#anymore with you or anyone else who tears down these walls with affection that is so endlessly addictive and leaves me yearning. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

morganski-19 · 22 days

Text

I Don't Know Which Way's Home

Chapter 15: Visitors

ao3 link, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14

cw: minor descriptions of violence/physicall assault

Present Day, March 1987

“When are you going to move in,” Sarah asks over the phone.

“Next week, I think. I should get the keys in a few days and then we’ll take some time to get some basic furniture. Then we should be all good.”

Steve was excited for the move. Excited to get out of this house to something he owns. Something he can make his own. A place where he can walk through the door and see himself on the walls. In the furniture. Where it feels like home.

Not just a large house where most of the lights are never on. Suffocating anyone who lives in it.

It’ll be an adjustment. But he’s willing to do it. Ready to do it. He’s been stuck in the same loop for so long, he ready to break it.

“Any word from your parents?”

Steve still feels bad about that. If things went the way he wanted them to, Julie would never have to endure his parents. Over the phone or in person. Knowing her, she’d probably want to sit behind him in court. She’d see them there. But wouldn’t be dealing with him. That’s his job, not hers. Not anyone’s.

He’s been dealing with his parents for his entire life. He’s used to it. Knows how to shut up and say the right things just so the issue is dropped. Most of the time. Sometimes he fights back. Stands up for himself. Just to get knocked back down to the lowest peg possible. But he tries.

Now, it’s a totally different ballgame. They can’t knock him down again, not really. He’s stronger than he was back then. Older. More mature. Has a sense of his own self worth and how it doesn’t revolve around their opinions. They never cared enough to stay, why should he care about their words.

“Uh yeah. They got the papers, last I heard from the courthouse is that they got the response letter. It wasn’t pretty.”

“Well, that was to be expected. Anything else?”

Steve hesitates. “Yeah, um. I sort of got kicked out.”

“What?”

“Yeah, my dad said he wanted me gone. That if I thought I was going to get anything from them anymore I was wrong and can’t keep living here rent free. But they haven’t, like, sent a cop or anything to make sure I’m gone. So, it’s fine. I’m handling it.”

“That’s only because you have an in with the Chief, Steve,” Sarah says sternly. He can picture the frustration on her face. “When did they tell you this?”

“Two weeks ago.”

Sarah swears under her breath. “You’re cutting it close here, Steve.”

“I know,” he says before she can continue. “I know I am. But we’re so close to getting out. Most of our stuff is out of the house except for essentials, and I have people on standby incase they come home. I’m not going into this blind. I know how they are.”

“The minute they show up, the minute that this backup plan gets put into place, you call me immediately.”

Steve knows that Sarah’s just planning for the worst possible outcome. That it’s better to plan for things that might never happen than to scramble for a solution. He doesn’t want to think of the worst. Deep down, there’s a strong feeling that it’s actually going to happen.

Because he does know them. He knows how they will want to fight. They don’t want to do it at all. Threats have gotten them out of trouble before, it shouldn’t be any different now. Only Steve wasn’t giving up. Giving in. He separated himself from them enough that their words don’t mean shit anymore.

At least that’s how he’ll act. In court, he’ll tell the judge the truth, not caring what their going to say as a rebuttal. The way they’ll tear him down as much as they can. It won’t affect him then, but Steve has no way of knowing how it will affect him behind closed doors.

Despite everything, someone deep inside him craves for their approval. Their attention. That person has been getting satisfaction knowing that he’s getting it somehow. The same person that threw large parties just to get the cops called. Just to see if they would show up again. Give him a phone call. Steve wants to ignore that part of him, but it’s there.

That same part of him will probably cry when this is all over. Knowing that his parents are done with him forever. That they think the worst of him. Their opinion shouldn’t matter. It still does sometimes.

“I promise I will,” Steve assures.

“Good.” Sarah hangs up without another word.

Steve’s relationship with his parents has always been complicated. He knew that. Everyone knew that. There was a small hope that if he just acted right, did all the right things, the relationship would become less complicated. Less strained. He’d be their son the way other sons were. Not just a trophy to sit on a shelf, but something more. It never became that, no matter how hard he tried.

So he stopped trying, and look where he is now.

. . .

Julie was putting her plate in the sink when a car pulled into the driveway. Steve’s head turned to the door, wondering who it is. He never does that. People come and go here all the time, normally Eddie since he has a car. Robin if she gets him to pick her up on the way.

But Steve never turns his head when it’s them. Like he has some sort of sixth sense when it comes to random people showing up at his door. Always knowing who it is before he sees them. This is different.

Still, Julie doesn’t pay much thought on it. It’s probably just one of them. Or maybe one of the kids had their parents drive them over. It’s nothing.

Until they hear the garage door start to open. No one ever uses the garage.

Steve’s body tightens. Standing straighter that he normally does. He abandons his dish in the sink, walking toward the door leading to the garage. On attention. Waiting for something to pounce.

She’s never seen him like this before.

When he returns to the kitchen, there’s a frightened look in his eye. One that immediately makers her heart start to pound faster. It can’t be that bad. What can scare him into looking like this? Spine tied up with a string. Stance ready to start running. Afraid. He’s so afraid.

His mouth opens to say something as a car door slams. A rage filled voice traveling across the house. Enough that she can place who’s it is, even after only hearing it once. Steve’s fear matches in her eyes.

“Steve, who’s here?” Her voice waivers.

Without saying a word, Steve gently grabs her arm and brings her to the sliding door. “You can’t be here right now. They can’t know you’re here.”

“Steve,” she asks again.

He slides the door open, the evening air making her shiver. “The Byers house isn’t that far through the woods. You remember going there for Christmas Eve, right? Go straight about thirty feet, then make a right and keep walking.”

“Steve.”

The door starts to open, and the voices fill the other room. Steve’s eyes dart towards the sound before landing back on her. Only making her more scared.

“I’ll be there within an hour with the rest of our stuff. But it will be worse if they see you’re here. I don’t want them to hurt you.”

“Steve,” she pleads for him to slow down.

“You got it. Go to the loose fence behind the pool house and then walk straight a little bit. Then make a right and keep going. You’ll see their house after a while. Take this.” He reaches for the walkie on the kitchen table. Messing with the dial. “When you get to the woods, call for a code red. It won’t go to everyone, just to them. I’ll be there when I can.”

Before Julie can say anything else, Steve pushes her out the door and shuts it behind her. Sliding the lock into place.

Heavy breaths fill her lungs, burning slightly with the chilled air. She looks at Steve though the glass. Face frantically asking for an explanation. Trying to convince her the one she has is wrong. They can’t be here right now.

“Go, please,” Steve mouths through the glass. Terrified.

Julie turns. Walking to the pool house. Finding the loose panels of the fence and pulls them to the side. The same way she would do when she would sneak into this backyard. When she lived in that other house and would do anything not to be there.

Steve’s instructions replay in her mind. Walk straight for a bit, about thirty feet. Maybe more. The turn right and keep walking until you see the house. Call for a code red. Julie looks at the walkie in her hand before she presses the button. Seeing how her hand in shaking.

“Copy,” a man’s voice comes through the speaker. Julie unable to place it right now. “I’ll wait outside for you. If you don’t see the porch light, look for the flashlight. Call again if you get lost.”

Julie turns to the house again. The light click on in Steve’s room. He shouldn’t be much longer. There’s not much else to grab. He should be right after her.

She thinks about waiting. But she already called. They’ll get worried if she doesn’t show up.

Her mind can’t stop racing as she walks. Sun setting slowly as it becomes harder to see the ground. Squinting to make sure she doesn’t trip on a root or branch.

Did Steve’s parents really show up? Just unannounced. That part wasn’t as surprising when she thought about it. They seemed like the people to do that. Steve mentioned that they might come home. She didn’t believe it then. She barely believed it now.

He was right. They showed up at the worst possible time. Give it another week and they would have been out of there anyway. But no, they just had to show up today.

The rage of Steve’s father’s voice rings in her head. The threats on the phone call finding their way back to her mind. What would they do when they saw he was still there? He wanted the two of them gone, that didn’t happen. Not yet. It was happening, but something told Julie that wouldn’t matter. In their heads, Steve disobeyed them. Again.

. . .

Steve watches Julie round the pool house before he turns away. Knowing that she’s going to a safe place, that no matter what the Byers’ will take care of her. His safety, he’s not so sure about. Anger fills his dad fast, and it’s already bubbling over with the sight of the Beemer still sitting in the driveway. Or the fact that there’s lights on in the house.

He’s about to see his parents for the first time in two years. And he’s terrified.

Everything slows down like one of the horror movie scenes. Where the footsteps thump down the hall while the protagonist just stands and waits like an idiot. Waiting for it to strike. They don’t seem like such idiots anymore. Steve knows how feet can feel glued to the floor, but it has a whole new meaning now.

His back is straight, chest puffed out in a way that makes him look bigger than he is. Anything to make him more menacing than his father’s glare. Or fist. Or whatever is coming his way as his father finds his way to the kitchen.

For the first time in two years, Steve looks at his father’s face. Disgusted how much it looks like his. A constant reminder of where he comes from, no matter how hard he tries. Rage filled eyes meet Steve’s, waiting for him to make the first move. All he does is cross his arms, clench his jaw. Trap his father in a glare. He’s not speaking until he has to.

“Steven,” his mother breaks the silence. “We were not expecting you.”

She always tried to keep the peace between them. To try and keep in his father’s rage. It rarely worked. But she tried. It was the one thing Steve commended her for. Deep down, he felt bad for her. Trapped in an unhappy marriage having to follow after Richard just to make sure he didn’t cheat. But that still meant leaving him, and she didn’t call enough for him to forgive for that.

“No, we were not,” Richard finally speaks, voice tense. “What are you still doing here?” Considering you are no longer welcome in this house, that is.

His father can’t even speak his name. Steve debates walking past right up to his room. Filling the last tote bag before doing the same with the rest of Julie’s stuff. Walking out without an explanation. His father raises his eyebrow with a tilt to his head. Awaiting an explanation.

Instead, Steve decides to gloat. “I’m actually just waiting for the keys to my house. Didn’t want the neighbors to think you left your son to sleep in his car. That wouldn’t be so nice to the reputation, wouldn’t it, dad.” He continues to glare at his father, not backing down.

His father lets out a condescending laugh. “If you were so concerned about reputation, then we wouldn’t have to go to court. Would we, Steven? Instead, you think that you deserve some kind of justice. After all we’ve done for you.”

It’s Steve’s turn to laugh. “What did you do for me exactly?”

“Put a roof over your head, make sure there was money to put food on the table. Give you a car, clothes, expensive gifts. See you through high school, pay for your sports equipment. Everything you have is because we gave it to you.” Richard’s voice raises, almost yelling. Almost.

Steve resists a flinch when the last word booms through the room. Instead of saying another word, he side-steps his parents, heading upstairs. Flicking on the light in his room, stuffing as much of his stuff into a tote bag. His room already looks bare except for the sheet and the stupid car poster on his wall.

His mother appears in his doorway moments later, a more silent argument ready to be said. Until she sees the walls. “You painted?” she gasped.

“I did. Hope you don’t mind. I won’t be here much longer anyway. You can turn it back into what it was.”

A sickened smile forms on his mother’s face. “You never told me you wanted to change your room. We could have done it together.”

Meaning that she could have changed it while he watched. Hating how it would have turned out no matter what the product was. His mother never listened to him anyway.

“Well, you were never here long enough to change it, so I just did it myself.” He smiles to himself when his mother’s smile twitches. Knowing that his words stung.

The tote bag gets slung over his shoulder as he pushes past her. Leaving her to look at her ruined masterpiece as he packs up Julie’s room. Pulling out the tote bag she has underneath her bed and putting away the few essentials that she had left. Taking out another to shove her clothes into.

His mother gasps as she sees the paint over these walls as well. This room in particular being her favorite guest room. “What have you done?”

“Painted. Like I said.” He continues to fill the second tote bag.

Richard finds his way up the stairs, done waiting for Steve. Eyes landing on the desk where the picture of Julie and her mother rests. Steve grabs it before he can, gently placing it in the tote bag. Throwing some clothes around it so it doesn’t break.

“Has someone been living in here?” his father asks, not willing to admit he recognized the woman in the picture.

Steve takes a deep breath. “Oh no one special. Just your daughter.”

His parents stiffen at the same time. Bringing a sly smile to Steve’s face.

“I don’t have a daughter,” his mother says with feigned confidence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to him.” He meets his father’s eyes again. “I was talking about Julie.”

As fast the smile formed of Steve’s face, it’s smacked off. Cheek stinging with the contact of his father’s hand. His mother gasps, scolding her husband. Knowing nothing would stop him from doing it again. Steve grabs the desk chair, using it to balance him as he gets his bearings. Waits for the ringing in his ear to calm down, for the breath to return to his lungs.

“You are never to speak that name again,” Richard commands. “She is nothing.”

“Julie is not nothing.” Steve manages to stand, only to have to grip the chair again when Richard’s fist makes contact again. Lip darting out to taste the blood coming from his split lip. A short laugh escapes as he stands, planting his feet stronger this time. “You really thought I’d never figure out about her.”

“You think you are so tough, don’t you, Steven. Changing your room, getting a job, housing someone you don’t know. All of that you could do because of me. All of that you are going to lose. What will come of you when you don’t have us paying for everything anymore? When you can’t come crawling back to us when life gets hard.”

Steve manages to stand again. Plants his feet the way he’s learned to. Treating his father like every other monster he’s faced. Wishing that there was a bat in his hand to twirl around. Make a show of protecting himself.

He doesn’t need it this time. Richard might pretend to be strong and menacing, but he’s just a person. Who got a few good hits in because Steve wasn’t prepared for them. He is now.

“You would know something about housing someone you don’t know. You’ve been housing me for twenty years.”

Richard’s arm raises again, but Steve was ready for it this time. Catching his wrist before it can contact Steve’s face. It surprises the both of them, but Steve doesn’t let his guard down. His eyes dart to his mother, who hides just barely behind Richard. Laura was never one for confrontation, and now he’s something more than just her son. Now he’s a threat.

“I am more than what you think I am. I changed my room because I never liked the old one. Because I should feel welcome in my childhood home. I got the job because if my hard work, not because of my name. I gave Julie a home because she is my sister, that is a fact. And because her and I have something in common. Our father knows nothing about us.”

“Let go of me, Steven.” For the first time, Richard is the one with fear in his eyes.

“Are you going to hit me again?” Steve tightens his grip.

Richard shakes his head. “No, no I’m not. Don’t do anything rash here, Steven.”

Steve lets go of Richard’s wrist with a swing, letting it slam back into him. “I go by Steve, but you both always ignored that anyway. I’m not some kid you get to push around anymore, no matter how hard you’ll try. You might think I’m stupid for staying here after you told me to get out, you might think what I’m doing is pointless. But I’m not doing all of this for me anymore, I’m doing it for me and for Julie. Because while you thought she was just something you could pay to never think about again, you missed out on a pretty great kid.”

He takes a deep breath. “But I guess you’re used to that. You missed out on the kid you kept around. Even if you weren’t here to see me grow up. I hope it all was worth it. It was a lot of hell for me.”

Steve grabs the tote bags, slinging one over each shoulder and the other in his hand. Taking a moment to realize that this is the last time he’ll ever set foot in this house. It’ll no longer be his home. It should be sadder than it is. There were many good memories among the bad that happened here. But he feels a weight lift off his shoulders. It’s not over yet, but he’s free of one of his chains.

“You going to let me leave? Not like you want me here anyway.”

Neither of them moves. Not ready to admit they lost.

“Where are you going to go?” Laura asks like she cares. She might, but it was too little too late at this point.

“You don’t get to know that.”

Laura lowers her head in a nod, accepting. Steve pushes his way past them and down the stairs. Finding his keys.

Richard follows him down, not willing to give up. “Don’t think you can have the car, we paid for that. It’s ours.”

Steve laughs, undoing a keychain Robin made him from the ring. “I know, was just getting this off.” He tosses Richard the keys. “There you go. House key is on there too, so you won’t have to bother about me coming back.”

He grabs his flashlight from the hall closet before opening the door. Sparing one last look at his parents, to find anything that shows remorse. All he sees is Richard’s hard stare and Laura’s sorry eyes. Nothing calling him to stay.

So he leaves.

. . .

Julie was lucky she didn’t get lost. She followed the directions and, after a while, saw the porch light. The last bit of sunlight helps her get the rest of the way there. Illuminating the path just slightly so she doesn’t trip.

“Hey,” a voice says from beside her, making her jump. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

Julie turns to see the Chief holding a flashlight, the light pointing towards her. “I think you would have even if I knew you were there.”

“Come on, let’s get you inside. It’s getting cold out here.” Hopper steps in front of her, leading her the rest of the way.

Joyce is waiting for them in the house. Getting up from the couch when they open the door. “You’ve been out there for a while. I was getting worried. Oh honey, you’re shaking, are you cold?”

Julie looks down at her hands, seeing them shake. She doesn’t feel cold. More in shock than anything. Afraid of something she’s never really experienced. Only hearing his voice once over the phone. That was enough to spark fear. Not for her, but for Steve.

It was all she could think about when she was walking. What Steve was going to face when his parents saw that he wasn’t there. If they saw what they did to their rooms. If they saw her.

She agreed it was probably best that she wasn’t there. It would have probably made it all ten times worse. But leaving Steve alone in that house, with them. It felt like a bad idea.

He can take care of himself, she knew that. That didn’t stop her from feeling like she should be there. Be a barrier to stop them from hurting him. In whatever way they were going to. Maybe if there was a witness, he could leave without a fight.

“Julie, sweetie, are you ok?” Joyce’s warm voice breaks through her thoughts.

Julie tries to say something, but nothing comes out. It hits her all at once how scared she was for him.

“What time is it?” she asks.

Joyce checks the clock in the living room. “Just about seven thirty, why?”

Julie left a little after seven. So, assuming Steve left right after her, he should be here soon. And if he left a bit later, he should be here by eight. That’s if nothing went wrong. If they didn’t get into an argument. Or he didn’t get lost.

“He said he’d get here within the hour. So by eight. If nothing happened. Do you think something will happen?” Her voice can’t help but shake.

Joyce makes a face that is supposed to help but doesn’t. Full of sympathy, but one of no answers. “I’m not sure. But whatever it is, he’ll be fine. I know he will.”

“And if he isn’t?” Julie keeps seeing the small person that Steve becomes when he talks to his father. How the light drains out of him, and he becomes a shell of the person he is. His father isn’t even in person and can do that. What will happen when he is in person?

“He will be,” Joyce assures. “How about you come in, sit down. Can I get you anything? Water, hot chocolate?”

Julie lets herself be led to the living room. “Water would be nice.”

“Alright. El here if you want to see her, have someone to sit with.”

“Yeah, yes. I would like that.”

Joyce smiles at her. “Ok, I’ll go get her for you. Jim.” She nods her head toward the kitchen before heading down the hall.

Hopper brings her a glass of water, which she takes. Taking a sip before setting it on the table, seeing how her hands still shake. Joyce comes back down the hall motioning for Hopper to join her in the kitchen. Leaving Julie alone in the living room. Until El comes to sit next to her.

“Joyce told me about what happened,” she says softly. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“He used to hit my mom,” Julie blurts out. “He used to hit my mom when they were together, and she made him angry. Steve made him angry. I know he did. He called the house last week and, and kicked us out. And we didn’t leave yet, because we couldn’t. Steve doesn’t get the keys for a few more days. What if he hits Steve, too?”

El’s hands find hers, holding them together to calm the shaking. Julie turns her head to meet El’s eyes. Seeing an expression that feigns strength but fear still rests in her eyes. She’s scared for Steve too.

“I have known Steve for longer that you have. I know how strong he is, how brave he is. He will be ok. I promise.” There’s a certainty in her words.

Somehow, Julie believes her. “Ok. Ok, yeah. Yeah. He’ll be ok.”

“Would you like a hug?”

Julie nods. Her breath starting to even out again, the adrenaline keeping her tears at bay failing.

El opens her arms and leans forward to give Julie a hug. Julie takes it with a choked sob, tears starting to fall. El pats her back awkwardly, not quite sure what to do but it’s helping. With a few deep breaths, Julie’s able to pull herself together. Pulling away from El to wipe the tears from her eyes. She won’t be ok until Steve shows up, but she’s better. For now.

“Thanks, that helped.”

El smiles. “Good. Do you want to watch something while we wait? Keep your mind off of it?”

“Yeah, sure.”

El clicks on the tv, finding a channel with some reruns that Julie doesn’t pay attention to. Her mind is still on Steve. Knowing that the there’s no sunlight left to guide the way, and he has no walkie to let her know when she’s coming. Yet she still grips the one resting in her lap. Hoping by some miracle she hears Steve’s voice through the staticky connection and knows he’s ok.

But nothing comes through. The only noise filling the house is the tv, and the not so silent whispering between Joyce and the Chief in the kitchen. After a while, Hopper heads back outside with the flashlight, walkie stuffed in his jacket pocket. He’s going to look for Steve.

It feels like forever before there’s a knock at the door. Making Julie sit up straighter. Joyce emerges from the kitchen to open it. A very winded Steve behind the door, tote bags slung over his shoulder and flashlight in hand.

“Sorry I’m late,” he apologizes while catching his breath. “I had to go the long way.”

Joyce ushers him in. Steve barely gets a chance to put the bags down before Julie’s on her feet and pulling him into a hug.

“You’re ok.”

“Yeah, I’m ok. Did you get here ok, I know I kind of freaked you out.”

Julie lets go. “Freaked me out. Steve, you terrified the shit out of me. After the phone call last week and the little I knew about him I,” she pauses when she sees his split lip. “He hit you?”

Steve touches his lip. “Yeah, he, uh, he did. But I’m ok. I’ve had far worse than this.”

“You say that like it makes it ok. It doesn’t.”

He looks down with a shake of his head. “I know it doesn’t.”

“He really hit you because you didn’t leave.” Julie can’t seem to wrap her head around the idea. But then, she would never hit someone for any reason. Let alone that.

Steve clears his throat. “Sort of. Why don’t you go sit with El for a bit, I have to talk to Joyce for a second.”

She gives him a confused look, knowing he didn’t answer her question fully. But she still goes to sit on the couch again. Him and Joyce go to the kitchen, speaking in whispers. Something tells her that reason he was attacked was because of her.

. . .

Joyce uses her walkie to let Hopper know that Steve is at the house. She gets him a glass of water and makes him sit down, looking at his lip.

“It’s really not that bad. You and I both know this is the least beat up I’ve ever been after a fight.”

She sits down in the chair across from him. “You should listen to Julie. That still doesn’t make it ok.”

He looks down at his hands. “I know. Just easier to think of it that way. Out of all the things he’s done, he’s never hit me before.”

Hopper comes into the kitchen, sitting down next to Joyce. “You ok, kid?”

Steve shakes his head. “I will be, just need a second. Thanks for making sure she got here. Making sure she was safe. I didn’t know what would happen if he saw her there. Just knowing that she was there at all was the reason why,” he can’t finish the sentence.

“Of course. You both can stay here as long as you need to,” Joyce offers.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Hopper crosses his arms. “You could press charges if you wanted, make your case a little stronger.”

“It’s my word against his, and my mom will never speak out against him.” She never did before, why would it change now. “Can I use your phone, I need to make some calls.”

Joyce nods and Steve heads to the phone in the hall. Pulling out Sarah’s number from his pocket. Dialing it with a deep breath. She wouldn’t be happy with this.

She wasn’t. Cursing Steve through the phone with an “I told you so”. But grateful that Julie is safe, grateful that he is too. She gives him a day before she’ll say anything. Give him time to make it look like Julie was just at an extended sleepover. For them to move. He thanks her just before she hangs up.

Robin is next. Takes a second to make sure he’s ok before cursing out his dad. Offering to go over there herself and give him a piece of her mind. He tells her it’s a bad idea, she disagrees, but still says she will keep it all for when she sees him in court. That way there will be witnesses. She makes sure he’s ok, offers to come over. Steve assures that he’s fine and will talk to her again in the morning.

The last person is Eddie. Steve already knows how he’ll react, but still hopes he won’t freak out that much.

“Where are you right now?” he asks after Steve fills him in.

“The Byers. It was the closest place that was safe.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

Steve holds the phone closer to his mouth. “Eds, really. You don’t have to come over.”

“Like hell I don’t.” Eddie hangs up before Steve can protest anymore.

He’d be lying if he said that he didn’t want to see Eddie right now. That if knowing that his boyfriend was willing to drop everything just to be there with him right now didn’t bring him comfort. Part of him didn’t want Eddie to see him like this, though. Fragile, partially homeless. Taken a few hits to the face.

As if Eddie hasn’t seen Steve beat up before. Pretty much all of Hawkins has, it’s a reoccurring event. But those times were different. It was because of his own idiocy or protecting someone. This was at the hands of someone that already caused him more pain than he should have gone through. He didn’t know how to admit that he got hit for no reason.

He heads back to the kitchen, tells them that Eddie’s coming over. They don’t say much, but have a knowing look in their eye. One that scares the hell out of him, but makes him feel seen at the same time. Steve could be himself in this house. Around these people. It wasn’t even his, and it felt more like home than he’s ever known.

“I never asked if you were ok,” Steve says as he sits down next to Julie. “Are you?”

Julie shrugs. “As ok as I can be I guess.”

“Sounds about right.”

“Did he hit you because of me?” Julie asks after a pause.

Steve would do anything to lie to her right now. To dart around the question and make up some excuse. Knowing her, she would see right through it. She didn’t need him lying to add to tonight. But would it be better for her to know the truth?

There’s a knock at the door before Steve can try to answer. He thinks it’s for the best. Enough has happened for one night.

He stands when Joyce opens the door. Almost getting pushed out of the way when Eddie sees Steve in the living room. They meet in a hug, Steve feeling more relieved that he thought he would.

“Those jackasses couldn’t have waited a few more days before they finally came home. They had to do it while you were still there.”

Steve huffs out a laugh. “Yeah well, they never had the best timing.”

Eddie notices the cut on his lip when he pulls back from the hug. Eyes filling with anger. “I’m actually going to get arrested for murder this time.”

“Eds, it’s really not that bad.”

“Not that bad.” Eddie’s voice raises. “Not that bad, Steve. You have a fucking split lip. Your eye is puffy.”

Steve tries to calm Eddie down, still conscious of the people around them. Trying not to make it look too revealing. “It could be worse.”

He sees Joyce say something to the girls that gets them to leave and head down the hall. Leaving him and Eddie alone in the living room.

“How hard did he hit you? Can you hear me alright? What about your vision, nothing’s blurry. You can still see fine?” Eddie clocks when they leave, grabbing Steve’s head with both his hands, assessing the damage.

Steve tries to pull Eddie’s hands away, make this less of a big deal. “I can hear and see fine. He didn’t hit me hard enough to do anything. I’ve had worse, it’s the least concerning thing that’s happened in the last few hours.”

“Your father, a grown man, assaulted you. His son. And you think there are more concerning things that happened in the last few hours.” Eddie’s face falls. “Just because you’re an adult when he hit you doesn’t make it better.”

“I know that,” he admits. Starting to feel the weight of everything finally sink in. “I just don’t know how to process it all right now. Tonight’s been a lot and I just need a minute, a day, I don’t know. Something. I just can’t think about that right now.”

“Ok,” Eddie says softly. “Ok. Then we won’t talk about it anymore. When every you’re ready. Does it hurt though, do you need ice or anything? Last thing, I promise.”

Steve shakes his head. “No, no. It’s ok. I’m ok right now.”

Eddie nods. Kissing Steve before pulling him into another hug.

Just when Steve gets his life together, it all falls apart again. Or at least feels like it. In just a few days, the pieces will be put back into place. His life will get back on schedule. His schedule. Where he can move into a house that he bought, with his own money. To a job that he got, by himself. And life that has nothing to do with his last name.

Even if the court date is a few months away, and he’ll have to see his parents again. But after that, he’ll never have to interact with them again. He will be permanently free.

Right now. He’s trying to hold it all together. Making his brain slow down to give himself a minute to breath. Before the crushing reality of all that just happened presses down on his chest. And they’ll take hold of his mind again. Just for a little while, then he’ll break free again.

Joyce insists they stay the night. Explaining how Julie is already set up in El’s room, and how the two of them can take the pull-out couch. Just like that, with no explanation needed. Or excuses. Maybe Steve could tell everyone about them soon.

It’s still early when everyone goes to bed. Just wanting the day to be over, even if they’re not tired. But the comfort of darkness lets Eddie scoot closer, hold Steve a little tighter. Make him feel put together even though he’s slowly starting to fall apart.

Tomorrow is a new day. With plenty of problems to be solved and conversations to be had. Telling the rest of the group to stay clear of his old house and change his contact information with a few people. Try to get the keys a few days earlier.

Tonight is meant for sleep. To float around and exist without anything pressing his mind. Wrapped up in his boyfriend’s arms and feel comfort for a brief moment. Until his looks in the mirror again and see the healing cut on his lip, and the slight bruise on his cheek. Almost fall apart all over again until he pulls himself back together. Each time a little weaker than the last until he finally breaks.

It’s so easy to fall back into old habits. To bottle everything up for the sake of other. For the sake of himself. Steve really can’t process everything right now. It would sting more that it already does. So, it gets pushed away. Until he’s ready to face it again.

He only hopes that time will be sooner than most. So he doesn’t blow up at someone that’s undeserving. Saying something he can’t take back.

But right now, he doesn’t need to think about that. Right now he needs to sleep.

Tag list(let me know if you want to be added or removed): @homoerotictangerine, @mugloversonly, @thesuninyaface, @imyelenasexual, @anaibis, @ilovecupcakesandtea, @brainsteddielyrotted, @jackiemonroe5512, @eddie-munsons-missing-nipple, @goodolefashionedloverboi, @cinnamon-mushroomabomination, @lolawonsstuff, @writingandmushroomdragons, @stevesbipanic, @sierra-violet, @steddie-as-they-go, @dauntlessdiva, @mousedetective, @the-daydreamer-in-the-corner, @zombiethingy, @connected-dots-st-reblogger, @that-agender-from-pluto, @allyricas, @cheddartreets, @devondespresso, @crypticcorvidinacottage, @queenie-ofthe-void @chronicpainstevetruther, @cheddartreets, @theupsidedownrealestateagent, @acidbubblegummie, @sirsnacksalot, @l0st-strawberry, @helpimstuckposting, @strawberry-starss, @freddykicksasses, @italianwhore1, @i-threw-my-name-out-the-window, @rageagainsttheapathy, @nuggies4life, @ape31, @whimsicalwitchm, @chrissycunninghamfanblog, @michellegilligan, @hippielittlemetalhead, @bridget-malfoy-stilinski-hale, @jaytriesstuff, @confused-stripes, @faeb1tch42069, @marklee-blackmore, @hel-spawn, @genderless-spoon, @mamafaithful, @estrellami-1, @starryeyedpoet17 @i-amthepizzaman, @lilpomelito @melonmochi

#stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #julie lawson #joyce byers #jim hopper #long lost/secret sibling #i don't know which ways home fic #cw minor descriptions of violence #tw minor descriptions of violence #cw physical assault #tw physical assault

20 notes · View notes

dollyyyhouse · 2 years

Text

Here's Asmo's ver. of the Cheating! Au, it was fun writing this one 💓 I've had a hard week and seeing how much people love the things I've made really cheers me up <3 Thank you! And I was wondering if you guys would like it if I made a discord server for Obey Me? I think it'll be fun ^^

I'm gonna add a CW for this one just because it discusses a lot of sexual insecurity!!!

"Asmo.. it feels amazing! Yes... right there!" As if someone had just punched you in the stomach, you felt like all the wind was knocked right out of you. You couldn't bare to hear the sounds of moaning and skin-slapping coming from Asmodeus' room, you knew what was going on even if you didn't want to admit it. It was awkward enough to hear your housemate having sex, but Asmodeus was not just your housemate. The two of you had been dating for months now, so when you heard the lewd noises coming from his room it felt like your whole world just shattered.

You were just passing by, you honestly didn't mean to eavesdrop but the strange noises caught your attention the second you heard them. The more you had listened, the more the realization had sunk in. It felt gross listening to them do that, you wished you could just barge in and yell at them to "shut up" but you didn't have the guts. You didn't even want to see the unfaithful demon, let alone confront him. Not knowing what to do, you began to cry. Your mascara that Asmo had done the same morning was now ruined with your tears. You put your hand over your mouth in an attempt to muffle your sobs and ran to your room as fast as you could.

You didn't leave your room for the rest of the day, dreading the thought of see the man who broke your heart. Perhaps you should just act like you didn't know anything? Or maybe you could just confront him head on, but how could you? You knew you'd probably just break down in tears and become a slobbering mess who can't even form a proper sentence.

You don't know why Asmo would ever do something like this, he showers you in affection and love all the time. He's always been sweet to you, he calls you "Sweetheart" and even does your makeup when you don't want to do it yourself. HE was the one who confessed to you first, did he not love you anymore? You didn't want to think like that, he's been more loyal to you than anyone else in your life has been. When you met him for the first time the relationship was definitely rocky, he said some cruel things but once you two began to talk more you fell in love with him, did he ever love you back?

There was a knock on your door, before you could even respond someone walked in. You turned to look at who it could've been, and much to your dismay it was Asmo. "MC! What happened, you haven't been out of your room all day... and your makeup all ruined!" He tilted his head as if he was confused..? You didn't know if he was playing dumb or he genuinely didn't know you found out about his affair. "Oh.. I've just been tired," not wanting to look him in the eyes, you shifted yourself on the bed to face the wall, "you should go, dinner is soon." He didn't seem guilty, he was acting just like how he normally did and it made you even more upset.

"You should eat with us, maybe you'll feel better after you eat?" You shook your head "no", "I'll eat later, I should be fine if I rest for a little bit longer." He slowly walked over to you, his footsteps were light and quiet. He sat down next to you and began to stroke your hair, you wanted to scream at him, you wanted to kick him away from you but you could never do it. You didn't want to hurt someone you loved so much, it felt too cruel to the both of you.

"Maybe once you feel better we could have a spa day! Hehe, that'd be so nice. After that we could go to a nice café and just enjoy the day together! Ooh then we could go..." Too deep in your thoughts, you unintentionally drowned him out. You couldn't focus on what he was talking about, all you could think about was what he had done, his unfaithful actions.

"Asmo," he didn't seem to hear you so you shifted yourself to face him, "It will be so fun going around... Oh, what's wrong?" Grabbing your waist, he pulled you into a position where your head was under his chin and you rested on his chest. "Do you love me?" Asmo hummed a yes, "Of course I do! I love you so much!" You were curled up in his chest like a sleepy cat, you were mentally exhausted just from today. "Then why'd you do it?" The sudden confidence you gained surprised you, maybe it was because you were tired of his blatant bullshit. "Do what? Did something happen?" He looked in your eyes, but in reality he was looking at his through yours.

"Why did you have sex with someone else?" Your voice was quiet, barely loud enough for him to hear. His eyes widened, he quickly regained his composure and spoke. "Ehh.. well, I needed to be satisfied." He smiled at you like it was nothing, it felt like he had just stabbed you in the back. "Why didn't you just come to me..? I'm your partner after all." Tears began to form in your eyes, you didn't want to do this. "Because you don't have much energy when we do it.. you get tired so quickly that it's no fun..." A sad expression appeared on his face, not one out of regret or guilt but instead boredom and disappointment. It was directed at you, he didn't see anything wrong with what he'd done.

"... So you're not sexually attracted to me?" You hid your face in his chest, your makeup rubbing off on his nice clothing. It hurt, the conversation was tense and painful. You just wanted it to be over with, but at the same time you wanted to know everything. "Ehh, I guess. I love you a lot! But sex with you isn't any fun, I'd rather just sleep around with demons and succubi who have more energy." He let go of your waist, you could tell he was growing tired of the conversation. "So you started sleeping with others?! Why didn't you tell me I wasn't good enough? Why? Why?!" Removing your face from his chest, you stared him straight in the eyes. Your fear was now subsiding, instead you were being drowned in anger and despair.

"I still love you! You're my only romantic partner, it's just you don't satisfy my sexual needs so sometimes I have to go to others." He gave you a chilling smile, no remorse or regret. A pounding heart, smeared makeup, and eyes filled with heartbreak were all caused by the Avatar of Lust. The demon you loved oh so much had betrayed you in order to fill his sinful indulgence.

"I'm breaking up with you." Asmo's movements stopped once he heard those words, he was frozen in place like a statue. You broke free from his grasp, getting up from the bed and slowly backing away from where he sat. "We're through! You're a self-entitled jerk! Get out of my room." You signaled for Asmo to get out, but he just stared at you in shock. "It's not my fault, you weren't satisfying me! So what if I need multiple partners for sex? I'm only romantically involved with you!" Asmo's demeanor quickly shifted, the conversation was turning aggressive. "Do you see nothing wrong with that?! You kept it hidden from me, maybe if you told me I could've done something!" As the situation worsened both of your voices began to raise, both of you were now yelling at each other.

"You know what, if you're not gonna get out I'm going to leave." You grabbed your bag and packed everything you could fit in it, all while Asmo was trying to convince you not to break up with him and that it wasn't his fault but instead yours. You didn't care to wipe off the smudged makeup, you grabbed your shoes and stormed out of the house. He didn't chase you, deep down you wanted him to but he never did. It was an indicator of how he felt, along with his brothers he is also selfish. They kill, manipulate and lie in order to satisfy their sins.

The once beautiful memories you shared with Asmodeus now felt like painfully cruel ones, as if the gods were tormenting you for involving yourself with him. Wishing you never met him, wishing you never even arrived in Devildom. All the memories you thought were sweet were secretly cruel and manipulative, they were tainted with agony. You now knew the true colors of Asmodeus, you knew all along but wanted to ignore it. Your love for him blinded you, once you took off the blindfold of love you saw how tarnished everything was.

405 notes · View notes

gay-dorito-dust · 2 years

Note

I'm so sorry to ask again but your writing gave me life it was so good

But could you do an eddie munson x chubby!male reader insecure about his weight (same bro) and eddie just comforts him it's ok if not ☺️

It’s alright! I don’t mind people who’ve asked once to ask again! It’s perfectly fine! Don’t be afraid to share your ideas!

Eddie Munson x chubby! Male reader.

You hunted in frustration after tearing off the millionth shirt that morning as it layer slumped against the pile of clothing that you wanted to wear but couldn’t bring yourself to do so when you caught a glance at the person you saw in the mirror. Your self confidence would plummet as your eyes began scouring every inch of your form in silent judgment, like you were viewing yourself through the eyes of others who would be embarrassed to be seen with you in public purely based on how your body looked. You knew more then anyone of how you looked! You live with yourself for fuck sakes! You grew up being insecure about how your thighs touched when you sat or how some shirts seemed to hug you in all the wrong places as an seemingly intentional act of making you look worse and feel even worse then you already did.

It brought a defeated feeling that seared into your chest before soon festering into one of despair and insecurity. You knew how you looked, you didn’t need others to reinforce what you’ve already lived with your entire life as if they knew exactly how negatively their words affected you; they didn’t even possess the human decency to keep their comments to themselves and instead felt that it was within their civil duty to tell you to your face of how disgusting you were to look at all with a smile on their faces. So as you sat on the edge of your bed, away from the mirror, not feeling all that excited to go out with Eddie anymore compared to when you were waking up this morning; sighing you tucked yourself beneath a blanket and began staring blankly at the wall ahead as thoughts began consuming you.

Thoughts pertaining to Eddie leaving you for someone skinnier, more perfect then you were, someone who he’d looking better with not just physically but also personality wise too; You looked down at your stomach and the thoughts began to get worse the longer you looked, bringing you to tears as your hands crossed over one another to cover it up, not wanting to see it any longer then you already have. You just wanted to be someone that Eddie could be proud to be seen with in public, sure he’s reassured you in the past that size didn’t matter to him because it just gave him more reasons to love on you then anybody else but that didn’t mean that the insecurities you have with your weight would magically disappear without so much of a whimper. They would still remain because what’s a human without insecurities?

“You ready to go handsome?” Eddie called from outside your door, the excitement in his voice only made you feel guilty over your own feelings that you chose to remain silent in hopes of shoving your feelings aside today for Eddie’s sake; truth was that you couldn’t bring yourself to fake excitement when there was a hard lump in your throat and tears in your vision and a pain within your chest that only gotten tighter with every passing second you let go by without uttering a word. It was almost as if the words refused to come out as though they were being physically restrained by some invisible force. “Y/n? You alright?” Eddie knocked on your door when he heard no response, his voice conveyed his deep concern as the smile on his face slipped off; Everything in his body told him to go into your room but he didn’t want to be considered invasive.

“I’m sorry Ed.” Your soft voice croaked through the door only confirmed Eddie’s suspicions as he reached for the handle but hesitated at the last second, “am I aloud to come in sweetheart?” He asks even though he didn’t need to because with your permission or not you always allowed Eddie in, seeing as his presence was always a welcomed one to your soul. “Please.” Was all he needed as he opened the door to see you sat on the edge of your bed beneath a blanket, tear streaking down your cheeks as though you were a child awoken by a all too real nightmare. What broke his heart more was the seeing the pile of your favourite shirts lying in a pile in front of the mirror, Eddie didn’t have to ask what was wrong because he was already by your side grasping your hand in his, squeezing tightly in hopes of transmitting his reassurance into you.

“I’m sorry Eddie, I’m so pathetic, I mean we’ve been planing this for ages and then I go ahead and drop out last second because of how I looked in a stupid fucking mirror! You don’t deserve this type of shit and I know I’m not good enough for you. I mean look at me! Im fucking-“ “beautiful.” Eddie cuts you off, wiping away your tears with his free hand before holding your cheek within it, stroking his thumb across your cheek. “What?” You utter, confused as to how he could still be unwaveringly patient with you, Eddie Munson was truly a godsend. He was kind, patient, sweet, caring and overall the best boyfriend any man, woman or anyone else could ever wish for and he chose you. “Beautiful, you y/n l/n are beautiful beyond compare. For starters your thighs make for an excellent pillow substitute,” Eddie then decided to prove it to you by lying his head upon your plush thighs, rubbing his head against them as he pressed kisses along them with a comforting smile, causing the butterflies in your stomach to flutter to life, “secondly have you seen the statue of the goddess Aphrodite?” He asks as you mutter a soft ‘no.’

“Well you see y/n Aphrodite looked just like you, she wasn’t stick thin nor was she the prototype for supermodels everywhere. She had thighs that touched and yet they worship her like the goddess that they saw her as; They didn’t care about her body type they just saw her as the definition of love and beauty because she represents that love and beauty comes in a variety of forms.” Eddie looked up at you from your lap, eyes full of love, “and you are my Aphrodite, my god of beauty and love because to me your everything I could’ve imagined and so much more. I don’t care about your size if anything it only gives me more to cherish and adore until the day I die.” You smiled weakly at him, stroking his cheek with your thumb as the other squeezed the hand holding you tightly. Eddie had a way with words that you couldn’t comprehend most of the time and the way he spoke about you only empowered you, comforted you and uplifted you upon a pedestal you didn’t know he held you upon. He made you feel as though you were worth the hardships because to him you were worth that and so much more, he wasn’t ready to let you go, not when he just got you in his arms.

Eddie brought the hand that was holding you cheek behind your head to bring you down to his level so he could kiss you sweetly with his soft yet chapped lips, putting everything he has into it so that you could feel a fraction of what he felt every time he saw you, lingering a little before pulling away so you could rest your forehead against his. “When I look at you all I can think is ‘wow, I really got lucky scoring a beauty like him.’ You left me speechless on multiple occasions and I never want to forget that feeling and as long as I’m with you I’ll never have to because you take my breath away with everything you do. You’re my Aphrodite and I shall worship at your shrine just to be blessed with a glimpse of your true beauty. I love you so much it fucking hurts.” He whispers against your lips, adoring eyes never leaving yours not even once. “Then love me until it stops hurting.” You whispered back, “for I love you equally as much and to part for you Eddie is like a death sentence that I would spend trying to memorise your face, your touch, your voice until all I can feel is you.” Eddie’s eyes teared up at your sentimental speech, knowing that even if you did ever break up he’d never be able to find a love like yours no matter how hard he looked, “then allow me to lay all my love on you until forever ends.”

#eddie munson x male reader #eddie munson imagines #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fic #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x you

186 notes · View notes

oumaheroes · 2 years

Text

Pushed to The Limit

Day 27 of Whumptober

Muffled screams/ Stumbling/ Magical Exhaustion

Characters: England, America, France

Context: From the FrUK Chosen Consequence/ Cardverse Chronicals AU with the incredibly talented and lovely @thedisappointedidealist12

Day 26

------

'No more drinks thank you, we're fi-'

'Sure! Get me a beer.'

Arthur was completely thrown. Alfred shot him a quick flash of a grin, likely to try and reassure him. It didn't work, Arthur felt the furthest thing from reassured.

'Arthur's right, this conversation should be had privately.’ Alfred turned back to a stony faced Francis, ‘Where can we go to talk?'

'Alfred, what-'

'Like I said,' Alfred spoke over him, raising his voice, 'it's clear you've got something to say and like Artie here I don't believe in letting things sit. I wanna go somewhere where we can have the talk that you seem to have so stuck up your ass.'

He was too angry. Alfred was far, far too angry. Something that Francis had said or done had got to Alfred more than it should have done and this was dangerous. Both Kings had drunk at least one drink, both of them were angry and Arthur trusted neither of them to be rational, including Francis. Especially Francis.

Arthur didn’t know him at all anymore.

Arthur shot a look to Vash, who seemed to have transcended past the point of exhausted to reach a whole new plane of stressed, and Lily, who seemed on the verge of tears.

He thought about his promise to Francis not to practise any more magic whilst in Diamonds and quickly buried it in the back of his mind to think about guiltily later. What Francis didn't know wouldn't hurt him and he'd promised Arthur many, many things that were now untrue. Arthur no longer had a home in Diamonds, Arthur was unlikely to be asked back to the beach house by the sea, and it was painfully clear, growing more so with each passing second, that the Francis who had sworn to be his until they died was not the one stood before him.

Arthur had to let the Francis he had once known go and not let any lingering attachment to his memory affect his life now, or his future.

He took a deep breath. Feeling the magic within him catch at his request, Arthur expanded his awareness out to cover the room, feeling each and every person and thing within it. It swept over the space like a wave, lapping against the walls and resting there thick and icy.

Freeze

A crushing, intense pressure. It felt as though Arthur was lifting the world up in his mind, holding back time with his very soul and he was. Everything in the room was still, everything unmoving and Arthur used one more burst of energy to slam the doors to the foyer shut, preventing anyone else from walking in.

With monumental effort, he reached out with a heavy deadened arm to grab hold of Alfred, closing off his mind to not drain him. He didn't have long.

Alfred came crashing to life in a sharp gasp, blinking about before turning to Arthur in horror as he recognised what was happening, 'Arthur, what the fuc-'

'Are you sure about this?' Arthur cut in quickly, shaking his arm, and Alfred closed his mouth with a small click of teeth, 'You need to calm the fuck down. If you’re going to talk with just your emotions and not your head you need to stop and remember what we're working towards-'

'Yeah dude, okay I get it you can stop this now,' Alfred was looking at him in panic, 'please, Arthur, let it go, you can't hold this! Remember last time-'

'Don't do anything rash!'

'I know, I won't, I'll be calm- Arthur, let go!'

Alfred twisted his arm out of Arthur's grip without breaking their contact to close fast about his shoulders, holding him steady. By Suit this hurt. It felt like he was drowning in sand, the weight of the world and time filling his lungs and pushing against him- a small pebble holding back the tide. What would it feel like, to hold it all still? Was it possible?

'Arthur!'

'I know,' Arthur sluggishly, haltingly, stood up straight and moved to stand as he was before he cast the spell before prodding Alfred, who was still gripping one of his arms, 'turn to him as you were.'

Reluctantly, Alfred stood further away and turned his face to Francis, letting go of Arthur at the last moment. As soon as Arthur felt Alfred still, felt him become another living entity he was holding in place, it hit him as another enormous weight on his chest, another life pressing and protesting against him. He closed his eyes and breathed out, dropping his mental barriers and releasing the foyer back to join the rest of time. It flew from him in a tidal rush, pulling him in every direction and causing him to stagger and grip Alfred's arm to hold him upright.

'Woah there!' Alfred's voice, far too bright and false, came to him through a muffled fog. Arthur felt an arm come to curl around his waist and hold him up, 'The drink finally hit you, huh, Art? Or one of your headaches again?'

Arthur shook his head, trying to clear it. His heart was fluttering far too quickly, too shallow, and his lungs couldn't take in enough air.

'Yes, my head,' He forced himself to speak, 'my apologies, I'm not sure what's come over me all of a sudden.'

'Maybe you should go back to our Chambers for a bit; me and Francis can have our chat alone somewhere, eh Franny?'

Day 28

Full Masterlist

#aph england #aph america #hws england #hws america #fruk #aph france #hws france #aph fruk #aph cardverse #cardverse #hetalia #aph #hws #whumptober #whumptober 2022 #whumptalia #heroes writes #cardverse chronicles

48 notes · View notes

dragonmasterkaylz · 10 months

Text

“Our Daughter Is NOT Okay!”

This is based on the Attack on Titan 2 Game, so this does contain spoilers. It takes place after the ending of the Main Story, but the MC does survive in this story. I also see Levi and Hanji as parental figures in the game… and I also ship them! Don’t judge me!!!

Kayleigh couldn’t sleep… not after that day.

The day she saved her friends from the horde of Titans that were after them. The day she was forced to focus on the mission instead of killing Reiner. The day she almost died….

“Ahhh!!!”

She sat up in her bed, covered in sweat and also breathing heavily. She had bags under her eyes and was paler than normal. Tears ran down her cheeks as she got up and walked out of the barracks to find someone that could comfort her. After that day, that horrific day in Shinganshina, she had been missing paternal affection the most. Until now, all she wanted was revenge but now… she just wanted her Mother’s warm embrace more than anything.

“I’m telling you Levi! She’s like our daughter!!!”

“No, she’s not! You just want to think she is.”

Kayleigh heard Hanji and Levi arguing again, about something that made her very curious. And so, she decided to tail them into the main building.

“Listen to reason, Levi! Please!”, Hanji demanded as she slammed her hands on his office desk. Levi then gave up and mumbled, “You have one minute before I kick you out of my office”. She nodded and then said, “Well, she’s amazing at killing Titans, is a clean freak, great at capturing Titans, amazing at analysing them and… she even looks a lot like you and me! She has a piercing glare when she’s mad, sparkles in her eyes when she’s happy! She’s also got blue eyes, brown hair and—?!” “Times up, Hanji!”, he told her. “Oh c’mon! You know I’m right!”

“I also know that someone is listening in…!!!”

Hanji looked behind her and Kayleigh sighed before coming out of the shadows. Their eyes widened in shock. It had been a week since the incident at Wall Sina and she was seen as a hero by the rest of the Cadets for leading the Titans away as much as she possibly could. But the dark under her eyes, the tear stains on her unusually pale cheeks, that wasn’t normal. Not to them. Usually, she was happy to see them both and was also wearing a bright smile on her face. Now though, she looked like Hell on Earth.

“Kayleigh…? Is everything alright…?”

Then she burst into tears and collapsed onto the floor, before saying, “I-I can’t do this…! Not anymore! All I can think about is how I could’ve died! I may be good at killing Titans… but that doesn’t get rid of the fear you have when one of them is baring down on you just as you’re trying to run!!!” Hanji frowned and looked down sadly. “I-If it wasn’t… for my will to live, I would’ve died…!!! A-And I can’t die… not yet! I want Reiner’s head on a Goddamn pike!!!”, she shouted as more tears ran down her face. If anyone else, from any other Regiment had seen this, they would’ve thought she was having a temper tantrum. But they knew better than that. She was already traumatised and that fight… just made it a hell of a lot worse.

Levi stood up and walked up to her before kneeling down, holding a handkerchief. “Look at me”. She did so and he gently wiped away her tears before saying, “You do know that the others are calling you a hero for what you did, right? You sacrificed yourself just to keep your friends safe… and that strong will of yours helped you survive”. “I know, but I don’t want to be called a Goddamn ‘hero’. I’m nothing compared to the rest”, she told him, putting herself down. “No… you’re not. You’re different and that’s what makes you better than all of them”. Then she looked at him again before asking, “W-What do you mean, sir…?”

“Do you remember that day in Trost, when you told me that you were going to help me? It was clear that you knew who I was… but you basically told me that it was your duty to support me in taking out the rest of the Titans. That’s something I had never seen in a Cadet in a very long time”.

“Yeah! And do you remember the day we captured Sawney and Bean?! Bean was about to eat me and you scolded me for being so careless! You do have something that no one else does, Kayleigh! Out, on the field… you care about your comrades lives, a lot more than your own sometimes”.

Kayleigh just sighed and looked down before saying, “That’s a bad thing, isn’t it? I mean, I was talking to my superiors with so much disrespect!” Hanji then laughed and rested her arm on Levi’s back. “You should’ve met Levi back in the day! Wow!!! I hadn’t seen such a disobedient Cadet in all my life!!!”, she laughed. Then helped the blonde up before hugging her, which surprised her. “The point is… you’re a very special girl. A skilled Scout that cares for her friends so much that she’s willing to put her life on the line for them. That’s not a bad thing. But you also need to care about your own life too and think about the effect it would have on the people around you, if you did die out there. Levi would be drinking tea alone and I would probably still be screaming at Erwin!”

Her eyes widened in shock. “Y-You two… care that much about me?” “You idiot…!” He flicked her head and she winced in pain before holding her forehead. “Listen up! As far as I’m concerned, you’re not going to die… not while me and Hanji are around. That’s why we both decided to train you up. We could’ve easily refused, but Erwin’s rarely wrong about people and from the moment we met you… we all saw that something was different with you. We just couldn’t put our finger on it until now. I suppose… you’re a lot like me. You refuse to let anyone die, even at the cost of your own life. And like Hanji said, it’s not a good or a bad thing. It’s just who you are. Except it and don’t regret it. Because if you give into regret, you’ll start to overthink every choice you make. Understand…?”

“Y-Yes… sir”.

Levi then looked at his sofa and said, “You can sleep there for tonight. I don’t get much sleep myself…”.

Kayleigh nodded and then laid down, letting Hanji place a blanket over her. “Try to get some rest. We’ll see you in the morning”. She nodded and rested her head on the cushion before closing her eyes. Then Levi hummed and mumbled, “Maybe you were right after all, four-eyes. Especially since we’re the only two who can actually look after her”. Hanji smiled and said, “I’m surprised you didn’t scold her”. He sipped his tea and sighed before saying, “I couldn’t scold her, not after I saw her walk in. It’s been a week since she truly came face to face with death… and I doubt she’ll recover anytime soon”. “Hm… I agree”.

Then Hanji smiled and said, “There’s no way she can be comfortable on that old sofa of yours, Levi”. He frowned and his eyes widened, when he figured out her true motive. “No. Not happening! Not until you take a bath!”

Kayleigh just stood there, watching everything that had happened to her that day. She recalled the fear in her eyes and how much she cried afterwards. But then she saw the deaths are her comrades. Levi Squad, Nanaba and Gelgar. “No more… tch! I won’t let anyone else die because of you selfish bastards!!! I’ll kill all of you!!! No matter what!!!”, she screamed as she jumped into the scene and cut down every Titan with skill that had never been seen from a mere cadet. “Leave… my family… alone!!!”

In the morning, Kayleigh woke up with a smile on her face when she saw Hanji hugging Levi, who was sleeping peacefully. She got out of bed and walked out of Levi’s Office, before heading straight for the barracks. ‘No more. I’m not going to be afraid. I’m going go out into the field and do what I’m meant to do!’, she told herself before entering her dorm room and getting back into her uniform. She tied her pink scarf around her neck before putting on her green cloak and then walked back outside with her friends. ‘I’m not going to cry anymore. I’m going to give it my all, for all of the friends we’ve lost! Because that’s what my purpose is! To carry the torch on! I will make promise to you all… the Titan’s will be eradicated!!!’

“Hehe~… thanks Mama Hanji and Papa Levi~!!!”

BONUS

When Levi finally woke up, his eyes widened when he found himself in Hanji’s arms. “Shitty four-eyes…! Wake the hell up!!!”, he shouted as he hit her over the head. “Ouch!!!” The two sat up and she looked all over the place for Kayleigh. “Huh?! Where’s our little bundle of joy?!”, she asked before looking out of the window. Then she smiled as soon as she saw her in her uniform, without a trace of fear in her face. “Well, I have to say… we’re great parents! Right, Levi?!” His silence caused her to look at him and then her eyes widened in shock. “Are you flustered…?”, she asked, as she tried to stop laughing at the sight. “Tch! It’s your damn fault, four-eyes!!! Now, get ready for our private training session with our so-called daughter”.

Hanji giggled as she watched him leave.

“Hehe~! I love that shorty~”.

END

#attack on titan 2 game #attack on titan #attack on titan oc #levi ackerman #hanji zoe #levi x hanji #levihan

11 notes · View notes

useless-bi-otch · 1 year

Text

Cookies'n Cream - Chapter 9

Last chapter / MasterList / art by @aneenasevla

Chapter 9 - Drunk Jerk

Tomori thought that nothing, absolutely nothing, would be able to erase the smile that made the corners of her mouth hurt. But not everything was that simple.

She didn't stop smiling as she said goodbye to Okubo on the porch. Nor did she stop smiling when she saw him through the window, still watching her with that adorably goofy expression on his face. The disarrangement of her heart was very real, as well as the joy of being about to fulfill one of her oldest fantasies, with one of her greatest idols.

But the weakness that dominated her legs when she was finally safe inside her house, as well as the assimilation of the traumatic situation she had experienced, affected her in a very real way.

She barely makes it to her sofa, collapsing onto it and dropping her purse and shopping bags full of medicine and rose water onto the coffee table as she hugs a cushion, burying her face in it as she takes deep, slow breaths, letting the tears she had been holding back since she was saved earlier finally scape. She cries silently, not sobbing or sniffling, just allowing her brain assimilate that she was alive and well and safe. The idiotic kids wouldn't bother her anymore, not in or outside the bakery…

And yet, she dreaded sleeping alone that night, all too aware of the curtains she'd left open, her living room visible from the window to anyone walking along the sidewalk. Not that there were many people walking on the street at that time, but a traumatized and alert mind was not usually rational.

Maybe she would feel less paranoid if she slept there in the living room, with the television on, its sounds lulling her, and the confident looks of the various fighters on her walls, immortalized in those posters, resting on her... yes, it was pretty ridiculous, but if her brain was telling her that was the coping mechanism she needed to get through the night, she wasn’t going to question it.

She sits up when she's finally calmed down, taking a deep breath and wiping her wet face with a tissue. What she needed now was a nice, hot bath and then some food. The problem was, she wasn't in the mood to cook, despite what she'd said to Okubo a few minutes earlier. She could order takeout... yes, fast, easy, greasy food, just what she needed to drown her fears and paranoia. And dessert too. She'd kind of gotten sick of sweet things because of work, but chocolate was the official mood-lifter for anxious girls.

She gets up from the couch and heads for the stairs, dropping her grocery bags and her purse with everything inside on the coffee table, phone included. So, she only realized the amount of notifications she received when she returned an hour later, fresh, clean and with her stomach rumbling.

It was the constant vibration, coming from the confines of her purse, that alerted her when she reached the bottom of the stairs. Probably messages from her mother, worried about her delay in answering her texts, or wanting to know about the medicine she'd picked. She sits back down, picking up the phone and unlocking it. But she was surprised to see that the overwhelming majority of notifications were from Instagram.

Holy shit... was that photo still getting engagement? Hadn't she already disabled comments?

Exasperated, she clicks on one of the notifications, more specifically one made by Akane's profile, her friend since middle school and who made that completely random comment on the photo that made her Lihito's newest target. What else could have encouraged her to keep commenting? Had she asked for Rihito's DMs too?

She is immediately redirected to the post, startled a bit by the amount of comments. Jeez, there were a lot more than she remembered seeing when she last checked her profile on Sunday… what were they even doing? She specifically reads Akane's comment that redirected her to the post.

akaneagata are you still babbling about this shit? Gimme a break, let Tomolfie enjoy the attention her muscle-man's givin' her

_satokarin we're just warning her, honey. that's what good friends do

akaneagata and you think she doesn't know it already? She's been following that Okubo guy for years and you really think she has no ideia what kinda man he is? You don't know this bitch like I do

Tomori frowns, confused. Akane wasn't one to pick virtual fights like that, for nothing. And the comment from Karin, one of her former college classmates, also made her suspicious. She wanted to warn her? About what?

She checks the other comments, scrolling the comment section, wanting to understand what had happened there. And a specific one, made by another former classmate, Yuzuriha, catches her attention.

yuzu_riha I'm kinda envying @uta_tomo now, I'd also love to have these casual encounters with my idols lol. But it's a shame that okubo naoya is kinda bad news

Tomori feels an unpleasant tingling in the pit of her stomach. She reads the comments below this one, realizing they were on the same train of thought.

yasuchan wdym @yuzu_riha? Dude has the biggest mouth in uf, but he’s pretty chill and nice with his fans as far as I know

yuzu_riha so what? his history still isn’t the best

_satokarin IKR. dude's a HUGE womanizer, he even hits on those poor ring girls

yuzu_riha he also showed up drunk on tv, being detained by the cops and all

ladyuki didn't he also climb tokyo tower with another idiot?

yuzu_riha Yep. so fuckin cringe. sekibayashi and murobushi gozo don't do that shit

makootoko_16 holy fuck guys, tomoh is all happy to have met an idol of hers, and all of sudden you decide to spoil the girl's happiness like that?? that's mean

_satokarin but that's precisely why we're saying all that!

yuzu_riha we don't want to see her getting all disappointed and depressed. we're worried about her, like the good friends we are

akirawith1k no, you're just a bunch of phony, jealous snakes

The discussion continued for several comments after these, getting heated, almost escalating to verbal aggression at certain points. But Tomori didn't want to read one single line anymore. She immediately turns comments off, putting an end to the flood of notifications, her stomach still tingling unsettlingly, almost as if she's getting sick. She puts the phone down with an irritated snarl, nails digging into her arms, mouth twisting tightly.

Shit, why did those bigmouths have to spoil her happiness like that? Even Paikon had more finesse than that! And Akane was right too, it wasn't like she didn't know what kind of fame Okubo had outside matches and press conference stands. She had already heard the stories, read various articles and newspaper clippings, and watched the news.

A helpless womanizer. Had an apparent drinking problem. And had a tendency to commit minor infractions that had earned him nights in police stations. She knew all of this, but she didn't care. She just wanted a fun night with Ultimate Fight's heavyweight champion, dammit! That's all, nothing more. She wasn't daydreaming about dates in a row, flowers and chocolate, hand-in-hand walks, sappy love confessions, none of that shit. So why remind her that he wasn't boyfriend material if she didn't even have the intention of elevating him to that position? She was an adult, mature woman, not a nayve teenager, for heaven's sake…

And yet, she couldn't stop thinking about how polite and kind he had been to her in all their interactions. How he had fumbled at several points, in a bewilderment that she found adorable. How he was always willing to exchange casual messages with her, how he laughed easily when they interacted, how he rushed to her aid when she needed help, even without having any obligation...

“They don't know anything. They don't know him. But I..."

She closes her eyes and shakes her head. No, she wasn't going to dwell on those things, not when she'd finally gotten what she wanted so badly and the happiness at her achievement had momentarily overcome the earlier traumatic memories. She logs off of Instagram, getting up from the couch again as she clicks on her mother's contact, wanting to distract her mind with something, anything.

Her friends could play the worried part all they wanted. She didn't need that. She knew what she was getting into and what she would get out of it. She wouldn't take risks with possible disappointments, because there was nothing to be disappointed with. There was not...

* * *

Mr_Iron_Fingers:

good evening gentlemen

today an accident will happen

put 110 at the top of your phone list

cause our chrome dome head friend is about to fuckin hit it from behind!

When Okubo had heard notifications chirping from his phone shortly after getting out of a bath, he had rushed to grab it with an excitement that would have been embarrassing if he hadn't been alone in his apartment. But he was exasperated and a little disappointed to see that it was a message from Rihito, sent in the group chat they both shared with Himuro and Kaneda, affectionately named as “Golden Balls HQ”. It doesn't take long for the other two to add their own observations.

Gigolo:

dude, that one was terrible, even by your standards

but yeah, today is the big day, right?

did you go to the barber to get a good trim, Okubo?

you have to make a good first impression lmao

GiantKiller:

LOL

that was a low blow Himuro xD

but come on, don’t make him even more nervous

because I'm sure he is

Okubo rolls his eyes a little. That smartass, always making claims about things he wasn't even seeing, with that nerve-racking certainty... and knowing he was right only made him angrier.

Saturday had finally arrived and Okubo had prepared for it with the same dedication that he prepared for his matches, at least as far as his commitment to making an impact was concerned: he had bought new, more formal-looking clothes, and even invested in an expensive men's cologne (he would never tell Rihito that, for the sake of his dignity). He'd had the SUV washed, both inside and out, and had made the perfect selection of music to set the mood as he took her wherever she wanted to go. He'd arranged gifts, too: flowers, a box of swiss chocolates, and a set of exclusive women's shirts from the Ultimate Fight line, all with his own face emblazoned in different angles, colors, and artistic styles. In short, there was no way he could have been more prepared for this date.

...Except for the fact that Tomori still hadn't told him where she wanted them to meet. He'd let her pick the meeting point to be gentlemanly, but it was already six-thirty, according to his phone, and so far she hadn't made a pep. She hadn't given up, had she? Or did something unforeseen happen? He wanted to send a message, but he didn't want to seem clingy or inconvenient or desperate. So, in an attempt to distract himself from that anxiety, he decides to respond to his friends.

EggHead:

fuck off

I'm totally fine

just waiting for the time to go and meet her

I just got outta the bath

smelling good, looking good and more than ready for her

Mr_Iron_Fingers:

looking good?

only if you've had plastic surgery since wednesday lmao

but who am I to judge that girl’s tastes?

you're gonna bang her till the cows come home and that's what matters

Gigolo:

you're too interested in okubo's sex life, rihito

I almost think you want to join tonight’s party

whether being the one fucking or the one being fucked, idk

Mr_Iron_Fingers:

fuck off, himuro, do you think I'm a fag or something??

can't I be happy for my pal and that's it?

I already have a place to hang out anyway

I'm going to go get drunk at that bar where you work the most

GiantKiller:

The Dai-Uchu-Sakaba?

I think I'll go there too

I have the night off today

Gigolo:

my shift starts at 8 pm, so it will take me a while to show up

but I'll be there

then the three of us can toast to okubo's masterful success

EggHead:

lmao you guys are so full of shit

you talk like me being able to bang a girl is something worthy partying over

but thanks anyway

enjoy the night from your side cause I sure as hell will enjoy from mine

GiantKiller:

have you decided where you going to take her, okubo?

That makes the anxiety he had been trying to suppress return, giving him an unpleasant feeling reminiscent of heartburn. Holy shit, what if she ended up not answering him? Or if she just replied to cancel the date? It would be too humiliating to have to admit to his friends that there had been no date, let alone the part that interested them most. But that wouldn't even be the worst part. The worst part would be, yet again, being rejected by a woman. Even more so a woman like that, sweet, friendly and who shared so many of his tastes. He didn't know if he'd be able to recover from that particular blow, and thinking about those possibilities only made the burning feeling in the pit of his stomach worse…

It is then that his phone vibrates and beeps with new message notifications arriving. And his relief is huge when he sees that they were from Tomori's contact. Finally, holy shit! He immediately clicks on the notification to be redirected, the anxiety easing and a smile tugging at his lips.

Uta_Tomori:

hi mr okubo!

sorry for not showing up earlier

I had some setbacks and barely picked up my phone today

Okubo_Naoya:

hey!

man, I got worried thinking that something had happened to you

Is everything okay there? Were these setbacks serious?

Uta_Tomori:

nope

silly stuff lol

I already toke care of everything

is our date still on?

He allows himself a moment of youthful happiness, exclaiming a “fuck yeah!” and punching the air, before continuing to type as if nothing had happened.

Okubo_Naoya:

if it’s up to me, absolutely!

I’ve been waiting all week for this

I don’t want to spend saturday night any other way

Uta_Tomori:

me too <3

you said I could choose the meeting point, right?

there's a place that I really like, with great food and a nice atmosphere, if you're up for it

Okubo_Naoya:

I'm down for whatever you decide

what is the place?

She takes a moment to answer, and Okubo wonders if she was looking for photos of the place to make it easier for him to find the address. And he was right. The images soon appear on the cracked screen of his phone, followed by more messages from her.

Uta_Tomori:

I love to eat at this place when I have money to spare

their coffee is delicious!

do you know it? is close to Marunouchi

Okubo almost drops the phone on the marble counter in fright, his stomach turning cold, his fingertips tingling.

It was the bistro. The meeting place she'd chosen was the fucking bistro where he'd been humiliated by those college girls weeks ago. Hell fucking no!

He stares at the photos, trying to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him, that it was just a very similar establishment, bistros like that used to all look the same... no, it was the exactly same place, he was recognizing the facade, the sign and the tables strategically positioned on the veranda. Shit...!

mr okubo?

you still there?

you didn't like the place?

if so please say something, I don't mind choosing another place

He only realizes he was ignoring Tomori when the messages continue to appear on the cracked screen. He grips the phone with sweaty hands, mouth tight with dismay, a very strange fear squirming in his stomach like a snake. He should be honest and say that he didn't like her suggestion, that he wanted to pick another place. He should come up with some excuse, because how the fuck would he be able to show up in that fucking place again?!

... But she said she liked the place. She only visited ir when she had some spare money, so it wasan't always.

What would it cost for him to do that favor for her? Even more so after all the consideration she'd had for him so far, making him those cookies, teaching him how to make rice balls, being that adorable creature and devoted fan... what did it cost to show how much he appreciated that?

“Your dignity, probably.”

... A small price to pay for that night to be perfect, he decides.

Okubo_Naoya:

I'm here

phone froze again sorry

and yeah, I know the place

sounds good to me

we meet there at seven, right?

Uta_Tomori:

yep!

I'll give you the exact address, just in case

I'm so excited, I'm looking like a fool lol

Okubo_Naoya:

me too haha

see you there miss uta

Okubo lets out a shaky breath as he puts the phone away, his stomach turning against him. Hell, maybe he should've said he'd rather meet her somewhere else after all. Showing up there with constipation, or worse, with a loose bowel from anxiety, would be the final nail in the coffin where his dignity lay. He returns to the group chat to answer Kaneda's question.

EggHead:

it'll be in a bistro she likes

but if it’s up to me, we'll just eat there and that’s it

I want to take her to other places too

Mr_Iron_Fingers:

and you goddam right!

fuck that bistro shit, a place like this doesn't leave anyone in the mood to fuck LOL

but what to do, you have to please the girl to get what you want

good luck there man!

Gigolo:

yeah, dude, good luck

give us some details later, when she lets you breathe lmao

GiantKiller:

yeah, but don’t forget my recommendations!

have a nice date Okubo

hopefully everything works out

EggHead:

thanks guys

He puts the phone down, griding both hands over his face with a loud grunt. He too was hoping for everything to work out in the end. But the memories of that afternoon in the bistro, the expressions of discomfort and pity on the college girls' face and the giggles of the other patrons, continued to haunt him, insistent and venomous.

What if he messed everything up again? What if he made a fool of himself in front of Tomori, enough that she never wanted to go out with him again? Screwing things up was one of his specialties, and nervous as he was, it wouldnt take much for that to happen.

He scratches his scalp, growling a little, heading to his room to get dressed. He didn't want to dwell on those pessimistic possibilities. There were still a little over two hours until the date. And until then, he would need to do something, anything, to clear his head.

He kind of already had an idea of what he was going to do. It would just be a hell of a humiliation, considering he'd just said goodbye to his friends. But it was like they said: desperate situations called for desperate measures...

* * *

Tomori had wondered at first if she would look too desperate if she arrived at the meeting point twenty minutes early. But as anxious as she was, she didn't seem to be able to put her ass down, so she'd better go ahead with the plan at once.

She had arrived at the bistro via train, with the sun already setting behind the huge buildings that surrounded the shopping area. She had chosen a table located on the veranda, overlooking the busy street, where she could see his car arriving. In the meantime, she could kill the extra time by perusing the menu, left on the table by one of the waitresses (they had a menu option accessible via QR code, but she found their physical menu, crafted in a vintage style, quite charming ), and start choosing what she would order.

Despite her anxiety, she couldn't stop smiling, still having a hard time believing that this was actually happening. It seemed too good to be true, being able to hang out in public with your idol so casually. So much so that she was afraid to do something that would ruin the night. She had even avoided posting about plans for that Saturday on social media, fearing that the universe would decide to punish her somehow for bragging. The only ones who knew were Kanami, Hiro and her friend Akane, who had helped her dress up for the event.

"Girl, after I'm done with you, this man won't want to share my masterpiece with anyone else. That discount King Kong will be wrapped around your little finger," She had assured ser, and Tomori saw her sharp smile in the reflection of the mirror in the beauty parlor where she worked.

And considering the money she'd spent on hair, makeup, and waxing, she really expected to get those results. She hoped he liked the way she'd dressed up, in a black blouse with elbow-length sleeves and a sweetheart neckline, a delicate silver necklace adorning her bosom (and which discreetly drew attention to her cleavage, because she wasn't stupid) and a white skirt with a delicate floral print that reached just above her knees. Her hair had been styled, the ends clipped, all in such a way as to bring out its natural waves and make it frame her lightly made-up face with just the right subtlety. She even decided to put on some expensive perfume that her parents had given her for her birthday that she had been saving, for god's sake!

Would she sound too conceited if she told herself she looked gobsmacking gorgeous? That he would be a fool if he didn't appreciate all that production? Nah, it would be the purest truth and no one could blame her. It was precisely because of all this preparation that it took her time to send a text to Okubo, and she wished with all her heart that it would be worth it in the end.

"Good evening, miss," A waitress approaches, making a polite bow, holding a pencil and a notepad "Are you ready to place your order yet? Would you like a drink, suggestions for the entrée...?"

Tomori smiles, shaking her head. "Just a pink lemonade for now, please. I'm expecting someone so I'll place my order when he arrives, thank you."

The waitress nods, taking another bow before heading to the nearby tables. Tomori takes out her phone, clicking on Okubo's contact and starting to type.

Uta_Tomori:

I'm at the bistro

I chose a table on the veranda, you'll see me as soon as you arrive ^^

She puts the phone down, sighing contentedly, going back to reading the menu as she waits for the notifications to sound, indicating that he had responded. He usually didn't keep her waiting too long.

But it looked like this time would be different, because after ten minutes and the arrival of her lemonade, he still hadn't answered her. He didn't even see the messages. She frowns as she checks her messages, but decides to ignore it for now. It had just turned 7 pm. He was probably on his way, driving, so he couldn't look at his phone. She just needed to be patient.

By ten minutes past seven, she was telling herself it must be the traffic. The streets were chaotic during the weekends and traffic jams were a common occurrence. She finishes her lemonade and decides to order another one.

At twenty past seven, she was wondering if he'd run into a mishap. Maybe a flat tire? A surprise police raid? Police were even more alert to drunk driving on weekends. She had started to get hungry, so she decided he wouldn't be upset if she started eating before he did. She orders a baked camembert with puff pastry on the side and keeps waiting.

By seven-thirty, she had finished her second lemonade and had to go to the restroom. When she returned, he still hadn't arrived or responded to her messages. She was beginning to suffer from intrusive and unpleasant thoughts. Was it an emergency? Or had he had an accident? The anxiety was returning, and with it, the dry, scratchy throat. A third lemonade would help, perhaps...

And at seven-forty, her camembert had arrived, steaming and looking delicious. But no blue SUV looming at the end of the street. And no Okubo.

“It's still hot, so be careful, miss. Bon appétit," The waitress wishes her, and Tomori feels the shame gnaw at her insides when the woman gives her a sympathetic, pitying look. She was definitely thinking she'd been stood up.

And honestly? By now, Tomori was thinking that too.

"Thank you…," She says simply, bringing the wooden board with the camembert and the puff pastry closer, avoiding looking the waitress in the eyes, her thoughts in turmoil in a mix of worry, shame and anger that made her stomach churn, her eyes burning.

If something unforeseen had come up, he would have warned her, wouldn't he? He hadn't given her reason to think he wouldn't have that consideration. If he'd backed out of the date, for whatever reason, he'd let her know too, wouldn't he? It would be nasty of him, but more acceptable than keeping her waiting without any news.

He couldn't possibly leave her standing there like an idiot, could he? She didn't want to believe it, she didn't, but it was getting harder and harder to think otherwise... She starts eating, dipping the puff pastry into the cheese. It was delicious, and she hated the fact that she was eating it alone when she would have loved to share…

"I'll wait until 8. If he doesn't text me by then, I'm leaving!"

And then she jumps in fright when her entire desk seems to vibrate. The phone beeps with the sound of notifications, and she almost drops the cutlery in her desperation to pick it up. She lets out a shaky, relieved breath when she sees that Okubo has finally responded to her messages. Fucking finally! She hoped he had a good explanation for keeping her waiting…

Okubo_Naoya:

heey

sorry for t decay

**delay

imma comin

Uta_Tomori:

hey!

where were you?

it’s almost 8 already!

did something happen??

Okubo_Naoya:

noooop

tis okay

jus cant type now cuz imma on da roATRAQW3WEeT2

Uta_Tomori:

?????

mr okubo?

you okay there??

Okubo_Naoya:

FUK

sry i droped da bone

**phone

sonuvabitch almost rear ended me

but imma comin!

Tomori widens her eyes a little. Was he typing while behind the wheel? And what was that bizarre way of typing?

Uta_Tomori:

please don't type while you're driving

we can talk after you arrive

She puts the phone down again and goes back to eating, still feeling weirded out about the situation, but still relieved. At least he hadn't stood her up. Maybe it was just an unforeseen event, something he would explain better when he arrived…

About five minutes and nearly half the camembert later, she hears a high, sharp sound of tires screeching around a corner. She starts a little, and she wasn't the only one; all the occupants of the tables on the veranda did the same. She leans back, frowning as she tries to see the street, to identify the person responsible for the noise in the midst of all those passing cars...

And her stomach does a flip at the sight of the blue SUV, hurtling up the street at breakneck speed, just missing the back of another parked car when the driver managed to pull off an absurd maneuver that once again made the tires squeal. Holy crap, she'd been in a hurry for him to get there, but not enough to want him to break three traffic laws in the process!

The SUV finally finds a parking spot, parallel parking in a very amateurish way, the roar of the engine dying down. The people at the surrounding tables turn to their respective dishes and private conversations, losing interest in the lousy driver. Tomori sighs, relieved that the wait was over, but wondering if it would be appropriate to scold him for reckless driving. They didn't have that level of intimacy, but damn, he didn't need to run like that just because he was late...

"Miss Uuutaaaa!"

The scream causes her to nearly drop the cutlery again. She watches in astonishment as Okubo opens the car door and gets out... or tries to, at least, because he'd apparently forgotten that he's still strapped into his seat belt, nearly dangling off the seat like the world's buffiest hooks meat.

"Damn it...!,"He snarls, straightening up, and then almost falling sideways onto the sidewalk when he finally manages to free himself from the belt. He braces his hands on the sidewalk to keep from hitting his head on the ground, and when he gets up, he staggers to one side and crashes into the side of the car, snarling another curse. And then he turns, face red, eyes a little puffy and heavy, grinning like an idiot as he raises an arm and yells again.

"Miss Uta! Sorry for the delay, but look, I'm here!"

He limps towards the bistro, even braiding his legs at one point and stumbling before righting himself, which elicits a few giggles from the people at the surrounding tables. Tomori just stares, stunned, as he stops at the wooden fence that separates the bistro's veranda from the sidewalk, grabbing it and leaning toward her, looking at her with those heavy, reddened eyes that made her think of a basset hound.

"Wooow! You look...!," He puts a hand over his mouth, letting out a small burp "You look so freakin' beautiful, y’know? You already looked like that from far away, then I got closer and it still looked like I was far away, hahaha!"

“Oh…” She blinks, feeling herself blush. She definitely expected to be complimented, but not quite like that "Thank you… but I'm glad you're finally here," She tries to smile "I was getting worried, thinking something had happened-"

"Were you worried about me? Damn, t's more than I deserve...," He sighs heavily, resting his arms on the fence and turning his head to the side with an expression that she couldn't tell if it was dreamy or sleepy "I -hic!- I was thinking you would have left by now, tired of waiting for me, but you stayed here, thinking about me... you're so fuckin' cute, you know?," He then straightens his shoulders, smiling a lot while resting his hands on the fence "It makes me want to hug you! Hang on, I'll get there, lemme just...!"

"What- Mr. Okubo, what are you doing?!," She exclaims, startled, when he tries to get a leg over the fence "You can't enter the bistro like that, the- the entrance is right there on the left, look!"

"Ooh... really?", He looks to the side, confused, not realizing (or not caring) that he was causing a scene. The entire veranda was staring at them now, some people looking uncomfortable, others giggling. He then shrugs "Eh, I didn't come all this way give up, did I? Here I come!," And he jumps, swinging his other leg over the fence, and Tomori has to move out of the way as he stumbles and bumps into the table. She gasps in alarm when she sees the board with the cheese and puff pastry slipping and almost falling, but he manages to catch it in time.

"Whoa! Holy fuck, that was close! Do we get a discount for saving someone else's dinner? Hahaha!," He laughs out loud, pointing to the board in his hand, and Tomori feels herself burn with embarrassment when the occupants of the other tables start to laugh too.

“Er…this- this is my dinner,” She manages to say, unable to meet his eyes. Ahat the fuck was going on there? Why was he acting in that bizarre way? "Ours, actually... you almost knocked it over..."

"Uh… seriously?!," He widens his eyes, his chin dropping in an expression of astonishment "Well, thank fuckin' god then! But it wouldn't be a problem, because I swear I'd pay you another one!," And Tomori gasps when he grabs her arms and pulls her into a crushing hug, practically burying her face in his huge chest. She hears more laughter, but can't fight his arms in her mortified astonishment.

He had never been this physical before, to the point of being inconvenient! Why was he doing this? What had gotten into him?

And that's when she notices the smell that permeated him, strong, surrounding him like a mist and making her nostrils burn. She could make out the scent of cologne, but it was overpowered by the more pungent smells of sweat and...

Alcohol. That was alcohol. He practically reeked of booze, she concluded in shock.

“Did you- did you drink?!," She screeches, lifting her head and staring at him with wide eyes. He looks down at her, blinking, seeming slow to register her question.

"Uuuh..."

"Is that why you were late? You were drinking?!," She shouts, turning red, but no longer with embarrassment. Anger had risen in her chest like boiling water, even making her a little shaky "Even knowing that we had a date today?!"

"Ooh… I…," He starts to say in that slurred voice, letting go of her immediately and taking a few steps away from her "Yeah, I- I was, but it was just a little! I swear I didn't forget, I would never forget. Today you are my prai... my pro... my pri-o-ri-ty!," He separates the syllables while gesturing "I can make it up to you, if you want, I- I can even pay for this thing here!," He turns sharply towards the table, reaching for the Camembert… and ends up hitting the tray a passing waitress was carrying in the process, causing her to drop everything with a scream and the combined sounds of a metallic crash and glass shattering.

"Oh fuck! Sorry, lady!," He screeches while Tomori covers her mouth with both hands, moving away automatically so as not to be hit by the shards and spilled liquids "My bad, let me help you..."

"No, sir, there's no need...," The waitress starts to say, but a man, sitting about three tables away from Tomori, exclaims indignantly:

"Hey, those dishes were for our table! The fuck are you doing, you clumsy bastard?"

"Sorry, pal, but it was an accident. It can happen to anyone," He says as he crouches beside the waitress and... god in heavens, his pants were slipping and Tomori was able to see his underwear, why was this happening to her…!

"Accident or not, we aren't going to go without food because of you, you freakin' gorilla! At least shell out some cash, since you're the one who did this shit-"

"What did you just call me, you fucker?!," He growls, jumping up, and the man at the table jumps, alarmed, when he realizes the size and bulk of the other man "I already apologized! What else do you want me to do?!"

"No! Stop it, Mr. Okubo!," Tomori hurries to say, alarmed, and at the same time wanting to shrink and disappear before all the eyes fixed on them. Even the people on the sidewalk were staring, holy crap... "If you start picking up fights, I'll leave!"

That immediately stops him in the act of marching to the scared man's table. He turns to her, startled and gesturing wildly.

"Please, don't! S-Sorry, I promise I won't fight anyone! Seriously, I'm sorry...," And he opens his arms, going towards her, which Tomori quickly dodges, wanting to die when that again causes another wave of laughter among the other customers.

"Stop it! I don't want to hug you!"

"Sorry!," He raises his arms up in an exaggerated gesture "Fine, no hugging! I know I'm a little tipsy, but I swear that I I'll get sober, I just need some water-"

"Excuse me?," The waitress makes a disapproving expression "Did you just say you were drunk?"

Okubo's response is to shrug and bring the index finger and thumb of his right hand together, staring at them with narrowed eyes to make sure they're close enough to each other.

"A little bit…? Yeah, just a little bit..."

"In that case, I'll have to ask you to leave. We don't want that kind of disturbance at this establishment."

"Oooh no, lady, don't be like that…," He starts talking low, in a ridiculously velvety tone, approaching the waitress with a conspiratorial smile "I'm in the middle of a date with that pretty girl over there. Can't you cut me some slack, just this once?"

"Sir..."

"Is it money that you want? 'Cause you can have that if you help me. C'mon, now...," He takes a wallet out of his pocket, almost dropping it, and takes out a roll of bills, lowering and raising his eyebrows, probably thinking he's being discreet, but again eliciting giggles from the other customers at how obvious he was.

Tomori felt like crying. She felt like running out and disappearing down the dark street. She wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out of it. And to preferably never look that idiot in the face again while doing all this.

Why? Why was he doing this? Why had he decided to get drunk before going on a date he himself had suggested? That had absolutely nothing to do with the person she'd been hanging out with these last few days. There was no trace of the funny, cute and kind guy who made her smile like a fool, the complete opposite of the man she saw in the octagons, interviews...

"You don't know him. You never trully did. That could all be a facade, his public persona. Maybe you just met his private persona. Maybe this one is the real Okubo Naoya.”

She stares at him, feeling like she's seeing him for the first time. And what she was seeing broke her heart.

“… The check, please,” she asks suddenly, her voice icy. Okubo and the waitress stop arguing about his bribery attempt and turn to her, and he looked confused "You guys take credit cards, right?"

"Of course, miss. Debit or credit?"

“Hey, hey, hold on. Are we leaving already?," He asks, puzzled "But- But I just arrived..."

"We?," She repeats angrily "There is no 'we' here. I'm the one leaving."

"... What?," He seemed, again, to be having difficulty processing information. And Tomori had already lost any patience left after his last antics. She just turns to the waitress wearily.

"Credit. Just bring it quickly, please."

"Wait, Miss Uta, what- what do you mean you're leaving?," He insists when the waitress returns inside the bistro, now looking alarmed "Why? Was it because I was late?"

"Oh, I wish it was only that..."

"Was it- Was it something I did just now? Was it the hug?," He gestures, seeming to beg "I'm sorry, I- I was just happy to see you, but I swear I won't do that anymore-"

"It's not just that! You seriously can't understand what you did wrong?!," She yells, then puts a hand on her face, taking a deep breath so as to not explode in the middle of all those people and humiliate herself even more "Ugh, forget it! There's no use arguing with a drunk..."

He could only stare at her, wide-eyed, and Tomori did her best to ignore him until the waitress returned. She pays her check, barely able to meet her eyes.

"Thank you for everything. And sorry for the inconvenience. It won't happen again.

"Don't worry about it, miss. Come back soon," The waitress bows to her, and Tomori doesn't waste any time. She turns on her heel, walking purposefully to her table to gather her things, ignoring Okubo when he calls after her.

"Miss Uta, wait! Fuck... H- Here, lady, let me at least pay for the damage...,"

She quickens her pace, gripping the strap of her purse with both hands as she leaves the bistro, the low heels of her sandals clicking on the floor. She shudders and hugs herself, biting her bottom lip. It was the middle of summer, and yet she felt cold... it must have been coming from inside her, rising like frost, closing her throat and making her eyes sting, her vision blurring...

"Miss Uta!," She hears him come running after her, panting a little, and she shrinks back "Wait! Please don't leave like that..."

"I don't wanna talk to you. Leave me alone," She growls, without turning to look at him, but of course he decides to ignore her, like every stupid drunk there it was.

"Please, at least let me make it up to you!"

"There's nothing you can do to make up for it! You got drunk before our date, you made an ass out of yourself at the bistro, you threatened to start a fight and you tried to bribe a waitress, for chrissakes!," She stomps her foot and turns to face him, furious, and he looks even more scared when he saws her teary eyes "You- holy shit, you drived under the influence! Fuck, what were you thinking? Why did you ask me out if you were going to do something like that?!"

"I- I didn't plan it. I didn't meant to...," He starts to say, curling up all over himself and looking to the side "I... uurgh...," And he grabs his head with his hands, closing his eyes tightly "Damn, this fucking headache...,"

"Yeah, it serves you right! You deserve one hell of a migraine!," She stamps her foot and turns away again, but he quickened his pace to keep up.

"Wait, wait! I- I have some gifts for you back in the car-"

"I don't want any gifts from you!"

"A- At least let me take you home! I'll be worried if you walk all alone at this time-"

"You're worried about leaving me alone, but you wanted to drive me home while you're drunk? What's your fucking problem?!," She almost screams, red with anger, and he winces as if she's threatening him with a whip. He looked defeated.

"... I- I'm so, so sorry..."

And for a second, Tomori felt her traitorous heart ache for him.

“Why, why did you do this, why, why…”

She hated herself for feeling sorry for him and she hated him for giving her that kind of feeling. The best she could do was get away from there, leave him behind, try to forget that all that nonsense ever happened...

“But if he drives drunk, it could cause an accident. He could end up killing someone. He could end up killing himself.”

She closes her eyes, breathing hard through her nose, for a second wishing she was more like Kanami. She wouldn't take shit like that in a million years, and she wouldn't be as understanding as she was about to be.

“Give me your car keys,” she asks, holding out her hand. He looks up, eyes wide, suddenly hopeful.

"Miss Uta, you...!"

"I'll take you to your friends," She interrupts him before he starts to get the wrong idea "You were drinking with them, weren't you? They'll handle you better than I can."

His smile deflates like a punctured balloon. He swallows hard, his eyes seeming to waver for an instant.

"I... seriously, forgive me, I swear on my championship belt this will never happen again-"

"Mr. Okubo," She cuts him off flatly, her hand still reaching out "Give me your car keys. Now."

He, like her, looked ready to cry. She held his gaze, not giving in, not wanting to give him any hope that he could somehow get away with this. She knew his gab, his silver tongue. And now, she doesn't find those mannerisms so charming anymore.

He then sighs, reaches into his pocket and pulls out his car keys, handing it to her without another word. She brushes past him as she retraces her steps along the sidewalk, practically marching, and he follows with his head down.

The SUV, unsurprisingly, was not tailored to be driven by someone of her stature. She had to move her seat closer to the steering wheel to reach him, and she still didn't feel supported enough. She just hoped the trip was short. She asks dryly, "What's the name of the place?"

"D- Dai-Uchu-Sakaba. It's not too far away...," He murmurs as he sits down beside her, staring at his feet "Miss Uta, I-"

"Buckle up," She orders, not deigning to look at him as she takes out her phone and searches for the establishment's address on GMaps. And when she finds it, she immediately starts the car and starts to maneuver, wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible. She didn't even know if she would have the courage to go back to that bistro one day. And she loved that place so much... how could he spoil that for her?! Anger makes her press the accelerator harder. She just hoped she wouldn't get stopped by the police and have to show documents, because she'd never renewed her driver's license. That idiot was even driving her to break laws, for fuck's sake!

The drive had turned out to be silent for most of the way, and for that Tomori was grateful. She really didn't want to talk. He seemed to be aware of this, huddled as he was in the passenger seat, with his head down. At one point, the silence was so much that Tomori thought he's fallen asleep. Well, she just needed to dump him in that establishment where his friends were, and from then on, he wouldn't be her problem anymore...

"You're mad."

She turns to him for a moment, surprised. Was he awake? He appeared to be sleeping, with his head down and eyes closed, but there was no one else in the car who could have said anything.

"Huh?"

"You," He repeats, hands on his knees "You're mad at me."

"Oooh no! You really think so?," She can't contain the venomous sarcasm, squeezing the steering wheel with her fingers, her eyes back on the road "Does Ultimate Fight also pay you a few million yen to state the obvious?"

He laughs a little, coughing as he puts a fist in front of his mouth.

"I've never seen you so angry before. It doesn't even look like you."

“You don't know me,” she growls. And then she thinks:

“And I don’t know you either.”

“Yeah, I- I don't. I don't know if that scares me or if... or if it amazes me. Your anger, I mean. The way you faced me back there...," He shakes his head slowly before leaning his forehead against the window "No woman had done that to me before..."

Tomori lets out a grunt, not knowing if she was mad that he's making light of her anger or because he was pulling the ‘you're not like the other girls’ card. As if that would appease her...

"Don't you dare think that you can sway me by dissing other women..."

"It's not that," He sighs, letting out a small burp in sequence "Sorry. But seriously... what I mean is, I've never been close enough to a chick for her to feel comfortable like that and give me a hard time. Scold me. Ask me what my fucking problem is like that, without any fear. You're the first... the first one who let me get close like that, the first one who was interested in listening to me, talking to me, laughing at my jokes... the first one who gave me a chance...," And then he sniffs hard, hiding his face in one hand "And I screwed up, didn't I? I ruined everything... I- I'm a piece of shit..."

He sobs quietly, and Tomori almost sobs with him, her eyes so teary that she can barely see the road through the windshield. She told herself that this was nothing more than a crying drunk being dramatic, that he probably wouldn't even remember what he was doing when he woke up with a hangover the next day... but he was sounding so sincere, so regretful...

"No! That's enough! Don't be stupid! Do you want to be even more disappointed than you already were?!”

She shakes her head, gritting her teeth and keeping her eyes on the road, leaving him to whimper and moan beside her without another word.

About twenty minutes later, she finally sees the bright neon sign that lit up the front of the Dai-Uchu-Sakaba. She pulls over and parks right in front of the establishment, pulling the handbrake a little harder than necessary and opening the door.

"We arrived," She mutters, and he scurries down behind her, still fumbling with his seat belt. She hears voices inside the bar, even managing to recognize three of them.

"... couldn't have let him go out like that!"

"Seriously, Rihito, did you hit your head when you fell in the restroom? He drove off drunk, for fuck’s sake!"

"Dude, leave me be! I couldn't stop him, damn it, I'm shit-faced too..."

"We need to call him!"

"If any of us had Miss Uta's number..."

“We have the police number, that's something."

"Fucking hell, dude, do you want to see him locked up for the fifth time?!"

"Aaargh...!," Okubo, extremely red, passes by Tomori and opens the bar door, shouting, making the few customers inside startle "Don't make me look like an idiot more than I already do, you assholes!"

"Okubo!"

Tomori sees, from the counter, Rihito and Kaneda jump up from their respective stools; Rihito almost falls as he lands awkwardly on his feet. Himuro was behind the counter, wearing a classic bartender uniform. He's the only one not to run up to Okubo, but he looked just as relieved, putting a metallic bottle aside as he exclaimed:

"Damn it, I'm glad you're back! If the police caught you driving under the influence..."

"Rihito told us what happened! What were you thinking, getting drunk like that when you had a date? What were you two thinking?!," Kaneda turns indignantly to Rihito, and Tomori sees under Okubo's arm, that he didn't look sober either. He was red, puffy-eyed, and grinning like a complete idiot.

“We didn't fucking plan it, it simple happened. But you came back too soon, bro, we didn't expect to hear from you until tomorrow night! What's the matter? Do you need more condoms or something-"

And then he stops, his smile fading, when he sees a mortified Tomori, under Okubo's outstretched arm. She sees him go pale, sees how his eyes widen.

“Oh- ooh, shit… H-Hi, Miss Uta!," He nods with a weak smile "I- I didn't know you were here too..."

Kaneda's eyes widen in horror. Himuro hides his face in one hand, looking as mortified as Tomori. And Okubo looks over his shoulder at her, even paler than Rihito, terror etched into every line of his face.

"Fucking hell, Rihito...! Miss Uta, no- it's not what you-"

"No. I don't want to hear it," She cuts him off at once, her expression darkened like a storm cloud as she hands him back his car keys. She turns to the other three, continuing, "I already did my part by bringing him here. He's your problem now. Goodnight."

She gives a short, stiff curtsey before turning her back on them and walking away, quickly backing away from the bar as she pulls out her phone again. But of course, that persistent idiot wasn't going to give up as easily as she'd like.

"Miss Uta! Please, don't leave like that!," Okubo asks while running to catch up with her, sounding desperate "You're not well, it's dangerous to walk down the street like that-"

"I’m better than you. And I'm going to order an Uber," She snorts in response "Leave me alone, Mr. Okubo, please...,"

"I will, I promise I will, but I won't be at peace until I'm sure you got home safely! I worry about whether or not you'll be safe-"

“Oh, you worry about me? Seriously?!," She finally explodes, turning furious towards him, almost making him fall backwards with the fright that her screams provoked "Well, I'll give you a guarantee then! You can be sure I'll be fine, because it's safer to go home alone than with a drunk jerk!"

She stares at him, breathing hard, almost growling, as she watches him shrink before her eyes. He looked like he'd been slapped across the face, shock and hurt twisting his features like he was about to cry. Further on, Rihito and Kaneda watched from the bar door, perplexed. And she decided that she wasn't going to wait for an answer, if one was to come.

She turns, walking quickly away from them, not once looking back, digging her nails into her arms as she hugs herself. She only allows herself to stop after putting at least a corner of distance between herself and the bar. She finally looks back, and sees no one following her. A part of her felt relieved. But the other, hateful as it was, wished he'd followed her.

“You are an idiot, Uta Tomori. An idiot...”

She pulls out her phone, calling for an Uber through the app. And it is while waiting for the ride, in the silence of the deserted street, that she finally allows the tears to come out.

NEXT CHAPTER

#Kengan Ashura #Kengan Omega #kenganverse #fanfiction #Okubo Naoya #Naoya Okubo #okubo x oc #kengan oc #Rihito #Himuro Ryo #Kaneda Suekichi #cookies'n cream #the heavy bakery series

5 notes · View notes

susumu-writes · 2 years

Text

An Untitled One-Shot

Susanna couldn't feel the wind against her face anymore. The world around her seemed to fade away and vanish, before it completely rearranged itself. The next thing she felt was the hard, rocky ground against her face. She stood up, brushing her coat off slightly. The past minute or so was a complete blur, but she did have some idea of what had happened to her.

One thing was for certain, she wasn't in Nevada anymore.

No, she was somewhere she was all too familiar with, the place all Nevadeans went when they died- The "Other Place", as it was called. It seemed simple enough, she could just find her way out and go back.

But this time, she'd been planning to settle an old score. As much as she didn't want to be here, she had to go through with it.

She spent what felt like hours wandering and searching. As she went further, the environment started to become less rocky and desolate and more starkly industrial. Tall buildings covered in metal panels began to replace the flat, barren landscape. This place was starting to feel familiar.

She had to be getting close.

She continued on, and it wasn't long before she noticed something- She seemed to be sinking into the ground. She pulled her feet out of the concrete and chose to ignore it, but not before the ground behind her crumbled and fell away. Before she had a chance to take another step, the city itself began to crack and split apart. It seemed as though the world around her was trying to prevent her from going any further.

"Fantastic," Susanna sighed.

She had been here dozens of times, but she never truly got used to this place. Of course she wasn't going to let this stop her. She continued quickly but carefully forward, making sure to keep her eyes on the ground ahead of her so she didn't step off a ledge.

As the world began to tear apart more and more, though, she realized that she wasn't as alone as she thought. The buildings were filled with other people- Seemingly other Nexus Core staff, or rather ex-staff would be more accurate. None of them seemed to be moving or doing anything, though. They all had their backs to Susanna, most of them staring at nothing but the walls or windows. That was strange, and admittedly rather unsettling.

Her train of thought was interrupted, though, when she felt the ground rumbling again. A massive pillar began to rise from the ground, and a figure at the top called down to Susanna, in a booming voice that she recognized all too well.

"Who dares to enter into my city? What business have you here?"

Susanna squinted up at the figure on the pillar. "Director Phobos, I take it," she responded. "My name is Susanna O'Byrne. I'm that intern you had your little pets push around back at Nexus Core."

"I am aware of who you are," Phobos responded. "And what right have you to approach me? I have no time for the likes of you. Return to your post."

"Return to-" Susanna wasn't going to be brushed off so easily. "There IS no more post, Director." she spat that last part bitterly. "I'm not going to be part of your experiments anymore. What right do YOU have to play with someone else's life for your own gains?"

“Your sacrifices were necessary for Project Nexus to progress,” Phobos stated plainly. “Was that not what you wanted? To serve a purpose greater than your own? Be grateful that I even allowed you the chance to continue living, and do not make me regret that decision.”

"Did you ever ASK if I wanted to be sacrificed?!" Susanna demanded. "Did you ever once listen to, or even think about how you were affecting anyone else?! I can never go back to who I was before I got my first look at this place! I never got to confront you back in Nevada, but now? Now, I'm going to do what I wish I could have done before."

The pillar suddenly descended, and Susanna found herself face to face with Phobos. He was much larger than she was expecting. "You intend to defy me?" he said, his tone sounding somewhat more harsh than before. "I have been here far longer than you can comprehend. I have gained complete control of the Other Place. Do you truly believe you have the power to stand against me? I will tell you one last time: Return to your post and never speak of this again. Otherwise I will be forced to dispose of you myself."

"Not a chance," Susanna growled. "I won't let you push me around any more. I'm not going to stop until I make you feel everything I felt."

Susanna felt herself thrown backwards, and the ground between the two began to split apart again. Before long, the city around them had crumbled, and they were left standing on a flat, empty concrete plain.

"How amusing," Phobos remarked, before addressing Susanna again. "Keeping you alive may have been a mistake after all. One that I intend to correct. I will see to it that you never return to Nevada again. You WILL continue to serve Nexus Core for eternity!"

As Phobos finished speaking, a long sword materialized in his hand. Susanna stood up and began shuffling through her coat pockets. It was purely on instinct, of course. She couldn't exactly have brought anything physical with her- Or could she? It wasn't long before her fingers brushed against something smooth and glassy, and she pulled out a familiar object- a glass bottle with some sort of chemical inside. Where did that come from? ...No, she didn't have time to think about that now. She hurled the bottle at Phobos, and it exploded into a burst of flame at his feet.

Phobos jumped aside once the bottle hit the ground. "Perhaps you are more intelligent than I assumed," he remarked. "No matter. My power still infinitely outmatches yours."

"Shut up," Susanna snapped, throwing another explosive bottle. Did he actually think she cared what he had to say? This time the bottle actually connected, igniting Phobos himself on impact. He growled, trying to hide his pain from her, and charged forward, thrusting the sword in her direction. Susanna sidestepped away from the attack, but Phobos swung the sword slightly, catching her with the side of the blade.

The fight went on like this for some time- Though Susanna didn't feel like she was getting anywhere. It seemed like no matter what she threw at Phobos, he wasn't slowing down, and she was just finding it harder to keep going. She found herself wishing she wasn't alone...

And that was when she saw something in the distance. A watchtower, with a familiar figure at the top. They had their back to the fight, but they looked like they were wearing a hood and carrying a gun with them. "...Kenji...?" The Other Place was much stranger than Susanna thought. The things she was seeing in her mind were suddenly happening? Was she gaining some level of control over this place as well?

Phobos noticed that Susanna had dropped her guard, and took that time to charge her again. She didn't notice until it was nearly too late. She tried to duck out of the way, but took one wrong step and ended up losing her balance.

"AAAGH!"

She very nearly tumbled off the ledge, but managed to catch herself. As she struggled to pull herself up without aggravating her wounds further, Phobos stepped over and looked down at her as she dangled.

"Perhaps this will teach you to know your place," he said, before pointing his sword at her face. "Have you any final words?"

Susanna looked back at the watchtower. She'd been wanting some assistance, and if things were working the way she thought... She called out as loudly as she could. "KENJI!! Help me!"

Kenji turned around, slowly, and somewhat unsettlingly. Susanna felt a wave of sudden dread sweep over her when she saw his face. Kenji was wearing a mask very similar to Phobos's own. He picked up his gun and took aim- Before firing several shots right into his own ally.

Susanna lost her hold on the ledge, and found herself falling. The further she fell, the darker it got, and eventually, she crashed through what felt like a pane of glass.

"Ugghh..." After what felt like years, Susanna finally felt like she could move again. Where was she now? It looked like her own lab, but... A lot more dirty and disorganized. She still had a feeling that she wasn't in Nevada anymore, but she didn't exactly care. She'd failed in what she came here to do, and now her own allies were turning on her. She had no idea what was real and what wasn't anymore. All that was left was to go back to Nevada where there was at least SOME sense of stability. She just had to find the way out of here.

The more she wandered, the more the place started to show signs of having been lived in. She wasn't making the mistake of letting her guard down twice. She froze when she heard a shuffling sound up ahead. She reached into her pocket to produce another explosive bottle- Until she saw the source of the sound.

Another Nevadean stepped out of the shadows. One who looked almost exactly like Susanna. She had the same white coat and glasses, except her hair was a dark gray color instead of Susanna's usual red. Her body was covered in bandages soaked with dark blue stains. Susanna didn't want to think about what had happened to her.

The gray-haired girl spoke up. "A-are you... Are you one of us?"

"I- I think so," Susanna answered. "You... Look just like me, but..." She put her hand on her head, to indicate the difference in hair color.

The gray-haired Susanna motioned for the current Susanna to follow her. Before she did, though, she carefully picked up a shard of glass from the floor, then tore off a bit of her coat and wrapped her hand in it. It wasn't exactly a proper weapon, but it would maybe help her a bit more once she encountered Phobos again.

The two Susannas walked down a long hallway, until they reached a brightly lit room. The older Susanna blinked in the light, but once her eyes adjusted she was surprised to see that they weren't alone- And in fact, the room was filled with younger Susannas, all of them seeming to be injured and frightened. The one who led Susanna to the room spoke up. "Hey, everyone. I found another!"

The others looked up at Susanna. One stood up, and came closer to her. "You're one of us?" she asked.

Susanna nodded. "How did you all get down here?" she asked. "How long have you BEEN here?"

"We don't know," one of the Susannas answered. "Actually, how did YOU get here?"

"It's... Not that important," Susanna sighed. "You probably already know what I've been through anyway. I came back here to track down that Phobos guy..."

One of the Susannas looked up at her. "Wait. Are you talking about Director Phobos of Nexus Core?"

Susanna started to feel that sudden dread again. "W-Well... Yes, I am but..."

"We've been looking for him too," the other Susanna said, suddenly looking serious. "Can you take us to him?"

Susanna paused for a moment. She could, but what would be the point? She couldn't take him down on her own. ...Of course. She WOULDN'T be on her own this time. If all of them attacked together... Would she really finally have what she wanted?

"Actually... Yes. I CAN take you to where he is."

This was it. Susanna led the group back up to where she had fought Phobos before, and this time, it looked like he was waiting for her. He stood up on the pillar he had been before, and he was still carrying his sword with him. As she approached, he looked down at her.

"Why have you returned? Do you still not understand? It is pointless to challenge me."

Susanna glared up at him. "I'm not alone this time," she responded. "And I think I'm finally figuring things out too. I'll come for you a thousand times if it means I'll get to make you pay!"

The world was changing once again as Susanna spoke. The city fell apart around the group again, but this time, landscape flattened out into what resembled a tiled floor. Far below the floor, a pool of some sort of boiling acid had formed.

Phobos took note of the change in surroundings, though he didn't react to it. "Be that as it may, my power remains unmatched," he stated. "You could never hope to attain what I have!"

Susanna raised the glass shard and charged at Phobos. He stepped out of the way, but a second Susanna hurled a bottle at his feet to keep him from going any further. While this was going on, a third Susanna charged him to take him to the ground. Phobos stabbed her and threw her aside, only for the oldest Susanna to jump him and knock his sword away.

"Now we're going to finish this," Susanna said. "You can't escape from retribution. It comes for everyone, no matter who they are. Even you, Director."

Phobos suddenly barked: "ENOUGH of this!" The Susannas that hadn't been slashed in the battle were thrown away, but the main one remained on the platform. Phobos pulled his sword over to him and jumped to his feet.

Susanna stopped to catch her breath and get herself rebalanced for a moment. The shard of glass had gotten knocked out of her hand. Before she could get up to reach it, though, she felt something sharp pressed against her back- And then INTO her back. Her eyes drifted downward to a growing blue stain on her clothes, and within seconds she found herself impaled on the end of Phobos's sword.

"I have given you a chance to surrender," Phobos growled. "I am through being merciful. Perhaps you will finally learn something from your own death."

Susanna sat and coughed, blood pouring from her mouth. No. NO. She wasn't going to accept this. She had come so close. She could feel her anger growing at his words.

"Just... Die... Already!"

She began pounding the floor tile with her fists. The floor cracked under the impact. The tile soon fell, and the two began falling once again, into the pool of acid below. Susanna reached behind her and grabbed the sword. Her hands were already bloodied up from punching through the floor anyway. She was just attemping to drag Phobos down with her.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Phobos demanded.

Susanna glared at him over her shoulder. "You didn't go down with Nexus Core, you're going down with me!"

The two landed in the acid pool. The acid bubbled over for several seconds, but soon stopped. There was no sign of either of them surfacing for a very long time.

1 note · View note

tonysslut · 2 years

Text

Second Chances. Chapter 1

A/N: This is something I've been working on for a few weeks now, I have a few chapters already written so let me know if you'd be interested in a full series.

Series Masterlist

Warnings: Angst, Cheating.

Word Count: 1.9k

You spent weeks telling yourself it was a lie. Just miserable people trying to get some sort of drama going for a good headline. The paparazzi was brutal, you knew that, but your gut was telling you this was more than some scheme for drama. You saw the way people gossiped about it online, saying how idiotic you were for staying with someone who was clearly not being faithful. You read all the articles, seeing how they would tear you apart.

‘Y/f/n y/l/n and Chris Evans relationship on the rocks?’

‘Chris Evans seen with new a woman, but no Y/n?’

‘Y/n stays with Chris amid cheating scandal.’

When the pictures came out, Chris convinced you it was all a PR stunt, something for more publicity for his upcoming movie. He promised you, you were it for him, there was no one else and there would never be. That managed to calm your nerves for a bit until he asked you to check his phone when he got a notification, you opened his messages and saw it was his manager texting him about how many interviews he had to do at the movie premiere. You slid out of the conversation and felt your heart drop when you saw someone else also texted him.

It wasn’t just anyone, it was the woman he was seen with, the one that kept you up every night because every part of your body was telling you it was something more than what he let on.

“I had a lot of fun last night ;) I hope you’re coming over tonight again?” the message read. You quickly closed his phone and set it back on the counter.

You couldn’t contain your emotions so you excused yourself and spent the rest of the night in your office, processing everything you just discovered. Eventually, you couldn’t hold it in anymore and you let the tears come. Doubling over to control your sobbing so he wouldn’t come in if he heard you. How could you be so naive? It was so obvious what was happening but you openly chose to ignore all the signs. You look down at your engagement ring, feeling sick to your stomach. He broke all his promises, he threw away the life you two had formed. He ruined you.

You decided it was best to just pretend like you didn’t know anything for the night, you needed time to figure out how you were going to handle the situation. Stepping out of your office, you look down the hall and see Chris sitting with Dodger in the living room, completely unaware of anything. Just seeing him makes your stomach bubble in anger.

“I’m heading to bed, I don’t feel that well.” You said from the hallway as you made your way up the stairs to your shared bedroom.

“Okay sweetheart, I’ll be up once this episode is over.” He yelled back.

A wave of emotions washes over you again as you step into your bedroom, pictures of the two are scattered all over the room, only making you realize how much harder this was going to be. Changing into some sleepwear, you crawl into bed and turn to face the wall so you won’t have to see him come in.

A few moments later Chris comes in, his pup's footsteps sounding right behind him. You hear shuffling before the bed dips and he goes to drape his arm around your waist, tensing up, you quickly move away from his grasp.

“Are you okay?” He asks, clearly confused as to what happened. You never turn down his affection.

“Um, yeah. I’m just kinda hot right now.” You say as tears form in your eyes, blurring your vision.

“Did you want me to get you anything? Some water?” He says, staring at the back of your head since you refuse to make any eye contact.

“No, it’s okay. Thank you.” You respond, hoping he just drops it and goes to sleep.

“Okay, Good night.” He kisses the back of your head and turns away from you. Part of him feels like there's something more going on, but he doesn’t bother pushing anymore.

Feeling his lips on your head makes the tears fall, you silently cry as he falls asleep. You attempt to do the same but your head keeps running. All you can think about are Chris and her, all the things they did, all the times he went to see her when you stayed home waiting for him. Soft snoring lets you know Chris fell asleep, you turn over to look at him and he looks so peaceful, so oblivious.

You cautiously move out of the bed, careful not to wake him up in the process, and leave the bedroom. Walking down the stairs you decide to just sit outside, maybe the fresh air will help you calm down. You lean down and sit by the pool, tipping just your toes, watching the water ripple. A wet nose nudges your arm and you look over to see that Dodger had followed you. You lift your arm and the dog situates himself so his head rests on your lap, you run your fingers through his soft fur as you stare up at the sky.

You start to wonder where things went wrong, was it you? Did you do something wrong? Did you not do enough? All these questions make your head hurt, you wish you could just silence it for the night. Once again, you’re brought to tears. You don’t even bother trying to stop them, you just let them stream down your cheeks. You look down at the pup and kiss his head, you know you won’t be able to take him, he’s Chris’s after all.

“What are you doing out here?” His voice makes you jump, you quickly bring your hands up to wipe your tears. He comes over and sits next to you, petting the dog who doesn’t bother moving from your lap.

“I just couldn’t sleep.” You say

“Y/n what's wrong? You’ve been acting weird all night,” he says with a hint of concern.

You stay silent, not wanting to do this right now. He grasps your chin to get you to look at him but you flinch and move away, getting up and walking further onto the dock.

“Did I do something? I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me what's wrong.” He slightly raises his voice.

For some reason that was the last thing you needed before you decided to just come clean.

“You’ve been lying to me.” You say, still not looking at him. You know if you look at him you’ll crumble.

“What?” Chris’s mind races, trying to figure out what you mean. But nothing comes to mind.

“You and her. You’ve been lying. When you told me to check who texted you, I saw the messages, you’ve been lying this entire time.” You turn and look him in the eye as you speak.

His face goes white, losing all its color as his mouth hangs open. He tries to get the words to come out but they’re trapped in his throat. His lack of words infuriates you even more.

“You promised me, y-you said it was nothing.” You ball your hands into fists and put them behind your back to hide the way you're suddenly shaking.

“No, baby. It’s not what it looks like.” He says taking a step towards you but you take a step back to maintain your distance. The small action breaks his heart, he knew he fucked up. He didn’t want you to find out this way.

“How long has it been going on for?” you whisper. He avoids your eyes. “And don’t you dare lie to me.” You raise your voice

“3 months.” He says as he hangs his head in defeat.

His answer felt like a punch to the stomach, 3 months. Your shaking hand comes up to cover your mouth as a sob escapes. Your fiancé was lying to you for 3 fucking months. Chris quickly looks up at you and his heart breaks even more.

“You made me feel like I was going i-insane!” Anger quickly takes over your emotions. “Like I was a shitty partner for ever doubting you! All those work trips and late nights were bullshit weren’t they?” You ask. All he does is stare at you, his lack of response is enough of an answer.

“Oh god. I'm such an idiot!” You crouch down and throw your head into your hands.

“Y/n, just let me explain okay? It meant nothing baby. Nothing. She made me realize that I want to spend the rest of my life with you! I ended it two weeks ago, those messages are one-sided. I haven’t seen her since I ended it. I swear.” Chris immediately crouches down with you but keeps his distance as he frantically tries to explain himself.

“You seriously think saying that makes me feel any better? You had to sleep with someone else to realize that?! Do you hear how shitty that sounds Chris?”

“Wh- No, no! I didn’t mean it like that! Fuck!” He yells as he gets up and paces the dock while running his hand through his hair.

“W-We can work this out, baby. I promise I’ll make it up to you. You have to believe me when I say that I love you! Please, we can go to therapy, o-or we can take a break but you can’t leave me. I need you!” He speaks as he walks in a circle.

You look up at him and notice he started crying, but you don’t seem to care, he doesn’t deserve your sympathy.

“No, you should’ve thought about all that before you decide to sleep with her.” You say in a calm tone. There’s no point in arguing anymore, you already made your decision.

You walk into the house and head straight into your bedroom, packing a bag for the night so you can sleep somewhere else. Chris is hot on your tail, quickly following behind you. Once in the room you grab a suitcase from the closet and start throwing random clothes into it, going into the bathroom and grabbing whatever is yours.

“Baby please! I’ll sleep on the couch, it’s the middle of the night.” He says as he starts to take out the clothes you’ve been packing.

You’ve never seen him like this, usually when you fight he just lets you be. Gives you space and never pushes you like this. Part of you wants to comfort him, but the other part never wants to see him again.

“Chris enough! I’m leaving tonight, with or without my belongings. I don’t care!” You push past him and close the suitcase before he continues to empty it.

You place it on the floor and quickly try to make it downstairs before he manages to interfere again. Grabbing your car keys, you open the front door and roll your suitcase out to the car. You’re able to put it in the car before Chris comes running behind you again.

“Y/n, please. We can work this out. I’ll do anything. Don’t leave.” He pleads.

His words break your heart even more. He ruined your once-happy life, but he’ll have to suffer the consequences of his actions now. You look at him one last time, taking in his features that you once used to admire, but now they just repulse you. Your love wasn’t enough to keep him interested and that hurts more than anything.

“Goodbye, Chris.”

Next Chapter

#chris evans #fanfic #cheating #angst #breakup #cevans #chris evans fic #chris evans imagine #chris evans x you #chris evans x female reader #chris evans x reader #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans angst #chris evans and reader #Second Chances Series

386 notes · View notes

totallyawr1t3r · 2 years

Text

Security Blanket

Prologue:

A fic for @hotdiggitydammit, Unedited, 1385 words

Tw: Death

Pepa remembered watching Félix slowly pass away in their bed, as Julieta gently patted her back. She was saying something to her, but Pepa couldn't hear a single thing. Her eyes wouldn't leave her husband as his hand grew cold in her, no longer holding on. Her own tears mixed with the rain.

Julieta silently hugged her sibling, as the wind started to pick up inside the room. Félix had sadly passed away of old age, and while it did affect the rest of the family, Pepa felt like a huge part of her was just ripped away. She suddenly just felt cold, all her warmth leaving with him as she wished to hear his voice one more time, at least just once more.

Encanto hasn’t seen a hint of sun since then, and yes, they knew she needed time to grief. But their crops couldn’t grow without sunlight, and only one was actually brave enough to bring it up to Alma.

“We understand your loss. But our crops can’t grow without some sun, is there anyway you can..” The farmer couldn’t meet eyes with Alma, as her eyes narrowed. He shrugged, most expecting her to catch his drift.

Alma raised a brow at him, “Is that it?” Her voice was cold and hard as she spoke to him, catching him by surprise a bit.

“Well, Yeah- I-”

Alma turned away from him, heading back inside Casita ,where the storm was much worse inside. “Then goodbye.” She said, leaving the farmer to just stand there before he let out a small groan and walked off.

Pepa’s cries could be heard throughout the whole house, making Alma’s heart break in two. She could sympathize with her daughter, having also lost the love of her life but they handled it in two different ways. While Alma cared deeply for Pepa, she didn’t know how to comfort her in any way as she immediately built up walls instead of letting it all out. So she just left her alone, letting her two other kids, and grandkids to try and help her through this time.

Nothing made Pepa feel whole though, not even her three loving kids. It just made Pepa want to break down even more once she saw them, so they were left with just their Tía and Tío to take care of them in the meantime. So, even though they all hated it, they had slowly let Pepa be. Maybe she just needed a bit of alone time to collect and process her feelings. They didn't see Pepa for a while after that, her room door burning anyone who dared to touch it.

She couldn’t force herself to go to his funeral as the storm only got worse. Félix wasn’t there to comfort her all of those times before.

Everyone was worried about her, but nothing they did worked. This caused chores, and keeping up with Casita being forgotten by mostly everyone besides Alma, and she was just one old woman.

So that’s where you came in. Alma knew your Abuela, and heard news of you looking for a job of some kind. So, Alma reached out to you about helping around Casita as some type of Maid. She even offered your own room for you. You agreed, needing the money and it was a free room.

You never truly saw Pepa, but understood and kept your distance for awhile. That was until it was just you two in the house, everyone else out doing their own chores again. You were just dusting around Casita, until you heard Pepa’s cries once again.

Your heart hurt listening to them, and tried to ignore it like normal but something felt different this time. You suddenly couldn’t ignore them anymore, and while you did hesitate, you headed over to Pepa’s room. The door glowed a bit as you stared at it, biting the inside of your cheek as you decided if you should leave her be or not.

Taking in a deep breath, you placed your hand on the doorknob. You yelped and immediately pulled away after feeling a sharp pain. You murmured out a few curses as you saw the burn, but you quickly reminded yourself why you were there. You took in a deep breath before swinging the door open, ignoring how the pain increased.

You suddenly bursting in startled Pepa, causing a lightning bolt to hit you. You forced your mouth shut, pushing down any pain you felt at these quick moments before walking[stumbling] over to her. Her eyes widened as she stared at you, expecting you to be angry or at least fearful of her because you were just hit with lightning. But you just nervously smiled at her as you quietly asked, "Hey are you okay?" But before she could even respond, you awkwardly laughed. "Uh, ¡Lo siento! That's probably a stupid question-- It's clear you aren't okay. I don't know why I asked..!"

Pepa wiped away her tears, as you continued on, "But, uh, what I meant was-- Do you maybe wanna talk about it? Or, no. I am a stranger to you, and I wouldn't exactly wanna talk about my problems to a stranger either-- After all, they could use it against you and all." You rubbed the back of your neck, "N-NOT That I would use this against you, of course! I was just saying…"

What made you stop talking was the small laugh you got from the girl. Your face suddenly felt hot, as you got embarrassed. You aren't exactly good at comforting crying people, and despite the situation, pretty women made you nervous. "Lo siento…" You mumbled, before standing up again. "I'll leave you alone now.."

But much to your surprise, she gently grabbed your arm. "No, you're fine." Pepa smiled at you, as you sat back down. It's been awhile since Pepa has actually talked to someone, the last time she did was Camilo trying to calm her down and failing. "I'm sorry for the cloud." Pepa tried to shoo it away, muttering clear skies like she has been doing for the past few weeks.

You shook your head, awkwardly patting her back, wincing as you used your inquired hand. "You don't have to feel sorry about it. It's connected to your emotions after all." You said, "It's like saying you're sorry for feeling sad..! You should never be sorry about that."

It’s been awhile since someone had said that to her. Félix was the last person to tell her that, and while everyone was now starting to deal with it, no one really said it. So to hear someone besides Félix tell her that, it made her feel weird. “Even so- You still got struck by lightning because of me.”

“Only because I scared you.” You grimaced a bit, “Probably should have knocked first.”

Now that Pepa thought about it, you shouldn’t have been able to really enter without…Pepa’s eyes narrowed as she looked at your hands. She let out a small gasp as she noticed the 3rd degree burn on your hand.

Pepa gently grabbed your inquired hand in hers, as she carefully scanned it. “I’m so sorry. I forget how much it burns when Casita does that.” She apologized, wincing at how painful it looked but much to her surprise, it seemed like you didn’t care that much.

You just smiled at her, “It’s fine. It actually doesn’t hurt that much!” That was a lie, it hurt like the sun but that would make her feel worse. “Plus- I really should have knocked-- So it’s my fault.”

It seems she didn’t buy the lie, as she pulled you up and left her room for the first time in weeks. It surprised Julieta to see Pepa forcing you to eat one of her apera’s, noticing the 3rd degree burn covering your hand disappear within a few seconds later.

A gentle smile graced Julieta’s lips as she watched Pepa finally smile a bit more again talking to you. The cloudy skies seemed to clear, at least a bit, as some sunlight filtered through. The villagers quickly noticed, and clapped.

But Pepa ignored it all, just enjoying talking to you.

You really should have ignored her cries, and maybe you wouldn’t have been placed into this situation.

#pepa madrigal x reader #yandere encanto #encanto #pepa madrigal #yandere pepa madrigal #yandere #julieta madrigal #abuela alma madrigal #félix madrigal

386 notes · View notes

luveline · 3 years

Text

in the morning, afternoon and night [Fred Weasley x Reader]

tags: reader-insert, hurt/comfort, self esteem issues, low self esteem, reader has acne, sad reader, insecure reader

pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader

word count: 1.8k

You glared at your reflection.

You'd think with such amazing magical medicine available, some witch or wizard would've invented a cure for acne, or at least a spell that covered it up.

You'd struggled with it since your third year. The muggle doctor you'd seen with your mother had suggested it was hormonal, and would calm down as you got older.

That was years ago.

It shouldn't have been a big deal. It wasn't, really. It wasn't usually very painful, though it was itchy as a stinging nettle and twice as unsightly. A large part of you knew it wasn't your fault, that acne was something that simply affected people at different times in their lives. You'd tried topicals and changing your diet, you'd tried losing weight and exercising and dermaplaning and everything they suggested in your mams fashion magazines.

Nothing worked.

Tears welled in your eyes and you sniffed them back, blinking rapidly.

It might've been silly, but it honestly made you want to hide away. You'd skipped dinner without really thinking, finding your way into the girls bathroom you inhabited now. You straightened your tie and robes, dusting down the sides. You leaned forward again, dabbing under your eyes with your sleeve.

The last thing you wanted was for anyone to know you'd been crying, because then someone might ask why. You didn't want to talk about it, ever.

If Fred saw you like this...

You and Fred Weasley had been almost dating for a few weeks now. Almost, because you hadn't talked about the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing yet.

It had been years of thinking he was the fittest boy in Gryffindor (besides George) and months of meeting his gaze in the corridors and catching his eye over dinner. Gradually it had become something more; he started carrying your books between classes and opening doors, touching your arms and your hair and your face.

You cringed at the memory. He had been so caring, moving to wipe an eyelash from the skin under your eye. You'd violently flinched from his hand, afraid he might feel the bumpy texture of your skin, feel the acne beneath your makeup. He'd been apologetic and a little confused, filling you with guilt. You hadn't been able to find a way to tell him it wasn't him, it was you. Of course you wanted him to touch you, the thought of him cradling your face had been the subject of many dizzy daydreams, but you just couldn't tell him this one thing.

It was your deepest insecurity.

The stress had only made it worse. Redness was easy to cover with muggle make up and even some wizarding tricks you'd learned over the years, but there wasn't a way to smooth your skin, and the acne was textured.

It was depressing. You didn't want to use that word, it felt ungrateful to compare your skin issues to something so severe, but it made you miserable.

You but down on your quivering lip, pushing away from the mirror unhappily and opening the bathroom door, a frown on your face.

"Y/N!" a familiar voice said.

You jumped, startled but unsurprised. Fred had a talent of always knowing where you were. You'd find it creepy if he wasn't so endearing.

"Fred," you said, plastering a smile over your frown. "I was just coming to find you."

"What a coincidence, ma chérie, I was doing the same."

"Well," you began, easily sidling into his space, "you found me."

"Yes, I did," Fred hummed, wrapping his arms behind your neck, grinning.

He took a long look at your face, his forehead creased. "What's wrong?"

"Nothings wrong, Fred."

He moved his hands to your shoulders, looking down into your face searchingly. "Have you been crying?" he asked.

You shook your head, lying without thinking. "Something in my eye,"

"Both of them?"

You stepped backwards. He let go of your shoulders accordingly.

"Y/N?"

"It's really nothing," you said through a forced laugh.

He frowned at you for a few seconds more and his face cleared. "Alright," he said slowly, rolling the words in his mouth, "if you say so, doll."

You opened like a blooming flower at the pet name, your whole face softening. You smiled, hoping he understood that the smile meant, oh I just so adore you, Fred Weasley.

He threaded his fingers through yours, dragging you down the corridor beside him and waxing poetic about their newest lot of Peruvian darkness powder as you went.

It got so bad you couldn't go to class.

Okay, so you definitely could've gone to class, but the thought of leaving your curtained bed was enough to make you sick with anxiety, so worried that everyone would see you - see your face.

NEWTs were coming fast and hard. Everyone who wanted to be anyone was working hard studying their asses of, on top of Professor Umbridge's million new rules you had to abide by, including her newest life-ruining rule: Boys and girl are not to be within 5 inches of each other.

What a joke. You struggled through classes, wrote essays so long your hand burned at night and now you weren't allowed to sit next to your almost boyfriend at lunch? It was miserable. It was making you miserable, and now you may as well have sharpied on your forehead how equipped your body was to deal with it.

Fucking badly.

You groaned to yourself, rolling on your side to face the wall. You were at your wits end. It felt endlessly unfair that the thing that was stressing you out most was getting worse from stress.

Your stomach growled hungrily.

You threw your arm over your eyes in defeat, eyes finally filling with tears. You felt so hopeless. There was nothing to be done except keep up your routine until the flare up was over, or until your mothers next 'miracle cure' popped into existence.

The tears felt too hot against your sore skin. You couldn't help but sob quietly to yourself in self-pity.

A knock sounded at the door. You gasped, wiping the tears away in panic.

"Y/N?" It was Alicia. "Are you alright? Can I come in?"

"Yes," you managed. "Yes, of course. It's your room too, after all."

The door clicked open. Alicia appeared, tanned skin completely clear and glowing, though each perfect feature was marred with empathy. "Fred's been begging every girl in the common room to come fetch you, but I told him to leave you be."

"Thank you," you said.

You cleared your throat. Alicia moved her weight from foot to foot, twisting her hands.

"I- Y/N. I won't pretend to know how it feels, but I promise you, Fred won't care. He's beside himself worrying that you're bedridden and dying or-" she laughed to herself, "or that you're still mad at him for the itching powder. What I mean is... he's a good guy, and you're upset. Maybe you should tell him what's wrong. He won't care."

You sniffed. "I know," you admitted, feeling the weight of her shifting the bed. "I know he's a great guy. I just wouldn't blame him if he, if he didn't like me anymore. If he found it ugly. I would understand it, and I think that makes it worse," you choked on your words, heat building behind your eyes.

"Oh, Y/N," Alicia said, placing a tentative but comforting hand on your shoulder.

You lay in quiet, listening to your own ragged breathing.

"I'll go talk to him," Alicia said.

"No! I mean, no. Thank you, but no. I... I'll speak to him myself."

Alicia nodded, rubbing your arm kindly.

The sound of the door clicking shut behind her finally spurred you into sitting up. You dressed in a hurry, chucking a wool jumper over last nights pyjamas.

He wouldn't care, would he? You cringed. Yes, he definitely would. Whatever was between you would stop. He'd have the grace to let you down slowly, drawing away his affections. He was a polite guy, he'd probably even say the whole spiel of "it's not you, it's me". But he would, eventually.

Well, you figured. Let it be quick. Like ripping off a bandaid.

You tread lightly down the steps, hoping to see him before he saw you.

Of course, when the slightest groan on the bottom step sounded, his lovely face whipped to meet yours. He smiled in relief, but it was mixed with something else. Disgust, your brain supplied nastily. He was disgusted. He rose to his feet, smiling smiling smiling. But something in his eyes was different, now.

"Y/N," he said.

"Hi," you said.

"Hi yourself, beautiful. Where've you been all day?"

"I'm... sick. Bad cold," you settled on.

He raised an eyebrow. "You sound okay," he said, not unkindly.

"I..." you looked down at your hands.

A siren was sounding in your head. You didn't think Fred had seen you without make up for the last 3 years. Fight or flight was leaning heavily towards flight.

"Well, are you hungry?"

You shook your head.

"Are you sure? You haven't eaten all day. You need something in your system if you're gonna fight this cold."

"I'm not actually sick, Fred," you admitted under your breath.

"I know."

You looked up. He was still smiling kindly. It was infuriating.

"Look," you said finally, rushed and all at once, "if you don't want to- if you're grossed out. Then it's fine, I'll understand if you don't want to see me anymore."

Fred was stricken.

"I know it's - ugly."

"Ugly? Nothing about you is ugly."

"Fred, my face-"

"No, listen to me, Y/N. It's not ugly. It's not gross. You're not any of those things, are you kidding?" he said, grabbing your hands. "You're beautiful. All the time, in the morning, afternoon and night. You're beautiful in charms and transfiguration and care of magical creatures. You were beautiful yesterday and you're beautiful today and you'll be even more so tomorrow." He stopped suddenly, looking down at your joined hands. His cheeks had turned bright red.

"Smooth, Freddie," came George's voice, from the sofa behind them.

"Shove OFF," exclaimed Fred, growing more red by the second. Heat filled your own cheeks.

"It's skin, Y/N. That's all it is."

"Okay," you said tightly, trying not to cry.

Fred breathed out, his hair shifting in response. His corded arms pulled you tight to his chest. You breathed him in. He smelled sweet and rough, like burning caramel.

He thought you were beautiful.

You smiled into his shirt.

<3<3<3

tag list: @msmimimerton

if you’d like to be added to a tag list, please ask ! for in general or for specific characters, i don’t mind

#fred wealsey fic #fred weasly x reader #fred weasley #harry potter imagine #fred Weasley imagine #fred Weasley x reader #reader insert #reader has acne #reader is an unreliable narrator #reader x fred Weasley #fred Weasley fanfic #fred Weasley fluff #hurt/comfort #Fred weasley x reader

574 notes · View notes

angelamajiki · 3 years

Text

PARINGS: Brother! Tamaki Amajiki x Female! Sister! Reader

CW: yandere, incest, stealthing, con to noncon, quirk play, riding, manipulation, possessiveness, slight angst, implied kidnapping

AN: thank you to @suzuki-violin-school for beta reading!! @sightoru @bonesoftheimpala come get y’all juice

You always had a strange relationship with your big brother, seeming to be just a touch close for your parent’s liking. But the pair of you never paid too much mind to it. Something about it just felt natural and right. You were thick as thieves, always confiding and comforting each other when no-one else seemed well enough to do the job.

When you ran to your brother’s house the second your first boyfriend broke up with you for a completely arbitrary reason, leaving you to cry on your nii-san’s shoulder to deal with your heartache.

“I told you he was no good for you, bunny. I knew from the start that something was wrong with him. There’s no one that’s good enough for my baby sister.”

Then it happened again. And again. And again, until it seemed like every partner you’ve ever had lost interest after the first few months of your relationship. It was devastating to feel unloved and unwanted, but at least you had your big brother to make everything better. Tamaki always reminded you how much he loved you, how smart and intelligent you were, how anyone would be lucky to have you, and the people who have dumped you were complete fools to not see what a gem you were.

And anyone would be lucky to have your big brother; you reminded him as well. The number seven pro hero who had finally blossomed into a confident, top-tier hero with a heart of gold. He was so strong, not to mention a heartthrob. Maybe it felt wrong to be jealous of the attention he gets from the media for his work along with his looks. Still, maybe it was because you knew better than anyone else that one day, the devotion he showed towards you would be the devotion he showed towards his own partner.

Not that you ever planned to tell him you didn’t want his undivided attention to be cast elsewhere, but just like everything else about your relationship, it flowed out naturally when you were crying about your recent first date that had ghosted you after dinner.

“Tama-nii, I’m never going to find someone! Why does no one want me?”

You sobbed into his chest, clinging to him like you did when you were a child, searching for the lost innocence of your youth in his arms. His strong hands embraced you without question, without judgment, as he kissed the top of your head tenderly while shushing you gently.

“Oh, bunny. That’s not true at all-”

What could he know about your struggle? The media treats him like the very man who hung the stars in the sky, and how could you blame them? He was the moon, the very embodiment of tenderness that waxes and wanes with a gentle, shimmering brilliance that you can’t help but hide in the shadows of.

“Yes, it is! What could you possibly know of not being wanted when you’re just going to end up leaving me like everyone else does?” His silence spoke louder than your own sobbing. “One day, you’ll find someone and leave me to be alone again because no one wants me!”

His hand, that touch you’ve become so familiar with, gently strokes your lower back.

“Who said I don't want you? You're making assumptions, little bunny.”

His words tickled your ear, got your heart racing as he quelled your cries of anguish. “Because I certainly do.”

Nimble fingers tilted your chin up to meet his soft gaze, lust clouding his eye like the calm before the storm.

“B-But not like that-”

“Exactly like that.”

His words lit a fire in your core, but forced ice to run through your veins. Your brother could never have you in the way you wanted him to, the way you needed him to.

“It's not that simple.” You choked out, straining to contain yourself from your fleeting desires. This fleeting feeling of weakness can't let you risk your relationship with your brother, or worse, let him be your everything for just a moment and watch him walk away when he's done. “We can't.”

“And why is that? Isn't it obvious that I'm not going anywhere unless I'm with you?”

His face inched closer to yours, a blush splattering his pale skin up to his ears.

“It’s wrong-”

Your eyes flicked to his lips for a brief moment as you found yourself frozen.

“Not if I love you.”

Plush lips sealed over yours, enveloping you in the tenderness you'd had always envied him for. The love, the obsession he had for you had come crashing down in waves over you as you kissed him back, eager to feed off his affection and attention.

Teeth and tongue clashed together in a messy display of the taboo; hips pushed flush against each other as you whined into his mouth, sobbing in the relief of finally feeling yearned for.

The question of whether or not it was right wasn't plaguing you anymore, not like it did you when you scorned yourself for the infectious desires that coiled in your core late at night. His love cleansed you, cured you of your ailment as his tongue and lips made their way to your neck.

Sweet nothings tickled your ear as he nibbled and kissed along your tender flesh, leaving bright pink spots in his loving wake. The tears from your eyes dripped onto his hair, but neither of you seemed to care.

“Don't cry, my love.”

His words were like a symphony, enthralling you with the melody that he carried in his voice and the song he sung to soothe your overwhelmed state. “Let your big brother take care of you, okay?”

Clothes were discarded in a flurry, tossed somewhere beyond the couch the two of you were grinding on. His hands were so strong, yet so gentle as you were carried like a princess, his princess, to his bed where he no doubt intended to indulge in every one of your desires.

Your knight in shining armor kissed you breathless under the moonlight that trickled through the window, casting his shadow over you. Even now, he stole the limelight but you couldn't find it in yourself to care this time, not when he touched you so lovingly.

Nimble fingers kneaded and pulled at your plump flesh, making their ways down to the wetness between your legs. Shame flushed your face as he throatily chuckled. “Wet for me already, imouto? You're flattering your nii-san.”

The pad of his thumb circled your clit gently, sharp eyes watching as your body jolted and twitched at the sensation. “You’re acting as though you've never been touched before.”

You hear the smile in his voice without even seeing it. It only served to flush your shame even further, avoiding the eyes that were fucking you with everything they had.

“Don’t take those pretty eyes off of me.”

His middle finger prodded gently at your hole, teasing the twitching thing with circles of his forefingers. Shyly, your eyes turned to him, begging, pleading for him to stop teasing already!

And how could he deny such an unspoken request from the love of his life? Tamaki already knew what you wanted before you even did, he always did. He’s been able to read you like a book, already knowing what would be on the next page before it was written.

Still, he liked to tease, or more so needed to. It would fuel him like no other to finally hear you beg for him, beg for the love only he knew how to give you. Not that he would be so selfish to deny you of all that you wanted, he was more than prepared to spoil his lovely princess.

But, the man couldn't deny the inklings of his insecurities coming back to bite him. There was a chance that you could regret this later, that you would run far from his reach the second the realization that you slept with your brother donned on you. Tamaki wouldn't have it, now or ever.

Your moans drew him back to the present as his finger pumped in and out of you, dragging along your spongy, wet walls that gripped him oh so nicely. He could hardly handle the anticipation of getting to feel you around his cock.

“N-Nii-san! I can't wait, want you inside!”

Your broken cry sent a shudder down his spine and a jump to his cock. Such a desperate little thing you were, but you were his desperate little thing.

Maneuvering the both of you, he sat you in his lap while holding your ass flush to his hips.

“You know what to do, pretty girl.”

Swallowing thickly, you pulled his cock out of his boxers and positioned yourself to sink down on it.

“Y-You’ll pull out, right?”

“Of course, imouto.”

That was all you needed. Determined to please him, you pushed just the tip in before sitting all the way down on it. A choked gasp filled the space as you felt the fullness of your brother’s cock inside of you.

“S-So full, nii-san!” He stretched you perfectly, letting any pain fade comfortably into pleasure.

It was then that Tamaki decided he would ruin you, not only for himself but for anyone else who dared to think they would be able to please you.

As you ground your hips down into his, you couldn't help but start to feel him grow inside you. Was this normal for sex?

“Ah! Hold on, it's really starting to hurt nii-san.”

Your hips lifted off of his, only to be slammed back down by those strong hands you've come to love.

“Just relax, princess. I'm doing this because I love you.”

Admittedly, this was his first time to try to manifest this part of his body, but he had to try for you, didn't he? Your future with him depended on it. The kiss he pressed to your temple was to soothe himself more than you, focusing on the horse meat he had eaten early that day just after you called him.

He shushed your struggles, hugging you close and stroking the ever-growing bulge in your stomach as he completed his manifestation.

“There we go.” He kissed your cries of the pain away. “It’s okay, you’re okay, princess.”

You had to understand that he was doing this for both of you. He’d ruin that cunt of yours, make it so no man other than Tamaki and his quirk could ever satisfy you.

“You were made to my cock, and mine alone, princess. I'll make you see that.”

The pain was nearly unbearable as he began to thrust up into you, hitting your cervix with the strange cock head he had produced. His hand stayed flush to the bulge on your stomach, stroking it gently as he pounded into you from below.

Your cries and moans meshed together in a perfect melody, one that was always destined to be sung by the both of you, together as one.

Neither of you were going to last long, not with his quirk in play.

“Oh God, I'm gonna cum, princess!” His thrusts became erratic, pounding into you with a new vigor.

“Y-You promised to pull out!” You cried in frustration, feeling his cum fill you up to the brim and dripping out of even with his cock still inside. Tamaki thumbed at your clit to help push you over the edge as he shrunk his cock back down, feeling you cum around him with a cry and shaky legs.

He pulled out, looking at the bulge his cum inside you left behind as he pushed on it gently, watching it gush out of you.

“Now no one else will ever want you.”

#yandere tamaki amajiki x reader #yandere tamaki amajiki #tamaki amajiki x you #tamaki amajiki x y/n #tamaki amajiki x reader #yandere my hero academia #my hero x reader #yandere boku no hero academia #yandere x reader #yandere

2K notes · View notes

luvyanfei · 3 years

Text

anon said. ooo a new blog! can you do confession headcanons where xiao, childe, and scaramouche react to reader confessing to them and the aftermath of it? thank you!

a/n. xiao’s is kind of terrible ;; ue ue gomenasai

“i love you, [character’s name].”

SCARAMOUCHE.

huh? is this some kind of a joke? if so, it’s definitely not a good idea to mess with his feelings like this, especially when he also shares the same sentiment. scaramouche is almost impressed by your boldness. not everyone has the nerve to confess their love for a harbinger in front of their own faces, after all. when he’s hit with the realization that you’re serious, he secretly pinches himself to make sure he’s not in a dream.

the sharp pain that comes with his nails making contact with his flesh affirms that this is real. he stifles back a genuine smile, choosing to stay calm despite the bliss he’s currently feeling. “i guess it can’t be helped. hmph, you should be lucky i’m rather fond of you as well, [name].” he says that, but he’s the fortunate one to have successfully stolen your heart before others can claim you for themselves.

unfortunately, his time with you is quite limited due to his affiliation with the fatui, so any fleeting moments are captured in photos from the kamera to look back on. he secretly carries a picture of you while he’s out of town on important missions so that he won’t miss you too badly. he fondly looks at your still, yet smiling face to cheer him up after a tough work while everyone else is asleep. well, almost everyone.

“hmm, who’s that in your hands, scaramouche?” childe asks, gesturing to the photo the harbinger is admiring fondly. scaramouche rolls his eyes to hide his slight embarrassment and hesitates a bit before he answers.

“oh them? their name is [name], my... sibling.” childe almost gapes in disbelief as he looks at the blue-haired man in shock.

“you have a sibling? why didn’t you tell me? they’re so cute!” the 11th harbinger squeals in delight, which honestly irks poor scaramouche. he scoots away to give himself some space as he tucks the picture in his pocket for safe-keeping.

“you didn’t bother to,” he explains matter-of-factly. “now if you’ll excuse me,” he stands up from his crouched position and dusts himself, “i’m going to take a walk, alone.”

he wanders through a dark forest and grassy fields, until he finds himself standing on top of a cliff, the moon glowing brightly above. he peers up at the twinkling stars in the sky and imagines you beside him, watching the breathtaking view together. humming an unfamiliar tune to himself, scaramouche muses over the past and replays your confession over and over again. if he could, he would respond differently than he did before.

‘i love you.’ those three letter words echo in his ears like a melody and he allows himself to smile.

“i love you too, [name].”

XIAO.

he automatically perks up an eyebrow in confusion. what? is it just him or did you seriously admitted you love him? xiao stammers for a brief second, no words spilling out from his partially open mouth. what is he supposed to say? “thank you?” “i love you too?”

when he pulls himself together, xiao shakes his head and frowns. his answer is clear and simple: no. you mortals don’t understand just how dangerous it is to get close with someone like him - a yaksha. drowning in the brink of debt and despair, he doesn’t need you to suffer all the same. the dejected expression on your face pains him to a considerable degree, yet he convinces himself, this is for your own good.

since then, he avoids you like the plague in hopes that your feelings for him will disperse into flames. you deserve someone better, someone who won’t place you in harm’s way, someone unlike him. out of kindness, you still visit him from time to time while you go and do your daily commissions, but your interaction is heavily tense and an air of discomfort seeps through your gaze. why does his chest hurt as if he was impaled with a knife and so much more when you look at him like that? the thought of breaking down and revealing the truth that he’s also in love with you tempts him eagerly, but his pride and anxiety tides over his desires.

you, on the other hand, is aware that xiao harbors feelings for you. you discovered this secret of his when you climbed the stairs to the spot on the balcony where he was to surprise him with a greeting, but your ears captured a faint voice in the night breeze and you couldn’t stop yourself from eavesdropping on the little conversation xiao was having with himself. he muttered about “rex lapis”, the fate of liyue, and etc. you were about to leave him to his own devices, but the next words he said stopped you in your tracks.

“will [name] accept me if i say i love them? probably not, i suppose.” you left before he could spare a glance in your direction and a smile graced your features as you happily walked away. and being the persistent individual that you are, you inquire verr on why he’s acting so cold towards you, desperate to seek the answer you need. “xiao is, as you’re well aware, a yaksha who’s experienced hardships throughout his life, and probably lost loved ones along the way. i’m sure,” she turns to look at the setting sun in melancholy, “he doesn’t want to hurt anyone important to him again.”

you plan ahead of time for the best way to approach him without giving him any chance to escape. unfortunately, this is the only thing you can think of as you place a hand on either side of his head, trapping him between you and the wall. xiao looks at you curiously, devoid of amusement. he crosses his arms and frowns.

“what are you doing?” your hands twitch and you chew on your bottom lip nervously before you explain yourself.

“i heard from verr why you’ve been giving me the cold shoulder, that you don’t want to hurt anyone important to you, but...” you trail off to blink back the tears threatening to burst.

“it hurts, when you ignore me like this.” your voice is quiet enough that he needs to step closer to hear you. “it hurts how selfless you are. can’t you be selfish just once? i meant what i said and i’ll say it again. i love you.”

xiao stammers, at a loss for words, before he starts sniffling and buries himself in your arms, crying out apologies as you stroke the back of his hair and gives a closed-eye smile. “it’s okay, xiao. i’m sorry too, for not realizing how much you’ve been suffering by yourself. you don’t have to carry the burden alone anymore,” you say, looking into his tear-filled eyes, “i will always be here with you, no matter what path you choose to take.”

“even if that path may eventually hurt you?” he whispers in a cracked voice, fingers curling around your sleeves. you nod.

“it’s worth the pain as long as i can hold you in my arms, like this.” he chokes out a bitter chuckle and wipes away the glistening tears.

“i love you too, [name].”

CHILDE.

the harbinger blinks his cerulean eyes once, then twice, and... you find yourself pulled into his arms, as his lips uplift into a jovial smile. “really? you love me? [name], i had no idea you held such deep admiration for me.” you playfully roll your eyes and chuckle as you wrap your own arms around his body, fondly reciprocating his affection.

he’s the fastest to accept your confession than the other two men. you’d bet he would scamper to where he’s staying at to tell every grain of detail to his adoring relatives.

he writes letters to his siblings about your daily dates and the progress you two are making in your relationship. they tease him for the most part, but they’re happy that he’s found the love of his life and requests that he bring you along with him on his next visit. childe smiles in relief, content that they accept you already despite never meeting you and he asks you if you’d like to come with him to his home country where you can introduce yourself to his family. without hesitation, you agree instantly, eager to meet the siblings he gushes about.

snezhnaya is colder than you thought, as you hug yourself to preserve your warmth, even with the layers of clothing wrapped around you. “we’re almost there, [name].” childe notices your trembling and rubs his gloved hands against your back. “sorry, it’s a bit chilly here, but please bear with me.”

you nod and continue on. when a building enters your field of sight, childe stops and grins shyly at you. “this is the place.” breath materializes in front of you as he gestures for you to head on in. almost immediately are you greeted with a little embrace as a young boy wraps his fingers around your waist and grins up at you.

“so you’re the one who big brother said he’s in love with? have you kissed before? when is your wedding?” the child bombards you with questions excitedly and a girl has to pull him away from you, tonia, you guess.

“teucer,” childe scolds gently, a light blush colouring his cheeks, which does not go unnoticed in his siblings’ eyes, unfortunately for him.

a wedding, huh? seeing the sparkle in your eyes, the laughter in your voice, and the warmth of your touch as you idly chat with his siblings makes him hope, that maybe in the distant future, he’ll brave himself to take the next step to further deepen your relationship, for he wants to be with you always.

as he tucks away the last sleeping child, childe wanders in to your shared bedroom, surprised you’re still awake. “you really love them a lot, huh childe?” he nods seriously, as you pull him to lie down comfortably into bed.

“but do you know something else?” his breath tickles your ear as he intertwines his fingers with yours, offering a meek smile. you shake your head and nuzzle closer to him.

“i love you too, [name].”

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #childe x reader #scaramouche x reader #xiao x reader

1K notes · View notes

mara-xx217 · 3 years

Note

Pokes head

May I request Michael being a possessive daddy and fighting a killer who hurt his girlfriend ? It can be anyway you like 💙

Why of course you can~ This isn’t based in Dbd, but the normal world. Hope you don’t mind!

Possessive, Protective Mikey

You were like some sort of disease to Michael. Or, perhaps, a parasite was a better descriptor of how you affected him. You wormed your way into him, deep into his chest, right beside his cold, soulless heart. You made him… feel, regardless of what that actually meant, it was beyond unacceptable in his eyes. That warm, painful throbbing in his chest was more than distracting, it was nauseating, disturbing. Terrifying… In a sick, twisted, wrong way, you terrified the Shape of Haddonfield. Michael fucking Myers was absolutely terrified of a small, defenseless creature that was completely helpless against the evil and cruelty he wielded against the world. He should kill you a hundred thousand times over for this transgression! But… it wouldn’t make him feel any better. He only… feels more empty every time your cheeks are stained with tears. Cold. Dead. Michael would feel dead without you…

This isn’t the first time he’s caught someone hurting you. It’s happened many, many times over, and his reaction has ranged from blinded rage to searing hatred. Not just for the one harming you, but towards you, yourself. It was that lack of control that drove Michael insane. He couldn’t watch you 24/7, couldn’t always follow you around or know where you were at any given moment… It drove him fucking crazy, and he took that frustration out on not just the asshole unfortunate enough to have crossed paths with you, but onto you, as well.

But, even that was quickly losing its luster to him. Michael had thought that hurting you would bring him some sort of fulfillment, like it has always done in the past when he had hurt others. It never has, though. Sure, he’s lied to himself, trying desperately to convince himself that seeing you all small, all scared and teary-eyed brought him a measure of enjoyment, to have your blood on his hands, to have you groveling in terror before him- but it didn’t. It- He- Michael felt… not good, when that happened. You made him… stop to consider how his actions would affect you, and he hated that.

Michael despises that you’re a magnet for trouble. That you just can’t seem to stay the hell away from people that want to do you harm. Sure, he doesn’t mind killing them. Quite the opposite, in fact, he rather enjoys seeing them covered in their own blood, begging for their pathetic lives before he mercilessly snuffs them out. No, Michael hates that you get hurt in the first place. The only one that should ever have the right to put their hands on you was him! Him, and him alone. Anyone else would be destroyed.

Some wannabe serial killer punk had set his eyes on you. Luckily for you, Michael knew better than to leave you to your own devices, anymore. He caught the little bastard scoping out your home before you had any idea of the danger you were in. He’d make sure that, this time, he’d be in complete control of the situation. You won’t be hurt, but that idiot thinking that he can do as he pleases? He’s going to regret the day he was born…

Sitting in your kitchen, you drank what must be your fifth coffee of the night. Strange things were happening, and it left you unable and unwilling to sleep at night. Rustling outside your windows, the sound of someone possibly jimmying your doors and windows, looking for a possible way in… Muddy footprints on your porch and small, dead animals left on your door mat… It was becoming too much. You’re… pretty sure it wasn’t Michael. He did love to torment you, but this wasn't really his thing. He was much more… direct, with his approach to you. This… this was someone else…

Pinching the bridge of your nose, you rub your eyes, feeling them water involuntarily from how dry they were. Anxiously, you tap your fingers on the top of the counter, before sighing heavily and grabbing your coffee mug. You decided to make your way to the living room, thinking that some TV would help calm your nerves and get your mind off of things. Fuck, I’m exhausted… You thought bitterly as you crashed onto the couch, nearly spilling lukewarm coffee all over yourself.

Picking up the remote, you absentmindedly flipped through channels, not really wanting to watch anything. It was just something else to focus on, rather than the impending sense of dread that was washing over you. This feeling was one that you were well acquainted with: the feeling of being watched. Your heart was pounding in your chest and your palms were slick with sweat. Slowly, you sit up, clumsily placing your mug on the table in front of you. The hairs on your entire body stood on end. Something’s not right here…

As you begin to rise off the couch, a firm hand pushes you back down into a sitting position. Your heart jumped up into your throat. You’re very familiar with Michael’s hands, and the one still gripping your shoulder was much, much smaller than his… Short, shaky breaths escaped through your clenched teeth. Fuck..! Oh shit- Oh my God no no no-! You don’t dare to move, only stare straight ahead at nothing as your mind runs wild with possibilities. Who the hell is it?! How did they get in?! Why me?! Where the fuck is Michael when I fucking need him?!?

The intruder sucks in a deep breath, as though he’s about to say something, but instead yelps in surprise as he’s ripped away from you suddenly and violently. You gasp, shooting up and scrambling across the room, back peddling into an opposing corner. Curling in on yourself, you crumple onto the floor, watching the brutality unfolding before you through the cracks of your fingers.

Michael had thrown the intruder back, sending him crashing into a mostly bare bookshelf, breaking most of the shelves along with it. You cringe and jump, feeling your insides twist and revolt against you. Michael drops to the floor, straddling the winded, smaller man as he desperately tries to fight back. Vainly. It was laughable, really. The idiot didn’t stand a chance against the human incarnation of evil, itself.

Michael briefly debated on playing with his food. There was something about seeing them crawl and beg that really set him off, but when he glanced at you over his shoulder, in the fetal position and hyperventilating, he actually decided against it. It was getting under his skin seeing you like this, and the quicker this is… inconvenience is dealt with, the quicker things will be back to normal. Well, to Michael’s fucked up definition of the word “normal”, that is.

With a quick stab to the back of his neck, the intruder was killed. Normally, Michael would have painted the walls with this creep’s blood, but he decided that it would be too much of a pain in the ass to clean up. With a flick of his wrist, Michael twists and pulls out the blade, wiping the excess blood onto the back of his victim’s shirt. He looks back over to you, and sees you stiffen. His… Huh. His chest actually hurts…

With a heavy sigh, he stands, stepping over the dead body as he makes his way over to you. A major part of you was beyond terrified. Is he gonna hurt me..? Oh- Oh God..! I’m gonna- I’m- I’m gonna..! You were trembling, shaking so hard that your teeth were actually chattering audibly. Michael’s eye twitched. He was conflicted: one part of him loved that you were this scared of him, as you should be, but the other… the other hated it. He- Well, he wanted… something, but he just didn’t know what. Fingers twitching, he reached out to you, struggling to ignore how you froze as he slowly approached you.

You really thought that he was going to grab you by the hair and drag you off to the bedroom, so when his fingertips just barely brushed the top of your head, moving the hair from your face, you were, well… at a bit of a loss. Michael has never, ever been that gentle while touching you. Ever. You raise your head slightly, just enough so that you could see him. He still had that damn mask on, of course, and his body language hardly betrayed what he was thinking or feeling, but- You couldn’t deny that his fingers were trembling ever so slightly.

He slowly crouches in front of you, treating you as though you're some kind of animal that will either bolt at the slightest movement or go for his jugular, or something like that. You don’t move or speak, unsure of what he was doing. When he placed his hand where that stalker touched you, gently- carefully squeezing your shoulder as though you were made of glass, you… you relaxed.

You could tell that he was struggling to be gentle, with how his fingers twitched uncontrollably and the pressure of his fingertips varied. You looked up to him, then down at his chest as an odd warmth spread through your cheeks. Michael was extremely possessive over you. He hated it when you interacted with anyone else, especially other men. But, right now, even though another man had touched you, he wasn’t flying off the handle like he usually did. He was still extraordinarily pissed off that he had given the bastard just enough time to physically touch you, but it was remedied.

He was fucking dead, and you were still here. You were his and his alone. That wasn’t called into question. There was no dispute. Michael Myers is the only person that is ever allowed to touch you. You’ve come to accept this, and slowly but surely, you’re even beginning to enjoy his touch. As sick and messed up as it was, you’ve started to develop feelings for him, despite the fact that he made your life a living hell. If anything, you knew that no one would hurt you ever again. No one, except for him.

#Halloween #Michael Myers #Michael Myers x reader #og michael myers

276 notes · View notes

ultimatelytired · 2 years

Text

Loyalty

word count: 23,866

Fandom: MCYT Pairing: JSchlatt x Male!Wolf!Reader Pronouns: He/Him Relationship: Familial/Platonic Occupation: Bodyguard Ability: Wolf Hybrid

The character is that of a wolf hybrid, allowing them to have traits of a wolf. They have abnormal strength and speed with keen senses of smell, hearing and sight, making their nose and ears almost sensitive to anything. They are also granted with an abnormal height and the gift to shapeshift from a human/normal form to a more monstrous form.

Keys: [M/N]: Male Name [S/C]: Skin Color [H/C]: Hair Color [E/C]: Eye Color [U/N]: Username

Warnings: character death, vulgar language, alcohol consumption, violence

I don’t know if I’ve seen this anywhere but this is my own headcanon on the three canon lives thing the dsmp have. when their first two lives are taken, their bodies are reduced to dust and they return back to spawn or their bed, but on their last and final canon life, their body doesn’t reduce to dust and they die the regular ol’ way.

that is all.

“Loyalty” pt. 2

“Don’t touch that thing, you might catch something.”

“What a disgusting little thing, can’t it go somewhere else.”

“Ugh, I wish someone would do something about that thing.”

Those were the constant words that made their way into the ears of the young wolf pup hybrid, there was nothing that didn’t go unheard with his enhanced senses. No matter how irritating those words were he couldn’t help but wince when they were all true. His hair was overgrown and any other patches of fur that were visible were matted, he couldn’t even remember the last time he had a bath so there was a foul stench coming from him along with the dirt covering his [S/C] skin. Even his nails were overgrown and cracked with dirt beneath his nails, such an unsightly appearance. A weak growl mixed with a whimper erupted out of his throat as he clawed at the ground beneath his collapsed body, he really was pathetic that he could do nothing to make the situation he was in better. He had nothing but the worn-out clothes on his back to his name— name, huh? It’s been so long since someone has called his name that he can’t even remember the name his own mother gave him.

He was so alone he craved for any sort of attention; any sort of affection just to make him feel better, but what fool would take pity on this waste of life who was nothing but a bag of bones? He let out another whimper as he hung his head low, his hands resting on his head as tears of frustration finally started rolling down his cheeks. The cruel reality was bearing down on him and he just didn’t want to face it, he didn’t want to live in this kind of situation anymore but what can a scrawny little brat like himself do when he was nothing more than an easy target for anyone who preyed upon him? He just wanted a chance to make things right, he just wanted a chance to live a life that wasn’t so pathetic.

“Hey kid.” he let out a gasp at the sound of a voice, he raised his head and started to tremble at the sight of a figure looming over him. He couldn’t see who it was but with their intimidating height and the horns on his head, he couldn’t cease the fear in his heart as he pushed himself against the wall behind him, his ears tucking back to show his fear.

“Are you the devil…?” he croaked out, his voice so dry it made him wince and start coughing, he flinches when he heard the man above him laugh.

“The devil? Now that’s a new one.” he comments, the boy doesn’t hesitate to push himself further into the wall of the alley when the man before him knelt down, there, he was able to get a better view of the man’s face. He looked quite young, he had a scruffy beard and messy brown hair but what stood out were the goat horns and ears, another hybrid. It had been so long since he’d seen another hybrid, though the species was different, he was a hybrid nonetheless “What are you doing out here on your own, kid? Where’re your parents?” at the mention of that he looked down.

“… my mother died, and when my father saw no value in me, he left me to rot.” he answered weakly, the goat hybrid hummed at that, squeezing his chin “If you’re not here to ridicule me or kill me, it’s best if you’d be on your way, wouldn’t want to catch a disease I might be carrying.” the man only hummed again, the boy was confused when he saw the man back away slightly only to offer his hand to him with a generous smile on his face.

“Your father is a fool to see no value in you.”

“Huh?” that generous smile turned into a smirk.

“Come with me, and I promise you, you’ll be of use to me in the future.” his eyes widened slightly at that, how could this stranger know if he could be valuable or not? Such a ridiculous claim that had him sneering slightly, but his ears slowly relaxed as he stared at the hand before him, the offer was tempting but how could he trust this man? “Listen, kid, don’t take this offer as pity. I can and will leave you here to die if you don’t decide quickly, but I know you’ve got the potential to be something bigger. So, what do you say?” he swallowed thickly as he continued to stare at the hand before finally reaching forward and taking it.

“I hope you can show me how I have potential.” he laughs at that.

“It sounded sappy, didn’t it? You can just say I’ve got a good eye for valuable things.” he stands to his feet and the boy let out a yelp when he was yanked up, the man noticed this and put him down “Sorry about that, you’re just a skinny little thing.” the boy let out a sigh.

“Right.” he raised his head when he noticed the man raise his hand and slip off a bland gold ring off his finger, he turns towards him and flicks it towards the boy, he opened his hands and caught the ring before looking down at it in confusion.

“Then name’s JSchlatt , but call me Schlatt. From here on out, I’m your owner. The ring will signify my ownership over you, so don’t go losing it or else I’ll kick you to the curb, got it?” he let out a gasp as he nodded his head, Schlatt merely chuckled with a scoff before walking off, the boy gasped again as he quickly rushed after him “What about you? Do you gotta name, or do I have to name you?” he lowered his head once more, his ears pressing flat against his head.

“I don’t remember my name…” Schlatt pursed his lips at the sound of that, what a hassle.

“Hmm, well… how does [M/N] sound?” the boy's ears perked up at that “Take it or leave it. I’m not particularly good at naming things so it’s either that or you go by boy.” Schlatt paused when he heard him yip, he turned around and his eyes widen softly at the sight of the small amount of joy circling in his eyes, his tail wagging softly.

“No, no! I like it.” he looks down at his feet, holding the golden ring in his hands while his tail wagged happily “I like it a lot.” Schlatt scoffed again before walking again but was grateful that the boy— [M/N] liked the name, and he genuinely did. He didn’t favor the name his father gave him, it was a pretty half-assed name because his father could give a damn about naming a child who had no value to him. He raised his head to stare at the back of his new owner and a newfound loyalty started to swell in his chest, maybe it was the DNA of the wolf hybrid coursing through his veins that was making him behave in such a way, but he didn’t care. This man saw something in him that he couldn’t even see, he’s given him a chance and now he was willing to die for this man to live up to his expectations.

[present time, years later]

“Hey, [M/N], are you even listening?” said man felt his ears twitch at the sound of his name, he slowly opened his eyes and looked around to see he was standing in the dressing room backstage awaiting their cue, he sniffled before turning his head in the direction of the voice that called his name.

“I apologize, I was simply resting my eyes.” his ears flickered a bit when the man laughed.

“Yeah, that sounds more like you taking a nap.” he hums at that, he then lets out an oh when he offered him a tie “Give me a hand with that, would you? You know how bad I am at putting those things on, but I need to look professional.” he nods his head as he takes the die from his hand, approaching him swiftly.

“Of course, but at least this time you aren’t swearing.” now he couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“True, true.” it takes him no time tying that tie around his neck, he’s probably gone and done it over a hundred times that he could probably do it with his eyes closed. When it was securely tied around his neck, he nodded his head before reaching over and grabbing the blaze to his suit and handing it to him, when he puts it on, he buttons it up for him before standing behind him and the both of them stare at their reflection.

“Don’t you look dapper, JSchlatt? Or should I say, Mister President?” he laughs again as he looks up at the boy standing behind him through the reflection.

“Oh, please. I always look this good.” now he snorts, Schlatt smacks him in the shoulder, only to wince himself when the back of his hand was met with his sturdy body “Damn, it only feels like yesterday when you were nothing but a skinny little brat. Now look at you, you’re even bigger than me now.” it was true, looking down at himself, [M/N] now towered over Schlatt and stood at least 6″10ft tall. His body was broad and stern that it would take another hybrid similar to him to knock him down, if not, there was no way the average person could take him down.

“Hmm, is that why you appointed me as your bodyguard? Must I address you as sir now?” Schlatt shrugged his shoulders, pulling out a cigar from the pocket in his blazer.

“Nah, call me what you want.” [M/N] nods his head, pulling out a Zippo lighter to light his cigar “Actually, when we’re alone, call me Schlatt. When we’re around others, address me formally.” he nods his head, pocketing the lighter before putting his hands behind his back.

“As you wish, Mister President.” Schlatt smirked at that, taking a puff from the cigar but blew the smoke away from [M/N], knowing how sensitive his nose was when it comes to certain smells.

“You know, that has a nice ring to it.”

“I’ll try not to wear it out, knowing how much it inflates your ego.” his smirk only widens, taking another puff from his cigar.

“Damn straight.” he rolls his eyes, Schlatt raises a brow when he notices [M/N]’s ears stand up as he turns his head towards the door to the dressing room, his tail and other tuffs of fur visible standing on end “What’s the matter, kid?”

“Someone is approaching the room.” they hear a knock at the door and [M/N] was already on the door before the person could knock a second time, he throws the door open, and there stood Quackity, hand raised to knock once more but froze at the sight of the giant wolf hybrid looming over him.

“U-Uh...” before [M/N] could do anything, Schlatt hovered his hand over his chest to stop him.

“Stop, it’s just Quackity. He’s with us, remember?” Quackity gave a nervous smile as he looked up at [M/N], who snarled when he continued to stare, the duck hybrid flinched at it while Schlatt merely laughed “Don’t mind him, he gets like that with people he doesn’t know are around me. An overprotective dog.” [M/N] huffs as he stands up straight behind Schlatt but refused to drop his stance, Quackity just nodded his head and nervously removed his gaze from the taller man to Schlatt.

“Ri-- Right.” he clears his throat then gestures behind him “They’re ready now.” Schlatt hums at that, [M/N] notice him raise his hand so he grabbed an ashtray and let him put out his cigar in it before tossing it away, Schlatt grins as he straightens his blazer.

“Well then, let’s get this show on the road.” he laces his fingers together before cracking his knuckles, Quackity steps to the side to allow Schlatt to walk off. He lets out a short laugh and goes to follow him but looked back to see [M/N] staring at him, he flinched at the intense glare coming from the taller man, he laughed nervously again when he heard a low growl come from him “[M/N], come!” his head perked up at the order, he glares at Quackity one last time before rushing off to where Schlatt was patiently waiting for him.

“J-Jeez...” he shuddered out, placing a hand to his chest and feeling the rapid beating of his heart “I feel like he was going to eat me.” Schlatt looked up at [M/N] when he noticed him unconsciously lick his lips.

“Don’t even think about eating him.” he snorts when he noticed him jolt up.

“I wasn’t thinking that.”

“Uh huh.” he pursed his lips as he looked away, he chuckles at the reaction before pulling at the collar of the blaze, he looks up at [M/N] and spread his arms so the taller man could get a good look at him “So, how do I look?” the wolf hybrid stared at him before chuckling, shaking his head and buttoning his blazer up again and straightening his tie.

“Like you mean business, sir.” Schlatt nods at the answer, raising his arm to tug on the end of the sleeves of his dress shirt then throwing his arms out to loosen the sleeves a bit.

“Good.” they stood by the sides of the stage, still backstage away from the prying eyes of the citizens of L’Manburg, and awaited their cue to go on stage to greet the crowd. [M/N] continued to stand behind Schlatt but was on guard when he sensed two individuals approaching them, he glanced to his side and noticed that it was simply Quackity and that guy with those white frame sunglasses with black tinted lenses, he didn’t even bother to remember his name, maybe he’ll ask Schlatt later. On the other side of the stage stood the representatives for POG2020, that being Wilbur Soot and his little brother TommyInnit, he started growling once more but stopped when Schlatt gently hit him in his chest “Quiet.” he bowed his head.

“Sorry.” he chuckles softly, shaking his head.

“There’s no worry, besides, the win is ours.” [M/N] nods his head at that.

“Right, they don’t even know they’ve been had.” Schlatt smirks, they’re all soon called onto the stage, Wilbur being the one to stand at the podium to read out the votes of the elections while Schlatt’s party stood to Wilbur’s right while Niki’s party and Tommy stood to his left.

“I am now going to read out the number of votes each party has gained.” he clears his throat as he reads through the sheet of paper in his hands “With 9% of the vote, being, 20,000 people or so. In fourth place, is Coconut2020.” there was some applause coming from the crowd as Niki and Fundy cheered.

“20,000 people!”

“Thank you, Eret for your support!” [M/N] just rolled his eyes, they came forth and they lost by a landslide, so why the hell were they celebrating?

“The pity votes.” now he couldn’t help but snort, stifling his laughter at Quackity’s unexpected comment, the duck hybrid grinned when he made the usually neutral wolf hybrid laugh.

“Are you laughing, [M/N]?” Schlatt asked, rather amused that he was, he just pressed the back of his hand to his lips while shaking his head as he tried not to laugh.

“No, I just wasn’t expecting that, sir. I was caught off guard, but it was pretty funny.” the ram hybrid just chuckled at the reaction, shrugging his shoulders before turning his attention back at Wilbur while crossing his arms.

“Now, with 16% of the votes, coming in third place, is Schlatt2020.” they all whispered various comments about Schlatt, but he and his party didn’t react like the people who placed third, they were rather neutral and had an indifferent reaction because they knew the outcome of that election “That means there are two parties left. Big Q, look at me.” Quackity looked out from behind [M/N] and saw Wilbur staring at him, Schlatt gestures with his head towards Wilbur and so Quackity approaches him and now the two stood in front of each other “This leaves the two major front runners as the final option here.”

“Right.” they both nod their heads before Wilbur turns to look at the crowd once more.

“In second place, with 30% of the votes, is... lead by the party leader Quackity.” Tommy and the rest who were supporting him and his brother were quick to celebrate when Wilbur announced that Quackity was second place in favor of POG2020, however, Schlatt and [M/N] smirked when they saw that look of confusion and disbelief on Wilbur’s face when he was having to reread the votes over and over “Wait, Tommy, listen, Tommy!”

“What? We won didn’t we?” Wilbur took a sharp inhale.

“Well, uh... two nights ago, on the night of the election, after the announcement of Schlatt2020 and Coconut2020... Quackity made a deal with the leader of Schlatt2020 and, uh, Mister Jschlatt stood beside me. Quackity said that no matter what happens, Quackity would pool SWAG2020 votes onto Schlatt2020 votes.” the crowd gasped at the announcement as Quackity took his place behind Schlatt once more, the four of them mockingly smirking at the rest of them as Wilbur read out the rest of the votes “POG2020 got 45% of the votes, meaning that the coalition government of Schlatt2020 and SWAG2020 got 46% of the votes. Meaning that tonight, ladies and gentlemen, on Tuesday the 22nd of September 2020, Schlatt2020 has been inaugurated.” everyone gasped in shock at the way things had turned out while Schlatt and Quackity were laughing at the results, [M/N] was smiling softly and clapping his hands, as for George, he was doing the same thing but rather tiredly.

“See, the win was ours from the beginning.” [M/N] nodded his head.

“Mm hmm, had no doubts sir, that’s why I was calling you Mister President even before the results were announced.” Schlatt grinned when he saw Wilbur swallow thickly, practically nervous under the eyes of the ram hybrid but gave him a forced smile.

“Well, u-uh, Mister JSchlatt, it was a real honor competing against you. But I-- uh, please step up to the podium and deliver your inauguration speech.” they were all promptly kicked off the stage as Schlatt took his place in front of the podium, [M/N] was behind him and glaring down at the crowd below him while Quackity stood to his right and George to his left.

“Well,” Schlatt started, tapping at the mic before leaning against the podium with a giant smirk on his face "that was pretty easy. And you know what I said the day that I got unbanned from the Dream SMP and the day I said I was running? An election that I won, by the way. I said, "Things are going to change." I looked every citizen of L'Manberg in the eyes and I said, "You listen to me: This place will be a lot different tomorrow." Let's start making it happen.” Schlatt chuckled at the looks he was getting from the crowd, he turned back to [M/N] for a brief second to nod at him before finishing off the rest of his speech, the taller man understood and got himself ready “My first decree as the president of L'Manberg - the EMPEROR of this great country - is to REVOKE the citizenship of Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit!” the crowd immediately went into hysterics at the announcement.

“What?!”

“NO!!”

“No way!”

“Is he serious?!” Schlatt looks back at [M/N] and saw he pulled at his Firework Launcher, George and Quackity notice this and pull out their bows, Schlatt just laughs maniacally before throwing his arm out.

“Get them out of here! Get them out of here! You're no longer welcome!” [M/N], who’s face was indifferent, pushed Schlatt behind him and knelt down while he aimed the rocket in the direction of where Wilbur and Tommy were standing, finger on the trigger and eyes locked on.

“Yes, sir.” pulling the trigger, the crowd immediately dispersed to avoid the rocket while Wilbur and Tommy turned tails and ran, however, [M/N] didn’t stop and continued to fire rockets at them while George and Quackity shot arrows at them, one actually managing to hit the two and lodge into the back of Wilbur’s shoulder as they fled. George and Quackity lowered their bows while [M/N] raised his crossbow, his keen eyes continuing to scan the area until a hand was gently placed on his shoulder.

“That’s enough, you did your job splendidly, [M/N].” his ears went flat against his head at the praise before standing to his feet, returning to his place behind Schlatt “Oh, that was so easy! Until further notice, Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are merely a memory of L'Manberg. A relic of the past. A reminder of the darkest era this country has ever seen. And I guarantee you all, dear citizens... Tonight, that changes. We are entering into a new period of L'Manberg, a period of prosperity! Of strength! Of unity!” [M/N] smiled and clapped his hands gently once more, he then went on a rant and saw that he was going to lower the taxes and even fill the fountains up with Hawaiian Punch.

“Seriously?” he whispered to the ram, he just shrugged.

“Meh, it was in the spur of the moment, but I’m gonna do it anyway.” the wolf shrugged his shoulders and leaned back “Anyways, Tubbo? Where’s Tubbo?” the boy raised his hand from within the crowd.

“I’m right here.”

“Tubbo, get up here! Get up here on my podium.” now [M/N] was confused, why on earth was Schlatt calling up Tommy’s friend? “Don’t you want the job?” Quackity snickers as he leaned towards Schlatt.

“I don’t think he wants the job.” Tubbo’s eyes widened as he stood up from where he was sitting with a panicked expression.

“N-No, no! I’m on my way.” he sputtered out repeatedly while trying to find a way up to where they were standing, when he managed to climb up to the stage, after repeatedly dying to fall damage, he stood nervously beside Schlatt while trying to avoid looking at [M/N], who was snarling while glaring at him.

“Stop it.” he scolded, the man huffed as he looked away “Tubbo, you, as my secretary of state, as my right hand man of L’Manburg!” Schlatt ignored the whine coming from [M/N] when he said that, he sighed and gave the man a look before smiling down at the younger boy “I need you to do something for me, Tubbo.”

“What Mister President?”

“I need you, to find Tommy and I need you, to show him the door. Rumor has it, he’s somewhere around. Perhaps, uh, perhaps on top of a building.” at the mention of that, [M/N] turned his head to the right and saw on top of the tower was a frightened Wilbur and standing beside, though he couldn’t see because of the potion, was undoubtedly Tommy, probably with an expression just as frightened as his “Tubbo, bring them here at once.” [M/N] looked away from the tower as he looked down at Tubbo, he looked hesitant to do Schlatt’s bidding, I mean, of course, he would, he was going against his best friend and the man he previously fought a war with.

“I-I...” Tubbo looked up and paled when [M/N] glared at him, he swallowed thickly before nodding his head “I’ll do my best, Mister President.” [M/N] relaxed at that and turned away, Schlatt smiled as he pats Tubbo on the shoulder.

“Good, now, you best be on your way. Go get 'em.” he nodded his trembling head before rushing off, Schlatt grinned as he straightened his tie and waved at the people, [M/N] pursed his lips as he leaned down to whisper in his ear.

“Why didn’t you send me, sir? You know I’m better at tracking than anyone else, it was illogical to send him.” Schlatt only chuckled, turning around and gently patting [M/N] on the cheek.

“Yeah, I know that, but you’re my bodyguard. Your job is to stay by my side and protect me from potential dangers, and I can’t exactly have my bodyguard leave my side just to gather a bunch of rats.” he gave him a smile “I’m counting on you to protect me from here on out, that’s your first order from me as the President. Don’t disappoint me.” at that, [M/N] had stopped listening to Schlatt ramble on about other things he had planned for L’Manburg as his heart thumped in his chest once more. He hadn’t felt like this ever since Schlatt had first picked him up when he was just a little cub, this feeling of loyalty swelling in his chest for this man, he smile with a newfound resolve as he stood behind Schlatt with a prideful gaze.

He was going to carry out that order until his last breath.

[a few days later]

“Ma-- Manberg, sir? You’re going to change L’Manberg to Manberg?” [M/N] asked, reading through the papers Schlatt had handed to him in confusion, he lowered the papers as he stared at the man “Why? L’Manberg sounds fine as is.” Schlatt merely laughs, leaning back in his seat as he holds a glass of whiskey, spinning the glass around with his wrist and watching the liquid sway before looking at his bodyguard.

“Well, this country no longer takes any L’s.” Schlatt grinned when he got the man to snicker at that, he downs the whiskey as he lets [M/N] read through the other decrees he thought of. The first one was obvious, it was revoking Wilbur and Tommy’s citizenship to L’Man-- oh, no, Manberg. The second was to remove the walls surrounding the country that were built since the beginning, the third was renaming L’Manberg to Manberg because he claimed the country isn’t taking L’s anymore. [M/N] scoffed with a laugh, shaking his head when he saw that Schlatt wanted to replace many of the longstanding structures of the city with tall apartment buildings and a monument of himself.

“Really? A monument of yourself? Quite egotistical, don’t you think?” Schlatt laughed at that, throwing his head back as he placed his empty glass on his desk.

“What? Don’t you think it’ll give this country a nice touch to it?”

“Whatever makes you happy, sir.” he shuffles through the rest of the papers but he stopped when his eyes landed on the last one, Schlatt watched as he furrowed his brows as he read through it “You want to raise the taxes, but only for the female residents of Manberg? Sir, you do realize that Niki Nihachu is the only woman residing in Manberg, right?” he chuckles.

“Of course I know. Because I kicked her friends out, she’s been acting out and even stood up to me at one point.” he slams his hand on his desk and glared at [M/N], though the latter was not affected by the gaze because he knew that it wasn’t directed at him “I’m just putting her in her place so she learns not to go against my authority.” he hums, eyeing the page carefully before looking at Schlatt once more.

“Are you sure? This isn’t going to look good for you, makes you seem prejudice against women.” Schlatt waves his hand to dismiss the thought.

“You’re overthinking it, kid. You’re simply not looking at the bigger picture!” [M/N] raised a brow.

“And that would be?” Schlatt looked at him before looking away.

“I’m still imagining the picture kid, don’t put me on the spot like that.” he snorted at the response he got, he lets out a breath as he rearranged the papers once more before bowing his head.

“Well, I’ll leave you to your duties and hand these to Vice President Quackity.” the older man nods his head, swiveling in his chair before raising his hand and motioning for [M/N] to come. The man looked at him in confusion before approaching him from behind his desk, he leaned forward before jolting up, his ears and tail shooting upwards when Schlatt placed his hand on top of his head and gently pat his head.

“I really do appreciate you sticking by my side throughout the years, kid, never forget that.” [M/N] raised his head, Schlatt laughed when he noticed that his pupils had blown out as his tail was wagging behind him. He remembered he would always do that to him when he was a kid and it really pleased the kid, [M/N] stood up straight with a flushed face as he pressed his hand to where Schlatt’s hand previously was.

“I-I...” he couldn’t even say anything, he was just too flustered, Schlatt had to hold back his laughter when [M/N] turned tail and ran, nearly tripping over but instead slammed into the door before throwing it up and slamming it shut behind him. [M/N] had his back pressed to the door as he tried to calm himself down, he just couldn’t stop smiling, he always did enjoy getting praised by Schlatt, maybe that was the wolf side of him that made him react like this. He took a deep breath, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair to straighten it out, when he composed himself, he slapped on his straight face before walking down the hall to where Quackity’s office was.

“Hey, [M/N]!” his ears perked up at the call and he looked over to see Fundy waving his hand, he narrowed his eyes on him to remember what his place was in the White House. Um, if he remembered hard enough, Schlatt said that he was the... Archbishop/Right hand man? He really couldn’t be bothered remembering all these names that meant nothing to him, though, he did stop so Fundy could approach him, with caution, of course. Fundy knew how vicious [M/N] was with people who weren’t Schlatt, he really was just Schlatt’s hound dog that wouldn’t hesitate to carry out any of his orders, no matter how malicious they were.

“What do you need, sir?” he answered, Fundy laughed as he shook his head and pat him on the arm.

“Come on now, since we’re working together, don’t you think you should drop the formalities? We’re friends, aren’t we?” Fundy flinched when he noticed [M/N] was glaring at the hand that was touching him, he laughed nervously as he removed his hand.

“Friends?” he questioned, holding the papers in one hand, he raised the other to wipe his arm where Fundy had touched him “I don’t remember us becoming such a feat. We’re nothing more than associates, nothing more, nothing less.” he awkwardly laughed at that when the taller man kept a stern look on his face as he stared him down.

“Ah haha, r-right.” [M/N] sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Anyways, do you know where the Vice President is? Mister JSchlatt asked me to deliver these papers to him so he could take a look at them.” Fundy’s ears perked up at that.

“Quackity?” he then pointed off in a direction “He’s currently in his office with George.” he nods his head at the information.

“Thank you, and with that, I’ll be on my way.” he was polite enough to bid the fox hybrid goodbye before leaving him, it didn’t take long for the man to reach Quackity’s door and so he politely knocked on the door and waited to be let in.

“Oh, come in!” he heard the voice from within the office, he pushed open the door and there he saw Quackity sitting on his desk while talking to George “Oh, it’s you, [M/N]. What brings you here?” he raises the papers in his hand as he approaches the two.

“The President asked me to hand these to you. He wants you to read through them before handing them back to him, saying that he also wants your opinion on what he wants to do to this country.” Quackity nods as he takes the papers from [M/N]’s hands, giving them a brief skim through before setting them down on the desk beside him.

“Alright.”

“He would appreciate an immediate response because he would like those decrees to happen immediately. I don’t wish to rush you, but the President gets quite fussy when people make him wait.” Quackity nods his head once more at that.

“Got it, I’ll try and have it done before later tonight.” [M/N] bows his head at that.

“Much appreciated, Mister Vice President.” he then bows his head to George “Ambassador. Have a good day gentlemen.” with that he took his leave and returned to his post in front of Schlatt’s office door, no one was to come in without him mentally noting down who it was that entered and who left. Anyone that passed by was impressed that he never moved from his spot, didn’t fidget or twitch, he only made a reaction when someone was approaching before turning them away when Schlatt didn’t want to see them.

“U-Um, excuse me?” he raised his brow as he looked down, there, he saw a nervous looking Tubbo waving his hand to try and get his attention “Schlatt told me to meet him in his office, telling me he had a job for me.” [M/N] furrowed his brows before looking up in thought, he did remember him mentioning that Tubbo was going to meet him later in the day, so he nodded his head.

“Right.” he opened to door and looked over at where Schlatt was “Sir, Tubbo is here as you wished.” Schlatt raised his head at the announcement, a grin on his face as he stood up from his desk.

“Wonderful, wonderful! Let him in, why don’t you?” [M/N] nodded his head before stepping to the side and gesturing with his arms for Tubbo to enter the room, when he walked in he was planning on closing the door behind and wait outside the room but stopped when he noticed Schlatt give him a look that told him to stay. He glanced back at Tubbo before nodding his head and stepping into the room, closing the door behind him and standing in front of the door, and let the two talk. He didn’t bother listening to the conversation, it really wasn’t anything that concerned him, it was the usual political bullshit that Schlatt pulled out of his ass while using different tactics to intimidate and frighten the child into submission, to which it worked because Tubbo could barely look him in the eye. Only when he heard Schlatt mention Tubbo’s first job did he ask him to do, was when [M/N] started to listen “I thought I told you to find Tommy and bring him here, Tubbo.” the boy swallowed thickly.

“I-I’m trying, really, Schlatt.” he licks his lips “They’re not here in L’Manberg--”

“It’s Manberg, Tubbo.” he raised his head in shock at what Schlatt had said “Because you didn’t know that I was changing it, I’ll let it slide just this one time. I hope there won’t be any more slip-ups.” he nods his head.

“R-Right.” he takes a breath to calm himself “Anyways, they’re not here in Manberg, sir. I don’t know where else they could have gone.” Schlatt hummed at that, circling him while clicking his tongue.

“That is not the answer I wanted, Tubbo. You know him better than anyone, so I expected you to find them first.” he then gestures to [M/N], Tubbo looked over at the wolf hybrid and saw he had his neutral expression on his face “[M/N] is my most trusted companion, he’s been with me for a long time so I know him like the back of my hand, as he is with me.” Tubbo nods his head.

“Yeah...?” Tubbo stands in his spot as he watched Schlatt approach the man, dragging his hand across his shoulders before wrapping an arm around his torso and leaning his weight into his body.

“So I know how great of a tracker he is, as well as a hunter.” Tubbo flinched, know understanding where he was going “He is a wolf hybrid, a grey wolf at that, making him an apex predator, meaning that he is at the very top of the food chain. When he’s got a whiff of your scent, it’s all over, there isn’t a place on this earth that you can hide and he won’t be able to find you.” he nods slowly.

“T-That sounds like a really good assist, sir.” he nods.

“It is.” he then leaves [M/N]’s side as twirls around the room, throwing his arms open before pointing at Tubbo “Now you must be thinking, why I didn’t send [M/N] off to find your pesky little friend and that former President? Well, it’s simple. I don’t want him to leave my side, he’s the one person I trust with my life and I don’t want him to go off just to do a trivial job. That’s why I left it to you, because you know your friend Tommy better than anyone else, so you must know what he’s planning.”

“I... I--”

“Tubbo, listen.” Schlatt was by Tubbo’s side, wrapping an arm around him and leaning down close to his face “I’m going to tell you this one last time so you can get the job done right, okay? Go and find Tommy and kill him, or else I’ll send [M/N] to get the job done right, and I know neither of us wants that. He can be quite merciless when it comes down to doing hunting jobs to the point that even I can’t tell him to stop. He does a messy job, but at least he can get it done.” Tubbo was really being put on the spot at that point, he hasn’t seen what [M/N] is capable of, and he really doesn’t want to find out either.

“I...” he lowers his head “I understand, Mister President.” Schlatt smiled at the response, raising his hands to let him go.

“Wonderful! I’m so glad to hear that.” he pats Tubbo’s back and raises his arm to direct him to the door “Now that you understand what happens if you don’t do your job properly, off you go. Report anything you find to [M/N], okay?” he nods.

“Got it.” with that he leaves the room, [M/N] goes to follow him out but was stopped when Schlatt grabbed his arm.

“Before you go,” he raised a brow when he noticed his expression darkened “keep an eye on him, won’t you?” [M/N] only smirked, showing off his canines.

“I was going to do that whether you ordered me or not.” he cracked his knuckles as the other man laughed.

“Right, that is so you.” he takes a breath as he leans against his desk “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, eh?” [M/N] salutes him.

“Yes sir.”

[weeks later]

“You’re... married?” [M/N] questioned as he looked at Schlatt and Quackity in confusion, the latter looked proud of the accomplishment while the former looked just as confused as he did “We-- Well... congrats?” he lets out a confused whine as he tilted his head to the side, he scratches the back of his neck as he tried to continue his work but the fact that Schlatt got married to this... guy, really rattled him.

“Don’t think about it, even I don’t understand why he wanted to marry me.” Schlatt said as he waved Quackity goodbye, to which the duck hybrid waved his hand enthusiastically before running down the hallway, [M/N] pursed his lips as he looked down at the golden ring on his finger before glancing away “Anyways, how’s keeping an eye on Tubbo been lately?” he asked, the both of them entering his office to speak about the matter privately.

“As you’ve instructed, I continue to make quick observations on him whenever he comes and goes. When he’s around others he’s calm and relaxed, but that persona immediately drops when he’s around me, sir.”

“Maybe that’s because you scare the kid, pup.” he laughs when [M/N] flushes at the pet name, it had been a long time since he called him that, he cleared his throat “Sorry, continue, please.”

“Thank you, anyways, as I was saying, he’s always on edge whenever he’s around you or me.” he raises a hand as he taps his cheek “He’s gone frequently during the day as well, sometimes I ask Fundy where Tubbo goes and he doesn’t know, not even Quackity. George is no help, he’s never around or he’s always asleep, so he’s completely in the dark. But the times he passes by me, I take a whiff of his scent and I smell rubble, gun powder, oddly potatoes, and something else that I just can’t place.”

“Do you think he’s purposely covering his scent to throw you off?” he purses his lips.

“Perhaps, but I’m close, I can feel it.” Schlatt nods his head.

“Alright, when you manage to find something, I give you permission to leave my side and follow after him.” [M/N]’s eyes opened at what he said.

“P-Pardon? You want me to... leave your side?” Schlatt rolled his eyes at the reaction he gave him, he knew he was going to react like this, knowing how protective this damned mutt can get when he isn’t by his side.

“You’re the only one I trust to accomplish this job, [M/N]. You’re efficient at what you do, so be quick. Get in, and get out before they notice and return to me with the results I want, okay? You’re the only one that won’t be able to mess this up, yeah?” [M/N] was hesitant, of course, he was, he fiddled with the hem of his dress shirt as he kept his head low. Schlatt let out a sigh as he stared at the man before him, he would always do that whenever he was nervous, he still hasn’t changed from when he was just a kid “Come on now, stop being so worried, I’ll be fine.”

“... really?” he nods his head.

“Of course, I’ll be waiting for you here, mmkay?” he takes his hands and gently pats his head, laughing when he saw his tail wagging behind him.

“O... Okay.” he soon pats his arm.

“That’s the spirit! Oh, would you look at that, I have a meeting to get to with someone important.” he rolls his neck as his hands slip away from [M/N], to which the man quickly straightened himself out before following Schlatt out. Many things had occurred since the day he had become President, he ordered Fundy to burn down the L’Manberg flag and to create a new Manberg flag made of obsidian and crying obsidian to make it harder to control, he banished Niki from Manberg after refusing to pay her taxes and had every other resident of Manberg to raid her bakery and steal everything she owned, so now she owned nothing. [M/N] felt a bead of sweat form on his cheek as he listed every bad/horrible deed Schlatt had done to the country, making him look even worse than he did in the beginning. He wasn’t going to admit it, though he totally would, he knew if Schlatt continued with the path he was going down... he wasn’t going to die an easy death “Ah, we’re here. They’re already inside, so I want you to stay out here and keep anyone looking for me out, okay?” [M/N] nodded his head.

“As you wish, sir.” he winks before throwing the doors open then letting them close behind him, with that, [M/N] turned around and kept his back to the door. With his hands behind his back, he kept his posture and expressionless face on as he watched people walk by, some greeted him and he greeted them back briefly. He wasn’t really paying attention to how much time had gone by but his ears did go up when he saw Tubbo approach him.

“Hey, [M/N], is Schlatt in there?” he nods his head.

“Yeah, he’s having a meeting with someone and told me to keep anyone looking for him out. Must be really important.” Tubbo nods his head.

“Oh, okay. Then I guess I’ll wait out here with you if that’s alright.” he shrugged his shoulder.

“Do what you want.” Tubbo nods again before proceeding to stand beside the taller man, he rolled his neck as he fixed his stance until his nose twitched. An unknown scent caught his attention and so he sniffed the air to catch a whiff of the scent once more before it disappeared, soon his head moved down to where Tubbo was standing and the younger boy was looking up at him in confusion.

“U-Um, [M/N], what are you--”

*SNEEZE*

Tubbo was taken aback at the loud sneeze coming from the man, it was completely unexpected that he jumped in surprise before he approached [M/N], backing away when he sneezed again.

“No, go away!” he shouts “Why do you smell like pollen?! Why the hell are you even covered in that shit from head to toe?!” he shouts, sneezing again and covering his nose so he wouldn’t pick up the smell of pollen.

“You can smell the pollen off of me?” he questioned.

“Of course I can, I have a sensitive nose and I can pick up on various smells, dammit!” he shouts, sniffling and rubbing his nose when his nose started getting runny. Though that part was true, he caught wind of Tommy’s scent as well, though his meeting with the small child was brief, he has a memory bank of all the different types of smells he had smelt in the past. He just had to find a reason to cover up the fact that he was blatantly smelling Tubbo, thank god for his hay fever. Tubbo was still quite taken aback by [M/N]’s reaction but he was in a state of panic that he forgot how good his sense of smell was, how on earth could he forget, he just felt fortunate enough that he was playing in a field of flowers with bees that he was covered in pollen to fool him.

“O-Oh, um, sorry?” he apologized questionably, handing him a handkerchief to blow his nose.

“Just-- please go away, I beg.”

“Ye-- right! I can just show this to Schlatt later!” he exclaims before running away, he blew his nose in the handkerchief, grimacing at the amount of snot on it before folding it up and pocketing it then running his finger under his nose to control him.

“Hey,” he shrieked at the voice from behind him, turning around, he saw Schlatt cracking open the doors by a bit to peek his head through “what was all that noise about?” he sniffed.

“Tubbo was here waiting for you, but he was covered in pollen when I tried sniffing him and I started sneezing.” Schlatt nodded his head.

“Ah, your hay fever.” he nods, he goes to enter the office once more but couldn’t when [M/N] places his foot in between the doors to stop him, he then leans down to whisper in his ear.

“But I did manage to smell Tommy off of him.” now this caused Schlatt’s blood to run cold for a bit before it started to boil, though, he managed to keep his composure as he smiled up at [M/N].

“You know what to do.” he bows his head.

“Of course.” he waited until his meeting was over to take Schlatt back to his office, he looked into the room Schlatt was in and briefly saw the color green but ignored it to take Schlatt back. When he safely returned to his office, he nodded his head to him before closing the door behind the man then turning on his heel to find where that little bastard had slipped off to his. His gaze caught the sight of Quackity, who was flaunting his wedding wing to Fundy, who just looked downright confused “Excuse me, Quackity, Fundy!” he called out, the two raised their heads and Quackity greeted him enthusiastically while Fundy was still nervous under his eyes.

“Hey, [M/N]!” he cheered.

“Y-Yeah, hey.” Fundy added, [M/N] only sighed.

“Yes, hello. I was just wondering if you two knew where Tubbo was, he was waiting for the President beside me when he was having a meeting with someone else before he ran off when he realized he was the cause of my little... accident.” he sniffled once more “Anyways, the President has returned to his office and I was wondering if you knew where he was so I can tell him that he’s free now.” Fundy let out a hum as he looked up in thought.

“Well, I haven’t seen him in the past hour, he said that he was going out on a stroll.” Quackity nodded.

“I saw him go east from where the White House is, saying he wanted to collect some bees before talking to Schlatt. If you hurry, you’ll probably catch up to him.” he notes, [M/N] nodded his head to what they said.

“Thanks.” they bid him adieu as he walked off, when he was outside the White House, he stretched his arms and legs, crouching down a couple times before turning his body east from where the White House was before kneeling down and pressing the tips of his fingers onto the ground. He bends his knees as the soles of his feet dig into the ground, with that, he shot forward and sprinted off to find Tubbo. It was a little difficult because he could smell the pollen mixed in with his scent but as Schlatt had said, once he’s got a whiff of your scent, there’s nowhere you could hide on this earth that he wouldn’t be able to find you. He launched himself into the air before catching himself in the trees of a forest somewhere outside of the borders of the Dream SMP, he landed on the ground before sprinting forward, however, he didn’t know how long he was going to have to search to find anything suspicious but then he came to the opening by a hill.

He raised a brow at the sight of a small dirt shack embedded within a hill, he tilts his head to the side before approaching it. He opens the door and looks around in confusion before inhaling the lingering scents within the shack, now he smelt an assortment of different scents. He was onto them, the shack had a bed, a couple chests with furnaces, and other things but what he saw that really mattered was an opening that was leading underground. He rolled his neck, planning to go down it but stopped when he saw a dog.

“...”

“Hey.” he greeted, raising a hand, he smiled when it gave him a cheerful yip in return, he ruffled its head before heading down. He soon found himself in a ravine, looking around, it was mostly a system of caves, made of stone and wooden stairways with torches along the walls. He pursed his lips when he saw a huge potato field... now that explained the smell of potatoes, he scoffed, such a downgrade, he thought to himself before crouching down when he heard voices. He drank an Invisibility Potion before peeking his head down and there he saw Tubbo talking to Wilbur, Tommy, and some piglin hy-- oh, shit. He recognized that piglin hybrid, the Blood God Technoblade, an anarchistic pig, now he was going to be a problem.

“I’m sorry Wilbur, I panicked and came here as fast as I could.” Wilbur shook his head as he held Tubbo’s shoulders.

“That doesn’t matter, just tell us what happened.” he let out a sigh.

“I think I nearly got caught.” Tommy was up on his feet immediately, he shoved Wilbur away as he checked Tubbo all over.

“What? Did they hurt you? Are you okay?” he shook his head to wave Tommy off.

“I’m fine, it’s just that Schlatt’s bodyguard.” now this caught their attention, Tubbo told them how troublesome his bodyguard is, Tubbo could never get close to Schlatt without [M/N] being in the same room sneering down at anyone that thought they could touch him. Not only that but because he was a wolf and that if he even caught a whiff of their scent he would be on them immediately and Tubbo’s job as a spy for Pogtopia would be exposed.

“What did he do?”

“I had work to show to Schlatt but couldn’t because he was in a meeting, course [M/N] was also waiting outside the door as he usually did and this time I decided to wait beside him. But he suddenly started sniffing me, I panicked there and then but before I could do anything he started sneezing.” Tommy snickered at that.

“Sneezing? Why?” Technoblade questioned.

“I was covered in pollen and he said he had hay fever.” Tommy was laughing now, this caused [M/N] to purse his lips at that the boy who was laughing at him “I think the fact that he has hay fever saved my butt, who knows what would’ve happened if I didn’t play with the bees.” Technoblade now rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, sure. I thought we warned you to roll in the dirt or have a shower after you visit us, that guy is our problem. The moment you get caught, we’re all in trouble.” he scolds before freezing, pulling out an axe from his inventory and throwing it over his shoulder.

“What? What’s the matter, Techno?” Wilbur asked, watching the anarchist on alert as he looked around.

“I smell a dog.” [M/N] huffs while the others freeze.

‘Dog? Now that’s rude.’ he shakes his head, he got what he needed so he no longer needed to stay, he goes to stand to his feet but winced when he noticed that when he shuffled his feet a couple rocks fell, he then fell to the ground to avoid the axe that was thrown at him ‘Jesus!’

"You led him to us!” he shouts, he goes to pull out another weapon but paused when he heard a bark, they all look up and see that it was simply the same dog that [M/N] passed on his way into Pogtopia.

“Heh, you’re overreacting, it’s just L’Mandog.” [M/N] was silently crying when this damned dog came out of nowhere and saved his skin, [M/N] knew he was strong, strong enough to handle the three and Technoblade if he was alone, but there was no way he could take on those three and Technoblade at the same time, that was too much. He silently thanked the dog before rolling away and rushing out of that ravine, Technoblade looked back over at the spot he threw his axe before looking at Tubbo.

“You should stay away from Pogtopia for a couple days, Tubbo. We’ll wait till this all blows over and if he acts out of place, then we’ll know.” Tubbo slowly nodded his head.

“Yeah... yeah, okay. I don’t want you guys getting hurt just because of my slip up.” Tommy grinned, giving his friend and thumbs up.

“Don’t worry, Tubbo, everything will be fine.”

[the next day]

“A festival?” Quackity questioned, putting down the sheet of paper Schlatt had handed to him and the other members of his cabinet. They were all in the meeting discussing Schlatt’s upcoming event for Manberg which was going to be a festival, but they were all confused as to why he was pulling such a stunt, they couldn’t find a reason as to why he was throwing a festival. [M/N] was also in the room so they look over at him to see his reaction, Schlatt tells the man everything, so he must know what’s going on... instead, they saw him scrunch his face up in confusion as he continued to stand behind him, whispering festival under his breath “W-Wha... what for, sir?” he laughed, throwing his arms back.

“Can’t we throw a festival to celebrate? It’ll be in the name of democracy.” [M/N] pulled a face as he leaned down to whisper in his ear.

“But you are against democracy, sir.” he shrugged his shoulders, smacking the back of his hand against his chest.

“Oh, lighten up, will you?” [M/N] sighed before standing up straight, wiping his chest where Schlatt had smacked him before rolling his shoulders and looking at the other three who were attending the meeting, maybe he should kick George just to make him come to at least one meeting “Anyways, I am placing Tubbo in charge of the planning.” said boy jolted in his seat before looking over at Schlatt in shock.

“M-Me?! Why?” he grinned at the young boy.

“Other than Fundy and Quackity, you’re the person I trust the most with such an important event, plus I believe you’ll be pretty decent in coming up with plans for the festival.” they hear a whine and look over at [M/N], jumping in surprise when they saw his ears dropping down, his bottom lip trembling. He then leans down once more, grabbing Schlatt by the shoulder while pointing at himself.

“W-What about me? Don’t you trust me enough, sir?” he rolls his eyes, smacking [M/N]’s hand off his shoulder as he pulled a cigar out of his pocket and puts it to his lips, letting Quackity light it.

“You can’t plan for shit, I know that from experience.” they sweat drop when they saw him turn around and start sulking, Schlatt took a puff from his cigar before waving his hand “I’m trusting you, Tubbo, to set the whole event up and I am also giving you the role as a key speaker.” Tubbo swallowed thickly at that before nodding his head.

“Okay, I won’t let you down, Mister President!” he felt nervous when Schlatt smiled at him.

“I know you won’t.” Tubbo shuddered, not really knowing how to take that last comment, soon, Schlatt stood to his feet as he straightened his blazer before snapping his fingers, causing [M/N] to snap out of his sulking and have him straighten his posture “That’s all we have to discuss, [M/N], come.”

“Coming.” with that the two of them left, and when they were alone, [M/N] immediately dropped the confused face “Do you think they fell for it?” he questioned, Schlatt laughed as he took another puff his from cigar before letting it hang from his lips so he could look up at [M/N].

“Without a doubt, pup.” he throws his arms up and lets them rest behind his head, lacing his fingers together as he walked down the hallways of the White House “I never knew you had a thing for acting, fooled them pretty good.” Schlatt laughed when he saw [MN] raise his head, his nose comically becoming pointed and longer.

“Perks of knowing how to lie on the spot, sir.” he rolls his shoulders “All I really need is to not act up in front of Tubbo, once he notices something wrong with me, he’ll tell Wilbur and his lot that we’re on to them.” Schlatt nods his head and gently knocks on his chest.

“Then act like you usually do, a lost puppy following his owner.” [M/N] briefly stopped in his tracks at what Schlatt called him, practically calling him out, his tail gets tucked between his legs before he chased after him when he noticed the distance growing between the two when Schlatt continued to walk.

“H-Hey! I’m not lost.”

“So you admit you’re a puppy?” his cheeks flush pink from embarrassment.

“Please stop teasing me, sir.” Schlatt only chuckles.

Surprisingly, the preparations for the festival went rather smoothly. Tubbo kept a watchful eye on [M/N] just in case there really was something underhanded going on with the festival but the latter made no moves that were deemed suspicious. The only times the wolf interfered with the planning was when Schlatt ordered him to help with heavy lifting or to input his own opinions and thoughts to the plan, to which he was more than reluctant to do such a thing. Sometimes [M/N] would make sure there was some decent distance between the two of them in case Tubbo was playing in a field of flowers or with bees again just so his hay fever doesn’t act up while he’s working, it would be such a hassle.

“Um, what do you think of this, [M/N]?” Tubbo asked, showing the man a design for one of the decorations. He stood nervously in front of the taller man, trembling slightly when he stared intensely at the design for what seemed like a hot minute before leaning away and giving him a thumbs up.

“It’s not bad, but remember to keep the flow consistent throughout the entire design, okay? You’re going with a simplistic theme, right? There’s no need to overdo the decorations, it looks fine as is. You’re doing a good job.” Tubbo was taken aback at the feedback he got from him, he wasn’t really expecting it but he did appreciate it.

“T-Thank you for the input, [M/N]! I’ll take that into consideration.” [M/N] merely nods his head, giving him another thumbs up before watching the younger boy rush off to get the things he had in mind ordered. He glanced down at his hand and watched it relax before it slowly closed into a tight fist, poor kid, he was a pretty decent kid and it almost made him feel bad when he knew about what was going to happen to him during the festival.

Almost.

[day of the manberg festival]

“Got to hand it to him, he did a wonderful job.” [M/N] murmured under his lips, clapping his hands as he saw the festival come to life. Many people had come to attend such a wonderful day, even the few who were previously banished from Manberg. [M/N] stood to the side as he scanned the area where the festival was taking place for anything suspicious but he also where he still had a clear view of where Schlatt was, he sniffed the air for the lingering scents of Wilbur and Tommy, scrunching his face up when he could just faintly sniff them out but he couldn’t spot them “They’re somewhere... I can feel it.”

“Who’s here?” he looked down to see that it was Quackity that asked him, [M/N] merely scoffed as he straightened his posture, crossing his arms as he continued to scan the crowd of happy people.

“Rats.” Quackity rolled his eyes as he elbowed [M/N]’s arm, which promptly earned him a snarl from the taller man, only for him to ignore it as he laughed and ate some of the food that was provided for the festival. Quackity had long gotten over his slight fear of [M/N], growing used to the glares, snarls, sneers, growls, and scowls that he could touch him and get away with it. Maybe it was the fact that he was married to Schlatt that [M/N] eased up on him... maybe-- hopefully “Anyways, how long till the President gives his speech? He told me he had it planned to start a few hours after the festival began.” he waved his hand nonchalantly.

“Hmm, maybe in half an hour.” he offered some of his food to [M/N], to which he raised his hand to block it from getting anywhere close to his face as he shook his head to deny he wanted any, Quackity shrugged as he nibbled on his food “Schlatt also told me to tell you that he wants you to enjoy the festival too.” [M/N]’s ears perked up at that as he looked down at Quackity.

“What?” he nods his head.

“Uh huh. He told me to tell you, saying that even though you know what’s going to happen today, he still wants you to enjoy the evening. Whatever that means.” he explained with another shrug of the shoulders, he purses his lips as he glanced over at Schlatt, it took a bit of time for the older man to notice his glancing but when he did, he smiled softly and gave him a thumbs up along with a nod.

“Really?” Quackity looked up at him and raised a brow when he saw a soft blush flush across his face “He remembered...” he whispered softly.

“He remembered what?” he glared down at the latter.

“You’re really nosey, you know that?” he laughs.

“It just shows that I care.” he rolled his eyes as he began to walk away.

“Yet I do not care for you.” with that he left Quackity alone to sulk at the harsh statement, he wandered around the festival trying to find something that would preoccupy himself before the main event started. He didn’t really participate in any of the attractions that the festival offered nor eat any of the food... well, maybe he did swipe a couple candy apples that were selling. A soft smile spread across his lips as he munched on the treats before looking up at the sky, he liked festivals because he remembered when Schlatt took him to one when he was just a kid.

‘I wonder if we weren’t trying to execute that kid, maybe he’d enjoy the festival with me like he did when I was a child. My fondest memory with him.’ he thought, hearing the sound of his laughter ringing in the back of his head as the memory played out in his head... oh, he could only wish to go back to the good old days where he hadn’t had to worry about getting stabbed in the back.

<JSchlatt> whispers to you: hey, kid, where are you?

He let out an oh when he saw the message pop up in the lower left side of his vision, he let out a hum as he expanded the message board and read through the message Schlatt had sent him.

You whisper to <JSchlatt>: just enjoying the festival like you told quackity to tell me, sir.

<JSchlatt> whispers to you: you having fun?

You whisper to <JSchlatt>: quite frankly, I am.

<JSchaltt> whispers to you: good, but right now, I need you to come back to my side. I’m about to start.

You whisper to <JSchlatt>: I’m on my way.

“Hmm.” [M/N] stood to his feet immediately, though he did look down at his candy apple before opening his mouth wide enough and chomping down on it, eating it completely before taking the stick out of his mouth and jogging away, throwing the stick behind him and it actually landing in a trash bin. He was in the middle of making his way back to the stage where it was going to happen when he accidentally walked into someone, he caught them by their arm before the both of them could stumble to the ground and helped straighten them up “Oh, I apologize for walking into you.” he says, when the person looks at him, his eyes widened briefly, but not enough for them to notice his shock.

‘Oh, fuck.’ in front of him was none other than the Blood God himself, Technoblade ‘The hell is this guy doing here? So does that mean Wilbur and Tommy are here after all?’ he brings his arm to his chest and bows his head.

“I apologize once more for bumping into you, but if you’ll excuse me, I must go.” and with that, he rushes off, Technoblade dusts the arm [M/N] had touched off as he watched the taller man flee, he raises a brow.

“That was not what I was expecting.” he muttered, he imagined [M/N] to be more intimidating from how Tubbo described him, but after seeing him up close, he looked a bit like a pushover “Hmph, for a guy that Tubbo warned me about, he’s quite polite.” [M/N] now stood beside Schlatt as Quackity started off his own speech, gathering the crowd so he could start things off, the man leaned down so that he was hovering by his ear so their conversation would be hushed.

“Technoblade is here.” this set off alarms in Schlatt’s head but he didn’t let it show, he just continued to smile at the crowd “So that can only mean that the other two are here as well to see what the hell is going on.” Schlatt briefly tore his eyes away from the crowd to look up at [M/N].

“Think you can find them?” he stands up straight as his eyes wandered the crowd.

“It’ll be a little harder because there’s so many people, food, and other stuff that’s messing with my nose, but I know they’re here...” he muttered quietly, Schlatt nods his head and pats him on the back.

“Just make sure they don’t get close, okay? Especially that Technoblade, I know that you’re strong, but I don’t want to take any chances of you getting hurt.” Schlatt furrowed his brows when he could feel [M/N]’s puppy dog eyes staring at him, so he smacked his arm “Drop the gaze, you’re supposed to be a wolf, not a puppy.” he smiles softly.

“You’re the one that calls me pup, sir.” he rolls his eyes.

“I’m gonna call you mutt if you don’t shut your mouth.” he lets out a whine before eventually falling silent, [M/N] stood silently beside Schlatt as he sat down in his chair and the both of them silently watched Tubbo give his own speech to the people (I was gonna write his part of the speech but I couldn’t be fucked and I didn’t have the patience to watch the video/stream just to find exactly what he said), however, [M/N] let his eyes wander a little bit during the speech and his ears perked up at the sight he was looking for.

‘There you are.’ he thought to himself, dropping his gaze just in case Wilbur and Tommy stopped looking at Tubbo just to keep an eye on him ‘I’ve got them now.’ he discretely tapped the side of Schlatt’s seat to gain his attention and when he moved his eyes to look he nodded his head, he could almost read Schlatt’s thoughts when he saw that dark smirk spread across his face before he soon started to chuckle.

“W-Wha... what’s wrong, Schlatt?” Tubbo asked as he looked back at the man, to which he shook his head.

“No, I was just thinking about it, Tubbo.” he then stands to his feet as he slowly approached him “Tubbo, would you like to have fun?” Tubbo glanced back at [M/N] and saw that the dark aura that usually surrounds him came back as he glared at him, he shrunk back as he looked back up at Schlatt.

“Y-Yeah, we like-- what’s up, Schlatt?” he shook his head.

“Nothing, nothing. But, is that it? Is that the end of your speech?” he slowly nods his head, Schlatt hums before he goes over to Quackity and hands him yellow sand and so the two of them make a box surrounding Tubbo, they then turn the sand into concrete so Tubbo had no way of getting out. The crowd grew anxious and confused as to what Schlatt and Quackity, to which he was also was confused, were doing “Okay, Tubbo, I’ll cut to the fucking chase.”

“S-Schlatt...?”

"Tubbo, Tubbo... I know what you've been up to.”

“What have I been up to?”

“What have I been up to' he says! What have I been up to? You've been CONSPIRING! With the IDIOTS, with the-- with the TYRANTS! That we kicked out of this server, that we kicked out of this great country!" [M/N] didn’t need to peek into the box to know that the color drained out of his skin as a panicked expression grew on his face as Schlatt raised his voice “Tubbo, I don't know if you know this, but treason isn't exactly, uh... isn't exactly a respectable thing around here. I know what you've been doing, IT ALL ADDS UP, BUDDY! The fucking TUNNELS, your ABSENCE from GREAT events, I mean, you walked off in the middle of THIS one! You walked off in the middle of this one, Tubbo! Don't try and tell me you've done nothing wrong! Because everybody knows it! I see it with my own two fucking eyes, what you've been doing!" Schlatt takes a breath as he stops in front of the only opening to the box and he glared down at Tubbo “Do you know what happens to traitors, Tubbo...?” he swallowed thickly.

“N-No...” Schlatt chuckles darkly.

“Nothing good." he takes a step back and raises his hand “[M/N], you know what to do.” Tubbo pressed himself into the wall behind him, fear circulating in his eyes when [M/N] came into view with his Firework Launcher in hand.

“[M-M/N]...?” he couldn’t stop his body from trembling, he was just so goddamn terrified as the wolfman stared down at him with such a cold gaze “W-Why are you-- what’s going on?” tears started swelling in his eyes when he saw a malicious smirk spread across his face.

“Don’t you know?” he said, loading the crossbow with a firework and raising his arm to aim it at Tubbo, ignoring all the cries behind him, begging and pleading for him to stop “This whole festival was for you, Tubbo. Schlatt thought it would be funny to see you plan for your own execution.”

“Execution...?!” [M/N] winked.

“Mm hmm.” he steadies his arm, finger on the trigger “Now, you’re relived of your duty, sir.” he chuckles before pulling the trigger and letting the firework fly, colors flying everything as it exploded onto Tubbo.

[Tubbo went off with a bang due to a firework shot by [U/N]]

Sure, it was a little messed up that the smell of burning flesh met his nostrils along with the sight of his skin burning to the fireworks, but it really meant nothing to him. He slowly lowered his arm as Schlatt placed his hand on [M/N]’s shoulder, patting it softly with a dark grin on his face, Quackity looked at the two in slight fear at what he just witnessed. He couldn’t believe that not too long ago, he remembered seeing [M/N] with such a puppy dog look on his face and even Schlatt looked happy and calm, to think that the true meaning of the festival was to actually kill Tubbo because he was a traitor and these two knew all along.

“You two are sick.” Schlatt dusted his shoulder off when a few sparks got on him while the smirk never left his face.

“Well, you’re married to me, so you better get used to it.” Quackity swallowed thickly before fleeing the stage, Schlatt merely shrugged his shoulders and goes to leave as well but was stopped when he heard a shout.

“You bastard!” before he could react, [M/N] pushed him behind him just as the former turned around and grabbed Tommy by the neck then slammed him into the ground. The boy threw an Ender Pearl towards them and tried to strike [M/N] down, only for him to sense him way before he could even deal any damage, he thrashed and kicked at the taller man to get him to let go but only let out a grunt when he felt [M/N] tighten his grip on his throat.

“There you are, you little rat.” he sneered, leaning forward and hovering away from his face “I knew you would appear, it was only a matter of time.” Tommy sneered at him.

“Oh, fuck off you twat! I’ll kill you for what you did to Tubbo!” [M/N] merely scoffed, leaning back but keeping his grip on Tommy.

“Oh, please. You can’t do shit. If you really cared about him, you would’ve been there to stop me, but you can only do something when the deed has been done. Both you and Wilbur are just pathetic, you two just can’t seem to do anything.” mocking him only added fuel to the flames, [M/N] put his Firework Launcher into his inventory then pulled out a sword “I’m not really a fan of using weapons, my expertise rely more on my fists, but I’ll make this a quick death.” Tommy felt a bead of sweat form on his cheek, nails digging into [M/N]’s wrist as he saw the blade of the sword glisten in the light.

“W-Wait...!” Schlatt chuckled, patting [M/N]’s shoulder.

“Proceed.” he nods.

“Yes sir.” there wasn’t even a hint of hesitation in his eyes as he raised his sword “Your third life is mine.” he swings it down and before it could even land on Tommy, an Enchanted Axe blocked the attack.

“Hmm, to think I mistaken you for a pup.” looking up, he was met with the condescending gaze of Technoblade using his axe to block [M/N]’s blade from meeting Tommy’s face “I think I have to stop you right there, mutt.” [M/N] bares his teeth as he tries putting more pressure into his sword, Tommy noticed both weapons were trembling by the amount of pressure the two hybrid men were putting into it.

“And the pig finally decides to step in, huh?” he lets out a grunt when Technoblade had enough and kicked [M/N] in the chest, kicking him off of Tommy and giving him enough time to pull the younger boy up onto his feet “That was quite rude, I was busy with that boy and I would have appreciated it if you didn’t interfere.” Technoblade chuckles, pushing Tommy behind him while also watching [M/N] stand to his feet, he threw his axe over his shoulder while [M/N] rolled his neck and shoulders.

“Well sorry to break it to you, but this guy is with me.” Tommy smiled up at Technoblade while [M/N] merely scoffed, cracking his knuckles as he got in front of Schlatt.

“Right, to overthrow the government, right?” Technoblade laughs, bouncing his axe on his shoulder.

“Yeah, are you going to stop me from completing such a feat?”

“Honestly, I could care less about the government, I am only here because I am following the man who is the President. All I care about is staying by Schlatt’s side, and if you are here to threaten his life, I can’t help but see you as an enemy.” Technoblade lets out a breath, lowering his axe and holding it in both of his hands.

“With the way you think, I feel like the both of us could have been friends.” [M/N] rolled his eyes, lowering his body and letting his arms hang in front of him, eyes never leaving Technoblade.

“Who needs friends when you have that one person that makes you happy?” now this made Technoblade think of that one person that made him happy, he shook his head.

“Yeah, we really would have gotten along.” [M/N] flexes his fingers as neither side took their eyes off each other, it was a long stare off but as soon as Technoblade saw [M/N] presses his hands into the ground, the soles of his feet digging into the ground, he readied himself. He was startled at the speed [M/N] went when he shot towards him, he lets out a grunt as he swung his axe but [M/N] easily slid under the heavy swing and was now behind him. Tommy let out a cry when he was kicked off the stage though he was luckily caught by the audience below before he could die to fall damage, Technoblade immediately turned around and swung at him again but [M/N] tackled him off the stage and the both of them fell to the ground but he was lucky because he landed on top of Technoblade so he barely lost any hearts.

“Now that hurt...” he let out a grunt when Technoblade kicked him off but he managed to stick the landing, his claws digging into the ground beneath him to bring himself to a stop “Need a second to catch your breath, Blood God?” Technoblade licked his lips as he stood to his feet, wiping away some of the blood that ran down his lips from out of his snout.

“Please, I can do this all day.” a growl emitted out of [M/N]’s throat as his animalistic traits started to take form, from his forearms to his hand's fur overlapped his skin as his hands turned into razor-sharp claws while from his legs changed into hind legs “Now that’s not fair.”

“Please, I haven’t even shown you my true form yet.”

“Psh, that sounds cringey.”

“You just made it cringey.” [M/N] closes his hand into a tight fist, his knuckles cracking under the pressure he closed them, before flexing his fingers “Are you ready to rumble?” Technoblade wipes his nose of any more blood, swiftly drinking a regen potion and pulling out his sword this time, getting ready to strike [M/N] down.

“Yeah, I’m ready.” [M/N] lets out a howl before charging forward, yet before he could even land a scratch on Technoblade, a message appeared in the bottom left corner of his vision that made him freeze up.

[JSchlatt was shot by WilburSoot]

Technoblade was also taken aback by the message but he didn’t freeze like the man in front of him, he took his distraction as an opportunity to hit him with the pommel end of the sword. [M/N] went down, his hands planting on the ground to catch himself, before raising his head to where he left Schlatt, and his heart shattered at the sight of an arrow piercing through his chest. Despair surrounded his heart as he watched him collapse to the ground before his body evidently turned to dust, a new body ready for him at his spawn point where he know only had two lives left.

“I didn’t take you as the type to get distracted by trivial things.” Technoblade said as he approached his shaking body, he raised his sword and goes to strike him down but fell back when [M/N] ran away. Technoblade was going to chase after him but stopped when Tommy and Wilbur got in front of him, the both of them having a smirk on their faces at the sight of the biggest troublemaker fleeing.

“Talk about running away with his tail between his legs, huh?” Tommy mocked, laughing at the sight of the big bad wolf running away “Nice shot, by the way, Wilbur. That really did it.” Wilbur nods his head as he pats Technoblade on the shoulder.

“It’s thanks to Techno distracting [M/N] that I had a clear shot on Schlatt, the man wasn’t even paying attention to his surroundings.” Technoblade let them blabber about what was happening as he continued to look where [M/N] ran, his eyes widening softly when he realized which direction he went in.

[with the reader]

There was only a single thought that was running through [M/N]’s head as he ran on all fours towards the White House, tears in his eyes as he ignored the aching pain in the side of his face.

‘I fucked up! I fucked up! I fucked up!’ he didn’t bother wiping the tears from his face as the White House slowly came into view ’I had one job and I fucked it up!’ he skid to a stop as he stood on his hind legs, he actually kicked the door down before rushing down the hallways to find Schlatt’s room that was located somewhere in this build. He had one job, he had ONE job and that was to protect Schlatt, and he fucked that up by getting too caught up in his fight with Technoblade that Schlatt lost one of his lives and he watched the man he grew up with turn to dust. When he was finally at his room, he threw the door open and there he saw Schlatt sitting in his bed with a confused look on his face, his lip trembled as the older man raised his head to get a look at the person who entered his room.

“[M/N--” he couldn’t even finish when the younger one let out a sob, rushing over to his side and grabbing a hold of his hand, tears running down his face.

“I’m so sorry, Schlatt! It’s all my fault that Wilbur killed you!” he cried out, his form trembling as he pressed his forehead into his hands “If only I didn’t focus on Technoblade then none of this would have happened! I failed you!” [M/N] couldn’t stop himself from crying no matter how hard he tried, the tears he wiped away were only replaced with more tears. This scene reminded him of the time [M/N] accidentally shoved him off a cliff and he narrowly avoided death by landing on a hay bale, and though it did save him from losing a life for a pathetic reason, it still did some heavy damage. [M/N] wouldn’t stop crying no matter how hard Schlatt reassured him that he was fine, it just showed how much this kid really worried for him.

“I’m fine, puppy, really.” he let out a whine as he shook his head.

“B-But... you only have two lives left because I got reckless.” Schlatt hummed, slipping a hand out of [M/N] grip to press against his head, ruffling it softly.

“We only live once, kid, I just have to make my next two worth it.” his hands slip down to cup his cheek, a soft smile graced his lips when the wolfman leaned into his touch “I don’t blame you for what happened, I would never.”

“You should.” he chuckles as he shakes his head.

“I should be worried about you too, puppy. That was an insane fall you dropped from, you even took a hit from Technoblade. I’m proud that you stood your ground against him.” he sniffles, sitting up straight and wiping away some of his tears with the back of his hand.

“He’s not all that tough, I can take him.”

“Yeah you can, you’re not even in your true form while he’s in his.” now that was enough to get [M/N] to snicker weakly, [M/N] really chose to be in his human form because he got fewer stares and he looked intimidating enough as a human, plus he could do more. [M/N] stood to his feet, backing away when he noticed Schlatt wanted to get out of bed. The man threw the covers off his body and stood to his feet, [M/N] keeping close in case the man collapsed, respawning into another body really did take a lot out of you.

“What are going to do now, Schlatt?” he clicked his tongue.

“What do you mean what do we do?” he said with a scoff “We make sure we bite them back.”

[a few weeks later]

[M/N] let out a deep sigh when he heard shouting coming from within Sclatt’s office followed by loud thuds and glass shattering, the older man has been going through a lot to the point that he was drinking more and sleeping less to cope with the fact that he was slowly losing it all. The people he thought he could trust were abandoning him to join the rebellion that Wilbur and Tommy had formed to overthrow Schlatt’s rule, and it wasn’t helping the fact that the more that he drank the more he let his anger overwhelm him. [M/N] would no doubt stay with him till the very end, but he was quite surprised that Quackity was still sticking around despite everything he’s done, but he was pretty sure that was going to change very soon with how Schlatt has been treating him lately.

“Is this all you can do, you fucking worthless waste of space?! I ask you to do one simple thing, and you can’t even do that right?! Why do I still keep you around if you can’t do anything?!” Schlatt shouts, slamming his fist onto the desk, causing Quackity to flinch at how loud he was shouting.

“I-I’m sorry...”

“You think a sorry is going to cut it?! What I want from you is to get it right! We’re in a time where I want results, not mistakes!” he lets out a sigh, running his fingers through his hair before collapsing into his chair “Whatever, just get out of my face. I’ll deal with you later, so just leave me alone.” Quackity didn’t hesitate to rush out of the office, clutching the side of his face that was brutally slapped across by the man, it was still aching and he could feel some blood pooling up in his mouth.

“Marrying him was a mistake...” he whimpered out, sniffling and wiping away the tears that threatened to fall, when he opened his eyes he let out a startled yelp when a bottle was in front of him. Looking up, he was surprised to see that it was [M/N] offering him a regen potion to help heal the bruise that was beginning to form on the cheek that was slapped “U-Uh... thank you.” he hesitantly whispered as he took the potion into his hands.

“Don’t mention it.” Quackity awkwardly stood there, contemplating what to say next, he opened his mouth to speak but was stopped when [M/N] raised his hand “Don’t say anything. I didn’t give that to you because I cared, because I don’t care about you. You could just say that I’ve been where you’ve stood.” Quackity’s eyes widened at that.

“R-Really...?” he nods.

“I’ve done some really dumb shit to get him angry, and I rarely got him angry because I was obedient to the very end.” he closes his eyes as he thought back to the past “To be honest, I deserved it, so I took the punishment. The difference between you and me when it comes to him, though, is that he actually cares about me.” the duck man flinched at that, his wings flaring up, and though he really wants to retaliate, he knew what [M/N] was saying was the truth.

“You’re right.” [M/N] scoffed.

“I know I’m right.” he soon lets out a sigh, he pats Quackity on his back and gives him a light shove to get him moving “I’m really the only person that can get him to calm down from his temper tantrum, so get going and don’t visit him for the next couple of days or else he might use you as his punching bag.” [M/N] turns towards the door, hands on each handle to pull them open but he paused, he turned his head to where Quackity was walking away and spoke up “And if you really know what’s good for you... you’ll divorce him.” this caused Quackity to stop in his tracks.

“What?! Are you insane? He’ll kill me if I--” he shakes his head.

“I’m telling you this for your own safety. You’ve already seen what Schlatt can do, imagine what he will do within arms reach.” Quackity started to tremble at the thought, he looked down at the golden ring on his finger then back up at [MN] who took a deep breath “I can handle him because I’ve been with him for such a long time to the point he’s the only person I need, but you still have a variety of different people to help you. Don’t waste your time on someone who isn’t going to treat you the way you want to be treated.” he couldn’t help but feel touched by the way [M/N] spoke to him, he never really speak to him in such a way to comfort him, and it felt nice. He wanted to say something but couldn’t when [M/N] opened the doors and entered Schlatt’s office, he felt the confidence in his chest deflate and he could only pray that he’ll be okay.

[M/N] took a breath as he stepped into Schlatt’s office, closing the doors behind him as he looked around. He saw the shattered glass by the door where he could only assume Schlatt had thrown his glass cup at Quackity out of a fit of rage, chairs were thrown, books were scattered and he could only describe the state of the room as if a tornado had blown through it. He glanced over to where Schlatt was and grimaced when he saw that he was chugging down a bottle of whiskey as if it was water, he felt nauseous because of the strong smell of alcohol coming off of that man. It pained him seeing Schlatt doing this to himself, he understood what all of this was doing to him, it was overwhelming him to the point he had to use alcohol to numb the pain.

“Schla--”

“Didn’t I tell you to fuck off?!” he didn’t flinch when Schlatt turned around and threw the bottle at him, the glass shattering upon impact on his head. Despite the intoxication messing with his head, he slowly began to register that the man in front of him wasn’t his poor excuse of a husband, but instead, he was met with-- “[M/N]...?” he slowly slurred out, he let out a gasp when he saw him raise his hand when not only liquor ran down his face, but also blood “O-Oh, god, I’m so sorry, I--” he raised his hand to stop him from talking, shaking his head.

“No, it’s fine, Schlatt, you know this barely hurts...” he says that, and yet his body sways a bit, Schlatt immediately sobered up enough to get out from behind his desk to approach the man, reaching up and cupping his cheeks.

“No, you dumb dog, it’s not fine!” he shouts, he quickly pulls him by his hands and sits him down in his chair. [M/N] could have easily dodged that bottle, but it’s at times like these where he lets it happen just to see how Schlatt would react to him accidentally hurting him. He sat in silence as Schlatt quickly grabbed anything that could help bandage the wound, he first fed him a regen potion before cleaning up the wound and bandaging it up. [M/N] would always get himself hurt in the past to protect Schlatt so the older man knew exactly what to do to help the younger man, [M/N] noticed his hands were shaking so he slowly raised his own hands and grabbed them “I-It was an accident...! I’m so sorry, I didn’t know it was you...”

“It’s fine, Schlatt, it’s better me than Quackity. You probably would’ve done more damage to him in comparison to me.”

“It would’ve been better if it were him than you.” sure it was harsh, but [M/N] couldn’t help but feel flattered that he cared for him that much. He placed his hand on the bandages around his head, a soft blush tinting his cheeks, he raises his eyes but his head shot up when he noticed that Schlatt pulled out another bottle of liquor, this time it was a bottle of vodka. He popped the bottle cap and poured some in the glass, he was going to down it in one go but couldn’t when [M/N] stood to his feet and grabbed the glass, pushing it down so that it was on the table.

“Schlatt, no.” he scoffed and tried lifting the glass once more but [M/N] pushed it down once more “You know exactly why I am not letting you drink.” he let out a sigh and let the glass go, this time he tried to down the bottle but [M/N] was quicker and took the bottle from him.

“Hey, what gives?!” he ignored his whining and complaining, putting the cap onto the bottle once more and putting it away so the man wouldn’t try anything again. He opened a chest and pulled out some wonder, emptying the glass of vodka and instead replacing that with water.

“Drink that along with some painkillers, it’ll help ease your hangover that is surely going to come from the amount you’ve been drinking as of lately.” he huffs and snatches the water, opening his drawer to pull out the painkillers and plopping them in his mouth then downing the water. Schlatt collapsed into his chair and soon the two fell into silence was once, [M/N]’s ears twitching every so often to hear the way Schlatt was breathing to the beat of his rushing heart slowly coming to a soft beat.

“Sometimes it feels like I’ve become the one that needs to be looked after, I remember it used to be you all the time.” [M/N] frowned.

“That is because you NEED to be looked after, Schlatt. If I’m not around then who will take care of you in my stead?” he lets out a sigh, running a hand through his hair “I’m going to tell you this again, but you know exactly why I don’t want you drinking as excessively as you did before. Your heart can not take it anymore.” he says in a stern tone, the other merely rolled his eyes as he leaned his weight into his chair.

“You say that as if you know my body.” his ear twitched.

“I do know your body, almost better than you.” a shallow growl comes from his throat before he kneels down, taking his hands and rubbing his thumbs over his knuckles “I can’t help but worry for you, Schlatt. You’re not as youthful as you used to be when you drank, it’s going to come to bite you in the ass and I won’t be able to help you.” he grits his teeth, his grip on his hands tightening a little as his head hung “I NEVER should have let you do this stupid job, we NEVER should have gotten ourselves involved in the first place. None of this would have happened if we just kept to ourselves.”

“... but, it was fun, wasn’t it?” [M/N] paused at that, raising his head and looking up at him to see that he was giving him one of those genuine smiles “You and I against the world?” he could tell that Schlatt was trying to make light of the situation, he laughed sadly while cracking a small smile.

“Yeah, it was fun...” Schlatt lowered his head as the alcohol that was still left in his system started to overtake his emotions and mind, [M/N] heard a sniffle so he turned his head to get a better look at the man above him, only to be taken aback at the tears that were beginning to run down his face.

“[M/N], I-I... I don’t like anything about me.”

“What?” Schlatt took his hands away from [M/N] and looked down at them and they slowly started to tremble as his emotions started running wild.

“I don’t like who I’ve become. Everyone around me is slowly disappearing, they all hate me, and who knows how long until you leave me.” he immediately stood to his feet, this causes Schlatt to panic as he rises to his feet, his hands grabbing onto [M/N]’s jacket in a desperate attempt to get him from what he thought was leaving “No, you’re going to leave me too, aren’t you?! I won’t let you leave! I can’t handle the thought of you leaving me! That thought is too painful!” [M/N] started to cry at the same thought.

“No! There was never a time in my life when I was with you that I would leave your side!” he shouts, grabbing his wrists and making him look up at him “I would never leave you, I will stay by your side until the end of the world. I’ve told you this time and time again, but what I am saying is the truth, I would NEVER live without you.” now that was enough to break down Schlatt’s walls, tears slowly started running down his face as he sobbed into [M/N]’s chest, his body trembling as his grip on his shirt tightened. [M/N] sniffled before wrapping his arms around him, burying his face into his hair while trying to be mindful of the horns protruding out of his head. He hadn’t paid attention to how long the two of them just simply cried in each other’s arms but it was long enough to the point that Schlatt had actually fallen asleep, [M/N] looked him over before letting out a sigh and picking the man up bridal style. Carrying him to his bedroom was an effortless task, what startles him was the fact that Schlatt was getting lighter and lighter each time he’s had to carry him, it scared him. He tucks him in bed after removing his jacket and shoes and decides to stay by his side, he let out a frustrated groan as he ran his hands through his hair and messed with it.

’Everything is just in shambles. The stress is soon going to overwhelm Schlatt to the point his heart won’t be able to handle it, and he keeps turning to alcohol as a solution to dull the pain.’ his hands slowly drag down his face until he brings a fist to his mouth and bit down on one of his knuckles ’I don’t know what to do to help him, and before I know it I’ll lose him. I just want to help him... but I don’t know how.’

”Oh, what a sight.” [M/N] stood to his feet at the unsuspecting voice, hand out and hovering over Schlatt in case the intruder dared try to bring him to him, his eyes scanned the room as a threatening growl comes out of him “Hey, hey now. There’s no need to show aggression, I’m only here to visit.” [M/N]’s gifted eyes could easily see through the darkness that covered the man’s body, he didn’t ease up, even when he knew who it was.

“What the hell do you want, Dream?” said man just gave a chuckle, knowing that nothing could get past [M/N] and his keen senses.

“I’m here on business, and the man I want to do business is currently sleeping.” he took a step forward but came to a halt when [M/N] continued to growl at him, his eyes glaring at him through the darkness, Dream raised his hands “Come on now, you of all people should know I wouldn’t dare to hu--” [M/N] snarled this time.

“Just cut to the chase, smiley man. I don’t give two shits about your false words of sincerity, all I know is that you’re in an alliance with Pogtopia.” Dream couldn’t help but flinch when he bared his fangs at him “All I know is that you could be here to threaten Schlatt’s life, and if I even think for a split second that you are deemed as a threat, I will not hesitate to smash your skull in.” Dream lets out a nervous laugh at that, knowing full well that [M/N] was capable of such a feat

“W-Well, no, actually-- whatever, the alliance between me and Pogtopia is nothing but a farce.” [M/N]’s raised a brow at what he said, not believing him 100%, he let out another nervous chuckle “Well, it’s not too far off, actually, because--” [M/N] let out a sigh as he slowly relaxed, crossing his arms and keeping a close eye on him to make sure he keeps his distance.

“Get to the point already, I’m losing my patience here.” Dream sighs, relaxing when he saw him ease up and wasn’t able to eat his head.

“I promised to help Schlatt, in return, he would give me something important.” Dream noticed a change in [M/N] facial expression, his ears perked up in alert before he glanced down at Schlatt “I can only assume you know about our deal.” he licked his lips out of nervousness.

“I could...” he taps his fingers on his arms “He did mention to me that you might show up unannounced, and if he weren’t available, that I could take his place to negotiate.” beneath his mask, his eyes slowly lit up when he saw [M/N] slowly think it over before rolling his eyes, throwing his head back while letting out a groan “Ugh, fine. Give me a minute.”

“No, no, take your time.” he flinched when [M/N] side-eyed him before rolling his eyes, he reluctantly left Schlatt’s side in search of what Dream was looking for. Said man watched as [M/N] approached a bookcase, pushing a few books to the side to get to the button that was hidden and pressing on it. The bookcase soon revealed an Ender Chest that was hiding and [M/N] opened it up, he sorted through it before finding exactly what he wanted and pulled it out, turning away and allowing the bookcase to return how it was before.

“I’m the only other person to know about what the contents of this book contains, he only ever trusted me. Sure, he kept secrets from me, but he never lied to me. He was always straight with me, so don’t even try with me when it comes to this book.” Dream nods his head as he reaches forward to grab it, however, [M/N] grabbed a tight hold on his hand and yanked him forward, leaning down so he was hovering over his ear “I also want to inform you, though, the moment you take this book from me seals your fate with me. If you even have a thought of betraying Schlatt, there won’t be a single place on this server that will keep you safe. I will find you, no matter where you are, and fucking kill you. Do you understand me?” Dream gulped, seeing the look in his eyes that told him that he was not joking around, he took a breath and nodded his head.

“I understand...” [M/N] stared at him before leaning back and offering him the book, he didn’t miss the look of hesitance Dream had before taking the book from his hands.

“Now that you got what you wanted, fuck off. I’ll report to Schlatt that you swung by and I took care of it.” Dream could only nod his head before leaving through the window he entered in, it really frustrated him how Schlatt had such an obedient dog that followed his every command no matter how violent or extreme, he did it with not an ounce of hesitation. Dream was also frightened by the man, there was no way he could take him on when it came down to PVP, sure he was a legend himself alongside Technoblade, but the latter was much easier to handle because at least he was a little predictable. [M/N] was the literal definition of a wild beast, a feral wolf that would and most definitely could snap his neck the moment he deemed them a threat.

“Fuck.”

[manberg vs pogtopia]

“We’re fucked.” was all [M/N] said as he looked at the people who were going to fight for Pogtopia “Sir, we might as well throw in the towel, we are going to lose without a doubt.” Schlatt only laughed, punching his chest and gesturing to the people who were allied with them.

“Oh, come on, there could be a chance.” he inhaled deeply, squeezing the bridge of his nose.

“What chance? There is literally you and I, plus those four fuckwits, verses Pogtopia, the Badlands, the Slums, and Purpled’s Cabin! How on earth are we going to win against those odds?! We’re fucked, I tell you! Fucked!” seeing [M/N] panic, who was mostly known for being composed, really set them off and they couldn’t help but get nervous themselves.

“Stop panicking pup, you’re ruining the atmosphere.” he let out a groan, dragging his hands along his face as he looked down at Schlatt.

“I am being logical, Schlatt. There’s no way we’re going to win.” he takes Schlatt’s hands and gives him a desperate look “Let’s just give Manberg to Wilbur, there’s nothing left here for us. Everyone left and this country has no significant meaning to us, just-- please, just give it to him. We are going to die in vain for a country that means nothing to us.” he winced back when Schlatt ripped his hands out of his own and gave him a stern glare.

“And give him the satisfaction of besting me? I’d rather die.” that response caused [M/N]’s ears to press against his head, his tail falling limp behind him “Since you’re quiet, I can only guess that you’ve finished spitting out nonsense?” a whine came out of him as he slowly nodded his head.

“Yes, sir.” the four who were in an alliance with Manberg watched as [M/N] followed behind Schlatt, but they couldn’t help but agree with the man, Schlatt was just too goddamn stubborn to admit that he was at the fault at that very moment and that Manberg was going to fall in the very end. They were practically just wasting their time with an idiot.

“Hey! I see them marching up!” Sapnap called, they all rush outside and looked down where they saw the number of people on the side of Pogtopia, [M/N] pursed his lips as he looked down at Schlatt with a knowing look, to which the older man pressed his hand to his cheek and turned his face away.

“Those are... those are a lot of people.” he rolls his eyes, leaning down on the stone brick as he watched the people of Pogtopia and their allies rock up.

“You think?” he was smacked across the head, he lets out a huff as his eyes locked onto three people. Wilbur was the first, growling at him as he remembered he was the one that took Schlatt’s first life; Quackity was second for taking Schlatt’s second; Technoblade... because he had an annoying face and knew he was going to be the one to give him trouble.

“[M/N], think you can handle them?” he pulls a face at the request, the four that were foolish enough to form an alliance with Manberg look at the duo in confusion.

“I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to keep them all back, maybe a handful, but I am pretty sure a few will slip by me.”

“That is more than enough.” [M/N] cracks his knuckles as he rolls his neck and shoulders, Punz leans into Dream’s ear as they watch him stretch.

“What is he going to do?” he shrugs his shoulders.

“Beats me, he’s Schlatt’s dog, not mine.” they both flinch when he whipped his head around and glared at them, he huffed as he stared down at Pogtopia that was slowly but surely getting closer. He stands on top of the stone blocks that made a makeshift railing to prevent people from falling off before jumping off himself, immediately, the allies of Manberg rushed over to the edge and watched as [M/N] descended down the large stone tower, Schlatt slowly approached the edge without a care in the world.

“Go get 'em pup, don’t hold back.” [M/N] landed on the ground with a loud thud, the ground itself cracks upon impact, he stood up straight and slowly started walking forward as the people of Pogtopia came to a halt.

“Look who it is, it’s Schlatt’s lapdog.” Fundy mocked, [M/N] rolled his eyes at the lame insult.

“Oh, look who it is, the guy who got abandoned by his own father, how sad.” Wilbur pulled a face while Fundy turned red “Shut your damn mouth if you aren’t ready to shoot your shots, mmkay? Mmkay.” Tommy then steps forward, pointing a sword in his direction.

“Why are you here alone, [M/N]? Here to wave the white flag?” he raises his hands while shrugging his shoulders.

“Personally, yeah. I know a battle I can’t win when I see one, but it’s rather unfortunate that I’m following the orders of a stubborn man.” he laces his fingers together and cracks them above his head “I’m not afraid to admit when I’ve been beat, but I also don’t go down without a fight.” Tubbo now steps forward, fear still lingering in his body at the sight of [M/N], he swallowed it down as he readies his Firework Launcher.

“Then why don’t you join us, [M/N]. You clearly see that following him is pointless.” he was really hoping [M/N] would refuse the offer, then it would give him an excuse to blow his head off the same way he did to him. [M/N] glared down at Tubbo, beginning to strip out of his Netherite Armor as he started approaching them.

“Well, unlike you, I don’t betray those I’ve already sworn my loyalty to.” after removing the vambrace from off his forearm and dropping it to the ground, he rolls his neck once more before taking a deep breath and relaxing his body. He felt his breathing pick up along with the beats of his heart increasing at a rapid pace, he lets out a grunt as his body started to change shape. He plants his hands on the ground when collapsed to the ground, slowly but surely, his body was beginning to change into the shape of his true form as a grey wolf. He tore off his jacket and shirt when his torso was too big for it, he was lucky enough that the pants he was wearing only ripped and tore but not completely off, so he’ll be okay if he wants to return to his human form. He now stood at 8″2ft tall, no traces of human features in sight as he stood tall on his hind legs, he was growling down at them, flexing his claws as he growled at them before taking a deep breath and letting out a loud howl that made their ears ring.

“What the fuck?! That’s what he actually looks like?!”

“What the fuck is this?!” a deep chuckle startled them, he looked down at them, his [E/C] eyes glaring down at them as he lowered his body.

”Really, I have nothing against most of you people that are here.” he speaks, the depth of his voice sending shivers down their spines ”I’m only out for Wilbur and Quackity, and maybe Technoblade because you’re the one I deem as the biggest threat.” Quackity took a step back at how his main targets were ”I’d let the rest of you go, but I have a job to do, and that is to be a literal feral menace.” Wilbur clicks his tongue as he throws his arm out.

“Attack!” [M/N] let out a loud roar as they charged forward, he presses his hands into the ground, digging his claws and the soles of his feet into the stone path before launching forward. He easily pounced over the vanguard and aimed towards Technoblade, who was surprised and took a step back but couldn’t dodge the claw that brutally landed on his chest and shoved him back. Schlatt had a smirk on his face as he watched a group of them try and take [M/N] down, but he knew they weren’t going to accomplish it, [M/N]’s true form was his trump guard because the man was rarely in that form. He said that it was too intimidating and he takes up too much space being in that form, says he’s more comfortable being a miniature-sized human.

“He should look like that more often, would keep people off our dicks.” Dream looks at Schlatt.

“So that’s what he really looks like?” he nods.

“Mm hmm. Sometimes I’m surprised with how long he can keep up his human form, it takes a lot out of him and it’s usually at night where he takes the appearance of his true self.” they hear another roar so they look down and see that he grabbed Jack Manifold and was swinging him around, using him to hit the others that got too close before throwing him full force into Niki.

“Quite the upper hand.” Sapnap laughs as he leans over to see that he was actually handling himself pretty well.

“I’d hate to be at the other end of those fists.” he says, watching as [M/N] grabbed a hold of Awesamdude’s head, his grip so tight that he lifted up him and slammed it into the ground before beginning to ruthlessly plow blow after blow under he didn’t move “So glad we’re on his side.”

“Mm hmm.” [M/N] was currently having a standoff with BadBoyHalo, their hands were locked together and both sides were trying to push the other back. [M/N] was being pushed back because Bad had more height in comparison to him, but that meant nothing because he managed to stop Bad from pushing him back. He growls as he takes a couple steps forward before tightening his grip on his hands then throwing his arms back, causing the other to stumble back a bit, leaving him wide up. [M/N] didn’t take any chances before proceeding to wrap his arms around his torso then lean back, performing a german suplex on him and slamming his head into the ground.

“He’s fucking insane!” Skeppy shouts, watching as [M/N] stood to his feet and let out another roar, causing a few of them to step back “I didn’t sign up for this!” Technoblade let out a chuckle as he dusts his shoulder off, walking past the frozen few to approach the feral dog.

“You say that, but haven’t you noticed? He’s starting to get tired.” he grimaced when Technoblade was telling the truth, [M/N] was beginning to pant as he tried to calm his breathing by taking deep breaths “Need to take a breath, Devil’s Hound?” said man couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking his head as the words he said during the festival came out of Technoblade’s mouth.

“That’s surely a new one, but I can’t help but agree. Schlatt tends to be a devil when he gets too rowdy.” he lets out a groan as he cracked his knuckles, stretching his back before letting his arms hang in front of him as he lowered his body. Technoblade got himself ready when [M/N] charged towards him again, he swings his axe when he got close but was taken aback when he bit the head of the axe right off its shoulder before spitting it out and punching Technoblade across the face. The piglin hybrid staggered backward but didn’t stop and instead threw what was left of his axe to the ground and pulled out a sword, the two disputed in their own battle, and [M/N] cursed to himself when he noticed that many of the people he didn’t incapacitate were slipping past him and making their way up the tower.

“You aren’t going to stop them?” Technoblade asked, grip on his sword tight while his other hand was pressing against the flat side of his blade to not get pushed back when he blocked one of [M/N]’s clawed attacks.

“I’m more focused on you, Technoblade. I already took care of the most troublesome ones, and when I take care of you, I’ll go deal with them next.” he laughs and manages to throw [M/N] back, Technoblade rolls his shoulders before holding his sword in front of him with both his hands gripping the hilt.

“Then I guess I’ll have to keep you here as long as I can.”

“Heh, we’ll see.”

[insert fight scene, I was going to write the fight scene between techno and the reader but I just wanted to get to the main part where schlatt was getting drunk in the drug van]

“Schlatt? Schlatt!” [M/N] called out, looking around in distress for the man. His fight with Technoblade wasn’t fair from the beginning, both he and the piglin man were so absorbed into the fight neither side noticed Tubbo taking aim at [M/N], firing a Firework at him and he hadn’t noticed until it was too late. Technoblade backed away just as it hit [M/N] and it exploded on impact, it didn’t kill him, but it did some serious damage. It managed to burn through his fur to his skin before he could put it out, he was sure it would leave a scar from the left side of his arm, a bit of his torso and face. He would’ve continued fighting if it weren’t for the message he got from Schlatt.

<JSchlatt> whispers to you: hey, kid, I need you.

You whisper to <JSchlatt>: need me? what do you mean? I’m kind of in the middle of something, so I hope you can wait.

<JSchlatt> whispers to you: I don’t think you understand, I NEED you right now.

”Hey, don’t tell me you’re getting distracted again.” Technoblade taunts as he saw [M/N] not paying attention, he raised his head as he clutched his left shoulder before turning around and running off “Wait, what?! Why are you running again?!” he spits out the blood in his mouth as he turned his head to look at Technoblade.

“Wouldn’t you do the same thing to protect the person you care about?!” he shouts before launching himself into the air, Technoblade was once again frozen in place at his choice of words. He couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly, shaking his head at the thought of that one person he would give his life for, so he understood where [M/N] was coming from. Back to the man in question, [M/N] was looking around frantically for Schlatt, he wasn’t in the last place he left him so where could he be now? He managed to catch a whiff of his scent and ran off in the direction it was coming from, he raised a brow in concern at the sight of the Camarvan before shaking his head and kicking the door open, there he saw Schlatt wallowing away while drinking alcohol “Schlatt?! You can’t be serious!” he exclaims as he approaches the man, collapsing to his knees as he inspected his body.

“Ah, there you are, [M/N]~ I was wondering when you’d show up.” he slurred out, [M/N] grimaced as he shook his head, knowing that the man was already drunk out of his mind and all rationality was out the door.

“Why on earth are you drinking while in the middle of a war, Schlatt? Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Schlatt ignored all his words, he raised his eyes and they slowly widened at the sight before him. The left side of his body was burnt horribly and was continuing to bleed, but he pushed through that pain as he looked Schlatt up and down, god, sometimes he wished this damned kid would hate him just as much as everyone else did.

“What... what happened to you?” he whispered, [M/N] looked down at himself and just laughed bitterly.

“Call it karma, I guess. Tubbo got his revenge on me while I was focused on Technoblade, but enough about that, stop drinking that!” he shouts, smacking the bottle out of his hands then standing to his feet “We’re obviously losing this war, sir, so let’s just get outta here!” he exclaims, Schlatt just laughed as he let his head rest on the thing that he was leaning against.

“And go where? We’ll be living the rest of our lives as the cowards who fled during a war.” [M/N] grits his teeth.

“So you would rather die in vain for a country that meant nothing to you?!” he shouts, he runs his hands through his fur and growls “There is nothing left here for us, let’s just leave this all behind and restart our lives! We’ve done that before, so why can’t we do that again? What’s stopping you from continuing your journey?” he closes his eyes before turning his head to look up at him.

“I’m dying, [M/N].” he noticed [M/N]’s shoulders slump at what he said “You and I both know that I am, so what’s the point in living when my time is almost up?” [M/N] felt his body tremble as the news hit him, of course, he knew that Schlatt was dying, but he just didn’t want to accept it.

“Why not live the rest of what is left of your life doing what you love?” Schlatt chuckled weakly, shaking his head once more.

“I’ve done all I’ve ever wanted with my life.” [M/N] noticed Schlatt was reading for him so he knelt down and leaned forward, he flinched when Schlatt cupped his noninjured cheek and gave him a weak smile “It’s your turn to live your life, [M/N]. Get out of here and leave me behind.” he knew that [M/N] would never do such a thing, he knew that he meant everything to him, but he just had to tell him.

“No... no! I can’t just leave you behind!” he shouts, tears beginning to swell up in his eyes “I won’t leave you behind! I told you I would stay by your side until the end of the world!”

“Then is me dying considered the end of the world?” he fell silent at that, he let his head hang low as the tears slowly ran down his face, he let out a huff as he looked up at the big wolfman “As my last order to you, I want you to forget about me and leave this place behind to live your own life.” he sniffled, collapsing to his knees again, burying his face in his hands.

“But what is my life without you?”

“Your own.” his vision on Schlatt got blurry because of the tears, he could never picture a time in his life when he wasn’t by Schlatt’s side, the only time that ever occurred was when he was nothing but a lowly beggar in an alleyway. He wouldn’t have had a life to live if it weren’t for Schlatt.

“See? They’re right here.” Schlatt looked behind [M/N] and they both saw both forces storm the room they were in, [M/N] immediately stood to his feet and stood protectively in front of Schlatt, baring his teeth and growling at them to not take a step forward. It didn’t take long for the two of them to be surrounded, however, he didn’t quite care at the fact, his eyes zoned in on the masked fucker that had double crossed him.

’Now you’ve signed your death waiver, you son of a bitch.’ his attention soon changed over to where Wilbur was, said man looked the wolf hybrid up and down before raising his hands.

“Easy now, [M/N], I just wanna talk.” he let out a tired scoff.

“Talk about what? How you want to kill Schlatt and I? Is that it? You know how stubborn this bastard is.” Schlatt looked up at him.

“Did you just call me a--”

“You are one, just admit it.” this silenced him, [M/N] sighed deeply when he saw ram hybrid reach into the chest he was leaning against to pull out another bottle of alcohol, Tommy couldn’t help but snicker at the sight.

“So, that’s your leader, [M/N]? That’s who you’re bowing down to?” he snarled at the boy.

“Shut your damn mouth. If it weren’t for the fact that you’re not at arms length, I would no hesitate to punt you, child.”

“You wouldn’t.” he raised his brows as he stared at Tommy.

“Don’t make me.” Wilbur sighed as he got in front of [M/N] once more, shutting Tommy up from making anymore unnecessary comments, [M/N] let out a grunt when Schlatt grabbed his arm and pulled it down as he looked out from behind him.

“Fundy! Wha... what are you doing here?” Fundy only gave him a confused look as he let out a sigh.

“Schlatt... are you fucking serious?”

“Fundy are you--” Schlatt pushed [M/N] back with all the strength he had and smashed the bottle of alcohol on Fundy, who managed to react fast enough and block the blow with his arm. The others reacted immediately so [M/N] took a step forward, wrapped his arm around his shoulders and pulling him into his chest, he wrapped his other arm around his body when he felt him slowly slip into a drunken rage but calmed down within the arms of the wolfman.

“Listen! Schlatt, you’ve fucked up the country! You fucked up everything! You had a dream and I followed it, but you brought it downhill. Everything-- you’ve ruined it. You ruined everything we had!” he then looks up at [M/N] “And if he wasn’t so goddamn loyal to you, he probably would have left you just like everybody else!” Fundy took a step back, his ears pressing against his head when [M/N] glared at him.

“Don’t spout out nonsense that will never happen.” Fundy took a breath, swallowing the amount of fear lingering in his heart as he took a step forward and glared up at [M/N], who didn’t waver at his poor attempt to intimidate him.

“I thought you were something! The both of you!” [M/N] only rolled his eyes while Schlatt laughed, the wolfman looked down at the man within his arms and saw him gripping the arm around his shoulder.

“Yeah... yeah I am something! I-I’m what you’re not, Fundy!” he took a step back so he could look at Schlatt.

“What am I not?” he chuckles.

“I am a man!” now it was Wilbur’s turn to step in front of his son before anything else could escalate, chaos began to erupt as they were all now planning to kill the both of them together, [M/N] took a breath to calm himself but the hand around Schlatt’s body pressed against his chest and there he could feel the increasing speed of his heart thumping against his chest.

“Schlatt, that’s it! Are you ready to die?” [M/N] immediately pushed Schlatt behind him in order to shield him “Are you ready to fucking die?!”

“Fuck you!” he slurred out, Wilbur only rolled his eyes.

“Tommy. Tommy, look at me.” the young boy looked at the former President “Do you still have Dream’s bow?” he scanned through his inventory before pulling out said boy, pulling the wire back and clipping it into place.

“Yes.”

“Tommy... I want you to put it between his eyes.” Schlatt laughed at that, [M/N] glowered and didn’t hesitate to get in his line of shot but was shocked when Schlatt pushed past him and got in front of Tommy, not a shred of fear in his eyes as the crossbow was pointed directly between his eyes.

“Are you guys really going to kill him?!” Karl shouted.

“Well, there’s no other way.” he starts “Victory, or death!” Schlatt only laughs.

“You know... if I die, this country goes down with me.” the room erupted into chaos once more, it didn’t help when Technoblade was chanting “kill” repeatedly, it probably would have annoyed him if not for the fact that the ongoing nonsense was taking its toll on Schlatt. His ears shot up in alert when he noticed him beginning to sway as beads of sweat began started forming on his head, he takes a step forward before letting out a shout when he noticed him stagger forward, using the chest to his side to stabilize himself before collapsing.

“Schlatt!” he shouts, rushing forward to catch him before he completely collapsed to the floor. Everything was fading from black into white from Schlatt’s point of view, he was violently gripping his chest to the point his knuckles turned white and he was surprised that he hadn’t torn his shirt. He was out of breath and he was trying his damned hardest to swallow some oxygen into his lungs but it was really difficult, his vision was blurry but he could just make out to image of [M/N] looming above him. The boy had turned himself into his half human/half wolf form and there he saw the tears threatening to fall down his cheeks but also the injured side of his body from taking the full blast of the firework, but what caught his attention was something glistening in his eyes, he looked down and there he saw the golden ring he gave [M/N] all those years ago hanging from his neck.

’Heh... after all these years, he still kept it.’ he wheezed, he was shouting something but he couldn’t make out anything he was saying ’Damn, now I feel bad for leaving him behind.’ he managed to give [M/N] a weak smile as he gently tapped his arm despite the amount of pain he was going through.

“I’m sorry for being a disappointment, my son...” [M/N] let out a shallow gasp as the tears finally started rolling down his cheeks.

“Y-You’re so cruel...” he raised his hand to grip onto the ring while his other held his hand “Calling me that after you stopped all those years ago... dad.” Schlatt gave him gave him a regretful, tear filled smile before his heart attack finally got the best of him and claimed his final canon life.

“Did... did he just have a heart attack?!” Tubbo shouts before the room erupted into laughter at the anti-climatic turn of events, but the only one who wasn’t laughing was Technoblade. His eyes never left [M/N] as the hybrid wept in silence, cradling the deceased body of his father figure in his arms, but he couldn’t really tell if his body was trembling out of anguish... or anger. He was astonished to see that he hadn’t lashed out yet, if he were ever to be in that kind of situation with-- he closed his eyes, shaking his head to rid the thoughts plaguing his mind before looking back over to where [M/N] still had yet to move.

SCARY

POOR PUPPY

WE SHOULD KILL HIM

PUT HIM OUT OF HIS MISERY

HOW SAD

WHAT A SHAME

The hundreds of voices ringing in his head agreed that it would be better to put the man down, just the few brief encounters with him and how he would drop everything just to see if Schlatt was alright was enough to know that this wolfman would not be able to live with himself over the fact that he could not protect his owner. His hand was on the hilt of his blade as he took a step forward but paused when he noticed that Quackity was the first to approach [M/N], he remembered that the duck hybrid was the closest when it came to Schlatt and even [M/N] to the point that he kept his hands and fingers whenever he got close to either one of them, so perhaps Quackity thought he could be the one to talk some sense into [M/N].

“Hey, [M/N], I know just how much Schlatt meant to you.” he starts, reaching down and placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a light squeeze “But you have to know that the guy that you were following around was a terrible person and that he wasn’t going to change, this was for the better.”

“...” Quackity’s ears perked up at the sound of [M/N] mumbling under his breath.

“What?” he stumbled back when [M/N] suddenly stood up, this caught the attention of everyone and they all turned to face the duo but were shocked to see [M/N] reach forward and grab a fistful of Quackity’s hair through his beanie and hold it in a tight grip as he pulled his other fist back.

“Grit your teeth.” before he could react, [M/N]’s fist repeatedly slammed into his face with little to no hesitation, each punch being harder than the last that they were all surprised that Quackity was still conscious. Sam and Bad rush forward to grab a hold of [M/N] while Fundy grabbed the arm that was holding Quackity so Wilbur could pull him back “You fucking piece of shit! Don’t go saying that when you don’t know anything me; when you don’t know anything about him!” he turns to look at Bad so he punches him in the face, causing him to stagger backwards before reaching back and grabbing Sam by his head then throwing him over his shoulder.

“Dammit! Take aim!” Wilbur pushed Quackity behind him and watched the others load their crossbows and aim them towards [M/N] who still didn’t back down, tears ran down his face as he glared at the lot of them but his eyes zoned in specifically on Quackity.

’[M/N] is really valuable, he’s strong enough to go on par with Technoblade in a battle to the point he might be even stronger. I would have thought that once Schlatt died, it would’ve been easier to get him to follow the orders of someone else, maybe even Dream.’ he clicks his tongue ‘To think that their relationship ran that deep. Shit.’

“What the fuck do you know about the both of us that allows you to run your mouth like that, huh?! You don’t know anything!” he shouts, he grits his teeth as he slams a hand to his chest “You may have been able to marry Schlatt, but he didn’t love you the way he loved me! You may have been able to get close to us both, but there wasn’t a time that when you were with us that I didn’t hate you! I fucking HATE you! I hate you all!"

“You’re overreacting, [M/N]!” Fundy shouts, [M/N] didn’t hesitate to snarl at him and growl when a few people started getting closer to him.

“Shut the fuck up! You don’t get to talk when you can’t even decide which side you want to be on.” his head lowers a little as he threads his fingers through his hair and fur, pulling at them as his pupils shrunk and started to shake, eyes bloodshot as the tears refused to stop falling “You have no idea what I’m going through, so don’t even try to sympathize with me. You don’t know what it was like watching the person who raised you slowly descend down into madness as the world was against him; you couldn’t even fathom what it was like being at his side and not being able to do anything to help him. You have no idea what it feels to be so powerless despite being within arms length!”

“[M/N]...” Niki muttered softly, she flinched when he turned to glare at her.

“I don’t want your pity... I have nothing now. You took the last thing that was worth living for from me, so I have nothing to live for.” their fingers were now on the trigger when he raised his head to look at them all and they all saw that broken smile on his face, eyes hazy as the tears continued to fall, his arms were slightly raised to show off his claws “There’s nothing stopping me from taking at least one of you down with me.”

’There’s nothing holding me back. There’s nothing stopping me from killing at least a few of them before dying myself. I have nothing to live for, so why good would it do if I just continued to live on?’ he takes a step forward but his eye twitched when the golden ring reflected the sun’s rays into his eyes, this caused him to look down at it and his eyes briefly caught the sight of Schlatt’s deceased body.

“It’s your turn to live your life, [M/N]. Get out of here and leave me behind.”

...

“As my last order to you, I want you to forget about me and leave this place behind to live your own life.”

...

‘I can’t die yet.' the last bit of rationality, or rather sanity, returned and the haze in his eyes disappeared, he glanced down at Schlatt one more time before closing his eyes ’The least I can do is respect his last request.’

”Fire!” he raised his at the order and countless arrows were fired at him, he managed to dodge most of them while using his arm to block them from hitting anything vital, not even wincing when they pierced through arm. He ignored them all as he turned his back to them, kneeling down and softly picking Schlatt up and cradling him close to his chest.

“Wait.. no! Stop him!” they all couldn’t react fast enough when [M/N] knelt down before leaping forward and using his shoulder to bust down the wall, he fell to his knees when he was outside of the Camarvan as the adrenaline was slowly beginning to fade away as his fatigue and exhaustion caught up with him, but he shook his head as he fought it down and fled the battlefield. By the time he was far away, he collapsed to his knees and was panting rather heavily, he looked down at Schlatt’s motionless body and cried softly as he buried his face into his shoulder.

“I’m not ready yet, dad... don’t leave me behind.” he sobbed to himself before laying Schlatt’s body down, he then took a deep breath as he looked up at the sky, leaning against the tree before removing the arrows still in his arm. His arm throbbed in pain but it eased away when he pulled out a few regen potions and some golden apples, the wounds healed up instantly, he stared down at the arrow before crushing it, snapping it in two.

’What am I to do with my life now? There was never a time where I did something on my own accord without taking orders, that’s just how I lived my life up to the age I am now.’ he exhales deeply.

“Now what?”

330 notes · View notes