#took me a few attempts till i landed on something decent

[kagender]

i think they need a better name than lizardbirds, but for now, its lizardbird time

[starks-hero]

What He Doesn't Know Won't Hurt Him

Pairing: Loki x Stark!Reader

Summary: You and Loki had been doing a fairly decent job at keeping your relationship a secret from the other members of the team, specifically your father. But what happens when word finally gets out?

Word Count: 4,480

Warnings: fluff, implied smut, angst

a/n: This gif, that is all

You had your music playing at full volume as you worked your way around the lab, your latest suit laid out on the table. It was almost finished and you were more than impressed with how it had turned out.

Grabbing one of the many tools strewn out on the tabletop, you got to work assuring each circuit was in place.

It was fair to say that whilst you were in one of your zones, you could easily get lost in your work. Which was probably the reasons you hadn't noticed Loki make his way into the lab.

You jumped slightly when two slender arms wrapped around your middle. “Loki,” you scolded, not taking your eyes away from your work. “I'm busy.”

He chuckled. “I can see that, dove,” he purred. “But I'm bored.”

“You're welcome to stay here as long as you stay out of my way,” you offered, smirking when Loki rose his hands innocently.

“You won't even know I'm here.”

You managed to steal five minutes of peace. And then Loki's ability to sit still and not cause trouble seemed to reach its end. He started simply, standing ridiculously close, running his hand along your side. Your frustrated sigh and visible struggle to focus on your suit only egged him on. He re-positioned himself behind you, hands resting on your hips and lips finding your neck.

When one of his hands began to trace down your stomach and towards the waistband of your jeans you drew the line.

“Loki, stop.” you chided urgently. “Not here.”

“Why not?” he asked, nipping at the exposed skin of your neck. “It's as good a place as any.”

“Someone could see,” you pressed on.

Loki’s kissing ceased but he didn't remove his arms from around you. If anything he held you tighter.

“And would that be such a bad thing?” he asked after a beat of silence. You sighed and turned in his arms, now facing the god. His eyes said it all, he wasn't hurt, but he was tired of keeping up this charade.

He hated having to wait till you were both alone to show his affection, having to settle for stolen kisses and subtle glances all in an attempt to keep your relationship a secret from the rest of the team. Loki was growing sick of it. He wanted to hold you, kiss you, mark you, to show everyone you belonged to him. He hated having to hide his feelings as if they weren’t acceptable.

“Loki, we've talked about this. If the team finds out, especially my dad, it'll cause nothing but trouble.” You frowned at Loki's defeated expression. “I want to tell them, I do. I love you and I want everyone to know that. But only when the time is right.”

Loki nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. Slender fingers wrapping around your wrist and he placed a kiss to your hand. “As you wish, darling.”

Loki turned to leave but you gently grasped hold of his sleeve and tugged him back. “Where do you think you're going?”

Loki tilted his head. “You said-”

“I said I wasn't ready to tell them,” you clarified. “I never said anything about you leaving.”

A devilish smirked spread across Loki's lips as he stepped back towards you, hands grasping your waist. “Why of course, my dear.” He pushed you against the cool steel of the table. “How may I be of service to you?”

You pulled him into a hungry kiss and he practically moaned into your mouth. Grasping hold of your thighs, he hoisted you up onto the table and slotted himself snugly between your legs. Truth be told, this wasn't what you had in mind. You were serious when you said the lab wasn't a good place to start something but Loki was just too irresistible. His kisses trailed from your jaw down your neck and you couldn't help the whimper that left your lips as he sucked on the sweet spot just above your collar bone.

Your hand tangled in his raven hair and he laughed breathlessly against your skin as he pulled you closer to him. “That's it, pet.”

The sudden sound of someone clearing their throat caused both of you to almost jump out of your skin. You turned towards the lab door and found a rather unimpressed Natasha standing in the threshold, arms crossed and glare seething into a certain god.

Your heart jumped into your throat as you hurriedly pushed Loki away and scrambled to your feet.

“Oh, no. Don't stop on my account,” Nat snarled and the venom in her tone was enough to send shivers down even Loki's spine.

“Nat! We were just-”

“Don't bullshit me, Y/N. You know it doesn't work,” Nat stated plainly and you swallowed. She was right, it was near impossible to successfully lie to her. “Does your father know?”

“No, no, no. Nat, you can't tell him,” you begged. “He'll kill us.”

Natasha scoffed, pointing an accusing finger at Loki, who was still standing sheepishly behind you. “He's lucky I haven't killed him myself.”

Loki shifted uncomfortably. When it came down to it, he was a god and Nat was human. She probably couldn't do much damage to him. But she was certainly intimidating. Loki wasn't so much upset over the fact that you'd been caught, if anything Loki found it rather exciting. His only worry was how this situation would pan out for you. And your relationship.

“Natasha, please. You know how my dad overreacts.”

“I'm not sure I'd count ‘getting pissed that your daughter's dating a criminal’ as overreacting.”

You felt helpless. With Tony as your father, the team were the closest thing you had to family. Nat had always been important to you, she was an older sister, a cool aunt and in some cases, a understanding mother all rolled up into one. She wanted what was best for you, and you knew if that meant throwing Loki under the bus, she wouldn't hesitate.

Noticing your struggle, Loki decided to intervene.

“Agent Romanoff, if you'd allow us to explain. I-”

Nat turned to Loki with a glare that stopped the god mid-sentence. “I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to Y/N.” She turned back to you. “Tell your dad.”

“What?!”

“Tell Tony about this.” She clarified, gesturing between you and Loki. “Or I will.”

“Nat,” you started but as she raised an eyebrow you knew she wasn't bluffing. She was dead serious.

“Okay, okay, fine. We'll tell him. But just not yet-” you hesitated. “Just give us a little more time to figure it all out.”

Natasha seemed unconvinced, to say the least, but when she noticed the genuine worry in your expression she backed off and her voice softened.

“Fine. But if he finds out beforehand, I had no idea about any of this,” she ordered. “And you,” Nat glanced at Loki who was still standing behind you. “Are on thin ice.”

Nat turned to leave, shooting one final glare Loki’s way. “Oh, and a bit of advice. Next time lock the goddamn door.”

You both sighed in temporary relief as the door slammed shut and you were left alone.

“Well, that went well,” Loki commented sarcastically, rubbing at his temple.

“And that was only Nat. How do you think the others are going to react?” You took a seat on the workbench and Loki joined you.

“Were you serious?” he asked. “About telling them? Telling him?”

You sighed, dropping your head into your hands. “I suppose we don't have much of a choice now, do we?” You murmured and Loki chuckled slightly.

“I suppose not.”

“You're enjoying this.” You growled as Loki’s mood seemed only slightly diminished by the situation you’d just been landed in.

“Yes, I find being threatened by a world-class assassin immensely enjoyable,” he noted nonchalantly. Loki sighed when the fear remained evident in your expression. He gently caught your wrist and pulled it away from your face, lacing your fingers as he did so. “Honestly, my dear. There's no need to worry. It will be fine.”

“You sound awfully sure.”

“That’s because I am,” Loki smirked, his tone reassuring and soft. He placed a harmless kiss against your cheek, but couldn’t resist the urge to continue down to your jaw.

His nose grazed your neck as his breath fanned out over your skin. His voice fell to a low whisper. “Now, what was it we were getting to before we were so rudely interrupted?”

You couldn’t help but laugh in slight disbelief. “You never learn, do you?”

Loki flicked his wrist as he began to plant kisses down your neck. “Do you take me for a fool?”

 You glanced at the labs' door to find the keypad had turned red. Locked. Smirking, Loki pushed you down and picked up where he'd left off.

It had been a little over a week since Natasha had found out about your relationship with Loki and thankfully, she hadn't said anything as of yet. She was giving you a generous amount of time to build up the courage to tell both your father and the rest of the team, but it was courage you were yet to find. The stress of the whole situation had been getting to you, something that was becoming more and more apparent to Loki.

In some desperate attempt to help you blow off a little steam, the god had dragged you down to the training hall. You and Loki often trained together, though since the beginning of your relationship, training seldom actually took place during your sessions.

But you needed it today, and after less than fifteen minutes of sparring, you could already feel some of the stress dissipating.

“Let's try that again,” Loki stated, helping you up from where you'd fallen back onto the training mat. He steadied you before pacing back a few steps as you both prepared for another round.

You made the first move, Loki easily blocking your strike. He caught your other arm as you tried to hit his shoulder and he only barely avoided a knee in the groin by spinning you around and catching you in a gentle headlock.

“Fighting dirty today are we, darling?” He purred in your ear and you smirked. Leaning forward, you used the momentum to throw Loki over your shoulder, straddling him to assure he stayed down.

“Problem with that?”

Loki chuckled, staring up at you. “Certainly not.” Throwing his leg over and shifting his weight, he threw you off of him and you landed on the floor beside him. He then took up his position on top of you. “Two can play at that game.”

He used his new vantage point to lean down and kiss your shoulder. “And I do enjoy it so very much.”

You turned your head to the side to grant Loki better access as he kissed up your neck, but your blood ran cold when you noticed a familiar figure standing dumbstruck at the halls entrance.

“Shit, Steve!” You pushed Loki off of you and for a moment he thought it was an attempted diversion until his own eyes locked with the captains. “Steve, wait!”

He was already turning to leave and you took off after him, Loki right behind you. You barely caught him before he reached the door. “Steve, hear us out, please.”

He turned to look at you with slight disappointment, his cheeks still tinted red with embarrassment given what he'd just walked in on. “Why didn't you tell us, Y/N?”

“I swear I was going to. I should have sooner and I'm sorry.” You rushed. “But please, Steve. You can't tell my dad, not yet.”

Steve hesitated. He'd taken you under his wing from day one and he'd be lying if he said he saw you as anything less than family. He didn't want to put you in a situation where he knew you'd face hardship. But he also didn't want to put his relationship with Tony on the line. He knew what that could lead to.

“I won't lie to Tony.”

“Then just don't say anything!” You tried. “Not saying anything technically isn't lying.”

Steve sighed, glancing between you both, his eyes lingering on Loki a moment longer. Loki seemed to have read the captains mind.

“Captain, I understand your concerns. But I can assure you my intentions are completely good-willed.”

Steve shook his head, questioning his sanity. “Does anyone else know?”

“Natasha, that's it.”

Steve seriously pondered the dilemma he was being faced with. Part of him wanted to march off and tell Tony, part of him wanted to strangle Loki for even putting his hands on you and the other part was still hung up on how upset you’d be if he chose either of the latter options.

“Alright,” Steve said after a moment of silence and relief flooded your expression. “But if your father asks-”

“I understand.” You nodded, still breathing a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Steve.”

You counted your lucky stars as Steve left the training hall, the whole conversation having gone way better than you could have possibly imagined.

“You know, my dear,” Loki stated from behind you. “We really must stop picking the worst possible places in the compound to make out.”

You'd been peacefully working away in the lab, adding the finishing touches to the suit you'd been working on. A few more final touch-ups and a test run and it would be ready for missions.

The door slamming opened behind you immediately caught your attention as a severely pissed off Loki stormed in. His jaw was set and his hands were balled into fists. This couldn't be good.

“Loki, what's wrong?” you asked, rounding the table and approaching him. He was already pacing.

“Thor knows,” he growled and your heart stopped. “He was asking ridiculous questions about you and I and he knew I was lying.”

You inhaled sharply and did your best to avoid groaning in frustration, unable to grasp how Loki of all people had gotten caught out lying. “Loki, you're the god of lies.”

“And Thor's a persistent bastard!” He bit back.

You grappled with the little composure you had left and sighed. Loki was still clearly fretting and at least one of you had to start thinking straight.

“Okay, well what did he say?”

“That he wouldn't tell anyone,” Loki murmured, running his index finger along his top lip, something he often did when nervous.

“Alright then, what are we worried about? He said he wouldn't tell.”

Loki scoffed. “It's Thor! He struggles to keep the simplest of secrets, he's going to let it slip!” Loki took a seat and wrung his hands. “Your father is going to kill me.”

You stepped towards him and ran a comforting hand through his raven hair. He sighed and wrapped his arms around your waist, resting his head against your stomach.

“You're a god, Loki. I don't think he could kill you even if he wanted to.”

“He'll find a way,” Loki moped, tightening his hold on you.

You huffed at Loki's dramatic antiques as you continued to run your hand through his hair. One thing was now painfully clear, you needed to tell your dad. Before anyone else found out.

It was all planned out perfectly. The team was set to have dinner together in an attempt to bring some normality to your crazy lives, and you figured it would be the best time to break the new. You'd wait until everyone had finished eating and you and your dad were alone and then you'd tell him.

Not only did you think it would be better to have the conversation one on one, but Loki not being there also lessened the likely hood of your father trying to kill him if he didn't take the news kindly.

The only major challenge now was making it through the dinner itself without losing your nerve. Loki assured you that he'd be by your side right up until the moment he had to leave, and he meant it. Your father sat at the head of the table, because of course he did, and you sat to his right. Loki was seated beside you.

Most of the dinner passed as they usually did when the team ate together. Clint complained about the take out choice, Nat downed an impressive amount of wine whilst somehow remaining sober and a philosophical debate had broken out despite their being no indication as to what had started it.

For once, you and Loki remained silent, too nervous to offer any input should your worrisome tone give you away. You had spent most of the dinner toying with the food on your plate with your fork.

Loki's hand gently held yours beneath the table. It was risky, but no one had noticed and it was currently the only thing keeping you sane.

“You alright, kiddo?”

You glanced up to find your dad staring at you. He motioned to your untouched plate of food.

“You haven't touched your take out. It's your favourite.”

“Oh yeah, I- uh,” you stumbled over your own words and cursed yourself for being caught off guard. Most of the team were still chatting amongst themselves, but Steve and Natasha were now watching the exchange between you and Tony attentively. “I guess I'm just not that hungry.”

He seemed entirely unconvinced and leaned in slightly, away from the prying ears of the table. “You sure everything's alright?”

You gulped. Your father was no idiot and he knew something was eating away at you. From the corner of your eye, you could see Nat nodding her head and Steve smiling supportively. This was the perfect opportunity to bring it up and you decided it was now or never. “Well, actually-”

“Nice going, Clint!”

Both your heads snapped up to see that a knocked over wine bottle had stained both the end of the table and Bruce's white shirt.

“Hey! It's not my fault. Who even drinks this stuff anyway?!”

“What the hell is that suppose to mean, bird brain?” Sam yelled, possessively grabbing what was left in the overturned bottle and dunking it into his glass. Bucky hid his smile behind his bottle of beer.

Everyone else's attention had turned to Bruce, who seemed to be doing an excellent job at not hulking out and sending Clint through the nearest wall.

You bit your lip.

“Dad, is it alright if I leave? I'm not feeling up to eating right now.” You asked. Now clearly wasn't the best time to bring something up and you decided waiting till after everyone had turned it in for the night was probably best.

“Sure thing, sweet pea,” he smiled as you stood and pushed in your chair behind you. Loki followed you, rising to his feet.

“I think it's time I also take my leave.” No one paid much attention as Loki mimicked your actions and prepared to leave the table.

“Leaving already?” Wanda asked politely and you smiled back, already prepared to answer with ‘Yeah, I'm just tired.’

“Of course they are! I'm sure my brother and Y/N have much to do and discuss,” Thor smirked, winking and raising his glass to the both of you in a not so subtle way.

Silence fell over the entire table and you and Loki grew rigid. Natasha and Steve turned to glare at Thor, who lowered his glass, realising what exactly he'd just said.

“What?” Tony said, turning to Thor with a shocked expression. Loki quickly stepped in.

“I think my brother may have had a tad too much Asgardian ale, I-

“No, what did you say?” He asked again, voice raising. All eyes were now either on Tony, Loki or you.

Thor seemed to shrink into his seat, taking interest in the bottom of his cup as he attempted to backtrack and fix his mistake. But it was too late.

Your father's gaze turned to you and then Loki, who was cautiously standing behind you. 

“One chance.” He was livid. “You get one chance to tell me the truth.”

“Dad, can we not do this now,” you asked quietly.

“The truth, Y/N.” You couldn’t recall the last time you’d seen your father so angry. And as terrified as you were, you knew lying would only dig you a deeper hole.

“I was going to tell you,” you started, wincing as he ran a hand down his face. “I just didn't know how and then Nat told me I should just-”

Your father's glare turned to Natasha who choked on her wine at your words. You mentally grimaced as you realized what you'd just said.

“Oh, so you knew!” Tony yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Nat. He turned back to you. “You told Thor and Natasha before you told me!”

“I didn't tell her! She just sort of found out...” you fumbled and Tony laughed humorlessly.

“Did anybody else know besides Nat and point break?” he asked, addressing the whole table. Steve fidgeted awkwardly in his seat and Tony immediately singled him out.

“Steve.” He crossed his arms as he glared at the captain. “Something on your mind?”

Steve sighed. “Look, Tony I-”

“Don't bullshit me, Rogers.”

Steve nodded wordlessly and Tony bit the inside of his cheek, looking as though he was prepared to rip into each member of the team. You cowered back slightly and Loki stepped infront of you, shielding you from your fathers rage the best he could.

“Great! Awesome! Did anyone else know my daughter was dating a psychopath and just decided to keep that information to themselves?”

Everyone awkwardly shifted in their seats, some clearing there throats and others offering you sympathetic glances. Natasha mouthed a ‘sorry’ and Thor seemed to still be beating himself up for letting it slip in the first place.

Loki stepped forward. “Stark, I can assure you-”

“Zip it, Reindeer Games,” he warned and for once, Loki did as he was told. Tony pointed to you as if he were scolding a child.

“You are grounded,” he stated. “No more missions, no more lab privileges, nothing.”

You scoffed. “I'm not a kid!”

“Yes, you are! You're my kid.”

“Dad, will you please just listen to me.” You begged as you stepped towards your father in hopes of reasoning with him. He rose from his seat to meet you.

“No. This,” he gestured between you and Loki. “Ends now. End of discussion.”

You took a step back, feeling as though an arrow had hit you in the chest. Tears were brimming your eyes and you couldn't find it in you to meet anyone's gaze. Seeing how upset you'd become, Loki refused to bite his tongue any longer.

“Stark, with all due respect, I won't allow that. I understand your disdain for me and it's more than warranted but do not take that anger out on Y/N. You have no reason to trust me but I can assure you that my feelings towards your daughter and nothing but sincere and genuine.”

Loki's sudden statement seemed to have surprised Tony. He opened his mouth to argue but Loki didn't give him the chance as he continued.

“She has given me a second chance and I love her dearly for doing so. And I would never do anything to harm her. I love her unconditionally and all I ask is for a chance. Allow me to prove myself.”

Loki's speech had left you teary-eyed with a warmth spreading in your chest. A smile pulled at your lips as Loki turned to you. The genuine and loving look in his eyes spoke volumes and it took every ounce of control you possessed not to launch yourself into his arms then and there.

“Tony, I don't know about you but that seemed pretty convincing to me.” Nat voiced from the table and Thor immediately agreed.

“My brother may be the god of lies but he has spoken nothing but the truth tonight.”

Steve, ever the diplomat, offered Tony an encouraging nod. “All he's asking for is a chance, Tony.”

“It's pretty sweet if you ask me,” Bucky murmured from beside the captain, Sam and Wanda nodding in agreement.

Tony watched as the table seemed to take Loki's side and he battled with himself until his eyes landed on you. You were standing side by side with Loki, whilst he smiled at you in adoration. The glances you shared were nothing short of loving and Tony couldn't help but notice how genuine and mutual it truly was. Loki's hand was brushing against yours, desperate to grasp hold and comfort you but not wanting to overstep the line the tension had drawn.

Tony sighed as he realized what he had to do. You were his daughter, his everything. And he just wanted you to be happy. Even if it was with someone he didn’t initially approve of. 

“You love him?” he asked nonchalantly and you nodded.

“And you, Frosty,” Tony motioned to Loki who tried not to frown at the nickname. “You love her?”

Loki glanced at you, smiling softly. “Wholeheartedly.”

Tony swallowed down the lump in his throat as he watched the both of you, not completely ready to accept that you weren't a kid anymore.

“Well then, I guess that's that.” He smiled at you softly. “Leave it to you to fall for the God of mischief. You always were a troublemaker.” 

Your father pulled you into a hug, muttering a quiet ‘love you, sweet pea’, before pulling back to look at Loki.

“You hurt her,” he started and Loki cut him off with an amused chuckle.

“You'll kill me?” He guessed.

“Oh no, not just me. They'll kill you.” Tony smirked, pointing to the table full of avengers.

Loki nodded. “Understood.”

Nat sent you a wink and Steve and Thor smiled whilst the rest of the team seemed to congratulate you with supportive, and in some cases embarrassing, comments.

You and Loki smirked at each other, slowly turning to leave the dining room when your father's voice called you back.

“Woah, where do you two think you're going?” he asked. “Cats out of the bag now so no need to run off and hide. Sit.”

Seeing no point in arguing, you both took your seats, Loki holding your hand atop the table for everyone to see. Things quickly settled back into a comfortable conversation, you and Loki feeling freer than you had in months. The domesticity of it all was enough to make your heart burst.

“So,” Clint, who was slightly tipsy at this point, yelled. “When's the wedding?”

Tony turned red. “Don't push their luck, Barton.” He partially joked, glaring daggers at his teammate as the rest of the team laughed. As for you and Loki, you couldn't help but smile at the possibility.

tag list: @leftperfectionmoon @doozywoozy @bakerstreethound @miraclesoflove​ @Kealohilani-tepise

[minyoongees]

comethru || myg

✧ pairing: manager!yoongi x worker!reader

✧ genre: slight angst? hurt/comfort, pathetic attempt at crack, barely there fluff

✧ word count: 2k

✧ summary: Yoongi saves you from heinous karens

✧ snip: "We have a coupon for a free meal at your restaurant and we demand you open it right now!!" this bitch—

✧ warnings: karens, oc gets all panicky, bubbling anxiety, rude af people, unhealthy relations with parents, unrequited love? (oc doesn’t really know)

This fic was genuinely fun to write! I know I did not do a very good job on this it’s lengthy with useless info but it just felt important. Let me know what you think of this!

Also, the title is inspired by Jeremy Zucker's comethru

As a new worker in a big restaurant, there are a few words one could dread to hear. For example, 'You're fired' sounds horrifying, gut wrenching, all your student loans flash before your eyes. It's scary, yes, but it's not as dreadful as the infamous —

"Can I see your manager?"

"Ma'am I already told you the restaurant opens at 11:30 am, and none of the staff arrives before 11, but I'd be happy to serve you at 11:30" you assured.

BANG!

One of the three ladies with a blonde bob cut hit at the door again.

"We don't talk to low class workers, call your manager!" Called out another from the group while the bangs continued. It was so loud you were almost afraid that they will tear this place down.

"Because of the unavailability of the manager, a low class worker is all you'll have to speak to for now," you spat, "but I'd be happiest if you don't speak to me at all"

Numerous loud gasps were heard. If the head chef heard you talking like this, you'll be out of the restaurant sooner than these karens can call your manager.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK LIKE THAT TO A CUSTOMER???"

"Ma'am since you have not walked into the restaurant yet, you are not our customer." you tried to explain, "The restaurant opens at 11:30 ma'am which is just in an hour and a half, I suggest you wait outside on one of the tables."

Even though it was kinda against the rules to sit on the tables unless you eat at the restaurant, but you desperately needed to get rid of the situation. The restaurant didn't even open yet, so what could be the big deal about them sitting on the benches outside. You were just hoping your manager would be understanding.

Anticipating another harsh string of words from them, the total silence that hit you surprised you. You pulled the blinds lower and peeked through them. The ladies were seated on the chairs outside, looking through their phones. Even though a bit shocked that they decided to do what you asked so easily, you didn't wanna jinx it. You thanked your lucky stars and moved on to getting the coffee machine started.

The day hasn't even started yet and the karens are here to disrupt the place already. Being the newbie, you have to come early to get this place started and on top of that, people like them are making it even harder. You clearly don't get paid enough for this.

Moving on to wiping all the tables, you were wishing that when your manger arrives, he'll understand the situation. To come to think of it, he's actually a good man and been nothing but nice to you since you joined here a month ago. He even covered up for you when you broke a plate. Another time he took the blame upon himself when you put a bit too much salt in of the dishes and a few people left unsatisfied. He's been sheltering you ever since you joined here and you've been enjoying this more than you should. Yet you still can't help but hope he handles it this time too and saves you from these heinous Karens.

brrring brrring brrring!!

The sounds catches you off guard not because of it's sudden penetration into the too good to be true silence, but because it shouldn't be ringing when it's the restaurant's hours closed. Nevertheless against your better judgement you pick it up and place the receiver between your ear and shoulder.

"Thanks for calling the Nile's! My name is y/n, how can I help you today?"

"We have a coupon for a free meal at your restaurant and we demand you open it right now!!"

this bitch—

"Ma'am as I explained already, the restaurant opens at 11:30 and if you walk in by then, I'll be happy to serve you and make use of your coupons too." Is it too early to quit?

"Am I talking to the manager?" she asked penetratingly.

"The manager is not here yet, but as soon as he arrives, I'll make sure you're the first person he talks to." you tried calmly hoping it would help.

The woman on the line took a deep breath but nothing could prepare you for the coming onslaught of distress.

"Missy you've been saying this to us since the morning and yet your manager isn't here. You should not open a restaurant when you do not know how to run it.”

She was so loud you couldn't even hear yourself losing the will to live.

"You do not know my husband. If he gets to know about the way you've treated me today, your restaurant will be closed forever." She threatened and you could hear her talking from the outside. Did she know that you did not own the restaurant?? "You should be grateful to me for not telling. Now open this damn door RIGHT NOW!!”

Another round of bangs started ringing and it echoed through the walls. They seemed louder than you know they should've been. And it was the trigger. The helplessness of the situation created panic. Your eyes unfocused, your stomach churned and your heartbeat escalated. You felt trapped.

Her shrill sound coming from the phone felt like it was piercing your ear drums and you could no longer understand what she was saying. So you slammed the receiver back into place, not knowing what to do anymore.

The grip on the cloth between your fingers seemed weak. You have always been a strong woman, dealing with irrational people all your life since you spent most of it around such people. But the karens have been tormenting you since the past 30 minutes and it was bound to get to you, sooner or later. Though you'd hoped for later rather than sooner. They way they started banging on the door while demanding something from you seemed so familiar to the way your parents banged on your bedroom door when you locked yourself in to save yourself from them.

Anywho, the situation is delayed for now and you have to calm down and start working again or you won't be done till the rest of the staff comes around. You don't know till when you'll be living under Yoongi's shadows and he'll be protecting you.

You put your hands on your face and let out a deep breath. Back to work bitches.

You started wiping the tables again, trying to think about something else. That 'something else' had a lot of options for you like, how are you going to repay your student loan that you took to go to college and didn't even help you land a decent job, or how your mom has been pestering you since months to get married and you haven't the found the best way to tell her yet that you wanna focus on your career for now and become a chef, or... well let's just say you had better things to worry about. But your train off thoughts was cut short when the phone rang again.

You already knew who was calling, so you decided against picking up. The ear splitting sound of the phone again echoed through the walls and it made you want to throw the phone against a wall. You know the restaurant phones should be loud enough to be heard by the staff even when the place is busy, but it did not help with the way it was making you feel.

After what seemed like forever, it stopped ringing and you went on to work again. The phone rang several times after that and with each ring, you felt your patience slipping farther away from you. You had half the mind to pick up the phone and tell them off, but you knew it would only anger them further. Yet you couldn't let this go on so after at least a dozen calls, you decided to pick it up.

"Thanks for calling at the Nile's! My name is y/n how can I help you today?" you spoke through a sigh.

"I'VE BEEN CALLING AT THIS DAMN RESTAURANT SINCE THE PAST 2 HOURS AND NOBODY HAS PICKED IT UP." she bellowed. If you thought she was loud and shrill earlier, you would change your mind now. Also, 2 hours????? you weren’t even here 2 hours ago!

"I HAVE GOT ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE ON MY PHONE AND I WILL POST THIS ALL ON FACEBOOK THE WAY YOU HAVE TREATED ME IS NOT AT ALL A WAY TO TREAT A CUSTOMER." she didn't even pause for a breath "WAIT TILL MY HUSBAND HEARS ABOUT THIS."

You didn't dare say anything for the fear that anything that may come out of your mouth right now, may anger her further, considering, you were not the manager she hoped to talk to.

There was small hustle on the other end. You could hear the ladies outside arguing a little. After a short pause, someone spoke again.

"Am I talking to manager?" this was not the woman who yelled at you earlier but someone else.

"Yes you are, ma'am"

You let out a small shriek. Surprised to see the receiver that was in your hands a moment ago, placed against Yoongi's ear. When the hell did he get here and how did you not even realize?? Even so, a strange feeling of safety filled up your chest at the sight of him and you felt like you could breath again.

"No ma'am, we cannot do that for you. As y/n here explained to you, the restaurant opens at 11:30 and no exceptions will be made for anyone." he explained calmly and it had you hoping that they'd listen to him if not you.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused to you ma'am."

You just stood being a witness to one side of the conversation. You could hear someone talking outside the restaurant as well, but couldn't make out their exact words.

You admired his calm even in such a patronizing situation. At least to you, it was that way. In your eyes, he seemed so serene, his lips moved to utter the most calming sounds and you felt like you'd hand over your life to him if he asked you for it.

You really needed to practice professional work ethics when it came to him.

"Yes we will take care of this in the future, thank you for your suggestion."

"Ma'am we do not accept any kind of coupons for any of the meals provided here. Are you sure it is the same restaurant?"

Wait. But we do accept coupons here at the Nile's...

"No ma'am we cannot do that for you. There is no such policy, and we do not accept coupons."

"You can totally go ahead and call the police for yourself and we'll be sure to tell them how have harassed one of our workers over here." He said in an unbothered tone, gaze floating to you and you strangely found yourself looking away.

"Sure thing. Thank you for calling!"

And he placed the receiver back, as if job accomplished.

"Are you okay y/n?" He questioned. In his deep eyes, you saw genuine concern for yourself and you wanted to stay there for some while more. His voice was music to your ears and you did not want your own voice to taint the air around.

But he asked you something.

"Yeah." you said breathlessly and cleared your throat. "Yes, I'm fine, thanks for the help Yoongi"

It was something he insisted you call him even though the rules say he is your senior and should be addressed as so.

"Such people are so irritating and do not deserve to be let out of their homes. What kind of a husband would it be, huh!" he wondered, "though I question if there is any husband at all or she was just bluffing."

"Yeah I know right?" you didn't know what to say. "Though it was really impressive the way you handled them, I could never!"

He laughed at that. Sounded so heavenly, your knees kind of gave out.

And it was another day when he saved you. Why does he do that for you? Why was he here here so early? Why does he even try to get to close to you?

These are questions you do not have the answers to yet. You hope to get them someday. But you are happy they you are right now. Or maybe you are too afraid that the answers to these questions wouldn't be what you'd like to hear. Maybe he was just being nice and you being a horndog took the hint wrong way.

But for now, you have all the time (45 mins max before some other employee comes) to enjoy this moment with him alone in the closed restaurant, surrounded by the smell of food and his cologne and you have no idea which you like better. You wouldn't have it any other way.

masterlist | fin. 

[jaceyneedsabetterusername]

Hayloft (p.1)

Pairing: Arvin Russell x F!Reader

Summary: Your dad brings home his new coworker, Arvin Russell, telling you that he’ll be living with the two of you for a while. While attempting to keep Arvin from seeing the disfunction of your relationship with your father, the two of you grow closer than you thought. (Inspired by “Hayloft” by Mother Mother, though that’ll really only be one chapter later on so I don’t know if it really counts...) 

Warnings: Abuse, mentions of drinking, misogyny, reader’s mother is dead

Word Count: 3.2k

A/N: My first slow(er) burn fic! Let me know what you think!

__________________

When your car finally pulled up the old dirt driveway to your family's farm house, the sun was already setting, casting an orange hue over the acres of land that your father had inherited from his father. It was beautiful, really. The sun was behind your old two story home made of wood planks that were covered in chipping white paint. The door’s paint was also chipping, only this time it was old navy blue paint - at least that’s the color it was supposed to be when it was painted who knows how many decades ago - that peeled back to reveal the wood beneath. 

Your father’s truck wasn’t in the driveway yet when you pulled up and you sighed in relief because it gave you the opportunity to get dinner started before he got home. You headed straight for the kitchen. The only moment taken for yourself was the moment of silence when you leaned against the counter top and stretched out your back from the long day's work at the diner. The refrigerator was mostly empty and you made a mental note to run to the store after work tomorrow before your father could notice the lack of food. Thankfully, there was still enough scraps to piece something together for tonight between the fridge and the cupboards. 

The house was swimming with the delicious scent of herbs, onions, potatoes, and stock as you boiled a stew on the stove when you heard the front door open. “Hi, Daddy! How was work?” You asked over your shoulder before you even heard his steps enter the kitchen, not actually caring but knowing he’d be upset if you didn’t ask. 

He came around the corner but you could hear from the moment the door opened that there were the footsteps of more than one person entering your home. With a frown, you turned from the stove and took a few steps so you could see around the wall that blocked your view of the front door but your father and new mystery person stepped around that corner and into the kitchen before you could get that far. You stopped in your tracks, startled by their sudden appearance, and your hand flew to your chest as your eyes widened in surprise. “Sorry!” You chuckled awkwardly, apologizing for your jumpiness, “Didn’t think you’d be comin’ in here.” 

It was a man about your age that stood just behind your father, a navy baseball cap twisted in his hands and his footsteps light so as to not knock dirt off onto the floor from his work boots, both welcomed displays of manners that you appreciated, unlike your father who left a trail of chunks of dried mud and grease everywhere he walked. This new boy, though, he was cute. Short curly hair that was messy, either from work or wearing the hat, big expressive brown eyes that reminded you of a puppy in the best possible way, a tight lipped expression that showed he was a little nervous and uncomfortable to be here, they were all a welcome, albeit unexpected, surprise. 

"Work was good. This here is Arvin Russel. He'll be staying with us, at least for the night." Your eyes flicked back to the boy you now knew as Arvin when your dad introduced him and your heart skipped a beat at the eye contact. 

  He nodded his head slightly, a small cordial smile flashing on his face for just a moment, "Pleasure to meet you,..." 

"Y/N. It's nice to meet you as well. If you're staying the night, let me add some water to the soup and then I'll go make up the spare bed." You pointed your thumb over your shoulder towards the pot of stew that was nearly done. 

"That's very kind of you. Thank you." 

Before you could notice him moving, your dad was already beside the fridge and you reached out to try to stop him before he could open it. "Let me get you something! What about you, Arvin? You want a beer or some water?" You scurried to try and beat your dad to the fridge that you knew would earn you a reprimanding that you didn’t deserve. 

You were too late though and your dad already swung the door open wide. You stepped back nervously, rubbing the sharp edge of your nails against your thumb. "It's damn near empty." He noted, voice stiff and dissatisfied. He stood, managing to produce the last two beers from the refrigerator before slamming it shut. 

You flinched at the loud sound, hearing the few glass jars of preserves and jams clanging against each other inside from the force. Your eyes rolled beneath closed lids at his overdramatic reaction, even though it was one you expected. "I'm gonna hit the market after work tomorrow but I checked that we have enough for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow." Your voice was sweet and placating, careful to respond in a way that would keep his temper in check. 

  "It's that damn job of yours. I told you women shouldn't be working. They belong in the house where you should be. Now look. You went and let the kitchen run out." He passed Arvin a beer, which he reluctantly accepted, watching the way your father pointed his finger at you accusingly. “Ain’t no man gonna want a wife who can’t even keep the kitchen stocked up.” 

Your tongue was raw inside from biting down on it so hard in order to keep yourself in line, as he called it. You didn't need a blow out tonight, not with Arvin here. "I manage to work and keep up with the house just fine, Daddy. We just got a little low on groceries but I'll be heading to the market tomorrow to fix it. Don’t you worry." Even you were surprised with how even and sweet your voice came out, that ever present fire of anger towards your father having been fanned into a decent blaze.  

He popped the tab on his beer and sighed, dropping the topic for the time being, "Fine. But make sure to pick up some fixin's for that chicken roast you make. Patty is lookin' nice and fat in the coop so why don't you cook her up tomorrow." 

You grimaced at the thought. Patty was one of the chickens in your coop out back that had been pretty slow when it came to laying eggs but you’d grown attached to her nonetheless. Ever since you were a young girl, your daddy warned you not to become attached to the animals out back but you never listened. Back then, you’d had your mother to step in and convince him not to kill the animals for whatever reason she could come with and opt for buying meat from the market instead. You hadn’t been able to convince him like that since she’d passed. Everything had been different since she passed. 

“I don’t know, Daddy. Patty’s been layin’ a lot of eggs lately and we’ve been gettin’ extra money from sellin’ all those eggs. Why don’t I just pick up a chicken in town tomorrow at the store.” You insisted, walking back over to the stove to stir the stew. 

“Don’t go wastin’ money on things we already got! We got some chickens out back. Just cook one of ‘em up tomorrow!” Your father’s voice was hard and stern now, enough to fill the air with tension in Arvin’s presence. You turned slowly, making eye contact with Arvin briefly before quickly avoiding it. You didn’t like the way he stood awkwardly, silently watching the interaction he clearly didn’t think highly of. Your father was already getting worked up and it would only get worse the longer the night went on. 

Biting your cheek, you nodded, “Yes, sir. Now why don’t you boys go get cleaned up. Dinner will be ready in just a minute.” 

**

Dinner went relatively well, despite your father’s occasional grumblings about there not being any beer. Once you finished, you stood up and picked up yours and your father’s bowls before noticing Arvin’s was empty as well. “Did you want some more? There’s just enough for one more if you’d like it.” You offered Arvin that last bit of stew but he just shook his head and stood up. 

“Oh, no thank you miss. Dinner was delicious though. Let me help with that.” He grabbed his own bowl before your hand could reach it and then took the bowls from your hands as well before setting them down at the sink. 

You chased after him, “Thank you but you don’t have to do that! Please, sit. I’ll make your bed up when I’m finished cleaning up dinner.” 

“She’s right, son. Kitchen ain’t no place for a man. Why don’t you come with me and I’ll show you the room you’ll be stayin’ in.” You father’s chair screeched against the beat up wooden floor as he stood, beckoning Arvin to him. 

Arvin was standing right beside you, his arm only a few inches from yours as he lowered the stack of bowls into the sink. He looked over at you with deep soulful eyes that seemed to look right through your calm facade in a way that made you feel seen like never before. It was highly uncomfortable, almost violating after all these years of hiding away what you felt for the sake of keeping the peace, and you forced a smile, “Please, you’re our guest. It wouldn’t be right to make you do the dishes. You go with him.” 

He gave you a drawn out hesitant look but turned away nonetheless and walked towards your dad. “Thank you again for letting me stay here till I get things figured out. It’s mighty kind of you.” Arvin thanked you and your father for your hospitality, shooting you one last glance over his shoulder before following your father down up the stairs towards the spare room. 

You made quick work of the dishes, having cleaned most of them as you were cooking earlier anyways and scurried to the closet that held your extra sheets. As you passed the bathroom, you heard the shower running and knew it was your father bathing after his long day of work, like he always did right after dinner. The man was a creature of habit. 

With your arms full of neatly folded faded steel blue linens and the thicker burnt sienna colored wool blanket, you made your way towards the guest room Arvin was staying in to find the door wide open and the man looking through his bag that was set on the bed. “Knock knock,” you announced your presence, waiting at the entryway for Arvin to notice you before entering. 

He spun around, dropping something that you didn’t see quickly into his bag and pressing it down while flashing you a small polite smile, “Hello, ma’am.” 

You walked into the room, raising the linens in your hands, “I brought some sheets so I could make up your bed.” You walked over to the wooden chair and set the top sheet down before making your way back over to the bed, unfolding the bottom sheet as you did, waving it up and down in the air to straighten it out before laying it flat on the bed. 

“Oh, you don’t have to do that, miss,” He moved his bag to the ground and jumped to lift the corner of the mattress and tuck the sheet beneath it. 

You blushed at his kindness, not used to such help from your father, but shook your head, tucking the sheet beneath the mattress on the opposite side of the bed “If my daddy came in and saw you fixin’ the bed yourself, he’d kill me,” you chuckled to make it sound like a joke but you knew better than that. He wouldn’t actually kill you but you would certainly get some less than kind words thrown your way, maybe even a few beer cans thrown your way depending on how drunk he was. 

Arvin shook his head, his hands falling on his hips, “Looks like you do most the housework ‘round here.” What he was insinuating was clear even though his tone didn’t change but you didn’t want to acknowledge it. He didn’t need to concern himself with the difficulties between you and your father. 

“So how’d you and my dad meet?” You changed the topic, going to grab the top sheet and unfolding it. You laid it over the bed and tucked your side in, Arvin reaching down to tuck his side in as well in a silent act of defiance against your insistence that he didn’t need to help. It occurred to you suddenly after the question left your lips that you didn’t actually know anything about this boy but, for some reason, you still didn’t feel uneasy around him.  

Arvin pulled the top corner of the sheet up to the head of the bed as he answered, “I just started workin’ at the garage with ‘im.” 

“You like cars?” You questioned, spreading out the final layer on the bed, the wool blanket. 

Arvin shrugged, “Never been really into ‘em but I can fix ‘em alright enough. Just needed the work and happened to see the wanted sign when I was passin’ through town.” 

Your brow raised in curiosity, “You were just passin’ through and stopped in this old town cause of a help wanted sign?” The little town you lived in wasn’t terrible but it was far from a destination that people really moved to for work unless you a doctor desperate for a place to practice or something like that. “You must really be desperate,” you joked but immediately felt a slight pang of regret when a shred of truth could be seen in his eyes. 

“Just tryna figure out where I’m goin’ ‘n what I wanna do. Figure I’ll find somewhere I like eventually.” Arvin picked up his bag and set it off to the side where it was a little more out of the way. 

You stared at the man standing before you, taking every bit of him from the grease stains on his white t-shirt to his scuffed up brown work boots to his messy hair, dirty from dried sweat. It wasn’t until you locked eyes with him that you realized that you’d been staring in a settled yet weirdly comfortable silence. You stood up straight and smiled to diffuse the awkwardness you’d unintentionally fostered, “You’re more than welcome to take a shower. My daddy should be finished any second. I’ll set some extra towels in there for you.” 

“That’s very kind of you. Thank you.” He nodded in appreciation but offered no further conversation. You could tell from the moment of silence that it was time for you to make your exit. 

“Well, uh, I better head to bed. You need anything before I go?” You asked, backing towards the door and swinging slightly with it once your hand hit the old bronze knob. 

Arvin shook his head, “No, thank you. ‘M all set.” 

“Alrighty, then. You have a good night.” You chewed your lip as you opened the door to make your exit. 

“G’night, miss Y/N.” 

Butterflies flew wildly in your belly as you walked to your bedroom. It had been a long while since you’d seen somebody worth looking twice at in this old town but now a mysterious handsome man rolls into town and stays with you. In your house. It probably wasn’t the safest of situations but Arvin genuinely looked like a nice man. From your very brief interactions with him, you couldn’t really imagine him trying to hurt you or your father for no reason. Even if he did, you knew where your daddy kept his shotgun and you had no problem defending yourself. But like I said, you had an unearned sense of peace with Arvin that you hoped wasn’t a misjudgement. 

“What’re you smilin’ ‘bout?” Your father’s gruff but thankfully not entirely drunk voice made you stop in your tracks and turn towards his room with a suppressed groan. He stood in the doorway of his bedroom in nothing but an undershirt and long johns with his suspenders hanging loosely at his sides.

You shook the smile off your face. “Just thought of somethin’ funny that happened at work,'' you lied. “You need somethin’?” 

“I watched you come out o’ that boy’s room with a big ol’ grin on your face. Better not let me catch you ‘n him. Ain’t no daughter o’ mine gonna be whorin’ around with some boy blowin’ through town, y’hear?” He threatened, his hands reaching down to pull up his worn out long johns. 

Your blood boiled at the accusation and despite your best efforts to keep peace while Arvin was here, you spat words with venom, “I wasn’t doin’ nothin’ with Arvin. God forbid I have a damn smile on my face.” Your voice was low enough so that you hoped your guest hadn’t heard your outburst but when your father’s face darkened and he began taking slow, heavy steps towards you, you weren’t sure if your charade of normalcy would last much longer. 

Your father hovered over you, exaggerating the size difference between the two of you, “I put a roof over your head. I put food on the table. You play make believe with that little diner job but I'm the head of this house. I'm your father. You watch that fuckin’ tone with me girl."

Your jaw was clenched tightly, matching your fists, as you glared up at him with indignantly furious eyes. Father your ass. He once had been your father, an imperfect but loving man who used to try. Now he was merely a selfish broken sperm donor. He inherited this house from his father, didn’t pay a darn cent, and you couldn't remember the last time he pitched in a dime for anything but alcohol and the occasional dinner he made when he was in a good mood. He did do that- have these strange out of character nights where he pretended to be kind and loving. They were far and few between though and, while you enjoyed the change of pace, it felt like walking on eggshells in some fantasy world. 

A heavy silence settled between the two of you that crackled with a tension that could snap at any moment and turn into a full blown fight. Your eyes were narrowed on his as you refused to let him think he intimidated you anymore. Nevertheless, you turned on your heel, nails digging into your palm, and walked down the hall towards your room, leaving him alone. 

“He wouldn’t want you anyways, fuckin’ attitude like that.” Your father grumbled to your back, hoping for one last reaction out of you that you refused to give. 

It took all the control in the world to not slam the door in his face but you knew there was no way it would escape Arvin’s attention. You’d have to resort to the therapy of muffling your furious tear-soaked screams into your pillow until you finally fell asleep, like you did many nights. 

[queenofhearts7378]

Constellations Ch. 2

(Yes it finally has a title. Yes this is ending up multi chaptered. Yes there’s another part I’m writing. Yes I already have an outline for a vague plot....Yes I’m still blaming @ladylynse for this XD)

Prev. Chapter  -  Next Chapter

Danny was very much unprepared and underdressed for the time when some wizards fell out of his fireplace.

He paused in the doorway, spoon still in his mouth and cheeks full of cereal, as his brother stood up and brushed the soot off him with a displeased nose scrunch.

Danny swallowed. "And you couldn't just use the door?"

Honestly they're lucky his parents had left to chase down the Box Ghost earlier. Otherwise they'd be covered in a lot more than soot and ash.

Danny couldn't help the snort that escaped at the mental picture of Draco covered in ectoplasm and boiling in rage. 

Draco narrowed his eyes, seeming to pick up that Danny was making fun of him. "Using the Floo was quicker."

"....quicker than walking through the door."

"It's a wizard thing you wouldn't understand." Draco snapped back, his go to response whenever he couldn't argue against Danny's logic at the moment. 

"Uh huh. Anyways what are you doing here?" Danny asked, "You aren't supposed to be here for another two weeks."

Which was time previously planned for Draco to prepare for his summer in America while Danny finished school. Spend the two weeks after Hogwarts let out recuperating and making public appearances with his parents, then spend the rest of the summer with the Fentons.

Actually now that Danny was looking, it seemed Draco had come straight from school. His hair was lacking half its gel, he was still wearing his green tie, and his robes were a very boring black as opposed to the various greys and blues he flaunted around in the previous summer.

“Denebola, pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.” Drawled the man standing behind Draco.

“Hello creepy man that I have never met before,” Danny said, echoing his tone.

Draco choked on air as the discount Kylo Ren sneered at him.

“This is Professor Snape Danny.” A familiar please-don’t-say-anything-that-will-get-us-in-trouble tone coloring Draco’s words. “My godfather.”

Oh the potion guy. Danny remembers Draco talking about him now. He was friends with Draco’s parents, which didn’t really impress Danny that much as all of the Malfoy’s friends seemed to be really rich snobs or really racist. Mostly both.

But he was Draco’s godfather, the reason he got into potions, his favorite professor and someone Draco would willingly go to get advice from. So, Danny decided to reserve judgement till he met him. Well….he met him.

Danny looked Draco dead in the eyes, “My apologies.”

Draco closed his eyes in mortification, which made Danny grin internally. They were really getting the hang of the whole ‘speaking without talking to each other twin thing’. 

Professor Snape just scowled at him. “Where are the….muggles?" Disdain dripped off his words, instantly making Danny defensive. He had heard enough at Malfoy Manor about disgraceful, savage muggles from Lucius. Even Draco had echoed his father till Danny dragged him kicking and screaming into being a slightly decent person.

"My parents," Danny said, stressing the word, "Are working right now."

Okay maybe they were just being their usual trigger happy selves and running after Boxy, but there was no way he was telling Professor Snape that without it leading to an hour long discussion about ghosts. And Danny did not have time for that. He shoved a giant spoonful of cereal in his mouth as he met Professor Snape's eyes and-huh.

Draco never told Danny his godfather could read minds. He could feel the light brushes of a foreign mind attempting to gleam information from his surface thoughts. Danny didn't know if it was his wizard ancestry or halfa weirdness that made him sensitive to this kind of stuff. Either way, it was useful in keeping his secrets in his head from privacy invading school teachers.

Danny glowered at Snape and immediately thought of Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up music video.

The two of them stared at each other for a minute, making Draco more and more anxious as no one said anything.

Finally Snape broke contact, "Where should his things go?"

Danny tried very hard not to smirk after winning that staring contest, "You can just leave them here, we'll get them later."

With one last displeased sneer, Snape turned to Draco. "I'm needed back at Hogwarts. I trust you are in good hands."

Draco nodded, still looking tense and anxious as hell.

Snape walked back to the fireplace. He paused next to Draco, "Take care of yourself Draco."

Draco softened under his glare, "I will Professor. Thank you."

Snape nodded and shot one more glare at Danny, who still had Rick Astley echoing in his head, before vanishing into the fireplace in a swirl of green fire.

Draco turned back to Danny and said, "You stress me out."

Danny snorted before walking back into the kitchen to put his bowl in the sink. Draco followed after him, looking at all the kitchen appliances with a barely hidden curious look.

"Something else we have in common."

"What are you wearing?" He asked with a nose scrunched in displeasure.

Danny shot him a look, "My pajamas, cause I just woke up. I haven't finished getting ready for school. You should probably change too."

"Why?"

Danny started for the stairs, Draco still following at his heels. "You can't wear robes to public school. I think you can fit in my jeans."

"What?!" Draco screeched, halting at the bottom of the stairs, "I'm not going to muggle school with you!"

"It's either that or stay here by yourself for hours." Danny said as he paused outside his room. Draco scrambled up after him. "Cause my parents won't be home for a couple more hours, after which you'll be alone with them till I get home."

Danny smirked at him, "My parents are going to be thrilled to see you, can you really handle their enthusiasm all by yourself?"

Draco could barely stand Danny showing various forms of physical affection, as proven last summer when Danny would throw an arm around Draco's shoulders and almost get hexed. And Ancients forbid Danny try to hug him. Draco might actually lose the wand and just punch him. Danny had spent most of their correspondence over the school year prepping Draco for the Fenton welcome wagon so he wouldn't hiss like a cat when he gets hugged. Okay, and maybe Danny just wanted to see his overdramatic brother's face as he is subjected to his parent's bear hugs. 

Draco scowled at him, "Fine. But I'm not wearing any jeans."

Draco stomped into Danny's room and slammed the door in his face. He heard the lock click as it was shut.

"Hey! I still gotta get dressed!" Danny banged on the door, "C'mon Drake it's still my room!"

Danny groaned before walking over to the bathroom. He phased through the wall and landed on the fire escape. It took a few minutes, but he eventually maneuvered to his window and slipped in.

Draco had dug into Danny's closet and pulled out the most dressy tux Danny owned and was in the middle of putting it on. 

"You are not wearing that."

Draco scowled at him, "It’s bad enough I'm lowering myself by going with you-”

“Lowering yourself?”

“-But,” he said loudly, “I absolutely refuse to wear common muggle wear. If I’m going to this school, I will not look anything less than my absolute best.”

Danny stared at him. “Drake you will be thrown into the dumpster if you wear that to my school. Let me just-”

Danny jumped on him, trying to remove the suit jacket from a struggling Draco. Draco shouted and tried to twist away, only for Danny to pull it over his head. Once Draco was out of sight, and swearing loudly at him, Danny subtly used his intangibility to yank it off him. And if he happened to remove all of Draco’s hair gel that he used to keep his hair slicked back….well, that would have gotten him thrown in a dumpster as well.

Danny tried not to laugh as Draco glared at him, his hair fluffed up and looking vaguely like an angry kitten. 

"Do you know how long it takes me to fix my hair? I have to completely redo it now! And how'd you get that off me?" He pointed at the jacket Danny was throwing back in his closet.

Danny grinned at him, "Magic."

Draco gave him a flat look.

"Anyway we've got to go, otherwise I'm gonna be late again, and get detention again, and you'll be forced to either walk home by yourself or stay at school with me."

Somehow Danny had managed to get dressed and drag Draco out the door with him, texting Sam and Tucker his plans to walk so they could meet up on the way.

"What is that?" Draco leaned over to squint at the phone in Danny's hand.

"My phone. I told you about it last summer."

Draco hummed, "I thought it was broken?"

"Yeah, cause your magic blew it up. My parents fixed it." Danny shoved his phone back in his pocket like Draco was about to blow it up again. "Now what happened?"

Draco shot him a glance, before letting his eyes flicker around them. "I did try to tell you muggle 'technology' and magic doesn't always go together."

"Drake, you know that's not what I mean." He said softly.

Draco was silent, his jaw clenched and his hands shaking before he shoved them in his pockets.

They walked in silence for a while.

"You'll get hurt."

Danny looked at him.

"I…." Draco sighed, "I've never…."

Danny waited silently for him to get the words out on his own, knowing that pushing him will only make him clam up.

"You aren't like us. And I don't mean that in any bad way!" He said quickly when he saw Danny's face. "But you know what my parents are like, and their friends are so much worse, and you're the first person I've ever had to worry about. I just want you to be safe."

Oh Ancients, that was a lot to unpack there. 

Danny had known something had happened during school. The two of them spent the school year exchanging letters, both of them wanting to stay in contact. Danny would tell him about his school, and his parents' antics, and explain random muggle technology to get Draco prepared for his summer with the Fentons.

Meanwhile, Draco had complained at length about Potter and a tournament and Potter being insufferable about a tournament. There was a furious letter about being turned into a ferret and how Potter and his friends keep bringing it up. Draco sent him about three feet of parchment around Christmas just making fun of Potter at a dance and how horrible he was. There was a lot about some famous Quidditch guy and then a lot about Potter’s friend stealing the famous Quidditch guy.

Draco complained about Potter a lot, okay?

But Draco never sent him a letter about the tournament results or if Potter got eaten by a bog witch or whatever it was he was hoping for the last task. He just showed up, two weeks early and clearly shaken about whatever it was that happened.

That isn’t a good sign at all. And Danny had eavesdropped enough last summer to get a decent idea as to what was going on.

“This is….this is about him isn’t it?”

Draco flinched, which was enough answer for him. Danny let out a breath.

“We can-we can talk about this later. I care about you too Drake, and I know your family is neck deep in this mess.” Danny bumped his shoulder, “You’re safe here, that’s why Narcissa sent you here right?”

Draco leaned against his brother’s shoulder, eyes still flitting across the street and his jaw clenched. “Yeah. We’re safe here.”

[wreckofawriter]

Attention

Pairing: Cedric Diggory x reader

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: Swearing, sexual jokes

Request: @souhmhey Hello! I really like your blaise au and was wondering if you could do a hogwarts ver of 97 with bill weasley/cedric diggory since your requests is open. The reader is a slytherin btw. Thank you and take care!

#97: You are famous and we keep bumping into eachother so the media thinks we're dating

A/n: sorry for inactivity, I have no concept of time. This is a tiny bit off the prompt but oh well. (There is so much dialogue in this fic, I'm sorry.)

You hated attention. You had hated it since the second you had been birthed into the world. The world which robbed you of your privacy. The world which had dug its grimy hands into your life and tugged and pulled until it looked pretty enough to be on display. A world which everyone claimed to wish for, to envy. 

It made you sick. 

You had no right to complain. You knew that you were privileged, your parents had more money than they could spend even if they tried, you had grown up in a mansion which simply could not be called a house. You had the tutors, the vacations, the clothes. You had it all, well all except privacy. 

Your birth was on the front page of a dozen magazines, your face tacked onto newspapers before you could even read. You were so used to the flash of lights that you stopped registering them as strange. 

When you left for some faraway school in the hills of Scottland you had assumed that all of that would go away. That you wouldn’t have to fake smiles anymore or refrain from making the smallest mistake for fear of ruining your parent’s reputation. 

Your father’s status as a quidditch player kept you form that unattainable dream. Whenever he spoke of the sport he told it like some fantasy, something he had done so he could soar into the sky not bring it down onto his daughter. 

You snapped your eyes shut the bright flash of light only worsening your headache. As the faint burn you were all too used to faded you gathered the image of the young boy in front of you.  His mouth was dropped displaying two rows of crooked teeth, his brown eyes wide with amazement. 

Your jaw tightened, “Do you need something?” the tone you used was clearly threatening, hoping to break him from the trance you had unintentionally put him under. The conformity of the boy’s features lead you to believe he was either deaf or stupid. 

“Well?!” You snapped and it seemed to do the trick. 

He blinked a few times, his open mouth giving way for a dopey grin, “You’re y/n y/l/n.” 

You scoffed considering shoving the large camera he was holding down his throat, “I don’t know who you are talking about.” 

“But-”

“Move before I move you myself.” You snarled and before the kid could answer you shoved him aside and continued for your class which you were now surly to be late for. Vector wouldn’t be happy. 

You entered the room already spewing apologies you should have to give. 

The teacher cut you off with a pointed look and you snapped your mouth shut. There were a couple snickers from the class and your head hammered on the front of your skull. 

“You have been late almost every day this week Ms. y/l/n. Is this going to continue all year or should I cut you from my class now?” Her glare was stiff. 

You tried to swallow your mouth suddenly feeling too dry, “I’m very sorry professor it’s just I have to come all the way from potions, and getting through the halls can be difficult.”

Her eyebrows raised, “I don’t see any of my other students struggling to get here on time.” 

“Well, I-” 

“Or do you simply believe the rules of this school don’t apply to you?”  She sneered and giggles erupted around you.

Your cheeks burned and you hung your head, “That’s not what I was saying professor.” you mumbled know your words fell onto emptiness. 

“Ten points from Slytherin. Go take a seat next to Diggory.” 

You let your mouth fall shut nodding obediently as your blood boiled beneath your skin. Eyes followed you to your seat and didn’t leave until the lesson began. Your cheeks hurt, you pushed your hands upon them attempting to cool the burn of embarrassment. You didn’t even spare a glance to the boy seated next o you, his presence barely registering as you tried to convince the earth to swallow you whole. 

You really hated attention. 

Cedric Diggory didn’t quite understand why so many looked his way as he passed in the halls. He was good at making friends, his words always seemed to flow so seamlessly from his mouth, he never stumbled over syllables or tripped on his tongue. He was good with people, they liked him, he never gave them a reason to do otherwise. 

Students envied him, he knew that. He wasn’t oblivious to the fact that girls and boys found him attractive, he wasn’t stupid. People often treated him like he was anyway, as if his popularity had drained his common sense. It was aggravating to try and prove that his worth went past his reputation again and again. 

He always paid mind to you. He was aware of your fame, well your parent’s fame. His eyes like may others had frequently wandered towards you, he had a feeling you hated when they did. Your own were always narrowed into a glare as you did everything in your power to avoid the popularity you had been gifted. 

As you sat beside him, your head buried in your hands, teacher continuing with a lesson he should be listening to he felt sorry for you. Sorry that you were so often painted as a self-entitled brat, sorry for the prying eyes and the whispers behind hands. 

“I could walk you from potions if you wanted.” The words had spilled from his mouth like an overflowing sink.

Your head snapped towards him, eyes hard as steel as you bored into him. “What?” 

Cedric suddenly felt like a fool, something that didn’t happen all that often. He stuttered for a sentence, “I, uhh..” What had he just said to you? It was like his thoughts had been replaced with cotton.”I have the same potions as you, and um you said that you were having a hard time getting through the halls. I could walk with you.” 

“Whatever.” you ignored the part of you that thought it might be a half-decent idea and scoffed, “You would only draw more attention.” 

The Hufflepuff chuckled, “I suppose you’re not wrong.” 

You didn’t answer, eyes now zoned to the front of the room. He let the conversation drop. 

If there was one thing that you hated more than attention it was exercise. You disliked exhausting yourself, the grime, and sweat making you feel incredibly dirty as you jogged the edge of the grounds. Your breaths were labored and you felt awkward as your thighs bummed together. Despite all of the discomfort, your head felt clear. Thoughts weren’t plagued but crisp as you listened to the chirp of birds and your own pants. Finally, you gave out, your legs groaning as you halted bending over. Lacing your hands on your knees, you tried to calm your racing heart. 

“Oh, hey y/n!” 

And your peace was ruined. 

You stood up, stuffing your hands in your pockets and trying not to look as fatigued as you felt. 

Cedric looked so good it hurt. The sweat on his brow giving him the polished look of a deity. His hair was untamed yet adorable, cheeks stained apple red from the exertion. The sun which was peeking above the horizon framed him, making the boys edge hazy and warm. He smiled down at you, his breaths steady as ever. 

You cussed at him not even bothering to lower your voice. You watched his face falter with confusion. “Fuck you.” You repeated, “How do you look so good after running?” 

His grin jumped back, “I just stared, I’m only two miles in.”

You were tempted to slap him, “Only.” you cursed him again for good measure.

“Are you heading back towards the school? I could go with you.” 

You considered his offer for a brief moment, “Whatever you monster.” 

Apparently he took that as a yes because the second you began to jog again he was beside you his pace obviously slowed to fit yours. 

“I was actually happy to run into you.” He hummed.

You frowned, “Why?” it was more of a pant than a question.

He shrugged, “You seem nice.”

There were a lot of things you ‘seemed’ nice was not one of them. The side glance you gave him was question enough and you heard him chuckle a bit.

“I know you think you’re all scary and everything but you’re not that bad.” 

You scowled, “You don’t. Know. Me.” heavy breaths broke what was supposed to be an intimidating sentence. 

He nodded, “I think I’d like to.” 

You didn’t respond and instead tried to focus back into your safe world of exhaustion and exhilaration. You managed to reach the front of the school and practically collapsed.

“Are you okay?” Cedric asked his hand landing lightly on your shoulder. 

Shoving it off you nodded, “I’m going to get water before I pass out.” you heaved, “Feel free to continue your workout, Diggory.”

“Alright, I’ll see you-” the door shut in his face, “-later.”

Your exhaustion kept you from ripping off the heads a group of first-years who wanted your father’s autograph on your way to class. It faded as you made your way through transfiguration and potions. When dismissed you scrambled from the classroom at a quick pace, the last thing you wanted was to be late to Arithmancy again. Being publicly ridiculed once this week was plenty for you. 

You didn’t stop as your name was called behind you, shouldering through a group of students who shot you glares. You heard it again the same voice, closer now and you picked up the pace. 

Your shoulder was grabbed and you spun around with such force your bag fell from your shoulder. Quills and ink crashed to the ground and you swore loudly dropping to your knees to pick up the scattered supplies.

Cedric descended beside you helping gather your things. You snatched them from his hands before he offered and continuted down the hall without even a glance in his direction. His long strides brought him to your side. 

“You don’t have to worry about being late you know.” He offered you stayed unresponsive. “You’ve still got 6 minutes till class.”

You let out a bothered sigh, “Well if I’m stopped then those minutes go fast.” 

Cedric frowned, “Stopped?”

“Yep. It’s always like this at the beginning of the year. The first-years slowly find out who my parents are and want autographs or pictures as if it’s somehow my responsibility to serve them.” Your voice slowly filled with annoyance like a balloon expanding with air, “It’s irritating.”

The boy beside you furrowed his brows, “I can imagine.”

As if on queue a young girl trotted up to you stopping you in your tracks.

“You’re y/n y/l/n right?” Before you could answer she continued, “I was wondering if I could have an autograph from your mother, I saw her in a movie when I was six and I-”

“I’m really sorry but we have to get to class,” Cedric spoke, cutting off the bob child. 

Her eyes widened a bit, “Oh sorry, um bye then.” 

You gave a half-hearted wave before glancing at the boy beside you, “Thanks.”

He grinned, “It’s no problem.” 

Neither of you noticed the eyes which followed you down the hall. 

The Weasley twins had a special talent when it came to being bothersome. And they were sure to use it to their full potential, making a point to leave no one out of their troubles. You included. You didn’t know them all too well but after their offer to buy autographs from you and them sell them for a profit they had always stuck in your head. 

“Ah, but if it isn’t my favorite celebrity.” Fred grinned his arm draping around your shoulder before being quickly shoved off. 

“Well if it isn’t my least favorite red-head.” You respond attempting to return to the open textbook in front of you. 

“It’s only natural that you like me more than him.” George grinned sitting beside you.

“Nah, you’re tied for last.” You mumbled scribbling down notes on a messy roll of parchment. 

The younger twin frowned, “Are you sure I’m not beating him?” 

You looked up at him amusement etched into your features, “Positive.”

Fred popped some of the jelly slugs sitting beside you into his mouth, chewing obnoxiously loud. “So you and Diggory huh?”

You stiffened, glancing up at him. 

“I didn’t think he was your type.” George grinned catching one of the candies in his mouth as his twin tossed it over your head. 

You scrunched your nose, “What?” 

“Oh come on y/l/n, don’t be coy.” 

“No reason to be shy, we all know you and the Hufflepuff prince are boning.” the younger giggled. 

Your mouth went dry, “What did you just say?” 

Fred hummed, “Wow you’re better at acting than I thought, I guess you take after your mother.”

“I haven’t the slightest clue what you’re talking about.” You sputtered.

“Wait really?” 

You nodded.

“So you and Cedric aren’t dating?” 

You scoffed, “God no, where in hell did you get that idea?”

The reflections shot glances at each other. 

“The whole school thinks you are,” George stated plainly.

You slammed your textbook shut in a vicious snap, eyes from around the library drawing towards you. “That fucker.” You hissed and in a second you were on your feet.

You didn’t have to look very long to find the brunette. He was only a few corridors form the library a small group of people huddled with him. 

“Diggory!” Your voice cut the pleasant atmosphere in two.

“Oh hey y/n, I was just looking fo-” Before his sentence could be finished you had snatched him by the tie and began dragging him behind you. 

A series of whistles and calls followed you around the corner where you slammed open a door and shoved him into a small closet. 

“Y/n whats are you doing?” He asked loosening his tie which you had unintentionally sinched around his neck. 

Your hands met his shoulders pushing him back as hard as you could manage. Cedric stumbled, his back hitting the door with a thunk.

“You asshole!” You spat leaning over him, “How dare you?”

Cedric was bewildered, the anger clear on your face in the dull lighting. Your breaths were heavy, the sharp scent of mint hitting him, “I’m sorry what?”

You sneered, “Don’t you dare lie to me Diggory. I know what you did.” You had grabbed his tie again, forcing him to lower his head to meet your eyes. 

“What did I do?” He asked, his cheeks feeling unbearably hot from the close proximity. 

You scoffed, “I don’t know, how about telling the entire school we’re fucking dating?” 

Cedric frowned, “I didn’t tell anyone we were dating.” 

Now it was your turn to look baffled, “Then who did?” 

Before your question could be answered you were falling forward, the door opening the two of you tumbling out into the sudden overwhelming brightness. You screwed your eyes shut in response, your ears catching the sound of laughter and whistles. You were brought your senses abruptly, the crowd gathered around you giggling behind their hands. 

“Damn Cedric, I thought you were classier than a quickie in a closet.” Someone snickered.

You lept off the boy you had been straddling moments before your cheeks burning from embarrassment. Cedric sat up, his own face tinged red as he glared at the Hufflepuff which had spoken. 

You shoved your way through the crowd wishing the earth would open up and let you fall into its core. Or at least those gathered around you. 

“Wait y/n!” 

You didn’t turn instead holding your middle finger in the air, making sure the entirety of the group could see it before you disappeared from sight. By the time Cedric was able to push his way through the crowd to where you had turned you were gone. He cussed letting his head fall into his hands. 

Cedric didn’t see you the entirety of the weekend. You weren’t in the hall for meals or out in the cooling September air where many students were finding refuge. Your absence was annoying, the thoughts of your breath fanning over the bridge of his nose, chest pressed into his only worsening the harbored feelings he had buried. Rumors of your relationship continuted to circulate, the scene caused a few days before morphing into lewd stories which made his cheeks bloom with roses. He felt partially responsible for the trouble caused for you, his friends were some of the most active in the gossip. 

Cedric knew it was only a matter of time before you would be forced to converse with him. You would never skip a class.

You appeared in potions Monday and managed to convince Snape to let you leave five minutes earlier than the rest of the class. There was no escaping assigned seats in Arithmancy. Or so Cedric thought. You had used your extra time to swap seats with another student now all he could do was bore holes into the back of your styled hair from four seats back. You didn’t even give him a chance during meals, eating quickly or simply never appearing, a girl you were with frequently taking a plate with her as she left instead. 

It was aggravating. He knew that both of you barley qualified as acquaintances but having the small amount of progress he had made in your relationship ripped from him less than a week in was cruel. 

Cedric was more persistent than you intended him to be. You didn’t quite understand why, you hardly knew each other. Yet he tried to corner you in hallways and stop you in classes. You supposed he probably felt guilty. You almost felt bad for avoiding him. 

When he wasn’t present in potions you assumed him sick or skipping. So you didn’t find the need to leave early or rush from the room. You should have known it was a trick. The second you left the room you were trapped, Cedric stood directly in front of you his gaze almost daring you to run. 

You sighed rolling your eyes, “Ok fine. You got me.”

“Can we talk?” He asked his hands stuffed into his robe pockets.

“Aren’t we all ready?” You challenged.

He shook his head softly, “Please?”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” You huffed. 

“It will take thirty seconds.” 

Your eyes narrowed, you knew it would take longer but your curiosity was killing you, what could he possibly have to say? Your money was on some useless apology.

“Fine.” 

You were lead deeper into the dungeons beginning to suspect he was going to murder you where your screams couldn’t be heard until he came to a stop in some far away corridor. 

You crossed your arms tapping your foot impatiently, “Well?”

Cedric felt that unfamiliar twist in his stomach as he looked down at you, his hand scratching at the back of his neck, “Well I wanted to say sorry.” 

You sneered at this, “Are you serious? If this what you dragged me here for then you can just tell your friends that they are dumbasses with no life of their own so they have to stick their nose in other peoples to stay entertained and leave.” 

The Hufflepuff was taken aback, “Oh no that’s not it, umm, you, I mean I have-”

“Spit it out Diggory,” you demanded. 

He nodded, “Right, uh I like you y/n.”

Your eyes shot wide.

“And I was just wondering if you would let me take you out.” He finished feeling better now that the words had been spoken. The moment was ruined quickly. 

“No.” Your answer was plain.

“Oh.” Cedric wasn’t sure what he expected, but it certainly wasn’t that. 

You sighed, the boy’s face now deflated like a sad puppy. The odd feeling of guilt settled in your stomach, “It’s not because of you.” You assured him, “I mean your talented and hot and nice and everything, it’s just I don’t want to deal with all the shit.” 

His cheeks flushed at the complaint but his lips twitched into a frown, “What shit?”

“Ya know.” You spoke gesturing around you, “Your friends and the rumors and everything. I’ve already got enough on my plate, I don’t need anymore.”

Cedric nodded, understanding, “Then give me a chance.” 

You hummed a question.

“The astronomy tower tomorrow night, meet me there after curfew and let me prove I’m worth it,” he explained.

You blinked owlishly at him, head tilted slightly to the side, “Seriously?” 

“Yeah. One date, no commitment, if you don’t like it can go back to ignoring me and no one will know.” 

His offer was tempting. The way his eyes glimmered with hope only making it more enticing. So you gave in, “Alright.” 

A smile stretched his lips, “Really?” 

You shrugged, “Why not?” 

“You won’t regret it.” 

Part of you already knew that. 

Taglist:

@accio-rogers

@roslea

@k3nz-doodl3

@theseuscmander

@sleepingalaska

@chloe-geoghegan1

Masterlist

[giorno-plays-piano]

No Mercy

Pairing: Bakugo Katsuki x thief!Reader

Warnings: non-con, yandere, sex pollen, minor depiction of violence, threats, stalking, allusion to kidnapping, both Bakugo and reader are adults!

Words: 2388.

Summary: Obviously, you have chosen a wrong night to rob that electronics store.

P.S. Yay, this is my first BNHA story! 

By the way, there is absolutely no real science in this fic, please don’t bully me for it ahahahah

_________________________

Oh dear, it was getting worse.

That morning you had a feeling you better stay home tonight, but your rent wasn't going to pay itself, so you still went out to rob that ugly little electronics store you stumbled upon a few days ago. Now you were being chased by one of the most popular pros, Ground Zero, and saints, you really hoped to keep all your limbs attached to your body: the guy was mad.

Really, you weren't such a villain he had probably pictured you to be. Your job in the cafe wasn't paying well, but with no education whatsoever it was hard to find something else, especially since that big makeup store you finally got yourself in went bankrupt after a villain attack. Your dad wasn't the one to help you stay afloat either, so, with that odd Quirk of yours, there was just one thing left to do.

With a loud sound of something exploding to your right, you jumped in the narrow back alley on the left and prayed Bakugo to at least bring you to a police station instead of finishing you off here. Seriously, who he thought you were? Someone from the League of Villains, huh? You were miserable enough trying to evade his punches, and your knees were already trembling as you were reaching your limit.

Shit, now you'd have to use that embarrassing Quirk of yours and hope it will do something decent.

Despite your Quirk manifesting itself when you were 4 just like everybody else, you were so ashamed of it you did all you could to never bring it up or use it. How embarrassing was it to have an ability to produce animal secretion right out of your hands? One time you had literally sprayed skunk defensive secretion in the class, and after that you had been called a Stinky Girl for the rest of your school days. Damn, even remembering it now was making you ashamed of yourself.

Of course, your control over your Quirk was miserable. You struggled to predict which secretion it would produce, hoping it would be something distracting enough for a hero to let you go, but oh boy Ground Zero didn't seem like the type to be scared of skunk's spray.

Staring at the dead end, you were ready to laugh hysterically - that is, if you had any time left, but Bakugo had already grabbed you by the shoulder and yelled something offensive in your ear, ready to put you down to the ground. Well, it was now or never.

Within a second you took off your black glove you'd always worn on your missions and slapped hero's cheek, leaving an angry red mark on his pale skin. The next moment you were on the ground with a very, very mad Bakugo hovering over you with such expression as if he was going to murder you in cold blood right now.

Apparently, your Quirk was useless, after all. Preparing for the worst, you stared at him, wide-eyed and trembling like a leaf, your hands up defensively to prevent him from harming you. In the end, you didn’t even steal anything as Ground Zero stormed off in the store.

But he didn't hit you. Actually, he didn't do anything at all as you stared at him nervously. He just... stood there with a grimace on his face and did nothing at all.

Oh, was it something new? Did you Quirk finally prove itself useful for once? It was a damn miracle.

"What did you do to me, bitch?" He suddenly barked, and you saw his cheeks slowly getting red as if the temperature went up all of a sudden. "What the fuck is this?!"

Shit. Civet oil. Of course, you couldn't even make some decent quantity to make him repulsed, so now all you got was a completely opposite effect.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?"

Hiccupping, you got up just as he seemed to lean closer to you, so you ended up smashing your forehead against his, and both of your groaned. Although you fell back again, in a couple of seconds you were running for your life with Ground Zero being unusually slow somewhere behind you. Oh shit, now he was going to fuck and kill you. What a nice day you were having.

Struggling to keep running - you didn’t even understand at what part of the city you were now - you were getting out of breath, but you no longer heard Bakugo behind your back, and it was certainly calming. Did civet oil make him slow? You weren't sure what exact effects it had except for the most obvious one. Maybe you got lucky, for once. Maybe he'd let you go just this time, and you'd do your absolute best to find a decent job and stop robbing people. Well, you weren't even robbing regular people, just snobby store owners who'd get their money back with an insurance, anyway. You had never hurt anyone physically! Why treating you as if you were some dangerous criminal?

Whatever. Ground Zero was nowhere to be seen, so you simply landed on the ground in one of small filthy backyards in a shady part of the city. Oh boy, what a run. You thought the guy was literally ready to kill you.

The cold wall you leaned on didn't feel pleasant, but it was better than staying on your feet with your knees trembling and heart beating so fast as if you ran a marathon. Yeah, to think of it, you definitely could call it a marathon.

As you finally took off your mask and wiped your face with your palm, you heard a low growl somewhere to your left, "I'm gonna fucking break you, woman."

Shit.

Scrambling to your feet, you tried dodging him but you were no match to a real pro, especially someone as good at combat as Ground Zero: you ended beneath him within a second, painfully slammed to the ground as he cursed at you, pulling your hair. Apparently, this was the end of you. The civet oil only made the hero more enraged instead of distracting him.

"Ah! It hurts!" You whined at the hair pulling and heard a dangerous hiss above you.

"Do you think this doesn't fucking hurt?"

It was impossible not to feel his obvious arousal, his painfully hard cock pressing against your lower back as the hero suddenly sniffed your hair, then making some weird noises while trying to undo his pants. Nononono, you weren't having this, you'd gladly accompany the hero to the police station where they'd cuff you and put you in prison but not let Ground Zero have his way with you.

"Get off! GET OFF!"

Your attempts to throw him off were futile, and soon he was pulling down your own pants, "You did this to me, didn't you?! So be a good girl and maybe I won't fucking kill you."

You bit down on your lower lip, your hands bound together with his belt.

Huh, there was no other way.

______________

You came back home around 3 am completely exhausted, dirty and hurt, but it was still better than being thrown in prison after a long Interrogation in a police station. Ground Zero had finally taken some pity on you after all he'd done - oh it hurt, it hurt so bad in between your thighs because you hadn't been in relationship for long, but the hero was neither patient nor gentle with you. It was a miracle he actually let you go after this miserable incident somewhere in the outskirts of the city. Was he at least a little ashamed at what he did? Did he feel any remorse? Although it certainly didn't seem like, maybe he let you go because of it.

"Or he was just afraid to deliver me to police in such state," you chuckled grimly at yourself, grabbing first-aid kit and trying to do something with all these bruises and bites. You still had to take your 10-hour shift in the cafe today, and you could barely imagine how you were going to survive.

Of course, you only slept for a couple of hours before you had to get up: that morning you put so much makeup your boss would definitely scold you, but it was better than showing up with a face of a zombie. Of course, everyone managed to see how you winced while walking. Thank god you were able to convince them of your fall yesterday's evening: you actually only worked half a day as your boss took pity on you and let you go home.

Shit, it was time to put an end to your night adventures. You'd better find one more job and work a whole night long than live through this one more time, humiliated and hurt.

By the time you got home with a grocery bag in your hand, you felt like all you were going to do today was falling down on your bed and staring into the ceiling for hours. It still hurt. It was still embarrassing to remember what he did to you. You still wanted to slap him real hard and then yell at him at the top of your voice.

Funny enough, you actually had a chance to do all that since you found Ground Zero dressed as civilian sitting on your couch.

For a couple of seconds you froze on your place, unable to believe your eyes. What the hell was he doing here? What, yesterday's wasn't enough for this bastard, was it? Did he come to make you even more miserable?

Despite fear rising in your chest, it was soon replaced by fury mixed with disgust: who did he think he were to just break into your apartment like this? You might be a thief, but even you had the right to be delivered to police and then wait till the court decided upon your punishment. Nobody had given Ground Zero permission to rape you or follow you like some sick stalker!

"You live in some fucking hole." He grumbled as he saw you walking much slower than your usual pace, and you thought it was guilt you saw on his face for a mere second.

"Welcome to a fucking hole, then." You hissed at him in return and put your bag on the floor while taking your shoes off and wincing from pain. "If you came to finally take me to a police station, let me put food in the fridge, at least."

Not that you'd need it after your arrest, but the thought of leaving the grocery bag on the floor and let the food rot made you nauseated. You detested throwing away food with all your heart.

"Food? You call this food, huh?" He was already peeking inside the bag and scrunching his face at the sight of cheep noodles and gyoza.

"Yeah, we call it food here, rich boy." You let out a growl, mad at his attempts to make you feel humiliated even more than you already did.

He clearly didn't expect such treatment from someone whom he had taken advantage of so easily, and for several moment the man had a perplexed expression, unable to believe you were so brave despite the fact your knees were trembling. He probably thought it was a facade, but you didn't care. All this wouldn't end well for you, anyway.

"I'm not rich." He sent you a glare, and you felt like laughing in his face.

"If you don't have to steal to pay your rent, you're rich."

He grimaced but said nothing at all as you went to the kitchen, dragging the bag with you. You wondered if he felt sorry for you, but you didn't want his pity. Not from the one who did this to you. In fact, the only thing you wanted from him was leaving you alone.

Besides, you kept thinking why on Earth wasn't he dressed as a hero if he came explicitly to take you to a police station? Heroes like him loved showing off, you were sure. Why did he come like this? If he thought of repeating yesterday's night, you'd fucking stab him in the groin with a kitchen knife.

"So, how many heroes have you fucked like that?"

You felt a sudden urge to stab him right now and barely kept yourself away from a box where you kept cutlery. "I do three heroes a day and three villains at night," you growled at him, disgusted with his attitude, "what, didn't you feel it when you were raping me?"

Your reply took him aback, but he recovered quickly, "Who was raping you, silly woman? You did it to yourself!"

"Yeah, I've always dreamed of being taken by some sickening, primitive hero in a dirty alley, that's more than any girl could ask for."

Huh, apparently, cat got his tongue: Ground Zero stared at you, unable to believe your words. What, did he really think you loved being treated like this? Did he have any idea what making love was? Anything about normal, adequate relationship between a man and a woman? Maybe you weren't the most law-abiding woman in the city, but you were still a decent person, and the fact that Ground Zero expected you to manipulate him into raping you was repulsive.

"Listen, just hand me over to police already. What are you waiting for, Ground Zero?"

All the food was long put in the fridge and kitchen cabinets. Staring intensely at the man who shouldn't even be here, you crossed your arms over your chest, expecting him to drag you out of the house, but when he stepped closer to you it felt suffocating. Shit, the fear was coming back when you saw his expression darkened, his red pupils dilating when he grabbed your arm above the elbow and pulled you to him. Was he really going to do this to you?

You expected him to snap at you, but when he spoke he sounded strangely cold and collected.

"First, you will call me Bakugo from now on," he voice was dangerously low, "Second, I haven't come all the way here to bring to a fucking police station. You will come with me, do you understand?"

_______________

I didn’t put my regular taglist here since it was only made for Marvel fics, but please let me know if your want to be on my BNHA taglist, too!

[myblueeyedbuggers]

My Boys

Chapter 12

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11  Chapter 13 Chapter 14

Pairings: Steve Rogers X Reader (Best Friend) Bucky Barnes X Reader

Word Count: 2420

Warnings: Slight bit of swearing

Summary: After being abandoned by her parents in Brooklyn in 1929, y/n makes a living for herself by working for the Црни лабуд gang until she meets two boys in a back alley and her life slowing begins to change.

Eyup My loves! Soo How’s your week been? Good I hope, so a bit of news for you all, there’s only  two/three more chapters left till this book is finished and then we’ll be moving onto (Drum roll) The First Avenger! Woooo! I hope you’re all as excited as I am. Anyways without anymore rambling, I give you chapter 12, enjoy!

So I can safely say that the rest of the week passed pretty quickly, with only a few ‘minor’ incidents, one of em being a massive food fight caused by yours truly and Steve getting himself stuck in the basement for 2 hours after seeing, and I quote ‘a possessed girl dressed as undead batman’.

I still haven’t told him that was me….oops

Apart from that it was pretty normal, cut to today where I’ve been blessed with the task of lookin’ after my best girl for Buck’s parents anniversary whilst they go into the city to celebrate, I mean it’s the least I could do for em. Plus, the last time the lads were trusted with lookin’ after Becca, Buck’s parents came home to the entire house covered in flour with Becca laughin’ at em cause they managed to lock themselves in a cupboard. We had to call the fire department to get em outta there.

Anyways, we kicked the boys outta the house so Becca and I could have a girls day in, now don’t get me wrong I absolutely adore this girl and I would practically do anything for her.

“Y/n can we play princesses please?! Mama got some dresses from our cousin we can wear!”

I can literally feel my soul burning right now. I honestly tried to say no, there’s nothing more I hate more that being forced into them things but one look into her bright little eyes made all my resistance die away and so I uttered the words that sealed my doom. “Of course, Becs only if we can have a tea party in em”. So here we are, me in a navy style party dress, lace covered my arms and the hem of the sweetheart neckline resting just on my collarbone,  the knee length satin skirt covered my legs.

Honestly, I wasn’t as bad I thought it were gonna be, I even let my hair outta the classic ponytail it’s always in so Becca could style it a tiny bit, to her credit she did a decent job. My h/c locks fell in small waves across my back, with the longer strands near my face tucked behind my ears and Becs even convinced me to pop on some of her mama’s makeup. Now I ain’t a fool, I know makeup’s pretty expensive and only let her pop on a shimmery light gold eyeshadow and some tinted lip balm, much to her disappointment I confiscated the mascara, I refused to let that death stick near my eyeballs.

Becca looked absolutely adorable, we’d managed to find her dance dress from last year and it suited her down to the ground. Baby pink lace covered her arms up to her wrist, the middle part had little gems dotted here and there with a pink satin ribbon separating the skirt from the top, from the looks of it the skirt was made outta some layered netting that poofed outwards when she span around. Don’t ask me how but I managed to wrap some ribbons in her braids and added a lil tiara on the top of her head and if you’d asked me, she looked like a real-life princess to me.

“So, your highness, what would one prefer to do? Would one like to have tea in the parlour or waltz in the ballroom?” my attempt at the British accent was apparently appalling, judging by the level of giggles coming outs Becca’s mouth. Eventually she calmed down enough to give me an answer “I think a waltz would be most fun lady y/n” she said in an equally bad accent. Slowly a smile spread across my face as I moved over to the record payer, I didn’t even pay attention to which one I put on before I turned back to Becca and offered her my hand, lowering myself into a bow that looked like a squid tryin’ to tap dance. Very elegant I know.  

You’d think after the past few weeks I’d been with the Barnes family, I’da got used to being tackled by the siblings, but alas I am surprised every-time, hence why I’m on the floor with a hyperactive 4 year old sat on top of me. Becca’s giggles filled the entire room, she quickly got off me and started jumping around to the sound of the jumpin’ jive and leaving me to slowly die on the floor, for all of 5 seconds before she yanked my arm outta my socket to get me dancing with her. I swear this girl isn’t even human, one second she’s sweet and delicate the next she’s bulldozing people to the ground and pullin’ em to the next life, I mean she’s 4 she shouldn’t be that strong!

Thank the lord she’s adorable. Quickly the music took over my mind, my feet moving along to the music, Becca was doin’ some twirls around me with the biggest smile on her face, I don’t know what made me do it but I grabbed her gently by the waist and spun us around in time to the music, her little arms reached into the air as we both laughed our heads off. Of course, me being me, I lost my balance and my butt suddenly met the sofa, with Becca landing next to me with a small yelp, it was quiet for all of 2 seconds before we burst out laughin’. Think it took us about 3 minutes before we calmed down, a comfortable silence fell between us, the music slowly faded to a stop as the record reached its end, and we stayed like this for a while before Becca broke the silence.

“Y/n, can you sing like mama? She don’t do it often cause it reminds her of my nana….” My eyes drifted over to Becs, her lil eyes dulled a little when she said it and now they were filled with a small glimmer of hope, and I really didn’t wanna be the reason for that light goin’ out. If I were being completely honest singin’ wasn’t something I ever wanted to do again, during my time with the Црни лабуд, singing was the only thing that made me feel like….well me I guess. It was the only sliver of light in so many years of darkness and once I was free from them I made myself a silent vow that I’d never do it again, that I was a new person. But one look in her little eyes was enough to make me break it. “I ain’t too bad, only know a couple of songs on the piano but I can try if you wanna”

Apparently Becca didn’t need to be told twice, in a flash of pink she was off to the other room, bellowing for me to follow her, I mean it ain’t like I gotta choice in the matter is it ? the sound of something hitting the floor in the room opposite me made me move even quicker (if that were even possible). Becca was stood in front of a oldish looking piano, a small bench was tuned over in front of her, and a white sheet was discarded on the floor next to her as she bounced up and down excitedly, I couldn’t help the smile on my face as I turned the bench over on it’s feet. Not even 2 seconds later Becca clambered up on it and looked at me with a bright smile, I swear she gets cuter every second like how does this happen ? I try it and I end up put away in a mental asylum.

“You got any requests princess ?” my legs carried me across the room and towards the seat, cracking my knuckles together and stretching out my fingers before turning to look at the younger lass, a look of concentration covered her face in response and it took her a few seconds to answer. “Dream a little dream of me ? think that’s what mama calls it” I swear I tried to stop the soft smile, but I really couldn’t help it this time. “sure sweetheart” and with that I hit the opening notes, the feeling of the keys under my fingertips were so familiar it was like no time had passed since I last played, I kept my voice soft and quiet as I sang. I think I was halfway through my second verse when I felt Becca cuddle into my side, she ducked her head under my arm and put her head in my lap, a soft yawn left her mouth as her eyes started to close to the sound of the music. It was at the end of the song that I looked at her again, soft snores escaped her mouth and her hand was grasping gently at the top of my skirt, I felt my heart melt even more that I thought possible, completely unaware of the small audience I’d gathered until a small cough came from behind me.

Aw shit…..

Bucky’s POV

If you’d told me a year ago, that after spending a couple of hours at Coney island with my best mate I’d come home to what must be an angels voice singing my sister to sleep. I’da never of believed ya, think you coulda imagined our confusion when me and Steve heard piano coming from the dining room. Steve shot me a look of pure bewilderment, and I couldn’t blame the guy to be honest, “thought you’d said your mama gave up piano couple a years ago”. I’m guessing my face mirrored his, cause I ain’t the slightest clue either, mama stopped playin’ years ago so who the heck could it be? “yeah she did bud, swore she’d never set her hands on it again…..”. I’m completely and utterly baffled at this point, where’s Y/n when ya need her ? she’d figure this out.

We both took a step towards the closed door, eager to know what the hell was going on when something stopped me, the sweetest sound I’d ever heard in my life sang along with the melody, I coulda sworn it sounded like the lullaby mama sang to us when we were kids. I guess I spent too long listening cause Stevie boy pushed past me and walked in, the sounds were so much clearer and more vibrant it felt like I’d died and gone to heaven right then and there. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I realised just who was creating this beautiful sound, there she was, sat in front of the piano as her fingers danced gracefully across the keys. Her voice, oh god her voice sounded like that of an angel, the weak afternoon sun shone over her hair and made her look even more angelic than humanly possible. I barely even noticed Becca asleep in her lap before Y/n finished her song and the ever-living pain in my ass decided to reveal that we were there. I mean he coulda chosen any other way of revealing our presence but no he had to let out the tiniest little cough, coulda got her back for the eyebrow incident….

Y/n literally went stiff as a board before she turned to look at us, her cheeks were red as a rose and a sheepish smile covered her face, it was only a couple of seconds after that both Steve and I noticed what she was wearing, he burst out laughin at her but me, I for once in my life couldn’t say a damn thing. She looked absolutely breath taking, her hair fell down in soft waves and framed her face, the shade of blue in her dress brought out the small flecks of green in her e/c eyes and brought out her hourglass figure. Her lips were drawn into a natural pout and it was that second it dawned on me she asked me somethin’….shit.  

“whaaaa…….” Nice one Bucky.

Steve, the lil punk, could barely stop himself laughin’, at some point he’d moved to take Becca off Y/n and stood behind y/n with his fist in his mouth to smother his laughter. My best friend ladies and gentlemen. If looks could kill he’d be 10 feet under right now.

“Buck ? I was askin’ if you were okay ?” Y/n’s face showed a tiny bit of confusion and much to my horror amusement, “YeAh I’m okay….” And just at the moment puberty strikes in the form of a voice crack, as if this weren’t embarrassing enough. At this point Steve was barely keeping it together, he had actual tears coming outta his eyes and went bright red in the face tryin’ to stop himsen laughing, in front of me y/n furrowed her eyebrows and did look genuinely concerned for my mental state. She didn’t say anything for a few seconds, just looked at me before she lifted her hand to my forehead and held it here for a minute, thank god Steve chose to leave the room before this or I’da never heard the end of it.

“You sure you’re okay, feelin’ a bit warm and ya actin weirder than usual Buck” okay quick say something before this gets even more embarrassing, first thing that pops into ya head in 3,2,1…

“Yeah I’m sure, think I ate somethin’ funky down at the pier, makin’ me real gassy”……why am I like this? Normally I can charm any girl of their feet but with y/n, I’ma bumbling mess.  She didn’t say a damn word, she just raised her eyebrows whilst a small smirk covered her face, before she turned and left me to have a very small breakdown underneath the dining table.

Meaning I let out a noise that sounded like a bear stubbing it’s toe in the middle of winter.

I thought my luck couldn’t get any worse, but nooo old lady luck decided today I needed a second helping, cause the second I did that Y/n walked back into the room. Brilliant. I was too busy stumbling over my words to processes what she was doin’, before I knew it she’d walked back to me and stood on her tip toes….then planted a small kiss on my cheek.

“You’re cute when you’re flustered Barnes”

And just like that, she left me with my jaw on the ground and heart beatin’ outta my chest, cause I’m starting to think that she was right. I’m sure as hell coming down with something, and I’m pretty sure it ain’t a regular ol’ bug…..

SOOO, if you got this far hope you enjoyed it, as always any feed back or constructive criticism is welcome, thank so much for reading and hope you have a great day/night/week.

lots of love

Rose xxx

[jitter-bug]

Just Like Me

Taglist: @artemisfowl11

Nines x Reader (Detroit: Become Human)

A/n: Did I hear costumes with a plot twist? And 10x scary???👀 so that the request wouldn't be too short ???🔫👀 I certainly fuckin' did. This one is too long. Sorry for rush. I love you :') plz enjoy(plz) I have so many request. And I am getting around to all of them. So don't worry for anyone that's waiting for your request, they will get done I promise! (Plz don't hurt me--)❤ enjoy- p.s I also had a hard time choosing the costume. I wanted something race neutral because as a person of color myself. There's not many couple costumes out there, that...you know. So 😌 uh. I had to run off a limb here for all my POC readers. (Gang gang 😩) (give me feedback if you any more of this, I know some people messaged me about continuing Fear. I don't do series. But I'll do em' we lit over here😩😪💅) p.s.s I edited it to gender neutral, so sorry for any errors-- (donthurtme)

-

"What do you mean, no?" The defeated tone of the detective echoed through the bullpen. Arms crossed as they stared at Hank. He was sitting at his desk. A hand placed on the desk as he stared at the terminal. In a way so he wouldn't have to stare at the perplexed expression of Y/n. 

"Kid. I'm too damn old to be dressing up in costumes." Was his reply. 

Y/n had woken up that very morning. An idea engraved in their brain like their body threatened them to remember it and not let the wonderful idea go. 

The DPD was throwing a Halloween party. Which was really a celebration for Chris, he was finally promoted to being an official Detective, and for his celebration. There would be a themed party. Considering the fact that Halloween was creeping in around the corner. Y/n soon thought that they wanted to wear a costume, with someone that is. They thought sharing laughs or even going to the party dressed as characters would be fun and yet entertaining. Their first thought was Hank. But, he undoubtedly shot the idea down. And declined. Hank saw the unamused expression on their face when he tore his gaze from the terminal. Their fist was planted on his desk. As their hand was on their hip. Their eyebrows furrowed. Giving him a look that he was used to seeing when they helped him speak with suspects in the interrogation room. Though, their expression was not as hard and more so serious.

Connor, who was sitting at his desk. Across from Hank. Stared between the two. His LED teetering back and forth from yellow to stark red. 

"Go ask Gavin." Hank brought up the name that seemed alien to him as he scoffed slightly at his name. Y/n quickly lost their expression before shaking her head. They couldn't say Y/n and Gavin were enemies. But they haven't interacted with each other to a point where Y/n would see themself asking him to join them on their dress up crusade. 

"No." They replied. Hank has been staring at the ceiling. Arms crossed. Once hearing Y/n once again. He landed his gaze back onto them. His index finger tapping his arm. 

"Go ask your partner."

-

Nines stared at Y/n. The two staring right through each other, but Y/n could feel themself crumble under his steel gaze. His eyebrows furrowed slightly. In an attempt to see through Y/n. 

Nines originally was Gavin Reed's partner. Until Chris was recently promoted to a Detective and made to be Gavin's partner. Which pulled Y/n from Hank and Connor, into being Nine's newest partner. 

Before then. They hadn't really interacted with him. Occasional greetings and ludicrous jokes between Y/n and Gavin. In which the rk900 ignored, he never cared to learn much about Y/n- or anyone at the station at that. He was reserved, observant, stern and very stoic. He...lacked certain things other deviant androids had. 

Emotions. 

People around the prescient knew about him. But never spoke to him, reasons being his lack of expressing himself gave people the assumption that Nines was genuinely just a rude android. Which...Y/n could see why. He didn't tolerate childish behavior, at all. Rarely participated in any outings the station threw, such as celebrations if someone was promoted. Birthday parties. Or just a genuine outing to celebrate and catch up with one another. Nines was always at the station, he - In a way deemed to separate himself from others. His eyebrows were always furrowed. In a way to resemble a scowl of some sort...which he always did. 

Of course, Y/n could somewhat tolerate him, once they were paired together, Nines was non-stop pestering Y/n with things they needed to get done, things that weren't done right. He always pointed out the imperfections and mistakes rather than the good. Y/n couldn't say they were exactly friends with the rk900. He made it hard for it to be anything other than being partners. But, today was the day, Y/n decided it would be best to try and find a way through his cold exterior. 

Nines didn't say anything. Y/n held her hands behind her back. The slightest smile trying to make its way onto their face. "So...I was thinking." 

They started. They didn't feel nervous. But rather awkward from the sudden request. Nines didn't say anything. Instead keep his arms behind his back as Y/n slowly sat down on the desk. Planting their hands on their knees. "I was thinking, maybe me and you should go to Chris's celebration together tomorrow night, you know. As partners? Amigos? Buddies?" Y/n reached up. Placing a half-heartedly punch on Nine's shoulder. 

"And. You know. Dress up? Costumes? I'd think you'd enjoy it. You know, you've been really working your heart out for these past few weeks Nines, and I think maybe you would like a break. You know, wind down." They explained. In their head. The explanation was fool-proof. Nines had been working a lot. In fact. The whole station was. With the new cases of Red Ice popping up around Detroit. Everyone had constantly been on their toes. 

"I'm incapable of getting tired, Detective." Nines replied. He turned to fully face Y/n. His arms that were once behind his back, now by his side. 

Y/n felt themself run into a dead end. 

"I know that Nine's I'm not stupid." She muttered. Instead of replying. He only stared at her. Blinking once, that was so it took. Y/n could tell what he was thinking. They sneered.

"That's not funny, I'm serious."

"My apologies. I was unaware I was making a joke--"

"Anyway!" Snapping their fingers to get back on track. Y/n sighed. Rubbing their temple before looking back at Nine's form.

"If. You go to the party with me, and agree to wear a costume with me. I promise I'll stop fooling around on the field." They tried to compromise watching as Nine's was already turning away from her to walk over to his desk. 

"I'll even stop making those lame ass jokes for an entire week. I can't say for..forever, But I mean a week has to be at least decent." They spoke up. Raising their voice so he could listen. 

"A month." Nines said. His back turned from them. But Y/n could see him grabbing stacks of papers and placing them in their designated manilla folders. Y/n stared at his back. Eyebrows furrowed as they tried to piece together what he meant, the rk900 seemed to be aware of how perplexed she was. 

"You'll focus on the assigned case you have, without constantly getting distracted, for a month. If you can agree to that. Then you've found yourself someone to go to the party with."

He explained. Y/n jumped slightly, the excitement shot through them like electricity, sparking them to life. This was new! Certainly new!

"Wait, are you serious? Oh my god!" They squealed. Kicking their feet so hard Y/n was afraid their shoe would fly off, flying across the room. As funny as the scenario might sound, Y/n was too distracted with the offer to worry about anything else. 

"1 month?" They asks. 

"1 month." He repeats. 

"I mean...what about 2 weeks?" They bargained. A month, where they couldn't bullshit around at work. It felt like a sin to Y/n.

"1 month."

"But...Nines that's too long." They tried to whine. But Nines turned around. Holding the folders in his hands. 

"1 month." He repeats.

"2 weeks?"

"1 month."

"....3 weeks?"

"1 month."

"No! Come on. 2 weeks. Take it or leave it!" Y/n shoots their hands in the air. Drastically expressing their distress. But Nines didn't seem to show an ounce of sorrow or care for the matter.

"Do I hear 2 months?"

"Okay, no! 1 month!" 

With what Y/n assumed would be the end of the discussion to Nines. He nods. 

"Okay then. Now. What is it that you have planned?"

-

"Okay. So. I think maybe we should do something scary. 2 years ago. Me and Hank dressed up as clowns, and scared the hell out of Gavin. It was hilarious." Y/n absently spoke. They searched through their phone for ideas that may spark interest in them. Deciding on creating something new and from scratch. 

Nines was busy placing items in Y/n's bag so the two could leave the station and do whatever it was Y/n had in store.

Nines zipped up the bookbag before turning away from the desk to face. Only to find them already examining his form. 

The yellow soon took the place of the blue on his LED. His eyebrows furrowed. 

"What?" He asks. Y/n hummed. 

"I was thinking of what would suit you." They replied. As they spoke Nines handed Y/n their bookbag, which they thanked him before slipping it on over their shoulders. 

"We can head to my house and see ideas from there." Y/n started. Adjusting the straps onto their shoulders as they took several steps forward towards the exit. They didn't have much time from now till tomorrow night, the gears in Y/n's head were turning. What should they do? What should they dress as for their costumes? And most importantly. Make sure Nines had a good night out for his first ever outing. 

Y/n placed the phone back in theirpocket. Before reaching over to unlock the door. They felt Nines walk behind them, swatting and flicking their hand away from the latch to open the door. 

"I'm driving. You get to the passenger side and think about what your plan will be." Nines spoke. Y/n flinched their hand away from the latch. 

"Ow, okay, okay--" they made their way around the car to the passenger side. Y/n was positive the only real reason he wanted Y/n to sit out on driving was because last time they were behind the wheel, a favorite song of theirs that they vaguely remembered from some time ago came on the radio station when they were patrolling the downtown area of Detroit. 

All Y/n could say was how Nines was extremely pissed with their screeching out lyrics that he wasn't paying attention to. More of Y/n's abrupt screaming. Which is why he didn't want them touching the wheel while he was in the car with them.

Slipping inside the car. Y/n closed the door. Hearing from their opposite side that Nines was in the car as well. 

"Keys." He spoke up. Y/n automatically reached in their dress pants pockets in search of the keys. Once feeling the cool metal against their digits. They handed them to Nines. Where as he started the car. 

Y/n slide off their bookbag. And turned to toss it in the back of the car. Where a paper bag was seen lazily balled up on the floor. Seeing the Red Ice cases increased exponentially, there were many stakeouts that Y/n and Nines were assigned to. Sitting out in the car for long periods of time did spike up an appetite in Y/n's stomach every once in a while. Of course, Nines scolded them for not eating before arriving on the scene, but that didn't stop them from getting food. 

Once situated and Nines driving down the street. Y/n slipped their phone back out. 

"So. How do you feel being a butcher?" They asks. Nines stared at the road. Silent for a moment as he contemplated what Y/n said. 

"A butcher..? Odd, how would that in any way be a good costume?" He asks. Y/n placed their phone their lap. 

"Bloody butcher. You know. Kill people? Chop chop? Blood. Chains and all that jazz." They replied. Flipping through the many photos of cheap costumes that would wear out in later than a few months if they were to purchase one.

"I can't make a firm decision on what to wear. You do that." He spoke up. Y/n hummed in acknowledgment. As much as they wanted Nines to choose for himself. He often had a hard time doing so. Of course he did things his own way, but only for a purpose of doing his job. Completing his mission. 

"Well then. Butcher it is," they replied. 

Once making it into the warm house that groped around Y/n with its comforting warmth. Y/n dropped their bookbag on the ground by the couch. Plopping down onto the cushion. And letting out a long needed sigh. They heard Nines close and lock the front door. 

The tension in Y/n's muscles slowly eased its way into relaxation. This wasn't the first time Nines had seen Y/n's place. Only resorting to be at their doorstep to wake them up at ungodly hours for emergency crime scenes that so happened to pop up out of nowhere. Or to drive them home when they are tired to do it half the time themself.

The TV was still on playing from earlier in the morning when Y/n left. On the same channel and same soft spoken volume. 

"Alright. Come on. Sit." They finally mustered up the energy to speak. Nines - who was standing next to the couch, took a seat next to Y/n as they opened their phone once more. 

"So. I was thinking on the way here. A bloody butcher. Both you and I. I think that would be fun." They proclaimed it was some extremely good news. But to Nines, it was more of good news to Y/n, but he didn't say anything. His pale optics pierced Y/n's face. His eyebrows raised slightly. Y/n gave him a smile, one of reassurance. "Oh come on, don't worry. You'll love it. I saw you have a knack for violent things." They chuckled. Moving over to their coffee table to pick up the laptop that was sitting on it. Nines LED flickered a stark red. 

"I'm assuming you would think I'm a violent person because of how I handle things on the field?" It didn't sound like much of a question.

 "Well duh. You do tend to man-handle the hell out of the suspects." Y/n replied. Nines didn't say anything else. Instead, watch as Y/n typed into the computer. After a while. They sat back on the couch and glanced at Nines. 

"This should work out. Not to mention be a good sight for my budget." They said. Y/n turned the laptop around and showed a photo of the costume, which was just general ideas of what items they planned on looking for. 

Nines stared at the screen. His LED circling around. Once. Twice. Before turning yellow. 

"Are you purchasing these from a store?" He asks. Y/n nods. Nines nods as well. 

"Yeah. Tomorrow after work we both are going to go gather the materials to put together the costume. Oh, this should be fun! Believe it or not. Gavin is such a scary cat. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to scare the hell out of him!" They gave a laugh before setting the laptop on the table. 

"But, really Nines. Thanks for agreeing to do this with me. I promise. That when this is all over. I'll not goof around for 1 entire month." They said. Y/n lifted their hand, poking out their pinkie finger. Nines stared at their hand before looking at them.He lifted his hand before pushing Y/n's hand away with his back hand.

"I'll take your word on it, Detective." He says. 

"Oh come on. Don't be like that. Smile for once. My gosh." Y/n lets out a chuckle. Lifting one hand to pull at his cheek. Her thumb tugging at the corner of his right lip in an attempt to tug it upwards. Nines - once again, swatted their hand away from his face. A scowl interrupting his blank expression.

"Stop."

"Whatever, tomorrow. It'll be great, you'll have fun, I promise."

-

Nines watched as Y/n stated at the rack of clothes. Having trouble deciding what Nines would best fit his costume. They decided to purchase his first. The two left the station an hour ago, to get ready for the party that was only 4 hours away. And time was ticking rather quickly with Y/n staring at the rack of clothes as if they had a hard time finding what to wear. 

Nines felt his hand lift up. Rubbing at his temple. His elbow resting on his other arm which was across his torso. 

"Y/n..."

Y/n let out a hum, signalling they heard what he said but kept their gaze on the rack.

"I think this would go by much quicker, if I were to pick out the clothes, and when you get home. You can put them together." He spoke. Y/n turned to face Nines. He saw them cross their arms. 

"Are you calling me slow?" They asks. But, he could tell Y/n wasn't offended by their ack of anger that he so happened to be acquainted with. 

"More, indecisive." He corrected. He saw their eyebrows furrow. But they quickly rose up as they understood what he meant. 

"I'm not having a hard time picking...just--look, this is supposed to be a me and you thing. Partner to partner, friend to friend. You know. So we can spend more time together instead of always yelling at each other like at work."

It was true. Nines and Y/n rarely got a long at work, Nines being a reason for the constant start of an argument between him and Y/n. That being either working on a case. At the station. Or even at a stake out. He always seemed to feed the flame just to spark Y/n's anger into nothing more than a hungry flame ready to lash out at anyone. But that was because Nines wanted things done the way he wanted them done. And Y/n rarely gave him what he wanted...and that was being serious on the job. But the explanation did make sense. More time spent outside to get to know more about each other...or rather spend more time with each other, could lower their rate or going after each other's throats. 

"So, you know. Come on. Let's Both pick our stuff out together." A hint of hope was evident in Y/n's voice. Nines nods, taking several steps forward, to analyse the rack. 

"I think you can do something with this."

-

"Ow! Stop! Stop!" Y/n hissed in pain, feeling Nines peel off the face mask from their face. They tried lifting their hand up to push his hand away. But he was one step ahead. Smacking their hand away for the upteempth time that week. The two finished picking out the clothing and items for their costume, only had 2 hours left to get dressed and ready, a lady that was an entrepreneur and had a clothing line. Gracefully gave Y/n and Nines a discount on what they needed for their costumes. Finding the generous offer kind, Y/n paid more than needed for the clothes, and spent almost half an hour speaking to the woman. Which knocked off much more time than needed. And Nines didn't want any delays in getting dressed - so almost immediately once the two reached Y/n's house. He started laying out stuff so the two could get ready. 

The first step being to peel off the face mask for Y/n so once they put the make up on their face for the costume it wouldn't be mixed with any bacteria and dirt. Which also was a pain in Y/n's ass to feel the mask pulling at their skin. And how Nines didn't seem to care much, instead. Resulting in him snatching off the mask piece by piece.

"You asshole! You're doing that on purpose!" Y/n barked. They reached up to punch Nines in his chest. But was interrupted by him snagging at the mask on their face once again. Placing the pieces in a trash can he took from the kitchen. 

"It shouldn't hurt that bad, stop whining. Or else this will take much longer than needed." He finally spoke up. Y/n sneered slightly as they felt him tilt their head so he could get the rest of the god-forbidden mask that seemed to be glued to their skin. 

After finally getting the pieces peeled off and placed in the trash. Nines stood up to take the trash back to its original spot in the kitchen. Y/n rubbed at their face. The skin feeling somewhat smoother, her pores finally able to get air comfortably. 

"Okay. Happy? The horrible dreadful part, as you quoted, is out of the way." Nines said. As he spoke Y/n mumbled a 'fucking finally' - and stood up. 

"Okay, we have plenty of time, Oh my god, this is going to be fun. Okay!" Almost immediately, Nines saw the excited expression overtake their expression again. Watching as they grabbed one of the bags and tossed it over to Nines. 

"Get dressed. I'll come back in here when I'm done."

Y/n was surprised with how their costume came out. The idea in their mind wasn't as exciting as they once was thinking. But seeing the white knee length apron. Black dress shirt, the tattered jeans that were tucked into the dark rain boots showed that the costume was supposed to resemble some sort of butcher. A few things are missing here and there. But was still proud of how it came out. 

Deciding on going back in the living room to get the last back on the coffee table they remembered leaving on the table. Which contained the makeup and fake blood for the costumes...which of course was supposed to be added last. 

Walking down the hall and into the living room. Which was empty, in which Y/n didn't seem to take surprise. Thinking Nines went off somewhere in the house(such as the bathroom) , go get dressed. They didn't bother calling out for him. Instead, picking up the bag on the table to look through it. Seeing the many items in the bag, having a hard time choosing what to use first, they stared at the back in contemplation. Unaware of the sauntering figure that was creeping up behind them.

Deciding on finding it to be best, wait for Nines to come back and help with choosing what happens next. They places the bag on the table once again. They turned around to go and look for Nines. Only to quickly pause in their movement upon seeing the figure behind them Y/n jumped slightly. Their calves hit the coffee table. 

It was Nines, dressed in the costume, the black apron tied to his waist tightly, instead of a dress shirt that Y/n sported, Nines had on a black turtleneck, which really fit with the costume. Y/n could see the chains wrapped around his wrist, the sound of the metal clanking against each other. 

They saw the pig mask, the one Y/n picked out because Y/n found it oddly suiting Nines. The boar's head seemed pretty realistic, the blemishes and red markings on the facial area wavered Y/n's sense of security. They could barely see his eyes through the mask...where the eyes are of course.

"Jeez. You scared me there for a second." Y/n mumbled. 

But, Nines didn't say anything. The feeling of his form towering over Y/n, made them realize how some suspects the two brought in everyday had to face his wrath in an interrogation...or just a simple ass kicking. From what Y/n remembers. Nines never lost in a single fight. 

"Is this your way in trying to scare me? If so. It's not working." They let out a chuckle, which was half-heartedly. Nines - instead of replying. Let out a grunt. Which Y/n could deem animalistic. Y/n flinched. Shooting him a glare in a way to get him to knock off whatever he was pulling. 

"The hell? Did you growl at me?" They spat. Instead of - once again. Not replying. Nines turned around to walk off down the hall where the bathroom was located. 

"Where are you going?" They asks. There was no reply. Only the sound of the chains clanking against each other and the squeaking of the rainboots answered them question. 

"..." Y/n felt their eyebrow twitch. Almost a second letter. Nines came back out the hall. Looking the same, except holding the boars mask in his hand, which he didn't seem to have any interest in wearing. 

"Dude, what the hell?" 

Nines looked at Y/n. His LED flickering to yellow almost instantly. He raised an eyebrow; "is there a problem?" He asks. Y/n scrunched their nose up and nodded. 

"Uh, yeah. You were just out here - not even a minute ago. You just walked off. Not to mention, growled at me." They answered. Y/n saw the LED on Nines temple slowly circled to the stark red, his eyebrows furrowed. 

"I was in the bathroom all this time." He said. Y/n only gave him a blank expression. Which only remsebled an expression that they didn't believe what he said. 

"I was--"

"Anyway. Come on. Let's put this last bit of stuff on so we can leave."

-

"You're getting blood everywhere." Nines informed. Watching as Y/n drove down the ride they tried sitting themselves in the seat comfortably so the fake blood on the apron wouldn't smear on the car seat. It would be a pain to get it out. 

"I know that, Nines. Shut up, pighead. Besides, it's not even real." They muttered. Nines lifted the corner of his lip in a way to sneer. 

"Hilarious. I almost forgot to laugh at that one."

"You forget to laugh everyday." They quickly shot back. Nines only rubbed his temple with a sigh. "You truly are a mess." He sighs. Y/n laughed, keeping their eyes on the road. 

"You're damn right, a hot mess. Trust me. Tonight will be fun! Don't worry, really!" Nines didn't reply. Instead watched the road and the many buildings that passed by. His gray optics flickered over to Y/n. Spending an entire day with his partner did have its ups and downs. But it wasn't as life-threatening as he thought it would be. 

"So. Are you enjoying yourself so far? You know. Being costume twins and all. I think it's fun." Y/n asked. Nines tapped his index finger in his knee. 

"Rather childish. But if it can get you to stop quiping me about dressing up with you. I guess this won't be too bad." He responds. Hearing Y/n tap the wheel with their fingers. 

"Thanks for doing this with me, really. Maybe tonight you and I can go and get something to eat."

"I don't eat."

"....I mean. You could at least act like you do. Like jeez, what the hell." They muttered. Once again, complaining. Mumbling about. "Just stuff the food in your mouth and spit it out. Make it seem like you can or something--"

"Alright--okay. I'll take you out to dinner tonight. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Nines finally spoke up. Interrupting her from her charades of complaining. Almost quickly, a smile replaced their frown. 

"Yes, sir. That's exactly what I want to hear. You. Nines. My partner. Taking me to get dinner." They quipped. Nines glanced at them. Shaking his head slowly. 

"Holy shit!" Gavin stared at the two. Watching as Nines was busy behind Y/n speaking to Hank from behind the boar's mask. A smile graced Hank's lips. His hands on his hips. He didn't dress as anything like the majority of the people did. Instead...well...showing up in his casual clothes. 

"Wow. Next year. Me and you and dressing up together." Gavin nudged Y/n's shoulder. Causing them to chuckle. 

"I mean. I was going around the office asking people. And they either were dressing up as something already, or were dressing up as something already. Same thing. I know." They grinned, already knowing what Gavin was about to say. 

"You didn't ask me you little shit!"

"Oops?"

Gavin rolled his eyes. Swatting his hands in a way to shoo the conversation away. "Nines look terrifying as hell." He looked over at their partner who was still speaking with Hank. Y/n nods. 

"I'm not surprised. You're scared of everything." She said. Gavin shot her a look. 

"Hey, plastic-prick. Over here!" Gavin snaps his fingers. Y/n saw Nines look away from Hank. And over to Gavin. Hank looked over as well. Nines walked over to the two. Once in earshot he turned his head away from Y/n to look at Gavin. 

"Yes?" He asks. Gavin flicked the boar's snout.

"Sup." 

"I don't know what I expected wasting my time walking over here." Nines muttered. Gavin laughs. Almost immediately, Nines jumped towards Gavin. Which also startled Y/n. The two shrieked at the sudden action from Nines. Hearing Hank laugh in the background was what pulled Gavin from his pose. Which he moved to grip Y/n's shoulder. In a pose like he was hiding behind them.

"You Jackass!" Gavin shouts. Hank howled with laughter. Walking over to give Nines a pat on the back. 

"Good one!" 

Y/n felt their heartbeat in their chest like drums. They couldn't find an exact reason why they got jumpy. Letting out a sigh as they placed a hand on their chest. Hearing Gavin bicker in the background along the lines of "I'll fucking end you!"

Meanwhile, Y/n stared across the street. Which had a good view of an alleyway. Seeing two figures facing each other. Once being noticeably shorter than the other.  The short figure...which the two really resemble the silhouette from the lack of light in the area (considering the sun had set) the short figure seemed to be pointing its finger at the taller figure's chest. From the body movements the person seemed to be angry. As on the other hand the taller figure - standing still and stiff as a plank just stood there. 

Y/n watched for a few more moments. Whatever commotion they were hearing on their side of the street was muffled to them.

Soon, the short figure head turned towards the direction Y/n was in - across the street. Which the taller figure took notice of. The two stared at them. The tall figure seemed to tap its leg. Causing the short figure the scurry off somewhere in the shadows of the alleyway. 

Raising a hand. The tall figure that was left in the alleyway waved. Y/n furrowed their eyebrows. 

Who the hell was that?

"Y/n! Come on, get your ass in here before you freeze!" Y/n heard Hank shout from the door. Y/n quickly snapped from their clouded reality. Looking at Hank who was holding the door open. Shoot a gaze back at the alley, only to see nothing. 

-

"And I said. Give me my shit. Or I'll put a foot up your ass." Gavin said. The booth that was placed in the back of the room, either chuckled, laughed or said commented on his story. Which was Chris. 

"Honestly. I wouldn't be too surprised if she got a restraining order on your crazy ass." Chris chuckled. Gavin only shot him a large grin. Chris's wife smiled at the two. Shaking their head. The majority of the party dressed up. Either it being werewolves, vampires, zombies. It was something...despite the fact that one of the officers came with a macaroni box. 

The booth sat, Connor, Hank, Nines, Y/n, Gavin, Chris and his wife. Drinks were passed, and also laughs. (Will except from Nines of course)

The night was smooth. And not to mention fun. 

Y/n, still kept tethering back and forth from the odd altercation at home with Nines. And from what they saw in the alleyway. 

Nines sat next to them. Listening to Gavin speak. On and on. 

"So. Are you two still together or not?" Chris asked. Gavin's and his significant other had...somewhat of a toxic relationship. Constant fighting, either it be verbal or...from what Gavin didn't want to admit. But it was obvious. Physical. From both parties. But, Y/n never really intervened. It wasn't their business. So they didn't care much about it. Though the stories were funny. 

Digging into their pockets in search of their phone. They didn't feel it. Taking note they must have left it outside in the car. 

"I'll be right back. I have to go get my phone."

-

Sitting in the driver's seat. Y/n checked to see if the device was at a proper percentage. She closed the car door and sighed. Scrolling through it sees nothing new. They turned around to face the building to return. They stopped and looked up. Seeing a figure by the light pole in front of them The figure had the same costume as Y/n. The apron. The boots. Pants. Looking up they saw...the same face. It was Y/n!

The dark circles under the eyes were much noticeable. The blue surgical mask covered the lower half of the person's face. But Y/n wasn't stupid. They saw themself many times in the mirror to tell who it was. And every strand of hair on the person's head. Could tell that certainly was Y/n. 

The e/c eyes stared at Y/n's form. Boring into their face. A feeling they similarly got only from Nines.  But the gaze coming from..them, made Y/n freeze.

Staring at the person. It was like an exact replica, a doppelganger. 

Y/n could hear the sounds coming from the person. A muffled purr of some sort, scuffling shoes. It couldn't seem to stand still.

"...who are you--" Y/n was cut off by the doppelganger launching itself towards them - gripping the side of their face. It's nails digging into their skin. Y/n let out a surprised scream. Hearing the strained grumbles and grows coming from the thing on top of them.

Y/n felt themself land on the ground. The concrete knocking the wind from their body. Y/n was more surprised than scared. Of course they had many hand to hand combat on the field. But this didn't feel right at all.

Acting quick and raising an arm to shove off the doppelganger. Switching sides as they were now on top of the person, straddling it by the hips, Y/n felt it shift and swing an arm. Y/n quickly backed off of the person in an attempt to not get hit. It had a knife. Making it clear that it was meaning to harm Y/n. Y/n quickly backpedaled and stood up.  The sound of their huffing and puffing. And both of their shoes scuffling on the pavement. The person stood up. Shaking itself as if to remove the dirt that collected on its shirt from the pavement.

"Y/n. What's ta-"

"Okay, so Nines! There's some weird shit going on!" Y/n jogged over to the door that Nines held open. He was now staring at Y/n's doppelganger who quickly had stood up staring at the two. Once it made eye contact with Nines. It seemed to stop in its former actions and stare, before scurrying away down the sidewalk. 

"Who was that? What's going on?" He asks. Y/n shoved Nines into the building as he spoke. 

"I don't know! But we have to do something!" She shouts. The LED on Nines temple was flickering from red to yellow. Y/n was already making their way towards the booth. 

"Hank. You would not believe this. But I just got attacked by my own self. We need to find out what's going on." Y/n interrupted whatever conversation he was having with the group at the table. Connor was the first to look over. 

"Yourself?"

"Yes! Now come on. This is serious." Hank could tell whether or not Y/n was joking or not. Which...truly wasn't that hard to tell if they were. He stood up from the booth, luckily he was seated on the outside. 

"What's going on?" 

Nines soon made his way over to the table. 

"I was attacked by someone who looked exactly like me. Which, that can explain what happened earlier today. But! I have a crazy ass doppelganger!"

"Oh Christ." Hank muttered. Crossing his arms and looking at Y/n and then at Nines. And back at Y/n.

Gavin soon stood up.

"Oh, I have to see this." He spoke up. Hank ignored the man and looked back at Y/n. "Where did you last see this person."

"When I was outside. It attacked me--"

"The hell? Did you go after them?"

"No. They ran away before I can even do anything." Hank nods. Snapping his finger and pointing towards the exit.

"To the car. Let's go. Connor. Come on." Connor stoop up and stood next to Hank.

"Looks like we got some searching to do."

[shimmeringclouds]

Chapter 1

Akatsuka village was a quiet place.

Not much ever happened, and whenever something did, it wouldn't stick to your mind, eventually fading from memory, and the still silence of the village would take a hold of your every day life once more.

Despite living in Akatsuka for a good few years now, you had a habit of keeping to yourself. You rarely ever found yourself willingly conversing with the other townsfolk living in the houses around you. You always hoped it didn't come off as rude — you just lacked decent social skills, they could understand that, right?

On top of that, the village had always felt.. off to you. There was always this pressurising feeling of someone watching you at all times, peering over your shoulder and burning holes into your back. It was unnerving and uncomfortable, and the worst part was, there was never anyone there.

However, it wasn't like you could just up and leave the Akashika District so easily. It required time and money, and you only had one of those. A part of you wondered if you regretted moving all that time ago, but in the end, you couldn't muster the energy to be so bothered anymore. All in all, you had achieved the quiet and easy-going countryside life you had been needing, and that was all that mattered to you.

Sitting in your fenced off garden, basking in the summer's heat, you began wondering if your life was boring. If it was too simple. If you had sheltered yourself too much. You didn't really have any friends, as sad as it was. They had all slowly fallen out of touch with you once you had moved, and although you had tried convincing them to come down for a visit — or even suggesting that you visiting them — they all happened to be busy. Every time, without fail.

Then maybe, you began to wonder, it was you who was boring. You recalled how plain your life had been, as a toddler to a teen, and now as an adult. You didn't have any interesting stories to share. You didn't have any personal traits that were particularly intriguing or quirky. You were just... normal. Probably a bit too normal.

With a sigh, you cast your sullen gaze towards the sky. It was a single block of blue, but it looked so pretty. It stretched far beyond the horizon, free of clouds and scattered with the occasional soaring bird. The flutter of a white butterfly caught your eye, and you watched the muted coloured insect traverse through your garden, finally landing on a bush of blush pink camellias you had been caring for over the past year or so.

Your mind fell silent, only for it to have a sudden craving for watermelon. You tilted your head curiously, trying to remember if you had any left or not. Standing up, you stretched your arms above your head, lazily readjusting your t-shirt that had ridden up your stomach with the movement before heading towards your kitchen, scouring your table tops and refrigerator for the sweet fruit. To your dismay, there was none left. Which only meant one thing...

"I have to go outside today..." you whined to yourself. Well, you didn't have to. It wasn't like you had to get the watermelon. No, you didn't have to, but you really wanted to eat some under the sun, like you did every summer. You needed to satiate your craving for watermelon.

And so you set about your home, reluctantly attempting to sort out your hair and change your clothes. You were too lazy, though, and ended up swapping out your joggers you were lounging in to a pair of shorts, not wanting to melt on the way to the store, tucking your t-shirt into the hem of the bottoms and messily scrunching your hair up into a bun.

You twirled a few loose strands around your fingers, debating whether you should put more effort into your hairdo, but ultimately deciding there wasn't any point since you would just be hiding away again for the rest of the weekend. No one paid attention to you, anyway.

Grabbing your small purse and pushing it into your back pocket along with your phone, you slipped on a pair of gladiator sandals, securing the intricate straps around your ankles and feet before setting off.

The heat seemed to be far more intense than before, pushing the humid air into your face and causing a cool sweat to suddenly break out over your skin. You grimaced at your clammy hands, discreetly brushing them against the denim of your shorts.

As you walked, you threw your gaze to your surroundings, not finding anything new amongst the same square houses and the same empty shops, the same trio of cats laying in the same position in front of someone's doorway, their eyes watching you as they always did as you trotted past them. It was the same routine, as usual.

The cool air that wafted over you as you stepped through the doors of the supermarket gave you a sense of relief from the roasting warmth. You closed your eyes for a moment, relishing in the soft blow of air before finally moving inside, peering through the empty aisle in search of the perfect watermelon.

Soft music echoed distantly throughout the store, almost silent under the pitter of your footsteps against the tiled ground. You stood still for a moment, straining your ears to try and catch the words that were being sung, but it was much too quiet and muffled, a mix of many different voices merging together to a nursery-like tune. It was odd; they never played music in the store before.

As you continued onward, you pushed the urge to pick up miscellaneous objects and snacks down and away from your mind, even if you had the feeling you were forgetting something. You only came for watermelon. Should you get distracted now, you'd end up with a whole basket full of groceries that you probably didn't need. You crossed your arms over your chest, tucking your hands away into the crooks of your elbows so as not to feel any more tempted.

Eventually, you stumbled upon the correct aisle, tracing along the variety of in-season fruit before they landed on the one you were looking for at the far end of the aisle. The small smile that had graced your lips, however, dropped in an instant at the sight of another person gazing at your desired fruit, a look of confusion lacing your furrowed brows. You had never seen another person shopping here before.

It was a man, donned in a fern green yukata, his brown hair neatly combed to one side as his narrowed eyes scrutinised the two remaining watermelons, his lips upturned into a frown as he held the two heavy fruits in his hands. He hadn't noticed your presence, it had seemed, and you reluctantly began edging your way towards him.

You could feel your cheeks slowly begin to heat up the closer you got, your hands becoming clammier as you realised that you would have to speak to this stranger. Social interaction was never your forte, and you became afraid that your words would fall out of your mouth like running water, gushing and incoherent. But your mind was set on getting the large, jaded fruit, and your feet wouldn't stop moving until you were stood right beside him.

At long last, the man caught the movement at his side from the corner of his eyes, glancing over and jolting in shock at your sudden appearance. His rounded face flushed a pretty pink, tracing over the tips of his ears at the sight of you, and you couldn't control the added heat to your own skin.

"Excuse me..." you spoke softly, averting your gaze from his own smaller pupils to the fruit in his hands. You quickly noted how he had a hold of the last two melons, before continuing to say: "I-I'm sorry to bother you, but could I have one of those?"

Deep down, you felt awful, as if you were stealing something from this poor and unsuspecting man. What if he wanted both of them? You would just have to go home empty handed, remembering how you had bothered somebody for no reason. Maybe you would grab a tub of ice-cream on the way, on second thought, for some comfort food.

The man's mouth flailed open and closed, minute squeaks of words escaping him before he cleared his throat, taking a deep breath.

"OF COURSE!" The sudden loudness of his voice caused the both of you to flinch, his face deepening in colour in embarrassment. "I mean — o-of course! You can have one!" He swiftly pushed the melon in his left hand towards you, a shaky smile on his lips as his hand trembled under the weight of the fruit.

"Th-This one is much sweeter than the other, ha ha."

You raised a brow, staring at the two green misshaped ovals and wondered how he knew that just by looking. You tilted your head, hesitantly brushing your fingers against the melon. "Are you sure? I don't mind taking the other one."

"No no! It's perfectly fine! I-I prefer the more watery ones, anyway..."

That was a blatant lie, but you took the melon from him, saving the both of you from an even more awkward conversation. With a timid smile, you bowed politely, thanking him.

"N-No worries! I — well, uh — goodbye!" The man immediately scurried off, clutching the melon securely to his chest as he rounded the corner, disappearing from your sight. You wondered if you had scared him off, somehow. You could understand, although, you would be lying if you said you didn't feel a twinge of disappointment bubble in your chest. You could have made a friend today if you hadn't made the atmosphere so stiff.

You dejectedly dragged your feet through the shop, reaching the till and finding the man to have already left. You lowered your gaze to your feet as you handed your money over to the sleepy looking cashier, carrying the watermelon in your arms. Standing in front of the empty store entrance, you stared at the ground in brief silence, an unhappy frown making its way onto your face.

The walk home was gloomy, as if grey clouds were hanging over your head despite the sun beaming vehemently down onto your skin. You were starting to regret going out to buy the watermelon. Maybe it would have been better if you had just stayed home and ignored the craving. Maybe then you wouldn't have had to ruin someone's day. That's what you did, right?

Silence echoed throughout the barren streets louder than ever before, pulling you deeper into your dampened thoughts and drowning in the sudden sense of guilt that had welled inside of you, gluing itself to your heart like a hardened stone. It seemed that no matter how much you walked, you couldn't escape that voice in the forefront of your mind, whispering into your ear and reminding how much of a failure you were, greeting you as an old friend as you re-entered your home.

You left the watermelon on your kitchen table, and as you walked out, the glint of sunlight bouncing off of metal and into your eyes made you wince. Glancing over, you saw that it was only the metal of your large kitchen knife, displayed on your far countertop for whenever you would need it next. The yellow light it reflected burned into your eyes dangerously, shimmering and beckoning you closer.

Your sullen gaze merely sent it a flat and unimpressed glare before you turned away with a sigh. The games your mind liked to play with you weren't any fun in the slightest. Suddenly, you didn't feel like eating the watermelon anymore.

Falling asleep sounded much more appealing to you. Trudging through the empty hallways of your home, you collapsed onto your cool bed, curling into yourself with baited breath, the light breeze sifting through your opened window cradling you in its hold as you squeezed your eyes shut.

In that moment, all you wanted to do was sleep forever, and the wind encouraged you as you slowly fell into a restless slumber.

[always-on-tatooine]

A MaulxReader part 1: Shooting Stars

Woo-wee! First time posting something like this. I’m still a little new to Tumblr, so if I need to fix something please let me know.

Also, big shout out to @justalittlecloud and @a-dorin for being so kind and giving me courage to post this :)

Masterlist link: https://always-on-tatooine.tumblr.com/post/640968824459526144/shooting-stars-maulxreader-masterlist

1454 word count.

Takes place RIGHT at the end of Clone Wars, so spoilers may be present. Enjoy!

Released from the Jedi's grasp, and the orbital pull of the moon that drew closer to the condemned ship by the second; the now-former Darth Maul believed he had finally made his escape inside the stolen shuttle. After his battle with Ahsoka Tano on Mandalore, and the amount of force that was used to destroy the ship's engines, the Zabrak knew he would have to find somewhere to rest if he were to regain his strength. With the fall of the republic, the new order, designed by his former master would now have complete control over the galaxy. This would be a new challenge he would have to survive if he were to exact his revenge.

            Sending his spacecraft into hyperdrive, he was certain of his freedom from the chaos he created. Though he rarely underestimated his opponents, he did however neglect to calculate how much damage he had caused to the main ship. As metal and debris scattered across space, not even a Sith as skilled as Maul could avoid what happened next. A large chunk of metal shrapnel carved straight into the shuttle engine. A light show of emergency signals illuminated the cockpit. Frantically, Maul did his best to take control of the craft as it dropped out of its attempt of hyperspace. With his ship now spinning through space, it became clear to him that there was very little he could do to stop his fate as Maul lunged towards the nearby planet. The only hope for him now was to land his ship as smoothly as he could.

                                                        **********

            The night sky was brightened by a series of explosions over (y/n)’s planet. Though it was hard to see whether it was Republic or a Separatist ship from this distance, only a large warship would have been able to ignite the bright colors that followed as it fell out of hyperdrive. Though the destruction was being pulled into the gravitational force of one of the nearby moons, plenty of the explosion made its way to its neighboring planet. Parts of the chaos could be seen flying through the atmosphere. Like shooting stars, some of the metal debris burned even brighter they came colliding with the planet's surface.

            For (y/n), this was a nice addition to the already beautiful night sky that spanned over the great plains. As of late, she had been struggling to get a good night's rest. Something in the air had been unsettling, an unexplained shift that kept her up in the late hours. So, a beautiful occurrence like this was a nice accompaniment to what was already a restless evening. Most of the time it was fairly quiet in these parts, as their planet often orbited away from the happenings of the waring galaxy beyond. She watched as bits of the destruction above burned up in the atmosphere, cascading down like brightly lit shooting stars. (Y/n) made herself comfortable petting the little loth-cat that sat on her windowsill, which served as an observatory to the arial spectacle. For years now, the two had been living alone in their small hut, one of the very few that have been scattered out across this open valley. With no neighbors in sight, (y/n) used her space to spread out her farm as far as she saw fit, making it just big enough that she could tend to it herself. The closest town from here was an hour or so ride on her jump speeder; longer when carrying her cart of produce to sell to the locals. This arrangement made her a decent living. Sure, it was lonely out here, but it was the price she had paid to ensure her freedom.

One of the “shooting stars” looked especially bright as it encountered the atmosphere. At first just a shimmer in the sky, only slightly more distinct than the shimmering stars above. As it fell, it emanated bright colors of fiery reds and burning yellows. A beautiful spectacle, the burning ball appeared to grow brighter by the second… and closer.

            Once (y/n) finally realized this piece of sharp metal was not burning up in the atmosphere, but rather was coming straight for her home, she only had a mere few seconds to prepare for impact. Grabbing her little loth-cat she slid under one of the counters in her home and braced for impact.

            The planet shook, sending vibrations throughout the house, threatening to knock everything in her home about. Holding the scared ball of fur tight, it took (y/n) a moment to loosen her grip and take in the damage. Things in the house did in fact become shuffled about. A few things knocked off shelves and the lighter of her furniture push aside. It added a slight atmosphere of disaster to her usually cozy home. When the trimmers were finished (y/n) shot to her feet. The crash did not feel too far away, and if the impact had destroyed her crop then she would certainly be damned for the growing season. In a rapped fashion, she slipped on her shoes, grabbed her staff, and went outside to investigate the damage that had been gifted by the heavens above.

            As the smoke cleared, she could see to her relief, the plummeting debris did not destroy her season’s hard work. The damage ended about 30 meters outside the small field of crops. With the dust settling more, it became clear to (y/n) that this was not just a simply discarded part of a ship. A space shuttle, fuming from the flames now sat in front of the young women, a distinguishable new addition to the dark and open landscape. At closer inspection, she could see a silhouette of a body sitting in the cockpit. Quick to act, she knew that if this person were still alive, it would not be much longer until the smoke from the flames would ensure that there were no survivors in this crash.

            The heat coming from the shuttle was more than hot enough to tell her that touching the ship would possibly lead to burning off her entire hands. With some very precise shimming between the latch of the capsule and the windshield, she manages to leverage her staff and release the seal, getting fresh air to the perhaps deceased driver. A distinguishable pop, followed by a rolling hiss, smoke released from the opening, creating a large burst into the air, only to dissipate, leaving the body hunched over the wheel, barely breathing.

            (Y/n) had never seen a Zabrak before. She had only heard of them in stories; horned beings with bright skin that was vibrant as they were fierce. Yet in that moment, legends became true, falling from the sky from a heap of fire. He became even more real, as (y/r) reached into the ship to drag out the single survivor. Heavy, she did her best to lift the creature from his confines. She draped the muscled body over her back as she used all her might to bring the unconscious man back to her small home, the sound of metal scraping the rough terrain as his legs dragged in the back.

            Attempts to lay the man down on the couch in a way that secured his safety was limited, as the heap of dead weight slinked from her body and onto the limited resting space. In the dim light of her small hut, she was able to see more features of her unexpected guest. Under the mix of ash and buses, bright crimson skin painted over his face; a contorted expression from the pain he was enduring. Dressed in black, his agile body clumped onto the couch was misleading to its muscular strength; only known to (y/n) after carrying the stranger from the ship aflame.

            Her furry companion, still hiding under the counter, peering out, just to let out her hisses and groans of distrust. “Zuzu, you behave now,” (y/n) said scolding yet oh-so casually. “I had to do all the heavy lifting, so you don’t get to say who we have as a guest.”

            The one-way conversation continued as she reached for the med-kit, “What else was I supposed to do? Any longer in there, and he would have been done for.” Due to the limited lantern lighting, she was only able to apply bacta cream to the most evident of wounds. “This will have to do for now,” she proclaimed, looking over the depleted horned being. “Anything else that needs to be examined will have to wait till tomorrow.” After coving the stranger’s body with a spare blanket, she swept up the still cautious Zuzu, carrying her small companion off to the bedroom for rest.

[quillsandtypos]

The Plan of the Century

Words: 2.2k

Summary: anon requested a fic for one of my head cannons that Luke has gotten tickled once by his band mates and they swore to never do it again

Warnings: a LOT of tickling (like if you don't like it I wouldn't recommend reading this)

...........................................

"Alright boys you ready?" Reggie asked, still running on adrenaline fumes from the show.

"Yes!" Bobby cheered. He squatted down like he was ready to pounce.

Alex pushed his hair back. "Guys, are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked uncertainly.

"No, but we gotta do it man, I mean come on, doesn't he deserve it?" Bobby asked.

Alex took a deep breath in. "You're right, we have to do this." He got into a running position.

He paused there for a moment before realizing that both his band mates hadn't moved.

Alex turned around. "Aren't you guys supposed to go around back and from the side?" he asked.

"Oh, right, yep!" Reggie exclaimed, before running out the side door.

"Wait, I thought I was-" Bobby stopped mid sentence before yelling, "Nevermind!" and running off.

"Yeah, there's no way this could possibly go wrong," Alex remarked.

Soon enough Alex saw a stage light flash above him, which he knew was his cue. He sprinted into the back hallway that they had entered earlier that evening and as he turned the corner he came face to face with their target, none other than their fourth band mate, Luke.

Alex froze in his spot. "Hi Alex," Luke sang. Confused, but slightly amused at his friend's startled state.

"Yeah, hi," he managed to stumble out.

"Did you need something?" There was a hint of genuine concern in his voice that Alex was genuinely upset but he couldn't quite tell. Before he could get closer to him to ask him what was wrong, he saw Reggie running up behind him.

"This is for tickling us all the time!" Reggie yelled.

"Yeah I think you missed the point where you're not supposed to announce your attack," Luke sarcastically commented, before taking off into a run.

He slipped past Alex with minimal effort and headed up the nearest set of stairs.

He faintly heard Reggie yelling something but he was already quite a distance away. He paused once he went up a couple levels to what looked to be a dance studio. He peered around in the dark for any sign of his other band mates but saw no sign of them. He settled for the far left corner of the room and sat down.

He tried to listen to the sound of footsteps, and soon enough heard them.

He could tell that Bobby was at the front and Reggie and Alex were trailing him.

Then the footsteps on the stairs stopped. For a moment everything stood still until his bandmates stepped onto the dance floor that he was currently sitting on.

"Luuuuuuuke," Bobby sang out.

Luke resisted the urge to scoff, two could play at that game.

He scrunched himself in the corner as much as he could and pulled a pencil out of his pocket. As quickly as he could he threw it to the other side of the room.

Alex screamed, Bobby jumped five feet in the air, and Reggie fell to the ground.

It took every bit of Luke's composure not to start laughing at his friends.

"I'm out, good luck you two," Alex attempted to announce, but Reggie pulled him back.

"Uh-uh you agreed to this, you're staying with us," he insisted.

"Guys he has to be in this room if he threw that pencil," Bobby realized.

"Oh does anyone have a flashlight?" Reggie asked.

"Why would we have a flashlight? Some of us don't plan to be in a dark ass room where Luke could pop out at any minute," Alex ranted. He was a little bit stressed about the current situation, to say the least.

"Okay each of you guys go to a corner, he's gotta be in one of them," Bobby guessed.

Reggie and him started to move but Alex stayed put. "Have you guys never seen horror movies, this-" he pointed around, "is how people die."

"Relax it's just Luke. I mean, what could he possibly dOHOHO!" Reggie's sentence was stopped in his tracks by his panicked laughter.

"Yeah, what could he possibly do Reg?" Luke mocked, as he squeezed at his armpits.

"Let's get him Alex!" Bobby yelled across the room.

The two boys ran to where they heard Reggie's laughter. They couldn't really tell who was who, so they both piled on top of Reggie and Luke.

The four were a mess of flying limbs and Reggie's laugh was still somewhere in the mix.

Luke had unfortunately gotten pinned to the bottom of the stack, so even despite his strength over the three, he wasn't going anywhere.

Reggie was quick to notice this situation. “Bobby get his arms and Alex sit on his legs!” he instructed.

Luke attempted to crawl away but with three people scrambling over top of him it was proving to be nearly impossible.

Soon enough the two boys had a decent hold on him. But despite his exposed position, Luke was not giving up.

“You guys are so dead once I get out,” he calmly commented. His face showed no fear, but there was a slight smirk on his lips.

“Yeah, once you get out,” Bobby emphasized on the once.

Reggie’s hand was slowly descending towards Luke’s stomach but he just glared at Reggie’s face.

But as the hand touched his stomach he had to fight his facial muscles to continue not reacting.

Reggie was grinning from ear “Come on Luke, you know you want to laugh,” Reggie teased.

“No I don’t, asshole,” Luke rushed out to avoid laughing.

“Oh Reg try to claw at his stomach,” Alex suggested.

“Oh, good idea!”

The second his hand turned into a claw Luke quite literally screamed. Despite his low voice, he descended into high pitched giggles. But his adorable giggles greatly contradicted the words coming out of his mouth.

“Youhohou arhahare ahahall soho fuhucking dhehead!” he yelled.

“Oh my god his laugh is sooooo cute!” Almost cute enough for Reggie to forget what he was doing.

“Wait, try doing it faster,” Bobby advised. His eyes were alight with a proud fire that they had dethroned Luke.

As Reggie picked up his intensity and Luke let out an ear piercing screech. In fact, his laughter was more now screeching and yelling than laughter.

In the heat of his screaming Luke came up with an idea. He reached his arms back a little bit to squeeze at Bobby’s sides.

He screeched and flew back; which left only Alex on his legs. He quickly managed to push him off before going straight for Reggie.

“See I told you, you were dead,” he said proudly, and slightly out of breath.

He started tasering up and down his ribs, right in between his bones. As he was doing this, Bobby recovered from his tumble. He tried to come save Reggie but Luke saw him coming from the corner of his eye. One hand stayed on Reggie while the other squeezed Bobby’s nearest calf. He quickly tumbled to the ground right next to Reggie which made Luke’s job even easier. He moved so he could have one knee on each of their legs to hold them in place.

“Well what a problem you two have landed yourselves in.” Luke said with a fire both in his eyes and in his voice, that the two knew they had royally fucked up.

They exchanged a look of slight fear before turning back to face their impending doom.

“Ya know I think now would be a good time to practice playing my guitar.”

There were several protests and no’s, but they were of course ignored.

Luke harshly brushed his hands across their stomachs taking amusement in their very different reactions. Reggie was loudly giggling with his eyes squeezed back whereas Bobby was cackling and his eyes would go wide the closer Luke got to his waist.

After a few minutes of his ‘guitar practice’ Luke decided to practice some other things.

“I think my singing’s been getting better because I’ve learned how to use my air efficiently. But I guess there’s only one way I can really know.” He rolled both of their shirts up slightly and there was definitely a scream of ‘Luke no!’ which Bobby would deny he did till this day.

He kept one hand spidering on one person’s stomach as he blew raspberries on the other.

Reggie thought his soul was going to come out of his body when it came his turn. He wasn’t certain if it had anything to do with Luke’s ability to sing, but he knew it tickled like hell.

Reggie’s eyes squeezed even tighter, and he tried to curl in on himself; but Luke was there, so he couldn’t.

Both boys couldn’t handle the back and forth of spidering and raspberries. They were both screaming so loud and high pitched Luke was surprised no one had come in to make sure they were still all alive.

“So do you guys wanna tell me who is the best tickler, or do I need to keep demonstrating for you?” Luke smugly asked.

“Yoohohu!” Reggie immediately agreed.

“Mehehe!” Bobby replied. He evidently still had a little bit of fight in him.

What was that Bobby?” Luke asked. He now was repeatedly blowing raspberry after raspberry on his tummy, and after about 10, Bobby gave into defeat.

Luke smiled evilly, and started slowing his fingers. “And who’s never going to try to tickle me again?”

“Uhuhus!” they both yelled.

“I think, I might need to make sure.”

Before they could utter another cry of no, Luke was squeezing Bobby’s quads and was vibrating his hand into Reggie’s ribs. They were losing it, not only is Luke freakishly good at tickling but he was tickling each of their worst spots.

They both were screeching and belly laughing. Their bodies could no longer even bother to fight off Luke’s hands, they just laid there and took it. They laughed until their voices went hoarse.

“So who’s not going to try tickling me again?” Luke asked. He stopped his hands but kept them in the same place.

“Us, us definitely us!” they agreed.

Luke was satisfied with that answer and crawled off of them. He turned around him to see that Alex was nowhere to be seen; which made sense, since it had been several minutes.

Luke took off downstairs to where he assumed Alex was. He noticed Alex on the small balcony on the side of the stage. He quieted his steps as he raced down to the next floor. He ran across the back edge of where hours ago was filled with people. Luke quickly reached the steps to the balcony. He slowly and stealthily snuck up on them. Alex was perched on his toes looking for Luke, he unfortunately didn’t bother to look behind him.

“Gotcha!” he yelled as he grabbed Alex and pinned him to the ground.

“Wait, Luke! Wait, wait, wait, I didn’t even want to be a part of this plan,” Alex quickly spoke.

Luke arched his eyebrows. “Then why did you help Reggie?” He lightly placed his hand on his neck.

“What?” Alex asked, momentarily forgetting his earlier comment.

“Oh fuck.”

Luke chuckled slightly at his friend's response before lightly fluttering his fingers across Alex’s neck.

Alex quickly clamped down on Luke’s hands, though he knew that wouldn’t stop him.

“Uh oh Alex, now my fingers won’t be able to get out,” he teased with a mischievous look in his eyes.

“Shuhuhut ihihihit!” Alex groaned.

“Ooooooh bad choice of words bro.”

One hand stayed at his neck while the other harshly squeezed at his sides.

“AhahahAAHHA nooooo!” Alex yelled.

His laughter would jump up than back down as Luke constantly changed how much he squeezed his side.

Alex was quickly turning into a giggly mess at Luke’s revenge.

“So who’s the best tickler in sunset curve?” Luke asked innocently.

Alex loudly responded with a giggly ‘you!’.

“And who’s not going to try to tickle me ever again?”

“Meheheh!” Alex surrendered.

“Hold on I just gotta make sure.” He dipped his head down to blow raspberries on Alex’s stomach, still not letting up with his other hands.

Alex quickly went silent except for occasionally letting out a small snort. After five, Luke decided to let up on him.

They were shortly joined by a still red faced Reggie and Bobby. “You’re lucky, he went way harder on us,” Reggie said pointing to himself and Bobby.

Luke turned to them and swiftly walked up to them. They backed up equally fast, until their backs hit the wall. “But if you ever try it again, it will be ten times worse,” he threatened.

Bobby held his hands up in surrender. “Yep, got it,” Reggie said.

He turned again, “And Alex-” he started to say.

“Yep, got it, don’t have to worry about me, I swear,” Alex promised, with his hands up.

Luke grinned, “Alright boys, I’m starving, let’s go eat.”

And since that very day the boys have stayed true to their word, out of fear of Luke’s revenge.

[poptod]

hello! can i get a ahk x reader where the museum has a new exhibit with an ancient king from what ever culture, just around ahk’s age, and when he comes to life he hits on the reader, who is very flustered and ahk gets jealous and he and the other guy end up duking it out for y/n’s affection? school’s been super frustrating and i really need something fun and playful rn. thanks!

notes: hi! totally get the whole stressed thing with school. it aint fun but hopefully this helps you a little :)

He'd known you for much longer. Far longer than that ratted King had – but still, you spoke happily with him, smiling and giggling as though it was all a little game, and it was. Just not to Ahk. You were far too important to him to have the whole situation be considered nothing more than a game.

Standing in the corner, he watched the new exhibit speak, his words soft as he looked up to you with a reverence Ahk had shown many times before. The King, who went by the name of Otanes, had recently arrived from a museum in Europe, where they held an exhibit for old Persian kings. Otanes fit the description for any rich-kingdomed ruler; tall and handsome, with enough charisma to overthrow a government should he wish. Ahk was not like that. Perhaps that was what irked him most – he wasn't like Otanes at all, and you seemed to like the King quite a bit. After all, Otanes actually had a decent sized rule, while Ahk was King for only a day and a half.

It didn't help that you couldn't move, either. What with the whole actually being a painting made by Maoli people many, many years ago, no one had bothered to try and enter the stone you came from. You were startlingly clear next to the images of birds and trees – startlingly beautiful in the red stone.

Despite his feelings towards you, a bitter taste fell on his tongue when you smiled, the softest of blushes coating your cheeks as Otanes complimented the flowers in your hair. Ahk had been meaning to do that; he hadn't yet built up the courage to compliment you so directly, and the thought of Otanes stealing that opportunity from him had anger welling up deep in his chest.

"Ahk!" You called for him, your voice soft and his name welcome on your tongue.

He perked up, finding you waving him over, and Otanes looking rather sour. The tiniest of smirks came to him at that. He joined the two of you, standing side by side with Otanes.

"Why were you off sulking in the corner?" You asked with a small smile, your attention now fully on him. He knew it didn't mean anything, but a happiness began to sprout in him – you had a habit of doing that to him.

"Just.. enjoying the view," he answered cryptically.

"Well, Otanes is very handsome," you said, and every ounce of happiness you gave him curdled, his left eye twitching in irritation.

"Thank you," said Otanes with a small bow to you. "I'd say you're far easier on the eyes than I."

Stupid Otanes with his stupid words.

You flushed red, attempting to stutter out a reply. When you couldn't manage one you looked to the floor, the ghost of your laugh still on your lips, and your blush still prominent even on the stone.

"Actually, I had a question for you," Ahk interrupted, coming up with his sentences on the fly. "Do you remember any of your time in Hawai'i?"

"Not really," you answered seriously, "but I do remember the prayers people gave me. I still get them sometimes... I'm always listening for them."

"That's fascinating," Ahk said before Otanes could say anything.

Throughout the entirety of the conversation Otanes kept circling back to your beauty, complimenting and flirting with you till you could barely speak over your bashfulness. At least Ahk was trying to hold a regular conversation – this Otanes didn't care at all for things like that. He could tell that; he just wished you could, too.

He held himself together for a good long while, but all that buildup of irritation and anger burst when Otanes decided to remark on your legs of all things. Even if he had a good point, it was a weird thing to comment on, and you were clearly getting more and more uncomfortable. Ahk hadn't quite planned on punching anyone in the fact that day, but since the situation called for it he took great amusement in watching Otanes get a nosebleed from his fist.

"I don't think I've met anybody as bad at taking a hint as you are," Ahk said when Otanes sat up, looking up at him with an angered eye.

"Funny. I was about to say the same thing about you," Otanes spat back.

That was the general situation as you watched with wide, frantic eyes as Ahk attempted to punch the living shit out of Otanes. You knew a lot about Ahk – he spoke to you often, and you knew he was trained in hand-to-hand combat, but it didn't stop you from worrying about the both of them. It seemed a foolish thing to argue over to you. After all, they were both only making conversation, right?

"Would you two stop it?!" You yelled when Otanes rolled the both of them over, now pinning Ahk down with his fist raised to land a direct punch at his head.

"(Y/N) –"

"No, I'm mad at both of you," you said when Ahk tried to say something. "What are you even fighting about?!"

They both paused, looking at each other before looking back to you, confusion lacing their gaze.

"You don't know?" Otanes asked, his grip on Ahk's collar still tight in his fist.

"Oh my Gods," Ahk muttered beneath his breath, relaxing his head backwards, astounded by your lack of clarity. A small, amazed smile came to him. Gods, you were endearing.

"It's – we're fighting for you," Otanes tried to explain, but the confusion on your face only grew worse.

"I don't want you fighting though?"

"We're fighting for your hand," Ahk finally said, loud enough to echo in the mostly-empty room of your exhibit.

Silence.

"What's wrong with my hand?" You asked, looking to him then back at your hands.

"Listen, there's a very simple solution to this, I think. Just go along with me (Y/N)," Otanes said, watching for your approving nod which came a few seconds later. With you on board, he asked, "which one of us do you like more?"

"Like... who do I enjoy talking to more?" You asked for clarification.

"Sure," he said.

"I like you both plenty," you said, beginning to fidget. "I.. I've known Ahk longer, but that doesn't really mean anything... um.."

"Doesn't Otanes make you pretty uncomfortable?" Ahk asked, sprouting another blush on your cheeks. "He says some pretty demeaning things."

"I do not!"

"Well... a little," you mumbled before the two of them could return to fighting.

"See?" Ahk said with a winning smirk. With your permission granted he fought back, forcing Otanes off his body and shoving him out of the room.

Once assured he wouldn't return, Ahk resumed his position in front of you, a sweet smile replacing the resentment so obvious just a couple minutes ago.

"Sorry about that whole thing," he said, watching your expression carefully.

"It's alright. Thank you for noticing, though. I didn't want to say anything," you said in a soft mumble, tracing your fingertip over your thigh.

"Of course," he murmured, reaching his hand to place it on the stone where your own hand lay.

To his surprise he found no purchase – rather, his eyes widened, watching his hand fade into the dark stone of the large tablet, the outline of his skin nothing more than charcoal. You gasped in surprise, backing up with eyes just as wide as his. Slowly he continued, letting himself enter the stone, where he turned into a painting like yourself, this time able to see you in 3D. He knew you were beautiful, but now that he was able to touch you your beauty seemed insurmountable. His mouth hung parted slightly as he reached for you, touching your skin for the first time. In silence he entwined his fingers with yours, staring at where you ended and he began, oblivious to the people watching the painting outside, oblivious to the other drawings. All that he saw was you – your hand in his, the flowers in your hair.

Tugging slightly, he pulled you to your feet, thoughtlessly leading you out of the black and white and into the real world, where he still had yet to notice the several people watching the two of you. The corners of your lips perked up, widening into a brilliant grin as your fingertips began to turn to color.

"Ahk," you murmured, your voice nothing more than a breath, captivated by the dark skin covering your once-stone form.

The moment you took your last step you fumbled, tripping and landing with your face pressed up against Ahk's chest, your hands on his shoulders to stabilize yourself. You went into another fluster, apologizing profusely and trying to back up. He didn't mind, though – he never would, and he held his hands in yours, trying to keep you calm even though his own mind was hectic with thoughts. He hadn't ever expected to genuinely touch you in any point in his life, or death, if he wanted to be realistic.

"What a happy couple," came the sarcastic voice of Larry, his hands on his hips as he watched the display. Instantly your cheeks turned a blazing red once more, and you looked away, adamant to not meet Larry's eye.

"Larry," Ahk greeted him, "we found out something new about the paintings."

"Obviously. Can you help me with the Huns now?"

"Do I have to?" Ahk grumbled, still eager to keep you close to him as possible.

"They're trying to rip Otanes' legs off again, I think that's a little more important than your love-fest," Larry said with a dry laugh.

Ahk looked at you, then back at Larry.

"I don't think I'll be of much help tonight."

[redschillzone]

Queen of Broken Hearts (Hela x Fem!Reader)

Pairing: Hela x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.6k Words

Warnings: Mentions of Anxiety

Summary: You and Hela have been together for some time now but she struggles to show you just how much she loves you.

A/N: Ahhh I’m sorry this took so long to get out! Yesterday was a very busy day. I edited the request just a bit to make it work, so I hope you enjoy.

She loved you, truly she did. She loved you to the Nine Realms and back; But she could never say it and she often was stuck wondering how you managed to love her in return. Hela was a rather difficult person to love, most people on Asgard struggled to like her as their Princess but you? You were head over heels for the woman and she never understood how you managed it. She was the Princess of Asgard for sure so of course it was natural for a few people to swoon for her, but she was also it’s Executioner; She killed people that Odin disliked or felt the need to be killed in order to conqueror more within the Nine Realms. Who could ever fall in love with someone who did such things? Then again, you did serve Odin as one of his Valkyries so it made sense that such a thing didn’t phase you; You were used to war and the fighting that would break out. You had to be immune to such things in order to remain a Valkyrie, let alone stay alive.

Hela couldn’t help the sigh that escaped her lips as she shut her eyes and placed her head within her hands. She resided in her room on the balcony, looking over Asgard and all its beauty. It didn’t compare to your beauty though; She would make the comment to herself more times than not but she would never tell you outright. She wondered how you and her had become a couple to be honest; She never said she loved you and she honestly struggled to show you affection in the ways you craved. It was like her whole being wouldn’t allow those words or those actions to leave her form, but you? You would always make up for the lack of affection by saying you loved her every chance you saw her and would hug her, kiss her, or hold her hand whenever you two were together or just passing in the halls. Deep down you knew she loved you but you couldn’t stop your mind from wandering to that dark place every now and again. Your thoughts were going rampant with your fears and anxieties about Hela and would quite literally keep you up late into the nights till the early mornings and it would clearly show with the occasional dark circles under your eyes. It didn’t help that there was some gossip that was beginning to float around about the two of you as well; Mainly about how your relationship was doomed to fail from the start. All you knew was that you needed to know was what she thought, how she felt about you and whether or not she wanted this relationship between the two of you to last.

That’s why you currently stood outside the large doors that led to her room, your arm outstretched and hand rested gently on the door. You were going to go through with it this time and not back down and turn away like you have been the past couple of nights. You had to get to the bottom of this immediately so that you could attempt to get a decent night's sleep for once. So, you took a few deep breaths, causing your silver armor to adjust with each inhale and exhale you made before you began to relax; Every nerve that was once alight and fueling you with anxiety was now being snuffed out with your breathing exercises. Once you were certain you were calm enough for this, you went ahead and opened the door, making your way in. Hela must have known you were outside her door because she was now leaning against the railing of the balcony, her eyes scanning you over as you walked over to her. She had a small smile on her face as you leaned over to gently kiss at her cheek.

“Hello my love.” You told her, taking her hands in yours as she returned the kiss to your opposite cheek, keeping a hold on your hands as she spoke.

“Hello my little dove… What is it that brings you here, hm? Should you not be resting for tomorrow's fight?” She questioned, eyebrow raised as she lightly tilted her head. You couldn’t help the small smile that appeared on your face as you lifted your hand to rest it on her cheek, gently running your thumb over it as you watched her with nothing but love and adoration swirling in your eyes, but you knew there was still a bit of anxiety within them as well. She couldn’t help but shut her eyes for a quick moment as she moved her head into your hands, her sky blue eyes disappearing for just a few moments before she opened them once more, watching you with careful eyes as you began to speak. 

“I should but.. I struggled to fall asleep… Something has been on my mind and.. I wish to talk with you about it.” You told her, your voice holding a sense of unease in it that Hela noticed almost immediately. She couldn’t help the frown that now crossed her face as she placed her hand over yours, a dark look beginning to cross her eyes. 

“Is someone bothering you? Tell me their names so that I may deal with them myself.” She hissed the threat, her once bright blue eyes darkening and looking like a storm that had been brewing for quite some time and was just waiting to unleash disaster wherever it landed. You quickly shook your head to her words, removing your hand from her cheek and watched as she dropped her arms down to her sides; Her eyes watching your every move as you began to speak once more to her. 

“No my love- I just…” You began before you sighed, moving away from her to gently sit yourself on her bed, your hands reaching below you to play with the silk sheets as you thought of how you wanted to ask her the questions that were swimming through your mind. You could feel your anxiety rising once more even though you could have sworn you were ready for this but in all honesty, who ever is ready for this kind of talk? With that thought in your mind, you let out a breath as you began to pick your words carefully. Each thought that crossed your mind you needed to think through, make sure it sounded correct in your mind; You needed to be straightforward with it but you didn’t want to be too straightforward that it sounded harsh or even forced. You didn’t want to spill it all to her at once, but you knew that you needed to convey your feelings to her, to tell her that something wasn’t right and that you didn’t know if you two were ready to keep this relationship going.

You were so deep in your thoughts that you didn’t notice that she moved to sit beside you, her eyes still on you. She could begin to see it, the fear that began to form in your eyes as your anxieties began to rise; She could have sworn she saw a few tears beginning to form as well.

“Honey.. My love.. Please, tell me what’s on your mind so that I may attempt to help.” She spoke, trying to keep her voice as calm as she could but she couldn’t help the small bits of poison that seemed to drip from her words. If someone was hurting you, she wanted to know who and for what reason. 

“Do you love me?” You asked her flat out, shifting your gaze to look at her. She couldn’t help but blink as your words slowly sunk in. She couldn’t help but glance away from you quietly as she thought the question over. Of course she loved you, she would kill for you if you had asked her too but she understood why you were asking such a question. She had trouble displaying her love, of showing affection. It was just who she was as a person but she was trying to do her best. She would often hold your hand whenever she was given the chance, maybe kiss your cheek here and there when she could. She was working on that part of herself piece by piece but now that you were bringing it up, she began to wonder if what she was doing was really working out for her; If she was making any improvement since then. She shifted her gaze to you, watching as you awaited her answer with nervous, anxiety filled eyes. You were playing with your hands, picking away at your nails she noticed. She let out a breath and reached her hand out, gently taking your hand in hers as she gave you a small nod.

“I do, my dove.. It’s just.. You know how difficult this is for me. To show affection.” She spoke to which you couldn’t help but bite your lip. You had nothing to worry about now, she had confirmed that she loved you so you had no reason to fret. Right?

“I.. Alright..” You told her, going to get to your feet but a squeak escaped your lips as she pulled you back down via your hand, going and gently pressing her lips to yours in a gentle kiss. You blushed lightly as you felt her lips work against yours, it was almost as if she was trying to reassure you that she loved you. It was working as you slowly shut your eyes and allowed her to pull you close to her, resting you on her lap. You situated yourself before you put your hands on her cheeks once more, running your thumbs over her cheekbones. The kiss lasted maybe a minute before you pulled away for air first, looking at her with a gentle smile as she returned it but you could see something in her eyes. It looked to be uncertainty, but as soon as you saw it, it vanished all the same.

“Stay with me for the night.. Please?” She begged you, moving her hands from your hips to your hands, covering your own with hers. It has been awhile since you two had shared a bed so it would be nice to be held by her arms, even for just a few simple moments. Perhaps it would help you fall asleep so you gave a small nod, watching her with a small smile.

“Alright my love.. I’ll do it.” You spoke as you pulled away, moving off her lap as you began to remove your armor. You had always worn a tank top and some fitted leggings under it so you decided to keep them on as you were quick to join Hela in bed once she herself had gotten changed and comfortable. It wasn’t long before you gravitated towards her, cuddling yourself as close as you could get as she wrapped her arms around you to hold you close to her. You watched the nightlife of Asgard from her balcony door, listening to the occasional chatter that could be heard outside along with Hela’s steady and calming heartbeat. It was beginning to lull you to sleep and now that Hela had begun to play with your hair, it was beginning to lull you to sleep that much faster.

“Sleep my love.. You’ll see me again soon..” She spoke to you as you finally fell asleep. You figured her choice of words would be referring to seeing her in the morning, but little did you know that when you awoke the next morning that she would be gone without a trace.

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

That was two months ago, and you should have known to trust your anxieties that night. But you didn’t and you fell for her words. Your trust was broken that night and your heart shattered into a million pieces, but as a Valkyrie you had duties to attend too and you used that to ground yourself. To keep yourself busy so you wouldn’t think too much of Hela. 

That week you had asked around, seeing if anyone had seen her or had known of where she had gone but nobody had known. You had even asked Odin, which you found odd that even he himself didn’t know where she had gone too. You stayed up countless nights hoping for her return, staying on her balcony and watching the skies to see if she returned but alas, she did not. You were tearing yourself apart more and more with each passing night until you grew numb to it; You learned to live with that fact that maybe Hela wouldn’t return, that she didn’t love you like she swore she did. Yet here you were, laying in her bed and crying into her pillow. You missed her deeply, as you had many nights but this one was hitting you harder than most. You wished for her to return to your side as you had dreamt many nights whenever you had cried yourself to sleep and it seemed as though this would be another one of those nights. That was until you heard the doors to her room open.

You quickly shot up from your lying position, your eyes red and puffy with fresh tears running down them as you watched who entered the room and you could have sworn you felt the air leave your lungs. The moment she entered the room you knew who it was immediately; Hela. She looked tired but she was alive despite a few minor injuries. You couldn’t help but push yourself off the bed and ran over to her, all but jumping into her arms as she caught you, pulling you as close as she could as she spun you around the room before she allowed you to place your feet on the ground once more. She could see your tears and lifted her hands up to wipe away at the tears.

“(Y/N).. I am so sorry- I know what I did was wrong but I.. I needed time and I just.. I couldn’t tell you I was leaving.” She started, watching as you all but stared at her with watery eyes. She was speaking with sincerity in her words and you couldn’t help the small sniffle that escaped your shaking form as she continued her words.

“I love you, okay? I love you to the Nine Realms and back. I love you so much and I’m sorry that I struggled to say it so long ago but I promise from here on out I’ll say it with every moment we’re together.” She spoke, her own eyes beginning to water as you couldn’t help the smile that began to form on your face. Sure she had left you without warning but now that she was back you suppose you could forgive her for it; She was finally admitting that she loved you after all.

“I love you too, Hela. Please, never leave me again.” You choked out as you hugged her tightly once more. She gave you a small nod as she wrapped her arms tightly around you, keeping you as close as she possibly could.

“I promise I won’t leave your side ever again so long as I live…” She told you, watching as you looked up at her and kissed her. It was full of passion and you were most certainly trying to make up for lost time within it and she gladly returned the kiss, moving her hands to your cheeks as you two stood in the middle of her room. She was gone a whole two months after all and you had so much love to give her, and Hela had learned just how much love she was more than ready to give you. She was most certainly going to show you it all later on that night and you were certain you wouldn’t forget it. She was home, and she was yours yet again.

[razieltwelve]

Minions (Final Rose x Game of Thrones)

Ser Barristan Selmy stood silently with one hand on the pommel of his sword as Prince Edward paced in front of the small group of men. It might have seemed odd for a boy his age to already be gathering his own followers, but Prince Edward was something of a prodigy in everything he attempted. Given who his grandfather was, the old knight wasn’t altogether surprised that he was turning his attention to more... underhanded things.

Honour, Barristan had learned, was important, but honour alone could not keep a kingdom running. A great ruler knew when to follow the rules and when to... bend them a little. His task was to ensure that no matter what happened, the prince would be safe. 

“You have been called here today,” Edward began. “Because you are all men with... certain talents, talents that I might find useful. You are also men whose services can be bought, and most importantly of all, you stay bought. I have need of such men, men who can be counted on to do what needs doing and who will remain loyal knowing full well that a prince and future king can offer more than mere coin. He can offer influence. He can offer resources. He can offer a path to a life beyond that of a sell sword or a mercenary.”

The men remained silent, taking the prince’s measure. Barristan was certain they would not find him wanting.

The leader of the group spoke. “Aye, we are such men. But what do you want us to do and what can you give us for doing it?”

Barristan’s first instinct was to bristle at the disrespect, but the prince merely chuckled and continued. 

“Good. I was hoping you’d ask. Fools and simpletons have their place, of course, but what I want you to do for me requires men of cunning and intellect.” The prince unrolled a bolt of silk. “Do you know what this is?”

The three other men shook their heads, but the leader answered. “It’s silk.” He paused. “I’ve seen it once or twice when I’ve worked for other lords. Pricey stuff, Your Highness, worth it’s weight in gold and then some, or so I hear.”

“Indeed. It is silk, and it is worth a great deal of coin. Why? Because nobody knows how to make it, save for the sorcerers of Yi Ti.” The prince’s lips curled. “At least, that’s what they’d like for us to believe.”

The leader of the men smirked. “So I’m guessing you’ve worked out how they do it then.”

“Yes, I have. However, knowing how they do it and actually doing it myself are different things. What I need you gentlemen to do is to get a few things for me - things that will allow me to make my own silk.” The prince’s lips twitched. “As you can imagine, there is going to be a great deal of risk involved: death, mayhem, treachery, all that sort of thing.”

“A great deal of risk means a great deal of coin.”

“It does... and should you succeed, you will receive a great deal of coin. But if you succeed, then it means my estimations of you are correct, and I’d rather not have men of your calibre wandering around, working for the highest bidder. I’d want such men working for me alone, as my men.”

“Long term?”

“For life if possible,” the prince replied.

“For life, huh?” The leader glanced back at his fellows, and they exchanged nods. “That’ll take more than coin.”

“I imagine it would.” The prince grinned. “So, tell me... what are your dreams? What can this prince of the seven kingdoms grant you that will secure your loyalty for life?”

One of the other men stepped forward. He was a lean fellow, but Ser Barristan’s experienced eyes saw the knives concealed in his clothing and the calluses on his hands. This was a man who had spent his entire life honing the skills of an assassin and cutthroat. “I have something I’d like, Your Highness.”

“And what would that be?”

“They call me Deron,” the lean man said. “And I’ve been doing this sort of work for some time. I never grew up with nothing, but I figured if I could earn a decent living, perhaps my siblings would grow up better.”

“I’ve heard worse reasons to go into your line of work.”

“Last year, I went back home.” Deron’s gaze darkened. “I’d been sending money back, you see. I found out my parents had wasted it all. They owed some bastard a lot of money, and they...” He took a deep breath. “They sold one of my sisters to pay it off. They would have sold some of my other siblings too, I figure, but my sister was also a beauty, and she’d just flowered...”

“I trust your siblings are no longer with your parents,” the prince said quietly.

“No. I got them someplace else.” He bit his lip. “King’s Landing might not be the best place in the world, but it’s better than being sold off.” He clenched his fists. “It’s not coin that will buy my loyalty, Your Highness. I’ve heard of you. We all have. They say the gods have blessed you, made you more clever than any man the Seven Kingdom’s have ever seen, but you’re more than clever. You’re talking to us, which means you’re cunning too. I bet you’ve got eyes and ears in all sorts of place, even in Essos.”

“I can either confirm nor deny that.”

Deron chuckled grimly. “I want you to use those eyes and ears to find my sister for me.”

“How long has it been exactly?” the prince asked. Ser Barristan could well understand the need to ask. Slaves... slaves did not last long in Essos. And a young, beautiful girl? There was no telling what might have been done to her or if she was even still alive.

“It’s been six months since I found out, maybe six and a half since they sold her.” 

“I see.” The prince nodded crisply. “Tell me everything you know. I cannot promise that I will find her, but you have my word as a proud son of the House of Baratheon that I will do everything I can to find her for you.”

“That’s all I can ask,” Deron said, bowing. “But I promise you, Your Highness, that if you find her for me or at least find out what happened to her so I can stick a knife in whoever was responsible, then I’m your man. The Drowned God could try to drag me down into the depths, and I swear I’d fight him off to keep on serving you.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” The prince nodded at the two other men besides the leader, the pair who were very obviously twins. “And you two?”

“Gold for starters,” the one on the right said. “Me brother and I survived by ourselves for years before running into these two. But we’re tired of going from place to place, always looking for another job, always wondering if this is the job where the man hiring us decides he doesn’t want to pay and decides to stick a knife between our ribs instead of giving us the coin we’re owed. We don’t want none of that anymore.” He knelt, as did his brother. “They call me Jerod and my brother here is Markel. Take us into your House, Your Highness, make us men of House Baratheon with all that means, and we’ll serve you till our dying day.”

“If you succeed, then you will have more than earned that right.” The prince turned to their leader. “And what would you ask of me, Bronn?” The prince’s lips twitched. “After all, you are the leader of this little group and one of the most reliable and well-known mercenaries in this little corner of the world.”

“Like the brothers, I’m sick of wandering. I want a place to call my own and the guarantee of a roof over my head.” Bronn took a deep breath. “ And I want a knighthood.”

Ser Barristan’s fists clenched. To demand a knighthood? The audacity... yet he had also seen men rewarded with knighthoods for less than what the prince was asking of these men.

“You succeed, Bronn, and it’ll be Ser Bronn.” The prince hummed thoughtfully. “And unlike the others here, I can tell you have greater ambitions.” Bronn nodded. “Should you become a knight in my service, Bronn, know that there will be opportunity to rise further. Why, who’s to say that you might not one day find yourself called Lord Bronn.”

Bronn’s eyes widened, and Barristan knew that the prince had him. “You would...?”

“Not for this alone, Bronn, understand that. But all lords were once mere warriors. It was by their strength and cunning that they rose. I believe that men should be given a chance to rise beyond the circumstances of their birth should they prove themselves worthy of greater things.”

“Lord Bronn?” Bronn chuckled. “I like the sound of that.” His lips curled. “What would you have us do, Your Highness? Whatever it is, we’ll get it done.”

X     X     X

A few months later...

The four men stood before the prince again, and Ser Barristan once more stood guard. They were all carrying a few extra scars, and it was clear that they were still healing from a litany of other injuries, but they had succeeded. In all honesty, Ser Barristan could still scarcely believe it himself.

Insects? Mere insects were the source of silk? Yet the evidence was clear, and the prince had already sworn everyone involve to secrecy while seeing to it that some of his most trusted and most learned servants tended to the creatures. Gods willing, it would all work, and the crown would soon be able to produce their own silk in significant quantities.

“You know,” the prince drawled. “I expected you to succeed, but I didn’t think you’d succeed in quite the manner that you did.” He laughed. “Half the docks at Pentos burned down. Entire districts left in chaos, to say nothing of the riots and other disorder that I’m sure you caused.” The four squirmed beneath his gaze. The prince, after all, had asked them to be as discrete as possible. “Yet... not a single one of those things could be traced to you. The four of you covered your tracks quite well, it seems. And the quest I gave you?” The prince smiled broadly. “You succeeded beyond all my expectations. I had hoped to secure a single box of silk worms. You lot came back with seven.”

“If I may, Your Highness,” Bronn said. “It seemed a good idea at the time. Given the ruckus we’d caused just to get our hands on one, we figured we might as well take the rest.”

The prince’s eyes gleamed. “This is why I chose you and your group, Bronn. The Yi Ti ship was only going to be there for a week, and it took me a stupidly huge quantity of coin to learn both its schedule and the fact that it would be carrying silk worms. I knew it would be heavily guarded, and I knew it would take extraordinary measures to steal some. You four created a chance, and you took full advantage of it. The results speak for themselves.”

The prince nodded, and four chests were brought forward by his servants. “This is the gold you were promised... doubled because of how well you accomplished your mission.” He grinned. “As for your other requests...” He started with Deron. “My agents have been looking for your sister. Based on the information you gave me, we’ve narrowed it down to five possibilities. The moment I know more, you will know, but I’ve given them instructions to obtain her, using whatever means they deem necessary should they located her. I’ve also taken the liberty of finding a new house for you and your siblings. The current one is not nearly good enough for a man in my employ.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Deron fell to his knees. “I’m your man from this day forward.”

“As for you, Jerod and Markel... allow me to welcome you to House Baratheon. From this day forth, you are my sworn swords, and you will be a member of my household. You will be lodged in the Red Keep as trusted members of my House, so I expect you to conduct yourselves accordingly.”

They too fell to their knees. “You have our thanks, Your Highness, and our loyalty unto death.”

“And now we get to you, Bronn...” The prince’s lips curled into a smile. “Or should I say Ser Bronn?”

“Ser Bronn does have a nice ring to it.”

“I’ve spoken to my father. He’ll knight you himself. But don’t get too comfortable - and this goes for the three of you also - because I’ve got more work for you to do.” The prince chuckled. “At this rate, however, I doubt it will be long before you find yourself as Lord Bronn.”

“Lord Bronn has an even better ring to it.” Bronn fell to his knees. “Your Highness. Whatever you need done, I’ll get it done.”

“Excellent,” the prince said. “Now, rise, all of you. Keep in mind that while you will be serving me, I will also be asking you to perform tasks for some of my... associates. Chief amongst them is my uncle, Tyrion Lannister.”

X     X     X

Tyrion looked at the four men who had walked into his office. To his keen eye, they were all dangerous men, none more than the newly knighted Ser Bronn. His nephew had told him of what these men had achieved and how they had done it. To take them lightly would be foolish in the extreme.

He gestured at the table with bread, salt, and wine. “Have a seat, gentlemen. We have a lot to talk about.” He chuckled. “As I'm sure you’re aware, my nephew and I have enjoyed a rather incredible rise in the merchanting world. However, there are those who would like to see that rise halted. Today, I’ll be telling you who they are and what we will be doing about them.”

X     X     X

Author’s Notes

Edward (Diana) knows that there are few things more important than an elite cadre of minions who are both loyal and skilled. Moreover, taking these men into his service deprives his enemies of them as well. This is especially important because men like Bronn are worth their weight in gold: deadly, cunning, and maniacally determined. It won’t be long before Bronn does indeed find himself the owner a nice, cosy castle in the Crown Lands.

That said, their little escapade in Essos is going to give people conniptions, especially the ones who were planning on doing the exact same thing they were. Indeed, a certain Sealord’s daughter had agents who were planning to make a move the very next night only for Bronn to steal a march on them and come away with the prize.

And speaking of Bronn, in this timeline, he has three associates he often works with. They’ve formed their own little group, largely as a survival measure due to how often treachery seems to plague their line of work. Here, they’re turning official although Edward will, of course, be hiding what it is they actually do for him. As far as anyone can tell, they are simply men who’ve been hired by the prince to handle things around the city after putting in a good showing after he met them along the road and encountered bandits.

Next on Edward’s agenda... talking with a certain Viper and securing the services of a certain Hound. 

If you’re interested in my thoughts on writing and other topics, you can find those here.

I also write original fiction, which you can find on Amazon here or on Audible here.

[wreckofawriter]

Drunken Kisses

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x reader

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: Alochal use, swears like twice

Request: @justsomeficsyo hey my love, I hope you're doing well with lockdown! Could I request number 46 with Draco? If not use it for any other character (if you're sick of writing for him), I always love ur writing! ❤️❤️

46- you’re drunk at this festival and dancing on the table and when you eventually fell i caught you

A/n: not gonna cap, kinda feel like this is shit but oh well. Idek what to say, I'm pretty sure I'm in a slump rn, my last two fics have been actual garbage. I hope you guys like it better than I do.

    The quidditch world cup was something you had been wanting to go to for ages. You went to one when you were fourteen but it didn’t end well and since then all you had been wanting to do was go to one where you wouldn’t be almost burnt alive. You loved the sport, you played it for your own school and made a decent beater, since you graduated and stopped playing your thirst for the game grew. You finally decided after your second year of college you would go. You rounded up a bunch of your friends and apparated to the stadium. It had been built the year before, brand new everything, you were thrilled. 

    You and your friends all have the same intention when going to the game and that was to watch quidditch and get completely smashed. You were going into your third year of college the next year which meant you would have to buckle down and work so this was about it for the year. You were dressed in red and black clothes that showed too much, one of your favorite teams, the Buglrians was back in the cup thanks to their far too attractive seeker; Viktor Krum. You and four others piled into your tent where Gabby and Annabeth had already started drinking. You laughed at them claiming you weren’t going to start till five and they booed mixing up a margarita with too much vodka. 

    By the time the match started, you were two drinks in and Gabby was nearly blackout drunk. Annabeth had already passed out. You tried to wake her up before sighing and tucking the covers up to her chin. You made your way through the crowds of people, you and the three girls you were with all should have been wearing more than you were but none of you gave areally cared. Alex had the word ‘Krum’ painted across her stomach and you and Ruby both had black and red handprints covering your legs and arms. You were all covered in glitter and glow sticks which were enchanted to circle around your frame. 

Some Holyhead Harpie fans booed as you walked past and you flipped them off while Gabby shouted, “You’re just mad you're gonna lose!” 

You got to the stands pushing your way through a few people and climbing way too many stairs until you were in the center of the piled seats, You stood at the railing as Alex passed you a beer. You made small talk until the announcer came on introducing the teams. You all screamed like crazy when the Bulgarians flew into the field, Krum did a handstand on his broom whipping past and Ruby mumbled, “God he’s hot” Next to you. 

The game was amazing. You were getting progressively louder as it went on. 40 points Harpy’s, 20 Bulgaria, then 60 Harpy’s, 70 Bulgaria. Until finally, as the game progressed Krum came dive-bombing out of the sky streaking after a flash of gold. He caught it moments before pulling upwards holding it in his fist. You were elated. 

The four of you headed back towards your tent, Gabby was giggling about something you couldn’t make sense of as when suddenly a guy around your age popped out of his tent holding a pack of beers.

    “Blaise?” Ruby asked in disbelief. The name rung a distant bell.

    He turned towards you, “Holy shit Ruby?” 

    She laughed walking over to him, you followed a bit confused, your mind hazy with alcohol. 

    They talked for a second before she turned to introduce you. You smiled and shook his hand and suddenly it struck you, “Oh! You’re the guy she had a major crush on in high school.” 

    Your eyes widened as you slapped your hand over your mouth Alex burst out laughing. 

    “Sorry.” You mumbled, “Pretend I didn’t say anything.”

    The man brushed it off with a wave of his hand, “You guys should head over with me, a bunch of us have a bonfire going and I think someone brought a keg.” 

    “Then why are you carrying a six-pack of beer?” Alex asked.

    “Because their stuff probably tastes like shit.” He shrugged, “Are you guys coming?” 

    Ruby glanced back at you and you shrugged, “Why not?” 

   

    You followed Blaise about a quarter-mile from your tent to where a massive fire was raging. There must have been thirty college kids in the area, filling picnic tables and dancing on the grass. Someone had brought two kegs actually and it was apparent that a good chunk of them were hammered. It was dead silent until you stepped into a small glowing ring and suddenly the music was so loud you had to shout to hear anything.

    The smell of burning wood, weed, and beer was thick as yelling and laughter could be heard above the pop song which blared overhead. You laughed turning to see that Alex was already making her way towards one of the kegs. You followed her getting booed by a group of people sitting at a picnic table who were adorned in green and yellow. 

    “You’re the ones who lost!” Alex shouted from over your shoulder handing you a blue cup. Blaise was right, the beer tasted like shit.

    Draco watched as Blaise returned with four girls in tow. He sighed, rolling his eyes, not at all surprised by the new additions. All four were in black and red and were smiling widely. He snickered watching as one stumbled over nothing before finding her way to a picnic table. When his eyes landed on you they widened, your hair was messy and swiped back from your face, your cheeks flushed the shorts you were wearing left little to the imagination and the t-shirt was hugging your curves. You were stunning. His mouth went dry as his gaze followed you toward a keg, you laughed as one of your friends said something he couldn’t make out. Your smile was mesmerizing. 

    Draco was broken from his trance when Blaise coupled with one of the girls from before sat in front of him blocking his view.

    “Draco, you remember Ruby right?” he spoke gesturing towards the girl. 

    “Totally.” He lied, “Good to see you.” he craned his neck to the side attempting to catch a glimpse of you again. 

    Blaise raised an eyebrow, “Watcha looking for?” he asked, turning around too.

    “Nothing.” Draco shrugged, finding you sitting on the grass with the girl from before. 

    “See a hot girl?” Ruby joked, smirking following his gaze, “That’s y/n by the way.” 

    Draco felt his cheeks go hot, “I’m sorry who’s y/n?”

    “Who do you think?” She laughed, “The one you’re staring at, I’m not blind.” 

    “Which one is y/n again?” Blaise questioned, “Redhead or y/h/c?”

“Y/h/c.” Ruby responded, “She’s single you know.” she wiggled her eyebrows, “Very single.”

“Well, that’s convenient.” Baise mussed, “So is Draco” 

He rolled his eyes at their smirks and took a beer from the pack his friend had brought. His eyes wandered back to you as Ruby and Blaise’s conversation left without him. You were laying on your back now laughing hysterically as your friend tried to drink lying down, spilling beer down her front. You lifted out your wand to clean it before leaning over and whispering something into her ear. You waved it twice at the fire and suddenly it flickered deep black and red flames.  

“Bulgaria!” You and your friend shouted as Ruby turned around laughing. A few words from Harpy fans had the fire turned back to its original color. 

“Y/n! Alex!” Ruby called beckoning you towards them with a hand. 

You stumbled to your feet, white tennis shoes smudged with grass, “What’s up?” You giggled walking around the table and seating yourself next to Draco, Alex slumped on your other side.  

“Not much we were-” She was cut off when the song suddenly changed.

You squealed, leaping to your feet and hitting your bare knees on the hardwood, you didn’t seem to notice. You snatched Alex’s hand dragging her to her feet as well. You blurted out lyrics off-key as you climbed onto the table, glow sticks hovering around you as you swayed your hips to the music. You twirled on the tips of your shoes bringing your beer to your lips as a microphone 

Cheers and whistles from nearby people only encouraged you as you continued to drunkenly dance on the table “My loneliness is killing me, I must confess I still believe.” You drew out each word. Feet tapping along with the beat as Alex jumps up with you grabbing your hands. You sang together as Ruby howled with laughter beneath you. 

Your feet caught suddenly and you tumbled backward with scream you knocked directly into Draco’s’s chest knocking him from his seat and onto the grass with a thump. Draco groaned, opening his eyes and feeling his cheeks flush. You were laying on top of him, your hands holding you up as your face hovered just over his. 

Your eyes were wide as you traced the man’s features. His shimmering blond hair, deep red cheeks, sharp jawline, and icy blue eyes. Your heart sped in your chest as your gaze flicked down to his pink lips which were parted slightly. 

“You’re so pretty.” You mumbled and Draco felt his breath leave his lungs. 

“I should be saying that to you.” He countered shakily.

You giggled, staring for a moment too long, “I should probably stand up.” 

He nodded slowly, “Yeah.”

You got to your feet, Draco doing the same, both of you were bright red as you turned back to the group, Blaise winked at him and he rolled his eyes. 

The conversation continued and you slowly began to inch towards Draco craving his warmth, he smelt of expensive college and mint, it was intoxicating. The blonde almost jumped when he felt you lean onto him, your hand resting on his thigh. You laid your head onto his shoulder and Draco found himself resisting the urge to lean back into you. 

As the party began to dwindle Ruby decided that you should probably head back to your tent when Alex passed out on the table. 

“Where’s Gabby?” She asked glancing around to see her sitting with a group of girls you didn’t recognize. You pouted as she attempted to haul you to your feet.

“Y/n, we have to go.” She mumbled as you clung to Draco’s arm. He looked stunned.

“No!” You whined, “I don’t want to go!”

“God, you’re like a toddler when your drunk.” She huffed pinching the bridge of her nose. 

Finally, you got to your feet, stumbling and falling almost immediately. Draco stood to help you when he offered you a hand you took it but when he pulled you toward him you used that momentum to smash yourself onto his lips. 

You stood on your toes ramming your tongue into his mouth your eyes closed as you pulled him towards you. Draco kissed you back for just a second before pushing you away. 

Ruby stared at the scene her jaw dropped. 

“Why’d you pull away?” You pouted up at him, your hands fiddling with his shirt. 

“Because you are crazy drunk.” He responded hardly able to make out the sentence. 

“Fine. I'll kiss you when I’m not drunk.” You declared turning to Ruby, “Do you have a pen?” 

She shook her head.

You groaned snatching your wand from your pocket and shouting, “Accio pen!” about a dozen rushed at you. You snatched one turning to Draco and grabbing his hand, pulling up his shirt. You began to write on his forearm, the cap of the pen lodged between your lips. 

You pulled away, your phone number scrawled onto his skin, “You better call me.” You mumbled turning on your heels to follow your friends. 

Ruby snorted “You are going to regret so much of what just happened tomorrow morning.” 

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