#was really hoping the new year could be a reset ugh

[nebulouscoffee]

... well it's that time of the year already. If anyone's got a Star Trek ask I'd love a distraction <3

[drkineildwicks]

Temtem – 11/18/2022 – Happy Scarvi Day

And what better way to spend it than to play Temtem instead and make Game Freak suffer! :D

Oh gosh I haven’t played this since December of last year it’s been so long that they actually have gotten out of beta OTL

I love this game but good night adult life doesn’t give me a lot of time to play it

Also I love how when I write articles about this game the Pokémon shills get mad XD

Real talk if Temtem had released with the level of jank Scarvi has y’all would have massacred it where it stood

“But game freak is so smol be nice to them!” *looks at all the other indie companies that do better* Yeah sorry no excuse

Anywho, on to Temtem!

Boy I hope the jump to full release didn’t eat my save….

Huh the “this is a beta game” window got replaced with a “terms of use” page

Does anyone ever read through this stuff?...

I can’t help but sigh at some of this because yes it’s important to say no to discriminatory language but people are so sensitive anymore that saying “hi” could tick them off

“No class action lawsuits”—uh hi Crema wtf?

Do all TOS have this bs or have I just started paying attention to the darn things?

Oh cool they’re showing livestreamers in a little bar there

STILL ALIVE!

Oh there’s an achievement system

What are these feathers?....

I do love this tho increases the playability and encourages the player to keep playing take notes game freak where is our post-game?

Oh luma

Okay so now the exp gain is kinda sped up so I can’t see the numbers how do I reset this….

So water is weak to poison….

Ooh Snuggie has synergy with Perry :D

YES!  YES!  NESSLA!

Now to catch it….

Granted it doesn’t have the ability I’m looking for but STILL

OH COME ON

Nessa was weak to Turtlinni I’m never catching this stupid thing

Oh?

This is new 

 Stickers ovo

Of course I’m being helpful

Success another reason to keep playing :D

Krazy Kamikaze, congressional agent XD

So this is my tax dollars at work

Oh my first sticker!

So that’s fun

Okay heading to town to swap out some guys maybe level up some dudes and NOT kill the next Nessla

OH THAT’S PRETTY

Bro’s Company nice

Okay swapped out Lowkey and Turtlinni

I…do not really have low-leveled guys anymore X’D

Mighty Machine like the name

Okay so it was the electric that was weak to the glass

Oh new move for Perry!

This is a reference, I can tell

YES ANOTHER NESSLA

Now that I’ve got my two poison guys up front X’D

YES AND IT’S GOT THE ABILITY I WANT

Now to catch it…

UGH

It kept breaking free of the cards IT WAS EXHAUSTED AND POISONED WHAT THE HECK

Do gotta say that I love the sticker book quest’s name XD

And Perry learned another move nice

And another Nessla OvO

At least they spawn more frequently now

Let’s see if this one stays in the card….

Nope they’re just physically incapable of staying in there apparently

And fond of killing themselves rather than being taken alive this is the squid all over again

Okay maybe I’m approaching this wrong do I have a guy that’d put it to sleep?...

I feel like Tay-toe might be able to idk

I don’t know what this is but it looks like a cross between a bull and a moose

Oh Snuggie’s tempedia entry finally registered! :D

Nope closest I got is Nightshade but that move puts them to sleep, not their opponent

Can’t wait until I do finally run into Max again I’m going to be so overleveled from hunting these darn Nessla

But gotta quit for now gotta do chickens and dinner

But anyway that was fun—need to start doing this sort of thing regularly, like Temtem Tuesday and FF14 Friday, stuff like that

I’ve got a ton of games I want to play but I never take the time for them I gotta start setting aside like an hour for them in the week so I don’t have another year gap between play sessions OTL

Also Mom saw me playing this and asked about it and I’m describing it to her

Mom: “Oh it reminds me of that other game you were playing!”

Me: “Which one?”

Mom: “That one with the lava and the water and all the weapons--”

Breath of the Wild

Mom thinks this game looks like Breath of the Wild and I can honestly see it with the color palette and some of the stylization

And honestly I would pay good money to see that crossover time to go kick Ganon’s tail with naught but a stick and my buddy Tateru \.o./

(that reminds me I want to play BotW again too)

[robininthelabyrinth]

Prompt: NMJ gets caught in a time loop that makes him repeatedly relive the day Meng Yao leaves for Langya, until he realizes that it's a bad idea and stops him from going?

Time Loop - ao3

Nie Mingjue opened his eyes in the morning and sat up with a yawn, mind already racing ahead to his tasks for the day: getting in some morning saber practice, working on a giant pile of sect business and even more giant pile of work related to the war, making time to write a letter scolding Nie Huaisang (for what, yet to be determined, but inevitable – if he didn’t, Nie Huaisang would complain of neglect), trying to find a replacement deputy (or seven) to do the work Meng Yao did now that he’d headed off to the Jin sect…

There was a lot to do, and even less time to do it in – and moping about it would only make it build up even more. Nie Mingjue sighed and swung his legs to the side, intending to get up and get started right away.

He stopped as soon as he saw the calendar on his desk.

It was the wrong date.

Now, there were two possible reasons for this. The first was, of course, that he’d simply forgotten to mark the day as completed on his calendar yesterday evening, even though that was generally the very last thing he did before bed and longstanding habit had trained him to have trouble falling asleep if he didn’t do it.

They said forgetfulness was one of the first signs of mental decline.

Easy enough to check, though.

He got up and walked to the tent door, cracking it open. “Hey, you,” Nie Mingjue said to one of the guards going by on patrol. “Where’s Meng Yao?”

“I believe at this hour, Viceroy Meng would be checking over the supplies,” the guard said. “Would you like me to call him?”

“Mm,” Nie Mingjue said, because that wasn’t definitive; the guard didn’t know for certain, and he might just be making an assumption based on past precedent. “What about Lan Xichen?”

“Sect Leader Lan hasn’t yet arrived – I believe he’s due in for later today, closer to noon. Did you want –”

“No, I don’t want anything,” Nie Mingjue said, deeply relieved to have identified that he had not, in fact, forgotten to fill out his calendar. “I’m stuck in a time loop.”

“…ah,” the guard said, looking taken aback – he must be new to Qinghe, like many of the cultivators in the army. Like Meng Yao, for that matter. “Is that…bad?”

“No, it’s fantastic. I’m going back to sleep. No one is to bother me all day.”

“But – Sect Leader Lan –”

“Meng Yao can host him,” Nie Mingjue decided. He’d write out Meng Yao’s recommendation letter, put a big red mark on the calendar right now just to make sure he didn’t forget, and go back to sleep for the entire day like he hadn’t done in what must be literal years. “Like I said: don’t bother me.”

-

Nie Mingjue opened his eyes in the morning and sat up with a yawn. He looked at his calendar.

No big red mark.

“Fantastic,” he said, and went back to bed.

-

He slept for four days.

-

“Sect Leader Nie?” Meng Yao said, poking his head in. “Sect Leader Lan is – I’m sorry, are you painting?”

“I haven’t had time for it in ages,” Nie Mingjue said, scowling at the paper. “You know, I thought he was just trying to get out of practice, but actually Huaisang’s right. It really does require quite a lot of dexterity.”

Meng Yao opened his mouth, then closed it again.

After a few more moments, he asked, voice very cautious, “Are you painting a battlefield map?”

Nie Mingjue stopped, appalled. “Is that what it looks like?” he asked. “I was trying for a beaver. You know, the small furry swimming mammal from Xinjiang.”

“No, it looks like a beaver,” Meng Yao said, though now Nie Mingjue wasn’t sure if he believed him or not. “I just thought it might be some sort of – code. Maybe.”

Nie Mingjue conceded that this made sense, given what he was normally like. “No, no code,” he said. “Just a beaver. Thought it’d make for a funny fan painting to give to Huaisang.”

“I see,” Meng Yao said, and seemed to struggle internally for a moment.

“Is this about Xichen’s visit?” Nie Mingjue asked. “You can just show him around yourself if you like. I’ll see him tomorrow, should it ever come.”

“…right,” Meng Yao said. “I’ll – do that.”

“If you want a recommendation to leave to join the Jin sect, you can pick it up on the desk on your way out,” Nie Mingjue said, already turning back to his painting. “Have fun, good luck, kill Wen-dogs. The usual.”

Meng Yao didn’t say anything, just bowed. His expression was very strange.

-

Turned out that painting was a lot harder to accomplish when your supposed ‘friends’ kept trying to spring unwanted and unnecessary medical interventions on you.

Ugh.

-

Actually, that Song of Clarity shit from round 13 seemed really helpful? He’d have to look more into that.

-

Apparently, reading novels was even more concerning than painting.

What, like he wasn’t allowed to have hobbies? What else were time loops for if not to catch a break, damnit?

-

“Oh all right,” Nie Mingjue said, holding up his hands in surrender. “I’ll fix the time loop.”

“You’d better,” Nie Huaisang said, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “What in the world did you do to freak them out at the crack of dawn such that they flew all the way to get me and back before it reset?”

“Uh,” Nie Mingjue said. “Nothing.”

“Did it involve sex?”

“No comment.”

“Did you forget that they’d reset when you woke up?”

“No comment.”

“Just fix the damn time loop, da-ge.”

“That sounds like someone who is not getting a beaver fan.”

“…beaver? Fan? For me? Wait, did you paint it? Da-ge! I want it! No, don’t go to sleep, I want to keep -”

-

“Please sit down,” Nie Mingjue said to Lan Xichen and Meng Yao. “I’m going to need your help on a strategic question of great importance.”

“Anything we can do to help, of course,” Lan Xichen said, and Meng Yao nodded.

“I’m always at your service, Sect Leader,” he said.

“Good,” Nie Mingjue said. “Now – what do you know about time loops?”

-

It took about five days, but he finally managed to figure out how to word the explanation so that it only took as long as a cup of tea to explain and got them to believe him without immediately deciding that he was insane. At that point, they were able to finally start seriously brainstorming solutions.

“We just need to figure out what it is that went wrong and fix it?” Meng Yao asked, sounding dubious. “What is considered ‘wrong’ in this context?”

“Things resulting in massive amounts of death, usually? Sometimes your own.” Nie Mingjue shrugged. “It’s a matter of fate, a natural opportunity to avert disaster; you only encounter one when you’re very lucky. Otherwise do you think my father would’ve died the way he did?”

“…an excellent point,” Lan Xichen said, grimacing. “Very well, let’s make a list of all the things you did, play out the possible consequences to see which ones could potentially result in disaster, and then you can try to change them one at a time.”

“Worth a shot,” Nie Mingjue said.

-

“Good morning, Sect Leader,” Meng Yao said, saluting. “What do you need me for this early? Sect Leader Lan has not yet arrived.”

“I need to talk to you about your future,” Nie Mingjue said. “And what you hope to get out of it.”

Meng Yao straightened his back and blinked owlishly, looking wary. “What do you mean, Sect Leader?”

“You want to go rejoin the Jin sect, don’t you? To earn a position with your father?”

Meng Yao blanched. “Sect Leader –”

“It’s a perfectly reasonable ambition to have,” Nie Mingjue assured him. “Unfortunately, I don’t think a letter of recommendation from me will cut it. I’m too young, and one of his rivals; Jin Guangshan doesn’t give me face – and what will you do if he sidelines you and puts you under someone awful to suppress all your achievements? Wouldn’t it be as good as throwing away your life, ruining your best chance for success?”

Meng Yao frowned. Nie Mingjue was pleased to see it was having an impact: he’d consulted Meng Yao the day before on precisely what wording to use, since his own versions were having no luck.

“I have no objection to your ultimate goal,” Nie Mingjue said. “But we’re going to need to be a bit more clever about it. When Xichen gets here, we’ll put our heads together and think about what we can do to make it impossible for your father to reject you. How does that sound?”

Meng Yao swallowed. “Thank you, Sect Leader,” he said, his voice low and sounding, if anything, a little touched. “I – appreciate it.”

“Good,” Nie Mingjue said, and put a red mark on his calendar. “Also, there’s another issue to discuss involving yourself and Xichen –”

-

Nie Mingjue opened his eyes in the morning and sat up with a yawn. He looked at his calendar.

There was a big red mark.

“Oh good,” he said, and turned around and laid back down.

“What’s good?” Lan Xichen muttered into his collarbone. “Mmm, A-Jue, no, don’t lie down. It’s time to get up.”

“It is not,” Meng Yao said from the other side. “It’s time to sleep in.”

“Listen to Meng Yao,” Nie Mingjue said, settling his arms around him. “The world can wait a little more.”

“It really can’t, though,” Meng Yao said with a sigh, rubbing his eyes and starting to sit up, which was obviously the wrong move. “We’re in the middle of a war, and we all have important things to do today.”

“That’s true,” Nie Mingjue said, a little reluctantly. “I owe Huaisang a beaver.”

Meng Yao blinked.

Lan Xichen blinked.

“…it’s a long story.”

[avaantares]

I'm about to be controversial, y'all.

So... am I the only one who's extremely unexcited to see RTD put back in charge of Doctor Who? I know lots of people have fond nostalgia for his era of showrunning -- and that's fair; my favorite DW characters and storylines also hail from those seasons -- but I keep looking back at his Whoniverse and remembering

the poor handling of season arcs: e.g. shoehorning the words "Bad Wolf" into every episode to suggest there's a continuing story and then... not having it signify anything except the fact that the words "Bad Wolf" were in every episode. Ditto "the bees are disappearing," et al. There was no building story, no progressive reveal, no real sense of continuity -- but then the season finale would throw out some supposedly-shocking revelation that pretended it tied everything together. Only it didn't feel like a proper payoff, because all we'd gotten was a random line once per episode to tick the requisite 'season finale reference' box.

what he did to some characters in DW, and his "defense" for it, which he then recycled for Torchwood: His stated reason for stranding Rose in an alternate universe/wiping Donna's memory/killing half the cast of Torchwood is because (and I can't find the exact quote right now, sorry) he's not interested in telling satisfying stories, but wants to do things that will shock the audience so they remember it and talk about it 50 years from now. (Sorry, but shock value alone isn't good storytelling. If I want to be angry/horrified/surprised/confused by events, I would just watch the news instead of a scripted TV show.)

the (frankly insulting) things he said about the fans and their attachment to said characters after their disappointing endings in DW/Torchwood. (Dude, you know we can hear you, right?)

what he did with the Torchwood sequels: His exact quote, cited by (I think) Scott Handcock in an issue of Vortex, was "Let's drive it off a cliff!" And then he proceeded to trash almost all of the established character growth from the previous decade's worth of series material.

the bulk of Miracle Day, which he wrote, and which was... You know, I've already written thousands of words detailing all the ways that series fails to support the continuity of the previous three TV seasons of Torchwood and the greater Whoniverse, so I won't reiterate all that here, but the fact that he directly contradicts his own previous scripts, scenarios, worldbuilding and characterization multiple times in that series really doesn't reassure me that he won't do something incredibly jarring and out of line/continuity with a new DW season.

Now, all that said, did RTD also do some things well as DW showrunner? Yes, he did. He certainly deserves credit for successfully resurrecting a franchise that had previously failed (more than once -- *cough*American Doctor Who movie*cough*). He established the Time War mythos and set up the Doctor's subsequent recovery arcs, which became a touchpoint for the series as a whole. He introduced numerous great characters, cast members, and villains, including several of my personal favorites. He created Torchwood, a show I love despite its many, many flaws. Some of the most iconic episodes of the new series were produced during his tenure ("The Empty Child," "Blink," "Midnight," "Silence in the Library," et al.). And in total fairness, as much as I loathed the execution of Miracle Day, I do think it had a solid premise and raised fascinating questions, and could have been a really good stand-alone sci-fi series if it hadn't tried to be a Torchwood sequel/spinoff.

I'm also not going to argue that DW is perfect right now and should stay just as it is, because the series has definitely been treading water lately; there have been numerous story and long-term continuity issues during Chibnall's era. But what it really comes down to for me is that despite those good, lasting innovations he made in launching the reboot series, I don't really see a new RTD-helmed season fixing the troubled state of Doctor Who as it stands, because the things he did well aren't necessarily what the show needs to regain its sense of balance after the uneven scripting and continuity-flaunting turns it took over the last couple of seasons. At best, it will be a hard reset to an early-series atmosphere that largely ignores the questions raised by recent installments, rather than a recovery from the continuity-nuking bomb dropped during the last season finale. At worst, he'll continue the problems delineated by the bullet-pointed list above, and the series will sink deeper into a hole.

To me, the RTD re-appointment really feels like BBC/BBCA trying to cash in on the early-NuWho nostalgia train to regain the viewership it lost during Jodie Whitaker's tenure (not her fault at all, but some whiny little boys viewers ragequit at her introduction because *gasp* a female Doctor?! how dare! while others lost interest because of the weak scripts or other failings of the past couple of seasons). I think the decision is motivated less by "what is best for the development of Doctor Who as an ongoing series?" and more by "what's the fastest shot in the arm we can give our struggling ratings so we can capitalize on the upcoming 60th anniversary?"

I hope I'm just being paranoid, and RTD defies all my expectations and brings something new and delightful to the next series of DW. But I can't deny that when I read the announcement, my gut reaction was just, "Ugh." Maybe it's just the Torchwood fan in me, burned too often and in too many ways to trust RTD to stick the landing, but I'm honestly feeling more trepidation than anticipation right now.

[bex-la-get]

Hi! I'm new to tumblr and... can I request a fic where Ethan is the one who ask questions to Nat to test the new fMRI scan, but it is set on book 2 instead. Thank you and I admire your writings!

NONNY!!! I absolutely love this!!! I'm gonna say this takes place in mid-Book 2-ish.

K, before we start, I just wanna throw a disclaimer out there: my memory of Book 2 is fuzzy which means mistakes are likely. Sorry in advance if I get something wrong. Also, I'm not a medical professional, so any mistakes made are my own. Thank you.

Okay, let's go!!

Nat sat on the couch of the Diagnostics Office, absent-mindedly staring out the window and chewing on her lower lip. The last few weeks had been exhausting. Between the news that Edenbrook had lost its funding, Kyra's diagnosis, and the stress of being a Junior Fellow on the DT, it was all beginning to feel like it was too much. She wasn't sure how much more she could take at this point.

"Hey, you okay?" a voice asked.

She turned to the source and found Ethan looking at her, eyebrows furrowed in concern. She hadn't even heard him come in. She sat up straight. "Yeah, sorry; just needed to take a break."

"Nat," he said, coming to sit next to her. "It's okay if you're not. You don't have to be 'okay' all the time."

She sighed. "I know."

"What's going on?"

Nat shook her head. "Just... feeling a little overwhelmed is all. With everything going on as it is, it just kind of feels like a little too much."

Ethan nodded sympathetically. "I understand. The last few weeks have been... challenging, to say the least." Nat nodded in agreement and he gently ran his fingers along the back of her hand. "I wish I could offer you words of wisdom or at least better advice." He said, smiling sheepishly.

She gave him a small smile. "Just being here for me is enough. Thank you."

He returned her smile and linked his pinky with hers, giving it a tight squeeze. "I don't know if it will provide the distraction you need, but I could use your help with something if you have a few minutes?" Nat nodded. "The fMRI machine went on the fritz about a week ago and I was just told that it's back in working order. I'd like to test it out and make sure that it really is working normally. Care to help me out?"

"Sure," Nat said, "but only if you ask the questions this time. It's only fair since I did it last time."

Ethan chuckled and nodded. "Deal."

The two of them made their way to the imaging lab, set Nat up within the machine, then Ethan made his way into the control room. "Can you hear me?" he asked.

"Loud and clear, boss," Nat replied.

"Good. I presume you remember the drill from last year. I'll ask you some questions and see how your brain responds as you answer."

"Sounds good."

"All right. First question: What is your middle name?"

Nat scoffed over the speakers. "That's your first question?"

"What's wrong with the question?"

"It's boring. I distinctly remember asking you some scandalous questions."

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Just answer the question, Rookie."

"Fine. Paige."

Ethan pursed his lips. Natalie Paige Cusack. Very pretty. Very her. Tucking this new knowledge into the back of his head he nodded as the scanner showing her brain lit up.

"All right. Next question: do you have any siblings?"

"Ethan, these are questions you can ask me in casual conversation," Nat protested. "Ask me something fun! I thought the point of this was to provide me a distraction, after all."

Ethan chuckled and shook his head. "Fine, answer this question while I think of something fun to ask you."

"Deal! In answer to your question, yes. I have an older brother named Victor but everyone calls him Vic. The only time I call him Victor is when he's in trouble."

"And just how often is he in trouble?" Ethan asked, amused. Nat's hippocampus lit up as she thought of her answer and he raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"When we were kids? All the time," she answered, giggling. "As an adult, less often. Though it still happens."

Ethan chuckled and nodded. "All right. Per your request, here's a fun question. What's an embarrassing story from your childhood?"

"Oooh, you went right for the jugular. Respect. I like it. Okay, um... have I ever told you the goblin story?"

"The goblin story?"

She laughed. "Oh, man! You're gonna love this. Okay, so when I was little, I had a pretty big nose. I grew into it as I got older, but when I was little, it wasn't proportional to my face at all." Ethan listened to the story with an amused smile on his face as the scan showed her pregenual anterior cingulate cortex light up during her story.

"One night," she continued, "I stupidly fell asleep with gum in my mouth and woke up with it all in my hair. It was a nightmare."

"Oh no," Ethan said.

"Yep," Nat confirmed. "It was so bad that the only thing we could do was cut as much out of it as possible, which left me with this terrible haircut that, low-key, had me looking like I had been electrified.

"Anyway, Vic's knee-jerk response at seeing me with my short hair and big nose was to promptly call me goblin. And the stupid nickname stuck! He still calls me it even though it was over twenty years ago!" She paused in her storytelling, expecting to hear a response but heard nothing instead. "Ethan? Are you there? You better not have left!"

The speakers turned on and all she heard was his laughter. "Are you laughing?! Ethan!"

Ethan tried to speak through his laughter. "I'm sorry, I sympathize, really." He laughed again and Nat rolled her eyes.

"You are the worst, you know that?" she told him.

"Sorry Nat," he said, finally getting his laughter under control. "I'm sure you made a very cute goblin."

Nat rolled her eyes. "Ugh, just ask your next question, Ramsey."

He chuckled again and thought for a moment when a question appeared in the back of his mind. Rationally, he knew he shouldn't ask it. It wasn't exactly professional and went against the reset rule he initiated.

But he had enjoyed getting to know more about Nat and he was curious. “Tell me about your first kiss.”

“Trying to figure out how I got such high standards?” she joked.

He rolled his eyes. “I’m trying to trigger an emotional response in your brain. Go.”

She giggled. “Hmm.. first kiss. Um, it was my first boyfriend, Matt. I was a Freshman in high school and he kissed me during the slow dance at our Homecoming dance.”

Her limbic system lit up on the scanner. “Sounds romantic,” he mused, pushing down the surge of jealousy he felt at the thought Nat kissing another man, even if it had been when she was significantly younger.

“Mm, not really. He wasn’t really good at it. He was kind of slobbery, if I’m being honest.”

Ethan scrunched up his face. “Gross.”

“Very,” she confirmed.

“Last question,” he said. He knew this was approaching risky territory but damn it, if Nat didn’t make him want to throw every one of his morals and rules right out the window. And, if he were honest... he really wanted to hear the answer to this question. “What was the best kiss you’ve ever had?”

“Hmm...” she hummed in thought for a long moment, Ethan’s heart pounding as he waited for her reply. Finally, she spoke. “New Year’s Eve, 2017.”

Ethan’s heart sunk. “Oh? Why then?”

“My ex-boyfriend was moving. He had accepted a position at one of the National Labs in New Mexico and I knew I was staying on the East Coast so we split. When the Ball dropped at midnight, he gave me a goodbye kiss. Then he got in a moving van the next day and moved across the country.”

Her amygdala lit up like a Christmas Tree and Ethan frowned. Clearly that memory was still fresh for her. “That’s enough questions, Nat. I think we’ve done our job here.” 

Ethan stopped the machine and met Nat back in the lab as she stood up. Ethan had been prepared for Nat to be sad after that last story but instead, he found her smiling up at him. “That was fun. I needed that.”

“You needed to be put into a giant metal machine and have your brain looked at?” Ethan asked.

She lightly hit his shoulder. “You know that’s not what I mean.” Her smile grew, making Ethan’s heart skip a beat. “Thank you, Ethan. I appreciate the distraction.”

“I’m glad it helped,” he said, returning her smile.

“Well, I better go make my rounds,” she said as she began to make her way out of the lab. 

“Hey, Nat,” Ethan called. In a flash, he grabbed her hand, pulled her back to him, and cupped her face with his hands, giving her a searing kiss. Nat made a quiet noise of surprise at Ethan’s gesture but quickly melted into the kiss, her lips matching his fervor. His hands moved from her face to her waist as he pulled her impossibly closer, her arms circling around his neck as if to hold him in place. 

Neither knew how long they stood there. It could have been hours, days, even years. It didn’t matter; they didn’t care. In that moment, all they cared about was each other and they both hoped that the moment, however long it may have been, never ended.

But alas, eventually they broke apart at the sound of Nat’s pager beeping. Their lips separated, but neither moved very far apart, as they both fought to catch their breath. Ethan’s eyes were still closed, his forehead resting against hers as Nat opened her eyes. She nuzzled her nose against his and sucked in a breath when his blue eyes opened, locking with hers.

“What was all that for?” she asked in a whisper. 

He smiled sheepishly. “I may have taken slight offence as not being your best kiss ever.”

She pulled away slightly to look at him better, a giggle on her lips. “Did you get jealous after hearing about my ex?”

“No,” he retorted, defensively.

This time, she laughed. “You did! I can’t believe it, Ethan Ramsey got jealous. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re never going to let this go, are you?”

“Nope,” she confirmed. She leaned in close again and placed another chaste kiss on his lips. “But don’t worry, Ethan. You have nothing to worry about.” She pulled out of their embrace as her pager beeped again (thankfully it was just a notification that her latest lab test results were in and not an emergency). “I’ve had some much better kisses since then. One of them, in this very room.”

Ethan smirked. “Glad to hear I made the running.”

She returned his smirk. “You also might be interested to know, I was lying. That New Year’s kiss was best kiss I’ve ever had. But it was beat by a mysterious tall doctor on a balcony in Miami last year. You might remember him; he was a bit of a risk taker, that one.”

He chuckled. “He sounds familiar, I admit.”

“I hope he comes back,” she said as she made her way out of the room. “His kisses are mind-blowing.” She winked at him as she finished her statement then sauntered out of the room, leaving a smirking Ethan, shaking his head, behind.

Tag list below the cut:

Tag List (let me know if you want to be added/removed):  @genevievemd @jamespotterthefirst @paulfwesley @ethansdique @openheartfanfics @perriewinklenerdie @little-flowers-on-heaven @stateofgracious @coffeeheartaddict @liaromancewriter @potionsprefect @mm2305 @gryffindordaughterofathena @actuallybored @writer-ish @queencarb @takeharryandgo @lsvdw-blog @itsjustwinter​ @imaneditorthankyouverymuch-deac @chaoticchopshopheart​ @ohchoices​ @maurine07​ @oldminniemcg​ @parisa-kh​ @shanzay44​ @uberamsey @izzyourresidentlawyer​ @adiehardfan​ @custaroonie​ @mia143​ @a-crepusculo​ @takemyopenheart​ @toadfrog26​ @quixoticdreamer16​ @barbean​ @headoverheelsforramsey​ @natureblooms24 @jerzwriter @crazy-loca-blog @dorisz

[ask-fantasy-sanders-sides]

Do we know how Dee found out about the V's dragon thing?

When he felt the deep rumbling of the cave around him, Deceit finally sighed in relief.

The crumbling tube-like pitfall he had made near the southern entrance — one of many, all too solid to be triggered by Deceit or Ethel’s weight but easily crumbled under anyone else’s — had hopefully put an end to the intruder he had sensed almost an hour before.

They got further than Deceit expected they would. Deceit had listened to them through adjacent tunnels as they quickly and easily traversed his maze of twisting, trap-laden caverns. They walked with cocksure, thundering footsteps, and somehow sensed and called out swinging blades before they’d even released from their hiding places. But, they also cut down kobolds and monsters alike without letting even a dying gasp escape from their victims, despite how loudly they talked to themselves as they traversed the emptier tunnels. Whoever they were, their senses were sharp, and they damn sure had experience hunting dangerous creatures.

(Luckily, Deceit wasn’t too attached to the “guards” he had collected over the years, though it would be annoying to replace them. And to repair and reset his traps... Ugh, this was going to be a long night.)

The strangest part was how they ignored both of the false “treasure chests” Deceit had hidden in those pathways. Whoever they were, they were not an adventurer.

That fact alone was enough to scare Deceit away from confronting them himself, retreating to the safety of his inner chamber for a report of their demise. He’d hoped he wouldn’t have to pull out any of his higher-energy illusions to scare them away; From the strength of those vibrations, Deceit could happily assume the intruder had been dealt with.

...Well, okay, not really. Deceit is nothing if not careful.

They were definitely trapped if not already dead, though. So, Deceit crouches down and extends his arm to let Ethel off of his shoulders and onto the ground.

“I’ll be close behind you, dear.”

“I know, Dee!” Ethel giggled, with all the excitement of a child who’s been made to sit still for too long. He loves to play scout, because it lets him feel like a bigger part of this operation. Deceit only lets him do it because he knows no one would travel this deep into a Dragon’s mountain and then bother themselves with a mundane snake.

Deceit follows until he’s close enough to the impact point to keep Ethel in his senses, but hopefully far enough that he won’t be sensed by the intruder. He can hear Ethel humming to himself in the back of his mind, busying himself with a human song they only each remember pieces of, and Deceit waits for the go-ahead to join him further in.

Then, suddenly and without reason, the humming stops.

Deceit gives it a second or two, assuming that Ethel is just engaging his little “stealth mode” and taking a look around, but the silence remains for much longer than Deceit is comfortable with.

“Ethel, dear?” He probes through their mental link, to no response.

In fact, to Deceit’s horror, it feels like their link has weakened somehow.

It’s not an unfamiliar feeling — attempting to reach the snake-boy’s mind is as sluggish and resistant as wading through a pool of curdling blood, sometimes — but it’s only ever happened when he’s eating or dying.

Thrown into a panic, Deceit rushes down the path to the collapse sight, and is frozen to the spot when he sees what he’s trapped.

Lying there with a few scuffs and bruises, trapped under a pile of boulders, is a Dark Elf.

He’s thin and lithe from what Deceit can see of his body, and he seems largely unhurt, just under too much weight to move himself. He’s lying on his back, and his one free hand is holding Ethel, who is curled around his arm and leaning down to sniff at his face. Ethel’s not hurt, and doesn’t seem to be injured or even threatened by the Drow, who is holding him very gently. But his eyes are slightly glazed over and empty, as if he were a normal, everyday animal. As if he’d been entranced by someone.

And then a new wave of sensation washes over Deceit, and he’s knocked wholly off his feet.

There is a powerful presence coming from that Elf. The same kind of feeling he’s felt every time he’s entered a room with his so-called “siblings,” and the same feeling that used to be washed over this mountain when they were all still alive. An energy, specifically, he hasn’t felt since the last time he stood in the core of the mountain with his Father.

The essence of a White Dragon.

Deceit’s own essence rises up, hissing and spitting to fight the rival drake, but Deceit can’t move. The Drow looks up (down?) from his position to look at Deceit, and his long white hair falls out of the way to reveal one brilliant amethyst eye.

“That's one of Marissa’s experiments.” Deceit realizes with a start, remembering the orders his Father had given her before she left,

“Wux geou vucot ssvabolen quellar ekesss vorq ihk. Asstahii re houpeir ir di wer ssviheleni, wer ausssir darasstrixi."

"Vorq ihk ulhar vur ssililoss ssaurivic.”

“What is it doing here?!” Deceit shrieks in the confines of his own mind, still too terrified to speak the words out loud. He scrambles backwards,

“She let it out?? Does she know— Did she send it to kill me, to take her revenge?!”

“Who do we have here~?”

A voice from behind him shouts giddily the second Deceit feels himself back into a wall. He looks up, and finds the loud-mouthed, heavy-footed something he’s been tracking grinning maliciously down at him.

And Deceit has just knocked right into their legs.

A yelp is ripped out of him as the disheveled, wild-looking giant grabs him with massive, gnarled hands, tossing Deceit over his shoulder as easily as he would a blanket.

Deceit fights and writes, hissing as threateningly as he can manage from this position. The giant just laughs at him, completely ignoring any of his attempts to kick and scratch. Deceit gets a look at the Drow-Dragon-chimera-thing from behind the oaf’s torso, and watches him turn into a cloud of smoke and seep out from the cracks of the wreckage, reforming next to his companion.

The drow-dragon-chimera-thing that went completely unnoticed in his tunnels, and was cutting down creatures left and right without a sound.

Oh.

"You're not even gonna pretend to be trapped?" The giant whines, like a petulant child, "C'mon, dude, strength is my thing! Let me rescue you from the rock trap!"

The Drow doesn't answer, but after a pause, the giant laughs again.

"Of course you got distracted by a cool snake. --No, I get it, if you moved you would have scared it away, I know I know,"

Janus, suddenly feeling like he's been impaled on an icicle, hurriedly dismisses Ethel entirely just to get him away from that thing.

Having clearly seen him do that, the two intruders pause again.

“I think we found the thief the clan has been complaining about,” The giant snickers between barks of laughter,

“Sure is a skinny thing, though! Seems harmless, aside from their little magic tricks... Maybe they’ll let 'em go easy if we tell them he's just a kid? C'mon, you know they'll buy it, and they know you!”

Deceit has no idea what clan they’re talking about, but that does not sound good at all. So, he releases the vice-like clench of his jaw and wills a cloud of noxious gas out of his core, a last-ditch effort to poison these creatures and be done with them.

The giant holding him starts to cough, thankfully, but his grip doesn’t slack at all. The Drow, completely unaffected, just waltzes over to his back and grabs Deceit by the scruff of his shirt.

He hauls Deceit up to look at him (but not off the giant’s shoulder, considering how much taller the redhead is) and then bats his doe-like eyes at him. Deceit is stunned and oddly comforted in the most terrible way for a moment — after all, Deceit is very much familiar with charm magic — but he doesn’t resist when the Drow raises it's other slender hand to caress his cheek, almost lovingly.

Not knowing when the assassin’s hand had reached his neck or when the poisoned thorn had ever bit into his skin, Deceit drifts asleep with only the passing memory of a sound,

“Well, I guess we found that ‘dragon,’ too!”

[bokutosworld]

love’s sorrow | iwaizumi hajime

pairing: iwaizumi hajime x reader

wc: 1.7k words of angst, heartbreak, pain.

inspired by the prompts:  “look, i know we agreed to be friends and everything but that’s what everyone says when they break up. i can’t take you asking me for advice on how to ask out the new person you’re interested in, okay? it’s killing me” AU +  “it’s midnight, what do you want?”

--

ringggggg! ringggggg! RIIIINNNNG!

you slowly turned to the bedside table, extending an arm to grab your phone and check who was blowing up your messages and calls. the harsh light emitted by the small device stings your eyes for a minute before you could make out the contact name - iwaizumi.

what was he doing disturbing your deep and peaceful slumber at 12:51 am? you think for five seconds but decided to ignore him, putting the phone face down on the nightstand. you roll over to the other side, tugging your blanket closer to your body, when the ringer blasted again.

'ugh, what the hell,' groaning, you throw the duvet away and snatch your phone, accepting his call with much annoyance. you almost screamed into the receiver, 'it's midnight, what do you want, iwa?'

'can you come down for a bit?' you do not miss the sharp intake of his breath as he finally answers. you slowly rubbed your temples, contemplating whether to indulge him in his request and see him in your pajamas in the middle of the cold night. absentmindedly nodding, you agreed, 'alright. wait for me in the lobby.'

you put on a jacket and wore a cap to hide your messy bedhead before going down to meet with iwaizumi. on the elevator, your mind wandered to the possible reasons that he called you. was he in trouble? did he need money? or was he....

the doors to the elevator opened before you could even finish your thought. you took a breath and stepped into the lobby. your eyes quickly scanned the empty floor, looking for the male and you spot him seated in one of the couches, his head cradled between his hands. it was obvious that something was bothering him.

you took careful steps as you headed to where he was sitting. hearing your footsteps approaching, iwaizumi lifted his head and followed you as you walked across the lobby, stopping in front of him to meet his somber gaze. in all the years you've known him, you've come to terms that it wasn't uncommon for him to have a resting poker face. he was always one that was difficult to read.

after what seemed like an eternity of assessing the situation and staring into each other's soul, iwaizumi broke through the tension and smiled, 'well, don't just stand there.' he patted the spot next to him, 'sit here first.' you narrowed your eyes at him, guards up and suspicious towards his unusual behavior.

as you settled down, you released the breath that you didn't know you were holding and made yourself comfortable in the sofa. 'so, what's up,' you finally inquired. iwaizumi also slumped into the couch before bringing up a topic you have always dreaded, 'i met this girl.'

ah, there it was. your eyes instinctively shut, already feeling as if your heart was slowly being carved out of your chest and you mentally prepared yourself for his next words. he continued cautiously, 'she's in my class, we were partners for a project,' his gaze landed on you, noticing you taking slow deep breaths and he debated whether he should reach and comfort you. 'she's really great and smart. we are really getting along so well. i think i'll miss her when this term ends and we're not classmates anymore. so, i've been thinking, i want to ask her out.'

a cloud of silence enveloped the two of you in the lobby. the only sounds audible were the ambient music - a classical piece which you made out to be kreisler's liebesleid - and the occasional chatter by the guard and the receptionist by the desk. neither of you spoke up for minutes, letting what he just said sink in to your system. your mind was blank, you didn't know how to react, to reply.

finally, you asked, 'why are you telling me this?' turning to your side, you saw that he was already looking at you, his eyes worried but hopeful. his hands were on his lap, restless as he wanted to touch you, to make sure if you were okay. but his eyes were encouraging you to continue, 'i know we agreed to be friends and that it has been a year since we broke up. but don't you think this is too insensitive, too cold-hearted even for you?' you choked a laugh, shaking your head as you brought your glance to the apartment doors.

'i just thought you wanted to know,' iwa claimed. 'i figured you might appreciate hearing the news come from me rather than from others.'

you take back what you said earlier about him insensitive. as he uttered those words, you were reminded of how caring and gentle he always was. you were reminded of the many times those kind compliments and praises were once about you, how those longing words were once said towards you. you were reminded of the memories you shared with him, the five years you spent together with him, all of which came burning down in just one night.

sure, the break up was mutual and that you and iwaizumi agreed to stay friends after everything. he argued, 'just because we're not together anymore doesn't mean we should throw away our friendship!' you remembered how he casually threw his arms around you, bringing you close as he offered his friendship to you once more. 

and now, you were wishing that someone could have stopped you from agreeing to his proposal. you were thinking back to the warnings you constantly received from your friends, telling you that it was toxic and unreasonable to stay in contact with him. you wished you didn't ignore them and listened because here you were now, hoping for some hole to swallow you and take you away from him. to be far from him as possible so you could finally move on.

'you don't need my permission to date, iwa,' you whispered.

'i'm not really asking -,' iwa insisted but you cut him off.

'then what? you're asking me for advice how to ask her out? how to make her swoon over you,' you scoffed, looking at him and for the first time in the night, he saw through your cap how heartbroken you looked. 'come on, you're iwaizumi hajime. you've got game, you're a gentleman. it would be her loss not to be with you.'

you couldn't take it anymore, you didn't need him to see you break down in the middle of the night, wearing pajamas in the dimly-lit lobby. you stood up, heading for the elevators, when you heard him follow you.

'y/n, wait. it's not like that,' he caught up to you, reaching for your wrists before you could get away further. but you sharply swatted his hand away the minute you felt his warm touch.

'don't,' your back was still faced to him, he saw you were slightly shaking and he swears he heard silent whimpers coming from your lips. he wanted so badly to comfort you but stopped when you continued, 'i'm trying hard, iwa.'

you turned to face him, your glare sending goosebumps to his skin and piercing through his soul. 'i'm trying hard, iwa. i know it's been a year, but it is taking all that i have to act as if we are just friends again. every night, i lay awake trying to forget what we had. you don't know how many times i wished i had a reset button so that we can go back to the way we were before we got together.'

it was breaking iwaizumi's heart to hear your confession. he didn't know you were still hurting. he was unaware of your struggles and he had only realized how selfish it was to come to you about his newfound love. he wanted to speak but you didn't let him.

'but each day, i know that i am missing you less. i don't see you anymore in the things that used to remind me of you. i don't look at photos of you anymore, our videos, i am slowly deleting them one by one. the coffee cup you had in my apartment,' you chuckled. 'i only recently got to hiding it in a box. it's slow but i am making progress. i'm getting better. so please, just drop this.'

the tears were now freely falling down your face and you couldn't care less. through your sobs, you still managed to give him a smile, 'if you like her, go for it. do this for yourself. don't think about my feelings anymore. that day, we both wished each other our happiness.'

you reached an arm out to pat his shoulder, 'i may be still searching for mine, but you already found yours. don't let it slip away.'

iwaizumi put your hand down, only to pull you close in an embrace. he was silently weeping, you felt his hot tears on your shoulder and you rubbed your hands on his back, 'we'll be fine.'

you pulled away and decided to tease him, 'i can't believe you called me down here for this. this could have been a conversation in the morning you know. we wouldn't have gotten sappy like this!' he laughed along with you, not leaving your side as you waited for the elevator.

as soon as the elevator arrived, you entered through the doors. for some reason, you were already feeling a little bit better, free, and relieved from crying out your last bit of feelings.

a chiming sound vibrated through the walls, signaling that the doors were about to close. you look at iwa, memorizing his face, his features, as if this was the last time you would see him.

'good bye, hajime.'

'good bye, y/n,' he said, giving you one last smile.

the doors shutting close felt as if the drawing of the curtains in a performance. it was as if you've reached the final page of a book and you had to put it back in the shelf. you hoped for better days ahead, you wish, 'i will get better.'

[umbralundertaker]

OMG HI 6 YOU WATCHED ONE????? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS :O

*folds my hands nicely* HELLO. I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU WOULD COME.

So ONE was my first object show, which means I have nothing to compare it off of. I'm just kinda taking it at face value.

and you could tell by the large amount of posts I reblogged that I think ITS GOOD !!!! ITS VERY GOOD

I only watched it last night so I'm still reeling from it. I gotta do a rewatch soon!

I can say that the characters are GREAT they are so satisfying to watch! I love the distinction between the "human" objects and the "objecty" objects, how the first batch reacts like normal people would and the second batch have much simpler emotions compared to the first.

And in 8, the objecty objects realize this and accommodate them! Like while whippy creamy or airline food still are just kinda there, they realize that the other objects are more emotionally volitaile and they help them! It makes me super happy, great writing.

And the character themselves are well made! Moldy is refreshingly complex (even though I think she's annoying) and Stone... God I hope they come back, there were so many possibilities for them.

And I really love the concept of this show itself! I love Airy a lot and I really can't wait to see what he is, why he's doing this, ugh I love this series.

As for what happens next? I have no idea. Airy will probbaly continue on like nothing happened, maybe implying that hes still a little hurt or something, but otherwise that's it. I have a feeling he might like "reset" The Plane or something? So they could have a clear playing field and lots of space for new challenges.

It would fuck them up a lot I know that for sure, having years of hard work disappear in an instant.

And as for what characters I think will will be eliminated, I HAVE NO IDEA! I just know that at this point Backpack is in for the long haul. I hope Bassy isn't eliminated, it kind of seems like she will be.

ANYWAYS JEEZ!!! if you have any theories about this I'd love to hear them!!

[arazialotis]

Long Distance

Pairing: Dean × Reader

Word Count: Around 1700

Summary: Dean and Y/N have been separated during the holidays due to a string of hunts but Dean has a thought to make the distance seem not so far apart.

Warnings: Language, General SPN spooky stuff

This is purely just for writing and wasting my time as hobby. Maybe some of you will enjoy it too. I apologize in advance for any mistakes or grammatical/spelling errors. I appreciate any feedback or suggestions!

-----

Nights came early this time of year, each day growing darker a little earlier. It was hard to fight off the fatigue that crept in every passing moment. Even harder so with Dean out of town on another string of hunts. You sat in the picture window curled up in a fuzzy blanket with a warm cup of tea and a new book. Though you had a corner lamp turned on, the Christmas lights outside bounced off the white snow, illuminating the world and keeping the dark at bay. 

Your phone had occasionally been buzzing as Dean updated you on his progress in a new town. You did what you could to not worry, to have faith, but each day he was gone you needed distractions to keep your mind off it. And of course, communication. The longer he went without an update, the more your stomach turned. 

Though you were entranced with the novel, methodically flipping pages and on the edge of your seat, as soon as the phone sounded, you threw the book down only focusing on him. 

You answered with a pant of excitement. “Hey babe.” 

Dean’s smile practically shined through the receiver. “Evenin’ Y/N. Man it's good to hear your voice.” 

“Yours too.” You echoed setting your tea down on the ledge as you started pacing the floor. “How’s the first day been?”

“Ah, you know, just getting settled and the feel for things. Wish I had your mind here to sort things out but this has been a long stretch, it’s starting to drag. It was good for you to stay home.” He paused waiting for a reply. “This’ll be the last one, promise.” 

“Don’t say that.” You chided knowing fully well he easily broke these promises. “You are doing good work. If you need to keep going, that’s alright. Just promise me you’ll come home eventually.” “You know there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

“And besides.” You sighed. “I’m still here virtually, put me together the case details tonight and I’ll scour over them.”

Dean’s blush heated up the air around you as he shamefully admitted. “I already sent them to Sam.” 

“Ugh! What? God Da…” Dean’s chuckle cut you off. You rubbed your brow reminding yourself it wasn’t a competition. “I want to help too.” You whined. 

“Okay, okay.” His voice faded. “I’m sending them now.” 

You looked at your phone waiting for the email to come through. A few moments passed and it eventually did. He had sent over a few news articles, pdfs, and a word doc of his own notes. 

“Hmmm… it’s definitely a werewolf.” You teased. “Shut up.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m not stupid enough to get stumped by an oversized rabid poodle.” 

“I’ll shoot you some real ideas by tomorrow at the latest.”

 “Don’t feel rushed, I got some pretty good leads to follow up on tomorrow.” He assured. “Alright, enough work talk. What about you? How was Thanksgiving?” 

“I mean, it wasn’t the same without you and everyone else. But uh, I still tried to make the most of it. Brussels, beans, wild rice, potatoes…” You listed. “Mashed?” Dean interrupted. 

“Pfft. Of course. Cranberries. Oh, I did a cornish hen cause like, what the fuck am I going to do with a whole turkey? I already have enough leftovers to last me ‘til Christmas. Tell me you had something more than deli meat turkey.”

“Don’t worry about me babe.” He lightly chuckled. “Denny’s got me covered.” 

“Dean.” You scolded.

“Pie? Please tell me you had pie.” He begged. 

“No way I’m having pie without you.”  

“But.. But… Thanksgiving.” Dean pouted. 

You giggled at his adorable antics. “There’s one waiting in the freezer for when you get back.” “Yes! Cherry?” He pleaded. 

“Of course…” You giggled together until a knock sounded at the door. “Hey, hold on a sec.” 

“What is it?” Dean’s voice grew concerned. He heard the door open, a soft thank you, and the door closing before a bit of rustling. “Oh, nothing.” You fiddled with the box and the phone. “Just looks like a package for you.” Dean licked his lips with anticipation. “Why don’t you go ahead and open it for me?” You wrinkled your nose, unsure if you wanted to. “Really?” 

“I’m sure.” 

You grabbed a kitchen knife to hack away at the tape. Dean sat down on the motel bed anxiously waiting for you to find what was inside. 

“It’s um… it’s.” You pulled it out further inspecting it. “It’s a lamp?” 

Dean grinned ear to ear waiting for you to figure it out. “A long distance lamp? What?” “I found it online. You have one and I have one.” He explained. “I felt bad the last hunt with the bad reception. My lamp will light up when you touch it and vice versa.” 

“What?” You squealed. 

“Yeah. It’s an early Christmas gift.” Your heart melted.  “Go plug it in.” He ordered before you could respond. 

“Dean…” His thoughtfulness nearly brought you to tears. “Go!” He repeated before you got too sappy. 

After a few minutes of him guiding you through the set up, you were ready to test it out. “Okay, ready?” He asked, his hand hovering over the lamp on his end. 

“Yes.” You sat on the floor staring at the dark lamp. “Nothings happening.” You sighed. “Oh, wait!” It was dim at first but slowly turned into a green glow reminding you of his eyes. “Oh my gosh.”

“Your turn.” You pressed the top of yours sending him a warm purple glow. You could hear his smile over the phone. 

“See, now we can talk to each other even without the phones.” 

“Dean. This is… it’s… thank you.” Was all you could muster to say. “I’ll keep it by my bed so I can say good night and good morning.” “Me too sweetheart.” Dean agreed. “And in case anything happens to my phone or I get stuck in another dead area, you’ll know not to worry.”

The two of you spent another good hour talking; tentatively setting up holiday plans, explaining the unexpected twist in your book, and thrilling him with all the juicy details of exactly what you were going to do to him when he finally did make it home. You read a few more pages before finally calling it a night. Tucked into a bundle of blankets, you reached to your nightstand sending him a final thought of the night. A few moments later came the dim green glow. Though it was just a light, it made you feel as though he was there, his arms wrapped around you making your heart warm. 

When Dean awoke the next morning, the lamp next to him was already glowing purple. He smiled, typical that you would be the first to rise. After a yawn and deep stretch, he sent the thought back to you before going to freshen up and shower. The hot water and steam soothed his sore muscles and the tension he held in his shoulders if only for a brief minute. Towel wrapped around his waist and clean shaven, he came back out to get dressed in a suit for the day only to find the light had not faded. With another chuckle he assumed you must have been on the same schedule and sent another touch back before heading out for the day. 

From the morning, he was in a sprint; talking with the local police department, interviewing witnesses, consoling family members. Dutifully, he kept you updated on his progress hoping to hear back from you soon on any thoughts yet you were quiet. He wondered if he had mixed up your work schedule again. Having gone nonstop throughout the day, he opted for an early dinner back at the hotel room. 

Entering back to the room with his Chinese takeout, he immediately noticed the lamp was still on. He set down his food on the table and pulled out his phone. 

‘The lamp doesn’t need to fully replace the phones.’ He texted you, adding a little laughing emoji hoping you wouldn’t be offended by him calling out your silence today. 

He popped open his laptop and dug into the Mongolian beef hoping to review any ideas you had come up with. But you hadn’t emailed him like you said. It was still early enough in the day, and especially if you had worked, maybe hadn’t had time to get around to it. He pulled up Sam’s email instead, reviewing notes and potential leads. 

An hour had passed and the light still glowed purple. Thinking it must be broken, Dean meandered over to the plug resetting it. The only other explanation would be your hand on top of it consistently which didn���t make any sense. The lamp powered back up and momentarily was dark before the purple hue came through again. 

“This is weird.” Dean muttered to himself. 

He walked back over to the table and grabbed his phone and dialed your number. After two rings, it answered. 

Dean chuckled, thankful to finally have gotten you. “Either these things are malfunctioning or you must really miss me.” He heard a deep breath from the other side of the line. 

“Y/N?” His voice dropped. “Sweetheart, are you there?” A sinister voice crackled on the other end. “It’s been a long time Dean.” 

Dean’s heart dropped to his stomach. Panic and anger rose to his chest. It was a voice he could never forget. “Alastair.” 

“Now I was hoping to find you home when I stopped by but this pretty little lady said you were out on business.” Alastair's voice delightfully slithered. 

His jaw clenched. “If you’ve touched a single hair on her head, I swear to God…” Dean spat. 

Amusement rose into laughter. “What makes you assume I could harm such a delicate creature. Her neck as easy to snap as a sparrow's."

“You better pray that's not what I find when I get back.” Dean threatened already furiously packing his bag. 

“Its not her I want, it’s you.” Alastair clarified. “But I guess that all depends on how long you take getting back home Dean. I might become bored.” 

-----

TAGS:

Forevers: @mogaruke @deanwinchesterforpromqueen @jotink78@blushingdean @sup3r-pott3r-lock3d @dancingalone21@carryonmyswansong @atc74 @superapplepie @cassieraider@adaliamalfoy @iwriteaboutdean @spnbaby-67@monkeymcpoopoo @adoptdontshoppets @maddiepants@onceuponathreetwoone @thisismysecrethappyplace

Dean x Reader: @akshi8278 @boxywrites @its-not-a-tulpa @tacklesackles @aubreystilinski @iamabeautifulperson18@jerkbitchidjitassbutt @spn-dean-and-sam-winchester @ria132love​

[feminaexlux]

Stronger

Hey hey hey welcome to Part 3 of Miraculous Leap (Part 1). Part 2 is 5 Minutes

Ending this year with Lukanette again! Hoping it brings good tidings for 2021 (better than 2020 that's for sure)! Happy New Year!

FYI: Dewey = Dominic :)

AO3 link!

⁂

Ladybug brushed away her tears and smiled back up at Viperion. "Okay," she said shakily, nodding to indicate that she understood. "Okay."

They were in the past, or at least they were currently occupying their past selves. Hmm, how long ago was this? Ladybug looked back down at her suit and it was that ridiculous basic-ass red and black polka dot version. She didn't even have her wings. Okay, that narrowed it down to… younger than 16?

Ugh, that sucked. No one in their right mind would ever want to repeat their awkward teenage years over again, but… as much as she loved Dewey and wanted him with her at least right now she wasn't feeling like she'd swallowed a basketball. And she currently didn't have any back pain, which was a bonus.

Tikki, I need my wings, Ladybug thought at Tikki.

Tikki sounded a little startled to be pinged directly like she just was. Oh… um… Okay, Marinette!

She suddenly felt herself being wrenched away from Luka by another person before her wings fully manifested. "H-Hey!" She yelled out.

Chat had pulled her behind him and was aiming his baton at Viperion. "Don't touch her, you jerk! What did you do?! Why'd you make her cry?!"

"Chat… wh-what?" Ladybug sputtered. She heard Viperion growling under his breath.

"Are you okay, Milady?" Chat called out over his shoulder. Oh God, not this phase. She saw Luka clench his jaw and fold his arms but otherwise he was remaining still. Luka was pissed at the way she was being handled but he knew better than to step in and make things worse… Though Marinette knew he had a limit.

Ladybug sighed. "Chat, I'm fine!" Of course Chat wasn't standing down.

"Here's what's going on," Viperion said, sounding clipped. "This akuma controls time. Its power is to swap someone from a different time period in their life to here. Long story short the Ladybug and Viperion here now are from the future. I'm from the future. She's from the future. We're from the same future, since your LB and Viperion got hit with the same blast. We'd both been… taking care of someone, and it was terrifying that he wasn't here with us."

Chat was taken aback and reacted like he'd just been slapped. "Who… Both of…? No, nevermind. You guys… don't look like you're from the future," he said suspiciously.

Viperion took a deep inhale and long exhale in annoyance. "It was a mental swap. Sorry. Should have clarified." Thank God her husband had the patience he did. But oh shit--

"V! 7 o'clock!" Ladybug yelled out, pushing Chat out of her way. Ladybug wasn't 100% certain Viperion had access to all of his abilities so she had started to get her yoyo shield ready. Viperion turned in the direction she specified and caught the blast before it landed, reversing time itself and pushing the blast back to its origin. Okay, that question answered. Viperion had what he needed.

"Wow! What was that?!" Chat cried out in astonishment. "Oh holy crud, Ladybug, you--you can fly?!"

"Chat! Focus! We need to take care of this akuma!" Ladybug called out. The sooner they finish, the sooner she and Luka can get back to… She snorted to herself. What an awkward time for her past self to end up in.

⁂

(Back in the future…)

"I can't believe we have 5 kids," Marinette started laughing. It… oddly didn't bother her all that much. After all, with a certain someone she had imagined having up to 3. 5… was… well, definitely way less believable, but it didn't bother her.

Luka looked a little embarrassed and took a drink of his water. He just shrugged and sat down on the floor next to Marinette, pressing his back up against the edge of the bed. "I didn't have a plan for anything," he said sheepishly. "Just me and my guitar for… ever, I guess."

Marinette blinked in surprise. "You never planned to ask me out?"

"Didn't seem like you'd be interested," he said, raising an eyebrow at her question. "I don't mean for this to sound bad but… I don't know how we got…" He gestured at the room. "Here."

It's 'cause he thinks you're in love with Adrien, duh, Marinette chided herself. But… but was she… really?

"Wait… where are… the kids?" Luka asked.

"With my parents," Marinette answered. "Seems like they all go over pretty regularly," she said, showing Luka her calendar. Every 2 weekends she had an event called "Kids @ T/S," with the alternate weekends being labeled "Kids w/Granarka." Well, that was extremely nice of their parents to take on… "We must like these kids if we wanted 5 of them," Marinette mumbled to herself. She opened up her phone's photos and looked through the albums.

She noticed that Luka had leaned in a little to look over her shoulder. "Sorry," he said, pulling back.

"No, they're… yours too," she laughed. She angled the phone so the both of them could see.

"Harmony" was the oldest at 9, the most recent video had her playing a yellow electric guitar and singing on stage by herself at what looked like a small café. There were so many pictures and videos of her at these showings, and in a number of them it looked like future Luka was just offstage cheering her on.

"Melody" was second oldest at 6, and it seemed like she was a little copy of Marinette herself. Marinette couldn't help but smile down at the photos of her future second daughter dressing up and posing in various costumes and placing scrap fabric pieces together on the floor in make-believe designs. Apparently Marinette would have a protégé to call her own.

"Hugo & Louis" were the twin boys, still toddlers at 3. They always had silly faces on in all the pictures Marinette and Luka scanned. She had a video of future Luka tossing both boys into a ball pit and them giggling like maniacs, enjoying the airtime and landing in an explosion of brightly colored plastic balls.

And finally, "Dominic" was an album full of sonograms. Marinette patted her stomach. "Well, hello Dominic," she said. "I wish we met under better circumstances. I hope you're alright."

There had been another album labeled "Us" that Marinette scrolled through. Stills of future Marinette and future Luka together at award shows or at fashion events. Selfie videos of them sending jokes to one another. Pictures of future Luka working in his studio or playing his guitar or hanging out with friends.

Future Marinette adored him. Every picture had him smiling back or pleasantly surprised.

One selfie from several months ago had him with his arms wrapped around her from behind, leaning down to kiss her shoulder as she held up 3 different positive pregnancy test results in front of the bathroom mirror. Future them looked so happy.

Suddenly an awful, sinking feeling hit Marinette.

"We're not going to remember this," she said to Luka, and it was something like anguish that made her voice sound so raw. "Probably? Sometimes no one remembers what happened when the Miraculous Ladybugs reset everything…" She saw his eyes widen. "I don't… This… I-I… I want to remember this!"

His eyes widened further in surprise as both eyebrows went up. "You do?"

"Yeah! I mean, look at us! We're so… so… Wait… do you want… all this?"

Luka looked somewhat incredulous. "You remember I had zero plans, right? I didn't think about dating or marriage or kids." Marinette felt like a balloon (pregnancy aside) that just got punctured. For some reason her heart ached. "I mean… I never figured I'd get anywhere with you past being your friend. I didn't think you liked me that way at all. This? All this," he pointed at the pictures, "wasn't even a possibility." He closed his eyes.

Marinette wasn't sure what to say.

"Wasn't before," he said quietly, after a few moments. He started staring off into the distance. "Now? Do I want this?" He dropped his gaze to his left ring finger, then back up at her. "Yeah. Yes. But I don't want you to start liking me because of this. Futures aren't ever set in stone." He stared back off into space. "Honestly I want us to forget this. It's nice. Really nice. And maybe it won't happen. It'd hurt a lot to know what I missed out on."

Oh. Oh no. She'd been doing the Chat thing where she was barreling toward a specific outcome without thinking about the process or journey. Luka was right. Maybe it wouldn't happen. Not without her taking honest stock of her feelings first.

Did she want… him?

"It's supposed to lift you up and make you feel stronger." Chat had done that for her once. Then recently it'd been more like "Don't focus on the bad stuff." That didn't stop the bad stuff from existing.

Adrien had done that for her when he said she was the "Everyday Ladybug." And then it felt that no matter what she did he kept getting further and further away. And Adrien hadn't reached back out for her to help close the distance.

"Sorry," Luka said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Guess I'm just… worried."

Marinette looked at him. "No, you're right. It would be unfair if all I wanted was the result." She paused for a few seconds to think her words through.

"I'm not going to start liking you because we got to experience this future," Marinette began again. "I don't even know when it really started. I just know I already do. You've never made me feel like I was wrong. You've never made me doubt myself. You've never made me think for one second I'd have to watch the things I say and the things I do or pretend to be friends with the people who've hurt me. You've always let me be who I am."

He had turned to look at her, worry and concern etched in the furrows of his brows. But the edges had softened as she talked.

Marinette smiled shyly. "I know it's not going to be easy… and it's something we'll have to keep working on… but I'd like to find out how far we can go together." She held out her hand to him, palm up. "I want… us. An us… whatever it looks like in the end."

Luka searched her face for a few heartbeats and took a breath, seemingly content with whatever he found. He gave her a lopsided smile. "I want that too." He reached out and took her hand.

⁂

(The "past")

"Miracu--!" Ladybug was getting ready to launch her Lucky Charm up in the air when Chat stopped her.

"Wait! Wait wait wait. Please. Can… can I talk with you… in private? For a little bit, Milady?" Chat looked down at her pleading with his most pathetic looking kitten eyes and Ladybug sighed. She glanced back at Viperion, who cocked his head a tiny bit to the side and smiled.

Like Luka was shrugging a What can you do?

Marinette winked back a Won't take long, handed Viperion the Lucky Charm, and turned back to Chat. "Alright. The rules are I'm not going to tell you any details but we can talk."

Chat jumped over to another rooftop and down into the alley below, putting a few buildings between him and Viperion. Ladybug followed behind him, floating down with her wings. Chat leaned his back against the brick wall and folded his arms. "Did… I ever have a chance with you?"

Huh. Okay. Chat was more observant than she remembered him being at 15. "Hmm, yes," Ladybug answered. She knew who he was, after all.

"Then… I guess I screwed up," Chat said miserably. "I always thought we were made for each other, you know?"

"We might have been once," Ladybug said gently. "But we both grew up, Chat. Neither of us screwed up at all."

Chat furrowed his brows at that. "Is there anything I can do now to change?"

"You wouldn't be you, Chat." She walked over to him and pulled him into a hug, leaving a hand on his shoulder after stepping back. "I know it's not what you thought you wanted, but your future will still be amazing."

"Are… you happy?"

Ladybug had a serene smile, glancing back in Viperion's general direction with her hands now over her heart. "I am."

Chat stared at her for a bit. Something about the quiet conviction she had was more… meaningful than if she'd been animated about saying it.

There was nothing to prove to anyone. It was just the truth.

Chat sighed audibly. "Okay, Ladybug. Thanks," he gave her a small smile. "Sorry. You need to get back home, right?" Ladybug nodded. "Then let's get going!"

Moments later Ladybug and Chat Noir landed together in front of Viperion, who handed the Lucky Charm back to her. She threw it high into the sky and said "Miraculous Ladybugs!"

Ladybug reached out her hand and Viperion took it in his. They smiled at each other when the waves of ladybugs passed over them.

⁂

Ladybug blinked a few times, her brain a little foggy after being hit with that blast. She'd been trying to save Viperion from the akuma's attack… She must have been a little too slow. Wait, where were they? And Viperion was in front of her now, and he looked… okay?

He was staring down at something. When she looked in the same direction she saw that they were holding hands. A small part of her panicked and wanted to pull away, but… an overwhelmingly larger part of her… liked it? Viperion hadn't pulled away either. So she… didn't pull away.

"Welcome back, Viperbug," Chat laughed, his baton across his shoulders with his hands on either end.

"What… happened?" Ladybug asked, her cheeks slightly pinking as she kept a hold of Viperion. It just felt… kinda nice.

"There was something about the future," Viperion said, still staring down at their linked hands. "I feel like there was something important, but… I can't seem to remember."

"Yeah, you guys got hit by the akuma but we still managed to take care of it. Paris is safe again," Chat smiled. "I'm heading out. See you guys later!" he yelled out, leaping away after saluting.

Huh. It felt like Chat wanted to leave faster than usual. He didn't even stop for their typical "Bien Joué!"

"… I guess we're done here? Alright, I'll drop you back off at home," Ladybug said to Viperion.

⁂

(One day later)

"Hey Marinette," Luka said from behind her. Marinette yelped and windmilled forward, nearly falling over but quickly got back to her feet and spun on her heels to face him. "… Are you looking for Juleka?" He had a smile on his face… one part amusement by her antics and another part joy in seeing her.

She'd come onboard the Liberty and stood on the deck… there wasn't any real reason why, she just kinda… showed up. "Ah haha, um, no, no I a-actually… I was just um! Looking around! Yeah! The-The stage!" Oh God why did she say that.

Luka rolled with it, even though Marinette was certain he knew she just made that up. "Sure, feel free. It's good to see you."

"Too! It's you! I mean it's good to you! See you. Too," she laughed nervously. He moved around her and set his backpack down against the atrium couch. She slapped both hands to her face and cringed when she thought he wasn't looking at her. Auuugh.

"I'm gonna get a snack. Do you want anything?"

She jumped again, hiding her hands behind her back. "Oh! S-sure, thanks, that's great."

"Cool, do you want to follow me down and let me know what you'd like?" She nodded and went to the main cabin with him. She sat down at the kitchen counter bar and asked for juice, sipping it nervously when he sat in the seat next to her.

"I… I actually just wanted to talk with you," she said. "You… said I can just be myself around you." It had been hard to look at him so she just stared at her glass, feeling self conscious.

"Yeah, always," he said easily. He'd gotten some yogurt for himself, but he hadn't opened it up yet. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I… There was… You know…" she started, sighing when she couldn't get the words she wanted out. "I'm not sure how to say it but… have you ever gotten the sense that you… missed something really important? Like you got caught up in something… silly and there was this really cool person you passed by 'cause you were distracted." She finally looked up at him.

"If they're still around you still have a chance to say hi," he smiled at her. "People are pretty chill, and I'm sure they'd love to talk with you." He opened up his yogurt and took a spoonful.

Marinette was pretty sure she was blushing. "Y-Yeah, he's pretty chill. Soooo. Hah, um. Hi."

With the spoon in his mouth he got out a "Hmm?"

"Wanna… see a movie?" She should clarify. "J-Just us! No group!" She should further clarify. "A date! It's a date! I'm asking!"

He swallowed too fast and started coughing. At least he hadn't swallowed the spoon. "Ah," he laughed after recovering. "That sounds great, but…" Marinette's heart jumped into her throat. "I wanna make sure you're… sure," he said awkwardly. "Sure you're not… missing out on what you really want," he added, blushing a bit himself.

"Th-That's why… I'm asking," she said shyly. "I-I think… What I really want is… something new. Someone that helps make me better, you know? Makes me happy too. And… I've been thinking about you."

"Me," he said, sounding a little surprised.

Marinette nodded. "Are… are you… interested?"

He took her hand in his. "Yeah. Definitely."

[polyamorouspunk]

Hi so um. You said we were allowed to vent in the inbox so here I am. I feel like there are a million things in my life that would be shitty on their own, but piled on top of one another, it's really awful. It's just... ugh. My parent split up, which is old news, but I still hate it, and my grandmother has cancer that probably won't kill her now but it might spread and the chemo isn't working, and I just started school so that's a big ass spike in anxiety, I'm stressed as hell about coming out to my parents, and depression just decides to randomly spike all the time. I feel like everything's a mess, and it's not like I want to die, but I kinda wish I could just hit a reset button and go back to before everything went to shit. Sorry if this ask is a little too vent-y, feel free to just delete it. Some encouragement or smth would be nice but I'm also happy to just write this down and get it out into the void. Hope you're doing alright and I like your blog a lot :)

It’s not too venty at all.

Honestly now that I have free time from not being in grade school and a million extra curriculars, I find myself sleeping all the time. I used to hate napping but now it’s like. Let me just take a break from the world. I’m happiest when I’m not here. Like no I don’t want to die but I’m happiest when I’m asleep and no thoughts head empty literally. It’s hard to do that when you’re in school.

The cancer thing sucks. I’m sure being in a global Panda Express™️ isn’t helping either. Always worrying about secondary health matters in addition to the main one. I’m not the best at comforting for sick family members, I think. But like I do understand what you’re going through to a degree because like it’s something everyone goes through so. Just to different degrees.

I also never really got the “my parents are divorced” blues because like… idk I had other shit going on mentally and like idk. I’m lucky I was shielded from a lot, but things definitely went downhill in some ways after my parents divorce. But like them splitting up wasn’t hurtful, so like once again while I’m also a child of divorce it hasn’t had the usual impact on me.

As much as school sucked I miss it so much because I literally just sit in my house by myself every day and I don’t really go anywhere unless it’s on the weekends and I don’t really see people. Like I had fun in high school. I miss being a kid, to be honest, even if I was cringe.

It really feels like everyone is going through it these past few years for a variety of reasons, a lot of them shared. Some things do get better when you’re older though. I think grade school is the most emotional time in every way, so the goods are really good and the bads are really bad in my opinion, I feel like after I graduated things just mellowed out. Obviously I still had some crises, and every graduate experience is different, but I feel like the thing is now I’m old enough to do things I want but not too old to still do other things I want. Just need the right time and place.

[nalulovelife]

Secret Santa for @petri808 !

     I’m soooo sorry this is late! I was really trying to cram a lot in, and I bit off a bit more than I could chew. So, I really put my heart and soul into this fic! It’s Christmas related and really fun. It is a modern AU, but I suppose you can interpret some things differently and make it in their time. I hope you like it!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Christmas Cuddles 🥰 

     Natsu promised! He promised to be home by Christmas. But low-and-behold, he’s not here. Ughh...I’m sure you’re confused, maybe just a bit, but let me take you back to the beginning of the week, the 21st, when all this drama started...

     I quickly shot open my eyes at the sudden loud noise that arouse from behind me. I’m generally not a light sleeper, I don’t wake up easily at all, but this noise freaked. me. out. Even though my eyes had shot open, they were still heavy and droopy. I sat up almost immediately and grabbed whatever was in my reach.

     “Who’s there!” I yelled, but in a mildly croaky, I-just-woke-up, voice. I had grabbed the big, fluffy pillow I was sleeping on and pointed it at the window behind me. It was silent for a moment and I thought ‘well, maybe it was just a dream’ as I was about to reset my pillow in its rightful position, I heard a stifled noise.

     “Pffffftttttt!!” The noise sounded. I squinted at the figure that had opened my window and was sitting on the window sill. Only ONE person would do that, well, him, and his crazy blue cat.

     “Wha- Natsu! What are you- It’s 1:00 in the morning!” I yelled at him, his voice finally breaking out into high pitched laughter. He clung onto the window above him with his hands, laughing hard enough to which he had to. I groaned and rolled my eyes, laying back down and covering my face with my fluffy pillow. Once he calmed down, he finally spoke.

     “C’mon, Luce! It’s all just fun and games!”

     “Not when someones braking in!” I yelled at him through my pillow. He stood, more like sat, in silence for a while - as did I. I quietly stared at the pillow covering my face, waiting for him to do something. I waited a few more minutes, still in complete silence. Then I heard him moving. I could feel him staring at the pillow above my face, as he did this often. W-well, I don’t cover my face w-with pillows like, all the time, he just stares at my face a lot while I’m sleeping! Now that just makes him sound like a stalker..! Well, back to reality. I then felt the pillow move, just slightly, before it was lifted from my face. My hands were like noodles, they slid off the pillow quite easily. He threw the pillow from his hands onto the floor. We were staring at one another, eyes agape. I was laying down on my bed, and he was hanging on my bed frame - like a child, might I add - in front of the window he was just hanging on. He began to lean down, - I have no idea how, but he did - as I began to lean upward, propping up my elbows on my bed. We became close enough, close enough to feel each others mild breath on each others skin. In a boldly fast, yet, hot, move, he kissed me. Of course, who was I to oppose. It was a light and gentle kiss, but full of passion. It was just one kiss, then we pulled away. He did some weird maneuver, then plopped down next to me on my bed. He let out this big, disgusting, yawn, I scoffed at his boyishness.

     “So, what’s up Luce?” Natsu spoke grinning at me.

     “Ugh your disgusting.”

     “Tell that to the cute smile on your face.” Natsu backed talked, making me realize my ginormous smile that had crept up on my face. I blushed momentarily, but when I saw him blushing, I laughed, I realized what he said.

     “Did you...Did you just say that I was cute..?” I smiled, teasing him.

     “Ummmmm...No? Yeah, no. No. No no no no-”

     “Yes you did!”

     “No I didn’t!”

     “Yes you did, and don't you say you didn’t!” We bantered back and forth, laughing when we were done. He gave me a peck on the cheek, and we both settled down a bit. 

     “So, where’s happy? You’re always, like, walking him or carrying him around in a matching backpack.” I spoke as I laughed. 

     “Oh, he’s sleeping. I want him rested in the car ride for the trip, or else he's gonna be a cranky kitty!” Natsu spoke in a little baby voice - more like kitty voice. I was a little confused, however.

     “Trip? What trip?” I asked Natsu, confused.

     “Oh, yeah. That’s what I was coming to talk to you about...” Natsu spoke, losing the happiness in his voice, sounding very lets-get-to-buisness.

     “Uh, ok?” I said, kinda weirded out.

     “So, work called. They said I need to check out some business thingy over in Clover. It’ll be a ton of meetings and it’s very urgent, apparently.” Natsu spoke. I suddenly had this feeling of dread and sadness crawl up my spine and into my shoulders. 

     “Clover?! B-but Clover is 9 hours away! Natsuuuu!” I yelled in annoyance. He very rarely has work complications, and especially not during the holidays. He’s even off on Christmas!

     “Luce, I know your upset-”

     “No! You can’t call me “Luce” right now! You’re being a...a...a butt-head!!” I yelled at Natsu. He looked at me a caressed my cheek with his soft palm. I calmed down instantly. Damn that ass knows how to push my buttons!

     “Luce, I know your upset, and we have plans for Christmas, but I promise, I promise promise promise I’ll be back for Christmas Eve. At the absolute latest, 12:00 on Christmas morning. We’ll have Christmas cuddles on Christmas! Lucy, I promise...” Natsu spoke softly. I tried to keep it together. I wouldn't meet his eyes.

     “S-so, w-when do you leave...?” I asked, obvious sadness in my voice. 

     “My plane leaves early tomorrow morning. I can stay the night if you want.” Natsu spoke, still in his soft, calming voice. I finally met his eyes and pulled out a tiny smile.

     “O-ok” I spoke. He hugged my waist and we laid down together, cuddling.

     “You promise?” I asked, my eyelids becoming heavy again against his hot torso.

     “Yeah, Luce. I promise it’ll be the best Christmas ever-” I fell asleep, as he paused his speech. I heard a light chuckle.

     “Night, Luce. Love you.”

     ‘Love you too.’ I spoke in my head.

Early Morning - Dec. 22nd

     I woke up the next morning at 8:00, and hour later than usual. Damn Natsu, probably kept me awake too long.

     “Natsu! You kept me up-” I paused. He wasn’t there. My eyes made their way into a frown. He was gone. He had left. Without saying goodbye, well, at least to my conscious mind. I rubbed my eyes and glanced over to where he had been sleeping. I saw a slightly crumbled piece of paper, he probably got it from my notebook. I turned it over and read his note. It was simple. The usual “I’m sorry, Goodbye, Love you” thing that guys - and girls - do in movies when their leaving. Usually, they don’t come back. I decided to text Levy, to see if we could hang out, maybe do some late Christmas shopping. She agreed, and we were off about an hour later. We ran into a lot of the other girls there, and we started hanging out with them too. It was a great way to occupy my time. I even got Natsu a little something, I know he’ll love it.

Afternoon - Dec. 23rd

     Today is present wrapping day. I thought I would invite the girls over again and make a day of it, they were a great distraction last time, but today their all spending time with their boyfriends. Soooo...It’s just me and Plue, he’s the cutest dog ever! I tried texting and calling Natsu this morning, but it didn’t deliver, he’s most likely in a rural part of Clover, they have NO service there whatsoever. All I just keep thinking about is Natsu! He leaves occasionally for longer periods of time and I do just fine! So, why am I like this now?

     “Ugghhhhh!!” I sighed.

     “Boys are so stupid!”

Late Afternoon - Dec. 24th

     I scrummaged through my closet to find the dress I had bought two days ago. It was perfect for this Christmas party Gramps was hosting at his giant academy. Gramps made this great academy for training of certain talents, that’s where all my girlfriends - and Natsu - and I all met! They’re my closest and best friends. We’ve been there for years, well, our studies actually ended there a while ago, but Gramps actually shut down the place because he liked us so much. Gramps is the best. It sucks that Natsu isn't here, he and gramps have a great connection. He’d also gets hella crazy and rambunctious, his specialty. I was in the middle of changing in my bedroom when I heard a knock at the door. Levy said she’d be coming to pick me up so I assumed it was her.

     “Come in! I’m almost ready!” I yelled. I heard the door open and close.

     “Good, cuz we’re- OH MY GOD!!” A voice yelled, an almost masculine voice. I looked up.

     “OH MY GOD! Gray!! Turn around!!” I yelled at Gray, who was really embarrassed. Hell, I have the right to be more embarrassed than him! He’s the one who saw me in my bra and underwear.

     “Gray! I am so so so so so so sorry!! I thought you were Levy!” 

     “U-um I-It’s ok...I should’ve...announced myself.” Gray said. I was trying to zip up my gorgeous red dress, but it wasn't working.

     “shit...” I mumbled.

    “What’s wrong?” Gray asked with concern.

     “Nothing...It’s just... I can’t zip up my dress. Could you...maybe...help?” I asked awkwardly.

     “U-um are you dressed?” Gray asked, also awkwardly. I sat in silence for a moment, dumbfounded by his stupidity.

     “Well, if I’m asking you to zip up my dress, then what the hell do you think?” I asked Gray. He cautiously turned around and walked towards me. I turned around and moved my hair. He was still awkward. Boys are so bizarre. Gray also went to Gramp’s academy. 

     “A-alright. You’re all zipped up!” Gray spoke. I turned around and looked at Gray. He looked surprisingly nice, and he hadn’t stripped yet! Although, he was missing his tie. I chuckled.

     “Gray? Where’s your tie?” I asked, still laughing a bit.

     “Uhh yeah. Juvia...sort of...tried to tie me- she just took it.” I laughed more at Grays predicament.

     “Levy’s here, by the way. She’s driving. She just asked me to get you.” Gray spoke as he lead me out of my apartment. I glanced at my phone; I felt a buzz in my hand. I looked at it with hope in my eyes, wishing it to me Natsu. However, it wasn’t. It was some notification from the local library. My eyes became filled with disappointment.

     “Hey, Gray?” I spoke.

     “Whats up?”

     “Have you...Have you heard from Natsu at all?” I asked with hope streaming through my voice.

     “W-well um no n-not really...?” Gray spoke, but in a jittery sort of way.

     “Wait! Has he reached out to you?! Is he on his way? Will he be here in time? Is he o-”

     “Lucy! He will be here. Just...trust me.” Gray interrupted me. We moved in silence until we reached Levys car. Gray opened the door for me.

     “Hey Lev!” I yelled to her.

     “Hey Lu!” She yelled back. My question to her was the same as my question to Gray.

     “Soooo...Any word from Natsu? Has Gajeel heard anything?” I asked, again, with way too much hope in my voice.

     “I’m sorry Lu, but neither of us have. He’ll show up though! I just know it!” Levy spoke to me in her usual bubbly voice. But if he’s not here yet, and no one’s heard from him, then chances aren’t likely that he’ll be here intimate for Christmas.

     “If he’s not at the party by 11:00, then you can come crash with me. Maybe the girls would like to join!” Levy spoke with excitement. I smiled, a Christmas sleepover with the girls sounded awesome.

     “Ok, thanks Lev”

_______________________________________________________

     “So...that’s the story. And now it’s 10:45, still no word from Natsu, and I’m depressed...” Lucy spoke with sadness. All the girls looked at her with sadness in their eyes, but also with a consoling touch to make Lucy feel better. 

     “Awwwee...I’m so sorry Lu. At least we can have an awesome sleepover tonight at my place!” Levy spoke with excitement, again. All the girls loved the idea, and as did Lucy. That being said, all Lucy wanted to do was spend Christmas with Natsu.

     “Ah, what the hell. If he’s not here for Christmas, screw em’! I don’t need that jerk! I’ve got you guys! Now, let’s get drunk and have the best Christmas hangover ever!” Lucy yelled with promise, snatching a beer from a waiter strolling through the party. All the girls looked at her with surprise.

     “Hell ya! Now you’re talking my language, Lucy! WoooooHoooo!!” Cana yelled, drinking out of her huge barrel of beer.

     “Cana! Don’t encourage her!” Mira yelled at Cana. 

     “And you know why...she can’t be hungover on Christmas. EEEHHHH It’s so exciting!!!!” Mira whispered at first, out of Lucys range of hearing, then yelled loudly, much to Lucy’s range of hearing. Everyone shhhed Mira.

     “What’s exciting?” Lucy spoke, intrigued. All of the other girls facepalmed at Mira.

     “O-oh just the epic sleepover we’re gonna have! Yay!” Mira spoke, saving the surprise. Lucy nodded at her good excuse, believing it.

     “As excited as I am about about the sleepover, don't you guys all have boyfriends to cuddle with on Christmas?” Lucy asked, taking large sips of her beer. Cana took Lucys bottle of beer mid-sip.

     “Hey!” Lucy yelled at Cana.

     “You’re too much of a lightweight to be drinking on Christmas Eve, plus, we could be Christmas cuddling with our boyfriends, but trust me, it’ll all be worthwhile when tomorrow comes. And no one wants you drunk on Christmas, Lucy. That would suck!” Cana spoke to Lucy. Lucy smiled. Lucy was about to speak, to say a ‘Thank you’ but then Cana started chugging the beer Lucy had once been sipping on. Lucy decided not to pipe up. Just to relax, and spend time with the girls. They laughed and talked until 12:00, and then decided to start their sleepover. The girls said goodbye to their boyfriends, and went over to Levy’s place. They played weird Christmas games and laughed for hours. at 2:00 in the morning, Lucy was handed a glass of water from Mira.

     “Have a sip!” Mira spoke. Lucy felt as though everyone was watching her take a drink. She grabbed the cup of water and took a sip, next thing she knew, she was out cold.

_______________________________________________________

     Lucy yawned loudly as she slowly opened her eyes. She looked around where she was, and came to a realization.

     “I’m in my house?! On my bed!?” Lucy yelled, very confused.

     “Did my friends drug me?” She asked sarcastically. She knew her friends would never drug her, much less drug her then bring her back to her apartment, but it sure as hell felt like it. She sat up and looked around some more. She didn't see her friends. She was incredibly confused. She got up and decided to keep on her cute Christmas PJ’s. She walked around a bit, testing the waters to make sure she and the girls didn’t do some crazy shit. She sat back down on her bed, seeing that everything was ok. She grabbed her book from her nightstand and started reading. Only then did she realize...

     “IT’S CHRISTMAS!!” She yelled, completely forgetting the date. Right as she was about to run into the living room, the heard a-

     “Meooowwww~” Lucy turned her head to see a “happy” blue cat rubbing up against her leg.

     “Happy!!!” She grabbed Happy and hugged him so tight against her face. Another realization hit. 

     “Wait a sec. If you’re here Happy, then-” Lucy stopped. She began running down the hall of her apartment, Happy cuddling up against her. She began to notice rose petals on the ground as she ran, however, the only thought on her mind was seeing Natsu.

     “Natsu! Natsu are you there!?” She shouted as she ran. She was coming up on the living room.

     “Natsu! Nat-” She paused. She stopped. Her whole world had stopped. She lightly dropped down Happy and covered her mouth with both hands. She started to tear up. In front of her, was all of her girlfriends, and all of her awesome guy friends standing around looking at her. And there was Natsu. Down on one knee, with a tiny red velvet box in his hand. Lucy fell to her knees. She started to cry. 

     “Lucy” Natsu spoke, with the absolute sweetest, calmest voice imaginable. Lucy was shaking, shivering, exhilarated.

     “U-Um, I’ve...for” Natsu spoke, nervous and stuttering, Lucy chuckled at his nervousness. Gajeel and Gray kicked Natsu in the back to get him in the right headspace. Natsu used all his strength to keep from hitting them back, well, almost all his strength. He used a lot of it to get up the courage to actually propose. Natsu breathed in.

     “Lucy, I’ve...I’ve loved you for my whole life. Well, not my whole life. I’ve only known you for a few years...b-but I’ve loved you ever since. First as a best friend, then quickly after, as a girlfriend. And now I-I hope I can love you...as my wife.” Natsu spoke, blushing and happy. Gray and Gajeel facepalmed. They had basically helped Natsu develop this big, sweet, speech(with the help of the girls), and he just skipped to the end. All the girls were teary eyed, though, especially Levy. Eventually the guys even smiled, happy for their friends. Lucy was crying along with the girls too. She couldn’t believe this was reality. She pinched her hand to see if it really was, and she was so so so so happy it was.

     “Lucy...” Natsu spoke. Lucy was anticipating the big moment.

     “Will you...marry me...?” It was silent for a moment. All that was in the air was the suspension affecting those whom were watching the proposal, and Natsu and Lucys eyes staring at each other for the longest time. Lucy arose to her feet, and walked close to Natsu. She then got back on her knees and caressed his cheeks, he was still holding the ring out.

     “...yes...Yes! Yes yes yes yes!!!” Lucy screamed as she hugged Natsu. He hugged her back. Along with everyone else in the room, Natsu’s eyes started watering too. The pair started to kiss, everyone watching was just staring at them. After a few moments of them kissing, - with everyone still staring - someone spoke.

     “Ummm we should probably leave them be.” Gray and Gajeel said in unison. Levys eyes watered magnificently.

     “You ok, Lev?” Gajeel asked Levy.

     “*sniff* yeah, just *sniff* happy for her.” Levy spoke. Gajeel lead her out of the apartment, hand on her back.

     “Love you, Lu!” Levy spoke, before the two left the apartment. Just as they were about to leave, Gajeel and Levy heard Natsu mumble something in Lucys ear, then Lucy laughing, then them making out again. Gajeel shut the door. He put his arm around Levy. 

     “C’mon, shrimp. Let’s spend some time together.” Gajeel spoke. Levy nodded happily.

__________________________________________________

     Lucy laid in bed, being cuddled and hugged by Natsu. She was staring at her hand, more so the gorgeous diamond that sat upon it. Natsu, noticing this decided to speak.

     “You like it, huh?” Natsu asked snuggling Lucy even more and resting his head upon her shoulder. 

     “It’s beautiful...When did you get it? I never saw it. And I’m always snooping around your stuff.” Lucy smiled. Natsu chuckled at her cuteness. 

     “Well, I got it on that “business trip”.” Natsu put in quotations. Lucy turned her attention to Natsu, looking confused at him. Lucy had it written on her face: Natsu, explain.

     “So, when was on the plane, it was announced that the meetings were cancelled, well, more so postponed. But since I was on the plane, I never got the notification. Once I got off, I tried to find another flight back to Magnolia, but they were all booked, so I couldn't fly out until the time in which the ticket I had bought said, which was late the 23rd. So I decided that I should wait it out. I was resting in my hotel that morning, and I fell asleep. Then I woke up from a dream. I quickly got out of bed and got dressed and headed to the ring store thingy. You see, I had been planning to propose to you for a few months, but I just didn’t know how to go about it or when to do it. My dream, crazy as it sounds, told me everything I needed to know. So I bought the perfect ring, that I knew you'd love, called the boys and told them to spread the plan, then the plan was to get on the plane and spend Christmas Eve with you, then propose. But my flight got delayed, and I didn't end up leaving until late the 24th. Luce, I’m sorry I wasn’t here. But, hey. At least you got one hell of a Christmas present.” Natsu explained. Lucy chuckled at his .

     “Speaking of Christmas presents, I got you a little something.” Lucy spoke. She released herself from Natsu arms and pulled out a perfectly wrapped gift from under her, their, bed, and handed it to him. He opened it, smiling. Without finishing unwrapping it, he looked at it, and smiled more. It was a picture of the first time they met. They met outside of Gramp’s academy on their first day there, and back then, Levy was a vivid photographer, and she took pictures of everything. She took that picture of when they first, and gave it to Lucy for her to throw away, or keep, and Lucy kept it. She decided to Give it to Natsu since he never saw it before. He stared at the picture for a moment, then looked back at Lucy, who was looking at him. He kissed her, vigorously, for a while. They then cuddled for the rest of the night eventually falling asleep.

     “See, Christmas cuddles...Luce...”

___________________________________________________

The End! I really hope you like it!

[quicksilversquared]

The Substitute Ladybug: Chapter 6

After Lila takes things too far and Marinette ends up with a broken leg, Paris is going to have to deal with a different superhero arrangement for a bit. Having to share her superhero identity with her parents before Hawkmoth can be defeated isn’t something that Marinette had planned on doing, but- well, it might end up being a bit of a blessing in disguise.

links in the reblog

Marinette entered school Thursday morning to find Chloe and Adrien in what appeared to be a very heated discussion in the corner of the classroom. Chloe's expression was switching back and forth between furious, pleading, and absolutely aloof as they talked, and at one point, she stomped her foot. Adrien flinched at that, but only for a fraction of a second before he squared his shoulders again and raised his chin, clearly determined.

Marinette ducked her head down and tried to focus on her sketchbook. Normally when her classmates got into arguments with Chloe she tried to step in and provide some backup, but Adrien and Chloe's relationship was different. As much as Marinette didn't understand it, the two of them had a history and in the past, her trying to step in didn't work out so well. It just put Chloe on the defense, and made things harder to solve instead of easier. Even if she kept her distance- well, Chloe would try to throw a fit about her eavesdropping.

So she did her best to not eavesdrop, but it was hard not to overhear the stray word here and there. "Bully" and "unacceptable" came up several times, as well as more than a few exclamations of "ridiculous!" from Chloe. And then, quieter but still loud enough to be heard, "but you promised..."

"That promise was based on the assumption that you would continue doing better, Chloe," Adrien said firmly, stepping away from Chloe. "And you haven't. And I can't tolerate you bullying my other friends."

Chloe turned up the sniffles. "So you're breaking your promise? To be friends forever?"

Marinette couldn't resist the urge to glance up at that. This was usually the point when Adrien would cave to whatever Chloe wanted, when she turned on the tears. This time, though, his expression didn't waver.

"You're just being manipulative now," Adrien said, stepping back. "I told you why. You just don't want to do any work to be better, and that's not fair. I shouldn't have to be making excuses for you all the time."

"Excuses?!" Chloe snapped, and now it was impossible not to overhear. "Excuses for what?"

Adrien looked absolutely incredulous. "Uh, for your bullying? For how you behave? For how mean you are to my other friends? For-" He gave himself a shake. "Actually, you know what, I'm not going to go over this all over again. I've already told you my reasoning. You know what you need to do better on if you want me to be your friend again. And I'm not going to argue about it."

And with that, Adrien turned away from Chloe, steeping away and heading back to his seat. As soon as his back was fully to Chloe, Marinette could see the nerves surfacing in his expression, nerves that he hadn't let show before. Clearly he was going out of his comfort zone by standing up to Chloe, but this time he was standing firm.

Her heart skipped as Adrien let out a short breath before pulling himself together, shaking off his nerves and squaring his shoulders up again before sitting down in his seat. That- that was really attractive. One of her biggest reservations- one of her biggest concerns, really- about Adrien and her crush on him had been his friendship with Chloe (as nonexistent as that friendship seemed sometimes, considering that he seemed to prefer hanging out with basically anyone else) and his reluctance to call Chloe out for her bullying.

It- well, it had been frustrating, sometimes. But now- this time, Adrien hadn't backed off when Chloe grew upset. Yet, at least. It was still early.

Either way, it was a step in the right direction. Hopefully.

Chloe sulked for the entire morning. She sent pouty looks at Adrien on and off all morning, clearly hoping for a change in heart, but Adrien didn't even glance in her direction. There were a few times when he almost did, but he caught himself right away.

"Ugh, I hope she doesn't get akumatized again," Alya muttered as she glanced at Chloe sulking in her seat as everyone else packed up for lunch. "Every time Chloe gets akumatized, something bad happens. Or at least it seems that way."

Marinette nodded in agreement, automatically checking her bag to make sure that the box with the Horse in it was still safely stashed in its pocket. Thankfully, with the change in Guardians and the corresponding change in the shape of the Miraculous Box, the shape of the temporary housing boxes had changed too, to a more circular shape that somewhat resembled her yo-yo, and it didn't make nearly as strangely-shaped of a lump as the other box style would have against the fabric. With that change- well, hopefully it wouldn't stand out enough for anyone to question what it was. So far, she had been lucky.

"Then again, maybe Hawkmoth won't bother," Alya mused after a pause, gathering up the last of her things and heading for the door. Marinette followed on her crutches at once, not wanting to miss the latest on superhero gossip. "After all, it's been- what? Five days since the last attack? I think that one really rattled Hawkmoth, because everyone that was nearby swore that Mayura got hit by Sting right away and the superheroes just dodged all of the akuma's beams, no problem. And actually- did you know Max analyzed the footage with Markov, and he says that the chances of that happening, especially with a completely new team member in the mix, were, like, single digits. So it's insane that they managed it. And in such a short, intense fight, too- like, they got right in there instead of trying to fight from a distance!"

Marinette hid a smile. Those sounded like fairly accurate percentages, honestly, considering the number of resets that she had had to do for entirely getting-hit-by-akuma-beams reasons. "That's pretty cool."

"Yeah, and I wanted to post his calculations and analysis of that, but Nino pointed on that it might spur on the Ladybug-vs-Coccinelle debate and I didn't want that." Alya let out a long sigh. "This whole thing- all of the sudden inexplicable improvement- it's weird. When Coccinelle first showed up, the fights were pretty comparable in length to when Ladybug was there, and then they just changed like a switch was flipped." She frowned. "Like there was some other change. But I can't figure out what."

"Maybe there was," Marinette suggested. "And- I mean, Ladybug's probably still been involved, right? Since normally she's the one giving the Miraculous out and a couple extra ones came into play?"

Alya snapped her fingers. "Yes!" she exclaimed, pointing at Marinette. Then she frowned again, her hand drooping back to her side. "Unless she just gave access to the other Miraculous to Chat Noir or Coccinelle. Probably Chat Noir, because why would she put a temporary holder, even a long-term one, in charge of that? She didn't even let other temporary holders keep their Miraculous for more than one battle in a row."

...Marinette was detecting a bit of jealousy there, but she wasn't going to try to call Alya out on it. After all, even now, Alya wasn't supposed to tell anyone about being Rena Rouge, and sensing jealousy wouldn't make sense unless Marinette already knew (or just suspected, but Alya probably wouldn't think of that) about Alya's superhero identity.

"That's what I'm assuming given the evidence, at least," Alya added hastily after a second, glancing back at Marinette as they headed across the courtyard and towards the locker rooms. "Since we never had the same temps show up for two battles in a row."

Marinette smothered a grin. "Right."

"I'd try to get in after a fight and ask questions, but with the short fights- unless I'm nearby to start with or they don't show up right away, I can't get there fast enough," Alya added. "And I kind of doubt that Chat Noir would answer much more about Ladybug's absence. Vacation, burn-out, and illness seem to be the top theories on the Ladyblog, but I bet he wouldn't want to narrow down the field of people who might be Ladybug by confirming anything."

That was the understatement of the century. Her partner wasn't going to do or say anything that would further risk her identity. In fact, she and Chat Noir had discussed the possibility of asking her mom to maybe be Coccinelle again for a week or two later in the year, just to throw people off, just in case anyone was suspicious about the timing of Marinette's broken leg.

If nothing else, random reappearances of Coccinelle might help put Hawkmoth on edge and a bit more cautious about coming out and joining the battle himself, knowing that Ladybug and Coccinelle could swap out without warning. If he and Mayura ventured out, they could end up in a normal battle against Ladybug or Chat Noir, or they could end up on the losing side of an intense 5-minute battle against Coccinelle and Chat Noir.

...really, the more she thought about it, the more appealing the idea to swap out teams on a random basis sounded. It would keep Hawkmoth guessing and hopefully off-balance, which was right where they wanted him.

"D'you think that Chloe's gonna try to throw another party to get back in your good graces, Adrien?" Nino asked from behind them, pulling Marinette out of her musings about how often Coccinelle might come out again after her leg was fully healed. "Since it worked last time?"

Adrien snorted, and both Alya and Marinette abandoned their conversation to step back and join the boys. "Maybe, maybe not. I mean, it didn't exactly end great, did it? Chloe didn't want anyone finding out about her bear, and then the whole school did. And having to be on her best host behavior for several hours clearly wasn't easy, plus her mom is at the Grand Paris now. She might put her foot down about having a bunch of collegèe students running all over the hotel for an entire evening." He shrugged. "And it's not going to impress me now. She's actually got to keep it up if I'm going to want to be friends with her. Or even tolerate her company outside of the classroom, really."

Nino squinted at him for a minute, then blinked. "Who are you, and what have you done with Adrien Agreste?"

"Har, har," Adrien retorted, tugging on Nino's arm before he could walk straight into a wall. He didn't look nearly as confident as before, glancing away uncomfortably before looking back at Nino. "It's just that, well, I've realized that she isn't a very good friend, and I'm not being a great friend to you guys when I don't say anything about her being a bully. And maybe she'll eventually decide that she doesn't care about whether I'm her friend anymore and go back to being a bully, but maybe she won't. Or she won't behave as badly, or- well, even a little reprieve is a good thing, right?" He sighed. "Though stopping altogether would be better."

Marinette bit her tongue. In all honesty, she really, really doubted that Chloe would stop bullying people. She had been doing it for so long that it was habit now, and why should she stop? When she bullied people and ordered everyone around, she got her way. The loss of one friend- one friend who had been spending practically no time with her anyway, since Adrien clearly preferred to hand out with their more pleasant classmates- was probably less of a sacrifice than suddenly no longer getting her way on everything.

"But I guess we'll see," Adrien finished, glancing back towards the classroom once more before resolutely turning away. "We can only hope for the best, really. So. Uh." He glanced around, clearly wanting to change the subject but struggling for a topic. His eyes landed on Marinette's crutches. "What's new? Marinette, how's your leg feeling?"

"It's healing," Marinette said, trying not to make the words sound as robotic as they felt. She shrugged as much as she could with the crutches. "I'm halfway done with the crutches, though. Hopefully, at least. The doctors said that it could be six to eight weeks until the cast could get removed, though they were leaning more towards six." She made a face. "I hope it's only six weeks. I want to be able to go back up to my room. And I'm tired of stairs being difficult."

Alya made a funny noise that was very quickly smothered. Marinette gave her a dark look.

"Stairs aren't normally difficult, I just sometimes go too fast!"

Alya looked like she sorely wanted to say something about that but couldn't. Adrien just nodded, though, completely sympathetic.

It didn't take long for them to drop off notebooks and gather their things to bring home for lunch. Nino and Alya darted off for a lunchtime date in the park, waving over their shoulders as they dashed off in their hurry to not waste any of their lunch hour. Adrien lingered by Marinette's side like he always did, making sure that her crutches didn't get knocked over by the other students rushing through the locker room.

It had flustered her at first, but she had gotten used to Adrien's concern and his chivalry over the past couple weeks and had adapted to it. She had had to, because it was either that or end up in a Marinette puddle by the end of the day because he was always right there and ready to help her at a moment's notice.

With a bit of help from Adrien to get down the stairs in front of the school, it didn't take long for Marinette to reach the (mostly) even footing of the sidewalk. She thanked him with a quick kiss to his cheek, then hopped towards the bakery, dodging the other students as best as she could as everyone scattered for lunch.

Dodging was much easier when she didn't have crutches and a cast and could maneuver more easily, but at least most people tended to give her a wide berth. Marinette suspected that at least a few were worried that she might topple over and whack everyone with her crutches on her way down.

"How was school?" Tikki called as soon as Marinette made her way up to the kitchen and through the door. She was perched on Mrs. Cheng's shoulder as she warmed up lunch for Marinette. "Did it go well?"

"Someone made sure to lean down for his thank-you kiss today!" Sass called out, flitting out of Marinette's purse with an impish snicker. "He's looking forward to it now!"

Mrs. Cheng raised an amused eyebrow at Marinette while she spluttered. "A thank-you kiss?"

"I- uh- well-" Marinette spluttered, blushing bright red. "It's just- he always waits for me at my locker to make sure my crutches don't get knocked over, and then he's been carrying me piggyback down the stairs, and just being really sweet, and, uh..."

Tikki was giggling. "So he gets a kiss?"

"A cheek kiss!" Marinette clarified hastily. This was why she hadn't told her kwami (or Alya) about the cheek kisses, because she knew they would tease her. "As a thank-you! Or a hug, but he seems to like the cheek kisses and he leaned down for it today so that it would be easy for me to reach."

Tikki cheered and zipped over to Marinette. "That's good news! It's progress, right?"

"Or he's decided that it's a normal thing to do between friends," Marinette told her kwami with a little laugh. She had been working hard on not getting her hopes up or reading too far into Adrien's behavior. Doing so would just end with her stumbling over her words. "I doubt that he's seeing it as anything more."

"Yes, but he's clearly comfortable enough with you to encourage you to be in his space," Mrs. Cheng chimed in, stepping over to the table with a plate and cup for Marinette. She smiled at her daughter as she pulled out the chair for her. "And it's always nice if you're getting comfortable enough with each other to share casual touches like that."

Marinette just ducked her head, unable to keep the blush off of her face.

"So other than thanking Adrien for helping you out with getting around school, how was your morning?" Mrs. Cheng asked. She brought over her own plate of food, settling across from Marinette at the table. "Anything interesting?"

"Adrien is standing up against Chloe," Marinette told her mom, remembering the conversation that she had partially overheard from that morning. "He's told her that he's not going to be her friend when she's bullying people." After a moment, she frowned. "He seemed determined about it, but also really uncomfortable, somehow. Nino was teasing him about it, since the last time Adrien told her that, she went right back to being a bully right away, and Adrien just changed topics right away."

Mrs. Cheng smiled, setting her fork down. "Adrien is probably self-conscious about it, and drawing more attention to what he's doing is just making him uncomfortable. I'm sure he'd prefer quiet, private assurances that he's doing the right thing over teasing, no matter how friendly the teasing is."

Marinette frowned at that, puzzled. "Why would he be self-conscious about that, though? I don't understand."

"Because he's probably only recently realized what kinds of effects his friendship with Chloe and his excuses for her are having on his other friends," Mrs. Cheng told her. Her smile turned sad. "And a realization like that- well, it would be a bit uncomfortable that he hadn't realized it before, when it probably seems obvious looking back. So then he wants to make things right, which means going against habit. Habit, and I assume what he's been taught by his parents as well."

Marinette considered that. It made sense, but... "What his parents taught him?"

"Mr. Agreste seems the sort to drill in 'don't rock the boat' as an acceptable life lesson," Mrs. Cheng said, her nose screwed up in distaste. "And not the sort to want to point out what kinds of behaviors are right or wrong, or else he'd run the risk of Adrien knowing how very terrible Mr. Agreste's behavior can be." The nose scrunch intensified. "It's easier to just not bother to teach those lessons. More convenient, too."

"So if he's not been taught, then how would he be noticing now?" Marinette asked. She took a quick bite, then glanced up at her mom again. "Or do you think it's been something that's building up over time?"

"Well, it's impossible to know for sure, but I would assume that maybe a trusted adult mentioned something." Mrs. Cheng got up as the teapot started whistling, pouring herself a cup before returning to the table. "Now that he's going to school, he's coming into contact with more people than he used to. He's meeting more adults than the ones that his father had vetted and has control over. Maybe one of them said something."

Marinette thought about that. It had to have been a teacher, to see how Adrien and Chloe and all of the other students interacted, but that didn't seem right, somehow. "I can't see any of the teachers saying anything, though. Madam Mendeleev doesn't really get involved with student lives, and Ms. Bustier- well, she thinks that Chloe will get better if we're just nice to her all of the time instead of calling her out on being a bully."

"It might not be a teacher," her mom reminded her. She took a sip of tea, then made a slight face. "Ah. Needs honey."

"But how else would they know about what's going on at school?"

"Adrien might have told them," Mrs. Cheng said. She was rummaging through the cupboards now, then smiled as she pulled out her jar of honey. "He may have picked up that something about how he was interacting with others was off, and wanted to figure out what with an outside perspective. It's what Chat Noir has been doing, because- like Adrien- he hasn't had the best adult figures in his life so far."

Marinette bit down the reflexive mum, secret identities!whine that rose in her throat in favor of listening. "Oh?"

"They've had poor social training, but neither of them are stupid. They're bound to pick up on discontent and exasperation when they do things like not speak up about bullying." Mrs. Cheng scooped in a half-spoonful of honey into her tea, then rejoined Marinette at the table. "In their eyes, they were responding correctly to the situation, so why is it causing problems? Noticing that something is wrong and reaching out to figure out how to correct it is hard, and actually changing your own behavior... well, it's very hard. I can tell you that Chat Noir was quite worried that people would make a big deal about it."

Marinette could understand that. When she first started really standing up against Chloe, she had been going out of her comfort zone. Chloe was an established bully with plenty of influence with the teachers, and Marinette... well, she protested against Chloe's bullying, of course, but actually pushing back as hard as she did now hadn't come easily. Just staying out of Chloe's way and not getting into fights- and especially getting into fights on her classmates' behalf- was easier. Just trying to comfort her classmates after the fact was easier- well, until Hawkmoth arrived on the scene and could dig his claws in before she could find them and cheer them up.

After that... well, Marinette had gotten an extra confidence boost from being Ladybug and a whole lot more determination from Alya, and she had thrown herself into pushing back against Chloe. It had been hard, and there had definitely been times when she had maybe not acted when she could have because she was too tired.

And she had started from a completely different point than Adrien had. Marinette had never been friends with Chloe, and Adrien had had years of when Chloe was his only friend. Marinette had been on the receiving end of Chloe's bullying for years and knew what it felt like, while Adrien never had. If her mom was right, Adrien had probably been dissuaded from recognizing and calling out bullying, while she hadn't. He was probably going completely out of his comfort zone.

Which meant that he needed his friends' support, not teasing.

"So do you think that I should say something about it?" Marinette asked. "Like, encouraging him? Or do you think that would embarrass him too?"

Mrs. Cheng smiled. "Well, it depends. Not everyone is the same, and it would be different if you brought it up yourself versus if Adrien had just faced off against Chloe again or someone else brought it up. I'd say that if he brings it up, that might be a good time to mention your support, too."

Marinette nodded. "Right. That makes sense."

"Good." Mrs. Cheng took another sip of her tea. "So, other than that, how was your morning?"

  Afternoon classes were still ten minutes away when Marinette returned to school, giving her plenty of time to pick her way up the outside stairs (carefully) and across the courtyard. There were still some students walking around- after all, some people just ate in the cafeteria instead of going home- but for the most part, Marinette had a clear path to the locker room.

"Marinette! Wait up!"

Marinette paused, turning as much as she could to see Adrien trotting towards her, a grin on his face. He caught up to her right away, placing one hand on her shoulder to steady her as she turned back around to head forward again. "Hey! Where's the fire?"

"I wanted to catch up, that's all." Adrien grinned over at her. "You're going really fast on those crutches now. I don't think that I ever get that good when I broke my leg."

Marinette blinked. This... well, this was the first time that she had ever heard of Adrien having broken his leg before, too. Which- well, it was hardly as though there hadn't been chances for him to bring it up before, but maybe he had been worried about looking like he was trying to make himself the center of attention or something. "When you broke your leg?"

Adrien winced. "Yeah. I broke my leg when I was nine, during a basketball game against a team of older kids. It got a bit rough, and I ended up getting tripped and going flying." He paused, stepping ahead of her to hold the locker room door open for her to come through. He sent a glare at another student when they ducked through the door he had just opened, apparently oblivious to Marinette's crutches. "It was a pretty serious break, too. And I remember how much it sucked to have to deal with a broken leg. One of the things I hated most was getting my pants on and off every day. Like, even with shorts, it was just so hard to get them over the cast. So I may have begged my parents to just let me wear a skirt instead."

Marinette couldn't help but giggle. "Oh, man, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for that. I bet your father wasn't thrilled with the idea."

"Not at all," Adrien agreed. "Even though I pointed out that the Scottish have kilts- I thought that was a very compelling argument, actually- and then the ancient Greeks and Romans had tunics. And it wasn't like I was going out in public anyway. But Father wouldn't hear of it." His grin widened. "He did eventually design several pairs of pants that had a zipper running all the way down the side, so that I didn't have to wrestle them over the cast. That was only after I started making and wearing bedsheet togas in protest, though."

Marinette had to stop walking so that she wouldn't fall over while laughing, leaning heavily on her crutches as she tried to imagine Mr. Agreste's face. He was so incredibly straight-laced that she had to imagine that his reaction had probably been either pretty funny or borderline frightening. She herself was glad that it was warm enough outside that dresses and skirts were an entirely practical choice, though she couldn't deny that she was also looking forward to being able to go back to her normal outfits as well.

But pants- capris, maybe?- with a zipper up the side? That was an idea.

...except that her sewing machine was only really accessible via use of the Horse Miraculous, unless she wanted to go up the stairs on her butt, and she was trying not to abuse the Miraculous powers for her own personal benefit. And maybe her mom had offered to bring the sewing machine down, but then she had to think about what materials she would need, and there were just so many components to think about, and she would need to start with a base pattern, which would mean going out to search for one.

Ugh. Fine. She would stick to skirts for now.

"Nino thought that it was a bit weird when I mentioned it," Adrien commented after a moment, neatly catching Marinette's crutch after it slipped out from under her arm because she was laughing so hard. An uncertain look flashing across his face for a moment. "Because 'guys don't wear skirts' or something like that. But I thought you might find it amusing."

"Nino's jealous that he can't pull off a skirt and you can," Marinette said right away, wanting to wipe that insecurity off of Adrien's face. She could totally see Nino being weirded out by the idea of wearing a skirt, but he hadn't ever had a broken leg. He didn't know how inconvenient it was to get dressed with a cast in the way.

And for Adrien, who had all of his clothes closely fitted to give off an ultra-tailored look, it would be super inconvenient.

Adrien laughed properly at that, taking Marinette's backpack so that she could open her locker. "Most of it is in the attitude, I think. If he's uncomfortable, it'll show. If you're fine with it, things tend to look normal."

Marinette nodded. She could understand that. After all, it applied to models normally, too. Sometimes it really was all about how something was presented. "I wish I could have seen that. It sounds like it would have been cute."

Adrien perked up. "Would- would you want to come over sometime and see the photos I have, maybe? Mom took a bunch, since it took Father a couple days to make zip-side shorts that actually worked."

"And you wore a toga the entire time?" Marinette asked. Without waiting for an answer, she grinned. "I'd love to come over. Just let me know when it would be a good time."

Adrien lit up. "Great! I'll definitely ask Nathalie when you can come over. I'll have to frame it as a study session, probably," he added. "Just in case Father is still being a stick in the mud about the whole thing and doesn't want me to tell anyone about it. So we'll have to do some studying, too, to make it realistic. And it might not be right away, either, since I don't know how full my schedule will be."

"Oh, no, how terrible," Marinette deadpanned, smiling wider when Adrien snickered. He had been super self-conscious about his father's habit of having Nathalie or the Gorilla check in on him and his friends when they were over there to study at first, so it was good to see that he wasn't so worried about how they would react anymore. Adrien knew that they weren't going to judge him for his father's over-supervision. "Studying? How will I survive?"

As Adrien laughed harder, Marinette could only smile over at him fondly. After how uncomfortable Adrien had clearly been that morning, it was good to see him relaxed and laughing again. Maybe it wouldn't last long- after all, once Chloe returned from lunch, it was very likely that she would make another attempt at getting Adrien swayed back to her side- but for now, Marinette would just enjoy their time together.

[buddha-in-disguise]

I have so much to unpack from last night's Supergirl episode. Since it ends at 3am UK time, I often tweet a little before I finally fall asleep. But it is now midday, so here goes on further thoughts on it all. I know this is going to be pretty rambling but I hope it makes sense.

First. Up until this half of the season, not only did Supergirl consistently trend in the UK, so did other words associated with it, most notably Kara and Lena.

Since 5B began, the trending has failed to materialise in the UK. The hiatus of two those blocks almost immediately on top of each other hasn't helped, but it is still a salient point.

Now for the rest. I'm not even sure where to start, but I will try my best.

The opening scenes in the bar.

No Nia. No Kelly. Where were they? Nothing was even mentioned. It wouldn't have taken much to have Alex say if Kelly was working, or running late. Anything. Hell, they had Kelly/Dansen and Nia meet up in a bar scenario in 5A. Why suddenly are they not there? They wouldn't necessarily need dialogue (I mean, Kelly has barely had any since Crisis anyway, so what's new?)

Yet in walks William and suddenly Alex is teasing Kara about inviting him. Winn is also there saying, hey it's okay. You barely know the guy, you had a shitty relationship beforehand, but go ahead, date the dude.

We had a prime opportunity for the Danver sisters to do karaoke together. Instead it was with William. At the expense of sister time (so many would’ve loved the sisters singing together).

So much here is wrong for me as a viewer.

If you have a show about female empowerment, yet the lead of that show is having to be told by others that dating a guy she has barely shared any positive moments with, let alone any romantic feelings for beyond a really awkward moment the episode before; that is not empowering a woman.

All too often Supergirl (as the lead in the show) is looking at dating, but not being capable of making her own romantic choices without the interference from others around her.

The only one I can think of who didn't need that was S1 James and to some degree Adam. Kara showed interest, but ultimately made the decisions on her own. Kara also recognised that with Winn, they were better off as friends. Yet S2 began and inexplicably Kara and James had broken up, and the need for Kara to get told to go for it by others began.

Mon-El was extremely problematic. As is William. Both were allowed to lie, to treat women like garbage at times with immunity. Yet here is another double standard. Kara and the Superfriends lied to Lena for 3 years, yet Lena is a bad person for reacting. I will repeat what has been said I don't know how often about Lena's reaction. It isn't without issue in how she is dealing with it. She isn't evil, but she has handled it badly. Her own emotional trauma, that was partly unpacked in 5A helps though explain why she behaved as she has.Yet, Mon-El faced no consequences for his actions. William can be a complete nightmare in how he treated Kara in 5A, but all is suddenly forgotten about or forgiven because of the reset? That is a cop out if ever there was one.

This hypocrisy is what annoys me the most, and frankly it is misogynistic all too often.

I actually pity any woman who believes it is okay for a man to behave as many do towards Kara. The message it sends is awful. I know the men in my family would be horrified by the actions of these love interests. I know of some men watching the show who feel the same way.

As for Lena and Kara. The trauma both have faced has shaped them. Yet Kara appears unaffected by losing her world a second time when Earth 38 was destroyed. On losing Argo. Sure they got it back, but as a changed merged World. You expect us to believe having to watch an antimatter wave destroy those you love has no effect? That being trapped for months with only the other paragons and Lex didn't cause trauma, even with a positive outcome. That seeing Krypton destroyed the first time wasn’t traumatic enough. That’s not something that just goes away. Add in losing Jeremiah, losing Astra (again), the trauma Supergirl must face when she can’t rescue everyone, that has a lifelong impact.

Lena has shown her emotional trauma has also been lifelong, albeit in a different way. To dismiss the emotional abuse Lena has suffered to attack her actions now is pitiful. Winn even suggests to Kara, that in the future, Lena does come through this, and isn't evil personified some want to make her out to be.

Yet Mon-El gets excused, William gets excused. Ugh. I’m sick of the double standard.

So, let’s unpack this further. Kelly Olsen was in the military. She wasn't just trained, but had an active role in the army. She recounted an event at a checkpoint where she was serving in S4. So she had active service, and it was in that moment when Kelly decided she wanted to help others more.

Kelly also knows the stress of keeping an important part of your life secret. She then also fell in love with a woman, someone who was her Sergeant, who was then killed on patrol (another reason we know Kelly was on active duty). It devastated Kelly who hadn't even told James of her relationship.

Later, upon completing her service, Kelly became a psychologist specialising in trauma.

Nia is also someone facing problems. Not only did her becoming Dreamer lead to discord with her sister, as well as the tragic loss of her mother, she has problems with Brainy. Nia offered to be there for Kelly when she was upset over watching Alex get hurt, but we saw nothing to suggest they had a heart to heart. Azie posted something that suggested they filmed a scene that did this, but it never made it on the final edit. Instead, once again we had William taking screen time.

So anyway, the point of all this is: guess who is placed to actively help Lena and/or Kara with the problems?

Kelly. Who apparently doesn't know Kara is Supergirl yet. So while Kara wonders if she should tell William, she could have the exact same conversations with Alex, only substitute Kelly for William. Overall, the plot could easily be maintained, and the established cast get good solid and plausible screen time. She could even talk to Nia about it, yet doesn't.

Another thing I find hard to understand is why haven't they used the link of Kelly, working at Obsidian North, where they could establish the Leviathan link.

If Lex has made the connection to Leviathan, you are telling me, even without Brainy helping them, Alex, Nia, J'onn and Kara haven't made the same connection? C'mon. Two investigative journalists, one who has won the Pulitzer, two DEO trained agents, and if Kelly was brought in, someone military trained; aren't able to make the connections? J'onn has all those computer banks in the tower, and while none of them are Brainy or Winn, he can't use said computing power? Why bother having it, if they are only props in the background. They could even ask Lena to help, since she has shown willingness to work with them if the reasoning was good enough. Leviathan is someone she knows (after all, Lena could have her memories returned by J’onn too). She knows the danger Leviathan poses. She could use the leverage to still get the lens from Obsidian in a similar way to now, but through Kelly if needed.

Actually, if they are using the tower, how does J’onn afford to pay for all this? I can only assume being as old as he is, he made some great investments over time, allowing him to be independently wealthy? But again nothing really suggests this.

Oh as for Alex leaving the DEO, great. After all, she was the Director but hasn’t been able to lead the DEO in all that time. Let alone some of the morally grey areas the DEO skirted around all too often. Still, where will she get her income from? Does she get paid as part of J’onn’s PI firm? Kara barely makes rent and food costs (at least she says her apartment is rent controlled so wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise), so no way can she afford to help Alex out financially. Kelly might be able to support her, but again I cannot imagine it would be sustainable.

I feel like banging my head against a brick wall.

Onto Nia. I've said this a few times now, but here I go again. Back to William. I get the reason he came along in regards to Russell and so the Andrea connection. That story made sense. What hasn't made sense - William being used as a journalist, when Nia is right there! Nia has barely had any screen time, and virtually none as a journalist; you know - her actual job. I'm not sure what the minutes on screen ratio has been this season between the two, but it has felt completely slanted towards William as a viewer.

Instead of Kara and Nia investigating Leviathan after William was 'exposed' in 5A, now Nia is sidelined again, because they want Kara to team up with William to investigate Lex. Why do they need that journalistic pairing of William and Kara, when Nia - who as a Superhero, is better placed if danger from Lex occurs. But no, they're making it about Kara having to work with William because Lex threatened to kill him. Plus Nia was being mentored by Kara. Is she no longer being mentored by Kara? Are they a team? Even if the mentoring has ended, Nia is still not being utilised as a journalist. As the saying goes, make it make sense!

As for Lex. I love Jon Cryer. I’ve loved his version of Lex, but once again I feel Lena is just as well placed to take on his role in bringing down Leviathan. Why add another villain to this plot? We were told it was Leviathan who were the bad guys for this season, but once again we barely have a glimpse of them, but all the screen time on Lex, also to the detriment of Lena. We could be using this time to begin to mend Lena’s relationships with not only Kara, but the Superfriends. Instead we are getting bit and pieces, that seemingly bear little resemblance to the ‘fight for Lena’s soul’, or the ‘Stronger together, weaker apart’ tag lines the SG team used to market the series in 5A. (See attached photo). So again, this is frustrating for us to watch, as there is absolutely no cohesion to the storytelling. We know it is the ‘nothing is as it seems’ season, but to have no really coherent storylines so far this late on? It is baffling for me.

The sidelining of Nia and Kelly also brings to the fore the way the LGBTQ characters are being treated.

Dansen feels like a long lost legend from the mists of time. As I said earlier, there was a perfect opportunity for a Dansen scene in the opening part of the show, yet we might as well watch tumbleweeds fly past, for all the screen time Dansen or Nia have had. Well, rather haven’t had.

It seems we shouldn't ask for justification as to why William is on the show, but when we say the LGBTQ characters are being sidelined, that it doesn't matter one jot how diverse a cast can be; if said cast are not being given credible storylines or screentime, and if we say as much, we have to continually justify why that is the case. We get told to take what we are given. To insist on better, is oppressing white CIS men (in some cases CIS women have argued the same). This isn't oppressing anyone, but asking that if we get given relationships, given characters we want to invest in, they get the storylines to accomplish that. Supergirl is failing the LGBTQ audience so badly at the moment. So many have the same complaints it is ludicrous to suggest this is just one section of a fandom or trolls.

What I'm taking from all this at the moment is that 20% of the main viewing demographic as per GLAAD figures (and more besides, as I've seen straight viewers recognising the problems as well), have serious concerns with Supergirl.

But keep telling us we are overreacting. Or we should take what we are given. Or that we are delusional. After all, it is the kind of crap we have sprouted at us continually away from Supergirl, why shouldn't it be the case here.

I look at S4, heck even 5A, to what the show is doing now and it feels like an unmitigated disaster. Episodes are running out fast, so even if they increase Dansen, or Nia's screen time, it won't be enough to make up what has been lost. They're running out of time to give us a solid ending that ties up the mess they've created.

I really don’t know where this will end? CW Supergirl - do better. You have some phenomenal actors and actresses in your cast. Do them and your audience justice. Because right now you aren’t at all.

[dark-mnjiro]

it’s hard to breathe [but that’s alright]

Rated: Explicit (mostly for language, violence, and sexual situations in later chatpers - just far warning and yes it’s multichapter)

Author’s Note: This is my first first fic for My Hero Academia. I apologize in advance if it’s terrible. It’s been a while since I really forced myself to write anything for any type of fandom. I hope you enjoy! Maybe i this does well enough, I can move toward doing reader fics and such again. It’s been a long time since I’ve written - ugh.

Part One

Her eyes scanned the darkening skyline of the city from her position on the roof of the tallest building on the street. This seemed like the perfect place to set up her gear and wait for her target to arrive. She reached around to the sniper rifle hitched onto her back before leaning the gun against the ledge as she set up her stand first.

A small alarm sounded causing her to glance down at the small wristwatch she wore. “Five minutes,” she mused, praying her informants were correct in the location of her target. Pressing a button to silence the disturbance, she reset the timer for another five minutes before grabbing her sniper rifle and placing the gun into the stand.

Laying down, she adjusted her position to line up the sight of the sniper toward the street. Her target would be crossing her sights soon. She lifted the black eye patch that covered her right eye revealing the iris of her eye glowed a hazy violet as she activated her own special quirk, which allowed her to see long distances for precision shots with a sniper rifle. 

She raked her fingers through her navy colored hair to push some remaining stray strands out of her face. Her index finger gently curled around the trigger as she took a small inhale of breath in, her vision focusing on the street below… 

The alarm on her watch sounded again.

An explosion took place in a building down below. 

“There,” she said sharply, as her focus moved to a couple of villains escaping from a building with items in tow, clearly stolen as to what… she couldn’t be bothered to ask her superiors at the government. She only knew - they were planning to steal very important supplies from a government agency. 

“Exhale…” she sighed as she let out the breath she was holding before three shots rang out. 

Within seconds, the three were dead on the sidewalk. 

Sitting up, her hand came up to wipe the sweat from her brow before lowering her eyepatch back over her eye as the color shifted back to its original grey color.

“Another beautiful display, Miyako.”

Glancing over her shoulder, Miyako found her boss from the government standing behind her along with…

“Principal Nezu?” she asked, tilting her head at the small white creature. 

Nezu smiled as he approached her with his arms crossed. “It’s been a while,” he mused as he looked over her sniper rifle. 

“Yes sir…”

“Still a gifted shot,” he continued to muse as he came closer. “I must ask a favor. I know you’re a valuable asset to the government in taking down terrorists Miyako… and I can understand that it pays well.”

“It’s not as glamorous as a famed hero life but it does pay well,” she replied as she slowly placed her rifle back on the hitch on her back 

Nezu nodded as she continued to break down the stand before tucking the gear away in her bag for safekeeping. “We’ve been having problems recently with villain activity at UA-“

“I’ve watched the news,” she replied shrugging. 

“I spoke with your boss and he’s agreed to offer your services in order to stop the league of villains from attacking our students again… particularly one student.”

“The league you say?” She asked, her lips curling into a grin. “Sounds like a challenge… and what would the league want with a fifteen-year-old?”

“Would it interest you if this child was to become All Might’s successor?”

“...I’m listening.”

Nezu smiled at the sniper before handing her a picture. “This would be your target to stop entering the school at all costs,” he explained as her gaze studied the picture. 

A male… dark hair… blue eyes… scar tissue… He would not be difficult to spot in a crowd, especially on school grounds. The scars especially would make him obvious in public along with his bizarre choice of piercings on his face and body. Not a great way to blend into a crowd, unless that was the point… easy enough, Miyako thought. How hard could it be keeping a bunch of kids safe.

“Name?” Miyako asked, glancing back up at Nezu. 

“Not much is known… just that he goes by the name Dabi. He has a quirk where he is able to control blue flames. He’s considered fairly high up-“

“Consider me interested,” Miyako said, tucking the picture away in her bag. “Lethal force?”

Nezu sighed. “If necessary, yes. Just protect the students and we will reward you.”

Miyako gave him another smile before extending out her hand to him. “Deal,” she said before shaking the principal’s paw in agreement.

——

“...this wasn’t part of the deal,” Miyako said flatly as she crossed her arms over her chest. In order to not look suspicious on school grounds, Nezu had suggested that Miyako pose as a teacher - while the cover was a good idea she had no idea that he was actually going to push her to sit in on classes. “You’re expecting me to babysit a bunch of brats in a classroom…?”

Principal Nezu merely grinned in response as he looked around the room where the other faculty had gathered around the table. “This is perfect!” he said happily, clapping his paws together. “You’re not nearly as famous as All Might so no one will question your status as a teacher here!”

“...but I’m not a teacher-“

“It’s settled!”

Frustrated, Miyako rubbed her temples feeling as though she had somehow been fooled into this… god, damn it Nezu… 

“Miyako would you like a tour-“

“...I’m going to do rounds…”

She quickly made her escape out of the conference room before disappearing into the hallway. She took note how high she was from this level, in case she would ever have to take a shot from this height. “Pretty high and this is only about mid-level,” she commented to herself as she began to hear teenagers beginning to flood the hallways. Classes had obviously let out for the afternoon. “Time to take my leave…” she muttered before slipping into a stairwell and heading to the roof of the school.

A small sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes trying to enjoy the peace and quiet of the outdoors. She slowly lifted up her eyepatch, rubbing her eye as irritation had begun to set in from wearing the fabric over her eye… while she should be used to the patch by now, she still found it annoying. Too bad it was a necessary evil, otherwise she would suffer severe fatigue in her right eye and had been warned with possible blindness had Miyako continued to use her quirk without any sort of resting period in between uses. 

Miyako began muttering numbers and calculations under her breath as she used her eye to attempt to measure the distance from her point to the ground. Each shot would be difficult, but possible if she were careful and precise. She brought her thumb to her lips as she began to nibble on her nail still going over the calculations in her head, a nervous habit she had developed over the years especially while she was lost in her own thoughts. “If I aim right here…” she murmured, as she moved around the roof. “Bullet drag would slow my shots down and could pose possible rogue shots toward students depending on wind speed, but the property is open enough so I wouldn’t have too many obstacles… assuming these kids listen and stay out of the way.”

Loud shouts and playful screams echoed from below her as she glanced over the edge to see UA students clearing out of school for the day. While she had heard there had been several strange occurances of villains crossing young students recently, she wondered which student was particularly important to the school. 

“Interesting,” she mused to herself as she watched the students talking below her. “I wonder which one All Might has taken such an interest in…” She could not see each students’ quirk from this altitude so perhaps sitting in a few of the hero course classes, she could see for herself. Maybe it wouldn’t be as boring as she was dreading it to be… one could only hope. 

Leaning against the railing, her eyes followed a particular group of students, one she could swear she heard shouting from her height. Was he always this angry, she wondered. The smaller student seemed to cower, fearful of the more aggressive one, while another student among them was nearly silent - almost stoic for a fifteen-year-old. 

“Is that?” She wondered, squinting her eyes more as she swore she recognized that split red and white hair. “Todoroki Shouto…” Her lips curled up in a gentle smile. “It’s been so long. I hadn’t realized he was old enough to be a student here now.”

Her gaze softened at the teenager as she recalled sometimes coming over to the house when she herself was younger to hang out among her friends… one of which was his brother, Touya. Her expression saddened as she was reminded of his untimely death once again - also wondering how Shouto had grown since she had last seen him. 

“Shit time flies,” she mumbled to herself. “He’s already a teenager. He probably doesn’t even remember me. He was so young then. Not to mention his dad never did let him join us in games. Always training...” Her voice trailed off as she watched the teenagers disappear from view.

Shaking her head, Miyako pulled herself away from the railing before placing her hands behind her head. With the students gone, there was no need for her stick around into the evening, she convinced herself as she headed back into the stairwell making her way back down. “Time for a break…”

—

“At least the day is over,” Miyako groaned as she laid her forehead against the bar counter while she waited for her drink to be made. The place seemed full, she assumed due to the approaching weekend and typical Friday night office workers gathering to celebrate a long work week. A drink was set down in front of as she lifted her head up just enough to see the bartender whom she had known for years now. 

He tilted his head at her. “Long day?”

“Do you know how much I hate kids…?”

Chuckling, he shook his head before moving further down the bar to tend to another few patrons. Miyako sat up, taking a large gulp of her drink before setting the glass back down. The warm liquid burned down the back of her throat before settling into her stomach. She tilted the glass, swirling the remaining liquid around. At least she had a plan for where she could set up shots around the property. It was just a matter of if and when this specific person would show up at the school. 

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the picture of her target, eyes narrowing as she tried to imprint the image to her mind. He didn’t seem like much, but the mention of his quirk seemed what was most threatening especially to students, and if the league had grown interested in a student or two - they wouldn’t just send pushovers. 

“Blue flames?” she asked herself, tilting her head a bit. Thoughts began to bounce around in the walls of her mind, wondering if perhaps there was someone out there able to control fire like the Todoroki family. But blue flames? She rubbed her eyepatch that covered her right eye in frustration. Blue fire was considered the hottest type of fire, next to a white hot flame. “I wondered,” she whispered, noting the scarred tissue all over his body. “His body can’t handle over exposure clearly–”

“How interesting…”

A male voice drawled from behind her as she turned to glance over her shoulder at the stranger to see no one but random bar patrons passing by behind her. Confusion set in before she could react, “You should learn not to speak about your targets out loud.”

Her stomach fell to her feet as she turned back to the bar to find the picture she had been given was slowly burning to ash…

“Blue flames,” she hissed before looking toward the bar stool next to her. 

It was him. 

Her gaze locked with his flashing orbs of sapphire before her gaze narrowed. “You…” she hissed. 

It was Dabi. 

A smirk curled over his lips before he raised a finger to wag at her playfully. “Ah ah ah,” he tutted, his eyes falling to her hand moving to touch the top of her handgun. “You wouldn’t want to make such a scene with all these civilians would you?”

Shit, he was right. Her hand relaxed before moving away from the small holster on her hip. “What do you want then?” she countered. 

“I heard I had a target on my back,” he replied airly. “Wanted to see who they thought could possibly get rid of me.”

“Says the one making a scene by setting a picture on fire,” she hissed to him.

His eyes moved to the patrons around the bar now staring at the two and the now pile of ash sitting on the bar counter. Shrugging his shoulders, he moved away from her side. “We can always continue this later kitten…”

“What did you just call me—?!” Miyako hissed offense dripping from her voice, whipping around to attack but finding he had just disappeared. “Damn it…”

Jumping to her feet, Miyako reached into her pocket before throwing cash into the table for the bartender to cover for her drink and whatever expenses to fix his bar. She rushed outside, head darting in every direction trying to gauge just where Dabi had disappeared. She cursed under her breath before darting into an alley, seeing a fire escape with roof access. Better view for her quirk. Her hand grabbed the railing before she was slammed against the wall. A low groan fell from her lips as pain shot up her spine. 

“Nice try, kitten,” Dabi’s voice whispered into her ear. Her gaze moved up to meet piercing blue eyes staring back at her, while he used his body weight to keep her still against the brick wall before his hand moved to grasp her wrist as she tried to move for her pistol again. “Good attempt,” he added, moving the wrist over her head. “But unfortunately, I think I know all your little moves.” His opposite hand moved to brush against her eye patch before tilting his head at her. “Hiding your quirk must mean it exhausts you after prolonged use…”

“Let. Go,” she snapped at him, struggling against his grip. 

“Not yet,” he commented airly as he started moving her eye patch up. “I want to see what this looks like…”

Miyako managed to move her free hand while he was distracted. Her right eye, once exposed, turned the hazy violet color before she managed to pull a small knife from her hip immediately lodging it into his shoulder. His grip loosened before his hand moved to cover his wound as blood poured over his arm and she quickly found herself free again. She quickly grabbed her pistol, using her quirk to line up a perfect shot.

His eyes moved up to stare into her own, his smirk widening a bit more. “Well this is fun,” he whispered. “Who knew you were that sneaky…?”

“None of this is fun,” she snapped back at him. “It was your own mistake. You allowed my other arm to be free.”

“No? You’ll break my heart with words like that…”

Miyako cocked the small pistol before her index finger tightened around the trigger. She took a small breath inward…

“What the fuck?!”

A blue flame immediately enveloped her gun and palm. The sheer intensity of the pain caused her to drop the small handgun. She managed to put the flame out on her hand, but the pain… it was unbearable. 

“Oh kitten,” he said, almost playfully. “Did you really think I wouldn’t fight back?”

Holding her hand close to her chest, she felt nothing but white hot pain searing through her every nerve at this point. “You melted my gun!” she shouted back at him. 

“And hurt your hand by the looks of it,” he commented, shrugging his shoulders. 

He was right. She winced lightly, still clutching her injured hand to her chest. Her skin felt as though it were tightening and blistering already - she would for sure have to visit Recovery Girl to make sure nothing serious would come from her injury. 

“And you’re still bleeding,” she hissed back at him, her gaze narrowing at the wound she had left with her blade.

His smile faded for a moment while his blue eyes gazed up at her, causing her body to almost freeze from the piercing gaze itself. The corners of his thin lips curled up into a coy smirk before he took a few steps toward her again, shrinking the distance between them to just a foot. “Well,” he whispered, his eyes darting around her face almost searching for something in her pained expression. “You are correct… you have wounded me…” His tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth before running it along his lower lip. “Consider this a draw kitten…Until next time Tsutsumi Miyako.”

Confusion filled Miyako’s eyes, realizing that she had never mentioned her actual name to him and for that, what did he even mean until next time? “What?” she shouted. “Wait a minute!”

Another burst of blue flames sent her back into the wall as she used her arms to shield her eyes from the sheer heat. Once the flames had died down, she lowered her arms, finding that Dabi had once again disappeared. A sigh of relief fell from her lips, realizing she had managed to make it out of such a sticky situation with only seemingly minor injuries. Her fingers moved along the singed flesh of her arms, checking the severity of the burns she felt blistering already.

“God damn it,” she hissed to herself, flexing her injured hand before rushing off to the school to visit with Recovery Girl. 

---

Wincing, Miyako watched as Recovery Girl placed a special salve after having used her Quirk to heal the majority of the burns. The cooling effect of the salve immediately took effect, causing Miyako’s body to finally relax as she slowly began wrapping bandages around the burns. “How long until this fully heals?” she asked, quietly.

Recovery Girl sighed before looking up at Miyako. “Just a few days,” she explained, crossing her arms once she had finished wrapping the wounds. “These were some fairly serious burns Miyako… what trouble did you get into?”

“Part of the job, I suppose,” Miyako explained, her eyes falling to the floor. “Thought I was about to apprehend the target for the school but…”

Shaking her head, Recovery Girl sat back in her chair. “Promise me you’re going to be careful?” She asked. “These burns were serious… what type of quirk did you fight against.”

“He has blue flames, kind of like Endeavor.”

“Miyako…”

Looking up to meet the judgemental look flashing in Recovery Girl’s eyes, Miyako sighed as she leaned back in her chair. “He’s trying to hurt the students here and he needs to be eliminated. Quickly. I have to take every opportunity to attack. He’s quick but I injured him as well. A few burns won’t slow me down - you know that.”

“...unfortunately I do know that…”

“Come on,” Miyako whined before standing up. “You know I’m always careful in each one of my assassination missions. But getting hurt isn’t completely unavoidable. I’m smart. I’ll figure it out. He just managed to corner me because I got too confident rushing into an alley before checking perimeters.”

“I know but—”

“I’ll see you later,” Miyako said, cutting off Recovery Girl before rushing out of the office trying to avoid another lecture in being “too reckless” even when it had been a one time occurance. Miyako rubbed her eyes as she made her way out of the school and toward her apartment building, needing to take a few days of rest before trying to stake out Dabi again. 

“Jackass,” she hissed under her breath as she shoved her bandaged hand into her pocket to fish out her apartment keys. Sighing, she slipped inside the dark apartment before cutting on the lights and shutting the door behind her. She tossed her keys onto the counter, making her way toward the couch before collapsing face first into the plush cushions. 

Her hand moved to the coffee table, pawing around aimlessly for the remote before managing to turn the television on for background noise. Slowly, she pushed herself back up as she forced herself to go into her bedroom and change out of her uniform and other gear, and into a black nightgown with a white silk robe over it. 

Miyako walked to another closet in the bedroom before opening the door where she placed her sniper rifle inside. She pulled open a drawer before setting the extra ammo away into neat rows with her knives displayed carefully next to it. She closed the drawer before shutting the closet and placing the lock over the handles to keep her weapons secure. 

Walking back into the living room, Miyako stopped in front of her television before gazing out the back sliding door that led out to her small balcony. While she wasn’t a “pro hero”, her government job paid well enough that she lived comfortably and happily. The moon gleamed into her apartment, making her smile at the quiet calmness that surrounded her before something shining in the moonlight caught her attention. 

“What the hell…” she mumbled, before sliding open the glass door. A few drops of blood splattered on her balcony floor, leading toward the chair she had placed there for her own leisure. Her eyes widened when her gaze stopped to find the knife she had used to injure Dabi now sitting in the chair covered in spots of dried blood. 

“How…” she mused before grabbing the knife retreating back inside her apartment, locking the door behind her. Nervously, she nibbled on her lower lip as she walked the knife to her kitchen, tossing it into the sink to wash later. “How did—”

Oh no. 

“There’s no way,” she snapped as she walked toward the door and looked around. “He couldn’t have followed me the prick! I would’ve noticed!”

Miyako looked at the small droplets of blood he had left and noticed there were none inside the apartment, which means he somehow got to her third floor apartment from outside… She lifted her eye patch to better gauge the different angles seeing one side of the ledge seemed to have bloodstains… “He came and left from that side but how did he get up here? Unless someone within his group has a quirk that could get him to this level - which is possible...” she questioned, tapping her index finger to her chin. “But, why? He clearly wasn’t trying to surprise attack… he would’ve forced his way inside… and not left my knife free for the taking… unless this is some sick psychological game…”

She paused as she glanced back at the sink where the dirty knife laid. Her guess had to be right… he was just letting her know that he knew where she was, that he could just appear any time of the day or night… But at the same time, why bother returning one of her weapons? 

Her mind returned to the earlier encounter she had with Dabi, recalling a comment he had made about her being “fun”. A small sigh escaped her lips as her mind pondered the possibility that maybe for him, that her challenge was more than welcomed by him, that he enjoyed her fight. Perhaps this was his way of showing her that he couldn’t wait for another round?

“What a bizarre man,” she mumbled. “But who am I to try to make sense of villains intentions and MOs. It never makes any sense.” She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration as she made her way to her bedroom. She slipped off the silk robe before tossing it onto a nearby chair as she laid down in her bed. She pulled the sheets and comforter up to her chin as she settled in for a good night’s sleep - or so she hoped. 

Meanwhile, outside her apartment complex, Dabi looked up at the balcony having watched her step outside and find his little gift for her.The blood from his shoulder had begun to slow after receiving quick first aid from another league member, but knew he would have to take time to heal and regroup. The corners of his lips curled up into a smirk as he stuffed his hands into his trench coat pockets before turning away. 

“Hopefully you enjoyed your little gift,” he said to himself, slipping into a dark alleyway, making his way back to the League’s headquarters. “Can’t wait to play again, kitten…”

[lavendertwilight89]

What You Like-- White Day Speical

Hope this makes up for the lack of Valentine’s Post :) 

Thanks go to @keichanz​ for her fic “Selfie” that inspired parts of my fic

@lemonlushff​ @clearwillow​ for hosting White Day!

@dangerouspompadour​ @akitokihojo​ @bearpluscat​ @kaze-ranna​ @xfangheartx​ @sarah-writes-stories​

Enjoyyyyyyy

She awoke with a start. It wasn’t the first time this had happened since she moved out of her family’s shrine. It had only been a month maybe since it had become a permanent move. She got a nearby one-bedroom apartment; she needed her own escape—she meant place! She gathered her surroundings and realized she was completely alone… like usual… until she noticed the sound of running water…

What. The. Fuck. Happened???!? She remembered she hit the sauce pretty hard last night. Last night marked four of the longest years of her life. Four long years without her friends from the other side of the well. Four years without the love of her life. Four years of pure misery… Ugh her head was going to split in two from her careless actions or probably the worst hangover she had ever had…

Since her quick departure from the Feudal Era four years ago, she couldn’t shake her rampant and monstrous dreams. They caused her frequent disruptions throughout the night and drove the need for alcohol (well, to be honest, that wasn’t the only reason for her to start drinking). College had been not the best experience—especially when she had to share a room with a roommate. She knew her dorm mate didn’t care for her; in-regards-to: well-being, modesty, or just all around courtesy. She often had a pillow (sometimes heavier objects) thrown at her if she was screaming or crying in her sleep to wake her up, had her food ate without permission, or had her privacy violated…But the worst thing was—her roommate was what one would have referred to as ‘loose’. And by that, she didn’t care that she entertained men. No, she understood. Your body, your rules. Kagome didn’t care about what or who she did that with… She did, however, care her roommate did it when she was in the same freaking room!!!!

She often had to find refuge in Yuka and Eri’s room. Ayumi had decided to travel abroad her year having taken extended courses in high school of German to prepare her. But their second year, the four of them got a suite style apartment and things worked out better. But the nightmares never faded. She started to sleep with a nightlight, kept her bow close, started drinking before bed... Her friends felt for her, but they had their own lives, their own boyfriends.  They still hadn’t heard the full story of what happened to Inuyasha… They just knew he was gone. They tried to reset her up a couple times with Hojo… But she refused when she knew it was a date-like-thing. She was determined to always wait for Inuyasha to find her. He always found her… He would always come for her…

She could have started screaming because not only did she hear the shower running, but she looked down at herself and she was FUCKING NAKED.  And she was extremely sore down there. FUCK. DAMNIT ALL. UGH. Tears started to form in the corners of her eyes from her own stupidity… Four long years of not ever having a boyfriend, no random make-out sessions or anything… and she lost it on a night she blacked out… Actually, she could kind of visual some of what happened, so not completely blacked out, just some parts were missing… Think! Think how did I let this happen!?!?

 She had been out with the girls and their boyfriends. She didn’t have to work, for once, on the weekend in the Emergency room. She usually was always worked weekend shifts with her being so new and willing—because obviously she didn’t have anything else to do. No boyfriend. She avoided home because of the reminders of her past, didn’t want to be alone in her new apartment... An excuse to avoid people in general… But when her friends called her, she reluctantly agreed as she hadn’t been out with them since graduation…basically a full month ago… whoops…

They had bought her shots all evening and kept trying to get her to make a move on Hojo because they knew she was upset about this was year number four without Inuyasha. They were at the newest club down the street from her apartment. They’d made her wear a black pencil skirt and a forest green sleeveless tank, sheer, but she insisted she had a black camisole underneath so no one could see anything inappropriate. She had been nicknamed the prude of the group. She didn’t care though. She didn’t care what anybody thought. She would stay a virgin her whole life if she had to. She would wait for him… Her friends assumed she was just nervous… Pfffft. Don’t get her wrong, she pleasured herself enough at home, but no one excited her. No one sang her that sweet erotic song like the owner of those amber eyes had. Call her prude, nervous about the idea of someone down there, whatever—bottom line was she wasn’t easy. She refused to just sleep with someone who didn’t even appeal to her. Maybe if someone had come along that inspired those feelings… Those wants… But no, no one had. Ever. There was no one who made her feel like that. She was doomed to become the crazy cat lady who fucked herself with her fingers.

But she also reluctantly, refused to give up hope. She could have decided just to more or less poison herself with shot after shot and pray Hojo would finally look okay enough to just ‘bang it out’. But no. Barf. Nope. Sorry, he had been the most boring person she had met. She’d prefer Koga. Koga. Even then, if Koga appeared right there in front of her, she’d still say no. Because it wasn’t him. Still didn’t have that beautiful silver hair that fell to his waist, those sexy little triangles that sat on top of his head, furrowing dark brows, sultry smirk…

After she lost count of shots, she snuck away and paid her tab. She didn’t really remember signing her name or how much she tipped, but that was neither here nor there. She made enough to support herself, her habits, and then some. She dipped out before her friends tried to get her to dance with Hojo. Nothing had ever turned her off less than them dancing together. She’d prefer to dance with her brother. Ok, she admitted, that was kind of crass, but still—that’s what she equated a dance with Hojo with; like her brother trying to make move on her. Barf. Hojo had just become that constant reminder to her how boring her life had become once she returned from the Feudal Era. A reminder of what she really wanted… Oh Gods, she thought she was going to be sick. Nope. Nope. She needed to make it to the apartment.

She walked noisily up the stairs. Staggering around and laughing at herself, she knew she looked like a drunken idiot. The only person who she knew who lived here was Jiro, her across the hall neighbor. She didn’t mind him. He was okay looking. He had black hair, kinda longer than most but wore it in that trending man-bun. He had bright blue eyes. Brighter than Miroku’s. It was weird because he looked similar to her old friend... But he was nice and not at all handsy. He listened to some of her college stories. Listened to her cry. Watched movies with her as she passed out from her drinking too much in an evening. He was nice guy. He never took advantage. But it probably did help she made it clear nothing would EVER happen.

She finally got to the fifth floor (the thought occurred to her why hadn’t she taken the elevator? Oh yea, she couldn’t figure out the buttons hahahaha). And he was standing there. She had to be crazy. It wasn’t him. Demons were gone. They hadn’t been around in ages. She searched, researched, tried to find any clue that they could be around. That he could be around… That they’d just gone into hiding… Nothing… She clearly was delusional at that point. Drunk. Yea, definitely that. She had what… four shots bought for her? No, probably like six…eight? Not including the two drinks she had herself?

But this was the first time she felt like she could actually sense him. His demonic aura… She hadn’t given up all her hopes yet. But she resigned herself and just smiled sadly thinking her mind was playing tricks on her though; it was their four year anniversary of being separated after all.

“Heyyyyy… Why you up so late, Jirooooooo?” She sang drunkenly.

His face changed from sheer awe to confusion. His head titled as she approached him stumbling in her heals. As she watched his ears twitch, wow she had a very active imagination, she tripped and gasped but his arms caught her easily. She giggled and hiccupped turning up to face him.

“Opps, sorry ‘bout that! Probably had like, four too many tonight…I blame the girls though. They bought more than half, said stuff about ‘no pity party’ or sumthin’…” she felt her face heat as his hands didn’t move away nor did he say anything… probably just thought she was being crazy and had been helpless like usual when she was absorbed in her bad influences. She turned away from his chest to the purse in her hands to grab her keys but unfortunately spilled the entire contents onto the floor with only her keys and purse intact.

“Ugh *hiccup*darnnnnnnnn! Jiro, lemme go, I need to pick all this up and climb into bed,” she slurred.

He still didn’t release her and was breathing unsteadily. What had gotten into him? “You’re acting all weird ‘n stuff Jiro, everythin’ ok? I’d ask if you wanna talk but it’s late and I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna remember at this *hiccup* point,” she drowsily turned to face him.

Goddddddddd[AR1] [AR2] . That FACE was still staring back at her with those amber eyes, silver hair, fluffy ears, dark brows, tan skin…

“Uhm… Jiro? I know this sounds kinda crazy… but—you have a different face on ya. For real, I need to go to bed. I’m losin’ my mind.”

“Whose face do I have, Ka-Go-Me?”

Her eyes widen and her breath hitched. She swallowed uneasily. That…that voice… Maybe this was a sign—she should just give into her needs and just fuck this dude already that now took on Inuyasha’s form. For whatever reason, the universe, the Gods, her imagination were finally making her see, hear, smell, and touch “Inuyasha” again… She had refused to entertain those ideas anyway just in case Inuyasha did manage to come along… Well not just because that. The attraction thing was huge. But she hoped if he had lived 500+ years he didn’t wait for her… She just knew his sense of smell would put him off if she fooled around with someone not special to her, but he could probably forgive her for not waiting... Wait—was that why she didn’t find any one attractive? For the off chance he finalllllllllly appeared, he would smell her? What was she saying? Thinking? God, all her thoughts were jumbled. She didn’t need to play counselor to herself right then. Maybe she should’ve just stopped waiting… He was gone… This wasn’t him. No, she couldn’t allow her heart to be shattered again…

“Wh—uhm—” she cleared her throat, blushed having heard her name said like that. It’d been since she started traveling with Inuyasha since her name was pronounced like that. She was beyond flustered. “Ji-Jiro uhm, it’s late, I may be drunk but—but—I’m waiting for someone. If you know what I *hiccup* mean. Go home,” she said flailing her arms towards his apartment.

His eyes softened, “Who are you waiting for?”

He had been acting so weird and clingy! So unusual for him. He would have usually just leave her, let her stumble—he respected her independence. Even though sometimes in the morning she wondered whyyyyyyyy he would have left her in the state she was in. But he remained steadfast—his arms still around her. She figured he could come in for bit… He was always respective… He wouldn’t have tried anything… Grabbing her keys she leaned forward against his chest, resting her head on his shoulder—had he gotten taller?—reaching around him and put them in the door and twisted. Even with heals, she probably would’ve been able to meet his head… He wasn’t that tall… Who knows, she was obliterated. What was she thinking about anyway? His arms slightly increased their pressure around her, and she swore he took a giant whiff of her hair.

“Well come on in; I probably can’t walk anyway without you’re help. The girls thought it’d be ‘sexy’ to wear these disastrous shoes… but I’ll tell you a story Jiro *hiccup*. About the man I fell in love with…that one’s new right? I know I’ve been refusing to share, but I’m probably numb enough to share tonight.”

He bent slightly and picked her up bridal style causing her to shriek a little in startlement and her to wrap her arms around his neck. Wow, his hair was really that long? She wove her fingers through it… Jiro’s hair isn’t this long, there’s no way I’m that creative with my imagination… Nope—nope don’t let your hopes get raised. You’re just crazy. Crazy. Yep. He paused at her ministrations looking down at her as she turned back to face him… Her heart was racing… She swore she saw him eye her lips and lick his briefly but then placed her on the couch gently before turning away. She immediately missed the intimate contact. He returned to the door and picked up all her things from the floor outside putting them back in the bag for her. Dude, he was such a nice guy. She felt bad to burden him with her problems…

He closed the door behind him and stopped midstride having caught an eye of a picture she had by the front door. The picture of her and Inuyasha taking a selfie in the feudal era. Where she was encompassed between his legs smiling radiantly into the camera and he had his handsome cocky smirk on his face. She giggled drawing his attention back towards her.

“That’s the guy you look like right now. Liquor is a cruel bitch like that, I guess. His name is…was… Inuyasha… I met him when I was fifteen… We uh… knew each other for three years. He was in love with someone else, for a while there… but I couldn’t stop how I felt. If anything, the love I had for him just grew stronger. We had so many moments I really thought, ‘he feels the same’… Like one time he made me cold medicine, he had told me he was scared to lose me but that he needed me by his side, different battles, uh, things happened to have those words fall from his stubborn crass mouth, but he’d also give my his haori even if it meant he’d be more vulnerable… Kisses on the cheek…Temple… A couple on the…” she lightly touched her lips remembering the sensation. “I was eighteen when we got separated by time, literally, and I’ve been searching for him since. Today made four years...FOUR. Can you believe that?? But I’m still lookin’. Even though I don’t think I’ll ever find him… I-I…”

He came and sat by her and looked at her worriedly.

“I’m not crazy—not some childish girl lovesick on some crush she had in high school! I love him! It was real! I’ll find him! I’ll prove everyone and even myself wrong! He can’t be gone! He-he can’t…H-he always has come for me…I-I can’t give up on him,” she started crying. Sobbing actually. Hysterically. How embarrassing. God she was pathetic; she’d been so good about keeping her secrets about her broken heart. Her resistance to move on. Her lack of enthusiasm of seeing the people she still had in life. She always just cried and said she didn’t want to talk about it… Jiro never had pried further. But she apparently lost her last shred of dignity and bawled like a child. “You should leave. Please, don’t judge me. Please! I-I can’t lose you as a friend. I lost all my closest friends then too…The ones that mattered. I-I just miss him so much!”

He grabbed her hands from her face and looked into her eyes with those beautiful rich golden eyes…

“Kagome…It is me…I-I’m not Jiro. You aren’t seeing things—it really is me.”

She stared at him disbelievingly. “It-It can’t be…”

“It is though, Kagome. You’re not just seeing things. I’m here! I’m real,” he steered her hands to his ears. Oh God, she swore he started purring as she massaged them.

“It—I—this isn’t possible…”

“I’m sorry it took so long for me to get to you. I tried to find you but the first time I came by you had left for college… I should have just told your mom who I was when I came by, but I didn’t want to distract you from your future or what you wanted… You were still so young and I wanted to give you time to grow still… The next time she said you had gotten a job at a hospital nearby, but you didn’t come by often. She was reluctant to tell me where you live, and I couldn’t blame her for wanting to protect your privacy—but I actually got a call from Jiro before I could actually tell her who I was while I was with her. He was certain it was you. I told her I was a friend of yours and swore everything would make sense after I talked to you… I-I just wanted to make sure you still wanted to see me. To be in my life before I said anything to her, I just had to see you… I came here and I-I found…” he trailed off. This had happened earlier that very day… He had just left her mom’s house and came here. She had unpacked those pictures since she had the time and Jiro came by and had lunch with her. Her mom had called her three times while she was out… and she stupidly ignored all three. He had waited here for her for hours... And found her stumbling up the stairs laughing to herself drunk as fucking skunk. Nope! He wasn’t real! No God was that cruel. He was for sure an illusion.

“No, no, no, no, noooooo….P-Prove it! Prove to me, you are who you say you are then; prove you’re real,” that extra hiccup at the end made her realize how unserious she sounded—but she thought she sounded pretty desperate at least.

He slightly cringed but appeared to be willing to play her little game, “Ok… ask me anything you’d think I wouldn’t be honest about…anything you want…”

“Mk fine I will! *Hiccup* How did we meet?”

He got up and got her a glass of water and returned handing it to her, “You broke the seal on me. The one Kikyo placed…You broke the arrow, and I attacked you for the jewel. The subjugation beads were placed on me and we began to travel together after you shattered the jewel.”

“What about, how did I get back and forth?”

“The stupid fucking well…You came and went to be with your family and for those stupid tests at school…I should’ve smashed that thing when I had the chance before it separated us.”

She blinked… It couldn’t be… There was no way…

“Ki-kyo…” she said brokenly hoping he would know what she was asking.

“Sigh…I know we never really addressed this. Hopefully this will be enough. I loved Kikyo. We both sought each other out on loneliness. The problem was, we didn’t trust each other. She didn’t trust me because of my demonic heritage. She wanted me to become human using the jewel… I hesitated because I wasn’t sure that was something I wanted. But she said as long as the jewel existed, she could only be a shrine maiden. A priestess. She wanted to be ordinary—in order to be a normal woman with a normal life, the jewel had to be used... I agreed, because I was done being alone, and couldn’t take it if she wouldn’t be with me if I was a half-demon… but in the end I didn’t trust her to believe she wouldn’t try to kill me. After all, I was a dirty half-breed. Then I met you; you taught me to trust, work with others, befriend others… care about other people…

“When she was resurrected, I had already started to fall for you. We were beneath that tree in the village when I tried to kiss you and you pushed me away. But with Kikyo back among the living so shortly after that, my duty to avenge her, save her from the person she had become… it was too much. I couldn’t stop myself from falling for you, but I refused to let you know. Because I was stupid, stubborn, afraid you didn’t feel the same. Even once I did hear that you did love me, the idea that anyone I loved died, it drove me away from you… It didn’t stop the little moments between us. I-I couldn’t help it. Knowing you actually did love me… I just—I wanted to wait until it was all over before we could actually figure out what was between us.

“Kikyo will always be my first love; but Kagome, you had always and will always have my heart.” He took her hand and placed it on his chest. Oh Gods… this—this—

“Th-that picture…” she continued. She had to hear more.

“You brought your cell phone back one time and you took pictures with all of us… So that you had something to remember us by just in case…We were awake after the others fell asleep… I asked you for another one to be shot because the other one we had taken before wasn’t good enough. I wanted… I made you believe it was something you wanted, a better picture with just us… We took a couple. The last one I surprised you and kissed you.”

She swallowed. She knew she was going to start crying again. Stupid drunken images. He couldn’t have been real. But it reallllllly seemed like he was. She didn’t normally see him when she was wasted... Even though she really wanted to. She thought it would numb her pain. Make her forget. But there he was—right there in front of her. On her navy couch. Red button-down shirt, grey suit pants, long silver locks uncut, blazing amber eyes… Oh Gods… this wasn’t real… She wouldn’t allow her hopes to be raised. They had been shattered so soooo many times, she couldn’t allow herself to allow the deception in.  

“Where did you find me after the final battle?”

“In the jewel…”

“And we…”

He grabbed her face and kissed her softly which made her melt into his body. She finally let herself go. Who cared? No one could or even would blame her. Even if it wasn’t Inuyasha, she had proved her loyalty to him and then some. She climbed into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to pull him as close to her as humanly possible. His hands found themselves on her hips. She felt it. They were both hungry. Hot. Aroused. Needy.

He still smelled of pinewood, forest, musk. God, she had butterflies swirling in her stomach, heat spreading to her lower regions. If this was a dream, an illusion, or just a drunken image, she couldn’t have stopped it even if she wanted to. She needed him. Or whatever he was. Right then. Right there. She shifted and started to slowly grind on his hips, moaning all the while she started to unbutton his red shirt... His hands found hers and he pulled away. She whimpered loudly in disappointment.

“Kagome—God—You don’t know what this means to me. Seeing you, finding you again… But—but you’re drunk. You’re not thinking clearly.”

“Don’t care,” she tried to start kissing him again only for him to have kept her still.

“I’m not going to take advantage of you like this. We just found each other again. I—I can’t—”

“Inuyasha—it’s been four years for me, five-hundred-four for you…Just—shut up” she plunged forward and finally was able to recapture his mouth and he seemingly reluctantly resumed kissing her. Her hands started their handy work again until she shoved off his shirt down his fucking ripplin’ muscles. God, he was more built than he had been before. She swore she could have cum just from the sensation of her fingers touching his warm god-like body, or even having kissed him and him kiss her back in such fervor probably only they could have ever knew.

She moaned as she kept rubbing herself against his very present hardened length. Her skirt was basically no longer a skirt as it was so pushed up exposing her heat. She felt bad knowing that his pants probably were just as wet as her panties. If this was a fantasy she had conjured up, whew boy was it an amazing one. But each kiss, each brush of their tongues, each moan, growl, pant had begun to break down her walls to let her start believing it was reality. He was groaning but clearly hadn’t lost himself completely yet. If this was a dream, she wouldn’t have had that! He was going to fully enjoy this just as much as she planned to. It just then it became a plan of how to get him to unwind.

She moved from his lips, which did cause her to whine a bit but kissing her way down his jaw to his shoulder, to his pecks, Godddddddd. She was beyond wet. She was so horny it was unbelievable. She had never felt like that with anyone. She needed him more than she needed air. But he clearly refused to undress her or be an active participant aside from kissing her. Fine; she admitted she was drunk. But she didn’t care. She maybe would have regretted this in the morning, but the alcohol was definitely convincing her to not give a shit right then.  If this truly was Inuyasha, she would have zero regrets… She dropped to the ground between his legs and laughed. Which in turn caused her to hiccup making her only laugh harder.

She turned her eyes back to his face who was flushed but gazed down at her with concern.

“I waited for you, ya know? I couldn’t find anyone who was even half the man you are…I’ve never done…anything…” she trailed off while her hands moved along his thighs which caused his muscles to tighten and forced him to let out a low groan. She reached his button and unbuttoned while she maintained eye contact. She then pulled down the zipper. Slowly. Teasingly. Testing.

“Ka-Kagome—”

“Sh, sh, shhhhh. I’m going to prove this isn’t just about me…Inuyasha…I need this for myself too…Please…” Her skipped a beat when she uttered his name. She tugged down his pants to which he seemed hesitant but still willing complied to her nonverbal commands.

After a long look into his unsure hazy eyes, she turned to look at his twitching hardened cock. This had to be real. Even her imagination couldn’t have made this kind of thing up—the details were so…explicit. Mouthwatering. They made her body burn with excitement. She slowly wrapped her fingers delicately around it and stroked up gently. He jumped and growled. Mmmmm how she missed that sound.

She bent forward and took him in her mouth. His hands shot out to her shoulder and he tried to push her off; but she clenched one hand onto his bare thigh to steady herself and reassure him. Her other remained stroking in time with her taking him as deep as she could in her mouth, covering what she couldn’t contain. Clearly his resolve was weak enough at that point as it kept him from completely over-powering her. Or her fantasy she was stronger. Whatever it was.

He started panting and moved his hands into her hair, but he did not push her down or try to control the speed. It was like he just enjoyed having her tresses in his hands, between his fingers—she didn’t mind either. The sensations only added to her desires. He still rumbled through his gasped breaths, deep from his chest. She felt him twitch in her mouth and his grip tightened as he tried to pull her away but she held firm; she swirled her tongue around the tip, softly grazing him as she would bob up with her teeth and then encase him with her tongue on way the back down. She wanted to know how he tasted or wondered what her imagination would dream up. She was determined to keep going no matter how fucked up she would feel tomorrow. She had to know if in that very moment he was real…

“Kagome—I’m gonna—" She looked up at him and it caused him to hold his breath. His flushed face, tremoring body, God, she started praying to all the Gods she hadn’t spoken to in years that this wasn’t a dream or some drunken made up illusion.

He howled when he released, and she drank him up like she was parched and stuck in the desert, unsure when she would see water again… He was her savior. Her light. Those golden eyes bore into her own chocolate orbs heating her like she was laying on the beach in the middle of summer. She pulled back once she felt him stop pouring into her mouth and remained kneeling.

He grabbed her by her upper arms and drug her back up to him and kissed her hard. His tongue pushed back her lips and she let him taste himself in her mouth. He growled in approval and embraced her hard. He pulled back for them to catch their respective breaths again and locked eyes with her before he kissed her forehead gently.

“Kagome… I-“

“Inuyasha… Please…”

“Grrrr, you’re still the same stubborn wench from five-hundred years ago.”

“Hehehehe, you can say that. Please, I just… I want to believe you’re real… That you’re really here… Please…” she implored stroking her hand on his cheek.

He leaned into her hand sighing. He was still holding back. For whatever he was, real, fake, in between, he was uneasily wavered. Her hand moved subconsciously to his ear where she started kneading it in her finger. He more or less purred (she would never tell him that if he had been real) and kissed her again. She melted in his arms as he picked her up letting her wrap her legs around his bare waist and was carried to the bedroom. She actually didn’t remember that very clearly, she was still in a drunken haze, and only felt she was becoming more intoxicated by that man’s tongue working every angle of her mouth while her own grazed his sharp fangs. Was it possible to get high on this feeling? If so, she was.

He sat her on the bed and moved to unbutton her top but, yet AGAIN, paused. She exhaled irritably and earned a chuckle in addition to the resumption of his fingers delicately unbuttoning her top. She released his shoulders so he could push her top down her arms. She pulled her own camisole over her head and unzipped her skirt letting it fall loosely to her bottom and legs. She sat in just her under garments—lustful eyes set on him. Pleading. Begging for his touch. He slowly cupped her breast which caused a very unexpected sound to escape her own mouth. His mouth moved to her neck and his tongue laved its way to her shoulder.

Her walls were almost broken at that moment. This was a million times better than any fantasy she had dreamed up. She couldn’t have controlled her panting or her withering body at his ministrations even if she had tried to. Her images started to get harder to remember from the night before. Ughhhh noooooo! Keep thinking stupid!!!!

Her bra came off, did she take it off? Or him?

She remembered lifting up her hips for him to pull down her skirt while his mouth suckled on her nipples. That wet hot mouth on her breast made her mewl loudly. She was putty in his hands. Her underwear met an unfortunate fate, while she didn’t see them being removed, she heard a very distinct tear and the sensation of lace went missing…

She had been lying flat on her back as he crawled above her; he took her lips in her gently and lovingly. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and lightly brushed her fingers over his back and then threaded her fingers in long silver hair. He pulled away and started to trail his way back down her body, nipping, licking, kissing, hands brushing against every surface his face passed.

Fire. She was on fire. She was desperate for her release. She had never been so achy in her life. She was brokenly saying his name over and over pleading for him to understand what she wanted when she felt his tongue lick between her folds against her core.

She wailed and locked her hands on his head. Pressing him, if possible, further into her. His pace was torturous. She could tell he was learning her smell and taste all over again. She heard him mumble about how amazing she smelled and he had so many dreams about tasting her—none of which stacked up to that moment.

“Please Inuyasha… Pleaseeeee…”

That was what broke him—he began to set a better, fast rhythm. He used one hand to keep her hips steady (which she hadn’t been aware they were apparently out of control) and the other had started pumping a digit in and out of her. She had already been spoiled. She could never go back to her own fingers. No. Never. They would never stack up.

She was sooooooo close. The coil in belly was pulled tight. She wasn’t even sure if she had been panting or breathless at this point. She remembered trying to buck her hips in time with his fingers (wait, he added some??) but he still held her hips still. But the moment his mouth clamped down on her nub she was gone. Literally and figuratively. That was it.

 The shower turned off and she heard the sound a towel being wrapped… She was scared. She figured she might as well check herself into a mental institution… That or AA. She knew she had issues. She shivered in revulsion pulling the cover up to her breasts and closed her eyes when the bathroom door opened in the hallway.

“Kagome?”

Th-that voice… She dared peek and… it really was him. He was standing there, wrapped in a towel hanging from his hips, hair dripping from the shower, concerned eyes on her. She threw the sheet off, stumbled out of bed, and jumped to embrace him. He caught her easily and held her close as she sobbed into his chest brokenly weeping his name. He started to stroke her hair then picked up her and carried her back to the bed. They remained like that for some time until she finally calmed down.

“I-I’m sorry, Kagome.”

“What?” she asked as she lifted her head from his chest.

“I said I’m sorry… I… I took advantage of you…” his ears were flat on his head and he trembled slightly.

“Inuyasha, what do you mean?”

“I let you talk me into going further than I had planned on. I knew you were drunk and I tried to stop, I tried to stop you, but you were so persistent and I—I missed you so much, your scent was driving my instincts wild and—”

“Inuyasha,” she pressed a hand to cup his cheek which he leaned into. “I wasn’t—I didn’t—uhm…honestly I’m embarrassed to say I don’t remember everything from last night. But I know you wouldn’t have taken advantage of me. I actually have never been with anyone before and the fact I was so desperate in the parts I do remember, I’m not surprised I made us have sex,” he opened his mouth but she pressed a finger to it. “Wait, I want to finish. The parts I do remember I know you made me feel alive, for the first time in years. Just like when we traveled together. I’m not sorry last night happened. I love you so much, Inuyasha. I always wanted to be with you. I had been waiting for you, trying to find you since the well closed. I-I just hope… you’d be willing to do it again while I am sober and that I didn’t ruin our chances at that...”

He nipped her finger lightly and she squeaked and pulled it back blushing like mad. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but…” she braced herself for him to tell her he regretted last night and that there would be no repeat. She couldn’t have said she would have blamed him. She had been stupid. She shouldn’t have been that drunk. She was seriously going to start a sober streak after today. Hopefully she could win him back…

“We actually didn’t have sex.” She blinked. Twice. Did she hear that right? They…did not? But why was…

“Why don’t you tell me what the last thing you remember, Kagome.”

“Uhm… you-you had just finished, uhm—” she blushed like mad, just remembering what his tongue had made her feel heated her up. She noticed he stiffened beneath her, sniffing the air, and he growled sexily. She tried to swallow but before she could, he had her pinned underneath him, lips pressed to hers hotly. She moaned from the contact and let his tongue enter her mouth while she used hers to reacquaint herself with those fangs. He pulled away and started kissing down her jaw rumbling deep in his chest as she struggled to breathe. Her body was in flames. Clearly, she was always going to burn with him. She was so hot, so needy, she had never wanted anything more than his mouth to go lower. She wanted to jump into the flames with him.

“Let me—refresh—your memory—Ka—Go—Me,” he said brokenly as he kissed all down her chest and took her nipple in his mouth. She mewled, gasped, moaned, she had no control her body or the sounds it produced for him. The alcohol had not been a source of fuel—her body and mind apparently craved him so much that any touch would send her over the edge. But she had zero cares about being so wanton because it seemed like it just egged him on more. She arched herself into his mouth and massaged his ears as he thoroughly refreshed her memory. After each of her breasts for fully loved, bitten, suckled, he continued his quest south. He knelt to the ground between her legs allowing the towel to drop as he gave her a teasing lick. Her hands latched onto his head, entwining her fingers in his hair while she moaned his name.

“Oh Gods, Inuyashaaaaaa!” her hips rocked in rhythm with his tongue, she was aching. Yes, she had this pleasure last night, but at that moment, she knew she would never get enough from him. Ever.

He pushed two fingers into her folds and started pumping in and out of her while the other hand reached up and started to knead her breast. His mouth found purchase on her sensitive nub and she about lost it right there with a desperate cry until he drew back—damnit!!! He’s a fucking tease!!!

“We stopped right after you came last night. You more or less passed out mumbling not to leave you again… Let me tell you something right now, wench…” he started pumping his fingers faster, harder, making her cry from pleasure but still not enough to release for him. “I have no intention of ever letting you out of my life again. We were born for each other, Kagome. I waited five-hundred years for this moment; and I was not going to mark you while you drunk out of your fucking mind. But Gods, did I want to, I’m struggling for control now.”

“Th-Then stop—take me—pleaseeeeee—ahhhhhh! Inu-Inuyasha please!”

“Don’t gotta ask twice,” he smirked his mouth engulfed around her jewel and sucked hard. She came hard crying out loudly, soaking his fingers and the edge of her bed. She didn’t get a moment to recover as he rose to his feet and steered her fully on the mattress then climbed over her. Their mouths locked and her legs swung and wrapped themselves around his hips while her arms swathed his shoulders. He lined himself up at her entrance but paused.

“Inuyashaaaa—” she whined pathetically.

“Do… you do know this is a ‘forever’ kind of thing…right? Demons, we don’t just go and do this with anybody… We either need to sire an heir…or we plan on mating forever. I won’t be able to stop my inner demon if we start Kagome—it has been screaming since last night to take you. Claim you. But—I know as a human, you need to know, that you will watch your friends die. Your family. Time will become almost nonexistent… Are you sure this is what you want? I—I am just so thankful to have you back. I want anything you want.”

“Inuyasha… if I’m with you, I will always be whole. I will never regret this decision. Four years was enough for me to know I could never be without you. I want to be with you… Always,” she reached up to cup his face and pulled him down for a tender kiss.  As their lips were locked, he pushed forward gently. She felt herself slowly being stretched but it felt so amazing to feel this complete, it overrode the slight pain and discomfort. She was so wet, it made it easy for him to slide in. She suspected he was restraining himself to not just shove himself fully in her. Or this felt completely overbearingly amazing. His face was pleasure ridden she couldn’t tell one reason from the other.

He rested his forehead against hers once he was fully sheathed in her. He was likely trying to control himself, but she refused to have any of that. She needed him. All of him. Demon, Human, Half. That wall of disbelief was shattered last night and almost lurked its ugly head back again when she had woken up—she was vulnerable and demanded to be filled by Inuyasha. This was real. He had come for her.

She bucked her hips causing them both to gasp and moan out their pleasure. He took his cue and began slowly driving into her. She met him thrust for thrust—encouraging him to go faster, deeper, harder. He gritted her name through clenched teeth, his fangs elongating. She reassured him by cupping his face then slowly moving her hands to stroke his ears. His growl vibrated her to the core, and he began to plunge in deeper and faster. She could barely keep her eyes open let alone not grasp his ears tightly; before she could have harmed his little furry appendages, she dropped her hands onto his shoulders, stabbing him with her blunt nails, no longer able to match his pace. She was just along for the ride and this was the best roller coaster she had ever rode.

She was mewling, crying out his name and probably a God or two, begging for more. She was so close. So close. She heard him cuss under his breath and opened her eyes see his purple strips present on his cheeks. She felt his claws prick her hips. He had finally lost whatever battle he had within himself. But his amber eyes shined through.

“I-I’m close, Kagome.”

“Me-Me too! Ah! God!”

“When I release, I’m going to mark you. Here—” he dropped his head and licked the junction of her shoulder and neck and pulled back up to make eye contact.

“Okay—Inu-Inuyashaaa, pleaseee…”

“Yea, Kagome? What do you want? What do you neeeed?” he purred.

She couldn’t articulate what she really needed—but she knew what she wanted. She knew one way to finish them both. She looked up to make sure he was watching as she let go of one of his shoulders and dropped her hand to rub her overly stimulated nub. He sucked in a breath and almost closed his eyes, but he looked too entranced to look away. His thrusts became harder and he resumed his previous pace before having paused to tell her about the mark. She cried out his name as her coil snapped, her core seized around him, pulling him in, trying not to let him go, milking him for all he had.

He roared her name as he came pulling her up to his mouth and bit down. She whimpered in pain but didn’t fight him. She wanted this. Craved this closeness. Absorbed his demonic aura into her body happily without hesitation.

He pulled his fangs from her first and swabbed the blood with his tongue then pulled out of her slowly. He released her hips and lowered himself back down to the bed gently next to her. She immediately closed the gap clambering to rest her head on his chest. He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her pulling her body close, leaving his hand on her bottom, stroking it gently.

“So… if we didn’t have sex last night…” she peered up to look him in the eyes. He placed a pillow under him so he was elevated so he could look down into her eyes with ease.

“We didn’t. I would have never take advantage of you when you were that far gone. Marking you and having explain everything after? Yea, if the beads still worked, I would have been sat to Berlin.”

“No, I wouldn’t have been mad, but—why was I sore between my legs when I woke up?”

“You were sore… Oh! I forgot! You wiggled your way out of my hold last night complaining about having to pee and you fell hard straddling the toilet. I came in but you shoed me out… I waited outside the door only to hear you fall in the shower—you’re lucky you didn’t bust your head open.”

“OH… God…” she covered her face with her hands. “Why you would still want me to mate with me after last night?”

“Kagome, when you came up those stairs you reeked of liquor and sadness, all I wanted to do was make the pain stop. Jiro said for the month you’ve lived here all you’ve done is drink yourself to sleep or cry. He said you refused to open-up and he didn’t want to push you in fear you wouldn’t let him learn who you really were. After hearing about your nightmares and everything else, it tore me up to know this was how you had been living… I thought it was best you decide on a future for yourself; I didn’t realize how much you would suffer alone like I had though, and I’m so sorry. I understood why you had been drinking the way you had.”

“Inuyasha, you didn’t know. It’s ok. We’re together now. That’s all that—wait a minute, how do you know Jiro?”

“You really don’t see it?”

“That he kind of looks like Miroku? Yes, I do. But I didn’t…how…I know you’ve lived for hundreds of years… I just have so many questions! What are you doing now? What—what happened from then to… now?”

“The short version is Sesshomaru and I run a technology cooperation together, he’s still Lord of the freaking West, regions are still divided into four. Two jackasses run East and South that I try to refrain from every having to interact with and Koga is head of the North. He mated Ayame, have a giant pack of little nasty flea-bags—” she elbowed him in the chest and he rolled his eyes. “We’re fine now. He’s mated. He actually doesn’t know I have been lookin’ for you. I can’t wait to see his face.”

“But he’s with Ayame now. Why would he be upset?”

“That dumbass wolf, even though he is mated to Ayame and is a loyal mate, has never given up looking for you. He still cared about you. Yes, he has grown to love Ayame and would never abandon her, but he was convinced I let you die… never heard the end of it. All this shit about he would have never allowed that to happen, how I let you down… not that he isn’t a total moron for thinking that but…”

She reached up and cupped his face and he kissed the inside of her palm. She crawled her way to lay on top of him and took his lips with hers. It was slow, loving, patient kiss. She tried to convey all her emotions, gratitude, love, longing, anything she felt to show how there was no anger or grudge she could have held.  Slowly the kiss turned more sensual, not that she was trying to start anything again, but Inuyasha was there, lying beneath her, naked, and she was fairly certain she felt a certain piece of anatomy poking her thighs. His wrapped his arms around her back slowly rubbing up and down until his hands found purchase on her ass and squeezed. He slowly rubbed himself on her and she moaned into his mouth allowing his tongue to reacquaint itself with her taste. She felt herself growing warm again and pulled away slightly gazing into his eyes. He stared back at her with all the love she had ever dreamed he would have for her.

Still breathing raggedly, she pressed as she started using her hips to aid his hands in their little dance of rubbing her core on his length, “What else?”

“Hahaha… you would be a talker… Sess’ and Rin mated when she was eighteen, I—we have three bratty nieces and one asshole nephew.”

She dipped her face to lick his nipple causing his breath to get caught in his throat, “Shippo?”

“Shippo is mated to some fox demon he met at the that stupid inn we went to. They’ve been mated for about three hundred years… Couple kids. Technically our grandkids—adopted—fuck Kagome—” She had bit his neck and started kissing up his jaw to his mouth again.

“I-I know they’re gone… but what about…”

“Miroku and Sango lived long full lives. Eight kids. Lech wasn’t exaggerating about wanting a big family. Kirara actually lives with me for now; she was traveling to each descendant of Miroku and Sango for a while. She still will visit them here and there—but they usually come to visit us because it’s easier that way. Family reunion shit. Ugh,” he grabbed her hips to steady her a bit. She knew she was teasing him, but to be fair, she owed him from keeping her so on edge last night and this morning. “J-Jiro is one of them, probably the closest to their original heirs—the story is passed down in the family and they just refer to me as ‘uncle’. J—God damnit you’re trying to kill me—” her hands were rubbing the base of his ears and she was dipping her wet opening just at the tip of him. She was impressed he was still talking as coherently as he was, but he was speaking extremely fast.

“I’m sorry? You got cut off… what about Jiro?” she smirked with another twist of her hips almost letting him in fully.

“Son of a—if this is the punishment I have to have, I guess I’ll take it,” he smirked back at her as he reached one hand between them and grabbed her mounds, fingers dancing before twisting and pinching her nipple. Her breath caught as he chuckled, “Jiro runs a dojo his family started years ago we helped fund. He technically works for me and we are as close as the monk and I were. He said he saw the pictures we took put up in your apartment yesterday and finally put two and two together—” he moved his over hand and started rubbing her jewel. She moaned and finally couldn’t take anymore torture and pushed back letting him be sheathed within her. He remained still for her to adjust—both panting having endured what seemed like hours of teasing. She finally tested to see what it be like to move forward and push back. HOLY. FUCK. RIGHT. THERE.

He sat up and she immediately grasped his shoulder raising herself up to push herself back down and didn’t expect to feel him thrust up. She gasped and withered from the sensation. She was already almost there. He was so hard she imagined he probably was too. But she didn’t care. She would’ve rode him all day. They had years of catching up to do. She remembered she was off all weekend too and mentally did a happy dance as she bounced up and down literally on his cock.

“Do that again,” he said huskily.

“Wh-what?”

“Touch yourself. I want to feel you,” he whispered into her ear, licking the shell and grabbing the lobe in his teeth.

She didn’t falter her pace and did as she was told. He leaned down and took her nipple in his mouth sucking, nibbling. She froze and crashed down on to him crying her release, trembling, holding onto him as she tried to ground herself. She felt like she was soaring through the skies like they used to do—traveling on his back. Free, carefree, just enjoying the scenery.  Together.

His hands on her hips guided her to lie back as he resumed their previous pace as she came down from her high. His mouth found her mark and re-pierced it with his fangs, sucking hard on her skin.

“Fuck!! INUYASHAAAAA—” she was already restrung ready to snap again when she felt him stiffen and grumble her name as he growled loudly letting himself go causing her to wail as she felt her walls crash down on his length buried within her. He crashed down on top of her, completely spent, head resting on her chest as she languidly brought her arms around him.

She was exhausted. She felt sleep edging its way faster and faster through her consciousness but she wouldn’t allow it to claim her yet. Four years. Over five hundred for him. She needed to be with him. She didn’t want the connection to be broken just yet. She swallowed and softly asked, “How are you here…? I mean, why haven’t I been able to sense any demons? It sounds like there are plenty around here…”

“Mmmmm,” he reached one arm up tilting his head to find the strand of hair his hand began to twirl through. “We have charms. Like the fuyoheki Naraku used. Made it easier to be less noticeable; blend in and have less trouble amounting power. The demon council that had been established knew we couldn’t keep killing humans who would wage war on us, and humans would never fully accept us. We often had to change identities, move to different countries for awhile until people who knew us and would have realized we didn’t age passed, but all in all it hasn’t been too hard to amount wealth and stuff. Make life more comfortable.”

“You never… you never took another mate?”

“Never found one I loved. You were always in my heart Kagome. Don’t be mad, but I did try. I really did because I knew you expect me to; but no one ever came close to how I felt about you. I told you for demons sex is just—different. Even though I am only half, my demon half refused to allow us to go around fucking anyone who gave me any attention. It only desired you. It knew you would be back… My human half recognized that too. My love for you made me refuse to move on…I also felt no need to sire any descendants of my own. I had Shippo. Adopted or not, he is our son.”

“I’m so sorry you spent all these centuries alone… It—it’s all my—” Inuyasha leaned up and took her lips to cut her off.

“Shut up. You won’t let me apologize for making you wait, then you aren’t allowed to blame yourself for being my mate.” She blushed hotly and averted eye contact. “Shippo is probably going shit himself when I tell him I found you.”

“What does he do now?”

“He’s actually a teacher—Chemistry. You know. Has a thing for burning shit and all,” he winked at her causing her to giggle.

Her phone began chirping from the living room. She groaned and patted his shoulder to move. He jumped off the bed after a quick peck to her temple, grabbed the phone and returned to lay by her side instantly. She had to blink to realize he had even actually moved before looking at the caller id. “MOM” it read. She answered, “Hello?”

“Kagome! I’ve been trying to reach you all evening! Are you ok? Your friends said you disappeared at the bar and they weren’t able to reach you either! Jiro didn’t answer his phone and someone has come by looking for you twice at the shrine! He wouldn’t say who he was, only that he was a friend! What is going on??”

“Mom, mom, calm down. I’m ok. I’m great actually.”

“Kagome—you had us so worried! We thought something happened to you!”

“Mom—I’m really fine. I promise. I—”

“Kagome this behavior has to stop! I’ve let it go long enough but—”

Inuyasha grabbed the phone from Kagome, “Mrs. Higurashi?”

“—enough—You! You were at my house yesterday!”

“Yea, I found her.”

“Kagome!!!!”

“Owwwwww—not so loud. Hurts the damn ears.” Kagome grabbed the phone back shaking her head at him and massaged the abused appendage.

“Mom, he is a friend… Well, more than that actually,” Inuyasha snaked the arm his head wasn’t propped up on around her waist.

“What do you mean Kagome? You said you haven’t been seeing anyone since you came back from the Feudal Era! Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

“Mom, I didn’t lie. He found me. Yesterday. It’s Inuyasha,” he lowered himself to rest his head on her chest again as she stroked his ears.

“Kagome—Are—Are you sure??”

“Doggy ears and all,” she said with a giggle flicking the said appendage making him growl in annoyance.

“Oh my gosh! That’s wonderful news Kagome! So, when will you be getting married and giving me grandchildren? OH! Will they have his ears?!? Are you coming over tonight for dinner still?? Bring him!! I can’t wait to actually see him again without that disguise he was wearing!”

Inuyasha nodded yes to the question on Kagome’s tongue, “Uh—yes, we will be there tonight.”

“Ok my darling, have fun!” she could literally hear the smirk and wink from the phone. “Be safe—no grandchildren until after you’re married!”

“MOTHER!”

“Love you!” she heard a click and held the phone away from her. Completely mortified. Inuyasha snickered in response.

“Keep laughing dog-boy and you won’t have to worry about kids,” looking at her multiple missed calls and texts and quickly responding without being totally forthcoming to her friends.

“Right, as if you could hold out on me—don’t forget who had to be the one to tell you no,” his mouth engulfing her breast.

She sucked in her breath and shifted her hips a little, “Ah! Mk, you’re right.”

“Besides, not to be gross, but I can smell when you’re in heat.”

“That’s not surprising; if anything, it explains why you act the way you would. Extra moody and pushing me to go home because I was ‘bothering’ you,” she smirked realizing it wasn’t actually a lie. “Oh, the girls want to go out again tonight. They want to know who finally ‘met my standards’... But I think I’m gonna pass…”

He rolled his eyes as he trailed kisses up to her collar bone, neck stopping to lave her mark again, then made his way to her lips.

“We should go after dinner with your family,” he breathed on her lips.

“W-We? Y-You wanna go to a club? Really? But—I didn’t think you’d—”

“Keh, I think you forget I’ve lived five-hundred years since we last saw each other. My nieces, while they can kick anyone’s asses, all enjoy that scene. ‘Someone’ said one of us has to watch them. Protective Uncle is better than Asshole Dad. I’ll warn the fucks, Sess would just kill them. Also, not to make you jealous, but enough women I dated wanted to do that kind of shit… But there’s only one person I ever wanted to grind on,” he winked as he came back down to smoother her in kisses as she giggled.

“Uhm… Ok. I guess we can go. I’m sorry in advance if they bring Hojo.”

He laughed, “I’d actually love to kick that scrawny fuck’s ass if he tries anything while I’m there. But,” he started to rub his hands along her body, lingered on her curves and then settled for massaging circles in between her folds, “Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to Ka-Go-Me?”

She groaned internally. How could someone invoke such intense feelings out of a person? How could he make her so desperate with barely any effort?? After being fully dated multiple times already.

“College. Sucky roommate. Friends still pushy. Graduated. Nurse,” she informed through each kiss exchanged with their as he teased her.

“Heh, impatient are we?” he smirked down at her as she was already breathless. He leaned closer to her ear and whispered, “Why don’t we go shower together this time and then get breakfast?”

She nodded vigorously and he laughed as he edged off her allowing her to the lead the way…

 At dinner, Inuyasha filled her family in on his five-hundred years between when he saw Kagome last to now. He apparently worked for Takashasi Enterprises and was directly under Sesshomaru as the COO. His identity was currently Yashiko Takahashi and went by “Yash”. She recognized the name immediately and was shocked how well-known he had been and she never realized it was him. But he told her that had been the point. He couldn’t risk his younger self ever catching whiff of him and his presence. He was, up until four years ago, opening the new branch of their company in Berlin to avoid them.

He had an apartment near where his work was but also owned properties around the world. He maintained his human disguise originally until Sota and her mother begged to see his ears again. It all had been so surreal… He was really there—eating dinner with them again, holding her hand under the table, he had given her his old haori when they stopped at his place to change before dinner, and she had decided to wear it over her cocktail dress she picked to wear for when they went to the club again. She realized she had never been happier. More complete. As she looked into Inuyasha’s eyes, her mate, her life, she realized the feeling was mutual.

  Still debating on maybe a part 2? Epilogue? We will see