fun fact: Them

i'd love to hear all your tma opinions 👀

lmao i don't think you know what you're asking for (i have SO many opinions), but here are the highlights:

honestly season 4 felt like they wanted martin to be the main character of the season but needed jon around picking up marks, so jon's part of the season is just...unfocused? nothing he does really accomplishes anything (other than getting him more marks) for at least the first half of the season

i hate how this season keeps trying to convince me that jon is as bad as (or worse than) daisy? it makes sense for basira's character to argue that, but melanie siding with basira and daisy makes no sense. like, i'm sorry, i'm supposed to think jon taking statements from five (5) people is somehow less excusable than daisy being a cop who commits so much extra-judicial murder because she's sowwy now 😔 (i know this gets walked back in season 5 but it's still bad)

EVERYTHING about how melanie was handled bothers me. everything. she's furious at jon for cutting the bullet out of her leg, but still buddies up with basira. she goes from being passionate but abrasive to, well, talking like she's trying to get an A+ in therapy. her cutting out her eyes was great, but the way it was framed as, like, self-harm that jon encouraged instead of functionally an animal chewing off its leg to escape a trap is...weird. also there's a part where she says she's learning to be more open about things in therapy and like?? i'm sorry, melanie had problems in earlier seasons, but failing to speak up was not one of them

peter's death!!! if he was going to die from resisting jon's compulsion, it should've been before he spilled his entire life story. sorry, but i don't believe "telling elias's plan" is where he would've drawn the line. he basically just died to avoid giving the audience a spoiler 🙄 (tbh i think jon should've killed him on purpose but there were other options that would've made more sense than what happened)

ok all that said, i do actually like a lot of season 4 lmao. peter's one of my favorite characters, and i love how he and martin play off each other. martin's increasing isolation this season is done so well! and the parts with elias in prison are just fun. i do like him being a puppetmaster from jail even if i don't always like the execution. also elias and peter are made for each other.

5 and 7 with scoups and male reader

pairing: choi seungcheol / reader (male)

5 - “wow. you look stunning.”

7 - “i missed you so much.”

prompt game: closed

your heart is beating at an erratic pace as you nervously clutch onto the semi;colon album to your chest. despite being in a crowd of eager fans, the only thing you can hear is your heart thrumming in your ears.

it's only when a girl behind you taps your shoulder that you realize it's your turn to move up. with a nervous heart, you scurry along the other excited fans as they step up the small stage, where the members of seventeen sit. your eyes are particularly drawn to their leader, s.coups, or your boyfriend, seungcheol. you gulp, readjusting the face mask covering your face.

after watching four other people go in front of you (and begrudgingly watch as most of then flirt with your boyfriend), it's now your turn to head up. since the members were all seated by order, the first member you'd meet was seungcheol. it appears that he doesn't recognize you yet, greeting you with a polite smile. at least the bucket hat and the face mask is serving its purpose. "hello there~ is this your first time here?" he asks with a heart-fluttering smile.

you nod. "yep," you answer. the corners of your lips curl upwards as you watch him stare at you with creased brows. tugging the face mask down, you shoot him the smile that he would often pepper kisses at. "i'm really excited to be here."

the look on his face is comedic, eyes bulged in surprise. he looks like he's about to fire off an interrogation until he remembers where and who he is, so he quickly regains his composure. "wow. you look stunning," he praises, making you giggle. "may i ask for your name?"

to anyone else, this would look like a normal interaction between idol and fan, but it's comedic to both of you because you are much more than that. "i'm (name), a pleasure to see you!" you chirp, sliding the album towards him. he stifles laughter, and you mimic the motion. it’s kind of funny, reintroducing yourself when you’re both far past the acquaintance phase.

for the past few weeks, you felt miserable, longing for your boyfriend, who was swamped with busy schedules. through jeonghan and seungkwan, who had managed to convince some staff members to pull some strings, you had landed a spot in their recent fan sign. but to be honest, although you're surrounded by carats who are nothing short of sweet, showering the members with praise, you can't help but feel a rush of jealousy whenever someone speaks of seungcheol as if they're soulmates with him. at least now you can meet him face-to-face instead of through a screen, even if you have to refrain from doing all of the intimate things you're used to doing.

as seungcheol uncaps his sharpie and signs your album, he leans towards you, voice low. "what are you doing here? i mean, i always like seeing you, but this is a surprise," he murmurs.

you shrug, setting your hands on the table. "i just..." you look away, cheeks dusting red. "i missed you so much."

he blinks in surprise at your pout before cooing, squishing your cheeks together. "my cute little (name)," he quietly preens. "you should've told me. i would've dropped all of my schedules for you."

"that's exactly why i didn't tell you. because i know you would do just that," you snort, removing his hands from your cheeks. from your peripheral vision, you can see the girl beside you staring at you with envy. "people are staring," you whisper, eyes flitting towards the girl.

when seungcheol glances at her, she quickly turns away, refocusing on jeonghan, who sends her his fan sign smile. "but you're so cute," he coos, massaging your cheeks. remaining his idol facade, he asks, "so, who's your bias? is it me?" he drops his hands on your face to cup his face like a flower, resulting in a snort. but you remember who you're supposed to act like - a carat who stares at these men with heart eyes, even if they give you second-hand embarrassment - so you mask your snort with loud giggling.

"good guess! but my bias is actually joshua over there," you correct, jabbing a thumb at said boy. at the sound of his name, joshua turns away from the fan before him and smiles. when he sees you, his eyes widen, looking between you and seungcheol. you're reminded that only jeonghan and seungkwan are aware of your presence. "you're my bias wrecker though!"

he looks utterly betrayed, holding a hand to his heart. "i'm wounded. i'm in second place to him?" he whines, pointing an accusing finger towards his member. this time, joshua shoots seungcheol a look of confusion.

"bros before hoes~" you whisper, but it's loud enough for him to hear.

"i can't believe this. you can't say you missed me and then pull this kind of move!" he whisper shouts, pouting.

"but i'm just another one of your fans," you innocently reply, taking back your album. "aren't carats supposed to like all of the members?"

from seungcheol's exasperated groan and your smirk, you can tell that although your time together will be short, it'll be one that neither of you will forget.

WC: 1549

Rated: M to be on the safe side

Tags: domestic, mildly sexual themes but no smut, references to sex, alcohol consumption, mild/moderate intoxication, bad (very good) music, is this a strip tease??

A/N: “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” by Rod Stewart is both the best and worst song ever written. I don’t make the rules. I also don’t know how this got so long?

💿

When Niki unlocks the door to your flat he isn't expecting to hear the obnoxiously loud giggles from the other side. You had given him a key to your place shortly after you got engaged. Neither of you had any qualms about moving in with each other before the actual wedding, but you didn't want to give your parents a heart attack. Even so, half your belongings were at his place already.

Opening your front door he sees you and Elena on the couch, whispering and tittering with each other. It takes you a second to notice him standing in the doorway. "Niki! You're home early!"

"Actually," Niki checks his watch, "I'm more than an hour late." He'd had business in the city, so you both planned for him to come by afterwards. That being said, it was going on quarter past 9.

"Oh! Didn't even notice." Both you and Elena snort in laughter, hands flying up to cover your grins. Your exceedingly chipper attitude and flushed cheeks confuse him before he spots the empty wine bottle on the table next to you. Ah - one of those nights. "We were just talking about you!"

"All good things I hope," he says as he takes off his shoes and hangs his coat.

Elena leans in to whisper something conspiratorially to you. Niki is unable to make out what she's said. Based on the reaction and the snickers you give he figures it is something overtly sexual in nature.

She hops up from the couch. "I'd better get going, my sister should be here by now anyway." She leans in to give you a wet kiss on the cheek. On her way to the door she pulls Niki in for a fairly one-sided hug. "Have fun you crazy kids! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" She tossed over her shoulder, shutting the door.

Niki rifled through the fridge, finding himself ingredients to make a sandwich. "So," he began. "How many glasses have you had?"

"Whyyy do you wanna know?" you drawled out, eyes squinting. The back of the couch makes a good place to rest your chin as you watch him move around the kitchen.

"Because. I want to know how in for it I am tonight." His tone is light, joking even as he looks up at you across the room.

You shrug dramatically. "Just three… or four, maybe."

"Ah," he nods to himself and picks up his sandwich.

It wasn't often you drank this much, but when you did it was always an interesting time. You had only gotten drunk a handful of times since he'd known you, that is, if you could even call it that; you were definitely cognizant of what you were doing. If anything you were just looser than usual thanks to the help of the liquor. Any other person would likely be blitzed after four glasses; you’d told him it was something about being part Scottish that helped you hold your own. Normally Niki couldn't stand when people drank too much. There was something endearing about you though when you got like this. He should've been beyond annoyed, but instead he always found it rather funny.

"And what did you and Elena talk about before I got home?" Home. He liked the sound of being home with you.

"I may have let slip about a certain...ah… incident with the Ferrari…" you finish with a large swallow of wine.

You had an incident with the Ferrari? Niki doesn't remember you being around the car without him. His brow furrows. "What incident?"

"You know…" you wiggle your hands back and forth, gesturing between you. A hiccup punctuates the brief silence.

His concern grows at your lack of answer. "If I knew I wouldn't be asking, liebe."

You let out an overdramatic huff. "Niki!” his name drawn out like a whiny child, “Christ I told her about the sex!"

His eyebrows met his hairline. That incident. He wasn't exactly happy with Elena being privy to that aspect of his life but he figures it could be a lot worse. "Which time..?" he mutters offhandedly to himself.

You jump up, nearly tripping on a fallen blanket and almost sloshing your wine on to the carpet. Catching him next to the couch you push your finger to his uneven lips. "It's alrigh’ though it's our little secret, shhh." You even attempted to wink at him.

Niki grunts in lieu of a chuckle. It's going to be one of those nights.

“Oh! I almos’ forgot!” You spin on your heel and head to your record player. "Look what I bought!" You hold up a new album - a mix of recent top hits. Niki busies himself getting comfortable on the couch while you place the record on the player, cranking the volume.

He finishes his dinner while you groove to the music, wine glass dangling from your fingertips. Your singing is decent, despite the wine in your system. Niki is content to let you have your fun, he even recognized some of the songs from the radio station you played in the car. You are a terrible dancer though, he laughs to himself. He supposes he can’t dance much better himself, really.

A new song began; its funky bass line and smooth rhythm exciting. You threw back your head and released a throaty chuckle. Swaying your hips side to side, you saunter over to Niki. He watches as you shimmy your shoulders to the beat; pointing your finger at him as you move. When the chorus begins you sing along in a sultry voice, hands raised to the ceiling, wiggling your hips towards the floor. You give your best attempt at bedroom eyes as you sing and dance for him.

"If you want my body and you think I'm sexy

Come on, sugar, tell me so.”

Niki chews his bottom lip in amusement as you dance. Seeing your glass almost slip from your loose grip, he leans out and plucks it from your fingers. You hardly notice the absence, continuing your performance.

“If you really need me, just reach out and touch me

Come on, honey, tell me so."

Looking at your fiance over your shoulder, you begin to unbutton your shirt, sliding the open collar over your arms to hang on your elbows. The tops of your breasts exposed, you shake your ass to the music in his direction.

Niki rubs his thumb across his mouth to quell his smirk. “What are you doing, schatz?” It took him a few more seconds to break his eyes away from your uncovered skin as he asked.

You hum, “what’s it look like I’m doin’?”

“Like you’re trying to seduce me or some bullshit.” He can’t hide the amusement in his tone.

“Is it workin’?” You don’t stop moving.

Niki will admit you are oddly sexy right now, even with your horrible dancing and overexaggerated singing. Your breasts are nearly falling out of your brassier as you dance and there is a flush to your skin that reminds him of when you make love. But he just cannot get past how utterly ridiculous you look - and what the hell is this song?

"If you want my body and you think I'm sexy

Come on, honey, tell me so.

If you really need me, just reach out and touch me

Come on, sugar, tell me so.”

You pull the sleeves from your arms and toss the garment at him with a waggle of your brows. “Do you Niki? Do you think I’m sexy?”

“Of course.” He licks his lips, deciding to play along with your little game. His resolve not to laugh would soon crack.

“Alright then.” You slide your hands up the skin of your torso. Your legs do little kicks as you walk to the beat, gyrating your pelvis in a circle.

Niki can tell you are getting tired by how your movements slow towards the end of the song. Here comes the crash.

With the last notes of the song you fall into his lap, his arms bracing your descent. You sigh, your breathing labored from the dancing and alcohol. A low hum vibrates in your throat as you make yourself comfortable draped over him. His fingers leave indents where they hold around the bare skin of your waist. “Was it good?” You trail your fingers up his chest and look up at him from under your lashes.

“What, liebe?”

“Are you sedued… se.. seduced?” you correct.

Niki nods to appease you and your efforts. “Hmm, very much.”

You nuzzle into his neck, his cologne and the scent of motor oil making your head spin. “Good… think I need you…”

Softly, Niki says “and I think you need to go to bed.” You nod as enthusiastically as you can manage in your current state, understanding him as wanting to take you to bed. He lifts you in his arms bridal style, walking you to the bedroom.

Placing you in bed and pulling the covers to your chin, you don’t have the energy to protest when he doesn't join you. When Niki returns from the bathroom in his own sleepwear not two minutes later you are already snoring. He lets out a gentle chuckle before joining you in bed to sleep.

Tag list: @ay0nha @apparrio @livvyshmiv @fictionlandslanddreams @vinylrosess @typical-bistander @ntlmundy @mymagicsuitcase @anteroom-of-death @somethingthatsaysbubbles @lieutenantn @multiversemarielle @trashbin2 @whatawildone @metalbreakfast @laura-naruto-fan1998 @greeneyedblondie44 @godidontevenknowwhat @marchingicenotes7

Fishie-Nets???

Summarry// Harry's looking so beautiful in fishnets that reader couldn't help but to clench their legs together. She begs like a good girl for her Daddy.

Warning: Heavily smutty, Daddy kink, fluff too.

Cope with me. It's my first time writing a smut here at tumblr hope ya'll like it.

You're at the studio where Beauty Papers photoshoot's taking place. Even though you're ambivert not going to places you don't feel comfortable with mostly they're the ones where people are just too intimidating but you still went to this photoshoot with Harry because he just wants you beside him, your reassurances and little of pat to his anxiety for this particular day because he's doing something to portray his diversity, his range and the fine line he has beautifully drawn in his persona.

When they did his makeup for the issues video and the artists left you two alone in room, you coiled your arms around his neck pulling back to admire him properly.

With a nude lipstick he's looking so damn kissable and fuckable apparently but you don't want to ruin it. He's giddish and a bit skittish under your lustful gaze pawing at your hips, "my man's looking so fucking handsome." You breathily fawned kissing the corners of his lips and he sighs lovingly getting more closer to you.

"I do?" You nod quickly, "don't you believe me?" Your whisper makes his heart race quicken and taking his hand you slip it in your denims getting through the hem of your panties taking his slender digits in between of your pussy folds moaning when he pinched your clit warning you, "don't fuckin' tease me." He warns you but it wavered when you tried to ride his fingers.

There was a knock on the door calling for Harry and his eyes widens when you still didn't stopped your dirty motions, "m'gonna touch myself behind you daddy." You mewled but he grunts viciously instead grabbing you by your neck, hot breath hitting your lips.

He knows that you're teasing him on purpose he's already painfully rock hard in his navy blue trousers but you're such a fuckin' tease you don't care and it's getting on his nerves because fuck he just wanted to bend you the right moment when the affectionate praises for him came from your mouth like a song of dove.

"Shut up. Stay ready fo' the punishment if that's the case." He groans when there was another knock and he was about to take his fingers out of you but you squeezed so hard it felt impossible.

So, he had only one tactic to pesk you off smacked your ass so hard that you didn't hold back from squealing loud.

You grin when he stepped back ready to go outside and you mouthed him blowing kisses to him, "best of luck, baby." To which he sucks his middle and ring finger sexily throwing a peace sign out to you.

You stood in the corner while he was getting photographed. You're in awe. he's so him at the moment, yet all of his personalities came on clashing to his one persona that he's right now.

Another shot and they were mobing him inside his cabin, "you did so well, fuckin' proud of you." You chirped bouncing at your feet hugging him and never letting him go, he's feeling so blessed he wants to cry.

You're his everything. His mental and physical supporter. His late night deep talk mate. His own personal enchantress and most importantly the love of his life.

"Wha' did I do to deserve ya'?" He kisses your lips smudging his lipstick all over marking you like you sometimes do to him, oh how the tables have turned.

"Fucks me so well need another reason?" You spat playfully and he glides his palms under the back pockets of your denims cupping your arse, "couldn't disagree on this." His lips wraps around your bottom one's sucking hard and you moaned out grinding your pelvis against his.

Now it's his turn to push your buttons so he unlatches from you undressing infront of you, "Harry..." you whined stomping your feet.

"Seriously moppet? You're actin' like disobedient filthy girl when daddy's so busy." You huff only turning your head to side and your sight falls to the fishnets in which he has a shot next.

Grabbing them you squat down in between his naked legs, "can I, daddy? You ask innocently and he takes your chin pecking your lips.

"Go on baby." He slouches further into his seat when you take his ankle putting it at your thigh to slip fishnets over his legs.

His head lulls at his shoulders when you feather litte moist kisses from down his ankles to the inside of his fishnet covered thighs, "mhm. Pretty baby of mine takes care of daddy so much." He maneuvers his fingers in your loose hair when you ducked down taking his covered bulge in your mouth soaking it with your saliva.

You're in his lap now grinding your centres with lustful flexible motions of your whole body, kissing down from his exposed throat to your loving butterfly on his tummy hooking your thumb in his belly button and whimpering in his mouth, "Harry baby you're looking so pretty I wanna fuck you, make love to you and just want you to cum inside me." He gulps at your words straight outta your heart and he has an idea of what you indicating to 'fuck him' means.

You don't give a fuck if you're calling him daddy or not. He's your Harry and just yours. He's so manly and vulnerable under you that everything including your love for him and the sexual tension turned your eyes glassy.

"I love you fuckin' much. ye' know that?" He whispers just for you to hear and you bob your head smauching a kiss to his temple, "I know, will always."

Bright flashes of camera. Gentle commands to Harry and he gives a shy smile to photographer at the fact his dick that was tortured to an extent was swelling through the underwear and you stifled your laugh when the photographer asked him to sling his one leg over another.

His thick thighs stretching juicely, tiger tattoo silked under fishnets and his shiny loafers made you clench your legs together. What the fuck you cursed under your breath maybe you should've never came by.

When Harry stepped back inside the room locking the door behind because the dick in his pants already told him he needs to. He was surprised when he found you at your knees under him your fingers latching to his fishnets.

He has never seen you being this needy or horny, "please daddy. please, please!" You begged nicely voice getting squeaky at end and Harry holds you from shoulders making you stand.

"Wha' got my pet in s'frenzy, hmm? Being a good girl n' all tha'." He rubs your belly and then in between your breasts as if he's scratching a kitten and you pur like one.

You slid down taking the hem of his fishnets in between your teeth yanking them down till his knees and he gasps eroticaly because he has never seen a sight this stimulating, "go on lovie suck daddy." He pets your hair and you murmur a 'pretty.' again when his cock that is yours for now springed free

The thick veins tracing down till his base, it's crown shading coral like his lips and it's weeping with his pre-come to gopt licked by you.

You lap at his arousal and he abruptly leans against the vanity counter gripping the edges. You gesture him to zip his mouth and he nods bitting down his lip.

Humming you swirled your tongue around his cock bobbing your head at slow pace while massaging his balls and nudging it with the tip of your nose.

A shout got strangled in his lungs when you took him deep into your throat trying to stay relaxed as he taught you so because you love giving Harry blowies and he's quite big so you had to test tour waters first but now you're a pro at making him cum by just deep throating him.

You glance at the wrecked Harry above you sheened into pure sweat that a moan rumbled from inside you vibrating around his cock and He bent forward at your unintentional action.

"That's it, can't take this longe'." He grits out yanking you to your feet and you bat your lashes to get rid of moisture, "don't wanna cum in my mouth daddy?"

"Your cunt's where I'll come." He rasps taking your bottoms down collecting your arousal onto his digits, "dirty girl. Daddy hasn't even touched ye' and you're drippin' down ye' thighs." You hiss coyly at his words holding his shoulder.

"Just for you." He slaps your ass groping it after to massage the sting and when you moan loudly forgetting everyone's most probably listening to you Harry lands another spank to shut you up.

"Open your mouth and you wouldn't be able to walk outta this room." You gulp bobbing your head obediently and harry slams you against the vanity, your back against his sweaty naked torso and his thickness laying heavy between your asscheeks.

"Rough. Daddy." You inform him how you want to be fucked and he grins turning your head to kiss sloppily.

"Wan' me to rough ye' up?" He groans lowly rubbing his cock in between your ass cheeks and you squeak out a 'yes' resting your forehead against the mirror, "will fuck ye' s'rough you'll forget your name." He snaps his hips, hand gliding in between your legs dipping his three fingers inside you to assure that you're sloppy enough to thrust his cock inside you without warning you and when he was assured he did it.

Slammed his hips so hard that your breath hitched in your throat, you threw your head back under his chin and pecking your lips he completely pulled outside to again plunge his cock thise time deeper that you could feel him in your tummy.

"Hmm. such a tight hole takin' me so good." He hums gruffly grinding your hips in circles as you milked and nursed his cock with your thick arousal, "always so fuckin' needy and grabby fo' daddy's cock." He digs his fingers in your hip-bones fucking thrusting inside you and no noise came from inside you except of moans you're caging inside your lungs.

It's burning so rapidly in your stomach and you're so close to coming that Harry wouldn't be pleased, "I-I'm.." Harry's ears perk up at this and he circles your clit harshly yanking you against his chest from your bended position.

"No the fuck you're not." He takes your jaw making you look at him and you whimpered teary eyes but he tsked smacking your cunt and you avoided to cry out loud by biting at his wrist that was protecting you from falling.

"Think you deserve to come this quick after being the sickest tease that daddy had to hide his bulge, huh? Such a shame ye' don't know how to act when daddy's even a little bit of naked." He rocks into you with more force your thighs slapping and he grabs your tits from under your sweater squeezing them ever so hard, "no. daddy m'good." You hate not being called good. She's her's Harry's good baby but he's being mean which she's loving and with the pleasure about to take over you in a bringe made you clamped around his cock hard.

"Cum on my cock then." He murmurs kissing the side of your neck and you gasp a sigh of relief coiling your elbow around his neck moving your hips along him. He moans out in your ear when your cum coated around him in thick gooeness but you didn't stop fucking him clenching around him.

"Fuck me some more." He gropes your hips at your words slamming himself up inside you. Head falling in the crook of your neck lips pressed at your shoulder, "my baby. fuck mine." He twitched inside you now blabbering incoherently in whispers while you fucked him with closed eyes.

"M'bout to come." He grits nibbling at your skin he's about to drop both of you on the vanity but you managed to stay put one hand toying with your clit another with his heavy balls.

"Look at me when you come." He ordered you thrusting faster and harder. Your eyes meeting his in the mirror and a single devastated look from him made you clamp around him in a snug grip, "oh-fuck." He twitched for the second time and your fingers softly brushed his jaw to attach your lips.

He moaned into your mouth when he cummed inside you in the form of ribbons of his endless thick liquid but you still didn't stopped fucking him to edge to which he muttered, "fuckin' insatiable." With broken whimpers and cries you came on his cock. He held you tighter when your knees gave in.

With a low groan he pulled out turning you to face him, "hmm. My baby's good? Didn't hurted ye'?" He cups your cheeks showering you in your kisses and you pout trying to calm down.

"feelin' empty." He grins at your complain while buttoning your denims pecking your hair, "will warm ye' up and fill you till your tummy once we reach home."

.

Darling, Just Be Mine | Jamil x Reader

Chapter 2 + 4 spoilers

Warnings: yandere, force, possessiveness, snakes

—

"Now, now, Prefect." Jamil tutted. "No need to scowl."

He traced a finger up from your neck to the tip of your chin. When he felt you squirm against the odd texture of the ink, he grabbed you by the jaw and forcefully pulled your face closer to his. The sudden action made you lose balance, falling to your knees in front of Jamil. Though he kept a hold of your jaw, your face now rested between his knees, forced to look up at his triumphant grin.

His grip loosened on your jaw and he begun to rub circles into your cheek. After a long silence, he tapped your should so you fell backwards on to your butt, hands bound so you were unable to soften the fall. You watched him eye you up and down, admiring the red silk garments he'd had the other dorms members force you into. His eyes locked on to yours, letting out a chuckle when he registered the look you were giving him.

Picking up the dorm leader's staff, Jamil flicked the head of it over his shoulder. As he'd attached the chains of your golden cuffs to it, what he now considered a minor use of strength caused you to be yanked on to his lap, bumping against his chest. Before you had a chance to pull back, he placed his free hand on the small of your back. The snakes that were formerly his hair wound themselves around your legs and arms. The one that didn't tangle itself around you flittered its tongue against your ear.

"I was right," Jamil whispered, looking down at your clothes again. "Red does suit you better than that pathetic green Kalim gave you."

"My eyes are up here." You snap.

Jamil smirks, bringing his eyes up. "Like I said, no need to scowl. Surely you prefer being in the arms of the most powerful man in Night Raven instead of that waste of space Kalim's?"

Your glare intensified. "At least Kalim's better a- mmph!"

Your words were cut off by Jamil slamming your lips into his. As you attempted to pull away, Jamil pulled at your hair, making you yelp in surprise. The noise made Jamil smirk, pushing you closer to him as his chuckles vibrate across your lips. When he finally let you pull away, you found it hard to move your mouth, lips tingling with the fresh memory of the harsh kiss.

Jamil pushes your head down, forcing you to nuzzle into the nape of his neck. "I don't want to hear that fake sultan's name again, understand?"

While you knew he said it with a smile, you also knew it wasn't a question. The snakes wriggling unhappily on your limbs were enough proof.

"...Yes, Jamil." You reluctantly said.

"I'm sorry?"

You took a deep breath and spoke louder. "Yes, my Sultan."

The hand in your hair relaxed. "Good Prefect. Though I suppose you won't be needing that title any longer... how does my little charmer sound instead?"

You felt him pull at a piece of your hair, twirling it around his index and middle finger before giving it a light tug. Seeing it as an order to look up, you took a deep breath before meeting Jamil's eyes, trying to look as submissive as you could. Maybe if you acted like the perfect pet, listening and following his commands, you'd be able to buy yourself enough time for Kalim and the Octavinelle trio to come back, or maybe for Grim to bust out his cage and contact the headmaster... then again, option A seemed much more likely.

Jamil, unaware of your train of thought, was just soaking in your presence. Ah... how he'd waited. While he hadn't taken much notice of you at the entrance ceremony, his interest in you had grown when you were investigating the accidents before the Magift tournament. He'd recognised the sense of duty in your eyes - not a willing one, but one where you'd been instructed and made to act. Just like he had to with Kalim.

Yet you'd still looked at him with empathy. He'd seen the way your eyes had glanced at his cut and noticed the sorrow - not pity, but genuine sadness and regret. Heard the way your voice had softened when speaking to him. You were being forced, yet you'd seen him as his own person. Not some hand or means to an end.

So when he found out you were staying at the school for the winter holidays, he was... well, happy to put it lightly. Not only were you potentially a massive step forward in his plan, but he would be able to just get to know you. See if that empathy continued, if you really saw him as an equal - you listened to him about the dorm's issues (even if they fake), smiled at him in reassurance to encourage him. The time he spent with you felt like he'd wandered into his own Cave of Wonders, happily cherishing every second of it no matter how limited.

Limited because of Kalim. That fake sultan always had to ruin everything. Whenever Jamil has free time outside his plan to be with you, Kalim would be there, practically sitting on your lap as he offered you food or something else he owned. That wasn't the worst of it thought - the worst part is that you humoured him. Gave him that priceless smile, letting him hear your laugh that was sweeter than anything Jamil had ever tasted. And that magic carpet ride! Jamil knew he should've convinced Kalim to leave that blasted thing at home. How close had you gotten? As close as Jamil was to you now? Even closer?

Jamil released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. That didn't matter now, Jamil told himself. Now, that spoilt brat was at the end of the world, far away from you, you who was currently sitting in his lap and giving him the cutest look of obedience. Oh, how he wished he’d overblotted sooner. If he had known about the amount of power he now possessed, he would’ve gladly pushed himself past his limit if only to have you in his arms quicker. Still, he had you now, and that adorable look you had and your smile were all his.

Still blissfully unaware of your thoughts, he cupped your cheek. Cautiously, you leaned into his touch, shivering at the feeling of the ink.

Softer this time, Jamil pulled you in for a second kiss. As much as you wished it wasn’t, you had to admit this one was not just better, but actually a good kiss, period. Jamil had managed to tilt his head just right so the kiss felt completely natural and breathtakingly perfect. You felt the emotion he was pushing into the kiss - the adoration, the relief, the possessiveness, all the repressed emotions you'd sensed in him, what had drawn you to him, bursting forth in this one kiss. And you didn't mind it. You didn't know if you should be ashamed as leaning into the kiss and wrapping your arms around his neck seemed easier than it should have been.

You didn't know how long you kissed him for. Pulling away left you feeling light-headed and craving more. Was this an effect of the overblot?

Jamil, meanwhile, couldn't have been happier. "You learn fast, my little charmer. Where'd all that fight from earlier go?"

You improvised. "I was just... shocked. Scared. I was worried you wouldn't..."

You didn't know how to finish your sentence. Judging by Jamil's chuckle, however, it seemed it didn't matter.

"Don't be." He reassured you, turning you sideways on his lap to hold you better. "Now that you're with me, you won't have to be scared of anything ever again. No one will stop us from getting what we want. I'll make sure of it."

You leaned against his chest. Even with the cold metal pressing against the side of your face, even with the odd feeling of ink from the arms enveloping you, you had to admit it was... nice. The previously threatening snakes had retreated from your limbs, now decorating your shoulders, neck and jawline, tongues ghosting your skin in what you now realised were kisses. The realisation brought a new shade of red to your cheeks. Jamil chuckled at the sight, placing a quick kiss on your forehead as a way to calm you down, though it did the opposite.

Kalim and the others needed to hurry, you thought. If they took any longer, you might not want to be rescued.

Sobering Truth

Chapter 10 of Ricochet (An Open Heart AU)

Catch up here: Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis: After the fallout of Rafael and Heather, what could this mean to Bryce and the recovering doctor? 

Pairing: Rafael Aveiro x MC (Dr. Heather Song) | Bryce Lahela x MC (Dr. Heather Song)

Words: 2.1k+ | Genre: Crime, Suspense/Thriller, Romance

Rating/Warnings: Mature (16+) / hints of past violent experience and sex

Author's Notes: Almost is Never Enough by Ariana Grande and Nathan Skyes was the perfect song for this chapter, the lyrics are very fitting. Also, watch out for a cameo from a PM character ��

Thank you so much for taking time to read this series. Please let me know if you want me to include/remove you in the tags list. Also, disclaimer: Majority of the characters are owned by Pixelberry, except the main character Heather Song and an OC Jordan Anderson.

Bryce found himself hunched alone in a bar stool downtown Boston. He swirled the brown liquid in his glass, brows furrowed in remembering the scene in the hospital room. 

His face contorted with the pain piercing through his chest, the possibility of losing Heather once again sinking like a sword. He racked his mind for an option, but it seems all is lost in that battle.

He thought back to their last outing together, and he was so certain that something was there. So why did she choose to stay with someone else instead of being with him?

His lips formed a thin line, his hand rubbing over his face in frustration. The emotions within turbulent and unnerving. Was he just too much of a fool when he thought he had a shot with her? 

This is exactly why Bryce Lahela didn't want to commit. It was far more easier for him to seek momentary connections rather than build permanent ones. He didn't want to relive the rejections-filled past from his adolescence, at the time of his parents' criminal convictions. 

Yet here he was again, suffering the same consequences of wanting something permanent in his life. Something that could bring him happiness. Something better than him being alone in the middle of a crowd of drunken patrons. 

He should've stayed in his own lane of hook-ups and one night stands instead of chasing for this relationship. 

So the first thing he did when he realized that that door is closing, was to go back to his old stomping grounds. 

But why can't he will himself to look around? 

As if on queue, an olive-skinned woman slid herself beside him, her sudden presence invading his thoughts. With a half-smirk and green catty eyes, the coils of dark hair loosely wrapping her head. The mere sight of her was mesmerizing. 

"I know you," she said, almost in a purr. 

Bryce looked back at her, and a long-forgotten heat warmed him up. And it wasn't because of the alcohol in his system.

"I guess my reputation is my charm," he replied, leaning forward. He loosened his tie whilst sipping from his glass. 

"Oh I know all about your reputation," her voice made him shiver, her fingers ever slowly trailing a path towards his arm. "You're the one with magic hands," she whispered, her brows dancing as she spoke. 

This commanding woman was pushing his buttons in all the right places, her sparkly black cocktail dress that clung on her body tightly wasn't making him feel suddenly parched. 

Her hand continued to venture up his arm, and eventually the side of his neck. As it followed the line of his jaw, Bryce couldn't help but lean closer. 

Nothing was stopping him at the moment. 

Miles away from being sober, his lips blew a short burst of air into the woman's bare neck, after which he got the chance to breathe in a whiff of her perfume. 

The jasmine scent was all too familiar. It conjured the image of the woman who Bryce fled away from tonight. 

Heather. 

Snapping out of the trance, he took a step back. Gone was the sexual tension that floated in the air mere seconds ago. Bryce only shook his head to the woman and paid his tab, before almost sprinting out into the cold rain that continued to flood the concrete pavement. 

He let the drops of water wash all over him until he was soaked. With it, the inevitable tears began to fall, which he didn't hold back. He also didn't mind how it easily reduced the numbing effect of the bottle of Jack Daniels that he just consumed. 

Like a thief in the night, the woman of his dreams snatched what was left of Bryce's vulnerable heart. He knew, deep down, that it would take a long time before he can get it back. 

*** 

"Breaking news. Declan Nash and Jordan Anderson pleads guilty as co-conspirators of the kidnapping of Senator Ed Farrugia and Edenbrook doctor Heather Song."

"This is following an intensive investigation by the joint special task force created as the public clamored to protect Massachusetts famed senator. 

"We are joined today by one of the victims, Senator Ed Farrugia, after he gave his testimony today at the Boston courthouse."

The video flicked from a female news anchor to the steps of the city's courthouse, where the politician was joined by Chief DA Tanaka. Heather's hazel eyes however wasn't on the prominent people in the screen, but instead drawn to the tall figure standing beside the older man, his intimidating stature made more pronounced by the sharp gray suit that contoured just enough to please.

Bryce. 

Saying his name, even in her mind, made her involuntarily shudder with regret, aware that between them was an undeniable attraction that she just couldn't shake off. Ever since her kidnapping, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about what could've been. Was it just too late for them? Will it only remain a connection that can never be explored? Will it ever be something more? She knew, deep down, if she could change the world overnight, she wanted to try. If there was anything she could learn from her almost dying, it was the sobering truth that life was too short to be restrained by inaction.

But she hadn't been able to speak to him for a while now. He didn't answer his phone nor returned any of her texts or messages. She hoped to get the chance when she was scheduled for her recorded testimony. To her dismay, another ADA visited her and took her witness account. 

She thought he was just busy with the case, but she sensed that he was avoiding her altogether. Her free time provided her so many hours to rack her brain for the reason why. To this day, that question was left unanswered. 

Danny raised his gaze to Heather, as he felt her pulse beat faster than normal. He turned to the TV monitor in the hospital room, stifling a chuckle as he found the reason behind her palpitations.

"Let's try to do this again," Danny said, making Heather's attention swivel to him. 

"Why? Something wrong?" she asked, obviously confused. 

This time, Danny snickered, grabbing the remote from her and switched the channel. The gesture was enough to make her fluster as it dawned on her what the nurse was insinuating. 

"I can't put your last BPM on your chart, Heather. We dont want Dr. Ramsey to not sign off on your discharge papers today. Two weeks of him pestering us is enough torture to last a lifetime," he scoffed jokingly, referencing how the senior attending relentlessly chased the hospital staff to put her case on priority. 

She curtly nodded, her mentor's crass actions embarrassing her further. 

"Thanks, Danny." she sheepishly smiled, hoping the two words were enough to express her appreciation of how the hospital helped her get back on her feet during the roughest period of her life yet. 

Danny returned her gesture, before getting back to taking her pulse. Satisfied, he recorded it to the clipboard in his hand, as her friends thundered into the room. 

Sienna, Elijah, Jackie and Aurora all stepped inside, each carrying an assortment of food items. They moved their Sunday brunch to that day in celebration of Heather's discharge. The welcome noise warmed her heart, their usual banter flowing like music to her ears. 

The thundering of her deep-seated emotions momentarily toned down, as she enjoyed the company of the small family she found in Edenbrook. 

Outside, the weather was warm with no clouds threatening to dampen the surroundings. 

It was going to be a good day. 

*** 

As the last of the questions were addressed and the cameras were turned away, Bryce sighed in relief. 

With the news crews dispersed, Chief Tanaka left to head back to the DA's office, leaving him as second chair to wrap up all the remaining paperwork. He strutted into the courthouse, the ADA facade well in effect. 

It was an understatement to say that the past few weeks were hectic. 

Interviewing Declan Nash and Jordan Anderson was like being pulled into opposite poles. Their personalities were so polarizingly different that Bryce suspected that there was a more to the case than what appears. 

So he advised the special task force to dig into that angle. The FBI's investigation is still ongoing, and he is betting against it finishing soon. 

Today was a day of accomplishments, and Bryce's mood was better than it was ever since that night. Or so he thought. 

As his mind shifted back into the present, he caught the unwelcome sight of Agent Rafael Aveiro conversing with someone in the hallways. He managed to hear a glimpse of the conversation as they got into earshot. 

"You're background would be invaluable to us, Agent Rafael," the strange man in the tweed-colored jacket said. 

"This is such a timely offer that I couldn't refuse. I'll let you know as soon as I wrap up my last case." Bryce heard Raf say. 

"Of course. But please don't keep us in the Interpol on our toes, Agent." 

"Of course, Agent Nazario." 

Taken aback, he stopped, trying to understand what had just transpired. Why was Rafael taking a job with the interpol? 

Once Bryce saw that the special investigator was alone, he approached him, words blazing. 

"Interpol? Seriously, Raf, this soon?" 

Raf turned to face him, surprised at Bryce's sudden interjection. 

"I don't see the need to explain myself to you, ADA Lahela." He politely said as he begun to walk away. 

"But you just got back together! Why leave for an overseas job this soon when she needs you the most?" Bryce's voice rose, echoing into the nearly full hallway. He honestly didn't mind, weeks worth of bottled up frustration threatening to surface. 

A more puzzled expression filled Rafael's face, the line of interrogation making him turn around and stare back at the prosecutor. 

Rafael recognized the look on Bryce's face. It was a mirror of his own haunted reflection. Of a lost love, never to return. The confusion gave way to understanding. 

It made him soften his stance, and place a brotherly hand on the lawyer's shoulder. 

"Look, I don't know why you think that, but Heather and I..." he paused, taking a deep breath as he tried to bury the painful memory of their goodbye into the back of his mind. "We broke up. The same night that she was admitted to Edenbrook after her kidnapping, we talked and agreed to go our separate ways." 

Bryce couldn't believe what he was hearing, his knees weakening with the revelation. Amber eyes widened in shock and feeling like an idiot at the same time. 

He smiled despite himself, the nightmares of his imaginary rejection transformed into a wonderful dream. The door that he thought was closed is now unlocking, and he was determined to blow it wide open. 

With a hasty thank you and goodbye to Raf, he turned the soles of his leather shoes and raced to the door of the courthouse. 

Bryce didn't dare waste another minute to look back. 

Tags: @ramsey-lahela @eleanorbloom @openheartfanfics @choicesficwriterscreations

Sanctuary, part 2 (full chapter - RR/GOTG slice of life)

Rocket slowly gets used to having another Uplift on board, 96L02 gets a real name, and Rocket makes a catastrophic error that may ruin everything.

"Man, you work fast." Rocket looked up from his plate of eggs and sausage.  He'd wanted to head up to the cockpit - he knew he'd left that panel a mess when he got distracted by Doc Foster's letter and it made his fingers itch to leave something half put together like that - but the others insisted he have at least another full day off to recover. "Whattaya mean?  I haven't worked on anything today.  Just woke up and came out to breakfast." "Really?  I looked in the cabin today and you and Lima were," Pete grinned and made some gestures Rocket couldn't scope out except to guess that they were rude. "Wasn't like that," Rocket growled.  "She was having a nightmare and I was just tryin' to calm her down.  Fell asleep afterward, I guess." "You sure buddy?  It sure looked like you two were-" "I am Groot!" Peter looked up to see Rocket's ears go back and the fangs come out. Groot grabbed Rocket just in time to keep the raccoon from coming across the table at him. "Joke!  Joke!" Peter backed away as Rocket snarled.  "I didn't mean anything by it buddy!" Groot still had his vines around Rocket, who struggled with all his might despite his injuries.  "If you think 'I just rescued this poor little thing, got to jump in bed with her' then I'm not the 'monster' here, Pete!" "That's enough!" Gamora literally put her foot down, stomping the deck plates hard enough that everyone jumped.  "Rocket, Peter was just being stupid.  Peter, apologize." "Sorry man," Peter said.  "I wasn't thinking.  You know me, I say stupid things." Rocket, panting, finally settled down, one hand pressed against his chest.  He still hadn't fully recovered from the gas.  "Yeah, well, don't.  She's not a 'thing.'  Not a toy. Don't call her one. Don't think of her as one either." Lima  ('We really do need to find her a better name, Rocket thought')  poked her head shyly into the common area, drawn by the shouting and the smell of food. Mantis served her a plate of eggs and stood there stroking the yellow creature's head as she ate, smiling at the way Lima pushed back against her palm.  It didn't seem to bother Lima at all to be petted unlike Rocket, who until very recently would snap at anyone who touched him. "What were you fighting about," she said, and Rocket grumbled. "Nothin'. Pete and I fight all time 'bout all sortsa crap." "What I want to know is why pick an otter to Uplift," Peter said, his mouth full of eggs. "What's an otter," Lima said, and Rocket growled. "Probably some stupid thing he thinks you are." "Look Rock, I know you don't like being compared to animals, but we gotta have a species for you, right?  You may not be one but you look exactly like a raccoon and you," Pete pointed his fork at Lima, "You're an otter.  Kind of a big water weasel." Though 'big' was relative, as she was about as heavy as Rocket if a little longer. "I like 'otter,' Lima chirped.  "It sounds funny." "You need to pick a name," Gamora said, and Rocket nodded.  "We can't keep calling you part of your number." "Ottah," Pete said, to which Rocket immediately snapped "No!" "Rocket is named after the men he killed to get free," Drax said with a typical lack of tact.  "You didn't kill anyone, so you can't do that." "Was there anyone at the compound you 'liked?'" Surprisingly it was Mantis who asked. "There was one," Lima said, and for the first time she looked sad. "She snuck me pills when I couldn't sleep after the operations." Though Rocket had just tried to attack Peter, Pete still put his hand on the raccoon's shoulder when he saw Rocket grit his teeth and look away.  "It's OK, man." "But they caught her," Lima said, looking down at her plate.  "I never saw her again. Her name was Lilla." "Lylla," Drax said. He didn't quite have it right, but close. "I like it." "I do too," Peter said.  "Rocket?" "I told you, it's not our decision.  What do you think," he said to the otter. "Lylla?  If I had gotten out another way I might have named myself after the nice one. It's up to you, though." "Lylla," said the otter.  "I like it too. I'm Lylla!" She beamed, and only Rocket didn't match her smile. He had his reasons. "Okay, Lylla," Rocket said a moment later.  "Speaking of nice guys.  I want you to meet a friend of mine soon. He's a doctor." And just like that all the joy vanished from Lylla's face, replaced by horror. "No," she said, dropping her plate.  "No, no, no." She fell to all fours and scurried back towards her room. From the back you could see the shaved areas, the implants, the scars, though they weren't as bad as Rocket's had been. The raccoon was right after her on all fours as well.  "Lylla!  Let me explain!" "Wait, Peter," Gamora said.  "Give him a minute. He's the one who knows why she is afraid." "We all know why she's afraid," Drax said. "But he's the one who lived that life," Gamora said, and Peter reluctantly sat back down. "I am Groot?" "He's in my cabin with our guest," Peter said as the three-foot-high tree tree arrived. He didn't really understand Groot yet but he at least knew the tree was looking for Rocket. "She's really upset and he went to talk to her." "I am Groot!" "Wait, Groot," but it was too late. The tree was already hot after his friend. By the time Rocket reached the cabin Lylla had burrowed into the nest of blankets she'd pulled into the padded pet bed.  All that showed was a shivering yellow tailtip and Rocket pulled up short, sure she'd snap at him if he climbed in too. He would. "Lylla, listen," he said, settling down cross-legged a pace away.  "No one's going to make you see a doctor if you don't want.  It's your choice.  Everything's your choice now." A whiskery muzzle appeared out of the blankets, and Rocket winced to see the tears in her eyes.  "Really, Rocket?" "Yeah.  I should've explained..." "I am Groot." Rocket smiled as a vine came to rest on his shoulder.  "It's all right, buddy. Lylla's just scared.  I was scared too, remember." "I am Groot!" "Yeah. Lylla, a while back my back was messed up.  Cybernetics problems, scars, infection. It hurt all the time but I'm scared of doctors, same as you are." The whiskery face visible under the blanket nodded.  "Because they hurt us. They make us into things they want us to be, not what we want to be," she chirped. "When they made me, I hated them so much," Rocket said, and his muzzle dipped until he was looking at the floor, not Lylla.  "They cut me open and tortured me to train me.  I wanted to kill them all.  But there was one who wasn't cruel.  He brought me pills to take away the pain." Slowly the otter's head rose up out of the covers as she listened.  "I started to save them. Hid them.  I counted them every day.  Soon I'd have enough to make the pain go away forever." "Oh Rocket," she said, tears running down her cheeks.  "Me too." He sniffled.  He was too emotional these days.  Teared up too easily. "But then I got out.  I'm a monster, Lylla.  A killer. I try to change, to be good, but they made me to kill.  And that's what I did.  I killed my way out.  Except for the one nice doctor." Finally he met her gaze, his eyes as wet as hers.  "Him I couldn't kill.  He's why I am...only a little bit monster.  If it weren't for him I would have killed and killed and killed. Instead I'm a Guardian of the Galaxy." "I am Groot," the tree behind him said, and grew more vines to support Rocket.  The raccoon was still weak, still recovering. "When the other Guardians found out how bad my back was they made me see someone.  I picked the guy who kept me sane. That's who I want you to see, Lylla.  I can hear your pain when you move.  I know they messed you up. Doc Foster can help. He's the guy who brought me the pills.  He's the reason I'm here instead of dead or crazy." "I don't know, Rocket..." "I'll be there, Lylla.  We'll all be there.  He won't hurt you, he's my friend, but if he does, if anyone hurts you...I try to be good, Lylla.   But if anyone hurts my friends, hurts you, I'll be a monster again." "Yeah," came a voice from the doorway as Peter leaned in for a moment. "We'll all be monsters if someone hurts our friends." The other Guardians nodded from the hall. "I am Groot," Groot said. "What did he say," Lylla chirped. "That he'd do anything for his friends," Rocket said, and put his hand on the vine draped across his shoulder. "And he would. He has." "All right," Lylla said, unknowingly echoing Rocket, a few months back.  "As long as you're there." "Good." Rocket nodded.  "You wanna go have some more breakfast? You hardly ate at all." "I just want to rest," she chirped, and burrowed back under the blankets.  "They never let me just lie around like this. I'll eat later." "Okay." Rocket climbed to his feet using Groot for support. His leg still hurt, oddly worse than the neck bite that almost killed him. And his chest, though that was slowly getting better. A voice came from under the blankets. "Please don't go, Rocket.  I was so afraid last night, with all this metal around, like a cage.  Then I woke up and you were there. Having you there made me feel so safe." "Well, I'm supposed to be resting too I guess," Rocket said doubtfully, and then he protested as Groot picked him up.  "Hey, you don't need to carry me, dummy. I'm not that hurt." But Groot didn't listen, easing him into the padded bed with the otter, and there was a confusion of slow movements as she emerged from beneath the covers and curled around him. Rocket was so warm, and comfortable, and safe, that the protests just drained out of him. "Thank you, Rocket," she chirped into his ear, and Rocket thought, 'Ain't not thing like me, 'cept me. Except maybe there is, now.  Or close enough.' ***** They woke a few hours later, curled together in the round padded bed.  Rocket twitched awake at the unfamiliar sensation of someone sleepily grooming his nape. For a moment he went stiff with panic, then slowly relaxed.  The fabric of the bed was thick with his scent, and now, that of Lylla as well.  It was good to wake and not be alone. It wasn't like the many times he'd woken in a pile of sleeping bodies in prison.  Those bodies didn't smell or feel good. Lylla did. Peter didn't know that one reason he took so easily to what he knew was a bed made for an animal was that snuggling into it brought back vague memories of warm fur and safety. When he could smell himself on it he knew that it was -his- bed, his safe place to sleep.   Now there was another scent on the fabric as well, and for the first time it wasn't some bald sweaty creature's.  It was a scent he liked. But he had work to do. Rocket crawled from the bed, tugging off his ship-tunic for a new one. (He liked being surrounded by a cloud of his own scent.  The other Guardians weren't so fond of the idea.)  Lylla shifted uneasily in a bed, missing the warm presence of another body, and an implant stood out for a moment from the dense fur of her shoulder.  The covers moved enough that some of the shaved areas on her back were exposed and Rocket snapped his fingers.  He knew he'd forgotten something and  after a brief trip down the hall he was back with his C-bag, or what he called the pouch with most of his cybernetics tools. Somewhere in the ship Peter was playing his music and Rocket hummed along to the familiar tune as he sorted his tools.  Shallow scanner, deep scanner, three sizes of input plugs (he had a port on his back for the middle one for diagnostics, Lylla had one at the back of her neck that looked like the larger size).  Diagnostic unit, phase comparator, various wrenches, magnetic grapple for remotely aligning servos. Replacement parts if he needed them, including the ones he'd scavenged in the complex where he found Lylla. There was a certain compulsion to get them all perfectly arranged before he started to work that he couldn't explain.  They had to be aligned just so, and after all he would know where to reach for one if he got them all set up ahead of time, right? That was why though he had no intention of using them, he still had out the cutting tools and scalpels when Lylla woke up. She blinked awake and the first thing she saw was a glittering array of tools, knives and blades. With a terrified squeak she was out from under the blankets so fast they hovered in the air and disappeared through the door. Rocket was left staring at the empty bed before he slapped a hand on his forehead. "Stupid!  Stupid, stupid, stupid." And then he was out the door on all fours as well, calling after her.  "Lylla!  Wait, I'm sorry, I can explain!" Drax paused in his leisurely trip down the hall as Rocket shot between his legs. He stood still for a moment to make sure he didn't step on the ringed tail whistling past and shrugged.  "Uplifts." Rocket followed Lylla's scent until he found her backed under one of the common area bunks, shivering with fear and snarling at him as he approached. Mantis peeked in from the doorway but just stood there, letting the two of them work it out. He started by apologizing again.  "Lylla, I'm sorry.  I've been planning to look at your implants so I can send some scans ahead to Doc Foster.  I wasn't going to do anything until you were awake and only with your permission.  I was just sorting my tools, okay?  I was just going to scan you.  No scalpels." "I saw them," she growled.  "I saw them." "They weren't for you!  I just had them out to sort them.  I sometimes use them, but it's on me or Gamora.  I swear, I'll never touch you unless you let me." It took ten more minutes to finally talk her out of her hidey-hole, and then only because he promised to put the tools away.  When he got back from doing that he found she'd made her way to galley and that Mantis and Peter had set the table for a late breakfast. Lylla wouldn't look at him and Rocket sat awkwardly across the table, only eating a few bites though he was hungry.  Lylla on the other hand dug into reheated eggs and sausage.  She was clearly evolved from a carnivore and quickly cleaned her plate with her sharp fangs. By the time she finished licking her long whiskers Mantis served her a second helping. Like Rocket, though, she was much smaller than the rest of the crew and even if he ate as much as she did, two hungry Uplifts ate less between them than Drax did at one sitting. Rocket's wrist beeped and he checked the time.  "Gotta call the doc. Be back in a bit." Lylla nodded and kept eating, but as soon as the raccoon headed up the stairs she turned to Mantis. "Do you trust Rocket?" Mantis tilted her head like an inquisitive Uplift.  "Of course I do.  Why?" Lylla just shrugged and went back to eating as up in the cockpit, Rocket ran into Peter. "Two days in a row I'm chasing her around trying to apologize," Rocket grumbled. "Get used to it, pal." What's that supposed to mean?" Peter smiled. "Women, y'know?" Rocket just flicked an ear and tapped controls to open a connection.  "Hello, this is Doctor Foster's office," said the voice at the other end. "So turns out Nova Corps sent all the other Uplifts from the compound to Doc Foster too," he said to the Guardians (and Lylla) a little later.  "I put in a good word for him and he's happy for the business but there isn't a slot in his schedule for Lylla until next week." Lylla still wouldn't talk to him and half an hour later Peter found him sewing blankets.  Rocket  scrounged up some older ones from the ship's stores and had rolled and stitched two up into long narrow cylinders.  Peter watched him as he started to sew one into a tight spiral.  Eventually he figured out what he was seeing. "Making another bed?" "Yeah," Rocket said, continuing the spiral with the second blanket.  Soon enough he was working on the raised rim around the central spiral pad. "I don't wanna leave Lylla alone but I don't know if she wants to share a bed now.  I was real dumb earlier.  Now she doesn't trust me." "Let me tell you man, I've been there.". Rocket had several high-tech devices for sewing but at the moment he was doing it the old fashioned way, with needle and thread.  "I didn't know you knew how to sew." "'Course I do.  Gotta work on my armor, they don't make sets my size. And shirts, stuff I wear 'cos you complain when I walk around naked.  Sometimes you gotta hand pack explosives and sew cases around 'em and you can make pretty good garrotes out of cloth." "What's a garrote?" "Strangling cord.  You know, gik!" Rocket mimed being strangled. "When would you need one of those?" "Don't ask questions you don't wanna know the answers to, Pete." A few hours earlier Lylla stuck to Rocket like a second tail but now she avoided him. Instead she was never more than a step from Mantis, which didn't bother the empath at all.  She stroked Lylla's spine as they talked. "Why is he so angry all the time?" "He isn't," the empath said.  "He's much better now than when I first met him. The first time I tried to pet him he bit me." "And I think," she went on, "That except for Groot, everyone Rocket met before he knew us hurt him in one way or another. Being around people just means there are more ways for him to get hurt, so he's...angry.  If people are afraid of him, maybe they won't hurt him." "I am Groot," said the tree, arriving as though summoned by his name. "Yes, he's brave," the otter said.  "Because he has to be?" Mantis's antennae twitched.  "You can understand him?" "A little," the otter said.  "More as I hear him.  Linguist!". She smiled and touched her head.  It would have been cute had the lines of operation scars not stood out on her skull when her fingers flattened the fur. One deck up Rocket's ear twitched as he thought he heard his name.  Peter had left and he could make his second call of the day, the one the other Guardians didn't need to know about. "It's really you," said the man in the yellow prison jumpsuit on the screen. "89P13." "Subject Eight-Nine-Papa-One-three does not report for duty, asshole," Rocket growled, though an involuntary twitch ran through his body as he said it. Even now the compulsion to spring to attention was hard to resist. "Listen close," he said.  "'Cause you only get to hear this once.  You're going to get out of jail pretty soon.  Good lawyers, lots of money, and some dead guys you can scapegoat. Good for you. When you get out, I'll be watching. You touch another animal, I don't care what for...I was nice when I came in.  Most of you guys survived.  But we only got about half the Uplifts out.  So next time I won't be nice. And I'll take my time with you, personally. Don't make me come looking for you, Doctor Zek." With that he cut the connection.  His contacts in Nova Corps had only given him a private channel for a few minutes anyway. Grumpy and bored, a combination his crew mates had learned to fear, he fetched his B bag (general maintenance) and crawled halfway into a control console to finish repairs he'd started two days before. He was still sore but he had to get back to work sometime. It was fortunate that his hands knew what to do even when his mind was elsewhere, because he was distracted. 'How could I have been so stupid?  Of course she'd panic if she saw surgical tools.' He was just starting to get used to having her around and maybe, maybe just a little, starting to like her. But he'd never been in the situation of treating a fellow Uplift.  Gamora and Nebula knew what cyborg maintenance entailed. Lylla only knew that seeing tools like that meant pain. "Stupid," Rocket growled, and bashed a wrench against a component that was usefully both frangible and expendable. 'Maybe I'm getting soft.' He'd gotten along just fine without another Uplift on board, and she wasn't likely to stay long anyway, right?  Get on with his life, that was the thing to do. Just think about work, money, booze.  No need to think about the nice-smelling otter he'd shared a bed with these last two nights. And so that night when he showed Lylla the other bed and proposed they sleep side by side, not together, he wasn't too disappointed when she nodded. That was what he told himself, anyway. 'At least I can smell her,' Rocket thought, then quickly quashed that thought. He slept badly.

Chapter 9: Devilovania part 1

"He can't dodge forever. Move!"

She stood still, even though her knife was forcibly raised towards him. If she could, she would have dropped the knife too.

"Magic isn't his strong suit, strike now!" He ordered, but she still refused. "This is not the real Chara! Kill him now or I WILL!"

She opened her mouth to warn Chara, and was forced to stop again. "Frisk, so help me, if you try to warn him again you will die! Now FIGHT!"

She looked over at Chara, he wasn't preparing an attack, he was watching her. Almost observing her.

"Ya know, I realized something as we've been fighting." Chara said, looking directly at her. He couldn't see what was really going on, not yet. "You're not Mirror, I can tell. Even if she chose to find out the consequences of this path, she would have stopped long before Rei. She would have SPARED him." His words were laced with malice, rightfully so, through force she'd taken everything away from him. "So, did you kill her too? You don't seem like the type to let innocent people live."

"I said...MOVE!"

Frisk was forced to attack, Chara dodged it easily, kicking her backwards. That's when he noticed something odd about the knife they were using. There were some kind of weird blue strings on it, he found them as he picked it up. "What? Painting? You've got a sick sense of humor kid." He started. "I mean really..." He trailed off, she was tapping something, but it wasn't random tapping. Some kind of code, almost like she was warning him, but why? What was behind her?

Look behind me, please, you'll understand.

"What the...? He started, quietly. He saw it alright, a huge black void behind her that wasn't there before, and now he could see she was caught in those blue strings from the knife.

"Damn you! I warned ya kid!"

"Oh no you don't!"

Two knife slashes later, and that void was now a reflection of the kid, and Chara had the unconscious kid in his arms. "No free will of her own. I should've known when she was so hesitant to fight." He started, setting her down behind the closest pillar for protection, then standing up.

Lifting his hood up, Chara smirked, his eyes appearing to become brighter. "No sense in asking for your name...YOU DIRTY BROTHER KILLER."

---

What?! I can't move!

You..how..?!

---

Even only using a fraction of his magic, Chara could be worn down pretty easily. He had to be careful, whatever this thing was, it knew exactly how to get him. Taking a quick glance over at the kid, still unconscious, he decided to stop playing it safe and really fight. He still had to avenge Rei, to avenge his family, everyone that thing stole from him.

"Ha! Have I already worn you out?!"

Glaring back at it, it now seemed like Chara's left eye emitted a magical flame. This actually surprised his enemy, it wasn't expected.

Error! Shift now, this timeline is lost! You still have a job to do!

Reluctantly, he listened, sending his blue vines everywhere around himself to disguise his escape.

Chara dodged easily, landing near the kid and getting them out of danger. He set them just outside of the exit, no attack ever left this corridor, they'd be safe for now. But...now something didn't feel right at all. That thing, whatever it was, it just suddenly felt more malicious. Like if he made the wrong move, it would take great pleasure in tearing him apart. "Looks like I'll need to use this a bit more.." He said to himself.

His magic helped a lot, despite the toll it took on him. Without it, he wouldn't be able to see most of his enemy's attacks, just the weird vines they used. With both beings dodging, however, the battle would be drawn out far longer than his body could handle. Dodging another knife blow, he slid a bit as he landed. During the dodge, he'd managed to hide his cough, and upon landing he wiped the blood off of the corner of his mouth. He knew then, whatever this thing was, it was starting to predict his moves.

Gods kid, what the hell did you get yourself into?!

He thought, dodging another attack.

He stayed still for a moment, just to catch his breath and plan his next move, and that's when it took the opportunity it had. He saw the light from the Blaster, one similar to his own, start to get brighter and brighter. When he tried to move, he saw the vines wrapped around his legs. Chara was pinned.

What?! I can't move!

He took out his knife and worked on removing the vines as quickly as he could. Not like this! Not yet!

He wasn't fast enough, he knew it, Asriel always told him he was slow. But he refused to stand and take it, he was determined to see this through, he refused to die like that. Hearing the Blaster launch its attack at him, he looked up in time to see a familiar sweater in front of him, protecting him at the last second.

"M-Mirror!" He exclaimed, catching her. If she hadn't shared his determination, she would have been killed, she was that lucky. "You..how..?!" He started. "Why?!"

Around his legs, he felt someone cut off the vines, he had movement again. But who...?

"You can't die outside of your own timeline, you won't be able to reset with it then." An unfamiliar voice came from the exit, next to the unconscious kid. He had no idea who it was. "She knew that, she wanted to protect you."

In response, Mirror smiled weakly at him. He felt guilty, she wouldn't be hurt at all if he wasn't so slow. But..then there was anger again. She'd travelled across time to help and this thing wanted to kill her too? Unacceptable.

Chara helped Mirror stand properly, letting the unfamiliar voice's owner come to help. He himself stepped forward, both eyes now appearing to have that magical flame in them.

Mirror could tell he was angry, she tried to warn him not to do what he was about to do, but Chara was angry beyond listening.

"Oh no.." Her travel partner, spoke quietly to himself. He helped her stand against a nearby pillar before taking a step towards Chara. Instead of trying to get him to stop, it seemed the young man was going to help.

~~~~

Luckily, the battle was directed towards the entrance to the corridor, no more harm came to the kid or Mirror, which was good. He'd gotten some good hits in, the evil being actually managed to nick him a few times, and his silent companion kept creating illusions of him attacking elsewhere to allow the real Chara a chance to strike.

This...has gone on long enough.

The sudden voice made them all stop in their tracks, if only for a moment to find out what was going on.

Your timeline will be purged.

"Like hell it will!" Chara shouted. He had no choice, he had to use his Blasters now or this would drag on endlessly. No one would survive otherwise. Sticking his arm out, they fired, seemingly destroying whatever entity that was.

Coughing, Chara sank to his knees, he'd used his magic for so long that the toll on his body was hard to handle.

Did you not hear me?!

Before anyone had a chance to react to what was going on with Chara, one final knife blow was fiercely directed not at him, but at Mirror. And unlike him, she wouldn't be able to dodge.

But like her, Chara stepped in front of the attack at the last second, being viciously slashed acoss the back.

"Chara!"

Their companion saw the entity forming again and made a choice. Grabbing the kid and taking Mirror's hand as she held onto Chara, he quickly teleported them out of there.

Opening her eyes, Mirror saw nothing but darkness, all around them. She thought she was dreaming for a moment, until she remembered what happened before ending up here.

"Chara?!" She said, looking at him leaned against the wall next to her...if it was a wall anyways. "Hey wait, Cloak?!" She called.

He was catching his breath a bit away from her, the kid he brought with them was still out like a light. "I'm alright! I just went too quickly, it's okay though." He responded. "Undyne, she might be able to help. This...this is what's left of her timeline now.."

Worried, Mirror redirected her attention to Chara. She felt his pulse, just to be absolutely sure, before he both scared and surprised her by grabbing her hand. "...Not dead yet..." Mirror wiped her eyes, prompting a soft pat on the head from him. "...We need to get back...to our timeline..."

"No way! Not like this, you won't make it!" She protested.

"Um..I can try to help. If..if that's alright." A shy, yet semi-confident voice came, and it belonged to who they could only assume was Undyne. But the Undyne they knew...well, she was more of a star to say the least. "I..I already healed your injuries..t-they were magic based so..."

Mirror inspected herself, and found that Undyne was telling the truth, she wasn't injured anymore.

After a few tense moments, Undyne started to look more and more worried as her invention didn't seem to work at all on Chara, minus helping him recover from the magic toll on his body. "I...I don't know..." She started, being interrupted by Chara. "...Not a magical attack..." He started. "...It was a knife...that's physical..."

"Then what..what do we do?!" Mirror asked.

"We take you back, isn't it obvious?" Cloak interjected. "Mirror, you're the only one who can reset things in your timeline."

"Y-yeah! You'll be able to f-fix everything!"

"Problem, there's only one part of it left." Cloak started. "With his injuries, I really can't guarantee-"

"...It's Snowdin...it has to be..." Chara interrupted. "...Take me back...reset after..."

"No! Chara, no. I won't let you die." Mirror said sternly. "There's gotta be another way."

"...I'll be dead any other way...then I won't be able to come back..." Chara responded. "...We have to go back..."

"I..."

"I'll stay with you, until you have to reset." Cloak offered. "I...I know a way to make it easier. Trust me. With the reset, you won't even remember this."

Mirror looked hesitant at first, but she eventually gave in and let Cloak take them back.

~~~~

"Here right? It looks like...where we first met."

"...I calcium what you mean..."

"Chara."

He laughed a bit, weakly, as Cloak set him down in front of the largest tree in Snowdin. The last area left in his timeline for now. In their timeline. Stepping just out of Chara's sight, Cloak made another illusion for him...well one of two. The first was a vivid sunset in front of them.

"...Heh...I haven't seen ome of these in ages..." Chara said, half smiling as he leaned against the tree. Mirror sat down next to him, watching with him. "...Already left huh...?"

The next gift from Cloak surprised both of them. Somehow, some way, he was able to make a realistic illusion of Asriel and have him come and sit down next to Chara. This in turn finally made Chara smile fully for once, and he closed his eyes and relaxed, leaning his head against the base of the tree as well. "...This place isn't so bad for a nap...Could use one..."

Sanctuary, part 2 (RR/GOTG slice of life)

(Actually about half S2, but this is what I have ready at the moment.  The full version will be done when it’s done. You really have to read the first one to understand why an otter is on board the Milano and why everyone calls her Lima at first.)

"Man, you work fast." Rocket looked up from his plate of eggs and sausage.  He'd wanted to head up to the cockpit - he knew he'd left that panel a mess when he got distracted by Doc Foster's letter and it made his fingers itch to leave something half put together like that - but the others insisted he have at least another full day off to recover. "Whattaya mean?  I haven't worked on anything today.  Just woke up and came out to breakfast." "Really?  I looked in the cabin today and you and Lima were," Pete grinned and made some gestures Rocket couldn't scope out except to guess that they were rude. "Wasn't like that," Rocket growled.  "She was having a nightmare and I was just tryin' to calm her down.  Fell asleep afterward, I guess." "You sure buddy?  It sure looked like you two were-" "I am Groot!" Peter looked up to see Rocket's ears go back and the fangs come out. Groot grabbed Rocket just in time to keep the raccoon from coming across the table at him. "Joke!  Joke!" Peter backed away as Rocket snarled.  "I didn't mean anything by it buddy!" Groot still had his vines around Rocket, who struggled with all his might despite his injuries.  "If you think 'I just rescued this poor little thing, got to jump in bed with her' then I'm not the 'monster' here, Pete!" "That's enough!" Gamora literally put her foot down, stomping the deck plates hard enough that everyone jumped.  "Rocket, Peter was just being stupid.  Peter, apologize." "Sorry man," Peter said.  "I wasn't thinking.  You know me, I say stupid things." Rocket, panting, finally settled down, one hand pressed against his chest.  He still hadn't fully recovered from the gas.  "Yeah, well, don't.  She's not a 'thing.'  Not a toy. Don't call her one. Don't think of her as one either." Lima  (We really do need to find her a better name, Rocket thought)  poked her head shyly into the common area, drawn by the shouting and the smell of food. Mantis served her a plate of eggs and stood there stroking the yellow creature's head as she ate, smiling at the way Lima pushed back against her palm.  It didn't seem to bother Lima at all to be petted unlike Rocket, who until very recently would snap at anyone who touched him. "What were you fighting about," she said, and Rocket grumbled. "Nothin'. Pete and I fight all time 'bout all sortsa crap." "What I want to know is why pick an otter to Uplift," Peter said, his mouth full of eggs. "What's an otter," Lima said, and Rocket growled. "Probably some stupid thing he thinks you are." "Look Rock, I know you don't like being compared to animals, but we gotta have a species for you, right?  You may not be one but you look exactly like a raccoon and you," Pete pointed his fork at Lima, "You're an otter.  Kind of a big water weasel." Though 'big' was relative, as she was about as heavy as Rocket if a little longer. "I like 'otter,' Lima chirped.  "It sounds funny." "You need to pick a name," Gamora said, and Rocket nodded.  "We can't keep calling you part of your number." "Ottah," Pete said, to which Rocket immediately snapped "No!" "Rocket is named after the men he killed to get free," Drax said with a typical lack of tact.  "You didn't kill anyone, so you can't do that." "Was there anyone at the compound you 'liked?'" Surprisingly it was Mantis who asked. "There was one," Lima said, and for the first time she looked sad. "She snuck me pills when I couldn't sleep after the operations." Though Rocket had just tried to attack Peter, Pete still put his hand on the raccoon's shoulder when he saw Rocket grit his teeth and look away.  "It's OK, man." "But they caught her," Lima said, looking down at her plate.  "I never saw her again. Her name was Lilla." "Lylla," Drax said. He didn't quite have it right, but close. "I like it." "I do too," Peter said.  "Rocket?" "I told you, it's not our decision.  What do you think," he said to the otter. "Lylla?  If I had gotten out another way I might have named myself after the nice one. It's up to you, though." "Lylla," said the otter.  "I like it too. I'm Lylla!" She beamed, and only Rocket didn't match her smile. He had his reasons. "Okay, Lylla," Rocket said a moment later.  "Speaking of nice guys.  I want you to meet a friend of mine soon. He's a doctor." And just like that all the joy vanished from Lylla's face, replaced by horror. "No," she said, dropping her plate.  "No, no, no." She fell to all fours and scurried back towards her room. From the back you could see the shaved areas, the implants, the scars, though they weren't as bad as Rocket's had been. The raccoon was right after her on all fours as well.  "Lylla!  Let me explain!" "Wait, Peter," Gamora said.  "Give him a minute. He's the one who knows why she is afraid." "We all know why she's afraid," Drax said. "But he's the one who lived that life," Gamora said, and Peter reluctantly sat back down. "I am Groot?" "He's in my cabin with our guest," Peter said as the three-foot-high tree tree arrived. He didn't really understand Groot yet but he at least knew the tree was looking for Rocket. "She's really upset and he went to talk to her." "I am Groot!" "Wait, Groot," but it was too late. The tree was already hot after his friend. By the time Rocket reached the cabin Lylla had burrowed into the nest of blankets she'd pulled into the padded pet bed.  All that showed was a shivering yellow tailtip and Rocket pulled up short, sure she'd snap at him if he climbed in too. He would. "Lylla, listen," he said, settling down cross-legged a pace away.  "No one's going to make you see a doctor if you don't want.  It's your choice.  Everything's your choice now." A whiskery muzzle appeared out of the blankets, and Rocket winced to see the tears in her eyes.  "Really, Rocket?" "Yeah.  I should've explained..." "I am Groot." Rocket smiled as a vine came to rest on his shoulder.  "It's all right, buddy. Lylla's just scared.  I was scared too, remember." "I am Groot!" "Yeah. Lylla, a while back my back was messed up.  Cybernetics problems, scars, infection. It hurt all the time but I'm scared of doctors, same as you are." The whiskery face visible under the blanket nodded.  "Because they hurt us. They make us into things they want us to be, not what we want to be," she chirped. "When they made me, I hated them so much," Rocket said, and his muzzle dipped until he was looking at the floor, not Lylla.  "They cut me open and tortured me to train me.  I wanted to kill them all.  But there was one who wasn't cruel.  He brought me pills to take away the pain." Slowly the otter's head rose up out of the covers as she listened.  "I started to save them. Hid them.  I counted them every day.  Soon I'd have enough to make the pain go away forever." "Oh Rocket," she said, tears running down her cheeks.  "Me too." He sniffled.  He was too emotional these days.  Teared up too easily. "But then I got out.  I'm a monster, Lylla.  A killer. I try to change, to be good, but they made me to kill.  And that's what I did.  I killed my way out.  Except for the one nice doctor." Finally he met her gaze, his eyes as wet as hers.  "Him I couldn't kill.  He's why I am...only a little bit monster.  If it weren't for him I would have killed and killed and killed. Instead I'm a Guardian of the Galaxy." "I am Groot," the tree behind him said, and grew more vines to support Rocket.  The raccoon was still weak, still recovering. "When the other Guardians found out how bad my back was they made me see someone.  I picked the guy who kept me sane. That's who I want you to see, Lylla.  I can hear your pain when you move.  I know they messed you up. Doc Foster can help. He's the guy who brought me the pills. He's the reason I'm here instead of dead or crazy." "I don't know, Rocket..." "I'll be there, Lylla.  We'll all be there.  He won't hurt you, he's my friend, but if he does, if anyone hurts you...I try to be good, Lylla.   But if anyone hurts my friends, hurts you, I'll be a monster again." "Yeah," came a voice from the doorway as Peter leaned in for a moment. "We'll all be monsters if someone hurts our friends." The other Guardians nodded from the hall. "I am Groot," Groot said. "What did he say," Lylla chirped. "That he'd do anything for his friends," Rocket said, and put his hand on the vine draped across his shoulder. "And he would. He has." "All right," Lylla said, unknowingly echoing Rocket, a few months back.  "As long as you're there." "Good." Rocket nodded.  "You wanna go have some more breakfast? You hardly ate at all." "I just want to rest," she chirped, and burrowed back under the blankets.  "They never let me just lie around like this. I'll eat later." "Okay." Rocket climbed to his feet using Groot for support. His leg still hurt, oddly worse than the neck bite that almost killed him. And his chest, though that was slowly getting better. A voice came from under the blankets. "Please don't go, Rocket.  I was so afraid last night, with all this metal around, like a cage.  Then I woke up and you were there. Having you there made me feel so safe." "Well, I'm supposed to be resting too I guess," Rocket said doubtfully, and then he protested as Groot picked him up.  "Hey, you don't need to carry me, dummy. I'm not that hurt." But Groot didn't listen, easing him into the padded bed with the otter, and there was a confusion of slow movements as she emerged from beneath the covers and curled around him. Rocket was so warm, and comfortable, and safe, that the protests just drained out of him. "Thank you, Rocket," she chirped into his ear, and Rocket thought, 'Ain't not thing like me, 'cept me. Except maybe there is, now.  Or close enough.'