#w the clear glasses that were gray tinted

[rolandkaros]

today we have been blessed !!!!

[nataliedanovelist]

GF & MvsM - Wanna Talk About Dinos?

This crossover was inevitable. It just works too well. Maybe one day i’ll write a fic about how the folks at Gravity Falls handled the robot-apocalypse. Probably shrugged it off. “Eh. We’ve had worse.” Haha! What if Stan and Ford, cuz they were out sailing, had no clue what happened and when they came back they were like, “Wait, what?”

For now, please enjoy this fic of Aaron making a new friend...

(credit goes to @stephreynaart for her OC Jacob) ~~~~~~~~~~ “Hi, would you like to talk to me about dinosaurs?”

Aaron asked this question more times than he could keep track of, but that wasn’t going to stop him from asking it. It started as a dare from his big sister two years ago, but now it’s a fun hobby. When fifth grade isn’t overwhelming him, scaring him with mountains of homework and horror stories about how hard middle school is going to be, and when he’s run out of YouTube videos to catch up on, he is on the hunt for fellow giant-lizard-lovers like a hungry Ceratosaurus.

“No, okay bye.” But it did get a little tiring to always cross out names and phone-numbers on the phone book with red ink. Hey, a dinosaur of a way to find phone-numbers was appropriate. He read the next number, dialed it, and after a ring or two he asked, “How would you like to talk with me about dinosaurs? No, okay thank you.”

Aaron crossed out another name and sighed, taking a break since he reached the end of a line of numbers. Maybe he should just be grateful for Abbey and accept that no one else wants to talk about the Jurassic Period. Or the Cretaceous Period. Or the Triassic Period. But then a big, old, gray-tinted ad distracted him. He grinned, thinking it would at least be fun to give them a call, and he dialed the number.

Private home phone-numbers were fun, but businesses were also fun! Poor, bored workers would gladly talk to him rather than crabby Karens, and they got paid for it! So Aaron smiled as the phone rang, and he grinned when someone picked up.

“Thanks for calling the Mystery Shack, you’re talking to Mr. Mystery himself! How may I befuddle or bewilder you?”

“Hi! How would you like to talk with me about dinosaurs?”

“Oh, dude! I’d love to, but I’m scheduled for a tour of the Oddity Museum in three minutes.” The man said, and Aaron grinned continuously, because it sounded like Mr. Mystery really wanted to talk with him about dinosaurs. “But hey! Can you hold on for one minute, I think I know a guy!”

“Yeah, sure mister!” And Aaron was greeted by the sound of a catchy jingle about buying t-shirts and mugs and snowglobes. He smiled and wiggled his feet along to the music as he looked outside at the beautiful late-fall afternoon, entertained while he waited.

~~~~~~~~~~

Soos was on the hunt. He planned out the house in his head. Abuelita was taking a nap upstairs, Melody was organizing the upcoming tour, and Stan took Jacob out for ice cream, so he might be…

The owner of the Shack grinned when he stopped at the doorway and saw the man he was looking for, sitting in Stan’s chair, reading a book.

“Uncle Ford!”

The old sailor smiled up at the young man. “Yes, wh-...”

“Do you think you could answer the phone for me? I have a tour and I think this customer’s request is right up your alley.”

“Uh… sure, but w-...”

“Thanks, you’re the best!” And Soos was gone before he could address Ford’s confusion.

Ford was a bit lost, having little to no business with business, but he had learned at this point to trust Soos, so he picked up the phone beside him and was immediately greeted with a sweet, “How would you like to talk with me about dinosaurs?”

Ford grinned and closed his book. “I would love to! All three periods are equally as fascinating to study, but the Triassic contains some of my favorite dinosaurs!”

A young voice gasped on the other line. “Mine, too! Everyone thinks the Jurassic period is so great, and it’s pretty cool, but the Triassic gave us Plateosaurus and the Brachiosaurus!”

“That’s very true! You know, it’s very interesting, maybe depictions don’t include feathers at all, which is a bit frustrating, but perhaps after the news has spread they will incorporate more feathers on merchandise and textbooks.”

“YES! That’s what I wanna do when I grow up, help draw better-accurate dinosaurs!”

~~~~~~~~~~

The phone rang on Sunday. The Shack was closed today, so Stan lazily answered it and was greeted with, “Wanna talk about dinosaurs?”

“Sixer, phone for you!”

Ford ran into the living room, elbowed his twin out of the chair, and took the phone. “Hello again, Aaron! Now, where were we? Right, so Australopithecus. … No, I don’t think… Oh! No, homo habilis was erect, Australopithecus was never fully erect.”

“Maybe he was nervous.” Stan groaned, getting to his feet.

Ford shot him a look as thankfully the young boy on the other end didn’t catch that and happily shared some more fun-facts about homo habilis.

~~~~~~~~~~

While most college students were excited for Spring Break so they could get drunk or lose their virginity, Katie was excited because her family had planned a special secret roadtrip. She was careful to keep up with her family and talk to her parents and brother frequently, but Aaron had a hobby he wasn’t talking about that his parents found out and were thrilled about. Aaron had made another friend.

Rick and Katie did some research and the tourist attraction sounded right up their alley! In the middle of the woods, tons of weird stuff, and a fun roadtrip filled with diners and attractions. They decided to surprise Aaron, and they made up a lie that they would spend Spring Break in California with Katie so she could show her family around San Francisco, when in actuality they would be traveling up the state to the Redwood Highway and see the oddity place, and maybe even allow Aaron to meet his new pen-pal. Or, um, phone-pal.

So after bombarding Katie with hugs the Mitchells threw her luggage into the car and drove off. Aaron turned to Katie and excitingly asked, “So where are we going first? Can we go fix the Golden Gate bridge by painting it gold?”

Katie laughed and ruffled his hair. “Maybe later, right now I wanna show you guys this fun store right outside of town. Here, check out the videos I made for my classes!” And she pulled out some airpods and gave one to Aaron.

“Cool!”

Rick and Linda smirked at each other as they drove north. By the time they reached a little diner in Redding, CA, it was very clear to Aaron that they weren’t in San Francisco anymore. “Come on, just tell me where we’re going!” The boy begged as he fed Monchi a fry.

“The best kind of prizes are the surprises.” Linda quoted.

“Eric, Deborahbot5000, where are we going?”

“Sorry, Aaron, we cannot give that information.” Eric said, he and the other robot sitting politely in their seats, happy to be a part of the social interaction.

“Yes, Mother will bury us if we disobey.” Deborahbot said matter-of-factly.

“What?! No I won’t, sweeties.”

“Won’t you ground us?”

The family laughed and Aaron let the topic go; if he was honest, he loved a good surprise. The big family stopped in a motel just at the California-Oregon border, and the next morning after muffins and coffee and orange juice they were on the road again, passing dozens of trees that made Rick feel at home. Katie happily recorded the trip, trusted to be the documenter for another fun roadtrip, with hopefully not as much mortal peril.

Aaron watched as they left the highway for a simple road, and they passed a big sign. The boy gasped and caught what was happening. “No WAY! Really?!”

“You know, I hear this Mystery Shack even has a Sasquatch.” Rick commented while Linda pulled out a pamphlet from the glove box.

“It says here it’s full of odd things you’ll never see anywhere else, even a dinosaur footprint…”

“Wasn’t there a rumor of there being a Bottomless Pit?” Katie asked, pointing her camera at Aaron to get his reaction.

“Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!” Aaron cheered, hugging his Dad’s neck and kissing his Mom’s cheek.

“Hey, no worries, buddy.” Rick eased, fixing his shewed glasses. “We wanted to see this place, too!”

“Why don’t we eat a quick lunch and then we’ll take the backroad for the attraction? There’s a coupon in here for a diner made from a giant log!”

And so after being served by a pretty blonde teenager at Greasy’s, they drove through town to get to the backroad. Signs made them confident that they were going the correct way, as well as Eric and Deborahbot5000’s GPS. Then as they turned a corner, a big triangle-shaped building came into view. Aaron grinned at the giant sign with a missing letter. People were already leaving, arms full of souvenirs and one or two already wearing their new hats or t-shirts. Once Rick parked in the Free Parking Lot, Aaron spilled out of the car and ran for the shack, but he stopped.

Katie caught up to him and patted his back. “You cool, man?”

Aaron shrugged, holding his hands in front of him and his shoulders up to hide his face a bit. “I-I dunno… What if… What if he doesn’t like me?”

“Hey, I get it.” Katie admitted. “When I first met my friends I was really nervous. I had talked to them online for weeks and I was worried it wasn’t gonna be what it was all cracked up to be, but it was. Your system worked! You found another dino-lover! You earned this moment. Just take in a deep breath and be yourself, cuz you’re a pretty cool dude.”

Aaron smiled up at his big sister. “Thanks.”

Trusting Eric and Deborahbot5000 to watch Monchi and make sure he used the bathroom, the Mitchells went inside the shack. On the porch there was an ice cooler, a sign reading schedule times for tours of the Oddity Museum, a Help Wanted sign, and two rocking chairs with a game of checkers between them.

Inside the store a few customers filled up the gift shop, alongside t-shirts, snowglobes, a vending machine, a door beside ti that read Employees Only, a bookshelf full of comic on one side and old newspapers claiming alien sightings on the other, a fish tank holding a monkey-mermaid, and barrels full of spaceship keychains and dino claws. A new section called Camping Stuff caught Rick’s eye, selling backpacks, lanterns, flashlights, batteries, canteens, and compasses. Katie opened a comic called Lil’Stanley and laughed at the swears, taking a pic and sending it to her friends’ group chat. Linda looked into the barrel full of patches and grinned at all the fun designs, while Aaron stared happily at the mer-monkey.

The Employees Only door opened and closed and Rick watched as a man in a suit, fez, and eyepatch walked up to the lady at the register and kissed her cheek. The woman smiled lovingly and left while the guy who resembled a gopher checked a customer out. Rick waited until the buyer left to approach the register, leaning an arm on the counter.

“Welcome to the Mystery Shack, dude!”

“Thanks! So, this is gonna sound weird, but my son Aaron talks to a guy here about dinosaurs…”

“No way!” The owner interrupted excitedly. “Good to see you, dudes! I’m Mr. Mystery! Wow, you guys came a long way, huh?”

“Nah, only from California. My daughter is attending art school there.”

While the men chit-chatted and Linda joined them, Katie noticed a guy walking up to Aaron and looking at the mer-monkey. She smiled and tried to read the comic without being too nosy, but she kept her senses on her brother.

“Hm, quite fascinating, isn’t it?” The man in the blue hoodie said. “But I think my favorite is the fossilized footprint. Could be Nanuqsaurus hoglundi.”

“The Polar Bear Lizard?” Aaron clarified, touching his chin as he looked at the dino-print, his back to the man he was talking to. “Maybe, but they’re from Alaska. It’s possible plate tectonics did cause some fossils to be relocated here, but it could also be a Nanotyrannosaurus lancensis footprint.”

“The Dwarf Tyrant? Could very well be. Would you like to talk about dinosaurs after your tour?”

Aaron’s eyes widened as the voice was finally familiar to him. He turned and looked up to find an old man smiling up at him. He had fluffy gray hair with a white stripe running around his scalp, wrinkles by his eyes due to smiling, a cleft chin, glasses, and wore a blue hoodie with a maroon sweater underneath. His hands were behind his back and he smiled down at Aaron warmly, while the boy was jittery and overly-excited. He took in a sharp breath and had to fight every muscle to keep from leaping through the screen door. 

“H-H-Hi…” He peeped. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Y-Yeah, sure! I’d love to! I’m Aaron! Er, wait, you already knew that.” And he held out a hand to shake.

His phone-pal, Ford, chuckled and got on one knee to be eye-level. “Greeting, Aaron! It’s nice to formally meet you.”

Aaron shook his hand and noticed something. He had six fingers on his right hand. A quick glance told Aaron he also had six fingers on his left hand. Aaron grinned with sparkling eyes at his new friend, while the old sailor smiled warmly at the boy that reminds him of his niece and nephew when they were young.

[imma-potatoo]

OooO! For the requests, u!Patton mini fic with sympathetic Intruloceit and abusive Logicality, Patton is physically and mentally abusive to Logan, and he shows up to the dark side of the mindscape bleeding from the head and on the verge (ha) of passing out, Janus mends him (gets romantic when he wakes up) and Remus goes to bust some asses xD

(as you wish~)

The logical side as his eyes locked to the floor. His gaze fixed on the rusty nails pinning the floor boards down

"Honestly Logan! For being the logical side, you're just so dumb!"

"I know." there was a board to the left of his foot, it has a small spec of red paint. It was kind of a rusty colour if you looked closely at it, and it was flaky. Crusting over the wood rings

"Did you seriously think that Thomas would ever want to listen to you? I mean, what in the nation was that?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry." The paint smelled too, it had a strong iron scent that he could smell from where he was standing. The pigment was soaked into the wood-

"Are you even listening to me? Or are you just that big of a hypocrite?"

"I kno- wait!" Logan snapped his head up, being met with the two furious eyes of his boyfriend

Patton took a hissing breath as he stormed up to the indigo side, "You idiot!! You never ever listen to me! If you ever loved me you would do what I say!"

Logan backed up as Patton stepped closer. Logan could only choke in fear as Patton screamed in his face, their bedroom walls seeming to shake.

"P-Patton w-wait pl-ease" Logan choked on his tears as he hit the bedroom wall. Patton growling in his face

Even though Patton was the shorter one in the relationship, he was stronger, and certainly more intimidating.

Patton looked up into Logan's eyes, a small smile pulling at his lips, "for someone emotionless, you sure are expressive" he cupped the side of Logan's face, "did you lie?"

The shorter man combed back the pin straight hair of the logical side, ignoring the other side's trembling. "You know how I feel about liars, don't you sugar pie?"

Logan's vocal chords betrayed their owner, only small croaks and choked off noises escaping from his lips. Patton caught the hair at his nape, "Answer me"

Logan tried. But he couldn't. His vocals only squeaking in the protest as more tears fell down his cheeks

Patton's expression turned into a sneer. Tightening his grip, "I'm giving you one more chance Logan." his eyes were cold, drained of the emotion and love that they normally held. His skin felt burning. The inferno burning him from the inside out.

No answer could leave the side's lips.

Patton threw the side to the floor, his glasses falling off with the impact and the rusty nail hit his temple. Crimson liquid leaked from the cut. A sudden lightheadedness filled the side's skull, the room starting to spin, and the lights dug knifes into his head

Patton placed his foot on the others back, shoving him to the ground with a crack of Logan's spine. The cyan side kept pushing down as the floor creaked, "I'll answer since you seem too dumb to figure it out." he pushed harder on the side's ribs, "I. Hate. Liars. Deceit is lucky that I haven't dealt with him yet" cold eyes dug into his soul.

"Never ignore me ever again, are we clear?"

Logan nodded and his partner left the room

Logan layed on the floor for what seemed like hours, his breath raced and his head pounded as the ticking of the nearby clock seemed to work to drive him into insanity.

The blue side pushed himself upward, stabling himself in the wall. His limbs felt like lead as he stumbled out of the room

Truth be told, Logan had no clue where he was going. All he knew is that he needed to get help. So he kept walking

It felt like hours, the sickening feeling clinging to his gut as his head filled with cotton, he barely even recognized where he was anymore. It was dark, he knew that. And it smelled strangely like earl gray tea and copper. The tea was the much stronger scent though. It filled the room like someone had sprayed the scent, and old books lined the shelfs. Leaving the room with this warm atmosphere that was lacking everywhere else, even in his own room-

"Logan?"

The logical side looked up, everything was slightly blurry from his missing glasses, but he could make out scales and a black capelet.

Blood flowed down the side's skull, "H-help-" Logan collapsed into unconsciousness.

---

"-mus! We don't even know what happened to him! You cannot just go hit everyone over the head!"

"Well why not! Its guilty until proven innocent!"

There was a slight pause, "other way darling."

"hmm? Nah! I'm right! You're wrong!"

A sigh was heard, Logan could feel someone combing threw his hair, although it was a lot softer and nicer then how Patton did it. "Remus, darling, love of my life. How can I say this? NO!"

Logan cracked open his eyes, his head was covered in thick bandages and he was rested in Janus' lap. Remus bouncing on the other side of Janus.

"Darling, we don't want to wake up Logan."

"Do you think that when Logan wakes up he'll tell us who we have to kick? I hope so! No one should ever hurt someone like that, I wouldn't even do that! And I do a lot of super gory things! Like!" a gasp sounded from the green side, "Have I shown you Jeffrey yet?!"

Janus chuckled, "I don't think so. Why don't you go grab him?"

Logan opened his eyes fully to meet Janus' when Remus ran to the other room. He wasn't expecting to see a fond smile upon the yellow side's lips.

Janus didn't have his hat, curly fry like curls cascading down his forehead, but the rest of his attire was in place, "Good morning, my amazing logic. How are you feeling my dear?"

Logan opened his mouth, but sputtered from the dryness of his thoat. Janus handed him a glass of water, aiding him in holding the glass

Logan drew a calm breath, panting for oxygen, "Th-thank you"

The yellow side smiled, "I have nothing to accept. I simply gave you a simple human courtesy."

Logan blinked, mouth gapping as Janus ran his ungloved finger tips through his hair. Logan slumped against his chest, "Why did you help me?" tears clogged his thoat

Janus blinked, confusion filling his features, "because it was the right thing to do." Janus traced the swell of his back, avoiding the bandages that covered his skin as the time ticked away, "Logan?"

"Yes?"

"who hurt you?"

Silence spread throughout the room, specks thought flickered across the logical side's eyes. Lose flecks of hair covering his eyes as tears stained his face.

"I-I don't want him to hurt you"

A calm smile spread across the deceitful side's face, "He couldn't if he tried."

"JAN!! JANNNN!! SNAKEY!!" Remus burst through the door, a simple looking terrarium in his hands, "Look!" Remus paused the very second he locked gaze with Logan, a gasp filled the room as the green side rushed to place the terrarium on the scratched coffee table

"Lo! Lo-Lo! How ya feeling? Who do I have to hit? No one should hurt you like that!"

Blurry eyes flickered back and forth to the two sides. Both had this tint of protectiveness in their eyes, the tint covered their eyes like a coating of some sort. It was darker, but not the kind of look that was located in Patton's eyes.

"Patton," his voice was hushed, barely audible to the other sides.

Remus grinned, pressing a light kiss to his and Janus' forehead, "I love both of you!" The green side snatched his morning star from the dining room table, slamming the front door shut behind him.

Blush covered the blue side's face, his brain lagging to catch up. "W-what?"

Janus looked down at the taller man, "Rem just gets ahead of himself sometimes, we'll talk about it when he gets back" a soft grin spread on his face, "Want to watch BigHero6 dear?"

Surprise coated Logan's features for a millisecond, hesitantly nodding to the offer. Logan watched Janus search for the remote, his attention being brought to the terrarium on the table

"Jeffrey?"

"he names all his pets Jeffrey."

[neverendingstories00]

a winnix! found family au with easy company as kids part one out of a million!!

hi, hello! i’m back on my bullshit again. the creativity train had once stopped at my brain. I may have a thousand wip’s but tonight I’ve decided to focus solely on this one. also a ton of credit to @apairofwingsforme for rambling with me about this idea, thanks buddy! anyways, my mind is literally a terrifying place 😁 please send help. i’m literally at my breaking point

Also this is part one out of..a lot! I wanna write a fic of this, but school is a bitch. This is just winnix at the moment, but I promise I’ll start talking about easy company as kids and how chaotic it is. Literally. Child! Luz is going to be a little monster. But hey, only seven more weeks!!

It's a modern au. Both dick and Lew have been married for seven years and are happier than ever.

Okay! But before the found family part, time for the backstory!

dick and lew both met in college when there were in the same intro to marketing class. dick was struggling in the class and absolutely despised Lew, who he stereotyped as a “typical New Yorker '' as Dick donned his bean boots and flannel shirts. However, Dick learned not to make assumptions about people. Their study sessions would turn into long conversations about the newest episode of Mad Men, their families in Lancaster and Manhattan, etc. Dick and Lew grew to be best friends.

Dick felt strange around Lew. He wanted to hate him, but he couldn't. He would catch himself staring at Lew for too long and a strange feeling in his stomach. Lew caught onto this, but said nothing. He was overthinking it. Dick was the poster catholic boy with his outfits head to toe from LL Bean, carried a tiny bible in his backpack, etc. Lew knew Dick was too good for him. Besides, there was no way he would be gay.

One thing led to another and the complicated relationship between Dick and Lew changed. Dick had sworn off alcohol, but had no idea that the orange juice was a screwdriver. Dick got intoxicated and Lew dragged him back to his dorm. Next thing he knew, Lew woke up, cuddled with Dick in his neat dorm room.

After that little incident, things became awkward. They were in their senior year; friends for four years and the awkward tension was high between them. After they graduated, there was an afterparty held at their old farneity. Dick, of course, had won vladicictroain and Lew won salutadorian (shockingly). Dick knew that if it wasn’t for Lew three years ago, he wouldn’t be where he is.

So in a little corner, Dick walked up to Nixon and gifted him an apple pie, fresh from The Winter’s farm in Lancaster, thanking him for all he’s done for him. Nixon smirked and knew that Dick would give him some pie, but he was still nice about it. He took Dick to his room and gave him cufflinks that he bought especially for Dick from Nordstrom because during their freshman year, Dick was in charge of planning events in their fraternity. It was movie night and in 2007, Casino Royale was all the hype. Nobody came to the movie night since there was a huge football game and party after. Dick sat there, popcorn all made and even pushed the coaches together, and nobody showed up. He considered just packing up and calling it a night until he heard the door slam open. As he was cleaning up, Dick ran right into Lew.

“Hi, hello. Sorry I’m late, I was busy doing...stuff.”

“Oh,” Dick would reply, “I was just packing up.”

“What movie?”

“Casino Royale. Nobody’s coming though.”

“Well, is the popcorn still hot?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, consider me your customer.”

Dick and Lew watched the movie. Lew never shuts up during the film. Dick talks ethier to tell Lew to be quiet or that he loves Daniel Craig’s cufflinks. Lew made a mental note of that.

The night of graduation, stuffed in Dick’s little dorm room, was the last time Dick and Lew ever saw each other. For a while, atleast. They had a heated makeuout session that followed with awkward but passionate sex. The next morning, it was a screaming match between Lew and Dick. Dick didn’t even remember what it was about-he was too upset. He simply finished packing, threw the stuff into the back of his subaru outback, and drove back to Lancaster.

Seven years flew by, and Dick and Lew hadn’t spoken a word. Both of them were no longer twenty two year old’s who had no idea what they were doing with their life-they were now twenty nine, both trying to figure out their lives.

Dick worked as an accountant in Philadelphia, Boston, Hartford, and jumped around the east coast. He didn’t really enjoy his job so he went back to Franklin and Marshall to become a History Teacher. He had been looking for work for some time and eventually found a teaching job at a boy’s school in Bronxville. It was a job, after all.

So Dick arrives in Bronoxville and gets an email. He recognizes the last time-it’s Lew. He heard about Dick moving and wanted to catch up. Dick was new to Bronoxville and as reluctant as he was, he agreed to meet with Lew.

Lew and Dick meet at Rosie’s, a nice little Italian restaurant in the middle of Bronoxville. Lew surprises Dick, and greets him with a “going my way?”. Lew looks different; he’s gotten more handsome with age, his hair is shorter but still unruly with a tint of gray, and there’s a good amount of stubble. He hasn’t changed one bit.

Their first meeting went well. Just like Dick, Lew had a rocky start after college. Lew had foolishly gotten married to some girl he had gone to boarding school with. They barely lasted a year, and Lew left the marriage with a child he had no custody with and a large penthouse in Tribeca. Life had been lonely. He worked as an economist for a while, but hated the job and quit. With no job and a failing marriage, Lew turned to one resort; alcohol. He had nobody and nothing left in life.

Dick could see the fire that was once in Lew slowly dying out. The once sarcastic and dry Lew became a self--deprecating and lonely man with too much money and time on his hands. Naturally, Dick pitied him. He could see that Lew still loved him-if he didn’t, then how did he find out about Dick moving to Bronxville? How did he find out about Dick’s new job? Why did Lew take Dick to the nicest restaurant in Bronxville. And still, even though seven years had gone by, Dick was still in love with Lew. He’d come up in his thoughts once and while, but now, when faced with him-it was hard to resist those old feelings.

Dick was worried about Lew. So being the Architect he is (mbti type wise, he’s an INTJ), he creates a plan. Lew comes down from the city to Bronxivlle on Fridays and they meet at Rosies. They catch up on their week. From court cases to annoying students, the little things that they share each make their day a little better.

Dick was well aware of Lew’s alcoholism. It was noticeable in college, but it seemed to have worsened as Lew got older. Dick encouraged Lewis to go to therapy. When things had gotten to the worst, Lew enrolled in rehab (all thanks to Dick). He saw the stubbornness in Dick and the clear frustration. Dick wasn’t one for emotions, but when he saw Lewis with a bloody forehead because he fell down the stairs, barely able to speak, Dick sobbed in the waiting room at the hospital. Lewis had never seen Dick ever be that emotional. He was hurt.

That’s when Lewis realized two things. One, he needed to fix himself. If he kept living this deductive lifestyle, he could end up dead. He didn’t want that. And Two, as much as he repressed it-he was still in love with Dick.

Lew finally deals with his issues, ranging from alcohol to his childhood trauma and abuse. It was all with the help of Dick. Dick was there for him every step on the way, playing the role as that supportive friend. Here they were, two thirty year olds. Lew would’ve never imagined being friends with a Quaker that was too good for him, but there he was.

One night, after they had dinner at Rosies, Dick and Lew go back to Dick’s tiny little colonial house. It’s not his house, but a shared apartment. It’s small, but it’s something. Lew is shocked by the living conditions, and Dick simply finds the place charming. They laugh, lock eyes, and next thing they know their lips are clashing together, rushing to take off their clothes as they fit onto Dick’s small bed.

Seven years later, they finally realize they're in love with each other and officially start dating. Dick moves to Lew’s apartment and they live there together for a while. Both getting sick of their lives in the city, Lew decides they need a break from the city and the states.

A year later, Lew proposes to Dick at Rosies, all thanks to the help of Anne Winters, Blanche, Kitty Gorgan, and Harry Welsh. Dick happily accepts, and yes; he sheds a tear. And so does Lew. Everybody sheds a solid tear; it’s a beautiful moment.

Three days before their wedding, Dick and Lew elope on the rooftop of their apartment complex. They invite the same people who helped Lewis propose to Dick. It’s a small and intimate ceremony. Their dance song is “Flightless Bird, American Mouth”. They wanted to get married without the big crowd and Lewis’s “rich jerk friends'' and “daddy’s money”.

For the next seven years, Dick and Lew travel the world. They live all over Europe. From London, To Austria, to Tokyo-they do it all. Dick always ends up sunburnt and Lew is always wearing his classic aviators, wanting to take a photo of Dick. Whenever they go to a new location, Lew always forces Dick to pose next to something, whether that be the La Fontana Dei Quattro Fiumi or the Tokyo tower, and then he sets the photo as his lock screen. Now THAT is romance right there.

Seven years of travel is a lot. Dick and Lew traveled back to the states once in a while for Holidays, but spent most of their time overseas. They are both now in their late thirties and a little exhausted from travel.

Whenever they go to a forgien country, Lew has a tendency to buy shot glasses from each country even though he’s sworn off drinking. I just want to imagine Lew, dragging Dick into a little chaka shop and being like “Oh look darling! Aren’t these adorable” and Dick would just sigh.

So after their final destination, Greece, Dick and Lew decide to retreat back to the states. They don’t wanna live in the city, so they choose to move to the quaint Lancaster. Dick mentioned that he and his friends used to go explore this abandoned farmhouse that wasn’t too far from where he used to live (about 20 mins). Lew wants to be a romantic so he decides to pay a whole lotta money to revinate the barn into a modern mansion. Here’s a picture for reference. Lew goes the extra mile and Dick is like “ *insert eye roll emoji* lew, were two people. Lew would give him a little kiss on the cheek, “and? I’m making room for the dogs.

Oh I should add that Lew officially retires (he has loads of money, it’s called inheritance baby!) while Dick considers it, but chooses not too. He chooses to live the peaceful life of a farmer.

OKAY, but here is the very juicy part

Reminder that there house is like...fucking huge. Like ridiculously big. Like there are so many rooms, and they are furnished. Like what is the point of having furnished rooms if you only have two people living in the house??

Also Lew and Dick adopt a whole armanda of dogs. If you want specifics, they have a collie named Lassie, two westie named Lovey and Duffer, A carin named Toto, Beethoven the St.Bernard, and Copper the hound dog. Oh-and that’s the start. So. Many. BUNNIES.

Dick knows Lew. He already has a child that he’s unfortunately not been able to raise since he barely has custody over his child. He seems to like his own dogs over his children. Dick doesn’t mind. Sure, he’s worked with kids, but he’s okay not having them. He does like his dogs, after all.

Harry, Dick and Lew’s best friend from college, doesn’t live far from them. He’s been married to his college sweetheart, Kitty, for five years. Together, they have a little son named Louie. Harry comes over a lot with Louie, and Louie plays with the dogs in the backyard. Dick’s a very observant person; he sees the relationship between Louie, the dogs, Lewis, and Harry. Lewis doesn’t mind Louie. Actually, he likes the kid. He’ll run around the backyard with Louie and their dog.

So Dick starts thinking about children. Maybe he’s changed his mind; maybe he wants a kid. One or two would be fine. It could be through adoption, help a family out or a kid who’s stuck in the system. Dick is like a mother when he wants to help others around him.

One night, Dick and Lew are sitting in bed. Did I mention all the dogs sleep in their bed. When shopping for furniture, Lew wanted to pick out a bed to fit all of the animals they were gonna have. Dick didn’t like the idea and made the dogs all sleep in their crates. But one night, Lew walked in on Dick snoring, lovey and dovey tucked right next to his stomach and feet. Lew once again, takes a photo, and shows it to Dick, who’s as red as a tomato.

Dick does a little sigh and Lew looks up from his book, his reading glasses slipping down his nose. He’d be like “oh, what is it now sweetheart?”

“We have such a big house, Lew. Twenty rooms and only two people live in the house-”

“Actually Six dogs and three rabbits. The dogs sleep with us and the rabbits...wherever they sleep.”

“Lew, I know you don’t like children but-”

Lew holds up Toto, who tilts her head. “But look at her! Yeah, you’re a good girl aren’t you? Daddy's little girl!”

“You love Louie-”

“Yeah, cause he’s not mine. He’s a nice kid. But children, especially teenagers, are the devils of this earth. You need to fear them, pay for them, do all kinds of stuff. With dog’s it’s easier.”

“I love our animals, but just one or two. We have so much space in the house. Help out a child who needs it. I know you don’t wanna admit it, but your great with kids-”

“Not my own. I don’t even know my own daughter. Kathy got married to some damn twink. How the hell do you think I’d be a good father?”

Dick gives him that *insert pouty emoji* look. “Just think about, Lew.”

So Lew actually thinks about. He walks around the house, feeling and seeing the quietness. They do have thousands of empty rooms and a little too much freetime on their hands. Plus, Lew hates the puppy eye stare Dick gives him.

[ren1327]

Sweater Weather ch.3

Emerald Isle was covered in moss and rocks where they docked, the rocks and sand giving way to grassy hills and a dense forest of pine trees and shrubs where the side of a large house peeked out from behind them.

Owen took their bags after he had tied off the boat, Kenji leading Ben up some wooden stairs and on a brick path through the trees.

“Wow.” Ben said. “It smells amazing out here.”

“Smells amazing?” Kenji asked, glancing at Ben.

“Well, I…I haven’t been around real pine. It’s either been a candle or something already dying slowly for the sake of a holiday.” Ben said, shrugging at the end.

“Oh…I never thought of it like that…not a lot of traditional pine trees in Cali.” Kenji said. “You probably haven’t even seen snow.”

“No. And the funny thing is, my parents are, well, were, Seattle natives. I’ve lived in Texas and California my whole life. I’ve always wanted to come here. We planned to when my mom got better but…”

Ben’s smile fell and he looked at the trees in pain, closing his eyes for a moment. Kenji looked around to see Owen making his way up the path towards them. He grabbed Ben’s hand and led him along.

“Uh…M-My Dad likes the trees and we even have an orchard in the back. I think we have apples, peaches, almonds and a pomegranate tree in the green house.” Kenji said. “In summer, I bring back so much fruit from here.”

“That actually sounds great.” Ben said with a smile. “Smoothies galore.”

“Mom loves her trees and uses them for teas and jams, so…indulge her for me?” He asked. “She hasn’t really…nailed the flavor…”

Ben chuckled and hugged his arm as Owen got closer.

“Got it, Honey.” Ben said and Kenji nearly tripped.

“On your left, Lovebirds!” Owen called and walked past them with their bags.

“W-What?” Kenji asked once Owen was out of earshot. “Why did you…what was that?”

“A pet name?” Ben asked, raising a brow. “What would you call me?”

“Ben…ny?”

“No. Something else.” Ben said quickly.

“Babe?”

“That’ll do.” He said.

They continued to walk up the path, then stopped, Kenji noticing Ben staring at the house as they came up to it.

It looked like a Californian lake house; wooden with large glass windows and a balcony with a sturdy awning, a fire pit on the second floor awning, wooden steps leading down to another area where there was sand going into the dark blue water, a huge porch and yard and so many trees around it, as if hidden.

“Is that a lighthouse?!” Ben yelled when he looked up the hill.

“Yeah. Just in case.” Kenji said and Ben looked up at the regal looking stone structure.

“C…Can we go up it?”

“Yeah, sure. We can explore tomorrow though. Parents and sister.” He reminded Ben, who nodded, but let his eyes linger on the lighthouse a few seconds longer.

Kenji led Ben to the porch and knocked on the door despite Owen walking in a few seconds earlier.

A short, plump Mexican woman opened the door and cried out excitedly, scooping Kenji into her arms and despite being a full foot shorter than him, lifted him up and spun around.

“Mom!” He squawked and blushed. “Not in front of Ben!”

She dropped Kenji, who staggered before standing straight. He cleared his throat.

“Mom. This is Ben. Ben, this is my mother, Candela Kon.”

“Oh, baby, you can call me Candy!” She said and hugged Ben in her soft warm arms, Ben getting a whiff of cocoa butter and vanilla.

Candy, indeed.

She had the same golden skin and dark hair Kenji had. But hers was curly and in lose spirals that was tied back into a high ponytail with a white velvet scrunchy. She wore a thick red tunic over brown yoga pants and furred boot slippers. She had on tinted lip balm Ben often used on interviews and…

“It’s great to finally meet you!” Ben said, smiling brightly when she put him down.

“Oh? Has Kenji told you anything about me?”

“He may have mentioned gardening and teas.” Ben said. “Of which I am eager to see and taste.”

Candy giggled and elbowed Kenji. “You got yourself a keeper, Mijo.”

Kenji let out a huff but smiled regardless.

“Your Father is on a call right now, but I know someone in the sunroom who would be sooooo excited to see you!”

Kenji grinned and sped past her.

“Son?” She called.

“Yeah?”

“Your boyfriend?” She asked.

Kenji sped back and took Ben’s hand. “Right, sorry Babe.”

“It’s Carmen, I get it.” Ben said dismissively, noting how Candy beamed at Ben’s reaction.

“Aw, you’re still a doting brother!” Candy teased.

“I think it’s cute.” Ben said and Kenji smiled at him.

“Ready to meet the most important lady in my life excluding my mother?”

“Good save.” Ben teased and Kenji chuckled, leading him past a large sitting area with a plush red sofa set and armchairs around a curved tv and sound system mounted on the wall and a fireplace to the left, burning away fragrant wood.

They walked down a wide hallway, the walls decorated with family pictures and photos of the ocean and various sights around the island and Seattle itself.

“You guys really like Seattle.” Ben said.

“It might be a little farther, but Dad has an office building there and a condo where Mom and Carmen chill during summer weekends. We used to live in Cali, but after I left, I guess they relocated to Washington for good. Especially after the bullying…”

“It’s amazing. What parents will do for their children.” Ben said softly.

Kenji paused outside a door and closed his eyes before sighing. “Yeah. It is.”

He opened a white door with a large glass panel with a soft gauzy white curtain with reflective green sequins stitched in them in patterns that looked like ivy or vines on the inside. The walls of the room were a light minty green with metal work on the walls of sunflowers, daisies and chrysanthemums. Two walls had large windows that opened inwards to let in the cold air, another fireplace sheltered from the breeze and with a low back black cushioned wide bench with thick legs looked to be made from bleached driftwood before it. Most of the furniture looked to be made from sturdy carved driftwood, pale gray cushions and blankets on it, along with a basket piled high with furry or fleece throws and a few bookshelf cabinets with thick glass sheltering the treasures inside.

But before the fireplace on the wide bedlike bench, with green led light cat eared headphones over her head and staring at her switch as she played what Ben noticed was Stardew Valley, was Kenji’s treasure.

She was also plump and short like her mother, with her big brown lashed eyes and full lips. Her skin was very pale and her waist length black hair pin straight. Her hair was dyed green about five inches from her scalp and in two high pigtails. And her lips were chapped from how she was biting them.

She wore blue jean capris despite the cold weather, a black t-shirt and red and pink socks with a pink cartoon lion and a thick looking sword on them. She laid on her stomach and Ben saw her phone was on a podcast; episode 68 of King Falls Am, so she couldn’t hear Kenji go behind her.

Kenji poked the small of her back, causing her to scream and pull her switch to her chest, kicking out as she rolled over.

“If I die in the mines, I’m so gonna…Ji?” She looked down at her game to pause it and place on the back of the bench as she jumped up and ran around to hug her older brother.

“You did come!” She squealed.

“I did!” Kenji yelled back happily. “I missed you so much!”

“Dad said you would be coming, and I was so excited because I thought you were still in India. How was it? Did you eat a lot of spicy food? Did you pet an elephant?”

“Uh, I kinda just bummed around a camp, kiddo.” Kenji said. “I was…I wasn’t in a really good headspace…”

“Oh. I get it.” She said softly and rubbed her arm, then noticed Ben.

“Hi, Carmen.” Ben said nervously.

“Hi?” She asked.

“Oh, Carmen, this is Ben. He’s my…my boyfriend.” Kenji said.

Carmen looked from Ben to Kenji and back.

“Oh, no, he’s way too good looking for you.” She said, shaking her head.

“Hey!” Kenji yelled.

Ben watched them bicker for a bit and smiled as Kenji pulled his sister close and started giving the smaller Kon sibling a noogie. He reached into his book bag and quickly plucked a receipt out of a bag, holding it out to them.

“Kenji?” He called and they both paused, Kenji grinning when he saw the black bag.

“We found something you might like.” Kenji said and took the bag, giving it to Carmen.

She reached in and pulled out a small Miles Morales plush gasping and hugging it to her chest.

“Oh, my gosh! I love him! How did you know?”

“It was mostly Ben.” Kenji said. “He made me watch the movie and I saw your snapchat posts and we saw it, so…”

She hugged Kenji, then Ben. “Thank you guys so much! I’ve asked Owen to keep an eye out and I’d pay him back, but he never understands what I mean!”

She smiled and hugged the plush again.

“Kenji, get in here!” She said, picking up her phone to take a picture with him. “Ben, you too!”

Ben awkwardly stood next to Kenji, who threw an arm around his waist as Carmen held up the plush and snapped a picture, Ben happy he smiled at the last second, not looking too awkward.

“Um…can I post that Ben’s your boyfriend?” Carmen asked, lowering her phone to look at her brother. “She…She kinda follows me still.”

“Yeah.” Kenji said. “Go ahead.”

“Ben?” She looked at him.

“I’m out and good. Go ahead.” He said, waving his hand.

“Okay. Annnnnd…post!” She said and smiled at the picture. Her smile fell and she touched under her chin.

“Carmen?” Ben asked.

“Oh!” She blinked and smiled. “So um…was the flight alright?”

“Yeah. Hey…” Kenji hugged her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I am. I promise. I start my new school after break so, that’s fun.” She said.

“New schools are fun.” Ben said. “I had to start a new school too.”

“Oh. Why?” Carmen asked.

“…I was bullied. Really bad. Like, I could’ve died from an asthma attack bad.”

“What?” Carmen squawked.

“I was left outside overnight with my hands tied. I couldn’t get to my inhaler while I was panicking.” Ben said, looking at the floor. “No one really knew I had asthma. Inhalers cost like…six hundred dollars. And my bullies…I was scared they would take it or use it as ammunition.”

Carmen hugged Ben tight.

“You’re okay, right?” She asked, voice wobbly. “Like…now?”

“Yeah. My mom moved us to San Antonio where I met the coolest people and even moved to California with them. They’re going to move back again, so…I guess I’ll just find my own way from there.”

“You could move in with Kenji!” She said. “Since you’re boyfriends and all!”

“Uh, I think he wants to go back to Texas though, kiddo. That’s where he wants to set up shop.” Kenji said awkwardly.

“Long distance sucks!” Carmen huffed. “And besides! You can move into our old neighborhood when I was a baby!”

She turned to Ben. “We moved to Cali when I was like, six. And now…”

“Washington is really pretty.” Ben said with a tilt of his head.

“And I get to have so many cute raincoats and boots!” She said excitedly.

“Carmen hates the sun.” Kenji said.

“If you live in Texas, we can visit you as much as we want with Daddy’s plane!” She said. “And then you guys can come see us when summer gets too unbearable.”

Ben smiled.

“Any excuse to see you, Carmen.” He said. “You’re really cool for a high schooler.”

She blushed and smiled. “Thanks. I um…thanks.”

There was a knock on the doorframe and Ben felt his face heat when he saw the man.

“Hello.” He said, looking at Ben. “We have yet to meet. I am Kenji’s father, Kosei.”

He held out a hand and when Ben shook it, in engulfed his own smaller one in a warm, strong grip.

The man looked just like Kenji, save lighter hair with streaks of gray and a close trimmed beard. Ben would say he looked like a neater version of his favorite Overwatch character.

“Ben Pincus.” He said softly.

Kosei made a puzzled face. “Pincus? I feel like I know that name.”

Ben shrugged a bit, noting how the man had released his hand.

“Welcome to our home, Ben.” He said and smiled warmly, Ben blushing harder.

Kenji blinked. And paled when he saw how pink Ben’s blush was.

‘…left overnight with my hands tied…’

He remembered something he had long buried away.

“Fuck.” He said out loud.

[patchwork-panda]

If A Moment is All We Are (19/?)

AO3 link: HERE

My eyes widened.

“What the—?”

“Kusunoki—!!”

Dazai grabbed me and threw his arm and part of his trench coat over my head, forcing me to duck as another explosion rocked the streets. I heard a sound like shattering glass; screams erupted all around us and people on the street began to run. Startled, I threw Dazai’s arm off and looked back up to see that another row of tinted windows, this time much closer to the bottom floor, had been broken in the second explosion. Shards of grayish glass were raining down all around us, crashing onto the sidewalk, showering people in broken glass—

People were getting hurt...

“Are you okay?” Dazai demanded, searching me for any signs of injury, his brown eyes darting about.

“Yeah, but—!”

We ducked and covered our heads again as another round of explosions went off. Somebody running past me tripped and fell and without thinking, I pushed Dazai away and ran to her. As I helped her to her feet, I could feel the pull of my Ability, but it was weak, so weak that the woman’s grip on my arm was stronger than the tug of my Ability. During the serial kidnapping case, I noticed that it was getting easier to keep my Ability from activating on its own. Maybe if I kept trying to turn it on and off while out on jobs, I could practice getting it under control... and I could keep civilians from getting hurt along the way.

As soon as the girl was on her feet again, I took one look at the damaged building,  at the stream of people running out of the lobby and bolted towards them.

“Kusunoki!!”

I could hear Dazai shouting for me but I kept going, shielding my head with my bag as I ran.

“Where are you going?!”

“To help!” I yelled back.

Just ahead of me, lying on the ground, was a skinny man with a briefcase; he looked like he was searching for something, like the pair of cracked glasses lying almost a full meter away from him. I scooped up the glasses as I ran and handed them to him as I stopped at his side, pulling him to his feet and ignoring the glass that kept falling from the sky, even as a piece sliced down across the back of my hand. As he got up, he stumbled slightly, gripping my hands a little longer and a little more tightly as he regained his balance.

Once again, I felt the pull as “The Story of Your Life” tried to activate and once again, I pushed my Ability down, even as the prolonged physical contact threatened to pull me into a vision. Luckily, the man let go just as I started feeling the strain and I went to the next person I saw. This continued for some time, on and on—grabbing people, pulling them out of harm’s way, ducking around falling glass and debris—until I started wondering if my physical stamina was depleting faster than my mental stamina.

And then I felt someone tugging at my jacket. It was a little girl and she was crying so hard I couldn’t understand a word she said; but as I went along with her to the side of the road, I saw a woman who could only be her mother leaning against a nearby tree. There was a large shard of glass sticking out of the woman’s bloodied leg and it looked like she was having trouble standing.

Checking my surroundings to make sure that no more bombs were going off and no more glass was coming down on us, I grabbed one of the woman’s arms and heaved it over my shoulder, shifting my bag to the side so that she could lean on me. I was about to start walking towards the nearest open doorway when I felt the little girl grab onto my free hand.

Throb.

I faltered and the woman slipped a little off my shoulder. When she looked at me in concern, I merely smiled and hoped my expression didn’t look too strained.

“I’m fine,” I lied, ignoring the dull ache inside my skull. “Let’s keep going.”

Both the woman and the little girl nodded and as the girl’s grip around my fingers tightened, the throbbing sensation worsened until it felt like someone was physically squeezing my eyes; it really hurt. Gritting my teeth, I kept walking, trying my best to ignore the pain until we finally reached an open storefront. Thankfully, someone immediately came forward with a first-aid kit in hand to receive the woman. As the weight over my shoulders lifted and the little girl released my hand at last, I stepped away, thinking the pressure in my head would dissipate.

But it didn’t.

And there were still several people lying on the streets, with no clear sign emergency services would be here any time soon. I rubbed my eyes and steeled myself for the next rescue.

Members of the Armed Detective Agency protected the people of Yokohama. I was a member now. I had to help...

I took a single, small step, swayed a little, and pitched forward.

I must’ve been under more strain than I realized. My entire body suddenly felt like lead and I couldn’t even lift my arms to stop my fall. Suppressing my Ability over and over again like that had drained me but the adrenaline had kept me from noticing how weak I really was until the little girl grabbed my hand. It seemed suppressing my Ability while I was in physical contact with two people at once had finally done me in.

And now my mistake was going to land me in the infirmary again.

Some Agency Member I turned out to be...

I watched helplessly as the street—a solid gray block of asphalt dusted in glittering glass shards—rushed up to meet me.

But before I could hit the ground, someone abruptly seized me by the arms and stopped my descent.

Head spinning, I turned to see Dazai at my side, his shaggy brown hair mussed and his face streaked with dust.

“And they call me a suicide maniac,” he said, his amber eyes glittering as he set me back on my feet. “You ever wonder if you have a hero complex, Kusunoki-kun?”

“Dazai-san...?” I mumbled hazily as his face swam before me. “Where did you come from...?”

Dazai smiled.

“I sensed a beautiful lady in trouble, so naturally, I came running,” he whispered, bringing one half-bandaged hand up towards my face.

“Hold still for me...”

He gently placed his hand on my cheek and the instant his skin met mine, the dizziness stopped. A wave of physical relief washed over me and as the pain slowly faded away, I closed my eyes, relaxing into his touch.

“Ah...”

Dazai’s hand was so big and so warm... There was something pleasant, almost intoxicating, about the instant relief that came with his touch and I could feel my entire body warming from the heat of Dazai’s lightly callused palm against my skin. I breathed in the scent of coffee and dust and aftershave and as he lightly brushed his thumb across my cheek, I slowly brought my hand up towards his.

This feels so nice...

But just as my fingers brushed against his hand, Dazai abruptly pulled away. Startled, I opened my eyes to see the bandaged detective standing before me with his hands in his pockets and an unreadable expression in his tawny brown eyes.

“Dazai-san...?”

“Looks like you’re all better!” he chirped, grinning so cheerfully that for a split second, I thought I had imagined the whole thing. “Let’s take you back to the Agency so that you can rest and recover. The Military Police can handle things from here.”

Still smiling, Dazai took my bag off the ground, threw it over his shoulder and turned away, his sand-colored coat billowing in his wake as he departed. As the distance between us slowly grew, I found myself staring at his bandaged forearms and the hands he was now keeping hidden deep within his pockets.

What... What just happened...?

For a moment, I just stood there, motionless and silent, watching him walk further and further away from me with my bag hanging over his shoulder until I abruptly remembered that I was supposed to go with him.

I shook myself and ran to catch up.

But as I reached out to take back my bag, I was struck by a sudden, irrational thought: what would happen if I grabbed Dazai’s arm instead?

Without realizing what I was doing, I let my hand drop towards his coat pocket.

Right then, Dazai glanced over his shoulder. His eyes widened for just a fraction of a second and one eyebrow rose up into his bangs. I drew back my hand at once but it was too late—those shrewd brown eyes had seen everything and as Dazai stopped walking and turned to face me, I saw a very familiar smirk on his face.

“What’s this, Kusunoki-kun?” he asked, bringing his hand up to his mouth, his eyes widening in mock-surprise. “Were you trying to pick my pocket? Did you want another coffee that badly? I can buy you a real one as an apology but you’re going to have to ask very nicely first...”

“What?! No!” I sputtered, clutching my hands to my chest. “That’s not it! I just wanted my bag back—”

“But you were reaching for my pocket just now!” Dazai pointed out, wrapping his bandaged arms around his coat defensively. “I saw you.”

“I wasn’t reaching for your wallet!” I protested. “I wanted—”

“To hold hands?” Dazai teased, bending forwards so that his face was level with mine. I opened my mouth to speak but for some reason, no words came out.

Dazai grinned.

“Just kidding.”

Before I could say a word, he draped my bag over my shoulders and straightened back up.

“But seriously, though Kusunoki-kun,” Dazai said, his amiable expression suddenly changing into something very serious. “You should never try to reach for my wallet, under any circumstance. Okay? Nod if you understand me.”

I nodded.

“W-why? What’s in your wallet?”

“The answer is...” Dazai whispered, beckoning me closer so that I could hear him better. Heart pounding, I leaned in as he cupped my ear with one hand and spoke into it.

“Nothing.”

I blinked, then pulled back and squinted at him.

“I’m sorry. What?”

“Like I said,” Dazai whispered, still using that low, conspiratorial tone, “My wallet is empty. Which brings me to my next point...”

Taking both my hands in his and holding them so that my fingers were very close to his lips, he grinned flirtatiously at me and angled himself so that the light hit his eyes just right.

“Could you lend me some money for the train? I spent all of mine on that joke coffee this morning.”

***

“Kusunoki—?”

The set of binders that were balanced so perfectly in Kunikida’s hands crashed to the floor and I winced, my hand still on the doorknob, as papers scattered everywhere, blanketing the green tiles in layers of white and manila-yellow. I looked up at Kunikida’s shocked expression and tried to put a smile on my face.

“G-good morning, Kunikida-san.”

I had been trying to sneak back into the Agency office unnoticed, knowing that if anyone saw me in my battered state (clothes all dirty, very clearly sweaty and exhausted), I’d be whisked off to the Infirmary to be examined and potentially buzz-sawed in half by Dr. Yosano. After hearing Tanizaki Junichiro tell me about his latest “surgery,” I didn’t particularly feel like being caught and “treated” by the good doctor...

But besides that, I really didn’t want to trouble anyone, and I especially didn’t want Kunikida to see me looking so disheveled. Not only would he worry, he’d probably think I was being gross and unprofessional and I wanted him to think of me as more than just the filthy shut-in the Agency was begrudgingly training. On top of that, I had a strong recollection of Kunikida liking well-groomed women; if I wanted to check that particular box in his list of fifty-eight requirements for a potential girlfriend, I needed to make sure he didn’t see me like this.

I had it all planned out. I was going to go to my locker, grab a change of clothes, and run out to the women’s bathroom to wash up before anyone could see me. Dazai had dashed into the men’s room the first chance he got, meaning there should’ve been nobody around to mess up my plan...

I’d put both hands on the door, slowly turned the knob and carefully stepped into the room—only to see Kunikida standing directly on the other side.

Plan ruined.

Lips twitching into a nervous smile, my fingers still wrapped tightly around the doorknob, I bowed awkwardly and took a tiny step back.

“Please excuse me...” I mumbled quietly, retreating back out into the hallway and pulling the door closed.

But before I got the door completely closed, Kunikida’s hand shot out and wrapped itself around the edge of the door. I looked up to see him towering over me with a thick vein pulsating on his temple and a steely glint in his gray-green eyes.

“Kusunoki-kun...” he said quietly. “What is that glittery dust on your clothes? Is that glass? I thought you and Dazai were just going downtown to meet a client.”

“We were!” I exclaimed, letting go of the doorknob and backing out into the hallway. “And we did! Everything went really well, actually...”

“Then why,” Kunikida pointed out, “Do you have a cut on the back of your hand?”

I froze.

I glanced down. There, stretching across the back of my left hand, was a very wide cut, one that started at the area below my pinkie and ended very close to my index finger. There was a little bit of glass dust still stuck to the wound and as I stared at it, a tiny droplet of blood squeezed out and dripped down my hand.

I must’ve been so full of adrenaline that I hadn’t noticed...

I felt the smile on my face falter.

“It’s a funny story, actually...” I chuckled weakly, tugging my jacket sleeve over my hand.

Kunikida raised an eyebrow.

“Is that so?”

Without warning, he seized my wrist.

“K-Kunikida-san?!” I yelped, instantly flushing as he stepped out into the hallway with me and dragged me towards the infirmary.

I couldn’t tug myself free; he’d grabbed me over the jacket sleeve and he had a very tight grip.

“What are you doing—?!”

“My schedule is rather light this morning,” Kunikida said, seemingly oblivious to the redness of my face or the flustered panic in my voice. “And I happen to have a few minutes to spare. You seem to be injured but Yosano-sensei is out right now, so why don’t I show you where the first aid kit is?”

Turning slightly, he shot a stern look over his shoulder at me and I actually flinched.

“In the meantime, I’d like to hear that funny story of yours.”

***

“I see.”

Kunikida sighed.

There was an audible click as he closed the medicine cabinet door and turned to face me, first aid kit in hand. Turns out, there were actually three first-aid kits located throughout the Armed Detective Agency offices but two of the three were hidden from everyone except Yosano so that Dazai couldn’t steal the bandages inside. The one that Kunikida was holding—the one that wasn’t hidden—was located just inside the first medicine cabinet nearest the door in the infirmary.

Kunikida pulled up a couple of chairs and gestured at the one closer to me.

“Sit.”

I sat.

If the Agency ever suspected me of turning traitor and had to choose someone to interrogate me, they’d have to look no further than Kunikida Doppo. Overly flustered and half-overheated from blushing so hard, I’d ended up spilling everything before Kunikida could even close the infirmary door. It wasn’t that he was particularly good at questioning people (he was actually rather polite, if not authoritatively stern the way any school teacher might be). It was more a matter of my guilt.

I didn’t want to keep any more secrets from him. The fact that I knew about his “Spousal Plan Project” and had nearly memorized a third of the fifty-eight requirements Kunikida had for his future wife was weighing on me, among other things... It felt too much like lying, even if I did have the best of intentions... I did, however, decide not to tell him about Dazai pranking me this morning. If there was one thing Kunikida definitely didn’t need to know, it was the fact that I might actually be a gullible idiot...

I watched Kunikida settle down in the chair opposite me and open the first-aid kit on his lap. He put on a pair of blue nitrile gloves.

“Hold out your hand.”

I blinked.

“Sure?”

As requested, I held out my injured hand, palm side down so that the cut on the back of my hand was more visible. It was definitely clotting and it honestly didn’t look that bad to me but the instant he saw it up close, Kunikida frowned. He turned the lamp on the counter on and brought it forward, adjusting it so that the brightest part of the light fell directly on my hand.

“Looks pretty clean,” he said. “Just a moment.”

He set the first aid kit down next to the lamp and went to open a drawer in the desk. I heard the subtle clinking of instruments and glass and watched quietly as Kunikida pulled out a couple balls of cotton, a thin pair of metal tweezers and a small clear bottle from a nearby drawer. He unscrewed the cap and as he poured some of the colorless liquid onto the cotton ball, the sharp, unmistakable smell of alcohol filled the room.

“I apologize,” Kunikida mumbled. “I’m not as good at this as Yosano-sensei is, but I promise to do my best. It’s lucky your cut doesn’t seem too deep.”

He picked up the alcohol-soaked cotton ball with the tweezers and turned back towards me. His gaze focused solely on my cut, Kunikida took my hand, gripping my fingers tightly in his and pulled me a little bit closer.

I felt my breath still in my lungs.

“This might sting a little,” Kunikida cautioned, picking up the cotton ball with a pair of tweezers and holding it up to my cut.

I thought I felt him squeeze my hand.

“Hold still, please...”

I was so distracted by the fact that Kunikida—handsome, tall, broad-shouldered Kunikida—the man I admired more than any of the other detectives in the Agency—was holding my hand so tightly (if only he didn’t have to wear gloves!) that I almost didn’t feel the burn of the alcohol against my open wound.

Almost.

I let out a sharp hiss of pain as the sting of the alcohol finally registered and it was all I could do not to squirm as Kunikida carefully dabbed at my cut. The metal tweezers in his hand flashed brightly in the lamplight as he painstakingly wiped away every trace of dirt and debris with soft, gentle strokes.

“You’re a very caring person, aren’t you, Kusunoki-kun?”

I flushed.

No, you’re the caring one! I wanted to say but the only thing that came out of my mouth was a barely audible squeak.

“Huh?”

“There was an explosion. Part of a building went up in smoke behind you,” Kunikida continued, still dabbing at my cut, “And the first thing you did when you realized the people around you were in danger was to run back so you could help. That was very admirable of you.”

Kunikida was praising me...?

I didn’t know my face could burn any hotter but it did.

“N-not at all,” I mumbled, looking away. “I was just trying to help.”

I really hoped my palm wasn’t too sweaty.

“I’m sure you did,” Kunikida said, “but I’d like to remind you that it is not our job to do those sorts of things. Those matters are best left to the Military Police and citywide emergency services. We may assist the city and government when requested to but ultimately, we’re just a detective agency composed of ordinary citizens. Many of us may be Gifted, but that’s all the more reason to exercise responsibility when it comes to the usage of our powers, especially in a crisis. I’m sure you’ve heard some incredible rumors about us and I will admit, half of those are likely true, but...”

He set down the tweezers.

“We aren’t heroes. Not by a long shot.”

Kunikida’s deep voice suddenly sounded strained. His grip tightened around my fingers, so much so that it almost hurt and I looked up to see Kunikida staring at something beyond the floorboards, with something resembling pain reflected in the muted hues of his gray-green eyes.

“Kunikida-san...?”

“Ranpo-san told me everything,” he said quietly. “I know what happened when you used your Ability on him.”

I sucked in a breath.

“He... he told me he asked you to do something specific... and then your eyes started bleeding.”

Kunikida looked up at me then and I felt something constrict around my heart the instant his eyes met mine.

“Kusunoki-kun... Why didn’t you tell me...?”

I couldn’t stand it—I couldn’t stand seeing him like this.

“I’m really sorry!” I whispered, bending so far forward over my arm that my bangs fell over my face. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just didn’t want to add to your worries. You’ve got enough on your plate as it is and I’m sure work stresses you out as well...”

“Kusunoki-kun...”

Kunikida sighed.

“I thank you for your concern, but do you want to know why I was worried?”

He looked away from me and started rummaging around in the first aid kit.

“It’s because you’re too reckless. Remember when you were working the serial killer case with me and you ran off on your own to go find the murderer? Or back at the art gallery, when you came back to help me and ended up flying out the window and breaking your neck?”

I nodded timidly.

“I’ve noticed,” Kunikida admitted, “that you have a tendency to put the interests of others before your own. A noble sentiment in some contexts, but in others, this line of thinking can be rather... self-destructive. I know your heart is in the right place but I would rest easier if I knew you were taking proper care of yourself.”

His eyes flicked quickly from my cut to the bandages in his hand and he put a few of them back in the box.

“It’s good that you have better control of your Ability now but I’d still like you to remain cautious until you’ve fully mastered it, so that you don’t overdo it again. This time it was just a scratch but what about next time? What if you injure yourself while no one is around?”

He looked at me pointedly and paused for a moment to let his words sink in.

I sighed.

“I... I’m sorry...”

“I’ll admit you’re tough, Kusunoki-kun. Tougher than you look. But you’re also smart. You’re the kind of person who should be able to avoid becoming injured unnecessarily.”

I heard a soft ripping sound and watched as Kunikida placed a large, thin band-aid over my freshly cleaned cut. He smoothed out the fabric with a soft brush of his thumb and leaned forward. I thought I felt him lightly squeezing my hand.

“I want you to promise me you’re going to take better care of yourself in the future,” he said, looking directly into my eyes. “Can you do that?”

Why was it so hard to breathe when he looks directly at me like this?

Kunikida’s sage-green irises flashed sternly behind the thin, rectangular frames of his glasses and the corner of his lips slowly curved down.

“Well?”

“Kunikida-san...”

I could hear my pulse beating rapidly in my ears, warmth flooding into my face and neck. Unable to look away from Kunikida’s handsome face, I finally nodded.

“Good.”

He let go of my hand at last and went to put away the first-aid kit. I could feel the disappointment welling up in the back of my mind as my hand grew slightly colder without his touch when Kunikida spoke again.

“Because I didn’t take on Akutagawa back at the art gallery only for you to go and hurt yourself again. Having one suicidal detective in our ranks is bad enough,” he muttered, looking irritated as his thoughts visibly drifted towards Dazai, “but if our newcomer needs to be looked after as well...”

“I won’t cause any more trouble for you in the future, Kunikida-san,” I said, standing and bowing again. “And I’ll do my best to become an upstanding member of the Agency. I promise.”

Closing the medicine cabinet door once more and discarding his blue nitrile gloves, Kunikida turned to me and smiled. I was so startled by the subtle softness of his expression that I almost didn’t hear his next words.

“You’re doing better than you think.”

I brought my fingers to my lips.

“Kunikida-san...”

Suddenly, the door flew open with an ear-splitting BANG and a terrified Atsushi burst into the room.

“KUNIKIDA-SAN-IT’S-AN-EMERGENCY!!” he shrieked, without taking a single breath. He paused to catch his breath and took a quick look around the room.

He blinked.

“Eh?”

As Atsushi looked from Kunikida, whose smile was now frozen on his face, to me, with my hands over my mouth and my face and ears burning a bright, embarrassed pink, his duochrome gold-and-purple eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” he gasped, instantly flushing red, “I didn’t mean to interrupt—!”

“And just what do you think you’re interrupting?!” Kunikida sputtered, flushing as well and causing me to blush even harder, “I just came in here to have a talk with Kusunoki—N-never mind! What’s the emergency?”

“Right!”

Atsushi stiffened and pointed almost robotically out the door in the direction of the main office.

“Somebody left a bunch of papers scattered all over the lobby floor. Dazai-san started picking them up and I thought he was going to put them away somewhere, but then he stuffed them all in the trash can and lit the trash can on fire—”

As if on cue, the smoke detector abruptly went off and Kunikida swore, loudly, and barreled out the door, screaming Dazai’s name as he ran. Atsushi and I exchanged a nervous glance and hurried after him. We arrived just in time to see Kunikida slamming Dazai to the ground in a classic judo move as Tanizaki Junichiro hurriedly doused the burning trash can in foam from the fire extinguisher.

No sooner was the fire out than Naomi tackled her brother so that there were now four people on the floor.

“Ahhh, Brother!”

I immediately averted my eyes as she started nuzzling him right there in the middle of the room.

“You’re so heroic~ Naomi wants to see this side of you even more now—”

“N-Naomi! Not here!”

“I... I think I’ll go get changed now,” I mumbled as Kunikida’s reprimands echoed throughout the room, intermingling with Dazai’s strangled yells and the Tanizaki siblings’ horrifying dialogue.

“D-Do you and Kyouka-chan want to head to the cafe for lunch after? I could really use some coffee...”

Atsushi nodded awkwardly and we parted ways, leaving the chaos of the Armed Detective Agency behind... for now.

[the-blind-assassin-12]

Core Drive - Clean: 1.03

A/N: Um... I really don’t know what happened. This is the single longest chapter that I have ever written. and I even cut some things for later use so it was supposed to be even longer but that’s crazy (And it took me forever and a day to get through because writing Logan in any amount of distress or pain is very difficult for me.) ANYWAY. There’s A LOT in here, but I think it’s all important so I hope you agree. Every few steps forward comes with a little bit of a backwards glance, right? 

Warning: this series will deal with drug use, depression, addiction, violence and other such topics. *please read responsibly*

Word Count: 9,030 (H O W?) 

“Shiiiiit.” 

Logan hissed the word, grimacing as sweat beaded on his forehead to run down his temples. The rest of the air in his lungs rushed out in a burst through his teeth, narrowed eyes focused as his shaking arms extended to a locked position. He could feel blisters peeling at the first few layers of his palms, lactic acid building up in his biceps. Shit. 

“C’mon man, you got two more, I know you got ‘em let’s go.” Miguel’s fingers hovered just beneath the bar, ready to catch it and keep it from crushing Logan’s chest should he slip and drop it. 

I’m not gonna drop it. Three months and four days in recovery had brought change and progress in spades. Medically, his body had snapped back like a rubber band, heart rate returning to a more normal pace with no signs of long term damage. He’d gained almost twenty pounds thanks to the return of his appetite, and he’d been sleeping better ever since he’d started opening up more in both group and private sessions. Mentally, he still had a long way to go, but he was resolved to get there. So don’t drop it.    

 “Two more, c’mon.” The younger man’s face came into view, upside down from Logan’s position on the cushioned black bench, his light brown eyes full of encouragement. As much as the constant support of the staff of counselors, nutritionists, trainers, therapists and techs had been instrumental in the growth Logan had been able to achieve, he knew that he wouldn’t have done so well so quickly without Miguel’s influence. From the very first night, all he’d done was offer a hand to help Logan pull himself up. Two more reps and he’d have a new personal best. That’s Miguel’s doing, too. Logan nodded. Two more. No problem.

Swallowing, Logan regripped the bar in his hands with a tight squeeze. He took in a breath and slowly bent his elbows, controlling the motion of the weights until the angle of his arms reached 90 degrees. The burn that spread through his muscles was an entirely different kind of pain from what he’d experienced in the desert- determined, not destructive- and he welcomed it. Pushing hard, he brought the bar back up, letting out another hiss of breath followed by a grunting growl as he locked his arms out again. 

“One last one man, you got this, you got to dig, c’mon now.”  

Dig. That’s what it was all about. Digging just that fraction deeper, pushing just further than the previous day. Logan had been excavating the surface layers, exploring and sharing and exposing more of himself than he ever had. It hadn’t been easy, but it hadn’t been nearly as raw or impossible as he thought it might be. It was time to dig a little deeper, he knew, time to get closer to the roots. He had a one-on-one with Zeke later that afternoon, and he’d been thinking more and more about the question he’d still been unable to answer: What was his goal for recovery? What did he want? It’s gotta be… I’ve gotta be close. Just gotta dig. 

He fought through the last press, gritting his teeth as he hit the climax of the lift. Miguel swiftly relieved him of the bar, setting it noisily into the rack above the bench as Logan carefully sat up. “Nice fuckin’ work, man, you crushed it.” Arms aching, chest and shoulders heaving with labored breaths, Logan let a tired smile curve up his cheeks, allowing himself a moment of triumph. I did. A burst of sound, almost a laugh, came from his mouth then as a light feeling filled his heart and head. I didn’t drop it. “You really been killin it, man,” Miguel waited for Logan to stand before smacking him lightly with the back of one hand. “This stuff, yeah,” he waved at the weights and equipment that surrounded them, “but I mean with everything. Shit, what you talked about today?” Logan’s eyebrows flew up as Miguel nodded. “You’re gettin’ there, man.”   

Logan cleared his throat as the two men headed for the showers. He hadn’t wanted to work out after the morning’s group session had left him emotionally exhausted but Miguel had talked him into it, promising that he’d feel better afterwards. He was right. It was a heavy morning, and with what he had in mind to bring up to Zeke, it would be a heavy afternoon, too. But at least I know I’m stronger now. “Hey, Ortiz,” Logan jutted his chin out just as they were about to split up into separate stalls. He knocked on the wall twice with his knuckles. “Thanks. For spotting today.” He was thanking Miguel for more than his help in the gym, and Miguel knew it. 

He grinned, looking even younger than his 24 years. “You got it, brother.”

As Logan let the steam and warm water soothe his sore muscles, he thought back to the morning’s session and what he’d shared. Combing his wet hair back with his long fingers, he let the full memory surrounding Juliet’s wedding come back to him.

..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..      

Bright afternoon sunlight poured through the tinted panes of the towering stained glass window, painting the floor, the pews, and the faces of the people sitting in them in swaths of green and yellow and red. Thick lead piping cut through the glass to depict various saints and Biblical scenes throughout the church. Logan stared at the image of a snake, it’s scales a bright emerald in contrast to the ruby toned apple that it was curled around. It’s never just an apple. One garnet eye gleamed maliciously as the creature’s forked tongue flicked from between it’s fangs, suspended in a tempting dance to lure its prey. He tore his eyes from the glass, blinking before returning them to the front of the room. 

He sat in the fourth pew from the front. The first three had been adorned with elegant white ribbons, designating special seating for family members and those who would take part in the ceremony. The entire third row on their side was empty. Delos may have become a titanic name, but it was a small family. No room for me though. He recognized the back of his father’s head, visible between the necks of his cousins that were seated in the second row. Logan was more familiar with the palette of yellowish whites and peppery grays that ran through the sparse wisps of hair beneath and around the balding dome than he was with the man’s eyes. Easier to walk away when you don’t look back.  

As though you could feel the acidic sting in his chest through your joined palms, you squeezed his hand where it rested in his lap, your fingers woven through his in a show of support. He doesn’t matter though, not why I’m here. He returned your squeeze and tilted his chin down to look at you. You were facing straight ahead, focused on the couple seated up near the altar, but you turned to face him as he let out the stale breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Your eyes locked onto his immediately, full of compassion and strength and all of the things that he was missing but couldn’t muster up for himself. I don’t need him. I have her. 

Punctuating that point, you leaned into his side. You didn’t ask if he was alright because you knew that he wasn’t. “I’m right here, Logan,” You whispered low, only for him to hear. 

I know. He inhaled through his nose, eyes slipping closed as he nodded. I know you are. Pulling his hand free from yours, he wound his arm around your waist to grip your hip, turning to press a quick kiss to the crown of your head. There was no way that he would be there, sitting on that hard wooden bench if it weren’t for you being right there. Not after last night, not after what Jules said… what Willi- Logan swallowed, wincing. What he made her think. A friend of Juliet’s was reading a passage listing the attributes of love- patient, kind, without envy. He opened his eyes again, lips still buried in your hair. He knew that you loved him; you’d made it abundantly clear without ever speaking the word. I have nothing for her but she… The readings faded away, the previous night filling his mind instead…

“I’ll see you after the dinner.” Your voice in his ear and the promise of being able to crush your chest close to his sooner rather than later made him feel sturdier, more solid. “Just let me know when to head over, okay?” 

He licked his dry lips, pressing the phone to his ear. I wish you could come with me. You’d be there at the wedding tomorrow as his allotted plus one, but the non-existence of your relationship excluded you from an invitation to the rehearsal dinner. “Yeah.” As soon as I leave. “You remember the code? ‘Case I’m...in case you get there before me?” He’d never given anyone a key or a code, never trusted anyone to be inside his walls with or without him. I hope you get there before me. 

“I remember,” you assured him. Good. You paused before saying anything else, and when you did you couldn’t keep the concern from tinting your tone. “Logan?” Waiting another beat, his silence ensuring his attention, you continued. “It’s going to be… no matter what happens tonight, it’s going to be alright. You know that, right?” No. He cleared his throat but couldn’t form words. Is it? I don’t know. “Logan?” This time he hummed a response. “You’re doing the right thing. You’re trying to protect your sister. If she can’t… if your father can’t see that… I just,” You sighed. “You’re doing the right thing. And no matter what happens, I’ll… you have me. I need you to know that.”   

Your name came out with a breath as he combed the fingers of his free hand through his hair. I know… “I-” 

“Logan! Come on, we’re starting soon!” 

His sister’s call from the hallway cut him off and he swore under his breath. “Look, I have to go… get this shit over with, right?” He tried for sarcasm and fell about a mile short as you muttered a ‘right’ half-heartedly. “I’ll see you soon.” Not soon enough. 

He’d ended the call and gone out to appease Juliet, though he was uncertain as to why he needed to be there; after the desert some adjustments had been made to the wedding party and assigned readings, removing Logan from both. We just don’t want to make things too stressful for you. It’s only been two months and we don’t want to overwhelm you, Juliet had told him. Sure, we. Logan knew exactly who we was. 

The rehearsal was relatively quick, the wedding planner that had been hired buzzing diligently around, making sure that everything ran according to her strict schedule. Logan eyed his father from across the room as the woman took Juliet by the elbow, whisking her away to inspect some small detail. Jim took a sip of his beverage, leaning back casually in his chair as Logan stood to confront him. Last chance. He hadn’t had anything to drink, wanting to hold on to as much credibility as he could. It’s not even about me, it’s about Jules. I need him to believe me. She can’t... His eyes swept the room and found William, his whole body stiffening. She can’t marry that fucking monster. He’d waited until things had died down, until most of the guests had already left, before approaching his father to implore him one more time to hear what he was saying about the man he was so eager to welcome into their family. The man who tried to kill me. Logan had tried with Juliet, but his relationship with her was already on thin ice and each time he brought up his objections to her fiance that ice threatened to break. She won’t listen to me. But maybe she’ll listen to him.

He’d gone over what he wanted to say to his father, repeating it over and over until it was ingrained in his memory like a monologue. But he never got to deliver it. Halfway across the room he was stopped in his tracks, William’s blue eyes suddenly appearing as he stepped into Logan’s path. Get out of my way, asshole. 

“Logan.” 

He bristled at the malice that the other man covered with a sick grin, the same one he’d given him when he’d sent him off to die like a beast. Top lip curling, Logan ignored him, looking over William’s shoulder to keep his father in his sights. He was still in the same place, though now he was speaking with some staff member. Just need to talk to him before- 

“Aren’t you going to say hello, Logan?” 

He snapped his attention back to the man in front of him, sneering. Is he fucking serious? “Fuck off, I need to talk to my-” 

“Your father’s a little busy right now.” He tilted his head, shifting his weight and widening his smile. “Lots to do with the wedding tomorrow.” 

We’ll see about that, you son of a bitch. “You are not marrying my sister.” He growled low, nostrils flared and eyes wild as desperate anger spiked his bloodstream with gasoline, ready to ignite. He can fuck me over. He can fuck Jim over. But he’s not taking Juliet. He’s not taking Delos. “You get nothing, you piece of shit.” Not if I can help it.

William’s eyes narrowed. “But I already have everything, Logan.” He gave a slight shake to his head, sandy blond hair falling out of place. Why does he look so fuckin’ cocksure? Before he could say anything else, something cracked through William’s cold blue eyes like a fissure through an iceberg. He changed the tilt of his head by an almost imperceptible degree as he stepped closer. What the fuck is he- “Juliet is happy with me, Logan.” William smirked as he raised one hand to place it on Logan’s shoulder. “Don’t you care about your sister’s happiness?” 

Red hot disgust erupted into flames in Logan’s stomach the second William’s palm made contact. He reached across his body to shove the other man’s hand away as he gave a harsh shrug, top lip curled and eyes wild with hatred. “I don’t give a fuck if she’s happy, you crazy prick. All I fucking care about is getting her away from you, and I-” 

“If you don’t give a fuck,” His sister’s voice cut through the air to hit him like a dart from behind. Oh, shit. He could hear the way that she was trying to hide the hurt. He spun around to see her stepping through the open patio door, wiping at her eyes to stem the flow of mascara tinted tears.

“Jules, you know what I-” Logan sighed and reached for her as she walked past, but she drew her arm back in the exact motion that he’d used to escape William’s grasp, her top lip curling in the same way he knew that his own had. 

She dodged his hand, instead taking William’s as she came to stand by his side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder as she continued. “If you don’t give a fuck, Logan, then don’t come tomorrow.” Juliet’s eyes, just a half shade lighter than Logan’s and almost identical in shape, were focused on his lapel instead of his face. She won’t even look at me, she- He looked up and was met with William’s smug grin. Motherfucker. That frigid flash from before suddenly made sense as Logan realized that William had baited him to say something that would hurt Juliet, knowing that he was unaware that she’d been standing in the doorway.   

That was that. Juliet’s tears caught Jim’s attention, and Logan’s last chance to get his father to see the truth about his new son was gone. He’d been told to leave and had been given a stern warning about his behavior at the wedding, assuring him that tossing him from the event wasn’t off the table, that he should consider himself lucky to still be welcome. I’m not though. It hurt to know that he was only still on the guest list so as not to raise questions about why the bride’s brother was absent. But I have to...for Jules. He knew there wasn’t much of a relationship left to salvage there, but he wouldn’t just walk away from it, wouldn’t quit until he’d exhausted all of his options. 

Before he’d even set foot outside of his father’s house, his phone was in his hand, letting you know that he was on his way back to his place. You responded quickly, saying that you’d be there as soon as you could. Still numb from the way that his plan had backfired, the drive home seemed to fly by in a matter of seconds and before Logan realized it, he found himself walking into the cool water of the infinity pool. His palms cut through the calm surface as the floor sloped lower until he reached the clear acrylic barrier that separated him from plunging onto the beach dozens of stories below. He’d found himself out there more and more, the moonlight on the ocean and the breeze off the shore cooling the pool water enough to soothe the phantom burns that still tingled all over his body. The encounter with William had thrown a lit match into his mind, and he let out a shaky breath as he leaned his elbows on the pool’s edge. Burning and dousing, lighting and stomping out- there wasn’t much left but ash. Soon even that’ll be gone. 

The sound of rollers sliding along a track joined the crush and crash of waves as the patio door opened. She’s here. Logan turned his head, chin parallel to his shoulder as you slid the glass closed. From that angle all he could see were your ankles and calves, bare in the fading lavender light, but it was enough to make his breath catch. He watched as you rose on one foot, then the other, your muscles contracting as you elevated to your toes in order to remove your shoes. You bent to move them to the side, your hair falling down your back, one hand coming to sweep it up, gathering the long strands to pile them atop your head as you stood. Your shins replaced your calves in his view as you twisted and took a step towards the edge of the pool. Wordlessly, you crossed the white stone slab, shedding the loose-fitting coverup you had over your swimsuit before lowering yourself down to slip into the water in one smooth motion. 

Logan turned his eyes back to the breakers, frothy white over the slate blue sea, cresting and spilling over to beat against the hard packed sand, but they slid closed as the rippled surface licked at his back. The water, displaced by your movement, spread out in circles to extinguish the fires that still tore through him. Releasing a slow breath through his nose he allowed the relief to flood his system. You still hadn’t said anything when he felt your touch, palms cool and fingertips dripping as one pressed to his spine, the other starting near his left shoulder to travel down his bicep and into the bend in his elbow where it rested along the ledge. He sighed and swallowed as you inched closer, hips and chest and lips making contact, right hand sliding around his body to wrap him completely in your arms. You left another delicate kiss along the plane of his back before turning to lay your cheek there, flexing your arms as you did. 

“What happened?” Your voice was quiet, consistent with the gentle breeze that ruffled the palms, soft but unwavering. Logan looked down to see the fingers of your left hand curled around his wrist. 

She’s here, I have her. He brought his right hand through the water to cover yours, sandwiching your arm between his and his body as he squeezed lightly. “I tried to talk to my…” he winced, “to my father again but he...William, he,” Fuck. The smouldering coals of the fire cracked back to life, stoked by the utterance of the man’s name. Logan blew out a shaky breath, the cold, cruel look William had given him flashing through his mind. Your thumbs moving over his skin and your whispered assurances drew the rest of the words out of him. “He stopped me, he knew what I was doin’. Used Jules against me, he-” a sick feeling swam through his chest, encircling his heart like the tentacles of some creature hell bent on dragging him to the bottom of the sea.  Anger and frustration, hatred and hopelessness bubbled up to drown him. “He tricked me...” Again. The tide was changing, churning now as the moon climbed in the sky and pulled the waves up higher and harder to swallow the shoreline. I underestimated him… and now he’s taking everything. 

He thought at first it was just about proving a point for William; proving that he could play the game the way Logan wanted him to, that he wasn’t the sniveling little beige toned coward that Logan had him pegged as. But it quickly became apparent that it was about much more than that. William didn’t care what Logan thought of him. In fact, the character that he had created for himself had been designed to suit multiple purposes: presenting as a cautious, capable set of hands for James to pass Delos and its fortunes to, appealing to Juliet as a charming, reliable albeit quiet and passive gentleman, and combining both of those traits to ignite some of Logan’s more volatile and less desirable behaviors. There were no points to be made other than that Logan, like the rest of his family, had been fooled by this con man. Divide and conquer, start with the weakest link. 

“It’ll be my word against yours, Logan.” He sneered down from his saddle, the thick rope twisted twice around his fist. “When all of this is over, if you make it out-” 

Logan seethed silently up at him. Even his voice sounds different now. He never imagined that all of this was what William was keeping so tightly wrapped when he told the man that he wanted to see who he really was. They’d gone roughly eight miles in the sweltering heat without stopping and Logan was exhausted. It was the second day of this, hands bound, trailing behind the horse, stumbling every so often either over the terrain or due to an impatient tug from his captor. 

William took a long pull from his canteen before wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “If you make it out, who do you think they’re going to believe?” He cocked his head to the side, watching the way that Logan was eyeing the canteen. Lips curling into a devious grin, he handed it over, taking pleasure in the desperate way that Logan fumbled to relieve his thirst from the empty container. “You know, you really made this easy for me.” A slow spreading realization trickled through his tired, dehydrated brain. Shit. “You live so close to the edge that all you need is a little push,” he sighed and tilted his head in the other direction. “After a few days out here?” He gestured vaguely at the sweeping landscape with the hand that he’d wrapped the rope around, jerking Logan by the wrists and causing him to drop the canteen. “No one will believe a word you say.”

He was right, Logan knew it was true. He was the boy who cried wolf with risky investments and drug dependencies, crude, attention seeking behavior and seemingly unwarranted judgements against the kind, moral man that William had convinced everyone that he was. He’d fucked up ten too many times in their eyes. It didn’t matter that he’d more than made up for what he’d lost the company monetarily, or that he hadn’t used in almost a decade. His father had told him that he was hardwired to fail, but it seemed just as likely that it was a flaw on James’ end- that the man could only look at his son and see wasted potential, a junkie, scrutinizing him through a filtered lens that blocked out anything worth celebrating. He won’t listen. Juliet won’t either, not after... 

William tugged the rope again and clicked his tongue, giving the horse a kick. Logan’s arms were yanked sharply, straining at his shoulder joints as his feet hurried to catch up with the horse’s momentum. Sweat ran in dirty trails down the bridge of his nose, cheeks and forehead already starting to redden along with the back of his neck over the top of his collar. It was the most physical agony he’d ever been in, and he knew it was only going to get worse with every step he took. What the fuck did I do to deserve this? As though his body could spare the water, reluctant tears sprang from the corners of his dry eyes, rolling down his cheeks and into his beard. 

The second the first tear fell, your face filled his mind. “No one will believe a word you say”, William had told him through a pompous grin. Not no one… she will. He focused on the way you looked waking up tucked against his side as bright, clean light pushed through the cracks in the curtains, remembered the way you smiled against his lips as he kissed you. She will.  

It had been nearly two months to the day that he’d had that thought- that he’d have your support and yours alone- when he found himself standing at the edge of the pool, wrapped in your arms, telling you how again William had sabotaged him. I was right. But it was a bittersweet comfort because he knew that he had nothing right now to give you in return. You had never once asked for anything, and maybe that was why he wanted to give you things, wanted to give you more of himself than he’d ever given anyone. He was almost ready, before his trip, almost ready to give you all of his trust, all of his secrets, his dreams, all the parts of himself that no one cared to see. He was almost ready to let you love him, to tell you what he already knew that he felt. But now? He couldn’t tell you now. He wouldn’t heft that obligation on you now, not when he was already depending on you as a life raft. 

Before he could get too lost in what he couldn’t do, he felt your cheek and chin move against his back as you spoke. “We’ll do whatever you want to do, Logan.” You straightened up and laid your lips to his shoulder blade before maneuvering your body around him, fitting yourself between his chest and the ledge of the pool. He looked down at you through his lashes, his hands falling to your waist, yours landing on his chest and the side of his neck. “If you want to go, we’ll go. If you don’t, we won’t.” What? He hadn’t even considered not going. You pressed your hand against his heart and shook your head. “Whatever you want to do, Logan, I’ll be there with you. There’s no wrong answer, you just do what you need to do, what you feel is right for you, and it’ll be okay, I promise. Maybe not tomorrow, or right away but… ” He gripped you more tightly as you slid the hand on his neck around to toy with the longer strands of hair there. His eyes fell shut at your touch, but he opened them again as a sigh left his lungs.  “But you have me, Logan. So if that means you want to stand up and object tomorrow, I’ll stand up with you.” You would. You tilted your head to the side and in the silver light of the moon he watched your eyes gleam, watched a small smile brighten your features. His heart thudded hard and even as it beat against his ribs, your smile took some of the pain from it. “And if you end up getting pushed into a pool,” you rose on your toes to drag your lips from his cheek to his ear. “I’ll jump right in with you.” You will. 

A jolt of warmth spread through him as he ran both of his hands up your back, wet palms sliding over your smooth skin to get you as close as he could. He knew it was temporary, that feeling. It was real, and it was strong, and it amplified as you wove the arm that was trapped between your bodies under his to hold him more tightly, but he knew that it wasn’t enough to keep everything else at bay. But it’s enough for tonight. Logan brought one hand up to cradle the back of your head, fingers threading through your hair as he recalled the night he’d met you, wishing he could go back instead of forward into tomorrow. The tide swept even higher up the sand, foam reaching for the dunes, and he let the sound of the waves and the rise of your chest against his carry him into the memory.

..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..

“You’ll like Dana, Logan.” Doubtful, Jules. “And I think she’ll be good for you.” So, boring. Great. Juliet assured him that the friend of hers that she’d set him up with for a co-worker’s wedding was a “nice girl” that she could “see him with.” He sighed, fixing his hair in the mirror as she sat on the bench at the end of the bed to put her shoes on. He’d been working hard over the last few years to repair the shaky relationship he had with his sister, and he’d go out with as many of her painfully dull single friends as he needed to to make her happy. Just don’t expect any of ‘em to stick. 

Within minutes of meeting Dana he knew that he’d been right about her. She was attractive and friendly, had a kind smile and said all the right things. Boring as fuck. Not even halfway through the ceremony, Dana had her arm looped through Logan’s as he scanned the crowd looking for anything or anyone to distract him. That was when he saw you, your profile bathed in a purplish blue light from the stained glass that you sat beneath, a quirk to the set of your lips that told him that you wanted to be there just as much as he did. You must have felt the weight of his gaze because you turned your head and caught him looking, sending a smirk through the air before turning back to face the front, your hair bouncing in a soft bologna curl as it fell over your shoulder. Bingo. 

Logan’s attention snapped back up to the officiant as they asked those gathered if there was any reason that the couple should not engage in matrimony. Maybe because I fucked the bride last night? He snorted to himself, clearing his throat as Dana threw her eyes sidelong at him. The woman in white stood in front of the room clutching the hands of her intended, makeup professionally painted on to hide the hangover and regret. He couldn’t help but wonder how many guests at this wedding knew what she looked like under all that tulle and lace. His eyes flicked to the man she was pledging her undying love and loyalty to, nearly choking to keep another snort from interrupting the moment. And the groom two weeks ago. All around him hands dabbed at teary eyes and heads tilted at angles emoting warmth and adoration for the lovestruck pair. Eat it up, assholes. He smirked silently, enjoying the fact that he knew Mr. & Mrs. Whateverthefuck better than, better than she knows him, that’s for sure. He pulled his sleeve up to check his watch as they shared a screen worthy kiss to join their souls. Less than an hour until the open bar. Glancing around he noticed that everyone else had stood to applaud the newlyweds, and that he and the disturbingly geriatric grandfather of the bride were the only two who remained in their seats. He sighed and stood, smacking his palms together apathetically, Dana gripping his arm and grinning up at him in a way that sent up red flags.Thank fuck.  

Two drinks into the cocktail hour Logan caught your eye again as you picked up a drink at the bar. You smiled, swirling the straw in your glass before bringing it to your deep purple lips and taking a sip, eyes never leaving his until you turned back to the bar. Why doesn’t Jules have any friends like that? He sighed. He’d tried to care about literally anything that Dana had said, hoping that he’d be able to figure out why Juliet thought that the woman might be someone that he’d be interested in, but he realized that “she might be good for you” was just code for “she’ll keep you out of trouble.” At what cost though? He finished his drink and turned to Dana who was still talking about… something.. Sorry Jules, I can’t do another minute of this. 

“Dana?” She turned her face up hopefully. Shit. He preferred honesty and didn’t mind bluntness, but he hated when they didn’t see it coming.  “I uh,” he cleared his throat. Just rip the bandaid off. “Listen, you’re really nice, but I am bored as fuck. I’m gonna go get another drink, talk to people and…” he gestured with his hand, twirling his wrist as he watched you walk out through the billowing curtains of the french doors and onto the patio. And follow her. “You have fun, Dana, I’ll see you later.” He strode away before she could respond, but she didn’t seem the type to make a scene, surely another reason why Juliet was trying so hard to pawn her off on him. 

He’d grabbed another drink and headed in the direction that he’d seen you go, and after assuring you that Dana was just the result of a failed blind date and that she and he had gone their separate ways for the evening, you assured him that you could tell that was what was going on from a mile away. Smirking, you asked him if he wanted to take a walk, “to get away from all  the stiffs.” He couldn’t remember agreeing to anything more quickly, feeling a magnetic pull towards you that had been absolutely absent with Dana. Before he knew it, the two of you had walked the entirety of the grounds, just talking. Logan hadn’t even noticed when you’d reached the patio again, blinking at you when you stopped walking. 

“So,” you pushed a piece of hair back behind your ear, Logan’s eyes following your fingers before flitting to your face. You smiled and he felt his own lips quirk upwards. “Do we go back inside, or do we stay out here?” You looked out over the patio, the shimmering water of the swimming pool illuminated by candles and lanterns, too cold to swim but too scenic to cover up. 

Well we definitely don’t go back inside. “Back in there? You mean with all the stiffs?” He stepped closer to you, setting his empty glass down on a lounge table and you nodded. Your confident smirk fell only for a second, your breath catching as he placed his palms on your waist, closing the distance even more. You don’t want to go back in there. “Nah, I think we stay out here and-” 

And she is nothing like Dana.

At least that was the first thought he had after you’d taken him by surprise, capturing his lips in a kiss that tasted like whiskey and champagne. He’d wasted no time in kissing you back, biting loosely down on your berry toned bottom lip before pulling back with a low rumbling breath in his throat. “Yeah, I think so too, Logan.” You sat down on one of the lounges as nonchalantly as you’d kissed him, crossing your long legs and waiting for him to make a move. 

Removing his jacket, he straddled the end of the lounge, picking up your legs and setting them back down on his thigh, thumb running along the underside of your calf to pull a breathy sigh from your lips. He groaned to himself, imagining what other kinds of sounds he could get you to make, and what hearing them would do to him. The wedding went on inside, but you and Logan saw none of it, missing the toasts, the dances, the cake- all of it- in favor of sharing that cushion, some more conversation, and another kiss, this one more heated than the last, hands and hips getting involved in a way that was difficult to stop once it had started. 

Until Dana had made her way outside to find her date with his hands on your body and your tongue in his mouth. Apparently, Logan hadn’t been as explicit as he thought he was being when he’d told Dana that he was bored. “I thought you were just going to talk to some people you know, not, not…” her face scrunched up as she gestured at the two of you, cheeks going red with embarrassment and anger. “Not this!” He bristled at the implication that he’d done anything wrong by spending his time with you. 

“I told you I was bored, Dana.” She still seemed confused. Guess I have to make it simpler. “I get bored, I don’t stay bored.”

While it seemed that he finally got his point across, perhaps he’d gotten it across too well. Shocking Logan with the amount of expression on her plain, quiet little face, she launched herself at him, hands out in front of her, giving him only enough time to realize what was coming, not enough time to stop it. Oh, shit.  “Logan Delos, you are deplorable!”  

“Oh, shit!” He heard you exclaim through a laugh as you jumped aside, Dana’s palms contacting his shoulders and giving him a backwards shove to send him tumbling into the pool before spinning and practically running back inside. 

Logan sputtered as he popped up from the water, a string of choked curses coming from his lips as he coughed and found his footing to stand. Squinting his eyes, he wiped his face to dry it as much as possible, dragging his palm down over his dripping beard. He wanted to be mad, but as soon as he opened his eyes and saw you still standing there, laughing from behind the hand that you’d clamped over your mouth, the anger vanished. “I’m glad you think this is so funny,” he stepped closer to the edge of the pool and scooped a handful of water up to splash you with. It is kind of funny. 

You smirked at him, the golden glow of the lanterns and candles dancing on the rippling surface and reflecting in your eyes. He watched you bite your bottom lip and groaned to himself knowing exactly how it felt to sink his own teeth lightly into that soft, berry stained flesh. Drenched strands of hair were plastered to his forehead and he brought one hand up to push them back, water dripping from the elbow of his soaked sleeve. The small group of partygoers that had followed a disgruntled Dana out to the patio dissipated, heading back inside for cocktails and gossip, leaving just the two of you. You took a step closer to the edge of the pool, your heels clicking against the wet pavers as music spilled from the open French doors. What is she doing? 

You bent one knee, slowly bringing your leg up behind yourself, and whatever questions Logan had died on his tongue. It flicked out to lick at his lips as the curve of your calf kissed your thigh, exposed below the hem of your skin tight dress. Reaching back, you curled your fingers around the heel of your stiletto. Logan’s eyes narrowed as he watched each digit bend, thinking about how it would feel to have those fingers wrapped around him instead. You seemed to read the intent in his expression, your smirk shifting to something more self-satisfied as you peeled your shoe from your foot. He hadn’t realized that his mouth had fallen open until it snapped shut, your shoe clattering to the ground. You removed the other more quickly, kicking it to the side to join it’s mate. Despite his situation, excitement quickened his heartbeat and he felt himself grow hard. Is she really gonna… He didn’t have to wait long, his hands coming up to receive your hips as you slid into the water, bracing yourself on his shoulders.  

You sucked in a breath that was as much a laugh as it was a gasp, clearly unprepared for how cold the water was. The sound drew his lips into a grin. Bold move. You gripped his shirt and pulled yourself closer, water sloshing between you until your hips met his. Logan let out a laugh of his own, fingers digging into the material of your dress beneath the water. When you looked back up at him, the shock from the cold and the shine from the lights were gone. It was replaced with a cocktail of mischief and desire that had him feeling more intoxicated than the champagne. Oh, shit.  “What are you doin’, huh?” He asked, voice low as his palms traveled to the small of your back, spreading wide so that his pinky and ring fingers followed your curves. A breathy sound came from your lips even as you kept your eyes trained on his, raising one eyebrow as though challenging him to get you to crack completely. Gladly. “Didn’t you hear?” He leaned in to drag the tip of his nose along the side of yours, wet beard brushing your cheek and pulling another little hum from your throat. “I’m deplorable.” He dragged the word out, hands squeezing the flesh beneath them. “Disgraceful.” Speaking low as his mouth hovered over your skin, Logan walked you backwards until you were up against the ledge of the pool. 

You inhaled shakily as he tilted his head to nip and suck at your throat, your pulse racing against his tongue one hand twisting even more tightly in the wrinkled material of his shirt, the other climbing up the back of his neck to clutch a fistful of his hair. Turning the tables, you tugged lightly to pull his head back and he groaned. Fuck that’s… He looked down through his lashes at you as you kept him in your grasp. “I don’t think you’re so bad, Logan,” you released his hair, letting him straighten up as your fingertips slipped through the one wet curl behind his ear. Shrugging, you let go of his shirt and pressed that palm flat against his chest. He swallowed, unprepared for the rush of warmth from your simple touch. Huh. “Besides. I don’t stay bored either, and-” your smile climbed one side of your face, lips following to quirk into a  perfect little bow. “And I was having fun with you.”

Two hours ago you were a stranger across the room. Now here you were, standing in 50 degree pool water, ruining your dress and shivering under the moon just to be with him. “Were you?” He asked, bringing one hand up to rest along the slope of your shoulder, thumb pressing gently into the skin beneath your collar bone. He grinned at your reaction, at the way your eyes snapped shut, a wrinkle in your eyelid and a rush of air from your lungs. You nodded as your eyes opened again, bringing a smile with them. “So was I.” A lot more fun than I thought I’d have at this damn thing. Logan let his hand slither slowly up the side of your neck until your earlobe was between his fingers. He stared at your lips as his thumb swiped over the bottom one to leave beads of water behind. “And we’re just gettin’ started.” He crashed his lips to yours then, leaving his thumb where it was, slipping it into your mouth as you whimpered. Your body went slack for a second as he caught you off guard, and you melted against his chest. Got you. He smirked to himself as you recovered, pulling at his hair again and winding your other arm around his body to bring yourself impossibly closer. Letting himself get lost in it, he replaced his thumb with his tongue, deepening the kiss as your hips rolled into his. He sighed into your mouth at the sensation, enjoying the way you were both trading who had the upper hand. My turn. 

He pulled back suddenly and you fell forward, chest heaving as you steadied yourself against him, a dizzy haze clouding your eyes that wasn’t there before the kiss. If possible, it made you even more enticing. He inhaled through his nose, shoulders lifting as he took a breath, and fingers trailing back down your neck to your shoulder again. “We should get outta this pool.” And outta these clothes. You nodded, pressing your lips together as you tried to regain your composure. “You stayin’ at the hotel?” He pointed his chin towards the illuminated building behind you and you nodded again. He smiled and flexed his fingers around your shoulder and hip. “Good. C’mon.” The hand he had on your hip dropped away from your body and he used it to grab yours, reaching for the palm you had pressed over his shirt pocket and pulling you away from the ledge, your lower body cutting through the water so that he could switch places with you. Without letting go of your hand, he planted his free one on the concrete and hopped up to sit on the rounded edge. Water splashed and dripped, running down his wet clothes and back into the pool. He tugged you towards him and bent down to place both hands on your waist. “Ready?” You placed your hands on his forearms and looked up at him, nodding for a third time. “Hang on.” 

You sprang off your toes and he lifted you from the water, a laugh slipping from your lips as he helped you up onto the ledge with him. It changed the shape of your mouth, pulling it open into a wide smile that made your eyes brighten and gave Logan a little rush. He realized he couldn’t remember the last time that he’d felt that, the last time he’d really had fun with someone. Your thigh bumped into his as your hands fell from his arms to yank your dress down, the material suctioned even more tightly to your body now. He watched your fingers bunching in the deep purple fabric and imagined his own, pulling the hem in the opposite direction, over your head and onto the floor in a saturated heap. When your eyes lifted back to his, that spark was back, and depending on how he tilted his head it was as innocent as it was intentional. How the hell is she doin’ that? 

You cast your eyes down through your lashes as he let out a heavy breath, hands moving down from your hips to the smooth skin of your legs, wet beneath his palms. Can’t wait to… he groaned, swinging his head downward. With a smirk, you blinked and smiled sweetly, leaning in slowly to capture his lips in a kiss that rattled his thoughts, shifting again from lustful to playful. He gave you the reins, and as soon as he did you broke apart and stood, laughing as you wrapped your arms around yourself, your whole body shuddering in a sudden shiver. “Holy shit it’s cold!” ‘Course it is. You bent your knees and let out another burst of laughter, as though that could fend off the chill.

Logan stood, pulling one leg and then the other up as water sloshed out of his shoes. He took a step towards the lounge chair you’d been sharing when Dana had stalked outside in a fit of rage, to retrieve his jacket, glad he’d removed it long before taking an unexpected plunge. It wasn’t cold before, but now it’s freezing. “You regret gettin’ in that water with me now?” He looked over his shoulder at you while you picked up your discarded shoes, one eyebrow raised as he grabbed the garment and turned back to you. 

Lips trembling slightly and cheeks rosy red, you locked your eyes with his and shook your head from side to side. Droplets of water flew from the tips of your hair as you moved closer to him. “No.” You said it simply. “Not even a little bit.” 

That rush hit him again. She means it. He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer, draping his jacket around your shoulders and pulling you into him by the lapels. “Good.” Dipping his head down, he sought out your lips for one more brief kiss, waiting until he could feel you lose your breath to pull back. “Let’s get inside, huh?” You nodded, slipping your arms into the sleeves of his jacket which fell just below the hem of your dress, a sight he instantly knew he’d have a hard time forgetting. I like that. You weren’t the first woman to wear one of his jackets. But he liked how it looked on you more than he thought possible.  

You reached for his hand, fingers notching through his as he spread them to accommodate your hold, and pulled him toward the building, not another word spoken until much later that night.     

..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  

Logan gripped the tap and twisted it, the shower pipes shuddering in the wall as the water stopped abruptly. Drying off, he felt the grit of the morning session and his workout fall away, and he took a deep breath of the warm, steamy air as he prepared to do more digging. He wrapped the towel low around his waist and pulled open the stall door, more steam billowing out with him as he crossed to the sink. Wiping the meat of his palm against the mirror, he cleared the fogged glass enough to see himself. 

You don’t really think all of this, his reflection rolled his eyes around the seafoam and white tiled room, and gestured with his glass in a wide arch, is going to do anything, do you? 

Logan gripped the sides of the sink and shook his head. Shut the fuck up. 

I mean, sure, you’re clean now, but so what? He narrowed his bottomless eyes and pushed off from the wall he was leaning against to move closer, until Logan flicked his eyes up to see them staring back, full of contempt. His top lip twitched in a sneer as a precursor to his next words. You have nothing left, Delos. You lost it. All of it. You have nothing. No one. He shook his head then, giving a frustrated huff through flared nostrils. 

You have me, Logan. 

Your words came back to him as his eyes slipped closed, and he could feel your hand resting on his chest, solid and sure as if you were right there with him. Do I? Do I have you still? But the second that he questioned it, he knew it was true. He had you in every breath and beat of his hard-worked heart. He had you in every happy memory, in every moment of triumph no matter how small. He still had you, even if he’d let you go. I have her. He opened his eyes, releasing the grip he had on the sink to stand at his full height.  

I told you to just give up in the desert. I gave you two more chances after that. The man in his reflection clicked his tongue. The longer you draw this out, the messier it is. Gotta know when to leave the party, and you’ve worn out your welcome on this one. Just do yourself a favor and-

“No.”  

Logan turned sharply and stepped away from the mirror, shutting out his demon. Later that afternoon, he met with Zeke on the deck that overlooked the Atlantic. His first answer to Zeke’s question had been simply that he wanted to get better. Inspired by his recent progress, and introspection, he thought that he was ready to edit that statement. 

“I want to get out of my own way,” he said proudly at the end of the meeting. “That’s my goal.” 

Ezekiel nodded, leaning back in his chair. He reached up to remove his glasses, fixing his greenish brown eyes on Logan as he cleaned his lenses with the hem of his shirt. “To do what?” 

Logan blinked, stunned. He was sure that his new answer would have satisfied Zeke’s assignment, certain that he’d reached the conclusion that his counselor had hoped he’d come to. He wants more? 

“Logan,” He let out a breath as he perched his glasses back on his nose and brought his elbows to the table between them. “You’re getting another chance at life. It’s true, you can’t get anywhere if you don’t let yourself, but it’s not enough to have a clear path to walk down. You have to have somewhere to go, something to do. You deserve more.” He stood. “So think about that; now that you’re out of your way, what are you gonna do?”

.

.

.

@something-tofightfor​​​​ @its-my-little-dumpster-fire​​​​ @suchatinyinfinity​​​​ @gollyderek​​​​ @thesumofmychoices​​​​ @lexxierave​​​​ @belladonnarey​​​​ @ymariejp​​​​ @obscurilicious​​​​ @songtoyou​​​​ @traeumerinwitzhelden​​​​ ​ @drinix​​​​ @jigsawlover10​​​​ @getlostinyourparadise​​​​ @nananananananananananabatman​​​​ @malionnes​​ @bicevans​​ @qhostboyyy​

please let me know if you you would like to be added or removed! (and if you already have and i have not done it, it’s me, not you so don’t feel bad about asking again, i am just forgetful!) 

[kathyprior4200]

Haven Hotel: That’s Disengagement!

A princess with long black hair walked out from a balcony. She wore a black undershirt with a white bow tie on top. A dark teal shirt, long white pants and white high heel shoes completed the look. Her face was white and teal blushes were present on her cheeks. She was the inverted, antithesis of Charlie, the princess of Hell in a parallel world.

“For all my life, I’ve been taught that all angels have good inside them. But I know that to be a lie. Ever since Lucifer and Lilith, God’s closest angels betrayed Him… I don’t think I can believe in these flawed teachings anymore…”

The princess was Caroline Egnam, born and raised in Heaven…though she was not at all one would expect her to be in such a place. Self-entitled and pessimistic, nothing much could cheer her up except heavy metal music, rebelling against the rules and the occasional brawl.

“It’s inevitable that all those imperfect angels will go to Hell. They deserve to deal with suffering and challenges. Best of all, they wouldn’t be bound by social expectations. Heck, I wouldn’t be too surprised if it were me. I do enjoy my comfortable life here, just not these restrictions.”

Her servants Pub and Chub were fat white cherub angels with horns on their heads, black wings, and black eyes. One held an electric guitar while the other shot out torpedoes from a small cannon.

Outside was a white clock tower standing tall against the blue sky. The numbers read 0 then changed to 365 days. Writing above the numbers read “days until the next cleanse in Hell.”

Caroline leaned against the marble balcony and began to sing in a low growl.

     (“I’m Always Evading Shadows”)

  “At the end of the journey, there’s suffering

Denying it, how often I’ve tried

But my life’s a disgrace

Just a slap in the face

And the harsh truths have all been denied”

 “A sliver of despair in this world of light

I know this world’s not free of sin

I search for the good

But get misunderstood

And reality will always win”

 “Why have I always been so imperfect?

Lost in this brainwashed sea

I wonder if the world’s to blame

I wonder if it could be me”

 “I’m always evading shadows

Trapped, drowning in the social flow

Free-will forbidden, my answers are hidden

Lying down below”

 “Some people sugarcoat their speeches

I always blab out what I mean

I may be cruel but I am no fool

Things are never what they seem

Believe me”

 “I’m always evading shadows

Waiting for people to awaken

In vain”

    A nearby portal opened and out came the Exterminators, bloodstains over their wings and bodies and harpoons. They took off their creepy LED masks, their white angelic faces revealed. One by one, the citizens clapped and cheered. One of the Archangels with four black wings flew up to the front, his spiked halo glowing. He took off his mask, revealing a white face with yellow eyes and fiery red hair.

“Another successful purge,” their leader Samael praised. “You cleansed more sinners while still keeping the population in a good balance. Well done, all of you.” He cleared his throat and made a cross symbol over his heart. “For the greater good in the name of our Lord.”

The angels repeated the phrase.

“Until next year. Dismissed.” The Archangel soldiers saluted and then flew off separately to see their families.

 All around Caroline, Holy City was basked in a heavenly glow. The city was located up in the sky among the clouds, but no one had to worry about falling, even the ones without their wings out. A large church with the appearance of the Notre Dame Cathedral stood proudly in the city square, made of polished marble. Choirs and songs floated through the stained glass windows as the regular angels went in and out to pray and visit with their neighbors. A large fountain sprouted non-alcoholic wine of a golden color. It had a white statue of Mary and Jesus as a young boy at the top, both with welcoming faces.

The streets were spotless and clean. Roofs and roads were powered by the sun’s rays. The Cloud 9 supermarket had endless amounts of food for sale…no one ever had to worry about going hungry. Charity workers and volunteers worked by the dozens, passing out food and bestowing miracles for those who needed them in the lower levels of Heaven.

This version of Heaven was very similar to the Heaven in the realm next door, the one above the familiar Hell with the Hazbin Hotel. Unlike those angels with their blonde hair and red blushes, these angels most often had black hair and teal blushes on their cheeks. Like in the other Heaven, some of the bipedal angels displayed animal-like characteristics: some had heads of doves, others had swan wings and mannerisms. Many of them had fur, ears, and fluffy tails of dogs and wolves. It was the only place where dogs and cats could dance and prance together without conflict. Still a few others had faces of flowers or even objects like harps and musical instruments.

God’s Palace was the grandest place of all: it was settled at the highest point of Heaven like Mount Olympus. Only a few angels were allowed to visit there. Seraph angels with six rainbow wings guarded the throne of God as well as the outside of the palace. There were rumors that in the palace gardens, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge were grown there, heavily protected.

 Lucius and Lilian were Caroline’s parents, those who took the place of Lucifer and Lilith after they were banished. They were named the new king and queen of heaven, thus Caroline became the princess.

Lucius had a white face, teal blushes on his cheeks and short dark hair. Lucius wore a gray suit with a dark blue bow tie and a black top hat with two white features attacked to the brim. Lilian’s hair was long and black, and she, too had the teal blushes and typical angel features. She wore a golden halo crown and an elegant white dress. Both had white wings which could turn black when they were angry or defensive.

 Along the street, a red car stopped beside the sidewalk. A tall creature opened the car door and stepped out. The spider angel had a furry dark gray face and body, plus multiple slender arms: six in total. He wore tall boots, green gloves and a shirt with a white bow-tie near the top. His shirt and sleeves had black and dark green stripes. Green dots resembling eyes were located under his eyes.

“Thank you for the ride,” said the spider angel.

“No problem, Devil Grit,” said the driver Travis, a white furry guy wearing a top hat.

Devil walked over to a vending machine and bought himself a granola bar. He then gave it to a homeless guy leaning against the wall.

 He walked inside a building and onto a stage in an auditorium. His opponent was already standing nervously at his spot, a microphone rising from the ground and stopping in front of him.

Pentious Senor was the nervous white snake. He had a white face with large slightly teal eyes with white pupils. He wore a white bow tie with a blue circle in the center below his thin neck. Surrounding his face on a flap of skin were bright teal eyes against dark purple. His suit was light gray with dark purple vertical stripes. Finally, he wore a large light gray top hat with a large green eye moving eye in the center.

The crowd settled into their seats and the debate began.

 “Those other brave do gooders will do great with helping me with my presentation. Anyone want to try?”

A couple of hands shot up. Mechanical eggs on robotic legs moved around to help out the white snake lord.

Senor pushed a button and a presentation showed up on a screen titled “Heaven Economics and Invention Ideas.”

“I don’t like to fight,” Senor said, “and I’m super nervous up here…”

Devil Grit glared at his cowardly opponent who then yelped, “Don’t look at me like that!”

“Heaven doesn’t need any future technology,” Grit argued, “because we already have better things: friendships, food, and fun.”

Pentious Senor glanced down nervously at his note cards and read from them. “At this rate I will persuade the entire East end of Holy City by night’s beginning. And nothing, not a single beauty in this paradise of bliss, will be able to change my mind or escape the constrictive grasp of persuasive argumentation.”

 “Heaven will be ours, though it’s mine in my mind. And everybody will know the name of…”

 “Scared Snake,” said a female voice.

 “W-who said that?” Senor asked.

 “You ready for a debate, old man?”

 The voice belonged to Berri Blossom, the opposite of Cherri Bomb in Hell. She was a tall cyclops with black skin, with a single green eye with a black cross in the center. She wore a long dark green dress and white high heeled shoes. Her black skin was decorated in some areas near her shoulders with tiny teal specks. Her long hair was curly, blue at the top and black near the bottom.

She walked over beside her academic partner Devil Grit. “Why don’t you play with your tinker toys somewhere else while I go over the logistics of divine law school?” She looked professional and poised.

“You want to go, madam?” Pentious Senor asked. He flicked his hood back. “Well, let the battle for tenure and status begin!”

  A neon logo appeared on the screen, saying “Divine News” surrounded by a halo. The names of the news cast appeared on the bottom of the screen.

“Good afternoon, Holy City!” said a woman with short black hair, wearing a light blue dress. “I’m Catie Carejoy.”

“And I’m Ron Wrench,” said the man next to her, wearing a business suit and who had a wrench for a head.

After discussing the weather, various humane societies, and legends on Earth, Catie continued, “The debate battle is underway between inventor and conservative coward Pentious Senor and professional economics expert Berri Blossom. Coming up next, we have an exclusive interview with the daughter of His Majesty Lucius, who’s here to discuss her brand new passion-project! All that and more after the break!”

Inside the break room, Agatha adjusted Caroline’s white bow tie. Nearby, a blue tinted sign read “No smoking.” Another sign read “In The Air” in large letters.

“Okay, you remember what to say?” Agatha asked Caroline.

“Yes, I’m ready,” Caroline stated.

Agatha brushed her long black hair from her face. Like Vaggie in Hell, Agatha’s thick hair extended down to her legs, giving her hair the appearance of moth wings. She had a green cross over her right eye and her left eye was purple with a white pupil. A teal bow was perched on top of her head. Her skin was dark gray and she wore a dark gray crop top with white xs over her breasts. She also wore leggings, her right legging striped dark green and light gray, her left legging light gray.

“Oh this is gonna be great!” Agatha said happily. “How about you make your speech sound more exciting?”

“Come on, Agatha, I know what I’m going to say,” Caroline answered, crossing her arms.

Agatha walked over to the pitcher of ambrosia punch on the table. Pub and Chub ate bagels from the table. Agatha got an idea. “Oh! What if you…”

“Sing a song about it?” Caroline asked, with a roll of her eyes. “I’m not going to. This is serious!” She curled her hand into a fist and brought it down on the palm of her other hand. “They won’t take me serious if I start belting out some random song. Life isn’t a musical.”

“But neither is it an emo tragedy,” Agatha pointed out. “Life is great, especially with all the cute guys around.” Her single purple eye shinned.

“Romance, bleh,” Caroline made a face and Agatha giggled.

“Hey,” Agatha brightened, pulling out a piece of paper. “I have some ideas about what you could say.” She bounced up and down. “The highlighted bits are the best parts!”

“They’re all highlighted,” Caroline replied, scanning the paper. “You call your childish drawing your ideas for me?”

“Sure!” Agatha said. “Look here.” It showed a list of different terms “sinners = winners” “Misunderstood are still good” and “demons and angels party between worlds!” Skulls were lined up at the bottom of the page: “we’re all connected by death.”

“Say, that’s actually pretty good!” Caroline said with a smile of sharp teeth.

“Thanks!” Agatha beamed.

Caroline snatched the piece of paper from her friend and tore it in half, much to her shock. “But you should know my ideas are always better.” She tossed the pieces of paper aside, gave a salute and walked out the door.

Catie waved with a smile. “Hello, Caroline. I’m Catie Carejoy.” She held out her hand but Caroline didn’t take it. Catie continued, pulling her hand back. “So this project of yours, when did you come up with this idea of creating a hotel in order to…break the law as the rumors say?”

The angel crew murmured nervously.

“I’m gonna keep this short,” Caroline said. “You might think my idea doesn’t hold water, but that doesn’t matter to me. I’m too influential to give a flying feather about what some news lady thinks of my proposal.”

The crowd gasped. Ron shook his head.

“Well, if you can’t take constructive criticism and be polite…”

“…and we’re live!” called a voice as a buzzer sounded.

“And we’re back!” Catie said, rushing over into her seat. “So, Carrie…”

“It’s Princess Caroline Egnam,” said Caroline, sitting in a chair beside her and Ron Wrench.

“Sorry. So tell us about your project.”

 Caroline took a deep breath. “As most of you know, I was born here in Heaven, and growing up, I’ve always tried to see the good in everything around me. But recently, I don’t believe that’s always the case. We just completed another Extermination. So many sinful souls lost but for what reason? God said in the Commandments “thou shall not kill,” yet killing random people is okay? If we can’t even trust ourselves with our actions and thoughts, is Heaven truly paradise? Not to mention that ever since Lucifer and Lilith betrayed Him, we don’t know who to really trust. Some people are given too many chances!” She pounded her fist on the desk, startling Catie.

Caroline stood up and made her way forward. “No one is truly flawless. Mistakes are made, but we get blamed for doing things we sometimes enjoy. Sex, drugs, partying, swearing, even violence. All because we don’t live up to standards imposed upon us, both here and on Earth! I can’t stand idly by while the place I live is subjected to such lies and propaganda! So, I’ve been thinking…isn’t there a more liberating way to hinder forced compliance here in Heaven? Perhaps we can create an alternative way to express change through…recreation?”

The angels talked quietly amongst themselves. Aggy nodded in appreciation.

“Well I think yes,” Caroline continued. “So that’s what this project aims to achieve.” She walked back to the desk and sat down. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m opening the first of its kind, a hotel that encourages moderate amounts of so-called sin!” She spread out her arms.

The audience stared in stunned silence. Many of the adults were shaking their heads.

“Who is that girl?” asked a dragon watching from inside a soup kitchen. “What’s her deal with trying to cause more trouble for this world?”

“She’s nuts!” added another angel with an eagle’s head and wings, wearing a suit.

Caroline added nervously, “I figure it would serve a purpose…a place to work toward self-expression. Yay.”

 Among the crowd of angels watching the news outside, a tall man with a thin pale brownish face stood toward the back. He wore a light blue dress suit, had blue and white hair, fluffy deer-like ears, and large blue eyes. He watched the program with a look of worry. A deer creature made of light appeared beside him. A sign posted on the wall showing the same man as a DJ read: “Counseling and good times with the Techno Angel!”

 A camera man shook his head at Caroline. Agatha walked up to him and said, “Please give her a chance.”

Caroline sighed. “Look, I know every single one of you has insecurities and issues that need not be bottled up. If you could just embrace those sides of yourselves…”

Caroline then smirked. “Maybe I’m not getting through to you.”

Agatha clapped her hands and “ooohed” in excitement as Rub and Chub got the electric guitar ready.

Caroline showed a pair of sharp white teeth and black horns emerged from her head. Black feathery wings sprouted from her back and an X appeared over her right eye. A harpoon appeared in her right hand and blue curved horns emerged from her wavy black hair. She posed over the desk and began.

 (“Inside of Every Angel is a Monster”)

  “I have a dream

I’m here to tell

About a fantastic mind-blowing hotel

One of a kind, go and yell

A great place to dwell

Catering to specific clientele”

 *Guitar starts and scream vocals*

 “Inside of every angel is a monster

Inside of every do-gooder is a sinner

Inside of every jolly go-lucky mentality

Is a subconscious portion that’s always dimmer”

 “Resist all the rules

You’re not passive fools!

With just a little time

Down at the Hazbin Hotel!”

 “So all you rescuers, priests, and heroes

Gifted athletes, jocks, and cheerios

And the sheep citizens, relief is here!

All of you angels, leaders, and stars

Traditionalists with fancy cars

And the activists on Mars

Show no fear

No taboos, no laws

Embrace your flaws

You’ll be truly free

Check in with me

It’s the right path, you’ll see”

 “There’ll be no more pressure

And no more status quo

Just friendship, fun, and endless bags of dough

Establishment put to rest

You’ll be like, “Yes!”

Once you check in with me!

 “So all your hierarchies, GMOs, politics, and isms

Lectures, labor standards, and diamond studded prisms

Ancient Indian elitisms

All must die”

 “All you fantasizers, artists, servers, and lords

Spoiled children, winners of awards

Imposers of chores

Face your fear!”

  “Be who you are

And you’ll go so far

Our service will raise the bar

You’ll be the star

Come from near or afar at the Hazbin Hotel!

Yeah!”

  “Wow,” said an angel in a top hat. “That was…alright.”

 The crowd clapped half-heartedly.

 Catie shook her head. “What in the Nine Circles makes you think a single denizen of Heaven would give two feathers about becoming a bad person? You have no proof that your little experiment even works! You want people to disobey God and the rules just…because?!”

 Caroline lifted up her head. “Well, we have a patron already who believes in our cause.”

“And who might that be?” Catie asked.

“Oh just someone named…Devil Grit.”

“The grumpy old spider?” asked Ron Wrench.

“He’s not old,” argued Catie. “He just acts older than he is.”

“Anyway,” said Catie to Caroline. “You couldn’t even get that guy to do something bad, even if a gun was pointed at his head.”

“Oh I beg to differ,” Caroline argued. “He’s been troubled, dirty, and having conflicted thoughts for two weeks, now.”

“Breaking news!” called a voice as the screen changed to a recent debate shown in a building.

The news came on, detailing Devil Grit and his recent TED talk about the 7 Heavenly Virtues.

“Well, it looks like the one discussing the Heavenly Virtues is none other than…conservative Devil Grit! What a coincidence!”

She and Ron did a “ratings!” and jazz hands.

“Don’t look at this!” yelled Caroline, waving her arms from behind the screen.

“I’m sorry to say, but it looks like your plan’s departed on arrival,” said Catie. “I hope you learned a good lesson here.”

Caroline’s eyes twitched, her teeth barred. “Lesson?! I’ll teach you a lesson, bitch!”  The princess and Catie fought fist and claw on the desk. Ron called for security.

After Caroline was kicked out, Agatha followed her wordlessly to the white limo. Devil Grit, Agatha, and Caroline rode back to the hotel.

 Devil Grit lounged in the far seat, wearing an outfit of black with green stripes and green gloves on his four hands.

“Devil,” said Agatha with concern. “I know you were trying to do good by doing your professional speech. But could you please try not to help society in public? Now people won’t believe us when Caroline says that people are free to express their earthly desires.”

“I’m sorry Aggy,” said Devil from the other seat, “But I have a reputation to keep up. Helping the greater good is His plan for all of us. Besides, a good professional debate is a reasonable form of self-expression right?”

“Not to everyone,” said Agatha. “What about the hotel? People are thinking that you don’t care about Caroline’s project at all.”

“I do care, senorita,” said Devil. “I just don’t think it’s going to be easy to accomplish in such a short time. So many angels are fixated on tradition, myself included.”

“I do appreciate all of your help,” said Caroline, still fuming after the interview, arms crossed. “But I will make this project work, even if I have to do it myself.”

The white limo pulled up in front of the hotel, a pristine building made of glass and marble. The group got out of the car and stepped inside.

White wings made of rainbow scales posed as part of the structure on the roof. The stained glass windows by the door were decorated with apples, a tree of life, and many shades of blue and green. The sign above read “Hazbin Hotel” in big letters on the roof. Inside the lobby, a painting of Adam reaching toward God was displayed on the high ceiling. The hotel had seven floors with seven rooms on each floor. There was even a lab down in the basement which belonged to a frog man named Terry, the opposite of the demon fish scientist Baxter from Hell. A bowl of blue berries and blue raspberries sat on a table below a welcome banner. Aggy rested on a couch while Devil Grit munched on a granola bar.

“It’s probably a good idea to stock up some more food in this place,” said Devil Grit. “Good or bad, people always seem to be greedy when they’re hungry.”

Devil Grit pulled out a chart and went over probabilities and graphs regarding the hotel and the potential number of visitors. Caroline just sighed and walked away toward the door. She went outside and took out her cell phone, calling her mom.

 “Carol cakes!” called her mother through the phone. Caroline cringed.

“Mom, I told you not to call me that! I’m not a little kid anymore.”

“Sorry, I can’t help it,” said Lilian with a giggle. “How was the interview?”

“Meh. It was alright. I proposed my idea, but nobody seemed to buy it.”

Lilian’s tone turned more serious. “Caroline, why do you insist that everyone must go down to that horrible place? Why can’t you just see the good in people?”

“Because,” Caroline said, “Everyone has flaws and they don’t realize it.”

“Yes, but that also applies to you, too. Before you get involved with the lives of others, you need to look inside and critique yourself.”

“I’m a princess. Everyone else has more flaws than I do.”

Lilian let out a long sigh. “Young lady, we’ve been through this I don’t know how many times. You have to push your selfish thoughts aside and just accept the way things are. It’s part of a higher purpose.”

“And what is this “higher purpose” anyway? To be His flock of dazed sheep, dancing around without any care in the world? To not experience ecstasy and adventure, even for just a moment?”

“That stuff is dangerous and forbidden. Thousands of souls would do anything to get up to this highest level of Heaven. And you just want to throw your afterlife away?”

Caroline paused in thought. “If it means proving myself and serving Him in a way I see fit, then so be it.”

“You have delusions of what entertainment and happiness is, Carol. Sometimes, you need to take the time and appreciate the beauty that’s in front of you.”

“Other than my own refection, I don’t really see beauty in many other things. Well, metal and watching battles…oh and tragic poetry…”

“You have a lot to learn, dear daughter,” Lilian replied. “I’ll leave you alone to think about it.”

“Whatever.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too. Bye.”

Caroline hung up and went back inside, shutting the door behind her. She leaned against the door frame, closing her eyes in frustration…trying to hold back a stream of tears.

  Just then, there was a knock on the door. Two knocks, followed by five fast ones. Caroline got up and turned around to answer it. She swung the stained glass door open. From outside stood a man with a pale face, wearing a light blue pinstriped dress coat. A white upward cross was part of the design on his blue undershirt. He was carrying a modern microphone atop a staff in his left hand. His small antlers were white and his hair and deer ears were blue with white tips. He wore glasses as well. Caroline narrowed her eyes.

“Hi, excuse me…” he spoke quietly. “Is this…”

“Fuck off!” Caroline spat, slamming the door in his face.

She opened it again.

“…the right address?” finished the man.

“No!” she shouted, slamming it again.

“Hey Aggy!” called Caroline.

“What?” her friend asked.

“The crybaby Deer Man is at the door!”

“What?!” she asked, blushes appearing on her cheeks.

“Who?” asked Devil Grit.

“What should I do?”

“Well…let him in!” Aggy said, eye shining.

Caroline rolled her eyes and scoffed. She sighed and opened the door again.

“May I talk now?” the man asked.

“Sure, whatever,” Caroline said.

The man held out his white gloved four-fingered hand and smiled. “Stalaro, it’s a pleasure to meet you, miss.” He walked in. Worry was etched on his face. “I saw your interview on the picture show and I was worried sick! I was afraid you were never coming back after your argument. I haven’t been that upset since the 1929 Stock Market Crash!” He sniffed, “So many orphans…”

“Hello there!” Aggy called with a smile, staring up at him and walking in front of him. “I’m so glad you’re here to help out my friend with this new hotel! I’m a big fan of yours and just being in your presence is just…” She swooned. “Oh just take me already you cute, pompous, talk show, blueberry pimp lord!”

Stalaro gave a nervous laugh, “Dear, I’m mostly into guys but I appreciate the sentiment.” He conjured up a strawberry in his hand and popped it into his mouth.

Aggy deflated a little.

“But if I wanted to take anyone away…they would be gone already.”

 Stalaro tilted his head. His blue eyes briefly glowed with blue upside down radio dials in them. Electricity sparked around cyan colored voodoo symbols in the air. His eyes filled with tears, tears spilling down his pale brown cheeks.

Aggy watched in bliss, while Devil and Caroline rolled their eyes at the show-off.

Stalaro shook his head and his eyes returned to normal blue.

 “No, I’m here because I want to relax and help out.”

“Say what?” Caroline asked, eyebrow raised.

Stalaro held up his staff which glowed blue. He said with a sad crack in his voice, “Goodbye, is this thing off?”

He tapped it. A blue sad looking eye appeared in the center of the microphone. It spoke in a mechanical voice. “You’re silent, quiet and unclear!”

“That’s your motivation motto every day?” Devil Grit asked, crossing his four arms. “Pathetic!”

“Tragic and mysterious, I love it!” Aggy squealed. “It’s like the opposite of announcing. It’s denouncing.”

“Um…you want to help?” Caroline asked.

Stalaro appeared behind them after morphing into light.

“With…” he spoke in her growl then his normal shy sounding voice, “…this random thing you’re trying to do. This hotel. I want to help you run it, if that’s okay.”

“Uh…why?”

Stalaro choked a bit on his words. “Why doesn’t anyone do anything? Sheer absolute lethargy! I’ve been partying around and keeping busy for decades. I would like to do something more relaxing and easier.”

Aggy wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Stalaro blushed uncomfortably. “Please don’t hurt me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it!”

He gently pulled her off him. “My work became overwhelming, lacking focus. I’ve come to crave a new form of disengagement!”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “Does getting into a fist fight with a reporter count as disengagement?”

“No,” Stalaro said. “It’s violent and messy, not really my thing. Life is truly strange…reality, fantasy, true tragedy. After all the world is a grave, and the grave is a world of disengagement!”

 Caroline brightened a bit. “So, does this mean you think it’s possible to taint an angel?”

Stalaro sniffed and held up a hand. “Who knows? Anything’s possible. Sinning, oh the vice of humanity! I think there’s plenty left that can change such do -gooders. But then again, the chance that was given to them was the life they lived before. The reward is this!” He spread out his arms. “According to God, there’s no undoing what is done…or at least that’s the way it should be.”

“So then, why do you want to help me if you don’t fully believe in my cause?” Caroline asked.

Stalaro turned around to look at her. “Consider it an investment in ongoing knowledge for myself and others.” He let out a small smile. “I want to watch the blessed of this world struggle to give into temptation, only to repeatedly realize and raise themselves toward the golden ladder of success!” His eyes glowed blue.

“Right…” Caroline began.

“Yes indeed,” Stalaro said, both of them walking off to the side. “I see you taking risks and who better to keep you grounded than I.”

 “Ah, so what’s the deal with Mr. Frown over there?” Devil Grit asked.

“Wait, you’ve never heard of him before?” Aggy asked, blushing. “You’ve been here longer than me!”

Devil shrugged his shoulders.

“The Techno Angel, one of the most complex beings Heaven as ever seen?”

“Eh, not big on certain politics and the arts.”

Aggy sighed and leaned in close to explain.

“Decades ago, Stalaro manifested in Heaven, seemingly in one day. He began to catch the attention of overlords who had kept to themselves for centuries. That kind of attraction and magic power had never been harnessed by a mortal soul before. Then, he broadcast his adventures all throughout heaven just so everyone could experience some joy, tragedy and emotions. Do gooders starting calling him the Techno Angel, (as unoriginal as that is). Many have speculated what unimaginable force enabled him to rival our world’s most ancient and constructive heroes. But one thing’s for sure: he’s an unpredictable source of silliness, a depressed spirit of mystery and a loving being of order…or disorder, the likes of which we can get involved in, especially if we want to end up aroused!”

“You done?” Devil asked. “He looks like a blueberry businessman. Or a shady con-man.”

“Well, I trust him completely!”

“Do you blindly trust any man? All men?”

Aggy skipped over to Caroline. Stalaro examined a family portrait of Lucius, Lilian and a young Caroline in the center. Young Caroline wore a white dress with a turquoise top to it. Her hair was jet black, braided in black barbed wire, her cheeks had teal blushes. Her mother had long black hair and wore a fancy white dress and a round gold crown. Her father was dressed in a dress suit of white and blue, with blue and black stripes in the center below a white bow tie. He wore a large light gray top hat with a dove and a green apple on it. His cane also had a green apple on the top. Both of them were smiling, showing rows of sharp teeth, white wings folded behind them.

“Caroline, listen to me, you can believe this dreamer. He isn’t just a sad face. He’s a miracle maker, pure good! But… don’t count on him to believe in your cause. He could be tainted and rebel, but we don’t know that. He could very well side with God and your parents. And he’s most likely looking for a way to hinder everything we’re trying to do if it means following God’s rules. But still, give him a chance. He’s really sweet.”

“I…” Caroline began. “…we don’t know that. Look, he’s a crying bitch, and he probably doesn’t want to change.”

Aggy put her hands on her friend’s shoulders.

“The whole point of your hotel is to give people a chance! To have faith things will be better and people can embrace their flaws! How can you turn someone away? You can’t. It goes against everything you’re trying to do. Everything you believe in.”

Caroline looked downcast. Her friend had a good point. She hated when people made good arguments against her. But it also gave her a chance to consider her thoughts. Aggy kept her grounded and added some cheer to her overall fake afterlife. Caroline smiled at her.

“You take care of yourself,” she said to Aggy.

“Caroline,” warned Aggy, “Unless you are serious about responsibility, do not make a promise with him!”

Demons often made deals with each other that often resulted in gaining power at the cost of one’s soul or freedom. Usually the one who initiated the deal would gain advantage. A demonic deal was bad in and of itself. Breaking an angelic promise could result in rejection, eternal torture and damnation.

“Don’t worry,” said Caroline. “I learned one thing from my dad.” She mimicked his low voice, “Ya don’t break trust with other angels!”

Caroline marched over to the Techno Angel.

“Ok…so Stal... You’re prissy as fuck, and you clearly see what I’m trying to do here is a too-dangerous risk. But I don’t.”

Glowing blue symbols briefly appeared around a concerned Stalaro, then vanished.

Caroline continued. “I think everyone deserves a chance to prove they can be flawed. After all, it’s in their nature and the sooner they realize it, the better. So, I’m taking your offer to help. On the condition there be no lessons or lovey-dovey speeches made.”

Stalaro twirled his cane and held out his smallest finger from his right hand.

“So, it’s a promise, then?”

The room was surrounded by a pink aura as light spirits roamed around the walls. The wind blew against Aggy’s and Devil’s faces.

“Nope!” Caroline yelled, holding out her hands. The energy stopped. “No shaking, no promises! I…hmmm…”

She paused in thought.

“As Princess of Heaven and heir to the throne, I hereby order that you help out with this hotel for as long as you desire.”

A moment of pause…

“Sound fair?”

“Fair enough,” Stalaro said with a slump of his shoulders and walked on. His cane vanished. Caroline did a thumbs up.

Stalaro stopped and spotted Aggy to the side.

Aggy went up and tickled him under the chin, much to his dislike.

He pushed her arm gently away. “Frown, my dear. You’d be too fully dressed if you were a man.”

He walked on, Aggy perplexed at being rejected. “Why does he have to be gay?” she mused, sadly. “Liking nude men…oh I could just swear right now…darn.”

“So…where is your hotel staff?” Stalaro asked Caroline.

“Uh well,” Caroline began. Stalaro peered at Aggy through his monocle below his left eye.

He stuttered. “You’re going to n-need more than that.”

Stalaro walked over to Devil Grit, who was sitting on a stool.

 “And what can I do, my business fellow?” asked Stalaro walking over to the dark furred spider, blushing.

“You can suck a dick,” Devil retorted in a grumpy tone.

“AH! Ok,” said Stalaro, blushing and stepping back. “Can it be yours?”

“Fuck off,” Devil added, pulling out a long knife from his belt.

Stalaro summoned his cane. “Well this just won’t do. You want others to cause trouble, yes? I suppose I can cash in a few favors to deaden things up!”

He snapped his fingers and the wall beside the fireplace cracked. The circle went dark, the fire going out. Ice cold water appeared to fill in the circle and a shadowy figure solely formed inside. Stalaro walked over and removed the dripping figure from the water. A large single purple eye was revealed.

Devil, Aggy and Caroline peered at the creature. With a balloon deflating sound and a puff of white smoke, the figure was revealed.

“This little sinner is Klutzy!” Stalaro announced with a worried smile, dropping the figure.

 A black-skinned short cyclops female landed on her face on the floor. She stood up with a grumpy look on her face. She wore a dark green skirt with a white stray cat off to the left side. Her arms and legs were white and stick-shaped. Several blue dots stood out from the lighter green color of her skirt. Her shirt was black with cyan paint spots off to the right. Her large eye took up much of her face; it was purple with a white pupil. Her sharp teeth were black. Her short hair was teal with a dark blue spot off to the left.

 “I’m Klutzy,” she grumbled, clenching her fists. “It’s a waste of time to meet you fools. It’s been a while since I made new rivals.”

Her pupil narrowed from side to side.

“Why are you all men?” she asked. “Have any women here? Or video games? Screw this place.”

She briefly picked up Caroline, then let go.

“Oh man, this place is boring!” she exclaimed. She ran over to a vase and proceeded to knock it over with her elbow. It shattered to pieces on the floor. She tossed couch cushions aside.

“It really needs a more manly touch, disorganized clutter’s more fun.” She grinned as she poured dirt from a flower pot onto the rug.

“Yes, yes, yep, yeah!” she yelled as she proceeded to break windows and knock down more stuff. Then she plopped down on a couch once the room was messy. “I’m bored. Make me some food or something.”

Aggy, Devil, and Caroline looked on in worry, Stalaro just stared off into space.

 A cat angel was working on a Rubik’s cube with colleagues. His furry face was black, framed by white fur. His little top hat was white with a blue band across it. A big teal bow tie was under his neck, over his black furry chest framed by white fur. His wings were a brilliant blue, with black and red mathematical symbols on either side: the pi symbol, E = mc squared, signs for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, among others. More symbols were visible within his two pointed ears. His teeth were sharp and purple and his long eyebrows were teal. His eyes were purple and sclera white. The angel placed a Rubik’s cube in front of him. “Ha!” he declared in triumph. Read ‘em and weep, boys! Full…whoa…”

He felt himself being transported in a flash of light to the hotel. Part of the science room that the cat had been in was merged with the hotel lobby…posters of the elements, the solar system and Biblical works of art.

“What in Heaven’s name is going on?

Then he brightened when he saw Stalaro. “You!”

“Ah, Core, my old friend,” Stalaro sniffed, his head briefly looking like it was in between antlers from a stuffed deer head on the wall. “You made it.”

“Glad to see you, you son of the sun!” Core said. “I just completed my Rubik’s cube after just an hour.”

The cube vanished as Stalaro looked on.

Core raced over to Stalaro and embraced him in a side hug. The deer-like man blushed. “So, what can I help you with this time?”

Stalaro blinked nervously. “C-Can we snuggle?”

Core laughed. “I mean, seriously, why’d you bring me here?”

“My friend, I’m doing some dirty work, so I took it upon myself to volunteer your services. If that’s okay?”

“You must be joking,” Core said, laughing nervously.

“I don’t think so, motherfucker!” Stalaro replied.

“You thought it’d be a great idea just to pull me out of nowhere? You think I’m some kind of tragic boy?”

“Maybe,” Stalaro sighed, as crying sounds came from his microphone.

“I ain’t doing no dirty work.”

Stalaro appeared behind him. “Well I figured you would be the perfect face to greet and critique the guests at this fine establishment.”

He pointed his staff off toward a stand with vegetable drinks as claps and boos sounded from his staff.

“With your grumpy cat face and love of solitude…”

Core lifted up the corners of Stalaro’s mouth with his paws. “Aw come on, Stal. Don’t forget to smile once in a while!”

His mouth frowned once he let go.

Stalaro walked over to the stand. “Don’t worry, my friend. I can make this more interesting…if you wish.”

He conjured up a bottle of catnip with his finger.

Core stared with wide happy eyes. “What, you think you can buy me with sad eyes and some cheap catnip? Well, you can!” He purred and took the bottle with him.

 Caroline, Devil, and Aggy arrived.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Aggy squealed. “Brilliant idea to have healthy drinks!”

“No!” Caroline protested. “This is supposed to be a place that encourages sin! No some kind of, frilly, Zen, child’s play…”

Devil rammed into Caroline. “Shut up! Shut up! We are keeping this!” He pointed all his fingers toward Core and the stand.

Core noticed Devil Grit and slid up to him. “Hey cutie,” he flirted.

“Go screw yourself,” muttered Devil Grit.

“Only if you watch me,” Core joked. “Or more likely, Stalaro will watch you.”

 Caroline leaned in close to Core. “Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel. You are going to go insane here!” She grinned, her teeth sharp.

“I lost the ability to go crazy years ago,” Core replied, sniffing the catnip.

 Stalaro walked in, an ever-present frown on his face. “S-so, what do you think?”

Caroline ran over to him. “This is horrible!” she spat.

“It’s amazing!” Aggy beamed.

Aggy leaned in close between Caroline and Stalaro, embracing them in a hug.

“This is going to be very disengaging,” Stalaro exclaimed. Dubstep sounds emitted from his mouth as he stared around with worry. He stepped away from Aggy. “Caroline, I can’t lose you. We can’t lose you.”

Stalaro changed his light blue suit into a black funeral outfit. He did the same with Caroline, Devil, Husk, Klutzy, and Aggy, who were all wearing black clothing from the early 1900s. The room changed, the walls now covered with Voodoo symbols, Christian crosses and deer antlers.

 “Take it boys,” Stalaro said. Light spirits appeared and played violins, a piano, and a flute in a sad symphony.

 Stalaro sang his reprise to Caroline.

  (“Stalaro’s lament Reprise”)

 “You’re on a mission

Your innocence fell

And it’s so dangerous but hey, I wish you well

Yes your blunt protests

Will send you straight to Hell

And I can’t bear to see you banished, or your soul up to sell”

  “Don’t bring your afterlife to an end

No matter what you say, I’m still your friend

We all have our wounds to mend

And you’re vulnerable feelings are real, don’t pretend”

 “Inside of every angel is love and emotion

They have values and lasting devotion (devotion to God)

While you recruit those around

Don’t be swallowed by the ground

The authorities can retrieve you tight and bound (no turning around)”

 “Here above the sky

Spread your wings and fly

They’ll spend a little time

Down at this Haven Ho…”

 An explosion rattled the windows. Klutzy saw a door flying toward her face and she broke it in half with a karate chop.

The room and everyone’s clothing returned to normal.

 Everyone looked outside and saw a podium in the air, held up by flying metallic eggs. A familiar snake debater appeared.

“Look who it is harboring the striped annoying opponent! We meet again, Stalaro!”

“Do I know you?” Stalaro asked.

Tears came to Senor’s eyes. “Oh yes, you do! Watch this presentation!”

The eggs danced in the air, singing a song about Senor trying his best to rule Heaven. He read from notecards. “You all can’t compete with me. Your hotel sucks. I…shall…destroy it…with… my…”

Stalaro giggled and blushed.

Senor looked up from his cards in anger. “Not like that, pervert!”

 Stalaro snapped his fingers. A portal appeared and white tentacles shot out, knocking the podium off balance. The metal eggs knocked into Pentious Senor and he yelled, “Ow that hurt! Show mercy!”

Stalaro used a drop of his blood and the podium exploded in green smoke.

Senor emerged from the crater, arm shaking, fangs shattered.

“Shoot me with your ray gun,” said a metal egg beside him. Senor face-planted on the ground.

 Stalaro looked on, sadly while everyone else stared, stunned.

“Anyone hungry?” Stalaro asked turning around. “Please don’t make me cook jambalaya. It’s way too spicy and it nearly killed me! I much prefer tea and sugared strawberries, oh the way they melt in my mouth… but anyway, you could say the kick brought me straight into Heaven.”

Stalaro lead the way back to the hotel, the group following him.

“Yes sir, new changes are about to take place. Now…”

Stalaro waved his finger at the lit up sign above the glass, gem-encrusted building on the roof.

The sign changed from “Hazbin Hotel” to “Haven Hotel.”

“Stay tuned.” He finished with low whimpers.

[redfoxwritesstuff]

Appearances (Tom Hiddleston one shot)

Hello, this is for @babylevines 4k challenge. It didn’t go as long as I planned nor did it go exactly where I planned but I had fun with it. 

Tom Hiddleston x ofc, warnings: None, Rating: everyone. 

~~~~~~<3

Rena pushed the wild curl back off her sweaty forehead with the side of her arm as she set the hollow rod on the steel stabilizing frame in front of her. Her assistant, Matthew’s dark skin gleamed under the warm florescent lights as he pushed the tip of the rod into the red hot furnace and began rotating it, slow and steady.

Even with the studio doors open wide and the large fan on the ceiling rotating slowly, there was little relief from the heat and Rena’s pale skin was flushed with it. They were almost done however. The design they were working on was done by Matthew and this was their one scaled down practice before he had to execute it himself with an assistant of his own as his last project for his art degree.

He rolled the cart back and Rena snagged the hot pipe off the rack and set the end on a rack some feet away, supporting the end just above the red hot orb of molten glass. She rotated it as she blew into the end and slowly the orange blob at the end expanded.

Behind her, Matthew set out rods of blue tinted glass on a steel table where he stabilized them before fetching a small container of crushed blue glass and a torch. It was quite for once in the studio and if it wasn’t for the furnaces running, it would have been silent. The furnaces run most of the day almost every day. Between the two of them and any guests renting shop space at any given time, it was more efficient to leave them fired up.

Rena was busy blowing the last of thirteen clear glass bubbles and so when Matthew called out, “Loki’s here!” She could only glance up to the man who at the moment looked only vaguely like the character Matthew insisted on calling him by.

“Has she eaten today? Or you for that matter?” Tom asked, scratching at the stubble on his chin for a moment as he always did coming into the studio when the furnaces were running. He’d once told her when she asked why that it was the heat and humidity mixed that simply made him break out into a sweat instantly. Somehow that resulted in his chin having an itch when stepping inside.

It warmed her heart that he asked after Matthew as well as her. He was a good man, a kind man and she couldn’t even begin to guess what she had done to be blessed enough to have him in her life. Somehow, she caught his eye and her obsessive work schedule hadn’t sent him running. Yet.  

His curls were dyed dark for his latest project and allowed to grow out. It was a look while only slightly reminiscent of Matthew’s favorite role, Rena was fond of. The dark color of his hair often left his skin looking cool and his lack of a tan at the moment didn’t help. The harshness of the look was lessened by the smile on his face and the flush that quickly climbed his cheeks as he moved into the hot room.

“I grabbed some Subway earlier. I don’t think Miss Rena’s left all day. I threw a bottle of water at her an hour ago but it’s still sitting in the reject bin.”

“Why’s it in the reject bin?” Tom absently asked, coming closer to examine Matthew’s work. The young man had talent and even in the few short months Tom had been hanging around the studio he had been able to watch as his art grew and evolved. Glassblowing was an art so outside of Tom’s frame of reference that he seemed to never grow bored watching them work.

“That’s where it landed.” Rena answered, picking up the rod with the glass ball now about the size of Tom’s head and whipping it through the air as if it was some staff and not a steel pip with a ball of still soft glass that would leave extensive burns behind if she made one wrong move. With each whip of the pole, the ball shifted and contorted just a little more into a raindrop.

Tom nodded, as if that made sense while he watched Matthew melt the ends of the thin clear rods and dip them in the powdered blue glass. Before the torch was turned back on to melt the powder he asked, “So you’ve not eaten?”

“I had breakfast. Got caught up making a castle around lunch and forgot. I had a sandwich about an hour ago though.”

Tom walked, chuckling at her meager excuse for a dinner toward her while carefully watching his step. He’d learned early on that the studio was a minefield on some days with shattered glass and broken projects left on the ground in a fit of frustration.

She was a vision to him. Her tank-top was soaked through in places with a mixture of sweat and the water she often dumped over herself throughout the days. Her dark wavy hair was pulled back into a messy bun that somehow still looked just as it should be. The dark blue paint on her nails glittered in the light as set the rod down on a flat work table with the glass hanging off the edge. She rolled the rod and grabbed a soaked bundle of newspaper.

“Can I help?” Tom asked, rather than saying what he really wanted to say which was that she was more beautiful in her element than any of her stunning creations though he could never understand how that was possible.

“Roll the rod?” And so he did as he watched her run the dripping newspaper under the bubble, refining its shape ever so slightly. Each time she pulled the paper away embers glowed where the paper burned away but she was unconcerned and though Tom had seen this before, it always amazed him that the glass was crystal clear and not marred by ash. This was her element and she was bending the glass to her will.

When she told him to stop, he held the rod steady. By now, the thin glass orb was cooling and becoming stiff though still far too hot to handle with bare hands alone. With one hand on the rod, she handed him a pair of thick leather mitts.

“Oh, Loki’s playing catcher today?” Matthew called from where he was shutting down the furnaces. With all the pieces fabricated and it getting late, there wasn’t a reason to keep them burning. Tomorrow they would assemble the pieces once the glass was cool “Dude, don’t drop it.”

Without much of a choice in the matter, Tom was directed to the end of the rod where he couched down with tan leather mittens covering his hands, reaching up almost to his elbows. He’d seen Matthew and Rena do this countless times but he was terrified of mucking it up and dropping the fragile bubble just the same.

He watched as Rena grabbed a pair of large tongs from a bucket of hot water and ran their tips around the base of the bubble, where it narrowed and connected to the pipe before asking, “Ready?”

“Not really, no.” Tom answered in all seriousness only to have Matthew laugh from across the room. This was a terrible idea, he was sure of it.

She picked up a chunk of wood and with a solid whack, it clanked on the side of the rod once. There was a crack that filled the air and in an instant one very hot, very thin bubble of glass fell into his hands and he let out a breath.

“Come on.” Rena was up and leading him toward the annealing ovens in the back. She was moving quickly and he was struggling to keep up. It was like she forgot that he was carrying a glass orb that was dangerously hot and that if he dropped it there would be a mess of shattered glass on the ground rather like the one to the left he almost stepped in.

Matthew had the oven door open as Rena veered to the side and shut down the main lights. Tom carefully set the glass orb inside as if it was a bomb primed to explode with the slightest nudge.

“Miss Rena, we need to make Loki a tesseract.” Matthew grinned like it was a completely original idea. Yet Tom had to smile because if they made him a glass tesseract he was sure it would be a breathtaking piece of artwork far better than any prop he had used with Marvel.

“Let’s get you graduated first.” Rena laughed and the sound was music to Tom’s ears as it danced around the concrete studio, seeming to fill the space.

It amazed him the beauty that could be found in the simple concrete room with the dull gray walls and floors. The first time he had been here, it was early in the morning and he was picking up a gift for his sister that their mother had commissioned. The studio had seemed so cold when Matthew took him inside. The furnaces had been off and the lights turned off. Only the light from outside streamed into the room and the overcast sky hadn’t done their studio any benefits ascetically though he soon learned how much the cool days were valued.

But then he heard her chuckle in delight as she pulled something out of the large oven that must have turned out just as she wanted and everything about the room seemed to change in his eyes. It was as if creative fairies were drawn to the sound of her laugh and danced around the room, bringing it to life as Matthew powered on furnaces and their warm glow added light to the room.

Now, it didn’t matter how early he visited the studio. It didn’t matter if the furnaces hadn’t been lite in days. There was nothing that could banish the warmth he found in the studio. It didn’t matter because now he knew that this was where her creativity lived, where she took glass and twisted and shaped it to her will.

As Matthew climbed the rather rickety ladder that lived near the ceiling window, Rena went to the large shop sink and turned on the tap. It was Matthew’s job to climb the ladder and open and close the custom ceiling window as needed. That window, Rena had once told Tom, did more to vent the heat that builds up in the shop than the large doors that were left open all day regardless of the weather outside.

Tom watched as Rena ended her day as she always did- by shoving her head under the cool stream of the water until she felt the day had been rinsed from her. Tom couldn’t do that- the way the water streamed down her face would have caused him to pull his head out from under the stream. Rena however remained under the stream until her hair was soaked through and she felt like all the sweat was rinsed from it, than longer still.

She scrubbed at her arms, neck, chest and shoulders, washing away the sweat from the day. It wasn’t a replacement for a shower but left her feeling human enough to leave the studio. She blindly turned the water off before wiping it from her face.

Tom couldn’t say if she knew that he watched her, mesmerized by her end of day routine. Matthew noticed and sat midway down the ladder with a small smile. With a shake of his head, he came the rest of the way down to take his own place at the sink, running cool water over his own dark mass of tightly packed curls.

“I’ll lock up.” He mumbled from under the stream of water leaving Tom amazed he hadn’t choked on any water in the process.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stepping outside of the studio was always refreshing but today was a bit cooler than normal. They walked hand in hand down the winding path through the garden. Tom told her of his day, of the interviewers who wanted to pry into if he was dating anyone and he dodged. They hadn’t been public yet and thus far had been careful to keep their relationship, young as it is, private in order to allow what was between them to grow unhindered by the public eye.

Once on the street, her hand slipped from his as it so often did. This time however, Tom was quick to snatch it back up. “Rena?”

“Yes, Tom?”

“It’s dangerous out there.” She laughed at him though he was going to great measures to school his face.

“Yes, the crickets are mighty aggressive this time of year.”

“They are. I’d feel much better if you let me walk you home.”

“Someone will see us.” Rena bit her lip and looked down. “And I look a fright.”

“Let them see us. Let them know that a beautiful artist has captured my heart and my soul with her stunning beauty.”

“What will they say about you?” Rena motioned to herself, wet hair quickly drying to a frizzy mass of waves and sweat mixed with water causing her shirt to cling to her back. “I look like shit. They’ll talk about how terrible it is for you to-”

“You look beautiful. A creative vision in the night. The fantasy I hadn’t known I was looking for and now can’t imagine my world without.” He couldn’t keep his face straight and this time when she laughed at him, he joined her. He was being over the top, knowing that though he meant every word of it, she found such grand words beyond her. In truth, they made her nervous, she was an artist not a poet and worried she’d never be able to tell Tom just how much she truly cared for him already.

She stepped away and he stepped toward her, wrapping his arm around the small of her back as if he couldn’t feel the lingering dampness. “You are so full of shit.” Laughing, she slapped his chest before looking around and making sure no one was watching them. “There’s a guy with a big ass camera.”

Tom looked behind him. “So there is.” Yet he didn’t let go.

“They’ll get pictures.”

“Are you ashamed of me?” He asked softly, knowing or perhaps hoping that she wasn’t. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, drawing them up in a peaceful smile as he gazed down at her.

“No- but I look like a mess. Tom, what will they say? Be serious.”

Slowly, he leaned down and brought his face closer to hers. “They’ll say how damn happy I look.” His whispered words left his soft lips brushing against hers as he spoke.

“They’ll say I don’t deserve you.” She mumbled into his lips as they moved just a hair closer, teasing her with the breath of a kiss.

“It is I who doesn’t deserve you.” He answered before removing her ability to debate her point further. The kiss was soft, sweet and full of love not yet given proper voice though it grew by the day within their hearts just the same.

Come morning, the gossip rags would feature their pictures on the front page and talk of Tom finding himself a normal girl and sweeping her off her feet. The world would see their love filled kisses and pictures of Tom slipping into her front door in the night paired with him spotted leaving in the morning, disheveled and wearing what looked to be the same suit after sharing a kiss on the doorstep. There was no doubt that the internet’s boyfriend had found himself a girlfriend.

~~~~~~~<3

Tag List: @winterisakiller, @dangertoozmanykids101, @alexakeyloveloki, @0-0-0-0-0-0-0-7, @theoneanna, @bambamwolf87, @j-u-s-t-4, @wegingerangelica, @missaphrodite23, @nonsensicalobsessions, @tinchentitri, @michelegurl

[jokerguise]

Another normal day in school, or rather... as normal as it can get for Akira at this point. Being the outcast transfer student with dark rumors surrounding him did him absolutely no favors, but those weren’t exactly the things that he was 100% worrying about at the moment. Hell, even school by itself weren’t the things that Akira could say he was worrying about at this moment. At least not in the tradition way.

That castle. The one with the talking cat and the King Kamoshida... What was that? What in the world could that be? It wasn’t bad enough that he had gotten put on probation, no. Of course not. Stay out of trouble? This was the exact opposite. Akira is 100% in trouble. Deep, deep trouble. And already, he had seemingly gained the negative eye of Kamoshida at the school.

As a student, there isn’t anything he can do about it. He is trapped to deal with those horrible adults and their power over him. And while it is completely unfair, he has to play by their rules. That’s just how the world works. Unfortunately. Disgruntled and tired from his ‘school day’, Akira leaves the school grounds and heads on the trains to Aoyama-Itchome.

The chatter from the bustling people going to and fro was a bit different than Akira is used to, but in just the short amount of time he was here, the male has gotten used to it. Better to try to blend in with a crowd than to stand out. The words and murmuring from people were also overheard; lots and lots of talk about the psychotic breakdown and the fears of it happening again, frankly while they themselves were on the train. Such a scary thing indeed. And while the boy could sympathize, there really wasn’t any other way home from school on his own than train. Such a life when one didn’t drive or have any friends that did. Or friends at all (Ryuji, at the moment... was more of an acquaintance), for that matter.

Riding the connecting train to Teikyu Building for his transfer to his next train home to Leblanc, the male’s legs continue to carry him through the station and he keeps his head low and out of other people’s business. Truthfully, Akira isn’t the type of person to really do such a thing, anyways. At least, until he sees her again... And just like the first time, he finds himself awestruck.

Blonde hair, ponytails, red leggings, white hoodie... The girl that sits in front of him in his class. Ann Takamaki, correct? The girl that has rumors surrounding her about Kamoshida... But this time, before he could really get a look in, her voice was breaking the air, in anger.

“Will you please give it a rest?! I told you, I’m not feeling up to it...”

Akira’s head turns to the girl and suddenly, he fixates on her, just like the first day he saw her. But instead of his eyes upon her features, his ears were the sense getting the stimulation.

“--wait, what?! That’s not what you promised! And you call yourself a teacher?!” The shock left her face and turned into anger again. “This has nothing to do with Shiho!!-- Ah...” What sounds like a dial tone is floating through the air, and then Ann’s body lowers itself in a huddle to herself, where she mumbles something out of frustration from her glossy lips...

“--Shiho’s... starting position...”

Without a single thought, Akira’s legs advance to the female, and before he could say anything, Ann looks up to see him hovering over her, much to her chagrin. Straightening up and backing away, she grits her teeth, pale in comparison from her normal complexion.

“Wait... were you listening?”

Fingers reach up for his dark locks between his eyes, lightly twisting them before dropping them and returning his hand to his pocket. Clicking his teeth, he speaks calmly. “...Not on purpose.”

Regardless, Ann’s reaction to him is responded back with anger about ‘lack of privacy’. Which Akira brushes off, honestly; it was a public area, what did she expect? But just as fast as she shot out the line, she retorts an apology, averting sky blues from silver-grays. A wrist raises up to her face and clear her visage for a moment, before she asks him another question.

“So how much did you hear...?”

Akira heard most of it, but for the time being, it was probably better than he abstain from revealing that. Pursed lips broke again to respond, just as quiet as before. “Something about a friend.”

Ann’s face returns to disgruntled as she murmurs but one word left her lips. Through faux frames, the male makes out the word: ‘Shiho’. Bright blues look back up at Akira.

“It’s nothing at all. Nothing...” Her arm comes across her face.

Acute pupils notice the droplets forming from her eyes before she wipes them away, taking off to the corridor behind her to escape the boy.

Watching her duck between numerous people rudely to escape him, she must have been desperate to get away from him, to hide. Once again, Akira’s legs move on their own, following after the blonde through the many people of Shibuya. While she is moving fast, it was a blessing that she wore such standout-ish colors (which, he internally sighed in relief about at this moment). She was moving much faster than him (is she moving that fast, or is he just that out of shape?).

After cutting off many people, cutting down a hallway, down an escalator and keeping his wits about him to catch her, he finds himself at the Underground Walkway near a support beam, where the girl is catching her breath from her game of tag.

“Stop following me... Just leave me alone,” she screams, glaring daggers at him. What seems like unbridled frustration and scorn, loses all effect from the rosy tint on her cheeks from whatever waterworks she had spilled. Akira just looks at her and asks a question with hint of concern.

“...are you okay?”

Still choosing to fight back, Ann glares and poses her next questions of why he kept worrying about her. But she couldn’t hold the facade any longer, as she then choked a sob up, and the water she was so desperately trying to hold back become crystal clear to anyone with eyes. It was pretty apparent that at this point, she wasn’t okay. 

“--let’s go somewhere safe,” comes the voice of the transfer student, looking at her with his hand held out. Hopefully, she’d take him up on it. 

“What the heck...? I really don’t get you...”

Holding her hand in his own was a sensation that the boy had never really experienced before in his life; it was soft and warm, albeit a bit wet from her own tears. It didn’t take long for them to reach a safe place; Big Bang Banger is the choice (it was the only thing that the male knew in the area off the top of his head).

Sitting at a table in the corner by a window, he orders them both a glass a water. While the water was for her sake due to her tears, he is a bit winded from his run (he has got to get into shape...), Ann instantly returns to her brash tone, rejecting his comfort.

“I don’t have anything to talk about with you,” she spat, glaring daggers at him. But once again, Akira doesn’t flinch. “It was just an argument...” Perhaps if he were daft, he’d believe that and let it go. But he’s not, and calls her bluff.

“--with Kamoshida?” Her face is as flush red as her leggings, dejectedly looking away. Akira’s almost certain she’s distressed from whatever she’s bottling up or hiding away. Before he can question any further, her voice breaks through and cracks as she explains.

“--you’ve heard the rumors, haven’t you? About Mr. Kamoshida... Everyone says we’re getting it on... But that’s so not true...!” Digits fidget with the napkin, trying to find the words to say and also not fumble over them. Akira keeps focus, so he doesn’t let a single word slip, eyes looking at her face as she continues. “That was him on the other line... I avoided giving him my number for the longest time... he told me to go to his place after this... you know what it means...” Her fist curls up tightly to crush the paper she was fiddling with. Upon hearing that, Akira’s own face turns into a scowl of disgust, anger seething through every pore in his body. But all he can do at the moment is grip his pants in frustration, trying his damnedest to keep a straight face. “If I turn him down, he said he’d take my friend off as a regular on the team. I’ve been telling myself that this is all for Shiho’s sake...” She sinks back into her seat. “I can’t take it anymore... I’ve had enough of this... I hate him!!”

The water breaks through and falls into the lap of the distraught, leaving her eyes in soft pitter patter fashion before her face looks back up at him. Finally, her voice shatters like glass on the sidewalk, in a shrill of anguish and despair, desperate for an answer -- any answer -- that she can get. “But still... Shiho’s my best friend... she’s all I have left in that sorry excuse of a school! Tell me... what should I do...?”

Ann’s face is visibly hurt, emotionally and mentally. Unable to bear the sight, silver greys close, as the fool couldn’t hide his emotions from the situation any longer, gritting his teeth in pure hatred from the advantage the other two have been getting abuse for. But before Akira can give an answer, she speaks again, trying to keep her strong facade, like before.

“Sorry... I shouldn’t have asked... it’s not your problem...”

Silence befalls the pair for a short moment before Akira opens his eyes and looks at her, who has dried her tears and speaks again in bewilderment of the situation.

“What... What am I saying...? I’ve barely even talked to you before...”

“Maybe that’s why,” he speaks solemnly, looking over at her with a reassuring smile and soft eyes. He fixes his glasses and nods his head, hoping that it does something for her. Lo and behold, a chuckle leaves the girl’s lips.

“--you might be right,” comes her voice again, returning to it’s normal tone as she shakes her head. “You’re so weird... usually everyone just ignores me. Are you really a bad person like the rumor says? You just don’t seem like it...”

Akira straightens up with the most innocent, puppy dog, lost look on his face as she speaks of ‘rumors’. He hasn’t been there a week yet and there were rumors? “...what rumors,” he asks, fixing his glasses.

“That you assaulted someone... that you almost killed them. I kinda had a feeling they were all just exaggerations. You seemed lonely... almost like you didn’t belong anywhere... We’re the same in that regard. Maybe that’s why it was so easy for me to talk to you.” Ann’s face looks down at the table and her hand moves up to her face, holding it up in disdain. “Is there really no way for me to help Shiho...? I wish he’d just change his mind... Like, forget about me, and everything...” Falling back against the booth, she speaks back into reality. “As if something like that would ever happen...”

Akira’s eyes light up for a moment before he plays with his hair again. Despite his lack of knowledge of the situation, he still tries to cheer her up, giving her the answer he knows she wants to hear, hoping and praying that it continues for a positive boost in her morale and spirits. “It could happen.”

Another chuckle comes from those glossy lips, and she smiles at him. “I wasn’t asking for a serious response.” She straightens herself up. “But I do feel a bit better now. I’m going to head home.” Grabbing her water from the table and her school bag, she steps forward to next to him, and looks down towards him.

“--Don’t tell anyone what I told you, okay? I’ll try and think of a way to persuade Kamoshida.” Silver eyes look up at her with worry and a bit of guilt.

“Well... thanks,” she says quietly to him as she walks off, disappearing from the restaurant and into the crowd of Shibuya. Even if she told him not to say anything, he knew for a fact that this was going to be on his mind... and he knew for a fact that Kamoshida had to be stopped, even if it meant the worst for him. Not just for Shiho’s sake...

But for Ann’s too. // @pantherguise​

[bakugou-tm]

Anti-Hero Bakugou x Reader

This idea came to me awhile ago, I had read a piece similar from the Voltron fandom or something?? I d k but I really liked the idea so I hope I do it justice, enjoy! It’s not exactly what you think it’ll be, just keep reading my dudes ;)

What the infamous anti-hero did not expect to hear at one in the morning was his phone ringing beside his bed.

There was nobody to be calling him, especially at this hour. He had declined most clients due to the season time, and the ash blond was rather cranky since his recent plans had been hoaxed by the newest Class 1A... those fifteen year old brats.

One day he was going to blast them all to hell.

Regardless, once the loud ringing persisted Bakugou gave into the sound with an annoyed growl, shooting up from his covers and snatching the phone only to freeze when he saw the caller ID that was displayed on his screen.

Why on earth would you be calling him, and why would you be calling him this late? 

After Bakugou made more surprise appearances when you were out in public, he was pleased to see your bitter love for him caving in to your desires. He wasn’t sure how but he even had gotten your number.

That is.. until that shitty boy from Class B had gotten to you. As if the prince charming to save your almost tinted soul, the dark haired boy made you forget all about Bakugou. Better said... he made you remember the villain Bakugou truly was.

The ash blond tried to tempt you once more, but it was clear you were done with his antics. This is why Bakugou planned to take that shitty hero school by storm and light up every last one of those B-List idiots, but not until the glorious Class 1A stopped him and his small crew.

After these recent turn of events Bakugou remained in the shadows, rage building up inside of him as he watched you skip around with this so called hero. 

Which made it all the more weirder when he saw your caller ID on his screen, his crimson eyes narrowing in suspicion before he clicked the green button on his screen and lifted it to his ear.

“The fuck?”

Before he could even finish his growled statement, the sound of screaming and glass breaking was heard in the background causing the ash blond to jump in surprise. Just where the hell were you?

“Baaakaagou?” You groaned into the phone, your voice somewhat laced with sadness when you heard no response, “D..Did I call the wrong number again?”

“No you idiot it’s me, the hell is wrong with you?” Bakugou hissed, already out of bed and stripping off his sweatpants as he heard more chaotic sounds from behind you.

Suddenly a small shriek escaped your lips causing the boy to smash the speaker button on his phone before running to his closet to grab clothes, “Suki it’s you! I’ve missed you so m..much!”

Gritting his teeth he threw a black hoodie over his head, searching for a new pair of sweatpants to slip on while he heard your sloppy voice over the phone. The sound of you hiccuping was not very promising.

“(S/o) are you fucking drunk?”

A loud gasp was heard from the other line as he tugged the gray sweatpants up his waist while letting out a sigh, “Ahem, no I am not drunk thank you very much...” You hissed into the phone before letting out a quiet giggle, “I’ve only had one drink from a very big man, i..it kinda tasted like my favorite cereal... w..what’s it called again?”

Shit, someone was trying to drug you. Quickly snatching his phone the ash blond slid the window of his apartment open, jumping down the rundown building so not to wake up the other members of his crew.

While they were generally neutral about Bakugou’s crush on you, a few grew suspicious as to where his loyalty stood. The last thing he needed was them on his ass right now.

“Stay where you are shitty girl, and if that man comes back punch him as hard as you ca-”

“FRUITY LOOPS!” You screamed into the phone almost causing Bakugou to drop the device as he ran down the sidewalk.

“What?!”

Bursting into giggles Bakugou could hear voices behind you before you spoke up, “M..My favorite cereal, I just remembered they’re called fruity loops!”

Letting out a growl the ash blond continued to run down the dirty cold streets, heading towards the nearest bar he knew until he heard a deep voice in the background of the phone.

“Hey why don’t you grab another drink with me in the back little lady, it’s on me.”

Bakugou’s crimson eyes widened when he heard you chipperly agree, only confirming you were not in the right state of mind.

“(S/o) don’t you go fucking back with him-”

The sound of the line cutting sent a wave of chills through his core, until a new wave of rage crashed over him.

Quickly typing away at your phone, he used the new application Kurogiri got on his phone to track down any device, confirming your exact whereabouts. He had no time to wonder from bar to bar, he needed to get to you and fast.

Shoving his phone in his pocket once he locked onto your location, Bakugou blasted away into the sky, thinking of how he was going to blow this assholes brains out until his inner rage was calmed.

----------

Storming into the bar, the ash blond kept his hood up so not to be recongized before slamming his fist on the counter effectivly startling the man behind it.

“Where did that (h/c) hair go, roughly (height) sized.” Bakugou hissed, the man looked the ash blond up and down before slowly pointing to the back door.

It took Bakugou less than two seconds to storm towards the door, shoving all the drunk idiots of the bar aside before blasting open the door, his head whipping to the scene he feared he would see.

Sitting on top of a stack of dirty boxes was your form, your back pressed against the wall while your head leaned on one of the three men before you.

“H..Hey, you promised me more of my fruity drink.” You pouted, head sliding off the side of the man as he grunted, the other two attempting to sit you up.

“Yeah yeah little miss your drink is coming, just lean back for us yeah?” The man cooed, his hands working up the small hoodie you wore, “Lean her against the wall you idiots before someone catches us.”

Both men pressed your back against the wall, your head resting against as you bursted into giggles, mistaking their wondering hands as something much more simple.

“I..Is this a tickle party?” You grinned, barely able to keep your head up until Bakugou had enough of this.

How dare they bring you to such a filthy place. A pure angelic girl that had no taint on her, just sloppily laid amongst this trash. It was angering, raging even.

“Oi oi, get your hands off her you perverts.” Bakugou yelled, catching all of their attention causing them to jump before they saw the boy standing before him.

Suddenly their startled expressions faded as they bursted into laughter, the man before you keeping his hold on you while the other two began to walk to Bakugou.

“This doesn’t concern the likes of you kid, now scram.”

Bakugou’s once angered face darkened, his fists clenching as they began to spark up, “Let her fucking go now, before I show my fists so far up your as you won’t be able to walk for weeks.”

While the threat was intense, the men couldn’t help but scoff down to the teen sized boy.

“You got a lot of nerve kid, who do you think you are?”

Just as Bakugou was ready to show them, your giddy voice filled the air causing all of them to look at you.

“B..Bakugou?” You muttered, your glazed over eyes looking to him before your face brightened up like a child on Christmas Day, “Bakugou it’s you! Don’t hurt him tickle guys, h..he’s my very best friend!”

The men’s once confident faces all dropped at the sound of Bakugou’s name, their heads slowly turning to the ash blond as a crooked smirk appeared on his features. Pulling his hood down, his infamous ash blond locks were revealed while his crimson eyes glowed devilishly in the rundown alleyway.

“B..Bakugou? You never told us you were that creepy new villain.” The man said, slowly stepping back while Bakugou advanced, smashing his fists together.

“Well I was hoping to stay anonymous, but I guess blabber mouth couldn’t keep her fucking mouth shut,” Bakugou hissed, rolling his eyes to your giggling form before focusing his attention back on the three cowering men, “Either way, I’m going to blast you all the way to hell.”

And with that, the only sound that was heard were the cries of the three men and loud explosions, lasting for a bout five minutes until three heavy thuds were heard against the cemented road.

To anyone that happened to look down the street, all they would happen to see was a black figure shaking with rage, smoke coming from his hands while his sinister crimson eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. But luckily, nobody bothered to check on the loud cries.

Once finally beginning to calm down Bakugou quickly made his way over to your form, your head beginning to slide against the wall while you almost fell off the pair of boxes until the ash blond luckily caught you somewhat gracefully.

“Fucking hell... you’re a mess (S/o).” The ash blond muttered, your normally bright skin looking sickeningly pale meanwhile your head was burning up. He could only imagine the massive hangover you would be having tomorrow.

Blinking your eyes in a dazed view, you leaned on his muscular arm that wrapped around your form before looking up to him, “I..I’m not a mess, I’m just sleeeeepy.”

Bakugou rolled his eyes, ignoring you drunken words as he made his way down the sidewalk while keeping a firm hold on you as you stumbled forward. UA was only a few blocks down, and lucky for him he knew exactly which dorm you were in.

“Can I fucking ask why the hell Class 4A’s number one hero is out at one in the morning drunk as a fucking skunk?” The ash blond questioned, grunting as you stumbled over your feet once more.

Letting out a sigh you seemed to be pondering over something, your (e/c) orbs flicking to the ground before you ultimately shrugged, deciding not to respond.

The rest of the walk was in silence, while Bakugou would usually be teasing you to no end like he usually did, it was no fun when you weren’t in the right state of mind. The ash blond new for a fact if the real you were here, you would have punched him into the nearest wall. But now here you were, putty in his hands.

It was... unsettling.

“H..Hey, I see UA coming up!” You suddenly cried, catching Bakugou’s attention as you began to trot forward until you were out of his grasp, the absence of a stable being causing you to trip over your own feet and stumble to the ground.

Expecting you to groan in pain or maybe even cry, Bakugou was met with you bursting into giggles causing an annoyed growl to escape your lips. Whatever they put in that drink really made you braindead.

"I don’t know why the hell you didn’t just call that fucktard of a boyfriend to pick your goofy ass up.” Bakugou hissed under his breath, snaking his arm around your back and neck and scooping you back to your feet.

But instead of continuing to walk forward, your expression suddenly faltered as you bit your lip. That same lost face you had before returning to your features, causing the ash blond to freeze as you looked down to your feet.

“I...I would rather not speak of Yosetsu at the moment,” You muttered sadly, your right foot grazing against the sidewalk bashfully before your tearful eyes looked up to Bakugou, “I wasn’t good enough for him s..so he cheated on me with another girl.”

Suddenly all the dots clicked in Bakugou’s head, that’s what this was about.

That’s why you were drunk at one of the dirtiest bars in Japan, that’s why you called him of all people to come pick you up, that bastard was the reason you were in this mess.

While there was a small spark of pleasure upon hearing that idiot was in your past, it was nowhere near the amount of rage he felt for the sorry boy.

“That motherfucker...” Bakugou growled, fists clenching before he heard you hiccup, half from your sobbing and half from your drunken state.

The look of your heartbroken eyes and blotchy face made Bakugou’s heart skip a beat, especially when your sad voice came to match it, “Y..You’re not going to leave me to, a..are you Katsuki?”

Gritting his teeth, Bakugou ran his fingers through your soft (h/c) locks to calm you down, knowing he couldn’t leave you in such a sad and vulnerable position.

“Course not, I’m not a dumbass like him,” Bakugou scoffed before turning around and crouching down with a scowl on his face, “Now get on my back so I can get your ass home.”

Seeing your expression flip from sad to excited helped somewhat of the guilt Bakugou felt, but that didn’t mean he still wasn’t seething with fury towards that boy. He had already made a mental note to smash his head into the nearest wall next time they came across each other.

After about ten minutes of tedious walking, Bakugou finally made it to your dorm building. Entering through the backdoor and to the girls dorms. While he knew exactly where your dorm was for his own personal reasons, stalking the shit out of you, it was helpful remembering how the dorms worked thanks to his previous years at this shitty school.

By the time he reached your door, your head felt heavy against his shoulder, assuming you were asleep since you made no movements at the sight of your dorm. Trying the knob the ash blond huffed in annoyance when he found it unlocked, always so irresponsible.

Shutting the door quietly behind himself, the anti-hero shuffled over to her unmade bed, getting ready to set her down until she began to stir on his back, sliding off of him before he could set her down.

“Tomorrow you need to drink a shit ton of water you hear me?” Bakugou muttered, keeping her swaying form still by grabbing onto her arms, “Now get some rest shitty girl, lord knows you’ll fucking need it.”

Ready to turn around and make his escape from the dorms, he froze when a quiet whine was heard from behind him, his crimson eyes looking back.

“Y..You can’t leave without a kiss goodnight!” You huffed, your lower lip puffing out into a pout while you folded your arms stubbornly.

If only you knew how much he wanted to just slam you against the wall and take you right here, oh how he wanted to give you so much more than a mere goodbye kiss. But as much as he wanted to, it just wouldn’t be the same knowing it wasn’t truly you asking for his burning touch.

Instead, Bakugou stomped forward giving you a quick peck on the lips before pushing you down just softly enough for you to plop down on your bed, “Go to bed now you little shit.”

Now ready to sneak out, he was yet again stopped but this time by your small hand grasping his own, using his stable body to hoist yourself back to your feet.

“I want you t..to give me a real goodnight kiss.” You muttered, your eyes holding a certain look that sent chills over Bakugou. This wasn’t good, your stature, that devious look in your eye... you were asking for something that you were going to regret. He could only beg you wouldn’t push him further, that thin string of sanity inside of him threatening to snap by just your very gaze, 

“You’re going to regret this (S/o).” Bakugou growled down to you as your arms snaked around his neck, your lips curving into a grin while you looked up to him with a dazed expression.

“I doubt it...” You purred, kissing at his cheeks before your lips neared just by his ear, “I know you can do much better than that Suki.”

Damn it. How were you going to whisper seductivly to him like that, even using the nickname you knew drove him wild. You were asking for this the whole time, and lucky for you were able to snap that final string like it were a strand of fine hair.

In a matter of seconds your body was hoisted into his arms, a shriek escaping your lips but was immedietly muffled by his mouth smashing against yours.

Immediately the taste of your sweet lips were devoured by his own, the stringent taste of alcohol slightly in your mouth as well. It was foreign to him, your mouth normally tasting of sweet candy, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle.

The anti-hero devoured up your lewd sounds as he gripped firmly at your underside, a low growl emitting from his own lips as he diminished any bit of innocence you had left. Surely you would feel miserable tomorrow, but the only thing the two you seemed to care about was the present. The now.

Your form was putty in his hands at this point, your fingers tugging at his ash blond locks while you let out soft moans at the occasional feeling of him biting at your lip. The sound of your gasps making the beast inside him even more riled up.

Bakugou wanted to push you further, he wanted to leave his mark on every inch of your body to claim what was rightfully his, but deep down he knew you weren’t his yet. This wasn’t you speaking, this wasn’t you kissing him, this wasn’t you. Rather a drunk and saddened version of yourself, and as much as Bakugou craved your heated touch all over him, this isn’t how he wanted it.

He may not be a hero, but he wasn’t like those shitty perverts.

Pulling away from your bruised lips he scowled when he heard your annoyed whimpers, tugging your leech like hold on him off you as you whined before giving you one final glare that seemed to shut you up just by the look.

“Get the fuck in bed, now.” Bakugou growled, your lips tugging into a frown before you nodded, crawling back in bed.

Once he finally saw your exhausted form bundled up in your sheets, the ash blond left your room in silence, leaving you to dwell upon tonight’s wild events and prepare for the aftershock the next morning.

While he expected to wake up to hundreds of angry voicemails from you about the night before, he was surprised to wake up to one simple text.

A text causing a smug smirk to grow on his lips.

“I may have regret going to that bar, but I didn’t regret kissing you. Call me.”

[haxorus-imp]

Alien Affections - Villainous/Reader - Chapter 2

You had climbed out of the crate some time ago. Now, you were just watching the strange bag-wearing man pace the...roof? You looked around at your surroundings, seeing burnt metal and singed mechanical equipment, and that you were on a roof of some kind. And was that a plane sticking out of said roof? You shook your head side to side at the ridiculousness of what you were seeing. Not only that, you don't really understand how you got here. One moment you're going out to get your mail right before heading to bed, the next thing you know, you got enveloped in a glowing green light and saw yourself get pixelated and broken apart before your very eyes. It was horrifying, yet exhilarating at the same time. You could only think of one thing at that moment in time, that you were being abducted by aliens. I mean, after you were broken down, you were sent on a wild ride through a psychedelic tunnel of light. You were everywhere, yet nowhere all at once. You were floating and falling. Flying and standing. In pieces, yet whole. Then, when a bright light engulfed you, there was a large explosion that caused your ears to ring. It was one of the trippiest things you have ever witnessed in your life. Now you know what drugs are like. It wasn't a great experience. Mostly because it was unexpected. Then, the next thing you know, you're in a hard and dark place. Yet, you knew you were anywhere but home. After being broken apart and sent through a loop like that, it wasn't surprising that you felt sick and disoriented. All you knew at the time was that something happened. Yet, even then, you wanted to at least meet your abductors. At first, you were thinking of little green or gray beings. You weren't really expecting a human-like man wearing a paper bag that had goggles strapped over them. You were prepared for a lot of things. But, not him. When you both made first eye contact, the guy just...stared. It was kinda creepy, honestly. Yet, your joke and relaxed attitude managed to shatter the awkward silence and staring contest that got started between you two. Much to your gracious gratitude. But, in your silent opinion, the guy that's pacing the roof looked like a weirdo. But, hey! He hasn't scooped your brain out yet. So, that's a plus! It was just...you were expecting so much more than a dude wearing a bag and goggles. Least to say that your were kinda disappointed. . . . Okay, you were VERY disappointed. But, I mean...this is kinda unexpected and...nice, you guess? You shrugged and refocused on the man, as he seemed to have stopped pacing the roof like a lion in its' cage. You tuned back into his quiet muttering. "Okay...Okay...we can make this work! We...have to make this work." You heard the man mumble, as he seemed to place his finger on the area where you figured his mouth would be underneath the bag. "I just...gotta...explain what happened. That's it!" He muttered to himself. "Um, hello?" You cautiously said, yet, you kept the caution out of your voice. It seemed to grab the mans attention. "Can you tell me what's going on, dude? I mean, I'm kinda in the dark here..." You explained. The man stayed silent before going back to quiet mutterings. 'Okay, rude.' You mentally stated. He then stopped once more after a few curious minutes of you watching him, he turned to you and cleared his throat, then approached yourself. "Y-Yes. Hello! Greetings!" He said, holding out his gloved hand, to which you stared at and took it in your own. "I know that you're about as lost and a-as confused as I am. But, we need to get going." He then gripped your hand and opened a hatch that lead down some stairs. You were quite startled at the sudden change of events. "H-Hey! Wait! Where are we doing, dude?!" You dug your heels in slightly on the stairs, still following along, just not fast enough to break your neck on the stairs if you fall. "U-Uh, I need to...report to my boss...about the experiment. You also said 'Take me to your leader', right?" The man dragged you along, until you both reached an extravagant hallway. "Geeze! I was joking!" You exclaimed, yet followed along. "Regardless, you're gonna have to meet him anyway." The man explained, dragging you along. You watched as you both passed by rooms and various different decorations. Many of them looked very expensive. I mean, even the hallway floors were made of tile! So...this must either be a funded lab, seeing from the paper bag dudes' lab coat, or a museum that showcases alien lifeforms. To which, you hope it's not. Because you're not gonna be taken away from your home, just to be a showy little trinket for an entire alien race to peek at. Like in the movies! Then, both of you seemed to reach a pair of closed double doors that had intimidating patterns carved into the wood. It also seemed to be a place of grand importance, as there were two gargoyle-looking statues hovering above the doorway entrance. This boss is obviously very edgy and shouldn't be trifled with. The masked man then released your hand and turned around to face yourself. "This is his office and I'm about to knock and ask to come in. Just please, for the love of science, do NOT make this man angry with any rhetorical comments or insults! Let me do the t-talking and only speak when you're spoken to! Don't t-touch anything and don't break anything! Do anything to make him mad and we'll both pay!"The masked man spoke, his voice low and it held a tone of warning. You just nodded, feeling a slight rush when the man turned around and gave a few low-key knocks on the door with his knuckle. "S-Sir? Permission to come in, please?" The man asked. To which a deep rumbling voice responded from some place behind the door a few seconds later. "Come in." The voice ordered, to which the masked man turned the knob to the double doors and opened them. Allowing you both to walk inside the dreary office. -- Flug and yourself were currently walking into a dimly lit office-like space. It was a place that spelled danger at every darkened corner. You even found yourself walking closer to the masked man for a faint feeling of security. Yep. Whoever lives here likes the gothic feel that these creepy items and trinkets give off. As there was statues of gargoyles lining the walls and pillars that paralleled each side of the red rug that lead further into the room. The rug that lead to the desk in the center even had the design of a top hat stitched into it. Strangely enough, there was a lot of top hat oriented items that were littered around this building. It was on the suits of armor, the wallpaper, the rugs, and even on the furniture! The person that owns this place has an obsession for top hats and gothic styled things apparently. Further and further into the office you both walked. The atmosphere rang of gothic elegance. Lit by seemingly faint candlelight. Yet, both of your journeys came to an end when you both stopped in front of a dark wooded desk that had a large chair behind it that was currently facing away from you both and was facing toward the large rose-tinted window behind the desk. You could tell that someone was occupying the chair. As they were holding an empty wine glass in their hand, void of any liquid whatsoever. Which was also concealed in a glove, like the masked man you were with. Except they were more elegant then the masked mans' pair and a darkened black. Said man then approached the desk, dwindling his thumbs. You both jumped when the voice spoke up. "So. How's the project going, Flug?" The voice hissed, causing the man, now named Flug, to quiver. "Uh....w-well. We got more than we expected to get, sir." Flug explained. To which it seemed to catch the mans' attention. "We got...more than we were expecting? What are you going on about now, Flug?" The chair then turned around, yet you weren't prepared for the visual of the...'man' that was in front of you. You wanted to just blurt out 'What the fuck?!', but you held your tongue. Probably due to...Flugs' plea. The chair had a strange demon-looking man sitting in it, who was currently pinching the bridge of his non-existent nose, as he opened his one visible eye that wasn't hidden behind a monocle, his sharp gaze then landed on you. To which he snapped all of his attention to you. You felt kinda nervous under his threatening gaze, but you kept your calm outer appearance. The demon snarled. "I see what you mean now, Flug." He gestured to yourself. "Tell me. How did this person get past my defenses?" He placed the empty wine glass on the table, then sat back in his chair, lacing his fingers together. Giving you a deadly leer while he was at it. "Well, you see sir..." Flug started. It took a lot of explaining from Flug to get his 'boss' to understand what was going down. He told him some science mumbo-jumbo, results, data, and various other things that you didn't understand. Some things about meteorites and a particle gun? Also, he explained about a collision, probably mentioning you, and explained what went down on the roof. "And that's what happened, sir." Flug finished, nervously twitching every now and then. The demon man took a nice long and deep breath, then exhaled. Yet, it was anything but satisfied. "So. Let me revise what you just explained, Flug." The man growled, addressing the shuddering scientist next to you. The poor guy was sweating bullets that were leaking through his bag. Which was pretty gross. "You managed to succeed in making the particle gun." He paused for effect. "You managed to get the beam into space...and it collided with, what you suspect was a distant planet, and not an asteroid." "But, you didn't anticipate this type of outcome. That you might accidentally bring back some form of foreign life from a distant galaxy?" The demon growled, gesturing to yourself. Flug gulped. "T-That is correct sir. I did preform a s-successful launch, but I-I didn't make the prototype able to p-process bio-particles well." Flug confirmed. "And where IS the prototype?" The evil-looking man leered. "It....e-exploded." Flug jumped at the sound of the dark man smacking his face and growling. "I knew something went wrong the moment I heard that loud ruckus coming from the roof. Figures." He snarled. Then, he turned his leering attention to the alien in the room, who didn't flinch at all under his gaze. A few seconds passed, with Flug looking nervously over to the newcomer, who was looking at the demon in a confused manner. "WELL?! Are you going to tell me who you are or not?!" The vile creature snapped, causing Flug to flinch and the guest to jump slightly. They merely just cocked their brow and blinked. "Dude, Chill. You could of just asked." The alien said lamely, while waving their hand carelessly, ignoring the glare they received from the vile man in return. "My name's (Name)! (First) (Last)! Nice to meet ya!" You smiled, while waving at the leering demon. "Well, (Name)." The finely dressed man said snidely. "I am Black Hat! The head of this evil corporation!" Black Hat cackled as he posed slightly. But, when nobody did anything, he placed his hands back down onto the table. Brushing off the awkwardness like it was nothing. Still, that little 'Evil Corporation' bit DID have you kinda worried. I mean, were they gonna experiment on you? You hope that they don't do that. That wouldn't be healthy for you. Especially if it involved cutting you open and stealing all of your entrails. That REALLY wouldn't be okay with you. "Now, tell me. Where did you come from?" Black Hat questions, while folding his gloved hands together on the desk and leaning back in his chair, keeping his gaze on the newcomer. You looked lost in thought for a moment. Seemingly pondering what he meant. "Where I'm from? Do you want just the planet or details?" You asked. "Full information." Black Hat replied shortly. "Oh. Well, I'm from Earth. I lived in (Country) and in a house. Which is located in a solar system, which is also located in a southern arm of the Milky Way Spiral Galaxy within the Virgo Galaxy Cluster." You Answered. Black Hat hummed in slight boredom, while Flug appeared to be intrigued with the new information. Curiously staring at you as he seemed to be calculating something from within the safety of his own mind. Yet, you paid attention to Black Hat when he began to size you up. Hopefully judging your character and NOT how much meat was on your bones. Because those sharp teeth are giving you unwanted horrible flesh-tearing-involved thoughts. 'Please don't be THOSE types of aliens.' You mentally hoped. "Any useful skills?" Black Hat asked in a business-like tone, as he sat up and began to gather some papers. Huh. Well, that caught you off guard. This...demon-man-thing does own a corporation. "Uh. Well, I attended a high end technology-based college for about 4 years. I have bachelor degrees in robotic engineering and computer sciences." For some reason, it kinda feels like an interview to you. Oh well. This is better than having a luau with you as the main course, right? You heard Black Hat hum in slight interest. "An alien robotics engineer and a computer technician. Interesting." Black Hat muttered as he put away some of the papers and sat up straight. "Well. As you can already guess that your way home is currently. . .compromised." Black Hat made eye contact with Flug, before he focused on you once more. You nodded in understanding. "Yeah. Heard what, uh, Flug said. The machine that brought me here blew up, right?" You reply, while looking over to the too quiet scientist. Who scratched his neck in a nervous way. "Correct." Black Hat affirmed. "Which means, you will have to stay with Black Hat Inc until we can return you home." Black Hat said, as he tightened his gaze when he saw you grin a little. "HOWEVER." Black Hat grinned smugly, just as your face fell into slight confusion. "Being allowed to stay here means that you have to do your part and fair share while you're living here." Black Hat warned. "It's either you stay here and assist us or you leave and never come back." Black Hat explained with a cackle. You were kinda confused at the choices, but the attitude REALLY threw you off. Black Hat just shifted, placed the palms of his hands together, and tilted his head down. Giving himself a much more menacing posture and aura. "So. What will it be?" Black Hat asked, looking at you from under the brim of his hat. You placed a finger on your chin. After about a minute of thought, you sighed. The choice was horribly one-sided. It was a wonder at why he gave you a choice anyway. It was quite obvious which one you were gonna pick! "I guess, I'll do my part and help in any way that I can." You caved. Suddenly, much to your surprise, Black Hat reached a hand across his desk. "Welcome aboard." He grinned, yet you could tell there was an underline menacing tone to the friendly gesture. But, for the sake of not being rude, you placed your own hand in his. Once your hand made contact with his, a shock went through your body, it was fast and painful, but over in a second. Your hand was released from his as you tried to shake the lingering pain off of the inflicted hand. Black Hat just sat back in his chair and had a Cheshire grin on his face as he observed the spectacle. "Ow! I didn't take you for the prankster type!" You exclaimed, while shaking your hand to get rid of the tingling feeling that still remained. Black Hat just let out an intimidating chuckle, then waved his hand. "Go out into the hall and wait. Flug will be with you shortly to escort you to his lab." He ordered. You looked at Black Hat in confusion, before you turned around and made your way to the double doors to the room. Leaving a nervous Flug to stand in front of Black Hat's desk alone. Only when the doors closed shut with a quiet 'click!' did Black Hat lock gazes with Flug again. Which made the poor mans' heart quake. "The only reason that you're not being beaten right now is because of the unexpected fruits that we reaped from this mistake, Flug." Black Hat growled, putting Flug on an anxiety-ridden edge. "S-Sorry, sir!" Flug squeaked. "I'll let this incident go unpunished, just this once. But, let me make myself clear about something." Black Hat sneered as leaned over and grabbed Flug by the neck and  pulled him down to his level. Causing Flug to shriek in surprise. "You better make a good use of of our 'new recruit' or else!" Black Hat snarled, as Flug recoiled and nodded rapidly. "Good. Now, leave." Black Hat released Flug, who scrambled for the door the moment he was released. "And don't fail me again!" He cursed after the fleeing scientist, as Flug opened the doors and scrambled out into the hall before closing them again. Once he was alone, Black Hat turned around to face out the window. Mulling over some invention ideas for some weapons, now that he has an engineer and scientist, he can make more than just rays and a few devices. He silently wonders what the new recruit can do to broaden his own corporation. -- Flug had to control his breathing, now that he was visible to yourself. Black Hat's unfortunate new recruit, to their unknowing knowledge, was looking slightly concerned for him. Much to his, slight, comfort. Yet, he needed to compose himself. Flug straightened up and cleared his throat, taking steady deep breaths to even out his rapidly beating heart. "So, uh, I guess you're gonna be working with me, in m-my lab while your here. We'll get you an assigned room soon, so don't worry about that!" Flug asked as he took deep and steady breaths to finish evening out his heart rate. The last thing he needed to do was have an anxiety attack in front of you. They smiled at him, worry temporarily sedated. "I guess so. You can lead the way and I'll follow you." They said. Flug nodded and waved his hand in a 'follow me' motion as both of you headed down the maze-like hallways. While leading the way to the lab, and also giving a half-hearted tour of the manor, Flug couldn't help but pity the human-alien being. 'They had no idea that they were ripped away from their home and took a deal to work with Black Hat for an indefinite amount of time.' Flug thought, grimly. Flug had to shake his head to clear the guilt away from his conscious. He'll worry about that later. You were looking at the artifacts that decorated the halls and walls as they walked. Pointing at things, 'ooh-ing' and 'aah-ing' in interest at some objects. He did have to admit, it was nice to have another person other than his boss, Dementia, and 5.0.5 around the house. Like a breath of fresh air after being in a confined space for a long period of time. He wonders if Black Hat noticed the differences in the newcomer like he did when they first met. Flug rethought that and scoffed. He probably did. Black Hat notices...a lot of things. Not only that, but the information that you spoke of in Black Hat's office intrigued him greatly. A completely different galaxy? Fascinating! What is the Virgo Cluster and what's in it? What is the culture of their people? Do they have Heroes and Villains too? What technology has been invented that can't be found here? What makes humans evolve on a planet so different from his own? Flug felt a strong surge of giddiness go through him. He couldn't wait to interrogate them! --------------------------------------------------------------- Next> <Previous

[lilithangelroses]

MHAxOC Fanfiction Chapter One

The sun was too bright for her eyes and the clothing required for this uniform were not ideal for any sort of battle. All she did on the way to UA High School was walk in silence while the man once known as the Number One Hero talked about his students. He brought her here to try and give her a new start with life but their interactions have been slim since the day the police led him to her. It wasn’t that she wasn’t grateful for his help in finding a new place to call home while they deal with the League of Villain mess. She was very grateful, however, out of all the places she expected them to take a villain, at the heart of UA was not one of them.

The students from the academy were wandering around as it was their lunch period before their afternoon classes started. All of them polite to All Might but all of them looked at the girl next to him with an odd curiosity. She ignored them all and only concentrated on what All Might had to say. She kept repeating his hero name in her head as she was asked to call him that rather than Toshinori. It wouldn’t be appropriate if she was going to be seeing him at school as a student. “Young lady, are you ready to join the line of future heroes?” he asked excitedly. She knew he was trying hard but she wasn’t one to lie. Her voice was soft and quiet as she spoke, still getting used to using it. “We made a deal All Might. I help you with your problem and you help me with mine but that doesn’t make me a potential hero. I will play my part. Nothing more, nothing less.” Her expression had no sense of emotion. All Might hesitated before bouncing back to his normal bouncy demeanor. “Everyone has it in them to be a hero. I’m sure you’ll make a great one some day! Now, let’s show you to the dorms.”

Her room was on the fourth floor along with Katsuki Bakugou, Eijiro Kirishima, Mezo Shoji, Ochaco Uraraka, and Mina Ashido. She knew every single name of all the students in class 1A and all the pro hero staff. The information was fed to her before the final showdown between All Might and All for One. She had to be careful not to say too much to them. She would keep her distance as much as she could. As much as she hoped she wouldn’t go back, she knew this would only be temporary. The students were gone so it was easy to see where her room would be located. It would be next to the explosive Bakugou. That worked for her, he probably wouldn’t pay attention to someone like her.

The room was much more than she was expecting to get considering everything. It had a nice bed on one side, a nice desk with a chair on the other, and a small set of drawers with a closet. It made her feel happy though she would never show it. All Might patted her back and led her out towards the school to give her the tour there. They were meant to see the main areas for the classes and head over to Pro Hero Power Loader to talk about a hero outfit to be submitted. When they got there, the room had smoke coming out from one of the students experiments with her gear so they decided to do this another day. She felt relieved she didn’t have to do something like that but now her nerves were stretched out like cords on a guitar. It was time to meet the students.

Before anything All Might lead her to one of the faculty rooms where Pro Hero Eraser Head was sitting. “Hey, Aizawa, here is the new student I was telling you about! She will be joining class 1A from now on!” Aizawa looked at her with mild annoyance but addressed All Might. “You know I still don’t agree with this. It’s illogical to bring in a new student to join this class, even worse that you decided to bring her of all people. But I won’t defy the decision the principal made. Come on, class is about to start. It’s almost time for the hero course and I need to introduce you to the other students.” She didn’t blame him on him, it was completely illogical to do this but she had her own reasons for going along with it. “Ah, don’t be like that Aizawa!” All Might let out his usual laugh before addressing her again. “Don’t let his sour demeanor get to you. You’ll have a great time!” And with a thumbs up he walked away and left her with Aizawa.

Aizawa looked her up and down before handing her a bracelet. “Before you meet my students, you need to put on this tracking device. It will allow us to know your whereabouts at all times. It has a quirk limiter that only the staff can unlock. Don’t even think about  doing anything that would harm them. Keep your personal history to yourself. Come on, it’s almost time for the hero class.” She nodded and followed him through the school. Thankfully, all the students had already taken their spots in class. As she looked on and saw the door to class 1A, her heart broke out into a sprint. She was more nervous than she thought she would be. “Wait here.” he said before entering the classroom.

She stood outside the door and listened to him address the class. “Listen up everyone, we don’t have a lot of time before we head out to the training grounds. We have a new student joining our class.” The uproar from the class was almost deafening. Everyone trying to ask their questions all at once before being silenced by an angry red eyed Aizawa. “As I was saying. We have a new student. Come in.” With a big sigh she walked through the door to see the curious stares of her fellow classmates. Some of them just stared and those she can handle but the look of horror on the others faces was something she tried hard not to flinch at. She couldn’t blame them though. What they were seeing wasn’t the image of a beautiful young high school student.

Her skin was pale and her long gray hair showed the slightest tint of blue as it fell down in waves to her waist. She had almost a sickly appearance that was surprisingly improved compared to how she was during her visit at the hospital. All of that wouldn’t be enough to shock everyone though. They were all looking at the stitch like scars running across her body. A big one ran diagonally between her eyes. One gray like her grandmother but the other a dark ruby red. She stood at five feet five inches, waiting for them to get their expressions under control. Aizawa didn’t miss a beat and continued on like nothing happened. “Her name is Shimura Lilith. I hope you all get along well. Iida!” Lilith turned her gaze to the boy standing up wearing his glasses. “Yes, sensei” he said, immediately standing to attention. “Since you are the class president, you are in charge of getting her caught up and showing her how the class runs.” Iida nods and looks over at Lilith with a serious expression. She does a little nod towards him before Aizawa speaks again.

“Today we are focusing on group battles against villains. As you know, most heroes need to make impromptu groups in order to defeat villains on the field. We will be randomizing groups as we go through the exercise. You will be fighting teachers of this school. Get in your hero gear and meet us outside in the mountain arena.” With that, he walked out as the students started to pile out of the classrooms. Iida walked up to her side and introduced himself. His arms did a weird chopping motion as he spoke that really confused Lilith. It seemed so... wasteful. “My name is Tenya Iida. Welcome to our class. We normally have general education classes in the morning and then we get to the more practical classes in the afternoon. The hero class is one of the practical courses. Since you are new I assume you haven’t gotten a hero costume yet?” She shook her head in response. “Right, wait here while I change into my costume and I can escort you to the training arena.” she nodded again and waited for the students to leave before looking out the window. Some of them tried to linger but Iida, the ever diligent class president ushered them out to get changed. Lilith tapped the glass windows to check their thickness. Leave it to UA to get extra strength glass for their classrooms. They were on a higher floor but not so high that she couldn’t jump out if needed. It’s almost smart to get multiple exit points in an emergency.

The classroom door opened and Iida called out to her. “We are ready to go.” she nodded and walked alongside him to the training ground. The class was walking together, each in their own little social groups talking about which teacher they would go against first today. Iida would have been a part of one but he wasn't sure if he should leave Lilith on her own. She didn’t seem to mind the silent walk with him but it was making him uncomfortable trying to figure out what to say. He realized that she hasn’t even spoken to the class once. “It’s odd to get a new student this time of year. Even odder that you joined the hero course at UA. How did you end up in this situation?” he asked.

With his fidgeting around the question it was clear to her that he wasn’t intending on being rude but she could tell he seemed confused. She didn’t blame him, if it wasn’t for All Might she wouldn’t even be here. But there lies the catch. She would hate to lie but she can’t tell him everything. “My family connection to All Might is what got me here. I was hospitalized for a long time before this and I was recently deemed fit to be released. Does it bother you that I had connections get me to this point?” she asked him. Her eyes bore into his and he felt slightly unnerved by her boldness. The mention of All Might caught a few peoples attention and they listened for his answer. “Well...I...” he wasn’t sure how to proceed but thankfully they made it to the training grounds and everyone’s attention was drawn to the Pro Hero waiting for them.

Everyone was excited to see Snipe and ran forward inside the arena to see Midnight, Present Mic, and even their own homeroom teacher ready for battle. “Alright everyone. On the screen we have a randomizer for both the teachers and the students. The students will fight in groups of five against one of his who will play a villain. We will randomize the first group but pay attention to this sound.” A loud horn could be heard. “That means that something has happened and the scenario will change mid battle. This is to see how well you can cope with changing scenarios out in the field. Got it?” Everyone nodded excitedly. Snipe looked over at Lilith still in her normal uniform. “Shimura, since you just joined us today you are excused from the exercise. You can join All Might to observe from a safe distance.” Before Lilith could react, a gruff snort could be heard from the group. “Of course she does. Not only did she take the easy way in but she gets to cruise along class today. Clearly she can’t compete with us and should just quit before she gets hurt.” Some of the students fidgeted as Lilith glared at Bakugou. “What? Got something to say to me? Go ahead. I can take you on.” “Enough, Bakugou. Let’s get this class started.” Aizawa glared at him. “Tch... fine.”

Everyone patiently waited as the first group was chosen and Lilith walked over to All Might who was carrying a clipboard to note everyone’s progress. He smiled at her with genuine warmth and patted her back again. It took a long time before she didn’t feel like flinching from his touch. She was glad she was making progress. “Don’t mind young Bakugou. He may be a hothead but he is well on his way to making himself a fine hero.” Lilith just shrugged. He didn’t threaten her in the least. Even if she only had one quirk, it wouldn’t take much to take him down. She watched as the students and teacher switched into so many combinations and was impressed at how well they were doing. Fighting villains so early in their career clearly made them more advanced than she realized. Time passed quickly and soon it was almost time for class to be over. Everyone was winding down from their work outs. “So, what do you think?” All Might asked excitedly.

“The exercise was a valid way to demonstrate changing scenarios, however, I feel it didn’t do as good of a job as it could have. They wouldn’t make it very far in the real world. I’m surprised they made it this far considering the constant villain attacks they’ve been through. Though I guess they did have pro heroes there to help them.” She said all this in a very matter of fact tone. All Might wasn’t sure how to react but he didn’t have the time. Bakugou had heard it all and was roaring for a fight. “Oh yeah, what the hell do you know idiot?! You think you’re so high and mighty just because you had a connection to get in here. I bet I could beat you all by myself. Come on, let’s go a round.” Aizawa came up annoyed and was going to object but Lilith smirked making Bakugou even more pissed. “Aizawa sensei, it seems like it would be a good time to show everyone my quirk. How about I join the villain group and you choose five students to see if they can take me down.” It seemed like a simple request to her but Aizawa hesitated in complying with it. 

Bakugou just got even more pissed and All Might had to keep him at bay while they deliberated. Surprisingly, he was willing to do it, if only to see what quirk she planned on using as public knowledge. He knew she couldn’t go too far in the fight as long as the staff remained. “Alright. Bakugou, Midoriya, Todoroki, Kirishima, Tokoyami. Get ready for a fight.” Everyone gasped. They couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Everyone took their positions as they watched the new girl stand in a barren landscape in full view of some of their strongest fighters with no where to run. The confidence in her was practically tangible and set Bakugou off even more. “I don’t need their help. I’ll take you out before they even get the chance. Now die!” he yelled before launching a full blow from one of his gauntlets. Bakugou’s smug look soon contorted into shock. He turned to see Lilith had grabbed his arm that was pointing at where she stood. “Interesting, these seem to help enhance your explosive abilities.”

The group sprang into action realizing that the villain had already broken their ranks. She danced effortlessly through their attacks as she landed back a distance from them. This made them nervous. “If you don’t attack me with some level of coordination you’ll never win.” She called out to them. As much as Bakugou hated working, he wasn’t so stupid as to complain now that he knew her speed. They all assumed her quirk gave her some sort of physical enhancement which could only get her so far. Tokoyami took his position slightly behind the front fighters and secretly used Dark Shadow to pin her down while she dodged their barrage of assaults. She mentally praised them for their efforts before looking to see the combo attack heading her way. Too bad it will all be a wasted effort.

As the dust cloud dispersed and the boys thought themselves victorious, a blue geometric shield covered the area around her, protecting her from the attack. Not a single scratch on her. “Now it’s time to take the offensive.” The shield scatters into multiple pieces reflecting the sun's light causing Dark Shadow to cower. Freed, she had the shield converge onto her body, creating a thin durable coating before jumping into attack. Todoroki erected an ice wall only to have it shattered with enough force to throw him back. Midoriya and Kirishima jumped in for a double attack that caused her to guard. They made contact but it did nothing to her. She grabbed Kirishima’s harm and hurled him into Midoriya knocking them both into a boulder. Bakugou snapped with rage and went in only to be punched in the gut, and swept under his, falling to the ground. He ate dirt while she twisted his arm and used her foot to keep him pinned. Her shield then surrounded his hands. “Any explosions and your arms may not survive.” He looked at her and saw the threat was very real. “Battle is over, the villain wins.” The only members were about to object before Midoriya stopped them. “Look.” was all he said.

They looked at him confused until Lilith grabbed Bakugou by the neck and pulled him up. Her body pressed against his back and her hand caressing his throat. All it would take was only a little squeeze and his life could be over. She was right, she won. The shields fell away and she released Bakugou and put her hands in the air. Aizawa was using his quirk on her and walked towards them. “Fight’s over. You took it too far today. Lilith won, now everyone head back and get some rest.” “I wasn’t going to actually kill him.” She sighed. Why on earth would she mess things up for herself now. The teachers rounded everyone back but Aizawa and All Might stayed with Lilith.

“Let’s get things straight, you pull a stunt like that again and the deal is off.” She wasn’t fazed by him. “I simply created a situation that was more realistic. I never intended to kill them but the blood lust had to be there if they are to get over their fear. Even more when they have to deal with a hostage situation. If it were HIM putting his hands around Bakugou’s neck, he would have already been dead.” she said. “That is not something for you to decide Young Lilith. Leave these matters to us. You are here as a student until we find the place you are looking for.” All Might interjected. Lilith shook her head and sighed in defeat. “Fine, am I free to go?” she asked. They walked behind her, escorting her back to the dorms.

“I can’t even begin to understand your reasoning behind this All Might.” Aizawa spoke low to avoid Lilith hearing their conversation. All Might signed and thought about how to explain. “When they brought her to me she was the living dead. I couldn't leave her like that. The heroes have failed her for so long, I thought maybe this class could save her. I know she only accepted this as part of the deal but I’m hoping we can show her what it is to be one of us.” Aizawa stayed silent through the rest of the walk until Lilith walked inside the dorm building. He turned to All Might and sighed. “You can’t save everyone. I know you owe your predecessor a great deal and you feel like you’ve failed with Shimura Shigaraki, but that doesn’t mean you can save her either. Don’t get hung up on this.” He knew what Aizawa was saying but he still felt there was hope for her yet. They parted ways, both considering what the future will hold now that Lilith has joined their ranks.

[nevermord]

Going Up?

Annabelle blinked up at the towering skyscraper, the red squirrel shaking her head a little as she looked down at the letter clutched in her paw.

"Looking for a chance to move up in the world?  Come to 128 Cawthon Square, penthouse floor for your pre-approved interview."

She paused in front of the building, using her reflection in the tinted glass to check her makeup one last time and to fluff her curly blonde hair.  She smoothed the lines of her smart, blue business suit before straightening her lucky charm, a red leather bolo tie with a large silver bead as a clasp.  She took a deep breath, calming herself a moment before padding over to the door and pulling it open. A gust of cold air puffed out into the warm sunlit afternoon.  She gave a little shudder as the smell of fresh paint wafted over her as well.

"Well, at least the air conditioning works." She thought to herself.  The warehouse she had worked in as a receptionist had been sweltering as her skinflint weasel of a boss would never let anyone touch the thermostat. The lobby was stark white with a few squares of black tile in rows to either side.  A large, comfortable looking black leather chair sat in the center of each black square, the twin rows leading up to a receptionist desk.

Here, Annabelle experienced the same problem she often did.   As she approached the desk, she knew that her tiny frame was barely as tall as the desk.  She stood there for a moment, nothing but the tips of her ears popping over the top of the desk before she finally stood up on her toes and cleared her throat.

"Ahem.."

"OH!"  The receptionist, a gray alligator dressed smartly in a black pinstriped business suit and white tie leaned over the desk, smiling and showing a long, curved row of shining white teeth.  Annabelle was both horrified and impressed, she had never seen a gator without at least a few yellow teeth.  She made a mental note to ask about the dental plan.

"I'm so sorry!" He continued, real embarrassment showing in his expression, "I didn't see you there.  What can I help you with today Miss....?"

"Valen, Annabelle Valen."  She replied.  She had been a little annoyed at being overlooked, but it was sort of understandable since the desk was so high up and the gator did seem genuinely apologetic.

"Ah yes, Miss Valen.  Miss Drom has been expecting you!  Please, follow me!" As the alligator stood and strode around the desk, Anna almost felt like she had been dropped into one of the old kaiju movies she watched as a child.  She barely came up to the towering reptile's waist, taking a few steps back as she craned her neck up to gaze at the gator in the neatly-pressed suit.  He had to be at least eight feet tall, possibly a little more.  Anna swallowed hard, her prey instincts screaming at her to run for a moment before she remembered what her mother had taught her.  She closed her eyes, balled up her fists, took a deep breath, then slowly released the breath as she relaxes her paws and opened her eyes.

"Are you alright, Miss Valen?"

"Yes, sorry.  I just didn't expect you to be so tall!"

He gave a bit of a barking laugh, almost sounding like the croak of a frog.  "I get that a lot, actually.  Thankfully, I've been told I'm friendly and outgoing enough that our more timid clients don't seem to mind."

"Well that certainly seems true.  Thank you for your help mister..?"

"Dolph.  Just call me Dolph, Miss Valen."

"Right."

He walked briskly ahead of her, causing her to almost have to jog to keep up with his long strides.  Everything was such a bright white that she didn't see the side hallway when she had come in.  

The long, white corridor had a thin row of black tiles on both sides.  There was a water cooler off to one side, what looked to be a supply closet door on the other, and almost nothing else.  Nothing save for a huge, ornate looking gate at the far end of the hall.

Dolph walked her to the end of the hall, pulling the gate open.  Inside was a beautiful antique elevator, dark carved oak walls.  A pole sat to one side of the elevator, shining steel with brass and copper accents, a lever at the top of a disk placed at the top.  The lever pointed to the number one and the numbers climbed up to seventy-four before stopping with the letter P.  Obviously the penthouse office was on the seventy-fifth floor.  

Standing off to the side was an odd-looking automaton, its gloved hand wrapped around the handle.  Its body was covered in a red suit and a red fez with golden tassel was perched jauntily atop its brushed-steel head.  The face was simply a blank steel plate with two softly glowing lights for eyes and a slit, almost like a coin slot for a mouth.

"Well, this is unexpected," Anna said a bit breathlessly as she caught up the the receptionist.

"Yeah, well, Miss Drom loves antiques and classic architecture, but she loves modern conveniences, too.  So, she tends to combine the two where she can.  You get used to it, trust me!"  He gave another shining, white smile as he gently guided the little squirrel into the oak box.

"Now, as a bit of a joke, his name is Jeeves," Dolph chuckled, cocking his head towards the elevator operator.  "Just say his name, then what floor you want to got to, or in your case, penthouse, and you'll be on your way."

He leaned back a bit, rubbing the back of his head as he closed the gate between them, "Sorry if the trip takes a little while, though..  This old girl does have to go up seventy-five floors after all."

Anna nodded, smiling through the artistically twisted bars at Dolph and waving before the gator turned on his heel and headed back down the hall towards his desk.

She looked around at the inside of the elevator for a moment.  The dark wood, carved with images of flowers and leaves smelled of the deep woods.  A slight damp, earthy smell penetrated everything, but it was far from unpleasant. Clearing her throat and feeling a little silly, Anna turned towards the silver robot grasping the control lever.

"Jeeves, penthouse, please."

The eyes of the automaton glowed a bit more brightly as a whirring noise filled the air.  There was a soft rumble and a sinking sensation as its hand began to slowly move the lever, causing the elevator to ascend.

After just a few floors, she felt her fur shifting uncomfortably beneath her clothing.  She tugged at her bolo tie, loosening it a little, blaming the odd sensation on her nerves.

As the antique box continues to climb, however, the sensations only got worse.  She felt trapped in her own clothing, her fur matted to her skin and itching.  Her hindpaws ached, squeezed inside of her heeled leather shoes.  A wave of vertigo washed over her, making her feel nauseous.  She was very glad she had skipped lunch before the meeting, vomiting in the company elevator is not the best way to make a first impression.

Her shoes weren't just uncomfortable anymore, they were downright painful.  Sliding one off of her hindpaw, she rested her foot beside it, splaying her toes a bit before blinking.  Her hindpaw was both wider and longer than the shoe itself. Blinking in confusion, she looked around the box and realized that she was starting to look down on Jeeves and her head was still slowly rising.  She was gasping for breath, wondering if she was getting claustrophobic until she heard and felt a soft snap and her breasts fell free beneath her blouse.

She backed up into a corner, throwing her arms in front of her chest which caused her suit jacket and blouse to split up the back.  Russet fur bloomed through the dark blue cloth on her shoulders as the seams split, the sleeves racing up her forearms, away from her wrists.

She gave a little cry of pain as her remaining shoe burst open at the front, her toes pushing through the stretched and torn leather as the heel snapped off, almost causing her to fall onto the floor.  Runs appeared in her stockings, her soft fur billowing through the widening holds as her belt was starting to cut into her waist.

Panicking, her paws flew to her waist, scrabbling at the buckle as it vanished into her soft midriff.  A moment later, there was a snap, and a rip as both the belt and the zipper on the back of her skirt gave way at once.  

Her eartips brushed against the top of the elevator, followed by the top of her head.  Her blonde hair was caught in and tugging at some of the more ornate carvings on the ceiling.  This only lasted for a moment, however as her head was pushed downwards, her sleeves bursting into tatters as the strip of cloth that was her skirt drifted to the floor.  She let out a little whimper and wrapped her huge tail around herself, trying to maintain her modesty as she felt her panties give way at last, dropping to the tiled floor.  She was entirely nude save for her lucky bolo tie which now looked more like a leather choker than a tie.  The back of her neck, then her shoulders pressed against the ceiling, causing her to kneel down as she started to panic.  Her mind reeled as she wondered how this could happen as it suddenly dawned on her to wonder just how much weight this elevator could hold.

"Oh please, make it stop!"  She cried out as there was a sudden lurch, followed by the ring of a bell.  The elevator had stopped at the penthouse floor and the ornate gate-like doors slowly rattled open.

She kept her tail wrapped around herself, hunched over as she stepped out of the box that just a moment ago she feared would be her coffin.  The room was warm, furnished in dark woods and silvers with a deep burgundy carpet.  It was soft and plush beneath her toes as she moved about the room.

She stopped by a wall, blinking as she saw there was a height chart posted on a doorway.  She stood up straight for a moment, modesty forgotten in her curiosity.  She stepped towards the chart as her tail unwrapped from around her body.  Holding a paw atop her head, she saw that if the scale was accurate, she was now ten feet and three inches tall.  She gawked at the scale for a moment, there was no possible way she could be that tall, not unless the room she were in was truly massive.

There was a flash of light and a click as she spun around just in time to see a camera on a small robotic arm vanish through a door in the ceiling which hissed closed.

A static filled voice crackled over an intercom set up above a double door just ahead.  It was warm, feminine, and deep, a wonderful ladies baritone.  In spite of all the craziness, Anna wondered if the voice belonged to a jazz singer.

"Miss Valen.  I have been expecting you, please step inside my office."

The doors swung inwards, revealing a room similar to the one outside, but on a much larger scale.  The room itself looked to be the size of a gymnasium, still covered with plush carpet and silver accented furniture, but her head was spinning at the scale of everything.  Every last chair looked to be a different size while the room itself was dominated by a massive desk that was taller than she was.

The voice from over the intercom boomed throughout the room as a truly gigantic female camel wheeled her way from behind her desk.  The wheelchair itself was a marvel of engineering, titanic tires and gears churning and spinning as she approached.  She lowered a hooved. two-fingered hand and gently motioned for Anna to climb atop it.  The squirrel, struck dumb by everything that had transpired, nodded mutely and clambered up.

The camel gathered the squirrel against her soft bosom, covered in a fine silk blouse, and wheeled herself back to her desk.  She lowered her palm down beside a small chair set atop the massive mahogany monstrosity and Anna slid down and sank into the chair, all modesty forgotten as she gazed dazedly around at her surroundings.

"Well Miss Valen, I imagine this must be quite a bit shocking for you, but seeing as you didn't run screaming from the building at any stage, you may just be the type of woman we're looking for."

She smiled softly down at Annabelle, leaning her huge head down so her soft velvet-covered nose was just inched away, "Welcome to Trivial Matters Incorporated and trust me, you have only just begun to move up in the world."

[patchwork-panda]

If A Moment Is All We Are (25/?)

AO3 link: HERE

A note: 

There's a lot of music that I think would be EXCELLENT in parts in this arc so I'm including the links here first (if you want to have them loaded up and ready)  Where to start and stop will be indicated with asterisks (* for start, * for stop)

Music 1 (*): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4nESyjxjIM&t=2626s&ab_channel=MobaSavage<br />

Music 2 (**): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4nESyjxjIM&t=3224s&ab_channel=MobaSavage<br /> Music 3 (***): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDuTS0V_qGg&t=193s&ab_channel=MobaSavage<br /> Music 4 (*): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtUi8o_wAc0&ab_channel=MusicLover

Akutagawa...

I took a small, shaky step back.

“W-what are you doing here?” I managed to ask.

I hadn’t seen him in the vision. How was this happening?

“The President of this company owes us a very large debt,” Akutagawa answered, surprising me.

He let out a soft, quiet cough.

“A very large debt that he hasn’t been paying back as of late.”

He took a step forward and I took another one back.

So it was true. That money in that account really was being set aside for the Port Mafia...

“I’m here,” Akutagawa continued, “to collect. And I was instructed to take the thief with me if I found him.”

His cold gray eyes settled on me.

“I assume it’s not you.”

I felt my lips twitching upwards in a nervous smile.

“So does that mean you’re going to let me go?”

Akutagawa’s eyes narrowed.

* Two solid black tendrils slowly rose from the back of his coat and I had a split second to run before they shot out towards me.

One hit the ground where my foot had been just a second earlier, carving a tiny crater into the concrete and sending chunks of rubble into the air. I dove behind a nearby compact car just in time to avoid the second and threw my arms over my head as it punched a hole through two of the windows, shattering the glass. Sparkling, green-tinted shards rained down all around me like snow, the car alarm blaring painfully in my ears.

Guess that was a “no...”

Glass cascaded off my shoulders as I moved, my elbows scuffed up and my ears ringing from the wailing of the alarm. Getting into a half-crouch, I whipped my head around to spot the next attack. Surprisingly, none came, but before I could look for a way to escape, something dark glimmered at the edge of my vision—something huge...

I looked up.

High above the car, pulsating with crackles of blood-red electricity, was an enormous black scythe. Without warning, it dropped down like a massive guillotine and I threw myself out of the way as it sliced through the car behind me.

I hit the ground hard, my body smacking painfully against the concrete, but before I could fully push myself back up onto my elbows, I thought I heard a dull creaking and groaning over the wailing of the car alarm. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the black blade in the middle of the car shuddering like a live creature, molding itself into something new before my eyes.

“Rashoumon...”

With a sound like a massive tearing of fabric, the blade split in two down the middle, transforming into a pair of black claws. As each of them bit into one side of the car with a solid metallic crunch, I scrambled to my feet.

“Murakumo.”

I raced away, making a break for the next car—for the next hiding place—as a metallic shriek echoed throughout the half-empty garage and Akutagawa tore the car behind me in two. Ducking down behind a small, gray compact, I got up on my knees and put my fingers against the door, peering through the windows at the man in black. Cold sweat ran down my back as I watched Akutagawa pry yet another car apart with his Ability and fling the pieces to opposite corners of the garage.

“Come out, Prophet,” he called, stepping through the space he’d just cleared, his living cloak billowing behind him as he moved.

One of the mangled cars behind him suddenly exploded, but Akutagawa barely flinched as he continued forward.

“You’re just delaying the inevitable.”

I watched, trembling with fear as he walked down the center aisle of the garage: a pitch-black silhouette etched in stark relief against a backdrop of dancing orange and yellow flames. Two black claws re-emerged from the back of his long coat and floated up, high above his head, poised and ready to strike at the merest hint of a movement...

I ducked back down behind the car again as Akutagawa spoke, his cold voice ringing throughout the room.

“You should give up now while I’m still in a good mood.”

I heard a sharp, metallic crunch and glanced to my left, where one large black claw had wrapped itself around the back end of the car I was hiding behind. There was another crunch, and I snapped my head to the right to see the other black claw sinking into the front of the car. The car alarm blared to life as I bolted for another hiding place, sprinting as fast as I could as Akutagawa lifted the car high into the air and threw it aside.

There was another horrible crunching noise; I saw the car being slammed into a nearby row of vehicles, pushing them all together like the folds of an accordion and compacting them against the wall. I dropped to a crouch behind a large SUV and tried to catch my breath as another round of explosions shook the basement.

This was Akutagawa in a good mood?!

Suddenly, black claws crashed down on top of the SUV. I let out a shriek and took off running again as they flattened the vehicle from above and shoved it through an empty section of parking lot, the metal screeching against the concrete like a dying animal. I managed to hurl myself behind a large van just as the SUV slammed against a wall far away with an echoing crash.

“I’ll say it again,” Akutagawa called out, sounding more irritated this time. “Come quietly and I’ll make sure you get to the Boss in one piece.”

“How generous of you,” I gasped under my breath.

Huddled against the side of the SUV, chest heaving with exertion, I pulled out my cell phone, which had miraculously stayed in my pocket, and flipped it open.

I had to call someone. Preferably somebody who had combat experience or had fought Akutagawa before. There was no way I could take him on my own and if I wanted to avoid being captured by the Port Mafia this time, I needed help.

I could feel my hands shaking as I pulled up the address book and I cursed when I accidentally dropped the phone by mistake.

Dazai’s phone number glowed up at me from the floor.

“Shit.”

A familiar, inhuman shriek filled the room and I snatched my phone off the ground, clutching it to my chest. My eyes darted about for the dragon-headed beast with the blood-red jaws—the monster Akutagawa had sicced on me the first time, the monster that was sure to come screaming around the corner any moment now.

“Rashoumon!”

I braced myself.

“Kumo no Ito!”

‘Spider Threads?’

I heard a creaking sound above me and looked up to see what looked like a black cage made out of thick, crackling wires crashing down from the ceiling above.

I dove out of the way, somehow avoiding being caught inside. But I still wasn’t quick enough...

One of the black wires sliced into the side of my ankle on its way down and I cried out in pain as my shoulder collided with the concrete below. My phone was still squeezed tightly in my hands and as I groaned and sat up to look at my bloody ankle, I heard the dial tone, followed by a click. The voice that called out was fuzzy with static—had I actually called Dazai or someone else...?

“Hello?”

“It’s Kyou! I need help!” I shouted into the receiver, not caring who was on the other end, “I’m downtown—basement level five—”

My eyes went wide as I saw reflection of the cage reforming above my head.

“SHIT!!”

Tucking my phone to my chest, I rolled to the side as the cage plunged down towards me once again. I felt one of the black tendrils nicking the side of my cheek and part of my ear as it came down but I didn’t stop rolling until my back collided painfully with the hubcap of a car in the next space over.

Breathless and dizzy, I staggered to my feet, grabbing the side mirror of the car for support. Blood streamed down the left side of my face, mixing in with the sweat and spattering my phone with thick, red droplets.

The call seemed to have ended but before I could hit redial, the cage retracted from the ground with an audible crunch of concrete against spikes.

The black tendrils withdrew, condensing back into that blob-like mess of shadow streaked with red. A familiar triangular head began to take shape, clouds of darkness condensing into spikes around a wide, angular mouth...

Fear, pure and undiluted, coursed through my veins as Akutagawa reappeared from around the side of the gray compact. He raised one pale hand and extended his fingers outward, towards me.

“Rashoumon.”

Clutching my phone in my hand, I turned and ran for my life.

“Agito.”

There was a deafening roar. I sprinted forward, weaving around cars, motorcycles and other obstacles, blood soaking wetly into my shirt and the back of one of my socks. I couldn’t outrun him—I knew that, but I also knew that his orders were to bring me in alive and as long as I took advantage of that, I might be able to make it out in one piece.

Maybe.

Car alarms erupted all around me, a cacophony of squeals and whoops that were abruptly silenced by the crashing of metal, Rashoumon’s otherworldly howls echoing in my ears as it tore through each and every obstacle between it and me. I ran for the wall of pillars on the far side of the garage, for the exit sign I could now see glowing high above in the corner. I could feel Rashoumon bearing down on me, coming closer with every screeching crunch, every flipped car...

I glanced over my shoulder to see scarlet-lined jaws stretched wide, a gaping maw filled with rows and rows of needle-sharp teeth—

Something caught against the toe of my shoe. For one brief, horrifying second, I was airborne...

My cell phone flew out of my hand.

“No...!”

It arced through the air, the thin, rectangular device rotating end over end in slow motion... flying further away from my outstretched fingers with each individual flip...

“Kyou—” a voice shouted frantically from the other line, voice muffled with static, “Hang on, I’m—”

Wind rushed through my hair from overhead. Rashoumon surged forward, clipping the ends of my bangs.

And with one devastating roar of wind and sound, it devoured my phone.

A single thought echoed in my head as I hit the ground.

Backup would not come in time.

Wincing, I looked up in time to see Rashoumon sailing over my head. It collided with the ceiling near the flashing green exit sign with a thunderous crash, sending chunks of rubble the size of boulders falling all around. A cloud of dust blew towards me from the corner of the garage and I shielded my eyes, coughing as it passed. When I opened my eyes again, I could no longer see the bright green light.

Rashoumon had destroyed that part of the garage, breaking a hole open between this level of the basement parking structure and the one above it, burying the door behind a wall of broken concrete and shattered pipes.

There was a dull creak and I glanced up at the hole in the ceiling to see the wheels of a large black car sliding through the jagged opening. There was another long, shuddering creak, followed by a distant rumble and the rest of the concrete around the car crumbled, letting it through. It smashed against the wall of rubble with a resounding crash and instantly burst into flame. **

I was trapped.

“There’s no escape.”

Akutagawa was close. I could hear it.

Hissing in pain, I struggled to my feet once more and limped for the nearest hiding place I could see—one of a row of concrete pillars on my side of the garage. I tucked myself behind the nearest one, the concrete cold and dusty against my back as Akutagawa spoke again.

“There is only capture... or death.”

I gritted my teeth, every cut and bruise on my body making itself felt as I peered around the edge of the pillar at my opponent.

There had to be a third option—had to be! I couldn’t afford to think otherwise.

A sharp, acrid smell filled my nostrils as I stared at the man in the middle of the clearing, the monster tethered to his cloak swiveling its massive head around the room, searching for its prey: me.

As it turned in my direction, I stepped back behind the pillar again and tried to quell the panic rising in my chest.

Okay, stop.

Breathe...

Think... what would your mentors do in this kind of situation? What would Kunikida do?

I frowned as I realized Kunikida’s Ability would let him generate weapons. I’d seen him go toe-to-toe with Akutagawa already the day he’d rescued me. If he were here instead of me, he could make as many guns, grenades or tasers as there were pages in his notebook—something I couldn’t do.

I took another shuddering breath in and leaned back against the pillar, flinching when I felt the cut Rashoumon had slashed against the top part of my head when it had passed over me. Blood slowly trickled down my scalp.

If I couldn’t do what Kunikida could do, then...

I bit my lip.

What would Dazai do?

The sharp, pungent smell suddenly intensified and I pinched my nose shut with my fingers and turned away as my eyes began to sting from the fumes. But as I stepped off to the side, I heard a quiet splash and looked down to see what I’d stepped in. It was a puddle of some kind, a puddle of clear, foul-smelling liquid—one with an oily, rainbow-hued film floating across its surface.

I let out a tiny gasp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4nESyjxjIM&t=3224s&ab_channel=MobaSavage

** Gasoline.

“Come out,” Akutagawa repeated, a note of irritation slipping into his voice, “and I’ll make sure someone delivers a message to the Agency for you. That way they’ll know not to come looking for you.”

Gasoline... There was gasoline everywhere, all throughout this garage. Akutagawa must have ripped apart half of the vehicles in here to get to me, tearing through enough of the gas tanks to allow pools of gasoline to gather on the floor. Somewhere out there was a pool big enough to set ablaze.

I just needed a lighter...

And then I saw it.

Gleaming behind the windshield of a nearby black van, perched neatly on top of the dashboard next to a half-empty pack of cigarettes... was a small, orange plastic lighter. And to my immediate right, a piece of rubble the size of a brick.

I felt my pulse begin to race.

“Clock’s ticking, Prophet,” Akutagawa snapped. “I’m losing my patience.”

Dazai was crafty. Dazai was insane... But Dazai could walk away from an encounter like this without so much as a single scratch.

I stared at the lighter in the window.

Akutagawa’s Ability manifested in the form of his coat. If I could set the coat on fire, would he still be able to use Rashoumon?

“I’m going to count to three. If you don’t come out of there by the time I’m done, I’m taking your leg.”

If I wanted to walk out of here alive, then I would have to do something just as underhanded as Dazai would.

“Three... Two...”

I was going to have to burn that cursed black coat off Akutagawa’s back.

“One...”

I felt a rumble. A piece of concrete broke away from the edge of the hole in the ceiling and as it crashed down into the pile of debris, Rashoumon looked away.

It was my only chance.

Snatching the brick-sized piece of rubble off the ground, I pelted towards the black van and hurled the rubble with all my might into the windshield. The car alarm blared to life as the windshield smashed into a spiderweb of shards and I plunged my fist through the newly opened hole, grabbing the lighter just as Akutagawa sent his monster charging after me.

“Rashoumon! Gokumon Agito!”

I wrenched my hand back out of the wreckage, broken shards of glass slashing deep, jagged cuts into my jacket sleeve and arm, and ran back into the center of the garage—towards the biggest pool of gasoline I could find.

I was in luck.

As Rashoumon zigzagged towards me through the parking structure, I saw the flickering of electricity, where one of the fancy hybrid cars Akutagawa had wrecked was lying on its side with some of the circuitry exposed. It was lying directly above a virtual lake of gasoline.

I dashed towards it, Akutagawa’s monster hot on my heels.

“Fool!” Akutagawa spat. “You think you can outrun me?”

I didn’t bother to answer. Instead I vaulted over the hood of the sparking car and kept running. Ripping off a piece from the end of my shirt, I came to a stop several meters before President Tanaka’s car, turning around just as Rashoumon ripped through the front end of the sparking car like it was made of wet cardboard. I somehow managed to dodge the attack, but not completely—Rashoumon still took a chunk out of my right shoulder and a scream ripped out of my throat as I felt it gouge deeply into my flesh.

Blood poured from the wound, drenching the front and back of my jacket. My shoulder pulsed with pain and when I reached up with my left hand to staunch the flow of blood, I could feel the bone underneath. Gritting my teeth, I struggled to remain standing as Akutagawa appeared at last, his face contorted with cold fury.

“You must really want to be torn apart,” the dark-haired young man whispered, walking forward through the piles of debris.

I watched, heart pounding as he stepped into the middle of the pool of gas, right beside the sparking car, undisguised annoyance written all over his pale, bloodless face.

“But it looks like I won’t have to.”

His gray eyes narrowed as he spotted the enormous piles of wreckage and debris behind me, momentarily staring beyond me at the wall of flame ringing the edges of the parking garage.

“You’ve got nowhere left to run.”

“No...” I breathed, ignoring the ache in my shoulder as I wrapped the piece of torn cloth over the lighter. “I’m done running.”

I flicked my thumb over the silvery wheel of the lighter and a single tongue of blue and yellow flame sprang to life in my hand. It spread to the cloth.

“And you’re the one who’s got nowhere left to go.”

I hurled the burning lighter at the sparking car.

Akutagawa’s eyes widened.

“Sh—”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. **

Flame met spark and in the blink of an eye, Akutagawa disappeared, engulfed by the ball of heat, light and flame that suddenly erupted from the sparking car. His scream of rage echoed in my ears as a massive shock wave, generated by the mushrooming explosion, knocked me off my feet and launched me backwards through the air...

Heat seared my arms, legs and face. Wind rushed through my hair and clothes as I flew, pushed back by the powerful force of the explosion I’d caused. I wrenched my eyes shut against the blast, trying to shield my face even though I could tell from the dull aches and stings that the exposed parts of my shins and even the tip of my nose had already been burned.

Without warning, I slammed into something solid—no, something hard and metallic that completely buckled under my weight with a hollow, ringing crunch—a dull ache of a sound that shuddered through my entire body like a physical wave.

“Aagh—!”

Blood and spittle flew from my open mouth, my eyes wide with shock as all the air was forced out of my lungs at once. I saw more blood and bits of shattered glass flying away from me, past my face, like glimmering droplets of ruby and diamond, sparkling and twinkling from the light of the inferno just ahead. My head settled back against a bed of shattered glass and torn-up leather and I finally registered that I had been thrown into and halfway through somebody’s car—and with such force that the passenger door had crumpled in with me.

For a moment, I lay there, completely breathless and unmoving, watching blearily through half-lidded eyes as the wreckage of the sparking car burned before me. Thick black fumes choked the air, floating up towards the ceiling from the blaze. In the flat fluorescent lighting of the parking garage, the wreck seemed to glow like a miniature sun—no, a funeral pyre, I realized abruptly.

I’d burned Akutagawa alive...

As I lifted my head a little to stare out at the lake of gasoline—the lake that was now burning in the middle of the underground parking garage like a sea of flame, I felt something between my shoulder blades snap. The pain that followed a heartbeat later was unbearable.

“Hh...!”

White-hot knives pierced through my shoulders, midsection and back. My mouth was already open but I couldn’t scream—there was no air in my lungs and even if I wanted to cry or shout out or something, I knew instinctively that if I did, the pain would only intensify. So I lay there, whimpering softly, tears gathering in the corners of my eyes, with the upper half of my body resting on a warped car door and my legs dangling uselessly outside the vehicle.

My phone had been destroyed. Akutagawa was probably dead. The car bomber I’d caught earlier... I let my eyes drift towards the side of the garage that I had come in from. Relief flooded through my body as I realized it had been practically untouched. In trying to intimidate and capture me, Akutagawa had focused his efforts on tearing apart the far end of the garage, leaving the bomber handcuffed safely to a section of pipe near the elevators at the front of the chamber.

I took a single, shallow breath in, wincing when it came with another sharp stab of pain. The air rattled noisily as it settled into my collapsed lungs and as I stared blankly up at the ceiling, I realized I knew whose car this was.

It was a black BMW with tinted windows. One of the newer, fancier models that didn’t have a traditional key and keyhole but instead required the driver to push the ignition button while the key was inside the car.

This... was the car President Tanaka and his driver were going to get into.

This was the car with the bomb underneath it.

And I’d just spotted the tell-tale glint of the key inside the open glove compartment.

I couldn’t stay here.

Groaning, I tried to prop myself up on my arm and push myself out of the vehicle. But while my arm wasn’t sticking out at any wrong angle, I knew when I tried to put my weight on it and promptly collapsed that it was definitely broken.

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh that sounded more like an agonized wheeze.

All I could do now was pray that whoever had been on the other end of the line would be coming for me... and that they would come before an errant spark landed on this car and sent me into the stratosphere.

“Rashoumon...”

That single word was all the warning I got before two lines of black came streaking towards me from the blaze. I gasped, my head snapping back painfully as the black ribbons wrapped themselves around my neck and tightened, pushing me back down into the broken seats.

“Tenma Tengai.”

No...!

I clawed at the ribbons with my left hand, pushing myself up with my right so I could try to get some air.

He’d survived? How?!

I watched, gasping and writhing in pain as Akutagawa, the man attached to the ribbons, slowly emerged from the clouds of smoke and flame. His black coat was completely gone—replaced by ribbons of black and red that criss-crossed over his entire body and wrapped around him like an exoskeleton. Strips of black cloth bound his hair and face, making him look something like a cross between a ninja and a mummy. They covered everything except his eyes, which burned with an intensity not unlike that of the blaze he’d just escaped...

No, not a mummy...

As he marched towards me from the middle of the garage, I could see two angular horns protruding from the top part of his head—ribbons of cloth twisted into shape by what had to be his Ability.  

He looked like a demon walking out of Hell...

His entire ensemble glowed red with some kind of mysterious power. I struggled to sit up some more, to make use of the stabbing pain in my ribs to try to stay awake, I understood immediately what had happened.

So that was it...

The true nature of Rashoumon was cloth; that’s why the attacks were always coming out of his coat. Akutagawa’s Ability was one that could turn the very clothes on his body into blades and send them flying at an enemy.

How versatile...

“I’m not sure whether to call you ‘brilliant’ or ‘an idiot,’” he said.

I let out another shallow gasp as Akutagawa’s grip around my neck tightened.

“Thinking to burn my coat so that I can’t attack with my Ability was pretty smart,” Akutagawa acknowledged, stopping just before the toes of my singed shoes. “But then again, not factoring in that you yourself would be caught up in the explosion you created...”

Piercing gray eyes glared down at me as I twisted about, trying in vain to free myself.

“...that was stupid.”

This was it. I was going to be captured. Akutagawa was going to keep choking me until I passed out. Then, he was going to take my mangled, unconscious body back to the Port Mafia headquarters, back to his boss, where they’d do who-knew-what else to me for who-knew-what reason...

I never got to tell Kunikida-san how I feel...

I won’t see him, Kirako-san, Yosano-sensei, Ranpo-san or any of the others ever again... and even if I did, I might end up having to fight them instead...

Tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes and I took in another labored, shuddering gasp.

I should’ve told Dazai I was going to be here. I should’ve told him the truth... that I forgive him, that I…

Gritting my teeth, I squeezed my eyes shut. I felt the side of my cheek stinging dully as a tear dripped down the side of my face.

Why hadn’t I said anything?! Why??

“Why...?” I found myself whispering.

“Why?” Akutagawa repeated, sounding surprised. “Your Ability grants you precognitive visions. You honestly can’t think of a single reason the Port Mafia would want to make use of an Ability like yours?”

He scoffed.

“Unbelievable.”

I was fading. My body was losing strength. My legs kicked out reflexively and a violent spasm tore through my arm; it smacked painfully against the steering wheel, instantly producing a sensation like an electric shock that ran down the length of my body.

The steering wheel...

Wait a second...!

The keys were still in the glove compartment. From what I’d seen in my vision, it seemed the bomb was supposed to go off when the driver turned on the ignition and took his finger off the button. And since Akutagawa and I hadn’t been blown to bits yet... the bomb was still active.

Sorry, Kunikida-san, Dazai-san...

Gingerly, I reached up for the ignition button.

Thank you both... for everything...

I heard a click. The button sank down under my fingers and I held my breath.

But this is the only way...

Noticing my movements at last, Akutagawa frowned. His voice dropped in volume.

“What are you doing?”

“Ending this,” I gasped.

I coughed and struggled to prop myself up against the steering wheel. My arm was going numb.

“It sounds like you know what my power is,” I croaked, “Well, you don’t know everything.”

Despite the aches and pains, I smiled, an expression that was more like a grimace of pain than an actual grin.

“I’m here,” I whispered, “because I had a vision... You see... the person you came to collect from? He was supposed to get into this car. Right about now, in fact. But he’s not here right now... and he wasn’t supposed to make it out. Wanna know why?”

Akutagawa’s eyes narrowed and I felt my grin widen.

“Because there’s a bomb under this car. The keys are in the glove compartment and the gas tank is full.”

With a considerable amount of effort, I tilted my head to the side, towards the depressed ignition button.

“And it’s set to blow the moment I take my hand off this button.”

Upon hearing my words, Akutagawa flinched. He didn’t take the ribbons off of my neck but I felt them loosen just so and I sucked in what little air I could and let out a quiet laugh.

“Your money’s gone, Akutagawa-san. I couldn’t tell you where it went, even if I wanted to. But I can tell you this.”

I felt my smile wobble.

“I’d rather die than be captured by the likes of you. And if I’m going down... I’m taking you with me.”

For a moment, we were both quiet. I could only hear the dull roar of the flames dying down around us in this scorched concrete wasteland of a parking structure. And then I heard a cough—no, not a cough, a scoff.

The ribbons loosened just a little bit further around my neck and as the spots in front of my eyes faded, I could see Akutagawa standing there, a weak breeze blowing through his hair, his face colder and more impassive than ever. He spat out a single word.

“Pathetic.”

Huh?

“The boss’s orders to me were very specific,” he stated. “He said I was to bring you back if I believed your Ability would be useful to us. Well...”

The ribbons fell away from my neck entirely and I collapsed with one shoulder against the steering wheel, coughing and gasping to bring as much air into my lungs as I could possibly stand. I had to struggle to keep my fingers pressed against the ignition, not wanting to let go unless it meant I’d be blowing Akutagawa up along with myself.

“I no longer believe it is. Or rather...”

The ribbon-like armor around his body vanished and he was standing before me in that black long coat and white cravat once more.

“It’s more accurate to say that I don’t think you would be useful to us.”

He stuck his hands in his pockets and turned away.

“When they told me an Ability User who could see the future had appeared once more, I was set on capturing them at all costs,” he said, walking away. “I thought, perhaps, this was the second coming of Oda-san. After all, we learned several years ago that two people with similar Abilities can exist at one time. Why couldn’t his Ability reappear now, after his death?”

Oda-san? Who was that?

“But you’re nothing like that man.” Akutagawa sounded disgusted. “Oda-san took out an entire battalion of soldiers before his demise. He would not be so willing to give his life over a battle as trivial as this. He did not fear death or slaughter.”

He stopped walking away and turned to give me one final, cold glance.

“But he also did not seek them out.”

I could hear his footsteps echoing away from me. Only when they faded away entirely did I dare breathe again.

I’d done it...? Had I just won?

I heard another crack and felt another sudden, sharp stab of pain in my ribs as yet more bones splintered inside my torso and I let out a pained, hacking cough. At least my back wasn’t broken—the searing pain all up and down my entire body assured me of this.

I felt my fingers, growing damp from sweat, slipping down a little against the ignition and with a heavy groan, I forced more of my weight onto it.

I had to hang on. Now that Akutagawa was gone, I could feel an odd sense of hope. My attacker had just abandoned me to bleed out and die here on my own. Perhaps if I just hung on long enough, someone would come...!

But who...?

Time slowly began to pass. Spots reappeared before my eyes. Red and black and yellow and green. I tried to shake my head to clear my vision but the spots barely faded from view. Now that the danger had finally passed, the adrenaline was wearing off. It was only a matter of time before I passed out and let go of the ignition button.

And when that time came, I would be blown into the next life.

I shifted again, hoping the old strategy of using pain to shock myself awake would work once again. Sadly, the pain felt duller, the effect lessened and I slumped against the smashed in car door as I felt my body giving out at long last.

No good. I couldn’t wait here any longer.

I was actually going to die...

A soft crunching sound reached my ears. Someone had crushed a piece of glass nearby. As I strained to listen for more, there was another crunch, coming from somewhere much closer than before.

The car door behind me suddenly opened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDuTS0V_qGg&t=193s&ab_channel=MobaSavage

*** Warm fingers pressed over mine, keeping the button for the ignition pushed in and as I craned my neck up to see who my rescuer was, I saw an upside-down face—the handsome face of a man with shaggy brown hair and intelligent brown eyes. Bandages were swathed around his neck.

Dazai.

“Yo!” he chirped, grinning toothily at me. “Your knight in shining armor is here.”

“Dazai-san?” I whispered as he reached over and accessed the glove compartment. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh my goodness, really?” Dazai sighed.

He reached into the glove compartment and retrieved the keys.

“You called me. Remember?”

“That was you?” I asked, wincing a little as I accidentally moved my neck to look at him. “The person I dialed while Akutagawa was attacking me was you?”

“Correct~!” Dazai sang.

“But you were in Nagano,” I stammered, “How did you get here so fast?”

“Well, I was planning to stop by Matsushiro Castle on my way back,” Dazai drawled, “Maybe get my cute case partner a nice little souvenir but then I realized I had the best souvenir in my pocket the whole time!”

He held something up in front of my face and I had to blink a trickle of blood out of my eyes to see that he was holding up a USB drive.

“I found CORVID,” he said simply. “And I got them to give back the money.”

I stared at it for a second. Then, I let out an incredulous laugh.

“And here I thought you were going to say something lame like, ‘the best souvenir was Dazai-san the whole time,’” I chuckled, flinching a little when I felt my ribs cracking again.

“Oho...”

Dazai leaned in then, so that his nose was barely two centimeters from my own.

“So does that mean you see me as a prize worth attaining, Kyou-chan? If that’s the case, you know the way to my heart.”

Taking the USB drive away, he dangled the keys before my eyes.

“You know what I’m talking about,” he whispered, his voice dropping low. “I take your hand in mine, off of that flimsy ignition button and we can be together forever in the afterlife.”

He shook the keys so that they jangled noisily and flashed in the light.

“What do you think?” he whispered, eyes darkening until they looked as black as coals. His voice took on a supplicating tone.

“Come away with me?”

I bit my lip.

If my arms weren’t broken, I swear, I would’ve slapped him in the face...

My eyes narrowed.

“Fuck off, Dazai.”

Dazai sighed. Heavily. Then he shrugged and tossed the keys over his shoulder and out of the car. Only then did he take his hand off of mine.

No keys—no ignition—no explosion.

I relaxed.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he admitted, pulling me from the wreck at last as I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming. Even though I was a hair away from passing out, I could still see that my clothes were singed and my body bloodied, battered and bruised.

“Not romantic enough,” he decided, nodding a little, more to himself than anyone else. “I should at least take you out on a proper date first, if we’re going to be committing a lovers’ suicide—”

“Dazai-san.”

He stopped talking as he heard the seriousness of my tone.

“Before he left,” I mumbled, “Akutagawa-san mentioned something about people with the same Ability. He mentioned someone named... Oda-san.”

Dazai twitched. He stopped dragging me away from the car.

I groaned as he placed me flat against the concrete, then picked me up beneath the arms and gently laid my head into his lap.

His coffee-brown eyes suddenly looked somber as they stared into mine from above.

“Do you... Do you know who he’s talking about? I mean...”

I wet my lips, which suddenly felt as cracked and dry as my voice.

“You did seem to know Akutagawa-san from somewhere before, after all...”

“Oda-san... huh...”

As the name of that mysterious man crossed his lips, Dazai’s expression became unexpectedly wistful, his eyes now staring beyond me, at something far, far away. He smiled softly.

“That’s not a name I’ve heard in a long time,” he said quietly. “I’m surprised that Akutagawa remembered it.”

“So you know who he is?” I pressed. “Can you tell me about him?”

“I could,” Dazai mused, tapping his chin. “I wouldn’t mind telling you what I know about the man named Oda-san...”

His gentle smile became a smirk.

“So long as we’re talking about him over coffee.”

*** I closed my eyes and sighed again.

“Again with the jokes. Thanks but no thanks, Dazai.”

I mustered a glare.

“Shimeko-san at the Cafe told me about your tab. I’m not paying for you.”

Dazai laughed.

“Oh, so you knew about that,” he chuckled. “Oh well.”

As I lay there thinking about the mysterious “Oda-san,” I began to realize just how heavy and leaden my limbs were starting to become. Dazai’s lap felt oddly warm and comforting beneath my head and I could feel oblivion tugging at the corners of my vision. Closing my eyes, I shifted a little so that I was more comfortable and I let my bangs fall across my face as I began to drift away.

“Rest, Kyou-chan. The car will be here soon.”

The last thing I felt before I floated off into blissful, dream-like darkness was Dazai’s large bandaged hands smoothing back my bangs.

“You did it.”

[artzystarlight]

Bright Sky: Book 1: The Brightest Sky: Chapter 4

My newest book series! ^w^ ~Bright Sky is a book series of a team of eight students powered with magic in the magical world of Magicalia in Magicalia Capital Academy. The newest member and the one who started this all is Clarice Mizu, a typical teenage girl with more behind her than she knows of. She has transferred schools, meeting her team of friends. After meeting Sora Wayde, Blossom Cath, Jack Blizzard, Cole MacKenzy, Drake Energie, Mae Aria and Amber Blaze, her life takes a turn for both the best and the worse as they all go on multiple adventures with each other, which will soon turn into serious situations that revolve around each person, especially Clarice.~ I am extremely proud of this book series, and more is to come! ……………………………………………………………………………………………….

Chapter 4: The Shadow

“Ugh…”

Clarice slowly got up and stared all around the room, eventually looking at the window. She looked at the broken window, the tiny shards of glass like ice and the blue substance sitting on the shards to make it just like a shining kaleidoscope.

“WE’RE ALIVE!”

Cole began shaking Clarice as he was coughing while making a sentence.

“WE’RE ALIVE BUT WE’RE DEAD!”

“Please don’t make an Incredibles reference…”, Mae rolled her eyes as she was wiping her glasses on her shirt. “You don’t even like cartoons.”

“How are we alive? That poison should have got to us and absorbed our Magic by now!” Jack remarked, untying his bundle of midnight blue strands and tying it into a ponytail.

“That…” Sora pointed at the broken window and everyone pivoted their heads toward the said direction.

“How did that happen? Did one of you guys fuck up the window or something?” Drake asked for Cole and Amber’s hands as they helped pull him up off of the ground. Sora than had a short and simple flashback in his head. He remembered a few things. It was all a blurry and dreary remembrance. As everyone was slowly fading out into the ground, he remembered something blue go flying and strike the window. Then he remembered something else,

Clarice

She waved her hand towards the window, around the same time that the mysterious blue figure hit the window.

“Maybe that was Clarice?”, Sora mumbled to himself, his body in a deep meditation. “But she never received her powers…did she grab something while she could and hit it?”

“Are you saying something, Sora-San?” Blossom heard the whisper of his words, Sora looking up at her in surprise.

“Nothing…”, Sora responded. “Actually, Clarice?”

“Yeah Sky?” Clarice called him by the meaning of his name as Sora stared at her, wanting to teasingly pout at the nickname but still curious.

“Did you ever hit the window with something?”

“Uhm…I don’t know? I don’t remember much due to that goddamn poison…sorry.” Clarice awkwardly petted the side of her temple with her soft fingers as a tear like drop went down her forehead in confusion.

“I was probably just seeing things…” Sora said to himself in the cavern of his mind until the next thing seen was Amber hitting the ground.

“Amber! What the fuck just happened?” Drake helped Amber off of the ground as Amber rubbed her back in confusion, her shadow slowly stretching from her body.

“I don’t know! I just…something just hit me and I-” Amber tried to explain, confusion mixed with fear lodged in her throat until someone punched her. It was Cole.

“What the hell Cole?! Why did you hit her?!” Drake questioned with shock and rage until he saw Cole’s eyes. Not only were they innocent, but small droplets of pure fear began forming on the lower lid of his eyes.

“I don’t know what’s happening to me! I’m possessed! I don’t-I dont- HELP ME PLEASE.” Cole began struggling as he no longer had any possession over his body.

“Wait a minute…possession? Total control over own body? Ability to go into any body they please or go through any magic that faces them?!”

Clarice’s eyes shrunk at her own sentences. Her mouth slowly turned into an awed fear.

“I know what this magic is…”

“Clarice, LOOK OUT!”

Sora tackled her to the ground, a black figure jumping and missing their target.

“Don’t zone OUT LIKE THAT GODDAMNIT. We can’t lose a teammate on the first damn day…” Sora stared Clarice down as he was in the same position as they were when they first encountered.

“That’s Shadow Magic. That’s when somebody has the ability to control you or has the ability to take any advantage of you, disguising themselves as your shadow.”

“She’s RIGHT.”

The feminine yet dark and rich voice tone was being heard through The whole room, and soon it aimed for Mae. Mae took out her gun and aimed for the shadow, a purple pellet spiraling out of the tube and aiming for the shadow, but she knew very little of what that shadow could do. The shadow’s stomach area turned into a transcendent and accessible hole, the pellet going straight through that hole and flying to the wall.

“Crap…” Mae stared wide eyed at the figure until she saw something block her…no, someone.

“J-Jack?”

Mae looked towards her and saw a gray uniform like shirt blocking her view. She stood up and saw Jack, the shadow’s hand going straight through his arm, leaving Jack paralyzed with pain.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE.”

Clarice ran towards the shadow and punched it, the shadow flying to the wall. She then pinned it up against the wall.

“What do you want?! Why are you here?! What are you trying to do?!” Clarice was enraged, the rage obviously showing in her voice. But something also showed in her eyes, fear. Fear, pain, sorrow, memories. All of that turned into a collision of emotions being a glimmering coat of crystal clear on her ocean blue eyes.

“Oh my god Jack…YOU JACK-ASS.” Mae yelled at Jack in annoyance as she held him and, finding the nearest First Aid Kit, tending to the damage that was embedded on his arm. “You didn’t have to fucking save me goddamnit…I don’t need someone dying. As much as you will annoy the EVERLIVING HELL out of me…I don’t want you dying.” Mae’s cheeks turned a light tint of salmon as she looked at his arm bashful, Jack seeing her and smirking.

“You bitch. I can’t let you get hurt either.” He looked at the ground, his smirk turning into blushing embarrassment as Mae patched up his arm.

“You know…I could just EASILY take over your body and just make EVERYTHING terrible…”, The shadow gave a Cheshire Cat grin at Clarice, who stared at it in anger with the palm of their hand still gripping its thin part of the body resembling the neck. “But I actually want to see you suffer.”

And with those few words, the shadow vanished from her hands into the wall. Clarice just stared into the wall, shocking anger clouding her mind. However, those emotions were overcame by fear. Fear decided to stagger her heart and slowly began forming on her eyes. She touched her face and became aware of the water strolling down her cheek.

“Clarice, are you okay?” Sora questioned after the shadows disappeared, Clarice wiping her face for a long time to make sure she didn’t cry.

“I-m….I’m…I’m fine. Trust me, I’m fine.” Clarice muttered lowly, making sure it wasn’t obvious she was scared and tearing up because of her shaky voice. “Come on, we should find that shadow!”

“Where do we start?” Blossom asked, fixing her loose headband until she saw scratches on the walls. “Never mind…”

On the walls were sentences scratched in a deranged and suspicious claw like design. The biggest words written were

“WeLcOmE tO ThE gAmE.”