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wolfjackle-creates · 9 months

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Tim Drake and 60 for the ask game!

Number 60: Truth Serum.

This is going to be DC only with no DP. Hope you all enjoy!

I tried something new here and wrote in an omniscient narrator. Hope it comes across okay. I want to practice more because it is a useful POV to write in and I've never really used it before. Not in anything polished, at least.

I'll be honest, this isn't your usual truth serum fic. Hope you all like it anyway!

Word count: 2k

-----

Tim glared at the person who held him captive. Gotham's newest rogue smiled at him as he held up a syringe. Dressed in a long, white lab coat with blue surgical gloves and black boots, he looked like a cartoon scientist.

"Thank you for coming to me, pet. I've finally perfected my serum and can't wait to make a birdie sing." Glee filled the man as he gloated at his prey. This was the night he’d been working towards for years.

"You'll never get anything from me." Tim finally twisted his hand to the proper angle to feel the edge of the razor blade hidden in his sleeve. They hadn’t bothered stripping him when they took his visible weapons and utility belt, much to Tim’s relief.

"Oh, once we get this in your system, we will!" The scientist laughed. "I've spent years on it, you know. And with it running through your veins, you'll answer all my questions!"

And then, before Tim could release the blade and slice through his ropes, the man jabbed the syringe into his neck. The solution burned going in and Tim grit his teeth against the pain.

The man laughed again. This was the best night of his life. "Now, we wait! Just a few minutes and you'll tell me exactly who Batman is. And the rest of your flock. And anything else I want to know."

Tim glared, but focused on sawing through the ropes without making his movements obvious.

Just as the rope split, he heard the sound of a distant explosion. Mad scientist man glared at Tim before speaking into a walkie. "What was that?"

Tim smirked and found himself answering, "My backup," before he could stop himself. Shit. He bit his cheek and launched himself out of the chair.

He punched the man hard, knocking him to the ground. He wanted to ask if there was an antidote or what side effects he could expect, but he couldn't give the man a chance to ask any questions. Instead, he slammed the man's head into the floor, knocking him out.

Maybe he could find a computer on the way out.

Another explosion sounded and Tim cursed under his breath. Nope, he didn't have time to look for information or computers or even the rest of his gear. He had to get out of here now before his family caught up.

On the other side of the warehouse, Jason laughed as he detonated another explosion. For once, Bruce wasn’t scolding him for the unnecessary force. And Dick even helped him set up the explosives. Over the comms, Barbara’s voice was cold as she told him where he would cause the most destruction.

“This guy’s a chemist,” she said. “He’s worked for Scarecrow in the past and he’s been collecting chemicals in large quantities for the past two months. Red Robin was trying to figure out what sort of concoctions he’s been developing, but hadn’t as of last night’s report.”

Damian snorted. “If he were competent, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

Dick tsked at him. “That’s enough, baby bat. RR is plenty competent.”

Bruce cleared his throat. “Enough chatter. Oracle, where to next.”

“Go through the second door on your left. Wait, hold on.” More quietly, she said, “What are you doing RR?”

“What’s happened,” demanded Bruce.

“Based on his tracker, Red Robin has left the room he was held in. But instead of reuniting with you, he’s taken a path into the sewers.”

“I’ll follow RR,” said Dick. “The rest of you focus on taking these guys down.”

“Very well,” agreed Bruce. “Report in once you find him.”

“Will do, B!” Dick said as he turned and rushed back into the city, following Babs’ instructions.

Tim, meanwhile, sprinted through the sewers. He had a safe house nearby. He had a protocol for this and it didn’t involve being anywhere near his family. He didn’t look down as his boots splashed through the disgusting water. It wasn’t far now. Not ten minutes later, he was taking an exit into a retired subway station and climbing the fence to the streets.

Two more blocks, and he was on the fire escape and pushing open the window to his safe house. First thing he did was rush to the computer and turn it on. Two minutes later, he hit send on an SOS.

Scattered across the country, three people’s phones rang with an emergency signal.

Unfortunately for Tim, that was the moment Dick caught up to him as well. Tim heard the window open and a voice call out, “Red Robin?” Though really, calling out was a formality. Dick could tell Tim was in by the lights that were on.

“In the bedroom!” replied Tim before he could stop himself. Then he cursed. Apparently the serum would work even if the question wasn’t stated in full. He dove for the closet where he knew a pair of noise-canceling headphones sat. He slapped them on just as Dick entered the bedroom.

Dick relaxed as soon as he had eyes on his brother. “God, Tim. Don’t worry us like that! Why’d you run?”

But Tim was staring at him with wide eyes. “Because I was injected with a truth serum.” He slapped his hands over his mouth as soon as the words were out and closed his eyes tightly. Lip-read questions also counted apparently.

Dick froze. “What?” he asked.

But with his eyes closed and the headphones on, Tim couldn’t hear him. Dick reached out to touch Tim’s shoulder only to be tackled to the ground.

He had his escrima sticks in his hands and his thumb was over the button to electrify them when he recognized Impulse. “Impulse? What are you doing here?”

Tim wished he could see what Dick was doing, but he couldn’t risk seeing another question. He had too many secrets he was keeping from his family to trust himself around them.

Bart glanced at Tim who’d backed up until he was against the wall. “Rob messaged us with an incident CH3874G. And the protocols for that involve immediate extraction.”

“I’m his brother. I’m not going to hurt him!” Dick glared up at Impulse even as his thoughts were with his brother. Who’d refused to even look at him out of fear.

Bart shrugged. “Incident CH3874G means he is to have no contact with anyone other than myself, Superboy, or Wonder Girl until the effects wear off.”

“That’s ridiculous. We can take care of him just fine in the cave.” Dick twisted and managed to push Bart off, but he barely regained his footing before Bart was back pulling back his arms and holding him fast again. “Let me go!” he shouted.

And that moment was when Kon made his own way through the window. “Not gonna happen until we get Rob far away from Gotham. He doesn’t want any of you around him right now.”

“Seriously, what do you think I’m going to do to him?” protested Dick.

“Uh… Isn’t it obvious?” asked Bart. “You’re going to ask him questions. And there’s only five questions Tim will tolerate being asked when he’s under the influence of a truth serum.”

“What questions are those?” asked Dick.

Kon snorted. “If you don’t already know, then you don’t get to know.” He walked past Bart and Dick to stand in front of Tim. Kon blocked Dick’s vision enough that he couldn’t see Tim’s face.

Kon tapped a simple “hey” on Tim’s shoulder in Morse code. “Hey, Rob,” he repeated verbally when Tim opened his eyes.

Tim sagged against the wall in relief when he recongized Kon. And he caught a glimpse of Impulse behind him, too. Good, he’d be getting out of here. He hugged Kon tightly, shutting his eyes again so he wouldn’t be able to see Dick.

Kon chuckled and rubbed his back before pulling away. Making sure to enunciate clearly so Tim could read his lips, he said, “No questions until we get you to the designated place. Cassie’s meeting us there. Climb aboard the Super Express.”

Dick could only watch helplessly as his little brother was carried away into the night. “Why wouldn’t you let me help?”

Bart snorted. “Look, Nightwing, I like you. But I like Tim more. He’s my teammate. And he holds nothing so dear as his secrets. Be honest, would you or Batman or any of your friends and siblings let the chance to question him pass by? Would you let him keep his secrets?”

“Of course I would!” Dick insisted. But he knew his family. Bruce wouldn’t. Jason wouldn’t. Damian absolutely wouldn’t.

Bart snorted in disbelief. “Then maybe you should ask yourself why Tim doesn’t trust you enough to even ask.”

Dick glared at the wall, but didn’t have a retort.

“Now, this has been fun, but I’ve got a best friend to look after. We’ll return him once he’s better!” And Bart rushed off to join his friends. Tim would be trying to find a cure as soon as he had access to a computer, but Bart rather hoped it’d just have to wear off on it’s own. It had been too long since they’d gotten together for a movie marathon in a pillow fort.

In the end, Tim didn’t return to Gotham for three days. Three days over which Dick reconsidered every interaction he’d had with his brother, trying to figure out when he’d lost his trust.

He had to admit that stalking was practically a family love language, though. And Damian didn’t help the situation by loudly and often lamenting the lost opportunity to question Tim on anything and everything.

Bruce merely hummed when Dick reported on the situation. He was just glad his son had freed himself before spilling any family secrets and was currently safe with his own friends. Kon sent periodic updates to Clark who passed them onto Bruce, so he knew his son was safe. Nothing else mattered.

The moment Kon set down on the grounds of Wayne Manor with Tim, half the family rushed out to greet them.

“Tim,” said Bruce. “I’ll expect your report by the time we start patrol.”

Tim laughed, “You know, B, you could just ask me how I am. I’m fine, by the way. Truth serum wore off about twelve hours ago. It had a ridiculously long half life. But don’t worry, I’ve already got ideas for potential reversal agents.”

Before Bruce could reply, Dick was pulling Tim into a tight hug. “Glad to see you doing better, Timmy.” More quietly so only Tim and Kon could hear, he whispered, “And I’m sorry.”

Tim pulled away confused. “For what?”

Dick stared back, mouth agape. “I— because I tried to ask you questions?”

Tim laughed and shook his head. “No hard feelings. I would’ve done the same. That’s why I messaged the people I did.”

Damian sniffed. “It does raise the question of what secrets you are keeping from us.”

Tim shrugged and grinned. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Bruce narrowed his eyes and hummed. “Would you be willing to have lunch with just me, Tim? It’s been a long time since we had any one-on-one time.”

Tim swallowed. “Oh, uh, I should really write that report, don’t you think?”

Bruce chuckled. “I’ll let you skip it if you have lunch with me.”

Kon pretended he didn’t hear the quiet “fuck” Tim let out. “Well,” he said, “I think that’s my cue to leave. Catch you later, Tim!”

“Bye, Kon!” Tim hugged him quickly, then he was alone with his family. He sighed. “Fine, B. I’ll have lunch with you.”

He only hoped at least half his secrets would survive the meal.

-----

It's easiest to lie to Bruce when he doesn't suspect you're lying. When he knows and is actively trying to figure out what you're hiding? It's a lot harder.

So, I know truth serum implies secrets will be revealed, but I just couldn't believe that Tim didn't have a fail safe in place for one. And his friends are ride-or-die and would help him get away from The Batman if necessary. So they did.

Dick and Tim talk it out later and Dick gets added as a back up to any future Truth Serum incidents.

#dc comics #truth serum #tim drake #bart allen #dick grayson #kon el #conner kent #dc fanfic #its after 2am and i have no idea how to tag right now #my writing #i wanted cassie to show up at tim's safe house too #but it was getting long #and there really wasn't anything for her to do?#so she was getting snacks and queuing up some movies

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owladaptive · 7 months

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What about the other people the family interact with? It's pretty obvious gyro is a mad scientist but what about Fenton, Is he still still gyzmoduck? What about Daisy ?

Continuing the Daisy discussion from previous ask first, because I like her and she deserves it.

Daisy in the addams au has abandoned the idea of sucking up to a boss that doesn't appreciate her, and instead is starting up her own business in clothes design. That's not to say it's going super well yet, but it's a work in progress. She has a website and a plan, just not a boutique. That is until she runs into Donald. A kooky, clumsy guy with no fashion sense and a fishy disposition. He weirds her out and has octopuses in the pockets of his wading suit. But... at least he's polite? If confrontational... He's also not bad looking... discounting the deep rings under his eyes and the shiny scales stuck in his hair. But if you're imagining a scenario wherein Daisy swoops in to try and woo the nephew of a renowned billionaire in the hopes that she'd get access to his money and finally get her business up and running... you're wrong. No, what happens is Daisy is appalled and taken aback by the obviously overworked-to-being-crazed sailor, but promotes herself by saying if given the chance, she could construct a glamorous wardrobe that anybody would die for. And Donald... takes her seriously. Asks for the price of the commission. Daisy needs cash. For the sake of her business. She had no idea she'd end up taking measurements in the dank halls of McDuck Manor but she's a professional about it. Even though there's a ghost on the stairway. And the children are throwing a fizzing bundle of dynamite like a ball. And there are cracks and holes and spiders everywhere. And the maid (?) tried to kill her with just her glare alone. And now she's trying to appeal to the abstractly galling fashion sense of a weirdo from a whole family of weirdos, and... it's just the last straw. All Daisy's stress boils over. She has a breakdown and rages - crying about nothing ever working out the way she plans, even as hard as she works. About this crazy house, her life, her failures. But Donald sits with her and listens, talks her through it. Offers genuine understanding and encouragement. Daisy sees him for the who he is, then - a kind and supportive and wacko man who happens to have unusual interests. And, oh..... well, he does have a sort of... eccentric charm about him doesn't he?

You're right that Gyro is a mad scientist. That's not even a question. He's almost unchanged from his canon self, except his mad science isn't constrained by what's permitted by his employer, who permits everything. Gyro is unhinged, unchained and unmatched. His hair is crazy, his goggles charred and he's living his best life. Don't mind the giant red septic tank at the back of the lab, that experiment is on a time out.

Fenton is tired, stressed and needs a hug. He's a down on his luck young adult who has been kicked out and fired from every job, gig or side-hustle he's tried after graduating his robotics class. All he really wants is to help people and make a difference, but that's a pipe dream he doesn't entertain. Life is unfair and tough. He'd pretty much given up on being a scientist too until late one night he follows a strange light and the sound of screaming into a dark corner of the city, and falls (literally) onto a scene of carnage orchestrated by one Gyro Gearloose. The mad doctor yells at Fenton to stop gawking and help out with these escaped brain beetles already before they overrun the neighborhood. Fenton of course panics and starts whacking gross, squishy thing that moves with his bag until Gyro casually hands him an iron maul to fight with. When the bloodmist clears, Gyro laughs in triumph and gloats over his victory over his creations. This knocks a traumatized Fenton out of his white-faced shock and the guy instantly starts questioning how, why and HOW Gyro created those malignant monstrosities!!! He starts listing biological inaccuracies, scientific queries and all manner of hypothesis while Gyro "hmmms" in thought. Then Fenton has panic #2 when Gyro snatches the back of his collar and starts dragging him off into the night, decrying that he'd been thinking about asking Mr. McDuck for a new assistant recently, anyway. Which shuts Fenton right up. (Fenton's mother is a Detective. She knows about the crazy McDucks in their hellish mansion on the top of Killmotor Hill. So, naturally, Fenton's heard about them too. She told him scary stories about them when he was little. But....... Blathering blatherskite, is he desperate for a job.) And honestly.... I might have to think about the Gizmoduck aspect for a bit. It's a tricky one. I might have an answer later.

#ducktales #addams au #daisy duck #fenton crackshell cabrera #this one got reeeeaaaaal long sorry

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gemma-collins-ily · 3 years

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Hi, sorry to bother you but could I request a possessive/jealous kaz x female reader please? If you do it and it's not a bother please tag me in it

Keep You Smiling

Kaz Brekker X Reader

a/n - ooh, bit of angst, bit of fluff! Not sure yet if this will be headcanons or not!

Warnings: jealousy, flirting and generally horrible people I guess.

Tagged: @mrs-brekker15 @melody13522

The Bastard of the Barrel had lost everything he ever owned and built up an empire from the ashes.

The only thing he had was you and the Crows.

He may have acted as though he detested them but he did truly care for them. He just had an extraordinarily disconnected way of showing it and little to no tolerance of Jesper's antics.

So naturally, when you got together, he was especially overprotective and possessive. It was partly to make up for the lack of physical touch in your relationship, to show he did truly care and mainly because he couldn't help it.

Kaz often found himself surprised at the urge to bring you close and wrap an arm around your waist when he was jealous. He wasn't sure if it was because he wanted to gloat that you were his without saying it, if he felt the need to protect you or to just have a reason. A reason to touch.

Because, the truth was, Kaz always had the desire to pull you into his side or reach out to you. However, he would never give in to those thoughts.

Because he couldn't give you false hope.

Hope for a future in which he could be normal. Take your hand without shuddering, care for you with touch naturally and cup your cheek without being repulsed.

He wanted to connect: the only thing was, Kaz was so certain he would flinch and compare you to that of his past.

He was also so stiff - he didn't flirt and if he attempted to it ended quite badly for both parties involved.

Subsequently, when Kaz saw someone else flirt with you and do something he knew he couldn't, he would step in.

Unless it was Jesper. Because the root of his jealousy came from distrust, not of you, but of the person you were having a conversation with.

And he did trust Jesper. Plus the sharpshooter knew he shouldn't mess with you, even if he didn't, he would never. The reason he wouldn't was that you were the one for Kaz and Jesper had the opinion that Kaz deserved you after all he'd been through.

Inej and Nina also shared that very strong opinion and if someone disagreed, they would probably attack them brutally.

And it was a very real possibility they would collectively murder them brutally too.

They saw the way he looked at you, even before you were together and they identified it as the same look Matthias gave Nina or Jesper gave Wylan.

It was love.

Kaz's eyes always held such adoration and wonder when he saw you. The adoration, simply because you put up with his moods or rages, you barely shed a tear when he took his lashed out at you.

In fact, you stood up for yourself. Made him realise he was in the wrong.

The wonder was because you were so innocent, sometimes child-like and it wasn't just a show. He remembered when he had been bewildered and slightly concerned for your mental well-being several times.

His lips lifted just thinking of it.

Kaz came downstairs to see what the cacophony of noise and giggles was about. He stopped his descent on the stairs after he saw you and Nina pulling on wellies at the bottom.

"You know one fantastic thing about fuzzy socks?"

Jesper shook his head and asked you what you meant with a twinkle in his eyes.

"You can slide along floors with them!"

Halfway through your sentence, you had erupted into laughter again and by the end, you were almost rolling around on the floor. It was as though you had told the funniest joke known to man and the others joined in, seeing you with such mirth lifting their spirits further.

You rotated on your heel as you stood to see him standing, seemingly completely unsure of if you were mad. You giggled again.

"Where are you going?"

"Outside, duh."

"It's raining and freezing, don't be so idiotic." He was trying to keep the concern out of his voice and act as though he couldn't care less what you did.

"Uh huh, sure, but I won't be cold if..."

You trailed off as you made grabby hands at his coat and he sighed deeply. He removed it and tossed it your way, making sure to hit you slightly in the arm with it, where he knew it wouldn't really hurt.

The others gaped in confusion but you only skipped through the door, into the rain outside.

Wylan was the first to get over his shock and smiled at Kaz. In return he received a scowl but he knew it was better than an emotionless expression. It meant he was having to repress a grin, or smirk at least.

The Crows followed you out of the door, while Jesper had to be dragged along by his boyfriend, who was mumbling about how overdramatic the sharpshooter could be.

A minute later, he looked outside to see you jumping in puddles and having splash fights, running your fingertips through the water and flicking them towards others.

Kaz opened the door and stuck his head out into the rain.

"(Y/N)," he yelled and carried on when he had your attention, "Pop the coat collar up, would you? If you're going to be stupid, try not to catch a cold!"

You smiled at his concealed concern and saluted, shouting a quick, "Will do! Sir, yes Sir!" just as an army soldier would.

He ducked inside and leant against the wall as he felt his lips quirking upwards. The door blew shut with the wind and he returned to the window to observe the blissful, innocent joy that looked so beautiful painted on your features.

An example of one of the times he would invite himself to the conversation, happened as you chatted away with the bartender of the evening.

She was pretty and multitasking, cleaning glasses as she talked with you, slipping in small compliments here and there.

The thing was, you were completely oblivious to when others would throw a flirtatious remark your way. You never even thought they were doing anything except being friendly.

Kaz had realised this in the past after he had observed you deflect compliments for your eyes, smile and hair, returning the admiration.

You only wanted to make the gloomy citizens of Ketterdam have brighter days by making them feel good about themselves and you weren't trying to flirt back - only be kind.

Kaz noticed the sparkle in the girl's eyes, the slight malicious glint that revealed her intentions. He stood, grunting as he took his first step after sitting for so long and marched over.

He then took things into his own hands. He greeted her in a clearly false tone, one that mirrored how close he was to snapping. The server gulped and he smirked as she looked down.

"Hiya Kaz, we were just having a nice talk. Did you know, she thinks my hair is lovely long?"

Once more, you were not trying to flatter yourself, only telling him of what had been said.

The woman almost lurched over the bar counter to get you to hush but he had heard enough.

"Oh did she now?"

He moved his burning stare to the woman and said tauntingly, "I do agree, that my girlfriend's hair is, in fact, stunning. Now, why don't you go and serve that pigeon that looks so inviting waiting for his drink."

She opened her mouth and his voice didn't even try to cloak his loathing of her as he snarled.

"Go and do what you were paid to do."

She scurried off and your face dropped. He had been trying to be polite, knowing you had no clue of her pursuance of you. Now you had recognised the poisonous animosity in his speech, you realised she had only wanted to have a quick fling.

Kaz noticed how your shoulders slumped and the prickling of guilt started to poke at his heart. He nudged your foot with his cane and you looked up to him, your eyes swimming with unshed tears.

He walked up the stairs to his office and once you had entered behind him, he closed the door gently.

"I thought she just wanted to be friends."

You were so upset because you yearned to have someone other than the Crows, who wasn't just trying to get in your pants, to strike up a conversation with.

"I know love. One day you'll find someone who will adore you as a friend."

Your gaze was still cast downward and it was obvious you did not believe him.

"Hey, hey, look at me. Jesper loves being your friend, so do Inej and Nina. If they exist, others like them must too."

He was making sure to lock eyes with you, letting you know he was absolutely sincere and you nodded, wiped your tears and squared your shoulders.

"There she is." he said gently.

Then suddenly, you remembered how he had shifted a little before you downstairs. Maybe it was to protect you or maybe, just maybe, he had been jealous. You laughed at the thought.

"What?"

"Were you... Jealous?"

He stuttered through his next unintelligible phrase then said in return, "Who wouldn't want to keep you to themselves?"

You flushed and he smiled.

"I'm glad you're giggling again."

He was teasing you, however there was an underlying note of sincerity lining his words.

He would keep protecting you and he would keep you smiling.

#kaz brekker x reader #kaz brekker x you #kaz brekker imagine #kaz brekker fic #kazzle dazzle #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone x you #shadow and bone imagine #shadow and bone fic

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katsumox · 3 years

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southern bnha boys: rodeo<3

it's what it says in the title, sweets,, just bnha boys as rodeo boys. i miss watching rodeo invitationals and parties :(

note: a buckle bunny is a person who hangs around rodeo guys because they’re hot and they win a lot :)

warnings: cussing, one (1) mention of beer, general southern headassery.

including: katsuki, izuku, hitoshi, and eijirou<3

KATSUKI BAKUGOU— the south’s biggest rodeo brat.

hell of a bull rider. it’s his claim to fame, really. disrespectfully respectful?? he’s the type to roll his eyes at elders yet still say “yes ma’am” and “no sir” to them, but he slurs his words so it’s more like “yes’m”. he also says that when you’re super mad at him, that’s how you know he’s sorry. also opens doors for old ladies and limits his extensive cursing in front of them, except for the word “damn”,,, that’s a permanent word in his lexicon.

has a big ass drawl in his speech, and it’s really hot. all phrases like, “ that’s my girl,” or “there we are, good girl” also calls you “sweets” and other shit when you do something correctly with him. thinks hell will freeze over before he wears shirts in summer. the best your getting out of him is an open flannel rolled up to his forearms. he works on souping up trucks for the ranch occasionally,, is really mean about the fact that you eat honeysuckle off the ranch grounds because it’s “dirty”,,,bitch,,, it’s nectar?? tf??

hell of a handshake,, the kind that makes fathers smirk and go “that’s a good man” when he’s done. has a small amount of buckle bunnies,,, it’s not because he sucks at rodeo shit, he’s just mean as hell. thinks of you as his lucky charm. you gotta kiss him hard before he saddles up or else he literally will not compete. he’s literally dropped out of a competition because you didn’t kiss him. also likes ranch parties so he can put his hands on your hips as you show him to line dance. pulls you by your belt loop when he wants to go somewhere.

IZUKU MIDORIYA— stable boy at the local ranch during summers.

the sweetest boy you’d ever meet, but he’ll go to war for his mama. very much a mama’s boy; still calls her ma/mama and everything. beat the actual tar out of a cowhand when he heard him say something disrespectful about his mother. lake swimmer. do i need to explain? bc,,, ew. also has a huge habit of saying yes ma’am to ya when you ask for something. known for wearing a wifebeater and some wrangler jeans to work every day throughout the summer.

your mother thinks he'd make a good husband, and she's right. he's sweet, and considerate; he knows his way around a ranch and how to do chores at home. the perfect househusband material in all honesty. quite fond of sneaking sweets to you while he's supposed to be tending to the dogs, yet never seems to get caught. he suspects it's because hitoshi ain't a snitch. also says "i reckon" far to often for my liking, but oh well. that's country boy language.

handshake is kinda weak, tbh. he’s not confident in it, and you can tell, but he grows into it eventually. he’s a huge help around the ranch because he’s fast and the dogs listen to him very well. is a calf roper in rodeo events, one of the best, but wants to start bull or bronco riding. he’d have more buckle bunnies if he were more popular around the ranch, but he just kinda does his job and then hangs around you or the rodeo legacy kids (todoroki and denki)

HITOSHI SHINSOU— the buckle bunnies’ favorite.

like katsuki, a rodeo boy. he’s good at it too. has way more groupies because he’s a bit nicer than kat. known as the playboy around town, but is generally a sweet kid. has a habit of calling you “little girl” no matter if you’re older than him or not. he’s a bronco rider, one of the best around, and wears his winning belt buckles around all the time. not to gloat, it just he genuinely only has prize belt buckles jakskdld. pull him by it and he’ll lose his damn mind.

got you a promise ring with his prize money so that "it'll keep your finger ready for the real one". he's dead set on marrying you. he likes seeing you steal his belts because everyone knows it's his, and by proxy, you're his. makes fun of the way that you don't really care for farm animals, save for the dogs and a few horses. lets you take one out on his break, his large hand up on your lower hip, guiding you and the horse on a slow walk.

also fond of only flannels in the summer, and honestly year round. he’s not very fond is shirts in general. doesn’t like sweet tea, and also isn’t very fond of any jeans that aren’t cavender jeans. he swears up and down that they aren’t as good quality as levi’s or wranglers. takes you night driving on dirt roads and lets you put your feet on his dash. he doesn't do that for everyone.

EIJIROU KIRISHIMA— the south’s knight in shinin’ armor.

chucks your chin a lot, and lets you wear his hat. herding dogs listen to him more than izuku, but only by a little bit. and goes shirtless while working,, almost always, unless he’s fixing a truck with katsuki. then he’ll wear an oil stained white wifebeater. he’s a steer wrestler. it makes sense because he’s so tall and bulky, like a damned brick wall. mothers also consider him marriage material; he's good around the house, he's practical and very respectful.

he has a pretty drawl, like katsuki, when he talks. he isn’t much of a fighter but he will gladly kick ass if someone’s speaking on your name unkindly. nickname around town is "big red" for obvious reasons, and he makes sure to live up to the name. also very adamant on only wearing levi’s to work?? he’s very particular about his work clothes.

has a fixation on calling you his little lady. every time he wins he takes you out to a diner to celebrate, and once, he saved up money to buy you a bracelet with his prize money. also fond of ranch parties where he can drink apple cider and dance with you. he also got permission to drink one (1) coors light with the rest of boys when he's 19 and he takes advantage of that opportunity whenever he can, because parties aren’t often.

taglist:

@smexy-goose @angiebug101 @vanteyves @quincywrites @katsumiiii @mypimpademia @1-800-s1mping @koishiguro @tododekukisses @sobaluvr @silkylious

#bakugou x reader #bakugou x y/n #bakugou x black reader #bakugou x you #bakugou headcanons #izuku x poc!reader #deku x reader #deku x you #shinsou x you #shinsou x reader #hitoshi x reader #kirishima headcanon #kirishima x you #kirishima x gender neutral reader #kirishima x black reader

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missyasf · 3 years

Text

Game Of Hearts

| 3 |

↳ Summary: Your life is in monotonous tones of grey, day in, day out. Nothing matters besides your sister, the only thing you remember is seeing fireworks before waking up to Tokyo abandoned . Soon enough you are properly introduced to the deadly Borderlands where you must fight for your life in Games to survive. When things can’t possibly get worse soon division arises and rivalries are made. No matter what though, you are constantly plagued by a blonde who, no matter how hard you try, just can’t seem to go too far without.

↳ Pairing: Chishiya/Reader

↳ Genre: Angst, smut, thriller

Word Count: 9.5k

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Trigger Warning: ⚠️ much like the manga/Netflix adaptation this will be a dark fic which includes mentions of prostitution, attempted murder, child ab*se, sexual harassment, heavy grief and attempted suic*de among other things. Additional warnings will be added for chapters when triggers are brought up. Please read with caution if these are triggers for you or just skip all together!

3rd Day Sojourn

“Looks like we got a smartass here don’t we?”

You felt torn on whether to intervene or not. Chishiya, was by no means a hero or a prince charming. You didn’t need to know him to know he was going to be the last person to save you out of good will. Not like you needed saving regardless but you couldn’t help but wonder what his motive was.

Chishiya still had that cold smirk on his face, as if extremely amused at the furious Niragi you had held him up by the jacket, even face to face he not once had a change in expression, as if he just genuinely didn’t care about whatever Niragi felt.

“Probably because I am smarter than you.” Chishiya lifted his chin a little a devious icy smile on his lips like he was getting a rise out of the way Niragi simmered and growled at him, his hands tightening around his jacket and you were briefly worried if Chishiya didn’t shut up that he was going to be beat into a pulp. No matter how smart he was, he couldn’t outwit his way from getting throat punched. Although...you wouldn’t deny a secret part of you would find that mildly funny. You also wanted to throat punch him on certain occasions.

“I believe that’s enough Niragi.” Everyone paused at the sight of someone new arriving, Ryu had gotten out of the pool to stand next to you and Hiroko as he whispered, “That’s number three, Kuzuryuu. He often keeps everyone in their place when Hatter isn’t around.”

Niragi stuck his tongue as he began to cackle, letting go of Chishiya. Breathing in relief you relaxed a little as everyone did the same. Just within a split second though you could hardly comprehend the sight of Niragi immediately decking Chishiya right across the jaw who was knocked off balance. People were already intervening as you stood there gaping. You didn’t think Niragi would actually punch him.

You had thought Chishiya’s expression would’ve changed but much to your disbelief it was as if he was even more settled into his resolve, grabbing his jaw as a viscous smile appeared on his lips, spitting out blood as he goaded, “So you agree then? Anyone with half a brain would be able to reply instead of resort to violence.”

Did this man really wanna die on his first day in the Beach?

Niragi was pulled away and back to his group with steam practically pouring out of his ears, attempting to get back to Chishiya before he was yanked back by perhaps the most physically intimidating man you had ever seen, “That’s number 2, Agni, the leader of the militant sect.” Hiroko clarified to you but it fell on deaf ears as you hurried over to Chishiya, now feeling immensely bad that regardless of his intentions he was hurt for what? Gloating? Was his ego truly that big, “God are you insane!?” You cried out in a whisper kneeling down, your maternal instincts on overdrive as you grabbed his face immediately checking for any bruising.

Chishiya almost like a cat that didn’t want to be touched pulled away from your grip unappreciative, “I don’t like annoying or stupid people.” He replied immediately, his eyes leering ungratefully, “And he was ruining a perfectly good day for me. If you think I’d care for someone like you then you’re more delusional then you look. Besides it’s just blood, it’ll go stop.”

Ouch.

You rolled your eyes at him deciding to not take his words to heart though a tiny part of you wondered if he only said that due to the conversation you both had last night. Or maybe he just really didn’t care. Regardless it didn’t matter, “He had a fucking rifle!” You whispered angrily, “I get it, we aren’t best friends but I don’t wanna see you get shot you asshole.”

“We aren’t friends at all,” Chishiya replied coolly, his eyes analytical and calculating, his gaze like ice that glared you down as if you were his new target for a reason unknown, “We aren’t even acquaintances. We’re just strangers and I’d prefer to keep it that way. I don’t need your concern or care, so stay out of my way.”

You felt thoroughly indignant at his words as you clenched your jaw, “You know what? I doubt you’ve ever had anyone care for you and I can see why. I hope he hits you harder next time you jerk.” This man drove you utterly insane! And you couldn’t even understand why. Chishiya was so cold and for no reason…!

Walking back to your pool chair you snatched your shorts, “Y/n…! Y/n! Are you okay!?” Nanami hurried to your side, you had forgotten all about your sister being in full range of the horror show she had just finished watching between you and Niragi. Probably too scared to try and intervene and you didn’t blame her. Had it been anyone else besides your sister in your shoes you would’ve kept to yourself as well.

“I’m fine, I’d say you should check on Chishiya but apparently he doesn’t need anybody!” You flailed your arms before plopping down on the seat still mad, “What a…! A…! Pathetic, bitter way to live! He’s so conceited!” You curled your fists as you pulled your shorts up before buttoning them as you grabbed your sheer cover up jacket.

Nanami frowned as she grabbed her hands, “Well…” You whipped around in anger, silently staring at her, just daring her to try and come up with some excuse for this guy. Nanami, was a soft hearted person, she never wanted to judge a book by it’s cover and always gave the benefit of the doubt. You admired that about her, but you sometimes wished she was a bit more….realistic with people, “I’m sure he’ll come around.” She decided to not pursue her original words as she offered a weak smile.

“You can deal with that if you want, but I’m done with him. Anytime I try to be relatively nice, I just get spit in the face.” Huffing you crossed your arms, “I’m going on a walk.” And true to your words you did, you needed to be by yourself for a while to clear your head after what had all transpired just minutes ago.

“Originally I helped run a ranch but I wanted to see all the sights so I moved out of my pops and came here to the city!” The music was loud in here and so many people were dancing, makeshift stripper poles had been made and honestly. You understood the Beach was supposed to be an escape, but that didn’t make it a bit of a pathetic sight to see people attempting to swing around and accidentally break it. Multiple times.

You were currently sat at the table with Akari, Hiroko and Ryu everyone having a fairly good time and the longer you talked to Hiroko the less intimidating she became, “I don’t really remember much to be honest,” Akari scratched her head as she hummed, “Just that after I finished putting groceries up I saw fireworks out of my window.”

You straightened up in curiosity, you had seen the same thing! “Yeah we all did,” You slumped at Ryu’s words as he frowned, “Nobody can remember anything after seeing them except waking up here in the Borderlands.”

“What were you guys before this…?” You asked, not wanting to linger for long on just where you were, in a city that was a replica of Tokyo with only a handful of what? A hundred people, maybe a little more? You didn’t have the mindset right now to even try and grasp what was going on or what had happened.

“I was a lawyer,” Hiroko answered first, her expression clearly proud and you’d imagine why, this meant she was older than you! “I did quite a bit of traveling around and dabbled in attorney work for awhile...That’s what my dad wanted me to go in as,” She rolled her eyes, “But I found I’m better at building a case.”

Somehow...you weren’t surprised, you smiled regardless wrapping your arms around yourself, the more you talked to them the more comfortable you began to feel, “One morning I was late to getting to the courthouse and this idiot ended up spilling coffee on me,” Hiroko’s words may have been harsh but she looked Ryu with the softest expression you had ever seen her wear.

Obvious fondness in her eyes, “It was by chance he did that I like to think it was by fate I ended up meeting him again except he was behind the counter at the coffeeshop I always went too.”

Ryu’s cheeks dusted pink as he gave an awkward smile, “I worked evening shifts but got switched over to mornings, best decision I ever made! I’m currently in my last year of college for being an art curator!”

“A cure what now?” Akari cocked her head to the side and for some reason the three of you busted out laughing at her as she parted her lips, “Hey don’t laugh! I’m being serious! Is that some kind of professional coffee maker?”

You closed your eyes giggling as you shook your head, “What about you Y/n? What were you before all of this?” You paused for a second at Hiroko’s question as the table quieted down, suddenly your memory swiped back to the night of the fireworks. What happened at work, how you were supposed to go to class the next day. How your night ended early.

“Ah…” You rubbed the back of your neck as you sheepishly smiled, unsure of where to even begin. It wasn’t that...you were ashamed of your work you just- felt often misunderstood by people. Anytime you said you were a sex worker you either recieved wild looks and suddenly you were treated lowly or people- men in particular would begin to send you uncomfortable innuendo’s.

“Ah…! Y/n!” You straightened up at the muffled screech that sounded like your sister as your eyes shot around the room only to find Nanami fumbling towards you with a whine, suddenly hiding behind you as you frowned standing up, “Good! Good! I’m glad you’re here!” She chuckled nervously as your expression contorted.

“Where is that bitch!?”

Oh...why did this seem vaguely familiar, “What did you do?” You hissed as you turned to Nanami as she rubbed her neck sheepishly only for you to whirl back around again at the sight of a raging woman, the most notable feature her breasts nearly spilling from her loose bikini top as she pointed an accusing finger at your sister, “Why don’t you stop being a slut trying to get with MY boyfriend and take it up with me!”

“Nanami!” You hissed as she cowered behind you, her lips tugging into a pout as she poked both her pointer fingers together with a frown. You had an obligation as a big sister to at least try to defend her before feeding her to the wolves, “Maybe you should give that energy to your boyfriend...Wasn’t he the one supposed to stay loyal?” You raised your brows as you spoke.

You shrieked as you ducked down, a beer bottle flying above you as the girl raged on.

“That’s Kokona, resident miss possessive.” Hiroko leaned back in her seat as she sipped her drink, obviously this wasn’t too odd of a sight as she shrugged, “You might wanna run.”

You brows raised at her words only to see Kokona gathering three other men around as Hiroko snorted, “She’s got a whole pack of guys willing to do her bidding.”

“Y/n…!” Nanami whined, grabbing your arm as you watched the three men approach, you looked between Nanami and them as your lips parted in a half sincere apology.

“...Sorry Nami that's what happens when you try to sleep with someone's boyfriend!” You shoved past her as you heard her yelling at you as she split off on the other side of the room. People did nothing to effort to try and move out of your way as you shoved between them, ducking down as weaved through the crowd in hopes of attempting to lose them, you really didn’t want this to become a reputation for you and your sister.

Diving into a booth seat you felt the stares of two men as you offered an awkward smile, “Don’t mind me, I’m just trying to not get killed…” You offered a quirked smile as you grabbed the long island tea off the table, tipping it towards them as they all bubbled out cheers as you took a long sip, your eyes carefully watching over the crowd as you spot the one guy that must’ve been sent after you.

After all you weren’t the one that Kokona wanted to kill, it was a pretty common occurrence you had experienced except...at least the woman before wasn't psychotic enough to actually try to kill you. You supposed the Borderlands were different. Very different.

“Hey you should totally hang with us! We got your back babe.” You looked up at the dorky grin of the man you had sat next to your lying figure, which you were trying to use the table as coverage, “No extra cost needed beside a good laugh!”

You offered a weak smile, “I’m Y/n!” You introduced, endeared at the oddly innocent smile on his face as you awkwardly shifted, “My sister tried to sleep with someone's boyfriend and I somehow got dragged into it.”

“Kokona’s a mean one,” The guy across the table hiccuped as he lifted his glass, “I’d stay away from her if I were.” You lifted up onto your elbows as you glanced up at him, his eyes heavily dilated before you realized he had obviously been as high as a kite and drinking...No wonder they looked so out of it.

Watching the three men rally back together you quickly pressed back against the seats as you closed your eyes, “Yeah, I can tell...Is she like this with everyone....?” You grabbed the glass once more for another sip, needing something to take the edge off of this whole day. If your sister wasn’t so horny you wouldn’t be in this position right now!

“Nah, mainly girls.” The one beside you waved a hand, “She’s pretty cool otherwise, a little ruthless though. She gloats about her speciality being hearts a lot so she thinks it makes her automatically superior since most of us are spades or clubs players.”

Sitting up a little you tilted your head in confusion, holding the drink you now claimed as yours as you drank it once more, “Specialty? Are venues specified towards…? What? A certain type of suit?”

“No! No! Nothing like that, specialty just means what you naturally have a knack for! All games are still random at each venue,” The guy beside you sloshed his drink, obviously semi drunk himself as he explained, “That's why Hatter sends a team of four or three where each person has a specialty in each suit- except there isn’t a lot of hearts player, because we haven’t really encountered any…”

Jiggling your drink you looked down at the ice that was slowly melting as you hummed, “Okay that makes sense.” You nodded remembering Hatter mentioning this was well, it would only be natural that the longer you survived you’d have a preference for a suit.

“Hey aren’t you new?” The guy across the table pointed a sluggish finger at you, “Shouldn’t you be a little more...freaked out…?”

You offered a weak smile as you glanced away, “Oftentimes in traumatic situations hysteria doesn’t always hit first, it’s likely that my psyche is still in shock and hasn’t fully processed what I’ve seen the past day…” The guy across the table squinted his eyes as he nodded with his lips parted as if in awe at your words, “It’s a mental thing,” You waved at your head, “To try and keep the psychological state of my mind in one piece.”

You wouldn’t deny, there was a certain part of you that felt numb to everything and a smaller part of yourself wondered how you could intake all this information without going hysterical. But...the way you saw it was if this was your reality now, there was nothing you could do to change it. It was better you just got as much information as you could and try your best to adapt if you were going to live on.

Glancing out over the crowd you noticed the men had disappeared once again as you offered both the guys a smile, “Thanks for letting me stay! But I’d better get going.” You gave a small nod, getting up as you held the glass, looking down at it as you frowned...You really hoped this wasn’t laced with anything or else it was going to be a very long night.

Pushing through the crowd you couldn’t find Nanami anywhere but you did spot the girl you had sent three guys after you both like a fucking dog. Squeezing the glass you took a long drink as you approached her, “Kokona,” You called out with a smile as you waved, her eyes sharp as she immediately glared you down, “Listen…” You approached her with an easy smile, “I’m not here to make enemies, my sister is young and she probably didn’t realize it was your boyfriend…But like I said, you don’t really want a guy like that around…”

“Listen here you walmart knock off barbie,” Kokona pointed a sharp nail at you making your lips part a little in surprise at just how aggressive she was, “I don’t give a fuck. I don’t have the time or patience, here of all places. I’m sure you understand right?” She offered a gritty smile, “So tell that bitchy little sister of yours to stay out of my sight if she doesn’t want her hair ripped out.”

Pressing your tongue to your cheek you looked away for a second before down at your drink...Well, she asked for it.

You without a second thought held the drink up before splashing it all over her, “Say what you want about me I don’t give a fuck,” You stepped closer to her as you offered a gritty smile of your own, “But don’t ever say anything about my sister. I’m sure I’ll see you later.” You waved a hand as you turned around, walking back to the table where Akari, Ryu and Hiroko looked like they were all preparing to duck for cover at the show Kokona had put on for them unknowingly.

Setting the glass down at the table you collapsed in your chair as you whined, “Why are women so unfriendly here!?”

Hiroko snorted as she shrugged, obviously not bugged like you were about it, “In this world it’s either kill or be killed, a lot of people don’t have time for niceties anymore. You’ll get used to it. Besides, Kokona is just a bitch to everyone. Don’t take it so personal.” She shrugged, “While you and Nanami were getting chased down we were talking…”

You frowned as you looked up at all three of them as Akari smacked the table, “We should all go out for a game tonight! I know! I know, counterproductive especially with our visa’s stocked for the next few days but I think it’d be fun!”

“Fun!?” The three of them paused as you sat up in your seat, looking at them all like they were insane because they obviously had to be, “Fun!?” You repeated again with even more emphasis, “Guys…! You- you could die!”

“We could die just trying to breath here,” Hiroko scoffed as she shrugged, nonpulsed at your reaction as she picked her nails, ‘Besides you don’t have to go, I get it. We were all like this when we were new too. But I figured we’d make a good team logically. My speciality is diamond, Ryu’s is clubs and we just found out Akari is spades. And we have you, our wild card to figure out what you’re good at. It’s unlikely we’d die. By statistics at least.”

You rubbed your neck, feeling a little more at ease with Hiroko’s rationality as you mumbled, “Well what about Nanami…?” Your eyes washed over the crowd, finally spotting your sister against the wall sipping something trying to act like there weren't three guys after her.

“I doubt you’d want her to go?” Hiroko raised her brows, “Besides she still has three days left on her visa, she’ll be fine. Again, I’m not gonna pressure you into going, if all you’re gonna do is panic you probably will get lynched.”

Her words made you puff your chest a little as you looked back to Nanami before back to the table, well...if they all had a strong suit then why not? “Alright, I’m in!” Who knows when you’d get the opportunity again to get more days on your visa in a considerably safe group.

“I get it you’re like a walking model but seriously?” Hiroko leaned against the bathroom wall as she sighed picking at her nails, “You weren’t even in a full bikini.”

“This has nothing to do with vanity and everything to do with comfort!” You called back, pulling up the loose sweatpants, “I’m not going to possibly go into a game that makes me run while wearing swimwear, I don’t hate myself that much!” You pulled the loose t-shirt over your head before pulling out the maroon jacket as you walked out, stuffing your swim attire in the bag. You had been at the venue for the past five minutes now, having not crossed the threshold but you still have time before it closed.

“How many people have showed up?” You asked as you stood next to Hiroko who dropped her hand as she looked at you rolling her eyes as she sighed, standing up as you both walked to where Akari and Ryu were discussing the possibilities of what the game would be tonight.

“Eh, like four? Maybe? I think that guy you know is in there.” Hiroko shrugged casually, “Looks like a good setup for a spades game, they typically have a bigger group number.”

“What?” Your brows furrowed, what guy? Your mind drew a blank briefly as Ryu stretched out with a nod.

“Well if we’re all ready to go then let's head inside it’s almost six.” Ryu nodded once more as everyone followed behind him, you tossed your bag against the wall, it’s not like you had to be worried about anyone stealing in this climate. Your heartbeat picked up as you crossed the threshold.

Noticing indeed four other people here before your lips parted and your face screwed into irritation, “Really!?” You muttered under your breath, immediately turning away from the familiar white hood as you stubbornly crossed your arms, “Hiroko why didn’t you say it was him!?” You hissed a whisper to her.

Hiroko looked between you and Chishiya who was on his phone, earbuds in and ignoring the outside world before she tried to hold a laugh, “Did you two fuck or something?” You immediately flailed at her words making both her and Akari start laughing at both your misery and anger as you glared at her in unappreciation.

“You think i’d fuck someone like him!?” You hissed out, “No, he's a total jerk! I…! Why can’t I go anywhere without him showing up!” You groaned as you crossed your arms, “Whatever, maybe he’ll get his guts ripped out tonight.”

“Ouch, that’s a little harsh.” Ryu frowned, innocent as ever as he held his hands together, before offering a cute smile, “I’m sure he’ll come around, we’re all a part of the beach after all.” You sourly crossed your arms as you looked at the clock, striking six just in time for you to get tonight started with whatever death trap awaited.”

Somehow, you doubt Chishiya held any loyalty to any of you at all just because you all slept in the same hotel…

The TV on the wall lit up as everyone's attention turned to it, obviously nobody was new here tonight as no one spoke to each other.

Game

Difficulty: 3♡

“A heart's game?” Ryu mumbled, his brows furrowed as he looked between you all as you gave a little shrug, your face twisted in concern as you wrapped your arms around yourself, “Well at least it’s a low difficulty! I’m sure it won’t be too hard to solve!”

“The game you will be participating in is Blind Man's Bluff. Everyone will be required to wear a blindfold for one minute where the tagger will pass their tag off,” The screen depicted a faceless man passing quite literally a name tag off to one sitting down “Tags pertain to who is a player and who is the tagger. You will have twenty minutes to complete the game. It’s a Game ‘Clear’ if the tagger is discovered before the end of the last round, it’s a Game Over for the players if the tagger remains undiscovered.”

Rules:

After each tagging sequence players will remain seated to take off their blindfold and find out if they have been selected as the tagger.

Blindfolds must be worn and kept on for the whole minute during the tagging sequence or it’s a Game Over.

Violence against other players is strictly prohibited and will result in a Game Over.

Players must remain seated for the whole time period of the tagging sequence or it’s a Game Over.

Game Clear conditions: If the players find out who the tagger is before the time runs out or it’s a Game Over for all players.

Tension had risen in the air a little as you felt your throat become dry, everyone immediately looked at each other somewhat suspiciously as the doors opened to the school gym, it was dark and empty outside of eleven chairs lined in a circle, all backs facing each other.

“It could be worse.” Hiroko whispered to you as everyone grabbed a blindfold off the table that stood off in the distance, “As long as we just keep passing the tagger off to someone else we should be fine.”

“Unless one of us gets picked by the end?” You quirked a brow as you rubbed the back of your neck, chances of that happening was one in ten but still, “I don’t like those odds Hiroko.”

Hiroko only snorted as you both walked up, grabbing a blindfold as your eyes darted to the tags that laid out. Your brows furrowed at the stuffed bear with a blindfold on, his name tag ‘Rikku’ that took up his whole stomach, grabbing a tag as you turned back to face Hiroko.

“All we have to do is get a confession out of the tagger, it can’t be that hard.” Hiroko shrugged as she grabbed her blindfold as you puffed a breath of air, you hadn’t known her for long and despite knowing she was a lawyer before all of this...it was just still hard to imagine unless she was pressuring. Not exactly your method of going about stuff like this.

Walking to a chair towards the left side of the room you sat down, crossing your legs as you looked up at the two clocks, one at twenty minutes that began ticking away and another holding at one minute.

Looking towards your left your gaze immediately snapped back forward as your lips curled a little at the insufferable sight of blonde hair who made no effort to try and speak to you.

Was he just sitting here purposely to annoy you? Because if you got tagger you would most definitely put it on him next.

“The one minute for the tagging sequence getting ready to begin, blindfolds on.”

Putting on your blindfold you tied it in a loose knot as you relaxed back into your chair, not being the tagger was perhaps the boring part of this game, the whole minute passed by and you briefly felt something press against your blindfold before it left.

“Blinds off. Ten second cool down starts now.” Taking off your blindfold you flipped it over only to find the tag player stuck on it, attached magnetically as you pulled it off, proceeding to wait the ten seconds before the scoreboard went off and everyone stood up.

“Maybe we should start easy and just show who has a name tag?” Ryu coughed a little as he scuffed his shoe against the ground, rubbing his neck as he frowned, everyone, as if it was possible, became all the more tense.

You looked around at all the blindfolds that were being held, “I don’t think that will work, we've most likely all been provided a nametag, the only odd man out is the one with tagger. But they’ve most likely hidden it. All we can do is just take a guess of who it could be.”

Nobody spoke for a moment making Hiroko heave a sigh as she cracked her neck, “Alright I’ll do it, I’m used to this in court. What about you!” She suddenly pointed to a shorter girl who had been fiddling with her skirt, suddenly jumping at the accusation.

“What!? I’m- I’m not the tagger!” She squeaked out, nervousness suddenly on her expression and many of the wolves of the group were definitely preying on her right now as Hiroko puffed a breath crossing her arms.

“Then why do you look so nervous?” She raised an accusing brow, making you shift in your spot, crossing your arms, you couldn’t agree with Hiroko’s approach to this that was just stoking fire to an already stressful atmosphere where everyone was quickly beginning to pin the blame on each other.

You could only stand there and watch as everyone began to argue as you pinched the bridge of your nose, “We’re never gonna get anything solved if we go about it like this.” You muttered to yourself as you sighed.

“If you’re that confident in doing better then you should assert yourself more.”

You turned to Chishiya who was also standing not quite close enough for you to say he was next to you, but close enough. Your eyes squinted into a glare as you spoke, “Right and how do I know you’re not the tagger?”

“Because I would’ve tagged you next if I was.” Chishiya shrugged casually making you clench your fists as you let out a noise of irritation, you hated that…! Annoying smirk of his! Despite not knowing him for long you could get the idea he obviously got off on annoying you and it only fueled your irritation that much more.

“The feelings are mutual, stranger.” You hissed as you crossed your arms, “And I’ll have you know I am not going to insert myself into...that!” You waved your hand at the sight of two of the men now shouting at each other, the taller one immediately grabbing the other by the shirt, “Because at that point you’ll just be accused with any sort of logic.”

You puffed a breath as you wrapped your jacket around yourself, “And besides, this chaos is a great scapegoat for the real tagger to just sit back and watch everyone pick each other off-” You paused as you turned to Chishiya as you silently berated yourself, why were you even rambling to this guy!? He was a total jerk and you were not about to let go of this morning where you were only trying to help, “Why are you even talking to me? Didn’t you want us to...what? Stay strangers?”

“I’m...not talking to you?” He raised his brows, his lips quirking into an infuriating half smile as if he had a point making your lips pucker together and your jaw clench in effort to try and keep your obvious anger to a minimum, “It’s not my fault you won’t shut up.” He had the audacity to shrug.

You couldn’t help but stomp your foot as you glared at him, “You know what!? I get the feeling if you didn’t care you would’ve gone and sulked in the corner the whole game. In fact, I bet you like listening to me ramble. After all the whole day and a half I’ve known you that's all you do other than instigate unnecessary fights!”

Chishiya’s gaze narrowed a little and you watched his body coil a little away from you at your words, “In what world would you think I care to listen to you?” His lips twitched into cruel smirk as he spoke, “Besides your irrational anger and blabbering, you don’t have an ounce of sense or logic in your body. You're probably best suited for hearts because all you do is spill emotion.”

“That is not what hearts are about!” You retaliated as you threw your hands even more frustrated, “Why are you so defensive the moment I say anything in relation to you possibly not being some emotionless humanoid!? I get it,” You flailed your arms as you spoke louder, “I was a total dick for comparing you to a sociopath! Okay? I can admit that, and usually I can understand where people are coming from but- but you!? I genuinely don’t get you! At all! One moment you wanna pretend like everything's cool between us and then the next you wanna act like a total asshole! And that’s not cool!”

Chishiya had looked away from you heaving a loud sigh making you stomp your foot again, here you were exerting all of your emotion into him and he really…!

Your fists curling only to realize just how silent it was...you turned to look at the crowd of people who all had stopped fighting and...Oh...you felt your face become hot as you wrapped your arms around yourself in embarrassment...Were you really that loud…

“If you and your boyfriend are done arguing we have more important things to solve!” A man pointed a finger at you with a hiss making you curl away, your ears burning at his words as you snapped back, “He is not my boyfriend! Besides you aren’t getting anything done just yelling at each other,” You turned away from Chishiya now unable to even look him in the eyes at the moment, “The real question is who has been silent up until now? The tagger would obviously sit back and watch because why would they insert themselves when you’re doing a great job at killing time.”

“The one minute for the tagging sequence getting ready to begin, blindfolds on.”

Clenching your jaw you sat in your chair as everyone proceeded to do the same, it was now silent as you put on your blindfold, now angry and not even at the game. You wasted your whole time, not even arguing with Chishiya which somehow made you feel even more angry.

It was like talking to a wall.

Crossing your legs you curled up against yourself, mad just...Why were you even mad? You shouldn’t be letting someone like this get under your skin. You briefly wondered why it bothered you so much. Come to think of it, you supposed it was for the exact reason you said.

Chishiya, puzzled you to no end and you had never experienced that with someone, ever. You couldn’t figure out what he was thinking nor find an understanding as to why he was so back and forth with you. Maybe it was your misinterpretation? But...You shook your head a little despite your gaze darkened from the blindfold, it wasn’t that.

It was obvious, for whatever reason, he was holding himself back, From what? You didn’t know, but for now…

“Blinds off. Ten second cool down starts now.”

Pulling off your blindfold you looked at it, the same tag remaining of Player on it. You needed to focus on finding out who the tagger was, really this was like a game of hot potato, chances of the tagger getting killed was just as high as all the players dying, and who would want to take that chance?

Maybe some, you stood up after the scoreboard went off and the original clock resumed as you turned around facing everyone to judge their reactions, Hiroko and Ryu were the same and so was Akari to your knowledge. Your eyes briefly flickered to Chishiya who had remained seated, his hands in his pockets, he also...You doubted yourself briefly, you couldn’t rule him out.

“Who here wasn’t talking last round?” You asked, looking around at everyone, who obviously everyone immediately began speaking much to your frustration, you couldn’t expect someone to answer honestly which only meant...Puffing a breath, “Alright, how about this, let’s all trace a conversation with one person we talked too last round.”

...You’d just have to manipulate the tagger into confessing

First you’d need to trace who was absolutely not the tagger and narrow it from there, “I’ll go first as an example since everyone seemed to hear last round,” You looked away briefly, a somewhat awkward smile on your lips, “I was talking to Chishiya about why he’s such an asshole. You don’t need his confirmation given everyone saw it, but typically you’d need someone to vouch for you in order to confirm you were talking. Now to those that didn’t talk, it doesn’t make them guilty, just more suspect.”

“Me and Ryu were talking to each other about who the possible tagger was.” Hiroko spoke up, pulling a hand around Ryu’s waist who looked a little flush as he nodded, semi shy as you nodded yourself. That answer wasn’t too surprising.

“Well I was talkin’ to this fine gentleman here about how I wasn’t the tagger.” Akari waved a hand to the guy beside her, who still leered but nodded in confirmation which cleared the both of them. You had hoped...this would keep civil, but as everyone went around, there was bound to be some who just genuinely didn’t remember because they were arguing with everyone, and those who were lying…

Which meant by this deduction things were narrowed down, for most people the chance of being found out you were the tagger is too stressful to be worth possibly being the only one to live in the end, thus handing it off, which meant there was...what? One in third chance each round the tagger was someone new? There were a few people you had to suspect that could have held the tagger without giving it up.

The guy towards the middle who was very strangely calm during all of this with very empty looking eyes, and then there was the other man more towards you left who had been calmly de-escalating the situation but you didn’t miss the undertones of manipulation. It was one in third chance they could be holding it. Which meant you’d need to make sure they weren’t.

Walking over you stood more near Hiroko and Ryu as you watched two guys begin arguing again, “Every time I think we’ve made progress, it always ends up getting disturbed.”

“Well that is the way of the world.” You kept a straight expression at the man who offered a smile that looked so unnatural to his empty eyes, you couldn’t help but feel a bit creeped out at how...insanely calm he was. You could get a sense of tension from at least Chishiya, granted it was most likely from you.

“I’m Y/n,” You introduced, “Sense we should all be working together I figured it’d be best we at least learn each other's names.” You offered a sweet smile as you wrapped your jacket around yourself in effort to try and look unsuspecting.

“I see how much anger you have inside you know? It’s quite obvious, from the way you lash out at others when you don’t get the response you want to the way you feel entitled to everyone's feelings, that’s not good for your health you know?” Your lips parted a little at his words, not even offended because...while he was right in some ways...he was very wrong in others, “But I understand your nature is tedious and complex, for all we not the same way?” Okay...this guy was definitely a psychopath, “I’m Sunato Banda, pleased to meet you.” He offered another smile.

Empty eyes, disturbingly calm demeanor, even with your lives on the line he wasn’t disturbed at all, it wasn’t that he didn’t care. He just wasn’t affected, at all, like this could be a walk in the park for him.

Psychopath, definitely.

You’d need to be careful if tagger got in his possession otherwise he’d lie straight through his teeth and he’d never blink twice about it and you and everyone else would be unsuspecting about it.

“Well, us humans are very complex,” You nodded offering yet another smile making effort to look almost starstruck at his very poor deduction skills, again, somewhat correct, otherwise wrong. Afterall, how could someone who feels no remorse, truly understand the complexity of human nature? “Do you by any chance know who the tagger would be?”

You’d need to make yourself look weak, pliable, if you were to get any use out of this guy, all he knew was how to do was take advantage of people, obviously, Banda offered a sly smile as he looked out over the room, his eyes washing over everyone, “Him,” He pointed a finger, “He keeps adjusting his coat as if he has something placed in there that’s uncomfortable.”

You followed his line of sight to what looked like a business man in a suit and bowler hat, he did in fact, look quite nervous, “And why not call him out?” You asked, tilting your head exaggerated as you brimmed with curiosity.

Banda turned to face you, a bright smile on his face as he closed his eyes, “Well I personally hope he’ll tag me next, I quite enjoy seeing a large build up in bodies.”

..Oh...oh wow…

You gave a small nod, forcing a smile as you held yourself before excusing yourself from him, well, at least it definitely wasn’t him for now. Otherwise you’d be in trouble right now. And now you had a prime suspect. Some could overthink that and argue that perhaps he was lying just to get you off his trail. But personally? There was no way it’d be him, he wouldn’t do something like that. You got the feeling Banda, was a simple man.

You turned to find the two guys from before who were tussling suddenly growl, one throwing a punch and before he could even fully hit the guy a deep red laser broke through the ceiling, you were frozen for a half a second at the sight of it shooting through the top of his head. Everyone was quiet as they looked down at the sight of a now dead body.

Right...that was a rule, violence was prohibited.

“The one minute for the tagging sequence getting ready to begin, blindfolds on.”

You scurried back to your seat, sitting down as you pulled up your blindfold, “It’s that guy wearing the dumb bowler hat.” Your head looked towards you left despite not being able to see, Chishiya’s voice was quiet as he spoke, “While you were busy wasting time, I watched the real tagger- that school girl place it in his back pocket.”

“The tagger can do that during the round?” You whispered back perplexed at the idea, how could you have missed that? Unless...she placed it right as you approached Banda? Thus him seeing the man realize he had been tagged and now nervously adjusting himself?

“There aren't any rules stating otherwise, makes it fair game.” Chishiya replied, he immediately quieted at the sound of footsteps tapping on the floor, they were definitely on your side of the ring. Your breath hitched a little at feeling something press against your forehead. Oh shit before the sound of footsteps walked away.

“We just need to watch for him next round.” Chishiya spoke once more as you leaned back in your seat, trying to find a reason for why you just felt what you did.

“Blinds off. Ten second cool down starts now. Final round will be next round”

You hurriedly took yours off as you flipped it over looking down at it,

Tagger

Motherfucker.

You quickly grabbed it off, at first trying to push it into your pocket only to realize they were fake. God you hated women’s clothing, your eyes shot to the clock that only had five seconds left, with nowhere to put it you shoved it down your bra as you collected yourself. Okay you...you could make this work.

But now you were presented with a plethora of options. You honestly didn’t think it would be passed off to you. But now...you...you could keep it...You stood up as the scoreboard went off, but...Everyone else would die. Or...you could confess and you’d die. These options were not great. Next round was the last round, so if you gave it up...you’d be reassuring someone’s victory.

You stood next to Chishiya as his eyes kept with the man from before with the bowler hat, “He might have gotten it passed back to him.” His eyes narrowed a little onto the guy.

Do you find a way to discreetly tell him? Or would that also count as a confession…? It wouldn’t be a confession if you made yourself suspect. But...you couldn’t honestly trust Chishiya, not after his unstable display of distrust in you.

“He could be,” You replied, leaning in a little as you watched him, he appeared relieved once more, he was the one freaked out about this after all...you felt a brief wave of guilt inside you at what your mind had suddenly come up with.

With Chishiya’s suspect still on the man, all you needed to do was plant it back on him and pressure a confession out of him next round.

You were very much going to hell after this.

“He was the one that started accusing last round too and made someone die,” You hummed as you stuffed your hands in your pocket, “That guy also thought it was him. He’s definitely good at reading people,” You thought back to the way he tried to read you, which was somewhat accurate, but people like you and him, you couldn’t always accurately read each other. Except you weren’t insane like him, “At this point we don’t have much to lose.”

You could see the cogs turning in Chishiya’s head as he stared menacingly at the man who looked at him and jolted a little at such an intense stare, “If I were the tagger by this point,” You were treading on very thin ice at the moment, “I’d keep it just for myself, instead passing it off. He’s gone this far without anyone really pressuring him. It’d be the smartest move by now.”

“Then we’ll settle on him.” Chishiya replied, his gaze cold as he glared down at the man who mindlessly fixed his tie, trying to look cool despite being intimidated, clearly. He had a weak mentality, if you couldn’t break him next round, Chishiya most definitely would.

“The one minute for the tagging sequence getting ready to begin, blindfolds on.”

You supposed he was good for something even when you couldn’t trust him.

Sitting down in your chair you put your blindfold on and waited a second before taking it back off, standing back up as you carefully stepped as quietly as you could, pulling the Tagger out of your bra before you walked over to the man who had just tagged you before pressing it against his blindfold, you watched his lips quiver as he let out a quiet, “Please…!”

Your expression went cold as you turned around, glancing at the clock before you walked away and sat back down in your chair, putting your blindfold back on as you waited for the announcer once more.

“Blinds off. Ten second cool down starts now. Final round.”

You took the blindfold off, looking down feeling content at the Player tag as you stood up along with Chishiya who’s eyes went between you and the man before he pushed his hands back into his pockets, “If you’re all done pointing fingers and wasting time,” His gaze became a little more cool as he spoke, “Then we should go ahead and show who the real tagger is.”

Both you and Chishiya glanced at the man who was now looking insanely nervous, sweat dripping down his neck and if this wasn’t life or death, you would’ve felt a little bad...Some parts of you still did, but it was either all of you or just him.

“He does look pretty nervous.” Hiroko narrowed her eyes on him and from this moment forward you knew it was game over for him, quite literally. With all three of you there was no way he’d survive, crossing your arms you lifted your chin a little, “Say, weren’t you the one who got really defensive when the finger got pointed at you last round?”

“I’m…!” He flailed a little, wiping his brow with his hand as he suddenly pointed an accusing finger at you, “It’s her you want! She’s a manipulative bitch!” You pressed your hand against your chest in fake hurt as you raised your brows, “She’s the one pitting everyone against me when she’s really the tagger. She’s going to leave you all to die.”

The majority of eyes fled to you as you shrugged, “Why would I do that when I could just give it to you?” You gave a wickedly sweet smile as you giggled a little, “And watch it all go down. I mean, you must be agreeing now?” You raised your brows as you goaded, “About being the tagger?”

“I…!” He struggled with his words, now glaring at you as you raised your brows once more as you shook your head, “I…! Now you’re just doing this on purpose! Trying to get into everyone's head and make everyone die! Can’t- can’t you see what she’s doing!” He cried out as he backed away from everyone.

“I dunno’ you seem pretty guilty to me.” Akari shrugged as she poked her tongue into her cheek, not looking the least bit remorseful for the guy as she leaned her weight onto one side.

“I get it,” You shrugged as you laughed a little, “You’re probably that kinda guy who’s never really stood up for himself, you probably got bullied as a kid and let yourself get run over by people all the time, even now, and now in desperation you attempt to hold your own and yet...” You tilted your head with a frown as you mocked, “You still can’t do anything right. I guess that goes to show, that people like you just never have a spine. If you can’t assert yourself now with your life on the line, you might as well die now. Because let’s face it, people like you only end in two ways, either spineless pathetic existence or you become the abuser out of a sick need to regain what you lost as a kid.”

Reverse psychology, worked in the most simplistic ways.

That seemed to get him to snap, you watched his eyes dilate and pure unfurled rage cross his expression as he shrieked, “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You know nothing about my life! You know nothing about me! And because I’m the tagger I’ll get to watch all you pathetic people die! Who’s in control now!?”

It’s a shame he couldn’t take control of his life in any other circumstance.

Everyone paused and even he himself paused at the realization, his eyes welled with tears that made something deep in your heart lurch, your eyes squinting a little as your expression wilted a little as the red laser broke through the roof shooting him straight through the top of his head. His body crumpling to the ground.

‘Game Cleared’

Everyone was still for a moment before you looked down at the blindfold and then to your hands, the memory hazy yet the memory of red staining them still so clear as you felt ringing in your ears and your vision blur for a moment as you let the fabric slip through your fingers. Running a hand through your hair you wrapped your arms around your jacket as you walked past the body, briefly looking at the once timid man who obviously let others run his life.

“Sorry.” You whispered quietly as you stepped over the corpse, “Come on, let’s go. I don’t wanna stay around here.” You looked towards the other three who nodded, also looking semi apprehensive as well.

Now that the moment was over, the cruel reality was back to remind you that you just gaslit someone into admitting their own suicide. It was hard to not feel innately disgusted with yourself despite your reasoning that you and all of your friends would’ve died if you had. Still, what you did was okay. You were supposed to help people like him, not encourage them to snap.

If you didn’t feel conflicted before you certainly felt conflicted now, looking at the register you ignored the visa print as you grabbed the playing card off the table.

And as if mocking, this was only a three of hearts. You couldn’t imagine what higher level games looked like with this. You’d definitely need to be careful in the future, “Y/n! Come on, let’s go!” You looked behind at Hiroko nodding towards the exit.

“You guys go on, I’ll catch up later.” You looked down at the card again, Hiroko frowned at your figure, wanting to say something but she understood, the first few days of the Borderlands were never easy. With that, she left. Besides you needed to get changed before you headed for the beach again.

Walking out of the exit you grabbed your bag that was, just as you anticipated, still against the wall, leaning down you opened it up as you began digging through to try and find your bathing suit top. Stuffing the card inside you furrowed your brows, why did the electricity have to go out so soon?

“You could’ve kept the tagger and won but you didn’t. Why?”

You paused your search at the sound of Chishiya’s voice, sounding like he was- not interrogating you but definitely investigating. You resumed once more as you shrugged, “I could’ve.” You agreed, and it did cross your mind after all, “I thought about it,” You admitted right after as you pulled out the swimsuit top, “But maybe to some degree you were right,” You stood up as you turned to face him, “I am spilling emotion constantly. And if there was a chance I could’ve saved all of us in turn for one? It didn’t seem like that big of a reach to do really…” You looked away from him as you grabbed your neck, feeling a bit sheepish, “It was by chance you had spotted him before and it was by luck that I was given tagger for the last round. I knew all you needed was just mutual confirmation in your assessment before initiating the end.”

You sighed as you looked down at the elastic material in your hand as you frowned, “For what it’s worth, I would’ve probably done it to him regardless of whether he had been the tagger or not. It doesn’t take much to break the weakest link. That’s probably the saddest part to be honest.”

You grabbed your backpack off the ground as you looked up at Chishiya before back towards the entrance where others slowly began to filter out, “I doubt he even realized the trap I set him up for,” You smiled wryly as you shook your head, “People are so easy to mislead, I forget sometimes, the power that can hold.”

You turned around, intending to go change, “What were you before all of this?” You looked back at Chishiya, his gaze cool as ever and his eyes scanning over you as if in search for an answer that didn’t exist. Briefly your heart jumped in nervousness, did you dare tell the truth?

Laughing you let out a sigh what was the use in hiding in this world? There were no laws and honestly, who could judge you? “I was a prostitute.” You looked away, feeling somewhat bashful as you awkwardly rubbed your neck, you could tell that was not what Chishiya had been expecting you to say.

“Oh…!” Your lips parted suddenly feeling even more stupid at the realization that was not what he meant by his question, “You...You probably meant what I’m majoring in...sorry. Uh-” You gave him an apologetic smile that was more out of your sake of humiliation as assuming. Clearing your throat you turned back over your shoulder as you gave him one last look, holding up the three of hearts as you answered, “I’m a major in psychology ♡ ”

#alice in borderland #aib imagine #chishiya x reader #chishiya x reader smut #chishiya shuntaro #aib x reader

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jemmahazelnut · 3 years

Text

Motorcycle flight - Chapter two

Summary: Laxus is a biker, and as soon as he discovers that in the city there’s a motorcycle track for enthusiasts where races are organized every month, he decides to go. As soon as he arrives, he will fall in love with that wonderful place, and will meet the handsome green-haired owner. [Freed/Laxus]

Link: AO3

Here you can find Chapter One.

Chapter two, I bet on you

Laxus was a bit irritated this time. If the first time he lost to Freed he could justify himself by talking about the difference in their bikes, now he couldn't really do it, because Freed had been honest. He had raced with a bike similar to his, and had won anyway. The smirk on the boy's face didn't go away even for a moment and kept reminding him of defeat. And since Laxus had promised to offer him dinner, he would have to put up with it all evening. Well, the upside was that he was going to spend some time with Freed. If he left out the arrogant side of him, it was really fun to be with him.

“Will you go on like this all evening?” asked the blond.

“Yes,” Bickslow replied for Freed placing the two plates with sandwiches on the table. “And he’ll be terribly annoying, but luckily I’ve something to show you that will make him less arrogant,” he said taking the phone from his pocket. Freed arched an eyebrow probably not knowing what to expect, and when Bickslow turned the phone towards him, Laxus laughed out loud. Freed grabbed the phone and looked at the video, snorted lightly and shook his head in resignation.

“Really, really funny,” he said in a flat, slightly annoyed voice.

“He was trying to be cool and made an ass of himself,” Bickslow laughed. It was a video in which Freed was still young and was doing a motocross ride, too bad that as soon as he left, he had rolled over backwards after less than ten meters, while the other riders had all left without problems.

“Yeah, the best biker in history,” Laxus laughed. “Please pass me the video, you should put it on YouTube or something,” he added. Freed gave him a dirty look.

“Bickslow, if you pass him the video I'll fire you, and I'm not kidding,” he said seriously. Bickslow laughed.

“Well, good dinner to you both,” he said and walked away leaving them alone. Laxus was still smiling and occasionally a few chuckles escaped him thinking about the video. It was all the more hilarious because at first Freed was gloating arrogantly and immediately afterwards, he was the one who was left behind at all. Laxus took a bite of the sandwich enjoying the soft meat and then found himself smiling again.

“Please tell me you won't go on like this all evening,” Freed said in exasperation.

“Sorry, but it was really funny,” Laxus replied, unable to hold back his smile.

“In my defense I can say that it was the first time I did motocross, and that I was still young”.

“Yeah, justified,” Laxus instigated him with a grin. Freed rolled his eyes.

“You're unbearable,” he murmured.

“You were up to two minutes ago too,” Laxus pointed out. Freed smiled slightly.

“Okay, I'll stop being so unbearable but you don't name that video again,” he gave up at that point.

“The video in which you fall off the motorbike?” Laxus asked clearly amused. Freed narrowed his eyes and the blond raised his hands in peace. “I'm done,” he promised. “Although now I’d really like to do a motocross race with you”.

“I would win,” Freed said without hesitation.

“As you did in that video?” Laxus asked still on the verge of laughter.

“No, as I did half an hour ago,” Freed promptly replied. “And haven't we made a pact?” he then added arching an eyebrow.

“Okay, I'm not mentioning it anymore,” Laxus conceded and the two boys began to eat quietly in silence. The blond found himself thinking about the last week spent in that bar, especially how strange it was to be sitting there at the table with the owner of that place. Despite what it might seem, Freed was by no means one of those rich people who flaunted wealth in front of everyone. Still, he was clearly proud of the camp, and when Laxus had said it was a nice place, he had noticed Freed's face break into a smile. It was normal, even Laxus in his place would have been.

Another thing that made him think was how natural it was to be there, maybe it was the atmosphere of the people who frequented that place, or maybe it was because of the passion that united them, but it was easy to talk to almost anyone. And for Laxus, who had always had a hard time socializing, it was new. He had found himself talking to Gajeel about motorcycles and had discovered that the boy was a mechanic like him, Cana never missed an opportunity to bet on anything and Laxus had discovered that that girl was competing too. Well, at least when she wasn't drinking, which was rare. And he had also competed with Mirajane. Even though she looked like a saint, she was a strong biker, it had been a good challenge.

And, of course, there was Freed. Well, Freed was quiet compared to the bar patrons, and Laxus found that he never attended the contests he ran. Freed had explained to him that he had already done it the first few years, but that it really didn't make sense, because he always won and then it ended up making the customers nervous. Better to let them have fun and get more revenue. The blond still struggled to believe that no one had ever beaten him yet, but he had tried to ask someone else too and it actually seemed to be so. At least on that track. For motocross races it was quite another matter. Another smile appeared on his face but he tried not to make it obvious so as not to make the owner even more nervous.

“How did the idea of opening such a place come about?” Laxus asked, a little out of curiosity and a little to break the silence that had been created between them.

“From my parents,” Freed replied.

“Are they also passionate about motorcycles?” Laxus asked. Freed shook his head and smiled bitterly.

“No, not at all,” he said. “Well, my parents are quite rich. You know when you told me the other day that the rich all have stench under their noses?” he asked. Laxus nodded, he had told Bickslow, he didn't think Freed was listening to him, but luckily the boy just laughed and agreed. “Well, my parents are definitely in that category,” he explained. Laxus frowned still not understanding.

“Since the last year of high school I started skipping school and riding motorcycles, and since I had decided I didn't want to study at university, my parents got mad. They clearly told me that I was either starting to work or I had to continue studying,” he said. Well, that was understandable, Laxus thought. Any parent would have done it.

“So, I left home and started working as a bartender, in all this I forgot to tell you that I was constantly arguing with my parents. Not for my studies, but for the people I hung out with. Anyway, my dad got even more pissed when he found out, he said he wouldn't let word get out that the great manager Justine's sonwas just a bartender. For him I had to become someone important, follow his example and open a business, so I satisfied him,” he said shrugging, and then a smirk appeared on his face. “I think he regretted it a lot, he hadn't imagined that among all the activities, I would open a motorcycle club” he concluded, amused.

“So, you did it just to piss off your folks?” Laxus asked a little surprised.

“Well, they gave me the initial idea. I'd say it's the only good thing they've done for me,” Freed said with a shrug. “But I really liked the bikes, I think I could only open something I really liked,” he explained.

“Wow,” Laxus said not knowing what else to say. “Well, I'm sorry about yours…” Freed made a casual gesture with his hand.

“No problem. Anyway, how did your passion for motorcycles come about?” he asked him. Laxus realized that he probably didn't want to talk about it and didn't insist. His face broke into a sincere smile.

“My grandpa,” he said. “Ever since I was little, he always took me on motorbike tours, we used to go around the valleys around Oak Town,” he said.

“You were born there, right?” Freed asked and Laxus nodded.

“Yes, it’s a very small village but the landscapes are breathtaking. I think it’s the most beautiful place to ride a motorcycle. There, Oshibana and Clover. You've never been?” he asked.

“I once took a trip around Clover,” Freed said, frowning to remember where he had been. “It was many years ago, I don't remember exactly where I was, but I know there was a beautiful lake where we stopped,” he explained.

“Yeah, there’s a beautiful lake there,” Laxus said. “Actually, everything’s beautiful there, and as much fun as racing motorcycles is, it’s much more enjoyable to drive around the curves of the mountain,” he admitted.

“I agree,” Freed smiled. “By the way, you probably already know this, but next month there’s a motorcycle rally in Hargeon. It’s not in the mountains, but maybe you will like to come. We will almost all be there”.

“Yes, Cana told me,” Laxus said. And surely, he would go.

***A month later***

Laxus had arranged with Bickslow, Evergreen and Elfman to reach Hargeon. The four had met at the Raijinshuu, and from there they had all left together reaching the city by the sea. Actually, Laxus had thought Freed would be there too, but the boy stood them up. The blond would have lied if he had said that he hadn't been upset a bit, in the last month he had found himself better and better with the boy. He often met him when he went to the track and they always stopped to chat for a while and... ok, Freed was a nice guy, he had to admit it.

He found the man attractive, both physically and in his way of doing things. That didn't really matter, though, as Laxus didn't know him that well. Besides, he didn't even know if he could like boys, if he was engaged, or if he might be interested in him. He probably wasn't, so better not think about it directly. Despite that, he would have fun with him.

“Didn't Freed come?” he asked Bickslow as they took their places at a small table where Lucy, Natsu, Gajeel, Cana and Mirajane were already seated.

“No, he said he had a couple of problems with his father,” he replied. Laxus frowned slightly and sat down next to Lucy, and across from Bickslow. He understood that Freed didn't have a great relationship with his parents, but they never talked about it after the night they had dinner together. He was almost tempted to ask for more but he didn't want to be too obvious, nor meddlesome. Despite that, he decided to try it anyway.

“What's wrong with his father?” he asked.

“Basically, he's an asshole, he wants to shut him down,” Bickslow explained. “I honestly don't understand what a bother it gives him,” he added with a shrug.

“It's just reputation,” Lucy explained as she took a couple of fries and stuffed them in her mouth. Then she turned to Laxus. “A couple of years ago, shortly after Freed opened the track, he gave an interview and said he was kicked out of his house because he was gay. This had some repercussions on his father's company, so now he wants Freed to start working for him, so that no one will believe it anymore. The point is that few now remember that article. It's been years, he should just let it go,” she said.

Laxus found himself for a moment still with his beer half raised, surprised by that tale. He closed his mouth and put the glass down without drinking, thinking about what he had discovered. He now understood why Freed didn’t have a good relationship with his parents, and now he also knew that there was indeed hope with the boy. He decided to leave out that last thought.

“So, he wants him to close the track just for this reason?” he asked.

“Yes, his father wants to have a good image,” Lucy said.

“You met him,” Bickslow recalled.

“Yeah, quite like my father,” she just commented. Laxus frowned, sure he was missing something. Lucy noticed this because she explained to him that she was the daughter of Justine's partner, and that she too had left home since she finished high school. At first, she had lived with Freed, then the two had taken two different paths, she had found a job in a publishing house, while he had decided to open the motorcycle track. They had been friends for years.

Laxus listened to the stories that Lucy told him, and after a while the chatter took a quieter and more fun turn. Gajeel, Elfman and Natsu arm wrestling each other, Cana and Bickslow carried on the conversation by telling lots of funny anecdotes, while Mirajane tried to stop her girlfriend from drinking too much. Laxus soon found himself having fun, forgetting Freed's stories and enjoying the nice afternoon. The boys had just finished eating when Bickslow announced that Freed and Loke were on their way.

“Now we’ve to go,” Cana commented.

“Well, we're staying here until tonight, there's a band playing” said Lucy leaning on Natsu.

“We go home instead, we’ve a commitment tomorrow,” Mirajane said. After that the two girls got up and said goodbye as they walked away. Laxus stayed there until he saw the two boys walking towards them. At that moment he remembered what Lucy had told him earlier about the boy's sexuality, and he found himself for a moment unsure how to behave. At least until Freed and Loke were in front of them. At that point he thought that very little changed, he would enjoy the man's company as he had done up to that moment.

“Here you are finally!” Bickslow exclaimed. Loke sat down while Freed remained standing.

“I saw that there’s an exhibition of vintage motorcycles over there, is anyone interested?” he asked them. But the boys shook their heads and finally Laxus decided to join. Freed smiled gratefully and the blonde just shrugged, as they walked towards the place where the exhibition was located.

“How was lunch?” Freed asked.

“Not like the one at Raijinshuu, but it wasn't bad,” Laxus replied. “I had to order two sandwiches because they were too small.” Freed smiled slightly and nodded, continuing among the people in silence until they reached the exhibit. As soon as they arrived, Laxus’ eyes sparkled: those bikes were beautiful, they had a sleek design and were in really good condition.

“My grandfather had a bike like that,” he said pointing to one and approaching it for a better look.

“Don't tell me he sold it,” Freed commented.

“Unfortunately, yes, it was stupid. It was beautiful,” Laxus said with some nostalgia. It was the first bike he had ridden on when he was a child, the one he had sworn to buy when he grew up at the age of five. Thinking about it only brought good memories to his mind.

He continued following Freed and observing others, occasionally making a few comments. Compared to usual, however, Freed's responses were much shorter. Laxus noticed it after a few minutes they were there, and glanced at the boy, wondering if he was okay. He watched as Freed pulled out his phone and answered a message with a frown. Obviously, he wasn't in a very good mood, and obviously Laxus knew it after what Bickslow had told him. But he didn't know whether to tell him something or not, since he didn't think he had all this confidence with him.

Eventually he decided to remain silent, simply trying to pull him into some conversation. All his attempts, however, went up in smoke, even though Freed was clearly kind, he could see a mile away that something was bothering him and at that point it was impossible for Laxus to remain silent.

“Everything good?” he asked. Freed frowned slightly.

“Yes,” he replied immediately.

“I mean, really,” Laxus said. “You're a little distracted, and Bickslow told me you had a couple of problems with the track,” he insisted. Freed avoided his gaze and the blonde feared he was being too intrusive. But before he could apologize and withdraw his words, Freed spoke up.

“Actually, there’s some problem. Nothing serious but… well, I'm still worried,” he admitted.

“I'm sorry, something that threatens to make you close the track?” he dared to ask Laxus.

“Yeah,” Freed murmured and then shook his head. “No, I mean, it's all good, just... I don't know, really,” he snorted. Laxus watched him for a moment in silence not knowing what to say.

“If everything is up to standard, I don't think you need to worry.” Freed smiled slightly at that phrase.

“It's the same thing Ever and Bickslow tell me.”

“Because we’re right. I mean, I don't know you very well but you seem like a very fussy type, you've probably made sure everything’s okay”. Freed just nodded. “Anyway, if you want to let off steam, Bickslow and Ever will sure be happy to help you.” Freed raised a slightly frowning eyebrow.

“Are you dumping everything on them?” he asked a little surprised and Laxus found himself holding back a laugh at his expression.

“Well, obviously if you want to let off steam with me that's fine, but I'm better at distracting people than comforting them, and apparently my attempts at distracting you haven't worked until now,” he said. Freed was silent for a moment, probably thinking back to what Laxus had tried to do, then smiled.

“Maybe with a beer I'd be better distracted,” he said.

“Don't think I'm offering it to you, rich man” Laxus replied walking towards the stall. “Actually, since I'm helping you, you could offer it to me.” Freed laughed slightly.

“You really are a freeloader, I never would’ve said that,” he commented.

“Eh, having a rich friend has some advantages,” Laxus smiled, pleased that he was finally able to get Freed out of his thought bubble. The rest of the afternoon was much more enjoyable for both of them, and if Laxus found himself flirting with Freed, it was just to distract him. Not because Lucy had told him he was gay, that had absolutely nothing to do with it.

***

Freed hadn't seen Laxus for a couple of days at the bar, and he was starting to feel a little bitter. Since the blond had started going to Raijinshuu, Freed had also started going to the bar more often to see him. The chat with the boy had become much longer and always managed to improve his day. He liked Laxus. To be honest, Laxus attracted him quite a lot. He was the ideal man for Freed. He was easygoing, always had a joke ready, had that hint of arrogance that amused Freed, and he was terribly handsome.

He still didn't understand what Laxus thought of him, and if he could ever return his crush. He didn't even have a clue if he might like guys, probably not, but Freed was hoping for that anyway. After all, it had seemed to him from time to time that the blond flirted with him. But maybe it was all in his head. It probably he was. That didn't stop him from getting on well with Laxus and wanting to spend more time with him.

“Didn't Laxus come to the bar?” he asked Bickslow, who luckily seemed more focused on serving a customer at the moment to see his real interest.

“No, to be honest, I haven't seen him for a while,” said the boy. Freed nodded a little irritably. He had hoped he knew more. If only he had had his number Freed would’ve written to him, but he had never thought of asking him. He was an idiot. He had a crush on Laxus and couldn't even come forward and ask him for his number. He tapped his fingers nervously on the counter, undecided whether or not to ask the next question. His gaze fell on the poster that indicated the participants in the race of the month and he saw the name of Laxus.

“Strange, he has to do the race and he doesn't even go for a lap around the track,” he commented.

“He doesn't compete anymore,” said a voice behind him. Freed turned in surprise to see Cana. “A beer Bickslow, the biggest you have,” she ordered and then turned back to the poster. “Poor Lucy, I'm a little sorry for her, she had focused on Laxus”.

“Why doesn’t he do the race?” Freed asked, frowning.

“He has had an accident and his bike is unusable,” the girl replied calmly.

“What?” Freed asked worriedly and Bickslow also turned to her with a distressed expression.

“Nothing serious!” Cana hastened to say “Really, or I wouldn't have told you in this way” she said trying to calm them down. “A drunk actually overturned his motorbike while he was standing still. Laxus didn't get hurt, but the motorbike... well, he's pretty pissed off,” she explained.

“Oh” was the only thing Freed managed to say. He was relieved that the boy was okay, but to be honest he understood the blond's anger. “Well, the insurance will pay the damages,” he reasoned.

“Yes, but in the meantime, he can't use his bike,” Cana commented and then shrugged, taking her beer and starting to drink. Freed looked at the girl. Of all the people there, she was surely the one who knew Laxus best. She probably had his number, and Freed wanted to hear the boy too. Maybe he could distract him from the story. Okay, it was a pathetic excuse to hear the blonde but, man, he missed him.

Pathetic, he thought irritably as he thought of a better excuse to talk to the boy. Besides, what would he say to Laxus once he called him? He snorted slightly lost in his own thoughts, until an idea came to his mind. A much calmer idea, so he wouldn't need Laxus's number to talk to him. He would pass by the place where he worked, hoping to cross paths with him.

***

Of all the people he expected that day, Laxus hadn't thought of finding himself in front of Freed. The boy got off his motorbike and smiled slightly as he took off his helmet.

“Hey”.

“Hey, any problems?” the blond asked, wondering if he was just there to talk to him or if he had some problem with his motorbike.

“Yes, I was taking a ride when I realized that it’s leaking some oil. Since I was close to here, I passed here, to check before the engine is damaged,” he explained. Right, well, it's not like Freed could've been there just for him.

“You did the right thing. I see if it’s something minor or if it’s more serious,” Laxus said, taking the bike and dragging it into the workshop, almost with sparkling eyes to have such a vehicle in hand. Every time he saw it, he felt crazy envy. And in that moment even more. He darkened his face for a moment to rethink his bike, but he quickly dismissed the thought, just hoping that the insurance would pay him quickly so that he could repair it.

Freed nodded absently and looked around.

“Is the workshop yours?” he asked.

“No” Laxus replied “But today the boss isn’t there” he explained as he began to take a look at the vehicle. When he did, however, he was baffled for a moment. For a couple of seconds he remained motionless, then turned to Freed, who was looking around.

“The fuel cap isn’t closed properly,” he said at that point, at the same time surprised that Freed hadn't noticed and amused him. To tell the truth, he was a bit shocked. The green-haired boy blushed slightly.

“Oh really?” he asked naively and Laxus raised an eyebrow. Freed's cheeks warmed even more and the blonde couldn't help but smile amused, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at him. Freed wasn't that stupid.

“So, are you really that incompetent or is the reason you are here another one?” he asked him. Freed snorted slightly and turned his gaze to the side. Laxus chuckled, feeling a little hope in his stomach. Maybe Freed really had passed by just to see him. It would have been nice, and very, very funny too.

“I know you had a motorcycle accident,” Freed said at that point. Laxus frowned slightly.

“It wasn't an accident. A fucking drunk hit me. I was still,” he pointed out in an irritated tone, losing all fun.

“Yes, Cana told me,” Freed said turning back to him. “I'm sorry about your bike, but the insurance will pay for everything, right?”.

“Yes, who knows when, though,” the blond commented. Freed smiled slightly.

“Well, I'm here to make you a proposal,” Freed said. “You know, Lucy bet 40,000 jewels on you.”

“Holy shit,” Laxus commented in surprise. “Well, I'm sorry for that little blonde, but she's really unlucky,” he added, knowing full well she didn't win one.

“Yes, but if you participate you could make it win. If I gave you the bike, would you participate?” he asked. Laxus frowned, surprised by this proposal.

“Are you serious?” he asked “Would you lend me the bike, just to let your friend win the bet? You aren’t even sure that I will win, you would first give her the money”.

“She's too proud to accept,” Freed said. “Anyway, yes, why shouldn't I? I know how you drive, I've seen you several times,” he added with a shrug.

“Would you lend me such a motorcycle?” Laxus asked, still shocked, pointing to the nice little gem he had just closed the fuel cap tightly. Freed nodded. “Fuck you, you're crazy” he said, not knowing what else to say.

“Would you accept or not?” Freed asked.

“What if I lose?” he asked at that point. Freed smiled in amusement.

“So, you know you could lose. I thought you were more arrogant, you’ll have one of the most powerful bikes and…”.

“Shut up,” Laxus growled irritably.

“So do you accept or not?” Freed asked again. Laxus fixed his gaze on Freed's bike and a sudden excitement pervaded him. He could’ve ridden a motorcycle like that! What the fuck did he care why Freed would let him do it? A grin broke out on his face.

“Okay,” he agreed, already feeling high at the idea of riding such a bike.

“Well, and since you're so sure you'll win, I'll bet on you too. Don't make me lose money,” Freed said as he took his bike back.

“As if you miss them” Laxus couldn't help but reply and Freed laughed slightly.

“Tomorrow you can choose the bike to use in the race,” Freed told him as he left the workshop. Laxus nodded and followed him, but then frowned.

“Wait, what do you mean by choosing?” he asked.

“You'll find out tomorrow,” Freed replied, before putting on his helmet and saying goodbye.

***

Laxus stared in rapture at the garage in front of him. When Freed told him he could choose between different bikes, he didn't expect to find himself in a large garage with a dozen or so bikes inside. How the fuck rich was Freed? Other than shitting money, he really didn't know what poverty or normal life was. He stared at those beautiful bikes in surprise and excitement, not knowing which one to choose.

He must have really had a surprised expression on his face because Freed chuckled and approached a black motorcycle leaning on it.

“Except this one, you can choose whatever you want,” he told. Laxus cast a curious glance at the bike he was leaning on, realizing that it was probably his personal gem that he was most fond of. He was starting to feel a little uncomfortable to tell the truth, he didn't even understand why Freed should have given him a motorcycle of his own. Sure, he wanted Lucy to win, but why let him pick one? Was he trying to show off? Because if he was doing it, he worked damn well.

“Take your time,” Freed said.

“Are you like... a motorcycle collector?” Laxus asked as he stepped forward and ran his hand over a fiery red vehicle. He really was spoiled for choice.

“More or less,” Freed smiled. “Even though Evergreen says I’ve an exaggerated fixation. Bickslow often tells me too” the boy commented, looking around.

“They're not entirely wrong,” Laxus murmured. That place was like his heaven. He rode a bit between the different bikes. They weren't all sporty, there was a beautiful classic one, and Laxus gazed at it for a while and then moved on. He wanted to try them all. Eventually he made up his mind to pick one and Freed then tossed him the keys. Laxus caught them on the fly.

“Wait until tomorrow before using it, I’ve to reactivate the insurance,” Freed said as he walked out of the garage. Laxus followed him without saying a word, already feeling a thrill of adrenaline running through it. The very idea of being able to ride something like this excited him beyond measure. “Well, I thought you were happier riding a bike like that,” Freed commented. Laxus looked up at him.

“You’re really weird,” he told him openly. Freed shrugged.

“Just because I lend you a motorcycle? It would be so much stranger if I gave it to you,” he replied calmly.

“That would be crazy,” Laxus commented.

“Anyway, if you're free tomorrow we can come back here together so you can try it out,” Freed said. Laxus nodded again a little dazed.

“You really trust me,” he muttered.

“I've seen you ride before,” Freed replied. “Unless you lied to me about the accident and you were the one to ride another bike,” he added. Laxus regained some confidence and turned to Freed, remembering how the boy had shown up in the workshop with a stupid excuse.

“I'm not like you,” he retorted. “Uh, next time, if you want to stop by, come up with a better excuse. You could puncture the tire and call me,” he said with a smirk. Freed's cheeks reddened and Laxus laughed in amusement.

“Shut up,” he muttered.

“You know I'll make you remember it forever?” sneered the blond.

“You know I can let you walk home?” was the annoyed reply and Laxus smiled and decided to shut up. He didn't really want to walk all over town to get home, or take a bus. The two boys got on the bike with which they had arrived there. Freed in the front and Laxus in the back. The blond put his hands on Freed's hips, enjoying the contact, for the first time thinking that perhaps that accident had not brought only negative sides with it. He smiled as Freed left and took him home. Eh, maybe the boy wasn't so indifferent to him.

Notes: Maybe it was better to divide it into two chapters, it turned out to be longer than I thought. Well, I think the next chapter will be roughly the same length, but I also think it will be more interesting than this one.

#fraxus #freed justine #laxus dreyar #freed x laxus #fanfiction

10 notes · View notes

awhitehead17 · 3 years

Note

ohoho my goodness okay so for the prompt thing I think it’s be cool if you wrote something about the batfam being absolute trash at board games because detective skills get you no where in candy land. Maybe they’re just playing among themselves and those who haven’t been in the vigilante business as long as the others are better at it or maybe they’re playing with the jla, that’s up to you! No pressure tho, I’d just like to see where you’d go with this. I hope you’re well!

Thanks for the prompt, it was certainly an interesting one to try and come up with scenarios for and I apologise that it’s taken so long to answer this!!

So this basically ended up being the batfam playing different board games and roasting each other, hope that’s okay because it may not be what you had in mind.

Hopefully you’ll enjoy it nonetheless! :D

“Well this is just unrealistic.” Tim comments scowling at the board on the floor in front of him.

Next to him Steph lets out a long groan and cradles her face in her hands in frustration. “It’s a board game Tim! It’s not supposed to be realistic.”

“You’re just mad because you guessed wrong and are now out of the game.” Harper laughs at him from her position opposite him. “Tim Drake, a sore loser, who knew?”

“I’m not a sore loser!” Tim almost yells back feeling himself get worked up in both anger and embarrassment. “This game is stupid.”

“Because you lost.”

“Because it’s unrealistic.”

“I would have thought this game was right up your street dude, but obviously not.” Duke says from Tim’s right, looking a bit despondent at this revelation. Tim sends him a glare, not appreciating his input in the conversation.

Duke isn’t fazed by it, he ignores the look and gestures at the board in front of them. “Cluedo is a detective game and you’re a detective, how did you get it wrong?”

To stop himself from lashing out at Duke, Tim forces himself to take a deep breath. He is getting ridiculously wound up over this stupid game and the others with their goading isn’t helping matters.

“You know why,” Steph remarks with a smirk, “because that giant ass brain of his over thought it all and since he over analysed it, he got it wrong.”

There’s moment of silence in the room after Steph stops talking. Tim huffs at her statement but finds that he really can’t argue against it because that’s probably exactly what happened.

Steph leans back onto her elbows so she’s sprawled out over the floor, “it’s just a game, there’s no need to get so defensive over it. It’s supposed to be a bit of fun with a little mystery involved.”

That elicits a snort from Harper. She gives the blonde a disbelieving side look. “Have you seen yourself when playing Mario Kart? I’ll be sure to use those exact words next time you’re putting a sailor to shame for the language you come out with when a blue shell hits you.”

Steph rolls her eyes. “I’m not that bad.”

“You totally rival Jason when it comes to mouthing off at Mario Kart Steph. Don’t deny it.” Tim says, contributing to the conversation. He’s pleased that the topic has moved away from him and onto Steph.

Steph opens her mouth to respond but Duke beats her to it. He waves his note pad around wildly. “As fun as it is to roast one another, there’s a game here still to be played.”

Grumbling underneath her breath Steph sits back up and the four of them continue with the game at hand, or at least the three others do. Tim had guessed wrong and now has to sit by to watch, but on the bright side he gets to judge all of their movements now knowing the truth.

-----------

The grimace that crosses his face is entirely instinctual as soon as he sees what box is placed down on the table. With a quick glance around he sees three other’s mirroring his look. Dick opens his mouth to make the comment of why the chosen game may not be wise but instead he shuts his mouth and keeps quiet. He figures they need to learn somehow, being told what to expect is different to actually experiencing it.

It’s currently a rare Sunday afternoon when a majority of the family is over at the Manor at the same time. It’s probably because of the weather that everyone has unintentionally gathered together in the media room, with it heavily raining no one really wants to go adventuring outside.

Dick finds himself surrounded by his younger siblings, some of the extended family they’ve adopted over time and Bruce himself. All of them now sitting around the table after deciding to play a board game together.

That probably should have been the first warning sign. Dick really ought to know better but he had been distracted by the feeling of having all of his family around for once when no one has been injured or the reason why they’re together being a life-threatening crisis.

The decision of what board game to play takes almost twenty minutes to decide. Even then they hadn’t actually decided what to play, it got decided that everyone would place a game of their choice into a hat and it would get chosen at random.

That’s when the worst one of the bunch got chosen. Dick could see the same look he was wearing appearing on his brother’s faces.

Monopoly. That’s the game that’s been decided.

“Is it safe to assume that today is the end of the batfamily?” Steph comments with a laugh.

Almost everyone around the table gives her an odd look and only a couple chuckle along with her. From past experiences when playing this game, Dick knows it’s not the falling out part that’s the issue, the main issue is that Bruce absolutely dominates the game every time. It’s no fun playing with his adoptive father, this is something he’s learnt the hard way. His brothers also had learnt this the hard way, that being the explanation behind the grimaces they all share.

“I would rather play literally anything else.” Tim states boldly looking around, though his eyes often flicker to Bruce.

The two seats to his right are occupied by a confused looking Duke and Cass. “Why? Monopoly’s not so bad, sure it’s long and can get tedious. We’ve played this game before.”

Tim sends him a pointed look but it’s Jason who speaks up from the opposite side of the table. “Yeah sure, but that’s because you haven’t played with Bruce before. You’ll come to despise this game by the end of today.”

“Father gets rather self-assertive when playing this particular game. While I admire his skills and efficiency of winning this so-called game, father tends to take the apparent competition away any time he plays.” Damian claims from his position on Jason’s left.

The youngest Wayne is now scowling at the box on the table with obvious resentment from past experiences.

If Duke looked confused before, now he seems utterly baffled.

“Oh I’m not that bad.” Bruce declares sounded offended. Dick knows him better however, he’s completely faking it. He knows exactly what he’s like with this game.

“Bruce will literally bankrupt everyone within like five rounds of this game.” Tim says glancing around.

Silence falls over them after that and it feels like everyone is deciding whether they should in fact play or not. Of course the earlier members of the family know exactly what’s in store for them if they do play but the newer members don’t.

In the end Steph stands up and grabs the box, clearly stating she doesn’t care and can they just get on with it because staring at one another isn’t getting them anywhere. As the board gets set up Dick shares a knowing, helpless look with his brothers. Well they have to learn at some point.

Three hours later, half of those around the table have their heads in their heads and were wearing disbelieving looks on their faces. It’s as funny as it is depressing.

“This is ridiculous,” Steph mutters glaring at the table, “this is so unfair.”

“Well, I’ll do the honours by saying; we told you so.” Tim gloats with a smirk at the blonde. Steph decidedly glares at Tim instead of the table.

Jason bark of laughter causes Dick to crack at grin at the various of reactions the family is having to Bruce’s domination of the game. The man is stacked with money, having nearly owned every property on the board and has practically bankrupted three quarters of them by now.

“This is why you don’t play Monopoly with Bruce. Hope you all learned your lesson now!” Dick laughs.

There’s a low groan from Duke who soon mumbles out, “Yeah just a bit….”

-----------

“Whoever decided this game can go to hell…” Tim mutters underneath his breath scowling at the paper in front of him.

Next to him Jason snorts. “You only say that because you know who chose this game.”

“My point still stands.”

“Enough.” Dick dejects in an attempt to stop an argument from happening. “Knock it off, we’ve all had our turns to choose and now it’s his turn.”

“But he can’t even play it right!” Tim whines, it’s like he’s a child throwing a tantrum.

“Y’know, no one is making you play.” Duke points out from his spot on the floor, his focus is on the paper in his hands as he continues to draw whatever he needs to.

Tim huffs and kicks his leg out, successfully knocking Duke off balance. Duke doesn’t rise to the bait, he simply grabs Tim’s ankle and shoves it away. “Real mature Tim.”

“Tim likes to complain when things aren’t going his way, he’s immature like that.” Steph comments with a laugh. Next to her Cass is smiling away as she nods her in agreement.

A group of them has gathered into the living room of Dick’s apartment on a slow evening and all have sprawled out across the place. Jason, Dick and Tim are sharing a sofa with Duke perched on a cushion by their feet on the floor. Steph and Cass were sprawled out on the second couch and Damian is adjacent to them all sitting in the love seat.

It’s been a recent between them all, having game nights and taking in turns to choose what is to be played. This time happens to be Damian’s turn and the youngest has chosen to play Pictionary.

It’s a good game, one that is generally enjoyed by the majority of the family, however, what Tim had been referring to, is that when playing with Damian, he tends to lose the point of the game. He takes every drawing too seriously and spends an unreasonable amount of time on each word.

Because it’s Damian, every drawing has to be perfect before he shows them or even hints at what he’s drawing. They’ve tried to explain to him multiple times that the drawings don’t have to be perfect, as long as they are recognisable then that’s all that matters, but the kid refuses to listen.

It can make playing with him very frustrating.

Him, Jason and Tim are used to it, but it seems like Duke and the girls are all taking it in stride. They only get through a couple rounds within like an hour thanks to Damian and it’s getting to the point where Dick is beginning to think that Damian is actually doing it on purpose because he can see how much it’s riling up Tim.

Brotherly love right there.

They’re just finishing off the third round and sharing their terribly drawn pictures with one another. Duke holds his piece of paper up with a sheepish smile, “I tried okay. It wasn’t easy.”

“What is that?” Damian demands as he squints at the mess of blue squiggles on the page.

“It’s supposed to be a sunrise, my word was morning but no one got it.”

“Tt, that’s not a surprise Thomas as that looks nothing like a morning, or a sunrise for that matter.”

“Well, jeeze, thanks Damian. I only had 60 seconds to come up with something and draw it.”

When Damian tuts in obvious displeasure, Dick simply rubs a hand over his face. That kid… he loves him, he does but sometimes he certainly makes it difficult to do so. While Duke is still new to the family, he’s been around long enough to get a feel for what Damian can be like. He simply rolls his eyes and turns the paper away.

“Cass what is that supposed to be?”

Jason’s question to Cass gets his attention, he looks in their direction to find Jason frowning at the piece of paper Cass is showing him. His sister shrugs not looking at all embarrassed with her attempts to draw whatever it’s supposed to be. Dick couldn’t work it out either. As far as he could tell it’s a solid colour of black on the page.

“An eclipse.”

Her answer makes Jason even more confused. “So you decided to colour the whole page black?”

“It creates a shadow…”

“Right.”

In the end Jason shakes his head and leans against the back of the sofa. His expression makes it clear that he’s simply done with everything tonight. Dick snorts at his behaviour before he feels a nudge on his left side.

Tim is looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t you just love game nights Dick? They’re great right?”

His voice is dripping with sarcasm and Dick restrains himself from commenting on it. He does love game nights with his siblings but they sure as hell make it a challenge sometimes. All of them do. Not one of them is innocent.

But as he looks around at the scene he knows he wouldn’t change it. While not all of them are currently present, game nights are an opportunity to hang out outside of the masks, any public personas they play and any emergencies that may be happening.

Dick leans back against the sofa and mumbles underneath his breath as he watches Duke and Damian bicker about the art of drawing under pressure and about how to play the game correctly. “I actually do, yeah.”

#prompt #batfamily #board games #this is them roasting one another really #dick grayson #Tim Drake #Stephanie Brown #Jason Todd #Damian Wayne #duke thomas #others #fanfiction #i hope you like this #i had to actually google how to play some of these games haha #humour #annoying siblings #brotherly bonding #family bonding

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period-dramallama · 4 years

Text

Spanish Princess Episode 5: many many thoughts

Strap yo selves in

-WHERE WAS THE APOLOGY?? Lina’s just back with Catherine like nothing happened??

-Katherine, I get why you’re upset, but you kind of should be unsurprised?? Your dad was unfaithful to his wife, most kings were. Henry VII and Richard III were the exceptions, and even they had illegitimate sons before their marriages. Many kings also had official mistresses that everyone knew about, so by the standards of the time Henry and Bessie are actually being pretty tactful in at least trying to keep their affair out of sight. (Sexy dancing aside).

-Honestly it would have been so much more moving if KoA was like “I know kings take mistresses...but I thought...I was so sure... he would be different...”

-”they gave me a purse of gold!” It’s expected that you give the monarch lavish presents, lmao Ursula and Stafford would do that even if they hated each other and you

-”everybody loves a masque” the only sensible thing Henry has said so far in this show. Also court probably had way more masques than we see in the show, and it would standard to have a masque every holiday.

-”she is not a boy” hurry up with your character development and learn to love Mary already i am so TIRED of this miserable BS

-seems a rather depopulated masque? If the Chateau Vert pageant is anything to go by putting on a masque was a court activity, with most of the ladies performing.

-Bessie Blount in her cute masque costume... sweet mother i cannot weave Aphrodite has overcome me with GAAAAAAAAAAAAY

-”I never enjoyed carousing...my mother scolded me” look i love the Neville sisters with my whole heart but a) Margaret was 3 at most when her mother died, how does she remember her? She’d have clearer memories of her double-uncle and double-aunt, Richard III and Queen Anne b) Isabel Neville in the White Queen was established as very prim and proper, a well-bred girl who cared about enforcing decorum, she refused to ‘carouse’ and she certainly would never bring a 3 year old to a party c) we saw little Margaret as a girl at the end of the White Queen and she didn’t seem at all shy.

-”she died young, didn’t she” ...yes? most people did?

-”they both did” understatement of the year. Isabel Neville died young because she was ill, George died young (in the universe of The White Queen, at least) BECAUSE HE WAS FORCEFULLY DROWNED IN A VAT OF MALMSEY WINE. THESE TWO THINGS ARE NOT THE SAME! I do at least trust the writers of this show that the understatement was intentional, I’m sure even Emma Frost couldn’t forget a major character getting violently drowned.

-So the court only noticed the plague when one of their own got it so obviously and then died? Yes, plague could move fast, but if there was a whiff of plague the court would flee with the speed of the Looney Tunes road runner. If an acquaintance of an acquaintance of a cook had a cousin who saw someone with the plague, the court would flee to the country. How have these people not died of terminal stupid?! Like Compton was in the same building as the heir to the throne

-To be fair, it makes sense that they’re surprised Compton’s dead. Because the real Compton died of the sweating sickness. In 1528. Also he was involved in Buckingham’s downfall so... you just wrote yourself into a corner.

-Oh wow an actual good reason for More and Pole to be quarantined together i am amaaaaaazed

-”attend the queen” Boleyn, what do you think your daughter’s been doing all season if not attending the queen? Playing tetris?

-Katherine helping Anne into the wagon...I actually like that little moment. Like it does make sense, because the two have no reason to hate each other yet. (And who couldn’t like Anne? She’s such a babby!)

-Thomas More in the Tudor equivalent of casual clothes... much better. Shame about the 1930s lady’s wig.

-”what else should we do?” Maggie, this cannot be the first epidemic you’ve ever lived through. Have you forgotten the sweating sickness of 1485? You’ve probably lived through more epidemics than Oviedo has, you should know the protocol better than him.

-Oviedo continues to be the only man with rights. I wish we could see him crying and missing his wife and babies, but then my lil heart would break so maybe it’s for the best.

-They burn Maggie’s weird blue hood AS THEY SHOULD! IT WAS UGLY AND STUPID! I NEVER HAVE TO LOOK AT IT AGAIN NOW! THANK YOU SO MUCH! yes they also burned her nice dress with the strawberries on it but honestly it’s worth it, bc now i can rest easy, knowing the evil hood has been defeated.

-”you were a plaything” Katherine is so obviously insecure. I’m getting second-hand embarrassment. Like if she really was certain Bessie wasn’t important, she wouldn’t need to say it, would she? Except to rub it in. Which this KOA would absolutely do.

-literally all Bessie said was good morning?? Like Bessie is doing her best?? The masque was Henry’s idea, not hers, she hasn’t shown off about her affair, she hasn’t demanded money or titles, she hasn’t demanded any status to rival Katherine’s, she doesn’t flirt with or even speak to Henry when Katherine’s around, she acts like they’re strangers, she doesn’t even react when Katherine loses her temper...someone please please stick up for Bessie!

-”the rocking of the cart is unsettling to the stomach” is Anne naive, or is she covering for Bessie? I hope it’s the latter, in which case Anne is the one person looking out for Bessie...the babby is Soft, I repeat the babby is Soft!

-the irony of Mary being cold to Bessie when she’s next in the firing line...

-”it is not the rocking” Thank you Lina, where would we be without your gift for stating the obvious?

-”where did Wolsey get his money”...He’s a churchman...at the top of the church hierarchy...how do you fuckin think he got wealthy. Have y’all not been in the sixteenth century for five minutes? Why do you think Luther is so mad at the church?

-”I know of no other man in her bed most nights” Honestly wow I’m surprised KoA wasn’t like “well :/ a girl like that :/ who knows how many men process in and out of her bed :/” KoA gets half a point for being less bitchy than usual. Also Bessie looked so uncomfortable with Henry groping her stomach in front of Katherine. I pray the next man in her life treats her right and that Fraham don’t prematurely kill her off like they did with Compton.

-”the future king” if you’re regent on his behalf, then he’s already king! “Civilised companionship” back at it again with the Scots-are-barbarians.

-Laura Carmichael is utterly stunning this episode, with her hair down. The cinematography was beautiful in general this week.

-”freedom to speak and licence to speak are two different things” hey look at that one of Thomas More’s actual beliefs. I am giving all the credit to the historical advisor for that, I don’t believe for one second Fraham knew that beforehand.

-Maggie I love you but no, God does not sanction adultery. For any reason.

-KOA smirking and gloating about Bessie’s pain...she has never been so punchable. I would understand, if not condone it, if Bessie was manipulative, or greedy, or ambitious, or trying to supplant Katherine. But Bessie’s been betrayed by Henry too, and there’s no concrete evidence she ever gloated about her affair, to anyone let alone Katherine.

-”You think only of your own fate while London is struck down with plague” Earth to Katherine?? What concern have you shown for the Londoners?? Also calling Bessie selfish...Bessie’s not the one who lashed out at Lina, was jealous at Lina for having twin boys, and who wanted to continue a war for personal reasons. And then Bessie proves KoA wrong 5 hot seconds later by sticking up for Mary. Bit rich of KoA to be all “how dare you leave my daughter unattended” when she herself won’t even hold Mary.

-”Louis didn’t last a year” What! Is! The Timeline!

-Meg in that cloak reminds me of the Scottish Widow adverts. Georgie is so greedy- she steals every single scene she is in! Even when she’s raging she has more dignity and more presence than KoA ever has.

-”YOU LYING SOD” i burst out laughing it’s really not the little two-timing shit’s day, is it?

-Mary receiving Charlie B in the most Extra way possible. A++

-Why does Wolsey look like he’s about to cry?

-”thoughts are not actions” Lina I love you but... that is NOT what the New Testament says. Jesus said evil thoughts are very very much sins. I’ll give you a pass because maybe you haven’t been Catholic as long as Katherine has? Idk your backstory.

-Aaand now she’s wishing death on Bessie and her unborn baby and Lina isn’t disgusted? At least Katherine is feeling guilty. AS SHE SHOULD.

-”must it always fall to me to be magnanimous?” Katherine, you think only of yourself, for 23 out of every 24 hours.

-”God wants me to be compassionate to Bessie because of my sins” God wants you to be compassionate because that’s how Christianity is supposed to work. It’s not very selfless of you to decide to be selfless so that you can get what you want.

-oh wow look at that! She’s getting some self-awareness, i never saw that coming.

-”you betrayed Bessie” 5 points to Katherine of Aragon for standing up for Bessie when Henry screwed her over. Finally, some positive character development.

- MINUS 20000 POINTS FOR BABY STEALING

-WHAT THE FUCK

-is henry so dumb he thinks that baby is Katherine’s? Katherine was so obviously not pregnant

-When a baby’s born his skin needs to touch his mother’s skin so they can bond. They should have at least an hour’s cuddle time. Katherine of Aragon is literally traumatising a baby the very minute he is born. For her own selfish, selfish desires.

#the spanish princess

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nothisis-ridiculous · 3 years

Text

Take Me Home Now: Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine: The Radio Reminds Me

Set after the events of ME3.

A rewrite. Ao3.

FemShepxKaidan

Notes: I know this is a slow build, but it was always meant to be more about the re-entry of Shep than a romantic story. I will have more Shenko content, I just don't want different expectations put on this work.

The mass of biotics division huddled around a central table, while most craned their heads to get a better view, some jostled their way in closer. Jane only approached because it was something to bide her time, well really, it was to avoid Rahna and their 'friend date'. Specifics were not important.

"What's going on here," Jane questioned.

Three-quarters of the biotics stood taller, and all stopped moving. The woman still spoke with the authority of a commanding officer, would have been if... well, that wasn't important either. Here, she was just Jane. Even after the deference, the biotics instinctively gave her as they allowed her front row access to the device on the table. Jane chalked it up to her reputation for holding her biotics at full force with a faulty implant rather than face the reality of her other-self.

Jane picked up the comm, looked it over, then promptly set it down, "impressive paperweight?"

A brave student snickered, plucking the device from the table, "did they not teach you old folks tech?"

"Said the 2nd Lieutenant to the N7," Jane smirked, "tell me, how long did it take to put your bars on and still leave them crooked?"

The kid fussed, trying to wave away his faux pass with some technobabble and blustering. Leave it to Alenko to be soft on his kids.

"We've been scanning the airwaves for news, news outside of earth," the soldier finally stammered out, "I found a promising channel I just have to.."

"Well, everyone is waiting."

"Aye, Aye ma'am."

The kid nodded, bringing out the interface of his omnitool, punching out codes until the box relented.

"Relayed July 23rd. Charon Relay is inoperable. Mass relays comm buoys inoperable. Attempts to fix relays have begun. Repeat message."

"The 23rd was a week ago," a voice commented from the crowd.

"Is there another channel?"

"Please respond. We are alive. This is Commander Bailey, C-Sec, on a looping message. Please respond. We are alive."

The lightness a simple broadcast brought to her shoulders was rejuvenating, sublime in the brief moment of having one friend survive the war she wrought upon the galaxy. Until the weight returned in the form of a warm hand resting on her left trap, prior commitments and all.

"Jane."

"Rahna."

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Jane leaned back, folding her arms tightly across her chest. Proficient in the use of silence, she kept an easy stare at Rahna. If she had to play the hostage, she wasn't about to make it easy, defiant yet still compliant. Speaking now put her into a position of giving something away- well something more than she wanted to give away. With the level of fame Shepard had reached curious hands liked to get into her file, while against the rules, those with access often did. What else could be juicer than personal details on the Commander? On her failures? Successes. Her psych profile.

It was violating.

"It's good to hear someone on the Citadel is still kicking," Rahna broke first.

"If anyone could have survived, it was him."

"Someone you knew well?"

"Compared to most C-Sec officers, he was a dream," Jane allowed her face to relax, "a real cut through the red tape kind of guy. Bailey really came through during the Cerebrus coup."

Rahna nodded, returning with a small smile, "that sounded like a tense situation. Everyone back home was shocked we never thought Udina-"

"Udina was a rat."

"You would know," she mumbled, "I'm glad it ended as well as it did. Without losing another friend."

Jane's lips tightened, shoulders bracing for the mental impact of the emotions she wanted locked beneath the surface. The cacophony of feelings blurred and grew, loss, regret, pleasure, reconnection, and the legion of secondary emotions attached to the cold anger freezing her system. A brittle connection shattered, leaving behind a numbness.

"Is this all about Alenko?"

Rahna's eyes widened, reeling, the blunt words not within the realm of what she expected, "that wasn't-"

"You couldn't; you rejected the man he was," Jane snarled, pitching forward on her chair, "is this jealousy? I can armchair you right back, Strawberry."

The woman chuckled, "you've heard about me."

"Yeah, I've heard about you. I don't need to go snooping into your file."

"Then you should know we reconnected a couple years back- and nothing happened," she returned cooly, "it was obvious he still had feelings for another."

The immediate surge of pride warped with bitter jealousy, her throat tightening. If she didn't know better, Jane swore her heart stopped the long pauses between the beats petrifying the organ. Her world grew cold, hollow. This jealousy was certainly foreign, the Commander was better than this. Mary knew better, knew that after all Kaidan had returned for her- had written that after all this mess, he didn't know, they both didn't know then.

The Yeoman's call that she had a message at her private terminal had grown past the stage of annoying- Mary had hinted once that Chambers should switch it up. Apparently, her tone had been too jovial, and a week later still nothing had changed. Not even a crack at a 'message for you' or a plain 'message.' With a sigh that Kelly met with a quick glance, Mary sauntered over to the terminal. The sender had her retreating.

While she was under no guise that she had privacy, Mary liked the illusion of it.

Back in the empty room of the Captain's Cabin, Kaidan's picture flickered on accusingly. Still, Mary grasped for it, a thumb tenderly resting over his cheek.

"I want to think you're angry, that you'll tear me a new one. But we both know better."

She set the frame down, looking away, focusing on the one-third finished model of the Athabasca Class Freighter. It seemed like a simple ship, not something flashy like a Geth Dreadnought or Sovereign, but it was apparent to what drew her to the model. A sentimental reminder of the Canadian she loved. The man that stared at her when she walked by. The one she talked to in the billions of moments she regretted working for Cerebrus. Kaidan was silent, but it was better than nothing, the picture at first was a warning to what Cerebrus could take from her. Now it became a lifeline. Unhealthy. But a small drop in the bucket compared to the Suicide mission she had thrown herself headfirst into.

"You could never stay mad at me long... you'll even expect me to, to-"

Tears tumbled from her eyes, the first to come since her time aboard the 'fake' Normandy. One painted in colors and emblazed with an emblem that made her skin crawl. It was all wrong.

It filled her head with screaming.

Mary didn't read the message that night.

Or for the next week.

Kelly stopped reminding her about one unread message.

Shepard put the Athabasca down gently, careful not to disturb the drying sealant. Her eyes flickered to the picture that stared at her, "I know it's time to look."

They hadn't spoken in that time, either.

Kaidan was predictable. His gentleness- his compassion. The love he claimed to have for her obvious, even if Mary was fighting to ignore it. After all this, after turning up in bed with a terrorist organization, he still beckoned her to be careful. To return to him when, if, things settled. Most of all, his honesty.

Damn, did it hurt. Her heart squeezing and constricting itself.

Could Mary blame him for attempting to live happily?

She wanted that for him. In her current situation, she would do nothing but bring him strife. It was selfish to reach out now. To clamor for his attention, to stir up old feelings. To let him become a target. The Illusive Man had tried once; what was to stop him from doing it again? As much as she hated bringing Anderson into her troubles, it was becoming apparent she needed to lean on him, at least to get Kaidan out of the line of fire.

Mary left the message unread. Call it revenge or heartbreak.

"You didn't know?" Rahna pressed, her fingers raking across her forearm, "I thought you- well. It was only to reconnect; that's how I got recruited to Biotics Division, eventually. I don't think he had been assigned-

Commander?"

Jane's pupils narrowed, "what do you want from me? This is- this-"

Rahna tried to interrupt, but Jane was not finished, "do you like seeing me squirm? Do you like that I'm not the person you saw on all the vids?

What fucked up reason do you have for doing this? You were stupid enough not to see Kaidan for who he is. You spurned him for trying to help you. I bet you couldn't even look him in the eye. Beauty...sure. But kindness? I see someone who can't stomach a hard decision and is infected with naive idealism. He stopped Vrynnus from torturing more kids, like he did to you, and you just-

Now you have to pull me into this? Do you regret losing him after seeing the compassionate man he became over the years? You could pull anyone, is only the capable and handsome Spectre enough? Or is it more fun to gloat over the decimated competition?"

Rahna watched as Jane rubbed at her cheek and the strange flashing scars. Observing the woman's tension across from her as she only grew more enraged as it did not elicit the reaction she desired from the accusations, pity filled the void that might have been anger.

"I doubt either of us has moved through life without regrets," her voice was silk and cool, "Kaidan and I could have both handled that better. Perhaps I was naive, but what is done is done. There was no longer a spark; we both knew that was the end of an 'us.'"

The blonde huffed.

"I won't lie and omit that I have seriously breached protocol and decorum by perusing your files; the 'Commander' is a fascinating subject to anyone that paid attention. She was hope to many," Rahna looked her in the eyes, playing the woman's staring contest, "can't blame a girl for being curious."

Jane slowly settled into her chair, swiveling her eyes away, arms folding across her chest. More so in a move reminiscent of a pouting child, but it was a start.

"Do you know what your file said? Specifically your psych evals?"

The woman didn't look at her, going stiff as stone. Jaw flexed in her effort to maintain silence.

"Brass had you tabbed for immediate evaluation after the war," she let that settle in, the woman's throat bobbed, "and more than that. I see someone who needs help. Selfishly- I hope I can help. Even a little, even if it is just someone to listen. After you have helped so many."

"Shepard is dead."

The Commander walked out of the room for the last time.

#fshenko #kaidan x femshep #mass effect fancition #take me home

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sanjuno · 4 years

Note

how do you reckon things would change if Obito and Kakashi remembered their past lives as Izuna and Kanna? (And have you given a past incarnation of Rin in the Warring Era?)

… @deverickracoma you mean, like in canon? Huhhhh…

Well first off before Rin was Nohara Rin she was Senju Touka. Which makes this situation super fun because both Izuna and Kanna died before Hashirama strong armed Konoha into existence and Touka only went along with it because Her Stupid Little Cousins Need Some Common Sense. XP

In her lives as both as Touka and as Rin she holds the single (1) braincell for this Disaster Trio.

So Izuna dies via Tobirama’s sword. And then Kanna kinda… revenge rampages with Madara until the critical angst threshold is reached as Kanna just… explodes both theirself and the battlefield.

There’s a whole lot of background stuff behind the suicide run such as Kanna’s Hatake side suffering from mate-loss depression and their Uchiha side suffering from Makengyou Madness and also Really Bad post-partum depression compounding it and yeah. Unfortunately Madara is just as wrecked from Izuna’s death so he can’t really support Kanna and it all goes to shit because we all know canon is a shitshow.

But anyway Touka is there to see Izuna die and she is well aware that Tobirama has just made a horrible decision driven by unacknowledged jealously and overzealous paranoia. Then Touka barely manages to save Tobirama’s pasty ass from the screaming revenge demon that she later learns was Izuna’s wife. And then Touka stands witness as Hashirama forces peace at sword point.

So Touka is just there like, “Oh for fucks sake we’re all going to die horribly.”

And, of course, Touka was right everything is horrible and everything hurts.

Only now it’s plot-twist time and Touka, who was investigating certain questionable sources about the ongoing breakdown of social order in Konoha gets killed by Zetsu in order to cause even more tension against the Uchiha in Konoha and hey guess what? Yeah, that’s right Rin remembers the creepy plant-demon thing gloating about stealing Uchiha Madara (aka the only one vaguely strong enough to combat Kaguya at that time given he had naturally manifested the Rinnegan) for his own use before Zetsu killed her in a suspiciously ambiguous manner.

Shit.

Fuck.

Four year old Nohara Rin has a vendetta and the ability to kill a grown man.

So obviously given that the Plant Demon is trying to kill off the Uchiha using shadowy assassinations and rumour mongering the Plant Demon is afraid of the Uchiha. Ergo the Uchiha are a threat to the Plant Demon otherwise it would confront the Uchiha more openly.

So.

Rin therefore needs to make super-duper ride-or-die best friends forever with at least one (1) Uchiha. And then, on the first day at the Academy, Rin runs into an absolute dork wearing Madara’s face.

Ah. Says Rin, channelling canon!Madara. That One. That’s The One I Need For My Plan To Succeed.

Cue the Rin and Obito Bonding Moment ™ that will repeat as a flashback every time their history is at any point mentioned in the narrative.

As for Obito, well… when he was Izuna he loved his Clan but then when he was reborn he read the Clan Histories from after his death and the public history of Konoha and Obito knows his Clan are a bunch of fucking traitors who stabbed his big brother in the back and that’s why Obito is both disgusted by the Uchiha and overprotective of the Clan’s reputation because Madara still loved their Clan even after they turned on him.

I may include Obito unearthing Madara’s private journals from a hidden cubby in the Naka Shrine that only Izuna would have known to look for. Just for the sake of an extra knife and also so that Obito can find proof of Zetsu’s sabotaging his brother’s mental health.

Obito is more than a little weepy and sentimental over the fact that Madara honoured Izuna’s last request to the point Madara destroyed himself and his connection to the Clan. Obito can’t blame Madara for giving in when Hashirama forced peace to try and protect the few loyal Clan members who remained. Obito decides to protect Konoha and the Uchiha because he won’t let Madara’s last wish go unfulfilled but he’s going to become the fucking Hokage and tear out all the Senju-inflicted rot infecting his Big Brother’s Dream.

Obito is openly disdainful of the Clan Elders and the only people he even vaguely respects is the Head Family. Mostly because Mikoto is descended from Izuna’s daughter and even though Izayoi married “Tobirama’s student Kagami” she was still his baby girl and Mikoto is his great-grand daughter and he loves her because she’s his family.

Mikoto, Obito, and Shisui are all descendants of Kagami and Izayoi’s kids so they’re second-third cousins. Obito spends a lot of time pondering the overlap of self-care and I-love-my-grandbabies. It’s a fun little exercise in existentialism.

In the meantime Kakashi is still a little shit-disturber of the highest order. Kanna was taught all the fun Uchiha Clan Skills as Izuna’s wife and now Kakashi has learned all the fun Hatake Clan Skills from Sakumo and the little bastard is even more terrifying than canon. Kakashi is more gender-fluid than agender the way Kanna was though which is a fun new flavour of dysphoria-through-reincarnation that I’ll probably enjoy exploring.

Now, this does mean that Kakashi starts wearing his mask before Sakumo gets scapegoated which is a minor yet still significant change from Kakashi’s canon characterization-and-motivations.

So Kakashi blitzes their way through the Academy in like, 6 months because Kakashi has negative chill and an understandably paranoid focus on keeping their dad alive this time around. The only people Kakashi respects are the Military Police and their Dad everyone else can perish. Minato is A Constant Despair because he cannot control this sassy hell child Sakumo-sempai pls tell your son to l i s t e n t o m e.

Sakumo-sempai goes “LOL nope” because Sakumo is also a troll but is better at hiding it than Kakashi is.

So Rin and Obito are BFFs then Kakashi rips through their class like ground lightning and the sparring scene happens but the kickback of Uchiha-memories manifesting as body action means the spar is a familiar dance and so Obito is like “OMG K a n n a” and cue Obito stalking Kakashi like a schoolgirl with an obsessive crush and no concept of personal boundaries.

Enough shenanigans occur to 1. make Team Minato a cohesive and functional thing instead of a train wreck, and 2. keep Sakumo alive because Kakashi recognizes their Dad’s suicidal tendencies for what they are and so they set their ninken up as watchdogs to make sure Sakumo doesn’t do anything stupid. Because Kakashi’s biggest regret is leaving Madara and Izayoi to suffer grief without them and they refuse to let that sort of despair take away anyone they care about again.

So now Team Minato is bonding, and they are friends, and they are all slowly coming to the realization that they all remember their previous lives. So they start to share information and gradually piece together where Zetsu’s influence has been applied as they try to figure out what the Plant Demon’s endgame is.

Which means that Team Minato is 100% more paranoid about mission intelligence than they were in canon and also Rin more than ready to gut the Iwa-nin who tries to kidnap her during the Kannabi Bridge Mission so that’s fun. Team Minato has also made a point system for rooting out moles, spies, and traitors to hand over to T&I.

Sarutobi had a lovely headache when the knowledge that Sakumo’s mission had been sabotaged “accidentally” got leaked. (Kakashi had given the old man more than enough time to fix the rumour mill so it’s on Sarutobi’s own head that he didn’t take action before Kakashi did.)

Also Team Chaos Gremlins Minato manages to charm Orochimaru over to their camp via one of Obito’s rage fuelled rants about dismantling the hypocritical indoctrination of the institutionalized status quo. Specifically, the fact that the Hokage is supposed to be a public service position voted on by the people who only really has complete executive power during war time. Instead of a unilateral dictator chosen by the previous Hokage’s undisguised bias and favouritism.

Also because they’re all proof of the reincarnation cycle existing. Orochimaru is living his best life especially when Team Minato trash talks the other two Sannin.

Rin is the Most Offended by Tsunade fucking off and abandoning her responsibilities. Tsunade basically inherited all of Hashirama’s worst traits without any obvious redeeming qualities to balance it out. Because, let’s be honest, the only reason Hashirama got any level of respect is because he was Over Powered to the point of ridiculousness and because Tobirama plus Mito were in charge of his public image.

Kakashi and Obito are both hyper-loyal so having Jiraiya decide to just not come back during wartime and for Tsunade to abandon her responsibilities as a healer and Clan Head has destroyed any possible respect they might have had.

Obviously Orochimaru is the best Sannin so he’s the one they’re going to make friends with. Also they drag Orochimaru back to the Hatake Clan House to commiserate with Sakumo about being the target of a Village wide smear campaign. Which strengthens both Orochimaru and Sakumo’s spirits enough to resist their Bad Endings from canon.

All of this basically allows Team Minato to have the leverage to track down Zetsu’s creeper cave and they find Madara trapped and blinded and leashed to the Gedo Mezo, and Obito nearly has a world-destroying breakdown. Rin stands guard while Obito and Kakashi have a tearful reunion with Madara and there’s a lot of dramatic apologizing and sobbing.

They all know that they can’t leave Madara here with Zetsu, but detaching him means he’s going to die. Eventually Madara makes the decision himself to break the connection because he refuses to be used as a hostage against his little brother. So Madara tells Obito where his eyes are (which means that the Ame trio are going to get kidnapped by Team Minato eventually) plus a run-down of all the subversive plots Zetsu has had a hand in, and then Madara outright smashes the statue.

Normally nothing would be able to destroy the Gedo Mezo given that it’s basically the fossilized corpse of a god but Madara is currently part of it which means that the statue’s defences don’t realize Madara is a threat. So, statue goes boom, the cave starts to collapse, and Team Minato runs away with Madara’s body so they can give him a respectful burial.

Zetsu has approximately ten thousand aneurysms in the space of one (1) second.

From here the kickback really starts to pile up because Obito now makes a habit of dropping in on newborn Uchiha to check and see if Madara’s been reborn yet. Which means that Sasuke has a really invested older cousin hanging around to take Itachi’s place when Itachi make dumb decisions.

Rin is grumpy because basically every Clan who joined Konoha had a bunch of Senju marry into their Clan so finding Hashirama’s reincarnation is basically impossible. (And then, of course, Naruto is born and Rin faceplams 1000 times because of fucking course.)

Kakashi is laughing at both of them. Right up until they take command of Team 7 and notice a hated familiar chakra under the skin of a pink haired little girl. (All three members of Team Minato nearly die laughing because Tobirama is a pink haired little girly girl heeeeee~)

Anyway aside from all the family drama Team Minato also manages to dispose of Danzo and exposes his “plot against the Hokage”, boosting Sakumo’s public image to the point he gets named as the Fourth, fixing the stigma Orochimaru faced despite being the only loyal member of the Sannin, and basically terrorizing Konoha with Political Activism.

Zetsu probably goes a bit around the bend thanks the Team Minato destroying all his hopes and dreams plans. Also they keep putting the pressure on and exposing Zetsu’s schemes and eventually that gains enough momentum that the other Villages are taking a good hard look at shit that’s going down and hey wait w h a t t h e f u c k …

Obito eventually takes over as the Fifth Hokage and tears apart the corrupt government systems like a Tasmanian Devil going through a rotting carcass because Big Brother’s Dream Will Become A Reality B E L I E V E I T !

The End. XP

#Sanjuno talks back #the memory remains #Sanjuno metafic #reincarnation AUs

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spine-buster · 4 years

Text

the storm before the calm (f. andersen) | 8

A/N: Again, I can’t thank you all enough for reading this! Let me know what you think! Remember that there is still the epilogue next Monday

Also, BE PREPARED FOR CLUES ABOUT MY NEW STORY. ONE CLUE A DAY (STARTING TUESDAY) UNTIL THE FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT IS MADE ON FRIDAY!

Fred didn’t know what time was anymore.

It had been months, probably, since he last saw Aleida. But he didn’t know how many. A couple, definitely. A few, maybe. Several, probably? He didn’t know. Everything was a blur now, and nothing felt real. He still “lived” his life, so to speak – he still played hockey, he still brushed his teeth every morning, he still ate food – but nothing had any meaning anymore. Nothing had purpose. Everything in his life, everything, felt empty and hollow, like no matter what went into it, it would never be whole.

Everybody around him noticed. Everybody knew. Word had gotten around the locker room, but whenever anybody tried to approach him about it, he simply walked away. It was his way of telling them he didn’t want to talk about it. Sometimes he’d even give them a glare and they’d back off, knowing better. The wives and girlfriends got word of it, too, and for lack of a better term they stayed away, for the most part. Steph didn’t gloat in his face, which was nice, although she did keep saying things to others – things he’d catch wind of thank to Mitch’s big mouth (or Steph’s own big mouth if she was in the same room).

Sometimes, he just wanted to forget Aleida happened. Other times, it was all he wanted to remember for the rest of his life.

He isolated himself. He didn’t speak to many people much. He’d stay in, not go out, order takeout. Auston called sometimes, texted often, but Fred gave him generic answers. Morgan would check in from time to time, mostly with the preface of “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but…”. Bee would call, demand she’d talk to him, but he’d give her the same generic answers he’d give Auston or Morgan.

Until she showed up at his condo one day with Chinese takeout.

“You’re talking to me,” she said as she pushed through the door, his big body moving for her easily as she walked through the hallway before setting her keys and the takeout bags down on the counter.

Fred looked down the corridor to see if Morgan was following behind, but he was nowhere to be found. He accepted the situation and closed the door, walking through his apartment slowly to find Bee already opening the containers of food. “What’s there to talk about?” he asked as he sat down at one of his barstools.

Bee shot him a look. “I’m worried about you,” she started. It brought him back to all those months ago when so many of the wives and girlfriends tried to approach him about Aleida. With Bee things were always different.

“What’s there to worry about?” he asked, voice empty.

“If you don’t smarten up and talk to me, I’ll leave,” she warned sternly. She wasn’t here to play games or beat around the bush, and she wanted to make it known. Her tone straightened Fred up a little bit. He knew he couldn’t get away with any bullshit with Bee. She’d been through enough.

“What do you want to talk about?” he mumbled.

“I don’t want to talk about anything,” she said. “You need to talk about what happened, because it’s eating away at you and I hate to see you like this.”

Fred sighed heavily. “I’ll start from the beginning…”

And he did. He started from the beginning – well, at least, what he thought was the beginning. And he explained everything to Bee – as much as he could – until he got to the final moments. That’s when he tried to include every detail. And when he was finished, and their Chinese takeout was cold, Bee’s face was stuck in a sort of stoic kind of reserve. She was clearly mulling over everything and didn’t know what to say, didn’t know what to think. The situation was all very unique to Fred and Aleida, naturally, and she had no experience with this sort of thing because, well, nobody was like Aleida.

“I can’t believe that all happened,” was what Bee finally came up with. “I can’t believe…I can’t believe she said all those things.”

“You and me both.”

“She doesn’t mean them, you know,” she finally said, practically blurted out. “I mean, it’s so obvious. She doesn’t mean them.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“Well I do,” Bee said more assertively. “She doesn’t mean them at all. She said them out of fear.”

“Fear of what?”

“Fear of…I don’t know, love? Being with someone who actually appreciates her instead of uses her?” Bee offered. “She barely has any experience with that. You said so yourself. And when she was finally confronted with it in the form of you, she didn’t know what to do. Her fight-or-flight response was to self-sabotage.”

Fred shook his head. He didn’t know what to think. He didn’t know what to believe. “I don’t know, Bee…”

“Fred…” she said, moving around the island to rub his shoulder. “You’ve been a shell for months. Have you thought about trying to find her? Trying to talk to her and—”

“You think I haven’t?!” he asked, the first time his voice was barely above a mumble. Bee was taken aback a bit, but continued to listen. “Do you honestly think that I haven’t thought about doing that? She told me she didn’t love me, Bee. I told her I’d walk out that door and never see her again if she told me she didn’t love me, and she told me.”

“But Fred, she didn’t mean it—”

“She did mean it, she did,” he stressed, shaking his head. He was becoming emotional reliving that conversation in his head. “There’s nothing I can do about it, Bee. She doesn’t love me. She never did. At least not the way that I loved her. I just can’t…I can’t…” the tears were welling in his eyes.

Bee hugged him. It was all she could do. She held him tight in her arms as he buried his head in her shoulder and cried.

***

Fred was wandering. It was dark, late at night, he wasn’t sure what time it was, he wasn’t sure what day it was, he wasn’t sure where he was in the city, he wasn’t sure about anything at all. Everything was a blur. He was just wandering. Wandering to find a semblance of any feeling; wandering to fill a void that couldn’t be filled; wandering to find something that couldn’t be found. Every soul he passed on the street was empty to him. Every storefront that shined with neon lights – empty. He couldn’t find life in anything or anyone around him, because there was no life left in him anymore.

“Hey bud,” he heard a voice call out to him from where he was about to approach. “Bud, hey bud, you lookin’ for a good time?”

Fred stood stoic in his place. He looked up, trying to see a sign for the place, but either he was blind or there was none there. Not the greatest start, but Fred digressed. “A good time.”

“Yeah. A good time, you know? Good time,” he kept repeating. His voice was sleazy. “Twenty bucks cover. You wanna come in?”

What did Fred have to lose? If this man was telling the truth, he was telling the truth – he would have a good time. If he wasn’t and he was leading Fred to be robbed or to his death instead…well, that was the risk Fred was taking. Fred fumbled around with his wallet and slipped the guy a twenty-dollar bill before going down the few steps into the basement bar.

He was fairly surprised to see the bar full of patrons sitting at tables full of wine bottles and glasses, paying attention to something that was happening against a wall he couldn’t see yet. The further he got into the venue, the more he saw: a man was playing an acoustic guitar, crooning the audience with his voice and melody. Some middle-aged women were smiling and swaying along; their husband’s hyper-focused on their beers or watching the man on stage.

“Sir, you need to take the table all the way at the back,” a man tried to push him along. “Right at the back, sir. One of the last tables.”

Fred followed absent-mindedly – again, not knowing if he was being led to a mugging or death. When they finally got to the table, Fred sat facing the stage, and a waitress immediately uncorked a bottle of wine and pored him a glass. He gulped it all in one go. She looked at him strangely before filling up his glass again. He drank that one too.

“Save some for your date,” she said loud enough to be heard over the music as she poured him a third glass in a row.

“Who says I have a date?” he asked.

“I bet a guy like you has no trouble getting a date,” she smirked.

He didn’t even care that she was flirting. It didn’t even register to him. It went in one ear and out the other – just…completely devoid of any feeling. Maybe she was just doing it for a generous tip, anyway.

The patrons began clapping as the man completed his song, bowing dramatically and putting his hand over his heart as a gesture of thankfulness before walking off the stage. There were some rumblings before another man came out – who Fred assumed to be the host – in a suit and tie with a microphone in his hand. “Give it up for Michael Keyes, huh! What a performance!”

There was another round of applause. Fred groaned, closing his eyes and throwing his head back. He wanted to take the glass full of wine and the bottle and just do a mad dash out of there. He didn’t even know why he agreed to come in ninety seconds ago. What was he even doing? What was he trying to find?

“The next presenter of our open performance night…well, she really needs no introduction. She’s is a face you may know very well, as she is a performer here often. You’ll often see her at events around the city performing with her band. And you know what? I’m just going to let her singing do the talking.”

Maybe he should just get up and leave. He’d give the sleazy guy outside $100 to shut up if he yelled at him for leaving.

He heard another polite round of applause as he continued to have his eyes shut. Some clacking of heels and dress shoes walking across the stage. The bench of the piano being adjusted. Some strums of guitar. A clear of the throat. The quietest count in.

And then eerily familiar guitar notes, played along with the piano. Notes that sounded like they were void, depressed, like they were crying. Notes that when strung together made one of his favourite melodies. Notes that he’d listened to through a pair of headphones countless times. He knew those notes anywhere. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room by John Mayer. He smiled to himself, his eyes still closed as he readied himself for the lyrics to start.

It’s not a silly little moment

His body stiffened.

It’s not the storm before the calm

His eyes jolted open.

This is the deep and dying breath of This love that we’ve been working on…

He knew that voice anywhere.

Her.

It was her.

Can’t seem to hold you like I want to

Aleida.

So I can feel you in my arms

ALEIDA.

Nobody’s gonna come and save you

ALEIDA!

We pulled too many false alarms

His body felt like it was on fire. Like the fire of a thousand suns had just exploded within him. His heartbeat had stopped the second she started singing, and he was pretty sure he still wasn’t breathing. The world around him stopped.

We’re going down And you can see it, too We’re going down And you know that we’re doomed My dear, we’re slow dancing in a burning room

Aleida was singing. On stage. Oscar was playing the guitar on his vintage archtop. She was there, in the flesh, her voice cascading throughout the room like waves.

I was the one you always dreamed of You were the one I tried to draw How dare you say it’s nothing to me? Baby, you’re the only light I ever saw

She closed her eyes at that point. He swore he saw tears welled up in her eyes before she did, but maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. Maybe this was all just a dream, a sick hallucination his mind concocted. Maybe he’d officially gone insane.

I’ll make the most of all the sadness You’ll be a bitch, because you can You try to hit me, just to hurt me So you leave me feeling dirty ‘Cause you can’t understand

It was definitely her. Definitely. He still felt like he wasn’t breathing. He wanted to get up, but his entire body felt like it was full of cement. Just like when he first found her. He couldn’t move his legs, his arms, anything. He was stuck in his spot at his table, the fire within him burning.

We’re going down And you can see it, too We’re going down And you know that we’re doomed My dear, we’re slow dancing in a burning room

Oscar played the short guitar interlude expertly, just like Fred knew he would, as Aleida kept the tempo going on the piano.

Go cry about it, why don’t you?

He swore she was talking to him.

Go cry about it, why don’t you?

He swore she was talking to herself.

Go cry about it, why don’t you?

He swore she could see him in the audience, but he knew she couldn’t because of how dark and how far back he was.

My dear, we’re slow dancing in a burning room

As she looked out into the crowd, she practically made direct eye contact with him. He shivered. And as the next music break came in, she and Oscar effectively switched; he kept up the tempo of the song on his guitar, while she freelanced on the piano, a delicate mix between loud and roaring but soft and crying – a definite anger in the notes but also a sadness. Something only Aleida could create.

Don’t you think we ought to know by now? Don’t you think we should have learned somehow?

He did know by now. He did learn.

Don’t you think we ought to know by now? Don’t you think we should have learned somehow?

The fire in him made him finally able to stand up. He did so dramatically, rocking the table loud enough so the people beside him looked at him. And as he made his way through the crowd, through the sea of tables and wine glasses so he could be within Aleida’s line of sight, he made even more noise. None of that mattered.

He needed to see her. He needed her to see him.

Don’t you think we ought to know by now?

Aleida sang out the last lines, looking out into the audience with definite tears in her eyes. Despite being in a room full of people, she had never felt so empty before; never felt as isolated as she did. Even with Oscar there. As she looked out, she noticed a giant figure in the middle of it all. She blinked once, to clear the welling of tears in her eyes.

Tall. Wide. Ginger hair. Ginger beard.

Freddie.

It was Freddie.

He was here. He was…he was here.

Aleida’s heart stopped beating. Everything around her stopped. Suddenly, she was not in a bar full of people in downtown Toronto performing with Oscar. It was just her, with her piano.

And Fred.

Don’t you think we should have learned somehow?

As they played their final notes – Aleida absent-mindedly – the crowd began a raucous applause. Fred was staring right at her, right into her soul, and she was doing the same to him. Her body went stiff. She couldn’t move. She felt like she couldn’t breathe.

He was all Aleida had thought about these past months. He haunted her dreams. He haunted every waking moment she had because all she could think about was him. All she could remember was him. All she wanted to be remember was him. But she had been so cruel to him. She had ruined him like she knew she would inevitably. She’d left him broken hearted, left him because she was scared. And there was no way for her to rectify it. There was no way for her to make it better, because she was never supposed to see him again. She was supposed to go her way, and he his. They were never supposed to meet.

But in his absence, and as part of her punishment, she ached. Her whole body ached for him. Her mind was a torture chamber of thoughts. All she could think about was his soft touch. How he held her. How he made her feel when she was with him. In the middle of the night, her body would tremble from the cold and the void, desperate from wanting his touch, his warmth. And she thought she was bound to wander the earth alone forever now, after what she had done to him. It was her punishment. To never know a love like his again. To look for it, but to never get it.

To look for him, but to never see him.

Yet here he was.

In front of her.

Looking at her.

Seeing her.

The bright lights shining down on the stage were nothing compared to his eyes. He lost himself in her eyes when he first met her in that Shopper’s Drug Mart, and now, she found herself as she stared into his.

Aleida stood up from her piano seat, not breaking eye contact, and rushed over to him desperately. He did so too, taking three long strides to meet her at the edge of the stage. She jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him passionately. She immediately felt his warmth. She immediately felt how soft he was. She immediately felt his love.

Aleida began to cry as she continued to kiss him. He was here, in her arms, and she could feel him, and it was all so overwhelming. “I’m so sorry,” she mumbled against his lips, her tears wetting both their cheeks. “I’m so sorry, and I love you, and I couldn’t say it, and I was scared, but I love you. I love you so much Freddie.”

“I love you too, I love you too,” he mumbled, kissing her again.

***

“Freddie…make love to me Freddie, please, please,” Aleida sighed out as Fred’s body was on top of hers, the both of them already naked and on his bed within mere seconds of getting back to his place. She had thought about this and ached over it for so long that she was shaking in anticipation. She never wanted to be without it again; she never wanted to crave his physical touch like she had been.

Freddie, for his part, didn’t need to be told twice, and entered her in one swift movement, causing her to cry out in pleasure. Her nails dragged along his shoulder blades and down his back as he pumped in and out of her slowly, passionately, making sure to make it last. He looked her in the eye. He made sure she was looking back at him. “I love you,” he finally said.

“I love you too.”

“I always have.”

Aleida nodded her head. She knew.

***

“You came back to me,” Aleida mumbled as they lay together in his bed, wrapped in each other’s arms. Fred’s touch was soothing; her body no longer ached. “You just appeared out of nowhere, but you came back to me.”

“I went looking,” he admitted quietly. “I went looking to fill the empty I was feeling without you in my life. And there you were.”

Aleida shifted slightly, propping herself up on her elbow so she could look down on him. “I’m sorry for everything,” she said, barely above a whisper, as her fingers from her other hand traced shapes on his broad chest. “I’m sorry for everything I said. Everything I did.”

Fred shook his head. He grabbed her hand tracing shapes on his chest and cradled it in his massive hand. “It’s okay. You’re here now.”

“And I’m never going to leave,” she said definitively. He brought her hand up and kissed her knuckles tenderly. “No matter how scared I get, I’m never going to leave again. I promise you.”

Fred knew Aleida meant it.

145 notes · View notes

jojo-reader-hell · 4 years

Text

Hello Bad Children it is I, Koro, with more 5am angst. Melone x Reader: The Outside

(Writing this was like waking up from a nightmare about my partner cheating and then being mad at him all day for something he did in a dream, and I chose this picture because I’m finna slap the shit out of Melone after this.)

Melone reasoned that his date wouldn’t mind if he was a couple minutes late.

Everything was perfectly set into place. The night was young, balmy, perfect for cuddling close to his special someone. The restaurant was close enough that he could see the flower shop where you worked very clearly from the window. At the table he’d reserved, he knew exactly which way to tilt the chair he sat in so that he could keep an eye on your form at all times, and intended to sneak glances at you throughout the night so he could gloat at the fact that his life was still perfect, and yours was as miserable as he hoped for. It wouldn’t hurt to keep his new flame waiting a little while. She might even be touched, he thought as he strolled boldly into the shop and heard the tinkling of the bell, if he walked in like a prince with a beautiful spray of your favorite flowers to give her. It had to be all of the ones that were your favorites, the same make of bouquet he’d ordered nearly every week to keep you happy. He had to make a statement. Otherwise how else would you know he was doing well?

You had been many things. Faithful. Honest. Receptive. It had only taken you a matter of days, maybe even hours, to accept that Melone was your one true love even though you didn’t know it at first. Months of careful planning and building of your love nest paid off, and it was quite painfully obvious that you enjoyed these passed few years being his kept woman, as he put it lightly. You were a good girl, so obedient, doing whatever he asked without question and even with a smile towards the end when he began losing interest. Unfortunately you were also stubborn, hence why Melone had let the punishment go on for too long.

Truth be told he thought he’d been rather generous that last day. He felt he had to, it was at least fair he treat you kindly in your last day captive in the home he bought for you. It made up for the languid looks up other women’s skirts, the audacity of ogling endless trains of rear ends, ankles and breasts, entering chat rooms to look at bare pictures and post them until one day someone replied back at him just as intensely as he commented. It was only fair he give you one days break from domestic duties. Usually you did the cooking and the cleaning, rising early before the sun came up to make your “husband” something to eat, but he’d decided to surprise you that morning. Let it be known in the records that Melone could cook quite the sumptuous feast for breakfast, and he made sure the omelette came out nice and fluffy, and that the pancakes stayed warm by keeping the syrup on the side, or that the bacon was crisp and the fruit without blemish. Even the orange juice was good, squeezed fresh with a hint of Prosecco, and the coffee was pour over, Melone taking great pains to get the coffee grounds just so that the flavor exploded in your mouth even with the addition of cream and sugar. You were quite surprised when he’d brought it all to you on a tray in bed that you didn’t even register the indifference he had, not bothering to feed you like he usually would and just letting you savor everything until you were full.

“Was it good?” He asked, your name a trill and a light note to begin on.

And then he smiled a saccharine toothy grin as you agreed, praising him and thanking him for spoiling you.

“Good. Because it’s the last meal you’re ever going to have in this house. I want you out before the sun sets.”

“Good evening! I’d like a bouquet please.”

The cashier smiled at him, asked what he liked and set to work filling the order. Melone was almost disappointed that he didn’t call you to the front to work on it yourself, but he didn’t let it show and only met the other man with a smile. This person was one of your coworkers, blissfully unaware that the man before him was the monster that had ripped you from your happy home and completely brainwashed you into making one with him, having only torn you away from it five months ago. It had been hilariously funny to Melone, seeing you trying to reintegrate into society like a helpless idiot. Your coworkers treated you like a simpleton, your paycheck merely a grudging kindness they didn’t have the courage to put an end to. He saw you by chance on the street after the third month of your break up, and you’d been more of a mess than the first night he held you captive. You were fearful of everything around you, comically wide eyed and avoided nearly every attempt at human interaction. Your hair was unkempt, your clothes wrinkled, dark circles under your eyes and you looked as though you hadn’t eaten properly since that last breakfast. Melone had to stifle the laughter in his throat, a sick sense of pleasure filling his tummy as he followed you just out of sight that day. You looked everywhere, wandering in circles around the streets before eventually finding your way into the flower shop where you worked before he met you. Sometimes he checked on you, content to see you miserable as ever working for less than minimum wage, but never once did he bother to see where you were living now.

Probably in a cardboard box in the alley for all I care... he’d thought with a wicked smile.

Those first three months after Melone had quite literally booted you out onto the street were bliss, everything was quiet around the house, he had endless evenings talking to his new flame and hearing her lilting voice comment hotly on all the things she’d do to him once she came abroad. She wasn’t even from Italy, just someone he met online before he broke up with you, telling him she knew how these things worked out and she’d give him time to admire her from afar until he was completely over it. Even though he kept insisting at the begging and whining for her affection, he waited patiently for the fateful phone call that came five months later: she was ready to come to him at last.

He scrambled at the last minute to get the house perfect, rearranging furniture, thankful that your things had long since been thrown out. Even the Junior you’d produced with his Stand had been eliminated a month prior to his date. It used to infuriate him, seeing it look at the frosted glass of the front door as though it was looking for traces of you still clawing desperately, screaming to be let in. God help him, the Junior even pined for you, wondering why Melone wouldn’t just let you come back to live with them and destroying things when he tried to insist that a new mommy would come to take your place. The Junior had thrown a fit before the computerized Baby Face had taken action, and your Junior’s death had been a sick sort of closure for the assassin.

“Don’t open that door.” Melone had told your Junior during the breakup, in more of a giddy coo than the anger he felt hearing you crying for him to please let you back inside.

“... Mommy is out there.” Your Junior had told him, as if he’d missed it. “She’s crying. She’s cold. Why can’t I let her in?”

The sneer he gave your Junior must have set the seeds of rebellion into growth, because he still remembered the look of frustration it gave him.

“She’s not your mommy, she’s what’s called a ‘problem’. And do you know what we do with problems?”

“... no?”

“We work through them. Chase her away, make her afraid to go near that goddamn door. I don’t want her setting foot in this neighborhood ever again.”

Melone was snapped out of his thoughts of the past as the cashier happily handed over the aforementioned bouquet, wishing him a good night and shocking the assassin with the abruptness. He found himself so shocked he left without trying at least to drag the conversation on in the hopes that you’d hear his voice and come running.

This wouldn’t do... he thought, bringing him to his current predicament of waiting out of sight behind the dumpster of the restaurant. This wouldn’t do at all...

Melone knew what he wanted. He wanted to approach you when you left for work. He wanted to make himself known. He wanted pain. He wanted a scene. He wanted your tears and screaming and crying, craved it like a shot of liquid courage to steel his nerves for his proper first date. He didn’t feel these butterflies when he met you, only felt a sense of calm, and he needed some of that to quell the anxieties he felt. You were good for some things after all, he begrudgingly decided. And what better way for a bookended closure than to use you for a last dose of peace before he began what would most certainly be a romantic beginning to living a brand new happy life with the beautiful woman he’d courted for so long.

“Have a good evening sweetie. Do you need any help with those presents?”

He heard the telltale tentative steps of your footfall before he saw you, and he snapped his head up to see your coworker loading you up with a large cardboard box, helping you adjust to the weight of it as you both exited the shop. You were bundled up in an old puffy coat, clearly a donation, your hair pulled back into a bun and combed for once.

You shook your head, avoiding speaking directly and opting to look at the box in your hands instead of his eyes.

“Are you ok to walk home?”

Silence. A nod in the affirmative.

“You’ll let me know if you need anything?”

Affirmative silence.

There wasn’t anything else left to say. The first look Melone got up close was already disappointing and not boding well for his date. If he didn’t do something now, you would already be out of sight and long gone before he had a chance to use you one last time. Already you were backing away, not even bothering to thank your friend nor even wanting to bid him goodnight as that familiar lost look settled over your face. Melone cursed at the stupidity of your coworker, unable to follow you as long as he stood there watching you go. How hard was it to just cut the cord? He wondered, and finally cursing in an exhale of breath when your coworker returned to his place in the shop, allowing Melone to emerge from his hiding place to follow your journey home.

His date wouldn’t mind if he was a few minutes late, he reasoned. Your house couldn’t be that far, and he had flowers. It would be so nice to get your hopes up and then crash them down, it would make his pining for his true love all the more sweeter.

You walked slowly. Seeing without seeing. Hearing without hearing anything as you made the long journey home laden with your large box. There was a slight limp in your step when you walked, and Melone knew with a sickening satisfactory smile that it was courtesy of your own Junior taking the setting foot part literally. He walked a few car lengths behind you. Quiet as a mouse, even with the noise of the flowers wrapped in cellophane. But then again with how out of it you seemed Melone could have been accompanied by a goddamn marching band and you wouldn’t have noticed anything.

After a few minutes he began to get antsy. What the hell... how far away did you live from work? Were you just leading him in your typical circles, looking around for something like a helpless puppy that lost its mother? He didn’t know what you could be looking for, stupid and blind as he’d become by love he couldn’t figure out why you kept stopping, looking everywhere but behind you, then continuing onward painfully slow as though you had no regard for his commitments.

Melone needed no reminder of why he decided to leave.

Finally, when he was sure he should just nut up and turn back without his dose of courage, he saw you arrive at a slum of an apartment complex. Of course you’d be living here, you couldn’t afford house payments on what they paid you at your old job. Couldn’t afford the luxury of the house he bought for you. Not without Passione’s money. It amused him. When left to your own devices you couldn’t even provide a basic pedestrian life. You lived like a dog if left alone.

He formulated a plan. First he’d call out your name sweetly, like he used to, then when you turned around he’d hold the flowers in his hands in such a way that you’d think it was in offering. You would cry, he was sure, and just as you ran to him and reached for the flowers he’d pull them away and duck just out of reach. If he timed it right, and his foot flashed out at just the right time, he’d be able to see you fall and hear you scream out for him as he walked away and back to the restaurant. It was foolproof, and he began to open his mouth.

You turned to one of the ground floor doors, merely turned the door knob, and entered the unlocked apartment that was bathed in darkness.

There was one window in the living space, and when the light turned on it flooded the dark street. You didn’t even have curtains, just had one window facing the street and that was all. On the floor of the apartment was a dingy mattress, shoved in the corner, a thin sheet bunched up on the floor. There weren’t any decorations. No pictures on the walls. No chairs or table. Not even a plant from work. You still had the box in your arms as you stood in the middle of the bare room, looking around, as though you were unsure you’d entered the right place. Melone just watched, unreadable, as you finally set the box down and began to unload its contents.

A package of diapers. Two bottles. A soft blanket. A teddy bear. Some powdered formula. You both stared at them for a long, long time. He only saw the tiny cradle by the mattress when you unzipped your coat, because the bulge under your shirt had grazed it slightly as you bent to lay the teddy bear inside of it. You didn’t react at all. Just sat down at the edge of your mattress and looked at the things your coworker had given you. A hand, from this distance Melone could see how rough and chapped it was, rubbed the bulge of your stomach as you quietly contemplated the things before you.

“Oh...” he whispered.

It was now he realized: you hadn’t even locked the front door.

Oh.

You reached for your jacket, wrapping it around your shoulders. It was too puffy for him to have seen.

Oh no.

You always worked with your back to the door. The plants covered your lower body, you weren’t tall enough for any part other than your head to stick out.

Oh no...

You didn’t move to make anything to eat. You just sat there.

Unblinking.

Lost.

“Oh no...” Melone choked.

The flowers were beautiful, petals scattered all over the street as they dropped from his hands.

What had he done... What had he done?

...

You’d be a liar if you said you didn’t leave the door unlocked at night for the last five months with just the slightest bit of hope.

You lived life purely with hopes riding on being rescued. Taken away from this pain. You wanted to be taken up in thin strong arms, coddled and protected, reassured with that soft voice that everything would be ok.

Days turned into nights, thence into weeks, thence into months, thence into eternity.

He never came.

Did you start losing hope? Yes. The items before you proved that. Everything was real. It wasn’t a dream. Life was going on without you, he was going on without you, everything was constantly spinning and spiraling out of control and you were left helpless in the middle of all of it, your own body betraying you and refusing to wait to let you catch up.

What did you do to deserve this?

Whatever you did... you wouldn’t do it again. Never. Never ever would you act out of line if if meant you’d be cast out like yesterday’s garbage.

The world goes on without you, and leaves you behind. You can’t hear anything. Can’t feel the gurgle of your stomach or the kicks demanding a meal. There isn’t anything tonight. You don’t have enough for meat, all that’s in the fridge is milk that went bad yesterday and the last slice of bread. Besides you can’t find the strength to get up and feed yourself. You’re not used to having no direction in which to turn.

Your stomach growls, but you’re not hungry.

You live life hearing nothing.

Seeing nothing.

Hardly able to process what’s happening around you.

The door opens and slams against the wall but you don’t hear it.

Footsteps hurry toward you, but you can’t feel their slams against the floor.

Someone drags you up by the arms off the mattress, but it doesn’t matter anymore. You stopped feeling when he broke your foot, never got it treated properly, the pain doesn’t register.

The only reaction you have is to the voice that calls out to you, begging, pleading, just like you did all those months before.

“Please...! Please! Forgive me. Amore please!”

You look up. Wide eyed. Heart aching.

“... Melone?”

It all hits you at once, the senses return, and he has to catch you to prevent you from falling headlong into it.

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pwnyta · 3 years

Text

OK THIS IS MY IDEA FOR LIKE A VOLTRON SEASON... keep in mind I didnt watch the last season but nobody liked it so Im sure no one cares if I accidentally retcon stuff.. HERE GOES-

BOOM

Starts off with Coran. Hes staring up at some screen with a bunch of weird alien science bullshit on screen. He looks kind of more aged and tired which is a little concerning because his species is seemingly like immortal. But hes staring up at this screen and hes starts talking to Allura... whos not there its more like ‘where could you be, I still feel like youre out there somewhere‘ that kind of thing...

Romelle comes in and starts like ‘Coran you gotta stop with this. You gotta move. whens the last time youve talked to someone besides me or this screen.’ etc and Coran just looks sad because hes kind of been left behind and he misses the last family he really had left. and hes all ‘I feel like shes still out there... I wish she’d just give us a sign‘ and Romelle feels bad but tries to convince him to step away...

WHEN SUDDENLY some of the alien tech starts picking up some weird interference and Coran and Romelle are like !!!!! Holy shit... and now Romelle is a little on board and Coran grabs a communication device or w/e.

hard cut to Pidge and Hunk. Theyre just fucking around.. I havent decided more about them but lets just say theyre like playing a game late at night and goofing off surrounded by weird inventions and random junk... Pidge loses and Hunk gloats and theyre surprised when their phone rings... (of course Coran would contact them first) but MOVING ON

Lance is still like working on a farm somewhere or w/e he was doing at the end of the series, just with his big family and looking pretty pleased... little girl runs up and tells him grandma said hes got a phone call so he picks her up and heads in.. and then you find out the little girl is his daughter and hes a good dad and its very cute. also he has beard in these moments cuz it can be funny later.

Then we get to Shiro... whos sleeping. Hes all stressed out.. think that scene in IM3 with Tony... like hes not gotten any sorta therapy. And he wakes up all sweaty and startled and Curtis comes in and is like ‘Oh honey are you ok... I thought I heard you wake up‘ something something showing a cute relationship with the fellas. PHONE CALL.

Then were with the Blade. Full suited up Blades are training, ones way bigger than the other, theres some other smaller Blades at the side watching... its clearly some kind of battle instruction... This is were Keith is gonna be re-introduced but boom smaller Blade gets knocked back and helmet phases away to reveal some little gremlin mad that they got bested. A little hot headed moody thing and then the instructor phases his helmet away and its KEITH. Fully purple. Those hints that Keith was getting more Galra-like... now this. Krolia comes in to tell him Coran has called and asked him to come by because something important happened.

At where ever Coran is at the Paladins start showing up. Make it really clear that they havent really kept in touch much...

Pidge and Hunk meet up with Lance... see his beard and start RAILING on him. Like WHAT IS THAT?! And Lance fights back because he thinks the beard makes him look manly but Pidge laughs and Hunks like...//strokes his own beard and Lance is like ‘HUNK HAS A BEARD!‘ but Pidge is all ‘HUNK HAS THE FACE FOR A BEARD YOU LOOK GOOFY AS FUCK‘ And Lance is like ‘Whatever what do you know!‘

then Shiro is like ‘Geez you guys are already bickering?‘ Pidge is super excited to see Shiro and Lance is like ‘AH YES. A man of great honor and refined taste!! SHIRO... Tell them my beard looks good!‘ and Shiros all :).......... yeah. But its obvious hes just trying to be nice but hes a bad liar and Lance is like ‘GOD DAMN IT‘ and the others laugh.

Keith comes in fully Galra.. the other Paladins are like ?!!?!? WAT. And Keith is like hey! all casual about it, offers a hand to Shiro for their little hug thing even tho even Shiros still like ‘Purple? also youre taller than me now? Dont like that.‘ but Keith is like ‘wtf is up with the beard?‘ and Lance is all ‘I DONT WANNA HEAR IT FROM YOU.‘

Cuz hes fucking purple.

But they get to Coran and Coran goes off with a bunch of alien tech speak and only Pidge and Hunk are really following along but they look a little skeptical when he starts trying to mash pieces together like ‘Oh this could be Allura trying to communicate with us! Maybe we can get her back!‘ which of course hooks Lance immediately.

At the chance to maybe create some cool new device Pidge and Hunk are ready to work with Coran to make some device to pin point the anomaly and maybe create some kind of universe jumping portal... they remember that comet thing from that weird AU episode so they know its technically possible. Keith thinks its a bad idea and Shiro trusts his instincts cuz he wasnt really there for that so he has no input.

BUT it happens anyways and more information on the anomaly is given with Pidge and Hunks machine. they find its one life form thats not like something enormous and they get a little more into Corans mind set. Maybe this really is a Allura.

Theyre willing to risk it.

Something something they build a machine and some kind of containment area to try and ease Keiths mind. Theyre suited up prepared for whoever it is that might come through.

But its clear when the figure steps through the portal that its not Allura and probably not an Altean at all. Weird number of toes, really tall. They suspect Galra and they know there are still rogue Galra out there so they keep their guard up but then the person looks over at them and immediately removes their mask and its Ulaz! and hes like ‘OH FUCK! Shiro!!! (not exact words... I dont do dialog leave me alone)‘

and Shiros ‘ULAZ!!!!‘

Ulaz can look a little different, maybe his mohawk hair is longer and braided so he looks all cool but also like he hasnt been able to maintain his hair, hes got some scars on his face, maybe he lost an eye or something.

And everyones a little excited to see him especially Shiro and even Keith cuz thats one of his Blade brothers! The first one hes met really... (Coran and Lance are not quite as happy...)

After a brief moment of joy Ulaz is quick to inform them of the AU Alteans.

They get filled in. They find out that those Alteans are also looking for Allura... which Coran is like ‘Allura really is alive!!‘ but its not that important to Ulaz at the moment cuz hes just going on about the number of followers Hiras got and theyve been fucking around in the universes gathering followers and power and shit.

Then hard cut to Hiras fleet and that bitch is PACKIN.

THAT WOULD BE FIRST EPISODE SET UP. //a fanfiction by Ewim

what do you think...

#I know its like 11pm and everyone hates VLD BUT HEAR ME OUT!#VLD

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shnuggletea · 4 years

Text

Cell Mates

Idk what’s better, new post or reblog with the new chapter but the latter seems too much. Anyway here’s chapter three as promised.

Chapter Three

In any other situation, the guy would be attractive. Black hair long and slicked back was held at the nape of his neck with a hair tie. He was thin but toned, and his eyes sparkled as he looked down at her.

Problem was, he wasn’t just looking down at her, he was looming over her with malicious intent on his face. And his eyes were literally sparkling because sparks of electricity were dancing in them. His pretty face was twisted with a smile he had to have borrowed from the devil himself. Because who else could pull off that much evil and still look beautiful?

Her lungs burned from lack of oxygen but she couldn’t make herself breathe. Every molecule was frozen in fear. And her head ached from hitting the bars and the continued pulling her strands were getting.

“What do you think, Brother? A bloody carcass left on the bed would send a nice message don’t you think?”

The one over her spoke, his voice was just as lovely as his face. If he wasn’t downright terrifying. It was hard for her to see the attractiveness of him. Ever since he had sat down next to her, all she could see was his ugly insides. How many here were like that? Beautiful but too twisted for her to feel anything but disgust? It was a curse of hers and yet she used it daily all her life. Seeing the inner soul of someone else kept you out of a lot of trouble. Didn’t mean those with pretty insides didn’t do ugly things too.

“Mmmmmm can’t we just...eat her?”

Twisting against the pain, Kagome looked through the bars. It looked like a shark and a human had a baby and it wasn’t pretty. His head was long and oblong shaped, his nose a pointed tip. But he shared the other guy’s ugly soul, electricity dancing in his eyes too.

Other than the claim the man over her made and the shared electricity, she never would have known the two were related. Keeping her eyes on the one before her, the long nails on his fingers grew longer, turning into claws with dangerously sharp tips. The one that held her hair was licking his lips so loud, it was almost comical. Except he was talking about swallowing her whole.

“No, if we eat her, Inuyasha won’t see it. He won’t know and won’t feel the loss.”

Swallowing the thick lump in her throat, she begged her words to come out of hiding. “He won’t...care...he hates me.”

The two shared a glance and a laugh. Big ugly snorted behind her. “His humanity will care.” She could feel him get closer, his breath dancing on her skull. “Pretty little girl like you will be missed by someone regardless. Poor little White couldn’t handle the hell hole she was tossed into.”

“What does...being White have to do with it?”

They laughed again. She was hilarious. Maybe if she survived, she’d do stand up? “It has everything to do with it.” The one over her paused, a sneer going up to his hairline. “Wait...you don’t know what it means, do you??”

Behind her, the strange one laughed but it sounded like Snarf from ThunderCats. “Isn’t it obvious??”

“Whatever. Doesn’t matter now, does it?” The one above her gloated.

Leaning in, the distance evaporated and she could feel the heat of his breath on the top of her head. “Come on, Brother. At least let me eat a little? Her arm? A leg?”

A squeak escaped even though she was trying like hell to contain herself. But what point was there? She was going to die a painful death and her family would never know what happened to her. If they knew where she was and what happened, they would have come for her by now. No, she was going to be an unmarked grave somewhere behind this place while her Mother, Grandfather, and brother Sota were told some tale about a plane crash. At least her body would match.

As a doctor, there were a lot of things she heard, especially when doing her rotation as a first responder. One of those things was the sound of two bodies colliding. It was like thunder though, so loud it echoed off the empty cell walls. At first, she assumed it was the Brute hitting her body and she was in shock. That’s why she felt nothing, not even the pressure on her skull.

But it wasn’t that, she’d been released.

The man over her was standing, a foot still on either side of her hips that she was sure could crush her bones if he really desired. And he wasn’t looking at her anymore. Instead, he was looking behind her and she turned to join the staring contest.

There, in the hall, were two demons going all out. It was a swirl of orange, black, red, and white. A snarl broke free every now and then as well the sound of flesh getting punched or torn. After a few heart-pounding and brain-numbing moments, the two stopped and she was sure she was either passed out or dead. Because no way in hell was Inuyasha holding one of the demons that threatened her up off the ground right now.

What was he doing here? He’d made it clear, he wanted nothing to do with her! But it was hard to fight with her vision at the moment. Especially with the blood that was dripping to the floor from both of them. The one that looked far from human and had wanted to eat her was bleeding a lot more though.

“Let him go you mother fucking Hanyou!!” The one over her snarled.

“Get the FUCK out of my cell!!”

Inuyasha’s eyes were scary, blood red and dangerous as he locked them on the man over her. Careful and slow, he removed himself from his vigil over her and left the cell. True to his word, Inuyasha released his Brother….by tossing him. The two collided hard, the sound of bones breaking made her cringe. The humanoid one got to his feet first, helping the other creep to as close to standing as he could get the hulking creature to, given their size difference. Even with all they had done, she still had to fight back the urge to go and tend to their wounds. It was ingrained in her and she took an oath. It also had her getting to her feet, stiff in a few places but otherwise fine and ready to go after her two attackers to offer some help.

She looked back to Inuyasha, who was there and gone in a flash. Off the floor and hanging in the air, Kagome found herself swinging off the cell floor, her feet dangling. It didn’t hurt, but Inuyasha still had claws perched over her skin as he held her up by her neck. And all other thoughts left her mind. Inuyasha’s ears were pressed back and he was demanding her attention as loudly as he could.

“Stick to the god damn schedule!!” Numbly, she nodded. “When we go to lunch, you FUCKING GO TO LUNCH!!” Not really sure, she continued to nod. Because Inuyasha’s eyes were still blood red. “What the hell were you doing in here alone anyway?!” He waited a beat for her to answer but when she opened her mouth, he stopped her by opening his instead. “You know what? I don’t care! Getting high, masturbating, do it in the damn yard during free time!”

He dropped her and she managed to keep upright. Tension rolled across his shoulders, turning and giving her his back. She could see it through the thin material of his uniform, muscles straining to be free. Kagome forced herself to remember the crazy eyes and the foul mouth he had instead of letting herself think about how freaking hot he was right now.

“This is why…” he whispered, still not facing her, “why you and me cannot associate with each other. You can’t protect yourself and I refuse to...get you involved.”

Anger swelled in her and she knew, deep down, that it was just a bodily response to the near-death moment she just had. No way did she actually care what Inuyasha thought about her or how he’d rather her be torn apart than lift a finger for her. Even though he did far more than lift a finger for her seconds ago. Rational Kagome was long gone as she pushed him aside and left the cell. “No one asked to be associated with you anyway.”

oOo

She didn’t know how, maybe it was written on her face or the faces of the limping demons, but everyone looked at her differently. As if they knew she’d been saved by the asshole known as Inuyasha.

Which was her only explanation, walking out into the sun only to get called over to a picnic table filled with females. Well, mostly females, a few looked like males who wanted to be female. Odd that there were no women who wanted to be men here?

They were all mixed in age and size, even a girl that didn’t look that much older than Shippo was among them. But her blank stare and pure white skin and hair had her questioning the innocence of the child. She wasn’t bubbly and friendly like Shippo.

The one that called her over, yellow donned and thick lips covered in red, held a hand out to her over the heads of a few others. It forced her to get close. As Kagome took the woman’s hand, she glanced over to Inuyasha, in his usual spot. His face flicked away as soon as her hand took the woman’s as if he’d been looking her way but didn’t want to get caught.

“Hey there White! Causing quite the stir around here, aren’ cha?” The woman beamed, releasing her hand to fiddle with her black locks again. The rest were preening as well as if there was a ball later that night. “Name’s Kagura. What’s yours?”

She paused and one of the feminine males chuckled. “Or should we just call you White?”

“I think we should call her, Inuyasha’s pet?”

Kagome looked hard at the one who tried to call her ‘Inuyasha’s pet’. Not only because she was pissed, but also because she was confused. The woman had pure gray hair like she was in her 70’s and yet her face was flawless like a 19-year-old. It threw her off so much, she forgot to be mad and instead remained flustered.

“Ladies! Be nice! It’s been years since we’ve had such a presence. Such a pretty little White, we’ve never had someone like that here!” Kagura cooed.

Her anger returned, tired of all the run around just because of the color she was forced to wear. “My name is Kagome. And I’m not afraid of a bunch of Yellows or Blues!”

“A White should be afraid of all of us…” the pure white child spoke and it made Kagome jump a little. The only color on the child was her little blue scrubs but somehow it was as if the color around her drained away to nothing. And then she looked up at Kagome with her dead eyes. “Anyone here would kill you without a second thought.”

“The Thunder Bros already tried. And failed. She may be White but she has some seriously good luck. Or just attracted the right attention?” The male purred the last part and looked at her with hunger in his eyes.

Confused, Kagome quickly shook her head at all of them. “If you mean Inuyasha, then I’m going to stop you there.”

“Didn’t he save your ass this morning?” Kagura asked but her tone said she already knew the answer.

Not knowing how to answer, Kagome remained silent and they all, save for the white child, smirked. The male broke first, laughing loud and hard. “I take it back, she’s not lucky at all is she?”

“I know how it looks but trust me, Inuyasha doesn’t care about me. This morning was...a fluke.” She tried.

Kagura nodded at her but still smirked. “And I’m sure that’s what he wants you to believe. Or rather, what he wants everyone else to believe. His humanity is showing and it’s killing him.”

They all laughed, again except for the white child, and now the man held out his hand. “I’m Jakotsu. Please come to me with any questions or doubts. You’re too fun to let out of my sights.” Kagome glanced at the child out of habit now. “That’s Kanna. She’s a real sweetheart.”

Kagura snickered but Kagome didn’t find the humor. It was clear they already saw Kagome as ignorant. What harm would it be to ask about the colors?

“Can you guys tell me…”

“HIGURASHI! YOU GOT A VISITOR!!!”

She spun towards the guard, half in shock. “Ooooooh, how interesting,” Jakotsu quibbled, “she even gets visitors?”

It was a stab to her heart because he meant none of them got visitors ever. She forced herself to go slow in front of the others because she didn’t want to brag but she also didn’t want to give them another reason to kill her. She was loved and they were forgotten.

Once out of sight, she hurried her way to the visitation room, the guards with her grabbed her and pulled her back a few times to keep her in step with them. Her eyes landed on her guest and her heart leaped into her throat.

“You get five minutes.” The guard growled only to step back and wait by the door.

Silent, she carefully took the seat across from the occupied one, a thick glass wall between them. Reaching over to the phone before her, she took a deep breath and forced the name out of her mouth.

“Hojo.”

oOo

The rest of the day was a blur, she wasn’t even sure she ate or said anything. People talked to her but she couldn’t even tell herself who had or what they said. She was just going through the motions for the rest of the day. Because she was busy replaying her conversation with Hojo over and over again.

“How are you? Are they hurting you?”

A tear slipped down her cheek. How long had it been since someone had shown her any concern? “I’m alright. Surviving.” He nodded, swallowing thickly and making his apple dance. “Hojo, when am I getting out of here?”

The color drained from his face and her heart dropped to her belly. She waited, even though the answer was clear. She wanted him to say it to her face. “I can’t… There’s nothing I can do. There was a report filed by the police and my father’s name is on it…”

“I’m not a demon!! You know I’m not!!!” She screamed, unable to hold it in any longer.

He held up his hands, glancing behind her as she was sure the guard tensed and threatened behind her. “I know!” He stopped to whisper the rest. “I know you’re not.”

“Then get me the hell out of here!!”

“I...I can’t. I’m sorry.”

His face fell, unable to look at her, the coward. “I’m in here because I saved your life…. I’m going to die in here Hojo.”

He shook his head but still wouldn’t look at her. “My… my hands are tied…”

“And my family?” She swallowed hard, wondering what lie was told to them to keep them from coming for her.

“They think you’re busy with work for now… I’m not sure...what to tell them.”

Her family knew all about her. It was her Mother that explained it to her as a child and her Grandfather that taught her how to use her gifts. Although now, they were more like a curse. “You want to help me Hojo? Keep them from ever finding out. I don’t care what you tell them but I don’t want them involved.” Slapping her hands to the small table before the two of them, she finally got him to look at her again. She needed his eyes on hers. “Promise me, Hojo. I saved your life so you will save theirs. Keep them safe from now on in my place.”

He nodded quickly and dumbly. It was the least he could do and she would be thankful for it. Hojo rose, their time was over and she was sure, she would never see him again. “I love you, Kagome.”

A small smile on her face, she shook her head at him. “But not enough.”

Replacing the phone, she left him there. Her only solace was that her family would be safe. They wouldn’t come looking for her and wouldn’t be silenced by the government when they made too much noise for her release. Maybe they could get her out of here but she wasn’t willing to risk their lives on it.

This place was her grave.

That was what her mind kept saying over and over again, even as she returned to her cell, Inuyasha already inside. She said nothing to him, what could she say? Sitting on the floor, planning on laying in her ‘bed’ and just going into a restless sleep. But her pillow was gone.

“Take it.”

Her neck popped, looking over at Inuyasha as he now stood next to the bed, tossing a pillow to the floor to lay down. “What?”

“I said take it! Are you deaf??”

He gestured to the bed and she got to shaky legs. Under any other circumstances, the bed would have been terrible. A thin and lumpy mattress that sat on metal springs covered in rust? The frame was metal too and the chill of it bled through the mattress and sheets. That’s how thin both of them were!

But after four nights on the hard floor and the emotional wreck she was from a day that felt far too long to be physically possible, it might as well have been a memory foam mattress on a king-sized sleigh bed. So she moaned into the pillow and swore she heard Inuyasha chuckle softly at her. Whether he did or not, she couldn’t care less. Nor did she care that the entire bed smelled like him. It was like a fresh breeze, putting her nose deep into the covers and breathing in long and hard. Closing her eyes, she could almost pretend she was deep in the woods on a lovely hike. How did he smell so damn good?? It’s not like he had cologne or decent shampoo here?

As great as the bed felt and as tired as she was, she laid awake long after lights out. Staring at the ceiling, there wasn’t even moonlight from a window to watch. Because there were no windows in this place.

“Hey White… you awake?”

She sighed ruefully. “Unfortunately.”

“You hear that?”

Kagome didn’t hear anything but she wasn’t really listening. Holding her breath to be even more still, she strained her other senses to listen. It didn’t take much, what with her sight gone and shutting off her smell, it enhanced her hearing. And what she heard was more moaning.

Not too different from the night before, she felt her face get hot as she basically listened to someone else having sex. It was like watching porn with her cellmate.

“You hear it. Noticing anything weird about it?” When she was silent, he huffed and continued. “It lasts a really long time, doesn’t it?”

“I...I guess so??” Kagome didn’t want to assume what was ‘normal’ for other’s sex lives.

“That’s what happens to Koga’s women. They all service his pack. When it’s their ‘night’, they have to fuck any of the pack that wants it.”

Her stomach flipped and she struggled to keep the flavorless food she ate in her stomach. “But that’s... how? The guards…”

“The guards don’t give a shit and jump in when they please. No one cares here, White. And anyone who says they do just wants something from you.”

Turning to her side, she faced herself as much as possible away from him. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because after today… I thought you might be considering Koga’s offer…”

“Well, I’m not! I’m not stupid!” She choked, her sobs breaking into her words.

“Are you.. Are you fucking crying??!!”

She didn’t answer him, trying like hell to keep her tears in and when that failed, tried to keep them silent. The result was her body shaking and shaking the bed. It was all too much and this was her life now. How long would she even survive? At the rate things were going, it wouldn’t be for long.

She cried even harder when a sliver of herself looked forward to death.

No longer caring, because no way in hell he didn’t know she was crying now, she let the sobs release from her chest. It felt like they ripped from her soul, taking little pieces of her with them as they flew out into the darkness. When she was done, she would be numb and Kagome was fine with that.

That is until the bed shifted and squeaked with new weight in it.

She didn’t even question it or pull away as Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back to his chest. He muttered something that sounded like ‘god damn humanity’ and held her a little tighter. It helped somehow. Maybe it was the humanity of the action? Finally feeling some sense of human connection? It was surprising how much she missed it, just needing a drop of kindness her way to survive any longer. And Inuyasha gave her a cup full instead of just a drop.

Kagome expected him to return to the floor when her tears stopped but as she sniffled, reigning in a small semblance of control, he remained at her side. Of all the people, creatures, monsters in this place, the one that cast her to the side from the start was the one she trusted the most. So she had no fear or shame in asking.

“Inuyasha… what does White mean?”

She thought he would laugh. Maybe take a few easy shots at her for her ignorance. But instead it was almost like he was sad himself. Close to tears even for some strange reason. “It means you’re powerless. You’re not a threat to me, to the demons here, or to anyone in the outside world.”

Her mouth opened but no words came out.

“The only reason you’re here is because the humans are uncomfortable with you so they threw you in to erase your existence.”

NOW YOU KNOW WHAT WHITE MEANS!!! Hope you’re not disappointed.

Okay so here are the people that mentioned getting tagged next time I post. So sorry if I left you out and I sincerely hope you still see this! @smmahamazing @itzatakahashi @cstorm86 @keichanz @redflamesofpassion @littlestuffstohide @thatpunnyperson @lavendertwilight89 @ladyayami @lemonlushff @elohiniar @lavaffair and, of course, @knowall7k finally got that bed sharing in there for ya!

#inuyasha fanfiction #inuyasha #kagome higurashi #prison AU #sharing one bed #trope challenge gone wrong #or right?#inuyasha fandom #kanna #kagura #thunder bros #updates #Kagome X Inuyasha #hojo #sad hojo #colors revealed

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ghost-writing · 4 years

Text

The Monster 3/?? - August Walker fanfic

PART THREE - Change

Word count: 2.7k

Warnings: Mentions of sex, mentions of violence and murder, swearing and bad language (in English and in Dutch!), some angst I suppose. And August Walker. (The Kingstache deserves its own warning.) And it’s probably full of typos and redundancies. If you see something that irks you, please tell me! :)

Part one can be found here, and part two here!

She felt tense. She was certain he'd try something during the “London expedition”, as Simon had named it. She had checked the reservations, and he only booked three rooms for the four of them, arguing that Simon and Niklaas could share, and assuring her that she would have her own room. Could be true, could be a ruse. Still she would've bet that Agent Control Freak had something planned. It was something in his eyes, faint but present. So she readied herself for a battle. A battle for power over the other. She would not let him get what he wanted that easily. But her team had to remain clueless of what was going on. She would not allow them to find out what was going on between the two of them. Because Niklaas would definitely use it against her.

She arrived early at the station. Simon was already there, his usual anxious self. Walker got there briefly after her. As if he had been following her. He probably had. That creep. After greeting them curtly, he sent Simon to the coffee shop. “My treat”, he said, giving him some money. She then was sure he most definitely had followed her. An intuition. Simon almost ran, happy to oblige, already salivating at the idea of fresh croissants he wouldn't pay for.

“Couldn't get them yourself?”

“Simon knows everybody's preferences in coffee. I only know how you like your tea.”

“And you know that we'll get breakfast on board with our 1st class ticket, right?”

“I do.”

She sniggered. “Ok. Spill the beans.” He lifted an eyebrow at her, trying to look perfectly innocent. “What the hell do you want, Walker?”

“I don't know what you are talking about.” He looked at someone behind her. “Den Boer. Almost late.”

“Rot op, kut”, the young agent muttered.

“What was that, Nik?” Frankie would not pass an occasion of putting that kid back in his place. He turned a deep shade of red, remembering she knew many Dutch curse words, and looked at her right in the eyes, mentally slapping her or spitting in her face, no doubt.

“I... I'm in a bad mood. Alarm clock did not go off this morning. Still, I am right on time, and Simon is not!” His triumph was short lived, as the coffee boy arrived, one hand holding a cardboard tray with four cups, and the other a bag of baked goods. Frankie's stomach growled instantly at the smell of pastry. Walker looked at her, with that unbearable smirk half hidden by his mustache, as if telling her “I knew you'd enjoy something to eat right away. Because I hid cameras in your apartment, and I know you did not eat anything since you woke up.”

“Klootzak”, she thought. “I so want to punch that smug face of his...” Apparently, she was now in a fouler mood than Niklaas.

She took it out on two croissants, eating in silence, sipping on her tea, avoiding to look at the big ass American spy who was gloating.

The speaker announcing that boarding would start shortly pulled her out of her ruminations. They all grabbed their hand-luggage, and rolled to their first class car. They were all seated around a table, so they'd be able to go through the plan again during the two hour journey. It would not be necessary, but she knew that Simon would ask the same questions again.

As she lead the way, she sat next to the window, and shuddered when Walker sat right next to her. He did not seem to notice, taking her small suitcase without asking her, lifting it above their heads. She shivered again, noticing how effortless it seemed for him, so tall and strong and...

“Frankie! What's wrong?”, Simon asked.

“Headache”, she mumbled. “Give me another croissant.” His face fell.

“I took the last one”, Niklaas said, a hint of defiance in his voice.

Frankie breathed in, through her nose, slowly, deeply. “I'll kill you for that.” Only after that thought had passed, she allowed herself to breathe out, as slowly as she could, never breaking eye contact with Niklaas. The young man was not ready to back down either.

But Simon was noticeably uneasy, trying to calm things down. “Aren't we supposed to have breakfast on board? I suppose it'll be croissants... I'll give you mine, Frankie! I've had enough already.”

“No, thank you, Simon. You don't have to deprive yourself of your breakfast for me.” She forced herself to look and smile at him. Poor Simon was always stuck between her and that shithead. Said shithead felt like he had won this battle, and looked at Walker with a huge grin on his face.

“What are you so happy about, Den Boer?” Walker couldn't stand the kid either. He usually did not care much about the people he had to work with, like Simon. Frankie was a different thing entirely, for obvious reasons. But sometimes, they'd get under his skin almost instantly, as was the case with the other junior officer. That one was not working hard enough, and acted as if he already knew everything he had to know. From experience, those were the worst kind, the most dangerous too.

“No answer? You're usually quite talkative when it comes to criticizing the Ice Queen...”

Niklaas' head almost exploded.

“Don't worry: she already knew you call her that. And worse.”

He looked at Frankie, who had murder in her eyes...

“Juniors, scram.” They didn't wait for further reasons, and left hurriedly.

“What. The. Actual. Fuck. Walker?”

She had paused between every word. Walker saw she was trying to control her wrath through her breathing, but did not understand right away why she was now so angry at him. He remained silent, not sure what answer he should give her.

“What the fuck are you doing? You are... Just... Weird. Stop being weird. Stop it! We're going to London to do a job. I don't know what's going on in your head, but get yourself in check and focus on that fucking job. For fuck sake...”

She stood up, and left him alone. He should have known treating her like a damsel in distress was not going to work. He should have known she'd put up a fight.

The rest of the journey was filled with awkward silences and quick questions about the case. When they got to the hotel, Frankie switched rooms with Simon and Niklaas: she absolutely did not want to be in the room next to Walker's, as they had a communicating door.

She barely talked to him that first day. They met the person they were supposed to get intel from, but that brought up another problem. They now had to go to the countryside to find someone else. But they'd have to conceal their identities and actual purpose. So, the whole team couldn't go, and Niklaas had the most ridiculous idea.

“Frankie, you should go with Agent Walker, pretend you're a married couple...” Again, his eyes were full of pride and mischief. He knew that would bother her. What else did he know?

While she was struggling to find an answer that wouldn't sound too angry, she heard the American say: “No. I'll go alone.”

“You'll look less threatening with a woman...”, tried Simon.

They all looked at Frankie, and something in her made their faces contort in three different expressions, but all meant “This might not be the less threatening-looking woman there is, but she'll have to make do, because it's the only one we have”. Her murderous intents had clearly reappeared.

“Maybe with a cute flowery dress...” Simon regretted his words instantly. Frankie's lips were shut tight, her jaw clenched, her anger palpable. Her silence only made her even more frightening.

“We should find another story”, cut Walker.

And then, Frankie heard herself say “We'll manage. It's only for a couple of days...”

“And at least two whole nights”, teased Niklaas, under his breath. He knew something. He definitely knew something.

Hearing that, Walker straightened his imposing frame, meaning to put an end to this silly conversation. “I said no.”

“I'm the leading officer here, CIA. You're only tagging along. And I say we're doing this. Simon, can you...” She felt queasy at the thought.

“Rent a car, search for a nice hotel in the area, and book a room for the happy couple, sure! I'll contact Emily... I mean: Agent Richards! For the details of your covert identity, Agent Walker...” And Simon skedaddled, followed by his colleague, leaving Frankie and Walker alone in his room.

After a moment of silence, Frankie trying to assert her dominance over her counterpart, Walker attempted a joke.

“Well, nobody is going to believe we're a happy couple, if you look at me that way...”

“I don't have to pretend yet.”

She moved towards the door.

“Wait! We have to... Plan this.”

“We'll have time for that while driving there. Now, I have to go shopping...” Turning around, she looked at him. “Maybe you should too.”

And she left him, confused, worried, and wondering what was wrong with his wardrobe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Walker was driving their rented car to the hotel they were supposed to sleep at. In the same room, of course. They had made contact with Peggy, the person they came all that way to meet. Peggy was now called Elizabeth, and was posing as a rich widow, taking care of a small art gallery in a picturesque village in the country side. Expecting her to be weary of strangers, they did not push their luck with her: Walker barely talked to her, most of the work was left to Frankie. She managed to have a lengthy conversation with Elizabeth, about the things a young couple could do in the area: where to eat, what to visit – even each on their own. Frankie pushed the “wife angry at her husband” story-line, because it seemed to work on their target. That woman had no trouble believing they were really married, because “Françoise” was genuinely mad at “Hank”. So, yes, Niklaas' stupid idea had actually worked, because of all the rage that tiny wife had towards her giant of a husband. The best lies are the ones anchored in truth.

But Frankie was drained, unable to conceive that she'd have to play that role for at least a couple more days, spending as many nights in the same room as him... So, when they arrived at the hotel, she went straight to the small restaurant, leaving him to take care of the reservation and the luggage. She sat at a table in a corner of the dining room, ordered a cocktail, drank it whole straight away, and ordered another, plus the lamb dish for herself, and the beef one for Walker. “Ugh! Him...” This mission was not easy, but the worse part was being with him. Him, constantly trying to hold her hand, or putting his arm around her waist or her shoulder. Him, ogling her like she was a flower and he was after her nectar. Him, his warm body, so tall and so wide, smelling so nice... Him. His huge hands. His stupid mustache. His hard cock... “Ugh!”, she hissed, full of rage and lust. She had already downed half her second glass when she saw him enter the room.

Getting inside the eating area of the inn, he saw her sitting at a table in a corner, away from the two other couple of guests who were already enjoying their meals. An older lady smiled at him, which her husband did not notice because he was focused on Franken. As he sat down in front of her, she gestured at the waitress to bring her another glass.

“I ordered food.”

“Thank you. But no drink for me?” He grabbed her glass and sniffed it. “What the hell is that?”

“Pear daiquiri. They're using local organic pears, it's nice and fresh. And it's my second glass already, because I need to unwind. Oh, here comes the third!” She finished her glass.

The waitress put the cocktail in front of Franken. “They're delicious, aren't they? Do you want one too, sir?” She smiled and batted her lashes at Walker.

“I'll have a scotch, thank you.”

He did not look at her leaving, but he noticed that whatever she did, it irritated his fake wife: she sighed in exasperation.

“We need to talk.”

She sighed some more. “Can I at least eat in peace, please?”

“It doesn't have to be a battle, we can have a quiet, civilized conversation.”

He saw rage in her eyes. He also noticed that she was exhausted. Or maybe it was the rum kicking in, or rather kicking her down.

“I'm sorry for the other night.”

This time, her face was blank. She did not believe him.

“I really am. I've thought about it a lot, and I know I made a mistake.”

Still nothing from her. How did that woman, who had looked so angry with him for the past week and a half, especially since yesterday, could now look that calm and unaffected?

“When was the last time you apologized?” Her tone was quiet, yet threatening. “To anyone.”

She looked at him right in the eyes. Walker made a mental note to never play poker with that woman, because she was not giving any clue to where she was going with that question. So, he tried sincerity, for once.

“I don't remember. It's not very often I do.”

“Why?” She drank, just a gulp.

He chuckled a little. “I don't like being wrong.”

“No, I mean, why to me? Why now?”

That's where she wanted to go. He realized she had done the same thing the other night, when she called him a boy... She had cornered him, just like now. Not leaving him any room for action, forcing him to go forward. He remembered she studied psychology and criminology. He remembered her file said she was good at interrogating suspects. He remembered how she got the man in London to tell them about Peggy and her location. He got played.

“Was it all an act? Your hostility, today?”

The waitress arrived with their plates. “Lamb?”

“That's me”, she said. “He's the beef.” The girl put their respective plates in front of them, and came back right away with Walker's scotch, trying to make eye contact, but he did not react.

Frankie smelled the food, and relaxed. She was starving, and drunk too. She cut a piece of her meat, swiped some gravy, put it in her mouth, and closed her eyes.

“Hmm... Good!” She opened her eyes, and Walker's face was another good thing. It was not the first time she saw that face, she often had that effect on people. But she was fairly surprised that a CIA agent had not seen her coming.

“It was all an act...”

“It wasn't.” She kept eating her dish. “It's really good, eat while it's still warm.”

“But...”

She cut him off. “It wasn't. I find you're insufferable. I didn't mind how smug you were, at first, but I don't know how I've managed to not slap you in the past few days... Or kick you in the balls.” She lifted her knife in front of her. “Or stab you multiple times, dismember your corpse, and disseminate the evidence across the English countryside.” She went back to eating her food like what she just said did not made her sound like a psycho. He still had not started his plate yet.

He took a deep breath, like he was about to say something, but he stopped himself, drank his glass in one go, and started his dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GUYS! You have no idea how hard it was to get to this... 3 months since I posted part 2. I wrote and re-wrote this, at least 3 times, if not 4. I just HATED what came out. I didn’t like how they were interacting with each other, or with others... It just felt WRONG.

And then, I don’t know how, Frankie changed her act, she was different: she was a mean cat and August suddenly was a little mouse stuck in her claws. And that weirdly felt RIGHT. (Maybe it’s because I watched How to Get Away with Murder. So: thank you, Annalise Keating, I guess... ^_^ )

So, I’m sorry there’s no smut (there should be in part 4, if I get to finish it!), but I’m so relieved...

#fanfic #August Walker #August Walker fic #August Walker angst #The Monster #angst

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