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#there's nothing terribly gore-y if that's a concern
emyn-arnens · 6 months
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It’s spooky season! In honor of the season, I’ve put together a rec list of some of my favorite LOTR and Silm horror fics. So curl up with a warm drink, tuck in…and maybe leave the lights on. 😉 Please leave a kudos and comment if you enjoy!
A Hidden Hunt in Hollow Dells by Zdenka (T, Petty-dwarves, 100 words):
The Dwarves of the great cities tell tales of the Elvenfolk to frighten their children, but the Petty-Dwarves know the tales are true.
A Treatise on the Origin of Dragons by Piyo13 (T, Sauron, 2.9k):
"A Treatise on the Origin of Dragons, recorded by Mairon" In which Mairon conducts a scientific experiment, and Orcs aren't the only form of corrupted Elf to have ever graced Middle Earth.
autumn fruits with me prevail by Anonymous (T, Thranduil, ~200 words):
On his head he wore a crown of berries and red leaves, for the autumn was come again.
cold be sleep under stone by Feanoriel (NR, Ar-Pharazôn, ~600 words, character death):
Under the barrow, a dead man dreams.
consuming by simaetha (T, Khamûl & Sauron, 1k):
...For one of the hungry Houseless, if it is admitted to the friendship of the Living, may seek to eject the fëa from its body; and in the contest for mastery the body may be gravely injured, even if it be not wrested from its rightful inhabitant. Or the Houseless may plead for shelter, and if it is admitted, then it will seek to enslave its host and use both his will and his body for its own purposes. It is said that Sauron did these things, and taught his followers how to achieve them. - Laws and Customs Among the Eldar
Heed No Nightly Noises by Marta (M, 4.7k, Pippin, Merry, Barrow-wights, Lalia Took, and OMC, minor character death):
"The hobbits sprang to their feet in alarm, and ran to the western rim. They found that they were upon an island in the fog. Even as they looked out in dismay towards the setting sun, it sank before their eyes into a white sea, and a cold grey shadow sprang up in the East behind. The fog rolled up to the walls and rose above them, and as it mounted it bent over their heads until it became a roof: they were shut in a hall of mist whose central pillar was the standing stone. "They felt as if a trap was closing about them; but they did not quite lose heart. " (from The Lord of the Rings, "Fog on the Barrow-Downs")
lengthen the night and shorten the day by kimaracretak (G, Lalaith, ~100 words, character death):
Death cannot take Lalaith from the river.
nights so frozen by simaetha (G, Varda, Lúthien, and OCs, ~900 words):
Varda: Star-Queen, Kindler, Sublime, Ever-white. Every angel is terrifying. - Rilke
Nine Fingers by Prackspoor (G, Frodo & Sam & Merry & Pippin, 6.3k):
On their way home from Minas Tirith, the Hobbits have a strange encounter on the outskirts of the Barrow-downs...
only the sleep eternal / in an eternal night by simaetha (T, Shelob, ~700 words):
“The world is a terrible place,” you tell the small creature, kindly. 
The Snaring of Gorlim by Zdenka (T, Gorlim/Eilinel, 1.4k, character death):
Gorlim searches for Eilinel.
This Will I Do by amyfortuna (NR, Míriel Þerindë & Ungoliant, ~800 words, character death):
Míriel makes a deal with Ungoliant, and she'll see it through, no matter the sacrifice.
Too Bright for Mortal Lands by amyfortuna (T, Beren/Lúthien, Díor/Nimloth, 1k, character death):
"...The wise have said that the Silmaril hastened their end; for the flame of the beauty of Lúthien as she wore it was too bright for mortal lands."
Watcher Of/In the Woods by ncfan (T, Andreth, 2.4k):
"Outside, the world was changing." Andreth, in the time following the Dagor Bragollach.
With Both Hands by crackinthecup (T, Morgoth & Ungoliant, 1.5k):
“This is my domain, Dark One,” Ungoliant said, and her body was revealed in the light of Melkor’s gaze, dark and heavy and sagging, splayed across her webs like a hole through the fabric of the world. She dwarfed Melkor by her sheer size. “Our ties were broken long ago. You promised that I would feed to my heart’s content and beyond, yet I was hungry then, and I am hungry still. Begone! I owe you nothing.” It is said in the Silmarillion that Melkor went to Avathar to seek out Ungoliant and plot his revenge with her. This is the story of their meeting.
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bug-is-snug · 4 months
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starved
inspired by @groguspicklejar (you are so good at atmosphere omgggg???)
Part two
plot: you're a zombie babe <3 put y'all seatbelts on CW: depictions of violence, depictions of obsession, gore, eventual self-cannibalism (stay safe besties), blood, gore, eventual smut banner by: @frostthecupcake (deactivated) and found by using "Find A Banner" A/N: This is my first time posting a fanfic of mine! Please be gentle with me ;-;
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'I am starving...' The words were so familiar to you that you barely registered that they echoed the moment you saw your Captain's exposed wrist. Captain John Price, a stern and loyal man. He always made you feel safe...he always made you... Hungry. You inhaled sharply as you looked up at your Captain, finally registering that he had been calling your name. "Are you alright, love?" His usual tone had taken one of concern as his eyes stared into your own. "Ah-" You smiled nervously as you nodded, "Yes, sir, I'm fine. Just...deep in thought, I guess! What were you asking me?" "I was asking if you had gotten your paperwork done yet. You look exhausted." He stood up straight, crossing his arms over his chest as his raised a brow. Perhaps your narrator should explain; it started around... Three months ago...
It was supposed to be a good Ol' typical hostage situation. Get the hostage, get a Medevac if needed, another easy adventure for our favorite Task Force! Right? Oh, how terribly wrong you were. Nothing could have prepared you for the moment you were slammed against a wall by the hostage no less! You had been sent in to grab the scientist! A scientist! Some little nerd working on bioweapons! Surely, they wouldn't be aggressive, right? The wind was knocked from your lungs as you tried your best to fend off your attacker. His snapping teeth dangerously close to your neck as you forced his head back with one hand, your arm shoving him away by his shoulder. Why did you have to be so stubborn? Why didn't you just let Soap help you? Why did you INSIST on going in alone?! Why couldn't you just accept help?! You couldn't contain your scream as the doctor sunk his teeth into your exposed wrist, the smell of rot and blood immediately clouding your brain and making you dizzy. The rest of that mission was fuzzy, really... You don't remember Soap immediately coming to your aid the moment he heard your scream from down the hall. You don't remember fainting. You don't remember a lot of that day after the attack... Back to the current day, "Y-yeah, yeah- no- uh.." You stumbled over your words as you rubbed your face, "I've just not been sleepin' too well. Sorry, Cap." A half-lie...you could tell Price didn't buy it either, but what else could you say? What were you supposed to do? Tell him how you've dreamt of sinking your teeth into his neck the night after catching him walking back from a workout? Tell him how your heart ached when imagining yourself sinking your teeth into your Lieutenant's arm every time he offered your paperwork to you? How it takes everything in your body to stop yourself from licking the blood from Gaz's wounds when he gets a bump or scrape when in the field? Or how the smell of Johnny's sweat makes your head swim with thoughts of ripping his ribs apart with your bare hands? Obviously, you can't just say that! Wh- who even-? No! Just, no! So, you lie. You lie and lie and lie until you can't keep track of your lies anymore. "I think I just need to go to bed...Would that be okay?" You gave your Captain a forced smile that almost felt like a grimace. He stared with eyes that seemed to look right through you, "...Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt. Go rest up, love. I'm sure I can handle the rest from here." You sighed in relief, standing up and organizing your papers for a moment before giving your Captain an appreciative nod before you left the room. You could feel his eyes boring into the back of your skull as you walked away, but you didn't falter. Don't worry, darling, your team has noticed the lies. They've noticed your change in behavior. And it's only a matter of time until you slip up...
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Star Patient: Chapter 4 (ONGOING SLOW BURN SERIES)
WARNING: This series will include; possible inaccurate medical procedures and medical setting, gore, toxic relationships that should NOT be replicated in real life, murder, yanderes, cursing, suicide mentions, implications of misandry (male misogyny), and possibly more.
Inaccurate canon-timeline (this is before Ashley and Andrew murdered their parents).
Reader has a small fear of adult men/rape and has a history of suicide attempts.
Incest is not Wincest.
Amnesiac! Obsessive! Patient! Andrew Graves x Yandere! Nurse! Reader:
Wordcount: 11,018 words
Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, current chapter, Chapter 5 + 6 (in the works)
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        "Andy."
        "Hey Andy, wake up..."
        "Andrew."
        "Andrew, wake up!" 
        Andrew shot awake, before letting out a hiss, clutching his head as it pounded terribly. He cradled his head, before turning his attention to his bedside, where Ashley stood. 
        "What are you doing here?" Andrew questioned, still holding his head. "You manage to worm your way in here that quickly after getting banned?" 
        "Hospital security sucks." She hummed. "That, or they just hire any idiot off the street."
        "Maybe you can get a job here." Andrew commented sarcastically, earning a half-hearted glare from his sister. "But you still didn't answer my question. Why are you here?" 
        "Well, how are you healing? Are we ready to get out of here?" Ashley questioned, sitting down on his bedside, the uneven distribution of weight on his bed causing his injured legs to shift, making him wince. 
        "I don't know..." he hissed between his teeth as pain shot through his legs and head. "I think it'd be best for me to stay here until I can walk again. We have no where to go when I heal up, and the nurse said I'd have to be bedridden for a few weeks to make sure my legs heal and get strong again." He spoke. "I bet there's probably going to have to be physical therapy too for my legs, so I can walk and crap." 
        "Ugh... healing broken bones takes too long. I feel like a kid watching their grandpa die." She groaned, physically deflating. 
        "What's the rush?" Andrew questioned. "We're out of our old city, and it's not like anyone's following us anymore." 
        Ashley had a look on her face, a flash of hesitancy appeared on her face, gaining Andrew's immediate interest. "I just... I had a dream last night, from the demon, and..." she paused, looking away as she thought what to say.
        "And...? And what?" Andrew questioned, prompting for her to go on.
        "Ah, never mind." She huffed, a little frustrated. "It's not something you can help with, being bedridden and all." 
        "Are you sure?" Andrew questioned, seeming concerned. "You can tell me—" 
        "Don't worry about it, Andy!" Ashley smiled, plastering on a fake smile. "It's nothing too big. So, how are the nurses and doctors treating you?" 
        "Good..." Andrew muttered. 
        He was concerned about Ashley's strange behavior, but he knew that if she didn't want to talk, she sure as hell won't. 
        "They're all fine... Some of the nurses and doctors here are pretty weird, but the one nurse that takes care of me seems pretty nice." Andrew explained. "but, she works in the pediatric branch so I don't see her much." Andrew quickly added, hoping that his lack of time and attention to the nurse would save him from another argument between the siblings.
        "A nurse? Is she pretty?" Ashley questioned, keeping up her innocent smile.
        Andrew knew this trap very well. He opted to look away from her eyes, staring out the window at the daylight outside.
        "No..." he lied. "I wouldn't say that."
        "Really? Even with her pretty (e/c) eyes and (h/c) hair?" Ashley questioned.
        When did Ashley meet (Y/N)? Ashley had never been in the hospital during the night, so there's no way she met her inside the hospital.
        "How did you know what she looked like? Did you meet (Y/N)?" Andrew questioned, curious as he turned his gaze back at Ashley.
        "I knew it..." Ashley muttered, a distasteful expression on her face. 
        "What?" Andrew questioned, confused.
        "Don't worry about it." Ashley spoke, standing up from the bed's end, the small movement causing Andrew's legs to hurt a bit. "I'm gonna go grab food. I didn't get any on the way here. I'll see you later, Andrew." Ashley smiled.
        Before Andrew could open his mouth, Ashley walked out of his room, exploring the hospital as she avoided the nurses and security guards who could recognize her. She was able to snatch a scalpel lying in one of the empty doctor offices while a nurse was cleaning the exam table, headphones in her ears as she blasted music. Quite unprofessional really, but it helped Ashley get a weapon that was actually useful rather than an empty handgun. 
        She shoved it in her pocket and waited around the hospital for hours, changing her hiding spot every now and then. She made sure to stay in the pediatric branch, the branch Andrew said that pretty little nurse worked in. In one of her hiding spots, two little boys were rummaging around before they discovered her.
        The two had been looking around for their parents after escaping their hospital rooms, Ashley figured due to them calling out “Mom! Dad!” in the hallways. They got to her hiding spot and opened the white curtain she was hiding behind, looking to see if their parents were behind there (kid logic, it makes no sense).
        Before the two could scream, Ashley quickly covered their mouths with her hands.
        “Don’t be brats now, stay quiet.” She hissed.
        They looked at each other, then her, before nodding. Ashley looked hesitant to let them go, but she didn’t want to be discovered, so she moved her hands from their mouths, wiping her hands on her shirt.
        “Are you a ghost?” one of the kids whispered.
        “No.” She answered, her expression a mix between boredom and displeasure.
        “Are you a nurse?” the other questioned. 
        “No.” Ashley scoffed, her tone almost sounding offended that they had the audacity to say that. “Like I’d work with kids."
        “So, who are you? What are you doing here?” one of the blond boys questioned.
        “I’m playing hide and seek with one of my friends.” She lied. “Leave, you’re gonna give away my hiding spot.” She huffed, grabbing the curtain and closing it to shield her from view.
        Before the kids could ask to play too (having already forgotten their parents), they heard footsteps, followed by a voice.
        “What are you two doing?” a female questioned, her shadow being seen through the curtain. 
        Both of the boys jumped, letting out squeals as they turned to look at her. Ashley grabbed the scalpel she stole out of her pocket, holding it tightly in her hand. Whether it was the she was looking for or not, she’d kill her if she gets discovered.
        “N-nothing! Just… playing!” one of the boys spoke nervously.
        Good… Ashley thought, smirking. 
        “I’m Tom, that’s Jerry.” One introduced themselves.
        “Like the cartoon?” the nurse questioned.
        Funny. Ashley thought sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the joke.
        “Um… yes?” one of them spoke, hesitant in their answer.
        “Well, it sure matches you both, since you sneaked out of your rooms.” The nurse commented. “Who are you talking to?” she questioned.
        Ashley’s grip on the scalpel’s handle tightened, wiggling her shoulders to loosen up a bit in case the nurse got too curious, getting ready to kill her.
        “Come along now.” The nurse spoke.
        Ashley watched the two small shadows walk away from her hiding spot. The nurse stayed for a second, keeping her attention on the curtain, before she guided the two boys away from her. Ashley peeked her head out of the curtain, seeing a nurse with two little boys walking away. The nurse had (h/c) hair, but Ashley couldn’t see the color of her eyes.
        Damn. Ashley thought. I think that was just my target…
        She couldn’t be certain per se, but it was certainly the best description so far. 
        Well, it’s not the end of the world. In fact, it’s probably for the best. If she killed the girl in this hospital, not only could she get medical assistance from others in the hospital if something goes wrong, but it’d be a pain in the ass to hide the body somewhere here too (not to mention the security cameras). If someone died in the hospital, they’d check the security cameras and find Ashley, then Andrew would be in trouble too since Ashley walked in his room and he was left unharmed. 
        If she can’t kill her in the hospital, she’d just kill her at home. She can just hitch a ride in (Y/N)’s car, it’s really not that hard. Ashley can just follow the girl out of the hospital and either threaten her with the empty gun (not like the nurse would know) or she can just unlock her car depending on her car’s model.
        Ashley made sure to follow behind (Y/N) for the rest of the night. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait too long. After rushing out of the staff room, she ran to the elevators. Ashley took the chance to rush down the hallway and slide down the hospital staircase railing, reaching the elevator’s lobby. She followed (Y/N) out of the hospital lobby, following her to her car. 
        (Y/N) unlocked the car and hopped in the driver’s seat, Ashley timing opening and closing the door from her the back passenger side on her right. (Y/N) buckled her seatbelt, turning up the radio to a random jazz station this late at night and sitting in her car, thinking in silence.
        (Y/N) seemed to be muttering to herself, this combined with the radio on allowed Ashley to situate herself onto the car floor, away from (Y/N)’s vision. Maybe if (Y/N) wasn’t so upset, or maybe if she drove in silence without the auditory distraction, she would’ve noticed Ashley behind her; but she didn’t.
        Ashley decided not to kill (Y/N) at the moment. If (Y/N) died, they’d crash and Ashley could potentially die or be hospitalized; which would give her a one-way ticket to jail after they examine (Y/N)’s body and realized she didn’t die from the crash.
        (Y/N) kept muttering as she drove, seemingly annoyed. Ashley was a bit curious of what she was so upset about (Penelope’s potential crush for Andrew, she was upset about) but Ashley stayed quiet; it would be pretty stupid to say “hey, what are you muttering about?” when you snuck into your victim’s car to kill them. 
        The drive wasn’t too long, but to Ashley it felt like an entirety. When the car stopped, (Y/N) turned off the radio and stayed in the car for a few minutes, her hands gripping the steering wheel as she stared into space absentmindedly. She finally let out a sigh, then unlocked her car and hopped out. (Y/N) locked the car and walked to her apartment door on the first floor outside, opening the door and shutting it behind her. 
        Ashley undid the car door lock on the inside, popping up the lock button and carefully exiting the car (after a small heart attack from the inner lights of the car turning on once she opened the door). She made sure there were no people in the parking lot, then she shut the car door behind her and ran up to (Y/N)’s apartment. 
        Ashley walked up to the door, carefully trying the door handle to see if it was unlocked. It was.
        This is almost pathetic how easy it is…
        Either the work day tired her out, or she really has no common sense or street smarts.
        Ashley slinked into the apartment, the house pitch black. (Y/N) didn’t even bother trying to light up the house, now this was starting to get almost sad.
        Ashley crept carefully through the hallway, using her hands to guide her through the dark. Ashley made it to an opening that led into the living room, the only source of light being the window that showed the sun starting to rise.
        (Y/N) was on her back as she laid on her couch, staring up at the ceiling silently, no thoughts seeming to go through her mind.
        Okay, now this is depressing. Very depressing. Ashley almost felt a little sorry taking her life; or, what was left of it really, which wasn’t much it seemed.  
        Ashley carefully walked past the depressed nurse, finding her kitchen. Ashley decided she didn’t want the scalpel anymore and she traded it for a long kitchen knife instead, 8 inches long with a sharp, pointy blade. 
        She held the knife as she explored more of the house, finding (Y/N)’s room. The room was probably the most decorated of the house, with small plotted pants in the window (surprisingly alive, a comparison to their soon-to-be-dead owner). Her room wasn’t decorated much, having a dresser, a closet, a bookshelf of books, a bed, and a desk. Her walls were pretty plain, and she barely had anything on her dresser to hold other than a multimedia center on it.
        Even her bedding was a plain grey, but there were colorful soft plushies that covered the bed to brighten up the room.
        Ashley’s unsure if that’s childish or even more pathetic, needing plushies to replace humans? That’s just depressing.
        Ashley was starting to doubt if it was even worth killing this woman, her life is already pathetic enough as it is. Ashley even contemplated if someone would even miss her. For now, Ashley hid behind the bedroom door and waited for (Y/N) to walk in… whenever she decides to stop sulking on the couch.         .         .
        (Y/N) laid on her couch, staring at the ceiling pathetically. She couldn’t be bothered to think, or even recall her day. Days and week just all just seemed to blur into one now. If one of her patients told her this is how they felt in life, she’d be considered and talk with Doctor Ryan about scheduling an appointment with a therapist; but (Y/N) had been living like this since she was a child. It doesn’t affect her as much as it did when she was a child.
        Being alone doesn’t hurt anymore.
        I need to get up and shower… (Y/N) thought. 
        She turned on her side, staring at her reflection in her TV. She looked pathetic curled up on the couch like that. 
        She wanted to get up and get ready for deal, get rid of all the germs and hazardous matter that was stuck on her clothes and skin, but walking to the bathroom just seemed like a challenge. 
        She groaned, pausing a few seconds, before getting up from her couch and sluggishly walking to her room.
        I just need to shower, eat a meal, then sleep. I should be feeling better tomorrow. She thought, telling herself the same lie she’s told herself for years. 
        She walked down her hallway, a plain hallway. It was nothing but bare wall, just about as empty as she felt here alone. She had no paintings to put up (and deciding what she’d hang up would be too much of a struggle). She didn’t want to hang up any of her awards or accomplishments, they held no meaning if her parents couldn’t see the victory or praise her for it. She had no family pictures, and even if she did, she wouldn’t have felt pride about the woman that would stand in the frame—not herself or her mother.
        She let out a soft sigh, maybe she should get a pet? Sleeping in a bed covered with stuffed animals doesn't really make loneliness any better, just makes sleep more comfortable. Pets are great for depression too! But it'd be so bothersome trying to choose one, yet alone have time for it... maybe she could just get her a reptile, something that can live inside of a habitat and won't need much care; be independent and uncaring to touch, unlike her own needs.
        She opened her bedroom door, flicking on the light switch. She stepped inside, rummaging through her drawers for a comfortable set of pajamas. Ashley stood in the corner, watching (Y/N) from behind the open bedroom door, before she decided to take her chance. 
        She carefully crept behind (Y/N), a kitchen knife in hand, one she stole from (Y/N)'s kitchen since Andrew wasted all the bullets in her gun when he shot that hitman in the park. She was a little nervous, it’d be her first kill without Andrew or the help of her demon friend.
        As much as she’d like to give (Y/N)’s soul to the demon, this felt more like a personal kill. Surely the demon wouldn’t mind too much if Ashley gave them a dead body instead of a living person.
        Ashley raised her knife in the air, planning to hit (Y/N)’s neck. She’d rather make this quick, they’re in an apartment complex so there’s neighbors around; she’d rather not have anyone hear what’s going on.
        Before Ashley could plunge the knife down, (Y/N) turned around, her clothes in hand as she looked at Ashley. Her eyes widened, surprised, before it trailed to the silver blade in her hands.
        “…Hey?” Ashley smiled, feigning an amused smile to hide the nervousness she felt in committing this act alone for the first time.
        “Are you… trying to kill me with my own kitchen knife?” (Y/N) questioned, recognizing the blade almost immediately.
        She even looked a bit annoyed that Ashley had the audacity to kill her with her own knife, her own money and cooking utensil being used against her. That’s indeed a bit frustrating once you push away that fear, recognizing you’re about to die.
        “Uh, yeah?” Ashley confirmed. “Are you gonna fight, or is this gonna be—“ 
        (Y/N) quickly grabbed her bottle of perfume before Ashley could finish her sentence, spraying Ashley in the eyes. 
        Yeah, not easy, it seemed.
        “Fuck!” Ashley hissed, squeezing her eyes shut as she swung her knife rapidly in the air. 
        (Y/N) was trapped between Ashley and the dresser, trying to avoid the knife before it slashed her forearm. (Y/N) took the chance, using her dresser for leverage as she placed her foot on the dresser for a boost, smashing her shoulder into Ashley’s chest, pushing her away. 
        Ashley stumbled on the ground, the knife laying next to her as her eyes stung from the potent citrusy perfume. (Y/N) rushed past Ashley, but Ashley heard her steps and reached out. With luck, she successfully grabbed (Y/N)’s leg and tripped her, resorting in her falling right next to Ashley. 
        “Fucking bitch.” Ashley hissed venomously, feeling for her knife through her blurred vision.
        She felt the cold blade, reaching a bit lower and grabbing the handle, keeping a strong hold of it. She kept ahold of (Y/N)’s leg as she stabbed her calf, hitting bone. 
        A terrible sharp and tingling sensation shot through (Y/N)’s leg, seeing white for a second as the pain caught up. (Y/N) let out a gasp, verging on a scream, before Ashley raised the knife once more, plunging it in a spot near the  first wound.
        (Y/N) reached back and kicked Ashley in the face a few times, resulting in Ashley letting go of (Y/N)’s foot. Ashley groaned, standing up from the ground as (Y/N) clutched her leg, knowing it wouldn’t be wise to try and stand up in case of any tearing or excessive bleeding. It’s not like she could run far now.
        Ashley stood over her, tears in her eyes as she did her best to see through them and fight the stinging. They both glared at each other, needing no words to show their distaste in one another.
        “I wouldn’t have to do this if you would’ve just stayed away from Andrew.” Ashley spoke, glaring down at her.
        “Not my fault he prefers me. Maybe if you weren’t so obsessive and insecure he could somewhat tolerate your sorry ass.” (Y/N) retorted, a pained smile on her face to piss Ashley off.
        “You’re one to talk.” She chuckled. “Must be real nice to come home alone, pathetically lounging around lazily.”
        “I’m lazy because of hard work. What do you do for a living other than blowing heads and giving it?” (Y/N) chuckled at her vulgar comment (one with lack of evidence, but it wasn't supposed to be a fact), a smile on her face as she observed Ashley. “Doesn’t take much to use that mouth of yours, considering how big it is from all that big shit you talk.” 
        If Ashley wasn’t mad now, she was absolutely livid now at (Y/N)’s insult. She bent down and grabbed a fistful of (Y/N)’s hair, grabbing a fistful of it as she dragged (Y/N) up. (Y/N) stood on her one leg, keeping any weight off her injured one as Ashley glared at her.
        “I can’t wait to kill you. I’ll even bring your head to Andrew so he could see how pathetic you look with your eyes rolled back and tongue hanging out. Hell, I think I’ll cut that tongue out after I’m done with you, that way you can’t bother the devil with it.” She hissed. 
        “You gonna eat it after? Have your own tongue-action with me since you’re so jealous?” (Y/N) chuckled. “Or would you rather that with your own brother? That’s pretty disgusting, if you ask me. Mommy and daddy didn’t give you enough attention so you had to resort to your own brother.”
        Yes, because (Y/N) definitely had a healthy relationship with her parents to say that...
        “I would never eat you. You’re too salty, and that’s not just your attitude too.” Ashley smirked. “After I cut your tongue out and take your head to Andrew, I’ll give your soul to that demon for some vision, then I’ll dump your body in some alley for some homeless man to use.” 
        “Demon?” (Y/N) questioned. “Of course you’d have connections with demons.” 
        “What can I say?” Ashley smiled as a stabbing sensation hit (Y/N)’s stomach. “I get around.”
        “Yeah…” (Y/N) groaned, a pained chuckle escaping her. “I can tell…” 
        Ashley took the knife out of (Y/N’s stomach, going to plunging again, but (Y/N) quickly used her nails and smashed them into Ashley’s eyes, kneeing Ashley with her injured leg since she couldn’t use her healthy once because she’d just fall once applying pressure to her injured leg.
        Ashley let out a short scream at the feeling. Ashley tumbled backwards as (Y/N) followed, using her weight to hold Ashley down as Ashley thrashed about. Ashley tried to stab (Y/N) again, but (Y/N) grabbed her wrists, the two of them struggling for the knife.
        “Let go!” Ashley shouted, one of her eyes covered by (Y/N)’s sharp thumb.
        “You first!” (Y/N) retorted, knowing very well the both of them wouldn't give up as she moved her other hand to the knife, now having both of her hands to try and fight for the knife. (Y/N) ignored the stinging in her forearm from earlier’s slashing.
        (Y/N) was able to grab the knife from Ashley’s hands after a bit of a struggle and a few small cuts on the finger. She held onto the blade tightly as Ashley tried to keep (Y/N)’s wrist steady. It was proven fruitless as the first stab hit Ashley’s chest, hitting bone. Ashley let out a choked sob, pain pooling out of her mouth and chest.
        (Y/N) scoffed, a bit annoyed at Ashley's struggle. If Ashley would just keep still, it wouldn’t hurt as bad. She was willing to make it quick, but Ashley’s squirming and thrashing around was only making her miss.
        “Stop moving.” (Y/N) hissed, using her injured hand to hold Ashley still by her neck.
        (Y/N) struck the knife down again, stabbing Ashley’s sternum. And again, she stabbed her chest, over and over as Ashley let out pained groans and small whimpers, doing her best to claw (Y/N)’s hands. Her hands weakened, her protests and strangled breaths shortening as her pulse weakened under (Y/N)’s hold while (Y/N)’s pulse and breaths only quickened, as if Ashley was giving her own life to her.
        She kept stabbing...
        She kept stabbing...
        She kept stabbing.
        It was like she couldn’t control her hand, like she had no thought other than the echo in her ears.
        Stab…
        Stab…
        Stab.
        She didn’t stop until her hand was soaked, too wet to hold the knife right. She realized she had been stabbing all the way down to the hilt, eight inches that was repeatedly stabbing into Ashley’s chest.
        (Y/N) paused, staring down at Ashley’s face, both faces void of emotion and thought. 
        I did that. She realized.
        A sick turning sensation lurked in her stomach, making her realize she was stabbed in an vital point. She dropped her knife, groaning as she hissed. She got up off Ashley’s dead body, crawling her way to her bathroom, making sure not to get any blood on her carpet. It would've been better for her if Ashley just kept the knife in her stomach, keeping the wound plugged in, but unfortunately Lady Luck seems to avoid (Y/N) any chance she can. 
        She opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a med-kit. Well, that’s one thing useful about being a nurse, you’re always prepared at home.
        She opened the kit, but paused. She couldn’t just open up her stomach and stitch up the insides, but if she goes to the hospital like this she’d definitely get questioned. (Y/N) groaned, mulling over what she should do. 
        She didn’t mean to kill Ashley. Well, she did in self-defense, but she didn’t mean to do it so cruelly. It was almost like second-nature to harm her.
        But she deserved it, didn’t she? She hurt Andrew, (Y/N) remembers that. Ashley made him jump, she’s the one that broke his legs and gave him internal bleeding in his head. (Y/N) made not know much about Ashley, but she knows how manipulative she is. She remembered hearing Ashley screaming at Andrew the first day she met Andrew. She remembered Ashley accusing Andrew of all the crimes he did; of course, he committed them, but she helped too, so she was still at fault. 
        The Graves siblings, even their name is fitting. Two siblings who put others in their graves, and now one is in their own. 
        (Y/N) couldn’t go to the police, not with this. It was self-defense, maybe with the intent of third-degree murder, a spur of the moment, nevertheless it was to protect herself even if she did get a bit carried away. She surely can’t just blame it all on stress or childhood neglect, she’d be a hypocrite.
        She always refused to let her past get in the way of her future. The love she didn’t receive from her parents, she gave to herself. The support she never received from her parents, she gave to herself. She earned all her awards, her scholarships, her jobs, her money all on her own without any support, encouragement, or financial aid from her parents.
        Her mother didn’t believe she could be a nurse. Her mother never really had any faith in her, but her mother never did stick around her long enough to bother learning who were daughter was.
        “You’re far too apathetic and antisocial for that sort of thing, they'd be scared of you.” Her mother would say. “All you care about is yourself. You’d be fired within the first week for neglecting the kids..”
        Ironic coming from her.
        Her father didn’t want her to be a nurse either, not for pediatrics or adults. 
        “It’s just not a good idea. You’re too sensitive for such things. You couldn’t survive watching kids die everyday, that’s such a depressing job.” Her father would say. “You shouldn’t be a nurse in general. Adult men take advantage of caring nurses, it doesn’t help that you’re so... weak? You're just too innocent and pretty for that kind of work! It’s best you find something else. Do something that makes you happy!” 
        Yeah, she totally refuse to let her past get in her way... Her apartment was as void of color as her. She slept with plushies to cope with her loneliness. On bad days, she has no friends to call or parents who'd listen to her vent, so the stuffed animals listen to her instead. She doesn't ever have energy to eat or shower or clean, the only reason she does all those things is to keep herself somewhat healthy so she wouldn't draw any attention from others. She wouldn't want to be a bother to them over some measly emotions. She's dealt with depression practically her whole life, why suddenly indulge in change if it might worsen her condition. 
        She doesn't want to be happy, that would involve having to put energy into changing herself and her lifestyle, and all she wants to do is spend her energy hopping into bed and sleeping. She wasn't one to care for herself, she liked making other people happy. 
        Kids made her happy. Medicine made her happy. She loved working with kids, caring and nurturing for them like they were her own. She liked being the reason a kid could walk again, or talk, or play, or smile. She liked helping children, giving them the help they needed. She liked being able to change their lives, catch those early signs and prevent them from becoming herself; someone absolutely miserable, depressed, and hating herself. Hell, the only reason she hasn't killed herself was because she doesn't want to be a bother to other people. 
        She liked medicine. She liked studying medical advancements, all the new machines and inventions and vaccines and diseases and all! She liked learning about it all; medical procedures, illnesses and disorders, psychology facts, disorders, injuries, hell sometimes medicine could even dive into philosophy! 
        Medicine and kids made her happy because it was what she lacked as a child. She liked being a pediatric nurse, she liked giving kids the chance to receive help early on so they could be functional adults in life, so they couldn't end up like (Y/N); a mother who couldn't care about her, a misguided father, money being towards bills and education, no relationships or genuine connections or friendships with people, and no joy in life other than sleeping her days away. As a nurse, she could catch onto early symptoms for kids and be able to address the issues before it worsen; whether it'd be physical or mental health, that's why she's studying to be a pediatrician now. 
        But she can't be a pediatrician if she goes to jail. This act of self-defense was far too cruel and grotesque, the judges wouldn't believe that it was for self-defense, far too homicidal and beast-like with how she basically just slashed Ashley's ribcage open. No, she wouldn't win that court case at all. She'd lose her job, and she'd probably never be able to work in medical field ever! She needed to do something.
        She put the med-kit back into her cabinet, instead she took off her shoe and grabbed her sock, plugging up her wound with it. Yes, it was very gross and she felt like gagging at this, but it was to insure she wouldn't bleed out. She had been stabbed in her stomach with an 8-inch knife, so no doubt there would be internal damage she couldn't patch up on her own. She used her other sock to plug in the hole on her right calf, plugging the wound up until it was stuffed despite the pain she felt digging her fingers into the wound. She put back on her shoes without her socks and stood up from the ground
        She quickly got to work, grabbing two large black blankets. She wrapped up Ashley's body in both blankets, ensuring the blood wouldn't drip everywhere, and she dragged the body to her car. She put the body and knife in her trunk and limped back into her house, quickly mopping up the mess using hydrogen peroxide on her floors to completely get rid of all the blood. She put her phone on her charger at home, leaving it so the police couldn't track her location on her phone in case anything happens. She got in her car and drove, going further and further out of the city until a good distance away, going to the woods. She got the dead body and knife out of her car, dragging it a good ways into the dark woods before dropping it. 
        She couldn't leave the body in her apartment, and she couldn't just drop it off somewhere in the city when her DNA was under Ashley's fingernails when Ashley scratched her. She left the knife here too, she didn't want to keep a knife she almost got murdered with, and she didn't want to keep it as a trophy for her crimes either. Here in these woods, this is where the police will least likely find her and the murder weapon, at least for tonight. Tomorrow, (Y/N) will return and dig a grave for her, or maybe she'll luck out a wild animal will feast on her. Even then, nobody will probably miss her other than Andrew.
        Jesus, what is she gonna tell Andrew? She can't just say she killed his sister! Even if he's a runaway criminal, she's one too now! He's probably not against murdering her, even if he doesn't like her better than the other nurses. I mean, she killed his sister, so it's only natural for him to kill her?
        But, his sister was just a runaway, she was a criminal! Maybe there's no police looking for them, but still! (Y/N) was a nurse, she's saved plenty of lives, surely taking one can't be that bad? Especially if she took a wrongdoer's life? 
        Before she could turn around and walk out of the woods, she stopped, pausing. She had this nagging feeling to check Ashley’s pockets. It was like a gut instinct (or perhaps literally being gutted earlier) that told her to check. She got on the ground, undoing the blankets and checking Ashley’s pockets to sate this desire. She first found a gun in her waistband. (Y/N) took the gun, popping out the magazine to check how many rounds there were.
        None, empty. Either Ashley found this gun with no bullets, or she already used them.
        (Y/N) did some more digging and found a scalpel, a hospital scalpel from her work she could only assume. Perhaps Ashley was planning to kill (Y/N) with the small blade, before deciding to steal her kitchen knife instead. The bigger the better, right?
        Finally, she looked in Ashley's pockets once more and found something in one of her pockets. Some black and red occult looking charm.
        She remembered Ashley mentioning how she’d give a demon (Y/N)’s soul in exchange for a vision. Is this their charm that keeps them in contact, or in a contract together? Whatever it was, (Y/N) felt like she should keep it in case it was indeed something to a demon; she didn’t want it going into the wrong hands (as if she could talk). (Y/N) shoved the charm into her pocket, keeping the gun and scalpel now that it had her fingerprints, before turning around.
        Did you see this coming, Ashley? (Y/N) thought, resisting the urge to let a smug smirk form on her face. 
        She limped back out of the woods, hopping into her car and hiding the two weapons under her car seat away from view. She turned the engine on, speeding to the hospital and going ten above the speed limit. It wasn't good for her to be out for so long. She could live with her leg being injured so long as she didn't bleed out, but her stomach could definitely develop to internal bleeding, if not already due to how big that knife was. On her way there, she tried thinking of an alibi. This is a knife wound, so it's mandatory for the hospital staff to report this incident to the police. The police are going to ask her questions about what happened and such. (Y/N) doesn't want to come clean, if she does, her whole life would be ruined! She'd lose the only thing she has in her life that she genuinely cares about; her job. If she loses her job and education, she'd be completely lost in this world with absolutely no passions or interests, she might just develop an interest for putting herself in a grave instead and take her life. 
        She thought about her alibi, before cooking up a shitty one. It's the only one she has for a time like this. She can just say that she was driving to the small local store near her apartment complex after work (thus explaining her hospital scrubs), and when she walked out, she was harassed by a man so she fought him and escaped, then drove to the hospital to get medical assistance. She could say she didn't recognize the man, and that he wore a mask so she couldn't see what he looked like. The store she was thinking about just had their cameras stolen a week ago and they have't bother replacing them yet, so there would be no camera footage to confirm or deny this accusation. Her apartment complex is on a bad side of town too (the rent was cheap there), and their camera footage must not be any higher than a quality of a Nokia, so it most likely didn't catch Ashley sneaking into her apartment, or (Y/N) dragging something out out her apartment. Maybe she can pull this off!
        Sure, it's a bad excuse, but what else does she have? This is the best she can come up with on short notice, especially with no witnesses (which is good), along with no camera footage to protect or challenge her word. They'd just have to believe her because what else can they do? She's obviously injured! People in big cities get stabbed all the time and sometimes the assaulters get away with it, maybe she can do this too! 
        (Y/N) got to the hospital entrance and quickly made sure to do a check in her car to make sure there was no DNA of Ashley's. She hopped out of the car and brushed off any dirt or hair or such on her, making sure her gun and scalpel were hidden under her car seat, before limping into the hospital lobby and getting inside of the ER waiting room. 
        The receptionist sat doing work on her computer before her eyes trailed to (Y/N). 
        “Are you okay?” they questioned as (Y/N) held onto her stomach, applying pressure to the sock.
        “I got stabbed in the stomach and my calf. I’ve been bleeding for quite a while, I reckon I’ll pass out soon.” She explained. 
        The nurse nodded and handed her the paperwork to complete. (Y/N) always thought paperwork in the ER was stupid, but it was to help identify the patient and their insurance and all that important information; even in the brink of death, you need to do work. Pathetic, really. It truly does show something about society, whether it's for your own good or not, even if your writing is alienated due to all of your blood on the paper or your blurred vision making it hard to concentrate. 
        (Y/N) sped through the packets of papers and agreements, doing her best to not bleed onto the paper or the hospital chairs (why are the chairs made of cloth instead of leather anyways? At least leather can be washed easier).
        (Y/N) gave the papers to the receptionist, who accepted it and gave it to one of the doctors at the back room. (Y/N) sat down and waited for a doctor to call her name. Her stomach and leg hurt badly, it hurt to breathe and to walk, and her wounds just kept throbbing, spilling more blood and soaking up her temporary sock-bandages. She’s definitely going to throw away these socks…
        The hospital’s bright LED lights hurt her eyes, giving her a headache. Or maybe the headache was from blood loss? Who knows really, it just hurt to sit here and wait.
        Luckily, she didn’t have to wait too long before a nurse called her name. They helped her stand up from the chair, leading her to their office in quick fashion. They placed her down on the operating table, asking if she could remember her name, age, where she was, who the president was, etc.
        “I’m (Y/N) (L/N), 22 years old. I got stabbed in my stomach by a knife, along with my right calf and a laceration on my right arm.” She informed the nurse as they put on medical gloves.
        A trauma surgeon came in with a tray of alcohol wipes, a medical needle and thread, a medical stapler, and syringe of anesthesia. (Y/N) resisted the urge to groan, she didn’t like needles, but she understood it would make the surgery much easier for her and them.
        (Y/N) rolled up her sleeves hesitantly, feeling self-conscious about the old scars on her wrists despite the more important matters at hand. The surgeon ignored her scars as he gave her the shot. 
        The surgeon pulled up her shirt to show her stomach as the nurse cut a hole on (Y/N)’s pants for her leg, making her remember the make-shift bandages she had.
        “I had to use what I had to stop the bleeding, so I used my socks.” She spoke for her lie. 
        She would’ve said more, but she decided it was best not to in case she accidentally messed up her alibi. She opted to stay quiet, waiting for the anesthesia to take effect so the doctor could begin the quick surgery. 
        .
        .
        When you wake up from surgery or an accident, you’d expect to see bright light, instead she only saw a dim light peeking through. She opened her eyes, waking up and looking around her.
        There was a curtain next to her, the white curtain had a slit and moonlight poured out, barely lighting the room. Her left arm was hooked to a IV, the needle sticking into the crevice of her elbow. The needle was slowing flowing blood into her, causing her to shudder at the thought of a needle stuck inside her.
        Her eyes trailed down to her right arm, seeing her arm covered in bandages. She picked up her sheets, seeing her leg was covered in bandages too. She moved her hospital gown up, seeing her stomach was covered with a medical patch and medical tape to hold it in place.
        This is probably going to take some time to heal. (Y/N) thought, resisting the urge to groan. 
        How fun, she’s going to spend weekend off here in the hospital. Either that, or she’ll stay home bedridden. 
        There was a soft knock on her door, before it opened, showing one of the doctors from the emergency department of the hospital. She had never met any of the doctors or nurses here, they’re always busy and on their feet running around. 
        “Ms. (L/N)?” he questioned, smiling.
        “That’s me.” She nodded. “Hello, sir.” 
        “Hey! Have you just woken up?” he questioned, a clipboard and pen in his hand as he walked over to her bedside, standing over her.
        “Yes.” She confirmed. 
        “Okay.” He commented, then cleared his throat. “So, you’ve been asleep for 18 hours. Usually anesthesia wears off in a few hours and you would wake up from some pain, but you stayed asleep for quite some time.” He spoke, flipping a page threw his papers clamped on his clipboard. “However, you could’ve been exhausted given you hadn’t slept because you were working earlier. Your medical history could’ve also helped contribute to that—hypersomnia and all.”
        Yes, the condition she’s almost positive her mother gave her. Being locked in that small room as a toddler really did affect her sleep patterns and routine. There wasn’t much to do in that dark room other than cry, watch old cartoon re-runs a thousand times, and sleep—she chose the latter. 
        “Yeah, sorry.” She muttered, not sorry at all but still feeling the need to apologize.
        “No worries. So, we did report your case to local authorities since it was a stabbing; you should know, hospital procedure and all.” The doctor spoke as (Y/N) nodding, knowing very well the protocol. “Great. So, there’s actually some officers here to question you about the incident. Are you fine with that?” 
        She nodded, ignoring her nerves that went haywire at the thought of talking to the police. So soon after her crime too! 
        “Okay, so before they come in. Let me explain to you really quick what’s going on.” He spoke, clearing his throat. “So you’re going to stay overnight, well more so over day since it’s 2 A.M. But we’ll look after you. So we stapled up your small intestine, and we stapled the skin of your stomach so that it wouldn’t rip or come undone in a large area like stitches would. Your right calf and right arm were both stitched up too. After two week, you can come back and we’ll remove the staples off your stomach and the sutures. For the next two weeks, you need to eat soft foods and liquids such as soups, breads, puddings, all that."
        “That sounds fine.” She nodded. 
        “Sweet. So, before they come in, is there anything you want or need? Like, do you need to use the bathroom? Or are you hungry or thirsty?” he questioned.
        “No, I’m fine.” she politely denied. 
        She’d rather not drink or eat anything, she felt like throwing up at the moment. She really didn’t feel like getting up and walking to the bathroom with an injured foot at the moment.
        “Okay. I’ll let the officers in.” The doctor nodded, writing a few notes on his clipboard before heading towards the door.
        He opened the door and used his hand to call the officers over. He left the door open as the officer walked in, a female and a male, who walked to (Y/N)’s bedside holding a notepad.
        “Hello, Ms. (L/N), right?” the female smiled. “I’m Officer Jenny and this is my partner, Officer Dixon. We have a few questions for you.” 
        “Nice to meet you.” (Y/N) spoke, flashing the officers a polite smile.
        “So, you’ve been admitted into the hospital for a stabbing, correct?” Officer Jenny questioned.
        “That’s correct, ma’am.” (Y/N) nodded.
        “When and where did you get stabbed?” Officer Jenny questioned.
        “Well, I got stabbed in my stomach by a knife. When I fought them off, they slashed my right arm and they stabbed my right calf.” (Y/N) explained, mentally going over her words carefully as Officer Dixon wrote the information in his notepad.
        “And when did this take place?” Officer Jenny questioned. 
        “Well, it was last night when I got off my shift. I work here at this hospital actually in the pediatric branch.” She added. 
        She was about to go on about her grocery store alibi, but paused. The timeframe won’t match. She took forever to get to the hospital after the stabbing so that she could clean her apartment, dispose of Ashley’s body, and finally get to the hospital. She can’t use the grocery store alibi since not only would be make no sense for her to get stabbed someplace where the cameras are coincidentally shut down, but none of the store employees would mention seeing her when they get questioned by the police, and it wouldn’t help that she decided to drive to the hospital bleeding instead of telling the store to call 911 or herself calling 911. 
        Her alibi is unreliable now, so she needs to quickly act now and change it while acting normal and resist hesitating. The officers’ body-cams would catch their interaction and it would be evaluated by licensed psychiatrists, looking out for any holes in the story, for how her words flow, her vocal patterns, her body language. The alibi is now a death trap.
        “After my shift, I drove back to my apartment and went on a walk in a park. Perhaps 7 P.M, so it was dark because of it being November and all.” She explained. “The park was Pacific North Satellite park.” She added, a park not too far from her apartment complex. 
        “I didn’t bother changing out of my work scrubs because I was just going to shower when I got back to my apartment, and I had left my phone on the charger at home. I was walking down the path listening to nature when I heard footsteps in front of me. Someone came up to me with their hands in their hoodie pocket, a black hoodie.” She explained, lying her way through the story. “They walked past me and quickly slashed my right arm… and… they grabbed my arm and stabbed me in the stomach with their knife… and then when I tried to get away… they knocked me down and stabbed my right calf.” She spoke, pausing her words every now and then to appear distressed as she faked reliving the moment. "I ran back to my apartment, plugged up the most severe wounds with my socks, and drove to the hospital since it wasn't too far and I didn't have my phone to call the police or ambulance. It was late at night, so there wasn't anyone around to ask for help, and I didn't want to be trapped in my apartment in case they decided to follow me...
        “Do you know who they were? Or did you catch what their face looked like?” Officer Jenny questioned as Office Dixon’s blurred, hastily writing down everything he heard.
        “No.” (Y/N) shook her head. “They had a black hoodie with their hood up. They had grey jeans too. They were perhaps around 5’6 tall…” she lied. “I’m unsure of their gender, but I think they were male.” 
        The most common description of a killer, or stereotypical when comparing to Ted Bundy or Jeffery Dahmer. With so little information, it’d be pretty hard to try and identify someone, especially someone who doesn’t exist (but of course, only [Y/N] knows that).
        “Do you think there could’ve been a specific motive or something you provoked?” Officer Jenny questioned, her question almost making (Y/N) scoff.
        Provoke? Provoke? How the hell could I have provoke them? (Y/N) thought, almost forgetting her alibi was still a lie.
        Sometimes she can even lie to herself with how scarily believable her lies are.
        But even if this mysterious murderer she made up didn't have a motive, did Ashley have one? It made her wonder, did Ashley really kill her because she was hated her being Andrew’s nurse? Even then, how the hell did she find out who she was, or even why? Ashley had never seen (Y/N) and Andrew together, at least not without her knowledge. 
        “No, ma’am. I’m unsure why, and I don’t believe I provoked them.” (Y/N) answered.
        “Is there any other information you’d like to tell us?” Officer Jenny questioned.
        “No.” (Y/N) answered.
        Short and sweet, it’s best to leave it all like this.
        “Well, if you ever remember anything or have any questions, make sure to call the department.” Officer Jenny spoke. “If we find any information or such, we’ll give you a call.” 
        “If we find who done it, do you want to press charges?” Officer Dixon questioned, causing (Y/N) to pause and think.
        “No. The process is too time-consuming, besides, I doubt they tried to kill me without a reason.” (Y/N) spoke. 
        Everything happens for a reason, after all. It’s logical to believe so.
        (Y/N) had never believed in fate or destiny, she had always believed everything happens for a reason. She hated the belief of something out of her reach trying to control her or her life. She’d rather choose what she wants to do, not something like fate. (Y/N) believes what she sees, so she doesn’t believe anything that isn’t backed up with facts or evidence. 
        Ashley tried killing (Y/N) for a reason, she said it herself. She'll take the dead woman's word on it since it came from her mouth.
        “I wouldn’t have to do this if you would’ve just stayed away from Andrew.” Her words rang in (Y/N)'s head.
        The audacity of some people, does Ashley truly believe she can control who Andrew sees? It’s not like there was anything wrong with Andrew and (Y/N)’s relationship, they were simply nurse and patient, nothing more and nothing less. Who does Ashley believe she is trying to control Andrew? She doesn’t have his heart, his brain, his body, his thoughts, his mouth, his eyes. He could do whatever he pleases and Ashley shouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
        Well, she can’t now. (Y/N) thought, holding back a chuckle. 
        "Are you sure, miss?” Officer Dixon questioned, surprised.
        “I’m sure. Maybe they had a bad day or something.” (Y/N) shrugged.
        “But you don’t just stab anyone on a bad day, this could be serious.” Officer Jenny spoke, her voice a little harsh compared to her gentle treatment earlier.
        Officer Jenny seems to not like having a killer run around, or have about zero clues.
        “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” (Y/N) sighed. "I'm very tired and I wish to rest.
        “The town next to us, they had a killing in a park too. The victim was a man, he was shot, multiple bullets in his chest.” Officer Jenny spoke quickly, hoping the information could bring some details out of the injured woman. “You happened to be a park too, perhaps this was the same guy! We need as much information as we can. Please miss (L/N), we’re relying on you.”
        “I’m sorry, but I truly don’t know. I don’t have anymore information to give to you.” (Y/N) sighed.
        Officer Jenny’s face hardened as Officer Dixon closed his notepad.
        “Very well. We’ll contact you in case we find any details.” Officer Dixon spoke, nodding his head down in respect and farewell, before telling Officer Jenny with his eyes that it was time to go.
        “Get well soon, miss…” Officer Jenny sighed, walking out of the room with her partner.
        Well, I forgot that part… (Y/N) thought, letting out a breath of relief.
        The park killer from the next door town, right, how could she forget? The victim was a man was found dead on the sidewalk, a clean knife nearby him, no fingerprints. The man had a hood, sunglasses, and gloves; a strange attire to walk around in at night, especially the sunglasses part. He died with six bullet wounds in his chest, the news said. The murder was actually a few days ago, maybe even a week ago. Nevertheless, (Y/N) could bet it was Ashley and Andrew. Ashley had that empty gun on her, which was now under (Y/N)’s car seat. 
        (Y/N) turned her head to the window once the police left. She reached over and opened up the curtains, looking up at the stars, or what she could see. Light pollution in the city is a major pain, you can’t even enjoy nature now thanks to humans.
        (Y/N) looked at the lights outside of the window, it’s the only thing semi-interesting to look at in a hospital bed. She didn’t want to turn on the TV, she knew it was all just re-runs of family-friendly movies like High School Musical or the local news. Unfortunately, hospitals don’t really have any good channels to watch.
        It’s only for one day. (Y/N) thought.
        She just had to deal with this for one day, then she could get back home and sleep. Despite always being so tired, she liked to work. The time she’d take to heal would feel like torture to her. Her depression made her feel a sense of worthlessness doing nothing, so being bedridden is just going to throw her in a depressive state. Usually she’d just get up and work overtime when she feels like this, but she really can’t if she’s injured. 
        Even though she has a reason to be lazing around in bed all day, she's not very happy about it. It's at times like these she wished she had some sort of entertainment in life, or at least friends, people she considered real friends. She had acquaintances growing up, but they just never really did it for her.
        The people she hung around with was only for school, she never bothered hanging out with them outside of school that way she could focus on her studies. Besides, they weren't important people to her, she only talked with them because they had conversed with her first, and it gave her something to pass time with at school. She always did have that closed-off demeanor, it surprised her whole family when she decided she wanted to be a pediatric nurse, and later a pediatrician. 
        (Y/N) stared at the window in deep thought, thinking.
        Maybe she could call her dad. The last time she called him was a month ago, to which she had to leave a voicemail... she never did receive a call back. And after that, she called on her birthday four months... to which she's still waiting for a call back. 
        Well, maybe he's just busy. He has a job and a life outside of his daughter, surely he'll call back eventually. She figured. 
        If she had her phone on her, she'd call and leave another voicemail for him to let him know he's okay.
        Wait, what's the point in calling? She's fine, and she hadn't called him of her condition, so what's the point in calling and telling him that she's still alive? Even if he did answer, what will he say other than a "that's good. I'm glad you're okay. I have to get back to work now." 
        If there's no point calling her dad, then there's certainly no point in calling her mom, for obvious reasons.
        (Y/N) groaned, hitting her head back against the pillow, before letting out a pained whine. Her head pounded terribly, followed by a slight ringing in her ears and a second of her vision blurring. Her right arm shot up to help soothe her head, before she let out a hiss, the movement of her arm causing a sharp pain to shoot up it. 
        "This sucks..." she complained, a pout making way onto her lips. 
        Before she could wallow in her sorrows any further, the door opened, gaining her attention. She turned her head, seeing a familiar man in a wheelchair.
        "Andrew?" she questioned, surprised. 
        "Hey." He greeted, flashing a smile at her.
        (Y/N) internally cringed at the sight of him, not that he was bad-looking or anything, but she wasn't expecting to see him so soon after what she's done. 
        "What are you doing here in the emergency department?" (Y/N) questioned, not bothering if the question sound a bit rude or not; she'll just blame it on the headache if he asks.         
        "I heard from the nurses that you got injured." Andrew explained, rolling his wheelchair up to her bedside.
        "A nurse told you I was here?" (Y/N) questioned, confused.
        Well, that's against hospital policy, giving away patient information like that to just anyone. It made her curious who from the nightshift had the audacity to tell him.
        "Who told you?" (Y/N) questioned.
        "Eh, I don't know. That nurse I had before you." He shrugged his shoulders carelessly, not bothering to remember the name. "It was something something. Started with a P. Maybe it was Pen, or Penny? Or was it Nancy? It doesn't really matter."
        "Penelope?" (Y/N) smiled, almost giggling at his poor attempt to remember the nurse's name. 
        Right, makes sense. Penelope was Andrew's nurse before (Y/N), and Penelope seems to see (Y/N) as a friend, so she probably questioned Doctor Ryan where (Y/N) was. Doctor Ryan must've been informed as soon as he entered the office, considering he wasn't going to be able to teach (Y/N) for a few nights until she got better.
        However, she felt a little happy that he couldn't remember Penelope's name (especially after [Y/N]'s little jealous episode from earlier at the thought of Penelope and Andrew being together. Obviously because she just enjoyed having Andrew as a patient, nothing more).
        "Yeah, maybe that was her name?" he hummed, not bothering to think back if it was actually that nurse or not. 
        Yes, it was Penelope, he might not bother to remember her name, but he remembers her face from earlier when he and (Y/N) had gone to the staff room and Penelope was acting strange. He also remembered how tight and uncomfortable she had done his bandages on his broken ankles, much different compared to (Y/N)'s soft hands and nurturing personality. 
        "She shouldn't be giving away information like that." (Y/N) sighed, chuckling softly. "But thank you for coming."
        It was a little heartwarming to know at least someone cared about her. Even if her parents did, at least her co-worker and close acquaintances did, even reserved patients such as Andrew were worried about her!
        "So, what brought you over here? Did you have a question, or perhaps you need your bandages changed?" (Y/N) questioned, observing his body up and down to see if there was anything out of the ordinary or if he needed any assistance. 
        "No... I just... wanted to see for myself, I guess..." he muttered, looking away from her eyes as he resisted the urge to squirm under her gaze. "I heard you got hurt pretty bad, so I got curious..."
        "You sure you didn't just miss me?" she teased, trying to brightened up or at least lightened the mood into a more comfortable atmosphere. 
        "Don't get ahead of yourself." He chuckled, her words succeeding in her goal as they both smiled at each other.
        His smile softened, his eyes glazing over, seeming to be lost in thought. He seemed unsure of himself, before he just sighed. 
        "So... what happened?" he questioned. "If you don't mind me asking."
        Her own smile faltered, doing her best to remain neutral and not puke her guts out as visions of stabbing Ashley's lifeless body took over her mind, hearing each explicit and disturbing wet splash as her hands slowly started to coat with blood from how violently she was pushing her knife into Ashley's chest, down to the hilt. 
        "I got attacked..." she spoke vaguely, clearing her throat awkwardly as she kept her eyes on him to see if he would believe her. 
        "Do you know by who?" Andrew questioned.
        "No." She spoke quickly, internally cringing at how defensive her tone sounded.
        Andrew's gaze hardened, his intuition not believing her. Of course he wouldn't believe her, living with Ashley basically his whole life had practically made him become a human lie detector. Before he could speak about the matter, she spoke up. 
        "Can you check on Hailey for me please? She was a bit down earlier today, surely you can cheer her up for me? Just don't mention my current condition to her, please." (Y/N) requested, sounding more of a pathetic demand and excuse to get him to leave her alone. 
        Andrew looked hesitant to leave her, before he sighed, nodding his head. "Yeah, sure..." he grumbled. 
        "Thank you." She hummed, giving him a false smile.
        They had a moment to themselves, silently staring at each other, before Andrew turned his wheelchair around and rolled out of the room, closing the door behind him. (Y/N) let out a sigh of relief once she was alone, glad to have avoided the tough subject.
        Maybe she'll tell him one day, once she gets to know him better and can be certain he wouldn't kill her for it.
        She ignored the pain as she squirmed into a comfortable position to sleep in. She needed the rest, and sleep is the body's natural way of healing after her. Her eyes trailed to the curtains, watching the cars on the road zoom past the hospitals and watching as some lights started to shut off, night owls getting ready for bed too just like her. 
        She'll call her parents as soon as she gets out of the hospital, even if they've probably not heard the news or care about it, she still wants some sort of closure from her parents. Maybe they'll even take pity on her and stay on the phone for a bit, ask how she's doing, or what she's doing now. 
        Sounds like a plan. (Y/N) thought, closing her eyes as she ignored her body's pain, waiting for sleep to overtake her. 
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I know there hasn't been much of any Andrew and reader moments, but chapter 5 will have plenty, these past chapters have just been plot and character-development and such!
My next series will be a Yandere! Hitoshi Shinso x Yandere! Fem! Reader, so keep watch for that!
To the Ashley fans, I'm sorry for what I've done.
Want more Andrew Graves content? Check out the Andrew Graves masterlist!
Inbox is OPEN for requests!
Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, current chapter, Chapter 5 + 6 (in the works)
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beanzfandoms · 21 days
Text
│Chapter One│
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│Human! Alastor x Reader│
Ⓢⓨⓝⓞⓟⓢⓘⓢ: Alastor offers (Y/n) a job, and though they are hesitant, they accept.
Ⓝⓞⓣⓔⓢ: The reader is indicated to be biologically female as they will face certain challenges throughout this story due to the time period. Characters set in this will refer to the reader as she, but for the most part, it will be gender neutral. This is written to be platonic but will remain ambiguous. There may be inaccuracies to the time frame. This series may and will contain things such as sexism, classism, gender dysphoria, bullying, mentions of religion, and gore. Please read at your own risk.
〣Previous Part 〣
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"Alastor. Charmed to meet you! I must say, this is an awful lot of stuff you have here. Mind if I ask what you are doing?" The man speaks with glee.
(Y/n) notes a shine in his eyes they couldn't quite decipher, and a feeling of uncertainty washes over them. Very few people have shown interest towards them willingly, as the locals have made sure to blacklist them due to their unorthodox behavior, and (Y/n) mentally barricades themself for where this interaction will lead to. Surely, it won't end well.
"Just working on an assignment," (Y/n) replies, cautiously watching as the man permits himself to sit at the table.
"One for learning then! What does one such as yourself want to be?" Alastor hums, looking over the covered surface with curiosity.
"I'm currently enrolled for journalism. Nothing too grand..."
"I see, I see. Do tell about this fascination you have with the Bayou Killer then? Surely, the college doesn't speak of such things in a mere literacy class," Alastor casually remarks as he takes up one of the cut-out articles that (Y/n) made notes on in his hand, "My, what interesting theories you have! Do you really think this murderer has a vendetta against ill-willed men?"
"That's none of your concern," (Y/n) snaps as they tear their work away from the stranger's hold. The man's smile twitches slightly, his stare intensifying on them for a moment. (Y/n) would've been intimated if it weren't for the immediate regret they felt pull at their heart. Alastor's arms fall into his lap, and the grin he wore before falls as he leans back. Were they truly so standoffish as Joanne claims?
"I apologize..." (Y/n) sighs out, "That was rude of me, and though I cannot excuse my terrible behavior, it's been an off day for me. Please pardon my actions."
"That's quite alright, my dear. I've had a few days in the ditch myself, but my mother always told me that if you want something to happen, act as if you already have it," Alastor reflects with the wiggle of his finger. "Nothing a little music can't help either! Instead of working one's finger to the bone, why don't you come dance with me?"
"That's very kind of you, but you wouldn't want to dance with me."
"Nonsense! If I didn't want to, I wouldn't have asked."
"If you want to go home with a broken toe, then by all means."
"How farcical of you," Alastor laughs, "I'd like to see you try!"
Alastor's temperament returns back to a mirthful one such as before, an ever-growing smile etched on his lips and waggish gleam casting from his eyes. His slim fingers tap against the glass he brought with him from the bar, sipping from the alcoholic beverage periodically as his gaze drifts over to the bustling scene of the dancefloor. (Y/n) watches too, as pretty girls with short furling dresses and babydoll curls gather with their friends to dance with boys who bought them one to many drinks. The laughter that bounces throughout the building suddenly becomes too much for (Y/n), and though Alastor sat just beside them, a staggering loneliness weighs heavy on them.
"Please don't let me keep you," (Y/n) mutters, returning their focus back on the papers laid out in front of them. Not like they had the motivation to work now, but it was the only thing that would keep their mind from wandering too far. Scribbling away once more, (Y/n) couldn't help but to be curious of a soft creaking coming closer to their side, and peek over to see Alastor's watchful regard reading over their writing. "What are you doing?"
"Mere curiosity is all, sweet. You need it in my line of work, but I suppose you would understand where I'm coming from, wouldn't you?"
"It's not my job to be curious, I just simply am."
"Is that so?" Alastor asks with a raise of his brow, "I would've assumed a clever woman such as yourself would have a high standing occupation to go with her wit."
"And that would be a first for me being called clever instead of imprudent," (Y/n) laughs, "Sadly, your assumption is mistaken. I guess people just don't see anything else besides my gender. I can't be smart like a man nor curious like a man can. How lucky for you."
"I could care less," Alastor answers, "All that matters is that I see potential, a potential I can guide."
"What could I possibly give you that won't bite you in retaliation?"
"You have no idea who I am, do you?" He grins somewhat diabolically, "What could society possibly say about you that would bring down the best radio host in city? Trust me, you aren't the only one who's name escapes disquieting tongues. From one interesting person to another, I persist that we join forces. Come work with me at that radio station."
"You come off awfully fast. I don't even know you!"
"You can't race time, but you can be quick with it! You need a job, do you not?"
"I'll think about it," (Y/n) remarks, "I'm still in school after all. I will have to see when and if my schedule permits it. You cannot control time either, you know?"
"I understand completely, my dear! Take all the time you need. My radio isn't going anywhere if I can help it!"
"There you are!" The familiar sound of (Y/n)'s mother calls out over the live music. The fringes of their mother's dress shine under the fluorescents like gold as she walks over to the table, an ecstatic red painted smile expressing how she felt. She looked absolutely stunning, (Y/n) thought. Her aging has always been graceful, like that of fine silk, and a small sense of pride fills them as they think back on Mimzy's praise. (Y/n) never saw themself as beautiful, always opting to hide away from attention as much as they could, but the similarities they had with their mother was something they always liked. "I was worried that you didn't show up."
"I would never disobey you, Ma." (Y/n) comments as their mother sits across from Alastor.
"I see you've made a friend!" Their mom's eyes twinkle as her attentiveness casts over to the man, "I'm Lorraine, (Y/n)'s mother. Pleasure to meet you!"
"The pleasure is all mine!" Alastor greets, "I must say, what an excellent performance you put on earlier! I suppose talent runs in the family?"
(Y/n)'s mother surveys him quizzically, pursing her lips in thought, before her eyes brighten.
"Did (Y/n) let you read her writings? Marvelous, isn't it? I don't know where she got her smarts from, but it surely wasn't me! I have to say though, she normally doesn't get along quick with strangers. What did you do to be so special?"
(Y/n)'s cheeks heat slightly as their mother peeks at them, a smirk on her face. They quickly collect their papers with a pout, glaring from the eulogize words their mom practically sang. "Don't call yourself dumb, Ma. You are anything but," (Y/n) grumbles, "The only reason Mister Alastor here read anything is because he allowed himself to without permission."
"You wound me!" Alastor cries, clasping his suit where his heart should be, "Your work merely fascinates me is all. I offered them a job, you know?"
"Really?" Lorraine exclaims with a gasp, "Oh, (Y/n)! That's wonderful! What will she be doing?"
"Helping me write manuscripts for my broadcast. If she says yes, that is."
"You must say yes, sweetheart! This is a miracle to you from God!" (Y/n)'s mother pleads as she take her child's hands in hers. "It may not be exactly what you want, but you've been given a chance."
"I've been called many things in my life, but God is a first." Alastor bombinates with a tilt of his head.
"Oh! My apologize, Mister Alastor!" their mom remarks, "Thank you for seeing good in my daughter!"
"Why do I feel like I don't have a choice here?" (Y/n) mutters, watching the two adults go back and forth in chatter. Their mother, charismatic as ever, goes off on a tangent about (Y/n)'s greatest strengths that could be useful in the workplace. Her face beams with absolute gratitude and support; it makes (Y/n) feel off about their previous cumbersome comments. Alastor nods along with their mother's insistent information, his head leaning casually against his closed fist.
A sense of mystery surrounds this man, (Y/n) notes cautiously. Though his demeaner was nothing short of friendly, his eyes held unknown intent. The edge of his smile quirks slightly as he continues listening to their mother, but the tapping of his foot shows a sense of urgency. (Y/n) continues observing the stranger, even when his eyes connect with theirs.
All their life, no one besides their mother showed such fervent interest in their activities. On many occasions, they were told that their insistence on bountiful knowledge would only lead them to be fruitless. No one in this city would've told this man good things about their progressive exertion, and it only made (Y/n) want to build up their walls even higher. Their mother wasn't oblivious to people's intentions and wickedness, however. She's had her fair share of snakes, and she knows when to spot one, even with her honey-like spirit. It caused a sense of unsureness within (Y/n)'s own perception; were the things that they heeded true, or was there an underlining of their insecurities seeping through? If their mother didn't raise any alarm of what she thought of Alastor, why should they?
"Can I help you with something?" Alastor calmly asks as his stare bores into (Y/n)'s.
"I was just wondering..." (Y/n) declares, "When would you like me to start?"
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(Y/n) vigorously taps their pencil against the desk, eyes glued to the hands ticking by on the clock above the professor's head. Time surely was testing (Y/n)'s patience today, as their history teacher had brought her lecture to a closing a few minutes ago, and opted the students to work on anything that needed to get done before it was officially time to leave. (Y/n), diligent as ever, made sure to be on top of their class assignments. There was really no reason for them to stay in class; however, the anxiety that bubbled underneath their skin prompted them to linger a little longer.
Very few students remain in the room, most taking the free time as a way of escape from their responsibilities. Though some moil over their own homework in silence, others gathered together leisurely in gossip. The boisterous laughter buzzed uncomfortably in (Y/n)'s ears like that of an unreachable itch, but the loudness of their own head distracted them more so.
With persistent persuasion from their mother after the encounter with Alastor, (Y/n) requested to start at the station the beginning of the upcoming week. The weekend went by before they could even process what they had accepted, and now that the afternoon of their first shift has presented itself in a cloudy manner, (Y/n)'s doubt sprouted in a messy briar of potency. But, the distraction of their own loathing couldn't even be dealt with in peace.
A sharp pain warms the back of (Y/n)'s head with great vehemence, as a strand of their hair is tugged on in an arbitrary manner. The audible hiss that escapes through their teeth causes an eruption of cackles behind them. (Y/n) swiftly turns to the obnoxious noise, icy vexation carrying their stare. Donald Raslo, a boy with slick auburn locks and a smile that would gain any clueless woman's trust, eyes (Y/n) with a look they could only describe as vile. His teeth tug at his bottom lip mischievously, hazel orbs casting over their body. An involuntary shutter of disgust travels down their spine as their fellow classmate reaches over to grab at their hair again.
"Don't touch me," (Y/n) growls in absolute rancor.
"I'm surprised you haven't just shaved it all off yet," Donald simply replies with a maniacal grin. "You know, since you want to be a man so bad."
"You are pathetic," (Y/n) responds coolly as they turn back in their seat to quickly gather their things. Another agonizing pull forces their head back as Donald watches from behind his thin-framed glasses.
"It's all just fun and games!" Donald chuckles, as if his insults were anything but cruel, "You get defensive so quickly. Relax a little, doll."
"What do you want?" (Y/n) bluntly asks, jerking the strand away that Donald curled with his finger.
"I was wondering if you would go to the dance with me. I've wanted to ask for a while now."
A scowl morphs onto (Y/n)'s face, and they rise from their sit. Anger boils throughout their body, their nails involuntarily digging at their palms. Without another word to the boy, (Y/n) excuses themself to their teacher, and flounces out of the room. The heels on their feet become unbearably heavy as they stalk throughout the halls, visibly shaking as the distant feeling of Donald's hand through their hair burns at their scalp. (Y/n) wanted to scrub their head raw as their discomfort taunts them.
The world around them spins, and tears catch at the edge of their eyes. Deep huffs of air exhale from (Y/n) as they try to calm down. They despised themself for letting such childish behavior bring them into such a vulnerable state, but the tightness in their chest was excruciating.
Sometimes, they wished that they weren't so different.
The smell of freshly bloomed marigolds ground (Y/n) back to reality as they push open an exit door of the school. The sky basks in a slate blue, caressing the earth in a rare coolness of spring. The wetness on their cheeks startles them; they hadn't realized they were crying. Wiping their cheeks with the sleeve of their overcoat, they settle themself on the pavement steps gliding down into town. They stare blankly ahead, a fixed frown on their face.
(Y/n) never let the bullying affect them too much, convincing themself that the others were too callow for their own good. They taught themself at a very young age to stifle their insecurities, and eventually, people would just leave you alone. (Y/n) isn't an emotionless robot, however. As hardened as they try to appear, wounds that are consistently probed at never truly heal.
"(Y/n)?"Joanne, small and quiet in tone, carefully settles herself down by them, sun hat in her petite white-gloved hands. Her eyebrows arch together in worry and a deep frown sits on her usually cheerful face. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," (Y/n) remarks as their eyes remain ahead. They subtly wipe at their cheeks again, letting out a deep sigh. "What do you need?"
"I wanted to apologize, for what I said to you before. It was very unbecoming of me. I'm sorry."
"Water under the bridge, Ann..."
"Good," Joanne says after a moment, "I couldn't live with my best friend being upset with me."
"I'm not petty by any means. The most I would've done is never talk to you again," (Y/n) snorts.
"You call that not being petty?" Joanne laughs, "You and I have different morals on what that looks like then! Seriously though, are we alright?"
"We will be, (Y/n) replies, "There's still a lot I have to think on."
"I understand... I heard that Donald asked you to the dance. You rejected him."
"I'm guessing he told you that. I'm still not accepting his offer, if that is why you are truly out here."
"I won't pressure you into dating someone you don't like. I know my fair share in that," Joanne reflects as she pinches at the fabric of her skirt delicately, "Will you at least think about going still? Even if you go alone, I'll be happy that you're there."
"You know I don't do good at socializing," (Y/n) answers, "It's best if I just stick to myself."
"Could I maybe convince you over coffee? The cafe should still be open."
"I won't be able to today. I have plans already," (Y/n) acknowledges as they stand. Casting their gaze over to the girl, a smirk cracks onto their solemn expression. "I might take you up on the offer at a later date though. Our last get-together ended kind of sour, after all."
"Sure, but why the sudden leave?" Joanne questions as she stands herself.
"I got a job."
"Oh, (Y/n)! That's wonderful!" Joanne exclaims as she races to hug her friend. "Mind if I ask where?"
"A local radio station," (Y/n) simply remarks, rigidly patting Joanne on the back. Their friend pulls away soon after, hands firmly holding their shoulders and a big grin on her face.
"How long have been working there? Is that why you haven't been around?"
"Not exactly... I've been helping my Mom with her new job after my classes. That's where I met my boss actually; I start today."
"You'll have to tell me all of the details later! Promise you will!"
"I promise... Can you let me go now?"
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Wheels squeal to life as the bus (Y/n) took to the far edge of town starts up again. The ground beneath them rumbles as the trolley continues back to civilization, and (Y/n) begins to venture across the street where the treeline of the marsh begins.
A dirt road trails off into the forest, a black tin mailbox posted alongside it. Glancing at the scrapped piece of paper in their hands, (Y/n) read over the address Alastor hastily wrote down for them a few days before, and confirm this was the driveway to the radio station.
Leaves, thick like smoke, hover over (Y/n) in shadowed agglomerations, and sweat begins to bead across their forehead as the coolness of the day begins to heat up once more. The muggy atmosphere felt almost suffocating, but they continued onwards with tenacious intent. Though anxiety still roared within their heart in fast palpitations, they'd be damned to show up late.
The forest rang with muffled silence, the chirping of crickets seeming to echo but a distance. (Y/n) follows along the wooden fence that barricaded the road from the woodland's depths, and soon enough, a scrupulous house and rustic barn are revealed as the narrow path opens up into a field.
As (Y/n) walks up to the porch, confusion entwines in their thoughts as they quickly notice how vacant this station seemed to be. They knock on the screen door and wait a few moments with furrowed brows.
Where was everybody?
"There you are, dear!" The charismatic voice of Alastor discloses his presence, his never-changing smile lining his pearly whites with thin lines. "I hope your travels gave you no trouble."
"Your station is a long ways from the city. I almost thought I got off at the wrong place. Where are the others?" (Y/n) asks curiously as they walk down to meet him.
"The others?" Alastor questions.
"Surely you don't do everything yourself? Where are your other employees?"
"I don't need a whole group to do tasks I'm perfectly capable of doing myself," Alastor comments as he leads (Y/n) towards the barn with his hand on their upper back. "I will say though, I'm ecstatic to see how you work. I sure do hope you do not disappoint me."
"Me either..." (Y/n) mutters, malaise injecting itself once again into their nerves.
As they enter, (Y/n) notices rather quickly that this isn't a typical barn house, but instead, it has been renovated in Alastor's image. The area was spacious and quaint, organized in a way that aligned with Alastor's schedule. Sound panels lined the wall, a table adjacent to them equipped with a microphone and headphones. Paper cabinets were stationed in the far corner and a cork board pinned with different notes and articles hung above them. A lounge area was arranged near the center, couches patterned with red and black circling a low rising coffee table. Along with the dim bulb lanterns that dropped from the ceiling, the atmosphere was quite cozy.
"This isn't what I was expecting," (Y/n) honestly reports, watching as Alastor casually sits on one of the sofas. "I was imagining a more... Claustrophobic environment to say the least."
"Oh, Heaven's no. I need my space to work," Alastor replies with a soft scoff. (Y/n) felt somewhat small compared to Alastor, his confidence burning like a rapid flame to wind. His knowledge on the world, though ostensibly coming off as arrogant at times, seemed to be too far-reached for the likes of (Y/n). However, a small spark of aspiration lit their need to learn, and a smaller part of them also hoped that Alastor would be patient in his teachings. Yet, (Y/n) also couldn't help but to remain cautious of this man's intentions. His ambitions towards them still remain unclear, and that caused an uncomfortable grip of fear on their heart.
"I'm still not fully sure on why you were insistent that I work for you. What can I do that someone else can't? You said it yourself you can manage perfectly fine on your own. I'm just curious on why," (Y/n) says, hesitantly walking further inside with their bag strap in a deathly grip.
"I've told you before," Alastor remarks in a deep timbered hum, his eye blown out and unwavering as he stares at them. "I want to experiment with your mind. See your ticks and how it responds to certain circumstances. I did my research more than you realize, sweet."
"You purposely sought me out because of gossip? You do realize you are feeding into a media man's stereotype, yes?"
"I never said I believed it! It is my job and passion, however, to create my own hypotheses. If it makes you feel any better, I do find that brain of yours quite fascinating so far."
"I don't really know what to say to that..."
"Let's make a deal then, shall we?" Alastor compels, "I'll let you cover any topic your heart desires while you work under me, and with the condition that you can leave at any time, I get to observe and test you in any way I please."
"And what makes you think I won't walk out of here right now? How can I guarantee you won't use anything against me?" (Y/n) tests with a grimace, hating the slight amusement they found in this position. They took pride in the work they do, knowing that every advantage they can access to achieve the truth should never be taken for granted. On the other hand, they despised needless societal gossip. Being on the receiving end of undeserved hate, they fully understand the need for veracity. Though, they don't fully commend Alastor at this point, the opportunity to disassemble the lies built in New Orleans overweighed any possible hesitations.
"You can't guarantee anything and I won't say if I will or if I won't. I know you won't walk away though," Alastor chuckles, "You are just like me; you won't turn down the possibility of destroying another."
"Is that so?" (Y/n) hisses out, a tempestuous glare keeping up with the puckish one their new boss held with them. "What do we start on first then?"
"Sit, dear." Alastor's smile widens as he gestures to the other couch, "We have much to discuss."
═══════════════════════════
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netherfeildren · 1 year
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FEAR OF GOD : Chapter V : Love humiliates you
Series Masterlist ; Moodboard
Pairing: Joel Miller x OFC
Summary: Consider the moment before you go forward. 
Content Warnings: HEAVY !! angst!; Joel is mean in this, like forreal; PTSD; gore
Rating: Explicit 18+
A/N:  Reminder that this does have a HEA, I would literally never write a story without one. I promise. The events of this chapter are what spawned this entire story. Enjoy. 
Art is Leda by Marc Burckhardt
Word Count: 3.1K
Read on AO3
CHAPTER V: Love humiliates you
I was always ashamed to take.
So I gave. It was not a virtue. It
was a disguise.
-Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 4; 1944-1947
You reach for a glass as Ellie wrenches the back door open. The look on her face – set to kill. Another person needing something from Joel that he just isn’t capable of giving. Perhaps you’re wrong, to capitulate to his shortcomings, accept the things he can’t or refuses to part with. But in a world like this one, now, where merely staying alive is made so much more painful, so much more of a fight, you feel you have to give him this. If nothing else, understanding. It’s what you would want for yourself. And after everything that’s just happened, you know you won’t let her hurt him more than he already has been tonight. After you’d felt his fear, alive and sentient, brush up against you, overwhelm him. No matter what. You feel the resolve harden within you.
“Ellie.”
“I need to talk to him.”
“I don’t think now’s a good time. He–”
“Fuck that,” she spits. “You know he beat the shit out of Seth the other night? I don’t need him defending me. I can handle those types of things myself, and you can’t protect him from me forever.”
“That’s not what I’m trying to do at all,” you say severely. “Joel doesn’t need me protecting him. And he’d hate hearing you say that. But tonight –”
She pauses to really look at you, takes in the scrapes on your face, the harried look in your eyes, “Did something happen? Are you okay?” 
“The kid they found – it was a play – they attacked us out there.”
“What? What are you talking about? Are you okay?”
“I can’t let you do this to him tonight.”
“I’m asking about you.”
“I’m fine. It was nothing.” A terrible lie. “But he– he needs some time…He –”
And then from the shadow of the stairs: “What’re you doin’?” Your heart stops. 
Ellie squares her shoulders, she looks a little maniacal, and you have the hysterical urge to laugh.“I came to–” 
“Not you–” he holds up a hand towards her. The look he levels at you, you feel afraid in that instant. On the precipice of something very bad. Very frightening. “Joel–” you whisper.
“What d’you think you’re doin’?” You’re not his little bird right now. His face is cast in an angry set he’s never turned towards you before. 
“I– I’m…” you feel out of breath, “I just–” You glance back and forth between the two of them. To Ellie for help – and you think you see the same fear for yourself in her own eyes, the realization that something is very wrong.
“What’re you tryin’ to do? You… you what? You think that what goes on between Ellie and myself’s your business as well? How many times do I gotta tell you that whatever goes on between us is not your concern? Whatever issues we have are family issues.” And you flinch as if he’d struck you a blow, fist closed, teeth bared. Nothing worse could’ve been said. You’re jarred into taking a step away from him, and you see his countenance shift, his gaze waver; fear flashing in those warm hazel eyes – now frigid – that you love so much. Perhaps fear of his own self. You clutch the back of the chair to keep upright.
This is the moment of no return for him. 
“Y– you think w– what… That just ‘cause we fuck on occasion–” the words like a razor he struggles to spit out. 
Birdie, I love you. Birdie, Birdie, my Birdie. 
Ellie’s voice, warning and sharp, “Joel–”
You watch him gather his resolution around himself, a wall barricading you from him – he goes in for the kill, “...that just ‘cause we fuck on occasion you’ve got some sort of right to come in here and stick your nose in matters that got nothin’ to do with you?” I was already here, you want to scream, I’ve been here all this time – but the words don’t come. 
He looks away as if the very sight of you burns him. His jaw clenched tight, fists curled into knots. 
“You need to leave,” he says flatly. 
And you nod a shaky jerk. A short breath of a laugh escapes, “Fuck on occasion…” you whisper, almost incredulous, hysterical. Or maybe questioning. Perhaps you should question all you’ve made this into in your head up until now. 
Birdie, I love you. Birdie, Birdie, my Birdie. 
You look away too, your eyes filled with tears you’d die before spilling in front of them. And you think that nothing has ever, ever hurt as much as this does right here. A sudden blinding flash of Beth in your mind’s eye, torn apart – decimated, a sea of blood as endless and dark as the night sky. A pain, sharp, piercing – as if a bolt of fire had shot straight through the soft of your belly. You wrap an arm around yourself. Nausea sits heavy on your tongue, you could vomit right now. 
“You’re right …” your brows hitch high, like you’re surprised to hear yourself say so. “I– I’m s–sorry.” It’s a cracked whisper. You wring your hands together painfully – as if you could break your own bones, distract yourself with a different kind of hurt. You remember they’d ripped her arms from her body first – her screams so guttural. The worst sound you’d ever heard. Too much, too much had happened tonight. Flesh tearing from flesh. And then the rest of her, bit by bit as you watched helpless and useless from above. Tucked away quietly in the tree branches. Her hair, her skin, her bones. Your sister. It replays in your mind like some sick, horrifying montage you’ll never be able to forget.
The moment of no return has passed. 
Silently, you make your way upstairs, still bare and dripping him beneath his shirt. Everything is so quiet, and if the end of the world had taught you anything, it was that calamity is never as loud as you assume it will be. You’d always known not to push. Not to pry. To let him be, and exist around him as he saw fit. As he needed you to. And you understood, you understood that it really was what he desperately needed, that he was sensitive, easily hurt, easily scared, despite what he wanted the world to think. That some people needed time and patience to come to terms with their own feelings – how he felt safest.  And you were good at pretending you were okay with all that. You could tell yourself you didn’t need anything but what he could give you. For a time. But you’d forgotten, just then – seeing Ellie barge in on a warpath, with only Joel’s hurt in mind, the terror and the violence of the night, and his desperate confession ringing in your ears – you’d forgotten. There’d been nothing in you but a savage need to protect him as he’d protected you earlier. To step between the two of them and shield him from her wrath with your physical body if need be. He’d told you he loved you, and you knew it’d break him after everything else tonight. 
You find your jeans blindly. Pulling them on and exchanging his shirt for yours, folding it carefully over the end of the messy bed, still damp from your fucking. A site of catastrophe.
There’s a rushing sound running through your brain. In your quiet, harried haste you forget your bra and underwear, hook your fingers into the backs of your shoes. Down the stairs – quiet, quiet. 
And then you’re out. Gone. The way he wanted you. You can’t even look back into the kitchen before fleeing. You feel like a thief. Like you’ve stolen something integral to him with his confession. There is a sweet twisted sort of vindication in the feeling for throughout this painful, desperate, unavoidable thing between the two of you, you’d sometimes wondered if you were never anything more than an easy, desirable, nuisance to him. Yes, he wanted you. To fuck. To find comfort, softness in you. Love? Sometimes, you thought, perhaps. Now, you knew.
The ground is frigid and hard and you left your socks and your jacket behind, and you can feel him leaking out coldly into the rough seam of your jeans. The tears finally fall. 
How could he expect you to turn away from the one thing you’ve wanted from him more than anything else? And now that you have it, it is a devastating victory for how alone it makes you feel. 
-
Joel listens to your quick, quiet shuffling as you gather your things upstairs. 
You're right. I’m sorry. Nothing you could have said in that moment, cursing him, spitting on him, railing against him, telling him he’s the lowest piece of shit to ever exist, could have made him feel smaller than your quiet acquiescence had. Nothing he could have said could have been worse either. Much less than what he deserves. 
His skin flushes hot and cold, vacillating between numbness and panic, and already, he feels a desperate need to go after you. To not let you out of his sight. To run upstairs and get on his knees, beg you to forget the past five minutes. Hell, the past half hour, when he’d pushed so coldly away from you upstairs. To forget how fucking stupid and wrong and broken he is. To beg you to read everything he can’t say in his eyes and touch. To tell him how to go forward. To believe him, to believe him when he says he loves you, but doesn’t know how to not be scared anymore.
That he’d reduced you to an occasional fuck, as if the past few months, intertwined with you, hadn’t saved his life – his heart – in a way he didn’t know needed saving. 
There’d been times where he’d look at an infected, right before killing it, and felt an understanding so poignant.
That is what I have become.  
That is what I have become. 
That is what I have become.
He is brought low by the devastation of his own brutality. 
He never needed to have been bitten to lose himself. 
He looks at Ellie – her gaze averted from him, like she can’t even look at him right now – how much she’s grown since the first moment he set eyes on her.
 Look back at me, Ellie. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any of it. Come back to me, Birdie. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any of it. 
He thought he’d grown as much, as well. He hears the soft patter of your feet down the stairs. You hadn’t even taken a moment to put your shoes on, and he takes a step forward as if to follow you. “Birdie– “ he whispers. You need your shoes, it’s cold out, and you need your shoes. It’s what he wants desperately, to go after you, but this fucking fear that makes him so goddamn weak and destructive. He hates himself for it. The sound of the clickers echoes in his mind, the dark taking you away from him, unable to find you as he was caught off guard by your attackers; the violence and depravity of their words as they taunted him with what they’d do to you if he failed. It feels like there are a thousand screaming voices shrieking directly into his ears as he watches you walk out his front door. It snicks shut, whisper silent. 
“You know, I came over here wanting to yell at you,” Ellie starts, “To hurt you,” pauses, considers him, her head falling sideways on her neck, looking at him as if she’s only seeing him, really seeing him now, for the first time.
The screaming stops. There is only an impossible silence now. She was so little all those years ago. He wants to smile at the memory of that goofy kid, as wrong as the moment is. 
He thinks he might cry, and the thought startles him. 
“To say something to really hurt you.” She worries her ring and middle finger in her other hand – fidgeting; finally she releases him from that terrible knowing look in her eyes, deflates as if all the fight she’d stormed in with is suddenly gone. “She saw exactly what I was here for…” The soft space behind his knees burns and itches. He thinks he might be having a panic attack, his chest caving in on itself. What the fuck is going on in your head right now, Joel? 
“I had Seth under control, the other night.”
“Yeah, I know.” She goes quiet again, and he can see in her eyes that this is not what she came here for. He is so tired of fighting. How many decades has this interminable battle been raging on around him, within him?
Finally she voices the truth of what she’s here for, the only truth left between them: “I was supposed to die in that hospital… My life would’ve fucking mattered… But you took that from me.” His thoughts are a barrage inside his mind – flipping from the attack earlier, you in his bed beneath him. Birdie, I love you. The hospital. Ellie, Sarah, Ellie, Sarah, you. Every decision made that’s led him here, to this moment.
There is something eternally complex about her words. Had he not intervened, had he not saved her in the hospital that day, yes, yes, she would have died, perhaps the world would have been saved. He remembers Kathleen, all those years ago, children die all the time, and didn’t he fucking know that. His own child was dead. He understood that better than anyone. Is one life worth everything? But he’d decided that day that Ellie would not be one of those children stolen by fate. No matter what he had to do or sacrifice, even of himself, she would not be taken. And so she wasn’t. Yes, he’d lost her in all other ways, but at least she was still alive to hate him. It was all that mattered when it came down to it. Did her life matter more or less now after the fact? The grace of her immunity would always exist. No matter what he did. Was it a miracle, a gift from God, or a burden too terrible to bear? In many ways, he’d turned himself into that great burden; for her, for himself, for the people he’d killed and those that waited for someone who’d never again return to them because of his actions. He’d fucked with fate that day. He’d brutalized and murdered so many people; this was fact. No amount of apology or forgiveness could ever erase that. So yes, he’d taken from her, taken the insurmountable weight of guilt from the small shoulders of a child who should have never carried that burden to begin with. Taken a misplaced sense of guilt at having survived when so many others hadn’t. Given her time to grow, to have a life. Nothing could ever make him regret that. No matter what. If nothing else was true, it was that Ellie going on, Ellie living, would always be the most important thing to him. 
“If somehow the Lord gave me a second chance at that moment…I’d do it all over again.” There is no regret in his heart about that. 
“That was the one thing, Joel” and she says it with such urgency, it makes his stomach clench tight. She brings her fist violently into her flat, waiting palm, clutches her hands together as if she’s grasping onto all the frustration and resentment she holds against him. As if she could just make him understand, like he’s too dense to do so. But he understands. He always has. “That was the one thing that could’ve made my life matter…”
“Your life matters, kiddo. It always did. It’s always mattered to me.”
She’s quiet then. As if the thought is something too big for her mind and heart to grasp. “Yeah…I just…I don’t know if I can ever forgive you for that…” and then, hesitantly, “But I would like to try…”
His voice hoarse: “I’d like that.”. 
She looks towards the door you just quietly left through. 
“I want to let go of this fucking anger.” And he thinks: I want that too, to the point of desperation. “To just forget it. You don’t deserve it anymore… I don’t think– and after all this…” she waves her arm dejectedly at the room. “Besides… nothing I could ever say to you, could ever hurt you as much as you hurt yourself.” A devastating blow for the truth it holds. 
“I– I ain’t hurtin’ myself,” every word sits tight and reluctant in his throat. “And she’ll get over that,” he points pathetically towards the door, he doesn’t even believe his own words. “She knows well enough what we are and what we aren’t.”
“I know she does,” Ellie says sadly. “It’s you who doesn’t,” she presses, “You who’s blind.” She shakes her head a little, softly, from side to side – retreats, as if she’s considering what to say next. Or how much of his own truth she should share with him. The sad pity in her eyes – it terrifies him. 
“You’re in love with her.”
He wishes the screeching in his head would come back now because he does, he does know. He can’t deny it. Not that. Not to Ellie. Probably not to anyone. It would be too great a lie to tell, even for him. After all, he’s already confessed it to the person who matters most. What would be the point of refuting it? Panic rises again, thick and cloying in his throat. 
Her eyes move back to the door, she clicks her tongue. 
“That might just be the worst thing you’ve ever done,” she tells him softly, and she wants to cry for him. For her protector. Her friend. Her betrayer. She wants to cry for all he won’t let himself have. 
The sins of his past hang with startling clarity between them in that indelible moment. He looks around the room as if he can see them plainly, and he is frightened. 
She laughs a little. Sadly. Quiet. It breaks his heart. 
“Maybe you’ve just lost her for good.” He shakes his head immediately, instinctively, eyes still swinging around the room – watching a blur of past mistakes he’d give anything to erase play out. “See you around, Joel.” 
He is, once again, made monstrous in that instant. 
The door slams behind her, and then they’re both gone.
The moment is lost forever.
Chapter VI
Netherfeildren Masterlist
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grimes-luvr · 1 year
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promise.
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carl grimes x fem!reader
angst && slight fluff at the end <33 !!
|| summary - carl runs to hilltop alone and hops on one of negan’s supply trucks. when he comes back with negan himself, you can’t help but be angry, worried, and concerned for what he did.
warnings - mentions of murder, death, blood, gore, weapons, language, violence, angry carl & reader, yelling, enid doesn’t exist (solely for plot reasons, i’m an enid stan fs), carl & reader are dating
“your kid gunned down two of my men! and you know what i did? i brought him home, safe and sound, and i made him spaghetti.”
negan looked over at where y/n and carl were standing. olivia’s dead body sat at their feet. y/n glared straight into his eyes, quite frankly unafraid of the pathetic man in front of her.
“all while that girl stared me down! the least she could do was say a little thank you. my, my, she is creepy!”
her eyes were cold. carl had been trying to get her to look at him since he got back, but his attempts failed. she always looked in the other direction or continue to glower at negan.
the audacity that the man had to barge into their homes, kill two of their people (although spencer definitely deserved it), and ask for gratitude was insane. y/n wanted to put a bullet through his head.
———————————————————————
it had been almost an hour since negan and his people left, and y/n still wouldn’t speak to carl. he was starting to worry - it was the first time she had ever seen his eye and she was avoiding him.
he couldn’t take it anymore, so when y/n walked into the house, looking for michonne, he confronted her.
“are you avoiding me?” he asked.
“where’s michonne?” she asked monotonously.
“out. don’t avoid the damn question, y/n, are you avoiding me?”
y/n didn’t answer. instead, she headed upstairs to search for michonne in case carl was lying.
“where-“ carl started, but decided it was useless to ask and just started following her. she looked in every room in the house, eventually reaching carl’s and finding nothing. before she could leave, carl stood in front of the door.
“move,” she mumbled, still not looking at him.
“why? why have you been ignoring me all day?” carl asked.
“just fucking move.”
his voice started to break, “is it because of my eye?”
her fists were clenched and her eyes were narrowed at the ground until she heard him sniffle.
“are you crying?”
“stop ignoring all of my questions, y/n. please. just answer it,” his chin quivered as he spoke, making y/n feel absolutely terrible.
“carl, no-“
“so what is it then? i have been waiting hours for you to say anything to me, and you’re angry at me. why? what did i do?”
“you left,” y/n looked down at the ground again.
“what?”
“you left. without telling me, without saying goodbye, without offering to let me go with you. you could’ve died, carl. then i wouldn’t have been able to say goodbye. i was worried about you, and when the saviors pulled up to the gates with you in the truck, and your bandage off, i knew something was wrong. then when negan said what happened, i knew you were just being stupid. you could have gotten yourself killed this morning, and what would that leave me? carl, i know you want him dead, so do i, but i cannot lose you. we’ve lost too much- i’ve lost too much,” she said, starting to cry too. carl just stared blankly at her, taking in everything she just said.
once he processed it all, he felt like puking. he didn’t realize how much it affected the ones he loved, the one he loved. the only aspect of death that he had imagined upon arrival was negan’s body in front of him and the blood on his hands. he had almost forgotten that he wasn’t immortal himself.
and once he gathered his thoughts, they were too much. he broke down, grabbing a hold of y/n and hugging her tightly like if he let go, she’d disappear.
“i’m sorry,” he sobbed into her hair, “i’m so sorry.”
——————————————————————
“hey carl,” y/n whispered, her voice muffled by his chest. he hummed in response, his arms still almost painfully enclosing her.
“why did you think i was mad at you for your eye?”
carl paused for a good minute, “that’s not important.”
“yeah, it is.”
he paused again, this time for a little longer.
“i’m scared.”
“of what?” y/n asked, pulling away from the hug and holding carl’s face in her hands.
“my eye, it’s gross. i felt like once you saw it, you’d realize i was disgusting-looking. i don’t want you to leave me,” he avoided her eyes, slightly ashamed.
“carl, i’d never leave you. i wouldn’t care if you had three eyes. you’re not disgusting, you just look different. and that is perfectly fine, okay? i’d never be enough of a dick to leave you because of something you can’t control. i love you,” she kissed him softly.
“i love you too,” carl said, letting out a shaky breath.
“you needed your bandage changed this morning right?” y/n asked. carl nodded. “well, since olivia . . . can’t help you anymore, do you want me to do it?”
“yeah,” carl said, a little bit of panic in his voice.
“hey, don’t worry, i’ll make it quick. i know the shit stings.”
y/n moved the hair out of carl’s eye. she inspected it, making sure there were no infections or pieces of hair stuck to it. she cautiously picked out stray strands, careful not to hurt carl. she then cleaned it and held the base gauze to his socket while carl wrapped it comfortably.
“it’s good, no infections or other unknown damage. it’s nice you let it air out for a bit, helps with the healing. it looks fine, you’ve been doing good with the regular changes,” she smiled and kissed his forehead.
“thank you,” he said quietly.
“no big deal, carl. just promise me you won’t leave again? at least without saying goodbye.”
“promise.”
——————————————————————
a/n: this shit was all over the place, but yooo my first carl fic !! feel free to send requests, nothing nsfw cus carl’s a minor (and i’m ace) 🫶🏻🫶🏻
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tomesandsuch · 2 years
Text
Two Bards
cw: violence/some gore, salty language, babies crying
There was a silence that befell the two of them. The youth gathered his breath in the wake of the song's last verse, looking expectantly to the one seated opposite him.. The boy, head crowned with a rag of off-white locks, leaned forward to stare all the more closely at the adult man that sat in the dirt across from him. 
The man dressed in a low-necked tunic of many colors whose sleeves hung down past his hips, hands emerging from small slits in the garment's sides. The youth stared into the man's eyes intending to make contact, but the adult seemed to be more concerned with the stars."...Teacher?"
“LANE!” 
The man’s head swung upward in an abrupt motion; his hand came to rest on his knee. "I-know, I know, Harman. I was listening, I was just looking at--" The boy cut him off sharply with a high-pitched protest. "Liar! You didn't even notice that I'd finished the song!" The boy’s high-pitched tone worried the painted man: if he misspoke, he faced the mortifying prospect of further disturbance during his valuable after-dinner contemplation. Lane grunted and bent forward, roused from where he sat. "Are you saying I have to snap to attention the second you're done?” he said, pursing his lips, “Maybe I'm just taking it in." Lane leaned forward, balancing by way of his elbows planted atop his knees, and scooted closer to their fire. There were still streaks of light-blue down the edges of the man's face from where he'd neglected to clean his face paint.
The boy's reply was immediate. Harman moved closer to the fire in turn. "Well, what do you think, then?" Lane’s eyelids began to droop, and his mouth made itself a long, thin line. "It's a very lovely song, Har--" The young boy’s features had begun to sink even before he’d begun talking, but his pupil knew him well, and he knew the signs of his mentor’s most favorite weapon, hollow appeasement, when he saw them. "No! You're not being honest!" he said.
The minstrel's lips knit tighter together. "Harman, what you do want me to say?" said Lane. Harman's frown grew all the deeper. It was clear the alternative did little to soothe him. "I won't get upset! You're supposed to help me make the songs better! You promised!"
Lane made a face that sagged like it was about to slough off the rest of his head, then nodded. "Fine, fine. I have a couple of observations about the song." Harman didn't even have to nod to get the man started, but he did regardless, eager still. Lane pursed his lips, then, after a short pause, began to speak. "I get what it's about, I do, it just seems so terribly fake to me. You know, ah… playing at a greater emotional depth than it has." On Harman's face, the look of wild-eyed excitement was gradually supplanted by confusion. 
 "Really, it was just a poorly-written song. I lost much of my interest when it became clear that those same two chords were going to be used,” Lane said, his tone overt in its dreariness. “I'm sure the lyrics are emotional, yes, your mother and all that, but such dreary instrumentation means it can only do so much. I ask you this: as one who intends to become a professional musician, do you really plan to fall back on that?" Lane said. The painted man’s visage had hung lower and lower, closer to the flame whose flickering light cast his features in red. Already backing away from the flame as his teacher leaned in closer, Harman stared, the young boy’s face contorted by horror. “Y–... You…” Lane’s expression was as impassive as ever: he met his student’s gaze, but offered no hint of reassurance. Instead, the taller man stood and plunged his head back into the darkness that lingered around the dying flame. He took in a nice, long breath through his nostrils, then swung his shoulders about and spun on a heel to take a few steps away.
“...Harman, listen to me, I know it’s upsetting, but–” At that point, Lane turned his attention back over his shoulder only to see nothing. His apprentice had gone. Well, that figured, at least in his mind. The boy had always been bad with criticism, and, with all the criticism that Lane had faced in his life, he truly believed that the mark of a good performer was not a prodigious musical talent but rather a highly-developed ability to not be bothered by the opinions of others. In this respect, his apprentice was lacking still, especially compared to how far he had come in his studies in such a short time. It wasn’t but the autumn before last when he’d first crossed paths with the traveling merchant, and the boy at his side that wished to become a bard. The thought roused something in him, though, whatever it was, it was only enough to summon forth the faintest of grimaces. A conversation to be had another time, considering Harman had made himself scarce.
Lane waited a while longer: a bell, roughly. The most responsible thing to do would have been to charge fearlessly into the night after his young charge, and this fact wasn’t lost on Lane, but the man was so terribly scared of the dark, and the highlands were so terribly big. Harman had run off before. He always came back. Why would this time be any different? Lane thought on that: It wouldn’t be any different. Over and over again, business as usual, no cause for alarm. Finally, he mustered up the courage(?) to turn in for the night, sufficiently adamant in his belief that the boy would be fine to forget he existed and have a nice, quiet bit of shuteye. 
Lane scooped a bit of slightly-dirty water from a tin pot sitting some ways from the fire, then meandered over towards it right up until an abrupt sound snared his attention, and soon after came the sensation to match. It was a sequence that he was familiar with, but never quite as familiar as he wished he was: the shunk of wood over wood. Lane bent forward, careening back over the nearby lock and being sent head-over-heels by the wild motion. Glancing between clutched hands revealed the source of the sound: an arrow, its head buried a good ways in the man’s gut.
There were a few, precious seconds where he wasn’t quite cognizant of the situation, and as soon as those left him there came the searing pain. Each and every stir, every jerk or careful movement from him twisted the arrow’s head where it lay embedded deep enough in his midsection to wrack him with unimaginable pain with every movement. Really, it was quite imaginable by the standards of most, but there’s only so much to be expected when a man highly discomforted by the sight of his own blood gets shot in the stomach.
“Haauuuhhh... Harmaaaaan…” Lane crooned out into the night in a pseudo-singsong tone that may or may not have been intentional. “Haaarmaaaan… Har…” There was a shape moving in the dark, crowned by a head of cropped white hair, and soon after it meandered into the dying flame’s light. The boy held a shortbow in one hand, his other empty, likely having held an arrow until a few seconds ago. The firelight crept up his face and flickered off the wetness surrounding the boy’s eyes, which were reddened. Harman called out, tentative. “Teacher…?” 
He advanced at a near-snail’s pace, only quickening once the boy was close enough to see that he’d hit his mark, and then some. For a man lauded for his ability to compose deeply moving music, he had remarkable trouble ascertaining the mood of the sobbing twelve-year-old before him: was it his intention to fire another? Or was he coming to help? All things that he would have thought of, if not for the fact that he felt a pang of pain that drove the back of his head to the dirt, and it was in that moment that his thoughts were only occupied by one observation: he grabbed my bodkin arrows. In fact, that thought overwhelmed all others. Bodkin, bodkin, bodkin, like a chant, or a bad song.
Harman had never shot a man before. Fish, squirrels, rabbits and the like were acceptable, but Lane had no success at even convincing him to assist in butchering the game. Now, he laid flat out on his back, his breathing shallow, blood overwhelming the varying colors of his blouse and staining its front a dark color around where the arrow sat. “Hhuuhh… Haaa…” he called out, the beginnings of his pupil’s name crescendoing into an airy cry when he tried to shift his weight onto his side. “Harman…” Lane audibly swallowed a gulp of saliva and cleared his throat anew. “It’s… it’s okay, everything’s okay… I just need you to reach into my knapsack and find my linkpearl. Call for help, okay, Harman? Call the station. They have a healer there. It’s okay.”
The boy’s frazzled state began to subside at the sight of Lane finding some modicum of composure, even if the man could barely speak above a faint whisper for fear of even his voice stirring the barbs of the bodkin. Once Lane had managed to find his words Harman calmed quickly, bleary and teary-eyed as he was. Lane’s spare clothing and supplies laid strewn in a circle around the boy as he tore through the bag searching for the brooch that he kept his linkpearls in. As he sat searching, his mentor tried his best to staunch the bleeding around his wound, though his hands were stayed by the flares of pain that resulted from even the most fleeting touches of his hands against his leaking gut. 
“Harman… did you find it yet, Harman?” Lane’s breathing had grown more shallow by the minute, and in turn his voice quieter, only for him to bark out a hoarse yell, the effete dressing of his voice stripped away in an instant. “The brooch, dammit! My brooch! How can you not find it!? It’s massive!” A sound escaped the man’s mouth that resembled something between a grunt and a gurgle. “I guess it’s a stroke of good luck that you still shoot too low…” A silence fell. “...Harman? What’re you… Did you– Harman… That’s not a… HARMAN!”
It was when the boy turned with yet another bodkin clutched in his hand that Lane the Lugubrious, miraculously, managed to get his feet beneath him. He acted without even realizing it, spurred on by a single thought: I don’t care if I die somewhere else, I just have to get the hell out of here. But his feet were not as willing as his mind, and his legs weren’t really on top of things either. So instead, Lane the Lugubrious wobbled in place, eyes teary, standing across a barely-lit stretch of dirt with an adolescent clumsily attempting to nock an oversized arrow and kill him. 
It wasn’t an arrow that came across the clearing, however, but the high-pitched yells of the child, spoken through coughs and crackles and all the tears there were. “Every time… I try to… I try to… nnruughffgh…” Harman sputtered out. Lane could do little more than stand and stare, helplessness now thoroughly impressed onto him. “Every… time… I write a song… you say it doesn’t have emotion, or you say it doesn’t have soul, or you say it’s overwrought! You say it’s… it’s–... I don’t know what overwrought means! I didn’t overwrought it! I didn’t– I diddid– eee-eeee–” The bow had clattered to the ground somewhere in the midst of the boy’s speech degenerating wholly into sobbing. Lane could do little more than look on, his fear having evaporated as abruptly as the arrow had struck him. By now, the redness had begun to sag downward, seeping into his trousers, though he seemed less perturbed by it now. 
Slowly and shakily, Lane began to make his way across the clearing. Harman sat in a motionless heap on the ground and let no noise escape him; the pale wood of his shortbow was seen easily in the waning light. The bard advanced at a limping pace across the camp, a hand holding at his stomach still. “Harman,” Lane said, “I’m sorry. I…” His speech was calm, but he could only let his lungs swell with so much air before they began to flex his innards against the arrow. “I guess I let myself get caught up in trying to… steel you to criticism. So much so that I had foolishly… Oh, shit…” His toes went first and his feet rolled uselessly beneath his legs right as they had given their last and crumpled between him and the ground. Lane tumbled into the pile of ash and settled face-first in the dirt, motionless for the time being. The cloud of dust expelled from beneath the man when he fell roused his apprentice’s attention.
“...Lane? Lane!”
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angelthecat153 · 10 months
Text
Dylan x reader camp crush part 7
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y'n's POV
when me ,Dylan and Ryan walked to the firepit we saw Kaitlyn "hey Kaitlyn guess what Mr H is a voyeuristic creep he has hidden camera's everywhere and a secret room" Dylan said getting all hoped about what me , Ryan and him saw earlier "no that's not_" "well no backup what" Kaitlyn said interrupting Ryan "his eyes are everywhere he's always watching us" i said narrating and Dylan laughed "knock it off y/n he's just got trail camera's set up you know for surveillance that kind of thing" Ryan said not joking around and i just faked yawn "oh" Kaitlyn said "you don't think that's weird" Dylan said obviously getting weirded out "well he's got a perimeter to check kids to protect yeah just to keep check of wildlife" Kaitlyn said starting to sound like a mother "you guys have no imagination" me and Dylan said rolling our eyes at them "so uh what's going on here everything" Ryan asked Kaitlyn "still no service" Kaitlyn said looking at her phone and raising her hand trying to find signal but gave up "ah yeah" Dylan said realising there was no signal "so pretty boring" Kaitlyn said obviously getting bored
Dylan's POV
i looked up at the sky "i wonder maybe a satellite fell out of the sky or something" i said still looking up "yeah and landed in the forest and waking from her slumber to hack her hacking" Ryan said joking around and i looked at the others mostly y/n "ok" y/n said and i just smiled "you know i just realised we may never see each other again after tonight" Kaitlyn said and we all just looked down sadly then we all looked at each other again "you can't have just realised that" i said to Kaitlyn and gave her a dumb look "just trying to set the mood" Kaitlyn said teasingly "what mood" y/n asked mood the vibe you know" Kaitlyn said making more sense "speaking of setting the mood i have work to do ok cause playlists don't make themselves i mean i guess they do but" i said giving a little speech and Kaitlyn just laughed as if it was a joke "all right Ry guy time to get wood" Kaitlyn said making a terrible joke
Ryan's POV
that was a very terrible wood joke "yikes wording" i said not getting the joke at all "oh i know what i said" Kaitlyn said making a point but then we heard y/n say "Abi , NIck just in time" it got all of our attention and turned around to see that y/n was right it was the both of them with a bunch of sticks "we got wood" Abi said then y/n and Dylan were obviously laughing
Kaitlyn's POV
i just realised that Abi stole my joke "we've already done that joke" i said "it's mostly just kindling" Nick said "oh that's all we need there's already a big pile of logs here" y/n said pointing at a lot of logs near the firepit "we could have gotten more but there was a hog or a boar but Nick was very very brave and took one for the team" Abi said and smiled it made me concerned "uh are you sure you guys are ok nobody got gored" i asked them in a conderned voice "we're ok" she said and there was no blood on her "there wasn't a bullfight or anything" Nick said reassruing me and i was relieved
Abi's POV that just reminded me "no i think Nick did make a new girlfriend" i said in a playful tone "oh do tell" y/n said coming up to join the conversation then there was a gunshot and we all turned around to see that it was Emma and Jacob back from the store "special delivery" Emma said with Jacob walking a wheelbarrel
y/n's POV
i was really concerned on where Emma got that gun from "whoa whoa whoa where the hell did that gun come from" i asked in a concerned tone "sis relax ok it's not even real" he said trying to comfort me "uh" i said trying to process the whole gun situation "well i mean it's a real gun but it's just for shooting bears" when he said that i got really scared so Dylan walked over to me and he held my waist and put his rested his chin up on to my head and did nothing else "we found it in the storage room" Emma said answering my question from earlier and Kaitlyn gave Jacob a look as if saying 'stop scaring youir sister' "ok fine fine we'll put it down" Jacob said in a disappointed voice and when he put the gun down "thank you guns are no joke dipshit" Kaitlyn said in a serious voice
Jacob's POV that reminds me of something "and and we bring you a hand-picked selection of only the finest that hackett's quarry has to offer" i said offering everyone a watermelon but they didn't want any
Nick's POV
i see something that looked familiar and y/n noticed and got out of Dylan's embrace and we had a happy look on our faces "no freaking way" we said to Jacob "yes freaking way" he said responding back to us "pop pop peanut butter butter pops pop pop in your mouth pop" the three of of us sang and finished doing the dance "i didn't even know you could still these anyway" i said looking down at the packet "hey cool your jets there cowboy allright these are spoken" Jacob said snatching the packet out of my hand but y/n rolled her eyes at her brother "dude you can't just shove in me and Nick's faces and not expect us to want a pop-pop pop them in our mouths come on" y/n said still rolling her eyes
Jacob's POV
wow just wow my sister is now getting annoyed but i ignored it "hey Emma please hand me the shotgun" i said and Emma tossed me it "what you're gonna shoot me and y/n over them" Nick said "no dumbass ok we are going to shoot for them" i said clearly making much more sense "nah dude absoloutly not no" Nick said disagreeing and y/n just agreed with him "there is no way i'm leaving you 2 dillweeds alone with a gun i don't want you frighting miss y/n over here" but i got annoyed "come on look the shooting range is like right over there ok it'll be fun ok look you and me old fashioned shoot out first prize peanut butter butter pops all to yourself while y/n watches us win" i said trying not to include y/n because i didn't want her using a gun "dude i-" but i decided to interrupt him "i guess you don't really want them then huh" i said teasing Nick "fine you're on" Nick said giving in to my offer and i got excited "oh yeah boy" i said still excitedly while swinging the gun around
Kaitlyn's POV
and there was still no way i'm letting Jacob hold a gun "Jacob hand me that gun now i mean nobody's handling those firearms if you're gonna act like a dick about it" i said the he gave me the gun "ok then you can be the ref you need an objective third party" Jacob said being all whiny about it "we're trying to get a party starting here Jacob" y/n said walking up with Dylan "well the main party's not gonna just cause you're off on a little side quest come on please" and he was getting and begging me "allright i guess we're gonna have ourselves an old-fashioned shoot out" i said agreeing to him after he finished begging me "look there's a clearing we can use as a shooting range back there but if i see either of you dicking around i am turning this around" i said getting very serious "and y/n's going to watch you 2 boys allright" i said then y/n came over and she gave a thumbs up and i nodded "if y/n is going then i'm going to stay with her" Dylan said coming over and then the five of us headed out to the shooting range while Emma,Abi and Ryan stayed behind
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ohworm-writes · 3 years
Text
Burns
MCYT: c!Technoblade Boyfriend Scenario
mcyt masterlist
‼ c!Technoblade prompt: Reader gets hurt while exploring through the Nether, coming back wounded to their lover ‼
Featuring: c!Technoblade
Warnings: GORE, angst (?), mentions of injury, description of injury, mentions of blood, worried techno
[ 1.5k word count ]
a/n - i wanted to do a Techno work for a while, so i finally got around to doing it! enjoy the work! i’m horrible at doing endings if you couldn’t tell lol
content below the cut!
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You happily made your way through the scorching confines of the Nether, checking your inventory to look at the loot you had gotten. You had been trading with piglins for hours, giving out one bar of gold after another in return for a wide array of items, a lot of which were useless to you.
You had traveled farther out than you anticipated, seeing nothing other than the dull shade of red from the netherack and the flow of lava around you. You had placed a few stray blocks to keep you on track, one of these landmarks more obvious than the others.
The nether-bricked fortress loomed over you as you passed through one of the arches. It didn't seem to have been looted yet, so you had saved the coordinates to it, planning to tell your boyfriend when you got back. Your footsteps echoed through the landscape as you made your way back, unaware of the group of 4 blazes that floated high above you.
You had been absentmindedly checking your inventory still, throwing out the near stacks of soul sand and quartz that had accumulated in your inventory when they started firing at you. You reacted a split second too late, overwhelmed by the searing pain in your arm.
Your clothing was starting to burn up as you erratically patted it down, now left with the skin painfully peeling off, your blood crisping and drying up around it. You screamed in pain as you set the fire out, tears welling up in your eyes at the sight if the injury.
Focusing on getting away, you made a dash towards one of the pillars, hiding behind it as the blazes shooting again at you. The fire caught at the netherack in front of you, fire crackling at your feet. You took a few frantic steps backward, your back meeting with the wall of nether brick.
Waiting a moment to catch your breath, you peered over the side to look at the blazes. They had gotten a bit closer, still looming high above you. You looked around you, spotting the nether portal to the tundra a few hundred blocks away. If you booked it, you could probably make it! But would the blazes catch you before you got there?
The sound of fire shooting resonated in your ears, making you jump back behind the pillar. The fire caught on the netherack, much further away than the last shot. You moved your shoulder a bit, crying out in pain at the intensity of your injury. You held your arm against your chest, clutching it tightly.
You decided it was now or never, breaking into a sprint towards the portal. You heard the fire shooting again, but you couldn't risk slowing down. Sweat ran down your back as your feet collided with the soft netherack under them. The vibration from your footsteps shot up through your arm, making you scream as you pushed forward.
The portal was much closer now, and you didn't hear the shots of blazes. You couldn't risk looking back, so you continued to run. The obsidian pathway felt hard under your feet, in contrast to the softer feeling of netherack. You slowed your pace, adrenaline draining as you stumbled through the portal.
When you came through the other side, you were met with the calm winds of the arctic. You fell to your feet, the pain becoming almost unbearable. You laid your back against the portal, finally deciding to take a better look at your wound.
The entirety of your left arm, from your shoulder to your elbow, was burnt. A large portion of your top was burnt too. Raw skin peeked out from under the burnt portions, red and blotchy. There wasn't much blood, to your relief. Your entire arm still felt like it was burning, searing in pain.
You had to get back to the cabin. That was your goal. Get back to the cabin. You shakily stood up, stumbling slightly as you made your way across the tundra. You held your arm close to your chest, wincing every time the wind blew against it and the vibrations that wracked through your body with every heavy step.
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After what had felt like hours, the cabin was finally in sight. The sun was starting to set over the icy plains. You knew mobs would start spawning if you didn't hurry up. You stumbled your way towards the cabin, seeing how all of the lights were on in the place you called home.
When you finally reached the spruce doors. Before you could even reach for the handle, the doors swung open, revealing your piglin boyfriend with a worried expression on his face.
"Y/n! Where the hell have you be-" His eyes switched from concern to anger and settling on distress. He held your uninjured shoulder and ushered you inside, moving you to sit down on the couch that sat down in the center of the room.
He quickly started rifling through chests, not a word spoken as he did so. He pulled out a bottle of healing and regeneration, tucking them under his arm as he reached for gauze and a variety of antibiotics.
You watched him as he made his way from the chests over to where you sat. Your legs dangled off the front of the couch, your boyfriend situating himself between them as he took a better look at your arm. He took a short blade from his boot, cutting off your shirt carefully. He tossed it to the side, focusing his attention on your wound.
He pushed two potions into your chest, you could just feel the anger radiating off of him. It was scary. Without a word, you downed both of the potions, feeling the pain subside for the most part. You exhaled a deep breath you didn't know you were holding, shutting your eyes slowly.
"Are you going to tell me what the hell happened?" His tone was firm, cold, anger dripping from it. You felt terrible, you knew his mind would be working overtime trying to find out a solution before you told him a worm. Your eyes opened slowly, a frown finding its way to your face.
"Blazes," you tell him softly. You saw as his shoulders became slightly relax, at least it wasn't a person who did this to you.
"Tech, love, it's really not that bad. Let me patch it up." Wrong choice of words. His eye twitched and his brows furrowed as he looked towards you. "Not that bad?! Y/n are you looking at it? Your entire upper arm is messed up!"
"I've seen worse on you." You wanted to try and deescalate the situation, but you knew it wasn't going to end up that way. "This isn't about my wounds, this is about yours! You aren't fine!" He yelled, worry filling his eyes as he started to focus on dressing your wound. He stood up, going towards the kitchen to grab a wet cloth.
"Tech-" He grumbled angrily as he drenched the cloth in water. You knew he was blaming himself, you knew the voices would be screaming at him. He settled himself in front of you again, eyes dark as he gently pushed the cloth against your wound, very contrasted to how tense he was.
Your breath hitched, your hand grabbing onto his tightly. He put all of his attention onto wrapping you up. He was completely silent during the whole process. By the end of it, you had a new shirt on, your arm settled comfortably in a sling.
When he was fully finished, he settled his palms on your knees, head down as he mumbled something. You brought your free hand up to his hair, gently coursing your fingers through it. "I could have prevented this," he said, just enough so you could hear him.
"Hey," you whispered, taking your hand out of his hair and moving it to his cheek. He leaned into your palm affectionately, casting his eyes upwards to meet yours. He didn't look angry anymore, his eyes were just filled with remorse.
"It's not your fault, please believe me when I say that." He hummed lowly, closing his eyes and melting into your touch. You stayed like that for a while, silently cupping his cheek. When he opened his eyes again, his arms moved off your knees and he sat up.
You cast him a confused look as he sat down next to you, resting his back on the armrest of the couch. He huffed, opening his arms as a welcoming for you. You chuckled softly, laying back into him and making sure you didn’t lay on your injured arm. 
You lay your head against his chest as he carefully wraps both of his arms around you. He hums again, the sound resonating through his chest. You let your eyes shut as you smile. You feel him press a kiss to your forehead as you let exhaustion take over.
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alrightberries · 3 years
Text
“may i?”
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❈ pairing: levi ackerman x reader
❈ genre: fluff & angst.  ❈ word count: 8k
❈ summary: you’re the medic assigned to take care of captain levi as he heals from the explosion. you’re also the only person he tolerates.
alternatively: in which you create prosthetics for humanity’s most war torn soldier.
❈ trigger warnings: manga spoliers. profanity. mentions of violence, blood, gore, and death. mentions of sexual themes.
a/n: levi’s kinda ooc bc i couldn’t write the progress of his relationship with reader without making it longer than it already is. also this is medically inaccurate (re: healing time of broken bones and amputations) for the sake of the plot so pls no one throw hands. 
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Levi doesn't like looking at mirrors.
There was no tragic backstory behind his distaste for the reflective surface, no deeper meaning or hidden symbolism as one would expect from a man with his past. The reason behind it was simple: he just saw no reason to.
He wasn't vain, wasn't too concerned about his face, didn't care much to look at his physical appearance aside from when he had to cut his hair or get ready for the day to look presentable to his comrades. He knew he was attractive, and effortlessly so. The little letters and gifts he’d received from fans and admirers proved as much, and his title of “Humanity’s Strongest” only added to the appeal. Really, there was no reason for him to always be looking into a mirror.
But now... Levi simply couldn’t understand why that mindset had vanished. It was replaced with the fervor to always be staring at his own reflection— not out of vanity but out of disgust.
The disgust of staring at his mutilated face.
He warily lifts up the small mirror he held in his hand, features contorting into a grimace at the man staring back at him. Scars and cuts littered his cheeks— some deeper than others, but none as terrible as the long jagged scar that ran down the right side of his face. It started from his forehead and ended at his bottom lip, held together by ugly black stitches the medics had hurriedly sewn on him the second he got back to the base. His right eye was split in half, completely useless, completely blind; held together by the same black stitches that donned the ugliest scar of all.
And Levi couldn’t help but think that this man was hideous.
He was hideous.
Levi reaches out with his right hand to touch his scars out of habit. He feels his heart tighten when he realizes there’s only air where his fingers should be and he nearly breaks the small mirror he held in his good hand from how hard he was squeezing it. 
The mirror makes a gentle clink as he sets it down onto the mahogany of his desk. Bitterly, he stares at his three fingered right hand. His pointer and middle finger were gone, nothing but pathetic stumps protruding from his knuckles where they used to be. It was still covered in bandages and a makeshift brace so he wouldn’t strain himself when he moved, but he knew it was useless. He couldn’t move those stumps even if he tried.
He probably should’ve been thankful to have made it out of that explosion alive— not unscathed, but alive nonetheless. Though Hange had tried cheering him up (“Look on the bright side, we can wear matching eyepatches now!”) he simply couldn’t find it in himself to celebrate coming back so... useless. 
His writing was as legible as chicken scratches. His right eye spasmed in pain every time he blinked. He couldn’t even try to relearn how to use the ODM gear with his new circumstance, and he mentally curses out his orders to stay put and heal.
Too many things were lost, too many people, too many lives.
All because of that damned explosion.
All because of that damned bearded bastard.
Levi is pulled from his thoughts when three soft knocks reverberate throughout his otherwise quiet office, and he rushes to put his eyepatch on and hide the mirror in his desk drawer. He attempts to sit in what he hopes was a seemingly ‘professional’ position but his stiffness gives away his discomfort. 
“Name and business.”
“Y/N L/N. I’m here for your daily checkup.”
He feels himself release a breath he didn’t even know he was holding once he hears the voice. Your voice. 
“Come in.”
The wooden door creaks open before it closes with a soft click, floorboards making minuscule sounds at the weight as you make your way to his desk. Levi pretends to look busy as his good eye scans the document he held in his hand. 
The sound of porcelain clinking against porcelain grabs his attention.
“Brought you tea.” You murmured. “I figured it won’t be up to your standards again but I did try my best.”
Levi still doesn’t look up as you set the tray down on his desk, and his good hand reaches for the steaming cup to take a small sip. His eye twitches at the taste.
“If you were going to bring me shit tea anyway then why bother.”
He hears a gentle chuckle but doesn’t see the way you smile at his contradictory words and actions. He made no move to throw the “shit tea” away, something he was infamous for with teas that didn’t meet his standards. Instead, he keeps sipping, gently placing the cup down onto his table once he finished.
“I thought that maybe distracting you with terrible tea would keep your mind off me changing your bandages.” You explained, and Levi nods but doesn’t speak. When silence once again filled the room, interrupted only by the occasional crumple of documents you knew he wasn’t reading, you take it as your cue to pick up your pen and clipboard to start the checkup.
“Have you felt any discomfort or pain in any of your extremities such as your right eye or your right hand?”
“No.”
“Have you felt any throbbing or other sensations in any part of your body?”
“No.”
“Have you experienced any fevers, headaches, dizziness, or sudden spasms in any part of your body?”
“No.”
He hears you set your clipboard down and his skin tingles from your doubtful stare. He didn’t have to look to know it was there. He risks a glimpse at the papers attached to the wooden board in your hands but just as he expected, you didn’t write down any of his answers.
“Have you lied to any or all of the questions I’ve asked during your routine checkup for today?”
“...yes.”
A soft sigh escape through your nose and your eyebrows furrow in disappointment. “Captain, lying to your medic won’t get you to the battlefield faster. You’re of no use to anyone when you’re injured.”
Levi clicks his tongue at your reply but he holds his smart ass comments back. He knew you were right, and it infuriated him so much.
“Fine,” he grits out. “My right eye’s been twitching all day. The fucking stumps on my right hand don’t feel like stumps. It feels like I still have fingers there, and I know it’s complete bullshit since they were lying next to my face when they got blown off.”
His angry glance finally lands on you. “That the answer you were looking for, oh medic of mine?”
It was now your turn to click your tongue. “Not quite,” you mumble, writing down his answers onto the file in your hands. “Feeling your missing limbs even after they’re amputated is normal. It’s called phantom touch.”
You place the clipboard back onto his desk and reach into your pockets, pulling out pristine white gloves before gingerly putting them on.
“Your right eye still spasming though, that’s concerning.” You add. Your hands slowly reach out to his face, and Levi momentarily flinches away out of habit. But you made no move to touch him.
He eyes you warily, tense muscles relaxing even just the slightest as he sees your gentle stare.
“May I?” You ask softly, a caring smile on your face.
Levi only nods, not trusting his words, and he once again tenses up as he feels your hands unbuckle the leather straps of his eyepatch before setting it down onto his table. He keeps his bad eye shut.
Your hands are gentle as you touch his face, touch nothing but a soft caress in such a way that his tender stitches felt no pain. Your eyes are focused on his stitches, lacking any judgement or ill will, and Levi’s suddenly aware of how close you actually were to his face.
Your eyes were beautiful, he noticed. They always were. The little furrow in your eyebrows as you concentrated was cute, and the soft caress of your hands on his cheeks as you inspected his face felt... nice, and dare he even say relaxing. Momentarily, when he finally lets himself adjust to the atmosphere, he lets his tense muscles ease.
“Can you open your right eye, Levi?”
“Y-yeah.”
FUCK.
What the fuck.
Did he just fucking stutter?
Levi’s surprise is only painted on his face for a few mere seconds before he schools his expression back to one of stoicness and neutrality, and he prays to all the existing gods he knew of that you wouldn’t notice.
He risks another glance at you. One of your eyebrows is arched and the corner of your lip is quirked up in a small smirk, but you dared not comment on the captain’s speech mishap.
Fuck. So you did notice.
Before he could try to save face by dishing out some bullshit reprimand of being disrespectful for calling him by his name and not his title, the words die on his tongue as you lean in impossibly close and oh god your noses were almost touching, your eyes are even more beautiful up close, and what the fuck is—
“Captain,” you repeat. “Can you open your right eye please?”
Oh, right.
He doesn’t speak as he does what he was told. He feels his eye open but no vision comes to his senses. 
“It’s looking... not so good.” He hears you mumble, face contorted into one of concern. “It’s actually looking pretty bad.”
Levi scoffs. “Not one to beat around the bush, are you.”
You roll your eyes, the small smile once again returning to your lips.
“How long have you been keeping the eyepatch on?” You ask. Your hands are holding his head in place now, grasp a little more firm but not enough to hurt.
“An hour at most.”
“Are you lying again?”
He sighs. “Yes.”
You nod but made no further comment, leaning back to grab the clipboard once more to write down your observations. 
“So,” you start. “Are you going to tell me the truth or do I have to poke your bad eye?”
Levi’s lips turn into a frown at the notion. “I’ve kept it on the entire day. And I know you’re probably lying about poking my eye, but in case you’re not, no. I do not want you poking my eye.”
You nod your head again, writing more things down onto your little clipboard.
“You should let it breathe. Keep it on for an hour or two at most but take it off when you sleep. Too much friction with the eyepatch might cause irritation.”
As the consultation draws on, Levi tries (keyword: tries) to be as honest as he could. Not that he could be dishonest when you were so good at snooping out his lies, though. You were already used to his stubbornness.
He wasn’t lying, however, when he tells himself that his heartbeat did not speed up when your hands gently held his own as you changed his bandages and cleaned his amputation; he wasn’t lying when he tells himself that the tips of his ears were not burning a bright red, cheeks flushed as you asked him to take off his shirt; and he definitely wasn’t lying when he tells himself that his dick did not twitch in his pants when your hands caressed his abdomen and back, accidentally hitting sweet spots he didn’t even know existed, to inspect his still purple bruises and healing ribs.
Yeah, he definitely was not lying.
“Okay, I think we’re done for today.” You say cheerfully. “I’ll be back same time tomorrow for another checkup.”
He glances up as he finishes buttoning the last buttons on his shirt. The gloves from your hands are taken off and tucked back into your pockets, and you hand him a small vial full of pills.
“Take one of these, twice a day at most, whenever you feel pain in your right eye.”
“I’m not feeling any—“
“Sure you’re not.” You cut him off with a smile. “I believe you. But feel free to contact me for any pain or discomfort you feel at any time of the day. I’ll be more than glad to find you.”
Levi says nothing, opting to instead stare at you as you gather the now empty teacup and kettle, placing them back onto the tray along with your clipboard and pen.
“Oh, by the way.” You speak, walking towards the door and opening it. You don’t spare him another glance as you finish your sentence. “I don’t think I can prescribe any pills to lessen blood flow to your dick.”
The door shuts with a soft click behind you, and Levi’s momentarily mortified as he processes your words. He risks yet another glance, this time down to his lap.
Shit, he thinks before he sighs. His hands readjust the hard-on in his pants.
Nothing goes past your observant eyes.
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“Name and business.”
“Y/N L/N. I’m here for your daily checkup.”
“Come in.”
Levi doesn’t bother to look busy like he did last week, you noticed, because this time he was actually busy. Which was odd considering he was taken off paperwork duty until he could write again.
“What’re you up to?” You ask, setting the tray down onto his desk and pouring him a cup of tea. Your eyes curiously glance at the papers scattered about his usually clean desk, each filled with indiscernible writings of his name.
“Trying to write. I’m useless until I can.” He mumbles before he scoffs. “This would be easier if I had all my fingers.”
You nod along to his replies yet made no move to stop him. You picked up your pen and clipboard to write things down as well.
“You’re not supposed to be using your right hand, your amputation is still too tender.”
“Tch, what do you expect me to do then?”
“Uh... use your non-injured, complete left hand?”
Levi blinks at your words, and he has half a mind to slap his forehead for being dumb and not thinking of that. Which he undoubtedly would’ve done had you not pushed the steaming cup of tea closer to his sitting form.
“Have some tea. You look like you’re about to pop a vein.”
Your smart remark is met with silence and a steely glare, and surprisingly, as Levi drank the tea you prepared, he notices it’s not downright terrible.
“Your brew’s better.” 
“Yeah. I finally took your advice of using a thermometer to get ‘the perfect temperature’ after you complained about my ‘shitty tea’ for the nth time that week.”
Levi hides his little smirk behind the teacup, silently reveling in his small triumph before setting it down. From the corner of his eye, he notices you eyeing something, and his heart drops as his gaze follows your own.
The mirror. He forgot to hide the mirror.
Discreetly (or as discreet as he could) he takes the mirror and shoves it back into his desk drawer. You had many questions, that much he knew, but he was thankful when you didn’t push it further.
“Shall we begin?” You ask instead.
“Yeah.”
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“Name and business.”
“Y/N L/N. I’m here for your daily checkup.”
“Come in.”
Levi’s been trying to write again, you surmised, as you glanced at his focused eyes and the tenseness of his shoulders. Scattered papers still littered his desk and he was still trying to write his name. This time though, you were relieved when you saw he was using his left hand.
“Finally took my advice?” You asked, pouring him a cup of tea.
“Regretting it.” He doesn’t look up from his task as he answers, something you noticed he always did. “It’s been three days since I took your advice and my handwriting’s shittier than it was then.”
You smile, hand reaching out to hold his incomplete one that was clenched into a fist on the desk. He immediately stops writing, opting to instead stare at your hand atop his before glancing up at you.
“What are you doing?”
“Making you relax. You might tear your stitches.”
He feels you give his hand a gentle squeeze, and the warmth of your hand is suddenly gone from his own. You reach for the cup of tea you prepared, and he wills his cheeks to not show his blush at the small gesture. You slide the teacup across the table.
“What makes you think holding my hand will make me relax?” He asks snarkily. He reaches for the tea with his good hand.
“Are you relaxed?”
Levi ponders the question in his mind, noticing how his muscles were no longer tense, his shoulders were now slumped down, and his eyebrows were no longer scrunched. He sips the tea.
“Your brew’s still shit.” He replies instead.
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“Name and business.”
“Y/N L/N. I came here for your daily checkup.”
“Come in.”
Your head peaks out from behind his door as you enter, closing it with your foot and making your way to his desk. You were no longer surprised when you saw him still writing and scribbling messily at his desk as he’s done for days now, and you discreetly eye the papers as you pour him his tea.
“You don’t have to keep bringing me tea.” He comments, still focused on writing.
“I know.” You reply. “But how am I going to perfect your brew if I don’t practice?”
Levi glances up, and he raises his eyebrow as he sees you sat on his table, a cheeky grin on your face. He makes no move to scold you for being so casual in his office and instead reaches out to take a sip of the tea. He notices your expectant eyes, the grin on your face widening as he nods in approval.
“Your tea’s not bad today.”
“Really?! You think it’s good?”
“I said not bad, I didn’t say it was good.”
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“Name and business.”
“Y/N L/N. I’m here for your daily checkup.”
“Come in.”
The first thing you noticed as you entered Levi’s office was, of course, the scattered paper around his desk, face focused as he continued to practice his writing. The second thing you noticed was that he was no longer using his left hand.
“It’s barely been two weeks. Did you give up already?” You ask as you pour his tea.
“I write better with my right hand.” He simply replies, not even glancing up as you slide him the beverage. He uses his good hand to reach out for the cup, silently preparing his tongue for another unpleasant attack.
He takes a sip and his eyebrows shoot up from surprise. The tea was... delicious, absolutely delicious, and Levi couldn’t find anything to complain about. The temperature was right, it wasn’t too bitter but wasn’t too sweet, and the aroma was delectable. He takes a sip once more to double check if his taste buds were deceiving him, but the second sip was just as good as the last.
His suspicious eye makes contact with yours, a shit eating grin painted on your face as you eagerly awaited his feedback. The porcelain makes a sound as he sets it down.
“You bought this from the tea shop across the barracks. That’s cheating.”
“For fuck’s sake!”
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Three soft knocks reverberate through the door to Levi’s office. The captain hastily hides the papers with your name scribbled on, shoving them inside his desk drawer. A shiny glint catches his eye before he could close the shelf and he pauses as he realizes it was his mirror. He hadn’t taken it out in a while. He was always too distracted with criticizing your piss poor tea to even think about his appearance.
“Name and business.” He calls out, still eyeing the shiny object.
“Hange Zoe. Y/N asked me to do your daily checkup.”
Levi's eyes widened, heartbeat stopping for a second as he heard Hange’s voice. Where were you?
“Come in.” He closes the drawer as the door opens and Hange walks in. 
Levi couldn’t help but notice that he was becoming uncomfortable the closer his friend got; skin prickling, hands sweating, his collar feeling a little too tight. Little by little getting more conscious of himself as Hange walked closer.
Was this what insecurity felt like?
He briefly wonders why he didn’t feel it with you, but his mind answers him with a simple fact: you were the only person who’s seen him mangled and bruised, and each time, you showed nothing but gentleness and care. Yet even with this knowledge, the notion that a person other than you would be doing his checkup today didn’t sit right with him.
He pushes his discomfort to the back of his mind, telling himself to remain objective. But it didn’t stop him from subconsciously adjusting his eyepatch and hiding his incomplete hand underneath the desk. He eyes the tray in Hange’s hands, spotting the kettle and teacup.
“I don’t want your shitty tea.”
Hange doesn’t look up as they pour him a cup, humming a tune Levi doesn’t recognize as they hand him the warm beverage.
“It’s not my shitty tea.” They reply. “It’s Y/N’s shitty tea. They made you a batch before they left for the mission.”
Levi’s good hand pauses for a brief second as he reaches for the cup, mind still processing the fact that Hange said Y/N and mission. You hadn’t mentioned anything to him, and since he wasn’t allowed paperwork duty until he could write legibly, he wasn’t aware of any missions.
“I see.” He takes a sip, and he immediately squints his eyes in doubt once his tongue caught taste of the flavor. “This isn’t Y/N’s tea.”
Hange looks up from the clipboard they were writing on, eyebrows are arched in curiosity. “What?”
“This isn’t Y/N’s tea. This is from the tea shop down the road.”
Hange’s confused face stays still for a few seconds, silently assessing whether Levi was being serious or not. A smile cracks on their face, turning into a grin as small chuckles left their lips, before finally turning into full blown laughter. The captain waits for the eccentric soldier to stop cackling and start explaining, but Hange’s answer only serves to confuse him more.
“Nice try, shorty. You crack me up.”
Levi ignores the remark about his height. “What do you mean?”
“Y/N owns the tea shop down the road. Made the recipe for the black tea you love so much, even.”
The captain’s good eye twitches, and if Hange notices, they don't comment. Levi takes a sip of the tea once more, a little more doubtful this time, before sighing in content as the drink makes its way down his throat.
“Why did Y/N go on the mission? I thought they were to be my caretaker until further notice.” He chooses to ask, placing the cup down and pretending to busy himself as he absentmindedly starts practicing his writing.
“Y/N is our topic medic, their skills are more valuable on the battlefield than in an office with you.” They reply, and the captain pretends that the truthfulness of the statement doesn’t sting the slightest.
“Besides,” Hange pulls out white gloves from their pockets, sliding the cloth over their hands to prepare for the checkup. “Y/N personally asked to be reassigned.”
Levi sputters and chokes on his tea at the sudden revelation, and he feels Hange’s hand patting his back as he tries to compose himself. You asked to be reassigned? But why?
“Why?” He manages to choke out before once more descending into a coughing fit. Hange silently hands him a napkin.
“They didn’t say.”
Perhaps you were done with his incessant criticizing of your tea making skills (if so, then why’d you keep brewing him a crappy batch? Clearly you could’ve made good tea whenever you wanted.) Perhaps you grew tired of watching over him everyday when you could’ve been attending to more injured soldiers in the medical wing or the battlefield. Or perhaps you felt a little cooped up in the office with him, hating that you were confined when you could’ve gone on missions to help the wounded.
Whatever your reason may be, Levi finally gets himself to stop coughing and wipes his mouth. Any questions he had, he would ask you. For now, he pushes his feelings to the back of his mind to ask a more important question.
“Why are you here and not on the expedition, Commander?”
Hange shrugs.
“I wanted to bond over eyepatches with you.”
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Levi was trying, okay? He was really trying.
But god, the new caretaker assigned to him was nothing short of a complete and utter noob. His bandages were always either too loose or too tight, his touches every time he tried to inspect Levi’s scars were always an ironclad grip, and worst of all, his tea was pure and utter shit.
“Watch it!” Levi barks, and his caretaker jumps about two feet away from him at his yell. “What’re you trying to do?! Are you inspecting my broken ribs or trying to give me a broken rib?”
Oh, that too. His caretaker was the hands on type, something Levi wouldn’t have minded if not for the fact that his caretaker was also heavy-handed, and Levi had had enough of this bullshit.
“Stop it, just stop. Get out of my office, right now, and find me a new caretaker.”
“B-but, Captain, there’s no one else who can—“
His caretaker is cut off when he makes eye contact with the enraged captain. Levi’s eyebrows were knitted together in anger, and the glare on his left eye was nothing short of terrifying. The fact that he only had one good eye left did nothing to lessen the intimidation of his glare; if anything, it made it even more intimidating.
“I will not repeat my order. Go.”
The boy in front of him nods nervously, head bowed down and metaphorical tail tucked between his legs as he quickly scurries out of the room. Once Levi hears the soft click of the door shutting, he takes a deep breath and lets his body slump into his chair.
That was the fifth caretaker he’d kicked out this month. He wasn’t picky, he tells himself; he just had standards. Standards that apparently these damned amateurs they kept sending him couldn’t meet.
Briefly, his conscience contradicts him; the image of a certain top medic popping in his mind, one that he hadn’t spoken to in almost a month since they dropped him out of the blue. Maybe, just maybe, he was being picky. With a dash of passive aggressive and a sprinkle of butthurt. But Levi quickly brushes that thought aside when he remembers the incompetence of all his recent caretakers.
That was definitely it. He wasn’t petty, all his caretakers were simply idiots.
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The captain hears three loud knocks on his wooden door, and he grits his teeth as he mentally prepares himself for whatever fuckery the clown caretaker they assigned to him was about to do this time. True to his words, Levi did end up breaking a rib from how heavy handed the last one was, and though he knew it was partially because his body was still quite fragile, it didn’t hurt his request for a new medic.
“Name and business.”
“Y/N L/N. I’m here to do your daily checkup.”
Levi feels his eyes widen and heart speed up, and he once again rushes to hide all the papers scribbled with your name as he shoves them into his desk drawer. He composes himself, trying to appear uninterested and professional as he speaks.
“Come in.”
The door squeaks open and Levi doesn’t bother to hide the way his eyes soften and his shoulders slump in relief as he sees the familiar sight of you. A soft smile dawned on your face as you gently kicked the door close, walking towards his desk and setting down the tray you held in your hands.
“Heard you fired everybody who came after me.” You mused, eyes teasing as you poured him a cup of tea. He didn’t think he’d miss someone pouring him a cup of tea as much as he did now.
“Their tea was shit.” He replies, taking a sip of the warm beverage and holding back his sputter at the god awful taste. “Yours is too.”
You chuckle, picking up the clipboard and pen to start writing for today’s checkup. “Can’t help that I suck at brewing tea.”
“You don’t have to keep making me shit tea anymore. The secret’s out.”
You freeze in your spot, eyes widening for a fraction of a second before you nervously clear your throat. Levi definitely noticed.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I know you own the tea shop, Y/N. Stop lying.”
You let out an irritated sigh. “Hange told you, didn’t they?”
“Yep.” He replies, popping the ‘p’.
I’m going to fucking kill Hange, you think to yourself, silently gathering your composure once more. Levi watches you intently, continuing to sip on the terrible tea before deciding that he’d assaulted his taste buds enough and placing it down.
“Why’d you do it?” You hear him ask. “And don’t lie to me. You’re not the only one who’s gotten better at spotting lies.”
Why’d you brew shitty him tea? Is he that affected by it?
Your reply was already on the tip of your tongue, head glancing up from your clipboard to say your answer. But your words don’t come out and your mind suddenly cleared when you saw the look in his eye.
Levi’s eyes were nothing short of gorgeous; a beautiful gunmetal gray with a gaze deadly enough to kill a man with one mere look. But right now, even though they were schooled into his usual look of disinterest, you could see him... wavering. A mix of unanswered questions, curiosity, and— for the briefest second you swore you saw— hurt.
“I take it you’re not asking me why I brewed you crappy tea for the past three months?”
Levi clicks his tongue in irritation. “No, you idiot. I’m asking you why you left out of the blue. If you had a problem you could’ve brought it up with me—“
“No!” You quickly interrupt. “No, god no, you’re perfect.”
The captain’s eyes widen, and you suddenly realize the words you’d spoken as you quickly try to explain before Levi could interject.
“There was no problem, okay? I didn’t request to be reassigned because I had a problem. It’s quite the opposite, actually.” You murmur.
He eyes you curiously.
“What do you mean?”
“I think I have a solution. May I?” You gesture, asking if you could sit on his desk. Levi nods, not understanding why you needed permission now when you’ve done it of your own volition countless times before, but he suddenly understands when you sit directly in front him and not across from him like you usually would.
He watches as you pull a small brown box from your jacket, placing it down onto his desk before opening it. Levi is quiet as he eyes the item inside.
“It’s just a prototype for now. I was hoping to carve out a better one in my free time, one that would be a custom fit, but my free time kinda went flying out the window when you started firing people left and right until no one would accept you but me.”
You pick up the wooden prosthetic fingers and gently place them onto his desk. Your hand opens palm up, waiting for Levi to be comfortable enough to lend his hand to you, and he does so silently.
“The prosthetic’s made from redwood and the joints are connected by small metal rods. It’s light and durable, and I weatherproofed it so it wouldn’t break down so easily when you use them.” You explain, unwrapping the bandages around his hand. “It wasn’t that hard to figure out the concept, actually. I just took a pair of standard issue Survey Corps gloves and cut out all the fingers. Then, y’know, attached the wooden fingers to where the pointer and middle should be.”
Levi could only nod. You weren’t sure if his silence was good or bad and you couldn’t read his look. But Levi— Levi was speechless. In his mind, he dared not speak in fear of looking like a fool. Especially not in front of the person who gave back a piece of himself (quite literally, at that.)
He tenderly looks at the way you fitted the prosthetics onto his own hand, fastening brown leather straps around his wrists to secure the glove. The minute the glove is on and he sees all five fingers for the first time since the explosion, he feels like he’s about to cry.
“I had Hange help me with the anatomy so you could still bend them as you would normal fingers. I couldn’t figure out how to make them move on their own though, so you’d have to manually do that yourself.”
To demonstrate, you bend one of the prosthetics, the wood imitating the bend of his finger but not springing back up despite his brain commanding it to do so. You watch intently as he fumbles around with his hand, moving the fingers about. The wonder and astonishment in his usually unimpressed eye didn’t go unnoticed by you, and it spurred  you to continue on.
“Unfortunately, it’s not strong enough to flick the switches on ODM gear. You still have to relearn how to hold your blades when you’re cleared for training again.” You say regrettably. “But it’s strong enough to hold a pen.”
Your hand reaches for the forgotten quill across his desk, dipping it in the inkwell before offering it to him with a small smile. Levi slowly takes it, still speechless, as he readjusts his prosthetic to hold the quill and write.
His writing is still shit, undoubtedly; still no better than chicken scratches as he messily writes down the words. But god, the sight of the indiscernible handwriting next to five fingers brought tears to his eyes as he finally finished writing his name. The slightly legible letters of ‘Levi Ackerman’ stared back at him.
Levi couldn’t hold it back anymore. He immediately set the quill down before standing up to engross you in a warm embrace. You tense in his arms, not used to Levi willingly initiating any form of physical touch at all. But as he tucks his head into the curve of your neck and his shoulders start shaking, splotches of wet dripping onto your collarbones, you feel your arms encircle his waist, bringing him closer as you whisper sweet nothings into his ear and let him cry in peace.
Your hands ran through his scalp, willing him to calm down. Though normally the sight of a crying Captain Levi was something you never thought you’d see, you couldn’t help but feel honored he chose to share this rare moment of vulnerability with you.
You let him cry, still holding onto him, giving him his time. Briefly, you wonder what he was thinking. What pushed him to tears? Did the captain ever let himself mourn his losses? Does he mourn his friends, his family, the little pieces of himself that he’d lost along the way?
Though you had a million questions in your mind you dared not pry as you continued to comfort the weeping man in front of you.
Finally, after a few moments of nothing but silent sniffles and your sweet words, Levi finds it in himself to finally speak.
“Thank you, Y/N.”
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Night had fallen around the base, encasing the world in darkness that beckons slumber. Levi continued to stay awake, still in his office, staring at the prosthetic you had given him hours before.
Curiously, he feels himself form his right hand into a fist, not surprised that the two wooden fingers didn’t comply like the rest. It was imperfect and he himself thought it could use some tiny adjustments for the sake of comfort— something he definitely would bring up to you as requested.
And yet, despite knowing his ‘fingers’ were nothing but wood, leather and metal, he couldn’t help but think it was the best thing he could ever ask for. 
Silently, under the lone glowing light of his oil lamp, Levi pulls out a blank sheet of paper and begins to turn his feelings into thoughts, thoughts into words, and words into sentences as his quill meets the white surface.
Hours later, he finds himself in front of your quarters, a candle in his left hand while his right held a pristine white envelope. The envelope containing unsaid words, unspoken wishes, and hidden feelings.
Your eyes are sleepy when you answer the door, half lidded and hair a mess when his knocks had woken you from your slumber. You rub your eye, adjusting to the light as you stare at the person in front of you.
“Captain?” You ask, stifling a yawn. “What’re you doing here so late?”
He doesn’t answer your question. Instead, he opts to look at you with an unreadable expression as he asks, “Can I come in?”
You stare at him for a few seconds more, and the thought of you slamming the door on his face crossed Levi’s mind; but that didn’t happen. Rather, you nodded and ushered him inside your bedroom, closing the door behind him as you once again flopped onto your bed. 
He places the candle down on your bedside table and now he was unsure what to do. He had a plan— or, he thought he had a plan— but awkwardly standing in your room in the middle of the night wasn’t part of it.
Quietly, you chuckle at the sight of Humanity’s Strongest looking so odd and out of place, unsure and slightly panicked. You pat the spot next to you, inviting him to sit, and he complies.
Both of you had your knees pulled up to your chests and you were thankful when you noticed Levi had taken his shoes off before sitting on the bed. A comfortable silence encompasses the atmosphere in the dimly lit room. Shoulders touching, heads not daring to turn because of the close proximity. 
From the corner of your eye, Levi looked like he was deep in thought. Not the kind you saw plenty of times in the battlefield or in strategy meetings, not the kind you saw when you entered his office as he hastily tried to hide his mirror. But the kind you saw when he quietly suffered through his own living hell. 
“Couldn’t sleep?” you ask, finally breaking the silence. He shakes his head. 
“Well, what brings the mighty Captain Levi to my humble little room?”
“Levi.” 
“What?”
“Call me Levi.” He murmurs, downcast staring intently at the envelope on his lap. “In this room, I’m not your captain. I’m not your patient. I’m not Humanity’s Strongest.”
You feel your eyebrows scrunch as surprise and curiosity paint your face, but not because of the captain’s offer to call him so casually. No— the surprise you showed was because he unclasped the prosthetic you made, not even sparing it a second glance as he carelessly threw it to you, and you barely managed to catch the limbs you’d spent countless hours and sleepless nights to create.
“Levi, what are you—“
“But I’m not a broken teacup for you to fix either.” He says, eyeing the stumps on right hand. “I’m not a doll who’s missing some parts. I’m not a charity case accepting donations.”
You were looking at him now, head turned in his direction as he unclasps his eyepatch and lets it fall onto his lap. He raises his head, eyes making contact with yours.
“I’m just Levi.”
A few moments of silence pass but neither of you look away. The reason why the captain continued to stare wasn’t something you knew. But the reason why you never looked away was because of his eyes. 
Levi’s eyes were still as gorgeous as you remembered them to be. Though his right eye was a different shade from his left, a lighter and paler shade of gray; though it lacked the light and emotions his unharmed eye bore; though it had a jagged scar running through it from where he was hit, you couldn’t help but think that his eyes were still the most beautiful eyes you’d ever seen.
Gingerly, you lift up your hand to touch the right side of his face where his battle wounds lie, the prosthetic forgotten as it falls somewhere in the sheets. He doesn’t flinch like he did the first few times you did it, when you reached for his face during checkups to inspect his scars. But it didn’t stop you from asking.
“May I?” 
Levi doesn’t answer. Instead, he brings your hand to rest on his cheek as his head leaned closer to your touch. His eyes closed momentarily, almost as if he were reveling in your warmth. But they opened once more, and you willed yourself not to get lost in the sea of gray.
“You were never a charity case to me, Levi. Or any of the things you just said.”
“Then what am I to you?”
Your heart stops, eyes widening ever so slightly at his question. Would you tell him? No, you couldn’t. Not when—
“Don’t lie to me, Y/N.” His grip on your hand tightens a bit, not enough to hurt but enough to distract you from your thoughts. You realize the hand that held your own against his cheeks was his broken hand, his mutilated hand.
...would you really tell him?
You sigh, eyes finally leaving his. “You’re just another soldier who got hurt from a battle, asking a medic to take the pain away.”
Your hand slips out of his grip and goes back to your side, and you turn away from him once more. 
“Are you lying?” He asks.
“No.”
“Then look into my eyes and tell me what I am to you.”
“I can’t.”
Your voice cracks ever so slightly, hesitant but determined to stick to your words. And Levi knew that he was never going to get an answer. He sighs, shoulders slumping down in defeat. It was now his turn to look away from you, gaze falling to his lap. The envelope holding the letter crinkles and he’s reminded why he’s here.
“I know.” He whispers back. “But do me a favor.”
He doesn’t look your way as he hands you the letter. He doesn’t look your way when you silently took it, eyeing the red wax seal that bore his initials, fingers tracing over the edges before—
“Don’t open it yet. Open it tomorrow morning before you come in for my checkup.”
You only nodded in response. You reached out, placing the envelope on your bedside table before once again sitting next to Levi. Just as you had started, a comfortable silence blankets the atmosphere. Shoulders touching, heads not daring to turn because of the proximity.
But this time, it was he who breaks the silence.
“I don’t know what the future holds.”
“Hm?”
“I don’t know what the future holds.” He repeats. “I could die in action tomorrow and be one of the bodies they wheel back from war, or you could die trying to save someone in the battlefield. Even if neither of us die tomorrow, there’s always a possibility that we’ll die the day after that. And the day after that and the day after that. Such are the risks of our jobs.”
He takes a deep breath. “But tonight, I don’t want to focus on tomorrow. I don’t want to focus on what the future holds. I don’t want to focus on titans or enemy troops or looking after my team.”
“Then what do you want?” 
“You.” 
Your eyes soften. “But what am I to you?”
You didn’t know what to expect, what his answer may be. But you know you didn’t expect it when Levi’s fingers gently grabbed your chin and coaxed your head to look in his direction. You didn’t expect it when you opened your eyes and met his, his warm palm resting on your cheek. And what you didn’t expect most was for his eyes to look at you with so much love, so much care and adoration. Gone were the facades of boredom and disinterest; the stoicness and detachment they always seemed to reflect. All there was left was softness, warmth, and what seemed to be the unmistakable swirls of vulnerability.
“You’re just another medic too busy putting other peoples’ lives before your own.”
“Are you lying?” 
“No.” He whispers. “But you make me want to plan for a future I know we won’t have— a future we can’t have.” 
And for the first time, you knew he meant it. You knew what he meant. 
In your line of work full of death and violence and risks almost too big to take. In what you once thought was your little world, turning out to be too big for you to handle. In your personal brand of hell where tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed, and loss was the only constant— it was enough. This small moment was enough.
“You have the most beautiful eyes.” You whispered, entranced. A soft chuckle leaves Levi’s lips, eyes turning into crescent moons so fitting of his gray orbs and your heart twitches at the sight and sound of his melodious laughter.
His thumb brushes over your cheek and your eyes meet his once again, the beautiful shades of gray staring you back. You didn’t know who did it first but at this point you didn’t care enough to find out because slowly, you both leaned in. Slowly, you both closed your eyes. And slowly, you both tilted your heads.
He pauses.
“May I?” Levi asks, lips merely inches away from yours. You nod.
“You may.”
And suddenly, the distance between your lips was no more.
There were no fireworks, no explosions in your heart or butterflies in your belly. There was no feeling of cloud nine, no feeling of want or need. There was only warmth in your chest, the feeling of a small fireplace crackling and glowing in the coldness of the night. The feeling of warm sheets and warm bodies cuddled up in an embrace.
Home. 
The feeling of home.
Because that’s what you were to Levi, and what Levi was to you.
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“Name and business.”
“Y/N L/N. I’m here for your routine checkup.”
“Come in.”
As the door opens and you set the tray down on his desk, hands gently holding the kettle to pour him his cup of tea, you noticed that Levi was still trying to write. But what caught your attention wasn’t the fact that it was no longer his name he tried to scribble, opting to write down complete sentences. What caught your attention was that he was wearing his prosthetics, and his eyepatch wasn’t on.
“Did you read the letter?” He asks. His hands were still writing and his eyes were still staring at the papers in front of him. But you could tell he was anxious.
“Yes.” You simply reply, and he nods.
“Good.”
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clarks-letterman · 3 years
Text
Bucky Barnes x Male!Reader
A/N: Okay so this is gonna be a series, and so it’s kinda slow with yours and Bucky’s relationship, sorry not sorry:)
TW: abusive and creepy boss, cursing, slight gore(?)
The snow rapidly fell to the ground as you muttered some 'uh huhs' and 'mhmms' while on the phone. You lightly tugged at your incredibly short uniform, nervous at what news would come next to make this morning even worse.
"(Y/n) (L/n) get back to work! Your ass better be in here in the next minute or you're fired!" Your boss yelled, keeping track of how long you were on break. He really wanted to get his money's worth for what he was paying for you to serve people. Usually, you were good at keeping track of the time but it was your landlord on the phone. He had regretfully told you that you were being evicted by the end of this month.
"Coming!" You yelled back, praying he wouldn't be mad if you could just explain yourself. Meeting back up with him inside that's exactly what you tried to do. "Sor-sorry, it was just my landlor-" he cut you off, "I don't give a shit, that's a personal call that went over your given break time. Now get back to work."
"On it", you said politely, not wanting to deal with anything else he had to say.
God, there was so much you wanted to say to him.
Mostly the fact that he was a major creep, going so far as to make you wear a women's uniform. It was both embarrassing and uncomfortable, as it was tighter than a male's uniform. Besides that, he never gave you an ounce of respect, and made you do every disgusting clean up job in the diner.
~~~
Later that day wasn't any easier, so you couldn't even look forward to a calm evening shift. The only thing that ever made it better was your two favorite customers, Steve Rodgers and Sam Wilson. They were by far the nicest customers to ever visit the diner.
You quickly seated them and tried holding a short conversation after they gave their orders, but your boss immediately shut it down. The sloppy, older male had come over, "What's going on here, (Y/n)? Don't distract the customers with your bullshit." You could smell the beer he had drank, not even waiting until after closing to drink it.
Steve interjected to try and ease your boss, "Actually, we had started the conversation with (Y/n)."
"Whatever", he said gruffly, "just go get their food, bitch." You walked away quite fast, trying not to set him off in front of customers.
~~~
"I hate him, I hate him so fucking much." You vented to yourself in the kitchen, trying to make whatever Steve and Sam had ordered. Since the boss went on a drunk firing-spree a few days ago, almost no one was left working in the kitchen. Which left you to do double the work for the same pay.
"I hate the fact I'm doing more work, I hate that he's a fucking weirdo", you kept talking to yourself, just trying to get whatever emotions out before you left the kitchen to talk to him. As you were talking, you noticed the cabinets starting to sway open and some of the dishes in the sink were shaking violently.
"I hate that I'm being evicted by someone who is just as bad as my boss, I hate-", you stopped yourself when one of the plates had fallen off the counter. Panic set in as you desperately tried picking it up with only your hands, only to cut them on the broken pieces of the glass plate. That's when you heard your boss approaching. "Fuck", you muttered under your breath.
The footsteps came closer, and you looked up to the kitchen door. He came in, swinging both doors open and looking like he was going to kill you. "You bitch", he said, using his strength to pick you up and slam you against the wall, hard.
"After everything I do for you!? You're so fucking ungrateful", he says as he pressed you against the wall even harder. Your boss is preventing you from breathing, so it feels as if you were sinking.
All you could do what let out a small chuckle, "The fuck did you ever do for me?"
The lack of oxygen was kicking in, you were fading in and out of consciousness, your vision was going blurry. A terrible pounding in your head was taking over, although it didn't last long. You didn't know why but your boss must have slowly let go of you, as the pressure of him against you was gone. Regaining your vision was quick to follow after the pressure was gone, but maybe you shouldn't have seen the sight before you.
~~~
Outside of the kitchen, in the dining area, Steve and Sam patiently waited for their food. They knew how your boss was hurtful to his employees, and honestly felt bad for you. And they tried to help by going to the diner to support you. So, they were patient for their food, and never complained if there was a problem.
Concern washed over both of them though, as they heard the glass breaking and yelling going on in the kitchen. Which they expected, but it's what happened next that surprised them.
Everything in the dining area was floating, from things as small as forks to things as big as tables. Steve and Sam weren't sure what it was, so the escorted any remaining customers out. Then, they went into the kitchen to help you, and begrudgingly, your boss.
What they saw was quite horrifying, since it all came from you. It was your boss, in the air, as he seemingly choked on nothing. You were slumped against the wall, your eyes dazed as you let out sounds as if there was a struggle. Steve tried to help your boss, while Sam ran over to you.
"(Y/n), (Y/n)!", Sam shook you, trying to get you out of your trance.
"Hu-huh?" You said softly, glancing at Sam and then over at you boss. He'd made a loud thud, which you were confused by.
"He's out", Steve said, walking over to join you and Sam. "How did you do that?", he asked.
The memories started coming back to you, "I don't know, I was just really upset."
Sam looked up at Steve, who towered over you, "Do you think he's like Maximoff?"
"Maybe," Steve replied, "(Y/n) do you want to come with us to the Avengers Compound? I think there's some people you need to meet."
~~~
Walking into the Avengers Compound, you were shaking more than an intense earthquake.
Do I have powers?, you thought, What if it's nothing? I'd feel so bad for wasting their time.
The thoughts plagued your head, you always doubted your what you were capable of. Honestly, you doubted yourself now more than ever.
It's so dumb that I even have any kind of power, like why of all people did I-, Steve cut off your thoughts.
"And here is the conference room", he said.
Fuck. Holy shit I am not ready for this, you felt as if every part of you had turned to stone.
Sam was following behind both of you, but cut ahead to let himself in the room. Steve then kept the door open, letting you walk in before him and following behind you as you entered the room.
Steve quickly guided you to the front, letting you be seen by the Avengers that were in the room. Only a few of them were identifiable to you; Tony Stark, Nick Fury, and Spider-Man. That wasn't including Steve and Sam though, as you already knew them. Spider-Man was wearing his mask, most likely to keep his identity from you.
The only other person in the room besides them, was a guy you didn't recognize. You focused on his features. He had brown hair that was parted down the middle, which had fallen and covered a good bit of his face. Being seated meant you only saw his upper-body, and could see him sporting a metal arm alongside a leather jacket with straps. Similarly to Spider-Man, he too was wearing a mask. It only covered half his face, leaving his pastel blue eyes to express each emotion he felt. If you were being honest, you actually wanted to see the rest of his face.
You moved your focus back to the silence of the room, realizing Steve had finished introducing you to the group.
"So, what can he do?" Tony asked, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. Clearly waiting to be impressed by you.
"Well, he's like Maximoff," Steve said, "he can move things with his mind."
Sam joined into the conversation, "Yeah, he made dozens of things float in the air at the restaurant, and it was some seriously heavy stuff."
Tony and Nick seemed intrigued by hearing this, but you decided to correct them. "Tha-that's right, but I'm not sure how I-ieven managed to do that." You stuttered as the man in the back's eyes met yours while you talked.
Tony started talking right after you, "Well, that's what training is for."
~~~
It was the following day, and you were beyond nervous for your first day of training.
There was a short period of relief last night that washed over you, but any remnants of it had already dried up. Apparently, you were going to spend the next few weeks at the Avenger's compound where you would be able to hopefully learn to control your power. You were glad to hear that they were more than welcoming, as you were getting evicted and would have no where else to go.
Outside of the positive changes in your life, you were stuck thinking about last night. You came across the guy from earlier in the conference room, who had gone from being a stranger to a jerk in your mind. While everyone else you spoke to was nice, he wasn't. When you greeted him after the meeting, he only gave you a look that was as if he wanted to hurt you. The only good thing to come from it was that you saw him without his mask, which you could say that you weren't disappointed in what he looked like.
Your train of thought was put on a halt when you saw someone phase through the wall that was adjacent to your bed.
"Oh- uh, you're-" You paused for a second, "Vision, right?"
"Indeed, Mr.Stark requested that I made sure you were awake and dressed by seven-thirty for your training." He spoke, his eyes following you as you got up from your bed and went over to the closet.
"Okay, thank you?" You said the last bit in an odd tone, feeling the awkwardness of the conversation after Vision gave you the information about your training.
Grabbing some clothes, you turned around and was ready to ask him to leave. Except he wasn't there.
Huh, I guess phasing through walls in a quiet thing to do, you thought, chuckling a little to yourself.
~~~
"Okay, tiger. Let's see what you got." Tony stated over the loudspeakers, with Natasha, Bruce, and the guy from last night standing behind him.
They had put you in a testing room, with the other four being separated from you by an incredibly strong glass wall. You weren't gonna lie, it felt weird to be observed like this. It didn't help calm you down, if anything, it had made you more nervous.
The next ten minutes only embarrassed you, as you were told to move various things around the room, but the efforts were to no avail. It made you feel weak to try and replicate what Wanda had demonstrated for you the previous night.
You approached the glass wall and spoke to the four Avengers, "I'm starting to think I don't have any powers."
"Hey, Bucky, why don't you give (y/n) here a little motivation?" Tony asked, gesturing toward the door that connected the separated areas.
Bucky, huh, I wonder why he never told me his name himself, you thought.
As he walked in, you quickly made your way over to him and extended you hand, "Hi Bucky, I'm (y/n), I don't think we-".
He cut you off, "It's James".
"Okay, James. Well I'm glad to hopefully be working alongside you soon." He didn't reply, only keeping a serious face as he walked to the opposite end of the room from where you stood.
Great, the one guy who actually looks like he wants to hurt me is giving me 'motivation'.
Once again, he glared at you before pulling out a throwing knife. He took a second to aim it before throwing it at you before you could protest against it.
With natural reflex you raised you hands to cover your face and turned you head, waiting for the blade to pierce your skin. Although, you never felt any pain, so you slowed opened you eyes and looked around to see where it had gone.
That's when you noticed it had diverted upwards and went into the ceiling, seemingly right before it hit you.
"Oh thank god." You mumbled under your breath.
Tony then sent in Natasha to see if you divert various things at once. James threw another knife at you, while Natasha fired her gun.
Their combined efforts did not work though, as the bullets went in random directions that were anywhere but near you. James' second knife had been sent into the ceiling again.
"Bucky and Natasha, come back in here. I wanna see if (y/n) can handle the Hulk!" Tony exclaimed, while Bruce stripped down to his boxers before walking in the room.
In seconds he had grown into the swollen green beast, and you were tasked with force of using your power on him.
Shit, I'm supposed to move him?
You took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to focus on using your power to lift the Hulk. At first, it was surprisingly easy to lift him, but you started to struggle. There was this pounding in your head and your body felt like it was being constricted by a tremendous amount of force.
Hulk fell to the ground as you did yourself. The sounds of a distressed Tony and Natasha running into the room was the last thing you heard before everything went dark.
~~~
Your eyes slowly opened as the sound of the heart rate monitor got progressively more annoying to you. Over the sound of the monitor, you heard two people talking. Unfortunately, you could barely move from when you passed out.
“Look, I know him okay! I know who (y/n)”, You weren’t sure who it was, but you guessed it to be James.
“What do you mean? He was just a waiter and now he’s gonna be part of the team, who else could he be, Bucky?”, To you, this guy sounded like Steve from his voice.
Bucky took a second to respond, “He’s from HYDRA.”
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Note
So, you get got writers block eh? How about Toshi being absolutely smitten with the new teacher at UA and has been in love with her stern, hardcore attitude? And then he forces her into dancing with him while he serenades her (or them whatever is fine w/you) and then they date. This lives quite rent free in my head and I'm bad at writing sooo.... Here, it's your problem now.
Coming riggghtttt up! 
Violet Enigma
Toshinori Yagi x F! Teacher! Reader
Warnings: mentions of chronic illness (very very subtle), and that’s really it
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Not many things have absolutely stopped All Might in his tracks. No, he's well used to seeing the usual gore and violence, the high stakes, the horrific circumstances. None of them have ever made him pause, not even for a moment.
But when she walked into the office, her heels clicking against the tile, he nearly tripped over his own feet.
She didn't notice, of course. She was much too busy staring straight ahead, cooly.
That was until her eyes caught his. In that moment, time stood totally still. It was almost as if, no, it couldn't be.
Her eyes seemed to flash purple.
But no, he assured himself, it was surely a trick of the light.
He could scarcely blink before her gaze was back to her target and she seemingly forgot all about him.
...
"Hey, uh... Who's that lady?" Toshinori whispered, cradling a cup of tea. Aizawa lazily pressed some buttons on the microwave, heating up last night's pizza.
"What lady? How can I possibly know who you're talking about?" He yawned.
Toshinori flushed at the realization that, in fact, not everyone had her image permanently implanted in their minds.
"You know...the one with the... hair? And the, uh...the new one?"
Aizawa sighed, thinking for a moment.
" I think that's y/n," he replied, plopping himself down next to his coworker.
"Thanks," muttered Toshinori. Just as he took a sip of his tea, an unfamiliar voice filled his ears.
"What's got you so curious about me, sir?" The woman asked. She was carrying a clipboard, scribbling something.
The blond had nothing to say. He was so shocked by her presence that he could just stare for a moment.
She sighed, biting the tip of her pen.
"Do you know where room number 512 is?" She asked, not even looking up from her work. Toshinori sighed in relief of her changing the subject.
"Its upstairs and to the right."
"Thank you, Mister...?"
"Toshinori. Or Yagi. Or...um...well, nevermind. Aren't you going to eat something?"
"I will. Just not right now. I've got a lot to get done, Mr. 'Nevermind.' "
And like that, she was gone.
...
The following day, Ms. Y/N entered the office once again, her pristine outfit looking as fresh as a pressed uniform.
She paused for a moment upon seeing All Might in his muscular form, however.
"I don't believe we've met," she mumbled, "You may refer to me as Ms. Y/N. And yourself?"
He subconsciously looked down.
"I'm All Might. Haven't you... seen me before?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"I can't say I have. I don't watch television. What's your real name?" She asked skeptically. For a moment, it almost looked like her eyes flashed again.
"Well, uh, you see-".
"It's fine. Do you know when the next meeting is being held, Mr... Sir?"
.....
At lunch, she was no where to be seen, as always.
Usually, Yagi would make himself comfortable in the staff room with a cup of tea and a book.
Today, though, he'd decided to find her.
He aimlessly wandered the now empty halls, passing rooms where classes were being held, the ever noisy lunchroom, peeking into each open door in an attempt to spot her.
Miss Enigma. That's what she goes by as a pro hero. But, she's not the type of hero you'd see get the credit. She'd much rather work alongside a group, blending into the background, and staying subtle.
He found that name quite fitting for her, though.
Especially because he didn't even know what her damn quirk was. No one did.
Finally, he reached the computer lab all the way at the end of the hall. The lights were off, which would usually signal that no one was in there, but based off of the rapid clicking of keys, someone had definitely snuck in there.
Probably a student. Kids like Shinsou and Deku would usually hide themselves here during lunch, getting their homework done in leiu of eating.
Upon opening the door though, he quickly realized that he was wrong.
It was her.
She jumped, startled terribly by the unwanted interupption. She quickly regained her composure as she turned around.
"What are you doing here, mister?" She asked, her eyebrow raised.
"I can ask you the same," he retorted with a small, semi confident smirk.
She sighed.
"Why does it concern you?"
Toshinori's face grew pink, embarassment growing in his chest, suffocating him.
"Uh, I...um, I j-just-"
"I'm busy. You may speak to me later," she stated, spinning around to face the screen once again. Yagi stood there for a moment in shock before closing the door and doing as she wished: leaving her alone.
He did not look for her, though. Her merciless tone was enough to slice him to the bone. He didn't want to hear any more.
It was right after classes ended when he was on his way to his dorm. He passed room 512, Ms. Y/N's class, and as he passed the room, he paused, hearing her scolding a student.
"There was absolutely no reason for you to earn this grade in my class, young man. None. You can do so much better than this."
"B-but, it was a 96," whimpered the boy. He couldn't see exactly who it was, but he could tell by his warbled tone it was Young Midorya.
Isn't a 96 good though?
She sighed.
"It was a silly mistake you made. It could have been 100. Listen, I know the kind of student you are. You're smart. You should be competing with students like Iida, who earned a 102."
She continued to speak, but Toshi had heard enough. He was exhausted as it is, but hearing something so silly as that just exacerbated it.
...
The next morning, a stiff hand squeezed his shoulder as he sipped his coffee.
He looked up, wide eyed, meeting Y/N's steely gaze.
"I didn't see you yesterday. Didn't you wish to speak with me?" She asked.
"Oh, uh...it was nothing, really," he stammered out, looking down. She squinted her eyes.
"That feels like it's not entirely true. Either way, I will be available for a...chat... If that's what you were hoping for, this lunch period. If you'd like," she offered, her hand still on his shoulder.
"Really?" He squeaked, his shyness peaking through. She nodded silently before delicately seating herself at her desk.
It took centuries, but finally, lunch period arrived.
And so did she.
Before Toshinori even had the chance to get up to find her, she was standing at his desk.
"Are you ready?" She asked, holding a lunch bag in each hand.
He nodded. In response, y/n handed him one of the bags.
"You never eat anything. It's not healthy, you know."
He chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah, I've survived a lot worse."
"...Like?"
"Well, I'd rather not say. Not...now, at least," he scratched the back of his head, praying that she'd change the subject.
She didn't. Instead, she simply stared blankly at him.
"Where are you taking me, anyways?" He asked. He internally screamed as he waited for her to use that to spark a conversation.
"I don't like being around people. We could go to the library, or my dorm, or your dorm, or anywhere where it can just be you and I."
He nodded.
"L-lets just go to your dorm," he mumbled, realizing his was quite in a state of dissarray at the moment.
She nodded.
The walk was pleasent enough. As pleasent as a near silent walk could be.
One thing about Ms. Enigma is that everything she does, no matter how seemingly miniscule, is done with a sense of urgent purpose. Her eyes are always fixed upon some sort of goal, and each with each breath, she is calculating her next move carefully.
It helped her be an efficient, yet stern teacher, but a hard person to chat with.
Finally, the pair reached her dorm. Number 111.
The door opened to reveal an utterly spotless bed and kitchenette, surrounded by piles and piles of books, scribbled notes, calculators, and empty soda cans. She stepped over the piles gracefully, scarcely looking down, while Toshinori carefully tip toed around every discarded item in order to avoid damaging a single item.
Frankly, he feared what a scolding from her would comprise of for him.
She sat herself onto her bed, cris crossing her legs. He, on the other hand, took his place at the kitchenette.
The silence was unbearable.
“So, um...what did you wanna chat about, Enigma?” he muttered.
Pushing up her glasses with one finger, she replied plainly, “You tell me, Yagi.”
He shrugged.
“Eat,” she ordered.
Captured by her spell, he obeyed her, eating the food she’d prepared. It was a humble little meal, one that she’d surely planned out, and was in a word, delicious.
Thankfully, the silence changed from an uncomfortable one to one that he would be content with curling up and living in for quite a while.
...
After that day, Y/N would always be somewhere near Toshinori during lunch period. Whether it be in the same room, or right next to him, she was there.
She usually was hard at work or silently eating. That didn’t mean, though, that she wouldn’t urge him to eat something. He’d find small lunches made up for him at his desk on days where she wasn’t there, and on days she was, she’d silently pause every once in awhile to glare at him if he hadn’t eaten.
Despite that seemingly caring action, though, she didn’t seem at all interested in the blond. He didn’t attempt to flirt, or anything that could possibly elicit a raised eyebrow, but that was simply because he felt as if he couldn’t.
What if she rejected him?
I mean, she works right across from him. They see eachother every single day.
It’d be hell.
But...
What if she didn’t?
...
“Alright, we need a couple chaperones for the spring semester dance. Who’s up for it?” Aizawa asked boredly. Miss Midnight and Present Mic raised their hands excitedly.
“Alright, I’ve got you both down. I need two more.”
“I’ll do it,” offered Y/N. The entire conference room grew quiet for a moment.
“You do realize that you can’t give out detention slips at a dance, right?” Hizashi scoffed.
“I am aware of that, sir. Are you aware of the existance of an ‘inside voice’?” she gritted with condecention seeping through her teeth.
He put his hands up, indicating that she’d won that particular battle.
“I’m free on that night, too,” Toshinori added. His comment broke through the thick silence that had fell onto the room.
“Thank you, A- ahem, Toshinori,” Aizawa nodded, penning the final name down.
After the meeting, Y/N was the final one to leave, alongside Toshinori.
“You know, there’s gonna be a lot of people there on that dance,” he whispered.
“I know. Maybe I’d like that. You seem like you do,” she replied, a tiny smile pulling at the edges of her lips. No one else would’ve noticed it, but after spending so many monotone days with her, he recognized the new expression instantly.
“I don’t, particularly. But...”
“But?”
“Nothing. It’s...nothing.”
“If you say so, Mister. I’ll see you then,” she allowed herself to smile as she once again, left him in silence.
...
That week passed by without much issue. There was the usual ruckus coming from class 1-A, but nothing too serious.
The night had arrived. Just outside his dorm, he could hear the clamour of excited chatter coming from students on their way to the gymnasium.
He sighed, tying a red tye around his neck, a nice contrast against his suit.
He hadn't exactly planned on dressing like this, but upon realizing that he didn't have anything less fancy than this and more fancy than what he usually wore to work, he settled on being a little extraordinary.
As soon as he exited the dorm and was greeted with the wave of students pushing past each other in the halls, he knew he'd made a mistake.
"Oof! Oh, hey, um...?" Midoriya squeaked, pressed against the wall and cramped. He’d caught himself before he called him by his hero name, but his real name slipped his mind at that exact moment.
"Toshinori. What is it, my boy?" He smiled, ruffling the boy's messy hair.
"Uh, I dunno, I don't usually do stuff like this. Are... Why are you wearing that? Isn't it a little fancy?"
Toshinori blushed instantly.
"Oh my God. Who is it?" Izuku squealed excitedly, cursing himself for forgetting a pen to take some notes.
"Geez, kid, keep it down a little, won'tcha? It-she-"
"She?!"
"Single file line or none of you will be attending tonight's dance," stated a voice that ascended effortlessly above the crowd's noisiness.
Instantly, everyone calmed down and began to form a line, neatly making their way to the gym.
Toshinori closed his door as he whisked the boy away, urging him to go have a good time, and to 'enjoy being young while you can.'
It was merely seconds after he was standing alone, against the wall, waiting for the crowd to die down as he noticed her.
Y/N had been standing there for quite a few minutes, in the same position as he, and just about 4 feet away.
It was hard for him to believe that he'd missed her. The dress she'd worn was absolutely more extravagant than any gown he'd seen in an event like this. It was sparkly and red, reflecting every ounce of light that hit it from all directions. It accentuated her body beautifully and perfectly fit.
In short, she was stunning.
"My, my. You sure do look nice today," she grinned.
He nodded dumbly. He was just about as red as the dress she was wearing.
Finally, it was time for them to make their ways to the dance.
"Are you ready for this?" She asked.
"I hope so," he replied, toying with his tie.
...
Music boomed in Y/N's and Toshinori's ears, accompanied by dealing with the antics of goofball teenagers and breaking up silly fights.
Once things began to calm down quite a bit, Y/N approached Toshinori, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder and leaning in close to his ear.
"Meet me on the rooftop," she whispered before dissapearing into the crowd.
So, he did.
She sat near the edge, staring into the inky violet sky.
Toshinori took his place next to her, handing her a much needed bottle of water.
She thanked him before turning to him with a deep sigh.
"There's something I'd like to tell you," she mumbled. For the first time, she actually looked nervous.
Taking a sip of the water, she continued, "You know, I never really do things like this. You've probably gathered that by...my nature. But, I must admit, you are one person I can't seem to get off of my mind. And, well, frankly...I like you, Toshinori. To quite a degree."
He blinked, slack jawed, shaking his head.
“How could someone like you like someone like me?
“Good question. I like you because you're...well, I suppose I don't really know. You're just you, and that's what I like about you. Plus, I know you’ve done so much for so many people. Why dont you like you?”
He paused, his heart absolutely seizing at that for more than one reason.
"Oh! I suppose I should tell you about my quirk. But...I expect full confidentiality from you. Essentially, I can find out one's secrets by looking at them. Surely, you've seen me activate it before."
He nodded, covering his mouth.
"W-what do you...know?"
"Don't worry, not much. I respect you too much to dig that deep. All I know is that, in some point of your life, you were probably some type of hero. All I know, is that in your life time, you've saved many lives, and touched countless others. As to why you'd want that to be a secret, I have no idea. But, I do find it interesting," she explained.
"What do you do with the secrets you know, then?" He asked, his voice still pinched with fear that his secret could be compromised.
"With yours? Nothing. I have no friends to share it with, and not enough details or desire to post about it online. Frankly, I don't give a damn about who you used to be. I care about who you are. Your secret will always be safe with me."
He sighed deeply. It wasn’t as if no one was aware of his secret; plenty of people knew. But the more people who did, the higher at risk the school, as well as the students and staff, were placed at.
Plenty of people,too, wanted him dead. Even being retired, he is still considered a threat to villians across the globe, thanks to his notorious acts of heroism throughout the decades. With him in his sickly, weakened state, he’d be easy to assasinate, and the people who would go that far wouldn’t be opposed to taking others down with him.
He...couldn’t have that.
So, before Y/N was scheduled to begin work, it was decided that she’d be left in the dark about his identity, as well as any newcoming staff from thenon out. It’d be safer that way.
Her eyes dreamily stared off into the infinate stars as she silently pondered on what to say next.
“Would you like to know the rest?” he asked. His voice shook a little, causing her to look at him.
She nodded.
“I’m All Might.” “Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding!” giggles y/n, dumbfounded.
“Yeah, yeah, I know I’m pathetic,” he sighes. He rubbed his forehead, looking away ashamedly.
“No, no! I mean, I can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier! I mean, you guys do look pretty similar.”
He shrugs.
“I’m serious! Plus, I mean, it’s kind of obvious now that you mention it. I mean, I guess you guys do wear the same clohtes to work everyday, and I haven’t seen you two in the same room before, so yeah, I can definiately see it,” she paused, her eyes growing wide and her cheeks bright red.
“God, I’ve probably said ‘Good morning’ to you and...er...you, twice every day. Why’d you let me do that like a fool?!” she teased, play punching him in the arm.
He laughed, absolutely relieved that she didn’t ridicule him for how he’d taken care of his body for the past few years. It seemed that her attitude had completely changed from the one he’d known for so long, but in a good way.
In a happy way.  
She stood up, still smiling, “We need to go back to the dance, Mister. We have a duty, you know.”
“Oh, I know. I’m well aware. You can almost hear the music all the way up here, can’t you?”
She nodded, walking towards the door to the stairs. He grabbed her by the arm before she could escape, though, and leave him alone with his thoughts and hopes and dreams like she had so many times.
“You... you didn’t get my answer,” he breathed, pulling her in. She raised an eyebrow skeptically.
“What exactly- oh!”
The music from downstairs was slow, romantic, and jovial. Perfect for this moment.
He gently took her other hand, guiding her into a dance.
“I-I can’t...I don’t know how to dance, Mr. Yagi,” she mumbled, looking up at him.
“I’ll teach you. Just follow my lead,” he smiled back.
And just like that, the Enigma was gone, leaving just Y/N in her place. She was no longer an Enigma, but rather a glimmer of what he’d never gotten a chance to be: in love.
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The Ghost & The Kitsune. || Jin Sakai ||
A/n: I’m gonna have this take place after the game, not really going into spoilers, just mentioning of Khotun Khan’s death...thats it....also a warning for some light gore.
Also I am keeping a certain character alive.
Summary: When Jin hears a tale form the Musician of a Kitsune slaying mongols he’s less inclined to believe it. Just like all the other tales he has encountered he is suspecting to come upon a man though once he happens upon a hidden Inari shrine with bodies of mongols, the Samurai is shocked to find an injured woman.
Hearing her pleas, the two embark on finding her missing brother though Jin has come to find that the Musician’s tale holds more truth than he would like to admit.  
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The only thing Jin really had on his mind was to first check on the friends he had made then maybe take a soak in a hot springs before he finally rested. It was a long, hard battle and after he finally killed Khotun Khan he knew his people could finally relax but that did not mean that their were still mongols that remand and its not like he could just forget about those traitorous ronin still running about. 
Hearing a shout of his name he had to bite back a groan as he tugged on Kage’s reins. Slipping off his horse he made his way over to the wandering musician. Know doubt he had one of his tales to tell him, wrinkling his nose he gave the man a small bow before he stood tall.
“How can I help you.”
“Lord Sakai! did you hear of the tale of the wandering Kitsunes! People are saying this creature is slaying mongols!” Barking out a laugh the musician shook his head though his expression quickly changed. “They are hunting this one! they will kill her..you must find the Kitsune my Lord!”
Closing his eyes he placed a smile on his face, while he may not believe the man’s tale of Kitsunes, he was not going to ignore a person in need. “Tell me where to go.”
“Follow the foxes! they will lead you to her.”
“Her?”
Just as he was about to get on his horse he turned to give the musician a puzzled expression. “How are you so sure it is a woman?”
“She has been protecting us! Her family has but they are hunting them! Please! you must go now.”
Pulling himself up on Kage, they then took off. Jin’s eyes scanning for the foxes the man mentioned, though once he spotted a flash of red he slipped of his horse chasing after the creature. The little fox glancing behind it’s self making sure it was being followed though Jin slowed once he saw scattered remains of mongol soldiers. 
Body parts were strew about, covering his mouth he knelt by once of the bodies.  “This was not done by a blade...it looks like claw marks.” Hearing out a cry he quickly rushed towards the sound. Not noticing his surroundings he quickly slipped into a gap as he noticed one of the living mongol soldiers stalking towards an injured woman.
Narrowing his eyes he quickly pulled out an arrow, hitting the man before he could strike. It was once everything seemed to calm down was that he noticed her beauty. She looked like she had leaped out of some painting but the sharp voice seemed to snap him out of whatever daze he was in.
“If you are done staring at me, you can help or leave!”
“I...am terribly sorry Miss.” Embarrassed he quickly made his way over to the injured woman.
Cautiously approaching her, he then knelt down in front of her. Pulling out a few bandages he started to tend to the wounds she held. “I am Lord Sakai I -”
“I know who you are....you are the man that defeated Khotun Khan....thank you for saving my life.”
Biting your tongue you knew you would have been killed or enslaved if he did not show up when he did. “My name is y/n...and I need your help.”
Wrinkling his nose Jin’s protest fell on deaf ears as he watched you stand, with a small grimace you looked up at the man. 
“My help can wait, you need some rest....you were badly injured.”Jin quickly caught your form as you stumbled forward. 
“I can not rest...they have my brother...they are going to take him...sell him please..he is all I have left.”
Jin didn’t know what it was but he was having trouble turning you down, he did not know what it was but he found out that he just could not say no.
“Fine...but I am taking you back to my compound..it’s not far from here and we can discus more once we arrived.”
Letting out a small laugh, you relaxed in his embrace as he carried you out off the cove you were hiding in. “So demanding...you are lucky you are handsome...Lord Sakai.”
Feeling his cheeks burn, Jin cleared out his throat as he slipped onto Kage. Giving once last glance at where you were hiding the man finally noticed that you were in a small cove underneath the feet of a large Inari statue, how did he miss the shrine? He would have to come back later to pay his respect’s but now he was focused on getting the help you need. “Please...call me Jin.”
“As you wish...Jin.”
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It did not take long for him to get back to his home with the help of Kage but the man was worried due to you falling silent on the way back. Slipping off his horse he rushed up the steps.
“Yuna! help!”
Hearing his shouts, the young woman met him half way. Seeing the concerned look on the Lord’s face she then looked down spotting you in his arms. Frowning she pressed her hand to your head though stepping back she took a breath in. “She’s warm, bring her inside.”
Listing to Yuna, Jin stayed on her heels then placed you down on the mat. Frowning he tore his gaze away from your heavily breathing form as his friend started to care for you.
“Take care of her.”
Glancing up, Yuna gave him a nod. “Of course Jin.”
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It was hours when Yuna finally emerged, clearing out her throat she made her way towards him. “She’s awake but not happy...if I were you then I’d see her right now.” she states.
Closing his eyes Jin let out a small laugh as he bowed to the woman in front of him. “Thank you Yuna.”
Giving him a smile, she slipped down the halls as he slipped into the room where you were kept.
Clearing out his throat, he watched you slowly stand up and for a moment he could have sworn he saw tails flickering behind you but with a blink they were gone. 
“Must be a trick of the light.” he muttered.
“I’m sorry?”
“Nothing...are you well? are you sure you do not need some rest.”
Sighing a small smile tugged at the edge of your lips, you were already strapping a sword to your waist. “I am fine...now lets get going.”
“Is that?”
“Yours...I suppose? It’s not your fathers blade but if we are going to rescue my brother then I need something to defend myself.” You state and with a reluctant sigh Jin turned around. 
“Fine...just tell me before you do something like that.”
Laughing, you gave him a smile though leaning over you gave his cheek a kiss. “Thank you for helping me.”
Fumbling for a response Jin cleared his throat, his cheeks already turning a bright red. “Lets go.”
Rolling your eyes you were still smiling, it was cute seeing the Lord get so flustered though you couldn’t focus on how attractive the Lord might be. Not when you had your brother to find.
“As you wish..Jin...and my name is Y/n.”
Sighing he smiled for a moment as you followed him out of his home then onto his horse and with a small whistle a white horse rushed over to you. Biting your lip you were unsure on how the creature might react to you but with a deep breath you managed to slip on his back.
“Show me where he was last taken.”
“Or course.” Taking a deep breath you closed your eyes then nudged the horse rushing off into the direction.
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You were starting to give up hope on finding him, that you were going to be the last of your kind.
“Brother.” Blinking back some tears you tensed for a moment feeling a hand on your shoulder.
“Please do not cry....we will find him. I promise I will not stop.” Jin whispered giving you a smile.
Taking a deep breath in you let out a laugh glancing down at your lap though your eyes went wide once you managed to catch his scent in the wind you road off with Jin calling out for you.
“Y/n! what is it.”
“It’s my brother! I know where he is.” Pushing the horse to move faster, you nearly slipped off the saddle once you spotted your younger brother. His small frame shaking in a cage as the mongols started to jab at him with the spears the held.
Snarling your fingers clutched the reins as Jin slowed to a spot near you. “We must approach them cautiously...they could still kill him.”
Eye’s flashing a deep gold for a moment, your lips pulled back into a snarl and Jin was shocked to see a pair of fangs. “Their will be death but it will not be my brother.”
You were off the horse in a flash then suddenly you were surrounded in smoke and where you once stood their was now a pure white fox no not a fox a Kitsune. You had for tails and they were moving erratically and with a blink of an eye you were gone.It did not take long for Jin to hear the screams, closing his eyes he couldn’t believe that the musician was right all along and while part of him want to run away he knew that he could not just abandon you. Gritting his teeth he pulled out his blade as he rushed down to where the remaining mongols where.
Blocking an arrow meant for you, he quickly turned his attention to where one of the soldiers was going to stab the young boy. Letting out a growl of his own he quickly sliced the mans arm off before stabbing him in the chest. Continuing the battle he only slowed then put his sword away once he saw that they were all dead.
Seeing the familiar smoke surround your body, he glanced away once he noticed that the cloths were missing. Turning away from you, he made his way towards Kage. Pulling a blanket out of his saddle bag, he watched as you break the lock then tug the boy into your arms.
Your skin was covered in blood though it wasn’t until his eyes finally focused on your backside where he noticed a pair of tails. They were white as snow, minus the blood that managed to get soaked up in the fur.Wrinkling his nose he slowly stepped closer to you was he placed the blanket over your shoulders, covering your body.
Glancing up at Jin you thanked him before you turned your attention back to your little brother, the little boy crying as he held on tightly to you.
“Onēsan! I’m sorry for running off! I was scared.”
Pushing down your own feelings you knew you had to stay strong for him, rubbing his back you were thankful for the blanket that Jin had given you. “Shh it’s okay Masami. You did nothing wrong, you were so brave.”
You hated feeling his tears against your skin but you were just happy that he was okay, feeling him sniffle it broke your heart seeing those big eyes filled with tears. “Onēsan! where are we gonna live?”
“Hush..let me worry about that.”
“What does he mean?” Jin frowned as he clutched his sword tightly in his hand. 
Frowning you continued to calm the little boy keeping your gaze locked on Jins. “After my parents...” Pausing for a moment you sighed. “The mongols burned our home....their are so little of our kind. We’re spread out....it does not matter. I will find a place for us to live.”
“That is unacceptable you can stay with me...in my home.” Jin quickly corrected himself.Looking up at him in shock you did not know how to respond. 
“I...are you sure.”
“It would be my honor.” Jin bowed to you. “You are a Kitsune? if it was not for your kin then I would not be alive right now.”
Sniffling, you gave him a weak smile, holding onto your brother. The tails already vanish. “Thank you...Lord Sakai.”
“Of course Miss Y/n.”
Kneeling down in front of the boy Jin gave him a smile. “Let us get you home.”
It was a long ride back to Jin’s home but you were just happy to have your brother back. He fell asleep rather quickly, the little boy was clinging to Jin the whole ride but while your brother slept you knew you had to clean yourself off and as you made your way towards the hot springs you couldn’t help but let your thoughts drift off to Jin.
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It has been a year since you’ve meet Jin Sakai, a year since the man saved your life and helped you save your brothers and a year since he has kept your secret of you and your brother being a Kitsune. 
You enjoyed the time you kept with Jin Sakai, he was a kind man. Had a good heart and the more time you’ve spent with him the more you were starting to realize your feelings for him and it was clear to you on how much Masami cared for Jin with him already calling him Nīsan.
“Y/n.” Pulled from your thoughts you turned around to find the very man you were thinking of. 
“Ah Jin...how are you this lovely morning?”
Lips pulling in for a small smile he cleared out his throat, you could have sworn the man was blushing. “I am...well...but I want to...want to know if you would like to come on a walk...with me?”
Letting out a laugh, you gave him a smile giving him a small bow. “I will be honored too walk with you Jin.”
The man seemed to visibly relax, a full smile formed on his face as he held out his arm for you to take. Once you looped your arm through his you two were off. The peaceful silence was nice but you wanted to talk to him, you liked hearing his voice.
“Y/n...may I ask you something.”
“Oh? of course.” You were worried about what he might ask, it could be anything. Biting your lip you then turned your attention on the red falling leaves, seeing them always seemed to calm your nerves.
“I wanted to ask....if you like the man that I have become...I’m not...I wasn’t like what I used to be. I was an honorable Samurai but when the mongols came...I had to resort...to unsavory measures. He had the chance to inform the Shogun...but he didn’t.”
Biting your lip you slowed your pace then placed your hand against his cheek. “Your Uncle did not inform them because he know’s you are a good man Jin. You care about your people, he did not tell them because he love’s you.” Lowering your gaze you could feel your heart slamming against your chest. “Jin...may I ask you something.”
Eye’s softening, Jin lent into your palm. Your hand felt so warm against his skin. He did not remember how long it’s been since he has been touched like this, he could listen to your voice all day. “Of course you can y/n.”
Dropping your hands you had to take a deep breath in, you needed to make sure that you weren’t going crazy. Dropping your hand from his face you nervously played with the sleeve of your kimono. “Did you...ever remember playing with a little girl in the forest....or a white fox.”
Jin frowned as he searched his memory, he had a few happy memories when he was a child. “I do remember...playing with a little girl my age...my mother thought she was an imaginary friend.” He snorted at the memory though you hated seeing the sadness in his eyes. “The last time I saw her was before my father found my...sick in the forest...she would stay by my side every night...I do miss her”
Feeling a few tears slip down your cheeks you quickly turned your face away. “I am happy that you were found Jin.”
Heart clenching tightly, Jin did not know if he could laugh or cry at this revelations. “That was you?”
Clearing out your throat you gave him a small nod. “It was.”
“You saved my life....why did you leave?” Grasping your hand gently, you weren’t sure that you could look into his eyes since you were scared with what you might see.
“My father thought it would be best...out kind was already being killed...he was just trying to protect me.”
Shaking his head Jin then pulled you to his chest, holding you close the man pressed his lips to the side of your head gently. “You are here now, that is all that matters.”
“You don’t hate me?”
“How could I ever hate...the woman I love.”
“Jin.” Smiling through your tears you stood on your toes pressing your lips against his. It took a moment for the kiss to register in Jin’s mind but it did not take long for him to return the kiss, his hands moving to the small of your back he hugged you closer to his chest.
Breaking the kiss you then rested your head against his chest, a smile on your lips. “I love you too Jin.”
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Wrinkling your nose, you looked around the room for your youngest child. You knew the little one had to be close. She tended to be anywhere her brothers would go though most of the time her older siblings would run off to train with Yuna or play with Taka since her tiny legs would managed to follow.
“Yuriko! no more hiding! you need your bath!.” Taking a deep breath in you heard light giggling then the next thing you knew a tiny black fox was jumping it you. Sighing you rolled your eyes as a smile tugged at your lips easily catching her in your arms.
“Change back..now.”
Giving your daughter a stern look, it was not until she heard her fathers voice that the little fox changed back. “Listen to your mother Yuriko.”
“Papa!”
Smiling, Jin slipped into the room as he quickly caught his child. She was already looking so much like him, her black hair always tied up thanks to Yuna and her brown eyes holding so much love.
It didn’t take long for two boys to slip in, one two years older than the other one. Though both of them bickering, the young boy was taking after his uncle Masami, with unruly brown hair and hazel eyes while the oldest took after you. He could see so much of you in his eldest son, a responsible boy that he would be proud for him to take over one day.
“Tell Ige that he can not come with me, Taka and Masami!”
Jin sighed as he dropped his shoulders already feeling a headache forming. “Hachirobei...” Doing his best to warn his son while still holding his daughter he was trying to figure out his next step until he heard his Uncles voice break through.
“Jin...I will happily take Hachirobei off your hands.”
“Ojīchan!” The three children shouted as the two boy’s rushed to see their grandfather. The little girl that was sitting on Jin’s shoulders slipped down freeing his hair that was tied on top of his head.
“Ah”
Fighting back a laughter, you walked over to your husband fixing his hair as Shimura did his best to keep the children in line. While the boys easily listened it was your little girl that was the one climbing over him.  “I have seen you work so much these past few weeks..I think it’s time that you and your wife enjoy sometime together.
Trying his best to walk over to the man he called his son he handed him a folded paper. “This was where your father would take your mother.” Smiling he tipped his head to the young man. “I think you too would like it.”
Jin let out a sigh of relief as he glanced over his shoulders at you. He knew you deserved some time away from the children. You’ve done so much for them and it was harder due to them being part Kitsune. “We will...thank you...father.”
Placing your hand on top of his you returned the smile to Shimura. “Thank you for this.”
Nodding to both of you, Shimura cleared out his throat as he straightened his form. “Children...say goodbye to your parents. They will  be gone for the next few days.”
You two boys seemed fine, while you could see that familiar sadness that Jin would do his best to hide as they made their way towards you.  “We will be back to before you know it.” Placing a small kiss on their heads as they said goodbye to both you and Jin. It was your little girl that was having the hardest time with your sudden departure.
Tears swelled up in her brown eyes as she reached out for you and Jin. “No! Mama! Papa! “
You knew Jin would change his mind, he never liked seeing Yuriko cry. He would do anything for her. Just as he was about to take his little one form Shimura’s arms you heard the familiar voice of Yuna. Easily scooping the little girl from her grandfathers arms she started to shush her.
“Now now Yuriko! you don’t have to cry. They will be back soon, but when they are gone it means that we can play together more...and no silly lesson’s.” She teased as Yuriko let out a small laugh.
Relaxing your shoulders you let your fingers weave into Jin’s silently thanking your friend.
“Now shouldn’t you two be heading off.”
Turning to Jin your gave your ever growing family a small bow before turning to face Yuna once last time. “Make sure the boys don’t break Taka’s arm again.”
Snorting Yuna shrugged her shoulders. “It was his fault....but I promise.”
Giving your hand a squeeze, Jin tugged you towards the stables pleased with a chance of getting some alone time with the woman he loved. He just hoped you be a little gentle this time, he never liked trying to come up with an excuse to his children and Shimura on how he got the scratches on his back.
Though seeing your eyes flicker gold and spotting the hazy outline of your tails the man knew he was in for a long night though he couldn’t be happier about that. 
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Side Effects- Part 3 (Final)
M/F Pairing: Y/N x Stray Kids
Genre: Yandere Stray Kids AU, Vampire AU, Fantasy AU
Warnings: graphic depictions of blood and gore, violence, smut, dubious consent, and language
Word Count: 5K
Previous Parts: Part One, Part Two
Summary: Y/N has the opportunity to finally end her relationship with the eight young men who changed her life. With the police on her side, Y/N is prepared to do anything to help their investigation into the Miroh Coven, especially since they’re tied to several missing person cases. However, returning to the coven is nothing short of condemning because Chan, Jisung, and Changbin are more determined than ever to make Y/N a permanent member.
Tag List: @softxminghao, @darjeli, @seungminshakur, @rubylove-21, @squirracha, @athosthehaunted, @lixiesbreadstick, @tapikachu, @unghchangkyun, @whereitgetsyou, @ashbash9909, @tropicalwrites​, @mikailo666​
I wasn’t able to properly tag these users: peachbess and lovesfaith (sad face)
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What have they done? I questioned immediately when I realized that I was back in my regular bedroom the following morning. The normality of the situation should’ve been impossible because I was certain that Chan, Jisung, and Changbin had inexplicably decided to hold me hostage after finding me at that stupid club. “Remember? We can be together forever.”
However, no matter how much I tried to make sense of the preceding night’s events, I couldn’t understand why they would allow me to leave after making such promises to turn me. I don’t recall escaping, especially considering my weakened condition, which meant that the three men had brought me back to my apartment on their own accord. I mean, was this just another attempt to mess with me? 
I glanced over at my nightstand, discovering a faded envelope sitting on top of my cell phone. I decided to check my messages first, relieved when I saw my roommate’s contact name. She had apparently spent the night with someone she met at the bar, but she assured me that she was safe and would be home later after work. I was glad that she was fairing better than her roommate, and I turned my attention to the envelope. The handwriting on the front was familiar, and I gently tore through the sealed contents. Inside was a folded letter, and my hands were shaking when I smoothed out the paper to comprehend the brief message written in perfect cursive:
Y/N,
Although our reunion was postponed, please accept this invitation on behalf of the Miroh Coven for your company tonight at 8:00 pm sharp.
Sincerely,
Bang Chan
What did he mean by postponing our reunion?
Unfortunately, I had no time to try and figure it out because the buzzing sound of our doorbell abruptly pulled me out of bed, and I wordlessly tucked the envelope inside my pocket. My roommate and I never received visitors, and there was a small part of me that feared for the possibility that one of the Miroh Coven members was waiting outside in the hallway. Yet, when I searched through the door viewer, I realized that a uniformed police officer was carefully sorting through a file of paperwork in her hands.
“Hello?” I asked cautiously, opening the door just enough to acknowledge the unfamiliar woman.
“Y/N?” the officer questioned.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“My name is Officer Smith. I have a few questions for you concerning your previous employer,” the officer said and I was left shaking from head to toe as I allowed her to come inside. 
“Do you have somewhere we could sit down?” she asked, and I nodded curtly before leading us both in the kitchen.
“Coffee?” I asked, crowding around the machine in the kitchen.
“That would be nice.”
We were both silent while I served the warm beverage, holding my mug tightly between my hands. “Do you want any creamer?”
“I’m fine,” the officer said. “I just want you to be comfortable. There’s some very troubling things I want to talk to you about.”
“I see,” I nodded, looking intently at the file she had brought with her.
“We’re in the middle of an investigation,” she continued. “It concerns the Miroh Coven. According to our records, you were previously employed with them as a blood donor.”
“Yes, but I was forced to leave.”
“Oh?” 
“We had a disagreement.”
“Well, I want you to know that they’re in a lot of trouble,” the officer explained. “We found the body of a young woman on the side of the highway completely drained of blood. When we ran her license, we discovered that she had been employed by the Miroh Coven as a blood donor during the past few months. However, when we asked the Coven about her employment, they told us a very similar story about...a disagreement.”
I shivered despite the heat from the liquid trailing down my throat. “I just...I had a lot of trouble with balancing my college lectures with their schedule. It was very demanding.”
“Of course,” the officer said, but she still wore a look of suspicion. “Normally, we might be inclined to attribute these kinds of things to a rogue attack, but there’s just too many factors that coincide with this case.”
“Like what?”
“For starters, we’ve been unable to contact their previous employees, with the exception of yourself,” the officer explained. “It seems like the Miroh Coven has a history of making their employees disappear without a trace, and I find it very problematic that the young lady we found yesterday had clearly suffered at the hands of a vampire.”
“How many other employees have they had?”
“Quite a few,” the officer said. “I think there’s something bigger going on, and I really need for you to be honest with me, Y/N, because you might be able to help us stop them.”
I swallowed hard. “You think they killed those other donors.”
“It’s very likely,” she said. “Can you tell me anything else about your resignation?”
I found it impossible to make eye contact with the officer, especially when I could still remember everything that had happened the night I left the Miroh Coven. My intention had always been to forget about those terrible circumstances because I was determined to move forward with my life, but all those other ill-fated donors suddenly made it very difficult to remain silent. “They were always nice to me,” I said. “We had a reasonable arrangement because they paid for my schooling and even let me live with them to assuage the cost of on-campus housing. It helped me finish school, but it was always meant to be a temporary arrangement.”
“I understand,” she nodded. “Did they know you were planning to leave?”
“No, but they were keeping secrets from me too,” I said. “A lot of strange things happened when I was living at the mansion.”
“Like?”
“One night, I found a pair of bodies in the basement, but Jisung told me that they were donated...” I trailed off with a choked whimper. “They were also planning to turn me into one of them.”
“Did they tell you this?”
“I guess I didn’t have the right to know,” I said. “I escaped that night and drove myself to the hospital. After that, I moved back here and tried to forget about everything that happened.”
“I understand that it was traumatic for you,” the officer said. “I’m sorry you had to bring it up again.”
I shook my head. “If they’re hurting other people, then I don’t mind the pain.”
The officer sighed, reaching across the table to squeeze my hand. “Have they tried to contact you since then?”
“Yeah,” I sniffled, reaching into my pocket to retrieve the folded letter. “They actually found me at a bar the other night, but they let me go for some reason. I found this letter on my nightstand.”
The officer read over the simple message and frowned. “Were you planning on meeting them tonight?”
“I don’t want to see them ever again.”
“Interesting,” the officer said. “It seems like they really like you.”
“They always told me that,” I said, remembering their whispered words of affection while sharp teeth penetrated my skin.
“I’m going to be completely transparent with you, Y/N,” the officer said. “My station is leading an investigation into the Miroh Coven, but we still need a lot of evidence to bring a case to the court of law.”
“You can have the letter,” I suggested, but she shook her head.
“It needs to be more concrete,” she said. “I need something that condemns them for the previous disappearances of those other blood donors.”
“Maybe a record or something?”
“I wish we had one,” the officer sighed. “We know those donors were employed by the Coven, but there’s no evidence of what happened to them or why they were dismissed.”
“Chan, Jisung, and Changbin own their own company,” I said. “There might be something in one of those buildings?”
“I doubt they’d be careless,” the officer said. “Actually, I’d imagine that the three of them would keep those things close, and there’s probably very few people who they trust inside the mansion.” 
I could feel my entire body trembling at her knowing look. “Actually, Y/N, it seems like they trust you.”
“You want me to go to that dinner tonight with them,” I whispered, completely missing her next words because my heart was beating too loudly, drowning out the other noises around the apartment. It felt like I was falling back into a dark place, and I was desperate to find the light again.
Officer Smith suddenly reached out, fingers cold against my arm, and she effectively pulled me back into the conversation. “I know it’s a lot to ask from you, Y/N, but the answers are inside that house! Whatever you might find could bring justice to the people they’ve taken advantage of over the years.”
It was easy for her to tell me to return to the Coven when she desperately needed my help, but why did it have to be my responsibility to return to a place where I had once escaped tragedy? Nevertheless, I could feel the weight of her gaze, imploring me to undertake such a terrifying mission, and I wondered whether or not I could still protect myself when so many other people were depending on me? “Okay,” I finally said. “I’ll do it.”
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The Miroh Mansion was still dark and foreboding, reminding me of the very first time I walked through the front door for my interview with Chan. It was a pivotal moment in my life, but one whose consequences I never understood until I drove to a hospital with blood pouring from a wound meant to serve as the last reminder of my mortality. I had nightmares about the Coven kidnapping me and forcing me to return, but I could’ve never imagined that I would come back here of my own decision.
I slowly knocked on the front door, swallowing down my fear because I couldn’t afford for the Coven to think anything was wrong. “Act as if we had never gotten involved,” the police had instructed me.
“I’ll try,” I had promised, and I intended to do whatever was possible to help the innocent. However, I wouldn’t go as far as risking my life to expose these horrible vampires, even if dozens of missing donors were counting on me for justice.
“Y/N,” Chan greeted smoothly when he met me outside on the porch, dark eyes swallowing me into their endless depths. “I’m glad you saw things our way.”
He invited me inside, and I anxiously made my way across the familiar carpeted hallway leading into the living room. I wasn’t surprised to see the other Coven members waiting, but it still didn’t stop my heart from leaping into my throat when I realized that I could very well die tonight if I wasn’t careful. “My dearest Y/N kindly accepted our invitation,” Jisung remarked, gliding across the floor with an impossible speed. I could smell blood on his lips as he wrapped an arm around my waist, escorting me to the lovely sectional where Minho was watching me through lidded eyes.
“You look beautiful,” Changbin contributed, holding a glass of red liquid daintily between his fingers. Felix and Hyunjin sat next to him, looking at me with barely constrained hunger. “You’re just in time for drinks.”
I stiffened instinctively under Jisung’s hold because I remembered the last time I had been offered to drink with them. “It’s just wine,” Minho smirked, holding out a glass for me to take.
I accepted it cautiously, tasting at the rim only to discover a grape-flavored taste that certainly didn’t remind me of blood. Still, I declined to drink further, holding my glass while Chan started a conversation about their business, eliminating the initial silence that had occupied the room upon my arrival. Seungmin and Jeongin happily listened, focused on their sire with an attentiveness that reminded me of my previous stay with the Miroh Coven when I had once been ignorant of their bond. “Dinner should be ready soon,” Chan reassured me and I could only nod in response.
“Do you mind if I use the restroom?” I asked, and Jisung reluctantly let me go while eight pairs of eyes watched me all the way up the staircase.
I took a deep breath, waiting until Chan started talking again before disappearing around the corner into the room I knew he maintained as an office. I immediately started for his desk, pulling out well-organized files and the notebooks full of his writings. Every so often, I glanced up at the clock hanging above the doorway because I knew that I could probably only manage twenty minutes unsupervised before someone came looking for me.
“Please,” I sighed, reading over a promising file tentatively titled extraneous paperwork. “Holy shit!”
Pictures. 
Dozens of them. 
They were incriminating, various bodies splayed at unattractive angles. Close-up shots of mangled corpses drenched in blood with empty eyes staring straight at the camera. I flipped them over and gasped, reading the names that sounded way too familiar to merely be a coincidence. “This is it,” I said, almost giddy with excitement despite the uncomfortable nausea twisting my stomach at the sight of these poor donors who had managed to fall victim to the merciless Coven.
I shuffled them together, restoring Chan’s office to its previous organization, before tucking the pictures inside the pocket of my jacket. I was more than ready to return downstairs, when I suddenly remembered a faint recollection of the little notebook I had once discovered in Jisung’s bedroom. It wasn’t that much further down the hallway, and I quickly jerked open the drawer of his nightstand, shoulders deflating in relief when I saw the tiny book waiting on top of his other belongings.
I gripped it tightly when I eventually retreated, resting my head against the door to his bedroom quietly because this was causing me more stress than I could handle. “Y/N?”
I immediately turned around, eyes widening in shock when I realized that Chan was waiting for me. I swallowed hard as I held my ground, keeping the journal behind me. “Did you need something, Chan?”
He didn’t respond right away, and I could feel myself growing smaller and smaller with every long second passing between us. Finally, Chan took a step in my direction. “You’ve been gone a while.”
I shifted anxiously. “I- I just remembered something in Jisung’s room. We used to look at it together when I lived here.”
Chan nodded, and I was relieved that he accepted my explanation. “We all missed you.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I missed you too.”
He closed his eyes, cherishing the lie that somehow sounded much more believable than it did inside my head. “Can you show me?”
“What?”
“In Jisung’s room,” Chan said. “What did he show you?”
I trembled as I leaned against the door. “I’m not sure if it was something he wanted to share.”
“I see,” Chan murmured. “It’s interesting because there’s something that I want to show you too.”
Chan walked away without another word, and I assumed that he wanted me to follow him. I ignored every instinct that was screaming for me to escape with my evidence because I wouldn’t make it the bottom of the staircase before a Coven member would prevent that from happening. Instead, I took slow steps on unsteady legs into Chan’s bedroom. I was inherently curious, but when he gently backed me against the wall, I understood perfectly well what he wanted.
His fingers were undoing the buttons on my shirt and I carefully shrugged off my jacket before he could find and apprehend the valuable photographs inside my pockets. I also made sure Jisung’s journal was hidden beneath the fabric before I allowed Chan to take me to his bed. The oldest vampire made no secret of his desires, tossing aside his shirt before tugging the fabric of my jeans down my legs. “Y/N,” he sighed, fingering the edges of my panties while his sharpened canines drew lines along my collarbones. My body reacted on instinct because it was impossible to resist Chan when he was looking at me like I was the answer to all of his problems. Despite everything he had done to me, I still responded to his touches and the taste of his skin on my lips. Instead of pushing him away, I held him close, occasionally glancing at my jacket waiting next to the door with the incriminating evidence necessary to end the Coven forever.
“Oh, Y/N,” he moaned. “I missed you.”
Maybe that was part of the reason why I didn’t resist because I knew that he would never bother me again once the police had their prosecution trial. It was an intoxicating sensation since I was the one with all the power and he was completely clueless to my intentions. He had no idea that I came back to spite the Coven instead of joining them like they wanted.
I watched him roll on a condom, erection prominent as he pushed slowly between my legs. I felt incredibly full, studying the pleasure on his face when he started to thrust inside of me. I looked at him the entire time with eyes wide open because I knew something that he didn’t and, while he was pleasuring me with his precious members waiting downstairs, I was taking back all that time spent in this mansion, knowing that they were more dangerous than anything I had ever encountered before.
His cock moved faster, and I reacted by spreading my legs wider for him, opening myself up to Chan’s advances. It didn’t take him long to come, and I finally closed my eyes when I felt his warm release through the thin latex of the condom. His kisses were familiar, but they also made me want to laugh because I was planning on betraying the people who claimed to love me, the vampires who actually did love me in their own messed up way.
“I love you,” he eventually said, but I didn’t respond, choosing instead to count the tiles on the ceiling overhead.
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“Photos, names, addresses, detailed journal accounts...Y/N, you managed to find everything! We can cross-reference this stuff with the files and paperwork we already have.”
I smiled despite the circumstances, watching as two younger detectives sorted the files and pictures before retreating from the tiny interrogation room. “It wasn’t exactly easy for me.”
“Still, this is brilliant, Y/N,” Officer Smith exclaimed, and I felt satisfied knowing that I had done a good job. “We have enough evidence to start the raid.”
“Raid?”
She nodded. “You should know that Vampire raids are extremely rare, but I don’t think your Coven will surrender when we issue the warrant.”
I wrinkled my nose at the suggestion that I could ever belong to the Miroh Coven. “Is it safe?”
“It’s a commonplace occurrence and we’ve all received special training,” she said. “Hopefully, they’ll come to their senses and agree to a trial, but it won’t take much for a judge to officially convict them.”
“Will I have to be at the trial?” I asked, dreading the idea before it could even become official.
“I wouldn’t force you,” she replied. “A testimony would be critical, but this is enough to put them away for the rest of their immortal lives.”
I couldn’t imagine the dreaded reality of such a punishment. “What if they escape? They might try and track me down.”
“Witness protection,” she suggested. “We’ll accommodate you to the best of our abilities.”
“I understand the concept,” I said. “But they’ve found me before despite everything I did to hide.”
“Well, we can work out the details later,” she said. “For now, we need to prepare for the raid. We’ll start by sending in the evidence to the court to get our warrant for their immediate arrest.”
“Is it something that will happen soon?”
“I might have a way to expedite the process,” she grinned. “We’ve been on this case for long enough, bothering the courts for documents and employee records.”
I nodded slowly. “So everything is done?”
“For the most part,” she agreed. “We can commence stage two of our operation.”
“Thank god,” I sighed, leaning back in my chair. “I’m glad that it’s over.”
“Yes,” the officer said, but there was a reluctance in her tone that sent me immediately on edge. “Of course, we can always use your help with one last thing.”
“What could I do at this point? I’m not exactly trained for this sort of thing.”
“Yes, but we wouldn’t want the Coven to suspect anything,” she said. “They might try to leave before our warrant is formally issued. Until then, I think a distraction might hold their attention.”
“Me,” I intoned, narrowing my eyes because I wanted nothing more to do with those nasty vampires.
“We wouldn’t want them to suspect anything,” she said. “If you go back to the Coven, then they might lower their guard.”
“It was supposed to end,” I reminded her. “You said that I was finished with them.”
“I know we’re asking a lot of you,” Officer Smith said. “But this will be the last time you ever have to see them again.”
“You keep saying that,” I muttered, but we both knew that I was in too deep, which meant that I had no choice but to return to the mansion.
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Felix greeted me at the door with his familiar smirk, escorting me inside to the bottom of the staircase. Today meant the official end of the Coven, but they were all completely ignorant to their impending punishment. “They want to discuss something with you,” Felix said, and I understood immediately who he was referring to despite the unnecessary pronoun game.
Still, I knew that I couldn’t keep them waiting, pausing outside of Chan’s office door before I heard someone invite me inside. I took a deep breath, opening the door to discover the three leaders waiting for me expectantly while wearing similar expressions of dark foreboding. “Y/N,” Chan said. “Have a seat.”
I obeyed instantly, looking at the Miroh Coven leader as he watched me with an unnerving attentiveness. “What’s going on? I asked.
“I think we have something serious to discuss,” Chan said and my heart was practically beating out of my chest as I studied Jisung and Changbin from the corner of my eye. They knew, I repeated to myself over and over again as I imagined a dozen different scenarios that all ended with my lifeless body thrown into some kind of river because they had discovered my treason.
“You came back,” Jisung finally said. “We weren’t expecting you to accept our invitation.”
“I was being polite,” I said, rubbing my hands along the seam line of my jeans.
“Yes, but we’re all here,” Changbin said. “We can be together.”
I shivered at his words. “We love you, Y/N,” Chan said. “The eight of us would like nothing more than to keep you with us forever.
“To turn me,” I confirmed, and he nodded his head. 
“We’ll make it special,” Jisung said, patting his lap and I reluctantly joined him.
“It doesn’t have to be tonight,” Changbin confirmed, swiping his tongue across his sharp teeth. “But we are hungry.”
“And you’re such a sweet girl,” Jisung added, holding me on his lap as his teeth brushed across my carotid artery.
I held my breath because he was close to biting, but then...
“Chan! The police are outside and have a warrant to investigate the property!”
Jeongin’s face was a mess of tears which, at one time, might’ve forced me to reconsider everything that I had done, but not anymore. “What?” Chan growled, before glaring at me. “You stay here,” Chan said, and Jisung snarled in frustration as he released me before following Changbin and Chan downstairs.
For a moment, I could only focus on breathing because I had narrowly escaped Jisung’s bite and now the Coven knew that they were about to receive an unanticipated raid from the police. I swallowed hard, falling down into the floor as a piercing scream shattered the previous silence that left me shaking like a leaf inside of Chan’s office. There were suddenly loud growls and vicious noises penetrating the closed door and I buried my head between my legs and tried to calm down my racing heart.
I could hear the familiar sounds of glass breaking, of inhuman screams and yells breaking the barrier of the office. The voices of the vampires I had once known yelling out insults and curses, the destructive noises of gunshots and human-like cries for help as teeth tore through skin. It was apparent that the Miroh Coven was not backing down from this fight, and I could only pray that my officer had been right in her assurances that they could handle the Coven.
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It seemed like hours had passed before I finally removed my hands from my ears, realizing that the screaming from downstairs had suddenly stopped. I waited for several moments, hearing nothing but my heartbeat in my ears and the gentle sounds of the river outside. Eventually, I managed to stand on unsteady legs, holding myself up against the wall as I started to make my way downstairs. 
The smells that assaulted my senses should’ve told me everything, but I still released a piercing scream when I collapsed at the bottom of the staircase.
It was a terrifying sight, nothing but blood and crooked bodies spread throughout the room. I recognized most of the Coven, bile rising in my throat when I made contact with Changbin’s lifeless eyes. I carefully took a step back because I knew that this wasn’t supposed to happen, but an unexpected pressure around my ankle tore another scream from my throat and I fell down onto the floor. 
“Y/N,” Chan croaked and I shivered when he moved over me, blood seeping through his shirt, but his eyes were still perfectly focused. “I have nothing now, Y/N,” Chan gasped, gripping tightly to my chin and forcing me to look into the empty eyes of Han Jisung. 
He pulled me closer, exposing his sharpened teeth and I could do nothing to stop him. This was it, I thought to myself, the moment I had been running from since that tragic night eight months ago. Because Chan was unrelenting, drinking with long, painful bites that sent a searing pain down my spine as my body fought against the significant blood loss. Everything was cold and I wondered if death always felt this unpleasant. 
However, the sudden reverberation of a loud snarl forced me to reconsider the darkening spots in my vision, searching behind me when I realized the brutal aspect of Chan’s bite had suddenly subsided. I felt my mouth drop open in horror, but the feeling quickly disappeared when I realized Officer Smith had speared Chan straight through the heart with a silver stake. The impact was immediate and Chan’s body dropped to the floor unceremoniously, leaving me with only a pair of red eyes gazing unblinkingly from the beyond. Meanwhile, Officer Smith offered me a kind smile that seemed out of place considering the blood staining the front of her uniform. “You deserve a better life, Y/N,” she whispered before her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she collapsed next to Chan.
It took me a moment to regain my bearings, looking around at the surrounding carnage. There was blood everywhere, bodies lying in deep puddles and contorted awkwardly from their injuries. It was a startling realization because they were all gone, both vampires and humans. There was nothing left from their vicious fight.
I was also incredibly tired and I closed my eyes despite my situation. Everything felt heavy, and I just wanted to forget the entire night before I had to comprehend the unfortunate tragedy of the Miroh Coven. I thought I deserved it considering the heavy loss weighing over my heart.
After a while, I became aware of a piercing light burning from somewhere in the distance. I gradually opened my eyes because the morning had arrived and, despite the death and destruction around me, I wanted desperately to find a better future in that beautiful light...
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Epilogue- 2 Years Later
Vampires had rapidly gone into hiding, especially following the inquiry into the Miroh Massacre, as the newspapers delicately framed the tragedy. Apparently, society decided that they would no longer embrace their culture, finding more evidence of various Covens abusing the donor law which was eventually retracted in court. Subsequently, the vampires were forced to remain out of the public eye lest they face a severe punishment from the newly minted Hunters who spent their lives training to kill rogue vampires.
As for myself, I had finally taken back full ownership of my life, accepting a full-time research position that eventually led me to my future husband. After our marriage, we moved into an idyllic home in the suburbs and I gave birth to my son who proved to be everything that I needed in this world. Everything was starting to work out for me, and I was finally reassured that the past was truly forgotten because the ones who had haunted it were now gone forever.
“Mommy!” my son called, and I found him in the doorway to his bedroom looking up at me with tired brown eyes. “I can’t sleep.”
“Why is that?” I asked while gently encouraging him to lay back down on his bed.
“A kid in my class,” he said. “He told us about the vampires.”
“Yeah? Well, how would he know anything? He’s probably never even seen a vampire. Not many people have.”
“What about you?”
I shivered at the question. “It doesn’t matter, sweetheart. Vampires aren’t a problem anymore and there are people now who can protect us.”
“Really?” he asked, and his eyes were incredibly innocent of the true horrors of this world.
“They won’t ever hurt you,” I promised my son before flipping his light switch. I closed the door gently, praying that he might sleep through the entire night in his own bed, before I walked into the kitchen for something to drink. I smirked as I popped the cork on a new bottle of wine that my husband had bought for the two of us to share. It seemed unnecessarily mischievous to drink with my son in the other room, but I still liked to indulge every now and then, especially after remaining sober for nine months during my pregnancy.
I sighed as I drained the first glass, feeling the numbing effects spread through my body like an aphrodisiac. It had been a stressful day because of some unnecessary paperwork at the research institute where I worked, but I knew that everyday couldn’t be perfect. After all, I was absolutely grateful for everything in my life, even if it caused me the occasional headache.
I started washing my wine glass, lost in thought until a strange noise outside forced me to pause in my cleaning. It sounded close to the garage attached to our house, and I figured it might be raccoons again because they were becoming a problem. I glanced out the window, shrugging when I didn’t notice anything suspicious. However, if I had only taken an extra moment to study the outline of my husband’s garden, then I might’ve noticed the unusual pair of crimson-red eyes watching me from outside.
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The End.
162 notes · View notes
gloriainalbis · 4 years
Text
Strangers
Part 2 - Anti-Social Behavior (S1E1)
Nathan Young x Reader  Words: 6.2k  Warnings: Swearing, mentions of sex, drugs, gore, death  Songs:  Beat on the Brat - Ramones  Shoplifters of the World Unite - The Smiths (And also, for shits and giggles…) Somebody Got Murdered - The Clash  
“So we will share this road we walk And mind our mouths and beware our talk”
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Masterlist | Ao3
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--
    The walk to the community center for your second day is brisk but significantly more enjoyable than being forced to listen to your father’s chastising. As you approach the group gathered by a new swath of graffiti on the side of the building, a window opens to your left and out climbs Nathan, who jumps to the ground and winces as the roll-up metal covering slams back down after him. “Nathan?” you ask, stopping in your tracks. “Ah!” He whips around to greet you with a guilty smile, clearly surprised. “Y/n! Good morning, I hope?” He starts walking with you to join the rest of the group. “Yeah, but what are you doin’ here?” “I have my reasons,” he explains vaguely, stretching his arms up and groaning as if he’s just gotten out of bed. He then pulls out a cigarette and sticks it between his teeth, completely failing to notice the giant red letters spelling out ‘I’M GOING TO KILL YOU’ as you walk past them. 
“This is a joke,” Curtis exclaims as you approach. “Did one of you do this?” He turns to look at you especially, and you suspect he overheard you yesterday telling Nathan and Kelly how you got your ASBO. “Hey, I’m all for street art and everything, but death threats aren’t really my scene.” “Death threat?” Nathan spins around until he sees the words. “Oh, well would you look at that!” He turns back to the group, glancing at each of you as if looking for an explanation. “Don’t look at me, ‘cuz I didn’t do it,” Kelly snaps at him. “I’ll tell you who did it, it’s that Banksy prick,” he offers. Alisha rolls her eyes, as do a few of the others. “There’s a hidden meaning. It’s like that monkey policeman with the banana and the Tesco’s bag.” “Maybe someone wants to kill us,” Simon speaks softly, looking uncomfortable at Nathan, who’s put an arm around him for some unknown reason. “Why would anyone want to kill us?” Kelly points out. You assume the threat was directed at the community center, not at you six specifically, but don’t really care to speak up. You’d probably be spending the day cleaning it off, so what does it matter who it’s meant for? “Come on, you lot, let’s get changed,” Tony directs, walking up suddenly. “Have you seen this?” Curtis points to the graffiti. Again. “Someone’s takin’ the piss.” “Yeah, it’s terrible, isn’t it? All this anti-social behavior.” Tony turns to look at you all suggestively. “Oh, is he having a dig at us?” Nathan smirks, mumbling through his cigarette. Alisha’s phone begins to ring and Tony jumps, instantly bursting with anger. “Right! That’s it, all of you, just give me your phones! No one’s making any more calls today. Now, come on!” He turns to Alisha first. “Uh-huh,” she scoffs. “Are you allowed to take out phones?” He grabs it out of her hands regardless as she giggles and snaps a picture of him. Kelly and Alisha lock eyes and snicker. Curtis gives his phone up willingly, Kelly tries to ignore him, but Tony grabs it out of her pocket, and Simon gives his up as well. He turns to Nathan. “I’m expecting a call from my mum,” he tries to reason, but Tony rips it from his hand. Nathan gapes at him, affronted. “Okay, take a message.” Then Tony turns to you. You make a point to look him in the eyes and raise your eyebrows to distract him as you press your phone into Nathan’s hand. You see him glance at you in confusion before catching on and pocketing it. “Haven’t got one,” you explain casually, holding up your empty hands. You can swear Tony growls as he reaches out to feel your pockets. “Damn, is that even legal?” you half-whisper. To your right, Nathan bites his lip to keep from smiling and giving you away. It works. Tony huffs and lumbers back to the community center. Curtis flips up his hood and follows suit. “Wanker,” Kelly sneers as she strolls past Tony. Nathan watches to make sure they leave. “That was brilliant!” He gushes as soon as Tony’s out of earshot, handing you your phone. “It was nothing,” you brush off, starting to follow behind the others. “You can use it to phone your mum if you’d like.” “Oh, no, that’s alright.” He looks away, staring at his feet as he walks. “Are you sure?” you ask. You hadn’t snuck the phone past Tony only for him, but it was, you know, a good upside. And you aren’t sure what other opportunities he would have to use it, now that Tony thought he’d taken all the phones. “Yeah, she won’t call.” You can tell that he’s trying to sound like he doesn’t care. But, you’re learning this quickly, Nathan isn’t exactly the best liar. “I won’t ask.” You wonder what the situation is, but don’t want to pry. Nathan smiles.     Back at the locker rooms, everyone begins changing into their jumpsuits. Alisha situates herself in front of the mirror and begins to fiddle. She pops up her collar, undoes the top few buttons of her jumpsuit, and combes at her hair, fluffing it up. Kelly, having already changed, is lighting what looks to be either a hand-rolled cigarette or a blunt. “Is he allowed to take our phones?” Nathan muses. “He’s probably using them to call one of those sex lines.” Alisha giggles. “Those sex lines will eat your credit,” Curtis comments. “Call them a lot, do you?” Alisha raises an eyebrow. Kelly passes her the cigarette and she watches herself take a few draws from it in the mirror. Nathan continues with his disturbing ruminations, “He’s out there feeling himself on our phones, naked, masturbating.” “Now why would he do that?” Curtis questions, quite sensibly. “Because he can,” Nathan responds. “That’s quite the image,” you groan, trying desperately not to imagine it. “Oh, I’ll give you an image.” Nathan winks, pulling off his shirt. You roll your eyes and look away, leaning against the door of your locker. Glancing to the back of the room, you wonder where Simon’s run off to. You thought you’d seen him standing by the buckets a few moments ago. “Do you want some of this?” Alisha holds out the cigarette, tucked between her blue manicured fingers, to Curtis, who refuses. “Give it here, come on,” Nathan says as he walks past her and she hands it to him. As you grab a bucket and follow him out, you notice that he has crossed the ‘pay’ from  ‘community payback’ on the back of his jumpsuit to make it say ‘community blowback’ instead. You smile and chuckle to yourself.     Curtis appears to be the only one actually trying to remove those giant red letters from the wall, scrubbing determinedly while the rest of you just sort of brush at them and hope they disappear. Alisha isn’t even working. She’s unzipped and removed the entire upper half of her jumpsuit to reveal a bikini top and is sunning herself on a nearby table. “Yeah, you just relax, innit? Take it easy,” Curtis grumbles. “Someone’s just going to write something else on there tonight,” she retorts. “They make us do these bullshit jobs, wearing these bullshit orange jumpsuits. They can suck my dick.” You have to admit, she has a point. “Nice,” he looks her up and down and smirks coquettishly. “Feel free to check out my tits, yeah,” she encourages, blowing a kiss and looking down at him smokily from behind her lowered sunglasses. You look back at your designated section of furiously bright red paint. Wishing it would just go away, you lean down to get more soap on your brush, and when you stand back up, your section of the wall is spotless. You stumble backward, bewildered. “Guys?” you gape, trying to catch their attention, pointing to the bare wall. But when everyone turns to look, it’s gone back to normal, the bold lettering mocking you. “What?” Kelly asks, scrunching up her face in what looks like confusion and concern. You rush back to the wall, running your fingers across the paint, and they come back dusted with red. It’s real. “I-” everyone looks at you like you’re crazy, and they’re probably right. “It’s nothing.” A few moments later, Kelly stops scrubbing. “You know after the storm, did any of you feel like dead weird?” She sounds serious. “Yeah. I had a strange tingling sensation in my anus,” Nathan quips. You roll your eyes and turn to her, “I think I’ve been seein’ things,” you admit.   “Yeah, I’ve been hearin’ shit,” she agrees before spinning around to address Simon, seemingly out of the blue. “What, did you feel weird?” “You don’t want to hear about my anus?” Nathan calls, clutching his hands to his butt. “Do you really need to ask the question?” you hear Curtis say from behind you. You shove Nathan and turn back around to pay attention to Simon and Kelly, ignoring his cry of indignation. “Something happened,” Simon begins quietly. “What’s that? Squeak up!” Nathan chides. “Something happened to me,” he repeats louder. “Are you a virgin? Hi-hoooooy!” Nathan jokes, and you contemplate punching him again. Kelly does it for you, turning to yell, “Shut up!” which effectively shuts him down, before returning to Simon. “What was it?” He gulps and you can see the nervousness churning behind his eyes. “It’s nothing.” Kelly scrunches her face up and scowls, running past you to shove Nathan. “What was that for?” he calls after her. She turns to you as she goes, “Didn’t you hear that? It was disgustin’.” You hadn’t, and you have no idea what she’s referring to. So you shrug at Nathan, who looks suitably chastened, and return to your scrubbing.     Later, you’re all starting to congregate around the couches in the main entrance hall. Kelly still hasn’t returned, but the letters are mostly gone and you’re all angling for a break. Alisha is taking up an entire couch section to herself, sitting sideways with her feet up, and Simon is sequestered in the alcove of a doorway. You’re sitting on a larger couch across from them, watching Nathan beat up a vending machine to try and get a free soda. He holds one up, triumphant, as you slow clap and he takes a bow. Curtis walks up with a stack of empty buckets under his arm. “When I was in sixth form, you came to my school. You gave this big talk about athletics and all your medals and that.” Alisha says to Curtis with a tone that entreats him to elaborate on his story. Nathan rolls out behind him in a wheelchair, soda in hand, “So I’m guessin’ you’re not going to the Olympics.” “Funny,” Curtis snaps sarcastically at the obvious jab. “I heard he was dealing crack,” Alisha chimes with a quirk of her eyebrow. Curtis scowls. “What? I wasn’t dealing crack.” “No, no, the papers said it was steroids,” Nathan adds, opening his soda with a hiss. “That stuff with shrivel your dick,” Alisha lies down on her seat. Curtis takes a few steps forward, looking at them insistently. “It wasn’t steroids. I’m not a cheat. That stuff in the papers was bullshit.” “Yeah? So what was it, then?” Alisha presses. Nathan raises his eyebrows. Curtis takes a few hesitant seconds to reply. “I got caught with a little bit of coke. Alright? I messed up one time.” “No one gets community service for possession,” Alisha holds her arms up, asking him to explain. He scoffs. “If it was anyone else, they’d have got a caution. I get two hundred hours community service and a two year back from athletics. They said, ‘cuz of my profile, they needed to send a message.” You feel bad for Curtis for being treated differently because of his success. It doesn't seem fair, bringing someone so far down when they’d come so far and were so close to reaching their goals. “You let yourself down,” Nathan taunts, grinning deviously. Your eyes widen, wishing he had kept his mouth shut. “You let the kids down. You let your parents down-” Curtis fumes and stews in silence before suddenly bursting, launching forward at Nathan “Shut the fuck up! All I ever did was train! You know nothing! I shouldn’t even fuckin’ be here!” If only Nathan could just shut up for one second. “You can’t hit someone in a wheelch-” Nathan’s eyes flash wide open as a piece of duct tape appears over his mouth. Alisha and Simon sit up straighter, pulled to attention. You sit there horrified, realizing that for the first time that you definitely aren’t the only one seeing this. Nathan points to Curtis in accusation. “It wasn’t me, mate.” He holds his arms up, taking a few fearful steps back. You feel sick to your stomach, too frozen in place to say anything. Nathan lets out a muffled scream and tries to pull off the duct tape, scrambling at it with his fingers. It crumbles into his hands like dust before disappearing completely. You let out a huge sigh of relief, but your heart continues to thump away in your chest. “Who was that?” Nathan yells, jumping out of the wheelchair, which rolls backward until it hits the wall. You gulp. “I- I think I did it?” “Well, what the fuck for?! And how?” He rears on you, anger and confusion written plainly on his face. “I have no idea,” you admit honestly. Alisha scoffs and giggles, somehow finding the situation funny. “Do you wanna know what I got done for?” “Not really,” Nathan remarks, turning his head to glare at you before plopping himself back down in the wheelchair. That sends a pang of guilt through your chest. You don’t really know what you did, or how you did it. Alisha motions for you to come closer and you all gather to sit in audience before her, “Me and my mate Chloe, we’re having cocktails in this bar, yeah? An’ she’s hassling me, ‘cuz she wants to go to this party. Chloe is on one because she thinks Jack is doing Lucy. A total slut fuck. So we get in my car. I drive us to the party.” “Nathan?” you whisper, poking his arm to get his attention. “We go into one of the rooms, yeah? Jack’s not doing Lucy, he’s doing Ellie. She is a proper slut.” “What?” He still looks pissed. “I’m sorry. Something really weird’s going on.” You hope he believes you, he seems pretty fun, if a bit vulgar, and you aren’t even sure of how you’d screwed it up. “Chloe freaks. I’m driving us back into town. Chloe’s all like ‘Oh, I feel sick.’ I’m like ‘Don’t puke in my car. Do not puke in my car.’” “Alright.” He gives you a small smile. “Really?” You didn’t think it would be that easy, but maybe he remembered what Kelly said earlier. “That’s when the police pull us over. I’m already banned from driving, so I am like ‘Fuuuck.’” “Yeah, no hard feelings.” He reaches down to ruffle the top of your hair, weirdly enough, but it fits pretty well with what you know of Nathan so far. “This cop, yeah? He hands me the breathalyzer and I’m like ‘Do I suck, or blow?’” Alisha runs her tongue along the bottom edge of her water bottle before licking the cap and putting her lips around it, slowly working up and down. “It’s insane, I’m totally workin’ it, yeah?” She licks up the bottle’s side before sticking the entire top in her mouth again and bobbing her head back and forth, in and out, pursing her lips as she picks up speed before slowly and carefully pulling it back out. “Now, I don’t know if this cop is gay or what, but he tells me I’m four times over the limit. It’s bullshit. I didn’t even want to go to the party.” You’re a little grossed out, but all the boys are gaping at this point. Just then, the front doors fly open with a bang and Kelly tumbles into the room, scrambling to her feet to lock it, screaming, “He’s gonna kill us!” You scramble backward before jumping up from your seat on the floor. Nathan spins around in his chair, clapping. “Nice entrance. Very dramatic.” But Kelly looks distraught and shaken, and you don’t think she’s exaggerating anything. “The probation worker’s gone mental. He just attacked me! Something really weird is happening. I’m hearin’ these voices. It’s like I can hear what people are thinking!” she explains hastily. “Have you been sniffing glue?” Alisha scolds, tilting her head to the side in mock sympathy. Kelly raises her voice, practically yelling in desperation, “The storm, the lightning! It’s done something to us!” “Okay,” Nathan speaks up. “If you can hear our thoughts, what am I thinking now?” “You think it’s bullshit?!” Kelly exclaims. “‘Course I think it’s bullshit!” he snaps back. “You don’t need to be a mind reader to know that.” “Why are you in a wheelchair?” she asks tentatively, just now noticing it. “It was the storm!” You roll your eyes as he messes with her. “The strange tingling sensation in my anus has spread to my body and now I can’t feel my legs.” She realizes he’s joking and kicks him “I’m serious!” “Ow! Jesus!” You decide to take a gamble at something. Kelly, you think, the storm did something to me too. “What, you, too?” She asks, turning to face you. “Yeah,” you nod. “It happened just a few minutes ago. I wanted Nathan to shut up and then duct tape just appeared over his mouth. And it happened with the graffiti earlier, I wanted it to disappear, and then it did, for a second.” Her eyes light up and she turns to the rest of the group. “See? I ain’t lyin’!” “Well then, what do you mean the probation worker attacked you?” Curtis takes a few steps towards her. Alisha doesn’t believe either of you, “This does sound like complete shit.” “He’s out there and he chased me!” She insists, frantically pointing to the door. “Something’s happened to me, too,” Simon speaks up. “Did you pop your cherry?” Nathan teases, still not taking any of this seriously. “Oh, we’re all very happy for you!” Simon ignores him and addresses everyone else. “Earlier on, when we were in the locker room… I was invisible. I turned invisible.” “So she’s psychic, you can make hallucinations or whatever, and you can turn invisible?” Curtis speaks, trying to make sense of everything. He chuckles. “Yeah, that seems likely.” “Did anyone witness this miraculous disappearance?” Nathan questions, leaning forward in his chair. “Yes!” you exclaim, turning to Simon. “You were standing by the buckets and then you weren’t! I wondered where you’d run off to.” Simon nods, spurred on by your admission, “You were all there.” Alisha scoffs, still not convinced, “I think we might have noticed you vanishing into thin air.” “I was standing right there and you couldn’t see me,” he insists, a sad, almost betrayed look crossing his face. “Alright.” Nathan puts on a determined look and wheels over to Simon. “Go on, then. Do it. Turn invisible.” Simon tenses and grunts, trying to force it. You glare at Nathan for putting him on the spot like this, and you feel a pang of guilt for generally encouraging his antics. “Oh, my god!” Nathan exclaims. “He’s disappeared!” You roll your eyes and groan, feeling worse by the second. Simon, however, seems to believe him, holding out a hand in front of Nathan’s eyes. “Can’t you see me?” “No,” Nathan gasps before throwing his empty soda can at Simon’s head and proclaiming, “you’re invisible!” “You prick! What’d you do that for?” you ask, miffed, but he ignores you. “You all are hilarious, really. Keep taking that medication.” He starts wheeling towards the door, but Kelly jumps in front of him and grabs his armrests. “Don’t go out there, he will kill you!” she yells. “Of course he will, ‘cuz he’s such a badass,” Nathan retorts sarcastically. “Don’t!” She screams, with angry and fearful tears in her eyes. Curtis just walks past her to the door, scoffing in disbelief, “Come on, this is the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard.” “No!!” Kelly shrieks, throwing Curtis out of the way as the door swings open. You hear a bellowing roar as a metal tube flies through the open door and into Kelly’s head, spraying streams of blood up and down the wall beside her. “Kelly!” you cry in shock. Her expression slackens and her eyes go blank as she slumps against the wall and tumbles to the floor, dead. Tony bursts into the room with a sharp, red-stained tube in his hands. Another scream tears at your throat as you feel a hand on your arm, Nathan’s, pulling you away and setting you running down the hall. . . . . . “Can’t you see me?” Simon gasps, holding out a hand in front of Nathan’s eyes and appearing to believe him. “No,” Nathan gaspes before throwing his empty soda can at Simon’s head and proclaiming, “you’re invisible!” “You prick! What’d you do that for?” you ask, miffed, but he ignores you. “You all are hilarious, really. Keep taking that medication.” He starts wheeling towards the door, but Kelly jumps in front of him and grabs onto his armrests. “Don’t go out there, he will kill you!” she yells. “Of course he will, ‘cuz he’s such a badass,” Nathan retorts sarcastically. “Don’t!” She screams, with angry and fearful tears in her eyes. Curtis jolts forward, fear gripping his expression “She’s telling the truth.” Nathan looks absolutely delighted. “And you know this how? I suppose you’re psychic now, too?” Curtis’ entire demeanor has completely shifted. He’s breathing heavily now out of shock or fear, or because of something you can’t quite understand. He speaks urgently and uneasily, “All this. It’s already happened once. I opened the door, the probation worker, he killed you.” He points to Kelly. “You were right there. You were dead. Everything froze. You were all just standing there. Time went backwards.” “What are you saying?” Alisha pipes up. “What, you turned back time?” Nathan rises from his seat, eyeing Curtis curiously, “This just gets better by the second.” He strides to the door. “Everything happened again, exactly the same. I’m telling you, don’t open that door!” Curtis insists, following after him. You run. “Nathan, no!” you scream, reaching the door just as he puts a hand on it. A giant lock and chain appears around the handles. He gives you an odd glance before yanking the door open regardless, and the chains turn into dust and disappear. You couldn’t see what he was looking at, but an expression of terror sweeps across Nathan’s face and he closes and locks the door in a flurry of jittery movements. “He’s right, the probation worker’s gone mental!” he gasps. Tony slams into the other side of the door and your heart leaps out of your chest. You only catch a glimpse of his hulking, dark frame silhouetted against the frosted glass before Nathan shrieks and pulls you away to join the rest of the group, who are all standing together. “Maybe he’s on crystal meth,” Alisha tries to reason, but the waver in her voice gives away her fear. “I mean, that stuff makes you crazy. My friend Chloe did it, she nearly shagged her brother. And he’s really ugly” “Enough about Chloe!” you exclaim. “It sounds like she’s made some really poor life choices and I’d rather not follow in her footsteps!” Simon gasps, realizing something, “The graffiti. ‘I’m going to kill you,” he wrote it.” “What did I say? I said there was a hidden meaning! Or not.” Nathan retorts. Realizing his hand is still clasped around your arm, he drops it awkwardly and looks away. “Did anything happen to you?” Kelly asks, turning to face Alisha. “No, we should call the police!” she suggests adamantly. Simon shakes his head. “He took our phones, he’s got all our phones.” Nathan turns to look at you and you smile, pulling your phone out of your pocket. “Well, not all of them.” You hold it up for the rest of the group to see, turning it on to find- “Fuck! I don’t have reception in this shithole.” “Let’s get out of here, then,” Curtis offers. “Out the back way, come on!” Nathan calls, moving down the hall and motioning for everyone to follow him. But as he turns the corner, he slips, crying out and falling to the floor with a loud squelch and a squeak. Nathan is sprawled on the floor in a pool of thick, stagnant blood. Your stomach churns as you try to keep yourself from retching. “Is that blood?!” Kelly screams. Realization washes over Nathan and he scrambles to his feet, “Oh, fuck! Jesus Christ!” He gapes at the dark red smears coating his hands and gags, wiping them desperately on his jumpsuit. “Get it off me, Jesus!” It’s then that you notice the locker. Blood oozes from each vent and out onto the tile below, trickling down the front of the door like a morbid waterfall. Curtis approaches carefully before gingerly opening the door. Gary’s smashed in head lurches forward and you all jump, screaming as it lolles back and forth. His jumpsuit is stained red in various gruesome places and his body is sitting at odd, gut-wrenching angles in the tiny locker. Blood has dripped down from his ears, nose, and mouth, and predominantly from a gaping, disgusting wound on the left side of his neck. “It’s Gary,” Simon murmurs. “I did wonder what had happened to him,” Nathan mumbles, inching closer and peering at the contorted, lifeless form before you. It is undoubtedly the worst thing you have ever seen, but you can’t take your eyes off of it, the horror is all-encompassing. “He’s gonna kill us,” Alisha whispers, on the verge of tears. “Turn back time,” Nathan says to Curtis. “Stop this happening.” “I don’t know how it works!” He exclaims frantically. “Oh, that’s great, that’s really useful!” Nathan chides. Curtis ignores him, instead turning to comfort Alisha “Come on, don’t look at him.” You wish the body would disappear, and some dark sheets appear to cover everything. You know it’s temporary, but you just want to be able to look away. Curtis puts his hand on Alisha’s arm and gasps. “I’ve got to have sex with you right now! You’re so beautiful.” He grabs her shoulder and pulls her closer to him. “What’s up with him?” Nathan calls in confusion. Alisha is screaming and trying to pull her arm out of Curtis’s grip. “Let’s go, let’s do it now!” He reaches his hand into his pants and you turn away, disgusted. Your mind screams at you to do something, to pull him off of her, but you have no idea what’s happening and you freeze.   “Get off me, you freak!” Alisha finally yanks her arm out of his grasp and stumbles back. “What?” Curtis asks, completely unaware of what just occurred, of what he said and tried to do. Alisha reels back an arm, preparing to slap him. He grabs it out of the air and his skin touches hers again, suddenly groaning in a way that makes your skin crawl. “You’re so hot! I’m gonna bone you, I’m gonna shag you senseless!” “Let go!” she yells, stumbling backward out of his grip. The look on her face is confused and horrified, and a thousand other emotions you had hoped never to see on anyone you knew. “What did I do?” Curtis asks. Kelly speaks up, “Uh, you said you were gonna shag her?” “And you were gettin’ your chap out,” Nathan points. “Shut up!” Curtis gasps, messing with the waistline of his pants. “It’s when you were touching her,” Simon realizes. Alisha looks down at her shaky hands before reaching to touch the side of Simon’s neck. He jerks up, gasping. “I’m so hard for you. I want to rip your clothes off and piss on your tits,” Simon growls. Alisha rips her hand from him and jumps back. “What is happening to me?!” She cries. Nathan turns to Simon, looking amused and mildly disgusted, “You sick bastard!” Suddenly, the door behind you caves in, sending shards of glass flying in every direction. Tony falls through, bringing parts of the broken door frame with him as he tumbles to the floor. You hear Nathan yell in surprise as he backs away, getting as far from Tony as possible. You go the other direction, stupidly pinning yourself against one of the remaining glass doors. Tony snarls and reared on you, raising himself onto his knees before climbing to his feet. Your shriek is lost in everyone else’s screams, but then Kelly jumps in front of you from seemingly nowhere, brandishing a paint can in one hand. She swings it at Tony and it slams into his head with a sickening thunk. He collapses back to the floor, motionless. “What did you do?” Nathan gasped after a few shockingly silent seconds, genuinely horrified. The side of the paint can was caved in and smeared in red. There was a hole in Tony’s head that blood had begun to spill from. You whimpered and stumbled away from him, keeping as close to the wall as possible before leaving it to shuffle past the locker that held Gary. “Is he dead?” Alisha asked in a high pitched whisper. Nathan speaks up, “Well, I’m no doctor, but… You see the way the back of his head’s caved in like that?” Suddenly, Tony roars and grasps at Kelly’s leg, which is only a few feet from him. You jump back and feel an arm wrap around you and turn your head away from the quickly escalating scene of horror. Kelly reacts immediately, tearing her leg from his grip and bringing it down on his head, over and over again in a chorus of appalling splinters and squelches. “That should do it,” Nathan speaks as he lets his arms fall from your shoulders, his voice creaky with distress. “You killed our probation worker,” Alisha gasps, turning to Kelly. Kelly shakes her head slightly in shock. “This is very, very bad.” Nathan runs his hands through his hair. Alisha gags, looking away from Tony’s corpse. “Oh, I feel sick.” “He would have killed us!” Kelly reasons, insecurity and fear worming its way into the warble of her voice. “We should call the police. It was self-defense,” Curtis suggests, echoing Alisha’s words from only a few minutes ago. But while that was your original plan, it was now entirely out of the question. “Yeah,” Alisha agrees, “yeah, he’s right. We show ‘em the dead boy in the locker. They’ll do some CSI shit and figure it all out.” “They won’t believe us!” Kelly cries, and you suspect she’s right. “We just tell them the truth. We stick to our story,” Curtis persists. “What’s our story?” she asks, exasperated. “That he can turn invisible and she can conjure illusions and you can turn back time?! It doesn’t matter what we tell them, they’ll say we’re lying. They’ll say that we killed ‘em both! No one’s gonna believe you, not anymore.” She’s right. You know she’s right, deep in your being, in your bones, and you hate it. You hate how true it is, how messed up and unfair it is. “If there’s no body, there’s no crime,” Simon mutters anxiously. Everyone turns to look at him. “We should bury them under the flyover.” “Yeah? How do we do that? Someone’s gonna see us,” Alisha points out. You’re grateful for that, honestly. You’re all so distraught right now, you might have actually just walked outside with two dead bodies without thinking there would be consequences. Nathan shakes his head and you can practically see him thinking. “No, no, no. We give them a quick little,” he whistles to represent cleaning or something. “We put them in those wheelchairs, we wheel them up there, and if anyone sees us, we’re just a bunch of young offenders taking a couple of specials for a walk in the sunshine!” He tries to smile, but he looks far too tense to do so.     After cleaning up and redressing the bodies, wheeling them under the flyover, and digging the hole, Nathan and Kelly tip over the wheelchairs, now soaked in blood, and dump the bodies into the ground. Nathan looks up at you somberly, a queasy expression on his face. Everyone is silent for a few seconds, partially relieved, but also knowing that the real danger begins now, with keeping this covered up. Nathan shakes his head and puts on his usual playful airs, “I’m pretty sure this breaches the terms of my ASBO.” It isn’t even that funny, but you’re so weary, so exhausted from the past two days of crazy events and literal murder, that you start laughing. Nathan does too, first small giggles, then snickers, and then all-out laughter. The mood hasn’t lightened much by the time you quiet down, and you only feel marginally better, but it’s the best you’ve felt in the past few hours, so that’s a start. “We don’t tell anyone about this, yeah?” Kelly instructs. Everyone nods. “About the storm or what it did to us or anything.” “We’re about to bury our probation worker, we don’t need to be drawing any attention to ourselves,” Nathan agrees. “I don’t want anyone to know.” Alisha grabs a shovel and stands by the open grave. “I cannot be a freak.” “It’s too late for me on that front,” you joke, “but being convicted for murder wouldn’t help anything.” “What about you?” Kelly points to Curtis, who remains bitterly silent. Nathan shakes his head, “There’s no goin’ back now, man. You’re just as screwed as the rest of us. You are black and famous, you’re probably more screwed.” “I shouldn’t even be here,” Curtis spits. “You don’t really have a choice,” you point out. Curtis meets your gaze for a second before bending down and digging his shovel into the newly upturned soil. You follow suit. Kelly turns to Alisha, “Just then, when he was touchin’ ya… How were you doin’ that?” “I don’t know!” Alisha responds, trying to brush her off. “Didn’t you say you wanted to piss on her tits?” Nathan teases, unfortunately reminding everyone of the particulars of that scene. “Probably best to keep that kind of thing between you and your internet service provider.” Simon is clearly trying not to look mortified, and he just continued shoveling. “Are you alright?” Curtis stops for a moment to address Alisha, remembering the involuntary part he played in the discovery of her power. She doesn’t say anything. Kelly stands up suddenly to repeatedly glance between you and Nathan. “What?” you ask. Nathan glares insistently at her, realizing what’s happening even as you don’t. “It’s nothin’,” Kelly shrugged and returned to shoveling. After a few more minutes, Nathan stands up and leans on his shovel, “Hold on, all of you have some kind of ‘special power.’ “Everyone can do something except me. He can do something,” he points to Simon, “he can do something and I can’t. That’s ridiculous, look at him! How does that make any sense.” Simon stops for a moment to wipe some sweat from his brow. “Well he sure is working harder than you,” you point out. “I work harder in other areas,” Nathan explains suggestively. “Maybe you can do something, you just haven’t found out what it is yet,” Simon reasons. “Yeah, right.” Nathan smiles, emboldened by the possibilities. “What if… What if I can’t feel pain?” Kelly punches him. “Ow!” “Did you feel that?” She grins. You laugh, completely understanding the impulse. “Stop hitting me!” Nathan protests. “Both of you!”     The sky has darkened significantly by the time you finish the burial, and it isn't helped by the fact that you have to stop every few minutes when it suddenly looks like everything is done because you really want to just be finished. It’s actually a pretty good exercise in controlling your power. It’s even later by the time you finish cleaning off the wheelchairs, locker, and the surrounding area. Nathan catches up with you as you leave, asking if you want to walk home with him again. His voice sounds chipper and you half expect him to be joking, but when you look up, his eyes plead with you to say yes. So you do. And you don’t walk in silence. There is much to say about the past two days and it feels good to say it, to divulge your fear and your worries, and to hear them reciprocated. He turns down the same street he did the previous day and you walk the rest of the way alone, trying not to let your overwhelming fear of the future overtake you. You finally return home and collapse onto your bed for the second day in a row, once again hoping that the next day would be better, and doubting that it could be much worse.
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baseballbitch116 · 4 years
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Stay At Camp(1.2)
Your Walking Dead - Daryl Dixon Interactive Love Story
Introduction: Follow along on your journey with Daryl and the others throughout the series... You choose your actions... Will you end up with Daryl? YOU have the power to decide that!
Pairing: Daryl Dixon x reader
Setting: Atlanta camp - before Rick has joined (S1E2-3)
Word Count: 3263
Series Warnings: Gore, violence, strong language, potentially triggering content, sexual themes, death, mentions of drug/alcohol consumption and abuse...
Chapter Warnings: Violence, gore, death, strong language, angst,
A/N: I’d just like to note that I used a lot of true dialogue from the show, which does not belong to me; however, Y/N and the rest of the writing does.
Masterlist
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“What’s going on?” You ask Glenn as he passes you. “Going on a run. Wanna come?” He asks, stopping and turning to look at you.
You had never gone with them on a run before, what exactly do you do? Would you just get in the way? But then again, you’ve been wanting to find a way to pull your weight… What should you do?
~~~
“Uhh, nah... I’ll stay back.” You respond with uncertainty. You feel slightly guilty, but you just don’t think that you’re ready to go out there just yet. Glenn nods and shoots you a reassuring smile before turning and heading toward the others. With a sigh, you head the opposite way to help out with some cleaning.
Your mind is preoccupied for most of the remainder of the day, wandering between your insecurities or fears, sometimes to different terrible scenarios that could be taking place on that run. Trying to keep yourself busy was the only was that you managed to stay sane - so that was what you did. You helped Amy clean and gut the fish her and her sister caught earlier in the day, tidied up the RV, helped Shane gather firewood, asked Carol to try to teach you how to sew, and even assisted the kids with homework - seeing as you were recently graduated from college with a degree in education.
The day drug by slowly, but eventually the sun set and everyone gathered around the fire Shane set up in to eat. It was a simple meal of canned beans and canned soup, each of you getting small portions in order to feed everyone. You sat beside Amy as you spooned at your food, listening to Dale explain his reasoning behind adjusting his watch every morning. You lent against the log that the others sat on, not overly concerned with dirtying your shorts, as you and the women wash clothes every morning.
This certainly wasn’t a meal that you would have eaten a few weeks ago - not only did beans and soup not go together, but you really steered clear of the weird mushy food. You wished you had a nice cheeseburger or bowl of Fettuccine right now - but that was a luxury that no longer existed. It was not easy to cook meals in a pot over a fire, with minimal ingredients and two dozen people to feed.
You chuckle as Dale finishes his story, taking one more spoonful of the beans into your mouth as you listen to the others speak. Your eyes wandered to Carol and her family gathered around their own smaller fire off to the side - grimacing at the sight. You liked Carol and Sophia a lot - but Ed was another story. The man wanted nothing to do with the rest of the group, contributed less than nothing, and was very obviously abusive toward his wife. You also took notice of the fact that once again, Daryl was not here.
Typically, Daryl would bring back whatever he killed, cook it up and take his plate off to his tent to eat alone. You had not seen him eat alongside the rest of the group before, it made you curious. Why did he insist on being alone? Today, he was still out hunting, having only returned for an hour or so earlier before heading back into the woods. You couldn’t help but worry - he was alone in the woods in the night. Still, it wasn’t your place to worry. The man had probably spoken a total of two words to you since meeting him - if that - you were by no means friends.
You are drawn out of your thoughts when you spot Shane standing up, approaching Ed and Carol over at their fire. Some of the group watch as the others try to mind their business as Shane asks Ed to keep the fire low, so they can’t be seen from far away. You clench your spoon as you see the man tell Carol to remove the log that he just tossed into the fire - watching as Shane stomps it out and thanks Carol, bidding her and Sophia a good night. You liked Shane - he was a pretty good guy to lead this group.
-
The next day goes by relatively the same as the one before, with the exception that the others never returned from the run. Typically, they would be gone from morning until close to sun down, which worried everyone immensely. Amy was panicking and demanding that they go out to try to find her sister, but Shane refused. You could see both sides, feeling bad for Amy but understanding Shane’s reasoning. You tried to reassure her that they were probably fine, but the younger girl wouldn’t hear any of it.
Not long before sundown, you heard the sound of an alarm blaring through the hills. Shane jumped up from where he sat cleaning his shotgun, Lori pausing in trimming Carl’s hair as she followed after him. You tried to spot where the sound was coming from, but you could not see anything. “Talk to me Dale!” Shane shouts at the older man on watch atop the RV. He is looking out with binoculars, trying to pin point what was approaching. “Can’t tell yet.”
“Is it them? Are they back?” Amy asks anxiously. You place a hand on her back to try to comfort her, your heart pounding as you anticipate what is coming.
“I’ll be damned.” Dale mutters.
“What is it?” She demands.
“Stolen car is my guess.” He replies, dropping the binoculars as the red car comes into view.
Everyone gathered around camp when the car pulled up. Shane was furious that Glenn pulled up to camp in a red sports car, laughing excitedly as its alarm shrilled.
“Holy crap, turn that damn thing off!” Dale shouts at Glenn as he grins.
“I don’t know how!” He hollers with his arms open. Shane taps the hood impatiently, asking him to pop the hood as Amy bombards Glenn with questions over the loudness of the car.
“Pop the damn hood please!”
“Is she alright?! Is she okay? Where is she?!”
“Yes! They’re all okay! Well... Merle not so much.”
“Are you crazy driving this wailing bastard up here - you trynna draw every walker for miles?!” Shane exclaims, leaning on the open hood after he shuts the alarm off.
“I think we’re okay.” Dale mutters. You run a hand through your greasy hair as you wrap your head around everything. Everyone’s okay except Merle? Why was Glenn driving this in the first place?
“You call being stupid okay?” Shane asks, shooting a look over his shoulder at Dale.
“That alarm was echoing all over these hills - hard to pin point the source. Shane stands and places his hands on his hips, giving Dale a look. You can’t help but admire how he looks for a moment - his blue button down shirt with the top buttons undone, exposing his chest. His cargo pants were snug on his long legs and his black hair was disheveled from running his large hands through it so frequently. If it weren’t for Lori...
“I’m not arguing, I’m just saying.” Dale remarks. “But it wouldn’t hurt you to think things through a little more carefully.” He points a finger at Glenn, the smile long gone from his face. You shake your head and shift your weight as a white truck pulls up behind the other car. You feel your heart swell in happiness for your friend when Andrea steps out, running for her sister with teary eyes. You watch as Morales and everyone else reunite with their loved ones, both you and Shane exchanging a look as Lori comforts a saddened Carl.
When a new man steps out of the car, dressed in a cop outfit, you are confused when you see Shane’s face fall. He looks like he’s seen a ghost - does he know this man? “Dad!” Carl screams, running into the arms of the unknown man. You watch in awe as Carl and Lori reunite with who must be his father... You and all the other smile at the scene, a single tear strolling down your cheek as you rejoice for them.
Until it hits you.
You look at Shane, his face rising and falling, his expression changing every second. He’s been sleeping with Lori... From what you knew, her husband was shot and died in the hospital right as this all happened... Was this really that man? You had so many questions but instead went over to give Andrea a hug, happy to see your friend has returned safely.
After the others settled in, the fire was once again set up and everyone feasted, listening to stories and the man - Rick - explained what happened when he woke from the coma he was in. You kept glancing back at Shane, wondering whether he was happy his friend was alive or not. He explained that he thought he died, that he didn’t hear a heartbeat and was attached to machines, which sounded like enough reason to believe he had passed to you. Still, you noticed how he looked at Lori throughout the night and you knew that there was going to be tension after tonight.
Once again, Daryl had only appeared once in the morning, asking about the whereabouts of his brother and eating before heading back into the woods. You had met his eye when he strode off, ducking your head from the intensity of his stare.
The next morning, you awoke shortly after sunrise in order to get a head-start on the day. You were going down to the quarry to wash clothes with the women while Shane and Carl tried catching frogs. You dressed into denim capris that hugged your legs and a black tank top, your hair pulled up into a pony tail as you spooned leftovers from last night into your mouth alongside Amy and Andrea. You are sitting beside them on the RV stairs when you spot Daryl approaching the camp from the woods, a string of something swung over his shoulder as he heads your way.
Swallowing the lump that formed in your throat, you exchange a knowing look with the sisters - Merle was left behind. Daryl stops a few feet away from the RV, hollering for his brother as he sets down his crossbow. “Merle!” He hollers again, making you cringe as you note a string of squirrels thrown over his shoulder. You meet his eye for a moment when he glances over his shoulder toward the RV. “Get yer ugly ass out here! Got us some squirrel!” He shuffles the weight of the dead animals over his shoulder. You grimace at the sight - knowing that it was a good thing and you should be thankful, but it was gross and sad. “Let’s stew em up!”
“Daryl?” Shane calls out, stopping Daryl in his tracks. Everyone is gathered around by this point and you exchange a worried look with the girls when you spot T-Dog heading over with an armful of firewood. “Why don’t you slow up a bit? I gotta talk to you.”
“About wha?” Daryl asks, his southern accent prominent. You try not to seem too nosey but at this point a lot of the group was gathered around, anticipating his bad reaction. You set the bowl of food aside and stand, crossing your arms and leaning against the vehicle beside your friends. “This isn’t gonna be good.” Amy mutters to the two of you, keeping her voice low. Shane makes his way over to Daryl, Rick following behind.
“About Merle... There was a uh... There was a problem in Atlanta.” You watch anxiously as Daryl takes in the information, looking around the camp at the people gathered, chewing on his thumb.
“He dead?” He asks, glancing up at Shane sideways.
“I’m not sure.”
“He either is or he ain’t!” Daryl shouts, approaching Shane. Your body is tense now and you worry that he is going to do something stupid.
“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it.” Rick steps up, approaching Daryl. He glares at him angrily. You notice how Rick looks a lot different in his large white shirt and jeans than he did yesterday in his uniform.
“Who are you?”
“Rick Grimes.”
“Rick Grimes...” Daryl sneers, sarcasm dripping off his tongue. You feel the tension growing in the air. “You got somethin you wanna tell me?” He growls.
“Your brother was a danger to us all. So I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked onto a piece of metal. He’s still there.”
Daryl begins stalking back and forth, glaring between Shane and Rick, clearly bewildered. If you were in his shoes you would be too - it sounds pretty bad. “Hold on,” He starts, wiping his face and gesturing to his head. You notice that Daryl speaks with his hands quite a lot, mentally adding it to the things that you know about him. “Lemme process this. You’re saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof?! And you left him there!” He hollers at Rick, his tone raising with each word, making you jump at his loudness.
Before anyone can react, Daryl tosses the squirrels at Rick - who dodges them - and goes to lunge at him. Shane is quick to roughly shove him to the ground - making you cringe when he hits the ground on his back. You want to intervene but it’s not your place - and what would you do to stop the older, larger man?
Daryl whips out his large dagger, making you and Amy gasp when he swipes at Rick. Between Shane and Rick, they work together to disarm and get Daryl to the ground, Shane holding him in a choke-hold as Rick tries to reason with him. “You best let me go!” Daryl shouts, his face turning red as he struggles against Shane.
After a moment, Shane releases Daryl. He shuffles to his feet and resumes stalking and glaring at the men. “The hell with all y’all!” Daryl shouts, waving his arm in no real direction. You spot the tears he roughly wipes away and your heart drops for him. If that were your brother abandoned on a roof you would be pretty furious too. You can’t imagine how he must be feeling.
“Just tell me where he is.. So I can go get him.” Daryl grumbles.
“He’ll show you. Isn’t that right?” Lori speaks up, looking over at her husband. When he nods, she stomps past you into the RV and you exchange a confused look with Amy.
You, Andrea, Amy Jacqui and Carol decided to head down to start on the laundry after the scene. Ed tags along, irritating you, but you bite your tongue. Eventually Shane follows with Carl and you watch them mess around in the water, trying to catch frogs. The sight warms your heart - until Lori shows up and tells Carl to leave. You try not to watch too much, but everyone can hear and see her hollering at Shane, telling him to stay away from Carl.
You feel that is a little harsh, given all that Shane has done for her and that he says he thought Rick was dead. You keep your opinions to yourself as you scrub clothes in the water, droning out Carol as she talks. The girls start listing things that they miss and you all laugh when Andrea brings up her vibrator, Carol agreeing with her. The moment is cut short when Ed interrupts, saying that you guys are laughing too much.
You and Andrea turn and shoot him a look as he looms over you guys, lighting a cigarette. This man had nothing better to do than to supervise? You watch as Andrea stands up, approaching him and you dread the worst. You will not hesitate to stand up for her if he acts out of line - unfair to butt in in this situation.
“Ed, tell you what. You don’t like how your laundry’s done, you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself.” She suggests with a calm tone. You slowly stand from where you sat and turn to face them, ready for him to pull a dick move. “Here,” She suddenly tosses a wet pair of pants at Ed’s chest, which he immediately tosses back into her face, making her gasp. “Ain’t my job missy.” He drawls, taking a drag of his cigarette. The situation very quickly escalates as Amy tries to get her sister to back down but you take her side.
“No, what exactly is your job Ed? You think you can stand around and watch us all day? Got news for ya - we sure as hell aren’t your bitches.” You growl, daring the man to try you. You’ve had it up to here with this asshole, you’re dying for an excuse to fuck him up or go down trying.
He demands Carol follow him when he pussies out of the confrontation and ends up slapping her - sending all of you over the edge. Everyone is screaming as you and Andrea quickly start pounding on Ed’s chest, you digging your nails into his arms as you try to pull him off of Carol. You manage to get a punch in before he is literally drug off by Shane. You hold your throbbing fist as you watch Shane begin pummeling Ed, climbing on top of him and relentlessly beating him.
You almost want to cheer as he does so, grimacing as Carol cries and begs Shane to stop. Eventually he takes it too far and you all start hollering for him to stop. Carol runs over to the asshole’s side and sobs over him, making you sick as she apologizes to him. You and Shane meet eyes for a moment, your gaze landing on his bloody fists. “Shane-” You start, but he shrugs and shifts his weight, walking backward from the scene.
-
While some of the men got ready to go back to Atlanta to get Merle, you iced your throbbing hand on the steps of the RV. “You okay?” Glenn asks, shooting you a worried look. You nod and give him a halfhearted smile.
“I wish I could’ve beat his ass like Shane did.” You remark, shifting your weight slightly. Glenn lets out a chuckle and removes his cap, brushing his hair away.
“He deserved it.”
“Damn right he did.” You respond, wincing as you readjust the ice. You look up to spot Daryl getting ready a few yards away. He glances up, squinting at you in the bright sun as you sit there. Word quickly got around camp about what happened and it didn’t take a genius to figure out how you hurt yourself. You watch Daryl chew on his bottom lip, looking at you sideways before dropping his gaze back to his crossbow in hand.
“What’s that all about?” Glenn mutters. You glance up at him and cock a brow.
“Whaddya mean?”
“That. Daryl.” He clarifies, a smirk tugging at his lips. You drop your head as you feel your cheeks heat up, checking out your hand.
“Nothin. We don’t even talk.”
“You want to?” He asks, leaning his body against the RV, shooting a look back at the others that he is waiting for.
“I dunno, he doesn’t seem so bad.” You mumble, glancing up one more time when you see Daryl approaching the other men at the jeep, not looking at you this time. Glenn doesn’t respond, replacing his hat on his head and patting your shoulder. “Be careful.” You tell your friend, shooting him a weak smile that he returns as he walks off.
You watch as Glenn stands a few feet apart from Daryl, Shane giving Rick some bullets. “Let’s go! Wastin sunlight.” Daryl rushes them, making you chuckle slightly. You stand up and after one last look at your friends, you head back into the RV.
| NEXT CHAPTER |
~~~
And that’s the end of the second option! This next chapter will end with more choices that you will need to make to continue through the story. You are heading down a spiral of choices and consequences. A simple decision like choosing to stay at camp is going to set the foundation of this story and all of the choices you are going to need to make following it! If you read the first option, you would see just how different the story has become, and it will only go more into depth as you continue down more paths.
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