coming our direction.”

You exchanged a glance with the archer and he looked back at you, uncertain. “What d’ya think?” he asked you.

You shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, we can’t hide behind the walls of Hilltop forever.” You paused and chewed on your bottom lip thoughtfully. “We keep an ear to the walkie, keep moving. Don’t stay in Alexandria too long. Hell, we can’t really stay anywhere too long. But there are too many things that need doing for us to be on the sidelines. Besides, I would really like to see Aaron and Eric and put their minds at ease.”

Rick nodded. “Aaron was a bit of a mess after you left and as the time went on, he and Eric just feared the worst more and more. They’d love to hear the good news from you in person.”

Daryl considered your options for a moment and finally nodded. “Alright. But we’ll take my bike, stay off any main roads. We can cut through the countryside easy enough.”

Rick grasped his shoulder and gave him a grateful look. “Thank you. It’ll be nice to have you two home, even just for a short time.”

Daryl nodded. “We’ll see you there.”

The Alexandrians departed and you and Daryl threw together some gear and said goodbyes to Jesus, Maggie, Sasha, and Enid who were going to stay behind to help Hilltop prepare. You’d be back to help, but for now you needed to make the trip. It felt strange that you’d be going back home at all, but if you were careful you thought it’d be okay. You wanted to help the community get ready. You and Daryl had a long to-do list.

As you settled behind Daryl on his bike and wrapped your arms around him, you felt your stomach turn a little with nerves. Daryl was feeling the same thing. He wasn’t worried about himself as much as he was worried about Negan getting wind of where you were. You were feeling the same thing in reverse.

“Ya sure about this?” he asked you over his shoulder.

“No. Hard to be sure of anything right now.”

Daryl’s hand pressed over yours and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Some things I’m sure of,” he drawled.

You smiled and leaned against him, hugging him tightly. “Let’s go home.”

You were grateful that the trip back had been uneventful—long, but uneventful. By the time you were stashed away, carefully watching the Alexandria gates, you were exhausted and more than ready to be off the bike. After you were certain there wasn’t anything of concern going on, Daryl kicked the bike into gear again and rode up to the gate.

When the first gate slid back, Aaron was standing there wide-eyed on the other side, his expression desperate and fixed on the two of you.

You grinned at him, feeling tears burning in your eyes as you looked back at him over Daryl’s shoulder. “Are you gonna let us in or do I need to try and guess the password?” you quipped.

Aaron scrambled to pull the second part of the gate open and Daryl pulled inside, stopping immediately when the back of the bike cleared the gate. You were hardly off the motorcycle before Aaron barreled into you and hugged you tighter than he ever had, lifting you up off your feet a little.

“Oh, thank God. Oh my God,” he was murmuring, squeezing his eyes shut tight and trying to ground himself in the reality that you were back and you were apparently in one piece.

“I’m okay,” you managed into his shoulder. “I missed you too,” you laughed, as he squeezed you again.

At length he pulled back, his hands on your shoulders, and he surveyed you. “I want you to know how mad I am that you just left without telling me what you were doing!”

You smiled sheepishly. “You would have tried to stop me,” you said. “But—I know. I’m sorry.”

That was good enough for Aaron. He was just so relieved, there was no room to be mad. “You’re not hurt?” he asked. “You look too skinny,” he said quickly.

You shook your head. “I’m fine,” you said through your smile.

Aaron finally let himself breathe a sigh of relief and he felt like the rigid grip his muscles had on his bones finally released. He turned and glanced over at Daryl. You moved beside the archer and looked up at him. There was a softness in your eyes and Daryl seemed to have the same in his.

“What the hell happened?” Aaron pressed. “Rick and the others—they said you two were okay but that’s it. They didn’t say anything else. What—how?”

Your lips parted to answer but your voice seemed to stall out. Daryl noticed and his hand instinctively floated to land on the small of your back.

“She got me out,” he said, nodding. “It was all her.”

Aaron stared at the intimate way Daryl’s hand was resting on your lower back and Aaron’s eyes met yours again. You saw the knowing excitement and happiness growing in them. You bit your bottom-lip and shrugged, trying unsuccessfully to suppress a wide smile. Aaron’s face brightened in a grin too as he looked at the two of you and nodded.

“Daryl—” he said, looking at the broad-shouldered archer. “I’m going to hug you,” he said plainly.

“Wait—wh—” Daryl started, but there was no stopping Aaron. He hugged Daryl tightly in much the same way he had embraced you (but far more briefly as he certainly knew he was making him uncomfortable). You burst out with a laugh as Aaron drew back. “Hey,” you said, touching his shoulder to get his attention again as he straightened up. “How is Eric?”

“Better now that we’ll know you’re both okay. We were really starting to think—” his face grew serious again and he gulped. Aaron turned and finished locking up the gate. “You better stop in and see him. And I’ll come by your place later when I’m off watch?” You nodded in agreement. “If you’re willing, I want to hear what happened after—” he broke off and shut his eyes for a moment. “—after,” he said finally.

You nodded. “Well… it’s kind of a lot to explain but we can start. I can try.”

Aaron nodded. “Alright, go see Eric and then get settled,” he said, taking a moment to stare at the pair of you and smiling again. “About time, you two,” he said.

You felt your cheeks burn and looked away toward the ground. “Alright. Be quiet…” you joked. “See you later.”

Daryl nodded to Aaron and helped you climb back on his bike. You rode it to Aaron and Eric’s house and Daryl pulled it into the space in their garage that had been vacant for way too long. As you were gathering your gear and Daryl was tossing the tarp over it, the door into the house opened and Eric peered out, his eyes going wide too as he saw you both there.

“Surprise,” you said, smiling at him.

“Oh my God. Oh my God!” He rushed to you and grasped you in a tight hug and you squeezed him back. “What the hell?! How—” he was stuttering, looking between the two of you. “Don’t get too excited,” you said. “We can’t stay here in Alexandria long. The Saviors are definitely looking for us.”

“I don’t even care. I’m just so happy you both are okay. And that you’re standing right here in front of me! We were so worried! You were just gone and Daryl—Aaron said you were shot. It felt so long that we hadn’t heard anything and we—” he broke off, overjoyed that you were both okay.

“It was long,” Daryl said, nodding.

Daryl was watching the reunion with one corner of his mouth quirked up. You chatted briefly with Eric before you turned to look at Daryl and he gave you a nod.

“Aaron is coming by my place later to hear the gist of what happened,” you said. “You’re welcome to come if you want of course.”

Eric nodded. “Alright. We’ll stop by.”

“See ya,” Daryl drawled. The two of you turned and started the walk back to your house. The archer felt your eyes on his face and he glanced over.

You were looking at him with concern and you laced your fingers with his. “I’m sorry Carol isn’t here,” you said softly.

You knew. You always knew what he was thinking. He nodded. “Ya. Me too.”

“But I’m sure she’s safe,” you said. Daryl only squeezed your hand in his.

“We’ll just drop my gear off at my house and then go see everyone,” you said. “And you can get settled.” His eyes snapped over to your face.

“Ya think I’m stayin’ somewhere that isn’t right next to ya? Ya tryin’a get rid of me?” he said, one corner of his mouth flicking upwards.

You gave him a perceptive look. “No! I just—I didn’t want to assume—”

“Ya can assume that if I ever wanna spend a night away from ya, something is seriously wrong with me,” he said.

You stared at him for a long moment before you lifted up onto your toes and kissed him. Daryl wanted to deepen it, but you had already set your heels back down and were giving him a small smile. You tugged him toward your house.

You’d been inside barely two minutes when there was a knock on the door. You looked over your shoulder at Daryl, your brow knit with worry. Daryl glanced down the hall to the front door and he saw Rick standing there. “S’Rick. Want me to get it?”

You nodded, setting down the stuff you had been taking out of your bag.

You heard the men’s voices exchanging a few words, tones deep but the sound muddled by the time it drifted to you. Daryl came into the living room with Rick in tow. The deputy had his hands on his hips. You straightened up and Daryl came to lean up against the couch beside you, his arm draping behind your back and his hand landing lightly on your waist.

Rick’s expression was serious. “Something you need to see,” Rick said.

Your heart started to pound. “What is it?”

Rick on gave you a brief glance and shook his head, shrugging. “Someone is here.”

_ _ _ _ _ _

Moments later, you and Daryl were behind Rick as he unlocked the door to the makeshift jail built into the lower level of one of the buildings. You both exchanged a worried look and slipped inside after him.

You felt your apprehension growing with every step down those stairs. When you rounded the corner, you were so surprised by who was in the cell that you faltered mid-step.

Beside you, Daryl’s entire body tensed and he, too, froze.

Rick was standing beside door to the cell, the keys clinking faintly in his hand.

Dwight. Dwight was in the cell.

A long moment of silence stretched. Daryl’s chest was heaving with anger as he stared daggers at the man who had been in charge of the vast majority of his torment.

You were the first one to break the stillness. You walked slowly, purposefully up to the bars of the cell and stared in at him. Your jaw clenched. There was a look of vague surprise on Dwight’s face as he stared back at you and shifted his weight anxiously from one foot to the other. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now,” you growled.

He took in a steadying breath. “Because I’m your best shot to beat Negan,” he said vehemently.

You glanced at Rick. “Rick, open his cell,” you said.

The key was fitted into the lock and the door swung open. Daryl was still frozen back by the doorway, but as soon as you stepped into the cell, closer to Dwight, Daryl was right beside you. You could practically feel the waves of anger radiating off him.

“You’re with them?” Dwight asked you in surprise.

You scowled at him. “Yeah. I’m with them.”

He scoffed. “Well, that explains a lot…” he murmured. “I was wondering why you would come back. It didn’t make sense that—”

You wound your arm back and punched Dwight hard across the face before he could even finish his sentence. He stumbled back and landed on his ass on the cot against the wall behind him.

“Son of a—” you swore, clasping your hand with the other.

Daryl grabbed your wrist gently and looked at your hand, his brow furrowed low over his eyes.

“It’s fine,” you said, pulling away. You looked back at Dwight as he climbed to his feet.

You could now see that Dwight had other bruises on his face. “What happened to your face, Dwight? Negan not too happy that your prisoner escaped? And, no. I’m not talking about the scars. Or the one I just gave you.”

Dwight’s eyes left your face and landed on Daryl for a brief moment, but he seemed to quail beneath the archer’s glare.

“Why the fuck are you here?” you demanded. “Just trying to play both sides? See what works out the best for you in the end?”

“I’m here because I hate him. And I want him gone,” Dwight said. “I want all of them gone.”

“Why the hell should we believe any goddamn thing ya say after what ya’ve done?” Daryl demanded. His voice rolled out in a low growl.

“Because everything I was doing, I was doing for someone else and now she’s out,” Dwight said.

“Ya killed one of us. With MY goddamn bow! Ya expect us to just forget about that?! And then you went back to him, ya went back to kneel, because all ya are is a coward!” Daryl roared.

“I already told you—I wasn’t aiming for her…”

Daryl broke from your side and threw Dwight up against the wall so hard it knocked the wind out of him. He was shaking with rage, barely stopping himself from plunging his now-drawn knife into Dwight’s neck.

“Daryl,” you said gently. “Easy.”

The archer didn’t move. His hand was shaking on the knife hilt. You moved toward him slowly, and gently rested your hand on his arm. He softened a little under your touch but he didn’t withdraw from Dwight, who was still trying to regain his breath. You slipped carefully between him and Dwight and the archer lowered his knife immediately. You pressed your hands to his chest and he caved beneath your touch, stepping back. You caught his blue eyes and gave him a look of understanding. “I know. But let’s at least hear him out,” you said.

Daryl’s chest was still heaving with anger but he moved farther back again, pacing a little across the cell from Dwight. You turned back to the diminished man behind you. “Sherry got out?” you asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. In all the chaos after Daryl and you were gone, she got out.”

“And you expect us to just believe that now you’re a changed man? You already went back to him once, what’s stopping you from doing it again?” You surveyed him and shook your head. “No, I don’t buy it.”

“Hey—we’re the same! The only differences is that Negan had no interest in sleeping with me!” Dwight said, grabbing your arm as you started to turn away.

Daryl was on him again instantly, slamming his back into the wall, his knife point millimeters from Dwight’s chest. “Ya lay a hand on her again and ya lose it,” he growled, shaking with rage.

Your face was burning with anger at Dwight’s accusation.

“Daryl—” Rick’s voice came this time from the doorway into the cell.

The archer was practically snarling at Dwight. “Ya don’t get to talk about her. At all. Got it?” he spat, before drawing back again with great effort.

You stepped forward again and looked at Dwight squarely in the face. “We are not the same. I would never do the things you’ve done. Never.”

Dwight straightened up from his place against the wall. “You say that but until you’re in that situation—”

Now you were angry again. “I was in that situation!” you roared back at him. “You don’t think Negan asked me to be one of his soldiers? Hell, he wanted me to be his fucking lieutenant! It was practically the first question he asked me! But I would never do the things that he or you have done to another person. I took the route that only hurt me. So, no. You don’t get any excuses. There are other ways. Daryl tried to give you and Sherry another way and what did you do? You screwed him!”

Dwight hung his head now in guilt and shame. He shook it a little. “I’m a piece of shit. I know that. And I can’t take back what I’ve done, but I’m here to try to make it right the best I can. You have to believe me. Why else would I risk coming here? You think I don’t know you all want me dead? I know that!”

“I’ve heard enough,” you said, turning away again.

But this time Daryl touched your shoulder gently. You looked up and met his blue eyes and saw that the rage that had burned in them seemed to have been replaced by something else. “He’s got a point. We could have killed him on sight, but he risked it.”

“I’m telling you the truth. I want Negan and all his asshole’s dead,” Dwight said again. “I want to help. And you can kill me at the end of it all if you want, I swear. I know I deserve it. But I want Negan gone.”

“I can’t forgive what he did to you. Or what he did to Denise,” you said softly. You glanced back at Dwight before looking back at Daryl. “But I trust you. If you think this is really what he says it is…”

Daryl looked back at Dwight who was rubbing the welt on the side of his chin you had given him with your punch. He nodded. “I do.” He looked back at Dwight. “But at the end of all of this, if I get my hands on you again, you’re dead,” he growled.

_ _ _ _ _ _

That night, after filling in Aaron and Eric on what had happened since you’d left and visiting with everyone in Rick’s house, you and Daryl were finally back at your house alone, and both of you were hungry for that time to yourselves.

“Lemme see it,” Daryl said. He’d caught you cradling your right hand, the one you had punched Dwight with.

“It’s fine,” you lied. You’d been so angry, your form hadn’t been the best and there was a good possibility that you’d fractured something.

Daryl inspected the bruising already forming and frowned. He laid it gently in his palm and glanced up at you. “Ya shouldn’t have done that. Ya shoulda let me,” he said.

“You might have killed him,” you said, avoiding his blue eyes.

He hummed a noise of acknowledgement. “Maybe,” he said, before going to your fridge and digging some ice out of the freezer. He wrapped it a dish cloth and brought it back over to you, setting it across your hand. “Thanks,” you said.

You felt Daryl’s eyes on your face and glanced up to catch them. You could sense that something was on his mind and he seemed to be on the edge of speaking it. “Hmm?” you prompted.

He pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth for a moment. “I wanna—I’m ready to tell ya somethin’,” he said.

You nodded and settled more deeply into the couch beside him. “Okay.”

He stared down at his hands for a moment. “My parents—they were both drunks. My mom passed out one night with a lit cigarette in her hand. Burnt the whole house down. She died in the fire.”

Your brow drew down low over your eyes as you looked at him. “Oh my God. Daryl, I’m so sorry.” Your uninjured hand landed lightly on his knee, and he relished the feeling of it there. It sent tingles up his leg even through the fabric of his pants.

He nodded vaguely but went on. There was more to tell. “That left just me and my older brother Merle with my dad. Problem was he was a mean drunk. He’d beat the shit out of ya if he thought ya looked at him wrong, and he’d do it with anything he could get his hands on. And then Merle couldn’t take it anymore, and he ran off. Things got—got worse for me.” He paused and tried to fight back the mix of emotions that was welling up in his chest. “I’ve got—I’ve got scars from it. Actual scars. Ugly ones and… I didn’t know if I could tell ya or how to. I guess, like ya said about what happened to you, it’s just easier not to tell anyone but… then ya came along and now I—I want to be everything with you. I wanna know all of you and I want ya to know all of me. Even the ugly parts.” He gulped at the tightness between his lungs, some part of him still conditioned to expect rejection at the unveiling of this intimate, vulnerable, damaged part of him. “I haven’t really told anyone before. But I wanted you to know, to explain why—why some things are hard for me.”

When Daryl finally managed to look up at you, he easily saw the tears glistening in your eyes. You shook your head and clasped his face between your hands, your thumbs smoothing over the stubble on his jaw, your injured hand and the pain it was causing completely forgotten. “How could anyone ever treat you that way? I’m so, so sorry. All you’ve been through…” you said, shaking your head a little vaguely. “And you’re still just—you’re always looking for the good. Daryl, you haven’t deserved any of this. Not Dwight, not Negan, not your dad… none of it. You’re good through and through. Best man I’ve ever known.” You looped your arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, your heart breaking as you thought about what had been done to him. Daryl’s arms flew around you and pressed you against him. He breathed in the familiar scent of your hair. You shut your eyes and focused on the feeling of this strong man wrapping you up. He was almost ready to break down just hearing you tell him he didn’t deserve any of it. He’d been broken down to believe he had.

“We’ve all got scars,” you said, pulling back from him and lightly stroking his hair away from his face. “Physical or otherwise. You know mine already.”

He gulped. “These are a bit worse than most,” he said, avoiding your eyes.

“Hey,” you said gently, lifting his chin so he’d look at you again. “I care about you. All of you. No matter what.”

Daryl’s heart swelled with gratitude for you in that moment and he leaned in and kissed you, softly at first but building with heat as you deepened it and kissed him back. His fingers wandered down the silky skin on your arms and one of his hands came to rest in the small of your back, sending goosebumps rising on your skin. You sank into him, your hands landing lightly on his sides, gentle but constant. The archer was still bewildered by your touch. Part of him was expecting to wake up from this dream any moment and find himself back in that cell in The Sanctuary.

Daryl’s lips softened on yours and he pulled back just enough to drink in the sight of you. You clasped his face in one hand, your hand landing on his strong jaw again. “It really means a lot to me that you felt like you could tell me that. I know it isn’t easy letting someone else see those parts of you. Hell, I was terrified to tell anyone about Negan and the Saviors right up until I told you.”

Daryl’s eyes flitted between yours. He nudged his nose up in a nod that way he always did. “You’re the first person who has ever made me feel… completely safe. And completely accepted… just as I am.” You grabbed him and kissed him again, loving the way his hands always went to you like they were drawn, magnetic. Daryl’s fingers found the ends of your hair.

“You’re my safe place, too,” you told him, and Daryl felt that swell of protective care and yearning he always did when he looked at you.

#daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon twd #the walking dead #twd fanfics #daryl dixon drabbles #daryl imagines #daryl dixon x reader #fanfics #writers of tumblr #twd drabbles

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awkwardgtace · 2 years

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Seer And The Gods Part 6

TW: Mentions of death, torture, murder, abuse, annnd a lot this is kind of a base for the whole story tbh

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Seer And The Gods Part 6

----------------- Delphia took a moment to calm her heart then made her way. Once she rounded the corner she saw the gods gathered. The two she met this morning, Rhys, Ash, Alessia, and one she hadn’t met yet. Dabria and Vitus were nowhere to be seen and leaving her a bit more nervous. She tried to keep walking without letting her nerves show. She got to the stairs she’d climbed with Vitus watching yesterday before she was frozen again. Every set of eyes was on her, she felt her heart starting to race.

There was silence as she met each set of eyes slowly. She met Rhys’s last, the lavender color bright this time. The constant change of his eye color gave her a new focus. She was able to use the wonder of it to walk down the stairs. She went to the smaller kitchen area set up for her, it had fresh fruits and vegetables alongside a stockpile of herbs she’d only read about. There was no meat, a small smile appearing on her face. They said Alessia helped set this all up, she remembered she’d hated eating meat every time her parents insisted on it.

She didn’t want to think about it too much. A level of pain surrounded her memories of those days even now. She grabbed an apple moving back to the stairs and sitting there facing the giant gods. They seemed to be waiting for something from her, so she took a bite of her apple. She saw Rhys’s eyes start slipping to a pink, with Alessia’s beaming smile following. Looking at her now, she could see Ophelia in all but her eye and hair color. It would be painful when Alessia realized she wasn’t good enough.

The one she hadn’t met broke the standoff coming closer to her. She did her best to avoid flinching as the god seemed to scrutinize her. They leaned down, their face coming far too close for her liking. Finally they reached out a hand pinching part of her cloak and pulling it away from her. She wanted to say something, but her fear was winning again.

“Felix, you shouldn’t just inspect her like that!” Rhys spoke up. The god holding her cloak, Felix apparently so she had met him, sighed blowing her hair and free portions of her cloak back. He released her cloak standing back to his full height. He wrapped an arm around his stomach, supporting his other while leaning his head on that hand.

“Was there an issue with the clothes? You do seem smaller than I thought. I will have to make some better mannequins it seems,” Felix said. She was filled with nerves for a moment as he stared down at her. She bit back a scream as his hand came towards her, quickly scooping her into a loose fist. “We’ll remedy this then, come along.”

She heard Rhys and Alessia start to talk, but Felix walked away too quickly. She was unsure how to act in a situation like this. The world flew past her making her feel a bit sick. She could barely tell where they were going as he walked. Turning a number of times she couldn’t get herself together enough to speak up. Finally he stopped in front of an ornate door, opening it to reveal a room filled with items she’d only heard of nobles having. The size of everything was making her feel smaller than she knew she was to them. Felix deposited her on a table with cloth and dolls roughly her size. They were all slightly bigger and of different proportions. It seemed he couldn’t settle on a single one. He called them mannequins, but they didn’t look like what she’d seen in the stores she’d visited.

“All right first I’ll need to get a better idea of your measurements. Can you put on one of the dresses behind you?”

She turned and gaped at the row of beautiful gowns. Each looked like one she’d only see at a ball. She was careful as she reached out to one of them, the fabric soft and smooth. Most of the colors were bright, but one was a deep blue that seemed likely to match her cloak. She pulled it off admiring the beautiful gown. She made no move to change though, seeing as there was no privacy with Felix standing there.

“I can’t change here,” she said. Her voice was quieter than she’d intended, but she wasn’t changing out in the open here. She would demand as much respect as she could muster the courage to.

“Ah right, I forgot about that one moment.”

She watched as he turned to one of the mountains of things in the room and started digging through it. She felt like one of the dolls on the table, just a toy to be dressed up. She tried to push down the feeling, even if a few gods treated her poorly it should be fine. Felix turned back to her with what looked like one of the fancier doll houses she’d seen woodworkers display. He placed it down next to her and she looked at him confused. He waved his hand towards it like it should be obvious. After she made no move he rolled his eyes.

“I had made a dollhouse that we could use for any time I’m experimenting with items for you. I had forgotten to place it here, your decision to stay was rather sudden,” he sighed. She nodded and walked to the dollhouse. It felt odd, something she’d always seen so small big enough for her to use as a home. She shut the door even though there was nothing to stop Felix if he decided she had to come out.

She carefully removed the simple long sleeved tunic she’d been wearing, the thin pants remaining. She placed her cloak over some of the furniture that existed in the house. It almost felt like he set it up so she could stay here, maybe he planned for that to happen sometimes. She carefully slipped on the dress, the hem far too long for her. She looked at her cloak considering it before she walked towards the door, quickly changing her mind and pulling her cloak over her shoulders. She stepped out of the small house stumbling when she saw Felix’s head on the table in front of her.

“Hmm, I see you kept the cloak, I suppose that’s fine,” he mused. He reached out a hand pulling the cloak up to get a better look at the dress on her. She didn’t particularly like that he kept just pulling on her cloak like this, he could rip it. She didn’t like how much it could show either. She was becoming glad she picked a long sleeved dress as well. “It seems the dress is too long. That’s easy enough to fix. Does it seem fine otherwise?”

“Y-yes, I believe so,” she said. He nodded then snapped his fingers. The dolls that were slightly larger than her were now her height, and looked like they could be her if the faces were different. It felt odd as it happened, but the dress changed too. The hem came to meet her feet, giving just enough space between her feet and the floor that she could walk easily. The dress changed a bit other than that, but it was hardly noticeable.

“There now the clothes should all fit fine. Feel free to stay in that, I can take you back now.” He didn’t wait for a response reaching out to grab her again. She scrambled back this time ready for his hand. He stopped and tilted his head looking confused. “Is there a problem, little gem?”

“While I appreciate the kindness this is far too extravagant. I would be more comfortable in my other clothes. I would also appreciate not being carried in a fist as you did to get here. I had started to feel ill as you walked.”

She could see the boredom her words caused clear on his face. She had tried not to ask for too much, but carried in a fist would definitely make her ill. She couldn’t go to towns and avoid attention in a gown like this either. He sighed, the dress blowing from his breath. He looked behind her to the gowns he’d already made and seemed almost wistful.

“I suppose you share Rhys’s tastes then. I will wait until you’ve changed. I will avoid using a fist to carry you as well, I can’t rightly predict how best to carry you so please let me know.”

She simply nodded and quickly made her way back into the house. She was relieved he wasn’t forcing her to stay or to wear the clothes. It made her feel a bit less like a doll. She quickly removed the gown, returning to her comfortable tunic. The coarser fabric was a bit of a let down, but she felt more like herself in this. She picked the dress up carefully, walking out with it. She placed it back with the others, seeing Felix raise an eyebrow curiously.

“I think returning to the room may be a good idea, but there are other times I would be happy to wear or at least try on the dresses you’ve made. I know you said you’re the god of prosperity, but with all you create is it possible you are the god of art or creation as well?”

“That’s not something I’ve considered.” He said nothing more simply scooping her up into his hand. He held his hand to his chest keeping her vision blocked as he walked. It was still too fast, but she didn’t feel sick anymore. The trip to the room felt much faster than when he took her this morning. He deposited her near the door silently and walked away, seemingly lost in thought.

She turned to go in when a smaller, but still large hand grabbed her. She was turned to face the eyes she’d met when leaving her room, the ones that match the morning sky. Sola was smiling brightly, it reminded her of the sun actually. Sola seemed excited but she couldn’t tell why, it made her somewhat nervous. The goddess just kept staring at her for a long period before finally pulling her close to her own body and heading off.

“I have something I want to show you, little cloud,” she said. Her voice echoed in Delphia’s ears, much louder than the others. Luckily it didn’t hurt but it was uncomfortable. She did squirm slightly, the grip a little tight as well. She seemed to understand there was a comfort issue, moving her to be cupped against her. This was better, although it was a far cry from how Vitus held her which she didn’t mind. She matched this hand somewhat better in size too, which made being cupped against Sola feel more odd. She lacked time to think as they entered into a bright area.

“Where are we?” she asked. She had to shade her eyes for a bit before the area cleared. As best she could tell it was a garden with flowers and trees of all kinds. A well in the center too.

“The garden of the realm. Ash, me, and Luna keep it taken care of. Luna handles the needs at night and I handle the ones in the day. Ash makes sure the plants are safe, they were worried we might mess up a little.” Sola cupped her two hands together, letting Delphia get a clear view of the garden.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed. Sola pulled her hands close again then spun and fell back. Delphia screamed as the two fell back unprepared for the feeling of a freefall. Sola laughed, seeming to enjoy the carefree moment.

“I thought we could watch the clouds together. Is that ok?”

“U-uh yes, but can you avoid falling like that again? That was very different for me than for you.”

“I’m sorry!” Delphia flinched at the sound, she looked up and saw Sola looking distraught. “Oh no I’m sorry. I’m messing things up again. I just thought you’d like to spend time in the sun.”

“Th-this is fine, Sola. I just am more delicate than you may be used to.”

Sola nodded then brightened. Delphia felt like she was dealing with a younger child again. They were so innocent and just wanted to have fun. Sola kept her hands over her as they watched the clouds. She kept talking about nothing, sometimes asking about mortal life. Delphia did her best to answer, but the moments of silence just in the garden felt best at this point. Sola wasn’t able to get much quieter after all. The sun in the garden began to set and she realized she’d had nearly nothing to eat, after Alessia asked she should try to eat more than just an apple.

“S-Sola,” she started, she hated that she still couldn’t keep her voice calm, “I think I should head to the kitchen. It’s probably about time I ate something else.”

“Oh right!” Sola yelled, a little softly, as she sat up. Delphia tumbled directly into the hands that had stayed over her all this time. Sola quickly stood, keeping Delphia on the two hands this time, and rushed out of the garden. She rushed to the kitchen, Delphia could see they were somewhat far this time. Sola placed her on the counter by the stairs she’d started her adventures this day from and waved goodbye.

Delphia let out a sigh, two gods had basically kidnapped her, but things went all right. She went to the same area from the morning. She made a quick meal, intending to eat it in her room. She turned around and screamed at the eyes like a night sky inches from her. She saw the sad look overtake him and felt somewhat guilty. She hadn’t expected to hold the interest of the gods she’d rarely or never met.

“Sorry little star,” he said. “I was curious what you were doing, I didn’t expect you to turn around as soon as I got close enough to see.”

“I-it’s fine. I just made something to eat,” she said. She was getting a bit angry that these gods could keep sneaking up on her. She needed to be able to know, it also didn’t help that Dabria and Vitus had still not shown up. She started to eat her food, sure she wouldn’t get away without a kidnapping again.

“Is it good?” he asked. She furrowed her brows, but nodded. The two stared at each other for a bit before she smiled then tried to go back to the stairs. His hand was placed quickly in front of her, and she knew she wouldn’t get away easily. “Why don’t you eat here?”

“I-I was just going to sit on the stairs. Standing and eating is uncomfortable.”

“Oh.” That was all the warning she got before he cupped her in his hands. He turned to the table where Vitus had set her down originally. He placed her near the table that was clearly there for her and looked at her expectantly. She gave a nervous smile, but proceeded to sit down. Luna continued to watch her as she slowly ate her food. His eyes never left her which only made her self conscious. She managed to finish eating then stood, hoping to go back to her room. “You’re finished?”

“Yes I am.” She nodded in case her nervous voice was too quiet. As she expected she was scooped into his hands again and held closely. This time at least the way she was carried wasn’t that bad. Luna left the kitchen heading opposite of all the places she’d been until then. Everything slowly got darker around them and she had a clear idea that this would turn out to be Luna’s side of the garden.

“I think you’ll like where we’re going, you can see all of the stars at any time,” Luna said. She didn’t respond, unsure what he expected. She was almost desperate to return to her room at this point, overwhelmed by how easily each god had taken her along. Luna reached a door covered with a design of white roses which he used a shoulder to open. Once inside it was like nothing she’d ever seen. It was full of white and blue roses along with flowers she couldn’t name. Luna approached a stone bench, placing his hands down as flat as possible. She took the initiative and climbed off. Luna sat facing her on the ground. Even like this he still had to look down at her.

“It’s amazing, I didn’t know roses came in this color,” she said. She saw the white parts in Luna’s eyes glow, a soft smile winning over her fear. He wanted her to like this it seemed. He smiled brightly and the two stayed in silence for a bit. “I didn’t know most of these plants even existed.”

“Ash said these all grow best with moonlight. They started them all and helps to maintain them. If you look up you can see all the stars that cover the mortal realm too.” Luna pointed up and she looked. A small gasp left her as she saw a sky that felt too large, but was all the more beautiful for it. She acted without thinking, laying on her back and staring up at the beautiful sky. She heard shifting beside her and Luna’s head was laying next to her.

“I’ve never seen so many stars, I didn’t know this many could exist.”

“There’s a story behind almost all of them.”

There was silence for a moment before Luna started to recount stories. He would point out stars and they’d glow as he did. His voice was a stark contrast to Sola, quiet and calming rather than the loud intensity. Some groups of stars had a story, others were a single star and paths they traveled. Some stories she could remember from her time in her village, but most that Luna spoke of were new. She had no idea how long they’d spent before her eyes felt heavy. She sat up when her eyes had stayed closed far too long. She wouldn’t sleep in the open like this, she still couldn’t be sure of the intentions of the gods she’d been taken by today. Luna stopped talking and stared at her.

“I’m sorry Luna, I think it’s gotten rather late and I need to retire for the night,” she said. She tried to sound apologetic, it wasn’t hard the stories had been interesting.

“Right, mortals need sleep,” Luna murmured, she could hear the sadness in his voice. “I’ll take you to your room, we are quite far.”

She had no time to think before Luna’s hands were cupped around her again. She was pushed slightly onto one as he stood pulling her off the stone bench. He wasn’t wrong that they were far, but warning or even letting her step on his hand as he’d let her climb off would have been nice. Luna seemed to be quiet compared to the other gods though, so she would ignore it for now. The trip was short and he let her climb off on the platform by the door. She waited for him to turn before rushing inside. The door closed and she leaned against it sliding down.

“Well, I guess the first day living with gods could have gone worse,” she said to herself. She pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them and resting her head on them. “What have I gotten myself into? This might have been a mistake.”

She stayed there for hours, falling asleep where she was instead of using the bed. She woke up to loud bangs behind her, panic gripping her as she went through possibilities. She stood backing up slightly and staring at the door leading out to the gods like it personally offended her. If she opened it, the god outside there would probably grab her to do as they please again. They didn’t hurt her, but she had never intended to spend a day like that and would rather not do that again. She would rather decide for herself what she’ll be doing.

“Are you awake, little flower?” Ash asked. She felt more terrified hearing their voice. They had the most reason to dislike her, she played with nature after all. She held her breath until she heard a sigh. “If you are, you don’t need to answer nor open the door. I hope the others haven’t made your day concerning. They have less reason to spend time around mortals, they drag us around as well, tell them and they won’t take you anywhere. We will respect your wishes, little flower. Sleep well.”

She could hear the footsteps as they walked away. She went to the bed this time, wide awake after the banging on the door. At least they didn’t force her to open it. She picked up the book she’d read the night before, placing it back in the book shelf. She didn’t need memories tonight, she wanted an empty sleep. She curled up in bed, hugging her knees to her chest again. Hopefully things would be better after this.

The next morning she sat on her bed staring at the closet. If she chose not to use any of the extravagant clothes would Felix take her again? She needed time to focus, she couldn’t pull visions easily she needed time. She had to find her next goal. She considered just staying in here, ignoring them and avoiding them. Except she didn’t fully know how to work the charm for the doors so she would need to go see Dabria or Vitus. She sighed and pulled open the closet to see if anything close to her preferences was there.

She felt her jaw drop at what she found. The clothes were simple now, all more similar to what she had on. She grabbed the first tunic and smiled, it was the nice fabric but looked like the fabric she was wearing. She slid the cloak off and pulled out the tunic. Felix listened to her, she could at least wear the clothes. She smiled as the tunic slid on, a perfect fit. She pulled her cloak back over her shoulders and faced the door. She took a deep breath before pulling it open, relieved she didn’t have eyes meeting her this time.

She slowly walked towards the kitchen again, hearing voices once more. She could pick out Sola’s loud, distinct tone. When she made it to the turn the voices kept going this time. It was a relief to know she wasn’t going to be watched again. She did notice that Sola got quieter as she walked in. It seems Sola did listen and was trying. She carefully walked down the steps and moved to the kitchen, which had a large version of an herb she could recognize next to it. It was one of the best herbs to use for tea to have a peaceful sleep, it only grew in areas with little direct sunlight. She looked back and saw Luna watching, she smiled at him. She grabbed an apple again, return to the stairs and sitting down, pulling her cloak back

Felix came close to her, leaning his face close. She tensed trying not to move, the small smile on his face as he backed away making her feel relieved. She bit into her apple as Felix left the room. Sola and Luna waved to her before leaving as well. She felt relieved that this was not appearing to be a repeat of yesterday. Ash and Alessia left as well, leaving her alone with Rhys. It seems they all wanted to at least see that she leaves the room at least once a day. Rhys was watching her, his eyes gray this time. She tried to ignore it, looking around for a sign of where Dabria and Vitus would be. Except he approached her, footsteps booming. He crouched down to be face to face with her.

“Little heart, do you need to go somewhere today?” he asked. She wasn’t looking forward to being grabbed again, but it would be the fastest path to Vitus. She had to know how to reach the right places.

She sighed, “I need to speak with Vitus, he didn’t tell me how to control where I show up when I leave. Can you show or take me there?”

She saw his eyes shift to pink, a bit of panic rising in her. She saw his hand come towards her and closed her eyes, it would be a fist like Felix used. When there was no touch or warmth she peaked open her eyes. She was shocked to see his hand flat palm up in front of her. She looked up at him curiously, he’s the only one who hadn’t tried to just grab her so far.

“Would you rather I grab you?” He sounded embarrassed. “You seemed scared when Felix grabbed you yesterday, I thought this might be better. We can figure something else out too. I can go get them too, if that’s better I uh I-”

She started to laugh, the first laugh she’d really had in a long time.

“This is fine,” she breathed, her laugh calming down. His eyes went an even brighter pink. “I was just surprised. It seems like you’re the first one to think about how I’d feel being picked up or not. Thank you.”

She didn’t wait for her courage to disappear quickly standing up. She used the stairs to make it easier, having to steady herself once one foot was on his hand. She walked carefully to the center of his palm and sat down. She looked up at him and saw the awe on his face. He pulled his hand up slowly, curling his fingers slightly. His movement was slower, more careful than anyone who held her yesterday. He pulled his hand close to his chest, curling his fingers slightly closer to her.

“Are you ready?”

She nodded, realizing he probably couldn’t see, “Yes.”

Rhys left the kitchen with slow even steps. She was able to get a view of where they were going, mentally map a path back if she needed. Rhys seemed to be making sure she could see the path they'd made for her the whole time too. It wasn’t far for him to reach a door that was definitely larger than the others she’d seen. He stopped before knocking or entering, she looked up and saw his lavender eyes looking down at her.

“Do you want me to stay? Or should I just drop you here on the path and you can go in on your own?”

“If you wouldn’t mind staying, it shouldn’t take long.”

He nodded then turned back to the door. He knocked on it and she wondered if he was worried about doing that while holding her. She heard noises behind the door before the door was ripped open and Dabria was there instead. Her eyes locked on Delphia immediately before her hands were coming close. Rhys moved back, curling his fingers more so she was almost hidden. She didn’t get what he was doing.

“You shouldn’t just grab her Lady Death,” Rhys sounded nervous. Delphia was shocked he was standing up for her. She was more shocked that he called her Lady Death, she always thought the gods would refer to each other by name. Rhys freed her from the cage of his fingers and she saw Dabria pouting.

“I’m just so excited my little raven is here,” she said. She quickly came close to her, their faces inches apart. “May I hold you little raven?”

Delphia wasn’t sure of the best course of action so she just nodded. She could feel Rhys’s concern as Dabria cupped her hands and took her. She turned and walked in the room, Delphia wondered if Rhys was following. Vitus was sitting at the desk in the room, looking over a book that seemed to just be a list. She couldn’t help herself leaning over Dabria’s fingers to get a better look. It almost looked like a list of names and dates. Vitus looked up with a stern gaze making her freeze. He quickly moved one of his hands, she readied for him to punish her somehow. Instead he held his hand in front of her how Rhys had, Dabria flattened her own hands and Delphia took the hint. She carefully stood and walked over to the hand of Vitus. A bundle of nerves found themselves in her stomach as she switched carriers.

“Little light, did you need something?” he asked. He pulled her closer and she lost her focus to her curiosity again. She turned to look at the list again, shocked at all the names and dates. This couldn’t be the registry of life, only the god of life should be able to see. She felt his hand shake as he chuckled. “I’m sure this looks odd, but it’s the registry of life not a blank paper.”

“Are you playing a trick on me?” she asked. Her voice was quiet, a little fear at the reason why if it was the truth. They knew she would come today, or had planned this out. They were waiting for her, they had to be.

“Of course not, little light, what’s wrong?”

“I-I can read it.”

“What!” Dabria and Rhys both screamed. She looked to Rhys and saw his eyes swap to an indigo. This was an awful joke that they were playing to finally reveal they had bad intentions. Dabria waved her hand, a similar book appearing in her own hand. She held it in front of Delphia and Vitus. It was another list of names, but not all of them had dates. They had to be planning something with this.

“Little raven, can you read this?”

“Y-yes.”

The two sent the lists away and dread filled her stomach. This would end badly, they’d kill her, she'd be hurt for seeing something no one else should. They can’t just let a mortal who can read the registries run around freely. She made a mistake, she shouldn’t have stayed. She needs to find an escape. They would take the doors away. Her panicked thoughts were cut off when a set of hands smaller than Dabria’s and Vitus’s scooped her off the palm and away from the looming faces of the god of life and goddess of death.

“Sh, it’s ok little sister, you’ll be safe,” Rhys’s voice rumbled through her as he held her close to his chest. “They won’t hurt you, none of us will hurt you. You are safe here now little sister.”

She couldn’t calm her heart. She felt herself hyperventilating. She needed to catch her breath, to calm down. This was stupid they could have punished or hurt her for so long, this is a pointless fear. She shouldn’t have stayed here, she should leave. She had barely registered Rhys leaving until she was pulled away from his chest. She’d grabbed his clothes in a white knuckle grip she’d only realized then. Slowly releasing his shirt, he let her off on the platform just outside the room. She still hadn’t calmed and stared at him.

“It’s all right, I’ll make sure you’re safe little sister, go rest,” he murmured. She nodded and stiffly entered the room. The door being shut on autopilot. She curled up against the door again. Her panic was still high. She heard footsteps outside and assumed it was Rhys leaving.

“What happened?” Alessia’s melodic voice sounded. It made more tears fall, she’d find out and finally hate her. There were so many reasons for Alessia to see her as a monster already; she just needed the last push. She didn’t hear Rhys' reply, but heard taps on the door. They sounded like loud knocks to her though. “My seer, please come out. It’s all right. You know I would never let anyone hurt you. I’d fight all the gods to keep you safe if I had to.”

“Stop it,” she croaked. She was sick of empty promises, claims of what things could be knowing that they never would. Alessia would leave her behind; she was a mortal. She wasn’t even the size of her hand. She was losing her love and had to watch it happen this time.

“Rhys, I’ll stay. Can you go check with Lord Life and Lady Death what’s going on?”

“I’ll go, you’ll be safe, little heart.”

She felt almost sad Rhys called her that again. They would all realize she was something wrong and either trap her or get rid of her. She was not ready for this outcome, she thought she would have more time. Alessia would look down on her and it would be just like she’d waited for in the village. She should never have considered staying somewhere.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Alessia said, Delphia gasped. “You think you’re a monster or wrong and we’re all going to hate you. I told you a million times in the clinic and I’ll tell you for the remainder of both our lives, you aren’t a monster. You have gifts that you can use to help people. That you chose to use to help people. You have something that captures the interest of others, they care about you. The gods here just keep that care as what you should have had when we were still living mortal lives in the village.”

“Please stop,” she whined. “I don’t want to be lied to or strung along, please.”

“Who’s lying to you? I’m certainly not, I loved you since I saw you getting carried back home by your dad from the forest. I loved you more the days I watched you sit by the well, I worried you’d fall most of those times, you seemed weak. I wanted to protect you when I saw the way everyone reacted when you grew a harvest for us. I tried to volunteer to bring the things the village offered to your home while you weren’t allowed out just to see you. That day in town, I’d been fighting with my mother about going to your home only for you to appear in front of us. I had been unable to sleep hearing we’d only ever be friends just to hear you calling out for someone in the woods as I wandered. Then your father showed up, everything about you changed and I desperately wanted to protect you. I felt something inside that night, a burning power I thought was my imagination. Every time you visited me and I saw a hidden bruise or the bags under your eyes I felt that burning come back. A voice in my mind promising I would be able to if I gave in to it, but I couldn’t leave you. Then you got sick, the burning went away for so long. I felt my heart shrivel and die that day your heart stopped. I felt like my life started over when you walked out again. I felt my heart and soul burn with rage as everyone turned against you. I had to do what you couldn’t protect others like you, I gave in to the burning.

“I woke up and all I knew was as much as I hated the village, someone important wanted it safe. I spent years only knowing someone important needed it safe. That someone needed me, but they’d be pained hearing their charge was lost. I found a way to save them all, then you showed up. One word came to mind when I saw you, beautiful. After that I needed to speak to you and I knew you were my seer. You yelled and my heart hurt more, Ash stopped me from trying to stop you, they forced me here. I kept picturing you, seeing you and needing to make sure you were safe. My memories came back finally, I remembered my seer, the one I always stared up into the eyes of. You were little now, but I could protect you. I fought for years to see you, they didn’t want me to scare you. For as long as I’ve seen you I’ve been in love with you, nothing will change that even being a goddess.”

Delphia had stood gripping the knob of the door as Alessia talked. She opened it slowly, relieved Alessia had sat with her back to the door. She inched out slowly, unsure if Alessia even knew she’d opened it. She was close enough to touch her now. Delphia reached out and grabbed bits of her hair. Alessia jolted from the small touch before relaxing again letting the small girl braid the small strands she grasped. She kept doing this without saying a word as Alessia started to hum. It felt like the days in the clinic, braiding her hair while she hums and enjoying each other's presence.

“How can you say things like that without batting an eye?” Delphia asked. Her panic finally calmed and her tears dried. She had to ask. Alessia moved slowly so Delphia knew and didn’t get pulled along, then turned her head so they could see each other. Delphia recognized the look in her eyes that she’d been lost about for so long.

“I learned I’d have to say it when the woman I love was always terrified to speak her mind.” Alessia smiled, letting out a small laugh. It was different from when they were in the village, more melodic, but unequivocally her. Alessia just watched her for a bit before leaning closer, squinting to make out details of her face.

“What is it?”

“What happened? Rhys looked like he thought he was going to die.”

“I can read the registries.” Alessia’s eyes went wide, but she quickly went into a warm smile.

“So you’re more special than I thought. Seems like a win to me.”

“You don’t get it.” Delphia turned away and walked towards the room again. “I’m not supposed to. No one is supposed to read either except for Vitus and Dabria. I especially shouldn't. I'm still technically a mortal. It can’t mean anything good if I can read it. It means I’m wrong, more wrong than I ever thought. I’m a risk for them, for the registries, for everything. If any mortal finds out I can see it, who knows what they’d try to do.”

“Then we’d help you stay safe from them.” Alessia cupped her hand around Delphia and gently knocked her into her palm. She pulled Delphia close to her face so her own eyes went cross. “Whether or not I’m supposed to be protection for whoever needs it, I protect you first. Nothing will hurt you, my little seer.”

Delphia hugged Alessia’s nose. Her words were more comforting than she’d like to admit. It didn’t mean she could quiet her insecurities completely. They stayed like that for a bit, only separating when footsteps could be heard. Vitus and Rhys were coming down the hallway. Delphia hugged herself, fear gripped her with the stern face Vitus wore. It didn’t help that Rhys's eyes were green, she hadn’t seen that color yet. Her own emotions were running rampant making it impossible to sense others. Alessia pulled her close, curling her fingers around her.

“Little light, can I hold you for a moment to speak with you? We won’t leave these two I promise,” Vitus asked. Alessia looked at her and she could see the defiance in her eyes. Alessia really would fight the god of life for her wouldn’t she? She nodded to Alessia though, which made her grimace. Alessia held out her hand flattening it so Delphia was completely vulnerable. This time Vitus cupped his hands around her, picking her up rather than letter her walk on. He held her up to his eyeline and she stared.

“Y-Yes?” she asked. She had to pretend she was fine. She’d never stop cursing this damned stutter of fear.

“You’re safe, little one, seeing the registries doesn’t mean anything about our care for you changes. There is a lot of your own power mixed with the fallen gods. There is no full explanation of the gifts you naturally own. Your soul is special, seeing the registries would be a part of that. There is a chance it’s related to your revival as well. No matter what you are safe here little light. I promise you this.”

“I-I understand, Lord Life,” she said. She couldn’t believe this and her fears were winning. He was trying to calm her.

“Please, little light, use my name. You have used it for so long, don't change now.” She closed her eyes and gave a small nod. She was sure Vitus wouldn’t see it, but he pulled her close to his heart. She could hear the slow beat, the rhythm more calming than she’d expect. She felt almost safe like this, it was hard to believe someone who could hold her in their hand felt safe. “What had you come for little light? Rhys said you had a question.”

“I…,” she had a wave of fear that she would remind them of her escape route, have it taken away, but she had to ask. “I wanted to know how to designate where I’m going with the door. You never told me how to set a location.”

“It follows where you picture, it will create a door in a safe location near it. Returning will create one right next to or under you if you feel in danger.”

“Th-thank you.”

Vitus pulled his hands away and looked down at her with a smile. He placed her down on the platform by the room and turned to return to his office. She tried to ignore the booming steps as he left. Her flinches were thankfully ignored by the other two. Both of them looked at her, waiting for something she couldn't guess. In honesty she was tired, completely and utterly worn out after this bit of the day. She had no trust in her own abilities to face more of them.

“I’m going to rest now,” she announced. The two still watching her nodded. She tried to ignore their stares as she walked into the room. She shut the door slowly then decided she needed to calm herself down. She wandered to the book shelf grabbing a title she didn’t know then climbed into bed. She would spend time reading, possibly not leave the room again. She needed to stop being so overwhelmed. She fell asleep reading again, the book turning out to be stories of gods from other worlds, kind and malicious both.

#OC:Seer/Delphia #OC:Rhys #OC:Vitus #OC:Dabria #OC:Felix #OC:Luna #OC:Sola #OC:Ryder #OC:Ash #OC:Alessia #giant/tiny #gt #g/t #g/t writing #giant tiny #gt writing #SeerAndTheGods

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lardguz · 3 years

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Panic in the Pantry

So I've been really into Ze//ro Esca//pe lately, and I noticed there was like, no weight gain writing for the series, probably because the games themselves are pretty serious most of the time. But I'm gay and a loser so I wrote a thing of Si//gma trying to solve the Pantry escape room by eating everything in sight!

A tall, muscular young man stood in a hallway in front of a door flanked by two other people: another tall young guy who was much thinner and lankier than the first one and was wearing a ridiculous circus ringleader getup, and a short, skinny girl with white hair. The three of them stared at the door in front of them, which had the word “Pantry” being projected from the front of it somehow. The three of them were just one third of the people in this facility as far as they knew, and they were being forced to play something called “The Nonary Game Ambidex Edition” by someone called Zero. The tall muscular man named Sigma and the other half of his bracelet pair, the small girl named Phi, had teamed up with the blonde man in the top hat named Dio, and opened one of the chromatic doors to proceed to the next round of the game. This had led them to the hallway they were currently in, facing the door to what was apparently going to be a pantry.

Sigma turned to his two teammates and motioned towards the door. “So, this place has a pantry. You think that means there were people living here before this game started?”

Phi rolled her eyes and responded in complete deadpan. “No, I think they were just expecting us to be here for a while, Sigma. Of course people were living here. Who else would have built this place?”

“I dunno, they have an AI rabbit in the main computer, who’s to say if this place isn’t run by robots or something?” Sigma retorted. He crossed his muscular arms and glared down at the white-haired girl, who was staring right back at him, unflinching. Dio placed a hand on each of their shoulders and spoke in his usual slow, condescending voice. “All right, all right, settle down you two. We don’t have time for lover’s quarrels right now, remember? We gotta find the key cards for the Ambidex Gate. So let’s get a move on, okay?” Sigma and Phi grumbled in reluctant agreement, and Sigma moved to open the door.

What greeted the trio was a room filled with walls and walls of drawers, each one meticulously labeled with which foods it contained within. The three of them immediately set about examining each drawer. “This is… a lot of food,” Phi whispered as she checked another drawer. “Why did they stockpile so much of it, do you think?”

“Probably so they could keep building this fucked-up murder game without having to make constant trips to the grocery store or something.” Dio responded, pulling out a container of spaghetti from the drawer he was checking. He looked at it with a hint of disgust on his face. “Urgh, it’s all prepackaged food though. The kinda shit that’s loaded with preservatives and stuff to make it last forever. This shit is so unhealthy. Whoever built this place must be a total fatass after living off this for God knows how long.”

Sigma paused as he opened a drawer of udon stir fry bowls. “Wait. Maybe this food isn’t for Zero.”

Phi looked up at him, raising one eyebrow inquisitively. “What do you mean, Sigma?”

He grabbed one of the bowls of udon and ripped open the packaging. Sigma grabbed a noodle with his bare hand and dropped it into his waiting mouth, and spoke as he chewed. “Well, if th’scape room’sh a pantry, maybe th’ puzzle’sh gotta involve thish food!” He swallowed and continued explaining himself. “I mean, why else would one of the escape rooms be a pantry? We probably have to eat a certain amount of the food here to unlock the door or something!” The dark haired man reached his hand into the udon bowl again and grabbed more noodles to eat as Dio and Phi stared at him incredulously.

Phi sighed heavily and went back to searching the room herself, but Dio was laughing too hard to continue doing much of anything. “Hahahaha, holy shit, Sigma, you’re a damn genius! You got this whole game all figured out, huh?” The blonde man’s voice was dripping with sarcasm, but Sigma didn’t care. He was convinced he was right, and so he kept eating his udon stoically. When he finished the first bowl, he reached into the drawer and grabbed another, and another, until he’d cleared it out entirely. When Sigma straightened up to open the next drawer, he felt his middle wobble slightly, and he looked down. His stomach stuck out just a little bit, a nice coating of soft fat just beginning to form over his formerly toned abs. Shaking his head, Sigma opened the drawer anyways, reasoning with himself that if this was the solution to the puzzle, he could sacrifice his muscles for now. Plus there was probably a weight loss antidote as a reward in the safe! He grabbed the packages of curry from the drawer he opened and kept eating, trying his best to ignore his gradually growing waistline.

After an hour in the pantry, Phi and Dio had turned up no hints to solving the puzzle themselves. Sigma also hadn’t encountered any hints, but what he had done was clear out six whole drawers of provisions, and it showed. His outfit, once baggy and poorly fitting, now clung to his new chubby body, accentuating every roll and fold. His blue button-up shirt rode up on his torso, no longer able to be tucked into his matching pants whatsoever. The buttons were beginning to strain against his growing gut, and the short sleeves dug into his fat upper arms. The waistband of his pants was clearly straining as well, his belly and hips oozing over the top of it to form a plush muffin top. His thickening thighs and calves caused the fabric of his pants to look like an overstuffed piping bag, and his ass, which had already been pretty round and desirable before, was starting to feel like it would burst out of his painfully tight pants at any moment.

Sigma had to sit down for a moment to rest, all this ravenous eating tiring out the young man immensely. He sat with his belly in his lap, rubbing it slowly to try and ease off some of the discomfort from his ever-tightening clothes, when suddenly he felt a hard slap on his fat ass from behind. He yelped in surprise and whipped around to see Dio grinning mischievously.

“Now, now, Sigma, c’mon! We don’t have time for you to be resting on your fat ass!” The blonde man chuckled as he tipped the rim of his top hat towards the pantry drawers. “After all, you said so yourself! The solution is probably related to aaaaaall that food! So you gotta get back to eating as fast as possible, so all of us can get the hell outta here!”

“But, my clothes—” Sigma tried to whine, but he was cut off, this time by a disgruntled Phi. “Ah ah ah, no. Shut up, Sigma. You committed to this stupid plan, and we’re gonna make sure you see it through to the end whether you like it or not.” The girl prodded him in the side with a slim finger, which sunk a couple inches into his flab. “Understand?”

Sigma sighed heavily and hoisted himself back up, almost falling over from his sudden shifting weight. After catching himself with one of the drawers, he opened it and began clearing it of its contents. After another few drawers of food were emptied into his stomach, Sigma heard a snapping noise and felt cool air on his gut suddenly. The release of the building pressure of his lower gut straining against the bottommost button of his shirt was enough for him to realize said button had finally come flying off, which meant the rest were probably soon to follow. The sweet release of his painfully tight cloth prison within sight now, Sigma sped up his consumption considerably, shoveling down packaged pizzas and burgers with ease. Two more buttons went soaring off as he feasted, and his massive gut surged forth like a tidal wave of lard. It flopped over the waistband of his pants and reached almost down to his thighs, his crotch still visible for now. The remaining three buttons at the top of his shirt held strong, but his shirt was being stretched across his chest much further than it was meant to, looking more like an oversized bikini top than a button-up. His chest had fattened up considerably, transforming his huge pecs into even more huge breasts, larger than even Alice’s. With the shirt holding them in place for now, like a bra, they didn’t sag to the sides of his growing gut yet. The seams of the short sleeves were starting to creak and groan from how tight there were against his flabby bingo wings, little diamonds of his arm fat starting to ooze through in small rips. His thighs were starting to do the same to his overburdened pants, seams popping every time he moved his legs even slightly. When he bent down to open a drawer that was closer to the floor, a loud ripping sound came from behind Sigma, and Dio started cackling mockingly. Sigma realized with a cold start that the seat of his pants must have been ripped by his growing ass. His chubby cheeks flushing pink, Sigma’s round face, now accompanied by a full double chin, was hot with embarrassment. He looked down at the drawer he had just opened, filled with packaged cupcakes, and wondered if this was even worth the embarrassment at this point.

Before he could make a decision, though, Phi appeared in front of him and leaned down to grab a package of the cupcakes. She tore it open and popped one into Sigma’s unsuspecting mouth, stifling an exclamation of surprise. She held the package out to him as he chewed on the pastry. “You’re not giving up on your plan already, are you, Sigma. What if this really is the solution? You’re so far into solving it already, may as well see it through to the end, right?” She gave Sigma a reassuring smile, and he immediately felt at ease again despite Dio’s laughing still ringing in his ears. Sigma took the package of cupcakes from Phi and smiled, his chubby cheeks causing his eyes to squint. “Thanks, Phi. It’s nice to know at least one of you believes in me.” She mumbled a response that Sigma didn’t catch, but he was already shoving the rest of the cupcakes in his fat face, so it didn’t matter to him.

Another half an hour had passed, and Dio and Phi had decided to make themselves busy with helping Sigma with his plan instead of exploring the rest of the room. The college student was having some issues reaching the lower drawers now, and walking was getting to be a little bit of a problem too, so they were helping bring him more of the provisions for him to eat. The obese man currently stood with one open drawer at chest level, shoveling the food from it directly into his mouth. His double chin had grown into a triple chin, and his neck was slowly being replaced by rolls of soft fat instead. His chubby chipmunk cheeks had begun drooping, looking more like the jowls of an oversized dog instead. The sleeves of his shirt had ripped open a few minutes ago, setting his wobbling arm fat free. His jiggly biceps slapped against his chest every time he lifted more food up to his mouth. His shirt’s one remaining button strained against his growing moobs, massive tears beginning to form in the fabric stretching across his squishy breasts. His stomach rolls had folded over themselves, forming a three tiered flabby apron that went down to his thighs. The button on his pants had burst off a while ago, and his pants seams were all but gone, just a few threads managing to keep his overfed thighs and beanbag sized ass cheeks from bursting out of them entirely. After finishing the drawer directly in front of his face, Sigma turned his bulk towards the pile of food Phi and Dio had gathered for him, and began waddling towards it. He had to spread his legs uncomfortably far apart to keep his thighs from rubbing together, and even then they still did. He also couldn’t bend his legs anymore, his knees buried under rolls of fat from his jiggly thighs. His oversized ass cheeks, each roughly the size of a couch cushion, drooped down about the same distance as his massive gut, and had lost all semblance of shape and tone, now just two squarish blobs of pure lard. The lowest roll of his apron of a stomach slapped against his thighs with every slow, deliberate step forward, sending his entire body wobbling with each one. It took him three minutes to walk ten feet across the room, and the already massive young man was wheezing for breath by the time he stopped. After catching his breath, Sigma grabbed a package of spaghetti and meatballs off the top of the pile, tore it open, and poured it directly into his fat mouth. Then he did the same for a pizza, a meatloaf, a plate of fish and chips, any and everything in the pile was unceremoniously devoured. The last button of his shirt ripped off its overburdened thread and went flying, narrowly missing Dio’s head. The button pinging off the wall seemed to be the signal the rest of Sigma’s clothing had been waiting for, as every remaining seam burst one after another, sending his massive body surging forth.

Dio turned to Phi as Sigma continued stuffing his face without pause, a look of disgust plastered on his face. “He’s still going! The guy is buck-ass-naked in front of us with only his little boxers on, fat as a whale, and still keeps eating!” The blonde tssked loudly as Sigma began shoving crepes into his mouth. “What’re we gonna do about this lardass?”

Phi cocked her head to one side, thinking. “Well, he’s clearly not going to stop til either all the food is gone, or he can’t reach it anymore, and I kinda want to see how far he ends up taking his stupid idea.” She looked straight at Dio, a smug smirk plastered on her face. “Let’s just help Sigma finish his little job and then we can figure out the room ourselves, without his whining.”

Dio chuckled and gave Phi a conspiratorial wink. “Say no more, little miss. That is fuckin’ devious. I like your style!” He sauntered over to the massive food pile he and Phi had made and began handing dishes directly to Sigma’s greedy hands, his fat sausage fingers immediately grasping anything placed near them and emptying it into his mouth. Sigma’s arms were now so fat that his wrists were starting to sink into his own arm fat, and his pillow-sized arm rolls were constantly squished between his multiple layers of love handles and his massive breasts, thus forcing them to rest at an angle at all times, and making it steadily harder for him to reach his face with his food-filled hands. His face looked like it was slowly being absorbed into his fat body, chubby neck rolls and multiple chins surrounding his drooping jowls which were starting to block his vision somewhat. His chins and neck rolls blended together, flowing down his front like a river of flab, nestled between the valley that was his moobs. Shreds of his blue shirt still clung to his breasts, some stuck underneath the pillow-sized bags of fat which sagged horribly to the sides of his gut now that they were free from their cloth prison. His plush side rolls and back fat were fully on display now, showing clearly how his arms were never going to be able to rest at his sides ever again, and that even if he were to try and lay down, he wouldn’t be able to get flatter than a sitting position with all his multitudes of back rolls propping him up and pooling around his body. The topmost layer of his stomach was wide enough to be used as a bed for a medium sized dog, and was too heavy for anyone to lift even on its own. The middle layer folded over on top of where Sigma’s belly button once was, creating a cavity underneath that was probably almost a foot deep now. The middle and bottom rolls of his enormous stomach were pure lard, soft and jiggly, and very, very heavy. The bottom of the lowest roll reached past his knees now, dangling just a foot off the ground. His legs were as thick as tree trunks now, every inch of his adipose-stuffed thighs and calves touching no matter how far apart he spread his legs. Even his toes were fat now, though they could barely be seen with the mass of flab that was his lower calves slowly starting to engulf his ankles. His misshapen, flabby rear end was almost touching the floor as well, each overstuffed bean bag chair of an ass cheek protruding well over a few feet from his morbidly obese body. His boxers hadn’t been destroyed by their mass yet, but the overburdened underwear looked more like the world’s skimpiest thong, with Sigma’s boulder-sized butt cheeks swallowing the stretched fabric of the garment between their bulbous forms. Phi perched herself on top of one of his massive moobs and started dumping food from the pile directly into Sigma’s waiting mouth, his heavy fat-swaddled arms too tired to lift anything more himself. Dio, being much taller than Phi, merely had to lean against Sigma’s increasingly more squishy side to place more food into his pile of chins, which doubled his rate of consumption considerably. Dio and Phi shared a conspiratorial wink. This was the final stretch of Sigma’s stupid plan!

One more hour passed in the pantry before Phi shoved the last prepacked pie into Sigma’s greedy mouth. She sighed in relief and hopped down off the man’s oversized chest, and stepped back to take in the enormity of her bracelet pair mate. Somehow, despite his incredible size and weight, Sigma was still standing on his own two feet. Whether he could still walk remained to be seen, and Phi didn’t have her hopes up very high for that. The young man was ridiculously obese, probably pushing close to half a ton weight-wise now. A loud belch erupted from Sigma’s mouth, his face a bloated parody of what it used to be mere hours ago. His neck rolls pushed his jowls up around his face, making it look like he was sinking and using a life preserver to keep only his fat face afloat. His arms were so swollen they were barely recognizable, the only hint to their existence as arms being the sausage-shaped fingers poking out from the ends. His massively saggy moobs slumped to either side of his stomach, wobbling with every wheezing breath the mountain of a man took. His love handles bunched up underneath the flab-filled bingo wings of his arms, multiple side rolls forming above his hips that were wide enough to fill an entire sofa by himself. His overstuffed gut now reached the floor, the lowest roll pressing firmly into it even when standing upright. His legs looked like a bursting overfilled sausage casing, his thighs' dimpled fat pressing each other so far apart it was utterly insane that he hadn’t fallen over on his fat ass yet. Especially when you considered Sigma’s ass was so stuffed and loaded with squishy fat that it, too, now almost touched the floor even when he was just standing, and his boxers looked like a few pieces of string stretched across the wide expanse of his cheeks. His feet couldn’t be seen behind his wobbling apron of a stomach, but if they weren’t obscured by that mass of pure flab, they would still not be visible; the fat from his calves had collapsed over top of his ankles, hiding his feet entirely. Overall, Sigma had grown to nearly four times his size in just a few hours of clearing out the entire pantry.

Sigma gazed blearily past his enormous chest and stomach at his teammates, letting out another loud burp. He spoke in a voice that sounded unfamiliar to him, the amount of fat coating his vocal chords causing him to sound huskier, with a deeper voice, and his jowls and chins affecting his speech somewhat. “Did… haah… th’ dooh ohpen? Haah… shohl…ve… th’ puzzshle?” he wheezed. Phi groaned. “Of course you didn’t, you moron! We told you that stuffing yourself wasn’t going to be the solution!”

Dio chuckled and clapped a hand to Sigma’s flabby lovehandle. “Yeah, but we knew you’d never shut up if we didn’t let you try it, so we decided to just let you do your thing, and now here we are!” The blonde man pinched the soft side rolls, forcibly wobbling them back and forth, causing a cacophony of Sigma’s rolls and flaps to slap into each other loudly. The man moaned in discomfort, but Dio continued his torment, delighting in watching the helpless Sigma jiggling all over.

Raising his voice to be heard over the noise of the shockwaves rippling all over his half-ton of flab, Sigma spoke in a husky whine. “Sho then… haah… whuh ah we… haah… gunna do to… haah… eshcape?” Phi patted the lowest roll of his stomach sympathetically before speaking. “Well, Dio and I are gonna figure out how to actually escape this room now. Together. Without you, Sigma.”

The blubbery man burped again before speaking. “But… haah… whuh am I… haah… how do I… haah… help you guysh… haah… sholve it?” He looked upset, like he’d failed both Phi and Dio with his stupid plan by becoming useless to them both. Phi turned her back to him, ignoring his question entirely. Dio stopped jiggling Sigma’s soft side rolls and followed the short woman to see how he could help. Sigma was left standing in the middle of the pantry, the weight of his failure pressing down on his conscience just about as much as the weight of his fat was pressing down on his body. He’d never eaten so much in his life, not even when he was partying constantly in his freshman year of college. How did he think this was a smart idea? He was so stupid! No wonder Phi and Dio let him do this to himself just to get him out of their way. Just before Sigma’s self-pity party was going to get too sad, Phi shouted from across the room. “Hah! Got it! Told you I could handle it, Dio!” She strutted triumphantly back across the pantry towards Sigma’s weighty form, Dio following at a distance, grumbling. “Well, I figured you’d be fine, but I also thought maybe you could use a man’s help. A smart man. Not like big ol’ land whale over there.”

Phi stood in front of Sigma’s stationary form, waving up at his bloated face. “Hey, Sigma! I got the key to get out of here from the safe. There’s some other stuff too but none of it’s of much use to us right now.” The near-immobile man breathed a sigh of relief. At least one of them had managed to solve the escape room. “Thash grea’, Phi!” he said aloud, still surprised at how different his voice was now, “Sho are we leaving now?” He tried to look down at the girl directly in front of him, but couldn’t see her past his enormous gut, moobs, and chins. Phi must have realized this, as suddenly she was jumping in the air and landed directly on his flabby chest, standing in front of his face. She looked him up and down before speaking. “Sigma, do you think you can still walk?”

Sigma wiggled his toes experimentally, nodding decisively as he felt he could still move his feet at least. “I c’n proba’ly walk, yeah. Migh' take me shome time though. Shorry.” Phi patted his jowls reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Sigma. I’ll make sure Dio doesn’t leave without us. Just take your time, okay?” The agile young woman hopped back down, running ahead to keep Dio busy, leaving Sigma to begin his most arduous task of his life: walking a few hundred feet across a room and getting through the door. Slowly he began moving his right leg, the fat coating it shifting past his left leg and slapping against the bottom of his drooping stomach. He moved his left leg forward slowly, essentially walking in a very slow, heavy, exaggerated waddle. His gut touched the floor and the front of his legs the entire way, slapping into his gelatinous thighs every waddling step, sending its entire expanse of rolls wobbling like a pendulum. His shapeless ass cheeks balloon out behind him, jiggling like jello every time he moved even a little. Sigma’s fat face felt like it was on fire, his cheeks bright red and sweaty from the effort of moving around a thousand pounds of fatty flesh across a room. His breath was coming in rasps, mouth agape and panting, his multiple chins wobbling as his chest heaved from the exertion. After something like ten minutes of waddling his fat ass towards the door to escape the pantry, Sigma finally stopped to catch his breath. Taking big wheezing gulps of air, his massive breasts shaking from any slight movement of his chest, Sigma spent another five minutes just preparing to leave the door. Finally, his breathing about as stable as it could be with his lungs being crushed under a half ton of body fat at all times, the enormously overfed man began taking small, waddling steps towards the door. Three.. his thigh slapped loudly against his lowest gut roll. Two… he grasped the door frame with his pudgy sausage fingers. One… he slowly inched his wide body through the door, until suddenly, he stopped. Why am I not moving anymore? He thought to himself, before trying to pull himself forward again. Still nothing. What the fuck was stopping him? He couldn’t turn around to look because his neck was so encased in fat that he couldn’t rotate his head at all, but Sigma didn’t really have to look to guess that the cold metal digging into his soft hips was the door frame, and that his ass was too wide to fit through the door. Well, fuck. That’s not good. Sigma swore internally, before calling out for help. “Hey, Phi… haah… Dio? Haah… haah… there'sh a… haaaaaaah… pro’lem! Pleashe… haah… haah… help?” After a few seconds, Phi returned from further down the hall, Dio not far behind, both taking stock of the situation in front of them. Sigma was fully wedged in the doorway, his massive gut and chest hanging in front of him slightly as his hips, thighs, and couch-sized ass were clearly jammed in the other side of the door. Dio sighed. “All right, big guy. We’re gonna need to get extra help for this. Hold tight.” Sigma whined as the left, calling after their retreating forms, “Guysh, don’… haah… leave me… haaah… behind… haah… buh pleashe… bring… haah… haah… bring… shnacksh… hungry…” Phi stared at Dio incredulously as they ran to find the others. “He just asked for snacks. After all that, he’s still hungry. Unbelievable. Maybe he really will end up the size of a whale before this is all over.”

#my writing #fat!zero escape #fat!sigma klim #male weight gain #ssbhm

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sugarsugarmoon · 4 years

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At Night, By the Fire

Summary: Camping with your boyfriend Kim Namjoon turns into a very interesting night. knj x reader

Rating: M

Genre: smut, pwp

Warnings: casual marijuana use, vaginal fingering, slight degradation/dirty talk, multiple orgasms, squirting, overstimulation, dom!Namjoon vibes, sub!reader vibes

a/n: Been meaning to write this for a while. I hope you enjoy it.

Spending the night camping near the Great Salt Lake wasn’t how you planned on spending my last night with my boyfriend, who you only get to see once a month at best. But honestly, you’ve spent the night sleeping in a Pathfinder near a water treatment plant on Lake Superior just to spend a little time with him, so this actually seemed pretty luxurious. You have a tent, a cooler, firewood, food, and actual campsite.

It’s hot, and you feel the sweat starting to dot the skin on your back and brow. The two of you had gotten out of the car to do a small hike that ended with a scenic overlook on the lake. The sun beats down on your hair and face, and you feel yourself regretting the walk almost instantly. Midsummer is not the time to go for a hike in the midday sun with no trees around. You follow another trail that leads to a tall rock and a look over the west side of the lake. It’s certainly a less exciting view, but it is still beautiful.

The expanse of the salt lake makes your jaw drop. It’s such a huge body of water. At times while you’re looking at it, you forget that it’s just a big lake. You can’t see the other side of it, just the mountains peaking up like a watercolor image on the other side. Looking out at the water, Namjoon slips his hand around your waist and pulls you close to him. His lips meet the soft, slightly sticky skin on your neck.

You make your way back to the campsite, complaining a little bit about how close to the dumpster you are. You wonder what it would be like to swim in the lake before the sun goes down, but, as you glance at the beach, you see that it’s crowded. You don’t want to deal with other people if you don’t have to, and you are so happy to just be in this place with Namjoon.

You set up the tent more quickly than you had in the past, finally getting used to the set up. You had your tent in your car from a camping trip that you’d taken before you’d driven to the Utah capitol to meet up with the man who you loved. There were limited times and places that you could see one another, and you were happy to meet him somewhere that you could explore together.

When you walk away from the tent, you see Namjoon sitting on the tailgate of the car, drinking his soda, smiling a goofy smile at you.

“What?” you ask, thinking he’s laughing at the way you set up the tent.

“I just love you so much,” he responds, standing and crossing over to you.

He plants his lips on your forehead, and his smile seems to spread to you. You lean up and press your lips to his.

“How do you feel about dinner?” he asks, gesturing toward the small stockpile of sandwich supplies.

You smile and gallop a little over to the car. He’d been making fun of you since you’d told him that you make the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the world.

“Oh? You looking to get in on my world famous skills?”

You grab the peanut butter, jelly, and bread and make your way toward the picnic table. You open each of the containers, then you look around feeling a little embarrassed.

“I...I don’t have a knife…” you mumble to him just loud enough for him to hear on the other side of the campsite.

He laughs and pulls from his pocket a camping spoon that you must have left sitting in the back of the car with the rest of the camping supplies. You hang your head sarcastically, closing the space between the two of you, grabbing the spoon, kissing his lips, and making your way back to the picnic table.

“Just make a bunch,” he says. “We’ll keep them and eat them whenever we want.”

You happily make the sandwiches while you put on a pithy, indie pop song on your phone. You dance a little as you make them, creating a pile of sandwiches on the table. Your fingers are a little sticky with the residue of peanut butter, and you cheerfully lick them clean. Namjoon sneaks up behind you, and he whispers in your ear.

“You’re so cute shaking your hips like that.”

You giggle and push your ass back against him, wiggling your hips to the beat.

“Oh, are you going to be a naughty little slut?” he asks as you keep gyrating.

You can’t help the giggle from turning into a full-blown laugh. You grab one of the PBJs from the table and hand it to him over your shoulder. You grab one for yourself and happily munch on it as you grind against your boyfriend.

The two of you goof off and laugh and play for the rest of the evening until the sun starts to fade over the west side of the lake. The pastel oranges and pinks paint the sky as you start to build up the base of the fire in the firepit. Namjoon tells you that he wants to help, but he kind of has no idea how to start a campfire, so you take the lead. It’s windy, so the flame doesn’t immediately catch. Eventually, you get the small spark built up into a blaze.

The sun disappears completely toward the ocean, and the temperature immediately drops. You wrap your sweater around your shoulders, even though you are wearing a skirt. Being around Namjoon makes you want to be able to drop your panties at any moment. The skirt made that extremely easy.

You talk, smoke some weed, and sit close to each other as the fire continues to crackle next to you. The insects and the fire combine to make a soundtrack to your perfect night with Namjoon.

You make a cheeky comment to Namjoon about not wearing underwear, and he slips his fingers up under the hem of your skirt. The fingertips skate over your folds, and you shiver slightly. You are always wet around Joon, but you feel yourself growing even wetter.

“Lie down,” he commands in your ear.

You whimper slightly from the back of your throat, and you press your chest against the cold metal of the bench of the picnic table. Namjoon slides his fingers over your folds from behind, and you shudder. You press back against him, and he puts his hand on your shoulder. He presses you down harder into the bench, the pressure hurting slightly.

His fingers slide into your entrance, the wetness making them slide with ease. He curls his fingers, and you feel yourself immediately cumming around them. The pressure within you releases in small moans spilling over your lips. You try to push his fingers further into you, but his other hand holds you still.

As you come down from your orgasm, his hand still presses you into the bench, and his fingers still work inside of you. You feel the pleasure building up inside of you again, nearly overflowing immediately.

“Cum for me,” he goads from behind you in a sultry voice.

The pleasure overcomes you completely, and the moans that escape your mouth are louder this time. He keeps going, and you’re not sure that he ever intends to stop working your sensitive spots, waiting to overwhelm you until you can’t possibly cum anymore.

You weren’t nearly there yet though.

HIs fingers continue to work inside of you, and he slips one finger over your clit. It sends you over the edge again. Your moans start to transform into cries as his fingers curl up.

He laughs to himself. “You want everyone at this campground to know what a filthy little slut you are for me, don’t you?”

You can hardly even process his words as you let out an “mhm” and nod your head. Your face presses into the cold metal. You feel the drool from your open mouth pooling next to your cheek on the bench. You wiggle your hips slightly against your boyfriend’s fingers.

“Can’t get enough, can you, my naughty whore?” Namjoon continues to gently taunt you as he fingers you.

The hand that’s on your shoulder travels up your back and into your hair. He pulls it slightly, so your face is lifted an inch or so off the bench. He pushes his fingers deeper inside you, knowing exactly what to do to drive you wild. A pressure and pleasure that you’ve never felt before starts to build inside of you. It feels like something is going to burst. You can’t control the primal animalistic sounds that are pouring from your mouth.

“You gonna cum for me again, baby?” Namjoon asks in a husky voice.

You nod slightly, and the pressure begins to escape from inside you. Something is bursting, gushing forth. For a second you can’t think, but you are unsure what is happening.

“Oh my nasty little princess. Are you squirting for me?” Namjoon teases as his fingers continue to work inside of you.

You ride his fingers and your orgasm. When you finally come down, the pressure inside of you is overwhelming and uncomfortable. His fingers slow, and you wriggle away as much as you can with his fingers in your hair. He slowly lets your head back down, gently running his fingers over your back. Namjoon takes his fingers from inside you, and you hear him lick them off. With both hands, he grabs your ass, plants a kiss on one cheek, then he pulls your skirt back over your ass.

“My naughty little girl is tired, huh?” he asks as he runs his fingers tenderly through your hair.

You nod your head lazily, starting to become aware of how wet your skirt is. That had never happened to you before, and you felt a little bit confused about what had happened. The wet fabric sits against you, but you can’t bring yourself to do anything about the discomfort you’re feeling.

Namjoon pulls you up gently from the bench and wraps his arms around you. You bury your head in his chest, brain completely fuzzy. Everything seems to have a shiny vignette around it, maybe from nearly hyperventilating, maybe from the pleasure, maybe from being so deeply in love. You can’t be quite sure.

Namjoon plants a kiss upon your forehead, your nose, and each of your cheeks. “I love you silly, baby.”

Your eyes turn up to his face. You feel like your face is going to be permanently stuck in a smile while you look at him.

“I love you too, my love,” you whisper and press your lips against his jawline.

You cuddle with one another near the fire for the rest of the evening, relishing every single moment that you have together. You can’t sleep until the twilight of morning starts to spill over the sandy campground, and you finally fall asleep in his strong arms, sleepy and happy.

#namjoon smut #btswritingcafe #btsguild #namjoon x reader #bts smut #namjoon fanfic #bts fanfic #bangtanfairygarden #heartsforbts #rm smut #rm x reader #bts namjoon #bts rm #rm fanfic #knj x reader #knj smut #oops #posted the rough draft first

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arigatouiris · 5 years

Text

a bit dense // todoroki shouto

Author’s Note: Todoroki Shouto? Yes. Pining after the reader? Yes. YES YES YES. He is dense because come on. He cute. He baby. I kind of made the reader a kuudere (sort of) in this one. Hope ya’ll like it~

Word count: 2227

Pairing: Todoroki Shouto x Reader

Warnings: fluff, mutual pining

On his best days, Todoroki Shouto didn’t mind when people assumed he was dense.

On his not so good days, he felt a tad bit annoyed at how these assumptions came to be. Was it because he didn’t talk a lot? Was it because there were girls literally stockpiling love letters in his locker and he never once, not once, paid any heed to them? Was it because he was pining after the same person for almost a year and did nothing about it?

Yeah, that was probably it.

With Todoroki’s growing friendship with his classmates, even Bakugou for that matter who managed to have one single conversation with him without having the bomb boy try to blow him up, he grew a lot more confident with his social interactions. And what was the thing about making every one of Todoroki’s social fears into a joke? (He was genuinely concerned if he had a curse regarding how he injures people’s hands).

Coming back to pining, it had been an entire year (almost) since Todoroki Shouto discovered the existence of (s/n) (y/n). She was in his year, his class even, but among the quieter crowd. She wasn’t shy, something that most people misunderstood about quiet people. She would talk to literally everyone—even Bakugou and (y/n) got along quite well, sparring together sometimes, but she would keep to herself mostly. In his first year, she sat beside him, which was what developed the interest the fire/ice boy had on her now. Now that they’re in their second year, academics got a bit more intense, crime-fighting needed to be given time, and romance took a back seat.

But, what he didn’t understand is why people called him dense. He once asked Yaoyarozu if there was a problem in how he interacted with people or if he misunderstands people’s words. This could be the case, considering he wasn’t all too strong with social communication. She struggled in answering him, not knowing exactly what to say.

But, that day, three weeks before spring break, Bakugou had answered his question.

“You idiotic bastard, you’re dense because you can’t see she likes you back!”

He yelled when the entire class was quiet. Todoroki’s eyes widened at his outburst, and he was relieved that (y/n) wasn’t in class at the moment. Kaminari and Sero began to chuckle, Midoriya gave him a waned apologetic look, and Yaoyarozu didn’t meet his eye. His friends had betrayed him.

“What do you mean by that?”

Bakugou scoffed, “It means exactly what it sounds like, half and half bastard.”

All Todoroki could do was blink in confusion. (y/n) liked him back? How in the world was that possible?

“But, how—”

“I believe this is why they call you dense, Todoroki-kun.” Momo said, apologetically.

A while later, (y/n) entered class, nodding at everyone and going to her seat. She wasn’t beside him anymore, in fact, she was a few seats away, sitting right behind Bakugou. Shouto didn’t really like the interactions they shared, despite knowing Bakugou wasn’t interested in her the same way. He had the personality of a conquering meerkat—who would announce to the world who he had his eyes set on. And since that didn’t happen, Todoroki was left in peace to admire (y/n) in secret.

Just as she sat down at her desk, the first thing she did was look at him. Shouto’s eyes widened before noticing her turn away, her face slightly reddening, and now she focused on taking her book out. Shouto looked ahead, taking his own book out. Strange, he thought, frowning a bit, but there was nothing more to say or think about.

It was during lunch when he caught her looking at him again. Todoroki was standing in line to get his lunch when he turned and noticed (y/n), standing a bit away. He noticed her looking at him and he tilted his head questioningly at her. Did she need something? Was that why she was looking at him?

His eyes widened. He understood, at last!

Smiling softly, he ushered her to come to him, causing her to blink rapidly. She looked troubled, for some reason, but Todoroki continued to usher her, gesturing at her using his hands. She blinked a couple more times before coming to him, hesitantly, and gulped once.

“Todoroki-kun?”

“You can stand in front of me and cut here.”

Yes, that was why she was looking at him. He had understood. And people call him dense, he wanted to show them that he had understood a social innuendo. (y/n)’s gaze hardened just a bit before letting out a sigh and accepted his offer.

It wasn’t as if they were best friends, but Shouto did expect (y/n) to speak to him whenever she passed him by. Just as they were heading back from lunch, he spotted her near the vending machine. Shouto watched as she drank her flavored milk by herself, a smile on her lips as she finished her drink (which naturally ignited a smile on his face because she was oh, so cute).

He walked over to her and stood beside her, “Hello, (s/n).”

She jumped in her spot before facing Todoroki. She blinked a couple of times before almost dropping her drink. Todoroki noticed how red her face was, and blinked to himself. Perhaps, that was why she was drinking chilled flavored milk. Because she was feeling hot. Todoroki nodded before freezing up his hand and offering it to her.

She looked at his hand and then at him, in confusion.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“Your face is red. You must be feeling warm. You can use my hand to cool yourself down a bit.” He offered with a smile.

(y/n)’s face fell. How can he offer something like this with a straight face? Did he really not understand what was going on? She shook her head and bowed to him once, muttering how she was needed elsewhere and rushed off. Shouto blinked. It must be so hot outside that she can barely stand here, he thought before returning to the class slowly.

When Todoroki entered class after that, he noticed (y/n) in a conversation with Kaminari, Uraraka, and Jirou. They were talking about something he couldn’t hear from the door. Because (y/n) was a part of the group, Todoroki waltzed over there with a soft smile, intending to contribute to the conversation somehow. He liked it when she paid attention to him, the basics of any attraction started there.

“He actually offers it and expects me to take it. I mean, can’t he see—” Kaminari instantly covers (y/n)’s mouth with wide eyes as Todoroki approached them.

(y/n)’s eyes widened with his sudden appearance, Uraraka almost broke out laughing, and Jirou walked away to her seat to avoid whatever came next. What Shouto didn’t understand was why Kaminari looked so scared to see him.

“Kaminari, did I startle you?”

He really wanted to slap his forehead, Kaminari. He slowly released (y/n), gave her an apologetic look and walked back to his seat. Todoroki blinked a couple of times before greeting her, with a smile. (y/n) smiled back, but there was something about that smile, which made him feel like he wasn’t needed there. He frowned a bit, before understanding half of a social cue, and walked back to his seat.

(y/n)’s eyes widened with his sudden change in demeanor and her eyes followed his form. When he sat down, he didn’t turn to look at him like he would normally do. She wondered if there was something wrong now if there was something he misunderstood?

“What should I do?” She muttered to herself, not intending on anyone overhearing it.

When she heard Bakugou click her tongue, she blinked and stared at his back. She leaned forward and tapped on his shoulder once. Twice. Three times. He turned around with a nasty scowl, which had gradually reduced from how it was in the first year and how it is now, and raised her shoulders.

“If he’s dense, then you’re an idiot.” He muttered before turning away.

It was strange how well-perceived Bakugou was with the affairs of his classmates. The last thing he was was dense, and here were two people who made the entire class cringe with how much they were pining for each other. It irritated him to the very core of his being.

“What do you mean, Bakugou-kun?” She whispered, just as the teacher walked in.

After school, Shouto didn’t say anything to anyone and was intending on walking out unnoticed. (y/n)’s heart fell when she watched him leave on his own, Midoriya and Uraraka giving her a ‘good luck’ thumbs up, just as she chased after him. She wasn’t going to confess, she wasn’t entirely sure if he was just being friendly (despite what the entire class told her).

But, if he was feeling low then her heart couldn’t take it. She liked him too much.

“Todoroki-kun! Wait up!” Shouto paused at the sound of her voice, not realizing he was actually a bit hurt.

He turned around and looked at her, with no expression on his face. Even when she smiled at him, Todoroki couldn’t smile back—it was as if every muscle in his body was tired after understanding something from Kaminari and her smile from before. He watched as she took a deep breath and let it out.

“You... You look like you’re feeling bad about something. Are you... Are you okay?” She needn’t be this nervous, but being around Todoroki Shouto gave her the jitters.

“I’m fine, (s/n).” He said, blinking once.

He was about to turn around and leave, but just as he was going to turn his heel, she grabbed his arm and groaned. Shouto’s eyes widened and he paused once more, not understanding her sudden change in behavior. When he looked at her face, she looked annoyed—pissed even—and he couldn’t understand what had caused that. Was it him? Was she angry at him?

His heart fell. Did he do something wrong?

“(s/n)—”

“You really are dense.”

He gulped and felt fire inside his chest. If fire wasn’t supposed to hurt him because of his quirk, then he was quirkless right then. It was difficult to be standing near her, it was suffocating even—he couldn’t understand the sensation of liking someone and having them hate him or be displeased with him somehow. He couldn’t understand what he had done wrong.

Should he just say it?

But, what good can come out of that?

Even if he says it now, it won’t change the fact that she was pissed at him.

“Are you angry with me, (s/n)?”

She now looked troubled again, and suddenly, she realized that they were not alone. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him away to a lone corner, ignoring the growing blush in her own cheeks, noticing Todoroki’s bright red face, and pushed him to the wall, lightly. He was startled with how aggressive she had become all of a sudden, but it wasn’t unlike her.

Her face was steaming red. His eyes were wide, and his face was also steaming red. He had never been alone with her before.

Her hand was still holding his.

“Are you... Are you feeling—”

“Don’t ask me if I’m feeling hot, Todoroki-kun! I’m not. I’m not feeling hot, I’m just... I’m... I’m feeling...” She was struggling to say it.

She couldn’t meet his eye. Her grip on his hand was wavering. Damn it, it’s been almost an entire year, just say it! She looked up at him once with tired eyes and sighed, Or he’ll never know.

On his best days, Todoroki never forgets what people tell him about himself. He would remember every detail of what they would say, and he would use it to improve himself in every way he possibly could.

On his not so good days, like that day, he would remember people’s advice slowly. It would hit him at random points in the day like it hit him now.

“You idiotic bastard, you’re dense because you can’t see she likes you back!”

Bakugou’s loud voice was ringing in his ear. He was brought back to where he was right then, his hand in hers, his back pressed against the wall, (y/n)’s intensely red face struggling to say something he should have said a long, long time ago.

He turned his hand around and grabbed hers, shocking her, and his other arm went around her waist. He pulled her to his chest and hugged her, his chin pressing on her shoulder. He closed his eyes and felt his breathing increase in intensity, and he could feel her heartbeat rage.

“T-Todoroki... -kun?”

“I’m sorry it took me so long,” He said, a soft smile on his features, growing by intensity. All he could remember was how cute her face was when she was struggling to tell him, “I like you.”

Her hands went around his waist and she let out a sigh of relief first before saying it back.

“Took you long enough, goodness.” She couldn’t hide the blush on her face for the rest of the week.

It took Todoroki Shouto eleven months to confess to the girl he had a crush on. It took Bakugou exactly one day to set them up. Clearly, the men each had their talents, albeit different.

#todoroki shouto #todoroki shōto #todoroki x reader #shouto todoroki x reader #shouto x reader #bnha #bnha x reader #todoroki x y/n #todoroki imagine #todoroki #shoto todoroki #todoroki shoto x reader #my hero academia #my hero acadamy #boku no hero academia #boku no hero imagines #boku no hero fanfic #boku no hero headcanons

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ive-got-ships-to-draw · 4 years

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Home

Legosi x Louis short fanfic

(Contains some angst, and some mild gore, but nothing too crazy.)

Just a few more blocks.

His apartment had to be close. Legosi had been walking for a while... He wished he hadn't landed on his leg weird, cuz now he had to limp home. It's very hard to hide a limp, too...

This thought brings him back to Louis's leg injury back at school. He performed on an injured leg, flawlessly. He still feels that admiration fill his chest every time he thinks back to those days. The brilliant light shining on both of them, that he could stand with someone so bright. And yet this deer held so much darkness... And this dumb wolf was going to have to worry him later with his wounds that are a little too much to completely hide.

Fights were becoming the norm. At least he was taking damage for those who didnt deserve it. What's a few more scars compared to being devoured? Nothing. It's just scratches. A little blood...

Alright, a lot of blood. Its honestly making his head spin at this point. But it's okay. He's almost home. He can wrap himself up, eat a quick meal and clean up in the morning. He's sure Louis and Haru are going to be mad, but that's the norm too... He'll have to promise to be more careful next time...

Made it. Just have to get up the steps...

God, why are there so many steps? Agh, now they're all slippery too... Just hold the railing tightly. Inch your way up...

...Almost there...

...As he rounds the corner clumsily, he notices a figure by his door. His face is illuminated by his phone screen. Legosi's heart drops as he realizes it's a very frustrated Louis. He's tapping his foot and glaring at the screen.

Crap. There's no way out of this. Legosi isn't exactly subtle with his loud panting and limping. Louis shivers, noticing a large, looming figure coming closer, but as he realizes it's a wolf limping, he freezes.

His face subtly shifts between surprise, horror, relief, and burning anger. He shines the phone's flashlight in Legosi's direction. Legosi winces, but slowly raises his hand in an awkward greeting.

".... Hey, Louis... Sorry, I'm kinda... In bad shape. But I'll be fine if I just-"

Louis tries to relax his face, but can only manage a stern glare. "Give me your keys, you dumb wolf."

"Huh?"

"YOUR KEYS. I'LL HELP YOU INSIDE."

Legosi awkwardly fumbles, searching his pants pockets and hands them over. They're warm and wet. Louis swallows back a shiver and unlocks the door, swinging it open. He then quickly drapes Legosi's arm over his shoulder and helps him inside.

Sitting him down on the floor, he flips the lights on and stares at the wall for a few seconds. He's too afraid to see what state Legosi is currently in. He knows he's bleeding and has an injured leg. His mind wanders and he fears the worst. After collecting himself, he turns to face him, trying his best to manage a calm expression. It doesn't last long, however...

Legosi is almost collapsed on the floor, both arms loosely holding him up. Chunks of his fur are missing, with blood seeping down from torn flesh. He's got bruises, deep scratches along his arms, other mysterious wounds, a twisted ankle, and blood is pooling on the floor.

"... Seriously, did you fight a shark or something?"

"It was a bird, actually. Three of 'em... Their beaks are sharp..."

"God..." Louis grips between his eyes for a moment, then rushes to the cabinets.

"You've been stockpiling medical supplies like we told you to, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Good."

Louis grabs the supplies and lays them out next to Legosi. He swiftly tends to his bleeding wounds, cleaning them with peroxide. Legosi flinches, stifling a growl at the burning pain. Louis grimaces a bit, knowing how painful it must be...

"Almost done..." he says this like a doting mother, relaxing his face slightly. Legosi relaxes a bit as well, focusing on Louis's face as he concentrates on wrapping up his arm tightly. Louis seems a bit disheveled, but it's not much of a surprise. This was a lot to throw at him all at once...

"... Quit gawking."

"Sorry... I must've made you worry..."

"You think? I've been texting you, waiting for any response, for 8 hours. When I don't hear from you, I just... can't help but assume the worst. I..."

His words get caught in his throat and he let's out a frustrated sigh. Finishing wrapping a cut on Legosi's arm, he bows his head a bit. His antlers rest at Legosi's shoulders. "... You have a habit of getting into the most dangerous situations. So it's very easy to assume that you're not safe when you're not... around me..."

He lifts his head, eyes distant. "... Every time... I meet someone... Who I come to respect... It doesn't last." A slow shake of his head, then he lifts it slowly, their eyes meeting. "I just want this to last... I can't let this keep happening. And you cant keep coming back like this.

Legosi looks away, shame forming a tight knot in his stomach. A gentle hand turns his head back. He swallows hard, prepared for any sort of punishment for his foolishness. "Please... Don't do this to me or Haru again, if at all possible. Or at least call us... We want to know you're okay."

Louis bows his head with a pained expression. He firmly holds Legosi's shoulders. "I'm tired of seeing my loved ones so beat up and bloody... But the last thing I want is for you to just die in an alley way somewhere. Alone..."

He lifts his head, their eyes meet once more. Legosi hunches down to meet his height out of habit.

"...I'm glad you came back. I'd appreciate it if you could learn to run away once in a while... But as long as you come back to me, I'll be here for you. You stubborn, reckless wolf..."

Legosi fights back his urge to hug Louis and get blood all over his clothes.

"... I'll clean this up. You need to rest. Also, I'll be borrowing you kitchen. If you don't pass out in the next hour or so, we can eat a quick meal before bed."

Legosi's tail thumps the ground lazily and his stomach growls. As crazy as this night has been, he feels a wave of relief and gratitude release all the tension in his muscles, and he smiles, watching Louis pick up garbage and clutter around the room and prepare the kitchen.

He's very glad he's home right now...

#beastars fanfic #legosi x louis #beastars legosi x louis #legosi x louis fanfic #angst #hurt/comfort #legosi #louis #fanfic #fanfiction #still not very good at writing this stuff yet #sorry if there are any spelling errors #i tried my best #louis x legosi #legousi #legousi fanfic #whump

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agathaarts · 4 years

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I Want You To Have Days Like This

My mental health is not always great, but I am lucky enough to be in a point in my life where I am healing. Today was very good, and I know a lot of people are not having good days- so you can borrow mine, for a little bit, if you’d like. Because I want you to have days like this.

Under the cut:

I Want You To Have Days Like This

by Agatha Reitz (03/26/2020)

I want you to have days like this

I want you to know life

I want you to wake feeling rested, with as little pain as possible, no more than a dull ache in my back and my belly when I move and stretch, readily forgotten, and to see the sunlight filtering in through the blinds and know in some deep animal instinct that it is spring. The energy and impulse to do things, the cobwebs and frost of winter shaking off of my soul and my mind. We move the old table aside, and bring in the new one- it is older, but not to us, and larger, and we can fit four chairs around it so we can all sit together someday, so we can all be together. The legs screw into place and it feels good. It feels right. It is time for a bigger table, it is time to sit with my family. The plastic is peeled from the windows, and they are opened, bringing the sweet breeze outside in. We roll the metal firepit from the garage, and promise that tonight we will use it for the first time. We promise.

I want you to know satisfaction

I take the plants outside, from the mudroom, onto the porch, and sink my fingers into the soil as I repot them- bigger planters, better ones, with more room to grow, dividing out the new spider plants and the aloe sprouts that have sprung up around their mothers. I want you to know what it is to plan, to look at the plot where the garden will be, and to think about how you will pull the life up out of the earth and into peapods and beans. Dividing seeds into egg cartons of soil, my daughter’s careful, delicate hands as she looks up to the sun and closes her eyes, smiling at the warmth of spring after a long winter indoors. Peas, carrots, chives, we line the seeds up a pinch at a time. Ready for warmer nights to come.

I want you to know release

We will go, we decide, out, out to my parents’ home, though we must stay so far from them now. Close enough to talk and for my mother’s smile, watching us chatter like the goldfinches at the feeders do. I want you to know what it is to see the woods, as they slowly come to life. Where wild raspberry and blackberry bushes spring up overnight into thorny tangles that branch and weave into paths you walked clear not a week ago, and to see the buds on the branches. To hike down to the river, past the fallen trees and through the new saplings, to where the tufts of fur and stained bones that were once a deer rest at a fork in the road, to where the old logs are now turning into vividly black and red dirt, rich and fragrant. We count thousands of mushrooms, tiny jutting shelves of white and black and green amidst the bark and lichen, on every surface of the trees, framed by moss and twisting thorny vines of purple. Life wastes no time here, reclaiming the wood grown old.

I want you to know peace

I would take you to the river, where we throw sticks into the waters made high and fast by thaws and rain, and watch them drift away. Where my daughter and I stand, in the woods where I roamed half-wild and unmastered as a child, eyes open and senses alert and huffing and puffing, for the hike is all downhill, then all uphill back, stopping to collect dried branches for firewood and to catch our breath as we carry armfulls, eyeing fresh-cut logs waiting transport, taken by the sudden wave of need to stockpile, to collect, like a game. To tired legs and aching arms, from climbing and carrying, and the knowledge that we will go back home and there will be food for our bodies now that our minds have been replenished.

I want you to know nourishment

My love makes marinated steaks on the grill, and over the firepit, and my brother makes potatoes rubbed in oil and salt and wrapped in foil and placed over the burning logs that we carried to the car not hours ago, and we all breathe the smell of burning wood and smokey meat and sizzling oils. We eat together, around the fire, something ancient and communal in us awakened and aware. Dog-eared comics in my daughter’s hands between conversation, laughing and squealing when the logs are stirred and send clouds of sparks rising high. We toast marshmallows and teach my daughter for the first time how to make s’mores, crushing the sugary treats between chocolate and cracker and stuffing them in our mouths while still warm, passing between us hot chocolate and strawberry soda. It is satisfying, in a way food ought to be, fulfilling in more than just our bellies.

I want you to know love

A thin silver sliver of the moon hangs over our house in the lilac evening sky, above it, what I think is Venus is a bright pinprick of light in a starless expanse. There is fog in my brain, much of the time. Static, like radio signals clashing and battling while driving across the state. A murmur of fear and anxiety and paralytic anger as persistent as water lapping at the lakeshore. I want you to know what it was to feel that lift, tonight. To breathe the cooling air as music played and we watched orange light dance on our faces around the fire. Ancient and instinctive, something inside me wonders if this was how our ancestors remembered times. Huddled around a fire, my daughter curled up between me and my lover, and we talk about things she desires to learn, about biology and geology. The air is chill and we stick our feet near the firepit though it is steadily growing dimmer, but it keeps our fronts warm though our backs feel the nip of still-wintery night. A bustle to bring everything back inside before it is too dark, to pour water over the embers and ashes and scatter them across the garden plot where we will grow our vegetables and flowers and bring forth butterflies and bees.

I want you to know days like this

I want you to know the good days

I want the evening to come and for you to feel satisfaction, as I have. I want you to know that for the nights I have spent screaming inside my head, that there was something beautiful and pristine about a day like this- even with scratched hands and burned fingertips, with aching knees and sore toes. We put blankets in the drier and pull them out hot and wrap ourselves in them. We pour hot cocoa and slice up apples with dollops of nutella for bedtime snacks. I want you to know these days, these blissful and strange days of peace in stormy, whirlwinds of time. To sit outside and watch the night creep in and hear the whisper of “I don’t want this night to end” but to be too content to really be sad when it’s time to turn down the covers, to ready the bed.

I want you to know nights like this

Where things are okay. Maybe they still hurt, maybe you still hurt, like I do, and maybe always will, but they are okay. You are okay.

It was okay, today

#my writing #oh hey i also write too #i don't know what to tag this as #mental health #a good day #comfort #borrow my good day it's okay to do so #especially if you've not had good days recently #you can have mine

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notapaladin · 3 years

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with my heart in my lap

Acatl’s snarky narration: “Or I could grow fangs and turn into a coyote.”

Me: WELL NOW

...yeah, so I wrote were-coyote Acatl smut. I’ve been battling pretty bad physical anxiety symptoms lately (brain: “clearly if someone passes a value judgement on anything related to your new fave thing they are also passing judgement on YOU” me: “that makes...no sense...” brain: “too late, open the gates and release the Fear Juice”) so this maybe isn’t the BEST writing I’ve put out but hey, I managed it!

Also on AO3

There were nights Acatl loved. Nights where he could relax with a full belly and a reasonably peaceful heart, where his only major concerns were the day-to-day problems of his temple and any outstanding cases at least didn’t require his personal attention. Nights where he could rest and dream of anything other than blood and death. (And if some of those dreams were of Teomitl’s bright eyes and the curve of his mouth, that was a strictly private matter.)

And then there were nights like this.

He’d been able to sense the change in the air at dawn; as the day wore on, the tension prickling across his scalp and over his skin only worsened. He’d found himself snappish and ill-tempered even with Ichtaca, and had only barely remembered to send a messenger to the palace to let Teomitl know there would be no lessons today. There couldn’t be, with the full moon coming on. At least his order had learned to work around his...condition. Though their High Priest would be indisposed, they could care for the dead just as well without him. Ichtaca had been very firm in making sure he knew that when he’d first been appointed.

(It hadn’t been the most embarrassing conversation of his life, but it was absolutely up there. There just wasn’t a dignified way to discuss an unbreakable curse that put him out of commission every full moon.)

He knew he shouldn’t worry. His priests had matters well in hand, and he’d always maintained enough control over his own mind to ensure he wouldn’t be a physical danger to those around him. Politically...well, that was another matter. He didn’t even want to think about the repercussions for his order if word got out; Acamapichtli would surely love nothing more than to destroy him after what he’d done to Tlaloc. But it would be well. All would be well. All he had to do was stay inside and out of sight until dawn.

As the sun set, he made his preparations. Ichtaca had been by earlier to stockpile plenty of food—duck and rabbit and turkey, venison and the tough flesh of peccaries—so he wouldn’t be half-starved by the time he was done. There was fresh, cold water waiting by his mat, along with thick blankets that he really didn’t need (indeed, the curse always made him run almost painfully hot), but he appreciated the gesture anyway. He’d just lifted his worship-thorns to his ear for his nightly offering to Mictlantecuhtli when he heard something that did not belong in the routine of his cursed full-moon nights.

Someone was coming. For a moment it was almost reassuring—just one of my priests checking on me, I’ll send them away—and then he recognized the footsteps. There was only one person in Tenochtitlan who walked like that, like he was angry at the distance he crossed for separating him from his goal.

He almost couldn’t breathe.

Teomitl.

It was all the warning he had before the entrance curtain jingled with the weight of a hand on it, not yet pushing it aside, and his student’s voice called softly, “Acatl-tzin?”

I have to get him away from here. I can’t let him— “What are you doing here?!” It came out as far more of a snarl than he intended, and if the circumstances hadn’t been so dire he would have felt bad. But his teeth were starting to itch, and that was the first sign.

“One of your priests said you would be indisposed for the next three days. I came to see if there was anything I could do.”

He wasn’t sure which priest he’d sent to the palace; the closer it was to sunset, the harder it was to focus on anything outside of his own body. Suddenly that seemed like a dreadful oversight on his part. Duality, hadn’t they all been warned not to go into details? Or had Teomitl asked, in his usual terribly persuasive way, and had the priest folded like wet paper? He took a deep breath, feeling it rumble through his lungs. His skin felt hot and tight across his back. “No. I am fine—“ A sudden lance of pain scorched through his chest, and he broke off with a cry. “Ah!”

“Acatl-tzin?!”

And then Teomitl was there, in his house, and Acatl couldn’t do anything about it. He was grateful that he was already sitting down; it was easier to breathe as the pain ebbed. When he could think again, he registered that Teomitl was kneeling by his side with warm hands resting on his arms, and his deep brown eyes were very close. “I’m…” He couldn’t even finish the sentence. Like this, it was impossible to lie.

Teomitl’s gaze flickered around the room for a moment before returning to Acatl’s face, eyes dark and serious. “What happened? Should I fetch you a healing priest?”

He closed his eyes. Duality, you won’t leave me alone until I tell you, won’t you? Even though...even though I… Even though he couldn’t bear the thought of Teomitl looking at him with horror and disgust, even though he couldn’t bear the idea of burdening another person—a warrior of imperial blood, no less—with his secret. (Even though a part of him whispered warm and bright in his chest, Maybe it will help. Maybe he will help.)

“Five years ago,” he began, “I fought a shapeshifting sorcerer.” Saying the words brought the events of that night flooding back in a tide of sensation—the brisk night air, the stitch in his side, the blood on his hands and cloak, the savage snapping of teeth in his face. “He was—“ Duality, there had been so much blood. His breath came harsh in his throat, and he knew it wasn’t only due to his own memories. All of a sudden, he hungered. “He took coyote form. To—to hunt. To slay innocents for his own lusts. I slew him, but in his final breath he—cursed—“

Pain stole the words from his throat, and he nearly gagged. Gods, not now. Not now! But there was no stopping it; he barely managed to shove Teomitl away as he collapsed onto his side in the patch of moonlight on his floor, breathing hard. Dimly he heard Teomitl’s shocked cry, but he could find no reassurance to give him. I’m so sorry.

In his more lucid moments, he’d briefly wondered if the sorcerer had suffered through as much pain in his transformations; it wasn’t something Acatl could imagine any sane man choosing. His chest felt as though it’d been hollowed out and filled with fire, the long bones in his legs and feet screaming as they stretched. He could barely feel his face, the pain of a shifting skull and growing jaw simply too much to register. If he’d had any breath, he would have screamed. Next to that, the burning itch of erupting fur was almost pleasant. He clawed off his loincloth frantically, unable to think of modesty past the oversensitivity of his skin. If Teomitl was horrified, he could damn well deal with it.

The agony faded slowly. After long moments during which he counted each heartbeat, he became aware of his own body again. Or rather—his own body, for the duration of each night of the full moon. A man’s torso and arms covered in reddish-gray fur, the head and hindquarters of a giant coyote, hands ending in razor-sharp claws. He licked his lips, tasted blood, and heard his stomach growl.

“...Acatl.” Teomitl’s shaking voice was coming from a spot just within arms’ reach. “Gods. Gods. Is that—are you…?” Words seemed to have failed him.

A sensible man would have run. Acatl, not for the first time, came to the conclusion that Teomitl was anything but. With effort, he nodded. This close, he could smell Teomitl’s skin; if he listened, he could hear his pulse racing hard through his veins.

“Oh, Acatl-tzin.” He didn’t sound terrified. Dismayed, certainly, and perhaps a bit concerned, but not terrified. “Does it hurt?”

He shook his head, taking a deep breath. It was possible to talk in this form, though only with some difficulty. Long words made his tongue hurt. “Not anymore.” After a small eternity, he managed to open his eyes and focus his gaze on Teomitl’s face. He looked smaller like this, more vulnerable. Like prey, whispered his instincts, but he shook the thought away. I am not so much of a beast. And he is strong. It was several more long moments before he could arrange himself into a more or less upright seated position, grabbing at the remains of his loincloth to drape over his lap as his sense of shame reasserted itself.

Someone had to be embarrassed, because Teomitl clearly wasn’t. He was studying him with open curiosity as he moved, head cocked to the side like a bird. Still, he swallowed hard when they made eye contact, and Acatl saw his eyes widen. One hand hovered half-curled in the air, frozen in the middle of reaching for him as he clearly thought better of it. “...Can I...touch you?”

What. But Teomitl was still watching him, and Acatl felt his heart skip a beat. Gods, yes, please. He closed his eyes, barely daring to move, and nodded.

A gentle hand landed on his jaw first, tracing through the thick fur. If it hadn’t been so warm, it might have tickled; as it was, he found himself shivering for an entirely different reason. Teomitl murmured, “Remarkable. Sorcerers don’t usually...leave themselves in this in-between form, do they?” At the minute shake of his head, Teomitl’s fingers tensed. “Thus the curse. Still...Acatl-tzin, I cannot imagine anyone being scared of you like this.”

“...I am a monster.” It slipped out before he could take it back.

“You are not.” Both hands came up on either side of his jaw, cradling his face; he opened his eyes instinctively and found himself meeting Teomitl’s narrowed, serious gaze. “You are Acatl, no matter what form you take.”

He was absurdly grateful to be covered in thick fur. It meant Teomitl couldn’t see how hard he would surely have been blushing if he was in his human skin. “Teomitl…”

Teomitl took a slow breath and dropped his hands. “...I’m sorry. I overstepped.”

Overstepped? It took him a moment to figure out what Teomitl meant, but then he realized. He’s never addressed me like that before. The thought made his heart flop like a landed fish in his chest. Hastily, he shook his head. “No. I—you can say my name. Like that. I don’t...I don’t mind.”

Teomitl’s smile was as slow and radiant as the dawn. “Acatl.” He only hesitated a heartbeat this time before reaching for him again. “Can I…”

His claws dug into his knees, drawing pinpricks of blood, but he nodded. Whatever was between them felt too fragile to disturb with words, but he burned for more—had been burning for more ever since that first proper lesson with Teomitl, where his student had looked up at him and smiled and he’d felt it like lightning in his bones. Duality, let me have this. Even if it kills me, let me have this.

This time, Teomitl’s hands fell to his shoulders. The fur was thinner here and over his torso, no impediment at all to the careful touch tracing wiry muscles and old scars. (He was being so careful—so careful, like Acatl was something rare and precious instead of a beast—but each touch made Acatl’s blood burn anyway.) His voice was warm and assessing, with a smile curving his lips that Acatl was afraid to look too closely at. “Mm...you’re built the same. Larger overall, I think, but the same.”

He huffed out a breath. “Not very...impressive, I know.” Not like Teomitl, whose bare skin was distracting whether it was gilded by sunlight or edged in the glow of the silvery moon. The boy moved like a jaguar, all coiled power and sinuous grace. Even when he was fully human, when a good half of his mind wasn’t taken over by the instincts of the coyote, it was a sight that made him hunger. Xochiquetzal said I’d forgotten what made me alive. Maybe I had. But then, I hadn’t met him yet. Now, it was all he could do to keep his gaze trained on a point just over Teomitl’s left shoulder and his mind on anything but the profound urge to feel hot flesh against his. His pulse thundered under his skin. Though it be jade, it is crushed, as soon as the flowers open they fall...

Then Teomitl slid his hands down over his chest, thumb finding the edge of one nipple hidden under the fur, and all thoughts of hymns and Mictlan flew out of his head. He gasped out loud, snapping his eyes back to Teomitl’s face to find him grinning. “Very impressive to me.”

“Teomitl!” For a small mercy, Teomitl’s hand stilled. Acatl’s heart did not. It was racing, hammering against his ribs so hard it was a wonder they held. He swallowed convulsively past the sudden lump in his throat. He’s so close. So trusting, so...so tender with me. I could—

“It’s true.” Teomitl’s smile turned wicked. “You’re beautiful as a man, you know, but in this form...it’s new. I like new things.”

He thinks I’m beautiful. And he...even in this form he’s...interested. In me, in this most monstrous part of me. His mouth suddenly felt very dry. “Do you, now.”

“Mmm.” Teomitl’s hands slid down lower; it felt natural this time to lean back, shivering, as fingers slid over his flat stomach. The loincloth bunched in his lap was suddenly not nearly enough fabric, not when Teomitl was right there and eyeing him like a feast. “I think I like it a lot.”

He was half hard already; it would take no effort to get the rest of the way there. He’d never looked at himself in this form, but he knew it hadn’t escaped his transformation unscathed—bulbous in some parts, tapered in others, wholly inhuman. And, judging by the hot gleam in his curious eyes, much to Teomitl’s taste. “Ngh. You, uh. You do?”

This time it was Teomitl’s turn to swallow, finally averting his gaze. “Yes.” It was hushed, heated. “Can I—“

“Yes.” He didn’t need to think about it. Anything you want to do. Everything. It’s yours. I’m yours.

Another visible gulp, but then Teomitl’s focus was back on him and he felt heat suffuse his face again. That smile—soft, hopeful, hungry—was entirely too much. “Lay down for me?”

He laid down. It felt strange, honestly; he typically spent his full-moon nights hunched over awkwardly and trying to shrink back into his skin, every moment a prayer for the sun to rise quickly. Being sprawled on his back should have felt vulnerable, and it did, but with Teomitl shifting to kneel between his thighs—gods, there was not enough fabric—it was also making his blood pound. He was powerless to repress the rumble in his throat or the shaky, indrawn breath when Teomitl’s fingers brushed the inside of his hip. “What are you—oh.”

He was bared to the open air, and Teomitl breathed out slowly as he took in the sight. “Oh, very interesting.”

Acatl steeled himself to say something—it’s the mark of a beast, you see the curse couldn’t even leave that alone—but then one calloused hand wrapped stroked around his length from base to tip, and what came out was a shocked, wordless moan.

Teomitl looked distinctly smug. “Hmmm. You are larger in this shape than you are normally. Everywhere. Do you like this?”

“Teomitl—“ He cut off with an embarrassingly needy whine as Teomitl’s grip tightened. “Oh gods…” That wicked hand just wouldn’t stop. His clawed feet dug into the floor under him as he wriggled, seeking more of that friction.

Teomitl stilled his hand. His breath caught in his throat as he shifted, spreading his knees apart, and Acatl only needed to take a breath to smell his arousal. “You do. Duality, you really do.”

I do. I want more. All thoughts of consequences had flown out the window; there was only Teomitl’s hand on his cock, Teomitl’s eyes bright in the darkness. He needed to be closer. Before he could think better of it, he reached out and snagged Teomitl’s cloak to pull him down on top of him; the roughness of his own voice surprised him as he snarled, “I want to touch you.”

Teomitl went willingly, propping himself up on one elbow. In this position they were close enough to kiss if Teomitl felt like braving the fangs; instead of fear or trepidation, his eyes held only the vivid light of desire. He swallowed roughly, rocking his hips forward. If Acatl had had any doubts as to the state of his arousal, they were promptly erased. “You can.”

He shuddered down to his bones. The change in position had left Teomitl’s hand still for the moment, but it was more than pleasure that was coiling through his veins. He wants me. Gods, I still cannot believe… “Even when I’m...like this?” But Teomitl had said he could, and it was impossible to resist; he let his hand drift down over Teomitl’s side to his hip, marveling at how soft the skin felt over such hard muscles.

Teomitl drew back, and for a moment Acatl was afraid he’d misjudged—but then he tilted his head and nuzzled up against his cheek in what was almost a kiss, and Acatl’s heart skipped a beat. “Please.”

Well. Since he’d asked so nicely. He’d never even tried to touch himself in this form—monster hissed the voice in his head whenever he so much as felt a flicker of desire—but now Teomitl was in his arms, warm and solid and alive, and any lingering hints of revulsion were washed away in a tide of desire. It was the work of a moment to tear the loincloth away, fine cotton giving way like paper to his claws and making Teomitl jolt with an eager gasp. Teomitl’s cock was hot and thick in his hand; when he gave it a slow upwards stroke, Teomitl bucked against him with a growl that sent his blood racing again.

“Harder.” Teomitl was working him again, steady though his own hips were rocking roughly into Acatl’s hand; when he shuddered and met his gaze, hazy-eyed, he found himself grabbing for his hip to hold him in place. He’d said harder, after all. And harder was what he got, Acatl stroking him in a rhythm that made him whine. “Nnn...Acatl…”

“Oh,” he breathed out. “You are so good for me.” Teomitl dropped his head against the crook of his neck, burying his face in the thick ruff of fur there; it wasn’t enough to muffle the noise that escaped him, nor the way he arched into Acatl’s grip. He likes that. He—

Then Teomitl was doing something with the angle of his wrist, and his thoughts scattered. There was only the flame heating his blood to an inferno, the pulse of his cock swelling as he approached his release. He wasn’t going to last much longer. “Teomitl—“

The base of his shaft had swelled into a knot; he hadn’t quite realized it at first, but then Teomitl got his hand around it and squeezed and he was coming with a howl. His mind went blank. It was only when the sharp shock of the first peak faded a little and he could think again that he realized Teomitl was still unfulfilled; he pumped his cock faster, and in a few more rough strokes Teomitl was following him over the edge with a hitched gasp.

More. It hit him like a thunderbolt, and his cock pulsed in Teomitl’s hand. Strong fingers rippled around it, and he groaned. It wasn’t enough. It didn’t feel like anything would be enough. He wanted to roll Teomitl over, pin him down, sink in deep. He tried to speak, but only a growl escaped him.

Teomitl’s shaky panting against his neck evened out, and he sucked in a huge breath before letting it out in a sigh. “Gods, you’re still hard. Incredible.”

Words were beyond him. He thrust up into Teomitl’s grip instead, and Teomitl sat up and straddled his thighs so he could put both hands to work. Watching his lover as he pumped one hand over his shaft while the other wrapped nearly all the way around his knot—narrow-eyed, focused, hungry—was almost more than Acatl could bear. Each breath came out in a growl as Teomitl set a pace that left him helpless to do anything but buck into it, half-formed thoughts of more than Teomitl’s hands skittering around the edges of white-hot desire—and then he was coming again, so hard that his vision went white.

For a long moment afterwards, he couldn’t speak. His knot seemed slow to deflate, but it was...enough. For the moment, his desire was sated; he was still twitching, thought he could maybe handle more, but with the edge worn off he could think again. Duality, they’d made a mess. (There might have been less of one if he’d been inside, buried to the hilt, feeling Teomitl hot and tight around him—no. There were limits, surely. Teomitl probably wouldn’t want that.)

Teomitl clearly didn’t care how much of a mess they’d made. He stretched out on top of him, nuzzling at Acatl’s collarbone affectionately. “You feel wonderful.” It came out half-muffled by Acatl’s fur, but he didn’t seem to notice.

He took a deep breath. Hesitantly—even after what they’d just done, it was strange to think he was allowed this intimacy—he slid one arm around Teomitl’s waist and let the other rest at his back, just between his shoulderblades. He could feel each thump of his heart. “...I still cannot believe this appeals to you…”

Teomitl smiled. “Because it’s you.”

He started to respond, unsure of what he was going to say even as he opened his mouth—why or I love you both seemed strong candidates—but the rumbling of his own stomach cut him off, and his ears flattened with shame.

It didn’t help much when Teomitl chuckled. “Hungry, after all that?”

He nodded, feeling his face burn. “It...takes a lot out of me. Changing.” And everything else.

“Hmm.” Slowly, Teomitl pulled away and sat up. There was a clawmark at his hip. “Let’s eat and clean up. And then…” His gaze, drifting around the room, slid back to Acatl with a hopeful gleam. “The night is long, you know. And I’m not especially tired.”

He closed his eyes, letting out a shaky breath. Teomitl was energetic in this, too. “Duality, you are going to kill me.”

“I don’t think so.” He could actually hear Teomitl’s smirk. “You seem to have very impressive stamina in this form.” His voice dropped to a purr. “I’m looking forward to experiencing it later.”

His spent cock gave a hopeful twitch, but then Teomitl was uncovering a tray of roasted venison and he realized he was, in fact, too hungry to give into it just yet. There would be time for such exploration after he’d whetted his appetite.

At least turning back was relatively painless. Of course, he still felt like he’d been flattened under the Great Temple when he woke up, but he always slept through the actual shift. He met the dawn naked, drained, and somewhat sticky, but being in his own skin again was a boon in its own right.

And this time, he wasn’t alone. He felt Teomitl’s presence before he even attained full consciousness; there was a warm arm flung over him, a head tucked into his neck, long legs tangled with his. He blinked awake slowly, unsure of what to do, but Teomitl took choice out of his hands by murmuring, “Good morning,” against his skin.

He shivered in pleasure as the words wafted over him. “Mm. Good morning, Teomitl.”

“I love you.” It was barely audible. “I told you that last night, didn’t I?”

He had. Effusively. Their late dinner had led to careful kisses and thorough, wanton exploration as Teomitl coaxed him into some semblance of comfort with his transformed state; by the time they’d both finally been exhausted, Acatl had been forced to admit that being three-quarters coyote did have some advantages. With his inexperience, he doubted it would have been quite so easy to reduce Teomitl to incoherence in his human skin.

The memory of those sweet moments made Acatl shiver. “I could hear it again.”

Teomitl kissed him. It was better—far better—when they both had human mouths; he could mold to the shape of his lips, tilt his head just so, feel Teomitl sigh and arch slowly against him. One hand slid into his hair, a gentle caress, as Teomitl pulled away to breathe, “I love you. No matter what shape you take.”

“Oh?” Their noses were still brushing, waking a contented glow in his chest and bringing a smile to his face. He suddenly found himself with the urge to tease. “Even when I’m only a very boring priest, and not—hm, how did you put it. Interesting at all?”

“Boring?!”

By the time they finally got around to breaking their fast, he was more than glad his priests didn’t expect much of him while the moon was full. Teomitl was very, very thorough when it came to showing him how much he was loved.

#obsidian and blood #teomitl #acatl #not work safe #teocatl #paladin writes stuff

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zukuthehero · 4 years

Text

Counseling, Revelations, and Babies

First Chapter || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter (coming soon) || AO3

## Izuku POV ##

I nervously walked with Aizawa-sensei to my quirk counseling.

Since Aizawa-sensei was going to be my counselor they were meeting in his office for now.

I clutched the notebook in my hands, filled with all the notes and theories as to how my quirk could work… leaving out the One for All aspects of course.

All Might would not be happy if I screwed up and told another person about One for All… even if Kacchan didn’t believe me about it.

I shook my head and realized we’d made it to Aizawa-sensei’s office.

“Alright, Problem Child, let’s get to it,” he held the door open for me.

I walked in and sat in the chair Aizawa-sensei motioned too.

“Now, did you finish your report on your quirk?”

“Yeah, uh, here-“ I scrambled to put the notebook on his desk, just one of the normal ones I bought the other week, “I wrote it all here.”

Aizawa-sensei flipped through the notebook, his gaze rapidly flitting across the pages.

“I’ll go through this after our session today. Today I just need you to tell me about your quirk, how you got it, that sort of thing.”

I nodded nervously, “Okay, um, where… where should I start?”

“Well, I know your quirk evolved a little bit before the entrance exam, what was the trigger? Do you know exactly when it evolved?”

Okay, I guess… I’ll just have to wing it? Starting with the slime villain, I can say that was a trigger, but that… my body couldn’t really access the quirk until my training reached a certain point?

“So, about… a year ago? I was going home from school and uh, I was going under and underpass, then- then a slime villain attacked me. It… it was scary…”

I looked down at my hands, that had been a very scary time.

“BUT! But then A-uh, All Might showed up and he- and he defeated the slime villain. Then he uh-“

Wait how to explain this part?

“He brought me to a roof to calm down away from other people… Um, he ran out of time so we sat there for a few minutes and uh, then we headed off… but then we heard an explosion so Uh- All Might went ahead to see what happened.”

Okay so nailed that…

Aizawa-sensei leaned forward, “It’s fine for you to call him Uncle here, I already know that he’s your uncle. But was the attack by the slime villain what unlocked your quirk?”

I chewed my lip, right I forgot about that. Call him… Uncle Might? Uncle Yagi? Uncle Yagi I guess…

“Right well, it was maybe that time? Or it was what happened next…”

“And what happened next?”

“I was heading home again, but I ended up walking past where the explosion was… Uh- well, It was Kacchan… The slime villain slipped away earlier, and well… It caught Kacchan…”

Aizawa-sensei handed me a bottle of water, “Take your time.��

I sipped the water, reorganizing my thoughts. I need to explain the next part carefully.

“I was moving before I could really think, running at the slime villain. I… I threw my bag at the slime villain, my book was at the top and attheangleIthrewthebagatitcameoutandhittheslimevillainintheeyeand-“

“Slow down a little Problem child, I can’t quite catch that.”

“Right I uh, I threw my back, and my book came out of it, then it, it uh, it hit the villain in the eye, then I kinda… clawed at the villain? I tried to get Kacchan out…”

I looked down at my hands, “It didn’t really work and the slime villain was about to attack again.”

I swallowed, then shook my head, “But uh, Uncle Yagi attacked it and beat it! So, we were fine. Then… something felt different? I don’t know how to describe it, it was like…”

What did it feel like when I first used the power…

“Like there was energy just sitting there needing to be released? My brain was moving so fast… I felt like I needed to do something…”

Aizawa-sensei nodded, he seemed to be noting that down.

“A- Uncle Yagi noticed something off… He said he might have an idea what was happening. So, he spent the next few months training me to be able to handle the energy? I guess? It uh… it was tiring but, but it helped a lot I think.”

Aizawa nodded, “Then you said you didn’t get to test the quirk at all before the entrance exam?”

I nodded, “Un-Uncle Yagi said that he thought I’d be able to handle the strain then… He thinks my quirk is similar to his….”

Aizawa nodded, “Then why the damage?”

I straightened, I actually had thought a lot about this, “The energy basically strengthens my hits, it goes out in huge blasts, pure power. My body can’t handle the backlash from that power. I’m unsure if when I attacked the Nomu it was because the Nomu’s shock absorption absorbed the attack in full, negating the backlash, or that it was because I subconsciously lowered the amount. Regardless the strain of the backlash does a lot of damage. It doesn’t do any damage to just hold my quirk in my arms, but it can ache after a bit…”

Aizawa scribbled down everything I said.

“Alright then, so how do you feel your quirk works? How does it feel to activate it? Looks? How have you been practicing it?”

“Uh, well, it feels… invigorating… it’s like, I’m suddenly overflowing with energy that’s just trying to force it’s way out, like an egg about to explode in the microwave.”

Aizawa-sensei jerked, a look of worry on his face, “What?”

I hesitated, “Well, that’s… that’s how I’ve been imagining it…”

His eyes narrowed, “I see, continue.”

I pulled out one of my pens again…

“Um, I guess it looks like red lines and green light? Sometimes it’s sparks when I lower the amount of power I’m using. But I don’t know how to keep it at the sparks level consistently.”

He made some more notes, “Alright, we can work on that, don’t worry.”

I nodded, “I’ve just been practicing calling it up and doing normal things with the power in my arms. It makes me ache a bit but otherwise doesn’t hurt.”

He nodded, “Alright, any other notes you can think of for a base on your quirk work?”

I hesitated, well, the quirk stockpiles energy but it never seems to run out so I’m still wondering what the source of the energy might be… It doesn’t seem to draw from me. I twisted the pen apart. It doesn’t make me tired to use it. I’ll have to pay attention, it has to be drawing power from somewhere, and it can’t just be the previous holders. That would be a very finite energy supply.

“I don’t think so, I’m just unsure where my quirk draws energy from.”

He hummed, “Well, we’ll try to figure that out as we go. How’s that sound?”

I nodded, twisting the pen back together.

“Now then, lets go over what you’ve told me. Your quirk likely evolved as a result of the slime villain incident, it felt like a lot of energy in you needing to be released, seemed to speed up your thinking so has likely been doing so passively for a while, puts strain on your body when you call up the energy, glows when used fully, and has an unknown area where it draws power.”

I started taking the pen apart again but nodded.

“Alright, we’ll start next session, but for now I’ll explain what we’ll do.”

He pulled out a piece of paper.

“First, we’ll see you use your quirk, not to attack anything but just calling it up and letting it go. We’ll have you do basic exercises like that. We’ll try to see how long you can hold the quirk before it starts causing you to ache, and then we’ll see if that time can be raised depending on how often you use the quirk.”

I smiled, that sounded like something I could do.

“Once we’re confident you won’t break all your bones throwing a punch we’ll have you start trying drills just in the air, without an opponent. We don’t want to accidentally hurt anyone. Maybe we’ll have you try running and see if it affects your speed, do some obstacle courses and the like too.”

I started rearranging the pieces of the pen. “Okay.”

“During all of this we’ll see if we can’t figure out where the energy is coming from, it will be good to know to see if you can purposefully gather more energy, or if you just gain energy passively.”

I nodded.

“Any questions?”

I thought for a long moment, slowly beginning to piece the pieces of the pen back together, “No I don’t think so…”

Aizawa-sensei nodded, offering me a faint smile, “Alright then. We’ll start tomorrow. You have Pre-Calc next I believe, so you’d best be off.”

I smiled, “Thank you Aizawa-sensei!” I bowed quickly then grabbed my bag and hurried off, closing the door gently behind me.

## Aizawa POV ##

I walked into All Might’s office with a groan.

“Your nephew is going to need a lot of help in quirk counseling.”

I saw All Might hang up the phone.

“Did it not go well?”

“No, it went fine, but I just read through his notebook.”

I sat down, not like his mom was here for me to tell all this too. All Might would do I suppose.

“He can’t use the quirk for anything without harming himself, he’s been practicing just holding it.”

“Yes, he told me that, it seems like a good strategy.”

“Yes well, it’s going to take time for him to learn to use it. And I have the bad feeling he’s going to want to use it in the Sports Festival regardless of how good he is at using it.”

“That’s a great time to make his mark! I’m sure he’ll do excellent.” All Might seemed very happy at the thought.

“All Might he can’t use the quirk without breaking bones right now, three weeks will not be enough to get him fully functional with the quirk. The energy output is too high. His body can’t handle that kind of energy. It’s probably had years to build up with almost no outlet.”

“Well, a few broken bones on the road to greatness is to be expected?”

I stared at him, has he ever dealt with children before? He’s Midoriya’s uncle!

“All Might,” I started slowly, “If he breaks his bones too many times they may heal wrong, and if the breaks are bad enough he may have scars from it. He should not have scars from it. He is a child and encouraging him to do things that would hurt him is not how we work.”

All Might blinked, “Oh.”

I sighed, “Pick up a teaching book at some point All Might. Geeze.”

I shook my head as I stood, “Regardless, make sure you don’t encourage the problem child to do something dumb, he needs to take care of himself.”

“Er, yes Aizawa-san.”

## Nedzu POV ##

I hummed, thinking back on my lesson with Midoriya Izuku.

That boy was truly something.

He was very clever, clearly well learned. He was very good at languages, I would have to give him placement tests for the languages he mentioned to see just how good.

His grades from school don’t reflect his knowledge, and his comment on being quirkless… I was not happy about that.

The boy had so much potential, he was clearly extremely smart, and his analysis skills were nothing short of genius.

His father clearly agreed if he was encouraging Midoriya so much. The languages were good ones for business and travel. They would be excellent for dealing with tourists as a hero too. I would have to encourage his skills with languages, French was a hard one, Russian was a little easier. I’d find some resources for Midoriya.

I should also get him working on sign language, that would be a good one to add to his skill list.

But back on his quirkless comment, I’d have to look into his school.

If he was afraid of people’s reactions to his knowledge, it was likely for a reason.

If the school would allow one child to be harmed, it’s likely they’re allowing others to be harmed as well.

If there’s one thing I can’t stand it was harming a child.

It was despicable.

I’ll be sure to deal with it quickly. Perhaps I’ll let Midoriya help me with it.

I smiled at the thought, moving to prepare some tea. Yes, Midoriya could use it as an exercise in undermining threats through the media.

That was an excellent idea.

I would also be sure to check on Midoriya, to make sure he was putting the work in here.

He’s already getting advanced education on Pre-Calc.

I believe he should be there now, hopefully he’s enjoying the class.

His father encouraged math a lot as well.

His father encouraged him a lot it seems, he didn’t make comments about his mother encouraging him.

I wonder about that.

But some of his comments about his dad interested me.

Apparently, his father was skilled at quirk analysis, enough so to encourage Midoriya to do so, and for Midoriya to say that his dad helped teach him to do it.

Midoriya was also clearly lying about his father being overseas, but I believe I know why.

After all, Analysis experts are high level targets for villains, and highly sought after for heroes.

It would definitely explain his vague file for him to be an analysis expert, the government was more than willing to hide details about them to keep them safe.

I’m unsure which Analyst he might be, but I’m sure I’ll be able to figure it out in time.

His father seemed to be more than willing to encourage him to be what he wanted, that’s the sort of thing a good parent does. Regardless of who his father is I’m sure he’s fine. I’ll look into it regardless, but I doubt I’ll find anything I’m not expecting.

Midoriya wants to be a hero that helps everyone. He has a lot to learn to reach that point.

I couldn’t help but grin at the thought, I have so much to teach him.

He’ll learn all about coding, that’s a necessity, and of course hacking, how to deal with the media, practice putting large scale strategies into effect, learning how to account for all the factors that could occur, how to take down buildings with just a few strikes, how to ruin people with a few well placed words, and of course, how to use his brain to destroy his opponents.

He wants to help everyone, he’s going to need to understand the underworld for that. I would also need to teach him how to gain allies, informants, how to work a network.

All Might certainly picked an interesting successor, I think I’m going to have a lot of fun teaching him to terrorize the others.

I laughed as I took a sip of my tea, ignoring the yelp from Present Mic outside my office and the scrambling feet.

Yes, Midoriya Izuku would make an excellent successor, I can’t wait to get started.

## Mei POV ##

“I need to make some adjustments to my suit.”

My head snapped up, hearing the soft voice speaking to Power Loader-sensei.

I wasn’t technically supposed to be here during lunch, but I had to work on my babies. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to show off though!

“What’s that!?” I hurried over, “You want to adjust your suit?”

I grinned, “Hi I’m Mei, I’m just the person you’re going to want to do that!”

I grinned at the kid with green hair, I hope he has interesting requests.

He chewed his lip, looking at Power Loader-sensei.

Sensei just sighed though.

“Alright Mei, Midoriya-san, Mei will be helping you figure out your new hero costume. Let me know if you need anything that she can’t figure out.”

I pouted at the thought, of course I’d be able to figure it out!

“Come on green bean!” I chirped, yanking him over to my area, carefully moving my babies out of the way, “let’s get to work on some babies!”

I ignored his confused face as I snatched the blueprints for his suit from his hands.

“Now then, what do you need?”

I have a few babies that might help him, but I wanted to try and preserve them for the Sports Festival, I’ve got to show off my babies after all!

“Um, well- I uh, I figured out something new about my quirk and… I need to adjust a few things?”

I grinned, “Okay! What did you need adjusted?”

I studied the notes made, looks like he hasn’t even used it yet.

“I was wondering if I could get braces added for my arms and legs? And maybe something to reinforce my feet? My quirk puts a lot of strain on my body. I was hoping I could keep it- that I could keep it fairly streamlined still though… And uh…”

He paused, seemingly thinking of something, “Could I make it fire proof? And maybe have a few more pockets? Maybe some reinforcement over all as well? I just don’t want it to impede my movement… Also, I was hoping to keep the same rough outline for it.”

I nodded rapidly, taking notes quickly.

The things I could do with this! I really want to figure out something to brace his arms that would be truly streamlined, that would be brilliant! I would definitely get attention for it.

And if his quirk puts a lot of strain on his body… He could use it for the Sports Festival! He’d need something to keep himself from being injured from his quirk and if I could make streamlined braces that could handle it and he used it I could advertise! Prove my babies work even under duress!

I’m gonna do it. I’m determined to now.

“Absolutely! I’ll make you something to brace your arms and legs in no time! Something streamlined you said? Don’t worry, you’ll have it in time for the Sports Festival! I’ll make sure it’s separate from your hero costume so you can keep it with you too!”

His eyes widened, “Wait really? I thought the hero course wasn’t allowed Support Gear? Since it would be considered unfair.”

I grinned, “You just have to fill out a form, if your quirk puts strain on your body than having something to minimize that strain would be fine as long as it does nothing else! Don’t worry, the final versions will have extra stuff added. My babies won’t be boring!”

He stared, “Oh! So, your babies are your inventions? That’s cool! Do you really think you can make something by the Sports Festival?”

“Of course I can! I’m Mei Hatsume! You have no need to fear! I’ll have it done for you no problem.”

He grinned, “That’s amazing, you must be a really good inventor! What about the other things for my suit?”

“Don’t worry about those, most of them are basic things, the companies will be able to do it no problem. Do you want any extra bits? Do you want the mask to have better filters? They seem pretty basic from what I see. Or do you want a better hood?”

“Ah, my mom made the original so I kinda want to keep it the same?”

“Sentimental, got it! Well, I’ll make sure it stays as close as possible! Don’t you worry your pretty little head!”

He grinned at me again, “Thanks!”

“Can I see your quirk? See how it affects you and all?”

“Oh yeah, let me…” He held out his arms.

My eyes widened as the energy built up, red flowing over his arms in almost vein like patterns, I made note of where they were. They started sparking green almost immediately after the red veins, then it settled to a glow that steadily got brighter.

I could practically feel the power in his arms.

Oh yeah, that’s gonna be a strain on his body.

“Hmm, that’s definitely a strain on the body. I’ll have to be careful about the materials I use… Welp! Thanks for showing me! I’ll have it ready soon, come by tomorrow so I can get proper measurements and stuff, I have stuff to do now.”

I grinned at him as he beamed at me, his quirk slowly fading from his arms.

That quirk was gonna be great for me, I can already tell.

This is definitely the start of a great partnership.

“Don’t forget to come to me, Mei Hatsume! Any time you need anything! I make most everything!”

He nodded, “You’ll be my go to.”

I beamed, “Now get out! I have work to do.”

He laughed, waving as he headed out.

What was his name again? I dunno know, I’ll just call him Green Bean, seems simpler.

Now to get to work.

## AFO POV ##

I took a small sip of the tea I’d made, and almost choked when Tomura yelled through the camera.

“SENSEI OTOUTO WAS IN A VILLAIN ATTACK!!!!!”

I paused for a long moment.

“What?”

“I was looking through any videos that I could find that mentioned any of them! I found the dumb blondie blow up boy involved in a villain attack about a year ago, and Otouto ended up trying to save him from it!

I took a slow breath.

Katsuki Bakugo, I despise that brat. The way he treats my son is unacceptable.

The fact that my son risked his life to try and help the kid isn’t surprising, but it does anger me. The boy deserves to die for how he’s treated my son.

I’ve left him alone because Izuku cares so very much, but perhaps I’ll encourage Tomura to punish him just a little more.

“Excuse me?”

“Otouto almost died because of that brat! And Sensei that attack was about a year ago! It probably terrified poor Otouto. Fear has been known to cause quirks to appear or evolve.”

I hummed, slowly sipping my tea.

“That is likely when his quirk evolved into the form he has now.”

I’m glad that Izuku got a quirk like he’s always wanted, but the fact that it came at the risk of his life was not encouraging.

If he’d truly wanted one I would’ve been happy to pick one for him, any quirk would do really. As long as he was happy, and safe.

But this quirk was harming him apparently, and if it is partially a mutation on his mind for the mental enhancement it might damage him for me to take it away. I wasn’t happy about that.

He was also being a hero, and that was going to put him in a lot of danger.

This villain attack was the reason my son was in danger.

“Who is this villain?”

“A slime villain, no name released. Though it’s probably not hard to find out who they are, not many quirks like that.”

I nodded, “Find this villain and bring them to me.”

I paused, “Alive.”

“Yes Sensei.”

I could hear the blood thirsty promise in Tomura’s voice, he would insure that the villain would be brought to me alive. Though not necessarily unharmed.

My mind flashed to my little brother, who wanted to help people so badly but despised my way of doing it.

My brother who wanted to be a hero, who was so sickly, and I just wanted to protect him.

My brother who left me the moment he had a quirk of his own.

I would not let the heroes take my son from me like they took my brother.

I still mourn him, I refuse to mourn my son.

His safety comes first, even before his happiness. If need be I would take him away from the heroes and keep him here, safe and sound.

It would devastate him, and I would hate to hurt him like that. To take away his dream.

But I refuse to lose him. I refuse to let anything happen to him.

If he shows that he’ll be able to keep himself safe even as a hero, perhaps I’ll allow him to continue on.

For all that I want him safe, I want him happy too.

My brother left the moment he got the chance, he chose to be happy over being safe, he chose to be happy over me.

Locking Izuku up would be a last resort, I don’t want him to hate me after all.

I will insure his safety though, nothing was more important than that.

## Reporter POV ##

The reporter couldn’t believe his luck.

Where every other reporter had failed to get a statement from All Might, not only had he gotten a statement, but he’d also gained a little bit of information right before the call hung up.

He couldn’t wait to get this out there, it would be the biggest news since All Might’s debut!

8 notes · View notes

scourgewins · 4 years

Text

Avenge Me!

(I felt like writing something fun for the winter season, so have a snowball fight. I included most of the studio people, even though I know Bertrum came into the picture long after Henry. Just go with it. None of this really makes sense.)

(Warnings: None? I guess people getting knocked out and violence, but it’s all comedic.)

“Thomas, I-I don’t think we can beat them.”

“Don’t talk like that, Wally! We can’t show them fear!”

“But we’re outnumbered! Outgunned!”

“Shut up and listen to Thomas, Wally! We can’t doubt ourselves, not now.”

“But I’m scared, Lacie!”

“Just stay behind us, kid, and stay out of their line of sight.”

Wally obeyed and ducked behind the mechanics. Murray stood a few yards away, peeking over the edge of the wall. His breath came in clouds of steam that blew away with the chilly wind.

He checked his watch, “It’s almost time.”

“Get ready to fire.” Thomas grabbed up his ammo. Wally followed suit, his hands trembling from fear and cold. He glanced about himself.

“Where’d Boris go?” he asked.

The three mechanics whirled around, “Boris?!”

“Yes?” Wally sighed in relief as the cartoon wolf poked his head out from behind a snow drift, a can of bacon soup in hand.

“Get down!” Thomas grabbed him by the strap of his overalls and yanked him behind the barricade. Boris crouched down in the fresh powder and opened his can of soup.

“Okay,” Murray spoke quietly, eyes glued to his watch. Wally and the others tensed and clenched their ammo in nervous fists (Boris alone remained unconcerned). Wally squeezed his eyes shut, relishing the last few moments of peace before war broke out.

“In five, four, three, two, GO!”

Screams echoed about the vacant, snow covered lot as arms emerged from behind the three snow banks and released a rain of snowballs.

“Get down!” Lacie called. Wally threw his arms over his head, expecting at any moment to be struck down by a volley of snowballs, but miraculously survived. The janitor felt a surge of confidence and took hold of another snowball and chucked it over the barricade.

Somebody cried out in alarm from the snow bank to their left and there was a pause in their team’s attack.

“Nice shot, Wally!” Murray cried, hurling snowballs two at a time, “That’ll even the odds a bit!”

Grinning broadly, Wally gathered up his next ball and prepared to join the conflict in earnest.

Johnny was down in a matter of seconds despite being the one most sheltered by the barricade. Susie looked over at him as he fell backward, a ring of snow on his coat indicating where he’d been hit.

“We’re a man down!” She called to her teammates as she chucked a snowball.

“This game is stupid!” Grant said, ducking as a snowball sailed over his head.

“No, Johnny!” Shawn cried, reaching an arm out to the fallen organ player, “He was so young!”

“I’m not dead.” Johnny said nervously.

“Conserve your strength, Johnny! We’ll avenge you!”

Grant rolled his eyes, “You know this isn’t actual war, right?”

Shawn didn’t hear him over his own war cry.

Bertrum looked up from his place beside Grant. The theme park designer had decided sitting in the snow was beneath him and rolled out a mat to rest on.

He turned up the collar of his coat and glared, “Why did Drew have to drag us into this?”

“Joey thought it’d be a good team building exercise.” Alice replied as she gathered a snowball up in her gloved hands. The cartoon had on a scarf and winter dress, despite the fact that the cartoons couldn’t feel cold.

“Squatting in the snow and catching our death of cold while playing an idiotic game of snowball warfare is meant to strengthen our team bonds?”

“Yep,” Susie said, “So start throwing.”

“I will do no such thing.”

“We’re already a man down. You and Grant better get up and help us,” Susie threw a glare their way, “Or else.”

The obvious response was “Or else what?” but Grant and Bertrum didn’t much care to find out and begrudgingly took up the snowballs.

This is going perfectly! Joey thought to himself as he risked a glance over the snow bank, I can almost feel all the team bonding going on!

“Ow! You elbowed my ribs!” Joey turned as Sammy glared accusingly at Jack.

Jack glared back, “Well, you shouldn’t have been in the way!”

The lyricist raised an arm to throw his snowball but Sammy shoved him over, throwing his aim off. Jack plopped down in the snow and struggled to sit back up under the weight of his layers of warm clothing.

“What was that for?!” he exclaimed.

“You shouldn’t have been in the way!” Sammy replied, sounding smug.

Jack managed to roll back up to his knees and grabbed up some snow to throw at the music director. Sammy followed suit.

“No! Attack them, not each other!” Joey called hopelessly as they began pelting each other.

“Hey, cut it out!” Henry called from his post at the end of the barricade and rushed to stop the quarreling co-workers. Norman watched as the animator dashed by.

“Sammy and Jack are out. There’s only four of us left.”

“Don’t worry, Norman! We can do it!” Bendy stretched his rubbery arms wide and started to gather up a huge ball of snow, “This’ll knock a few of ‘em out!”

“We’ll cover you!” Joey said and lowered his voice, “Norman, you sneak up behind them.”

He indicated the bank where the mechanics lay in hiding. Norman nodded quickly and slunk off, keeping low to the snow and hugging the barricade. Joey glanced over in time to see both Sammy and Jack chuck their snowballs at Henry. His last words were “Are you kidding me?”

Guess we’re down to three, now, Joey thought, suddenly regretting his decision to have a snowball fight.

Turmoil appeared to have erupted among Joey’s ranks. Good, Thomas thought.

“Keep it up!” he called, “If we keep up our stream of fire they won’t be able to react.”

“We’re running out of ammo!” Lacie called, gesturing to their scant stockpile of ready-made snowballs. Thomas nodded to Wally.

“Start making more!” Wally nodded and got to work furiously packing the snow into ammunition. Murray slid over to help him.

Thomas continued his attack. One of his projectiles elicited another cry from the snow bank to their left.

“Got one!”

Wally looked up from his work to see and gasped.

“Ambush!”

Thomas whipped around in time to see Wally and Murray go down as Norman rose up seemingly out of nowhere. He and Lacie dove behind another snow heap as even more snowballs whistled over their heads.

“How’d he sneak up on us?” Thomas said.

Lacie shook her head, “I don’t know, but we need to take him down.”

“Agreed.” Thomas risked a glance, “I’ll rush him, you cover me.”

Lacie took up her last handfuls of snow, “Go.”

Thomas leaped forward, rolling over the small hill of snow. Norman looked up from his cover behind their barricade but immediately ducked down again as Lacie’s snowballs came at him.

Thomas’s feet flew over the snow and leaped over Wally and Murray, who both looked disappointed at dying.

“Avenge us, Thomas!” Wally called after him.

Thomas lunged forward with a cry and chucked his snowballs as Norman reeled backward and threw his own. The mechanic knew he’d been hit at the tell-tale thud against his chest but still managed to get a good shot in. Norman took the snowball full in the face as he landed on the ground, Thomas coming to fall beside him.

They lay where they’d fallen, listening to the sounds of carnage around them. Norman cleared the snow from his face and nodded to Thomas.

“Good game.” he said, offering a hand.

Thomas glanced at him and slowly accepted the shake, “Yeah, you too.”

Mentally cursing Joey, Grant threw his snowball over the barricade and watched it land with a disappointing plop in no man’s land. He looked back up in time to see a snowball headed straight for him. He hit the turf with a yelp. Someone behind him cried out in dismay and he turned to see Alice eyeing the new stain of snow on her dress.

“Darn it, we were so close to winning!”

Susie looked over at her, “Don’t worry, Al. We’ll still win.”

“We’ll avenge you, too!” Shawn yelled, and lobbed another snowball.

Alice slouched down onto the snow beside Johnny, who was rocking back and forth to keep himself warm.

“Hey,” Shawn said, looking over the snow bank, “I think something’s going down in Thomas’s territory!”

Susie and Grant risked a glance while Bertrum hung back. Sure enough, someone was throwing snowballs at Thomas and Lacie.

“This gives us a chance!” Susie exclaimed, “We have the most people left!”

“Victory is ours!” Shawn grinned at Grant, who couldn’t suppress a smile.

“Look out!”

Bertrum’s warning jarred Grant from his visions of a nice, warm office and he looked up in time to see the mother of all snowballs descend down towards him. He felt rooted to the spot, unable to save himself. Then Shawn was shoving into him and he was sprawling into a patch of snow that fogged up his glasses. Grant swiped his coat sleeve across the lenses and turned back around.

“Shawn?”

Shawn was lying face-down, partially buried by the mountain of a snowball. Grant’s eyes widened and he lunged forward, as did Susie and Bertrum.

“Shawn! Are you okay?” Grant furiously shoveled the snow off him and turned him over. The disoriented Irishman blinked up at him.

“Wow, that hurt.” he said quietly.

“We will accept your surrender!” Joey called.

“Yeah!” came Bendy’s squeaky voice.

Susie stood up from where she was crouched, “Are you kidding me? You might have seriously injured someone with that-”

A snowball (a considerably smaller one) sailed over the other barricade and right into Susie’s face. The voice actress sputtered and backed away.

“Bendy!” Alice cried indignantly.

“What? We didn’t call a truce!”

“I think this game is over.” Henry stood up from behind the snow bank, “Let’s all go back inside and-”

“Never!” Bendy chucked a snowball at him.

“We gotta see who wins!” Joey roared.

“Indeed we do.” Grant turned as Bertrum spoke. The older man’s lined face had set in a mask of determination.

“Go.” Grant turned back at Shawn’s weak voice, “I’ll be okay.”

“I won’t let you down.” Grant choked out.

“I know you won’t.” Shawn smiled and sank back into the snow.

Grant stood beside Bertrum, “I will avenge you.” he promised.

There was a scuffling to their right and they both turned as Lacie dashed across no man’s land and leaped over the snow bank.

She rolled to her feet and held her hands up, “Truce?”

Grant and Bertrum shared a glance and nodded.

“Truce.”

“Aw, heck.”

“What?”

Bendy gestured to the force of three preparing to attack them, “Lacie’s still alive!”

Joey followed where the cartoon pointed, “Aw, heck.”

“What are we gonna do?”

“Hold our ground!” Joey declared, gathering his snowballs closer to him, “Get another monster snowball ready!”

“I think you guys are taking this too far.” Henry came forward, brushing Bendy’s snowball from his beard, “You may have actually hurt Shawn.”

“Aw, c’mon, Henry!” Bendy waved aside the concern as he formed another huge snowball, “He’s fine!”

He raised his voice, “You’re fine, right Shawn?”

“I think you knocked him out!” Susie shouted back.

Bendy paused, looking surprised, “Really?”

“Oh, he’s just being dramatic!” Joey assured, “Keep going, Bendy!”

“No, don’t keep going, Bendy!”

“Would you be quiet?” Norman spoke up from where he sat further back from the front lines, “I want to see what happens!”

“You’re blocking the view!” Sammy added as Jack gestured for him to sit down. Both seemed to have forgotten their anger with each other. The other corpses (minus Shawn) gathered closer to see the outcome.

Henry glared at them, “I will not back down until you all-”

Whatever the animator was going to say was cut short as yet another snowball met with his face.

Joey whipped back to face their attackers. Lacie, Grant, and Bertrum had taken up Bertrum’s mat and were using it as a makeshift shield. The three of them charged forward with an enraged cry, sending snowballs at their targets as they ran.

“Isn’t that cheating?” Bendy asked as he ducked down.

Joey crouched beside him, “I never really laid down any rules!”

“This is going to be good.” Norman laughed.

Joey and Bendy jolted back as their opponents leaped over the barricade, their feet sinking into the snow. Lacie separated from the rest and plowed straight into Joey, sending the air right out of his lungs. Joey looked with fear into Lacie’s triumphant grin.

Then Bendy was hurling his gigantic snowball, “Get away from my dad!”

The mechanic jerked away right as the snowball was about to hit her, unfortunately giving it a clear path to Joey, who was immediately knocked out at the impact.

“Ha!” Grant cried, “Revenge!”

“I’m sorry!” Bendy called to his creator’s still form, “I will avenge you!”

“You won’t have the chance!” Bertrum flung his snowballs at Bendy, forcing the little demon to dodge. Grant and Lacie charged forward as Bendy leaped for the safety of a snow bank. With his cartoon speed, he created a mass of snowballs within seconds and hurled them at his adversaries. At the same time, Grant, Lacie, and Bertrum released theirs.

All four went down under the fire. No one was left alive.

“We won!” they all cried simultaneously.

“No, we did!”

“I hit you first!”

“You did not!”

“It’s a tie, okay!” Henry yelled from his place beside Joey, “Now can we all get inside and help Joey and Shawn?”

Grant nodded and broke away to assist Shawn. The others looked more than a little indignant but were at least willing to let the argument rest to take care of the wounded.

“That was… fun.” Bertrum said, sounding surprised.

“Yup. Ruthlessly pummeling each other with snowballs has its perks.” Lacie agreed.

“Can we do it again?” Wally asked excitedly.

Thomas patted his shoulder, “Maybe after we’ve recovered from this one.”

All the studio members straggled inside, Grant supporting Shawn and Henry carrying Joey. Bendy looked more than a little guilty.

Then a pair of cartoonish looking ears popped up above the snow, followed by a cartoon snout.

“Is the game over?” Boris asked.

Everyone slowly turned around and stared. Boris looked back in confusion.

“What?”

“Boris, you…” Alice shook her head, “You’re alive.”

“Yes.” Boris agreed.

“Then that means-”

“WE WON!” the mechanics hollered. Everyone jumped in fright as Thomas, Wally, Lacie, and Murray gathered together and cheered their victory.

“But- But that’s not fair!” Bendy said, “He didn’t do anything!”

“We didn’t lay down any rules.” Norman said with a small smirk.

Boris looked more than a little shocked as his teammates rushed forward and lifted him up, making him drop his empty can of soup.

“Out of the way!” Murray called, “Winners coming through!”

Everyone stepped aside as the mechanics carried the very confused wolf inside. Muttering to themselves, the rest of the studio filed after them.

Joey was roused slightly by the elation in the air. He looked up at Henry and smiled wanly.

“See? Told you a team building exercise would do them good.”

Henry just gave Joey a withering glare.

Joey nodded, “I’ll shut up now,” and passed out again.

34 notes · View notes

krizaland · 5 years

Note

I've got an idea for Zim x Reader story. Zim lost his PAK and didnt get it back on time which led to his body death. But then Reader found PAK and uploaded Zim's consciousness to a computer. And now both Reader and Zim trying to figure out how to bring Zim back to the physical world. P.S. I know, that PAKs attach to every being availible, but can we just skip this? P.P.S. Sorry if i make mistakes. English is not my native language. P.P.P.S. Your stories are really cool. Thank you.

Thank you for your kind words and your very interesting request! I’ve actually got the perfect idea for this one!

Be warned: I decided to take inspiration from Issues #24 and #25 of the Invader Zim comic series. So there will be some spoilers ahead! If you haven’t read issue #25 then I highly recommend you do so. However, if you’ve already read it or just don’t mind spoilers then read on! Reader will also be hit on by a very gross creep! While, there won’t be anything sexual, things might get very uncomfortable. There will also be some swearing ahead.

Here’s the song I used btw

You let out a groan as you slowly opened your heavy eyelids.

“Oh hey! You’re finally awake!”

You let out a gasp as you were greeted by none other than Fitzoo-Menga!

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you there!” He chuckled as he pressed a few buttons on his chair.

The moment he got closer to you, the most foul odor assaulted your nostrils.

You nearly gagged as you started to cough.

“I take it you....must be...Fitzoo-Menga” You wheezed through your coughs.

“Please call me, Virooz. It’s who I am on the inside!” He purred as he circled you.

“Why did you kidnap me?!” You heaved as you managed to catch your breath.

“Because your Zim’s life mate! At first I was gonna destroy you for making Zim all soft and stuff but you’re actually kinda hot so I think I might keep you around for a while!” Virooz chuckled as he stroked your face.

“Hey! Quit it!” You whined as you tried to turn your head away from him.

“Aww! Playing hard to get I see.” Virooz cooed as he patted your cheek.

“Let me go! I wouldn’t date you even if I wasn’t already dating Zim!” You snarled as you struggled in your restraints.

“Aww, Come on, baby! You gotta be crazy to not want to date a High-Tech qudrillionaire genius!” Virooz pouted.

“Well then throw me in the crazy house! Because I’m not interested in dating someone who smells like he hasn’t showered in 300 years!” You snarled as you shot him a glare.

“Oooh! Feisty! Virooz likey.” Virooz crooned as he wiggled his eyebrows.

“Eww! Stop looking at me like that!” You gagged as you tried to avoid Virooz’s hungry gaze.

“Don’t worry! You’ll learn to love me, baby!” Virooz chuckled with a wink.

You were just about ready to vomit when

BEEP! BEEP!

“Oh! Looks like your now ex boyfriend is nearby!” Virooz sang as he turned to his main computer and pressed a few buttons.

SHOOMP!

Zim was lifted off the ground and sucked up into the ship

PLOP!

Zim fell onto a bright green couch.

“Welcome, Zim.” Virooz crooned without turning his chair around.

“Virooz I presume! Why have you brought this humble janitor to-” Zim asked.

“You’re not a janitor and you didn’t fool anyone with your stupid disguise, Zim!” Virooz’s voice was ice cold as he spoke.

“Fine! I am indeed Zim! Just as you, ‘Virooz’ are Fitsoo-Menga! I’m right about that right?” Zim’s voice shrank a bit as he spoke.

“Yep”

“JUST WHAT IS YOUR GAME, VIROOZ?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY Y/N?!” Zim demanded as he snapped a finger in his direction.

“My game is to make you stop sucking! And as for Y/N? They’re right here! ” Virooz cackled as he spun his chair around and revealed you tied up in a chair.

“RELEASE Y/N! RELEASE THEM OR SUFFER THE WRATH OF ZIM!” Zim roared as he stomped his foot.

“Relax, Zim! I’m not gonna hurt Y/N. I wouldn’t want to hurt my new life mate!” Virooz chuckled as he put his hands on his stomach.

“Eh?! Your life mate?! But Y/N is my life mate!” Zim whined as he gestured to himself.

“Not anymore! Y/N is my life mate now!” Virooz taunted as he patted your head.

“No way! Get your hands off of me you creep!” You snarled as you tried to move your head away from Virooz.

“You know, I was going to like destroy them and stuff but man! They are feisty! Y/N is the only thing about you now that doesn’t suck, Zim!” Virooz purred as he kept stroking your head like a cat.

“GET YOUR FILTHY CYBER APPENDAGES OFF OF MY Y/N!” Zim let out a war cry and lunged at Virooz

SWIP!

CRASH!

Virooz moved his chair aside, causing Zim’s face to kiss the floor.

Zim let out a groan as he peeled himself off of the floor.

“Wow! Even your attempts so save your life mate are lame!” Virooz shook his head as he pushed a few buttons on his chair.

SWIP!

A chair came zooming into the room and knocked into Zim’s legs, causing him to fall into it.

All you could do was watch Zim scream in agony as he was forcibly tied to the chair.

“There! Now that everyone’s here, I think you need a reminder of just how awesome you used to be!” Virooz exclaimed as he pressed another button on his chair.

ZAP!

A large monitor in the center of the room crackled to life and the lights dimmed.

Inside the Irken Dooqbase, Commander Poki was giving the Invaders-in training a lecture on why they should never remove their PAKs.

“…And, as Private Sox is showing us, rookies, that is why you never detach your PAK! The PAK is all that you are as an Irken! It controls your body! It contains your memories! And emergency directions to the nearest snack stockpile.” Commander Poki explained as she held up Private Sox’s PAK.

“There you go, Private Sox! Neurothing on!” Commander Poki dropped Private Sox’s PAK and pulled out a small pen like device.

“REATTACHMENT PROTOCOL”

And with that, several metal tentacles whipped out from Private Sox’s PAK. Private Sox’s PAK then scuttled off to reunite with its host.

You hummed as you slowly became invested in the recording. Zim mentioned that his PAK was basically his brain but you never knew that it could come off.

“Enjoying the show so far?” Virooz whispered.

You let out a gasp as you felt his hot, smelly breath burn against your ear.

“Heh. You sure are jumpy.” Virooz teased as his arms slithered around you.

“Get off of me!” You hissed as you tried to shake him off of you.

“Mmm…Keep that fire burning baby.” Virooz purred as he released you.

A shudder ran down your spine as you turned your attention back to the monitor.

As the recording went on, you couldn’t help but giggle. Zim was so cute when he was younger, despite blowing up the entire Dooqbase.

Soon the recording came to an end and the lights came back on.

“That was amazingness, maaaan! The way you blew up that dooqbase? Sick! And your first mission, too!” Virooz gushed as he zipped in front of Zim.

You and Zim exchanged confused glances for a moment.

“Of all your videos that I hacked from the Irken military archives, that is definitely top three. Well, top five. If you don’t include that things with the Electro-slugs and the rubber shorts. That was killer, maaan!” Virooz bailed as spittle begun to fly from his lips.

“So you’re a fan of my work. Great. So am I. Now let me and Y/N go.” Zim growled as his ruby eyes narrowed.

“Fan? Man, I am like all over your work! I mean, yeah, by day I’m Fitzoo-Menga, high-tech quadrillionaire genius. But at night, I am totes into your stuff!” Virooz gushed.

“And sticking cyber-things on your hideous body, it seems.” Zim muttered.

“And being a disgusting creep.” You added.

“Oooh! There’s that fire again! Man, I’m glad I didn’t destroy you, baby! We’re gonna have sooo much fun together!” Virooz giggled.

“Stop calling me that! I’m not your baby!” You snarled as you shook in your seat.

“Yeah! Y/N is Zim’s baby! Not yours!” Zim added as he tried to scoot in front of you.

“Whatever.” Virooz scoffed as he flicked his wrist.

“Anyway, Fitzoo-” Zim began

“Call me Virooz! It’s who I really am inside!” Virooz crooned as he gestured to himself.

“Well, Virooz-”

“Virooz got your attention by getting GIR to attack you!” Virooz cooed.

“Well, Virooz-”

“Virooz led you inside GIR’s programming to give you the coordinates to Cyberflox!” Virooz chuckled.

“Well, Virooz-”

“Virooz kindapped Y/N and seduced them.”

“No you did not!” You gagged.

“Then Virooz watched your every move on mall security cams!” Virooz squished his cheeks.

“Well, Virooz-”

“And Virooz grabbed you when you figured out the truth! I am Viroooooooz!” Virooz cackled.

“WELL, VIROOZ!!!!! If you will stop blowing your word-hole!!! WHY ARE WE HERE?! Do you want my autograph?” Zim roared as he shot Virooz a glare.

“No way maaaaan! You’re terrible now!” Virooz whined as he pressed a few keys on his main computer.

“Terrible?!” Zim parroted.

“Ever since you’ve been on Earth, you’ve gone totally downhill! Squishing the Earth with Mars? What is that?! Or that bologna serum? And what’s with the big-headed kid?! Who cares about him?!” Virooz complained as gestured to all of Zim’s previous schemes on screen.

“All right-”

“Oh, and now you’ve given up on being an Invader?! Just because you got a totally hot life mate?! Maan, I don’t even know who you are anymore! You’re not my Zim that’s for sure! Why can’t you go back to destroying things?! I’ll bet Y/N would look so much hotter setting off some gigabooms with you!” Virooz pouted as he folded his arms.

“You’re right, he’s not your Zim. He never was! Zim is his own awesome person, who doesn’t exist just to please sweaty man-babies like you! Things change, Virooz! Things change! Zim has indeed changed and he will continue to change whether you like it or not! You wanna know why? Because Zim is growing up! Maybe you should try it sometime!” You ranted as you wriggled in your seat.

“Hot damn! Did you hear that?! Maaan, That was so spicy! What a savage! See, Zim?! At least your life mate is cooler than you!” Virooz squealed as he dragged you closer to him

“GET YOUR CYBER HANDS OFF OF MY Y/N! And as for your feedback, I will take it….And ignore it! NOW LET Y/N AND I GO!” Zim demanded as he scooted closer.

“Nuh-uh! See, I know how to fix your slump! I’m going to become you!” Virooz cackled as a creepy grin spread across his face.

“WHAAT?!” You and Zim exclaimed in unison.

BEEP! BEEP!

“Oh, look! We’re here, Planet Dooq, site of your first awesome mission” Virooz announced as he begun to land the ship.

“Well, it was pretty awesome.” Zim admitted.

“Do you know what this is?” Virooz chuckled as he pulled out a large poorly constructed PAK.

“Terrible?” Zim retorted.

“Garbage?” You grumbled.

“It’s my version of an Irken PAK! I designed it myself!” Virooz boasted as he patted his mechanical abomination.

“You designed it terrible.” Zim noted.

“Come on, Maaaan! It does everything the Irken PAK does! Holds your personality. Controls a body. Plus full surround sound speakers!” Virooz beamed as he made the PAK play horrible music.

“So you want me to endorse it?” Zim asked as he tilted his head in confusion.

“Nope! I’m going to dump my mind in it… and attach it to your body!” Virooz squealed as he shoved the poorly constructed PAK in Zim’s face.

“WHAT?! Never!” Zim screeched.

“Yeah! This is insane, Virooz! I don’t even think your underdeveloped brain is even compatible with Zim’s body!” You added.

“Just wait here, duuuuudes. While I get just one sick thing from the wreckage! Oh and one more thing!” Virooz chuckled as he made his way towards you.

SMOOCH!

Virooz planted a sloppy, wet kiss onto your cheek.

“Bye baby! See you real soon! Computer! Lock the hatch!” Virooz purred as the door locked behind him.

You sat gobsmacked for a moment as you tried desperately to hold back your vomit.

“Y/N! Are you alright?!” Zim yelped as he scooted his chair next to you.

“No….Oh god I feel so violated…” You shuddered as a few tears trickled down your cheeks.

“Don’t cry, my sweet, Y/N! I’ll get us free from these primitive chairs!” Zim reassured as he activated a multitool from his PAK.

“At least we’re in this together.” You sniffled as you tried to regain your composure.

“He tied us up with rope! What kind of idiot uses rope?! Now let’s see.. Ion inverter…Transphasic screwdriver…Quarkmonker….Transcranila Binulator…..Polarmonistonic Corkscrew…Lot of stuff in this thing..” Zim grumbled as he searched through his multitool.

“Why don’t you try the-”

“Shh! Not now, my sweet! I need to concentrate!” Zim hushed as he continued his search.

You let out a sigh and shook your head. You loved your boyfriend but sometimes he was just so stubborn!

“Ah ha! Tweezers!” Zim announced as he selected the small pair of tweezers amongst the sea of other gadgets.

“Really tweezers?” You groaned as you raised an eyebrow.

“Yes! Tweezers are the perfect tool for a job like this, sweet Y/N! Now just hold on while I tweeze myself free! Once I’m free of this primitive rope, I can set you free as well!” Zim explained as he begun to tweeze away at the rope.

Meanwhile, Virooz ventured out into the ruins of the Dooqbase and stumbled upon a first aid kit.

“Aha! An Irken Neurothing!” Virooz cheered as he held up the neurothing.

It wasn’t long before Zim was almost free of his rope prison.

“Almost completely tweezed through…” Zim muttered as he got a communicator device from his PAK.

“Zim to GIR! Come in GIR!” Zim screamed into the communicator.

GIR was hanging out in a birthday cake alongside Minimoose who was wearing a purple flowery sun hat.

BRRING! BRRING!

GIR’s head opened up and projected a hologram of Zim.

“GIR! It’s an emergency! I need you to-What are you doing?”

“I’m a birthday cake!” GIR chirped.

“Ohhh-kay. I need you to get the ship and get to my coordinates immediately! Understand?!” Zim commanded.

“Yes, my master!”

“Good! Zim out”

GIR was about to cut the call but Zim stopped him.

“I mean now GIR!”

“Oooh! Ok! Come’ere ship!” GIR chirped.

BOOM!

The ship crashed through a wall and zipped in front of GIR and Minimoose.

“WE GOIN’ TO SPAAAACE!” GIR sang as he hopped into the ship.

“Neyah!” Minimoose squeaked as the ship blasted off into the starry sky.

Meanwhile, Zim had finally managed to tweeze himself free of his primitive prison.

BAM!

Zim burst free and rushed to your side.

“Fear not, my sweet Y/N! For Zim is here to set you free!” Zim sang as he untied you.

You let out a sigh of relief as you felt the rope loosen.

“Thanks, Zim!” You hopped out of your chair and stretched for a moment.

“Of course! Zim wouldn’t leave you with that DISGUSTING Virooz! Now let’s clean your beautiful face free of Virooz’s FILTHY SLOBBER!” Zim pulled out some wipes from his PAK and cleaned your face.

“Victory! I have successfully eliminated all traces of Virooz’s FITHLY SLOBBER!” Zim cackled as he put the wipes away.

“Thank you so, so much, Zim!” You squealed as you rubbed your now clean cheek.

“It was no trouble, sweet, Y/N! I-”

SMOOCH!

Zim was cut off by you planting a much cleaner kiss on his cheek.

Zim’s PAK sparked as his antennas sprung straight up. His face turned a darker shade of green as his worm like tongue hung out of his mouth. He let out a few chirps and purrs as he rubbed his cheek.

You let out a giggle at Zim’s lovestruck behavior.

Zim shook away his infatuation and cleared his throat.

“Now, the door is locked! So we shall escape through the ventilation ducts!” Zim announced as he gestured to one of the ventilation ducts.

“Are you are that’s the best way-”

“Of course it is, sweet Y/N! Now come on! We don’t have much time!” Zim insisted as he ripped off the ventilation duct’s grate and pulled you inside with him.

Zim’s spider legs clicked against the inside of the ducts as he held your hand and lead you along.

After what felt like a few minutes of struggling to navigate through the maze of ventilation ducts, Zim had found an opening.

“AHA! Freedom!” Zim squealed as he burst open the grate and pushed you out with him.

PLOP!

PAF!

You fell flat on your rear as Zim plopped into your lap.

“Hey duuuuudes! Trying to get away? Epic fail!” Virooz taunted as he floated back into the room.

“We did this on purpose! To show you we escaped your primitive rope!” Zim lied as he gently crawled out of your lap.

“Yeah! Seriously? Rope? How uncreative! You claim to be a high-tech quadrillionaire genius and all you had to capture us with is rope?” You added as you got up and put your hands on your hips.

“Primitive? Uncreative? Rope is classic, maaaaan! You’ve gotten so lame you couldn’t even save your life mate and leave the ship, Zim! But hey look what I got! An Irken neurothing! For detaching and replacing Irken PAKs! Killer right?!” Virooz sang as he waved around the neurothing.

You gasped as you stood in front of Zim protectively.

“Move aside, baby! It’s time for me to take over Zim’s body, go out there into the galaxy and restore his former glory!” Virooz cheered as he shoved you aside with his chair.

You let out a yelp as you plopped onto your bottom.

“Y/N! Listen, Virooz! You will never be Zim! I am Zim! Your Zim would be a grubby shadow of the real Zim! Weak as a sickly mweep! Stinky like the rotten fruit of the filth-squeezing filth tree of-”

Suddenly, Zim’s rant was cut off by the sound of the Neurothing activating.

CLANG!

FLOP!

Zim’s PAK popped right off his back, causing his body to follow suit.

“Even your speeches got dumb!” Virooz groaned as he hovered Zim’s lifeless body.

“ZIM!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?!” You seethed as you rushed to Zim’s side.

“Relax, baby. Zim’s gonna be juust fine!” Virooz tried to sound reassuring but his voice dripped with malice.

A sinister grin spread across Virooz’s face as he pulled out his poorly contracted PAK and tried to jam it into Zim’s back.

“NO!” You screeched as you tried to stop Virooz.

But you were too late.

Virooz had already attached his poorly constructed PAK and hooked it up to his brain.

“Transferrrrr!” Virooz sang as he begun to download his brain into the new PAK.

Virooz screamed in agony as all of his mind and spirt was ripped from his brain.

All you could to was watch in horror as that sweaty man child took over your boyfriend’s body.

Soon, Virooz’s disgusting, sweaty body was left a lifeless husk as the download finished completion.

Soon, Zim’s body begun to shudder and squirm about.

“I AM ZIIIIIM!!!”

You let out a shriek when you heard Virooz’s voice come out of Zim’s body.

“See, baby? I told you your Zim would be just fine!” Virooz crooned as he flopped about in Zim’s body.

“You-You’re not my Zim! Get out of his body, you monster!” You commanded as you backed away form him.

“No way, baby! This is my body now! I’m going to go out there and start a new era! By rolling in the dust of my enemies! C’mon! Let’s go on a rampage together!” Virooz sang as he tried to grab you by the hand, only for his to go limp.

“That’s not your body, Virooz! You don’t even know how to control it!” You seethed as you gestured to his now noodle like arms.

“I’m not Virooz anymore! Didn’t you hear me?! I am ZIM! Don’t worry! I’ll get used to this body in no time!” Virooz insisted as he tried to reach for your hand again only to miss and have his hand wiggle about.

“Give Zim his body back, NOW!” You commanded as you shot him a fiery glare.

“Oooh yeah, baby! Gimme some more of that fire!! Mmm! We are gonna have some fun tonight!” Virooz purred as he continued to flail about in Zim’s body.

“You’re disgusting! Give Zim his body back now, you creep!” You demanded as you snapped a finger in his face.

“How many times do I gotta say this, baby? I. AM. ZIM!!! The other guy you keep talking about is dead! I’m Zim now and there’s nothing you can do about it! Now, come on! We got a galaxy to doom!” Virooz cackled as he continued to throw around Zim’s body like a rag doll.

“I’m not going anywhere until you return what you’ve stolen!” You snarled.

“Fine then! Who needs you anyway?! I AM ZIIIM! I don’t need anybody! Computer! Lock the hatch!” And with that Virooz stumbled out of the ship as the door locked behind him

“Virooz! Come back!! Zim needs his body!!!” You pleaded as you banged on the locked door.

You slowly slid to your knees as you realized that your pleas weren’t going to be heard. All you could do was sob.

“Zim….I’m so sorry…I couldn’t save you…” You choked out as you picked up the neurothing.

PING!

“EMERGENCY ATTACHMENT PROTOCOL.”

You let out a gasp as you saw several metal tentacles slither out from Zim’s PAK. Soon the PAK scuttled off in search of a new host.

Luckily, Virooz had abandoned his chair. It smelled a bit but it would have to do.

CLANG!

ZAP!

Zim’s PAK latched onto the chair and projected an image of Zim’s face.

“You cannot defeat me, Virooz! I activated the emergency attachment protocol and attached to… A CHAIR?! I’m a chair now. Great.” Zim grumbled.

“Zim!! Oh thank god you’re ok!” You squealed as you ran up to the chair and tried to hug it.

“Y/N! Don’t worry! Zim is fine! I’m just…a chair now I guess.” Zim sighed.

“We gotta get you out of this chair and back into your real body!” You yelped.

“Worry not, sweet Y/N! Chairzim will triumph!” Zim insisted as he unlocked the door and took you outside with him.

You activated your special space helmet and held onto Chairzim tight.

“If we’re gonna get your body back, we’re gonna need a better vessel than a chair. Do you think we can find something in these ruins?” You asked as you scanned the area.

“Well…I suppose you make a good point. Let’s see what we can find.” Zim hummed as he floated around.

After a few minutes of searching, Zim let out an excited gasp.

Standing before you and Zim was a MASSIVE mech!

“THERE! The Dunedoomer! The perfect vessel for Zim! Besides my SUPERIOR IRKEN BODY of course!” Zim cheered as he gestured to the mech.

“Holy crap! This is awesome, Zim! But how are we gonna get it running?” You asked as you hopped off of Zim and knocked on one of the mech’s rusty legs.

“Just leave that to me! Y/N? Did you happen to find a neurothing by chance?” Zim asked.

“Huh? Oh! It’s this thing right? Virooz dropped it before he left!” You chirped as you held up the neurothing.

“Excellent work, Y/N! Now on the count of three you will activate the neurothing and I will activate the emergency attachment protocol. Once I’ve activated the emergency attachment protocol, I will attach my PAK to the mech!” Zim instructed.

“You got it, master!” You giggled with a salute.

Zim let out a dopey giggle before clearing his throat.

“Ready? One…Two… Three! NOW MY SWEET!” Zim commanded.

“I love you, Zim! You wailed as you activated the neurothing.

CLANG!

Zim’s PAK fell off the chair and into the ground.

“EMERGANCY REATTACHMENT PROTOCOL”

And with that, Zim’s PAK scuttled off and attached itself to the mech.

Meanwhile, Virooz had stumbled his way into an abandoned weapon chamber.

“Now these are some real weapons!” He giggled as he browsed the weapon rack.

Soon, Virooz’s browsing was interrupted by an all too familiar laugh echoing throughout the room.

“Who’s there?! I got a bazooka and I’m not afraid to use it!” Virooz yelped as he struggled to hold up a large bazooka.

“Let me introduce myself”

BOOM!

The wall burst open to reveal Zim in his new mech body with you sitting on it’s ‘shoulder’.

When the dust settled, Virooz’s floppy jaw hit the ground.

“What the-? Really, dude?! Now you decide to stop sucking?!” Virooz stuttered as he almost dropped his bazooka.

“You didn’t think I was done? Did ya?” Zim sang as he thundered forward.

“Well I just begun having my fun, baby!” The ground shook as Zim continued to show off his new body.

“Some people live for attention, playing the victim. But baby, I was born to do the KILLING!” Zim cackled as he activated his laser guns and burst a hole into an empty slot on the weapons rack.

Virooz gasped and desperately struggled to pull the bazooka’s trigger with his limp fingers.

“I see how you’e going crazy, always thinking ‘bout me baby on the daily! Feed me your negativity! Talk some more about me! I know that you love me. LOVE ME!” Zim roared

Virooz loaded his bazooka and started to fire.

BLAM!

PINK!

BLAM!

PINK!

Every shot ricocheted off of Zim as he continued his song.

“Funny how you think I’m bothered! Know, I’m nothing like the others! You shouldn’t have messed with me ‘cuz I heard that you’re afraid of monsters. MONSTERS!” Zim stomped his foot, causing Virooz to shoot upward for a moment.

Virooz let out a shriek as the bazooka went flying out of his noodle hands.

“Are you ready for the monster?” Zim stomped forward as Virooz picked up a later gun and tried to fire it.

PINK!

“Monster?”

PINK!

“Monster?”

PINK!

Not a single shot even made a dent on Zim’s new body.

“Are you ready for the monster?” Zim continued his rampage, slowly getting closer and closer to Virooz.

Virooz picked up another weapon and tried to fire it.

PINK!

“Monster?”

PINK!

“Monster?”

PINK!

Once again, no luck. Zim’s body was still intact and Virooz ran out of ammo.

“Are you ready for the monster?” A sinister smile spread across Zim’s face as he left tracks on the sandy floor.

Not wanting to give up just yet, Virooz picked up another weapon and tried again.

PINK!

“Monster?”

PINK!

“Monster?”

PINK!

Still no luck. Zim was still standing and Virooz was growing more and more panicked.

“Are you ready for the monster?” Zim had never felt more powerful.

Virooz let out a growl as he kept trying to take Zim down.

PINK!

“Monster?”

PINK!

“Monster?”

PINK!

Virooz had lost once again and scrambled to find more weapons.

“You ain’t ready for the monster. Monster!” Zim cackled.

“Man! Why couldn’t you have been this cool before I had to steal your body!” Virooz spluttered as he frantically rummaged through the debris.

“I’m just being me! Cut out the things that I don’t need!” Zim growled as he begun to follow Virooz.

“But you need me, dude! Without me you’d just keep on sucking!” Virooz countered as he continued his search.

“I don’t care if you disagree! I don’t need no sympathy! Winning the game on my own! Yeah, BABY!” The ground shook as Zim savored every second of his power trip.

Virooz gasped as he tried to run but ended up falling flat on his face.

“I see how you’e going crazy, always thinking ‘bout me baby on the daily! Feed me your negativity! Talk some more about me! I know that you love me. LOVE ME!” Zim cackled as he loomed over Virooz.

Virooz peeled himself off the ground and kept running.

“Are you ready for the monster?” Zim blocked Virooz at every turn.

“Aha! Got you now!” Virooz let out a nervous laugh as he struggled to hold up a large laser gun.

PINK!

“Monster?”

PINK!

“Monster?”

PINK!

Virooz let out a squeak as he ran out of ammo once more.

“Are you ready for the monster?” You sang along as you gave Virooz the smuggest grin you could muster.

Virooz had finally found another weapon and gave it one last try.

PINK!

“Monster?”

PINK!

“Monster?”

PINK!

“C’mon! C’mon! Don’t die on me too!” Virooz whined as he shook his weapon.

“Are you ready for the monster?” Zim’s stomps grew louder with each step.

STOMP!

“Monster?”

STOMP!

“Monster?”

STOMP!

“YOU AIN’T READY FOR THE MONSTER! MONSTER!” Zim bellowed.

Virooz desperately tried to search for another weapon but there were none left.

He tried to make one last run for it but realized he was at a dead end!

“Ah, it could’ve been so different between us! But then you went and messed everything up!” The room darkened as Zim’s shadow engulfed Virooz.

Virooz almost found a way out but you jumped off of Zim and blocked his exit.

“Going somewhere, Baby?” You sneered sarcastically.

“You took a knife and stabbed me in the back! Took everything I had! Sat in your chair and laughed!” Zim’s words dripped with venom as he drew closer.

“C’mon! I’m in your body! You wouldn’t want anything to happen to it right? Right?!” Virooz pleaded as he found himself drowning in stolen sweat.

“This is the last time, I’m gonna tell you now! If you try to break me, I’m gonna burn you down! Baby I’m done with you! Not coming back for you!” Zim’s voice was a low growl.

“Please man! I’m your biggest fan!” Virooz pleaded as he shrank down to his knees.

“NOW, Y/N!”

“With pleasure!” You sang as you grabbed Virooz and activated the neurothing.

CLANG!

Virooz’s PAK fell to the ground with Zim’s stolen body following suit.

“Funny how you think I’m bothered! Know, I’m nothing like the others! You shouldn’t have messed with me ‘cuz I heard that you’re afraid of monsters. MONSTERS!” Zim roared as he let you climb back onto his ‘shoulder’.

“Are you ready for the monster?” Zim stomped towards Virooz’s PAK

STOMP!

“Monster?”

STOMP!

“Monster?”

STOMP!

“Are you ready for the monster?” You joined in and started to clap along to the beat.

STOMP!

“Monster?”

STOMP!

“Monster?”

STOMP!

“YOU AIN’T READY FOR THE MONSTER!” Zim let out a maniacal laugh that rumbled throughout the ruins of the weapons chamber.

“Alright, Zim! Let’s get you back into your real body and get rid of Virooz’s PAK before he tries anything.” You giggled.

“Aww! Can’t I stay in this one for just five more minutes?” Zim pouted.

“Well, I can’t exactly kiss a mech.” You teased as you hopped off of his ‘shoulder’ and grabbed the Irken neurothing.

“Oh, ok! But only because you said so!” Zim huffed.

“Alright! I’m activating the neurothing!” You warned as you hopped onto Zim’s ‘shoulder’ one last time.

“Three…two…One!”

CLANG!

CRASH!

Zim’s PAK fell to the ground with the mech following suit.

“EMERGENCY REATTACHMENT PROTOCOL”

And with that, Zim’s PAK was reunited with its proper host.

“HA! VICTORY! I AM ZIM!! AGAIN!!” Zim cheered as he peeled himself off of the ground.

“I’m so glad you’re you again! Now what are we gonna do with this hunk of junk?” You asked as you held up Virooz’s PAK.

“I think I have an idea!” Zim chirped as he pointed to the sky.

And with that, Zim snatched Virooz’s PAK out of your hands and carried it outside.

“Where are you going?” You asked as you followed Zim.

“You’ll see.” Zim assured as he stopped in front of a large couch.

“Let’s see how he likes his new vessel.” Zim chuckled darkly as he threw Virooz’s PAK onto the couch.

“REATTACHMENT PROTOCOL”

Soon Virooz’s PAK attached into the couch.

“Ugh…What?! I’m still alive?!” Virooz whined.

“Unfortunately.” You grumbled.

“Really, Zim? You’re too lame to properly kill me?! And here I thought you were actually cool again! You really are terrible!” Virooz griped.

“Naaah! I AM ZIM! I AM AMAZING! Anyone who says I’m terrible is just too stupid to see it!” Zim boasted as he put his hands on his hips.

“The only terrible one here is you, Virooz! You harassed me, tried to possess a body that wasn’t even yours and you were stupid enough to tie us up with rope and to leave the Irken neurothing back on the ship!” You ranted as you punched one of Virooz’s couch cushions.

“OW! How does a couch feel pain?!” Virooz whined.

“Shut the fuck up, you literal couch potato!” You snarled as you stood in front of Zim protectively.

“At least you still have that fire…” Virooz whimpered.

You were about to rip him to shreds when,

ZOOM!

The Voot Cruiser zoomed by and plopped right in front of both you and Zim.

“HI MASTER! HI UNICORN! HOP ON IN!” GIR urged as he motioned for you two to get in.

“Looks like our ride is here, Y/N.” Zim chuckled as he grabbed you and pulled you inside the ship.

“Maybe now that you’e a couch you can finally get laid!” You quipped as GIR closed the Voot’s entrance and blasted off.

Zim, GIR, and Minimoose burst into hysterical laughter as the Voot left Dooq.

“That was glorious, Y/N!” Zim wheezed as he wiped away a pink tear.

“Thanks! God, he was lucky that GIR showed up with the ship! Otherwise Virooz would’ve been all stuffing!” You giggled.

“Now, about that kiss you were talking about earlier…” Zim purred as he nuzzled next to you.

“But of course, master.”

SMOOCH!

#invader zim #invader zim x reader #Anonymous

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ks-caster · 4 years

Text

Gone Fishing

Fandom: The Vampire Diaries

Characters: Caroline, Klaus

Summary: The trauma of Bill’s conditioning begins to catch up to Caroline, and as a result of his choice of stimulus, she can no longer tolerate bagged blood. Saddled with the vampire version of an eating disorder thanks to her dad’s idea of being the “good guy,” Caroline resorts to desperate measures, interpreting some advice from Klaus in the darkest and most violent way possible.

Basically, Caroline becomes a serial killer out of necessity - and Klaus wishes he could love it, but mainly he finds he’s just upset that her dad was such a dick.

Chapter 1, part of chapter 2 and my partial outline are available under the cut.

It wasn’t that he intended to stalk her.

Even Klaus knew how incredibly fake that sounded, but really, he didn’t keep tabs on where Caroline Forbes was and who she was with at all times—just, you know, when there was clear and present danger in Mystic Falls.

Which was practically always.

Whatever. Niklaus Mikaelson, hybrid king feared across the supernatural world for centuries, was not one to show chagrin at the accusation that he had merely stalked someone.

He really wasn’t watching her on this particular occasion, however; he was just out for a walk to clear his head in the night air after a particularly useless day of Jeremy Gilbert being Jeremy Gilbert, and her street wound and turned back on itself and basically made for a longer route than its neighbors. He hadn’t intended to listen in on the goings on inside the Forbes residence either, but when he noticed the Sheriff's squad car was missing but Caroline’s car was present and the lights were on, he smiled a little, and tuned his ears in, wondering if she was listening to music or watching TV or on the phone with Elena hearing the “team good-guy” perspective of Jeremy’s day.

What he did not expect—and what took him a moment to recognize because it was so unexpected—was uncontrolled, shattering sobs. He frowned, crossing the lawn in an instant to hear more accurately. A moment more told him that not only had he heard correctly the first time, but it was indeed Caroline sobbing, and it sounded like she was wailing in pain around something that had been shoved into her mouth.

Images of unknown attackers and Caroline with a gag in her mouth blossomed crimson across Klaus’s vision, and he was inside the house and standing in her bedroom doorway before the ragged, stifled cry had ended. However, a millisecond’s scan of the room with his eyes revealed her to be completely alone, curled up tightly on her bed and rocking back and forth in distress, her own hand clamped between her teeth. Her face was a mess of makeup rivulets and puffy eyes—she looked worse than when she’d run to him in Tyler’s body, believing him dead and her boyfriend about to follow, and that was easily the worst he’d ever seen her, including the time she’d nearly died of werewolf venom.

“Caroline?” he found himself whispering, not sure what to do. Her head jerked up, and he barely had time to register the trickles of blood along her wrist from where she’d bitten through her own skin before she was on her feet, hands shoving him back. In his surprise, she caught him off balance, and he stumbled a little before regaining his footing.

“Get out!” she shrieked, her voice cracking painfully in the middle as she lashed out, punching him in the chest with about as much force as the average human who’d had too much to drink and was therefore unsteady to begin with. It didn’t hurt him, but he caught her fist when she drew her other hand back all the same. She screamed again—not words this time, just a primal shriek as she tried unsuccessfully to wrench her hand free, before successfully backhanding him across the face. He caught her second hand and sped her up against the wall, pinning her there as she struggled and tried to kick him.

“What the hell’s gotten into you?” he growled. Even in such a state, she ought to have had the sense not to physically attack an Original, especially a hybrid. Verbal barbs or slamming of doors he’d expect out of a distraught Caroline Forbes, or if she was going to attack him (for whatever blinkered reason) slightly more skill. Shifting forward, he leaned into her, holding her against the wall, impervious to her struggles. She thrashed in his hold, kicking at his legs and feet, but when he was about as responsive as stone, she gave up, and fell limp in his grasp, head down, face shrouded by her unkempt hair as crying became her primary focus again.

After waiting a few moments to ensure that she wasn’t faking it (only to whoosh away as soon as he loosened his grip) Klaus released her wrists, picking her up in the same instant. She fell limp against his chest, the last of her energy going into curling up into herself and pressing the heels of her hands into her watering eyes. For all her violent rejection moments before, now she seemed completely unconcerned about his proximity.

As he moved to return her to her bedroom and deposit her in bed—he’d signed up for rescuing her from attackers, not this, and for all his age and experience he’d never yet figured an effective way to deal with this—he assumed she’d simply given up on getting him off her. But when he moved to set her down, he realized that one of her hands had fisted into his jacket, tightly enough that she was stretching the leather. Perhaps giving up wasn’t quite it, he thought, as he maneuvered them so that he could sit down, then leaned back against her pile of pillows so that they were reclining with her only halfway on top of him. He did know enough to guess that no matter what he said or did, she would be unable to give a coherent response in this state, but he could be patient.

He’d wait her out.

And then she’d damn well tell him what was wrong, and point him towards who he could kill to make it right, whether she wanted to divulge or not.

The hysterics lasted nearly an hour, and after that, she seemed to lose energy, but continued quietly weeping into his shirt for over an hour after that. By midnight she’d apparently run out of tears, but she lay limp against him, face buried in his chest, and he got the impression she’d fallen into the twilight of half-consciousness. He’d started rubbing circles into her spine with his thumb, and some time after that, she’d released his jacket, although she hadn’t retracted her hand; it lay on his chest, her cold palm flush against his heartbeat.

-0-

Half past four in the morning appeared seconds after one, and Klaus realized to his shock that both he and Caroline had drifted off. He regained consciousness for long enough to confirm that she was, in fact, deeply asleep, and his arms were still resting securely around her such that if she tried to get up it would wake him.

Her hand was still resting against his chest, and to his mild confusion, it was still cold. While vampires didn’t generate as much of their own heat as humans—or wolves—but they would still pick up heat from resting against warm objects, same as anything else. Slowly, not wanting to wake her and provoke another fit so soon, he wrapped her hand in his; long artist’s fingers picking up the telltale signs that he’d missed earlier. Her skin was unnaturally cold, and a little rough to the touch, with a subtle hardness which, coupled with how light and slow her heartbeats were, could mean only one thing—something he’d never expected to find in a vampire who wasn’t chained up and locked in a dungeon.

Caroline Forbes was beginning to desiccate; dry up and starve surrounded by blood-filled humans.

What the hell was happening?

He knew she had plenty of access to blood; Meredith Fell used her medical license to stockpile it on the Salvatores’ considerable dime, and the Sheriff looked the other way as long as Caroline was provided-for in the process.

So what the hell was going on? Had someone bled her out in the last 24 hours without him noticing? She did know to drink a lot after that, right?

His mind spun, inventing horrible possibility after horrible possibility, and he had to fight to keep his arm from tightening around her and waking her. His burning need to know who he had to kill to make it better intensified with each passing second. Caroline wouldn’t just stop eating of her own accord, so someone or something was doing this to her, and he’d be damned—well, again—if he didn’t find out what.

The arrival of 4:45 announced itself rudely as Caroline’s alarm blared, echoing against the walls in a way only a vampire would notice. Caroline’s right hand remained resting in Klaus’s deliberately loose grip, but her left reached over him and unerringly turned off the alarm, ignoring the large snooze button. Klaus must’ve been more asleep than he’d thought, because the blonde pillowing her head on his chest had to have been awake to do that, and he hadn’t noticed.

Caroline’s arm rested back on his chest immediately, and she lay still, seeming quite unbothered to find him still in her bed. Perhaps, even, trying not to wake him up. Testing his theory, he shifted a bit, re-adjusting his hold on her. She stiffened. Yeah, she’d been hoping he wasn’t awake yet. But she hadn’t made a move to pull away or get up when she thought he was still asleep; he wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“Morning, love,” he greeted her quietly, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“Klaus,” she grumbled in a warning tone, but still made no move to extricate herself.

“What happened last night,” he asked as calmly as he could manage.

“Don’t worry about it,” she sighed, but her heart-rate picked up and he heard her swallow. He sat up, pulling her with him and ignoring her glare of protest as he held her hand between his own, thumb running gently over her desiccating fingers.

“Don’t play that game with me,” he warned, ignoring her glare of protest. “I have never seen you in so much pain, Caroline, and I can see the what,” here he nodded towards her hands, “what I don’t have is the why. Why aren’t you eating?”

“I am,” she hissed, yanking her hand out of his and turning to put her feet on the floor. “I said don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah, I heard you, and I’m going to need a bit more than that,” Klaus responded evenly. Her pulse was racing, and the last thing he needed was to push her so hard that she had another panic attack.

“It’s none of your business,” she snapped, whirling to glare at him over her shoulder.

“Sweetheart you’re starving in a stocked kitchen,” he listed, gesturing at her mini fridge with his thumb, “I heard you from down the street last night and came up because I legitimately thought you were being kidnapped and tortured, and you—who have made it perfectly clear that you find my presence irksome in the highest degree—grabbed onto me for dear life last night and are making no real effort to dislodge me now. I am not an idiot, love,” he growled. “I know that means something is desperately wrong.”

Caroline swallowed, breathing deeply and rubbing her eyes. Her shoulder dropped, and she looked deflated.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she finally gritted out.

“I can help,” he insisted.

“No, you really can’t,” she sighed, and although he could tell she was trying for huffy hostility, all he could hear was sorrow and exhaustion.

“Try me,” he demanded, working hard to keep the snarl out of his voice. Wasn’t it just like her to protect the person hurting her?

“No,” she responded flatly, standing up and rustling around in her dresser for some clothes. Her movements were slow and clumsy, and he saw her lips purse together as her dry, painful skin whacked the side of the drawer.

“Not doing a very convincing ‘fine,’ darling,” he commented, laying back and folding his arms behind his head casually.

“What do you want from me?” she demanded, tossing her outfit on the bad so she could throw her hands up expressively. “There’s no one for you to murder, Klaus!”

“Then there's no harm in telling me, is there?” he countered cleverly.

“What are you going to do; kidnap and torture it out of me?” she demanded, voice dripping sarcasm. “A bit counterintuitive if you ask me.”

“I would never hurt you, love,” Klaus responded, knowing she was baiting him and refusing to rise. “But,” he added, “I'm not leaving until you tell me.”

Caroline scoffed wordlessly, grabbed her clothes and flounced into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. As the shower turned on, Klaus surveyed the house with his senses, noting that Liz Forbes hadn't yet arrived home. He lay there comfortably, listening to the water run in the shower—and Caroline try and fail to control her breathing—for nearly half an hour. She dried off, blow-dried her hair (for less time than Klaus thought that ought to take, but then what did he know about blow-drying long hair) and he heard the rustle of clothes being pulled on for a moment before she let out a hiss of pain and froze in place.

He frowned, then realized that she’d grabbed skinny jeans, and if they were nearly as hard to get into as he imagined, and her feet were in the same state as her hands, that forcing the denim over her skin would likely be extremely painful. He rubbed a hand through his hair in frustration. If she’d just tell him what the problem was, he could figure out how to fix it; in a thousand years he’d learned quite a few facts about vampires, and was confident that he could resolve the issue, whatever it was.

Unfortunately, the vampire in question was being terribly stubborn; both in her determination not to let him help and, apparently, in her determination to wear that pair of jeans. He winced every time she made a sound of pain, which was quite a few times in the interminably long six minutes it took her to get dressed.

Finally, she exited the bathroom, doing a brief and irritated double-take when she saw him still lounging on her bed.

“You really don’t have anything better to do than sit there and wait for me to change my mind?” she grumbled as she sat down at her makeup table.

“Depends,” he countered, “like I said I’m not leaving you until you tell me, so I suppose I’ll be sitting around your high school at some point.” She whirled to glare at him in disbelief. “Or at the grill, oh, do you have cheerleading practice today?” he added with a bit of a leer. She flipped him off and he laughed. “I’m a very patient man when I want something,” he reminded her, and she wasn’t sure if that was supposed to sound like a threat or a promise.

“We’ll see about that,” she muttered, picking up her phone and sending a text message before turning back to the mirror.

“Is that a challenge, love?” he demanded playfully, wondering which of her troupe of friends she was enlisting to help her shake him off.

“Yes,” she responded coolly. “Because as you’ve noticed, I’m under the weather, so my mom is calling me out of school today. I’m going to sit here and watch makeup tutorials for the next six hours, then go downstairs, eat a tub of ice cream and watch telenovelas. If you really want to glue your immortal, hybrid ass to my bed and try your hand at boring yourself to death, be my guest.”

Chapter 2 Snippet

Apparently Klaus was incapable of getting bored.

She’d thought that the threat of endless makeup videos would scare him off (her boyfriends had always run for the hills when she’d spent more than two minutes talking about contouring) but in short order she realized that he was actually paying attention. She’d follow along with the videos, and at first he just laid on her bed, eyes boring into the back of her head, but after a little while he sat up (she could see him in the mirror) and murmured “turn your wrist a bit.”

She’d frowned, looking back at him, certain she’d imagined that.

“I know my way around brushes, sweetheart,” he’d reminded her with a smirk.

“This is how she’s holding it in the tutorial,” Caroline had shot back, running the video back and trying again.

To her frustration, upon a second watching, she noticed that the vlogger had indeed turned her wrist a little more. She adjusted her grip, pointedly ignoring Klaus’s expression of triumph, which was visible in the mirror.

After twenty minutes, he’d moved to the end of the bed to sit directly behind her, commenting on tone differences and blending techniques and natural shading.

After forty minutes, he had a brush in his hand and was carefully painting over Caroline’s challenging expression—only on one side so she could see the difference.

After an hour, he was telling a story about a hilarious mishap involving Leonardo Da Vinci, and Caroline was leaning back against her makeup table, laughing so hard her sides hurt.

“And how long did it take Elijah to realize he was flirting?” she asked, tears in her eyes from uncontrollable mirth.

“He’s still in denial,” Klaus shook his head. “The way he tells it, they had a remarkably ordinary modeling session, other than Kol’s interference. Kol swears to this day that if Rebekah hadn’t come in when she did, he could have properly set the two of them up.”

“I can see that, I can definitely see that—but what happened to the sculpture?” Caroline demanded, wiping her eyes.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Klaus checked. “He was the model for David.”

Outline

Klaus is walking by Caroline’s place during season 4 and he notices that he hears crying. She refuses to tell him why she’s desiccating. He gives her an ultimatum—he won’t hurt her, they both know that, but he won’t leave until she tells him what’s happening. She sits down at her makeup table and says “fine—game on.”

Caroline decides to practice makeup techniques all day, and when she get bored of that to watch crappy reality television—he may think he can annoy her into submission, but she thinks he may have underestimated her ability to bore him. However, it turns out that he is apparently incapable of being bored—in fact he winds up commenting on her technique—artist and all—and then actually picks up a brush at one point—and that’s when Liz gets back to the house and walks right in on them. Caroline cracks up while Klaus just shrugs and admits that there is no reasonable explanation. Caroline realizes that he easily could have told her mother why he was really there—to save himself a great deal of embarrassment in fact—but without missing a beat he hid it. He can keep a secret. And of all the people who won’t think that being hurt makes her weak, he certainly won’t.

She explains the situation; Klaus initially offers to go into her head and fix the problem, which she vehemently refuses, of course. He suggests, since she can drink no “innocent” blood, that she try his—he is, as she has pointed out repeatedly, the opposite of innocent. She is able to drink blood from him easily, and gulps it down in desperation. He says that until she finds another solution, he is more than willing both to keep her secret and supply her with blood. She asks why and he says it’s for the pleasure of her company.

Over time, Caroline and Klaus’s clandestine relationship starts resembling exactly that—now that they’re spending quality time together, she finds she does enjoy his company, and feels like she can be really open with him; she knows he’ll never judge her, as he has no room to do so.

Elena eventually learns of said relationship, and they have a huge fight over it. Caroline, whose confidence has vastly improved after months of unconditional love from someone who wouldn’t dream of putting Elena before her, reminds Elena that Damon raped and abused her, and that their solution had been to drug her and wait for him to kill her so they could poison him. Elena asks if she’s dating Klaus as revenge, and Caroline tells her she’s missing the point. Elena isn’t the only person in Mystic Falls permitted to dispense divine forgiveness. Caroline is with Klaus because she loves him.

Caroline also discovers that the blood of any criminal will do the trick, so she starts going into the city, walking around the seedy parts, and eating the assholes who follow her down dark alleys. She sort of accidentally becomes a serial killer. Then once Elena basically excommunicates her, she decides to go on a trip. Klaus is hoping she means Paris, but no, she wants to eat her way through the FBI’s most wanted list. Which she does.

Caroline becomes such a successful killer of killers that the FBI starts looking for her; while they don’t know what she looks like, her codename is now top of the most wanted list. (How ungrateful! I did your job for you and this is how you thank me?)

#Beth's New Year's Cleaning Queue #free to a good home #Any and all parts available for general use with credit #tw eating disorder #well kind of #they're vampires #idk if that counts #fanfiction #the vampire diaries #klaroline #tw torture #tw ptsd #tw child abuse #technically she's a legal adult #and a vampire #but her father tortured her #so have a tw for safety

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bxtonpxss · 4 years

Text

Learnset # 3 | Thor Would Like to Learn a New Move!

“Thoooor, c’mon let’s go home already. You promised!” After a long day of them exploring the city, Glitch was tired out, not that he could blame her, he could feel a bit of exhaustion beginning to settle in his bones also as he walked. There’s an insistent tugging at his ears that the bigger mouse has grown far too used to, so he doesn’t pay it any mind, not even when its followed by a harsh nip and impatient jolt of electricity that does nothing more than send a ticklish tingle through his system. He does nothing more than twitch a little before wiggling his ears a bit playfully, which causes Glitch, who currently had her teeth sunk into his left appendage to giggle.

“I know, I know kiddo. Just gimme a second,” he murmurs, front paws and nose pressed firmly to the cool glass of the window he leaned against while his eyes were glued to the television screen sitting in the window. The door was wide open to allow customers to enter, thus allowing his heightened senses to pick up the sounds from the TV. There was a battle between two humans going on, and normally he wouldn’t give the fight much thought, but one of the humans had a Raichu, so of course, he had stopped, obviously wanting to see how that played out. Even Glitch had stopped nibbling at his ear for a moment to watch the fight, entranced at the battle.

“Raichu, Reflect!”

X0X0

With the sun having already set and the sky beginning to darken, the duo finally made it home after an eventful day spent in the city. The second Thor enters the den, Glitch jumps down from her perch in between his ears with a laugh and darts straight to their nest, running around in a tight circle a few times before falling back on the pile of leaves with an audible thwump. Thor watches the Pichu with a fond look in his eye as he pads over, grabbing a few berries from their stockpile along the way. Once situated on their bed, he drops the fruit in front of Glitch and settles down on his stomach, reaching out with an arm to pull the smaller mouse close in between his forepaws so he could proceed to bathe her while she ate.

They work in comforting silence, with Glitch pushing the remainder of her berry into his mouth while he’s in the middle of finishing cleaning up her face. He chuckles before chewing and swallowing the piece of fruit, while she giggles playfully. He nuzzles at her chin and presses his yellow cheek sac against her pink one. The two electric rodents trade warm affectionate sparks before pulling away. Glitch then leans back, tucking herself right in between the space where Thor’s head meets his neck, it’s her second favorite spot to sleep after Thor’s belly. He shifts his arm a bit closer so he could rest his head on the brown tipped appendages, and the movement shifts his child a little from her space tucked away in his shoulder, but it doesn’t bother her, rather she settles even more deeply against the taller, beginning to drift off to sleep with a wide yawn.

“Mnya, gnight Thor~”

“Night Glitch.” It doesn’t take long for the Pichu’s breathes to even out and eventually slow, indicating her deep sleep. Thor isn’t too far behind her, though his mind can’t help but think back to the match they watched from earlier. After the trainer’s Raichu had used Reflect against their opponent and successfully blocked the attack, she suddenly called the mouse back.

Disappointed by the sudden disappearance of their biased Pokémon, Glitch began groaning about leaving again, and Thor couldn’t help but agree. There was no point in sticking around if the Raichu wasn’t gonna be there, so as he lowered himself back on all fours about to walk away, he hears the trainer suddenly call out an unfamiliar move that has his ears lifting and his attention focused on the screen window with an interested gaze.

The scene replays over and over in his head.

“Electrode Magnet Rise!” Thor watches as thin bolts immediately begin to form around the electric type steadily beginning to lift the owner slightly off the ground. Electrode, moments later then pushes its energy out even further, destroying bits of the field around it which then also begin to float in the air. He listened how the trainer explains that they use this move as a counter to ground types, therefore negating its only weakness.

After that, the fight was practically over before it began, with Electrode obliterating its opponent with its speed and maneuverability. Once the match was over, and the woman with the Raichu and Electrode won, Thor finally decided to head back home, but he was in awe of that move. As the bigger Chu finally settles down and begins to drift off to sleep as well, there was only one thing on his mind.

Magnet Rise.

He wanted to learn it.

X0X0

Trying to teach yourself a new move that you’ve only seen once and had no idea how it worked was the worst. Thor was having no luck with figuring out Magnet Rise, he didn’t even know where to begin, and none of the Pokémon that lived nearby could help, and aside from Elysia and her group and Izzy, Thor’s electric type connections around the forest was very limited.

As days went by without much progress Thor was just about ready give up, maybe learning Magnet Rise was simply not to be. He sighs somewhat dejectedly as he sits resting by the stream not too far from his den. Although it was another hot day and their den was much cooler, the Raichu had wanted a bit of fresh air and something to drink, but as he sat staring at his reflection he began thinking about his lack of progress towards learning this new move, which is why he’s just sitting by the water.

After a few moments of absolute silence he hears the faint sound of wings flapping in the distance, then a familiar squawking.

“Thor! Hey—Thor!” The rodent lifts his head off the ground and looks towards the noise, eyes squinting a bit as he sees the shadow of Fearow, one of his few non Chu esque friends that lived around here. The Beak Pokémon soon flies closer then softly lands a few feet from the other.

“Fearow? What are you doing here?” He blinks in confusion, having assumed the other would be tucked away in his nest today. He knew the avian didn’t really enjoy being out when it was hot, like most of the forest dwellers that lived around here, and didn’t leave his nest unless it was necessary.

“I found you a teacher!” Fearow's large wingspan expanded a bit as he stretched out his feathers excitedly while explaining. “You said you weren’t having much luck learning that new move, right?” The shorter of the pair nods slowly before realizing what his friend had said.

“W-Wait, you said you found me a teacher?”

“GREETINGS!” A garbled and mechanized cry reaches his ears, causing the rodent’s long appendages to twitch as he slowly deciphers what was being said. His gaze then shoots over to the Magneton hovering towards them, it raises one of its magnets in what Thor believes to be an impression of a wave.

“WE ARE MAGNETON!” It takes Thor a moment to understand the others speech, Magneton and its evolutions didn’t share the somewhat universal language he and many other Pokémon spoke, the magnets spoke in beeps and staticky sounds that mimicked their speech patterns.

“Uh, hi. I’m Thor,” he gives a small smile before he moves to sit up on his haunches and lift a paw in order to wave back politely.

“GREETINGS FRIEND THOR! FRIEND FEAROW SAYS YOU NEED HELP? LEARNING NEW MOVE?”

“Oh!” He stumbles a bit, not expecting Fearow to bring along another mon to help him learn the move. He looks a bit sheepish as he scratches at the side of his face absently with a paw. “Uh yeah, I’m trying to learn this attack called Magnet Rise, but I don’t know how.. to start?

“NOT TO WORRY! WE CAN TEACH YOU! VERY SIMPLE!”

Thor looks a bit skeptic, was it really that easy?

“WHEN WOULD YOU LIKE TO BEGIN?”

“Uhm... could we start--like, now?”

“AFFIRMATIVE! BEGINNING TRAINING SESSION!”

X0X0

The sound of static crackling fills the cool afternoon air as Thor’s frame is covered in thin bolts of electricity, which then shoots towards the two small objects he was told to try and make float. The sparks of electricity merely bounce all over the stone and leaf before fizzling out and dispersing into the air.

Thor lets out a groan as his move once again, fails.

That’s the fifth time today.

It was not as simple as Magneton said.

“FOCUS THOR!” Says Magneton from his spot hovering a few feet away. “REMEMBER OUR SUGGESTIONS!”

Right, it had been weeks since they first started training. Several long frustrating weeks of Thor trying and failing to lift even the tiniest and lightest of objects with his electromagnetism. The good news is, he’s no longer putting out too much energy and accidentally burning up the fallen leaves and exploding pebbles.

Magneton had explained to him that all electric type Pokémon naturally generated their own kind of magnetic fields and once able to tap into that field, one could learn to manipulate it and change how their electric currents interacted and reacted to the environment around them.

He’d managed to locate his magnetic fields, the electric currents around it had felt different than the usual energy he put out. Where his natural electrical energies were strong and had somewhat of a sharp sizzling feel to it, his magnetic energies almost felt light and airy, and cool. Now after finding them and being able to tell the difference between the two energies, it was simply a matter of manipulating it for his own personal means.

That’s where the leaves and stones came in. The objects were small enough that their magnetic fields are easier to manipulate and levitate for practice. As Magneton’s words to focus and concentrate echo in his head, the orange rodent shakes his head and tries again, releasing another set of thin sparks.

As the electricity travels and jumps along the stone and leaf, he takes a deep breath and concentrates, pushing out his own energies to connect with the two objects. As he’s focusing and probing, he suddenly feels something. Eye ridges furrowing Thor chases that odd sensation and latches onto it. Then, like a lock clicking into place, the Raichu feels his energy shift.

The crackling sound released from his sparks grows louder and begin to jump sporadically around the pair of items. Thor’s eyes grow wide as he gasps in amazement when the rock and leaf start to raise slightly off the ground. They hover for several seconds then fall back to the floor, barely any indication that they’d been moved.

But, both Thor and Magneton saw it.

Thor was vibrating with excitement, a wide smile split across his face while turning to face Magneton.

“Hah...aha! HA! I did it!” With a loud whoop, he leaps into the air arms extended. “WHOO! I DID IT!”

X0X0

After finally being able to lift the stone once, Magneton had Thor immediately try again. His second time was a bit shakier than the first, he managed to lift the leaf and rock, but not for as long as the first time. Magneton says that while this is great progress he still needed to practice and learn to focus more.

He’s got the basics down but now he needed to improve on that and still work on trying to make small objects levitate before trying to lift himself or anything else, as Thor had immediately asked if he could do exactly that some time after he’d finally lifted the leaf and stone.

A few more days of training sessions pass, with Thor gradually getting the hang of using Magnet Rise. He’s been lifting up small pebbles and juggling them for fun as practice. With the goal being to make sure the stones never hit the ground. It’s during that time that Magneton decides it's time for him to leave.

“Hey wait!”

Concentration now broken, the small pebbles that had been hovering around Thor soon fell to the ground, but the mouse paid no mind to that, instead approaching his new electric friend who’d proven to be a great teacher. “You’re leaving already?” He knew Magneton would eventually have to leave, but the mouse had grown kind of attached to the metal mon.

“WE MUST GO!” The magnets beep, bouncing a bit in the air with a slight buzz. Thor has learned during their spent time together that certain noises Magneton made was an indicator of an emotion, like the soft buzzing sound meant they were happy. “TASK ACCOMPLISHED! NEW MOVE ACQUIRED!”

Thor lets out a thoughtful hum, expression falling momentarily before he nods a bit. He supposed Magneton had a point, they had only come here with Fearow to help him learn a new move and nothing more, for all the mouse knew, Magneton might have family waiting for them wherever it was they’d come from. It wasn’t right of him to be selfish and ask the other to stick around any more considering they’d already spent so much time together already.

“DO NOT WORRY FRIEND THOR! WE WILL VISIT AGAIN! TAKE CARE!”

He couldn’t help but smile and clench his paws into determined fists. Right, this was only goodbye for now. That’s not to say he’d never be able to see Magneton again, there was always next time.

“Bye Magneton! Thanks for everything!” He waves the steel type off as they float away into the distance. Thor then turns back towards the fallen rocks he was messing with and sends out a thin trail of sparks to surround them. The stones lift high in the air above the mouse as he watches from below with a satisfied grin.

If he worked even harder, soon he’ll be able to lift himself, and maybe even the field around him as well.

Just like Electrode!

And maybe, someday he’d be able to float even longer in the air without even thinking about it. All of these ideas were nothing but future obstacles he’d have to overcome.

Man he couldn’t wait...

Congratulations!

Thor learned Magnet Rise!

#Thor || [headcanon] || nasty plot #prompts || [drabble]#oof its finally done #Now Thor's got the basics of the technique down and can only lift small things through threads I’ll show his progress towards mastering it!

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darkangeldesignstudio · 5 years

Text

Dark Horse

Warnings: Angst, Violence, Death, Attempted Rape, Strong Language, Mentions of Animal Abuse, and Eventual Smut and Fluff

Setting: Post Civil War era USA. Marvel Cowboy AU.

Song: You Can’t Take Me by Bryan Adams

Previous��/ Next

Chapter One: A Death in the Family

A violent shaking woke you in the night. Rubbing your eyes, you looked up to see your brother’s wide eyes and a sense of foreboding washed over you.

“What’s wro-”

John shushed you with a finger to his lips, his eyes begging you not to speak. “Men outside. Not sure how many.” His whispered voice trembled with nerves. People in the mountains, this late at night, was never a good thing.

You nodded to him in understanding and crept slowly from your bed to grab your gun belt and the two Colt Revolvers that rested there. Pulling on your pants, you fastened the belt around your waist just as you started to hear the voices approach.

You left your bedroom to join your brother in the kitchen. Taking cover behind the table, you could just see a shadow pass by on your porch and you gripped your guns in both hands, prepared to defend your home.

“We know you’re in there.” The voice was gruff and a bit slurred. It wasn’t uncommon for a man to drink to keep the chill at bay in winter; maybe it was just a drunk that lost his way. It was wishful thinking, but in your gut, you knew that was not the case here.

“I don’t want any trouble.” John shouted back through the door, trying to reason with the men. “If you need supplies, I will gladly help you out, but I need you to stow your weapons first.”

Laughter was their counter, and if your ears weren’t deceiving you, there was someone posted by the rear of the house and another on the side towards the barn.

So, at least five hostile, armed men and no way to know what they want. They could just be looking for shelter… “Why don’t you come on out here and surrender. We won’t hurt you, much.” Or a fight.

You nodded to your brother as he approached the door. You made a plan for cases like this; you just hoped it would work while severely outnumbered.

“Okay, I’m coming out.” John reached for the handle, prepared to open fire as soon as he cleared the entryway, but he never got the chance to open the door.

A deafening shot rang out as the wood of the front door splintered inwards. Your brother clutched his chest as he turned to you. Time slowed as you watched blood seep out between his fingers. His eyes were wide with pain, he gasped for air and a wash of red bubbled from between his pale lips. He collapsed to his knees as his eyes rolled back, body crumbling to the floor in a heap.

You could hear laughter and cheering from the men outside as tears blurred your vision. The front door began to open as an inhuman scream tore its way out of your throat. Raising your guns, you peppered the door with bullets.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Hey, Steve,” Bucky called out, riding back into camp just as the sun started to set over the horizon.

Steve exited the abandoned house, barely containing the yawn that wanted to escape his exhausted form. They had been traveling for days on little to no sleep, but Bucky looked refreshed after his short ride with Sergeant. “What’s got you so excited, Buck? Don’t you ever get tired?”

Bucky rolled his eyes, taking Steve’s light teasing for what it was. Of course he was tired, but there were more important things to do right now. Like finding supplies, which he did.

“There’s a farm a few minutes west of here, looks like a man and woman live there. Maybe they will be willing to aid us, or at least give us directions into town.” Bucky looked to his best friend with pleading eyes. “Come on Steve, we need help. Not everyone is a bad guy.”

Sighing, Steve nodded. Bucky was right, and they couldn’t be so unlucky as to run into a Shield Agent out in the middle of Nowhere, Colorado.

Plus, their luck seemed to have turned a few days back when they had lost the gang of Hydra thugs that had been chasing them and then they found this abandoned farm house. It was fully stocked with canned food and a large barn for their exhausted horses. They had just gotten their first full night - and most of the day - of sleep in ages when Bucky decided to scout the area for game and supplies.

“Sure, Buck. Just let me wake up the others and get saddled up and we can check it out.” Turning towards the door, Steve looked back over his shoulder to his best friend’s disappointed expression. “The last thing we need is to turn up and be outnumbered by hostiles.”

With a sigh, Bucky nodded his agreement as Steve left him out front to wait. It was unfortunate that they could never find a moment alone anymore, but at least they had a chance to gain more supplies for the long road ahead of them. All-in-all, Steve was right about being cautious.

You never know when those Hydra bastards will show up and, from the looks of it, there’s a winter storm coming that could snow us in for weeks. Good thing the cold never bothered me.

Smiling happily again, Bucky ran to the barn to fetch everyone’s horses. The sooner they left, the sooner they could get back and hunker down before the storm hit.

_______________________________________________________________________

You ducked behind the table as shots rang out from the guys outside, shattering the window at your rear. Glass rained down on your head as you waited out the barage of bullets. Anger and sorrow warred within you as you caught another glimpse of your brother’s body, a pool of blood growing around him.

Wiping tears from your eyes, you clenched your teeth as the last rounds of gunfire died. Crawling on all fours, you moved towards the bedroom, hoping to escape and flank your attackers. If all else failed, maybe you could reach the barn and run with the horses.

Donning your jacket, you opened the window and crawled through as swiftly and quietly as possible. The wind was icy. There wasn’t any snow yet, but if the clouds on the horizon were any indication, it was not far off and would fall for a while. You snuck through the wintry night, towards the lumber pile. You could hear the men as they entered your house, there were definitely more than you first thought.

Ducking behind the wood that you had stockpiled for winter, you could see horses tied to the small lean-to a few yards away. If you could just get there and release them, the men would be too distracted by their escaped mounts to notice as you escaped into the barn.

With a solid sounding plan in mind, you approached the horses calmly, trying not to spook them and give away your position. Unfortunately, it seemed your luck had run out. The click of a pistol cocking froze you in your tracks.

“Hello there pretty lady.” The man chuckled, holding the barrel of his gun to your head. “Hands up, there won’t be no trouble.”

You raised your hands casually, guns resting lightly in each hand, breathing as evenly as possible.

“That’s it honey.” You felt his gun lower from the back of your head as he began to reach for your pistol.

Turning rapidly, you slammed the butt of your gun into the side of his nose. A sickening crunch, followed by a yelp of pain, was all the sound he made before you unsheathed your blade and drove it into his neck. Blood sprayed, splattering your cheek as you looked into the man’s dying eyes.

“That was for my brother.” Shoving his body away from you, you turned just in time to see another man rounding the corner of the house. You stowed your knife hastily, pulling the second pistol out of its holster and opened fire.

A single shot sounded and a bead of blood ran from between the man’s eyes. He collapsed to the ground as shouts from the men inside rose in volume. You sprinted back to the wood pile, diving over it as a bullet hit the logs, barely missing you. A firefight ensued and you managed to take out three more of their men before you ran out of rounds.

“Shit.” Pulling your knife from its sheath again, you prepared to run for the barn.

_______________________________________________________________________

The starry night sky was fully in place as Steve and the group rode out towards the farm Bucky had found.

Natasha and her gorgeously wild Nakota mare, Krasavitsa, were alert and ready for anything, riding ahead of the group as their lookouts.

Bucky, on his red roan Appaloosa, rode next to Steve and his filly. Star was the frisky counterpart to Sergeant’s stoic and commanding presence. She was an elegant chestnut Thoroughbred that loved to race over the land at a full sprint, much to the older stud’s annoyance.

Tony with his penchant for explosives and destructive things took up the rear. His exquisitely grumpy, gold Andalusian stud, Mark II, had been very displeased with being pulled from the barn in the dead of night. Not unlike his owner who continued to grumble and complain as they rode.

“Why are we out here again?” Tony whined, his horse grunting in agreement, ambling along behind the group.

Steve, turning in his saddle, glared at Tony in exasperation. “For the tenth time, Bucky found a farm that could have supplies. We need supplies if we are going to make the long trip east. Now, eyes up and stop your whining, we’re close.”

Bucky tried not to laugh as Steve rolled his eyes, Tony was a pain, but he was great back up in a pinch. The three of them halted at the base of the hill, sending Natasha ahead to take a look on foot. Much to Krasavitsa’s annoyance as she paced and pawed at the ground. She hated being separated from her human, but she wouldn’t put Nat in danger by giving away their position.

A few moments passed in silence, until the noise of distant gunshots reached them. Natasha ran back to the group as another flurry of shots and a shout echoed through the surrounding mountains.

“What’s going on, Nat?” Steve was visibly shaken, the distinctly female scream made his hair stand on end and kicked his protective instincts into high gear.

“Someone is attacking the farm. Appears to be around ten men in total, there were a few dead outside the door.” She shook her head at Bucky’s silent question. “She’s alone out there. Not clear how much longer she will last.”

With that, Natasha mounted up and they crested the hill together to take in the scene at the ranch below. It was pure carnage.

Men’s bodies fell unmoving onto the ground around her as the woman fought them off, equipped with only a knife. She must have run out of bullets with that last round of gunfire. She ran for the barn, trying to escape unseen, but they cut her off at the wood shed.

Tony took the horses, leaving them in the adjacent trees as Steve, Bucky, and Natasha began to creep along the tree line, towards the homestead.

They watched as the brave woman grabbed a nearby hatchet and chucked it at the man in her path. He fell dead, the hatchet firmly embedded in his skull. A sense of relief flooded Steve’s system as she reached the corner of the barn, but it was short lived as a scream tore through the air.

Drawing his revolver from its holster, Steve picked up his pace, Bucky trailing close behind him as they traversed the back of the property. Tony and Nat split from them, heading to the front as a giant man was seen dragging the woman into the house by her hair. He was followed by the rest of his men who hooped and hollered, sick grins plastered on their faces.

Looking to his partner, Steve and Bucky were in agreement. They needed to save the woman quickly. Hydra wasn’t a merciful gang and they would soon be out of time.

_______________________________________________________________________

The firm grip on your hair was painful. Strands popped from your scalp with every step as the hulking man pulled you across the floor of your home, past the body of your brother. His men jeered and touched your legs with their dirty, blood-stained hands. You tried not to panic, but your attempts were in vain as it dawned on you what they were about to do.

The leader - you assumed as he was the one barking orders as he dragged you along - took you towards the overturned dining table and hurled you into it. Your vision darkened as the breath was knocked from your lungs. “Flip the table and tie her down.”

Agonizing pain radiated through your back as you struggled to clear your vision enough to fight. Two men grabbed your wrists hard enough to bruise as two others worked to flip the heavy table right side up. The two men holding you forced you, face-down, onto the dinner table. They tied your arms above your head, tying it around one of the table legs at the opposite end. This left you on your tiptoes, your hips perched at the edge. Your cheek brushed the rough surface of the wood grain as you tried to observe the men’s locations around you.

When the first touches came, you began to panic. You couldn’t see the hands and that was the most excruciating part of it all, they brushed you in your most feminine places. Their rough palms and debauched words made you feel sick and tainted. You wished the world would just swallow you up, take you away from this horrible place that had been so recently full of love and happiness.

Tears streaked your face as they began to peel the clothes from your body. You kicked and screamed as best you could in your compromising position. Your head whipped back forcefully as a massive fist connected with your cheek, you felt the bones in your jaw crack as your vision blurred.

“Be still, bitch!” The man at your back bellowed as he gripped your hair, wrenching your head back.

Screaming as severe pain travelled the length of your spine, another wave of tears erupted from your eyes. Feeling helpless and alone, you did the only thing you could think of; never having been much of a believer in the almighty, you were out of practice, but you would do anything at this point. Closing your eyes, you begged for someone, anyone to save you.

Please, if you truly are there, listening to me. I need your help, anybody’s help. Somebody, please save me. I’ll do anything, just SAVE ME!!

#Dark Horse #Reader Fic #Marvel MCU #cowboy au #western au

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