#this probably had 10 spelling errors I need to get a beta reader

[bing-whoops]

TO BE LOVED IS TO BE CHANGED | DIAVOLO . *. ⋆ ⊹ ౨ৎ˚₊

chapter 1 : lord give me one last chance!

꒰ summary ꒱ It was as if the world was against you. Your bad luck truly couldn’t get any worse — but at least you didn’t have to deal with the political fallout of a missing heir in an unknown realm! That doesn’t sound like something you’d have to worry about.

꒰ pairing ꒱ diavolo x reader

꒰ warnings ꒱ child endangerment ( it’s obvious but don’t drive with a toddler as it was described in the story ), mentions of suicide, mention of drugs, swearing, mention of dubious consent into reproducing a baby — like really dubious from one side and just straight up nonexistent consent from the other ( although the baby was conceived through magic, and not sexually, it was still something Diavolo didn’t have a say in )

꒰ word length ꒱ 4.2k

꒰ author's note ꒱ this is my first series in general so any comments regarding it (or dm’s) are appreciated and encouraged! I would love to hear you guys' thoughts on it

꒰PREVIOUS꒱ ꒰ MASTERPOST ꒱ ꒰ NEXT ꒱

Waking up as the sun rose was never fun.

Today, this daily experience was even worse. Why? Yesterday’s surreal experience was in fact real and not a figment of your imagination. There were still three dead bodies outside ( you were probably being hunted as a result of your decision to go to sleep instead of burying them ) and you still had a baby drooling over you while staring you down with those odd eyes.

A chubby baby hand smacked your cheeks; was this an attempt to get your attention?

That was the first sluggish thought that came to your mind which had just recently woken up from its slumber. Your eyes quickly snapped open as you realized a vital mistake you had made — had the baby eaten anything since he was brought here? You stared back at the baby; the baby stared back at you. The wind rattled the semi-broken window and you felt sweat gather in the nape of your neck while laying down with the weight of the baby in your chest. Was the baby trying to communicate his hunger?

Starving a baby was definitely a criminal charge.

You sat upright with the urgency you had never had in your entire life concentrating into this very moment to avoid going to the place your roommate is definitely rotting in at this time. The baby plopped down to your hands that moved as an after thought to avoid him just rolling down to the bed with the abrupt movement. There was not a single indication in the infant’s face.

Instead giggles erupted from the child who seemed to be the only one having a good time.

At least there wasn’t a big probability of emotional scarring occurring.

You slowly shuffled out of bed while keeping a firm hold on the baby that had now latched onto your ear while pulling it. This wasn’t as bad as it could be — you had witnessed babies throw migraine worth tantrums, and if treating you like a squeaky toy helped avoid that then you would gladly endure it.

“Well…! How do you feel about fried chickens?” This was in fact all you had for food at the moment. It was looking rough for the both of you already and this was saying something considering the dead bodies rotting outside.

A gurgle sounded near her shoulder where the baby was currently leaning his head against, “I’ll take that as a redundant no.”

Yet mornings were usually slow were they not? It was easy to miss things. From realizing that the food that was being held was not appropriate for a baby to realizing the blood of the woman that had throw herself of a cliff had followed a trail away from her body to simulate an oddly shaped circle with bat-like wings and unfamiliar symbols. It was vert easy to miss the odd way the baby’s eyes glistened when the individual that had witnessed it refused to acknowledge it.

Ignorance is a bliss.

Or at least this was what you kept repeating to yourself as you avoided looking at the dead bodies for a second time in fear of throwing up once again. The baby clung to you tighter while leaning over your shoulder — gently you guided his head to rest lower so he was not leaning over your shoulder and staring at the repeated tragedies that occurred last night. Perhaps he would not remember it when he was older, but you preferred not making anyone feel any unnecessary turmoil.

The sun was brighter than ever while you attempted to walk up the marked trail up the hill. Your heart hammered in your chest as you fanned the baby with a make-shift fan made from paper — you were more worried about the child fainting on you as a result of low sugar levels and the sun blistering with frightening intensity than yourself getting a sunburn.

Let it be known that all of this effort was not made because you liked the way the sun was slowly roasting you like pig, nor were you fond of the way that the rocks throughout the trail dug into the sole of your very thin sandals. The reason why you couldn’t simply stay in the cabin after calling the emergency number was because your phone had smoked itself out?

You were still not sure how that had happened, but the again you were no technician genius either. In one second you were about to dial the emergency number and in the next second there had been a bright light coming from its side — comparable to a spark of electricity — this had caused you to yelp and throw the phone to the bed. Then it just — well — started letting smoke out without stop for a couple of minutes before quietly dying out.

Throughout this experience the baby had remained in your arms, initially actively playing with your hair by pulling it. However, as soon as you had grabbed the phone the pulling stopped slowly until a glance to your side revealed that the baby was quietly staring at the phone with an adorable pout.

After you had thrown the phone to the wall you immediately used both of your hands to hold the baby in fear of him getting startled and crying out. Yet, strangely enough the only reaction you had seen was a clapping of hands before he went back to pulling and twisting your hair. With shaky hands you tightened your hold on the baby and thanked your luck that the baby was young enough to not realize any possible danger which could cause it to start crying.

“You’re behaving so well,” You muttered with a thankful smile as you opened your back seat of your car that had been parked in the ‘designated parking place’ according the woman who had let you rent the cabin. You then stopped, your arms that had been lowering the baby even after seeing his hands clutching your shirt tightly also froze in place. How were you gonna legally and safely transport this child in your vehicle? You did not have the correct or proper car seat for baby.

At this moment you had managed to place the baby in the back seat and just in cue the baby started hiccupping while making grabbing hands to where you were currently sitting. You let your hands hide your face as you sighed loudly realizing that it was either taking your chances and wait for a random person to pass by this very much isolated part of the road, which could take days of waiting in the side of the road, or take your chances with putting the baby in very much unsafe driving conditions.

At this time the baby had finally started stopped hiccupping.

Why? The baby had crawled out of the sit and reached towards you to latch onto your pants that were on a reaching range for the baby as a result of the car door being open while you stood quite close to it while deciding which of your two options were the lesser evil.

A delighted squeal came from the baby that had now latched onto your leg like a baby koala.

‘Were babies supposed to be this strong?’ Strong wasn’t the right word you were looking for, but it wasn’t too far off. Every time you managed to get him to unlatch him from you he came back even clingier. You would be a little bit more annoyed had you not witnessed his caretaker? mother? split her head open in front of you. It made your heart ache just a little bit every time you think about the idea that such a lively baby experienced loss at an age where it couldn’t even be registered just yet.

Resentment built up inside you as you remembered who else was involved with this. Your roommate better not have had anything to do with the suicide of that woman. The police officers were not too eager to give details regarding what had occurred, and well now there was no way you were going to get any information from them now.

“Come on,” You sighed as you attempted to remove the baby from your leg. A pitiful whine was heard coming from the baby that had quite literally taken your leg hostage, “I know this is scary but the faster we get to the nearest police station the easier it will be.”

You didn’t feel too smart right. Especially considering you were attempting to communicate with the baby.

Unsurprisingly the hold that baby had in your arms did not ease in the slightest, because he was a baby. A miserable sigh left your mouth as you stepped back from the back door of your car and closed it with a loud ‘thud’. You walked around your car to get to the front seat — throughout all of this the baby remained firmly glued to your leg. You were not willing to accidentally harm the baby and possibly look more suspicious with the already three deaths that had occurred in your presence. The last thing you needed was child abuse added to possible charges. If you weren’t able to get him to be unglued from your leg under those ten minutes then you’ll simply stick him in the passenger seat so whatever separation anxiety is going on will be put to a momentarily stop.

“It’s okay,” You muttered with what you hoped was a reassuring tone of voice, “Don’t be scared — everything will be okay.”

Everything will not be okay. Because apparently nobody who reached their hundreds was capable of being left alone with this baby without wanting to kill him.

The drive was the most nerve-wracking that you had in your entire life, and honestly you would rather for it to never be repeated. It felt as if everything you were feeling was increased tenfolds. From the anxiety regarding the possibility of an accident occurring (on the very much empty road ) or the police stopping you and taking you go jail for doing the very much sensible decision of driving with a baby in the passenger seat with only an average seatbelt for protection ( even though a police officer would be quite helpful to deal with the mess left back at the cabin )

You ended up parking in a random gas station after remembering that the passenger had not eaten.

Probably long enough for it to be concerning.

The tattered clothing that the baby still had continued to bother you, but really the rest of the clothes that you had brought were probably not of the right material to cover a baby with — especially when they had such sensitive skin.

You unbuckled your seatbelt and paid no attention to the other car that was parked long before you arrived.

Slowly walking around the car you opened the passenger door and failed to suppress a helpless smile after seeing the baby squeal in delight after seeing your face pop up over the window. At least someone was having a nice time.

“Hello to you too.” You answered with a slight smile, now on better spirits now that you had found a place that at least had some chances of having baby food.

The gas station was surrounded by quite the amount of trees. Now that it was around noon it was easy to observe the place and what laid around it. However, you doubted the same could be said at night — what an eerie sight that must be.

You unbuckled the seatbelt of the baby ( still surprised that you had the bad luck of running into somebody who could let you borrow their phone ) and instantly had your hands full of him. You were left dumbfounded as the child that had been calmly sitting had managed to lunge at you and imitate a koala with the way that he was holding your left hand.

It was adorable if not a little a little worrying. Babies usually were this clingy right? You sure hope so — the faster you can solve this situation the better.

You decided to shrug and simply adjust your hold on the child to have an easier time closing the door and walking around without fearing the baby would fall.

As you closed the door you heard another car’s door closing not too far away from you.

This was ignored by you assuming that the car was already leaving as it had been here even before you arrived. You hurried your pace and bounced the baby in your arms as a way to entertain him and keep him calm. The branches that were quite near to the entry snapped under your feet; branches snapped behind you.

You ignored it once again.

The bell rung above you as pushed the door open and stepped into the door. The air was moist and the window was opened next to the clerk who was an older man that was leaning backwards in his chair as he read a book.

He looked up and made eye contact with you. This man didn’t seem as interested in conversation as some may assume due to his clerk position; instead of a verbal greeting he simply nodded at you and went back to his book. While usually you would appreciate this short and precise greeting from people — this wasn’t the best occasion for such thing. You looked around the store and located no other employees that you could possibly ask for a phone to use.

The reason for your weariness? There was a big bold sign that said, “No bathroom or cell phones call without purchase first. No exception!

You of course could push more and if it really came down to it you were sure you could win against the old man to wrestle the phone out of his hand.

But — three dead people.

Did you really want to test your chances exposing to the police why fighting the old man was necessary?

You didn’t see it as something worthwhile when you could simply buy a pack of gum under a dollar and make a call in the same minute. With a smile overtaking your face you walked through the second aisle which had the pack of gum at the front of its row and snatched it with glee.

You turned around and a man was standing where you had just walked through. He was taller than you and had odd tattoos in his harms, it imitated what you would image a beginner’s artist attempt at drawing the sea would look like. He was dressed plainly in a way you hadn’t quite seen anybody before. You were not someone to judge but something about this man was odd — perhaps it was the way that the simple loose white pants with no patterns were paired with a even looser white shirt that made him stand out more due to how simple it was.

You shifted uneasily and adverted your gaze. Last thing you wanted was to look like an annoyance by this man. You were hyper aware of the way that the baby in your arm tried moving around to look at what you were looking and it was only because of your hand that he was stopped from doing so. You gave him a strained smile and attempted to walk through the aisle that you were currently in to avoid walking past him.

He just kept standing there.

Looking at you

You wanted to bash your head against a rock after you saw how his head moved to follow your steps while you walked. As your heart hammered in your throat an odd movement caused you to shift your eyes to where his forearms full of tattoos resting.

They moved

The tattoos moved

The fucking ink—

Your breathing stopped and so did your heartbeat. For a second you both stayed still — you weren’t quite sure you were seeing correctly. The ink just kept moving in his skin almost imitating the movement of snakes.

A cough was heard from the front of the store and that was dragged you out of your paralyzed state.

You breathed in

You breathed out

You tightened your grip on the baby who was trying to move in your hold

And you sprinted for the door.

Were you on drugs? No.

Was he on drugs? Maybe.

Did you want to take your chances and see if it was a hallucination or not? Hell no.

You were a firm believer of “when I see it I’ll believe it.” That wasn’t about to change anytime soon.

The baby in your arms yelled at the sudden movement before abruptly turning silent. The store wasn’t too big or too small; it would take you less than a minute to reach the door sprinting. Any trace of weariness regarding whether you should have taken such a drastic action was wiped out when your ears picked up on a set of steps that were rapidly approaching you.

There was only four people in the store. You, the baby, the old man, and this creep. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who was sprinting after you.

Your breathing picked up and so did your heartbeat. You could almost feel it at the back of your throat.

“Wait—“

Before he could finish shouting whatever he had to say the light above him coincidentally decided to just explode. You didn’t look back and managed to run past the old man at the counter who you briefly saw ducking under his desk — probably assuming it was a robbery.

As you stormed outside and kept booking it for your car you had no time to notice how once the man attempted to follow you by pushing the door open the door had abruptly slammed against his face — having gone in a direction that it wasn’t supposed to go in while also using an unnatural force to slam against your aggressor’s face.

( Later when you have managed to find someone to allow you to use their phone you would think back at what had occurred in the shop. While you reluctantly gave the baby away ignoring his sobbing and tight tiny hands holding onto your clothing — the police would be able to take care of him better than you could — you were also trying to ignore your clammy hands as you thought about the odd encounter in the shop )

( You had a lot of time to think about what had occurred; too much time was in your hands while being in a cell. Enough so to dream about the baby you had taken care for a couple of hours screaming and throwing a tantrum while being in the hands of a random police officer. What did left you waking up with a jolt was seeing the same officer have one of their TV quite literally explode in their face.

You didn’t sleep for the rest of the night. A day later police officers would be dispatched to check your story of the three dead bodies and it would ultimately be ruled as a accident )

( You didn’t quite notice how the officer that had appeared in your dreams had never gone to work in the three days you were held there for further investigation nor the way many others seemed to avoid touching the baby or getting close to it at all )

——————————————

Federico Benini was in a bit of a slump.

It wasn’t his fault of course.

Had those two been able to stick to the plan and stick the dagger through that demon spawn nothing else would have happened. There wouldn’t be five dead bodies as a result of that thing and he wouldn’t need to play hide and seek with a random non-magician human.

He didn’t have time for this!

They had somehow managed to get the Great Solomon into these brainwashed agenda of cooperating with the demon realm. Demons can’t be cooperated with — not when they are the epitome of punishment and selfishness in the world. Just like it has always been this interaction between mages and demons will end in misery for the magic-filled side while the demon rejoice in their misery.

There was no benefit to gain from having more controlled interaction by the demon council and their little prince that likes to act as a king. Which was why once he realized just which royal was backing and even founding this stupid little program he had decided to put a stop of it. One way or the other.

Federico wasn’t stupid either.

He knew just who was in the prince’s pocket. Someone known for their unnatural ability to just know things that shouldn’t be acknowledged or understood.

He couldn’t just quite go through the assassination in the old fashioned way and poison him or stab him in the back. Federico had to be more astute than that.

And what better way to do so than to simply reach the demonic prince through his bloodline. Obviously his father was out of the picture, but — a descendant was not. And what better way to do so than a human? Someone that had no idea that they were being used to have underlying intentions; someone who was in a vulnerable position and easy to pursue to a cause. Federico couldn’t have met Laura Bolton at a better time.

Someone recently out of jail without many friend or families that would miss or notice her being missing. A few honeyed words was all it took to convince her of a greater purpose she had to fulfill. It was quite pathetic.

And they thought that mixing demons with the naivety of people like this was a good idea?

He was doing everyone a favor — it was just that now in particular nobody was seeing it through the right point of view.

His point of view.

Blood was sacred by many communities — demons weren’t an exception to this. Why? It was quite easy to exploit your weakness if your blood was in their hands. Similar effect can be achieved through a close familiar tie.

Like a spawn.

And there was more than one way to get this to happen of course. He doubted the prince was idiotic enough to just sleep with a random human — no matter how much he claimed to like them. So Federico just had to create a situation of close proximity between the two and get his hands on the prince’s blood. Just to finally get rid of that program and the even more idiotic prince with it too.

That was the purpose of the ritual.

It wouldn’t be the first time killing a child for the greater good so he wasn’t as phased as others may have been — he made the rookie mistake of allowing huge outside member, Laura, to be present in the ceremony and witness the sacrifice that would bring balance to the three realms once again.

Killing the child and the father in one go.

Only to have Laura in the end back down and sprint away from the ceremony with the baby in her arms. He was furious, seething even. After all they had planned and worked for this plan she had the audacity to ruin it?

Federico would make sure that death would be mercy after he was done with her.

( He just didn’t account of the other member in the group to have enough of a opposition against his plan to go ahead and snitch to the demons but also run away with the child in her arms too! )

( It would only be discovered after he saw her mangled body at the bottom of a cliff. In eternal suffering — for helping those wretched creatures )

( He was quite full of sorrow at this sight — it only served to strengthen his resolve really. This was what caused the influence of demonic creatures, it had to be stopped one way or the other )

[witchbinchstories]

“We’re Going to be Okay” (Josh Washington x Reader)

Chapter 1 - Home

Chapter 2

Pairing: Josh Washington x Reader (Until Dawn)

Summary: When you get invited back to the Washington's lodge for winter break, how will things fall together as things start to go wrong? And what will happen with your friendship with Josh?

Words: ~3.5k

TW: Brief mentions of depression

A/N: So this was originally posted on AO3, so there might be some formatting issues. There are 10 chapters in total and all of them are already posted on my AO3. I’ll probably only post the first three chapters here. Also this is NOT beta read, so there is probably some accidental tense changes, maybe some spelling errors, who knows. Oh also there are two random OCs, Elora and Naomi. I sort of just needed some extra characters haha.

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By the time you get out of class, you’re practically exploding with joy at the thought of winter break finally being here and the sight of waking up to the gentle snowfall typical of your town during winter, the excitement of shopping for gifts, and the warmth of sitting beside the fire. Finally, a break from school work and finals, and you get to go home and see your family, and maybe even some of your old friends. You had been friends with Beth Washington ever since your family moved to Montana the summer before your freshman year of high school, but since you decided to go to college in Chicago, you hadn’t seen her in what felt like forever.

Mindlessly packing your clothes into your suitcase, listening to whatever music your roommate was playing on her speaker, you barely noticed your phone buzzing on your desk until you heard your roommate, Naomi, calling your name. Everything had felt like a whirlwind recently, with finals, projects, last-minute get-togethers because no one would see each other for a month, and the readiness to relax at home.

“I think someone’s calling you,” she nods towards your phone, hands full carrying a gigantic pile of clothes to her bed.

“Oh, thanks, I was totally spacing,” you reach over and pick up your phone before furrowing your eyebrows, “huh… that’s weird.”

“What?”

You stared at your phone screen, which reads the name “Josh Washington,” and finally accepted the call.

“Hello?” you ask into the phone. Then, that warm, familiar voice responds, saying your name, spreading a warm feeling bubbling, spreading out from your chest to permeate the rest of your body.

“Wow, you still sound the same,” Josh laughs lightly on the other end of the call, and  oh god  he says  you still sound the same but it’s still that same stupid laugh that pulled you under years ago, “I don’t know what I was expecting, it’s not like you’re suddenly going to sound like a 70 year old man. Anyways, how are you?”

You hesitate, totally forgetting you need to actually respond to his question like a normal human being. You pull yourself together enough to get out five words:

“I’m good, how are you?”

“I’m good, I’m good… I just wanted to call you to invite you to our lodge for, you know, the annual party. We were planning on going up to the lodge for a week and everyone’s going to be there around dinner on Monday.”

“Uh, yeah, I totally- yes, I’ll come,” you laugh awkwardly after stumbling over your own words, “I’ll have to ask my parents but I’m sure they’ll say yes. Thanks for inviting us and, uh, doing this every year, Josh”

“Yeah, of course, any excuse to do stuff without parental supervision, right? Well, I guess I’ll see you later.”

You say a goodbye before hanging up and returning to your packing, but of course Naomi has a million questions. You try to prevent her questions by acting like you need to wash your hands or brush your teeth or anything to require you to turn on the water so you can’t hear her, but she just follows you to the bathroom.

“Who was that?” she asks excitedly.

“Just an old friend inviting me to an annual party, that’s all.”

“Mhmmm… well from your face it seems like you like this ‘Josh.’ Are you going to make a move?” She grabs your shoulders and lightly shakes your shoulders, making eye contact with your reflection in the mirror.

“Liked and no, I’m not going to do anything, nothing’s going to happen.”

“Oh come on, you’re spending time with him again after not seeing him for a while, it seems like you still like him, and from what you said it sounds like there’s not going to be any parents there.”

You roll your eyes with a sigh. You secretly appreciate the teasing and know she at least would support you if you actually  did have a relationship with Josh. Like that’ll ever happen. “Okay, okay, we’ll see what happens and-” you stop Naomi as she is beginning to say something, as you know exactly what she’s about to say, “I will call you and tell you everything when I get back home from the trip.” That seems to satisfy her and you go back to packing in peace.

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

Your drive home brings a lot of thinking, daydreaming, and reminiscing. Mostly remembering. When you had first arrived at a new high school in Montana four years ago, you didn’t think you would become friends with your school guide and you definitely weren’t prepared for the commitment of then becoming friends with her closest friends, who would then become your closest friends. When you first met Beth, she was super bubbly and kind, but you still assumed that after her job of helping you learn how to navigate the school, she would just go back to her normal friend group. But Beth was all too kind to leave you behind when doing so, and you became friends with Hannah and Sam, and later, Josh. Over time, these four people became the greatest friends you had ever had; the five of you created something wonderful, a family of people you could trust with anything. The five of you were like glue, always together whether you liked it or not, but more often than not, it was for the better.

You remember the day that Sam came out to you as a lesbian. That day, the twins had been sick so you and Sam decided to chill in a corner in the library during lunch rather than sitting in the cafeteria like you usually did.

The two of you eat your lunches while quietly working on classwork; everything is fine and you’re actually getting work done for once, you’ve already finished your math homework and are halfway through your English homework. You take a short pause in your work to stand up and stretch. The feeling of releasing the stress and tension you had been feeling is amazing as you stretch your arms above your head and stand on your tippy toes to extend your legs as much as possible. When you turn back around to sit back down, you notice Sam covering her eyes with a hand and slightly shaking, and you realize she’s crying. Sam seemed her usual happy self up to this point in the day, so you try to think of anything throughout the day that would have made her cry but couldn’t think of anything.

“Are you okay, Sam?” you kneel down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder and she looks up at you, tears streaming down her face.

“Yeah, I… I can trust you right? Do you promise not to tell anyone what I tell you?” she asks, her voice shaking a little. You nod your head.

“Yeah, of course, I’ll keep any secret you need me to.”

“God, this is probably a terrible idea…” she hesitates, holding her head in her hands, “I think… no, I realized that I’m a lesbian…” She looks at you like she’s expecting something and you’re a bit taken aback. You must have waited too long before saying anything or looked too surprised, because Sam scrambles to say something else. “No, no, no I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. Please don’t tell anyone, I promise you I’m still the same old Sam, nothing’s different, nothing’s weird—”  

“Sam! Sam, hey, it’s okay,” you tentatively place a hand on her shoulder, “look, look, I believe you. I know you’re still the same Sam, okay? This doesn’t… this doesn’t change anything, besides the fact that I just know you a little better than before, right?” you offer.

“So you’re… okay with it?” she gently wipes the tears from under one eye.

“Yeah, I am… I’m really honored you told me, too,” she looks at you like she doesn’t quite believe you yet. “Seriously, this must be nerve wracking for you, I’m glad that you feel like you can trust me enough to tell me this. I promise  you I won’t tell anyone.”

“Really?” You nod and slowly pull her into a hug, which she carefully reciprocates. You hold each other for a few minutes, the silence somehow comforting. When you pull away, Sam lightly laughs at herself. “I must look like a mess right now…”

“I think I might have some tissues in my bag,” you dig around in your backpack and find a mini packet of Kleenex and hand it to her. She gladly accepts it. “So… do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t know… I don’t think I’m quite ready for that.”

You nod a bit.

“Thank you… by the way,” Sam adds.

“Anytime,” you look at her and smile a bit.

Sam came out slowly to others after that, obviously starting with the ones she trusted the most and working her way out from there. It took a while for everyone in the friend group to know, but eventually it was a known fact within your group of twelve and everyone had been very respectful towards Sam. Over time, as more of your friends began to discover their sexualities, you all also learned that Hannah is bisexual and Beth is pansexual. You yourself learned Beth is pan when she started crushing on another girl in your friend group, Elora.

~~~~~

You remember the time you went to the Washington’s house one day after school to hang out with Hannah and Beth. It was the day the school announced the theme for the homecoming dance and you couldn’t be more excited. The three of you got to their house and ran to Hannah’s room to test out makeup looks for the dance. Beth put on some of your guys’ favorite songs while Hannah got out her makeup supplies. The three of you sat on the floor while gossiping and discussing your ideal way for the dance to go, who you wanted to go with, what the decorations would look like, what snacks would be served.

  “Do you think they’ll even have drinks at all? We all know the stereotype of what would happen,” Hannah mentions while lightly dusting eyeshadow on your eyelids. “Hold on, I’m going to blow the fallout off of your face,” she says to you while Beth continues on the conversation.

  “Oh my god, do you think Mike is going to bring alcohol? I swear, if he gets all of us kicked out, I’m going to murder him, I don’t care if he’s your date,” Beth says, irritation seeping into her voice as she leans back on her elbows.

“Beth! He is not my date, I was just saying that in my ideal version of homecoming, he would pick me up in a limo and walk me into the dance, and… be a perfect gentleman.” You can practically hear the smile and giddiness in Hannah’s voice.

“Oh right, that sounds so much like the Mike I know— AH! Hey!” It sounds like Beth being hit with a magazine interrupts her sarcasm.

  “I’m ignoring you now,” Hannah says, returning to putting makeup on you, and then she says your name, “how would your ideal homecoming go?” You open your mouth to answer, but Beth interrupts you.

“Well we know who she’d want to take her to the dance, and dance with her, and kiss—”

Your eyes snap open and you go to tackle Beth but she stops you by grabbing your wrists. “OH MY GOD, Bethany Hazel Washington, shut. your. mouth. Right now!” Your face burns red as you wrestle with Beth to try and cover her mouth before she can say anything else to embarrass you, but it’s too late.

“JOOOOOOSHHHH, JOSH JOSH JOSHH!” Beth yells in a sing-songy voice, laughing without a care in the world, even Hannah is attempting to hold in laughter. Next thing you know, you hear footsteps outside the door, which swings open a bit, and Josh peeks inside.

“Did you… need… something?” he asks with a confused expression as he looks between you attempting to keep your hands over Beth's mouth and both Beth and Hannah trying not to laugh. Hannah, ever the savior, speaks up.

“We were just practicing makeup for homecoming and… what do you think of her makeup?” Hannah gestures to you, and you turn to face Josh. Your chest tightens as he looks into your eyes and then scans your face. He smiles a little, and then…

“It looks really nice on you, but uh, can I offer a suggestion to you guys?” He’s still looking at you oh god he’s still looking at you. The other girls look at him with an inquisitive expression and he continues speaking. “I’d suggest that, for the dance, you put the makeup on both sides of your faces.” He smiles wider as it becomes clear that he’s just making a joke.

“Gee, thanks for the suggestion, Josh,” Hannah rolls her eyes at her brother, meanwhile Beth throws a pillow at him and yells a “now get out!”

That day was one of the best days of your life in high school, you spent time with all of your friends, got to joke around with Hannah and Beth, and you got to see Josh. You have to laugh at yourself, thinking about how desperate you were to have literally any interaction with Josh when you were in high school. You could have just talked to him more, it would have been that easy, Josh isn’t even hard to talk to, he's just… Josh.  Josh.

~~~~~

You remember one of the rare occurrences where you actually had a real conversation with Josh. Most of your conversations with him lasted for two minutes tops because of how nervous you were around him, but this conversation lasted much longer. It was when you realized that he was a complicated, multi-faceted person just like everyone else and not just some guy you could put on a pedestal because you had a crush on him.

“Hey, Josh,” you say tentatively, not knowing if you’re disturbing him, “Um, Hannah and Beth are at some club meeting and, uh, Sam is tutoring, so I was wondering if I could sit with you? Since you’re… here alone, but if you want to be alone that’s totally fine, I can go sit with Matt and his other friends.”

Josh was looking at you the whole time you were talking, but he seems.. out of it, like he’s looking through you rather than at you. “Uh yeah, sure” he answers. He seems bored maybe? You sit down at an awkward distance, you don’t want to sit too close to him but probably end up sitting a little too far away for this to seem like a natural interaction. You’re silent as you watch him stare at his food and pick up his fork, only to lightly stab it into the food and push away his plate.

“So, um, how are— how’s School of Rock going?” you know that Josh is interested in movie production and directing, so he had applied to be sort of a back-stage director of the school’s production of School of Rock and with the beginning of rehearsals, he’s been pretty busy working with the tech crew. Josh furrows his brows before looking up from the table and at you instead.

“Sorry, what did you ask me?” he asks, genuinely not hearing the question before.

“I asked how School of Rock was going. Sorry, I can let you sit in peace or go eat at another table if you want, I don’t want to bother you.”

For some reason that sort of snaps Josh out of whatever trance he’s in and he seems more like his normal self. “No no, it’s okay, I just—” he sighs, “sorry, I’m just having a bad day with my, uhh…” there’s hesitation as he thinks something over, “my depression… today. For most of the week actually, it’s just like this sometimes.”

“Oh.” You had no idea Josh had depression. How long has he had it? Does he hide it most of the time or does he feel good most of the time? “Wait a minute, don’t apologize for something you can’t control, it’s not your fault how you feel. Is there anything I can do?”

He smiles a bit. “No, thank you though, that means a lot.”

For the rest of that lunch, the two of you continued your conversation; Josh told you about how School of Rock was going and told you about his depression, and you told him about some of the struggles you’ve had with your mental health in the past. Overall, it ended up being a pretty good day for you after that and it was nice to get to know Josh in greater depth.

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

You park your car outside your house and walk up the snow-covered sidewalk with your bags in hand. Before you can get out your keys to unlock the door, the door opens to your mother on the other side and suddenly you’re being pulled in for a hug.

“Urghhh I missed you so much, don’t go back to college,” she says, still holding you tight. You laugh, hugging her back as best as you can while still holding your bags.

“Mom I just got here, you’re going to have me for a whole month before I go back,” you respond.

“I know, I know, but I always miss you.” She finally pulls away and ushers you inside so you can get warm. She takes you to the living room and sits you on the couch.

“Is that my favorite child I hear?” your dad says from the kitchen, then comes around the corner holding two mugs of hot chocolate and hands one to you before kissing your forehead.

“Dad, I’m your only child,” you tell him, making him chuckle.

“Well, you’re still my favorite.”

Your dad sits next to your mom on the couch, both of them facing you. You update them on everything college-related, both of them relentlessly asking questions like “have you been eating enough? Have you been taking care of yourself? Have you met anyone you’re interested in? Do you still like your roommate?” They finally lay off the interrogation to have dinner and let you have a little moment of relaxation.

You finish all you can eat, pushing the remaining crumbs around on your plate, nervous to ask your parents if you can go to the Washington’s lodge for a week. They’ve always let you go before, but you know they don’t like Josh and were always hopeful that when you went to college, you would find someone new and get over your crush on Josh. You clear your throat and glance up at your parents as there is a pause in their conversation with each other.

“So, um… mom, dad… I got invited to the Washington’s lodge again…” you strategically avoid mentioning that it was Josh who called to invite you, “can I go? I’ll leave on the bus on Monday and come back the Sunday after, I’ll text you guys updates, and I’ll be all yours to spend time with afterwards, I just really want to see my friends again and I haven’t seen them for like a whole year because of that internship I did over the summer after graduation, and some of them I haven’t even seen for two years and-”

“Is Samantha going?” your mom cuts you off from your rambling. She knows that obviously Beth and Hannah are going, so the next best person to trust is Sam.

“Uh, yeah I think so, I can double check,” you answer. Your parents look at each other for a moment.

“If Samantha is going, then you can go. Just be safe.”

“Thank you guys!” you leap forward and wrap your arms around both of them. “I promise I’ll be safe, and plus I’ll be back before you know it!”

“You don’t still like that Washington boy, do you?” your dad asks, making you sigh.

“Can you at least call him by his name, please? And no, I do not still like him, Dad.” Why is everyone asking you this today?

“Good, you know your mother and I don’t exactly approve of him. Well, that’s enough of that, but make sure you don’t go walking around outside the lodge after dark, we don’t want you getting lost.”

“Those mountains can be very dangerous, just make sure to stick with your friends,” your mother adds as a final note.

[spaceorphan18]

Author Spotlight: Kuhlaine Day 3

Author: @kuhlaine

How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

It depends! My first draft is always just a rough 'get the words on the page' type of draft. If it's un-beta'd, I'll transfer the rough draft to a new document and do a fresh pass through the following day to fine tune, then work on formatting and do one last pass through for spelling errors after giving myself a break from looking at the material. If it's a beta'd project, I'll go through and start adding my comments/concerns and shoot them off to my beta. Once we've worked through all of theirs and my comments I do one last pass through for any last minute changes and I'm good to post! 

tldr: two and a half-ish drafts for un-beta'd works, closer to four drafts for beta'd projects!

If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

I'd revise Cross the Line, which was the first fic I ever posted! I took a 9 month hiatus before posting the last chapter (which I'm so, SO sorry about, I promise I won't do it again), and I always worried that it felt like there was a distinct shift in the tone of the story once I posted that final chapter months later. I'd want to do a proper outline for that fic and draw out the last few chapters a little more. I had originally wanted things to go down slightly differently, but I felt like it was too late to scrap that draft when I was already months behind posting my latest chapter.

What do you look for in a beta?

I've been working with my beta, Adri, for my past two multi-chapter fics and my next WIP, and honestly I'd say I'd look for someone like her, as shameless as that is to say! She's amazing - none of my work would be what it is without her guidance and influence on the writing process.

Usually, my greatest concern with my work is that the logic is always sound. Sometimes things that make sense to me don't make sense to someone else - likewise, I created these characters, and I control their thoughts and actions. Sometimes I may know why they chose to act a certain way, but the reader might not - so having someone who's able to call things like that out, for clarity and context, is SUPER helpful! A great memory is also amazing because I have a bad habit of forgetting some of the more minute details in my fics (and also forgetting that Adam exists).

If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

Oh gosh, that's so tough... I feel like most of my favorite fics end in really wonderfully fitting ways. I think it'd be fun to take a crack at a Little Numbers sequel - the fic is absolutely astounding on its own, so this would just be a shameless chance to get to try out writing in that very unique format.

Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I definitely take liberties! I like to weave in nods to canon throughout my fics just for fun, and because they make for intriguing plots when put into a new setting/context, but I'm really not one for canon compliance - since I'm not a huge fan of some of the details in canon.

Talk about a review that made your day.

Lots of reviews make my day! I'm very easy to please, honestly. If you say you like it, it makes my heart swell. 

One review that particularly stuck with me was someone who said it had been years since they'd read a newer fic, and had taken a chance on one of my fics. When I first rejoined the fandom I was definitely hesitant to read newer works, and wanted to stick with the classic fics that I knew and loved at first - knowing that someone took a chance on me as an author who was very late, and very new, to the fandom really meant a lot to me!

Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

Not really! This is a wonderfully supportive community and I've never gotten anything but kind and lovely comments.

I'd like to think that if I got a negative review I'd leave it be and forget about it - but realistically I'd probably obsess about it for a long time, forget about it for years, then it'll come back to me in the middle of the night years later.

As for critique/constructive feedback - I welcome it! My writing is critiqued/workshopped pretty much every day at work, so it's something I'm always very open and welcome to hearing!

What advice do you have for people just starting to write?

Don't be discouraged if the kudos/comments are slow to start! When I first started posting fic, it took me quite a bit to start getting kudos/comments, but I kept going because I had this thing I really wanted to write, and figured I might as well share it regardless of whether anyone was reading, because I knew I was going to write it either way. I posted (somewhat) consistently, and eventually readers started to come along! 

And write what YOU want to write! Don't write something that you're not passionate/excited about or that you feel like you /have/ to write, it'll just make the writing process unnecessarily difficult for you.

Which fic do you most like to discuss with other people? Why?

I'll talk about The Sidhe to anyone who will listen - it's one of my favorite fics of all time.

As for my own fic, I don't talk about many of them very often to others! I'm generally very vague when talking about my non-work-related writing to my friends. Though, I'm adapting Even Then, Especially Now into an original work, so that's the only project I've talked about a little more explicitly with them.

What's one aspect of writing fic that gets you really excited?

Creating worlds! I don't write fantasy or sci-fi, but I think you still do a great deal of world building with any story - you're creating characters and friend groups and social constructs and settings. I love those first few chapters when you're really setting the scene, introducing your cast of characters and what their world is like and how they operate. 

I also LOVE finally getting to the climatic point in a story and just writing my heart out! It's the moment I've been waiting for as a writer, and usually the moment the reader will have been waiting for, and it's so exciting to do all this building and just dive right in to this insane, emotional, rollercoaster of a moment.

***

Check out Kuhlaine’s Fics

The First of Many -  Kurt Hummel is overworked, exhausted, and desperately needs a drink. Or two. Blaine Anderson is underpaid, heartbroken, and dreading the thought of heading home for the holidays. When the two meet at neighboring bachelor/ette parties in Las Vegas, they wake up with more than just hangovers - a sky high room service bill, and a pair of wedding rings.

My Personal Hell -  Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson have never been able to get along, much less stand to be in the same room alone for more than 10 minutes. When their petty rivalry causes them to miss their bus back home to Lima after a glee club competition in Middle of Nowhere, Illinois, they'll have to do more than just spend 10 minutes alone together.

You've Got Kudos! -  In which Blaine gets tipsy and posts fanfiction about himself and Kurt on Archive of Our Own.

[eirist]

Points of No Return

SCRIBBLE #10 : BIRTHDAY SURPRISE  

Disclaimer: One Piece (and its characters) belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.

Reminder: I have no beta-reader. Any grammatical and spelling errors are solely mine.

Warning: OOC possible. One shot scribble.

Rating: T

Note: Belated Happy Birthday to our lovely Nami-san! Tagging @zonamievents for this super late entry.

Summary: "Happy birthday witch."

“Robin said you have something for me?”

Zoro automatically stiffened at the sound of her voice before swiftly pulling the bathroom door closed and turning around to look at her.

“What?”

Nami was a little surprised at his weird reaction.

“Robin said,” she repeated. “And I quote her: ‘Zoro said to meet him in the bathhouse late tonight. He has something for you’.” Zoro face surprisingly colored.

Nami raised one perfectly-shaped eyebrow at him.

Quite suspicious… hmmm. “So?”

“So what?” Zoro grumbled, still not moving from the door.

“What do you have for me?” She prodded.

“Nothing.”

The orange-haired girl peered at the bath behind her. She had seen him come out of it when she climbed the last steps of the ladder.

She surmised that he had probably taken a bath as he was shirtless and sword-less. But seeing how his hair was dry and with his boots on had her wondering otherwise.

“It's not good to lie to the birthday girl Zoro.” She chastised, folding her arms across her chest.

She fought the amused smile that wanted to grace her lips when she he visibly looked… perturbed and the red color on his face deepened.

Something was up and Nami was determined to find out what it’s all about.

“What do you have me Zoro?” She urged. “Come on spill.”

An irritated expression appeared on the swordsman’s face. He looked bothered and uneasy. Two states she never thought she’d see him in.

He ran a hand through his hair. “It’s nothing ok? I have nothing.”

Nami pursed her lips. She doubts if Robin was teasing her. Zoro was here in the bath house alright… just like the archaeologist said. That means Zoro have something for her. And he probably changed his mind about giving it to her at the last minute.

She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and nearly laughed when he looked visibly... distressed? They stared each other down before she huffed.

“It better not be something kinky swordsman.” “What the hell do you mean?!”

Zoro growled when she pushed past him… shoving him aside as he was blocking the door, ignoring his disgruntled ‘oi’.

“Na-mi!” He hissed. The navigator pinned him on the spot with a glare. Because he looked like he was going to haul her away right there and then.

Whatever it was that he was giving her, it was inside the bathhouse ...

Nami blinked when steam assaulted her vision the moment she opened the door.

She stared at the large bathtub and bit back a gasp of surprise as the steam thinned a bit enough to give her a clear view.

Behind her Zoro groaned in frustration.

She stepped inside and marveled at tub filled with floating flowers—which obviously came from the valley of the island where they had just docked.

She quietly sat on the edge of the tub and touched one floating bloom gently.

Good grief! Who would have known that her idiot lover would be capable of pulling something like this? She looked back at him. He was scowling, obviously not pleased with his supposed surprise...

…and how he got probably roped into this idea by none other than their raven-haired friend.

"I see being broke leads you to being creative." She teased and laughed when the scowl on his face deepened. "Don’t expect me to be able to buy you anything when you have my money witch!" Zoro growled.

She chortled again. "It's called safekeeping Zoro! Or you'd buy the whole town's booze supply in a minute!"

"Temee..." Nami picked up one random flower from the tub, bringing it up her nose to smell its fragrance. "Is this what you were lugging around in the sack earlier when you were with Robin?" She inquired with a sassy grin. “…Yes.” he grudgingly admitted. She snickered and watched amusedly as his face flushed.

"So this is Robin's idea?"

Knowing Zoro, he was brain dead when it comes to things like these.

Zoro sighed and looked away. "No. I just asked for her help."

Her eyes widened at that. She stared at him, amazed that his was able to come up with something like this for her and a bit shocked that he actually asked for help from someone else just to make this day special.

"Thought you’d enjoy something relaxing to end the day…" He muttered, scratching his head. Nami’s smile was bright enough to light the whole room. Honestly? It looks like she may have picked one of the best lovers out there… regardless of how moronic and battle crazy he is.

He might’ve been too embarrassed about it, as she recalled how fidgety he was earlier.

But he still did it. Even if he nearly changed his mind about giving her the surprise in the last minute.

Good thing Robin anticipated it and gave her the heads up.

Or all these would just go to waste.

This is the best birthday gift ever. It’s not every day you get the future world greatest swordsman prepare a flower-filled bathtub for you, after all. And on his own volition… without any arm-twisting or black-mailing.

It goes to show that he, in fact, really cares for her.

Her heart soared.

“Thank you, Zoro. I love it.”

Zoro looked startled and then he finally smirked.

She dropped the flower back on the water and slipped her legs inside the tub.

“Maybe next time you can fill this tub with belis…”

“In your dreams woman.”

She laughed merrily. Then threw him a grin that clearly shows how she couldn’t contain the happiness she was feeling right now.

Zoro smiled back.

"Happy birthday witch." He greeted before moving away from the door.

"Where are you going?"

The swordsman lifted a brow at her question.

“Down? So you can enjoy your birthday bath in peace?"

He didn't like the cheeky grin that appeared on her face. Birthday girl or not, he was done with any more favors for her for this day. "You are not going anywhere, Zoro." Nami made a come hither signal with her finger. "I’m gonna need someone to wash my back for me while I relax."

[ghost-chance]

Fanfiction Recommendation: “Fat. Beautiful. Tasty. Ravenous” by MoofyKitten

Title: Fat. Beautiful. Tasty. Ravenous Author: MoofyKitten on AO3/FFN/Wattpad Fandom: BNHA/My Hero Academia Rating: M/MA for a reason. (Detailed sex in over half the posted chapters. Perv away only if you’re of age!) Pairing(s): Fat Gum [Toyomitsu Taishirou] / OFC Found on: AO3

Deets Expect some light spoilers and a mini-rant.

I am an unrepentant fanfiction addict; this is no secret. There are fics I read to wind down after a rough day, fics I read to put myself to sleep in hopes of pleasant dreams, and fics I read to tear my hear into teeny tiny fragments then build it back again better than before. THEN there are fics that don’t fit the mold – the kind that I become so invested in that I physically cannot put off reading that update. THIS, my lovelies, is one of THOSE fics, and it’s earned that place from the early chapters. This story has almost everything I need from a fanfiction, and I have a feeling the rest is just around the corner.

Let’s get the basics out of the way.

The Spelling, grammar, and punctuation are all excellent – I have yet to notice a single error, so either the author and her betas are a force to be reckoned with or I’m just getting so sucked into the story an elephant could sit on me and I’d never notice. The formatting is effective and easy to follow, and the chapters have all been of a nice meaty length, perfect for plowing through in a single sitting only to realize you missed a meal and it’s time for bed and your brain is hopelessly lost in ship-land daydreaming about what’s up next. ...wait, that’s just me? My bad.

Syntax – This one requires an entire section of its own. The fact that I’m having to actually think about how well the author’s varying their syntax says they’re effing nailing it. If a story’s syntax is at all static or the sentence even the slightest bit predictable, it’s easy enough for me to recall it because I’m mentally rearranging the bits that irk or don’t impress me as I read. I can’t even get through a bleepin’ news article or an online recipe without itching to push what I’m reading up to the standards my professors held. It sounds harsh, I know, but please take  my word for it when I say I’m not criticizing anyone. Suffice it to say, if my classes did anything, they made editing so instinctive I can’t turn it off. Confession: I have never found myself rearranging a single phrase in this masterpiece. Arguing with the characters? Encouraging the characters? Begging, pleading, and berating the characters for breaking my heart time and time again by stopping just short of the sugary fluff I can just smell right around the corner? Oh, Hell yes. I’ve done all of that and more, but I’ve never found myself with the urge to grab my red pen and strike out or scooch even a single word.

Something that strikes me about this story above others I’ve given the same rating (Spoiler: there are VERY FEW!) is the sheer variety of the scenes and environments. Sounds silly? Probably, but romances often develop a certain amount of location stagnation, and I know from personal experience how difficult it can be to bust through those patterns. (I mean, the majority of “A New Lease on Life” takes place in the Lair in some room, most commonly a bedroom, the lab, or the kitchen.) This story takes the couple off of familiar and ‘safe’ turf like homes and offices and drags them through countless other places without regard for their sense of comfort. Each scene feels real and multi-dimensional and directly or indirectly influences the characters’ behavior and reactions. It’s awesome. That’s a sign the author has done her people-watching!

Now, about that OC. I’ll readily admit, in the first chapter, I had my reservations. At first glance she seemed shallow, obsessed with appearances and her own view of the world, and – strange as it may sound – too skinny and too attractive. Yes, there’s some personal bias involved there, but the majority was practical rather than emotional. BUT! Because the writer of this story is the same who unleashed the beautiful Kacchako torment Hot-Headed upon me without a single breath of remorse, I gave Aiko a chance. Sure enough, my first impressions were entirely incorrect. The things that bothered me about Aiko? They all had explanation or purpose, and she’s turned out to be a pretty well-fleshed out character...pun intended. As the story progresses we’re seeing sides of her that I hoped for but didn’t expect and each chapter leaves me wondering what we’ll learn next.

Romantic connection. First word: “OOFTA.” The second word, I’d spell out, but it’s a shrill, wordless, begging whine that I cannot translate into English for the life of me. This pairing starts without any sort of romantic connection; it skips straight to the shenanigans and leaves hope that the snugglebunnies will follow eventually. Friends…if you’ve read any of my writing before, you’ll know that I. LIVE. For. The. FLUFF. The awkward mush, the sweaty palms, the am-I-gonna-barf-or-do-I-have-a-crush, the absolutely tooth-rotting sweetness capable of sending a reader headlong into diabetes with a dopey grin and heart eyes - they’re my crack and I love them. This story started with no fluff but it’s been slowly developing in the background. It’s an entirely new situation for me! I feel like I’ve gotten used to eating my dessert first then digging into an equally sweet dinner without a moment to cleanse my palate. This story? It’s like gorging on smoky, meaty St. Louie barbecue for weeks on end with literally just a smear of something sweet as an afterthought. Mind. Frackin’. BLOWN. It turns out I’m more masochistic as a reader than I ever suspected.

Another relationship I want to cover is the building friendship between Aiko and Fat Gum – because nope, she has not managed to mentally connect the half-starved Taishiro she’s climbing like a tree with the big-and-beautiful Fat Gum who owns the agency. Yep. She thinks she’s boning Fat’s beefy little brother. It’d be funny if my heart wasn’t whining for fluff. While frustrating to fluff-starved readers, Aiko not knowing the beefcake and the brother are one and the same provides an intriguing and natural way for her to build an actual relationship with him. This means none of the fetishistic bullarkey rampant in other stories pairing plus-sized male characters with OCs.

What sort of fetishistic bullarkey am I talking about? To name a handful: I love you so lose weight. I love you because you’re big. I’m fat too so it’s okay if we’re together. Blatant fat-fetish disguised as romance. Fat character’s life absolutely revolves around food and it’s gross/nvm it’s okay. Lastly, OC’s only chance at being loved by fat character is feeding them. Maybe to thin folks those don’t sound negative but to those of us who fit the description? NOPE. These don’t make healthy relationships. Using these can turn a well-meaning pairing toxic and frankly, it tends to piss off those of us who – GASP! - accept ourselves no matter our size. These...tropes, let’s call them, have made me hesitant to even try fiction involving plus sized male characters because I’ve been let down so many times. Finding plus sized female characters is easy, especially OCs, but appreciation for the chonky bois isn’t nearly as common. They need love too, dammit!

Ahem. Rant over.

As mentioned before, I ain’t seen any of that crap in this story. This author is treating Fat Gum like she would any other character instead of focusing on the fat. I wish with all my heart that more authors were capable of (and willing to) do the same with Fat Gum, and with other plus sized male characters. I can’t even put into words how much it means to me that she’s doing such a fantastic job portraying a character type that so many writers bungle without ever realizing it. I’ve needed this story my entire life and never realized it wasn’t there; I shudder to think of how long I might have been waiting for it if this author never found the inspiration to do so.

If I don’t shut up now, I fear I never will. I love this story that much. Moving on.

Warnings

Explicit sexual content – do NOT read this around your family unless you have a stronger will than I and can do so without creeping them out. (According to my husband, when I read smut I “look like a demented vulture staring down at a half-flattened ‘possum waiting for it to take its last breath,” complete with hunched shoulders and heavy breathing. Flattering, I know.) The smut scenes, while not my usual cuppa tea, wreck. My brain? Broke. Chapter four’s budding romance? It’s goin’ on my headstone ‘cuz I’m dead.

There are mentions of human trafficking and the future may include more about it. Slut-shaming comes up a few times because men are assholes and asshole exes are the ultimate assholes. Situational fat-shaming and lack of body confidence come up as Aiko comes to recognize Fat Gum for who he is instead of what he is; on the other end of the tag, Fat is also doing a lot of it to himself even when it isn’t spelled out. You can see it behind some of his reasoning in his POV chapters and since the writer is kickass at portraying thoughts and feelings without ever breaking out of restricted POV, you can also see hints in other chapters. That said, if the shaming was really bad without any redeeming purpose, I’d have noped my way right out’a that fic and never looked back. It has a purpose, and it’s not that bad. Give it a chance.

Recommendation level

This story lacks purple prose and excessive fluff, and I haven’t seen any signs of the pop culture, literary, and music references I love so dearly, but the rating remains the same:

Ten. Out. of. Farking. TEN!

YES! I’ve finally found another 10/10!!! A quick reminder for anyone who’s managed to not see my other reading recc posts, I don’t even need both hands to count off all the 10/10s I’ve read. Congratulations, Ms. MoofyKitten – your story rocks my world and I have an addiction I do not care to shake!

[kayteewritessteve]

Love and War - 12/16

Description: In a harsh medieval world, you set out on a perilous quest that will lead you onto a forbidden land. A land ruled and controlled by a ruthless Warlord King, one who does not look favourably upon trespassers of any kind, and punishes all with an iron fist. You may not know exactly where this quest will end, but what you do know is you will forever be altered by it. And that knowledge alone is what truly terrifies you the most.

Catch up HERE.

Word Count: 3,640 ish.

Pairing: Medieval!Steve Rogers x Reader.

Rating: PG for now. May become 18+ later.

Warnings: Violence. Curse words. Mentions of fears and potentially brutal medieval tactics. Most likely more to come down the road. Please don’t let these warnings scare you too much, give the story a try before you judge it.

A/N: I sadly don’t own any of these characters. And no beta reader either, so I do proudly own all these errors and this story, so there’s that.

The trip back to your room is nowhere near as fast, or as energetic. Every step away from Steve hurts you, every foot further makes your actual soul ache. Everything in you is begging you to turn around. To run back to him. This fix this and pretend like this all never happened. Like there is no Alarick, no Brock, no Hepha. Like this new life is the only one you’ve ever lived.

But you can’t. You have to give yourself some time away from him, and the foggy haze his presence alone, puts you in. You need to have a clear mind, well as clear as can be, what with everything currently bouncing around inside your head. You can already feel the stress headache coming on, your head feels like it’s throbbing against your skull now.

You raise a hand up to message your temple, hoping that will soothe the pounding. But you know it won’t. And as you reach your bedroom door, you take a deep breathe in before pushing it open. Your eyes instantly land on Wanda, who upon seeing you entering, slowly stands from her spot on the edge of your bed.

You turn away from her to shut the door, resting your forehead against it. You inhale deeply, as you shut your eyes and just take a second to breathe.

“Y/N?” Her soft voice whispers from behind you.

You slowly open your eyes and turn to face her, nodding once you connect eyes.

“Are you alright?” She inquires softly as she steps towards you, slowly.

“I,” you pause, glancing down at your hands, which are playing with your skirts now. “I honestly don’t know. I don’t know what to believe.”

“What did the King have to say?” She reaches you, gently taking your hands and leading you over to the bed to sit. You keep your eyes on your connected hands the whole time, even after you’ve settled on the edge. “Did he confirm any of what that man said?”

You nod, “he did. He knew I was missing, he knew my husband was looking for me. He learned about it a year ago, when I originally went missing,” her deep sigh halts you and causes your eyes to snap up to meet hers. You furrow your brows when you instantly notice her unsure expression. “What? What is it, Wands?”

She presses her lips together tightly, making a thin line as her eyes leave yours and drop to the ground.

“Wanda,” you squeeze her hand still clutched in one of yours. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t trust him,” she glances up at you. “I know he is lying. I can feel it.”

You just stare at her for a moment, slightly confused, “who? The King?”

She shakes her head, “no, Sir Brock. He is lying, and I know it.”

“How?” You frown, “his story matches the dreams I’ve been having. The memories I can just barely remember,” you shake your head, “I actually believe him because of that.”

“I’m not saying his whole story is a lie, just some major parts of it.”

“Is this just one of your feelings again or?” You ask, not unkindly though. You may have doubted Wanda’s feelings in the past, but they did always end up being right. You would be an utter fool if you disregarded them now, especially with something this big.

She shakes her head ‘no’, looking deep into your eyes. And you can’t miss the worry in hers, the fear, those two emotions make you tense up slightly. “Y/N, there is something I need to tell you. There is something you must know.”

You stare at her for a moment, now the same emotions that you found in her eyes are coursing through you. What could she be so worried about? What could possibly be causing her to fear her next words so deeply.

She goes to open her mouth but then there is a rapid knocking on your bedroom door. You frown, who could this be now? “Come in,” you holler, loud enough for the person to hear.

To door opens quickly and your brother comes in, seeing both of you and then releasing a loud breath. “Oh thank the Gods,” he mumbles as he quickly shuts the door then makes his way towards you both.

“Pietro?” Now you’re truly confused, wasn’t he in town with Sam? “What are you—is everything alright?”

He plops himself down in the armchair, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees then shakes his head. “I honestly don’t know. We were wandering around town when out of nowhere Sam halted, and had this strange look in his eyes. Like he was there but—but not,” Pietro shakes his head, as if what he is saying is crazy. However you personally know that it’s not. “But then he just snapped out of it and started basically running back to the castle. Muttering something about a security breach, or something,” he shrugs, “I honestly don’t know. So I came back with him, I had no idea what was going on and needed to make sure you both were okay.” He sighs deeply, “I’m so glad to see that you are.”

You nod, guessing that the breach probably had something to do with Brock managing to get you alone. At least that’s what you assume it is, you truly hope it isn’t something else. Something worse. But you’re pretty sure if it were, someone would have come to check on you. At least you hope someone would have.

“Pietro,” Wanda’s quiet voice sounds in the now silent room. He glances up at her just as you turn to look at her, seeing a forlorn expression on her face. “We have to tell her the truth. It’s time.”

You furrow your brows in confusion, just looking at her before your eyes flick to Pietro. Who now looks both surprised and worried, and instantly you are even more nervous now. “Tell me what?” You glance between the two of them, but they are just staring at each other.

“Why, what happened?” Is all he asks in return.

And you just continue looking between them, so utterly lost as to what they are talking about.

Wanda sighs, “when we got back earlier, the smaller man was here.”

Pietros eyes widen slightly, “as in the smaller one?”

Okay, what in the Gods names is going on right now?

Wanda nods, “yes, he was here. He told her this whole elaborate story about her old life, but he is lying. Piet, he said she only vanished a year ago.”

Pietro’s eyes widen even more, then flick over to yours. He shakes his head and leans back in the armchair with a deep sigh. “Okay, yeah. We have to tell her,” he nods.

“Tell me what!?” You exclaim. “What are you both talking about?”

Wanda sighs and then turns to fully face you, both of you still sitting on the bed. “Y/N, please don’t be mad with us. We only did what we thought was right, we couldn’t,” she trails off, her eyes welling up with tears now as she glances at Pietro.

“We couldn’t just leave you there,” Pietro finishes for her, and your freaking out on the inside now. What are they even talking about?

“Leave me where?” You stand abruptly and back away from your bed. “What is going on? What are you both hiding from me?”

Wanda can’t even look at you, she refuses to lift her gaze from the floor. And you instantly notice that Pietro is the exact same way. Neither is looking at you now.

Wanda takes a deep breath in, “you didn’t just go missing a year ago, Y/N.” She finally looks up, locking eyes with you, “you woke up a year ago, yes. But we actually found you 10 months before that.”

You take a shaky step back, “w-what? How is that—What are you,” you trail off.

“You have been with us for almost two years now, but only awake for the second one,” Pietro adds in.

“Awake? What do you mean, how is that evenpossible?” You shake your head, “I only remember the last year with you.”

“That’s because the first one you were in a sleep like state,” Wanda continues, “it took me almost a year to finally figure out just how to wake you up.”

“What,” you glance between the two, “what does a ‘sleep like state’ even mean?”

“You were under a spell. And a powerful one at that, it caused you to permanently stay in a deep sleep like state,” Wanda clarifies.

Pietro nods slowly, “therefore, I’m sure you can realize that we didn’t actually find you wandering around in the woods like we’d originally said.”

You falter, feeling as if your knees are about to give out.

“We’re so sorry, Y/N, we only told you that because we had no idea what else to tell you, and you had no memories when you finally did wake up. We didn’t want to scare you, or upset you, so we just made up that story about finding you in the woods.”

“Wh-where did you actually find me then?” You stutter out.

“We found you in a dark cave, deep below an old volcano. A few miles ourside of Triskelion,” Pietro answers. “We had been camping near the base of it for a few days. Wanda was just about to have full control of her powers and once she did we had picked Triskelion as the town we wanted to live in. So we were just waiting it out, I’d started looking for work. Trying to get everything together for us to finally settle down again.”

You nod slowly, just listening to every word.

“A few days before we were planning to leave, we noticed two men lingering near the base of the volcano,” he continues. “The larger one was upset about something, he was yelling at the smaller one-“

“Yelling about what?” You cut him off.

Wanda shakes her head, “that we don’t know. We couldn’t make it out, we could just see them. The bigger man was clearly angry and the smaller one, he was just taking it all with a bowed head.”

You give her a questioning look, remembering her earlier words to Pietro about the smaller one.

“Yes, the smaller one was that man early. That Sir Brock,” she confirms your unvoiced question.

“Okay,” you nod slowly. “So then who was the larger one?”

“That we also don’t actually know,” Pietro shakes his head. “But after their argument, they disappeared into some strange little hidden alcove. We hadn’t even noticed it before, had they not gone inside we wouldn’t have ever known it was even there. So we got a little closer, curious what they were up to.”

“They reemerged a little while later, and the larger one mentioned something about a woman named Y/N. Something about needing to move her again sometime soon,” Wanda says. “Once they finally left, we both snuck into the cave. It was a labyrinth, but I could feel this intense energy calling to me,” she shook her head. “I’ve never felt so much power in one place before. I followed that feeling until we found a small room. It wasn’t that big, but in the center was a large glass box.”

“A glass box?” You repeat quietly.

“Yes,” Pietro nods, glancing up to lock eyes with you. “Though it was more like a coffin. And when we got closer to it, we saw what was inside it.” He takes a deep breath in, “it was you, Y/N. You were laying inside it.”

“W-what?” You take a few shaky steps, collapsing on the bed as you aren’t sure you can stay standing upright anymore. “I-I was in the glass coffin?”

Wanda nods, her hand going out to attempt to take yours for comfort, but she abruptly halts the action before she makes contact with you. You glance down and quickly take her hand, figuring she wasn’t sure if you wanted to be touched right now or not. But you do, oh Gods you do. You need to feel grounded at the moment. This is all just too much.

“You were,” Pietro leans forward on his knees again. “We could see you were breathing, and that you were clearly alive. And we panicked, we didn’t know what to do with you. But we couldn’t just leave you there, lying alone in a glass coffin, in some dark hidden cave.”

“Especially after they mentioned needing to move you soon. If we didn’t take you with us, we might have never found you again,” Wanda squeezes your hand. “So we managed to get the coffin open, and then Pietro carried you out. We brought you back to our camp, packed everything up and hid you on our wagon. We relocated further away from the volcano’s base, so should the men return, or when they did, they wouldn’t be able to find us. And a few days later, when our home was ready for us to move in, we smuggled you into town in the middle of the night. And hid you away in the room that then became your bedroom.”

“You did all of that for me?” You whisper, your voice shaky and unsure. “For a complete stranger?”

They both nod, “we couldn’t just leave you there, Y/N. We had no idea what your story was, or why you were hidden away, but there was just something about you,” Wanda gives you a small smile. “I could feel this aura of greatness around you. Like you were destined for more than your circumstances. You deserved better than to be locked away alone, in some dark cave, and spelled to sleep.”

Tears well up in your eyes upon hearing her words. They’d rescued you, if it wasn’t for them you might still be locked away in some dark cave. Asleep, for who knows how long.

“It took me 10 months to finally break the spell and wake you up,” Wanda sighs and looks back down at the floor. “It wasn’t an easy spell to break, someone very powerful put you to sleep. And when you finally woke up, you had no memory of anything. You didn’t even know your own name, you were so confused, so scared. We had heard the men mention the name Y/N, so we told you that was your name. But I think,” she pauses, and you see a tear slip from her eye before she whispers, “I-I think I’m to blame for your memory loss, I-I have never had to use that much power before. I ah, I never even knew I had that much power in me. Oh Gods, I’m so sorry, Y/N.”

You squeeze her hand, your free hand cupping her cheek to get her to look at you. Once she does you say in the most honest and unwavering voice you can, “Wanda, I don’t blame you at all. Not even a little bit. You saved me,” you glance at Pietro whose eyes are also now filled with tears. You reach your free hand out to him, urging him to come join you both on the bed. He gets up and takes your hand, sitting on the other side of you, “you both saved me. I-I can’t even begin to thank you both enough for that. And I’d gladly take no memories forever over still being trapped.”

You pull them both in, hugging them tightly. “Thank you,” a few tears break free and make a path down your cheeks, “thank you both so much. I truly owe you my life.”

“We will get your memories back, Y/N. I promise,” Wanda vows as she pulls away from the embrace to look at you. “We will find out how you ended up there. And who put you there. It just might take some more time. But we will get them all back. I know it.”

You nod, “you said that cave was near Triskelion?”

She nods slowly, raising a questioning brow at you, “ah, yes.”

“Can you tell me how to get to it?” You look back and forth between them both. “How to find it? I need to see it for myself.”

Pietro shakes his head, “I really don’t think that’s a good idea. What if the men are still there?”

Wanda shakes her head as well, “what if Brock is there, and tries to take you away again.”

You sigh, “I know it’s a risk. But I have to see it for myself. Maybe being there will help my memories, maybe there will be clues as to who I am and where I truly came from. It might be foolish, but I have to go there. I have to see it with my own eyes.”

Wanda sighs, nodding, “then we are going with you.”

“No,” you shake your head, “I can’t put you both in danger like that.”

“We either all go, or no one does,” Pietro says sternly. “Because we aren’t going to let you go by yourself, so it’s your choice.”

You look at both of them, then nod, “okay, then I guess we all need to pack for the trip.”

You packed a bag each, trying not to bring anything too heavy. You have a full day of walking ahead of you all, before you reached the cave. And then a full day’s trip back. So packing light was a priority, for you at least.

Once you were all set, you waited for nightfall. Knowing that getting out of this castle would be difficult enough, let alone getting out of this kingdom. You’d need the darkness of night to help you all get away. And when Wanda and Pietro had managed to escape being recaptured, they’d stumbled upon a hidden way out, one that got them over the border unseen. And one they believed you could use again this time around.

So now as it is a little while past dusk, it’s finally time to attempt your great escape. You were at least smarter this time around and insisted on wearing a pair of Pietro’s breeches. Wanda as well. You both didn’t want a redo of the last time you tried to escape this place. And even though they were far too big on both of you, you could move a lot better in them. Gods how you wish it was acceptable for women to wear trousers! Skirts were just so damned bothersome.

You gently open the door to your room, peeking out to see the current door guard passed out at his post. This was pretty common, half the time you barely remembered there was even a guard stationed at your door all night. During the days, you weren’t in your room often, so there usually wasn’t one around.

But at night, there was always one. And whichever guard was on duty that night would just sleep in a chair beside the door. They were close enough that if you screamed, they’d hear you and instantly wake up. It honestly gave you a little more peace of mind. Except in a situation such as this one. No, now a nightly door guard was the first big obstacle in your great escape plan.

Now you all had to get passed him without waking him up. You pray to the Gods this guard is a deep sleeper, as you all quietly make your way out of your room, covered head to toe in all black clothing. The only parts of you that are visible are your eyes, everything else is hidden. Hoping the dark clothes will help you all blend in during your long night walk to the border.

You manage to sneak past the guard, then quickly and quietly make your way down the hall and to the stairs. Luckily after the guard, you don’t see a soul anywhere else along the way. The castle is eerily calm at night, no one in the halls, barely any light, and no sounds at all. The castle feels almost abandoned, like you are the only people within its walls.

You lead by memory to the hallway that has the hidden door to the tunnels. When Thor and Sam had brought you down to see your siblings yesterday, you’d made sure to remember every turn you took. If you could just get you all to the dungeons door, you could find your way back to the large iron doors. The ones you’d escaped from the first time around.

Speaking of which, you need to make a mental note to finally ask Wanda just how she managed to get rid of those two guards. However, not now. You can’t speak at the moment, as your in a castle full of Lycans, and all with insane hearing. You’d be easily caught if you spoke up now.

You reach the hallway and gesture for your siblings to follow you, you’d seen Thor pull on a torch near the hidden door. And that seemed to cause the door to open, now you just had to remember which torch it was.

You quickly make your way over, finding the right torch on the second attempt, and hearing the latch click. The hidden door popping out just enough to allow your fingers to grip the edge and pull it open.

But just as you pull it fully open, a familiar voice echoes in the hall behind you. “And where exactly do you three think you’re going?”

You gasp and abruptly spin around, startled by the sudden voice that cuts through the silent, sleepy hall like a knife to butter. Your eyes land on a familiar figure and you almost groan in frustration. Gods dammit! This is just your luck!

So much for making a clean, quiet get away. Now you were really in for it. That much you knew for sure. Let’s see you try to talk your way out of this one!

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

@caps-lockdown @tfandtws @boxofteenageideas @wangdeasang @giggleberts @casuallydarktiger @theonelittleone @agentbadbitch @ratwrites @starrystellars @bandsandanimefreak @rockyroadthepastryarchy @lovvliies @cuffski @icesoccerer @alwaysright4 @lilsthethrills @steeeeverogers @zombiepotterfour @ledandan1244 @straightforwardly @denzmallows @xremember-me-notx @gwynethjodie @lollipopdomination @capstopavenger @jemimah-b99 @rcvenqers @justkending @alagalaska @silent-loucidity @sabertooth-potato @pies-wands-and-more @interstellarmess @gabriella69816 @phantom-soilder @wordlesscaptain @captain-hammer-of-asgard @starstucknature @viarogers @pixieferry @kaithezaftig @the-kinkiest-goblin @hysterically-original @heyiamthatbitch @zlixlle @capsicledoll @givemehopenfandoms @pretendingandpreposterous @frozen-phoenix17 @emotionallysalty @atomicsludgedonutbiscuit @saturngirlz @ivannagotthebeat @bohemian-barbie @marvelous-capsicle @ivoryhazlewood @steverogersxreader @cjhorseback @secondstar2disney @jessiedaeum @betsynodak

[kaleidodreams]

40 Questions - Meme for Fic Writers

Well, I only got one ask for this game, but I really wanted to answer more questions, so I’ve just decided to answer all of them!

1. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic. - I don't know if I really have a "comfort zone"... Maybe family drama and dealing with characters' backstories?

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to? - Hmm, fake dating seems like it would be pretty fun to try to write. I just wouldn't know which characters to use.

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole? - The whole A/B/O thing... Yeah, no.

4. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them? - Maybe five or six? And you can check out the answer to Question 37 if you want to know what most of them are.

5. Share one of your strengths. - People seem to like my original characters.

6. Share one of your weaknesses. - I'm not very good at description.

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it. - This is from Ashes to Ashes:

However, the more time that passed, the more otou-sama lost himself in his work and the more distant we became. Our house, which had always been full of laughter and smiles when okaa-sama was alive and healthy, might as well have been a cemetery itself, the ghost of her memory haunting us who remained. Even as young as I was, I realized that otou-sama would never be able to truly recover from his grief as long as we stayed there, where the scent of okaa-sama's favorite perfume still seemed to linger in the air and every room remained a museum to the woman who once lived there because otou-sama couldn't bear the thought of putting her things away.

I just really like the "house is a cemetery" metaphor. (By the way, that story is written from Rei Hino’s point of view, if that wasn’t clear from the title.)

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it. - This is from To Build a Home:

"Take if off and put it back the way it was," he ordered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"But why? You always said my bed looked so cute."

"Yeah, your bed. But this is my bed, and I don't want it to look cute."

"Your bed?" She set down an ugly-cute hippo plush and arched an eyebrow. "Isn't it our bed now?"

He rubbed at his temple. "Yes, of course, but… You know what I mean." Mamoru pointed an accusing finger at a very familiar blanket – one that was too small to properly fit the queen-sized bed. "I am not having sex on a bed covered in bunnies and crescent moons!"

"That's never stopped you before. We did it all the time –"

"You're missing the point, Usako! We're adults now. Isn't it about time you outgrew all this cutesy crap?"

He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.

"Oh, I see. I can move into your oh-so-sophisticated apartment, just not my 'cutesy crap'." She grabbed an empty cardboard box from off the floor and started throwing her plush toys in it with a force that made Mamoru very glad she wasn't pummeling them at him. "If that's how you really feel, then maybe we shouldn't move in together at all!"

I like it because I tend to have trouble writing arguments, but this one turned out exactly how I wanted it to, and I can just picture the scene so vividly.

9. Which fic has been the hardest to write? - Hmm, probably Melting Ice? It took me about eight years -- I started writing it a couple of years before I actually started posting it -- to finally finish the whole thing. Sure, it’s a long fic (over 150,000 words), but in comparison, I managed to write Spirit of Fire, which is almost twice as long, in only two or three years (ignoring the side stories added later).

10. Which fic has been the easiest to write? - Probably my first fics because back then I wasn’t as self-conscious about my writing. But later in my career, I seem to recall Blood On His Hands being really easy and fast to write until I got to the last chapter. Honestly, I think the ending took me longer to figure out than the rest of the story!

11. Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby? - Both!

12. Is there an episode above all others that inspires you just a little bit more? - This is easiest to choose with Sailor Moon, so can I just say the entire SuperS season/Dream Arc? Obviously because of the Chibiusa/Helios OTP factor, but also because we learn about the Inners’ families and Elysion/the Golden Kingdom, both subjects that I love exploring.

13. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across? - I learned about this from a post on Tumblr, but it’s REALLY helpful to run your story through a screen reader (I just use Google Translate). I think I’m pretty good at catching spelling and grammar errors, but one thing I have trouble with is missing words. Hearing the story read aloud instead of just reading it to myself and mentally filling in the blanks makes the skips so much easier to find. I also worry a lot about the flow of my writing, so I figure if it doesn’t sound too terrible being read by a computer, it’s probably not as awful as I think it is!

14. What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across? - Probably the "avoid adverbs" rule. Sometimes using an adverb is the best choice!

15. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose? - Oh, man, this is totally impossible to choose... Um, To Be By Your Side? I really don't know.

16. If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be? - If I had to, I would no doubt pick Chibiusa/Helios, but I’m really glad I don’t! I enjoy being able to write a variety of couples and imagine I would get bored fairly quick if I was limited to just writing one OTP forever, as much as I may love them.

17. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order? - It depends on the story, but most of the time it’s out of order, which is frankly annoying, but it seems to work for me.

18. Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines? - Not really, unless you count screenwriting and research tools.

19. Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse? - Haha, I remember when I first started writing fanfiction as a teenager, there were four characters I considered my muses: Helios (obs!), Shigure from Fruits Basket (who is a writer himself), Touya from Card Captor Sakura, and Tooya from Ceres: Celestial Legend (not sure why, though, since I never wrote for Ceres). I guess I would still consider Helios my muse?

20. Describe your perfect writing conditions. - At my desk in my bedroom, with the room at a comfortable temperature and absolute quiet.

21. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting? - I tend to edit while I write, which I know isn’t generally considered the best way to do things, but it works for me. So I can’t really answer this question definitively.

22. Choose a passage from one of your earlier fics and edit it into your current writing style. (Person sending the ask is free to make suggestions). (Skipping this one unless someone wants to make a suggestion for a passage.)

23. If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why? - Spirit of Fire, because while I love the story and the characters, I think it could be better written, especially the earlier chapters.

24. Have you ever deleted one of your published fics? - I did take down a first chapter of a planned multi-part and reworked it into a one-shot when I decided I didn’t want to write the rest of it, if that counts. (The Legend, if you’re interested.) Otherwise, no.

25. What do you look for in a beta? - Basically someone who wants to beta for me. *laughs* Like I said before, I consider myself pretty good at catching spelling and grammar goofs, so I don't feel like I really need a beta, but if someone offers, it doesn't hurt to have a second pair of eyes!

26. Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you? - I've done so in the past, and if somebody asks me, I would probably be willing to do it again. I would say I focus mainly on spelling/grammar, occasionally making suggestions or asking questions if something seems off (like a character feels OOC or something).

27. How do you feel about collaborations? - I've never really been a part of one, so I don't have much of an opinion. If you're good friends, it seems like it would be a lot of fun, but maybe a bit difficult if you have different styles.

28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much. - his lordship Chaos, Allekha, and commas_and_ampersands 

29. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose? - I honestly can’t think of any. I have enough sequels and prequels of my own stuff to write! *laughs*

30. Do you accept prompts? - Not unless I’m doing a drabble game, which I haven’t done in years, or I’m taking part of some writing challenge. Just random prompts, though? No. I like to write what I want to write.

31. Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant? - I’d say I’m middle-of-the-road between the two, closer to being strict about being canon compliant.

32. How do you feel about smut? - Despite being asexual, I’m a fan!

33. How do you feel about crack? - A lot of it is really stupid, but with the right writer and idea, crack can be brilliantly funny. I usually only read it on recommendation, though.

34. What are your thoughts on non-con and dub-con? - It’s not something I go looking for as a reader, but I don’t mind if I come across it and it’s handled well. I’ve written some dub-con myself, mostly in the form of drunk sex, but also some incidents involving magic. Overall, though, I’m really a HUGE fan of consent when it comes to sex scenes. Consent is sexy!

35. Would you ever kill off a canon character? - Yes, of course. Done it before and I’ll probably do it again!

36. Which is your favorite site to post fic? - I like AO3 and FF.net equally well.

37.Talk about your current wips.

Friends With Benefits (Kaleido Star) - This is the only WIP I’m actively posting. It’s a sequel to Blood On His Hands, and it’s about Layla and Yuri engaging in a, well, “friends with benefits” arrangement, leading to complications when they fall in love. 

The Bonds We Choose (Yuri!! On Ice) - A sequel to It’s Complicated, taking place about four years later. Yuri, Otabek, and Mila have settled into their unusual relationship -- Yuri and Otabek are queerplatonic partners while Otabek is also dating/living with Mila -- when a drunken mistake at the Olympics changes their lives forever.

Metamophosis (Sailor Moon) - This is kinda a prequel to To Be By Your Side, telling the story of how Helios became priest of Elysion.

Stolen Dreams (Sailor Moon) - Ha, this is the only non-sequel/prequel story on the list! But it’s about an incubus who plans to get revenge on Helios by seducing a grown-up Chibi-Usa, who’s under a lot of stress due to her upcoming college entrance exams.

38. Talk about a review that made your day. - I was really happy when @floraone favorited and wrote a review for my Sailor Moon Smutember entry, Head of the Class. Knowing that someone like her, who IMO writes the BEST sex scenes I’ve ever read, enjoyed it... Well, like the question said, it really made my day! I also was pleasantly surprised to get any reviews at all for my last two YOI fics, Lonely Hearts and No Risk, No Reward, since Minako/Celestino and Sara/Emil are both extremely rare pairs. I seriously didn’t think anybody would read them, so I was thrilled with the reviews I got.

39. Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them? - Occasionally, and I just ignore them.

40. Write an alternative ending to [insert fic title] (or just the summary of one). (Again, skipping, unless someone wants to suggest a story.)

[kayteewritessteve]

Secrets and Sins - 8/13

Description: You flee from an abusive situation and find yourself on the other side of the country, creating new friends and possibly finding new love. But will you be able to escape your past? To truly move on with your life? Or will everything come crashing down around you in the blink of an eye?

Catch up HERE.

Word Count: 4,700 ish.

Pairing: Mobster!Steve Rogers x Reader.

Rating: 18+

Warnings: Violence. Drinking. Curse words. Brief mentions of abusive behaviour, and moments of abuse—nothing to in depth but could be upsetting to some. Plus possible other triggering thoughts and feelings described.

A/N: I sadly don’t own any of these characters. And no beta reader, so I do proudly own all the errors, so there’s that.

So I originally had this chapter in two parts, as it wouldn’t let me post the whole thing. However, I managed to downsized it and make it work as one. Meaning the series is now only 13 chapters long. Also, this is a flashback chapter from Steves POV. Hope you enjoy it!

8 days ago. (Day after the first meeting in the club)

He was sitting in his home office, he had been in meetings all morning and finally found himself with a spare moment. Staring out the giant bay window behind his desk, lost in thought. Every chance his mind had, it took him back to the girl at the club, the night before—Or rather, earlier this morning. When he had told Bucky she was different, he had meant it. But he never would have assumed this different.

So different, that he felt compelled to teach those two fuckheads from the bar a lesson, before sending them on their way. Knocking a woman over wasn’t worth a death sentence, but it was worth a few well thought out, and executed, punches.

He looked down at the watch on his left arm, realizing he had about 45 minutes till his next meeting, he undid the top two buttons of his dress shirt then rolled up the sleeves. Before resting his right elbow on the chair arm, with his chin on his closed fist, as his mind drifted back to her. Who was she? Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her? Hell, he had even dreamed about her. Which—yeah, that was a first for him. No woman had ever casted a spell on him like this before. And he had only met her once, briefly. He shook his head. This wasn’t like him. He never pined over a woman. He needed to snap out of this trance. He needed to focus—

“Knock knock.” He heard and whipped his head around, eyes narrowed at the intruder, only to see Bucky standing in his doorway.

“You okay, Boss?” He asked hesitantly as he walked into the room and shut the door.

Steve just nodded then turned his chair to face forward, “Yeah, I’m good.”

“You thinkin’ about different things again?” Bucky asked, playfully.

He chuckled, “Yeah, something like that.”

“Ah, well, then I’ve got some good and bad news for ya. Figured you’d want to hear it from me first.”

He furrowed his brow, “What do you mean?”

“You know how I thought she looked familiar?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I figured out where I knew her from.”

“Okay,” he said slowly.

“Do you remember when you asked me to keep an eye on the new Seattle King?”

He nodded, he was starting to get a little frustrated by how long it was taking Bucky to cough up the information.

Buck sighed deeply, “So, by looking into him, I also had to look into the ones closest to him. She was one of those people,” he walked towards Steve’s desk then dropped a folder on it, “let me introduce you to Y/N Y/L/N.”

Steve glared up at him for a moment then turned his eyes down, his fingers dusted over the brown folder for a second before he opened it to find a bunch of page sized, printed off photos. They were all of her. The girl from the club. He went through the first 10 or so. They were just photos of her out and about. He looked back up at Bucky again, this time confused.

“She was his girlfriend,” Buck clarified as he leaned forward to shuffle through the photos till he found whichever one he was looking for, he slid it out of the pile and handed it to Steve, “Look closely at it.”

He took the photo and examined it, instantly noticing the black eye she was sporting. His eyes flicked back up to his friend but before he could even ask Buck beat him to it, “I think he was beating her—well I mean, I know he was. There are other pictures from different weeks, showing different injuries.”

Steve glanced back down at the different photos of her, all showing different marks. And instantly felt a rage overtake him, as his blood began to boil. Red was about all he could see currently. And that was a reaction he didn’t quite know what to do with. He barely knew her, she wasn’t his responsibility, nor his problem. But yet he still wanted to board his plane right then and there, fly to Seattle and beat the fucking shit out of this fuckhead—Seattle. She was from Seattle. So then why… “What is she doing here then?”

“That was my first thought, so I got in touch with one of our confidential contacts in Seattle about it. Turns out she went missing a few weeks back. Just up and disappeared in the middle of the night,” he paused before adding quietly, “I think she fled from him, probably for her life.”

He frowned at the thought of how bad her situation was that she felt she had to flee, across the damn country at that, and right into the territory of her ex’ enemy. But he had to give it to her. It was a smart move. She’d be safer here, that’s for sure, “What else do we know about her?”

“That’s where things get, ah ..difficult,” Buck rubbed the back of his neck, “We don’t know much about her, but there’s a,” he trailed off and scrunched up his nose.

“Spit it out, Buck.”

He sighed, “There’s a bounty on her, Steve. A big one.”

Steve shot up out of his chair, and started to pace his office, “How big?” He growled.

“250K”

He froze in place, “Fuck.”

“He wants her back.���

“Not going to fucking happen. If he gets her back, he’ll kill her.”

“I know, so what do you want to do.”

Steve’s mind instantly started going a mile a minute, she had come here to get away from him. To find safety. This was his fucking city. He wasn’t going to allow that fuckhead to drag her back to her death. Not on his fucking watch, not with his fucking gir— “Where’s Maria?”

Bucky looked confused, “ah, downstairs, I think?”

“Get her.” He snarled.

Buck nodded then left the room. And Steve went back over to his desk and picked up one of the photos, a shot of her walking down the street by herself, a bodyguard behind her. He looked at the photo closely, she had a smile on her face but it looked forced. Fake. She looked miserable. Here he didn’t even know her at all, but he could just tell she hated her life there. Clearly she had, or she wouldn’t have ran away from— “Boss?”

He looked up to see Maria and Bucky re-entering his office. He put the photo back in the folder then closed it and picked it up off the desk. “Maria, I have a job for you.”

“Sounds good, let’s hear it.”

He walked over to her and handed her the folder, “Find this woman. Follow her. I believe she may work at The Asgardian. Same place as Nat.”

She nodded and took the folder, opening it to look at the photos, “24/7?”

He walked back over to behind his desk chair, leaning on it and gripping the top of the backrest, “Yes. Until I tell you otherwise. Use whoever else you need. Only people you trust to do a good job. Start now.”

“Got it. Anything else, Boss?”

“No. That’s all for now.”

She nodded then left the room, closing the door behind her.

“Buck, I think it’s time I had a progress report from Thor. Set up a meeting with him asap.”

He nodded then pulled his phone out, “You got it.” then he left the room to make the call. Steve released his death grip on the back of the chair, then spun around to look out the window again. He told himself, right then and there, that he would protect her. Whether she knew it or not. She was now his problem.

6 days ago. (First run in at the pub)

He was standing across the street from The Asgardian, he had just watched Thor and Loki enter the pub, and decided to wait a few minutes for them to head upstairs before he went in. Maria had just given him a quick debriefing on the last few days. He looked down at his watch, he was a little early, but Maria had assured him Y/N was working right now. And he wanted to see her. He wanted to talk to her.

Maria had tracked her down about 2 hours after he’d asked her to. So she had began following her right away, asking 3 of his best men to help her, so Bruce and Clint were the night shift, then Maria and Vis took the day shifts. Making sure she had 24/7 coverage. Making sure she was safe, at all times.

He pushed open the door and his eyes scanned the room, landing on her behind the bar. He took a deep breath then walked over towards her. She was busy cleaning glasses and didn’t even notice him walk up. So he decided to wait for her to notice him on her own, taking the opportunity to just watch her. In her element. Because god, she was beautiful. And, oh how badly he wanted her.

* * *

After his little chat with Y/N, and figuring out that he very much enjoyed flustering her. He found himself walking up the familiar stairs to Thor’s office, remembering the first time he had done just that.

He had known Thor and Loki growing up, they had been close friends of his—well more so Thor, as it had taken a while for Steve to warm up to Loki. But then when Steve’s mom died, he distanced himself from everyone. Including the brothers. He still saw them around often though, in passing, but he’d avoid them for the most part. That is till Thor called him one day, needing an urgent favour.

A new pub had opened up a few blocks away from The Asgardian, and it had stolen most of their patrons. They had attempted to weather the storm on the back of their other location. But after a little while they fell behind with the bank and there didn’t seem to be any way to keep both locations afloat.

They met with Steve to offer him a deal, if Steve loaned them the funds to pay off the overdue bank amounts, covered the cost of the needed renos and took out the competition, they would pay him back monthly, with interest. Steve had accepted the deal, after some minor tweaking of the agreement and the reimbursement amounts.

He’d mainly accepted due to the deep friendship they all once shared. Thor didn’t ask for help often, so if he was asking, it was for a good reason. Steve had managed to get the other pub shut down within months, thanks to his pull and connections. The bank was paid off and the renovations were handled, so now The Asgardian was profitable once again. And all that needed to be done now was for Steve to be paid back, fully.

He finally reached Thor’s office door, it was open so he just walked right in. Knocking on the door as he did, just to signal his arrival. Thor quickly looked up from where he was sitting at his desk, talking to Loki. They both abruptly stood to welcome him, and Loki offered his hand first, being that we was closer, so Steve shook it.

“So nice to see you again, Steve.”

“Likewise.”

Then Thor walked around the desk to offer him his hand next, which he took as well.

“Welcome, my friend,” he boomed, as he offered with his hand for Steve to sit in his chair, behind the desk. It was a show of respect, and Steve accepted it. “Bucky was saying you needed a meeting urgently, is everything alright?”

“Yes. Everything is fine, I just wanted a progress report on our deal.”

“Oh, of course,” Thor shuffled through some pages on his desk. “Here it is,” he mumbled softly, probably more to himself, as he handed Steve the folder. “These are the bank reports and estimations for your reimbursement.”

Steve looked over the papers for a few minutes, skimming the pages as he took in all the information.

“Is it all in order and to your liking?” Thor asked.

Steve just continued to look over the pages as he responded, “It’s looking much better now then it was before,” he looked up. “Though, I’m curious if you’d be interested in changing the deal, just a little.”

Thor looked to Loki for a moment, then turned his head back to face Steve, nodding and clearing his throat, “What exactly do you have in mind?”

“Well, when I originally agreed to loan you the money to bail you out, I had no interest in this place. But, it would appear that now I do.”

“So, how would you like to proceed?”

“Instead of you fully paying me back, then us going our separate ways, I want to partner with you. I’d like to buy into The Asgardian and co-own it with you both. You’d have my full financial backing and my future protection. So, what do you say?”

“So, then, what would happen to our monthly payments to you?” Loki asked.

“We would count the money you still owe me as my buy in, then every month I’ll take 30% of the profits moving forward. Instead of the 70% you’re currently paying me.”

“May we have a few days to think it over?” Thor questioned.

“Of course,” he stood up, “Just call me when you’ve come to a decision.”

The brothers stood up as well, as Loki spoke, “We will. Let us talk it out a little and then get back to you.”

“We’ll walk you out.” Thor offered, and Steve just nodded in response to both of them.

They all made their way downstairs and back into the main room of the pub. The second he walked through the doors his eyes landed on her, on the other side of the room tending to one of her tables. She looked up instantly, and it made him believe she had been waiting for him to come back down. The thought made him smirk as they locked eyes. He could tell she was flustered by his presence again, and he liked that. He shot her a wink then turned his attention back to guys. He shook Thor’s hand first, “thank you for the visit, we’ll talk shortly.”

“Sounds good, Thor. I look forward to hearing from you,” he replied, receiving a nod from the larger man, then he turned to shake Loki’s hand, “see you around, Loki.”

“You as well, Steve.”

He then turned on his heels and left. Making a point to not look back at her. This had now become a challenge to him, one he was going to accomplish. She wasn’t like the others, she wasn’t just going to throw herself at him. But that’s exactly why he liked her so much. She was different.

5 days ago. (The day after the first pub run in)

“So, did you get a chance to see her yesterday?” Steve heard out of the blue and glanced up from his desk to see Bucky, arms crossed, leaning on the doorframe with a smirk on his face.

He chuckled and looked back down at his work, “I did.”

Then he heard Bucky’s footsteps as he started to walk into the room, “And?” He prompted.

Which made Steve furrowed his brows, “And what?”

“When’s the wedding?” He joked as he sat in a chair in front of Steve’s desk.

“You’re funny,” he replied flatly.

Bucky chuckled, “Okay, no wedding plans yet, got it. So then when’s the first date?”

Steve just ignored him. But didn’t miss when his best friend sat up straight in his chair, eyes widening, “Please, for the love of all things holy, tell me you at least asked her out?”

He scrunched up his nose but continued to keep his eyes on his work, “not yet.”

Buck groaned loudly as he slumped back in his chair. He was always so fucking dramatic. “You’ve been talking about her non-stop for days, I can’t even imagine how much you’ve been thinking about her, and you didn’t even ask her out?”

He finally looked up from his desk again to glare at his friend, “What are you even doing here Jerk?” He asked, annoyedly.

Receiving a shrug, “Got nothin’ better to do.”

“You need a hobby,” he shook his head then paused to look at his best friend again, “or a girlfriend.” He laughed.

Now it was Bucky’s turn to scrunch up his nose, “no thank you. Not interested.”

“No,” he leaned back in his chair to give his friend his full attention now, “Not even interested in a hot little redhead?”

Bucky gaped for a moment then quickly looked away to grumble, “That ship sailed a long time ago.”

“Did it? Huh,” He pretended to ponder the thought, “Is she seeing anyone right now?”

“No.”

“Has she been with anyone else recently?”

“No.”

He sat back up to refocus on his work again, “Then looks like the ship is still very much in the dock. So stop being a little bitch and go fucking talk to her.”

“That’s rich, coming from you,” Bucky scoffed.

“I haven’t known Y/N my whole life, I can’t just run in there all guns a blazin’. She isn’t like the other chicks, I have to play this right or she’ll bolt. You saw the photos. You know what her last relationship was like.”

“Oh, so we’re talking about a relationship now?” He paused then lowered her voice, “You actually want one with her?”

Steve though it over for a moment, but the answer came quickly. “I do,” he nodded, “there’s just something about her. I’ve never felt this way before.”

“Wow, you do got it bad,” Buck shook his head, “Do you have a game plan then? You know, to woo her?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“What do I look like, a fucking rookie?”

“I duno,” the jerk shrugged, “You were starting to for a bit there. I was beginning to lose faith that your Rogers charm would ever come back,” he laughed.

“Ha. Please. It never left.” He looked back up one more time, narrowing his eyes at his friend, “Now, get the fuck out of my office and go talk to red.”

Buck put his hands up in mock surrender, “Okay. Okay. Damn, I will,” he stood up and went to leave, chuckling out a, “just not today.”

“You’re a chickenshit, Barnes.”

“Pot calling kettle black,” he replied before quickly exiting the room. Leaving Steve to his peace and quiet, once again—Or rather, his thoughts of Y/N. He shook his head then continued on with his work.

3 days ago.

“Hello,” he said into his phone as he walked through his home.

“Good evening, Steve.” Thor’s jovial voice responded. He was always so cheerful.

“Ah, Thor, have you come to a conclusion about my offer?”

“We have, and we will accept it.”

“Excellent. That’s what I like to hear. I’ll be by tomorrow to finalize the paperwork. Say around 4?”

“Sounds perfect. Talk to you then.”

“Yup.” He said then he hung up the phone.

2 days ago. (The second run in at the pub)

He found himself, once again, standing across the street from The Asgardian. Having received another quick update from Maria as to how things were going on their watch, he was about to head over to the pub, again. This was all starting to feel like deja vu to him now. He pushed open the doors and scanned the room, not seeing her anywhere, even though he knew she was working. He sighed then saw Bucky sitting off to the side and wandered over to him, “Glad to see you finally took my advice. What was that, 3 days ago..?” He razzed.

“Ha ha. You’re hilarious,” Buck replied flatly, as he took a sip of his drink before turning to face Steve, “I actually came the day after we talked. But, speaking of taking others advice, you gunna finally make a move today or?” He said with a smirk.

Steve narrowed his eyes at his friend, “You’re cruisin’ Jerk.”

He just shrugged, “Meh, I haven’t had a bruisin’ in a while. So I’m due for one. And bugging you about how fucking slow you’re taking, is entirely worth it.” He laughed

“Yeah, yeah, fuck off,” he said as he looked around the pub, “You seen her lately?”

“Ah, she was here a minute ago,” Bucky shifted in his seat to peered around for a second before looking down at his watch, “actually, I think she might be on her break.”

Steve looked down at his own watch and sighed, realizing he wouldn’t get to see her before his meeting. “Okay, well I have to go meet with the brothers now. Try to stay out of trouble, please,” he smirked as he turned to walk away.

“No promises,” Buck replied as he took another sip of it drink, before adding, “Oh, I almost forgot to mention.”

Steve halted his steps and turned back to look at him, expectantly.

To which the man whispered, “A little red birdy told me Y/N hasn’t been able to stop talking or thinking about you since that night at the club. So do with that what you will,” He waved his hand dismissively, as if his intel was useless and unimportant, but then he smirked again, “You’re welcome.”

“Good to know,” Steve smiled as he actually walked away this time. So she was thinking about him, just as much as he was about her. That changes things. Maybe he could go in all guns a blazin’. He pushed the thoughts out of his head as he headed upstairs to meet with Thor and Loki. They finalized the numbers and the agreement, then they all signed the paperwork and it was done. Steve offered just to walk himself out, as he wanted the chance to talk to Y/N, alone and uninterrupted. He walked through the door to first see Nat leaning over Bucky, with a giant grin on her face. Clearly things with them were going well. Then he turned to see Y/N, standing behind the bar looking towards his two friends. As he walked around the bar, he noticed her deep in thought with a frown on her face. Something about her being upset just didn’t sit well with him. He never wanted to see her frown again, not if he could help it at least.

* * *

Near the end of their little chat, he’d decided it would be a good idea to leave her wanting more. So he’d picked up his drink, finished it in one gulp then stood up to leave. He was here to play the long game with her, and he was going to do just that. Take his time and make her really want him. Crave him. Beg for him even. And if he played this just right, she would reach that point in no time. And just as he opened the door to leave, he glanced back to see her still standing where he’d left her, unmoved and silent. His job here was done. For now.

1 day ago. (The attack)

He found himself driving down the road towards his house when his phone started ringing through the car's bluetooth. His eyes flicked down momentarily to the screen, to see Bucky’s name across it, then he clicked answer. “What can I do for you, Jerk?”

“Steve, where are you? We have a major fucking problem.” Buck said quickly and Steve instantly tensed up at the panic in his best friends voice.

“What’s going on, Buck? What happened?”

“I just got word from our informant that not only was her bounty upped, but the fucker knows where she is now.”

“What? How?” He growled.

“Steve, someone got photos of the two of you together at the club. And somehow they got back to him. He knows she’s here and the photos don’t look very innocent.”

“Fuck.” He slammed his hand into the steering wheel in anger, “What did the fucker up it to?”

He heard Buck sigh deeply over the phone, “500K”

“This is not fucking good, Buck. A price that high will bring out the big guns. She isn’t safe now.”

“I know, so what are you going to do?”

He thought it over for a few moments then sighed himself, as he realized he only had one option left to protect her. “I’ll just have to tell her. Everything. There’s no other way around it at this point.”

“Shit. I’m sorry pal, I know this isn’t how you wanted this all to play out.”

“Shit happens. This is my fault, I have to fix it for her. She deserves that much.”

“Good luck, Rogers. Keep me posted.”

“Will do,” he said as he hit end on the call before hitting the speaker button.

“Call Maria,” he said then the car spoke back, “Calling Maria now.”

It rang twice then she picked up, “Hey, Boss.”

“Maria, we have a problem, where are you right now?” He quickly asked.

“Ah,” she paused for a second, “She just left the Maximoff’s shop, heading home, I believe. Why, what’s happening?”

“There is a bounty on her, and it just got raised. Please stay close to her, and send me her address.”

There was a paused for a second before she responded, “Shit. Okay. Will do, Boss.”

“Thank you, Maria. See you shortly.”

“See ya.” She replied then he clicked end on the call and pulled over. His phone pinged with a new text notification and he quickly opened it then typed the address into his NAV. Once he set the route he abruptly pulled a U-Turn in the middle of the street, and started towards her place.

After a few minutes he was about a block away from her apartment, when he noticed a commotion in front of the building that he believed was hers. He quickly pulled up in front and threw the car in park as he jumped out, slamming his door shut behind him. He saw Maria and Vis fighting some giant dude off to the side, and Y/N sitting on the steps looking down and rubbing the back of her head. Panic began to sink in at the sight, had his people not been there, she would have been taken. No question about it.

He quickly ran towards her and as he did, she whipped her head up and locked eyes with him. As he reached the bottom of her stairs she jumped up and flung herself at him. Which happened so fast that he barely had a chance to realize what was going on, he tensed up at the sudden contact but quickly relaxed and wrapped his arms around her. She was safe. She was in his arms. He know that now she would remain safe. He had gotten to her in time. No one could ever hurt her again. No one could take her away from him now.

* * *

After checking that she was alright and getting her into the car, which was a battle in itself, they made the trip back to his place. He had been pretty angry most of the drive, the panic had given way to pure rage, mainly at just how close he had come to losing her.

On top of the sheer anger at her fucking ex, for putting her through all of this shit. She didn’t deserve any of it. And it wasn’t just the bounty that pissed him off, but also all the bullshit he had put her through before. Laying a hand on her. Making her fear for her life. Making her flee across the damn county just to get away from him. All of it made Steve’s blood boil. Never again would anyone lay a fucking hand on her. He vowed to himself, right then and there, that if he ever came face to face with that fuckhead, he’d kill him on the fucking spot. No hesitations. He wouldn’t allow anyone else to harm her again. To ever make her fear for her life. Not in his fucking city. Not on his fucking watch. Not with his fucking girl.

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