#when i got the news i was so disoriented i ran to my room and crouched and when i came back i wanted to scream

[vanteguccir]

Petals of death | Matt Sturniolo | Part 2

Matt Sturniolo x reader

Summary: The Hanahaki Disease is a rare illness where the patient throws up and coughs flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. In order to fully recover from the disease, it's necessary that the one they're in love with fall in love with them too. Or to fall in love with somebody else.

Warning: Stomachaches, lung aches, nauseas, mentions of one-sided love. ANGST, with a happy ending.

Author's note: That is my work, I DON'T authorize any plagiarism! | English isn't my first language, so I'm sorry if there's any grammar error.

Part 1

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Y/N woke up the next day with a ray of sunlight filtering through the small slit in the black-out curtain that was left open, bathing the room in a soft, comforting light. For a moment, she felt disoriented, but soon, the familiarity of her surroundings enveloped her mind, reminding herself of where she was and the events of the previous night. A shiver ran through her body due to the vivid memories of the attack.

The girl sighed, closing her eyes and lazily stretching out on the mattress, feeling genuinely rested for the first time in what seemed like months, a sense of peace and security enveloping her body.

Deciding to face the day in a different way, Y/N got out of bed carefully. She swept her eyes around the room, noticing that Matt was no longer there, the muffled sound of cutlery echoing from the kitchen alerting her to his presence there.

The girl walked slowly towards the kitchen, where the tempting aroma of freshly brewed coffee greeted her, her eyes finding Matt, who had his back turned to her, fiddling with some items on the counter between the sink and the stove, probably preparing breakfast.

"Good morning." Her voice came out in a shy whisper, her arms crossing around her torso and a small smile forming on her lips.

"Oh my God, you scared me." Matt brought his hand to his chest, just above his heart, as his body quickly turned to face her.

"Sorry." A nasal laugh escaped Y/N's, her palms momentarily rubbing the sides of her thighs, wiping her sweaty palms on her pajamas pants.

"Come, sit down." The brunette pointed to one of the chairs around the central table with his chin, turning back to his initial task.

Y/N slowly walked towards the table, her eyes traveling through the kitchen and living room quickly, thanking mentally that Chris and his girlfriend weren't there, probably in his own room. A feeling of nausea rose from the pit of her stomach at the possibility, making her shake her head quickly, shaking off the haunting thoughts.

Matt brought the girl a steaming mug of coffee, accompanied by a small plate with two slices of toast and butter, placing them gently in front of her seat.

"Here's your breakfast." He smiled childish, a gleam of amusement in his eyes as his hands made jazzy gestures towards the itens.

"Thank you, kind sir." Y/N let out a low laugh, taking a small bite of her toast. "Wow, what are you, Auguste Gusteau?"

Matt smiled at her joke, a red blush coloring his cheeks.

"Oh, I try." He shrugged, pretending to throw his fake long hair back, eliciting a new laugh from the girl.

As they enjoyed breakfast in comfortable silence, Y/N couldn't help but remember the heartfelt confession Matt had made the night before when he thought she was asleep. Her mind flashed back to the soft words he had murmured, expressing his true feelings.

Her eyes stared at the bottom of her plate as her mouth chewed on the small pieces of toast, weighing the possibilities.

"Matt." She called in a whisper, watching the boy, who looked up from his bowl, chewing the milk and cereal mixture slowly, a small "hm?" escaping from his throat. "Would you like to go out today? With me?"

Matt's eyes widened slightly in surprise, his jaw stopping its movements instantly, swallowing abruptly the entire contents.

"Sure!" His voice sounded high-pitched. "I mean, sure." He nodded using a more casual tone, smiling sheepishly. "What do you want to do?"

"Can we go to that amusement park we passed in front last week?" The girl proposed, looking at him with expectation written in her eyes.

"Of course! Let's go then." Matt nodded quickly, rising from his chair and taking the empty plate in front of her along with his bowl of cereal, putting them in the sink.

"Wait! Now?" She widened her eyes in surprise, placing her coffee mug on the wooden surface again, her mouth opening slightly.

"Uh, yeah... I mean, only if you want." The brunette added, turning on the sink tap and starting to wash the dirty dishes, avoiding looking at the girl behind him, feeling the skin of his face burn with embarrassment.

"Okay."

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Y/N knocked twice lightly on Nick's bedroom door with her closed fist before slowly opening it. Her eyes traveled around the room, finding Nick sitting at his computer desk, probably still editing the podcast or writing a new script for the next video.

"Hey Nick." She smiled, closing the door behind her back.

"Look who decided to show up." Nick replied in an amused tone, looking up from his computer screen to take a look at her. "Did you get any rest?"

"Yeah, I had a little attack earlier in the night, but Matt helped me." She walked slowly to the boy's closet, opening it and running her hands through the ones she left there.

"Do you want to stay here with me today? I still need to finish this." The boy asked, turning his eyes back to the screen in front of him as his hands lightly adjusted the headphone around his neck.

"Well, Matt and I are going out today." She confessed, trying to sound casual, keeping her eyes fixed on the clothes.

Nick froze momentarily, his hands hovering above the keyboard as his mind seemed to work fast. It wasn't at all unusual for Matt and Y/N to hang out - even though Nick was almost always with them - but at that moment, he could feel a hint of something different behind her sentence.

"Is that so?" He asked suggestively, with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Where are you guys going?"

She blushed slightly, feeling shyness at the situation, an air of confusion and excitement surrounding her mind.

"To the amusement park." The girl shrugged, selecting the pieces she would wear and finally turning to Nick.

"Hey, that's great! Have fun." The brunette smiled genuinely at her, the meaning behind his words echoing through the walls of the room.

"I will, Nick... I will."

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The sun shone in the blue sky as Y/N and Matt walked from the parking lot towards the amusement park, their hands almost touching from their proximity. Y/N's heart beating wildly in her chest, a mixture of nervousness and hope filling her heart.

The sound of laughter and lively music echoed in the air, creating an atmosphere of excitement and joy around them, along with the delicious smell of food and the sight of colorful lights flashing everywhere.

Y/N felt enveloped by the magical atmosphere automatically, trying to push away the intrusive thoughts about Chris that persisted in haunting her mind.

Matt noticed her momentary hesitation, even if it was almost disguised, his right hand landing gently on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He asked, worried about her distant look. "If you want, we can leave-"

"No! No, it's okay." She smiled small, shaking her head, trying to dispel his worries. "I'm fine. Just a little nervous, that's all..."

Matt smiled, his expression softening with understanding.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen... I'm here with you." His voice sounded calm and comforting.

Their eyes met momentarily, pupils fixed on each other, and the world seemed to pause its rotation. All the fear and nausea that Y/N felt seemed to dissipate. A small smile grew on her face when she saw Matt move his eyebrows slightly, with an amused glow that tried to convey some kind of reassurance to the girl.

Y/N looked away seconds later, finally able to observe every detail around them carefully.

"Wow." She opened her lips slightly, her eyes moving quickly without knowing exactly where to look at. It had been so long since she had done something like that.

Matt smiled, watching her delighted expression for a few more seconds before finally taking his eyes off her, feeling his heart speed up.

"Where do you want to start?"

The two decided to start with a roller coaster, and while they waited in line, Matt kept a light and relaxed conversation, helping Y/N to relax little by little, her anxiety slowly decreasing as they shared laughs and hidden glances.

When it was finally their turn, they boarded the cart, a mixture of fear and excitement coursing through Matt's veins as Y/N felt more than ready, the adrenaline would serve her well at that moment.

Screams were shared as Matt raised his arms like a child, and Y/N let out loud laughter, their hair mixing against the wind.

The rides were complete, and soon, they disembarked. Y/N felt euphoric, a rush of adrenaline coursing through her body as she bounced with each step, quick words escaping her lips, explaining every sensation she felt.

Matt observed her with a wide smile, his eyes shining with his excitement and his heart warming immensely. He felt his hands tingling, silently begging him to pull her into a kiss.

As the day progressed, they continued exploring the park, enjoying all the attractions it had to offer while eating sweets and, on Matt's side, gaining teddy bears on the little games, giving them all to the girl.

Despite the doubts and fears that still hovered in her mind, Y/N was able to relax and forget about her illness for a few hours.

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In the days following their "date" at the amusement park, Y/N and Matt continued to get closer in a different way more and more. Matt showed his affection in many ways, through small gestures and acts of service that did not go unnoticed by the girl.

In one morning that she had slept at the triplets' house again, after a significantly difficult night of meltdowns, Y/N woke up on Nick's bedroom with a mug of hot cappuccino on the bedside table next to her side, prepared by Matt before she even woke up, along with a small pink post-it containing a heart and a small "good morning" written by a glittery pen.

During other days, they shared laughs and lively conversations, Matt always there to listen and support the girl through Hanahaki's ups and downs.

Y/N lost count of how many times he accompanied her back to her own home, and there he would help her with simple tasks, such as folding clothes or making dinner for her, demonstrating his care and attention in every small gesture.

At night, before bed, when she decided to spend the night with Matt, the boy would tuck her into his arms, offering comfort and security while she drifted off to sleep. His touches were soft and comforting, conveying a sense of peace that made her feel loved and protected, something she never thought she would feel.

Over time, Y/N began to notice these subtle signs of affection, recognizing Matt's love and dedication in a new and profound way that slowly cut the thorns from the roses in her lungs, showering them with a secret passion.

At first, the girl resisted, fearing that the love she knew was growing in her own heart for the boy would only fuel her illness, but as Matt enveloped her in his warmth, she began to blossom in a different way.

Her heart, once a devastated field of withered petals, now opened like a flower blooming in the sun. Hanahaki's flowers began to slowly wither, replaced by a new type of flowering: that of required love.

Every moment shared between the two was a blessing, a relief from the pain that had consumed Y/N for so many weeks. Matt's soft touches and gentle words healed the wounds that Chris had caused, even if unconsciously.

It was just another peaceful night that the two spent together at the triplets' house. Matt and Y/N enjoyed their favorite food delivered by a delivery service while watching a movie that had recently been released on Netflix.

The proximity of their bodies on the soft couch made the girl's heart beat fast in her chest, the tension increasing with each passing second as her mind created millions of scenarios of how she could even open up to him.

Matt gave her a worried look, noticing her stillness.

"Are you okay?" He asked after swallowing the bite he was chewing of the fast food, his voice soft and full of concern.

Y/N turned her head to him quickly, frowning before nodding, feeling nervous.

"Yes, I'm fine... Actually, there's something I need to tell you." She admitted slowly, her voice shaking with anticipation.

Matt stopped his movements, resting the burger in his hands on the box it came in, focusing all his attention on the girl, his blue eyes brimming with curiosity.

"I actually need to tell you something, too." The boy muttered with a playful smile on his face.

"You can... you can go first." She asked, raising her right hand and pointing towards his chest momentarily, clearing her throat awkwardly.

Matt took a deep breath, pressing his lips into a thin line as he gathered the courage to finally express his feelings while looking into her open eyes.

"You know, we've known each other for so long, right? And from the first moment, my heart hasn't stopped beating faster than normal whenever I'm with you." Matt said cautiously, watching her reactions carefully. "And then I found out that you were hurt badly because of my brother... I swear my heart broke into a thousand pieces, and I realized how much you really meant to me. I remember the exact moment it happened. You were so pretty-" He interrupted his sentence, widening his eyes. "Not that you don't look pretty now, you definitely do, you always look pretty, stunning even-"

"Matt, you're rambling." Y/N interrupted him in a whisper, feeling her face burn with shyness.

"I'm sorry! What I'm trying to say is..." He hesitated, taking a deep breath and reaching out his right hand, taking Y/N's one, tracing her knuckles gently with his thumb.

Y/N's breathing seemed to catch, her heart beating so hard she felt like she could hear it in her ears, goosebumps traveling up her arms as her eyes focused on their intertwined hands.

“I love you, Y/N.”

Y/N's chest bloomed in a good way. She felt as if all the roots and branches within her lungs retracted until they became dust, finally feeling as if she could breathe again.

"Matt, I... I love you too."

"You do?" The boy's voice came out at a higher volume than previously used, his posture straightening up and his fingers squeezing Y/N's hand in an involuntary act of nervousness.

"I do. You know, I've been thinking a lot about us lately, and..." She began with a deep breath, her eyes meeting his, her heart warming almost automatically upon seeing his dilated pupils holding so much love. "I thought I would never be happy again... that I would be doomed to suffocate on the petals of my own disaster forever."

She paused, catching her bottom lip between her teeth.

"But then you started helping me along with Nick, and every gesture of care, every word of affirmation and every comforting touch made me feel loved in a way I never even imagined I would feel one day." She continued, her eyes shining with the intensity of words. "This is so cliché, but you showed me that I could be loved by someone."

"How did you...?"

"I heard you talking about how you felt about me in that night that I slept in your room and had that crisis in the bathroom." The girl said, watching Matt's eyes widen momentarily as a reddish hue took over his milky skin, an embarrassed smile spreading across his cheeks.

"I didn't know you were awake." He let out a breathy laugh, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand.

"I know you didn't." Y/N smiled teasingly. "Why don't you give me that kiss now, huh?"

Matt rolled his eyes at her advance, bringing his upper body closer to hers slowly, resting his weight on the back of the couch with his free hand.

Their gaze met momentarily while their breaths intertwined in a synchronized rhythm. The soft touch of hands still together sending a pulsing electricity through their bodies, while their hearts beat in unison.

A shy smile plays on Matt's lips, a mix of nervousness and anticipation hanging in the air. Then, without wasting time, the boy moves forward, touching her lips in a soft and passionate kiss.

A wave of heat and ecstasy washes over them, every cell in their bodies vibrating with the intensity of the moment. They lose themselves in each other's sweet taste. Their once joined hands now travel through their bodies freely, exploring waists, hips, and shoulders.

The world around seems to disappear, leaving only the feeling of their closeness to each other, as if they were the only two beings in the universe.

The sound of the house's front door opening and closing seconds later seems to wake them up, their tongues separating from the addictive dance as their bodies snuggle against the couch upholstery again.

Y/N's cheeks burned with love and shyness while she felt like her heart wanted to jump out of her chests and probably intertwine itself with his. Matt took a deep breath, a completely goofy smile resting on his face as his blue eyes carried a dazed look.

They felt like teenagers again.

The figure of Chris climbing the last few steps of the stairs with his girlfriend behind him appeared in their vision. Matt swallowed hard, ready to help the girl next to him if a crisis came. Despite her earlier confession, he couldn't help but feel insecure that there was still some remnant of love for his brother within her heart.

But the crisis never came.

Y/N briefly greeted the couple, smiling truthful at the sight of them crossing the room towards the stairs that led to Chris bedroom, before looking at Matt again. Her left hand reached for his one, intertwining their fingers before lightly squeezing them three times.

I love you.

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My asks are always open. My requests are closed at the moment since I have many to work in, but you can always send questions or simply talk to me 🩷💋

And remember to treat people with kindness always!

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[emeraldborealis]

You Never Left

Pairing: Captain John 'Soap' MacTavish x GN!reader

TW//CW: Angst, mention of torture, reader is held captive, blood, hallucinations, gender neutral pronouns but use of lass/lassie, no use of y/n, my attempts of writing a Scottish accent.

A/N: My first time writing COD, an entry for @glitterypirateduck 's SoapItUp challenge.

Prompts used: 14. I've been looking for you. 10. I won't let anything happen to you. 20. Just a little more. 11. I'll take care of you.

Part Two

Words: 2,490

The fan blades incessantly spun above you, cutting out the only source of light in the room, plunging you into total darkness before bathing you in blinding light over and over again, moving at a speed that your eyes could never fully adjust to the light or the darkness.

It was proving to slowly drive you insane. A way to keep your senses constantly disoriented.

You'd lost track of how long you'd been stuck here, sometimes unsure if you were even still alive or if even the grim reaper had forgotten to come collect you.

The only indicator you had that you were even still a person was the cool metal of the chair you were tied to, and the grounding pain of the rope tied too tight biting into your raw wrists.

Pain, constant pain of some kind was all you could even feel.

It wasn't supposed to be like this, it was a simple recon mission, supposed to have been an in and out thing, but everything had gone horribly wrong, bad mission intel, and trusted the wrong sources.

And when push came to shove you were left behind to save the rest of the team, a necessary loss.

The sound of footsteps approaching didn't elicit fear in you like it had once, it was nothing but the announcement of more pain.

It didn't matter anymore, eventually you'd die from the beatings, the dehydration, the starvation, the rats were placing bets on which would come first so they could nibble on your corpse, waste not want not.

A tingling sensation ran up your spine at the sound of the heavy metal door creaking open, two men walking in.

"C'mon lass, chin up. Don't give them the satisfaction of ye giving up." A familiar phantom of a voice rang in your ears, but he wasn't here. Not really. Still, the echo of falsities gave you strength. The desperation to truly hear that voice again.

"Not dead yet, are we?" A forceful grip grabbed your chin, tilting your head up. The sudden movement puts spots in your vision, the taste of blood strong in your throat and mouth. "Hand me that rag." Your captor spoke to his companion, who quickly supplied the rag.

"Here you go sir." You didn't recognize this man, he was younger, probably new, fresh out of whatever training a terrorist group like this gives their soldiers.

"Let's get you cleaned up, your soft face is being obstructed by all this blood of yours." Your captor spit on the rag and got to work roughly wiping under your broken nose, making you wince. "Hush, I'm taking good care of you, if you handle this well maybe I'll even reset your nose properly."

You didn't say anything, you didn't have anything to say. You knew the routine, he'd come in here, beat you within an inch of your life, leave you for a few days then come back acting sweet, just to clean you up in the roughest way possible.

"Sir, why do we even keep them?" The new guy asked a bit meekly, blinking his eyes weirdly, clearly getting annoyed by the fan blades too.

"Just what the higher ups want, they think they have intel. So don't question it." He hissed at the younger boy, rubbing with the scratchy dirty rag at a cut on your cheek, somewhere the skin had split open from one of his punches. The bone was probably fractured, it definitely needed stitches or butterfly bandages.

You had to fight yourself from blacking out, the pain almost blinding with the way he was assaulting already searing wounds. "Stay wi' me." John urged, his voice nothing short of a command, spoken in his harsh captain voice.

"This is your own fault, remember that. If you hadn't tried to escape, things would be better for you right now." Your captor taunted you, holding your cheek and rubbing your cut with his calloused thumb, picking away any remaining scabbing the rag didn't remove to keep you bleeding.

Keep the wound from healing and closing.

Truthfully it was foolish to try and escape, the echoes of the memory replaying in your mind like a drum, the patter of your bare feet running on the cold harsh ground of the hallways, not knowing where to even run, which way was the exit, relying solely on the voice of John guiding you.

"No' that way." He'd warned, the strange shadow of him blocking the way down a hallway. "Go that way." He'd pointed another way, and you'd followed, listened.

Each step you took sent another wave of pain through you, but you'd persisted. "Stop." John spoke directly into your ear, making you halt, hearing a set of footsteps you previously hadn't before.

They were coming your way, you couldn't turn around. You were out of options. "Run, go. Noo." And you'd listened, putting every ounce of yourself into your shaky sore legs, running like mad in the way you'd hoped was the exit.

And it was.

You'd made it an entirety of five steps out and away before being tackled and dragged back inside, you'd screamed your vocal cords to shreds, screamed until you'd tasted iron in your lungs. But the pain in your throat didn't compare to the punishment you'd gotten for your attempt of escape.

"Where did you think you'd go? I mean really. Your team left you a long time ago, remember? They abandoned you, saw you as less than and tried to save themselves. They aren't ever going to come back for you. You're going to die here." Your captor reminded you, patting your head, snapping you back to the present.

Maybe he was right, you were going to die here. They weren't coming back for you. You were never going to make it out of here. You knew that from the beginning.

But yet you kept pushing, being told to hold on, being called back from the brink of death by the only ounce of hope you had left, your Johnny. He'd shown up at some point after your capture, probably the result of one too many punches to your fragile face.

"We'll be back later, try and think real hard about what we want from you, if you just tell us what we want, I promise to make your end painless, no more of this. You won't have to see my face again." Your captor pulled away, proposing the idea of death as a tender mercy. Maybe it would be. "Remember who left you here, loyalty means nothing when they're the reason you're here."

He made a point, but even still. You wouldn't talk, because they never really left you. John- Johnny, was still here with you.

Dozing off events from your early capture would replay in your mind, the bumpy blind rides you'd been on with a sack over your head, being moved locations several times before ending up in what your captor liked to call your 'tomb'.

You didn't know how long it was waiting for your captor to come back, hours, maybe days. He liked to leave you in anticipation.

But he never came back.

The sounds of gunfire and explosions sounded like nothing but another distant memory.

The sound of the heavy metal door creaking open would always bring a chill up your spine, something trained and beaten into you, to fear that sound.

You didn't care to look up, too much exhaustion and dehydration weighing your head down, you knew who it was. He'd move your head for you to force you to look at him. "I've been looking fur ye."

The sound of his voice, his actual voice, brought your bloodshot eyes to wander up to the door, landing on your captain who was already directly in front of you, kneeling to cut your binds around your feet.

Your eyes desperately raked over him, the scar on his cheek, the curve of his nose, the stubble on his face, his ears you liked to nibble on in secret, his Adam's apple, his broad shoulders.

Back up to his blue eyes, the blue eyes you'd looked into so often you'd memorized each fleck of lighter blues against darker blues, something so beautiful that you'd never been able to put them into words. You drank all of him in.

"Are you real?" Your voice croaked out, sounding hoarse and shaky, it was barely recognizable as your voice, but the pain that accompanied it proved to you that it was indeed your voice who asked.

"Aye, aye lassie, I'm real." The state of you made him take pause, pressing his forehead to yours, gently holding the nape of your neck to bring you closer to him. He needed to acknowledge for just a moment you were alive before he moved behind you to cut the rest of your binds.

The ropes holding you to the chair were all that were keeping you up, when they were cut you were released, he had to rush to catch you before you could hit the floor. "Easy. I got ye. I won't let anything happen to ye." Holding your shoulders he moved around you to face you again, pulling his canteen out for you. He brought it to your cracked, dry lips to give you some water, careful not to drown you all at once. "I'm getting ye out o' here."

Once he was satisfied with the small amount you drank he grabbed you by the arm, hauling you over his shoulder to carry you out.

Everything was a bit hazy, the whole way out, you could identify the sounds of your other teammates voices, the sounds of the helicopter, a prick in your arm, and coolness spreading in your veins, but nothing was clear. Nothing but the fact you were safe.

Things didn't become clear until you were opening your eyes, hearing an irritable beeping sound, a steady rhythm. Looking down at yourself your wrists were bandaged, two IV's in your right arm, one in your hand, the other on the inside of your elbow.

"Yer awake." A hand came to gently touch your head, coming in gentle contact with one of the bandages there.

Despite the fluids being brought back into you through the IV's your throat still ached with dryness, your captain seemed to take notice of it, quickly moving to bring you some water, gently holding a straw to your lips so you could drink.

The coolness of the water worked to both soothe your throat and highlight the pain there. You Pulled away but John didn't seem quite satisfied yet. "Just a wee bit more." He urged, and you complied.

After that some nurses and doctors came in to check on you, completing their rounds and making sure all was well with you and that you were comfortable, well, as comfortable as you could be.

John stayed the whole time, and after the nurses and doctors left he remained, a silence between you two.

He ran his hand over his mohawk, it was cut recently, a little shorter than the last time you saw it, a testament of just how long you really have been gone.

"I'm sorry, I never meant tae leave ye." His voice sounded a bit pained, trying to clear his guilty conscience.

"You never left. I always heard you, shadows all around me, prickles on the back of my neck. Your voice pushing me. Picking me up. When all the colors were black, you're the reason I'm still alive." It hurt to speak still, but you needed to get it out, it did little to comfort him, if anything making him look more worried.

"Love, I'm sorry. It shouldn't have been ye. Anyone but ye. Me. It should have been me. Not ye." He slipped from his chair, kneeling beside you, clutching your left hand with desperation, but gentle enough not to hurt you. He kissed your hand, over and over, each knuckle, each little mark, scar, bandaged blister, callous, everything.

It hurts to move your right arm with the IV's, not to mention the overwhelming weight of your bones. But you needed to, bringing your hand to gently rub his head, feeling his short hair, running along the slightly longer mohawk, grounding both of you with the sensation.

"It's not your fault. Everyone would have died if you stayed, it was a necessary sacrifice. A call I would have told you to make." Your hand slipped from his head, feeling too exhausted to be able to keep it there.

"I spent so many nights desperately searching fur ye. The only thing- the only thing that kept me going wis the thought of finding ye. I needed tae find you." Hearing his voice, really hearing his voice was something so grounding and comforting to you.

The familiar rumble and fluctuations, the Scottish accent that's mellowed out over the years of service, adjusting with hearing other's accents for so long, a lot of his slang being replaced by slang in the areas he spent time, his accent becoming a shell of what it used to be, changed so he could be easily understood. But ever present.

"You did, you found me. I'm okay. I'll be okay now." You had to say it out loud to reassure yourself that you weren't still tied to that cool metal chair, the fan blades spinning overhead, always waiting for the next dose of pain to bring you closer to the edge of blackness. Death.

Recovery sounded almost impossible, you were sure you'd never fully get over what happened to you, that the psychological as well as physical scars would always remain.

Taunt you with each flickering of light, the sound of metal, the taste of iron, each time you closed your eyes you were sure you'd see your captor, his interrogations and questions would always repeat like a broken record in your head.

But you yourself weren't broken, you made it through.

"I swear I'll never let ye go again, I'll take care of ye. Till my very last breath. I'll spend the rest of my life atoning for the pain I put ye through by leaving ye there." His words were spoken with absoluteness, a testimony more than a promise.

"Just never stop speaking to me and I'll be alright, as long as your voice is here to ground me I'll make it through." His blue eyes bore into you, they were soft, filled with longing.

It was so stupid to fall for your captain, not to mention against so many rules, even more stupid for him to fall for you too. There was only one way this could end, you were lucky this time. But who's to say you will be next time?

You shook the thought from your head, pulling him weakly with your left hand up to you, kissing him softly. He was hesitant at first, scared of hurting you, but he melted into it. Relishing having you back safe. 

[vintagenahbi]

When You’re Hurt

Ot7x Reader- BTS Reactions Pt.1

JHope, Suga, Jungkook

Summary: How each member reacts when you have been harmed or injured.

Warnings 🚨: Mentions of harm, accidents, and assault

Authors note: I won’t be writing for a while (a week or so). I am starting my new blog dedicated to poetry and positivity. I will keep this one as a random blog with an emphasis on my writing. Enjoy :)

JHope

I was in a rush this morning trying to make sure I wasn’t late for work again. I grabbed my tote bag and ran out the door. I clicked for the elevator to come up but it was taking forever. I glanced over to see the empty stairway. In a split decision I took the stairs. I ran down the first flight with no problems, it was the second that was a mistake. My tote got caught between my legs and I tripped flying down each step until I made it to the bottom.

I was in shock of what had happened. My body was completely sore. My work pants were torn up to my thigh. I had a cut on the palm of my hand and my cheek felt numb. I managed to prop myself up and limp back up the stairs.

I got back to my apartment and limped over to the couch. I shuffled through my pocket and grabbed my phone. The screen was shattered but I had to text my boss. I knew he wouldn’t believe me, but it didn’t hurt to try to save my job.

My body was in so much pain. I sat on the couch trying to figure out how I was going to get up and how I was going to explain this to Hobi. I managed to gain the strength to get up. I slowly walked into the bathroom. I turned on the light and was surprised to see my reflection in the mirror. I had a cut above my eyebrow, bruises on my arm, and a little bit of blood on my shirt.

I heard the front door open and panicked. Hobi wasn’t supposed to be home for another hour. I got undressed quickly and hopped in the shower. Once I got out, I grabbed one of Hobi’s sweat sets and headed back into the living room. Hobi was laying on the couch scrolling through his phone.

“Hey you.” I said trying not to sound or look suspicious. Hobi was surprised to see me.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

“I had an accident so I called out.”

He sat up from the couch and grabbed my shattered phone shaking it in the air. I got caught. Not to mention me standing up was not making me feel any better.

“I fell down the stairs.” I sat down next to him. I lifted my sleeve and showed him my bruises. He was freighted by how badly the fall was. It had gotten worse and the bruises were becoming more visible.

“We should go to the hospital to make sure you’re okay. This doesn’t look good Y/N.” He lifted my legs so I could lay down.

“Hobi I swear I am okay. I am a little sore is all.” I tried to sit up and winced in pain. Hobi hated that I was in pain like this. He got up and got me an ice pack. He placed it on my legs to help soothe the swelling.

The entire day Hobi watched over me. He made sure I was okay and ate. He tended to all my needs with gentleness.

When night time rolled around I was starting to feel a lot better. Hobi tucked me into bed and gave me a kiss on my forehead. I could tell something was still bothering him though. He got in on his side and sat in silence for a second.

“Why did you try to hide that you fell? Were you afraid I would judge you or something?” Hobi looked at me concerned.

“It was embarrassing, plus it was my last warning I had and this is how I might lose my job. I was ashamed.” Hobi snuggled next to me, letting me be the little spoon.

“I want you to be safe. Plus your boss is a jerk, so maybe this is a good thing.” I turned over to face him. His eyes darted up at my red cheeks and cut on my eyebrow. He kissed me. “Regardless, I will always be here for you especially in times of need.”

Suga

I woke up completely disoriented. I heard loud sirens make their way near me. I pushed the airbag down so I could see better. I crawled out the car and to the side of the road. My body went numb and I blacked out.

When I finally came to, I was in the hospital. Yoongi was holding my hand as if he had been waiting for a long time impatiently. Once he noticed I was up, he got up from his seat and started crying. He hugged me tightly but stopped once I winced in pain.

“I’m so glad you woke up.” Tears flowed down his cheeks. A painful image I couldn’t stand to see because seeing him cry made me cry. He let me go and sat back down.

“What happened Yoongi?” I was terrified. I looked around and could see I was in the hospital. My body was sore and my boyfriend was crying. I knew whatever happened must have been bad.

“You got into a car accident. The car flipped and when they found you, you were passed out on the side of the road. I thought I lost you.” I grabbed his hand in a poor attempt to comfort him. I couldn’t put my emotions into words. I couldn’t remember what happened and it was becoming too much.

Everyday Yoongi came to the hospital with some kind of gift. He made sure I kept my head on straight while my memory on the accident came back. He showered me with love and reminded me how beautiful I am. Since the accident, my face was banged up to the point that it was hard to look in the mirror. Yoongi made sure to uplift me when I couldn’t do it myself.

A week later, I was discharged from the hospital. Yoongi took a temporary leave of absence from tour to take care of me. He made sure I got into a routine. When I couldn’t sleep, he was up late with me. He drove me everywhere until I got comfortable with the idea of being back behind the wheel.

Yoongi was fixing us dinner when he finally opened up. He put the bowl in front on me and sat down. I still had some bruising but it had gotten a lot better. Yoongi stared at me for a second before he mustered up the courage to speak.

“I could’ve lost you Y/N. I can’t live a life without you. I love you and seeing you like that broke me.” Tears started to form in his eyes.

“Yoongi.” Was all I could say at first. I couldn’t see him hurt more from my suffering. “I am always going to be here. Yoongi you are my home and I will always fight for that.” He kissed my hand. I grabbed my napkin and dried my tears. I smiled at him and started eating dinner. I was so glad that after everything Yoongi was the one by my side.

Jung Kook

Jungkook and I were in the middle on an intense argument. We had never gotten to the point of yelling at each other or me feeling like I needed to get away from him.

“Y/N stop acting this way. I’m tired of you getting upset over little things.” I looked at him appalled.

“This wasn’t little to me. I asked you to be there for a reason. We had this planned in advance. It was important to me.” Jungkook stood there with nothing left to say. I grabbed my phone and hurriedly walked out of the apartment. I ran out the building with Jungkook following behind.

It was raining outside but I didn’t care. My clothes were drenched and I could hear Jungkook yelling for me in the back. Luckily, there weren’t that many people on the street. We were not causing too much of a scene.

I stopped to cross the street. Jungkook caught up to me and grabbed my arm. I ripped my arm away from him. I looked both ways and crossed the street not saying a word to him. Suddenly, I heard my name. I looked and was blinded by headlights.

I landed on the ground. My body was completely numb. Jungkook swooped me up in his arms and held me. He kept yelling for someone to get help. I looked at him and started to cry from the pain. Jungkook wiped my tears away. I was trying my hardest not to panic but for all I knew this could be the end.

“I’m gonna get help okay?” Jungkook was about to leave but I pleaded for him to stay with me. I didn’t want to have to be left alone. I could feel my body getting weaker. Jungkook held me tightly in his arms. He shuffled trying to keep his composure. “Y/N, please stay awake.” He gently tapped my face, but I was too tired.

When I came to I was in the ambulance. Jungkook was holding my hand. I pulled it on my stomach so he would know I was okay. Once he noticed, I could see relief fill his body. He knew I was going to be okay and I knew he was never going to abandon me.

[flightlessangelwings]

Ktober 2023 Day 23- CNC

Will Miller x fem!reader

Word count- 1.6k

Warnings- s.mut (18+ ONLY!), consensual noncon, rough sex, bondage, knife play, crops, pussy slapping, creampie, aftercare, reader wears a dress, no use of y/n

Notes- This has been in my wip list for literally like 2 years but I never had more than vibes before now lol. I had a lot of fun writing this tho so I hope y'all like reading it11 Prompt list made by me! Enjoy!

@flightlessangelwings-updates is myupdate blog so please follow that too and turn on post notifs to stay up to date on my new fics!

~

“Will? Hey I’m hom…” you were cut off with a hand to your mouth and you struggled against the strong grip that held you in place.

“Don’t scream,” a familiar voice whispered in your ear. He squeezed your arm three times, the signal that meant you were safe.

You whimpered in a warm hand as you reached for his arm and returned the motion, signaling you were good to continue. Will placed a soft kiss on the side of your head before he snapped back into character.

“You’re coming with me,” he growled in your ear as he pushed you inside.

Any cries you let out were muffled by Will’s hand over your mouth, and you fought your hardest against him. Yet, despite your best efforts, he was stronger than you no matter how much you tried to break free. But, as he yanked you into your shared living room, your eyes went wide when you saw the lone chair in the middle of the space, with cuffs and various toys right next to it.

He planned it to happen today.

“Sit still,” he grunted in a low tone as he shoved you into the chair.

You huffed as you tried to take the opportunity to dart away, not wanting to make things too easy for him. It wouldn’t be as fun otherwise. And for a split second, you thought you were going to get away, but Will’s reflexes were honed, and he launched himself after you, grabbing your wrist and yanking you back towards the chair.

With a yelp, you landed hard on the simple chair that Will set up in the middle of the room, and for a moment you were disoriented. He took the opportunity to quickly tie your wrists to the arms of the chair, and before you got your senses back, he bound your ankles to the legs, leaving you trapped and helpless. 

Heavy pants escaped your lips as you looked up at him with a pleading expression. Your breasts rose and fell with your breaths as you tried to free yourself, only to find that Will was also an expert in binding, and he tied the knots extra tight. He stood back for a moment to admire his work.

“Perfect,” he purred as he eyed you up and down.

“Let me go,” you protested as you thrashed yourself around.

“I don’t think so,” he tisked as he grabbed your shoulders and forced you to sit still. Leaning forward, he savored the fight you had in your eyes. And it only turned him on more that you were trying your best to make it harder for him.

Will’s eyes trailed down your figure, and he let out a sharp exhale when he saw you wore the dress he told you to that morning before you left. It was a simple dress, and short so that your thighs were exposed as you were bound to the chair.

“Please,” you whimpered. 

He smirked, “I like it when you beg,” his tone was low as he reached into his pocket for something.

Your eyes went wide when he pulled out his pocket knife and flipped it open, hovering it over your body, “Beg some more.”

A shiver ran up your spine as you let out a moan involuntarily. Swallowing hard, you spoke in a shaky tone, “Please… Don’t hurt me,” you eyed the knife in his hand.

Will’s eyes darkened as he brought the knife closer to you and slid it under the hem of your dress. With just a growl, he grabbed your dress to pull it tight before he sliced it open in one clean slice. Precise and calculated, just like him, WIll ripped your dress to expose you to him. He let out a low rumble as his gaze raked over your body, landing on your pussy. And he could see how soaked you were through your panties.

Reading his thoughts, you let out a desperate plea as you struggled in your restraints, “No… Please…”

Without another word, he shimmied the knife under your panties, careful not to actually cause you any harm and sliced it open just as easily as he did your dress. His cock twitched in his pants as he let out another growl as his eyes landed on your pussy.

You whimpered as you tried to close your legs, only to find they were tied to the chair, forcing them open.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” he stepped back and picked up something, keeping his voice level despite how turned on he was, “I’m going to use this,” WIll held up the crop, “And you’re going to count the number of times I smack that gorgeous pussy.”

You swallowed hard and looked at him in defiance, “What if I don’t?”

Will landed a hard smack on your pussy without warning, causing you to scream loudly. He groaned at the sound you made. “I can go harder if you want to be difficult.”

You whimpered as you let out a few shaky breaths. A few long, tense moments passed before you spoke again, “One.”

WIll grinned darkly, “Good girl.” He smacked your pussy with the crop again.

“...Two.”

Smack.

“Th…ree.”

On the outside, Will Miller was calm, cool and collected as he continued to smack your pussy hard with the crop. Every time you counted, his cock strained more and more in his pants, however, and it became harder for him to keep his composure. With every smack, the tip of the crop became more soaked from how turned on you were. 

He made it all the way to ten before he snapped. As tears filled your eyes and you let out soft whines, Will lost it. He threw the crop aside and pounced on you. A feral growl rumbled in his chest as he ripped the binds off of your limbs and shoved you to the ground. 

Too disoriented from the assault on your pussy, you barely even processed that you were suddenly on the floor. The cold on your skin barely registered in your mind, and neither did the fact that you were free. You couldn’t even try to run away this time, though, not even when Will grabbed you and flipped you over onto your back. 

“I’m going to take what I want now,” Will groaned as he quickly freed his cock and lined himself up with your pussy.

Your eyes went wide as your brain finally caught up with your situation. You tried to scrabble away, but WIll pinned you down, and in one swift movement, he thrust himself into you completely.

A gasp escaped your mouth as it dropped open in a silent scream at the intrusion. Tears fell from your eyes as you laid helpless on the floor while Will pounded into you with everything he had. He groaned an incoherent string of curses as he thrust into you over and over again, feeling your warm tightness engulf him.

“S-stop… Please…” you whined.

“No,” he growled, “You’re mine now, beautiful.”

Something about him using an affectionate term while pounding into you harshly made you moan. The thickness of his cock burned slightly, especially after he smacked your pussy hard, but that pain only added to your pleasure. You stayed in the moment though, and cried and begged for him to stop while he thrust into you.

Will grabbed your wrists and pinned them to the ground, holding you in place while he rocked into you faster. He groaned as he started to give in to his own pleasure while you screamed and cried underneath him. Then, Will felt your inner muscles clench around him and your moan hit a different pitch.

“You going to cum on my cock, gorgeous?” he asked with a teasing laugh, “Going to cum for me even if you don’t want to?”

“N-no,” you hissed through gritted teeth.

“You say ‘no,’” he teased, “But I think this pussy,” Will thrust into you hard, burying himself to the brim inside you, “Says ‘yes.’”

“No, please…” you whined as tears continued to fall as Will resumed his thrusts.

But, you were helpless against him, and as he pounded into you, WIll hit that sweet spot deep inside you and it didn’t take much longer for you to cum against your will. You tried to fight it off, but your body trembled and you cried out before you could stop it.

“That’s it,” he purred, “Are you ready for me to cum in you now?”

“No!” you gasped as your eyes shot open.

“Fill you up?” Will continued, ignoring your protests.

“No…” you repeated in a weaker voice.

Will groaned as he pumped himself into your pussy a few more times until his own climax hit. He growled as he covered you with his body as he emptied his cock into you, filling you up even more. You laid helpless underneath him, forced to take what he gave you until he was spent.

Together, the two of you laid on the floor in a sweaty mess. Heavy breaths filled the room as the two of you came down from your highs. After a moment, Will pushed himself onto his elbows and covered your face in soft, tender kisses.

“You alright, sweetheart?” he asked in a soft voice, “I didn’t actually hurt you, did i?”

“No,” you replied in a whisper, “That,” you sighed, “Was fucking amazing.”

Will smiled at you, “It was,” he cupped your face, “You did so well, sweetheart,” he looked at you with an affectionate gaze before he leaned in and kissed you deeply, “Come on, let me take care of you now,” he hissed as he slowly pulled out of you, “Thanks for trusting me, baby.”

You smiled as you let yourself fall into his arms, “I always trust you, Will,” you hummed contently, “Thank you for indulging me with this,” you added with a laugh.

He joined your laughter, “Anything for you, sweetheart,” he kissed you gently, “Anything for you.”

[writingsonsaturn]

lucy taking care of sick reader!!!

lucy and r aren’t dating yet, but they aren’t just friends either. when r doesn’t come into work one day, and no one (besides grey) has heard from her, lucy goes straight to her house when she goes out on patrol. she stops in throughout the day after finding out that r is like beyond sick.

maybe a little scene where r lays her head in lucy’s lap and lucy run her hands through readers hairrrrrr oh my

lovesick - lucy chen

{ masterlist }

🪐: im still trying to find my writing style, so hopefully this is okay and fits what you wanted!! <3

word count: 982

content warning: sickness (flu like), just fluff

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

You woke up with a throbbing head and a clogged up nose. Originally, you thought you could power through it and suck it up long enough to finish a shift, but the moment you stood upright your world became disoriented. 

Doing your best to breath through the dizziness, you reached over for your phone to call into work. Grey practically pleaded with you to stay home when you mentioned you would come into work if you needed to, “you have more than enough sick days, use them and keep your ass out of my station.” You just sighed and agreed, saying your goodbyes when he wished you to get better soon.

Without much thought to it you passed back out on your warm comfy bed, hoping sleep would rid you of the constant pain your brain was forcing you to endure.

Lucy checked her watch when she got in, thinking maybe you were just late or had been caught in some early morning traffic. As the time ticked away she decided maybe it would be best to text you, and when she didn't get an answer her thoughts ran around her head like an athlete competing in a race that would determine if they go farther into their season. 

She opted to check in on you when she was out on patrol, getting into her squad car and making you her first check up of the day, praying to whatever could hear her that you were there and okay.

Pulling up to your apartment she felt a ping in her chest, she wasn’t sure why she was so worried about you. You guys weren't exactly a couple, but the others would argue that you two were basically already married, you both would laugh it off and call the team crazy, still continuing the narrative that you two were just ‘friends”. 

Lucy knew better than that though, she knew you were the first person she called when she was having a rough night and needed a warm bed to share with someone, you were the first she told about good news, you are the only person she truly, and deeply loved with every living and beating part of her body.

She grabbed the key you had given her for the nights she needed someone, after the Rosalind situation you forced her to promise you that no matter the time of night or day she would come over whenever she needed to. Lucy wouldn’t say she now abused the fact she had a key to your place, but it was used more than her own key to her apartment at this point.

“Y/n?” Lucy called out, she heard the faint sound of a groan coming from your bedroom, alerting her of your presents. “Hey, are you oka-” Her words were paused by the sight of you, your skin was shining with sweat and you were cramped in a fetal position. “My love, what happened?” she quickly came over to you touching your forehead, flinching at how warm it felt compared to her skin.

You only groaned and rolled over, “i really don't feel good luce.”

You tried your best to explain all your symptoms, but your scratchy throat only allowed for so much irritation before you were in a coughing fit. Lucy rubbed your back gently, doing her best to coax you through your attack, “Here let’s get you out of this stuffy room, and on the couch, yeah?” she encouraged. You nodded leisurely and threw your arm over her shoulder, allowing her to help you to your living room.

Quickly, Lucy put anything and everything you could possibly need besides the toilet in arms reach. “Before I leave, do you need absolutely anything else, babe?”  you only smiled at her with droopy eyelids, “No, but i wish you didn’t need to leave” you pouted at her causing her to smile. 

“Call me or text me if you need me, I'll be here in an instant.”

And then she was gone, you continued to pout until her next check up with you during lunch. “Okay, love, i brought you some chicken noodle soup and some cough syrup” she set the soup in front of you with cold water and a pre-measured cap of medicine. “Thank you, love” you croaked out, “You don’t have to thank me” she replied while helping you get in an upright position so you could comfortably eat your food and take the disgusting medicine.

“I'll be back after my shift, and remember to call-” “call you if i need anything, i know, honey.” you finished her sentence, she left you with a quick kiss on your forehead.

After eating and forcing yourself to down the medicine you fell back asleep, you woke up a handful of times with the constant tossing and turning, and being too hot or too cold. You finally decided you had slept enough and reached for the tv remote, aimlessly flipping through channels.

You heard the door click and a smile began to grow on your face, “sorry i'm late! Traffic has been just awful today” Lucy explained, taking her shoes off and sitting her to-go bag on the counter. “It’s okay hon.” you looked at her as she sat down. 

“How are you feeling?” Lucy asked you, as you laid your head down on her lap looking up at her, “I've certainly been better” you joked. 

She reached her soft fingers to rake through your hair, massaging your scalp, aiding the headache that had been attacking your head all day long. “Well i'm here now, darling” she looked down at you, soothingly rubbing your forehead, lulling you to sleep. 

She gave herself an imaginary pat on the back at getting you to sleep so quickly, making a mental note that maybe when you get better she’ll finally take you on a long awaited date.

[teaberrii]

Chapter 9: Dinner for Two

After ending a five-year relationship, you pour all your energy into work. Your latest assignment? Staying at a popular bed-and-breakfast to gather information. It should be a piece of cake... If only the owner isn't the man you scolded on the street.

Jing Yuan/You

Chapter notes: Mention of suicide

Notes:

Cross-posted on Ao3

Female reader

Chapter index at the end of chapter one

You’re sitting in a chair in front of a mirror in a room at the back of Jingliu’s gym. She’s leaning close to you, meticulously doing your makeup in a way that you’ve never thought to do before. You usually stick with one style: natural. But this time, you have a slightly bolder look that makes you look like a princess who just stepped out of a novel. You look at Jingliu’s reflection, and your eyes meet hers when she also looks in the mirror.

Then, with a little smile, she says, “Are you curious? It’s okay to ask.”

“Well, um, your eye…”

Jingliu puts the brush on the vanity table and stands behind you, her hands on the back of your chair. “I was in an accident after the Global Games.”

“No…! No! What do you mean she’s blind? That can’t be! That—”

“Please, calm down.” A nurse tried to pry a distraught middle-aged woman away from the doctor.

The angry woman rudely shrugged the nurse away. “Answer me! She—”

“She’s only partially blind,” the doctor said as calmly as he could. “...She’s lucky that she’s alive.”

Jingliu, dressed in a hospital gown, had half of her head wrapped in bandages, including over one of her eyes. She was disoriented and confused when she woke up. It wasn’t until minutes later that she realized she was in a hospital. But she could still see it, still hear it. The sudden car that ran a red light. The sound of tires screeching, loud honking, and nearby screams.

It’d been painful, but she got out of bed and heard her mother outside. So, Jingliu slowly opened the door and limped out to hear what was going on.

“We’ll do more tests once she’s awake.”

“...Mom.”

Everyone turned, and Jingliu’s mother immediately walked up to her. “Jingliu! How… How are you feeling? When did you wake up?”

But, Jingliu only had one person on her mind. “...Where is he?” She said her boyfriend’s name. “Is he okay? I want to see him.”

Her mother looked down, and her face turned a little pale. “...He’s…”

That’s a moment Jingliu can never forget. Having won Gold at the Global Games in Wushu, her longtime boyfriend, one of her biggest supporters, had taken her out to celebrate. But the day turned tragic, and her road to recovery got worse when the rescue team found a ring in the crash.

Jingliu had gone unexpectedly quiet after she told you she’d been in an accident. You guess she’s reminded of that terrible day, and you’re about to change the subject when she says, “It’s been nearly over a decade since then, but it’s how I came back to Xianzhou. I grew up here, and… it was a safe place for me.”

“It's very different from the city. That’s to be expected, of course, but I do feel a strong sense of community. Everyone knows each other, it seems.”

“There are pros and cons. I’m sure the reason why you’re curious about my situation is because you heard someone talk about it.”

“You got me there.”

“Good news. Bad news. Whatever news… It travels fast.” Jingliu has a kind look in her eyes. “Just be careful of what you want people to be talking about.”

Her phone buzzes, and you watch her take it out. Her eyes scan whatever is on the screen before she puts it back into her pocket.

“Jing Yuan should be here any minute,” she says. Somehow, you doubt that message was from Jing Yuan. “Ready to go?”

As soon as you open the door and turn the corner, you see Jing Yuan talking with the brothers. His eyes immediately land on you. The brothers also turn, and Dan Feng lets out a low whistle.

“Not bad, not bad,” the older brother says.

Dan Heng nods. “You look good.”

Jingliu comes up behind you. “She does, doesn’t she?”

Jing Yuan walks up just as Jingilu leans against the counter. He leans over and whispers in your ear, “You look beautiful, as always.”

Your eyes meet his just as Jing Yuan leans upright. You keep your eyes on him and with a confident, little smile, you say, “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

“I guess we don’t get any compliments.”

Dan Heng gives his brother a deadpan look. “...Did you have to ruin the moment?”

“All right. Now, I’m going to have to kick all of you out,” Jingliu says. “It’s closing time, after all.”

You and Jing Yuan are alone in the car as it weaves through the town. The brothers, likely out of courtesy, are walking back to the bed and breakfast after grabbing takeout.

“Is Yanqing joining us for dinner?” you ask.

“Blade’s looking after him tonight.”

“O-oh, is he?”

Jing Yuan gives you a mischievous look. “Are you nervous?”

“About what?”

Suddenly, he takes your hand, and you immediately turn to him. “You tell me.”

You quietly scoff. “Hands on the wheel, General.” Yet, you don’t pull back.

The thought of his hands roaming your body sits in the back of Jing Yuan’s mind, but he refuses to entertain that.

“All right.” Jing Yuan puts both his hands on the wheel.

You chuckle. “Didn’t think you’d be that obedient.”

Then, before he can stop himself, he asks, “Should I not be?”

It’s for a second that your eyes meet, and you have to face forward as you feel your face warm. Jing Yuan pulls up to a small, cozy house that combines modern and traditional elements. There’s a single light at the end of the driveway, helping you see that the outside of the house is a warm colour mix of beige and brown.

After Jing Yuan parks the car in the garage, he opens the door for you leading into the house. You step in, and you smell freshly cooked food mixed with a little cedar.

“Is that chicken I smell?” you ask.

“Good guess.”

You follow Jing Yuan into the living room where you immediately notice the minimalistic design. There are a couple of ink paintings on the cream-coloured walls, a fireplace in a corner, two couches adjacent to each other, and a large light in the shape of a ball hanging from the ceiling. Once you’re in the dining room, you see two plates and utensils placed across from each other on a small, marble dining table.

“Would you like some wine?” Jing Yuan asks.

You sit at the table. “Sure.” When he comes back with a large bottle of red wine, you say, “I thought you were more of a beer kind of guy.”

Jing Yuan effortlessly opens the bottle with a corkscrew and fills your glass. “Wine is for special occasions.”

You look outside and see a little garden in the back. Jing Yuan brings in the food, and you immediately turn upon smelling something fresh out of the oven. There’s baked chicken breast sprinkled with basil, Salmon Bread, fried rice, and more.

“You prepared all of this in one day?” you ask in disbelief.

“I cook almost every day for Yanqing.” Jing Yuan sits across from you. “So, I’m usually prepared. I already had some of this prepared before I invited you over.”

You put a chicken breast on your plate and slice off a piece. After taking a bite, you nod in approval. “Not bad, General.”

“There’s also dessert,” Jing Yuan says. “So… Save some room.”

“Ooh, what’re we having for dessert?”

Jing Yuan puts an elbow on the table and slightly leans closer. “That’s a surprise.”

“Keepin’ secrets now, are we?”

“It’s a Xianzhou delicacy.”

“My expectations are even higher."

“You won’t be disappointed.”

You and Jing Yuan continue working away at the food, talking about whatever comes to mind. You learn that his parents are frequently overseas and he was raised by his grandmother until she passed when he was in high school.

“Was she the one who encouraged you to learn Wushu?” you ask.

“No, actually. I went to Jingliu myself.” You reach for the Salmon Bread, and Jing Yuan brings the plate closer to you.

"She told me that you showed up in scars and bruises..."

"I can still remember the look on her face when I did. That was right after I got jumped."

A young Jing Yuan was walking home with his nose in a book when he heard footsteps. He looked up and saw his bigger, male classmate step out from behind a building. Upon hearing something behind him, Jing Yuan turned and saw three more classmates walk up.

“...Would you leave her alone?”

Jing Yuan turned. “What are you talking about?”

Then, his classmate said a girl’s name. Jing Yuan knew her as the outgoing, popular girl in the other class. A lot of the guys liked her, but she only paid special attention to Jing Yuan.

“Stop trying to show off in front of her.” The kid walked until he was in front of him. “You’re an eyesore.”

Jing Yuan sighed. “Taking your jealousy out on me won’t do you any good. Rather, it makes you—” His eyes went wide as a hard punch to his gut caught him off guard. He doubled over and felt someone knock him to the ground from behind.

“Did they get punished?” you ask.

“I should’ve reported them. That would’ve been the logical thing to do. But…”

“You wanted to get back at them.”

“...That’s right."

Then, with an intrigued look, you ask, “Did you win the next time?”

“You aren't going to scold me?”

You shrug. “I agree you should’ve reported them, but… a little revenge doesn’t hurt.”

“Encouraging violence, are we?”

“Hey, stop twisting my words.”

Clink!

After taking a sip of your wine, you put your glass down. Jing Yuan does the same and says, “I did get my revenge, but everyone got hurt that day. That’s to be expected. After that, we never messed with each other again.”

“I’d say that’s a win.”

“...And what about you?”

“Me?” You chuckle. “Are you asking if I ever got into a fight at school? Not exactly.”

“Not exactly?”

Your lips form a neat line. “It was in university… when my ex and I just started dating.”

“You told me you two were just friends.”

You were sitting across from your friend, a girl whom you hadn’t spoken to since high school. You weren’t exactly close, but back then, you talked with her enough to consider her a friend. She’d ended up going to a different university in the city, so you two didn’t talk as much as much as you did. She texted you the night before, asking to have coffee and catch up as the semester was coming to an end.

“Well, we were,” you said.

“...But, you knew I liked him.”

That was true. You did. But nothing happened.

“That’s—”

“I thought we were friends.”

You frowned. “Did you tell him about how you felt?”

“...Not yet.”

“...Then, I don’t see what the problem is.”

She glared at you. “I didn’t even get a chance.”

You really didn’t want to say it, but… “If he did like you, we wouldn’t have happened.”

“A lot of drama started happening after that,” you say.

“...Do you mind if I ask why you two broke up?”

You finish the rest of the food on your plate. “We weren’t working anymore. Might be a little cliché, but we weren’t the same people anymore. We tried to make things work, but it wasn’t happening.” You glance at him. “...Do you mind if I ask what happened between you and your ex-wife?”

“Long story short… I wanted to do something different, but she wanted me to stay at my job. And… she also wanted another child when I didn’t.”

His wife came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a dress for bed. Yanqing was staying with his grandmother that weekend, leaving Jing Yuan and his wife to have some quality time together. His wife walked up and put her arms on his shoulders.

“...What're we doing tonight, Handsome?" 

Jing Yuan took her wrists and put them at her side. "Getting a good night's sleep."

Her shoulders fell. "Yanqing would love a sibling, you know."

"We've talked about this. Yanqing would love a sibling? Or, would you love to give him a sibling?”

She sighed. “Don’t you want to grow our family, Jing Yuan?”

He didn’t.

“...Let’s get some sleep.”

His wife stepped in front of him when he tried to turn off the lights. “Something is bothering you. Why won’t you talk to me?”

“I did.”

She crossed her arms. “It’s about that bed and breakfast fantasy of yours, isn’t it?”

Jing Yuan hated the way she put it. Fantasy? It was like she was mocking him.

“It’s not a fantasy,” Jing Yuan said flatly.

“You have a family.” She scoffed and sat on the bed. “It’s time to come back to reality, Jing Yuan.”

“I asked if you could give me a year. If nothing happens or I’m not successful, I’ll find a new job. You agreed. But now it seems like you’re going back on your word.”

"I'm not! I just... I still don't think it's a good idea. It's not safe, Jing Yuan. Do you understand?"

"I understand the risks. That's why I'm meeting you halfway." Jing Yuan sat next to her. “You wanted a child, and I agreed.”

She turned and put her hand on his cheek. “And now we have Yanqing. He’s our everything. Don’t you want to give him more?”

“What about your word?" When she said nothing, Jing Yuan continued, "You agreed, so I already put in my resignation letter.”

“...Already?!”

“My last day is the end of the month.”

“...She was livid,” Jing Yuan says.

“I’ve been curious… What made you want to open a bed and breakfast anyway? You were a Director at an IT company… That’s… I mean… That’s a position some people can only dream of.”

“There were questionable practices that I found out about when I was promoted. I was expected to be a part of that or else I’d lose my position.”

“Yikes…”

Jing Yuan nods. “I’ve always wanted to start a business. And since I didn’t want to stay there, I wanted to take a chance.”

“...Did your wife want you to stay? Even after you found out about the shady practices?”

“I told her about what I knew, and she encouraged me to stay.” Jing Yuan looks you in the eyes. “That was when she was still working at Star Rails.”

“...You shouldn’t leave.”

Jing Yuan was sitting on the couch adjacent to his wife. He’d just finished telling her about some of the questionable practices that he recently discovered and reasoned that a company wouldn’t last if they continued with their shady ways. Of course, Jing Yuan also didn’t want to end up in the crossfire, considering he was now in management.

“At least not until you find something else,” his wife continued.

"This is an opportunity. I want to open a bed and breakfast.”

It was written all over her face. Annoyance. Frustration. Anger. Every time he brought this up, she made it clear she wasn’t happy.

“Every company has some corruption going on,” his wife finally said. “It’s normal. It’s… It’s just how it is.” 

“...Is something wrong?”

His wife looked at him, and he saw her fidget. “Why are you asking?”

“It’s a hunch.” He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “Is something happening at work?”

She sighed. “No… It’s… It’s just that the project failed.” She turned to him. “Have you… heard anything from Caelus?”

“No. Why?”

“I figured he’d talked to you.” She picked up her tea. “After the project fell through, I thought he’d tell you about it.”

“I plan on meeting him in Xianzhou next month. I’m heading back to visit.”

She looked away again. “I see.” Then, she stood and walked into the kitchen.

“I… never saw Caelus,” Jing Yuan says. You look up from your soup. “By the time I got here, he… was gone.”

Gone? As in…

“The empty lot you saw,” Jing Yuan continues. “That was where his hotel used to be.”

“...What happened?”

Jing Yuan looks down. “He took his own life.” You almost drop your spoon. “After a full investigation, they ruled out any foul play.”

It takes you a moment to process this, but you finally say, “...I’m so sorry.”

A short pause.

“A year after that, my wife and I divorced.”

“That must’ve been a huge shock of... everything to the community.”

"It was. Rumours and speculations were flying everywhere, but there were quite a few people who were convinced Star Rails had something to do with what happened to Caelus."

“...Did your wife ever bring this up?”

“No. She was just as shocked as I was when she found out what happened.” The pause and the slight narrowing of his eyes make you think Jing Yuan has something more to say. “She stopped talking to me about her work after that. Eventually, she left and found a new job.”

A short silence followed as you and Jing Yuan finished the rest of the food. You and Jing Yuan are stacking the empty plates together when you say, "...This explains why everyone seems so hostile."

You help carry the empty dishes to the kitchen. You’re standing next to Jing Yuan as he says, “This is what I wanted to tell you this morning.” After washing his hands, he looks at you. “You’re suspicious that Star Rails is hiding something. I'm not sure whether it’s related to Caelus, but I suspect there's another reason why they sent you here.”

You sigh. “In other words… things aren’t as simple as they seem.” A short silence later, you ask, “What about you? Do you think Star Rails had something to do with what happened to Caelus?”

“I do.” You look him in the eyes, a little surprised at the honesty. He holds your gaze and says, “As I said, you aren’t the first person to visit.” You get a whiff of his cologne when he steps closer. He leans down until he’s at eye level with you. “...But you’re the first to question them.”

You put a hand on the counter beside you. “...But maybe the others did, you just didn’t know it.”

“On the contrary. One of them tried to convince me to enter a partnership with them. Another tried to poach some of my employees.”

“Looks like they all failed.”

“...So, I’m trying to keep my wits about me.” Your eyes land on his lips, and your breath catches in your throat. “And it looks like you’re trying to do the same.” Your eyes meet his, and you allow him to slowly cage you in against the counter. Then, in a low voice, he asks, “Do you still think I’m pretending?”

You could’ve kissed him. You wanted to, in fact. But, instead, you slightly lean forward, your hand underneath his chin. “And how do I know I’m not falling into one of your traps? Trying to seduce me… Helping me… Saying all of these sweet things.” You dare to lean closer. “What secrets are you after?”

“Whatever you’re willing to tell me.”

And then he kisses you.

His lips are softer than you imagined, needier than anything you’ve ever experienced. One of your hands finds his chest while the other snakes around him. Jing Yuan pulls you close with one hand in your hair and the other on the small of your back. Slow. Sensual. The way he takes your breath away and gives it back, teasing you with the sweet caresses of his tongue until you make it clear you’re ready for more.

Seconds pass. Minutes feel like hours. When your lips finally leave his, you have no sense of time or space. Your mind’s in a daze and your eyes can’t leave his. It’s then you realize that you’re sitting on the counter, and Jing Yuan is standing between your legs. It’s a blur how or when you got into this position, but you aren’t complaining.

“I never expected a kiss like that on a first date,” you say breathlessly.

“...Would you like more?”

“What about dessert?”

He unexpectedly claims your lips again. Then, with a small smile, he says, “I already had mine.” His voice goes slightly lower. “...Although I’m satisfied, I can always go for more.”

This time, it’s you who kisses him. But you pull back before he kisses you back. “...I still want my dessert, General.”

He helps you off the counter. “How can I say no?”

◆◆◆

Wearing a tank top and shorts, Dan Feng has a towel draped over his damp hair as he enters the living room. Dan Heng and Welt are watching a movie with a bowl of popcorn on the table.

“Where’s March?” Dan Feng asks.

“In her room,” Welt answers.

As the movie goes on, Dan Feng heads upstairs and gently knocks on March’s door. When there's no response, Dan Feng tries opening the door. It’s unlocked.

“March?”

He opens the door a little wider and sees March on the bed with her laptop. She has her earphones in and Dan Feng guesses she’s watching something by how intently she’s staring at her screen. As soon as she sees him, she pulls out her earphones and pushes her laptop screen downwards.

“Did you knock?”

“Yeah,” Dan Feng deadpans. “What are you doing up here? We’re watching a movie.”

“...I know. I said I didn’t want to join.”

“Why?”

March puts her laptop aside. “Why are you suddenly so curious?”

Dan Feng enters her room and sits in an empty chair. “Why are you suddenly so defensive?”

“Me? Defensive?”

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re jealous that your man, Jing Yuan, is going on a real date.” March throws a pillow at him, but Dan Feng catches it with ease. “Did I hit the mark?”

“I wish I had that much time on my hands to be concerned about his love life,” she deadpans.

“Then, what’s wrong?” Dan Feng tosses the pillow on the bed. “It’s not like you to miss out on movie night wherever we are.”

“I’m… I’ve been thinking about things.”

“Really? Shocking.” March shoots him a look, and Dan Feng returns it with a smile. “What about?”

“Nothing that concerns you.”

Dan Feng scoots the chair a little closer. “Seriously, March. What’s up?”

March gives him another look but sighs in defeat. “My old manager contacted me a few days ago.”

“...What did he want?”

“...He asked if I had any interest in coming back to the entertainment scene.”

Dan Feng narrows his eyes. “Why would he suddenly contact you?”

“I asked him the same question,” March says quietly. “Apparently, they’re creating an idol group.”

“And he wants you to be a part of it?”

“He said I fit with the image.”

Dan Feng crosses one leg over the other. “Now, that’s suspicious. Surely, there are other girls to pick from.” When March stays silent, Dan Feng leans closer. “...You’re thinking of doing it?”

“...You mean to become an idol? Not… exactly. But, I’ve been thinking of going back.”

“I’m sure you have your reasons, but you’d be going back to the same industry that destroyed you.”

March sighs. “Let’s not talk about it.”

“Listen…” She turns to Dan Feng as he awkwardly scratches the back of his head. “You know we’d want you to be happy”—he looks at her—“with whatever decision you make. We’re on your side.”

March holds his gaze before chuckling. Then, she puts Dan Feng in a headlock and says, “Trying to act cool, are you?”

“What?” Dan Feng gently pushes her away. Then, with a small huff, he stands and turns away. “That is the last time I'm trying to make you feel better.”

She laughs and gets off the bed. “Hey.” The serious tone makes Dan Feng turn to look at her. “...I appreciate it.”

Dan Feng puts a hand inside his pocket. “C’mon. Let’s go before they eat all the popcorn.”

◆◆◆

You’re looking at the paintings and photos in Jing Yuan’s living room as the man went to change. Halfway through having dessert, you’d somehow flustered him and the cream ended up on his shirt and pants.

There are quite a few photos of him and Yanqing. In one of them, Yanqing is wearing a soccer jersey and Jing Yuan has his arm around him while they’re smiling at the camera. Another is one of him and Yanqing camping at a lake. There are also photos with Blade, Luocha, and the other friends you’ve met at Xianzhou. However, there are two people who you don’t recognize: a man and a woman who can pass as twins. 

They’re wearing similar clothing, and there’s a photo of them with Yanqing when he was very young. You’re about to look closer when a phone goes off. It’s not yours, and you quickly realize it’s Jing Yuan that’s on the living room table. You ignore it, but when it continues and doesn’t stop, you can’t help but be curious who it is that seems desperate to get a hold of him. Eventually, you walk over and glance at the name on the screen.

It’s a woman’s name.

Then, you hear footsteps, and you turn and see Jing Yuan in a white and brown sweater and black pants coming down the stairs. “Is someone calling?” he asks.

“Yeah… They seem pretty persistent.” Jing Yuan walks over and picks up his phone from the table. His expression visibly changes, so you ask, “Who is it?”

After a small sigh, he says, “It’s my ex-wife.”

Chapter 10

Tag list: @suoshiii @lordbugs @lxry-chxn @seirenspinel @immahuman @queencybow @grimreapersscythe @nqctre @winterpein @asakenajustexistshere

[turbotaxevasion]

Trying my hand at writing a little drabble:

Robin is honestly quite glad that he has Cassie's number when the guy he got half a date with becomes possessed.

Based on this post by @chamiryokuroi , thank you Cham for answering my ask :) this was fun. 10/10 will ask again

The flash of a knife as it plunged deep into a tan chest. Shocked gasps and held breaths. Then…

The thrum of drums. The whistle of panpipes. Thick purple fog rolled through the crumbling remains of the warehouse.

Robin watched as the body on the stone altar rose, the distorted laughter of two voices in the singular body echoing in his ears. He watched as Bernard, the young man he had been on a date with not even 24 hours ago, opened his eyes to reveal glowing orange.

“Oh, how I missed having a body,” he drawled, the two voices distorting his words. “It has been a while since I’ve been given a proper sacrifice.” He chuckles darkly. “Ooh! This will be fun!”

Robin sighed before reaching into his utility belt and pulling out his phone. The blonde tilted his head as he watched the hero dial a number and put the device up to his ear.

“What are you doing?” the distorted voices asked.

The dial tone ended as the other side picked up with a click.

“Hey Cassie,” he began.

Orange eyes widened, black sclera on full display. “Wait. Wait!”

“What’s up, Rob? You rarely call from this number.”

Robin glanced over at Bernard, the current vessel of Dionysus, as he waved his borrowed hands.

“I’ll leave, promise! Just, please. Pick anybody else!” he begged.

Robin sighed again and rolled his eyes. “We’ve got a situation. Can you get to Gotham? Fast? Your uncle is in my b– uh, friend’s body.”

Cassie groans. “Damn, which one?”

“Dionysus.”

The man in Bernard’s body shrieks. “Don’t tell her that!”

“Can you help?” Robin asked.

“Yep, be over in two.”

“Minutes?”

A gust of wind blew past him as Cassie landed.

She smirked. “Seconds.”

Across the stone room, there was a groan and a flash as Bernard’s body split, separating him from the new consciousness invading his mind. Bernard stumbled to his knees. Robin ran over, helping the disoriented young man up. When he looked up, Bernard’s arm slung over his shoulder, Cassie was shouting at a young man with orange fringe and pointed teeth.

“I can’t believe you!” she screamed, dragging him away by the ear. “Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is having to drag your ass back to Olympus!?”

“Ow. Ow. OW! Lighten up on the ear!” the young man screeched.

Cassie growled as he whined. “You better hope that grandfather is nicer than I am.”

“No, wait–”

Cassie disappeared in a flash, taking Dionysus with her. Robin and Bernard watched, one much more aware than the other. Robin sighed, his back slouching. He looked at Bernard, who was looking around with confusion. He smiled lightly, face softening as the blonde tried to find… something. Robin wasn’t quite sure.

“Let’s get you home,” Robin told him.

“Wait wait!” Bernard cried, flailing in Robin’s hold.

Robin slumped as Bernard writhed. “Woah! What? What is it?”

“I just… Can you tell Tim… Tim Drake… that I wish we could’ve finished our date?”

Robin hoped he wasn’t blushing, feeling his throat tighten and his cheeks warm. “Uhm… Y-yeah. Of course. Though, you’ll probably get the opportunity to do it yourself…”

Bernard grinned. There was a glint in his eyes that Robin couldn’t quite place.”

“I sure hope so.”

Just a quick little brain dump. If you want to read some of my more polished works, check out my ao3

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Rudra, Hades, Posiden, Thor, and ( RoR )Lucifer switching bodies with their human spouse.

-Rudra- He felt so light, so tiny when he woke up, lifting a hand to his face and he instantly froze, seeing the small hand and thin wrist, shooting up to find himself in a woman’s body- your body!! He pulled back his top, seeing the breasts below and he quickly turned, seeing his body sleeping soundly before shaking it awake. You rubbed your eyes, “Good morning my love~” it was your normal greeting, but in his voice and you froze, looking at yourself before you looked down at your own hands, finding you had four of them now!! Rudra panicked, “This isn’t what I thought about when Aphrodite said she was going to help us know each other’s pleasure!!!” he saw a text flashing on his phone, sent from Aphrodite last night, ‘Once you both have your fun you’ll be back to normal.’  You and Rudra looked at each other, shocked before he shrugged, trying to pin you down but you were quick to roll him to his back, grinning down at him, enjoying his flushed face, “I’m on top this time my love~”

-Hades- Was fuming, sitting in your body, glaring darkly while you were sitting beside him, inspecting your new body in the situation you found yourselves in now. Aphrodite had overheard your conversation about how to spice things up in the bedroom and she offered to make it so you could feel each other’s pleasure, and you both agreed. This wasn’t what you meant, by her switching your bodies around. You smiled down at Hades, in your body, “She said it would wear off as soon as we have some fun. Shall we leave work a bit early today to handle this?” he scowled a bit, folding his arms under his chest, looking down as it pushed them up a bit before he grabbed them, “Are these always so heavy?” you laughed lightly, explaining that certain times of the month they hurt and he scowled, angry that you were in such pain. He relented in leaving for the day and you grinned, picking him up princess style, making him flush as it was supposed to be the other way around, “This is fun- I can see why you do it!”

-Poseidon- Disoriented after sleep, he got up and went to grab his trident, finding it not where he had left it on the side of his bed, arm waving around for a moment before his vision cleared, finding himself on your side of the bed. He sat up, yawning deeply, looking over at you, expecting to see you on his side and he froze, seeing his own body there. He looked down, seeing a pair of naked breasts and instantly shouted, “What the hell!?” you shot up, looking around, “What-what?” you looked over at him, seeing your body and you both drew a blank. Poseidon instantly stood, grabbing his phone and called Aphrodite, who was amused to hear your voice while you stood up and was admiring this new body in a mirror. He threw his phone across the room, coming over at you were flexing, “I’m so tall now! This is amazing!” he grinned at you joy, trying to manhandle you to the bed, “Aphrodite said she wanted us to try new things, and the only way to fix this is to make love to each other.” You pouted lightly, not wanting to give up this new body just yet before you were able to push him down easily, “Wait here! There’s something I want to do first!” you got dressed and ran out, shocking him, but you returned about fifteen minutes later, holding your stomach from laughing so hard. When he asked you what you had done as your stripped you just grinned, “Played a prank on Zeus, I ran to him and found him alone, so I hugged him and called him ‘my brother’. When he was standing in shock I told him that nobody would believe him before I ran back here.” Poseidon had a hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh, thinking that you were such a gremlin to do something like that.

-Thor- You were the first to notice, after you banged your head on the doorframe, holding your head, “That hurt!” you paused, that wasn’t your voice and you looked down, seeing Thor’s body instead of your own. You drew a blank, turning back to the bed and you saw your own body sitting up, asking you if you were okay. Thor, in your body, heard the sound and he instantly froze, seeing his own body across the room, holding his forehead in pain. He looked down, seeing your body before he looked back at you as you were holding your cheeks, acting just like you, “How did this happen?!” Loki heard the shouting and walked in, seeing you looking stone faced while Thor was panicking, like you had switched bodies and you covered Thor’s naked body like a maiden which made Loki laugh so hard he couldn’t breathe and felt like throwing up before you shoved him out and returned to Thor on your shared bed. Loki messaged you both a few minutes later that it was a common spell meant for pleasure, so you could feel each other’s pleasure, and as soon as it was over and you took a nap, you would be back to normal.

-Lucifer- He was groggy when he got up, stumbling to the bathroom to shower before he got ready for the day, leaving you in bed to sleep a bit longer. As he washed his body he instantly froze, feeling a pair of breasts on his chest and he looked down, letting out a cry of shock before his hands clapped over his mouth, hearing your voice. The bathroom door slammed open, revealing his body, “What happened?” you saw your body shower and you looked down, jaw dropping over as your hands came to cup your face, “What happened? Why are we in each other’s bodies?!” Lucifer came over, hugging you, but your arms barely fit around him as he pouted up at you, as you grabbed a towel to dry him off before you returned to his room, immediately going to his shelves of books, looking through several before he was able to confirm it was a minor body swapping spell and it was easy to reverse. He tried to snap his fingers, but then face palmed as he realized he wasn’t in his body, he had no magic, and you had no idea on how to make it work as you scratched your cheek lightly. He looked some more before snapping the book shut, “There is the old-fashioned way to change back! Y/N I need you to fuck me!” you flushed, holding your cheeks and Lucifer was dumbfounded, seeing himself look so bashful before he joined you on the bed.

Omake~ as soon as you wake up and discover you’re now a man you-

[whoreforhorror]

hello good morning/night :)

I really love your writing it's the best thing I've ever read :* if it's not too much trouble could you write for Bo Sinclair, Rusty Nail, Asa Emory, Otis Driftwood with dating a s/o who is a femme fatale?

Thank you very much for your time :) <3

Sorry this took so long to get to! My schedule is kicking my ass lol. Also, the best thing you’ve ever read?! Woah! Thanks for the huge complement! Hope you like this!

(Also, this hasn’t been checked for grammar or spelling so sorry for any mistakes. I’m finishing this up right after I got off from work)

Bo Sinclair, Rusty Nail, Asa Emory, and Otis Driftwood with a femme fatale S/O

Bo Sinclair:

Bo. Is. Obsessed. 

He’d been having you hide away in the house while tourists were in town, despite your protest. He didn’t want you to get hurt, and tourists were hard to predict if you hadn’t been doing this for a long time. Plus, he didn’t want to scare you off with the brutality of it all, but he’d rather tuck you away than tone it down.

A victim had gotten past Bo and ran upstairs to you and Bo’s room, where you had camped out for the day. The guy had a wild look in his eyes, and was absolutely feral. He didn’t even consider that you could have been a victim before he started charging at you, pocket knife in hand. You sidestepped, grabbing a picture frame and smashing it across his face. He charged at you again, unarmed hand holding his eye where a piece of glass cut him, causing you to kick him in the chest and send him toppling over the bed. Taking the knife while he was disoriented, you stabbed him in the middle of his throat, throwing him to the ground face-first and stomping on his head, sending the knife all the way through his throat and out the other side.

You were panting by the end of the ordeal, processing the sudden adrenaline spike as you stood over the victim. Vincent was going to have a bit more of a challenge with this one. A laugh drew your attention back to the doorway to the hall were Bo was leaning on the frame. He couldn’t keep his hands off of you after that. Safe to say he was positively elated to see just how capable you were, and you bet he intends on showing you just how your little show makes him feel.

From now on, you’re joining him in the shop while he works. He’ll let you bait in victims and take care of a few of them yourself. He loves teaming up with you to toy with victims before one of you puts them out of their misery. He’s also going to teach you about cars, if you’ll let him. He probably already was, but now that you can be there more often, there’s plenty of time to learn. It would make him beyond happy to have you working on cars with him, side by side.

If there’s any gun you don’t know how to shoot, he’s going to teach you. It’s a requirement. One day, he’ll get you a gun or a knife, whichever you prefer, and gift it to you. Might even get something engraved on it that’ll remind you of him. Maybe his name or something that he calls you. You better appreciate it, because it’s the closest thing to a wedding band you’re going to get without it seriously being a wedding band. 

Rusty Nail:

You’d been along for a delivery with Rusty when things went south.  A group of people had been messing with him over the CB, and Rusty had new victims in sight. He hadn’t meant to get you involved but here you both were.

One of the victims attacked you while Rusty was busy, and you were more than happy to take care of them. You took a length of chain that was laying nearby, whipping them with it several times before closing in and wrapping it around their throat, stinging them up over a pipe and watching them struggle for breath.

Rusty had heard the struggle, and looked over as he finished with his victim. Safe to say he was caught off guard by how brutally you dealt with them. He knew you weren’t soft in any regard, but this?

To see you there, watching as they died slowly, was so hot interesting. He’d had his reservations about you fully joining him in his escapades, but all of those washed away as you turned back to look at him with a smile, asking if he was alright. 

You’re officially his ride-along babe. Every drive you can go on, you’re joining him. 

He already likes the idea of having you with him, but having you with him AND helping him with his victims?! Sign him up!

He’ll push a few victims your way and watch how you take care of them, possibly setting up the scene if he hopes to see you do something in particular. Be cautious though, because eventually he’ll try to push you past your limits. You have to either hold firm on your boundaries or become a whole lot less caring about almost everything. 

It’s also a major turn-on of his to see you work. Once all is taken care of, you can imagine where things will lead.

Asa Emory:

You had been one of his victims, at first. He was takin with your intelligence and ability to find work-arounds to his various traps. Inevitably, you slipped up and he took you to the hotel, but not after a long, drawn out struggle.

True to your character thus far, you’d proven difficult to contain in your room and even more difficult to keep track of. Several times, you almost escaped, and one time you did. Not for long, but you’d made your impression regardless. You were his favorite, no matter how disobedient. Soon after your arrival, his attention was solely on you.

He started experimenting with your reaction to different traps and things of the sort. If you ever get badly injured, he’ll let up a bit, but you’re in for quite a ride. If you want to stop with the traps, you’re really going to have to push your case, and it will probably end up in an argument. At this point, however, he cares about you too much to put you back in the box.

You’ll be helping him with future victims, and those who escape their rooms. You’re like his personal enforcement officer. He’ll show you where all of his traps are, in exchange for you making his life a bit easier. Still, he’s going to keep a very VERY close eye on you. He’s not letting you go.

Eventually, he’ll propose a challenge. If you can get out of the hotel, you can join him at his house. If not, you stay in the hotel. He needs to change his traps anyways, so this give him a good opportunity to do that. You won’t know where the traps are, and he’ll set the other victims against you. Your only real advantage is that you might know the layout by then. Still, best of luck because you’re going to need it. He might be fond of you, but that only makes him want to push you more. In other words, he’s not going easy on you.

He’ll have you help him design traps, if your up for it. He’s impressed with your ability to get around the traps he designed, and wants you to help design traps to have the least escapability possible. He also wants obvious traps to scare his victims, so he’ll ask which obvious traps got to you the most. First-hand experience is the best way to get better results after all.

Otis Driftwood:

Well hot damn. He underestimated you. It’s not often he’ll admit he was wrong, and he still won’t outright say it, but Otis definitely didn’t think you could stand up for yourself to that degree

A victim had slipped past Baby, and you were the first on they came across while cooking in the kitchen. They started swearing at you, calling you and the rest of the family “crazy sons of bitches” and things of the sort while looking around wildly for some sort of weapon. You didn’t give them the chance, throwing the butter knife in your hand and sticking the victim in the shoulder. They screamed in pain and you could hear Otis yelling, asking what all the commotion was food. Apparently, the victim had too because they whipped around as Otis stormed closer to the kitchen. Using the opportunity, you grabbed a larger, sharper knife and leapt over the counter. Effectively tackling the victim, you stabbed them in their other shoulder, the stomach, the face, the chest, and the throat. They were long dead before you finished, and you knew that somewhere in the back of your mind.

Otis had seen everything from the counter leap and on, and boy was he glad that he did. That had to be the single-handedly hottest thing he had ever witnessed. His darlin’ not only getting their hands dirty but killing as if they’d done it all their life? He’s elated, ecstatic, over the moon, and deeply in love with you. 

You’re joining in on the fun from now on. He hadn’t really been keeping you from joining in anyways, but now he’s practically begging you to join in on the fun with him. He’d love to see what twisted shit you come up with when you have the tools and the encouragement. If you were relatively normal before hand (lets face it, there’s no way you were completely normal if you decided to be his partner in the first place) than you most certainly are just as far from normal as the rest of the family now.

The rest of the family would accept you even more. You’re fucked up just like them. You are one of them. After that point, you’re not leaving. Not ever. You're in it for life.

[evangelineshifts]

(This has been sitting in my drafts since feb)

I just had the weirdest shifting (?) dream ever???

Warning: sorry if this is confusing I’m literally losing my mind trying to process this. It probably won’t convey as dire as I’m making it out to be but I’m very disoriented still

Basically the dream started out normal (which for me isn’t normal at all) I was in my living room with my family when all of a sudden my front door slammed open and in comes my older brother- my older brother who DIED SIX YEARS AGO. I did have it in mind to manifest him being alive again but I was gobsmacked. He comes in and everyone acts normal as if he’d never left and I audibly went “oh my god” in the most horrified voice ever and they all looked at me and I ran upstairs to my room (which also hasn’t been my room up there in years) and went to grab my phone which was still like modern to these times. My Lock Screen was different and stuff but like I could read everything on the screen. Which is weird cause in dreams you shouldn’t be able to do that. Everything was clear I read the date it said it was Wednesday, December 8. I fuckin lost it I was going insane. I was like crying cause I was overwhelmed and I went to google and I searched up what year it was (idk why I didn’t just go to calendar but I was distressed). It said it was 2016 which I thought was a bit weird cause I didn’t manifest I wanted to go back to 2016 I wanted to go back to 2021 when I was 15 but I didn’t complain cause my brother was back. (Woke up and checked if Dec 8 was on a Wednesday in 2016. It wasn’t but it was in 2021 😭😭)

So I went to snap chat and checked my friends list and there where tons of new people that I had sent pics too but I was looking for one in particular- the girl I script to be my bsf in every DR that I wanted to manifest was real here and lo and behold, there’s her name “Savanna 😊🙈” i was 🫨 so anyways the dream goes on and looking back at it, it didn’t make as much sense as I thought it did at the time but I was sort of confused then too cause things weren’t how I wanted only half like it. So I told someone (who I think was meant to be savanna but looked nothing like her) about what was going on and I told her “I haven’t always been here” and she went “yes you have 🤨” and I went “no like this current awareness, this consciousness hasn’t always been here” and she just looked at me blankly and went “ok” and kept walking while I was loosing my shit. I saw friends from my dr that I wanted to manifest into this reality and my bf from my better cr dr and he called me over to him and he literally just held me and looked at me with the biggest smile but then I realized he didn’t look like my boy. Like his hair was lighter and his eyes were brown not bluish green like usual so I like decided to go away and look for other people. I found Jules (Leblanc) and she’s my best friend in a ton of my drs and ran over to her like practically sobbing cause I was so confused cause everything seemed clear and yet not at the same time and it feel like my brain was exploding and she just hugged me and listened as I babbled on about how I just woke up in the wrong year and my dead brother was suddenly alive and nothing was exactly how I wanted it yet it was close???? I was just so confused and overwhelmed and everyone was really supportive and trying to comfort me as I was literally losing my mind but I could visibly see the confusion on their faces which made me more distressed cause I didn’t understand. And then after awhile the dream got. all weird again. If anyone and I mean ANYONE has any ideas of what the fuck this could’ve been I’d be open to theories cause a whole month later and I still got nothing 😊

[sensei-venus]

I have to get my wisdom teeth removed soon and I'm scared. Could you maybe do something with poly hawk and moon taking care of reader after she gets her wisdom teeth out and she's really loopy and frightened by a lot

(Unedited) (I tried really hard on this, but letting y’all know, I don't have wisdom teeth. Idk how or why but I don't so I don't have to worry about them.💀) (Mentions of blood & teeth pulling)

“Whyyyyy am I-here???” Reader moaned out around the multiple cotton balls that were shoved in her mouth. She whimpers and looks around the dentist's lobby. Her hand travels up to her face and over her cheeks.

It's quickly pulled away by Moon who just gently shushes her. Moon wants to laugh just a little but she knows Reader isn't all there. It wasn't right to laugh at the poor girl.

Hawk looks over at the two girls before signing the last of the paperwork from the dentist. He had to sign a few forms about the aftercare for Reader’s mouth. She had all over her wisdom teeth pulled in one sitting.

“Moonnnnyyy why does my face feel funny?? Can we get food? Pleeeesssd?” Reader starts to tear up as Moon starts to help get her standing. Hawk grabs the small aid kit the dentist staff gave him a long with pamphlet on how to take care of her gums, and a small prescription for some pay meds. Hopefully, Moon would keep the disoriented girl busy in the car while he ran into the local pharmacy to pick up her new meds. He watched as she struggled to move with Moon out of the lobby. He walked behind them just in case Reader tried to take a tumble.

Their girlfriend was still outing of it from the anesthesia.

Hawk slowly helped get her into the car with the help of Moon by his side. They struggled as she tried to borderline escape them. Trying to get out of the vehicle from the other side. He was quick to lock the door with his keys.

“Sweety calm down. We can get you yogurt when we get home. It's nice and cold and will feel so good on your gums.”

“My gums?? What's wrong with my gums?”

Hawk got into the car and started the engine. Keeping his eyes on the road he tried his best to listen to their conversation in the back seat. Moon sat next to the other girl stroking her thigh.

Suddenly Reader started to whimper and cry, making Hawk look back in the mirror.

“Why is there bloodddd?! Where are my teeth? Hawk, they took my teeth.”

“Babe, they pulled your wisdom teeth, the nice dentist said they had to go because they were starting to hurt you remember?”

“They stole my teeth!!” she sobbed as Moon tried her best to hold back a laugh. Hawk was in the same boat trying to keep his own laughter down. He coughed into his hand. His eyes go back to the road ahead of them. Luckily the trip to the pharmacy wasn't that long and Moon was able to talk Reader out of going inside with him.

Doing his best he grabbed a few extra ice packs and picked up her painkillers. He hoped that those would be enough to get her through the next week or two as she healed.

The ride back home was perfect besides Reader's occasional mumbling.

When they where finally back hike everything started to settle down. Reader was ushered in front of the tv in their room with a newly frozen ice pack and her first round of painkillers. Moon brought her the fluid and bottle she needed to clean out her raw and open gums. She helped remove the nasty blood and spot-soaked cotton balls from her mouth and the old gaze.

For once Hawk was happy that he had seen and dealt with a lot of nasty shit in karate. Most of the wounds and gross cuts he suffered in karate were nothing like this. But still, he felt trained enough to help wash Reader’s gums out. She moaned and tried to jerk away from him at first. But with some help, he was able to get her mouth and gums rinsed out.

Moon shivered as she caught a quick glance at the girl spitting out the gross red-tinted water into the small bowl they gave her.

“I love you guys~” Reader said as Moon stuffed a spoon full of half-frozen yogurt onto her mouth. Her eyes fluttered as the cool food passed over her sore gums. She slumped into the mound of pillows behind her.

Hawk grabbed the tv remote and scanned though one of their streaming apps. He found one of her favorite long movies and clicked it on for her. Lazily she opened her eyes a little and watched the intro startup. She smiled a little at the sound of the intro music and narration coming through the speakers. Moon spooned another mouth full of food into her mouth and cuddled up next to her.

Hawk felt a small smile creep onto his face. He pulled one of the blankets from the bottom of the bed and placed it over the two girls. Slowly he drifted over to them, sliding in next to Reader.

He sighed one last time as Reader cuddled onto his side. Her head rested on his chest as they watched the movie.

It was definitely going to be a long few weeks, but at least they had a crap ton of organic yogurt and painkillers.

[harlowcomehome]

reader not feeling good and she starts to faint and hazel calls jack in panic to come home🥺

“Fainting”

Your pregnancy with Jade was really rough on you. You and Jack often joked that it was your bodies revenge for how well you did with Hazel.

The pregnancies were vastly different, which was hard on everyone. Jack had a studio session with another artist today, leaving you and Hazel alone at the house. You assumed you’d be fine because as of right now you’d only had severe morning sickness.

You’re were helping Hazel with her dollhouse when you suddenly got dizzy. You gripped the edge of the table, Hazel watched as you tried to keep balance. “Mommy?”

“I’m okay princess” you hummed, with your eyes still closed you asked “Can you bring mommy some water please?”

Hazel ran quickly, her little curly pigtails swaying as she hurriedly got you water. You didn’t know it then but Jack had given Hazel a rundown of things in case you needed her.

You went to stand up and couldn’t, the last thing you saw was black.

Hazel heard the thump and ran around the corner “MOMMY!!!” she shrieked but you were out cold. “Mommy?” Hazel panicked for a brief second she felt your face and could tell you were breathing. She saw your phone next to you “Call husband” she told your phone, calling Jack wasn’t new to her.

Hazel put the phone on speaker, Jack had just picked up when you started to groan “Hazey?”

“Daddy, mommy fell!” Hazel said with a scared tone.

Jack was worried sick as he heard her voice “she fell? Baby are her eyes open?” Jack sounded scared too, you could hear the sound of keys on the other end of the phone.

You were disoriented but could hear the fear in your toddlers voice “mmm-mommy’s okay” you rubbed your head. You looked at Hazel who’s eyes were filled with tears.

Jack said something that you couldn’t really make out but Hazel understood him perfectly.

“Okay daddy” Hazel sniffled as she ran to the kitchen and grabbed a string cheese from the fridge and a juice box. “I love you, bye.”

“Daddy said to eat these and he’ll be home soon” Hazel was scared so she pushed the snacks toward you.

You were too weak to open the cheese but you aggressively stabbed the juice box with all you could. Hazel opened the cheese and gave it back to you. “Mommy, what happened?”

You started to realize you fainted and your head had a knot on it that probably terrified your daughter. “Baby, I got dizzy and I think I fainted” you sat up slowly, Hazel watching you with big sad eyes.

“Can I, can I hug you?” Hazel sniffled and you held your arm out and she sat in your lap, you leaned against the wall and waited for Jack. “I’m okay baby, I’m sorry you had to see that” you rubbed her back.

“Mommy, you have an ouchie” Hazel pointed to the knot on your head. “I do bug” you sighed.

The front door flung open and Jack was covered in sweat. He ran over to you, Hazel got up from your lap and he helped you stand. “Baby, did you faint? What happened?” He noticed the knot on your forehead “that looks really bad” he whispered as Hazel stood close. “It hurts like hell” you mumbled.

“My mom is headed over here to watch Hazel” he admitted and you nodded, he helped you sit down so he could get a better look.

“We need to make sure you and the baby are alright” he was so nervous you could tell. You grabbed his shaky hands and kissed them “I’m okay baby.” He smiled, his eyes still expressing his worry.

Hazel still shook up from everything pulled on Jacks shirt. He looked down “and you little lady, good job doing everything right!” He gave her a high five before picking her up and putting her on his shoulders as she giggled.

“I gave mommy cheese and a juice box like you said!” She giggled and he set her back down. “Im so proud of you Hazey girl!” She giggled as Maggie entered the room, “grandma!!”

Jack helped you up and you thanked her as he rushed you both out of the door.

[haunted-xander]

The moment Hajime walked into the restaurant, chaos broke out. The first thing Chiaki could register was Kazuichi's shrill scream of joy that tappered off into anxious stuttering. His finger kept shaking as he pointed at Hajime, all while unsuccessfully trying to get a word out of his clattering mouth.

The other's in the room had been alerted by his scream, and all stared at Hajime and Chiaki standing at the top of the stairs. After a few seconds passed of Kazuichi stuttering, Fuyuhiko took a step forward and asked the question on everyone's minds, "...Hey, it's Hinata, right? Not Kamukura? You've got the hair but your postures all tense and shit. Not Kamukura-like at all. I'm right, aren't I?"

Hajime let out a relieved sigh and smiled warmly. "Yeah... it's me. I'm... Hajime Hinata. Nice to meet you all, for real this time." Right as he finished talking, Akane let out a happy shout and ran at him, grabbing him in a headlock and ruffled his hair. "Aha! I knew it! There's no way Hinata wouldn't come back, I kept tellin' them but they wouldn't stop whining! Souda cried like a baby the whole damn time, hahaha!"

"H-hey! I didn't cry like a baby! And I had every right to be worried, there was no way for us to know if he'd still be Hinata when he woke up!"

"Yeah yeah, sure. Whatever ya say lil' guy!"

"I'm not little! I'm only 4cm shorter than you!"

"What are you talking about? I was talkin' about how weak an' skinny you are, ya got no muscle!"

"Just because I'm not an athlete like you or Nidai doesn't mean I have no muscle! I lug around metal parts all day, you got any idea how heavy those things are!?"

Chiaki smiled as she tuned out Kazuichi and Akane's bickering, happy they still managed to be so casual with each other despite everything. She turned to Sonia, who had been silently watching with a gentle smile from further back. They made eye contact and Sonia stepped closer. "I am glad to finally see you awake, Hinata-san. We have all been rather worried for you, since you took such a long time to awaken. Nanami-san in particular has been slaving over your pod restlessly as she awaited your return."

"I'm glad to be back. I... kinda figured Nanami had been watching over me a lot. She was already there when I woke up, and the relief on her face was so deep it was clear she'd been worried sick, it'd make sense for her to have kept a close eye." As he explained his analysis, Hajime's voice gained a more factual tone, like he was reading off a textbook. "...Uh, well... That's why I assumed, I mean. ...Sorry, I'm... kind of a mess right now."

"Oh, yes of course! None of us were in our best states upon waking up, it is only natural you would be disoriented and vulnerable as well. ...I imagine it to be more difficult for you due to how much has changed for you. If there is any way I can assist, please do not hesitate to ask! We are all friends, so I, as well as the rest of us, will be there to support you in whichever way you need." Sonia's voice was gentle but firm, her words genuine.

Hearing the care and kindess behind her words, Hajime smiled. "...Yeah, thanks. I'll be sure to keep it in mind. It's a lot to deal with." The others all quieted down and listened to his words carefully. "...My head feels like it's all over the place. Of course, there's everything that comes from having all those talents crammed into my brain, but also... a whole lot of memories flooding in, both new and old." His voice gradually got quieter as it began to waver. "When I underwent the procedures for the Hope Cultivation Plan, the first thing they did was remove all my memories of 'Hajime Hinata'. If I had to guess a reason, it was to prevent me from changing my mind and trying to escape, or sell them out after the procedures were done. ...I was empty. And only got emptier as they removed more and more of what made me... 'me'. My hobbies, my preferences, my emotions, my... personality. They took it all."

He let out a humorless laugh. "The only thing they couldn't remove was my curiousity. Even before I became 'Kamukura', I was the kinda guy who hated being bored, hated when things were the same as always, basic, normal, simple. Never really liked it. I just didn't go as far for entertainment as I did as 'Kamukura'."

"Wait wait wait, so you mean that whole 'thrill seeker' stuff was ALWAYS there!? Just, like, hidden...? W-what kinda stuff did you get up to!?"

"Shut the fuck up, Souda! He's not done yet."

"Sorry, sorry!"

Ignoring the sudden outburst, Hajime continued, "...I keep talking as if Kamukura is some old thing of the past, but that's not really the case. He's still... I'M still Kamukura. Kinda. Sorta. Maybe." He put his hands to his head and rubbed his temple. "Ugh. Sorry. It's hard to explain. I'm Hajime Hinata, but I'm... also Izuru Kamukura. Kinda. The part of me that was 'Kamukura' isn't gone or amything, just. Reticent? Weak? ...Not as present as the part that's 'Hinata'. But still there, sorta?"

Kazuichi and Akane both scratched their heads, not really understanding what he's talking about. "So, like, you've got two people in your brain now...? Is that what you mean...? Like a split personality deal or something?" The mechanic hesistantly posed his hypothesis as a question. "...No, not a split personality. 'Kamukura' isn't a seperate entity or consciousness from me. He's just... Ugh. I can't explain it. I'm tired. Let me eat something and maybe my brain will work enough. Probably. Maybe. Hopefully."

"Oh, of course! You just woke up, you must be starving! C'mon Hinata, time to eat 'til ya burst!" Akane dragged him further into the restaurant, forced him to sit in one of the chairs and ran off to the kitchen to presumably grab whatever food she could find and throw it on the table in front of him.

"...I'm happy to see you finally up, Hinata-kun." Chiaki hadn't noticed Makoto in the room until he spoke up. It seemed the others had completely forgotten about him -as well as Kyoko and Byakuya who were sitting besides him- too. "Ah, Naegi, I didn't notice you. ...Thanks?" Hajime was awkward as he tried to talk to Makoto, not really knowing what to say.

"Ah, that reminds me, we actually have some important stuff to talk with everyone about. Perfect timing for you to wake up just in time!" Makoto looked nervous but tried to keep his spirits up. "Let's wait until we've all finished eating first, then we'll talk."

"Sure, sounds good. Hope this important stuff doesn't require me to use my brain though because I don't think I'm in the state for that just yet."

"Haha, don't worry! It's nothing like that, you don't need to do a lot of deep thinking or anything. You just... need to make a decision, is all." At his explaination, everyone currently in the room went tense. "...A decision? What... kind of decision? Is something going on? ...Is it the Future Foundation? Did they... catch on?" Chiaki had distantly been worried about the rest of the Future Foundation getting involved in all this, but had pushed it aside for more pressing matters.

At her words, Makoto softened up a bit. "No no, it's not the Future Foundation... or well, it kinda is, but not in a way that you guys should be worried about or anything! They're not coming to this island or anything like that, don't worry! It's just... um... I-I'll explain when we talk it over properly, okay?" He stammered nervously, trying to dispell any doubts they had.

"...Okay, well, I'm hungry. I'm gonna eat." And with that, everyone started up easy conversations as they ate.

Makoto explained to them that he, Kyoko and Byakuya would soon have to return to Future Foundation headquarters to undergo a questioning from the leader. As expected, their plan had eventually leaked to the rest of the organisation and they now had to deal with the consequences.

"...But, before we leave, there's something we need you to decide. It's about those who didn't survive the Killing School Trip... those who are still sleeping in the pod room. ...What will you do about them?" Makoto's voice was unsettlingly steady as he asked the dreaded question.

"'What will we do'? We're gonna wake them all up, of course! They're all still alive, right? Then all we gotta do is make 'em wake up like we did!" Akane's voice was loud and boisterous as she raised her fists and slammed them together. "Or what, you don't think we can do it!? You were the one's who said there was a chance, right!? There's no way in hell I'm just gonna give up without even tryin'!" Her tone made it clear she was offended at the mere thought of them giving up on their sleeping friends.

"And how, exactly, do you plan to achieve that?" Byakuya's arrogant voice cut her off.

"Huh? Well, obviously we just gotta..."

"Hmph. As I thought. You have no plan whatsoever, do you? How foolish. You don't exactly have unlimited resources, you know. You can't afford to just let them stay on life support forever. At some point, you'll have to give up, regardless of how much you wish to see them again. Do you understand? Even if you try to wake them up, there's no guarantee anyone will, let alone ALL of them." His words were cutting and uncomfortable, but was nothing but facts they would have to face eventually.

"...I can't speak for everyone here, but... I think it's worth the risk. If there's a chance, even a small one, of seeing our friends again... Then we'll take it. Even if no one wakes up... or only some of them make it... then that's okay. I'll feel better knowing I tried. The others probably feel the same too." Chiaki had already thought about all the possibilities ten times over, and was prepared for whatever laid ahead. She'd be upset if it all ended up being for nothing of course, but she'd rather try than giving up before even starting.

At the very least, she's not alone now.

"Y-yeah! There's no way we'd just give up like that! What kinda friends would we be if we just let them die like that!?"

"I agree with Nanami-san and Souda-san! To give up on our dear friends without even trying would be an insult to their sacrifices! It is because of them that we are all able to move one, to live as we are, here and now! I would never slight their lives by giving in to helplessness and despair! Tanaka-san would never forgive me for treating everyones existences so crudely!"

"I want to see Peko again... The entire reason I was able to live on and not give in to despair was because of her... If there's a chance I could get her back, you bet your ass I'm gonna take it! Like hell I'm gonna let Peko stay dead without doing anything!"

"...I won't lose anyone else. As long as there's a chance of getting my friends back, then that's all I need. I won't stop until everyone is awake. We made this future together, so I'll make sure we all get to live it. No matter what, I will get everyone back. You have my word."

Everyone's resolve was solid, with no room to budge. Their friends, classmates, companions. They will get them back, no matter what. "...Heh, looks like we didn't need to worry after all. I had a feeling you wouldn't give up so easily. You didn't get her by taking the easy route, now did you?" Kyoko smiled at their response, clearly pleased with the outcome. "We'll leave the comatosed patients in your care, then. Do make sure to keep an eye on their health when they wake up, though. As you surely already know, many of them weren't exactly... kind to their own bodies during their time as Ultimate Despair."

"'When'? You say that as if them waking up is a foregone conclusion." Ever the mood-killer, Byakuya huffed in annoyance and picked at Kyoko's word choice. "Yes, 'when'. I believe in Hinata-kun and everyone's ability to awaken their comatosed friends. They've already made a miracle happen, what's another one? You could stand to be a bit more optimistic, Togami-kun."

"Hmph. I think you've spent a bit too much time with Naegi. He's rubbing off on you."

"Heh, maybe so. But is that such a bad thing?"

"Are you actually asking for my opinion, or do you just want to voice your own thoughts out loud?"

"Um, guys? You do remember I'm here too, right? I can hear you, you know..." Makoto tried to butt in on their bickering, but was promptly ignored in favour of Kyoko and Byakuya continuing to take jabs at each other. Chiaki couldn't help but giggle at the sight. Seeing them so casual and friendly was new to her, and was incredibly warming to see.

Unfortunately, she had a pressing question in mind. "...Sorry to ruin the fun mood, but... when are you guys leaving? You need to get to HQ as soon as possible, right? So shouldn't you prepare for departure soon?" At the reminded of their situation, Makoto, Kyoko and Byakuya swiftly straightened back up. "Ah, yeah about that... We're leaving tomorrow morning."

"TOMORROW MORNING!? That's way too soon! Why didn't you tell us earlier!? I'm not mentally prepared!"

"Oh my god Souda SHUT THE FUCK UP! They probably just got the damn order today and was told to rush their asses back to base ASAP. It's a damn questioning, you think the boss cares about us get prepared!?"

"But still, it is rather soon... Are you sure you are all ready to depart?"

"Yeah, we're sure. We were already planning on leaving sometime soon, so it wasn't a lot we needed to get ready left..." Lightly scratching his cheek, Makoto answered sheepishly and let out an awkward laugh.

Looks like tomorrow would be a busy day.

[multiversemusings]

The Darkness Speaks

Rating: PG-13 Warnings: Mentions of demons and poltergeists. Mild mental manipulation. Language. Pairing: Bisexual MReader x Strange Supreme (MReader x Ancient One mentioned) Plot: You returned home from a meeting with the Avengers about the state of the barrier around the world, exhausted and something caught onto the drop in your mental barriers. Luckily, a more positive, but equally dark force senses your distress and comes to your rescue. Word Count: 2800 Song Inspiration: It's the Fear by Within Temptation

All writings belong to @multiversemusings. Do not steal, repost as your own or take credit for my work. If you have a request, please put it in my inbox!

I can no longer restrain it: I have to give in.

Something wasn't right. It started with a small tingle in the back of his spine whenever he left from seeing Tony and Rhodey at the compound and it had grown into a full-on chill by the time he got to the doors of the Sanctum. He kept resisting the urge to look over his shoulder: He knew that if he did that, he would see something there he didn't want to deal with nor did he have the strength. The loss of The Ancient One had left him weakened and teetering on the brink of losing the magic that had accumulated in his body. He didn't like to think about what may or may not have figured out that he was weakened as a sorcerer. He ran his hand down the door of the old London building and pushed one of them open, stepping inside with a sigh of relief as warmth washed over him of a familiar kind. That he was home, where he was at least safe for the most part. But as he turned to close the door, he caught sight of what he had been trying to avoid looking at ever since he had portaled back from New York. There, standing on sidewalk at the base of the stairs was a tall dark figure with little to no actual details, just a distinguishing feature of being a human. His entire body turned to ice in the instant that he saw the creature raise its head to look at him and the hollowed eyes revealed themselves to him from under the hood. He immediately took action and tried to close the door so the wards would reactivate, but he wasn't quick enough, and a blast of energy sent him flying backwards with a crash into a nearby table that had the book of the original Master's history on top of it. He landed with a loud wince and the noise alerted his partner who rushed in from the other room and hovered between him and the entity that was now inside of his Sanctum. Cloak had little to no effect on something that wasn't corporeal, but his dedication to the man that had saved his life was so strong that he was able to create a small magical barrier around him, giving his master enough time to get to his feet slowly. The poltergeist was clearly irked by this, disappearing from view and Cloak was jerked to the side, wound into a ball and thrown aside like something useless as the entity reappeared right in front of the sorcerer. The brunette tried to summon his Tao Shields, hoping to give the angered spirit something to feed off of beside himself but they fizzled out just as they ignited: He was too weak from opening the portal back to London to activate his defense.

"You are mine," the spirit growled and his whole body prickled with the darkness that dripped on the vowels of every word and the possessive nature that they held.

He didn't answer and instead threw a blast of white-hot energy at the creature to disorient it and rushed upstairs, where there was a relic of Agamotto's that could help him get the poltergeist out of the building so he could reactivate the wards. But just as he got to the doorway of the relic room, he felt himself being forced onto the ground as a heavy energy landed on his back. He let out a minor yell of pain when he hit the floor so hard that he busted his lip on his teeth. The creature was sitting on his back and growling loudly, intent as hell on taking what little energy he had left in his body to fuel its own existence so that it could continue to torment him probably. He had no idea how this bastard found him, but he needed it gone before his life force was in danger.

"Get off of me!" he finally yelled, bucking himself upwards with enough force to dislodge the creature so that he could get to his feet and back away. As he turned, the black mist now had a full form of a man with deathly white skin, wearing black robes and it was coming at him again. "Vishanti, Agamotto, anyone! Please, help me!"

The man covered his face with his arms, his knees buckled at the force of the energy rushing at him as he leaned back against the case holding the Pendulum of Agamotto. But as he prepared for the force to grab him, nothing every came. He suddenly became aware that everything around him was humming with a massive amount of energy and it was making the glass on the cases rattle as it began to vibrate. As he lowered his arms, daring to look and see what was going on, he noticed that the poltergeist was stuck in a flaming orange circle, encompassing an upwards facing triangle that had circles on the points of contact.

"Don't touch what isn't yours," a deep voice said from the air around the sorcerer.

The Sanctum's master felt his legs finally give out as the energy finally rushed past him, making him fall to the floor at the base of the case, the Pendulum now seemingly activated and trying very hard to get out of the case. The energy turned into a massive, humanoid creature that the Sanctum's master could never have even conjured up in his wildest attempts at a fantasy novel. The structure read to being human, but it was bulky like a dragon, the top half covered in fur and a thick crest of black and red feathers. The legs and tail spoke to being reptilian, a dragon or something thereof with similarly scaled hands and claw tipped fingers. Its back, rather than bearing wings, was home to six large tentacles that were spread out like a fan as if to protect him from the opposing force. The creature's horns were tri-curled and obviously read that it was something akin to a demon from Amercan literature, as well as the six eyes on either side of the head. But if this was a demon, then why exactly had it come to his aid rather than trying to help the poltergeist devour his life energy? Just as he began to question everything that he'd learned up to this point, the glass of the case above him shattered, making him yelp and cover his head so that his face wouldn't get cut any more than his teeth had already succeeded in doing to his lip. He peeked out from under his arm and watched as the Pendulum went to the creature's hand as if it had been waiting to be called to its aid. The demon unlatched the Pendulum in the center and held the two ends up in front of its chest, making a circle appear around them in Eldritch magic. The ends of the artifact began to spin, and the echoing sounds of a clock resounded off the walls as the demon merged the two pieces of the artifact and their circles into one making a clock face appear in front of it. He was stunned; he'd never seen anyone except his teacher be able to wield the Pendulum of Agamotto so effortlessly in all of the time he'd been in Kamar-Taj or master of the Sanctum. But his attention was drawn to the green light emanated from the demon's chest as the rush of magic merged with the circle around the poltergeist where it was thrashing and trying to get away from what was clearly it's end at the hands of this creature. Wave after wave of Time energy bashed at the entity until it finally disappeared completely in a roar of anger and flash of black mist, which faded into the air around the rings where it had been held. He watched and listened as everything subsided, giving him time to get back to his feet and look at the creature as it put the Pendulum back together and the green light disappeared. The artifact went back to its casing as if now a content guard dog ready to take a nap after running the mailman away from the door because it saw envelopes as a real threat. The sorcerer sensed no malicious intent from the demon and curiosity got the better of him, so he stepped forward, but it stepped away.

"Don't be scared," he told the creature as it seemed to wrap its arms and appendages around itself. "I'm not going to seal you, I promise. I just..don't understand why you saved me."

There was a pregnant pause and the Englishman worried that maybe it could speak his language but didn't understand it. At least, until it finally spoke, and the tone of remorse rang a very loud gong in the brunette's mind, "I never wanted you to see me like this…"

The man's mind immediately began to recall the face of the man he'd been seeing in his dreams over the last six months. After The Ancient One's funeral, he had fallen into the Dream Plains by accident, unable to stabilize his magic very well due to the immense grief he felt losing the mother of his unborn child to someone he had once considered a friend. He was found by Nightmare, an entity that ran the Dream Plains with an iron fist and was hellbent on making anyone's life miserable that fell into his territory. The entity - cruel by nature and hellbent on making misery for those who found his domain - had summoned a Bukavac, a nasty water demon that enjoyed devouring people or anything else that got too close to the water where it lived. It was something he had feared since he was a novice and had a run in with one as a child in Pakistan. Luckily for him, there was another entity wandering the Dream Plains that night who was strong enough to force both the demon and Nightmare to release him from the darkness. The man took him to his own plain of existence, which he told him was the remnants of Earth-199999, his Earth in a different branch of the Multiverse. The man introduced himself as Doctor Stephen Strange and said that he was lucky he happened to recognize his energy as being similar to his variant from his branch and that he owed The Ancient One a huge debt for his own actions, so he was more than happy to save him as a way of making amends with the woman's spirit. He was intrigued by this man, so he inquired as to if he was alone in his world completely, to which the man confirmed. He said it was his own fault, that he hadn't listened when he was warned not to do things a certain way, but still he had, and it was his penance. The sorcerer's heart ached for the remorse in the man, so obviously shown in his face and heard in his voice for his actions that had destroyed his entire world and left him to suffer alone in silence. He knew it was risky, but without thinking twice, the master offered to be his guiding light, to try and find a way to speak with him every night so that he wouldn't be alone any longer. For a time, they spoke frequently about trivial things most times; what their frivolous interests were, what their favorite lessons had been, or which had driven them crazy when trying to learn. But as the weeks turned to months, the conversations grew more serious and deeply intimate, with him confessing to the man he'd been in love with The Ancient One and they were supposed to have a son together, but he'd been lost during the pregnancy. She'd been killed by Kaecillius, a man he'd once considered a good friend but had turned to the darker arts to try and gain power. Stephen told him of his loss of the woman he loved, Christine Palmer, and what he'd done to try and save her. The rules he broke, the Ancient One splitting him in two, only to undo all of the fail safes she'd created to prevent him from destroying their world over the woman. That was the first time he'd ever seen the man cry, but it certainly wouldn't be the last. And that same remorse was what he'd heard when the demon spoke to him just now.

"Stephen…" the sorcerer finally whispered, remembering that his voice worked. He watched in surprise as the bulky form receded in a red light and a haze of black mist, leaving the man standing there in front of him, terrified and guilt wracked. "Is that… Are those the creatures you told me about that time when we spoke?"

"I told you I was a monster," the man replied as confirmation, his body visibly trembling as if he were scared. Of what, the London Master couldn't be sure, but he had a pretty strong feeling that it was probably rejection. "It's why I didn't understand why you wanted to keep coming back. I paid my debt; you could have just left and never been the wiser. But now you… Now you see what I am. And I don't blame you for being scared."

"Oh, my darling Doctor Strange, I'm not scared of you. Just…surprised that so many entities can live in one body and not rip the host apart," the man whispered gently. He walked over and Stephen tensed, as if struggling with himself to not move. The brunette paused just long enough to see Cloak come in with a flutter of relief and rush over to latch onto his shoulders, before going back to the issue at hand. He stopped just short of the man and reached out slowly. "Strange. … Stephen, look at me."

The man didn't at first, clearly warring with himself in his head. But after a moment, he allowed himself to turn his head and look at the other sorcerer and the London Master's breath left his lungs at the sight of the tears in the man's tired eyes. He couldn't bare the idea of the man being his upset over the idea that he would leave him just because of something he'd done out of desperation to save the one he loved. Very gently, the brunette reached up and placed his hand on the man's face, cupping his cheek gently and running his thumb over the defined cheekbone. The man was still in poor health, but he certainly was doing much better than he had when they first encountered each other, though it was clear to him that he was still touch starved by the way his eyes fluttered closed and he allowed his shoulders to relax as he leaned into the touch.

"I don't want you to hate me," the man whispered, though it came out more of a whimper.

"I could never hate someone who went the extent you have to try and save the woman you loved from death," he told him, making Stephen open his eyes to look at him with worry. "It was stupid, yes, but very few men would ever have that level of dedication and I would never be able to pass judgement on you for it. It makes most of us look like cowards. You've broken yourself down so far to try and bring her back, because Fate dealt you such a terrible hand. I won't leave you, Stephen. You're safe here, you can try again, and you have my thanks for saving my life…again."

The man bowed his head, and a sob escaped his throat as he reached up, placing one hand over the other man's as he felt his body fully relax. He moved closer and kissed the demonic male's forehead gently before pressing his own against the spot, just to the side of where the man's bangs rested against the skin. He let him cry as long as he needed to, knowing they were tears of relief and joy that finally, he had found somewhere that he could call home, where he knew he wouldn't be judged for the things that he'd done or what he had become in order to accomplish them.

"Probably…" the man tried to say, but a hiccup got in the way and the smaller male chuckled as they parted. Stephen's cheeks were a little pink in response as he wiped his face dry of the tears, giving the man a good look at the Eye of Agamotto around his neck. That explained a lot. "Probably not a good idea for me to stay here though. I can't risk destroying your world by incursion."

"Well," the smaller male said thoughtfully before looking at him from the artifact resting against his chest and gave him a warm smile. "Maybe you can stay just a little longer? I don't think the Watcher is going to get mad if I give you a bath and a warm meal. You smell like sulfur and look like you're about to pass out from the power you just used to save my ass. It's the least I can do."

Stephen laughed a little and it warmed his cold heart, making him smile which the other sorcerer returned. The London Master offered him is hand and for the first time without worry as to what the consequences may be, Stephen reached out to take it and intertwined their fingers. "I think I can live with that."

[negativeyield]

i came from ur greenout fic and u officially gave me soft ghoul comfort brain worms so soooo happy ur doing prompts. the worms must be fed

"this is the moment of just letting go" with Rain having insomnia and getting help from Swiss or Dew??

anon i could kiss you on the lips this is DELICIOUS -- from this prompt list

the dark's not taking prisoners tonight

Hitting sixty-six hours without sleep was a new record Rain had not tried to break.

He couldn’t figure out what the fucking problem was.

Rain was exhausted. Eyes heavy, brain slow. Supplements like melatonin had little effect on ghouls, but he tried it anyway. When that didn’t work, he downed some sleeping pills that only succeeded in making him see shadows that weren’t actually there— effectively scaring him into staying awake even longer.

He’d had bouts of insomnia before. Especially when they were timezone hopping on tour and his internal clock got majorly fucked. Rain would go through the usual channels: turning off any electronics, putting on some white noise, popping a sleeping pill for good measure. Sometimes he’d hit the gym a little harder to tire himself out.

Usually, these things worked.

Ironically, the only time he managed to get anywhere near sleep was in the middle of band practice. They were taking five while Mountain ran back to his room to get extra drumsticks after snapping his last spare. Most of them took that as their cue to grab a snack or go to the bathroom. Rain didn’t have the energy to do anything else but sit right where he was standing. One thing led to another, and suddenly his body was pitching backward.

Rain flailed, his reflexes grossly failing him. Luckily, he was swooped into someone’s arms before smacking his head into Moutain’s kit.

“Rain?” it was Swiss who caught him, pushing him back up to a sitting position before dropping to his knees in front of him, placing a hand on Rain’s shoulder. “You okay?”

Rain was disoriented. Head sleepy, heart beating rapidly as the adrenaline pushed its way through the overwhelming desire to lie down. He shook it off, nodding at Swiss.

“Yeah I… just guess… I.. uh,” the more Rain spoke gibberish, the more worried crossed Swiss’s face. Incoming footsteps and the anxiety of everyone seeing him like this seemed to snap Rain’s brain back into somewhat decent shape, and he managed to speak fluently. “Got a little dizzy, I guess.”

The footsteps turned out to be Dew downing the rest of a soda as he entered. His eyes fell on the two ghouls on the ground and he looked at them curiously.

“Having a picnic, boys?”

Before Rain could say anything, Swiss interjected. “Something’s wrong with Rainy.”

Dammit Swiss.

“What?” Dew’s mood immediately shifted. He hurried over while Swiss felt Rain’s forehead. “Are you sick?”

“No, I just—”

“He was sitting there and randomly went limp.”

“I got a little dizzy,” Rain argued, getting defensive even though he was lying, “I went to lie back and lost my balance.”

“Lost your balance while sitting down, huh?” Dew didn’t seem convinced. He seemed to have a particular talent for reading through his bullshit.

“I guess. Probably just need some water, I’ll be fine.”

Rain could feel Swiss staring at him. He turned to the multi-ghoul, who was intensely looking Rain up and down. “Want to tell us the last time you slept, Rain?”

Perceptive motherfucker. Sometimes he forgot Swiss had some quintessence in him.

“Uhhhh, three…” he messed up the division, counting again on his fingers. “Or four—”

“Fucking hell, Rain,” Dew looked at Swiss and then grabbed Rain’s hand. “You’re going to bed right now.”

“But we’re in the middle of—”

“The only thing we’re in the middle of your nap time. Swiss, take him to his room. I’ll meet you there after I talk to Papa.”

Swiss nodded, grabbing Rain’s forearm and basically pulling him to his feet against his protests. He didn’t have enough energy to fight the multighoul as he was led out of the practice room and toward the sleeping quarters.

However, that didn’t mean Rain wasn’t cognoscent enough to fight him verbally.

“I’m not a child, Swiss, I can go to bed myself,” he twisted out of Swiss’s grip, crossing his arms over his chest. Swiss, uncharacteristically, said nothing in response. “We really didn’t need to stop practice for this!” Silence. “It’s not like I didn’t try to sleep all those nights. I did. I tried everything.” Nothing. They reached Rain’s room and he whirled around at the blank-faced ghoul. “Are you going to fucking say anything?”

Swiss looked at him, sighing.

“You get pissy when you’re sleep-deprived.”

“Fuck you.”

“Maybe after you have a nap, Sleeping Beauty,” he said with a wink that was at least more in-character. Swiss reached around him, opening the door. “After you.”

Rain switched into a lightweight pair of pajama pants and an undershirt and laid down on his bed. Despite being tired enough to fall asleep sitting up in the practice room, here he felt wide awake again. It frustrated him enough that tears started to well up in his eyes, which was quickly noticed by Swiss.

“Rainy, what is it?” his voice was soft. Not mocking. Swiss reached out for him, and Rain decided he wanted the comfort. He grabbed Swiss’s hand and tugged weakly. The multi-ghoul laid down beside him and Rain immediately curled into him.

“I’m so tired,” he cried into his chest. The agony of being awake for so long was finally coming to a head. Swiss just rubbed his back in soothing circles as sobs racked his body. Rain was so out of sorts, he hardly noticed when the bed dipped under Dew’s weight. He took his place on Rain’s other side, entrapping him between Swiss’s tight embrace and the natural warmth of a fire ghoul.

“What do you think is keeping you up?” Dew asked gently once Rain’s sobs subsided into a dull numbness.

“I don’t know,” he shook his head, nuzzling into Swiss’s shoulder. “It’s like my mind won’t stop long enough.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing! Stupid shit. How much it sucks to not be sleeping, usually. Deciding who would be willing to punch me in the head just to knock me out for a little while.”

“Cirrus, probably,” Swiss muttered. Rain could feel Dew shift, probably to deliver a dirty look. “Trust me, she pents that shit—”

“You’re in a cycle, Rain,” Dew interrupted. “Not sleeping, getting anxious about not sleeping, not sleeping because you’re anxious about not sleeping— we gotta break the cycle somehow.”

“You know when my mind is usually the blankest?” Swiss said, raising his eyebrows suggestively. “After I—”

“That is a last resort,” Dew swatted at him.

“It could work, though,” Swiss argued. Rain hated to agree with Swiss being a horny bastard, but it wasn’t the worst idea.

“It could also rile him up!” Dew also made a fair point.

“Only if you can’t get him there.”

“I fucking swear Swiss. Your name is carved into my last fucking nerve.”

“Does the carving say ‘Swiss + Dew forever’ in a cute little heart?”

“Only in your dreams.”

They continued to argue. Rain had a feeling it wasn’t ending anytime soon. He settled into the crook of Swiss’s shoulder, listening to the steady beat of his heart. With Dew’s warmth and the pressure of his limbs on Rain, he started to feel heavy. Swiss and Dew’s voices grew distant. It wasn’t long before he had a moment of awareness that he was finally slipping into sleep.

And he let go.

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Christmas Reruns 2023 Day 5: A Pirate's Christmas Carol (2/2)

Merry Christmas if you celebrate it and happy holidays if you don’t!  One of the things I love about Christmas is watching reruns of all the old classic Christmas movies–Christmas is a big time for nostalgia.  A few years ago, I decided to incorporate that tradition into my fandom life and post my CS holiday reruns.  So here you go!  Enough holiday (mostly) fluff to get you to New Year��s Day. (With a new story posting on Christmas Day.)

Rating: G

Word Count: 2724

Other chapters: 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Notes: This is the conclusion of my 2016 fic A Pirate’s Christmas carol.  At the time it was written, it was a future fic, but now that canon has disproved it, it’s more of an “alternate” fic.

Killian woke with a start, heart pounding, utterly disoriented, realizing he wasn’t in his bed with Swan curled up at his side.  After a moment, it all came back to him…his fears and insecurities about upcoming fatherhood, coming to sit before the tree and the fire so his restlessness wouldn’t wake his sleeping wife, Liam, the journey to the past.

Had it really happened?

Surely not.  Likely his sleep addled brain had conjured an elaborate dream, seeking relief from the anxiety.

The thought was sad, somehow.  How he would have loved to spend another hour in Liam’s presence, even if his brother was naught but a ghost.

Deciding it would be best to return to bed, Killian got to his feet.  It was then that he noticed the other presence in the room.

Henry stood still and silent in the corner near the Christmas tree.  He stared, unblinking, merely taking Killian in.  It was unnerving as hell.

“Henry, lad,” Killian said slowly.  “I didn’t see you there.  Did you…did you need something?”

The lad shook his head slowly, and then finally spoke.  “It wasn’t a dream, Killian.  You know that, don’t you?  It truly happened.”

Killian took an involuntary step backward.  There was something eerie about this conversation.

“Uncle Liam, I mean,” Henry continued.  “He came to help you overcome your fears, and so have I.”

“But…I was under the belief it would be ghosts visiting me lad.”

Henry nodded.  “Indeed.  Henry lies sleeping peacefully in his bed.  I’m but a shade of your stepson.  Think of me as the Ghost of Christmas Present.”

That…made about as much sense as anything else had on this confusing night.  Perhaps Swan had been speaking literally and not merely in a figure of speech when she called Christmas Eve night a magical time.

“And have you come to show me vignettes from my present?”

Henry nodded and then smiled brightly.  “Absolutely.”

“Well then, lad, lead on.”

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

Killian first found himself standing near the window in his own bedchamber.  Bright rays of sun burst through the gossamer thin curtains and came to fall on the bed.  Emma slept on her side, a peaceful smile on her face.  Killian lay behind her, holding her to him.

As the sun continued to pour in, the Killian in the bed woke slowly and stretched.  Sitting up, he ran his hand through his hair, and then smiled down at his still sleeping wife.  A glint of mischief came into his eyes, and he leaned down, brushed her hair back from her face and began to kiss the spot on her neck he knew she particularly liked.

Standing by the window, Killian felt his face flame.  “Henry, lad.  Are you sure you wish to be privy to this?  It appears we’ve wandered into a scene not fit for a son’s eyes.”

“Relax, Killian,” Henry said with a good-natured roll of his eyes.  “You really think I would have brought you to a moment that would leave me wanting to bleach my eyes?  Yeah, I don’t think so.  Just watch.”

Killian shot him one last skeptical look, and then turned his attention back to the bed.

Emma squirmed, and then turned onto her back, eyes opening, smile firmly draped over her face.  Without a word, she reached up behind his head and brought his lips down for a long, slow kiss.  When it came to an end, Killian caressed her face, joy radiating from him like the rays of the sun.

“That was quite the way to wake up,” she said.  “Looks like someone’s in a good mood.”

“Aye,” Killian said.  “And while I’d greatly love to continue on to activities that would ensure both of us were in an even better mood, I fear your lad will be knocking soon, eager to open the gifts we left for him last night.”

“You’re probably right,” Emma said, awkwardly moving to a sitting position, her protruding belly making the movement far more difficult than it would have been otherwise.

Killian reached over and rubbed Emma’s belly, then leaned down so he could better greet his little one.

“Good morning my lad,” he said.  “I love you, and I can’t wait for the moment I may greet you properly.”

Hand still placed on Emma’s stomach, Killian jumped slightly, feeling a little foot kick him.

Emma chuckled.  “Looks like someone’s excited to hear his daddy’s voice.”

“Truly?” Killian asked, face a bit wistful.  “You think he recognizes me.”

She laughed again.  “Killian he kicks and squirms and does somersaults every time you’re around.  I think your son loves you already.”

Killian leaned down to kiss Emma’s belly, right over the spot the babe had kicked.  “I hope you’re right.  I’d never known it was possible to love someone this much—and he hasn’t even greeted the outside world.”

Emma pulled him up until she could kiss him once more.  “You’re going to be an amazing father, Killian.  You know that?”

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

The scene blurred, and Killian rubbed his eyes.  When he opened them again, he and Henry stood near the Christmas tree in their home.

“The first Christmas with the whole family at the new house,” Henry explained as Killian looked around at the Charmings, Regina and Robin (who had made a miraculous return from the dead), Roland, little Robyn and even Zelena.  (Emma had expressed reservations at inviting the greener of the two Mills sisters, but Snow had insisted, stating that if they wanted Zelena to continue on her hero path, they had to give her a chance to prove herself.)

Killian saw Emma making some last minute preparations in the kitchen, assisted by her mother, and Henry sat near the fire playing with his young step-brother and entertaining his even younger uncle…but Killian didn’t see himself in the happy family tableaux.

“Where am I, lad?” Killian asked, feeling a sense of loss at the idea that he was missing Christmas afternoon with his family.

“Don’t worry, Killian,” Henry said.  “You just went to the Jolly to check on her after last night’s snowstorm.  Oh look!  There you are now.”

Accordingly, just as the lad indicated, the front door opened, and Killian came barreling in, quickly closing the door to the winter cold.  He removed his coat and then turned to kiss Emma.

“Hey Killian,” vision Henry said, getting up and going to his step-dad.

“Merry Christmas again, lad.”

“Is the Jolly weathering the winter well?”

“She’s right as rain, my boy,” Killian said. “Nothing so prosaic as a snowstorm can disturb her.  She’s truly a marvel.”

“Cool!”  Henry said.  He continued to smile for a moment, and then suddenly began shuffling from foot to foot. 

“Is something troubling you, mate?” Killian asked, brow furrowed.

Henry averted his eyes.  “No.  Nothing’s wrong,” he said.  “I just…I was hoping I could talk to you.  You know somewhere where everyone isn’t watching.”

“Of course.  You are aware you can always talk to me about anything on your mind, are you not?”

“Yeah, I know,” Henry said.

The two stepped through the door to what used to be the creepy Dark One cellar—now turned into a comfortable man-cave, as Emma called it.  The visitor Killian and his guide Henry followed their other selves; somehow Killian knew this conversation was precisely what guide Henry wished him to see.

“Now, what’s this about, lad?” Killian asked as soon as they were assured their privacy.

“It’s just…” Henry began awkwardly.  He turned away, reached into a satchel Killian hadn’t realized he’d been wearing.  After a moment of shuffling, he pulled out several pages.

“A new story for your storybook, lad?”

“Yeah,” Henry said.  “Well…more for your storybook.  Yours and moms.  I’m gonna give you guys the start of the book for Christmas, but…I don’t know…I wanted to give you this story separately.”

Killian took the pages and looked over them.  “Our story,” he breathed softly.  “You wrote of the difficult times we’ve just overcome—from your mother becoming a Dark One, to her confrontation with the hooded figure.”

“Yeah,” Henry confirmed.

“But why did you feel the need to pull this story out in particular, and why did you wish to give it to me privately?”

Henry looked anywhere but at Killian, his shuffling and squirming beginning again in earnest.  “It’s just…I wanted to say thank you.  I mean, these last few months have been really, really hard, and you’ve always been there for me, even when you were scared for mom too.  So, yeah.  Just…thanks for being the best step-dad out there.”

Killian felt the familiar rushing sensation, and the next thing he knew he was back in his living room in the middle of the night.

Killian felt a suspicious lump in his throat as he watched the scene play out.  “Do you really think that way about me, Henry?” he asked in a small voice.

“Of course!” Henry said with a smile.  “And that’s why you have nothing to worry about.  All you have to do to be a great dad is to love your children, and you do.  You really do.  My little brother is going to be a lucky kid.”

“I hope you’re right, mate,” Killian said, allowing hope to fill his heart and almost—not quite but almost—push away the fear.

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

When Killian woke the next time, he looked around eagerly, wondering which familiar face had shown up to guide him this time.

He found himself peering into the face of a stranger.  He was tall and handsome with straight, black hair and familiar green eyes.  Killian was quite sure he’d never met the man before, but there was a definite air of familiarity about him.

“Would you happen to be the Ghost of Christmas future?” Killian asked carefully.

“That I am,” the man said.  “I’m here to show you a Christmas from your future.”

“Pardon mate,” Killian said, “but who might you be?”

The man smiled, a secret smile that Killian couldn’t quite understand.  “For the moment, you can simply call me Charles.”

“Very well, Charles,” Killian said, feeling somehow both eager and hesitant to see the future visions this man had to show him.  “Lead on.”

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

The first thing Killian noticed when the room stopped spinning was himself and Emma sitting on the couch before the fire.  Many years had clearly passed as both of them were quite elderly, sporting snow-white hair and skin significantly wrinkled.

“She’s still beautiful, isn’t she?” Charles asked, following Killian’s gaze.

Killian let out a long, slow breath.  “My Emma is gorgeous, and she no doubt will be until the day she dies.”

Charles rolled his eyes good-naturedly.  “The two of you have always been so romantic and in love it’s almost disgusting.”

“You’ve known us long?” Killian asked, curious about the identity of this guide.

“All my life,” came the cryptic reply.

“In what capacity?”

Charles shushed him, pointing toward the front door of the Swan-Jones home. 

After a quick knock, the door was opened and a woman entered; a woman Killian didn’t recognize—but he didn’t need an introduction.  The lass was the spitting image of Swan at the time he met her.  This must be…couldn’t be anyone else but…their daughter.

Killian felt the tears come to his eye as his lovely daughter rushed forward and hugged first Emma and then him.

“Eva!” Emma said.  “You’re here!  You actually made it!”

“Surprise!” she said. 

“What happened, love?” Older Killian asked, joy suffusing every inch of his face.  “You told us you were required to work over the holiday.”

“I couldn’t do it, Papa!” she said.  “I know how much Christmas means to you.  To both of you.  I rearranged my schedule and took the first flight I could get into Storybrooke.  I couldn’t stand to be anywhere but at home for Christmas.”

Older Killian hugged his daughter once more, a single tear tracing its way down his wizened cheek.  “You couldn’t have given me a greater gift, little love.”

The living room blurred, and when it came back into focus, Killian noticed that the evening had turned to night and Eva was joined by a whole houseful of new—and familiar—faces.  Killian noticed a middle-aged Henry, seated next to a similarly aged Violet.  Several children played, running and chasing each other in the far corner of the room.

Killian continued to scan the scene, smiling as Eva and Emma sat talking and laughing together.  He saw himself with a tiny boy on his lap…and sitting next to them was none other than Charles.

“Papa!” the tiny boy said, turning toward Charles, “Grandpa told me a story!  An exciting one about when he was a pirate!”

“Did he now, Liam?” Charles said, ruffling the boy’s hair.  “Grandpa has all kinds of exciting tales to tell.”

“I know!” Liam said.  “He said he’d tell me the one about the beanstalk and the giant and his first ‘venture with Grandma.  He’s the best Grandpa ever, isn’t he, papa?”

Charles put a hand on older Killian’s shoulder.  “That he is, Liam.  My dad is the best father and grandfather I know.”

Killian gasped, turning to look at his guide with new eyes.  “You’re…you’re my son?”

Charles grinned.  “The very same.  You haven’t officially met me yet, but I’ll be born in just over a month.”

The emotions rose up and nearly overwhelmed Killian.  This man, this happy, well-adjusted man with a loving wife and a beautiful son was the first child born of his and Emma’s love.  “So…I didn’t fail you, lad?”

“Look around you, Papa,” Charles said, gesturing at the happy, if slightly chaotic, sight around him.  “Look at the family you and Mama built.  This is hardly failure.  This is just about the greatest example of success I could imagine.  I wouldn’t have traded my life with you and Mama for anything in any of the realms.”

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

“Killian?”  He woke slowly, feeling a gentle shaking of his shoulder.  “Killian, are you alright?”

Swan.

He smiled, reaching for her and pulling her in for a quick kiss.  “Aye, love.  I’m quite fine.”

Killian looked around, noticing the first soft rays of the sun beginning to peek through the front windows.  “What day is it, Swan?”

She gave him a strange look.  “Um…well it was Christmas Eve when we went to bed last night, so that makes today Christmas.  That’s how these things work.”

“So they did it all in one night,” he muttered to himself, thinking of his three ghostly visitors and all the many places—and times—he’d seen.

“What?” Emma asked.  “Killian, are you sure everything is okay?  I woke up and you were gone, and your side of the bed was cold.  It’s not like you to leave our bed in the middle of the night.”

Killian smiled tenderly at her, caressed her cheek and pulled her in for another long, slow kiss, his hand caressing her belly.  When the kiss came to an end, he pulled away only far enough to press his forehead to hers.  “I was afraid,” he admitted.

Emma started and pulled away.  “Afraid?  Of what?  Don’t tell me we have a new villain in town!  It’s Christmas!  Can’t they at least wait until after the holiday to make our lives hell?”

Killian chuckled.  “Calm yourself, love.  Nothing like that.”  He rubbed her belly once again.  “We’ve only a month yet before this little one comes, love, and I suppose I feared my ability to be the father our son deserves.”

“Killian…” she said gently, but he stopped her with a raised hand.

“Don’t worry love,” he said.  “Last night my fears were put to rest, thanks to some very persuasive guests.”

“Well this sounds like it will be quite the story.”

“Indeed,” he admitted, getting to his feet, “suppose I tell you the entirety of it as I make you a Christmas breakfast?”

NEXT CHAPTER-->