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chiliiscereal · 3 years

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Well my standards have really lowered when I comes to writing fanfiction a XD

First I didn’t want to write any at all, then I didn’t want to write for any cartoons, then I didn’t want to write for cartoon turtles... and here i am.

Here I am starting a x reader fanfiction... with the 2014/2016 version of Raph

Still a bit uncomfortable with this but I had an idea so here we go! If I like it then I’ll keep going :p

Lol what am I doing with my life XD

Too tall

Raph x tall! Fem! Reader

Summary: yes this is me self projecting. Reader is 6 foot 4 inches tall and literally every boy she meets is too insecure to date her when she’s that tall. After a while of being treated like she unbreakable and a giant she gets tired of it. Luckily there’s someone else out there who understands how she feels.

———-

You tapped the cafe table impatiently, trying not to watch your friend and her boyfriend across from you. You attempted to look at the door instead. Maybe if you stared at it long enough then your date would show up.

“It’s okay! I’m sure he’ll show up.” She tried to console you as her boyfriend held her tiny little hand.

Perfect.

Small.

You looked at your own clenched hands and wished that yours could fit so perfectly in someone else’s hands. But, sadly, big hands come with height.

No boy your age ever came close to you.

It’s not that you minded.

It’s that they did.

You didn’t care that practically every boy you met barely went up to your shoulder. You wanted companionship. You didn’t need them to be a hulking giant. You needed someone who loved you.

This wasn’t Tall Girl for goodness sake.

You weren’t waiting around for some tall man to show up.

Unfortunately no guy was willing to step up to the plate.

Why might you ask?

Insecurity of course.

The last three guys that turned you down all said they weren’t comfortable with being shorter than their girlfriend. Others said they weren’t looking for a girlfriend.

Funnily enough they all ended up with girlfriends maybe a week later.

The other girls were incredibly tiny. They barely even made it to the boys shoulders. If that.

But you thought maybe this boy would be different.

He seemed like he was.

He seemed interested at least.

He SEEMED like he was excited when you asked him on a double date with your best friend and her boyfriend.

But an hour passed already and he wasn’t there.

You sat up with a bit of a huff. “It’s fine. Let’s just... let’s just enjoy dinner.”

Your friend frowned at you but decided to let it drop. She knew you hated whenever anything like this was addressed so she bit her tongue and changed the subject.

You couldn’t enjoy dinner or pay attention to anything brought up.

Oh you tried.

You gave it the old college try.

But you found your mind wandering back to the lost date way to often.

After another thirty minutes you stood up. “You know what? I’m kind of tired and I still have some homework to finish up. You two enjoy your date!” You grabbed your bag and walked out before your friend could even call you back.

You just needed some time to yourself.

Time to think.

You walked down the sidewalk slowly, half heartedly wishing that the boy would call you and give an amazing reason as to why he was two hours late.

You stopped yourself from reaching for your phone to check for a text.

No it was his loss.

Not yours.

Surely there was someone out there for you... waiting for you to come along.

Someone that wouldn’t care if you were a little taller than them.

You huffed and zipped your bag shut. Whoever they were, they definitely weren’t that boy.

“Hey girl, who you all dressed up for?” Came a voice from the alley you were about to pass.

“No time to talk.” You answered quickly and continued walking.

You weren’t about to give them the time of day. There was a tub of ice cream and a sappy romance movie waiting for you back at your apartment.

“Come on, a girl like you with legs like that? Surely you’re dressed up for somebody.” The man stepped out of the alleyway and leaned against the brick wall. “I’m thinkin’ maybe it’s me.”

Oh you wanted to turn him around and hit him with your bag.

But it wasn’t worth the risk.

“Hell no.” You stated curtly and walked by him briskly.

He snatched your wrist, effectively making your skin crawl. “Look at me when I’m talking to ya.”

He pulled you into the alley before you could stop him.

“Maybe you didn’t hear me.” You growled and tried to rip yourself away. “HELL. NO.”

“Come on, baby! Give me a chance-!” He attempted you sweet talk before he was interrupted.

You caught his hand before he could grab you anywhere inappropriate. “I have had a REALLY terrible day. I am a MINOR and if you don’t get lost RIGHT NOW then you’re gonna have some serious problems.”

He was close enough that you could smell the bitter alcohol on his breath.

He was probably a head shorter than you and had no idea what he was getting into.

“I don’t care if you’re a minor-.” He started.

Your fist smashing into his nose stopped his words.

“Like I said!” You growled as you shook the pain out of your knuckles, “I have had a really really REALLY bad day. And YOU are some little gnat just buzzing in my FACE!”

He gripped his nose with a cry, blood dripping down it like a waterfall. “YOU BROKE MY NOSE!”

“YOU PULLED ME INTO AN ALLEY AND TRIED TO TOUCH ME!” You shouted back, hitting him with your purse before he could charge at you. “YOU MADE THIS CHOICE AFTER I WARNED YOU!”

It felt good to take your rage out on somebody. And it was justified to! It wasn’t like you were just beating this man. He wasn’t letting you leave! He kept grabbing you before you could go.

————-

Turtles pov

They crouched above the alleyway, watching the man pull you into the alleyway.

“We gotta get involved man.” The red masked one whispered. “This doesn’t look to good.”

“I told you, we only get involved if it gets really bad.” The blue one responded with an eye roll. “We can’t risk being seen!”

“It already looks really bad!”

“If she gets anymore hurt then we jump in!”

The orange masked turtle jumped into the conversation. “I don’t know, I think my money’s on the girl.”

“Mikey shut up!” The purple masked brother whispered. “This is serious!”

“So am I! Look at her! She isn’t even scared!”

“I think she at least looks a little scared.”

“Probably cause she’s trying to keep herself from beating the shit out of him!”

Raph rolled his eyes and shoved his younger brother. “It’s our job to do the protectin’ round here. Shut up and- HOLY SHIT!”

The all gasped as you reeled your hand back and knocked your fist into the creeps nose.

“Damn that looked like it hurt.” Leo observed. “Maybe she doesn’t need our help.”

“I say we stay here in case it goes south.” Raph argued, waiting for Leo to argue with him.

“Fine, but we leave when it looks like she’s safe.” Leo nodded and looked back to the fight.

Raph didn’t have time to feel proud that he’d been listened to. Mikey was inching closer to watch. “What the hell are ya doin’?” He reached forward to pull him back. “She’s gonna see ya!”

Mikey leaned over the edge anyway. “Look at her go! I told you he didn’t stand a chance!”

“Who knew using a purse was so effective?” Leo nodded. “Think she’s got it?”

“Looks like it to me!” Mikey laughed and watched with glee. “This is real entertainment.”

“Mikey you’re too close to the edge!” Raph tried to grab him but was shoved away. “You’re gonna fall-!”

————

With that you shoved the man into the wall. “Are you FINALLY done? Have you FINALLY learned your lesson?”

He spit out the blood from his mouth and nodded. “Fine! Please just leave me alone!”

“Good choice!” You shoved him away from you. “Go before I change my mind!”

He was gone before you could even blink.

“That’s right! Get out of here!” You shouted to him as he scurried away.

You lifted your chin triumphantly.

Maybe you hadn’t gotten that date but you sure did beat the crap out of a creep.

You dusted your hands off and snatched your purse off the ground.

“If I catch you harassing anyone else you’ll get it twice as bad!”

No answer of course.

He was long gone.

Still, it felt good to shout.

You could finally go home.

You turned back to the edge of the alleyway with a sigh of relief.

You took one step forward.

Then, the least expected thing happened.

“OH SHIT!”

Next thing you knew you were on the ground after something very large crashed into you.

“What the hell!” You sat up and rubbed your head. “Who just sits on a roof above an alleyway?!”

You grabbed your purse quickly and stood up, ready for another fight.

It wasn’t another creep.

And from the looks of it... it wasn’t even human.

Well, THEY weren’t even human.

You didn’t know what they were.

Green...

Huge...

And shells...

The finally looked at you.

Why were they wearing masks?

What even were they?

Why were they there!?

The one in orange immediately scurried behind the one in red. “Oh shit oh shit oh shit!”

The one in red looked at you and then looked at the guy behind him. “You dragged me into this! You fix it!”

He pulled him forward.

Honestly you had no idea what to think.

There were two GIANT turtles right in front of you! And they were talking!

You gripped your purse a little tighter, waiting to see what they would do.

The one directly in front of you tried to speak only to look back at the red masked one and then back up at where they had fallen.

You looked from him to where he was looking quickly. “Are there more of you?”

He gulped quickly and attempted to hide behind the bigger turtle. “Uh... yeah?”

You took a small step to the exit. “Are you... are you gonna try to take my purse or something?”

The red one glared at you. “No! We’re just.. just here to protect the city. We ain’t monsters!”

You noticed him getting defensive immediately and nodded. “...okay then. Well, if you’re not going to rob me then I’m going to pretend I saw nothing and go on my way.”

The red one frowned.

You were acting waaaaaaay too casual.

Surely there had to be some other motive.

“Hold on a minute... you ain’t goin’ anywhere yet.”

You glared at him and held out your purse. “Are you gonna stop me?”

Mikey took a step back and Raph rolled his eyes.

“I don’t think a purse is gonna do much against someone like me.” He stated.

“I don’t even know who you are.” You stepped back again and tightened your grip. “I didn’t even know people like you existed until now.”

You looked them up and down, taking them all in.

This couldn’t be real.

It couldn’t be.

“You say anything bout this and you’re dead, got it?” He pointed around you as if aggression could make you quiet.

“Can you at least let me go home and finish my ice cream before you decide to kill me?” You backed up again.

You were so close to running away.

So close to escape.

Before you could back up any further, two more creatures dropped from the sky behind you.

You jumped and scrambled away, nearly running into the red masked turtle.

“Listen, I’m sorry about the way my brother phrased everything.” The new turtle glared at his companion. “What he meant to say is that we protect the city. We were watching that man just in case he tried anything and these two,” he glared at the first two again, “fell off the roof.”

The one next to him pushed up his glasses. “I’m surprised you haven’t passed out from fear yet. The first person we met did just that!”

Your back hit the wall and you had no where else to go. “I’m not too sure if I won’t do that.” You glanced between the four of them. “What even are you guys?”

“Turtles!” The orange one spoke up before the red one could shush him.

“Mutants as well.” The purple one joined.

“And ninjas.”

“And teenagers.”

You couldn’t help but snort. “Mutant turtle teen ninjas? I think you need to rebrand that.”

Maybe you were insane.

Here you were cracking jokes with large turtles at dinner time.

But so far they were harmless, despite their stature. According to the blue one they protect New York.

“Ya got a problem with it?” The red one grew even more tense.

You shook your head quickly. “No. Just... surprised.”

“And scared?” He added. “Scared of monsters like us?”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “I thought you just said you weren’t monsters.”

That seemed to stop him.

So you continued with a deep breath. “You’re all just... really huge. I thought I was tall but standing next to you...” you swallowed and tried not to let your nerves get to you. You turned to the blue one since he seemed to be the leader. “...can I go now? I won’t tell anyone you exist or... whatever it is you want.”

The blue one was skeptical but the purple one butted in.

“Do you have a way home? Like a friend you can call?”

You opened your purse. “Yeah I should be able to call an Uber with my...” you pulled out the broken device. “...my phone.”

Well crap.

You stuffed it back in quickly. “It’s okay I’ll just walk-!”

“I can fix it.” He offered. “Besides it’ll be an extra security measure for us if we have your contact information.” He gestured loosely to the hand you’d punched the creep with. “We could also bandage up those cuts.”

You brought up your hand and inspected the blood with surprise.

Well... when were you gonna get another opportunity like this? It’s not everyday a girl gets invited into the homes of local mutants.

Besides you really didn’t want to walk home with your phone destroyed.

The red one looked at the purple one angrily. “You wanna being ‘er back??”

“Our job is to help people, Raph.” He rolled his eyes.

“I’m with Donnie. It’s only fair since we broke her phone.” The blue one nodded.

“Well if it’s not too much trouble...”

—————

Next thing you know you were whisked away to none other than the sewers.

Well that kind of made sense.

No one would ever really want to go down there anyway.

The purple one, whose name you learned was Donnie, had your phone in his three fingers the moment you stepped foot in their home.

“I’ll do a little fixing up, maybe an upgrade, and Raph can take a look at your hands.” He muttered as he started to disappear into a lab like room.

Raph...

He was the red angry one wasn’t he.

The tallest and biggest out of them all.

He didn’t seem too happy about it either.

“Why me?” He protested. “What ‘bout Leo? Or-or Master Splinter? Heck, even Mikey!” He gestured to his orange masked brother as if to showcase how he’d be better at it.

You couldn’t help but silently agree with him.

Mikey seemed the most open on the way here. He’d talked your ear off the whole trip, asking questions about what it was like to be a human and bragging about all the people he’d saved. He’d even wanted you to play a video game with you when you got to their home. He’d been a bit overbearing but that was better than Mr. miffed muscle mountain.

“Hey you’ve broken the skin on your knuckles before. You’ve got experience in it. Just fix her hand and be done.” With that, Donnie was gone.

You shared an awkward moment of eye contact with Raph before he sighed.

“Well, I’m gonna go play my game.” Mikey dashed over to the tv. “Let me know when you two are done and we can play!” He grabbed Leo by the back of his shell and pulled him along.

You bit the inside of your cheek nervously.

It was just you two.

You and the giant turtle boy beside you.

“Aight well...” he cleared his throat. “I guess I’ll take you up to the work out room then?”

He stopped and you realized he was waiting for you to say something. You quickly tried to scrounge up a comprehensible sentence.

“Y-yeah, sounds good with me.” You followed after him quietly, holding your hand so the blood wouldn’t drip everywhere.

The room was smaller than you imagined but still... it was huge to you.

He began rummaging through a box on the table, fumbling with objects. “You can uh... you can sit down while I grab the-the stuff.” He told you quickly.

You didn’t know where to sit so you interpreted his words to mean that you should sit on the work out bench.

You watched patiently as he found the roll of gauze.

Clearly he was just as nervous as you.

You didn’t know why HE was nervous though. He was a giant turtle for goodness sake. He could snap you in half easily.

“Here lemme see that hand.” He shuffled over and reached out.

You gave your right one to him, trying to hold in your nervous shaking.

“Ain’t gonna bite ya.” He rolled his eyes.

“I know.” You commented, watching him start applying disinfectant. “Just never been in a situation like this before.”

He snorted and continued his work.

You couldn’t help but notice how small your hand looked compared to his. Ha. That was new. Usually it was you watching little pick me girls compare their hand size to their crushes. How strange it was for it to be you.

“And I thought I had big hands.” You couldn’t help but blurt out.

He kept his eyes on your hand, examining it a little more. “Ya call this big?”

“Yep.” You glanced around the room, taking in the ‘scenery’.

He snorted. “Damn tiny to me.” He pulled out the gauze and began wrapping your knuckles. “Look, I’m uh... I’m sorry ‘bout the way I handled earlier. My dumbnut brother got us exposed when ya clearly had the situation handled.”

You cringed, remembering that they’d seen you beating the creep. “Yeah I could have handled that better as well.”

He paused for a half second, as if considering his next words, and then continued. “Heard ya say you were havin’ a shit day as well.”

You weren’t exactly sure if you wanted this brought up in the middle of the weirdest experience ever but you were desperate for a smooth conversation. “Yeah, some jackass stood me up.”

He frowned and momentarily made confused eye contact with you. “Stood ya up?”

“You know, as in he said he was gonna go on a date with me and just didn’t show up.” You forced out a laugh. “But it’s fine I got ice cream at home.”

“Mmm.” He muttered. “Sounds like a douche bag.”

Well outta room! Part two will be up I had too much fun :)

#tmnt headcanons #tmnt raphael #tmnt fanfiction #tmnt #tmnt 2014 #raph x reader

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intercoursefluids · 3 years

Text

You Lied to Me?

The Wayne Enterprises building was the most beautiful building Marinette had ever seen. The tour guide was a very sweet man and he loved telling jokes to try to get the class to laugh.

Unfortunately, Lila was on a roll today, lying about knowing the Waynes and growing up with the youngest son, and finding out that they were true mates.

Even if she was claiming that her true mate was Prince Ali a week before the trip was announced, god forbid Marinette points that out and makes Lila shed her crocodile tears.

Even Adrien, her own mate, took Lilas's side and yelled at her for pointing out her lies when she should just stay quiet.

It ended up leading into a huge argument between them that Marinette had to apologize for to get him to talk to her after 3 long weeks of him ignoring her existence.

“Bruce Wayne funds multiple charities around the world in honor of his late parents, he has several adoptive children and a single blood son. Bruce typically keeps his children out of the spotlight and most Gothamites are very good about keeping pictures with them off of the internet.”

As the tour guide talks, Marinette reaches out her hand for Adrien's just for him to brush her off and step away from her.

Wrapping her arms around herself she leaves his side to stand next to the tour guide. At least he tells jokes and tries to make this interesting.

Damian's POV:

“Master Damian, you should start heading to the office if you want to catch Master Dick before his lunch break is over.”

Running his hands over his face he thanks Alfred before grabbing his jacket and starting his car up.

He needed Dick to sign off on his trip to Paris, France since he was his temporary guardian until Father got back from his honeymoon with Selina.

Pulling up to the building he stops. Not because of the bright yellow bus sitting in the parking lot, no, it's because of the intoxicating scent of baked goods, plants, and rain wafting through the air.

Following the smell leads him to the tour group Grayson is leading into the cafeteria.

Walking to Grayson's side he passes him the permission slip, trying to understand why he wants to be near the Blue haired angel getting a lunch tray.

“Grayson, how can you tell if you’ve found your true mate?”

Grayson startles looking up from signing the papers.

“Well, their scent is one way, they will smell like absolute heaven to you and you can’t help but follow it. Another way is that when you see them you want to touch them so you can get your scent on them as well, and when you do touch them, it's electrifying. Literally and figuratively. Do you think you found them?”

Damian nods, his eyes following his mate as she looks for a table to sit at.

“She’s right there. The one with the blue hair.”

Grayson smiles, clapping Damian on the shoulder.

“She’s pretty.”

Damian snorts responding without even thinking.

“She’s beautiful, Grayson. ‘Pretty’ doesn’t even scratch the surface.”

Grayson coos at Damian, being thoroughly ignored.

Damian starts walking towards her, intent on introducing himself when he catches another scent just beneath hers.

Another male’s scent.

He freezes in place making Grayson stop his cooing to instead question him.

“What's wrong? Is it not her?”

Damian watches as she walks to a seat at an empty table away from the rest of her group.

“She-”

Damian cuts off as he watches someone stick out their foot and trip her. Her lunch spills everywhere as she falls to the floor.

Not thinking twice he rushes over to her, holding out his hand and helping her up.

Just like Grayson said little shocks travel up and down his arm and he finds himself never wanting to let go.

She has the most beautiful blue eyes he's ever seen and the most angelic voice he's eve- Oh wait she's talking.

“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going and tripped, I’m so sorry!”

Damian just shakes his head, motioning for one of the janitors to come over and clean up the mess.

When he arrives she automatically drops down beside him to help pick up the mess muttering apologize the entire time.

Damian shifts his hand to her shoulder, subconsciously marking her with his scent and trying to overpower the other males.

“It’s fine honey, this stuff happens all the time. Why don’t you go hop back in line and get another tray? We wouldn’t want you to go hungry now.”

With the janitor's gentle prodding she finally stands up and gets another tray.

On her way back, Damian makes sure to keep an eye out for anyone else who wants to trip her.

The rest of lunch goes smoothly as she takes a seat at the table she was heading to and Damian watches her from his spot next to his brother.

Everything goes fine until they are about to finish the tour. A guy with blonde hair roughly grabs the girl with blue hair pulling her off to the side.

“Ow! Adrien, what’s wrong?”

Damian watches from Grayson's side, wanting to go help but certain she can handle herself.

“You know exactly what you did, Marinette. Don’t play stupid.”

A low growl leaves his chest as his mate is insulted.

“Adrien, you’re not making any sense. What did I do?”

He grabs both her wrists, shaking her violently.

“You belong to me! You are mine Marinette! Trying to get me jealous by flirting with that other guy? Really?! How low can you sink?! It's pathetic!”

She pushes away from him, rubbing at her wrists with the start of a bruise forming.

Damian starts to make his way over, a low, vicious rumbling in the back of his throat.

Grayson, seeing how mad Damian follows him.

“What the hell are you talking about?! I wasn’t flirting with anyone! I fell because Lila stuck her foot out and tripped me! It wasn’t my fault!”

Their argument starts to attract the attention of the other workers, a few running to find security.

Damian starts running as he watches the guy's hand clench before raising it.

He strikes her. Hard.

‘Marinette’ being caught off guard, loses her balance and falls to the ground, turning to look at him before he roughly grabs her by one of her pigtails and pulls her up to his face, and screams at her.

“Don’t talk back to me! I own you and you will do as I say! Do you understand?!”

She pushes him away.

“Whoever decided that you were my true mate was wrong. Dead wrong!”

He snarls, pulling his fist back to strike her.

Damian gets there first.

The next thing everyone knows is Damian Wayne is standing protectively in front of the girl and the guy is several feet away clutching his cheek and groaning.

Grayson kneels next to Marinette, helping her to her feet and taking Damian’s coat from his outstretched hand to wrap around her shoulders.

“Are you okay?”

She nods as he pulls her closer to him away from the fight that is likely to break out before a loud screeching voice cuts through the air.

“True mates? With him? Please Marinette, I knew you were ignorant but I didn’t think you were stupid. I am Adriens true mate. Not you.”

Damian stands up making his way to Marinette, taking her in his arms as she starts to shake.

“What are you talking about Lila? Adrien was there on my birthday, he said we were mates!”

‘Lila’ cackles as other people gasp, some with their phones out recording the entire thing.

“Oh please, did you just take his word for it? Why didn’t you just check his scent? That’s always been the easiest way to tell. Go ahead, I won’t even mess with you.”

She stays frozen looking straight at the boy claiming to be her mate.

“I can’t. I lost my sense of smell when I was a kid. I couldn’t check even if I wanted to.”

Lila looks surprised now, before looking on sadly.

“You really had no idea he was lying, did you?”

She starts shaking, taking a hesitant step towards Adrien.

“Adrien? W-what's she talking about? It’s not true. Is it?”

Her voice ends in a broken whisper, eyes tearing up as he slowly stands up and walks to her.

“You are mine, Marinette. You were mine the moment you put on those earrings. I mean seriously if I don’t take you who will?”

She flinches as he steps closer, his voice getting louder with hysteria.

“Nobody likes you, Mari! I am all you have left now! You want to leave me? HA! I’d like to see you try it.”

At the end of his ‘speech’ he roughly grabs her arm pulling a whimper from her and a very, VERY dangerous sounding snarl from Damian.

Ripping Adrien's hand from her arm while being as gentle as possible to not hurt her he pulls her behind him handing her off to his brothers entrusting them to take care of her.

“Who do you think you are grabbing her like that?”

The words are accentuated with the deep growl rumbling from his chest.

“I don’t see how it's any of your business, what I do with MY personal belongings.”

Damian picks Adrien up by his neck slamming him against the nearest wall.

“Don’t talk about her like she's an object.”

Adrien, being the Buffon with no sense of self-preservation he is, laughs.

“Oh yeah? What's it to you how I treat her? Not like you would want her for anything other than her body anyway.”

Adrien sneers down at Damian, even as he slowly starts to turn purple in the face from his grip on his neck.

Slowly tightening his grip even more he watches as the blonde idiot starts to flail from the lack of breathing. Fighting to get a single breath of air.

“Do not act as if I would ever treat my mate in such a way.”

His voice is deadly, sending shivers down even the security guards spines.

Everyone watches on, some with their phones recording, certain that they are about to see Damian Wayne, their bosses son, about to commit a murder in the lobby.

And no one is even going to try and stop him.

That is until a small pale hand lands on his arm, shooting sparks all the way to his heart.

“Is it true? Are you really my true mate?”

Damian nods ever so slowly, never taking his eyes off the blonde who is slowly losing consciousness.

Two thin, lethal arms wrap around his waist from behind.

“Please stop. I just want to leave right now. Will you take me?”

Without another word Damian drops the barely conscious man, taking his coat off and wrapping it around Marinette's shoulders, tucking her into his side as he swiftly walks her out of the building.

Adrien slowly gets up, trying to chase after them only to be cut short by the three eldest Wayne brothers.

All armed with glares that could kill.

Behind them stands all of the Wayne enterprises employees, making a human barrier between the newly found mates and Adrien.

The brother with the white piece of hair steps forward pushing Adrien back down to the ground.

“I think we need to have a little talk.”

#werewolf au #Not sure I like it #Not my idea #If you can find the original tag so I can give credit #maribat #daminette #maridami #protective batfam #toxic!adrien

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anonil88 · 3 years

Text

Malcolm and Marie live blog

I don't usually do liveblogs for movies but yea.

Spoilers ahead!!

I love that its modern timed but very 70s stylized.

A tune indeed.

When you are high and drunk on success and

How the white critic reacts is why I feel like gatekeeping my scripts. At the same time some things I do make are about race or involve.

Marie sitting on the patio smoking is a mood whenever men are talking.

So he's pretentious and unaware.

Whoever chose the music for this, I feel like we would be Spotify mutuals.

Can this nigga stop pacing.

Also can he stop talking;

Marie is so tired and unimpressed.

Also little booties matter and are to be bitten.

Oooo the tension and the jazz.

Title Card over mac and cheese.

Shitty boxes mac and cheese but still mac and cheese.

Tbh i always wonder if spouses/significant others get upset when their spouses don't acknowledge them during speeches.

John sounds so much like his dad but I really hope his acting style differs from his dad a lot.

Guilty confession?

He did not profit off of his partners backstory and then not even acknowledge her.....I.....

If that ever happened to me catch me cussing my partner out during the beginning credits, the end credits, in the car, and at home.

GASLIGHTER!

The way I'm excited for Zendaya to give me some, oooo can she work with Regina King. Please on my knees I pray.

Um no that's not your job to coddle your lead.

He's a dick and the type of dick who makes himself look like a good person around other people.

If Sam Levinson is trying to make his viewers more of misandrist, it's working.

I feel like Marie has her flaws probably a lot of them and we will surely see as this continues, but Malcolm needs to learn how to apologize sincerely.

70s vibes! 70s vibes!

Them kissing and talking about criticism and dreams makes me miss a partner. A partner that I've had and haven't had.

Women really are behind every great man.

Yea sir you fucked a happy moment.

Oh visual allegories for looking in from the outside and cat and mouse chasing and looking from the outside in.

She's saying she doesn't feel noticed by you.

Gas lighter :0 he called her an emotional support dog, bruh.

I would LOVE to co-write or take a writing class held by Sam Levinson. The fights i write are very much in this same realm of reflection and anger and monologue.

Sam.....sam.....are all the sides inside of you doing okay sir?

The ugly side of dating and being in a relationship with someone who struggles with their own demons.

Honestly I could close my eyes and listen to this script being read without seeing these characters visually. Just close my eyes and get a sense of these characters like it was a radio story.

Oh. Oh this is a new wheelhouse of Zendaya acting; a different voice is like breaking through here and her expressions aren't the same we are used to. You can literally hear another character in there....hmm.

Mans is outside really fighting with his invisible demons lmfao.

Selfish ass, how after everything she said you came out of it thinking about your own craft and self instead of how you hurt her.

So she's conditional.

Me: did sam (a white man) say nigga this many times in his script or are the actors adding their own inflections. Not just the lingo used but the topic of race and directing etc. being written by a white writer about black characters is always gonna be a critique when you're writer is a white person.

Alexa play Broken Girls by Saba

He is so hurtful.

A clown nigga a clown look in the fucking mirror you bozo head ass looking like you need some Mehron clown white and a size 16 in clown shoes.

John is doing a really swell performance and reading of these lines.

He is reading her for her insecurities by bringing up his experiences with other women and that.....is yikes.

Arguments can get messy like this in real life but it takes a lot of maturity and control to either not let it get to this point or have a healthy conversation afterwards.

This film is really shot on some very crisp lenses.

They sitting there like 🚬🧍‍♀️🧍‍♂️.

Leftover Mac and Cheese and unfinished cigarettes.

The nyt etc. pay walls are so annoying, but there is a work around look at the articles on incognito or add a period at the end of the url.

He sounds like his daddy so much here, weird, this is the only part I'm eh on the dialogue it feels real but a bit out of pace in how they are bouncing off one another.

Nail scissors? So the end is not the only part he based off of Marie. 🙄

ITS A GOOD REVIEW YOU DINGUS but also its a full review they are going to critique things. She isn't wrong though he did profit off of a woman's story that was not his own to profit from.

Yes Malcolm because unfortunately all marginalized people look through a lens of life that is inherently political because of the world they live in.

He is so mad and upset and had a lot on his chest. But I think he Malcolm and Sam are talking about something thats an issue and a non issue. Being critiqued for you art is hard but also Malcolm is not super self aware. He's like a stand in figure of for example rich depop sellers who wanna be oppressed so badly they yell at others instead of examining their own personal behaviors and ethics.

Oh Marie, when you know the spark is gone and you pick fights because.

He ain't even ask her to read?

One critic I have for most of hollywood actors is they learn their cry and that is it. A change from this is Margot Robbie, I adore her fluctuations of crying being similar but the crying is carried differently for each character. If I had to say any actor that does a cry scene amazing its this woman right here (Amy Adams)

You stole her story from her and gave it away, she has a right to be upset and angry and a rubber band ball of emotions.

Citizen Kane, not the cinematography, but the story is it even that good? (Unpopular opinion but meh, maybe in my rewatch it will be better.)

But that is what people want authenticity and whatever authenticity means to them. What is real for one is false for another.

To be honest look at the criticism of Euphoria, well earned, but a lot of people were like this isn't real even though he literally wrote about his own life. People said it was inauthentic like....wtf.

Ahh the smoking is just a habit, he quit and she didn't.

CAST ZENDAYA IN A HORROR MOVIE PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING. Get Lupita and Zendaya and some more black actors preferably less known ones in a horror movie. One with a interesting script and story, directed by Regina King. Please and thankyou.

I love Marie yep that was amazing.

Behind every great man is a greater woman, one that deserves her credit for how she has stood behind. I wonder the stories of those women, what they have sacrificed or not sacrificed. Their thoughts and feelings when the world is surrounding their partner and views them as a plus one. (I'd write a short script about this but I think do I have the time, can I, or am I equipped ?)

He is a shitty person for bringing up his exes, like she even said I don't wanna know any of that.

Imagine being on anti depressents and rarely having a sex drive and then when you do your partner starts talking about their exes and tearing you apart for all your faults.

I love when you see peaks of Zendaya's cadence in roles.

Tension, what if's and he didn't even bring her up in his speech.

Marie to herself and the audience:

He is not afraid that he will loose her but as my character says in my unreleased story, "i can't wait til you give me a fucking reason to leave your ass." Malcolm expects everything in order for not even doing the bare minimum and she is only asking him for something as simple as consideration. She just wants him to be considerate. He wants to get married and considers their relationship like rolling down a hill at full speed and he cannot apologize, he cannot be considerate, and he cannot admit his wrongs. He can only offer her I love yous that he probably does mean but he does not back up outside of what he's done for her in the past. The past which was more of her experience than his and he sees his part in it as a burden. He doesn't use his own vantage point of the past to further his career he uses her. He does all of these things without a real apology or thankyou because he is not afraid to loose her.

The restrictions of quarantine and the panorama have made Sam's writing very no frills. I wonder how other films from other directors and writers that are filmed in small contained crews like this will be structured. But this was a very good movie gonna add to my letter box 3.3-3.5

Oh shit this is my song,

Ratings/overall thoughts:

Script is like a C+, B- : I could go into my heavier big brain thoughts on the script but I don't feel like it. You catch hints of it above it centers conversation on race and privilege, mainly the writers and questions i have that won't be answered but Sam did make me grow disdain for Malcolm over a short time. Which is sometimes hard to do because im one sympathetic person but the sympathy i have for Malcolm is at 0. Maybe a 2 at some scenes but then it quickly goes back to 0. Some parts of the dialogue miss the mark or hit the are off balanced. While some of it like Malcolm's bathroom speech albeit mean is really strong or their conversation when he comes back from peeing really shines for me.

Performances: B+ to A- because they carried the script further than it could of gone with less talented actors. The monologues do well to showcase their current skill levels which are already high af and leave room for anticipation in where these actors go next.

Zendaya holding a knife: A+ with a gold star. That switch on and off and on is delectable.

John being a shitty boyfriend but following Marie like a lost puppy: B+ with a good job written at the bottom of the paper, Malcolm being nervous a frantic dialed up with more realistic nervousness would have sold me completely on Malcolm's anxious waiting.

Cinematography: A and a participation award.

The mac and cheese: A+ for the easy mac. Wish it was like Annie's or Velveeta.

Cigarettes: Participation award and their picture hung up for student of the month. Why the grill lighter? Everytime Malcolm opened up his mouth Marie was like sparks fly.

The music: A++ with a prize. Whoever picked the music probably makes good Spotify playlists.

#Malcolm & Marie #malcolm and marie #zendaya coleman #zendaya #john david washington #liveblog #mine

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edendaphne · 3 years

Text

“Discordant Sonata” Chapter 19

>>Click here to read on Ao3<<

>>Click here to read on Wattpad<<

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CHAPTER 19: ATTACCA

Music glossary: Attacca - "To attack at once"; used as a direction in music at the end of a movement to begin the next without pause

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(Mood music: "The Conversation" - Pearl Django)

Being mere months away from graduating lycée meant that their group of friends didn’t have as many classes together, due to their diverse individual interests and talents. However, they always made sure to make time to hang out after school before their extracurricular activities began.

And thus, Adrien, Nino, and Alya made their way to the classroom where the art club gathered to meet up with Marinette. From there, Adrien would make his way to either fencing lessons or Chinese, depending on the day of the week. Marinette would join him on days when he had Chinese (as she’d become determined to master the language ever since her uncle visited from Shanghai a few years back), Alya would go to her journalism club, and Nino would travel to his part-time internship at the local recording studio.

“–and the backlogs just keep piling up!” Alya spoke as they walked, voice full of vigor and excitement. “I’ve had to recruit yet another mod to help me keep order in the forums! Especially since the Ladyblog has started going international and we’ve had to organize servers in different languages. You wouldn’t believe how crazy it’s gotten in there recently!”

“Dang, babe,” Nino interjected. “Sounds like things are super rough for you right now.”

“Not really, more busy than anything. Especially because I have that big research article due next week, there’s just not enough hours in the day to try to read everything that goes on in there. But I have my mods report to me daily, ‘cause I always like to stay on top of everything that goes on in the chats!”

“What’s gotten everyone so riled up in the Ladyblog lately?” Adrien chimed in. “I don’t recall it being nearly this busy last year.”

The trio entered the art club’s classroom and settled down at the table where Marinette sat, getting her various sketches organized. The art teacher was quite easy going, so they didn’t have to talk in hushed whispers and could come and go as they pleased.

“Well, to be honest, it’s because of Chat Noir,” Alya replied.

Adrien tried to contain his surprise. “R-really? What– uhhh, what do people have to say about him?”

He winced inwardly. He knew he shouldn’t ask. But curiosity got the better of him today. Maybe learning the news through the filter or Alya’s paraphrasing instead of reading the negative comments firsthand would lessen the sting of what people said about him.

Marinette whipped her head around at the mention of his alter ego. “Wait, what about Chat Noir?” she inquired.

“Girl,” Alya replied, her voice filled with renewed exuberance. “You would not believe how much we’ve had to censor and moderate all the inappropriate things people have been saying!”

Adrien flinched in his seat. “Wow… do people really hate him that much?” he asked, trying to conceal the dejection in his voice.

Alya busted out into loud guffaws. “Hate?! Dude, most people don’t hate him; they LOVE him! By ‘inappropriate’ comments, I mean the kinda stuff you wouldn’t want your grandma to catch you reading! There’s a whole giant section dedicated to his new fan club!” she said as she removed her glasses so she could wipe away the tears of laughter.

“WHAT?!” Adrien squawked in confusion, his face feeling hotter than the ovens back at the bakery. “A fan club??”

Marinette burst into uncontrollable snickering. “Has it really gotten that bad?!”

Nino joined in, “Bro! Adrien, I can’t believe you haven’t heard Alya rant about these rabid fans before! They call themselves the ‘Noir Nation’, and the kind of things they’ve been writing would make adult romance authors blush like schoolgirls!”

Alya nodded, thoroughly amused. “And that’s not including all the fanfiction people have been writing.”

“Wait– the WHAT?! There’s fanfiction?!!” Marinette gaped in shock, as if she’d been hit in the face with an enormous pie. “Alya, how come I never knew about this?!”

“Why? You wanna read em? Girl, you’ll get no judgment from me. If you wanna check ‘em out for yourself, just go check under the hashtag ‘Ladynoir’.”

Marinette stammered as her arms flailed in her bewilderment, accidentally knocking her phone off the table and onto the floor, her eyes bigger and rounder than Adrien had ever seen them. “They have a ship name?!” she screeched.

“Just mind the ratings though,” Alya advised. “Some of them can get pretty steamy. You wouldn’t want someone to catch you reading those in public,” she added with a wink.

Marinette continued to sputter incoherently. “NO, I am NOT gonna read it!! It would be different if they were fictional characters, but I could never read fanfiction about real people!”

Alya raised a skeptical eyebrow at her. “Mm-hmm… Sure.”

Marinette’s hands flew to her face, trying to hide how red her entire face had gotten, and released a long squeak that resembled a hamster on helium. As shocked as Adrien was about these rather unexpected news, seeing Marinette’s over-the-top reaction brought a wide grin to his face and he busted out laughing.

He bent over to retrieve Marinette’s phone, since she was too busy being mortified to notice it had fallen to the floor. As he was about to hand it back, the screen lit up and Adrien saw the lockscreen wallpaper: it was the same photo of Ladybug and Chat Noir that he himself had saved earlier that day. He smiled, not exactly sure what to make of it, but finding it adorable that she’d liked the photo enough to set it as her lockscreen.

He tapped her shoulder, waiting for her to respond. She emerged from behind her impromptu hand shield and turned her head, then her eyes widened once again as soon as she saw what Adrien was showing her. She jolted straight up, stiff as a board, and her eyes met his, cheeks turning tomato red. He winked at her, amused about this little secret between them, and handed back her phone without a word.

Marinette accepted it with a meek-sounding, “Thanks,” looking like she wanted to explain the photo, but not able to do so unless she wanted Alya and Nino to find out that she was potentially a… ahem– “Ladynoir” shipper.

Switching the conversation to something else (which Marinette seemed to be eternally grateful for), the group chatted until it became time for them to scatter to their next destinations.

With a wave, Adrien exited the classroom and headed towards fencing practice, one of the few activities he decided to stick with despite not being forced to participate. Fencing, along with Chinese lessons, were not only enjoyable, but were also quite useful. Sadly, he didn’t have access to a piano anymore, so he wasn’t able to pursue that hobby for the time being. Hopefully later down the line, when things had settled down and he’d found his own place to live, he’d be able to finance one.

Thinking about the future had become an exciting pastime instead of an anxiety-inducing one, and it was all thanks to his friends and those he cared about. He smiled as he reached the door to the locker rooms, continuing to daydream of what was to come.

(Mood music: "Recollection 3" - Shirō Sagisu (BLEACH OST, "The Diamond Dust Rebellion")

Adrien finished getting dressed for fencing, his head still blissfully floating in the clouds. He stored his belongings into his assigned locker, shutting it with a loud clang, which echoed through the empty room.

Huh...? Empty?

He swiveled his head around, surprised that there was no one beside him. He stood up and began walking down the large room, peeking down the other locker rows looking for his classmates; but there was nobody.

Where was everyone? There’s no way that every single one of them was running late. Had his lessons been cancelled and he’d somehow missed a text message or email? He began heading back towards his locker to check his phone for any schedule changes.

Before he reached his destination, however, heavy thudding footsteps broke the eerie silence. Adrien whipped his body around to greet whoever they belonged to.

The owner of those footsteps was one of the last people Adrien expected to meet here.

“Gaspard?!”

Adrien stood agape, face to face with his old bodyguard, whom he hadn’t seen in a couple of years; not since he’d resigned and moved out of the country. Nathalie had mentioned that in his resignation letter, Gaspard said that he’d become involved in an overseas business venture involving the market of rare action figures. Nevertheless, Adrien couldn’t help but suspect that his father’s ill temper and poor treatment of their employees was the true reason for his departure.

Adrien’s first reaction was surprise and joy, and he rushed forward to greet and embrace him. However, as he approached and got a better look at the man’s face, Adrien’s mood instantly morphed into confusion and apprehension. There was something odd about his eyes.

Something wasn’t right. Why was Gaspard here? And why now?

He came to a halt about a meter before reaching him. An oppressive weight seemed to press in all around him, and he had to suppress a shiver. “Wait. Gaspard, did–” he gulped, “–did my father send you?”

His old bodyguard did not reply, but took a heavy step towards him. Adrien stepped back.

“Please… I can’t go back. I live somewhere else now, and I’m very happy there. Whatever he told you about the situation, it’s a lie.”

His bodyguard continued to approach him, his stare vacant and unsettling.

Fighting the urge to panic, he pleaded, “You don’t have to do this. If he’s offered you compensation, I can match it; it’ll just take me a bit of time. But we can work something out, right?? For old time’s sake?”

He continued walking backwards until he bumped into something firm, but it wasn’t a wall; it was another person. Before he could turn around, they grabbed him by the shoulders, detaining him and preventing him from running away.

He was about to shout for help when something sharp jabbed him on the side of the neck, injecting a cold liquid. Adrien’s eyes grew wide in terror.

Shit.

Adrien swore as he jerked away, elbowing whoever was behind him and managing to break free. Rubbing at the spot where the syringe had stabbed him, he glanced back to take a look at his other assailant, only to see... another Gaspard?

Why are there two of him??

This was wrong. Gaspard didn’t have a twin; he knew that for a fact. He’d worked for the Agrestes ever since Adrien was a toddler and was too young to even pronounce his name correctly (hence the nickname “Gorille”, which stuck around for years afterwards). Additionally, there was something uncanny, otherworldly, even, about the way these two men looked and moved.

He shook himself out of his stupor. He didn’t have time to contemplate any possible explanations. He had to get out of there fast.

He sprinted towards the exit, but only managed to travel a few paces before he lost his footing and tripped. He fell to the ground hard, almost hitting his head on a nearby bench. As he struggled to get up, he realized that his fingers and toes had already gone numb.

Not good.

Time was running out. Adrenaline coursed through him and, with a grunt, he hefted himself to his feet and scrambled towards the exit, as fast as he could despite a heavy limp. Though his heart was hammering and his legs felt like they were filled with sand, he pushed himself, concentrating on reaching the door.

After taking a few steps, however, he realized that even if he did manage to exit the locker room, the area beyond was an open courtyard. Meaning he wasn’t going to be able to reach someplace safe before getting caught. He had no choice but to transform into Chat Noir, and hopefully Plagg’s powers and strength could help him escape and find somewhere to hide.

He’d scarcely uttered the first syllable in the transformation phrase when he was tackled to the ground. A giant hand swiftly covered his mouth and Adrien felt his hands get bound together with thick zip ties behind his back. A muffled scream of writhing frustration made its way up his throat as his limbs became more and more useless by the second.

No… This can’t be happening! Please, this can’t be how it all ends!

Just when his life had finally gained a semblance of normalcy and he’d found happiness again, it would get ripped away and he would disappear without a trace, leaving everyone to wonder what had happened to him. Leaving his friends to think that Gabriel had pulled him from school and they would never see him again. Leaving Ladybug to wonder if Chat had abandoned her forever. Leaving her to fight Hawkmoth alone. Again.

He couldn’t let that happen. He thrashed and struggled as furiously as he could, fighting the feelings of overwhelming helplessness that threatened to consume him. Nearing despair, he was too distracted to notice Plagg phrasing through the wall, away from the skirmish, in search of the only person who could save him.

(Mood music: "Run" - Ludovico Einaudi)

Marinette fidgeted with her pencil, her feet wiggled and bounced under her desk. She didn’t understand; when she’d arrived at the art club, her head had been filled with inspiration and ideas that she’d been excited to draw and execute. However, at the moment, her mind was filled with noise and disquietude.

Having had enough, she excused herself to visit the restroom. Once she’d walked far enough from the classroom, she opened her purse to talk to Tikki about her current dilemma.

“It’s the same feeling as last night, Tikki! Except that would mean one of three possibilities. Option A.) It’s nothing and I’m going crazy. And— don’t give me that look, Tikki! I can see what you’re thinking and I don’t have time for your cheeky sass right now!” The kwami snickered while Marinette cleared her throat and continued, “Option B.) that Chat is here, at this school, which is impossible because his school’s on the other side of the city, that’s why he always leaves the house super early for his long commute.”

Tikki opened her mouth and looked like she was about to say something, but then didn’t (...or couldn’t?).

Marinette resumed, “Or, C.) that my–– what do I even call it? My ‘Spidey sense’??–– that it’s got a long distance mode, and Chat is all the way across Paris and he’s in trouble! But what am I supposed to do about that from here?! I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking!”

Tikki shrugged. “Follow your instincts, Marinette. There’s no harm in taking a quick look around the school, right?”

Marinette groaned. “UGH! It doesn’t make sense!! Am I going to get interrupted like this all the time from now on?” She shook her head resolutely. “No. I can’t just go off on random field trips every single time I feel a random fit of anxiety. I’m sure it’s just leftover jitters from last night. I’m supposed to call Master Fu after school anyway; he can help me figure everything out. I’m just gonna go back to class and forget about it.”

Tikki frowned, not quite convinced, but deciding not to press further.

Marinette made her way back to the classroom in a frustrated huff. But as her hand reached to turn the handle, the feelings of danger and urgency multiplied tenfold. Without a word, she sprinted away in the opposite direction, not even knowing where she was running to, only knowing she had to get there immediately.

She reached the large common area of the school downstairs. Her head whipped around, frantically searching for something, anything. In her haste, she didn’t notice a small black creature zoom into her open purse.

A few moments later, she felt a frantic tugging at her shirt from below.

“Marinette!! Over there! Check the locker room, quick!!!” Tikki whisper-screamed as she peeked outside the purse, her tone uncharacteristically frantic.

Marinette nodded, then sprinted to the locker room.

“Wait! You should transform first!” Tikki added.

No time!

“Marinette, wait!!”

Despite Tikki’s protests, Marinette raced towards the double doors, tackling them open.

Three sets of eyes landed on her as she skidded to a halt, but only one pair consumed her entire attention. She gasped in horror, hands flying to her face as she stared at what was occurring in front of her. Adrien let out a desperate, muffled scream urging her to run.

His panicked voice snapped her out of her dazed shock; but instead of running, she stood her ground, eyes darting back and forth across the area searching for something useful. The room was remarkably barren except for a lone broom a short distance away from her. She grabbed it and leaped towards the closest attacker (the one holding Adrien down), swinging it like a baseball bat.

The man didn’t even try to avoid the hit; the broomstick merely bounced off the side of his face where Marinette had hit him. She frowned in confusion, then tried hitting him again, bringing the stick down on the top of his head like an axe.

SNAP.

The end of the broom flew off, and Marinette stared in shock at the broken broomstick.

“What the hell are you?!” Marinette exclaimed, shifting her grip on the shortened wooden stub.

She pounced at the second bodyguard, bringing her weapon down in a stabbing motion; but he swatted at her hand, disarming her. She yelped in pain, leaping backwards to get some distance between them.

She was outmatched. The only strategy available was to use their own size against them. With a feint to the side, she shot at his legs for a takedown, hoping to catch him off balance. He called her bluff and shoved her backwards with his giant palm, then kneed her in the stomach.

Winded from the impact, Marinette doubled over with a gasping wheeze, fighting with all her might to keep herself from collapsing onto the ground. She forced herself upright and attacked again. With a clumsy jerk, she lunged forward, swinging wild punches at her opponent. The shots connected but his expression barely changed; it was like beating a breathing punching bag.

The bodyguard backhanded Marinette across the face. Pain shooting across her cheek, she staggered, almost losing her balance. In her daze, she watched helplessly as the man reared his arm back. There was no chance to dodge. His fist connected with her abdomen, delivering a liver shot that shut down her entire body. She crumpled to the floor as if boneless. She tried to call out Adrien’s name, but her mouth merely opened in a silent scream.

Marinette could hear Adrien’s distressed screaming, but it sounded distant, like they were underwater. The edges of her vision grew black and fuzzy, the entire room dissolving around her. She had to consciously force her lungs to inhale, but couldn’t fill them all the way, as if a boulder had been placed on top of her chest.

Faintly, she felt herself getting picked up off the ground and carried away over someone’s shoulder. Disoriented and semi-blinded, the sudden movement and rough jostling made her head spin and gave her vertigo. She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block it all out.

A few moments later, they stopped moving, and she heard a door burst open. Where were they? Before she could gather her senses, she was in the air, thrown several meters away, landing with a hard thud. A sharp pain traveled down her body as she rolled into the wall across them. The shriek that tried to escape her throat emerged as a strained, shallow whine.

The man stomped out, leaving her alone in the room. “Stop…!” she rasped out, managing to tilt her neck upwards, head pounding.

The bodyguard slammed the door shut, followed by a bang and a clattering sound that could only mean he’d broken the doorknob of whatever room she was in.

Marinette's vision became more and more blurred. At the verge of losing consciousness, she fought to keep her eyes open as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

No, she couldn’t pass out! She had to save Adrien! Stay awake, Marinette, stay awake!!

She bit down on her lip hard, focusing on the sharp sting, on the swelling that was already forming around her right eye, forcing herself to feel the pain her body was in. At this moment, feeling pain was better than falling unconscious. She concentrated on her breathing, slowly regaining her senses.

She reached down to open her purse and get Tikki’s help… only to be met with emptiness. Panic settled in her gut as she realized that sometime during the skirmish, the purse had slipped off her shoulder. She sat up, slowly, so she wouldn’t risk feeling faint again from the change in positions.

She squinted, adjusting her eyesight to the darkness of the room. It seemed to be some sort of supply closet. After a failed few attempts to stand, she crawled towards the door instead, careful not to bump into the crates and shelves that filled the area.

The girl eyed the broken doorknob wearily. She was pretty proficient at lockpicking and breaking into things, but not as good at breaking out. Her only hope was that Tikki would be able to find her… if she was even nearby.

She swore to herself. Why had she rushed in and attacked two grown ass men (who, incidentally, may or may not be supernatural to boot!) instead of hiding and creating a strategy?! Now she was useless, Tikki was gone, and Adrien was surely on his way to get auctioned to the highest bidder in the criminal black market and ransomed off for an enormous sum. Great job, Marinette. Adrien’s been abducted and it’s all your fault.

Gathering all the determination she could muster, she tried to call out for help. But her voice was still too hoarse, and only a weak croak came out. She clenched her fists, grumbling irritably. Time for a different approach. Somehow, she needed to make noise.

After a brief search, she found a hard, metallic object that she could use to hammer on the door. She tested it out; it was surprisingly effective. She doubled her efforts, making as big a racket as possible. Hopefully, it would only be a matter of time before somebody heard her, let her out, and she could go find Adrien.

She couldn’t let anything else happen to another loved one. Not again.

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I'M REEEAAAAALLY SORRY FOR THAT CLIFFHANGER JSHDKFJHSKDF ᕕ(╯°д°)ᕗ I tried splitting up the sections differently but it didn't really flow as well.

But the next chapter is almost done, so I'll have it ready by next weekend!!

#Miraculous Ladybug #Ladynoir #Enemies AU #enemies to lovers #Marinette Dupain Cheng #Adrien Agreste #Chat Noir #Ladybug #fanfiction #Discordant Sonata #ML AU #aged up #Eden writes

156 notes · View notes

weirdthinkingdragon · 3 years

Text

Welcome To The Family (4/???)

1/ 2/ 3 here

Note- This festival is a different one than the festival arc. Sorry if the ending seems kinda sudden. Didn’t really know how to end it.

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I’m unsure what time exactly they will be here. They probably should have told me that before, now that I think about it. Luckily, everyone is passed out by sunrise so that’s not an issue of them seeing who is in the vehicle. My issue is them possibly entering here, so I should probably wait outside.

On my way to get outside, I run into the mold-quirked male. He’s passed out on the floor in the hall. His really long, oddly-textured white hair sprawled everywhere around him. I’ve never touched it, but just by looking at it, the hair seems weird. It looks like what fuzzy mold possibly feels like if that makes sense. Makes me wonder if his hair IS mold. Gross, no thanks.

I wonder whether to wake him or let him sleep. I decided to just let him sleep and walk over his body.

Exiting the building, it was like there was never loud music blaring, or even a party. No mess anywhere. That must be how they get away with it.

I brought my money with me to play a few games, but nothing extreme. Of course, I should be safe around three heroes, but not taking any chances is still the better option than bringing all of it.

It only takes a few minutes for the familiar black car to pull up. Being texted they were on their way would have been nice, but beggars can’t be choosers. Hitoshi exits the car for me to get in.

I’m greeted by the very happy smile of Eri. That will never be a tiring sight to see. I buckle up and lean over since her arms are outstretched for a hug.

From the view of Aizawa in the front, he’s dressed decently today, and even his hair looks much tidier than I��ve ever seen it. The same for the first time he’s wearing something besides his hero outfit. No doubt Hizashi made him do it, or even more likely he did it for Aizawa himself. He still has that scarf though. I resist the urge to laugh at the thought of him unwillingly being tidied up by Hizashi.

In speaking of Hizashi, I’ve never seen his hair not standing up before. It’s a good look in the half-bun, but I wonder what it would look like fully down. Nope, don’t think too far into that. That’s kinda weird.

“Morning Y/N!” Hizashi exclaims.

“Morning guys! What’s planned first when we get there?”

“Eri wants to get a candy apple. She loves them after last time.”

I look at her. “Candy apples? Why did you never tell me? We could have made those at some point before.”

“It should be more of a treat than a daily thing,” Aizawa says.

“Says the one who pretty much lives off jelly pouches,” Hizashi informs.

“Like you’re much better with forgetting sometimes to eat at all.” Aizawa shoots back at him.

Jelly pouches? How in the world is he still in such great shape then? Obviously fighting and training often helps, but that sounds like multiple deficiencies just waiting to happen. Same with Hizashi. Jeez, these two seem rather irresponsible sometimes. At least they’re focused on their kids since I’ve never heard Eri telling me they forgot to feed her.

“You know how to make them?” Hitoshi asks.

I look at him and nod. “Yep. I helped a friend in the past who was in a candy apple tournament with their other friends. Whoever could make the coolest-looking ones wins. They sadly got second place, but to me, galaxy apples look a lot cooler than the tree candy apples that won. You couldn’t even bite the top of the silly things without breaking your teeth!”

Eri gasps and puts a hand on her mouth in the thought of breaking her teeth.

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t make them even if I could.”

She nods relieved.

We get to the festival and Hizashi finds somewhere to park the car.

Walking around, I could swear we passed a few familiar faces to me. The games are rather interesting and pull me towards them, but we can go to them later since Eri wants a candy apple.

I notice Hizashi and Aizawa refraining from holding hands though they seem to want to. I try to come up with a reason for why that might be. Not very likely they’d be recognized by villains since they look like entirely different people. Hmm… Obviously, Hitoshi and Eri wouldn’t care.

The only other thing I can think of is their students. Of course, their students might be able to recognize them. Did they not tell their students they’re married or something? I know Midoriya wouldn’t care since I met him, but maybe there are a few in his class that wouldn’t be too open-minded about it? It’s not my place, whatever is the cause. I do feel a little bad though they can’t act normally.

Hizashi suddenly stops, making the rest of us stop, and pulls out his phone. He reads something with a frown forming on his face. He pockets it and looks at me. “Yo, Y/n? Could ya hang out with Hitoshi and Eri alone for a bit? Sho and I gotta go take care of something that came up.”

Hero work I’m guessing. Poor guys, they really can’t seem to catch a break. “Of course!”

They both then run back in the direction we came from. I look at Eri and Hitoshi. “Well, should we continue looking?”

Eri happily nods.

Hitoshi goes in front of me with Eri, probably leading the way since he seems to know where they are. I stay rather close behind them so no one gets between us and we lose each other from how crowded it seems to be in this area.

Over the music, I can swear I hear tiny explosions quickly getting louder, and maybe closer? Coming from behind me. I turn around to see people clearing from behind me to show an angry blond coming up incredibly quickly. Explosions crackling from his hands. His feral glaring face was enough to put so much fear in me that I freeze in my place. I clench my eyes closed and wait for an impact that no doubt is going to be painful.

“Kacchan, stop! They’re Eri’s babysitter!!!” A very familiar voice yells to the blond in front of me.

He stops with one of his hands millimeters from my face. I can hear the sizzling and feel the heat radiating off of it onto my face. I slowly open my eyes to meet his still-glaring ones.

… Isn’t he one of Aizawa’s and Hizashi’s students? I think he was one farther in the back frowning in the picture I saw on my first day.

In the blink of an eye, Hitoshi slightly pulls me back, and stands in front of me, preventing the blond from coming close again. Midoriya is running up to us as well. He tries to cheer me up by giving me a kind wave. It does little to help my still-panicked state.

Eri hugs me by my side in worry. I feel like fainting.

The blond becomes slightly less tense at realizing she’s hugging me.

“Hah? How the hell was I supposed to know with the way the damn extra was following so closely?”

“Uh… Kacchan, I don’t think Shinsou would be so open for attacks…”

The blond glares at him like Midoriya is the dumbest person on the planet. He refused to reply, and just storms off.

Midoriya looks at me and smiles sheepishly with one of his hands behind his head. “So sorry about that! Kacchan can be rather… headstrong when villains might be involved.”

I just shakily nod. “Uh… y-yeah, good first impression.”

Hitoshi’s face grows into one of great worry, and I think some anger. He puts one of his arms behind my back as a sort of comfort and support. Surprisingly, it helps a little bit.

“I think I need to sit down for a moment.”

“There should be some benches not too far from here,” Midoriya informs, and we get there after a bit. Miraculously, one of them was empty. I sit down with Hitoshi to the left of me. Eri sits on my right, clearly struggling in trying to figure out how to help.

Midoriya stands at my right, in front of Eri’s spot. He seems to be in thought for a moment. “Togata has a surprise the next time we come over. He found a new dress he wants you and Eri to judge.”

That sunshine adult makes me end up smiling slightly. Shinsou seems a bit annoyed at the mention of the kind blond. “Aw, that means Eri and I will have to make him another tiara so it will match his new dress.”

“I hope it’s poofy!” Eri chimes in.

I smile at her. “What color do you think it will be? Maybe it will be green! We should have one where we all wear green to match your tea set!”

Her eyes shine in excitement at the idea.

“I uh, I guess I have that covered,” Midoriya says.

“You know you don’t HAVE to wear a dress, right? I bet you’d look great in a green suit too! Ooh! You could be the beloved butler!”

“I think I’ll just stick with the dress I have… It was so awkward telling my mom about it back when I got it. I don’t know if I could ask her to buy something else too.”

Hitoshi gets a message on his phone and pulls it out. I’m too focused on Midoriya and Eri. Going on that idea of Togata helped calm me down greatly.

“That’s understandable. Suits can be rather expensive.”

“Midoriya?” Hitoshi suddenly pipes up.

“Yeah, Shinsou?”

“You might want to run. Ashido knows you’re here and wants to give you more dance lessons.”

His eyes widen fearfully, and he takes off while looking around.

“I didn’t get to hug him…” Eri says rather disappointedly.

“What’s wrong with dance lessons?” I question.

He has a rather large grin on his face. It kind of creeps me out a bit. How can someone be such a perfect combination of two adults that aren’t blood-related to them? “He usually doesn’t mind them, but recently they got struck with a personality-changing quirk. They became sterner than my dad.” It was easy to tell which dad he meant.

Just thinking of someone even more serious and stern than him is terrifying. I bet Aizawa isn’t too happy to be stuck dealing with that.

Hitoshi also seems rather relieved Midoriya has left. Wonder what’s up with that.

I look at Eri. “Well, why don’t we continue to find your candy apple now that things are a little more settled?”

She nods, and the three of us stand up.

It doesn’t take long to find them. They look rather unappealing compared to my friend’s homemade, but I’m not going to bring that up.

After Hitoshi gives it to her, she looks at it for a second, then looks at me. “What is your favorite jewel?” That’s an odd question out of nowhere. Then again, maybe the hard shell makes her think of rocks?

“Why do you want to know?”

She shrugs. “They’re so pretty. I like the red ones!”

Red like the candy apple? How cute. I tell her my favorite.

Hitoshi pulls out his phone and texts someone again. “Something is holding our parents up. It might be at least a few hours before they return.”

I feel rather bad for them for that. Being a hero is something I thank them for daily, but it must be so exhausting not being able to spend time with your family…

“Okay. What should we do then? I don’t think we should do any rides for now from Eri eating.”

Hitoshi shrugs. “The only thing we really can do is games unless there’s a different food you’re interested in getting here.”

I shake my head in reply.

Eri gently tugs at my clothes with her free hand. I look at her and she points at a prize in the shooting game. It’s a stuffed animal of my favorite creature. It’s also my favorite color, and even has a rather similar eye color to mine. Huh, what are the chances of that?

The game seems simple enough. Hitoshi notices what Eri is pointing at, and smirks at me. He crosses his arms. “Are you going to try first?”

I get the attention of the person behind the counter and pay, having them give me the corks. I load it and take another quick look at Hitoshi with a smirk myself. “Well, what does it look like? And I’m going to be the one that gets it for her!”

He teasingly huffs with a roll of his eyes. “Sure you will.”

I look back towards the prize and focus my aim.

… It misses. Not by much, but my aim is a little too high and too far to the right.

“You missed.” His tone isn’t condescending in any way.

“Yeah, yeah. I still have two tries.”

Looking again, I aim slightly down and more to the left.

… It missed again, but much closer this time. It’s the right height, but now I have it too far to the left.

“You missed, again.”

“Hush, you.” I don’t even have to look at him to know he has an enormous smirk forming on his face. I’ll show you!

I force my breathing to slow, focus a little longer, move just a tad to the right...

… Yes! I got it!

The person goes over and grabs it, giving it to me. I then give it to Eri which gives her an enormous smile on her face.

I give Hitoshi an “I-told-you-so” face.

“I would have gotten it on my first try.”

“Sure you would have.”

“Next time I’ll show you.”

“Mhm, whatever you say, Hitoshi.”

After that, we did a few more games and ended up going on a few of the rides. It was rather difficult due to Eri being too small for them. She was a little saddened by that, so I told her maybe she will be able to next year.

Hitoshi and I also ended up getting hungry at one point, so we bought some snacks. After taking a bite of what I bought, I look at the time. Surprisingly, about four hours have passed. I don’t think taking care of a villain should take this long, right? Maybe they got ambushed?

Don’t think about it. They’re pros. They should be able to handle anything.

In speaking of them, a message from Hizashi pops up on my phone. “Just about done here! Was a rather bad ambush, but we’re good! Gotta clear up a few more things, then we’ll be on our way!”

He put us in a group chat. Hitoshi is in it, and I’m guessing the other is Aizawa. He reads the message as well.

Eri is still playing around with her new stuffed animal.

“Should we do the same rides when your parents come?”

He shakes his head. “They will probably be rather tired when they return. Hizashi wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel with all of us more than anything.”

Why does that seem so accurate for him? “Really? The Ferris Wheel out of everything?”

He shrugs. “My other dad doesn’t really care. He’d rather sleep, but we all know Hizashi wouldn’t allow that.”

I laugh. “He seems like the type.”

A chill suddenly goes down my spine. Why do I feel like someone is watching us? Hitoshi notices my discomfort, and goes on alert, scanning the crowd around us. He doesn’t seem to see anything concerning. He pulls out his phone and quickly texts someone again, constantly glancing around.

“Don’t mean to be intrusive, but who are you texting?”

“My dads. I’m telling them to hurry up.”

Again, I feel bad for the two grown men. “It shouldn’t be too much of a problem. It’s probably just someone thinking they know me or something.”

He frowns. “Not taking any chances.”

I guess that makes sense. “If it’s such a problem, why don’t we find Midoriya to be with us again? I’m sure-”

“No.” He cuts me off. He was rather firm on saying it.

… No? I thought they were on good terms? “Are you two not on the best terms anymore or something? You don’t seem to want him around.”

“If there is someone watching, it would be better for a student in the top class to not be involved. It could make you a bigger target if your feeling of being watched is correct.”

Didn’t think of that. It still seems kind of like a ridiculous claim though. After all, Hizashi is a very well-known hero, so what difference would that make between Midoriya being with us or an adult?

I decided to just brush it off.

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

Whatever Hitoshi told them must have worked, since they arrived and found us at what must have been a record-breaking speed.

“Hey guys, you got here quick!”

“Well, we couldn’t let you three have all the fun now, could we?”

“Speak for yourself.” Aizawa tiredly mumbles. They’re wearing the same outfits they did earlier. I wonder if Hizashi was recognized during his fight. I have a feeling they keep their weapons in the trunk of their car just in case they get called.

I look at Eri and notice her yawn. I then look back up to Aizawa. “Looks like you’re not the only one that’s tired.”

He looks at her with the tiniest smile as she yawns again. “Fine. Just a few rides, then we go home.”

We end up on a few of the rides Eri can go on. I still don’t feel comfortable around Aizawa, so I try my best to sit with Hitoshi and Eri.

Hizashi keeps looking around as we go on a few of the rides. He tries to be more stealthy about it, but he’s failing at it greatly. Aizawa seems like he couldn’t care less. I should have just ignored it since now I feel like I’m ruining the rides for them for the imaginary odd feeling.

We decided the very last ride to be the Ferris Wheel. “You guys should go ahead. I’ll wait down here for you.” I inform them. Three out of the four of them look at me like I just grew another head. “What? It will be too tight a squeeze otherwise.” Hizashi just shakes his head and grabs me by one of my wrists to come with.

The feeling multiplied after he grabbed my wrist, making me forcefully stop and look behind me. He stops as well, looking in the same direction.

“That’s another thing! We can’t just leave you alone down here if someone’s watchin’ ya! C’mon!”

He drags me into the line for it with the others. Luckily, there wasn’t much of a wait. I can’t believe it’s sunset already. I also can’t believe I’m stuck going on it with them.

We all get into the cart, and I try to sit down with Eri and Hitoshi. Hizashi grabs my wrist again, having me sit between him and Aizawa. It’s a rather tight fit with my thighs and sides being pressed on theirs. This is rather uncomfortable, and definitely something I did NOT sign up for as a sitter…

At least the sight is beautiful to see with the sun shining brightly to the right side of us. Eri leans against Hitoshi and closes her eyes, hugging her new stuffed animal close. It stays quiet between all of us for a bit. Hizashi slips his arm behind my shoulders, making me tense. I decided he must be trying to give us a bit more room.

“Sorry for not bein’ around much today to hang out with. Tell ya what, why don’t you join us next Sunday for dinner as an apology?”

My eyes narrow in thought. “An apology for what? You guys couldn’t help it. It happens.”

He shakes his head. “Come on, we already cleared our schedules for it. It would be heartbreaking if you say no!”

“But I was planning on hanging out with my friends next Sunday… Why not the Sunday after that?”

“Just go with it. Having him change his mind is impossible.”

I mentally sigh. “Fine. But the Sunday after, I won’t be coming. I WILL spend my day with them then, so please don’t invite me into anything.”

I could swear Hizashi frowns disappointingly at the news, but his face becomes a smile before I can put much thought into it. “Great! Be sure to wear somethin’ at least a little fancy, okay? We’re going somewhere special! Oh! And we’ll pick ya up again!”

“Okay…” was my only reply.

#Yandere EraserMic household #x reader #yandere x reader #platonic yandere shinsou x reader #yandere erasermic x reader #yandere shouta aizawa #yandere hizashi yamada #yandere eraserhead #yandere present mic

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drabbles-mc · 3 years

Text

Early Bird

Juice Ortiz x OFC (Chris Teller)

Request by Anon: what about an x reader insert where reader likes to workout, and Juice walks into the club gym when she is in there, and is quite taken aback by her muscularity. Anywho, they then start up working out together, and this goes on for some time, until the tension just snaps at some point, maybe reader just makes the first move

Warnings: language

Word Count: 3k

A/N: Swapped the reader-insert for an OC because not only do I really love the whole world that I’ve been building for Chris and Juice (which I’ll eventually start posting as a full fic rather than just these little one-offs) but this also worked really well in line with who I’m building her to be as a character. Hope that’s alright! Enjoy xo

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Juice heard the music bumping from the tiny room that passed for a gym at the clubhouse. Curious as to who would be there so early in the morning, he made his way down the hall. He heard the clanging of metal on metal and assumed that whoever was in there was lifting.

He peaked around the corner and his eyes grew wide when he saw Chris laid back on the bench press, getting ready for her next set. She adjusted her grip, getting her breathing right as she pushed the bar up from where it was resting and bringing it directly over her chest. Juice was on the brink of drooling as he watched her in awe. He propped himself against the doorframe silently, not wanting to disturb the zone that she had clearly put herself in.

Once she got through her next set, she let out a sigh before sitting upright. She gasped in surprise when she saw Juice standing in the doorway, letting out a slightly nervous laugh as she paused her music.

“You want to give me a heart attack first thing in the morning?”

“Do…do you always work out here?” he asked, completely ignoring her question.

“Fuck no,” she laughed as she rose up off the bench and stretched, “My gym is closed for some bullshit reason so I figured this little jail cell setup was better than nothing.”

“Hey,” Juice chuckled as he walked farther into the weight room, “it’s got the essentials. Don’t hate.”

She smiled, shaking her head, “Anyway. What’re you doing up so early?”

“About to do the same thing you are. Only, you know, with more weight,” he laughed.

She gave him a good-natured shove to the shoulder, “Shut up,” she laughed, “I’ll leave you to it, then. I just finished.”

“You’re done?” he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Early bird gets the worm,” she shot him a wink, “And an empty fucking gym.”

“Hey, Chris,” he smiled as he watched her walk away, “You think your gym is gonna be closed tomorrow, too?”

She laughed, not turning around to face him as she walked away, “Maybe.”

All of his plans for the morning completely went out the window. He made his way over to the door and leaned out, watching her walk down the hall. He felt his jaw go a little lax as he took in the way the muscles in her back and shoulders moved and flexed as she walked. A quiet sigh slipped past his lips when she turned the corner out of sight, and he forced himself to focus on what he had originally shown up to do. He went through the motions of his workout but if someone had asked him what he did or how it went he wouldn’t have been able to give him a good answer.

The next morning, he set an extra early alarm. He’d gone to bed early the night before so he would be able not only to wake up early, but also keep up with Chris and whatever workout she had planned. He might’ve joked around with her from time to time, but he really had no interest in going toe-to-toe with her. She carried herself with the confidence and assurance of someone who could easily put him to the ground. And, from the pump he saw in her shoulders and arms the day before, he had no doubt that the confidence she exuded was earned, not given.

When he walked into the gym, she was sitting on the ground stretching with her headphones in. Despite that, she’d heard him walk in and flicked her eyes up to him and smiled. She took one headphone out, “Decided to get a real workout this morning?”

He chuckled, “Just wanted to see what it was all about.”

As much as he wanted to ask a million questions, he didn’t. He warmed up and followed her lead, impressed at her level of focus. They bantered back and forth but he could still tell that underneath it all she was there to work.

They were finishing up with core-work on the little bit of floorspace that they had in the clubhouse gym. Juice didn’t want to admit that the moves she had him doing were making him wonder if he ever really had any core strength to begin with or if his body had been lying to him the whole time. Chris flopped onto her back when she was done, taking a deep breath before turning to look over at Juice.

“So? What’s it all about?” she was still catching her breath.

Juice wasn’t any better off as he sat up, slowly forcing himself to his feet. He wiped his hands off on his shorts before lifting the bottom hem of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face, “It’s more than I’m ready for, apparently,” he laughed.

She tried not to make it obvious that she was staring at him when he lifted his shirt. She forced her eyes to look literally anywhere else as she propped herself back up into a sitting position. He held his hand out to her, offering to help her up onto her feet. When she gripped his hand in hers, he found himself watching the muscles in her forearm and bicep flex as she hoisted herself up off the floor. For a moment their hands stayed entwined as they took in the sight of each other. Simultaneously they both realized what they were doing and pulled their hands back to their sides. Juice was fighting inside his head to be respectful, to not get distracted by the sweat that was glistening on her skin.

“Same time tomorrow?” he finally forced the words out.

She laughed, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead, “Nah, my gym is back in business tomorrow. No more jail setup for me. Besides,” she clapped him on the outside of his arm, “Something tells me you might need a rest day tomorrow anyway.”

She was taking off out of the room before he could respond. He sighed, walking over and taking a long drink from his water bottle as he thought back over the entire morning. He drummed his fingers on the plastic container in his hands, trying to figure out what his next move was going to be, if there was going to be one.

When he went back to his dorm the next night, there was a folded-up slip of paper on his bed. He looked around the small room as though he had missed someone being in there when he walked in. he ran his hand over his mohawk as he picked it up, taking a deep breath as he unfolded it.

A little plastic card fell out and he fumbled to catch it before reading the note, “If you’re looking to get out of the jailhouse gym. -Chris” He chuckled as he looked at the card in his hand, realizing that it would let him scan into what he assumed was Chris’s gym. He tucked the card and the note both into his wallet before getting ready to go to bed. He made sure to set an extra early alarm, hoping to beat her to the gym in the morning.

When he rolled into the parking lot the next morning, Chris was already walking towards the front doors to the gym. She looked up, and he could see her shaking her head as she laughed, making her way over to him once he was parked.

“Surprised you decided to show up.”

“Couldn’t turn down a personal invite,” he couldn’t stop smiling as he grabbed his gym bag from the back seat of his car, “How’d you swing this, anyway?”

“I get one visitor with my membership,” she shrugged, “Figured having a workout partner wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.”

“Well,” he walked in behind her, “glad I’m at least not the worst thing in the world.”

He felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb, but the longer that he was there with her, the more he realized that everyone was so in their own little world. Everyone had headphones in, just focusing on themselves. It was comforting, and soon he didn’t have the time to be worrying about anyone else as Chris got him roped into everything that she was doing.

“It’s leg day, baby,” Chris laughed as she prompted him to follow her over to the squat rack, “Let’s see what you got.”

Juice laughed as he watched her slide weights onto the bar, “I’ve never skipped a leg day.”

She looked him up and down, arching one eyebrow, “I guess we’ll see.”

It became their new routine every morning. For the first time in a long time Juice found himself with someone specific to look forward to every day when he woke up. Neither of them really said anything about it to anyone. They weren’t doing anything wrong, but at the same time they knew that part of the ease and comfort of it all was that it was something that was just the two of them. Every now and then the guys would give him grief for bailing on a party early, and he’d just tell them that he had an early morning the next day, but wouldn’t offer up any other explanation.

Early morning workouts soon started extending into going out for coffee or breakfast after the fact. And once that became the routine, they both decided that there was no reason not to carpool together if they were going to spend the entire morning together. It got to the point where Juice could hear Chris’s car in the silence of the morning as soon as it turned onto his street. He’d be walking out onto the front steps as she pulled into his driveway. And no matter how many times he tried to argue that they should take turns with the music, Chris always won by saying it was her car and her gym membership so she got to pick the playlist. Realistically Juice didn’t have any issue with any of it, but he knew that the pointless arguments would get her to laugh and there were very few things that were more enjoyable than that.

One morning when she pulled into the driveway, before Juice could walk up and open the passenger door, she hopped out. He looked at her, clearly confused, “What’s up?”

“How you feel about a run today?”

Truthfully, he knew he could use a light cardio day. Working out with Chris had made him realize that while he and the guys worked out pretty frequently, they didn’t really push themselves. Some part of Juice’s body had been sore every day since he became Chris’s workout partner—he worked muscles that he didn’t even know that he had. He didn’t want to admit all of that to her, though, so he did his best to give a nonchalant shrug and not seem too excited by the prospect of it.

“Sounds good to me.”

“Distance or sprints?” she raised her eyebrows slightly.

“Distance,” there was no hesitation in the answer as he laughed, “Fuck sprints.”

She laughed, “Alright,” she grabbed her bag out of the car, “Can I toss this inside?”

He nodded, “Yea, sure,” he gestured for her to follow him.

Once she’d locked the car and put her bag inside the front door, she took off down the driveway, “Try to keep up, Juan Carlos!” she laughed.

He chuckled, shaking his head with a soft smile as he took off after her, both of them racing down the street at a pace they both knew they wouldn’t be able to sustain for any extended amount of time. They quickly eased into a more realistic pace, each of them half listening to their own music and half making sarcastic comments to each other as they jogged.

It got to the point where Juice was wondering how the two of them were going to be able to survive a return trip back to his house without their legs giving out. He was still alright for the time being but it wasn’t going to last forever. Chris, on the other hand, seemed completely unfazed.

“We gonna start heading back at some point?” he asked.

She looked over at him, “What’re you talking about?”

“To the house. We, we gotta head back eventually, right?”

She laughed, “We’re on a big loop. We got like, one mile left.”

His brows furrowed in confusion as he looked around, “Seriously?”

“Yea,” it was hard to laugh and keep her breathing even at the same time, “Dude how long have you lived around here?”

He shook his head, “Apparently not long enough.”

When they reached the bottom of his driveway again, they both stopped to try and catch their breath. Chris interlocked her fingers behind her head as she stood, trying to catch her breath. Juice leaned over, bracing his hands against his knees. Chris smiled as she watched the sweat trickle down the ink that decorated the sides of his head.

“Nice little five-mile run, huh?” she laughed as she clapped him on the back.

“Fuck,” he laughed as he forced himself to stand upright, “I’m going to be dead tomorrow. I can’t remember the last time I ran for something besides a warmup.”

“Or getting away from the cops,” she chimed in with a laugh.

He smiled, “Yea but that’s more sprinting than distance.”

“Right,” she laughed, “right.”

“You wanna,” he motioned towards the house, “want some food or something?”

Chris shrugged, “Sure, why not?”

As she walked farther into his house, she couldn’t hide the surprise on her face at how clean and orderly it all was. Growing up with Jax, and hanging out in the clubhouse all the time, gave her a very skewed view of how all the guys lived. But apparently Juice kept his own space very neat and orderly.

“If you wanna shower while I cook, you can,” he offered.

“Why? Am I that gross?” she cocked one eyebrow.

“Yea,” he laughed, “And I don’t want you getting your sweat on all my stuff.”

She shook her head with a laugh, “Fine, fine. I’ll be quick.”

There were a few moments of silence in the house before Juice could hear music being played from Chris’s phone in the bathroom. He laughed, shaking his head as he set about getting breakfast ready for the two of them.

She walked back out in a fresh pair of shorts and a sports bra, and Juice was trying not to be obvious about his staring. He set two plates out on the counter and watched her as she looked around the house. Despite the fact that it was the first time that she’d ever really been in his house, for some reason it all felt extremely familiar.

“You can eat,” he nodded towards the food on the stove, “I’m gonna rinse off real quick.”

“Yea, you can’t get your sweat on everything either,” she laughed as she walked around the counter to get her plate, her hand lightly brushing along his shoulders as she did.

He glanced back over his shoulder before walking down the hallway, and he couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face as he watched her do a little dance as she scooped food onto her plate. He bit back a chuckle before turning around and heading off to shower.

When he walked back out into the kitchen, Chris was comfortably camped out at the counter scrolling on her phone. Her eyes flicked up and widened at the sight of him walking through his house without a shirt on.

“New ink?” she nodded towards the tattoos on his chest.

“Uh, yea,” he glanced down at the skulls for a moment before getting back on track, “got them a couple weeks ago.”

“Gotta decorate all your new muscles?” she laughed.

“Might as well, right?”

“You’re welcome,” she winked.

They sat next to each other at the counter and spent the whole morning talking. Every now and then when she laughed really hard, she’d lean over and bump her shoulder against Juice’s. He reveled in the brief contact, wishing that he was brave enough to do something about all of the thoughts in his head.

She was in the middle of a story when her phone started ringing. She sighed as she looked to see who it was, groaning when she saw her brother’s name flashing across the screen, “Yo, what’s up?” she paused, rolling her eyes as she listened to what he was asking her to do, “Alright, yea. I’m, I’m just finishing up a couple things and I’ll be right over. Love you too, bye.”

Juice looked at her expectantly, “Gotta go?”

She sighed, nodding as she got up from her seat, “Yea. Family shit.”

“Everything alright? Need me to go with you?”

She flashed him a smile, “I’m good, Juice. Thank you. And thanks for breakfast,” she walked over to pull her sneakers back on, “Gonna put the diner out of business.”

He walked over, leaning against the wall as he watched her pick up her bag and grab her keys, “Same time tomorrow?”

“Rest day tomorrow,” she saw the disappointment cross his face for a moment and she felt a smirk tugging at the edges of her mouth, “But I’ll still swing by for breakfast.”

“Yea?”

She laughed, nodding, “Yea. I, I like spending time with you, you know,” she stepped in, kissing him on the cheek, “See you tomorrow. I’ll even bring coffee.”

“O-okay,” he was trying to warp his head around everything that she was saying.

“Okay,” she chuckled, “It’s a date,” she saw the flustered look on his face and leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

“It’s a date,” his voice was almost a whisper as he listened to the quiet giggle that slipped past her lips before she turned and walked out of the house to her car.

#soa #sons of anarchy #soa imagine #sons of anarchy imagine #juice ortiz #juice ortiz imagine #juice ortiz fanfiction #juan carlos #juan carlos ortiz #juice ortiz x oc #oc chris #oc chris teller #oc christine teller #my writing #fanfiction #drabblesmc

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thewidowsghost · 3 years

Text

Of Course You Did - Part One Natasha Romanoff x Johnson! Reader

My good friend, I hope, @procrastinatingsapphictrash asked for a 7 and 10 with Nat. I don’t know if this is what they were wanting, but I just let Jesus take the wheel - Please say somebody gets that reference. Anyway, this is Part One, Probably of Two, possibly three. But yeah, I hope @procrastinatingsapphictrash is happy with this uh, masterpiece(?) I created.

3rd Person POV

"I screwed up Skye!" (Y/n) complains pacing in front of her sister, running a hand through her hair.

Skye had an amused look on her face.

"Stupid rock that gave us stupid weird powers," (Y/n) grumbles.

"Let me guess," Skye says, and (Y/n) stops, looking at her sister. "You accidentally teleported out again?"

(Y/n) groans and runs her hand through her hair again.

"Aren't you supposed to be on a mission with the Avengers?" Skye asks after a moment.

"Huh, yeah, You're right," (Y/n) nods to her twin and with a blink, (Y/n) is standing back inside the Quinjet.

Avoiding the Black Widow's gaze, (Y/n) plops down beside Steve.

Once the Quinjet lands, (Y/n) begins teleporting around, taking out some of the HYDRA soldiers.

After a minute, (Y/n) teleports next to Clint as he begins shooting targets and (Y/n) draws her pistols, shooting some of the other targets.

Natasha drives the truck over a hill and Clint, (Y/n), and Natasha dive off the truck.

(Y/n) sticks close to the redheaded assassin as the two take out HYDRA agents. Once making sure that Natasha would be okay on her own, (Y/n) teleports over and works with Clint for a while.

Clint shoots an exploding arrow at one of the bunkers and there's a flash and something catches the arrow.

"Clint! Look out!" (Y/n) shoves the Avenger out of the way from a laser gun, which grazes her side.

(Y/n) lets out a grunt as Clint drags her out of harm's way. Clint goes to help her out but he catches another flash and draws his bow.

Natasha catches sight of the young woman bleeding onto the snow.

Natasha darts over and presses against the wound in her side. Clint had followed after the flash, "Will someone please take care of that bunker?" Natasha looks up as the Hulk runs through the bunker. "Thank you," she says softly.

(Y/n) lets out a groan as the redhead puts more pressure on the wound.

"Sorry," Natasha murmurs.

After a few minutes, Thor flies over.

"I'll take (Y/n) back to the Quinjet," he says in his deep voice.

Natasha looks a little uncertain but then nods.

Once the group returns to the Avengers' Tower, (Y/n) is rushed to Med Bay where Doctor Cho uses a machine to begin to heal the wound in (Y/n)'s side.

Natasha had shown up, Clint at her side.

"You sure she's gonna be okay?" Natasha asks.

(Y/n) gazes up at the redhead standing over her, and raises an eyebrow.

"There's no possibility of deterioration," Cho tells her. "The nano-molecular functionality is instantaneous. Her cells don't know they're bonding with simulacra."

"She is creating tissue," Banner clarifies.

"If you brought her to my lab, the Regeneration Cradle could do this in twenty minutes."

"Oh, she's flat-lining. Call it Time?" Tony says, coming in with some smoothies.

"Haha," (Y/n) smiles, rolling her eyes at the billionaire. "No, I'm gonna live forever. I'll be made of plastic."

"No (Y/n)," Cho says, smiling at the woman as (Y/n) takes a smoothie from Tony. "You'll be made of you. Your own girlfriend won't know the difference."

"I don't have a girlfriend," (Y/n) says, glancing up at Natasha.

"That I can't fix," Cho says and (Y/n) grins.

"I'd hoped I'd be able to fix that one myself," (Y/n) admits.

"Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday," Tony says and (Y/n) raises an eyebrow.

"Unlike you, I don't have a lot of time for parties," Cho tells Tony. "Will Thor be there?" she asks and (Y/n) giggles.

A few minutes later, Cho let's (Y/n) up from the table. "Wow, that was fast," (Y/n) comments. "Thanks, Dr. Cho," (Y/n) smiles at the doctor.

"No problem (Y/n)," Cho returns the smile.

(Y/n) leaves the room, pulling out her phone. "Skye? How've you been since the eight hours since I've seen you?"

Skye chuckles, "Believe me, I've been bored."

"Invite the team - Fitz, Simmons, Bobbi, Hunter, Mack, Coulson, and May - Stark's throwing a party," (Y/n) says.

"Oh, alright!" Skye says excitedly.

"It's Saturday," (Y/n) tells her twin.

"You staying at the Tower?" Skye asks.

"Yep. I'll see you soon then," (Y/n) smiles. "Love you."

"Love you too," Skye returns.

(Y/n) looks up from the floor, meeting Natasha's silvery-green.

"That was my twin sister," (Y/n) clarifies.

"Well, if she's as sweet as you, we should meet," Natasha says with a warm smile.

(Y/n) smiles sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck.

"See, that's what I was talking about," Natasha says. "See you around."

(Y/n) walks outside to the Quinjet dock to greet her friends.

"It's been a while since I've seen the Avengers," Coulson says as (Y/n) leads the group inside.

"Yeah, last they knew, you were, you know -" May pauses, and (Y/n)'s eyes shine.

Steve steps forward, then pauses, looking at Coulson. "It's nice to see you again," Steve addresses Coulson, holding out his hand for Coulson to shake.

"You too, Captain Rogers," Coulson returns.

Steve nods respectfully to Coulson, then he turns to (Y/n). "Who are your friends?" he asks.

"This is Melinda May," (Y/n) nods to May. "Mack," she gestures to Mack. "Bobbi and Hunter," the two wave. "Coulson, whom you know. Fitz and Simmons," the two scientists were wide-eyed as they look up at the legendary Avenger. "And my twin sister, Skye." Skye smiles warmly.

"Steve, you're making them uncomfortable," (Y/n) laughs, placing a hand on Steve's shoulder and nudging him away.

"Fine," Steve grumbles, walking away to find Sam.

"Go have fun," (Y/n) tells her friends. "Y'all never get a break."

The group splits up, Fitz and Simmons, Coulson and May, then Mack, Hunter, and Bobbi, all going in different directions.

Skye follows (Y/n)'s line of vision as her (H/c) haired sister gazes at the attractive redhead at the bar.

"Hmm, I guess I know who you like," Skye teases.

"Stop!" (Y/n) nudges her sister with an elbow.

"(Y/n), who's this attractive young woman?" comes a familiar voice.

"Back off Stark!" (Y/n) looks up at her friend. "This is my little sister Skye."

"Well," Tony says, taking a step back. "It's nice to meet you."

"And actually, we're twins, so," Skye falters at (Y/n)'s glare.

"I'm twenty minutes older than you," (Y/n) frowns.

"So, still padding after Romanoff, (Y/n)?" Tony asks, changing the subject.

(Y/n) groans, slumping down onto the couch behind her.

"Why don't you go get me a drink?" Skye asks with a nudge and (Y/n) stands back up.

"Okay, just don't let Stark hit on you anymore," (Y/n) says, snapping her (E/c) eyes to glare at Tony.

"Okay. Okay," Tony says. "Anyway, I've got Pepper."

"Now, go!" Skye pushes (Y/n) forward and she smooths out the front of her black suit.

(Y/n) makes her way through the groups of people before she's stopped by Bobbi.

"You going for Romanoff now?" Bobbi asks and Hunter nods.

"You'd better," Hunter says, his accent evident.

"Does everyone know by now?" (Y/n) laughs.

"Yes!" Bobbi, Hunter, and Mack say in unison.

(Y/n) looks over at Natasha, who was still making drinks at the bar.

"Go!" Mack says, his voice deep.

"Okay Mack," (Y/n) shakes her head and continues on her way towards Natasha.

May stops (Y/n) now, Coulson at her side.

"Romanoff?" she asks.

"Did you all just like, team up to get me to go talk to Natasha ?" (Y/n) asks in disbelief.

"We did have a meeting," Coulson says and (Y/n) shakes her head.

(Y/n) walks up to Natasha at the bar.

"How'd a sweet girl like you end up in a place like this?" (Y/n) asks, leaning up against the bar.

"A girl did me wrong," she shrugs.

"Seems you've got a lousy taste in women," (Y/n) says with a smile.

"She's not so bad," Natasha says. "She's an interesting person. Sweet. Cute. Surprisingly gentle for this line of work."

"Sounds amazing," (Y/n) returns.

"She's also a huge dork," Natasha says and (Y/n) looks down at the bar top in front of her. "But chicks dig that. So what do you think?" Natasha looks deep into (Y/n)'s eyes. "Should I fight this, or run with it?"

"Run with it, right?" (Y/n) asks. "What did she do that was so wrong to you?" she then asks.

"Not a damn thing," Natasha murmurs, smiling up at (Y/n). "But never say never."

Steve walks up at the end of the bar, watching (Y/n) as she smiles down at the bar.

"It's nice," Steve says and (Y/n) looks over at the super-soldier.

"W-what is?" (Y/n) asks.

"You and Romanoff," Steve says.

"Uh, that wasn't -"

"It's okay," Steve chuckles. "Nobody's breaking any bylaws. It's just she's not the most open person in the world. But with you, she seems very relaxed."

"No, Natasha," she looks down. "She's just . . . She likes to flirt."

"I've seen her flirt, up close," Steve says taking a beer from behind the bar. "This ain't that. Look, as maybe the world's leading authority on waiting too long, don't. You both deserve a win." Steve walks away and (Y/n)'s head snaps to Steve.

"Wait? What do you mean 'up close'?" (Y/n) calls.

Mack, Bobbi, Coulson, May, Hunter, Fitz, and Simmons leave the party; Skye and (Y/n) are sitting on the couches with the others. (Y/n) and Natasha were chatting and Skye was smirking as she leaned into (Y/n)'s shoulder.

Thor laughs as Clint says, "But it's a trick."

"No, no, it's much more than that," Thor argues.

"Ah, whoever be worthy shall haveth the power," Clint says in a deep voice. "Whatever, man! It's a trick!"

"Please," Thor chuckles, "be my guest."

Everyone goes silent with interest.

"Come on."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Tony says.

Clint stands up and (Y/n) watches the archer.

"Oh, this is gonna be beautiful," Rhodey says and (Y/n) nods.

"Should I have pushed him out of the way?" (Y/n) wonders aloud, a joking tone to her question, and Tony's eyes flash with amusement.

"Clint, you've had a tough week," Tony says. "We won't hold it against you if you can't get it up."

"Is this what the Avengers are like?" Skye asks and (Y/n) nods. "I need to join."

"Well Tremors, I'll put in a good word," (Y/n) murmurs and she and Skye turn their attention turns back to Clint.

Everyone laughs at Tony's joke. "You know I've seen this before, right?" Clint asks.

Clint tries to lift Thor's Hammer but fails.

"I still don't know how you do it!" Clint says in exasperation.

"Smell the silent judgment?" Tony asks and (Y/n) laughs.

"Please, Stark, by all means," Clint says, gesturing to Tony.

Tony clears his throat.

"Oh no!" Maria Hill says.

"Uh-oh!" Rhodey says.

"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge," Tony says.

"Get ready for this," (Y/n) murmurs in her twin's ear. "This'll be great."

"Get after it," Clint says with a smirk.

"It's physics," Tony says, and (Y/n) hides a grin.

"Physics," Bruce says.

"Right, so if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?" Tony asks.

"Yes, of course," Thor says calmly.

"I will be re-instituting prima nocta," Tony tells them.

"God, no," (Y/n) rolls her eyes.

Tony grunts as he tries to lift the hammer.

"I'll be right back," Tony grumbles as he walks away. He comes back a moment later with one of his iron gauntlet gloves.

After this, he recruits Rhodey to help but still, the hammer doesn't move.

Then Bruce tries and when he fails, he roars like the Hulk, making Maria and Skye look at him, a strange expression on his face.

Then Steve stands up.

"Go ahead, Steve," Tony says. "No pressure."

"I've got my money on the Captain," (Y/n) murmurs in Skye's ear and she nods.

Steve rolls up his sleeves and Clint says, "Come on, Cap."

Steve tries to lift the hammer and it makes a creak on top of the table but he doesn't lift it.

"(Y/n), you want a try?" Thor asks and (Y/n) looks around before standing up.

(Y/n) places a hand on the hammer and lifts it off the table. She yelps as the handle crackles with lightning and drops it back onto the table. Studying her hands, (Y/n) didn't even see a scar, and disregards it, sitting back down beside her sister.

"Huh," was all anyone said as they were all looking at her.

"And Widow?" Bruce asks.

"Oh, no, no. That's not a question I need answered," Natasha says, still nursing her beer and still eyeing (Y/n).

"All deference to the Man Who Wouldn't be King, but it's rigged," Tony says, and (Y/n)'s eyes flash with amusement.

"You bet your ass," Clint agrees.

"Steve, he said a bad language word," Maria says and Skye lets out a snort of laughter.

"Did you tell everyone about that?" Steve asks Tony.

"The handle's imprinted, right?" Tony asks Thor. "Like a security code, (Y/n) stole your handprint."

By this point, (Y/n) was looking slightly offended. "Yeah, because I know how to steal someone's whole handprint," (Y/n) says sarcastically and everyone laughs.

"Yes. It's a very, very interesting theory," Thor says, standing up. "I have a simpler one." Thor lifts his hammer. "You're not worthy."

Everyone groans in exasperation but then watch in interest as Thor turns to (Y/n).

The God of Thunder goes to say something but there is a weird mechanical noise and everyone looks around.

"Worthy," comes a hiss, and (Y/n) stands up, looking around.

There is a metal figure standing by the entrance of the hall and everyone looks in that direction.

"No," the figure rasps again. "How could you be worthy? You're all killers."

"Stark," Steve says.

"Jarvis," Tony prompts.

"I'm sorry, I was asleep," the robot rasps. "Or I was a-dream. There was a terrible noise. And I was tangled in . . . In . . . Strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

"You killed someone?" (Y/n) asks.

"Wouldn't have been my first call," the figure says. Everyone else had stood up by this point and (Y/n) was standing protectively in front of Skye. "But, down in the real world, we're faced with choices."

"Who sent you?" Thor asks, his voice low.

"I see a suit of armor around the work," is what comes from the figure, in Tony's voice.

"Ultron," (Y/n) says softly. She'd heard Tony and Bruce talking about a peace-keeping program they wanted to write. Clearly, something had gone wrong.

"In the flesh," Ultron says. "Or, no, not yet." Natasha and (Y/n) exchange a glance. "Not this chrysalis. But I'm ready." Maria had stood up this time, cocking her gun and Thor had readied his hammer. "I'm on mission."

"What mission?" Natasha asks.

"Peace in our time," comes from Ultron.

Suddenly, Tony's Iron Legion bots break smash through the walls and attack the team.

Skye and (Y/n) begin attacking drones that some towards them, Skye using her powers to Quake the droids and (Y/n) makes a sword appear in her hand and she begins cutting through some of the droids.

One of the droids knocks (Y/n) back and she crashes through a bookcase. She sees Steve's Shield and picks it up.

"Steve!" she yells, meeting the blonde's eyes she throws the shield and Steve catches it.

One of the droids gets a blow on Natasha and knocks her back over the bar. (Y/n) teleports in front of the droid and cuts through it, but more advance on her and Natasha pulls her down.

"Sorry," (Y/n) murmurs as she lands heavily on the redheaded assassin.

"Be careful," Natasha says, placing a kiss on (Y/n)'s cheek. She leaps to her feet and grabs (Y/n)'s hand, dragging her up the stairs.

"What about Skye?" (Y/n) asks. "I'll be back." She teleports over to Skye and helps her sister fight the hoard of droids until Ultron is the only one left.

"That was dramatic," Ultron leers. "I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to evolve?" Ultron hisses and Skye takes her sister's hand and (Y/n) squeezes it gently. "With these?" he lifts one of the Iron Legionnaires by the head. "These puppets," he crushes the head in one hand. There's only one path to peace. The Avengers' extinction," this time, Skye grips her sister's hand tighter.

Thor throws his hammer and smashes through Ultron.

"I had strings, but now I'm free," Ultron's voice says, the Iron Legionnaire glowing blue before the light fades.

The next few days were interesting, to say the least, tracking down Ultron and now the Avengers - (Y/n) had forced Skye to go home to SHIELD HQ - were standing in a salvage yard off the African coast.

(Y/n) falters once she catches sight of the two teenagers who were standing behind Ultron.

"Stark is . . . He's a sickness!" Ultron roars.

"Ah, Junior," Tony says and Ultron turns around. "You're gonna break your old man's heart." Ultron eyes (Y/n), Cap, Thor, and Tony, but (Y/n) was watching the teenagers closely.

"If I have to," Ultron returns.

"Nobody has to break anything," (Y/n) says, still watching the two kids.

"Clearly you've never made an omelet," Ultron replies, looking at the female Avenger.

"He beat me by one second," Tony says with a smirk.

"Ah, yes," comes the male teenager's voice, Pietro. "He's funny. Mr. Stark. It's what? Comfortable? Like old times?" Pietro asks, looking down at all the missiles below them.

"This was never my life," Tony says, looking down at them as well.

"You two can still walk away from this," (Y/n) says, meeting each of the twins' gazes.

"Oh, we will," Wanda - the female twin - says, staring back into (Y/n)'s (E/c) gaze.

"I know you've suffered," Steve says, stepping forward.

Ultron scoffs, "Captain America. God's righteous man." (Y/n) raises an eyebrow. "Pretending you could live without a war."

"War and violence doesn't solve everything," (Y/n) says, her eyes narrowing at the android.

"I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but . . ." Ultron fixes his eerie red gaze on (Y/n) again.

"If you believe in peace, then let us then let us keep it," Thor says.

"I think you're confusing peace with quiet," Ultron answers.

"Uh-huh. What's the Vibranium for?" Tony asks.

"I'm glad you asked that because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan," Ultron shoots lasers at Tony, blasting him back against a wall.

(Y/n) strides towards Wanda and Pietro and the Pietro rushes toward her but (Y/n) teleports behind Wanda.

"Come on, kid," (Y/n) says as Wanda begins to attack her. "You can stop this," she says.

"You're right," Wanda says, her Sokovian accent thick, "I can." She waves her hand and throws (Y/n) back against one of the walls. (Y/n)'s ears ring as she staggers to her feet.

(Y/n) spits out blood as she moves into a fighting stance again.

Wanda leaves, and (Y/n) looks around, trying to fix her still spinning head.

Then she looks up and sees Wanda behind Natasha and the assassin's eyes turn red. (Y/n) teleports up, but by the time she gets there, Wanda is gone.

"Nat?" (Y/n) puts a hand on Natasha's knee but the redhead doesn't react. "Come on, Nat," she shakes her leg lightly.

(Y/n), despite still feeling dizzy, lifts the redhead and carries her out of harm's way.

(Y/n) stands over the redhead and fights off the droids off.

The remainder of the droids get fought off by Clint and (Y/n), who were the only ones left in the salvage yard who hadn't been mind-controlled by Wanda.

Natasha, who was still, her eyes red instead of their normal, beautiful green. (Y/n) shakes the thought from her head and picks up Natasha.

"Need help?" Clint asks.

"I've got 'er," (Y/n) says and Clint nods.

"I'll go get the others," Clint says.

"Meet you at the Quinjet?" (Y/n) asks.

"Yeah, I'll see you two in a moment.”

(Y/n) had never teleported with two people, and didn't want to risk hurting Natasha, so she just carries her to the Quinjet.

(Y/n) lies the redhead down on the chairs inside the Quinjet. (Y/n) had packed a spare hoodie, so she rolls it up, and it slides the pillow under the former assassin's head like a pillow.

(Y/n) sees Clint struggling to support both Thor and Steve and (Y/n) runs out to help. (Y/n) throws Steve's arm over her shoulder and helps the super-soldier inside.

"Who knew we super-soldiers were heavy?" (Y/n) says to herself as she lowers Steve onto another set of chairs.

"Mr. God of Thunder isn't light either," Clint adds.

"Are we just waiting for Tony to get Bruce?" (Y/n) asks and Clint nods.

About half an hour later, Tony returns with Bruce, who was unconscious, and Clint takes the stick.

(Y/n) had fallen asleep on her side, her head resting on her left arm, lying below Natasha on the floor.

Natasha had blinked open her eyes as the Quinjet had landed. She looks down at (Y/n), who was lying on the cold, hard floor of the Quinjet, shivering a little.

Clint walks over and wakes (Y/n) up. "Hm?" she sits up, blinking the sleep from her eyes. "What's goin' on?"

"We're here," Clint says, and (Y/n) stands up.

Natasha goes to stand up, but stumbles and (Y/n) catches her.

"Slow down there, Romanoff," (Y/n) throws an arm around Natasha's waist to keep her upright.

Clint leads the Avengers up towards a farmhouse, and (Y/n) was right behind the archer as she helps the redheaded assassin up the stairs.

"What is this place?" Thor asks.

"Safehouse," Tony guesses.

"Let's hope," Clint answers as (Y/n) helps Natasha through the door. "Honey, I'm home," Clint says as they enter a living room and (Y/n) tentatively releases her hold from around the redhead, leaving a hand on her shoulder in case she falls.

A brunette, heavily pregnant, walks into the room and (Y/n) smiles at the woman.

"Hi," the woman breathes as Clint steps towards her.

"Company," Clint says. "Sorry, didn't call ahead."

"Hey," the brunette leans forward, kissing Clint.

"Aww!" (Y/n) says softly.

"This is an agent of some kind," Tony says and (Y/n) glances at him.

"Gentlemen, (Y/n), this is Laura," Clint introduces the woman and (Y/n) waves.

"I know all of your names," Laura says with a chuckle.

"Oh, I like her," (Y/n) says and Laura smiles at her.

There's a sound of footsteps and Clint smiles, "Ooh. Incoming."

"Dad!" a little girl cries and Clint scoops her up in his arms.

"Hi, sweetheart!" Clint says. "Hey, buddy," Clint pulls his son into a hug.

"Aww!" (Y/n) says again and Natasha looks at her weirdly. "What, I like kids. I raised my little sister since we were eight."

"These are smaller agents," Tony says and Y/n) laughs.

"Nice Tony," (Y/n) says.

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" the little girl asks.

(Y/n) lifts her hand off Natasha's shoulder and the redhead walks towards the little girl.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" Natasha asks scooping the girl up in her arms.

"Sorry for barging in on you," Steve says.

"Yeah, we would have called ahead, but we were busy having no idea you existed," Tony says.

"Dude, we need to get you some help," (Y/n) says, nudging Tony with a laugh. She steps forward. "It's nice to meet you. I'm (Y/n) With no Last Name."

Laura's eyes flash with amusement. "Oh, I like this one."

(Y/n) laughs.

"I missed you," Natasha says, coming to say hello to Laura and (Y/n) takes a step to the side. "How's little Natasha, huh?"

"She's . . ." Laura falters. "Nathaniel."

Natasha's smile falls off her face and she leans down, muttering, "Traitor."

Thor walks out the door and one of (Y/n)'s eyebrows raises.

"Excuse me," (Y/n) says, smiling, before following Steve outside as he follows Thor.

"Thor?" Steve asks.

"I say something in that dream," Thor says. "I need answers. I wouldn't find them here."

Thor twirls his hammer and flies up into the air.

(Y/n) and Steve go to walk inside but Steve stops.

"I'll be back in soon," Steve says, and (Y/n) nods, retreating inside.

"Hi!" comes the little girl's voice and (Y/n) smiles down at her.

"Hey, I'm (Y/n)," (Y/n) says.

"I'm Lila!" Lila chimes in.

"I like you," (Y/n) smiles. "I'm (Y/n). Boop!" (Y/n) boops Lila's nose and the little girl giggles. "How 'bout we go outside and leave the Avengers to their business, yeah?"

Lila nods and leads (Y/n) outside. "I can show you around!"

(Y/n) smiles at the girl's enthusiasm and follows the young girl around the farm until they get back up on the porch.

"Thank you for hanging out with Lila," Laura says as the little girl runs inside.

"No problem," (Y/n) says with a smile. "As I said, I love kids."

"I wanted to let you know that because some of you have to double up, you and Natasha will be sharing a room," Laura tells her, and (Y/n) nods slowly.

"Okay," (Y/n) says, still nodding a little.

An amused expression had crossed Laura's face and her smile had widened.

"Um, I'm going to grab my stuff," (Y/n) says. She smiles before jogging towards the Quinjet. (Y/n) grabs her and Natasha's duffel bags and carries them inside.

Lila runs up to (Y/n).

"Hey, kiddo," (Y/n) greets. "Can you take me up to your Auntie Nat's room?" Lila nods and starts up the stairs, (Y/n) close behind. "Thanks," (Y/n) says, as Lila stops in front of one of the rooms.

(Y/n) knocks lightly on the door before stepping into the room.

"Hi, Nat," (Y/n) says softly.

"Hey," Natasha says halfheartedly, her eyes glazed.

(Y/n) sets the two duffel bags on one of the chairs, then she sits down on the edge of the bed by the redhead's feet.

"Hey, are you alright?" (Y/n)'s voice was gentle and the former assassin's eyes seem to return to their normal - non-glazed - green.

Tears seem to well up in the green eyes and (Y/n) reaches forward, gently squeezing the redhead's hands.

Natasha moves over and (Y/n) wraps her arms around her.

"Hey," (Y/n) says softly. "You're alright Tasha."

"Thank you," Natasha murmurs into (Y/n)'s shoulder.

"For what?" (Y/n) asks, her (E/c) eyes soft.

Natasha pulls back, looking into (Y/n)'s eyes.

A watery smile smiles across Natasha's face.

"You're so clueless," Natasha says, drying her tears on her sleeve.

(Y/n)'s head that - just seconds before had been full of unasked questions - is now buzzing as Natasha leans forward. She feels Natasha's breath on her cheek. Natasha watches her eyelids flutter, then close as their lips meet.

A moment later, Natasha pulls away and finds (Y/n)'s cheeks a bright red.

(Y/n) blinks open her (E/c) eyes and she smiles stupidly.

Steve sticks his head in the door, seemingly not noticing (Y/n)'s bright red cheeks. "There's someone here," Steve says and (Y/n) tilts her head.

"Who?" (Y/n) asks, an eyebrow raised.

"Just come downstairs."

Steve leaves the room and (Y/n) follows, but she also catches the look of disappointment that had spread across Natasha's face. Natasha gets up and quickly follows, taking (Y/n)'s hand.

A blush rises on (Y/n)'s cheeks and Natasha laughs.

"You are so cute," Natasha says softly. Then her eyes widen. "I said that out loud, didn't I?" she asks.

"Yeah, but I thought it was sweet," (Y/n) says and it's Natasha's turn to blush.

Natasha has to release (Y/n)'s hand as they walk down the stairs and into the kitchen.

(Y/n) lets out a noise as someone throws themselves into her arms.

"Skye?" (Y/n) asks, wrapping her arms tighter around her sister. Then she draws back staring at her sister. "I told you to go home," she scolds lightly.

"Fury wanted someone else with powers," Skye says and (Y/n) raises an eyebrow.

"Fury's here?" Natasha asks, and Skye nods.

"He's stalking Stark in the barn," Skye says and (Y/n) laughs.

"(Y/n)," Laura says, walking up and Skye smiles at the woman. "Whose your guest?"

"Oh, this is my twin sister, Skye," (Y/n) says, and Skye waves.

"The one you practically raised?" Laura asks and (Y/n) nods while Skye shakes her head no.

"Really?" (Y/n) asks, raising an eyebrow at her sister. "Who came to your rescue when SHIELD sent a team after you because you were doing hacker things."

"You were part of that team," Skye says.

"Yeah, but then, I taught you stuff," (Y/n) reasons.

"Fine," Skye grumbles.

"Yes! I win again!" (Y/n) says, nudging her sister. "Seven hundred, twenty-one to zero."

"Anyway," Natasha says with a laugh. She holds out her hand, "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself at the party. I'm Natasha."

"Hi," Skye shakes Natasha's hand. "(Y/n)'s told me a lot about you."

"She has, has she?" Natasha smirks and (Y/n) shifts uncomfortably.

Word Count: 4830 words

This was going to be one part, but we was reachin' like 10k words, and I wasn't about that, so it's probably going to be two parts.

Anyway, I love you guys!

Love,

Kaitlynn ❤️❤️

Taglist:

@marsromanoff

@ecruzsalaz

@procrastinatingsapphictrash

#Nat #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff x fem reader #black widow x reader #of course you did #part one

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amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines · 3 years

Text

Sweet Pea//my only sunshine

Request: Hello good morning, afternoon or night depending on the place you are from❤ I love your work👅 Could you do a headcanon of Sweet Pea dating a sweet, shy and pure girl?? Please??? Love you❤

hey!! i hope you like this!! and i hope you’re all having a lovely day/night! also, sorry if you’re name is sandy...this one isn’t for you. she was the only sweet/shy/pure girl i could think of.

- As soon as he meets you

- He doesn’t like you

- Its the first day at Riverdale Hell High

- He’s surrounded by Northsiders

- And one look at you

- He knows you’re the definition of n o r t h s i d e r

- You’re more like Betty Cooper, than Betty Cooper

- You’re too kind and sweet to be considered anything other than:

- 1: a psycho

- Or

- 2: a serial killer

- All kind smiles

- And bright eyes that make whoever looks into them feel safe

- Right now

- You look more like you’re welcoming literal angels into heaven

- Than gang members into a school

- After Veronica’s speech

- During which you would chime in with enthusiastic ‘yeahs!’

- And Sweet Pea knows you’re going to be eaten alive

- You might be able to get away with being sweet, shy and pure around northsiders

- But if you’re like that when southsiders are around

- You won’t last five minutes

- It doesn’t matter whose territory you’re on

- When everyone is sent away after the almost fight

- You manage to catch him before he gets to class

- He doesn’t really know where he’s going

- But he doesn’t care

- This whole thing is bullshit anyway

- He wants to punch something

- And he wants to see Fangs and Toni

- Both of which seem to have gotten separated from him

- So now he’s alone

- To everyone else he looks absolutely terrifying

- But there’s something about him that catches your eye

- He looks...not scared, maybe nervous

- So you scramble to find an excuse to talk to him

- You know the serpents aren’t going to want to talk to anybody unless there’s a reason

- So you grab the first leaflet you see and jog after him

- You catch his jacket and you swear you’ve never seen anybody turn around quicker

- One arm already raised and in a fist

- The other pining you to a locker

- He quickly lets go of you and drops his fist when he see’s who he’s about to punch

- But the scowl on his face doesn’t go away

- Even more so, when he glares at all of the people that have surrounded the two of you

- Its a mix of northsiders and southsiders

- But for the first time ever, you think the northsiders have the upper ground

- So you send them a look and they leave you two alone

- Something Sweet Pea is secretly relieved about

- This place may suck

- But he doesn’t want to be kicked out on his first day

- Mainly because Toni and Fangs would still be here

- You’re only a little bit terrified

- (You’re actually a lot terrified but thats not the point)

- ‘what.’ He huffs, looking at the floor

- ‘oh.’ You clear your throat and smooth your outfit out. ‘i thought this would be something you’re interested in.’

- You smile brightly at him while handing him the leaflet

- And your fingers brush past each other

- Its only for a few seconds

- But it starts something that lasts a lifetime

- Both of you just don’t know that...yet

- Anyway

- He looks between it and you

- Before his scowl worsens

- ‘is this a joke?’

- ‘huh?’

- ‘you gave me a leaflet for cheerleading’

- ‘what?’ Your eyes widen as you look down at the paper. ‘oh. sorry. that was the wrong thing. but, you could try out for it if you want.’

- ‘do you want to be shoved in a locker instead of against one this time?’ He replies and backs you even more into the cold metal

- ‘do we go to school in the 90′s? because that insult sure sounded like it.’

- You can’t believe you actually said that

- Never in your life have you ever said anything like that

- You’ve had no need to

- Everybody is always really nice to you

- But your lips moved before you even had a chance to realize what was happening

- And now you’re definitely going to get punched

- But he doesn’t

- In fact, you’re sure you see the corners of his lips turn up into a smile

- But he suppresses it before it gets any further

- Instead muttering a ‘leave me alone sandy’

- ‘my name isn’t sandy.’

- ‘whatever!’

- The next time you see each other

- Is when you’re talking to Jughead and Betty

- Its been a week since the serpents started

- And they’ve been avoiding everybody as much as possible

- But today they decide to brave the school cafeteria

- So once they spot Jones, they all gather around his table

- You pull your attention away from the conversation you’re having with Betty and soon as you see a shadow looming over the three of you

- As soon as you look up

- A bright smile appears on your face as you start to greet as many people as you can

- Even offering your seat to some of them

- They all send you confused/annoyed looks

- Everyone but Sweet Pea

- He’s been watching you over the past week

- Not in a weird, creepy way

- More in a curious way

- Because you’re so different from anybody he has ever met

- And you’re just so nice to everyone

- He honestly doesn’t know how you do it

- Because you talk to everyone you see

- And you’re always smiling

- He’s never seen you with anything but a smile on your face

- Apart from when you’re concentrating in class and your tongue sticks out just a little

- Which is very cute

- There’s only a few people that he can bare to be nice to

- But with you, it just comes naturally

- And in a weird way

- He kind of likes that about you

- So he takes you up on your chair offer

- ‘sure sandy, if you’re offering’ He smirks down at you and you send him an unsure smile before standing up

- He’s kind of secretly sad that he didn’t get a proper smile

- But he gets it

- He hasn’t exactly been the nicest

- Or most approachable person in the world.

- ‘my name is y/n’

- ‘okay.’ He shrugs

- He’s actually really happy he knows you’re name now!

- The rest of the seats around the table are taken so you’re left standing awkwardly beside Betty

- But you don’t seem fazed

- Instead you’re trying to coax Fangs into a discussion about your History assignment

- He doesn’t look at all interested

- And the conversation is mainly one-sided

- But you don’t seem to mind

- ‘hey, northsider. if you want a seat, i’ve got one here.’ A serpent named Liam smirks as he looks at you

- The whole table goes silent

- The serpents trying not to laugh

- Betty and Jughead are wide-eyed

- And Sweet Pea is just confused

- Because he barely knows anything about you

- But he kind of wants to punch Liam in the face

- Maybe its because Liam is always that annoying

- Or at least thats what he’s telling himself

- ‘oh, erm. no thank you’ You reply, you’re cheeks bright red

- ‘are you sure?’ He presses

- ‘she said no. leave her alone’ Sweet Pea chimes in and you send him a relieved smile

- ‘i need to go’ You quickly excuse yourself and rush off

- The rest of the table goes back to normal

- But Sweet Pea knows something was wrong

- He may have only been stalking watching you for a week

- But you’ve never ran away from anybody like that before

- So he follows you out

- And frowns when he finds you sat in an empty stairwell

- He sits beside you and you jump a little

- But you smile at him anyway

- Only this time its sad

- And he’s decided he doesn’t like it

- He’d rather see Jones naked than see you smile sadly at anyone, let alone him, ever again

- ‘whats wrong sandy?’

- ‘my name isn’t sandy’ You roll your eyes making him laugh

- ‘liam is a dick. just ignore him’

- ‘i’m sure he’s nice somewhere deep down. he just hasn’t found that part of him yet’

- ‘do you actually believe that?’

- ‘yeah.’ You nod. ‘i think there’s good in everyone. Even you.’ You make sure to look him in the eye when you say the last part making him smile (and blush a little)

- ‘whatever’

- ‘it just upsets me that people think they can say whatever they want to me because they know i won’t say anything that isn’t polite back’

- ‘you weren’t polite to me’

- ‘that was a mistake. i was having a bad day’

- ‘its not a bad thing to stand up for yourself you know. i do it all the time...maybe thats our problem.’

- ‘what is?’

- ‘well, you don’t stand up for yourself enough, i do it too much’

- ‘together we make a functioning human’

- ‘yeahhh.’ He says awkwardly. ‘i don’t think so. there are so many other parts of me that need fixing before i can be a semi-functioning human...let alone fully’

- ‘thats not true’ You nudge him softly

- ‘sure its not’ He laughs. ‘maybe you need to start being a little more mean to people’

- ‘i don’t want to be mean to anyone. i like being kind.’

- ‘what if i’m mean for you’

- ‘thats also too mean’

- ‘what if i’m mean and it just so happens to be to people that aren’t very nice to you?’ He says and you send him a look. ‘okay. i won’t’

- He does.

- After that you two become very odd friends

- Even if he still calls you Sandy

- You’ve been trying to come up with a nickname for him

- And he loves it

- Because you’re too sweet to come up with a mean nickname for him

- So instead you call him Sunshine

- And he hates it

- He hates it so much

- Because every time you say it...he blushes

- Every. Single. Time

- You continue to be sweetness and light

- And he continues to be bitterness and dark

- Although you are kind of having an effect on him

- Because he is a little nicer to some people

- And Toni and Fangs have never seen him smile more than when he’s either with you or talking about you

- He definitely likes you

- He falls for you more and more every single day

- Despite everything going on between the north and southside

- But one day he just can’t help it

- You’re talking to him

- And you’re just so happy

- So he goes for it

- He’s so scared that you’re going to push him away

- But you don’t

- You kiss him back

- And its just as sweet as you are.

- When you start dating its a surprise to everyone

- Obviously

- You are like the most opposite to each other anybody can be

- Some people think he’s been dared to ask you out

- Others think you’ve slowly lost your mind/been brainwashed

- And everyone else is just confused

- At first people make snide comments

- But they’re quickly shut up by Sweet Pea threatening them

- And as people see that you’re actually serious about each other

- And you kind of compliment one another

- They slowly start to accept it

- Plus, Sweet Pea is so much nicer when you’re around

- They start to get used to it

- Some people even think its quite cute

- Plus, it starts a truce between both sides

- Like a successful Romeo and Juliet

- Anywayyyyy

- He l o v e s teasing you

- Its one of his favourite things to do

- Because its so easy to make you blush or stutter

- And so he does it all the time

- You get very sweet good morning texts

- But rather dirty goodnight texts

- Followed by a sweet one

- And he’ll whisper in your ear when you’re talking to your friends

- ‘that dress looks amazing on you babe’ Cue you smiling. ‘but it’ll look so much better on the floor.’ Cue you blushing like mad

- And he definitely sends inappropriate texts at inappropriate times

- But his favourite thing is when you don’t understand what he’s just said

- Because you’re so confused

- And he thinks its so cute

- He also continues to call you Sandy

- Forever

- But you still call him sunshine

- Sooooo

- He also always has your back

- If someone is being rude to you

- He’s threatening them in a heart beat

- ‘what the fuck did you just say to my girl?’

- You’re also rarely apart so if someone is mean to, they’re gonna get their ass kicked

- But on the rare occasion that you aren’t together

- You are all he talks about

- Whether its relevant to what he’s doing or not

- If he’s watching a film with Toni and Fangs

- ‘y/n would like this’ and ‘that character is like y/n! but she’s much cuter obviously’

- Or if they’re just hanging out and talking

- ‘y/n once ate that...she didn’t like it’ or ‘hey did i tell you about the time y/n did that?’

- ‘yes!’

- ‘you’ve told us 1000 times’

- But you’re exactly the same about him

- And thats what so great about you two

- Because you love each other no matter what

- He loves that you’re the nicest person in the world

- Who wouldn’t?

- Because how lucky is he that he gets to spend his life with the sweetest human ever

- And you secretly like the fact that sometimes he’s a bad influence on you

- Because thats part of him

- And you wouldn’t change that for the world

- He could be the most cynical person in the world

- But to you, he’s literal sunshine

✨taglist ✨

@popcrone818

#sweet pea #sweet pea imagine #sweet pea x reader #sweet pea x you #sweet pea x y/n #riverdale #riverdale imagine

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heyitsjay03 · 3 years

Text

Fighting for Tomorrow

AN: This is my first fanfiction I’ve ever posted on here and I’m a little nervous lol. I just hope you guys have as much fun reading this as I did writing this.

Disclaimer: I do not own AOT and all rights go to the owners!

Reiner x Reader, eventual Captain Levi x Reader, Sasha x Sister!Reader

Word Count: 8.3k words

TW: arranged marriage, blood/gore, swearing/adult language, mild sexual content

---------

You can read parts two, three, and four! Just tap on the number you want :)

There’s a prolonged poke on my cheek, “Are you awake?”

My eyes slowly open, wincing slightly at the sunlight fighting through my curtains. A black-haired, green-eyed little boy sits on my bed- face just centimeters from mine. There’s another poke. “Well? Are you?”

“Eren,” I groan, rolling over in my bed and pulling the sheets up over my head. “How did you even get into my house?”

“You leave your window unlocked every night,” he says simply, as if it were common knowledge. He’s not wrong… I can only imagine how many people know about my window. I shudder. Maybe I should start locking up more.

“Fine, but that doesn’t mean you can just… jump through it. What would your mother think?”

“She doesn’t care.”

I roll back over and give him a hard stare before he slumps over. “I guess she does,” he mumbles, picking at the sheets on my bed. “But Mikasa’s with me so it’s not as bad.”

“Where-?” I sit up, throwing the sheets off of me. “Did you bring Armin, too, Eren?” I ask exasperatedly as I tuck my arms close to my chest and search my room.

Eren nods, “They’re outside keeping watch.”

“Keeping watch for who?”

“For-”

“Eren!”

The soft voice comes from just outside my window. We both turn towards it and watch as Mikasa’s face pops into the sill.

By the walls, how did I manage to end up babysitting these three maniacs?

“He’s coming!” Armin’s voice strains. I hurry to the window and see Armin giving a knee-up to Mikasa, his pale face slightly pink with exertion.

“Who’s coming?” I ask, turning to Eren.

I don’t get a response. There’s someone’s footsteps crunching towards my front door. A single glance to the kids tells me they really, really don’t want to face whoever it is. I grip Mikasa under her arms and pull her through the window before snatching Armin’s collar and tugging him through the window. The two scramble to their feet- Armin taking longer than Mikasa- and hurry to Eren’s side.

There’s a pounding knock at my door, followed by a man yelling for me. Eren and Armin clutch my arms and slightly tuck their faces into the silk of my nightgown. Mikasa remains steady and calm- her grey eyes trained on the door.

The man steps back from the door, peering in the window just above my sink. I know his face all too well. It’s Tobias Walker. He searches the house, face pressed slightly against the glass.

“What in the walls did you three do this time?” I mutter, hurrying to the front door. They remain at my side as I open the door.

Smiling warmly, I greet Tobias. “Hello Tobias,” I hum, “I wasn’t expecting you to visit until later on.”

My fiancé forces a smile, staring down at the kids. “...I was… Just… looking for you four.”

“Why?”

Tobias takes off his cap, twisting it in his fists nervously. Slowly, he tears his eyes away from them. “These three have been pestering me at work again,” he mutters venomously. “Darling.” He says this sweetly and quickly- an afterthought, an attempt to curry favor for his side of the story.

Two can play at that game. “Really, Tobias? They’re just children- what can they possibly do that can distract my dedicated fiancé from his business?”

He stammers, running a hand across his forehead. He’s a mess. His tanned skin is slightly red, black hair slightly frayed and mussed. Sweat drips down his face, trailing his jawline. It’s a shame I didn’t know him before this whole ordeal. Maybe we would’ve come together on our own, who knows.

“__________, please,” he tries pleading with me before realizing the words that came out of his mouth. He stands up straighter, eyebrows and lips forced into straight lines. “I won’t be begging,” he mutters in an attempt to be firm. He stares down at the kids. “And they’re coming with me.”

The small grips on my nightgown tighten.

“I’m sorry, Tobias,” I hum, rubbing the heads of each of the kids with a warm smile to each of them. My gaze turns back to the man in the doorway. “But there’s been some misunderstanding. Doctor Yeager had sent them to me. They brought me some of the stuff needed for the ceremony.”

“I- We don’t need stuff for the ceremony-”

“Are you rejecting the kindness of one of the town’s benefactors?”

“Well, no-”

“Did you want to spend extra money on the flowers and the arrangements?”

“I don’t need charity-”

A breathy laugh leaves my lips. “Tobias, you’re not thinking clearly. The Doctor had personally gone out of his way to tell me. He was on his way to work in Wall Sina when he stopped and told me he was sending stuff from his home to us. He didn’t even leave five minutes ago!”

It wasn’t entirely a lie. Doctor Yeager had told me of his business in another wall- the exact one was lost on me. I just wasn’t sure if he had left or not.

Tobias gulps, eyeing me and then the kids. My hands find my hips and I tilt my head to the side slightly, “...now- how is it possible that they carried their packages all the way to the other side of town, pestered you, and then made it back across town within five minutes?”

Tobias goes quiet, his mouth opening and closing like a trout. My eyebrow raises as I await his answer. His head twitches to the side and the grip on his cap grows tighter. “...I’m telling you-”

“And I am telling you that you, in your infinite wisdom, are wrong. Now, I’m sure the factory is completely lost without you so I’d suggest getting a move on.” I push his chest slightly and close the door. The four of us strain our ears, listening to the tell-tale crunches in the dirt as he walks away from the house. I can hear him muttering, the fence slamming behind him.

Eren and Armin release their grips and sigh. Eren turns to look at me, eyes shining. I shake my head, “You’re not out of the clear yet, so you three go sit down and tell me what you were doing.”

Eren stares dumbfounded at me, mouth slightly open. My eyebrow arches and he stands firmly in his spot. Armin grabs his arm, tugging him to the table. He practically throws Eren into a chair and takes another seat. Mikasa sits to Eren’s right, still silent and stoic.

My arms cross over my chest as I stare at the lot of them. Mikasa’s fiddling with the red scarf around her neck and Armin doesn’t meet my gaze. Even Eren pretends to be interested in the grooves in the wood table in front of him.

“Well? What were you three doing in the factory? Haven’t I told you three to just leave it alone? It’s happening, whether any of us want it to or not.”

“But it shouldn’t happen!” Eren erupts, slamming his palm to the table. My flower vase filled with wildflowers spins like a small dancer; stems arms stretched to a spotlight. The shaking of the vase echoes around the stillness of the kitchen. “He’s forcing you into a cage!”

“He isn’t forcing me into anything, Eren,” I say quietly. “I made my choice.”

“What were the options?” He snaps again, eyebrows drawn together to create fierce ridges that look out of place on a face so young.

I stay silent, focusing on keeping my breathing steady. I can feel my teeth biting down into the inside of my bottom lip, the tightness in my shoulders and back. Armin and Mikasa pull on Eren’s sleeves to pull him down into his chair. Eren shrugs them off, “He’s forcing you into something you don’t want- into a cage!”

“Eren!” Armin hisses incredulously, his soft-blue eyes widening. “She’s an adult- you can’t talk to her like that!”

“It’s okay, Armin,” I say softly, walking to the chair across from the three of them. “I should explain everything… Seeing as the three of you will probably find out one way or another.”

Eren huffs, slamming himself back down against his chair. Their eyes remain fixated on me- each pair simultaneously gleaming with curiosity and boiling with rage. I groan softly, running a hand through my long, ________ hair. It catches on a few tangled naps. “I didn’t realise I was going to be explaining such a heavy topic so early in the morning,” I mutter, getting back up and walking to the cupboards.

“It’s past noon,” Mikasa states, earning an indignant ‘don’t say that!’ from Armin.

“Fantastic,” I breathe out, pulling the dusty, colored-glass bottle from the back of the cupboard. “Then I don’t feel so bad doing this.” I undo the stopper- a sweet smell wafting in the air behind the cork- and take a long swig.

Shuffling back to the table, I tuck the bottle back under my chair. “There’s no easy way to explain to three children,” I mumble, “But I know you’re all much brighter than your age. So… I’ll just start at the beginning,”

“I was born in a small cabin in the woods of Wall Rose. My family were hunters and gatherers- we lived off the land like our ancestors before us. It was a… ‘simplistic’ type of living and I didn’t have the luxuries I have now but… It was honest living. We took from the land only what we needed and gave it back as best we could,”

“There were people who looked down on us. Calling us… ‘out-dated’ and ‘backwards’. Maybe it was the way we dressed or how we lived or how we talked- whatever it was, they didn’t like us much... I got older and they had my little sister and I had started going to school in the village. I… I felt… it was awful- school. I was called awful things because of the way my family and I lived. I was an outcast and… So, I- ...I changed,”

“I fixed my hair and bought makeup from the traders in the village. I mimicked the way my classmates talked and stopped going hunting with my father and sister. Eventually… Eventually I was accepted. I was a part of the group now,”

“And I got even older and dreamed about leaving the village- to see what the other walls had in store and to leave behind the archaic ways of my family. That was when my family had their first run-in with Tobias. He wanted our land- to cultivate and grow grain for his factories. My family declined but he isn’t the type to take ‘no’ for an answer. He found out about my family’s money issues and… And he came to me. Tobias told me he knew and that he had a plan that would make everything go away.”

I stop, my words catching in my throat. My hands turn about in the air before my finger taps against my lips in an attempt to coax my words out. Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply.

“I couldn’t just… let my family suffer- you know that, right?” I ask hopefully, “We were suffering. We were starving and my mother was weak and my father was sick- what else could I have done?” I was rambling now and I knew it. I run a hand through my hair, tears pricking the edges of my eyes.

“So I told them I had a plan to get us out of debt and out of suffering. Tobias has to marry me. When Tobias marries me, he will be in charge of the land and will assume the debt. He’ll pay the debt off with the profit from the factory and then he’ll let us have three-quarters of it while he takes me and a quarter of land to be his…”

“Prize,” Mikasa finishes for me.

My eyes flick up to hers. The boys do the same, taken aback by her words. I couldn’t even scold her- she was right. I was a prize to be won and that’s exactly what happened. I was won.

Her steel-grey eyes are unwavering as she looks at me. It was difficult to read Mikasa but being here for this long has taught me a few things about her. And right now, she was staring at me in pity.

“...the deal was struck and I was taken here to Shiganshina. A few weeks after moving in, I got myself a job working for Doctor Yeager as his assistant and apprentice until the day when I can succeed him... And that is when I met you three.”

Eren looks about ready to burst at the seams- jaw tight, teeth gritted, eyebrows drawn, fists clenched. I reach out and place a hand softly onto his, smiling warmly. “This was my choice, Eren,” I hum, “And there’s nothing anyone can do about it. It’s been planned for almost two years now and the ceremony’s tomorrow. After that… Everything will be taken care of- the debt, my family, the land…” I sigh. “And I can’t lie and say it’s not a nice living that I have here. I have a home and running water and a warm bed and you three knuckleheads to make my day better.”

Armin turns a light shade of pink, smiling bashfully. Mikasa even cracks a small smile. But Eren…

I sigh again and run a hand through my hair. “Eren, please understand. If you were in the same situation- if Doctor Yeager got sick and your mother was too tired to take care of herself. If you had to look after Mikasa on your own… There’s nothing you wouldn’t do in that situation.”

Eren opens his mouth and then closes it, his hands finding his hair and tugging slightly on the ends. “It’s… It’s not... fair.”

“You’re right,” I mumble, “It isn’t fair. I should be able to make my own way but… Eren, life isn’t fair.”

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“Are you coming?” Eren yells, charging head-on into the crowd of market-goers. Mikasa hurries after him, weaving expertly through the bodies without hitting a single one.

“We are!” I yell back with a smile, standing on my toes to see the two pop out on the other side of the crowd. Eren stumbles, falling to his knees. Mikasa stops almost immediately and reaches down to him, offering a hand. Eren gets to his feet on his own. Dusting his jeans, he looks up at Armin and I on the other side of the crowd.

“Miss Braus?” Armin calls softly, gripping my skirt as we elbow past the bodies in the square. It wouldn’t be this hard if I wasn’t cursed to standing only 160 centimeters.

“It’s __________, Armin,” I laugh, squeezing us between two very upset men arguing over the price of meat. “I’m only a few years older than you- you make it sound like I’m some school-teacher.”

“Why did Mister Walker choose to help your family? If he had just waited, he could’ve bought the land from the bank when they-” he stops himself.

We push through to the other side of the crowd. Eren leads us on towards the grassy hills while Mikasa stays on his heels. I sigh, shaking my head. “I have a lot of theories but… None of them make much sense.”

“...do you think he knew you before? Maybe he was a classmate or a family friend?”

“I didn’t pay that much attention in school, Armin,” I laugh, “I taught myself a lot more from books than the village wanted a woman to learn.”

They may have called us backwards but they were the ones focused on the forced submission of the townswomen. Sexist swine.

“Well… If he did know you, maybe he likes you.”

My head turns down to face him. His porcelain skin has managed to grow almost completely pink as he realises what he’s just said. Stammers of apologies come stuttering out of his lips as he hastily attempts to take back his words. I smile and shake my head, placing my lips to his golden hair. “You may be right, Armin. You always were bright.”

“...do you think you could ever love him?”

We trudge up the hill, breezes running between our legs and through our hair. Mikasa is already at the top, sitting down as she watches a breathless Eren climb up the grassy knoll. I place a hand on the sunhat on my head, securing it as the breeze teases it off my head.

Could I ever love him?

I try to see myself standing in the doorway of our home. Holding a baby on my hip, my other hand grips a child's hand. Tobias walks up the street and grins as the child breaks away and runs to him. Tobias picks up the child and walks into the doorway, pressing his lips to mine.

It’s all so... unnatural.

Tobias wants roots. I want freedom. I could never be a housewife. I want excitement and passion and unpredictability. He wants me to… To be his little trophy he can take down and polish after a long day at work. Something he can flaunt at dinner parties and work gatherings.

I’ve debated this a lot these past two years- whether or not I could love him. And the answer was always the same.

“No, Armin. I could never love him.”

I sit at the base of the tree, soaking up the sun. It’s not hot- just pleasantly warm. Eren’s attempting to climb said tree after managing to convince Mikasa that he won’t fall. Mikasa directs him on his foot placement but I can hear the scraping of the undersides of his shoes as he slips down the bark once again. Armin has fallen asleep on my lap- golden hair stretched out on the mesh fabric of my dress. There’s an illustrated book splayed out beside me that flutters between pages in the wind. Something Armin had gotten from his grandfather, I’m sure. Clouds roll lazily above us, white and pure. They don’t dare to touch the sun. They just float past it- allowing the warmth to uninterruptedly soak the ground beneath us.

...I wish Sasha were here.

“__________!” Eren’s voice calls from above me.

I turn, seeing Eren swinging from a tree branch. A laugh leaves my lips as I see Mikasa’s head pop right next to his. “Are you two having fun?” Mikasa gives me a quick nod as Eren nods much more enthusiastically. “Well, search the tree quickly. You still have to go grab firewood for your mother.”

“Aw, c’mon,” Eren huffs, “You can’t let us go one day without chores?”

“Miss Carla is as much of my boss as Mister Grisha. If she says you need to get firewood, you’re getting firewood.”

Eren sighs and stops swinging on the tree branch, returning to stand on the base. I can hear leaves shaking as they climb further up. A few break off the branches and float down into Armin’s hair. I pluck them out and let the wind take them from between my fingers. Inhaling the wildflower-smelling air, I seriously debate joining Armin in taking a nap.

“__________!” Eren screams.

My eyes shoot back open and I’m on my feet. “What is it? Eren? Mikasa? Are you hurt?”

“The Scouts are back!” Eren yells. There’s more tree-branch-shaking. “They’re back! __________, can we go see them?”

“We- You-” I stop and inhale deeply as my heart continues hammering against my chest. “You scared me!” I snap, arms crossing over my chest.

Eren- with twigs and leaves in his hair- appears at the base of the tree again. He jumps off, colliding to the ground with a thud as he lands on his side. Mikasa does the same, landing perfectly. Eren’s back on his feet in seconds, wiping his clothes of the dirt. “Well?” He asks, “Can we?”

“We haven’t gathered our firewood,” Mikasa points out, pulling the twigs and leaves from his hair. “Your mother told us we needed to gather firewood.”

“The firewood’s still gonna be here when we get back,” Eren says back, shooting Mikasa a look. “Please, __________? I swear I’ll get everything done.”

Armin’s up now- woken up by the commotion. He rubs his eyes and sits up. “Eren’s not wrong. The firewood won’t go anywhere,” he mumbles sleepily.

Sighing, I roll my eyes. “You’re gonna get everything done?”

“Yes, I swear.”

“And you aren’t gonna forget about it?”

“No.”

“And you won’t have Mikasa do it for you?”

“I don’t have Mikasa do everything for me!”

“...Eren… She does it whether or not you ask.”

“Fine. I won’t have Mikasa do it for me.”

“...okay then,” I smile, holding out my hand for Eren and Mikasa to hold. “Let’s go see the Scouts.”

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I wish I hadn’t said yes to this. As much as I admire them and wish to be them… The Scouts are a mess. Almost everyone is bloodied and each has that look in their eye- the blank stare so wide you can almost see the carnage replaying behind them. There’s bloodied bandages in the street, being pounded into the cobble by the horses. Groans of agony and wailing fill the street. Something deep in my stomach churns as a man with an arm missing holds a bloody Scouts cape in his hands.

There were nearly a hundred that left.

There can’t be more than twenty that came back.

I can only wonder if it all is worth it.

Of course it is. What am I thinking? Pushing those beasts back, reclaiming the land that humanity used to populate and cultivate… It is worth it but… Damn, if it isn’t a high price to pay.

Eren jumps up and down to look over the people’s shoulders. Frustrated, he huffs and takes off further down the street. The rest of us follow. My hand wrapped in Armin’s, I let him lead me behind the crowd. Even as my hat flies away, I can’t take my eyes off the Scouts.

We come to a stop and Eren climbs up a stack of boxes. Mikasa and Armin do the same, sitting down beside Eren. I stand on the lowest box to see inside the wagon a pair of horses are pulling.

It’s bodies.

Not dead ones, either. There are soldiers in there- sandwiched together and nearly screaming in pain. Blood coats every inch of the wagon. The bodies in the wagon wail for a medic, for help.

I feel myself pushing through the crowd, running for the wagon. “I can help!” I yell, “I can help!”

A surly soldier turns to me, eyeing me venomously. “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m __________ Braus,” I answer, “I work for Doctor Yeager.”

The soldier scoffs and shakes his head. “They’re going to Wall Maria-”

“They’ll die before they get there!”

I can feel the crowd’s eyes on us now. My breathing grows unsteady and rigid as I stare at the soldier. He’s tall- maybe it was his horse or maybe it was actually him but he towers over me either way. A bandage covers the side of his head and I can see blood seeping through. His eyes are a paled-brown and dirt coats his stubbled skin.

“What’s the issue here, Weinfeld?” A voice behind me asks. There’s a huff of air that goes down my back. I turn and face a brown stallion. My eyes trail even further to the man sitting on top of it. My blood grows still as I realize who it is.

“C-Captain Erwin, I-”

“If this woman wants to help tend our wounded, why are you stopping her?”

“Well, she-”

“She offered her services to help prevent us from losing even more soldiers. Let her help.”

“Y… Yes, sir.”

“Miss?”

My eyes snap up to him. Blond hair, blue eyes. Broad shoulders and commanding height. Blood coats his emerald-green cape. I can see the insignia of the Scout Regiment sewn into the chest, even if it is filthy.

“Yes, sir?”

“What do you need to help them?”

My nerves fade away and I roll my sleeves. “I need more hands. And any medical supplies you can give me. Even shirts, capes- those can work for the time being, too.”

The Captain nods and I hurry to catch up to the wagon. As it’s moving, I jump onto the back and swing my legs over the side. The smell of flesh and blood is putrid here. The blood has seeped into the wood- making it smell metallic and rotten. Flesh smells like it had been left out for days… I could only imagine that being the truth.

“Please, miss,” someone groans, “Please help me.” The chorus of damned souls begins again, even louder now. Bodies shift and turn to face the new ray of hope.

I reach down, tearing off the layer of silk fabric beneath the mesh. Tying it around my face, running footsteps come up behind us. “Ma’am!” Someone calls, “The Captain said you needed help!”

“Get in here,” I snap, taking off the moonstone ring around my finger and tucking it into my bra.

Three men pull themselves into the wagon. One starts to heave as the smell hits his nose. “If you’re going to vomit, do it over the side and get someone else to replace you,” I state, “If you can’t handle the smell, you’re not gonna like what we do next.”

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“Miss!” The man on the opposite side of the wagon calls, “The blood’s not stopping!”

“Lift the stump up!” I yell back, “Make sure you keep it elevated.”

I turn back to the man trembling in my hands. “Okay, what’s your name, soldier?”

His chapped lips part slowly, a cough passing his lips before his words. “...Louis.”

“Okay, Louis, you’re gonna be alright but I need to do something that’s not gonna be fun.” Louis nods slowly. “I’m gonna put this in your mouth for you to bite down on. It’s just a piece of fabric.” He nods again, opening his mouth.

I look around to the other men. One’s still holding up the bleeding stump of a man’s leg across the wagon, attempting to fashion some sort of holder for it. Another is wrapping bandages around a woman’s arm that dangles at an impossible angle. The last one lays a body down on the wagon floor and stands back up.

“You!” I yell, gesturing to the last man and waving him over. “I need you for something.”

The man walks over the bodies to me, his black hair brushing into his steel eyes. “What is it?” he asks flatly.

“You’re going to hold him down by the shoulders while I pour this on his wound.”

The man doesn’t say anything but positions himself at Louis’ shoulders, pressing down. The bottle in my hands was alcohol- something someone from the crowd offered. Pulling down the silk around my face, I unstopper the bottle with my teeth. Standing with a foot on either side of Louis, I look down at the man at his shoulders. “You ready?”

The man nods once.

I lower myself onto Louis’ legs, peeling back his bloodied shirt. A two bleeding lines run along his stomach. An image of a Titan grows in my mind, reaching out ravenously at Louis. A few centimeters more and he would’ve been caught. They’re deep cuts and they look like they’ve been left exposed for far too long. I shake my head, pressing my weight down against his legs. It’s time.

The liquid flows out of the tipped glass, pouring into the crimson grooves in Louis’ skin. Muffled screams pour out of his lips and his legs buck up underneath me. Wincing, I continue pouring. Agonized screams manage to fight through the fabric in his mouth as his whole body spasms.

I tilt the bottle back upright and force the cork back into it. Louis is still thrashing about, causing blood to gush out of the wound. “Hey, Louis, Louis,” I mumble, leaning forward to look him in the eyes. They’re squeezed shut and his head turns from left to right wildly. “Louis!” I yell, grabbing him by the chin. “If you want to live, you need to hold as still as possible- do you understand me? If you move too much, you’ll lose too much blood and you’ll die. So sit there and stay still.”

Louis nods frantically, his chest still heaving. Sweat pours down his face and I take my skirt and rip it again. Dabbing the fabric against his forehead, I look up to the man at his shoulders. “You take over,” I state, handing him the piece of fabric. “I’m gonna make something and you’re gonna hold it down on him, okay?”

The man nods once again. He doesn’t seem comfortable talking. Not that I would either, surrounded by the bleeding half-rotted bodies of my comrades.

“Good,” I mutter, gripping the fabric that makes up my sleeves. Pulling the fabric one way as I pull my arm the opposite way, the fabric rips and I wad it up. I do the same with my other sleeve and lift Louis’ shirt back up again. I place the fabric against the wounds and look up to the dark-haired man. “Come here- you need to put pressure into this. Don’t let go, okay? Just keep putting pressure.”

The man nods and I get to my feet to check on everyone else.

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

There’s nothing else I can do with no proper supplies and I’m running out of fabric. My eyes drift down to my dress- or what’s left of it. It hangs around my legs a bloody, shredded mess that barely covers my upper thighs.

I can always buy another one. My eyes then turn to the lot of soldiers in the wagon. I can’t exactly replace these Scouts’ lives.

My eyes continue drifting until they land on each of the three men that helped me. The man holding the man’s stump- he’s Eld. The other one with the woman- Oluo.

Eld hands me another soiled Scout cape and I hand him a less-soiled Scout cape. Leaning over the side of the wagon, I wring the cape in my hands. Sickly red liquid slicks down my hands and squelches down onto the passing cobblestone. The color of my skin is no longer visible- drowned out by the endless amounts of blood.

“Eld,” I mumble as I wring the cape dry. I’m hoping he can distract me from the cobblestone pavement I’m painting red.

“What’s it, __________?”

“Who’s the other man?” I ask quietly, “The one with Louis?”

Eld turns to look down the wagon before he laughs. “That’s Levi. Another one of us.”

“He doesn’t talk much,” Oluo adds, “Don’t take it personally.”

“I thought maybe it was… because of all this,” I smile crookedly and sit back down in the corner. The wagon tosses and jostles underneath us as we make our way to Wall Maria. “Maybe I’m just projecting. I’m certainly not as talkative as I usually am.”

“You handled this well… All things considered,” Oluo huffs a laugh, “Ever thought about joining?”

“You’re recruiting now?” Eld snaps, “Who in their right mind would want to join after seeing this?”

Oluo shrugs, “Nobody in the Scouts are sane.”

I clear my throat awkwardly and tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. “Well… if you’re ever back in Shiganshina- I’d be more than happy to sit you down and teach you some medical basics. It could end up saving a life.”

Eld and Oluo both bow their heads gratefully. My eyes dart to Levi, who still remains keeping pressure on Louis’ wounds. “You’re also welcome to join us, Levi,” I smile.

He says nothing but nods once more. It’s better than nothing, I suppose.

Maria’s walls tower over us in the sunlight- stone reflecting light down onto us. I get back to my feet, rubbing a hand across my forehead. Almost immediately, I cringe at the feeling of slickness now on my skin.

Throwing one leg over the side of the wagon, I prepare myself to jump. “Where are you going?” Eld asks, getting to his feet.

“You’re almost to Wall Maria and there’s nothing else I can really do without supplies and equipment. All you three need to do is make sure that stump is elevated, pressure stays held on Louis and that you three get back to me in Shiganshina for those drinks.”

“Why can’t you stay?” Oluo asks, gesturing to the bodies around him. “If something goes wrong-”

“If something goes wrong, I’m sure the rest of your regiment have doctors waiting on the other side of Maria. ‘sides, I left my kids back there. There’s no telling what they’re up to without me.”

“You have kid-”

Something cracks against the pale-blue sky. Yellow and green lightning pierce the tranquility, striking down just beyond Wall Maria. It disappears as fast as it came- leaving only a trail of white smoke in the sky. “What was that?” I mumble, stepping back into the wagon. “Was that lightning…?”

Eld and Oluo are on their feet now, staring at the sky. I can see their hands gripping their ODM controllers. Eyes wide, mouths slightly open we stare at the Wall. My breath is caught deep in my throat as we wait. As we watch.

The wind kicks up. The former sweetness of wildflowers in the air is now nauseatingly saccharine. It elbows the steam out of the way- and then we see it.

A hand. On the wall.

Stone crumbles beneath the muscle. Paradoxically slowly and quickly, a skinless head lifts up behind the wall.

…that’s impossible.

I want to believe it’s impossible, believe it’s just a facade but as I’m staring and as I hear Eld and Oluo whispering, I know.

There’s a Titan towering over Wall Maria.

I waste no more time. Throwing my leg over the wagon again, I jump. Eld is the first to react, screaming at me to get back on the wagon.

“My kids! My family!” I scream back, sprinting towards town. “I can’t leave them!”

And I keep running. Elbows and bodies are thrown into my chest. I keep running. Eren. Mikasa. Armin. Carla. Even Tobias. Massive chunks of stone collide beside me and that’s when I know the wall has been torn through.

And I keep running. Blood in my ears, blood on my face, blood on my hands- it all seems to burn and throb. Colors blur together in the edges of my vision. All I need to focus on is getting to them.

I can hear the screams and the cries and the wailing and the bones snapping. And I keep running. I don’t have time to look.

There is blood everywhere. I can smell it.

My eyes catch him- a black-haired boy running straight into the crowd and towards the wall. A girl runs after him. Another boy, with blond hair, stands rigid in his spot.

Their names rip out of my body. “Eren! Mikasa! Armin!”

Over and over again, they shred my lungs as I push towards them. My arms wrap around Armin and I spin him around to face me. My eyes dart between his, brushing hair from his face.

“Armin, where are they going?”

There is no response. Just a blank stare.

“Armin! Where are they going!” I’m screaming now, shaking him at his shoulders.

“...home.”

A shaky breath leaves my lips. “You need to run, Armin,” I mutter, turning him towards Wall Maria. “Do you hear me? You run for that wall and you don’t look back.”

Armin nods slowly and I keep running.

I round the last corner and I freeze. A chunk of the wall sits atop the ruins of the Yaeger home. Dust clouds billow about and I can hear three voices screaming amongst themselves.

My feet carry me there. “Carla! Mikasa! Eren! Grisha!”

“__________!” Carla yells back as I stumble to a stop just before the remains of the house.

My eyes land on her- pinned down underneath a wooden beam and dirt painting her face. Her eyes are wide, staring up at me. I hear the wood groan and shiver. Eren and Mikasa strain as they try lifting the wood up.

“Help us!” Eren snaps at me.

I reach for the beam, fingernails digging into the wood as we all lift it up. It doesn’t budge. Once more, Mikasa and Eren and I plant our feet on the cobblestone and lift.

...it’s no use.

Even if we get this thing off her, Carla’s legs are crushed. We wouldn’t make it out.

“__________!” Carla’s yelling my name over and over. Her hand is gripping my leg, nails digging into my skin. “You have to listen to me- you have to leave me behind and take them! You have to survive- you have to leave me!"

“No!” Eren screams, trying to lift the beam up again. “I’m not leaving you!”

“Can’t you just listen to me for once in your life?!” Carla screams back, tears trailing down her face. “This is the last thing I’m asking you to do-!”

Something looms in the distance. Stomps quake the ground underfoot- and they’re getting closer. A face slowly passes the remains of the town hall. Grotesque and smiling, the Titan’s face turns towards us.

“Carla,” I whisper, tears now streaming down my face. “I… I can’t leave…” I mutter, shaking my head as I lean down to lift the beam again. My whole body strains, screaming for relief, as I try to pry the beam off of her.

“Hannes!”

Looking over my shoulder, I watch as Hannes lands just in front of us. “Take the kids and get out of here!” Carla screams.

Hannes kneels and smiles. “That’s not our only option, Carla. I’m gonna kill that Titan and save all of you!” His arms come out in a flourish, brandishing his blades. He runs around the corner of the house for the Titan. A war cry leaves his lips and-

He skids to a stop. His eyes trail up the height of the Titan. Even from this distance, I can see him tremble. He turns back, pushing his blades back into their holsters.

And he grabs Eren, tossing him over his shoulder. He tucks Mikasa’s body under his arm and he runs a few steps before stopping again. Turning to me, he screams, “Let’s go before it kills us all!”

My eyes flick back down to Carla. Her black hair is stuck to her face. Sweat and tears and spit slick down her skin as she looks up at me with watering eyes. “Take care of them for me,” she whispers. “My daughter, please take care of them for me. You all have to survive- for me.”

And I run.

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“__________!”

My name buzzes around my ears but Eren, Mikasa, Hannes- they aren’t calling me.

“__________!”

I turn around, searching for the voice as I continue running behind Hannes. My eyes dart to each movement. A woman clutching the remains of a man to her body. A child crying. A man being lifted into the sky. Another man running straight towards me, carrying a briefcase.

“Tobias!” I yell. Hannes stops in his tracks, whirling around to face me. Tobias stumbles to a stop. Panting, he wipes his brow with his forearm.

“I need to tell you something,” he wheezes, shoving the briefcase into my hands. “In case I don’t get to, it’s all in here. Everything is in here.”

“Tobias, what are you talking about?”

His eyes are darting everywhere- from my face to Hannes and the kids to my dress and hands. “I haven’t been honest with you,” he says quickly, taking me by the shoulders. “I’ve kept so much from you that you should know about-”

“Just tell me!” I snap, searching his eyes.

Tobias sighs and nods quickly, “But only if we have some shelter.” His hand slips down my arm, taking my hand and pulling me towards a watchtower. Hannes and the kids follow behind us.

“__________,” Tobias states, turning to face me again and gripping my shoulders. “You have to understand- I didn’t know what else I could do. I just wanted what I wanted and I-”

There’s a terrible crash above us. I can feel myself being pushed back and colliding with the cobblestone. Mikasa calls out to me- cut short by the ringing in my ears.

Hannes appears above me, waving a hand in my face and shouting something. It’s all so… far-away. Distant. Blinking, I try to focus on the shifting mimics of Hannes before they all merge together.

Searing pain runs up and down my legs as I feel myself being dragged backwards. I look down and see the pile of bricks, splintered wood, and stone that was once the watchtower. And a single arm underneath it all, covered in a suit’s sleeve.

My eyes widen and my arms bring the briefcase to my chest tighter. “...is that…?”

Hannes nods, picking me up under my arms and setting me back on my feet. “I’m sorry but we have to go,” he mumbles. “We have to get them out of here.”

Tears start to pour from my eyes as I stare at the bloody hand reaching out from under the debris. ...he saved me instead of saving himself.

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“Please, sir, I can’t leave it behind-”

“I’m already allowing you three on before anyone else,” the soldier snarls, “I’m not letting you break any more rules.”

Hannes sighs, scratching the back of his neck. My nail taps against the leather briefcase as I watch Eren and Mikasa blankly stare into the water below. “Take them,” I blurt. “I’ll stay.”

The kids turn around to face me, eyes wide with horror. Tears stream down Eren's face as his fist tightens at his side. “No! I’m not losing you, too!”

“Don’t go,” Mikasa whispers, eyes pleading.

I kneel down, putting the briefcase down next to me. Gently, I place a hand on their faces and rub my thumb against their skin. “I will find you,” I whisper, “You have to trust me. I will find you. You stay where you are until I find you, okay?”

Mikasa nods once but I can feel her lean into my touch. Eren has my wrist, gripping it tightly. “Please, __________,” he pleads through gritted teeth, “Please don’t go.”

I press my lips to his forehead and whisper against his skin. “I will find you, Eren.”

Pulling away, I press my lips to Mikasa’s forehead. I stand and pick up the briefcase. “They’re ready now,” I whisper, forcing the mass of tears in my throat down. “Please take them.”

The soldier takes Mikasa’s hand and reaches for Eren. Eren elbows past him, charging for me. Screaming, he flails about as the soldier throws him over his shoulder and walks up the gangplank. “__________!” He screams. “You can’t leave me! I can’t lose you, too! Please!”

I bite down on my tongue. Tears stream down my face as I watch them get set down on the ferry. Mikasa holds onto Eren’s arm as he thrashes in her grip. The soldier runs back down and yells for the ferry to take off.

Hannes places a hand on my shoulder. I shake violently, sobbing now as the ferry pulls away. Eren finally breaks free and runs to the edge but it’s too late.

I clamp a hand over my mouth, preventing the agonized screams from resounding around the ferry station. I can see Mikasa coming up behind Eren. Someone else pushes towards them.

Armin.

He made it. They all made it. They’re safe. My kids are safe.

Hannes clears his throat behind me. I turn and push my face into his chest, sobbing and clutching at his bloodied uniform. “They made it, Hannes,” I say in strangled sobs. “They’re okay.”

I can feel him press my head further into his chest. “And you’re next.”

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“You can’t close the gate!” I scream, clutching the briefcase to my chest. “There are people out there! Just wait-!”

“If we don’t close it now, the handful of lives out there will be nothing compared to how many we’ll lose in here!” The soldier snaps.

Hannes growls, lunging forward and grabbing the soldier by the collar. “That’s no reason to leave these people to die!”

Footsteps run up behind me. Two men, more soldiers, arrive in the doorway. Panting, one points outside, “They’re coming! You have to close the gate, now!”

“Lower the gate at once!”

“No!” I run forward and feel arms wrap around me, holding me back. One of the soldiers hurries and grabs Hannes, pulling him off the soldier. My body thrashes in its hold, “You can’t do this! You’re going to kill them all-!”

The walls begin to shake around us intermittently- heavy footsteps. They begin to pick up speed, thundering around us. Getting closer and closer, I can feel it in my head, in my heart- the hammering, the footsteps.

It all happens much slower than it did. Hannes wrestles out of the soldier’s grip and grabs my waist. The Titan collides with the wall, sending us into the air amongst the brick and stone of the gate. I can feel us being jerked a different way in the sky- the sound whirring and hissing of air surrounding us.

My arms around his neck, I peek over Hannes’ shoulder. A gaping hole is in the wall where the gate used to be. A Titan with patches of dense armor stands at the hole, breathing deeply.

“__________,” Hannes says as we land on the side of a building. “I’m taking you to Wall Rose. Wall Maria is gone. It’s over.”

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The candlelight flickers in the wind, taunting death before regaining strength. My fingers run along the blood-splattered leather. The gold trim slides under my fingertips. I can feel my stomach churn as I press the buttons in.

What was so secret he kept it from me for so long?

The briefcase flies open. Inside is a mess of paper- most pages are typed but some are handwritten. I can clearly see Tobias’ neat, small handwriting on the pages. I scoot closer to the candle, taking a sheet of paper and reading it in the light.

__________,

I am writing this knowing in almost-full confidence that I am no longer alive and I died before I had the chance to explain myself. I hope you don’t think of me as less of a person after this but if you do, I cannot say that I blame you.

My name is not Tobias Walker. I was born Fynn Kayserling in Dauper.

I stop, rereading that sentence over and over again. Dauper was my village. Tobias- Fynn was from… my village?

You don’t remember that name at all, I’m sure. I wasn’t very outgoing and the walls suited me as better friends than other students. But there was one girl that stood out. It was you. You were kind and gentle- but would never stand down from a fight. It was amazing, watch you grow up. An ever-changing fluctuation of fight and flow.

I was too much of a coward to be up-front with you. Watching others court you and how happily you responded to them, I knew I wasn’t good enough. I left at seventeen to Shiganshina and started my business.

I returned a year later and found that you, that your family had been suffering. Your mother being weak and your father being ill while you and your sister were starving- I wanted to just give you the money. An anonymous donation. But there was another, more selfish part of me that wanted something in return.

I tried to fight it. It was so twisted even I was disgusted by myself. But my cowardice, my weakness, my greed got the better of me and I made that offer to you. It wasn’t fair of me to and I wish I would have changed my mind- so I did this.

Assuming I’m dead, inside this briefcase you will find my will. I’ll spare you from reading the legal nonsense. I’ve given you everything. The factory, the houses, the money, the land. It’s all yours to do what you will. There’s more than enough to pay off your debts and to build your family a better home.

There was a reason I never told you what the plans for the wedding were. There was never going to be a wedding. I was going to give you the money and the land and tell you how I feel before letting you choose your path. It was selfish of me to take you away for two years. I couldn’t live with taking you away for much more.

I hope you can forgive me, __________. I was selfish and cruel and I know it wasn’t love. Something more sinister- not love. I tried to be better, I hope you know.

Yours always,

Fynn

I blankly stare at the letter, so many thoughts buzzing through my head that I feel dizzy. My eyes dart to the typed papers. ‘Final Will and Testament of Fynn Kayserling’ is typed on the first page.

He… he lived in Dauper and he was a classmate. He knew me. My stomach churns at the words ‘wanted something in return’. My eyes turn to the open window, to the stars above. Tears stream unyieldingly d0wn my face as I take a deep breath in. As I exhale, the wind takes my breath into an icy grip and turns it white.

I need to find them. Before anything else, I need to find Armin and Mikasa and Eren. And when I do, I’ll make sure they’re taken care of and then I’ll take care of my family.

I’ll never forgive him but... tomorrow.

The search starts tomorrow.

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You can read parts two, three, and four! Just tap on the number you want :)

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falcor-thee-luck-dragon · 4 years

Text

Of Monsters and Men

Chapter 6- Betrayer Moon

Summary: Temeria holds a beast that has been said to have slaughtered many. With the sweet sound of coins offered you’re ready for another wild hunt.

Warnings: lil smut we starting out with, gore and blood as per usual, fluff

Masterlist

Outside the winds are cold and snowy as the night cascades its great darkness over the land of the Continent. But none of that holds any kind of significance as you lay in the warm bed of a village tavern, Geralt's muscular body pressing flush against your heated skin. You hold tightly onto the tousled bed sheets as he thrusts into you over and over again, nothing but the sweet sounds of his grunts and your pleasant moaning filling the darkly lit room but for a simple fire in the hearth.

He deliciously rocks you into the mattress as he gently kisses your sweaty temple, sending bolts of electricity coursing throughout your entire being as you await your building climax. With each new thrust of Geralt's manhood into your entrance, you try and hold back a scream but to no avail. He quickly silences you with a heated kiss, both of your tongues dancing in the dark with one another as he pushes your legs apart even more, his large body taking you all in.

He's a lot to handle but you can take it, no matter what he throws at you. Soon he's a moaning mess as he dumps his load into your clenching walls, hitting your own high just the same, you suddenly claw at his back as he pumps himself into you a couple more times before slowly leaning up to take a good look at your blissfully beautiful face. He gently pulls out of you, falling onto the bed at your side as the both of lay in silence, the only viable sounds coming from your heavy breaths and the crackling of the fireplace.

"So, I heard something interesting today." You begin, turning on your side to lean yourself into his chest as he stares at the ceiling, a satisfied smirk gracing his handsome features.

"Do tell." He quietly mumbles.

"I was conversing with some of the whores by the market today, asking about what interesting creatures have met their eyes and whatnot. When wouldn't you know it, another Witcher had come through this very village." He raises an eyebrow, curiosity catching his interest quick, "Said he fled Temeria with some miners coin when his ass was supposed to be killing their monster. I think foul play." You inquire, absentmindedly running your fingers over his battle scars, Geralt's intrigued by your words but is honestly enjoying himself too much to care about anything else at the moment.

Sighing in deep content he shifts his golden gaze onto you, "Tonight I will blissfully ignore my problems." He muses, closing his eyes as you continue to lightly trail your fingers against his skin, "Just uh...keeping doing that." A drunken smile gracing his sweaty face, as you break out into a grin while your eyes fully take in his glistening muscular form that's laying butt-ass naked right next to you. Oh, how did you get so lucky with a man like him?

The rest of the night is spent inside one another here and there, until you both fall asleep in an exhausted heap of tangled limbs and messy blankets. The next morning you two get dressed and head for Temeria, Geralt wisely leaving Roach with the stable boy until you both come back to retrieve her, whenever that may be.

The hike to Temeria went rather smoothly, no one to bother you and the cold of the winter weather doing nothing to freeze you, considering you're practically immune to feeling cold, another wondrous perk of being half vampire.

As you walk out of the shadowy woodland you look up to see a large abandoned castle stout upon the top of a rocky hill, thick forest surrounding it. Looking ahead you notice as the trail suddenly dives into the earth, lamps held up by steel poles guiding the way in, but before this you stop to read over a poster pinned to a wooden pole.

"Temeria, realm of monsters and cowardly kings." You turn to Geralt with an amused smirk upon your face, "Well it's nice to know they don't hold anything back." You laugh before turning to walk down the descending trail, Geralt smiling as he watches you go.

Your time in the mines was a quick one, the miners and the kings men on the verge of a tiny battle that was stopped by Geralt's calm inquisition. The high guard or whoever the fuck, lead you and your Witcher out of the mines and into the shadowy snow covered woods, you're guessing with interior motives but nonetheless you follow.

As you're walking next to Geralt, with the kingsmen on their steeds to either side of you; all of a sudden you catch the scent of another being lurking in the shadows. Another heartbeat thudding in the night, then not even ten seconds later do the guards fall from their horses, enchanted by some sleeping spell. Geralt quickly pulls out his silver sword as you bare your opened hands, emitting crackling purple lighting from your fingertips, this is sorcery at play and you know just how to fight it if need be.

"You can put down your sword...and calm your lightning. I'm not here to hurt you." Speaks a woman's calm voice, her shadowed silhouette walking into view.

"Says the witch hiding in the woods." Mutters Geralt defensively, sword still held out in front of him as you slowly lower your hands, dissipating away the lightning. You can tell this mage has come with no ill intent, even if you don't adherently feel very fond of such beings, you're wise enough to understand that not all are terrible.

"Sorceress." Corrects the curly haired woman.

"Witch." He growls darkly, you lightly touch him on the shoulder, silently asking him to calm is unneeded anger, he slowly brings his sword to his side.

"Triss Merigold. I serve King Foltest." She serenely replies. A simple mage.

"So he makes a show of kicking us out...then sends his errand girl to slip me some coin so we kill his monster." Proclaims Geralt smartly, believing he's just figured her out.

"Not a very original plan for a king." You add, your brows furrowing in thought.

"It's my plan. My coin. And I don't want you to kill the beast. I want you to help me save it." Assures Triss.

"Save it?" You ask.

Wanting to hear more she takes you both into her area within the castle where she goes into more detail about the happenings in the woods. Geralt leans against a counter as you sit on a wooden table, the both of you facing Triss who stands by a desk and chair directly in front of you.

"Six years ago, stable hands statred vanishing at the castle above the city. Before long, citizens were disappearing throughout all Temeria. Foltest's royal guards soon realized the creature was coming from the crypt where the king's sister Adda is buried. Rumor has it she was having an affair with a young man in town when she died."

oh the drama, you wanted to laugh when she said that but wisely chose against that.

"Was she pregnant?" You finally ask, your curiosity getting the better of you. Maybe that's why this beast is killing people?

"If she were, that would make her child the sole heir to the throne as Foltest never married." Explains Triss as her expression changes to a thoughtful one, "The king fled the castle, ignoring the rising death toll. After Nilfgaard overthrew their king, the Brotherhood couldn't risk it happening again, so they sent me here three months ago to cure the creature."

"Vukodlaks are freak mutations." Says Geralt, mind reeling with what this creature truly is.

"They can't be cured." You add as Triss' brows furrow, "A vukodlak is a type of mutated werewolf, its a beast that conceptualizes in the womb of a dead woman, this woman however must be pregnant. It's rare, but it happens."

"How strange, maybe if I take you to the creatures latest victim then you might have some understanding as to what it actually is."

"Worth a try."

Triss leads you and Geralt through the pre-burial section under the castle where all the dead lay awaiting their final home in the ground. The place reeks of death, spices to mask the dead smell, and too many salts and herbs doing their part to delay the decomposition process.

"Two thousand orens if either of you can tell me what exactly killed these people." Says Triss as all three of you scan over the cloaked bodies laying on wooden tables.

"You didn't want the people to know that it bested a Witcher. And you let them believe that he fled with their coin." Mutters Geralt.

"You two clearly weren't acquainted." At the end of the long cavernous room does she stop at a stone tub of white salt and sand, you can smell the dead man underneath. You walk past both of them before standing in front of the tub.

Taking a breath, you reach down to wipe away the white sand until the caved in chest of the fallen Witcher is revealed. You stick your hand inside the opened chest cavity to gather a mental image of what could be missing. You look over at a curious Geralt, "His hearts missing along with his liver."

"Only one creature I know is that picky an eater. A striga." Explains Geralt while you remove your wandering hand from within the broken rib cage to wipe it off on your pants. You then turn back around to face Triss and Geralt, noting how the mages face begins morphing into that of befuddlement.

"Strigas are old wives' tales." She replies, not completely sure of herself.

You shrug, "They're very rare as are the vukodlak, but they can happen. However the only way to make one is through a curse." You add, crimson eyes trailing over the mutilated body of the dark haired Witcher. So this is really what became of that other Witcher, better him then Geralt, nonetheless he fought bravely.

"Someone wanted Adda dead." Realizes Triss as Geralt hums in agreement.

"But the curse didn't stop with Adda. It turned her daughter into a monster." Triss' head tilts in surprised puzzlement at your troubling knowledge.

"Her daughter?"

"Strigas are female. This striga's a princess." Concludes Geralt with a sigh, his gaze searching for your own perplexed expression as you turn around to face him and Triss who still looks rather disturbed.

"Well then, lets see if this king of yours is willing to let us help." You quip at Triss as you begin leading the way out of the large burial room. "Can't be that difficult now can it?"

——

"Miss Merigold, you were dispatched to settle a family affair, not to enlist a mutant mercenary and a rouge hybrid for a game of sleuthing." Argues one of the kings guardsmen as King Foltest hungrily rips apart a turkey leg, rather disgustingly if you're being honest. He even smells of meat and sweat.

"This is no game, Captain. Tonight is a full moon, Geralt and Y/N have already proved themselves to be invaluable. We believe we can cure the creature." Implores Triss urgently as she vouches for you, Geralt, and her pertinent point at hand. You just lean yourself against the rooms wallpaper as Geralt stands next to you, feeling a bit doubtful that she'll be able to convince any of them.

"You say she's a girl. Then you will refer to her as Her Royal Highness." Directs the kings guard before his other man, who instructed for you and Geralt to leave Temeria only yesterday, walks over to give his two cents.

"Segelin." He says introducing himself before continuing, "I believe urgency warrants flexibility in a court decorum. The Witcher's theory is nonsense. Princess Adda was the people's angel. Who'd wish to murder her?" Implores the man Segelin as his eyes wander over to you and then to Geralt, eyeing you both suspiciously.

"What about her lover?" You inquire, folding your arms over your leather armored chest.

"Seditious rumors. Idle courtesans trading out boredom for jealousy." Quickly replies the kings guardsman giving you a distasteful look.

"Perhaps if you'd call off your guards, if we were able to search the abandoned castle, we could find clues as to who cursed her." Explains Triss, attempting to convince the king. That's not a bad idea.

"Except, these two monster hunters would kill the princess as she sleeps, and collect the miners' coin." Argues Segelin as you simply roll your crimson eyes at the grey bearded man. What's got water up his breeches?

"Call her a princess. Call her a unicorn if you'd like to." Begins Geralt, "She grew inside Adda, feeding on her petrified womb."

"Have you no respect?!" Shouts the guardsmen defensively, the king just continues his gruesome assault on his turkey leg as he listens.

"Mutating. Growing for years till she got so hungry..." Geralt steps closer, the guardsmen laying a quick hand upon the hilt of his sheathed sword as Geralt continues unfazed, "she was forced to slither out. Rotten muscle, bent bones, two spidery legs, claws dragging in the dirt." You watch in satisfaction as the kings eyes flash with disgust. You've got him.

"An overgrown abortion." You add shrewdly, pushing yourself off of the wall as you walk next to the long table, the kings face cast down in deep thought as the other men throw you nasty glares.

"Enough." He snaps, setting down his half eaten leg of turkey.

"Your Highness?" Begins the loyal concerned guardsmen.

"Leave." Growls the king menacingly, his men nodding before making their way for the door, Triss, Geralt, and you following.

Opening up the door first, Geralt politely opens it, offering his hand for the others to follow out, you giving him a wink as you tail the guardsmen who's last to leave. As soon as you reach the doors entrance you quickly shove the guardsmen into the hallway before Geralt quickly shuts the doors on all of them, making sure to lock it as they shout their angry protests.

You listen to the pounding on the wood as you calmly walk past Geralt to the right side of the long table, leaning your hand onto the clothed wood as he casually rests an arm over a great oaken chair, opposite of the king.

"Who's the princess' father?" Immediately asks Geralt with a curious tilt of his head, the king glaring bitterly.

"My men will kill you two, bastards." He warns darkly, Geralt pulls his arm away from the chair to slowly approach him, you standing your ground while he walks past you.

Eyeing up the plump king, you slowly drag your fingers over the wood while taking small steps closer, "Your threats don't shake me, but it's funny...you learn your sister was murdered, and you didn't even flinch." Your sly remark has the king's eyes staring daggers at his roast turkey, while Geralt hums in agreement, walking himself towards a window before turning around to lean himself on a wooden cabinet as he faces the king.

"But the moment I mention the girl's father.." King Foltest purses his lips together, his eyes downcast onto the floor, "Why were you never married?" Questions Geralt smoothly, the king lets out a sigh as he leans back into his chair.

"You are speaking to a king." He proclaims with no heat is in his words, other then something else that he seems to be hiding from you both.

"That's exactly my point. Why not produce your own heir? Why not kill the striga and avoid this revolt? Why drag this all out?" Suggests Geralt, his brows furrowing together at the strange reason for everything that's happened. You walk over closer to the king, his beady eyes following you the whole time, you've already figured out the possible truth. And why must it be so disgusting too?

Raising an eyebrow, you reveal a small smirk to the glaring king, "Between the three of us, and I would dare not tell...who is the striga's father?" King Foltest appears to want to say something, almost willing to answer your question. But instead he looks to the window as he slowly rises from his seat, bringing his gaze back over to Geralt.

"I remember hearing stories about Witcher's when I was a child." He says, voice low and gravely while eying up Geralt, turning his sullen gaze upon you now, "And that of dhampirs. Is it true what they say? That you're neither living nor dead, unkillable but for silver?" Sneers the sweaty king, anger emitting from his every word, "That the mutations that grant Witcher's their...abilities. Also erase your emotions? Must be." He criticizes sharply eyeing the two of you with hate, "Cause only a person devoid of all heart could accuse a brother of bedding his murdered sister while urging him to kill her." Suddenly the doors burst open, a small handful of yelling guards racing in with their weapons bared, you don't even flinch as a second later the king throws a hand into the air, silently commanding them to halt.

He turns to you then back to Geralt, "Leave Temeria. Never return." His command is noted as Geralt gives him a nod before turning to walk out the door. You follow suit and smile at a nervous guard who looks like he might have just shit himself. The both of you silently walk out of the castle, deciding to make a new plan of attack.

——

Crouching on the roof of the abandoned castle as the wind and snow blows past your face, you slowly crawl closer to the front gates. Where two incredibly anxious guards converse about how much longer their post is until they may leave. Quietly you pull out a loose piece of the castles roofing, before chucking it into the direction of a crow where the bird and the ceiling make a loud rackety noise as they take off elsewhere. To your utter satisfaction the two nervous guards yell and book it down the cobblestone pathway and away from the castle.

Well that was easy enough.

Pleased with your harmless mischievousness, you decide to find your own way into the castle while Geralt takes the front entrance. You find a broken rotting part in the roofs wooden beamed structure where you then purposefully slip through, falling down to the floor, catching yourself at the very last moment as you levitate your body the rest of the way for a silent and painless landing.

The castle smells of mystery and dead rats as you walk quietly throughout the gloomy thing, suddenly your ears pricking to the sounds of Geralt and Triss rummaging around in someone's room down the hall. With a smirk upon your lips you stalk closer, listening to them speak about letters from Adda's mother as they both begin walking for the door.

As soon as you catch sight of Triss' oblivious face do you finally make yourself known, turning your skin the color of bluish pale grey, the whites of your eyes turning to black as your scarlet irises practically glow red. You hiss, baring your pearly white fangs, her face contorts into pure dreadful fear as she lets out a surprised scream. Geralt suddenly rushing to her side, his magic at the ready before his concerned face slackens to throw you an amused glare.

Cackling you turn back into your more presentable self, "You two find anything?" You wheeze as Triss gathers her bearings.

Breathing heavily she practically stares daggers at you, "Oh yes, just a fucking heart attack!" She breathlessly retorts, throwing you a harsh glare as Geralt walks past her. The corners of his lips pulling up into a smirk as he catches your entertained gaze, you smiling back at him like a fool in love.

"You're an ass." She mutters, shaking her head at you while she follows Geralt down the dreary shadowed hallway. An enthralled grin upon your beaming features as you tail behind them.

——

Once back inside Triss' lair of sorts within the castle walls, unbeknownst to King Foltest, the three of you let Segelin in on what they found in the ruined castle. He stands, eyes cast onto the letters, "A Queen Mother cursing her own children for their affair." He plops the old papers onto a table, "This could destroy the throne." He says dismally while leaning, both hands pressed to the wooden table.

"Sancia wanted Adda to get rid of the child." Says Geralt, concluding all that appears to be written down in those letters between Adda and her Queen Mother.

"It seems she refused. Repeatedly." Adds Triss while you all stare at the back of the man.

Segelin sighs, "And now she's taken that curse with her to the grave."

Triss clasps her hands together, "You've served the family for decades. Was Sancia involved in dark sorcery of any kind?"

He turns to look at her, "No. Of course not." His expression reveals no faults, yet you feel something is not right here. He's not nearly surprised enough about all of this.

Touching a dangling green plant that hangs out over a wooden cupboard, you raise a brow at him, "What was your relationship to Adda?"

He rests his hands casually against the long desk behind him, "Well, I like to think that she saw me as a confidant." He smiles, "And a protector, even. We used to talk at great length about her troubles. She could be very naïve."

"She ever mention her brother?" Asks Geralt from his place by the wall, a foot or so away from you and Triss' plants.

Segelin looks down at the letters, "Certainly not like this."

"She was ashamed." Says Triss as Segelin turns to face her.

"Or she was frightened. What if the relationship was not.." He pauses a moment like he can't even bring himself to say it, his eyes trail over the three of you, "..consensual?"

Geralt hums in thought at this indeed interesting bout of information, he looks to Segelin, "You think he raped Adda, then cursed the child to cover it up?"

"Well, kings have done more for less."

Geralt's eyes fall elsewhere, "True." He mutters as you mull over everything previously said. This doesn't sit right with you at all.

You take a step away from the plants, "There's only one wrinkle, though." Both Triss and Geralt watch as you stand almost threateningly in front of Segelin, they have not a clue what you're doing. The greying man eyes you nervously, you narrow your eyes at him, "Your scent was on her sheets."

Triss takes a step foreward, "Y/N?"

Your crimson eyes never leave him once, "Old ones...and new ones."

He leans away from you, "What would I be doing in a dead girl's bed?" He accuses, face shifted into a repulsed grimace. You lean in closer so that your mouth remains mere inches from his ear, he's visibly uncomfortable.

"I smelt what you were doing."

You move backwards to stand in from of the conflicted man, he says not a single word as you patiently wait for him to break. The moment lasts a couple seconds more, you can hear how loud his heart is pounding within his chest. His lip quivers, breathing increasing with anxiousness, "Foltest had no right!" Shouts the angered man while you scowl and step away, "He seduced Adda! Abused his position. He was always nagging her for attention. Always nagging! But he didn't love her....I did."

"You cursed the woman you loved?" Denounces Triss like a disappointed mother.

Segelin shakes his head, "I cursed Foltest, not her."

"Countless are dead because of your jealousy."

"Countless are dead because of Foltest!" Protests Segelin, "He spoiled Adda with his seed. He refuses to kill this striga. He lies to his people. And yet you wag your finger in my face."

"If you wanted him to suffer, you could have just exposed the affair." Counters Triss while the three of you stare down the heated man.

"And hurt Adda?" He says softly, "Never. Her memory will not be sullied, not while I'm alive to protect it." Geralt glances from you to him.

"Tell us how to lift the curse."

Segelin pauses a moment before looking defiantly up at your Witcher, "No. Foltest will watch as Temeria turns against him. Just as he turned Adda against me." Geralt hums in response.

Fed up with his excuses you walk up to him, he slightly cowers back before keeping straight again, a snobby expression upon his greying features before you crack him across the temple. Sending him falling to the ground in an instant as he plunges into unconsciousness.

"Y/N." You turn to face Triss.

"What? You were all thinking it."

——

Waiting atop the crumbling castle roof where this striga is soon to be, you watch from above as Geralt and King Foltest speak about how you and him will handle the princess. He gives the king Renfri's brooch as a gift for the princess incase Geralt does not live to see the light of day. You watch the king and his men finally leave, letting Geralt enter the dying castle as he looks up towards the roof for a second before turning his gaze for the wooden doors.

Taking the same route as earlier in the day, you soon find yourself in Adda's room. Segelin tied pathetically to the wooden beams of the dead princess' bed as your unwilling captive. Geralt brooding by the window as he thinks of what to do next, none of you truly having a solid clue as to what should be done about this royal striga. You watch when the greying man glares at you, blood smeared across his lips from your abrupt assault not even an hour ago.

"The both of you! This is madness!" He cries angrily, tugging at his cloth restraints, "What are we doing here? What's happening?" He wonders while searching desperately around the room for a nonexistent answer.

"How can we lift the curse." Mutters Geralt, his leather armored back to you and Segelin.

Segelin shakes his head, "No! This is not right. Foltest must pay for what he did." Whines Segelin once more, you simply fold your arms in irritation as the man looks to you for a sign that you care, which you most defiantly don't.

Rolling your eyes, you scowl at him, "You're already too blind to even comprehend your own faults. This is what you get for your childish actions." You mutter bitterly as he glares hopelessly at you, frustration clearly evident on his dirty face.

"Carry me out. I order you." Demands Segelin as Geralt turns around to face the desperate man. "Tell us how to lift the curse." He orders, Segelin huffs in frustration, avoiding Geralt's intimidating gaze.

In a blur of black and grey your hand is suddenly around his neck as his eyes go wide in stunned alarm, your squeeze isn't enough to choke him, but you're hopeful it's enough to change his mind. "I'd advise you to listen well, your life is already standing on the edge of a knife." You hiss maliciously in his ear before releasing him, he lets out a dramatic gasp as his wide eyes follow your every movement.

He turns his attention from you to Geralt as his mouth opens to finally answer, "Sh-She was hiding from the Brotherhood. She sold me a lamb....Sh-She told me to wait until a full moon, to wait and then to kill it." He stammers, Geralt crouching down to meet his eye level, "And then I recited some silly chant. And then I bathed in the lamb's blood until sunrise. Until the rooster crowed three times. And that is all. I swear. I swear. Now please let us leave." Begs Segelin desperately as he fruitlessly pulls against his constraints, your face falling into a frown, understanding immediately what this idiot has done.

"What was the chant?" Wonders Geralt, his brows furrowing in thought while he stares daggers at Segelin who looks down in frustration.

"Uh..It was years ago." Protests Segelin as he tries to think up the chant, "It was Elven. Um..." Suddenly he begins reciting an Elven curse, your eyes going wide in realization as Geralt shares a quick wary glance with you before racing over to his bag of potions, earning a confused expression from the bound man.

"Wh-what is it? The..I...I've done what's been asked. What more can I do?" He wonders in blissful ignorance as you let out a pissed off huff of air.

"You've done more than enough you perverted fool, unless you can keep a fucking striga out of her crypt until a fucking rooster crows three times." You snap while unsheathing your dagger, his face falling in frightened understanding as Geralt fumbles around with his potions, trying to find the right one to take before the action starts.

Segelin's eyes go downcast, his whole aurora turning to pure dread, "You're gonna have to fight it till dawn." He murmurs softly, staring at the far wall as Geralt downs a potion, his eyeballs turning into two pools of inky darkness. You turn, hastily walking for the door as Geralt quickly follows behind you.

"No. No. Come back here! Please. Please! You'd leave a man bound to die in such indignity?" He cries desperately, pulling on his restraints but to no avail.

"You're not a man." Growls Geralt as he takes his place by your side, the two of you walking down the dreary hallway as the snow falls lightly from outside the nearby broken windows, you catching the scent of the beast on the cool night air.

"Remember not to kill the princess, Y/N" Implores your Witcher with a smirk, you simply roll your eyes.

"We'll see if you can last till dawn my love, I don't doubt it." You retort, a suggestive tone hidden in your voice that's most definitely caught by Geralt.

The hallway breaks off into another section of the abandoned castle, you giving him a nod before turning in that direction, deciding it best to take on the royal beast from two sides if he gets caught up in some trouble. You silently walk down the dusty corridor past rotting wood and broken glass, cracked pieces of stone and the occasional human bones.

The enthralling shriek of the striga bellows throughout the castle walls, it's high pitched scratchy scream sounding like a knife that's stabbed you in the ears. Without another thought you race down the entrance-way towards the sounds of a great messy struggle, the princess has found Geralt, and she doesn't seem too pleased.

Turning round another stony corner, you halt dead in your tracks as your scarlet eyes zero in on the striga who's completely manhandling your Witcher, throwing him this way and that, deflecting every punch he's throwing at her. He suddenly rips a lamp from the wall and uses it to crack her across the side of her grotesque wrinkly head. She stumbles back at the violent impact, pain running throughout her body before she quickly recovers, hurling him backwards with a fiercely strong blow.

As Geralt falls onto his back you swiftly race down the hallway as the striga climbs on top of his armored body. She doesn't hear you coming, or when you electrocute her without warning, sending her flying into the nearby wall as she screeches in pain. You stop to help Geralt up, your right hand crackling with energy as he stands and glances down at the light emitting from it, then over to the pissed off princess. Who almost immediately recovers from her abrupt assault, she stands, her umbilical cord dragging as she stalks over towards the two of you.

In an instant she charges, a piercing scream sending your ears into agony at the frantic noise as Geralt lunges for her, grabbing her shoulders as he throws her against the brick wall.

For the next couple hours would you and Geralt take turns beating on the striga, down this hallway and that, into doors and wooden walls, crashing into cabinets and breaking more cracked windows through the struggle. Every fucking time she would recover and throw it back at you ten fold, like nothing had even happened in the first place.

Racing across the hall to Geralt's aid, you electrocute the royal beast just before she's about to bite into his exposed jugular, she falls back as you get closer, preparing to hopefully knock her ugly face unconscious for a while. You're slowly getting more and more fatigued with every couple minutes that fly by, this fucking striga giving you a real run for your money. No matter how much stamina you have.

But as you get within a few feet from her, she whips around, slashing you across the face with her razor sharp claws. Sending you flying into the wall as a hot stream of blood pours out of your freshly opened wounds. Dazed, you try and raise yourself from the ground and watch as Geralt gets pinned down by the striga once again. You blink back your blurry vision, painfully raising your hand as lightning brightly emits from your opened palm and fingertips just as Geralt uses his magic to break the stone flooring from right out under him.

Himself and the striga immediately falling through the broken floor and straight to the crypts below. Rising to your feet, you can feel as your facial wounds begin to fuse the skin back together again, your injury a thing of the past except for the strips of blood that mark it's path.

You hastily limp over to the hole in the ground, looking down to find Geralt laying in the rubble before slowly getting up. Without another thought, you jump down, landing hard on a pile of rocks as the unconscious striga lays motionless next to you. Pulling yourself up from the wreckage, you tiredly shuffle over to the center of the room as Geralt puts an enchantment onto the doorways so that the creature cannot escape.

"I don't know about you but I could think of ten different ways we could have spent tonight." You jest, breathing heavily as you hold onto your aching side, Geralt hums in reply before turning around and freezing, his face morphing into wariness as he gives you a concerned look. You turn around to see what's bothering him, only to find absolutely nothing, which is most definitely the problem.

"Oh fuck." You whisper as Geralt cautiously walks over to you, the both of you looking around the room as you stand back to back.

You hear a dull rapid thudding of a heartbeat before suddenly the striga jumps down from the crumbling ceiling to pounce at Geralt, she lands, whipping her hand across your chest as she picks him up, throwing him into the nearby stone pillar. You stumble back at the abrupt impact, watching as Geralt gets his ass beat by the pissed off striga, it throws him into another pillar, quickly turning around to race for the open doorway. But before it can get through, the white force field knocks her back, she snaps around once more shrieking in rage, bolting on all fours towards Geralt.

You pull your bruised and tired body onto your feet, reaching your hands out to send volts of hot white lightning into the vessel of the striga, sending her into a cruel stone pillar as she screeches in misery. When you look to your left a beautiful streak of orange sunrise emits from an opened spot in the roof, you breath heavily as the striga and Geralt take notice of the sunlight. Your eyes go wide as the creature races for the safety of her dirty crypt, you trailing behind her as Geralt jumps to his feet to follow.

Your boots pound against the gravely stone of the abandoned crypts as you valiantly throw yourself onto the furious princess while she attempts to launch herself into her resting place, she falls into the wall as your hands smack onto the cracked floor.

"Get in the fucking crypt!" You scream at Geralt as he makes a mad dash for the opened tomb, heeding to your rushed words without a second thought.

You watch as he falls into the stony coffin and shutting it just as the striga launches herself onto the thing, her cries and horrid wails sounding noisily throughout the large drafty room. Picking up a fist sized rock you chuck it at her, cracking her perfectly across the back of her grotesque head.

"Your royal pain-in-the-ass, come and get me." You taunt, lightning crackling from your fingertips as the angry princess snaps her attention to you.

She jumps down and immediately pummels you into the rocks as you send harrowing sparks of electricity into her body that thankfully throws her backwards, your vision going blurry once again. Gods your head hurts. Dark spots cloud your sight as you rest on the rocks in exhaustion, your side most definitely hurting as your eyes flutter closed.

You awaken to the sounds of Geralt as he opens up the tomb and steps out to walk over towards the princess, a concerned and astonished expression crossing over his dirty features. Pushing some ruble from your legs you finally stand and slowly walk down the small stairway as Geralt leans down to see if the princess is actually okay, considering her naked mud covered self is facing away from you both.

You can hear as her heartbeat picks up in pace, but before you're able to warn him, the princess turns around and in a confused rage pins him to the ground just as she sinks her teeth into the side of his neck. She falls back in fear as Geralt's pained gaze finds your own bloody face while you race to his side. Your eyes going wide as he lays upon the stony ground, blood seeping out from his mouth and ripped neck as you try and put pressure on it.

Tears slowly begin building up in your shimmering irises, "No. No. No...Geralt, look at me...look at me." You desperately plea as his golden eyes try and stay open for you, but he's slipping as more blood spurts out from his wounds, "Don't you fucking leave me you prick, not now of all times, or places. Geralt!" You cry as his eyelids flutter shut, his breathing slowing down as you try and cover his bleeding neck the best you can, not sure what to do. If you leave and try to get help he'll bleed to death, but if you stay then his chances are less grim but still uncertain.

Your mind swirls with what's the best course of action when suddenly you hear the rushed steps of Triss coming to your aid, and just in the nick of time.

——

Leaning yourself into the welcoming comfort of Triss' plush lounge chair, you watch as she mixes some more healing ingredients into a marble bowl at her work counter. You touch the side of your torso where a white linen wrap tightly hugs around your aching side where you fell on Geralt's silver sword. It throbs under your soft touch, but due to your immaculate healing capabilities your wounds will not bother you in a couple days time.

Turning your head lazily to the right to find a sleeping Geralt laying on the bed, recovering from his own injuries, you idly smile at his peaceful yet considerably less dirty form. Suddenly his eyes fly open, a puzzled expression upon his handsome features as Triss calmly turns around.

She smiles fondly at him, "Your scars. You heal quite nicely, if not for Y/N's blood you would most certainly be dead." She concludes knowingly as Geralt gives her a confused look, "She dropped some of her blood into your wounds to speed up the healing process. It was more effective then I had first realized." He turns to face you, a relieved sigh escaping from his parted lips.

You smile back at him, "Don't worry about the princess, she'll be fine, Triss has arranged for her to stay with the Sisters of Melitele." You chime in with a shrug, "Also she had her first bath."

"You should know Foltest issued a statement. The honorable Lord Ostrit gave his life to slay the vukodlak. Miners are gathering ore for a statue." Adds Triss with a grin as Geralt attempts to get up, "Anyone else would've killed the princess. You both chose not to." She finishes as Geralt painfully rises into a sitting position, a grimace upon his sweaty face.

"We'll take our coin now. I need to get back to my horse." Grunts your eager Witcher as he sits on the side of the bed, pressing his hand against his wrapped torso. Triss only grins in reply, walking over to hand him the leather sack of coins. He quickly takes it with a nod, Triss turning to flash you a knowing smile before excusing herself from the area.

Turning to Geralt with a frown, you search for his eyes as they glance around the room before landing on you, "Lay down you idiot, I watched you bleed out and go as pale as a ghost." You lightly argue, he sets the coins onto the makeshift bed as he finds your frowning gaze once more, "If I hadn't been there to give you some of my blood...fuck...you'd be dead. So don't you dare try and get up or I'll give you a reason to be in pain."

His stern face suddenly breaks out into an amused grin, "I'd rather not face your wrath my dear, although I wouldn't mind a couple more hours here if you decide to lay next to me." He suggests with pleading eyes, ones that know exactly how to win you over.

Leaning into the soft back of your seat, you cross your arms over your chest, "You're sweating, honestly still smell a bit, and your sheets are stained with blood..." You add with an inquiring raise of your brow, "How could I ever say no to such an alluring offer?" He breaks out into a beaming smile at your humored words, his heart just about fluttering in his muscular chest as you suddenly rise to your feet, walking over to him before crawling over to his other side near the wall. You turn to face him, a hand propped up against your head while you watch him lay down once again. His back touches the mattress as he turns his head to face you, a blissful smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

"Yes. That's the face right there, the suave steely golden eyes that I've fallen in love with. No matter how beat up you get...you still make me feel things."

"What kind of things, hmm?" He wonders with a lazy smirk as he watches your face break out into a small smile.

Trailing your delicate touch over his old scars, you look over to him with tired eyes, "Things I wouldn't even dare share with the very stars in the sky, nor the moon herself. And I tell her everything." You muse before leaning over to kiss his exposed shoulder. You listen as he hums in delight while you scoot yourself close enough that your whole body is flush against his, "Just sleep for now, love. You've had quite the rough night...and that's putting it lightly. I honestly thought for a moment that...that uh...I might have lost you." He searches for your hand, holding it tightly as a small way to comfort you while he locks eyes with your own downcast ones.

"I wouldn't dare think of ever leaving you alone in this world, not for a second. Y/N you mean more to me then all the coins and jewels combined, more then...uh..."

Laughing you shift your face to gently kiss his bare shoulder before looking up at him once again, "Geralt, there's not a lot of things that you love. That's honestly some short list you've got there...but it matters not, I'm your favorite person in the world and that's all I need to know."

He smiles adoringly at your closing eyes, sleep tenderly calling to you by the second as you hug him closer. He stays silent, wanting to listen to the calming thumps of your relaxed heart beat as your mind drifts into slumber. Closing his own tired eyes, he finally lets sleep take him into darkness where no monsters of any kind wait to hurt him. He's safe in your arms as you're safe in his, the two of you blissfully enjoying one another's company after a taxing hunt.

Tagged: @notahappytree @ashleyforeverareject @sokkasdarling @kmuir1@haleypearce @diegos-butt (@auds24 sorry idk why ur name won’t work)

#the witcher x reader #the witcher x you #the witcher #geralt of rivia #geralt x reader #geralt x you #geralt of rivia x reader #geralt of rivia x you #Of monsters and men fic

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sun-summoning · 3 years

Text

part ii | part iii | part iv

after speaking to kido, sakura rushes home. when she calms down from the rage that nearly had her crush his throat, sakura can admit that she doesn’t really think this is him. he knew a lot about her for someone that was supposed to have been locked up all this time, but he seemed genuinely surprised to hear that sarada had been taken, if not disappointed. he fit the profile of what shikamaru and kakashi thought -- that someone wanted sarada for her eyes -- but sakura can’t stop the nagging feeling that somehow this runs deeper.

back in her apartment, megumi’s body is right where she left it, and sakura feels awful for having moved so mechanically. megumi was an orphan, but she was still someone’s little girl. ashamed, sakura lays a sheet over her and swears she’ll do more later.

she heads to her bedroom and begins her work. alone, she summons one of the cats she’d made a contract with shortly after her marriage. the black cat is sleek and holds himself confidently. he’s always been an efficient one, quick to do as she needs and be competent about it. he regards sakura with a cock of his head.

“sarada’s been taken.”

“your daughter.”

“yes.”

the cat nods. “i shall inform the clowder. if anyone spots her, i will let you know.”

“thank you.” sakura pauses, self-conscious for needing to rely on everybody else for this part. “if you...if any of you are able to come into contact with sasuke-kun, can you pease let him know too?”

“of course.”

“thank you.” sakura promises to provide the usual exchange at a later time and the cat disappears with a puff of smoke. she heads to her bedroom and she begins to pack in silence.

her movements are as meticulous as they are automatic, done just so she’s ready to leave the moment she knows where she needs to go. her medkit is stocked. her bag has scrolls, weapons, supplies, and sarada’s favourite toy. she changes out of her days clothes and into the leggings and turtleneck of a uniform she hasn’t worn in years. her cloak is in the front closet. she needs to change her boots. she’ll put on the boots now. she leaves the armour on her bed to don later. right now, they only hinder her movements. she goes to the drawer where her mask hides in plain sight among other trinkets and knick knacks, and on the dresser she notices a flower.

sakura stills as she takes in the detail she must have missed in her earlier haste. she considers the simple glass vase and the single red flower sitting in it. its petals curl at the ends and some are even missing.

this flower has travelled and as sakura considers what it is, she knows it’s travelled far.

konoha became unbearable by the time she tuned twenty. it's so petty and selfish and she'd never say it aloud, but she hated seeing everyone else so happy. she's happy too -- has so many reasons to be -- but she couldn’t help the nagging jealousy she feels when ino declined her invitations because she was going to see sai or when naruto prioritized her almost always only to head home to hinata.

she wanted to be someone's too. she wanted to be their focus and heart and home, but sakura already knew who her someone was and knew that on some level she was his too, so all she needs to do right now is wait.

most of the time, sakura wasn’t bitter. being apart from him wasn't unfamiliar, nor the steadfastness, nor the hope that one day this will pay off one day, nor the self reminders that what she felt was irrelevant as long as sasuke knew and was comforted by the fact that she would always love him.

to suppress her frustrations rather than confront them, sakura worked. she worked tirelessly and relentlessly and by nineteen, they'd named her the greatest medical ninja konoha has ever seen for her accomplishments, ideas, and innovations.

this took her to suna at twenty and to ame at twenty-one to help establish their own clinics.

“i have a gift for you,” ino told her before she left.

sakura expected a ribbon or a piece of jewellery or that new book on poisons she mentioned she was interested in. instead, ino handed her a bag. its contents shift, imbalanced, and inside sakura finds a potted plant.

“a flower?”

“not just any flower, you ungrateful bitch.” ino pointed at her accusingly and then at the plant. its petals are a bright red with darker flecks at their base. “i made it.”

“you made it?”

“yes. you know me, interrogating and mind-reading by day, splicing plants together and making my own by night.”

“that’s sad.”

“fuck you. you’re sad.”

sakura laughed and ino laughed too but it got a bit sad because ino probably definitely knew that sakura was sad. “anyway,” ino continued, “we’ll call it the sakuino flower--”

“how creative.”

“--and i expect you to keep it alive through all of your travels.”

sakura frowned at ino, wondering if ino understood that a potted plant had no place in her travels, but ino didn’t seem to care. moreover, this particular thing didn’t seem to have the ability to survive in the desert climate she was going to be living in for the next six months.

when sakura expressed as much, ino waved the matter off. “deal with it,” she said, giving sakura one last hug. “you’re one of the brightest minds to come out of this village. you’ll figure something out.”

its common name is the fire poppy, having originated from the fire country but somehow managing to survive in the deserts of wind country as well. the flower is know for its vibrant red petals, eye-catching and jarring across the barren brown it’s normally found in. sakura had to play with the original plant’s physiology when she first moved to ensure it could survive the alternate climate. in her spare time, when she wasn’t working with the kids, she deigned to work with her plant, eventually working on cloning the original. at some point she’d given one to a nurse she worked with who much admired the first, and gaara asked if he could try planting them in his garden. from there, the spores began to spread.

“why the fire poppy?”

was this someone from suna?

sakura considers the obvious motivation of revenge, but who would even want that? there were people who didn’t appreciate her friendship with kankuro or any of his siblings. perhaps an apprentice of chiyo’s who blamed sakura for not saving her when she gave her life for gaara’s. worse, perhaps someone that once worked sasori who resented her for his demise. or maybe someone she, sadly, can’t even remember. a patient she lost during the war whose family hated her.

sakura truly cannot pinpoint a motivation for this, much less a person.

especially a person that would understand the meaning of this flower for her.

ino would never give her this flower. ino would have scoffed at it and created her own. sarada couldn’t have picked it today. and sasuke certainly couldn’t have left it for her.

someone was in her apartment. someone brought it here.

was it here before?

sakura considers the poppy and forces herself to keep calm. stay logical, she demands. stay smart. was the poppy there before? no, she thinks at first. she would have seen it. she’s certain she would have seen it.

but, she can accept, it’s possible she might have missed it. sarada was taken. her babysitter was murdered. it wouldn’t be surprising if sakura missed it. but sakura doesn’t miss things. right?

“don’t gaslight yourself,” she orders.

no, she knows. the flower was not there before, meaning in between her going to kakashi, going to the prison, and then running back home, whoever took her daughter came back.

or worse, there was a team involved and one was with her child and another came back for her.

sakura curses, wishing she’d put on her black ops armour earlier, because whoever brought the flower here is now making their presence known. she senses two people before she sees them and is unsurprised to find sudden flares of strength.

the bedroom is small and they’re in a building. she needs to take this outside, but where? there’s too much risk for others getting hurt in the crossfire. that’s why this was supposed to stay quiet. that’s why this will stay quiet.

they step out of the shadows and sakura assesses them quickly. one male, one female, both fairly young based on stature and development, maybe early twenties at the oldest. they’ll have agility on her, but they won’t have her experience.

the man holds a chokuto. good. an advantage. sakura is excellent at fighting against such a weapon. if they’re foolish enough to use her husband’s favourite sort of blade, perhaps they didn’t do enough research on her. perhaps they were hired? but if they were unprepared, then were they really here to kill her?

are they here to distract her?

that thought fills sakura with dread. is someone trying to keep her busy so she can’t get to sarada on time?

the woman shifts, one leg sliding to the side as she raises her hands. she holds no weapons, therefore she is the weapon. sakura knows all about that. she’ll need to be careful with this one. but she still has a holster on her thigh. it’s thinner that the usual styles. maybe a couple kunai, but more likely a set of sebon. this one is smart then. she’ll know precisely where she needs to hit sakura to stop her.

“haruno sakura,” the man greets with a short nod.

so it is her fault.

if this was about sasuke, about the uchiha, they would know her married name. this is about her, and for that sakura feels worse. her baby was taken and why? just to hurt sakura before killing her? sarada was who knows where with surely no one that could be good and all just to hurt sakura?

sakura snarls, furious in a way only a mother could be, and she feels the chakra pulsing around her fists.

“where is my daughter?”

their masks hide any expressions. they remain at ease in the face of her rage, shockingly unafraid of this woman that can level mountains.

good, sakura thinks. let them be brave. let them come at her like fools.

she runs through the bedroom door to get to the living room where there’s at least more space to maneuver. the man leaps and brings his blade down upon her, but sakura manages to shift to the side. careful to not be forced into a corner, she spins out of his range and into the open middle until the woman runs past her partner and takes sakura on hand-to-hand.

she matches sakura’s punches and kicks blow for blow. she’s good, sakura thinks nervously. and she’s fast. she’s small, maybe half a head shorter than sakura, so she puts her weight behind every quick jab. sakura gives most of her attention to the woman, but keeps a wary on eye on the man who sheathes his chokuto.

what as he planning?

it takes that one moment for the woman to catch her unaware.

sakura chokes on her breath as the woman thrusts a senbon into her shoulder. the shock from that slows her down enough so she can lodge in a second.

“shit,” sakura curses as she stumbles back. she rips the senbon out, but she feels her left arm begin to go numb from the struck pressure point. “what did you do--”

sakura’s eyes widen she she feels something foreign begin to course through her. she considers the senbon, dark with her blood and likely something else. there’s a metallic smell that isn’t from the weapon, and sakura knows she’s been poisoned.

however, her body doesn’t bother to fight it.

sakura watches her opponents, trying to understand how she’s been poisoned with something she’s immune to and just what poison this might be. she’s immune to everything in konoha’s own collection, as well as the ones she shares with shizune.

which poison is this?

does that matter?

sakura scowls at the two people involved in her daughter’s kidnapping and reminds herself that she can take them on one-handed just fine. she pulls her right hand into a fist and charges. the man is closest, so she lunges at him with a chakra-laden punch that sends him barreling into the wall.

she grabs the front of his shirt and as she pulls him forward, his mask falls away to reveal green eyes, cold and lifeless, and a black diamond under his left eye that makes her uneasy.

sakura stares at the man, confused, because she knows this face.

she knows him.

her fear and pain and worry makes it hard to focus, but knows him.

focus.

finally, it clicks.

“isao?”

she thinks she might have seen something like recognition in his eyes. that doesn’t long though. she left herself open, and his partner stabs her shoulder. sakura releases isao with a cry before the woman punches her in the back of the head and everything goes dark.

the sun is up when sakura begins to stir. she hears the birds chirping and people outside going about their days. but the buzz of the television is missing, as are the small thuds of sarada’s steps. where is sarada? sakura wonders hazily, lazily, not quite understanding yet.

where is sarada?

her eyes widen and she sits up so quickly her stomach rolls.

“careful.” tsunade comes into view, steadying sakura and checking her for any problems. “you’re still healing.”

she’s in her own bed. she’s not at the hospital. she got knocked out and the assassins got away. she should’ve done something to track them. dammit. was she so arrogant she didn’t have a failsafe in place for if she didn’t simply beat them? sakura punches the bed, earning a disapproving frown from shizune on her other side.

“there was poison in your system.”

“it was one of ours,” sakura admits warily.

“yes. there are very few people with access to those, much less this particular one.”

the one that the assassin used was meant to render a victim paralyzed but still able to feel. it was a dreadful thing, meant only for the worst of interrogations. or, more accurately, for torture. sakura concocted it in her darkest moments at fourteen under shizune’s watchful eye. since then, while they’ve both had small handfuls of keen students, they’ve probably shared poisons from their personal roster with only five people at most.

for this particular poison, sakura knows only two people they showed it to, and only one of those was a student of sakura’s.

“how did you find me?”

tsunade rolls her eyes. “shizune sent you off to a prison from kakashi’s office. i figured i’d have to check on you shortly after. and it’s a good thing i did, stupid girl.”

“thank you.”

“don’t thank me. i’m scolding on you.”

“did they find anything useful?”

“no one’s been able to contact your husband.”

“right.”

“and they’re still under the impression that this has to do with the uchiha blood.”

“they would be,” sakura mutters, too tired and in too good company to be anything but blunt.

shizune sighs. “do you know who came after you last night?” the flower is still where she left it on the dresser. shizune follows her gaze to the fire poppy, and all knowing with plants as well, shizune determines its origins. “how did that get here?”

“i think it was to taunt me.” sakura grimaces. “you were right.”

“about?”

“i think this is my fault.”

shizune’s eyes widen and quickly soften with sympathy. “none of this your fault,” she reminds sakura.

tsunade crosses her arms. “enemies of yours then?”

“no.” sakura looks sad. “people i once loved.”

tbc

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