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rafor · 6 months

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Chapter 48 - Mission Planning - The Glitch

I had been teaching Juno how to master the shadow element, along with the other two elements she shared with Zephyrion: ice and wind. She had different teachers for each element, but I was the only one who could guide her in the art of shadows. Luna, her twin sister, was always by her side, curious and supportive, sometimes even challenging. She often tried to mimic Juno’s shadowy movements, hoping to trigger the same power within herself. One day, as Juno was practicing her shadow form, Luna reached out to intercept her. I yelled at her to stop, fearing she would disrupt Juno’s concentration or worse. But it was too late. Luna’s wing passed through Juno’s body, and for a brief moment, Luna became a shadow as well. Then she reverted back to her normal self, looking startled and amazed.

Suddenly, I heard a voice in my head saying, “I did it.” I was confused and asked mentally, “What?” I glanced at Luna and saw that she was staring at me intently. I realized that she was the source of the voice. To test my theory, I thought back at her, “You did it?” She nodded and spoke aloud, “Sorry, what’s going on?” I continued to communicate with my mind, telling her, “I think you have discovered a new ability that even I didn’t know about.” She gasped and exclaimed, “No way, I can read your mind!” I confirmed, “Yes, you can. And I can read yours. Well done.” She grinned and said, “This is so cool! I have to try it on Juno.” She turned to face Juno and focused on her thoughts. Juno blinked and tilted her head, then smiled and nodded. They exchanged gestures and expressions, then started talking with their minds.

I interrupted their mental conversation and said aloud, “We have to study this phenomenon, myself included. This is a remarkable new ability. Good job, Luna.” They both looked at me and replied in unison in my head, “Yes, father, we will do our best.” I smiled and said mentally, “I know you will. Come on, let’s start working on it. I wish to learn it too.” And so we began to experiment with mind reading for the next few days. We learned how to do it across distances and how to block each other from doing it. We concluded that a shadow dragon could not only learn this ability but also prevent others from invading his or her privacy. We told Freya about our discovery, and she was intrigued but also wary. The twins tried to use their power on her without her consent, but they accidentally made a two-way connection that allowed Freya to read their minds as well. However, she could not stop them from reading hers unless they broke the link first. And they could still read her mind without her noticing if they were careful enough.

Some days later, we became worried about Akira and Fyrenthos, who had been gone for too long on a mission. When Leo came by for one of his regular visits to our kingdom, we asked him to deliver a message to Aura. He agreed to help us out and left with the message. A few days later, Aura arrived at our kingdom with a serious expression on her face. She brought with her some strange devices that looked like radios from my previous life as a human. I still remembered how to use them, but as a dragon, I found them too small and clumsy for my claws.

I felt a mix of curiosity and distrust towards the strange technologies that the SunFlares had brought me and Aura. I wanted to take them apart and examine each component carefully. The radio, in particular, caught my attention. It had a red LED that blinked ominously next to a symbol of danger. Was it malfunctioning? Could it explode at any moment? Aura told me that the light started flashing after the radio emitted an alarming sound. She also pointed out that the same symbol was on one of the buttons, a red one. I deduced that it was some kind of distress signal, activated by our “SunFlares” for some unknown reason.

Before I could investigate further, I asked Aura to teach me how to shapeshift back into a human. I needed my original form to handle such delicate devices. She showed me how to recall my previous appearance and use either the light or the dark element to reshape myself accordingly. It was surprisingly easy. I did it for the first time, hidden from my daughters and kids. Only Aura and Freya were allowed to witness my transformation. I didn’t want anyone else to know my secret for now.

I made some tools to disassemble and reassemble the radio. A screwdriver was not hard to craft. Inside the radio, I found a dark crystal that powered it. But it was not a normal dark crystal. It gave me a shock when I touched it. It was a hybrid of dark and electric elements, something I had never seen before. I set it aside and looked at the other parts. There was a PCB similar to one I had fixed in a radio during my military service. It was both thrilling and terrifying to find such advanced technology in a world where electricity was unheard of in most places, especially in our kingdom. We still relied on torches or fire crystals for illumination at night, and only I, as a multi elemental dragon, could recharge them. Everything else was primitive.

The dark crystal made me suspect that this radio had something to do with the shadow dragons, the rare and mysterious kind that I belonged to along with my daughters. I only knew of two other shadow dragons: the dark lord who haunted my nightmares and Erebus, who had disappeared without a trace. The SunFlares also told me where they had stolen these devices from, so there must have been more of them out there.

I was more afraid than ever. The blinking light might have really been a distress signal. Maybe I could have saved someone’s life. I had to tell Aura and Freya everything. Aura supported my decision, but Freya didn’t. She said we had a son, two daughters, and Akira’s son to take care of. She said we had a kingdom and a lot of things to watch in our area of influence. But I made a plan to rescue them from those mysterious lands. I had to help Akira and Fyrenthos. They killed me once, but they were sorry and worked for us now. They had important information for us. I told Freya my plan, and she got mad. It was hard to convince her, but I did. She said she would be with me on my missions. We had to put someone in charge of the kingdom while we were gone. We chose Vesper. He knew how to be a leader and a king after us if we died. He accepted. We then made a speech to our citizens and said he would lead them until we came back. They agreed, but they were worried and confused. Many of them asked us questions and tried to stop us from leaving, including our young daughters. We told them not to worry and to be strong while we were away. We were a bit sad and worried, and we couldn’t hide it. Solara was scared for us too and wanted to come with us, but we told her to stay in the kingdom and protect it. She then said, full of hope and as a side quest for us, that maybe we could find another like her on the way. She stayed in the kingdom and guarded it while we were gone. We took equipment from the SunFlares for the mission, even if we weren't really supposed to do it anyway.

#chapter #dragon #dragons #elements #fantasy #literature #mystery #story #poetry #adventure #the_glitch #the rise and fall of raphael

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violettelueur · 3 years

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— FUSHIGURO MEGUMI || OPPOSITES DO ATTRACT

↳ featuring : fushiguro megumi from jujutsu kaisen

↳ warnings : grammar issues

↳ form : imagine

↳ published : 06 february

↳ pronouns : non specified in imagine

↳ word count : 1.2k

↳ synopsis : after training for the kyoto sister-school goodwill event, you decided to take a short break by napping in the sun until a certain someone decides to interrupt you during that time with his divine dog by his side.

↳ barista’s notes : let me admit, this imagine is a whole mess and i didn’t know what i was thinking but HEY! ╲ʕ·ᴥ·　╲ʔ why not let you experience this mess with me ha? here is a little classic black coffee (jujutsu kaisen!) on the house! please enjoy and come back soon ʕ •ᴥ•ʔゝ☆

Currently, Japan was at the time during the season where it was the late spring nearing summer meaning it was nearly time for the humidity to rise but also the multiple rainfalls to arrive leaving some residences within the country to make sure they carried an umbrella or cover of sorts within their luggage not knowing when the sunlight could turn on them.

Making sure the remaining sunlight didn’t go to waste, you were currently laying down in the middle of the track field, where you and some of your friends had trained earlier for the Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event that was commencing soon leading you to take the opportunity to relax with your panther shikigamis before you were forced to get up again.

While you were resting your head on the back of one of the panthers, the other was resting its head on your outstretched legs to which provided you with some warmth away from the gentle winds that were passing by. If you had some effort, you would have summoned the rest of your shikigami to enjoy the beaming calm sunlight that was radiating to the world, but your curse energy was running now on low fuel at this moment in time due to the amount of training you did with…

“So this is where you have been?”

Slowly opening your eyes, you quickly covered them to block the rays from blinding you before slightly tilting your head to the side to find a familiar erratic-haired sorcerer looking down at you with a collected look on his face while the other face peering down to you wasn’t human, but rather a friendly black dog leading you to reach out with your other hand to caress the divine dog’s fur, who happily accepted the affection it was receiving from you.

“I don’t appreciate being ignored Y/N,” Fushiguro muttered before taking a seat next to your body while taking the chance to pet your panther shikigami causing it to purr in delight before slowly going back to sleep as it had been before.

“Sorry Megumi, but little wolfie here got my attention first,” you mentioned, before letting the shikigami walk to wherever it desired, leading the dog to carefully sniff at the other large cat that was laying on your legs causing your shikigami’s eyes to open revealing it’s beautiful marigold crystals that they were hiding before minding its business as it went back to sleep again - somewhat letting the dog continue to sniff it out, knowing it wouldn’t attack.

“Now that I think about it, it’s the first time our shikigami met ha?” you asked, as you continued to observe the two animals to which Fushiguro answered with a light ‘hm’ indicating that he agreed with you before turning to face you.

In Fushiguro’s mind, you and him were what some would say opposites and to be honest, he couldn’t really disagree with those assumptions. Fushiguro can admit he wasn’t one to be called cheerful but rather reserved with his feelings towards people while you could be called bright as well as open with some people. However, at the end of the day, you both were emotionally intelligent.

Not only your personalities were the opposite but also your curse techniques were as well. While both you and Fushiguro were users of inherited techniques, they could be somewhat called the same, it was just that he used shadows while you used light. Consequently, this cursed technique of yours led to you being continuously attacked and harassed by the three jujutsu clans wanting to buy you from your family, but the Zenins were the worst of them all.

Since Gojo managed to arrange things behind the scenes to make sure he wasn’t sold, the alternative option they had was you due to how similar your technique was but also how unknown it seemed, leading to the Zenin clan to demand you to come to their residence. However, from what he could recall from his annoying teacher, your mother was the one to refuse the payments and threats no matter how much she struggled since the disappearance of your father, who was thought to be the one with the sorcerer blood.

“If you were sold, do you think we would be like we are now?” Fushiguro suddenly asked, causing you to give him a side glance before letting out a sigh. “To be honest, I don’t think so,” you answered honestly as you slowly reached out to him leading Fushiguro to look at the outstretched hand for a quick second before tenderly taking it into his as he tightly interlocking your fingers together.

“If I was sold, I probably would have been sent to Kyoto Jujutsu Tech rather than Toyko, I probably would have tried to run away multiple of times, I probably would have hated you rather than love you like I do now,” you commented, leading to the stoic sorcerer to blush shyly at your verbal affection. “Luckily, my mother had a heart and didn’t let me go,” you murmured as you began to slowly recall your past, remembering how your mother would bring you to her tight embrace when the head of the Zenin family would scream at her for not passing you to him as well as other sorcerers who demanded her to sell you off to them.

“I hate the clans,” you absentmindedly stated.

Before Fushiguro could say something about your admission, both of you and Fushiguro heard a little yelp causing you both to suddenly turn to look at the side, only to find a little black panther running towards you leading you to put on a small smile before it suddenly climbed up your upper body as it then rested its head on your chest.

“I didn’t know you had a baby panther as a shikigami,” Fushiguro commented, as he inspected the little cat that had made itself comfortable while his divine dog took the opportunity to examine the adorable subject leading to the small cat to meow at the large dog. “I didn’t know about it either until the day I summoned the cute little thing,” you replied to your boyfriend and you began to pet the little feline causing it to cutely snuggle against your palm, greedily accepting the attention it was getting.

“Don’t you usually have your other shikigami out?” Fushiguro then questioned, as he took the opportunity to lay back on the grass - to which lead his divine dog to go by his side before resting its head on his chest - causing you to turn to look at him once again before answering in a ‘duh’ tone with, “well, I would but someone made me use all my curse energy during training today,” leading Fushiguro to stiffen up somewhat before relaxing once you used your thumb to endearingly caress the back of his hand that was still interlocked with you making him know that you were just joking with him.

“We really are opposites ha?” you rhetorically and randomly asked - surprising Fushiguro somewhat due to his exact earlier thoughts - to which lead you to begin listing everything you could from the top of your head, “shadow and light, anti-social and somewhat more social and then cats and dogs.”

“Opposites do attract Y/N,” Fushiguro quickly stated, before raising your interlocking hands to kiss the back of your hand before using it to hide his now bright rose face. Laughing at his new-found but short-lived confidence, you giggled slightly at the cute sight - almost as cute as the baby panther on your chest - before pulling your connecting hands away to fully see his flustered expression forcing him to see your gentle and kind smile.

“Opposites do attract Megumi”

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royallyjoon · 4 years

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nephilim (un)

you know where the cred goes 💙

cult au, supernatural au

yandere! ot7 x f! reader

warnings: yandere themes, violent behavior

the mysterious, age old town of ichabod. within it rests a history hidden from its inhabitants, who are forced to remain there out of fear. you simply wish to live in this town with the people you love without facing its wrath for as long as you can. unfortunately for you, there are great powers on your side who are willing to do whatever it takes to get you. whether you come willingly or not. after all, it only takes a little hellfire

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“Come along now, (Y/N).” Your mother’s grip on your wrist tightened as she all but threw you in front of her. You nearly twisted your ankle on the twigs and tree roots that outlined the forest floor. “We are late enough as it is.”

You huffed and tore your wrist from your mother’s hand to hike up the long, white dress you wore. “Good. I wish we didn’t have to trek out here in the middle of the night every month. Maybe we’ll miss the gathering entirely.”

She smacked your arm harshly. “Not another word from you, smart mouth.” Your mother dressed similarly, the only difference being that her ivory dress paled considerably compared to yours in the moonlight. “We’ve been attending for years. I highly doubt that such a change would be allowed, much less appreciated.”

You shivered at the thought. No matter how much you resented these meetings, you wouldn’t dare miss a summoning.

You stayed quiet for ten more minutes, taking in the rustling of the forest and focusing your efforts on avoiding sharp rocks underfoot.

Trees rested on either side of you, lining your path and blocking out any natural light with their twisting, sneaking branches. It took all of your effort to ignore the oppressive silence, broken every so often by the snapping of a trig or the movement of some animal, cloaked by shadows in the dark.

Soon enough, you and your mother reached the clearing.

She pulled you back just as you were about to step into the moonlight, throwing a dark cloak in your face. “Are you mad? Put it on!”

You smiled abashedly and threw the material on. The hood was so long it cast a shadow over the lower half of your face but was wide enough for you to see.

Your mother finished arranging her hood and the two of you stepped into the clearing, joining with the last of the circle of cloaked shadows.

The moon shone brightly without the cover of the forest giving your surroundings an ethereal facade. A wooden stage lay at the very middle of the clearing, upon which stood your small town’s resident royalty.

The Kims.

They were the ruling force of the town, the husband being the mayor, the wife a successful actress. They both settled down in Ichabod twenty-five years ago with their children. What had once been a town amuck with violence and chaos was transformed into a prosperous, well-functioning borough.

How the Kims managed to transform the area nearly overnight, few knew. They have run your city for nearly three decades. And everyone in it is terrified to cross their path.

Directly behind them stood their seven adopted sons, faces shrouded by hoods and masks. You didn’t know too much about them besides their names and faces; five of them currently attended your school and you made sure to give them a wide berth, being as polite as possible.

Kim Moonsik raised his left arm, twisting his wrist in a full circle. He then pointed his hand at the sky, gently lowering his pinky and middle fingers. “Greetings to the moon from her earthly servants.”

You lifted your forearm with everyone else, copied the gesture, and repeated the phrase quietly with disinterest.

“I thank you all for coming on such short notice.” He continued. “As another month commences, we have the pleasure of standing before you all. The moon has graced us with her everlasting beauty and prosperity rains down upon our small town, just as it has for decades before.”

This is usually the part where you would start drifting off. Kim Moonsik could drove on with his speech about the moon for far too long.

About what felt like an hour but was approximately fifteen minutes later, Mr. Kim trailed off and the forest became so silent, you hushed your thoughts in fear of thinking too loud.

The oppressive feeling in the air returned full force and you shivered underneath the warmth of your cloak as Mr. Kim eyed each and every person attending. He was not able to directly see your face, but you felt like the man was staring into your soul.

“Regrettably,” He said, clasping his hands together, “we are not able to part tonight without the moon’s divine punishment.”

Ah, you thought. There it is.

The reason your heart pounds at every one of these meetings.

All you wanted to do was be that half-asleep little girl again, clutched in your mother’s arms as she trudged her way here every month.

“Wylynne has decreed that there are sinners in our midst.” Mr. Kim says it quietly, but the gravity in his words travel.

And with a mighty roar, the pyre behind the wooden stage was lit with orange flames.

The crowd stood in silence, waiting for the dreadful sound. You quaked in the dirt. Would it be you this time?

But by the grace of the moon, no.

The telltale, piercing shriek came from the right side of the crowd. Citizens rushed to get away from the teenager cradled in her parents’ arms. The mother could not let go of her daughter, heavily sobbing as the child clutched her head and continued to scream. Her hood had fallen off and your eyes widened as you recognized her.

Natalia Pierre. The two of you had had some awful confrontation a few months ago. Nevertheless, the resident embers of anger could not stop the overwhelming pity you felt as the Kims’ men ripped her away from her parents.

“Please!” She cried as they forced her to her knees before the mayor. Not that she wasn’t already bent over, riddled with pain. “Knives-the knives won’t stop, please get them out!”

Kim Moonsik lay his hand on her shoulder. “Do not worry, my child. You will soon join Wylynne’s heavenly army. May your failures be a lesson, victories a reward, and may your soul live on with the moon forever.”

“May your soul live on with the moon forever.” You whispered the last phrase with everyone else, ignoring the tear that made its way down your cheek.

Before Natalia could say another word, her screams were cut short as her body was engulfed in purple fire.

It only took a second. Within minutes, her cloak, dress, bones, and ashes were gone. She hadn’t even scorched the grass. You could almost believe you’d dreamed it if her father wasn’t kneeling next to her writhing mother in the dirt.

Mr. Kim smiled gracefully, a sight that reminded you of the grim reaper with the shadow on his face. “To her heavenly grace, the moon, may she travel. To my fellow citizens of Ichabod, I bid goodnight.”

The orange flame behind the stage was doused. You, your mother, and the crowd bowed your heads as you wished goodnight to the Kims. It was only when the last son had left the clearing did anyone else begin moving.

You clutched your mother’s hand all the way home.

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Since before you could remember, your mother had been dragging you to Ichabod monthly town meetings. It was the Kims’ way of ensuring the people that the moon continued to bless and favor them and would send prosperity their way in return for a sacrifice.

In short, they were trapped here and if they wished to keep their lives, they would know better than to cross the Kims.

The people that had tried to run away all failed. They would either, depending on the “grace of the moon,” show up alive right back where they started, or their bodies were placed on the front doors of relatives or neighbors.

Now, you weren’t stupid. You did not believe that it was the actions of Wylynne or whomever Mr. Kim spends his nights singing praises to. The fatal injuries were always exterior, therefore it must have been nothing other than the work of man.

Nevertheless, you were too afraid to risk leaving Ichabod. You preferred to live your life quietly, holding on to your closest friends and family. And it has been successful for the past years.

The next morning as your mom drove you to school, you used your phone’s camera to check your appearance. There were bags under your eyes, so heavy that makeup would not be enough to cover it.

As she drove, you sighed heavily and thought back to last night, wondering how Natalia could have possibly angered the Kims. She never tried to escape--at least, to your knowledge--and she never talked to them at school either...

Your mother pulled up to the curb and you stuffed your phone into your uniform pocket, kissed her on the cheek in goodbye, and closed the car door.

Ichabod Academy, the resident school for all children born and raised inside of this town. It ran from first to twelfth grade, in several different buildings, and made for quite the large campus for the size of your town. The buildings looked quite dreary from the outside with its gray walls and glass doors, most of the lights inside still off.

It was comparable to the size of a small, inner-city university. Everyone knew everyone, for the better or worse.

You walked to the upperclassmen building, entered your first class, and lay your head on the desk.

Usually, you would be able to get at least four hours of sleep the night after a summoning, but last night you barely managed to achieve two.

Natalia...she wasn’t a bad person. She made mistakes, yes, but she was human above all.

“(Y/N)?” You heard someone gently ask. You pried your eyes open to see your best friend.

“Hey, Mana.” You yawned. “How did you sleep?”

“Better than you, clearly.” They snorted and dropped themselves into the seat in front of you. “I couldn’t believe...”

You watched them tiredly as they failed to speak their words. “I know.” You finally whispered back.

The teacher walked into the room with a student trailing behind her and you immediately sat up, warily eyeing them both. “Good morning, class. Today we have a new student, transferring from another section. Please introduce yourself.” She motioned.

As if he needed an introduction.

“Good morning, everyone. My name is Kim Jimin. I hope that we can get along and have a great year. Please take care of me.” He bowed slightly.

Your class chorused greetings and you balked slightly as you realized that the only empty seat was...

“You can take the seat next to Ms. (L/N). (Y/N), please raise your hand.”

You put your hand up and Jimin waltzed over to you with the biggest smile. He placed his bag on the floor next to the metal leg of the table. “Hello, seat mate. I hope we can get along.”

You sent a small smile his way--though it may have looked more like a grimace. “Yeah, me too.”

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

The bell rang for the break and you immediately slammed your notebook shut and dropped your head onto the desk.

Jimin giggled at your side. “Did you not sleep well last night, (Y/N)?”

You groaned out a “no”.

Mana turned around slowly and gently poked at you. “It was emotionally taxing for both of us, I think.” They said and smiled at Jimin. “I’m Mana, (Y/N)’s close friend.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” He stated. “Emotionally taxing you say...may I ask why?”

You lifted your head. “Mana, and I used to be good friends with the tribu--girl who was chosen last night.” You quickly corrected yourself. “Then she got involved with this guy...”

“We told Natalia he was no good news, from the very beginning.” Mana interrupted. “But she insisted that he was different with her and kind to her. Then a couple of months into their relationship he has her smoking, drinking, sneaking out to have sex-”

“And it’s not that these things are bad,” you continued. “Like it was her life and she could do what she wanted as long as she was safe, you know? But she wasn’t like that at all before. To see such a drastic change...”

“Next thing you know, he’s spreading her private pictures across the entire campus.” Mana’s fist clenched and you put your hand on theirs to relieve the anger. “We tried to talk to him about her and he was always rude to us, dismissing us off-hand and insulting Natalia behind her back. (Y/N) tried to confront her about his behavior and Natalia fought her, saying she was just jealous of them.”

“After that, we lost touch with her.” You said. “But I would give anything to go back and speak to her, or just apologize.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Mana fumed.

“The power of Wylynne is divine and just.” Jimin commented as he stared at you and your friend, unblinking. “She must have taken Ms. Pierre into her celestial army to spare her from facing the punishment of her earthly crimes for the rest of her life. She always has a reason, after all.”

Mana looked at the table awkwardly. “Yes,” they said, “praise Wylynne.”

You nodded.

“(Y/N)?” Jimin looked at you expectedly. You weren’t familiar with the weight of his gaze, but you quickly learned it wasn’t something you were trying to get accustomed to.

“Praise Wylynne.” You said, flashing another grimace-smile.

Jimin’s eyes disappeared as he smiled and the bell rang, signaling the end of break.

——————————————————————————

As the bell rang for lunch, Mana practically yanked your joint out of the socket with how quickly they wanted to leave the classroom. “Come on, we should try and get some food in is before next period.” On the way out, however, you couldn’t help but notice Jimin pulling out a plastic bag that contained a series of containers. There was one large plastic container that had what looked like a main meal, accompanied by four smaller containers that held side dishes.

Jimin sighed forlornly at the pile and you felt a touch of pity for him. Before Mana could drag you out the room completely, you tapped them, gesturing with your head at Jimin and making puppy dog eyes.

They sent you a look that clearly questioning your sanity, but you rolled your eyes in return, gesturing once more to Jimin. A couple of seconds of staring later, Mana allowed you to drag them back over to his desk.

“Hey Jimin,” you gently approached him, “why are you eating lunch in the classroom?”

“Oh...” his face drooped even more. “...My little brothers and I would always stay behind while everyone else left to go to the cafeteria. We found it uncomfortable to enter that place when everyone would just go quiet and speak around us in whispers....I guess it was just a force of habit.”

You nodded in sad understanding on the outside but sighed in the back of your head. Of course people would avoid them. The Kim children were abandoned out of fear and respect rather than any overt effort to ostracize them.

Before, Jimin was probably accustomed to eating with his brothers Taehyung and Jungkook, but this morning’s schedule and class adjustment ripped the three apart.

You put a hand on his desk, wanting to show comfort without crossing borders. “Well, Mana and I would love to get to know you better as a classmate, or friend... you’re welcome to sit with us if you want?”

Jimin’s eyes widened, glistening with moisture. He snapped his head up, cheeks rosy with a hopeful blush. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to intrude...”

“You’re not intruding! Come on, I’ll grab your bag for you.” Jimin rushed to pack up the containers. He took his bag from you with a smile. “Thank you both,” he whispered.

Walking through the relatively empty school halls with a Kim gave you a sense of confidence you didn’t need. You walked in a line, with you betwixt Mana and Jimin. All the students that saw you widened their eyes and bolted to the side to make way. It wasn’t because of you or Mana--you knew this--but the feeling made you uncomfortable.

It was powerful.

When you all arrived at the cafeteria, you tried to enter inconspicuously by piggybacking behind some tall classmates but it failed miserably. The moment Jimin was spotted, people indeed stopped talking and the room was engulfed in whispers.

You gently took Jimin by the elbow, smiling at him assuredly, and directed him towards your and Mana’s usual table. It was thankfully empty, so you put your bags down and took your wallets out.

“We’ll be right back, we’re just gonna go buy some food,” you stated, hearing chatter pick back up. Your best friend must have shot everyone their “mind your business” glare. Jimin nodded, neatly unpacking his lunch. Mana all but dragged you off.

“‘We’d love to get to know you better’? Seriously, (Y/N)! There’s a reason why people avoid the Kims! And you just openly invite one to our lunch table? Are you trying to become the next sacrifice?!” They harshly stage whispered.

“Come on, Mana,” you scoffed as you arrived at the lunch bar. “He’s been separated from his only brother in his class and trapped with a bunch of strangers. The least we could do is eat lunch with him. Don’t transfer the sins, or fear, of the parent to the child.”

Mana glared at you for a long while but eventually huffed out their agreement. “Fine.”

You payed for your food and walked back to the table where your new classmate was politely waiting. “Aw, you didn’t have to wait for us, but thanks!”

“Of course I had to! I should be the ones thanking you for being willing to sit and eat with me...” Jimin spoke ever so softly, looking down at the lunch table.

In this moment, it was easy to forget the fear that lingered from yesterday’s cold, dark night. It was easy to take the hand of the cherubic boy that sat before you and give it a reassuring squeeze. “Think nothing of it. We’re going to be doing this a lot more often, so please look forward to it!”

It was easy to forget the curve of his lip as he quickly hid an arrogant smirk, morphing it into his trademark angelic smile. “Yes, please take care of me!”

--------------------------------————————————

Lunch was quite awkward, as it was the first time the three of you had spent a meal together. You and Mana were used to speaking about anything and everything during lunch. You both especially tackled controversial opinions concerning the Kims and their vice-like grip on the minds of those in this town.

Clearly, in this case, that would not have made for clever conversation.

Jimin saved the discussion by turning it towards school, questioning you both on your favorite classes and teachers. If he was able to tell how religiously liberal you were, he was excellent at hiding it.

He shared funny anecdotes of shenanigans he accomplished with his brothers, stories that had the three of you holding your stomachs in laughter.

For the most part, you and your friend were relieved. Jimin was not nearly as terrifying as some of his siblings.

Time passed swiftly and before you knew it, the warning bell sounded, prompting people to throw out the rest of their lunch and swarm through the doors.

You grabbed your and Mana’s tray, throwing the waste away as necessary and placing the trays on the counter, thanking the lunch lady that took them. Then you headed back towards the table, where the two awaited you.

Unlike the passageway that was fairly empty on your way towards the cafeteria, the halls were now teeming with students. They whispered non discreetly, taking glances at the three of you as you walked.

Mana grabbed your arm, letting Jimin go slightly in front as they pulled you back to whisper in your ear. “I could get used to the attention.”

They started snickered but yelped when you slapped their arm. “You wouldn’t be saying that for long. Think of how annoying the constant whispers would get. The Kims have to suffocate underneath all that attention.” You muttered back. Mana considered your words, eventually nodding their head in agreement.

Your best friend did not often have a gentle temperament. They would blow up at students fairly quickly--especially if they were whispering in their face.

The two of you reached the classroom, thanking Jimin as he held the door. Your classmates’ voices hushed and you internally sighed. If you hadn’t noticed their explicit cautiousness before, you definitely did now.

The teacher for the next lesson, Mrs. Hargrove, came in quickly after you, placing stacks of papers on their desk and shutting down conversation.

“Good afternoon, students. I hope everyone had a great lunch.” Mrs. Hargrove’s appearance looked a little more frazzled than usual as she pushed her frizzy hair behind her ears and smoothed down her skirt, but no one made a comment on it. “Today, we’re going to be making an adjustment to our syllabus. Rather than have you all complete individual projects and two tests for semester, I will be placing you in pairs where you will complete a much larger research project with only one test.”

Some of your classmates sighed in relief while others groaned, and you all erupted into conversations. You didn’t mind completing an individual project, but the stress of research and choosing the topic would weigh on you for a while.

Mana turned to you, dread written all over their face. “We’re going to have to research? Kill me now. What topic do you think we should choose?”

You giggle at their dramatic antics but are swiftly interrupted by the teacher. “Actually, Ms. Waye, Ms. (L/N) will be working with Mr. Kim here...as they are seat mates after all.” Mrs. Hargrove glanced over to Jimin, almost as if she were looking for something in his expression.

His face gave away nothing and he disregarded her with a stare.

Mana sneered at the teacher’s blatant disregard for their pronouns, but Mrs. Hargrove paid them no mind, eyes blown wide open as if she’d seen the devil himself. She turned away, stuttering.

“You w-will all be working with your seat mates. I don’t want you taking up any class time to fight over who will be your partner. Now that we have an even amount of students in our class, it settles everything quite nicely. As for the chosen topic, I want each pair to research and present on a certain mythological creature.”

You smiled apologetically at Mana, who pouted and turned around to talk to their partner.

Mrs. Hargrove walked back up to the front of the class, handing out the stacks of papers with the required information for the assignment.

“So, (Y/N),” Jimin calling your name broke your attention from the teacher and you looked over at him. “What creature do you think we should research?”

“I’m not sure...but I kind of wanted to talk about a more obscure creature. We could choose one that isn’t as highly discussed.” You said excitedly.

“That’s a good idea! I’m pretty sure my parents have some old books of lore in our library at home...we’d easily be able to find a creature that people don’t know about there. Would you want to come over and check them out?” Jimin offered.

You stared at him, grin slightly slipping. Going to the Kim household? Without your mother’s hand to hold, or reprimanding to keep you from doing something foolish? This would be completely different from meeting them in the woods and escaping to the safety of your home afterwards.

You’d be walking into the lions’ den of your own volition.

Jimin saw your hesitation and his face crumpled. “It’s fine if you don’t want to...I’d understand,” he muttered.

But seeing his crestfallen expression, you shook all the bad thoughts from your head. “No! It’s fine. I would love to come over...I just have to let my mom know.”

What is she going to do--say no? You thought to yourself, grimacing.

Jimin’s face broke out into the biggest smile you’d seen today. “Really? That’s great!” His cheeks were full in happiness and you felt immensely better.

You raised your hand, bringing Mrs. Hargrove over. “May I go make a quick phone call to my mother?”

She nods, glancing again at your partner. You wanted to extricate yourself from the strange atmosphere as soon as possible, so you shoved your phone in your pocket and trekked out into the hall.

You fully weren’t expecting your mother to answer, but she picked up after only a few rings. “Hello?”

“Hey Mom,” you said. “How’s everything at work?”

“Fine,” she said. “I can’t be on the phone for long--what’s up?”

“Would it be okay for me to go over to a classmate’s house for a school project? We were just assigned it and we need to do research. It’s a really big part of our grade this semester.”

She was silent for a moment. “Who is this classmate?”

“...Kim Jimin.”

You pulled the phone away from your ear and scanned your eyes up and down the hallway as your mother’s volume increased by multiple decibals.

“Yes, I know...He invited me to his house, he said his parents have books we can look into...yes, it’s necessary, unless you want my grades to drop!”

In your determination to placate your mother, you didn’t notice the classroom door opening, nor did you notice the shadow that lurked around the corner.

“Mom, we can’t exactly refuse...it’s just a school project, I’ll be fine!”

You sighed in exasperation as your mother launched off a series of directions, ordering you to text her every hour and watch your behavior around the Kims in her absence. After a string of “yes”, “I know”, and “I will”s, you hung up the phone, shaking your head.

You shoved the device in your pocket and hightailed it to the nearest bathroom, wanting to splash some water on your face before returning to class.

Jimin smirked at your retreating figure, taking his own phone out and tapping out a message. Once he received the response he was looking for, he tucked his phone away, brightened his facial expression, and opened the door to the classroom.

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

The moment had finally arrived: the end of the school day.

Mana watched on pitifully as you packed your books away, Jimin standing patiently above you.

Perhaps it was a bit dramatic to feel so scared, but as far as you or Mana knew, this was the first time someone was (willingly) going over to the Kim’s house. And for something as simple as a school project, no less.

“Alright then...we’re off!” you told your best friend, swinging your bag over your shoulder and tugging them into a hug.

“Good luck on your project! Hope you guys find what you’re looking for,” Mana said, squeezing your midsection painfully tight. “See you tomorrow morning.” They smiled at Jimin, who acknowledged them with a small grin.

You nodded, stepping out from behind the desk and followed Jimin out the classroom.

As soon as he had one toe out the door, however, he was tackled by a blurry figure with neck length, curly, dark hair. Jimin, whose surprise quickly turned into glee, wrapped his arms around the figure. “Taehyungie!”

The sudden motion made you pause in the doorway, one breath away from knocking your head into Jimin’s back.

“I missed you today! I hate the fact that Mr. Burham made you switch classes--we always stick together!” Kim Taehyung pressed his face into Jimin’s neck, but you managed to hear the words he spoke. Jimin chuckled.

“We live together, Taehyung ah, we’d see each other regardless!”

Taehyung lifted his face from his brother’s neck, brittle brown eyes glancing up to meet yours. You felt intimidated by the loss of the sparkle they’d held, but raised a hand to smile and wave at him regardless. “Hi...”

“Oh, Tae! Let me introduce you two.” Jimin hauled his little brother off of him and pulled the two of you by the hand out the doorway so that other students could leave. “(Y/N), this is Taehyung, one of my younger brothers. Tae, this is (Y/N). Mrs. Hargrove assigned us a project on a mythological creature and she’s my partner, so she’ll be coming home with us today to start research.”

You stood against the wall, a polite smile on your face. Taehyung was staring at you with a deadpan expression on his face, assessing you. You didn’t know much about the qualifications of this test, but you assumed it was crucial that you passed it.

All too quickly, his face broke out into a large grin and he swept you into his arms. You grunted at the force with which he pressed you into his chest. “Nice to meet you, (Y/N)!”

“Um, nice to meet you too...”

“Tae, you can’t just touch her without her permission!” Jimin pulled Taehyung off of you, smiling apologetically. You waved it off, gaping at both of them as they rehashed their day for the other.

The two brothers chatted happily, arms around each other’s shoulders as they ambled through the halls and out the front door of the school. Students sent you scandalized glances as you trailed behind them, but you were too busy updating your mother to pay attention. When you finally looked up, you saw Jimin and Taehyung leading you to a large, sleek, black van.

Is this what getting abducted in broad daylight feels like?

But you recognized this car. This was the Kim’s family car, driven by a hired professional to take their five children to school and back. You’d seen it many a times in the morning with your mother.

Students whispered as the three juniors approached the vehicle while you cautiously eyed the three figures that stood in front of it.

Kim Jungkook, the school’s most talented freshman. He’d already made high marks in all of the clubs he’d joined, with special attention to the music and sports club. He was so talented in boxing that the Kims, already large beneficiaries of the school, had given the director the money to start and finance the new boxing club.

Kim Hoseok, the captain of the dance team with an academic prowess that was second to only one person in the whole school. He’d taken your school dance team to nationals and, although very kind to the general student body, it was not lost on everyone how exhausted the members of his team would be in competition season. No one in after school activities could forget the sound of him sounding out beats or barking orders through the halls during rehearsals.

And finally, Kim Namjoon. The president of the Association for the Student Body and resident academic genius. He’d held the top scores for every class he’d been in since freshman year. The school trophy case was jokingly nicknamed “Namjoon’s Bureau” after the amount of awards that had his name on them.

Never would you have guessed that you would be meeting not one, but all five of the Kim siblings--on the same day, no less.

“Oh ho, Jiminie,” Hoseok teased as you approached, ruffling his little brother’s hair. “Who’s this?”

Be still, my beating heart--

“Hello! I’m (Y/N), a classmate of Jimin’s. It’s nice to meet you all.” You greeted them with a sharp, but quick bow.

“We were assigned a project to research a mythological creature.”Jimin clung to Namjoon by the arm while he and Jungkook were busy staring at you. “Namjoon hyung, would you help us find the books Dad once showed us in the library? The ones with all the lore and stories?”

On the outside, this felt like a normal day of being introduced to an acquaintance’s family members.

On the inside, however, you were reminded of the purple flames that stole Natalia’s existence from this mortal plane in mere seconds every time you looked one of the older Kim siblings in the eyes.

Jungkook merely looked curious, doe eyes wide in surprise. But Namjoon...

Even though they were adopted, Namjoon held the same crazed, righteous look in his eyes that Kim Moonsik would have whenever he announced the next tribute for Wylynne’s army.

“I’d be happy to find them for you guys,” Namjoon grinned at you.

You “smiled” back.

That was a grimace...that was a definitely a grimace. You seriously needed to work on your facial expressions around them.

Hoseok opened the car door, sliding into the very back with Jungkook and Taehyung while Jimin leapt for the window seat. This left you between him and his older brother, and you fought the urge to groan aloud.

Once inside the car, Namjoon alerted the driver that everyone was present and the man took off without another word. While he was distracted, you lowered your phone brightness and updated your mother again on your location.

“So, (Y/N), how was your day?” You jerk your head up and turn towards the voice, Hoseok questioning you while still wearing that ear-splitting grin.

“It was alright! I met Jimin this morning and then we attended classes and lunch...” you said, fiddling with the power button on your phone.

Hoseok and Taehyung continued to ask you a few more questions, like your favorite color and artists, about your classes and any future career plans. Jimin would cut in every so often with a statement or question of his own, and Jungkook and Namjoon simply watched on quietly as the conversation took place.

You leaned your head on the space between the headrests of the seats, tilting it to the right. You thought this morning’s fatigue had been chased away by the excitement of the day, but it was actually resting, lying in wait for the moment where you would put your guard down.

As much as you wanted to avoid it, the rumbling of the AC and comfort provided by the plush, leather seats caused the background noise in the car to fade before disappearing completely.

Jungkook seemed to be the only one to notice your breathing slow. “She’s asleep.”

Any and all conversation that had been taking place shut down immediately as they all gazed at your figure.

At some point in your sleep, you started to shiver from the temperature of the AC. Jungkook quickly peeled off his school sweater and handed it to Jimin, who pouted slightly as he draped it over your form.

They watched the slow rise and fall of your chest and listened to the soft breathing noises you let out in your sleep. The world outside was forgotten, and for a few, precious moments it was only you and them.

And if all went according to plan, soon it would be much, much longer than a few precious moments. Their world would only consist of you and them, all of them, for the rest of time.

#cult au #bts cult au #yandere bts x reader #yandere bts au #bts x reader #yandere bts #yandere jung hoseok #yandere kim taehyung #yandere kim namjoon #yandere kim seokjin #yandere park jimin #yandere min yoongi #Yandere jeon jungkook #x reader #religious au #high school au #college au #ot7 x reader #poly ot7

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dulcetxminfy · 3 years

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Lotto | A | Chapter One

MafiaBoss! UndergroundCriminal! Yoongi x Strugglingwaitress! Y/N

Word Count - 3,210

Yoongles has his silver hair in this one 👌🏼. Smut will be in future chapters. Enjoy !

The smell of grease and bacon has your brain pounding in your skull. A normally pleasant smell can get old after an 8-hour work shift, 5 days a week. Dave rings the bell once again and you zig-zag between the tables trying to get there, refilling empty coffee mugs and fetching missing condiments on the way. Another day, another measly dollar.

By noon, your feet need a rest and you need a break. The sneakers squeeze your feet so much it feels like they might bring you down a size permanently. Marla comes from the back, chewing that cheap gum that’s bought wholesale. You hand over the paper tab and fill her in before heading into the back room. Lunch is spent eating a stale sandwich with stale lettuce and softening tomatoes that can leave an unpleasant aftertaste. Mentally, there’s a reminder set to see what they have at the food pantry this week.

Hopefully, your brother ate his lunch. It’s not like he likes it anyways and you can't blame him for it. Anxious thoughts are interrupted when Mina opens the door in all of her cheerfulness.

“Y/N, someone is asking for you.” She must see your furrow brows cause she continues.

“Says he needs to see you, it’s been a while. Is he a bad ex? Should I get rid of him?” Her worry makes you inwardly smile and you head to the sink. “No, it’s ok. I’ll be right there.” She leaves with a nod. The smile drops the minute she does. What could he possibly want now? Something uneasy stirs in your stomach. It could be the food just devoured, but there is something more pressing at the moment. The dim hallway is empty and you carefully walk out, counting the black and white tiles. With your head held high, you walk towards the booths.

The blue hair peeks out from the top of the divider. He always sits in the left corner of the room, drinking a lemonade. Always at the same time. Always on time. You walk towards the table and sit down. Taehyung offers a small nod of his head in acknowledgment. Or at least that’s what he says his name is. The first time he had waltzed in, he turned heads. A beautiful man in a crisp Armani suit isn’t exactly discreet. You came out to greet him and asked if you knew each other when he uttered one word. Your father's name. From then on you knew whatever came of this interaction, it wasn’t going to be pleasant. That bastard had ruined your family and still, it's not enough. He continues to cause destruction, long after he’s been gone.

Taehyung's tan skin and blue hair are a striking match. Chocolate eyes study the way you clench your hands together on the table, steadying shaky fingers. Pretending to hold it all together.

“Hello, Y/N.” He asked for your name the first time and you refused to give it. Years of watching sketchy people walk in and out of your apartment teach you to be wary. By the next meeting, he had it on his tongue in greeting. Perhaps a show of how much they really knew and were able to find out what they wanted.

“I have a note for you from Mr. Min. It’s appropriate to now set up a formal meeting. Tonight.” The previous suspicion is proved correct. This elusive Min wants to meet and it has your heart sinking.

“I have my brother to pick up from school.” Demons may thrive and bath in the night, but the rest of us don’t have that luxury to choose.

“Sorry, but you’ll have to make arrangements. We could send one of our men to do it... if you want.” Absolutely fucking not. You may be bad at surviving, but stupid is not in your nature.

“I’ll work it out.” It's the first time you keep eye contact with him since he arrived. While he notices the sudden determination, you notice the prominent mole on his nose. He’s handsome in a catalog type of way. they must have to be, to make the jobs easier. His tan skin glows, even in the gloomy shadow that the grey skies cast into the room.

“There will be a car parked outside your residence to pick you up.” Being in a car with these people doesn’t seem like such a good idea, either. The next words are painful to say.

“It’s ok, I’ll walk.” He quirks a brow and looks sideways at the droplets sliding down the window.

“It’s going to be raining heavy tonight, though.” His deep voice fills you with dread. Especially because there is an underlying tone of sympathy in it. On cue, lightning roars from somewhere above the popcorn ceiling. Hopefully, it’s enough to distract him from the fidgeting.

He gets up to leave but not before looking down at your slumped form, trying to ignore how tired and pitiful you look. Deliver and leave. That’s the job as a messenger. All of the five times he has come here have made him wonder who you are. What put you in the sights of a man like his employer. You are young, but there is so much sadness already. Ironically, he knows how you must feel. Against his better judgment, he fixes his collar and is gone as quickly as he came. Don’t ask, don’t get involved with the debtors. It’s easier that way. All you can do is place your head on the table and zone out for a little. It’s the go-to self-care these days. Just to pretend that you don’t exist in this form in time, that you can blend in with the background and disappear. Not for the first time, you curse your luck, family ties. What have I been roped into?

When the sun sets, your legs are already carrying you down the street before Lina can change her mind. Thankfully, it isn’t pouring down yet. Closing the diner is normally your job and it is a dreaded task. Anything can happen in that timespan and it keeps the adrenaline constantly flowing. A girl alone in a diner with a cash register is a golden opportunity. It’s hard to feel like beyond the windows there aren’t eyes, waiting in dark street corners. After a couple of blocks, the old orange apartment building comes into view. At one time it must have been nicer and that's hard to picture. Mr. Shihan is playing cards with another older man on the sidewalk when you come up to the gate. Their concentration is fully on the game and he doesn’t give his normal greeting. He’s a sweet man with a terrible habit. The courtyard is empty. There are barks and kitchen sinks running, loud televisions that have no consideration. Unfortunately, there are no stairs and after long days, it’s hard not to just want to sit down on the dirty, concrete floor and fall asleep. Before you reach the 5th floor, you wait at the entrance to the hall on the 4th. It’s taken time for you to stop caring what others think of your situation, the disapproving comments, and glances from the teachers at your brother's school and almost anywhere you go. Too young, give him up to the state. Can’t take care of him, look how skinny he is, look how tired. People who look from the outside and have the luxury to judge. You are old enough to take care of him and he belongs with you. You’re the only family you two have left.

It’s only when you need help that it kills you to see Mrs. Litska. She’s an old woman who was able to babysit your brother while you are at work. With one knock, the door opens and you are met with a frown on her crinkled face. You don’t have time to say much, you just give her the envelope of this month’s pay and step inside. Your brother is asleep on the brightly foiled couch in the dim living room that smells of baked bread. The sound of Vivaldi comes through the ancient radio on the side table. His little fingers hold tightly onto the Spider-Man plushie picked out at the thrift store a while ago. It’s seen better days, but they are insuperable. Placing the stuffed item to the side, one arm loops around his shoulders to him up to place his head on your shoulder. The kid could sleep through anything.

The both of you head upstairs into your own living quarters. The lights don’t turn on when the flip is switched and you sigh as you try your best to remain close to the wall.it proves to be hard with your body ready to give out, but you ultimately make it to the room and place your brother into the squeaky bed. The candles are pulled from the drawer and each one settles into every corner of the space nicely.

Finally, you take off your partially wet clothes and put them into a pile by the tub. At least the water is warm as your body slowly leans down into it. Suddenly, the room is quiet and it’s hard to let yourself float away. It’s eerie and not comforting at all. It never is. There is no next destination besides a dreaded one, no way to work yourself towards, hanging on through the blissfully hard distractions that take up your life. They allow you to not stop, to not think about where you could be. Staying busy saves you from reaching into yourself too much.

Minutes tick by, a full half-hour before your skin is soggy and the water is cold. Still, it's better to be here than think that in another hour you could be trafficked and the little boy in the other room sleeping peacefully would have no one left. Mother dead, father gone, sister missing. It brings a chill to the room and it’s suffocating. Once you’re dressed casually, you check in on your brother who is still tucked in, his breathing mellowed out. Here’s to hoping he stays asleep and doesn’t wander through the place at three in the morning to an empty apartment. You kiss his forehead and bring his plushies within reach. They crowd the space around him, cocooning him in.

With one last safety check and blowing out the candles, you lock the door from the outside and move along the hallway down to the stairs.

Your neighborhood is wet and dark at this hour. Thankfully, you are prepared with a switchblade and pepper spray bought last week. It’s three blocks to the main streets where more people walk with umbrellas. Men in suits getting home and families hurrying to their cars. The shop lights flash, shop windows showcasing fried chicken and ice cream. Your stomach automatically grumbles.

Your umbrella holds up for the most part until the lights start to separate and the streets once again turn dim and dirty. The sudden gusts of wind fold it in and it snaps. Soda cans and bags of junk food litter the edges of cement. Shops on this side are all closed, bars and steel curtains drawn. Every little sound has the back of your neck standing up. A tabby cat pops up from under a beat-up truck and it has your heart momentarily stop. Hopefully, it’s around the corner. Your hands shakily open the worn piece of paper to try and locate the street. Luckily, it’s one street down. Once you turn the corner, you head right into a narrow alley. The pepper spray is held onto tightly with clammy hands.

The situation is starting to look sketchier as you go on. Once you reach the dead end, something to the left catches your peripheral vision. Off to the side is another narrow path, much shorter than the one you just went through. It leads directly to a steel door with a neon sign right above. The letters that read Welcome bathe the entrance in blue and red. When you come closer, you notice a little plant to the side. As if it can hide the strangeness of it all when all it does is highlight. Still, the harshness of the surroundings doesn't reach this corner. For a while, you stand there as the rain continues to patter. The sign buzzes and flickers. Your clothes get more soaked but you refuse to move forward. I’m a bad bitch, I’m a bad bitch. I got this. There is vibration coming from the floor beneath your feet. The door opens and a big muscular man gestures for you to come in. This is how it starts. A cliche buff bouncer opening the rope to the gates of hell. He stares and steps aside, gesturing again. Maybe you could have made a run for it before he appeared. Not now. It would be useless. They will come looking. These people always collect. You’ve seen it before. Ultimately, the decision has been made by someone else. There's more to lose if you don't and with a tug of your bag, you trudge forward.

What you had been imagining this past week was apparently absurd compared to the vision that lay in front of you now. There was no blood, no people begging for you to help them escape. No blindfold, just plenty of men and women holding down handles at the slot machines that showed them all the wrong symbols. You walked through the desperation into another area of green felt tables and cards being dealt. The air is stuffy and it smells of smoke and alcohol. Apparently, no one else is bothered. Ahead of you, a tall man is pressing on something in his ear with a meaty hand. Darting your eyes around, you take in more. Before confusion settles in on where to go you find the answer. From the second floor, Taehyung holds onto the railing, looking around. Your eyes meet and it’s strangely intimate. Too intimate. It must not be hard to be found when your clothes are wetting the floor beneath you.

He walks towards you with a small smile. His cobalt blue suit stands out and there’s a dangly earring hanging from one ear. His appearance is much flashier than it was the last time you saw him. With one look behind you, he leads you both up the stairs. On the way, you internally chide yourself for wearing what you are now. The wet clothes make you feel like a little sewer rat. You feel like ratatouille and the confidence that brought you here is dwindling. Instead of a shoddy warehouse that was expected, you are venturing deeper into a maze of halls with red carpeting and gold-rimmed mirrors. Eyes remain forward, but your mind tries to remember every sharp turn, every step that takes you further away from an exit. It is not hard to conjure up terrible, gruesome images and they flash a mile a second. There is only silence and you do not expect anything else. Finally, Taehyung comes to a halt and you almost bump into his back. The door is red and for some reason, it hits you know what big of a mistake you have made. You feel like you’ve been personally delivered to hell’s gates. No one knows where you went tonight. They could get rid of your body and no one would look. It would be easy. Just a poor, young person who could have been tossed or thrown into the river. Another cold case, another victim. He knocks on the door in a pattern of sound and pauses. Must be a code of some sort. Loud noises and laughter get closer until the door opens abruptly and an older gentleman with peppered gray hair greets the man next to you.

“Tae, my boy. Yoongi was about to cheat again.” Tae? Yoongi? This stranger’s excitement has you even more on edge. Your palms are now sore from clenching and cutting at them with overgrown nails. Taehyung moves forward and he smiles as an arm is put around his shoulder. There’s conversation but you don’t hear any of it. Somehow you get yourself inside the room and the door shuts right after. There’s even more smoke and laughter and a champagne bottle being popped somewhere. It all whizzes by. On the outside, your face must seem neutral but the inside is ringing with alarms and warnings. It feels like there’s a hole in the pit of your stomach. Somewhere along the way, the older gentleman named Lee went off to talk to some people on a chase couch against the wall.

There is a long gambling table at the end of this well-sized room and it seems to be the destination. When you get closer, there are about eight people around it. Mostly men with frowns. It must be the small number of chips in front of them. That doesn’t matter a second later though. Not when you catch the sight of the man sitting at the head of it. There’s a force that seems to be pulling everything in space to him, everybody. Bluish Silver hair catches the lighting of the small chandelier above as he gets up with a flute in between pale hands. His fingers grab a couple of chips from his pile which is no doubt the biggest of them all. They twirl in his ring-clad fingers. The veins line them and it’s hard to not stare. The robe that hangs off his lean figure looks decadent and expensive, so much so that it would stop the question of why he is wearing it entirely. There’s so much to take in. His face is gorgeous. His gummy smile numbs the feeling of panic that set in before. He gets closer, or perhaps you do. The two of you walk up to him. Realization dawns in then. Fuck My life.

“Mr.Min, this is miss Y/N.”

#bts angst #bts scenarios #bts smut #bts fake texts #namjoon #Jungkook #jin #suga #jhope #jimin #taehyung #bantansonyeondan

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amerrierworld · 3 years

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Babysitter (pt 10)

Pt 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Summary: You and Tony have a discussion as Hela and Loki sneak around.

Characters: Hela x fem!reader, Loki, Tony, Steve, Rhodey

Word Count: 1,813

Warnings: nothing? feels!

The New Avengers Facility was by far the most luxurious hideout you'd ever encountered. It was also incredibly large and perfect for aimless exploring.

The Avengers, though concerned for you once you arrived, quickly lost focus of you as they began flitting about their machines and computers to see what the hell was happening around the world.

You were given your own room, fully furnished with a well-stocked mini fridge. There was a camera situated outside by the door, so they’d know if you went in or out.

Normally you would’ve protested the house arrest, but you couldn’t be bothered suddenly. You were numb.

The Facility was massive. It varied from small cozy lounge areas to large open spaces for training, meetings, and all sorts of experimental engineering.

You were curled up in one of the tinier corners on a brown leather sofa. The rest of the place just seemed so pristine and neat and horrifically modern, no offense to Tony’s design tastes. There was a digital fireplace and heater, yet the 3D projection of the actual fire made it seem real. Only thing missing was the smell of burning wood.

“Thought you’d have run off by now,” grunted a voice behind you. Tony had come into the lounge. You kept looking at the fire.

“I have no where else to go, Tony,” you said bluntly. Over the past few days you’d been reading up more and more from the news, contacting people you hadn’t talked to in ages. There were a few distant friends and relatives who’d been taken by the Blip, and your heart ached at the ones you hadn’t been able to see one last time.

“Besides,” you sighed, breaking your gaze from the fire as Tony came to sit across from you, “none of you would have let me leave even if I really tried.”

He leaned back, stretching his body nonchalantly, and you noticed how weary and thin he actually looked. Dark circles under his eyes, and his fingers seemed to be twitching or twiddling consistently.

“What happened to you?” you muttered. “Why do you look like shit?”

“Oh, you know,” he said, waving his hand, “spent some merry time in space, that’s all. Wasn't planning on being stranded there, but here we are.”

You didn’t ask anything else. Instead you got up, walked to the near sink and pulled out a kettle from the cupboards to make yourself some tea.

“Okay, let me ask you a question,” Tony said in the silence, twisting in his seat to watch you, resting his head on the back of the sofa. “How on earth did you end up falling head over heels for a psycho?”

You snorted, grabbing a teabag and a mug, “you could ask Pepper the same thing.”

Tony clutched his chest in mock offence, “Ouch. Cold-hearted.”

Grinning, you steeped your tea, and turned around to look at Tony, “it’s not that simple, Stark.”

“No, I think it is,” he said.

“Well fine,” you sighed, slightly exasperated, “she was in my house with me alone, for days. At some point we ended up talking and actually getting to know each other. She opened up to me, and I to her and.. that was it.”

“And how do you know she wasn’t lying to get a way out?”

“She wasn’t. She’d never.”

“But how do you know? Wasn’t it you who always thought you had to give things time? She’s lived for thousands of years, Y/N. You’re a fruit-fly compared to her.”

“Why has this turned into an interrogation?” you snapped. He held up his hands,

“I’m not interrogating. Just trying to understand.”

“Why did Jane fall in love with Thor, huh? At the time he was a ridiculous, self-absorbed and mindless God who didn’t know how the hell this world worked. Why did Pepper fall in love with you? A narcissistic millionaire playboy who loves to play games and doesn’t take anything seriously?”

You paced the floor as your tea cooled down, fuming,

“Why the hell does anyone fall in love with anyone, huh? Who gets a fucking say in how they feel? And why do you guys have so little faith in me to trust what I feel? I’ve kept secrets for you, I’ve hidden you in my home, I’ve been a part of so much secrecy, and suddenly when I get a little heart-eyed at someone, you act as if I’ve been brainwashed.”

Tony didn’t say anything for a moment. When you met his eyes, they were a little wider than before, looking at you questioningly.

“In love, huh?”

You blinked.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Uh-huh, you did.”

“N-no, I didn’t, I said I-”

Your face became red, fumbling over your words.

Tony got up from his seat and clapped his hands as he sauntered over to the exit.

“Let’s go sparring, hm? Haven’t done that in a while,” he offered. You tried to cool your cheeks, forgetting about your tea steeping behind you.

“That’s cause I always lose,” you retorted. “You guys work out like your life depends on it. Which... it does.. I guess.”

“Yeah, but look at the state of me,” Tony spread out his arms and did a spin. “I’m feeling like trash. You’ll take me down no problem.”

You doubted that, but followed him anyways.

“Ah, fuck!” Hela swore as another branch tugged at her helmet.

“Will you shut up?” Loki hissed, crouching down and peeking through the trees. “God, you’re even more infuriating than Thor!”

Hela was breathing heavily, aching, grumpy.

“You really are a pain when you’re not around Y/N, aren’t you? You’re not going to massacre all the Avengers just because you’re peeved, right?”

“Be silent, filth,” she spat. Her brother only rolled his eyes. “What do you see?”

“I thought you wanted me to be silent.”

Hela whacked the back of his head and he grimaced,

“Alright, alright. Look yourself, it’ll be hard to get in undetected.”

Hela peered over his shoulder. He was right; there wasn’t a lot of hiding spaces or shadows. Well-lit with open spaces, the modern-style building looked quite distasteful to Hela. She pulled a face, both in annoyance and disgust,

Loki chuckled, “I’m glad you hate it too.”

“Shut up,” Hela hissed, before scurrying off further into the trees to explore the perimeter.

“Where are you- Hela!” Loki whispered hoarsely, hurrying after her.

She was looking for weak spots, places with no cameras, a spot to sneak in. But she also had no idea where you were, and with the vastness of the buildings she worried if she’d even find you on time.

“Hela,” Loki hissed. She shushed him again, eyes searching the upper floors.

“Hela!”

“What?”

“Look,” Loki pointed downwards. A little further in the distance outside, surrounded by well lit lights, stood you and that iron-armoured man, both with wooden sticks in your hands, the length of a short blade, thick enough to wrap your whole hand around it.

“Come on, let’s go back, before they see us,” Loki hissed, grabbing Hela’s shoulder. “At least we know she’s here.”

But Hela couldn’t move. You were wearing dark grey sweatpants and a zip-up hoodie, and sturdy boots. You looked tired, but were a vision to her. The man with you wasn’t wearing his armour, and suddenly looked a lot less threatening.

Loki watched, amazed, as his sister’s armour shimmered. The horns disappeared from her head and her cape faded until she was only in black, blending into the darkness.

She dared another step closer.

“Widen your stance,” the man said, waving the stick around. “Now try to attack.”

Hela watched you practice, your grip a bit clumsy and your stance a bit wobbly, but you were determined. She recalled the day she pulled a fork on you as a weapon, and winced a bit at the memory of the fearful, defenceless look in your eyes.

“Like that?” she heard you say, bending your knees and lowering your core.

“Good, but stay light on your feet, otherwise you can’t dodge.”

Your voice was like music to her ears, and hot tears prickled at her eyes. She missed you. So much.

“Stark, what the hell are you trying to do?” two more men had appeared. One blonde, and large, wearing a tight shirt and jeans. The other, dark, dressed in similar casual clothes.

“Gentlemen! Welcome to this exclusive defence lesson.”

“You’re by far the worst defence teacher out of all of us, Stark. Y/N won’t learn shit from you.”

“You wound me, Captain.”

Hela watched you shake hands with the other.

“Oh, Y/N, this is our friend Rhodey, also known as the War Machine.”

“Pleased to meet you, despite the.. unideal circumstances,” the newcomer shook your hand respectfully and flashed a smile. Hela flared with jealousy, and subconsciously bared her teeth.

“Easy,” Loki whispered.

The four of you paired up, you against Tony, but watching Captain’s instructions as he sparred with Rhodey.

You were not held under lock and key, and Hela worried a moment. Did you go willingly with them after all? Did you forget about her? Was it foolish to even attempt a rescue?

Your laugh rang into the night as Rhodey tackled a distracted Steve, and both dread and joy filled Hela’s heart.

“Okay, try again,” Tony encouraged you. You swung at him a few times as he blocked and dodged.

Then, you saw her in the darkness. A flash of green eyes, and Tony took your distraction to his advantage, swiping your leg from under you and you fell to the ground with a thud.

Hela nearly shot out of the tree line to protect you if Loki hadn’t stopped her. Then she heard a groan and chuckle coming from you,

“I told you I’d lose.”

“Don’t get distracted then, kiddo.” Tony held out his hand and hoisted you up. Hela growled at the camaraderie and slunk back in the shadows. “What were you looking at?”

He began to turn to follow your eyeline, and you paled,

“N-nothing! I- I was daydreaming.” He looked back at you.

“Not a good idea to daydream while fighting, Y/N,” Steve said.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’m not used to this, you know?”

“It’s about time you were taught,” Tony clapped your shoulder.

“You want to learn anything from the War Machine himself?” Steve asked, nodding at Rhodey.

“Oh, I-I’d love to. But, maybe tomorrow?” you suggested, desperately trying to avoid looking at Hela in the distance. “I’m quite.. tired.”

The men seemed to agree and chatted as they headed back into the building. Tony swiped at Steve as they walked, who promptly tugged the sparring stick from him.

You hurriedly looked around into the darkness, wanting to see another glimpse, hoping you didn’t imagine it. But when you couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, you worried if you really had gone insane.

Steve called after you, and your heavy feet carried you back inside to settle for the rest of the night.

A/N: Life is fucking INSANE. only a few chapters left for this!! Don’t ask me about the timeline alterations because me trying to make sense of the canon and trying to make it all fit is making my brain explode!! I hope you like it, love you all!!! Stay safeee

tag list: @midnight-lestrange @cheerfullyvenomous @germansarechill @gaylorrds @amii-nyc @waitingfortheendtocome @novakitten0901 @marvels-writings @jadewestwriter @thisisanexistentialcrisis

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sammy-gvf · 3 years

Text

We get along (for the most part) Chapter 5 Lee Bodecker x OC

MASTERLIST FOR OTHER CHAPTERS

WARNINGS: SLIGHT SMUT (18+) , CURSING.

MINORS DNI PLEASE.

Word count : 2,375

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Lee is staring right back at me.

I slowly start to back up and as soon as I start moving, Lee starts moving.

I find myself walking towards Lilly’s room and grabbing my things, walking slowly as I try not to wake her up. Bending over the bed; I tucked Lily in and whispered in her ear “I am so sorry for leaving.” and I started to tip toe out of her room, starting toward the front door.

I don’t know where Lee is at the moment, he could have easily just gone up to bed.

I make it half way through the living room, look through the kitchen window, it's empty. I walk closer to the door and look out the living room window, empty.

“Where the hell did he go?” I whisper out loud to myself

Finally, my feet reach the doorway, looking up towards the screen door, I freeze. Being feet away from him makes me feel like my heart dropped out of my ass onto the floor below.

It's pitch dark in Lilly’s house, so I start to walk backwards slowly, Lee chuckles and opens the door, stepping in, dominating the room and standing in the doorway. His shadow towers over me, blocking any light that I had from the porch light.

“Maggie, I thought you would have learned your lesson after your little stunt at church.” He says slowly walking towards me with a smirk plastered on his face “Now, I'm going to have to take care of you.”

“ You need to leave.” I stutter as I feel myself hit the back of the couch, gripping the fabric of the sofa in between my fingers, my breath hitching.

“Oh, no.” He says in a mocking tone. I see his face slowly come into light from the windows, one strip of light highlighting his eye. “ You're coming with me.” He says as he lunges forward and grabs me by the arm, starting to drag me out behind him.

No matter how hard I try, his grip is too strong. I cant fight. Not even my feet can resist his strength.

“You and your little pretty friend decided to get my lil’ housewife drunk tonight.” He says in an aggressive tone. “I don't appreciate that one bit” We are already out the door and halfway to his front porch. “Now you're going to pay for that.” He says as he shoves me inside of his front door.

I stumble through the doorway and drop my things, not knowing what to do

I try to move but it feels as though my feet have planted themselves to the ground out of pure fear of what may happen next.

I have officially lost it.

“I've been watching you, you know,” He says, stepping towards me slowly, looking me up and down and licking his lips as if I’m the prey and he’s the hunter.

My eyes rake his body, he is wearing a white sleeveless tank top that is tucked into his uniform pants still. His belly pokes out a little and his jawline is tense, veins popping out of his neck.

“I- I know.” I say backing up towards the wall, feeling the wallpaper against my back.

“Pretty little thing” He says as he closes in on me, backing me up completely against the wall.

Finally face to face, I can feel his breath on my cheek, hot and . My body starts to feel warm and my cheeks are starting to feel heated. I feel myself breathe faster and I immediately try to calm myself down, taking short deep breaths.

“W-what do you want from me?” I say looking down, instantly his hand is on my chin having me look up into his blue eyes. My breath hitches as he uses his thumb to touch my lower lip, making me quiver under his touch.

His hand wanders to my cheek, “You.” He says “I want you.” instantly, he closes the space between us, latching his lips to mine.

My eyes open as wide as they can, taking in what's going on in front of me. I start to push against his chest to get him off of me but my body's saying something different.

He pulls away, his lips leaving mine.

“Maggie, please.” He says in a low voice, looking me right in the eyes.

“I-” I start to say but his lips smash back down on mine and in an instant, my legs are wrapped around his waist, fingers in his hair and our lips dance together roughly, teeth clashing and our tongues dancing in a rhythm.

His hands wander my body and my fingers stay tangled in his gelled hair, he lets out a low groan as his mouth explores mine, I can feel his length getting harder by the minute through his dark pants. He starts to move me off the wall with my legs still clinging around his waist. We move into the living room where he turns around and sits on the couch so I’m on top of him, still kissing like the world would end if we stopped.

Feeling his hardened length under me, I start to grind lightly, a wet patch forming in my underwear. He throws his head back in pure pleasure, giving a low groan, my lips meet his neck and immediately he digs his fingertips into my hips.

Suddenly, I realize what I’m doing.

I jump off of Lee, backing up towards the front door breathing heavily. I quickly grab my things and bolt out the door, watching Lee bolt towards the door, I run to my car and get in. I throw everything into the passenger seat and shove my car key into the ignition, turning it on and quickly driving away.

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Tuesday

I roll over and open my eyes to the dim light coming in through my window, stretching and flopping my arms back down to my sides. I look up at the ceiling and just take a minute to think about the events that occurred 4 days ago. I close my eyes and suddenly, the memories come flooding back.

FLASHBACK

his lips smash back down on mine and in an instant, my legs are wrapped around his waist, fingers in his hair and our lips dance together roughly, teeth clashing and our tongues dancing in a fast rhythm.

His hands wander my body and my fingers stay tangled in his gelled hair, he lets out a low groan as his mouth explores mine, I can feel his length getting harder by the minute through his dark pants. He starts to move me off the wall with my legs still clinging around his waist. We move into the living room where he turns around, sits on the couch so that I’m on top, still kissing him like the world would end if we stopped.

At the moment, I didn't want it to end.

I had always thought about how he kissed and touched a woman. For some reason, I was intrigued by the thought. The thought of his hands wandering my body made me tingle, his eyes staring me down with an almost hunter-prey look made me feel a certain way. Hot and needy. To think the adulterer of town would make me weak at the knees was a foreign thought to me. I always act so hard around him but that's because I wanted him to hunt me down. Now, I'm not so sure if I made the right decision to give in.

FLASHBACK ENDS

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I open my eyes and get out of bed to wash up, I grab two towels from the closet and start to undress. I usually wear a nightgown to bed, something light for the almost scorching hot summer nights here in Knockemstiff.

Stepping in the shower, I let the hot water caress my skin and I take a deep breath as the steam starts to enter my nostrils. I start to reach over to the side of the tub to grab my shampoo and conditioner. I wash my long blonde hair, detangling the knots made from my rolling around on the bed. I start to run my fingers down my body and I feel a certain spot on my hips sting.

“What the-” I say as I look down at my waist.

Observing the area, I see 5 small bruises starting to form.

This is just fucking great.

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Friday was a mistake, I should've just tried to leave as soon as I got into his house. I don't know what came over me to give into his sick fantasy of getting with me.

I heard before from one of the old ladies at church that they had seen him runnin around town late at night with some broad he had been seeing at the local bar. At this point, I wasn't surprised in the least bit. I decided that I am going to try to steer clear of him, as much as I can anyways.

I have class today, a simple math class but I am god awful at it. I have Lilly help me most of the time because if I didn't, I most likely would be failing. Even when I was in high school, I'd copy off of her. Not my fault, always asked the teacher for help but no one ever helped.

I get off my bed and get dressed, simple as usual, nothing fancy. Always a pair of blue jeans with a plain flowy black shirt, hair pulled back in a tight pony on top of my head. It’s a clear sunny day, the blue sky is in plain view. I start to pack up my bag to head out to go to class, grabbing everything I need. I step out of my room to an empty house, I guess they all may have gone out to the market or something. I go to my fridge and grab deli meat to make a quick sandwich as a snack before I head out, I grab turkey and some white bread. Sitting down, I slap the sandwich together and take a bite. I usually don't sit down for meals, unless I’m home early from work. I only work a couple days a week, nothing serious. Just to bring in some money, so that I have spending money when I want something. I don't like asking’ my parents for money, they need it more than I do.

Grabbing the sandwich and my bag, I head towards my car and close the door behind me. The area i live in is wooded so it isn't easy to see where my house is. I get in the car, sandwich in hand and my bag to the side in the passenger seat. I turn my car on, put some music on and head out onto the road. The wind is warm, my blonde hair waving in the wind and taking a bite out of my sandwich. I just stare at the road ahead of me, wondering where I could end up if I just kept driving. Lee hasn't been around my house lately, so I've been carefree driving. Blasting my music and just living my life to the fullest for now. I start to turn into town and towards my college, seeing people walk down the street and living their same boring day to day lives.

I arrive at the college building, swinging my bag over my shoulder. I take a quick look down the street and see Lee’s car sitting there. Hes leaned up against it drinking what looks like a cup of coffee, looking straight ahead minding his business. I shrug a bit and walk up the dark steps of the building entering through the doors. I look around and find Lily sitting there drawing in a book waiting for class to start. I make my way over to her with a smile plastered to my face and i plop myself onto the couch next to her.

“ Mags? Where the hell did you go on Friday night? She looks up with a concerned look on her face “ I remember falling asleep and then boom, you were gone.” She says looking back down at her book.

“ I am so sorry I had to leave” I say looking down at the book “ My brother called your house for me, said my parents were arguing” She looks up at me and just shrugs her shoulders.

“ It’s okay, I woke up and didn't remember much anyways from that night anyways” she says, still drawing in her book “ I do remember hearing something coming from Lee’s house the morning after though, sounded like arguing.”

“ Oh, really?” I say, I start to play with my hands nervously knowing that it was my doing. “ What did you hear?”

“ Not much, he did mention drinking though” She says looking up at me “ I think he knows that we did that to her” She starts to get up, class is starting.

“ Uh, yeah, I think he does” I say gathering my things up to go “ We have to watch ourselves”

“ You more than me, Mags” She says laughing a bit “ He’s already been onto you, now it just got worse”

“ Yeah” I say, simply not knowing how to reply knowing that what happened that night is nothing she can ever know about.

“ You okay?” She says nudging me a bit “ You seem a bit off”

“ Yeah, I’m fine, just tired is all” I say, giving her a small smile “ I promise”

“ Alrighty then” She says, giving me a small smile “ You ready?”

“ Yeah, just give me a minute, I got to go to the bathroom” I say “ Take my bag and put it in my seat, please”

“ Sure, Mags” She says “ I'll tell the professor you went”

“Yeah, okay, thanks” I say, giving her my bag and I head to the bathroom looking behind me as I walk.

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I am SO sorry I took so long to put this out.

More will be coming soon, I’ve been busy.

Dont forget to reblog/like!! <3

TAGLIST : @not-another-fangirl , @please-buckme , @buckysdolls , @ladyfallonavenger , @youcancallmeishita , @nerdy-depressed , @do-not-pray-for-me , @writersbuck

#lee bodecker #sheriff lee bodecker #lee bodecker x reader #lee bodecker x you #tdatt #ongoing fic #lee bodecker fic #the devil all the time #sebastian stan #tdatt fic #tdatt fanfiction

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starr-fall-knight-rise · 4 years

Text

Humans are Space Orcs, “They Will Eat You.”

“RAWR! I am a hungry human and I’m going to eat your face off and wear your skin as a coat!”

“No, stop, you’re scaring me.”

Footsteps and the older Tesraki chases her younger brother into the other room.

He is screaming “Stop! Stop! It’s not funny.”

She pulls to a stop but grins at him, an unnatural facial expression for a tesraki. He squirms away from her, “b-besides. H-Humans don’t eat people.”

She stalks forward, “Oh they don’t do they. Because My teacher told us that humans are MADE to hunt and eat people. They have binocular vision so they can more easily POUNCE!” She lunged for him and he squealed rolling away.

“And they can smell too. They can detect chemicals in the air so like they can probably smell your ear.” She stalked closer, and he backed away.

“No they can’t.” He whined

She held up her hands, “Oh yes they can, and they have razor sharp claws that they can use to RIP YOU OPEN!” She lunged at him again and he screamed running away.

“Stop.”

She pulled to a halt, “Plus, humans are so fast and strong that they run their prey to death just to mess with them, so even if you try to run away from a human it wont work. And AND they always hunt in packs so you want to get away anyway.” She leaned in closer, “And once they have you, they’ll cut you into little chunks and then light your bits on fire before eating them. Then they’ll take your skin and wear it.”

“MOM!”

“Shhh! I am a human, so if you scream ill bite your throat out with these razor sharp bones that grow through the skin in my mouth.” She raced after him again.

He kept screaming.

“Even if you manage to get away my bite is so dangerous, you’ll get sick and die!” She skidded to a halt with him trapped in the corner, “Plus humans can breathe acid you know.”

“No they can't, you’re just making that up.”

“No, I’m serious. Their bodies produce some of the strongest acid we know of, and they cant regurgitate it.”

“Ewww, please stop.”

She ignored him, “And with their predatory instincts, they don't hesitate to RIP YOUR HEAD CLEAN OFF!”

He screamed even louder.

“Paxi! What are you doing to your brother?”

She turned around her large ears drooping in guilt, “Nothing.”

Her father pulled his ears back, “Paxi, stop telling scary stories to your brother. Humans aren’t going to eat him.”

Her ears pulled back, “But my teacher.”

“Your teachers is a paranoid specialist. Need I remind you that it was humans that came in for disaster relief when the earthquake happened, They went into the wreckage and carried the injured out in their arms and on their backs. A lot of humans died that day to save members of our species.”

She frowned and looked at her brother whispering, “They’re strong enough to carry dad over their heads.”

“Paxi stop that. Humans may be a predator species, but they don’t eat aliens, and they certainly don’t rip people open with their teeth. They are too advanced for that. Not to mention that humans are omnivores, which means they are likely to eat more plants and other products than they do meat.” he walked over and picked up her little brother, “Why did you have to do this the day before we go into the city.” He sighed, “honestly paxi, he is going to be scared the entire time.”

She cocked her head, “Why.”

Her father sighed, “Because sometimes humans come to visit the city for trade. The UNSC has a docking station there which means humans SOLDIERS.”

She looked up at her brother, “That means the most dangerous humans.”

He squealed and hid his face.

Her father sighed.

***

He glanced around nervously clutching his mother’s hand. She dragged him along in frustration. He had been like this all day, hyper-vigilant and nervous looking for any sign of a human. Expecting one to pounce at them from the dark corners of an alley.

“Come on Timor. Try to keep up.”

The walked into one of the shops, and he was momentarily distracted by some trinkets left out on the shelves. His sister had gone off with their dad to look at something. His mother sighed, “Alright Timor, just stay here and look at the toys while I go pay for this.”

She walked off and he was left to happily look at the trinkets, when a voice rose up from beside him.

“Hey kid.”

He turned his head confused to find another Tesraki standing close by, “Those are pretty expensive you know.”

He sighed and wilted, “yeah, I know.”

“You know there is a shop just down the way that sells those for really cheap. I bet you'd have enough to buy it yourself.”

He lit up “Really!” he was proud of the idea, his parents would be so happy that he found a good deal.

“How far away is it?”

“Oh just around the corner, here, I'll show you.” He motioned Timor closer, and the little tesraki followed.

It was just around the corner after all.

Of course about five corners later, and he --too late-- figured out that he did not know how to get back .

“I thought you said it was just around the corner.” He whined, growing more nervous by the second.

“Don’t worry, it's just here.” He turned a corner with Timor following, and froze as he found himself in a tight dark alley.

“But where?”

A shadow passed behind him, and he turned his head to see an Iotin standing over him, its long snakelike body blocking out the sun behind him, “Selling out your own species, Tesraki, that is a new low.”

The tesraki snorted, “I’d sell my own mother for the kind of credits your boss is willing to pay. Those Prodigum have more hunger than they have sense.”

He turned in a wide circle as a burg and some other Tesraki appeared from the shadows.

He was so scared, he tried to scream, but nothing came out. He tried to Run, But the Iotin caught him by the scruff and lifted him in one hand towards the sky.

“Don’t go running off little Tesraki. You wouldn’t want to spoil our pay, now would you. He tried to squeal again, but no sound came out.

The burg opened a large bag and began approaching.

That is when he heard a deafening roar.

The entire group yelled in surprise as a massive white and black shape leaped past them barreling the Burg to the ground.

The two of them went spinning across stone. When they came to a halt,the burg didn’t move, but the human straightened up and turned to look at them. It blinked one large green eye at them and bared its teeth.

This time Timor did manage to scream as the Iotin dropped him and tried slithering away.

It didn’t get far as it was hemmed in by another tall shape.

Large brown eyes narrowed.

Timor crawled to the side of the alley face hidden behind his hands.

Loud footsteps, and a massive blue shape appeared from around the corner end of the alley. The Drev held three Tesraki in her large arms throwing them flat to the cobbles.

“You should have stayed out of this human.” The Iotin snarled raising a hand.

A rattling form above alerted Timor to at least ten other figures descending from above.

“Ten to five.” The human said its voice strangely melodic. It made an eerie sort of revving sound deep in it’s chest, “Those odds are almost laughable iotin.”

And then the brawl began

Timor tried to scoot away, but a burg caught sight of him, and thinking he could use the little Tesraki as a hostage, he grabbed for him

And was clobbered right in the side of the head.

It took timor a moment to figure out that it had been a human foot that knocked the Burg in the head.

The human hit the ground rolled and jumped back up again rattling the stone around them.

Timor screamed as a large arm grabbed him about the middle and spirited him off the ground.

The human held him closer pressing the small body tight against his chest as he dodged to the side of another iotan returning the favor with a powerful elbow to the face. He leaped forward rolling and tucking the Timor closer to his chest.

Timor rode out the roll pressed against the human protected from impact by the powerful corded muscle in the human’s chest and back, and the cage afforded to him by the creature’s harder-than-steel bones.

The fight was over almost as soon as it had started.

The human pulled out of the roll in a skid three limbs on the ground, one curled up around Timor.

The blue Drev stood from a crouched position and dusted off her hands, “Well, that was almost laughably easy.

The human that held Timor stood up flexing the muscles in his back and neck, “A pity, I was just getting warmed up.”

And that was when Timor started to cry -- or the tesraki equivalent.”

The human looked down at the little Tesraki large green eye relaxing from it’s narrowed state, “hey, hey, it's alright.”

“P-please d-don’t e-e-eat me/”

To his surprise the human cocked his head in confusion, “Eat you, ew, no. Why Would I want to do that?”

He looked up at the human pulling back his large ears.

The other humans had gathered around them.

“B, but my sister s-said that-”

One of the other humans laughed, “Your sister was trolling you kid. We don’t eat Tesraki.”

The human bared its teeth again, and Timor shied away, “You’re gonna rip my throat out with your face bones.”

More weird noises from the humans. The one eyed human made a face, “Gross. Why would I want to do that. Human’s don’t bite unless it's a self defense kid.” he opened his mouth, “See not razor sharp.”

The tesraki peered up at him and was surprised to find that…. Yeah while the human’s teeth were comparably sharp to other species, they were also….kind of lame.”

He examined them a bit closer.

“So… you’re not hunting for food?”

The human snorted, “Why hunt for food when Ican buy a bagel from a street cart.” He motioned back to the groaning bodies.” he motioned towards the groaning bodies on the ground, “We were hunting, but not for food.”

“You aren’t going to eat them.”

The human made a face, “Not if you paid me. “Now where are your parents.”

Timor began to cry again, “I don’t know.”

“Its ok,we’ll help you find them.” The human patted the tesraki on the head with his large hand.” The gesture was actually very soothing, and the human was warm. If what he was saying was true, than he felt very safe.

No one was going to mess with him if he had a pack of humans.

“Sunny,” He motioned to the Drev and then to the downed aliens, “Take out the trash will you.” The Drev lifted her head with a nod.

Timor looked up at the human as they walked from the alley. “Do you breathe acid.”

The human looked down at him with a bemused expression, “DoI do what? No…. well” he paused, “Not because I want to, and not in the fun way. Just…. No.”

Timor looked at him confused, “Where are your claws? Did someone cut them off?”

The human shook his head and held up a hand, “Nope, all i’ve got are fingernails.”

“Do you wear the skin of your enemies as clothing?”

“What! No I….” The human paused glancing down at the black jacket he was wearing. IT had a shiny sort of sheen to it.

Timor began to get very nervous.

The human shook his head, “No of course we don’t do that.”

He continued to ask questions, and was surprised to find that most of it wasn’t true at all. The human was actually very nice and helpful and empathetic and concerned, and he let Timor sit on his shoulders so he could better see above the crowd, “See them yet?” The human asked. Timor stood halfway, holding onto the human’s hair to get a better look.

The human tilted his head about the same time that Timor heard it.

“Timor! TIMOR! Where are you!”

“TIMOR!”

“That’s them!” He exclaimed.

Before he could direct the human further, the creature turned and began following the noise.

The voices grew louder, and finally he saw them frantically pushing through the crowd and calling his name.

“i’M HERE.” he shouted waving his hands and nearly falling before the human grabbed him.

“Timor!” His parents screamed in unison Pushing through the crowd and stopping dead in their tracks staring up at the human with wide eyes. HIs sister Paxi squealed and hid behind her parents.

He waved at them from his perch atop the human’s shoulders.

“It’s ok. He doesn't eat Tesraki.”

The human lifted Timor from his shoulders and set him down allowing him to run to his parents.

His father worked his jaw for a moment before finding the words, “I suppose…. Thanks are in order.’

“Don’t thank me,but I'll watch him a bit more closely. Looks like slaves had lured him away.”

“Slavers!”

The human nodded gravely, “We caught them,and they are being detained, but I would still be careful.”

Timor ignored the adult conversation and pointed to the human looking at his sister, “This is my human friend Adam, and if you are mean to me again, he’s going to make you into boots.”

The human turned and frowned having heard him, “No one is getting turned into boots.” He turned back to Timor’s parents, “Anyway I should get going. Keep an eye on him.”

“Yes of course.” As the human was turning, they held out a hand, “What’s your name…. Who do we have to thank.”

The human glanced over his shoulder and waved a hand, “Don’t thank me. Thank the UNSC.”

And then he vanished into the crowd.

#humans are space orcs #humans are insane #earth is a deathworld #Earth is space Ausralia #HUMANS ARE WEIRD #humans are space oddities

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nxrthmizu · 3 years

Text

| snakes | Suna Rintarou

»»——⍟——««

song | Trust Fund Baby - Why Don’t We

pairing | Suna Rintarou x Reader

words | 1.8k

warning(s) | The reader has undertones of someone who’s sort of mean and sadistic? The story also relates the reader to a snake. I like snakes. I think they’re cool. But if you’re scared of snakes and you’re uncomfortable with the idea of being referenced to a snake,,, don’t read, I guess?

author’s note | I rewrote this five fricking times and I still hate it but I’m not writing this again so have this

»»——⍟——««

Confidence.

He could feel it radiating off you in waves. Your presence diffused into the gym, alerting every person in the room of your arrival. Attention was drawn to you like moths were drawn to the light, every pair of eyes magnetised to your form by the gym door.

Kita instantly rushed over to greet you politely, the details of your conversation too far away to be heard. For a brief moment, Suna registered just how well the two of you looked together.

L/N Y/N, the representative and top student of his class, the newly-elected second-year secretary of the student council. No one doubted that you would take the president position in your third year, not with the ‘perfect student’ image you had going on.

Kita Shinsuke, also top in grades, captain of the volleyball club, well-liked by the staff and students alike due to his politeness and nature.

The two of you looked like a perfect imitation of what a modern royalty would be like. A combination of grace, elegance, and a face that was hardly fazed by anything. Something similar to bitterness ate away in the bottom of Suna’s heart as he turned away, muttering about putting more practice into his blocks.

“What was she looking for you for?” He overheard Aran asking.

“Oh, she’s filling in some missing information for our club. She came over to clarify some details.” Kita answered easily.

Suna wasn’t really surprised when a couple third years, belonging to the student council committee- Showed up on the doorsteps of your shared class, asking to see you. Later on, he learned that the entire council body had brought up your name when asked which second-year should be elected as the secretary. You were well-known, even among the third years, as someone who possessed high intellect and organisation abilities, so it wasn’t a shock that your name was the one that nearly everyone suggested.

If only they knew.

If only they knew that you weren’t completely that ‘perfect student’ act that you’d put up.

If only they knew just how cunning, sly, and sarcastic you really were.

»»——⍟——««

If Suna had to describe you in one word, it would be snake.

You were the definition of elegance, grace, and beauty. Every movement you made was meticulously calculated and not a single joule of energy was wasted or passed off as inefficiently used. There was never a hair out of place, and your skirt was never creased, no matter how long you had been sitting at your seat.

Of course, Suna hadn’t always thought of you as a snake. It was only after that one fine summer day in his first year that his perception of you took a 180 turn, revealing to him what you truly were like.

He had been on his way home, bag slung over his shoulder, when he caught the slight noise that seemed like a whimper. Never one to leave his nose out of someone else’s business, Suna slunk around, careful to stick to the shadows until the shocking sight befell his eyes.

“So, you’re the one who’s been bullying [your brother’s name]?” The voice that dripped from your lips was distasteful, as if the junior high student that you had cornered in the alley was a filthy peasant compared to your royal status. “You don’t look very fierce now, do you?”

If sarcasm was an art, then you’d probably be a DaVinci-level expert. He would even go as far as calling you a prodigy. And if there was a championship for the world’s most sarcastic human being, he would instantly sign you up. There was no doubt that you’d take home the no.1 trophy in that category (not that you weren’t already taking home trophies in other competitions, of course, he overheard that you recently dominated an advanced maths competition).

“I— I’m sorry!” The student shivered under your piercing gaze. “I— I won’t touch him again, I promise—!”

The laugh you responded with was overly sweet, combined with something from a Disney movie villain. If the movie also, by chance, happened to have ‘horror’ as its’ genre. Your eyes carried a maniacal threat that Suna believed wholeheartedly that you were capable of carrying out. “Bold of you to assume I’d even let you do it again.” You whispered, just loud enough for Suna to catch your words.

The junior high student scrambled off, too busy getting away to notice Suna by the entrance of the alley. He slipped away before you reappeared at the beginning of the alley, having fixed your hair and flattened your skirt.

You looked like a snake that had just finished a very satisfying meal. Suna could hardly believe that he had just heard you— the pride and joy of every teacher, the ‘perfect student’— spitting insults and threats at 200 words per minute, all while maintaining a ‘polite’ and ‘sweet’ tone.

He was a little breathless after the whole ordeal. He could barely imagine what you would say to him if you’d caught him listening— But damn, part of him wanted to find out if he could withstand your literature-form venom. Truly, you were a snake— A creature that could hold its’ elegance even as your tore your prey apart (verbally).

Suna always liked snakes.

»»——⍟——««

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with L/N, Kita.” Aran teased, Suna overhearing as he stepped into the locker room for morning practice. Freezing in his tracks, the middle blocker curved right round the bend, staying out of sight. “There’s been a lot of rumours about how nice the two of you look together.”

The volleyball captain only hummed in response, which, for some reason, pissed the hell out of Suna.

“Come on, tell me something.” The other third-year complained. “She’s really pretty, I’d totally see why you’d go for her.”

Something about the situation made Suna’s blood boil. He bit back his rising anger, setting aside the cause for the moment. Why was he getting so riled up? He never cared much about things in general, anyway, so... So why was the image of you and Kita, matching polite smiles on your lips— Why did it make him so furious he had to physically resist the urge to punch a wall?

“The two of you do look nice together, though.” Aran continued as Suna pushed down the urge to strangle his upperclass-man. “Gives me the vibes of—”

Before Aran could finish his sentence, the dark-haired middle blocker marched into the locker room, apologising for how loudly he had slammed the door open. “Sorry.” He drawled lazily, restraining the lava-hot anger in his blood. “I pushed too hard.”

»»——⍟——««

You didn’t even blink, much less jump when Suna appeared abruptly by your desk. Instead, you simply set down your pencil and gave him a warm smile. “Can I help you with something?”

Ever the helpful class president, Suna bit back to himself. No, no, he wanted you to like him. Not get a bad impression of him. “Do you... Think you could help me with the physics homework?”

“It’s due tomorrow.” You said slowly, both of you aware that the assignment was well over forty pages. “Have you... Tried it?”

“Yes.” He answered. “I’ve got a few questions I need help with. Are you free to stay back today?”

This raised a tentative eyebrow from you. “Don’t you have volleyball practice?”

Dammit, why did you have to have such a good memory.

“Academics are more important than the club sometimes.” He shrugged. “I’ve got permission to skip.” No, he didn’t.

“Alright then. I’ll meet you in the library after school.”

»»——⍟——««

He watched you through hooded eyes as you reviewed his work. So you did know how to let loose, Suna murmured to himself in amusement, eyeing your untucked blouse and the beige sweater you’d thrown on in a defence against the library’s air-conditioning.

“You’ve got most of the parts down, which bits do you need help with?”

The rest of the time was spent going over the questions, your patience filling the silence along with his occasional ‘ohs’. Your handwriting flooded through his homework in neat rows, providing an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide on how to work through the questions, for revision purposes.

“So.”

You broke the silence, the two of you walking side by side, leaving the school together because he offered to buy you some food as a payment for the tutoring.

“Are you going to tell me why you faked confusion and asked me to tutor you?”

He winced. How could he forget that you were always straight to the point?

“What do you mean?” The look on your face clearly said ‘feigning ignorance, eh?’.

“I’m going to be frank with you,” You deadpanned. “You’re among the best at physics in our class. Some of the questions you asked me to help you through were ones that had been discussed in classes, and I know that you are listening even though you have your head on the table.”

Alright, so he had under-predicted exactly how observant and attentive you were.

“Then why did you agree to help me?”

“You saw me that day, didn’t you?”

He stopped walking. “Which day?”

“That day. In our first year. When I threatened that junior high kid in the alley.” You stopped too, to turn your expressionless gaze on him. “You’ve looked at me differently since that day. I heard someone else’s breathing at the alley, but I didn’t see anyone so I figured they’d ran. I guessed it was you.”

“... Yeah.”

“You don’t seem to mind.”

“Mind what?”

“The fact that this...” You gestured to yourself. “Is a lie. This whole ‘perfect student’ image is an act that I put up to please my parents. I’m actually someone who has really mean thoughts. I could be a really toxic friend. I’m also probably a sadist.”

Suna blinked quietly at you, running your words through his head a couple more times for good measure. “You remind me of a snake.”

In that one sentence, you realised that if there was one person in the world that was going to be fine with your personality the way it was, that person would probably be Suna Rintarou. The two of you continued your walk to the takoyaki shop Suna offered to buy you food from, continuing meaningless chatter on the journey.

“Is that a good or bad thing?”

“I like snakes.”

“That’s cool. Me too.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, I think they’re pretty cool. They’re like spiders, except they’re not insects. I don’t like insects very much.”

“Hmm. I like snakes cause I think they’re really elegant. And pretty.” He paused for a moment. “Like you.”

»»——⍟——««

taglist. @mrs-kuroojinguji @procrastination-lady @miel-meraki @shoyosun @aka-a-shii @shibayamasbae @churochuu @seijohlogy @dearsukuna @whootwhoot

Haikyuu!! gen taglist. @owlywrites @hikari-writes @whootwhoot @folkloeren @our-tall-slytherin-queen

#suna rintarou #haikyuu!! x reader #haikyuu!!#haikyuu!! fluff #what even is this #fluff?#suna rintarō #suna #suna x reader #inarizaki #inarizaki x reader #cady writesss «#cadowly's songfic december

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insomniac-dot-ink · 4 years

Text

The Hopping Lamp Post

The night was thick with sugared darkness that left my neighborhood feeling grainy and unreal in the velvet insides of night. I was hunched over on the sidewalk with my back to the front door.

“You can’t just come home at all hours of the night and expect--” “I told you I was at work!”

“Work my ass!”

“Can’t I come home from a long day without being…”

The voices screeched back and forth like alley cats defending their own piss-smelling crevice of the street they owned. I flinched and knew I didn’t want to go back inside. Never, ever, I could stay outside in the grim darkness for as long as it took no matter how much my mom hollered and pulled out her hair.

I used dirt to doodle circles in the cement in front of me and lost myself to the rough feel of the smeared earth. I was studying it like a painter studies the face of a subject when I heard the front door open.

“Where is that girl?” I jerked myself to my feet and scurried away down the street. My mom wasn’t so determined as to go anywhere past our front lawn. The neighborhood was hushed with little moths zapping at porch lights and windows all but empty black eyes staring out.

I wandered away from our block and it was only when I couldn’t see our house anymore that I let out my held breath. I blinked a few times as mist started twisting off the ground in haunting tiny spirals.

I turned around in circles as I watched the ground grow foggy and it wasn’t until I looked up that I saw it.

I stood up straight like the pads of my feet had been electrocuted. Right at the end of the street standing proudly tall and stiff was something that shouldn’t be there. I rubbed my eyes with my fists until little white spots appeared.

I opened my eyes again to find the same black metal thing with a glittering white light ahead. It wasn’t like any of the other lamp posts on the block-- not tall and tired bent metal and a hanging dull yellow light.

It was finely crafted with indents like a roman column and a curved neck with a hanging lantern at the end that gave off light like snowfall and stars. I took a cautious step toward it. It took a step back.

“What?” My brow folded in.

I edged closer and the thing edged back. I looked down and found that through the mist and unfurling curls of clouds that there was some sort of foot at the bottom of the lamp post. “Well that ain’t right.” I muttered and took a few hurried steps closer.

It leaned back from my presence like a fancy lady from a corner bum, but it wasn’t fast enough. I managed to get a few feet from the lamp post and squint up at its tall metal body.

“Where you from?” I asked as I would any stranger from out of town. It hopped back and I followed. I was on Wilkinson street now with more faceless tiny beige and grey houses that bled out into the highway. I couldn’t hear the busy traffic right then though.

I only had eyes for the hopping lamp post.

“You come far?” I said and circled around the light like a dog with a scent. “What’chu ya doing here?”

Bugs bumped into the glass of it's head and landed on it’s metal top as if to take up residence. I was close enough now to make out the big grey feathery moths with fat bodies and tiny white moths that look like delicate fairies lost from home.

I frowned at the closest moth. It’s wings were frayed and threadbare like it had been through the wash one too many times. Another moth had two sets of wings on its back. A third one was a little firefly that could barely glow it’s little butt at all.

“Huh.” I bit my bottom lip and glanced up shyly toward the light as we strolled to the end of Wilkinson. “They’re like me, huh?” I spoke slowly in a low voice as if not to spook it.

The mist was fuming off the ground in great big fistfuls now like the whole world was a bathtub and it was determined to fog up every single mirror nearby. I couldn’t hear so much as a yapping dog by then and no whir of cars that should still be running at this hour.

I gathered myself a little closer to the lamp that gave another enormous hop forward in a jerking unsteady motion. I glanced up to see that a bat was hovering close to the light. It’s tiny body was fury and it flapped mechanically by the side of the light. From head to foot it was pure white.

“Like me . . . ” I murmured and brought a hand up toward my chest to fist my shirt. “Wrong.”

I had never been wrong in the way people could tell. They couldn’t point at me and say “there’s that wrong girl!” But I had never had a teacher that hadn’t given me funny looks for my questions and hadn’t gone to a family reunion without an auntie muttering “that one’s a little off in the head” to another auntie.

I looked down as to not focus on the white bat or the double-winged moth or any of the other creatures that were pulled to the light of the lamp post. I stopped in place as I peered at the ground, but the ground didn’t seem to be there. It seemed to have fallen away and I gasped.

It was just dark beneath my ratty white sneakers. I looked up and the houses were all but distant outlines from a different life. The mist was growing thicker and the only light was from the silvery glow the lamp ahead.

I clenched my teeth and inhaled sharply through my nose. “Where are we?” I looked up and the lamp was now at least several paces away. “Wait!” I ran after it. “How do I get home?” It gave another mighty hop and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to turn back or find out about more things that shouldn’t be. I gave a small glance over my shoulder and it was all mist and darkness behind us now anyway. I kept following the hopping lamp.

The darkness became almost absolute and I held my breath as the mist grew thick and tangible. It licked my cheeks like a wet kiss and my hair was heavy on my shoulders from the moisture clinging to it.

I started shivering. I didn’t want to keep looking. I didn’t want to see what was beyond that mist and dank gloom. I started to hear things. I heard deep ugly breaths from something that had be bigger than the biggest horse I’d ever seen and bigger than any dog from down the street.

It gulped down air in a deep raspy voice. In. Out. It’s nose was probably the size of a bus and it’s lungs bigger than any whale. I could smell brine and salt in the air and I couldn’t stop shivering.

To my surprise the lamp’s pace slowed. It stopped in place and it’s hanging head turned and faced me. My eyes went wide, “So you ain’t gonna just leave me after all?” I whispered and slowly reached out my hand. I put it softly on the cool metal of the lamp and we began to walk together.

I closed my eyes because I didn’t want to see the monsters we were approaching in the dark. I didn’t want to see what lay ahead. Nonetheless, I felt that warm bath of air hit me across the face and we passed the beasts.

I opened my eyes again to the sound of cars honking and an even stronger scent of salt. I turned and we were standing on a road this time with the mist still thick and dancing off the cement. Something was different.

The road was winding up a huge mountain top and on the other side was the twilight dusk and an ocean that spanned as far as I could see. It was a shifting flatness with pools of blue midnight and frothing white waves out in the distance. I smiled broadly. “I’ve never seen the ocean.” A car passed with it’s headlights blinking and it was like no car I had ever seen before. It’s windows were too broad and lamps too bright. The figure inside was shadowed and strange with hands made out of smudgy murkiness and a shrouded face.

I steadied myself. “Alright,” I put my hand back on the lamp post. “Let’s keep going.” We walked through that world of ocean and ghosts. I closed my eyes and we passed between another darkness with the sounds of sleeping monsters and into new unknown places. We entered a world of dirt roads that led past unkempt green gardens with fruit like diamonds and rubies. We went through nights that were all storms with lightning flashing out on the horizon and people that were shaped like angels flying out toward it.

The sun never rose and we never stopped walking. It could have been a lifetime. It could have been just that night and nothing else. I oohed and awed at the strange sights and smells of ozone and sunshine. It was only in that third darkness that my legs started to complain and my eyes started to droop and betray me.

The lamp slowed its pace to an inching crawl.

“It’s alright.” I yawned. “I don’t wanna go back.” I said softly with my eyes closed. We walked into the darkness of beasts once more. “But I gotta. Don’t I?”

Something landed on my shoulder as we went into a new road made of crushed white shells and with running water the color of mirrors besides us. Little floating lights dancing just above the surface of the river and I blinked at a giant moth perched on me. She had white feathery feelers and wings with grey eyes in the center. She was missing an eye on the right side of her face and I smiled at her.

“Well hey there,” She was the size of a kite and her little legs tickled my shoulder. “You’re not from where I’m from.” I said with a nod, “you’re awful pretty though. You all tangled up about going home too?” She moved her feelers up and down and cocked my head to the side. “It’s not so bad. But it’s not so good either.” I shivered from somewhere deep inside of me and gave her a sad smile. “I just . . . can’t seem to get myself to turn around yet.” The moth gave me a long look before she took off from my shoulder. She flapped away into the moonlight of this strange land and the lamp post simply sat in place. I made a face, “now you feel like stoppin?”

The lamp post simply angled it’s face to the sky.

I followed it with my eyes. It was a long few minutes in the cold damp air with the water rushing besides and lights flitting around. I waved when the moth finally returned with something between her feet. She was carrying something that shone with the force of gold teeth in the mouths of rich men. I opened my hand and the moth dropped a single coin into my hand.

“Oh,” I breathed and held up a golden metal disk. The front held face I didn’t recognize in any way on it.

A queen maybe. She was in profile on the coin with a half-smile, her eyes closed, and crown of light on her head. I made a hiccup of sound as the coin fit snuggling in my palm and gave off a strange burning warmth.

I turned it over and over in my hands and ran my fingers over squiggles on the back that could only be words. I sucked in breath. “What’s this for?” The moth only turned around and suddenly it was flying back toward the way we came. The lamp turned too and I frowned. In a twist that was more ironic than not the lamp started to follow the moth.

"Wait for me!" I trailed after.

We went back through the beast realm. Back through the night garden of jewels and back through the storm lands of angels and mountains of ghosts. We returned to my street with the slanted roofs and scraggly lawns.

I held the coin hard in my hands and turned to the lamp post. “Thank you.” I said with a nod as you’re supposed to for helpful strangers. “I’ll remember this, always.” I wasn’t sure if I was brave enough to return yet, but the lamp bent its long head and the light caught in my eyes. I looked down and the words on the coin righted themselves like soldiers called to duty all at once.

“Be brave,” I read the words and traced them with my fingers. “Because the light will always come.” I blinked and the words remained just as the lamp kept hopping down the street on its endless trek. I slowly waved goodbye in the way of children who are able to accept things that shouldn’t be but are.

I turned and went back into my house just as the night was losing its shape and the sun broke across the heavens. And I was going to be brave for however long it took until the light came again.

--------

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#short story #fantasy #writing #writers on tumblr #writeblr

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jurijurijurious · 3 years

Text

Writerly ephemera meme

I was tagged by @thisbluespirit in this rather intriguing meme!

Find five bits of yourself that you gave to your fiction (memories and places and phrases and things into our stories), post and tag five or more writers to share as well.

Now I know I do write bits of myself and my experiences into my stories, one way or another, I think everyone does, but it doesn’t half put you on the spot when you have to try to remember where you’ve done it!

1) I know that recently I wrote Walsingham passing out at the end of a scene in “Mea Culpa”. The entire description is based on personal experience. I went through a scary few years as a young teen where I would pass out for little to no reason, usually at school where there were lots of people watching to cause me huge embarrassment, which then almost gave me a form of PTSD. I was constantly anxious about fainting, it was not good, and we never found out why it happened. But that’s another story... I still occasionally pass out but it’s usually for a reason, after having a vaccine or blood taken or something, but the whole process of fainting, though horrible, is like an old nemesis to me, uncomfortably familiar. I generally feel intense sickness in my stomach, my vision is puckered increasingly with white dots, my entire body comes out in a sweat, and I hear a high pitched whistle-type noise as I lose consciousness. And so since that is my experience, it became Wals’s too:

His palms sweated, his pulse raced... He shuddered and emitted another strangled breath, fingers white where he clutched the window sill, body trembling. He needed rest. Ursula's voice was becoming distant, the room was swaying like the deck of a ship caught in a storm. He felt a sudden nausea in his stomach, could hear a high pitched sound in his ears, a siren's wail beckoning him into the abyss.

“I am sorry. So very sorry,” he whispered, though he knew not exactly who he was addressing. His own voice now sounded as if it was coming from underwater, far away; he was drowning and could resist no more, slipped where he stood and descended into the open arms of oblivion.

2) This is another Walsibeth example I’m afraid because I haven’t written anything else for about a decade! So... Though the pandemic and my lack of funds has put a temporary hold to my hobby of horse riding, I am a half-capable rider and love tearing across country if opportunity allows on horseback. I can thus write people riding horses (English style, anyway) with a degree of accuracy. So in my smutty one-shot fic “In perpetuum et unum diem” (the one which is mostly a pastiche of the raunchy finale of “The Tudors” season 1, and also an excuse for me to write shameless sex), I began the ficlet with a bit of a horse-race between Bess and Wals to get the blood up (a scene that in itself mirrors Elizabeth’s racing with Raleigh in TGA, I later realised). Though I personally haven’t raced a person on horseback per se, I have done beach rides and also ridden on a horseback safari in Africa where you gallop as a group, and “giving your horse its head” is the order of the day! So a lot of this passage is me:

She turned her head back over her shoulder and caught Francis’ eyes. His lip quirked slightly at the corner but otherwise there was no change to his countenance. But that was enough. Her smile deepend as if to invite him to race her and she turned her head back around, gave her dappled grey mare its head and pressed her calves to its flanks. And the beast responded, driving its legs harder, faster, into a gallop and flew like a falcon through the trees.

...

As the wind flew in Elizabeth’s face, making her eyes water, a great whoop of exhilaration escaped her. There was nothing but her and the horse, and the knowledge that her blackguard of a lover galloped behind her. This was what it should feel like to live, even in tragically brief snippets; to feel the blood in your veins, the air in your chest, and the sun on your face, wild and free.

They then jump a tree trunk which I’d love to say I’d do, and I might, but most of my falls have been from jumping so I’d probably wimp out and go the long way around... ;)

3) Annnd another one from my Walsibeth fic “Mea Culpa”, just because it’s fresh in my mind. When I was driving to work last winter, there was one Sunday morning which had a jaw-droppingly beautiful sunrise. I tried to take a photo of it but could not do it justice. I did find a photo of Lincoln Cathedral on instagram from the same morning though which captured the sky perfectly. It literally looked like the sky was on fire, or something, and I immediately worked this memory into my story! I felt that a sky like that would make the perfect backdrop for a single, forlorn, broken bastard riding his horse in a clear, freezing morning:

There was a strange light in the sky as the sun began to make its ascent. It turned a deep crimson then lifted to shades of rich amber and gold; this combined with the few grey clouds passing overhead gave it the illusion of a huge fire, as if a great furnace now filled the heavens. Some might have called it beautiful, others would see a grim omen.

4) I had a look in my dreaded old fic archive, so full of cringe, and I found this from the end of my Doctor Who fic “Choices”, which I reckon I wrote between 2005-2006, possibly finishing it later than that. This scene right at the end (told from the perspective of Rose and the ninth Doctor’s daughter, Hope) is literally my old senior school - the class length, the finish time, the uniform was what I wore, and my history teacher was Mrs. Gaskin, and my mum would be waiting in her car to pick me and my sisters up:

By a quarter-to-three in the afternoon, she was in another History lesson with Mrs. Gaskin, and was spending another forty-five minutes hearing about the Black Death, the plague doctors, and the red crosses that were painted on people’s doors. It was fascinating, but Hope’s concentration wasn’t there. She kept looking out of the window at the school yard, noticing the little details that other days she would take for granted - like the way the trees swayed in the wind, the way a crisp-packet rolled across the concrete, and the pure azure-blue colour of the cloudless sky. Something was afoot but she had no idea what it was, or why she was feeling this way.

The bell rang finally at the end of the lesson, as the clock read three-thirty, and the class disappeared swiftly out of the door. It was home time! The voices of myriads of children echoed and shrilled down the corridors, and desperate feet, eager to get home, pounded down the stairs, making for the exits. White shirts were un-tucked from trouser and skirt hems, blue-and-red ties were loosened from about shirt collars, and black blazers were thrown off and carried over shoulders as the mass of pupils took flight.

Hope, however, took things slowly, almost as if she might never see them again, picking up on every smile, every individual laugh, and every joke pulled on every unsuspecting victim. She waved goodbye to friends, hitched her backpack over her shoulder, and made her way out of the school gates toward the spot where her mum or Uncle Jack would usually be waiting to pick her up. As she turned the corner onto Petunia Grove, though, she stopped and sighed. The car - either her mum’s or Jack’s - was not there.

Hope pursed her lips and shrugged, taking another good look around just to make sure that she hadn’t missed it, but there wasn’t a familiar car in sight. She thus let her bag slip off her shoulder, and she perched her backside on the street sign, swinging one of her feet back and forth as she waited for the arrival of her escort.

In the meantime, she couldn’t help but let her mind wander again, as it had been doing often throughout the day, and looked around the street. There was a blue tit on the hedge over the road, stood near a couple of sparrows and a robin. The front door of house number five was a brilliant shade of red, something which she had never really noticed before, and there was some graffiti on the road sign on the opposite side of the street. It read ‘Bad’ something or other, but she couldn’t read the other word since it was blocked off by the blue box.

Hope blinked and slowly rose to her feet. It couldn’t be…

5) And for number five, this is a short extract from the an unpublished Star Wars fic I wrote around 2010, where I tried for what must have been the third time to re-write the Star Wars nonsense I wrote as a teenager, all starring my very Mary Sue OC, Nadia, who became Vader’s apprentice and was mentored by Veers. I have here again worked my experiences of passing out into the story - a psychologist would have a field day with me. Nadia’s thoughts about showing weakness were also real fears of mine - I never liked to be weak, to be ill, to be a burden, and my character was the mouthpiece for my own self-disgust. It’s written in the first person with Nadia narrating in this scene where she accompanies General (Maximilian) Veers to the Kaminoan’s cloning facility to review further batches of troops and is taken ill by the experience of seeing the thousands of farmed foetuses:

Max nodded whilst I remained breathless and shaky in his shadow. I could not get those tiny, wriggling foetuses out of many head - they floated upon my consciousness, their inhuman eyes glaring into my face and their tiny hands reaching out toward me. I tried to rid myself of these infantile phantoms, but I could not, and I suddenly felt quite ill.

“We shall need many more in our next delivery,” Max told the creature, who began to babble on about the problems of this request, but was halted mid-sentence when Maximilian wheeled about and grabbed me, saying my name over and over. He disappeared amidst the snowstorm of white dots that littered my vision, however, and I collapsed upon the floor.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a bright, white room. The walls dazzled me for a moment and it took my eyes and my mind time to adjust and to recognise reality. I looked slowly at the plain walls, finding myself alone upon a bed with my hands by my sides and a drip feeding liquid into my arm. This seemed quite surreal - I knew I was not ill enough to warrant this - but I resolved to stay put until someone came to me. I felt extremely tired and I thought that I may as well take advantage of the rest.

I fell back to sleep again and, when I next woke, I saw Max sat in a chair beside me. I glanced about the room - we were alone. I looked at him uncertainly, my visage undoubtedly betraying the signs of my mortification, for he first said: “Do not worry, Nadia, I am not angry with you. It cannot always be helped.”

...

I wanted to defy him, to be strong, but no, I just showed him weakness and insecurity. What indignity was this?

Thanks for the tag, that was fun! I can’t think of 5 writers to tag but off the top of my head: @feuillesmortes, @robins-treasure and @captainofthegreenpeas? Have a go if you fancy.

#memes #writerly ephemera meme

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catflorist · 3 years

Text

The Time Being (ao3 / ffn) catflorist Summary: Time-slipping is a side effect of wielding the Rinnegan. When Sasuke slips through time, he always goes to Sakura, whether he wants to or not. 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

pt 5: sakura

After Sasuke left, Sakura woke up alone on a bench just as the sky began to lighten.

She rubbed the goosebumps on her bare arms. The aching pressure of a sob churned in her chest, but she could not cry.

Someone sat next to her. She recognized the line of his shoulders before she recognized his face.

Sasuke's jaw was sharper, his hair tied back and long enough to graze his shoulder blades. Mismatched eyes—red and purple—met hers before fading into their familiar dark.

He frowned. "You're cold." His voice was quieter, deeper than the voice of her Sasuke. He shrugged the cloak off his shoulders and offered it to her.

Sakura accepted, too stunned to speak. There was no need to voice the obvious. He was not the Sasuke she knew.

"I always wondered how you knew I was leaving," he said.

Sakura burrowed inside the cloak, still warm from his body. The fabric was soft, sun-worn, and smelled like salt. "Because I know you," she answered.

Sasuke smiled, and Sakura's head cleared. He had left, but he was here again. That had to mean something.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice trembled, but the knot in her throat was loosening.

The first rays of sun peeked over the horizon, lighting the treetops in gold. "I need to tell you something."

As dawn rose, Sasuke told her about his time-slipping, about the Rinnegan, that she should expect more appearances in the years to come. Sakura listened in a rapture. When he revealed the truth behind the massacre of the Uchiha clan, her tears finally fell. In the morning light, the village appeared ghostly, like bones bleaching in the sun.

"Will you ever come back?" Sakura asked, when everything was said.

"Yes," Sasuke said.

She dried her eyes on the collar of his cloak. "Do you promise?"

"I promise," he said. "We'll meet again soon."

"How long?"

"Five years or so, for you." His brow furrowed. "I'm sorry. You'll need to be patient with me."

"I'll be here when you're ready," she said.

Smiling again, Sasuke tapped the center of her brow with two gentle fingers. "You're with me right now."

A rush of questions flooded Sakura's mind, but they were out of time. Sasuke frowned, rubbing his temples, and Sakura took this to mean he was about to leave. She passed the cloak into his lap.

Sasuke slipped away like ducking underwater, leaving behind a quiet ripple of his presence.

When Naruto and Kakashi found her, the village had already woken up. Traffic clattered from the nearby main streets, and curtains fluttered from open windows. Someone nearby was grilling fish for breakfast.

"He's gone," Sakura said.

For a beat, Naruto and Kakashi said nothing. They searched Sakura's expression, giving her the opportunity to grieve, if she wanted to. But Sakura's breathing remained calm.

Kakashi lifted the hitai-ate obscuring his left eye. His gaze shone with regret. "This is my fault." At this, Sakura's lip started trembling.

Naruto's fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. "I'm going after him," he snarled.

"There's no need, Naruto." Sakura gripped the stone of the bench. "He'll come back one day."

Sakura trained under Tsunade and grew strong. She learned how to tear open the earth and to mend bones. How to store her chakra drop by drop, so one day it would become a vast ocean under her control.

Two years passed before she saw Sasuke again. It occurred in her own time. He perched on the rim of the cliff outside Orochimaru's hideout, wind lifting his robes. A purple obi ensnared his waist. With the sun at his back, he looked more shadow than boy. His eyes held nothing when he looked at her—neither interest nor contempt.

Then he said, "Sakura." He exhaled her name like a breath, like he didn't even realize he was saying it.

It still hurt when they failed to convince him to return, even if it was what Sakura expected.

The trip back to Konoha was solemn. Naruto was shaken and quiet, and even Sai wisely held his tongue. They traveled through the night until Captain Yamato constructed a temporary wooden shelter with four separate rooms.

When she was alone, Sakura held her head in her hands. She tried to fit the Sasuke she just saw into her knowledge of him. He was longer her teammate, and he was far from the man who had chosen to tie his hair back. He was somewhere in between, somewhere lost, with a long way to go.

"Sakura?"

Sasuke, exactly as she remembered from their genin days, inspected her wet face. All his questions stopped. He grasped her hand and looked stubbornly away, daring her to state what they both knew. It was not his way to freely offer a comforting touch.

Sakura closed her eyes. Sasuke had promised to return, but she never would have doubted it on her own.

"The daimyo wants to drain a lake to build another summer palace, and the council says they have the funds to spare," Tsunade spat, shoving a mountain of paperwork in Sakura's direction. "But there's nothing in the budget for the civilian guilds?"

Sighing in sympathy, Sakura pulled her favorite chair to Tsunade's desk. She flipped through the paperwork, signing a perfect copy of the Hokage's signature on each page. Tsunade filled two glasses with amber liquid, set one beside her student, and settled behind her own tower of paper. This was their evening ritual.

Signing her name with angry flourishes, Tsunade muttered, "Three years as Hokage and I can't get anything done."

Each day, Sakura watched Tsunade fight the council tooth and nail to implement her vision for the village. Each day, the council blocked her every move.

Sakura's pen stilled. Tsunade did not know the truth of the Uchiha massacre. Was it right to tell her?

"Tsunade-shishou…" she began, then the words froze on her tongue.

Her teacher raised an eyebrow. "Spit it out," she urged.

"Have you ever thought that the council might be doing more harm than good?"

This was a radical view. Many citizens of Konoha supported the council in their decision-making. The village was prosperous and powerful. There was no reason to ask deeper questions.

Tsunade was silent for a breath too long, revealing her answer. Teacher and student gazed at each other with a new understanding.

Sakura's hands shook. "There is something you should know."

The council met in an imposing structure set behind the largest gate in the village. Since few windows penetrated its thick walls, the building's interior remained cold and dim no matter the season. When darkness fell, Tsunade and Sakura snuck inside and entered the archive.

After undoing a genjutsu, breaking the ninjutsu seal on a wooden chest, and snapping a plain lock in half, they uncovered the file detailing plans behind the Uchiha massacre.

The scroll was thin. It did not take much space on a page at all to massacre a clan.

Sakura read it first. It was one thing to hear the truth from Sasuke. It was another to see it confirmed in writing, signed by the leaders of the village, and stamped in approval. When she saw the Third Hokage's signature, her heart panged. Sarutobi-sama had always been kind to her. Yet he had known and approved of this plan. Was it a betrayal, or a requirement of his position? Which was worse?

"This village is rotten to the core," Tsunade muttered after closing the scroll. "Is this why your teammate left?"

"No," Sakura said. "He doesn't know the truth yet."

"How did you think to look for this?"

"I was close with Sasuke," she offered, not meeting her teacher's eyes. "I had a suspicion."

Tsunade did not push further. She pressed her lips together, rubbed the space between her eyebrows. For once, the ageless face of Sakura's teacher looked tired.

"We carve our faces into the cliff as if we have something to celebrate," she said. "As if we owe our greatness to the world. But it's all a lie."

Huddled next to Tsunade, surrounded by the archive's chilly secrets, Sakura swore to make the village a better place by the time Sasuke returned.

"No surprise, Sakura. They denied your plans." Tsunade stamped a document hard enough to shake her entire desk. "Danzo told me personally."

Sakura clenched her fists, but she was not surprised. Last week Tsunade refused to shut down an investigation into the Hyuuga clan's use of branding. Now, the council had coincidentally tabled Sakura's sensible proposal to construct a pediatric wing of the hospital.

This was not Sakura's first roadblock. Last month, the council canceled their first meeting with Sakura's newly-established civilian board, citing scheduling conflicts, and dodged all attempts to reschedule. Not long before, they implied that unless Tsunade agreed to spare three extra jonin for the daimyo's entourage, they might not find funds to spare for Sakura's medic training program. Each time, Danzo delivered the news with a modest smile, as if he were pouring her a cup of tea and expecting gratitude in response.

The more Sakura's plans fizzled out, the more she feared Konoha could never change.

Sometimes Sakura imagined herself leaving the village. She thought about it the same way she thought about embracing the next Sasuke she saw. It was not a real possibility, but the idea floated in her head, and sometimes hurt to think about.

She could live alone somewhere. Maybe by the ocean. Her brain conjured all the details: fresh, salty air. Seabirds screeching and plummeting into the water. The temperamental sand shifting under her feet. There would be nothing to fix. Nothing would require changing. Maybe she would find peace.

Sakura worked hard to improve the village, but she did not buy the plant Ino suggested would flourish in the morning light of her bedroom. She stored every scrap of chakra away for her future seal. She did not spend money except when her friends dragged her to dinner. She thought about the Sasuke who smelled like salt. She dreamt about the ocean.

When Sasuke appeared next, it was at the worst possible time, and that's what she told him. She had a village to defend and to heal.

Sasuke was closer, somehow. He wore the obi, but his eyes were brighter. He did not hesitate to approach her and to call out her name. Sakura wished he had stayed long enough for her to heal the wound on his head.

The battle worsened. A hoard of Katsuyu's summons under Sakura's command saved the hospital and the old Uchiha compound from destruction, but Pain's attack leveled much of Konoha to the ground.

Tsunade sank into a coma. Shizune and Sakura tended to the wrecked village.

Captain Yamato was reconstructing Konoha by himself when Sakura stepped in. In his patient voice, he taught her the basics of woodstyle. At first she could only summon twigs and vines. Her wood produced too much foliage, inhibiting its use as a building material. She persevered. By the end of the month, she was by his side, reimagining and rebuilding Konoha, coaxing the surrounding forest to regrow.

Sakura and Yamato faced the empty land where the council building once stood.

"I have an idea," Sakura said, "though it isn't traditional."

"By all means," Yamato said.

Sakura pressed her hands together. Wood coiled into the air and formed a new type of building. It was small and modest with an unadorned facade. A large window opened upon the council gathering space. Where the gate once existed, she created a square for the citizens of Konoha to gather. The council's discussions could no longer occur in private, outside the public eye.

It was no trivial responsibility to possess the skills to rebuild a village. If she could carve out a window when before there was none, create a new space for people to breathe, she would.

"Sakura, you have too many jobs," Ino complained.

"I am a simple student," Sakura denied, though Ino was right. In Tsunade's absence, Sakura's role in the village took on more of a political nature than ever.

After the council appointed Danzo as the temporary Hokage, she and Shizune fought to maintain Tsunade's policies and legislation under his strict rule. During council meetings, she served as Tsunade's representative. In between these responsibilities, Sakura squeezed in training and shifts at the hospital.

This meant Sakura did not have time in her schedule to eat dinner with both Ino and Naruto in one week, so she requested they meet together. Her two friends disrupted the peaceful evening of every Konoha resident with their public debate over where to eat before Ino finally threw up her hands.

Naruto slurped his Ichiraku's ramen. "You're a student, a shinobi, an architect..."

"...a medic, a politician," Ino picked up. She considered. "A large-forehead-bearer."

"Pig," Sakura responded fondly. She eyed Naruto. "Dobe," she said, using Sasuke's word without thinking, and the cheerful mood dampened.

Ino set her teacup on the table with a soft clink. "Have you heard anything?"

Naruto sighed. "The teme is up to some shit."

Sakura chewed her lip. The last they'd heard, Sasuke had formed a team and joined the Akatsuki. Five years or so, Sasuke had promised. Over four years had passed since that day.

Just as a lump formed in Sakura's throat, Ino squeezed her shoulder. "Let's walk to the square, later," she suggested. "It's great, but I think it could use a few more places to sit."

They walked to the square. Sakura twisted wood into benches and placed them according to Ino's vision.

"Beautiful work. But what about trees? Some shade would be nice," Ino said. "Don't you think, Naruto?"

"Eh? But it's night––ow," Naruto gasped, as Ino elbowed him in the ribs. "I mean, absolutely. Could use some greenery, and all that."

Sakura's hands flew through the signs. Trees sprouted in each corner of the square, growing taller than the nearby council building, than any building in the village.

The transformation was immediate. Soft murmurs of rustling leaves replaced silence. A bird landed upon a branch. From where they were standing, the newly born foliage obscured the faces carved into the Hokage Mountain. In the silver wash of the moon, it appeared as if they grew over the mountain itself, a tangle of wood and leaf and stone.

Without speaking, the three of them sat together on the nearest bench, inaugurating the new space.

"This was a good idea, Ino," Sakura said.

Ino and Naruto raised eyebrows at each other.

"Do you feel better, Forehead?"

Gazing at the treetops, Sakura found herself smiling. She felt better.

Sakura was listening to a council meeting with detached resentment when news broke of Danzo's death.

Tsumiki Kido, Danzo's closest confidant on the council, called for a moment of silence. As councilmembers bowed their heads, Sakura's heart raced. She and Shizune shared a careful glance.

When the moment was done, Tsumiki shook his head. "It is clear Uchiha Sasuke has outgrown his usefulness."

"He is a criminal and an enemy," another voice chimed in.

Sakura already knew there was a future waiting for Sasuke. He would live to meet her on that bench. Still, her blood ran cold.

"The boy has shown his true colors," Tsumiki replied. "Who will his next target be? How else will he terrorize our beloved village?"

As evenly as she could manage, Sakura said, "Konoha will never be the same after Danzo-sama's loss." She lowered her head, and faces around the table followed suit. "He displayed the Will of Fire until the end. It is evident he made a great sacrifice for the village, a sacrifice we must not undermine."

Tsumiki frowned and opened his mouth.

"Don't you see?" Sakura interjected, meeting the eyes of each councilmember. "Danzo-sama could easily defeat any enemy. In his wisdom, he understood that Uchiha Sasuke's continued wellbeing is in the best interest of the village. The Uchiha clan's doujutsu, the Sharingan, is a valuable tool. Only Sasuke possesses this skill, now that his brother Itachi is dead."

When several heads nodded, Sakura frowned and looked to the ceiling. She twisted a strand of hair around her finger, as if in thought. "I'm happy to volunteer to look through our archives on the Uchiha clan. I'm certain I'll find useful information that illustrates how having an Uchiha in service of the village is beneficial. Perhaps I'll uncover other skills, other histories, that are useful to know. We keep good records, after all."

The younger members of the council did not blink, but Sakura watched key faces twitch. Their eyes bored into her, wondering if the words archive, Itachi, records, all said in the same context, were a coincidence.

As silence fell, the public square outside remained lively. Two elderly civilians took a seat upon one of the newly crafted benches. A shuriken thunked against the large window overlooking the meeting space. Children's laughter sounded, then a group of young Academy students raced to retrieve their object.

Tsumiki's lips pressed together in a thin line. "That won't be necessary."

All talk of retaliation against Sasuke ceased. Discussion turned to Danzo's funeral preparations, then to candidates for the next acting Hokage. Sakura suggested Kakashi. The council grumbled, but it was a good suggestion.

"You spoke well, but that was a risk," Shizune said later. "They will be upset."

Sakura was scrubbing her hands after a surgery when she heard that Tsunade was awake.

She burst into the room. Shizune lifted her tear-streaked face and smiled. Tsunade sat upright in her bed, young and fresh as ever, as if awaking from a catnap rather than a deathly coma. Her teacher was not physically affectionate, but she returned Sakura's tight embrace with no reservations, and brushed the uncombed hair away from her face.

"You've both been busy," Tsunade said, after Sakura and Shizune explained everything she had missed. She eyed Sakura, inspecting the dark circles under her student's eyes. "Don't give too much away. You can't heal or fight or fix this damn village if you don't keep anything for yourself." .

Sakura was on the battlefield. She saw his shadow before she saw him, that familiar line of his shoulders. .

Up next: Sasuke and Sakura meet again.

Notes: double cliffhanger...don't be mad? :) though i hope some of your questions are starting to be answered.

also, we're more than halfway through now! this chapter through the end were the hardest to write--thank you for following along with me!

#sasusaku #sasusaku fanfiction #sasusaku fanfic #ss fic #ss #my ss #my fic #the time being

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bruh-haikyuu · 4 years

Note

Hello! May I request a sfw scenario where Asahi has to unexpectedly share a bed with his crush for the first time? Thank you so much!

A/N: God I read like 5 shoujo manga and a doujin to fuel myself for this. I hope you enjoy, anon!

contretemps. | azumane asahi

word count: 1758

warnings: none

(n.) an unexpected and unfortunate occurrence

Asahi wanted to bash his head against the wall. Committing seppuku just won’t cut for it—he wanted to make sure he died from the inside out, writhing in all sorts of pain.

It was super embarrassing.

It was his fault that you two had to miss the shinkansen back to Miyagi. He just had to leave his ticket in the restaurant. And you just had to help him run back to the place to retrieve it.

“Don’t worry about it, Azumane-san. It’s my duty as the class rep to help you, after all,” you had told him repeatedly, a smile gracing your features.

It wasn’t very assuring. In fact, it didn’t help Asahi calm down at all. You could’ve been in the train with everyone else by now, asleep and with all your other friends. But here you were on the phone with your homeroom teacher, explaining the situation to her in a calm demeanor that made Asahi’s forehead bead with sweat.

How could you be so calm? You were two high school students stuck in Osaka, a long way away from home. And one of you looked like a criminal who was about to pull some kind of weapon out of his pocket and shoot everyone dead.

Asahi really just wanted to vanish.

It did help a bit to think that at least he was stuck with you. If it had been Hattori-san or Aoi instead, Asahi would have to live the rest of his life in eternal shame. He considered himself lucky, but you probably felt unfortunate with him around…

Asahi glanced at you a tenth time from where he was waiting, your ears still pressed to the receptionist’s phone, in deep conversation with your teachers.

You seemed much more reliable than he did. More mature. More responsible. Geez, were you two really the same age?

“Azumane-san?”

Asahi looked up to see you smiling at him at close proximity. “A-ah, L/N-san. You’re done?”

“Yeah. I called the teachers and my parents. All our overnight expenses will be covered by the school but the ticket for the train tomorrow will be on us. Did you inform your family yet?”

“Y-yeah…”

“You got scolded too, huh?”

Asahi’s bit the insides of his cheek, the voice of his mother’s nagging echoing in his head. “…Yeah.”

And you laughed. Laughed a bubbly laugh that made butterflies erupt from the furthest pit of Asahi’s stomach. He sighed, he was never going to survive a night with you.

“Sorry again for putting you through this. I really am the worst person you could’ve gotten stuck with…”

“That’s alright. I’m class rep, right? I gotta take care of my classmates!”

God, your smile was perfect. “What about the lodgings? Did we manage to get a room?”

He saw you flinch, a light pink dusting your cheeks. “Well… I did manage to get the last room they had, but…”

When your lips formed the last words of your sentence, Asahi felt the entire world fall apart, build itself back together, rinse and repeat. This was straight out of his younger cousins’ mangas. But he seemed so far off from a shoujo protagonist. So, so far.

“And so, we’ll be sharing a single bed room. Is that alright with you?”

His heart was beating out of his chest. Someone had to pick it up before it exploded like an anticipating time bomb, but Asahi was way too stunned to breathe. Exploding heart to hell, everything about the situation screamed Asahi, you pervert! He really wished he had held onto his ticket tighter.

“I-I was the one who caused this entire mishap, so… I should be the one asking that to you.”

“I don’t mind,” you shrugged.

“I see… then please, allow me to accommodate the sofa in our room tonight.”

You furrowed your brows indignantly.

“No, no, no! I’ll sleep on the sofa, you can have the bed, Azumane-san.”

“I insist. This entire thing was my fault.”

“Geez, I’m the class rep. For me, it’s my classmates first.”

“If you keep saying that about yourself, it’ll come back to bite you in the end… is what my grandmother told me.”

“Like I said, I’m taking the sofa!”

“No, I am!”

It was exhausting, but Asahi would rather eat cement than make you sleep on a rock-hard couch. Your endless exchange went on for a while until—

“E-excuse me?” you turned around to see the petite receptionist flash you an awkward smile.

“Please refrain from making a ruckus in the lobby.”

The both of you bowed with speed, effectively knocking your heads together, causing a few giggles to erupt amongst the hotel guests.

Man, Asahi thought, this is the worst.

══════ ⋆★⋆ ══════

In the end, Asahi had won against you in the sofa argument, virtually prompting to have the single bed all to yourself. It was the first time that night that Asahi had felt victorious.

Daichi was already spamming his inbox with a three message-long lecture—Asahi supposed there wasn’t any way that he could join volleyball practice tomorrow with the current circumstances. A scolding from his parents, the teachers, the principal when he gets back and most likely your parents too. He kind of deserved it.

But the entire time, you didn’t looked annoyed at all. In fact, you completely indulged in the situation. His experience with his friends being that if this had occurred to them instead of you, he’d be left out on the balcony to be eaten by crows. Curiosity flooded him to the brim—you were certainly an interesting person.

Hanging the hotel towel on the railings in the bathroom, you returned to the central space where Asahi was already adjusting to a comfortable position on the leather sofa. With your hair down, droplets of water crowning your head, you looked like an entirely different person but yet you still had the same halo of an angel around you.

Asahi thanked Jesus and Buddha for this opportunity.

“Good night, Azumane-san.”

“Right. G’night, L/N-san.”

Just like that it was lights off.

He wished he could’ve gotten a better image of you looking so relaxed; it might’ve been his last time after all. The both of you were already in your third year and it was only a few months until you’d be in different places, doing God knows what… Asahi felt an oncoming headache from the thought.

Cutting through the images in his head, a flash of white suddenly illuminated the sheer curtains separating the room from the windows. Not even a few moments later, a boom rattled outside, followed by a high-pitched squeak coming from under the sheets of the single bed.

You were shaking.

Shaking so hard that the bed looked like it was trembling with you. Asahi couldn’t see you under the covers of the velvety duvet, but it didn’t take much effort for him to know that your eyes were screwed tightly in attempt to block out the spark.

Lightning struck again and this time, you whimpered loudly.

“L/N-san?! Are you alright?” against his own bodily will, Asahi jumped to the side of the bed, immediately crouching on the floor to observe you at eye’s level.

You answered with a brisk whine, slightly muffled by the harsh onslaught of rain knocking at the walls.

“L/N-san… you’re afraid of it, aren’t you?” his mouth was moving on its own, saying things he knew he shouldn’t be saying so casually. “You’re afraid of lightning.”

The stare you gave him was incredulous. Wide-eyed and astonished but all the same, it reflected the eyes of someone who understood your apprehension. Silence lingered in the air as the rain reached its crescendo. Breaking it, you spoke.

“My older sister would usually be there to hold me during a storm. It’s childish, I know. But it’s just so terrifying for me—the sounds and the lights… I don’t like it. I hate it so much.”

You looked so vulnerable in the frame of shadows. So small and afraid, someone Asahi would take a bullet for just to stop their tears.

“D-do you want me to hold you?”

Asahi did a double take. What was he, possessed?! You were going to see him as a pervert now. He wanted to vomit at the thought of you avoiding him for the rest of his life. Sure, he could live with being miles away from you, but the notion of being miles away from you because he had let some words slip out of his mouth was insanely out of proportion.

“Would you, Azumane-san?” Now, you were possessed?!

Fear still flitted in your eyes, but now, there was a glint of hope in them. A hope that Asahi would die to reach for.

“Huh? A-are you sure that—”

“Please.”

Air filled his lungs, making his chest rise. Asahi didn’t blink once as he nodded in silence; he didn’t want to miss out on a single second of this opportunity. Not a chance.

You scooted over on the bed, making space for him to slide next to you under the sheets. Having his large body occupy most of the mattress as compared to your smaller figure, Asahi blushed in the loom of the dark. All the blood rushing to his face even made the next flash of light outside the window go unnoticed.

“Azumane-san!” you hid your face in his arm, your own arms flying to grab ahold of him.

Was this illicit activity? You were both underaged and most definitely not in the right relationship for things like this to occur. It seemed so wrong. If anyone caught you in this compromising situation, Asahi would shoot himself dead, no doubt about it. But for now, he just wanted to make up for all the trouble he gave you that night, even if it cost him his dignity.

Fingers gently combing through your locks, the pads of his fingers just slightly kissed your scalp. It was a mere act, but it had so much effect on you. Your jagged breathing slowed and you were able to slacken your iron grip on him. It was just like your sister but in a way, Asahi was worlds different.

Rain pelting down endlessly, you pressed your face harder into the cotton shirt that divided you from his skin. “Sorry, Azumane-san… and thank you.”

“Y-yeah… s’alright…”

A stray yawn escaping your throat, you sighed into his embrace. “Sleepy… gonna go to sleep… night… Azumane…-san…”

Just like that, Asahi had to fight back a squeal when you finally surrendered to slumber.

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu #haikyu #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenario #azumane asahi #azumane asahi x reader #azumane asahi imagine #azumane asahi scenario #karasuno x reader #sfw #asahi x reader #azumane x reader #bruh haikyuu writing

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imaginationintowords · 4 years

Text

Folklore [song series]

betty

Modern Day AU! Bucky Barnes x OC!Reader

Plot: Inspired by Taylor Swift’s new album Folklore. The story follows the timeline of Bucky and Elizabeth’s relationship throughout the years.

Word count: 6169

Warnings: cheating, swearing, smut/blowjob, very angsty

Previous part

Series Masterlist

Age: 17

Year: 2011

Location: Brooklyn, New York

Bucky would be lying if he said he doesn't remember how this all started. He would also be lying if he said he didn't know why he did it.

It started at the end of school dance:

Bucky was sat on one of the tables while Elizabeth was dancing with their friends in the midst of all the dancing bodies on the dance floor.

Bucky had started to feel overwhelmed. He didn't really do well in large crowds. He preferred to keep it small.

He started to feel himself get a little anxious, so he got up and made his way towards the exit of the gym. He took a few minutes to breathe in the cool spring air, enjoying it before the nights began to shift into the hot summer nights.

When he walked back into the gym he noticed it was a slow song playing, it was some Bruno Mars song that Elizabeth had been obsessed with.

He looked at their table to still find it empty, his eyes then falling first on Steve and Peggy.

They were holding onto each other tight. Peggy was leaving this summer. She had gotten an early acceptance into the University of Oxford, she and her family were moving to England this summer. After the summer they would be breaking up, they had both agreed that they were too young to be doing the long distance thing where they weren't even sure they may ever reconnect. Their futures taking them elsewhere.

His heart really hurt for Steve, he couldn't imagine what his best friend was going through. He couldn't even imagine Elizabeth leaving him. They had already planned their entire futures together. He smiled at the thought of him and Elizabeth going to college together, then getting married, and starting a family of their own.

His eyes moved around the gym to find his lovely girlfriend. He found her on the dance floor, but she wasn't alone, and she wasn't with any of their friends. She was dancing with Alex Taylor, a varsity baseball player in their grade.

Bucky didn't like Alex, he knew the guy was just trying to get in between him and Elizabeth. He's had a crush on Elizabeth since freshman year. He was a trust fund baby, thinking his good looks and money could get him anything he wanted.

Bucky always tried to tell Elizabeth that Alex was trying to break them up, but Elizabeth being Elizabeth didn't see it that way. She just chalked it up to Bucky being jealous, reminding him time and time again that she loved him and not Alex.

Bucky still couldn't help but feel inadequate compared to Alex. Alex, the looks, the money, and the smarts. He was every parents dream of who they wanted their daughter to be with. He couldn't help feel a little insecure when compared to that. Alex would be able to give Elizabeth so much more than what he could.

It's not like Bucky was stupid, he just didn't have his life figured out just yet. He didn't see the point in it when they were just barely finishing their junior year of high school.

When he saw Elizabeth with her arms around Alex's neck and Alex's hands around her waist, Bucky wanted to throw up.

The impulsive side of him wanted to go up to them and rip Alex's hands off of her, causing a scene in front of the whole school. But he knew that would only cause more issues for him and Elizabeth.

So he did the only rational thing he could think of, go back outside for the remainder of the dance and wait until Elizabeth came out ready to leave. He couldn't go back in there, not after seeing his girlfriend in the arms of another person.

Bucky was leaning against the gym building hands shoved into his pant pockets, taking deep breaths in and out. Trying his best to calm down.

"Are you okay?" he heard a voice ask, coming from his left.

Out of the shadows of the night Natasha Romanoff walked up to Bucky.

Natasha had been in their class since the fifth grade, when she and her family had moved to Brooklyn from Manhattan.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Bucky lied, stuffing his hands even further into his pockets.

"You're not a very good liar," she says, "I'm going to assume it has something to do with your girlfriend dancing with a handsome baseball player."

Bucky remained quiet, clenching his jaw at the mention of Elizabeth and Alex.

"Ding, ding, ding," Natasha mocked in a singsong voice, causing Bucky to glare at her.

"Calm down, I'm not the one you want to take your frustrations out on," she said walking over to stand on his right side, blocking him from anyone that would walk out of the school gym.

"Unless you do," she seductively smirked, trailing her finger from his right shoulder, to across the middle of his chest, trailing down.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He snarled, grabbing her wrist, stopping it from going any further down. He looked her up and down, taking note of her skin tight green dress, a complete opposite of Elizabeth's light pink off the shoulder tea-length dress. His eyes returned back on Natasha's.

"Nothing," she innocently played, "but you seem so tense, and I'm willing to do anything to help you."

She stepped closer, pressing her body into his right side.

"Anything," she whispered into his ear, lightly biting it.

Bucky felt his body shuddered at the action. He closed his eyes, dropping Natasha's wrist from his hand. He was having an inner battle with himself.

"What the fuck are you thinking James? Leave. Now," His thoughts echoed in his head.

Natasha took the opportunity to kiss the side of Bucky's jaw, while her hand worked on undoing his belt, then his pants, unzipping them then slipping her hand in the waistband of his boxers.

"Nat," Bucky groaned when her cold hand met his hardening member.

"Shh, just let me help you," she whispered against his lips, ghosting over them before going down on her knees.

Bucky had no idea what the hell he was thinking in that moment. He let his teenage hormones take the better of him.

He knew it was dangerous, what Nat was doing, merely a few feet away from the gym door where anyone can walk out. Anyone from a teacher, a classmate, or even worse, his girlfriend.

The thought alone should've had him pulling Natasha to her feet, but the hormonal teenager part of him loved it. A hot girl was giving him a blowjob on school grounds.

He gripped her hair with his hands, letting the devil take over, and relishing in the feeling. Nat's moans vibrating off, causing him to throw his head back at the feeling.

"Shit," he groaned, feeling himself reaching his orgasm.

He looked down to Natasha, who was looking at him with her green eyes. The look alone had him cumming down her throat. Nat swallowing every bit of it.

Bucky's eyes widen at the action. He was getting turned on again. He shook his head of those thoughts.

He quickly put himself back into his pants, while Natasha fixed her hair mentally thanking herself for not wearing a red lipstick.

"If you need help letting out any more of your frustrations, you know where to find me," she winked before walking away, as Bucky redid his belt, looking as if nothing had happened.

Just as she head for the gym door, it swung open. Out walking Elizabeth looking around for Bucky, spotting him against the wall.

"Hi Elizabeth," Natasha smiled, as they walked passed each other.

"Hey Nat," She smiled back, completely unaware of the fact that Natasha had just given her boyfriend a blowjob.

"Hey you okay?" Elizabeth asked Bucky placing her hand on his right shoulder, "You've been gone for awhile. Wanted to make sure you were okay. I know how these things aren't your thing."

"Yeah, I'm good, just needed some fresh air," he tried his best to smile like nothing was wrong. He noticed she had her bag and his jacket in her hands.

"You ready to go?" he asked, as she curled into his right side.

"Yeah. Also my parents are away for the weekend, so we have the house to ourselves," she looks up at him, giving him a playful wink, much different from Natasha's seductive one.

"Well then better tell my parents I'm staying at Steve's for the night," he tightened his arm around her as they headed for his car in the student parking lot.

He just doesn't understand himself why he continued doing it.

One time should've been it. She probably would've forgiven him if it was only one time, and if he had been the one to tell her.

Bu that wasn't the case.

It was more than one time. Way more. It was a whole summers worth of days.

"So do you think you'll be okay alone this summer?" Elizabeth asked Bucky as they laid under the sun in his backyard.

"You make it seem like I don't like being alone," Bucky teased, "Plus Steve isn't even leaving until after his birthday on the 4th of July."

"I know. I just hate leaving you behind," she said, turning to her right to look at Bucky, who had his eyes closed, "You know you could always join us. My parents invited you as well, and you'll have enough time to get ready since we don't leave for another week."

"Betty, first of all, you're not leaving me behind, and secondly I want you to have this time with your parents," he told her grabbing her hand and placing a kiss on it, "We'll have all the time in the world to be together. Our whole futures ahead of memories of just you and I. So go enjoy this time with your parents."

"You're the best ya know?" she leaned over placing a kiss on his lips, before laying on his chest.

Yeah the best, Bucky thoughts mocked him as he wrapped his arm around Elizabeth.

Nothing had happened with Natasha since that moment at the dance almost three weeks ago. Bucky had promised himself it was a one time thing. He couldn't do that to Elizabeth. Not again. He had a moment of weakness, but it isn't going to happen again. Not when he had the most perfect girl by his side, their whole futures planned.

Bucky had gotten a summer job at the mall, working at a smoothie place in the food court. Seemed like most of his new senior classmates were working there that summer. Natasha included. She had gotten a job at the cupcake place two stalls down from where Bucky was working.

Bucky did everything in his power to stay away from her. Trying to act as if they were simply acquaintances.

It got more difficult as the summer went along. Especially once Steve left for England for the second half of the summer. Around the time Elizabeth's phone had broke, leaving her and Bucky with no communication for the rest of the summer.

The day after Steve left, Bucky had the worse of luck. His car decided not to work that day, so he had to take the bus on the hottest day of the year, and he was working all day since most of his coworkers had called in.

After work that day all he wanted to do was take a cold shower and crawl into bed. Luck was definitely not on his side that night, because as Bucky walked out of the mall, he saw his bus leaving him.

There wouldn't be another bus for another hour. And they were officially in the point of summer where even the nights were just as hot as the days.

Bucky grumbled all the way to the bus stop, sitting down on the hot bench. He looked at his phone, it was dead, so he couldn't even call his parents to come pick him up. He could've went back in the mall and used the phone at the directory to call, but he didn't want to go back inside the very crowded mall. Everyone avoiding any outdoor activities because of the heat.

He heard a car horn honk breaking him out of his self-loathing thoughts. He looked up to see Natasha in her used Toyota Corolla, the passenger window rolled down.

"Need a ride?" she called out.

"No thanks, I'm waiting for the bus," he said looking to his right, avoiding her eyes.

"I just seen the bus leave, you're really going to wait an hour for another bus in this heat, instead of getting a ride home from me?"

"Yes. I love my girlfriend Natasha," he said finally looking at her.

"I never said you didn't. All I did was ask if you needed a ride."

"No."

"James, get in," she sternly said, reaching over to open the passenger door, "let's drive."

Bucky looked around. Mentally fighting himself if he should get in the car. He knew if he got in that car she might pull something on him, and he misses Elizabeth so much, he doesn't think he'll be able to resist.

Gosh he sounded like such a douche.

"You can do this. Get in the car and just stay quiet until you get home," his thoughts spoke.

Bucky sighed and looked around once more before getting off of the bench and getting in Natasha's car.

That was the beginning of the end.

From then on most mornings Bucky found himself in Natasha's bed, as she slept in his arms. Her parents had gone away for the summer, so she had the whole house to herself. Bucky had lied to his mom about making a new friend from work, so it would cover why he wasn't at home. And he could avoid the questions about the hickies that would sometimes find their way onto his neck.

He would lie if he said he didn't pretend some nights Nat was Elizabeth, hell that was how she convinced him into bed the first time. Telling him to just pretend she was Elizabeth.

As the nights progressed he was imaging less of Elizabeth and more of Natasha.

It was new. Exciting. And dare he say fucking hot. Natasha was the complete opposite of Elizabeth, especially in bed.

Bucky hated himself for sometimes thinking that Natasha was better than Elizabeth.

He was so alone that summer and he finally had someone. Someone who listened to his fears and understood them. Someone who didn't always have to find the positive of a bad situation. Sometimes all Bucky wanted to do was sulk, and Natasha allowed that.

He knew he should've stopped.

But the truth of the matter was that he didn't want to.

His second mistake was that he wasn't the one to tell Elizabeth about his summer affair.

How did he expect her not to find out?'

Word gets around their class bubble like a rapid fire storm.

Steve got back home a couple of days before Elizabeth was planned to, at the end of August. They all planned it so they could at least have a week together before school officially started.

As soon as Steve was back home he didn't have time to call Bucky or even wallow in his first heartbreak, because his phone was bombarded by a bunch of messages from his classmates. All telling him about Bucky and Natasha's secret affair.

Steve couldn't believe what he was reading. It had to be nothing but lies.

The next text he received was from Inez, the school's main gossip queen, she sent him a photo of Bucky and Natasha having sex in the mall parking lot.

"Fucking Bucky," Steve angrily whispered.

He quickly left the house and rushed over to Bucky's.

He started pounding on the door, knowing Bucky was home alone, having just talked to him before his flight back.

"What the hell man?" Bucky grumbled, having been woken up by the pounding.

"What the hell man to me? No, what the hell man to you!" Steve angrily said, stomping into the house, as Bucky closed the door behind him.

"What did I do?"

"Natasha Romanoff apparently," Steve huffed, glaring at his best friend.

"What?" Bucky's eyes widen, as his heart dropped.

"I get back to find a bunch of messages from our classmates about how there's rumors going around that you and Nat are fucking around."

"Come on man, those are just rumors," Bucky tries to play it off.

"Then how come Inez sent me this photo of you and Natasha fucking in the mall parking lot," Steve said showing Bucky the photo.

"No. No. No no no no," Bucky repeated, staring at the photo.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Steve asked him, "How could you do this to Betty?"

"I-I don't know man," Bucky explained, "I was having a really shitty day and Nat was there and I don't know. I was alone and she was there."

" 'She was there and I don't know.' Those are your excuses," Steve reprimanded, "Those are shit excuses Barnes."

"I know! You don't think I don't know that! You don't think I don't realize how fucked up I am! That I couldn't even handle a month without you or Elizabeth before ending up in someone else's bed,

"I fucked up Steve," Bucky cried, "I can't believe what I did."

The realization sinking in, hitting him like a ton of bricks. He sorely messed up. And there was no way to fix it. He would have to tell Elizabeth everything.

Elizabeth had decided to surprise the boys and come back the night before Steve was coming back. On her way home, she and her parents stopped at a store to get Elizabeth a new phone. By the time they had gotten back home it was late and they all headed to bed.

Elizabeth woke up early, excited to see Bucky and Steve again. She had missed them a lot, and with her phone breaking half way through she had no way to communicate with them about how their summer was going, and that she had narrowed down her college choices to two. One on the East coast and one on the West.

She grabbed her new phone, typing in her information to pull up everything that was on her old phone.

As soon as she was signed in, her phone started blowing up.

The first few messages she saw were from her classmates saying how sorry they were. That left her really confused, why would they be sorry.

The next message she saw was from Alex Taylor, letting her know he was there for her if she needed someone to talk to or just a shoulder to cry on.

She then saw she had a few messages from Inez. She clicked on it, only to be greeted by a photo of Bucky and Natasha having sex in a car.

Her eyes instantly watered.

She looked at the rest of Inez's messages, informing her that Bucky and Natasha had been fooling around all summer.

There was no way Bucky would be able to deny it, proof was in the literal picture.

Her vision was getting blurry, her tears blinding her vision.

How could he do this to me, she thought.

The more she stared at the photo, the more angrier she got.

She slipped on her shoes and quickly left her house to go to his. Her hand gripping her new phone, now tainted with the image of her cheating boyfriend.

She walked up the steps of the Barnes' porch and she heard voices, judging by the tone, she knew Steve was already here giving Bucky hell.

Just like that all the anger left her body.

Everyone knew.

Everyone knew what Bucky had done to her.

They would all be starting senior year in a little over a week, and everyone is going to know.

Everyone is going to know how her boyfriend was sleeping around with Natasha Romanoff.

She stood there frozen, as the tears fell down her cheeks.

"How could he do this," she just kept thinking, "How could he just throw what we had away. How could he ruin us."

The door swung open, Steve about to walk out of the house, only to stop when he came face to face with a broken Elizabeth.

"Betty," he gasped.

"Betty?" Bucky called out, rushing to the door, his face wet from tears.

One look on her face and he knew she knew.

He didn't even get the chance to tell her.

"Elizabeth are you okay?" Steve quietly said, afraid to reach out to her.

She remained quiet, staring into space.

"Betty?" Bucky said, her head snapped up to look directly into his eyes.

"Steve can you give us some privacy?" Bucky asked him.

"Why should he? Everyone already knows our damn business, why is this any different?" Elizabeth bitterly said, "Why should he give us privacy, when you couldn't even be bothered to fuck Natasha in private."

Bucky and Steve stood there in shock. Never having seen this side of Elizabeth before. She was always so kind and gentle.

This wasn't her.

That would never be her again.

Steve awkwardly stood there in between them, Elizabeth still on the porch, and Bucky still in the entryway.

"Betty I am so sorry," Bucky apologized, "I am so fucking sorry. I don't know what else to say."

"You don't know what else to say? You?" she harshly said pointing her finger at him, stepping into his house, Steve closing the door behind her, as Bucky took a few steps back at Elizabeth's sudden reaction.

"You don't know what to say? Bullshit. You fucking cheated on me, and you're speechless," she angrily continued on, "You don't get that right. You don't get to be silent. You should be grovelling at my fucking feet. You don't get to sleep with other girls and expect me to just take that lame excuse for what it is.

"I deserve more than that. You owe me more than that."

"Betty I-" Bucky began.

"Don't Betty me. You don't get to call me Betty anymore. That name is reserved for people who love me," she said, angry tears still falling free.

"I do love you," Bucky tries to defend himself.

"No, you can't possibly love me," she cried out, "because if you did, you wouldn't have been having this secret affair with Natasha. Natasha fucking Romanoff of all people.

"People who love each other don't do this to each other. If you love someone you don't do this to them. You don't love me James Buchanan Barnes, because if you did you wouldn't have thrown everything away for her," Elizabeth concluded.

"I am so sorry, please believe me," he begs, "I do love you. I love you so fucking much. Please I would do anything."

"There's nothing to do," she scoffs, "You have ruined anything we could've been. You have ruined everything we were. You ruined us. You destroyed everything."

"We can make it work," he cried.

"How? How can we make it work when I don't trust you. When I don't think I could ever trust you. We can't make it work, and that's all your fault."

"Betty, please," he fell to his knees, grasping her legs, crying into them.

"Betty is dead," she quietly said, "You ruined Betty. She no longer exists. You killed her."

Elizabeth slipped her legs out of Bucky's grasp, making her way to the door, while Bucky stayed on the floor crying.

"Are you okay?" Steve whispered as she grabbed the doorknob.

"No," she whispered.

"Stay with him, he shouldn't be alone," she told Steve as she opened the front door and exiting out of the house.

The next week and half were the worst week of both Elizabeth and Bucky's lives.

Elizabeth avoided any contact from any of her friends. When asked by her parents what happened, she couldn't bring it to herself to tell them Bucky had cheated on her. She simply said that they both grew apart this summer and decided to break up. They knew something was off about what she said, but decided not to push it and just console her through her first heartbreak.

Bucky stayed locked in his room, Steve dropping by occasionally to make sure his friend wouldn't do anything stupid. Bucky tend to go to his very dark place when he couldn't handle the reality of what was going on, it all started when his dad left for good. Deciding that his family wasn't good enough for him, and starting a new one that was.

When they went back to school, the halls were buzzing the second Bucky and Elizabeth walked in. Both separately of course. Elizabeth, Bucky, Steve, and Natasha had all been in the same homeroom since Freshman year.

When Bucky and Steve walked into their homeroom class, they were surprised to see Elizabeth not in it. Bucky was going to use that opportunity to try and talk to her, but now he would have to hope of running into her in the halls.

Elizabeth had requested a homeroom change when she came to pick up her class schedule and books two days before school started.

Elizabeth avoided Bucky like the plague that first week of school, it was easy. She had decided to take as many AP classes that year that she could. At lunch she ate in the cafeteria, knowing Bucky and Steve preferred to eat outside before the weather got too cold.

She ignored the looks and whispers people would throw her way. She just kept her head high and tried to get through the rest of high school without having a break down in front of her class.

After the first week, Alex Taylor started to annoy her with flirty texts, trying to ask her out. She had turned him down multiple times. She realized Bucky was right about how he had a crush on her. But having a boyfriend was the last thing on Elizabeth's mind. She had just gotten her heart crushed by the person she swore she was going to spend the rest of her life with, there was no way she was willing to find another, at least not while in high school.

Hell she even planned to just avoid boys for the rest of high school. She hadn't even really talked to Steve since that day at Bucky's house.

Steve had told her that he knew nothing about his best friend's infidelity. Elizabeth believed Steve, but she just couldn't handle being around him when all she saw was Bucky. Yes, it wasn't fair to him, because he did absolutely nothing wrong. She just needed the time for herself.

Avoiding Steve wasn't so easy, because by the third week she would have to deal with seeing him in student counsel meetings. They were both in student counsel, have been since freshman year. They both wanted to do their part in making their school a safe place for the students. Elizabeth was also left with the task of holding the first student counsel meeting at her house, as last year's Junior class President.

Steve took it upon himself to show up early, to help her set up, as her VP last year. It was awkward, neither of them have spoken in three weeks.

"Thanks for helping," Elizabeth thanked Steve, as they finished setting up the last few things in the living room.

"Of course," he smiled at her, "It's my job as your Vice President."

"I know, but you didn't have to, especially with the way I've been avoiding you."

"I get it," he sincerely says, "No need to thank me or apologize."

Before she could say anything Steve's phone went off. Elizabeth knew that ringtone, it was the ringtone Steve had set specifically for Bucky.

Steve debated answering the phone.

"Go ahead," she says, "I need to go get the cookies out of the oven anyways."

"Hey Buck, what's up?" he answered, with a tenseness in his voice.

"I know you told me, I shouldn't go over-"

"Don't Bucky. It'll just make things worse."

"What if I go over right now?" he asks, "No one is there yet, right?"

"Bucky, don't," Steve begs, "It'll make things much worse for you. Just give her some time."

"Steve she hasn't spoken to me in three weeks."

"And she hasn't spoken to me in three weeks either Buck," Steve explains, "I know how hard this is for you. But you have to give her more time. Believe me when I even say, it's even awkward between me and her. You showing up uninvited isn't going to help anybody."

"Steve-"

"Bucky, please," Steve cuts him off, "let me get through today and then I'll let you know how she feels by the end of the night."

"Fine," Bucky grumbles.

"I'll head over to your place after I'm done here," Steve says before saying goodbye and hanging up the phone.

"Everything good?" Elizabeth asked, walking out with a tray of cookies.

"Yeah, everything's good," he forced a smile.

The night was going smoothly. Steve noticed Elizabeth letting herself relax more as the night went on.

Steve knew Elizabeth wasn't ready to talk to Bucky yet, but with her now returning to normal with Steve, he's sure he can convince her to talk to Bucky soon. His best friend would just need to be patient and allow Steve to play mediator for the time being.

Steve was really rooting for the two of them, he knew what Bucky did was stupid. But he also knew the love that they had was real, and he wanted to see them work it out. He knows Bucky would never do anything like this again. He also could tell Elizabeth was missing Bucky, and she just needed time to figure things out.

He would do anything in his power to get his two best friends to at least talk to one another. And maybe even by prom, they'll be willing to give it a try. This wasn't how their senior year was supposed to be spent, especially since Steve would be heading to California for college.

Steve had already made his mind up, he would be attending the University of California, Berkley next fall. His plan was to attend Berkley to get his Masters in Architecture. He still hasn't told anyone that he had already applied during their first week of school. His guidance counselor was positive Steve would get in with no issues, and he was sure of it as well. He just didn't know how to tell his best friends that he was going to be leaving them when they had all planned to go to NYU together.

But seeing how Bucky and Elizabeth were no longer together, he isn't so sure that that's going to happen. He had to fix things between them to make sure that they at least still had each other once they graduated high school.

Steve's thoughts of the future were cut off by the doorbell ringing.

Elizabeth and him shared a look of confusion. Everyone who was supposed to be there, was already there. They were even getting ready to wrap the meeting up as it was already going to be 9pm.

Elizabeth got up, with Steve trailing behind her just to be safe.

Elizabeth opened the door to be greeted by the last person she wanted to see.

"What are you doing here?" she sharply said, staring at the blue eyed boy in front of her.

Steve got a closer look to see that his best friend hadn't taken his advice and decided to show up.

"Buck, I told you-"

"I know what you told me," Bucky cut him off, "I just needed to talk to Betty."

"I told you to stop calling me that," she snipped, she was trying everything in her power to control her anger, she was not about to have a blowout in front of their classmates.

"Please, Elizabeth, just let me explain everything," he began, "Please, I miss you."

"You missed me?" she angrily laughed, "Could've fooled me. Unless your way of showing me you missed me was by putting your dick in Natasha all summer long, well then you must've really fucking missed me a lot."

"It was a mistake, Elizabeth. Please," he begged, eyes beginning to tear up, "Just let me explain. I'm ready to explain."

"You're ready? You're ready to explain," she scoffed, "What a fucking joke. You had your chance to explain and you remained silent. So now after almost a month, you want to explain. Fuck that. And fuck you James."

Elizabeth was passed being nice, and keeping her cool at this point. She couldn't believe Bucky. She couldn't believe that after he's already put her through, he would pull this stunt in front of their classmates.

"Betty-"

"Don't Betty me!" she yelled, causing everyone in the room to jump, no one has ever seen Elizabeth so mad.

"I told you to stop calling me that. Don't you ever fucking listen," she ranted throwing her arms in the air, "Don't you ever think of anyone else other than yourself? Wait no, you don't. It's always about Bucky. Bucky gets what Bucky wants.

"Elizabeth please," he cried.

"I'm going to say this once, and only once," she said, her tone getting harder, she stepped closer to Bucky, her eyes dark.

Bucky has never seen her so mad before. He's regretting his decision of coming here, and apologizing. His plan was to let her know that he still loves her and misses her. That Natasha meant nothing. It's always her. It will always be her. He thought if he poured his heart out to her, she would forgive him. That by the end of the night, they would be together again.

He was wrong.

"You ruined us," she began, "You and I will never ever be getting back together. Not over my dead body. You cheated on me. And you think you can come over here and say you miss me and everything will magically be better.

"Well you're dead wrong. You and I are done. Dead. We don't exist as a couple anymore. We will never. You no longer exist in my life. James Barnes will never be a part of my life. You get that? You mean nothing. Nothing to me. James Barnes is just some boy that lives across the street. That's all. As far as I'm concerned, you could be dead and I wouldn't even bother going to your funeral.

"You did this to me. You have made me become this person," she finishes, angry tears streaming down her face, "And you will have to live the rest of your life knowing you have made me become this person. Made me become just like you."

Elizabeth knew she was hurting Bucky. Saying those words were hurting herself, but she was hurt. You say a lot of things you don't mean when you're hurt. Elizabeth wanted Bucky to hurt the way she was.

Bucky stood there, tears pouring out from his eyes. Completely broken. Staring at the face of the person he had sworn to love.

"And you were wrong," she speaks up again, "wishes don't come true when you tell people."

That was the last straw that broke him. His legs began to buckle, Steve rushed to his side to get him before he fell. Elizabeth stood still, ignoring the scene in front of her.

"We're done here," she turns to her silent classmates in the living room, "You can all go home."

Steve turned his head, Bucky still in his arms, to catch Elizabeth walking up the stairs to her room.

He was stunned. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He looked back into his arms, Bucky clutching him crying, as their classmates walked by quietly saying their apologies.

"Steve I-I messed up," Bucky choked out.

"It's okay Buck," Steve shushed him, "Let's get you home."

The last thing Steve was going to do was knock his friend down more than he already is. Bucky is officially at rock bottom, and Steve is going to do everything he can to make sure his friend comes back to the top.

He now knew that their relationship with Elizabeth would never be the same. She was never going to trust him like she used to. And Steve was sadly never going to see her in the way he's always known her.

Senior year wasn't supposed to go this way, it most definitely wasn't supposed to start this way, he thought.

Everyone has to grow up sometime.

Even Peter Pan lost Wendy in the end.

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moonyandsaturn · 3 years

Text

Seven

yet another dorlene oneshot based off of my favorite song on folklore <3 its also on my here on my ao3

“Hello.”

Dorcas turned around from her spot to see who might be talking to her. Summer break was coming to a close shortly and she was determined to spend it away from her disastrous family. Family as in her new baby brother who snagged all the attention.

Dorcas truly didn't understand it. Here she was the first born 11 year old daughter. Smart, bright, and beautiful, now being overthrown by a baby who cried at absurd times like three in the morning. So here she was in the nearby forest taking time to herself.

Her family lived in a small community. Her backyard was surrounded by a rain-rusted fence that was basically falling apart. Behind that was an empty and barren land, the most interesting thing she found there was a rolly polly that she gave the wonderful name of George. If you kept walking a little you would come to a small crowd of trees that ran for maybe 4 miles. It's there where a little creek ran. The last time Dorcas visited, there was a rickety swing tied with old rope to a tree branch. If you swung high enough, Dorcas was sure you could swing right across the creek. She thought about it but left the thought behind seeing how it wasn’t her swing.

“Hello? Are you deaf? That's cool, I’ve never met a deaf person before.”

Dorcas finally turned around to see a girl around her age sitting right on that swing. It must be hers, Dorcas thought.

“I’m not deaf.” She started and then continued with curiosity. “Is that your swing?”

“No. Found it here.” The blonde replied. Dorcas could guess that she was a bit shorter than herself. She had shoulder cut dirty blonde hair but not dirty blonde as in a light brown. It was quite literally dirty. Dorcas had to resist the urge to dust the dirt out of her hair. She wore long jean shorts that looked much too big for her body and an even bigger t-shirt that was in a pretty purple color. Her cheeks were splattered with freckles. Actually, her whole body was covered in freckles. Her face was sort of pinkish, it looked like she had been running but somehow it complemented her dark blue eyes that were overlapped in the middle corner. Dorcas’ eyes didn't do that, hers were simply black as was her braided hair.

“Well, why are you sitting on it if it's not yours?”

“Why not? No one else is here to tell on me.” She held her head high. “Are you gonna tell on me?”

“I don't even know you. How would I do that?” Dorcas responded.

The girl jumped off of the swing and walked over. “That's unfortunate, I’m fun to know.” Closer now, Dorcas could hear her lisp caused by braces. She went on. “I’m Marlene.”

“I’m Dorcas.”

“That's a weird name.” Marlene stated plainly.

“It was my grandmum’s name. And Marlene isn't such a pretty name, you know.”

“You’re not very nice, grandmum.” Marlene pouted.

Dorcas wanted to roll her eyes but knew if her mum was here to see her do that she’d get a spanking so instead she changed the subject. “Aren't you actually gonna swing on that.” She pointed to the swing. “You were just sitting on it.”

“No.” Marlene answered plutantly and then her face perked up. “Are you?”

“No.”

They didn't talk for a minute but for some reason Dorcas didn’t feel the need to leave.

“You should.”

“If you're not swinging on it, why should I?”

“Because I’m scared of falling into the water,” Marlene told her. “Are you scared of falling into the water?”

“No.”

“Then go swing on it!”

“... Fine.”

Marlene smiled as if this was her biggest victory ever.

Dorcs held on to the ropes on either side of her body tightly. She bent her neck forward to see how far the creek was from her. She planted her feet behind the swing and pushed herself forward.

“Go higher!” Marlene cheered.

“Shove off, will you?” Dorcas shouted back.

1 foot high.

The swing fell backwards again and Dorcas caught the ground and pushed off, surely kicking some dirt into Marlene's face. Or maybe not because Dorcas couldn't hear a reaction from her.

2 feet high.

At her highest now she was face to face with the little whole in the tree across the creek. She could feel her braids bounce against her back. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, she could hear the beads at the end of her braids clank together melodiously.

3 feet high.

“Hey!” Dorcas laughed at Marlene’s yelp after getting dirt in her eyes. She went to sit crossed legged next to the swing instead of behind it. Dorcas could feel that she was rising to an altitude that was a little shorter than her own height. She was nearing the edge of the river but wasn't worried about it.

4 feet high.

The sun broke through the leaves of the other trees. Dorcas squeezed her eyes together to block it out. It wasn't all that efficient cause when they were closed she could see the vibrant orange color searing into her eyelids. It was just her and the fading sky now.

5 feet high.

Dorcas could see Marlene resting her cheek and the deep shadows caressing her features and the sun searing its golden sheen onto everything from her dirty hair, the wrinkled purple shirt, and the shorts that were now also covered in dirt from sitting on the bare ground. Dorcas wondered if she looked half as good as she fell back to the ground.

6 feet high.

The cool air was nice but the creek threatened her with its seemingly calm presence. At her peak she was exactly above it. It was shallow with many crooked and jagged rockets on the edges. She could see the sun glittering its surface. The water was so clear that she could see all the little pebbles and coins at the bottom.

7 feet high.

“That's my limit.” Dorcas announced as she was having some trouble stopping the darn swing. It kept going back and forth and she couldnt dig her heels enough to stop it. Marlene jumped up and grabbed one of the ropes to steady and halt it.

Dorcas slowly got up. They didn't say anything to each other at first.

“I probably got to go home.” Marlene said, her head hung as if it was a shameful thing to say.

“That's okay.” Dorcas clearly didn't know what to say. “Where do you live?”

“Clairmont Road.”

“Well, that's much too far!”

“Only a mile or two in that way,” She pointed West.

“I know but it's gonna be dark soon.”

“Yeah but my dads gonna want me home to wash the dishes.” Dorcas could have sworn that Marlene would say he’d want her home for dinner but didn’t dwell on it.

“My mum makes good homemade tomato soup. We got fresh tomatoes in our front yard. Grew them ourselves. You wanna come with me?”

Marlene didn't look at her. “Maybe.”

“Up to you,” Dorcas shrugged, she decided it was about time for her to go home as well and started walking North.

Marlene jogged up to her quickly as if it was a natural reflex. “I’ll walk you there.” She said, “Then I’ll go home.”

“Okay,” Dorcas turned her head and smiled as she got one in return.

It was nine in the evening (the longest her mum has let her stay up) when Marlene left to go back to her home. And that was only after a nice bowl of tomato soup and sweet tea that Dorcas’ dad had gotten at the store that day. Marlene made Dorcas promise not to tell her dad that she stayed with them that evening. Dorcas even went ahead and crossed her heart. Her dad seemed not so great or that's what her mum said when she overheard her talking to her dad about it that next morning.

On September first, Dorcas was loaded onto a train with other 11 year olds to go to her new school. Dad told her that he had saved up for it just for her so she could get the best education out there. Dorcas promised that she’d do her very best. She left crying quietly after a kiss from both parents.

The next summer, Dorcas didn’t meet Marlene again. She was hoping to tell her all the new things she learned at boarding school and how she had turned 12 and according to her teacher that means she's a big kid now. Dorcas wanted to tell her about the weird tube thing she looked through on the school's roof in which she was able to see all the way to the Moon and to Saturn.

Two summers after that Dorcas walked by Clairmont Road on her way to her boarding school friend’s house. She could hear screaming from a large black house. One voice was a gruff one that must have belonged to an adult. She also heard a woman shriek. It gave her goosebumps on her arms. The muffled voice of someone smaller was heard after that. She couldn't tell what they said because of the strong lisp they had. When she heard both the woman and the smaller person scream was when she ran out. She swore that she’d never go past Clairmont Road again. It was clearly haunted.

Her friend from school had an annoying older sister. Though Dorcas couldn't blame her. She’d be annoying if her name was Petunia too. Lily on the other hand offered to help with her summer reading homework. Dorcas also got to meet Lily’s friend, Remus, who was quite nice even though he was quiet. She sort of felt bad for making fun of his name now and constantly calling him Wolf-Wolf.

Right before Christmas break in her fourth year Dorcas had her first kiss. It was quite awkward actually. She had no clue why they were standing in the middle of the hallway while having it at each other's lips. While that wasn’t what she wanted from her (hopefully) first romance, it told her what she needed to know. She clearly liked girls. And not always like a friend. She didn't know whether it was just girls or if it was any gender but she thought that when she finds the perfect person she won't need to worry about any of that.

In her fifth year Remus transferred over and somehow became friends with James’ group. James was the guy that had been pining after Lily since second year. Lily constantly talked about how annoying he is but Mary told her that she caught Lily staring at James while he was at football practice. Mary, Emmaline, Remus, Sirius, Peter, and herself all made a bet about when the two would get together. On the other hand Sirius seemed quite taken with Remus who was completely oblivious. It was hilarious sometimes. Who needs the telly when you have dumbass friends like these, right?

The summer before their seventh year reality hit Dorcas so suddenly. Her childhood would be over so soon. She was going to be 18 in December. Luckily the land, that was now filled with wild weeds, behind her house was a wonderful place to scream at the world. She screamed for her childhood friends. She screamed for her parents who were growing older and her brother who just turned seven years old in July. She screamed for no reason at all because there was a pent up force of want in her that she just couldn't name. Like someone's face that she couldn't recall.

James and Lily were caught in the middle of a fiery snogging session behind the greenhouses after the Christmas break. Dorcas owed Emmaline, Peter, and Mary ten dollars that night. They graduated on the 4th of June of 1978. The picture of them all in their blue gowns fit perfectly in her wallet. Mary insisted on piggy-backing on Dorcas for the picture, Dorcas wasn't so sure Mary would ever grow up. She envied her slightly because of that. Lily was resting her head on James’ shoulder. Peter and Emmaline were making finger guns at the camera with plastic sunglasses on the tips of their noses. Sirius and Remus were sitting in front of them, leaning against each other. Remus finally got the hint (kinda) after Sirius kissed him.

Dorcas smiled at the memory as she walked into her first class at the one university she got into. She took her seat in the back next to a blonde girl with hair cut to her shoulders. She was reading a book called Cheating Your Way Through College For Dummies. Dorcas laughed and the girl looked up and removed her sunglasses that were covering up her freckles.

“You saw this?” Dorcas could see that one of her teeth was missing. She hoped it was because she accidentally hit something and something didn't hit her. She thought it was cute though. Her appearance, not the hitting, of course.

“Um, yeah. Sorry about that.” Dorcas responded.

“Don't be,” she smiled. “This is how I got through high school too.” She held up the book and laughed. “I’m Marlene.” Something gleamed in her dark blue eyes as she said her name.

Dorcas smiled slowly. Perhaps she could recall her face.

“I’m Dorcas.”

#dorlene #fic #dorcas meadowes #marlene mckinnon #dorcas x marlene #marauders era #peter pettigrew #harry potter

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stetervault · 4 years

Note

Hello! Do you do rec lists? Would you be willing rec some Steter fics that aren't the most common/popular ones? If not, no worries!

Technically this isn’t a rec-finding blog lol but I do make rec lists sometimes if someone asks and I have the time and I feel like it. Here are some (I think?) less known Steter fics, oldies that people may have missed or forgotten (Idk how well I succeeded, I just picked a bunch that have significantly less reads/bookmarks than the really big fics):

Fear (Doesn't Mean I Can't Fight) by azerblazer

Peter is the damsel in distress, the Sheriff is the hostage, random unnamed hunters are the bad guys.

Stiles has a bat, a hoodie and a willingness to do anything to protect those he's loyal to.

Bring it on.

A Lean and Hungry Look by kototyph

The woods aren't the only place you find wolves.

You're Mine, Valentine by orphan_account

In which Peter decides to court Stiles, and does so by leaving him hearts.

Bloody ones.

Zodiac by Green

"You know, Taurus and Libra make a good match," Peter says with a sly smile.

Stiles looks away. "Yeah. I looked that up, too."

Surviving Peter and the Zombie Apocalypse by Nopennamesleft

Its the end of the world and Stiles has run out of luck. He saves a werewolf from certain death. Will they begin to rely on each other to survive or will the wolf just eat Stiles for a midnight snack?

He Is A Villain By The Devil's Law by neglectedtuesday

Stiles’ lungs are burning, blood is pumping through his veins and he’s pretty sure that if he stops running then he’ll just keel over into the gutter. But God does he feel alive. The sirens are wailing, loud and clear. Just one more block. One more block. Stiles ducks down an alleyway, the bag full of bank notes swinging behind him. It hits his side with a dull thud. The alley smells like cat pee and yesterdays trash so Stiles breathes shallowly through his mouth. He continues walking down it until he reaches the end. It opens out onto the street. He stops just shy of the exit, waiting. He waits a bit more. Then he kicks a can lying idle on the ground. He whips out his burner phone, punching in a number.

“Where the fuck are you?” Stiles growls, “Where’s my goddamn getaway car?”

“Change of plans Stilinski, you’re gonna have to get away on your own. Also ditch the phone.”

Fascinated by lemonstiles, migratoryslashfan

Stiles pontificates over Peter's naked body.

Night-blooming Flowers by imriebelow

Peter always gets what he wants. Stiles learns to live with it.

None of These Things (Are Happening) by Horribibble

After years away, Stiles returns to Beacon Hills just in time to put Isaac's insides back where they belong.

It's cute how people think he's trustworthy.

Peter can smell the violence inside him, the urge to do something grand and possibly cataclysmic. It’s there—mixed with a balance and natural calm, but in the undercurrent, it’s there. He has seen things beyond the scope of Beacon Hills’ petty horror show. He has learned things.

The Terrible Things We Do (For Love) by rospeaks

Being a demon, he’s seen some of the pretty nasty things that humans are willing to do for love. Things that, were he still alive (and human), would make him hesitate to be in a relationship with anyone lest his partner start getting some funny ideas. That said—

"This seems a little desperate for a kid your age," he says to Stiles.

Spin, Sweet Clotho by ChuckleVoodoos

Oh, it’s a beautiful thing to watch, the way they dance around each other, spun in sugar and glittering glass. Like a fragile little fairytale, a tender rosebud just waiting to unfurl. It makes Peter sick.

Because love is a fairytale, and his dear darling nephew does not deserve a happy ending.

whisper by tricksterity

Stiles was tired.

He was done of people pushing him and his pack around. They’d already lost so much and he was damned if he’d let them lose anyone else, especially to this psychopath who had no reasons for what he did other than he liked it.

And that’s when the whispers in his mind grew louder.

Remember Darling, All the While by Sang_argente

It was fire, ice, electricity. It was the first kiss, the last kiss, and every kiss inbetween. It was lips parting, tongues sliding, hearts beating.

Impress Me by ToAStranger

Their new English teacher has gone missing.

Falling Upward by moonstalker24

There is nothing quite like flying. There is a calm and a peace found in the sky that cannot be found on earth. All the chaos of the world is below you and there is no sound save that which the propeller makes as the engine turns it. You are free and unfettered and the clouds are close enough to touch; all you need do is stretch out your hand to grasp them.

Stiles takes Peter flying after he gets out of Eichen House.

Sweeter Than Gingerbread by taylorpotato (Stetallison)

The saying goes that lovers who commit suicide together start their next life as twins. Perhaps that's why Stiles and Ally feel the way they do about each other.

The Shadow Effect by Mysenia

What was the fun in being a twin if you couldn't trick a person or two?

Deep under by Sashaya

There's a reason Stiles knows so much about drowning. He'd rather not remember why...

All the World's a Stage (but the light design is subpar) by BonesOfBirdWings

Peter Hale is a successful Off-Broadway actor, and Stiles is a stage lighter who literally falls into his life.

Peter smiled at him. "Thank you, Stiles. But should I take this to mean that you don't want a meatball sandwich from Banh Mi Saigon?"

Stiles' mouth dropped open. "You - I - Yes, I want! Oh my god, you do the best apologies! Can you piss me off more, please? I accept all future apologies enthusiastically!"

Peter chuckled. "I'm sure that won't be a problem, dear boy. I've been informed that I'm an asshole by a very reliable source."

Stiles beamed. "But you have good taste in food, so things balance out?" he ventured.

Peter threw back his head and laughed. Stiles' grin brightened in answer.

The D.C. Backroom Deal by septima_sum

Stiles is a regular prostitute with moderate life goals – until his current client makes him an offer he can’t refuse.

Strange Duet by BelleAmante, thiliart (thilia)

The past three years have been a series of shocking, or not so shocking, successes for 2018 Tony award winner and two time Grammy nominee, Stiles Stilinski. You don’t typically find classically trained opera singers singing alternative folk rock to crowds at Coachella. Nor do you find indie singer/songwriters winning best actor awards at the Tony’s for their Broadway debuts. Stilinski has made it his lifetime habit to defy and exceed all expectations.

-or-

A Steter fic loosely based on Phantom of the Opera

Hold Me Down by sneksonaplane

Waking up in Peter Hale’s bed was weird. Waking up in Peter Hale’s body was even weirder. Stiles had been disoriented and confused when he’d found himself in a plush, king sized bed in an unfamiliar bedroom instead of in his own room (and seriously, why did Peter even need a king sized bed? Why would anyone need a bed that big?) It had all come back to him when he’d glimpsed the body he was inhabiting, one that was shorter but more defined than his own, and older, and kind of hot.

The one where Stiles and Peter swap bodies, Peter relives his adolescence, Stiles suffers, and then suffers a little less when he discovers Peter's fetlife profile where he's listed as a submissive seeking a daddy.

It Was A Dark And Stormy Night by Guede

This is a ghost story. It’s not straightforward.

Put My Faith in Something Unknown by Twisted_Mind

He doesn’t know how long he sits there, suspended between thought and action, unable to feel. At some point, he becomes aware that there’s a hand on his face. A warm palm cradles his jaw, and a thumb brushes across his cheekbone tenderly.

The Rest of Our Lives by mia6363

“I don’t know, as a kid I watched a lot of movies, you know? And at first I figured like… I’d be on some great adventure that would take me away from it all, you know? Like Indiana Jones comes around and is all, ‘Hey Stiles, buddy, come with me we’ve got to go save the world.’ Then… you and… everything happened… then I just… I figured I’d die before I was eighteen.”

Enemy Action by pprfaith

Once is chance, twice is coincidence and three times is far too many bodies on the ground.

Buy Me a New Pair by Julibean19

"I don't practice law much these days."

"And why is that?" Stiles asked, wondering why a handsome and presumably successful lawyer wouldn't want to continue working.

"I've been drawn away by more pleasurable pursuits," Peter said, lips quirked upward as he spoke.

Tale as Old as Time by wynnebat

The one in which Lydia's got better things to do than be Belle, Stiles is a much more likeable Gaston, and Peter is a beast but not quite beastly.

The clothes make the man by FeelingsDusk

The trick to sneaking into a building where you shouldn’t be is to make it seem to all eyes like you should. Stiles has been doing this since he was a little older than toddler and he wanted to get back his Batman action figure from the evidence room in his dad’s Police Station.

(Spolier alert: just like back then, Stiles gets caught.)

Smile Like You Mean It by NinaRooxx

After sulking about the changing weather over the autumn, Stiles notices that despite the weather getting colder, Peter’s wardrobe isn’t changing at all.

Swing by ShippersList

Stiles wants to fly.

Angels, Devils, and Peter by Triangulum

Everyone has an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. They give advice, help guide their human through life. They tempt, they listen, they offer help. Everyone has one of each. Everyone except for Stiles.

Stiles and Peter are murder husbands.

love and madness by sinequanon

Peter and Stiles haven’t seen each other in months when the alphas ask them to meet up to look over an abandoned house. Now, they’re going to be seeing a lot of each other for quite a while to come.

Not This Again by RebaK1tten

There's a rumor that the last episode of the show will have Peter getting killed, again. Perhaps to give him a redemption arc or something.

A Light at the (Near) End of the World by ladyoneill

The world he grew up in has ended in a supernatural war that devastated the human population. A survivor, Stiles lives a solitary, quiet life in Wales until there's a knock on his door.

Through Space and Time by MaroonDragon

When Stiles pulls the body of Peter Hale into his ship, he doesn't expect him to be alive. He also doesn't realise he might have gotten more than he bargained for.

His Color by SushiOwl

“Darling, have you been carrying a throw-away comment I made in your mind for almost four months?”

Stiles’s face felt like it was one with fire now.

After You by FlyAwayMeow (rjaejoo)

It’s true that sometimes what you want the most, you can’t have and that you’ll miss what you once had all along when it’s finally gone.

After breaking his engagement to Chris, Peter heads to New York to start over. He meets Stiles, a young author at his publishing house who helps him piece his confidence back together. When tragedy strikes, he discovers how to finally let go of his past and have the family and future he's always wanted with the pieces already in his life.

Looking After You by Slayer_of_Destiny

Can Peter be a chance for Stiles, can Stiles be a second chance for Peter? When Peter offers Stiles a relationship will the younger man take the chance with the werewolf?

Maybe We Both Are by lavenderlotion

The first time Stiles lets his fingers brush against Peter he wasn’t expecting the response he got. They were sitting on Stiles bed researching something. Or, they were researching. Now they were just talking. They did that a lot these days, just talked. They also ate together a lot. Or got coffee.

these words bear my scars (paint your love on my skin) by WindyRein

One day butterflies and childish codes change to I'm sorry you're meant for a murderer and he won't realize for years how much that changed his life.

Before you let go (and the light takes you in) by Issay

Stiles makes one last errand - goes to leave flowers on all the other graves. Fuck, so many graves. The grief is as endless and as inescapable as the sky.

He goes home and there is a thing wearing his father's face, waiting for him in the kitchen.

The Lady of Lightning by kiranightshade

"Those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside"

Can You Use Lube For That? by AlreadyBoss

“You think your what is haunted now?” Surely he'd misheard. There was no way-

“My vibrator,” Stiles answered with alarming sincerity.

Well. He hadn't misheard after all.

Pianist Envy by Bunnywest

Stiles is the piano player.Peter can think of other things he'd like to see those hands do.Shame the guy's straight.

Everything You Deserve by Areiton

You think about it. More than you should, you think about it. About what would have happened, if you had bitten Stiles instead of Scott.

Home by Ragga

Don't be like him, they would say, and then add, or else you get burned.

Unable to bear the whispers any longer, This One left. He forsook those who forsook him, left him bear his scars alone, the scars he bore for his herd. It was better to be alone, stay off the currents, than swim with those most undeserving of his loyalty. So mote it be.

That is, until he met That One.

Lord Peter by Therapeutic_Steter

Peter rung out the rag before gently placing it on his mother’s head, reaching over to feel his father’s equally flushed features.

“Such a good boy,” his mother said, patting his arm with what little strength she had remaining. His father smiled softly at him even as his fell unconscious. Peter pushed back the lump in his throat, smiling shakily for his mother before venturing out into the living space.

knit me together by nezstorm

Peter asks Stiles to stay the night after a really awful day.

Warriors by CinnamonLily

Peter is ten years old when humans discover Azure, a planet not unlike Earth. From there on, he wants to learn everything about their new neighbors and the planet itself. It takes him over twenty years to get to Azure, but when he does, it's so worth it. His anthropologist heart is happy, and a new acquaintance in the form of an Azurian called Stiles might just make the rest of him happy, too.

#teen wolf #steter #rec list #fanfic rec #ask #anonymous

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