#zack the guard dog

[zacksephreunion]

zack under sephiroth's orders is even more deadly than sephiroth himself come @ me bruv

[nerdynanny]

@dnangelic caught the attention of the excitable pup. rip dark

"I like you. We're friends now. Do you work out? You look like you work out. Woah-- and your hair is so cool! I've never seen hair that color before. And you're pretty too--" He's one to talk-- a tall-ish sort of guy himself, with wild dark hair and striking blue eyes.

Though in his eyes, the purple haired dude in the fancy threads was way cooler than most of the folk he'd met in his life. Honestly-- a guy like that could give Sephiroth a run for his money, least as far as Zack was concerned.

"Are you a model?"

[lookismfanfics]

I NEED THE PART 2 OF THEM SLEEPING ON THE CHEST

Thank you all for the support! I’ll do my best 🫡

𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐.

Warnings: Fluff, jealousy, mild cursing, J*mes L**, DG spoilers

Zack • Johan • Gun • Goo • James L. • Kouji • Vin • Samuel

𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤

🝮 One thing you’ve learned about teenage boys since you began dating one, is that the combination of tiredness and trust is a deadly one.

🝮 You watched Zack train today. He called you to his gym, showed off, and wore himself out.

🝮 So now that you’re home, you can see his displays of fatigue more clearly.

🝮 He becomes a puppy 😩

🝮 Maybe a grumpy puppy. But his eyes are soft and warm like a protective guard dog.

🝮 You help him out of his jacket and shoes- seeing as his hands are still sore.

🝮 The cold weather has its effects- even on your moron of a boyfriend.

🝮 You push his flopping bangs out of his hair, rubbing extra lotion onto his cracking hands.

🝮 The motion of your hands rubbing against his makes his eyelids droop.

🝮 You both fall onto the couch a few minutes later.

🝮 It doesn’t take long for you to see that Zack is on the brink of falling asleep.

🝮 “Come here,” you say as you open your arms to him.

🝮 Zack’s eyes, dark and soulful, don’t betray the doubt he feels. He hesitates.

🝮 “How come?”

🝮 You shrug- ignoring the sheepishness you feel crawling at your insides.

🝮 He looks at you full of trust, like this is secretly what he wanted the whole time, and all you can do is nod understandingly. You already know.

🝮 The thing about trust is that Zack has put all of his in you, and when he’s tired, he trusts you to tend to him in his vulnerability 🤲

🝮 Soon enough Zack is leaning onto your shoulder, breathing heavily against the fabric of your hoodie.

🝮 And gradually the two of you shift, and he relaxes his cheeks into your chest.

🝮 You play with his hair— trying desperately to stay cool while he drifts off to sleep.

🝮 I’m not gonna lie to you, sometimes he drools in his sleep, so watch out

🝮 You were the one that initiated it- sort of. In the morning he wants to pay you back. 🫣

𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐧

🝮 You’re sitting on your armchair.

🝮 And Johan is sitting across the room.

🝮 Your hands rub gently between Eden’s perky ears, spurring on his excited tail wags and tip-tappy paws.

🝮 With Eden sitting in between your feet, Miro has no choice but to jump by your legs and wag her tail.

🝮 And as you smile, whispering sweet pet-names to the dogs, Johan frowns.

🝮 “They’re not usually this excited—” You laugh, looking up to Johan

🝮 Johan: 👺

🝮 You shift in your seat, releasing the fluffy ears of Eden and directing your attention at his owner.

🝮 “Is something wrong…?” You get the feeling like it’s something stupid, but to Johan it probably won’t be.

🝮 The corners of his mouth continue to perk downward, his brows furrowing gently.

🝮 Then he stands, walking towards you, kneeling down in front of you.

🝮 You’re on the edge of your seat, staring at him blankly. Waiting for him to explain.

🝮 And then, with his dark eyes still holding your gaze, Johan leans forward and rests his cheek against your chest.

🝮 🫠🫠🫠

🝮 “Johan…?” You suppress a chuckle, watching silently as he leans further into you, wrapping his arms around your middle.

🝮 The two of you gradually relax into the arm chair. He ends up straddling your lap a bit, head still firmly placed in your chest.

🝮 You listen quietly as he falls asleep, his breaths becoming heavier and evening out.

🝮 You stroke the bangs away from his eyes, pressing your lips against his forehead as she slumbers. Soon enough you fall asleep too.

🝮 Sweet bbb. A little jealous…?

🝮 He didn’t initiate it. You didn’t either. It was Eden 🫵

𝐆𝐮𝐧

🝮 He’s leaning forward on the edge of the couch, head sagging as he inwardly relays his day.

🝮 Your legs are wrapped around his hips, fingers pressing into his taut muscles.

🝮 “You look tired,” you mumble against the fabric of his shirt.

🝮 Jonggeon has just returned from a long day at work. His muscles are tight and sore, his hair begs to be played with after being styled for so long, his eyes are glazed and unfocused.

🝮 “You think I’m tired…? I don’t get tired.” You can hear the smirk even if you don’t see it, and you press harder into his shoulder blade.

🝮 He doesn’t flinch but he does shut up.

🝮 Your hands move to the sides of his face, cupping his porcelain cheeks that you know are secretly pudgy.

🝮 You use your fingers to stoke at the sides of his face, closing your eyes are you press against his muscular back.

🝮 “Aren’t you using that technique to help babies fall asleep?” Gun asks, turning his head towards you.

🝮 “So what if I am? Maybe that’s how I think of you…” you smile against his back, prodding his cheeks to further your teasing

🝮 He huffs indignantly, turning back to the front.

🝮 The room is cluttered- as a man’s flat should be. Except Gun’s place is usually neat- so it makes sense that the two of you are house sitting for Goo.

🝮 You feel Gun’s body getting warmer and his head sagging forward.

🝮 Gun is hot 99.9% of the time. That 1% is when he turns into a lap potato 🥔

🝮 You retract your hands away from his face, pull your legs out from his sides

🝮 “You should get some sleep,” you murmur, standing and planting a kiss on the crown of his head.

🝮 Gun grabs your wrist, “Where’re you going?” And you’re about to reply—

🝮 Wait a minute 😃 ☝️

🝮 You’re not standing anymore. You’re lying down?

🝮 Gun hovers above you, arms encasing you on either side.

🝮 You: 🐭

🝮 He can sense your embarrassment, even if you stubbornly refuse to show it. A smile appears on his face as he lowers onto your chest.

🝮 *Alarms go off in your head*

🝮 “Gun- get off-!” You try shoving this hunk away. It’s not working.

🝮 You close your eyes, willing yourself to calm down. You feel Gun’s eyelashes fluttering against your chest as he stares up at you.

🝮 His arms are still holding you to him. He’s still in control. He’s still on the verge of falling asleep-

🝮 You hear his breaths even out. You release a sigh you didn’t know you were holding in.

🝮 Now that Gun is asleep on your chest, you’re free to admire whatever part of him you can get a glimpse of. 👀

🝮 He initiated it. He knew exactly what he was doing. If he’s gonna be vulnerable he’s taking you down with him.

How did this one get so freaking long—?

𝐆𝐨𝐨

🝮 Goofy starts reading the trophy encased in his large gloved hands, voice reaching peak emotion. And as his son Max nods to his words, the sunset cascading shades of orange and pink in the background, pride radiates from the—

🝮 “Achoo-!” a very forced sneeze.

🝮 “Goo you idiot-!” You wail, turning to him with a scowl on your face.

🝮 “Excuse me-? And anyway this movie is boring! Let’s watch something else!”

🝮 Your frown deepens and you smack his hand away from the TV Remote. If you have any say, you two are going to finish An Extremely Goofy Movie.

🝮 But beside you, your goofy- Goo- is pouting like a baby.

🝮 As the movie continues you watch him in silence through the corner of your eye. You watch him stifle a yawn. Rub his eyes with his busted hands. Mumble about his sore neck.

🝮 You frown. It’s easy to recognize that his boredom has made him tired.

🝮 At first you just ignore him and let him be… at least until the end credits start rolling on the screen.

🝮 Your heart flutters as Goo reaches out for your thigh, crawling over you and resting his head on your legs.

🝮 You laugh, staring at the obnoxious expression on his face, “What if I was tired? How am I supposed to fall asleep?”

🝮 He lets out a gasp and frowns, stroking your arm lazily with his finger.

🝮 His expression remains the same… (° v °)

🝮 “How abo-o-u-ut… we b-o-t-h lay down, huh?” He asks slowly, dragging out the syllables

🝮 “Lemme turn on another movie first-” you mutter, leaning across his lean form to grab the remote. Beneath you Goo squirms.

🝮 Your finger barely presses the button before he snatches the remote out of your hands.

🝮 “Kim-!” You hiss irritably.

🝮 He ignores you (of course) and knocks you beside him on the couch.

🝮 “Shh, I got a good movie in mind-!”

🝮 Goo is laying with his back against the couch, surprisingly muscular arms wrapped around your waist.

🝮 You both face the TV screen; your head rests on a decorative pillow; his head lays on your chest.

🝮 By now you’re used to cuddling. Even if you’re not the biggest fan, Goo certainly is.

🝮 So when Newt dies and you’re the only one crying, you have to pause The Death Cure to glare at the man resting on your boobs.

🝮 Goo is sound asleep, rhythmic breaths ruffling your shirt. He looks calm for once.

🝮 Goo: 😴

🝮 You: 👺

🝮 He initiated it— and in return for falling asleep was banned from kissing you for the day.

𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐞

🝮 Today has been a long… long day.

🝮 You heard about the increased vocal training James had been undertaking…. And a little birdie also noted that he was more than good

🝮 You weren’t sure what to expect, really.

🝮 When you arrived at his newly furnished flat, you found him staring at the fish tank.

🝮 His hair looked neater. His eyes looked dull.

🝮 He looked incredibly tired, incredibly handsome, and made you feel incredibly unhappy.

🝮 “Hey Ja— Diego. What’s with the soft boy look?” You try quietly, smiling as you lug the groceries into the kitchen.

🝮 He remained stationary at the fish tank, shoving his hands into his pockets.

🝮 You: 🧍

🝮 He shrugged his shoulders, turning his angular face towards you lazily, “It’s my new face. If you got a problem with it then too bad.”

🝮 You shake your head slowly, releasing a heavy sigh.

🝮 You knew this transition would be… hard.

🝮 Especially now that your boyfriend was realizing just how much he would have to change to fit into his new persona.

🝮 And even if he agreed to it and claimed it was for the best, you couldn’t help but feel a little irritated.

🝮 What happened to that wolffish boy? The legend of the first generation? The boy who had winked at you when he had just pummeled your would-be-assaulters as though they were nothing but animals

🝮 James Lee was being restrained. Limited in this new form of himself- Diego. A K-Pop idol.

🝮 That’s not to say he didn’t look handsome, or still act like his charming self. He did. But his previous ferocity was extinguished… and it was leaving him feeling empty.

🝮 “You look nice,” you say, opening the fridge with the milk carton in hand. “It’s just different.”

🝮 “This was supposed to make me look hotter. Do I not look hot to you?”

🝮 You try to hide your smile. That’s a trick that won’t work on you. Whatever he’s doing will not seduce you.

🝮 You turn. And sure enough there he is.

🝮 Yeah. He does look hot. With his gently molded muscles flexing as he leans onto the kitchen counter, bangs curtaining his aristocratic face.

🝮 You thought James was handsome before. But this sealed the deal.

🝮 “Uh huh, whatever you say DG,” You turn away with a smirk. “Looks like someone needs a nap though~”

🝮 In the reflection of the shiny new stove you can make out his hand reaching for his eyes, rubbing tenderly beneath them on his dark circles.

🝮 “It looks that obvious?” “Only to me, babe.”

🝮 You walk over to the large, luxurious couch. You’re still getting used to being around all this fancy furniture.

🝮 The black leather sinks into your weight as you sprawl across the length of the couch, resting your back against the arm.

🝮 James trails behind you, laying next to you and wrapping his arm around your shoulders.

🝮 “Nuh uh…” you adjust, shoving him down. “None of that alpha male crap or whatever. Go to sleep.”

🝮 DG rests his head on your chest, looking up at you with watchful, dark eyes.

🝮 You play with his tufts of tamed pastel hair, smiling as he relaxes into your touch.

🝮 This is the result of years of trust stacking up. This is the result of James humbling himself and admitting he had caught feelings. You weren’t just another string attached to the whole conquering sham. You were his (Y/N).

🝮 His eyelids fluttered shut, long eyelashes resting against his soft pale cheeks. His breathing evened out, and James was officially asleep.

🝮 You smiled, leaning your head back onto the pillow. He was still just James.

🝮 You initiated it… but this wasn’t the first time.

𝐊𝐨𝐮𝐣𝐢

🝮 You never expected it to be such a mess.

🝮 Sure, you weren’t envisioning a neat, Candy-wrapper free environment that mirrored a magazine master bedroom, but still…

🝮 “Kouji… how can you live like this?”

🝮 You catch a glimpse of his cheeks flaring red.

🝮 “It’s not that messy. Don’t complain if I’m gonna be doing the actual job, otherwise I won’t do it.”

🝮 You nod to yourself, watching him flop onto his bed with his laptop.

🝮 He vaguely gestured for you to sit down, and you do so.

🝮 And then for the next hour or so, all you do is watch his purple head bounce up and down as he works his computer magic.

🝮 You: 😶

🝮 Kouji: 😪

🝮 By now the two of you have your backs to the wall. You’re actually leaning against it.

🝮 You watch wordlessly as his body slowly reclines backwards. His hands rub at his eyes more frequently.

🝮 His usual factual mutterings turn into nothing but incomprehensible gibberish

🝮 Those pudgy, mochi cheeks that drive you crazy are finally resting against your shoulder.

🝮 You try not to smirk— seeing as the arrogant genius is now out-of-his-wits and asleep on your shoulder.

🝮 And then as the two of you slide downwards, you begin to relax. After all, you and him have gotten pretty close-

🝮 Those baby-pudge cheeks make you want to melt.

🝮 Especially now that they’re on your chest—

🝮 🚨 🚨 🚨

🝮 “KOUJI WAKE UP!”

🝮 “H-Huh? What? JEEZ GET AWAY FROM ME!”

🝮 It was an accident. It was awkward. Maybe he banned you from his room? Or maybe it turned into a make-out session, who knows.

𝐕𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐢𝐧

🝮 You don’t normally spend your weekends in his living room, surrounded by piles of snacks he doesn’t want to share.

🝮 Yet here you are.

🝮 Up until now, you and Vin haven’t hung out without Mary.

♕ Mary insisted she was sick today. And couldn't make it. 🙄

🝮 It was a load of bull. But whatever.

🝮 “Well what am I supposed to eat?” you snap.

🝮 He ignores you, but you continue: “You’re taking all the good snacks bro. I can’t survive on the crumbs- I’m growing to—”

🝮 Another obnoxious crunch.

🝮 Vin pulls his hand out of the bag, extending one measly puffy Cheeto.

🝮 “Here. Now shut up so I can focus.”

🝮 “Focus on what? Growing your overinflated ego? Just give me an actual snack.”

🝮 He has an entire hoard of chip bags surrounding him- as well as some pocky sticks and instant ramen that you know he’s hiding from you.

🝮 Vin looks up in your direction, his expression one of clear irritation.

🝮 “You aren’t even trying to write your song!” He grumbles, crunching on another Cheeto and crumbling up the now-empty bag.

🝮 You rub your temples, turning towards your music draft.

🝮 “I can’t focus with all your crunching. I need my own snack.”

🝮 “Why are you so hungry?” He asks, pencil scratching roughly on his paper.

🝮 You watch his side profile wordlessly. The seven-times-tinted sunglasses and swoop of bangs are sure to block his view…

🝮 You’re desperately hungry. Won’t someone give you something to eat~♫

🝮 You reach for the nearest back of Potato Chips, sliding the bag over to yourself as quietly as you can.

🝮 To your surprise; delight; shock; amazement; Vin doesn’t notice at all.

🝮 And then you try opening the bag-

🝮 “The hell?! You mother-“

🝮 Vin is grabbing your waist and you’re kicking at his abs.

🝮 “VinJin you jerk-!”

🝮 “(Y/N) you ass!”

🝮 “Potty-mouthed idiot-“ you roll on top of him, arms straining to hold out as you clasp hands with his larger ones.

🝮 “Snarky— perverted—” He grunts, his hands encasing yours as you two wrestle onto the couch

🝮 “You really fighting me, you coward?” You grit your teeth, kicking at his shins until he gives and falls onto the sofa.

🝮 You both pant, out of breath, until Vin flips on top of you-

🝮 “You started it!” He growls.

🝮 You refuse to look at him, especially now that you’re realizing he can be somewhat attractive…

🝮 His hands are still clasped firmly onto your own, and his brows are still knitted together angrily. “What? Are you mad at me for winning? Cmon, don’t ignore me… jeez you’re as annoying as Mary… (Y/N) come on—”

🝮 He’s about to flop his head into your chest.

🝮 You’re about to shove him into your chest to make him shut up.

🝮 His head is slammed onto your chest, and neither of you can find the words to complain.

🝮 And so it works out… and now the two of you are calming down. Actually… it’s getting a little too calm.

🝮 You open your heavy eyelids, glancing down at Vin. Sure enough, he’s asleep. And you feel the biggest urge to push him off the couch— but somehow you have the feeling that you shouldn’t ruin this moment.

🝮 Hell it was weird. You both initiated it…?!

🝮 This one is also freaking long… oopsies. Y’all got spoiled 💅

𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐞𝐥

🝮 When you’re dating someone as sadistic as Samuel, who’s alliance seems to always be jumping from one person to the next, and who’s mental stability relies heavily on how he lives up to his own standards, then you’re sure to experience the wipeout days.

🝮 The sort of days where the old person is gone, and he’s replaced by an empty shell of himself.

🝮 For Samuel- today is one of those days.

🝮 You sit on the modern lounge chair that overlooks the city below, feeling comfortable despite your usual fear of heights.

🝮 (If you aren’t afraid of heights then shut up and pretend because you are now 🤡)

🝮 Your legs are crossed, your laptop rests on your thighs, and you listen attentively to the streamer you’re watching.

🝮 Samuel stands by the window with his back to you.

🝮 Every now and then you glance up at him worriedly

🝮 He’s not normally this quiet around you… or so tame. Normally it’s a war zone of snarky and perverted remarks.

🝮 “Samuel…?”

🝮 He turns to you slightly, defined jawline taut and tempting. You see his eyebrows draw together tightly and his lips purse.

🝮 “Hmm?” he hums from deep within his throat.

🝮 “You okay? You seem kinda tense.”

🝮 He turns to you, and then you can see it.

🝮 The depressed, empty shell of your normally sharp-witted boyfriend.

🝮 You can see past his sterile gaze: a glint of short-temperedness in his eyes. The frown on your face continues to deepen.

🝮 “I’m fine. Thank you for being so thoughtful,” he smiles rigidly.

🝮 “What’s with you?” You ask as you set aside your computer, giving him the attention he deserves.

🝮 He shrugs his shoulders as he approaches your open arms, kneeling in front of you.

🝮 You slide out of the chair and sit on the floor with him. “Come on Sammy…”

🝮 And then you’re both laying on the floor, and his powerful form is suddenly vulnerable now that he’s wrapped in your arms.

🝮 You stroke his hair, combing beneath the buzz cut and into his thick roots, calming both him and yourself down.

🝮 His cheek rests on your chest, and he smirks up at you every now and then.

🝮 When he feels in the mood again, it’s sexy time and he’ll die before you find him in this position. But for now he feels comfortable… so he’s going to stay like this.

🝮 That angular face of his is pressed into your breast, and you can’t help but feel a little hot at the thought.

🝮 “Let’s just fall asleep right here.”

🝮 That’s exactly what you did.

🝮 You initiated it— since you’ve done it before. But it doesn’t happen often- so treasure his vulnerable side while you can 😩

🝮 Also I know his character design is just for sex-appeal…. But come on guys he needs more fluff content 🥺

[cobaltperun]

Lost (9) - Lost

Tara Carpenter x Female Reader

Summary: To anyone on the outside, and to Tara’s friends, you were Tara’s fierce protector, the MMA fighter who’d take anyone on for Tara. The Guard Dog, as Amber called you. You had no idea you’d have to protect her from people who claimed they loved her. It didn’t matter. As long as you and Tara had one another there was nothing you wouldn’t be able to survive.

Story warnings: Scream violence, family issues, trauma, angst, certain sensitive topics

Word count: 6.9k

Story masterlist / First part / Previous part / Next part

-I'm lost in these memories living behind my own illusion. Lost all my dignity living inside my own confusion-

It was suffocating, the entire house, the clean, white walls let like they were closing in on you, the furniture, custom made and as huge as the ego of your parents felt like it would fall on top of you any moment now, and you were stuck there, unable to move.

You were ten and your entire world fell apart. It wasn’t fair, it just wasn’t fair. Zack wasn’t dead, he couldn’t be dead! Your father had to be lying!

“He’s dead,” he repeated, looking like he was talking about spilled milk, and you felt sick, you felt lightheaded, your legs couldn’t hold your weight and you dropped to your hands and knees, sobbing uncontrollably, your fists clenching as your body shook. “Stop crying, Y/N,” he ordered, his tone harsh and unforgiving, and it made you flinch as you covered you mouth to stop the sobs, but you couldn’t stop the tears, they just kept falling.

Your mother grabbed your shoulders and pulled you to your feet so hard you nearly fell back. “Go to your room, your father is expecting important guests,” she ushered you to go upstairs, to be the obedient daughter. And you did just that, running up the stairs while your legs felt like they would crumble under your weight, just so you could get to your room.

Once inside you stumbled to your bed and pulled a small toy boxer from behind your pillow. Tears fell on it as you held it close. The only gift Zack gave you that you managed to keep, to smuggle into your room without your parents noticing. Anything else they took, and you never saw it again, photos, toys, books, it didn’t matter what Zack got for you, it was gone. So, aside from the toy boxer, he gave you his time, as much as he could, and he gave you the basics of martial arts, he taught them to you, he taught you discipline better than anything your parents ever signed you up for. You buried your face in the pillow, muffling your cries and screams, you were alone now, you lost your brother.

You didn’t know how long it took you to stop crying, by the time you did the Sun was getting low and you were just too exhausted to keep sobbing.

Even now, at ten years old, you felt the room you were in wasn’t who you were. It was, as your mother described it, a girl’s room, flowery and colorful, filled with clothes appropriate for your parents’ wealth and a customary violin they wanted you to learn how to play. You were meant to grow into a young lady that scoffed at anything even mildly violent, someone who relied on other people to cook and clean for you, and if you really wanted to, you would get the education needed to take over your father’s company.

That’s who you were supposed to be, but meeting Zack changed that.

And you found your passion in martial arts and the vision your parents had of you would never come true.

But, just like you took away their vision of their perfect daughter, they took the toy boxer away, taking the only remaining physical reminders of your brother away. Only allowing you to go to the funeral because you wouldn’t shut up about it. And to completely remove you from those memories they chose to move, hoping that maybe, leaving the city you spent so much time with Zack in, would made those memories fade away. At the start of 2012, two months after Zack’s death you and your parents moved to Woodsboro.

Woodsboro was a strange experience at first, a small town, with people suspicious of anyone new. You didn't care, you were still shaken by the loss, shaken by being torn from the life you had. Looking back now, there wasn't much of a life there, but to a ten-year-old you that was all you had. Especially after losing Zack.

Two weeks into your time in Woodsboro you just walked around, figuring out where what was when you noticed a tiny girl pushing a bicycle and carrying a bag. She was alone, and she seemed to be struggling. Why was a girl who didn't look older than seven all on her own with a bicycle that looked like it would be too big even for you?

The girl your parents raised would have minded your own business and avoided any attention. Zack taught you to be better than that.

"Uh, hey," you approached her awkwardly. She raised her head when she figured out you were talking to her. The first thing you noticed upon a closer look were her expressive brown eyes and freckles on her face. "Need help?"

She seemed genuinely surprised, but at the same time looked weary. You couldn't blame her, this was the first time she had seen you. "No, but thanks for offering help," she gave you a small, shy smile and walked by you.

Well, you weren't about to force her into accepting help. You offered, she didn't accept it, so you shrugged. But then she began coughing and dropped to her knees, her bicycle falling to the side as some of the content from her bag spilled out. You ran up to her since there was no one nearby to do it instead.

"Hey, are you sick or something?" you had no idea what to do, you were ten and confused and not used to situations like this one.

The girl nodded, pulling out something and taking a breath. Something that helped her breathe? "Asthma," she muttered. "I'm fine now, I'm sorry," you didn't understand why she was apologizing, but you began picking her things up. You noticed it was mostly food that was quick to make and cheap, but you didn't comment on that.

"Hey! Stay away from Tara!" health complications weren't something you were used to reacting to, but sudden fights definitely were. You jumped to your feet, grabbing the fist before it could reach your face. The girl that attacked you was a few inches taller than you, and she was definitely stronger as she pushed you back hard enough to make you stumble and fall.

"No, Sammy, she was helping," the smaller girl quickly hugged this ‘Sammy’ from behind.

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't recognize you, so," she trailed off, looking uncomfortable all of a sudden.

You frowned and huffed as you got up, really not liking that she went with the 'swing first, ask questions later' approach. "Right, I'll be leaving now," you just backed away and left the two. Hopefully, you won't run into them that often, because this was not a good first impression.

~X~

Something really seemed to push you and the girl together, because it only took a week at school to see her again. Or, well, she bumped into you.

"I'm sorry! I'm late for class!" she ran off before you could even comprehend what just happened.

"Huh, her again," you mumbled to yourself and then realized what she said. "I'm late!" there was no time to think about another chance meeting.

Ever since then, there have been small encounters, seeing each other in the hall, and coming across each other on the street. Never a conversation though, you still didn't exchange names, though the girl that attacked you said 'Tara' so maybe that was the girl's name. You really liked that name for some reason. You felt like it fit the girl.

The first time you spoke it was actually December of that year. So, nearly a year went by with occasional glances here and there, simply acknowledging that the other existed. The school had this kinda awful karate class, but it was the only martial arts they had, so you went. Which was why you stayed at school after classes. It was a downpour outside, and you were not eager to leave, but, there was no telling if the rain would slow down. So, you pulled your hood over your head and stepped outside.

That was when you noticed her, trembling at the entrance, clearly not dressed for this cold, well she had a jacket on, that was too big for her, but it wasn’t much of a protection from this. She was soaked from head to toe from the rain, alone. Again.

"You'll get sick, at least get inside the school," you tilted your head to the side as you spoke to the girl. And she had asthma, and you didn’t know much about it, but you knew enough to understand getting sick especially bad for her.

She looked up. "Mom won't see me if I'm inside and she'll leave," the girl said as if it was the most obvious reason in the history of reasons.

"Since when are you waiting?" you asked, honestly hoping she also had some after-class activities because the alternative was her freezing in this rain for an hour and a half.

"Since school ended," yeah, you doubted her mother was coming. What kind of parent would make their child wait like this? At least your parents made it clear they wouldn’t pick you up from school, regardless of the weather.

You frowned, wondering if there were any alternative solutions. The school bus was long gone. You didn't know if the local bus went near the girl's house, and you didn't have a phone. "Can you walk?"

She shook her head. "I'm tired," now that you paid a bit more attention to her you figured you were wrong. She wasn't going to get sick. She already was. Her face was red, and her voice was a bit raspy. And she just spent an hour and a half standing in the rain. "Mom isn't coming, is she?" she asked, her eyes brimming with unshed tears, but she tried to stay strong. What else could she do, she was on her own, too tired to walk to her house.

"Probably not. Come on, I'll take you home," you took your bag off and turned your back to her. "Get on," when she didn't you figured she maybe couldn't climb on your back as sick as she was, so you crouched down. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"N-No, it's okay, I, I'm fine," she stammered, and you only held your umbrella out to her.

"You're light, I won't even feel you," well, you would, after some time, but you could handle it. Hey, it would be a good exercise. "I'm Y/N, in case that was weird because you didn't know my name."

You turned your head around and saw she had the same expression she had when you offered to help her when you first saw each other. Like she hasn’t experienced more than basic kindness in a long time.

"Please, I wouldn't be able to sleep well if I just left you here," you tried, offering her your hand. Reluctantly she took it and took that step closer to you. Seeing that she agreed with your idea you went back to the previous position and waited.

"Thanks. I'm Tara," she sounded really shy all of a sudden. "I'm sorry Sam pushed you before," you wondered why she still remembered that when you felt her get on your back and put her hands on your shoulders. You got up as if she wasn't even there. Just how light was this girl? Definitely too light. Even for her age. You wondered for a moment if she had proper meals. Given her mother didn’t come to pick her up you weren’t so sure she was being properly taken care of.

"Don't worry, as long as she doesn't do it again," you chuckled and handed her the umbrella. "Uh, my hands are kinda full, so if you don't mind?"

Tara nodded, taking the umbrella and opening it just as you stepped into the rain. It didn't shield you much, but it helped. "How old are you?" you figured you might as well pass some time while you were walking to Tara's house.

"I'll turn ten in a week," she said. "You?"

Ten? She was about to turn ten?! This girl? How?! She was tiny! You thought she was eight at best!

"Uh, Y/N," she squeezed your shoulder a bit.

You cleared your throat awkwardly. "Sorry, I thought you were younger. I'm eleven," you finally replied.

"Mean," oh, she definitely understood what you were implying.

"Sorry, sorry, look at it from the brighter side, if you were bigger I wouldn't be able to carry you home," you tried to cheer her up a bit.

"Yeah, that really makes up for being short," ooh, sarcasm, you liked that.

"Exactly!" you chuckled as if you thought she was serious.

Tara groaned and hid her face behind your shoulder, but you heard a tiny giggle despite the rain.

And that was the start. The actual start.

~X~

Tomorrow you didn’t see Tara in the halls, you expected as much, but yesterday she told you what class she was in so you went and asked one of the kids in her class if she came to school. That’s how you confirmed she didn’t come to school, so, without bothering to tell your parents, because they wouldn’t notice anyway, you made your way to her house.

Boldly and without a hint of hesitation you walked up to her front doors and knocked a few times. No one answered, so you tried again, and again until finally you heard someone yelling they were coming. The woman that opened the doors looked somewhat like Tara, with dark hair and eyes, but she didn’t exactly look sober.

“What do you want runt?” the woman asked, confused by your presence.

“Good afternoon. I’m sorry if I’m bothering you, I’m here to see Tara,” you went for the polite approach, not really sure what else would work.

The woman nodded. “She’s a bit sick, but sure, go upstairs, you’ll hear her,” you raised an eyebrow at that. You’ll hear Tara?

“Thank you,” you quickly thanked the woman and slipped your shoes off before going up the stairs. You did hear Tara, as the woman said you would, because she was coughing. “Shit,” you cursed under your breath. Just how sick was she? You approached the doors and knocked.

“Come in,” came raspy and confused voice.

You opened the doors and waved at the girl. “Hey, you, uh, didn’t come to school, so I figured I could drop by to check on you,” you smiled sheepishly at her astonished face, but she didn’t sit up, she was too sick.

“Y/N?” she rubbed her eyes as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“One and only,” you grinned as you approached her.

Tara giggled a bit, but that made her start coughing again.

“Easy,” you were reminded of Zack a bit before he died, and you remembered he would sleep while half-sitting up when it became too difficult to breathe. He said his body was exhausted fighting the heart issues, and because of that he easily got sick near the end of his life, only making his life even shorter. So, remembering that you went up to Tara and lifted her upper body up, much to her confusion, but it stopped her coughing for a bit while you looked around for something to prop the pillow up with. Eventually, you noticed a smaller pillow next to her and used it to lift her pillow higher. “This should help a bit, I think,” you lowered her back to the pillow and she smiled weakly.

“Thanks, it’s easier to breathe now,” she whispered and patted the spot next to her. “Stay with me for a bit?”

You nodded, and the two of you just sat there in silence, already strangely comfortable in each other’s presence. Half an hour later the doors opened again and you turned to see Sam standing there, baffled and confused.

“You’re… the one from that day? The girl I pushed? Y/N?” she asked, not sure how to react to you being there, but then she looked at Tara and visibly relaxed.

“Yeah, nice to meet you, properly I mean,” you grinned a bit and Sam just nodded.

~X~

After that the chance meetings turned into quick chats between classes or at least a high-five and a smile as you passed by one another. By the end of the month, you sometimes walked Tara home, carrying her if she was too tired and just chatting and joking on your way home. It didn’t matter your house was in the opposite direction, because you enjoyed her company way more than whatever was waiting for you at home.

Before you knew it, sometime after the holidays were over, she was tugging on your sleeve to meet a group of kids that were a bit younger than her.

“This is Y/N, my best friend!” she introduced you and you couldn’t hide your surprise. You were her best friend?

“Hey! We heard you like karate!” one of the boys, Chad greeted you cheerily.

You could work with that. “Martial arts in general, but sure I like karate as well,” you grinned, though your grin dropped when he rushed at you. You just pulled Tara to the side and let him run by you. “Uh, what were you trying to do?” you asked, chuckling uncomfortably as he tripped and fell into the snow, causing the other three kids to laugh.

“I was trying to tackle you! You like martial arts so I wanted to see if you were any good at it,” he got up and brushed the snow off his pants and jacket.

“So, don’t rushed at her like Pikachu!” the girl that looked a lot like him, his twin Mindy, from what Tara told you, teased him, causing another round of laughter.

That was how it was back then. Chad had Wes, and Mindy had Amber, so, before you came along Tara was the kid with asthma they met because Sam used to babysit them that was now in their grade because she had to repeat a year. Amber took liking to Tara and pulled her into the group, but Tara didn’t have her own best friend at the moment. So, you filled that gap. You were her best friend.

That being said, Amber was still the one who gave name to the role you played in Tara's life.

About half a year into the newfound friendship Tara invited you to go to a picnic with her and her friends. It wasn't even going to be much of a picnic since there wouldn't be anything to eat other than some snacks, but it was a chance to get out of home, so you accepted.

You joined the group at the park and high-fived Tara before waving to the other four. "Mindy, Chad, Wes, Amber," you grinned and sat down next to Tara as the four greeted you back.

The day was going the same way it usually did, usual banter, usual jokes, Amber trying to keep Tara's attention on her, Mindy teasing Wes, Chad trying to get into a joke scuffle with you and you, of course, not backing down from said competition, all the while Tara caught you up with what happened to her over the past few days.

Eventually, Chad, bored and mischievous as he was, grabbed Tara's bottle just as she was about to take it.

Tara was still tiny, and Chad didn't have to try to keep the bottle away from her. "Just say please Tara," Chad teased her by waving the bottle just out of her reach.

Tara smirked a bit. "Please, right?" she asked and Chad, now slightly confused nodded. She glanced at you, smiling as she saw you looking right at her while you lay down on the grass. "Y/N."

You couldn't help but snicker as you sat up, really impressed by how bold she got when you were with her. Chad caved in before you had the chance to get to your feet and you all shared a laugh.

Amber shook her head. "I'm telling you all, Y/N is Tara's guard dog," Amber laughed to cover it up as a joke, but there was a bit of malice behind those words.

You turned to Chad as soon as the laughter settled down. "Woof, woof?" and the six of you were once again laughing.

It became a bit of a running joke, really, that Tara only had to say your name in some situations, and you'd be right by her side. 'Tara calls and you bark,' was the original joke. The guard dog never bites though because it was always with friends. It was always small things that couldn't lead to violence. Guarding Tara from a stray ball in the park, or keeping her from falling if she tripped next to you, small things like that were why Amber began calling you the guard dog and others accepted the nickname.

And then the joke changed into 'Tara barks and you bite', because the guard dog bit. You got into a fight.

~X~

You were a couple of months away from turning fourteen and you just found out your parents chose not to help Zack. Your father wouldn't help to pay for the medicine and Susan had no way of getting enough money. She was already in debt for medical bills and couldn't even sell the house. Your father came from money, not old, old money, but his parents were rich enough to help him get very rich. To the point where he wouldn't even feel the medical bills.

He and your mother, plain and simple, didn't want to do it. 'Good riddance,' your father said. 'No son of his was a barbaric, violent no-good fighter.'

Your temper was short, you could feel anger rising within you in less time than it took to snap fingers. That's how short your fuse was. Somehow, the only exception to that anger was Tara.

Woodsboro was usually quiet, but a new Stab movie had just released, and some tourists were bound to come by. One of them got you to snap.

Tara had begged you to go see The Babadook with her when it finally came to your local cinema. So, you, of course, went with her. It was a good movie, though you probably wouldn't go to see it if it wasn't for Tara. Tara loved it though, it was her new favorite thing, and from the looks of it that wouldn't change any time soon.

"Man, that movie sucked!" someone complained as you were getting out and Tara turned around.

"No, it didn't!" she immediately argued, being with you gave Tara more confidence, the girl that was startled and timid when you met and when you finally spoke again that day in the rain was nowhere to be found. She was getting bolder, more confident in herself, and you being with her gave her that sense of safety that allowed her to act like that.

"What?" the guy that said The Babadook sucked was maybe two or three years older than you.

"It's a great movie," Tara declared boldly.

The guy laughed and was probably about to dismiss her, but then he raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you Samantha's sister? Tell your sister to get me my money for she'll know what," he suddenly got really serious and you stepped between him and Tara.

"Back off," you firmly stated.

"Yeah? Or what?" he challenged.

"Sam doesn't owe you anything," Tara said as she stepped next to you.

That, apparently made him angry. "Really now? She doesn't? So maybe you can give me my money?" he reached forward, and you just went and did it. You slammed a right uppercut into his jaw, and he fell on the ground. Security got called, he didn't want to call the police, for his own sake, and you got off with a warning from security and a year-long ban from the cinema. What a tragedy that was.

Perhaps it was because she could tell how tense you were, but that was the first time Tara held your hand as you walked to her house. It was a loose hold, but it was a hold, nonetheless.

"Sorry, I lost control there," could the guy get violent? Maybe. Would he? Perhaps. He still didn't exactly do anything that warranted a punch like that.

"It's okay, thanks for having my back there," she whispered and tightened her hold on your hand.

"Well, Amber does say I'm your guard dog," you chuckled, gradually calming down now that you were sure everything was okay. Rumors spread eventually and by the end of it, the tale of punching a slightly older guy turned into getting into a fight with two adults. Well, at least it got the message across as you officially became her guard dog that day. Don't mess with Tara.

~X~

Sam left about a year later, shortly after Tara turned thirteen, you and Tara kept spending time together, you made a deal with your parents that you’d be free once you turned eighteen, that you could leave and that you would play your role of a good daughter until then. And you did, for about three years you did just that, only breaking that deal once, a few months before you turned eighteen.

Tara came over to your place for once. You’d watch a movie in your room, eat a lunch, and then you’d do some homework together. You had an assignment about movies and Tara could easily help you with that and you would help her with some homework she was struggling with at the moment. The day was going great, until it was time to eat lunch, and since it was Sunday both of your parents were home.

You were getting better and better when it came to cooking, and today you were making a risotto for Tara and you. In a way you were lucky that Tara didn’t question why you didn’t make any for your parents as you set the two plates down.

Your father came into the kitchen to make himself a tea, it was one thing he always made for himself, because he had a very specific amount of milk he wanted added to it. And he came in with his cigar freshly lit and you saw red.

“Get out,” you warned, already getting up to open the window.

“No,” yet he refused, exhaling a long puff of smoke as he poured water into the kettle.

You didn’t want to even spare the time to argue, he knew Tara had asthma, you made it clear several times that you wouldn’t let anyone smoke near her. So, you just briskly walked over to him, grabbed the cigar before he could react, put it out and chucked it through the window.

Tara gasped, seeing the anger flash in your father’s eyes as the two of you glared at each other, you weren’t backing down.

“I told you to get out. I told you I don’t want anyone smoking near Tara,” you reminded him as he bared his teeth.

“Insolent child,” his tone was low, but you’ve learnt a long time ago that it was more of a bluff than anything, a tough act of a coward.

Tara didn’t know that. She just saw you and your father being tense, as if you would start arguing any moment now. And she got up, running up to you and pulling you back. “Y/N, please, let’s just go to your room. Or to my place, please Baby,” she tried to get you to look at her, but you just made sure she was behind you, and not between you and your father.

“Baby?” your father’s eyes widened. “Baby?!” he yelled and Tara flinched, hiding behind you and you saw red. He scared Tara. “You are going to stop associating with this girl, Y/N!” he ordered.

“I’m sorry,” Tara whispered just loud enough for you to hear and the red haze faded away, you couldn’t lose it now, it would only make things worse.

You just took her hand, squeezing it gently while glaring at your father. “Try to stop me, see what happens,” you warned, daring him to try and do anything, to raise his hand, to even try to hit you. He wasn’t stupid, by that point you’ve already spent over half your life training martial arts.

He snarled, but seeing he couldn’t intimidate you he just backed away, leaving the kitchen as the kettle whistled.

With him gone you pulled Tara into your arms and the sixteen-year-old girl clung to you as if she was afraid you’d vanish if she let go of you. You held her just as tightly before tucking a stray strand of hair back to its place. “I don’t care what he says,” you assured her gently and felt her relaxing a bit at that, but she still held onto you and you, honestly, didn’t mind. And as you held her in your arms, as her presence alone calmed you down from your anger, as you felt how wildly your heart was beating at her proximity, you realized what you should have realized some time before that, you realized you were in love with Tara.

~X~

Half a year later you had your first fight, you won, but you came back to Woodsboro a day later with bruises all over your body and several nasty swellings. Your lower lip was busted, and not just a bit. There were a few small cuts on your face, from punches and the one on your forehead nearly cost you the fight. Overall, you were in awful shape and just wanted to get into your apartment and sleep through the pain. You didn’t expect to see Tara outside your doors, chewing on her lower lip as she waited for you.

“Hey,” you spoke softly, trying to smile, but it kinda hurt to do that, so you winced instead, and Tara turned to you with an unreadable expression on her face. You could see the worry and hurt in her eyes, but you struggled to identify anything else. “You should see the other woman,” you tried to joke lamely, but she just grabbed the keys you prepared and unlocked your apartment before dragging you inside.

You figured just behaving would be your best option, so you let her silently take care of you. She placed several ice packs on you, one over your eye, the other on your hurt left wrist, and the third she just applied on whatever bruise she could see for a few minutes at a time.

“Thanks,” you eventually said as you lowered the ice pack so you could properly look at Tara.

“Please don’t fight again,” she looked like she couldn’t take it, she was shaking, and frankly you were worried her asthma might get triggered.

You never wanted to get into this position, to basically choose between the memory of Zack and Tara. To choose between the only family that ever cared for you and the girl you loved and at the end of the day that was exactly what this choice was. It was painful, and you’d forever remember the look of utter rejection and even a hint of betrayal on Tara’s face when you finally replied

But… you couldn’t give up, even if Tara asked you to. You had to give it a shot, for Zack. “I can’t, Tara. This is what I chose to do, I just love fighting too much to stop after one fight,” you could only hope that she would understand, that this decision wouldn’t cost you your friendship with Tara. Given the look in her eyes, it wouldn’t go that far, and even as she nursed you back to health, she still looked unhappy, because you chose fighting.

Because you didn’t choose her.

~X~

You were Tara’s guard dog, you were her protector, you were a skilled, almost ridiculously trained MMA fighter, but you couldn't keep her safe. Not from Amber and Richie, or their sick plan, not from the trauma, not from what she was feeling. You couldn't punch her way out of this problem. It made you feel weak and helpless, it was like an overwhelming weight you couldn't shake off, and a part of it was your fault. Because you betrayed her trust by not telling her about your troubles sooner, and now she couldn't believe you.

You glanced at Tara, knowing full well she was still awake. You were fairly certain she spent some of the night crying, but she never called out to you, and you weren't about to push her into contact she didn't want. Her pushing your arm away, even if you understood to an extent, hurt no matter how hard you tried to reason with that choice.

~X~

Tara thought everything was getting better, or as good as it could get, but it just felt like every time she felt things were about to get better something happened and made it worse. Sam was back, her mother couldn't help herself and screamed at Sam almost any chance she got. Tara's wounds healed, for the most part, her left hand was damaged beyond repair. Your heart was healthy, you were fine, you were forced to retire from MMA. It all came back to her. Sam would have left by now, or rather she wouldn't have returned in the first place if it wasn't for Tara. Her hand was self-explanatory. You would still have your career if you didn't choose to get involved with Tara.

A voice in her head kept telling her she was the one to blame. That she couldn't get her father to love her enough to stay. That she couldn't be there for Sam. That she wasn't there when you needed her. That Amber maybe wouldn't have done everything she did if Tara was a better friend and then a better girlfriend. That so many people died and maybe there was something she could have done to prevent it. That you nearly died and that she shot you and that she had no right to say anything about your mark being the only one she'll ever wear.

She curled up as much as her leg allowed her to and clenched the sides of her head, thankful that you were getting ready in the bathroom. She pulled the blanket over her head, fearing that she really pushed you too far this time. You didn't even sleep in your own bed last night. She curled the fingers of her right hand around the collar of the shirt she wore that night, your shirt.

Your apartment, your bed, your shirt, your mark around her neck. You were her safe space, yet ever since she finally had a bit of time to think about it, she ended up convincing herself she wasn't giving you anything in return. Or if she was giving you something back, it wasn't enough.

"Tara?" she didn't even notice you coming back. She wished you would just reach out and touch her, but as touchy as the two of you were you never initiated contact unless Tara saw it coming. It wasn't just since Tara was first attacked, that's how it's always been. She didn't move, she didn't want you to see her face right now.

She heard a sigh and then what sounded like you just dropping to the floor. Scared you somehow got hurt, Tara turned around and saw you sitting on the floor with your back pressed against the side of the bed. She could see how tense your muscles were even with the shirt you had on; she could see how exhausted you were.

You needed rest and Tara was convinced she was the reason you needed it. Well, of course you needed rest. You’ve been taking care of Tara while recovering from your own wounds. Sam couldn’t carry Tara, so you did it. Sam felt guilty over Tara being attacked, and had troubles looking at Tara’s wounds, and since so many years passed Tara herself wasn’t entirely comfortable about being naked in front of Sam, so… you helped her when she needed to shower or wash her hair the first two weeks. Tara’s injuries and lack of anyone else but Sam that could help her made you act as if you weren’t injured at all, you barely rested at all.

You sighed and she couldn't remember ever hearing you sigh like that, like you were just about to reach your limit. "Tara, what do you want from me?" no, you were at your limit.

Tara, unsure of what exactly to tell you now, just went with the first thing that came to mind. "The truth. I want you to be honest," she only now realized how raspy her voice was. She reached for the water bottle on the nightstand only to see you already grabbing it and handing it to her, all without turning to look at her.

Your laugh was humorless, hollow, she hated it. "Well, there's our issue right there. You'll only trust a lie," you curled up, letting your forehead rest against your knees as your arms just dropped at your sides.

For a moment Tara thought that maybe, just maybe you were honest last night. That you really were fine with retiring. But she realized MMA wasn't just something you loved. She realized you did it as a way to remember your brother. "There's no way that can be the truth," she knew how protective of her you were, how you would keep what was bothering you inside just so she wouldn't be worried.

Your reaction was instantaneous. You got up so abruptly and forcefully that Tara felt the bed hitting the wall. "Why can't you just accept that I'm fine with retiring?" you still wouldn't look at her, but you began pacing around in what little space the apartment offered. Your movement was rigid, eyes clamped shut as you ran your hand through your hair, more frustrated than Tara ever saw you before.

You were tired and frustrated. "Y/N, please," Tara wanted, needed you to calm down. She wouldn't be able to reach you if you were this frustrated.

"Y/N, please," you repeated dejectedly. "Please what exactly? Please say you aren't fine?" you finally looked at her, your jaw clenching so hard Tara was surprised you didn't crack a tooth. And the way you looked at her. Frustrated, exhausted, pleading for her to trust you.

Tara met your eyes as much as it hurt to see you like that. "You said you were fine before. You weren't." she choked out.

You turned your head to the side, blinking rapidly. "So what? Now you'll think I'm going to fall apart every time something doesn't go my way?" you asked incredulously, there was clear accusation in your eyes, anger directed right at Tara, caused by what she just said.

It wasn't that! You were strong, you weren't going to, fall apart, as you put it! She just wanted you to rely on her enough to trust her with how you felt. "It's not that!" she had no idea what she was thinking as she, without her crutches, stumbled to her feet.

You froze only for a moment and then rushed to hold her. "What are you doing?" you hissed, holding her up. You didn't lift her, but almost all her weight was on you.

Despite the warmth of your skin seeping through the shirt she was wearing she still felt cold. This wasn't the usual way you touched her, there was restraint, anger, reluctance, behind the way you held her. She hated that you felt all that and still went to hold her. That's what frightened her the most. That you'd keep doing it like this, that you'd hold her and love her despite blaming her for what was happening to you. She feared that she wasn’t good for you, and that you’d still love her anyway.

So, she made a split-second decision. "Y/N, if you really are fine," the words got stuck in her throat.

"What?" the question came out harsh, impatient, pushing the words she struggled to say out.

"Leave me."

You froze, your hold on her loosening enough for her to pull back and stumble to her crutches. This was the best option. You'd either be honest with her, or you'd continue the lie and leave. Both would be good for you, Tara figured. She's been nothing but the reason for all your pain lately. She's been that way before she was attacked. She's been that since she got together with Amber. So, this was what it was. The lost MMA career was the last drop. Your wounds healed, your time apart could be made up for, but she couldn't fix this. "I'll call Sam to pick me up," she reassured you, frankly, surprised at how shell-shocked and still you were.

You didn't say a single word and from the corner of Tara's tear-filled eye she saw you just taking a deep breath and nodding to yourself as if thinking: 'Yeah, should have seen this coming,'

You asked her what she wanted, and she told you to leave her. Those words immediately hurt her, yet it would take two days for those words to start haunting her.

Story masterlist / First part / Previous part / Next part

[rottenpumpkin13]

I heard Angeal is into photography

what kind of photos does he take?

Photos On Angeal's Camera

• Zack mid-squat.

• A photo of a gorgeous sunset somewhere in Mideel, its second version with Genesis and Sephiroth posing in front of it. Their smiles are forced and unenthusiastic. Angeal clearly forced them to take the picture.

• A photo of Lazard working in his office but he's casually wearing a fake axe headband one of the SOLDIERs put on him.

• Zack and Sephiroth posing with their thumbs up in front of Genesis, who's sleeping on the floor of his office with an eye mask. They glued two eyes onto the mask while he's passed out.

• A photo of Sephiroth in full uniform and armor casually pushing a shopping cart at the store. He's in the bread aisle holding at a discount baguette.

• Genesis goofing off in a meeting, using the length of Sephiroth's hair as a mustache.

• Cloud giving Zack a piggyback ride, but they're falling so it's just a blur of motion in the picture.

• A photo of Genesis falling from an air vent, but it's just a red blur of motion.

• A photo Genesis took where Angeal is drawing cat ears on a poster of Sephiroth.

• Mirror selfie in the elevator of Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal after a grueling assignment. They're all covered in dirt and muddy water.

• A nice picture of Zack and Sephiroth with their arms around each other at the pool. Genesis is drowning in the background.

• A panorama of a grassy scenery that got ruined because it caught Sephiroth struggling with a melting ice cream cone.

• A cute picture of Cloud pointing at a Cloud in the sky.

• A nice selfie Zack took where he's smiling, but you can see Lazard yelling at Angeal and Genesis in the background.

• A photo set of Hojo tripping up the escalators, Sephiroth's favorite thing ever.

• Angeal takes tons of photos of the plants in his apartment. He's very proud of them.

• A photo of (drunk) Sephiroth licking up spilled milk off the counter that he keeps as blackmail.

• A photo of (sober) Genesis face-planted on the ground in glittery high heels he could not walk in. He also keeps it as blackmail.

• Several pictures of his completed recipes, oftentimes accompanied by a shot of Sephiroth, Genesis and Zack looking pissed because Angeal won't let them eat before he takes the photo.

• A random photo of Sephiroth sitting at Lazard's, drinking and iced coffee and wearing sunglasses.

• A photo set of (infantryman) Cloud kicking down a door that says "SOLDIER members only" and walking inside.

• A photo of Cissnei doing Zack's makeup.

• A photo of Sephiroth sitting on Zack's messy bed in his even messier room. Sephiroth is doing a thumbs up. Angeal took this one to shame Zack into cleaning his room.

• A photo of Angeal posing alongside one of the Guard Dogs. And then a follow-up of Sephiroth and Zack imitating the same photo with Zack as the dog.

• Genesis pretending to read intently. He's holding his book upside down.

• A photo of Sephiroth laying face down, spead-eagle in the middle of the road. The picture was Sephiroth's idea and he made Angeal title it "How I Feel Inside."

• Several photos of flower beds at Aerith's house. A photo of Zack and Aerith doing that cliche prom pose in front of the flowers.

• A candid photo taken during lunch in the cafeteria. Sephiroth and Genesis are laughing at something.

• Several candid photos of Angeal taken by either Zack or Genesis, who claim that Angeal takes pictures of everyone but himself. Some of these include:

• Angeal while he's cooking with one of those cliche "kiss the cook" aprons. • Several photos of Angeal with random SOLDIERs and cadets dangling off of him. It really showcases how everyone loves him as both a mentor and a co-worker. • Angeal watering the plants in his apartment. • Cute picture of Angeal using Zack as a barbell, Zack is laughing. • A photo of Angeal blowing out the candles on his birthday cake. There's frosting on his nose.

• A gust of wind causing Sephiroth's hair to thwack Genesis in the face.

• Cloud fell asleep in Zack's apartment, Zack promptly grabbed a chocobo plush, placed it near Cloud and called Angeal to come take a picture.

• A photo of Lazard in the lounge surrounded by SOLDIERs. Everyone's comfortable. Lazard is wearing a hoodie he stole from one of them and is eating a bag of chips while they all talk.

[ff7-has-taken-me-over]

I’m surprised it took me this long to do one of these for these two but here we are! A list of head canons and random thoughts I’ve had of them, with maybe a couple on other characters sprinkled throughout.

- Surprisingly enough, Cloud’s the more emotionally intelligent one between him and Zack. His social awkwardness just gets in the way and he struggles to show it to anyone other than Zack

- Zack and Cloud both know how to cook. Cloud having grown up with just his mother learned to help her out and Zack’s mother refused to let her son go off to Midgar without at least basic knowledge in cooking

- Despite Zack being the chronically flirty one, Cloud gets hit on more when they go to clubs and bars

- Zack hogs all the blankets like his life depends on it the second the temperature drops more than 10 degrees

- Cloud sleeps in boxers and nothing else. Unless it’s winter then you’ll catch him in a shirt as well

- Zack fucking hates doing the dishes. He will quite literally bribe Cloud to do them when it’s his night cause of how much he hates them 😂

- Kids absolutely adore Cloud and the blond never understands why despite going all soft on them and playing along with their dumb games when asked

- Zack once tried to convince Cloud it was a fantastic idea to get a dog for their tiny ass apartment but got shut down cause he got so excited over the idea he broke their dining table

- Zack came out of the closet after Cloud only because Aerith dragged him out by the ear and shoved him onto the blond

- Aerith and Tifa had an argument (not really it was more playful and halfhearted) over who would get Cloud as a best man/bride of honour cause they both wanted to put him in a dress

- Cloud wore a suit to Aerith’s and Tifa’s wedding and Zack was but hurt that neither of them wanted to see him in a dress

- Zack drinks his coffee black and Cloud puts enough sugar and milk in it your teeth would itch at the sight

- Cloud consumes salt like Zack does spice and neither of them can handle the others preference for them. Zack’s face screws up like he swallowed sea water and Cloud starts sweating at the mere whiff of spice

- Zack was so thrown off guard about all those people in sector 5, 6 and 7 knowing Cloud that he thought it was some massive, elaborate joke that everyone was in on

- Tifa was in mad denial about her feelings for Aerith but the second Cloud tried to ease her into the idea she caved pretty quick (she couldn’t stand the idea of Mr. Discovered Narnia himself giving her that talk)

- In Shinra days Zack most definitely used Kunsel to sabotage one of Cloud’s dates, only to discover the blond had never even gone on the date cause he thought it was a joke from his squad mate

- The only time Cloud ever showed an ounce of curiosity at gossip was when Vince had casually kissed Cid on the cheek before leaving and the latter had done nothing more than smile fondly after him

- Zack definitely mourns not having his mentor at his and Cloud’s wedding

- Cloud and Zack hung out so much in Shinra days that not only did Cloud get a fan club of his own, but a sub fan club that shipped the two of them together was created (and people lost their fucking minds when they spotted the two of them years down the track holding hands out in public)

- Genesis would have taken a liking to Cloud purely because he wanted to have a little protege like Angeal and the blond had enough of a spine to sass back and glare when Genesis had threatened him

- If Sephiroth hadn’t lost his mind to Jenova and all he would have been all too ready to go against Shinra and help take them down. Not because of his own feelings on any of the matters but because his friends had turned and he cared about them more

- Zack definitely got mildly jealous when he found out Cloud had been an avid member of Sephiroth’s fan club but had absolutely preened for weeks on end when he found out that he’d also been in Zack’s fan club

- Aerith proposed to Tifa and enlisted the help of Cloud cause he knew Tifa better and Zack unfortunately couldn’t keep a secret to save his life. But Zack did help keep Tifa distracted while Aerith made her preparations

- Barret is the unwilling dad of the group, Cid and Vince are the tired uncles that don’t actually know how they got there in the first place and literally everyone else are the chaotic children that only pull it together for eco terrorism and organised crime

- When Cloud gets sick he basically hibernates for like a week and only eats and drinks just enough so he doesn’t die. Zack freaked the fuck out the first time it happened and took him to the hospital after the first 24 hours of near constant sleep

- Zack becomes a big, whiny, clingy, cuddly mess when he’s sick and always tries to insist he’s all better the second he feels anything more than on the brink of death. Cloud almost spiked his food with sleeping pills so he’d just lie down and finally go to sleep and allow himself to heal somewhat

[spiritgriffon]

I've spent the last week becoming increasingly more and more convinced that Zack Fair is actually some eldritch abomination that crawled out of the lifestream and chose to be born in a human body bc he was lonely and wanted to make friends The farther I get into CCR the more Really Weird Shit that I didn't remember from my first playthough I find and the more retroactively sus some of his old lore seems. I'm just coming up to meeting Cloud and my list already has like 6 things on it

(I'm gonna make a whole long post when I beat the game but my list so far: the training room scene with Hojo where he scares the shit out of those lab techs, the way the DMV works + Angeal's line about Zack's lack of focus being the thing holding him back from using his true strength, the ending of Remake + that twitter post we just got about Zack in Rebirth, The time Zack breaks the fourth wall and scolds the player??!?!, a little bit about his scene in Maiden + how it ties into AC, the fact that his reaction to his friends growing monster bits (which is in universe horrifying even though we as viewers are going ohhh pretty wings) was "those wings... I want them too" and that Before Crisis shows that he can communicate with Guard Hounds (which for years we've been going "oh so he speaks dog lol" but I'm starting to wonder if he might speak monster. not that speaking dog isn't weird either!!!!), how his reaction to Genesis chucking a summon at him and running over and over is to get Really Genuinely Angry because... summons don't like to be treated like that??? and ofc, his scene at the end of ACC where he offers to come back to life??? like he can just Do That??? The whole plot of VII and AC was about what is supposedly the single strongest lifeform on the planet struggling to piece a body back together he can use over YEARS- what do you mean you can just come back and help Cloud fight what do you mean by that what the fuck is Zack Fair)

[prismaticpichu]

Au where Sephiroth is a dragon guarding a big ass pile of gold.

Djjdjdjdjd DRAGON SEPH YES!!! ❤️ 💕

~

(In a universe far, far away…)

Angeal: Alright, Zack. You know what to do?

(A SOLDIER First Class with brilliant blue eyes stands before the maws of a big, scary cave lair)

Zack: Yupadoodles! Just gotta head into the big scary maws of this cave right here and go for the gold!

Angeal: Good, very good. And what lies in that cave that you must be aware of?

Zack: A big, scary, monstrous, bloodthirsty, man-eating, green-eyed, inferno-breathing, razor-clawed, kill-count-of-over-5000, evil, demonic dragon.

Angeal: Perfect. Now on you go, pup. And remember: BE CAREFU—

Zack (charging into the cave, sword blazing): This dragon is minnneeeeeeeeee!

~

(46 minutes later)

Angeal: Hmm… Zack should have been back by now.

(Suddenly, the man’s face pales as a horrible realization eclipses him.)

Angeal: Oh no… Dear Gaia, no. Did he—did he get eaten by the dragon? No… no. Not my student! Not Zack!

(In a flurry of anxiety and desperation Angeal picks up his sword and charges head-first into the cave.)

Angeal: DON’T WORRY, ZACK, ANGEAL’S—

(However, the man’s words trail off upon seeing what truly awaits him in the cave—that being the sight of Zack, perfectly unscathed, rubbing the tummy of a towering silver dragon as the creature lays on its back. Its black wings beat frantically in delight, a 7-foot-long bladed tail swishing back and forth with all the vigor of a dog on its birthday.)

Zack: Who’s the best dragon in the world…? Who’s my buddy? Who’s my big buddy…?!

Angeal: …

Angeal: Is that a chew toy?

[itsdappleagain]

Nice au's! Those all look so interestinggggg!!! ❤️

Whats the "freezer crate trauma" about? I'm curious hehe

thank you!!!

this one is a little ~1k oneshot sitting in my google docs which involves carmen getting locked inside of one of those like. freezer crates from shipyards that they use to transport food and me making her have stockholm trauma about it.

why i didnt post it? uhhh i dont know i think i was feeling insecure about how much angst i write at the time 💀i'll put a snippet here but if anyone wants to read the full thing i'll reblog with it! just lmk

snippet under the cut

The door creaked behind her, and she turned her head just in time to see the silhouette of a familiar operative framed in the doorway. Carmen dropped into a defensive stance, her breath hissing out in a cloud in the freezer box. “Tigress,” she greeted. Guard dog. Or, rather, guard cat.

Tigress’s eyes lit with the wicked delight that Carmen had learned to be wary of. “Looking for our little prize, are you? Want me to give you some time to yourself to look?”

Carmen’s brow furrowed. “What?”

Tigress, quick as a flash, stepped back from the door and slammed it. Panic flared with the sudden understanding as Carmen sprang for the door and slammed against it. Pain erupted in her shoulder and she cried out, staring in disbelief at where she used to be able to see the door. It didn’t budge- she heard Tigress cackle outside.

“TIGRESS.” Carmen yelled through the door. Unwillingly she felt panic pitch her voice as her fingers refused to stay on the frozen metal even through her gloves. “TIGRESS!”

Carmen stumbled back and tripped over some ridge in the pitch black container she didn’t remember. She hit the frozen floor hard, and her arms gave out on her. She was shaking. Why was she shaking? Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm.

“Red? You good?”

“Tigress locked me inside the freezer box.” Her voice was shaking and she didn’t know why. It was okay. She had Player. This time. And her coat. Shadow-san was on site. 

Her heart wouldn’t stop trying to smash her ribs into pieces again. A wave of panic made her stomach turn as the cold and the dark and the trapped sunk into her skin. She was going to die. She was going to die. 

“Woah, Red, you’re breathing really hard. Shadow-san’s on his way, he’ll get you out. Did she hurt you?”

“No. No.” Carmen breathed, and she felt herself choke and hardly registered it. “Player, I can’t do this again. I can’t- I can’t.”

Player’s tone shifted into a deeper concern, like the one he’d used when screaming for her to respond as she crashed in the-

“Carmen, hey! You’re okay! What’s going on??”

The room was cold, it was cold. Her coat was a tattered, broken glider, the raw, torn metal edges of the frame digging into her spine. She didn’t know if she couldn’t feel it anymore or if it just wasn’t important enough. Her reality slammed into her again, harder, and the metal of the container sucked the heat from her body. 

She couldn’t breathe. The air stabbed her lungs. Her head spun. She was going to die, and she was never going to see Zack or Ivy or Shadow-san again, or Player-

Player’s voice slid into her ear.

“Red, can you hear me? Red?!”

[myristicisms]

@strifesoldier | Cloud Strife sent;;

' You and me. Your body near mine, close. I'm not right when you're not with me. I get the shakes ' oop zack made him codependent...

Vulnerability, no matter how small or largely given, was always a difficult thing to express; Years of forcing himself into the mold of what Zack thought was the ideal hero only further forcing him to push the overwhelming desire to rely upon someone else to the back of his mind. Being relied upon was the closest he'd ever come to sharing a vulnerable moment with anyone and it was something he cherished far more than even his own life. That much so had never been in the question though, only further proven with each moment where he took a beating to protect those he cared for most, often coming as victorious in each battle he'd carelessly chosen for himself.

Perhaps it was the hubris of a man who has lost damn near everything already or maybe it was just the delusion of someone who had grown lonely over the years, someone who felt as though nobody bothered to know who he was outside of his uniform and rank; At least not until after he'd managed to establish a connection with another person for the first time since... ( Nevermind. ) Zack has come to rely upon being needed, feeling helpful and he's long since found that purpose at the side of his blonde companion. While he'd known that Cloud was capable of taking care of himself well enough, he also couldn't scratch the desperate itch to feel helpful, to do more than just stand beside the other man silently like some brooding shadow.

Though that's what he's become, hasn't he? Bitter and violent should he feel it necessary to be so, a trained killer unafraid of ripping and rending through flesh that managed to be snagged within the maws of an enraged beast, many saw the once proud warrior as nothing more than a monster as of late; A creature that thrived on combat and the destruction of the very people that made him into who he was today, but not Cloud, never Cloud apparently. Lips curl into a gentle grin at the idea, he was helpful to someone at the very least, even if he'd grown all too protective throughout their time beside one another and perhaps he cared far more than the average friend should have, but then again; Average friends don't go through the same horrors as the duo had to endure together. That's how Zack justified it, anyways.

A rabid guard dog trapped in an endless loop of biting despite never wanting to bring harm to those unfortunate to cross into Zack's poor graces, a feature of which was far easier done than said given how low his tolerance for anyone daring to cause problems for either Cloud or himself truly had become. That dependency, as it seems to be, is reciprocated. Though that hardly came as much of a surprise, being without the blonde felt off, something so viscerally incorrect that his very being often trembled with wrath when the two were separated for too long and the verbal confirmation he wasn't the only one to experience that... ( Validating, freeing even. )

“ And here I was, stewing about whether I'm being overbearing towards you. ” He huffs out, amusement glimmering within mako stained eyes; An odd calmness kept Zack completely and uncharacteristically still. At times such as this, he'd often be pacing or doing squats, clears his mind and allows the former SOLDIER to focus on his surroundings but instead he simply sat, jaw twitching while his tongue feels at the sharp canines meant for rending through his foes and that familiar emptiness he'd been so prone to slowly seeps in. “ I'm always here though, always nearby until you tell me to go away and mean it, I promise. ”

[isabelguerra]

johnny jhonny i dont care what plot centric epic moral ego death furnace related circus act zack has planned for you. when i write you your ass is isabel guerras emotional support guard dog.

[zacksephreunion]

"zack the puppy"

- literally f*cking everyone, ever

LISTEN I JUST THINK ZACK WOULD MAKE FOR A VERY COOL GUARD DOG AND THE EC HALLOWEEN EVENT REMINDED ME I HAVE A TOTALLY NONS3XUAL THING FOR MUZZLES MKAY??

Sketched this on my sketchbook then on my phone bc i know i dont have it in me atm to draw sephiroth too 📉📉📉 (just imagine sephs holding the leash or something)

No but fr why does the whole cc verse just refer to zack with all these dog references?? There's just? Too many sussy ways to interpret that.

Basically, a continuation of my "zack is sephiroth's guard dog that is highly trained in gorilla warfare actually" brainrot

[dark-elf-writes]

You have 😌

His name is Zack and he’s a very good boy. Excitable yes, but loyal too.

To be fair by that logic I might have given Cloud two service dogs at this point….

Zack: excited but diligent, loyal, protective, helps with socializing

Tseng: Calm, PROTECTIVE, loyal, part guard dog part emotional regulation

[cottoncandy-cult]

Movie Night (ZFBFS)

It was just after sunset on one slow Saturday night, after almost a year together the two of them had formed a sort of weekend ritual. They had bonded closely, and Zack had come a long way with his lessons, he struggles with some words still but now he could read packaging, basic instructions, and had readable handwriting. Meanwhile (Y/n) had mellowed some, when it's just them she sought Zack's affection like a drug, and he was happy to indulge her. On this night the two were planning to binge a horror movie series, it was allegedly banned from their country due to questionable origins but one of (Y/n)'s recent targets had a collection of movies and TV series. She decided to help herself to them since they had stage a robbery anyways, so she loaded up her car and came home feeling like a champion. They had loaded up on junk foods, drinks, and some regular foods. They had to drag a second coffee table out of storage to put everything on, it was like a personal banquet. Both she and Zack had their own personal blankets, both fluffy and comfy with their selected images. Now that Zack could read, he liked to do some online shopping from time to time. They both had a habit of getting something for the other when shopping for themselves, though lately they had also taken to get what (Y/n) called bonding kits. Soap making kits, Candle Making kits, and more. The two had taken to creating things on their days off or when they had free time, it was a good way to decompress. Currently (Y/n) was sat on the couch, her fluffy cover draped over her lap, Zack was situated similarly right next to her. Both had a TV tray on their lap, eyes on the TV itself while devouring their individual meals.

They were sat with their thighs pressed to each other, basking in each other's warmth as the only light on in the living room had come from the TV and a hallway light that was left on for when they needed to go to the bathroom. They had just begun watching the first movie in the series, it was just starting pick up but even (Y/n) could admit she understood why they found the origins of the movie questionable. The vibe was off, it was just too raw. She felt like she was watching something from the dark web, granted the movies were illegal but this was a different kinda feeling. She had been taking lives for years, her entire life that was what she trained to do. Of course they didn't target the innocent, they went after those doing heinous things that were legally untouchable. They were the dark guard dog of the government; they bared their fangs only at threats to society and the innocent. Because of this there were certain behaviors she noticed, certain real behaviors she shared with the killer. A pit was almost forming in her stomach, she felt like this was less of a horror movie and more of an execution video. Something that would usually be considered evidence, it was often they were shown evidence linked to specific targets to remind them why such people needed to be dealt with. There were many people who filmed their crimes, but because they neither speak nor show their face it's a struggle to provide enough legal evidence to formally arrest them. That's not to say there is zero evidence, rather the government has evidence they can't show to the people because the means in which it was gathered was either less than legal or it was gathered in a way that has yet to be revealed to the public. There are just some things people aren't ready to know about, things that would cause chaos if they came to light. Her job was important, because while technically supported and guided by the government, they were also a shadow group that operated separately. It was their job to protect the innocent ignorance of the public AND protect their lives. That was why this movie was giving her goose bumps, but still she watched as she ate. She hadn't been given orders to find this guy, so there might not be any proof against him and the movie is just really violent. She continued with her meal, occasionally sipping on her drink.

Neither had spoken during the movie, both were invested in watching it. Though she knew Zack's focus was brought on by the same feeling she got, he had been working for the company about a year now. He had seen the videos, the movies, the evidence. So, both were waiting, waiting for that singular moment of confirmation. Before neither had noticed the sun was coming up, they were 6 movies in by that point, all their food had been eaten and they STILL weren't sure about this series. "What the hell are we even watching anymore?" Zack grumbled to himself, pausing the movie as he began rubbing his eyes. "Not a clue, I lost the plot around movie 3." She had pulled her cover up to her shoulder, snuggling into Zack's side. The dark-haired male had draped his arm over her, looking down at his lover curiously. "Don't tell me you wanna sleep down here on the couch, the sun's starting to come up." Zack had watched as (Y/n) shifted, pressing against his chest and making him lay flat as she snuggled on top of him not unlike a cat. "Why not? It's our house, we can sleep where we want." She had adjusted her cover over them, making sure their whole bodies were covered as she closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. "Fine, but if you aren't up by noon, I'm dropping you in the pool." Zack pressed a kiss to the top of her head, relaxing against the surprisingly comfortable couch and closing his own eyes. When he felt her breathing even out with sleep, Zack brought a hand up to gently run through her hair. Turning the TV down low he had backed out to the streaming sites main menu, beginning to scroll for something to watch until he fell asleep. He had managed to grab a bowl of chips from the table without moving his lover too much, setting it on the floor closer to the couch so he could reach down to grab some when he wanted them while he watched the show he put on. He'd eat with one hand, using the other to play with the young woman's hair. This was pretty much how their Saturday nights ended, in each other's arms buried beneath the covers. Isolated from the outside world, instead living in their own little bubble once that front door closed. It was a peace Zack wouldn't trade for anything; this place was his Atlantis.

[cobaltperun]

Lost (19) - Where I belong

Tara Carpenter x female Reader

Summary: To anyone on the outside, and to Tara’s friends, you were Tara’s fierce protector, the MMA fighter who’d take anyone on for Tara. The Guard Dog, as Amber called you. You had no idea you’d have to protect her from people who claimed they loved her. It didn’t matter. As long as you and Tara had one another there was nothing you wouldn’t be able to survive.

Story warnings: Scream violence, family issues, trauma, angst, certain sensitive topics

Word count: 4.1k

Story masterlist / First part / Previous part / Next part

-So take my slow beating heart, you are where I belong-

You stood in front of two gravestones, feeling ashamed that it took you this long to come here. “Sorry I’m late, I didn’t bring anything, didn’t feel like I deserved to,” you still knelt down to pull some grass that began growing around the two graves. No one really attended to them, they had no one, after all. In this huge city Susan’s life stopped when she lost Zack, and she no longer had anyone that might take care of the graves, no close friend, no family. She only had her memories and, ever since you brought Tara and Sam to Sacramento, she had you and Tara. “Tara would have come as well, but, I have to deal with someone, I didn’t want to put her in danger or leave her alone here,” you explained, remembering the resigned acceptance on Tara’s face when you told her what your plan was.

“Thomas… he brought up something, he said you were the only one who would choose me over anyone else,” you said, digging your hands into the pockets of your coat, it was getting a bit cold, and a strong wind blew in your face, forcing you to squint a bit. “I’ve been thinking about that. Somewhat. Would I have acted any differently last year if I knew you’d be in danger?” you didn’t have the answer. On one side you knew you cared about Susan even back then, simply because of the time you spent with her and Zack and, more importantly, because she was Zack’s mother. On the other side Tara was in danger.

“What-ifs are pointless anyway,” you spoke. It was a stupid question, a one or the other question where you’d be forced to choose. How ridiculous. Life wasn’t as simple as that. Take last year for example. At first glance it was a choice between Tara and Susan, but you did have the third option, San Francisco, where your gym at the time was. Or simply a hotel, if that didn’t work, if you knew you’d be putting Susan in danger you simply would have taken Tara somewhere else. Hell, just taking her to your apartment would have been a good way to keep her safe.

You still felt like you caused her death, even if you kept telling Tara and Sam they weren’t to blame for what happened you somehow failed to take your own advice. No wonder those two had such deep issues. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this, for not being there when you needed me,” you said as several tears slid down your cheeks. “I should have told you so many things,” you told her you loved her in a voice mail sent long after she was dead. Life had a funny way of being cruel sometimes and you would forever regret not telling Susan you loved her, she deserved to hear it every time you talked to her, every time you saw her, every time you had the chance, you should have told her those three words.

~X~

The house hasn't changed much since you turned eighteen, you saw they changed the doors, but other than that, it was exactly how you remembered it, at least from the outside. A three-story house that screamed 'we're rich!' to anyone passing by, with its over-the-top fence and decorations, and the damn marble lions looking down on whoever went through their gate.

You typed in the code, your father's birthday, disabling the locks on the first try. Of course, those two wouldn't bother to change it. You were just happy you managed to remember it. And so, you came inside the house and sat down in the living room, waiting for the parents to come back home. You looked around, the house was the same on the outside but on the inside? Brand new furniture. More expensive than comfortable, really, but you just closed your eyes and waited. If you looked at it for too long you were worried you'd start breaking things.

An hour later the doors opened, and you heard your parents laughing, joking about whatever they found funny that day. This was one of the reasons you felt so suffocated in this house, because, almost as if to convince you that you were the problem and not them, they were loving to one another. Laughing, singing praises of one another, exchanging words of affirmation, but never quite choosing to express their feelings through touches. Now that you thought about it maybe that was why you were so adamant about having Tara in your arms as often as you could, why touch was your preferred love language for her specifically. The instinctual need to be the opposite of your parents in as many ways as you could be.

"Long time no see," you enjoyed seeing them jump when they saw you, they looked like they saw a ghost, they looked afraid. Good, you wanted them to be afraid, you wanted them to have nightmares of you coming after them. "I'd say it's a pleasure to be here again, but we both know it's not."

"Y/N," your father spoke, and you saw him taking a step back. Funny how you never noticed just how little it took to startle him. He would have been less than average if he wasn't born into money, in fact, from what you read in Gale's brief research on the company it was in decline for years now, only surviving on old reputation and questionable deals. The fact that you and Zack were his children pissed you off.

"Let's be quick about this. Thomas is dead, I'm very much alive despite your efforts and I want to be left alone, so don't try to hire another hitman to kill me or my loved ones," you spoke evenly.

"Or else what?" he acted like he actually could negotiate anything here.

You stood up, and while you lost some muscle due to coma and slow recovery you could still look intimidating enough. "I die and your entire reputation is done for. I revealed everything, one wrong move and it all goes public," you saw fear in their eyes as you walked past them. For good measure, you stopped at the front door and turned to glare at them. "Six people came after me, one way or another, all six are dead and I don't mind adding a few more to that list. I'd just prefer not to dirty my hands with your blood unless I have to," you left no doubt that you would if needed. “I don’t care what your reasons are, just try to touch Tara, or anyone else I care about, just try to interfere in any way, and I will not stop until everything you ever created was gone. Your company, this house, any property you have, your reputation, and then your lives, there won’t be anything left.”

You wanted revenge for what happened to Susan, but you couldn't prove they hired Thomas.

So, this would have to do, unless they tried again. So, you left the house, slamming the doors behind you and hoping you would never have to hear or see them again.

~X~

You wouldn’t stick around Woodsboro for long, but you did drop by your former bosses to grab a bite and see how they were doing. The old couple did so much for you, renting that small apartment, giving you a job, they deserved your gratitude, but given what happened to Susan, you were cautious, afraid that being associated with you could cause them harm. Still, they were happy to see you, and you were just as happy to hear they were doing well. It was a busy day at the restaurant, and you were glad their business was doing so well, but it also meant they didn’t have time to chat, which was more than okay with you.

While you waited for your meal you went and called Tara, and she answered withing three seconds, which frankly didn’t surprise you.

“Y/N?” you could hear the worry in her voice.

“Hey, I’m fine, they won’t bother us again, they know what’s at stake for them,” you told her, easing her worries as quickly as you could.

You heard Tara sighing in relief and smiled a bit. “Thank goodness! I was losing my mind over here!”

“I’m okay, Love,” you assured her softly, your tone the complete opposite of her panicking, worry filled voice, even now that she heard you were okay.

“When are you coming back?” she asked, and you could imagine her fidgeting in your shirt with Sam trying to calm her down.

You looked around, no one was paying attention to you from what you could see. “I have the flight back in the morning, I’ll head back to Sacramento in an hour and spend the night in the hotel,” you told her, though you kept your voice low just in case. Were there reasons to be worried? Probably not, but you weren’t in top shape, you couldn’t fight that well right now.

“Okay, stay safe, please. I love you, Y/N,” Tara sent you a kiss through the phone and you smiled like a fool.

“I will, I love you too, Tara,” you replied.

“I see you and Tara are still going strong, not that I ever doubted you two,” you heard your former boss say as she brought you the food you ordered.

“Yeah!” you grinned at her.

~X~

Tara was waiting for you at the airport, she even let Sam drive your car because she knew you'd lose your mind over her driving it while you weren’t with her. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face, you called her after you left your parents' house, reassuring her you were perfectly fine and that you'd be on the first flight home. She was still worried, but she trusted you completely. You’d be fine, you knew how to take care of yourself.

Tara still couldn't quite wrap her head around the fact that your parents were involved. Her mother was definitely not a good parent, but as bad as she was, Tara doubted she would hire someone to kill her or Sam. Thomas' words came to her mind and her smile fell. Suddenly she felt vulnerable, surrounded by people she didn’t know. Everything around her felt too loud, too intense, there were too many people, and any one of them could put her and the people she loved in danger. She couldn’t live like that, she couldn’t constantly worry that she would somehow end up in the situation Thomas described. She had to move on, to the best of her abilities, and without parties and alcohol this time. The therapy was helping her, but more than that it was her desire to be as happy as she could be with you that pushed her to get even better. You’d be back home soon, and that thought helped her handle the bustling crowd a bit easier.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked her and placed an arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

Tara wanted to talk to Sam about it, but how could she? How could she say to her sister that she'd feel immeasurable guilt if she had to choose her instead of you? Prior to what happened at the bodega and especially before what happened at the theatre, she would say she'd never have to make that choice. You were strong. So, so incredibly strong, the idea of anyone actually being able to beat you felt unfathomable.

Yes, you technically were beaten when you first fought Amber and Richie, but that was because she was taken hostage and you still managed to get back on your feet and take her to safety. Stabs and bullet wounds, they couldn't stop you. A heart attack couldn't stop you. Even when you were hurt you could keep going, as you have proven time and time again.

When Tara thought of strength, she thought of you. To imagine a situation in which your life relied on her choice was almost impossible. To then add Sam being in a similar situation, and to further all that by saying Tara could only save one of you. It was beyond the realms of possibility to her.

But then you nearly died. Then it took you sixteen days to wake up and several days to even get up. You managed to lift her up off the ground right before you left New York, two days ago, and you struggled. You struggled to lift Tara up. You never struggled to do that, and Tara actually lost some weight since you nearly died. She just found it difficult to eat while you were in a coma, and she was yet to regain the weight she lost.

The image of an invisible MMA fighter was shattered and now Tara woke up, screaming and covered in cold sweat, from yet another nightmare that had you in that ambulance with doctors saying they couldn't stop your bleeding. That they were losing you. More often than not, when she would wake up like that you'd sit up and hug her right away and she could see in your eyes that you were awake long before she'd wake up. She still didn't know if you were having nightmares or if you couldn't sleep to begin with.

So, no. She couldn't say any of this to Sam. "Sorry, I was just thinking," she apologized to Sam, clamming up and refusing to talk. She still leaned to the side and returned the one-armed hug.

Tara noticed you immediately, even among the huge crowd she somehow always easily found you. And from the way you were already heading toward her, she knew it was the same way for you. She ran into your arms and despite some hesitation on her part, she didn't resist when you lifted her up, just a bit easier than when you left. "I don't think we need to worry about those two again," you muttered into her neck, once again reassuring her that everything would be fine in the future as you slowly set her back down.

"Mhm," Tara just relaxed, carefully remembering every detail of your hugs. She basked in the warmth of your touch through one of your shirts she had on. Your scent, your breath against her exposed neck, the firm grip on her waist it was all you and she loved it.

When she separated from you Sam took her opportunity and hugged you as well. "Welcome back," she said, prompting you to smile.

"It's good to be back," you said, and Tara understood you weren't talking just about coming back from Woodsboro. You were still rather thankful for waking up from a coma without any lasting effects on your health. "How's the apartment hunting going, by the way?" you asked.

"We found one, we like it, we think you'll like it as well," Sam said.

Tara, not wanting to leave your side for even a moment now that you were away from her for two days, took your hand and pulled you along.

~X~

By the end of the week, you moved into your new apartment. It had three bedrooms, once again you chose to have one bedroom for the nights someone from your group chose to stay over. It was a bit bare, without much of a personal touch, and you were sure Tara would take it upon herself to change that about it as soon as she got time for that.

You thought the new apartment would chase away the nightmares, at least until you got used to it, but it didn't. Not eve Tara right next to you managed to chase the nightmares away.

You saw them, sitting in Susan’s living room, looking healthy, alive, happy. That’s how it always started, you’d enter the house and see Susan and Zack just like that. And then, as if you were an intruder that interrupted their lives, they’d turn to you and they’d change. They’d morph from how you remembered them into twisted abominations, rotting and carved up and enraged.

And every time Zack would attack you, pushing you back and doing his signature spinning back kick, the move he taught you, the move you adopted as your own signature during your career. It would always send you hitting the wall, and making his gloves fall from it to the floor, and they’d always roll over into your view. He’d then put you in a chokehold, and even if you wanted to you just wouldn’t move.

“Why?! Why did you let my mom die Y/N?!” he would demand again and again, and you’d look up to see the disappointment in Susan’s eyes.

“You killed me, if it wasn’t for you I’d still be alive,” she’d tell you.

You didn’t beg for forgiveness, or to be let go, not anymore. You’d just wake up when his chokehold would make you pass out, covered in cold sweat and breathing heavily.

You couldn't sit up though, instinctively choosing not to wake Tara up, so at least there was that. She had her own nightmares to deal with and soon enough, perhaps twenty minutes after you woke up Tara woke up as well, screaming. So, you immediately pulled her into a hug, her inhaler at ready in case she needed it.

Tara crawled onto your lap and pressed her face against the crook of your neck. "What are you dreaming about?" she asked, almost sounding afraid. In fact, she probably was afraid to ask that questions.

"Susan and Zack, blaming me for Susan's death," you admitted and Tara just hugged you tighter.

"It wasn't your fault. It's none of our fault lunatics want to hurt us," she said, repeating your words right back at you, and you nodded. Reasonably, you knew that, but it would still take a while to have a peaceful sleep.

"What about you?" you asked as you slowly played with a few strands of Tara's hair.

"I have nightmares of you in the ambulance, only you don't wake up this time, you die, I lose you," you felt a tear landing on the skin of your neck and gently kissed the top of Tara's head.

"I'm awake, Love, I heard your voice," even when you were in a coma you were vaguely aware of Tara always being by your side, and when you were ready to wake up it was her voice and touch that sped it up.

Tara pulled away slightly. "About what Thomas said," she began, but you pressed a finger against her mouth.

"It doesn't matter. It'll never happen. The situation will never be so dire," you said firmly, you couldn’t let her get stuck in those thoughts, Tara already had enough to deal with without Thomas’ words fucking with her head. “I will never let anyone force that choice on you!" you promised, and you'd keep that promise as long as you were alive.

Tara took a deep breath to calm down. “I know it’s an unlikely scenario, but still,” she muttered. “I can’t stand the idea of choosing between you and Sam. It feels like I’d give anything up for Sam, other than you, and the same goes the other way around,” she told you, shivering due to the cold. It was December after all.

“I’d scold you if it was any different,” you told her, you didn’t want Tara to ever again go through losing Sam. That was one thing you were absolutely certain of. No matter the cost, you would keep your family whole and that included Sam. You lost Susan, you never wanted to lose anyone else you loved in such a violent way.

Tara nodded. “I know, I’m counting on you to do that,” she managed to smile a bit before kissing you softly and you gently returned the kiss. It took some time, but you were both slowly getting better and talking about your trauma instead of bottling it up.

~X~

A week later you finally settled into your new apartment, and Sam was finally fine with leaving you two alone to go on a, preferably long, date with Danny. He really came through for all of you, bringing the police and paramedics to the theatre, not to mention finding you, which probably saved your life. He mentioned he heard a loud thud and went to check, hoping it was nothing, but there you were, bleeding out next to dead Thomas. So, as far as you and Tara were concerned, he was clear to move in whenever Sam decided she wanted to take that step.

You just stepped out of the shower after a workout, which actually went really well. You finally felt confident enough to get up with Tara in your arms, to carry her whenever she wanted you to, plain and simple you were doing much better now that you were building your strength back up. Your eyes still glanced down at the scar from the rebar when you stepped in front of the mirror. It came in through your lower back and went diagonally, exiting your body just beneath your chest and it was nothing short of a miracle that nothing important was damaged and that only the scar remained. Sighing, you grabbed your clothes and put them on, a comfortable shirt that was a bit loose on you now, since you still haven’t regained all your muscles, and tracksuit pants since you wanted to just relax with Tara.

The moment you entered your and Tara's bedroom she threw her arms around you and pulled you into a kiss. She clutched the back of your shirt and ran her fingers through your hair, tugging gently as she deepened the kiss. You wrapped your arms around her and pulled her as close to you as physically possible.

"So needy," you chuckled when she pulled back for a moment.

"Like you aren't?" she challenged, looking fiercely into your eyes.

"Mhm, I definitely am," it's been too long, way too long since you could just relax and make love to one another. You leaned down, kissing her neck.

"Baby," she moaned when you nipped at the side of her neck and you immediately pulled back, looking at her wide-eyed. Tara blushed but kept looking at you. "Baby, please," she said again, acting as if she never stopped saying that word all the while gently caressing the back of your neck.

There was a reason Amber chose to persistently call Tara 'baby', specifically, you were the reason because Tara would call you like that jokingly whenever you weren't immediately giving in to her demands. She stopped when she got together with Amber and just never went back to calling you like that.

"Say it again," you demanded, lifting her up, taking a few steps to the side and pushing her against the wall.

"Baby," she moaned into your ear as you unbuttoned the top buttons of her, previously your, button-up shirt and yanked it down, and since it was way too big for her it just fell from her shoulders.

"Again, Love," every time she said it you were more and more certain she would be able to completely get over what Amber did to her, that she'd eventually fully heal.

"Baby!" she cried out, maybe even a bit too loudly as you began kissing her bare shoulders and tugging the straps of her bra down.

"You are where I belong Tara," you pulled back, pressing your forehead against hers. She quickly captured your lips, making you both get lost in the passion. When you separated to catch your breath you looked her in the eyes.

It was a demand fueled by lust and desire and need for Tara, all fueled by the love you had for her. Nonetheless, you doubted you ever demanded anything with as much conviction and seriousness. "Spend the rest of your life with me. Marry me," you'd go through all the proper proposal stuff at a more appropriate time, but you couldn't stop yourself from blurting it out.

Tara looked at you just for a moment. Taking the demand in. "Thought you'd never ask," she smiled and kissed you one more time. The pent-up needs, desires and all the emotions, you’d satisfy them all, getting lost in one another until there was nothing else left in to world but you two and your love for one another.

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[disdaidal]

college au!!!! 🫶🏻

🙊 Omg. Okay, so this is yet another Zakkura/Clack AU that i'm having in the works right now (I swear I'm not obsessed, but these boys are so good and these ideas just keep popping in my head out of nowhere). 🙈 I kind of really love this AU, and I've already written pieces of dialogue there and there, which I really need to connect somehow, at some point.

But anyway—

Again, I'm gonna do a little ramble about the story under the cut and then post a snippet of the story as well. If you're curious, feel free to check it out. And if not, then feel free to skip this altogether. :)

My (not so ) little ramble about the story:

I have this idea where Zack is a popular guy, a captain of the football team. But he's not popular in a mean, bullying kind of way—he's more like a super social puppy that makes friends with everyone and always helps and protects those in need. He's tall, strong, and athletic, and has a pretty girlfriend called Aerith (who's really not his girlfriend 'cause she's totally gay, but anyway). He's not very bright or intelligent, but he's confident, charming, flirty, and naturally very good-looking, so that kind of makes up for it.

And then in comes Cloud, the new kid in town, who's this scholarship/transfer student (I actually don't know how that even works, but that's not important lol). And unlike Zack, Cloud's smart, good at most subjects, athletic, and also really pretty, which Zack can't ignore, of course. He seems perfect, right? Except Cloud's a total nightmare personality-wise. He's antisocial, aloof, and a bit of a bitch. He hates most people and just wants to be left the fuck alone.

Because Zack's confident, wears his heart on a sleeve at all times, and also has like one brain cell— soon there's this tall, super social, endlessly energetic chatterbox with a massive puppy dog energy following around this short, quiet, awkward, grumpy cat with a resting bitch face, high walls and trust issues, guarded emotions and a storm cloud looming over his head... surely nothing can go wrong there, right?

And because Zack's kind of obtuse and doesn't really care about studying, while studying is all Cloud really does in his spare time because it's not like he's all warm and fuzzy inside and has made lots of friends (aside from his childhood friend, Tifa, who's also very gay and now she also kind of has a crush on Zack's 'girlfriend' Aerith, which complicates things just a little)—Zack fails chem. And Zack finds himself in trouble because if he doesn't pass, it's *bad*. So he obviously needs help with that and knows someone (Cloud) who's good at chem. :-D And then somehow, he manages to persuade Cloud to tutor him in chem and well.

And since they have to get along—it's tough because Cloud's still kind of a bitch, and Zack still only has that one brain cell that he doesn't like to strain too much—they start gradually developing feelings for each other. Well, okay, Zack's been all heart eyes motherfucker since day one, and he's terrible at hiding it, so it's not like anything's changed, but Cloud's been reserved, aloof, and kind of mean to Zack, and now he's slowly starting to get used to Zack being all puppy-like around him, and also starting to find it kind of endearing, and that's how he realizes he's in trouble. Oops.

So, then they both end up at this one house party. Zack goes there with Aerith because they both love parties and his 'girlfriend' needs protecting from all these nasty, horny jocks, and Cloud goes there because his (very gay) girlfriend Tifa knows Aerith is there, too, and she doesn't want to go alone. And Cloud is, like, so not a people person (as if that wasn't clear enough already); he finds himself a quiet room that still isn't occupied by horny couples and rolls himself a joint.

And then Zack finds him and joins him because it's not like Cloud has anything better to do than entertain this stupidly hot jock who he also has to tutor for a moment and who he totally hasn't any feelings for, and well...

Here's the snippet from my story:

—

A moment later, they’re both sitting on a bed, really close to each other. Both high and fuzzy, their shoulders almost touching. They talk about past, fun stuff and giggle stupidly at just about anything.

Zack leans back on his elbows and tips his head, baring his throat—the world keeps spinning in his eyes, and for a moment, he thinks he sees stars. Cloud can’t take his eyes off him. The pretty blonde bites his lip—he yearns and he desires.

Zack’s so fucking gorgeous. Cloud knows it's the weed talking in his head, but he's not blind. Zack's all tan, tall, lean muscle, big arms and broad shoulders. His long, jet-black mullet is always spiky and looks silky and smooth, and Zack always smells so good whenever he sits next to Cloud. It drives him insane.

Zack's Adam’s apple bobs a little as he swallows, and his strong neck looks so soft and inviting. Cloud knows the weed is still talking in his head, messing with his brain, but he wants to put his mouth on Zack's throat. Like a feral animal. He wants to kiss it and suck it and bite it. Cloud's almost itching to find out what kind of pretty noises he could pull out of Zack if he did.

Cloud wants to mark Zack. Like he owns him. Leave pretty little bruises all across his neck and admire his handiwork afterward. Bathe in the knowledge and satisfaction that it's all his doing and that Zack will have to bear his mark at least for a few more days.

Zack’s hair is sweaty, spiky, and slightly tousled. There's that one stubborn, long strand that sticks to his face like glue. Cloud wants to touch it and brush it away.

Then Zack opens his eyes and looks at Cloud. Even when Cloud’s so fucking high that he literally sees double—two pretty, dumb jocks in front of him instead of one, as if one isn't already enough—he can still distinguish Zack’s turquoise eyes. They’re so clear and piercing and very pretty, just like the rest of him. His dark eyelashes are also very long, Cloud notices, making his pretty ocean eyes look even more stunning, if possible.

This moment between them is practically magical because, for a minute or two, none of them seem to find any words to say. They just stare wordlessly at each other, high and dazed—no thoughts, brain empty.

Until Zack decides to open his big, dumb mouth. Sounding even dumber than he usually is, totally not high or slurring or anything as he asks Cloud:

“Why are you staring at me?”

And just like that, it kills the magic of the moment.

Cloud can't help it. He snorts ugly. Laughs at it, too.

"You're staring at me, too."

Zack frowns. Scrunches his nose. He's so adorable Cloud wants to punch him. “Umm, yeah, ‘cause you’re like... so very pretty. If you were a girl, I’d almost want to kiss you now. Kind of. Is that weird?"

If Cloud were any more sober now, his face would instantly burn up and turn crimson all the way up to his ears. Zack is making a bold statement—saying he wants to kiss Cloud—and all Cloud wants to do is grab Zack by those dumb little ears, pull him into a kiss, and lick into his mouth like he's starving for it. Like he won't regret it tomorrow, which he certainly will.

But Zack also said he would kiss him if he were a pretty girl. It doesn't make Cloud feel any better, but strangely, he doesn't really care.

He's growing incredibly hot in his clothes—again, Cloud knows the weed is part to blame—and the fact that Zack is so stupidly attractive, stupidly high, and also just really fucking stupid in general, which kind of turns him on even more, doesn’t help.

He grabs more weed and starts quietly rolling another joint. His long, thin fingers keep shaking, and he still sees double, and he can barely focus on what he's doing, but somehow, in some way, Cloud still manages to put together a half-decent joint, at least.

“Want another?” he asks Zack, slurring. His head buzzes pleasantly, and he hopes the answer is yes.

Zack seems to ponder the question for a few seconds, but then he already nods eagerly like a puppy wagging his tail, as fast as he can, in their current state. “Sure.” Which pleases Cloud immensely.