#Mom's house was on that and getting too tall. Also found a little bank in the box so that made me clean a bunch of coins off the dresser | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

oliverreedmasterass · 9 months

Text

Chapter Summary: Rae befriends a mysterious guy in town and immediately gravitates towards him and his warnings about Frankenmuth and its residents.

Words: 4.7k

Warnings: language, allusions to poor health/hospitals

Notes: Thank you to @infinisonicosm for the fic idea!!

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

1 month later

The leaves on the Frankenmuth trees began to transform into hues of red, orange, and yellow, like embers from a fire meant to warm against the rapidly chilling air. Rae slammed the door to her new room shut and heaved out a sigh. It was her second full day in Frankenmuth and she was already certain she hated her new life. In the back of her head she knew that it was for the best: her brother’s health was starting to get worse, and the specialist her parents had found for him for Detroit seemed like their only hope. It still didn’t mean she had to be happy about uprooting from the only place she had ever known to be surrounded by Bavarian buildings, tourists, and midwest folk who, in her opinion, were a little bit too friendly.

“Please don’t slam your door!” her mom called from down the hall, where she was most likely unpacking in her own room. “I’m not fixing that if you break it.”

“Sorry!” Rae shouted back, and she did mean it. As upset as she was, she was also old enough to know that she shouldn’t take her feelings out on her parents. They were stressed enough as it was, there was no need for her to enter into a rebellious phase that was bound to send them over the edge.

Rae scanned around her cramped room. The stacks upon stacks of Home Depot boxes made the walls feel like they were closing in on her. Even though the air was starting to grow brisk with the changing seasons, Rae slid open her window that looked down on the suburban street below. Her parents had found the house for a surprisingly low price on the market and, because hospital bills were draining the bank, they hopped on the opportunity without asking too many questions. Just beyond the quaint houses across the street stood a barrier of tall trees that seemed to extend all the way beyond the horizon. Rae stared at the trees as the crisp wind passed through her short hair, and then shook her head.

“Those are freaky trees,” she muttered to herself, turning back towards the boxes she needed to unpack. “Like the ones from The Wizard of Oz.”

She stopped in her tracks when she saw her brother, Morgan, popping his head through her door.

“Are you talking to the trees?” he asked her with his goofy grin. He started to laugh, but a raspy cough cut him short.

“They’re creepy, don’t you think?” Rae said as Morgan’s cough started to die down.

Morgan shuffled to her window and gazed out at the thick wall of greenery.

“Maybe? I don’t know. They just kinda look like trees. You’ve got too much of a vivid imagination.”

“It’s like a gut feeling, I don’t like it,” Rae frowned, looking beyond Morgan at what lay outside the window once more.

“You and your gut feelings,” Morgan shook his head. He directed his attention to a box labeled “RECORDS” at his feet and pointed down at it. “You need help unpacking?”

“Are you already done?” Rae had a hard time believing that her brother, who was notorious for starting a task and then getting distracted halfway through, could complete setting up his room in two days.

“Are you kidding?” Morgan’s laugh was back again. “No way, I just thought you might want a hand.”

“You’re gonna steal some of my albums,” Rae squinted her eyes at him.

“Maybe I am,” Morgan couldn’t deny it.

Rae gave him a gentle, playful shove, and then planted herself on the floor next to one of the boxes, filled to the brim with her favorite books.

“Well, c’mon,” she motioned for him to join her, which he eagerly did. Morgan was a year and a half younger and, although he was two grades lower than her, starting off his freshman year at Frankenmuth High, Rae had never felt like his older sister. They grew up close and, even before his diagnosis, Rae never wanted to leave his side, to push him away in angst, or look down on him. Their parents always joked that they acted like twins: they were incredibly intune with each other, frequently sharing the same thoughts at the same time, and bonding over common interests.

“Remind me again why you own a Seals and Crofts album?” Morgan poked fun at Rae as he rummaged through her vinyl stash that she had carefully packed before they made their trek across the country from California to Michigan.

“Hey, Diamond Girl is a great song,” Rae protested. “Those harmonies? Flawless.”

“If you’re gonna listen to music for the harmonies, get a Beach Boys album.”

“That would just make me homesick,” Rae faked a pout. Her pout dropped into a look of concern when she saw that Morgan’s face was etched with a deep frown. “What?” Rae was concerned.

“I told Mom and Dad you shouldn’t have to come out here with us,” Morgan spoke up.

“You’re my family, of course I’m going to come with you,” Rae let the words spill out before she could reflect on if that was really how she felt.

“You had a life back in Folsom,” Morgan protested. “Friends that you’ve known all of your life. You didn’t have to throw that all away for me.”

“The way I see it,” Rae thought aloud, “I’m going to graduate next year. I was bound to leave my friends sooner or later. Sure, this expedited things a bit, but I don’t know how many times I have to say this to get it through that thick skull of yours: you’re my brother. You come first.”

Morgan was too busy looking down at a Stevie Wonder album to meet Rae’s eyes. His shoulders sloppily lifted in a half-shrug that proved he didn’t believe what she was saying.

“I’ll adjust no problem,” Rae was starting to sound like she was convincing herself more than Morgan. “In fact, Mom asked me to run down to the store to grab some veggies for dinner tonight -- I vow to make one friend while I’m out. Then it will be smooth sailing from there, right? That’s how that works.”

“I don’t think most people go to the grocery store to make friends,” Morgan’s warm brown eyes finally landed on Rae’s. “In fact, I think that’s one of the last places I would want to talk to a stranger.”

“It’s better than a public bathroom,” Rae retorted, and then stood to her feet.

“Where are you going?” Morgan watched her.

“To prove you wrong,” Rae flashed him a cheeky grin.

It was nearly 5, so Rae hurried across town to the small market at the edge of the downtown strip. In comparison to the massive Costcos and Safeways she frequented in California, this market felt like walking back in time. As Rae wandered down the aisles, she admired the handmade price tags under each item, most of which were locally made.

For the most part, the market was empty, with the exception of the older gentleman who was stationed at the front checkout stand. Rae knew that Morgan would give her a hard time if that was the “friend” she made, so she made a concerted effort to stall as she scanned over the baskets of lettuce, zucchini, and broccoli on display. A middle-aged couple strolled past her, talking under their breaths to one another.

Rae just barely heard the wife say to her husband, “the boy is still missing, can you believe it?” She squinted and tried to hear more, but a woman entered the store with a screaming toddler, which distracted her. Rae watched the lady move through the door so a bell chimed with a soft ding! over her head, and made a sound of disapproval.

Was anyone in this town her age?

“Excuse me,” a voice that somehow wavered between soft and gruff said behind her. Instinctually, Rae took a step forward, accidentally bumping into a basket of lemons so they dropped to the ground, one spongey thud at a time.

“Shit,” Rae let the curse escape from her lips as her face flushed with embarrassment. She quickly squatted down in an attempt to retrieve the lemons and hide any evidence of her accident, but the man was already snatching the lemons and tossing them into the basket with ease. He caught her eye and flashed a little smirk.

“I am become clutz, destroyer of lemons.”

Rae found her words stuck in her mouth. She was entirely paralyzed by the sight of the person in front of her. He looked to be around her age, only a spreckle of facial hair forming on his upper lip, his eyes still filled with enough hope that adulthood hadn’t shattered it yet. His hair messily tumbled down to his shoulders in a caramel cascade, and she couldn’t help but gawk at his button down shirt, which was hardly buttoned at all.

“Sorry,” his face was turning red now. “That was a weird thing to say. I don’t know why I said that.”

Since the words still weren’t forming, Rae focused her attention on grabbing the last two lemons from the ground to return to the basket. She was surprised that he was still by her side, standing back upright and staring blankly at the lemons.

“Do you think anyone noticed?” Rae finally found herself speaking, her voice croaky and uncertain. “I don’t think I have enough money to pay for this whole basket if the shop owner has a problem with bruised fruit.”

He made a display of dramatically scanning to his left and then his right, as if making sure the coast was clear, and let a chuckle escape from his lips.

“Let’s keep this between you and me.”

It suddenly hit Rae that she was supposed to make a new friend while she was at the grocery store, so she awkwardly jutted her hand out, nearly knocking into another display case in the process. She saw the guy jump a bit in shock, but his warm, calloused hand eventually grabbed hers.

“I’m Rae,” she introduced herself, though she was still having trouble making eye contact. “I’m new in town.”

“Jake,” his gruff voice had lightened a bit. “I’m not new in town.”

“How long have you been here?” Rae asked once their hands dropped back to their sides. Jake’s hand retracted back up to his chin, where he started to stroke around his mouth.

“My whole life,” he shared. “Most people who live here will say the same. It’s not too often we get any newcomers. You got a passion for Bavarian architecture or something?”

Rae gave a small laugh at Jake’s quip. She could tell he was trying to play off some kind of cool character in front of her, but she wanted to know who he really was. “My family and I moved out here for my brother,” she replied.

Jake moved his hand down from his face and folded his arms across his chest. He seemed to be thinking hard about the information Rae had offered to him, calculating the right response. Rae was eager to see what would come out of his mouth next.

“So is your brother passionate about Bavarian architecture?” he tried, squeaking on the last words when he realized what he had said was stupid. Rae reassured him with a wide grin and shook her head. Jake was studying his sneakers in silence, his lips pursed tight like he wasn’t willing to make a fool of himself any further.

“There’s a doctor in Detroit who claims he can help,” Rae sounded out her words carefully. She still hadn’t found the right way to share Morgan’s situation without making people feel uncomfortable.

“Oh god,” Jake grunted out, still looking down at his feet. “I’m so sorry for making that joke, that was in bad taste.”

“You didn’t know,” Rae said. She wished that Jake would look up from his feet so he could see that she was giving him a warm smile. Instead, his eyes remained glued to the linoleum. And yet, he still stood next to her. “Do you go to school here?” Rae decided to change the subject, desperate to keep their conversation going. Jake cleared his throat and nodded his head, his eyes slowly tracking back up to Rae’s.

“Yup, I’m finishing out my last year at the high school. Thank god.”

“Not a fan?” Rae raised an eyebrow.

Jake nodded again, his shoulders losing some of their tension. “You could say that.”

“Got any wisdom to pass off before I start my first day?” Rae tried. “I’m going into my junior year.” Her heart fluttered when she saw Jake’s face brighten.

“How much time do you have?” Jake’s grin was cheeky.

Rae knew that she was supposed to return to her parents with some fresh vegetables for dinner, but Jake had entirely captivated her, and there was nothing more that she wanted to do than spend time with him. She watched Jake search her face, as if trying to read how she was feeling about him, his smile still full. She was certain she was doing an awful job giving him a poker face back.

“Why don’t you walk me around town?” Rae suggested. Jake’s smile grew wider, but then he gave a soft cough into his fist to hide his excitement. “Show me some sights and tell me all about Frankenmuth High.”

“Let’s do it,” Jake agreed. He started to move towards the front of the grocery store, but Rae called out for him to stop, which he did.

“I need to pay for some stuff first,” Rae said as she tried to hold in a laugh.

“Oh, uh,” Jake’s eyes were glued to the floor again. “Yeah, I need to get some stuff too.”

Jake wandered to the other end of the store, giving Rae a short wave, and, when he was out of sight, Rae turned her attention back to gathering some bushels of broccoli and bell peppers in her arms. She rushed to the older cashier and hastily dropped the items on the conveyor belt, checking over her shoulder to see if Jake was coming. She didn’t see him. When she turned back to face the cashier, she saw that he was looking her down.

“You from out of town?”

“I just moved here a couple of days ago from California.”

“It’s an interesting time for you to be in Frankenmuth.”

Rae wanted to ask the man what he meant, but at that moment Jake whisked up behind her with a pack of beef jerky and a can of Coca Cola in his hands. He eyed the bags of vegetables and nudged her in the side.

“No lemons today?”

“Don’t remind me,” Rae groaned.

She paid the cashier, who was still staring at her from behind his big glasses, and waited at the end of the conveyor belt for Jake to pay for his food. He seemed friendly with the older man, using a warm tone to ask how his family was and wishing him a nice evening. As they headed out the front doors back out to the main street, Rae had to ask Jake,

“What’s up with that guy?”

“What guy?” Jake turned back to her with an arched eyebrow just visible over the circular sunglasses he had put on.

“The cashier. He was looking at me really weird. He mentioned something about it being an interesting time to be in Frankenmuth.”

“I don’t know why he was looking at you like that, but that’s Nate. He’s a long time resident here. I like to think of him as a town elder, he holds all the history and secrets of this place. He’s been hit especially hard by the missing people reports.”

“Missing people?”

“Yeah, three cases.”

“Holy shit.”

“It’s safe here, don’t worry. Just as long as you don’t go into the woods. That’s where they all disappeared.”

Rae stopped in her tracks and it took Jake a few steps to realize she was no longer by his side. He came to a halt and whirled back around to face her.

“The woods are right by my house. I was literally just telling my brother how much they give me the creeps.”

“That means you should listen to your gut, it’s right.”

Rae was still feeling troubled about the news, but she quickened her pace to catch up to Jake. They continued walking in silence, and Rae caught sight of a MISSING poster stapled to a wooden light post. The guy in the picture had dark, curly hair and a wide smile that stretched from ear to ear. He looked like he was around Morgan’s age which made Rae’s heart sink. Jake noticed her eyes lingering on the poster and he let a small, sad sigh escape from him.

“He went missing about a month ago,” Jake explained under his breath. “Went into the woods on a dare from his friends and never came back out. His family is still determined to find him, but the cops and detectives in this town are ready to throw in the towel.”

“What do you think?” Rae needed to know.

“It’s hard to say.” Jake’s face twisted. “He’s a bright kid, but a month is a long time. They haven’t found any signs of him whatsoever, so literally anything could have happened.”

“You’re talking like you know him,” Rae observed. Jake met her with silence. It was hard for her to read his expression with the large sunglasses on his face, but she knew that she had overstepped some kind of boundary. She wanted to apologize to Jake, but she struggled to think of exactly what she would be apologizing for. So instead they continued to stroll down the residential street, the sound of their footsteps on the pavement the only noise between them.

After a large chunk of silence, they stopped in front of the high school, which was longer than it was tall, and made of faded bricks. Rae gazed on at the school, where she would be spending her next two years, and noted that it was an extraordinarily unextraordinary place. It looked as if it could have been a DMV, or a medical clinic, with just enough blandness that you could drive past it and never once process that it was there. Rae could feel that sinking feeling in her gut again, one that was prevalent when she was leaving Folsom. She knew that it was disdain for the life she was expected to live for the sake of her brother. But, it was also a feeling of disappointment. Jake read her mind as he kicked at a pebble on the sidewalk and then motioned towards the school.

“For a town that’s determined to be a mini replica of Germany, you’d think the school would look a bit more impressive.”

“Is the inside any better?”

“If you enjoy feeling like you’re in a prison, then sure.”

Jake led Rae to the front steps of the school and settled down on the concrete, motioning for her to join him. Even though Rae could see the faded puddles of who-knows-what that could only be found on a high school campus, she lowered herself next to him.

“So, how do I survive my first day?” Rae tried to drive the conversation.

“Stick next to me, and you’ll be fine,” Jake said. “Most people here are pretty tame, but there are a few people to look out for.”

“What’s their deal?”

“Just,” Jake stopped himself, trying to find the right words. “Nothing good.”

Rae let out a nervous laugh. “The more I’m learning about this town, the less I think I want to know.”

“Trust me,” Jake’s tone turned serious. “I wouldn’t tell you any of this stuff if I didn’t think it was important.”

“Obviously,” Rae corrected herself, “and I appreciate your concern. It’s just a lot, that's all.”

“You’re telling me,” Jake mumbled. He tugged his sunglasses down for a second, wiped some sweat from his face, and then lifted them back up to conceal his eyes once more. Rae caught a quick glimpse of them and noted that they looked a lot more tired than when he had been in the store.

Jake tore into his bag of beef jerky and offered some to Rae, who shook her head. Jake looked at her like she was crazy.

“This is literally the best beef jerky in the world, are you out of your mind?”

“I’m not big on dried meat,” Rae shrugged, and then patted her shopping bag full of veggies to make a point. Jake looked ready to engage in a long and emotional argument about whether or not beef jerky was good, but he suddenly became distracted by something behind Rae. “What?” Rae asked, suddenly feeling on edge. All the bad things Jake had shared with her were beginning to bounce around her mind.

Jake didn’t seem to hear her because he quickly jumped to his feet and stationed himself so he was shielding Rae from whatever he had seen. In spite of this, she still tried to lean around him to see what lay ahead. A pair of dusty black high top Vans came closer and Jake’s shoulders started to lift towards his ears. Rae stood to get a better look at the person out of sheer curiosity, and Jake turned briefly to frown at her, as if signaling that she sit back down. But she ignored him and finally caught sight of who was coming to their side. He had a head full of tight, amber curls and his skin was ghastly pale, which made his chocolate brown eyes stand out. In comparison to Jake’s darker, baggier clothes, he was wearing a matching set of beige pants and a jacket that fit just right. Rae grew worried when she saw that there was a tight scowl sprawled across his face, his dark eyebrows bunched towards the center of his forehead, and arched down.

“Josh,” Jake said, using his gruff voice once more. “What are you doing here?”

“I can ask the same,” Josh retorted. His voice didn’t have as much body to it as Jake’s, but it still sent a chill down Rae’s spine. There was something cold about the way he spoke, like a single word parted from his lips could freeze your heart. Josh seemed to finally realize that Jake had company, which filled him with energy. “Got a new friend?” He jutted his thumb in Rae’ direction.

Jake sounded like he was about to explode.

“Get lost, Josh.”

“Ooh,” Josh taunted, “And what if I don’t?”

“I don’t know what’s going on here,” Rae stepped from behind Jake, staring Josh down, “But you should probably fuck off.”

Josh had trouble hiding his shock at first, but quickly recovered.

“You’ve got a fire to you,” his icy voice addressed Rae.

“Fuck off,” Rae repeated herself.

“What she said,” Jake nodded, his arms folded across his chest.

“Ouch,” Josh faked a pout. He looked between Jake and Rae’s glares and let his shoulders theatrically slump. “Well, I can tell when I’m not wanted,” he said, deepening his pout. Neither Jake nor Rae responded to him, so Josh gave a small shrug, jabbed his hands in his pockets, and strolled away, whistling a tune. When he was about 10 yards away he turned back around briefly. “We’ll chat more at school on Monday.”

Rae felt unbelievably uncertain. Josh had looked directly at her when he said that, and the wave he gave after that, wiggling his fingers around, filled her with dread. Jake seemed to pick up on her discomfort since, once Josh was out of earshot, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and mumbled,

“He won’t do anything, don’t worry. I won’t let him.”

“So, obviously you two don’t get along,” Rae stated the obvious. “But what’s his deal?”

Jake motioned for them to continue walking down the street, past the school. As they took off, he looked to be thinking hard. Rae cleared her throat to prompt him to start talking, which Jake acknowledged with raised eyebrows.

“His, uh, group and mine don’t really get along. We never have. There’s just a lot of differences, so we’re constantly butting heads with each other. It doesn’t help that he’s always acting like we’re in some kind of competition, like who’s the bigger guy on campus or something.”

Rae took in Jake’s frame, which couldn’t have been taller than 5’8, and kept her thoughts to herself.

“That sounds exhausting,” Rae commented instead.

“It feels like every time I’m around town, he always shows up,” Jake continued to share. “It’s draining, really.”

“He kinda seems obsessed.”

That got a good laugh out of Jake.

“Maybe,” he decided. “I mean, how could you not be obsessed with this?” He jokingly motioned down at himself with a grin on his face. Rae chose to play along and joined in his laughter.

Her phone’s text chime interrupted her mirth and, while Jake returned back to his bag of beef jerky, she retrieved her phone from her back pocket. It was no surprise that it was her mom.

Rae, where are you? Morgan’s getting hungry

Rae gazed down at the text and could feel her jaw clenching. She couldn’t do anything for herself, she had to constantly look out for her family members, and offer a hand whenever they needed it.

“Is everything okay?” Jake asked. Rae caught him trying to look over her shoulder at the message on her phone, so she shoved it back in her pocket.

“I should head back home,” she somberly admitted. Jake seemed to be equally disappointed, but he did a better job of hiding it.

“I’ll walk you back to your place, if that’s cool with you,” he suggested.

“Of course, if you’re cool with power walking,” Rae replied. “My mom needs these groceries for dinner.”

“I’ll take that as a challenge,” Jake smirked. Rae gaped as he hustled down the sidewalk, pumping his arms like an Olympic speed walker and swinging his hips back and forth.

“You’re going the wrong way!” she called after him, practically choking on her laughter. Jake skidded to a halt and then started to speed walk in the other direction, back towards Rae. “Damn, you can move fast!” Rae exclaimed as he rushed past her.

“We gotta get your food to the dinner table, it’s an emergency!” Jake hollered over his shoulder. “I’m haulin’ ass for the sake of your family!”

Rae shook her head in disbelief as she watched her new friend entirely let his guard down around her, and ran to catch up with him.

They were about a block away from Rae’s house when Rae heard a voice off in the distance calling Jake’s name. As it grew closer, Rae reached forward to clutch onto Jake’s shoulder to get his attention.

“I can hear someone shouting for you,” she explained. That got Jake to stop in his tracks, and his eyes squinted to see who was at the far end of the block, pedaling on a rusty old bike like their life depended on it.

“Oh man,” Rae just barely heard Jake murmur under his breath.

“Jake!”

Rae could see clearer that it was a boy with shaggy brunette hair, close to the same shade as Jake’s. He was tall and lanky, like a newborn giraffe, and his skin was darkened, as if he had spent every second of his summer vacation in the sun. His white t-shirt rippled as he pedaled hard to catch up.

“Jake!” he repeated himself, screeching to a stop in front of them. Up close, Rae noted that he looked younger than her, but his eyes were sunken and dark, as if years had been taken off of his life.

“What’s up, Sam?” Jake asked, sounding on edge. “Are you okay?”

Sam looked like he was about to answer honestly, but then he winced and nodded his head, glancing briefly at Rae.

“It’s about Danny.”

***

Taglist: @lvnterninthenight, @writingcold, @myownparadise96, @i-choose-the-road

#gvf #greta van fleet #jake kiszka #josh kiszka #danny wagner #sam kiszka #gvf fanfiction #gvf fic #gvf fanfic #greta van fleet fanfiction #greta van fleet fanfic #greta van fleet fic #the frozen light

36 notes · View notes

badgirlcovenrep · 3 years

Text

headcanons of my babies being fugitives of state together bc I love the scooby gang - part 1 (? (I just feel like they're gonna keep coming)

- they go thrifting for civilian disguises. A full montage of trying on funny hats and sunglasses ensue

- they share clothes. I feel like tally and scylla would be the ones to have the most fun with this and constantly be trading around stuff with each other. Though scylla takes raelle's shirts over everything almost every day.

- scylla is a pigeon crow lady now

- you can find her feeding them worms outside every once in a while

- she talks to them and they all have names

- dumb ones too, like blackberry, lord cawster, russel crowe, feather fawcett, crowbar jr., etc (you all win extra points if you can give me more of these i'm dying for more)

- everyone else is weirded out and honestly a little scared. Raelle finds it endearing

- they eventually find a house and start being a little found family

- quinn is the montessori mom who 100% missed her calling as a kindergarten teacher.

- She never had biological children and suddenly she's given 6 very powerful yet very chaotic witch kids but she's managing and honestly we should all applaud her for that

- nicte is the wine mom (with a criminal past). She acts like she doesn't care as long as they're not abt to die, but deep down she loves being part of the idiot gang

- she's also quite insightful when they want advice

- they train their magic together in the backyard like a little boot camp and nicte whoops their ass constantly

- the kids eventually start to bicker as they develop into a little family and have to learn to communicate better together as they go

- it's mostly dumb stuff tho, like who's gonna do which chore

- also 95% of the times it's abigail and scylla

- abigail is canonically v bossy and scylla just doesn't really care for that (she also thinks it's funny to push her buttons sometimes)

- they eventually bond over being the ones that would a 1000% commit a plethora of war crimes to keep the little found family safe

- like all of them would die for each other but Abigail and scylla would burn the world for their friends/SOs and they eventually gain respect towards each other bc of that

- Khalida is everyone's little sister

- being the youngest in the group they can't help but be protective (and a little teasing) of her constantly

- she pretends it doesn't but it annoys her to no end

- "I'm a leader of my people, damn it! My ancestors picked my mind to keep their knowledge for the next centuries to be! You will NOT rustle my hair like an undignified little baby!" Abigail: "Yeah you're also like 4 feet tall so tough luck"

- they all love each other a lot tho

- they sit around in the backyard after training and tell stories around the fire

- they also dance and sing songs and have a little bit of nice normal carefree times together for the first time in a while

- between Adigail and raylla it's almost torture every single day for mostly everyone in the house

- the pda is INTENSE.

- it's almost always raylla but Abigail and Adil have their moments too

- (I have a feeling raelle would be the one to not give a single fuck and constantly get scylla flustered by kissing the daylight out of her in front of people but that's a one-shot for another day)

- m and gregorio eventually make their way to the fam too

- they all have to do missions together and are little shits about it the whole way

- the scooby gang is strong together but they DO NOT get along well under pressure

- once they're in a mission and gregorio says he has to pee when they're in a really sensitive moment and Abigail almost croaks on the spot

- abigail: Tally give me the safe opening thingy.

Tally:........

abigail, trying not to blow a fuse as she's hung upside down inside the security room of a bank: you forgot the damn thing AGAIN, didn't you?

Tally: I'M A SEER I'M NOT A REMEMBERER!

- yule with them would be the cutest thing ever

- them sitting around the yule log giving each other presents 🥺

- quinn playing the piano and them all taking turns singing holiday songs

- Petra, Edwin and Anacostia are there

- they all made the dinner together like a sweet little family, with apple pie and everything

- scylla, Adil, khalida and Tally can probably cook, the rest of them absolutely cannot

- they're not in charge of the food tho (thank goddess)

#ask me for more #i legit have SO MANY #motherland fort salem #scylla ramshorn #raelle collar #raelle x scylla #motherland: fort salem #mfs theories #wlw #raylla #taylor hickson #amalia holm #tally craven #abigail bellweather #m motherland #gregorio shellbark

258 notes · View notes

xoxo-teddybear · 3 years

Text

Whatever Katsuki Wants - Bakugou Katsuki

Bakugou x f!Reader

Warnings: ANGST, violence, blood, cursing, lowkey little yandere Bakugou, smut, toxic relationship

Request: can I get Bakugou comes across a criminal on one of his bad days and he goes straight feral with an insane satisfied smile as he beats the shit out of them till they die. (Dark Ik, sorry😂) but as he beats the man, a video is taken of the scene and instead of posting it the anonymous person sent it to quirkless!FemaleReader. How would that play out?

BAKUGOU’S MASTERLIST

“Fucking hell!”

Bakugou ran through the dark city chasing an annoying ass criminal. It wasn’t even a villain per say, more like a petty thief wanting to ruin someone’s day. His day. Now usually, the number 2 hero wouldn’t be pursuing this type of crime, but the damn prick ran into a bank, held hostages, and got away with over 5 grand.

The pro was already have a pissy day from the second he woke up. He couldn’t wake up next to his Teddy Bear because you had to visit your parents for something that started before even Katsuki had to wake up, then he burned his breakfast because a damn bird flew into the kitchen window, he was late to work and got put on night patrol, he probably wouldn’t get to see you when he got home before you knocked out because you also had a night shift, and now this.

Every second that passed caused his damn blood to boil. He was mad at....well, existence. Not his, just existence in general. For everything. He was so close to catching this damn bastard that when he finally pounced the guy, he didn’t realize there were footsteps coming his way.

Bakugou pinned the criminal to the ground in an alleyway and completely disregarded his quirk. He needed to take his anger out on something and this poor man happened to be in his grip. Bakugou threw punch after punch, kicked the man in his stomach until he coughed up blood, he stomped on the man’s head, threw him against a wall, etc. He ended it with a strong and fiery blast at the unconscious body. Finally, after 2 minutes of silence, Bakugou began to sinisterly laugh. A psychotic laugh with a crazed look in his eye. He was hunched over with his arms loose as he walked towards the dead man, picking him up by his skull.

“Sorry buddy, you caught me on a bad day,” he laughed out and whispered into the lifeless body’s ear. He threw the body into a pile of trash cans before walking out of the alleyway. When he turned the corner, he took notice of a trembling civilian, holding a camera at him. “The hell?! THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT DAMN CAMERA?!”

Bakugou barked at the random person with devil eyes before sending a blast to the phone. The person ran away screaming, pissed at the hero for doing that. To be petty, the “extra” (as Bakugou would say) wanted this video to be exposed. Not to the media, this person wasn’t cruel enough to destroy someone else’s career, but he wanted to send it to someone to have the hero learn a lesson.

Now it was no secret that the pro was in a relationship. In an article, it was revealed that the two of you had been together for the past 4 years. With that in mind, the damn hacker found Dynamight’s longtime girlfriend’s number and sent the video her way.

—

At Bakugou’s nice home, his perfect little oblivious girlfriend hummed a tune to herself as she made some spicy curry for her precious Suki. Now it’s not that Y/N was dumb. She was actually very intelligent. But when it came to Katsuki, she was just a cute little “housewife” that loved him.

Flashback

When Bakugou first met you in the grocery market, he couldn’t help but notice your tiny but voluptuous figure, you were struggling to reach a box of cereal until Katsuki came along and helped.

“Here you go, Short Stack. Maybe next time you should ask your mommy to help you reach the high shelves.” He teased with a wink to the nickname.

You looked at the handsome blonde with a blush at first sight but when he teased you, your blush grew more ferocious with a pout and pointed brows. “I don’t need my mom to help me in the grocery store. I’m 22 for God’s sake!” You said, reaching for the box that he now held over his head.

“Hm, woulda said 17.” He teased again. You ignored his jokes and jumped to reach the box and take it out of his hands. You failed multiple times and he still stood tall with a smirk as he looked down at you.

‘Now she’s fucking cute’ he thought to himself. His eyes traveled down to your busty hips and tiny waist, then taking notice of the way your chest bounced around when you jumped and reached for the cereal. ‘Pretty damn sexy too.’

“C’mon little bear. You can do it.” He said with a shit eating grin. You pouted some more and stomped your foot before coming to a realization and began smirking. You dropped to the floor and swooped your legs to kick at his ankles and made him drop to the floor. As he fell, he let go of the box and you caught it midway before turning your back to him. Usually, Bakugou would be a little pissed, but his anger died down at the sight of your juicy ass.

“Yes!” You cheered.

“Woah..” Bakugou said in a trance. You turned to him with a confused look before he quickly hid it with a scowl. You giggled at his place on the floor and stuck out your hand to help him up.

“Sorry, but maybe you should’ve just given me my cereal. Anyway, thanks for the ‘help’ I guess..uh..” you asked, hinting for his name.

“Bakugou.” He answered and you nodded and gave a soft smile before speaking.

“Bakugou.” You said, finishing your previous sentence. “Well, I’ll be off now,”

You began to walk away but felt Bakugou tug on your arm. You looked back at him with another confused look but was only met with a cute smirk.

“Hey, I helped you with that cereal, the least you could do is give me the pretty girl’s name.” He said. You blushed a bit more before giving him a dumb look.

“Who? Me?” You teased.

“Nooo, the old hag at the cash register,” he joked. You both laughed at his comment as you settled with his hold on you, not minding the contact at all.

“Y/N L/N.” You said.

“Alright Y/N L/N, was nice meeting you.” He said with his hands in his pockets while holding a smile. A real smile and not a smirk.

“I know.” You said with a cocky smile that he could only chuckle at. “Was nice meeting you too Bakugou. I’ll see you around,” you said walking away with a waving hand.

As you walked, Bakugou couldn’t help but admire your curvy body and drool at the sight. He didn’t know what it was but something was pulling him to you. He wanted you. He needed you. That little interaction was not enough. It’s not even that he wanted to fuck. Sure you had a banging body, but your playful self caught his interest. He wanted your mind, body, and soul. He wanted to make you his.

Through the help of technology and his access to police files and hero reports, he was able to find your name, address, where you worked, and all that. He worked hard to “coincidentally” run into you constantly, up until the point where you two became quite acquainted. You eventually asked him to hang out (as friends) and that’s where the relationship grew. A few months had passed before Bakugou successfully asked you on a date, and that’s when you both found love within each other. Or more so, you found love in him. He loved you at first sight and he knew it for a fact.

After a year of dating, Bakugou asked you to move in with him and you of course said yes. Once settled in, he worked even harder to constantly fuck you stupid, break you down but build you up at the same time. He made it clear he was in charge and you were his little toy. A toy he loved with his entire being, but still a toy.

You became his dumb little girl. You had a job but Katsuki encouraged you to not work so much. “I don’t want you to raise a finger pretty girl. Just let Daddy take care of you,” he would say as he bounced you on his cock.

You had a little dance hobby that Katsuki also encouraged you to take a break from. “You don’t need to put on a show for anybody else but me, Princess. Daddy’ll give you all the attention you want.” He’d say as he kissed your cheek and finger you in front of a mirror.

You used to have friends before Bakugou found out they were trying to warn you of his abrasive behavior. Growing pissed at that, he convinced you they were against you and were no good for you.

“Those little friends of yours could never make you feel as good as I do, baby. They’re no good for you. They just want us to be apart. They’re jealous. They want you to leave me, but you don’t want that, right princess?”

“N-No daddy!”

“That’s right princess. You definitely don’t wanna leave me. Because no would could take care of you like I do, right? No one could. Nobody but me,” he would say as he pounded into you and whispered in your ear.

Eventually, Katsuki became your whole life. You would work one day a week so that you had more time for Katsuki. You would wake up next to him and cuddle with him until he had to leave for work. You would clean the house and cook for him, and you would wait for him to come home during the late hours of the night so you could smother him with love. Often times, you guys would fuck. Matter of fact, the day you first moved in, you Christened every place and piece of furniture in his house. It was the same routine that you learned to love. Wake up, cuddle, clean, cook, love, fuck.

Being Katsuki’s precious dumb baby girl, he couldn’t let his baby bear see all the damage he does as a hero. Oh no, that would scare you way too much. Your precious little self wouldn’t be able to handle it. He would tell you he was a pro hero, the number 2 hero, saving lives, and he was satisfied every time he saw the sparkle in your eyes as you looked at your hero boyfriend with a proud look. He never told you about the dark side of hero work though. The bloodshed, the kills, the deaths. Horrid things your sweet baby mind wouldn’t be able to take. He would keep his princess oblivious to the terrible things he has to do as a hero and you being his dumb little bear listened when he said you wouldn’t be able to find any videos of him. Why bother to check if he was right? Your Katsuki would never lie to you. He would never do wrong by you. All and all, Katsuki can’t risk her getting scared and leaving.

That was until....

—

Ding!

You were busy finishing up dinner when your phone went off. You looked down to the screen to see a random number had sent you a video. From the preview of the video on the banner, you took notice of that easily recognizable tuff of spiky blonde hair. You grew excited at the small sight of your boyfriend and swooned before you watched the video.

After you pressed play, your smile remained as you watched your boyfriend. However, as the video went on, your smile slowly dropped and became replaced with an open mouth. Your eyes became filled with fear as you watched your “sweet” boyfriend ruthlessly murder a man in an alleyway. You listened to his crazy laugh and felt your heart skip a few beats. Your mouth became dry and your palms grew sweaty as the video continued to install fear in you. Finally, your boyfriend threw the dead body into a pile of trash cans before you saw him look to the camera with those eyes. Those ruby gems that you used to love turned into blood drops as he gave the camera a scary glare. He barked at the man behind the camera before aiming a blast his way. The blast came at the camera and made you jump as it felt like the attack was going to hit you. You flinched and dropped your phone as the video finished and your breath grew heavy as you began to sweat and look around.

You immediately ran to your shared bedroom and pulled out your laptop. Katsuki always said you would never find anything about Dynamight online, but all you had to do was type in his name to find multiple videos of his deathly battles. You watched countless recordings of him mercilessly killing people left and right with his quirk and bare hands. Your body began to shake as your pupils dilated with fear. After a terribly gruesome fight video, you threw your device aside in fear and ran into the living room. You settled the slightest bit before growing nervous once more. All around the house were pictures of you and Katsuki. He was everywhere in the house. And those dangerously red eyes followed you everywhere. You began to hyperventilate until the sound of jingling keys invaded your ears.

You looked at the door in fear and after a few seconds, the main man walked in. Katsuki Bakugou. He seemed exhausted but once he took sight of you, he visibly became at ease.

—

Bakugou walked into the door, pissed off and tired as fuck. Luckily, that all changed when he noticed his precious Teddy Bear in the living room. He assumed you came to greet him again like you always did and he smiled at that.

“K-Katsuki! Hi..” you nervously said but Bakugou was too intoxicated with you to even notice. He walked to you with a smile and wrapped his arms around your waist before peppering your face in sweet kisses. You flinched due to his touch but Bakugou just assumed it was because of his stronger caramel scent. He did use his quirk a lot today after all.

“Hi baby,” he said. He didn’t stop his kisses as he spoke in between them. “Had such a bad day this mornin’.....was so upset......missed you a lot baby...did you miss me?”

“Mm..y-yes.” You once again said in fear. You definitely missed him throughout the day, but now with this new information, you wanted nothing more than to get away from him. Bakugou moved his kisses to your lips and placed a long, loving one on you. He had his eyes shut and so did you, but his were shut in content and yours were scrunched in fear. The entire time, you could feel your rapid heart rate pulse all throughout your body.

Bakugou started a heavy make out session with you as his hands traveled to the swell of your ass and gave it a grip and smack. He spoke to you throughout the kiss and kept his lips hovering when he spoke before diving right back into it. “Not my best day today......but you can make it better, right baby.....you wanna help Daddy feel better?”

“Mm!” You didn’t say yes but you couldn’t say no either. You didn’t know how to. Not when it came to Katsuki. At the cute little sound, Bakugou picked you up and placed you down on the couch, too eager to dive into you right away.

He placed you on the wide couch and began grabbing at your body. Your tiny waist, your curvy hips, your pretty titties. That was when he finally felt you tense up. A few nervous thoughts infiltrated his mind. Did you not want this? You never said no to him though. What was going on? He pushed those thoughts away as he continued. Maybe you were just extra sensitive today. Things were starting to change when he moved his hand down into your panties and you tried to squirm away from him.

“Baby?” He asked you as he separated from your lips and gave you a confused puppy look. He finally took notice of your nervousness and looked at you with worry. “You okay, princess?”

“Umm, yeah! I’m-..I’m okay it’s just, you don’t wanna take a shower before we do anything?” You asked as an excuse. Bakugou chuckled and a few of his nerves began to settle.

“C’mon princess, I know I just got off of work but it’s always just smoke and caramel with me. Besides you love it, I know you do.” He said and smirked as he began to lick at your neck. You nervously laugh and pushed on his chest to back him up.

“Aha, yeah, but don’t you wanna be a little more comfortable?” You asked again.

“I’m already comfortable right here. If anything, I’d be really comfortable if we were both bare already.” He said against your neck again. You pushed him off again and placed a soft hand on his cheek while giving him the sweetest smile as you spoke.

“Please love, for me?” You asked. You watched as Bakugou gave an exasperated sigh with a smile and roll of his eyes before leaning down and giving you a sweet peck.

“For you.” He said before pecking your cheek. “Everything for you, baby.” He said and finally got up to go wash up.

Once he was out of sight you released a relieved sigh. With him gone, you felt yourself began to shake again as you crowded into a corner on the couch and held yourself. You covered your mouth as you began to silently cry and sob. That-..that killer was so close to you. He was pressed against you. His once loving and comforting presence now became dangerous and scary. You didn’t know if you could take it.

—

As Katsuki walked up the stairs to the master bedroom, he couldn’t help but feel the nerves begin to bubble back up again. Why were you acting so...disobedient? It kind of irritated the blonde but he settled nonetheless. Maybe you were just having an off day. Bakugou walked right into the room and went straight for the shower after tossing his phone on the bed. The sooner he washed up, the sooner he could get to ravish you. He was quickly in and out of the shower and once he went back into the room, he threw on a pair of Gray sweats. Before leaving, Bakugou went to grab his phone but noticed your laptop opened. He looked to the screen in curiosity and felt his heart drop to his stomach once he saw what he did.

‘PRO-HERO DYNAMIGHT’S MOST LETHAL ATTACKS’ was the video you were watching. Bakugou took notice of the setting and remembered that battle. The battle where he grabbed a villain by their neck and blasted off into the sky before using an explosion to hurl them down to the ground again, killing them in the end.

Why the hell were you watching this? How the hell did you find this?! Why did you even think of looking for this video?! Bakugou felt his heart rate increase as his breath became huffs of frustration. His eyes grew fierce as he grabbed the laptop and ran downstairs. Once he walked in, he saw you cornered in the couch, hugging your knees with your head down. “Y/N!”

You immediately looked up when your boyfriend called your name. He finally saw your teary eyes and feared face when you looked to him. Then it finally clicked. This is why you were acting so off. You found him. You found the other side of him. The Katsuki you knew was sweet, teasing, loving, and a romantic. The Katsuki he hid from you was ruthless, violent, feral, and borderline insane. And you were acting off because you finally found out.

“Mind telling me what the fuck this is?!” He shouted. Now this wouldn’t be the first time Katsuki’s yelled at you. While he was in the process of breaking you down, he had to yell to let you know who was in charge. It’s not like he was heartless though, he hated it every time you forced his hand and made him yell at you. He felt so guilty and made sure to cater to your every need after he would freak out on you. Thankfully, you were a quick learner and it’s been years since you’ve gotten reprimanded by him.

You stood to your feet to try and defend yourself and get a grip. “K-Katsuki! I-..I swear it’s nothing! I wasn’t doing anything!”

“You’re gonna fucking lie to me now, Y/N?! Why the hell did you go and look for this video?” He fiercely asked. You remained silent as you were terrified and just trembled at you chewed at your lip. “ANSWER ME!”

“I-...Someone-..Somebody sent me a video...of you...and what you did tonight.” You hesitantly said. Bakugou slammed to your laptop shut and threw it to a wall, destroying it in the process.

“Show me the video.” He demanded. You were still shaking as you looked to him in fear and shock at what he just did. “NOW!”

You scrambled to get your phone and give it to Katsuki. He watched the video with a numb expression but his grip on the phone gave away all his emotions of anger and fury. Once the video was done, he looked at you with an insane smirk. You stared at him in fear as you watched his every move and right then and there he crushed your phone in his hand.

“K-Katsuki!” You shouted as you looked to your now destroyed devices. He dusted off his hands and walked to you. You tensed up at his approach and when he raised a hand to cup your cheek gently, he felt the way you shook in extreme terror.

“It’s okay, baby. You can tell me whatever you’re thinking right now. I won’t get mad.” He softly said with a smile. He was so close to you now. His hand was caressing your face oh so sweetly that it made you believe him the slightest bit. You don’t know if it was love or fear that caused you to tell him but you did.

“I-..I’m..I’m scared of you Katsuki.” You said with tears in your eyes. Katsuki just continued to softly stroke your face with his gentle smile as he nodded his head and encouraged you to go on. “You didn’t tell me..about anything of that. You told me you saved people..but you were..killing them.”

“It’s how I have to save people baby. People who become too dangerous need to be put down. It’s my job baby, you understand, don’t you?” He asked with his gentle tone. You shook your head as he still held it softly.

“No..I- I don’t.” You looked at Katsuki with hurt eyes and you took a small breath before you boldy said the next words. “I-..I think we should take a break.”

At that, Katsuki tensed up again. His eyes went wide for a second and his smile dropped before he shook his head and the kind eyes and warm smile returned. He stared at you for what felt like forever before his sweet face turned into a scary look and his hand quickly wrapped around your neck to put you into a small choke hold. Bakugou flipped you onto the couch and pinned you there. You began to scream and squirm but he covered your mouth and held you down with his legs to keep you steady.

“Careful Teddy Bear,” he said with a maniacal look, “shout and scream too much and you might just lose your breath,” he said and tightened his hold the slightest bit. “And we wouldn’t want that now, would we?”

You began to silently sob as his hand covered your mouth and you stopped moving under his hold. You nodded your head as tears began to spill down your face. Katsuki pouted at you before leaning down to lick away a tear. “Awe, don’t cry baby. There’s nothing to be scared off.”

At his words, your eyes grew angry and you bit his hand to remove it. He shouted at the bite and removed his hand as he looked down at you in anger. “You! That’s what I’m scared of Katsuki!” You said with anger and sadness.

Bakugou didn’t take too kindly to that and clenched his fist before he smacked your face. Your head turned to the side at the hard slap as you gasped at the contact. Bakugou grabbed your face with his large hand and made you face him.

“Dirty fucking bitch. You fucking love getting smacked by me don’t you?” He said with a crazed look. “Listen to me very carefully Y/N. I’ve loved you since I first laid my fucking eyes on you. So you’re not allowed to leave me. Understand?” He asked. You began to squirm again and he smacked you again to get you to stop. “ENOUGH OF THAT! You’re not leaving me Y/N. If you run, I’ll find you again the same way I did in the beginning. If you hit me, I’ll have to punish you. You remember all your punishments, don’t you? So stop fighting it. You love me and I love you. We’re not splitting up.”

You narrowed your eyes at Bakugou before spitting on his face. His eyes grew feral as his hold returned to your neck to give it a squeeze. You could still breath..but barely. “Answer me this baby. Answer wrong though and I’ll do what has to be done. Do you want to leave me?”

You looked at his eyes to find any hints of danger. Sadly, everything about this whole situation screamed danger. You still had love for Katsuki, you knew you did, but this was a whole different level. You didn’t know who this was. “.....Yes.”

“Wrong answer.”

With that, Bakugou began to rip your clothes off along with his own. You watched in fear as he did everything. The entire time, he had this excited grin on his face with insane eyes.

“K-Katsuki! What are yo-“ before you could finish, Bakugou had taken your panties and used them as a gag for you. He shoved them in your mouth and you made muffled sounds. You were both now completely bare on the couch, just like he wanted when he first came home.

“Relax baby,” he said before kissing your cheek softly as he pulled you to him. “I’m gonna make you feel so good..I’m gonna do something so nice that you’ll never want to leave.”

You shook your head with tears in your eyes. You tried push him away but he pulled your hands down. “Stop that. I’m not a heartless monster baby. I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

He grabbed both your hands and pinned them above your head in the couch. Both your tiny hands were able to be held by his one giant palm as his other hand traveled to your lower region and began rubbing soft circles on your clit. You arched your back at the pleasant feeling. As much as you didn’t want this, as much as you wanted to run away and leave, your body couldn’t deny the pleasure he gave you. He knew you inside and out. He was able to break you from a single touch.

“Feel good?” He asked with a smirk. You shook your head in disagreement. His smirk fell into a determined frown. He knew you didn’t want this now but he would make sure you would soon enough. His movements picked up speed and your legs began to shake. Katsuki finally shoved two fingers in, causing you to shriek with the muffled sound.

His pumps gave no hesitation with their speed as they went in hard and fast. You were practically screaming behind the panties once he gave in another 2 fingers. His thumb played with your clit as he continued to whisper dirty things into your ear.

“My little slut really thought she could leave me? Huh? Cant you hear the sounds your pretty pussy is making. Your mouth may say you don’t want me but your mind and body says otherwise.” With that he slipped in his thumb and you’ve never felt so full. You had his entire fist pumping in and out of you as your felt your legs growing weak. “Fuck baby, look at you. Taking my fist so well. Feel good? Feel full? Hm?”

This time, you moaned in agreement. You couldn’t help it. This was going to be your last time with Katsuki, might as well make it last. However, that was never Bakugou’s plan, no. He loves you too much to let you go. You aren’t leaving him and he’s making sure of it.

As he continued, he felt you tighten around his fist. He smiled once again and sped up his movements. “C’mon baby, let me hear you.” He leaned down and pulled the panties out of your mouth with his teeth. He tossed them aside and allowed you to voice your thoughts.

“F-Fuck Katsuki! M-More! Please!” You begged. He only looked down at you with wide eyes and a grin.

“More? What more could I give you baby?” He said, leaving down to you. “Tell me what you want Y/N.”

“I-...I-“

“You- you- you what teddy bear? Tell me. Do you want..me to stop?” He teased.

“N-No!” You cried out.

“Do you want me to slow down?” He asked.

“No!”

“Then? What do you want, baby?” He asked.

“Mm! I- I want you to fuck me Katsuki! Please! Fuck me with your cock!” You cried out and Bakugou’s fist came to a stop.

“Good girl.” He then pulled out his fist and quickly replaced it with his dick. You both cried out in euphoria. He wasted no time in ramming into you, using a quick speed. He held onto your hips as you velvet walls swallowed him in. “S-Shit baby! Fuck, after all that you’re still so- fuck! So fucking tight.”

His fingertips had a grip on your hips that was sure to leave bruises. The way he was pounding into you caused your breast to bounce and dance right in front of him. Not that it wasn’t anything Katsuki hasn’t seen before, but it’s the fact that he loves the scene so much. He licked his lips at the sight of your voluptuous mounds before taking one into his mouth. The feeling of his teeth sinking in had you gasping and your hands found way into his hair, pulling him in closer.

“K-Katsuki!” You cried out. He smirked at the sound and released you from his mouth.

“You don’t even know how good you look. How good you will look when I knock you up and fill you with my kids.” He said against your bare skin. This made your eyes pop as you looked at him in fear.

“W-what?! No! Katsuki! Please, I don’t want thi-“

“Shut the fuck up!” He screamed over you. He placed his hand around your neck as his cock completely took over you. “Yes you do! Don’t you remember baby? You always talked about starting a family with me. Now you can have it!”

“K-Katsuki..please! Please stop, this is rape!” You urgently whimpered. Bakugou merely ignored your cry as he continued his motions.

“I said, SHUT THE FUCK UP! It’s not rape if you enjoy it baby.” He said in response. He continued to touch you in the dirtiest of ways, bringing quiet moans out of you no matter how hard you tried to fight it.

“No! I don’t want it anymore! I don’t want you Katsuki!” You cried. Tears now flowed down your face in fear. You’ve always wanted a family with him. But that was before you knew how he truly was. Your words only angered Katsuki and so he punished you with a harsh smack to the face. Your head turned to the side as you gasped at the stinging feeling that almost felt like pleasure in a way.

“I’m gonna give you brat, and you’re gonna stay. You’re gonna stay with me and we’re gonna be a happy family! Because I love you and I know you love me.” He said. Your legs were growing weak as his relentless thrusts never stopped.

“P-Please. Please, I’ll stay. But I don’t want this. Not now.” You whimpered. At your soft voice, Bakugou slowed down the pace but his hard thrusts continued.

“Sorry baby, but I want this. I’ve spoiled you for too long. I give you everything under the sun and you reward me by trying to leave. Especially over such a small instance? I don’t think so. The least you could do for me is give me the family I want with you. Don’t you agree?” He sweetly said with malice intent.

You only continued your whimpers as you allowed him to do as he pleased. You weren’t getting out of this. Katsuki gets whatever Katsuki wants. If he wanted to fuck his child into you, he was going to do so, one way or another. Katsuki allowed his moans to fill the room as the once sweet sound of skin slapping grew louder and louder, coming faster and faster. Eventually, you reached your release and even squirted all over Katsuki’s chest. He very much enjoyed that and it brought him closer to his climax. He kept to his word and filled you up to the brim. You both threw your head backs and cried out in ecstasy.

Once he was done, Katsuki remained inside of you as he laid on top of you. He peppered your face in kisses as you continued to make soft sounds. You both remained on the couch for some time before he pulled out and walked to the kitchen to get a rag and clean you and himself up. Once done, he picked you up and brought you to the bedroom where he placed you down under the sheets and joined you. He cuddled with you in bed feeling happy and joyous while your head was stuck in thought.

‘If his plan worked, I’ll be a mother soon. There’ll be a baby growing inside of me.’ You silently thought. Bakugou snapped you out of your thoughts with a kiss on your lips before he began speaking.

“..I know what you saw on the footage was scary, but that’s not the only part of me. I’ve shown you every other me. The me that loves you and wants to be with you forever, Y/N.” He said and picked up your hand to give your knuckles a kiss.

“....I understand that your job isn’t the purest. I understand that sometimes, a life will be lost. But the video that was sent to me, showed you killing a petty robber. You took it too far.” You argued quietly.

“Tch. Whatever. He deserved it anyway-“

“And it’s not only that, but you’re the reason why I have no friends, no job, no money, no family, no nothing. In the beginning, it was amazing because I thought I knew you. But now, I’m just scared of you Katsuki and I have no one else to go to.” You began to get choked up. This was the man you loved but you felt like you didn’t know him anymore. Right now, in your eyes, he was a killer. A scary monster.

“If you left me, who would you go to baby? You’re absolutely right. You have no friends. No job. No home. You have nobody but me. You need me. Say it.” He demanded. You remained quiet to rebel against his wishes until he took hold of your face and squeezed it tight. To stop the pain, you forced the words out.

“I-...I need you!” With that, he released his hold on you and his hand rested on your cheek. He stared into your eyes and you looked at him with the sad and confused look you had on ever since he came home.

“I love you Y/N. Do you still love me?” He asked.

“......I do.” You said. A smile grew on his face.

“Then we can make this work,” he said and pulled you into his chest, holding you tight. You whimpered into his chest but nonetheless held onto him tight as well. You did love him. You knew you did. But you didn’t love who he truly was. Or at least, what part of him was. A killer. A murderer.

He was right though. You had nowhere else to go. Katsuki really was your everything. And so, you were going to allow this relationship to go on. His child will come from you and you will start a family with him. Whether you want it to happen or not. As long as he wants it, it’ll happen.

Whatever Katsuki wants.

A/N: THE ENDING IS SO RUSHED AND HORRIBLE! IM SORRY!

Tag list: @sxcker4you @aomi04

347 notes · View notes

maddiwrites · 3 years

Text

Family and Hope

Pairing: Routledge!Reader x JJ (Kinda)

Summary: A month after your brother disappeared, you’re confronted by someone you never thought you would see again, forcing you to come to terms with reality.

Note: I made this a reader x JJ pairing but the focus is more on the relationship with the person who’s introduced in this fic! Also if you haven't yet, go over to my page and read my OBX rewrite and let me know what you think (:

Word Count: 4.2k (Do I know how to write a short fic? No.)

You’ll never forget the day that Shoupe told you he and the FBI “lost” your brother. “Lost” them. Like they were a toddler’s toy that had just been misplaced. No one knew if they were dead or alive, but most made the conclusion that they were never coming back.

You were ultimately left with no family. After you dad disappeared, all you had was John B. And just like that, he was gone too. Your legal guardian, Ward Cameron, obviously threw you out. But it didn’t take much effort because you weren’t going to go back there anyway. See Ward, whether it be on the streets or on the Local News, nauseated you to no end. You knew he was the reason your dad and brother were gone. The greedy mother fucker would do anything to sit on the highest throne of success and fortune - even going as far as murder. And you knew this world well enough to know that he would never face the consequences of his actions. Because he’s wealthy with an outstanding reputation on this island. And if that wasn’t enough, people now felt sorry for him because his daughter was gone, and everyone blamed that on John B.

Although you were left with no blood relatives, you continue to be surprised by how far your real family would go for you. Mr. Heyward, although always disapproving of you and your friends’ antics, offered to take you in. He promised a roof over your head and food on the table until you turned eighteen so you wouldn’t have to experience foster care. You couldn’t be more grateful especially knowing that he already struggled to support his wife and only kid.

You tried your hardest to continue living your life as normal as possible. Most days, you pretended like your brother wasn’t even dead. He was just gone. On vacation. Living life. He was coming back. That’s what you told yourself, anyway. You sound like John B when your dad first disappeared. The police called you crazy. Your friends felt sorry for you. But you didn’t care. You weren’t going to give up hope.

Your boyfriend, JJ, tried his best to be supportive, but he was drowning in his own sorrow and grief. He lost his best friend too and truly believed he was never coming back. It was hard for him to get out of bed in the mornings. He was fired from his hotel job, and the couple of people who still let him mow his lawn barely talked to him. The beatings from his dad were worse than ever. Luke almost killed him when he heard it was The Phantom that had sunk. The only reason JJ is still breathing is because the police showed up after one of their neighbors called in for a noise complaint. Since the Chateau was no longer a safe escape - always being investigated by the police - he was stuck in his own home. Luckily, his dad was gone most days, which allowed you to sneak in every once in a while.

You brought him food and water whenever you could, always checking for Luke’s pick up truck before sneaking in through the window. Although you hated how depressed JJ was, it gave you something to focus on. Helping JJ with his every day tasks helped distract you from thinking about your own feelings about John B’s loss.

Even though it was hard to tell, JJ worried about you. You were running from his house, to Kie’s, to Pope’s, finding anyone and anything to avoid your own feelings about your brother. He was afraid that one of these days you were gonna break. And he was terrified because he didn’t know what would trigger that reaction.

~ ~ ~

“Oh, good. You’re up,” You crawled through JJ’s window and watched him sip on a PBR can as he looked for a shirt that didn’t smell completely awful. You forced a smile when JJ barely glanced at you and set the coffees and two granola bars on his night stand. “I know it’s not a lot, but it’s all I could afford right now.”

Kie’s father basically fired you from the Wreck, telling you nicely that you were scaring people away. At the end of the day, everyone on the island thought you helped a murderer escape. A murderer you were related to. So you’ve been working for Heyward behind the the counter, making less than minimum wage.

“Okay...” you drawled out. “Well, I have to get going. Heyward needs me their early, but maybe we can go somewhere tonight? Smoke on the beach or something? Just the two of us.”

JJ looked at you sadly, wanting to say something. But he thought maybe tonight would be better. You were in a good mood - a facade he knew you put on every day to avoid talking about your family. He hated seeing you cry, but he thought if he broke down your walls now, it would help you heal faster. Even if you thought you didn’t need to heal.

But instead, he just nodded and let you leave without saying “goodbye” or “I love you.” A phrase he hasn’t mentioned since John B disappeared.

You kissed him on the cheek and walked yourself out the front door, ignoring the crack in your heart when JJ turned away from you.

~ ~ ~

A couple hours later, JJ was waking up from another nap when Pope blew up his phone with missed calls and text messages. At first, he immediately thought of the worse possible case scenario. Something happened to you or maybe even Kie. He even let his mind wander to the possibility that they found John B’s body. But instead, what he read, only left him completely confused.

He rushed over to Heyward’s, hoping to beat you there.

~ ~ ~

Mr. Heyward didn’t know what to expect when his former friend showed up at his door. He was mixed with all different emotions. Relieved, confused, scared. Behind her was a man about his age. Tall, fair skinned, hair slicked back, and dressed in slacks and a button down shirt.

“Caroline....what are you doing here?”

“I hear my daughter is living with you now. I was hoping I’d be able to see her,” Your mother admitted, feeling sheepish and a little embarrassed. “May I come in?” Heyward told himself he should slam the door in her face and tell her to go back to wherever the hell she came from. She used to be his friend, then out of nowhere, she up and left her entire family behind, without another word to them or any of her friends. He was hurt and betrayed, and he knew if he was feeling this way, he could only imagine how you would feel.

But although Heyward loved you like his own, he felt wrong hiding your mother from you. It wasn’t his decision to make whether or not you got to confront her.

He opened the door wider for her and her husband, he assumed, to enter. Heyward ignored their judgmental gazes as they inspected his home and called out for his wife.

Mrs. Heyward stopped in her tracks when she caught a glimpse of the blonde hair she remembered so clearly. You were a spitting image of your mother. Long blonde hair, a button nose, and perfectly straight teeth. The one thing you didn’t get from her though was her selfish personality.

“What the hell are you doing here?” She seethed. Mrs. Heyward loved you like a daughter and felt protective when someone who hurt you so badly in the past came back.

“Honey...” Mr. Heyward placed a light hand on her shoulder to comfort her and then motioned for the two seats at their kitchen table for your mother and her husband to take.

“Y/N’s not here,” Mrs. Heyward glared.

“Anne, I know you don’t think I have any right to be here -”

“Right?”

“But she’s my daughter!” Your mother protested with tears in her eyes.

Your mother grew up on the Cut too, and just like you, she was able to charm her way into anything. A job, a relationship, a better test grade. There was a time when Caroline, John, Anne and Heyward would cause mischief in Kildare County. But unlike the rest of the group, she was always interested in getting out of the Outer Banks and starting a life somewhere else. She knew she was settling when she married John Routledge so the second a better opuurtunity came around, she didn’t hesitate to take it. Even if it mean’t leaving her family behind.

“Mom...” Pope walked out from the hallway and looked between Caroline and the man next to her who had his hand on her thigh. He never met Y/N and John B’s mother. Never even seen a picture of her. But looking at her, it was clear to him that this was their mother. You looked just like her, he thought.

“Pope, this is Caroline...” Heyward hesitated and looked at the woman for clarification.

“Bennett.” She confirmed and placed her hand on top of her husband’s, interlacing their fingers. “I’m Y/N’s mom.”

Pope noticed how she didn’t even mention John B. He wondered how cold a woman had to be to not even mention her dead son’s name.

“Go to your room, Pope,” His mother said softly.

Pope nodded and glanced one last time at Caroline and the man next to her before pulling his phone out of his back pocket and texting JJ. He knew Y/N wasn’t going to take well to the news that her mother was in town. All her life, he heard Y/N saying nothing but horrible things about the woman. You hated her.

He waited in his room until he heard the familiar revving of JJ’s bike outside his house. Pope ran to the front door before his father could push JJ away. JJ stormed into the house and stopped when he was face to face with the woman he’s grown to hate too. Just like you had with his mother.

“JJ -” Heyward stood up and approached the boy, but JJ flinched out of his grasp.

“You shouldn't be here,” JJ pointed at her.

“I- I’m sorry. Who -”

“This is JJ. Pope’s friend -” Anne tried explaining.

“And Y/N’s boyfriend, and I’m telling you right now, she won’t want to see you.”

Caroline nodded as if she understood where JJ was coming from. But Caroline was use to getting what she wanted. Now more than ever. And she wasn’t leaving OBX without seeing her daughter. Maybe even convincing her to come home with them.

“JJ -” Heyward tried to say again, but the room grew silent when the front door creaked open again, which only meant that you were home.

“Hey! Who’s car is out front? I’ve never seen...” You slowly came to a halt when you were met with Heyward, Anne, Pope, and JJ all staring at you with pity and concern. You laughed nervously. “What -” But then you saw her. The woman and her husband at the kitchen table as if they were here for a glass of wine and friendly conversation.

You recognized her mom immediately from old photographs your dad refused to throw away throughout the entirety of his life. You use to think she was beautiful. Sometimes, you were even jealous of how she was able to look amazing in every picture. Extremely photogenic.

You never thought about what you would do if you ever saw her again. You never thought the day would come where you would be face to face with the person you grew up hating more than the entire population of Kooks. But you stared into the same pale blue eyes you saw every time you looked in the mirror and your skin burned with rage.

“What the hell is this?” You looked at Heyward for some answers, ignoring her presence overall.

Heyward coughed awkwardly. “Caroline was hoping to speak with you.”

“About what?” Heyward glanced back at Caroline. He truly didn’t know why she was here. They hadn’t gotten there yet.

JJ stepped in front of you and pulled you in close so his mouth was next to your ear. “We can leave.”

“No,” You shook your head and stepped away from him to get a good look at your mother. “No. I want to know what you’re doing here. What makes you think I want to talk to you?”

“Sweetie, I know you have every right to hate me. But I come here in peace -” Your mother tried explaining, but you cut her off.

“Peace?” You scoffed. “Where the hell have you even been?” “Georgia,” She said. Your mouth dropped open in shock. She was only a couple states below you. “This is Byron, my husband.” You clenched your teeth together and held your stare on the two of them. You didn’t know who you hated more. Your mother or the man who took her away from you. Your mother sighed and looked down at her intertwined fingers with her husband. “I heard about your brother on the News.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” You rolled your eyes. She sounded more like a sympathetic neighbor than a mourning mother. She talked about John B as if he wasn’t her blood too.

“I came here as soon as I could -”

“That was a month ago!” You raised your voice.

“I know,” Your mother choked, starting to get flustered. “I got caught up with work and -” It’s been a while since someone put her in her place.

“Work? You knew about John B and you cared more about your work? What the hell do you even do, Martha Stewart?”

“Y/N...” Anne said softly, pulling you out of your dark head and reminding you to take a breath. Anne didn’t like her either, but all this yelling wouldn’t get either of you anywhere.

“Fine,” You took the seat across the table from Caroline and leaned back on it with your arms crossed in front of your chest. “Your here now. So tell me what for. We’re not having a funeral for John B. Not until I see a body.”

Caroline looked at her husband for some sort of encouragement. Although he was unsure now more than ever, Byron subtly nodded his head for his wife to tell her daughter the reason they came up here. “Byron and I...we want you to come home.”

“Home?” You cocked a brow.

“With us,” Byron added.

You couldn’t help but chuckle - really belly laugh at what you were hearing. You couldn’t believe the ridiculous suggestion she made. You were astounded that she even thought you would agree.

“We’ve seen the News and read the papers. I mean the stuff you kids have been through -”

“That’s enough,” You stood up.

“We have a beautiful home. You’d have your own room, a pool in the backyard. We even have two other daughters! Ten and seven. They’re excited to meet you.”

You tried your best to ignore her as you grabbed JJ’s arm to pull him out with you. But everything she said was like a ringing in your ears you couldn’t escape. Little did Caroline know, each luxury she threw at you felt like a stab in the back.

“I’m outta here -”

“Y/N Y/M/N Routledge! I am your mother!” Caroline stood up, her chair screeching against the hardwood. She slapped her palm against the wooden table and narrowed her eyes at her daughter. In her own head, she couldn’t believe how ungrateful you were. She was offering you a new and better life - one that wouldn’t make you dress like your entire wardrobe was from the thrift store, or sleep on your friend’s couch, or be looked at every day as a criminal. She was offering you a new beginning with the only blood relative you had left and you were gonna turn your back on her?

You swiveled on your heels so fast that your head started spinning. Your vision clouded with the color red and your fists clenched against your side. You glared at the woman who gave birth to you - hating how she acted as if she knew what was best for you when she didn’t even know you at all.

“I don’t have a mother!” You screamed. “She turned her back on us when we were three! I don’t even know you. The only reason I recognized you is because my dad kept pictures of you in frames in his office.” Tears pricked at your eyes and you shook your head. “And I felt sorry for him that he still held onto memories of the woman who seemed so useless.”

Your voice cracked and you hated that you sounded so weak. You wondered what John B would say if he was standing next to you right now. He’d probably be more calm. He’d probably listen to what your mother had to offer and then kindly tell her that the two of you were better off without her. John B use to always keep you grounded. He calmed you down when you were on a rampage or feeling panicked. He taught you reason and discipline. Without him, you had none of that.

“You left,” You continued. “You turned your back on us when we were three. And Dad? He had no idea what he was doing. The man could barely hold a job let alone two kids. But unlike you, he did it. Hell, he even bought me my first box of tampons! He held me through my first heartbreak and taught me how to surf. And just like that,” You snapped your fingers, “he was gone. And you, my so-called mother, still didn’t show up. So John B and I...we became our own parent. We paid the bills, worked our asses off to pay the rent, and passed our classes. I learned to fend for myself because you weren’t there! You didn’t do shit for our family.” You pointed to yourself. “I did. I took care of us.”

“That’s not fair...” Your mother’s voice shook. She couldn’t even look at you as she became so overwhelmed with shame and guilt.

“Not fair?” You bent down so you were eye level with her and looked at her like she had just grown two heads. “You just listed off all the amazing luxuries you have while I was left with absolutely nothing and you want to talk about what is fair?”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Bryon stepped in and stood up from his seat, placing a hand on your mother’s shoulder to try to comfort her.

“No, I’m just getting started,” You glared at him. “And I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but this is between me and her. And I know she grew up on the Cut and is more than capable of fighting her own battles.” You averted your attention back to your mother. “You don’t get to waltz into my life over ten years later and pretend like nothing’s happened. My dad’s dead and my brother probably is too! I have no one left, but the family right here.” You point to the people behind you. Mr and Mrs Heyward, Pope, and JJ. “And I’ll choose these people over you every single time. So no. You’re not my mother.” You looked her up and down. “You’re nothing to me.”

You spun around on your heels and grabbed your back pack on the way out.

“Y/N...” Mrs. Heyward tried calling out to you, but no one really tried to stop you. They knew you needed to get out from under the same roof as your mother, the woman behind all your anger.

“I got her...” JJ told the Heyward family quietly. He glanced at Pope, who nodded once at him, before walking out of the house to find you. Only you were already gone and your bike was missing.

Your feet moved faster than your head. You didn’t know where you were going, you just knew you had to get as far away from that woman as possible. Your tears made your vision all blurry and your brain pounded against your skull. Your throat felt like sandpaper with every heavy breath you took.

You practically fell off your bike in front of the one place you had been avoiding for weeks. It looked just like how you had left it, only now it was wrapped in yellow caution tape. Shockingly, no one was here. No police, FBI, or any other government official. It was just you and your thoughts.

You pulled the squeaky porch door open and were immediately flooded with memories. Empty beer cans and the butt of old cigarettes and blunts littered the floor like you were all lounging here yesterday. Guess CSI doesn’t hire a clean up crew when they are done.

You took another step into your house. Your brother’s room was to your right, his door open, enticing you to go in. But you couldn’t. Your heart twisted in your chest at the thought of John B. He should have been here. He should have never left! How could he? He was your brother. Your older brother, even if it was only by a few minutes. He was supposed to protect you. He was supposed to scare off all the boys who showed interest in you, yell at you when you’re bathing suit showed too much skin, take care of you when you were sick, help you with your homework, be the cool uncle to your kids one day. And he was gone. Everyone was gone!

You didn’t remember how it happened, but you were in your dad’s office. This place use to be a mystery to you - a room where your Dad hid most of the time and locked when he wasn’t home. You always wondered what was so special about this room. Now you knew it was nothing. It was a curse. This room was the reason your dad and brother were gone.

A screech ripped from your throat as your swept your arms across your father’s desk. Everything on top, papers, paper weights, pens, folders, all clattered to the floor. With all your strength, you flipped the desk over on its side. The wooden floor rumbled under your feet when it fell with a bang.

Your breath hitched in your throat and you felt like you couldn't breathe. You stepped back until your back hit the wall. Your fingers raked through the hair near your scalp and you pulled on the roots. You body slid down the wall until you were on the ground. You cried into your knees, weeping for your brother and dad. You have never felt pain like this before. You were physically healthy but it felt like someone took a vacuum into your body and was sucking the life out of you.

You didn’t even hear anyone else come into the house over your loud sobs. It wasn’t until you felt arms wrap around you that you looked up. JJ pulled you into his chest, curling you so that your body fit perfectly against his. He whispered against your head and kissed it after every sentence. He told you it was going to be okay.

“He can’t be gone,” You cried into JJ’s shoulder. “It’s not fair!”

“I know,” JJ mumbled against your hair and pulled you in tighter. “I know. I’m sorry.” He felt like the worst boyfriend ever. He knew this day would come and he took advantage of you avoiding your own grief by drowning in his own. He should have been taking care of you, making you open up about your brother so that it didn’t all hit you at once like it did now.

“I have no one.”

“No,” JJ shook his head. “That’s not true. You have me. Pope and Kie, we’re all going to be here for you. And screw your mom. You don’t need her anyway.”

For a split second, you forgot about your mom and how she wanted to take you back to Georgia. But you knew she wasn’t your real family. Not anymore. You were right when you said you had all the family you needed. The Heywards, Pope, Kie, JJ. You weren’t alone. You still had them.

“I’m sorry,” JJ said again. “I should have - I should have done something. I should have been there for you -”

“It’s okay,” You placed your hand delicately under his jaw to make him look at you. “You’re here now and that’s all that matters.”

“I love you.” Your heart swelled, forgetting the way those three words made you feel. Safe, loved, comforted. “And if John B’s out there, he’s going to come back.” JJ remembered the promise John B made him swear by before he left with the Phantom. How he made JJ promise to protect you no matter what. Even if you were to go through a nasty break up. He was supposed to be there for you. “There’s still hope.”

“Hope,” You repeated, tasting the word on your tongue. You still had hope.

382 notes · View notes

arcane-apathy · 3 years

Text

Part 1

AN: Part 1 of 3 for this Male Naga X Female Reader. I’m hoping to get better at writing short stories, but it’ll take some practice. I hope y’all enjoy!

Warning(s): N/A

You didn’t know why you decided to leave home but your mind was already made up and the U-Haul was already packed. There was no going back now. You didn’t want to be a big city nurse anymore, and you also didn’t want to move back to your hometown. So, this year you decided to move to New Mexico, specifically Peralta. A town of a little over three thousand people. The eastern half of town right on the border of the Isleta Pueblo Reservation, and the Rio Grande River to the west. You could even see the Manzano Mountain Range in the distance.

The drive to Peralta was taxing, but unbelievably beautiful. No wonder why New Mexico is called The Land of Enchantment. You made it to your new home in the middle of the day, and the sun was high above you. Of course you decided to move in the middle of summer, the dry heat smacking you in the face as you got out of the rental truck. You shielded your eyes from the sun as you stared at your new home.

The property was near the end of a dirt road, about a city block away from the local cemetery. But you didn’t mind, in fact it made the house even cheaper. You’d just have to remember to cleanse the house whenever you got a chance. The house was a simple one-story pueblo style house, the faux-adobe outside was an ivory color, and the windows were painted pear green. It lacked the wooden vigas, making it obvious that it wasn’t an actual pueblo home. The house was small, the yard was huge, it had a detached stainless-steel garage, and a dirt driveway. All surrounded by a chain link fence with a gate.

It didn’t take you long to unload the U-Haul, considering you sold most of your things before you moved. You lay your mattress on the bedroom floor and the majority of boxes stay in your living room. You look at the time on your phone, there was still two hours until the U-Haul’s scheduled return time. Un-packing wasn’t the first item on the agenda, some serious cleaning needed to be done before you thought about anything else.

Granted the house wasn’t in horrible shape, but it was obvious that it’s been a few months since anyone has lived in it. The air was stuffy, there was dust on everything, and there was dirt all over the floors. You search for your bag of cleaning supplies that you bought at a Wal-Mart in Albuquerque, well prepared to clean. With the house being so small, it didn’t take you long to clean, so you took your time admiring your new home. The house was made in the seventies, the Spanish-style linoleum tiles in the kitchen being the proof. Yet it didn’t look like it came out of a home magazine that your grandmother would've read. There were some obvious updates throughout the years. Thankfully central air was one of them.

You returned the U-Haul and the towing dolly on time, driving your car back home. You stopped at a Domino’s on the way home, not yet ready to try the local food. Unpacking was the only thing on your mind. And no surprise to you, it took all night. Packing wasn’t easy, because you had to take things from their place and sort them into boxes. Unpacking was another challenge, the amount of times you switched which cabinet your plates went in was frustrating. By two in the morning you had everything put away, there were sheets on your bed, and your eyelids were heavy.

~~***~~

It’s been a month since you’ve moved, and you’ve loved it more that you’d ever thought. Living in your one bedroom house was a dream compared to any other apartment you’ve had before. You’ve gotten over the linoleum in the kitchen, and you couldn’t even imagine the house without it. The yard was easy to maintain, considering it was primarily dirt. You didn’t see much of your neighbors but they were nice from what you could tell. And the quiet was refreshing.

You spent most of your days at work, a health center in the middle of the Isleta Pueblo Reservation. The work was tough, and didn’t pay much, but it was obvious that they needed you there. According to your co-workers everyone wanted to work in the big cities and that smaller health centers, especially ones for the native populations, were constantly understaffed. You became a licensed practical nurse because you wanted to help people, and working in an at risk community fulfilled that goal.

To say you were surprised when your co-worker invited you to her birthday party in Albuquerque was an understatement. Although you didn’t know her that well, you still went. You needed socialization outside of the workplace and the occasional video calls with your family back home. So, you put on your best outfit and did your best to look presentable. The night started off at a restaurant, the food was amazing, and the company was actually enjoyable. After dinner you all went to a bar, so far it was a typical birthday party for a bunch of girls in their twenties.

You stood against the wall, nursing a drink as everyone else in your group dance. Normally you weren’t such a party pooper, but these girls weren’t much of your crown. It was too early in the night to go home, and they all knew that you didn’t work tomorrow so you couldn’t use that excuse. Hence why you resorted to people watching. The bar was packed with humans and non-humans alike, all dancing with each other. There were already a few couples sharing face in the darker corners.

“You look bored,” a blunt voice shook you from your daze. You look to the side, noticing as a tall man slithered up to you. Not metaphorically. Your eyes instantly gravitated to his tail, the bulk of muscle trailing closely behind him as he moved. You couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the pattern of his scales. The base was beige and was decorated in an assortment of splotches all in varying shades of brown, and at the very end of it all was a black rattle. He laughs at your reaction, “have you never seen a Naga before?”

“Not up close, there weren’t that many back home,” you flush a little as you are caught staring. Which wasn’t a lie, you didn’t see many growing up, nor did you encounter a lot at work either. A surprising statistic you’ve learned since you moved is that New Mexico has the highest population of Naga in the United States, with Texas as a close second. You have seen a few as you wandered around Peralta and the neighboring towns, but you have yet to talk to them.

“Oh, you’re from out of town. How exciting,” he smiles and extends a hand, “Santiago Rosales.” You shake his hand and introduce yourself. His smile grows and the rainbow lights from the dance floor reflect off his fangs. You couldn’t deny that he was an attractive man, tan skin, curly raven hair, a triangular face with a strong jawline, and golden serpentine eyes. You look back at the dance floor and notice one of your co-workers giving you a thumbs up. “So, not to sound cheesy… But why is a pretty chica like you, not out there?”

You flush a little at his definitely cheesy comment, “I’ve already done my socializing for the evening, but if I leave now I’ll never hear the end of it at work. What about you, why aren’t you out there?”

He motions to his tail, “I’m in no mood to get stomped on.”

“Oh… I didn’t even think of that. Does it happen often?”

“It happened a lot when I was a kid, but I was kinda a wimpy kid too,”

You raise a brow as you look at how snugly his button up fits to his arms and chest, “wimpy?”

“Hey I wasn’t always like this, I was a string bean growing up. It took years for this to happen,” he motions to himself proudly. You laugh and finish your drink, Santiago looks at the empty glass, “may I offer to buy you another drink?”

You contemplate it for a second then shake your head, “no thank you, I have to drive home tonight. And I don’t live in Albuquerque.”

“Is it too weird to ask where you live then?”

“Peralta,” you shrug.

“Really? My mom lives in Peralta… Maybe I’ll see you around?”

~~***~~

And you did, the first time you saw Santiago was at the grocery store. You were trying to figure out what brand of refried beans to buy when he came down the aisle, slithering alongside an older Naga woman. He didn’t acknowledge you, which made you question whether he recognized you at all. The second time you saw him was at the post office, and he immediately smiled when he saw you. Your heart couldn’t help to flutter at the sight of him. The third time was at the bank, both of you waiting in line at the tellers.

The fourth time was when everything changed. You were standing in the bathroom aisle at Target in Albuquerque, looking through the wide array of shower curtain options. You heard your name being called and you looked up, expecting to see someone from work, possibly even a regular patient. But, instead your eyes were graced with the sight of a familiar Naga in a taut shirt and a leather jacket, “oh, hi Santiago.”

“Hola, looking for a shower curtain I see,” he smiles as he sidles up beside you.

You fluster a little, realizing you were still wearing your baggy maroon scrubs. “Indeed I am, it’s been two months and my house still looks like no one lives in there.”

He looks you up and down, his eyes stopping at the embroidered patch above your breast, “you work at Isleta Health Center?”

Your brows knit in confusion and you look down at the patch, resisting the urge to face palm, “yes, yes I do. Sorry, I just got off my shift and I kinda forgot I was still wearing this monstrosity.”

“You don’t look bad at all if I’m being honest…”

Damn he was slick, “it’s not the worst, but I hate how plain it is. I sold all my fun scrubs when I moved, so I’m stuck with the standard issues until I buy more.” He nods and looks at the shower curtains in your hands curiously. “So, what are you here for?”

"Uhh… Honestly I don't even know anymore. They didn't have what I needed, so I just started to aimlessly slither around the store. And then I found you."

"Aimlessly wandering around Target can be dangerous," you chuckle.

"I haven't learned my lesson apparently," he gives you a lopsided smile, "last time it happened I came home with a pillow that had some motivational quote.”

“Yikes,” you laugh and put one of the curtains back onto it’s metal hook.

“Yikes indeed,” he crosses his arms over his chest as he looks at the options before him. “So, do you have any style in mind.”

“Santiago, you don’t need to help me.”

“I fear if I don’t help you, you’ll be stuck in the store until it closes,” he teases with a wink.

You feel the heat rising to your cheeks, “alright fine. My house is pueblo style, built in the seventies. The bathroom was recently remodeled before they sold it, so the walls are plain, it has normal wood, and laminate tiles that look like travertine. It’s very boring.”

“So you need something to spice it up?”

“Exactly,” you pick up a geometric patterned one, looking at the picture on the cardboard.

Santiago shakes his head, "nope", he takes it out of your hand and puts it back. You look at him dumbfounded by how brash he was. He puts another one in your hands, “this one looks like you.”

You look down at the curtains, it was a simple floral. But with the way the bright flowers were stylized like they were from an Alfredo Ramos Martinez painting. “This is cute.”

“You look like a floral person.”

“How does one look like a floral person, without being an actual nymph?” He shrugs and you simply roll your eyes, “you’re lucky I tolerate you.”

He winces, “just tolerate?”

“Well, I don’t know you that well…”

“Then let's get to know each other,” his posture straightens. “Why don’t we go out for a coffee someday, as a date?” You must’ve stared at him like he grew another head because he immediately fell back on his statement, “or not a date?”

“No… A date is fine.”

“Is it?”

“Definitely.”

“Then why are you still looking at me like that?”

Your face instantly turns a scarlet color, “I… It's been awhile since I’ve been on a date. So, the fact that you are asking me on a date, in a Target, is mind boggling.”

“Do you want me to ask you outside the Target?”

“That’s not the point,” you sigh, trying to steady your breathing. “So, a date?”

Santiago smirks, “give me your phone.” You scowl and he shrinks at your stern gaze, “por favor?” Reluctantly you unlock and hand him your phone, watching as he makes himself a contact. “Text me when you get home, I should have a fantastic plan by then.”

“No coffee?”

“Nope, you deserve more than a coffee.” You flush again as he smiles victoriously, “I’ll let you get back to shopping so you can get home at a decent hour. Talk to you soon, cariño.” You watch as he slithers out of the aisle with a wave over his shoulder. You can’t help but stare, looking at the end of the aisle then back at the curtains in your hand. For some reason, the bright flowers just felt right. So, you put the package into your basket and head off to find the next item on your list. And you couldn’t wait until you got home.

#Naga X Reader #X Reader Miniseries #M Naga x F Reader #Exophilia #Terato #My Works #My Writing #Original Content #Monster X Reader

241 notes · View notes

frogtanii · 4 years

Text

hq boys as the crimes they’d commit

warnings: CRIMES, crackfic, probably many typos idk i’m so tired lmaooo, cursing, drinking ??? idfk 😩💦

an: and i did this for what?? inspired by hq hcs royalty @sugardaddykenma @hina-wit-da-glock (AJSKSJ SORRY FOR TAGGING Y’ALL IF YOU SEE THIS, IT IS DEF NOT UP TO PAR W Y’ALLS WORKS ILY)

karasuno

sawamura daichi- insurance fraud!! somehow this is such a dad crime to commit?? dadchi didn’t try (dumb excuse, how do you accidentally commit insurance fraud smh) to commit insurance fraud but at one point in his late-thirties, he was very very broke and was already working as much as possible so, he decided to fake an ankle injury, as you do, and filed a bunch of claims which made him bank. daichi kept doing it until he was able to quit one of his jobs and buy himself a really nice suit and a rolex (uhhh 🥵). he somehow never got caught tho and to this day, none of his friends know how he was able to afford a tesla on a cop’s salary (sorry daichi but acab 😔✨)

sugawara kōshi- child abandonment!! ok you can try and fight me on this but i feel in my bones that suga absolutely despises children. he can tolerate ages 10+ but anything younger than that, he will punt them into the next dimension. the thing is, people just assume he likes kids because of how good he is with his team which is why his aunt begged him to babysit his nephew taro. taro was being an absolute brat when suga took him out for the day and he was 👉👈 this close to snapping. he put taro down for like 3 seconds to pay for their ice cream and when he turned back, the demon spawn was gone. he panicked, running around the park looking for taro when it turns out, taro was just bent down behind the bench. some random karen called the police and suga has never craved murder more.

nishinoya yuu- arson!! you CANNOT tell me nishinoya doesn’t have a ~murder~ playlist that he listens to to get himself hype (me too noya, me too). one night, he got a lil too hype listening to start a riot by duckwrth and watching demolition videos on youtube. he snuck out of his house to an empty shed like 30 minutes away and maybe... lit it on fire while genocide by lil darkie played on a speaker nearby. what he did NOT anticipate was the absolute size of the fire so he freaked out and called the firefighters who promptly called the police. he didn’t want to get grounded so he called daichi to bail him out. daichi still told noya’s parents 😔.

tanaka ryūnosuke- vandalism!! tanaka had been on alt tiktok and saw a group of cool friends spray painting an abandoned building. he thought “that’s cool, lemme do that!” but then he realized he had no friends (AHDGS JK I LOVE TANAKA). he asked nishinoya who was grounded from the arson incident and he knew he definitely couldn’t ask daichi, suga, asahi, or enoshita so he decided to go it alone. that proved to be a MASSIVE mistake. he got the supplies, arrived to the building of his choice (thanks saeko :3), and decided to spray paint a huge p3ni5 in bright red paint. he finished “successfully” and zoomed back home. what he didn’t realize with his two-and-a-half braincells is that he signed his glorious piece with his full name. the cops were at his house the next morning...🧍

hinata shoyō- forgery!! hinata did NOT think that forgery was even a crime. how was he supposed to know that he wasn’t allowed to copy his mom’s signature on a permission form! all he wanted was to go to an overnight training camp 😿

kageyama tobio- attempted murder!! kageyama swears it sounds worse than was and he is absolutely incorrect. what happened was so much worse. he and hinata were having a competition to see who could hold their breath the longest underwater (you can’t tell me they haven’t done some dumbass shit like this) and kageyma lost almost instantly (he has the tiny lungs of an asthmatic). he didn’t want hinata to notice so he held hinata’s head under the water for like 10 seconds. suga walked in though, saw hinata thrashing around in the water and immediately called the police. kageyama never forgave him.

tsukishima kei- cyberbullying!! first of all, i had no idea you could get arrested for cyber bullying!? that being said, neither did tsukishima who spent 80% of his time making fun of people online (and on his real account!! bold). eventually one of the people he bullied (hinata) reported him on instagram and his very lame account was deleted (pls don’t bully people online 😤).

yamaguchi tadashi- shoplifting!! andjksh this is so funny because this scenario has happened to me and i can just SEE this happening to poor tadashi. yamaguchi gets super late night cravings (and usually tsukki will walk with him at like 3 am 🥺 nEWAYS) so he’ll sneak out and walk to the mini-mart near his house. one night, he was so tired but also super hungry so he went onto his nightly routine and basically sleepwalked into the store. he picked out his favorite chips and candy bar (which are sour cream&onion lays and milky ways in case you were wondering 😌✨) and just... walked out the store without paying. the store clerk was mysteriously missing so yamaguchi made it all the way home, ate half the bag of chips and passed out without realizing what he’d done. once he did, he cried for 2 hours straight.

nekoma

kuroo tetsurō- telemarketing fraud!! kuroo originally did telemarketing fraud as a joke?? like he was trying to prank call someone pretending that they had lost their information and they actually gave it to him??? he was mildly concerned but even more excited. he did it over and over again but he never used the info for anything. to this day, kuroo literally has a notebook full of credit card numbers and bank account passwords but he refuses to use it because he believes it’s ✨wrong✨(but it isn’t wrong to take all that information in the first place under false pretenses, not realizing that once people find out, they are forced to close credit cards and accounts but go off self righteous king). once he brought the book up to kenma and he offered to sell it on the dark web. now kuroo feels less bad about what he’s done! :D

kozume kenma- computer crime!! pfttt this one seems kinda obvious but what do you expect from kenma :). he spends so much time on the internet, he’s definitely picked up some less than legal skills that still help him now 👀. kenma did little mini crimes like getting into other people’s wifi but his crowning achievement was when he hacked into the minneapolis pd website and had it so when you opened the page, a black lives matter screen came up. he never told anyone that it was him who did it but he thinks it’s the best he’s ever done.

yaku morisuke- racketeering!! yaku, the feral king, ran an underground gambling ring in the basement of nekoma (do they have basements?? who knows! i don’t!) during his third year. the only reason it didn’t get shut down was because coach nekomata took a portion of yaku’s profits whenever he won (which was literally all the time). everyone on the team has lost money to him which is why they never play with him anymore. they won’t even let yaku play monopoly 😔.

haiba lev- indecent exposure!! poor lev’s head is so empty, he tends to fall for whatever pranks his senpai’s do to him. this time kuroo had somehow convinced him that in order to grow his schlong, he had to run outside naked for 10 minutes because the moonlight had special growing properties. lev was a lil scared ngl because he was already superrr tall and didn’t need to grow his height (or his dick ((boy is hung)) but poor lev is insecure) but he did it anyway. long story short, an old woman saw him parading around the neighborhood naked and called el policia. 0/10 dick did NOT grow and had to spend a night in jail naked 😿

aoba johsai

oikawa tōru- prostitution!! KAKKAKA iwazumi made fun of oikawa for being so shitty and said that he couldn’t pick up anyone if he tried. flattykawa took this as a personal challenge and went out onto the street, asking people if they’d have sex with him. with the way he was asking (and the way he was dressed), people assumed he was a paid w h o r e and someone eventually reported him. iwazumi had to pick oikawa up from the station- he never let him live this one down.

iwaizumi hajime- battery!! it wasn’t technically battery but oikawa is a lil bitch and overreacts (at least in his words -_-). the amount of times iwa-chan has beat the absolute shit out of oikawa is uNREAL. he just can’t handle the stupidity sometimes so he just smacks the crap outta him. not for real for real but the way oikawa reacts, you’d think a murder was occurring. one time, shittykawa screeched so loud, they got a noise complaint -_- hajime hates it in these streets.

matsukawa issei & hanamaki takahiro- conspiracy!! issei and hiro have a secret blog where they discuss conspiracy theories and such but one day, hiro found an article that explained how jfk’s death was an inside job. he sent it to issei who began to theorize how HE’D do it. that devolved into a massive thread on their blog of how’d they murder a president which blew up and caught the attention of the cia who sent the a letter telling them to quietly delete the blog. they did because they were terrified but they kept the letter and now it’s framed in issei’s apartment.

kyōtani kentarō- assault!! baby is an angry little boy but for all the right reasons. he was at a bar (when he’s all grown up, duh) and he spotted an absolute drunk creep hitting on a girl who clearlyyyy did not reciprocate his feelings. kyōtani, being the respectful king that he is, went over to the guy, pulled him by the jacket and beat. the. shit. out of him. while the bartender was happy with the fact that the creep was out, he was not impressed with the damage to his bar. he just sent kyōtani out who casually adjusted his leather jacket and rings, and hopped on his motorcycle to ride away into the night. i am the FATTEST simp for this man ONG 🥴

shiratorizawa

ushijima wakatoshi- stalking!! poor ushijima has no idea how intimidating he can be. he was on a train late at night after practice and the woman sitting across from him left her purse sitting on the seat. being the gentleman that he is, he took the purse and followed her to return it. the only problem is that the closer he got, the faster she ran and when he tried to speak (yknow with his scary, deep, baritone voice), the woman screeched and called the cops on him because he was a “strange, big man who was following her home.” when the police showed up, ushijima was painfully confused and just held up this tiny ass purse in his massive hands. the cops laughed.

tendō satori- ???!! no one knows what crimes (or how many 😳) tendō has committed but each of his teammates have different ideas- ushijima: “i don’t believe tendou is capable of committing any sort of felony. well, maybe murder”; semi: “of COURSE he’s capable of crimes??! do you know how many times i’ve seen him come into the dorm with a suspicious stain of red on his sweater?? *shudders* if i end up dead, tendō did it...” in actuality, the only crime tendō has committed is ~drugs~ but he’s not bouta tell his friends that.

goshiki tsutomu- would be a VICTIM!! my baby tsutomu would NEVER commit a crime!!! i love this man with my everything and the only crime he’s committed is being too damn cute 😤🥺

464 notes · View notes

collecting-stories · 4 years

Text

Love’s a Waste - JJ (Outer Banks)

Request: can you please do a jj x reader story where they've been dating for a while but have a really bad fight over something but in the end the make up? I love your stories btw :)

Request: Hey! I was wondering if I could request something with JJ where you are crying after a fight with him and you’re like “I don’t even remember why I’m crying but I can’t stop” and he comes back to apologize? Thanks!

A/N: I listened to Sody’s ‘Love’s a Waste’ while I wrote this. Also was mildly inspired by one of my favorite musical theatre lines from the play The Last Five Years which is: “I swear to god I’ll never understand how you can stand there straight and tall, and see I’m crying, and not do anything at all.”

Outer Banks Masterlist

///

You sat on the deck of the Hawk’s Nest, legs dangling over the edge as you stared at your phone. The screen kept lighting up, your lock screen picture of JJ illuminating your face as texts from him rolled in. You’d read the first few, knowing that he’d know that you read them and purposely didn’t answer. They were standard.

-Where are you?-

-Text me-

-Seriously, where are you?-

-Please call me or something-

-At least call Kie-

After that you just ignored them. You seriously contemplated throwing your phone into the reserve, let it hit the ground and see if it survived.

When you’d first started dating JJ it was John B who had cautioned you. He had a lot of issues, John had warned, he wasn’t just a normal kid. He was defensive and stubborn and he got angry with more ease than most. You knew that though, you’d known him long enough and intimately enough to know that there was nothing you could do or say that would make him concede first in an argument. You couldn’t make the anger disappear or erase the defense mechanism that kicked in at the slightest sign of conflict.

You couldn’t exist on eggshells either. Sometimes it was purposeful, you were angry and it wasn’t fair that only he got to be angry so you pushed until he gave out. Sometimes fights were like tornados concentrated in whatever space JJ took up. Sometimes things grew into a fight out of nothing, neither of you were at fault, things just exploded faster than you could reign them in and JJ had a set of lungs on him. He could scream until he was red in the face and still have more in him.

It all ended when you cried though.

“Just stop with that fucking bullshit!” He had screamed the minute the tears had really started.

Your voice was brittle, eyes red and watery, “I can’t help it JJ, you’re being a dick!” You shouted.

But that was the end of the fight and you knew it. The minute you started to cry he shut down. He bailed, jumped ship, ran away, clocked out. He was done. He couldn’t do tears; he’d spent enough years with his father hearing that crying was the first sign on weakness and that only pussies got emotional. He’d bailed on you at John B’s house, leaving you standing outside, crying, as he took off on his dirt bike.

Your phone started ringing, JJ had given up on texting. Even the make-up was routine. He spent enough time away that he came down from the high of being angry and suddenly felt guilty, looking for you to apologize. And usually you were right where he left you but not this time. This time you had bailed too, let him go home to nothing, you couldn’t be there. You couldn’t wait for him to come back before you took care of yourself.

You let the phone go to voicemail. You’d have a million by the end of the day unless JJ found you. He was stubborn. It was what made him equally a good fighter and a good boyfriend. Though the good boyfriend part had been lacking recently. You knew that everyone was under stress and JJ had it amplified by a hundred because of his home life but you were getting tired of being his outlet when he was angry. You couldn’t remember what this fight was about but it was just one of many.

Footsteps on the Hawk’s Nest caught your attention and you turned to see JJ’s blond head clear the deck. He had found you, somehow. You figured he enlisted Pope to use the find my phone on your laptop, it was the most likely scenario. You had your locations turned off on everything else.

“Fuck, there you are, I’ve been texting you for hours.”

“I don’t really wanna talk to you. I figured not answering was kind of a hint.” You replied, looking away from him. You were still crying. Usually you would have stopped by now but today you couldn’t seem to turn it off.

“I’m sorry about earlier.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Babe-”

“No, JJ, don’t.” You twisted so you could see him. “I’ve heard whatever bullshit excuses you have a million times but honestly...you just stand there.”

“What?” JJ chanced coming closer to you, dropping down onto the deck next to you.

“You just stand there watching me cry and I feel like...it makes me feel worthless-”

“You aren’t!”

“But you make me feel that way. You just stand there and watch me and do nothing.” You said, “and I don’t want to start another fight over it I just...I don’t even remember why I’m crying now but I can’t stop and I-”

JJ wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you against him and laying his forehead in the crook of your neck. You wrapped your arms around him, holding on tight. Having him this close was like gravity pulling you back down when you’d floated too far away.

“I love you JJ, I know we fight and you definitely piss me off sometimes but I don’t...I want us to be able to talk about things. I don’t want to worry that you’ll give up on us someday. I want this, always.” You said. You stroked his hair, running your fingers through the somewhat salty strands. He must’ve gone surfing after the fight.

JJ lifted his head to look at you, eyes a little glassy. It wasn’t unusual, you’d seen him get this upset before but he tried to avoid it. He usually got angry instead. “I know, I’m sorry. I just hate...feeling like I’m not in control.”

“I know. It’s not enough for us to make-up like this every time. I can’t keep forgiving you for leaving until you leave again. And I don’t want to walk out...I felt like shit hiding up here from you.”

“We’ll work on it.” JJ promised. “It won’t be right away but, we’ll work on it.”

He had seen plenty of failed relationships in his life. His own house was like a breeding ground for broken relationships and he didn’t want to contribute to that. He didn’t want to be his father and yet, when he came back to John B’s to find you gone he had that sinking feeling. He could remember his mom leaving everything behind and taking off. He felt more like his dad in that moment than ever before and it had scared him enough that he drove all around the island looking for you, calling everyone he could think of.

“We’ll work on it.” You repeated, more hopeful than you had been sad. JJ was worth the work.

taglist: @maplelattes22 @poguesrforlife @freckled-and-daydreaming @chasefreakinstokes @millie-753 @fangirlwithme @alex12948 @howdyherron @katherine097 @tangledinsparkles @tragicmisfits @carbonated-beverage @mariofgreengables @ssprayberrythings @jolomez @timotaychalabae @dolanfivsosxox

710 notes · View notes

jjmaybankx · 4 years

Text

HOLD HIM » JJ MAYBANK

this is an idea i got while watching jj edits on instragram

Summary: When the pursuit of John B and Sarah ends up with Shoupe and the sheriff’s department unable to find them in a storm, the parents of the rest of the Pogues arrive to comfort their children, but everyone knows that Luke Maybank couldn’t care less about his son.

Warnings: angst

i apologize in advanced for any crying. it made me cry to write and i had to take a break from it.

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦ ⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶

Sitting on the coach, you were watching the TV intently. With the remote in your hand, you switched between different Outer Banks news stations trying to find an answer, a result, an ending, to the nightmare that had ridden over the island that day like a storm cloud.

A man hunt for John B, it was absolutely insane. Despite not being apart of their little group, you had known the Routledge enough to know he hadn’t killed anymore, especially not Peterkin. Not the one person adult who looked out for him when it came to CPS.

You paced around your living room, looking at your phone in hopes that JJ had texted you, letting you know that they found his best friend. You tried to talk him into letting you go with them on their little adventures, but he had made it clear that he had to make sure you were the one thing that was safe.

But what about him? Who was going to make sure that JJ was safe and sound? You didn’t want to sound like you didn’t like his best friend, you definitely didn’t want to talk bad about someone who was in danger, but you also knew that John B was nowhere in sight these past few days when JJ needed him the most. When Pope got jumped on the Figure Eight, when JJ, Pope, and Kiara got into a fight at the movies, when JJ got arrested and then beat by his father. Where was John B?

You knew that John B told JJ he was sick of his shit, and not even an hour later, Luke Maybank had nearly killed him. And John B wasn’t there for him.

You didn’t want to talk down on his best friends since the third grade, you didn’t want to be that kind of girlfriend, but with John B’s mind on the gold and Luke Maybank’s mind of alcohol and drugs, who the hell was left to look out for JJ?

You couldn’t discredit John B though. His few days of negligence of his friends didn’t compare to the years and years he had been there to support each and every one of them, but it still broke your heart when JJ came to your house, heartbroken as well after his fight with John B over Barry’s money.

“Fuck it,” you cursed, turning the TV off and throwing the remote onto the couch, grabbing your keys from the small hallway table near your front door. You threw on a raincoat and went outside, despite an active storm hitting the island.

As you drove through the rough winds and heavy rain, you wondered how the hell the Panthom could survive the waves you could see from your window. You just prayed that Sarah and John B made it out in one piece. Shitty friend lately or not, John B was JJ’s family for life.

You safely got to your destination, praying that JJ would be there. As you turned into the parking lot, you saw the Heywards and the Carreras all piling into the building. You let out a sigh of relief, knowing that meant JJ was there, but you frowned when you realized Luke Maybank and his truck were nowhere in sight.

Disappointed, but not surprised.

You found a parking lot and went running, trying to go as fast as your legs would take you without slipping on the rain-soaked pavement. When you got inside, the parents were all hugging their children.

You looked around for JJ, seeing his blonde hair sticking out from the small huddle, squished between all of the Heywards.

Heyward saw you first, loosening his grip on JJ. When the boy peeked his head up, Heyward patted his shoulder. JJ spun around quickly, and you wondered if he had thought maybe you were his dad.

The slight disappointment in his face at the sight of you didn’t cause any offense on your behalf, you knew that he wished his dad was there to hold him. His chin started to waver in unison with his bottom lip, and you ran over to close the gap between you and the tall surfer boy. He wrapped his arms around your neck, pulling you closer into his chest as he rocked you both side to side, sobbing into your neck.

“Baby...” you trailed off, unsure what Shoupe had told them, but the looks on everyone’s faces, you had a feeling you didn’t need confirmation to what you already assumed: they didn’t make it.

Sobs wracked through his body, and he almost lost his own balance as he clung onto your small body. You looked around, trying to find an answer from anyone’s faces, but the sound of Kiara’s sobs into Pope’s neck caused you to start crying, too.

You placed a hand into his hair, trying to bring any kind of comfort to him. He pulled away for a second, and as you wiped your eyes, something was placed on your head. You looked up at your boyfriend, able to see the flap of his red cap he was wearing the last time you saw him that day. You flipped it so it didn’t get in the way when you pulled him back into a hug, rubbing his back before he went to hug his friends. You stepped to the side with the parents.

“Did someone call Mr. Maybank?” you asked in a whisper.

“I did,” nodded Heyward with a solemn smile. “He hung up the phone on me.”

“Bastard....” you mumbled out a curse, wiping tears that were flowing down your face. “They didn’t find them, did they?”

“Lost them in the tropical depression,” Mrs. Carrera said, slinging an arm around your shoulder as you all looked at the group in front of you, mourning for their best friends.

“I don’t think that boy should be going home tonight,” Heyward said, looking at JJ. “And he shouldn’t be going to the Chateau either.”

“Want to take him with us?” his wife asked him.

“I can take him with me,” you said. “My parents won’t mind.”

Heyward nodded, glancing outside at the rain to see it had softened a bit.

“Okay, you two be careful on your way home. I want texts that you made it,” he said to you, and you knew the extra caution was because John B wouldn’t be texting anyone that he made it.

You took off your rain jacket as JJ came towards you. As you made your way outside, he held it up over both of your heads as you ran towards your car, throwing it into the backseat once you got into your seats.

His breathing was jagged, a hiccuping sound coming from him between the sniffles. The radio that was normally on, you and your boyfriend blasting music and singing as you coasted down the streets replaced with a grieving silence.

You grabbed his hand, keeping the other on the steering wheel as you made your way to your house. Your parents were on the porch, you had texted them already that you planned to pick up JJ. Each of your parents rushed to each side of the car, holding open umbrellas to walk you into the house. You pulled your phone out as they walked the two of you to the front door.

To: Heyward We’re home safe. I’ll take care of him.

The smell of fresh clam chowder rang through the house, and you saw JJ’s head peek up at the whiff of it. A small smile formed on his sad face as your parents put the umbrellas into an empty trash can you kept near the door for them, heading into the kitchen without asking any questions further than, “Are you okay” and “Do you want something to eat, JJ?”

“Why don’t you two get cleaned up?” your mom suggested with a sad look on her face, going into the kitchen.

You held JJ’s hand, bringing him to through the hallway to your room when you heard your mom break down in the kitchen.

“They’re just kids, baby,” she said to your father. “Those were just kids on that boat.”

JJ choked out another sob as soon as you reached your bedroom, but he pushed you away as he went to your drawer, where the bottom one was all his. He got to his knees, going through it to find clothes.

“John B bought me this,” he said as he started to take articles of clothing out, throwing them about the room.

You held a hand over your mouth, trying to suppress a sob of your own. You sat down on the floor when JJ let his weight crash over, leaving him on his ass with a shirt in his hand. He kept balling it up and then letting go with one hand to wipe his face. Slowly, you made your way to where your boyfriend was, sitting on the floor in behind him.

You wrapped your arms around his waist, pulling him back into your arms as he cried into the shirt.

If you had been told a week prior that your lives would be turned upside down because of buried treasure, you wouldn’t have believed then. But watching as your boyfriend, the boy who was held the worst hand and still managed to smile everyday, break down in pain-filled sobs, you knew, you just knew, that nothing would ever be the same again.

Not if Shoupe didn’t find the boat. Not if John B and Sarah didn’t call from the Bahamas.

PART TWO

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦ ⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶

taglist (send in an ask to be added!)

@ellystone @spilledtee

#jj maybank #jj maybank fanfiction #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank x reader #jj obx imagines #jj obx #jj outer banks #jj outerbanks imagines #jj obx imagine #rudy pankow #outerbanks #outer banks #obx #obximagines #obx imagines

406 notes · View notes

howlingday · 4 years

Text

THE DRAGON-SLAYER

"Aaaaaaah~! Another boring mission complete!" Yang Xiao Long yawned as she walked down the road through the forest. It was still about a day's trip until she returned to the guild hall. She was hoping for some more action, but eh, what could you do? "Least I got to try out that new move I was working on."

Yang couldn't wait to get back and rub it in her sister's face that she completed an B Ranked mission by herself without any help, something Ruby had yet to accomplish. B Ranked or not, though, it was still boring.

She slung her bag forward and fished around until she pulled out the poster to look over it again. It featured a terrifying looking bear on the illustration, with the words "TERROR BEAR" emboldened on the bottom. Yang scoffed as she crumpled the poster and shoved it back into her bag.

"Terror wuss is more like it." She looked to the sky and noticed the sun was blazing overhead through the trees, and she was grateful for the protection it offered. Tanning was fine, but a sunburn was the last thing she wanted. Well, a sunburn and another awful mission.

A rustle in the bushes caught her attention, causing her to stop and step into a combative stance. After that last dud of a fight, she was itching for a real fight.

If she wanted to fight a bunny, that is. A small, brown bunny hopped out, sniffing the dirt in the road, hoping to find roots or whatever rabbits ate out here.

"Aw!" Yang cooed as she squatted. "Well, aren't you just the cutest? I wish I had a carrot for ya, but I'm all out. I hope you're not- HOPPING mad about that!" Yang fell on her back and rolled around laughing, kicking her feet at her own joke. The rabbit gave a deadpan expression and jumped back into the bush. "What? Was it not a good pun? C'mon, be honest! No need to- beat around the BUSH!" Yang fell into another fit of laughter.

She sighed, then poked her head into the bush to look for the rabbit. It must have ran through it because the bush was empty. Yang stood up to see where her furriest critic ran off to.

The forest was dense with trees, tall grass, and bushes. It was alive with deer, butterflies, and songbirds. Yang smiled at the view. She wished she could see something as beautiful as this every day.

Looking closer, she spotted a waterfall crashing in the distance. She reached for her flask and gave it a shake. Not empty, but also not full. No harm in a refill.

Another thought came as she lifted her arm higher and took a quick whiff of herself. "Urp! Yeah, a shower wouldn't hurt, either!"

Yang stepped over the bush and deeper into the treeline. She stepped carefully around the barbed vines growing in the tall grass, and waved away at the biting insects that also called this forest home. In a few moments, she reached her destination at the beautiful, glistening blue pond, complete with a crashing waterfall.

"Any perverts out there?" Yang dropped her bag and looked behind her; then to her left; then to the right. "Alright then. Either you're quiet, or you're not there. Either way," Yang took off her yellow jacket, "don't bother me."

"Aaaaaah! I'm so lost!" Jaune Arc was lost. Scratch that; lost implied he had no idea where he was, and he did know. He was in a forest. What he didn't know was where the nearest town was.

He had been wandering through this forest for days, but he always makes a wrong turn every time he reaches a split path. Right now, though, he was out of the treeline and following creekbed. He really wished his mom was here; she knew all about directions.

'No! Stop it! You're a big boy now, Jaune. Big boys don't need their moms!' Jaune's stomach growled. 'But what I wouldn't give for a hot meal right about now.'

Jaune looked to the sky. No clouds, which meant no rain, which meant only Sun for another few days, which meant more wandering around in the blistering heat. Jaune wasn't normally one for cursing things, but for the Sun, he was willing to make an exception.

The creekbed flowed with water, about ankle-deep, and Jaune was banking on this crystal-clear cascade flowed to a town water-wheel. Hopefully the water-wheel was attached to a house with food, like grilled fish, or a tasty pie. He could almost smell it now! He sniffed the air and it smelled like...

Coconut?

What were coconuts doing in the forest? Did coconuts grow in forests? No, that's not what his mom taught him. Coconuts grow on islands in the middle of the ocean. But weren't continents technically giant islands? He'd have to ask his mom later, but for now, he followed the scent.

Jaune almost walked off a cliff, and found the creek led to a glistening waterfall. At the bottom, where the waterfall pooled, Jaune saw a girl scrubbing her hair. Maybe she knew the way to town!

"Excuse me!" Jaune caught her attention. "Do you know the way to town?" Oh, neat! She was a wizard, too; and a pretty strong one at that, if the incantation circle told him anything.

"FIRE MAGIC: FIRECRACKER!" Yang blasted a set of five fireballs at her peeping tom. What was this guy's deal?! Didn't he know better than to sneak up on a girl in the shower?! Once her spell was cast, she bolted from the water, it's cool temptations dragging her in more than the actual water resistance. She toweled off and quickly put her clothes on. Once her jacket was on, however, the pervert was already halfway towards her! How does a creep like that move so fast?! And without so much as a scorch mark on him?!

He was clearly a powerful wizard, probably as strong as Uncle Qrow! She got into a combative stance as he stopped. He reached his hand out, probably in an attempt to grab her.

"Hi, I'm-"

"FIRE MAGIC: BOTTLE-ROCKET!" Yang launched herself away while simultaneously hurling three fireballs at her pursuer; much larger ones than her previous attack. Yet again, however, he shrugged it off like it was nothing! She might have to resort to punching the creep, but she wasn't going to rush in without thinking before doing that. "Okay; who are you, creep? You from a dark guild, or something?"

"A dark guild?" He gave her a confused look. Clearly, he was playing the ignorant and innocent card. It wasn't going to work on her. "No, I'm not from any guild. I'm Jaune Arc, from Argus."

"Argus? Across the water of the other side of the continent?"

"Yeah, have you heard of it?"

"Uh, only from what one of the other guild members told me. She said she grew up there."

"Oh, really? What's her name?" His smile did little to ease her fears. This guy was dangerous, and that was the only thing she knew about him besides his name and hometown.

"I'll answer you if you answer me, deal?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure."

"Okay, then, first question: why were you spying on me?"

"Uh, I wasn't spying on you."

"Then why were you on top of the waterfall?" Yang cracked her fingers, ready to launch another fire attack.

"I got lost, so I was just following the stream." He looked behind him towards the waterfall. "I was kind of hoping to find a water-wheel."

"A water-wheel? In the middle of the forest?"

"Yeah, I mean, it isn't the craziest thing I've heard of."

Yang looked him up and down. He definitely looked like an adventurer. He was wearing a plate mail cover on his chest and shoulder; a belt with a canteen and a pouch attached; and he was wearing a leather backpack over both shoulders. "Uh, can I ask you something?"

Yang blinked. "Uh, I guess."

"Am I in trouble?" Yang deadpanned. What was his first clue, the first attack, the follow-up, or that she was glaring daggers at him while in a combat stance? "Because if I am, I'd like to apologize for anything wrong I did."

"Yeah, no, pal. I don't let peeping toms get away scot-free, y'know?" Her muscles tensed like a coiled spring, ready to burst forward. Nothing was going to stop her from stomping this creep."

"Peeping tom? Were you naked?"

Yang suddenly felt the ground give beneath her, landing on her face. She stood up and nearly breathed fire on him. "Yes, you moron! How else would a girl be under a waterfall?!"

"I don't know. I thought you were doing some kind of monk training."

"Do I look like a monk to you?!" Yang growled, but then sighed. She gave up on this. There was no point. He's not a threat, not while being this stupid. "Look, I need to get back my guild. If I bring you to town, will that be enough for you to leave me alone?"

"Oh, uh, sure, but I didn't know I was bothering you. I'm sorry!"

Yang sighed. "This is going to be a long trip."

"So, you're from Argus?" Yang asked, trying to make small talk.

"Not originally, but I lived there for a while with my sister and her wife and son." Jaune was going to miss Adrien, but he could leech off his family for too long. He had to go out and make something of himself, like that girl who left before he showed up. What was her name Pina Nolada, or something? "I'm trying to find a guild to join."

"Where'd you live before that?"

"I was kind of wandering around for a little while."

"You didn't live anywhere?"

"Not since my mom left." Yang made a pained face. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just..." Yang sighed. "My mom left when I was young, too. My dad raised me and my sister all on his own."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Jaune felt a sympathetic sadness from hearing this; or maybe it was empathetic? In either case, Jaune made her feel sad, so he should cheer her up. "Hey, uh, check this out!"

Yang looked over to see Jaune pull the large sheath from his side. With the click of a button, the sheath expanded into a shield. Yang's eyes were wide with surprise.

"Wow," she said, "that's gotta be heavy!"

"Uh, yeah, it kind of is," Jaune groaned, "but it's a handy tool! I can block just about anything with it!"

"What about my fireballs?"

"Your what?"

"My fireballs. The magic I was shooting at you?"

Jaune's eyes went wide this time. "You were shooting magic at me?!"

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"Oh, um, don't take this the wrong way, but-" Luckily, Jaune's comment was cut off by a cry of terror. Yang must have heard it, too, since she sprinted towards the scream. Jaune returned to the shield to it's sheath form. "Yup, still just as heavy."

"Come on, sweetie; just one little kiss?" The petite girl was overshadowed by the taller, scruffy-faced man towering over her. The tanned skin of his arms were covered in scars, his long, greasy, black hair poured like thick oil from his white bandana on his head. The cackling demon image on the cloth seemed to sneer from it's perch above his brow.

"No! I already told I'm not interested!" The girl's rejection was met with a snapping finger, which signalled the three individuals behind him to continue their work.

The shortest of the trio had pale skin, and long white moustache. He stood no higher than the girl's knees, and seemed to delight in the fact as he passed by her to enter the back room. He began throwing supplies into the lobby, smashing containers and ripping bags while doing so.

The windows were worked over by a flat-nosed woman with round body. She took a deep breath and blew onto the window, melting the glass and the wood in the frame around it. She laughed, causing her belly to jiggle.

The third member, a tall man with dark skin and wearing black shades, placed his hands on the ceiling. He then grunted, flexing as he pushed on the ceiling, tearing it from the walls.

"So..." The scarred man said, grabbing the girl's chin and forcing her to look at him again. "About that kiss?"

The girl trembled. She wanted to look away, but her captor kept an iron grip on her head. She shut her eyes and clenched her jaw, wishing this nightmare would be over. That someone would save her!

"Hello?" Everyone in the room turned to see the blonde woman in the doorway. "Hi! Can I get some snacks for the road? Got a long trip ahead." The woman was followed a more blonde man, who seemed to actually take note of the carnage inside, if his shocked face was any indication. "Is the manager here?"

"Beeeeeeeeeat iiiiiiiiiit, blooooooondiiiiiiiie." the tall man said slowly, drawing the syllables out of every word as he spoke. As he turned to face her, the ceiling and roof over the store spun with him. "Stooooooorrrrrre's clooooooossssssssed."

"Really? Looks open to me." She cocked a smirked. "In fact, I'd say sales are "through the roof!" Eh? Eh?" She finger-gunned at her audience. No one was laughing. "Nothing? Eh, you must be more of a slapstick crowd, huh?"

The large, round woman waddled her way over to would-be comedienne, sneering at her. "Hmph! Such an ugly sense of humor befits a woman such as yourself."

"Huh?" The blonde woman looked up at her critic. "If you don't like it, that's fine, but there's no need to insult my looks."

"Hmph! With ratty locks, and a twig of a shape your form retains, you are hardly fit to be considered a full-figured maiden like moi!"

"Hang on," the blonde man stepped forward now, "Yang's right. You shouldn't be making fun of somebody's looks. Don't you know how rude that is, sir?"

The larger woman flinched, clenching her jaw in anger and grinding her teeth so intensely, you'd think sparks would start flying.

"Jaune," the blonde woman tapped his shoulder, "she's not a man." She whispered.

"Who isn't a man?"

"Hmph! Me!" The rotund madame barked. "I shall gift upon you such a mercy as to repent on your transgressions!"

"Huh?"

"She's telling you to say you're sorry."

"Oh! Uh, I'm sorry I mistook you for a man." Jaune apologized.

"Hmph! As you should be!"

"It's just, you don't look like any woman I've ever seen. To be honest, I thought you were some kind of weird, two-legged boar."

Everyone's jaw dropped. There was dense, and then there was stupid, but this was just downright brainless! Whoever told this guy that "honesty is the best policy" didn't bother to explain little white lies. And from the looks of it, he was going to live to regret it.

The portly woman ground her teeth violently and inhaled so deeply with her nose, she reeled her head back. She then swung forward as an incantation circle appeared behind. "MAIDEN'S KISS!"

A jet of white smoke escaped her mouth as she opened it. The blonde woman jumped out of the way, but the blonde man didn't, choosing instead to lift a white bar up and extend it into a shield. The attack was blocked by the shield, but the white smoke enveloped the man. As it dissipated, the round woman laughed.

"Hmph! Such is the tax of fools who dare question the virtues of a full-figured maiden such as myself!"

The gang of cronies laughed as well, with their leader grinning. These villains weren't going to stop at destroying property, and that suited them just fine. The girl trembled once again as she watched the cloud dissipate into nothing, leaving only a pool of brown sludge where the man stood.

"Phew! That was a close!" A voice said from above. Everyone looked up and saw the man hovering above them and slowly descending. "Good thing you lifted the ceiling, huh, big guy? A foot lower, and I could have been in some real trouble!"

"Hoooooooooooow aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrre yooooooooooou stiiiiiiiiiiiiiilllllllll aaaaaaaaaaaliiiiiiivvvvvvvvvve?"

"Well," the man said, finally touching ground in the goop, "I saw the melted window, but I didn't smell anything like wood burning, so your ability melts, but it doesn't burn. That requires a lot of heat, and heat rises. Decided to hitch a ride with my glide shield."

"Nice one, Jaune!"

"Thanks, Yang!"

"Yang?" The man in the bandana stepped away from the girl. "As in Yang Xiao Long, the Blonde Bombshell Brawler of Dryad's Tears?!"

Yang chuckled as she scratched an itch on her upper lip with her finger. "Oh, so you've heard of me? Well, glad to know I'm famous around here! Now, since you know who I am, why don't you tell me who you are?"

"Gladly." The man tightened the bandana on his head, making the demon image look more impressive. "The name is Zed, "Sin-Eater" Zed of Imp's Delight. And these are my Sons of Sin; "Luster-Loss" Asma; "Star-Grabber" Cin; and "Hoard-Stealer" Nom. We were just passing by when I decided to do some shopping here. Found me a pretty, little doll I like, so I tried to buy her. Unfortunately, the doll's owner didn't like the look of me, so I decided to take it for myself."

"What doll?" The blonde man asked.

"Excuse me?"

"What doll? This looks more like a farm supply store. I don't think they sell dolls here."

"Not normally, hehehehe, but this little peach right here is just ripe for the taking, hehehehe!" The short man said through giggling, grabbing for the girl with his prehensile moustache. She jumped away, only to end up in a corner. "Now, now, dear! No need to be fussy!"

"No! Stay away! No! No!" The girl cried as the hairs of his moustache wrapped around her legs. Nom cackled as he stepped closer.

"There's no point trying to break free, my dear! My hairs are so full, not even a charging rhino could break through! So just let me have some-"

SWISH!

Nom looked down from the girl's terrified face to her legs where his hairs fell limp. He continued down until he found a break in the line between his facial hairs and their end point.

"I don't know what you people think you're doing," Jaune spoke through gritted teeth, "but a person is a person, not some toy or a piece of fruit." He turned his head and faced Nom, his eyes burning with a blue flame. "Now get the hell out of this store!" Jaune kicked Nom in the face, knocking him out and sending him flying into the wall.

Jaune turned towards the girl and knelt down. "Are you okay, miss? Can you walk?" The girl shook her head to recover, then nodded. "Good. I need you to leave. Go find a friend and stay with them for a while. We'll take care of the guys here. Okay?" The girl nodded again, then ran for the exit. The ceiling shifted overhead.

"Whoooooooooo saaaaaaaaaid yoooooooou coooooould leeeeeeeeavvvvve?" Cin drawled as he shifted his weight to throw the ceiling down.

"I did, bub" Yang shouted as she leapt into his face, "because this party hasn't even started yet, so I need you to keep raising the roof for now!" Yang punched Cin so hard, he staggered, but never fell. "Heh, tough guy, huh?"

"Hmph!" Asma grabbed Yang in a bear hug. "Such a fragile harlot need not concern herself with the whims and wishes of much more fragile harlots! MAIDEN'S KI-!"

"Oh, no you don't! FIRE MAGIC: STRAWBERRY SUNRISE" Yang's entire body glowed in a brilliant golden light as her hair shone like the Sun and her eyes became a flawless ruby red. Not only bright, but hot, too! So hot that Asma stopped her initial attack to let go of Yang, who took advantage of this recoil and launched another attack. "FIRE MAGIC: EMBER BURST!" Yang used both hands to launch a massive fireball twice her size to engulf Asma, sending her flying across the road as the rescued girl escaped.

"Cin! Drop the damn roof on her already!" The giant responded by doing so, a rain of splinters and wood shavings fluttering down as it comes crashing down.

"Hey, Jaune!" Jaune looked to Yang. "Keep your eyes on me!" Yang took a deep breath. "FIRE MAGIC: I BURN!" Yang's entire body, once a shining light, erupted into a now veritable burning star. She stood her ground as she caught it, the wood between her fingers scorching into cinders as she lifted it high above her head, then slammed it back down onto the now crumbling tower. Yang smirked as her flames died, having only one thought as the dust slowly settled. 'I never could stop myself from showing off in front of the boys, huh, Rubes?'

Jaune coughed and blinked as the scent of burning wood and sawdust invaded his senses. It gave him mixed feelings; a combination of warmth and happiness from bonfires with his mother, and dread as it was a bonfire that led to her disappearance.

Jaune waved away the smoke and coughed when a cloud chose his mouth as a suitable home. The coughing led to hacking, and the sawdust decided to invite friends over for a housewarming party. "Water," he cried with a dry voice, "I need water!"

Suddenly a vortex formed a few yards away from him, drawing all the dust and small debris away. Jaune felt the vacuum draw on his clothes, but luckily he was too heavy to be swept away. As he looked closer, he saw a green magic incantation circle rotate at the point where the vortex drew everything in. The wind died, and sunlight returned to blind Jaune.

In front of him, stood Zed, a cocky grin on his face. "I don't know who you are, kid, but I suggest you run. Nobody's ever survived against "Sin-Eater" Zed and lived to tell the tale!"

"Probably because they died when you fought them, right?"

The thug tapped the side of his nose. "You know, I've heard of Dryad's Tears and Yang Xiao Long, but I've never heard of you before. What guild are you from?"

Jaune laxed at the conversation. "Oh, I'm not from a guild."

"That so? A shame you gotta waste it helping out the sleeping dragon there." He nodded his head towards Yang. "Why don't you join up with Imp's Delight? We could use a man like you in our guild. Raiding villages'll be a breeze!"

"And if I say no?" Jaune tightened his grip on his sword and widened his stance.

"Then you won't say anything ever again." Jaune held up his shield. Zed sighed. "Shame. You could have been a real pal." A green incantation circle manifested behind Zed. "WINDS OF OMEN!"

The vortex reappeared, but spun in reverse this time, launching small debris everywhere. Jaune kept his shield close to his face as the wall of wind, debris, and sawdust blinded him. He raised a foot to step forward.

"STARVING GIANT!" Zed cried over the howling wind, and the vortex spun once again in reverse, sucking the sawdust and debris in, as well as the now off-balance Jaune, forcing him to fall forward. Zed cancelled his vortex and rushed towards him. Jaune struggled to regain his balance, only to lose it once again as Zed unleashed an onslaught of punches into Jaune, his unbalanced flailing of his sword and shield to his sides left him wide open. Jaune fell to the ground in pain.

"That's all you going for you, huh? Brains and a blonde girlfriend? It takes more than that to beat me, kid." He crouched down next to his floored opponent. "Tell you what I'll do: you and your friend come back to the guild, you swear your allegiance, and I'll forgive you both for this little interruption we had. What do you say?"

"I say you can take that offer and shove it up your ass." Jaune and Zed looked in surprise as the panting Yang stood up from the rubble. She removed a bandana from her leg, revealing a tattoo of yellow tree with yellow teardrops falling from the canopy. "I don't care how tough you Imp cowards think you are. My guild is the strongest Wizard Guild this side of Fiore. Your little street gang clubhouse has got nothing on us!"

Zed stood up and walked over to Yang, who struggled to get into a fighter's stance. "STARVING GIANT." Yang was pulled into the vortex, her face caught by Zed's hand. He lifted her up, then slammed her into the ground. "WINDS OF OMEN."

Yang screamed as winds with the force of a hurricane blasted her into the ground, but Zed kept his grip on her face as his volley of winds continued, each gale more intense than the last. "This is what happens to those who fight against Imp's Delight! No one is greater than our guild; not while Guildmaster Amon Ripper, the Red Dragonslayer, still breathes! And now, I'm going to drag your sorry hide to his feet, and you'll be his toy for as long as he likes! Because we are-

"GAH!" Jaune crashed into Zed, forcing him to let go of Yang and sending him flying a few yards away. Yang looked up and saw Jaune standing over, his shield in front of him. Zed stood up, growling. "Cheap shot, kid, and the last one, too!" Zed placed both hands in front of him, incantation circles manifesting behind him. Jaune sheathed his sword and took a deep breath. "WINDS OF OMEN!"

A cylinder of wind charged towards Jaune, the young man stepping forward, over Yang. He widened his stance and squatted in place, bringing his fists up to his mouth, one in front of the other.

Yang and Zed both widened their eyes. "You're a-?!" was all Yang could get out before a yellow incantation circle with the head of a dragon in the center appeared.

"YELLOW DRAGON ROAR!" Jaune bellowed as a shining yellow vortex of his own crashed into Zed's, then enveloped and swallowed his gusts of wind, overpowering and launching Zed.

Zed crashed far away. Far from the village and his team of thugs. Said team gathered at the ruined shop, each gawking at the powerful wizard who literally blew their leader away. Jaune turned towards Yang and saw them. They flinched at his gaze. "Your boss flew that way." Jaune pointed in the direction of his blast. The team nodded, then ran off to collect their benefactor. Jaune looked down at Yang. "Do you need help?"

"Just a little." Jaune grabbed her arm by the bicep and helped her stand. "Thanks, but I should be fi- Shit!" Yang stumbled into Jaune's chest. She must have been tired. Jaune could tell by how red her face was getting. "So, uh, a dragonslayer, huh?"

"Yeah." Jaune answered simply.

"So your "mom" is-" Jaune answered the same as before. "Huh. Never would have guest, since you have that sword and shield. Figured you'd be a Requip wizard."

Jaune shook his head. "Nope."

Yang grabbed Jaune by the shoulders and steadied herself. Jaune gave her a worried look. "I'll be fine. I just need a nap."

"Maybe there's an inn nearby."

"Nah! What I really need is grub! Is there a tavern around here?"

Jaune and Yang sat down in the tavern that was only a few buildings away. Yang was scarfing down beef burgers and fries by the handful, while Jaune ate his chicken sandwich in silence. "Sho yur muh effed I yu ur yah?"

"Could you maybe say that again without an entire cow in your face?" Yang chewed and swallowed her sixth helping of burger, then washed it with her stein of cider, finishing with the most ladylike belch in the history of ever.

"BRAAAAAAAAP!!! Ah! So, like I was saying, your mom just up and left while you were young?" Jaune nodded, which Yang replied to with a scoff. "Your mom sounds just like mine, except somehow worse. I had my dad. You didn't have anybody."

"I'm sure she had a reason. That's why I'm looking for her."

"To learn why?" Jaune nodded again. "Be careful, Jaune. You might not like the answer. I sure as hell didn't like mine." Yang reached for her fries. "There's a lot people in this world, Jaune, and the worst ones are always the ones closest to you." Jaune frowned at that. She expected him to. "But enough about that. Let's get back to you joining me."

"What?"

"You and me hooking up! I need you by my side in case what happened back there happens again." Yang extended her hand. "What do you say?"

Jaune blushed and looked away. "My mother warned me about this!"

"Huh?"

"She said she wanted grandkids, but only when I met the right woman. But how will I know if you are the right woman for me? I mean, we've only just met, but maybe this is love at first sight?" Yang was blushing now. "You are strong, but strength isn't what's important in a relationship. What matters is that we love each other, and-"

Yang slammed her hands on the table. "HOLD ON A MINUTE!"

"Um, excuse me?" Yang and Jaune looked to their side, seeing the young girl they saved earlier. "Um, thank you again for saving me. I owe you both so much."

"We were just happy to help." Jaune said with a smile.

"Yeah, so how much are you willing to pay back?" Jaune snapped his head towards Yang, glaring at her. "Relax, shield boy! I'm just messing with her." Yang turned her attention back to the girl. "But really, if you need any help, don't be afraid to ask Dryad's Tears for help. We'll be here as fast as we can, and kick butt as hard as we can."

The poor girl seemed on the verge of tears. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Yang smiled at the girl's tears. Her smile of gratitude warmed her heart. It almost reminded her of Ruby. "Well, time we get going."

"Already?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah." Yang pulled out a piece of paper, and wrote something down. "My offer still stands, if you're interested. Just swing by the guild if you wanna join."

"Can't I go with you?" Yang gave him a curious look. "I mean, it's like you said earlier, you need me by your side. Besides, if it means I'm closer to finding my mom, then I should join, right?

Yang set her paper face-down on the table, and closed her eyes in thought. She couldn't guarantee that she'd be able to help him find his mom, or any dragons for that matter. Still, he saved her life, so she owed him at least that much. "Okay, you got yourself a deal!"

"Oh, my! It's so big" Yang opened her eyes to see the girl marvel at Jaune's sword, which he was showing off for her.

"Thanks! It was a gift from my mom."

"She must have been quite the craftsman!"

"No, she was a dragon."

"Oh, my! Really? Does that mean you're a dragonslayer?"

"Yup! I'm the son of Bellisa, the Yellow Dragon."

Yang quickly stood up. "All right, Jaune, time to go!" The last thing they needed right now was unwanted attention. "Time to head back to the guild!"

"Okay!" Jaune stood up, and stepped out. "It was nice meeting you-" Jaune tripped over himself and landed on his face. Not hard, though, which was odd when you considered the floor was made of wood. Jaune pushed himself off the floor, into the ruby red eyes of the blushing girl.

"Wow!" someone said.

Jaune immediately leapt up. "Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-!" He felt a tug on his arm. He looked in that direction and saw Yang red in the face and looking away.

"Come on, Lady Killer, we have to go!"

"What about the bill?"

"I left a check, don't worry about it!" As soon as they made it out, Jaune heard shouting behind him. He looked back and saw an elderly man chasing them with a broom, mumbling something loudly that he couldn't understand. He saw the girl following suit, stopping the man and talking to him. Whatever she said seemed to calm him down. As the man turned away, she looked in his direction. She was far away, but he could have sworn she was winking. "C'mon! Pick up the pace, Romeo! We gotta get there before nightfall!"

"To where?"

Yang smiled. "Where else? Beacon, the home of Dryad's Tears!"

The girl went back to her house, and collapsed into a chair. What a day! First some rookie thugs from some no name dark guild try to hustle her, then her cover gets blown, LITERALLY, by a dragonslayer.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a buzz in her dresser drawer. She opened it to find her communications Lacrima vibrating. With a touch, she was answered with the image of a woman with black hair and amber eyes watching her, taking into account her every move. She lifted the Lacrima to the dresser.

The woman spoke first. "Do you have anything to report?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Proceed." The girl took a deep breath and began explaining her encounter today. The slow, early morning, the annoying later morning, the interesting midday, and the unfortunate afternoon. "So your cover is compromised."

"Not completely. However, it doesn't seem there's anything left for me here. If you'd like, ma'am, I can continue my role-"

"That won't be necessary." The woman was silent for a moment. "Return to the guild. Our guildmaster will have another assignment for you ready by that time."

"Yes, Cinder."

"Good." Cinder Fall leaned forward, her bangs parting to show off her web tattoo over her eyes. "Besides, I also would like to hear more about this "dragonslayer" you told me about, Emerald."

#rwby #jaune arc #fairy tail #yang xiao long #emerald sustrai #cinder fall #old man shopkeep

91 notes · View notes

general-kenobi357 · 3 years

Text

Someday Soon-Chapter 3

Pairing: JJ Maybank x Fem!OC

Summary: After finding a new lead the hunt to find the Royal Merchant is on.

Word Count: 4.4k

🔅🔆🔅

We all waited anxiously as Kie began to climb out of the mausoleum. I grabbed her flashlight as the boys helped her back onto the ground.

“That's not gold.” JJ stated, as we all examined the FedEx bag Kie had found.

“Holy shit.” John B stuttered, taking the package from Kie’s grasp. “This is from my dad.”

“Code red. Code red. Square groupers! Square groupers!” JJ alerted us to the car that was pulling up. “It's the guys who robbed your house.”

“Light! Light.” Pope reminded us all, as we ducked down to avoid being caught.

“Turn your light off, man!” John B urged JJ, who sat between me and John B, struggling with his head lamp. Reaching over I turned it off for him before we got caught. We all sat in silence. The only sound you could hear was our panicked breathing as we waited for something to happen.

“Do you think it's them?” Kie asked us all.

“Homie's got a gun.” JJ concluded, as he leaned over me to peer around the corner.

“Screw this.” Kie said standing up and breaking into a sprint towards the van.

I sat stunned for a moment more before I felt someone grab my hand and pull me to my feet. Before I knew it we stopped at the tall gate that stood between us and our escape.

“You have to climb over the fence, Sweetheart.” JJ told me, leaning close to my ear and snapping me out of my trance. The only thing I could hear was his voice. “Can you do that?”

“Yeah.” I muttered, as all of our friends began to scale the fence. “I think so.”

As I jumped onto the ground on the other side I finally felt as if I knew where I was again. JJ grabbed my hand again once he landed beside me.

“Hurry up!” Kie urged us all from her spot next to the van.

“Guys! Guys! Guys, I'm stuck.” Pope called out from the top of the gate where his shorts had gotten caught.

“Pope, come on!” JJ called out, just before he realized Pope couldn’t. “Alright hold still.” He concluded letting go of my hand so he could dig through his backpack. It took me a minute before I realized what he was looking for.

“No JJ.” I scolded him before turning to Pope. “Pope you have to jump.”

“You're gonna rip me.” Pope warned, as Kie and John B started to pull him down. “Wait. You're gonna rip me!”

“You're fine. Come on!” Kie told him as his pants tore and he could finally get down.

“Pope, come on!” John B said once he was on the ground. We all began running to the van before we were caught. Tires screeched against the pavement as we finally fled the scene.

🔅🔆🔅

Back at the Château we all began to gather around the table ready to find out what Kie had found back at the graveyard.

“That bread had mold on it three days ago.” Pope said in disgust, from the kitchen to my right.

“I'll just pull off the bad parts.” JJ reasoned, making me cringe in disgust. “Plus, mold is good for you. It's just a natural organism.”

“JJ!” Kie urged not willing to wait any longer to see what they had found.

“Yup, yup, yup! Let's do it.” JJ called hurrying into the room with a sandwich in hand. I turned around from where I stood behind John B, watching him take a bite before promptly spitting it into his hand.

“Holy shit.” I heard John B mutter as he opened the bag and dumped its contents onto the table.

“Oh. X marks the spot.” Pope pointed to the X on the map that John B was unfolding.

“Longitude, latitude.” John B pointed out, as we all examined the map of the ocean which surrounded the Outer Banks.

“Wait, there's somethin' else in there.” I said, noticing the map wasn’t the only thing we had found.

“What's that?” JJ asked from his spot beside me.

“It's a tape recorder, dumbass.” Kie answered, sounding frustrated and I couldn’t blame her. We had been through a lot that day and we were all becoming more exhausted as the day dragged out.

John B reached for the tape recorder before hitting the button on the side so it would start playing whatever had been recorded.

“Dear Bird.” A deep voice started speaking. I recognized the voice but without seeing a face I couldn’t place who it was, partially due to the fact I was so tired.

“Who's Bird?” JJ asked.

“That's what my dad called me.” John B answered and suddenly my tired mind put together the pieces and I realized this was all from John B’s father.

“I hate to say, ‘I told you so,’ but I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either…”

As the tape ended we all looked at John B who sat in shock at what his father had just told us all.

“Holy shit, he did it!” JJ exclaimed in shock. “Big John... He found the Merchant…”

“Can you... can you please?” Kie stopped JJ from talking as we watched John B stand up in tears.

“Sorry.” JJ mumbled, realizing his mistake. Kie moved to comfort John B who was barely holding it together.

I turned back to JJ to give John B and Kie a minute, Pope was examining the map again and I saw the guilty look JJ held.

“Come on.” I told JJ, placing a hand on his shoulder to direct him towards the door. “I think there’s some mold free bread at my house.

🔅🔆🔅

“Shh.” I reminded JJ, as we entered the dark house, knowing my mom and sister were probably fast asleep inside.

Once in the kitchen I started to grab everything I needed to make us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, as JJ jumped up to sit on the counter. A comfortable silence fell over us as I made us food. I handed him a plate as I took my own out onto the porch so we didn’t have to be as quiet.

“I’m sorry.” I finally spoke up as we began to eat.

“What?” He asked, confused.

“I’m sorry. I flipped out at you before and I shouldn’t have. You were right, you were just trying to be there for John B.” I explained, remembering the events that had occurred earlier that day.

“Well in all fairness you were also right, I definitely went about it the wrong way.” He responded, making me laugh a little.

“So you still want to be my friend?” I asked, watching his face fall slightly which confused me.

“Of course.” He assured me with a small smile. I smiled back as we finished eating.

Once again we were back to being best friends and laughing as we joked around while we headed back over to the rest of the Pogues.

🔅🔆🔅

After gathering the rest of the Pogues we had made our way to John B’s dock where we all sat, drinking again. I sat next to JJ leaning against him. The events of the day were starting to catch up to me and I felt as if I might crash soon. I listened to the others discuss the Royal Merchant while I tried to keep myself awake.

“How much was it again?” Pope asked.

“Four hundred mil.” John B reminded, he sounded as if he couldn’t even imagine a number that big.

“All right, let's talk the split.” JJ spoke up, I could feel the vibrations of his voice pass from him to me, keeping me slightly more awake. “Now, before we say ‘evenly,’ may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us. Protection? Not cheap, okay?”

“You haven't trained.” Pope told him. “You've done zero training.”

“YouTube, bro! That's at least a five percent bump right there. Any objections? Didn't think so.” He concluded which made me laugh.

“Yeah.” Pope tried to object but JJ had already moved on.

“What are you gonna do with your 80 mil, Pope?” JJ asked curiously.

“Pay for college in advance. And also, textbooks. Those are expensive.” Pope explained confidently. “What about you, Kie?”

“Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?” John B asked.

“I just wanna make a double album.” She told us wishfully. “About OBX, the Pogues. You know, the way Catch a Fire is about Kingston. Record it at Marley Studio, Peter Tosh producing.”

“Peter Tosh is dead.” John B tried to reason.

“Peter Tosh is dead.” Kie agreed. “I know. Spirit of Peter Tosh will never die.”

“What about you Iz?” John B asked, as everyone turned to look at me.

“Well, I’m gonna buy my Mom our old house on Figure Eight. Then I'm moving to Hawaii, I’ll build a little house right on the beach. Surf every morning.” I explained, smiling while I thought about it all.

“How are you going to build a house? You can’t even use a screwdriver.” JJ teased me.

“Hey if Kie gets a dead producer, I get to pretend I know how to build a house.” I reasoned.

“Alright well, I know what I'll do.” JJ told us. “I'm gonna get a big ass house on Figure Eight and go full Kook.”

“You're gonna go full Kook?” I asked laughing at the thought.

“Yup.” He nodded. “Gonna get a marble statue of myself, and then I'm gonna get a koi pond. Put a bunch of those fish…”

“I'm never visiting.” Kie warned. “What are you gonna do, JB?”

“To going full Kook.” He decided finally, raising his beer.

“To going full Kook!” We all agreed as we clinked our beers together.

🔅🔆🔅

“All right, keep a look out.” JJ warned us all as we pulled up to the nicest hotel on the island. “We're behind enemy lines.”

I’d been here a few times before, once with my dad when I was young and a couple of times I had gone to see JJ on his lunch break. It still amazed me every time, especially now when I knew what it was like on the cut.

“Yo, come on, man. Just put it back.” Pope urged, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked back into the van where JJ sat messing around with his new favorite toy.

“What? You can never be too careful.” JJ reasoned.

“Hey, I predict that bringing a weapon to a four-star hotel will likely cause more problems than they solve.”

“I swear to God, I'm gonna throw that thing in the ocean, JJ.” Kie warned him from the backseat of the van.

“Put it back.” I told him, taking the gun from his grasp and placing it back into the glove compartment. It seemed like me having to take away the gun from him was becoming more of a common occurrence.

“You can't grab a gun like that.” JJ explained, before he bent over to shuffle through his backpack. “Can't forget my badge. Professional busboy.” He reminded me, flashing the badge in front of my face.

“So, where are we going now?” Pope asked, as we all followed JJ to the kitchen entrance.

“We're getting on the internet because only rich people have electricity right now.” JJ explained, as we walked through the lobby of the hotel, most of the guests stared and I didn’t blame them. A group of Pogues willingly in the middle of Figure Eight was not a common occurrence. “See, they got the backup generators going? Kooks don't miss a beat.”

“Sweet Lord, the internet!” Pope cried out, as we entered the computer room. “I've missed you.”

“Let me get in there.” JJ said, sitting down next to Pope. “Gotta check out my Insta models.”

“We don't have time.” Kie tried to remind him that we were on a mission here.

“Coordinates, please?” Pope asked, getting ready to search them.

“34° 57' 30 " north. 75° 55' 42" west.” John B read off the map. “Boom, continental shelf right there.”

“Well, if it's off the deep end, it's not gonna be much of a treasure hunt, is it?” I reminded him trying not to get my hopes up yet.

“Come on, baby.” Pope muttered, as he zoomed in on the map and we all leaned in closer to get a better look. “Come on.”

“Shit, it's on the high side. It's only 900 feet.” John B let out the breath he was holding.

“That's not too deep.” JJ supplied.

“Is that doable or something?” Kie asked confused.

“Yeah, totally doable.” JJ responded.

“Will we be taking your personal submarine?” Pope asked.

“How do you know this, Mr. Dive Master?” I added.

“The salvage yard. They got a drone that can drop 1,000. It has a 360 camera and everything.” JJ explained to us. “It's for, like, deep dives and stuff. It's exactly what we need.”

“Can your dad get his grimy little hands on that?” John B asked, hopefully.

“Well, my dad's grimy little hands got his ass fired.” JJ informed us. “I guess the salvage captain frowns on showing up shitfaced, turns out. But the drone's there. It's in the impound yard out back.”

“How much did you say was on the Royal Merchant again?” I asked trying to weigh the pros and cons in my mind.

“400 million.” John B reminded us.

“400 mil.” JJ confirmed as we all seemed to come to an agreement that whatever we had to do was worth it.

“No. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. No!” Pope realized what was going on. He rushed to the door trying to block our way.

“Pope! Move.” Kie urged.

“Can't we do anything legal for money?” Pope asked me as I walked past him following the rest of the Pogues.

“When you have 400 million dollars everything is legal.” I reasoned with him.

🔅🔆🔅

“Pope, we're not stealing the drone. We're borrowing it.” John B explained, we were all still trying to get him on board with the plan.

"Humans are the only animal that can't tell fantasy from reality." Pope told us hopelessly.

“Did you come up with that?”

“Albert Bernstein came up with it, but it applies to this whole treasure-hunting thing. So, which is it? Fantasy or reality?”

“Why are you so weird, Pope?” JJ asked, more focused on the joint he was rolling than the conversation we were all having.

“It's fantasy, but possible reality.” John B concluded, after thinking for a moment.

“Reality.” Kie reassured from beside him.

“Virtual reality.” JJ told us all, as Pope grabbed the joint from between his lips before JJ could light it.

“Keep the signal clear.”

“You know what your problem is?”

“You?”

“No! It's that you need to relax, man. You're always so tense!”

“I'm not too tense.”

“Alright you two.” I tried to stop their bickering as I climbed over JJ to get out of the van. Turning back to them I added. “Don’t be stupid, okay?”

“Sweetheart, that’s a big ask.” JJ tried to reason with me.

“Yeah I’m not sure you’ve met JJ.” Pope added.

“Hey I’m not the only one who does stupid stuff.” JJ argued as they started up their bickering again.

“Fine.” I interrupted. “Just… please try to stay out of jail?”

“Yeah alright we can do that I guess.” JJ concluded.

After leaving the boys behind I followed Kie towards her car.

“Alright, I’ll let the air out if you want to go get the guard?” I asked her circling around to the back of the trailer.

As the guard came over to the trailer I pretended to be inspecting the tire I had just flattened.

“It's too easy.” Kie whispered to me, as I stood up to give the guard some space.

“So he just kissed you?” I asked Kie, she had just been recounting what had happened to her and John B when we had left them at the lighthouse. It was nice to talk with her about boy problems. It reminded me of simpler times before we had begun looking for buried treasure and had our lives threatened.

“Yeah and I had no idea what to do.” Kie explained.

I was about to respond when we heard a dog barking from inside the yard.

“Do you hear that?” The guard asked us.

“Hear what?” I asked innocently.

“Oh, Tebow's got somethin'.” He told us.

“It's probably just a raccoon, maybe. You know?” Kie tried to cover for the boys. “Nothin' to worry about. Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He said going back to the tire.

“I’m gonna go give them some more time.” I mumbled to Kie before I went over to the other side of the trailer.

“Are you sure that one’s good?” Kie asked, warning me that the guard was done.

“What are you doing?” He demanded as I stood up from the tire.

“This one looks a little low too.” I tried to cover.

“Wait! Wait!” Kie called. But it was too late he was already running back into the yard.

“Shit.” I muttered as we got into Kie’s car. Hoping that the boys had made it out in time.

🔅🔆🔅

“Stealing drones makes you hungry.” Kie joked as John B parked the van in front of The Wreck.

“What I would do to a beer and shrimp and grits right now.” JJ told us as we all piled out of the van.

“It would not be pretty.” Pope teased.

As we walked into the restaurant I saw Kie’s dad frown from behind the counter, he definitely was not our biggest fan. After some convincing Kie walked back to us and told us to sit down as her dad brought out food for us all. I sat down between JJ and Pope as we all dug in.

As we finished up Kie stood and turned up the music that had been playing softly in the background. After some convincing John B joined her as JJ and I laughed at their ridiculous dancing.

Noticing Pope was being especially quiet, I looked back at him concerned, he looked as if someone had taken away his puppy.

“You think Pope’s okay?” I whispered to JJ.

“Yeah.” JJ replied, looking at Pope before turning back to me. “He’s just madly in love with a girl and doesn’t know how to tell her.”

“Hmm.” I hummed, still looking at Pope with concern.

“Come on.” JJ said, pulling me to my feet so we could join John B and Kie. I laughed as he spun me around.

“Pope, what are you waiting for?” I asked with a smile as I held out my hand for him and he reluctantly stood up.

And as we all danced together I forgot about the rest of the world for a couple minutes and enjoyed this moment with all my friends.

🔅🔆🔅

The next morning we had gathered on John B’s dock so that Pope could get a handle on the drone controls before we took it out on the open water. I sat in front of Pope and JJ with my feet in the water basking in the sun. I could see storm clouds brewing on the horizon but they hadn’t hit the island yet, for now everything was calm.

“What's this?” I heard JJ ask.

“Don't touch that.” Pope shooed JJ away so he sat down beside me. “I'm trying to work out this thing.”

“God bless geeks, Pope. Truly, man.” JJ added. “What would we do without you to control the drones?”

“It's not a drone. It's an ROV.”

“Shut up. Shut up. It's too early for that right now.”

“Hey, play nice boys.” I reminded them looking between the two.

“Hey, once we get footage of the wreck, we'll bring it to a lawyer in town and file a formal claim.” John B informed us from the water.

“It's bullshit. Why do we have to do that?” JJ sounded like a little kid being told he had to go home from the playground.

“Well, there is maritime salvage law.” Pope told us.

“You can't just go to the ocean floor and scoop a bunch of stuff up.” John B added.

“I know. I know. It's just lawyers aren't cheap, bro.” JJ reasoned.

“As soon as they see the footage, they'll work for a comp.”

“How do you know all of that?” I asked John B.

“'Cause my dad said it, like, a million times.”

“This tether is, like, really long.” Pope spoke up. “In the wrong weather, it could get pushed around.”

“Then we'll go at dead calm.” Kie reasoned as she climbed out of the water. “Slack tide?”

“So now, we just gotta wait around for the right weather.” Pope told us, as we listened to the far away thunder. “And today is not that day.”

As we walked back towards the Château I heard my Mom calling me from the porch of our house.

“Shoot, I forgot I was working today.” I said to the rest of the Pogues.

“You still want us to pick you up later?” JJ asked, as I checked my bag to make sure I had everything.

“Uh yeah, if you’re gonna be over there.” I responded not wanting to inconvenience them.

“Yeah, JJ and I are dropping off groceries on Figure Eight for my dad.” Pope explained.

“Okay, awesome. I’ll be at the Osborne’s house it’s like two docks down from the Cameron's.” I explained, as I made my way over to my mom’s car. “Bye!”

🔅🔆🔅

As I finished vacuuming I glanced at the clock on the wall of the Osborne’s house, this was the last house I had to clean today and JJ and Pope were set to pick me up soon. After I finished cleaning up, I headed downstairs to grab my stuff.

“Hey, you all done?” Mrs. Osborne asked me as I entered the kitchen. She had always been nice to me, well nicer than most Kooks.

“Yep.” I responded, putting the tip she had just handed me into my bag.

“Awesome, thank you.”

“Of course, I’ll see you in two weeks.” I told her.

“I’ll walk you out.” she said motioning in the direction of the front door.

“Oh, actually my friends are picking me up on your dock.”

“Oh okay.” She said, seeming a little confused.

“Bye!” I called out as I shut her back door and made my way toward the long dock. As I stepped out onto the dock I saw Heyward’s boat pull up on the other end.

When I walked onto the boat something seemed off, the two boys were silent which almost never happened. Looking between them I was confused. Without a word Pope pulled out of the dock and we headed back to the cut.

“What’s up with you two?” I asked a few minutes into the boat ride. The pair glanced at each other, Pope opened his mouth like he wanted to say something but after a pointed glare from JJ. He shut his mouth and readjusted his hat, it was sitting at a weird angle.

“Nothin’.” JJ told me with a straight face.

“Seriously?” I asked, frustrated with the two for keeping something to themselves.

“Seriously.” JJ confirmed, so much for Pogues not lying to Pogues.

“So we’re keeping secrets now? Cool.” I said pressing my lips into a tight line. Before they spoke another word I walked onto the back deck. Hoping that the breeze would help me cool off.

From inside the boat I could hear Pope arguing with JJ about telling me something. I couldn’t hear all of it but I knew they were keeping something from me as their words became louder.

“I don’t want her involved!” I finally heard JJ shout, which seemed to stop Pope from saying anything more and the pair became silent again.

🔅🔆🔅

After we spent the rest of the day surfing we were all back at the Château. I sat watching the sunset, wondering what had happened to JJ and Pope before they picked me up. I worried that by the time I found out what had really happened it would be too late.

“You really think it's out there? Like, no bullshit?” Pope asked.

“My father thought it was.” John B told us.

“But do you?”

“After hearing his voice on that tape… I think I do.”

“Only one way to find out.”

“Look, we're gonna find it, you know?” JJ spoke up from the hammock. I’d normally be sitting right beside him and even though we were only a few feet apart it felt like there were miles between us.

“Even JJ believes.” Kie joked.

“Oh, my God, JJ, do you really believe?” John B asked in disbelief.

“Totally. Wait. Are we talking about four mil?” JJ asked

“Four hundred mil.” Kie and Pope corrected.

“I'm gonna dream about shipwrecks.” JJ informed us all. “Good night, Bird!”

“Good night, bird shit!” John B teased.

🔅🔆🔅

The next day, the weather seemed perfect as we all boarded Heyward’s boat, ready to find some gold. I kept my distance from the others, I knew I should drop it but I couldn’t help but worry about what JJ and Pope refused to tell me.

“All right, JJ. Pin it here.” I heard John B call out.

“Roger that! X marks the spot.” JJ responded from inside. “All right, ladies and gentlemen. To going full Kook.”

As Pope took the drone deeper everyone's nerves rose. We were about to find out if it had been worth it.

As Kie let out more of the tether, I kept track of how far down the drown had gone. At 900 feet the wind was becoming too much and we still hadn’t found anything. But at almost 1000 feet Pope let out a sigh of relief.

“I'm at the bottom! I'm at the bottom! Okay, steady here, JJ!” Pope yelled out over the wind.

“You should be seeing something, man.” John B told him impatiently, we couldn’t stay out for much longer.

“I know, I know! Wait, wait.” Pope froze. “Oh, good God.”

“See anything?” I asked hopefully.

“It's the Royal Merchant.” Pope told us with certainty.

🔅🔆🔅

#outerbanks #outer banks #jj maybank #jj obx #obx #jj x oc #jj maybank x oc #jj x reader #jj maybank x reader

8 notes · View notes

captainscanadian · 4 years

Text

Better | Bucky Barnes x Reader (Epilogue 2)

My Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Summary: You did good. No, you did better than good.

Word Count: 2505

Pairing: Doctor!Bucky x Doctor!Reader, Portia Barnes, Grant Barnes, Sarah Rogers

Warnings: Swearing, Mentions of Abuse, Mentions of Death

A/N: This is it. This is the end of an era. This is the end of me writing Better. I cannot believe I actually managed to finish a fic. Most importantly, I cannot believe so many of you have taken your time to read this and to love this story and Better!Bucky as much as I do. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank you all. I am forever grateful for every single one of you. This one’s dedicated to @dramadreamer14 because after the torture that I put her through, she needs this domestic, fluffy, “growing old together” kind of wrap-up for this fic. Pic’s not mine, credit to the owners!

20 years later...

New Hope, Pennsylvania was a quiet little town. No one ever knew that it had even existed. Even Bucky had only come to know of this small town until he had met you. Over the years, you had not questioned why your husband had been sending money orders to your hometown every single month. You knew the answer to that. But you also knew that a few years into your marriage, the payments had stopped. Bucky had not mentioned it to you, but you knew that they had stopped. You did not live under the biggest rock on earth for crying out loud.

When you had asked Bucky about it though, he did not try to hide it from you. He did not lie to your face in the name of wanting to protect you, even if he knew how much pain was behind the answer to your query. Your biological parents had tragically passed away after your childhood home had caught fire and burnt down. A kitchen fire, apparently. It had spread so quickly by the time one of the neighbors had found out and managed to call the fire department, that your parents could not be saved.

Bucky had believed that you had every right to grieve your parents, to feel completely free from them now that they were really gone for good. A fire accident in your childhood home, he had told you. Neither of them survived. As it turned out, your mother had left a will before her death, stating that whatever the remaining amount of money she had left in her bank account should go to the science teacher at your school. After all, she had signed a contract saying that she would cut all ties with you. Of course, she was not going to leave you that money. But it seemed as though, after all these years of never being able to be on the same page, your mother did understand you at some point. She knew that you owed your old teacher so much for that one night of shelter and your mother also owed her that much for ensuring that her only child had not frozen to death. And that was the end of that.

Portia Natalia Barnes never got to know her maternal grandparents, but she knew from a very young age that her mother had not been as lucky as she had been when it came to being the recipient of unconditional parental love. You and Bucky had made sure to let both of your children know that they were loved from the day they were born. You never took them or the responsibility that you had taken on as being their parents for granted. You were honest with them, allowing them to understand that their parents were not perfect. But they were human beings with their own flaws, who thrived to be better. You had given them the space and the openness to be honest with you too. If they ever felt like your parenting was unfair to them, they would tell you. You communicated with them to make sure that they understood the boundaries that you had set for them as their parents and they felt understood as well. You were much better parents that the ones you had.

As the years rolled on, Portia had left your nest to go off to Harvard. Having inherited her father photographic memory, she had been quite a smart kid. When it came to her going to college, she had managed to grab an acceptance to multiple Ivy League schools. Her father had taken it personally that she had chosen Harvard over Columbia, his own alma mater. But truth be told, Bucky was simply not willing to see his little girl go off to live on her own. He had been a very protective father.

While your daughter was attending university in Boston, your son was freaking out over the football tryouts at his high school. While neither you nor your husband was athletically talented, it seemed as though Grant had taken a particular liking to playing sport. Now a senior in high school, he was well under way of getting a football scholarship. Both of your children were doing well for themselves and you could not be any prouder.

And as for you and your James, the two of you had resigned from the hospital when your children were starting school. The two of you had agreed that the unpredictable work schedule that came with working at the hospital was not ideal when you wanted to be raising two children. Bucky had admitted that he wanted to be more present in their lives. As much as he had been raised by a nanny, he was against the idea of you hiring one.

But the time had been right, for Bucky’s friend T’Challa, who had taken over your in-laws’ private practice from them had sold it back to the two of you before moving back to Africa. You and James began working together as partners, dictating your own work hours to accommodate your school runs and running your own clinic at the shelter. The two of you had really built yourselves a life together, just for the two of you.

Of course, this did not mean that you did not get to see your friends at all. Every weekend and the holidays were spent in each other’s company, no matter how far away from each other your lives had taken you all. Even if you all had your own families now, you still made time for each other. In the end, you were all each other’s families and that was never going to change all that easily.

“Mooooom!” Your son whined as he made his way down the stairs, his feet stomping across the hardwood floor with every step he took until he reached the kitchen. For a seventeen year old, he was quite broad and tall. He sure had the built for a football player, towering over your height too. According to your mother-in-law, he certainly took on after his father. But you would not say that he only took on Bucky’s appearance; he had his father’s heart too. “Mom, Portia says she needs the car tomorrow but I’ve got practice. Can you please remind her that she doesn’t live here anymore and the car’s mine now?”

You let out a sigh as you finished chopping up the vegetables, discarding the scraps in the compost bin before walking over to the stove to check on the pasta.

“I told you. I’ll even drop you off and pick you up, you punk.” Your daughter’s voice echoed through the hallway as she followed after her brother. “Mom, I’m just meeting up with my friend for coffee. We have our project due after spring break and we were going to be working on it together.”

“It’s spring break. Why aren’t you taking a road trip to Canada and getting pissed drunk or something like a proper college kid?”

“It’s spring break. Why do you have practice, huh?” She asked her brother.

You turned off the stove before turning around to face your children, letting out a sigh of disbelief. “Have you two seriously forgotten what day it is?” You asked them as you crossed your arms against your chest.

They both looked at each other for a moment before their eyes grew wide in realization of what day it was.

“Oh shit-” Portia quickly covered her mouth. “Sorry, mom! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to forget, I... I’ll text my friend right now and cancel our study session. I promise, I’m not leaving the house for the whole day.”

“Sorry, mom...” Grant frowned as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. “I’m calling the coach and telling him that I can’t make it. Family comes first.”

“As much as I’m a little disappointed that the two of you forgot your father’s birthday, I’m glad that you two are at least fighting about study sessions and football practice.” You admitted, chuckling softly. “Help me finish up with dinner and set the table? Dad will be home soon and it’s been a while since we’ve had a family meal with all four of us.”

“Of course.” Your daughter smiled as she walked around the kitchen counter to wash her hands. “I’ll roast the vegetables.”

“I’ll drain the pasta.”

“And I’ll finish up the sauce!” You announced and the three of you worked together to finish cooking before your husband got home.

Dr. James Barnes was a lucky man. At sixty years of age, he was happily married to his wife of twenty-two years. With a successful private practice and a part-time position teaching anatomy at Columbia Medical School, he had learned to keep himself busy with work while still managing to have a family of his own. He had two wonderful children who loved him dearly and were well onto becoming responsible adults. He was not worried about their future; they were good kids.

His goddaughter on the other hand though, he was worried about her for sure. “Sarah, I’m telling you. Being my little niece does not mean that you’re going to get special treatment in my class.” With an eye roll, Bucky made his way upstairs right after he entered his home.

“But that doesn’t give you any reason to be twice as hard on me, Dr. Barnes.” She told him sternly as she watched him ascend up the stairs. She walked into the dining room, her expression a little softer as she greeted you. “Hey, Aunty Y/N.”

“Hey, sweetheart... will you be joining us for dinner this evening?” You asked your beloved niece as you finished setting the table. Just as you had been a regular visitor of the Rogers-Carter household when you had first started working with Steve and Peggy, Sarah was a frequent dinner guest as your house as well.

“Do I have a choice? I have an anatomy quiz after the break that I’m supposed to study for and my professor’s a jerk. Uncle Bucky... offered to help me study tonight.” Sarah Rogers, in the way she carried herself and spoke her mind, was her mother’s daughter. But when it came to her constant banter with Bucky, she was all Steve. “I’m telling you. If I end up dropping out of med school, it was your husband’s fault.”

“This... is exactly why I went off to Harvard.” Portia pointed out as she walked over to Sarah and pulled her into a hug. “Cheer up, Rogers.”

“Wait, I thought Uncle Bucky is your professor...”

The girls turned around to give Grant a look of disbelief.

You gave him a pat on the back. “Let’s finish setting the table, baby.”

Your husband made his way downstairs after freshening up, having changed into a pair of sweatpants and a Henley. Even after years, he still liked to separate his personal and professional lives with how he dressed. When the two of you were home, you rarely spoke of work. Your children had always been your priorities.

James’ hair had a hint of grey now. But that only made him look much more attractive to you. The years had been kind to the two of you, despite a few wrinkles here and there. Your physical appearance did not matter much to you though, for your hearts were still the same? You loved each other just as much as you did that night in your hospital room and that was never going to change.

After a long-awaited family meal, the children got busy with doing the dishes while you found yourself heading up to your room for a quick shower. By the time you had changed into a pair of pyjamas and made your way downstairs, you found Sarah and Portia huddled on the living room floor with their textbooks laying wide open around them. Grant had followed their example and grabbed himself a book to read while he laid on the couch – The Merchant of Venice, which was apparently now being taught in his high school English class. He really was his father’s son.

Bucky sat in his study, reading through his emails. As you knocked on the door and poked your head through, he looked up at you with a smile. “I wasn’t expecting any visitors at this time, doll. But I’ll take it.”

You walked into the room, making sure to close the door around you. “So, this is where you spend all of your free time after... a hard day’s work and a good family meal.” You told him with a wink.

He chuckled softly as he stood up from his seat. “Well, I do think that there’s a lot more value to my time if it’s spent in the presence of my wife.” There was a teasing tone in his voice and you knew that he had caught on.

“Hm... flattery will get you everywhere, Dr. Barnes.” You giggled as you walked up to him, leaving up to quickly peck his lips. You were cautious, for you did not want the children to see you like this. “A wise man once told me that I was capable of being so much better than what life had to offer me. Happy birthday to him, I guess.”

“I think there’s still a few hours until midnight.” He said, his eyes darting to the wall clock behind you.

You reached into the pockets of your robe and pulled out an envelope. “I just thought I might give you your present a little earlier...”

“What’s this?” Bucky asked you as he took the envelope, his eyebrow raised at you as he stepped back to retrieve the letter opener from his desk. He carefully tore through the envelope before retrieving the tickets to your romantic vacation destination.

You watched as he looked down at the tickets. “A wise man also told me that if I really wanted to live like I’m in the Merchant of Venice, all I had to do was hop on a plane.”

He turned around to give you a cheeky grin. “A romantic getaway to Venice? Really, doll?”

“I think we both need one, don’t you think? Now that Portia’s out of the house and Grant will be moving out soon.” You shrugged. “We can just travel the world like free birds, just you and me.”

“I think I’d like that.” He agreed as he walked back to you and kissed you softly.

You giggled as you kissed him back, wrapping your arms tightly around him as you took in his scent. “We did good, James...” You admitted, laying your head against his shoulder and shutting you eyes for a moment. You wanted to savor this, for every single intimate the two of you shared was precious. You still saw it as a blessing, having a wonderful husband like him and beautiful children.

“No, I think we did better, Y/N.”

#aj writes #better #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes series #bucky barnes au #doctor!bucky #doctor au #marvel au #better!bucky

277 notes · View notes

lennydaisy · 4 years

Text

EPIPHANY SERIES // OUTER BANKS // CHAPTER THREE.

(n.) a moment when you suddenly feel that you understand. or suddenly become conscious of something that is very important to you.

“Care to seize the day, my friend?”

Outer Banks Season 1- FEM OC! and ?

Here’s the link to Chapter Two in case you haven’t read it already <3 Check it out!!

Babysitting isn't for everybody. And at the beginning, I didn't think I was for me either. They say every child is different and this job has proved that couldn't be more true. Call it delusion, but I thought babysitting would be the easiest job on the planet. Getting paid to look after someone's kid for a few hours whilst they run for the hills for a sliver of free time. Sounds easy enough right?

Wrong!

You need to have thick skin when it comes to babysitting. No matter how much the parents reassure and praise their kid for being a literal angel on earth. That said angel will call you a do-do head at least once whilst simultaneously having a tantrum because you told them no, despite how much they promised that their parents allow them to climb onto of the refrigerator.

The first time I babysat it was actually a baby I was watching. The mom wanted to get out of the house and away from the responsibility of her 6-month-old. She had graciously written up any and every scenario that could play out in the few hours she was gone. And I was feeling confident. Until I wasn't.

They wouldn't stop crying. And their special lamb, that the board told me to give to the baby when they were upset, ran out of batteries, and I couldn't find new ones anywhere.

They refused to eat, just spitting the pureed food back in my face. They also wouldn't keep their socks on and that was the last straw for my sanity. I understood now why the mom had been quick to run out the door.

I ended up calling Kie, begging for her to come and help. I don't know how she understood a word I said, I was practically hyperventilating over the line, staring at the baby who was crawling around in a fit of rage.

Kie was truly a godsend. She somehow fed the baby and managed to get them to sleep before the mom came back. It did result in me splitting my first wage with Kie, but I wasn't complaining, I was just happy that I made it out of that house with just a headache and not an external crisis. Though that did come later.

I've babysat an 8-year-old boy, who ran away from me in the park. I did find him eventually. After giving myself a hairline fracture in my right wrist from climbing the tree he got stuck in.

I've babysat animals before. That wasn't part of my non-existing contract, but the way they spoke about their pets was very humanlike. It didn't end well for me, it never does. It resulted in me holding four leashes of four overly excited Komodo Dragons. Just kidding. The refused to move and lacked any type of emotion.

'I took you guys to the beach, be grateful.'

Now, I know what you're thinking, Komodo Dragons? Aren't those Illegal to have as pets? The answer to that question is yes! But I didn't know that. Just imagine Shoupe's face when he saw me practically dragging not one, but four, exotic animals across the boneyard. It looked suspicious is all I'm going to say.

Turns out the two guys who asked me to babysit their dragons for them we're smugglers who purchased and sold exotic animals. Not good. Apparently, they were already under the police departments radar and the pair planned on legging it to the in-country hoping to change and clear their names.

That worked out well for them, I think? Nothing else was really mentioned of it after my dad collected me from the police station. They're still on the radar, I hope. If not then there are two brawny men out there that could come and kill me in my sleep for ruining their very illegal business. Look, If you are up to some suspect things, my dumbass is the last person you'd want to be involved. I will unironically get you caught.

That's how Ward Cameron had heard about my very pristine babysitting service. Noticing the little bit of trouble that always seemed to shadow me, he offered to hire me permanently as his youngest daughter's babysitter.

That was three years ago, and here I am still babysitting Wheezie.

"This is stupid," Wheezie complains, trudging behind me, pushing forward the shopping cart filled with lost items that we found on the beach.

Since there is no internet in Kookland, in other words, Wheezie's heart line is currently in critical care. I decided to venture outdoors with her for a change. Instead of just sitting around her three-storey clubhouse or in her four-acre backyard, I thought it would be nice to comb the beach of any debris that the hurricane brought along.

There was a lot of personal items that washed up on the beach too. Wallets, bags, photographs, books, clothes, wine bottles, footballs, toys, you get the gist. Most of them were ruined, either waterlogged or just completely useless. However, somethings just needed a good clean, and that's what we are going to spend our day doing. There is no way of telling what belongs to who, so we'll just turn them into the lost and found and hope they'll check there if it was important enough to them.

Our two trollies worth didn't even make a dent in the rubble that litters the beach, but it was a start. Say hello to a summer of hard labour.

"There was a hurricane Wheezie, have some sympathy" I roll my eyes at the girl who was less than thrilled about today's plans.

"I do have sympathy," she claims defensively, "It's just pointless. No one's gonna come looking for this junk," eyes flickering through the findings in her trolley.

What we found isn't pointless. They belong to someone. I think about it the same way I did as a kid when I wanted every single teddy bear in my bed at night so none got left out, so I didn't hurt their feelings. A ragged old soccer ball might look worse for wear, but it has a home and I going to get it back there.

"It's not junk," I object, stopping momentarily, waiting for the stroppy pre-teen to catch up. "Say you lost your phone and someone found it, and returned it too you. You wouldn't be grateful?" I theorize in terms that I know she would understand.

"My dad would just get me a new one," she shrugs nonchalantly, not missing a beat.

"Well, not everyone's fortunate that way," I remind her, blinking suddenly as the sun shines on something reflective in the cart, blinding me.

Reaching towards the sparkling object, I realise that it appears to be quite expensive. It's a glass ashtray. Rubbing the damp sand off the surface, my thumb feels an engraving. In swirly calligraphy, reads the initials:

'S.G'

"I'm sorry," Wheezie apologizes, wincing when she heard my comment, "I didn't think-"

"-It's okay," I smile at the girl. It's not like I don't understand my current life situation. It's pretty shitty, I know, but I live with it. I was born a Pogue for a reason. I wasn't supposed to be born with a silver spoon in my mouth, though that doesn't mean I hate those who are. They have it easier than me and my family, sure, but that's just how it is in the Outer Banks. Some are more fortunate than others. It does, however, leave a sour taste in my mouth that Kook parents will just throw money at there children to get them to shut up, but that's just a Pogue's opinion.

The generators haven't kicked in yet, seeing as though the Camerons security code gate is bouncing loosely against its unlocked hinges. Holding the gate open for Wheezie to push by with her cart, I catch a glimpse of their usually perfectly mowed lawn. Instead, I see plenty of fallen trees and scattered branches, broken plant pots, and ruined garden monuments. It’s not a good look, especially for the high-class Camerons.

That just goes to show, hurricane's don't show mercy on anyone, Kook or not.

As a wise man once said; 'Thanks Agatha, ya batch.'

Parking our carts beside the Cameron's private pool, away from the workers who are just trying to do their jobs. I turn to Wheezie saying, "You go get some soapy water and gloves and I'll empty the carts."

Nodding her head, she rushes into her house, leaving me slightly confused, 'Where did the sudden enthusiasm come from?'

Emptying the carts, I lay out what needs to be cleaned the most: from a bronze candlestick holder to a old, yet unique, shoe buckle, and everything in between. And of course, the ashtray.

Holding it gently in my palms, legs crossed against the cold slabs, I couldn't help but feel hypnotised by the intricate marks that littered the tray. It truly was a lost treasure.

"I'll take that," announces a voice from behind my hunched figure, jumping when a hand snatches the tray from my grip.

Coming to my feet, I'm ready to snatch the tray back from the sudden thief, but I stop when I realise who it is. Why am I not surprised, I am on their turf.

If it isn't dumb, dumber and dumbest.

Throwing the delicate glass from hand to hand, Rafe lets out a low whistle, "Check the weight on that," he tosses it to Kelce who was standing tall behind him. Kelce nods his head in approval, of course agreeing with what Rafe has to say.

"Who did you steal that from Pogue?" Rafe smirks thinking he has me sussed out. Not wanting to give the satisfaction that him lobbing around the ashtray is causing me heart amputations, I stare him in the eye, "I didn't steal it. I found it."

"You did, did you," he utters pushing past me, his head low with a sick smile, taking in the view of the tressures that I had laid out, "And what about all this? Did you just find that too?"

I say nothing. He knows the answer to that question. I already told him. I don't need to explain myself, especially not to Rafe Cameron.

His eyes flicker over Wheezie and I's findings, taking in each and everyone with a curious eye, before he cracked, "Bunch of junk," kicking some of the items into the pool.

All I could do was stare. Stare as someone's possessions sunk to the bottom of the marble pool, clashing and crumbling at the foot of Rafe. I fell sick.

His friend just laughs, egging him on. Kelce patting him proudly on the back, handing him back the ashtray. Rafe turns to face me, that smirk never leaving his face, but I can't look at him. I refuse to.

"-Hey Rafe, dad's looking for you," a soft voice breaks the harsh glare that Rafe was sending my way. Nodding his head at the voice, he holds the ashtray out for me to take.

It was too good to be true.

Gullible enough, I reach out for it, only to have it slip through my fingertips. Unable to hear the shattering of the glass as it hits the red slab, my brain refuses to accept fate as I stare down at the shards.

Laughing lightly, I bite my lip, nodding my head understandingly, not expecting anything less from Rafe. A sharp grip on my wrist snaps up my damp eyes, "See you later, Pogue," he hisses in my numb ear, before marching away as though nothing happened.

Sensing a presence, I meet eyes with the 3rd and final member of Rafe's crowd.

Topper.

Smiling lopsidedly at the well put together boy who hasn't moved or spoken since showing up, "Nice friends you've got there Topper," I say monotoned, watching as the boy snaps out of his trance-like state before following Rafe with a blank expression and his tail between his legs.

Shuddering out a breath, I unclip my waist bag and begin to pick up the chunks of glass. Pausing when a pair of clean, white shoes entre my line of sight, "Careful," she crounches down, picking up a shard, placing it into my bag.

A few minutes of picking up the sizable pieces, all that was left on the slabs was a glittering shimmer. Satisfied with what was salvaged, we stand back up to our full height. It was silent. Awkwardly silent.

"Thank you," I shyly say, not at all pleased that the Cameron girl had caught me in a moment of weakness, but at least she didn't mock me for it.

"Your welcome," she smiles before reaching for the tennis rackets she had thrown on the ground before coming to help me. Certain that was the end of the exchange, I turned back to the pool where pieces of metal and loose book pages float carelessly on the surface.

It was just a bunch of junk anyway.

"Hey," Sarah turns, rubbing the back of her head subconsciously, "I'm going to save mice from the birds," she says, pointing out to the bottom of her garden where the surge has blown over, waterlogging the grass.

I just blink at the girl, confused as to why she is even telling me this. Letting out a gentle huff, "I have a spare racket," she offers, holding out one of the two rackets she has in her hands.

Finally catching what she's throwing, I look anywhere but her direction, "I can't," hoping to find a legit excuse as to why I don't want to help her be a hero for mice. Then it hit me, "I'm supposed to be babysitting Wheezie."

My triumphant smile fell as fast as it came when Sarah says, "The powers back on, Wheezie will not willingly come outside again," still holding out the bat for me to take, "Also, my dad's back, so your shift ended about 20 minutes ago."

The more reasons she adds, the more difficult she is making it to say no, and she knows it as well. Her eyebrows dancing lightly as she waves the racket around like a tempting treat.

Giving in, seeing as though I have run out of excuses to give, I grudgingly accept the racket. Maybe her being the sworn enemy of my best friend would have been a good excuse, but I didn't think of that at the time. And what would I of said:

'Oh, I can't help you, even though you selflessly helped me, because my best friend hates your guts.'

What are we, middleschoolers?

I can't help but feel wrong about it though. Like I'm betraying my role as a pogue, as a best friend. But if I feel that way about just being near the kook princess, that doesn't make me any better than her brother. A judgmental prick.

Let's call it paying back a debt. She helped me, now I'll help her. Tit for tat. Anything to make my mind feel at ease.

Walking behind the women who seemed to be on a mission, I'm met by the shrieking flock of overhead seagulls, each nosediving into the burrows, hoping to catch their next meal.

"Operation ‘Save The Mice’ is a go," she announces, holding out her racket waiting for me to tap mines against hers, declaring our battle. I couldn't help but wonder aloud, "Why does this concern us?" tapping my racket unsurely against hers.

Nodding her head in confirmation, she takes her stance, eyes now set on the sky. "You have about as much compassion as a rock," she focusses her swing, untimely missing by a long shot. It was entertaining to watch, I'm not going to lie.

"Tell me something I don't know," I reply, leaping back as the girl swings her racket with vigour and fury at the diving gulls. I can't help but laugh at her attempts.

Having enough of my laughter she turns around, a challenging look flaring in her eyes, "Think you can do any better?"

I just shrug my shoulders, twirling the racket around my fingers, smirking at my trick, but Sarah just looks unimpressed. Watching as a flock of gulls take their position to dive, I jump as high as possible hoping to swat them away.

At that moment I learned something about human capability. Humans shouldn't jump. Like ever. It's embarrassing. What do we expect? To touch the stars? It's nice to dream and imagine that when we push both legs of the ground, arms reaching high, that we are close to flying. Let's just say my non-existing dream to become an Olympic long jumper has just flushed down the toilet.

Another thing I learned is that when you swing a racket, with force, at a cluster of hungry Seagulls, you will get attacked. The only thing between them and they're next meal is me, and they didn't hesitate to remove me from the situation.

Letting out a shriek, I run away from the burrows, hands protecting my head as the birds swoop at me. Without a second thought, I run behind Sarah, using her as a shield to protect my crouching figure from the diving gulls.

After two minutes of fearing for my life, I can't help but chuckle at myself. And Sarah joins in, shoving my arm lightly, pushing me away from hiding behind her. The sudden shove causes me to stumble over my own feet, falling back on the grass. I couldn't help but laugh more, seeing stars as my stomach cramps in pain.

Sarah holds out her hand, trying her best to keep her balance from laughing, offering to help me up. I accept without a second thought, allowing her to pull me to my feet. Both smiling widely at our stupidity.

"Let's get these birds," I smirked at the girl who nodded her head in agreement. Both of us taking a battle stance, ready to defend our people. Or well Mice. They attack us, we attack them.

A cold shadow suddenly covers the setting sun that was shining against us. We let out another shriek, holding each other as we attempt to duck from the relentless gulls, running away from the burrows.

"Sarah!" I hear someone shout over our screams. Too busy protecting ourselves, we didn't even register the voice, "Mason?!" They ask in confusion.

Finally feeling safe enough from the killer birds, I look up to see Mr Cameron making his way towards us with Lana Grubbs at his side. 'Why is she here?'

"We're busy!" Sarah exclaims, picking up and tossing me the racket I had dropped when I fell, going back to swinging at the birds. She takes one side of the burrows and I take the other, waving around my racket. At this point I don't even care about the mice, those birds attacked me! So, I'm attacking them!

"What are you two doing?" Mr Cameron asks, not understanding why his daughter and his hired babysitter are running around like headless chickens.

"Saving mice," I reply, flashing my eyes over to the man, who stands with an ever so slightly amused look. "The birds are having a field day," Sarah adds, pulling me with her, chasing after the devils in the sky.

"Girls, the birds have to eat too," He implies, but we didn't hear any of it, still aimlessly swinging. "No, it's a mouse genocide out here," Sarah states breathlessly.

"It's the circle of life," Mr Cameron's patience was running thinner, "Now come on, I have a human being-" finally introducing the other presence in the garden. This pauses our attack, both looking apologetically at the lady, "-I'm so sorry. I'm Sarah."

Shaking the ladies hand, "This is Lana Grubbs, Scooter's wife," Mr Cameron introduces, "You were storm prepping with him, right?" he asks his daughter.

"Yeah," she answers, still breathless, "He helped me latch the cabin to the Druthers," nodding her head in the direction of the docked boat at the end of the pier.

'It's a nice boat,' I thought taking in the beauty of the three-story yacht, 'You can't hide money, huh.'

"Last night?"

"Yeah."

"And did he go out after that?"

"From here?"

"Yeah."

"No. Are you crazy? There was a hurricane," Sarah laughs lightly at the thought of someone willingly going out during a storm.'I could think of a few people,' bringing my attention back to the two adults in front of me.

"Well, did he say where he was going?" Miss Lana asks, her eyes erratic, "Get a phone call or mention anything?" The desperation lacing her voice makes my heart stop with sympathy for the woman.

"He didn't say anything to me," Sarah shakes her head, her tone not hiding her pity for the lady.

"What about you Mason?" Mr Cameron asks me, "Have you seen Scooter recently?" his questions sparking Miss Lana to look my way, her eyes glistening with withering hope.

"The last I saw of him was when Pope and I delivered to your house," regret instantly hit me, as I had to be the bearer of bad news. It was true though. The last time I saw Scooter was earlier this week when he opened the door for his groceries. I've seen him at Save-A-Lot a few times, but that was months ago when I had to tell him to leave because other customers were complaining that he was bothering them for money.

"I'm sorry," I apologise to the lady who just shakes her head, looking at the ground.

"Is he okay?" Sarah asks her dad who just nods, wrapping an arm around Miss Lana, "He's absolutely fine," he reassures Sarah, before guiding the dazed woman back towards the house.

"Oh!" I hear Mr Cameron exclaim, spinning round to face me, digging through his pockets, "Thank you for watching Wheezie today," he says, placing a brown envelope in my hand.

"Thank you, sir," I smile with gratitude as he makes his leave again.

Sighing, I slap the envelope a few times in my hand, turn back to a Sarah. I go to snap her out of her daydream, but get interrupted by a distant voice, "Hey Sarah!"

At the top of the disarranged lawn stood a scornful Topper, hands in his pockets as he looks down on us, making his way over at a snail pace.

"You better go," I flick my head in the direction of her boyfriend whose eyes are slitted with distaste. Holding out the racket for her to take, she nods her head and makes her way over to Topper, not even sparing me a glance.

I get it.

"I want you to stay away from that pogue, alright?" I hear him utter not so quietly under his breath, knowing fine well that I'm still able to hear him. I pay him no mind, finding my own way out. That's what he wants. Attention. That's always been what Toppers wants. And I'm not going to give him that satisfaction. Not anymore.

Humming a gentle tune under my breath as I make my way towards the gate. I double-take when I spot a hunched figure sitting by the pool, "Wheezie?"

My sudden appearance spooking her as she ripped the earphones out from her ears, the buds projecting a catchy pop beat. The girl sat on the cold slabs, clad in yellow rubber gloves and safety goggles, surrounded my various cleaning tools: a basin of soapy water, a toothbrush, a blow torch?

"What are you doing?" I ask sceptically, making my way towards her as she stuttered over her words before giving up with a sigh.

"I heard what Rafe said," she admits, her voice low as though afraid to speak out against her brother. That's the Rafe effect. He gets off on it. Knowing that everyone around him, his family included, is too scared to tell him he's a mess with even messier opinions. "And it not true," she adds.

Wheezie walks over, holding out the shoe buckle that we found on the beach. The once rusted and unrecognisable buckle now sparkled a blinding silver, and despite its eroded corners, it was still in great condition, "Pretty, right?" she notices my expression, "That's not the best part," she claims, turning over the buckle, holding it out of me to take.

Engraved on the silver base scribed, 'Made in Occupied Japan.'

"I couldn't save everything, like books and stuff, but I tried my best. I even made a box and everything," She rambles, rushing over to pick up the homemade box that read, "Lost and Found," painted in bold, pink lettering. In the box sat: a polished pin, the candlestick holder, a handful of leather wallets and all the other salvageable treasure that we found. And now the shoe buckle.

"It's not junk," she says, passing me the box, "They belong to someone and I hope they find them," she says, rubbing the back of her tinted red neck, finally understanding why I had her help me in the first place.

It's not junk.

I'm not great when it comes to other peoples emotions. They make me want to shrivel up and go invisible, but I can't help but admire the girls change of heart, but I'm still awkward so, I just ruffle her hair, hoping the annoying act conveys my gratitude.

Having enough of me for one day, Wheezie pushes me toward the gate, practically kicking me out. "See you next time kid," I shout over my shoulder, smiling as her face grovels at the word 'kid'.

Basking at my long journey home, I give up attempting to balance the light box in my arms. I place it on the sidewalk, unzipping my waist bag wanting to tuck the brown envelope, that I was struggling to hold, away.

The clattering of glass pauses my actions. Reaching in, I pick out a small piece, watching as the setting sun danced across the surface, shining every colour of the rainbow onto the tarmac.

'S.G'

Chapter Three: FIN!

I really enjoyed writing this chapter, even though it’s kind of filler. Kie would be proud of Mason for beach combing, her tendencies are rubbing off on her.

I choose for Mason not to go to the motel because that’s just what I choose, I don’t really have a reason why. Well I do, but I can’t tell you yet. You’ll find out eventually, if my idea goes to plan...

So we learned about Mason very perfessional babysitting service. Also I know that Rafe is, y’know bad, but I’m excited to explore Mason’s relationship with him. It will be interesting to write!

What did you think?

I’m really excited to write the next chapter. Mason is going to get buzzed.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter <3

Also, if anyone would like to be tagged in future chapters, just let me know and I’ll for sure do that!

*TAGLIST*

@xshinytrashcanx @prejudic3 @annoylinglyaries

35 notes · View notes