#with one of them tied up and the other preparing to interrogate them

[princesssarcastia]

in this land of milk and honey, we're too shy to say we're thirsty

here, have 1.5k of fic i just wrote about mission: impossible: rogue nation.  AU of the scene where Ethan Hunt wakes up a captive of the Syndicate, where Ilsa Faust gets to run the interrogation the way she wants to, instead of being interrupted by the Bone Doctor.  title from “Little Mercy,” by Doomtree. read it on ao3 here.

“What Vinter and the rest of his stupid ilk never realize is that torture doesn’t work, especially on their own kind.  Pain is cheap.”

-

Ilsa grabs her tools by rote memory, uninterested in taking any care in the work she’s about to do. This isn’t the first time she’s worked someone over for Lane, and it won’t be the last time; she needs to stay numb to it, numb here in the moment and numb after his latest acquisition bends and twists, numb when she has to stand there in the aftermath as the others move in to take what they want from him, numb to the part of her that wants to perk up at the praise following a job well done.

The door groans under its own weight when the guards push it open for her, and she sees the man tense ever so slightly where he’s tied to the post.  Conscious, then, but not quite awake.  Her heels click in the silence after the door slams shut. 

She leaves the lights off; the shadows help, sometimes, with some agents.  Paired with the right kind of drugs, the right kind of touch, darkness can add a dreamlike quality to an already intimate process.  People like them feel safer in the dark.

This one is dangerous. Lane wouldn’t take such a personal interest if he wasn’t.  So, she slips off her shoes, sets them on the table with her tray and her jacket, unbuttons the top button of her shirt and rolls up her sleeves.

Ilsa turns around and—

He’s awake now.

He’s staring at her.

She stares right back.

The moment yawns and stretches between them, arching languidly.  Ilsa breathes in sharply, quietly, and takes a step toward him, still caught on his eyes—although the rest of him is hardly a chore to examine. 

He doesn’t move, focused intently on her.  Assessing. Calculating.  It feels—it feels a little like when Lane looks at her, like he’s cataloguing her expressions and picking apart the things that make her tick.  But it doesn’t make her want to curl up and hide when this man does it. 

“Nice shoes.”

Ilsa blinks, then quirks her brow, amused.  That’s a new one.  

“American intelligence, yes?”  A soft opener. 

He tilts his head, silent, but clearly not buying that she doesn’t already know.

“But not the CIA,” she continues, moving closer in even steps.  “No, you have too much personality for that, I can already tell.”

Now he’s amused, letting his lips twitch, but he keeps his silence.  She starts turning his reactions in her mind, letting her gaze fall over the whole of him to catch them all.  This one is a talker; she just needs to get him started.  And stop getting distracted by his eyes.  There’s something about them that draws her attention, but Ilsa can’t figure out what.

“How long have you worked for the IMF?”  She stops well outside of his reach but still close enough to see his chest rise and fall minutely with each breath.  If she focuses, she imagines she might be able to see it twitch with the beating of his heart.

“How long did you work for British intelligence, before you turned traitor?”  He fires back.  Right on the money.  Not that it’s a difficult guess, given where he is and how she speaks.

“Twenty years,” she says calmly, and watches him mentally turn on a dime, reassessing.  “They recruited me right of secondary school. I imagine it was much the same for you. Sometimes, they catch people later, but MI6 knows how to recognize a good asset in the making fairly early.”

Ilsa takes a step closer. “The agency was my whole life.  It consumed all my time and energy.  My waking hours and my sleeping ones.  And I was…eager to please.  An excellent agent, willing and capable of doing anything they asked of me.  It was hard, sometimes, but in the end it was worth it because I knew everything I was doing was for queen and country.  The greater good,” she adds, letting her mouth twist wryly. 

He watches her for a moment, and she lets him, lets the silence sit, lets it build.  It’s an obvious enough cue, and he’s curious enough now to take the bait.  He wants her talking as much as she wants him talking, neither of them in control nor sure they have the upper hand, yet. 

“What changed,” he asks finally, and Ilsa’s gaze catches on his eyes again.

“I woke up,” Ilsa takes three steps to her left, changing the angle of approach.  “I realized, one day, that I only thought I was fighting for the right side because it’s what I chose to believe.  None of my experiences actually supported that conclusion.

“Have you ever killed an innocent person, Ethan?”  She doesn’t wait for his answer.  “I know I have.  On accident, sure, as an unintended casualty of my mission; but on purpose, too.  Sometimes it was the mission.  To make things easier for MI6, for my handler, for England.  For their convenience.”

Now he shifts, the cuffs on his wrists and ankles clinking.  He doesn’t respond, but she can see it in his eyes.  He has.  Of course he has.  No one in their line of work hasn’t. 

That fact of life actually bothers him, unlike Lane and the rest of the men here.  The same way it bothers her when she forgets to be numb.

She knows what it is in his eyes, now, that’s pulling at her attention. 

His eyes are kind.  He looks kind. 

It’s impossible. 

“I realized I was only loyal to them because of a lie I was telling myself.  And that loyalty certainly wasn’t returned.  The agency doesn’t exist to care for its agents, it exists to use them up until there’s nothing left.  How many times did they leave me out in the cold, dangling in the wind, to survive or die under nothing more than my own ability?”

“That’s the job,” he says, with a hint of condescension.  It grates.  He probably means it to.

“That doesn’t make it right, the way they treated me.  The way your government treats you.”  

His eyes shift.  He knows her game, now, has mapped out the path she wants to take, the weak spots she’s aiming for.  The muscles in his limbs tense and relax minutely, imbued with the strength of surety, surety that what she’s trying to do won’t work. 

But his faith in himself is misplaced, because now she can tell he hasn’t realized yet that what she’s saying is true.  He’s like her, two, five years ago: unable to value his own life.  What his handlers do to him doesn’t matter because he doesn’t matter; you can’t hurt someone if they don’t see themselves as person capable of being hurt.  It’s fine if they use you because you’re letting them.  You’re a tool; if you’re not being used, then what’s the point of you?

The truth is, it does matter.  It does hurt them.  And they only let themselves be used because the right people broke them at the right time, cracking them wide open to let someone else in to twist them into knots.

Truth will out.  It’s more powerful than people like them, steeped in lies and deception, ever expect, which is why Ilsa is so fond of using it.

Faster than the eye can properly see, she lunges for him, sinking her needle into the meat of his bicep and depressing the plunger.  Too quick for him to stop, although he pulls his legs up to kick her in the chest and send her sprawling.

Truth will out.  But of course, the drugs help. 

His kind eyes blink rapidly, then slowly, clearly tensing to try and fend off unconsciousness that isn’t coming.  Oh, it won’t knock him out.  Unconscious is no use to her.  But it’ll ease the way for the truth; make him more pliant, more sociable, more open to suggestion. 

What Vinter and the rest of his stupid ilk never realize is that torture doesn’t work, especially on their own kind.  Pain is cheap.  Their bodies are disposable, their lives are disposable.  Ethan Hunt would happily die for the IMF, for the greater good, probably even for his fellow agents.  He’s a fighter, this one.  He’ll die before they break him. 

But if Ilsa can lay the truth of their lives out in front of him in ways he can understand, it will plant seeds of doubt his lived experiences can’t help but nurture.  Doubt is more dangerous than pain.  

Ethan Hunt and his kind eyes will never work for Solomon Lane, not after Lane shot that poor woman in the head in front of him.  Not after Lane made him feel helpless—and she’s sure Lane did, it’s his favorite way to make people feel, and he’s spectacularly good at it.  

She just needs to make sure Ethan doesn’t work against them.  Finding the ways his handlers have made him feel helpless is a good place to start.

Ilsa waits for his pupils to blow wide and his pulse to slow in his chest and neck before she starts. She stays where he put her on the floor, only shifting enough to sit up.

“How long have you worked for the IMF, Ethan?”  She asks softly.

One breath.  Two breaths.  He blinks again, licks his lips.  

 And tells her.

[sinner-as-saint]

stealing hearts

Mob!Bucky x Thief!Reader 

Run-through: His mansion was highly secured, and yet, breaking in and trying to steal from him was rather easy for a skilled thief like yourself. Key word: trying. Of course you got caught by his men. And the mob boss was known to be ruthless, cold, merciless – the list of his villainy was endless – so you thought he’d end you the moment he laid eyes on a thief like you. However, he didn’t. Instead, he made you an unusual offer. One you couldn’t resist. 

Themes: thief!reader, mentions of homelessness and parental death, slight angst, mob!bucky, dom!bucky, slight daddy kink, sex toys, age gap (reader is in her early twenties), smut, fluff, cocky!reader

a/n: more mob!bucky bc i need to write him for my mental health

“Where is he?” 

You heard a deep, surprisingly calm male voice ask, followed by multiple footsteps that echoed outside this dark room which resembled a dungeon, or rather a large storage room filled with boxes. 

You heard someone correct the man. “Uh, it’s a woman, sir.” 

The footsteps stopped for a brief moment, then resumed. The first authoritative voice spoke up again. “She was alone?” 

“Yes.” 

Silence. More echoing footsteps. “I’ll handle this. Wait here.” Immediately all the other footsteps stopped and only one continued approaching. 

A few seconds later, the door opened and a tall man walked in. You knew who he was, you’d broken into his home after all. Bucky Barnes. You had seen his face on the news multiple times. He was also easily recognisable because of his metal arm. He was the one most people feared around here. He was the infamous mob boss. Filthy rich, arrogant, merciless. But powerful more than anything. 

He took one look at you, tied to a chair in the middle of the dimly lit room, and scoffed. The asshole scoffed. 

You glared at him. “Spare me whatever dark villainous speech you have planned and just shoot me already.” You hissed, looking away from him. 

He was quiet for a second. Then said, “What makes you think I have some dark villainous speech prepared?” His voice was surprisingly softer than how he sounded outside. Smooth, rich voice. The kind that felt like a caress. 

You turned to look at him again, still glaring, “All you old, rich bastards are the same. You love to hear yourselves talk.” 

He chuckled this time, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked in a slow circle around the chair you were currently tied to. “I’m not that old. Besides, wealthy is the right word here.” He ignored the way you scoffed at his words, and continued, “Also, a thief who hates wealthy people? Very original.” 

You sarcastically chuckled this time. “See what I mean? You love to hear yourself talk.” 

He stopped right behind you, where you couldn’t see him. You would be lying if you said your heart didn’t start racing immediately. Out of your sight, he could have a gun pointed at your head right now and you wouldn’t even know. 

He didn’t say a word. He just stood there. Letting the anticipation build. Until you couldn’t take it anymore. Yanking on the ropes didn’t work, you tried that earlier. So you said, “At least have the decency to look me in the eyes while you kill me.” 

He was quiet for a moment. 

“What’s your name?” He asked. 

When you gave him your name, he sighed and said, “Who said I’m gonna kill you?” 

Oh? 

“Well I can’t imagine you’re gonna let me walk away just like that either.” You’d been observing rich people all your life, you knew how they operated. You knew he would ask for something in return. 

“No,” He said, remaining out of your sight. “No, I won’t let you walk away just like that.” He confirmed. 

You laughed humorlessly. “Just so you know, I don’t have any money.” 

He ignored you. “Who sent you?” He asked. 

Ah, the interrogation. Again. “Your loyal guard dogs already asked me that while they were tying me down. And they used some very colourful language too,” You scoffed. “And I’ll repeat what I said to them. No one sent me. I don’t work for anyone.” 

He began walking around you again, coming to a stop right in front of you this time. You looked up at him. Damn he was… kind of handsome. You couldn’t help but smirk, then failed at hiding it. 

“What’s with the smirk?” He asked. You were surprised with how calm he was with this whole thing. It was unnatural. 

You held his stare as you spoke, “Nothing I was just thinking about how I used to watch the news growing up and they always mentioned how much of a big bad monster you are. But there’s not even a single battle scar on your pretty face.” 

He chuckled this time, shaking his head as he looked away from you for a brief moment. “Stop making me sound old. Also, the scars are everywhere but on my face.” He said, stepping closer, bending down a little so he could whisper, “And did you just call me pretty?” 

Your smirk faded. Your murderous glare returned. “Fuck you.” You said quietly. 

He stepped back with a proud smirk on his face. “How did you get in here? With no help? I’m finding that hard to believe.” 

The smirk came back. “You’re doubting my amazing thieving skills? I spent years perfecting them mind you.” 

He sighed. “Years? You look twenty-five at most, have you been stealing shit since you were a kid?” 

You shrugged, or tried to, “Gotta do what you gotta do to survive. Dead parents, grew up with shitty relatives, ran away from there, been a thief ever since.” You summarised your life in that self-deprecating way you always did. 

He didn’t laugh, or chuckle. He just stared at you with an expression you couldn’t read. “Where do you even live?” 

You gave him a sassy smile, “I’m a thief, I break into somewhere new each night. You’d be surprised at how many vacant apartments with comfy beds there are in this area.” 

Again, he gave you that same poker face. Handsome poker face. “And you broke into my house tonight for what? To sleep?” 

“House?” You gasped dramatically. “This is a damn castle. Though the décor is a little too dark, then again it suits you, you know? Nice gardens, by the way.” 

He sighed again, like he was dealing with a difficult child. “Why did you come here? And how? How did you get past my guys?” 

You took a deep breath and began explaining, “Number one, I came here to steal whatever expensive things I could find. Though you do have very nice comfy beds but I never,” You put more emphasis, “ever, sleep in a house when the owner is home.” 

“Charming.” He commented. 

You continued explaining. 

“And as for how, well I spent the last few days hiding and watching. You have thick bushes out near the entrance of your castle. I stayed there, observed and learnt your security guards’ schedule, and found out that the multiple cameras around your property also rotate. I figured out that I had exactly a fourteen-second window to get past the gates. I found a chance and took it. Picking the locks was easy. But then your people just had to catch me while I was halfway through stealing that lovely painting from your lovely library.” You finished with a smile so sweet it had him sighing again. “And now here we are.” 

He mumbled something under his breath about god saving him, then he walked to the door and opened it. He called out a name and someone came running. A young man with a sweet face, looking younger than you even, walked into the room. 

“Peter, I need you to make all necessary arrangements.” Bucky pointed in your direction and said, “She’ll be staying with us. Looks like we have a new member.” 

You ignored Peter’s very confused look, and hissed at Bucky. “What? I didn’t agree to this!” 

Bucky turned to face you with a serious look on his face. “You have no job, no income, and no place to live. I’m offering you all three and you are not in a position to refuse me.” He continued over your attempt at cutting him off. “You have skills I could use. From now on, you work for me.” He paused. “Agreed, little thief?” 

You glared at him. Damn. A job, a salary, and a roof over your head? The bastard knew you couldn’t refuse. You had to be smart here. He could’ve killed you, but he didn’t. Instead he made you this almost irresistible offer. This could only mean that… 

“You really need me for something, don’t you?” You asked, suddenly sounding cocky. 

He clenched his jaw. And that was confirmation enough. “We’ll talk business later.” 

You laughed in his face. “Alright, alright, don’t get too excited. But if I’m working for you, I have some conditions and requests.” 

He blinked. The Peter guy was so quiet and still you almost forgot he was in the room. “What makes you think you’re in a position to have conditions, or make requests? I could’ve killed you the moment I saw you, you know that?” That cold voice of his would’ve sent shivers down anyone else’s back. 

“But you didn’t because you need me.” You argued with a sly smirk. “Now, here’s everything I need,” You turned to Peter and began listing, “A nice room, preferably the guest bedroom at the end of the right wing.” You winked at Bucky and said, “I checked it out earlier and it has the best view.” You turned to Peter and continued, “I also want a whole new, complete wardrobe, with bags and shoes and everything.” You looked at Bucky and said, “Can I also have a car and a chauffeur?” 

He frowned. “No.” 

“What if I need to move around? Run errands, go get my nails done and all?” You fake pouted. 

“I said no.” 

You rolled your eyes, “Fine, can I have a pet horse?” 

Bucky sighed, “No.” 

“A puppy then?” 

“What are you, a child?” He questioned. 

You smirked, “I mean you’re probably old enough to be my father.” You teased him and tried again, “Can I please have a puppy, daddy?” You knew the way you said it sounded far away from innocent. 

Bucky walked over to you so fast your brain barely registered it. He grabbed you by the back of your neck and stared deep into your eyes. “If that’s the case then daddy can also put you over his lap if you keep being a brat, and spank your little butt raw until you either cry or come, or both. Is that what you want, little thief?” 

You were breathless as you whispered, “No.” That wasn’t entirely true, and damn it, you both knew it in that moment. 

Bucky smirked. “Good girl.” He whispered. Then stepped away and turned to Peter and said, “Untie her and get her whatever she wants.” He looked at you as he said, “No cars, horses, or dogs.” 

Then he left the room. Leaving you speechless, and very much wet. 

— 

Peter, you learnt, was one of Bucky’s assistants. Whatever Bucky asked him to do, he did. That included sending a group of mean looking men out to shop for all that you had written down on your ‘Requirements’ list. 

He showed you to your requested room and promised your stuff will be here before the end of the day. And sure enough, by the time the sunset everything you had asked for was brought to you. 

You squealed when you entered the closet, excited to put away all your new things. Clothes, accessories, bags, shoes, toiletries, makeup, skin care products, and more. 

Peter came by again in the evening, bringing you dinner and said, “Boss said he’d see you in his office tomorrow morning at eight. Don’t be late, please. He hates it when people aren’t punctual.” 

You’d be lying if you said the mention of Bucky didn’t immediately remind you of what he said earlier about you being on his lap and… ugh. Damn him. 

For the first time in a long time, you went to bed with a full belly that night. And you squealed again when you got in the comfy bed, freshly showered and moisturised. As you drifted off to sleep, feeling weirdly warm and safe, you forgot all about your meeting with Bucky the next morning, and how you needed to be up early for it. 

— 

Bucky couldn’t sleep that night. So much had happened in such a short time. One moment he was having a quiet, calm day of golfing with Sam, and the next he got a phone call from his security guys that his mansion had been broken into. 

He went from spending a rare day off with his best friend, to having a sassy, drop dead gorgeous thief in his guest room. He sighed, sipping on his whiskey, holding the phone to his ear as he looked out of his bedroom window. 

“Oh, I know that sigh of defeat.” Sam laughed through the phone. “Is she really that pretty that you couldn’t even use your brain?” 

Bucky rolled his eyes. And here he thought calling Sam to complain about everything was a good idea. Of course the latter would only make fun of him. In fact, he thought, maybe Sam would team up with you and you two would make fun of him together. 

“Shut up, Sam. I’m serious.” Bucky sighed again, “She pisses me off but at the same time… I don’t know. This girl has been living like a fugitive since she was a kid. I looked up the relatives she ran from, her uncle and aunt, and honestly, anyone would run from them. God knows what kind of messed up shit she’s witnessed and been through her whole life.” 

Sam was quiet, listening. 

Bucky continued. “You know the bushes near the entrance? She hid there for days. Days, Sam! Through the rain, and cold nights all just so she could study the guards’ movements. She probably didn’t eat that whole time. Who knows when’s the last time she had a warm meal? She’s so resilient. And strong. But so sassy, and the way she runs that mouth it makes you want to-,” 

Bucky exhaled, exasperated. And continued. 

“She has that look in her eyes, you know?” Bucky thought back to earlier when he first saw you. “Life hasn’t been kind to her. She has really sad eyes. Like she was forced to grow up and take care of herself. I couldn’t…” Bucky trailed off, “I couldn’t just let her go back to living like that. Go ahead, make fun of me for it.” He sighed. “She’s gonna be really useful to me.” He stated. “You remember last year? When I was ambushed by Roger’s men? Something of mine was stolen then, and I’m gonna get it back using her.” Bucky already had a plan made. “I needed a skilled thief anyway. I mean she managed to break into my house, that means she actually is really good. She could even lead some of my guys when they go-” Bucky stopped talking and asked, “Are you even listening?” 

Sam chuckled, “I am, I am. It’s just rare to see you admire someone like this. Who knew big bad Bucky could be so soft? You better let me win next time we’re golfing, otherwise I’m telling everyone that you have a crush on the thief.” 

Bucky groaned, “What is this? What are we, children? I do not like her like that, alright? I’m about a decade and a half older than her. And she won’t stop reminding me of it.” 

Sam laughed again. “Oh I like her already. Anyway, have fun with your crush and tell me how it goes.” 

“Goodbye, you asshole.” Bucky ended the call and shook his head at the thought of what Sam said. A crush? On a thief? No way. 

As he made his way to his study room, Bucky couldn’t help but pause outside the guest room in which you slept. He could hear soft snores coming from within. Something in him felt satisfied that you were able to sleep soundly here, not having to find vacant places to break into. He wanted to keep it that way. 

Why? He didn’t know. Whatever it was, Sam was wrong. 

As he sat at his desk in his study room, Bucky tried to get work done but he couldn’t stop thinking about you. Something about you was different. Bucky never trusted people this easily, let alone allow them into his home. 

That reminded him of something… Bucky found the list that Peter had left on his desk. The list of Requirements, as you called it. And as he read all the things his men had to go out and buy earlier, Bucky couldn’t help but laugh. He hadn’t laughed like this in a long time. 

Oh this could be fun. Bucky couldn’t wait for your meeting the next morning. At eight sharp. 

— 

When you woke up, the sun was in your face. But you hadn’t felt so warm and comfy in a long, long time so you relished the feeling. You let out a yawn, opening your eyes slowly. And you found yourself looking right at a rather pissed off Bucky standing at the end of the four-poster bed, with his hands in his pockets. 

All black suit, perfect hair, and those blue eyes… 

“Oh hi,” You said, taking your sweet time as you sat up in bed. “Good morning.” 

“It’s two in the afternoon.” Bucky hissed. “Who sleeps in for that long? You and I had a meeting at eight this morning. I was waiting.” 

You yawned again. “I’m sorry, this bed is really, really comfy.” You said, as if that was a decent excuse. “Maybe you shouldn’t have put such nice beds in your guest rooms if you didn’t want your guests to sleep in.” 

Bucky closed his eyes for a moment, looking like he was trying very hard to contain his annoyance. “You are not a guest. You work for me. So when I tell you to meet me in my office at eight, I want you there.” 

You smirked, peeling off the covers and slowly crawling over to the end of the bed where he stood. You knelt on the bed right in front of him, “Oh? You want me?” You teased, knowing he would snap at any moment now. 

You remained kneeling on the bed as his metal hand reached out and wrapped around your throat, squeezing just a little. The smirk on your face stayed in place this time, only pissing him off even more. “Watch your mouth, little thief.” He said. 

“Or what? You’ll spank me till I… what was it you said?” You repeated his words from the day before, “Till I cry, or come. Or both?” He remained quiet. His hand tightened around your throat, choking you a little bit more. You couldn’t help but whisper, “Jokes on you, I’m into this shit.” 

Bucky let go of you immediately. You laughed in his face as he shook his head and shoved his hand in his pocket again. 

“Get out of bed and get ready. Meet me in my office in half an hour.” He ordered and turned to leave. 

“But I’m hungry,” You said right before he could walk out of the door. “You can’t treat your guests like this, you have to feed me.” 

Bucky refrained from groaning. “Fine,” He said, turning to look at you over his shoulder. His broad shoulder. “I’ll have someone bring up some food for you. Now hurry up, don’t be fucking late again.” He barked. 

—

Bucky was embarrassed to admit to himself that his hands were shaking as he left your bedroom and walked to his study room. Fuck, less than twenty-four hours and you already had such a bizarre effect on him. 

Bucky shut the door behind him, and closed his eyes to find some kind of composure. Fuck, fuck, fuck. The sight of you in those black satin shorts and that tight, excuse of a top… fuck. The sight of you so comfortable in bed had messed him up so much he’d gripped you by the throat like an animal. 

He was grateful you didn’t seem to notice the hardness in his pants. He needed to get a grip. How the hell was he supposed to boss you around if this is what a brief interaction was doing to him. 

He sat at his desk and waited. And about twenty minutes later, there was a knock at the door. It was one of the housekeepers with a tray of breakfast food. Bucky waited some more and after a short while, there was another knock at his door. Before he could even open his mouth to say something, you walked in. 

Bucky’s heart skipped a beat. Just who allowed you to look this good? You were glowing after a good night of sleep. You looked incredible in your little sundress. Bucky watched as you took a seat on the other side of his desk before he even asked you to. The smell of your body wash and perfume drifted over to him, and he was almost salivating. 

He kept watching as you moaned in delight when you took your first sip of coffee, then your first bite of warm croissant. 

“Glad to see you’re enjoying your breakfast at,” He checked his watch, “almost three in the afternoon,” He spoke, finally. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to discuss your position here in my house and as my employee.” 

You scoffed through a mouthful of some kind of pastry. You swallowed it with a sip of coffee and said, “So formal, my god. Just tell me where to go, what to steal and I’ll do it, no need to be so poetic about it.” 

Bucky sighed. “I don’t need you to steal anything at the moment. There is something, but the time isn’t right. I will let you know when it is. But as of now, I have other plans for you.” 

You frowned at him as you finished your breakfast. “Okay… I’ll do them under one condition.” 

“Enough with your conditions.” Bucky hissed. 

Despite his warning, you continued, “There’s this old, abandoned apartment complex,” You said, grabbing a pen and a sheet of paper from his desk like it was your own, scribbling something down, “I have some stuff hidden in there that I need. Not much, just two boxes. I know you won’t let me go but could you have someone go get it for me, please?” 

Bucky looked down at the address and apartment number written on the paper. “What stuff?” He asked. 

“Just stuff I’ve stolen over the years.” 

He scoffed, “But you have everything you need here.” 

You nodded, “Some of the things are… priceless.” 

Bucky nodded. “Fine. I’ll have someone go get it. Now, about your role here. You’re gonna start training with the guys tomorrow.” 

You frowned, “I’m a thief, I don’t need exercise.” You argued. 

“No,” He said, calmly as he leaned back into his chair. “But you need to learn how to fight, how to use a gun, a knife, self defence, how to be part of a team and all that.” 

Okay. Things got very real. You stayed quiet and nodded. 

“Can you drive?” 

You shook your head. 

“I’ll have someone teach you.” 

You shrugged. “So, no stealing for now. Only training like I’m going to battle. Anything else?” You asked. 

“Yes, actually.” 

–

About an hour later, you stood in the middle of what Bucky called your new workstation. You looked around the spacious room, impressed. It looked a lot like a lab, with every equipment a thief could ever need, even some new tech that you yourself weren’t familiar with. Weapons, trinkets, everything. 

“So you want me to teach your guys how to steal using this stuff.” 

“I want you to teach them necessary skills.” Bucky corrected. “Strategies. How to be observant. How to pick locks, how to be discreet, how to be invisible and hide for days, how to use a narrow, fourteen-second window to infiltrate a secure place. Whatever else you can teach. Minus the stealing.” 

You smirked, leaning against your new desk. “So you like what I do, huh?” 

Bucky ignored that. “Don’t cause any trouble.” He said. “I’m paying you to do a good job here.” 

You looked around again, not able to fight the genuine smile that formed on your face. “It’s like paying a kid to be at the playground.” You smirked, looking at him with determination in your eyes, and some mischief. “I’m gonna have so much fun here with my new friends.” 

“Do not hurt my guys, I need them.” 

— 

The next couple of weeks went by rather quickly. You woke up each day, excited for a change. No more having to be constantly on the run, no more having to steal for food, clothes, or find shelter. You had more time to live now, not just survive. 

Plus you had the lab. It was your favourite place ever. Surrounded by gadgets and tech you didn’t know could exist, weapons that you were starting to get the hang of, and Bucky’s guys that you used as if they were your test subjects – you actually had fun each day. 

The dynamic between you and Bucky changed too. And it all started the day after he first showed you your new lab… 

“My guys have your stuff from the old apartment. It’s in my office, come get it.” He spoke through the phone – your new phone – ordering you to come collect your stuff. 

You almost ran out of your room and to his office. When you got there, the two boxes were placed nicely on one side of his desk. A cardboard one, and the other one was a medium sized metal code-lock box. He stood behind the desk, watching you. 

“As requested,” He pointed at the two boxes, “Your stuff.” He paused, then said, “Open them.” 

You froze. “Uh, what?” 

Bucky shoved his hands in his pockets. “If I’m gonna allow you to keep your stolen goods in my house, I should know what they are. Now come on, open the boxes. I need to check them.” 

You walked into the room, shutting the door behind you. As you approached the desk, you tried to find a way out of this. “You don’t need to. They’re nothing. Just things I’ve collected over the years.” 

Bucky gave you the usual, handsome poker face. “Would you like me to open them?” 

“No,” You said quickly. You rushed to the cardboard box, opening it to let him see the contents. “See? Just books I’ve stolen from everywhere.” You explained as he looked inside the large box filled with old and new books. 

“Now the other one.” He said, eyeing the metal box. 

“That one has… um, personal things.” You said. “You don’t need to see all that.” 

Bucky walked around the desk, stopping only when he was inches away from you. He leaned a little close to your ear and whispered, “I have received bills of all the things you made my guys buy recently. Some of the bills explicitly listed each and every piece of lingerie and underwear you ordered, including a certain little red thong you’re possibly wearing right now.” He said, making you shiver. “And now you wanna talk about boundaries?” 

You pulled away to look at him, seeing the proud triumph in his eyes. “Fine.” You refused to let him win this one. You reached for the box, unlocked it, opened the lid and waited. Bucky was quiet. Too quiet. “Say something.” You whispered, “This is very awkward.” 

Finally he did. 

“Get on the desk.” He said. You froze again and seeing that you weren’t moving he leaned in to whisper into your ear, “I said, get on the desk. If I’m gonna allow you to keep all of these toys, then I better test their… effectiveness as well.” 

You avoided his eyes, focusing on the top buttons of his shirt as you asked, “What kind of rule is that?” 

“My kind.” He replied. “Now get on the desk. Legs up and spread them so I can see exactly what I have to deal with.” 

Fuck. 

You sat up on the desk, feeling just a little coy as you lifted your legs up and placed them on the edge of the desk, spreading your knees as far as they would go so he could look at you down there. 

Bucky scoffed. “See? There’s that red thong.” He pulled his metal hand out of his pocket, placing it on your inner thigh, slowly inching upwards. His cold fingers lazily teased your clit, then slid down to inspect your wet folds. He pulled the thong to the side and mindlessly dragged a metal finger up and down your slit, making you shiver and moan as he touched you. 

You let out a quiet whimper which made him groan. 

You looked down in between your thighs, his hand teasing you like it was the most casual thing. You sheepishly looked up and into his piercing, icy blue eyes that were already staring at you. You couldn’t look away. 

“Which one’s your favourite?” He asked. And it took you a little while to realise that he was referring to the pile of sex toys in the metal box. 

“The, uh… the vibrator.” You answered. Your face got all hot but you refused to seem embarrassed. 

Bucky smirked, pulling his hand away to reach for the vibrator. Light pink wand with a bulbous head. Bucky looked at it, then at you. He looked down at your wet folds and spat before turning the wand on and pressing it right on your clit. His spit helped the toy to move around better as he circled your clit with it, before moving it up and down your slit. 

You couldn’t help but moan and gasp as you felt the familiar pressure forming in between your legs, and you involuntarily bucked your hips against the vibrator, trying desperately to chase your orgasm. Of course Bucky noticed, and he scoffed as he lifted the vibrator off you, denying you your release.

“No,” You whined, closing your eyes and tilting your head back, “Please…” You begged. 

“Look at me,” he said, softly. You looked back at him as his other hand wrapped around your throat. Bucky leaned in enough so that his lips brushed against yours when he spoke. “You will come when I allow it, you hear me? 

You nodded immediately. 

“Good girl.” He said as he placed the vibrator back against your core. You felt the vibrations all over your body, as you stared into his icy blue eyes. He moved the toy around a little more before lifting it off you again, turning it off this time. “You can take your books and go now, this box stays with me.” 

He put the vibrator back safely, shutting the box. 

You closed your legs, hopping off of his desk. “What do you mean it stays with you? You can’t just… just steal my toys!” You frowned at him, pissed. 

Bucky gave you an annoying smirk. “Yes I can. Now whenever you need a toy, you can come ask for it. If I feel like it, I’ll let you have it.” 

Bastard. 

You left his office angrily that afternoon. And vowed never to beg for any of the toys in that box. Let him have it. Screw him, right? 

Wrong. 

You couldn’t sleep that night. Your fingers didn’t relieve you as much as the vibrator would have. And that’s how you found yourself swallowing your pride and knocking on his office door. The lights were on so you figured he’d still be in there. 

“Come in.” He said and you could already hear the smirk in his voice. 

You opened the door, walked in and shut it behind you. “I need it.” You said, looking at him as he lounged on the couch near his desk. 

“Need what?” He asked, acting oblivious as he placed his drink down and pretended to be confused. 

You rolled your eyes at him. “The vibrator. Please.” 

He leaned back on the couch, with a playful smirk on his face. “Oh I put it in the trash. I put all of them in the trash.” 

You blinked. It took a moment for the anger to surface. You took a step towards the couch. “Do you know what I had to do in order to rob that sex store? I had to fight the guy who was closing up for the day. With a baseball bat! And you know the worst part? He was one of my ex flings!” 

Bucky let out a chuckle. 

“Don’t just sit there and laugh! What am I supposed to do now?” 

He gave you a mischievous look and said, “Come here.” 

You crossed your arms over your chest and stood there in the middle of his office. “No.” 

“Keep being a brat and I will drag you here by your hair if I have to.” He raised an eyebrow at you. “Try me.” And those words had you moving towards him at once. 

You reached the couch where he was sitting and stood in front of him. “Now what?” 

“Get on my lap.” 

You rolled your eyes, refusing to show how his words and tone made you want to drop to your knees and take him in your mouth instead. “You’re such a disgusting, old, pervert who just wants to-,” 

He cut you off by pulling you into his lap and grabbing you by the throat. His metal hand squeezed your throat just enough to make you whimper. “What did I say about you and your smart mouth? Hmm?” Then he scoffed and said, “Right, I forgot you’re into this shit.” He squeezed your throat a little more. “If I reached down there, would I find that you’re completely wet and ready for me?” 

You whimpered again, instinctively grinding on his lap. He chuckled, shaking his head. 

“Look at you,” He murmured. “You won’t need your toys now,” He said, “If you need to come, you ask for my cock. Understood?” 

You nodded immediately. 

He smirked. “Now, will you be a good girl and fuck yourself on daddy’s cock or what?” 

You whined, nodding, “Please…” 

Bucky couldn’t help but lean in for a kiss then. All your whimpering was too much for him to handle and he couldn’t take it anymore. 

You kissed him back, allowing him to almost tear your PJs off of your body. You only pulled away from the kiss to say, “We need a condom. I’m not on birth control.” 

Bucky nodded, reaching to pull a condom out of his pocket. “Remind me about the birth control thing tomorrow.” 

You watched as he undid his trousers and put the condom on. The moment it was on, Bucky pulled you in for a kiss again. He helped you as you lifted up and then slowly lowered yourself down on his hard cock. 

You couldn’t look away as he held your stare. You both gasped and moaned as you finally sank down on him. Your body resisted just a little to fit him inside at first. Bucky felt it too, and an arrogant smirk formed on his face as he grabbed your hips in place and gently thrust his hips up, filling you up.

You moaned out loud as he did. “Fuck, you feel good, little thief.” He whispered. 

Once he was buried deep inside you, you leaned in to kiss him again while lifting your lower body just the slightest, before sliding back down on his cock, you whimpered as he groaned, filling you up and being all snug inside of you. 

“Oh fuck,” He swore again, “You feel so tight around daddy’s cock.” 

The tip of his cock reached places you never knew existed. You whimpered, whining in pleasure as you took a good look at the man beneath you. He oozed power, manspreading on the couch with you on his cock. 

You moved faster then, impaling yourself down on his cock each time. You whimpered shamelessly as you felt him filling you up completely each time, feeling him reach deeper into you with each thrust. His hand slipped between the two of you and found your clit, he rubbed it lazily. Grunting and moaning under his breath as you sped up even more, riding his cock and making him lose his damned mind.

“You have such a perfect little cunt…” He said, “It’s all mine now.” 

You were whimpering and whining yourself as you took more and more of him. But you couldn’t help but tease him, “And here I thought mixing business with pleasure was a bad thing.” 

Bucky playfully slapped your thigh. “I make the rules here. From now on, mixing business with pleasure is a very good idea.” 

You leaned down to kiss him, biting down and tugging at his bottom lip while you sped up, and his cock stretched you out each time he filled you up. “Fuck,” You whined. 

His hand circled around your waist and he pulled your warm body closer to his. He was still very much clothed, except for his cock being out and buried inside you. Meanwhile your PJs were on the floor, leaving you completely naked on his lap. Something about that contrast made it even hotter. 

“Beg.” He said, “I want to hear you beg me to let you come.” 

You bounced on his cock moaning and whining, feeling him stretch you out as you stared into his blue eyes. 

“Please daddy,” You whimpered, “Please, can I come?” 

Bucky held you at your waist and rhythmically thrust his hips up each time to match your movements. “Hold on, just a little,” He panted against your cheek, kissing the side of your face and gripping your jaw with his hand. “Just a little,” He whispered, “Wait for me.” 

“Please… I can’t,” You didn’t slow down as you felt your orgasm wash over you, and he kept thrusting his hips up into you as your eyes rolled back and you moaned out loud as you came, hard, feeling your walls squeezing and clenching around him as you came undone. You panted and leaned forward, pushing your face into his neck to catch your breath. 

Bucky came right after you, his warm load spilling inside of you, filling you up as he wrapped his arms around you and pressed your trembling body closer to him.

“I’m sorry,” You said as you caught your breath. “I’ll wait next time.” 

Bucky laughed. “It’s alright. You were still such a good girl for daddy.” He murmured. 

—

That night changed everything. 

Ever since, each time you annoyed Bucky he would just fuck you against the nearest surface. Safe to say you began to annoy him even more. 

But he could also be kind sometimes. For instance this one time when he found you in the library: 

You were lounging on a sofa, reading when he walked in silently. 

“Winter’s tale?” He surprised you with both his literary knowledge and presence. 

You peaked at him from behind your book and said, “Leontes is such a cunt. Quite like you sometimes.” 

Bucky ended up fucking you right there on the sofa. And then promised to get you your own bookshelf in the library because he didn’t like the way you stuffed your books among his on the current shelves. It’s messy and immature, he said. Grown ups don’t keep their books like this, he said. 

Bucky could also be so confusing at times. Like how he would always treat you like the thing between the two of you was just a casual fling. But then he would get jealous whenever he saw you getting too close to any one of his guys while you trained with them. 

“I will be overseeing your training from now on. No need to join the guys in the morning.” He said out of nowhere when you joined him for dinner in the dining room one night. 

“Why?” You asked. 

“Because you distract them too much with your shenanigans. Constant flirting, walking around in your little workout outfits, all that needs to stop.” He spoke, avoiding your eyes. 

You smirked. “So we’re gonna be early morning workout buddies from now on?” 

He sighed, “Don’t make me regret this.” 

You chuckled, “Oh you will regret this.” 

He did. But in the best ways. So each morning workout either started or ended with a nice fuck sesh. 

—

You were at your workstation one morning when Bucky walked in with a serious look on his face. 

You’d just seen him a couple of hours ago for your ‘workout’ so you wondered why he was back. Usually he left you alone for most of the day, only finding his way back to your bed late at night. So this was unusual. 

“What’s going on? Why do you look like you want to murder someone?” You asked as he stood right in front of you with an earpiece in hand. 

“Put this on.” He said. 

You did as he asked. And waited. 

Bucky grabbed his phone, walking to one of the nearest screens and a few taps later, you were looking at the live feed of some kind of body cam. 

“What’s this?” You asked. Just then, you began hearing muffled voices coming from the earpiece. 

Bucky turned to you. “My guys are… retrieving something of mine from a secret location. I need you to guide them.” 

Your eyes widened. “Wait, is this it? Is this the thing you needed me for?” 

Bucky’s face gave away nothing. “Just do as you’re told.” 

You nodded, quickly looking back at the screen. “Who’s leading them?” You asked. 

Someone’s muffled voice replied from the earpiece. “Thor is.” 

You nodded, looking at the screen. “Right. How could I miss those biceps that are bigger than my head?” You said. 

Bucky smacked you on the butt and said, “Focus.” 

“I am, I am. I got this.” 

Anf for the next few minutes, you led the men through whatever maze of a building they were in. You found the location within seconds and managed to have a blueprint of the place. You warned them of the cameras, told them when to move and when not to. You instructed Thor how to pick an ancient looking lock that led them into an even bigger maze. But you did everything right, used the right strategies, the right tricks up your sleeves, and you managed to get the guys out of there safely, with the mystery package they stole. 

Once they were out in the clear and confirmed that they were on their way home, you turned to Bucky and asked, “How did I do?” You waited eagerly for his response. 

Bucky just smirked and said, “Good. You passed the test.” 

Your smile faded fast. “What? What test?” 

Bucky explained, “The guys weren’t actually out stealing shit. I just wanted to see how you would do in a situation like that. And you did great. Congratulations, little thief.” 

He turned to walk away but you called out. “You know, I deserve a nice gift for being so amazing.” 

“Do you now?” He asked, not turning around. 

“Yes, I want a dog!” 

Bucky paused at the door. “No.” He said and left. 

“Please, daddy…” You pouted. 

“No.”

Oh well, it was worth a try. 

— 

The next morning, you woke up and got ready for yet another day of annoying Bucky. However, when you stepped out of your bedroom door, you noticed something outside your door. 

It was a basket. And inside it slept two puppies, two of the fluffiest little balls of fur you’d ever seen. Once the shock passed, you began tearing up immediately. 

You picked up the basket as slowly as you could and made your way to Bucky’s bedroom. You walked in without knocking. And there he was, standing in the middle of the room, getting ready for the day, buttoning his black shirt, casually looking like a god. Once he saw you, his playful smirk showed itself. 

“So, how do you like-,” He stopped talking the moment the first tear fell down your cheek. His smirk disappeared. “What is it?” He asked. 

You carefully placed the basket down, the puppies inside it sleeping soundly. Then you rushed to Bucky, wrapping your arms around him tightly. 

Bucky hugged you back instantly, though confused concerning your reaction. Out of all things, he didn’t expect this. “Hey, what’s going on?” He asked, softly. 

You sniffled, hiding your face in his chest. “I was thirteen when I ran from my uncle and aunt’s house.” You said, voice muffled. “And they had dogs so I grew up with them. But when I took off to be on my own, I couldn’t have a dog because I could barely take care of myself.” You sniffled again. “And it’s hard being without animals when you grew up around them, you know?” You let more tears wet his shirt. “Thank you,” You said, finally. 

Bucky held you as your shoulders shook with your sobs. He placed a gentle kiss on your temple and whispered, “Oh baby, I’ve got you now.” 

You pulled away to look at him, both of you ignoring the patch of wetness your tears left on his grey shirt. “You got me two puppies.” 

Bucky smiled down at you. “You deserve it.” 

You sniffled, “You’re being nice, what do you want?”

“Nothing,” He rolled his eyes, “Now get out of here.” 

You stayed put. “I can’t. I have to make it even.” 

“Yeah?” Bucky raised an eyebrow at you. “How?” 

You shrugged. “I don’t know, let me suck your-,” 

He cut you off by pulling you closer, a hand wrapped around your throat already. “You are very tempting right now, in your little red dress. And if you don’t want want me to tear it off right this instant, I’d suggest you-,” 

You cut him off this time, “Who said I don’t want you to tear it off?” You asked with a smirk. 

Bucky sighed before pushing you down on his bed. “I’ve got a busy day ahead.” He said, looking down at you as he hovered above you, “But you don’t care about that, do you?” 

You giggled, shaking your head. “Not one bit.” You said, running your hands over his chest and his strong shoulders. 

He smirked, giving in. He leaned in for a brief kiss while he pulled your dress up and placed both his hands on either one of your knees and separated your legs, settling in between them. 

Your heart raced in anticipation. His hand slowly dragged your thin underwear down your legs and threw it around somewhere behind him as he inched his face closer to your already dripping core.

“Such a fucking brat.” He mumbled and brushed his soft lips along your inner thighs, making you giggle and moan quietly under your breath.

“Shut up, admit it. You’re obsessed with me.” You sassed, then moaned out loud when you felt his warm tongue lick from your entrance up to your clit. You felt a familiar rush in your veins. Fuck he was addicting. 

Your hands grabbed fistfuls of his hair, tugging on it as his mouth teased you. His tongue slowly circled around your clit, earning more moans out of you as your back arched off the bed. His bed, you realised. This was the first time you two were fooling around in his room. 

Only now did you realise how it smelt like him. Dark, male, addicting. But most of all, dangerous. Fuck, just his scent made your head all foggy in lust. 

Bucky had you squirming, moaning, a complete mess under him in no time. “I love seeing you like this,” He said, kissing your inner thighs, “Too busy moaning for me to run that smart mouth.” 

You couldn’t answer as your legs trembled around his head, he locked his arms around your thighs and pushed his tongue deeper into you, making you cry out of pleasure. 

“See what I mean?” He chuckled, “I bet you want to say something sassy so bad right now, but you can’t.” He playfully bit you before sucking on your clit. “Daddy’s tongue has you all tongue-tied, huh princess?” 

You cried out. “Please… please daddy,” You whined. 

With a proud smirk, a look of determination in his pretty blue eyes, and a couple more strokes of his tongue, he had you gushing out all over his tongue, lapping up all that you gave him. While you moaned and squirmed on his bed as he sucked on your sensitive clit until you calmed down. 

You kept your eyes shut as you caught your breath, feeling him leave small kisses all over your thighs. 

When you opened your eyes again, his face was right above yours. His devious blue eyes looking down into your wide open ones. You were certain all he saw in your eyes was hunger. For him. 

“I want you,” You whispered, sliding your hands into his hair. “Now.” You demanded. 

“Brat.” He hissed when you tugged on his hair. 

You smiled. “Pretty sure it’s princess.” You teased. 

“A bratty fucking princess then.” He didn’t give you a chance to sass back as he leaned in for a deep kiss, holding himself up with one hand as he quickly undid his trousers. You helped, pulling his cock out and stroking it. Bucky moaned into the kiss as you did, and the sound of it sent shivers down your back. 

You gasped, and whined into the kiss as he carefully slid into you, filling you up entirely, inch by inch. Stretching you out deliciously like he did all the time. Bucky wasted no time, he pulled out and pushed back into you, making you moan into the kiss each time until the makeout turned lazy and messy, filled with gasps and moans. 

You noticed he wasn’t being as ravenous as usual. He was… trying to be gentle with you. 

Indeed he was. Your heart skipped a beat when Bucky laced your fingers together and pinned both your hands above your head as he sped up just a little into you. He was groaning and panting against your lips as he fucked you slowly, and you were unable to focus on anything other than him. 

His hips rolled against your body perfectly, and his body weight pressing down gently on you was comforting. His grip around your hand tightened each time you’d moan his name out loud. 

“That’s it, princess.” He whispered against your open mouth, “Tell me who’s making you feel this good. Who’s fucking you, huh?” 

You kept whimpering his name over and over again as he fucked you nice and slow, kissing his way down your face, from your collar bones to down your chest. And you cried out when he took a nipple into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue.

You opened your eyes as he pulled away to look down at you, his lips soft and pink and parted as he breathed rapidly, fucking into you a bit faster. 

Something shifted in that moment, you weren’t sure what. But something changed. 

His brows furrowed as he tried so hard to hold back and make you come before he did. “Fuck,” He swore. “Come for me.” He smirked and leaned down to whisper in your ear. “Come for daddy, princess.” 

You felt the pressure building in between your hips as he sped up even more, his metal hand reached down and grabbed your hip gently, keeping you in place as he sped up into you. Your bodies moved perfectly against each other.

Bucky pushed his face into you and nuzzled your neck as he growled in pleasure. With a few more strokes of his cock, you came undone, moaning and whimpering under him, grinding against him hungrily while he came right after, filling you up again. 

He stayed there, limp on top of you for a brief moment, before he slid off of you and laid down beside you. He caught his breath while you blinked rapidly, trying to calm your racing heart and figure out what the hell just happened. 

Before the awkward silence settled in completely, you got up on shaky legs and fixed your dress. “Well, this has been fun. I gotta go feed my new kids now. See you later.” You grabbed the puppy basket and almost ran out of his bedroom. 

As you shut the door, you heard him laughing to himself. A boyish, carefree laugh that made you smile. 

— 

With your new dogs, training, your lab, more training, days flew by. 

Whatever Bucky had planned, whatever big heist you were supposed to carry out, you knew it was coming soon. 

You often wondered what would happen once you successfully stole whatever he intended for you to steal. You didn’t even know what it was yet. Must be something precious either way, if all this planning went into it. But what after that? Would you no longer work for Bucky then? 

Would this… whatever it was between the two of you that both of you absolutely refused to acknowledge – no matter how much Sam teased you both for it – would it all end? 

You were lost in thoughts of all this when you found yourself mindlessly making your way to Bucky’s office one evening. Your two dogs, loyally in tow. 

You found Bucky in an equally sour mood as you, sulking at his desk with a drink. 

You shut the door behind you, leaving the dogs outside as you made your way to Bucky. He looked up at you and silently patted his lap. You made yourself comfortable on his thighs, an arm around his neck as you leaned in and nuzzled his cheek. His stubble rough against your nose and cheek. 

“What’s wrong?” You asked, “What has you looking like an evil god plotting the end of mere mortals who are standing in the way of you dominating the world?” 

He chuckled at that. “You are so annoying you should be grateful at least you’re pretty to look at.” He mumbled, taking a sip of whatever was in his glass. You assumed it was whiskey. 

You couldn’t help the laugh that left your lips. But then you noticed that distant look in his eyes. Unfortunately, you were very good at reading people. You leaned in and kissed his cheek softly. 

“What is it?” 

He let out a sigh. “You never ask me what I’m keeping you around for.” 

You shrugged. “You said you’d tell me when it’d be the right time. I’m just waiting, I guess. You told me about Rogers and his men and how they stole something from you. The details aren’t necessary, whatever it is, I’ll get it back. I promise.” 

Bucky placed his glass down and turned to look at you. His metal arm held you securely on his lap. “It’s my mother’s ring.” He said. “The ring has been in our family for generations. All the men propose to their women with it.” He paused, then added, “I have nothing left of hers. Just the ring.” 

Damn. Well. You would have never guessed that. A family heirloom? Why would Rogers tell his men to steal that? How would he even know to steal that? 

You began to ask just that. “How did-,” 

Bucky answered before you could even finish your question. “Steve, Sam, and I used to be friends. I always thought we’d be friends till the very end. But then Steve went rogue, power got to his head.” 

Shit. No wonder Bucky and Sam were so close, they survived the downfall of a strong trio. 

“I’m sorry.” You murmured, gently stroking his cheek. “I’ve never had close friends like that, I can’t imagine what it must be like to lose them. But I can tell it makes you really upset.” You pointed out. Then you took a deep breath and said, “I’ll get your mom’s ring back. And I will even kick Steve for you if you ask me to.” 

Bucky gave you a faint smile. 

“Just get the ring back.” He said, staring deep into your eyes. “I need it.” 

Oh? The thought of him on one knee, asking someone to marry him was surprisingly uncomfortable. But you pushed all that aside. 

“So when do I go?” 

— 

Another week later, the plan was ready. Bucky’s men were ready. You were ready. 

You had the location, had studied the blueprint very well. You’d be in contact with Bucky the whole time through the earpiece. Steve was rumoured to be out of town. His guards would not be expecting the heist. This was perfect. 

Or so you thought. The moment you got near Steve’s house, a gut feeling told you something was off. And you must’ve mumbled something to yourself because Bucky’s voice came through the earpiece just then. 

“I’ll say it again. The moment you sense something wrong, fall back. Do you hear me?” He used the cold, bossy tone. 

You scoffed and replied, “Yes daddy.” 

A few of the guys chuckled around you. And you could hear Bucky sighing as you giggled to yourself. 

You noticed the guards getting ready to move, the typical security rotation. You looked behind you and whispered to the guys, “We have exactly twelve seconds to make it past the gates. Don’t be too loud, and follow me. If you can’t make it, stay back here and keep watch. Everyone understood?” 

They all nodded silently. 

“Okay… now!” 

Not all of the guys could make it. Some had to stay back because the twelve-second window was too short for everyone to beeline through the gates. 

But the group of you that made it past the gates and into Steve’s house were in for a big surprise. It was a trap, Steve wasn’t home but his people had been waiting for you. 

What was meant to be a clean heist ended up in a crossfire. 

You could hear Bucky barking orders through the earpiece. “Fall back! Now!” 

You almost did… but fuck you were so close. So close. That was when you took the earpiece off and tucked it into the pocket of your cargo pants. He may have been right, but the adrenaline was too much to resist. You’d missed this feeling, this rush of being so close to danger, to being caught… 

So you went for it. 

Walked deeper into the trap. 

You knew where the ring was kept, you had the little box in your hand. You didn’t have time to see what it looked like as you put it away in your pocket, along with the earpiece that Bucky surely was still screaming through. 

And then. The room exploded. 

Then there was nothing. Just ringing in your eyes, and blurry images in front of you. You coughed, gasping for air and all you got were dust in your lungs. 

You faintly remember hands reaching for you, dragging you, trying to get you to walk. But your body did not cooperate. It refused to. 

You don’t know how much time passed. Or where you were. 

You could hear the panic in his voice as you tried your hardest to reorient yourself. Bucky was here? You were lying on the floor somewhere. You couldn’t remember much. 

The heist. The ring. A lot of fighting. An explosion. 

Ah, an explosion that threw you across the room causing you to collide against a concrete wall. 

Your side hurt, badly. Your head throbbed. Your vision was blurry, but at least Bucky was here. He was here, you could hear his rapid footsteps approaching. 

“Baby….” His voice sounded distant. “Baby, open your eyes. Please.” He had never sounded so vulnerable. Due to the way your body moved, you assumed you were in a rapidly moving vehicle. “Look at me,” You felt his hands on your face, “Princess, please…” You couldn’t focus too well on what he was saying, “... sorry, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have… baby, please…” 

Then there was just darkness.

And pain. 

And a headache that refused to go away. 

But you were with Bucky so you gave into the darkness. You knew you were safe now that he was here. 

— 

When you woke up, you realised you were in Bucky’s room. On his bed. The headache was still here, not as bad as before though. 

The room was dimly lit, so you figured it must be well into the evening. The house was quiet, but as you tried to sit up, you heard him. 

“Thought you were gonna sleep for two more days.” 

You couldn’t help the smirk. “I slept for two whole days?” Then you panicked, looking around, “Where are my dogs?” 

“Safe, fed. Sleeping.” Bucky stepped out of the dark corner of the room, but didn’t come any closer. He was quiet for a few moments. Then, “You almost got killed.” He stated, looking like he hadn’t slept in days but no less handsome. 

You scoffed. “As if that’s all it would take to kill me. You know, I once fell from two storeys and survived with just a twisted ankle. I’m amazing like that,” You winked at him. “Besides, I did a good job. I managed to get your precious ring,” You went to pat your pocket, only to realise that you were no longer wearing those cargo pants. 

Of course, he wouldn’t have left you in those same clothes for two days while you recovered. You looked down under the blanket and you were wearing clean clothes. His clothes. Sweatpants and a t-shirt. The t-shirt smelled like him. 

“Looking for this?” He held his hand up and there it was. Prettiest piece of jewellery you’d ever laid eyes on. You could see the big, heavy stone from here. Dark green, black, silver. It looked elegant, and like it was crafted in some fae realm. It was truly unique. 

“You changed me.” You pointed out, looking down at the clean clothes. 

He gave you the same poker face. “What does it matter? I’ve seen you naked more times than I can count.” He said. 

“And you made me wear your clothes.” You gave him a bratty, triumphant look. 

He glared at you. “I’m sure my clothes feel more comfortable than those tight little dresses you wear all the time.” 

You gasped dramatically, “You mean those tight little dresses you fuck me in all the time?” 

That had him walking towards his bed immediately. “Don’t fucking tease me. Not right now, you’re hurt.” 

“Aww,” You teased, “You care about me.” 

Bucky sat down on the edge of the bed, turning to face you. “I guess I do.” He said, reaching out to touch your face carefully. 

You couldn’t look away from him. He was so gorgeous. Even in poorly lit rooms with his face half hidden in shadows, he was the most handsome man you’d ever seen. 

He smirked when he noticed you checking him out, “I know I’m pretty, stop drooling.” 

You scoffed, shoving on the shoulder. The muscular bastard of course didn’t even move an inch. 

“I’m gonna go bring you some food.” He said, taking your hand in his metal one. “You’ve been unconscious for days, you need the energy.” He slid the ring on your ring finger so casually it took you a few moments to realise what he’d just done. 

Only when he got up to walk away did reality hit you. Hard. “Wait, what the fuck?” You held your hand up, “What does this mean?” 

Bucky gave you a shrug, “Get used to it.” 

“Bucky!” 

“What?” 

You blinked, mouth open, your body frozen in shock. “Did you just… are you for real? I thought the plan was to get the ring back so you could display it in your office and admire it like the deranged villain you try so hard to be.” 

He couldn’t help but laugh. “Change of plans.” 

You lowered your eyes, tracing a finger over the big stone on the gothic looking ring. “You can’t marry a thief.” 

Bucky sat back down again, taking your chin between his fingers. “Why not? You stole something very precious the day you broke into my home, and this is your punishment now. A life sentence, if you will.” 

“What did I steal?” 

“My heart.” 

You groaned at his cheesiness, leaning in and hiding your face into the crook of his neck. “You bastard.” 

Bucky chuckled. “I love you too.” 

You were quiet for a moment, breathing in his scent. It grounded you. But then you pulled away and asked, “What about Steve?” 

“I’ll deal with him.” Bucky answered, sounding grave and cold. “He hurt my princess,” He said, pulling you closer so much that you were almost on his lap, “I’m gonna kick his ass.” 

You giggled, “Well technically he hurt your princess because she broke into his house to steal. Honestly, he had every right to hurt your princess.” You argued. 

Bucky smirked, “So you agree? That you’re my princess?” 

You rolled your eyes at him, “Technically I’m your fiancé but I don’t really care about labels so yeah, I’ll be your princess or whatever.” 

He laughed, “Oh you don’t get to be nonchalant about this. I’ll throw a big party, invite the whole city if I want to. And you’re gonna be the centre of attention the whole night, parading around in a pretty dress of my choice, showing off your ring, and telling people how much you’re in love with me.” 

You groaned again. “You are insufferable.” 

“I love you too, princess.” He repeated, kissing your forehead.

[ellieluvr420]

Friends? Never. Pt.10 (Ellie Williams x reader)

SYNOPSIS: You and Ellie had been bitter enemies for years now but before that you were best friends. You had always planned to be roommates one day but when that becomes a reality the situation isn't exactly how you both imagined it.

“I’m sending you and the same group you were with when you found those raiders as well as some others. We don’t know how big this group we’re looking for is so I’m going to send fifteen of you. Remember I want them brought back here alive, I want to talk to them.” Maria was pacing, a stern look on her face as you stood before her in her office. Since you had brought those raiders back Maria had interrogated them all and then sent them to be executed outside of Jackson, she had always been one to help anyone who needed it but if there was a threat to Jackson, she was ruthless.  

“Okay, got it. When do we leave?”  

“Tomorrow, first light. You’ve got experts in tracking and hunting in the group but I want you to lead, I know they’ll listen to you and I trust your judgement. Don’t make me regret that.” 

“I won’t Maria.” You nod before turning on your heel and walking away, the whole walk home your mind was occupied with what you would tell Ellie, she knew patrols never started so early but Maria had refused your attempts at gaining her access on the mission, you couldn’t understand why she was so adamant on Ellie not coming, she knew Ellie was skilled on patrol, better than most people but she had vehemently forbid you from telling her the nature of the mission whatsoever. 

You slipped out from under Ellie’s arm to begin getting ready for patrol, you feel her weight shift and hear a slight groan at your movement but she was still in a deep sleep which you were grateful for, you found it hard enough lying to her about this anyway and you knew if you were faced with her this morning you might give in entirely. 

Once you’re dressed and ready to go you sneak back into Ellie’s room placing a kiss on her forehead and leaving a note on her bedside table. 

Gone out for patrol but I’ll be back later. 

Don’t get too bored without me XX 

You slipped out her door and begun the foreboding journey to the gate. You were prepared, you were hunting, not being hunted and there was enough of you that it’s almost certain you’ll outnumber them, but you couldn’t help the anxiety knowing you were walking straight into fire. 

“Hey boss, you ready?” Lacey was too enthusiastic for how early it was in the morning but her quip still brought a smile to your face as you hopped onto Greg and checked your rifle and handgun. As you jolted with the movement of Greg’s galloping, there was a constant metallic clanking from all the ammo loaded into your pockets and your backpack. You each had a pair of handcuffs and plenty of rope stuffed into your bag too, you were ready. You had to be. 

Despite being surrounded by friends, you were quiet, everyone was. Dean and Susie were up front as they could track like you had never seen before. You resided at the back of the group with your head on a constant swivel. You all moved like this until Dean and Susie stopped just short of a mansion, you recognised it, the Baldwin mansion you had heard some call it. 

“Think they’re in there.” Dean said to you as you rode up through the group to meet them up at the front.  

“There’s tracks and can you see that window over there? That’s light. The fence wasn’t closed last time I came through here either.” Susie adds and you nod before turning your attention to the group. 

“Groups of three, let’s go at it from all sides and close them in. Remember we’re bringing them back alive so let’s be quiet and try and catch them before it gets ugly. Got it?” They all nod before separating themselves into groups as you had said and heading down to their respective side of the fence. You, Dean and Susie walked round the perimeter of the building until you found an entrance to the basement, you tied up the horses and began sneaking into the mansion from below, Dean in front, Susie behind him and you watching their backs. You cleared the basement before moving up the stairs that bring out into the living space, the downstairs was mainly open floor, but the door brought you straight out to where the group was all sleeping. You thought to yourself that they were arrogant to not have anyone keeping watch, but it did you a favour no less. You counted eight of them so you signalled for two people to take one person, one to hold a gun to their head to ensure cooperation and the other to bind their wrists and tie a rope to their bound wrists behind their back, then looping it around their waist and leaving a segment for them to be tied to the horses reins. You were about to signal for them to start before you looked at the sleeping girl by your foot, you could see just from her shoulders poking out of her sleeping bag that you wouldn’t be able to take her on yourself if she put up a fight, so you signalled for Dean and Raphael to take her while you take someone else on your own. “Do as much as you can while she’s sleeping. Be ready for her to wake though.” You whispered before walking over to one of the other unaware sleepers. After taking a deep breath in and out, you nod at them all and in sync you begin incapacitating them. 

The quiet room was no longer quiet, it was a symphony of hisses and insults and grunts as they tried, in vain, to escape your grasps. Once they were all tied up and secured on the horses, you started the journey back to Jackson triumphantly. Each pair of your group was riding next to each other as one person had the hostage on their horse and the other rode with a gun aimed at them just to ensure they wouldn’t get any ideas. You had made Raphael and Dean put the built woman on your horse and you rode behind the group with your gun pressed into her spine the whole way back. It was eerily quiet between the collective, no one daring to utter a word, even the girl in front of you had her head bowed in a sorrowful fashion, it shaking from time to time as if she’s having a heated debate within her mind. As you walked through the open gates you notice there were absolutely no staff milling about the stables and the armoury, only two guards stood behind Maria who was waiting for you all. She didn’t speak, simply turning on her heel and walking away from you all, beckoning you to follow. You stopped outside of the jail; it was rarely ever in use, but it had 10 cells lining the walls of the long corridor and a single room at the end. You could never understand why Maria ordered for so many cells to be put in but now you realised she was being cautious, being prepared. 

You all dismounted your horses and untied the hostages before bringing them down to the ground also. You walked with Abby, still at the back of the group with your gun jammed into her back, she was shockingly complacent, as they all were but as she watched all her friends get locked into the cells only for her to be walked straight to the room at the back, you noticed the way her body tensed. You had assumed she was the girl that the raiders specifically mentioned and now you knew you were right. As you both entered the room, the guards took over and placed her in a chair that her ankles were chained too as well as her wrists that were still handcuffed behind her being tied to a metal loop that was securely fasted to the floor. They were taking no chances, and it calmed the almost painful nausea that had been twisting your stomach since you woke up this morning. As she sat, her face a picture of defeat, you took in her features. Her tired, blue eyes, the large build that caused her muscles to bulge with the slightest movement, her long blond hair that was pulled back into a neat braid, you both stared back at each other until Maria stepped in front of you as she pulled a chair with her to sit opposite the crestfallen girl. You kept waiting for the command for you to leave to come, but it never did, so you stood with your back against the wall as Maria interrogated the girl. It was painful to watch as despite the seeming acceptance of her fate she gave up essentially no information as to what they were doing here, who they were looking for, she barely said a word. But as the guards stalked over to her at Maria’s command, one landing a hard blow to her stomach that knocked the wind out of her and the other pinching her mouth and nose shut until her eyes widened at you in fear, you had to excuse yourself, unable to witness what you knew was going to happen. You raced past the cells and out of the jail without sparing a glance at any of the other hostages, you were so focused on getting away from the building you were speeding without looking up from the ground which sent you crashing into a suspicious-looking Ellie. 

“Were you just coming from the jail?” 

“Er yeah, Maria’s in there, she just wanted an update on patrol from me.” 

“Why’s she in there?” She quirks an eyebrow at you, waiting to see what lie would leave your lips next. She had seen you bringing the hostages in, and she still had the conversation she had overheard between you and Maria at the forefront of her mind. She wasn’t angry at you for lying, you were following an order, from Maria no less and she knew how it feels to be on the backend of disobeying her, and she knew you did too, so she didn’t blame you, but she did enjoy watching you squirm under the pressure. 

“I don’t know, I think her, and a couple of guys are just checking the durability of the cells, can never be too careful right?” You chuckle unconvincingly as she eyes you knowingly. You felt hot under her gaze, and you were seconds away from giving into the guilt that was consuming you more and more with every lie you threw at her, but she took pity on your anxious state and nodded as though she believed you before holding her hand out to you. 

“Wanna get some lunch at the tipsy bison? Bet you’re hungry.” 

“God yes, that sounds like heaven right now.” She chuckles at your immediate relief as you begin the short walk to your destination, still hand in hand. Your thoughts kept trying to drag you back to the girl in the jail but the sight of Ellie sitting opposite you giggling to herself at the awful joke she had just told you, kept you grounded.

 

You stand in the kitchen as you make eight sandwiches as well as cutting four apples in half and wrapping them up before slipping out the front door into the cool night air. You had tried to fall asleep, but you couldn’t, something was telling you to go back to the jail, you cursed the empathy pulling on your heart strings as you gripped the bag containing the food as the prison comes into sight. You slip round the back of the building and go through the side door to miss the two guards stood outside the front entrance before creeping into the long corridor where all the cells lined the walls. You lowered your bag to the ground before retrieving a sandwich and half an apple and feeding each set through the gaps in the bars, some of the inhabitants were awake and eyed you strangely before nodding their heads in thanks, the others slept but you left the food for them to wake up to. You knew they wouldn’t have had any food since they last ate before they were captured and judging from the awake one's reactions, it had been quite a long time. When there’s only one set of food left, you make your way back to the room where you assumed the girl still was and quietly opened the door, slipping through and shutting it behind you. As you turn, the girl's eyes are already on you, following your every movement suspiciously, she looked different to when you had left, her face was bruised and bloody, one of her eyes swelled shut, it sickened you and you were quick to grab the last sandwich and apple out of your bag. She eyed the food, and you could see the hunger in her eyes as you placed it on the ground in front of her cautiously.  

“If I untie you to let you eat, you gonna do anything stupid?” She tears her eyes from the food that was calling her name and shakes her head vigorously at you. “Well, just in case you get any ideas, there’s guards posted at the only exit to the building, and we are all armed.” You add before walking behind her and untying the rope, you nimbly pick the lock of the handcuffs, a trick you had learned to get out of one of the padlocked side gates of Jackson over the years, you remembered how impressed Ellie was when she saw you do it for the first time when you were both fourteen and desperate to go sledding in the snow. As the lock clicks and the handcuffs drop off her, she lunges at the food, immediately unwrapping the sandwich and taking a large bite, humming at the taste. You watch her as you introduce yourself before sitting in front of her and pulling your gun from its holster, just to be safe. 

“I’m... Abby.” She says hesitantly, it’s slightly muffled by the food in her mouth and the swell of her lip, but you can understand her just fine.  

“I’m sorry for what they did to you Abby.” 

“I know.” 

“You know?” 

“I saw you run out of here the second they changed tactics.” 

“Oh... I need to ask you some things, I’m not going to hurt you but I’m hoping you’ll talk to me anyway.” 

“Well, they already got it out of me so what difference does it make to me now.” She sounds ashamed, angry but ashamed of herself. 

“Who are you looking for?” 

“Joel Miller.” Joel, Ellie’s Joel, your stomach churned but you willed yourself on, desperate to understand.  

“Why?” 

“To kill him.” 

“But why?” 

“We were fireflies, he came in with a girl, an immune girl, my dad was going to operate on her to make a cure, but Joel stopped him. He massacred the entire hospital where we were stationed, including my dad.” She took a sharp breath in and looked down at the ground trying to collect herself. “He has to pay for what he did.” You can barely breathe; he killed all those people that wanted to make a cure from Ellie. Ellie, you wondered how much of this she knew but you assumed she at least knew something because Joel and Ellie’s relationship had been turbulent over the years. They had been better recently but there were years when the few occasions you saw them in public, Ellie never looked comfortable and he always looked sullen.  

“I’m sorry for your loss.” She chuckle dryly at your words. 

“Yeah right. You seemed super sorry when you tied us all up and dragged us back here.” 

“You posed a threat to Jackson, some raiders that we captured the other week informed us about your group, I was given an order and I followed it. Are you a soldier at the...” You pause to read the patch embroidered into her jacket. “WLF?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Then I’m sure you understand, an order is an order.” She rolls her eyes but nods gently before reaching down to unwrap the half an apple now she had finished the sandwich. “Sorry it’s only half, I only had four at home.” 

“Thanks.” You purse your lips as you observe the girl, taking in all she had told you. “Abby, they aren’t gonna let you leave alive, you all pose too much of a threat, if they offer for you to earn their trust and a place here at Jackson, take it. That’s the only way you’ll survive this.” 

“Not gonna fucking happen.” You huff at the girl before standing as you watch her take the last bite of her apple.  

“For your sake, I hope you change your mind.” You walk behind her and tap her wrist and take a deep breath, knowing what you had to do. “I’m sorry but can you put your hands behind your back.” You’re prepared for her to fight but she doesn’t, it saddens you to see it, a life reduced solely to revenge that she’d rather accept her fate than try to move on and live. You refasten the handcuffs and tie the rope to the loop in the floor and as you check that nothing looks out of place before walking to the door. You spare a glance back at the girl who was no longer looking at you and slip out the door to sneak home once again. 

As you gently shut the front door behind you, Ellie’s voice causes you to jump and spin round to face her like a guilty child. 

“Where you been?” You reflexively go to lie, you had been on a walk, needed some fresh air maybe but you couldn’t anymore, not when she was looking at you as if waiting for a lie. You sigh and walk to the living room, turning to make sure she was following, which she was. She joins you on the sofa, placing a gently hand over your thigh and rubbing soothing circles into your tense muscles.  

“To the jail.” 

“Why?” 

“To speak to one of the hostages being held there.” 

“What did you want to know?” 

“Why they were looking for someone in Jackson.” 

“Did you find out?” 

“Yep.” She eyes you, waiting for you to explain and as you meet her eyes the words almost fall out of you. “They were coming to kill Joel, for what he did in the firefly hospital.” 

“Oh... So, you know everything?” 

“I guess, but I don’t understand why Joel took you from them if they just wanted to make a cure.” 

“She didn’t tell you it would’ve killed me?” 

“What? No.” 

“To make the cure it would’ve killed me, that’s why Joel did what he did. He shouldn’t have but that’s why.” 

“What do you mean he shouldn’t have? They were going to kill you, Ellie.” 

“But it could’ve saved the world, I could’ve helped people.” She looks down at her lap as she fidgets with her fingers, even though she wasn’t looking at you, you could see the scowl on her face.  

“You don’t know that. They might’ve killed you and their ideas could’ve been wrong, then there’s no cure and you’re still dead.” 

“Why are you trying to justify what he did?” She snaps at you as she stands over you, her guard that had been lowered around you for so long you had forgotten what it looks like when it's up, was now back in full force. You rise slowly and walk to be stood in front of her as your hands cup her cheeks. You speak soft and quietly.  

“Because if I had been given the same two options, I’d have done what he did a million times over. I know you think your life can only matter because of your immunity but you’re wrong. You’re so much more than that.” She can’t meet your eyes, she just stays staring at the floor as she shakes her head as much as your hands would let her. “Even if they could have developed a cure, how do they multiply it, distribute it, how does the world ever go back to what it once was? They were acting irrationally, and they were willing to kill a fourteen-year-old girl for it. I know you hold it against Joel, but I understand why he did what he did.” 

She meets your eyes and they’re glassy and bloodshot, you press a light kiss to her lips before whispering in her ear. “It’s not your fault Ellie, you can’t martyr yourself for something like that, you’re a person and you deserve to live as much as the rest of us.” It was like your words unlocked the floodgates holding the tears in her eyes as she immediately clutched onto you as she sobbed into your shoulder. You stroke her hair and rub her back until the sobs turn into sniffles and eventually, she pulls away to kiss your forehead sweetly. 

“Thank you.” 

“Don’t thank me, it’s the truth.” You held Ellie as she fell asleep that night, you knew the order you would be given tomorrow and you had made peace with it, Joel and Ellie needed more time, they needed to fix their relationship and you’d do anything to make that happen, anything. 

The trip away from Jackson was a painstaking one, Maria had assigned Abby to you once she had assessed the risk, she observed how Abby was around you and decided it would be best for you to take her. You had gone back to the jail the next day at her request and while Maria explained the ultimatum to Abby, the only person Abby was looking at was you.  

You walked behind her with your gun trained on her back, but it seemed pointless as she just trudged along, it was nighttime and you were on full alert, but the woods were only quiet. They were quiet until you heard the sound of a faint gunshot, you both jump a little and you hear a choked sob leave Abby’s lips and the sound is nauseating. Then another gunshot sounds, you count six before it goes completely quiet again, you wait for the seventh and it never comes which puts you on edge as you reach the destination Maria had told you to go to. “Stop here.” You mutter just loud enough for Abby to hear and without you having to say she stops and kneels on the ground, her head bowed. You close the distance between you two and raise your gun to her head. “This is your last chance Abby, I can take you back, just say the words.” 

“No.” 

“Please don’t make me have to do this, please just give in. There’s more to life than revenge, you can live in Jackson, it’s a good life. Why are you wasting this?” Your words come out frantic and angry, you’re angry at her stubbornness, angry at Maria for making you be the one that has to execute her, angry at her silence, angry at everything. “God please Abby.” Your voice is shaky and desperate as a few tears escape your eyes. She had been hurt, she had lost her father because of Joel, her friends are now dead, she’s lost everything and somehow you were still supposed to be able to execute her like it’s nothing. Your hand that was clutching the gun was shaking, trembling as you willed yourself to the pull the trigger. “Please Abby.” You try one last time but it’s no use, she’s accepted her fate, she’s made peace with it and that only angered you more as your gun waivered in your hand, until Ellie popped into your mind, and Joel.  

They need more time. 

Without giving yourself a second to think again, you raise the gun and squeeze the trigger, you don’t see her fall the ground as your eyes are clamped shut but you hear the thud which causes the few tears falling down your cheeks turn into fits of sobs as you fall down onto your knees clutching your chest. You know you need to move in case the gunshot attracted any infected your way but you can’t find the strength in your legs to get up and go. You stay kneeled for what felt like hours before you heard the ominous clicking sound you had been waiting for coming from deeper in the woods, you drag yourself up and away from the sorrowful body staining the ground red, you don’t stop moving until you’re at the gates being greeted by Maria. 

“It’s done?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Thank you, one came back, said she’s pregnant, she’s gonna work to be able to stay here, said she wants the right life for her kid.” At Maria’s words, the rage inside you grew, you had to execute Abby and someone else got to bring theirs back, you stormed away from Maria without another word and as you slammed the door of your home shut and begin stomping up the stairs you’re met with Ellie standing at your bedroom door, waiting for you. You stop and sigh, you had forgotten that Ellie would be waiting for you at home in all your blind rage. 

“Hi El.” Your voice is tired and her face immediately twists into an expression of worry.  

“Are you okay?” 

“No, not really. I er- I think I’m gonna stay at Lacey’s for the night.” You didn’t blame Ellie or Joel but knowing they were part of what led you to have to take the life of someone you felt so much sympathy for made it hard to be around Ellie at that moment in time. You weren’t angry at her but you needed space to wrap your head around everything that had happened over the past few days.

“Oh... okay, is it because of me?” She looks hurt but not angry as you rush to her to hold her face in your hands. 

“No, god no Ellie. I just- I just need some time. I understand why Joel did what he did but... That doesn’t mean I wanted to be the one to kill her, you know?” 

“I get it. You’ll come back tomorrow though, right?” 

“I’ll be back tomorrow morning, I promise.” Your thumbs caress her cheeks as she leans into your touch and grips onto your waist as if trying to keep you with her. She leans in and presses a kiss to your temple before catching your lips in a tender kiss that causes a few stray tears to cascade down your cheeks once again. She pulls away and wipes the tears from your face before stepping out of your way to let you gather your things from your room. She watches from the doorway before trailing behind you like a lost puppy as you make your way to the front door. She grabs your hand and pulls you into another kiss, even softer than the last and as you both pull away and lean your foreheads on each other’s. She gazes at your broken face and it only makes her feel worse.  

“I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t apologise it’s not your fault.” You take a step back and take a deep breath in and turn to the door to open it. 

“I love you.” You gasp and spin back to her.  

“I love you more.” You offer a smile that doesn’t reach your eyes but she can see the sincerity in them as she returns the smile and without giving yourself a chance to second guess your decision you slip out the door and begin walking to Lacey’s. 

psa: felt bad doing this to my bby Abby tbh but PLEASE don't hate me guys, this is supposed to be bittersweet not gut-wrenching I swear, i'm sorry okayyyyyyyyyy also sorry for ellie not being in this one as much!

tags: @emiliabby @readbydayana @radioheadfan699 @lil-elliesgf @isitadinosaur

[chiefdirector]

Discovering | Tim Bradford | The Rookie

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Tim could feel the blood pounding through his veins, the sound reverberated through him. Each pump seemed to get louder and louder. Each thud was felt in his chest. He looked down only to find his hands were shaking beyond his control. If he hadn't drawn his attention away from his heartbeat, he wouldn't have noticed the tremors, or the people rushing around him as he stayed frozen to his spot.

Harper and West were getting equipment. Nolan and Chen were to one side, discussing something that Tim couldn't hear. Grey and the Captain whose name Bradford hadn't bothered to learn were to the other side of the room, silently watching the rest of the station prepare to go into the unknown.

The files that had been given out in the briefing yesterday had instructed each team on what their assignment was. Harper would be going with Nolan to check out the safehouse that was assigned to (Y/N)’s operation to see if there was anything that could hint to her current location. Lopez was to head back to interrogation to attempt to get Williamson to give up any more information. Chen was staying behind with him to review everything from the beginning. 

“Hey,” Chen said, bringing Tim’s mind back to him, “Grey is waiting for us in the conference room. Are you ready?”

“Yeah, lead the way.”

-----

“So, from the beginning, Detective Bradford started her undercover operation two years ago on the 5th of May. She last checked in with us on the 17th of May, and was declared legally M.I.A on the 23rd of May.” Sargent Grey said, sticking a post-it note to the left side of the board at the top of the room. He continued sticking post-its as he spoke. “The initial investigation turned up little but her gun was found in the assigned safehouse alongside a bottle of her medication.”

“According to Williamson, he saw her for the last time shortly after that. He turned on her a few days after they went M.I.A. But she didn't know, or she wanted to play it cool because she kept in contact via burner phone semi-regularly.” Chen said, looking down at the notes in front of her.

Tim’s head snapped to face his rookie “Was that when you spoke to him privately, or was this in interrogation?”

“When we were alone.”

“Text Lopez, get him to confess to it on record. If not, it's not solid enough to go from.”

“Tim’s right, Chen, but it's helpful nonetheless.” Grey sighed, “From then on it's pretty rocky. We have a few civilian sightings but nothing concrete. She stayed away from CCTV and any heavily policed areas. She knew to stay hidden. Which doesn’t help us, but we now know that it was intentional. WIlliamson said he spoke to her less than two weeks ago, she was near the Mexican border in Arizona.”

“Does the border patrol know to look out for her?”

“The Captain is alerting them now, as well as local police departments. The FBI has also been told of this development due to the crossing of state lines. They have agreed to give manpower as needed but let’s hope we can keep this in house.”

“So what now? We have barely anything to go from?” Chen tentatively said, trying not to provoke any reaction from her T.O with her words.

“We wait for Lopez to finish her interview with Williamson and then we will make a plan.”

-----

“He seemed to realise he was in a lot of trouble and asked for a lawyer pretty quickly.” Lopez said as she walked into the room, “I did, however, manage to get him to reveal the names of his employers in a trade for a letter from the Watch Commander stating his cooperation to whatever judge he gets assigned.”

Grey nodded his head before prompting Angela to continue.

“I had another Detective look up the names he gave. As expected they are tied to all sorts of crimes; drug distribution, embezzlement, fraud, unlawful use of a lethal weapon. And those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head. However, there is also good news, none of them seem to have a history with kidnapping or anything more extreme, or at least anything that has been reported.”

“And we want to keep it that way, so we will have to be extremely careful with what we do next.” Grey said, moving towards the door to go brief the Captain about their discovery and to start to make a plan of action 

“Yeah, but there is one more thing he said before lawyering up.”

“What is it?”

“That we shouldn't waste the manpower on finding (Y/N). He said that she wasn’t the one they wanted to hurt but she was used to punish other people. Her vanishing was only a means to an end.”

Tim could hear his heart begin to pound in his ears once again. He breathed in, then out, then in again. If she wasn't their target, then who was? And if she was only a pawn in their game to hurt somebody else, then what else would they do to ensure their target would suffer. How many more lives had been ruined by these monsters, and how many more would suffer a similar fate to the ones that had gone before them?

“Who were they trying to hurt?” Tim ran his hands through his hair as the question unintentionally tumbled out from him. “Did he give a name?”

“Yeah, that's the thing…” Angela let the words trail off as she tried to compose herself. Tim watched as she took a deep breath. “Williamson claimed that the cartel they were hunting threatened (Y/N) into silence with photos of her loved ones to make you vulnerable.”

“I dont… I dont understand.”

“You were the one they wanted to punish, Tim. This is about you, it always has been.”

Part Three | Part Five

Series Masterlist | Masterlist

Tags: @xceafh @kmc1989

Tags are open :)

[rosyjn]

Jake making you beg.. MDNI!!

for @pandoraslxna’s kinktober prompt 17!

18+, NSFW content

——————————-

He knows you’re in heat. He knows it’s your first heat since getting mated with him. But of course, he needs to tease you.

He has you on your knees in front of him, with your hands tied behind your back. The tent is dimly lit with candles and torches, and it illuminates his body so fucking well. He forces you to watch. To watch him jerk off, even though you’re dripping wet and clenching around nothing. He stands over you as you kneel in front of him, stroking his cock as it bounces beautifully in the candlelight.

“Please, please let me have it. I’m sorry,” you beg, squirming against your restraints. You want to touch yourself. The sight of Jake’s naked, muscular, aroused body makes you want to touch yourself. If you can’t masturbate, you need to have it in your mouth. Your mind and body are so fogged up with lust.

“Why were you flirting with other boys?” he interrogates.

“I didn’t meant to! I’m sorry!” you reply, your cunt getting wetter and needier by the second.

“Poor girl’s in heat, huh?” he teases.

“Yes..” you hiccup.

“Must be pretty tough. Can’t imagine it,” he tsks. “To be in your first real heat, and stuck like this: needy, helpless, and horny. You poor thing.” he degrades you.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry for flirting with other boys. I didn’t mean to,” you meekly apologize. “I promise it won’t happen again,”

“You sure?” he says, letting little drops of precum fall just out of your tongue’s reach.

“Yes! I promise!” you say, bucking your hips for friction.

“Alright, I’ll fuck you. On one condition..” he lets go of his cock, letting it stand up by itself.

“Anything,” you say.

“Beg for it. I want you to beg, so you know that you’re mine. You have to beg, because you’re not gonna get this from any of those boys,” he growls. “You’re mine, only mine. None of those little village boys can do what I do. You know that.”

“Yes sir,” you blink away the tears of horniness in your eyes. “Please fuck me..” you mutter.

“More,” he grunts.

“Please… let me have your cock. None of those boys are as good as you. I’m yours, I need you to do me. Not them.” you whisper, too shy to even look up and make eye contact.

“Look at me, talk louder,” he demands, grabbing your chin and forcing you to look him in the eye. His throbbing dick is in your line of sight, making you even more eager.

“Please fuck me. I’m sorry,” you tell him, batting your eyelashes and trying to get him to understand your situation. Jake wants to make you plead even more. He wants you to stay on your knees, tied up for him. He wants to watch you sob with anticipation, because he knows how your heat cycle is filling you with lust. But he also wants to accept your apology, just untie your poor little wrists, and kiss you softly while stuffing your cunt.

“Good girl,” he squats, reaching behind you to untie your restraints.

“Thank you,” you sigh, leaning in and kissing him on the cheek as your hands go loose. As your limbs go free, you quickly escalate the kiss. You softly grab his face in your hands, and smooch down his neck, grinding your clit against the floor.

“Lean back, spread em,” he says, lightly pushing you back. You tip backwards, letting him part your legs with one knee. “So desperate for it, aren’t ya?”

Your body pulses with anticipation. You show your pussy to him. The way he looks at your intimates and licks his lips unlocks something primitive in you. It just makes you want to lean back and let him use you. To let him breed and pound you until you’re crying for him to stop. He kisses down your neck, trying to slowly get you ready for penetration.

“Can’t take it anymore, just fuck me please,” you whisper, your hand slithering down to his cock. He slaps it away.

“Let me do it,” he growls, pinning your hands above your head as he positions his hips in front of your entrance. You arch your back, preparing for him to slide into you. He pushes himself in, relieving the pressure you had been feeling as he stretches you out. “This is what you needed.”

[nonsenseafterdark]

It's Over

Summary: Roach has been a POW for weeks now, and he doesn't know if he can take another hit. But he doesn't need to anymore.

Characters: Gary "Roach" Sanderson, John Price

Word Count: 1239

Warnings: Mentions of Torture

The sergeant didn’t know how much more he could take, or how much longer he’d last. He had managed to count the first few days of captivity, only to lose track of time all together, dissociating from the pain and spending most of the blurry days staring at the walls until he passed out. For all he knew, it could’ve been weeks since he was last tossed into this god forsaken room; Weeks of beatings and torture, weeks of questions met with his silence, and weeks of isolation. By now, he had gotten thin enough that his clothes were almost hanging loosely off his body, he was missing two molars, and his mind had grown used to being in drugged haze. He was also certain that a couple of his ribs were broken and some of his fresher wounds had become infected.

Roach didn’t have a home to go back to, but if he did, he’s certain he would’ve been crying for it. Nonetheless, he still cried during his time here. He cried knowing that he likely would never see his teammates again. He cried knowing that the last thing he’d see before he died were dirty walls of the cell or the taunting faces of his captors. They always threatened him with death, which at this point seemed like a mercy, and Roach only prayed that it would come sooner or later. 

But for today, Roach wouldn’t meet the firing squad. He would be asked the same questions once more. Where was Captain Price? Where was his team currently stationed? He would be seated in the same chair, wrists zip tied behind his back with a tear-soaked blindfold covering his eyes. His captors set him up like they always did, and for a few minutes Roach could hear various utensils and items being prepared in the tray right beside him, until he heard someone else enter the chamber. 

“How long are we going to keep doing this, Sanderson?” His captor said, which he identified as being the main leader of the group. Roach could sense he was frustrated, but he hid it behind his honeyed words, “You’re in pain. You’re exhausted, and yet you continue to put yourself through this.”

Roach didn’t answer, still being dazed from the previous interrogation, but it’s not like he ever said much to begin with. 

“This can stop at any time…” The leader continued, “Just tell me where your captain and team are…”

Roach could tell he was closer this time, and biting back a sneer, he sat up just enough to spit out a glob of mucus and blood, aiming it to be somewhere in his direction, but would settle if it so much as landed on his boots. 

“Very well…” He said, “If you won’t talk… Then, I don’t think you need much use for your tongue. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Roach’s heart raced as panic shot through his veins. Instinctively, he tried to free his wrists from his zip ties with no success. Then, he clamped his jaw shut, fighting against the hands that were struggling to hold him still while another pair tried to pry his mouth open. He could hear the horrifying sound of tools clattering together, as if someone was picking up a tool from the tray beside him. Roach’s mouth was forced open, and nonetheless he still fought against them, resorting to near, incoherent begging, “No…! No no don’t-!”

“Then, I’ll ask one more time, Sanderson,” The leader said, voice raised over Gary’s noises of struggle and anticipation, “Where is Captain Price?”

Roach didn’t reply, adrenaline flooding his veins. Logically he knew there was no way out of this. One way or another, his tongue was to be cut or forcibly pulled out of his mouth. Yet he continued to thrash against the hands that held him down. Suddenly, from the moment he heard the leader telling the other men to hold him still, panic settled in completely, his struggled grunts turning into screams. His mind was muddled with the anticipation and white noise, and any calmness he had was completely thrown out the window. 

For a brief moment, he tasted cold metal, only for it to be quickly removed from his mouth. His screams were replaced with gunfire, panicked shouts from the men, and then there was nothing. The cruel hands were off his body, and as Roach breathed in, he almost sobbed. In those few seconds of noise, he was still alive. His tongue was still in his mouth, and yet he was still bound to the chair. Roach heard a pair of footsteps approach him with urgency, and all over again, the panic set in, shooting up his body as a new pair of hands settled on his shoulders. 

“No…!” Roach yelled out, attempting to pull away, “No, get off…! Get off-!”

“Shh!” Was the only harsh response he got, and yet there was a subtle gentleness to it, as if this person was attempting to calm him down and keep him quiet. 

One hand stayed on his shoulder, while the other moved to take his blind fold off. His vision was blurry and muddled for a moment, but he didn’t need to see who was in front of him as took in the scent of cigars and gunpowder. 

“Captain Price…?” Roach choked out, almost in disbelief. 

“I’m here, Roach,” His captain in the flesh replied, “Sorry we took so long.”

He moved around the back, unsheathing his knife to cut the zip ties off his wrists, which were red and raw. Coming down from his adrenaline and processing that Captain Price was actually in front of him, Roach didn’t say anything at first or attempt to move even after the restraints were off. 

“Are you broken anywhere?” Price moved back around front, crouching in front of Roach to get a better look at his condition, “Roach, tell me where you’re hurt.”

Roach’s teary eyes dashed around, his mind buzzing with a thousand thoughts until he finally opened his mouth to talk, “Everywhere…”

It came out so shattered. For God knows how long, he’s been thrown to the ground and beaten until he blacked out, he’s been drugged to a vegetative state, seconds ago he was about to have his tongue ripped out...

Now it was all over. 

“Okay…” Price said softly, “Okay, everyone’s waiting for us outside. We’ll get a medic for you. Can you stand?”

Roach sniffed before nodding, to which Price walked over to the side before lifting Roach’s arm over his shoulder, hoisting him up to his feet. The sergeant struggled to stand, whimpering as pain shot up from the bruised muscles and broken bones in his body. But he found himself doubling over just in time for Price to catch him and hold him close, the sergeant wrapping his arms around him. But for a moment, Roach just held him, his eyes growing wet with tears.

“Price…!” He wept.

“I got you, Gary,” Price assured gently. 

“They were gonna…- I didn’t… Fuck, I thought I was gonna die-!”

“Shh… I know, lad. I know.” For a moment, Price allowed Roach to cling onto him, his own grasp being firm, but soft, “You’re alright now though… Can you walk with me?”

Giving him a final squeeze, he finally pulled away and allowed the old man to help him back up once more, “Get me the hell out of here…”

[3-2-whump]

(Re)Living a Nightmare, part 2

<prev next>

You're still here? Okay, it's not gonna get any better for our poor boy. Do read and heed the tags/CW.

Basic Summary if You Decide to Skip

Also please skim this chapter and this chapter if you haven't already, because they will be referenced heavily in the story coming up

TW/CW: rape/noncon, bound and gagged and blindfolded whumpee, creepy/intimate whumper, knife play, neither safe nor sane nor consensual, blood (lots of blood), victim blaming, internalized victim blaming, whumpee and whumper unknowingly triggering each other, blunt force trauma to the head (face), panic

NOTE: The inner thoughts and opinions expressed within do not align with those of the author, who themself has never and would never condone such thoughts and opinions in real life. Reader Discretion is advised.

All Thomas asked of him was to change into clothes he wouldn’t mind replacing, which usually meant that whatever Khaled wore would be torn/burned/ stained so irreparably that it’d just be thrown away after. Already based on that request, Khaled could guess he was in for a rough night. He had no idea how much worse it could get until he was blindfolded, bound, gagged, and carried out the apartment and down to the cold garage, where the hard foot-well of the back seat waited for him. The car revved to life, and his restrained body lurched forward as Thomas pulled out of the garage and drove them to fuck knows where.

Eventually they came to a stop, Thomas exchanged some words with the night-shift guard at the old house, and then they kept going until they parked. Khaled slowly started to put the pieces together. They were back at the old house, which probably meant Thomas wanted to take him downstairs, which meant whatever he wanted to do to him would be too messy or too specialized to do back at the apartment. What is he planning? Khaled wondered. He’s asked me to wear my most expendable clothes, he’s tied me up like I used to be when I was recaptured, he’s thrown me into the back like when I was recaptured-

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the car door opening. He blindly tilted his head toward the chill of the night and the distant sound of frogs singing. A pair of calloused hands hauled him up from the foot-well of the back seat and slung him over a broad shoulder. “Thought you could escape me this time, did you?” his master’s voice purred in his ear.

A pit of dread competed with the chill of the early spring night in his bones as Khaled realized what all this preparation had meant. Master wants to roleplay my escape attempts. He began shivering, though not just because of the cold. A warm hand rested on his buttocks to steady him as he felt himself being carried inside, through the hallway, and to the front of a very familiar door. Reliving his failed escape attempts but with an added sexual element was one of Khaled’s recurring nightmares. What cruel irony was this, that he had begged so enthusiastically no more than half an hour ago for this man to make his nightmare come true?

The familiar creak of a door opening preceded the dusty, dried-blood smell coming from the stairs leading down into the cellar. Khaled pleaded through the rag stuffed in his mouth and the tape sealed over his lips as they descended the stairs step by concrete step. He tugged at the zip ties binding his wrists and ankles, but all that did was dig the hard plastic further into his flesh.

The cellar in the basement was the only room in Luciano Antonio Costa’s old house that didn’t get renovated when they converted the rest of it into an office space. Mainly because its purpose as a room for torture and interrogation never went obsolete. Khaled didn’t have to see it; he’d been down in the T&I cellar enough times to have the layout committed to memory. Dusty, red bricked walls arched into a curved ceiling where two overhead lamps hung by thick chains, illuminating the large expanse below. A fireplace and all its accompanying iron tools sat to the left, and a rack lined with various instruments of torture was positioned to the right. In the middle was one large table with scratch marks furrowed into its edges, and many other types of equipment were either shoved in a corner or hanging from the ceiling, suspended by heavy chains and hooks like morbid chandeliers. Partitioning a back portion of the room was a large iron gate leading to a small offshoot of the basement, much like a door to a prison cell. Not much lay beyond the iron gate besides a hard-worn bench and several opaque plastic storage tubs full of mysterious items.

Khaled squirmed as he was lowered onto his stomach on top of the familiar table. “What were you thinking,” scolded the nightmare looming above him. A faint swish of a pocket knife and cold steel next to his skin made Khaled pause his struggles as his master cut away the zip ties. ���Escaping in this cold weather without so much as a scrap of clothing on you –did you even have a plan?” he taunted. “I don’t know what your plan was, or even if you had a plan, but was it really worth freezing yourself to death?”

Khaled enjoyed the freedom of his unbound limbs for only a moment until his wrists were snatched into a tight grip and gathered in front of him. A coarse and scratchy material –rope, most likely –began entangling around and in between his wrists as his master continued talking. “We have a tracking chip installed inside of you, remember? You can never escape me; I will always find you.” With a forceful tug, Khaled’s hands were pulled in front of him, then he couldn’t move his hands at all. The other end of the rope must have been tied off to the ring attachment at the edge of the table.

His ankles remained free, if only to make it easier to take his pants off.

There were some light shuffling noises before the wooden table groaned under a newfound weight. Khaled felt the body heat of another person leaning over him. The cologne Thomas wore quickly overpowered his senses as the man hovered close. Khaled could feel his master’s breath on his ear and something hard and stiff against his backside. “The last time you tried to run away, a friend of mine advised me to cut your tendons,” Thomas sultrily whispered.

Oh god no. By now, Khaled knew which escape attempt they were reenacting, and, coincidentally, it was the one he had nightmares about the most.

“I don’t want to permanently cripple you though,” Thomas sighed, “mostly because it would be even more of a hassle to care for you, but I will cripple you temporarily, at the very least...”

He could already hear the hiss of the iron.

His panicked cries took on a new pitch of desperation. Without warning, his master’s fingers pinched at the edge of the duct tape on Khaled’s mouth and pulled, making him scream in pain. The rag was quickly removed, only for his tormentor to shove his index and middle fingers past the boy’s teeth to depress his tongue. “Suck,” he growled, “because this is the only lube you’re going to get.”

“Please, no, not this one, please, please no, not this, not this,” Khaled begged around the fingers in his mouth.

The fingers quickly withdrew before Khaled’s head was yanked back by the hair and then smashed onto the table. Stars danced across his blindfold, and a faint trickle of something warm and wet escaped from his nose.

“Let’s try this again.” Thomas shoved his fingers back into the boy’s mouth, burying them to the knuckle and making the boy gag. “Suck.”

Khaled shakily worked his head up and down the length of the fingers as his tongue lapped at each digit. He started to cry. As soon as the fingers withdrew, his pleas picked up again in earnest. “Please don’t burn me, please don’t burn me, please don’t burn me, please don’t burn me-”

“Would you relax?! I’m not going to burn you!” Thomas shouted above him. “What about any of this looks like I’m gonna burn you?!” Khaled heard a frustrated huff above him as his master yanked down his pants and underwear, exposing his bare ass and legs to the cold. The shed clothing was discarded, landing with a soft whump somewhere behind them. The two digits that were in his mouth forcefully entered him below, all pretense of play forgotten as they began roughly working him open. “Besides which, weren’t you the one who wanted to do this? You asked for this, you wanted this! You said you would be good for me!”

And he was right, he did say he wanted this. He asked for this to happen. So, with a defeated sniffle, Khaled went quiet and limp.

“So, are you going to be good for me now?”

Khaled’s bruised forehead scraped against the table as he nodded.

“Thank fuck,” Thomas grumbled.

I asked for this, Khaled told himself. The darkness around his eyes became damp as the blindfold caught his tears. I asked for this, I wanted this. He repeated it like a mantra as the man on top of him replaced his fingers with his cock and steadily screwed him against the table. I asked for this, I wanted this. Something tore down there as an unmistakable thin, warm, and sticky fluid trickled past the cock pummeling his hole. I wanted this. I wanted this…

I didn’t want this.

I never wanted this. Any of this.

I don’t want this. Slowly, the new mantra gained strength, and he let the words slip between his lips with every shuddering breath. “I don’t want this, I don’t want this, I don’t want this, I don’t want this-”

“Tough shit,” his master grunted.

Khaled pulled against the rope restraining his hands as he struggled against the body pressing into his. “I don’t want this! I don’t want this! I don’t want this! I-” Again, Khaled’s face was smashed against the table. He heard a faint crunch as a new river of blood flowed out of his nose.

“You can scream all you want, nobody’s going to hear you,” Thomas growled, “but for fucks sakes, can you please scream something less annoying?!”

Khaled kept repeating it between every sniffle, like a sad broken record. “I don’t want this,” he sobbed. “I don’t want this… I don’t want this…”

His begging finally outwore Thomas’ need to finish. “Fuck,” his master huffed, unsticking his sweaty torso from Khaled’s clothed back as he pulled out of him. Khaled collected his heaving breaths. It would be too naïve of him to believe his bitchy whining finally got through, but he would appreciate this moment while he could.

He suppressed his sobs and tilted his head to follow the footsteps and shuffling sounds Thomas was making as he tried to guess what would happen to him next. Khaled heard the faint schwing of a different knife being unsheathed. It cut through the flimsy fabric of his t-shirt as his master finally completely undressed him, tearing away the scraps of cotton the knife didn’t excise from his body. “You said you would be good for me, but you have been anything but!” A twisted strip of cloth was wedged between his teeth and hastily tied off at the back of his head. His master’s hand pinned him down by the back of the neck, crushing him against the table with the weight behind it. “You said you missed me, but you’ve only fought against me this whole time!” Khaled screamed into the gag as the tip of the knife sank in between his shoulder blades. Its blade dragged tortuously and deliberately through his skin as his tormentor continued griping above him. “You’re a fucking liar, you know that?” The knife mercifully lifted from the trough it had carved, only to be plunged into a new area of Khaled’s back. “Do you know what I do to liars, boy? I make them pay!” The raw wounds on his back wept with blood as the knife kept slicing, spilling over his sides and pooling underneath his stomach and the table below. It was hard to cry with a gag in his mouth and a broken nose full of blood. He gasped for breaths between sobs, never quite getting a satisfying breath before the pain of the knife would make him scream again. His tears slipped past the saturated blindfold and tracked down his cheeks to join the pinkish smear of saliva, snot, and blood he could feel covering the lower half of his face. “This is for Callahan!” The knife drove down and sliced another line through his skin for each name the monster dropped. “This is for Trémeaux! And Robinson, and Martinez, and Kruger, and Kościelsky, and this-” The knife dug deeper this time. Khaled bit into the gag as his nerves screamed in agony, the steel scraping something hard as it dragged against his back. “-this is for my brother; he is never coming back! Tony is never coming back, and it’s all because of you!” the monster above him roared.

It was in that moment, between the terror and the pain, that Khaled realized with a fascinated horror that his master was reliving a nightmare, too. I need to snap him out of it if I’m getting out of this cellar alive, he realized. So, he set his own trauma and pain aside and began doing what got him into this mess in the first place. The twisted cloth had loosened just enough. He pushed it out of his mouth with his tongue and started begging as if his life depended on it, because this time, it really did.

“I didn’t kill him!” he cried.  “I didn’t kill him! I didn’t kill him! I didn’t kill him!” Khaled screamed well past the point his throat hurt. “Master, please, I didn’t kill him, I didn’t kill any of them! I didn’t kill him, I didn’t kill him, Master, I didn’t kill him…” If the knife had stopped cutting into him and the rope around his wrists had been untied, Khaled was too far gone in his panic induced catatonia to notice. “I didn’t kill him… I didn’t kill him…” he rasped through a throat torn raw from screaming.

Le Tag List: @kabie-whump @rainydaywhump @whumped-by-glitter @skittles-the-whumpee @generic-whumperz @bamber344 @there-will-always-be-blood

[desires-of-chain]

negotiations

Really hope ghost anon doesn’t mind me hopping on their concept and doing something similar, but oh my god that ask about tying Warriors up and making him watch another Link get a piece of reader had me going bonkers yonkers. I banged this out in like half an hour flat I just HAD to write something when I got this idea. ‘Some food for thought’ BOY WAS I EATING THAT SHIT. Anyway. Did this one with Legend instead since the idea of him and Warriors settling a bet/disagreement using reader was very appealing. Hope you enjoy!

- wizard anon

Content: gender neutral reader, voyerism, light bondage/restraining (just wrists), teasing, Warriors being possessive. Final word count: 726

—

When Legend said he had a way to make him see his side of things, Warriors wasn’t expecting… this.

He’s tied up in an inn chair - loose enough to break free if he needs to, but still tight enough to prove a point. He half thought Legend did it just as a joke, a way to 'interrogate’ him into conceding to the other’s opinion, and he doesn’t know if the actual intentions are better, or worse.

All he knows is that he needs to get his hands on you. 

He brought you into the room shortly after tying him up, and Warriors immediately began to clue into what was going to happen. Legend sat you down on your knees towards the foot of the bed, facing Warriors, and curled himself over your back, chin resting on your shoulder.

“You’re gonna watch me pull them apart until you agree that I’m right, Captain. I hope you’re prepared.”

The way he moved his hands across your body, slowly pulling your layers off. The way he pressed his lips to your throat, holding your jaw to make you hold eye contact across the room with him. Warriors watched your face as you gasped and twitched, sensitive to the roaming hands and marks Legend left all over your body.  He can feel his growing erection strain against his trousers, desperate to be the one holding you against himself and feeling you up instead.

But even as you are stripped to just the lingerie Warriors bought for you, his pride would not allow him to.

The argument was stupid, actual contents of it long forgotten with all the blood rushing from his brain to his cock. But Legend was being obnoxious about it - still is - and he will not let horniness get in the way of proving a point.

Oh, but he wants to. He watches Legend’s hand slip under the edges of your underwear, hears the moan that falls out of your mouth as he touches you, and he wants to fall victim to his base instincts. It’s delicious, sweet torture, and he hates and loves it in equal measure.

Legend sees it plain on his face and chuckles.

“They’re yours the second you say the magic words, Captain. Surely you’re not going to just sit there and watch for hours as I wring every little sliver of pleasure out of them?”

Legend continues moving his hands against you, the one not slotted in your underwear gently tracing from your thigh up to your chest, finding a nipple and playing with it.

“Link, please…”

Warriors can’t tell who you meant in that moment, but the second he hears it all worries of pride and dignity are thrown straight out the window.

“Fucking- fine! You were right, and I was wrong. There, I said it. Get me out of these fucking binds.”

Legend detaches himself from you immediately - your whine only pushing Warriors to tug at the ropes impatiently - and hops off the bed to untie him.

“Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“Just get the fuck out of here.”

He doesn’t pay any attention to Legend as he leaves, nor the left over sting of the rough ropes on his wrists. No, all his attention is firmly on you, panting on the bed and looking up at him with a faux innocent expression.

“Enjoy the show?” You smile up at Warriors, and he borderline growls in response. He pushes you down onto the bed by the shoulders, following down with a kiss firm enough to bruise. His hands pin your wrists to the bed just as firmly.

“I’m about to get a much better one, watching you writhe on my cock while I replace every single touch of his with mine. Wearing my lingerie and everything - you knew exactly what you were doing.”

He’s not truly angry, but watching you squirm underneath him, eyes wide with anticipation as if he was fills him with a predatory joy he didn’t know he was capable of. 

He reaches for the hem of your underwear.

“He was going to wring you of pleasure slowly, but I’m going to break you until you want nothing but my touch. I promise.”

As he begins placing kisses on your throat, one hand between your legs, he hears you whisper in his ear.

“Ravage me, Link.”

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

FFuuuuuckkkkk 😫😫😫 I think I ascended to another dimensional plane and I ain’t comin’ back down y’all. 🧙 anon had fed us, once again without a thought.

[kukurykunapatyku]

[I.D.: Drawing of Sabo, Koala and Vinsmoke Ichiji from One Piece inside a wooden shack, framed like a photo. Also a random guy I made up just for this: he has short hair, is tied with rope to the ceiling and has wide-open eyes. He's not important. Koala is in the front, she's grinning with closed eyes and posing her right hand in victory sign. Her left hand and legs are out of frame, she's the one making the photo. She's wearing pink shirt with white frills and her bordo hat with goggles. Yonji is behind her, crouched down with his face in his hands. He,s wearing white t-shirt and brown trousers. Sabo is on the left, making thumbs up in front of the tied guy, part of his right leg is out of frame. He has wide smile, left side of his face is covered in scar tissue. He's wearing grey boots, blue shirt with white cravat, light blue pants and black coat. On the floor next to him lays empty bucket, water spilling out of it. /End I.D.]

Vinsmoke shipping week day 2: First date / Detective x Criminal

Say cheese!

Does going on a mission and waterboarding a guy for informations count as first date? I say yes. Turns out being an evil mercenary for most of your life doesn't necesssery prepare you to the kind of stuff revolutionaries do. Well, people learn all their life!

🔽Fic under readmore🔽 also on Ao3

"Everyone, say cheese!"

Koala, unconcerned that only Sabo followed her instruction, lifted the camera higher and put her hand in victory sign, smiling widely. Careful not to drop it, she pushed the button and a few seconds later the polaroid came out. She took it to fully appreciate the mess before her, forever immortalized on film.

Sabo was smiling from ear to ear and putting both his thumbs up, not caring that spilled water was pulling under his boots. In contrast, Yonji crouched down, put his head in hands and looked like he would prefer to be anywhere else.

The captured guard dangling from the ceiling looked mostly confused, if a little less fearful for his life. Well, that'll need to be corrected.

"Let me seeeee," Sabo whined next to her ear. Still smiling, she pushed his head away without any remorse.

"It's mine now, get your own."

"Oh came on, it's not fair! I lost my camera at the base, you know that!"

"I found it and put it on your desk."

His head snapped. "What? Where?!"

"Next to the paperwork from last week." At his blank stare she added: "You know, the one you were supposed to look over and check if everything's alright before we left two days ago?"

Too late to avoid the trap, Sabo did the only smart thing and changed the subject.

"Man, who's the real red one in your family, your brother or you? Maybe we should call you tomato instead of onion." He left her side and picked up now-empty bucket. "It's been a while since I've seen someone fumble interrogation this badly. Isn't a member of the 'legendary mercenary army' supposed be professional in this things?"

Yonji raised his head, his cheeks blooming red.

"I thought when you're waterboarding someone you lift the water up, not pull the guy down. That's why I used stronger knot here." He pointed at the hook the rope was connected to. "How was I supposed to know it's the other way around!"

"Oh, I was wondering about that," Koala interjected. "Weird way to tie it."

"Why didn't you say anything?" he groaned.

She shrugged. "I thought it was some weird Germa way. People learn all their life."

"Well, I just thought it was funny," said Sabo, before focusing on Yonji again. "Wait, with all the war crimes* under your belt, you never waterboarded anyone before?"

Yonji cringed and sunk his head.

"We weren't tasked with capturing people that often, much less interrogate them. Our employers usually wanted to do that themselves. Confident information and all that," he mumbled from behind his hands. He curled further, which was honestly impressive considering his size. Like a mastiff trying to fit inside the cat basket. She reached her hand to pat his hair.

"There there, it wasn't that bad for the first time."

"We won't tell a soul, promise," Sabo lied. "But I can't talk for this one." He gripped the rope and grinned at their guest. "Are you a talker, sir?"

The prisoner gulped at being in the spotlight again and furiously shook his head.

"No? Oh my, that's so unlucky! If you were a talker, this could go a lot faster," Sabo pouted. "As you can see, my friend over there spilled all the water for you. Which means one of two things; either you'll make it easier for all of us and answer a few questions, or-" He sighed dramatically. "We will have to improvise with what we got. And it's going to be bloody shame if you don't last to the end of it." He flashed him a wide smile with way too much teeth.

Fascinating, Koala thought. I didn't know you can lose all the blood in your face while hanging upside down.

-

Koala plopped on the bench between her boys, handing each an ice-cream cone.

Yonji took his and stared at it for a while before turning to smile at them.

"Is this what you guys usually do on missions? I could get used to it."

Koala scratched her neck. "Well, not exactly usually, but sometimes it goes like that. It's a lot less threatening and a lot more running and sneaking around on most days. With occasional explosion or two." She side-eyed Sabo, who looked annoyingly unrepentant.

"Since it's the first time you were going with us, we picked something more up your line." Sabo licked his ice-cream. "Of course, if we knew how much you'll screw it up, we would have given you something different to fuck."

Koala whacked him in the back of the head.

"We agreed not to talk about this anymore! You made fun of him enough already!" She looked back at Yonji. "And why are you blushing!"

"You really are a tomato!"

"Argh, I swear..." Koala huffed and went back to her food. "Why do I even bother."

This just get her twin snickers from the sides. She rolled her eyes but smiled. It went well all things considered. Their captive's tongue seemed to loosen a lot once he realized that everyone in the room was clinically insane, which she was more than happy to contribute to, so the mission went smoothly afterwards.

"One thing i don't understand," she broke the silence. "Why did that guy want your autograph? You don't even have a wanted poster."

"Oh, it's probably because my family is technically main villains of a surprisingly popular vintage comic strip from North Blue. I'm the green one."

Koala nodded.

"Yeah, that makes- You're WHAT?!"

*I apologize for insinuating One Piece world has anything like Geneva convention. It does not.

[covenofwives]

The Cure for a Spiral

DreamXD is panicking over his upcoming talk with Dream. There's just so much he has to say and so much explaining he has to do but his self-doubt make him spiral. GeorgeHD has the perfect solution to keep him on track.

Next part in the AU. Sorry this one is so short.

---

The only times DreamXD ever felt fear in his life all involved Dream.

He remembered when his brother was sick with a fever for the first time and XD was clueless. He scoured the libraries for any medical books and followed the instructions down to the smallest details till Dream was nursed back to health.

Then when Dream went missing one day and XD would have torn the End apart to find him. The relief and frustration he felt when he finally found his brother couldn’t be matched.

When XD had learned the server was in a hunt for Dream, his heart leapt to his throat and he couldn’t dare watch anymore as Dream was dragged, kicking and screaming, to the prison.

And finally when he heard the booming call of the End portal being opened, XD knew in his heart that it was Dream. He was fully expecting the sight of his brother’s lifeless body waiting for him at the end and prepared himself for it. He did not have time to express his relief when he saw both he and George were alive. The anger came first.

Now DreamXD felt a new kind of fear, once again tied to Dream. The fear that he had backed off too much and he had severed any chance of a relationship between himself and Dream. The thought pained him to dwell on and kept him up at night worrying.

He knew he had been drastic in his actions when he interrogated Dream, but in the moment he could excuse it as being important. Now it was over and XD was swelled with guilt and the need to make amends.

As promised in his note to Dream, he met with his brother a couple days later. This time XD stood outside while Dream spoke from the doorway of George’s cottage. George just right behind him.

It had been so long since XD had seen George, or seen Dream and George together again. It was nice to see them close, depending on one another again, and it hurt XD he couldn’t be that close with them again.

The three spoke, though it was mostly Dream and XD. They came to the conclusion they needed to have time to speak and clear the air between them once and for all. Years of misunderstandings would be aired and handled.

So Dream proposed a time to talk next week. It would be held in George’s cottage for ease to Dream and XD agreed. And now every day since then, he’d been nothing but fearful.

“I mean, like it’s not a super serious talk, you know? But…well it will lead to probably serious stuff. It’s a lot we probably have to talk about.”

XD explained to GeorgeHD. Or, more rambled on to him. The sleepy God lounged over his fort of pillows and blankets, but he was oddly alert and interested in XD’s words this time. Probably because XD mentioned it was about Dream.

XD never asked what happened between HD and Dream when he left his younger brother in the care of the God, but it must have been positive. Every time XD visited he asked about Dream and how the mortal was getting on and would frown when XD admitted he hadn’t worked up the courage to speak to him. Now he told HD that the two were talking and HD was all ears.

“But it’s a sudden thing right? To suddenly delve into years of misunderstandings so like it can’t be expected to be serious stuff right away. I think it’s like laying it all out first you know then we’ll work on stuff from there. That makes sense right?”

XD looked at HD expectantly for an answer. The older God said nothing for a while until it seemed he realised it was finally his time to speak. “I’ve never seen you this nervous.” Was the first thing he said.

XD’s cheeks went red and he fought back the urge to pull his mask on. He had even gone without the wraps around his eyes, showing the void of blackness and his ever moving eyes in front of HD, though it was nothing the other God hadn’t seen before. Today XD was too wound up to have the wraps on.

“Well it’s a lot to be nervous about!” XD huffed.

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way.” HD lazily held up his hand before pushing himself to sit up properly. “Though I was worried if you didn’t stop and take a breath you would have been the first God to die from suffocation.”

“I…” XD could feel himself wanting to ramble again, and he took in a breath and slowed himself down. “I just want things to go smoothly. I don’t want to fuck this up. Dream’s giving me a chance to talk.”

“He’s probably just as nervous as you are.” HD assured him. “He’s probably pacing back and forth, worrying over every little thing he’s going to say to you.”

That was a nice thought to have. Not on his brother being nervous but the idea that Dream was listing out everything he’d want to say to XD to try and make this better was a hopeful thought. Too hopeful for XD to believe. “I don’t think he wants to speak to me.”

“Trust me, he very much does.”

HD sounded so assured and XD couldn’t help but be curious. “Has he…said anything to you?”

One of the corners of HD’s pillows caught the older God’s attention and kept his face turned down to inspect it. “It’s not my place to say. Dream should get the chance to tell you.” He looked up again. “But you’re worrying too much, I promise you. This isn’t a one chance he’s given you, he wants to talk to you as much as you want to talk to him.”

XD didn’t believe it, but he held his tongue on it. Dream certainly wanted to explain himself for his stunt and maybe he was owed that, but he couldn’t really imagine his brother wanting to talk with him. They had drifted too far apart.

���Come here.” HD suddenly pulled XD from his thoughts. A few of their ephemeral hands set up pillows for HD to lean back on, and one placed over his lap which they patted for XD to lay down.

This seemed suddenly far too nice for HD, but XD played along. He shuffled himself over and lay down with his head over HD’s lap.

“Do you have a plan to talk?”

XD looked up, watching HD watching him. It was a little unnerving, but it was also comforting in a strange way.

“Well…y-yes I do.” XD cleared his throat. “So I think we should talk about what happened in the End. I didn’t really explain things properly with him. And I never gave him a chance to explain himself. So I think opening with that is better.”

Even as XD said the words he could feel doubt filling his head. “A-Although…maybe talking about how we stopped talking in the first place is better? We could start from the beginning and work towards where we-EEE!”

A hand suddenly squeezed into his side. XD jumped, squealed and looked down just in time to see the white ephemeral helper hand of HD disappear. He looked up to HD while curling his lower arms around his sides in protection. He silently asked for an explanation.

“You were doubting yourself, and rambling off point.” HD nodded along to his words as though it was expected. “Now. Take a breath and focus. You’re going to talk about the End. Work from there.”

Like that is easy to do when the hands could appear at any moment. XD glanced down to his sides again but the hands were gone. He had no way to know when they’d appear, so he just swallowed his worry and tried to speak clearly again.

“I… I’m going to talk to him about the whole thing with the End. I’ll let him explain himself then I’ll speak from my point.”

XD gave a look up to a nodding HD who decided that was allowed.

“Then I was going to let him say whatever he wants to say.” XD continued. “like for all the years I did wrong, and try to smooth things over when I can. But…” Self doubt started to creep in. “I don’t want it to feel like I’m springing all this on him. Like-Like he doesn’t have to explain himself if he’s uncomforta-HAHA!”

Apparently that was not the right thing to say either, as another hand appeared from nowhere. XD saw it too late and could only manage to half curl his legs up before it tasered into his sides. He gave a very high squeak before breaking into giggles.

“H-Hehey!”

“You spiralled.” HD said like it was obvious. “You need to not do that.”

“I-I wasn’t spiralling.” XD defended himself, then yipped when the hand appeared again, this time at his other side. He managed to get his legs curled up and his arms blocking his sides and ribs. “N-Noho!”

“You doubt your own plans and get in your head about how Dream will react. All you need to be focusing on is how you react and how you come across as to Dream.”

XD thought the hand would disappear with just a warning, but it stayed, and it slowly drifted closer to XD’s side. He tried to turn away, but HD’s hands softly fell on his shoulders, holding him down as he helplessly looked up.

“HeheDehehehe…”

“You need to get out of your head.” HD decided. “And what better way to get you out of there?”

The hand touched upon XD’s side, making his skin jump. It got to the bit just behind XD’s top, skittering more along his back than his sides. XD cursed his more revealing back now more than ever. It didn’t tickle a lot, the fingers just skittering so lightly along his back, but it made him giggle.

HD’s thumbs rubbed into XD’s shoulders, making soothing circles into his skin. The younger God held back a soft moan. His muscles slowly relaxed without his control, making him more giggly to the fingers fluttering along his side. It was making him more tickly and distracted him from the hands materialising by his feet.

XD was allowed a few seconds of soft tickles before the hands by their feet grabbed their ankles. They made a loud squeak, and tried to pull against their legs being forced to stretch out but it was pointless. They had one on each of his ankles and one poking at each of their soles.

“HeheDehe…”

“4K is so right. It’s absolutely tragic your feet aren’t ticklish.”

A blush crept up from XD’s shoulders to his cheeks. He curled his toes to the strange tingling feeling running over his feet. It wasn’t ticklishness, but they did feel more sensitive whenever 4K or HD mentioned them.

“Y-Yohou and him are too obsessed with my feet.” XD challenged back.

“Well it’s unfair. That spot is tickly for both of us. It drives 4K mad even, but we can’t get good revenge on you.”

XD knew about HD’s tickly feet but he’d never gotten the change to tickle 4K’s. Whenever the God took off his boots around XD it was usually when they were settling down for a nap. Although now that XD thought about it, it was odd he was the only God among them to wear footwear. Like he was protecting them.

“4K’s feet drive him bad?” XD tried to ask casually.

“Oh yeah. Hysterics.” HD shrugged. “He still loves being tickled there but he can’t help but kick and roll and curl up to try and protect his feet. Too sensitive for him to keep still, he had to be held down when he asks for feet tickles.”

A lot of details flagged in XD’s head but the main one was that 4K had, at one point, specifically asked for his feet tickled and HD complied. Before XD could do anything with that fact, a quick skitter ran across his ankles, making him bark out a laugh.

“Wh-Whahat!” The skittering followed a long continuous tickle across his ankle. XD had been so busy processing the information HD gave him he didn’t notice the tickling stopping at his side or the hands no longer poking at his soles. “N-Nohohot fahahair!” XD chirped and tried to pull his legs away.

“Your ankles being adorably ticklish make up for it I suppose.” HD smiled.

“Ihihit’s nohohot adohorahable! S-SToHOhoHOHOP!”

The hands danced their tickly dance up XD’s ankles, travelling further up his legs till it reached his knees. He whimpered and pleaded through giggles, but when the hands squeezed his knees and skittered along the sides, his laughter turned soft and his pleading slowly stopped.

“I got your kneeeees~” HD’s voice was a gentle whisper.

“D-Dohoooon’t…”

“Don’t? Don’t get your knees? Or don’t stop tickling your knees?”

XD kept quiet and HD didn’t press on. They both knew the answer and it was obvious with XD little whine when the hands stopped their tickling. It was then XD noticed his ankles weren’t even being held anymore.

“So, what’s your plan with Dream?”

HD’s voice was a soft purr, nestling in XD’s head and drawing his thoughts to the surface. “Give Dream a chance to explain himself about the End. Then I’ll explain my side.”

HD slowly nodded. “Right. And then what?”

One of the older God’s actual hands came down by the right side of XD’s face. They could feel the fingers playing with a strand of their hair. “Then I… I don’t know…” XD admitted. Their body tensed, expecting to be tickled suddenly, but they were left alone.

“That’s alright.” HD’s voice eased their tension. “You have years of confusion to work through, you can’t be expected to have a plan for it.”

XD gave the slightest of nods, agreeing in part. The words of Dream ran through his head again as he thought of it.

“Why do you need a plan for me?! Why can’t you just talk with me first?! You’re my brother!”

“I think I’ve been planning too much.” XD admitted. “I think instead of planning I should have been talking to Dream.”

“The last horse crosses the finish line.” HD half chuckled. He pressed a kiss to the top of XD’s head to show no hard feelings. “It won’t be easy but I know you love Dream more than anything, and Dream is your brother. So your stubbornness for love is in him too.”

“I hope he doesn’t have my lack of forgiving nature.” XD grimaced but pulled himself to sit up. He felt weirdly rested, like he’d taken a nap.

“You both just need to talk and take it from there. It wouldn’t be fixed overnight, or even over a week, but you both taking the first step is the right thing to do.”

XD could agree with that, though talking about the first step and actually taking it were two different things. It wouldn’t help matters either that George would be there. While XD loved George as much as he loved Dream, and George deserved a chance to explain his side too, the God couldn’t help feel like it was a two on one situation. Even though he knew that idea was ludicrous. He was God for Prime sake, it wasn’t like it was unfair.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Like a soft bell ringing in his mind, the dark clouds of doubts cleared and XD looked over to HD.

“Really?! I-I mean...would you? Would that be okay?”

XD did not want to presume their friend’s offer was just talk but they worried HD wasn’t ready for the Overworld again. XD still hadn’t gotten to ask HD about their status as the Overworld God. Or the fact he used to be the Overworld God. It seemed too personal and whatever happened made HD avoid the place.

But he offered to accompany XD so easily, and without a trace of regret on his face. HD just simply shrugged. “Well, I need to start going back to the Overworld sooner or later. And this might be a good easing in. I’d just be there less than a day. Plus, you said Dream would have his friend with him so I’m sure Dream wouldn’t mind you having one too.”

“Oh!… Then-Then yes! If you could!” XD felt his heart lift with excitement. “It wouldn’t be unfair of me to have company. And Dream likes you! So it’ll be perfect!”

For the first time in a while, XD felt excited on the idea of meeting with Dream. Years of mistakes XD promised he would make right, and he’d help Dream through whatever he was going through. It wouldn’t be too late. XD promised himself he’d fix this.

[starlazergazer]

Treasure Planet AU (part 1?)

Pairing: Anakin x reader

Request: A treasure planet AU where Anakin is a cute sexy space pirate! The reader has stolen the map to treasure planet and Captain Dooku knows it, in fleeing his men the reader runs into Anakin and joins his crew in order to save herself.

Warnings: none

Word count: 2.5K

A/N: So I’m really feeling making this into a multi-part story and covering basically the plot of treasure planet but make it star wars so let me know what you guys think and if you want to see more!

 His posture never once slumped.

That was what struck you over the last hour of this interrogation.

No matter how long it dragged on, how many times he had to ask you the same question, “where is the map”, his posture never changed from it’s rigid upright position, his tone never falling into frustration or contempt.

Just the same man standing in the same position asking the same question for an hour. There was something almost admirable in that.

You, however, have been through a plethora of positions.

You started standing, leaning back against the beam you had been tied to below deck of his ship but it didn’t take long before you had sat down, slumped back against the beam. You answers ranged to anything from complete silence to a colorful verity of answers: “oooo I left it at home” “are you absolutely sure you don’t have it” “not sure but I can tell you where you can stick it when you find it”, none of them remotely helpful.

The plan had been to sneak out as soon as he left you alone, afterall the ship was preparing for takeoff surely he as the captain was needed somewhere, but as it became clear you that he wasn’t leaving you decided to get comfortable, untying your wrists anyways since he couldn’t see them and keeping your arms tucked behind your back, you didn’t need the rope burn.

“Where is the-“

He started the same script again and you felt like your head was going to explode with boredom, desperate for anything other than that same question.

“Look Dooku-“

“Captain” he interrupted you and your brain almost lagged in response, your eyebrows shooting up in surprise, it was the first word he had spoken to you that wasn’t “where”, “is”, “the” and “map”.

“Captain Dooku” you corrected yourself happily, sending a small nod his way trying to convey it as the favor to him that it really was “I get the feeling you could do this all day, and I’m saying that we don’t need to because I don’t know what map you’re talking about”

“You and I both know there’s only one person who could have gotten into that vault to clean it out” he answers simply, eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he looked down at you.

“Well captain I’m flattered” you pushed a humorless chuckle over your voice, trying to convey an ease you certainly didn’t feel after being below deck tied to a pole for this long “but you and I both know Organa’s vault is impenetrable, whoever broke into that vault has a skill that far surpasses my own”

A silence hung in the air for a brief moment, Dooku looking down at you as just the corners of his mouth started to perk up, you catching your own mistake just moments before he pointed it out to you. “I never said who’s vault it was”

A thousand excuses jumped to your lips but you forced them all down, he had caught you in your lie, plain and simple, nothing to do but own it. “I already sold the map, you want it you’re going to have to track down my buyer”

A single eyebrow raised in your direction, Dooku catching the lie easily for exactly what it was, but a knock on the door interrupted the two of you before he could do anything about it.

Dooku tilted his head in it’s direction more on instinct than anything, no one came through it and he didn’t bother to say anything to the person on the other side, instead turning his attention back to you.

“You have one more chance to tell me where the map before I send in Ventress Ms.Y/L/N” He continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted, “and we’ll just she’s a woman who specializes in enhanced interrogation”

His hands went behind his back as he threatened you, staring down at you, simply waiting patiently for an answer he was so sure he was going to get. One way or another.

You stared back, mouth clamped shut, eyes never once straying from his in defiance.

“So be it” he shrugged, turning sharply on the spot and exiting through the door.

You were on your feet the moment you heard the lock latch into place, a satisfying pop coming from your shoulder as you stretched it, not happy that you had held it in such an uncomfortable position for so long, pretending to still be tied to the post.

Rope to hold your wrists together, a simple deadbolt to keep you below deck, really you would be insulted if you hadn’t wanted to escape so badly.

A simple pin from your hair and two minutes later the lock was picked and you had slipped through the door before anyone was the wiser.

The deck above was in absolute chaos, a few dozen crew members frantically dashing back and forth to tie down sails, clean up messes, and load the ship with ammo and food, a perfect environment to sneak through.

Head up, shoulders back and you forced yourself into the crowd, matching your pace to those around you as best you could, even going so far as to grab at some ropes nearby and tug at their knots, cementing yourself as one of the crew.

The moment you stopped as you worked with the knots gave you a minute to scan the deck, eyeing the gangplank easily. People rushed up and down it regularly, toting large cargo containers up it onto the ship so it shouldn’t be too hard to blend in there on the way down. All you had to do was make a break for it once you hit the dock, worst came to worst you could beat any of them in a race.

One final tug on the rope and you made your way towards the plank, feet away from freedom when an unexpected hand clapped down on your shoulder.

Before you could think to stop instinct took over, your hand coming up to cover the man’s on your shoulder, twisting under his arm and standing back up straight, holding his now twisted arm in a very uncomfortable position.

“What the-“ the man called out beneath your grasp and it was only then that it occurred to you that he hadn’t reached out to you maliciously, he simply wanted your help.

Dropping his hand letting the man now sitting on the deck cradle it you looked around at the rest of the crew to see that everyone had stopped to stare at you. Whispers broke out amongst the crew, you could hear your name reverberate around the ship.

Then an all too familiar one boomed from up above “somebody grab her”

At the sound of their captains voice the crew sprang into action but they were all too slow, you had already broke into a sprint for the side railing of the ship.

Ducking your shoulder down you pushed a few of them aside with ease, never letting anyone get a hand on you before you reached the railing, your feet effortlessly vaulting it as you leapt from the side of the ship.

There was an uproar from behind you as you made for the dock, weightless for but a moment before you felt the stone below kiss the bottom of your toes. Instinctively you curled in, effortlessly tucking into a roll as soon as you hit the ground, not losing any momentum as you sprung back up to your feet and broke into a sprint down the dock.

You heard the crash of cargo boxes being dropped behind you but didn’t bother to look, instead sprinting down the docks, effortlessly weaving in and out of various crew members as they loaded their ships, until you hit a pocket.

Three ships all packed too close together all trying to load them at once, it was a mess. There were far too many people to try and run through and you could already feel yourself trying to push down the rising panic.

You knew how to do this.

This amount of people would just slow you down and give away your position easily, not to mention someone was bound to get hurt if you just go barreling into the crowd. What you needed to do was hide, the question was where.

There were plenty of cargo boxes large enough to fit you but they were no doubt already filled with supplies, not to mention that in hiding in them you were bound to end up on some random ship.

That was when you spotted him.

He was leaned against the railing on the waters edge, simply watching the chaos before him unfold as people carried boxes up and down the plank next to him, arms crossed comfortably over his chest.

And you knew what you had to do, afterall people tended not to scrutinize that which made them uncomfortable.

Before you could talk yourself out of it you ran up to the stranger, throwing your arms around his neck with no warning.

His eyes widened as he looked down at you, instinct pulling himself away from you though the railing and your arms stopped him from retreating too far.

You saw the first of Dooku’s crew reach the edge of the crowd, their eyes scanning it desperately for any sign of you.

“I’m so sorry” You whispered to the stranger.

And that was all the warning you gave him before crashing your lips into his.

-

The stranger to his credit only hesitated for a moment, a brief shock seizing his body before his hands came up to your waist, softly pulling you deeper into him, playing along beautifully as he kissed you back.

And truthfully you weren’t expecting that. You were prepared for an awkward crash, a moment frozen with your faces pressed together before you could run off, before he could say anything.

Instead what you got was almost soft, almost natural, as if it were something he wanted instead of something you had forced upon him.

And because of that you found that you had to force yourself to pull your focus off of him and back to the task at hand. You pulled your arms slowly from around his neck, hands coming to either side of his face as you pulled back, holding his head close to you as you did, your gaze breaking to peer over your shoulder just catching the back side of Dooku’s men as they rushed further down the dock, ignoring the piercing blue eyes that stared at you from mere inches away, ignoring the large hand that rubbed soft slow circles into your hip from its position on your waist.

Focus, task at hand.

You let go of his face, practically pushing him back from you as you returned your gaze to his, finding yourself uncomfortably breathless beneath it.

“Sorry I-um” you stuttered, and since when were you one to stutter.

You started breaking from him, ready to make your way back down the dock when his hand shot out to grab your arm, his reflexes much faster than you would have thought.

“Look I didn’t mean-“ You started to defend yourself, already somewhat prepared for the argument that was to ensue though pausing when you followed his gaze, eyes pointed back at where Dooku’s men had been as he held you in place before him.

“You’re hiding from Dooku” it wasn’t a question, but the words caught you by surprise, your next words stumbling out of your mouth before you could think better of it.

“You know who Dooku is?”

His gaze broke back down you, his grip never once easing up as a smug smile broke across his face “better yet I know who you are”

You felt the panic start to rise up in your throat, an involuntary jerk of your arm as you tried in vain to break free from his grasp.

“You see rumor has it Dooku found the map” he put emphasis on the ‘the’ making sure you knew that this wasn’t just any map he was talking about, “and I’m willing to bet he didn’t steal that himself”

“You calling me a thief?” you challenged with a raised chin, the man only raising an eyebrow in response as if to say ‘if the shoe fits’.

“Look” the man changed tones, going for a more diplomatic tone of voice as he made a show of letting go of your arm, his arms coming up to cross over his chest “I’m not going to do anything, try and take the map from you or anything, I’m just saying you’re going to need a ship to get you to that planet”

“Who’s to say I’m even going?” you challenged, crossing your own arms over your chest in response “maybe I plan to sell the map”

He chuckled at this, leaning back against the railing casually as he did so “you expect me to believe you plan to give up an entire planets worth of treasure for a one time payment from the highest bidder?”

Well when he put it like that….

“Give me and the crew 50% of whatever we find and we’ll take you out there, you can keep the map and everything”

Your eyes instinctively broke back to where Dooku’s men had been, it was only a matter of time before they came back through. And he was right, you needed a ship to get you to the planet and there weren’t many captains you could pay on the promise of maybe finding treasure.

“40%” You countered.

The man sighed, shoulders slumping slightly as if he were disappointed in your answer though the hint of a smile still played on his face, he’d just bought himself access to that map and he knew it.

“60”

You bit your lip, eyes paranoidly going back to that same spot Dooku’s men were bound to show up “fine, 50”

A grin broke out on the man’s face, his arm coming forward and you were ready to shake his hand but instead it wrapped around your shoulder, pulling you into his side as he laughed before yelling up to the ship before him.

“Rex we’ve got ourselves another galley worker”

“Galley worker?” you demanded, pushing yourself away from his embrace just as a man wearing a first mates hat poked his head over the side of the ship.

“Excellent news captain skywalker” the man called back down, “I’ll talk to cook”

“I’m not working in the galley” you told him, crossing your arms defensively before you “I’m financing this voyage”

“Not yet you aren’t princess” He smirked down at you before making his way towards the plank “now grab the map from wherever you stashed it and get on board I want out of here as soon as possible”

You sighed as you watched the man walk aboard, eyes making one last look around the square before you sighed to yourself “yeah you and me both”

[the-name-is-z]

SKELETONS | ch. 4

daryl dixon x f!oc

masterlist

a03 link

Summary: The group heads out on a search for answers or maybe even a cure. Warnings/Information: AMC's The Walking Dead OC Insert | 18+ Advised | strangers to lovers; the slowest of slow burns; gore; angst; horror; humour; m/f; descriptions of gore, violence, zombies, death, mourning, injury, infection, abandonment (consensual)

Chapter 4 - The CDC

“Everybody listen up.” Shane called. “Those of you with C.B.s, we’re gonna be on channel forty. Let’s keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don’t have a C.B., can’t get a signal or anything at all, you’re gonna hit your horn one time. That’ll stop the caravan. Any questions?”

“We’re, ah… we’re not going.” Morales stated, glancing at his family before he turned back to Shane. The rest of the group had packed their things, the line of cars trailing out of the camp in preparation for the journey. Iris stood with her arms crossed, watching the group. 

“We have family in Birmingham.” Morales’ wife explained, hugging her daughter close to her chest. “We want to be with our people.” Iris wouldn’t say it out loud, but two less children to care for is a significant advantage for survival. These people weren’t exactly prepared for this kind of life. Hell, was anyone?

“You go on your own, you won’t have anyone to watch your back.” Shane warned.

“We’ll take our chances. I gotta do what’s best for my family.” Morales said with a nod.

“You sure?” Rick asked.

“We talked about it.” He confirmed. “We’re sure.”

“Alright.” Rick nodded. “Shane?” He asked, glancing down at the bag of guns.

"Yeah, alright.” Shane agreed. Rick fished through the bag, handing Morales and his wife a gun and a box of ammo. “Box is half full.” Daryl looked none too pleased about the exchange. He scoffed, turning away to prepare his things before he exploded again.

Morales and his wife exchanged goodbyes and hugs with the people in the group they’d become close with, and little Carl even shed a few tears for his friends. Iris nodded to Morales, shaking his hand despite never really speaking. They walked to their own car, and as the group filed into the available cars, they said goodbye to the camp. 

Dale and Glenn led the caravan in the RV, Rick, Lori with the kids in the second car. Jacqui and Jim were in the back of the RV, treating the symptoms of the infection while they drove. Carol, T-Dog and Andrea followed in an old van, then Iris and Shane in Shane’s jeep. Daryl brought up the end in an old pickup truck, his motorcycle carefully strapped into the bed.

“So, what’s your deal?” Shane asked, one hand on the window frame of the door and the other on the wheel.

“My deal?” Iris asked, raising an eyebrow at him. She’d tied her hair back with the bandana, her knives strapped tight to her hips and legs. She’d agreed to ride with Shane with the expectation he would interrogate her about her life, and because she was comfortable holding her own if the caravan was overrun.

“Yeah. Conveniently show up and join the camp, right when we need you, huh?” He asked, eyeing her from the side. The corner of Iris’ mouth pulled upward and she rolled her eyes.

“Rick made me a deal.” She explained. “I helped get Glenn, I back you up, and a good portion of the guns in that bag are mine.” She gestured vaguely to the duffel in the backseat, and Shane tensed. In complete honestly, Iris didn’t know where her loyalties lay, and Shane was very aware of that. These people didn’t know her, and she didn’t know them. If it came down to it, would she really stay?

They rode for another hour in silence, every so often the radio crackling as Shane checked everyone was good. Dale’s voice came up soon after, explaining that he was pulling the RV over. Iris hopped out of the jeep quickly, coming up to see steam rising from the RV’s grill.

“I told you we’d never get far on that hose.” Dale muttered, putting his hands on his hips as he sat back and examined the damage. Rick sighed, adjusting his hat in the hot sun. “I said I needed the one from the cube van.”

“Can you jury-rig it?” Rick asked.

“That’s all it’s been so far. It’s more duct-tape than hose. And I’m out of duct-tape.” Dale replied, making a face.

“I see something up ahead.” Shane called, peering through a pair of binoculars. “A gas station if we’re lucky.”

“Y’all, Jim— it’s bad. I don’t think he can take anymore.” Jacqui warned as she ran out of the RV. Iris frowned at the gravity of the situation. No one had decided what to do with him should he not make it to the CDC.

“Hey, Rick, you want to hold down the fort? I’ll drive ahead, see what I can bring back?” Shane offered.

“I’ll come. I know what to look for.” Iris added.

“You know what the RV engine needs?” Shane asked suspiciously. Iris rolled her eyes. Her entire life, men never accepted she knew anything about cars.

“I was a mechanic, once.” She stated. To reassure herself, she peered through the grate of the RV, nodding. “I’ll see if I can find some other replacements. There’s a hell of a lot of duct-tape in here.”

“Gotta keep it running somehow.” Dale shrugged, chuckling. Iris nodded, offering a small smile.

“I’ll come along too, back you up.” T-Dog offered. Shane nodded.

“Y’all keep your eyes open, now. We’ll be right back.” Shane called. Rick nodded, taking off his hat as he followed Jacqui into the RV. They loaded into the jeep, driving up ahead to the gas station. 

It was old and abandoned, that was for sure. An old clock that looked like a bottle cap ticked loudly through the place. It’d been looted, but there were a few water bottles and packages of jerky that T-Dog filled his backpack with. Iris found a patch for the radiator hose. Not one that was made for an RV, but it would work if she could fashion it properly. She also grabbed another few rolls of duct-tape while Shane waited outside, guarding the door with his gun.

When they returned, Rick was sitting on the steps of the RV with his head in his hands.

“It’s what he says he wants.” Rick explained as they stood around outside the RV. Jim told him he wanted them to leave him here. With his family. How long they’d been gone, Iris wasn’t sure, but they really should limit their liability risks.

“And he’s lucid?” Carol asked, incredulous.

“He seems to be.” Rick confirmed. “I would say yes.”

“Back in the camp, when I said Daryl might be right, and you shut me down,” Dale said quietly, “you misunderstood. I would never go along with… callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. Iris said the same.” He gestured to her and she nodded. “I think we have an answer.”

“We just leave him here? Take off?” Shane asked, rubbing a hand over his face as he turned to Rick. “Man, I’m not sure I could live with that.”

“It’s not your call.” Lori stated. “Either one of you.” Iris let a small smile play across her lips. She liked Lori. She didn’t put up with the alpha male pissing contest bullshit they liked to play at.

With that, Shane and Rick hauled Jim out of the RV, carefully trudging up the hill at the side of the road and placing him at the base of a thick oak tree. It cast a good amount of shade over the area, and Jim sighed as he practically sunk into the earth. Iris stayed back at the RV while Daryl patrolled the area and the rest of the group said their goodbyes.

None of them were particularly comfortable with the situation, but if it was what Jim wanted, it was for the best. And deep down, Iris knew they knew it was best for their group. It was emotional for all of them, that was evident. Even Daryl went to apologize quietly before they all went back to their separate vehicles. Iris watched Jim stare up into the sky, and he seemed to sigh in relief as the caravan pulled away.

When they arrived at the CDC they were overwhelmed by the smell of the bodies. Iris fashioned her bandana over her face once more as they armed themselves in preparation. Most of them seemed completely dead, but you could never be too careful. Swarms of flies surrounded the place, maggots festering. The roads had been blocked off in a perimeter around the building, barricades of sand bags providing protection to the National Guard whose bodies they now stepped over.

Rick led the way as they passed the bodies, tanks, military trucks. Everyone moved in a large group, keeping quiet apart from coughing as they walked to the building. Carol and Lori continuously whispered encouragements to their kids, who had hands over their noses, mouths and eyes. The doors to the building were covered with metal grates, all of which seemed bolted into the ground.

“Nothing?” Shane asked as Rick rattled the grate. Iris took note of the security cameras around the place, searching for any indication of activity. Shane pounded angrily on the door.

“There’s nobody here.” T-Dog muttered.

“Then why are these shutters down?” Rick asked argumentatively. Iris tilted her head. He had a point. But whoever had been inside could be long dead.

“Walkers!” Daryl called out in warning. Sophia, Carol’s daughter, began whimpering in fear as they all turned toward the dead.

“Watch the noise.” Iris warned as they cocked their guns. Daryl stepped forward with his crossbow, taking care of the closest one, a man in an army uniform.

“You led us into a graveyard!” Daryl snapped, scowling at Rick.

“Shh!” Dale warned.

“He made a call.” Shane snapped back, grabbing a shotgun.

“It was the wrong damn call!”

“Just shut up. You hear me? Shut up. Shut up!” Shane growled, shoving Daryl backward and pointing a finger to his face. He whipped around. “Rick, this is a dead end.”

“Where are we gonna go?” Carol asked, clutching her daughter to her closely.

“Do you hear me? No blame.” Shane continued.

“She’s right. We can’t be here, this close to the city after dark.” Lori agreed with Carol.

“This place will be crawling soon. We’re making too much noise. Even the sound of the cars.” Iris said quietly, surveying their surroundings. They had their backs up against a wall here.

“Fort Benning, Rick. Still an option.” Shane stated.

“On what?” Andrea asked. “No food, no fuel. That’s a hundred miles.” 

“125. I checked the map.” Glenn corrected. Iris raised an eyebrow.

“Forget Fort Banning. We need answers tonight. Now.” Lori snapped, trying to console her sobbing son.

“We’ll think of something.” Rick insisted as they all began shouting, pleading with him. Iris kept quiet, watching him. She glanced back at the shutters, freezing.

“Alright, everyone back to the cars.” Shane called.

“Rick. The camera. The camera moved. It’s recording, but it moved.” Iris said loudly, pointing to the camera.

“You imagined it.” Dale stated quickly, shaking his head.

“No way.” She pulled down her bandana, stepping closer. “Someone’s inside.”

“Look, it’s dead, alright? An automated device. Gears, okay?” Shane said, shaking his head. Rick walked up to the camera, looking straight into it. “Look around this place. You hear me? It’s dead. You need to let it go, Rick!” Rick shoved past him, slamming his hands against the metal shutters again.

“Rick, there’s nobody here!” Lori screamed.

“I know you’re in there! I know you can hear me.” Rick yelled into the camera. Shane was yelling at the others to run back to the cars. The dreaded groaning of walkers got louder with them. “Please, we’re desperate! Please help us. We have women, children. No food, hardly any gas left.”

“Rick. Rick!” Lori pleaded.

“We have nowhere else to go!”

“There’s nobody here.” Lori insisted. “Rick, please!”

“You don’t let us in, you’re killing us!”

“Come on, buddy, let’s go.” Shane pulled at him, the others already halfway to the cars with Daryl leading the charge. Iris stood, staring straight into the camera as they wrestled with Rick. Shane started pulling him as he screamed.

“You’re killing us! You’re killing us! You’re killing us—“ They all stopped as the singular shutter screeched loudly, sliding open. They all whipped around as it thudded, pressurized air moving around, hissing.

They kept their guard up, Daryl covering their backs as they hesitantly walked inside.

“Hello?” Rick called. The building was enormous, an architect’s baby, columns spiralling up to a pointed roof and huge walls of windows trailing upward. The lobby was the majority of spaces, with what looked like offices above. But somewhere, there had to be more. “Hello?”

“Close those doors. Watch for walkers.” Dale warned, Daryl shutting the pedestrian doors behind them. They all stopped, looking around the space, waiting.

“Hello!” A voice called from the opposite end of the lobby. He stood in the mouth of the hallway. The man had scruffy hair and was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants, but the grip he had on the military-grade rifle in his hands was confident. “Anybody infected?”

“One of our group was. He didn’t make it.” Rick replied. They all kept their weapons up.

“Why are you here? What do you want?” The man asked.

“A chance.” Rick replied simply. Optimistically. Obnoxiously.

“That’s asking an awful lot these days.” The man replied.

“I know.” Rick agreed. The man’s gaze flicked across each of them, taking in the sight of their group.

“You all submit to a blood test. That’s the price of admission.” The man said lowly.

“We can do that.” The man put his gun down.

“You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed.” He said firmly, gesturing outside.

Iris, Shane, Rick, Glenn and Daryl all ran outside, gathering bags and doing runs from the vehicles. They each took one, finding it easier to be agile when they separated. T-Dog and Dale manned the doors, closing them tight and opening them wide each time they ran in and out. In a few minutes, everything was in a pile in the lobby. Rick gave him the go-ahead, and the man scanned a keycard.

“Vi, seal the main entrance.” He spoke into it. “Kill the power up here.” The grate slid shut over the doors as the key panel beeped and blinked red. 

“Rick Grimes.” Rick introduced, offering his hand to shake. The doctor looked at him warily, making no move to shake his hand.

“Dr. Edwin Jenner.” He replied.

[aerialsquid]

FFXIVWrite Day 14: Telling

Martyn would not have admitted it under anything but the harshest interrogation, or possibly if you paid him, but there was something oddly relaxing about letting Dollmaker take control of his body. His mind could drift away to other matters, to enjoyable fantasies or simply a fuzzy bliss, and his sinister client would be responsible for all the important matters. Dollmaker talked aplenty, but for answer usually only wanted an idle nod or headshake. Or made up the answer inside its own head.

(Martyn got the feeling that Dollmaker spent a lot of time alone in the tunnels with only itself for conversation.)

"So, what is blue magic?"

It took a few gentle shakes of his shoulder before Martyn realized Dollmaker was actually expecting an answer to its question.

"Sorry, could you repeat that? I didn't quite hear."

Dollmaker, whose mouth was about a foot from his ear and was quite aware of what those ears could hear, indulged him by repeating, "What exactly is blue magic?" Its long fingers were occupied braiding - well braiding *someone's* hair, but it was currently attached to Martyn's scalp. The purple tresses reached nearly to his back, and Dollmaker was threading seafoam green ribbons in between the braids as it went.

"Oh. Oh!" In any other circumstances Martyn would have had an entire sales pitch prepared, complete with special offers on your first robes and stave. Instead he fumbled for a bit, his body held still but his mouth unhappily left to the clumsy whims of free will.

"It's a magical discipline from Xak Tural, in the New World, mainly practiced by a tribe called the Whalaqee." The "New World" was all over marketing materials for anything you could concievably claim came from the exotic West. Martyn saw no reason to tone it down for something that actually did. If he got a little creative about the backstory when selling it to the greedy masses, there were very few people who could prove he was wrong. 

But he wasn't selling anything to Dollmaker besides what he'd already sold.

"You learn a regiment of spells by having them cast on you and memorizing the technique, then replicating a version for yourself. It's hard to regulate, every practitioner has a different method and a different spell portfolio based on their experience. I learned it from a teacher in the Whalaqee, and then I brought the practice back here and opened a school for teaching it to others."

"You're a guildmaster?" Another ribbon slithered through his hair. Martyn found himself tilting his head into the caress of long fingers along his scalp, fully unbidden by Dollmaker's magics.

"Something of one. And I also do demonstration fights in the Celestium. I'd hoped that would drive people to see the potential of blue magic, but I think they just want to see the fights."

"Ah. I haven't attended those."

They used voidsent in some of the gladiatorial fights, Martyn recalled. Perhaps Dollmaker was trying to to avoid bumping into anyone they knew.

"They aren't my favorite, I suppose," Martyn offered. Dollmaker went quiet as it tied off the end of another braid. Its hand smoothed along the back of his head, then down to the narrow shoulders with their puffed sleeves. The long neck curled around, letting Martyn make eye contact with the pale, featureless eyeholes.

"A guildmaster, a scholar, and a gladiator. A very busy schedule. And you still make time to come to me." The softness in its voice was almost affectionate, a trap that Martyn eagerly leapt directly into.

"Hah, well, you pay on time and you pay well–"

Martyn felt his tongue go stone inside his mouth, jaw locking shut. The fingers on the twin arms down Dollmaker's neck curled into claw-like gestures and the arching of its back reminded Martyn of an angry street coeurl. 

"Ah. I forgot, it always is trade with you creatures of Ul'dah," Dollmaker hissed. "How could I be let to forget. You're here for the money." It sounded ready to spit. 

Martyn made a garbled noise through his pressed-close jaws. Dollmaker gave him a look of disgust, drawing one finger across Martyn's lips and allowing him the luxury of speech. 

"I didn't meant to give offense–"

"Of course you didn't. It's not what I pay you for. Dolls are seen and not heard for a reason." Martyn could see the flash of teeth between Dollmaker's lips, quickly hidden again. 

"Never mind it, never mind." Martyn's jaw locked again, and even his vocal cords were now stilled. The hands patted frantically over his hair, arranging his clothing. "Never mind it, don't be foolish," Dollmaker kept muttering, and Martyn wasn't sure which one of them it was talking to.

[arc-misadventures]

How about an au with superheroes and villains where Jaune is a villain, however he is only a villain/working for them because they give better health insurance and dental? As well as better pay/commission bonus.

He isn’t necessarily evil and instead simply sees it as a job, almost like working at a convenience store. Like he finds out there’s a MASSIVE bonus for whoever gets the information out of the prisoner and Jaune instantly thinks of how great the money would be. Nobody thinks he could perform torture or such because he’s too nice. Jaune however goes in with a smile on his face with a job to do. The villains watching even throw up at what happens or the more deranged look on with respect or awe.

Whenever the heroes encounter the new villain they never understand him because 1. Somehow he always gets away 2. He is always really polite and nice unlike the other villains.

Just an idea, based on something I saw on another au made by @moistmailman I believe. Curious on your take on this.

A Proper Villian

In a dindgy lit interrogation room, struggling against her the bounds that kept her chains to the desk sat the, Crimson Reaper, Ruby Rose hero of Vale. She was a young, and upcoming hero, but in a matter of months she had made her mark on the people, the hero’s, and most importantly the villains of, Vale.

But, now here she was tied to a desk, her greatest villains behind a one way mirror preparing to interrogate her for information. But, what ever comes, no matter what cruel, wicked monstrous torture implements they used, she was ready for them, she was ready for anything!

Then she saw her interrogator, and she realize that she was infact not ready. Least of all not him.

: Bah! The lighting in here is terrible! Just let me… Ahh! That’s better~! Ahem… Hello, Miss Reaper! May I call you that, or do you prefer the full name. The Crimson Reaper?

Ruby: J-Jaune?!

Jaune: Hello!

Ruby: W-What are you doing here?!

Jaune: I work here.

Ruby: As a baddy? But, you’re such a nice guy! Why would you become a villain! Did something happen to your family, did something happen to your nephew that lead you down the path of evil for revenge?! (Gasp?!) Did something happen to your, Pumpkin Pete’s hoodie?!

Jaune: No, my family is doing just fine. I saw, Adrian just the other week, ahh he’s grown so much… and, well… Something did, and didn’t happen to my hoodie, it’s complicated.

Ruby: Then why are you working with the baddies?!

Jaune: Honest?

Ruby: Honest!

Jaune: The pay.

Ruby: W-What…?

Jaune: The pay they have for all the goons, henchmen, and what not is fantastic!

Ruby: W-What…?

Jaune: I mean we get a lot of money, even bonuses. Hazard pay is major one since, we work with ‘villains,’ and fight against the ‘hero’s’ so much that it’s basically standard for any new goons to work here.

Ruby: That makes sense.

Jaune: Also indefinite medical leave, that’s nice. I mean, you hero’s don’t kill, but you main a lot of guys.

Ruby: W-We do?

Jaune: But, the medical staff we have is fantastic, broken spine, couple jabs with some untested chemicals, and semi-unethical surgeries, and your poll vaulting in no time! Or, you were accidentally turned into a nightmare monster. That happens more often than you think…

Ruby: W-W-What…?

Jaune: You get big composition pay if that happens though. Hell, this happened to my friend a while back, and now he’s fighting in the big leagues!

Ruby: He is?

Jaune: Yeah, recently he took on the, Golden Flame!

Ruby: He fought against my si…?! He fought against her?!

Jaune: Yeah, he may have gotten his ass handed to him, but that’s certainly one way to meet your, ‘Heroic Crush!’

Ruby: You people have hero crushes?!

Jaune: Meh, most people are in love with the mask, not the person behind the mask. Anyway, where were we, oh yeah benefits! Yeah, we also have possession benefits; those are mostly legal, and medical benefits. You won’t be held responsible whilst your body is being possessed. Any medical mishaps from being possessed will be covered. Honestly, most of the benefits we get are medical. Which are greatly needed in this line of work…

Ruby: Is that all the benefits you guys get.

Jaune: Mmm… Pay maturity leave, sick leave… Dental, oh the dental here is fantastic!

Ruby: You have dental?!

Jaune: Yeah, I mean a while ago, I got caught in the crossfire i a battle between, Valkyrie, and Silver Legs; I got hit in the face, and lost a few teeth, but look! I got new ones, fangs even!

Ruby: Naww… we don’t have dental… I want cool fangs too…

Jaune: Yeah, it’s great working for the villains! But, I don’t like their ideas. I mean, we’ve got five guys trying to conquer the world, three trying to destroy it, couple dozen trying to get revenge for something that someone did to them. A few environmentalists, they’re the worst!

Ruby: What’s wrong with the environmentalists?! They just want to save the planet.

Jaune: By committing mass genocide? Most of their ideas are meant to save the planet, by screwing over the people currently living in it! I mean, it would work, but at what cost?

Ruby: Oh… That makes sense… So uhh… W-What do you do here?

Jaune: Me? Well, I used to work as your basic grunt; fetch, and carry. Shoot this, and that. Protect strange object of power. Those ones are the worst, you wake up on the floor a lot!

Ruby: Ouch…

Jaune: So, now I mostly do interrogations. Extract information from prisoners, and what not. Big bonuses based on how long it takes you to get someone to break! I’m really good at it. I’m practically a shoehorn in for, “Best Interrogator of the Month.”

Ruby: Oh… S-So are you going to torture me then…? B-B-Because I will never talk, no matter what you do to me, I will keep the secrets I know to the grave! There is nothing you could possibly do to me!

Jaune: Torture? No no no, nothing so debased as that! I am a man of class after all, I would never stoop to such depths.

Ruby: Then what depths would you stoop to…?

Jaune: None. I just do my job to the best of my ability.

Ruby: A nice well pay, good job…?

Jaune: I know you may be upset that I do this for money, but how many heroes do you know that do this just for the money?

Ruby: Too many.

Jaune: Like the Monkey King, and The Blue Wave?

Ruby: But, their are people like the, Violet Shadow who do this for a cause!

Jaune: The Bull does this for a cause too. Although I’m not sure what that cause is; is he doing it for the blights of the Faunas like the, Violet Shadow is, just in an a more violent manner. Or, is he just doing it to get the ‘love’ of his life back.

Ruby: Does he?

Jaune: Hard to tell, he’s a bit of a prick honestly.

Ruby: She does say a lot of bad things about him… W-What about those who do it for good! Like the, Amazon Goddess!

Jaune: Then you have her opposite to that does things for evil for evils sake like the, Scorpion. Word of advice, stay away from him, he’s batshit insane!

Ruby: Okay…?

Jaune: Alright pointless debate on morality aside. I need you to answer me a few questions.

Ruby: I’ll never talk!

Jaune: So you don’t want to regal me with the tale on how you alone captured the infamous, Roman Torchwick.

Ruby: N-No…

Jaune: Ahh, come on, I gotta know! You, a rookie hero, barely three months on the job! Taking down, Tourchwick; That’s gotta be one hell of a story!

Ruby: N-No it isn’t…

Jaune: Oh, so was it just a case of dumb luck then? You in the right place, at the right time. He just tripped, and knocked himself out, so you just happened to be there, and arrest him…?

Ruby: …

Jaune: Lame… I thought you were cooler than this…

Ruby: I am cool…

Jaune: Why, because you’ve got a cape?

Ruby: Capes are cool.

Jaune: It ain’t cool if every other superhero has one. Man, you are so lame, no wonder everyone thinks you’re a D-Rank hero.

Ruby: D-D-Rank?!

Jaune: D as in Dismal.

Ruby: No! I am at least a, B-Rank hero!

Jaune: B for boring!

Ruby: I am a great, Hero! I found, Torchwick, and captured him all on my own!

Jaune: How? By asking, “Pweese surrender Mr. Torchwick, pwetty please?”

Ruby: No, I ambushed him! I hit him fast, and hard! He never knew what hit him! I had him out cold before he even realized what hit him!

Jaune: How, by making him slip on a banana peel?

Ruby: No, I shot him!

Jaune: You killed him?!

Ruby: No! I whittled him down till his, Aura ran out, then I tazed him. He was out like a rock. I then tied him up, and let the authorities take him away!

Jaune: Yeah, right you called for the baby police to give him a five minute times out in the corner facing the wall?

Ruby: No, the real police came, and took him to Rock’s Ban Prison!

Jaune: Pfft! Rock’s Bane Prison… He’ll be out by the time he walks through the door on his way in.

Ruby: No! He’s been locked up in their maximum security cells, he’s not going anywhere!

Jaune: So, Roman is in a maximum security cell, in Rocks Bane Prison?

Ruby: Yeah, and he’s gonna stay there until he rots!

Jaune: Is he now?

Ruby: Yeah!

Jaune: …

Ruby: Oh… Oh shit…

Ruby’s head hit the desk with a dull head as she groaned in rage.

Jaune: Something wrong?

Ruby: You tricked me!

Jaune: Did I?

Ruby: Yes you did! You antagonized me into telling you where, Torchwick is! Now you’re going to stage a prison break to get him out! And, its all my fault!

Jaune: No, we’re not doing that.

Ruby: You’re not?

Jaune: Nope. We’re just going to do a prisoner exchange; him for you. Easy peasy.

Ruby: Really…?

Jaune: Yep, their in the talks about the prisoner exchange right now.

Ruby: Why’s that?

Jaune: Because otherwise if it does, his partner in crime is gonna stage a prison break out. Finding out where he is was the whole reason I ‘interrogated’ you. Honestly, I hope they take the deal. Cause otherwise, his partner is gonna go, stabby stabby on them all. It’s and she’s really trigger happy with Mr. Stabby.

Ruby: Oh… Okay then…? So uhh… W-What now?

Jaune: Well, since I’m done, I’m going for a coffee. I’ll come back later, and give you a cookie! Bye~!

Jaune soon left closing the door behind him, leaving, Ruby to stare at ghe door at this utter bewildering moment. Leaving only one thought on her mind.

Ruby: …

Ruby: It better be chocolate, he knows how much I hate raisins…

[axcel-lucci]

Law finally meeting fem! reader's parents

(Keep in mind (y/n)'s parents are both men.)

"Law..." (Y/n) called as she lead him to a restaurant.

"Yeah?" He answered, inwardly nervous if her parents are gonna accept her or not.

"You're nervous... Aren't you?" She hummed softly

"I-... Nothing can really escape you" he sighed before smiling, "can it?"

"Nope..." She smiled, "don't worry... They'll like you... But do be prepared for a... Uh... A bit of teasing..."

He nodded and once he saw the table, he couldn't help but shiver inwardly.

One of her fathers look almost as if he could pass as (y/n)'s brother, while the other had black over grown hair, darker than his, tan skin, and red eyes...

"Dad... Papa" she called happily, her "dad", the one that looked like her, stood up and gave her a big hug while the other smiled and nodded at them.

"Sweetie! Come, sit...! Oh... And... You did bring your fiancé" her dad frowned when his eyes laid on Law's figure.

"Oh, right! Papa, dad... Meet my fiance, Trafalgar Law." She introduced

"G-good evening..." He muttered and bowed

"Honey..." Her father, the one with black hair, called; "don't judge him just yet, we haven't even met him properly"

"I..." Her dad sighed, "you're right. Please have a seat, the both of you."

Law helped (y/n) sit on her chair out of instinct and habit.

Her dad just watched with a glare as she thanked Law once he sat down next to her.

"I'm Dice" her dad hummed

"I'm Lucifer, nice to meet you. Mr... Law? Or do you prefer Trafalgar?" Her father asked with a soft smile

"Any will do..." Law answered as (y/n) looked at him and held his hand under the table.

The evening went on without a hitch.

Law answered and spoke with her parents diligently and politely, her father seemed to have taken a liking to him. However...

"How would I make sure that once you two get married, my daughter wouldn't be in harm's way?" Dice snarled.

Her dad don't like him very much...

"I understand... But please do be rest assured that once we get married, even before I even proposed to her, that I will always stand by her, and protect her. Even if it cost me my life." He answered

Lucifer and (y/n) just stared at each other with knowing faces that a duel was about to commence.

The two "spoke" back and forth.

Dice interrogating law and law diligently answered with a truthful tongue.

"And finally... How do I make sure that you will never hurt my child...?" Dice's gaze softened a bit.

Law breathes slowly, "for every single night and day that I have spent with (y/n)... Once have I ever not stopped thinking about her. For every single angle of her fills me with delight. And for every single time that I am not with her, she consumes my thoughts and my being. So, no... I will have no intention of hurting her. I dare not even try."

(Y/n) and Lucifer were taken a back, even Dice, by his sudden confession. Even the determination lacing his voice was tied down so thick.

Dice sighed and shook his head, "alright... But I have a few conditions..."

"Anything" law swallowed

"One, let us help with the wedding preparations, two, I want her visiting atleast once or twice a year, and lastly..." Dice trailed off

Everything was alright with law, it's very convenient to him and (y/n), but the last one keeps him on edge.

"..." Dice hummed and leaned against the table, crossing his arms on top of it, "I want grandkids" he smirked ominously

"That's all?" Law smirked himself.

"Mhm..." Dice hummed

"Well then. That can be arranged." Law grinned before glancing at (y/n) who's probably very pale.

"H-how many...?" She asked and looked at her dad.

"Hmm... Five. I want five grandchildren" Dice cooed

"Five?!"

"That can be arranged..." Law hummed in amusement

'i swear...' she thought, 'but at least they're getting along...'

[lily-blue]

In your dreams

☆ characters: dreamer!ten & hunter!you ☆ genre: dreamer cycle au ☆ warnings: betrayal, manipulation, murder, major character’s death ☆ request: DV27. form this prompt list ☆ summary: “In another life, you would have loved to grow old with him, have a family and a bunch of kittens together, but in this one he had unfortunately been born as a dreamer.” ☆ words: 1,9k ☆ dedicated to: @dat-town​​ ♥

The dreamers brought destruction to the world; it was an ominous mantra that you had been forced to memorise before you could have learned the correct order of the Korean alphabet. Every morning from the moment you had turned five, you had needed to recite it when you had wanted something other children knew as natural: breakfast in the morning, a ride to and from school, dessert after dinner. To your parents, who had lost several precious friends and family members throughout the years because of these monsters, this sentence had been more important than your happiness and maybe, than life itself. To them, this piece of information about the dreamers meant a higher chance of survival, although your lack of real encounters with these abominations had left you more confused than anything during the fragile period of your adolescence. You couldn’t have gotten it: the danger mere dreams could have meant. After all, everyone dreamed. Some just didn’t remember.

Still, you had gone along with your father’s wishes when he had taught you how to use guns and knives and had studied their organisation’s reports about dreamers who had gotten out of control to soothe your mother’s worries. You had sacrificed so much of your teenage years that you had been sure you had been well-prepared.

You were forced to take the red pill when shortly after your university graduation, neither of your parents came home from a mission in Daegu. The hunter who showed up at your door to inform you about the tragedy was considerate enough to not go into details about their death, although a few hours later you logged into their system with your father’s username and password to read the official report: apparently a pack of dreamed wolves had torn them to pieces when they had tried to neutralise a dreamer.

The murderer was barely a teenager. In a couple of years, she would be as lethal as nuclear weapons. You balled up your fists and gritted your teeth when you got to the end of the last page. It was stated there, black and white, that the dreamer had managed to escape after the massacre. God, she was still out there somewhere in Daegu, putting innocent lives in danger with her existence. Mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters. Who knew who else would fall victim to her next rampage.

It took you three months to hunt her down, but he ended up being your first kill.

In two years, you became one of the best hunters in the Asian branch of your organisation. Your youthful and fairy-like features helped you tear down the walls these freaks built around themselves out of self-preservation. You had no match in the country when it came to lulling the monsters into a false sense of security.

‘Why are you doing this to me?’ Your (fake) best friend turned into (fake) boyfriend’s pained question came from behind you just when you took your knives out of your purse. They were hidden in a textile roll, each one of them having their own slit in which they were waiting for your next target to be interrogated.

You shot a pitiful smile in Ten’s direction. In another life, you would have loved to grow old with him, have a family and a bunch of kittens together, but in this one he had unfortunately been born as a dreamer. And you knew no mercy when it came to these murderers.

‘Because someone has to stop you before you bring chaos to the world,’ you offered a brief explanation; the same reason you gave to everyone who had the mental presence to ask such questions after waking up being tied to a chair, any kind of pipe or sturdy furniture. You told yourself he wasn’t special.

‘Chaos? With what? My paintings?’ Ten scoffed, the months behind your backs helping you see the poor attempt he was making to not sound freaked out. Funnily, he sounded the same whenever you tried to feed him fresh fruits.

You pushed the useless memory aside and leaned against the backrest of the couch you put your purse back on. It was the newest addition to your shared apartment; a step you shouldn’t have taken in a fake relationship, but had done anyway in a moment of weakness. Because Ten’s creativity knew no limits when it came to organising surprise dates, and you had been too high on the distinct smell of paint and champagne when he had popped the question at the end of your one hundred days’ anniversary.

‘With your dreams,’ you corrected him with as much nonchalance in your voice as you could muster. You were tired of being mad at the world and screaming at delusional freaks who refused to acknowledge the danger they meant for humanity. Two years into the business, you had already realised that it was always the same broken record: “Please, don’t hurt me. I’d never hurt anyone.”

The monster who had killed your parents had also sworn up and down that she couldn’t have hurt a fly. The audacity.

In the silence that followed your retort, you observed the boy’s face, making mental notes of the tiniest twitches and unintentional frowns. Like this, you could effortlessly pinpoint the very moment the puzzle pieces came together in his mind.

‘You know,’ he whispered, his resignation painting his beautiful, sun-kissed skin an ashy grey colour. Eyes boring deep into yours, he couldn’t conceal his fear anymore.

He had never told you about his dreams, nor had he ever mentioned to you why he needed sleeping pills before going to bed. You clearly weren’t supposed to know.

But you did. You had known from the get-go.

‘I know.’

For the first time since he had woken up, Ten tried to pull on the ropes in hope of getting out of them, but to his misfortune, you weren’t an amateur. His restrictions didn’t even budge. He gave up after the third futile attempt and looked up at you with narrowed eyes as if he was looking for some sympathy. You made damn sure he didn’t find any.

Your cold attitude made him come to another realisation; to one that was just as nasty as the previous imaginary punch in his guts.

‘You made me pursue you,’ he accused you, the disbelief palpable in his call out. You felt no shame when you shrugged. You had done so, so what?

‘It had to be believable,’ the explanation fell from your lips as you linked your arms in front of your chest, your fingers steady on your weapons. You usually didn’t waste so much time on useless chatters with your targets, but you guessed Ten deserved a couple of more peaceful minutes before you got down to business.

(You might have stalled on purpose to prepare yourself for the sound of his screams.) 

Ten pressed his lips together, into a firm line before his shoulders sagged and he let out a loud sigh. He shook his head, breathing through his nose.

‘I don’t believe you. You couldn’t have possibly faked everything,’ he stated confidently, a personality trait you had actually grown to like in him, although you would have rather poked your own eyes out than admit it. So what if his confidence was attractive? There were lots of attractive men in the world out of which hundreds of thousands were currently living in your country. ‘Even if you don’t love me, you have to at least like me.’

It was your turn to scoff, even though the sound that came out from your mouth did sound a tad fake to your ears. Therefore, to be safe rather than sorry, you decided to put the teaser and the set of knives back into your purse and pulled out your gun. Because what if he was right? What if deep, deep, deep down you cared? You couldn’t have afforded to be affected by his pain. If his statement could draw a reaction this raw out of you, you had to change your plans. Him being neutralised was higher on your priority list than gaining whatever knowledge he might have had about his kind.

At the sight of the new weapon, Ten’s eyes became twice as wide as they had been a moment ago. His fingers were itching to do anything other than holding onto the end of the armrest his lower arms were tied to. He was on the verge of panicking.

‘Come on, shorty! You know me. We spent the last five months together, you know me! I couldn’t kill a fly. Chaos to the world? I’m a painter,’ he rambled, each sentence falling from his lips more breathless than the previous one. It didn’t help that he was constantly shaking his head as though the gesture made his objection more credible. Yeah, you knew he was a painter. He was also working on new designs for a rookie high-end fashion brand. What did his profession have to do with his ability to pull rabid animals, brainless soldiers and deadly weapons out of his dreams? He could have quite literally dropped a nuclear bomb on your neighbourhood if he had decided to let his imagination run wild while he was sleeping next to you.

‘You’re a monster,’ you reasoned firmly, taking a step closer to the chair he was sitting on. However, you stopped an arm’s length from him before you could have gotten too close. He started to get frantic and you needed a fool-proof plan to handle it before all hell could have gotten loose. You had faith in the rope you had brought, but not in yourself, which was an unwelcome first.

‘I donate two thirds of my income from my paintings. I volunteer at the local animal shelter. You saw me being protective over Yangyang when he got the flu. Do you really think I’m a monster?’

The corner of your mouth twitched, but you refused to acknowledge the stinging sensation in your chest. People who were slowly sucking the life out of their own employees showed up at charity events to play saints in front of the public. You were sure serial killers also had friends they were obsessively protective over.

You destroyed the remaining distance between the two of you with one final step. 

‘I’m sorry, Ten. You can’t change my mind,’ you insisted, but bent down to fondle his cheek to soothe his nerves. Another unwelcome first you wished you wouldn’t have done solely because the momentary hope in his eyes hurt. You closed your eyes, so you wouldn’t have to see him, then leaned close to his ear and said, thinking of your parents who had been torn into shreds by dreamed animals: ‘To me, all you can say are pretty lies and useless half-truths. I want to believe you’re harmless, but you’re not. One day, in one way, you will bring destruction to the world. I can’t let that happen.’

You couldn’t let that happen.

‘Please…’

You knew Ten sobs would visit you in your dreams for a long time. The irony of it didn’t slip your attention.

‘I’ll make it quick. You won’t feel a thing, I promise,’ you reassured him and as your lower lip trembled, you swallowed down the bile in your throat and pulled away just to take one last look at the fear in his eyes.

It was a mistake, but you couldn’t make yourself regret it. After all, then, there was still life in his chocolate orbs.

You pressed your lips against his forehead and kissed him gently as you pulled the trigger.

the end.